#we're given much more of will's perspective leading up to this moment

[chirpsythismorning]

🎨 🖼️ 🌈 🩹 🧍🏽💡 🔮⚡️☄️

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word by Elton John

previous ⏪︎ now playing ⏩ next back to playlist

[morsesnotes]

Morse and Joan in S5

Before I go on I just want to say that although I have a lot of feelings on Morse/Joan, they're as much based in wanting good writing as having shipper goggles on.

I've been re-watching S5 for the first time, and purely from a writing perspective I really feel something definitive should've happened between them at that point.

Throughout the season there's an arc of Morse learning to lighten up a bit about sex and being told it's ok for it to just be fun and about physical desire without a bunch of emotional baggage attached.

Alongside that is the return of Joan, and the whole will-they-won't tension is at its peak.

Then at the beginning of Passenger there's this curious angle used which seems to be Joan watching Morse from her window.

It's reminiscent of when they first met each other in Fugue, and Joan was again at the window, as pointed out by @to-be-frank-i-dont-care here.

Both scenes are followed by her swiftly greeting him at the door. It's an interesting choice given the deflated ending of her housewarming party. Yes it's a nice bit of cinematography, but we never see Joan's POV, and the audience would take it as significant we're seeing it now. There's an implication of feelings there, and every interaction leading up to this has had sexual tension on both sides.

In the last two episodes you have the weird almost moment in Quartet which confirms Joan still wants Morse despite effectively turning him down before, and in Icarus Morse tells Trewlove he'd give his career up if he found The One. Finally, Trewlove leaves Morse with the message not to wait around because life is too short.

I think it would've made a lot of sense for all of this to lead to a night of passion with Joan at the end of Icarus. It would've made a great little bookend to start with a tightly-wound horny Morse in Muse and end with him gaining the courage to take that big leap, with Joan of course accepting.

Everything from there could've remained more-or-less the same, except the flashback in Pylon is a Graduate-esque scene where they both have a sinking feeling they've made a mistake, and perhaps a crisis over how real their love was, and it ends awkwardly. That would've made S9 hit so much harder imo.

[emeryhiro]

Hi! Thanks so much for your epsiode breakdowns of the book of carol! I had a couple of questions for you about episode 1. No worries if you can't answer though!

1 - after watching, do you feel more or less confident about caryl going canon? Or about the same?

2- if you had to use three words to describe the ep, what would they be?

3- if you had to use three emojis to describe your fave scene, what would they be?

4- was there anything you didn't like about the ep?

5- do you think ep 6 is going to be the best episode of walking dead anything ever?

Thanks so much!!

Hey Anon!

You're so welcome 🩵 and thank you for the interesting questions 😊 I apologise in advance because my response for Q1 is going to be a little long and slightly ranty.

1 - When I compare how I felt about it in the last 10+ years to how I feel about it now after watching episode 1, I would say I definitely feel more confident that we're heading for Caryl canon. AMC indeed had plenty of opportunities to give us canon before (but obviously never did); however, the setup now is the best it's ever been. From a storytelling perspective, I believe the way Episode 1 set up Carol on her journey to find Daryl is the perfect lead-up for canon. And S02EP1 made 3 things very evident to me:

Finding Daryl is Carol's number one priority, and she'd do anything to get him back

Daryl would never be truly happy without her, and he can't stop thinking about her and how she's doing without him.

The longer they're apart, the more mentally and emotionally unstable they become.

I'm aware there are some people who think that after watching episode 1, the new season's story is not going to be the one we want for Caryl. To those people, I want to ask: Did we watch the same episode?🤣 'Cause I didn't see a single anti-Caryl thing in the episode I watched.

I'll dive into my opinion on the timing of canon a little more as well:

If Caryl had gone canon on the main show, I'm sure we would have all been so happy, but it's all going to be so much more rewarding after the tension that has now been built with Daryl after season one and Carol in season 2 (so far). With all the time they've spent apart, they have started to experience the real fear of never seeing each other again or knowing if the other is even alive.

I think this was the plan all along. The initial spin-off idea was for Carol and Daryl to leave the group and join everyone again later in the show. That opportunity to leave the group and what they experienced in that time away would have been their plan to get to that level of tension where canon was the most satisfying.

When it was decided that the TWD would end with s11, they knew they had to hold off on canon until the spinoff because there was no way they had enough screen time left to get through the character development they needed for Caryl or the opportunity to build tension the way they envisioned it.

I'm happy they waited because getting a rushed canon would've been led up to by moments that we've already seen and experienced by the characters many times before (and never previously led to canon) would not have done Caryl justice.

Unfortunately, the pattern that we consistently saw in the flagship show was that as soon the group settled somewhere (Prison, Alexandira, Commonwealth) and got into some sense of normalcy, Daryl and Carol were automatically pulled apart by circumstances and responsibilities, and barely end up getting any time together. Carol even spoke to Maggie about this in S11EP21. That's who Daryl and Carol are; they never put themselves or their wants/needs first. So, for canon to happen and to make sense, they needed to be taken away from everyone else, given their own journey and time together, without the distraction of their obligations to others.

Carol and Daryl are my favourite characters in all of fiction. I ultimately want them to be cared for and get the happiness they deserve. Some might strongly disagree with me on this, but I think if, after this point, they still don't give us canon, then it'd be because Norman and Melissa didn't want it. I'll stand by my previous comments on this; Norman and Melissa are being heard by the writers, and to me, their character arcs have their input written all over them. If they want Caryl to be canon (which I strongly believe they do), then it will be, and if they don't, then it won't be, because I don't think there's anything else holding that back anymore.

2 - EMOTIONAL, unhinged, and nostalgic

3 - 💥🛩️🌅 - I'm curious to know how you interpret these and if the people I attended the premiere with would agree ( @celtic-crossbow @maggie-atwood )

4 - I strongly disliked how the people at the nest (i.e. Isabelle & Losang) treated Daryl. We saw them constantly emotionally manipulate him in season 1, and I was still seeing that in S02EP1; however, what made it a little better this time was that Daryl was clearly sick of it all. He looked ready to wrap things up, resolve the Nest's conflicts as soon as possible, and start heading home.

5 - Idk... someone should ask Norman. I wish he'd share his thoughts on episode 6 🤣 (Yes, I do! To me, the whole season is gonna be the best season of twd anything ever because it's all about Carol and Daryl)

Thanks again for the interesting questions; they were a lot of fun for me to answer, and I hope I've answered them well. Please feel free to lmk if you have any others ♡♡♡

[aihoshiino]

this is more of a thought project than an actual question, but what do you think it would've been like had aqua's decision to reveal the identity of his past life to ruby backfired upon him? i'm not sure if the possibility would've even existed in the first place given how much sarina idolizes (haha. idolize.) goro, but i like to think about it sometimes because ruby has known the man as "aquamarine hoshino" (guy who is unfailingly stubborn and even frustrating at times) longer than she's known him as "goro amamiya" (a mostly well-adjusted guy from her perspective) and also because ruby has always been my favorite of the hoshino twins and i'm trying to cope with her characterization as of late. sobs

NGL, I do kind of think that Aqua's decision here has already been backfiring even if it doesn't seem quite as apparent on the surface. As Kana points out, while Ruby is acting fine and happy now, her leaning on Gorou-through-Aqua hasn't really addressed the core issues that are impacting her mental health. That relationship is kind of her single point of failure right now and the moment it's taken away from her, she's going to collapse.

This is why Tsukuyomi described Aqua revealing himself to Ruby as a 'bad move'. Sure, it got her back on her feet and ensured the movie would get made with her in the lead role but it has also made her incredibly reliant on the supposed promise that Gorou would marry her when she turned 16 (which, uh, isn't even what he said…!) and his presence in general. But Aqua's plan has been all but textually stated at this point to end in his death which, as I'm sure you can imagine, would be probably not great for Ruby's mental health to begin with but especially now she knows he's Gorou…!!!

That said, it is interesting to roll around a scenario where Aqua drops that reveal and Ruby rejects him… either out of not believing him or because his behavior as Aqua has shattered the pedestal she had Gorou up on. The idea of a version of the Movie Arc where Ruby is still in black hoshigan mode, playing a version of Ai who comes across as flawed, bitter and unsympathetic as a result of Ruby's own inability to be vulnerable… ouughh now we're fucking cooking….

That could be a really fascinating parallel to how Ai was rejected by everyone who saw her as she really was under her idol persona and you could have a lot of fun tying Ruby's gradual understanding of and empathy with Ai and her growing anger with regards to her exploitation to her realization that her all-or-nothing view of Gorou is similarly dehumanizing. Holy shit, now I'm imagining a version of the Movie Arc where Ruby keeps her black hoshigans all the way up to 134 and it's that moment of connection with Ai as a human being that finally breaks her out of it.

Like, holy shit. This is already an incredibly powerful and moving series of pages, but can you imagine just how much harder they would've hit if this had been when Ruby's white hoshigan had blazed back to life? WE COULD'VE HAD IT ALL.........

[galadrieljones]

Do you think there is a deleted scenes between daryl and beth?!

Hey anon! Tbh, we're just sure. We are fairly certain that there are deleted scenes from season 5. There's quite a bit of proof for this, leading us to believe that they are hiding something from us pertaining to Beth's (lack of a) funeral as well as what happened after they left Atlanta. However, we don't have any idea whether Daryl and Beth are featured together in those scenes. It's possible!

