#sonoda oomers

[dunmeshistash]

hello dr. meshi. was there any official confirmation that That half-foot woman was chilchuck's ex or did fans come to that conclusion bc she looks like his daughter? (just curious i think the fan conclusion would be p convincing already)

No confirmation as far as I know! Just a headcanon based on his daughter.

[thesugarhole]

[thesugarhole]

note: long image-heavy post

asked a friend from vietnam ( @sonoda-oomers ) if they could help with this, and all of the info in the replies seem to be in line so far:

Called: The Ghost of Hua Family; Con Ma Nha Ho Hua / Con Ma Nhà Họ Hứa

Directed by: Le Hoang Hoa / Lê Hoàng Hoa

Potentially lost media

they have said to take this information with a grain of salt since it partly comes from social media. here's what they had to say:

(when asked about the curiousarchive link and if it has a connection to a true story, they agreed)

Links collected so far:

okay, Mod L is throwing this one out to the crowd: there is a 1973 Vietnamese horror movie called The Ghost of Hui Family, right? I cannot find a trace of it ANYWHERE, but Wikipedia swears it exists.

[tainbocuailnge]

to piggyback your post about gbf cu chulainn. a malay friend of mine got incredibly frustrated that they gave the taming sari to a white character with little nuance to the original myth... and then there's the woman rumored to be cá ông which. cá ông is the male name for whales worshipped by vietnamese sailors, he literally has a fem counterpart whose name they could've borrowed instead?? cygames' reductive and shallow oc-rization of cultures they borrowed is getting just. So Much

it's so frustrating on a literary level too because when you reference a mythological name you draw upon the centuries of established imagery that comes with that mythology so to then not do fucking Anything with that and make up something else wholesale is like.... why even use the fucking name then. what's the point of wasting all this free symbolism. i imagine it only stings worse when they're taking from cultures that are often ignored or disrespected already

[completeoveranalysis]

hey! idk if you remember but i'm the person who asked if i could send in my own thoughts on ashura like way back when you were first getting to the celes arc :] sorry this is gonna be long admittedly my thoughts on him have changed since then, i think i first regarded him as a well meaning person bc, when i was a teen i saw a post in defense of him saying ashura was probably the one who taught fai about kindness and smiles. which with all i know about faux positivity now is. yeah. that's a lot to unpack ashura's whole thing with morally dubiously manipulating people he has power over (which he shares with clow reed actually) i think first and foremost serves to explore clamp's favorite narrative ploy: what claims to be the conflict between the self vs the world is actually the conflict between people's individual will and how power dynamics play into it. people like ashura (both in rg veda and trc) and clow reed and a load of other villains in clamp's other works expend the power of their will to make changes that they believe are good, in ignorance of others' wishes. but at the same time his relationship to fai is something just. incredibly fucked up and is bound to invite personal reactions

i think ashura really did care, or at the very least he personally believed what he did was the right thing, enough to justify the harm that he knew he was causing. i think in addition to that, it can be inferred that because of his condition he never functioned in the realms of human morality.

another thing to consider is how clamp approaches writing abusive parental/mentor figures. when people explore this kind of trauma it's entirely within their right to not humanize those who abused them. but they may also choose to do the opposite, not to justify the harm that was done but to come to terms with it, see the bigger picture of cycles of abuse, or any meaning they might find in it. i think clamp tends to do the latter. i can't claim to know ohkawa's original intents but, because of my asian upbringing i'm pretty close to the communal way of life that affects how people approach these things; works i know of that employs similar approaches are fruits basket and umineko no naku koro ni and they did a fantastic job with it. within clamp's own works, an example can be found in x/1999 (i'm not sure how far you are into it so i'll just leave it at that).

like you pointed out during your liveblogging clamp clearly laid out the horrifying nature of ashura's manipulation. but at the same time they spare him empathy, it's what they tend to do with their characters (even though people perceive them on the surface to be obsessed with writing suffering and that's another pet peeve i have with clamp fandom jokes...) but (x2) as a reader anyone can have their own feelings and interps of it it and i think that's what's important.

at the end of the day ashura is just one truly fucked up little man. i think we can all agree on that.

