#which I guess is like. his goal as a character lmao so it makes sense

[cha1cedony]

Glenn Close on the brain again 💔

[mxtxfanatic]

Book of the Week: Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage

Author: Qian Shan Cha Ke (千山茶客)

Genre: ancient setting, josei

Rating: M (very mature, dark themes but not too graphic of depictions)

My Synopsis: What happens when a girl gets tired of being nice and decides to go apeshit? You get Shen Miao, our adorable 30+ year-old protagonist recently stuffed back into her 14-year-old self and ready to eat the flesh and drink the blood of her enemies! Using this new lease on life, she’ll methodically and maliciously ruin every antagonist’s life using the tools in her versatile skillset, including: knowledge of the future, a psychological understanding of assholes, weaponized gender stereotypes, and men. And lest we forget our love interest, Xie Jing Xing: the boy/man (cause god forbid the author know how old anyone BUT Shen Miao is…) who thought he had it all figured out until he discovered that Shen Miao is a horny drunk. See just how far they’ll go to bathe in the blood of their enemies while keeping their loved ones safe in this very long but extremely satisfying novel.

My Actual Review: It’s so satisfying to see a previously downtrodden character scheme her way into a happy ending, and Shen Miao fucking deserves it. Some reviews that I’ve seen have claimed that the LI eventually takes over her revenge schemes, but I didn’t see it. They just partner up and she uses his manpower to do what she wants. There are also places where their separate goals intersect, so it just makes more sense for him to do the cleanup. The thing about Shen Miao is that she has no issues with letting others do the work for her, especially if it’s against people she wasn’t invested in putting work against to begin with. It’s the empress in her, I fear. As for the main pair as a couple, I loved their every interaction, and their descent into romance felt natural and gratifying. Greatest thing about this romance is the fact that it truly kicks off because Xie Jing Xing did not know to guard against horny drunk Shen Miao lmao!

The translation is pretty good outside of some clunky grammar, but once you train your eyes to glaze over the the five-millionth time the translator inserts directly into the story to complain about how often the LI is described as hot (unlike every other character, I guess???) as if this book is their early 2000s fanfic, it gets even better! Another thing that may or may not be here nor there is that this author is really weird with age consistency. Like, “MC is forever un-aging while everyone else ages 2 years every few months” weird. Shen Miao is forever 14 until the time skip in which she is forever 16, while Xie Jing Xing goes from “the same age as the students” to “17/18ish” to “vaguely in his 20s” during the same course of time where we literally never see Shen Miao acknowledge a birthday in any year. As for more serious content warnings, this story involves underage relationships (including non-explicit sex, marriage, and pregnancy), rape as a weapon, (assumed) incest between cousins, child abuse, and described but not explicitly shown torture. Though there are some humorous parts, this is not a lighthearted story. Read if you want something dark with an ultimate happy ending.

Translation: complete

[bunglegaydogs]

skk dynamics!

I just want to talk about Soukoku so that is precisely what I'm going to do ^^

As per, this post has no specific or planned direction, I'm just gonna see where it takes me lol.

It genuinely irks me to see the rampant mischaracterisation within the fandom pertaining to not only just Soukoku, but several other characters as well. Ranpo, Akutagawa, Kunikida, etc. It might just be my dumb little screaming brain being scared of something that's not supposed to be in my head, or hell, something that's in the BACK of my mind, and I know that makes no sense but it does to me xoxo

I just really treasure the dynamic between Dazai and Chuuya and I get frightened that when I think somebody is mischaracterising them, I'm the only one that thinks that and that I'm just perceiving them wrong. Which genuinely is the one thing I never wish to do; when I write fics, my number one goal is to make the characters as true to life as possible. I try my damndest to do justice to their characters, and based off of the lovely people that read it and comment, I'm doing something right, surprisingly.

The characterisation of Dazai and Chuuya specifically is something so important to me because I relate to the both of them the most out of any of my interests. And I have a LOT of interests.

I don't know why or how, but they came to be my absolute favourite characters over all other fandoms and shows and games and films I enjoyed. (I'm excluding the Marauders fandom here, because I also love Remus and Sirius exactly like this). I piss myself off with it sometimes, because I accidentally base all of my creative outlets off of Soukoku, and lo and behold, I have about 30 unfinished ideas/fics after one night of ruminating over these motherfuckers.

Anyways. Like I said, this post has no point, it's just my incoherent, incessant rambling that if I don't write down, will slowly eat away at me until I die ^^

So, I guess, without further ado, I'm just gonna get going?

LMAO

Anyways,

Soukoku's dynamic has always been interesting. We were introduced to them first (as a pair) as enemies; ex-partners, rivals, loathing each other. But, when we slowly got to see more of their relationship, more of their past, more of their dynamic, quite a lot of us slowly came to realise; oh shit. There's more to them here.

The two of these together aren't just black-and-white characters. Dazai is not inherently good just because he works for the ADA. Chuuya is not inherently bad just because he works for the PM. They are morally grey characters. They've killed people, tortured people, stolen, beaten, attacked, hurt, all that good stuff that comes with being in the Mafia (nevermind fucking Mafia executives). Something that a lot of people seem to forget is where to draw the line between these two organisations; if the ADA is harbouring two fugitives that are ex-mafia, one of them being an executive, another fugitive that terrorised the streets of Japan as a man-eating tiger, and is run by an ex-assassin who was close with the current leader of the Port Mafia, who's to say that they're the good guys? Who is the one to define the evil and the light?

Nobody.

There are no sides.

The Port Mafia aren't the bad guys, and the Agency aren't the good guys. They're both doing their morally grey jobs with their morally grey cast of characters.

Yes, on a base level, the ADA are supposed to be the good guys, whereas the Mafia are the bad. It's a narrow-minded way of thinking and looking at the series, but on a surface level, yes, that seems to be the case.

However, we have layers to this. We know how morally grey these characters are, good or bad. Take Tanizaki, for example, and his way of going about it when Naomi is threatened. He knows he's morally grey. He knows he's not one of the good guys. None of them are! They save people, and that makes them good. But it doesn't make them the good guys. I'm not calling them bad people, of course not. I'm just saying, in the wise words of a post I once read months back, 'Maturing is realising that neither the Port Mafia or the ADA are the good or bad guys'. Something along those lines.

ANYWAYS, I've written this much already and still haven't spoken about SKK.

My point here was their good apple/bad apple dynamic. Dazai is from the same place Chuuya is at, the Mafia. So, by calling Dazai a 'bad guy' you're indirectly also calling Chuuya a bad guy. You're calling Hirotsu a bad guy. You're calling Akutagawa a bad guy. You're calling Higuchi a bad guy. You're calling all of these Mafia members the bad guys; when that's not strictly true. Morally grey characters, yet not monsters. Not bloodthirsty, demonic, evil motherfuckers. They're in the Mafia; not a good start, of course. But again, this does not make them bad people. Actions don't define the person you make yourself out to be, if that makes any sense. Just because a bad person did one good thing one time does not necessarily make them a good person. But if they strive to become a better one by constantly doing good and making active efforts to change their ways, then they're well on their way to earning that title, or coming close to it. Just because someone good did a bad thing one time does not automatically make them a bad person. They're not awful for making one bad choice, depending on the severity and their actions after the choice. Because it can go both ways; strive to be a better person, or fall to be a bad one.

ANYWAYS.

SOUKOKU.

I LOVE SOUKOKU.

So, I'm actually going to talk about them instead of fucking RABITTING ON FOR HOWEVER LONG.

Anyways.

Soukoku is special to me. I relate to the both of them the most. I recognise the flaws in each of them, and I recognise the good. I recognise the changes they're willing to put themselves through for the sake of the greater good, and I recognise the struggles they've been through to get there. I see myself in them, and so I can't help but latch onto them and want to keep them for myself. My subconscious wants to protect them and make them happy and becomes unhealthily attached to these fictional characters.

Anyways.

Soukoku dynamics. Right.

One of my favourite dynamics about Soukoku is the childlike behaviour they exhibit with one another. Even after seven years and they still bicker like they did at 15. I've said it a thousand times before and I'll fucking say it again; they let each other be the children that they never got to be. They let loose with one another. They unwind. They relax. They recognise their similarities (much to Chuuya's chagrin and unwavering denial) and each other's differences. Where there is hate, there is love and trust. It's buried deep. But it's there. The two of them have their walls put high up. They guard themselves well. They keep their shit inside. They let not another soul see what goes on in their hearts. So, with their crying children stuck inside of them and locked down, they let them out around each other. By simply being with each other at any given moment, they're healing their inner children, and allowing them to breathe.

