#where relationships only get that flashback and depth

[cluescorner]

On my Earthspark wishlist is: Dot wielding Megatron in his gun-alt mode. Because I find the gun alt-mode fascinating because of what it can be used to portray and Megatron letting the person he trusts most wield him would rule. It's like the ultimate trust exercise. He's putting the power of destruction that he once misused into her hands and trusting her to only pull the trigger when it's needing. Meanwhile, Dot gets to be an action hero and demonstrate that she IS worthy of the trust Megatron has placed in her. We'd also get to see them interact a lot in interesting ways. How does Megatron react to this alt-mode and the fact that he has become a tool of destruction again after previously being a transport vehicle? Dorothy is comfortable wielding a gun, but how does the fact that she is literally holding her best friend in her hands affect the experience? Do they have some sort of psychic link while it's happening or is Dot just trusting that Megatron is ok with everything happening and Megatron trusting that Dot would know what he wants to do in a given situation?

Plus they would fuck shit up together and that would also rule.

[rancidhomo]

I wouldn't usually be all in on anything related to vacant rich white guys but I think its the way that the vapidity almost imperceptibly ebbs every now and then that has unfortunately captivated me very much.

Based on 95% of Saxon's words and behavior, like Chelsea I also would have quickly come to the conclusion that Saxon is soulless, interacting with his environment and other people in superficial ways that barely penetrate even a centimeter past his skin, never compelled to truly engage with the world, or allow any force to do even a little bit of substantive work inside him.

Most people unfortunate enough to have a conversation with him would probably assume that he's never known love in his life - and that he doesn't even know he hasn't, either. That's why it's so satisfying to me to witness the moments where Lochlan does something that briefly catalyzes evidence of something substantial existing within Saxon.

e.g., when Lochlan places his hand on Saxon's back and runs his fingers through his hair, Saxon's immediate unguarded look of euphoric overwhelm at the intimacy of the moment is absolutely wild. How few gestures of genuine, intentional affection has Saxon been the recipient of? For a moment, Lochlan's action allowed us to glimpse an interiority/depth of emotion in Saxon that he usually seems devoid of.

Also, in Saxon's flashback to the kiss, he is effusing such a palpable glow of vulnerability. You can feel it with the positioning of their bodies (Lochlan higher and bending down to Saxon), the warmth of the light, the softness of the kisses that Lochlan is bestowing on Saxon, Saxon letting the back of his fingers lightly graze across Lochlan's neck.

He is exposing his longing for tenderness. Lochlan's love and affection briefly shows us that Saxon is a human capable of feeling. He is a person relishing connection and intimacy with another person on mutually-informing emotional and physical levels, something that I'd assume neither of them have experienced before.

I will say that the story as Mike White has written it makes sense to me. These are two lonely brothers, raised at different times by bizarrely disconnected wealth-obsessed parents who either didn't teach the boys how to love others/cultivate relationships in healthy ways, or perhaps did and said things that actively hindered their children's emotional development and capacity for connection. Lochlan as the youngest child alone in a house with uninterested and distant parents, no instinct for developing love and intimacy with others and terrified that his loneliness will be forever. Saxon as the oldest child, out in the world grinding for useless and empty experiences with people just as vacant as him, incapable of getting anyone to love him and terrified that his whole life will be devoid of sincere intimacy.

I buy Sam Nivola's theory that Lochlan isn't sexually attracted to Saxon and that his actions were influenced more by his people-pleasing impulses. I think he recognized that Saxon has a physical/sexual attraction to him and, knowing how much Saxon prioritizes physical sexual experiences, wanted to offer gratification/consummation as a form of connection.

Although it may not be distinctly sexual, I do think that Lochlan gets a tremendous amount of pleasure from making Saxon feel good. He is happy to tenderly kiss the affection-starved brother that he loves deeply and that he knows loves him just as much in return. Saxon seems to actively crave both Lochlan's emotional and sexual attention, and Lochlan seems to enjoy giving it.

Even though they are more-or-less strangers in each other's lives due to their age gap, their love for each other is likely the only easy, natural source of good feelings they have. The distance between them in age/life stages/actual physical space, however, makes access to those feelings difficult. It makes sense that two siblings from a fucked up family, one or maybe both of them queer in a repressive conservative religious environment, with severely stunted emotional development, would interpret each other's love as the only thing that could bring them happiness- but more importantly, the only thing that will keep them from dying alone and unloved. It makes sense that in circumstances like that, the boys wouldn't know how to stop themselves from conflating and seeking to gratify all of their impulses for connection, with each other, all at once.

[zutarawasrobbed]

ALTA Live Action Season 1 Initial Thoughts (Spoilers)

I just finished the season, and holy shit!

Quick things that need to be addressed/debunked:

“Sokka is no longer sexist”

I dont know what people were talking about when they talked about Sokka’s “sexism” being removed. It’s still there! But not in the overly exaggerated comical way it was in the original.

In fact, it’s more in line with ancient practices of indigenous tribes where men are seen as protectors and providers while women are expected to nurture. It’s not the same “boys are better than girls” narrative in the original.

Additionally, Suki still beats the fuck out of Sokka and humbled him really quick. They’re super cute by the way. And I love Suki’s “I like my men a little stupid” vibe. She’s great.

“Aang doesn’t run away like the original!”

That is not true. He does run away, but not because he’s trying to get away from the temple but instead to get some air because he feels overwhelmed. He’s more like taking a quick break and planning to come back. It’s not exactly the same, but almost. It also is done in a way where his guilt feels more justified.

“Katara doesn’t talk about her mom anymore like the original”

This is true… BECAUSE THEY SHOW INSTEAD OF TELL. I was honestly not prepared to see the death Kya in such graphic detail and how Katara was in the room hiding when it happened. It’s honestly really sad and more heartbreaking.

Plot:

The timeline seems to be ambiguous compared to the original series where it was “end of current year.” In fact, they repeat “three years” a few times, which makes me think if the series get greenlit for more seasons, it would be over a three year period.

Jet is still villainized but given more nuance and not a simple "good v bad" way like the original.

Zuko’s story about how he got his scar has additional lore that makes him come across as even more selfless and compassionate. The additional context of the platoon he advocated for in the war meeting, becoming his current crew, really added to the story.

Eradicated the nepotism baby plot point with Pakku only training Katara when he finds out he used to date her grandma. Instead, Katara proves herself and ends up teaching the other male fighters the techniques she learned from watching other benders use their elements and mimics them.

This season doesn’t have Aang learning any waterbending, but rather facing his trauma and the consequences of his actions. He get roasted by all his past lives. Which is an interesting choice, but I think it works well in how they executed it.

This season seems to actually be Katara focused and her journey of learning waterbending which I honestly loved because it really hits home the element of “water” being the story of an untrained waterbender learning her element. But, I do think Aang could’ve learned a little bending. It felt a little off.

Katara ends up advocating for all waterbending women and ends up leading an army of both men and women during the siege. She’s really bad ass and is given the title of master without being formally trained by Pakku. She made herself a master.

I think the timeline is a little wonky because of how much they had to fit in with the limited episodes they had.

Kuruk is given respect! I loved that.

June actually seems into Iroh which I thought was a funny but cool way to flip the script from the original.

The relationship between Zuko and Iroh is really beautifully executed. I love the depth they added with flashback scenes and their bond prior to the Agni Kai. It also wasn’t as frustrating watching Iroh and Zuko’s dynamic because Iroh communicated with Zuko in a way he could understand with straight answers rather than seeming to actively sabotage him with cryptic puns and shenanigans like the original.

They changed the love triangle with Yue Hahn and Sokka to be very healthy. They gave Yue autonomy and a choice in her relationship- which- again- is much more in line with indigenous cultures. Also, Hahn and Sokka’s relationship is really supportive and full of respect and no ill will.

They way they handled grief and the realities of war with the loss of life was very well done and really drove home the point that this is a war and these are child soldiers.

There’s a lot more but these are my initial thoughts. Will probably post more later.

Shipping:

Kataang is all but removed. Literally DOA. There is no indication of a crust on either side. It’s painted like a sibling relationship, which is like the original, but this time everyone seems to be on the same page. But, I swear the writers had to have read ZK fics because damn.

They canonized a popular Zutara theory/hc about the cave of two lovers and how the crystals would light up once it went completely dark instead of a “kiss” activating the crystal glow.

Speaking of the Cave of two lovers. They keep the Oma and Shu story with red and blue coloring. Making it come across more as foreshadowing than a direct link to the present tunnel story.

Sokka is put in Aang’s place with Katara in the tunnels and turned it into a story about the love of family and sibling bonds. Aang wasn’t even present.

Zuko and Katara share a meaningful look when they first see each other and continue to have a Katara centric scene followed by a Zuko centric scene and vice versa.

The scarf scene. I will not be elaborating further. If you know, you know.

Zuko and Katara fight scene in the North is epic. He still taunts her with almost the exact same dialogue but it’s so sassy- I love the banter.

Suki and Sokka were really cute and the actors had great chemistry. I think Yue and Sokka was really rushed and didn’t really feel anything about them, honestly. But I attribute that to lack of episodes to develop all that plot.