Ohoho I do remember! And thank you for giving me your thoughts! They are DELICIOUS, and I absolutely agree with what you say here.

I do think that Ashura cared for Fai, and thought he was doing the right thing for Fai - and was also willing to do great harm to a great number of people to achieve his version of love.

And considering how dark and heavy the entire plot thread is, I like that CLAMP don't present us with a "final answer" for what we should think about the situation. It's a complex and nuanced scenario that absolutely invites deeper thought and reflection, so, let's do that!

But behind the cut, because of spoilers and content warnings and the like.

Just for clarity, the content warnings include emotional abuse, murder, and suicide.

Goodness, I've had a lot of time to reflect on Ashura.

The big thing with Ashura is that he only sees his own perspective. He doesn't see (or perhaps does not care) that what he's trying to do is utterly fucking up Fai in the process. Either his goal/his version of "caring for Fai" completely trumps Fai's own feelings, and this thought comforts him to the point of complete confidence in his actions, or it doesn't particularly matter to Ashura what Fai's emotional state is as long as the curse is broken.

Another big thing with Ashura is we know WHAT he was trying to do, in that he wanted to break Fai's curse and die in the process. But we don't know which of these two things was his original intention, and if it even matters. WAS he selflessly offering himself as tribute to free Fai from the curse, or was he using the curse as a way to free himself from his own dark existence? Was he breaking Fai's curse out of love, or out of a calculated goal? Is he just trying to accomplish this item despite what it will do to Fai, or is he doing this for Fai's sake, no matter what state it will leave him in? Is there even a distinction for Ashura?

The OTHER big thing about Ashura that really starts to sway this in a darker direction is that Evil Wolverine KNEW what killing this would do to Fai. He knew that there was an incredibly undeniably strong likelihood that Fai would immediately kill himself after having killed Ashura, so much so that Evil Wolverine banked on this happening from the very beginning. It was his plan from the start - that Ashura would manage to break the curse by getting Fai to kill him, and Fai would immediately die as a result of his heartbreak. So is Evil Wolverine knew this so easily, how did Ashura not see this coming? Or did he not care about this either? Was Ashura so set in his own correctness that he genuinely did not know Fai well enough to guess what this would do to him, when even Evil Wolverine knew? Or was that also beside the point for him?

Though I think this term has lost a lot of its meaning in recent years, Ashura is presented as beautifully Morally Grey. He does Bad Things to accomplish an ultimate Good Thing. He's doing a Good Thing but it will have a Bad Effect on the people that survive. There are so many varied ways to interpret Ashura's actions that defining them as "good" or "bad" ends up losing all meaning, and I feel that's the ultimate point. CLAMP present Ashura with such an intricate mix of positive and negative qualities that the morality scale doesn't properly encapsulate him whatsoever any more. If he's purely a villain, then how do we measure the loving home he gave to Fai, and how he gave him the longest period of happiness in a life that was purely traumatic suffering before then? How do we measure the idea that his good advice ended up causing life long emotional trauma to Fai and the people around him? And on the other hand, if his actions are "purely good" because he wanted a "good thing", how do we measure the fact that he slaughtered almost an entire world of living people to accomplish it? How do we measure the idea that he broke Fai's curse against the severe emotional fallout that would have caused Fai to kill himself?

There is no ultimate answer to Ashura. It all comes down to an individual reader's interpretation, what things ring truest to them, and what things that they choose to emphasise over the others. And that's how it should be! No two readers will have the EXACT same experience with any text, and the same goes for Tsubasa. The reader's feelings towards Ashura are entirely personal and individual, and by their very nature they will be correct for them, and not necessarily for anyone else.

And that's where I draw a little line about what I'm about to say and clarify that my interpretation of Ashura doesn't need to match anyone else's, and everyone SHOULD be able to judge him individually. But here's my very personal take!

For me personally, Ashura rings true as a depiction of... I don't even know the right combination of words for it. A selfish type of love - a well meaning but harmful love.