Pertaining to 4b, while we don't have any proof that they have unaired footage from bethyl's time together during 4b, there very well could be. There's literally no way to know unless they choose to tell us. I know many bethylers do wonder what happened during the time period between "Still" and "Alone." It seems that, possibly, several weeks have passed, as they've found warmer clothes to wear; however, we also know that the timeline in 4b and 5a is particularly weird. For example, if you trace things like the seasonality of the fruits and flowers that we see in 4b, like pecans, strawberries, peaches, grapes, and sunflowers, you'll find several seasonal periods going on at once in Georgia. There's everything from early summer to mid-fall. Then, of course, there's that weird moment where Joe the Claimer says it's "New Year's Eve." Ultimately we really don't know how much time passed between "After" and "Coda." It could be three weeks or three months, and I believe that's entirely purposeful. They want to create feelings of disorientation for the audience as they build up to "Coda." Once you've sat around studying Scott Gimple's ways long enough, you know that he LOVES planting seeds, and one of his favorite seeds to plant is ambiguity.

For the purposes of continued rambling, I know there are some bethylers who have speculated that Beth and Daryl were intimate between "Still" and "Alone," given the fact that Daryl seems much more physical with Beth in "Alone," sort of constantly touching her, and they seem to have grown much closer. He carries her around several times, and they do hold hands. He flirts with her pretty heavily at a couple different moments, even if he's not entirely aware of the fact. I really don't have a personal belief on this topic. I think either perspective is interesting and valid, and I think that tptb could maneuver the situation either way, if they wanted to, and depending on what they would have wanted us to see *later,* this might affect whether or not they shot any scenes that they never told anybody about.

Time will hopefully tell!! 💫

[shysublimecoffee]

This represents my personal perspective on the matter, so please don't interpret it as a factual statement. It's an opinion, and there may be exceptions if you explore thoroughly. However, I find the otome isekai genre quite monotonous. The recurring theme of recycling concepts, reusing character designs with a prevalent "same face syndrome," and the prevalence of protagonists resembling each other, particularly the Duke of the North archetype with that clichéd Idol haircut, contribute to a sense of staleness. The majority of flawless female leads with 99% being blonde, with a few exceptions, adds to the predictability.

For me, the transmigration or reincarnation concept caught my attention around 2018, starting with works like "Who Made Me a Princess" and the infamous "They Say I Was Born a King's Daughter," even though I admit my taste was not the best back then.

The idea of taking over someone's body and living their life fascinated me. What made it unique was the perspective shift, allowing us to see many previously despised villains from other stories in a new light, experiencing the narrative from their point of view.

But, this is when it started getting old real quick. My god, how many fucking times am I going to see a good heroine turned evil and the villainous be taking the leftover men from the heroine side and forming a harem. The villainous unfortunately can't be nuanced because all these stories do is just make shit black and white. Our MC can't be held accountable for what they did but sob hard enough and we get an ally to ride behind her.

You know what's incredibly frustrating? These Korean women from the 21st century keep transmigrating into these villainous roles, and it's just downright irritating. They either come off as overly naive or stick to the tired narrative of being an office worker who suddenly becomes wealthy and tramples over others. It lacks uniqueness, and seriously, what do we really know about the female lead (FL) beyond the prologue? Who is she? What's her home life like? Does she want to return? These are questions I want answers to, but we're not given the chance because the focus remains on the villainous character. Even that aspect isn't executed well; they end up softening her character and making her more compliant than she was in the original story just to avoid a bad ending. I'm more intrigued by understanding the backstory of the actual original villainous character.

The male lead (ML) seriously disappoints. I get it, this genre revolves around romance, but let's get real for a moment—do we genuinely care about this so-called "romance"? What truly matters is the chemistry between characters that makes us feel, cry, and get infuriated, and that's what a story should evoke. Worse than a bad boy ML is a downright boring male lead. Whether it's the Duke of the North or any other generic character, they all feel like mere props catering to the female lead, and that's painfully dull.

I couldn't care less because these MLs exist solely to assist her in everything, whether it's for revenge, to play the savior, or to be the healer. Nothing feels genuine; there's no emotional investment in the romance for me. I'm not overjoyed by the idea of them being together. Many readers seem more fixated on their aesthetics and how well he serves her, but let's be honest—their designs are unimaginative, resembling countless other MLs and MCs. Frankly, I wish more effort were put into creating distinct and captivating characters.

No matter how much one might criticize the toxicity of old-school Shojou romances and the portrayal of male leads, I absolutely loved it. Sure, the romance might not be ideal, but that's precisely what makes it fun and enjoyable to read. The characters have their quirks and distinct personalities, creating their own unique dynamics that add to the charm of the story unlike the former.

Transmigration/Reincarnation is so barley touched in a genre surrounding that very concept. It's like they dip into a puddle but don't expand on the horrors or intrigue of anything really and they be explaining everything from the prologue instead of letting us breathe. We don't settle or sit with the characters and writers are far more interested in miscommunication. It's why I like manga because you get beautiful scenes of just peace or character introspection than you would in colored format.

If there's one story that truly captivated me and made me fall in love with this particular brand of Otome Isekai, it's "A Stepmother's Märchen." It may not be a masterpiece, but the deliberate and slow-paced narrative, reminiscent of a novel, along with the meticulous attention to depicting a semi-realistic high society, drew me in. The story offers complex and conflicted characters, and the stunning art, which interestingly mirrors European illustration outside of the main cast, adds to its appeal. Of course, it's not without its flaws, but the beauty of the narrative has made it stand out to me even years later. It's not a one-note copy it did it own thing that I wish OI did more.

Kill the Villanous,

Death is the ending the villanous

I appreciate how these stories took the isekai concept and added their unique twists. It's refreshing, and I wish more writers would follow suit. While I understand that Otome Isekai is primarily about wish fulfillment, I also crave narratives that offer more than just that. A well-crafted story with thoughtful character development would be a welcome addition to the genre because it sticks out to me more. I don't remember OI titles but for me to remember those is because the concept were different from the usual OH no I woke up in the villain body.

[muninnhuginn]

I do think it's pretty neat how sometimes anya's powers are displayed in a less typical way. as in, usually they're shown to the audience as voices and occasionally as images, right? and that's a pretty obvious way to conceptualise it (as well as explain why she struggles so much with twilight who's off operating on five different threads at any one moment).

but occasionally, you'll get instances where we know anya's using her powers due to visual/audio cues, but we don't hear the voices/see any images. the most obvious instances are around yuri, though I think it also happens with franky too at some point.

and her powers being presented sans voices/images serve a few purposes. with yuri most of the time, it means we as the audience end up inferring yuri's thoughts from knowledge of his dynamic with yor and anya's own reactions (aka, some variation of "blegh") rather than having them brought to the forefront *in relation to anya*. as in, we take in that anya's being subject to yuri's fairly obsessive thoughts, but we're not being forced to actively address that as we are in other cases (melinda being the obvious one). it's almost a self-censorship deal so that the audience can take it less seriously. endo knows that anya being in a scene with yuri means that she *will* be picking up his vibes, but it really doesn't need to be the focus, because yikes. so if you read most yuri-yor interactions where anya is present she's just off in the background hiccoughing or similar.

one of the other purposes is just that sometimes the audience has seen all the context and lead up behind why a character is acting as they are and so doesn't really need a worded explanation of a character's thought process at that time (if anything, it could jar the scene). so, say the latest anime episode (28 as of me writing this) we have yuri coming to the forgers' household after arresting a man who was kinda scummy but also doing things *for his family*. this is something that clearly does weigh on yuri to some extent given his whole motivation is yor, but having him put that in words would seem both clunky and to be frank, would remove ambiguity that adds to the scene. so, in this case, having seen the rest of the episode, the audience then seeing anya (who isn't a fan of yuri) patting yuri in sympathy signals that this whole deal has affected him more than he lets on to his colleagues at the SSS. a little extra nudge on top of the fact he shows up at the forgers' household in the first place.

(and the final instance that comes to mind when the way anya's powers are displayed is different than the usual 'thoughts' would be the end of the [redacted] arc. she sees visual static and it's clear that twilight himself doesn't fully recall what he was dreaming now he's awoken. but again, this presentation shows the audience that anya hasn't actually read the whole flashback from twilight. the [redacted] arc is grim and tbh way past the level that anya can even conceptualise at present. she still sees the spy and assassin deal largely as a game at this point and, for now, it needs to remain that way.)

not really going anywhere specific with this, but yeah, I just find it interesting from both an in-universe and out-of-universe perspective (mainly the latter, admittedly) how anya's powers are presented to the audience.

