#you know just in case tho i tried to keep this spoiler free

[coreytaylr]

speculations and thoughts but in a wholesome and IM SO EXCITED way (crossposting from twt @/fxnghxol)

you know feel free to disagree but i think it's so important for stede's character to have this unhinged pirate era bc ultimately, this is how hes gonna realize what he truly wants - a life with ed. he never had the opportunity to feel badass, to drink and behave so recklessly. hes kind of having his teenager era where he can finally experiment and experience things he never even thought of.

ed had plenty of time to experience this exact life and he realized it's not for him. now it's time for him to experience domesticity to realize if thats what HE truly wants. and how and with whom he wants it. (and this is where anne and mary come into the picture; retired pirates who found a way OUT - this plotline is going to be so fucking exciting oh my ogd. them showing ed that it IS possible to live a life after being a pirate, that he deserves a life after being a pirate, that it's okay to want this and there is a way to have it.)

they both have to go in different ways and on different journeys to come to terms with themselves and their respective needs and wants. and, at the end, when they both realize that what they truly want is the other in their lives, it's gonna be so fulfilling (not just for them, but for the audience too.)

do i want them to spend the majority of the season together and not separate? YES OBVISOULY I WANT TO SEE THE PIRATES IN LOVVE AND HAPPY

but i honestly think this is the only way for them to have a healthy relationship. they both need to have this freedom, to find out who they are without any masks and pressure from someone. this is how the REAL ed and stede are able to have a happily ever after. and im sooo glad and excited to see their separate journeys and where it leads them and how it changes them and makes them grow. 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

[justanotherblogger]

JUST WATCHED EPISODES 7 AND 8 AND UNHOLY SH-

Look at all that Alastor LORE!!!!!

I AM SO EXCITED YOU DONT EVEN KNOW PEOPLE. WE HAVE BEEN FED WELL.

I also want to say that I was so freaking right in my first ramble about Alastor. Almost everything but his human life was freaking given to me in these episodes! I am very happy. Previous Ramble

*Ahem* Now, this is just a small analysis of Alastor scenes from both episodes, and I'll probably post my theories and stuff about it in a seperate post! I am currently frothing at the mouth. Obvious spoilers ahead!

Ok, so the first thing I saw was how Alastor jumped at the opportunity to go up to talk personally with Charlie.

Episode 7 thoughts:

I tried to steer away from sneak peak and spoilers, but I did get bombarded with little gifs of Alastor kicking his feet on Charlie's bed. Ruined the freaking surprise.

Anyways, Alastor obviously seemed to coerce Charlie into feeling rushed to a decision, which was obviously a deal with him.

I didn't expect him not to go for Charlie's soul. I saw so many people theorizing that was why he was at the hotel in the first place, and everything that lead up to Alistor finally making a deal throughout the other episodes, was a favor. A favor that didn't involve harm, no less.

This is still something very big, especially a favor from a princess of hell. I think the favor he needs eventually might be to help him break free of his leash, or to help protect him when he finally does in case things go south afterwards. Or maybe it could be a favor to somehow see how his mother is doing, the first much more dramatic, but I'd be happy with either.

Now there's Alastors demon form during the deal. Unholy cow, there's a lot to unpack. The first thing I noticed was Alastors FULLY STICTED smile. Like, entirely across. This could just be his true demonic from, or someone else did this to him to keep him smiling. From slipping up in his forced persona.

We also see how he can't stop smiling, even when by himself, drained of power, and hurt in his destroyed radio tower after the sngel attack. He rants and seemingly has a breakdown, but keeps smiling.

This could be how, like I said in my previous ramble, he uses his smile as a shield and as a defense for himself, like he stated to Charlie during the deal scene. Or, it's permanently there because it's just what he got stuck with in hell, or someone wanted to keep him smiling.

Speaking of which, the color is what's bothering me. There isn't much green in the pride ring other than Alastor himself. Almost every attack he's thrown has had green in it, with the crazy floating symbols, his explosions, and his void he controls has a bit of green. He can also invert colors. Why is that, when everything about him is red and black, matching the pride ring, his stitches and powers are green, like someone else's power.

There's also stitching all over his clothing, maybe as symbolism to keeping the persona up that the person who has his leash has made for him to play at the hotel.

Moving on to cannibal town, I adore Alastor and Rosie together. They bounce off each other well and just seem like real good friends. Love their dynamic! (Also, WOOOOOH! Canon Ace Alastor! Well, from Rosie. STILL THO! I am so happy, from a fellow asexual)

I was kind of sad when I realized Alastor could speak without his radio in hand when Charlie went singing with it as Alastor advertised the Executioner meat awaiting all the cannibals, with Charlie still holding the microphone. Would've been some entertaining stuff if he couldn't talk without it.

I don't really have much else to say about cannibal town, other than the Alastor comment near the end where it seems he's considering manipulating her to keep her on his side, to keep him on the winning one.

Now, episode 8.

This episode was a lot. In a good way, but still a lot.

Before the exterminators, everyone in the main cast was drinking, relaxing, and saying possible final goodbyes. Not Alastor. He was up on the balcony, watching the scene unfold.

They talk about how they enjoy the main casts company, and Alastor feels a bit sentimental as he admits he could get accustomed. Focus on the could part of that. He seems to imply he can't stay or things can't stay this way for long. Is it because of the reason he's at the hotel?

I do love Nifty and Alastor interactions. I wonder why they're so close compared to everyone else's relationship with Alastor in the main cast. Could they both be under the same leash, leaving some sympathy forbthe other? Or maybe Alastor just likes to see that gremlins shenanigans.

Now to the actual battle, Alstor was freaking peak at the beginning! His shield literally blocked off all angel interactions from the outside to keep the troops away, and it didn't even seem to tire out Alastor in the slightest!

The thing with him controlling those void tentacles to hold angelic weapons to kill the outsiders trying to break through is also just so cool to see because of Alastors ingenuity.

It took a strike from Adam just to break it, and I feel that's an accomplishment. For Adam to do something himself that all the other angels can't I feel is impressive, because he's not the head of the angelic army for no reason. I doubt heaven is that stupid to give a f-boy full control over the troops with no talent or experience to plan or lead them, at least.

Now for the Adam vs Alastor battle.

This had me at the edge of my seat, begging for Alastor not to be the one to be killed off this season.

I knew Alastor wasn't going to win, but he did have a good start. It seemed like he was toying and not taking this seriously, with full confidence in his abilities.

But that was until Adam finally got serious again, and broke his radio staff. His metaphorical (maybe literal based on his reaction) wall of defense.

This had me shook, as I saw my boy get beat in a couple of seconds. The radio staff was probably the source of at least a bit of his power from this person holding his leash, as he was worried enough about it to curse with no static in his voice during mid battle, leaving himself wide open. Or maybe this was just one of the times Alastor slipped up. It could also be the reason why he only used shadows, one of his only not-green abilities.

He still could move and talk, and I doubt he could attack or summon anything after being DIRECTLY HIT, POINT BLANK, WITH AN ANGELIC WEAPON, FROM PROBABLY ONE OF THE STRONGEST ANGELS IN THAT FREAKING EXTERMINATION, WHILE FREAKING SURVIVING AND GETTING BETTER THROUGHOUT JUST A COUPLE OF HOURS AT MOST.

(Also, shut up Vox. I know you freaking have the hate/obsession going on with the guy, but he probably lasted better than you could have, especially since you would've most likely been wire spaghetti after that hit from Adam)

I just realized that when rewatching, as before, I was just focusing on hoping he wouldn't be the one to die. But how did he survive that, and get pretty much better as soon as he got back to the radio tower? Maybe radio waves heal him, or he just has crazy recovery speed.

Now to the long awaited radio tower scene. I was hoping he would've gotten his own song by now, but maybe that shows how he needs someone else's push to be able to push on his own, like both his duets in the previous episodes.

Maybe we'll get an emotional song from him in the future. Crossing my fingers for that and a S2 as soon as possible!

Now the actual scene got me thinking. How Alastor is DEFINITELY under someone's control, as he also explicitly states it was a deal. Most likely for his soul, considering his want for freedom and to be able to do his own thing again.

I did see how Alastor was so desperate in his song snip about how he needs to find a way out of this deal he has made, with some of the most raw expressions we've seen of him to date.

But something did strike me. That on line from his song.

That's a bit of weird wording there Viv. Like, I know this is like an implication for his freedom, but imagine Alastor was a fallen angle or heavenly deity of some kind, like how the Cherubs got banished from heaven in Helluva Boss. Might explain how he didn't immediately die from Adams attack. (As you can see, I'm a bit delusional. But imagine if I was right tho)

But do imagine though, what this might imply for Alastor. How maybe the leash is holding something more than just his freedom, maybe how Alastor might've been even more powerful than he is right now, with the holder keeping some of his original raw power from his grasp, making him rely on their green power to survive and stay at the top.

The green light surrounding him with the line about him pulling the strings might also be how Alastor might want to take his holder's place, how when he's finally free from them he'll finally be able to take over that green with his own power, with his shadow.

I'm still wondering if Alastor is hiding side affects or pain from getting a beat down courtesy of Adam at the end there, as he seemed to take the most damage out of everyone while staying 'alive'.

Anyways, I need to wake up early tomorrow, and writing this in the middle of the night as it struck won't be pleasant for future me, but at least I could get all my thoughts together.

I am still obsessed with this deer man, if you couldn't tell already. I am so tired. If you saw any typos, no, you actually didn't.

[the-ravenclaw-werewolf]

I would love see that! Tho I imagine some of the more dangerous ones are more far away. Tho like is villain organization also a part of this? Because I think it be interesting to see how some of them will reaction to how the other run. For example Shigaraki actually give the League of Villains more freedom and does treat them with respect. But someone like Muzan who is a control freak over Twelve Kizuki and willing to kill them off.

It would be interesting to see different teams of antagonists interact with each other. From arguing over their ideologies to trying to defend themselves (if they do at all) with their motives/backstory(s). Not the mentions the fights, like the Twelve Kizuki vs the League of Villains. (i.e. Toga vs Daiki or Dabi vs Doma)

Disclaimer:

However I, at first, tried to bring more than one villain from the same show since not all of these here are real antagonists, but then it would make watching these other shows pointless. And there will end up being more characters to keep track of. So I, and Entity, apologize in advance to all the normal people in this list.

(But whoever picks this up, it's up to them to do just 40 antagonists or pick just a few or more.)

(And remember, ALL of this is also subject to change since this just a bunch of ideas FUNINTHEEYEOFMADNESS and I came up together on the spot.)

🚨 THIS IS ALSO ANYONE'S MINOR SPOILER WARNING JUST IN CASE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! 🚨

Title:

The Antagonist’s Role (Some Conventional)

or something else (In the title I’m trying to convey that these people are the antagonist to the protagonist, but some only fill in that role because of convention).

Synopsis:

Spin-off fic, (non-canon), where the Entity is feeling vindictive against the antagonists of the 40's stories, so it makes another dimension kidnaps the antagonists of the 40. It doesn’t want to take those who are innocent, but there will be an imbalance to the universes if it tries to take more than one from the same dimension, (excluding the 40).

Just like MCS (WE), it will be a reaction fic to their respective stories. However, since Entity wants to rub salt into the wound, the antagonist will also be reacting to what is happening with the 40 cast, showing that they are growing, healing, and all around just doing better than they are.

Characters:

Now some characters are obvious, but others are just antagonists by convention:

Cowboy Bebop: Vicious

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Ozai

Legend of Korra: Amon OR Unalaq OR Zaheer OR Kuvira

Ouran Highschool Host Club: Benio "Benibara" Amakusa (Everything about this woman wants to make me pull out my own hair!)

Death Note: Light Yagami

Black Butler: The Undertaker

Hetalia: Belarus (Listen… if RUSSIA is scared of her, then you need to run for the hills!)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Father

Blue Exorcist: Satan

Hunter x Hunter: Hisoka Morrow OR Chrollo Lucilfer OR Meruem

Kuroko’s Basketball: Daiki Aomine OR Seijūrō Akashi OR Makoto Hanamiya

Attack on Titan: Zeke Yeager

Danganronpa: Junko Enoshima

Free!: Rin Matsuoka (I know I shouldn’t do this to him, but he was an antagonist during the beginning.) OR Hiyori Tono (I still hate him for what he said to Haru!)

Kill la Kill: Ragyō Kiryūin

Haikyuu: Oikawa Tooru (I am not dissing him, I love his character! But he was the antagonist to beat.)

Assassination Classroom: The Reaper

Food Wars!: Azami Nakiri

One Punch Man: Garou

Erased: Gaku Yashiro

My Hero Academia: All for One OR Shigaraki

Mob Psycho 100: Toichiro Suzuki

Yuri on Ice: Jean-Jacques Leroy (I don’t hate him, but like some of the others, he is pretty much antagonistic to the cast of YOI.)

Kiss Him, Not Me: Takeru Mitsuboshi

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K: Kusuke Saiki

Miss Kobayashi Dragon Maid: Jida/Jii

The Royal Tutor: Ernst Rosenberg

Kakegurui: Kirari Momobami

Cells at Work: Cancer Cell

The Promised Neverland: Isabella OR Peter Ratri

Love is War: Oko Shinomiya

Fruits Basket: Akito Sohma

Demon Slayer: Muzan

Dr. Stone: The Whyman

Given: Ayano Kasai (I know she is not an antagonist, but she was a little antagonistic.)

Beastars: Melon

Welcome to Demon School Iruma Kun: Ami Kirio OR Baal

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun: Yugi Tsukasa

Jujutsu Kaisen: Sukuna OR Geto

SK8 the Infinity: Ainosuke Shindo/ADAM

Setting:

Instead of a mansion, the Entity makes a prison for them to stay in. There are three levels of the prison:

Level 1: Misplaced

These are characters where they go up against one of the 40/interact with them, but it doesn’t mean they are evil or mean, they just happened to be the antagonists of one of the 40’s stories. They are given actual rooms, their own bathrooms, good meals plus desserts, good clothes, and misc. items to entertain themselves. (Plus their own kitchen, gym, craft room, etc.)

