#when it actively importantly thematic

[yellowocaballero]

r you writing tim as autistic? also, how old is steph and tim in your story

The story starts in March. Tim is 13, with a July birthday, so he turns 14 over the course of the story. Stephanie's birthday is in December so she's 14 throughout the course of the story (Tim's July birthday is canon; Steph's birthday is in December because her birthday would be a very big deal to her and I didn't have space to fit that into the story). Steph's an eighth grader and Tim would be an eighth grader if he went to physical school. Assume that in 6th grade he was caught changing his grades remotely, a la War Games.

Vis a vis Tim as autistic: if it's not explicitly said, I do want people to be able to read the characters however they want or however they feel comfortable. I didn't say anything so nothing's canon.

However, I am kind of incapable as writing him as neurotypical. His parents pulled him out of school because he couldn't handle the environment and with nothing in there remotely challenging or interesting to him he couldn't do work (there's a parallel in that to Stephanie we'll get to later). As in canon, special interest absolute king - and I've made the joke before that the reason why Tim is slightly different here than in canon is because he had a computer special interest instead of a Batman special interest, and by joke I mean I designed the character with that in mind (Spoiler & Batman, at this point in the story, are an enthusiastic hobby). I'm hesitant to say 'yes or no' because I didn't go out of my way to introduce some traits to him that I would call uniquely autistic, because apparently I write my characters like I would diagnose patients, but his neurodivergence is the guiding force behind a lot of who he is as a person.

I'm kind of projecting my own views/perspective on this, which is "You know sometimes people do not have a normal brain and it's hard to pin down a label for their flavor of ND". There's also the whole thing of Tim being a specific character archetype that is frequently coded ND but is never explicitly written as such, so that's already baked into his character. But if you want to say "he's probably downright autistic and/or ADHD" please do so.

Also the popular girl bitchy eighth grader looking at you and going "you're weird!" should be in the DSM.

[penultimate-step]

Love, Lies, and Romance: The 3 Ships of Oshi no Ko and 3 Thematic Resolutions

Oshi no Ko is a series deeply concerned with what it means to love and be loved. Ai's wish to love is what starts off the series; her love for her children, and their love for her in return, form the emotional fulcrum upon which the whole manga turns.

Romantic love, too, is a type of love. Aqua's three possible romantic relationships each represent three different interpretations of how to love, and how those relationships are treated is a reflection of how the series views those kinds of love.

For organization's sake, I'll go down the list in order of what I judge as least to most likely to occur in the manga itself.

Ruby - Love is Lies

I've already written a longer meta about this, but to summarize the relevant parts: Ruby, as depicted in chapters 77 to 142, doesn't understand Aqua, nor Gorou. She instead loves him for the image she's constructed of him in her head, for the way he makes her feel - but this has very little to do with the man himself. Her view on Aqua is, in my opinion, a direct parallel to Aqua's view of Ai - she puts him on a pedestal, idolizes him, but that same impetus is what has her mentally keeping a distance from his real self. You can see this all the way back in chapter 77. When she thinks of him, she first thinks of how he made her feel:

Now, this isn't on it's own a red flag, but it is contrasted directly afterward: when asked to predict his own actions and feelings, she's hilariously off:

I think many readers kind of wrote this off as a joke at the time, but this kind of thing lines up perfectly with her behavior in the movie arc. Not only is she inventing a backstory for him (does Gorou ever show romantic interest at all? Why would she assume he was in trouble with girls?) but more importantly she interprets his kind rejection as a tease, and his care to a friend and patient as romantic intent.

A version of the story in which Ruby is Aqua's love interest would literally validate Ai's famous quote, that lies are love - that the person doesn't matter, only how they make them feel does. And that is directly contrasted by, uh. The whole rest of the manga. But to pick a specific scene, see C9:

The kind of love where one person projects on another, the manga has shown us again and again, the kind of love that is lies, results in this. It cannot end happily, for anybody. If Ruby and Aqua end up dating for real, my next bet is that the story ends in tragedy, because that's the only end for that kind of love in Oshi no Ko.

Akane - Love is Lying

To Akane, love is an act - a lie. But hear me out, this is markedly different from Ruby's position. Akane, I think, is actually the closest of the main characters to Ai's mindset. She doesn't feel that she understands love, but she wants it, so she actively cultivates an image of herself that can show love. We know this well, of course, given her actions at the end of LoveNow. She creates a persona of love in chapter 28, much like Ai describes in 4.

And believes that regardless of the artificiality of it, she can keep up the act forever: to earn love through the act is to earn it in reality.

So you may be asking: what is the difference between what Akane is doing, and what Ruby is doing? Well, the difference is in the intention. It is not the lies that are the important part, but the lying - neither Akane nor Ai felt they knew how to love, but their desire to love, their care for others, that was all real love. The performance they put on for others was not an impersonal pedestal, but an active effort done for another's sake. It may be lying, but it is an act of love nonetheless.

If Aqua/Akane was the endgame ship of Oshi no Ko, it would be a simultaneous validation and rejection of Ai's worldview. Yes, if you care enough, lying can be love, if you are willing to forge that connection. But, in this paradigm, Ai's mistake was lying one-sidedly, to a faceless crowd. The crowd cannot return your love, not in a way other than idolization, and we discussed how that turns out in Ruby's entry. Akane's relationship, on the other hand, is much less one-sided and unhealthy, because she lies for Aqua's sake alone, and doesn't hide that she's doing it. As such, her performance can be recognized and appreciated as such, and he can reach back and return her love.

As such, while the lying is a performance, their relationship isn't a lie. The two of them start to see each other's real selves. The dynamic of two people who don't really understand love or how to love, performing a relationship together until they can learn how to do it together, is a sweet one. I could actually totally see this as the main relationship of Oshi no Ko.

But the actions of the characters make clear what the issue is in this kind of love. The seeds of this breakdown are set in chapter 72, which is ironically one of the ones that sets the dynamic up - even as they are trying to create an equal relationship, Akane decides to lie to him for his own good. After all, their relationship has already been established on the basis of lies. To lie for someone else's sake is inherently a one sided choice, and while in chapter 28 we can see it as a cute start to a relationship, it comes back around in a much more harmful way here:

which pays off in their grand breakup in chapter 98. Akane is willing to one-sidedly make the choice to kill Hikaru for Aqua's sake. Aqua, in return, refuses to let her make that choice, tracking her position, then stopping her and cutting her off for her own safety. While Akane is the one who calls him out for this, neither of them are treating the other as someone with agency, and both are making choices for the other. As such, in Oshi no Ko, lying cannot be love - you cannot impose your love on another.

Kana - Love is Sincerity

Kana, differently than Ruby and Akane, is defined in her moments of honesty and sincerity. She is an actress, yes, but even her acting is a kind that emphasizes her true self. There's too many pages to post here, but chapters 60-63 talk all about this directly - her modern acting is about hiding herself in order to aid others, but her best acting is when she ignores everybody else and acts to her heart's desire.

This same sincerity is what forms the basis of the Aqua/Kana ship. Unlike the two above ships, which are on some level founded on artifice, many of the moments between Kana and Aqua are focused on moments where they are each acting as their truest selves. Chapters where they interact, like 30 and 117, show that they both have an easy rapport, acting thoughtlessly and honestly. Chapter 40 points this out directly: Kana has the ability to draw Aqua out of his depressed and overthinking mindset, letting him be his unrestrained self.

