#shes less tragic and less mad than my other characters cause this is a mostly new group but shes still a little tragic ;3

[wall-eye]

New character, new art! This is Dew, a water genasi cleric! Shes very cute

[wisteria-lodge]

Archetypes: Sorting Hat Chats

I’ve been asked about my rationale for naming different primary/ secondary combinations. I did this originally as a tool to help me sort characters - I wanted to see how these types tend to be used, so I could more easily see what subversions looked like. I'll run through my thoughts, but know there’s a lot of variation within each category. But even WITH that variation, I do think that each one has its own specific energy that makes it interesting to talk about. An explanation of the terms I'm using.

DOUBLE LION “THE REVOLUTIONARY”

Pretty straightforward. The Lion primary knows something is wrong, they know it in their bones even if they can’t articulate it, and they’ve got to go out and do something about it. Probably charging at whatever power structure is directly in front of them. It’s unlikely you find a character leading a revolution who isn’t a Double Lion. These guys are intense, inspirational, single minded.

The villain version of the Lion primary tends to be the person who “went too far" or "became the monster they were trying to fight.'' But I think that the much more interesting Lion primary villain trope is the Traitor. Since Lions work from their feelings, and their philosophies can’t necessarily be articulated or linked to individuals outside of them - they can definitely have their head turned while still feeling moral about it.

One of my favorite examples of this Revolutionary archtype is actually Christian Bale‘s character from Newsies. He’s the spark that starts the unionizing revolution, but 100% needs his Badger and Bird lieutenants to keep him focused and keep him from defecting

LION SNAKE “THE ROBIN HOOD”

These guys are similar to the Double Lion - they will recognize a cause or injustice revolutionary style - but Robin Hood doesn’t go up and bang on wicked Prince John’s door. His move is the snake secondary one: confront the problem indirectly. Undermine the regime by stealing tax money and re-distributing it to the poor. Be simultaneously Robin Hood the outlaw and Robin of Locksley the noble, infiltrating and getting information. The Lion Snake is more likely to work within society (or deliberately separate from society) versus just breaking everything down.

LION BIRD “THE LAWMAN / THE VIGILANTE”

The fact that the Lion Bird can either be the Lawman or the Vigilante shows off the very clear hero/villain split you get with Bird secondaries. We also see this with the Snake Bird (simultaneously the Mastermind and the traditional Villain) and the Double Bird (either the Scientist or the Mad Scientist.) This is why I think I had such trouble naming the Badger Bird. I wasn’t leaning into the duality of the Bird secondary enough. The Badger Bird can be the King Arthur, or he can be the Mob Boss, and he’ll look kind of similar either way.

The Lion Bird also has that Lion primary conviction and drive, but they want to follow up on it with investigation, evidence, and plans. I actually think there need to be more stories about Lawmen turning into Vigilantes and vice versa. Because Lion Birds are their Cause no matter what external alignment gets attached to it.

LION BADGER “THE LINCHPIN”

This is my own sorting - although when I came up with this name I still thought I was a Double Bird. The linchpin is the pin-axle thing at the center of a wheel that prevents the whole thing from falling apart, and I think it's a good way of talking about the energy of this combination. The Badger secondary means they’re a lot less single minded than the other Lion primaries: their power comes from being part of a group. They become the emotional “heart” a lot, and have a way of quietly keeping things together just by existing. They can be leaders, but a Double Lion will lead from up front while a Lion Badger will lead from in the middle (if that makes sense.)

I do think it’s really funny that this is a common sleeper villain trope. Peter Pettigrew, Prince Hans, and Randall Boggs of Monsters Inc. all became integral to a group, and then exploit their position within it. They’re kind of the evil bureaucrat. Maybe that's a good trope for children’s media

DOUBLE SNAKE “THE TRICKSTER”

This is another straightforward one. Double Snakes are in it for themselves (and maybe like three other people.) They're going to be clever and tricksy about how they get what they want, and will not mind doing things backward and unofficially. And they won't mind if you know that's what they're doing. There’s something very unapologetic about the Double Snake which makes for very attractive characters. They are consistently voted the sexiest... and when they’re villains they’re fun villains. You know what they want, and what they want is not that complicated. I think that’s a big reason for the appeal of Snake primaries in general. They’re the easiest primary to understand and explain.

SNAKE LION “THE LANCELOT”

I used to call these guys “The Rebel,” which... is too generic, doesn’t really mean anything. So I started thinking about the Lion secondary as the Knight secondary, and I liked that. Double Lions are the Crusader Knight, riding for their Cause. Bird Lions are Grail Knights, riding for their own personal truth. Badger Lions are Champion Knights, here to help the helpless and defend the innocent.

And if that's that case… Snake Lions have to be the Knight Errant, the knight who rides for his lady. It is that simple. Lancelot might be a Knight of the Round Table, but he’s riding for Arthur the person, not Arthur the King. And for his lady, Queen Guinevere. I feel like his dilemma is one that’s common to a lot of Snake Lions: what happens when they’re forced to split their loyalty? It’s tragic, but Lancelot can’t have Arthur and Guinevere simultaneously.

(At least not until my awesome Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot OT3 which I will totally write at some point :)

SNAKE BIRD “THE MASTERMIND / THE VILLAIN”

The classic. We see a little more of the Bird Secondary split, and well… this is your stereotypical villain. They want power. They’re going to use an elaborate plan to get it. There’s a lot you can do with this sorting, but I actually do think it’s fun that whatever you do, this slight undercurrent of villain and/or mastermind… never quite goes away.

SNAKE BADGER “THE LOVER”

The Love Interest sorting. Chances are very good that if there is a love interest (who does not serve some other role in the story...) they're going to be a Snake Badger. Devoted to one person, solving problems by caretaking. This is the Badger secondary who is likely to have the smallest group, which is just going to make them look excessively devoted to their friends. This type is pretty gender neutral, which is fun. A lot of female love interests, but also your Mr. Darcys and Peeta Mellarks.

One of my favorite things about this trope (mostly just because I think it’s funny...) is that if you write a character who is not supposed to be a love interest, but who is a Snake Badger... subconsciously I think people are going to read them as a love interest anyway. Looking at you Jaskier, Horatio, and even Captain Barbossa.

DOUBLE BIRD “THE [MAD] SCIENTIST”

I think that (especially if you aren’t a Bird Primary yourself) your response to hearing a fictional Bird Primary’s motivation is kind of …huh. That seems random. Or oddly specific. You get your Hannibal Lecters, whose entire motivation is... wanting to eat people while drinking nice wine.

Double birds seem especially unusual, just in terms of society. They are Bird secondaries and they interact with the world through gathering data, but their Bird primaries mean that data can literally lead them to any conclusion, no matter how potentially wacky. These guys consciously build themselves from the ground up, and that can make them kind of detached - either in a logical way, or an unmoored way. They're written as either really stable, the rational mentor figure. Or really... not. And that’s how you spot a Bird villain. They’re not after money/power/safety, they’re after something weird.

BIRD LION “THE GRAIL KNIGHT”

This is the trope of Perceval or Galahad, questing after the Holy Grail chalice... which is really just meaning, and truth. It’s a personal quest. Grail Knights tend to ride alone, and a lot of the things that concern them are metaphysical, to do with identity, purpose, things like that. You can have extremely different Bird Lions, but I do think there is a sort of spiritual core there. Doctor Harleen Quinzel sees freedom and truth in whatever the Joker is doing, and then once she recognizes his hypocrisy, has to go build her own meaning.

I actually think these guys are pretty easy to spot because of that Lion secondary. When they change direction, they change direction, and there’s probably a period of despair between the direction changes. I’ve talked about how Bird Lions having a habit of falling apart pretty dramatically, and that’s where this idea comes from.

BIRD BADGER “THE SURVIVOR”

A rare sorting, but an interesting one. I call this one “the Survivor” or “the Last Man Standing” because, well, they seem to be. They seem remarkably stable. This is the Bird primary least likely to be a villain, and maybe the sorting least likely to be a villain. I think what’s going on is that they are grounded and integrated in whatever community they happen to be in (because of that Badger secondary), but they can define themselves and rebuild themselves in the Bird primary way. This makes them uniquely suited to building a new version of themselves for whatever situation they happen to find themselves in.

Maybe a better name for these guys would be “The Adapter.”

BIRD SNAKE “THE ARTIST”

Like all Bird primaries, these guys are inspired by their own projects and their own worldview, but because of that Snake secondary, Bird Snakes have a more easy-going ‘take the world as it comes' kind of energy. They are “the Artist” because everything they do is art: they want to use themselves and the world around them, put all of that towards whatever their Bird primary happens to be interested in.

You can have villains like the Nolan Joker, or the Talented Mr. Ripley, who kind of turn the world into their own personal philosophical social experiment. Or Scotty from Star Trek whose meaning is solely the well-being of the Enterprise. Maybe they just like traveling, and that's all they need. (It's a way for the Bird primary and the Snake secondary exist very happily together, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was pretty common.)

DOUBLE BADGER “THE PEACEMAKER”

Badgers are interesting, because while I think they’re generally regarded as “correct,” they’re also seen as kind of boring. That’s the case with both Badger primaries and Badger secondaries, which means it is doubly reflected in the Double Badger. They often get written as simplistic, the sweet Jane Bennet type who loves everybody and caretakes everybody and just wants everybody to get along.

They are often the targets of what TV Tropes used to call “Break the Cutie.” What could be more interesting than making this character, who wants to be happily part of a community, be forced to build protective models, be all tortured and angsty? I actually think we’re seeing a return of the Double Badger as an interesting character in their own right, with people like Aziaphale, and I'm here for it.

BADGER LION “THE PROTAGONIST”

What can I say? There are a lot of protagonists that are Badger Lions. They want to help the group - so we know they're the good guys - and then they charge and make stuff happen. Lion secondaries are very useful in fiction - you drop them into a situation and stuff just happens. I also think of this as the Starfleet officer sorting - because if you’re a Starfleet officer, either you are the sorting, or can model it really well.

I will say that this is kind of the stock Protagonist sorting, the way that the Snake Badger is the stock love interest and the Snake Bird is the stock villain. There’s just something sort of generic good guy about this one, which is why I want to see it used as a villain sorting more. Badger villains - mostly people who define ‘human’ very narrowly - are insanely terrifying.

BADGER SNAKE “THE ADVISOR”

Possibly “the Power Behind the Throne.” This is another one I had difficulty pinning down. I called it “the Politician” for a while, which unfortunately came off as a little bit more negative than I meant it to, since I think this sorting has a lot in common with Lion Badger, the linchpin of a heroic team. The difference is that Lion Badger takes on that role kind of unconsciously, while the Badger Snake does it very consciously.

Their loyalty is to the group, but their skill set is all about subversion and different ways of going around the group, which is why there’s an interesting contradiction at the heart of Badger Snake. A lot of real life Badger Snakes struggle with feeling like “bad people" and it's too bad. These guys are ridiculously powerful and competent when they are sure of themselves, and I love seeing them in action

BADGER BIRD “THE KING / THE MOB BOSS”

Another difficult one, despite (or because) I really like them. I was calling them “the Architect” because “The City Planner” sounded too boring… but that’s what they do. They’re all about the community but they problem-solve the way all Bird secondaries do, by prepping, and gathering knowledge. I talked more about this in the Lion Bird entry, but Bird secondary seems to have this villain split going on, and that’s what I see here too. This is a controversial love-them-or-hate-them sorting, and I think that’s why. There’s a lot of room in whether or not you see this sorting as villainous.

[blodreina-noumou]

Final Season Spec Game

I’m out of tag games to speculate on season 7, so here we are! I wanted to keep these questions mostly upbeat (because we all know how this show can be sometimes lol we’re in for angst for sure 😉) and there’s 16 of them, one for each remaining ep! Feel free to play along everybody… Stay safe! 💙

I swiped this from @katersann​ - great questions!

1. Which character are you most excited to learn the endgame of: 

There’s only a handful of characters I truly care about anymore, and there will always be one that rises above the rest -

Obviously next season is going to feature the Anomaly in a big way, and since that whole thing seems deeply connected to Octavia, I think we can safely assume that this will be a big season for her. I hope she makes it out alive, but on some level, I won’t be surprised if she doesn’t. Going out in a blaze of glory was always more her style. I think that’s true even now.

2. Which character are you most excited to learn the backstory of: 

I’m definitely curious about Hope Diyoza. The fact that she and Octavia appeared to know each other in the s6 finale has huge implications. And I’m sure her life has been really fuckin’ interesting - with a mother like Charmaine, how couldn’t it be?

3. One character who deserves a new look: 

Madi!

She’s not a scrappy forest child anymore, nor is she a Baby Warlord. I’d love to see her in anything but leather (or a hospital gown, yikes.) I don’t know how central to the main plot she’ll be, since she no longer has The Flame, but I do hope we get to see something about her trying to become a semi-normal kid.

4. Two locations you want to revisit: 

If I had my druthers, I’d love to see the Dropship again. It was such a central location in the first two seasons, and one of the things that’s been tough for me since the second Praimfaya has been how we lost all those iconic locations. 

I also really loved the look of Shallow Valley aka Eden. A very cute, aesthetically pleasing location, gone too soon.

5. Three brotps you hope get more screentime: 

Octavia and Diyoza!

(Technically a Brot3 but just try and stop me!) Raven, Murphy, and Emori!

Raven and Echo!

6. Who will get the happiest ending: 

Honestly a tough call, because I don’t know if anyone will truly get a “happy” ending. If I had to guess, Raven and Echo are actually pretty high up there. As long as they both survive the season, I think they’ll finally find some peace on the other side.

7. Which minor or new characters you want to see more of: 

Given that Jordan was a series regular last season, we saw a LOT less of him than I expected. I think he’s going to be an unexpected antagonist in the final season, which should be a lot of fun.

8. Who will eventually snap Jordan out of the funk we see him in, at the end of 6x13: 

Agh, I don’t know. He didn’t really get a chance to connect with any of his parents’ old friends, did he? The deepest connection he made was with Delilah, and she’s dead and gone - but I don’t think he believes that, I think he’s fully swallowed the Sanctum juice at this point. I could maybe see Raven snapping him out of it, or Bellamy. If it’s not them, it’ll definitely be some message from Marper somehow. Or, tragically, he won’t make it out of the funk. I’ll be really mad if that happens, given who his namesake was. The Jordan curse.

9. Who will be the first to tell Bellamy he can’t immediately run into the Anomaly after Octavia: 

Oddly enough, my money is on Hope. And I think Bellamy will immediately distrust her and try to go anyway, but Echo will ultimately stop him.

10. To reference Monty’s ‘do better’ mantra: 

I’d like to hear it from Murphy, to be honest, or Emori. I don’t think it was necessarily Clarke’s right to take so much ownership of that one, last season.

11. To say 'go float yourself’: 

I hope I hear it from the mouth of every single (former) Delinquent, lmao. It’d actually be hilarious if someone like Emori or Echo said it, though. Show how it’s left the Ark as slang and entered the general parlance. 

12. Random object or prop you would bring back for Season 7 if you could: 

Lexa’s throne/Clarke’s walking stick. I really fuckin’ loved that little callback, y’all. Clarke leaning on a piece of Lexa to make it through her time in isolation - ugh, murder me. Even if it isn’t a major plot point, I’d like to see it in the background somewhere. I don’t think it made it off Earth, though.

13. Book One storyline/reference you want to see back for Season 7: 

We’ve got 16 episodes, right? Bring back my funny fillers! I know they weren’t common, and weren’t 100% funny, but I’d love to see an episode like “Day Trip” again.

14. Dead character you would like mentioned: 

Lincoln, Anya, and Nyko. Pay respect to the OG grounders. Even if it’s just in passing.

15. How do you think Hope and Octavia know each other (from season 6): 

There’s been a lot of speculation about what this face was meant to imply -

Personally, when I look at Octavia’s face, I see an entire goddamn story. It’s a story I might fully be projecting, but I’m going with my gut until proven otherwise. Octavia helped raise Hope. When she sees her, she looks at her the way one might a kid they haven’t seen in a long time - there’s surprise, tenderness, pride. A moment of almost not recognizing her, then realization that’s she’s the a kid she loves, all-grown-up now, and that’s what makes her emotional.

My other theory is that Octavia didn’t remember Hope at all until she saw her, which is why she looks confused, then surprised, then happy. She’s suddenly remembering a person who is very important to her, who she had forgotten (likely due to the timey-wimey/doorway weirdness of the Anomaly) and all of her memories coming back is what causes this reaction.

I’m reasonably certain that there won’t be any romantic attachment between them. As much as I’d love it, I just don’t see the show making Octavia explicitly sapphic so late in the game. One of the consequences of trying to create a world where sexual orientation doesn’t matter is that the writers tend to beat us over the head with what type of person each character is attracted to - that’s why we see Clarke and Niylah together multiple times, and why Clarke and Cillian got together. The writers want us to remember, always, without subtlety, that Clarke likes both men and women.

We just haven’t seen any real clues that Octavia is attracted to women. As much as I’m pulling for it, it’s clear that the writers intend her relationship with Niylah to be platonic. 

So, given all of that, I just don’t think Hope and Octavia will be a romantic couple.

That only leaves us with so many options - either they were friends or like family. Given the weirdness of Diyoza going into the Anomaly pregnant and her fully grown daughter stepping out of it three days later, my money is on like family. I think Octavia and Diyoza raised Hope together in the Anomaly, somehow, and that’s how they know each other.

16. How do you think it all will end?: 

I think it will have a lot to do with the backdoor pilot, how much that retcons, and how committed they are to giving this show a satisfying ending when they’ve already creatively moved on to a new world.

If I pretend I don’t know about the backdoor pilot, I’m even less sure. I’m hoping for a satisyfing ending. Not a happy one. I don’t think that would be true to the series.

I’m betting either Clarke or Bellamy dies, and my money has been on Bellamy for awhile. Call it a gut feeling. 

I think almost everyone else will survive. We’ve lost a lot of people along the way in this show, and I think they’ll give us one Big Death of the season, so that death has the greatest impact. And since I’m betting on it being Bellamy, well... that means I’m pretty sure everyone else will make it.

There’s been a lot of little background info dropped about how impossible life on Sanctum is without constant maintenance, and most if not all of that maintenance came from the more-or-less free labor of the people serving the Primes. It’s impossible to know how things will go in terms of Emori and Murphy being Primes now, and how long that will last. Because of that, and because of the “doorway” to another world that the Anomaly allegedly is, I’m betting Sanctum is not our final destination. I’m thinking we’ll end up on Earth again, somehow.

I hope it ends with everyone who survives together, and happy, and with a plan for a sustainable society that doesn’t murder each other every two months.

Tagging: @boomheda​ @awesomenell65​ @captainwilldameron​ @blodkru​ @dylanobrienisbatman​ @teeandsnowflakes​ and anyone else who I normally tag, I’m honestly drawing a blank rn. The usual “please steal this” rules apply!

[frstbiitten]

//Yesterday I mentioned that I would talk about Frost’s new gear, since I’ve analyzed it before and talked about it, the names chosen for her cosmetics have a lot of meaning when it comes to its cultural background or anything around it that could be related with Frost. Good thing is that since Aftermath came out, a lot of things for many characters did as well, and y’all know I love this cyborg’s design a lot, so let’s begin with her power arrays.

Cordelia:

The name itself doesn’t have a clear meaning, but surely the name rings a few bells if you’re familiar with ‘King Lear’ by Shakespeare (inspired by real events). Cordelia was one of the 3 King Lear’s daughters and his favorite. To know how to divide the lands, he asks the daughters which one loves him the most, which Cordelia says ‘according to my bond, no more nor less‘. But Lear is not someone who uses his head for good and is infuriated with the lack of commitment to show love from his favorite daughter, and makes her vanish from his kingdom, to which is the beginning of a time of chaos in the life of the king. Spoiler alert: both father and daughter are taken to prison by their enemies (also, she comes back to aid him in the middle of his madness), and she is hung and dies but her body is taken by Lear for others to see, and is grief the final cause for his death to which he dies next to her. Of course, there are common points and not so common, along with the belief that Cordelia was a tragic character (and Frost is a tragic villain) no less. If we take in consideration the different parallels between Cordelia and Lear with Frost and Kuai: being the favorite, pushed away by their actions and finally dying before the eyes of that one who loved them before (of course, a big thing to notice here is that Lear is more obscure than Sub-Zero all the way if we analyze his character more).