[adhd-merlin]

unpopular opinion: arthur (as much as i like him as a character) was useless in terms of prophecy and liberation of the magic people. not just bc he never ended up lifting the magic ban but bc literally anyone sitting on the throne could have done that. i see no reason why it had to be arthur specifically. but the show liked to pretend like he was the only way to achieve a positive future bc the opprressed community cant simply help themselves that would be silly ig? no no they need to patiently wait that maybe one day their oppressor (whos literally continuing his fathers genocide even if less zealously) has a change of heart and they wont be hunted down like animals anymore. never mind the countless people that will have to die in the mean time. merlin can kill a bajillion people on screen and thats fine and for the greater good but if someone tries to kill One guy sitting on a fancy chair with a fancy hat suddenly thats too extreme. half the time it felt like the show was pointing to merlin as a poster child of how to act when oppressed. the fact that morgana growing bitter about uthers reign is framed as inherently bad and what directly lead to her becoming evil tm is particularly infuriating to me. the choice to create this very ya dystopian setting and then cast the oppressors as part of the main cast and the final solution is just very weird to me. i think it wouldve been objectively for the best if the magic community had overthrown arthur (or uther really but thats not really contested.. unless youre the bbc. this show is so british (derogatory))

in that vein: mordred has never done anything wrong in his entire life and that includes killing arthur

one more for the "arthur was a loser" folder

[ok but about the rest!! I have many thoughts about it. merlin as a member of an Oppressed Minority. his betrayal of his own kin. I'm putting it all under a cut bc you guys don't need to see me rambling about this and the disir again]

you make a good point — the way in which a story is framed, even the moment we choose as a "beginning", determines what characters we'll feel sympathy for, even when the facts at our disposal are the same.

I don't think the writers were trying to create any kind of deep social commentary btw. just so we're clear. merlin is the hero of the story and his mission is to keep arthur safe. we've got to root for them both.

to have a king with a hatred (fear) of magic gives us a convenient antagonist within the court. merlin having to defend the men that would have him killed for his magic is a great source of dramatic tension. it sort of follows that the people he has to fight against to defend the king/prince are other magic users, or magical threats. (it also keeps things interesting because there would be no challenge for merlin otherwise).

there isn't much of a point in exploring the motives and backstories of other characters with magic (with the exception of morgana, perhaps). They are only briefly touched upon — so these characters remain vaguely antagonistic for the most part. Neutrally aligned at best (see mordred).

We are shown that the druids are (mostly) aware of the prophecy that marks merlin/emrys as the saviour of their kind.

what I find fascinating are merlin's interactions with magic people who are either not aware of this prophecy (gilli) or have no faith in it (kara, possibly?) Because we're never given the chance or the time to see things from their perspective. To see merlin through their eyes.

When gilli says:

"It is time that someone struck a blow for the likes of you and me. And if you're too weak, then I will." (!!!)

It makes him sound like some kind of extremist, but really, when you think about it. isn't his anger kind of justified? I'm not condoning his violence, I'm just saying — it's understandable. uther has killed so many innocent people. literally drowned innocent children. and merlin's like "violence isn't the answer!" — and I can see his point!! but I can see gilli's just as well. and I find it so interesting that he's still addressing merlin as a brother ("the likes of you and me"), even when expressing disappointment in his actions and calling him weak. because they are the same. he's saying "you're deluded, and cozying up to the enemy won't save you"

this episode also contains what is (probably) my favourite dragon call. when merlin summons kilgharrah in other episodes, he's usually in the middle of some Urgent Situation. matters of life or death. there is nothing urgent here, really. yeah, it is arguably a matter of life or death, but nothing merlin couldn’t have stopped on his own. he really just called on kilgharrah to have a heart to heart with a friend — a member of his class.

("You are a creature of magic, and only a creature of magic could hope to understand.")

this episode is about merlin looking for kinship and still feeling isolated from his magic brethren. there's something tragic about the way the prophecy makes him unable to connect to some of the people who would be best placed to understand him.

and gilli plants a small seed of doubt in merlin's mind. "You've been pretending for so long now that you've actually forgotten who you are" (!!)

but kilgharrah reassures merlin that there's a golden age coming. so merlin does what he has to do — he saves uther once again. before gilli leaves, merlin reassures him that one day they will be free.

he tells mordred the same:

"It won't always be like this. One day we will live in freedom again."

and then, when he has the unique opportunity to use his influence on arthur to sway his opinion in the right direction. he fails.

he condemns himself, and the people he spoke to of freedom, to keep living in fear and in hiding — and what's even more upsetting, he does so while talking of a "just and fair kingdom"!

("You must protect the world you spent your life building, a just and fair kingdom for all." What an interesting choice of words. camelot isn't just and fair to all — as merlin knows well. he's lying to arthur, and possibly to himself.)

imagine being gilli or mordred and hearing him say that "there can be no place for magic in camelot." (!) What a slap in the face.

I've read meta suggesting that the disir were testing merlin just as much as arthur (or even more so than him). I'm inclined to believe it — I want to believe it. If anything because it makes the story all the more interesting and tragic. (I know what some are going to say — if mordred's destiny was to kill arthur, it would've happened anyway. but remember what else kilgharrah said — the future is never clear. there are many paths).

I understand why merlin did what he did, I really do. but for a moment, the fair and just kingdom he spoke of was within reach, and he failed to grasp it.

so was gilli wrong after all?

[and kara. I feel quite sympathetic towards her. we know arthur. she can't see him from our (merlin's) perspective. for her, he might as well be uther. magic people are still persecuted under camelot's law. she has spent her life on the run, she has seen people she loved be killed. and from our (arthur's) perspective, she looks like some kind of fanatic. but in reality. put yourself in her shoes. when arthur offers her a chance to save herself by "repenting" for her crime, she says she has nothing to repent for. "it is not a crime to fight for your freedom". that's the belief she's willing to die for. did she deserve to die for it?

(I also think there's an interesting parallel in merlin failing his kin in the disir, and arthur failing mordred in ep 5x11 by condemning kara to death. something about pinning all your hopes on someone who's going to fail you, and doom you both. idk idk.)]

sorry anon. you were saying

[tobiasdrake]

A Comparative Look at First Cases

Okay, before moving on to 3-2, I want to take a moment to go over the First Cases. I feel like I should break this down into categories to make it simpler.

Okay, let's start with the motives. Motives are a lot of fun. They can be captivating and mysterious, with overarching effects that may not be clear at first glance but ultimately compel the murder.

I need to clarify that we're talking about capital-M Motives provided by Monokuma and not necessarily the specific, individual rationale for murder that the killer interpreted from it. That will come up when we talk about killers.

Best Motive: 2-1 - The Missing Past Sometimes simpler can be better than overcomplex, and that makes 1-1's Motive fairly strong. "Your loved ones are in danger; That sucks." Straight to the point. Who will be driven to murder by this?

But 2-1's Motive manages to take that simple Motive and mold it into someting that's intriguingly esoteric. Taking the grand reveal from 1-6 and frontloading it into 2-1's Motive disguises its true menace. It keeps the sequel plot moving without having to retread too much, while still delivering a rationale for murder that nonetheless ends up being every bit as hard-cutting and personal as 1-1's.

Worst Motive: 3-1 - The First Blood Perk I already went on a tirade over this but suffice it to say, the First Blood Perk is one of the most interest-terminating Motives in Danganronpa. A good Motive should make you wonder which character's particular psychology is going to interact with the Motive in a way that moves them to murder. This Motive just makes you wonder how they're going to cop out of it.

Ah, but what's a Motive without the rest of the events leading up to the case? Hanging out, being sociable, and trying to defeat the Mastermind. Let's talk about best build-up.

Best Build-Up: 3-1 - A Plan to Thwart the Mastermind All three build-ups center around two major things: Learning about the Killing Game and our fellow players, and getting to know the character who's about to betray us in a big way: Sayaka, Nagito, and Kaede.

Of the three journeys these sets of characters undergo together, Kaede and Shuichi's plan to undermine (and, secretly, assassinate) the Mastermind is immediately investment-grabbing. And while you can spot signs of Kaede's impending plot if you're observant enough, it's not quite as obvious as Sayaka's meltdown and plot to frame Makoto.

Worst Build-Up: 2-1 - Entering the Neo World Program To be honest, this was a toss-up between 1-1 and 2-1. The time we spend getting to know Nagito hits a lot harder given how much more important of a character he's going to be than Sayaka.

But the clincher for me was actually the opening minutes of the game. One of DR2's biggest reveals is that we're in a simulation, but they front-load the game with a lot of Matrix effects that give away the trick immediately as you begin playing it. The opening minutes are the disappointing 11037 clue of DR2, but made worse for being too obvious about a major endgame reveal.

Best Blackened: 3-1 - Kaede Akamatsu Okay, I know I've spent multiple posts complaining about this and it still does piss me off from the perspective of overarching game design choice. But given how intricate and fascinating her murder is and the way it plays so hard on established character traits and relationships, I'd be remiss not to acknowledge her here.

The best murders are the ones that are rooted in characters. That stem entirely from the way the character's identity, personality, and relationship to other characters interacts with the provided Motive. You should always come away from the killer's identity reveal feeling like it not only was this person, but that it could never have been anyone else. It was always going to be them.

Kaede's well-conceived but poorly-aimed plan to kill the Mastermind is a perfect example of a masterfully executed interplay of personality, motive, means, and opportunity coming together in a way that feels true to character and heartbreaking to discover.

Worst Blackened: 1-1 - Leon Kuwata

It's hard to choose between Teruteru and Leon here, because they're in a similar boat. Teruteru has an interesting motive for his involvement, but one that doesn't get examined until the very end in a bid for last-second sympathy. Saving the killer's interesting character traits for FTEs and a last-second revelation is a recurring problem in Danganronpa.