Each moment with Soukoku is so delicate. It feels intrusive to watch their intimate scenes. It feels like such a beautiful moment, so precious to watch and so delicate to touch. The intimate scenes with the two of these are either emotionally charged, blazing, action-packed and full of chaos, or quiet and serene. Tranquil. It's never really neutral ground for them. It's either chaos or serenity, just a calm moment between the two of them, away from the rest of the world and taking (unknowing) comfort in each other's presence.

It's the small smiles from Dazai when Chuuya isn't looking. It's the words and actions with hidden meanings exchanged between them. It's the concern when one of them gets hurt, or is stuck in an unprecedented situation. It's the unfaltering trust and loyalty between each other that pushes them forward, even if it kills them, or seems fruitless. It's the determination that sits in the both of them to protect those that they care about, and put the world above all else for just a moment.

Small, knowing glances. Inside jokes. Petulant, playful bickering. Concerned thoughts. Constant thoughts.

I find it hard to believe that nobody else finds Dazai and Chuuya suspicious; they're hardly discreet about how much they think about each other. Example number one:

Chuuya is drunk with Hirotsu and Kajii. On a whim, he decides to go on a rant about Dazai. Hirotsu and Kajii are apparently sick of it; he does this a lot. He decides, impulsively, to ring Dazai's phone. Dazai picks up the fucking phone. Hirotsu answers, Dazai's like 'Oh, hey, yeah this is my old phone.' Blatantly lies to the motherfucker, because Dazai, honey, you're at home reading; what have you got your old phone from seven years ago next to you, working, and on for? Chuuya wants to speak with him. Gets angry when he can't talk to him to shout at him and complain. Keeps trying to call him back in anger.

Now, if I do say so myself, that's pretty suspicious of them.

Example two:

Dazai in fucking general. He does not shut the fuck up about Chuuya. He tells everyone he meets about how much he spends thinking about Chuuya (everyone except the Agency ahem). He's fucking gay.

That also brings me on to another point. Dazai rarely speaks about Chuuya with the ADA; I'm not too sure I've ever seen him say anything about him to them, except in Wan and the like. (I'm dumb tho tbf). However, upon Yosano figuring out Chuuya's identity, his first reaction is "Goddamn it, Dazai told them". Not that he's a widely known gravity manipulator and its not fucking hard to figure it out, plus the fact that he's a Mafia executive, PLUS the fact that they're a detective Agency? His first impulse is to blame Dazai lmao. Anyways.

You can ignore the first half of that paragraph I was just chatting mad wham.

Anyways.

I just enjoy how peaceful and serene the intimate moments between Soukoku can be. Even the world around them is falling apart, it still somehow feels so beautiful, real, raw, and personal. When Dazai is watching Chuuya fight in storm bringer, it feels so quiet. All hell is breaking loose, yet Dazai is so breathtaken by Chuuya that we feel as if we're interrupting. I don't know why but all I picture upon imagining that scene is a very quiet scene, just for a few seconds, of no music or anything, and white. Just the colour white in as many places as possible. A softness to the screen. I don't know. It just feels like that to me and I can't explain it.

Soukoku's dynamics are so important, because when people mischaracterise both Dazai and Chuuya and then smush that together it creates an abomination of what was supposed to be beautiful and ruins the relationship they really have, muddying their name. Their relationship is special. It's so much more than hate.

Hate is also a crucial part of their relationship, however. And a lot of us Soukoku shippers tend to forget that. We're so blinded by how much we want them to admire and adore each other that we forget how much they do despise one another. And I've mentioned this before in another post.

Their hate is real. It's not a ruse, it's the real deal. They genuinely do hate one another; but that hate is filled with so much more than downright disgust. That hate is filled with the trust of their bond, seven years of partnership, love, and so many unspoken things between the two of them.

Chuuya hates Dazai because he hates himself. He refuses to let himself see the similarities between him and Dazai, because he could never be like him. Chuuya often struggles with his identity and who he is and just how human he is. He didn't know until he was 16 whether he was a real human or not. And so, upon meeting this other human at 15 who craves death and wants to just throw away this human life that he's been given? That's a hard no for Chuuya. He resents Dazai for being so willing to give up his life so carelessly, so easily. He'd do anything at that point to realise just how human he was, to prove his humanity to others and to show his compassion and human qualities. And he stumbles across this stone-cold, suicidal kid who wants to let go of all of that, sees no point in trying to even be human, and who is lacking empathy for other human lives. Chuuya disgusts and loathes that. So, he wants nothing to do with him. Does not want to be attached to him in any way shape or form. Refuses to acknowledge their similarities. So, when he's being tortured, and the first thing he hallucinates is Dazai? It preys on his insecurities and deepest fears. He fears that he's not at all a human, and he fears that he is like Dazai, an unfeeling, indifferent, seemingly heartless boy who wishes to give up on the world, who wishes he was never born, who wishes nothing more than to be granted that sweet release of death.

I can't articulate very well, so for that I do apologise! But yeah, this has always been an important scene for me. In his moment of weakness, Chuuya hallucinated the person that he wanted to see the least, first. He hallucinated Dazai before his freshly dead friends, etc. And claims that, whilst he's being tortured, after Verlaine has killed the people closest to him, that he hates him the most out of anyone in the world. A lot of people said that this was an overreaction; respectfully, shut the fuck up ^^ My boy was being tortured, give him some leeway, yeah?

Anyway.

It just goes to show how deep those roots of self-hatred go within Chuuya; it seems him and Dazai have something more in common than originally thought.

Now, I don't actually have a complete grasp on the reason why Dazai hates Chuuya so much. Because, he doesn't hate him as much as Chuuya hates him, or as much as he makes it out to be. Dazai is an eccentric bastard, dramatising things for the sake of stirring up trouble. He overexaggerates for a variety of reasons, one of those being to conceal any emotion he IS feeling. He makes a big song and dance out of the little things to try and forget about the big things. To not think. Dazai is not numb by nature. He's numb by conditioning. He has conditioned himself to feel nothing, to be cold and logical and rational. Mori, of course, only exemplified these traits, making him colder and more calculated than ever/before. So, my blind guess is that he holds a sort of resentment to Chuuya for being able to be more normal than he is, for wanting to live and not seeing the world as a boring, pointless place. But, he also wants Chuuya to thrive as a human, to be able to live his life knowing and being sure of his humanity. And, when it's only him and Verlaine, he grows quite... emotional (trust me, it's not a lot but that's the only word I can think of) when talking about his humanity. That, Chuuya has to be a human. Because how could he hate someone so much? He has to be a human, because if he wasn't he would like Dazai more.

I think Dazais "issue" (I CAN'T THINK OF WORDS RIGHT NOW LMAO) is that he just wants Chuuya to like him. Maybe he wants a friend. Maybe there's something else to it. But, Dazai has always had strong... feelings, towards Chuuya. "Jokingly" telling him he loves him. Getting awfully close when he doesn't need to, and never does with anyone else. Yeah, you're not fooling anybody hun. Makes many romantic comments that could be passed off as something else entirely about him. Showing active concern for him. Caring for him. Thinking about him. He shows a lot more attention to Chuuya than he gets in return; by that I mean speaks about it more. Is a lot more verbal than Chuuya is.

GAHHHH sorry sorry I just have too much to say and don't know when to SHUT THE FUCK UP but I have SO MUCH more to say, but I'm going to be going off and writing my shitty little fics that should've been written yonks ago <3

have a lovely day/night! ^^

[dragon-cookies]

Episode 7, here goes nothing

You are literally too perfect for this show sir

Why does Alastor have more screentime in Charlie's room than her literal girlfriend

WHY DO THEY LITERALLY SHARE A BED BEFORE WE SEE CHARLIE AND VAGGIE DO

He's so fucking happy listening to her trauma dump I hate him /pos

Oh yeah the whole "angels can be killed" was a plot point wasn't it lol

Damn Charlie why so bitter about Vaggie being an angel. Like I understand being upset she kept such a big secret from you but it's not like she didn't have her reasons? Vaggie probably just figured it'd be safest to pretend to be a demon since she couldn't return to Heaven

"Come now Alastor she's much too young for you" S T O P

OH SHIT actual verbal confirmation Alastor's ace?? I was NOT expecting that

Cannibal Town is lovely design-wise but the characters dressed in red on a background is getting hard to look at

Rosie's design is pretty nice too, her design isn't too overly complicated

Carmilla: *makes it clear she doesn't want to help Vaggie fight angels* Also Carmilla: *immediately starts teaching Vaggie how to fight angels* Make it make sense ma'am

"It's not like you've ever failed to inspire before" Al I don't think Charlie's managed to inspire anyone once but okay

Susan.

I also just realized, wouldn't you think Vaggie would know something about how to kill an angel since she is one? Or at the very least know their weak points?

Oh okay so Vaggie didn't even know she herself could be harmed, fair enough I suppose

Wait so the angels' main weakness is their own weapons? And no one has figured this out until just now???