(This will house:

Oikawa Tooru

Jean-Jacques Leroy

Ayano Kasai)

Level 2: Disciplined

It’s almost the same as Level 1 except they are the bad guys of their stories but they actually have shot at redemption. They will have their own room, but only with the bare necessities. They are still served food, but any desserts, misc. items, or any kind of reward will only be given if they actually work to redeem themselves.

(This will house:

Benio "Benibara" Amakusa

Belarus

Daiki Aomine OR Seijūrō Akashi OR Makoto Hanamiya

Rin Matsuoka OR Hiyori Tono

Garou

Takeru Mitsuboshi

Kusuke Saiki

Ernst Rosenberg

Kirari Momobami

Cancer Cell

Isabella (If you choose her)

Oko Shinomiya

The Whyman)

Level 3: DETAIN

There are the worst of the worse, monsters, villains, you name it. They will basically be treated like prisoners for their stay. All of them wear collars that not only block their powers but will shock them if they attempt to do anything remotely evil, violent, etc.

(This will house:

Vicious

Ozai

Amon OR Unalaq OR Zaheer OR Kuvira

Light Yagami

The Undertaker

Father

Satan

Hisoka Morrow OR Chrollo Lucilfer OR Meruem

Zeke Yeager

Junko Enoshima

Ragyō Kiryūin

The Reaper

Azami Nakiri

Gaku Yashiro

All for One OR Shigaraki

Toichiro Suzuki

Jida/Jii

Peter Ratri (If you choose him)

Akito Sohma

Muzan

Melon

Ami Kirio OR Baal

Yugi Tsukasa

Sukuna OR Geto

Ainosuke Shindo/ADAM)

All levels are separated by another floor, with Level 3 in the basement to Level 1 at the top. There is around the clock monitoring thanks to Indigo and they are allowed outside, but Level 3 are the only ones who are scheduled with times and such.

The ground level is where they’ll be viewing what is going on with the 40. And the Entity is much more involved. FUNINTHEEYEOFMADNESS came up with the idea that to the people in Level 1 it would talk to the occupants like an empathic therapist. Level 2 is a no nonsense tough love overseer with the same empathy. And Level 3 is where the Entity will be the jail guard/jester/tormenter, pointing out their flaws, the pyrrhic victories and just rubbing it in. And, for the more arrogant of the prisoners, it will showcase their reality warping abilities to prove a point.

To quote FUNINTHEEYEOFMADNESS, "I would also imagine that for level's 2 and three the entity would make the prisoners do prison chores, but only to prove a point and make them build character. As any real chore can be solved by their reality warping effects."

The prison island would even be surrounded by an Eldritch Abomination to replace the ocean and act as a deterrent to kept them from trying to escape, (not that they could).

Something like this:

The Eldritch surrounding the island is obviously alive, but it reacts differently to the people coming outside. For Level 1, it will act similar to a puppy and all round just be playful and helpful to them. With Level 2 it will act indifferent, not choosing to intervene but will do so if necessary. But if someone from Level 3 steps outside without permission, it will go into berserk mode.

Ending:

Since this non-canon, it's kind of opened ended, but this what FUNINTHEEYEOFMADNESS and I came up with:

They will all have their memories erased OR only Level 3 will have their memories erased, (to which they will get back when they 💀) while Level 1 and those who redeemed themselves from Level 2 will keep their memories.

As to their connection to the 40, there are two scenarios:

1. Those who kept their memories while contact them when they get the chance and apologizes/helps the MCS (WE) cast with their adventures.

2. Somehow, someway, the 40 finds out what the Cloaked Figure is doing, those who have the unredeemable villains would see this a fitting punishment while those who have antagonists who are still redeemable or who are just antagonists by convention would ask if the Entity is insane. (And might even ask Entity to allow those of Level 1 to come back with them to the mansion and Level 2 once they’ve redeemed themselves.)

Reaction/Interaction Excerpts:

And of course, how can a can this be a reaction fic with some reactions?

To their stories/the 40:

To quote FUNINTHEEYEOFMADNESS again, "I would imagine they would either be downtrodden, guilty or seething in jealously. Another good point, since the 40 story is about hurt and comfort, the characters learning from each other and making themselves feel better, the villainous 40 would be judged by their peers and criticized. This can range from insults, being appalled by each other's actions or just rubbing it in each other in a sense of hypocritical moral superiority."

To each other:

Level 3 would have those arguing who had the better plan, motive, who had the harder protagonist to deal with etc. Basically an ego measuring contest. And the other levels would want to stay far away from them.

Level 2 would have them defending their case on why they did such actions, even though most of them won’t buy it, and some would actually engage in nice conversations. Level 3 would just call them pathetic while Level 1 would attempt to be friendly, as long as Level 2 cooperates.

Level 1 are just confused about why they are there and want to go home. Reactions to each other may vary, but they would be nice and comfort each other while allowing themselves to relax slightly since they are living much more luxuriously then they had been before. Level 3 and the stubborn half of Level 2 would be glaring at them while the redeemable half of Level 2 would be glad that they are in good living conditions.

How they would interact:

Level 3:

Ozai, Satan, Ragyō Kiryūin, Azami Nakiri, Toichiro Suzuki, and Akito Sohma would all be complaining to each other of how their bloodline/family members are such failures and how they would want to exact their revenge for going against them. They still don't get along, but they bond over that.

Light Yagami would keep trying to argue that he is not a villain, that he is a god, and all that nonsense, and it's usually Sukuna OR Geto, who yells at him to shut up and threatens to strangle him, shock collars be damn.

Yugi Tsukasa and Junko, somehow, bond over how much joy it bring them to see others in despair.

ADAM and Hisoka (if you chose him) would share in how they are looking for the most skilled/strongest, but when ADAM learn that Hisoka is a... ADAM would request a restraining order against him.

Amon OR Unalaq OR Zaheer OR Kuvira and Zeke Yeager would indulge in their own ideas of equality and freedom along with their radical methods of how to achieve such goals, (Light wouldn't be in this since he sees them as criminals and not himself, talk about hypocrite.)

With every interaction and banter Undertaker would just be shaking and crying with laughter as he finds all of this to be hilarious.

Level 2:

Benibara, Seijūrō Akashi (if you chose him), Kusuke Saiki, Kirari Momobami, and Oko Shinomiya would all be fighting for the leadership role in the group, and some of them are willing to draw blood to get it. (But it's Isabella, again if you chose her, who assumes the leadership role.)

Kusuke would actually try to study Cancer Cell while Garou would also be demanding to fight him to determine who is the strongest. This resulted in the two being threaten by Cancer Cell on a weekly, to daily, basis to stop.

The Whyman would just watch the humans being stupid.

Level 1:

All three of them get along, even though both Oikawa and JJ has egos the size of a house, (though these two would share in their woes of how they are the best and yet always fall short to someone else), and the three would comfort each other if need be. And JJ, who is the oldest in the group, would unconsciously take up the parental role.

Conclusion:

It the same premise as MCS (WE) except that this centered around the antagonists of the stories and most of them are either getting treated like the scumbags they are or are getting redeemed.

I'm not sure if FUNINTHEEYEOFMADNESS or if anyone else is going to actually write this, but if anyone does, or if they just what to keep bouncing around ideas, I'll happily lend a hand and or ear!

[sdr2lovemail]

I just noticed that you are alive again! So um.. I've been thinking for QUITE a while of a relationship Ultimate Impostor x Ultimate Leader (in the killing game ig?), idk why. If the requests are closed feel free to ignore this. Thank you!

You could say that I am a fan of Imposter's work. Even tho there is not a lot of content about them out there I still love them dearly.

And yes I died for a minute but have risen from the grave to continue my writing career. I hope you enjoy what I have written my friend because I absolutely love it.

⚔Mod Peko⚔

Spoilers for chapter 1

The Ultimate Imposter disguised as Byakuya Togami and the Ultimate Leader butt heads but also kinda wanna kiss each other

Teenagers and a killing game are bound to fall into chaos. Teenagers, a killing game, and no supervision will cause more chaos. That’s why they need a leader. Someone strong and brave to guide them. However two ultimates wanting to be that leader, teenagers, a killing game, and no supervision will cause even more chaos.

Breakfast was a usually calm time. Everyone just wanted to eat and get on with finding a way off this forced school trip. However there were some mornings where everyone seemed to be full of energy. Akane and Nekomaru were engaged in a fierce 1v1 training session. Chairs, tables, and food flying throughout the air from the power of their moves. The restaurant was in total disarray and with your talent of being a leader you must do something to calm the crowd. Standing up you set your arms behind your back and call out to your classmates.

“Everyone! This is-”

“Sit down, common folk. You will all cease this foolish behavior and stop wasting food.”

“Huh?”

At the mention of wasting food Akane quickly stops her fighting. She then pulls up a table and chair from the mess of the restaurant and begins to chow down. You look at where the voice came from and see Twogami sitting at a table with a plate. Just because this guy is loaded he thinks he can be a better leader than you? Oh you will just have a quick word with him to set the record straight. With quick strides you tap him on the shoulder giving him your best stern look. This look helped you strike the feeling of order into people. But Twogami doesn’t look impressed at all?! No you can’t let him see you falter. Standing up straighter than ever you begin to speak.

‘Hey what’s the big idea? I’m the Ultimate leader. I don’t need your help guiding our class.” You told him with a grim expression. Twogami gave you a look over before setting down his fork. He wipes his mouth off with a napkin before standing to face you. His intimidation factor was off the charts. Can money buy such a scary aura?! After adjusting his glasses he begins to speak with a sigh.

“Listen I, Byakuya Twogami, am much better suited to be in charge. You may have your impeccable wits and title but that is nothing compared to being next in the Togami line. Now are we done here? I would like to finish my food”

Not even giving you a chance to respond he goes right back to eating. Even with your ultimate status this guy intimidates you a lot. But you will not be backing down. He thinks he’s so high and mighty you’ll show him high and mighty.

The days feel like they’re getting heavier. Monokuma’s annoying voice rings in your ears. There’s no way you’d believe that memory loss garbage….And even if you did, you had to stay strong for everyone. Twogami’s party did nothing to calm the tense feeling in the air. You decided you were going to check this abandoned building from top to bottom before anyone steps foot inside.

You do not see Nagito when you first step in. Maybe he’s cleaning somewhere else. Teruteru was said to be in the kitchen. Entering the main room of the building you see Twogami rifling through what looks to be a metal case. Hearing the floors creak under your weight he looks over. Upon seeing you he sends a glare.

“And what are you doing here? I don’t remember you having to prepare anything.” There was a doubtful tone to his voice. Twogami was trying to let this party go off without a hitch. And he wasn’t going to let some commoner ruin his plans. Though behind the rich boy costume Imposter did feel kinda bad. They felt like they were trampling all over your pride with their Byakuya act. However this was their ultimate. And as Twogami….No. Just as themself, if that even existed, they will keep their classmates safe. Even if they have to hurt some feelings.

“As a leader it is my duty to keep everyone in order and assure maximum safety. I plan to do a total sweep of the place before the party.” And like he did to you, you did not give him a chance to answer. You quickly turn around and exit out into the hallway missing the look of awe on Twogami’s face. Walking past the fire door you come up to the kitchen. Before you can reach for the door it swings open revealing Nagito. Strange….If Teruteru was already in the kitchen there was no need for Nagito to be in there. The lucky student passed by with a smile yet spoke no words towards you. Also strange. Nagito usually said something when passing. He deemed it rude not to say hello to an ultimate.

Entering the kitchen you see Teruteru at the counter. He doesn’t seem to notice you coming in. The usual smile on his face is replaced with a look of fear and he’s shaking like a leaf. Stepping closer seems to have caught his attention as he jumps. The look of fear is swiftly changed into a smile yet he’s still shaking. Teruteru then grabs a knife and begins chopping at some vegetables. Seems as if he’s trying to make it seem like he was simply taking a break.

“W-Why hello there. Heh, what could I do for you?” He’s shaken up quite a bit. Not a single flirty remark in that sentence and Teruteru sure did like to tease about your strong authority. You stand tall and look down at the chef. He visibly shrinks back. Looking him dead in the eye you start to command him.

“You will tell me what you have discussed with Nagito Komaeda.”

This caused Teruteru to tense up. Setting down the knife he grabs a comb from his pocket and begins to bring it through his hair. Though there isn’t a hair out of place on his pompadour. Appears to be a nervous habit.

“I uh….I have no idea what you mean mon ami~. We were simply discussing plans for the upcoming party.” Teruteru had tried to come off as collected but you knew better. He wasn’t making eye contact and he was constantly fidgeting. Nagito told him something and you were going to find out what.

“Teruteru Hanamura! I command you to tell me what Nagito had told you. Simple party plans would not have such an impact on your demeanor.”

This seemed to have caused a reaction in him. He began to blubber as words poured out of his mouth like a dam cracking under pressure.

“He came in here and told me that he had plans to murder someone at the party with the knife he had hidden under one of the tables in the dining room. He planned to overload the breaker in here with irons in the storage room to cause a blackout so he could grab the knife and kill someone during the party. I-I begun to form my own plan of stopping him….by….killing him?” The last part of his word vomit stuck with Teruteru. He would’ve had someone’s blood on his hands and would send the rest of his class to their own demise. “Oh my god I was going to kill him!” Teruteru then sinks to his knees before you.

Your face softens as you see the mess of a chef on the ground. Nagito was planning a murder? Why would he share this information with Teruteru? Dropping down to his level you set a careful hand on Teruteru’s back. “Listen. I’m going to go grab Twogami and you’re going to tell him what happened. And we’ll come up with a solution.” You normally wouldn’t call for backup, but as this was his party you felt he had the right to know.

You cautiously leave the kitchen and begin to look for the blond. Not able to find him in the building you exit to the hotel grounds. Noticing the while suit and blonde hair you call out to him and ask for him to come back. Leading him to the kitchen where Teruteru still sits slumped on the ground he listens to what you already know.