Conversely, Leon doesn't have much motive at all. He's a strong candidate for least developed character in Danganronpa. He was selected more or less arbitrarily by Sayaka to be her intended victim and then killer. He is so utterly divorced from the events of the crime that she had to scrawl his name on the wall for the sake of creating any reason in the world to suspect him. The only reason he's even here is because he thought she was hot. Which also doesn't get examined much outside his FTEs.

But between the two, I feel like Teruteru has more going for him. His fear for his mom makes for a stronger motive, even if we don't find out about it until the very end. He's only slightly better developed than Leon, but his integral role as team chef also plays into the mystery a bit more strongly than Leon "can chuck things through the grate" Kuwata's did.

Leon is Danganronpa's first attempt at writing a killer. And while his switcheroo with Sayaka is interesting, it nonetheless shows.

Best Victim: 1-1 - Sayaka Maizono This is another one that's very hard to call. Sayaka and Imposter Byakuya are both strong contenders for best victim.

As characters, all three first victims coast on external expectations that you carry into the game with you. Expectations of a Maya Fey type character, expectations of Byakuya Togami, expectations of an Ultimate ??? mystery.

What puts Sayaka above Imposter for me is that ultimately, Imposter never feels like more than an archetype. He's the leader, he's brave, he's valiant, he's selfless... He's, honestly, unlike his namesake in the way he takes charge and cares for others. But he lacks any sort of personal connections to the other characters. When he dies, his cause of death is simply "being too heroic".

Sayaka is more interesting because her character writing is deeply personal. We spend a lot of time not only developing who she is but her relationship to protagonist Makoto. She compares more to Kaede than to Imposter or Rantaro, because we get to watch her make an emotional journey over the course of the setup.

When Byakuya turns up dead, he dies fulfilling both his archetypal identity as the heroic leader and his horror role as the Horror Ace who must be killed in order for the story to begin. But when Sayaka turns up dead, it's a genuine twist... Whether you "knew" she was going to commit a murder or not, it's still shocking to see her show up as a victim.

For the short time we had these characters, Sayaka feels like she managed to do more to concoct an interesting character journey than Imposter or Rantaro did, and that's why I have to give this point to her.

Worst Victim: 3-1 - Rantaro Amami Rantaro's the other major candidate for least developed character in Danganronpa. There are things there to enjoy if you're willing to put in the work to find them but, for the most part, he's just. Sort of. There.

He's a nice guy surrounded by a lot of question marks, some of which will be explained far later in the game and others that won't be explained until post-game bonus modes. Wreathed in similar secrecy to Imposter, but lacking Imposter's captivating exterior intrigue. Rantaro has the energy of a random person who accidentally wandered onto the set and now everyone else has to roll with it.

He has a cool character design and he's nice, but he isn't here to stay and he's written like it. The others have complex and fascinating over-the-top characteristics and Rantaro is nearby, smiling politely. He likes bread.

In a similar fashion to how Nagito was a dark reflection of Makoto, Rantaro is. Like. Hajime, if he wasn't written to be an important character of any kind. You can become invested in him if you put in the work to do so but there are tons of other characters who are right there.

Meanwhile, his involvement in his own death is "Wrong place at the wrong time. Whoopsy-doodle."

Best Use of Other Characters: 3-1 - Miu, Gonta, and Shuichi (plus Kaito's mob) This is an easy win for 3-1. A Danganronpa game features a lot of characters, and the more involved they get to be in the crime both before and after the body is found, the better. 1-1 and 3-1 both offer Makoto and Shuichi a key role of adjacency, making them unsuspecting accomplices while the crime is being concocted and carried out. But between them, Shuichi has a more proactive and complex relationship to the crime taking place, while Makoto's simply a patsy.

On top of that, we have Gonta for a false lead suspect, plus the whole complicating factor of Kaito's mob forming right next door to the crime - one member of whom would become the victim.

And we have Miu, who is intricately woven into the case. Miu created the cameras and knows key information about them that becomes important to the case. She also builds a sky-camera drone which becomes supremely important to unraveling the mystery. None of this could have happened without her; Either the setup of the crime or the resolution of the mystery. V3 uses its large cast to great effect here.

Worst Use of Other Characters: 2-1 - Nagito, Peko, and Ibuki. Plus Mahiru and Mikan's investigative skills.

Nagito is an extremely back-and-forth character. Sometimes he's fascinating and other times he's a cackling ball of plot contrivance, doing ridiculous things for ridiculous reasons and getting away with it because plot contrivance is literally his Talent.

2-1 may be Nagito at his weakest. Though the drawing of straws is a fun bit, Nagito contriving 85% of the mystery and pulling it off through sheer Luck Powers for the sake of setting up Teruteru for the remaining 15% feels forced. Nagito's involvement feels like the personification of "Writer's hand moving pieces into place."

Like, the trick with the blackout seems like it'd be difficult to pull off without any testing but Nagito has luck powers so it doesn't matter. The timing of everything going down seems unlikely but Nagito has luck powers so it doesn't matter. Every over-complex detail was perfectly planned 100% by Nagito and it all went exactly according to plan, because it could only go exactly according to plan, because Nagito has luck powers preventing any unexpected complications from ever arising.

This is a toxic influence on a mystery (though it makes 2-5 fascinating). Mysteries are actually more interesting when they don't go exactly according to one brilliant mastermind's flawless foresight.

Aside from Nagito, we have... Peko being in the bathroom. An entire subplot is dedicated to the mystery of Peko's extended bathroom visit. This is a character who will be revealed to be a deadly assassin next chapter, and her sole contribution to the story prior to that point is a joke about diarrhea embarrassment.

That leaves us with Ibuki, Mikan, and Mahiru who play key roles in the investigation. Ibuki has exact photographic memory of every person who spoke during the blackout (which also feels a bit like plot contrivance), Mahiru's photographs provide critical evidence (that's fine, no notes), and Mikan... Mikan's autopsy is useful (that's good) and also the running joke about her tripping into compromising positions is critical evidence (okay, game).

2-1 suffers from a bad case of 4-D Chess Mastermind syndrome and is more interested in poking fun and ogling its cast than it is in having them do interesting things rooted in their characters and personalities that contribute to the story in interesting ways.

Best Mystery: 2-1 - The Table Stabbing 2-1 and 3-1 have a lot of moving parts. The mechanism of Kaede's trap is complicated, but not so complicated that you can't see how it worked - or, at least, was intended to work. The same is true of Shuichi's own plot to capture the Mastermind, which runs adjacent to and interweaves through Kaede's.

Like Nagito, Teruteru, and Imposter, there are multiple conflicting agendas running through Shuichi, Kaede, and Rantaro's collision - though with the intriguing and emotionally gripping complication that they all wanted the same thing. Meanwhile, 3-1 does not run afoul of All According to Keikaku the way 2-1 does.

If you don't know, on sight, who killed Rantaro? Then 3-1 can be a shocking mystery to try and solve, as no possible candidate seems to fit the bill. But if you do know? Then. Well. It's a lot like 1-1, spinning your wheels and waiting for the game to catch up. Worse, if you happen to be too observant and catch things that they don't want you thinking about until 3-6, 3-1 can be pull-your-hair-out frustrating as the game gaslights you about details that are plain in front of your eyes.

2-1's mystery isn't quite as captivating as 3-1's, but it doesn't suffer from these drawbacks either. It's less likely to have been spoiled for you by hanging out with the key figures while they were setting it all up. There's still a bit of bullshit in how it's carried out, but ultimately it simply presents a clever mystery and asks you to investigate and solve it.

Worst Mystery: 1-1 - Murder in Makoto's Shower 1-1 was the first case in the series, and you can tell. While getting to watch Sayaka undergo her emotional journey and developing her crime alongside Makoto is interesting, it does give away many of the details that are going to be Huge Reveals later down the line.

By the time her body is found, you're already 95% of the way to solving the mystery. And she wrote the remaining 5% on the wall for you to find.

Kaede and Shuichi took a lot of notes from Sayaka and Makoto on how to do something like this without flat-out explaining the plan to the audience as they go along. Though I do think that sometimes simpler cases are better than complex ones, 1-1 suffers tremendously from being too obvious about key details, leaving little to discover during investigation.

So, where does that leave the Case 1s? Tallying up their scores, we have:

DRV3: 13 points DR2: 12 points DR1: 11 points

Neck and neck in quality but V3 takes a slim lead. Featuring the strongest build-up portion, best Blackened, and best use of Side Characters, V3 edges out the competition with careful, creative, and entertaining use of its cast as a whole.

DR2 thrives on its plot details, with a great Motive and the most well-constructed mystery to spin out of the events, but suffers from poor use of its characters as well as a middling killer and victim.

While DR1 coasts by on the strength of the Sayaka twist, having a harder time establishing itself than the sequels that followed in its footsteps and learned from its mistakes.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1100 review

We know that aside from 100 and 1000, Oda's never really written around milestones, but you still generally find something that feels like a big step on each hundred chapters. While we have a pretty damn good chapter of One Piece this week, I don't think there's anything that really qualifies it as a giant leap forward for the story. Maybe all the classic Warlord cameos are meant to feel like the reward for the big eleven-hundred. Maybe, given that the celebratory colour spread is slated for next issue, the big moment missed by one. Or maybe that's just because of how Jump's scheduling panned out and I'm overthinking the whole thing.