[lorvdz]

‼️This post is literally just gonna be me explaining why in my opinion, Adler x Bell doesn't work. No this doesn't mean that I hate/dislike people who ship the pair, and also no this isn't a post to criticise people who ship Adler x Bell. This is just my view on Adler x Bell, since people think it's okay to force this ship down people's throats, and force it to be 'canon'.‼️

For context/historical acknowledgement The CIA was established in 1947 under the National Security Act to conduct covert operations, gather intelligence, and counter Soviet influence. It was deeply anti-communist, hyper-masculine, and conservative, reflecting the broader U.S political culture. The CIA literally used covert manipulation, propaganda, assassinations, and psychological warfare to maintain American superiority. Loyalty to the agency came before personal relationships--agents were often forced to compromise their own morals, emotions, and personal lives.

Why Adler x Bell doesn't work, canonically and logically.

1.) Bell is literally an Enemy of the State. Canonically, Bell was a high-ranking agent of Perseus, which means that they were a literal active threat to the U.S. and its allies. Considering that they were brainwashed by the CIA, that does NOT erase their past as a soviet asset.

For the Duga ending, where Bell chooses to betray Adler. Bell KILLS Adler. For the 'Good' ending where bell doesn't betray the CIA, Adler chooses to kill Bell; the CIA would either way have eliminated or imprisoned them because Bell is an unreliable asset with foreign loyalties.

There's literally no canon scenario in which Bell walks away free and happy- as in, left alone and ends up in a relationship with Adler.

The Power Imbalance(Trauma of brainwashing) 2.) Russell Adler, tortured and brainwashed Bell. Lets be for real we all saw the moment Adler pulled out the needle, and stabbed Bell in the eye, in the safe house; and even if people say that didn't happen, there was an entire mission of Bell getting brainwashed by Adler(the flashbacks, and relying on his voice to proceed the mission).

The game itself makes it clear that Bell's memories are fabricated, and Adler is the one who personally breaks their mind apart, and rebuilds them as a puppet.

Any "relationship" would be built on lies, manipulation, and abuse. Bell isn't even themselves fully- since they're whatever the CIA wanted them to be.

Incidentally, Russell Adler used psychological warfare on Bell.

Adler x Bell Doesn’t Work Because: ❌ Bell was an asset, not a real person in Adler’s life. ❌ There was no emotional depth between them—only control. ❌ Bell, if they were truly with Perseus, was an enemy of the state. ❌ The CIA didn’t form romantic bonds with assets—they used them and discarded them.

For further information(now I'm just being nit picky..😔) Adler using "Kid" to refer to Bell/calling Bell "Kid" Honestly Adler call's Bell kid so many times throughout the game- and this isn't some casual term of endearment. Its literally a power dynamic- Adler sees Bell as a rookie, a novice- someone who's figuring shit out. Its a literal professional term of address reserved for someone younger, or less experienced, usually in a mentor-mentee relationship.

Now let’s pause and think about this, chat. Would someone in a mentor-mentee relationship—especially someone as hardened and professional as Adler—start getting romantically involved with the person they’re literally calling "kid"? That's not just weird; it’s problematic, and actually, it's creepy as hell. Adler is treating Bell as a subordinate. Even the thought of him switching from “kid” to “lover” is insane, and not one for Adler, with his experience, would make. He's not a predator—he’s an operator guys😭

Again. This is not a post coming after people who ship Russell Adler x Bell. I'm genuinely happy that people have found a unique pairing, if you personally ship Russell Adler x Bell, go for it(this post is NOT condoning this ship), have fun- this fandom should be about expressing yourself. NOT, forcing ships into people's faces. I've addressed my viewpoint on this ship because I've been spammed non-stop about Russell Adler x Bell, like I've been genuinely harassed, where anons and actual users have sent me messages about why I'm in the 'wrong' for not shipping this pair. I'll be serious, I never liked Russell Adler x Bell, but with these interactions? I started hating the ship(NOT THE PEOPLE). Thank you for reading my yap session<3

[multifandomloverthrowaway]

What Sky’s Character Should Have Been

(And why her and Viktor needed to be canon.)

This is LONG, and just my opinion. Please be nice!

In storytelling, each character, each scene, and each literary device is crucial for the advancement of the plot. If any is over or under utilized, the story remains cluttered or incomplete. That being said, it truly is a tragedy how horribly the characters, especially the Zaunite characters, came to be treated in season two. The characters and arcs set up in season one are butchered, and Viktor’s story is particularly disappointingly miswritten by the authors and misrepresented by the fandom, and we see this in the narrative and to a certain extent even fan treatment of Sky.

Sky is a ghost. Her presence, while tangible in the story, is not fully realized to the audience. We do not get to know much of her besides her interest in Viktor and a small flashback indicating that they knew of each other in their youth. Thus her existence and her death are ultimately unsatisfying; we do not know enough about her to be able to connect with her, and so she is ultimately only perceived to be an object to propel Viktor’s descent, even though we do not know much of his feelings towards her either. This is an unfortunate misuse of her as a supporting character, especially when it has a good potential reason to exist other than to solely be Viktor’s love interest.

Before understanding what Sky can represent, let us first define her in the context of the setting, particularly in relation to the characters that she supports. I have touched upon this in more detail in my Viktor character analysis posted, but for the TLDR:

It is clear that Jayce and Viktor are foils to one another. The difference in their opinions on Hextech sets them up to be a parallel to an important aspect of the class struggle set up in season one: Even when the oppressed are “good enough” to compete with their privileged peers, the resultant treatment by the oppressor between both is starkly different. Where the privileged will be lauded and commemorated, the oppressed will only be served minimal acceptance and approval. Thus, their characters and how they interact with one another, as well as the characters of their immediate mutual contacts and their own corresponding interactions, should serve explore this struggle further, especially when it comes to Sky, Mel, and Heimerdinger.

So Sky, like Viktor, should show how Piltover can misuse Zaunites against their hometown. However, to keep her character separate from him, unlike Viktor, who loses himself getting out of this trap and back to Zaun, Sky must be lost to trap itself. She must show just how inhumanely far Piltover will go in exploiting Zaun to maintain its subjugation over the latter. Like we see with other innocent Zaunite background characters that are killed by Piltover on the battleground, Sky must represent those that are killed in softer, more covert methods: through the extraction of Zaun’s finest intellect and the resulting false diplomacy. We must eventually see how Piltover indirectly kills her for being Zaunite, even though we know she is killed by Viktor and the Hexcore.

Sky then needs to have a fleshed out background that indicates of her optimism, grit, and innocence. It does not have to be as in depth as that of the main characters, but the audience must be shown the following:

Her academic prowess that indicates how she can capture sponsors and spin her botany research to help Zaun into something that Piltover thinks it can also benefit from. From which councilors or patrons does she benefit? How and why?

Her motivations for Zaun. What does she view an ideal Zaun to be? What would its relationship with Piltover be? We know she wants to make it better by creating natural greenery, but why does she choose to do so in Piltover? What pushed her to apply to the academy?

Her relation to Viktor, the only other known Zaunite at the academy. Did they interact more than that one time in the river? Were they friends or mutuals? How did Viktor help her get a position as his assistant and why? We know she is fond of him, but what about the other way around? What are their experiences at the academy like? How do they interact with casual prejudice? Do they stick up for each other? Do they find support in each other?

We must see her struggles to successfully obtain funding and traction for her own research due to Piltovan pushback and prejudice. (In this case, she must be in the same research group as Jayce and Viktor, but no longer their assistant as a decade is far too long to remain as such. She will be tied to Jayce’s name but not under him or Viktor.) This needs to be shown to contrast Jayce’s ease in becoming a councilor and gaining enough authority to push out Heimerdinger to further his and Viktor’s research. We need to see her project take the back seat because it is not the project that Jayce is directly tied to. We must see her have to to be careful and planned in who she talks to, how, and what she is able to get from them. This would provide a perfect parallel to Mel and about how being outsiders provides challenges when it comes to change; one being born into power with an imperialist upbringing and getting past Piltovans gracefully to a councilor position to invite it, and the other having no power and so relying on the street smarts and a resource seeking mindset from a more impoverished background to scavenge for it… yet both using the same methods (smooth talking, strategic connections, etc.) to do so.

We need to also know her relationship with Zaun and her perception of Piltover. She must be shown to nurture her feelings about the unfair treatment of her home into a more determined and optimistic view of potential equality and diplomacy, and their growth over time with her and Viktor’s research and their duty to represent Zaun. We should see her friendship with Jayce. We should see her interact with Mel and Heimerdinger. This not only lets the audience sympathize with her by empathizing with the struggles she faces above and her defiance in face of them, but also contrasts Viktor’s internal anger about Zaun and Piltover that he lets fester with his growing ailments and erasure of academic and technical contributions. This contrast sets her up nicely to symbolize the “good that could have been” in the relationship between Zaun and Piltover, and thus by extension, between Viktor and Jayce - hence her initial role as their assistant, and something that is cast aside as each character grows more towards their goals rather than the partnership.

This also sets her up to personify Viktor’s humanity. We’ve seen them meet. Let us see them study together, build things together, perhaps even fend for essentials together. Let us see how and why Sky fell in love with the Viktor from her youth. Let us know of Viktor’s endearment of her as we see him choose her to be his assistant. Let us see how they interact after facing prejudice from Piltovans and band together. Let us see her meet him when he’s on the hospital bed. Let us see her and Viktor be protective of and vulnerable with each other as they face the enemy. Let us see them bond just like we have seen him do so with Jayce. With Sky, we can see Viktor’s insecurities and his empathy like no other character can; in her we can see what makes him human.