This is similar to Ai's own actions in chapter 4. Though she normally puts on a facade and acts out love for the cameras and crowds, the one moment that she is truly recognized as smiling is the moment she accidentally lets slip, and shows true love for her children:

As such, Aqua/Kana serves as a complete repudiation of Ai's mindset. She was wrong that one can lie to love. The only way to love is to be honest, the only time she was able to honestly express love was the moment she died, when she was able to tell her children she loved them. If you aren't sure how to love, you must reach out honestly and you will find it. No act or performance can be love, no matter how well meant.

If this is the ship the manga ends on, which it could be, the message would be that love is in baring oneself to others. Hiding from others with lies, even when well intentioned, like Aqua does to Kana before chapter 107, is a mistake, and to love truly you need to face up to your own feelings and see the other person directly.

Finale

So, what does this all mean? It means that the romantic love demonstrated in the three ships are unavoidably intertwined with the story's ideas about love as a whole. However, his isn't necessarily a foolproof prediction of what the author plans to do next, or what ship the story endorses. Though obviously I think some of these are much more supported by the series than others, until we reach the end it is still possible that things will change, and it could go with any of these, or none of them. This is merely the lens in which I interpret the romantic interactions in the text.

In fact, it's entirely possible that the series ends with no romantic resolution at all, rejecting all three above views on love. After all, while the romantic relationships are undeniably important to the narrative, the love that started this whole story was Ai's familial love for her children - thus, I wouldn't be surprised if platonic love between family and friends will be the most important in resolving it. In any case, the question of how to love is a key part of the series, and will have to be resolved by the story's end.

[vaguely-concerned]

Happy Grace/Pan Vibes For The Soul

"How can I, with you in the way?"/"(Laughs) The floor is yours!"

First of all I'm honestly just so charmed by how genuinely delighted Pan seems to be at watching Grace finding her voice and learning to enjoy using her power, I think that's where I started to take a shine to him. (also seems quite central to his character/romance in general because it's a thing that recurs through their relationship -- he tells her "I'm enjoying it if you're enjoying it" straight out at one point and that's definitely always there in the subtext). He buys a music studio for her just in case she ever wants to return to making music again even when she's not the muse anymore just because he loves her singing and has seen it make her happy before, how is that not the sweetest goddamn thing in the world??? Pan and Oracle in shared first place as stans for Grace musically

For real though, 'I Can Teach You' is sooo... even when you don't join forces with him Pan teaches Grace so many things in that song, it's a thematic tutorial as well as a gameplay one in many ways. For me I think the most impactful subtexts are 'This is a tricky situation, change is here and it's difficult, but you have more control and agency here than you think' ("You're in control!" "It's your song!"), and this sense that, y'know... there can be joy and playfulness and discovery in setting out into the unknown, not just fear and uncertainty.

dude... I wanna be in cahoots with & sing playful duets with you for the rest of my life bro (amorous intent)

Pros: Hell yeah look at her go! 🥰

Cons: Uh-oh look at her go! 😬

I love that Grace can bring Pan's motif into 'Challenging A Queen' and be called the fuck out by Persephone btw. why u keepin' your guard up girl uwu

'you gave up the only thing worth having -- for your little mortal friend' he says, giving up everything for his little once-again-mortal friend literally the next day fhsdkjfhsad who are you fooling buddy? not even yourself at this point surely??? (dialogue for if you save Freddie by giving up the eidolon)

my observations on the grace/pan dynamic across the different personality traits (yes I've done a run of each romancing him I am normal about it):

Clever!Grace: Pan seems to set out to be a trickster mentor of sorts, and Clever!Grace flips the uno reverse card on him and goes ‘Not if I trickster mentor you first bitch be honest about your feelings or perish challenge engage’. Probably the most birds of a feather combination (and indeed it’s the Blue version of the soundtrack that shows off his romance — also his tie and glasses are on the cover for that one :) ). 

Charming!Grace: Performative puppy dog eyes-off whenever either of them wants to get their way. 🥺4🥺. Pan is provably a soft touch from the Charming option to find Persephone before Challenging A Queen so I feel he probably tends to buckle faster but it’s a close thing. Local trickster god completely disarmed by someone being nice to him.

Kickass!Grace: “Be real with me or Imma kick your ass”/”Promise? ;)”/"...>:)"

I am always thinking about the way he steps up in The Trial when romanced (and the way it's the only one where Athena is genuinely shocked and appalled fhskadj). there is something about him that's like... he keeps protesting against 'innocent' and he's probably right haha, but there is certainly an almost fundamental lack of any active malice there that he doesn't fully admit to himself or to grace until this moment. he is doing this for grace, but it is also a confession about something really deep in himself that seems to be very vulnerable for him in its sincerity -- that he really doesn't mean to or more importantly want to cause harm (I don't wanna dance/with blood on my hands). admitting to his own basically good heart finally seems to be the bigger, scarier thing for him, more than facing the prospect of dying. he's experiencing the mortifying ordeal of being known and I for one am so proud of him

"I'm just here for the dance"

the way he sings that just to her and completely changes the meaning of it from what he said with it before, from using it to keep her out to inviting her in...

also can you imagine how badly the kill bill sirens must be going off in Grace's head in all variations of this scene no matter who steps up, considering what happened to Freddie just days before....... oof!

*incensed whisper* are you fucking kidding me with this what am I supposed to do with myself here

love these too

I really like the visual repeats of crossing the pond to the tree and back as a metaphor for them getting closer (or rather, him letting her closer, it is very much His Space). he retreats back there towards the end of 'Share This Dance', and that's the point where Grace puts her foot down and essentially says 'no. you come meet me honestly in the middle this time or this isn't happening'. and in 'The Trial' he does and then some!

I meant what I sang. I'm not a good man. If Athena had taken me up on my offer, the Idols would have been better off But I can try to be better. You make me want to try.

fun fact: if you break up with him after The Trial (YEAH you can still break off the romances at that point! it's wild honestly fsjadk), Grace tells him he should try to be better ‘for himself’ not for her... and he calls that (i.e. himself) ‘not much of an incentive’. My guy don’t make me break out the ‘Have you tried therapy’ prompt again. He takes it very calmly and gracefully under the circumstances but he's also like. quietly resigned and subdued. I tried it once for Science and never will again but there you go I bring my knowledge to this altar of sadness lol

you see the thing is I would forgive him for just about anything too I understand why so many of the characters in-game can't stay mad at him for any length of time

he starts the game by asking her to take his hand and he ends it on asking her to take his hand (and she does)...