There's an irony in Borsalino, in the opening pages, contrasting the climates of Egghead and Punk Hazard. He thinks Egghead's so much colder, but give it a few years and Punk Hazard will be half frozen over and Egghead will be fully climate controlled.

There's a lot of characterisation on show in this first scene. Vegapunk is painfully naive in failing to check for bugs in his lab, and this still won't teach him not to trust the Government. Borsalino has a laid-back and personable demeanour at a glance, but he'll do his job if he has to. And Kuma. Poor, well-meaning Kuma, loses all sense of perspective where his daughter is concerned. I don't think he heard a single word that wasn't about Bonney, even as Saturn offers him basically the worst terms ever. There's a comparison to be made in Kuma's reaction throughout the scene to Hancock asking Luffy to choose between freeing his friends and getting a boat. That same misdirect on what the initial reaction means and the laser focus on the people who need saving at the expense of all else. Except Luffy's version played out in his favour whereas Kuma… well, we're in a One Piece flashback, so you do the math.

Saturn's character is also front and center here. It's that he's a bastard, all pragmatic and cruel.

I really enjoyed the montage of treatments, slice of life scenes and construction work to show the passage of time here. There's some nice fanservice in seeing the (probable) moment the Vegaclones were conceived, and Vegapunk leveraging more underworld connections that would have to go back to his MADS days, this time with Storage King Umit. It's cool that all the underworld figures from Big Mom's party keep sticking their heads up to connect corners of the world.

There's some wonderfully nostalgic fanservice seeing all the classic Warlords and a few others reacting Kuma being commissioned into their number. Curious that Doflamingo, proclaimed "champion of evil" sees another miscreant in Kuma, buying into the hype completely. Having been involved in World Government info tampering personally, and setting records straight with his crew on the fall of Flevance, you'd think he'd at least acknowledge the possibility of spin on Kuma's story. I wonder if the apparent interest in another outright bad guy in the crew ever lead Doflamingo to reach out to Kuma. It might explain them turning up to the meeting together back when they were both first introduced.

An Ace appearance is always welcome. We knew he was offered a Warlord spot, but I think it's new info that he toppled one before that. This is a little bit of a lesson in taking spin-off material as fully canon, because like, you'd think that event would warrant at least a mention in Ace's novel or its manga adaptation. You know if they'd waited a few years and done those today the authors would be asking Oda for an original design for the beaten Warlord and making the encounter into at least a small scene if not the whole story, and its absence makes those volumes feel all the more secondary in retrospect.

Jinbe noting the growing political power of the Warlords is also a touch I like. We've known about powerful figures abusing the Warlord system for their own schemes almost as long as we've had One Piece, but I get the sense that the first generation legitimately acted as privateers and over time more and more people with things to hide have forced their way in. The group becomes both more dangerous and harder to control.

It is adorable that Kuma uses Bonney's drawing as his jolly roger. No notes, just a great touch. You can really see how thin his commitment to being a marauder is. Also, is that a bear ear on the side of his ship? Maybe we all figured as far back as Sabaody there would be more layers to Kuma, but I doubt anyone expected him to do something that cute, especially with his imposing first impression.

There is a strange current of speculation online that Kuma has been sent to Windmill Village to deal with Luffy or something similar in the last page. Are we not paying enough attention to see that Kuma is already there when the orders come in. Whatever the Government wants (if the orders matter to the story and aren't an excuse for him to namedrop his location) it doesn't seem to have anything to do with our protagonist. But maybe I shouldn't get too high and mighty - getting orders relating to something on the island he just happens to be stopping at for a resupply or whatever is definitely not too much of a coincidence for Oda, so we'll see next week what the deal with all of this is.

Next week, no matter what, we're somewhere in vol 109, and I think we have to start building up to the climax of this flashback. Right now, it feels like there's something missing for the ending, a factor we don't know about yet. Kuma losing his will wasn't a shocking betrayal, it was a deal he walked into willingly. In fact, it feels like we prettymuch know it all - he spends some time as a Warlord, is made fully into a weapon at the time the Pacifistas are first deployed. Maybe he's able to leverage that final request to defend the Sunny because Bonney had already escaped and the Government was wary of him running off with all that tech and became more pliable to his requests (or Vegapunk liked him enough to go behind his bosses' backs). Mission complete, he's made a slave until the Revolutionaries grab him and run, and we're basically up to the present. It would be anticlimactic to just play all that out in fast forward, so I think Oda's going to work some kind of a stinger in there. Probably something to tie into how and why he's awakened to himself and begun rampaging while the Egghead Arc happens.

Looking forward to colour pages after quite a few chapters without, and for a final surprise gut punch to put the cherry on top of one of the series' darkest and most effective flashbacks.

Read this review and more on my Wordpress.

[airawisteria]

Following on from what I've rambled about Kairi, Sora is not a ton of fun to draw (fuck your hair Sora, it might be very you, but fuck that hair), but he is a ton of fun to analyse like most characters in KH. Sora is pretty insecure, like Kairi. It's probably something to do with a mixture of constantly losing to KH1 Riku (the jerk) and the way KH constantly shows you that Sora is just an average good guy that is very stubborn, sweet and overall just good, but again, he's just that, he's not more or less, he wasn't chosen nor was he given a moment like Riku or Kairi with the Wayfinder Trio to make the keyblade choose him—the most he has is Ven taking residence in his heart, but I don't think that would have mattered too much when it comes to the keyblade choosing him. He's a normal guy. And that takes a toll on you when everyone else around you isn't.

In KH1, we're introduced to Sora, Kairi and Riku, but mainly through Sora's perspective. They're both his best friends, but while Kairi is shown in a primarily positive light (the only 'negative' thing she's done is do nothing to help with the raft and try and hide that fact), if I'm remembering correctly, Riku isn't. Yes, Sora cares about Riku, but you also see Sora's annoyance and competitiveness shine with Riku. The race against Riku, for a new player, will almost always end with a loss and the fact that Sora is the one keeping score makes it hurt all the more because it implies that Riku doesn't care as much as Sora—that this is effortless to him. Which, by the way, it probably is, but it's also probably what makes Riku want to protect Sora so much. Through this race, we learn that Riku and Sora are very competitive, that Sora feels at least somewhat inferior to Riku while Riku feels a need to be superior to some extent and that Sora is the one that normally loses since he's the one counting.

Then, Destiny Islands falls to darkness and Kairi's heart takes residence with Ven in his heart while Riku is straight up consumed by darkness, just about too far for Sora to reach. It's only here that we get the keyblade, since Riku has fallen to darkness and Sora is the only candidate left. Sora, of course, doesn't know this and just thinks he's got a cool, new weapon. When Donald and Goofy meet him and are like "join us on our Gummi Ship!! We can (not really) look for your friends!". Through all the worlds we see Sora's amazement and his want to help everyone. Then, Riku, all of a sudden appears. And, the second Sora sees him, he's—obviously—over the moon but Donald's like 'not enough room' and that leads to Riku's further fall to darkness and Sora is pretty conflicted but goes with it, since, he doesn't want his friend to be in danger. Then, Riku does what any angsty teen does and broods. Maleficent uses this to her advantage and we have Riku and Sora properly fighting, not the joke fights they've had before. And, it's here we both see Sora's past annoyance emerge and his loyalty to his friends. And, then, Riku gets the keyblade and Sora is abandoned by his friends, left with only the wooden sword Riku chucks at him.

This sucks. I mean, Sora, who has befriended Donald and Goofy throughout the course of the game, just fucking loses them all cause Riku's like 'haha, take that, Sora! I am better than you'. But, even still, Sora perseveres, pushing his own hurt and insecurities aside to help Beast. This is what eventually leads to Sora standing up against Riku and Donald and Goofy joining Sora, again. Though, it's this moment that I think plants the seed of 'my friends are my power' and his insecurities with being powerless without his friends. Sora is powerless, after all, and he is basically going up against a guy with the keyblade with a fucking wooden sword, ain't no way he's gonna win that unless he's the best swordsman in the world.

It's through this moment where only once Donald and Goofy have rejoined him that he gets the keyblade back which, to me, would make him think 'yeah, my friends are the only reason I have this, without them, I'm nothing'. I mean, think about it, Donald and Goofy have literally just joined him and then bam! There's a keyblade in his hands and not Riku's. The real reason he has it is because his will was stronger than Riku's (cause Riku's really a guy who has a superiority complex but ultimately cares about his friends, so he doesn't want to fight Sora), but Sora probably sees it as only when his friends were around was it that he could do anything.

After that, there's the whole Ansem taking ahold of Riku's body and Kairi's heart being inside him ("Kairi's... inside me? *surprised pika face*"). Then, Sora sacrifices himself for Kairi and becomes a heartless to help her and while that's a very sweet thing to do, why was that answer so easy to do for him? Sure, we'd all like to think that we'd do the same thing, but would you really do the same thing without fucking hours of debating whether or not this is a good idea. Or, at least, most people would think about it for a good ten minutes before being like 'yeah, this is the only way'. But, nah, Sora smiles and pierces his heart with Ansem-Riku's weapon. If that isn't a clear sign of a tendency to self-sacrifice for others, then I don't fucking know what is. This plants the idea of Sora being both a good friend and a self-sacrificial person—he puts others before himself, and as such, sees them to be more important than him. Of course, they're all equal from a moral standpoint, but from a plot standpoint, a guy that can use the darkness and a princess of light are more important. They're more useful and while Riku can't control the darkness as of yet, he was still the first choice and someone who Sora sees as better than him, so it does make sense why he's fine with this act of self-sacrifice.