This is integral to Viktor’s character and his arc. Whereas Jayce can actively work towards a future for his life with Mel and his career outside of Hextech, Viktor does not have the same luxury due to his illness. He cannot pursue anything but Hextech because his life and the lives of his people are on the line due to Piltover’s control. And that is precisely why when Sky loses her life due to the technology, it isn’t just Viktor that kills her. It’s Piltover’s waste, Piltover’s luxuries, Piltover’s unfulfilled promises that do. And Viktor realizes that after. Sky, in all her optimism, is fundamentally what Viktor could have strived for had he not let his anger and urgency spiral. As a mirror to Mel and Jayce, Sky is not just Viktor’s past but also his hopes for the future. And he realizes that he and Zaun has lost what could have been.

By giving Sky agency, we see just how much she could have done for the plot. But seeing how much the story fumbled Viktor, it’s not surprising to see her get “fridged” twice. I hope I did her justice!

If you’ve read this all, you deserve all the desserts. Thanks for reading!

[deripmaver]

What does Kentaro Miura have to say about Casca?

I think, due to fandom's general preferences towards Guts and Griffith, there's been much more discussion of the relevant Kentaro Miura quotes about their characters and relationship. There also appears to be more translation effort made towards the parts of the interviews centered on Guts. This also means that a lot of discussion of Casca and her place in the narrative is filtered through the idea that he has had very little to say about her over the years.

While I do wish that Miura had more to say about her, and about her path in the narrative, he certainly hasn't been completely silent. I wanted to compile as many quotes directly from Kentaro Miura about Casca as possible in one place for anyone to refer to. I also wanted to provide my 2 cents on some of them, though with the disclaimer that neither I nor anyone reading a quote or soundbite can know they're fully correct about his meaning. After all, no one reading these quotes in an article or magazine knew Miura personally, myself included.

Most of these you can find translated on the Berserk fanwiki. I've linked to them all.

Cheating a bit by not including that quote from the 1996 fanmagazine that caused such an uproar a while back, where Miura said he thought Casca might feel pleasure during rape if the perpetrator was Griffith. TBT to that hot mess. I'm not including it bc it's a third party source from someone not particularly close to Miura and also because I've already discussed it in depth here.

So, moving on...

The source for this first quote is a bit... Tricky. It's not that I don't believe it exists, but because most of this is being done through fan translations, it's hard to provide a direct link. This one I've found which is apparently from an interview in 1996, but the only sourcing I've found is kojion on twitter and this reddit post. I think this might be from the Berserk Illustrations File interview from 1996, but if it is, then it's clear that interview has only been partially translated. I guess the translator wasn't interested in the parts involving Casca. Lol. Below is the translation from the reddit post:

Miura: I have never been in love. In the past I have only dated a woman I didn't like twice. I have never had a first love. I have never been in love. My image of women is made up of my sister and stories from my best friend who loves women very much. In the case of Casca, rather than portraying a woman, she’s a character made up of a collection of my own complexes and weaknesses. So I am not good at real women. I have a longing for love itself. But I have no time; there are only 24 hours in a day.

Interview with Yukari Fujimoto in 2000. Yukari Fujimoto is a feminist cultural critic/women's studies professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, which I always found very interesting.

Interviewer: Getting back to the topic of planning Berserk, though, there's a long flashback arc that starts in volume three, showing things like Guts' youth and leading up to the Eclipse. Did you at least have parts of that long story in mind when you started drawing, or did you just make it up as you went?

Miura: Back then it was more like I was making it up as I went, I'd say. I actually hadn't planned for Guts and Casca to get together, you know – it just occurred to me partway through that it'd be more dramatic that way. As I remember it now, all I'd really decided at the time was that there'd be about five characters, and I'd make them similar to five of my friends.

Interviewer: I see – so those five friends are the base models for the characters.

Miura: Pretty much. The only difference is, there aren't any Griffiths or Guts in our group. There really was a guy similar to Judeau. We had a Corkus too, and a Rickert. There's no Casca, though, since it was a group of guys. And then Pippin is me, in terms of physical appearance.

[...]

Miura: Yeah. It's sort of been vacillating back and forth up until now, but now Griffith is going to come to terms with having become a demon. I basically see it as the beginning of the relationship between the two of them having become adults. And also, the demon child that Casca gave birth to is going to become something of a key point – despite the fact that I didn't even plan for it to be Casca's baby when I first drew it.

Interviewer: Really?

Miura: I didn't even have Casca in mind at the time.

Interviewer: Ah, right. That means it wasn't supposed to be a fetus at the start, then. And I guess there was no plan to have Guts lose his eye and arm the way he did, either...

Miura: None at all. That part was left open. Basically, I had planned that he'd have it done to him somehow by Griffith, and then a love story came into the picture, and taking that to its extreme just happened to fit together nicely with the climax. It's not as though I had it planned from the start. And now it turns out that the demon child is similarly going to snap very usefully into place.

My own commentary: This interview is the source of a claim that I've seen around a lot, which is that Casca was an ad-hoc addition and that therefore undermine any importance she might have to the narrative. However, my personal interpretation is simply that these quotes exist to show how the general plot structure of Berserk came to be in Miura's mind, and how he sort of... made shit up as he went along. I think there are two ways to take "I actually hadn't planned for Guts and Casca to get together, you know – it just occurred to me partway through that it'd be more dramatic that way." Firstly, the way I've usually seen it, that Casca was added in thoughtlessly with no regard for her character just to be a tool for Guts and Griffith's stories. That's partly true, but I think additionally this indicates that Miura elevated Casca's narrative importance in order to create a better and more dramatic story. It's also easy to extrapolate Miura's love of shoujo manga to this point here, considering how shoujo's focus is so often the drama and tragedy of romantic love.

This next quote is another kojion/reddit combo, with kojion claiming its from 2013.

Miura: I had the idea that the medieval European period was a very male-dominated world. And I wanted to depict a girl who was working very hard in such a world. The female characters in Berserk are drawn with the hope that women of the same gender will like them. Female characters drawn by men tend to be somewhat convenient for men. I wanted to avoid that, so I drew them in a way that was not disrespectful to women, because this is a story about a male-dominated world.

[I initially had a picture of one of those gold star "you tried" memes here but then I felt bad about it lol. Honestly I can't help but feel some affection for Miura here for saying this, though there's a conflicting element here too, that he genuinely didn't consider that drawing so much explicit sexual violence might also be considered disrespectful to women (even though he's pretty obviously talking about outfits here). I also think that over-exaggerating Miura's views on women, making them seem worse than what they are is often done only in service of sidelining the women he has written, and written well in my opinion.]

Berserk Official Guidebook Interview, 2017

Interviewer: You put so much emotion into those characters, and when the Eclipse happens, they're all gone. That must have left some scars on you as the artist.

Miura: I was emotionally invested in each character, so I felt more depressed than scarred. And the story went way down in popularity with the readers around the time of the Eclipse [laugh]. Many readers were furious that I'd do such a thing to the characters they liked. My editor at the time was concerned but also of the opinion that we'd just have to follow it through to the end. The point I had to pay attention to was making sure the flow of the story wasn't completely severed with the Eclipse. That's why I spared Casca. If she had died and the serialization had continued for a long time, I feared the reason for revenge would become something of the past; and if Guts were to establish new relationships, then his incentive would waver. It may seem calculating and unpleasant, but it's because Casca's by his side that he can never forget the Eclipse.

My own commentary: this again shows the interplay between Casca as a plot device and Casca as inherently narratively necessary. Interestingly, this particular translation has it be slightly vague whether Casca's survival is to keep the memory of the eclipse alive for Guts or for the readers themselves. It seems to me that there's a little bit of both in this decision. Also of note - this interview was done in 2017. By this point, Miura must have had a decently clear picture of what he intended to do with Casca's revival. I think this interview would have implied something very different if it had been done during conviction arc or just post golden age.

[...]

Interviewer: After that, Griffith was resurrected and Guts picked up some travelling companions. One of them is Farnese. How did you go about creating her?

Miura: I imagined Farnese as the second heroine after Casca, but I had a little trouble. I simply crammed my own tastes into Casca to create her character. She's loaded with what I considered ideal: a warrior woman, dark brown, strong but with a womanly side [laugh]. When it came time to make a new heroine, I couldn't use the same method as with Casca. So I thought I might as well make a heroine with whom female readers could sympathize. Mori is popular with girls, so I asked for his opinion as I pondered. The concept was "a female office worker who's been in society for a year or two, may or may not be accustomed to her job yet, and is ill at ease in a masculine society" [laugh]. She's doing her best with a band of knights in a masculine society, but she's unsociable since she can't seem to fit in with those around her; and her frustration is moving in a sexual direction, although half of it includes my own delusions [laugh]. In the face of Mozgus' intense impact, such an ungrounded woman is sure to get hung up on religion. In other words, "an office lady who's caught up in a dangerous new religion." That's Farnese [laugh].

Interviewer: How about Serpico?