:') let's share this dance

[etrosgate]

everyone knows the ideal way to play kingdom hearts is just in release order. i agree with this, with one exception:

i think people should watch dark road before playing kh3.

as a narrative, khdr doesn't depend on any reveals from kh3*, and in fact feels like crucial lead-up to the game, doing a fantastic job setting up for that game in a thematic sense, successfully bridging khux's fairly disconnected narrative to the main xehanort saga, and Most importantly: setting up xehanort's conclusion in kh3 (which feels extremely anti-climactic and out of nowhere w/out dark road's context. source: me in 2019)

*there's like ONE moment from khdr that references a big spoiler from kh3's ending, but when viewed in khdr->kh3 order, that reference just changes from a reveal to good foreshadowing, so i don't think it ruins either moment.

less importantly, the two games have some shared scenes (im talking identical), so when viewed in this order, the ones in kh3 become something exciting like "omg i get to see this scene in proper hd cutscene format with voice acting!!!" instead of the second viewing just being a presentation downgrade.

also it feels weird that the xehanort saga was supposed to end w/kh3, but you have to watch a follow-up prequel that explains his motivations in retrospect lol

tldr: dark road fits better into the overall narrative flow when viewed before kh3, its context actively improves your kh3 experience, and basically nothing is lost by viewing it in this order. literally win/win scenario

[graysparrowao3]

The Northern Bastards: Love Confession Character Analysis

I'm not sure what level of fanfic brain-rot / rarepair self-wankery this is, but I kind of really liked the thematic way the confessions finally happened, so I wanted to write it out, literary analysis style.

First, some relevant traits as described in the series:

Aradin's overall characterization:

Doesn't know when to shut up.

Speaks before he thinks and doesn't consider the impact his words may have on others.

Escalates conflicts through force and snark.

Doesn't emotionally self-regulate.

Some level of insight into self and emotions.

Selfish when considering emotional needs, less so for physical or material needs once they are comfortably met.

Rugan's overall characterization:

Uses words sparingly and carefully.

Emotionally unavailable.

Shuts down any interaction that gets too emotionally vulnerable.

Lives in constant survival mode; insight less important than external threat risk.

Attempts to deescalate conflicts by disengaging.

Selfish when considering physical needs, emotional needs ignored/repressed, material needs tied to Zhentarim activity.

So how do those elements come through both in each confession and also in how they respond to the other's confession? Let's now explore how the characterization and development of both characters is seen through their verbal admissions of affection after 70,000 words, 13 installments, and half a year of denial on my part:

How Aradin confesses love and Rugan responds:

          Rugan chuckled. “You’re easy to please.”            “I’m really not,” Aradin said. “I’m a high maintenance, argumentative, foul-mouthed son of a bitch, but you don’t seem to be too bothered by it, that’s why I love you.”             Rugan failed to keep an instinctive reaction flashing across his face.             Aradin winced. “Bollocks.”             Rugan’s hands didn’t move in the delicate, cautious pause. “How about this,” he said, slowly. “I’ll forgive you saying a bit too much if you can forgive me not saying enough.”             “Deal,” the adventurer replied quickly. “And just in case it changed your mind about me fucking you and you staying, I didn’t mean it. I don’t even really like you. I mean for a start, what’s going on with your hair? Grow it out or shave it, make a damn decision. And I know you had your team banner as it were, but I don’t think yellow is your colour, makes you all washed out-”             Rugan placed his hand over the other man’s mouth. “Aradin," he said. "Shut the fuck up.”

Analysis:

Aradin doesn't know when to shut up, doesn't consider the impact of his words, and has been aware of what's going on for a while and even practiced these exact words, so it doesn't occur to him what he's saying until after he said it. He's too selfishly involved in his feelings to realize this is a fairly major thing to be admitting, especially in the context of everything that's happened, and isn't careful in how he speaks, so he 'says it like it is', giving a fairly accurate assessment of himself and his feelings, and only realizes it when he's prompted by the reaction it elicits.

Then, he regrets it not because he cares about having said something wrong, but because he's waiting to be entirely invalidated and for Rugan to backpedal the progression they've made because he usually can't handle this sort of thing and has a visceral reaction to it that Aradin doesn't want to deal with. He starts spouting pointless low-effort insults to try and deflect from any potential negative reaction Rugan has to his confession and more importantly to lower the level of vulnerability in the conversation by being a little shit.

When Rugan responds he demonstrates his character growth and returning of the affection, because even though he doesn't say it back, he doesn't shut it down, ignore it, or deny it, in spite of how uncomfortable he is with it being out there. He accepts it for exactly what it is, acknowledges it even if he can't bring himself to speak what was said even in repeating it, and only asks to be accepted for where he is back.

When Aradin then is worried that this reaction isn't entirely genuine and also is self-centeredly not fully listening and worried about himself, Rugan stops it both physically and verbally, showing that's he's ok with it, can handle the vulnerability, and doesn't need to pretend it didn't happen like usual. He's not bothered by these ridiculous insults, he just doesn't need protecting (or to listen to this kind of wankery lol).

How Rugan confesses love and Aradin responds (some time later):

            He was curled up behind his partner, buried in the soft scent of his hair and the sharp smell of the sex they hadn’t washed off yet. He was still coming to, the new day finding him slowly, teasing him from undisturbed sleep into the promise that existence could be a thing he actually enjoyed.             He moved his fingers affectionately over the younger man’s arm, tracing down to his hand where he laced their fingers together and nuzzled closer into the nape of his neck. Rugan bathed in the sensation of being wanted and succumbed to the effortless joy of it. He really, really, what-the-fuck-did-I-make-all-that-fuss-about wanted it too. His arms tightened slightly around the nude body, he pressed his lips against his lover's warm skin and hummed a few precious words.             Aradin’s thick brows gathered together over his barely conscious eyes. He mumbled into the pillow, “did you just say what I think you said?”             Rugan lazily shuffled down into their sleepy embrace. “No idea what you’re talking about.”             For a moment, there was nothing. Then he felt a tight squeeze on his hand.

Analysis:

Rugan has been so averse to being emotionally vulnerable and not saying how he feels - and couldn't, because of the risk to his emotional and quite literal physical wellbeing - that the words aren't even written out. I know what he said, so do you, he, and Aradin, but the literal words that are typed reflect his pattern of emotional communication; an absence of it. He was finally was able to say it, but the way it is described (i.e., it is not) respects and reflects how difficult it has been for him to reach that point as well as validating the slight questioning from Aradin and putting the reader in his perspective over what those words could have been (though we both know exactly what they are), and keeps the text at a distance from his admission whilst allowing the confession to happen. Baby steps.

He says it during a moment of complete comfort and safety, where they're still half-asleep (both more vulnerability and potential deniability) and where he's realized what being happy actually can entail, without any context of conversation or force or angst which is usually when he breaks and any vulnerability comes out in a highly aggressive defensiveness. He's able to have this reflection because he's no longer fighting for survival, is free from the Zhentarim completely, and is able to be safe to actually acknowledge and have such vulnerable emotions. The moment isn't a highly intense risky one, and even so he says nothing more than the exact words that he wanted to say and then retreats immediately into deniability to avoid staying too long in the vulnerability with a veneer of sardonic humour.

When Aradin responds he demonstrates his character growth and returning of the affection by not escalating through forcefulness or snark. He knows what was said, and could very easily confront, mock, or have an 'I told you so' moment that would inevitably ruin the moment and interrupt Rugan's willingness to be vulnerable. But, in fact, well well well, would you look at that!!... he finally actually manages to not say anything at all.