He, of course, returns to his human body and is no longer a heartless, but y'know how he gets there? The whole thing with Kairi realising who he is, hugging him and then, bam! He's back. Well, I don't think it went that quickly, but the two events were definitely connected. And, since the whole seed of 'my friends are the only reason I have any power/worth' had been planted before, Sora's belief in himself weakens and his belief that he is nothing without his friends strengthens. In the end, Sora and Riku both close the gate and all three of them are separated.

Then, CoM happens. I've not got as many memories in CoM that I can refer to but, if I'm remembering correctly, we see that Sora and Riku have always been at least somewhat competitive. This is pretty obvious with the way that Sora's immediate reaction to Repliku's, like, insistence on being against Sora is 'let's fight!!'. However, in those memories, from BBS we can see that Sora and Riku seem to be good friends that aren't really affected by what happens whenever they're competing (prolly cause they're like 5 or something, but y'know) which implies that before Kairi's arrival on Destiny Islands the two's competitivity was pretty healthy and didn't really affect either's outlook on who they are and stuff.

Even then, in CoM, I recall Naminé needing to return Sora's memories to their original, uh, form? Sure, their original form. This places Sora in the role of the 'helpless one', again, since he's the only one who really needs his memories to be so thoroughly gone through. He might smile about it and promise Naminé that he and she will be friends afterwards, but that could reinforce the idea that he is helpless without his friends. This is supported by Riku's involvement. Sure, Sora doesn't know Riku's helping him, but the players do and they get the idea that, yeah, Riku is being a good friend but that Sora can't do shit. It adds to the fact that without Riku, Sora wouldn't be able to wake up (even though, that isn't his fault).

Then, in KH2, Sora is constantly looking for Riku. Though he holds his own for most of it, he's not able to save Kairi—Riku is. And after her rescue, he requires her help. Sora was overwhelmed with emotions the second he realised who Riku was (as most would be) and immediately goes to Riku's side after, I think it was, Ansem's last ditch effort to stop Xemnas. This so obviously shows how terrified he is to lose him again, he lost Riku twice, ain't no way Sora's letting that happen again. Then, after that, he and Riku fight Xemnas together and say something along the lines of, 'you and I are besties, so I wouldn't mind staying here forever'. But, they also address Sora and Riku's rivalry here.

As gay as the two of them are, the fact that it took being trapped in darkness to open up to one another says a fucking lot. But, still, the two do open up and admit that they both saw Riku as the superior one but they also admit that the best thing that neither of them could ever imitate would be their friendship—and, mate, the fact that it takes Sora a whole ass pause to be like 'I have something you can't imitate too'. Like, I don't know how else to show you that he was so clearly taken aback by the statement and needed to process it so he didn't misunderstand anything. The fact that there's a pause at all says a lot about Sora's self-esteem, in my opinion. They get Kairi's letter and return to the Realm of Light (hand in hand, obviously).

Blah, blah, blah, DDD happens and Sora straight up falls to darkness and is powerless again. He even says to, I think, Xigbar that his friends are his power which while sweet also implies that Sora doesn't think he has any power without his friends. This is reinforced by Riku rescuing him with the others. Then, after that, Yen Sid has Riku pass (as he should with all the shit he's been through) and Sora fails since he fell to darkness. While it makes sense from a character and plot standpoint, it also feels almost as if the game itself is telling you 'yeah, Sora's just a normal, good guy who can fall to darkness, unlike Kairi, and, unlike Riku, can't harness it like it's some kinda weapon'. It's reminding us that Riku and Kairi are very much on a different level and standing to Sora. But, through it all, Sora smiles and congratulates his best friend like the good guy he is.

Then KH3 happens and we get to see Sora truly reach a point where his ego and confidence are so shaken that Yen Sid's criticisms/run-through of DDD are enough to physically affect Sora as well as emotionally. Up until now, all we've really seen of Sora is confidence (especially when you defeat all those heartless in KH2) and laidbackness and now, Sora's once confident posture is hit with each of Yen Sid's words.

And, then, there's the fact that Sora is actually affected up by Maleficent and Pete's dismissal of him. Donald and Goofy tease Sora but instead of the light-hearted annoyance that we almost always see with Sora and his dads friends, we see Sora actually being hurt by this. And, then, Riku's off to the Realm of Darkness with Mickey and Sora's more than worried. He tells Riku to not be reckless and to call him the second anything goes wrong and that, my friends, is the effect of Riku disappearing without a trace. Sora's worried because he doesn't want to lose Riku, and later, he gets all irritated with Donald and Goofy when they find out that Riku might be in danger—he so clearly doesn't want to lose him. So, being the self-sacrificial dumbass that he is, he immediately heads over there and helps Riku. And, at that moment, he is Riku's power but he doesn't realise that, not yet.

Afterwards, we have the whole Keyblade Graveyard thing where he loses everyone. And it's here we finally see Sora admit the true meaning behind his 'my friends are my power!'—it's that he's powerless without his friends. It takes Riku saying, 'Sora, I believe in you. Don't give up/you can't give up' and fucking sacrificing himself for Sora to get out of his self-loathing and try to do something with the powers he has once he gets to the Final World.

He saves everyone and the timeline changes, but he still loses Kairi. So, being the self-sacrificial, good guy we've known since KH1, he saves her, I think. Then, he wakes up in Quadratum.

All this to say, my view on Sora is that his self-esteem is really, really low and he needs some serious reassurance from the people in his life. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

With my rambling about Sora over, I must say I didn't think I'd have this much to say about him, but here we are. I could go on and on about how much his constant damseling affects him (just as it affects Kairi) and how much all the events have affected him and his self-esteem, but yeah. I probably forgot a bunch of stuff that I might ramble more about... at some point, but yeah. It's cool if you don't agree with me on this, I'm just one of the many people who played KH, but yeah, that's what I think.

[showrunnerihardlyknowher]

Do you have any general tips about writing g/t whump, or g/t or whump in general. I'm thinking about writing g/t or whump or a combination of the two. And your like my go to author when it comes to reading g/t or whump (your shit is really good, if you ever wrote a book and published it, I would be amongst the first to purchase it, I like your writing/content that much lol). So do you have any tips or tidbits for any wannabe writer that your willing to share?

Also I completely understand if this isn't an ask you want to answer, I realize im asking alot out of a stranger for free. So no hard feelings if this post is ignored.

Thank you for taking time to read my ask nonetheless though.

This is such a sweet ask you're so sweet to me ily and if I ever become a published author you may have all my books for free

I think writing anything definitely depends on what style you like, such as mine is very "internal thoughts" and "descriptive action". Settings, physical descriptions, plot set ups -- I'm much more vague about those (which can be a downfall) because I like to focus more on what the current action is versus what lead to that moment.

So my advice, based on my own style, is that mental feelings are just as important as physical feelings when it comes to describing. Your tiny character just got smacked against the wall by a feral giant: tell me how much it hurt, tell me what hurts the most, tell me how focused or unfocused they are, tell me how close they were to cracking their head open on something a few inches away.

Now tell me if your tiny has the stamina to run, tell me if they've given up the fight and are accepting their fate, tell me what they're envisioning said fate to be, tell me if they're scared or angry, tell me what their last thoughts might be before they're cut off by whatever the feral giant does next.

In my opinion, it's much better to write from one character's perspective for a fic (unless you have noted breaks in between paragraphs to switch POVs or if you switch POVs every chapter). It gives the reader time to attach themselves to a single focal character and really get to know them via these internal thoughts and musings. It makes the character much more relatable in the sense that we can sympathize with their reasoning, or at least understand it on a deeper level compared to another character. It also leaves that air of mystery that we, just like the character we're being projected through, only know what we're being told/shown.

And again, descriptions are the shit my guy. Not saying you need to go on a monologue about what color your character's eyes are, but describing your actions and reactions against a duller background helps create more vivid imagery for what's going on in that very second. Your character gets punched in the gut: they're winded, they can't suck in any air between their teeth, they can taste burning bile in their throat, their train of thought slams on its breaks, their stomach feels like it's been split in half, they crumple to the ground in a fetal position, they don't even have the breath to moan in pain.

Also, when it comes to g/t whump specifically, I like to throw in the reminders of how large their size difference is pretty frequently. Remind your readers just how easily it would be to snap a tiny's leg like a toothpick when you have them dangling upside down from your fingers. Remind them how suffocating a giant's presence can feel both literally and figuratively when they're trapped under a hand that engulfs them like a weighed blanket.

Last piece of advice, if there's a writing style you like or a fic you adore or an author you want to emulate - try to figure out which parts you like and why, and then copy it lmao. Not plagiarize their whole story, obviously, but if you see vocabulary or sentence structures you like that's being used, store that shit in your brain to use for later homie. I love run on sentences being used to portray anxiety because your thoughts are going a mile a minute. I love scenes ending with an italicized onomatopoeia because it's the last thing someone hears. That's shit I read from fanfics that I still use in my stories.

I hope this helped some (if any)!!