Qingniao:

There’s a lot of names in her power arrays related with mythological figures from different cultures, most of them related to either femininity, the moon or the ice itself. However, Qingniao is different since it is not related to a goddess but to a creature. The qingniaos according to Chinese mythology were these blue (or green) birds, some of them had even three legs or just one and they were the messengers of the Queen Mother of the West Xi Wangmu, a goddess that it was believed could provide long life and prosperity, even some religions in China consider her as their central deity. These birds to the goddess were of high importance since they not only allowed her to deliver messages across the lands but also retrieve food for her as well. It’s pretty obvious why this name fits so well and shows the high importance and relation between Frost and Kronika (Titan - Henchwoman).

Oreade:

This time, this power array has the name that was used in Greek Mythology to refer to the nymphs guarding and living around the forests close to the different mountains, each mountain had a group of specific nymphs that would protect it, in fact, the most known oreade is no other than Echo. She was the nymph who fell in love with Narcissus and her voice was taken away by Hera, only being capable of repeating the last word someone spoke to her. The name for this power array honestly doesn’t have too much relation with Frost, but we could say that she is, somehow, a protector of the Hourglass since without its control, Kronika (or herself in her tower ending) would never be able to bring the New Era.

Ice Demon:

This is by far my favorite along with Quaestor and Birka Viking. Demons in the universe of MK are pretty common (hell, there’s even a whole realm that they habit). Other ninjas in the game have demon themed gear, especially when it comes to their masks, but this time we have that influence in this power array. Perhaps, what is safe to say, that is heavily influenced by the Japanese Onis but also by the Yaoguais, monsters considered by the Chinese folklore as evil spirits of any kind searching for immortality and becoming deities themselves. This relates heavily to Frost since her form to attempt to achieve both was through cyberization, and considering her personality, she could be easily related to the temper of a demon like the Yaoguais, constantly searching to harm divine creatures and humans.

Arctika:

Geographically speaking and according to the lore of the game, Arctika is actually a place beneath the mountains in China were the Lin Kuei Temple resides and this place has never been peaceful since the very beginning. The name of this power array goes along with her mask ‘Daughter of Arctika’, let’s not forget the huge importance that those cold lands have for Frost as a cryomancer and considering her wishes to be the Grandmistress of the Lin Kuei (not taking in consideration the lengths she takes to do it). For both her and Sub-Zero these lands have a higher meaning in their souls, they are around their own vital element that is the ice, and is no coincidence that both have gear pieces named after this place, also is where they first meant when the tournament for the new recruits would take place. A thing to notice is it’s distinctive design since it looks less like the other power arrays and more like a jet pack.

Ice Fury:

It is not a casualty that most of her gear refers to her personality since it’s what stands out the most when it comes to her and the treatment to other people, Frost is known to not be the most chill person to be around and having issues with her rage. Not only that is a quality of her personality that stands out at first glance, but also her fighting style. If we compare her fighting style with Sub-Zero the first thing we would notice is how much chaotic she is and violent with her moves, I’m not saying that Sub-Zero’s fighting style is less lethal, but is much more collected than Frost’s, considering that she is a cyborg and this allows her much more possibilities for her powers and how to use them, her entire body is a weapon of destruction and when Frost uses her ice powers in combat, her abrasiveness goes along with her movements and passion for defeating her enemies.

Chosen by Kronika:

We know for a fact that Kronika, the Titan who is (was) in charge of the course of time since the very beginning of the universe and master of The Hourglass, was the one who gave Frost an important place to take by her side, her gift to the cryomancer for fighting by her side for the New Era was to be superior than any human since she could see the full potential that this woman had in her soul. Kronika cyberized Frost for proving her loyalty to the cause and also be the Grandmistress of the Lin Kuei once their plans succeded completely. We see that Frost is proud to work by her side, logically she’s given an armor that goes along with both Kronika and Geras, who’s also another important agent that helps Kronika to achieve her goals. The name for this mask says a lot about how Kronika perceived Frost, or at least how Frost perceived herself when it comes to decoding what place she takes part in all of this.

Slayer of Sektor:

This name is pretty clear and tells exactly how things worked between Frost and Sektor, even if she would the Grandmistress in the New Era, her compromise with the Cyber Initiative was shared with Sektor, the same Lin Kuei who cyberized a generation of his clan back in the 90′s. The name for this mask could give us a hint about the kind of roles they played when it came to cyberize this new generation of Lin Kueis, we could say that Sektor was the one who organized and made the initiative function considering that he was the one who started everything, and Frost would be mostly in charge of retrieving the subjects for the transformation or even working as his protector (is never favorable to lose the head who has thought about the whole initiative if you think about it).

Northern Lights:

Also known as Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights is simply an atmospheric phenomenon that happens commonly close to the north or south pole, to make things short, is what happens when particles of the sun that are electrically charged with energy collide with the atmosphere of the planet and since the air is full of different types of gasses, the colorful phenomenon happens. Also, to take things in consideration, ‘Northern Lights’ was the name of one of Frost’s moves back in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, it was only allowed to input while fighting with the Tong Bei style. If we notice the design of the mask, it might resemble the mouth of an Oni/Yaoguai but it could also resemble the mouth of a dragon, considering the high importance that these creatures have in Chinese Folkore and the fact that the Dragon Medallion was the object of desire for Frost in the Original Timeline.

Pure Ice:

The name is pretty descriptive already since it’s highly related to her ability, but what stands out the most is the Lin Kuei symbol on it, again, this mask is another that pays homage to her origins and how her destiny is tied with the clan she wants to rule over.

I would continue with her frozen cores but the issue is that the names they have are too specific and related with the origins of her technology so it is not exactly what I’m intended to talk about (and the names are also kinda confusing if you ask me).

[umbralich]

Never ending survey

RULES: Repost, do not reblog. Tag 10 blogs!

Tagged by: @lareine-kira and @paleshadeofrose

Tagging: @hangedemperor , @istolin , @maximiloix , @trahja-tia , @eorzeasfrozenknight , @charm-in-spades , @thorcatte , @haila-wetyios , @a-sharlayan-abroad

---

BASICS.

FULL NAME: Varg Blacksoul, formerly Timur Oronir NICKNAME: Varg-Varg (given by Lareine), Stiffy and Grumpy (given by Silke) AGE:  54 BIRTHDAY:  9th sun of the 1st astral moon ETHNIC GROUP: Xaela Au Ra NATIONALITY: Othard, Ishgard LANGUAGE/S: Common, xaelic, ishgardian SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Demisexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Biromantic RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single and not looking for company. HOME TOWN / AREA:  Dawn Throne, Azim Steppe CURRENT HOME:  Pillars, Ishgard PROFESSION: Paladin, medic/healer at Ishgard’s service.

PHYSICAL.

HAIR: Long and silvery grey. EYES: Black with white limbal rings, small irises. FACE: Angular features, long nose, high cheekbones. LIPS: Narrow, often cracked, slightly darker than his usual skin color. COMPLEXION: Grayish purple BLEMISHES: Dark circles SCARS: Lots of scars which he keeps hidden at all times. Two thick, long ones are visible and almost go across his right eye. TATTOOS: No tattoos. HEIGHT:  210cm WEIGHT: Slightly underweight BUILD: Slender but masculine, somewhat toned. FEATURES: Black markings around eyes, and naturally thick, black claws. ALLERGIES: None USUAL HAIR STYLE: At work or formal meetings it’s combed back either completely or with some locks on his temples left loose. In more casual situations he mostly just lets it be. USUAL FACE LOOK: Calm, focused, narrowed eyes. USUAL CLOTHING:  Full, dignified heavy armor or parts of it combined with a long coat, formal robes, jodhpurs, vests, blouses and high-heeled boots.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR/S: Imprisonment, being held or tied down, physical pain, betrayal. ASPIRATION/S: To be successful, self-sufficient and powerful until the end, to bring as many as possible wrongdoers to justice, to find an heir, and catch people still on the loose who managed to escape his revenge long ago.

POSITIVE TRAITS: He keeps his word, doesn’t leave things unfinished, is a good motivator for slackers, aims for high-quality results in everything, is reasonable and logical.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Insensible towards most of people, logic always comes before his own or other people’s feelings, very straightforward, capable of cruelty if necessary.

TEMPERAMENT: Calm SOUL TYPE/S: Thinker ANIMALS: Gray wolf

VICE HABIT/S: Smoking. He hates it, but it’s the least harmful thing that calms his nerves down, and he’s addicted. He tries to limit it though, and use it only in worst occasions, since he doesn’t want the side effects affecting his health or work. If things get especially grim, he also has full stashes of potent liquor and intravenous sedatives.

FAITH: Science usually comes first, but he’s also spiritual in some way. It’s one of those topics he doesn’t discuss with anyone. Some of his duties include working as a cleric, so it may have something to do with Halone. Or then it doesn’t, and it’s just another job.

GHOSTS?: Has seen them with his own eyes so can’t deny their existence. AFTERLIFE?: He hopes it exists, for reasons. REINCARNATION?: It’s a possibility.

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Generally neutral, but on demand would choose the side of underdogs: ignoble, the poor and the sick, minors etc. Wouldn’t show his alignment publicly if it was a threat to himself. Would also pretend to be supporting the oppressor, only trying to sabotage their work at every opportunity. Even I’m not sure would he actually die for anyone else or some common cause. He has fled once to save his own hide and he could do it again. Knows main points of what’s going on and where around the world for the sake of common knowledge, but is only interested in topics that concern himself. Has been a target for racists since arriving to Ishgard as a teenager, so he despises them from the bottom of his heart.

EDUCATION LEVEL: Learned

FAMILY.

FATHER : Not relevant MOTHER :  Not relevant SIBLINGS : None that he knows of EXTENDED FAMILY: Iris Ymir (patient and protege) and Arsene Dreadeois (butler)

NAME MEANING/S:

Timur is a Turkic and Mongolic name which literally means iron. In Indonesian, timur translates to east and symbolizes hope by the rising sun.

All members of the Oronir tribe believe themselves to be direct descendants of Azim, the tribe's god of the sun.

Varg is wolf in swedish. Varg was also originally a nickname given by his friends at the Steppe. It was the only thing he kept after starting his new life in Ishgard and severing his ties with his homeland.

Blacksoul was given by his comrades in the army for being so ruthless towards enemies - both the ones on the battlefield and the ones captured.

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: None

FAVORITES.

BOOK:  Science, mythology, swordplay, alchemy, etc. Everything that has something to do with his work or hobbies. DEITY: Halone seems to share most of his values. HOLIDAY: Doesn’t celebrate any. MONTH: September and October. There isn’t many little things in life he gets pleasure from, but fall colors is one of them. SEASON: Fall and winter. PLACE: His estate, cathedrals, libraries and forges. WEATHER: Thick fog, rain and sunshine at the same time. SOUND/S: Fire, rain and musical instruments when someone who actually knows what they’re doing plays them. SCENT/S: Herbs, iron, parchment. TASTE/S:  Whisky, tea, whatever Arsene makes. FEEL/S:  Clean clothes, heat radiating from a fireplace. ANIMAL/S:  Doesn’t like animals except for his chocobo, Mori. NUMBER: Doesn’t care about numbers. COLORS: White, black, blood red, gold, silver.

EXTRA.

TALENTS: Accuracy of a chirurgeon, skillful with swords, managing to define a goal fast in any kind of surprising situation and being very patient and stubborn at achieving it.  BAD AT: Admitting he has weaknesses, comforting people, having fun, small talk, relaxing. HOBBIES: Reading, studying, weapon maintenance, alchemy. TROPES: Antihero, tragic hero and mad scientist. Definitely could also be a villain. Depends on whom you ask.

QUOTES:

“Since you seem to be so worried of my… customers, perhaps I should take you along the next time I interrogate them. You would see with your own eyes what kind of delicate, exquisite and misunderstood individuals they are, when they spit on you, mock their victims and brag about the amount of people they have raped or murdered.”

“Today it happens. Make sure she is out of here before I return tonight. I am no longer even sure which one of them is the worse one.”

“It was a mere procedure. If procedures were considered intimate, I would be close friends with half of Ishgard by now.”

“Do tell me... If you work as much as you claim, how come you are always broke when we meet?”

“Very well. Play something for me. Let us see are you a man of your word.”

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 :  If you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?          

A1 :  He’s been busy sticking his spoon into so many soups during his life that you could probably make a trilogy of his fooleries feats. The first part would tell about his early life in Azim Steppe and how he was forced to leave from there, the second part about how he found his soulmate and adapted to his new life in Ishgard, and how it all eventually ended up into a shitstorm, and the third one would be the current storyline. No clue about the name, though. The Soulforge would be perfect but too bad it’s taken.

Q2 :  What would their soundtrack/score sound like?          

A2 : Bloodborne, Dark Souls and Amnesia the Dark Descent OSTs are absolutely the closest ones you could get to Varg. Orchestral, choir, bowed string instruments, both epic and monstrous. Even if there were more peaceful pieces here and there, while listening to them you’d still have that same feeling of dread you used to have while playing the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill games and finding a safe room: you just barely escaped death but can’t stay in the safe haven forever.

Q3 : Why did you start writing this character?          

A3 : He’s quite different compared to my Forsaken shadow priestess in WoW, whom I used to RP for... two or three years? Long story short: I wanted something else for a change. I also used to have an old Forsaken death knight, who was a lot more similar to Varg, but he was more evil. He existed pretty much only for occasions when someone needed a true villain for some plot. He was funny however and I always thought it was a pity I didn’t get chances to RP him more often.

Q4 : What first attracted you to this character?          

A4 : He’s a mixture of four different OCs of mine, with a bit of his original spice ofc. One of them came into being in, uh, somewhat obscure conditions. Kept seeing him in my dreams when I was a kid, and he became one of my imaginary friends I used to have back then. And not just one of the many, but the closest one. Also generally in entertainment I couldn’t care less about Lukes and Frodos. Villains, tragic heroes and the like are my thing. They’re usually the most multilayered and interesting characters.

Q5 : Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.

A5 : Perfectionism. I’m similar and it sometimes drives me nuts to watch him neglecting himself while trying to achieve perfection. If I could physically talk to him I would go and slap him and be like “EAT. SLEEP. YES THE THING IS GOOD ENOUGH ALREADY. LEAVE IT.”

Q6 :  What do you have in common with your muse?          

A6 :  Well, already kind of answered this one, but wait, there’s more: insomnia, nightmares, PTSD, misanthropy and cynicism come to mind first. And booze. How could I almost forget booze? I believe I know what misery is so I’m good at RPing miserable characters and make them look as authentic as possible. *lols like Alcyone from Magic Knight Rayearth* We both also have a strong sense of justice and nonexistent sympathy for those who use others as stepping stones. Aye I know, sounds a lot like a self-insert character, but it’s not like that. It’s more like... before meeting him/the OCs he’s based on, I used to be quite a scentless and tasteless kid. Similarities and peer support attract. And I’ve also learned from him.

It’s also a lot like me and Lareine. We became friends because we had 95% of the same interests and problems but perhaps that’s why we get along so well and understand each other.

Q7 :  How does  your muse feel about  you?          

A7 :  He would probably hate and like me at the same time. Or couldn’t decide. We both like peace and quiet, doing our job well is fundamental and our basic values are pretty much the same. We would get along well if we worked in the same place. However, unlike him, I have some horrid procrastination seasons, crippling self-esteem issues, tend to put other people’s needs and opinions above my own and keep stressing about things for 7 billion souls instead of just myself. I’m suspicious of pretty much everything else except Lareine and our plushie crow Agatha, except that Agatha creeps me out sometimes as well when she takes out a knife and sits next to my bed at night, staring at me, can’t watch Hachiko without bawling my eyes out during the entire movie, love puppies and kittens and danger noodles and I’m addicted to video games. Very likely he’d kick me out as well.

Q8 :  What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with?        

A8 : Varg would never admit it to himself, but I think he gets best along with people who are a bit silly in some way, and who get on his nerves by being too carefree and doing stupid things. Lareine and Iris, when they’re behaving. Arsene, who’s kind at everyone. Currently Shaura is my favorite. Varg himself is so uptight people like them help breaking his gray routines. Also a bonus: he doesn’t see them as a threat, so that’s probably the closest he’s able to get to relaxing among other people.

Q9 :  What gives you inspiration to write your muse?        

A9 : I’m a fan of my own characters. It doesn’t feel like I would’ve created them. I saw them with my third eye or something and I’ve just written for others to read what I’ve seen. I don’t plan RPs beforehand. I just let the hound loose and let him do whatever he wants. So far I haven’t got tired of my characters’ antics and could just write more. The only obstacles are limited hours per day, necessary evils like eating and sleeping, procrastination, trying to sort out my life, and the damn FFXIV. SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE IT OUT OF MY HANDS.

Q10 : How long did this take you to complete?          

A10 : Ehh, maybe 4-5 hours.

[mermaidsirennikita]

this feels like a dumb question but was dany's downfall an example of sexism on the show? like do i just not get it, why is everyone so dead-set on calling it sexism? to be clear i absolutely do not want to give d&d very much credit cause they've made some pretty gross choices before, and i get that its f'ed up to be killed by a significant other,but is the descent into madness plot sexist or do her fans just not like it?(terrible writing/execution put aside, one thing at a time here)

Not a dumb question at all!

You’re right to be confused about why everyone is calling it sexism.  Sexism is one of those things, in my opinion, that is diminished to a degree when people use it as a catch-all.  You can’t say that something is sexist because it portrays a woman in a bad light, or in the light you don’t want.  (Because I think that if only there was a better pacing this season–if we’d had time to revel in Dany’s villain and if Emilia PLAYED it the way she should have instead of being upset about not playing the hero–Dany would have been a fantastic villain.  There’s a value in that, and a power in great female villains.  Cersei is one of the show’s greatest characters, and a huge credit to Lena Headey–she’ll be remembered over plenty of “good” women on the show.)  

Fans just don’t like it, and I think that even if the pacing and writing had been better, a considerable portion of people who are upset now would have been upset.  Some are genuinely mostly annoyed by the writing and execution, but when you focus on sexism without acknowledging or in fact actively defending the reasons why lots of critics have taken issue with the white saviorism of Dany’s character…  I’m gonna doubt that you’re really up in arms about misogyny.  People are using sexism as a way to shut down the argument.  If it’s sexist, it’s automatically bad.  I actually REALLY hate this take, because guess what–I love a good descent into villainy.  I love the tropes of the feminine descent into madness, and I don’t think that using them is inherently bad if it’s done well and if it EXAMINES what is happening.  (And Dany didn’t go mad, in my opinion–she had something of a meltdown, but she was never delusional to the extent that her father was.  Viserys was more actively mad than Dany, and his final scene, provoking Drogo in a totally irrational way, illustrates that.  For Dany, this was lashing out.  Killing innocent people was rational to her, because she did rationalize it–as collateral damage.  She was never risking herself or those she directly cared about.  She’d already won.  I don’t see anything psychotic or delusional or even irrational there, she’s just a shitty person.)

Revealing that a woman who was always set up to be entitled, to have a fanatical belief in herself–THAT SHE ATTESTS TO IN ACTUAL DIALOGUE!!!–believes so fervently in her own divine cause that she’s willing to kill for it… is not sexist.  It means that Dany is willing to go further than some of her fans wanted to believe.  Sure.   But that’s not sexist.  In fact, we saw a male character do much of the same thing; Stannis also did something incredibly horrible because of his fervent belief in himself and his right to the throne.  Dany got a faaaar more sympathetic edit than Stannis, so I don’t really see how she’s being vilified because she’s a woman.  People are trying to say that men on the show get a pass that she didn’t, and I just… don’t see it.  

I’d argue that it’s actually kind of sexist to suggest that you shouldn’t write women as tyrants, shouldn’t write them as entitled and paranoid and prone to slaughter.  Like you said, this was not a well-written or well-executed turn, but as a turn it’s not bad.

And Jon killing Dany…  Listen, whatever.  I’m not going to sit there and act like the dramatic slaying of a tyrant at the hands of their lover is akin to real-life domestic violence.  For one thing, the act of stabbing someone as you’re making out with them is literally this fantastical artistic visual trope.  For another, it had a lot less to do with Dany being killed by her love than it had to with Dany, the final great threat of the show, being killed by someone who was prophesied to Do A Big Thing.  She didn’t die to further Jon’s character development.  She didn’t die in this sexualized manner–if their chemistry was better, it would read as tragically as it should have and everyone would love it.  It’s about both of them fulfilling their destinies.  She fulfilled hers–the prophecy she saw in the House of the Undying.  So now Jon must fulfill the destiny that was prophesied for him, the reason he wasn’t allowed to die.

I wish I’d written this better, but these are my thoughts.  I mean, really–how about people focus on the actual cases of sexism and misogyny on the show, because I didn’t see this much outrage when Sansa spent an entire season getting sexually assaulted.  Nor did people seem all that concerned when Margaery was turned into a weird sexual predator because the writers wanted sex jokes and an opportunity to make the most of Natalie Dormer’s sex appeal.