A look of disgust crosses Twogami’s face before he sets off to the main room. After announcing your departure to Teruteru, you follow him. Nagito is there setting up tables and dusting the furniture. He was about to offer the two of you a cheerful greeting but is cut off by your demand for him to exit the grounds. Not wanting to upset an ultimate that is clearly in higher ranks than he is, Nagito does not question it. He leaves the abandoned building to rest in his cottage to wait for permission to be allowed back in.

Looking under the tables you find the knife that Teruteru had mentioned. Grabbing it proceeds to coat your hand in wet paint. So Nagito had just planted this. But what’s the paint for?

“Set the knife in the duralumin case I brought on the left. I am currently using it to store anything I deem unsafe.”

You let out a scoff before setting the knife in the case. He sure does love bossing people around even in dire situations. Well….I guess that’s your talent so you can’t really speak. After doing a check of the rest of the tables, Twogami walks up to you with something in his hand. It’s a handkerchief with the Togami family crest. Imposter spent many hours perfecting the stitching of the symbol. You give him a confused look about the offering. Seeing the expression he rolls his eyes.

“Close your mouth before flies start to swarm. This is to wipe your hand off. I don’t need paint smears ruining the image of my party.”

“What? I can’t wipe paint on something as expensive as that. That handkerchief probably cost more than my house. I’ll just go wash it in the bathroom.”

Upset by your stubborn nature, Twogami grabs your wrist and begins to wipe the paint off himself. After your hand is clean he drops the cloth into your hand. “I expect that to be washed before it’s returned to me. Now I have some important matters to discuss.”

Stuffing the handkerchief into your pocket you give Twogami your full attention.

“I have decided that after this little incident we need to up the security. I would ask Nekomaru but I wish to keep this between us. Letting the public know that two people were planning a murder would cause chaos. When it’s time for the party you will help me conduct body searches. I’d like for you to keep an eye on the party with me to make sure no suspicious activity is at play.”

While normally you would make a fuss about him bossing you around with people’s lives at stake it was simply not the time for that. Nodding once he finishes speaking, you and Twogami complete one last look of the place before the party starts.

It’s time for the party and the two of you are set up outside of the abandoned building. After checking everyone and confiscating anything deemed dangerous, the party is in full swing. Everything is going smoothly. 11:30 was nearing and at the corner of your eye you see Nagito inch closer to the table. Knowing you shut the irons off you pay this no mind. There’s no way he’d try to pull anything when everyone can see him. A quick look of confusion crosses his face as the lights are still on. The confused expression is swapped for one of despair. There’s a creepy smile on his face and his eyes are clouded. Even if the blackout did not occur Nagito can still pull through with his plan.

He suddenly flips the table cloth over and goes to reach for his knife. Everyone at the party has eyes on him. Before he can fully register that his knife is in fact missing Nagito is pushed to the ground. His arms are pressed against his back and his face is squished into the floor. Multiple confused cries echo throughout the dining hall. Nagito recognized this tactic. After hours upon hours of researching the ultimates he’s sharing a class with he could easily tell that this was your work.

Twogami with Nekomaru in tow walks over to you and the detained lucky student. An agitated expression is on the heir’s face. He looks down at Nagito.

“You dare to think that I would let your plan continue? [Name] and I knew about your scheme and were quick to put a stop to it. And the fact that you would try to pull through with it in broad light is despicable.”

Anger, disgust, and confusion are present in the crowd of your classmates. Trying to make sense of it all Akane speaks up.

“I’m so friggin’ confused. What plan did Nagito have? Need me to beat him up for ya?”

You were quick to diminish the violent thought. “No, that will not be necessary as he has already been disarmed.”

“Nagito had planned out a murder.”

Twogami’s words caused a commotion in the dining hall. After hearing the noise from the kitchen, Teruteru cautiously enters the room fearing the worst. Though a feeling of relief washed over him after seeing Nagito on the ground.

Nekomaru lets out a strangled noise. His teeth are clenched and his fists tightened.

“You were going to murder one of your classmates? THAT’S INEXCUSABLE! Please [Name] allow me to detain him somewhere away from everyone. SOMEONE LIKE HIM CANNOT WALK FREEEEE!”

Looking over to Twogami as if silently discussing what to do he sends you a nod. Removing Nagito from your grasp he is quickly put into Nekomaru’s. The coach is quick to remove him from the premises. With a sigh Twogami faces your classmates. Pushing his glasses up he begins to apologise.

“I am sorry you all had to see that. And I am sorry that my exquisite party must draw to a close here. Exit the building and head to your cottage for the night.”

Though shaken, everyone proceeds to leave in groups. No one wants to walk back alone fearing that someone will try something. With just you and Twogami left he turns to face you.

“That was quite impressive. What you did back there was helpful in getting Nagito detained. I believe that we should come to an agreement. Yes we are fine separately but together I feel that we could do an outstanding job at keeping everyone safe.”

Twogami extended a chubby hand out for you to shake. This handshake would seal the two of you into a partnership. One of which would keep your class safe. Looking from his hand to his face then back to his hand you sit there in thought. This could be a wonderful idea. With two people working together that’s like double the safety. With a smile you shake his hand giving it a tight squeeze.

“I think I’d like that Twogami! From here on out the two of us are now Jabberwock Island’s health and safety committee.”

[probably-haven]

Hello!

So I’m the anon who asked for more Archon War Venti headcanons and I just loved it! I really like reading your headcanons cuz some of them are similar to mine but mostly are headcanons that I didn’t think of so it really is nice to read and see your thoughts about Venti!

I feel like as if I’m asking too much but could you keep doing these types of headcanons? Like it doesn’t have to be Archon War headcanons but like some headcanons about Venti’s relationship with the Ragnvindrs and Gunnhildrs. Because the first Gunnhildr was the first one who prayed to Barbatos and the first Ragnvindr was his friend who left but came back and I really wanna hear your thoughts on that!

And I’ve decided to get off anon cuz you just replied to my texts and I wasn’t expecting that so I’ve got a short confidence boost that I am completely taking advantage of! And thanks for the advice! or uhh comment? observation? I’m not entirely sure but thank you for that! I’ve heard that be said to me a few times and I have been trying to be more, uhh, assertive so thanks for that!

rfouierjkhfkecs i actually came across information on Gunnhildr and the "Red-haired warrior" yesterday when i was doing more research into the rebellion against Decarabian and I was like "wow this would be really fucking fun to research and theorize on, but its too specific/niche to include unprompted no matter how much i want to" but bestie you prompted, and im literally so happy right now because I didn't think I'd ever really get the chance to post about them!

also lmao yeah, i tend to try and reply to as much as I can, since it's a good feeling when someone does and all. but yeah, no problem! I’m glad you felt confident enough to reveal XD. 

This may be structured a bit more like analysis/theory/just citing canon things at first before it gets into a more headcanony format.

ehe i have so much free reign on this it's lovely

More Archon War Era Venti: one two three

spoilers for Venti's backstory and Diluc's(kinda, i think, just in case)

first things first, laying down some canon background because before yesterday i hadn't heard of either of them outside of that one cutscene.

the very reason Decarabian had his storm wall up in the first place was because at the time Andrius had declared war on him- and his tower, and the city of Mondstadt by extent, were basically constantly under attack by Andrius's blizzards, which since he was still alive back then, were a lot bigger and covered basically what seems to be the whole of Mondstadt outside the barrier.

This meant that people had two options. Live in the city under Decarabian's oppression, or live outside the barrier, and brave the blizzards of a warring god... which was not a good idea

but the Gunnhildr clan(not yet called that) tried- and they almost died because of it. In the midst of a blizzard, the clan chief's daughter, named Gunnhildr(which the clan would be named after later) sent out a prayer that was heard by a wandering wind spirit. And the faith of that prayer gave the spirit enough power to create a small shelter to protect them.

When her father past, she became the new leader and also a priestess. She would later lead the clan to fight Decarabian alongside four others. And basically the Gunnhildr Clan ended up as like sworn protectors of Mondstadt

-

as for the red-haired warrior, who is basically assumed to be the earliest known ancestor of the Ragnvindir clan(im gonna refer to as Ragnvindir for convenience sake, even though "Ragnvindir" is technically a different character from Vanessa's era)theres not much information on him, but heres what i have from the various wiki's

- he was a wanderer

- one of the first to use the sign of windblume to find other rebels(so he's intelligent)

- actively propped up the nameless bard so he could watch as the tower was destroyed

there's this little tidbit too from the Windblume Ode bow's description that im probably gonna talk about a considerable amount too: "Atop the ruins of the ancient tower, amidst the cheers, songs, and tears of those who had newly won their freedom. A red-haired warrior turned his back on the newborn god, hidden like a single raindrop in a tidal wave of humanity. He was first among those who passed the secret sign of Windblume, the one who wove threads of dawn throughout the long night. His name has since been lost to time, but his deeds are still remembered in song." followed later by "The fate of this clan will likely never change: they shall ever live in the darkness and bring forth the flame of dawn."

-

Now I'm going to start with the Ragnvindir(geez, why's it spelled like that tho)

My idea of his character is basically formed by a mix of Ragnvindir stereotypes and just generally analyzing text.

So what do we know about Ragnvindir's for sure? they are shady motherfuckers- or at least they rarely operate in the spotlight. also damn, these guys are more cursed than anemo vision wielders- like the only one who didn't canonically lose someone close to them was Crepus, but considering that Diluc doesn't exactly have a mom..... he probably did

so what do we know? - he was close with the nameless bard - he was intelligent - he likely operated primarily from the shadows "ever living in the darkness" - he was a wanderer - he abandoned Venti during the celebration - but his deeds were still remembered in song, so Venti and him were likely still close

now the question of the century: how will i choose to interpret "turned his back on the newborn god"? And honestly, I'm- not sure- at first i assumed he abandoned him completely- but Venti did still make sure to carry on his memory- which could just be Venti being Venti, but for the sake of sanity, this is how I'm interpreting it.

A lot of things happened to the Ragnvindir that day. He lost a friend, saw another become a god to replace the one they had conquered, and he saw his goal, his reason for being in Mondstadt, come to fruition. "see the world through my eyes" the bard had said, and the Ragnvindir had been a wanderer even before. Sure, the people had won freedom, and that was to be celebrated, but he's intelligent to recognize that people would likely see him as one of the key figures in leading the rebellion. And for him this was a solemn time, and ending to a chapter, and not being one to operate in the spotlight, the last thing he'd want is to be swept up in festivities and attention at a time like this.

It also likely didn't help that he's probably smart enough to understand the idea of "power corrupts," and seeing the wind sprite just readily accept the mantle of Archon was likely not the most comforting thing to happen in the given situation after all. But Decarabian was gone, and Andrius had ceased his blizzards, so without a word, he slipped into the crowd and left, a wanderer once more.

-

now back to Gunnhildr

she was the first to receive an anemo vision from Barbatos, no I do not take criticism on this "the power bestowed on her by Barbatos" like please, they basically said it.

It also mentions that she crowned Venti with laurels(symbol of vistory) after the battle- the book Biography of Gunnhildr additionally says "the Gunnhildr Clan will continue honoring the legacy of its ancestors and its duty to the Anemo Archon: to protect Mondstadt, the land and all who inhabit it, forever."

I really like this because it conveniently ties into my past headcanon about Venti granting visions to the people of Mondstadt and having them be the ones to erect wind barriers and defend the city in his absence.

So in the Archon War I like to imagine that the Gunnhildr clan had a lot of people who were actually granted visions and were basically in charge of protecting it from those who would attempt to ambush them.

Mondstadt essentially became known for this- the fact that the mortals within it were strong enough to fend off the force of a god without support from their own.

but regardless, Gunnhildr, as she had before, served as a priestess to Barbatos, the closest thing that Mondstadt had to a ruler, and yet she only took charge of prayer and protection.... i hate to just- equate them to their descendants- but to an extent- her role was kind of like a merge between Jean and Barbara- Except with a whole lot less structure.... i really dont want their characters to just be carbon copies of the descendants but- c'mon, the comparison was right there.

anyways besties- back to Venti so i can tie them in

The Archon War was one of the worst times for Venti in his entire life thus far. And the time immediately after Decarbian's fall, while Gunnhildr and the Ragnvindir were still alive, was the key period of time in which things could have gone very differently.

Venti is the god of freedom. That's a reoccurring theme and I think I've made that abundantly clear. But during this time, Venti was anything but free.

I've mentioned before how he would stay far from the city of Mondstadt so the shockwave of his death wouldn't reach him, should he fall.... well- Venti is new to a lot of things- godhood- humanity- war- freedom- and at this point he was trying hard to figure out how to be Mondstadt's god without becoming Decarabian, and while still being able to survive, and make sure they survived, and see the world for his friend, and carry on his friends legacy.

And this is a lot of stuff for what was once a carefree elemental being, and there were certain things that had to be done for this to happen. He couldn't just stay in Mondstadt, or he would grow weak and his people would be vulnerable to attack, but he couldn't abandon it, because despite being able to fend for themselves, there's always hat just in case. He couldn't stay in any one place outside of Mondstadt for very long or he'd be found and killed. He knew in order for Mondstadt to survive he would have to take an active role in the war, strengthen himself so he could defend Mondstadt, and thats exactly what he did.

He started by going after the less powerful gods, ones he had a chance at beating with the power he got from the Gunnhildr clan and the rest of Mond, and by wiping them out, he would grow stronger, so he kept it up- working his way up the metaphorical ladder.

but he couldn't let anyone near him either, because he knew just what would happen if he was attacked then. Were it not for Gunnhildr's prayer, the early years of the Archon War would have been without contest the loneliest time of his life, and there would be nothing he could do about it, bound by survival and his attachment to the legacy of his friend, constantly fearing for his life and going against his very nature as the god of freedom. Frankly thrust into that circumstance that early on, and having to face it alone, it's likely that Venti would have caved under the pressure and dropped his attachment to either his survival, or to his friends legacy... or just something entirely worse(isolation messes with brains) so I'm attributing the fact that he didn't do that to Gunnhildr's companionship, speaking to him and guiding him through it as he had guided her through the blizzard some time ago.

I also like to think that she's responsible for founding at least a number of the different celebrations that still happen in Mondstadt even now.