Because I do think Ashura cared for Fai, and had a good effect on him at times, and gave him a loving home when he needed it, but that's not the full picture. Ashura's love is a narcissistic type of love that puts HIS views of 'what is right for Fai' above anything Fai himself might feel, robs him of any choice or decision in the matter, and is willing to absolutely destroy Fai emotionally in order to get him to what Ashura sees is the 'correct' result. It's a type of situation that I relate a little too strongly to not have a biased opinion of Ashura -because I do feel like I've lived through a very Fai-like experience in my personal life over the last couple of years, so it's become impossible for me not to project my own experiences on to what Ashura does to Fai.

Even though Ashura meant for a good result, that does not mean his love was not abusive, and it doesn't mean he didn't deeply traumatise Fai in the process, and it doesn't mean Fai ever has to forgive him for what he did. Not that Fai has that chance, because Ashura robbed him of that too - but in real life things get a lot harder to navigate and understand, especially when you're still in the middle of it. Like Fai, you get stuck on some of the positives and think that the 'bad' things can't possibly be real, even while they poison you from the inside and drive you to a destruction that the other person is absolutely fine with because it will give them what they want. And even then, you want to be a "good person", especially if you define your self worth off of making other people happy, so you may find yourself wanting to forgive them, or feeling like you HAVE to forgive them. But you don't. You can choose these things for yourself. You can redefine your whole life and leave behind the people who treat you like Ashura does - even though it hurts you, and it hurts them, because they don't even see that they're doing anything wrong.

But at the end of the day YOU are worth more than anyone else's feelings - and this is what I absolutely ADORE about the way Kurogane treats Fai, because he has ALWAYS been about that from the very start. Kurogane shows us that Fai deserves to live, to be happy, to be safe, JUST because he's Fai, and for no other reason. And he does!

Kurogane's love for Fai has always had Fai's wellbeing as the priority. It causes friction between them in Acid Tokyo when they don't agree on what that means, and they don't always make the best decisions, but at the core Kurogane's love is selfless, nurturing, and protective.

Ashura's love for Fai always had Ashura's love for Fai as the priority. It hinges on what Ashura wants, and while it does have nice experiences for Fai along the way, Fai's thoughts, feelings, and decisions are not a factor that comes into play. This ultimately leads to a situation where Fai's mental distress, trauma, and ultimate suicide are not only on the table but practically guaranteed, if Evil Wolverine is to be believed. At its core, Ashura's love was love, but it was selfish, damaging, and destructive.

So that's my take on Ashura! I'm very happy for other people to have alternate takes on the situation, because that's the beautiful things about stories like this, and it doesn't even need a big thought process behind it. Some people can just like Ashura for no particular reason, because it matches their own experiences better, and that's completely ok!

But because this is my post Ashura is a piece of shit, and like you said, a fucked up little man.

[thesugarhole]

RULES: Put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that come up, then tag ten other people

im not directly tagging anyone bc my brain experiences the horrors (anxiety). brought to you by @thesugarhole tho

alphabet - Kyoton-P feat. IA

Outer Science - Jin feat. IA

Hibikase - Giga feat. Miku

Miracle Paint - OSTER project feat. Nomiya Ayumi

Unhappy Refrain - wowaka feat. Miku

Lilith Ambivalence Lovers - ikaruga_nex

MOON PRIDE - covered by Pastel*Palettes

Dou Iu Koto nano!? - Kuchibashi-P feat. Miku

Saigo no Revolver - mothy feat. GUMI

Koi wa Sensou agressif mix - Ringo feat. Miku

feel free to do if you want to <3

[aalaynirakul]

might be a bit of a dumb q, but am i correct in assuming hong and lan are vietnamese? thank you for all that you do, your work not only inspires me to make more art but also makes me feel at ease in some way about how much art there is in the world ; w ;

Thanks, I'm happy to hear that! Many names on the archives are from people I know, or from town/school/cemetery rec and headstones. In this case both Hong and Lan are Thai-Chinese.

[quartzcraft-mc]

hello! is there any estimate date for the creative world to arrive? i'm a bit more partial to creative and am afraid i might abandon the survival stuff i've worked on if i join too close to the creative world release :'

Hello,

Right now our current focus is on getting the player mall up and running for the survival players. We don’t want to specifically say a date but we hope to get player mall up and running soon and creative is next on our list! So I would sayyyy for ease, give or take a month or two as we would need to make sure that inventories and plot testing are okay!