Carmilla's design looks way better with her hair down imo

It is honestly a crime Vaggie has such little screentime as she does, because the more I see of her the more I like her. It's also so frustrating Charlie basically just cut her off the second she found out she was an angel when her whole goal is redeeming people?? Charlie why are you fine with every other character calling you a bitch and Alastor literally owning peoples' souls but completely shun your own girlfriend because she (understandably imo) kept a secret from you??

And even after Charlie shunned her Vaggie is STILL 100% dedicated to supporting her cause and is willing to fight to keep her safe. Vaggie you deserve so much better

Aw Al giving Charlie his mic is sweet, what can I say. Characters trusting another character with a prized possession of theirs gets me

Hmmmm Al and Rosie's duet sounds a little sus. Sounds like Al wants to shape Charlie into something specific. Maybe in order to take over Hell or something??

Charlie why you making that face about your girlfriend's wings, what are you thinking about

Also really kinda wish these two actually sat down and had a talk together, but we already know this show has zero down time, so onto the finale I guess. So, so much of this show's pacing could be fixed if these characters just sat down and talked to each other. Charlie specifically should be spending more time with all the characters she claims to care about, but I'd be willing to bet money she's not Viv's favorite character lmao

I feel like this show was really scared it wasn't going to get another season, so they just crammed as much stuff as they could into 8 episodes. Which, now that it's been renewed for another season, what exactly are they planning on doing going forward? Ease up on the lightning-fast pacing or just keep the same momentum? If it gets more than two seasons I honestly have no clue what they're going to do story-wise because pretty much everything is being wrapped up neatly. Ah well, I guess time can only tell

[allwormdiet]

Insinuation 2.9

And now everyone is cool and nothing is wrong :)

Y'know, obviously the actual violence involved in the bullying, both physical and social, is like the chief source of harm for Taylor, but I think what's almost equally terrible is that it's made her into her fourth-worst enemy after the main trio, scared of being disliked and trying so hard to find ways to justify not bowing to others

Also, I don't fully know enough about Alec to say, but low-key I get the sense that Taylor just doesn't like him that much, which is a little funny but also a little sad

Yeah, like, he's a little immature but this kinda feels like her interpreting his words in bad faith

This is kinda cute? Alec is being a bit of a brat, yeah, but Brian is immediately charmed by someone else who automatically did a Responsible Thing and Taylor clearly flourishes with his attention. I'm sure they both think they're the token sane ones

Maybe it's just me but I think Alec's power can be pretty busted. Like that's a great way to get an enemy to score an own-goal if they're not careful with their weapons, or if they're on a flight of stairs.

Also think I'm getting a marginally better read on his character through this chapter. He does seem to be earnest, or at least trying, the sarcasm comes off as much of a front as Brian acting like an adult or Lisa acting smug.

Rachel speaks up and it's just to defend her dogs, this is relatable

Also smart call on the infosec tbh

Also also, lmao Taylor's still mad and not shy about that, very telling that she's still thinking of Rachel as Bitch

Makes sense that Rachel has to be careful about what dogs she can use her power on, it only takes one beast like that to go off the rails and cause a whole world of hurt that she didn't mean for. Five bucks says there's a story to how she learned that one.

Sweet But Heartbreaking: The Hebert Family Story

Few things, semi-conflicting in my head but I'll talk through it all anyway

I like the Undersiders and know that they're broadly good kids, or at least trying to be good kids, but I don't think they're so upright that they're above doing crime that would cause harm to others, even if it's "just" financial loss and a scare

And it's interesting to me that as much as Taylor likes them, as much as Taylor yearns to be on this team with them (to the point where she'll tolerate Rachel), she still sees herself as in some way apart from them, even better than them, because she's a hero. Or going to be a hero at the least.

Wonder how long that attitude can hold up

Current Thoughts

I like seeing the Undersiders play off each other more, and I like seeing Taylor slide into a niche alongside them. Had I the power I would make the next *checks notes* twenty-eight arcs just about them all being friends and having adventures, but I do not, so. Reality will ensue at some point, I imagine.

I think it's a little easier to see Taylor's exact problems with more people to bounce off of. She's got this ongoing struggle between needing to belong, needing to fly under the radar, and needing vindication for what she's been put through, and it's given her some bad habits. The self-loathing is a major component, but as I'm looking at it I think her swiftness to dismiss others as less-than-her could just as easily be a byproduct of Emma's tender mercies as a lot of her other bad habits. All of Winslow High has either participated in her suffering, or else stood by and did nothing about it; is it any wonder that she feels alone in a crowd, that she's so harsh in how she views others who provide any reason to doubt their intentions towards her? Rachel is obviously an extreme case but she even raised her hackles a bit with Alec back in 2.7 and what he said could barely count as teasing.

Little shocked that this arc is over already, but I guess it's longer than Arc 1, so maybe I'm just getting wrapped up in the flow of the story and getting thrown by the interruptions. Interlude next, then my meditations on Arc 2

[val-of-the-north]

OKAY IMPORTANT UPDATE SO Crow convinced me that the more appropriate Type Of A Guy group is Allant, Gwyn, Aldia, Aldrich, Micolash and Shabriri, and it was actually Laurence who I unofficial 7th member because his portrayal and being pair item with Micolash is very speculative even if reasonable. As we in Russia say, пока запишем карандашом. I'd now ask you to write something funny and cringey for new super cool updated cast thanks to that CHICKEN, but this will just come across as me barely concealing my simping -_-" So I'll just ask for YOU to rate The Guys. You need to speak your opinions more, it is always good shit

Noooooo now I have to ramble about characters I hate that, fuck you. I hate rating people lol. But fineeeee:

Number 6 - Micolash lmaoripbozo

-

Ok ok, that's not actually true... I think my actual number 6 for the time being might be Shabriri. That doesn't mean I hate the guy, but he is simply a fucking dick. Like, so far he's the only one with not a droplet of cohesive motivation, and ending the suffering of everyone seems like a front for his true desire of seeing chaos consume reality. I like myself a seemingly pure evil baddie, but if I have to rate him with all the other dudes, he sorta pales in comparison. Maybe the DLC will expand on his philosophy and what he did before he had the Nomads entombed and decided to set the world ablaze with chaos. He IS very fun though, I will give him that lmao.

-

At number 5 I'd probably put Allant, though he might be subject to change whenever I get to play Demon's Souls. As was stated a bunch, he is a more depressed Shabriri, which makes him more genuine. His desire to end the suffering of mankind is true, unlike the previous prick, even if his methods of attaining that are fucked beyond compare. And that's the problem with him lol.

He only increased the world's suffering exponentially, because that's arguably what benefits the soul-hungry demons in the long run. He failed the one thing he wanted to do and probably doesn't even see it because he is too blinded by his own suffering and hatred of life. He is the reason his kingdom is run by corrupt officials, that his son gives up on life, and that most of his people have become food for unfeeling abominations. He is a weak leader. There's nothing wrong with being weak, but you are not supposed to drag the world down with you the way he decided to do...

-

Number 4 was hard to place since I am still not sure what I am rating them for... so far it seems to be the complexity of their motivations/actions and the way they went about them. I guess this spot could go to Micolash in this case. Most of his motivations (if they even are his, and not just those of the School of Mensis as a whole) are context-heavy, which isn't really good in terms of building a compelling case as to why he should be above someone like Allant... still, the amount of cut content centered around him points to him having had a much richer role than what meets the eye, which I believe boost the likelihood that his character is well-defined even in the full game.

(To be honest, even if we know very little of that version of him, I suspect I would have liked him more like that lmao.)

His pursuit of knowledge probably had a concrete goal before it spiraled into what we see in-game. Despite its horrible fuckups, the Healing Church did start out genuinely seeking ways to better humanity, but it distanced from it the more it continued. The Choir, where he and most of Mensis probably originates, already sought to abandon their human roots, and the school he was part of likely did so even more. But they wouldn't seek guidance from the Great Ones, they'd become on par with them.

And to rise above humanity they did unspeakable things... some of them didn't even make any sense. Why stitch together those horrible corpse beasts? Why switch the heads of two animals? Why cram all those human remains into one casket? Not to mention all the people that were kidnapped: half of them were strapped to chairs and the other half turned to stone and merged into the walls. Everything just to try and proceed with a deranged ritual that was only made possible by desecrating an infant and its mother.

And when you finally meet him he is just rambling to himself, all alone and surrounded only by corpse puppets, Edgar and the occasional attendant. He has been stuck between those halls for long enough that his body has been mummified, and doesn't seem to have made any significant progress. He has likely lost his mind, rendering whatever it was that he was seeking worthless. But hey, at least he was closer than anyone to finding out about Kos from outside the Hunter's Nightmare, so I guess we can give him that.