[find-your-flame]

when i first started this blog i said that "metal wants to be everything that sonic is but he is everything that sonic isn't."

time for me to elaborate on that.

metal's ultimate goal-- to prove himself as The One True Sonic-- is impossible. both literally and thematically. by its very nature he cannot accomplish it.

he can't be sonic in a very literal sense because sonic already exists. the guy is already there living his life. nothing to be done about that.

but more importantly, he can't be sonic in a thematic sense because he is so obsessed with becoming someone else. a keystone of sonic's character is that he is wholly and unapologetically himself. it doesn't matter what anyone else wants or thinks, Sonic is Sonic, and he is perfectly happy with being sonic, and any attempts to make him anything else just don't work at best and actively make him miserable at worst.

metal's single minded drive to prove himself, to become something he isn't, to be something more, is exactly why he can never achieve what he wants. sonic would not care about being someone else. he would just Be. if metal was truly sonic, he wouldn't care so much about it.

so ironically, the less metal sonic acts like sonic, the less he tries to be someone else, the more akin to sonic he becomes.

[phantomrose96]

Hey I have an Abot question!!!

So it’s established that epsers belief can influence their powers, and this is a big for Mob throughout the story - a big lie from Mogami produced a power Mob didn’t previously have, because Mob believed he had it when he was told he did

Does this affect all espers??? Like are you actively writing them this way?

I noticed Ritsu look at the spell tag Reigan use in the latest chapter, and probably put together what Reagan’s last minute plan was - how is this gonna affect how he acts?

If an esper knows belief affects their powers can they try to convince themself something is true so their power will make it true?

I’m so interested in how this might play out since we have 3 teen espers to bounce things off each other potentially

(also do you know/remember is this idea of espers being influenced by belief canon or fanon?)

Okay so!!!

Does this affect all espers??? Like are you actively writing them this way?

Yes. However, how innately powerful an esper is also matters. Like even if you convince a weak esper they have the power to randomly blow up the earth, that's not gonna happen because even 100% of their power isn't gonna be enough to blow up the earth. Mogami's lies to Mob (and Reigen that one time) are carefully scaled. And Mob, being so powerful, has a much higher range of susceptibility. Espers like Teru and Ritsu, being much weaker than Mob naturally, are much more limited in how they're influenced by this. But it absolutely does exist for them.

For someone like Ritsu, this actively works against him. His doubt in his own abilities hinders him. He'd hindered from even sensing auras for most of the narrative, and in part he's hindered by that negative feedback loop. "I'm a weak and useless esper who can't even sense auras" easily becomes self-fulfilling. While someone like Teru, who has brazen confidence in his own abilities, is bolstered.

Ritsu takes a step-up in his abilities once he started letting the horde possess him, and while much of that has to do with the actual spirits piloting him, he gets much better at honing his own abilities because of the newfound confidence in himself that he can. (Meanwhile, when he's shattered and at his lowest following Reigen around, he's barely an esper at all.) And in the latest chapter, when he's using his power and Teru's to confront Mogami, he importantly pulls this out as an assertion of confidence - in himself, and what he needs to do to make all of this right - and it's enough to knock the wind out of Mogami's sails.

I noticed Ritsu look at the spell tag Reigan use in the latest chapter, and probably put together what Reagan’s last minute plan was - how is this gonna affect how he acts?

Yup, Ritsu has figured out what happened. That'll be explored in coming chapters. There is, in my opinion, some moral conflict around the whole thing. Thematically, trust--and specifically exploitation of trust--are at the absolute center of the narrative (Can you tell by the title?) Mogami and Reigen, as foils of each other, are both immense liars. Are some lies okay? Is this a lie, considering Reigen stating it made it true...?

I’m so interested in how this might play out since we have 3 teen espers to bounce things off each other potentially

Honestly I think there's some DEEPLY funny potential of like. One of them trying to do something stupid and risky and commissioning the other two to hype him up into believing he can do it. Endless hell potential for Reigen at the center of it.

(also do you know/remember is this idea of espers being influenced by belief canon or fanon?)

I actually think it's just my own idea, haha! Unless I like subconsciously absorbed it from somewhere. I just really like the idea of psychic powers being extremely mentally influenced. And like mp100 already uses that theme, via how Mob's emotions impact his powers of course. But more specifically I just like the idea of "oh these powers come from your mind? well then they REALLY come from your mind. If these powers are psychic then they're tied right down to the core of your psyche."

That kinda thing presents so many fascinating areas of exploration. A depressed esper who's lost confidence in themselves truly becomes incapacitated. Delusions of grandeur are not actually delusions, because in matters of psychic power, only what's in your mind counts. Brainwashing, indoctrination, become massively more terrifying when a psychic is involved. I just think it's neat.

[moongothic]

It is kind of funny to think about how popular the Kuja Crocodile fan theory is when you take a step back and think about where that theory kinda originates from Now to be fair, I'm not 100% certain where the theory came from, I can only remember so much of what the fandom was theorizing back in 2008, so I may be speaking from my ass a little right now

But from what I do remember, back in Yee Olden Days, there was a lot of speculation about why the Strawhats got sent to their respective island by Kuma the way they did. A lot of people did notice how each island seemed meaningful one way or another to each Strawhat and tied into their characters except for Luffy, and everybody thought that was a bit odd. Mainly because we didn't fully know HOW Kuma's ability worked. Now, nearly two decades later, we DO know how Kuma's ability actually works; People don't magically travel to islands they have a secret connection to or anything, Kuma himself has to actively choose where he sends people off to, meaning Kuma looked at the Strawhats individually and picked out islands where he thought they'd be best off at. Luffy being sent to Amazon Lily is arguably no different; Kuma knew Luffy was the brother of the soon-to-be-executed Ace, but also a target of the WG (due to being Dragon's son). Amazon Lily was close enough to both Sabaody that Luffy would be able to return there relatively easily if he wished to, or he could try to befriend the Warlord Hancock, who was also being summoned to participate in Ace's execution, to hitch a ride from her to go and try to save his brother. The only challenge Luffy would have to overcome there was indeed befriending the Kuja, at least enough to be taken off from the island safely and alive.

But indeed, we only really know and can fully understand that now. Back in Yee Olden Days, the fans did just seem to think Kuma's ability might be a bit more mystical in nature, and thus people got really curious what Luffy's Secret Ties to the Kuja and Amazon Lily could possibly be. And naturally that lead to people speculating that maybe Luffy's mom was a Kuja. Because what other subconcious connection could Luffy possibly have to the island especially when it didn't seem like it would help him reach/achieve his dreams any faster either.

But then we get to Impel Down and Crocodile gets those transgenderism allegations thrown right in his handsome face (and people start shitposting about him being Luffy's other parent) And I think that might be where the streams crossed. People noted how Crocodile has his funny little reptile motif going on, and how the Kuja ""also have a reptile motif"", transgenderism allegations, badabing badaboom Crocodile could be a former Kuja, secret past SOLVED.