[haloguyfttp]

Finally caught up to and completed Penacony's main story.

SPOILERS FOR PENACONY

Enemies: Fucking great. I like the new enemies and hope they stay this way instead of whatever the hell they did with Aurumatons, both the main ones and those Spiritcaller (I think that's their name) ones. Speaking of which...

Bosses: Completely split on this one. The "Something Unto Death" has a fantastic build up, an amazing BGM that I'd put in my top 3 for HSR, and is just supremely cool in all it does. I love the mechanics, the style, everything.

And on the flip side: Stellaron Hunter Sam. This was someone I was excited for mainly 'cause he looks cool. His build-up was decent if too obvious from the first corpse. That being said his fight was... underwhelming. My primary team consists of Bailu and Preservation MC (I do not have enough DPS no matter who I use so yes this is extreme tank to compensate), and he was incapable of doing any damage to me. On the other hand, due to his gimmick of "Hit me with 5 skills to do anything", it took goddamn ages to kill him in turn. This made the fight go from interesting to really boring once I realized what I had to do. Besides that, he just felt lacking in animations, music and sound design.

Penacony: I will not say much on the exploration as I am still searching for all the goods, but what I have experienced is good. The perspective-related stuff being a theme is fun and interesting, and the puzzles are okay. Unfortunately puzzles are still way too easy, which is a shame since some of the later puzzles in the Luofu were actually decently tough. Maybe I just haven't found/unlocked the harder ones yet. NPCs are interesting thanks to the emotion stuff but god is the place way too damn big. Not looking forward to combing these maps for things I missed, especially the ones that let you walk on walls.

And finally the elephant in the room, The Story.

I am extremely divided on this. Let's start with the most stand out part of the whole thing that frankly I made this whole post to rant about, Firefly's death. This was a really good moment. And it's something I've said about Genshin and even more so in HSR, Hoyo is really good at making good story moments. Everything leading up to this is great. Finding out she's still in the dreamscape, we're still thinking about what her true motivations are, we're worried for her, and then we reach her just in time for it to be - ironically - too late. This cutscene, the way the "Something Unto Death" killed her and immediately escaped like an assassin, the MC rushing to hold her corpse and not even being given that much, the fact that MC throws away their bat just to get to her body at all, forgetting all semblance of self-defense just to reach her, and the immediate moments afterwards are painful in the best way possible. And unfortunately, that's where my praise ends.

After this scene, her death becomes almost meaningless. I mean they immediately launch into normal story stuff. Search the area, look for information, find Sam and fight him, get dragged before Aventurine, and of course the Robin reveal which feels like it's designed to make you forget about Firefly.

MC was clearly super close to Firefly. And yet as soon as the "Firefly Mourning Section" ends, it's as if she got deleted from memory. All of MC's frustration and sadness disappears into the wind, and no one acknowledges this. I know Black Swan got us to calm down, but she didn't do anything beyond talk to us (and if she did, the writers/animators didn't show any hint of such). Now I can excuse this part. After all, maybe MC's way of grieving is silence. From what I remember, we do not, or at least barely speak from after Firefly's death until we meet Sam.

And speaking of, Sam's arrival should have been a key moment. We found it he was using her as bait, she died because of his "plan", whatever it may be, he's right in front of us, frankly MC should be chomping at the bit to kill him, but instead we get none of that. Even when Black Swan betrays us and brings us to Aventurine, MC at that moment should still have something. But no. At this most crucial of times, MC turns into a bland silent protagonist who calmly goes along with anything that happens.

And as previously mentioned, they end this section on the Robin reveal, which is... bad. This moment at this time completely falls flat to me. We haven't met her beyond 2 extremely short conversations, and we know nothing about her beyond "Important Performer and Sister of Sunday". All of this is setup to make whatever happens in the next patch more hyped up but for me... it's just a sad attempt at building more hype when frankly letting it end after Firefly's death would've been painful enough.

(To elaborate on that point, IMO the best way would've been to end it on Firefly's death. The cutscene plays, the "Something Unto Death" leaves, you get teleported out and that's when they hit you with the "Wait for next update!" message. Then next update when we return, let's be honest everyone's gonna remember exactly what happened last time, and the switch to this silent protagonist stuff feels less jarring if some IRL time has passed since the moment. For future players, they won't have to wait, but they'll also have the rest of the story to play through instead of a bunch of unanswered questions.)

Also, being forced to follow Aventurine for the "big reveal" is really annoying, since the whole build-up before Penacony and even in the intro w/ Acheron had to do with Choices and Freedom. A thing I really liked about HSR was how much actual choice you got in quests. Sure you still had to clear most of them, but they were still infinitely better than Genshin's where your dialogue changes nothing. Hell Kafka's quest, the one where choice and shit are most important, lets you straight up leave early and not help her in the slightest. Being greeted with this forced Aventurine shit is super irritating because of that precedent.

As an aside, the Express Crew disappeared from existence. Aside from the intro, the crew has done absolutely nothing together. Getting Black Swan to rescue us is the only thing they actually did. Besides this, the rest of the story was fine. The early Garbage King section was funny, the whole dream stuff was interesting, etc.

But seriously the execution of the entire ending from Firefly's death onwards was just awful. That's really soured my opinion on Penacony, and I can only hope they redeem themselves in the 2nd half (God I hope it's only split into 2 halves).

Anyways that's my extremely long Penacony rant complete. If you've read this far, then holy shit I'm so sorry. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.

[grennseyelashes]

Am I going insane or, well, okay this part isn't the insane bit but it's important: we should probably acknowledge that we're specifically given a cipher we may choose to use for when Jaime's having a dream or not (two hands Vs one hand), and acknowledge that the one with Brienne falls firmly in the camp of "definitely a dream" according to that, (also supported by her body in the dream physically being different, and more like Jaime's view of how women "should" look, and her also speaking a line he himself says earlier, "I mislike this place"), but... BUT... (this is the maybe just me barking up the wrong tree bit lol):

What about Cersei visiting him while he's standing vigil for Tywin? He's incredibly sleep deprived at that point, has been almost reliving different moments from his life leading up to it, is "taken by suprise" by the sun coming up afterwards (was he asleep? unconscious? hallucinating/having a "vision"?) and as far as I can see (although PLEASE DO correct me if I'm wrong and this is just nothing lol) we never see Cersei remember that moment? And it's also... incredibly out of character for her? Like... she really Does Not sneak around in disguises as an adult :/ that ain't her style :/ :/ :/

It's also got INCREDIBLE similarities to the vision he has of his mother at the end of the same book too. Much of the text is the same, most noticeably the "what would you have of me" and the last word echoing as mememememe... Plus as bookends these two work very neatly, as Cersei (or "Cersei"?) asks him for help, and he refuses, and at the end we return to the same scene to see Joanna (although he doesnt name her) basically telling him now it is too late.

I need to check this more thoroughly because maybe I just missed Cersei also remembering it (very possible), or something else that rules out it also being a vision (or supports the idea) but I have been trying to see if there are any instances of strange magical consequences of Jaime getting Cersei's blood on the altar of the Mother, and this would be an interesting possible answer to that tbh.

The time we know of when Cersei did put on a disguise to go see Jaime is interesting to remember here too tbh. We only know of it from his perspective, but from the information available that was the moment when he agreed to, rather than inherit Casterly Rock and marry someone else and have children, live his life by Cersei's side (although this doesn't quite go to plan ofc). So if that visit was a "vision", and the Cersei he sees there is representative of that moment in time between them, the thing that's being bookended is specifically the portion of his life where he made his choice to protect her.

Which brings one aspect of the first (possible) "vision" into a very interesting light, as Cersei is absolutely drenched, and along with Jaime's dream featuring the water below Casterly Rock, and whatever happened with Melara "falling" into a well, we also have very significant bath moments with both Jaime and Brienne, and consistently (if in the background) with Cersei and Taena, and above all this curiously overlooked aspect of the Valonquar prophecy itself:

And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.

Not sure what to make of any of that, other than it seems the waters under Casterly Rock are being hinted at coming into play, and that it lends a little more credence to the idea that sept visit may have been a vision, or something vision-esque. Or perhaps it was real, and his vision of Joanna functioned as a bookend anyway.

Hmmm. Much to consider.

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Atonement Chapter 8

This arc really is a question and answer arc playing in parallel.

Let's think about the order of events in this chapter related to Keiichi and Rena's perspectives on things.

We start with the conclusion of Keiichi and Rena's phone conversation where Rena reveals how the fanatic division in Hinamizawa plans to release a super form of the brain parasite onto the village as part of Oyashiro-sama's curse.

If we've been paying attention up to this point, we know this is ludicrous because we know there is no fanatic group. But if this were a proper question arc, this would be another thing to add to the list of occult events we had in those arcs.

The next morning, we have Keiichi decide to confront Mion over this only for her to clear up everything. The brain parasite thing is just Takano making up dumb occult fictions. There is no fanatic group and that white van was just a gardener who got lost. Chie said he works for Okonogi Landscaping, but I'll go ahead and reveal his name actually is Okonogi.

So now we're being given clear information on events. This section is part of the "answer" to the previous section's "question".

But then the moods of these two scenes come crashing into each other when we cut to Rena. If this were a pure question arc, we as the reader might accept her conclusion over all this. Everyone is conspiring together to hunt her down and even her friends have betrayed her.