Miura: Serpico is those female readers' "dream". My intuition was that he's the kind of man they would want to have around. To be frank, he's André from The Rose of Versailles. For a woman exhausted by society, he sees to her needs and considers her before all else. I thought this might be a woman's everlasting dream. To take it further, I think there are three dream men that a woman has. Someone like Serpico who sticks close by, a prince on a lofty peak for whom she longs, and someone wealthy and down-to-earth who will come and woo her. And I recently saw the stage production of Onna Kaizoku Bianca – based on Glass Mask by Suzue Miuchi. In it, those three types of men show up around the heroine. I realized, oh, the same thing's happened by coincidence in Berserk [laugh]! Farnese has Serpico close by, Guts to long for, and Roderick the rich guy. That's all three present and accounted for!

Interviewer: Conversely, Guts has three heroines in Casca, Farnese, and Schierke.

Miura: Maybe it's just a good balance to have three members of the opposite sex around. Although it's a coincidence here, too [laugh].

I don't have anything really to say here lol I just think Miura's gender commentary is so funny. It reminds me a little of the way Terry Pratchett comments on dynamics between men and women in his books. I guess both of them are men who got their start in the 80s and continued writing into the 2010s where the treatment of women in fantasy became far more a part of the public consciousness, and it seems both of them tried to alter their writing accordingly. Up to the reader to what extent they succeeded though.

Kojion/reddit from 2017, apparently - is this possibly from the Berserk Official Guidebook interview as well?? Or did he do a second interview in 2017 that isn't listed anywhere?

Miura: In regards to Berserk’s Guts, Griffith is a character who draws out impatience, fighting spirit and loneliness, Puck is “relaxation, laughter and a “seriousness crusher”“, the current Casca is “a character who draws out feelings of guilt, uneasiness and pity”. By arranging the characters with the intention to pull a certain something about Guts to the surface, he becomes a multifaceted protagonist.

My commentary: Guts has complicated feelings on both Griffith and Casca due to the trauma of the eclipse. Just as Casca still associates Guts with her trauma, Guts too associates Casca with his. If his feelings towards Griffith were solely anger and his feelings towards Casca were solely caring that would be a much less interesting story. This quote is very frank about how Guts and Casca's relationship stands currently; it says nothing about its eventual outcome in the manga. It also says nothing about Miura's feelings towards Casca, or makes any comment on her importance to the narrative.

Interview with Comics Natalie in 2019

--So does that mean love is an important theme in "Duruanki"?

That's true. When I chose this androgynous character as the main character, I knew I had to depict a love story properly. I haven't been able to do that properly in "Berserk" yet, so I'm a little nervous and unsure of my chances.

-- Eh, what about the relationship between Guts and Casca...?

Even though they look like that, it's like the stage before they get to love is still going on forever (laughs).

My commentary: I already said a bit about this in previous posts. In my view, this is saying that Guts and Casca were beginning a relationship and in the beginning stages of falling in love prior to the eclipse. Then, of course, the eclipse happened, and it destroyed their budding relationship completely. Their relationship currently is defined by the tragedy of what could have been. I again think it's Miura taking a very realistic view of Guts and Casca's relationship as it stands currently, but it says nothing about how it will eventually end up, good or bad.

-- In the latest volume 40 of "Berserk," Casca finally regains consciousness. I'm sure there are many fans who have been waiting for this.

I'm also deeply moved. However, things get tougher for Casca from here on out. For Casca to truly recover, she must analyze and understand her experiences and resolve them herself. She must face what Griffith did and the monsters.

--So this is a necessary process for Casca to truly recover. I think there was also a route where Casca would fully recover once she regains consciousness, but Berserk doesn't let its characters take the easy way out. I think Miura-san also needs to be prepared.

It's a story about humans, so it's bound to be like that. If you don't do it properly, like what a human would do if this situation occurred, it won't be a compelling story.

My commentary: You've all seen this quote before lol. Well, this is the source. It's part of a larger interview about the future of Berserk and Duranki, and just a quick note that this version is from me using google translate on the Japanese website. There was a blog that translated part of it, in particular the above quote that "Casca must face what Griffith did", that now redirects to a 404 link because of course it does. It's up on the wayback machine here.

Now I have various undated quotes, most of which come from kojion and were compiled on reddit.

"I didn't want to make a sexy female warrior, which is often the case in fantasy films, although the idea of a female warrior is nothing new. But now I am not so particular. I am not restricted by the form of a female warrior, but am trying to depict her as a human being." (kojion alt source)

"Miura took on the apostle; I'm going to kill all the humans, I'm gonna mess them up. Mr. Miura has been working for months. Mr. Miura kept on drawing and Finally, he messed up Casca And then Mr. Miura, who had painted it all over After this, he actually suffer from depression." (kojion alt source)

"I want today's readers to experience what once shocked me when I read the manga. Last month, Mr. Mori revealed the scene in the Eclipse chapter where Casca is raped by Griffith. He was inspired by a manga published by Go Nagai in 1979. In this manga, the woman he loves is raped by a demon in front of the main character. Mr. Miura arranged and expressed this scene." (kojion alt source)

This is apparently a panel from that particular manga, btw. No explicit sexual assault, though there is clear implication.

One last third party quote, this time not directly about Casca, but about writing women on the whole. It's from this cute interview made into a comic by the interviewer:

It echoes a sentiment he's expressed in other interviews, that Miura himself doesn't feel like he understands the female mindset so he asks people he assumes know better - in this case Kouji Mori, his friend who is heading Berserk's continuation, and Chica Umino, another mangaka who was close friends with Miura.

Miura's such a mess of contradictions when it comes to women and his female characters. One of his most well known interviews is with a feminist cultural critic. He has said multiple times he's terrible at writing women. He thought deeply about writing Casca not just as a male fantasy. He literally designed her with all the traits he thought were sexy. He wrote a 20 page rape scene with Casca and then fell into a deep depression after.

What can you even say lmao.

[leoneliterary]

Look, I know I promised you a review and stuff and I was planning on it being a bit longer, but my brain just screeched to a full stop! WHAT DID YOU DO TO OUR BABY TAMU!?!!?!? my brain is still screeching in the background and it's not stopping anytime soon. And what the hell, Desma, did she really get possessed or hypnotized or something? The mysterious death, the snake and Laverna being all sneaky.. (Love that the fire causes a bit of a flashback, not forgetting details like that makes everything so much more immersive) Maybe the monsterblood has some weird effects? (I mean she focused so much on getting rid of Merikh, when MC basically flirted with Aretas the entire time.. and while I didn't let her kill the Harkon guy, that was only supposed to be "for now", but she only really wanted to kill Merikh for some weird reason) Poor Sefu getting stuck in the palace barracks at the worst time. At least it meant he was safe and will be available to get Tamu out. And Amatus stuck at Yemoja's? Wouldn't someone inform him, though, since Hadassah is technically in the loop, but not a Talon member? What happened to Fia and Yusra, since Yusra knew about Amatus as well. I hope Gally kept Asfia safe though and they are both hiding well. I mean, this at least confirms that Ferox, Fennox, Fenrox? was a traitor and leaked information and might present a good chance to strike a deal with the Jackals. Especially because Sutek seems anything but happy about whatever is happening somehow. BUt it also just sucks, bc TAMU!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!! He is the sweetest of the entire bunch and AAAAAAAAA I wanted to comment on flirting with Aretas (which was great, but it's honestly hard to do when you can only talk a couple sentences before someone intrudes and you need to go or he needs to go.. no matter, he's cute. And his enthusiasm is flattering), but how can I do that when our home is disintegrating? Honestly, drag Fenor by the ears and slit his throat for endangering and selling out your own people. Since my MC is mostly non violent, charming and supportive, this might be a bit of a shock for some people, but you don't give second chances to people who hurt someone as sweet as Tamu. If all else fails, ask Merikh to lend you a couple of Zadu's friends and raid your own hideout? Mostly to free your friends and allies, not to kill anyone. But yeah. Needs must or something. Please be ok, babe! It's a bit staggering to see MCs to do list only ever expanding. Meet with Laverna, on the list, find out who died and what his position was etc, on the list, figure out who is causing the monster outbreak, on the list, help Aretas balance the court, in progress, beat Diomedes using his own arrow against him, on the list, FIND TAMU, immediate action, make sure the kids and Ama are all fine, immediate second task, figure out what the hell is wrong with Frenox and why he thought you weren't coming back, on the list, else if they prepared a trap for you, spring it on purpose to flush out all the dissidents, on the list, ... oh yeah and the original job for Merikh about ruining house Labadon, on the list.. somewhere, last but not least: figuring out who the heck your enemy is. Because I have this feeling that the Labadon's are too obvious, even though they might be behind the assassination and be in cahoots with the Jackals. Someone commissioned your profile before Merikh came for you, though and someone RECOMMENDED you to Merikh in the first place. LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!!!!!!!!

AHHHHH Charcoal!!!

I always love reading your reviews and takes!

Ok, let's get in depth!

Your synopsis of where we're at, as far as both the MC's to-do list and the RO relationships, is spot on!

This is where, I feel, you'll get the chance to truly branch out and have distinct playthroughs.

Are you more focused on the royal court, or keeping your guild on top in Cusmo?

Do you want to use your new noble status, or are you a commoner to your core?

Are you going to be an enforcer, a ruthless schemer, a tragic hero, a loveable trickster, or a mix of all of the above?

How are you approaching the relationships? Do you use people? Are you a flagrant flirt? Are you going to accidentally catch real feelings? And will you attempt to fight for a relationship that could easily end in ruin for the both of you?

These overarching choices are what are going to determine what your character, Cusmo, and so many other things look like. Also, the choices are going to become more narrow, in that they'll take you on a different path and block others. (This has already started with how you chose to get your noble title, btw muhahahaha!)