[commentaryvorg]

Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 4.17

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time, in the first half of trial 4’s conclusion, Alter Ego Gonta confessed about his motive (most of it) which Kokichi very much manipulated him into having and acting on even though nobody realises it, Kaito struggled to understand Gonta’s despair while still also trying to understand Kokichi, Gonta was the loveliest who had even managed to get through to Kokichi somewhat (but not nearly enough), Kokichi got closer than he’s ever been to showing how he really feels while still noping out of taking any responsibility for murdering anyone… and Gonta went to fluffy bug heaven. Shush, he did, that’s definitely what happened.

Tsumugi:  *sob*… *sob*…

Himiko:  “Waaaaaaaaaaah! Gooontaaa!”

Kaito:  “Dammit! Why did it turn out like this!?”

Shuichi:  “…”

Kaito is the only one out of these four who isn’t crying. Now, granted, Kaito is one of only a handful of characters who don’t have any sprites in which they’re crying that could show this, but given that there’s going to be some illustrations of him soon, if the writers wanted to show that he’s crying, they could put it in those, like they did in chapter 1 in the one where he punched Shuichi. They don’t, so he isn’t.

And so it’s pretty notable that Kaito doesn’t cry here even though he is definitely in more emotional pain right now than he’s ever been. He was… “willing” isn’t exactly the right word, but he didn’t manage to stop himself from crying on those previous occasions at the end of trial 1 and trial 3. He was probably reasonably accepting of those because everyone else was crying too. But this time, despite still being surrounded by other people crying, Kaito is more determined than ever before to stop himself from joining them. He cannot and must not show any kind of weakness right now.

Maki:  “Hey, Kokichi… why don’t you tell us now? What is the secret of the outside world? If we don’t know it, then we won’t be able to understand or accept it.”

Even though Maki’s emotionally jaded enough that she’s not crying over this, she still is being affected by it and wants to understand so that she can accept it, just like everyone else!

Kokichi:  “…”

Kaito:  “Kokichi, if you really cared for Gonta, explain yourself to everyone and—”

Kaito is still willing to accept the interpretation that Kokichi is a somewhat decent person even after seeing Gonta die horribly because of him! I would absolutely not put it past Kaito’s intuition to have picked up on the fact that somewhere deep down Kokichi did truly care about Gonta on some level. Even now, even through all of his anger towards Kokichi and all of his own suffering, Kaito has not stopped trying to get through to Kokichi and get him to admit how he really feels about everything. God, Kaito is so good.

And remember that Kokichi has been targeting Kaito in particular throughout this, so Kaito would have every reason not to want to reach out to Kokichi simply out of personal spite. But of course Kaito wouldn’t ever be like that. This is the very opposite of Kokichi’s petty vindictiveness.

Kokichi:  “I don’t… want to…”

This one line before he starts his big act could be somewhat genuine, in that it’s Kokichi not wanting to face up to any of the pain he’s in and admit that it’s all his fault. This moment right here is Kokichi’s big chance to finally turn things around, show remorse for everything and start to work on becoming a better person. But… he doesn’t want to. Because admitting to everything in the first place in order to be able to change would be incredibly painful, and he’s too much of a coward to ever face that.

Kokichi:  “Ah-hahahaha! Oh man, did you fall for all that fake crying!? You’re so dumb! I would never cry for Gonta!”

Yup, it was definitely all just a lie, you keep telling yourself that. You tell yourself that even harder than you’ve ever told yourself anything like that before.

Kokichi:  “If I said the actual truth back there, Gonta would’ve been reeeeal mad! That would’ve interfered with the game, so I simply lied to calm him down. …See? As long as you lie for a good purpose, right?”

I’m also willing to believe that actually the main reason Kokichi never told Gonta the truth (you know, about Kokichi having deliberately ruined the plan himself and got Gonta killed) was because he felt bad enough about the way Gonta was feeling that he couldn’t bear to make Gonta suffer any more than he already was at that point. This would be the one time Kokichi genuinely did something out of concern for another’s feelings… but it’s still primarily to protect his own feelings on the matter, and it still doesn’t change the fact that he caused all of Gonta’s suffering and his death in the first place.

And now, of course, he’s telling himself that this is the real reason he lied because obviously he didn’t care about Gonta one bit and isn’t in any pain at all and so it totally doesn’t matter that everything that happened to Gonta is his fault.

Kokichi:  “C’mon, think about it. If I actually wanted to save everyone, like what Gonta did… I wouldn’t have betrayed Gonta. You should’ve realized that.”

Everyone should realise that. This is even explicitly pointed out here for anyone who’s forgotten that he did that back in the trial.

Kokichi:  “Who cares about that idiot!?”

Yeah, definitely not you, right? Gonta definitely wasn’t the one person you actually kinda sorta slightly cared about (completely irrelevant probable crush on Shuichi notwithstanding because it’s completely irrelevant), of course not!

Kokichi:  “I wanna enjoy this game filled with suspicion and betrayal from the bottom of my heart!”

Aside from the bottom of his heart part, this is technically not a lie. He may not truly enjoy it, but he really desperately wants to enjoy it so that he doesn’t have to suffer like he is doing. And in the process of him trying as hard as he can to enjoy it despite how fucked up he knows that is, he deliberately caused this whole tragic mess here.

Kokichi:  “The more you suffer, the more I enjoy it. There are people in this world who spread grief and misery for no reason than the thrill of it! And I’m one of those people. Nothing pleases me more than inflicting pain on others!”

So. Just as Kokichi’s stance prior to the execution (that he wanted the mercy kill) was mostly a huge lie but had a certain grain of truth to it (that he was genuinely upset about Gonta on some level), this one is the same. It is mostly a huge lie for the sake of his plan, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still true, on a much less extreme level than he’s claiming, that he does enjoy most people’s suffering. His organisation exists to do basically a lesser version of this; it’s not nearly “grief and misery”, but pranking people who aren’t on board with the possibility of being pranked causes them inconvenience and frustration and general mishmash of largely harmless but still mostly negative emotions that Kokichi and his goons get a kick out of. Him constantly being an unnecessary dick to everyone and literally bullying Keebo among other things, while not quite the same thing as pranking them, is still also that. And then there’s him having spent basically this entire case trying to jab at Kaito where he’s vulnerable and hurt him for no reason other than him being a “fun” target and probably some petty vindictiveness over their clash of values, because, as I mentioned, he went about it far too subtly for it to be for the purpose of backing up this lie here. This killing game may have twisted Kokichi to make him a lot worse than otherwise, but he was always this kind of person on some minor level.

Kaito:  “S-Seriously… Who the hell do you think you are?”

I wonder if Kaito can tell that this is mostly a lie and is only angry because he hates that Kokichi would even tell a lie like that in the first place. I wonder.

Maki:  “So… for your own entertainment, you sacrificed Miu and Gonta?”

Kokichi:  “What’s so bad about that? You kill people for money… right, Maki Roll?”

Maki tries to make it clear that he killed Miu and Gonta, and nope, even now that he’s putting on this act where he’s the kind of evil person who would happily do something like that, Kokichi deflects the fuck out of it and dodges actually acknowledging his responsibility in their deaths at all.

Maki:  “Someone like you has no right to call me Maki Roll…”

Implying someone not like Kokichi does have the right to call her that! Implying that she’s started to like that nickname and is happy that Kaito gave it to her! Aww.

Kokichi:  “Nee-heehee… you look so much better with a scowl on your face, Maki Roll.”

Why? Because then it’s easier for you to tell yourself that she’s just a horrible murderous assassin and not an actual person whom Kaito was right about all along?

Kokichi:  “But hey, you guys are just waaay too trusting. If only you had suspected me more, then… Miu and Gonta wouldn’t have died such meaningless deaths!”

Nobody ever trusted you! They already suspected you plenty! Kaito spent the entirety of the trip to the Virtual World on super high alert about you and only didn’t manage to stop you because he trusted Gonta!

Kokichi is s t i l l trying to shove his idea that trusting people is idiotic down everyone’s throats, even though actually everybody had a perfectly reasonable amount of trust for the appropriate people – namely, plenty of trust for everyone who wasn’t Kokichi or Miu, and barely any trust at all for those two. He would do a better job of making his point here if he also argued that everyone should have suspected Gonta more and kept more of an eye on him in the Virtual World – I guess he’s not trying to do that at this point because he’s too busy with his lie that he’s super evil and so he needs to focus everything on himself? (Or because he actually feels sort of bad about betrayal-related things when Gonta is involved, both on his end and hypothetically on Gonta’s end, and doesn’t want to think about that.)

And of course he’s trying to make it seem like the two deaths are everyone else’s fault for being too trusting, not at all his own fault for deliberately choosing to be the kind of untrustworthy murderous asshole who is exactly the reason it is sometimes wise to be suspicious of others in the first place.

Kaito:  “M-Meaningless deaths!?”

(Kaito screamed and sprinted up to Kokichi like a bullet…)

It is absolutely delightful that this is the line that sets Kaito off into an uncontrollable rage of lashing out at Kokichi with violence. Because Kaito has spent this entire chapter terrified of dying a meaningless death himself.

It’s especially bad given that Gonta had been desperately trying to help everyone despite how weak and useless he was feeling, which is exactly how Kaito also felt, and he definitely picked up on that similarity. Yet Gonta’s attempts to be a hero ultimately ended up in nothing but tragic failure and meaningless death – as if all of his efforts meant nothing in the first place, as if losing pointlessly like this is the only possible fate waiting for any pathetic wannabe hero who has no idea what he’s doing – and Kaito cannot bear that thought at all.

(I also like how the narration describes him as screaming. Normally Kaito’s loud outbursts would just be called “yelling”, but this time there is a lot more raw, desperate anguish to it than that.)

Kokichi:  “Oops, sorry! I tried to dodge you… but I punched you instead.”

Yeah, that totally wasn’t 100% on purpose or anything.

Kaito:  “Y-You…!”

Kokichi:  “By the way, Kaito, is it just me…? Or are you waaay slower?”

Kaito:  “Ah…”

Kokichi:  “Maybe, just maybe… Kaito is hiding something from us, too.”

Not only did Kokichi’s punch probably hit Kaito exactly where he’s literally, physically vulnerable and exacerbate his illness, Kokichi now just made it clear that he knows. Kaito is panicking, because he absolutely cannot let anyone know about this, especially not Shuichi, especially not now.

Kokichi probably picked up on Kaito’s illness back in this chapter’s Daily Life during one of the times Kaito was chasing him around. If he wanted to reveal it to everyone because he wanted to help, he’d have done it sooner – but instead, he deliberately sat on the info and saved it for the moment when it would cause Kaito the most pain possible to have it revealed. At this point, now that Kokichi’s pointedly pretending to be the evilest most sadistic, there’s always the argument that he’s only causing Kaito pain here to help back up that lie, but come on – when he was already subtly trying to hurt Kaito so much throughout this case, this is just the final stage of that and not about his big lie at all.

Maki:  “Kaito! Are you okay!?”

This is the first time in the game we hear Maki’s voice clip of desperately yelling Kaito’s name, which is A Good. I am very pleased that there are multiple moments of Maki being this frantically, openly worried about him, in this chapter and the next, that we get to hear this voice clip several times.

Maki:  “You… really want to die, don’t you!?”

I also love that this is the first time we see Maki’s fiercest sprite! She’s always had a hell of a death glare, but this is the first time we’ve seen the full extent of how terrifying she can be, and it’s when it’s well and truly on our side and being used to defend those she cares about. It’s a great moment. Taking her catchphrase and using it 100% seriously is a pretty neat subversion, too.

Kokichi:  “Maki wouldn’t lose her cool for a guy like Kaito. He’s waaaay too pathetic. He’s all bark and no bite.”

And yet, Maki just did lose her cool on his behalf, so no, Kokichi, your attempt to rub in Kaito’s feelings of being pathetic and worthless isn’t going to work so well this time because Maki clearly thinks otherwise.

(I don’t think Kaito’s really registering this, though, because he’s too busy panicking over the fact that oh god he’s going to cough up blood in front of everyone and they’re all going to see. He doesn’t say anything at all between getting punched and when Kokichi leaves.)

Kokichi:  “Let’s face it. The Ultimate Astronaut is just a trainee anywa—”

And the Ultimate Supreme Leader is just a fucking clown, what’s your point.

(No one cared what he had to say anymore. They all rushed to Kaito’s side.)

Tsumugi:  “Kaito, are you hurt!?”

Keebo:  “Can you stand? Do you need to lean on my shoulder?”

Himiko:  “S-Sorry! My MP’s at zero, so I can’t use any recovery magic!”

I love that this is here to show that it’s not just his sidekicks – everyone here except Kokichi cares about Kaito and is worried when he’s hurt. And while it’s lovely that they’re doing this, Kaito probably hates the fact that he’s being so obviously weak right now that everyone is rushing to support him. He’s not supposed to need support! He’s supposed to be the hero!

Kokichi:  “Hey… why are you all so worried about this pathetic gu—”

Shuichi:  “Pathetic? Look at yourself, Kokichi.”

Kokichi:  “…What?”

Shuichi:  “Kaito always has us by his side, see? But no one wants to be around you. You’re alone, Kokichi. And you always will be.”

With how many times Kokichi has been annoyingly self-righteous about something that he’s blatantly either wrong or being a hypocrite about, it’s quite refreshing to have someone actually call him out on that for once and shut him right down. Kokichi brought this upon himself. Everyone cares about Kaito because he’s always cared about everyone else. Nobody cares about Kokichi because he’s done everything to not deserve it, especially now that he’s killed two people for no good reason and is showing no remorse. Shuichi’s not calling him pathetic because he’s alone, but because he’s deliberately choosing to be a person who will always end up alone.

Kokichi:  “Ah-haha! You’re talking about friends? Friends don’t make this game more entert— … Geez, boooring. I’m no longer interested. I don’t care anymore…”

(Friends clearly do make this game more entertaining for us in the audience, you know.)

I think this is another instance of the vaguely decent person inside Kokichi having a moment of control and making him pause, before the rest of him brushes it off and changes the subject (obviously if it’s something that makes him feel bad then it’s just boring, right, not actually painful). Apparently he does kind of regret not having friends on some level when faced with how much everyone cares about Kaito. But it’s still absolutely his own fault and is now basically too late to change.

…I mean, not completely too late. If he genuinely broke down and showed remorse, apologised for everything and asked for a second chance to try and do better, you know who’d be the first person to acknowledge that and give him that chance? Kaito. Despite everything Kokichi’s done, Kaito would not hesitate if he saw that Kokichi really wanted to change. But Kaito can only help people who want to help themselves, and Kokichi does not even remotely want to help himself.

Kokichi:  “But, I will tell you this… The one who will win this game… is me.”

So instead Kokichi just clings to the thing he’s been fixated on this whole time because at least if he does that then it’ll make everything worth it, right? (It won’t, at all; hello, sunk cost fallacy. And that’s even if his plan did succeed, which it’s not going to.)

Kaito:  “Grh… Uuugh…”

Shuichi:  “Hey, Kaito…?”

Maki:  “You don’t look well… It didn’t seem like he punched you that hard, but…”

Maki was being furiously worried about Kaito this whole time even though she knew Kokichi’s punch wasn’t that bad. So apparently she could already tell that Kaito was in a lot more pain from it than he should have been.

Kaito:  “I-I’m okay… It’s fine…”

Oh, Kaito. You are not convincing anyone right now.

Himiko:  “Don’t push yourself. You should lie down and—”

Kaito:  “I s-said I’m… fine…”

Kaito is especially insistent about this when someone else is trying to tell him to take it easy and rest, because needing to do that would mean he’s weak and he can’t be weak (not in front of Shuichi, not after everything in the trial that already proved he is).

(Kaito tried to get up, but…)

Kaito:  “Urgh!”

(Kaito doubled over, his knees gave out, and he collapsed hard…)

Kaito:  *cough* *cough, cough*

And it seems like the reason his body finally betrayed him and started coughing blood, the thing he’d been most desperate to avoid, is because he pushed himself too hard and tried to stand up by himself when he didn’t have the strength for it. Kaito’s furious need to appear as if he’s perfectly strong on his own is delightfully self-destructive, both on an emotional level during the trial, and on a physical level right here.

Apart from the fact that Kaito should actually be on the floor and not standing up because the narration just described him collapsing, this illustration is delightful. Kaito looks so freaked out, not over the fact that he’s coughing up blood, but over the fact that everyone can see it. If it were the former, he’d be staring at the blood in his hand – but instead he’s staring at Maki, because to him the worst part of this is her reaction.

(And it’s Maki and not Shuichi he’s staring at, even though he’d be at least as freaked out about Shuichi’s reaction to this, because I doubt he’s wanted to look Shuichi in the eye since a while before the vote.)

Tsumugi:  “Blood!? Why!? What’s the matter, Kaito!?”

I don’t know, Tsumugi, why don’t *you* tell us exactly what the fucking matter is.

Kaito:  “C’mon… Don’t freak out over this… It’s nothing… My… cold just got worse is all…”

Stop freaking out about it, guys. Nobody is supposed to ever worry about Kaito. That’s not how this works.

Keebo:  “I didn’t know that coughing up blood was a cold symptom!”

Kaito:  “You’re a robot and you don’t know that? I’m saying it’s fine. Just… chill.”

Kaito’s line is probably a little awkwardly translated here since he makes it sound like Keebo ought to know about colds due to being a robot, when that doesn’t make much sense. What I imagine he’s supposed to be saying is “you’re a robot so of course you wouldn’t know that coughing up blood is totally a legitimate cold symptom (please don’t contradict me on this guys)”.

Kaito:  “I just… coughed too much and cut my throat or something… I dunno…”

I love that last “I dunno” and the way Kaito’s voice wavers during it. He knows full well that everyone can tell this is an obvious, pathetic excuse he just made up on the spot. It is exactly as bad as it looks, and he’s feeling so trapped by his inability to convincingly hide it.

Kaito:  “Y-Yeah, that’s it… I just need a drink of water…”

He’s saying “yeah, that’s it”, like he’s telling himself that yes, this obvious lie about cutting his throat is totally the real truth and everyone should buy it, right??? Or he’s telling himself that about the idea that just getting a drink of water will totally fix everything and then they can all stop worrying about him and everything will be fine. I’m sure he does need a drink of water, but he also needs a lot more than just that to ever be okay.

Kaito:  “Sorry, but… I’m… gonna head back to my room…”

He’s apologising. Of course he is; he’s showing weakness and making everyone worry about him. Even if it’s not his fault, how could he not apologise for that?

And while needing a drink of water is a convenient excuse, the real reason he wants to go straight to his room is that he just wants to get out of here. Every moment he spends here is a moment he’s letting everybody see how weak and pathetic he really is, since he doesn’t have the strength to convince them otherwise right now. He can’t handle that and just wants it to stop before it gets any worse, to get himself behind closed doors where it won’t matter how weak he is because nobody will be able to see him.

Shuichi:  “Okay, I’ll go with—”

Kaito:  “Don’t follow me!!!”

Shuichi:  “…What!?”

Kaito:  “I can walk on my own. I don’t need your help… Shuichi.”

Shuichi, the hero that he is, reaches out to Kaito and offers to help and support him – and Kaito cannot let that happen. Even though Shuichi only said he’d walk with him, from the fact that Kaito insisted he can walk on his own and doesn’t need help, it seems he was picturing Shuichi physically supporting him as he walked back (which means he probably actually does need that, really). Kaito can’t bear such an obvious, literal representation of who’s really the one in need of support here, especially not when it’s from Shuichi, the person who was supposed to be his sidekick and need his support and yet now he’s completely outshining Kaito and leaving him in the dust. He can’t need Shuichi’s help.

It might seem at first glance like Kaito pushing Shuichi away here is about him still being angry over Gonta’s death, but like everything else in this trial, it’s got very little to do with that and everything to do with Shuichi being stronger than him.

Also, fun fact about the original Japanese! Remember how I mentioned when they became friends that Japanese-Kaito started calling Shuichi by his given name and not his surname as a sign of close friendship? He’s been consistently doing that this whole time – but in this line right here, he calls him “Saihara”, making this moment even more painful. It’s a shame that the localisation cannot get that same nuance across – Kaito only sometimes calls him “bro” in English because doing so all the time would sound ridiculous, so not using that word here doesn’t mean anything – but I do like that they kept the highlighted text on Shuichi’s name, hinting that there’s a lot more harshness in Kaito’s voice as he says it here than there ever usually is. It’s that that made me think “huh, I bet I know what this was in Japanese” and confirm it.

(Kaito staggered off.)

Maki:  “… …I’ll go with him. It would be bad if he collapses on the way.”

Someone should, and since he’s refusing to accept any kind of help from Shuichi right now, Maki should definitely be the one to do so. Her face is in shadow as she says this, suggesting she’s a lot more worried than she’s letting on, not just about Kaito’s illness but also about the way he just acted towards Shuichi.