But since we were given that moment of clarity in the middle of this chapter, we understand that Rena is very mistaken. And we can hearken back to Abducted by Demons to realize this is what actually happened. The Mion and Rena he saw then were just paranoid figments just like how Rena is seeing Keiichi and Mion now.

Now let's talk about the scene I skipped over because it just tangles everything up. Between the question and answer scenes, we are treated to one more scene at Rika's house.

The first thing we see is Satoko sleeping making it very clear that Rika is NOT talking to her.

And the person she is talking to is introduced using only their feet. And we get a fuzzy glimpse of "the annoying one."

This is Oyashiro-sama.

The villagers believe Rika to be the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama. And she is believed to see the future.

While the answer arcs are proving there are no village-wide murder conspiracies and is setting up a new occult element only to smash it and all other ones, this chapter took some time to tell us that Oyashiro is real and doesn't approve of underage drinking.

And it's also hinting that Rika knowing the future is not because she is a seer but because this has happened before. She has had this mood every time we've focused on her during this arc.

Rika apparently got some of her speech quirks from Oyashiro-sama. Oyashiro also addresses everyone as "sir".

If this arc were divided into a proper question and answer arc, we would already know how this ends as well. Eye Opening has established that the answer arcs' job is to show us what truly led to the horrific tragedies that occur.

So now we know what that is. Rena will do something that gets Rika killed and her body burned black. On it's own, it's not much to go off of. But the manga-only Beyond Midnight comes in to fill the gap. This is the events that led up to Rena blowing up the school while screaming about alien parasites.

Now when we enter the "answer" scene, we know both what tragedy will occur and how horribly mistaken Rena is as she leads us to it.

And the worst part is all this will happen because Takano made a joke that was taken way too seriously and would still be believed 20 years later.

I am losing my mind over how Rika and Satoko have a TV.

What do they use it for? As far as I can tell, they don't have a satellite receiver and cable probably doesn't extend to such a remote location. Do they have a VCR? Do they have movie nights?

Do they have an Atari 2600? Satoko would TOTALLY be a gamer.

The famicom will be released in less than a month. Satoko's gonna want one.

back

Spoiler Discussion

And the really genius thing happening during the "answer" scene is it also throws us off the track of what is happening in the greater scope of things.

The brain parasite thing IS important, but it's being presented as a silly tale that Takano wrote for fun.

Meanwhile, Okonogi is being swept under the rug as being a harmless minor character. But he really is as dangerous as Rena thinks he is. It's just that she's wrong about why.

[storylocke]

Alolan Dusk 11

[The building seemed eerily quiet given the circumstances. Most who worked at the Dimensional Research Lab had already left, and even the doorman seemed surprised to hear that the lead researcher hadn't been in contact with any of the Aether staff since they arrived. The affirmation that she hadn't been down all day only fueled the concern as Lillie and Guzma rushed inside.] 

Guzma:

[While they take the elevator up, there's a long, quiet moment as he seems lost in his thoughts] Sheesh. Every time I try to do good, more often than not, I just make a mess of things. And boy did I screw up this time. 

Lillie:

What did you do? It's not your fault you weren't by the phone when she called. 

Guzma:

Not that. [The doors open and the two step into the short hallway, hurrying to the apartment. He gives a knock. Anxiously waiting] I should have come sooner. I haven't talked to her since we got the news about Kukui. I didn't think she'd wanna see me. 

Lillie:

And why not? [Folds her hands together as there's no answer. He knocks again as she tries not to wring her fingers] It sounded like she's just as worried about you like she is for the rest of us.

Guzma:

And tell her what? "I'm sorry the thing I unleashed decided to eat your husband"? Maybe "Hey! I heard my old rival got blasted into next week, so I just thought I'd check up on you." It's just weird, y'know? [Still no answer? He presses an ear to the door and thinks he can hear movement inside. Braces himself a moment as he knocks harder] Burnet? It's ya boy Guzma, open up! 

Lillie:

[Softly with a bit of regret] Did you and the professor ever fight over this? I know we told them about what happened with the Altar and everything, but I wouldn't want anyone mad at you for….

Guzma:

Nah. Kukui and I butt heads over a lot of things, but that wasn't one of 'em. Pestering me a lot for his little investigation, but, uh…. … [Looks down at Lillie as though asking for permission] Know what? We're going in.

Lillie:

[Her face fills with anguish at the thought of what they'd find on the other side. She gives him a nod and moves out of the way.] I'm calling Quips to tell him what's going on. 

[She walks away and starts tapping on her phone while he takes a step back and readies his shoulder to ram the door. But it suddenly opens! He's stunned to see Burnet almost as much as she appears to see him. The researcher lets out a slight gasp as sleepless, watery eyes gaze up at him before she abruptly throws her arms around his neck to pull him down into a hug.] 

Burnet:

Dear gods, I was starting to fear the worst! What a relief to know you're safe~! 

Guzma:

Me?! After the messages I got?! 

Burnet:

[Eases up to let him stand as she wipes at her face. She tries to smile but her voice still sounds on the brink of tears] I know, I'm such a mess right now. You have NO idea what happened to me last night. 

[From this perspective, Guzma can't help but look past her to peer into the apartment. It's a fairly simple layout with most of the place being one big room, which made him zero in on the bedroom door that had been torn off its hinges. The door was still there, leaning against the wall beside the frame, but it was beyond repair as the lighter colored wood where it had been splintered stuck out like a beacon. There were still sounds coming from further in, too. A hush of movement from that same room.]

Guzma:

[Disturbed, keeping his voice low] …I'll take three guesses. 

Lillie:

Burnet! [Runs over to give the woman a hug as well.] Oh, I've just been worried sick about you! 

Burnet:

[That caught her attention as she lets go of Guzma and stares at the girl somewhat mortified.] Lillie!? What are you doing here?! D-d-don't you have a gazillion things you're supposed to be doing right now? Or something? 

Lillie:

It's been a lot of plan changes over the course of the day. [Her excitement fades as the look she's getting isn't what she had expected this long awaited meeting would be like] And when we heard your message, I just had to come over. 

[Guzma slips past to let them speak but he doesn't take his eyes off the open doorway as he cautiously moves closer. He clenches his fist, and punches it into the open palm of his other hand as a strange noise, a deep, guttural growl can be heard.]

Guzma:

Alright, ya freak, show yourself! 

[Burnet hears him, and motions for Lillie to stay outside before she rushes over. A man steps through the doorway, and pauses as he locks eyes with the former Boss and shifts into position like a large cat about to pounce.] 

Guzma:

[Drops his own battle stance as he's hit with with a wave of mixed emotions] …Kukui?

Burnet:

[Defensively gets between them as she stares down the Shadow.] Honey, please! These are friends! [Slowly approaches him as she sees she has his attention] Friends? Remember Guzma? 

[Kukui eyes the stranger before he suddenly pulls Burnet into a protective embrace. After a moment he notices the girl in the doorway, glares at them with that same guttural noise from before, and tries to retreat with his treasure. Lillie can only gaze in horror as she hesitates to run to help but Guzma moves first.] 

Guzma: 

[Taking off his jacket in preparation for a fight] Hey, get your paws off of her! 

Burnet:

[Awkwardly tries to turn to them with pleading in her eyes] It's okay, he's just scared right now. [Nervously] Now you see why I didn't want anyone else to know. But, since you spend so much time with the others, I thought you might know how to help. I… I don't know what to do…

Guzma:

Tch, alright. I don't know if I can do much. Just need him to pick up that we're not a threat. [Eases up as he sees she's probably right. Even if he didn't understand, it didn't look like Kukui was going to hurt her.] How long has he been hiding here? 

Burnet:

He showed up just last night. I've no idea how he even got here. 

Guzma:

[Shrugs] Fueled by anger, love, and badassery, for all we know. 

Lillie:

[Just shakes her head as she feels her heart breaking all over again] Professor… [Tries to step closer] It's me. Lillie? You took me in like a daughter back when… 

Guzma:

[Holds out an arm to stop her from going past him] Sorry, kid. New Shadows don't really remember anything, so… I mean, given what we know happened to him, he probably thinks he's still under attack from Necrozma. [That brings up an idea though as he addressed the Shadow] Got a problem with the black? We'll just get rid of the black. [Tosses his jacket into the hall] Better?

[Kukui seems all the more confused by the action, but he does slowly let go of his wife. He doesn't take his eyes off Guzma though, as if still watching for any sudden movements] 

Guzma:

[Frowns] Well, it was worth a shot.

Lillie: 

[Softly nods in understanding.] We found some footage recently that showed he was trying to protect Ilima that night. So maybe that's why he's protecting Burnet now? 

Burnet:

[Brushes herself off, but doesn't step away just yet as she's unsure if he'll get set off again] Actually… I um… [Glances up at Kukui] He wasn't the only one to show up here. [The other two visibly tense up and she can see they've already guessed. Saddened and scared at the still fresh horror of it all] I think Kukui came here because we found out where Necrozma is. 

Guzma: [Unsure how he feels about that, but his mind starts trying to piece things together] Burnet, what the hell happened last night?

~~~~~~~~~

A/N: The last of the mainland meetings, let's go~! This was originally combined with the last chapter, and looking back I'm not really sure why since it just feels like this should be a contained moment, y'know?

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