Game mechanics wise, we start turning towards more mission based choices, with some only being available based on prior choices. (Although there will still be main choices, that happen based on the story's timeline regardless of choice)

This also applies to the ROs. Some are "easier" to interact with based on your choices if you put yourself in their proximity. (Nobles at the palace, non nobles in the city) Some require you to seek them out more actively, or become more relevant after making choices with a certain theme. (Court politics? You'll probably see more Sarai. Want more magic and mysticism? You'll probably see more Heka.)

[testyqwcde]

We've been curious about what happened to Halbrand during the eruption of Mount Doom in Season 1. It's also been confirmed that certain storylines introduced in Season 1 won’t come into play until Season 5. This leads me to believe that the eruption of Mount Doom is the event that restores Sauron’s power. Before this, in Numenor and even the Southlands, he was still weak and unable to tap into his sorcery. At that point, he seemed lost, uncertain of which path to take to prove his worth. However, shortly after the eruption, we begin to see a shift in his personality, now framed with darker, more sinister undertones. It's possible that in the upcoming season or in Season 5, we’ll get a flashback showing how he regained his strength.

Notably, several key facts suggest that Sauron’s power is somehow tied to the volcano.

Sauron forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom by using its volcanic power to create an object of immense strength. Its destruction, too, lies in the depths of the volcano, where it was originally forged.

After Sauron’s defeat in the War of the Last Alliance, Mount Doom returned to sleep, much like Sauron’s waning power. However, when he regained his strength, the volcano reawoke that is a symbol of the resurgence of his dark influence.

Eruptions of volcanoes are often linked to dark, mysterious forces, and this is fitting for Sauron, who embodies the destructive and fiery nature of such events. The fire and fury of Mount Doom are not only physical but symbolic of Sauron’s true nature.

As Sam Smith's noted once his song 😁

Fire on fire Would normally kill us But this much desire Together we’re winners

This is exactly what happened to Sauron. Fire met fire and it enhanced Sauron's powers 💡

Gifs

How does it affect Saurondriel connection?

As @rey-jake-therapist has rightfully spotted in this meta , it’s fascinating to see how Sauron and Galadriel symbolize not just the classic Good vs. Evil and Light vs. Darkness, but also Water vs. Fire.

Let's not forget what caused the eruption essentially: too much water poured into the volcanic fires triggered the explosion.

The eruption which nearly allowed Sauron to regain his powers is a key metaphor of the explosive, destructive, powerful potential of their relationship.

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

I've been seeing a lot of people talk about how Hazel is a boring protagonist(or I guess more like... people complaining about how other people are saying that? Idk I'm not on Twitter), and at first I kind of agreed with those takes because all I had seen were random clips. BUT, now that I've watched the show, I disagree. I don't think Hazel is a boring character, at least not conceptually. I think the issue is that the majority of her RELATIONSHIPS are really boring.

Hazel on her own has a lot of potential. She's caring, she's funny, she has a tendancy to overthink, her design is really good, she has realistic problems most people can relate to... she's just all around a really well built character. The problem is that almost none of the characters she interacts with consistently have any depth, and that causes her relationships with them to fall flat, which causes HER to fall flat because at the end of the day, a character is only as strong as their relationships with other characters. We're TOLD what her relationships with others are like, we're TOLD what the other characters' personality traits are, but we're never SHOWN those things. I think the episode where they deal with Jasmine's fears is probably the biggest offender. Jasmine herself acts as more of a plot device then anything else, with her fears being used as a stepping stone to teach HAZEL a lesson, rather then allowing the episode to focus on Jasmine overcoming those fears. The scene where Jasmine actually FACES those fears ends up being just thrown in at the end as a way to solve the conflict, which tbh wasn't that engaging in the first place because Hazel had no personal attatchment to any of Jasmine's fears... that's just kind of a bad episode overall tbh it's where all of the shows flaws are the most prominent but I DIGRESS-

Another really good example of the poor relationship building is her relationship with her brother, Antony, who we literally don't even get to SEE until well into the second half of the season. I haven't actually gotten to that episode yet, so I can't really judge Antony as a character, but I CAN judge how they've been setting him up so far! Which hasn't been very good! Instead of SHOWING US Hazel's relationship with him through flashbacks or something, the writers just have Hazel TELL US how she feels about her brother and things they used to do together. It just doesn't have the same impact as actually seeing their relationship play out would, y'know? They've been telling us about Hazel's relationships with other characters instead of showing us those relationships, and it's been hurting Hazel as a character.

The only relationships she has that we actually get to watch her BUILD are her relationship with Cosmo & Wanda and her relationship with Dev, which, while the ladder is genuinely really well done and interesting(aside from a couple pacing issues but honestly the show is chock full of those so whatever), the former ALSO falls really flat because Cosmo & Wanda aren't really... characters. They're iconic, sure, and they're really funny, but they're also mostly just plot devices. They're here to grant Hazel's wishes(aka cause the plot of the episode) and be funny. That's it. Which is fine, those kinds of characters obviously have their place, but when they're the only ones your main character consistently interacts with? That causes some problems. It's like if, in the movie Aladdin, instead of focusing mostly on the relationship between Aladdin and Jasmine, they focused entirely on his relationship with the Genie. The Genie is mostly just here to move the plot along and say funny things, so having him be the character Aladdin interacts with the MOST kind of breaks the movie. Having a story where almost all the interactions are between the main character and the comic relief just doesn't work.

Honestly I think the issues with Hazel's relationships are probably why people are more drawn to Dev as a character then they are to Hazel, because while Hazel almost exclusively interacts with characters who could be replaced by cardboard cutouts and nobody would tell the difference, Dev doesn't. Dev's relationships are a lot more engaging because all of the characters he interacts with are SIGNIFICANTLY more fleshed out then the ones Hazel interacts with. His relationship with Hazel is engaging because it's an emotional rollercoaster for both of them. His relationship with Peri is interesting because Peri is much newer to being a fairy godparent then Cosmo & Wanda are, meaning he's more likely to make mistakes. His relationship with his dad is interesting because it's literally the main motivation for his character, and we actually get to SEE WHY THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS THE WAY IT IS. His relationship with Irep is more interesting because Irep is a weird little shit who's mostly just using Dev to take over fairyworld, and he also has an interesting dynamic with Peri! Dev's relationships are all WAY better executed then Hazel's, and honestly I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that Dev is an antagonist who mostly interacts with other antagonists. He's at the center of almost every single ongoing conflict in the show, which is often times what makes a character and their relationships interesting: conflict. I also think he benefits from getting expanded on LATER in the show, since by that point all of the writers would've had a much better feel for all of the characters, making it easier for them to actually show what his relationships are like instead of outright telling us skgnvkdmfkekfndn

Now, was the point of all this to say that I think Dev would be a better protagonist then Hazel? No. Absolutely not no- he has a more interesting, better executed story then Hazel does so far, sure, but he just. Wouldn't be able to carry an episodic show like FOP on his own I'm sorry- we've seen the kind of wishes he makes, they're not particularly interesting. Because he's a rich kid who can do basically whatever he wants. Plus, his conflict with Peri just isn't really built to be stretched out over an entire season, which it would HAVE to be if Dev was the protagonist of a Fairly Oddparents, because the entire premise of the show is "this kid gets a Fairy Godparent, what kind of wacky hijinks will they get up to now?" Plus there's the fact that the narrative has been treating his parental neglect with a lot more gravity then Timmy's ever was, meaning if the show was from his perspective they'd have to tone down the things that make him interesting to keep the show from getting outright miserable- Dev is not a good character to make carry that kind of show. Dev should not be the main character. HOWEVER! Do I think the show would be more interesting if we got more episodes featuring him and Hazel hanging out together? Yes absolutely. They bounce off of eachother incredibly well, and once Peri is introduced we also get to see Peri's relationship with his parents and how THEY interact, and it's just. So much more interesting then seeing just Hazel and CosWan. Or Hazel's cardboard cutout friends. Honestly I'd go as far as to say he should've been Hazel's dueteragonist instead of just a recurring character, kinda like a(hopefully) better executed Chloe. It'd give Hazel a more interesting character to bounce off of then Cosmo & Wanda. Either that or I think Peri should've been Hazel's fairy godparent instead of Cosmo & Wanda, because he has more room to grow and develope as a character then they do, making his potential dynamic with Hazel a lot more interesting. Idk just in general I think having Hazel interact almost exclusively with Cosmo & Wanda was a mistake-

Also should be noted; I am saying this as someone who has never seen the original Fairly Oddparents. I don't know if the original show had these issues aswell or not, everything I know about the original comes from random YouTube videos I watched out of curiousity/boredom. Either way if the original DID have issues with Timmy's relationships being really boring then uh. That's not an excuse for A New Wish to do the same, I guess. Idk where I'm going with this... also sorry if this essay is incoherent! I have a lot of thoughts about how Hazel's relationships are really poorly executed and I just needed to get them out skfnvdkdjfndn- if you want me to elaborate on anything feel free to leave a comment or send me an ask :)

[velvet4510]

Magda Should’ve Been Peter’s Mother in the Fox X-Men Movies

Think of how much better the X-Men prequels would’ve been if they’d just stuck with the comics and written Magda as Peter’s mom instead.