(Also look at how unconvinced she was by his insistence that he can walk on his own.)

Kaito would be somewhat more willing to accept help from Maki here, since she didn’t show herself to be so obviously stronger than him in the trial and he hasn’t done anything to so obviously fail her like he has for Shuichi, but I still can’t imagine he would let her physically support him right now. She probably just walked behind him, close enough to help if he does collapse, but otherwise far enough away to make it look like she just happens to be heading back at the same time as him, since he’s being such a goddamn stubborn idiot about this.

Himiko:  “D-Don’t worry about it, Shuichi. Kaito was just… stressed out, is all.”

Shuichi:  “…”

Aww, Himiko! It’s lovely that she can tell Shuichi was really hurt by being pushed away by Kaito and is trying to help. And she’s basically right, although “stressed out” is one hell of an oversimplification.

(I quite enjoy that it is specifically Himiko who is trying to be understanding about this, for reasons you will learn next chapter.)

Shuichi:  (Why…? Why… did it end up like this?)

Because Kokichi’s a selfish asshole, of course. And because Kaito’s not as strong as you thought. None of this is your fault, Shuichi.

Shuichi:  (I thought… I thought I could help… I wanted us all to survive…)

You did help! Everyone except Gonta survived because of you! Kaito is so upset because you did something amazing under the circumstances, not because you did anything wrong!

Shuichi:  (By trying to survive, we’re just playing the stupid game… Just like Kokichi.)

Those who are simply trying to survive are only forced to play the game once a murder has already happened. Kokichi was playing the game by making a murder happen. So it is still entirely Kokichi’s fault.

Kokichi:  “Yeah, it’s almost time. This should be enough…”

Yeah, I would hope that murdering two people and causing incredible suffering should be enough to convince everyone that he’s evil enough to be the mastermind. I’d hate to imagine what else he’d do if he thought it wasn’t. This was way too fucking much more than enough and he shouldn’t have even done it at all.

Kokichi:  “Now is the time… I’ll end this killing game.”

This is a misleading way of wording it. His primary goal is to “win” the killing game, which happens to involve ending it, since most games are over once somebody has won. If his primary goal were to end the killing game, then he could have already achieved that earlier this chapter in one of two ways – using Miu’s weapons to mount an escape, or showing everyone the outside world so they’ll all fall into despair and stop trying to kill each other and make everything boring.

I mean, he does also want to end the game, since he hates it – that’s not just a meaningless byproduct of winning – but he wants to end it in a way which he considers to be winning it, and nothing else is acceptable.

More of note about this scene than the precise things Kokichi says is the fact that he’s completely alone here. He’s wandering through the courtyard with nobody else in sight – but his mask is still up. It’s not quite the same mask he wore just now while claiming he enjoyed everyone’s suffering, because that part was a conscious lie to fool the others into believing it. But everything else: the idea that he totally didn’t care about Gonta at all, that he definitely didn’t murder anyone, that everything that just happened was all according to plan and exactly what he wanted and he doesn’t regret it one bit – since he’s still telling them here, those lies are primarily for himself. Such lies would have to be mostly told on a subconscious level, so that on the surface he doesn’t properly realise he’s lying and doesn’t have to acknowledge anything at all.

Which I think makes a noteworthy contrast from the kind of lies that Kaito’s been telling this chapter and were also nearly laid bare at the end of this trial. Kaito’s lies are almost entirely for the benefit of the people around him, so that they don’t worry about him and he can still inspire them. Which means that Kaito’s lies are on a much more conscious level than Kokichi’s. Beneath the mask he’s putting on for the sake of others, he’d be able to at least somewhat acknowledge how he’s really feeling, even if he’d still hate doing so. This turn of events would just have forced Kaito to face those feelings of fear and helplessness on a greater level than he’d ever done before – and he’d have a much harder time stopping himself from doing that when he’s alone and doesn’t have anyone he needs to lie to.

The end of this chapter features both Kaito and Kokichi being forced into a stark realisation of how they really feel about their place in this situation… and then both of them ultimately decide to ignore it and persist with the façade they’d had the whole time instead of properly admitting to things. But even though that part is the same, they still manage to also be complete opposites in more ways than just the level on which they’re telling their lies. There’s also the direct, obvious contrast in how much of a good idea it is to continue with their lies at all, since Kaito is trying to help everyone, while Kokichi is exploiting everyone for his own gain.

Kaito was stubbornly climbing a mountain and telling himself he could reach the top even though it might really be a bit too steep for him, and halfway up he fell all the way back down and was faced with the realisation that maybe he’s not strong enough to climb it after all. Then he chooses to ignore that and keep climbing anyway, because it’s still better than giving up and sitting at the bottom forever even if it might be impossible for him to ever reach the summit.

Kokichi, meanwhile, was stubbornly digging himself into a hole while telling himself it was a good idea even though it clearly wasn’t, and halfway down he was suddenly hit with the realisation that, oh god, this was in fact a terrible idea, he doesn’t want to be in this hole at all, why did he even do this. Then he chooses to ignore that and keep digging anyway, because that’s easier for him than climbing back out even though he doesn’t really want to be here.

Both are continuing to ignore the reality of their situation and keep lying, but they still couldn’t be more different. There’s so many direct contrasts between Kaito and Kokichi, tied together by a few pointed similarities, which is obviously deliberate on the writers’ part and really quite delightful.

---

[Chapter-end bonus ramble] [Next post]

[dingdongrumba]

Thoughts on Your Turn to Die ch. 2 pt. 1

Wow ok

TL;DR nvm i dont like people dying please someone save these babbies. Also wtf is going on in this place seriously

Alright so wow, Kai’s little backstory there was a surprise, I liked the actual role he was revealed to have in the killing game, especially once you find the laptop again and get the full picture of the emails, I knew he wasn’t a bad guy and it was nice to have that confirmed, if it only made his death a little more tragic. As for Sara’s hallucinations over Joe, hooo boi that is some creepy ass imagery, I think this part had more disturbing pictures than the last two, and Joe was definitely part of the reason. I’m still so sad about him dying :( it pains me to see that creepy, red smiling sprite of his.

The new floor was... interesting, its main schtick being the death attractions was interesting even if I feel like some minigames landed better than others, I think I only died once with the arm wrestling minigame because I’m playing online and it lagged a little bit, but I managed to clear it on my second run. The whole trading token system was... weird, to be honest? The main thing I wanted was to get Sou’s personal information but I didn’t get any of his tokens and I have a feeling that isn’t even possible. Still, I managed to get a bunch of tokens and I bought all 3 of the victim videos, they didn’t seem relevant at all but it’s interesting as some kind of back lore for the game, I wonder if we’ll find out more about the people that didn’t make it past their first trial, some of their designs looked very interesting, especially if you take into account their “occupations” that were written on the papers you find later.

Sou... lmao okay, he’s starting to really get on my fucking nerves now, it was obvious his whole “oh I lost my memory” thing was BS and I saw it a mile away, I also don’t appreciate this manipulation he’s doing over Kanna, and now Q-Taro too it seems. What he did with the phone and Kanna was really really shitty, just for that I’m getting really frustrated at him but I mostly don’t understand why he’s doing all of this, why is he trying to antagonize the rest so hard, I’m not sure what his motivations are. Is he trying to survive? Is he trying to uncover the truth behind the game????? Something else?? Eh, it’ll probably be explained that his actions fall in a much more grey area, but for now he’s a dick lol

On the topic of Q-Taro, it’s interesting that the game is trying to make me dislike him or something, since he gave Sou the laptop and then didn’t try to sacrifice himself for Gin, but to be honest I don’t blame him at all, I think he might just be really weak but that doesn’t make him unlikeable to me. I AM worried about the Gin thing though, I don’t think Gin is going to hold his indecision against him...? But I feel like somebody will, and I really don’t think it’s fair to judge him over that, so I’m concerned about his life for the main game.

Lol another thing i saw coming a mile away was the Reko thing, sadly, I knew it from the moment we got out of the Attraction Room, they’d been talking too much about dolls and AIs up to that point and the glove thing was too suspicious, I immediately knew she wasn’t the real Reko so I wish that could’ve been hidden a little bit better, idk if that was just me though. Having the doll feel like an actual human being was nice though, and I’m glad Nao went in at the end there and pushed her off the edge instead of me, is2g Sara has way too much on her shoulders.

Nao. Was. So. Good. this chapter. I really loved her moment with the Mishima AI at the beginning and I thought that was incredibly brave and strong of hers, she’s becoming a really loveable character for all this growth she’s going through and that’s great but I also feel like she might die soon askdjifgritg

WHY DID ALICE HAVE TO DIE AAAAAAAAAA I’M SO MAD ABOUT THIS!!! I liked him from the start even if he was a little bit of a jerk, I thought his arc with Reko was sweet and I’m so MAD that Reko was interchanged with the doll before Alice had a chance to speak to her about the bongos, that was another thing that made me realize that Reko was fake. I felt so bad for Alice and I’m glad he got a little bit more closure there at the end BUT IT DOESN’T MAKE ME ANY LESS MAD, I WANTED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIM DAMMIT

Oh, Keiji continues to be a little cryptid bitch but I don’t blame him for that, I don’t think he’s a bad guy anymore but obviously he *is* hiding something, his little “leave it to your friendly policeman” line is growing so much on me though, god I love him please don’t let him be a shady asshole I can’t bear much more of this.

Seems like the sage/sacrifice/keymaster thing is gonna keep going, which is interesting cause I thought it’d be a one time thing, oh welp, looks like we’ll have 2 more dead people by the end of this chapter :’) this game kills off characters really quickly jfc

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #65: A Tale of Love. A Squiggle Meister’s Views on the similarities between Oscar and Salem

Someone asked “ Now I love parallels too and I’ve noticed that you would like to see a rosegarden Ozma Salem hand hold. As cute as that sounds, it kinda scares me. Ozma and Salem ended in tragedy. What would happen to Ruby and Oscar 😞 “

Squiggles Answers:

I'd love to see the hand hold scene mirrored in Ruby and Oscar because it was done during a moment where Salem and Ozma reunited and re-established their love for one another.

While Salem and Ozma's romance ended in tragedy, I still adore their love story because before their whole involvement with the Gods respectfully, they both first and foremost were two young lovers who wanted more than anything just to be together forever and went above and beyond to do that even if it meant disobeying the Gods.

The true tragedy wasn't that Ozma and Salem wound up sworn enemies but mainly how much the God's intervention changed them into two people unrecognizable from who they used to be to the point where you wouldn't believe either loved the other to the point of defying both the Gods and death itself to be reunited.

The positive that I take away from the Tragic Lovers or Fairy Tale (I think that’s their ship name) romance is the unyielding devotion and strength of their love or at least what it used to be. How much Salem and Ozma were willing to go through just to be together. Salem approached the Gods to beg for Ozma to be brought back to life for her because she couldn’t stand living the rest of her days without him and Ozma only chose to return to Remnant because the God of Light told him that Salem was still alive in that world. Let’s not forget that Ozma initially refused his godly task because in his eyes, Remnant wasn’t the same or as dear to him without his beloved Salem.

This is why I like this ship so much. Before RWBY revealed Ozpin and Salem’s past together, I was gunning for them to be lovers from the get go. Hence my previous musings like this one, this one and this one. I knew their love was going to end in pain anyways but I was still banking on them being companions and lovers and what we got was even more bittersweet than what I envisioned. A brave knight who rescued a lonely maiden from her captivity and the two fell deeply in love ever after. Who wouldn’t eat that up? This squiggle meister surely would. I’m a sucker for those types of romance stories. It hurts when you think about what Ozma and Salem’s tale became in the end. But I still ship it though. Still loving that Fairy Tale.

That's what I'd love to see and can see for a potential romance between Ruby and Oscar. Not the tragedy part, of course, although let’s admit, it will be in there since time and fate will arrive to challenge the bond between these two smaller, more honest souls given one’s connection to a certain other character.

Nevertheless, what I mostly would love to see in a future RoseGarden love story (if it’s in the cards) is that that unyielding love. That strong devotion to one another’s well-being and protecting each other while fighting together for what they both believe in and the lives of the people they both care about. When I look at Ruby, her righteous heart and desire to help others actually reminds me a lot of Ozma. You would think it’d be Salem but nah. I can actually see similarities between Salem and Oscar. Oscar’s infatuation with Ruby and obvious admiration of her strength, courageousness and pure heart reminds me of how Salem used to revere Ozma. Well…at least in that one shot we got.

Another similarity between Oscar and Past Salem that I noticed is just as how Salem lived a sheltered life trapped in her lonely tower dreaming of freedom and a life beyond its uncharted walls, the same can be said for Oscar who seemingly lived a sheltered and quiet life as a farmhand back on his aunt's farm while still fantasizing of a life beyond his home in Mistral.

The key difference between Salem and Oscar is that Salem was more self-seeking; albeit as a result of her unknown upbringing and being forced to live a lonely life locked off from the rest of the world by the only family she had; whereas Oscar is selfless. While we still don’t know much more about Oscar’s past with his family beyond the few scrapings of details left from V4, one can safely assume that Oscar was well loved and taken care of by his family.

Though he was only seen to have his aunt for guardianship, from what I observed back in V4, Oscar still retained a good relationship with his Auntie Pine who took no problem in taking Oscar into his household, providing him a comfortable home where he could’ve had his own room for privacy and a warm plate of food on the table every evening for supper in exchange for Oscar working on the farm which he didn’t seem to mind. Overall, though he desired more from his life, Oscar was quite comfortable and content living with his aunt hence the reason why he wasn’t so keen on leaving at first after Ozpin’s unceremonious arrival into his life.

Unlike Salem, Oscar more or less knew and felt love before leaving his old life behind which I guess made it all the more easy for him to give it. One characteristic I’ve noticed about Salem’s personality that always shines through, even in her past self, is her selfishness---that nature about her that always puts her desires above anything else.

This is the complete opposite of Oscar. One thing I’ve noticed about Oscar’s personality is that he makes a habit of pushing aside his own feelings in place of doing what he feels is right or better, not particularly for himself but for others around him as a whole.

This is not an entirely bad trait to have. I myself, do the same thing from time to time to avoid conflict or tension with others because I don’t like conflict. Someone once asked me what I thought Oscar’s personality type might be and my first guess was a INFJ. Speaking as someone with that personality type, I see quite a few traits of an INFJ in Oscar. Although I’m still gathering as much as I can about his persona as provided in the series, I’m still sticking with my first choice of Oscar having an advocate/ counsellor type of personality because there are key examples from the show where he’s exhibited that trait. Specifically with Ruby.

Ironically, it’s Oscar’s moments with Ruby that help bring out that caring, compassionate and willing to do what he can to help others type of personality in Oscar the most. Oscar cares for others, particularly with those closest to him. Even when he’s literally backed against a wall, Oscar puts himself last in the scenario.

This is a boy who got shoved into a wall by one of his peers after being wrongfully accused in one scene and is then seen making this person and the others a hot meal after they went looking for him after he went missing in another. 

Y’know, I harped a lot on V6 C9 on how they handled Oscar coming to terms with his feelings. But…y’know what? Now that I’ve had more time to think about the episode in terms of Oscar’s character, I realized that the bit with Oscar is surprisingly the most relatable thing I’ve seen in the show…at least to me.

Blake said the group needed space and that’s exactly what Oscar did. He went off on his own, let out whatever negativity he needed to get off his chest in that moment doing who knows what, came back and by the time the group found him, he was fine. All things forgiven if there was anything to forgive. Whatever lingering discomfort that Oscar might have harboured for Jaune was easily washed away when Jaune apologized and Oscar could see and hear how genuinely remorseful Jaune felt for his actions.

Though I still would’ve liked the episode to have shown how Oscar came to terms with his emotions and getting over it, I can’t be 100% mad anymore at the Writers for choosing to have Oscar adopt that attitude after the events of V6 C8…cause if it were me, I probably would’ve reacted and resolved the same way as Oscar did. I would’ve been cussing Jaune’s face in my mind for how he treated me with a face as straight as a pin but I would have forgiven him all the same after seeing how hurt he was for the things said and done and would have chosen to move on from the problem with better resolve; just as Oscar did.

I saw myself in Oscar while rewatching this moment and for that, I can’t be too mad at the writing for C9. Still mad. But not too mad. Only 65% versus the original 101%.  Oscar Pine--- right in the relatability! That’s why he’s my favourite!  This scene showed me how mature Oscar is for his age in how he takes in problems and decides to address them despite being the youngest of the group. 

Basically what I’m saying is that Oscar is a good boy. He’s such a good boy. Too much of good boy. Sigh. Please don’t hurt my precious freckled baby boy too much CRWBY. I want him to grow up big and strong and devilishly handsome so that he can sweep Ruby off her feet and the rosebuds can get married in 5-10 years and live happily ever after on a farm or whatever plot of land they can afford wherever in New Remnant during a time when the Gods have returned, the kingdoms are at peace again, the Grimm are there but are no longer the monstrous threat they used to be so that Oscar and Ruby’s future string band of children can grow up in a world void of war and the threats of the former Salem who would have moved on to have her happy ending with Ozma at long last in the afterlife. The end.

Returning to my point on Oscar and Salem now. Just as how Ozma arrived to free Salem from her captivity, you can almost say that the same was done for Oscar when Ozpin's arrival sparked his departure from home to become a huntsman. In a way, Ozma’s presence in Salem and Oscar’s lives gave them the push they needed to take the first step towards the freedom and change they both desired.

But as I mentioned before. Though Oscar and Salem share parallels, the defining difference between them is how either values others over themselves. As much as Salem’s past with Ozma made me empathize with her as a villain, it doesn’t excuse the fact that Salem is a person who is mostly out to achieve her own desires above anyone else’s. As a matter of fact, the revelation of her past and involvement with the destruction of Remnant only affirms my point. In her past life, Salem was probably so used to looking out for herself due to her years of isolation that it sort of developed a warped sense of egocentrism (not the word I was looking for but I’ll roll with it) that later translated into her relationship with Ozma.

I'm not denying the fact that Salem loved Ozma nor am I trying to imply that her feelings for him weren’t genuine at all. On the contrary, Salem definitely loved Ozma proving that she is capable of compassion. This is one of the things that makes Salem a far more intriguing villain to me now. What I appreciate about Salem and essentially Ozpin-Ozma too is that despite that fact that both represent the sides of good and evil in show; neither are entirely what they’re supposed to represent. They actually very gray characters.

Though Ozpin is the hero and personifies light and the preservation of all life in Remnant, Ozpin has been noted to have done some shady things that otherwise painted him in a negative light as we saw most of all this volume.

The same can be said for Salem. Although she is our main villain, I’ve noted times where Salem has shown a softer, kinder, even motherly side to her to some degree. For example, her relationship with Cinder Fall in particular. Cinder is Salem’s apprentice and the way Salem treats Cinder is almost like a surrogate mother with her daughter.  

I mean, Salem could have easily had Cinder killed with a snap of her finger just as she did with Lionheart and have her Maiden magic extracted and given to someone else more worthy if she so desired. We all know she has the capability to do that. So then why not do it? What reason does Salem have to keep Cinder alive especially knowing fully well how she is?

I don’t know about you guys but it reminded me of a strict parent punishing their child but still going easy on them. Still keeping a close eye on them because they know their child so well that they have full confidence that they’ll ultimately come of their senses.

 That’s why Salem is leaving Cinder alone to quote, ‘toil in her isolation until she redeems herself’. She’s punishing her but at the time, Salem also knows that Cinder will come back stronger and far deadlier than she was before because of this experience and that’s what Salem wants. It’s what she expects of her perfect apprentice. Her successor.

But here’s the thing. Salem loved Ozma and in the end, she still put her own desires about even him. Even if Salem is capable of loving someone, her selfish nature always resurfaces to prevail in her endeavours.

Rather than honouring Ozma's life and allowing him to rest as the God of Light said, Salem challenged the Gods again and again until it resulted in her winding up immortal but alone; cursed to walk Remnant’s face until the world is either destroyed or Salem learnt the value of life as the God of Light had hoped she would.

Did she though? Well that fact that she’s trying to gather all Four Relics while simultaneously making plans to jumpstart a Second Great War within the kingdoms of Remnant which would throw the world into the perfect chaos to get it permanently destroyed by the Gods’ return speaks volumes of how much she still hasn’t learned her lesson yet.

Salem may have loved Ozma and the life they built together after he returned but even that was later upturned by Salem’s own selfishness. From the get go Salem has only catered more for herself and even after all these years, she still refuses to see the light of what the God of Light warned her about herself. Say what you will about the Gods. Though the Brothers are also pretty grey characters themselves, it doesn’t change the fact that there was justification behind their actions with Salem. A lesson to be learnt that’s unfortunately still being avoided.