Also his cut dialogue is pretty emotional, and makes me wonder just how different he was before he lost his mind... I ultimately think I have a soft spot for him ahahah

-

Number 3 is Gwyn, but it was really close with Aldrich on this one, lol. I decided his goals were assuredly less complex/noble, even though his means weren't as grotesque. To be honest, I think he's a pretty maligned character, for good reasons mind you. He effectively screwed over everyone in an attempt to keep the status quo intact, and before that, he took several preventive measures that just made life miserable for people in the long run. All of this paints a rather unflattering picture of Gwyn, and I do not deny this. What I argue against is the reason why he did what he did... to me, Gwyn was genuinely afraid.

Kaathe says Gwyn "trembled at the Dark", he was surely afraid of what darkness and an age of men entailed, especially for his people and family. What he did feels less like something a power-hungry lord who seeks to keep his power intact would do and more like one desperate attempt to delay a force much greater than you. His was a sacrifice in the end, and while his legacy is and will inevitably be cinders in an empty world, what prompted him to do what he did was something understandable, and very human of him ironically enough...

As an aside, I'm actually not super convinced that Gwyn fits neatly into this group of guys either. Honestly, Dark Souls 1 might lack a character that embodies this vibe. Instead, it has several with only bits and pieces of it. I find it more fitting to group him with the likes of Marika and Laurence rather than these other dudes.

-

Number 2 is Aldrich as you could have probably guessed. He is an awful awful man, but his course of action is probably the most anyone had been doing before the Unkindled woke up to make DS3 happen lol. The world had reached a point of stagnation when nothing new was happening. The dark threatens the light, but then the flame is kindled again, rinse and repeat again and again and again... he was doing SOMETHING different and prompting change, even if it was in a way that could be considered disgusting, unpleasant and evil. The once beautiful Deep had been turned into a seedbed of filth because of the stagnant nature of reality and this seemingly endless cycle, and he alone saw salvation through a different kind of age. The start of a brand new, different thing.

The path was arduous, the means deranged, but he DID want something more than chaos for chaos' sake, unlike Shabriri. He wanted to change things, but not passively like Allant. He did not lose track of his goal the more he accomplished like Micolash did, and he did not wish to uphold the status quo but rather challenge it, unlike Gwyn. But I really, REALLY understand why everyone sees him and recoils in horror or thinks there's nothing more complex behind his actions than a simple hunger for power and flesh.

But you know Miyazaki, he likes to write characters who do some really awful things but still portrays them as courageous and heroic in their madness and skewed ways. I get the same vibe from Aldrich, but that doesn't mean he wasn't intentionally portrayed the way he was to inspire discomfort or hatred in most players ahahah. Both things can be true at the same time, and they are!

-

Lol number 1's Aldia. He's got everything Aldrich has except for his abhorrent mannerisms and vices. He is someone wholly dedicated to the pursuit of answers, and from what I can tell most of his test subjects were people who accepted his invitations to the keep, which was mostly other madmen with a similar desire to break the boundaries of reality. Of course, it wouldn't be a Soulsborne game without a good dose of war crimes, so he did do things to the giants who ended up as prisoners of war during the two conflicts his brother took part in, but he wasn't making chimeras out of them or wasting them in useless experiments at the very least. Heck, he pretty much turned one into a superior being who seems to be all chill.

All horrors he committed in his mansion were for a singular goal: breaking the curse and finding a way out of a played-out cycle, even by the time of DS2. And while the depths of this obsession show some pretty horrible results, he isn't at all the same as Aldrich, who relished in the suffering of his victims. One can find his experiments horrid, but the man himself not so much. He was simply devoted. So devoted in fact that he destroyed himself to the point he was left with nothing but an endlessly-smouldering body. And despite achieving a form that's arguably outside of the cycle, he still saw it as a failure, because it wasn't what he wanted for humanity.

I've heard him get called a fence-sitter because he promotes inaction, but to arrive at such a conclusion you have to ignore everything that led him to his current state, AND his words to the Bearer of the Curse. If anything, this dude probably did everything one could do in the hopes of changing things, I think he is allowed to feel disillusioned at the end of it all without being described as a fence-sitter. In what way is he one anyhow? Both potential ages suck. Any witless fool can just waltz in and burn themselves or let the flame die. Someone like him would literally have zero reasons to care about either outcome because all his work was meant to lead to something beyond it... but he failed and awaited someone else who would challenge the order of the world and succeed where he couldn't.

At the end of the day, I'm not saying he didn't do anything wrong lol, he still did some pretty weird shit... but I don't think it's insane to say that he is more respectable than basically everyone else on this list by virtue of actually being pretty selflessly motivated and for never losing the plot of why he was doing all those things in the first place.

-

I still don't know if I did good lmao, but yeah, this is what I think. If you noticed I get more verbose the deeper we go, that was intentional. It's not as if I don't have anything to say about Shabriri (you should know), it's just for the purposes of this "rating". Ultimately they are all prime characters.

[festivalofthe12]

SO this is probably something covered in the manga which I have since entirely forgotten, but. The Juunishi thing is reincarnation, right? As in, whenever the old Horse or Dog or whatever dies, they're soon/immediately after reborn as another new Sohma family baby?

Obviously there are metatextual reasons why the main characters are mostly grouped around the same rough generational range... but if you think of it that way, it makes more sense: in modern days, there's not that much variation in how old people get before they die, so it kinda makes sense that they tend to die and therefore be reborn at within a couple of decades of one another? maybe????? (of course this has been going on for a Long Time and stuff like infant mortality or just death at a young age due to injury/illness used to be much more common but. ignore that. maybe.)

ANYWAY my point is. Could Sohma adults potentially try to game the system and time it such that their kids will be born around about when older Juunishi members die? Thus giving themselves a way better chance of having their kid be one? (For those who would care about that, which we know at least some do.)

Specifically, I'm not sure if we ever got a stated reason for the huge age gap between Yuki and Ayame... but this sure as hell sounds like a plausible one, giving everything we know about Yuki's mum. Like, IDK if she deliberately tried to get the Snake (the Snake, Dog, and Dragon are all very similar in age, so presuming that their previous reincarnations' deaths weren't super sudden, that'd offer better than usual odds of getting at least one) and then realised she could do better, or if she got the Snake but wasn't satisfied and started planning things out for the Big One...

Though. the Rat would most DEFINITELY have been a high risk/high reward goal. Because. This time around, at the very least, the Rat and Cat both ended up the same age. :'D

Which, now that sounds like a fanfic idea just waiting to happen... but in practice, IDK if it would've really changed all THAT much? Yuki's mum would almost certainly have just disowned Kyou lmfao (possibly while trying to hide that he was even hers so she wouldn't be associated with the Cat??? no clue how she'd manage that though. I feel like the two options are some other random woman gets him and immediately the curse is revealed [and the main house would find out about that, ofc] or Kyou fjucking dies. I guess she could try to pass him off on a single father????????)

anyway uhh I know less about Kyou's parents. but. his dad doesn't seem the type to NOT send his kid off to Akito, especially if there was something in it for him.

So if this isn't that wacked-out 'the Cat gets weirdly lost for a while because he grows up with a random dude who doesn't even figure out about the curse for several years making it way harder for the Main House to track him (and honestly given that the juunishi transform when they're too weak and babies are Definitionally Defenceless even this doesn't seem all that realistic)' scenario. I guess the main difference would be just that Kyou and Ayame are siblings. Presumably in this case Kyou still gets raised by Kazuma and everyone knows his mum is his mum but she maintains some level of status by having the Snake. And I guess in this world Ayame gets treated more like Yuki because she doesn't have a better option this time round and is desperate to distance herself from the Cat lmao.

That's about as far as I've thought it through hahahaha because in the end this is more of a Kyou-centric thought experiment than Yuki really. But it's still kinda interesting (to me)!!!!!