Ugh supportive warrior priestess- we stan

anyway meanwhile! we got the Ragnvindir

He hears about Venti taking part in the Archon war during his wanderings and returns to Mondstadt to check in, wary of what he might find.

Venti, who hadn't seen him since the rebellion, is elated to say the least and they do a bit of catching up because they need it

and then the conversation turns more serious, and the Ragnvindir brings up a third thing that Venti needs to hold onto- his humanity.

See, in the early years, just desperate to get a foothold on the world, Venti's first number of targets were just indiscriminately going after those he knew to be weaker than him, and the Ragnvindir points this out, saying that while it's not necessarily bad, if he keeps doing it, it won't be long until he causes his and, by extent, Mondstadt's legacy to be tainted by a reputation for slaughter, no better than any of the other bloodthirsty gods that frequented the war's fields. "Think of what the bard would do, we were both close enough to do that much"

And Venti becomes yet more caged, but recognizes that he's right, and this is another turning point, that in the coming years would keep Venti from losing himself.

also- Gunnhildr, Venti having told her about the Ragnvindir's concerns that he now shared, probably organized some kind of event (not unlike the right of part, but also, yes unlike it) that was deliberately intended and designs to serve as an excuse that Venti could chose to take to visit Mondstadt, something she know he desperately wanted to do, but wouldn't allow himself for fear of putting them in danger. But if she made it an official celebration, then it would give Venti the opportunity to visit his people again, under the guise of it being a responsibility, not having to deal with the moral implications of doing so at a time when he was already dealing with enough of those already.

Also on his travels, the Ragnvindir probably started and spread a number of rumors that could end up working in Venti's favor, not that anyone ever knew it was him of course.

basically Gunnhildr protected the people of Mondstadt and did all she could to keep everyone in as high spirits as possible, Venti included.

And as for the Ragnvindir, he took a more realistic approach, traveling and getting venti followers in far places, spreading false information about him, and just overall making sure that Venti didn't do things he'd regret.

And when they died, Venti would carry their legacy with him as well, not losing his humanity to the tide of war as he very nearly had(though he still often came close), and trying to spreading high spirits where ever he could without fail.

[hiruinonai]

𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐄  𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒 .

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞.   alcohol (a fact inspired by his real life counterpart who was quite the alcohol enjoyer), alcohol and coffee- however, he’s a fancy lad and tries to keep his overall presentation clean (another hint we know about his real life counterpart as he always made sure to keep himself presentable) and thus he tends to use cologne as a way to sort of make these strong scents dissipate a little- spoiler alert; you can still smell them, and at this point, he’s unsure on whether adding cologne to the mix makes his whole aura a chaotic mess of scents or it it’s actually useful-

𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩. 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞.   If you can’t tell by the dark circles under his eyes, this man has a terrible sleeping schedule, not because he goes to bed late or anything of the sorts but rather; because he keeps waking up in the middle of the night, and any little noise is enough to get him up- this is mainly due to his long trajectory of having been all around the place when he was alive, taking participation in armed conflicts, having trained for the vast majority of his life up until his death; basically he feels something similar to what Nagakura Shinpachi once said “I can’t eat anything without hearing the sounds of bamboo swords hitting each other” this would summarize nicely what he feels when he’s in a quiet setting, in this case sleeping; not to mention that because of his past line of work, it was pretty much a requisite for him to be alert at all times so this contributes to him having difficulty actually relaxing (even tho by his disposition he might give the opposite impression). If you were to share a sleeping tent with him, u would notice that he sleeps with his torso facing the ceiling and in a pretty straight position, he doesn’t really move much either, if anything; he’s the one that notices all the snooring and continuous moving- btw, he is grabbing your face if you snoore on him

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲.   Music huh... He’s not too sure about what’s popular in the present day, nor does he actively pays attention to it so he’s mostly indifferent, but he still has a lil fondness over music that is played with either the biwa or the koto, feels quite nostalgic to him

𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭.   ties- he even has the equivalent of an ugly christmas sweater but tie version; he also seems to enjoy collecting pens- you know when you go to an event and they give u a random pen that for some reason ends up sticking with u longer than a regular pen? those kinds

𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝.   oho- although it is common to read that Saito was left handed, it is not entirely confirmed if this was true mainly because of two factors that i won’t really get into details because this might get longer than needed, HOWEVER- as in regards to his fate interpretation, I decided to keep this matter the same- or well better said; he can use both hands as quoting his own dialogue lines; "My dominant hand? I just use whatever hand is easier at the time. Besides, if you got time to be worrying about things like that, just start cutting already." so basically he is ambidextrous because it serves a purpose; to make his combat techniques feel as extremely difficult to predict as possible.

𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬.   Right now? He’d rather be the referee

𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.   Despite the impression he gives, he enjoys visiting museums on his own, so if on a trip you loose sight of him, chances are that he went on his own to enjoy his free time in wandering aorund- that aside-; food estrablishments; he loves them, bring him to try the most popular food that is served in the area and he’ll be a happy man

𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.   Not too hot nor not too cold- a weather where he can wear his usual attire without any disturbances- if anything, he would lean more to cold weather than hot weather, even tho the latter never really managed to disturb his clean appearance in the past.

𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 / 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞.   You have to be bond level 10 to unlock this bit ✨

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 / 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥.   There isn’t really a game that includes stabbing something right? JOKES ASIDE; as a servant he possess rank A of luck which is pretty dang high, so chances are that he might be able to do relatively good in any game that involves luck; now claw machines- oftentimes they have a payout system- he dislikes those (bc he always looses)

tagged  by:    @violevin​​​ (U TECHNICALLY TAGGED MY A.RJU BUT- (and i will answer it there too heeheehoohoo) but i had to do it here too 😳 )   Tagging: -GRABS U- y o u

[sharkneto]

Do you think five joining the sparrow academy is possible?

Idk how much you care about or keep up with possible spoilers for S3 (in which case lol this is not a spoiler free-blog - I try to tag anything S3 as tua s3 tho, for blacklisting), but I think at this point it's almost inevitable. I can practically see the little montage of him switching his blue uniform for a red one in my mind's eye. Still - I'm always happy to be surprised, they're welcome to prove me wrong on this.

I'm curious to see how it will play out. My guess/hope is that Five will pull a trade - he will work with the Sparrows in exchange for his family getting to escape and be safe from them, a play to buy them time and rest. Probably in the most angsty way possible in that his family won't know about the deal and will think he's just straight up abandoned them.

Another possibility, and one I'm not as keen on or as sure on how well it would play out, is Five is manipulated by Reggie to join. Five is a powerhouse, definitely someone you want on your team, not against it. Five has also just spent two weeks herding a family around that very vocally does not appreciate his help and blames him for everything that's gone wrong. Five is primed for some easy manipulation by Reggie - both by their history and by the fact that Reggie is one of the few people who has genuinely tried to help Five as he's been on his mad dash to try and figure everything out and fix it. Five's at the end of his rope, and honestly it would be a bit satisfying to see some fallout from how the siblings have treated him. Five's not blameless, he's a difficult guy to work with (rip those social skills that died in the apocalypse) but holy shit I would love the siblings to realize what all he's done for them and the significant cost it's had for him. Reggie could play on that need Five definitely has - and definitely ignores - for acknowledgement and appreciation. They've also got Ben, which I have to think Five carries a not insignificant amount of guilt over not being there to help save him in his own timeline. Lots of manipulative pressure points for Reggie to use against Five to get him into the Sparrow fold.

Either way it happens, I think there will be a scene where the Umbrellas are running from the Sparrows (+ Five) and it will come to a moment where they're staring at Five and Five's staring at them and it's a pause and then Five botches a jump/attack so they can get away. Because he can't hurt his family.

[loving-jack-kelly]

yoooo i finished white collar last night after u were talking abt it and binging like the whole damn thing in a few weeks so tysm for the rec!! 🙏 very much garbage (affectionate) which is exactly what i needed 😅 what are ur thoughts on the ending tho? i didn’t get it— like i like that it was a bit of a “...“ ending but /spoilers neal ditching nyc and his friends, esp after the outcome of the cape verde arc, seemed like it didn’t end his character arc well? and ig i get faking ur death to avoid the pink panthers’ wrath, but why keep it from peter or mozzie? and only for a yr?? for the Drama?? 😅

caterpillar anon look away spoilers ahead lmao

I actually love the ending! I think it made a lot of sense with Neal's character because the entire Panthers storyline kept hammering in the fact that they wouldn’t just go after the mole, they’d go after everyone the mole cared about. I think that it’s been made really clear through the entire show starting with the Kate arc that Neall would go through hell and back for the people he cares about. Like he was willing to put himself back in jail for another four years just for the slight possibility of seeing Kate again, and that was all the way back in season one.

Through the entire show, you get to see Neal letting the people around him in and dropping his walls around them more and more. From the start of the show, it’s obvious how much faith Neal has in Mozzie, and by the sixth season, it’s clear they consider each other family. The Burkes, too, Neal has solidly and completely added to his life. He would do anything to keep them safe. All the way back in season three he was willing to give up the treasure and get himself sent back to prison to keep Elizabeth safe, and they’re even closer by the time Neal and Peter bring down the Panthers.

Neal doesn’t have anything to gain by faking his own death. It’s not like he’s sitting on a treasure like he used to be, and it’s not like he really benefits from escaping, because he had an ironclad release contract that he knows would have been honored. But he has a lot to lose if the Panthers realize it was him and not Keller who ultimately sold them out. Sure, there’s a good chance that might not happen, but if it does, and they send somebody after Mozzie or Peter or Elizabeth or the baby, he would never be able to forgive himself. To him, it’s a lose-lose situation. Stay in New York a free man and either lose the people he cares about or never be able to stop looking over his shoulder in case they’re after him or leave everyone behind knowing that they’re safe. And fundamentally, Neal isn’t a selfish person. He’d rather everyone be safe without him, even if it hurts to leave him behind, than stay and be happy with an ever-looming danger over all their heads.

Back in season one, Neal might have chosen to stay and scheme around whatever the Panthers might plan, because back in season one Neal didn’t care about them as much as he’s grown to, and back in season one Neal still felt invincible. But he isn’t, and by season six, he loves Mozzie and the Burkes and even to some extent the entire white-collar division and has seen how dangerous his enemies can be and he can look at them and look at himself and know that if a group as powerful as the Panthers is gunning for the people he loves, he won’t be able to outsmart them. It took the full force of the FBI, Neal, and Mozzie to bring them down in the first place, and that was when they were playing subtle. The Panthers have nothing to lose now that they’ve been caught, so why should they keep playing subtle? They won’t, and Neal knows that his strengths are in the con, not in evading a bloodthirsty and very angry gang of very smart, very influential men.

Neal’s entire character arc has been realizing that sometimes, there are situations you can’t just charm your way out of. He’s dug himself into so many holes that he wouldn't have ever gotten out of if it weren’t for Peter and Mozzie, and now it’s his turn to get them out of the hole he’s accidentally dug for them. If the Panthers figure out who Neal is and what he’s done, he’s almost definitely sentenced all his loved ones to death. On the other hand, if they think he got himself killed as a direct result of what he pulled, why do they care? They figure out Neal is the mole, hear that Neal got himself killed while trying to make a getaway with the money he stole from them, they don’t look further into it because karma did their job for them, and they never go after Peter or find Mozzie or get anywhere near Elizabeth and the baby, and so they’re all safe.

As for why he kept it a secret for a year, I think it was out of necessity. Mozzie has proved that he’ll follow Neal no matter what. They’ve fully earned each others’ loyalty, and they’re a package deal. So if Mozzie knew right away, he would have been in Paris in an instant, and anybody who knew them would have been able to guess why. Peter would have tried to talk Neal out of it, tried to convince him that there was no danger and everything would be fine, and I genuinely think that if Peter had tried it would have worked, and Neal knew that too. He didn’t want to leave New York, but he felt like he had to, and part of that was keeping Peter in the dark so Peter couldn’t even try to convince him otherwise. I mean, in season two he admits that he almost stayed when Peter asked before the plane blew up, and that was long before they were at the point in their relationship they’re at by the end of season six.

Neal left Mozzie the clues because he did want to see Mozzie again, he just needed it to be far enough in the future that people wouldn’t connect the dots between his “death” and Mozzie’s sudden move to Europe. I also believe that Neal didn’t leave the bottle or tell Mozzie to leave the bottle for Peter, I think Mozzie realized that Peter wouldn’t turn on Neal now and would let him have his new life in Paris, but also wanted Peter to know that Neal wasn’t dead, because it’s clearly still affecting him and El (flashback to Neal playing with the ball anyone? like if u cry every time). Peter finding the storage container and seeing Neal’s plan all neatly laid out for anybody who found it to see is a clear departure from a Neal who would have wanted it to genuinely stay a secret. Looking at the wall of pictures and the clear plans, it’s obvious that he wanted whoever found it to know exactly what he’d done, and he trusted that when Mozzie (and eventually Peter) did find it, he’d keep it a secret and also figure out why Neal had done it.

Which, again, wasn’t selfishness, it was the exact opposite. Neal’s last big con wasn’t for money, or reputation, or to solve a crime, it was to protect the people he cares about.

[forsakenbysinnoh]

Random Headcannons for the Demon Bros that no one asked for.

~Lucifer~

Lucifer never refers to God by name, only ever saying "He" or "My Father".

Despite how he may act, he's proud of his brothers, of their independence and strength. His pact mark reflects that, his own star surrounded by the six of his brothers.

With that, he can also be very worried about his brothers. Being an avatar of a sin is a title that can be won. He makes sure no other demons besides his brothers hold that title.

He has a dark sense of humor that can go unnoticed or be mistaken as threats.

Despite his reputation of being controlling, he's actually rather tired of it. He was forced into this position to protect his loved ones, and to try to figure out how to function after losing the war. Sometimes a part of him wants to be told what hes supposed to do, rather than deal with the mess of making it up as he goes along.

The most scarred of the brothers, especially along his chest and back. When he has to, he hides it with illusions, otherwise he doesn't show his skin.

Takes his debts and what he owes people very seriously. It's why he rarely asks for help even in small things.