Salem was cursed with immortality because she refused to let go of her selfishness after attempting to trick the Gods into granting her desired wish of being reunited with her lover. As the God of Light rightfully said, in the beginning, when Salem made her first attempt to revive Ozma, her motives were worth pitying. As a viewer, I felt for Salem the first time. However after her second failed attempt and watching the people of First Remnant get manipulated and killed because of her personal vendetta against the Gods, my sympathy well dried up as I started to see Salem become the antagonist I know her to be.

And what’s even more depressing and noteworthy is that even after causing all that death and chaos to Remnant, Salem still did not learn her lesson and she still hasn’t to this current timeline in RWBY. She still continues to pursue her own desires and see the lives of others as nothing more but tools to use in her pursuit of what she wants.

This brings me to the meat of my post and why I’ve been making parallels between Oscar and Salem.

I have this theory---one that I’ll delve deeper into in a future musing--- about Oscar becoming an immortal just like Salem. Hear me out on this one. What if… Oscar meets the God of Light in the Realm between Realms similar to Ozma and asks him to grant him immortality. Not because he wants to preserve his own life but for the selfless motive of him desiring to use his newfound immortality to protect the people Oscar cared about while taking on the full mantle of saving humanity from the plight of Salem and her forces without the need to force Ozma and any more unsuspecting souls after him with such a task.

Imagine if… Oscar willing sacrificed his own life to end it. End the cycle and let it start over with him alone.  

Imagine if…Oscar became the last Wizard of Light. The only Wizard and the cycle resets with him as he’s turned immortal.

As I said, I plan to go more in depth with this theory soon in another musing but it’s definitely something I think could be a potential twist with Oscar’s story. I don’t want to put it as an expectation but I would love to play around with the concept of it.

I’ve seen many Pineheads worrying over Oscar being taken over by Ozpin completely or losing himself to the Merge so to counter that, I raise this possibility of Oscar essentially becoming the last reincarnate---the Last Wizard of Light as he willingly choses to dedicate the rest of his existence to stopping Salem while Ozpin, Ozma and all the other past Wizards culminated inside him over the centuries can finally be laid to rest knowing that Oscar will be the likeminded successor to carry out their legacy and mission all on his own and of his own choice as himself going forward.

If you’ve read any of my Oscar-themed musings and theories before, y’know I’ve been singing this idea of Oscar being the end to the reincarnation cycle along with him being the true reincarnate of Ozma’s original form.

I still stand very firmly by those theories because the series has set up Oscar being special---completely different from the other Wizards. The lingering question brought up in this series is whether or not Oscar will be just another one of Ozma’s lives to live out and I don’t think he will be. I believe the very fact that Ozpin reincarnated within Oscar of all people at such a young age compared to the other lives and in such a short space of time between rebirths was the first sign of how different his journey was going to be.

In the Legend of Korra series, Korra technically became the last Avatar and first Avatar in the second book. Basically the Avatar cycle sort of reset itself with Korra.

So I’d like to think Oscar will follow a similar experience where the reincarnation cycle will change with him. Oscar could symbolize the end and beginning to a new cycle. That’s why I like the concept of him becoming immortal. Instead of Ozma’s soul being reborn in the minds of different men and those souls coming together to form who we know today as the Wizard, Oscar will be the last one so that the next time Oscar dies---either he’ll die for good (meaning the God of Light strips him entirely of the reincarnation curse) or Oscar won’t die and will be reborn as himself at the last point of death or perhaps he’ll get to stay fourteen years old forever until Salem is defeated. Who knows? Overall I really love the idea of Oscar becoming an immortal just like Salem.

I mean sure Ozma had his reincarnation curse but technically his immortality wasn’t the same as Salem’s. Jinn did allude to Salem, quote, ‘meeting her adversary in time’. Of course, at the moment of revelation, the obvious assumption to that for me was Ozma since he’s the one we know is Salem’s main opponent.

However…Ozma once shared a relationship with Salem. He had a past with her. He loved her and I’d like to think that love is still there buried deep within. I don’t want to say that Ozma’s love for Salem has been his crutch but that little titbit is starting to make me wonder that perhaps…the true adversary that Salem was supposed to have wasn’t Ozma or any of the Wizards after him. It was Oscar.

For all we know, what if…Ozma and the other incarnates were just another experiment conducted by the God of Light similar to how he said Remnant was an experiment for him and his brother to learn from.

Imagine if… Light basically used Ozma and the other Wizards as guinea pigs in his formation of the perfect adversary for Salem---one the Gods believed could truly achieve what his successors could not. Defeat Salem once and for all and undo their mistake of the past. That could be an intriguing twist too. It does paint the Gods in a very heartless light more so than the actual canon did unfortunately but still worth tossing out as a theory y’know.

But yeah, that’s the theory I’m working with for now.

Returning to the original point of this response post, I know I’m hoping for Ruby and Oscar’s love to parallel Ozma and Salem in some ways but not all parallels have to end the same. Just because Ozma and Salem’s love ended in tragedy doesn’t mean that the same will befall Ruby and Oscar for their potential love story.

If Oscar and Ruby were to fall in love, I’d love to believe their love will be different. It’ll probably have its own fair share of harsh challenges particularly the ones stirred by Salem but it will be a different story with a much better end. A happier ending than the Fairy Tale lovers.

Y’know what’s ironic and what would best summarize my answer to this post. It was Ozma and Salem’s love that admittedly brought about the end of humanity in a way when you think about it. All the more reason for me to believe that it’ll be the love between Oscar and Ruby that will save the world. The relationship to blossom between them, the love and devotion they’ll come to share for each other and the people they care about---that’s what’ll save both Remnant and Salem from damnation.

I know it sounds cheesy but I do love me a good plate of cheese in romance.

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

 ~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[purediscordhell]

Seven Seconds

Summary: Remy gets his first Charge as a Guardian Angel. But the truth is, keeping a Charge safe is harder than he expects it to be.

Pairing: N/A

Words: 2,153

Warnings: Character death, implied/referenced suicide, suicide, stalking, implied stalking, implied/referenced abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, abuse, non-graphic violence, light blood mention, blood. These are very light, but still taken as a precaution.

A/N: Hello guys. This story is extremely different than the two previous ones I wrote. This deals with a much heavier set of events than my crack fics, as seen by the tags. 

Read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15698289 

Work Text:          

Seven seconds. Seven seconds are all it takes. Whether someone falls in love. Falls out of love. Gets their hearts broken, or gets their heart mended. Or something much worse. Whether someone lives or dies.

Remy didn’t like the idea of seven seconds. To him, seven seconds was way too fast. A lot could happen in seven seconds, a lot of good.... or a lot of bad. Remy had the unfortunate luck of having something bad happen.

He supposed it was a punishment. After all, he seems to fail at everything he does, anyway. At least, that’s what his superior, Lenny, said. The bulky, balding African American glowered at him every time the younger Guardian Angel passed by.

He was really excited about getting his first Charge. The rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins when he got called into his Role. The look of disapproval on Lenny’s face as he got ready for the Ceremony. Remy ignored the look on the Superior’s face. He wasn’t concerned about it. He’d trained hard since day one.

His charge was a little girl named Claire. She had light blond hair and the most beautiful green eyes. Favorite color: yellow. Favorite flower: dandelion. At six years old, she had that genuine curiosity that made others mad. Always asking questions.

The first time Claire got hurt on Remy’s watch, she was seven and a half, and one of her friends pushed her off the slide. He wasn’t paying attention, too busy drinking coffee to realize what happened. She got two scrapes and a bruise on her kneecaps. She cried for three days afterward.

Even though it was a mildly dumb thing, Remy got chewed out. Lenny insisted that Remy be taken off of Guard duty immediately, but one of the senior members argued against it. They said that he’d done good over the year and a half. Lenny consented, but he warned the young angel to be careful next time; or he would pull him off.

Remy vowed to never let Claire be hurt again. He loved Starbucks, but he loved his job more. He spent the next six weeks paying special attention to how Claire interacted with her parents and how to mend bruises. He got better, now that he was paying more attention.

Remy remembers this first time with tears running from his dark blue eyes, much like the waterfalls connected to the ocean. He’d been a Guardian for ten years. Over those ten years, he’d learned a lot from his superiors and from Claire and her family.

Claire loved to sing. She joined choir as soon as she possibly could. She soloed in two songs in second grade. She made three friends, all of which would go on to support her everywhere. Claire was a people person, the one who would light up the room just by walking in with a smile.

Sixteen was a trying time. It was the middle of the teenage years, where boys were introduced into the mix. She was just sixteen, and putting herself out there already.

She was introduced to a boy by the name of Andrew. He was a gangly boy, with the messiest black hair one could imagine. Remy kept his black hair slightly messy, but in a cool and collected manner. Andrew had the coldest blue eyes Remy has ever seen.

He immediately disliked the boy. He got a bad vibe as soon as Andrew sauntered into the room. Remy found it was his mission to get Andrew and her to break up. They were only dating for two weeks, it’s shouldn’t be too difficult.

Remy shuddered, feeling cold in the crisp weather of Autumn. His leather jacket that he loved so much did nothing to warm him. Sure, he didn’t really need to feel human things, but he would For today. It was the least he could do.

Claire introduced Andrew to her parents about a month into their relationship. Her parents loved him, of course they would. Her friends were iffy about him. Her three childhood friends, Christopher, Bethany, and Lindsay, could care less about him, in fact. Lindsay expressed her distaste in Claire’s boyfriend almost as soon as Remy had.

He wished he had done something sooner. As a Guardian Angel, you couldn’t interfere very often. No, mostly you just sat back and watched. You watched... as your world crumbled around you and fell. Crashing down to the earth, to shatter into dust.

Six months into the relationship, Andrew changed from sweet to demanding. He would text her at least thirty times a day, demanding to know where she was at all times.

Remy shuddered, not wanting to think about him. About the way that he started making sure that she was supervised all the time. That she was only going where she was ‘supposed to be going.’

That sounded stupid to him. ‘Supposed to be going?’ What the hell, Andrew? Are you that sad of a human being that you can’t trust your girlfriend of six months, who loves you very much, to do anything?

Claire was a very sweet girl. She always made time for everyone, no matter what the request. For example, her friend Christopher took their little clique to his church when they hit eighth grade. Her family wasn’t big on religion, so naturally they didn’t go to church or participate in anything. She ended up getting all of her close friends and family baptized within two years, including herself. Claire participated the most and fundraisers organized by the church. The church was called ‘Fellowship of the Temple.’ Remy found it very cliché at the time.

Remy dried his tears. He knew he messed up again. He knew it was soon as she was carted into the hospital on April 9, 2021 at 9:30 in the evening. Claire was hanging out with Andrew, and things were going well. Remy still had suspicions, but he hadn’t done anything too terrible, yet.

He made the mistake of getting distracted. By what, he didn’t know. Maybe it was the fact that he was drinking from his Starbucks cup. Or maybe the TV was on, or his back was turned. Maybe it was all three; it didn’t matter now. All that matters is that he wasn’t paying attention like he was supposed to be.

They were arguing. Of course they were arguing. It’s been getting more frequent lately. Andrew tried to argue at least three times within the last week. It usually went with him asking if she was talking to any guys. She would say, apart from you and Chris, no.

Remy guessed that this day, Andrew had had enough. He ordered Claire to stop talking to any and all boys other than him. This included Christopher, the friend she’s had since second grade. Claire had refused, getting fairly upset at Andrew saying this. And Remy had agreed. It wasn’t Andrew’s place to say this sort of thing.

Andrew just kept getting madder. But he usually did, maybe screaming for a few minutes until either calming down or getting his way. Remy, while not having heard this exact conversation before, had heard an argument kinda like this one they were having now. So he ignored it, getting distracted. Big mistake.

The sharp thwack followed by a heavy thud made Remy freeze. He whirled around- since when was he facing the opposite direction?- and his eyes widened in the horror. Andrew held something in his hand- a bat. That said bat was leaning up against the couch they were sitting on earlier. Remy dashed forward, all concern on Claire.

She was sprawled across the wood floor, unconscious. She was bleeding on the side of her head, caused by the bat. Why was there even a bat in the house? Did he go out and buy one? Did Andrew have this planned from the beginning to knock her out?

No, of course not, Remy was being ridiculous. Andrew was on the baseball team. That’s why he had the bat. Be logical, Remy.

The screech he made was unholy. Nobody could hear him, but he still did it. He was suddenly thrown back to when Claire was seven and a half. Oh, how Remy wished it was only for something stupid like her falling off of a slide. A simple push. Nothing as severe and tragic as this.

He watched as Andrew looked down at her unmoving body, laying on the floor like a ragdoll. The anger bubbled up inside him exponentially, suddenly bursting forth in an angry sea of red. He roared in anger, sadness, and grief, mixed with a bit of fear, too. How many times would he fail as her Guardian Angel?

His wails of agony shattered the glass in the front window. The boy flinched, and he turned around. Andrew’s eyes widened when he saw the window. Remy ignored him, crouching down beside Claire and shushing her softly, even though she couldn’t hear him. A knock on the door sounded pretty soon after- maybe it was soon?- and Andrew was lead out in handcuffs.

She was rushed to the hospital by a neighbor and another police officer. Remy didn’t leave her side the whole time. Helen and Robert Callihan were called, her parents. They were crying, angry and broken. He hovered next to her shoulder, trying to send positive waves of energy through the air, knowing it wouldn’t be received.

Two days later, she woke up. Remy was exhausted. He was fighting tooth and limb for her, just as she was, for her to stay alive.

Her three friends were there, as well as her parents, when she woke up. They all cried and laughed, saying that a Guardian Angel was watching out for her.

Remy felt shame burn in his gut. He’d never actually been a hands-on Guardian. Maybe if he was, this wouldn’t have happened. If he’d just intervened more.

Two weeks later, Claire was out of the hospital. She looked dead tired. Andrew had threatened her with death if she told her parents what had happened, which made Remy seethe. He didn’t spend too long in jail, which just made matters worse. But he couldn’t do anything to harm her anymore. She was safe.

She wanted some alone time away from her parents and her friends: Lindsay, Christopher, and Bethany. She told everyone goodbye, that she loved them. He grew uneasy while he watched her hug her parents goodbye. She then got into her car, drove to the bridge, and got out. Remy followed her, curious and unsure where she was going.

She sat down on the edge of the bridge, sighing. She looked up into the evening sky, watching the sun’s beams reflect over the water. There was a content look on her face, one that she hadn’t had for a while. Her face would always crease with agitation around Andrew, but now she was wrinkle-free.

Rather than watch the waves, Remy watched Claire. Her light blonde hair flowed ever-so-perfectly in the breeze, and her green eyes that Remy loved to see so much glittered with a deep-set happiness. Then she opened her mouth.

She asked about Guardian Angels. If she had one or not, and why did it seem like he didn’t care for her?

Remy’s heart ached. Of course he cared for her. He cared for her a lot more than he ever thought possible. He’d grown attached to his Charge. When that happened, he didn’t know.

Claire had smiled, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. She said that she didn’t hold it against him, that he was surely busy with other people and other things. Remy felt his heart start to shatter just a little bit more. He had failed her, and she knew it, too.

She thanked him then, startling him. She thanked him for keeping her safe for the majority of her life, and for fighting for her in the hospital room.

Remy thanked her for fighting to stay alive as well, heart now heavy. He knew what was coming. Claire stood up on the edge of the bridge. She stood there for a few minutes, as if waiting for something.

In those few precious moments before the world ended, before his world ended, Remy thanked her. He thanked her for opening his eyes to a whole new world. He thanked her for all the laughs, the tears, the songs. He wished her luck on her new adventure.

Claire fell, as beautifully as she did in her normal life. The wind whipped her hair, framing the look of utter peace on her face as she hit the calm waves down below. A splash, followed by silence a few minutes later.

Remy leaned against the back of the bridge, looking out over the waves. Claire would be safe now. Safe from Andrew. Safe from Remy.

He couldn’t fail her anymore.

@melancholykazoo @why-things-go-boom @depressivedegenerate @patton-croc-agenda @keithstopno @the-closet-1

[secret-diary-of-an-fa]

AHS: Cult Revisited (Spoiler Warning: It Sucked Then and It Sucks Now)

SOME CONTEXT: Since I discuss the politics of AHS: Cult in the following article, new readers should probably know that my own politics are leftist and generally liberal. As such, it’s worth bearing in mind that part of my annoyance with the series does stem from the fact that most of its liberal, left-leaning characters are inadvertently written as total bell-ends. Most of my annoyance, however, comes from the issues I’m about to discuss.

SPOILER WARNING: Lots of spoilers ahead.

I’ve been re-watching American Horror Story: Cult, despite the fact that it’s the absolutely worst season of the anthology series, because some family members wanted to see it and I wanted to sit in and crow about where it all went wrong. And you know what? I’d forgotten how deceptively good the first half of the series actually is. It’s funny, unsettling and camp in that way that only AHS can be, and it contains lots of satisfying moments where absolute bell-ends get punched in the fact or killed with gym equipment. When I reviewed it about a year ago, I kind of forgot that there was the root-system of a decent TV show buried under all the crap. Y’see, the thing about AHS: Cult is that it’s only a shitshow in retrospect. After you’ve chewed your way through the increasingly dumb and unsatisfying second half of the series, you reach a conclusion that renders 99% of what you’ve just seen completely pointless: a whole lot of sound and fury signifying fuck-all.

The core of the problem is Kai, the blue-haired cult-leader supervillain and psychotic clown enthusiast who serves as the series’ antagonist. The motivations that he pretends to have in the first half of the series are way more interesting than the real motives that he’s revealed to have in later episodes. You see, early-episodes Kai is deliciously complicated an apolitical. He doesn’t celebrate Trump’s election to president because he thinks a Cheetos-hued former gameshow host will actually make a good president, but because his presence in the White House will spread fear and chaos that Kai can use to his own ends. He’s like a less slapstick-y version of the Joker, revelling in chaos and collective national misery and only allying himself to one side or the other so far as it promotes those things. In some places, his ideology seems downright and actively non-partisan. There’s a bit where he talks to a downtrodden and much shat-upon news reporter about her anger as a black woman in Trump’s America and legitimates her rage- which feels like “wanting to be the last person alive on Earth- because then you got to watch every other motherfucker die first”. He recruits a buff gay guy by killing his homophobic boss. On the other hand, he also gets a disenfranchised prospective Trump-voter on side by reminding him how he’s been told he’s obsolete and irrelevant because he’s a working class white male. In the early series, Kai’s ideology doesn’t seem to have much to do with left and right: his message is more along the lines of ‘modern America is a worthless shithole that fucks everybody over, regardless of politics or demographic, so let’s burn the whole thing to the ground and put me in charge’. It’s genuinely compelling to watch... and then the second half of the series happens and it turns out Kai was basically lying about all this complex motivation. He’s actually just a misogynist who wants to hurt women. Well, fuck. And there was me thinking we were getting an interesting and nuanced character who walked the line between villain and sympathetic protagonist. Nope- apparently he’s just a jerk. That’s a pretty accurate portrayal of the way sociopathic cult leaders work in real life, but it’s not very narratively compelling. 

Here’s the trouble. I know plenty of jerks in real life. I don’t find them fascinating. I don’t think they make interesting viewing. They’re not good TV: they’re just fucking morons in need of a good, hard slap. I get what AHS: Cult is doing- it’s making the point that cult leaders and far-right, regressive politicians can seem more complex and compelling than they really are in order to get what they want before they reveal their true colours. It’s an allegorical warning against charismatic, evil, morally-bankrupt politicians like Trump. And that’s a fine point to make, in an online article or a short story or... well, basically any media that doesn’t have to keep me entertained for 10-12 hour-long episodes. AHS: Cult chose to make a point instead of making a consistently good, watchable TV show. And that’s a problem.

Of course, Kai’s increasingly tedious and stupid character isn’t the only problem. AHS: Cult wants to be all feminist and get you to root for its oppressed, trod-up women. Which would be great, if its female characters weren’t mostly loathsome dipshits. There’s Ivy, who deliberately gaslights her lesbian wife and drives her mad. There’s Meadow, who more or less embodies the concept of vapid self-absorption, seems to start improving as a character, and then commits suicide before she can become genuinely sympathetic. There’s the reporter who starts off sympathetic but who ends up egging Kai on to greater feats of cruelty and chaos (when she finally turns against him, it’s not because she has a moral epiphany, it’s because he decides to consolidate power rather than go with her plan of causing as much random destruction as possible). Oh, and then Valerie Solanis and her ‘SCUM’ cult turns up and starts butchering men (and any woman who doesn’t hate them to a sufficient degree) while spouting grandiose horseshit. In fairness, the grandiose horseshit comes from her book, ‘The SCUM manifesto’, which is a real thing that actually exists... but bringing it up just serves to make Kai’s eventual adversaries seem as crazy as he is, just when the narrative needs them to seem like a heroic alternative. How so? Well, it was written by a literal schizophrenic just before she tried and failed to assassinate Andy Warhol.