[transmutationisms]

hey caden! i wanted to ask if you have any general thoughts on nate and his politics. he feels like the only character in the show that has a set of morals and lines he's unwilling to cross. him telling shiv that he works with gil because he cares about inequality in s1e10 has always struck me as interesting because despite how awkward his delivery is, i think he's being genuine, and then his i'm not gil/you're not logan remark to ken. basically i guess, what do you feel is being said with him?

hi ming!! honestly nate is such a fun character to me. i agree with your read—i think he does mean it, and he genuinely believes in his own ideology and political goals. and he's such a good kendall foil—like, when he tapped out of the atn party you could see kendall's loading wheel spinning on his forehead lmao. i love thinking about them together in shanghai.

anyway, basically i think there are two major things being communicated via nate. one is, by having a genuinely idealist lanyard demsoc tethered to a man who makes an under-the-table deal with logan, the writers can point to the way even sincere beliefs get chewed up by the capitalist machine. in some ways being genuine is a luxury nate has because he doesn't really have all that much power. like, he has connections, but at the end of the day being a staffer is a different ballgame than being gil.

the other thing, and i think this is more interesting, is the way his political sincerity plays into his inability to speak the roys' language. i was thinking about how, when he sleeps with shiv, it doesn't have the same business-fuck connotation as many of the other relationships on the show. he's trying to persuade her to throw tom over, and to fully commit to working with him and gil, but i don't think he gets the way that other characters use sex and business interchangeably. even the sex act we do actually see is him pleasuring her, because he keeps trying to convince her he can be her loyal little dog or whatever.

logan's ideas about dominance and hierarchy are both personal and political; there's always a top dog, every conversation is a battle for that spot, and so forth. and he's raised his kids into this ideology, which is why they all experience their relationships and interpersonal interactions through the logic of neoliberal economics, ie the emphasis on competition, constant struggle for survival, etc. nate, on the other hand, actually believes in his ideals of economic equality and cooperation. so, when the roys are fighting for a knife in the mud, nate can't really keep up. it's not how he operates.

ultimately, obviously, he's buying into the same political-economic episteme as logan, in the sense that demsocs are liberals and 'managed' markets are still markets, etc etc. so, nate doesn't actually have a radically alternative worldview to counter logan's, which means he's essentially just stuck constantly arguing on logan's terms, but more ineffectually. in this sense, the fact that he believes in his own ideals is a weakness, because his ideology is milquetoast and fails to actually challenge logan or waystar in any significant way.

[alwaysonlineau]

hi! welcome to the always online au!

for anyone who was into the hype of parkner back in late 2019/the early quarantine days, this might be a little bit familiar to you. basically, this is a social media au for marvel that i created when getting into parkner and thompsborn and when one of the main wlw ships was mj/shuri. it consisted of screenshots of (obviously fake) social media accounts (mainly twitter) of some of the marvel characters and it was mostly shitposting with a tiny hint of a plot. however, because of the mental health kick that came with quarantine, i ended up deleting the account while in a depression drop.

it’s been over 3 years and i honestly miss making this au, as it was just fun and gave me something to do, and a few days ago i realized that i still have the apps i used when i originally made this au and all of the fake tweets and messages were still on them, so… well.

basically, i decided to bring it back!

so, if you don’t remember or never saw this au when it was originally happening, you might have some questions! under the cut is a very basic q&a:

what is the always online au about?

nothing! also everything! like i said, it was entirely a shitpost account that very vaguely had a plot, but it was 100% just something i did in my free time for fun!

it’s essentially me throwing my sense of humor in a box with ships and characters that i like and then violently shaking it until something that i find funny comes out and then i would post it !!

ships and characters? which ones?

like i mentioned above, i made this during like the late 2019-2020 era of parkner hype, so, obviously, it was mainly parkner (peter parker/harley keener) BUT it also features many other marvel ships! i am going to be changing the ships up a bit to better match my current preferences. i’ll include a list of ships below this paragraph, but first, this is also going to include PLENTY of platonic/familial dynamics as well! so if you love stucky, sorry they aren’t dating in this but they are obviously besties, and there’s irondad, stuff like that, okay? i’ll try to include it all!

ships:

parkner (peter parker/harley keener)

ironhusbands (tony stark/james rhodes)

gwemj (gwen stacy/michelle jones)

peppermay (pepper potts/may parker)

sambucky (sam wilson/bucky barnes)

thompsborn (harry osborn/flash thompson)

nedbetty (ned leeds/betty brant)

thorbruce (thor/bruce banner)

and more that i will add to this list as i figure them out! suggestions are more than welcome!

characters include everyone in the above mentioned ships (obviously lol) as well as any and all marvel/mcu characters that feel relevant to include! such as:

happy hogan

shuri

t’challa

the guardians of the galaxy

matt, foggy and karen from daredevil

funny accounts for villains

norman osborn (ew)

loki (and maybe mobius? maybe include that ship too? i haven’t watched loki season 2 yet so we’ll see i guess lmao)

and more! again, i am open to suggestions!

if anyone has ideas for characters, ships, or dynamics to include, feel free to message me or send an ask!!

how often should i expect updates?

that one is kind of tricky, because i am an adult with a full time job who is also balancing hobbies and family and everything all at the same time. this is something that i’ll try to work on during my free time, and when i did this before it wasn’t hard to make updates once i figured out what i wanted to do for them, but still, my free time kind of depends on the day and the week.

i’m not going to commit to a strict schedule, but i don’t work weekends so my goal is to update every weekend! if i miss a weekend, i’ll try to get it posted during the week, and if i have a week with extra free time, i’ll do some additional posts as well.

i’ll do my best to be regular with it!!

anything else i should know?

yes! this is an ongoing creative project that i’m doing for fun, and i want it to be fun for anyone and everyone who may come across it! that means i want it to be interactive!! this is something i did before, as well.

for instance, when i was running this au in 2019/2020, someone sent an ask wanting to see harley finding out about the vulture after him and peter start dating, so i answered the ask with this:

obviously this au isn’t picking up from where the old one left off, so those tweets are not considered canon to the current always online au, BUT that’s just an example! i want people to feel free to send in asks and questions for the characters or for situations, and i will do my best to make it fit into the canon of the au!!

i think that’s it?

if anyone has any additional questions, comments, or concerns they would like me to address, feel free to send them in! i’m going to try to get the first update of this au posted today (october 17, 2023) but no promises! if not today, it WILL be up tomorrow!

once the official au is being posted, i’m also going to create a pinned post that links to this one as well as all the au updates and anything else necessary to include (like the tagging system i’m going to create and things like that) so that will be posted shortly after the first update is out! for now, thank you for reading!

i hope to see you guys always online ;)

[guiltycorp]

thoughts on this current quest! ! CARIBERT SPOILERS

good thing that we got a specific answer as to 'where was Khaenri’ah located' 

LOVED the tidbit about Kaeya trying to run away to Sumeru as a kid — as nice as living in the winery might have been, little Kaeya was still sentimental enough to risk that newly gained safety just to reconnect with his roots, very sad and revealing

...also, his absence caused a ruckus and Crepus personally went and took him back, which means either that he truly cared about his sworn son ...or that he had a yet unknown goal for him 👀

more confirmation for Kaeya being a little bit too much into alcohol since he tried every kind of liquor the tavern offered and appears to have a high tolerance (day-drinking even though he must have known that a difficult conversation with the Traveler and Dain was incoming)

on that topic, tbh im not sure if his excuse (learning about Sumeru’s alcohol industry and leading trade negotiations) was supposed to be just that, a lie that he came up with, or if genshin writers are this bad at writing excuses for characters to be places... like I guess 'alcohol import regulations' could be something that the Knights would do, but when Snezhnayan merchants wanted to import their firewater they went straight to Diluc, and overall this doesn’t seem like a worthy task for the Acting Grandmaster’s right-hand man

...unless it was supposed to be a vacation that Jean sent him on, but why would she want him to miss Windblume?

also apparently Diluc won’t be in Windblume either, so maybe this is something they coordinated on, idk

but yeah no, most probably Kaeya just lied and specifically went to Sumeru to find out more about Alberichs

anyway, he is as avoidant as ever, getting the small bit of info he wanted and immediately bailing on mc and Dainsleif (who seems like the type to reveal important secrets without meaning to, so it probably would have served him better to pry a bit more) 

i would have enjoyed it if they actually started arguing haha but alas

don't have a lot of thoughts on Dainsleif himself, his reaction to Kaeya makes sense considering his grudge against the Abyss Order

i still think that Kaeya might have ties not only to the Abyss Order (which he only confirmed for himself now), but also to the Fatui (which he might have known about all along), but that's all just theories

overall i really like that Kaeya doesn't seem to know that much about lore stuff — this gives him an opportunity to learn about it alongside us and have to actually grapple with his duties to either Mond or Khaenri'ah rather than it all happening in the backstory somewhere

also since we are told that Kaeya is Chlothar’s descendant that must mean: 1) Caribert was rid of his hilichurl curse somehow and later procreated  2) unless Kaeya is Caribert lmao but that would be too much?.. 3) in either case Kaeya has some Mondstadt blood in him too since Caribert’s mother was from there, tying the whole ‘bloodline’ issues together neatly

otherwise, yeahh, the usual unfortunate writing choices...

gasp did you just empathize with a character who stands against the current status quo? well, let's spend looots of time proving how unreasonable they are.. 

like it's not even a good play on the standard story of cults preying on vulnerable ppl, but who cares at this point

i guess it’s somewhat interesting when compared to Kaeya’s dad writing which made it sound as if Alberichs took over the responsibility of ruling over the survivors as soon as Khaenri’ah’s royal line was incapacitated, while this quest makes it seem as if Chlothar Alberich lived on his own with his cursed son for a while before he founded the Abyss Order 

which also means that they weren’t officially recognized as regents by the nation? hmm

oh and we didn't even get to see what's under a hilichurl's mask :/

we did learn a bit more about Khaenri’ah as a country, specifically that they had some serious divide between the ‘true’ Khaenri’ah bloodline ppl, the nobility, and the commoners, but im guessing this just leads to ‘it deserved to get nuked bc it sucked’

the gravity thing was fun, i liked it in Elden Ring and i like it here hehe, hope there's more of it in the future

but the dungeon seemed pretty cheap overall, especially that same reused statue prop lol Also man, imagine how fun it would be if the twins actually switched places and we played as the evil one for a bit. It would make the dialogues so much more interesting...  Because yeah, the writers should really stop making so much of the story revolve around the mc when they still don’t have much of a personality or specific motivations. At least our sibling has a goal in mind.  But yeah, no. Anyway!!