But the connection there is really weak though, isn't it? Especially when you considder that the Kuja don't really have a REPTILE theme going on with them. Yes, the snake motif is important to the Kuja, our beloved Hancock being The Snake Princess and the sisters having the Gorgon/Medusa (fake) backstory, but the animal motif is limited to just snakes, not reptiles as a whole (otherwise we could also speculate that Moria is a former Kuja because he's also named after a reptile). And more importantly, the Kuja have a big FLOWER theme going on for them, namely in, well, their names; each Kuja is named after some kind of flower/plant. Sure, Crocodile could have a secret deadname but we don't know if he does, there is no evidence to suggest either way (but also, depending on when you think he would have transitioned then him just being able to have a secret deadname is kind of up in the air (see: Crocodad timeline))

So if Kuma's ability doesn't have a magical way to send people to places they have ties to (whether the person knows it or not), and if Crocodile doesn't have any obvious, thematic connection to the Kuja, then the only reason people believe he could've been a Kuja is because... he might be trans. And... yeah. That's kind of a weak basis for a theory, isn't it

[cookiecomics]

Anonymous Coward asked: how did you come up with the idea behind ren's palace in atott

I noticed that P5R has alot of references to Dante's Purgiturio and in the third semester Paradiso :3 so I thought 'hey making Ren's palace based of Inferno would tie perfectly together' since the palace was in act 1 and act 2 and 3 would largely be dealing with the plot of the game proper from Ren's perspective with the sequel diving into third semester. 

Chapter 6 is super important thematically. Even atott's ending is foreshadowed in it lmfao. For each of the tiers, I really wanted to play on Ren's perspective on. Like Lust for example, wouldn't focus on the teenage perspective of puberty and lust in the traditional fashion. But the fact Ren was told numerous times that a woman being assaulted should not be saved. That society will turn a blind eye to it for their own comfort. Even Sojiro , who KNOWS that Ren tried to break up an assault told him it was a 'matter between two adults'. Like, Ren harbors such resentment for that sentiment that I wanted to portray it. 

 There are actually two solutions to the lust ring, and an alternative Gluttony ring as well but we’ll get into that whenever I get to Eternal Punishment the fic lmfao. And also, I wanted chapter 23 (when murking the principal) to not be a surprise, so foreshadowing Ren’s growing apathy and tendency/desire for violence in his palace was super important. But more importantly, I remember very distinctly someone I used to follow saying that they hated palace au’s because they rob characters of their agency. While I don’t think that to be true at all. (I mean it didn’t rob Futaba of her agency) I was still important to me that Ren remained an active participant in the story even without being apart of the Phantom Thieves. 

 The plot functionally got started at all because Arsene offered that deal to Akechi. Very jail-break-esque. Another part that’s been important to me throughout Ren’s journey is to show that trauma and being a victim isn’t only tragic if you are being the ‘perfect’ victim. People often ignore some of the symptoms that can arise if they’re unpalatable. Like apathy, anger, self-destruction. Ren’s not a perfect person by any means. He’s selfish, he’s angry, he’s apathetic and it’s by and large a result of his environment and circumstances. 

But despite all of it, his actions still have consequences. The narrative doesn’t protect him from that and that’s largely reflective of what it’s like to have externalizing disorders in the cluster B spectrum. You can indeed fuck up your whole life by your own hand even if the reason you became like this isn’t entirely your fault. Do you still deserve love and protection by at least some people in your life? Different characters have difference feelings about that. 

 Anyways, Ren’s palace had alot to carry on its back lmfao and to this day it’s one of my most popular chapters comment-wise (that, chapter 12, chapter 23 and chapter 45) 

 I’m glad people liked it! I slaved over the concept for two whole months lmao [Smile or comment on the answer here](https://retrospring.net/@CookieComics/a/113121212944691254)

[senespera-ffxiv]

also this is the only time I'm gonna post twice in a row but I finished up my thoughts about dawntrail in my media list so I'm posting them here completely unedited

//spoilers for like all of dawntrail

a more detailed rating is that this is like a 4.7/5. It’s a solid story, if a bit boring and cliche for some of the first half. I do enjoy how clear-cut the story is in terms of thematic content, though, and how through and through it is an exploration of differing cultures and the ways in which you can understand them

The second half was also an interesting continuation of said exploration as it gives you a culture that is in direct opposition to you with ways that are so alien, and yet continues to ask that you understand them while also criticizing the more inhumane effects of those cultural practices

making it about me again but it’s basically just my stance about criticizing China. A lot of the criticism becomes extremely sinophobic because it simply rejects the culture without first trying to understand it. It’s a bit easier for me since I’m deeply steeped in said culture, but I do think it’s possible for someone who isn’t Chinese to criticize China in a non-sinophobic way

Idk just a lot of the way Wuk Lamat and the others handled their reactions to Alexandria felt like a good way to do that to me

Like it’s nowhere close to being as insanely character-driven as shadowbringers and endwalker, nor is it as interestingly politically technical as heavensward, stormblood, and certain parts of endwalker, but it’s still definitely Good. Just not as good in comparison to the rest (and even then I’d rank it above Stormblood lmao I didn’t have any moments where I was actively annoyed at the characters for losing brain cells and shit jksdlfhskldjf)

My ranking for the expacs would be something like this

Shadowbringers > Endwalker > Heavensward ≥ Dawntrail > Stormblood > ARR

Gameplay-wise, though, oh my God this Fucks. This Fucks So Hard. Way better than Endwalker.

I imagine this is kind of what it felt like to play this game back in Stormblood and early Shadowbringers where things were much more complex and messy on the player side, except this time the complex and messy stuff has bled into the normal content boss design and I am enjoying it so goddamn much

(disclaimer: I started playing at the very tail end of shadowbringers so while I still remember some shit like old monk back when it had positionals on all of its buttons, I am mostly A Young'un. I did not have to experience the dreaded TP management, nor have I gone through all the stages of grief with Summoner getting reworked every fucking expansion lmao)

Part of the reason why I love doing EX trials is because at that difficulty level they aren’t afraid to do some just batshit things that would cause you to lose it in normal content

and now it’s bled into normal content hell yes

For reference my two favorite EX mechanics so far are the Biting Halberd combo from Zurvan EX (death puddle under boss → giant cone → baited aoes → tank cleave) and the add phase from Hydaelyn EX (both tanks get an add and have to pull them away from the glowing crystals while party dps’s them, rotate once the glowing crystals are dead)

Like obviously I’m biased cuz I’m a tank and those are largely tank mechanics (cuz yes if you forget to move properly in the Zurvan one as MT you just kill your entire party so I kinda count that as a tank mechanic) but more importantly I like them because of how dynamic the movement is.

And they’re dynamic in different ways, like Zurvan’s is extremely rigid. You will dance in this specific manner (back → tank right, everyone else left) or else you die. Hydaelyn on the other hand can be a bit looser and you have at least a bit of room to do different strategies (ideally it’s a “everyone focus down one crystal at a time” situation but the like three-five times I’ve done the fight the positioning has always been very loose as long as none of the glowing crystals are getting tethered).

And a bunch of fights in Dawntrail are doing stuff like this that feels like a dance

Like the first example I can think of is Ar1/R1/whatever we’re calling it when the boss flings out a sequence of like 8 aoes across tiles before hitting you with an uppercut that sends you flying into the air and in order to not die from said uppercut you need to position yourself so that you land on an uncracked tile

The second iteration of this where it’s the clone that does the uppercut and the main boss is hitting you with line stacks is my favorite because that’s where the amount of stuff you do starts to offset how slow the actual mechanic is to make it feel like you’re in a time-sensitive dance and if you step wrong you’ll fuck things up

Another good example is the final boss The Queen Eternal which just. aughhhh I love that boss. There’s so many fun ideas being thrown around in there lol. You can really tell that Zeromus from the Endwalker patches was intended to be a test run for some of the mechanics in this fight because both occasionally devolve into randomized Chaos as you try your best to just Not Get Hit by aoes can you tell I loved the mechanic when she deploys her drones lmao

LIke okay last thing to yell about but Absolute Authority is literally just a mini Relativity mechanic from E12S/Big Bang from Zeromus but more chaotic and I absolutely loved it

Plus the more chaotic nature of the mechanics in this fight serve a bit of a narrative purpose, especially when you consider how desperate Sphene is at this point in time

Like she doesn’t give a shit about keeping up appearances she will kill you as best as she can, “random bullshit go” included

And both of those mechanics also force you to do more dynamic movement, only now it's typically erratic and panicked compared to the more methodical and freeform dances of Zurvan and Hydaelyn EX respectively

We need more insane shit in the gameplay of the normal mode stuff keep doing it Yoshi-P

[soulhalberder]

Thinking about Maria's character design goes through so much to convey her journey through all of Symphogear.