After episode seven, AHS: Cult is increasingly framed as a struggle between Kai’s far-right misogynist cult and his former supporters’ self-justifying revenge-oriented cult-within-a-cult of revenge. Who are apparently preferable because... reasons maybe? Well, at least they’re not out for world domination and don’t give their recruits names like ‘Speed Ball’, which is something.

The final issue is Ally. Poor Ally. She starts off as a slightly pathetic, slightly pampered but basically decent person. She’s a left-wing liberal and broadly on the side of good, even if her many phobias do prevent her from getting her shit together. After wife Ivy steals their son from her using Kai’s cult, Ally goes through a pretty good character arc and learns to conquer her fears in order to save her son from Ivy’s increasingly unhinged grip. She’s basically the show’s happy ending waiting to happen... and then, in the very last fucking scene, she dons a green hooded robe and takes up the mantle of the leader of the deranged SCUM cult. Because of course she does. Because we couldn’t just have one likeable, uncorrupted character, could we? She reacts to the traumas she has survived by recreating a secret organisation that already demonstrated its impotence in changing the world and will definitely cause more trauma for other people down the line. For some reason, the show seems to think this is some kind of victory.

AHS: Cult has a lot of good ideas and interesting characters, which is why the first half of the series is so compelling. Unfortunately, it squanders them one by one, until we’re left with a left with a bunch of petty, simple-minded jerkoffs playing tug-of-war for the nebulous, symbolic prize of cultural dominance. Maybe that’s an accurate portrayal of our echo-chamber-fuelled, divisive, crude political landscape. Tragically, I fear that it is. But it isn’t good TV.

[hufflepuffmarlenemckinnon]

Letters from Spring Term 1981

An Excerpt from my Novel-Length Fanfic The Dog and the Duckling

Summary: Sirius is assigned to mentor Marlene Mckinnon when she joins The Order of the Phoenix. His perceptions of Hufflepuff house are drastically changed, and so is his life.

Rated Teen mostly for language and innuendo.

A/N: So most everyone who follows me will have gathered that I headcanon Marlene as Duck animagus for a lot of the fic I write. I decided to put some of the backstory of that up on Tumblr in case anyone was curious. I’ll keep these blurbs listed in chronological order on my Fic Masterlist.   Letters from Spring 1981 Dearest Sirius,

I’ve only been back at school for two weeks but I feel the sting of your absence more acutely than before. I guess that’s what I get for twisting your wand to kiss me. It’s a bit like if you’d never tasted treacle tart because you lived in some sort of desolate wasteland entirely devoid of treacle tart. Except you went on holiday to the land of treacle tart and now that you’re back home you feel a terrible void in the pit of your stomach where the treacle tart should be. I hope you enjoy that metaphor because now I find myself not only unkissed but hungry as well.

This reminds me, I have not yet told you of my most recent scrape with your very favorite person, Argus Filch. You have noted before that the key to a Hufflepuff having a good time is the kitchens. I was proving you right by enlisting the elves to bake gillyweed brownies, both for the personal enjoyment of myself and my dorm mates, and for attempting to share with unsuspecting professors. Sounds like a good use of a Saturday, right? It would have been if not for one serious flaw in my plans. The Hogwarts Elves are happy to prepare whatever I ask for and with whatever ingredients I provide, but they are the absolute worst at keeping it under wraps. So of course when Filch was lurking about, looking for fun to ruin, he smelled something suspicious in the kitchens and when he inquired of course those big eared baked good providing twits up and told him it was for me.

Luckily I get to serve my detention with Professor Sprout. She wasn’t even mad that I nicked her gillyweed. And I don’t mind helping her tend to her plants. The only real downside is the 6th year Ravenclaw who serves detention with me. Gilderoy Lockhart.  He’s in detention for carving out his own name in 20 foot letters on the Quidditch pitch and then sending up an image of his own face into the sky. That tells you just about all there is to know about Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart. Nonetheless, it’s a distraction from how much I miss you.

Do you think it would warrant sneaking into Hogwarts as Padfoot just to satisfy my overwhelming desire to kiss you again (and again and again…)? If you don’t I may get into even more trouble and I’ll break your record for most detentions in a single term. I know you hate to be shown up.

I love you more than is rational or good for my health.

-Your Devoted Duck, otherwise known as

Marlene Elfrida McKinnon

Dearest Duckling-

Your last letter shows a reckless disregard for the rules. I can’t even pretend I’m not impressed. And a little turned on.

I’m terribly sorry that you found yourself thwarted by the most Esteemed and Noble Caretaker, His Royal Filchness. Perhaps he would have benefited from your gillyweed brownies most of all, if you’d been generous enough to share with the likes of him. I wonder if argus Filch has ever had a fun time in his life.

Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart of Ravenclaw House sounds like a lively character. At least you haven’t been stuck with someone boring? Though I can imagine hearing him drone on about his own reflection would get tedious after the hilarity of it wore off. Is this the same poncey kid who sent himself 800 valentine’s back in my 7th Year? The name sounds familiar and I can imagine that kid progressing to gimmicks involving his own face in the sky.

Though I am loathe to be the cause of your expulsion, I find it impossible to say no to my little duck, I think I can probably manage to meet you by the willow like before, This coming Thursday after curfew. This time with less brewing difficult potions and more kissing. Use the map.

I love you more than Filch loves his cat,

-Your Sirius

Dearest Sirius,

Your last letter sounded really bleak. I’m sorry that I’m not there to bear the brunt of this war with you. I wish I’d left school early. I know it sounds nonsensical, because I’ve always gotten high marks, but I feel like it’s all so pointless when the world looks like it does. What does it matter if I get a transfiguration NEWT when we’re on the brink of a full on death eater takeover? I’ve come this far though and it’s only a few more months.

Which reminds me, I’ll have Easter week off as per usual and I wondered if I could come stay with you? I’d much prefer it that way. Staying at school is an option of course, and I could stay with my mum and dad. I just thought after last holiday it would be nice to have some time together where we aren’t interrupted by my various family members every 5 minutes. We weren’t really alone together at any point during that visit. Was that intentional? You’ll let me know what you think about my staying with you. I’m only about a meter and a half tall, thus I don’t take up much space. The only thing is that my hair has been known to attack.

Carolyn is still waxing lyrical about Mr. F. Prewett, despite your generously arranging for the pair to be at the same place at the same time. Now she refuses to shut up about how shiny his hair is up close. It is rather shiny. Much shinier than her fervent admirer, Barty Crouch Jr. His hair is not shiny in the least. He’s actually sort of creepy. I know his dad is the head of MLE and all, but he seems to be coming unhinged. He should probably join a drama troupe or something and get the attention that he clearly craves. Whatever he does, I hope it involves staying away from my friend. I put my best effort into dissuading his continued pestering just recently. This effort earned me a week of detentions.

Sometimes I think Professor McGonagall gives me detention just because she enjoys my company. I wish she would just ask me to tea or something. I’m feeling very persecuted. I’ve never once been caught in a broom cupboard tryst or the like (because you didn’t know that I existed when you were in school. Tragic). I’ve hardly ever blown anything up. Yet I’ve gotten 4 separate weeks of detentions with Professor McGonagall for various offenses this year. Then another 2 with Sprout. All I did this time was make Crouch grow bright pink hair out of his ears and nose if he got within 3 meters of Carolyn. Which inevitably he did. It was actually a fun bit of magic and I think McGonagall was secretly a little impressed. She asked after you yesterday. She said that you probably could benefit from a Hufflepuff in your life. I decided to take that as a compliment. She clearly has a soft spot for you. It’s sweet and all but could you please tell your other girlfriend to stop giving me these unjust detentions?

I miss you. If you were here I’d drag you to a broom cupboard and earn a 7th week of detentions.

I love you more than Gilderoy Lockhart loves Gilderoy Lockhart,

-Your Marlene

Dearest Duckling-

As far as your Easter holiday is concerned, you know that I’d never say no. I’ve already started a countdown that caused james to make a face. He’s probably just jealous because his life is consumed with changing nappies and being a responsible adult and I get to be young and in love.

I’ve spoken to Minerva about her subjecting you to All these detentions. You appear to be correct that she’s enjoying your time together. She says we are well matched and she approves but that if we should ever have a child that she’s retiring from the teaching profession.

Would our hypothetical offspring be a puppy or a duckling? Perhaps something in between? Would that be a niffler? That sounds about right. Nifflers can really cause a ruckus and perhaps Minerva would be right to avoid being subjected to that. Of course this is all assuming that you’d even want to have my nifflers. (That’s a sentence I never envisioned myself writing.)

On a graver note, I heard just yesterday about the disappearance of Gawain’s Fiancée and I felt sick. Edgar is clearly doing all he can, but it angers me that magical Law Enforcement refuses to devote any resources to investigating the disappearance of a squib. I told Gawain that I was willing to help in any way that I could. You might remind him that I genuinely mean that. I’m not above going on a mission that was not expressly assigned by Dumbledore. Your family is the biggest lot of Badgers I’ve ever encountered and i love them. Even Gawain.

I need to get back to work, James is giving me a look.

I love you and miss you to an undignified degree,

Sirius

[head-and-heart]

The 100 Ask Game

Thanks for the tag @istilldothiseveryday ! This looks fun :)

1. What would you get arrested for on the Ark? 

Protests? Can you get arrested for that on the Ark?

I dunno. I have a very strong personality I’d probably get into to some kind of trouble politically on the Ark 2. Would you take off your wristband when you landed on the ground? 

Nah. I’m very much alike with Clarke in the way I think and as much as I may like to stick my middle finger up at the council if I was sent down on the dropship, I think I would see the value in having the Ark (aka. a functioning society) follow us down to the ground. I would be scared out of my mind of the Grounders - back up would be nice. 3. What would the necklace Finn would make for you look like? (Clarke: deer/Raven: a raven duh..) 

Probably a mangled mess of metal cause I’d shut down that shit SO hard

4. If you could resurrect any MINOR character who would it be? 

Maya. I understand that her surviving doesn’t really make any sense and they needed her to die for jasper’s arc or whatever BUT TBH SHE HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL??? Like, I stanned her team-up with Bellamy so hard; I’d literally sell my soul to satan for her to be incorporated into the delinquent’s group. Can you imagine her suiting up and going on hunting missions with Harper? Attending Lincoln and Bell’s sparring lessons? Sharing her music with Gina at the bar????? Helping out Abby and Jackson in medical???? Having heart to hearts with Clarke about her mom (and Clarke’s dad), who both died rebelling against the system??? Cracking jokes with Monty?? imagine if she went up to space with the squad, and what their relationship could have been like then! She could be their medic on board. 

People always simplify Maya to her relationship with Jasper (and yes they were cute) but SHE COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH MORE. She was smart and courageous and selfless - she had fire and wit and strength and i m i s s her. 

She’ll never see Earth, never breathe real air, never float on the water, never meet Riley 

We’ll never get to see her grow up and it makes me sad

5. Create a squad of 5 characters to go on missions with. Who are they? 

Raven and Monty because they’re GENIUSES obviously.

Lincoln and Bellamy so I don’t fucking DIE lmao - I know they got my back (my poor boys - both too selfless for their own good)

Clarke cause the Angry Cat game is strong and she’s got a real knack for not dying even when she should, probably, be 110% dead 6. Minty or Briller? 

Briller. Tragically, Bryan only started to interest me in 4x02 when they gave him more dimension by visiting farm station. 

Also ... how can you say no to chickens?  7. What would your name be in Trigedasleng? (example: Octavia=Okteivia…just make it up!)

Uhhh. Keit? Kayt? 

What a lame name 8. Thoughts on Finn? Some people hate him, and others love him, so I’m curious

i don’t know him

9. Be honest. How willing would you have been to take the chip without knowing all the horrible things it does? 

I doubt I would take it. Unknown drug with unknown effects? Sounds pretty sketch. I don’t see myself going for that - I’m a generally skeptical person. 10. What character do you relate to most & What character do you like the least not including the obvious ones like Pike, etc… 

Definitely relate the most to my INTJ queen Clarke Griffin! 

And Octavia is probably my least favourite character. I can see why some people like her and the merit in her character arc I guess but tbh she just IRRITATES me to no end - she has certain characteristics that really grate at me. Obviously, some characters are horrible people (like Dr. Tsing ew) but Octavia just infuriates me because of some of her characteristics.

She’s not for me. 11. Describe your delinquent outfit. (Would you wear something like Murphy’s jacket with the spikey red shoulder patch or have a trademark like Jasper’s goggles? Be creative, yet practical) 

Something practical cause I’m boring. 

Cargo pants. Ark-issued t-shirt. And a nice warm jacket. The jackets the characters wear on this show are pathetic - they barely look like they keep the wind out. And only Bellamy zips his up. smh vancouver is colder than it looks - all that humidity

As for a trademark thing? 

I’d be the only arker with an “I <3 BELLAMY BLAKE” t shirt probably

12. Favorite type of mutant animal?

Bellamy’s three-headed doggo he hasn’t found yet

anyway i still have hope

13. What would your job be on the Ark? 

I think I’d follow in Raven/Monty’s paths a bit and go into something mathematical like engineering but knowing myself I’d probably end up moving into politics later on. I have too many strong opinions to put up with the Ark system lol 14. Would you have willingly pumped Ontari’s heart if Abby asked?

Oh HELL no. I’d probably throw up all over it. I’m sorry Clarke. It’s not like that’s ACTUALLY how blood transfusions work anyway *intense side-eye at The 100 “science”* 15. If Lxa wasn’t Heda, but she’s still alive right? then who would make the best commander? 

None of them. Bellamy x Clarke leadership duo. I don’t care about the Grounder commander system - it’s all kinda bs anyway. 

None of the individual leaders on this show have done a good job. They’ve always functioned best as a team (which is why I want the Bellarke leader couple back) 16. If you were a grounder, then where would you live and who would be your mentor? 

I mean I know she went all cray cray and they all died but probably Luna’s rig. I don’t want shit to do with the other clans, who are always warring with each other. And I think Nyko would be a pretty good mentor. I’d like to learn medicine.  17. How would you act if you ate the hallucinogenic nuts like Jasper and Monty? 

Let’s be real, I’d probably start crying about how Bellamy and Clarke are in love and wHy cAn’T tHeY jUSt bAnG aLrEAdY ... and Finn would be real mad about it if he was in charge of picking my ass off the floor like in “Day Trip” 

ha! I think it would be worth it 18. How would you have dealt with Charlotte’s crime? A more John Murphy approach or Bellamy Blake? 

I mean ... I definitely wouldn’t lead a manhunt to kill a thirteen year old girl so I can say with a lot of confidence that I would NOT follow the Murphy route. Not so sure I’d just pardon her though. I think the delinquents needed some kind of prison system. Charlotte did murder a kid. Even though she was a child, there probably should have been some kind of consequence for that (though not killing her would be ideal) 19. Who should be the Chancellor, if anyone? 

Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin co-leading motherfucking power couple

I will accept no less in canon. just let me fucking have this

20. Mount Weather had a lot of modern commodities. (example: Maya’s Ipod)What is the one thing you would snatch while there? 

Oh, the iPod for sure. I literally don’t know if I could live without music. I’m listening to it ALL the time - I’m listening to it right now. RAIGN is playing *cries in Bellarke* 21. Do you think you’d have caught the virus spread through camp or would you have been immune like O.ctavia? 

I’m a weak ass bitch so probably 

and on the basis that I don’t like any of the people who ARE immune then maybe I don’t wanna be - what’s the point of surviving in a world where you’ve only got Finn Collins and O.ctavia Blake for company?  22. What would your grounder tattoos look like? Hairstyle? War paint? 

I want whatever makeup L.exa’s got from Polisephora. You think she’d share some of that eyeliner? 23. Favorite quote? 

“Shouldn’t there be more to life than just surviving?” - Clarke Griffin (2x14)

24. Can you forgive Murphy for his actions? How about Bellamy?

Yeah. I feel like we’re kind of past this point in the plot. They’ve both showed development and change and I think we’re definitely at a place in the story where both of them are intended as sympathetic characters to the audience. 25. If one of the characters was in the Hunger Games, who would have the best shot at winning? NOOOOO ALREADY SO MUCH DEATH NOOOO 

I’m going to answer this as if all of our characters were thrown into the ring and I have to predict which one would win. 

I wanna say Octavia because I think she’s independent and - er - determined enough to take out someone she knows if it came down to being the two of them to grant her own freedom and survival. Whereas, someone like Clarke or Bellamy or Kane would probably just nightlock it cause they’re self-sacrificial af. 

But then I also think maybe Murphy ‘cause cockroaches never die (thank you Raven). 26. Least favorite ship? Favorite ship? NOT INCLUDING CL OR BC 

Least favourite ship that people actually like? (aka. not something like Clarke and Jaha)

Probably B.echo (as a romantic relationship, not necessarily sexual). Hate to be basic and predictable but I think I would actually die if it were endgame.

FAVOURITE SHIP THAT ISN’T BELLARKE

how dare

If you asked me this a few months ago I would have told ya Niytavia but now that we’ve gotten more teasers about Octavia’s character in Season 5 I’m not sure if I want her anywhere near her (I like Niylah when she’s hot, but not cooked, ya feel?)

So maybe Jasper and Raven. Idk. I liked their friendship. Still bitter about Season 4.

I don’t really ship anything besides Bellarke that much. They’re an anomaly for me. 27. A song that should be included in the next season, like when Radioactive was? If there had to be another guest star like Shawn Mendes on the show, who would you want to make a cameo? 

Tbh RAIGN goes hard af so anything by her would be pretty lit. 

I mostly only associate songs I listen to with Bellarke when I’m applying them to the show so I’ve got like 100+ songs that I would love to use for them but its hard to think of a context where they would fit in with the tone of the show

And I want Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to cameo. They don’t need to say anything - they just need to stare soulfully into each other’s eyes in the background. 

... or makeout

Whatever. 28. What would you do if you were stuck in the bunker with Murphy for all that time? 

Steal the wine. Have karaoke battles. Drunkenly cry because RaVEn iS sO sTrONg and sO gOoD (and he would cry with me - he WOULD). 

Gossip about Bellamy’s butt.

The possibilities are endless, really. 

29. Opinion on Emori? Roan? 

I don’t really have a strong opinion on Emori. I feel like our knowledge of her is still so limited. She’s still barely interacted with anyone besides Murphy. But I’m guessing that may change in Season 5. I’d like to see her interact more with Bellamy, since they both have siblings (and Emori was the disgraced child too, just like O). Not many people can relate in that sense.

I really liked Roan but TO BE HONEST I found him more intriguing in Season 3 than in Season 4. He was literally up there in like my top four or five characters in Season 3 - I was so excited to learn more about him! In Season 4 he didn’t have much of a character arc, he was just kind of there to look moody and badass.

But honestly Roan is one of those characters that I don’t think was necessarily intended to be funny (as opposed to characters like Jasper and Wick) but his interactions with Clarke, Bellamy, and Echo offered up the occasional piece of comedy gold. He went too soon. Forever mourning the bromance that he and Bellamy could have had.

30. Would you want to be an extra that is killed off in a brutal way? 

I wanna be Satisfied Girl.

Or Riley. Everyone loves that guy

so ... no? maybe? does it come with the job? 31. A character you’d like to learn more about and get flashbacks of?

CADOGAN. @metastation has ruined me; now I just want more!

Also any of the Eligius crew tbh 32. A character you’d bang? 

Omg like all of them.

Bellamy and Raven are up there tho. 

And highkey Bree could get it. She looks like she knows what she’s doing.

Echo’s hot but i dunno chains and choking aren’t really my thing

Anywayyyyy I’m way too late to the party so I won’t tag anyone but like if you feel like doing this GO AHEAD ! And you can tag me in your post if you want too

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 97 Poll Results

The chapter 97 poll closed with 1,235 responses. Thank you to everyone for participating.

  RATE THE CHAPTER (1,157 RESPONSES)

This is the highest rated chapter since we started asking this question 6 months ago. Many were delighted to see Eren again and felt that the plot was moving forward.

This is the chapter I've been waiting months for. Flashbacks with meaning. Plot progression. New revelations. Great chapter.

Best Marley chapter yet.

This chapter was honestly amazing, easily one of my favorite chapters. Not only do we get to see my boy Kenny again, Annie is there kicking his ass. We got Bertholdt's fortune telling sleeping positions(bless him). We got Reiner who is so fucking gone, I lost my shit for a second when I thought it was all gonna be over for him. Then we finally hear from the Tybur's and learn that Amputee-kun was Eren(no surprise with that one). Honestly just a beautiful chapter!