[arcplaysgames]

SO I went from having almost 600,000 yen to about 200,000 yen which means the Strength SLink is complete.

As was pretty predictable, it pretty much confirms that the twins are actually one person that has been split apart.

ALSO THIS SLINK IS INTERESTING because the twins talk explicitly about Strength and its meaning and they begin to theorize that they are the ones undergoing the Strength arc, not Reverie, and that it is his responsibility to guide them through it and observe them.

man it'd be neat if the twins reunited into Margaret or Elizabeth but I assume they will become a new attendant altogether.

I miss Margaret, she was funny and hot.

Also, i took the twins to a Maid Cafe.

Reverie's core character trait is being a huge bitch and I love him.

the maid scaring the twins is really funny tbh lmao

Everywhere Reverie goes, he has to play older brother to someone. Something about him exudes big brotherly vibes in a way that Reverie The Fourth could only dream of. Everyone even a day younger than him feels his gravitational pull.

It's called the Alice form factor, Futaba, and it's better for your wrists due to the natural way they want to tilt when you reach forward. You wanna see something wild, pull up an ortholinear keyboard form factor and call me in the morning.

In Sojiro's SLink, the asshole uncle returns to cause some trouble, because the Sakuras are not allowed to be happy I gUESS.

Fuckface McGee here makes a move towards Futaba and Reverie immediately steps in to shield her. Fuckface falls and then, just like the dude who framed Reverie in his backstory, cries assault.

Suddenly shit is way more serious because Reverie is on probation and even more infraction is going to get him into deep shit.

So Futaba's like "yeah we need to steal his heart," so we're gonna do that.

BACK TO THE MSQ FINALLY, IT'S TIME FOR SOME SHOES TO DROP AFTER HOVERING IN THE AIR FOR LIKE 21 DAYS.

HARU JUST RENTS DISNEYLAND TO CELEBRATE THE OKUMURA JOB WITH EVERYONE.

jfc haru you can't just rent a theme park, i'm aghast.

While they are sitting having dinner, the Okumura press conference begins and everyone tunes it to watch.

What's interesting to me is: Why did he die now? Probably-Akechi shot him, at this point, 21 days ago back in the Palace. Why did he die now? That's super weird. I don't understand it unless it's a Necessary Contrivance that the game needs to function, like how Nanako wound up on the Midnight Channel despite that shit not making any sense.

yeah i bet you do haru. jeepers creepers, uh, sorry about your shitty dad who was essentially selling you off into sexual slavery for the sake of political power I guess???????

On Law & Order Supernatural Victims Unit, Akechi shows up to FLIP AGAIN ON WHETHER THE THIEVES DID THE THING AGAIN.

Bro, WHAT is with you, is he just gaslighting Sae? I cannot figure out what the fuck his deal is, he keeps giving Sae ideas and then going "nah actually that's dumb" then a month later he's like "altho....... yanno......" then another month later he's like "lmao you actually are following that lead like a dumbass? wow."

If he's the killer then the only thing I can figure is that he's purposefully fucking with the investigation to keep himself and whoever is pulling his strings in the clear.

So in the Twins link, they kind of imply what I've been theorizing for a while, that the Wild Card's purpose is to reach and summon the World/Universe arcana. And one of them was like "is that the same thing as rehabilitation" and the other was like "um. dunno?"

So here with Notigor.... Is his goal to guide Reverie to the World arcana, or..... like.......

What happens if Reverie, uh, fails his "rehabilitation"? And what does that entail?

I still find the fact there are other cells in this Not Velvet Room extremely sus, so idk. I'm fixating on this shit.

HAHAHA THE THIEVES ARE BEING FRAMED IN AN EXTREMELY PREDICTABLE WAY

God, here's where the fucking wheels come off, huh.

Back in the framing device, Reverie nearly passes out randomly and Sae mentions they're on very limited time. What did they inject him with, I assumed it was a sodium pentothal situation but maybe not?

...... what the fuck

..........

hang on a sec.

/opens screenshot folder and goes all the way back to the beginning of the game

.........

That. Would explain..... so much. But where does the Palace end and the real world resume? Is the interrogation happening inside the Palace? Is her Treasure a briefcase? Is Reverie getting caught a ploy to reduce the target's sense of being threatened?

I'm so tempted to just start a new game file and replay the intro with this in mind but I think that's cheating, so I won't.

I hope the game eventually just replays that introduction sequence again but with all the characters un-blacked out. We'll see.

[emblazons]

i love hearing your takes on stranger things so i wanted to ask you your opinion on this video https://youtu.be/HZOppCkC5UM

....honestly I feel like I was like. MAYBE halfway on board with his premise until he said "what do these characters have to fight about" and "have all reached the best versions of themselves." That was when I knew he missed the emotional mark they were going for lol.

The fact that The Duffers were like "you were supposed to feel like you lost" (which my formerly fan-but-casual self CERTAINLY did after S4) where he says "he doesn't understand the conflict they could possibly have going into S5" is honestly kind of laughable imo. He IS right in saying tonal consistency across seasons is the The Duffers weakest point—they just have a story to tell and then stick stuff in there they enjoy look and vibe wise, to varying success and interest (though it does help it appeal to a lot of different demographics...which is probably what Netflix wants).

That said, his main "thesis" if you will is that "S5 will suck because they all end S4 hand in hand and I don't see how that could lead to drama," which...the points he's making are correct, but he's entirely missed the fact that the supposed "solutions" we got didn't fix anything in the actual narrative of the show. He says shit like "everyone found closure" when....clearly they have not, unless you're reading every emotional beat of the show on a surface level...which makes no sense, given how many CLEAR lies we were told even just in the last few episodes, what with Will to Mike, Mike to El, and even Jonathan to Nancy. Even the truth of Vecna's origins and goals and even why max isn't dead are hidden from us, which...somehow he thinks is "solved" now too?

Just him missing the fact that there were clearly lies told and things hidden by SEVERAL of our characters is already enough for me to second guess his take on everything, solely because he doesn't understand any of the characters (and even thinks they're interchangeable lmao). He thinks Joyce and Mike are the leaders for death, and thinks Nancy will end up with Steve for the whole of the season despite clearly blowing him off by the final shot...which is nonsensical if you're following emotional beats correctly? Like???

He...lets just say his take is so focused on "how to solve the narrative" that he loses sight of the character relationships themselves, which is like. 90% of what The Duffers value in their little "we're not game of thrones, we're not killing Mike" space. He makes halfway decent points for tone being inconsistent, but...misses the point of the narrative itself, which....is ironic, given he calls it a "story analysis" lol.

Idk. He is right about tone but entirely wrong about characters, and that makes me think he's not looked too hard at the narrative itself (which...fair. But don't make a video then lmao). Thanks for the ask!

[elegyofthemoon]

Hsr for the ask game thing! Or if it's been asked then hi3 :)

YAAAAAAAAAAAY RAMBLINGGGGGGG

the first character i ever fell in love with:

sampo :) i actually started playing hsr because of sampo! he just seemed like a silly little dude and i do tend to like the "goof but has some big lore potential going on". it took like a day of resisting to actually download the game lmao

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not:

Himeko..... I was actually really excited to get to know Himeko more when I had first started off. I mean come on: she's so beautiful! But laksjdfh I think overtime she eventually stopped standing out for me that I lost interest. That plus now that I've played HI3, the reason why I like HSR! Himeko feels like it's only because of HI3 Himeko and the importance of Himeko in the HI3 plot and for many characters' developments 😭 Sorry Himeko

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not:

I guess KafHime tbh? I think aesthetically they're a very very pretty couple, but I just can't get behind it at all. Or I just have no reasons to get behind it since I'm not exactly invested in either characters. Though Kafka is definitely growing on me because I built her (accidental pull) and she's been doing such massive damage so like you know.