Is the only one who can force a pact on an unwilling participant.

Isn't afraid of being controlled, but is scared of losing control to the wrong person or partner. It takes a lot of trust to let him drop the reins in a relationship.

Despite turning into a wolf in the 'Paws and Claws' event, I think the best animal to represent him would be a black unicorn.

~Mammon~

Mammon can be kind of a choosing beggar.

Forgets to be empathetic sometimes and can say some callus things. Sometimes it's good as he can be an outside observer in a situation and see things objectively.

His schemes are mainly to pay off debts. No one is quite sure where he keeps accumulating so many from.

Many people call him a coward, but in reality he's a pacifist. He'd rather run than fight.

Unless you get him hot headed, in which case the gloves are off.

Despite this, he's actually one of the most powerful brothers and can usually win a fight with anyone but Lucifer.

Very agile. Is a natural at parkor and free running.

He doesn't have a high opinion of himself, and his self esteem is in the garbage.

Def has a praise kink tho.

If he's really mad at you, he'll pretend you don't exist. He's not one to get into screaming fights, but he's passive aggressive.

I think a golden dragon with a hoarding tendency fits him well lol

~Leviathan~

He's a big nerd. King of nerds. Absolutely owns it.

Levi actually draws a lot of fanart but never shows it to anyone. He's very jealous of others talent and considers his own art bad.

Def has the Devildom equivalent of Tumblr.

Sometimes can be a fandom gatekeeper/hipster. Likely stems from a place of "I liked this before it was popular and got ridiculed for it. Now it's cool and you're taking over my interest."

Super long theories on current shows with in-depth analysis and pulling info from anywhere he can. Be prepared for his cork board on FNAF.

Sometimes Levi forgets other people have feelings too, especially when he's excited about something, and hurts them by accident. Usually goes back to apologize later when he realizes.

Loves to listen to someone nerd out, even if he's not interested in their interest, he likes them and how passionate about.

He's memorized the TSL books and movies. They are his biggest passion and he loves them so much.

He's a self shipper, ships himself with his favorite wifus and husbandos (he has both) and takes those "which character are you?" Quizzes all the time.

Knows how to code and hopes to make his own game one day.

Snake tends to be the go to for Levi, and I think a lizard or another reptile makes sense. They tend to scurry away from most creature, except for those like them.

~Satan~

(My boy so I might be a little biased/rambling here)

Satan was made after Lucifer lost the war, but he started growing in Lucifer's heart before then.

Satan is the only demon/angel that was not made by God directly, and he feels that effects his relationship with others.

He's not good at empathy, and it's a skill he's still working on.

Satan was the serpent in the garden who caused Eve to fall. He thought it was very unfair that God would refuse humanity knowledge, the one thing that he values above all else.

As he was developing/learning from each of his brothers, they each gave him an item that was important to him that he still keeps. Even Lucifer.

Keeps control of his emotions which can lead to violent outbursts if pushed far enough. No one has seen him completely unhinged except Lucifer.

Loves adventure books/series, especially long ones with intricate plots. Murder mysteries are his absolute favorite. Dislikes the 'Love triangle' trope a LOT.

Likes to listen and create stories.

Very magically adept. He knows many advanced spells and always has a hunger to learn more. Probably has made quite a few spells himself.

Cat. He's a cat. There was no competition here. His spirit animal is a kitty and I love him for it.

~Asmodeus~

Asmo, despite being the avatar of lust, cares about consent a lot. He wants his partners to feel good when they're with him, not like they're afraid or helpless.

Well, unless that's your thing, in which case he'll make sure a safe word is in use ;)

Knows a lot about sex. If you have any question he will be happy to answer it without making it seem awkward or taboo. Though he will flirt and offer to show you himself.

He's very confident in his body and looks. Asmo knows he's a catch and good looking, and wants to keep it that way.

Doesn't mind showing off his scars from the war and wishes he could help Lucifer with his perception of his scars.

He will NOT have anyone body shamed in his presence.

Has ALL the gossip. He knows who's sleeping with who, what relationship drama is going down where, and keeps up with it daily.

Gender roles? Who is she? Being beautiful is for anyone.

He shows affection through touch. This makes him come off a bit needy and he tends to invade other's spaces.

There's more to lust than just sex though, it's pure, unrestrained desire. Desire to learn, to hurt, to take revenge, to love and be loved. He can sense someone's deepest desires and loves to bring that to the surface.

This is why Satan is one of his favorite brothers, there's a lot of pure emotion in him that he keeps covered up.

I think a Siren would fit him best, able to draw out what people desire the most.

~Beelzebub~

Beel has a soft heart. He cares a lot for his family, even when he's mad at them.

His kindness has gotten other demons trying to take advantage of him, which is why he tries to hide it behind a facade of being a big brute.

He's a cuddler. Beel is touch starved and wants nothing more than just to hold someone close and know they love him.

Nightmares are a constant struggle for him. He still blames himself for Lilith's death and not being strong enough.

Unless Belphie is around, Beel has a hard time sleeping.

Like Mammon, Beel a pacifist, though he's usually a little more willing to throw his weight around when needed.

When Lucifer isn't around, Beel is the one to try and get his brother's on the same page. If it's a lost cause he'll just leave for some comfort food.

Unless it's a serious matter, in which case it'll be one of the few occasions he yells.

Is self conscious about the food he eats and how everyone sees him as just the big grunt who loves to eat.

Beel is basically a pitbull. He seems scary and dangerous on the outside, but really he's just a teddy bear.

~Belphagor (spoilers)~

(I'm still a little salty that Belphie here killed me. Just as a warning lol)

Belphie's powers include sleeplessness and inducing a weekend nap. He either never sleeps or is sleeping for several hours.

I don't know why but I'm betting he'd be good at Uno.

Hates being confronted by his mistakes, would rather pretend they didn't happen in the first place

Asks for piggie back rides from Beel when he's too tired to walk.

He's the only one who can get Beel to sleep without nightmares. No one is quite sure if that's cause of his powers, or if he just is good at comforting his brother.

I see him as being good at poems. Soothing words that have a rhythm to them. You listen to him speak and before you know it you're asleep.

He brushes off most kindness as fake and doesn't trust anyone.

The most comfortable hoodie. Hugs are warm and soft.

Animal: a small fluffy cow. You know the ones I'm talking about. Fluff central.

[nekoprankster218]

Spoilers for the last two episodes of RWBY Vol. 8 below; TL;DR at the end

I was binging the last four episodes of Vol 8 when this moment came up in the penultimate episode, and it just took me by surprise in the moment. I was still processing it even as Ironwood made his first attack. I was not expecting this move from CRWBY (actually wasn’t expecting a lot of those this season, but especially these last few episodes), and now that everything is done, I really wanted to just make sense of it. It was really quick and small, but I feel like analyzing it based on everything we know speaks volumes.

Just in case you never came across this info (I had to explain it to my dad since he only watches the show and interacts with nothing else), it was confirmed during I believe a panel with the writers that Ironwood’s semblance is a thing called “Mettle.” It essentially keeps him focused on a task, no matter what needs to be done in order to accomplish it, even if the choices that have to be made are morally or emotionally tough. There’s been some upset from the community about this semblance and the way it was introduced, as well as other bits about it; and even though I’m also disappointed in execution, this doesn’t mean it’s not existent in the show.

So, this very quick detail coming right before he goes against Winter. What interests me more isn’t the fact he shed a tear over her betrayal, but everything else about him since he first woke up in the cell. There’s just been something about his movements and voice (mainly the movements tho) that’s been bugging me; and it wasn’t until the tear fell that I realized what it was. They’re cold and stiff - they’re robotic. Kinda fitting, given this follows when the one robot of the show has just been turned into a real, fleshy human.

And this tear is the only “human” thing about it. His face is dead, his eyes are dull, and even his expression clashes with the teardrop. And as I was watching things play out, I couldn’t help but think of the little phrase: “the eyes are the window to the soul.” Well, given how I just said his eyes are dull, maybe the more fitting term would be eye mechanisms, but I think where I’m going with this is kinda clear.

This is the last trace of James Ironwood leaking through, in my opinion. The one who sacrificed his arm to protect Amity - to protect the one hope the entire planet had for communications. The one we listen to in “Hero.” The one who opened his arms and plans up to a bunch of kids when years ago he was willing to betray a colleague in order to have full control of Vytal security. The one who trusted, and expressed himself, and let himself be weak and exhausted in front of others (see: his talks with Qrow and Oscar), and gave physical affection (see: hug with Qrow); the one we saw in Vol 7 right before Cinder and Salem showed up.

Mettle is locked onto the goal of protecting Atlas - it’s been said so time and time again that he’ll do whatever it takes. But I feel like the betrayal from Winter, while not being strong enough to break Mettle’s hold of his body, might’ve at least gotten through to his mind/soul that things have gone too far. A fitting parallel comes again from Penny with the virus controlling her body - although in her case, with a little help from Jaune, her soul was able to overpower the virus and take back control of her body. With Ironwood, though, his fate is the opposite. He’s lost that battle, with the only thing he can do against his semblance is weep briefly.

With that I mind, I honestly do hope he’s died amidst the rubble. Aside from the horror of him possibly shifting from “protect” to “revenge” now that Atlas is gone - even if the destruction frees him from Mettle, death at that point really is the best option from both a narrative and a meta standpoint. Mettle is something that has yet to be even acknowledged in-universe; if CRWBY tries to redeem Ironwood at this point, trying to use it now as a explanation will probably seem to those who don’t know about it yet as a lazy excuse to wave his actions away. Honestly, yeah, even knowing about it now still makes it seem like a lazy explanation/motivation. Sure, it’d be nice if maybe the Shade professor mentioned it to the kids so it’s finally addressed in-universe like it should’ve been much, much earlier, but damage has already been done. Ironwood’s a tragedy, but but very hard to realistically redeem at this point. The public’s already seen him try to blow up a whole city of people for a petty reason - even if it came out it was all because of a semblance, that might just make them distrust him for new reasons, much less forgive him.

Also, note: this isn’t me waving away everything fucked up he’s done since the end of Vol 7. As much as I wish CRWBY did things differently with his character, that’s not the story we got. This is just me making an observation of a detail and trying to make a theory about it - not an excuse of actions or an argument for redemption. I’ve seen at least one other interpretation of the tear that have gone down different paths, and they weren’t as a nice as I was, and honestly given how quick and vague this was anyone could be right at this point. However, for me, I kind of want to go off based one of the lessons we learned from this season, the one which Yang verbalized in “Risks.” I want to be optimistic about this moment. I want to have hope that deep down, there was a person, and one that hopefully had his soul freed from the narrow-minded shell that’s been marching around this whole season. That’s my interpretation for Vol 8!Ironwood.

TL;DR: Given how off his movements and expression have felt, the way the tear clashes to me seems like the writers saying, “Mettle has taken complete control over Ironwood’s body, and all he can do now is shed a tear as he can’t stop his body from fighting Winter and dooming everyone.” It reads much like Penny’s battle with the virus; although in his case, he lost, and hopefully he’s also dead so he and everyone else can finally be at peace over this whole mess.

Holy shit. One day into the hiatus and I just did a full write up over a split-second tear. God, this is gonna be hell.

[originalcontent]

Oooookay. Welcome back. Posting about pathologic part 4 I think? Part 4. We just reached Act 4 too, so everything’s going according to schedule. This gaming session had some ups and downs. Ups: That good good lore, and a lot of quality time spent with my good pals Daniil  and Changeling and also Clara apparently, although she might not be my good pal after all, but w/e. Downs: FUuuuUUUUCKkkk we are so bad at video games, and also the kin folk have become A Lot, holy shit. Where to start.

Okay so this time the game wasn’t actually super stressful for me personally bc this time I kind of just handed off the controls to my sister every time shit got dangerous. She’s a lot better at video games than me. Shoutout @akpaley​ for keeping me from dying from stress in real life.

The drawback of this is that since she’s a lot better at video games she’s also a lot more willing to actually take risks rather than just running away from literally everything. Which I won’t deny, has gotten us a lot of much-needed money and resources but also.

WELCOME TO THE FUCKING DEATH SPIRAL PART OF THE GAME. I guess it had to happen eventually, right? Fuuuuuuuck us, do you have any fucking idea how much shit you have to redo when you’re randomly shanked by some dude every fifteen minutes? And they’re harder to fight every time we come back, apparently, and also our health is like permanently half gone? Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck why are there not more clocks.

Victor Kain, you were the one who made the clocks?? I could fucking kiss you. I owe you my life. Or like, six hundred of my lives. Hhh.

Okay, seriously though, the clock lore is actually kind of sick. Victor told us that they’re smaller versions of the cathedral, and we were like “!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THaT’S WHerE wE RESET THE GaME IN THe PROLOGUE!!!!!!! METAPHYSICS!!!!!!!!!” The Kains are so cool.

(Maria Kaina got infected tho. Sorry, you. :( Although technically that happens later.)

Um, we gave the rest of our shmowder to Khan. We’re out now. We’ve been looking for more but haven’t found anything.

Also we made a random potion, and the plague showed up and was like “fuck you,” and I was like “damn, calm the hell down, you’re the one fucking killing people.”

Met with the Saburovs more. They were like “we have another suspect!” and I was like “yeah they probably don’t but w/e” and my sister was like “they’re in an infected land and we should probably save their lives” and I was like “why do we care about helping the Saburovs again, literally all they do is accuse random people of killing my dad, the Kains are obviously the best family, we should just be throwing in with them” and she was like “that’s not all they do, they also run the guards, you know those guys who patrol plague districts?” and I was like “okay fuck you’re right let’s visit them” and it turns out that that there was actually some super cool lore pertaining to the town’s mistresses. Also, god if they don’t have some cool reflections. I love everything about this town’s history.

Afterwards we randomly decided to visit Yulia for literally no reason, and she was like “I’m glad you’re here, I have a lot of super heavy important shit to discuss with you about the Inquisition that will be here tomorrow, it sure is convenient that you’re in my neighborhood for some reason even though I live in an incredibly inconvenient location?” Also she knows something about the nature of Artemy, Daniil, and Clara-or maybe the Changeling but she called her Clara? Oh yeah, Daniil was there too for some reason. Poor guy, I don’t think he’s okay. He cried on my shoulder a lot, he was endearingly open and earnest and for once I felt bad about the dialogue options wherein Artemy throws shade.