Apocalypse could’ve opened with flashbacks of Erik and Magda’s happy few months (maybe even years) together in the 1950s - with Erik living with her under an alias, probably Max or Magnus Eisenhardt - before he suddenly gets an unexpected lead on Shaw and realizes he can’t live in peace while Shaw is still out there, so he reluctantly leaves Magda. The very next day poor Magda wakes up to find him gone and is despondent. Then she suddenly pales and goes running into the bathroom. Cut to her in the doctor’s office, finding out she’s pregnant and bursting into tears.

That would’ve enabled Magda to be in the films, without being fridged.

That would’ve given Magda some real characterization, showing that despite being abandoned, she managed to successfully raise a mutant child all by herself in an era long before the world knew about mutants, let alone an era that was rather unforgiving toward unmarried mothers. (Technically she raised two mutant children, of course, but let’s assume the films still would’ve been legally unable to mention Wanda.) Then we could’ve seen her reaction in the present day to finding out her lost love and father of her son is actually Magneto, the international fugitive.

That would’ve shown that after emigrating to America, Erik understandably figured he’d never see Shaw or any Nazis again, and he did make an effort to move on with his life peacefully before he quite accidentally found out where Shaw was and started chasing him.

That would’ve shown that long before becoming Magneto, Erik did try to have a normal life among humans, but ultimately chose to let it go.

That would’ve shown that instead of being the product of a random fling or one-night stand, Peter was born from love - Erik and Magda were genuinely in love, but ultimately, he couldn’t prioritize her over his personal demons, so he left.

That would’ve given even more depth to Erik’s decision to devote his life to chasing Shaw, revealing that in doing so, he gave up on love and a chance of watching his son grow up.

That would’ve avoided the stupid character-arc whiplash that is Erik settling down among humans long after becoming Magneto and the events of DOFP, events which should’ve only reinforced his commitment to being Magneto regardless of legal consequences.

That would’ve avoided the stupid misogynistic writing that is Erik meeting Magda and having a child ONLY for the narrative purpose of Magda and the child getting immediately fridged.

That would’ve added depth to his relationship with Charles - instead of Charles simply being his first love, Charles actually opened his heart to love again after he’d long ago decided that pursuing Shaw was more important than love. And while Magda knew him under an alias, Charles immediately knew his real name and everything about him.

That would’ve given an even deeper explanation as to why Peter wants to know Erik. He doesn’t just want to meet his dad. He also wants to know why his dad ever left them, if his dad loved his mom as much as she thought he did. Thus later on in the films he would’ve learned about his dad’s past, about his own family roots in the Holocaust.

That would’ve forced Erik to be confronted with the consequences of his choice in the rest of the movie, finding out that he chose hate and revenge over love and fatherhood. Which would’ve led to massive character growth on his part.

And it would’ve led to a natural, inevitable focus on Erik’s relationship with Peter for the rest of the movie, and the series overall.

[bluemoonscape]

Countdown to Wiege

So holy shit! Wiege! In less than a week! On Valentine's Day! Funny enough I predicted that in the server a few months ago because "haha wouldn't it be funny if the hyuluka round was on vday" and lo and behold I had a correct prediction for once

As always, vivimeng are stars at foreshadowing, so the best way to suss out the type of story points we'll be hitting is to look at the more recent posts about Luka, Hyuna, and Wiege as a whole.

Three lyrics teasers (the only ones we've gotten since there were no lyrics in the actual video teaser):

After turning these over in my head for a few weeks, I've realized that I find these images in relation to Luka and Hyuna as really indicative of their characterization and motivations. Luka seems so heartless to the viewers, especially after Round 7, but what we've gotten from the teaser paints him as so emotional, sentimental even. It's clear he's having more than a few flashes to the past in his POV. Hyuna has had flashbacks too, cough Hyunwoo rock cough, but whenever she has them, she quickly panics and pushes them from her mind. She's always running from the past while Luka seems to hold onto it as the only thing he has left to live for - something that's already gone. Hyuna, on the other hand, is literally crawling on her hands and knees with a stump of a leg to escape her past. Everything she had to live for is gone, so she has to find something else to live for. She has to push on.

(The lighting and composition of these is also fun to think about. Luka's is so bright, detached and dreamlike and Hyuna's is dark, personal, nightmarish.)

There's the Hyuna comic. It goes into a lot of detail about her past - not necessarily her childhood, but it fills in the gaps from Alien Stage to where she is now in the rebellion and really highlights Isaac since it's from his perspective, additionally giving him more depth as a character with the existence of Jacob and the development of his relationship with Hyuna. We wouldn't be getting Isaac content if Isaac wasn't about to appear. In the video teaser released today, we also see a human hand holding a gun to Luka's head that matches Isaac's skin tone:

So Isaac and Dewey, crashing the party? It's more likely than you'd think.

We have this ALNST Friday gem:

Interesting that it's titled "Disgust" especially since Luka parades around with such a sense of superiority when he performs. But it's just that. A performance. He's disgusted by these failed versions of himself. He's made to be this "angel" but deep down he's revolted, by himself, by what he's made to be, to do. So much of his fascination and infatuation with Hyuna comes from how different they are from each other. He sees in her something that could never grow in something as inhospitable as him. Hope.

In the childhood reflections of each Anakt group, Luka is the only one of any group whose face is scribbled out.

This could easily be from Hyuna's perspective, but it's equally likely and I think perhaps more probable that it's Luka's. He doesn't want to remember himself. He doesn't want to remember the things he did (hence the extension of the scribbles over Hyunwoo's face, leaving Hyuna's face as the only clear one). Hyuluka's relationship is often described as so different from Mizisua and Ivantill, but it really isn't. In all of these images, one thing is obvious: The perfect memories within are all being desperately, painstakingly preserved, protected and hidden from the world. Even as the darkness closes in around Mizi and Sua, Sua keeps Mizi in their safe bubble for as long as she can, protecting her joy, her innocence. Till creates a fishbowl around himself and Ivan - they're isolated, but they're isolated together, alone together. Till keeps their memories safe inside where even he can't touch them, the pain of doing so too great.

And Luka preserves Hyuna's face and fruitlessly tries to rewrite the past by erasing himself from it.

Hyuna and Luka's relationship hasn't had the chance to be fleshed out yet, but now we're here, and if those screencaps from the teaser of Luka flushing and teary-eyed like a child as he looks at Hyuna are anything to go by, it can't be said anymore that she's just a fascination for him. He loved her. He loves her still even after the pain he's caused her, and she's caused him by abandoning their round, their moment in eternity together.

Every other kid had their special person. Mizi and Sua had each other. Ivan had Till, and Till had Ivan and Mizi. Hyuna and Hyunwoo had each other.

But Luka is inhospitable. He is no one's happy memory. He just haunts, and every failed version of himself haunts him.

Will he make a choice like Ivan and Sua did this round? He could throw his life away to cement his place in Hyuna's life. Or he could let her die to "save" her. Either way, he's preserving his perfect image of her - my savior, beautiful lady. I can't see an ending where they both live, personally, though nothing is impossible.

And finally, the morse code at the end:

A-L-I-V-E.

(breathing into a paper bag) which could mean nothing (it definitely doesn't) but I've been team Mizi's friends come back wrong to haunt her since day 1 let it be known

Till has a lot of green flags for having lived through his round altogether. And Sua, mark my words, is coming back for Mizisua round 2 to bring things full circle.

(Could we please have Ivan back too for the holy trinity vivimeng please I'll owe you my life)

So to sum it up:

Isaac and Dewey come for their girl with firepower.

Luka POV all the way; we're probably finding out how Hyunwoo really died and getting a more sympathetic Luka.

Luka is not giving Hyuna up without something.

Someone or someones is not dead and it will be revealed on Friday.

And on that note, we could be getting a teaser for Sua's probable return at the end based on Mizi's capture and apparent absence from the Hyuluka rematch.

Will be releasing my round bingo card soon!

[max--phillips]

Okay here goes

First, the spoiler free stuff:

Ridley Scott knows how to make a fucking film.

If I don’t see fics of Acacius x reader x Lucilla I will begin biting

If you are going in it for Pedro, I will warn you his character is very important but kind of… idk, shallow is too strong of a word, but not very fleshed out. I don’t think that’s an issue in the greater scheme of the movie though, it makes sense in the plot and doesn’t feel out of place or bad in the universe.

If you are going in it for Paul Mescal, you will not be disappointed.

Please watch the first movie first. The story will not make any fucking sense if you don’t.

Just the right amount of flashbacks and footage from the first movie . Chefs kiss

Ridley Scott really said “all emperors and tyrants are nasty little freaks with terrible vibes”

Oh also if you’re squeamish about gore and stuff like. It’s a movie about gladiators so set your expectations accordingly. There is an instance of a disembodied head used as a prop. So y’know

Okay, spoilery stuff below the cut

Arishat was hot :( rip

Monkeys at the beginning? Terrible. 0/10 did not enjoy that. Also did not enjoy seeing and hearing Mr. Mescal BITING ONE

I love Ravi I would watch a whole movie just about him tending to gladiators’ wounds quite frankly. Give me that story

We love to see bisexuality on screen (even though that wasn’t a social identity at the time but we’re not here to talk about that) what with the concubines and drunk as fuck Macrinus

Speaking of drunk as fuck Macrinus: that whole scene was so fucking funny. They’re like that meme about people getting high. You know the one

Speaking of Macrinus—Denzel Washington stole the show. When TIME magazine pushed a story to me today headlined “Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel Washington,” I was like, pshhhh, nah. But it really does. It’s not about him? But it’s his fucking show.