Initially her casual design has the one stocking in a darker shade while her outfit also incorporates whites showing how she's torn between doing both good and evil. In her concert with Tsubasa she wears white before swapping to black for her transformation, but doing so while on stage as the entire thing is largely performative. She's still unsure of where she stands with everything. Even her outfit is a mirror of Hibiki, with the cloak contrasting the scarf, obscuring Maria while Hibiki's flows freely as Hibiki doesn't hide who she is.

As G progresses and Maria feels the only course of action is to double down on her path, her casual outfit becomes darker and her leggings eventually cover both her legs fully. It is only after Hibiki then takes Gungnir that she emerges from this darkness and clads herself in Airgetlám does she come full circle and get shown in white. Interestingly, at the end of G she's shown to wield both a sword and fist, which she and Hibiki combine for thematic reasons of both groups coming together to defeat the Nephilim.

And the in GX things get really interesting. First off during the concert, her and Tsubasa have mirror outfits again, though instead of a black/white dichotomy, they are both in dark blue and white, with their outfits essentially being the negative space created by the other's outfit. But more importantly, both and Tsubasa's colors. While Maria's design does feature white heavily, her colors are more silver and light blue. She's still not come into her own, which makes sense because at this point she's still pretending to be someone else for the sake of the world, Tsubasa's partner but not standing on her own.

Next design shift is when she briefly takes up Gungnir again, going back to her G design though notably without the cape. She's no longer trying to play the villain, but it's not her own power and she can't keep the farce of being Gugnir's wielder for long, and she recognizes that this isn't her power, it's Hibiki's.

Once Airgetlám has finally been repaired we see that her weapon is one armored fist and a short sword, half of both Hibiki's and Tsubasa's weapons. She's still trying to live up to other's expectations and be someone she isn't, namely just like Tsubasa whom she admires and stands alongside on stage and Hibiki, who's hand saved her when she was at her darkest. But that's not who Maria is, and falls to Dáinsleif's curse while trying to activate the Ignite module.

Once she accepts that she's weak for trying to be just like the others, she really starts to come into her own. Every other Harmonizer is highly speciallized; Tsubasa has swords, Hibiki does martial arts, Chris has so many guns, Kirika has scythe blades and Shirabe has buzzsaws/yoyos. They are all masters of one thing. Maria is a Jack of all trades.

Her weapons include short swords, knives, a chain whip, a gauntlet for punching people, shields, a rail cannon, and a drill. She's all over the place and adapts to the situation which also plays into the fact that she's much more of a gadget person because she's also a secret agent.

The one armored fist is also really consistent with how she hit people from GX to XZ. All the villains she faces get hit with her left fist, the armored one, but all throughout XZ when she needs to snap Tsubasa out of her own head, she uses her right hand, the more gentle and caring side of her. Asymmetrical character design is really good for a lot of stuff as it turns out.

Not a whole lot to say about her Amalgam outfit aside from I really like the design and her Amalgam being a silver dragon is super rad and paired with Tsubasa's phoenix is a symbol for stable marriage and whops Symphogear dropped all this gay all over the floor again. Not that these two haven't had just so many lines of unhinged gay that go uncommented on throughout the entire show.

Partners in more ways than one, though that's another essay.

Anyway Maria's super neat and Symphogear continues to live rent free in my brain.

[dawnsbreaking]

Hello have you ever thought about how the Avatar of Wrath isn’t really all that angry? Because I have. At great length. (500ish word textpost essay about Satan’s character arc below)

From the beginning of the game, it’s obvious that Satan is the most in control of his sin. When he first appears in the story, it is almost unclear what his assigned flaw even is. He’s calm and collected. On a surface level, he seems to exhibit pride more often than wrath. This appearance of control, though, is a direct result of the self-loathing and inwardly-directed anger that is the true manifestation of his sin.

I think that the circumstance of Satan’s creation is the main reason for his self-loathing. Most of Satan’s big character moments are centered around overcoming negative feelings surrounding his creation, so I’d be remiss not to connect this thread.

Lucifer tore his wings from his back as an expression of overwhelming anger and those wings became Satan. To be created as a direct result of a traumatic event takes a toll. Not only was Satan born from Lucifer’s wrath, he was born from an act of self-mutilation, which thematically parallels Satan’s self-hatred. It’s clear that this connection was intentional.

Aside from his identity struggles from being born from Lucifer, Satan views himself as an artifact of the Celestial War and, by extension, Lilith’s death.

Truly, Satan is the silver lining of the Celestial War. He is the good that came from all of the bad. But, in himself, he can only see all of the bad. All of the pain that his existence causes for his brothers. He doesn’t think he is a good enough replacement for Lilith, he doesn’t think that he is a blessing enough to counterbalance the curse of losing their home. He can’t undo all of the pain and suffering that fell from the sky alongside him. He imagines his brothers feel this pain at the sight of him, so he resolves to make his existence less painful.

Satan minimizes his own pain, minimizes his flaw. He channels all of his energy into making himself worth the trouble. He does this, in part, by collecting knowledge. His penchant for reading has a twofold effect, here, it is a solitary activity (alone, he can’t be a bother to others) and it makes him indispensable.

While the other brothers' sins manifest externally, Satan’s sin manifests, for the most part, internally. This sets him apart from the others in terms of character development because the one-size-fits-most “learn to overcome my sin and become less selfish through the power of love” trajectory doesn’t suit his arc. In fact, his arc runs directly opposite.

Rather than learning to control himself and minimize his flaw, Satan must grow more comfortable with his own identity and learn to channel his wrath to positive effect. It does not benefit Satan to exhibit less wrath because he is already unaffected by his wrath for the most part.

While the other brothers' arcs guide them to minimize their sins and step outside of themselves to care for the others, Satan must let his sin be part of his unique identity. More importantly, he must learn to trust that his brothers (and MC) see the good in him enough to take up more space.

TLDR: let satan be angry sometimes, as a treat <3

[moviemunchies]

Alright! Finally something that isn’t The Fast and the Furious!

Back to superhero films.

Jaime Reyes came back from college graduation to find his family is broke and is about to be evicted by the corrupt Kord Industries. He and his sister Milagro pick up minimum wage jobs, which they quickly lose; but not before Jaime leaves a good impression on heiress Jenny Kord, daughter of disappeared tech billionaire Ted Kord. She offers a meetup for a job at the family company (which is now run by her aunt, Ted’s sister, Victoria Kord, who has turned into a militarized and corrupt corporation), but when Jaime finds her, she’s just taken something out of the lab and asks him to hide it.