Even then I don't have anything to say about either characters aslkdjfa

my ultimate favorite character™:

surprise to no one it's Dan Heng ALKSJDFAKLSJH I can go on about why I like him, but tldr: I just got attached to him at a very very crucial point in my life and he's just a nice comfort character to me ^u^ I loved being able to get to know him further on the Luofu and all things about the High Cloud Quintet ! So... yeah :> also I miss him --

prettiest character:

IM STUCK BECAUSE I THINK DAN HENG IS SOOOOOO PRETTY BUT ALSO ARGENTIIIIIII ARGENTI IS SO BEAUTIFULLLL RADIANT KNIGHT WHO COMES WITH HIS OWN SPARKLES AND OURGHHHHHH

it's hard T _ T its very hard to tell T _ T

my most hated character:

I don't really have a character I hate. Just more disinterest towards. Dr. Ratio is definitely up there though (I ramble about him later lmao)

my OTP:

listen.... i know it has been a while.... but I still really love Serval/Cocolia. I rarely read fanfics aside from if its written by my friends but Servalia had me clawing through AO3 and Tumblr just to search for more fics for them. No one posts about them much anymore but I sure love them so much okay.

my NOTP:

i'm not going to say which ship but its one of the dan heng ships.

favorite episode:

I'll write this as "favorite update". Penacony has been suuuuch a fun ride honestly. So I'll say that entire section has been tons of fun. As of now I still haven't finished it in its entirety, but I can sense 2.2's story will probably be my favorite because I've been waiting to get to know Robin more and the Watchmaker!! But 2.1 has been fun because I just love seeing Acheron's section of it heheh :)

saddest death:

UHHH as of now, I think Aventurine's death in 2.1 was really sad :/ Hoyo did a really good job writing Aventurine and his story that once you get to the finale of the 2.1, I found myself kinda torn on how it ended. Aventurine who placed his bets on his own death because that is what his good luck is good for - winning against all odds. The epilogue scene with Aventurine walking off into the Nihility's shadow kinda got me too. And this is coming from someone who is like very.... meh on Aventurine? I can't really bring myself to get super invested in him but objectively, he is a really well thoughtout and well created character. I just have no feelings towards him.

favorite season:

I'll write this as "favorite area". It's still Penacony askldjfahlsk There's sooooo many things happening in Penacony and I loved being able to put the pieces together to figure out what's going on. It's also the first area that I had nearly read all the readables in because I'd make it my goal to finish reading every readable and 100% every area before the next update in Penacony :> I want to better understand the area I'm in and give myself ideas for where the story can go. The second area would have been Belobog because it's the only other area I was trying to 100% and read all the readables for (are the readables important in Belobog? no but some of them sure made me cry a bit LMAO)

least favorite season:

"Least favorite area" Honestly... Herta's Space Station. But that could also be because when I first started HSR, I was still orienting myself to the new world, so the space station is the least i remember. It's not that I hated it; it's trying to orient you into the new world and I was just confused for majority of it. I just don't remember enough about it nor about the people within it to care for it.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate:

Objectively: I'll say he's interesting and I am interested to see his development. But Dr. Ratio. I don't get it. I've seen people talk about him wanting education to be accessible to ALL which is GREAT but personality? Can't stand him.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave:

Ruan Mei my most beloved. I want more of her and I feel like we didn't get enough of her. She's just so interesting as a character and while she may not be the most caring of characters - and reasons why people shit on her - I still feel like her view as a character is interesting. And even her motives of wanting to become an Aeon. I want to understand her better. Why? What drove her to want to become so? I WANT TO UNDERSTAND YOU MISS

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave:

not a beautiful cinnamon roll but she sure is beautiful but i love Jingliu 😭😭😭 one reason why i don't like interacting with majority of the fandom is because of their viewpoint on Jingliu's companion quest. I had way way clearer thoughts on the quest when it was fresh on my brain, but I actually liked it a lot more than the fandom let on about it, and I know that people were kinda shittalking about Jingliu afterwards and that made me Mad on her behalf because I think she's a really nicely thought out character. But then again, if you know me: white hair character who is defined by mourning and grief. you know the deal LKAJDHFALKJD

idk. I just feel like she deserves better than how the fandom treats her.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship:

I mean whatever the hell Rondo Across Countless Kalpas had going on, Black Swan/Acheron sure kinda has me feeling a way (in which i'd risk wanting a dance with Acheron. me too Black Swan LAKJDFALKS). Also in a way Servalia too I mean. You know.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship:

No one asked but I actually kinda lowkey ship Firefly/Robin. Like very very lowkey. My only reasoning is when 2.0 was fresh and i was in Mourning over Robin, I once sent a very giant and long essay to my friend N about me late night perusing and overanalyzing Firefly and Robin's deaths. like why specifically them ? Why did they have to die?

I took it in a very symbolic matter. I thought too much about Firefly's monologue about her answer to "Why do people slumber?" and her answer being "Because people are afraid to be awake" or something like that. And about how it was "If I can stop one heart from breaking" that played in the background of all this - a song that praises the comforts of a dream in the face of bleakness. In both cases, in my view, it felt like having both of them die at least in that update, the deaths also seemed to signal the idea of ceasing this concept of a dream and to face reality etc.

And that's something I'm super excited about based on where i am with HSR with arguing with Sunday over the concept of comfort vs freedom.

BUT BACK TO THE POINT OF THIS QUESTION: this concept and me fixating on their meanings, it gave me a reason to kinda put Firefly/Robin together. It's kinda nice parallel with each other in a way haha

[rev3rb]

Hey, I read the new chapter! And um, was The First… a good… dad?!?! Lol I am a bit surprised to see him care for Mika like that. Even with him talking about how naming someone is a curse, it seems like he does really love Mika, even if he thinks of it as a burden (which makes me wonder if it was rare for ppl/angels to have individual identities back then?). Even though it wouldn’t excuse his actions, it would be kinda wild if all this started just bc he wanted to save Mika, bc bitch same! I also want Mika to live lmao. Although this is just one memory so The First may still have ulterior motives.

I am a little confused about the emphasis of Angel Mika acting like both Yu/Mika. Like it could’ve been them just joking around, or it could be seriously hinting that something altered or maybe even split Mika’s personality?? Idk maybe I’m looking into things too much. We just get so little info at a time that I’m grasping for straws here a bit lol.

Also, I’m glad we got to see what Yu looked like. Plus the gender neutral pronouns to refer to Yu 👌

Honestly, I'm not that surprised that The First was a good dad. He's trying to bring Mika back, regardless of the costs, and if Owari no Seraph has taught us anything, it's that that kind of drive is borne out of love. Every single character that has been successful in any regard has had some sort of love driving them, and when they didn't, they were far less successful in their goals. There are only a few examples example I can think of where this isn't really the case. Kureto is one, and even then, Kureto does care. He just buries it because, while caring gives you strength, it also gives you a weakness, something that is a bit of a running theme in Catastrophe at 16. I guess there's also a case for Rigr, but again I'd argue that he cares for Urd in his own possibly backward way. The best case is probably Ferid? However, I digress. I think it makes perfect sense that The First's mission is one borne out of love. It's possible The First has ulterior motives, but I don't really think that's the case. I do think it's as simple as The First not being willing to let Mika go.

I'm glad you brought that up because I think that was the most interesting part of the chapter. There are so many reasons this could be the case, and I like your idea! It'd be an interesting path to take and I wonder what would have caused that.

I have a couple running ideas right now. First is that angel Mika did exactly what The First warned of and "cursed" that homunculus with a soul, and that IS Yu. This homunculus Yu then just proceeded to copy Mika's personality here as that's what they were familiar with. Plus, they say that you tend to copy the behaviors of those you like right? Another idea is that Yu and Mika actually somehow switched places/roles, but I'm less confident about that one. It doesn't make a lot of sense as we've seen Yu's memories of a time Mika shouldn't remember as he was dead at the time, but who knows. Wild stuff has already happened. The last idea is that when the first was trying to revive Mika, his failed experiments were Yu, which explains their similar personalities. What it fails to account for is why the Mika we know's personality is different then.

Yeah! It's interesting that Yu was just this "homunculus" that was apparently a companion/guardian for Mika. I guess it would make a sort of sense, and could tie back to the whole idea I had earlier about Yu being sort of manufactured to feel protective of Mika. However, I have a feeling that while Yu's role played into their proximity, Mika probably won over Yu on his own? I dunno. Hard to say without knowing how sentient these homunculi are.

Overall, I actually really enjoyed this chapter, and I get the feeling you did too. It's nice to finally get some notable forward progress and interactions here after so long.

[access--granted]

I'm bad at thinking on the spot, but I have some firm faves, lol. (Disclaimer, I accidentally wrote you an encyclopaedia, sorry!)