The politics . THE POLITICS

It feels a little heavy handed right now but that wasn’t probably how it was intended, given it was made before. Y’know. The election. But the whole dream of Rome being a place where everyone is equal and cared for but you can only whisper it or it’ll shatter? Yeah.

Oh, right, Acacius: that dude is so tired he does NOT want to be there. Let him go home to his hot wife. Alas, his hot wife is the way she is and like… no good deed goes unpunished.

And I fucking called it with my text post a few months ago. Two (2) movies now where Denzel Washington (either directly or indirectly) kills Pedro Pascal. Brilliant

Admittedly selfishly I would’ve liked to see more of him. But it felt like the correct thing in the context of the story. If he didn’t die then, if he wasn’t the inciting event for the uprising of the people of Rome, it wouldn’t have made sense and it would’ve just been fan service and “look, we got Pedro Pascal!” at that point.

I would’ve liked to see a more in-depth exploration of the change in relationship between Lucius and Lucilla—it seems like they went from Lucius screaming at her to get out to them hugging it out without any real development between the two of them specifically. Obviously a lot had happened in the world of the movie at that point but nonetheless

Macrinus shooting Lucilla was his Icarus moment. There was no coming back from that. “But what about Geta” “but what about Caracalla” no. It was Lucilla. If she’d gotten got by the praetorian guards or something else, it would’ve been fine. But because it was Macrinus there was nowhere he could go from there other than [checks notes] getting his hand chopped off and then gutted in a dirty irrigation ditch.

Remember kids, the people in power who are causing all of the things going wrong in the world have names and addresses and are mortal <3

Also another takeaway from the movie: imperialism, religious extremism, ableism, and authoritarianism will be the end of us all <3

Anyway. Good movie. Can’t wait to watch it again in my own home with subtitles so I can actually like… process everything everyone was saying LMAO and take better reaction notes.

I’m still sitting in the theater parking lot it’s been like 30 minutes LMAO okay thanks for coming to my tedtalk or whatever

[untangling-my-headphones]

I think there's a lot of depth to how Charles and Edwin react to new friends, especially male friends. Before he stood up to them, it appears Charles had quite a big friend group of (from what I can tell) all boys, he says himself that he's aces with people and also that he'd miss kissing meaning he's probably had a couple relationships with girls too. In comparison to Edwin who is practically the opposite, always alone in his flashbacks with only Simon (a bully) showing him any interest but Edwin is too nervous to even speak to him, he actively admits he's not good with people and would not miss kissing and didn't see the appeal of it until recently (obviously that's to do with his realisation on his sexuality but it also implies there wasn't much want for a relationship at all previously.)

They're socially polar opposites, it's shown particularly in the way they speak when they meet Monty for the first time - Edwin really isn't interested, he doesn't introduce himself or want to meet up again (obviously they get on well later in the show but when they first meet Edwin does not care), he's keeping his distance, not even considering the possibility of a new friends or more. Charles though, introduces himself immediately, offers him a hand shake, seems genuinely excited to meet him and make a new friend.

It's also interestingly shown in their reactions to Brad and Hunter. Edwin's really not all that charmed by the pair, he sees them as clients and that's it, I don't think he even relates to them being that they're teen boys like him and when they turn out to be bad people it's a surprise in the case but he doesn't act like Crystal and Charles - betrayed, like he didn't see it coming, he just accepts it almost like he didn't not expect it. Charles takes a much different approach, he sees himself in Brad and Hunter but I also think they remind him of his old 'friends' - he sees people he can get on with, that remind him of the good parts of his time alive. Then when they turn out to be bad, it's like his friends turning on him all over again. Where Edwin is used to seeing boys his age as bullies, Charles expects them to be his friends.

And they do this to a fault, Edwin on the defensive, desperate to be protected and Charles too open and welcoming for his own good, desperate for acceptance. It's Edwin being closed off to new people and Charles being so excited about them that creates a divide between them in the first place. Yet Edwin having his wits about him and Charles being so optimistic is also what saves them in many cases. They have such contrasting trauma around their past male friendships that create such hardships for them now and yet found such comfort and love in their own.

[imagobin]

🔯Zoldyck Family HCs🔯

I wish this had been explored more in the actual manga, because to me the Zoldyck family is one of the most intriguing things in HxH.

We did get this chart which is very interesting, but I wanted to expand on it with a couple more headcanons and speculations. Doesn't include Maha, Zigg or Grandma Zoldyck cause there's too little info on them (Seriously Zeno, where do you keep your wife?)

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🪭Kalluto🪭

Starting with Kalluto because he's the youngest and also gets very little time to shine.

It is commonly agreed that he cares about Killua a lot and wishes he'd pay attention to him, and I think so too.

His relationship with Illumi is possibly one of mentor and apprentice, they go on missions together and Illumi supervises him to make sure he carries out assassinations properly, without toying with his victims too much.

We don't see him interacting with Milluki at all aside from flashbacks, but the two might have a pretty positive relationship. I think it still means a lot to Kalluto that his shut-in brother would take time out of his day to go on walks and play with him, even if that hasn't happened in a while.

As for his relationship with Silva and Zeno, I do like the idea of both father and grandpa being proud of Kalluto for mastering Nen at such a young age, though Silva might be a bit disappointed that Kalluto disobeyed him and became part of the Phantom Troupe.

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🧸Alluka🧸

Such a sweetheart aaaa I wanna see more of her and Killua's future adventures.

Ever since her ability was discovered by the other members of the family, Alluka's either been used to get something (Looking at you, Milluki), or feared. Silva and Kikyo definitely fear her powers, and Zeno probably does too. Though... I have a weird feeling that unlike the rest of the family, Zeno would be like Killua and at least respect Alluka's pronouns, if she likes 'she/her', Zeno doesn't see the problem with referring to her as a girl.

I think Alluka on the other hand really wants to love the members of her family, despite how horribly they've treated her. She probably doesn't even understand why they all became so cautious around her at one point.

The only family member that Alluka does not like is Illumi for... pretty obvious reasons. Illumi isn't subtle at all with his desire to control her and her powers; plus, Illumi's hurt Killua the most, I don't think she could ever be okay with someone who's hurt her big brother so much (even by Zoldyck standards).

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🪀Killua🪀

Not much to say about Killua since we see him interact with most of his family a bit more in-depth... aside from Kalluto-

Killua has definitely always favored Alluka over Kalluto, despite how much the youngest Zoldyck strives to get his attention. This is probably because of how close Kalluto is to his mom.

Killua finds Kikyo annoying, and definitely doesn't trust her, so since Kalluto spends a lot of time with their mother, by proxy, Killua can't bring himself to trust his younger brother either.

Aside from Alluka, whom he obviously trusts deeply, the other member of the family he trusts the most is probably his grandpa; Zeno clearly favors him and seems to be more supportive of Killua's choices compared to the rest of his family.

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🎮Milluki🎮

Milluki my beloved, how I wish you weren't just the butt of a joke 90% of the time.

Physically speaking, he's probably the weakest Zoldyck besides Alluka, so he's most likely afraid of the other men in the family, and would definitely not want to get on their bad side.

He obeys and respects both Silva and Zeno, but I also think Milluki would like to be treated like Killua by his grandpa, that's why he shares his invention ideas with him; he wishes Zeno would praise him some.

Milluki is 100% a mama's boy, he cares about her so much, he definitely had the strongest reaction out of everyone when his mother's safety was threatened by Nanika's powers. Despite this, Kikyo doesn't seem to give him any particularly special treatment, again, that is reserved for Killua.

He's most definitely also the unlucky middle child, I think he was definitely put to the side once Killua was born; his family fully focused on Kil since he's the heir, and left Milluki to kinda do his own thing. I feel like this consequentially brought him to be jealous of Killua and all the attention he gets.

I swear he's even worse off than Kalluto, cause at least he's got his mother's love, Milluki's basically neglected even by Zoldyck standards.

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📍Illumi📍

Man's the family's workaholic, you can't change my mind, he's also a little fucked up, but we love him for it.

He definitely cares about his whole family in his own twisted way. That includes Milluki too, they were the first two Zoldyck siblings so until Killua was born, they most definitely spent a lot of time together. Illumi doesn't really understand his brother, but he humors him.

His relationship with Kikyo is never really explored, but I see them as being definitely close, not as close as she is with Kalluto, but close. They share the same mindset when it comes to Killua. Illumi was also her first child, so she definitely poured her heart and soul into training him into being the perfect assassin, and it definitely shows.

Illumi's dynamic with his father and grandfather is definitely one of mutual respect, they may not agree on everything, but they trust each other's strength. Silva also appreciates Illumi's dedication to the family's business.

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👒Kikyo👒

M'lady- okay no girl needs to take a chill pill, her fashion tho, on point.

Obviously her view of love is completely warped, growing up in Meteor City and marrying a world-renowned assassin didn't do her mental health many favors. But just like Illumi, she does love her kids deeply in a really twisted way.

She plays favorites, Killua and Kalluto are the ones she cares about the most, and with how dismissive of Milluki she is, he's probably her least favorite, kinda tragic since Milluki loves his mother a lot... but then we have Illumi, where does he stand? Kikyo cares about her first born child of course, she's very proud of him, and trusts him a lot with keeping Killua in check, since they seem to share opinions on how he should be trained. She wishes he'd spend more time with her for sure.