And then Clara happened to be standing outside literally right then? I wonder if that was going to be a big quest location and we just happened to arrive right before the game told us to go there anyway. I think that’s it actually. We’re so good, damn. Clara keeps pulling shit and then immediately trying to reconcile and asking for help. I really like her, but we really shouldn’t be trusting her right?

Oh Murky was also there and she set up a meeting between us and her “friend” and that night we went and Clara and Changeling were both there and I’m so confused???? What is her deal? But!! Changeling facilitated a deal between me and the plague! And Murky is now off the hit list!!!!!!!!!! Does this mean she’ll live? Anyway the plague started talking to us, and our infection rose a bit in an unhealable way, and, dumbasses that we were, said “wow this is probably all just the natural consequence of the bargain we made. Guess there’s literally nothing we can do to address this.” (Spoiler: That is not the case, the cost of the pact was literally just that we became infected and would have to cure it with fire before it killed us. We figured that out eventually, I promise.)

Fast forward to the next day after we finish the day’s entire fucking plotline, when we have done literally nothing so our infection’s increased a shit ton and it starts actually killing us. And since we only have like half our potential health bar from getting killed so much, we literally can’t survive long enough to treat it. We run around trying to cure ourselves and die like ten more times before we finally accept that we just have to go back in time to before the infection was this bad, try to get cured immediately, and redo the whole day. There’s a whole fucking skeleton out by the theatre by now btw. Fucking death spirals. This play session took a long fucking time okay?

Alright, flash backward again. After talking with Changeling, we visit Stakh because after rescuing him twice in a row he promised we could talk. We go to his house and he’s sleeping, or maybe just pretending to sleep, but either way Artemy has the absolute sweetest little monologue, just talking to him, and so much has happened but I can tell there’s still a lot of tenderness there between them even if it’s buried deep, and it’s just such a soft scene against such a harsh story.

Guess who’s dead by morning.

The next day Aglaya showed up and was like “see me immediately,” so obviously we visit Capella and then town hall first off. Daniil’s there, he bitches to me about Aglaya for a bit. So cute, we really are friends. I promise to help him with corpse duty bc Capella wanted me to visit Grace anyway. We talk to the official people at the official desks, one is collecting babies, one is giving me some lunch money as a very good reward for being a very good little surgeon, and one is telling me that actually money is illegal now but here are some free coupons that actually are too cheap to buy anything with.

Aglaya is the woman from the prologue! Hhhh things are really building to a point, aren’t they. I wonder how Yulia knows her. But damn, the whole village was out there waiting to meet with her weren’t they.

I made a deal with the rat prophet to clear some space in the graveyard so Grace would be okay. Dunno what will come of that. I’ve been seeing him everywhere lately though.

I met with Oyun and gave him my dad’s house. I met with Aspity and was like “did you kill Stakh” and she gave me some vague shit, and in general I am very upset at the kinfolk right now but I tried to save them anyway. Went to the termitary and did the whole termitary thing. Wow that sure is a place, right? God, have I ever mentioned how much I love all the screaming soundtracks  in this game.

Damn, Taya’s whole child queen vibe is unsettling.

The whole termitary is horrible, and what the kin folk have been put through is horrible, but their obsession with blood and strength legit terrifies me. I’ve spent all my time until now trying to convince everyone that they aren’t bad, and that they aren’t to blame for the disease, but now they want to kill? And they really really really want me to be a killer too. And the whole thing with Taya is creepy as fuck too, she’s just a kid. Anyway, we’re sending Vlad the older to them, I don’t know whether he or his son deserves to be torn apart more, but Changeling was really upset at the idea of Vlad the younger going there, so I guess we’re backing her. We run all around town making sure the right Olgimsky is going, and then we realize we actually have a few hours left so we take a hospital shift too! And then we die of disease like six times.

Okay, flash forward again, we’ve gone back, gotten some guy to molotov cocktail us, redone the entire termitary thing, saved the game on Vlad’s clock after sending him to his doom (sorry dude). That’s where we’re at currently.

(Only it’s not actually, we went back and spent like an hour going back and forth between the termitary and Oyun again trying to deal with their shit, and everyone was like “murder all dissenters :D” and I was like “what the fuck” and the day was almost over but then a dude stabbed us and we randomly died, and none of these places had clocks, so at that point we were basically like “yeah it’s after midnight, let’s just call it quits.”)

Anything else......oh, the warehouses are at risk again. Notkin and Sticky, what would I do if anything happened to them. I hope my medicines are good enough, I gave some to Bad Grief too but now all there really is to do is wait. :(

Oh, I once again have thoughts on how fucking theatrical is it that everything in the game is simultaneously literal and metaphorical, it’s gorgeous, and have I mentioned the costuming choices for the Orderlies and the Plague, hhhhhhhh, not to say anything nice about Mark fucking Immortell, but he knows what he’s doing with this thing. Listen if this post weren’t already way too long I would just gush about the theatrical elements again, but sadly it is too long.

Okay, that was our latest session! We’ll be back either very soon or in like three weeks.

[vaguely-gestures-to-the-void]

Hindsight: My thoughts on Loki (2021)

Welcome back! Spoilers below!

I need to clarify that I watch Loki purely as an escape. I've got a biased perspective in that regard because I don’t actively try to find fault with the show, though there are definitely things I’m not so inclined to. This is more of what I noticed and think things mean and it’s something I’m doing for fun. Anyways, here's my thoughts on episode 2 my loves.

Episode 2: THE VARIANT

Pre-title scene

Miss Minutes’ monologue in the recap is different to the one last ep.

1985 Oshkosh, Wisconsin

C-20!

“Today’s guest performances” on a board. Don’t really know if it means anything tho.

The Iconic (TM) I Need A Hero scene.

Pony.

The green tent - the lair of Loki.

I know not everyone’s a fan of the lighting, but it made sense to me. They’re still in the dark about who Sylvie is.

Why does C-20 take off her helmet? For the drama?

I hope Sylvie cleaned her blade. Narnia taught me well.

The Time Samsung (I can’t remember what it’s called right now) says that the date’s 04/12/1985.

Loki’s first mission (?)

‘Volume 26’ - how many of these does Mobius have?? #giveMobiusajetski

“ONLY at your LOCAL AUTHORIZED DEALER” - subtext about the TVA being control freaks? Jet ski safety?

I googled Wake Magazine. They’re up to volume 20 from what I saw, whilst Loki is reading volume 26, so I guess that’s something

Loki and Miss Minutes lmaooo.

Behind Loki’s elbow is the taxidermy something from the last episode. Also confirms that Loki threatened Casey at Mobius’ desk lol.

The thing has an egg?? What the hell is Mobius collecting? (He’s a Harry Hart variant lmao).

There are little twitches in Miss Minnutes’ hands. That’s so cool!

The egg timer’s a nice easter egg (I’m a comedian).

Mobius! B-15! :)

Is it just me or do the minutemen look similar, but not exactly the same. Makes sense if they’re variants.

I just realised the lights are built into the ceiling. Whoops.

What’s Mobius’ favourite?

Couple of things:

The racks full of identical uniforms/ones just hung up on doors.

The music has started to pick up the pace, but not in the way we see later on in the episode.

There’s a sign saying ‘FARE THEE WELL’ on it. Google tells me that it’s ‘used to express good wishes on parting’. Dang that was some good foreshadowing!

The person that looks like Agatha is still present.

I wonder whether it was supposed to be colder or whether the weather was just like that when they filmed.

The pony’s still around.

I think B-15 certainty that “a Loki couldn’t have gotten the jump of C-20” comes from her experience with them. She constantly tries to make it clear that because she’s not a variant, she’d know Loki better than he would, which (personally) makes the revelation that she’s a variant feel more devastating.

Again with the lighting, they’re still in partial darkness, constantly moving in and out of the light. Whilst what Loki says about the variant setting a trap is true, it isn’t in the context that he says it. Sylvie whoops their asses later.

The black and red-orange flags remind me of tomb markers. It’s a stretch, ik.

B-15 only has tally marks on one side of her helmet.

Mobius has fake pockets in his suit jacket. They’re the worst.

The ticking increasing in tempo as they approach red line - great for setting up tension.

I believe that Loki uses personal space like a weapon - slowly approaching them from the front, and then going behind Mobius’ back when he wants his way. It would make anyone uncomfortable, especially on a subconscious level because there’s a threat behind you.

Or maybe it’s that I have different personal space boundaries, not everyone likes being approached from behind. Loki’s movement felt intentional at least.

Getting Mobius to physically turn his way because of that might have been very subtle manipulation?

Loki looking back and forth trying to judge their reactions lol.

I liked the music in this scene, it sets up tension for Loki’s first attempt at betraying Mobius but then doesn’t completely dismiss it when it’s resolved.

Ravonna Renslayer’s office

The music here is 18 morceaux, Op. 72, No. 2. Berceuse. 18 morceaux, Op. 72: No. 2, Berceuse (Arr. For Theremin and piano) by Clara Rockmore for anyone that’s curious. I found out through Natalie Holt’s Twitter (I think).

The score is, and always will be, perfection.

Mobius’ small talk amuses me.

“Why do you get to keep all the trophies from my cases in here, you don’t think I’d love having that roller skate?” Mobius, what about the thing on the shelf behind your desk????

Ravonna seems like she’s answered these questions before, but she has a fondness for him that makes me think they’re good friends.

Also does Ravonna have multiple complete collections of the Encyclopaedia Britannica in her office? What are those books??

“I hope it’s a double.” Me too Mobius, me too (drink responsibly).

I don’t get how people think Mobius doesn’t remember leaving the stains. It sounded like Ravonna was chiding him for a bad habit and Mobius just made up a remark, not confusion.

Although he does place the cup at a different spot to the rings.

The ship flying past in the windows is a wonderful detail.

“The variant likes to stall for time.” It's very satisfying to me how everything stays relevant. Every detail advances the plot/contributes to it.

“Look, I know you have a soft spot for broken things.”

“I don’t think so-”

“Yes you do.”

Both Mobius and Ravonna only look at the middle figure when referring to the time Keepers. Either the other two are side-lined or don’t contribute at all.

“I’ll delete him myself.” At this point in time, I think Mobius is serious. As the episode progresses, his status may have changed, especially after the Jet Ski philosophy session.

Ravonna’s sash on the peg reminds me of the ones the people talking to Casey were wearing in episode 1.

Man those doors are so cool.

Peak sitting outside the principal’s office energy.

Mobius whistles at Loki as opposed to talking to him like he does later.

Any screen shot from the following scene is pristine chaotic disaster bi Loki energy featuring tired-of-your-tomfoolery Mobius.

“Isn’t that precisely why I’m here?” This marked a change in Loki to me. Up until that point, he’d tried to use what he’d known, who he’d been by scheming his way to the Time Keepers. By admitting he wasn’t sure of his purpose, we’re back with the person at the end of the last episode. It’s very Loki to try all avenues to get what he wants, and after having his world turned upside-down a few times in a short period, maybe he just wanted the familiarity of his old tricks, who he thinks he is.

Loki tensing up and then trying to assert control again reaffirms what I just said.

Man, give Mobius a holiday after all of this. Loki really tested him, huh?

Loki definitely likes validation on some level.

TVA archives (a.k.a the Salad Scene)

I can’t believe that place really exists. The looks combined with the music are just *chef kisses*.

I’m not sure if I’m thinking of the right progression, but the music reminds me of a plagal cadence. Google examples and play it side-by-side, you’ll get what I mean, maybe someone knows what it really is?

On either side of the elevators near the Time Keeper statues are the signs TVA archives.

The symmetry pleases my goblin brain.

I believe the entire show was just flexing the skills of the Loki crew and I couldn’t be happier.

“Pretend your life depends on it. I’m gonna get a snack.” This was so funny in the trailers but Mobius is dead serious (delete him myself comment). And he couldn’t even enjoy his salad.

Love that the end of credits takes from some of the scenes in episode 2.

The archivist has neat glasses.

I want some TVA stationary y’all.

It’s that moment fam.

I can’t be the only one curious by the ‘DISPLACED by 000:000:002:162’. Is that in Units? It would explain why the time line looks slightly bendy whenever we see it, especially if Apocalypses are so frequent.

IT’S THE SALAD LADS!

Mobius is reading the magazine that Loki was looking at earlier. Jet skis are Mobius’ comfort character.

“Don’t set fire to the palace.”

Tom Hiddleston has so much energy, he can move so fast.

“Oh God.” - Mobius, Null Time Zone

“YOU.” - Casey, Null Time Zone

Casey!

No thoughts, head empty, the Salad (TM).

But seriously, people only seem to be at their tables with others that work in a similar section. Not hunters and analysts eating in tandem to me, folks.

Oh Casey. Please don’t hurt him.

Aw, Mobius’ little giggle warmed my heart. Owen Wilson’s giving me whiplash with Mobius. My heart can’t take this y’all.

79 AD Pompeii, Italy

They’re both so giddy, Your Honour, I love them.

Mobius snuck them out lol.

“Bird noises?”

“BE FREE MY HORNED FRIENDS, BE FREE!” The post wouldn’t be complete without this.

Loki just throwing food at people and telling them “...enjoy your last meal while you can” is top tier comedy to me.

This is the first time we see Loki openly say nothing matters. I feel like the case file on the destruction of Asgard really pushed him to treat fate as unchangeable.

LXXIX is 79. Nice one Loki crew!

Mobius’ eye twitching as he checks the variance is a nice touch.

Loki throws away the stick that was holding the goat pen closed at the end.

TVA Archives, TVA cafeteria

Mobius picked up those files so smoothly I had to re-watch it.

Their position reflected what they were talking about - when Loki thinks it’s his individual contribution, he’s walking separately to Mobius, but they meet up when working together. I loved the blocking in that little moment.