Made me more happy than getting a buy one get one coupon for Chick Fil A

Honestly I was expecting this chapter to be another flashback and generally boring instead I was pleasurably surprised by seeing my boi eren and Kenny ~wipes tear~ I JUST HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER O

This is the chapter we all needed. Finally, the plot's moving forward, and it's doing so really quickly! Hyped!

We went from "another useless flashback chapter" to "omg Isayama let us catch our breath" and this is hilarious. Not that I disliked flashback chapters, they were great...but THIS was THE chapter.

It's about time we had a chapter that pushed the plot forward and gave us some juicy reveals. The curtain has been down for far too long and it's now time for some conflict. Gimme grim reminder in the next chapter as well as more Pieck and Porky.

This chapter is just amazing. We got Eren as Amputee-kun, Willy Tybur, and a hint of Zekerets. Plus, there's also Eren's letter to look forward to. I feel like we'll be seeing the Paradis crew towards the end of Chapter 98. It serves as a great way to end the volume.

I was so happy to see the plot finally starting to move forwards again. I've loved getting the Marley perspective, but as I've said before, the pacing of these chapters has been abysmal. The plot's been largely stalled for nearly a year at this point, and I'm very excited to see it finally seeming to pick up direction again. 

  WHAT WAS THE BEST PART OF THE CHAPTER? (1,169 RESPONSES)

Things Involving Eren made up more than 55% of the vote. Anny vs Kenny pulled in 16.8% coming in third. And yes, I screwed up. I should’ve made Reiner’s suicide attempt a “best part” but I got caught up in the semantics of it all. I couldn’t see it as anything but a tragedy.

FINALLY!!! WE GOT TO SEE EVEN THE TINIEST GLIMPSE OF EREN.

Reiner's attempted suicide was one of the best moments of the chapter but you only made it an option under "worst"

Voted for nothing in the first two sections as the suicide attempt my favorite  part of the chapter in terms of emotion and character development.

Annie "badass" Leonhardt was definitely a highlight of this chapter, though Eren's conversation just edged out ahead

Eren's character development and understanding Falco's situation

Loved the insight into Reiner's frame of mind on paradis. It seems like he was just as much in denial while being a warrior as he was as a soldier. Neither seem to be his genuine self. Poor kid!

MY SON IS BACK, MY SON IS BACK!!! Also I will eat my left shoe if the whole survey corps isnt nearby. This plan just seems like it has Armin written all over it.

It's so exciting to finally have the plot picking up again after an entire year of mostly exposition and development. Shit is definitely going down at that Tyber festival. Also lets just call Billy Thor because I can't deal with the idea that that is his name

  WORST PART OF THE CHAPTER (1,080 RESPONSES)

What’s more tragic, the unfortunate name of the 9th titan shifter or Reiner’s desperate situation? Rather than include Reiner’s suicide in either of these questions, I probably should’ve just asked “How much do you want to hug Reiner?” because so many people do.

Lack of best girl Pieke

Can someone like... hug reiner?  

Fucking WILLY is his name?!?!?

We thought Reiner's life couldn't get worse. Isayama works his magic yet again.

Willy is a term for dick so in actuality his name is Dick Tybur, the Wardick titan shifter

Blessed Reigner need not turn to suicide, fulfillment is in the self

Willy the Warhammer is even worse than Billy.

Reiner's  suicide attempt was WICKED.

i wanna die almost as bad as reiner

  WHAT WAS THE BEST REVEAL? (1,173 RESPONSES)

The Best Reveal is that we were all correct about Eren being Amuptee-kun. In a series this unpredictable, we take our victories where we can.

Since we're right about Eren being Amputee-kun, we might (should) as well be right with Annie x Father Leonhardt siding with Paradis! (please)

That justice boner being exactly right about Eren being the bum.

Annie and crazy uncle Kenny did meet and were on screen together. That makes me happy. I'm trying to understand Kenny's appearance lol. Did Isayama miss him or what ?

    WE ASKED THIS LAST MONTH, BUT SINCE BERTOLT BROUGHT IT UP IT, LET’S DO IT AGAIN. DO YOU THINK ANNIE AND REINER ACTED ALONE AND KILLED THE MAN FOUND HANGING IN THE TREE? (1,087 RESPONSES)

When we first asked this question last month only 22% thought RBA might be involved in killing the man in order to create a bullet-proof hometown alibi.  With the inclusion of Bert’s nightmares and Reiner’s shady expression, it looks like more people are coming around to the idea.

Why the hell people still think RBA or RA killed that man? It makes absolutely no sense and has no basis in the story.They kept saying it last chapter and it was proven wrong, and now they say Bert just didn't know about it? Really? Why wouldn't they tell him? They always discuss everything together, why not this? That look Reiner gave Bert was just him worried about his friend having nightmares or, if he's in his warrior mindset, worried that it might affect his performance.

I think Reiner was clearly involved in the hanged man's death, but there's little to zero evidence Annie was involved. I think this chapter also emphasized, despite his affection for Bert, how unreliable Reiner considered Bert to be.

'the man who hung himself' srsly the answers right there are u retarded?

I actually think Reiner killed the old man solo and didn't tell Bertholdt and Annie, though I'm not quite sure why he would do that.

  CHAPTER 97'S "HOT OR NOT"

Annie got the most positive responses but it seems everyone is this chapter is hot except poor Magath. (That’s ok, Theo. I will continue to love you!)

Kenny is hot, Eren will be hot when he takes a shower, Reigner is hot too but is also broken beyond repair. This chapter fucked me up, everyone needs a rest.

You much awesomeness in this chapter! Willy is hot af!

I want Kenny to be my sugar daddy

My beautiful best girl Annie is back, and is cuter than ever. I love her. I want her to come back

my son looks like a hobo and I don't know how to cope with this

eren should fucking shave

Magath is making me wet with his humanity once more.

Annie is bae

  WHO WORE IT BETTER?

  LONG HAIR (1,172 RESPONSES)

For the "who wore it better" for long hair I didn't choose because both Willy and Eren look fab

Eren always looked a lot like his mother, but now he started looking like grisha too

The old Eren can't come to the phone rn. Why? Cause he's DEAD

eren became daddy

Eren looks like a pedo-hobo hybrid just so everyone knows.

How dare you not like Eren's hair mom

 👀

  PIGTAILS (1,126 Responses)

Poor Mina. Less than 30% felt like the original was better.

HAT (1,170 Responses)

Thank you fandom! My faith is restored.

THE " OH CRAP I'M USELESS" EXPRESSION (1,180 Responses)

Eren wins for now but hopefully Falco  has a few more years to work on mastering the expression.

  IN THIS PANEL, WILLY TYBUR IS: (1,090 Responses)

I think if I’d included a “both” option it would’ve been a landslide. Next chapter I hope we see Willy’s “I 💖 Helos” tattoo.

  WHERE DO YOU THINK WILLY TYBUR IS GOING TO LAND ON THE MORALITY SCALE (1,120 Responses)

The range was from “Cinnamon Roll (1)” to “Final Boss (5)”. Most people seem to think Willy will end up the series being mostly bad news.

I almost wonder if Billy is a red flag and is going to end up dead or eaten instead of serving as a "final boss"

Billy Tybur is totes gonna be morally ambiguous , like every other villain.

DO YOU THINK THE ORIGINAL HELOS WAS AN ACKERMAN? (1,122 Responses)

  WILLY SAID “MARLEY NEEDS HELOS ONCE MORE.” WHO DO YOU THINK THAT NEW HERO WILL BE? (1,054 Responses)

We are crazy divided on this question. While most seem confident the original Helos was an Ackerman, we have no idea who the new one will be.  Eren is narrowly ahead of Levi. Mikasa and Zeke are battling it out for third. And even Magath pulled in a  chunk of the vote with almost 7%. Gabi and Falco were popular choices. And Jean, Connie, Flocke, Sasha and Hange all got included as well.

Bertholdt rises from the dead and becomes the hero.

Obviously Mads I mean...duh

Pieck (As expected)

Falco will save marley with his cuteness

I really hope Mikasa, so she can be more relevant again.

I think Tybur referred to himself.

It's going to be Magath, but he will be used as a scapegoat; i don't see willy really trying to change the status quo.

There won't be a new Helos.  The idea of becoming Helos is the apple that Willy is using to tempt Magath into doing something horribly stupid that is probably going to get him killed and fuck up the lives of all of his Titan Children even more.  If that's even possible.

Udon, the reincarnation of Borutoruto, the God of Destruction and the right hand of Our Lord and Savior Reigner Braun.

Zofia, the true key character of this story, Helos reincarnated, Bringer of Doom and Savior of the Weak.

WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PANEL OF ZEKE ON THE PHONE: (1,100 Responses)

Slightly more than half the fandom believe the single panel of Zeke was included because he’s on the receiving end of Eren’s letter.

zeke looked like a fucking 70s teenage girl talking to her crush on the phone in that panel and that is the best part of the chapter to me

Zeke might be listening to the Willy/Magath coversation via a bug, or Magath wearing a wire. A Zeke/Magath plot is possible.

Significance of Zeke's panel is Zekerets

zeke's totally plotting something- don't know what but there's no way he's not. oh and eren pls. the mop needs to go.

I think Zeke was plotting with Magath, not the Tybur

I feel like Zeke being on the phone IS significant but not for any of the answers listed so I just had to say none.

what if Zeke was talking to one of the SC members & said something along the lines of ""He's here"" or something like that? Just thought that would kinda be badass.

  IS EREN IN MARLEY ON A PERSONAL MISSION OR A SURVEY CORPS ONE? (1,108 Responses)

I was a bit surprised that this chart was so lopsided. I think a strong case could be made either way as to whether or not Eren is operating alone.

The "It's hard for me to show my face to my family now" line honestly has me worried.  If the story takes it down this path as opposed to what we expect, then something ground-breaking must have happened during the time-skip.  Eren, Mikasa, and Armin have been through everything together.  If that was somehow torn apart, then so will my heart.

I wonder if Eren saying that he "can't go back" is a reference to Paradis (and he's acting on his own) or a reference to a more innocent past, where they knew nothing of the world and he didn't have all these memories inside him

I'm surprised there wasn't a question about whether or not Eren being there meant EMA separation, but I guess that'll be speculated until we get info one way or the other.

WHO IS EREN’S LETTER ADDRESSED TO (1,105 Responses)

The majority say the letter is for Zeke, but some write-ins include Pieck, Marcel and the Restorationists. Annie’s father showed up several times as well.

This question is Annie's father who happens to be harboring the Survey Corps

Armin and Mikasa explaining why he left alone without warning them

Eldian doctor that work with the owl

I think all these options are possible but I hope it's for Reiner.

I'm still debating on who it is but it's either Zeke or the SC

It could be either one of the survey corps or annie's father. I don't know, let's see in the future chapters ^^

It's not addressed to anyone, but delivering it is a signal to the others "Begin Operation Grim Reminder 2.0"

it's probably Zeke but I hope he contacts Reigner at some point

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO SEE IN CHAPTER 98? (CHOOSE 3) (1,190 Responses)

The recipient of the letter was top pick with 54% followed by the Tybur Family Festival with 44%. “The Survey Corp” and “Reiner and Eren Reunion” tied for third with 40.4%.

I really hope we don't have to wait too long to learn more about Eren's letter like we did with Ymir. Nonetheless I'm looking forward to future chapters!

I really need to see the Warhammer Titan in action

Can Reiner just be happy for once. Like please

This is it. Next chapter we'll get to see everyone else from paradis whether they're in Marley or not. It's the end of the volume! AAAH!

Damn excited for that festival!!!

Marley final arc is clearly a go now. Eren's in place, I suspect the Survey Corps are in place, reintroductions will happen soon and then everything will get moving. I still stand that 96 felt like stalling, but I totally get it, Isayama wants a big ch. 98 moment and we're getting it.

I really want to see more of Pieck and Porco. PLUS I want to see Porco meet Historia because that'd be an interesting conversation/fight!

I want to see adult Annie and Mikasa, and also Historia

My heart is beating whenever I think about chapter 98.

I'm really looking forward to knowing what the end-game is, and what plans the Teibers and Zeke have. Also, I'm really looking forward to what Eren is up to. I think next chapter is going to be a doozy and I can't wait!

  HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT TO RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL CAST ON PARADIS? (1,189 Responses)

Last month 58% would sell theirs souls to see the original cast. That was down very slightly this month to 54%. Despite Eren being included in this chapter most are still anxious for news about the rest of the Survey Corps.

With Amputee-kun being Eren, there is no reason to want to return to Paradis. The important stuff is happening in Liberio, Paradis has nothing new.

Now that eren is back i think that the story will stay in Marley till the end, barring the occasional flashback

Would like to see how the original cast looks now.

I miss Levi and it's been so long since we've seen any of the main cast.  It's nice to see the effects of the last four years on Reiner, but I'm very curious to see how Levi and the rest of the SC are dealing with their new knowledge, the loss of Erwin, their island without titans.  Please, please get back to the main cast. 

I wonder what is Mikasa's and the others' view on Eren's doings (yeah i understand that Marley is important but gimme Paradis already... please?

  WHICH CHARACTERS DO YOU GENERALLY ENJOY THE MOST (1,195 Responses)

Very little changed from last month. I suspect it will remain consistent from here on out.

I love the 104th with all my heart!! But they can only truly qualify as my favourite group if RBA are included...

  WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES (1,103 Responses)

 We took away the “other” option on this question to simplify the results and  allowed people to check more than one. Hopefully this makes a better reflection of how we are discussing the series.

Thoughts about Reiner

Since I screwed Reiner over in the best/worst question, here’s a whole section of love for him

GIVE. REINER. HAPPINESS. NOW!!!

Plot armoured Titan strikes the feels.

#save reiner braun

Give Reiner some hapiness Isayama :(

That sequence of flashbacks interwoven with Reiner's suicide attempt are some of the strongest pages of this goddamn manga. I was so shook by it when I first saw it that I was left in a morbidly awed silence at how powerful the delivery was. I actually couldn't speak, so bravo isayama.

Reiner deserves all happines in this world

Reiner's suicide attempt made me cry and I've never been any more sad reading the manga..... Suicide is just such a realistic issue in reality that seeing it snk has affected me more than giant man-eating titans ever will

will reigner ever find happiness :(

Man I just really want Reiner to be happy :,((((

Give Reiner some happiness in his life, please ;_;

I hope ReinerxHappiness becomes canon someday.

I feel as if I lose 10 years of my life every time I see Reiner's suicide attempt.

Reiner's suicide attempt messed me up emotionally

Reiner's suicide attempt was the BEST part of the chapter

Reiner's thoughts  about  the  past  and  the  following suicide  attempt  will  fuck  me  up  for  a  whole  month. Please  help  him.  

Reiner was so heartbreaking. But so was eren GAH IT WAS SUCH A BITTERSWEET CHAPTER

Other Comments

I can’t list everything, but I read each comment and thank you for sharing your ideas. Some of the longer comments were theories that I enjoyed but don’t think belonged in the poll results. With some longer comments I extracted a few sentences rather than publish the whole thing.

Willy looks kind of handsome and Falco should stop being a warrior and become a mailman.

More Marley please, more revelations, MORE PAIN.

WhaT iS It ERen?

Apparently, in the japanese version, the warhammers identity was more ambiguous and could be anyone my bet would be the tall guard inside the room. Reiners suicide attempt was depressing, especially if you consider that he was feeling guilty for helping eren improve so much which got Bertholdt killed. Hyped to see what Zeke is up to, he may be plotting with Pieck or something against the Tybur idk.

Eren vs Armin for the final arc - you heard it here first

Everytime I see my top 3 characters (Kenny, Jean, Reiner) they are either suffering or in danger, and the fandom is more focused in others like Annie, Eren or Gabi. Then there will be Zeke with a suicidal, Erwin-like attitude. I always thought that Eren was going to meet his grandparents, but I have no clue of what will happen now. Anyways, Billy is an interesting guy, and Eren has reached Jean's maturity level (after Trost). Let's hope Falco doesn't suffer much, because of his two "teachers". Colt looks like a Farlan figure to me.

The art improvements tho. And i did not know that thor moves to snk u know "warhammer titan" stuff. Nice issayama

I am very happy to see again Eren. He is matured a lot, just thinking about the conversation with Falco. But I am sad for Reiner 'cause it was due the Falco's voice to save him from the suicide and so he went to looking for Falco, tell him that everything will be alright. Reiner is concerned to Falco, he wants to be useful for him but BAM, he found an excited Falco (after talking with Amputee-kun). Reiner can't do anything. He is still alone.

Everyone's going gaga for Eren's new look and I'm sitting here like......ehh..? Seeing Jean (stupid, bratty, Jean) for three panels was wonderful. Zeke and Billy best be plotting. I'd like to see their interactions. I like Billy's character design too, especially the nose and hair.

poll is good but you should do some spell check because you mispelled Tybur as Tyber like 9 times lol

(I know! sorry!)

Great poll, as always, and Billy totally wore wore it better. Also, fingers crossed, Grim Reminder doesn't happen.

FALCO IS A FUCKING CINNAMON ROLL AND DESERVES MORE LOVE!!!!

Reiner's suicide attempt was absolutely haunting. The fact that he didn't hesitate as he loaded up the rifle (Even though doing so would consume a lot of time that could be used to be like 'Wait what am I doing'), the way it was interwoven into the flashbacks (made it seem that everything just piled and piled on him until finally he couldn't take it anymore), the fact that Reiner didn't seem to be thinking about anyone until Falco showed up outside (and that he seemed to only be motivated to live due to the Titan shifter candidates, which would imply a lot about his current connection to his mom ;_;). That shit left me in emotional pain for two days, not even joking. 

the Reiner/Eren parallels reminded me of their fairly friendly dynamic during their 104th days and gave credence to my mini-theory that Reiner asked Eren to come with him and Bertholdt because he was sentimental ;_;. 

"Deer Isayama Reiner is reindeer Jean is horse Conny is monkey Armin is rabbit Zeke has zekerets And Pieck is exactly right"

I just want to hug Reiner, telling him "it's just two more years, come on, you can do it. Help the younglings and then you'll meet Bert again". Plus, I really really hope that Isayama is showing us a lot of Annie to hint she's soon getting out of that f***ing crystal!

Finally a decent chapter; we have the plot moving forward with the Teiber-Magath convo and the Eren reveal, we have some nice flashbacks and also some character development (Eren maturing and Reiner hitting rock bottom :'( ). The pacing was great, not too much focus on one single thing like last chapter.

Eren is Daddy now and that's all my mind had been able to thoroughly process with this chapter. 

Friendship between Reiner and Bertl was strong in this one. I want... MORE. I would also like some back story on the berb turtle please thanks bye

I have a feeling that Annie is starting to side with Paradis Island (Isayama seems to keep dropping hints).

No. Annie still isn't going to switch sides.

im crying in the club

grim remind me Armin

Every time the warriors are hurt in any way shape or form a hostage dies, you've been warned Isayama-sensei.

Hoping to God Willy/Billy is actually Vili

Yeah could we stop with these flashbacks of Annie and actually see her in the present for once? Thanks bye.

Willy's nose is suspiciously like Armins. I realize they're all related, but the nose makes me wonder if he's an Arlert. If so, is Armin the true hero, as Eren predicted?

i was annoyed with the marley arc the first chapter but now am loving it & the marley mandem. i also used 2 think amputee-kun was 2 people (eren & someone else) but now idk

EXTRA DANCC

I think it's high time we see Pieck being exactly right again! It's been 2 WHOLE chapters man, I need my feed of Pieck

I'm worried to death that Eren is gradually losing his spark D:

When will we see the concluding conflict of this beautiful series? Who will die and survive?

can't wait for Isayama to wreck us with feels and revelations

Seeing Kenny again was such a blessing. Also, I'm super excited where the whole Tybur thing is going and can't wait for the revelations we are bound to see sooner or later.

Love it when Isayama tortures Annie and Reiner.

I think, Reiner sees himself as he sees or remembers falco (whyyy i'm crying when i see this boy???!!! And I see bertolini and reinder when they still a trainee wth i'm dying. Thank you Isayama). it give me heart attack too when seeing reiner and that gun in his hand.

although reiner's almost-suicide attempt was tragic, i feel like it was a long time coming. it seems like isayama has been building up to it for a while

"Light of of the Seven" played in my head when I was reading the chapter. I bet next month "The Rains of Castamere" will be played instead

eeeEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKK

I wonder why Isayama decided to put that panel of Zeke right before Eren gives the letter to Falco. It could have been placed somewhere else, but I think he put it there to signify that Eren's letter is to Zeke (or maybe his grandparents?). But a lot of people think its to the Survey Corps, so... 