Her opinion however is way too often brushed off by Silva, not because she's a woman, but because she's not been raised like a Zoldyck, she doesn't fully know their ways, so she's not seen as a valid voice. It's an unfair treatment, and it really pisses her off.

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☄️Silva☄️

True winner of the 'Father of the Year' award, along with Ging, great job you two.

Silva honestly has evil mastermind vibes, he cares about Killua, but also wants to constantly control him and test him in his own way (the needle was a massive proof of that). He's just a lot more subtle with it compared to Illumi and Kikyo.

He loves his wife, no doubt, even if he doesn't show it very often, I think the man is prone to small displays of love, and definitely shows it more with his actions than his words. (Him agreeing to let Alluka out of her room because he doesn't want Kikyo to die is definitely the biggest display of this we've seen canonically, he's aware of how dangerous Alluka's powers could be, but he still chose to risk the consequences of that over sacrificing his wife).

His relationship with his other kids is not really explored that much, but I believe he's mostly satisfied with all of them. I don't think he's super disappointed in Milluki either, but he definitely doesn't expect much of him, he does wish he'd take things more seriously.

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🐲Zeno🐲

My favorite anime old man! I really wish people would pay more attention to him, he's cool as hell.

Zeno is probably the most chill man in the family, maybe cause he's old, but he's definitely the least likely to snap back at any of his family members.

He has a very strong set of morals, with him not wanting to cause any unnecessary deaths and all. I feel like because of this, he silently disapproves of Illumi's ways, especially regarding his Needle People, and the older brother's desire to control Killua.

Zeno doesn't really think much of Kikyo, he acknowledges her skills and such, but doesn't really go out of his way to interact with her. These two have definitely had their disagreements, mostly because Zeno tends to act on his own without consulting anyone, let alone her, which inevitably angers Kikyo.

He is quite proud of all his grandchildren, even if he's mostly focused on Killua. Much like Silva, he is happy that Kalluto mastered Nen at such a young age. He also sees more potential in Milluki, but wishes he was more committed to the family's business and used his genius to its full potential.

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[weirdlyfitting]

A little silly thought, I interpret brooklynn's green side of hair dye as how much she has been corrupted (by diving too deep into the whole broker situation).

As the chaos theory started out, we're given little hints about her appearance through the campers' flashbacks, and it was known that she had been investigating for a while and ended her relationship with kenji before she was found dead. The green dye during the flashback scenes and s2 ep 3 (as we're finally getting a full explanation of how she survived) took almost half of her pinkish-purple hair, which is in a pretty worrying state tbh, almost half the full story, almost getting half of the chaos *ba dum tchhh

Right so, after she lost her arm and everything, she made a final decision to continue the investigation and took a deep dive into the bottom of it. And with that stuff in mind, her hair is now fully dyed green, symbolizing how there's no turning back as she's fully corrupted. Another thing to add is that her pinkish-purple color made up a perfect (or almost, depends on what color wheel that showed the color line-up, but I found this one a lot and damn bro, it fits) complementary color with green/light green.

I'd love to mention that there's a little canon hint of meaning explanation for her pinkish-purple hair, and it's actually an accident lmao, and this probably means that it was her intention from the start to dye it fully green. BUT I still saw it as a cool subtle visual hint so that the audience can have their own interpretation, like this :3 because y'know what's more interesting about that scene itself? The follow-up right after that "purple dye accident" joke from yaz. The literal gut-wrenching IRONY when sammy said "Let me guess? You're LEAVING US AGAIN?" and darius followed with "ABANDON US WOULD'CHA??". Maybe in a way, this purple dye DOES symbolize Brooklynn's change. The usual bright pink color started to dim out as purple and slowly inverted to green the deeper she went into this rabbit hole.

This one is just me bragging things up lol, as it seems that yaz was the only one who knew about her purple hairdye accident. It subtly adds another depth to brooklynn's reckless behavior of making a morally good change and yet sacrificing herself fully on the matter, because when she's with her camp fam they'd be ready to back her up and she would end up being safe (ex in s3 of cc where she got captured by dr wu). In a way, that purple dye could represent that she's still got her friends to slow her down and think more about her safety, when the green dye represents her fully alone and making decisions her friends can not interfere.

Something else I associated with death and the color green, is how it could be represented as a living dead or zombie (yes, I'm referencing plants vs zombies and yes, hear me out lmfaoooo). To the n5's perspective, the last time they remembered brooklynn was when she was still having that side of purple dye, as if she's still alive (though slowly infected), and then suddenly they met again with her when her hair was fully green, at first the n5 thought that she's still alive but then throughout the ending, she made sure (though that was only an act) that who they're seeing is truly dead, it was only the corpse that wonders around and became their enemy instead

anddd that's all, don't take this one seriously i just wanna yap about brooklynn's hair after i saw this analysis lmaoaoaooao (check it out pls it's cool!!)

[kradogsrats]

Signs of the Fall, Pt. 1

Since basically... forever? Look, idk I wasn't around for the first half of this fandom so I don't know when Aaravos as "fallen star" was revealed. But presumably since then, it's been a big question mark as to exactly what that means.

We're told in places like the artbook that—along with whatever else it may mean—Aaravos being a "fallen" star means he's significantly depowered, and that his "fallen" status was a consideration in designing his look. So, reasonably, there should be identifiable features of Aaravos as a "fallen" Startouch elf, and we've collectively already spent a shit-ton of time overanalyzing them and what they mean.

BUT now that s6 is out and we have a chunk time seeing Aaravos before anything that would normally have been assumed to be his "fall" (more on that later), I wanted to return to some of the ones that have been most discussed.

The Eyes Have It

Previous assumption was that Aaravos's eyes not being the luminous Startouch pink outside of flashbacks was related to his status as a "fallen" Startouch elf and related to the darkening of his chest star:

This has not been cleared up by s6, where he is shown both with

and without the full-pink Startouch eyes

in contexts that are basically identical, aside from medium (one being a painting, and one being animated), in the same damn episode.

So what, if anything, does it mean?

First of all, I want to acknowledge that this may be entirely a choice of artistic convenience. Having arted a time or two, myself—characters without human-standard visual distinction between sclera, iris, and pupil are an unbelievable pain in the ass. A huge amount of microexpressions that humans subconsciously rely on to convey mood and intent are entirely down to the spatial/size relationship of iris and pupil to the surrounding eyelids. Leola and TMO are animated with full-pink eyes, with the irises barely distinguishable and pupils invisible, sure—but Leola has a shit-ton of emotional body language to compensate and let's be real, TMO is intended to be serenely inscrutable and alien.

It's just really, really hard to have a character convey the depth and nuance Aaravos requires when you're effectively barred from using one of the most critical aspects of facial expressions. Rather than fight that uphill battle, they may have chosen to handwave it in one context or another. (That is, the state of Aaravos's eyes is linked with his "fallen" status, and in the scenes with Leola they are meant to be different but it turned out to be way too annoying to handle.)

It could also, like Leola's single horn, be explained as a unique feature of Aaravos or this particular physical manifestation of Aaravos, except that they did go out of their way to include the full-pink eyes in not only the painted s4 flashbacks, but also the s3 promo art:

To be completely honest: I'm not convinced at this point that this is a feature we're meant to attach significance to. Unless we get additional context of another Startouch elf with eyes like Aaravos's, or conditions under which Aaravos is actually animated with the full-pink Startouch eyes... I don't think we can really know for sure.

Star Up, Star Down

In the same vein as his eyes, we've attached a lot of importance to the orientation of Aaravos's chest star. Since the Star primal symbol is actually used very rarely, and in just about every context up to s6 it was in its "upright" orientation—that is, the opposite of Aaravos's chest star. And like, obviously a fallen star would be upside-down.

It seems like s6 is determined to mess with us in that respect. For the most part, Aaravos's chest star is upright, or opening-down:

Until his grieving, when it is opening-up (and also darkened):

HOWEVER, when TMO appears in the same scene, their chest star is also opening-up, though lit:

We also get a LOT more usage of the Star primal symbol at the Starscraper:

And—excluding when it's on the floor so you can't know for sure what the "proper" orientation is—it is exclusively opening-up:

Also noteworthy is that we don't see the mark directly on Leola's chest, but on her clothing it is opening-up:

As is her star in the constellation:

So whatever the orientation is meant to signify—and unlike the eyes, I do think this is still significant in some way—it's unlikely that it's a strictly negative symbol. There's some other dichotomy at play that it's indicating.

Body Bling

This one doesn't come up as often, but it's suggested (at least in the artbook, IIRC) that Aaravos's body stars are brighter before he's "fallen," when he's at full power. Is this objectively true? Well... yeah, not really.

In arc two, they're very similar levels of brightness across s4-s6, independent of his chest star:

In arc one, the mirror effect tends to be more pronounced than the one scene where we see it in arc two, so it sometimes looks like they're not as bright. I think they actually are meant to be, though:

And then, of course, at the end of s2 when he's casting, everything is brighter:

So that doesn't seem related at all, except in the sense that magic is shiny. Maybe we'll learn something at some point about Aaravos's relationship to the primal sources that will explain that, but for now we can put this one to bed.

—

aaaaand I have actually hit the "images per post" limit so we'll be concluding in Part 2!