I seriously thought that Loki was unconscious when I first saw him asleep around Mobius. I’ll admit it, it felt out-of-character for someone with such bad trust issues. Both of them seem pretty tired tho.

It’s the Jet Ski conversation comrades!

I’m beaming. Mobius talking about Jet Skis was the only time I’ve really remembered it’s Owen Wilson talking. It’s such a fun line to think about!

Loki’s smile. Adorable.

Just go watch the scene, it’ll give you good brain juices.

Mobius does it all for the Jet Skis and nothing else. I don’t make the rules, the Time Keepers do.

“My own glorious purpose.” This is a recurring theme in the season. Ultimately, I think that Loki is going to run for as long as it brings in money/until Loki gets killed again. However, I do like to think that in following seasons we’ll move beyond setting up Phase 4 Marvel stuff and just get deep dives into Loki’s character, though it may happen in the later eps or not be as interesting. Part of what made this show so interesting is the new setting in the Marvel universe but it’s hard to make predictions as to whether it will last in a show featuring the God of Mischief. Whatever happens, I’m happy that we got to see Loki’s existential crisis together, lads.

The music picks up, signalling that this quiet moment is about to end.

“No one bad is ever truly bad. And no one good is every truly good.”

“Scared little boy.”

These lines mean a lot to me. Loki perceives Mobius as an equal, similar to himself but not completely identical. The TVA’s whole aesthetic is Kafkaesque (Disney+ used that word), the imperfections keeping the place from looking mechanical and orderly like what the TVA promotes itself to be. Loki wants Mobius to acknowledge it, but Mobius is in the past, not addressing what’s right in front of him, surrounding him. That’s probably because Mobius doesn’t believe, he accepts what he’s been told though Loki wants to change that. He’s still focused on his job, the variant. I don’t think Mobius will struggle against change in the ‘belief’ part as long as things are rational.

Kate Herron (director) said that the Kablooie scene was improv which makes me wish we had more B roll of Owen and Tom. They seem so professional, invested and fun on set.

“No wonder you’re so bitter.” I’m sorry Mobius you sound as salty as your salad.

‘Artificially flavoured chewing gum’ Has something happened causing artificial flavouring to be preferred?

‘Blue’ has canonically changed to ‘Bloo’ by 2050 in America in the MCU. I blame capitalism.

Why does Mobius look so tiny? I say that like Owen Wilson wouldn’t look like a giant next to me lol.

Owen Wilson is 3.5 inches (9 centimetres) shorter than Tom Hiddleston. Yet he is dwarfed as Mobius. I need to stop talking about this and move on.

There’s no ‘variance energy detected’ line in the report.

“You’re gonna take my job if I’m not careful.” Loki looks so chuffed.

One day, I’ll properly address my thoughts on the shipping. Until then, I just want no one to die.

“Yeah, he’s doing great.” Mobius is so hyped. Good for him.

Owen Wilson has dimples.

Ravonna’s screen doesn’t show the timeline like it does later.

Ravonna is the done mom friend. Sane, undeserving of this, please give her a jet ski moment.

Buckle up folks because the last twenty minutes of this episode are my favourite so far.

At 34 minutes in, we get the music fading in with “Okay. But Mobius...” and a transition to my favourite composition so far. Natalie Holt outdid herself. The soundtrack is nearly constant, there’s no break for a moment of clarity anymore. The progression of events is inevitable, tying the bow on a plot line created in an hour and a half. The little embellishment from the strings (possibly) as Mobius and Loki exit is perfect. Combined with Loki’s raised fist leading to a pan to the ceiling, it prepared the audience for everything being turned upside down.

The changing camera angles and shot lengths (the continuous shot when B-15 takes the knives, the circling behind as the briefing occurs) keep viewers on their toes. The continuous shot is fluid, B-15 doesn’t look at Loki or Mobius, her reaction is natural and that just proves that the timing on that scene was impeccable. The circling behind reminded me of Loki positioning himself behind Mobius as he did earlier, but now he’s on the same side, part of the team though he continues to distinguish between himself and the variant. The building sensation that change is coming is met by the incredible swell in the music as we watch the picturesque Haven Hills get destroyed by modern technology and face the terrifying reality that is the Roxxcart store. There’s a close up on the Roxxcart storefront with school buses with the words ‘Evacuation shuttle’ in the background as we see the TVA’s minutemen come out reinforcing that even when the end is nigh, large corporations will loom over. A storm is raging with worse to come. I can go on and on, but you get the point.

2050 Roxxcart Disaster

I love that y’all are calling this the Alabama supermarket breakup. Makes me chuckle, that’s for sure.

I too hate when people can hear my footsteps. Someone that gets the struggle.

Sylvie places the TVA Samsung over a Roxxcart Security manual. She’s overridden both and is in control.

The date is 03/15/2050.

I think that the way the Hunters and minutemen hold their baton things is so that they don’t get yeeted. Neat.

As always, the beats are slick yo.

I hope the Azaleas guy gets some Azaleas wherever he ended up.

I love the way Loki says “In this storm.” It’s so satisfying for no real reason.

The wonderful Wunmi Mosaku does not get the recognition she deserves for this scene. She switched from B-15 to Sylvie so effortlessly. They’re two distinct characters, her facial expressions, body language everything changed in that instant. Even from the one line, “No, they usually survive,” her delivery had changed in a way that was noticeable. It’s uncanny, exactly what was needed when facing a foe that remained unseen. And the smile? It’s before we know the variant as Sylvie, so naturally it’s that signature Loki smile with a hint of malice we associate with the variant. Damn y’all, Wunmi’s incredible! I really hope she’s recognised for being so talented in this series, if not in all her other work!

Mobius really cares about those people. I really want his redemption (?) arc.

It’s been pointed out that even in those conditions, Roxxcart were selling blankets and water. I think it means that by 2050, cash would be defunct. If only electronic payment existed, as long as there’s electricity they can run a business. Chew on that.

If the man they speak to is 50 to 60, he was a 90s kid.

There must be a difference in the reprogramming or kind of variant selected to be a hunter as compared to an analyst. The Hunters look after their own, but the analysts (or Mobius) go as far as empathising with variants.

C-20 is sitting in front of safety standards.

“A bit amateurish.” Loki knows that the variant isn’t as skilled with magic as he is.

As Loki and the possessed people walk, the lighting becomes brighter. He’s moving out of the shadows.

Me too Loki, I’m worried about B-15 too.

Sylvie unironically saying bless is hilarious.

Randy must be hella tall.

There’s a low angle shot as Loki and Randy face off with the flickering light above with a sign hanging above them like a sword of Damocles and a physical separation. Terror is nearly constant in Loki's life now, but he responds by letting go of his drive to survive.

The subtle swells in the music just add to my rising blood pressure.

C-20’s voice over is sad lads.

“I wanna go home,” we know she’s not referring to the TVA.

Mobius seems like a caring person.

When B-15 sits up and searches the room, I think it’s her realisation. Her shiver was from fear and shock, the music wasn’t about her not seeing Loki, it was about the TVA and what had happened to her.

The head snap and the score timing matching. So satisfying.

“I would never treat me like this. Hi.” I think that’s Loki realising that his foe is not willing to talk their way through conflict.

This fight scene contradicts all the magic we see later ik, but if he didn’t want to hurt anyone and was trying to draw out the real enemy it made sense.

Some of Sylvie’s powers must come into the people she possesses. The guy punched a glass screen and didn’t even bleed.

“I have shit to do.” Sylvie wasn’t raised with court etiquette (from what we know) and her lexical choice reflects that.

Dell computers survive into 2050 in the MCU. So do those robot dogs and Roombas. I am only happy about the Roombas. Where did the real dogs go? :(

“Mobius.”

“Where is he?”

“I lost him.”

“What happened?”

“I...”

Until now, B-15’s delivery has felt slightly rhythmic, like she was used to having the same arguments, particularly with Mobius. When she trails off however, I think it’s her trying to rationalise what she’s been through with Sylvie’s possession. Her devotion to the TVA was rooted in the fact that she wasn’t a variant, her life had a purpose and it was intentional. This must have rocked her, I’m invested in where she’ll go.

THE CUT TO BLACK OH GOOD GOSH.

Sylvie, my queen. I’d roll off a cliff for her.

The person with the moustache (you know the one) has pure fear on his face.

Ravonna knows what’s up.

And so do you, yes it’s the music, go listen to it.

THE RED LIGHTING

The zoom out to that incredible hallway shot and then stopping behind the time door. It was never about him after all, he was in the background of her plans.

Sylvie’s wave in Roxxcart vs. Loki’s on the train. Discuss.

The blackout, thunder and Loki’s pause under the flickering red and white light, do y’all really want me to talk about the s y m b o l i s m????

He’s conflicted, you know it, I know it, Mobius knows it.

Speaking of Mobius, there he is, we cut back to Loki and see him make his decision, zooming back in on him.

And with that final flourish in the score, we are done with episode 2!

Cue the most amazing end credits score you’ll ever hear.

Do yourself a favour, listen to all of it, including the part after the main credits, both are Works. Of. Art.

Ep 2 review

In case you didn’t notice, this is my favourite episode so far. There are parts I didn’t take to as much, but details from the previous episode being used in the plot as well as others being explained by Sylvie in episode 3. Rewatching it was easier than episode 1 though it left me wanting more. It will get more interesting from here, but until then, that was a fun romp.

See y'all next time. I hope whoever's reading this has a wonderful day!

Part 1, Episode 1 extend review link:

[ghostshaarkmoved]

What makes elementary so good

oooooh this is gonna be such a long answer but here we go, points in no particular order (some spoilers and drug tw, its not very in depth but i want to be careful) 

1. its the only sherlock holmes adaptation i know of that actuality does something with sherlock’s addiction, its a very important part of the show that i believe was done well (i have no experience with it but i’ve never seen anyone saying that his addiction was unrealistic, rather the opposite). 

2. it shows sherlock actually genuinely caring about people. he’s really shitty at it at the beginning but even then, he’s rude and dismissive to people because he wants to solve each case and keep people safe (this is from an actual episode i just dont remember which, im not pulling this out of my ass i promise). 

3. on that note, joan and sherlock help each other grow so fucking much. literally in the season 6 finale, sherlock says something along the lines of, when they first met, he was dying and the only person who could see it was joan, and she’s the reason that he tries so hard to stay sober and he helps her actually do what she wants in life instead of doing what she’s expected to. at the end of the show there’s just a lot of noticeable growth if you go back and watch the first episode

4. that again, joan and sherlock and just best friends. they love each other more than any one else, and he’s literally named a bee after her, but they never became romantic. the show even makes a subplot of joan trying to find romance but coming to the conclusion that its just not something for her, and she still wants (spoiler fucking spoiler) kids after all that and he supports her in it! they live together and he still supports her in it

5. detective bell is just such a good character and so is captain gregson and i love them and they’re actually referred to as a family unit with joan and sherlock god im gonna cry

6. everything that joan/sherlock/bell figures out with their genius minds is because of shit that makes sense, when joan and sherlock first meet, he figures out so much about her and then confirms it and learns the rest with google and admits it. and it was with like, an insane knowledge of the map of new york and the habits and surgeons and shit like that but still

7. because joan and sherlock are only consultants for the nypd they can break as many laws as they like with little consequence to their job and at times they do have to find explanations (tv was on it sounded like a baby, dog, etc, its a big thing lmao) but like the general not following of rules is so fun, i wont so plot points because that spoils but like its much more than breaking into places.

8. ooooooh my god ok the versions of irene adler, moriarty, ms hudson, immaculate, i love it, even mycroft even tho he makes my blood boil most of the time he’s on screen

in conclusion best show ever please watch i left out so many good points feel free to add but everyone watch it asap please

[letusmeetagain]

Hey..

I just wanted to ask what are the chances of ANR theory coming true?? I mean the way this story is heading I am not sure if alliance is actually going to pull it off. .so how do you think it's going to end?? and I think Final panel is going to be historia's child because if not why would isyama even put this plot?? and everything is coincidentally happening at the same time so I am not sure if it's grisha and Eren ( I am hoping it to be them tho)

Hi anon!

Well that PV was and is still a big deal in the fandom...This answer will be very long and I’m sorry for that... :( But it’s because AnR theory is related to a discourse that is more complex that changes the whole meaning of the story and what’s happening now.

I had a thread on Twitter I made a while ago to offer my perspective about this video (I was annoyed so it might be a hard reading... I have less patience on Twitter). Actually... my conclusion was that there aren’t compelling hints in the PV about Eren having a child nor surviving this. I do believe it’s full of spoilers, just not that everything is meant to come true as the theory says.

I’m talking now from my own intuition... so... I might be wrong ofc:

The rumbling will be stopped. The question is whether all the members of the alliance will survive or not.

1. Eren never said he is unstoppable. He said he won’t stop until the end because the only people who know the truth are those who keep moving towards the future. This attitude doesn’t mean he will be successful since he doesn’t know everything about the future and it doesn’t seem that he wants to win like a traditional villain. And even things that were supossed to be unstoppable were stopped. For example, Ymir when Zeke gave her his command. Eren stopped her with compassion (just let us leave aside the way he did it in the end. He was still the only one who responded her call, then he messed up things). I expect him to be stopped in the right time like how it happened with Ymir.

2. Isayama is almost impossible to understand when it comes to his interviews. The kind of ending he will do is still a mystery. He said once he wanted to write an ending like in MuvLuv, then like in the Mist and the last time he talked about Guardians of the Galaxy II and that he was shifting the feeling of his ending. But recently he gave details about it and said he would be doing the ending he planned since the beginning. So he isn’t helping us to know what kind of feeling he will be heading to. But from the endings he ever mentioned: (you can skip this)

a. an ending like in MuvLuv Alternative: everyone dies but the mission is accomplished and humanity has a future to keep working for. Just the male mc survives who it’s not related to Eren but to Mikasa. Another character survives that has some similarities with Armin.

b. an ending like in the Mist: everyone dies because the mc took the wrong choice and if he hadn’t chosen it, everyone would have been well. A nihilistic ending.

c. an ending like in Guardians of the Galaxy II, just one person dies but it’s actually a sacrifice. It’s a hopeful ending and they managed to destroy the enemy and save the universe. Let’s say the villain was a kind of paths? It would mean the the end goal is to break paths.

d. an ending like the Watchmen. A kind of Code Geass Ending (that is actually happening because the world is starting to let go of hatred)They accomplished the mission but in the end there is a plot twist and every single sacrifice turned out to be for nothing. Another nihilistic ending.

e. an ending like in Ellysium: the mc that was about to die and tries to reach his own benefit changes his mind and helps his childhood friend/lover and her daughter to become citizens of a kind of paradise where (only rich) people could live a happy life. He fullfiled the promise he made to her about taking her to Ellysium and have a better life when they were children. He dies a hero having changed the unfair system. He dies also remembering the voice of the nun that raised him to be proud of his origin in the Earth. (<-- I go for this kind of feeling mixed with the GGII and Watchmen!)