How is Annie so much shorter than Kenny how tall is he???

Unexpected turn of events w/the Tybur controlling Marly. Such a shock! Isa will choose more shocking reveals. Im scared. The end will be the hardest choice between the lives of one side opposite the other.

I was so happy to see the Marley arc merge with the Survey Corps and pre-Marley arc events with Eren. It really marks the beginning of something new and epic. That letter is gonna set so many things in motion, and now that we have been properly introduced to the holder of the 9th titan's power, things are bound to be more interesting.

One of the best chapters so far. If not the best.

LET EREN ADOPT FALCO

do you think they have sour cream in marley

(This last was comment played out on Reddit and Tumblr . The OP reached out to me and mentioned that they were eating mexican food while taking the poll. Mystery solved!)

[105ttt]

I’m just going to ramble about how we see Shadow’s character develop throughout the Sonic games (mostly the Dreamcast era with some modern era stuff thrown in there) and why I think his character is a lot more than just being an “edgy hedgie with a gun”. Everything is going to be below a readmore, since this is going to be really long.

Yes, it’s an old complaint that Shadow is not just some edgy teenager with a gun who gets angry all the time and solely lives to pick on Sonic, but if you actually take time to sit back and consider all of Shadow’s actions from his first appearance in SA2 onward, he actually seems less evil and edgy than people make him out to be.

Shadow’s character changes a lot in my opinion from SA2 to Heroes, but there are reasons that he acts differently in these games. Starting in SA2, Shadow is depicted as a villain who helps Eggman in trying to destroy the world with the ARK, and of course his tragic backstory combined with his evil actions makes him look like a stereotypical edgy angst magnet. But we need to consider the reason why Shadow helps Eggman in order to make a judgement about how evil he really is.

Shadow wasn’t helping Eggman just because he wanted to see the world burn out of some innate sadistic desire or a desire to have power over everyone else for no reason other than being evil. He helped Eggman because he incorrectly remembered Maria’s wish before dying as her wanting revenge for her death. He was also somehow made to believe he owed Eggman a favor for waking him up from cryostasis (literally calling him “Master” and saying he will grant him one wish).

Speaking of cryostasis, a friend of mine brought up the fact that from Shadow’s point-of-view at that point in time, he had literally just plummeted to Earth after watching his only friend sacrifice herself to send him to safety and then be murdered by people he doesn’t know for reasons he doesn’t understand, was then captured and imprisoned by said people he doesn’t know for reasons he doesn’t understand, and now has been awoken by someone he hardly seems to know and is expected to fulfill that person’s wish of destroying the world. Shadow’s mistaken memory conveniently matches up with Eggman’s desire to destroy the world, and while it’s not justified to kill innocent people just to get revenge for the unjust death of one person, Shadow didn’t necessarily want to murder people out of sadism or some evil desire - his actions in SA2 are done out of his devotion to Maria, a trait which we see in later games.

Shadow’s actions take a dramatic turn when he eventually remembers what Maria really wanted after Amy convinces him to help the others stop the ARK. After that point, he abandons his stubborn refusal to help and leaves Amy immediately to go join up with everyone as quickly as he can (even though he had been Sonic’s nemesis up until that point throughout the entire game). He even goes as far as to fight the Biolizard for Sonic and Knuckles so they can stop the Chaos Emeralds and later joins Sonic in his super form to stop Finalhazard, only to sacrifice himself to save the Earth in the end. These actions are clearly linked with the fact that Maria’s true wish was for Shadow to protect the Earth, and we see here that again, his actions are done out of devotion to Maria and possibly a genuine sense of heroism.

What do I mean by heroism? Well, even as early as SA2, we see that Shadow is quick to defend or protect innocent people and his friends, and he doesn’t let innocent people be endangered if he can help it. One major example I can think of in SA2 is when Rouge is trapped on Prison Island. After running late in escaping the island on her mission to get the Chaos Emeralds, she calls Shadow and lets him know she won’t make it off in time with the Emeralds. Shadow naturally wants to save the Emeralds because he needs them to achieve his goal, but when he uses Chaos Control to get to Rouge, does he simply grab the Emeralds and leave again? Absolutely not. He takes Rouge with him right before the island explodes, thus rescuing both her and the Emeralds. When the two talk later, Rouge brings this up, and Shadow claims he only came to save the Emeralds, but that may be a cover so that he doesn’t show Rouge he cares (this connects to something I’ll mention later). After all, he could have, in theory, grabbed the Emeralds while Rouge was still shocked from seeing him use Chaos Control and then left Rouge to die in the explosion.

Shadow actually shows this same willingness to protect others in Sonic Heroes and Sonic ‘06, both incidents involving Rouge as well. The example from Heroes is really striking because it’s implied that Shadow forgot everything that happened in SA2 after falling back to Earth again. In the opening cutscene of Team Dark’s route, Omega awakens when Rouge tries to unlock the capsule holding Eggman’s “secret treasure” and opens fire on her. Shadow wakes up to notice this and, instead of immediately facing off with Omega to stop his reckless shooting, actually pushes Rouge out of harm’s way and then tries to stop Omega. What’s significant about this interaction is that Shadow supposedly doesn’t remember Rouge at all, and yet he decides to keep her safe even though he doesn’t know her. He could have left her to die from Omega’s gunfire and used that to stall Omega so he could take him out, but he decides to make sure she’s safe first. On the other hand, he attacks Omega because Omega seems like a threat to him - Omega attacked first, and so Shadow feels the need to stop him. This scene brings up another interesting point in Shadow’s character we see a lot: Shadow doesn’t attack someone who doesn’t threaten him first or otherwise causes him some sort of problem. This may be why Shadow was so quick to fight Sonic in SA2 despite not knowing who Sonic is. Sonic often posed a threat to Shadow by trying to take the Chaos Emeralds away from him or otherwise just demanding a fight, to which Shadow obliged. The same is true for the inter-team boss fights in Sonic Heroes, where Team Dark faced off with the other teams because Rouge was worried they would get in Team Dark’s way. Rather than being the aggressors who pick a fight for no reason, both teams involved typically had a reason to defend themselves.

But getting back to Shadow’s heroism, the example from Sonic ‘06 I mentioned earlier is equally important in showing this facet of Shadow’s character. When Rouge and Shadow are on a mission to get the scepter holding Mephiles, they are ambushed by Eggman, and at one point Rouge is struck down from the sky. Shadow had a choice at this point to either keep his hold on the scepter and let Rouge crash or save her and let the scepter break. He goes for the latter and catches Rouge just in time, but as a result, the scepter breaks, and Mephiles is freed. This decision to save Rouge over keeping whatever dark power trapped inside the scepter contained shows that Shadow prioritizes his friends’ safety greatly, even if it means he has to sacrifice something else.

Shadow really is a kind and loyal person at heart, though sometimes his emotions get the best of him. The same friend I mentioned earlier pointed out that Shadow’s aggression in earlier games like SA2, Heroes, and ShTh was probably just a side-effect of him being so confused about who he is - and more importantly where he is. Keep in mind that Shadow had never been on Earth before SA2, and now that he has to face this brand-new world, all while not knowing what his intended purpose was in life, must have driven him to be aggressive. His dedication to achieving his goals probably fed this aggression as well, since it may have been the best way to deter any impediments to his goals. My friend also brought up the fact that Shadow, while being chronologically 66 years old, is mentally and physically 16 years old. He’s going to act and think like a typical 16-year-old, albeit with some behaviors found in people who experienced trauma, because that’s what he is. He likes blowing things up and being powerful because he knows how powerful he is (he brings up the fact that he’s the ultimate life form all the time), but he doesn’t use that power for evil or just for kicks, as we see in many games where, when Shadow acts like his true self, he uses his powers for only good. His overconfidence in games like SA2 and Heroes also stems from the fact that he is, in fact, a young teenager with lots of power at his fingertips and a new world to explore. In this respect, he and Sonic are very similar: both are kind and a bit prideful, but they don’t put down others unless they prove to be evil or a threat.

An interesting side note on Shadow’s power is that he seems to get untold amounts of strength from his love for and devotion to the people he cares about. We see this multiple times in the true ending of ShTH, where Shadow is able to instantly recover from the effect of Black Doom’s paralyzing gas through his accumulated memories of Maria and later when he breaks free from Black Doom’s mind control after seeing Gerald’s message to Shadow about the Black Comet. The entire premise of Heroes being that each Team grows stronger through teamwork and the friendship between all three people in each Team also remains true for Shadow, despite people typically seeing him as a loner-type. And just as much as Shadow gets strength from his loved ones, he encourages them as well when they need strength. Throughout the entire Finalhazard fight in SA2, Shadow constantly checks on Sonic to make sure he is okay and even compliments him at one point, saying with a laugh that he believes Sonic may be the actual ultimate life form. In Heroes we see this same kind of support towards Sonic when Shadow offers to distract Metal Sonic during the Metal Madness fight so that Team Sonic can go super, and later in Generations Shadow says the infamous line: “You’ve got this, Sonic!” as an expression of genuine encouragement and faith in Sonic’s abilities.

Just as Shadow believes in his own power and others’ power, Shadow also has a capacity for understanding right from wrong, and though ShTH shows that he understands that some choices aren’t black and white, he knows when evil needs to be punished. It is ironic that people consider Shadow a villain simply because of his appearance when he has spoken out against evil multiple times in multiple games. In Heroes, during the Metal Madness fight, Shadow actually criticizes Metal Sonic for stealing data on all living life forms in order to become strong, showing that he doesn’t believe in unfair methods of obtaining power. In ShTH he shows the same kind of sentiment towards Black Doom, refusing to give him the Chaos Emeralds and becoming angry at Black Doom for tricking him into collecting them for him in order to enslave the human race. Shadow’s distaste for evil is shown directly in the lyrics of “Supporting Me”, where the “air of darkness” is said to be “disgusting”, and yet Shadow “never [loses] out” to it, indicating that he doesn’t let his past evil actions get him down or discourage him from wanting to change for the better. He even outright states in his victory phrase after defeating Finalhazard that he wants to destroy “all the evil [Professor Gerald] has created”.

Another point in Shadow’s character that is similar to Sonic but also shows his own unique perspective on life: he values his freedom just as much as he values his friends, and doesn’t let his past get to him. The Dreamcast era games really focused on Shadow’s identity issues, but they also showed that he handles them in a way that doesn’t let them bring him down. In fact, Rouge is the one to mention Shadow’s identity problems in both SA2 and Heroes. In SA2, Rouge confronts Shadow about the fact that his memories may be fake and that he may not be the real end product of Project Shadow, but Shadow doesn’t respond with sorrow or a typical “angsty” answer. He instead asserts that even if his memories are fake, he is who he is now as a result of his actions throughout the entire story of SA2, and he is content with the identity he has made for himself. He then doesn’t dwell on the issue any longer and focuses on his own goal. A similar situation occurs in Heroes, where, upon finding the Shadow Androids, Rouge attempts to console Shadow, who has gone silent. Rather than breaking down, Shadow simply tells Rouge to disregard the Androids and to keep moving. This action ties back to the point I made earlier about Shadow not letting others see that he cares all the time. Possibly because he doesn’t want to burden others with his problems or let those problems affect who he is as a person, Shadow doesn’t let Rouge dwell on what he may have felt upon seeing the Androids and decides to ignore them. We see a similar reaction in Sonic ‘06, after learning that Omega was the one to seal him away in the future, Shadow doesn’t go off on Omega or cause an uproar. He simply walks away, probably to give himself time to think or just to avoid burdening Rouge and Omega with his feelings at that moment.

During the final stage of Heroes, Shadow makes a declaration reminiscent of the one in SA2 and affirms his identity as who he is currently rather than what he was in the past. ShTH really brings this together during the True Ending, when Shadow outright declares to Black Doom after breaking free from the paralyzing gas, “I’m Shadow the Hedgehog. I’ve left the past behind me. No one can tell me what to do now!” Shadow not only retains his freedom to determine who he is but also his destiny - which brings up another quote from Sonic ‘06. After Mephiles shows Shadow his future self imprisoned in a capsule permanently for fear of his power in order to convince him to take revenge on the humans who imprisoned him, Shadow simply tells Mephiles to quit the act and that he will never listen to his futile persuasion. Upon Mephiles asking if Shadow will really forgive humanity for his fate, Shadow says only one thing: “I determine my own destiny.” We even see in ShTH that Shadow doesn’t let his memories of Maria and Gerald haunt him: in the final cutscene of the True Ending, Shadow tosses away a picture of himself and Maria while saying “Goodbye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog”, signifying that he won’t let his past define him or haunt him any longer. He doesn’t let anyone - whether it be his own father, Maria, Gerald, or even his friends - determine his path of action and his choices. The entirety of ShTH is spent with Shadow determining his course of action in order to get to what he believes in the truth, demonstrating his belief in his own strength and sense of right and wrong (which is shown to be less black-and-white than it seems at first). All of Shadow’s character songs tie back to themes of freedom to be oneself or confidence in one’s identity created through one’s actions, and these songs often give off a feeling of being victory songs because victory for Shadow is asserting that he is who he is no matter what may have happened in the past.

In the end, I think Shadow is a kind, loyal, and determined person at heart who knows that right and wrong aren’t always easy to discern at first but still wants to protect the world from wrongdoing and help those in the world who are symbols of goodness, and who also values his freedom and loved ones more than anything.

[druidcandy]

I’m taking a break from drawing to type, because I guess I hate my hands???

Whatever I’m done with the bullshit time for other bullshit

Here’s a bunch of worldbuilding questions that I’m answering for Clark Monroe, private detective and accidental blood mage

Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with? Clark has his older brother Brandon, and his younger siblings Julie and Charlie. Clark is closest with Charlie because A) He still lives in Leviathan so they get to hang out a lot and B) Brandon’s over-competitiveness and Julie’s brattiness (which she’s grown out of) kept Charlie from hanging out with his siblings except his very chill second oldest sibling.

What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like? A little bit of that new england bostonian kind of “oh, ma” kind of thing. He’s a little exasperated at her a lot because she still tends to treat her kids like they’re kids, but he knows she means her best and is looking out for them still.

What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like? Kind of respectful, but lightly distant. Clark definitely gained his love of noir movies from his dad, but neither of them are particularly great communicators. That said, when Clark suddenly quit his job on the force (due to a very messy divorce), he was ready and able to quickly secure him a job as a landlord (that kind of fell off with time) and he helped get a private detective office.

Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know? One time he shot a man in self defense and gained magic powers Less of a sudden change in self and more a massive realization of something that’s been happening his entire life, but yes. It takes place a fair amount of the way within his story so I don’t want to out and out say it, but Charlie is the first to know and keeps it secret until Clark tells the rest of his friends/family.

On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets? Phone, wallet, several kinds of keys and keyrings, and a small notepad + pen.

Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams? Sometimes he dreams about the lives of the people who were sacrificed in the ritual he accidentally finished. Usually once he realizes it, it turns into a mishmash of their lives, his, and various experiences and memories mixing themselves together.

Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares? Sometimes he also dreams about their deaths too.

Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target? He was a cop, so yes. His mom kept him from even getting near a gun until high school, where he started practicing on a shooting range with nothing larger than a pistol.

Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up? He’s a little more broke than he was before, but considering he’s still got a hell of a lot of job and financial security he’s still pretty well off. Not suburban castle rich like Brandon, but doing pretty well.

Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing? Clark will go to a beach in a tshirt, maybe a very conservative chopped tshirt bro tank if he’s gonna be somewhere really hot. He’s really uncomfortable with his shirt off in front of other people and he doesn’t really know why.

In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been? I said it earlier as a joke, but literally singlehandedly stumbling your way into an occult ritual and having to shoot a crazy dude in self defense while lights swarm around him, leading said lights to swarm around you and lift you into the air before turning your gun into gold and sending out a shockwave that breaks windows before it all goes into your body is super terrifying when you have 0 context for the supernatrual and suddenly it’s all happening to you.

In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been? The week after his honeymoon. No more upcoming events, no deadlines, no nothing but a break from work and relaxing with his wife.

Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way? It makes him nervous about where the blood came from and he thinks it’s gross to touch, but otherwise he’s completely fine.

Does your character remember names or faces easier? Faces, but he has a fantastic memory either way.

Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not? No, because he’s managed to get himself into positions where he doesn’t really need a lot of capital or physical items for his job. He likes jewelry and jewelry making, and starts to take that interest from “quiet shame” to “thing I enjoy” when he learns he’s good at enchantment spells, but it’s more for utility than aesthetics and he’ll gladly enchant something ugly/cheap if it has a strong enough emotional connection to the person (because that usually makes the spell way stronger).

Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success? In his mind they’re interchangable. He likes doing a good job at things. At the end of the day though he’s more into happiness.

What was your character’s favorite toy as a child? He was really into batman and had some cool action figures. Brandon calls him “boy wonder” sometimes still.

Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others? Wisdom. He’s seen too many movies where the ambition of man leads to hubris and a downfall.

What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before? He’s a doormat who will take a lot of nonsense from people he’s seeing until it all boils over at once, and tends to not start arguments but definitely continue them. He’s also overly negative/critical at times. This lead to an incredibly messy divorce that lead him to resign from the force (since his ex worked with him) and kind of distance himself from most of his friends.

In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism? He mostly compares himself on a professional level to criticize himself, although there are moments where he mentally goes “I’m a tall sack of crap in a crappy trenchcoat and this person looks astounding”.

If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others? He usually thinks “this is just a thing that happens”, but most of the time if he’s blaming things he’s blaming himself.

What does your character like in other people? He likes honesty and straightforwardness, along with the ability to have fun with themselves.

What does your character dislike in other people? Coldness and callousness. He likes people who are honest, but you can only take it too far before being an asshole at heart.

How quick is your character to trust someone else? Depends on what they need to be trusted in and what they do. Clark believes actions are louder than words, and some of his actions are 

How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person? If there’s reason to investigate, there’s reason to investigate. That said, if he knows the person, he often goes to them first to try and get the story of what’s happening before getting them in real trouble.

How does your character behave around children? Cool uncle. But like, a chill cool uncle. Benji, one of his nephews, has literally ran away to end up at his house after getting in a fight with his parents before.

How does your character normally deal with confrontation? He tries to be a calming and defusing presence, but is quick to action if he thinks someone could get hurt.

How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation? Quick if they’re hurting something or doing something that could hurt others, slow otherwise.

What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true? Clark basically always thought detectives were cool. He got real interested in cooking in high school, but by then it was too little too late.

What does your character find repulsive or disgusting? Gross food, unclean kitchens, and slutwear in public. Satur, an incubus who’s bonded to his freeloading roommate, typically is responsible for two of these at all times.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable. Watching Casablanca for the millionth time and eating good food.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable. Having to introduce his real life friends to magical elements, especially if they have a fear of what he’s introducing.

In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve? Defensive, but he won’t say anything about it out loud. He’ll usually get mad quietly, and rant about it later. He takes criticism better if someone means well by it.

Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method? If it’s meant to work in that situation (whether or not it still does), he’ll try over and over before finally moving on. If it’s just a guess or an idea, he’ll just as quickly jump ship onto something that will possibly work.

How does your character behave around people they like? He is the unfortunate but necessary Dad Friend. But like, a cool dad. He tends to get worried for other’s safety easily and he’s always willing to lend a hand or an ear to people.

How does your character behave around people they dislike? He’s somewhat unsubtle in his contempt of people he dislikes, but tends to avoid rather than cause a scene if they share mutual friends or it’d be a bad time to get in a fight.

Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status? Honor. Clark doesn’t really care about his position in life, but likes to think of himself as a good person and secretly tries styling himself after a noir hero.

Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat? He is more likely to remove the threat than remove himself, if it’ll help other people.

Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)? Got bit by a class rabbit once. Ever since, he’s been nervous around animals (which is why he prefers living in a city).

How does your character treat people in service jobs? He’s polite, tips well, and is generally understanding about stuff, but he’s the kind of person who will pull out case notes and sit for hours looking over his work without actually ordering anything.

Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first? Clark usually feels like he needs to earn things, but he still gets frustrated when he doesn’t get them right away.

Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them? He’s had role models, but never a parental figure other than his own.

Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them? He’s had a freeloader (who became a capable adult with the help of an incubus), a “son” (not flesh and blood but made of magic), and someone else’s kid after they disappeared suddenly.

How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it? The other person has to say it first usually, and he usually doesn’t say it unless he’s in a setting where it’s just him and the other person. He’s not a big fan of vulnerability in front of more than one person. He can’t say it without meaning it, too.

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them? The thing that scares him is most blood mages just get really good at not dying. He’s scared he won’t, anymore.