Of course, Jaime opens the box (at his family’s urging), and it turns out to be the Scarab, which quickly activates and fuses to his spine, creating an alien super suit. However! Victoria Kord will stop at nothing to get that Scarab, as she plans to use it to help her super cybernetic soldier program. Now Jaime and his family will have to figure out how the Scarab works, how to disconnect it, and most importantly, how to survive.

This film was originally produced to be released only on HBO Max, but with the shake ups at Warner/DC/Discovery/HBO, it was shifted to a theatrical release. Perhaps this was to try to avoid the backlash that came from canceling Batgirl? I don’t know. It’s not expected to do well financially, and thus far, it really hasn’t, though I’ve seen good reviews. But I have a soft spot for Jaime Reyes, so I wanted to give this movie a go.

Admittedly, this movie feels a lot like a made-for-TV movie, just with a much higher budget. The main criticism that’s come up in reviews is that this movie is a stereotypical superhero origin story. And that’s true! In terms of actual Plot, there’s not much that makes this different from a dozen other superhero stories that you’ve seen before. When this was an HBO Max original, that is a lot less egregious, but as a theatrical release it’s a little frustrating. The difference (and one that most reviews also bring up) is that this is a Hispanic superhero, and the movie’s emphasis on his identity is a highlight that makes this movie memorable.

How many Hispanic superheroes have been shown in live-action theatrical films? Not a lot! And certainly not that many that shine so brightly on issues that Hispanic people face today–gentrification, not being taken seriously, and being constantly stereotyped. These are things that theatrical superhero movies rarely touch on, and I can’t think of any that make it a thematic focal point.

And it’s not just doom-and-gloom! There are a bunch of really fun shout-outs to Hispanic pop culture that stick out to people in the know–from Selena music to Hispanic superhero media. There’s a few references to El Chapulín Colorado, and while some people laughed because it was silly, at least one person in my theater was guffawing because he definitely got the reference.

A quibble, though, but a big one: the whole thing about the Reyes family is that they’re all so together and strong because of it. They’re a loving family. And yet all of the family’s struggles are news to Jaime when he arrives back home–the family business closing, the upcoming eviction, his father’s health problems: he didn’t know about any of them! If Jaime having been distant from his family and having to repair his relationship was his character arc for the movie, then yeah, it works. But it isn’t–that he’s completely blind to their problems is a non-issue in the long run, and it feels wrong with how important family is to the story’s themes.

The worldbuilding reminds me a little of Black Adam in that this is a world with history, especially with superheroes. Jaime’s uncle is a fan of the Blue Beetle, and brings up Superman. While the reaction to the Scarab’s extraterrestrial nature is alarm and surprise, no one expresses disbelief. In a world with superheroes, these things are apparently not too unbelievable.

The Scarab feels a bit weird to me. I guess this is in part because my exposure to Jaime Reyes is Young Justice, in which the Scarab has a specific, robotic personality that’s hyper violent and has to be reigned in. The Scarab also turns out to be an agent of the Reach, an alien nation bent on galactic conquest. The Scarab of the movie ends up bonding with Jaime and connecting to his brain, and so some of its dialogue at the end uses Spanish and slang, which felt jarring to me. Maybe that makes sense for the character in the movie–they’re mentally bonded, after all. But it just seems weird to me from my experiences with the character.

The villains are… functional, I guess? Victoria Kord is a bit over-the-top, but given the world right now, a villain running a technology corporation maybe should be over-the-top. That’s kind of how life is sometimes with these people–as is their disdain for those not useful to her. Carapax is a bit more, though I think the movie waits too long to give him his much-needed depth. If we got stronger hints of that earlier, I’d have appreciated it more.

There is an odd bit with the soundtrack that stuck out to me. It's fine, mostly, but the part where Jaime fully bonds with the Scarab has swelling, heroic music playing. What makes it strange is that this is also while Carapax is getting his full powers, and we're shown him powering up at the same time, and the music continues its heroic tones.

It's just a weird juxtaposition, with the music going the way it does.

Overall, it’s a fun movie, though it’s not hitting too many unfamiliar beats. The main draw here is how unapologetically Hispanic the movie is. But after years of continuity-heavy superhero films, and several attempts to tell stories about the multiverse, a back-to-basics approach to a superhero movie is appreciated. I liked it. It isn’t blowing my mind, but it’s a good movie to watch if you’ve got the time.

[ask-mortarion-the-death-lord]

thoughts bouncin around my head, figured i'd write it down, but an important thematic throughline of the traitor primarchs is in general the need for approval / validation. lorgar want to be validated for his religious and philosophical beliefs and when that not only doesnt happen but hes actively refuted he heel turns into chaoses embrace. horus despite his suave confident facade is desperate for the approval of being daddys special number 1 big time boy, so much so that when negged on the prospect that the emperor probably doesn't actually love him even a little he goes off the god damn walls and starts the haralds hairdressing.

now, one can definitely blame this in part on how the traitor primarchs are made out by the narrative as inherently flawed from the start well the loyalists get flights of angels and glowing stars signifying their descents onto the world. as a consequence of that the loyalists end up being almost totally self assured and self actualized as characters right from the get go, occasionally questioning things but always within the context of whether or not they'll lose that sense of self actualization [hence why i'd say guilliman has been baby girled to heck and back by the fandom since his return to 40k, because baby girl guilliman doesn't have that sense of self actualization he has in 30k when hes in the 40k time frame].

this brings me to the curious case of mort and pert.

now, if [some] 40k memes are to be taken as factual morts a crybaby loser who got pissed dad stole his kill well perts an anal retentive crybaby who acted solely on his grudge against rogal. in essence the popular layman vision of the traitor primarchs has it that only perturabo and mortarion are desperate for approval [or more commonly they disregard mort and focus solely on pert] despite all the traitor primarchs being clingy and desperate for approval in some respect.

i dont think its inaccurate however to say that pert and mort both evoke that theme of validation the most out of the traitor primarchs. they both betray the emperor out of dissatisfaction with the job, but also importantly they join up with horus because horus offered them any degree of approval for who they are at all, and they both get drawn further into the clusterfuck of the heresy because of feelings of gratitude to horus for that validation. and importantly they both 'justify' their decisions through rather threadbare reasons despite the actual reason being that gratitude to horus for saying 'ya did good son brother' [perturabo justifying it through his rivalry to rogal and mortarion justifying it through the emperor stealing his glory].

where they ultimately differ however, is that mortarion is entirely wrapped up in that desire for validation, well perturabos desire for validation stems from the massive chip on his shoulder of resentment hes been carrying his entire life.

and to explain what i mean by that, id like to point to an important fundamental difference between the two that highlights exactly what i mean by the assertion that mort is number 1 on the desire for validation of the traitors well pert is number 2 due to his primary motivation being a heaping load of resentment.

namely that well mortarion is always described as having chosen to throw his legion into the thickest and most dangerous of warzones, chosen to specialize in trench warfare, well perturabo is always described as being burdened or forced to take on that role of trench warfare, being tasked with it instead of choosing it.