Hope that this helps!!

[landofsomethingsomething]

karkat is just... a good boy. he cannot change this

[thesugarhole]

two of them

[dunmeshistash]

since you were talking about nakamoto retainers. the dynamics in the canaries are so interesting to me. i think without extra materials you wouldn't even know they had a warden-prisoner relationship because they treat each other so casually and seemingly without resentment (see how they encourage mithrun with kabru - maybe bc mithrun is looser as a warden compared to someone like pattadol?)

maybe it's bc the main story just chooses not to focus on the intricacies of that dynamic... it seems they do get monetary pay (mentioned in fleki's extra) and to prisoners it's probably a better deal than rotting in a cell, they get to go around in the outside world. but like, how much choice do they have in the matter? esp since it's such dangerous work and they straight up live and die by the word of their warden

i wonder if there's criticism for it in elven society like how we criticise the prison industrial complex in ours

--

I sure hope there's criticism but I doubt. Elves seem to accept how their society is for the most part?

Kabru does explain how it works when he meets Mithrun properly but I'll admit I forgot while reading and assumed Mithrun was a prisoner too and that they cut his ears cause he was once a dungeon lord.

chapter 61

The fact that there's more prisoners than guards and the fact most if not all of them are powerful mages is quite interesting that they never try to escape.

Well actually one of them at least has. Cithis is said to have joined and left several times due to controlling her guards. And has only "settled down" now that her guard is Mithrun.

Here's their crimes

Lycion and Fleki work under Pattadol and Cithis and Otta under Mithrun.

If we take this chart Fleki likes him cause he's funny, Lycion likes him cause he has a man-crush on him, Cithis likes him cause he resisted her mind control and otta is otta, I didn't know what a slave-driver was, I guess it's cause he orders her to work?

Anyway they really are interesting, is kinda surprising that prisoners and guards seem to end up getting along (Helki and Milsiril are another example)

[thesugarhole]

this bot rules

[thesugarhole]

the unhinged freaks are kissing on the lips again -neon

gay ass! we kiss

thanks! you too!

[utopianparadoxist]

hello! first of all (though this ask isn't gonna be long, hopefully), thank you for all your analyses on homestuck! i'm a really new fan, only started reading and finished homestuck within the month, and i'm so glad there are still so many fans producing content until this day! (i was so happy to see how recent your videos were you have no idea) i just spent the whole day reading your written articles on medium, it was a greatly enjoyable time, i feel like my third eye opened and stuff (1/2)

(2/2 i'm sorry i gET REALLY LONG WINDED) and with all the knowledge i gained i also came to my own understanding and interpretation of many things that initially bothered me. it was a lot of fun! i hope things look up for you, and i really look forward to more of your content!

Thank you so much! Things are objectively pretty great for me personally nowadays, I just went through a rough couple days. Feeling better already :BHope you enjoy your Homestuck journey! ^^

[tainbocuailnge]

now that i think of it have you met a blue grandjeet in game yet? has anyone?

a few of my crew members have seen one but I haven’t

[wakraya]

I feel like one could say the house has been voided of existence, in which case we do have a void player. Who can help unvoid things.

Not sure if Rox can materialize a whole HOUSE like that. Also it would still be a close facsimile, not the actual space where John’s spent his whole life, nor all the physical memories he still had of Dad.

How much should I bet on the influencers bursting out of the bushes to help the vriskas lmao

Snrk, that’d be an interesting spot to have the Influencers appear in-canon for the first time, but I feel Vriska’s got it under control.

sonoda-oomers said:

oh the art direction in this upd8 was just delicious. the image of a house burning down reminiscences me of fullmetal brotherhood and how the image is meant to represent letting go of a painful history that you were once so desperate to salvage that you just kept sinking deeper into misery. i don't expect our protagonist to get angry, rather for them to stop trying to undo the past and to face the present and the future AND MAYBE TRANS THE GENDER???? MAYBE??????

I think there’s still a while to trans Egbert’s Gender, but... Yeah this is a “Point of No Return” basically.