1. Jill. REmake was my first game early this year and I played as her. It's what sucked me into fullblown brainrot lmfao. I've played most of the series now and for the most part, Jill has remained one of the most consistent and realistic female characters throughout the series (imo). I mean, I've never looked at my screen an thought "has the director ever seen her character before? What the hell is this?" Which in RE is a rare occurrence lmfao! She isn't super, overly sexualised and I honestly just thoroughly enjoy her personality and story. She knows who she is and what her goals are. Death Island absolutely solidified this for me. It made me feral, I stg. Her arc was phenomenal. I want a brand new Jill campaign. I need her as a main game character again soon. She's one of the best. SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE WITH CHRIS KILLING WESKER INSTEAD OF SHEVA SOMEBODY HAS TO SAY IT. An original that holds her own. Just... *chefs kiss*.

2. Claire. Similar reasons to Jill. She has clear motivations and a good arc. Her campagin is my favourite part of RE2make and I think it's shamefully underrated. I found her realtionship with Sherry a lot more significant than Leons and honestly, her A playthrough was just... better? That's perisnal opinion though. I wish they'd let this woman buy a new outfit. She's worn the same jacket since '98. Recycling queen I guess, lmfao. I don't think people really give her enough attention or credit. She's incredibly kind and patient but could also beat me to a pulp. Phenomenal.

3. Chris. Okay, a few iffy portrayals but he's overall a very solid character. I like him so much because he's a "terrifying but actually very soft and huggable" trope in my mind, lmao. I can't shake the Awkward Father vibe, no matter how many 400lbs machine guns he plays around with. I just think he's very tired and wants to watch a football game with friends. Give him a break.

4. Ethan Winters. It's fucking Ethan Winters. Ethan and Rose were excellent new additions to the cast. I adored them. They were something different, refreshing, realistic (minus the lego man hands... dude's made of mold tho so...) and just very likeable. Dude just chills in the background at functions wanting to go home.

5. Leon. Leon's equally one of the most interesting but frustrating protagonists. I think his OG progression is a complete mess. There's some parts I love, some parts I think make zero sense. I always got the sense that they wanted to be ambitious with Leon, but didn't know what the audience would and wouldn't accept. Does this man have a personality? Yes, we'll hint at one, but we absolutely must adhere to naughts cringe hero stereotype just incase. He often leaves me perplexed, but I enjoy him. He's fun to nitpick and study (and make fun of!!!) and he arguably has one of the most interesting long-term stories. I think remakes are going harder to bring this to light. At it's core, the Leon story is about his relationship with corruption, the government and how he deals with it and who to trust. It could be... SOMETHING. I think we're getting there. The changes in remakes are making it more and more possible. They're taking risks and it greatly benefits him as a character overall. He makes sense. He's understandable.

(PS a lot of this sounds like nonsensical jumbled ass, I'm so sorry lmao. I did not sleep and I need pain meds today bc hashtag chronic pain. If this message is total dumbassery jibberish you have my deepest apologies!)

Ahhh, hi! I absolutely love a good old encyclopedia ask, don't you worry. (And you're probably gonna get a long ass answer too, lmao).

REmake Jill is my favourite Jill. Her kick ass determination and personality are just so good. She was my first ever example of a strong female character as a kid, and she's always been my absolute fave. Totally agree with you that DI sold her to me even more. She desperately needs a new campaign in a mainline game ASAP, I've missed her too damn much.

I feel like Claire has had most hate in the franchise (in my personal experience, at least), and honestly, I don't get the whole "Claire is so annoying" crap I've seen people say in the past. She has good motivation. A college student going to search for her S.T.A.R.S member brother when she doesn't hear from him, only to survive a hellish night amidst a viral outbreak and cure a child? So badass.

Chris is 100% awkward dad vibes despite his badassery and boulder punching skills, no doubt about it. He's more sensitive than people understand him to be. (Which literally makes no sense, considering how broken he is whenever someone he cares about doesn't make it, lol). Let this man live, put his feet up and relax.

Ethan, my guy. I fucking love him so much. I remember how so many people hated him, back when RE7 first came out. "Oh, but he's just some random guy who is looking for his missing wife. How boring." Uh, isn't that what makes him so much more interesting? He's not an agent, or a S.T.A.R.S member, or whatever like the others are. He's a man willing to go above and beyond to save someone he loves. He gets put through so much shit and still selflessly sacrifices himself. What a guy.

Leon is a hot mess (affectionately). Capcom wanted to do things with OG Leon, and they just didn't know how to go about it. He's definitely a fun one to pick apart and analyse. You're right, though. I definitely think they could really polish what kind of character they want him to be with future installments since they've already gotten him to a pretty decent place already. I've always loved him, but he sure has been a roller coaster ride, hahaha.

Honestly, I always love getting long asks like this, especially from mutuals I wanna talk more to. It's just a shame I'm such a socially awkward coward and can't initiate conversation myself. 😂 I had a lot of fun answering this, so thank you, and I really hope you can rest up soon!

[gaffney]

Are Charlie/Jesse your OTP?

ALRIGHT SO!!! yes… but also no…? charlie’s my favorite character, and  i like him with a lot of people (linda included, which i know isn’t a popular opinion in this fandom lmao). i especially love him with adam, and i think he’d be a great match for julie. likewise with jesse, i also like him with quite a few others. the mighty ducks: a polycule… so i don’t really have an otp??? i guess???  why settle for one true pairing when you can have several 😩

but i do have the biggest soft spot for charlie/jesse. i think their characters complement each other a lot, in a way i don’t think other characters do (especially with charlie). lemme try to piece my thoughts together below a cut.

throughout the trilogy, we see that charlie is a kid who is incredibly attached–if not the one who is the most attached–to the ducks as a team. (or at least, his version of the ducks, considering he walked out on the team in d3 when he didn’t think it was the team he loved anymore). he goes to extreme lengths to keep it intact & thriving, and i think that’s partly why he’s such a great captain: his dedication. he shows up on the ice when no one else (except fulton) does. he tries to get bombay to come back/make him see sense. he welcomes adam to the team (or tries to), despite an earlier scene showing us that he doesn’t like the idea. he goes to the lengths to recruit russ, and then later gives up his spot for him, and adam, because charlie’s aware they’re better players than him and the team needs their skills more. (funnily enough, these are also the two people he tries to fight in d3 because he thinks they’ve “betrayed” the team/what it stands for). he encourages his teammates, helps/guides them, and protects them. they’re his flock.

they’re also jesse’s flock. he’s charlie’s equal in that he’s the team’s unofficial leader who looks after them about as much as charlie does (with the added bonus of the ducks actually listening to him lmao). like, his very first scene is when he tells the ducks to relax because “he’s got this” while they’re walking up to someone who they think is a drug dealer–even though he was clearly also nervous, jesse put himself in front of the ducks as a shield (and he later does this again, when they’re corned by the hawks, even though the movie cuts it off)!! when bombay disrespects them, jesse lets him know he’s the one in the wrong. he stops charlie from welcoming adam because adam/the hawks used to bully them (and i think it’s important to note that this clearly made an impact on adam, as he entrusted jesse specifically with the task to “kick some hawk butt” and they become close). he’s got a quick temper but it’s typically with good reason, like becoming annoyed with russ after he trash talks connie’s goal.

so when it comes to them together, i love that jesse is pretty much the only duck that charlie does not try to mother hen. he trusts him to lead when charlie doesn’t/can’t (like talking back to bombay in d2) and, even when charlie disagrees with jesse’s assessment (like in the locker room scene with adam, or when jesse quits the team in d1), he doesn’t try to argue against him like he has with other people. when tasked with getting the flock back together, jesse’s the one charlie looks for first. and in turn, when jesse–for the first time in the franchise–seems uncertain of what to do because he doesn’t know if he can trust bombay, charlie is the one jesse looks to. 

SO BASICALLY, the main reason why i love them? they’re (written in a way that makes them) evenly matched. they’re two sides of the same coin. they’re the tip of the flying v. i mean, and this is a headcanon because none of these kids ever had a conversation that wasn’t about hockey, i like to think that jesse is someone who charlie doesn’t have to be in constant captain mode with, someone he can and does lean on (literally). which i also think is a reason why charlie was kinda obnoxious in d3. i mean, don’t even get me STARTED on how he kirby’d jesse, but there was no one to balance charlie out anymore. no one there to *charlie voice* give him a break!!! which meant he was in constant “i am the captain AND leader” mode, which was very exhausting. still, i think it made sense for his character.. (join me again next time where i go in depth about charlie’s abandonment issues).

anyway that was a lot of word vomit. tldr: i love charlie/jesse because they’re equals and they’re married. goodbye the end 😭😭😭