and that i think speaks to the heart of what im getting at here. resentment is an important facet of mortarions character, but its so heavily tied up in his desire for validation that said desire is what i would classify as more important to identifying his character. the blow of the emperor 'stealing his kill' is so galling not [entirely] because of the wounded pride but because it invalidates a lifetime worth of suffering and struggle, and its a wound that entirely snowballs into dire consequences for mortarion. and similarly that horus out of all of his brothers shows any extent of approval to mortarion for his efforts and struggles of him and his legion during the great crusade is what secures so much of his loyalty during the horus heresy. it also nicely explains why nurgle corruption specifically is what mortarion fell into, because what nurgle ultimately offers is validation for suffering.

perturabo by comparison well similarly so desperate for approval that he jumps on team horus the minute horus shows any degree of sympathy to him and his plights, is so tied up in his resentment towards everyone and everything that if nothing else leaving in the middle of the siege because everyone pissed him off enough is a perfect sample of characterization for him. well mortarion desires validation to make meaning out of suffering and misery, perturabo desires validation because he specifically feels hard done by and left out to dry by the powers in play, which he projects into his rivalry with rogal dorn the praetorian whos constantly validated for talents perturabo shares and views himself as superior in. its also why i would argue hes nonaligned despite using the power of chaos for his own ends, not because hes some cool badass but because well... what have the powers at play ever done for him other then pass him up for reward and approval well dumping their gifts onto other people? its about time he got something back for his efforts and by golly he'll do it by force just to show em.

[coming in at third would be mangus as well his desire for validation for psykers and his and his legions research are important, whats more defining about him i'd say is his conviction in proving hes the smartest guy in the room at all times.]

[skeletondoggy]

okay writing down my SMTV:V (world's funniest abbreviation btw) thoughts here before I forget. Full spoilers for the original SMT V you've been warned.

OKAY. SO. FIRST OFF WOW I am so so glad they are taking another stab at an alternative scenario instead of just doing either a base Maniax version or the route stuff Redux did. I really appreciate the first game's scenario (as controversial it is) and I wanna talk about what the director said about The Bull and The Snake.

SMT V vanilla is, to me (and friend's I've discussed it with) a game about bonds, the destruction of set standards, and most importantly Being Forced To Go Against Your Own Ideals. The way SMT V twists and distorts alignments and breaks them down is EXTREMELY interesting, but more importantly I think it's important that they don't necessarily Reflect What's Given.

Time and time again the game lets you know this is not the Nahobino's choice. This is a choice of an auxiliary force, and even at the end things don't really land on where they might have. The protagonist is an unwilling figured dragged along in the plans of others to the very, very end. A character that nothing works out for, because they have a fate they must choose.

This is also reflected in Tao's character as well and her lack of agency near the end. While joining Naho is her choice she's...kinda a victim of it all. A saint chosen by Bethel who is used as a martyr figure who then only comes back later, to reveal that she is going to disappear. Everything that makes Tao herself is taken from her, as she becomes a function in the wheel of life and not her own.

The Naho and Tao as figures have the power and fate to change the world, but never for themselves or their own ideals. Never for a better tomorrow, and even when that's chosen they must reckon with a broken throne. Even when Naho desires a normal, peaceful life without divinity in the true route he cannot get it. He is trapped. With Tao as the throne, and him as the lone overseer of all.

This is the bull! It's easy to see, how the horned king sits atop with nothing to share, nothing to love. And this where I'm really interested with Vengeance. Especially considering (guess who) LILITH! Because, in an interesting twist, LUCIFER actually represents the snake who offered knowledge to people in the context of SMT V!

Assuming the other figures within the group will follow suit, I think this is going to be a story about lashing out at the set systems and the snake represents a place of dis-empowerment. A place of rejection, and one where I think many characters are gonna see themselves way, way more active.

In the trailer, Tao says this very interesting line. "You're not along, if you want revenge I'll help you get it." We're then shown a shot of her with Sahori, which means this line is being said there or is probably from another part of the game. But IMMEDIATELY I think it's a very very very big deal to talk about!

Tao as a character is someone who's set into a complacent position through Bethel (and tbh the game too a little), so a self declaration like this could mean a lot of things! On top of this, we see her WELL and alive during the Lahmu section (with Atsuda replacing Lahmus place? Hello?)

Miyazu as well seems to be more directly bitter in the trailer (pleaseee let Khonsu stuff be in the main story lol) which indicates a more direct active role as well! Both her and Tao are very much characters who've been hurt or exposed as weak in the systems that they're trapped in. And fucking hell I'm curious what they're gonna do.

The Bull is a representation of given power, but a lack of control. Thus thematically, I like to think this may mean the snake represents gained power through one's own control. SMT V is a game about the people and their struggles, the way the universe has dealt them unfortunate hands, and how they must brunt this fate even if it is to make them miserable and they never "win". So perhaps this is a story of victory, or clawing for victory as hard as one may.

oh also i think yoko and lilith are def a naho pair lol THANKS FOR READING

[naniwagusto]

I think Asuka's new wind attacks and vfx she has going on in 8 are her manifesting Kazama powers. She will either never get the ability to cleanse devils OR this is her precursor to getting that down the line. Even if she were to get her family's holy powers it would have to come from a moment of deep catharsis or emotion; Asuka would have to sincerely want for someone other than herself. In fact I'm still deeply glad 8 had Jin be the one to cleanse himself, due to a laundry list of reasons I believe that would have made Asuka terrible in that role, as opposed to him being the one to fix/better himself in the allegory.

But back to her and wind, wind makes perfect sense as an element she can be associated with. It fits with her bird motifs from the very beginning as a thematic symbol for her free spirit. For her taking pride in her freedom. For the storm that she is and exudes with all her strong headed turbulent emotions. For her self sufficiency. She's always been someone to do what she wants; someone blown in many directions by the circumstances that find her or she pursues. And it implies her movements have only grown in power that the force behind all her attacks is now becoming visible. Her power isn't getting stagnant it's growing meaning she's working at it and her body is responding.

She's gained a nature association like the other Kazamas but in a way that manifests from within herself, not a connection made with the world or the spiritual around her. From 5 to 7 she was forced into being alone. The battles she threw herself into then left her with no choice but to rely on herself and her own inner strength, running opposite to both Jun and Jin who matured their powers because of and in response to outside connection.

The new dragon install mechanic they gave her with 'Naniwa Gusto' is exactly this in practice to me. It's a rise in power and focus because Asuka off camera and through time became in touch with herself more and gained deeper understanding of her own spirit and power, but more importantly how to better control it. A lot of her new animations while in Naniwa Gusto exhibit precision, deliberately telegraphed control, focused aggressive bursts that make her active over reactive in only using her opponents against themselves before. And she's a Kazama from the inner city so detached from the heavy nature and spiritual tradition emphasis of the now dead main branch. Of course it would make sense for someone isolated like that to instead reach within themselves to connect to those sorts of concepts and forces. Most likely subconsciously when it started.

This is personal aesthetic choice too but I like to think when she does activate Naniwa Gusto, her eyes briefly glow whitish blue green to match her wind and the aura she gains in that state.

But I do really like the idea of Naniwa Gusto and her Rage Art now being able to summon wind on purpose down her arm/punch, giving her the Kazama dive kicks with massive gales behind them etc. Asuka has always been a self contained, opposing take on what it means to be a Kazama. So it's only fitting even when she gains power a Kazama is naturally expected to have her version of it manifests from her individuality, not conforming to her family.