From my perspective... It’s dull to expect for an ending where hope isn’t there. It would be wrong for the manga to end with the epilogue “every sacrifice was for nothing” like in Watchmen or in the Mist. Even the Uprising has an emotive message there that it’s still promising a twist. Thank God he is not Kafka.

About the baby... well. I don’t expect Eren to be the father at all. Plotwise, there is no need for it. The connection between his plan and the pregnancy is based just on Historia’s safety and...he isn’t the only person who conveniently cared for her well being throughout the story. Even if you see their conversation... he never said to her something related to her as individual but as a royal: “I can’t let you keep with this system and condemn more children to be raised as livestock” (almost in the same way Krüger cared for Dina). The baby was a step for her to be free from the first king’s command. In the end, the baby will probably play a major role in the outcome but it can be explained through Ymir’s curse as I wrote in this post. Whether Eren dies and pass down the power to the baby or not... I don’t know. The baby might be the only way to join every part of Ymir’s soul... I thought about it too.

If Eren will succeed and go back to his wife and child...? There is no hint of that and no logic in such an outcome. The only possible way for that is that he held romantic feelings for Historia and it doesn’t seem to be the case.

If I see some members of the alliance dying? Yes. Probably... meant as the last sacrifices for this change of era. Because that’s what Eren is doing even if he isn’t willingly trying to kill them, he is just letting things happen, gambling the future because he either thinks he can’t change it or because he just lets the world decide its future: “It’s all still ahead of us.” (->as if he couldn’t control things). 

Eren being the father is something a part of the fandom interprets in AnR because they are willingly wanting Eren to succeed, Historia to be his partner and (here comes why this isn’t coherent with the truth of Eren and Historia’s roles:) Eren being a kind of king that ends up fullfiling the wishes of the first King.... of exterminating everyone that isn’t part of their race....? to perpetuate a world ruled by titans when Eren wants the opposite (to end the cycle that started with Ymir’s story)? I can’t see it. They started the theory imposing on the video their own expectations more than to think about what kind of meaning would be coherent with the 100% of the story that never actually changed. Betrayals or not, we are still carrying the sacrifices made since Krüger having to give them meaning. That's why I say also that those sacrifices have to be paid. But not for Eren's secret love story.

About the last panel... I think it’s very possible that is Grisha. Since Eren can’t define his own concept of freedom and the story is pointing out this misconception and agency in this plot, where he was given (?) the role of a devil and accepted it... Considering also his duality and the contrast between his own life raised as a free child and Ymir’s life raised as a slave??? The last panel is about Eren and his own truth 80% sure (it also resembles Ellysium’s ending). And Historia’s child isn’t the only baby anymore.That’s something to consider too.

Summary:

chances that Eren survives to go to Historia and their baby: 0,1%

chances that some more of the alliance die: 99%

chances that Eren survives after this: 20%

Sorry again for the length of my answer... I hope I could help you.

Thank you!

[siodium]

REVIEW: BURIED STARS ☆

came across this korean mystery vn and i knew i had to get it bc someone commented that it had a similar feel to danganronpa/zero escape O: seems like i have a type

i usually don’t prefer to get digital copies of games but there was really no choice... i heard the physical copy is sold out in korea and resales are going for 200 USD ain’t nobody got money for that

i don’t think anyone i know is gonna purchase this game and play for themselves and i can’t share the game either bc it’s a digital copy sooo i’m gonna write a review~ please enjoy!!

basically the plot goes as such: the survival reality tv show Buried Stars was about to commence the finals of its current season with the remaining five contestants when the building suddenly collapses. most of the audience and staff members were safely evacuated except for seven ppl (the five contestants and two staff members) who are trapped in the wreckage with just their smartwatches that connects them to the outside world via calls (problematic bc they can only call a restricted number of ppl and the signal inside is shit) and phater (bootleg twitter). after trying to make some calls, everyone was then told that the rescue team would take around six hours to break into the collapsed building to get them out.

ok so they just have to wait it out... in an unstable building that can come down at any moment. cool.

then!!! they find the producer’s dead body, seemingly a victim to the falling debris!! they’re down to six survivors now.

despite the circumstances, voting is still ongoing and some rando on phater claims that the contestant in the last place will die as if the atmosphere wasn’t bad enough.

this is your smartwatch interface!! most of the functions are pretty useless with regards to the actual gameplay but it’s just fun to play around with them i guess

for e.g. you can change the background and ringtone but they don’t affect anything

there’s this feature that keeps track of changes that occur when you pick certain conversation topics during communication rounds and it’s really useful for replays!! too bad it doesn’t keep track of sanity changes in mc

this is the mc!! even though he looks like he would be a tsundere punk he’s actually very soft?? kinda like saihara but with a bit more spine

AND THIS IS MY BEST BOI GYU-HYUK

i lowkey ship them bc of their interactions alsjdkasjs jUST LOOK AT THIS

i was expecting there to be a lot of mysteries but given the circumstances i guess it makes sense to not have that many... there’s no murder mystery if it happened in an accident site and looked like an accident you see

a lot of conversation topics focus on the character’s backstory and stuff so you get to learn more about the characters while waiting for rescue (one of the goals of this game is actually to collect characters’ profiles!)

bonding through a shared traumatic experience sounds reasonable

did i mention that the cutscenes are fully voiced (either in korean or japanese depending on your preference)?? i played it in korean for my first gameplay for ~Optimal Experience~ but i switched to japanese in subsequent plays bc i wanted to be able to understand what the characters were saying without reading the text

the only thing that throws me off is that characters are given japanese names in the japanese dub but the in-game text still uses their korean names??? why

my boi gyu-hyuk is voiced by takuya eguchi and hyesung is voiced by shimono hiro (i actually doubted my ears at first bc hyesung sounds angry 24/7 and i only know shimono’s derpy zenitsu and troll ouma voices sweats;;) wOW 👍👍👍

the first ending is the same for everyone even if you picked the best options

they call it a “normal end” but tbh it’s a bad end bc everyone dies and nothing is resolved

after you clear the game for the first time you will get to replay from the start but your options will change so you can proceed towards other routes!! yay

oh yeah in case anyone is wondering this game is rated T and bodies are shown in the form of a silhouette with non-explicit close-ups during investigation so if you can’t handle graphic stuff it’s not too bad

warning: from here on there will be spoilers for the true ending and other endings!! stop scrolling if you have even the slightest intention to play the game

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collected all the endings after 30ish hours of gameplay!! i wanted to strive for 100% completion in achievements but i’m not sure how to get some stuff... might go back and try other options in the future

in the true route you receive help from this random phater user plughole aND I JUST LOVE THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HIM AND DO-YOON LMAO

idk if anyone tried to guess who the real culprit is but it turned out to be

my boi gyu-hyuk......

he had his reasons (not trying to say he did no wrong) and it’s just unfortunate that things turned out this way

while playing, i thought to myself... if there was one person i would glue do-yoon to throughout the entire game it would be gyu-hyuk... bc i was certain he wouldn’t hurt do-yoon

i was right tho... even in some routes where do-yoon catches him in the act, gyu-hyuk didn’t try to silence him

CRYING

i don’t know much about korean law but he has THREE murder charges on him whicH SOUNDS LIKE DEATH SENTENCE

i’m sad bc there’s no way to save my boi even in his best ending

plughole visits you in the hospital in the true ending!! he is also a troll irl it seems

he was kinda sus in the beginning but i really hoped that he was a Good Guy to keep do-yoon sane in the wreckage

and i’m glad he was

do-yoon looks super baby in his hospital clothes

he was not kidding when he said that his actions were bc of his sister (who is a hardcore fan of do-yoon) lmao

aaa the girls are doing great after their treatment!! they visit do-yoon too!!

yeah i also want to know why do-yoon is the only one still hospitalised with all those bandages when everyone else is fine but i guess maybe he got injured when he protected gyu-hyuk from falling debris at the start of the game

...

if you don’t find out the true culprit of the murders gyu-hyuk goes free and he visits you every day in the hospital aND SAYS STUFF LIKE THIS

ugh it hurts me

...

there’s also a joke ending (when you pick the “i’m the attacker” option lmao) which i appreciate a lot!! something to lighten the tense mood is what i crave for in games like this

somehow i feel like it’s even scarier than the usual atmosphere bc of how ooc everyone acts

BUT YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S REALLY SCARY?

there’s a horror route that you can enter by using the “laboratory” conversation topic on everyone and expressing how much it creeps you out

and the entire game shifts in genre to actual horror (like with paranormal activities)

IT WAS REALLY SCARY AND THERE WERE HANDS EVERYWHERE AND EVERYONE WAS ACTING WEIRD ASLJELKASJ i had my eyes closed half the time and i regret playing on my monitor

i didn’t take many screenshots bc as i mentioned my eyes were not looking at the screen for most part but i hope that you can kinda understand where i’m coming from with these two screenshots

...

the game is actually split into two major routes (A and B) which differ in who gets saved and who dies

you can only start on the B route after you get the true ending which is in the A route

unfortunately there is no route where everyone (even if you exclude the producer bc she dies before do-yoon regains consciousness at the start of the game) survives TT

if hyesung and seil survive then gyu-hyuk kills himself and leaves a note but do-yoon tears it up so we don’t know what he wrote

overall a solid mystery vn with beautiful graphics and enough routes to keep you occupied for many hours!! i highly recommend following a walkthrough bc it’s not an easy game if you want to collect all the possible endings and achievements

cuz there are minor changes to the epilogue depending on how close you are with the characters

i actually don’t play a lot of VNs but i feel like all VNs need the route map thingy in AI: the somnium files

my only gripe about this game is prob the derpy translations which usually isn’t a big issue (imo at least) but for a game priced this high?? i expected better

anyway that’s all from me!! thanks for reading til the end hahah i wanted to write a srs review but i just ended up simping for gyu-hyuk

[pajama-nerd]

Reading my way through Fazbears Frights, thinking about how none of these protagonists have ever interacted with any kind of horror media.

Reader Beware: Spoilers Ahead

Into the Pit didn’t read like time travel to me. It read more like a particular kind of haunting where the negative energy of all of the bad shit that happened at that location was locked into the one remaining 'feature' of the location: the ball pit. And Pit-Bonnie isn't the ghost of Afton, but rather the entity that was created from the memories of all that bad energy.

And the interesting thing to me about Pit-Bonnie is that - aside from the inherent creepiness of the situation and the fact that he had literally one facial expression (he can’t even blink for cryin’ out loud) - he didn't attempt to harm Oswald until Oswald went back to rescue his dad. Once Pit-Bonnie was away from the negative energy that had spawned him, he did Dad Things™. He did them in the creepiest way possible, granted, but we don't actually know how he feels because of his inability to express.

Maybe he wanted to stay. Maybe he just wanted a break from that place. Maybe that place has a hold on him, and being away from it allowed him a measure of free will.

And the fandom that I’ve seen about the Dashboard has locked onto Pit-Dad-Bonnie because the general attitude of the fandom - as far as I've witnessed - has been 'Oh. A scary thing! Well, now it's friend-shaped.' (or, in this case, Dad shaped) so of course my immediate question is, 'how would the story have changed if Oswald had made a more serious attempt to communicate with Pit-Bonnie?'

The immediate, cynical response is 'well it would have slaughtered him' but that's infinitely less interesting than the possible alternatives.

Perhaps he takes in the fact that Pit-Bonnie can't talk, and proposes an alternate method of communication. I'm talkin construction paper and crayons. And he gets Pit-Bonnie to tell his story a la Nephrite from Steven Universe. About how one day he just was. And how sometime after that, that version of Fazbear's formed around him. And how there were happy, smiling kids laughing in the pizzeria and he was happy, but how every time he tried to be friends with the kids something would happen.

The world would flicker and they would just be in that back room, like that. How he was desperate for some kind of a connection and could never have one because those kids – those memories – were doomed to die by the memory of his hands. How he noticed Oswald because Oswald didn’t fit – he was real – and how he’d wanted Oswald to help him figure out how to change what had happened (or to make it stop), but Oswald had run away. About how he’d tried to fish Oswald out of the ballpit and gotten his dad instead. About deciding to take his dad’s place so that he could get away from that place and how being here with Oswald was nice. Driving him to school was nice. Making him dinner was nice. Cleaning the house with him was nice.

(Imagine Oswald getting less and less afraid as he interprets the story, checking in with PB occasionally to make sure he's getting it right. Getting slightly annoyed tho, because he's not getting rid of this rabbit, is he? But he still needs to rescue his dad, so now what?)

Oswald eventually tells PB that he can stay, which surprises but elates the rabbit. Then Oswald tells him they have to get his dad back.

There's a negotiation. Obviously, they have to get his dad back. Has Pit-Bonnie been going to his dad's job? What about taxes? Things his dad knows how to do? What about Oswald's mom? Is Pit-Bonnie just going to pretend to be his dad around her forever? What if she wants to do...like...parent stuff? With her husband? If you catch my drift (PB does not, in fact).

Eventually PB agrees, and even drives Oswald back to the same block as the pizza place. He doesn't get close to it - definitely doesn't park in the lot - but Oswald just tells him to wait in the car and goes and wakes his dad up from the ball pit. His dad is confused. Disoriented. Way out of it. Let's Oswald lead him back to the car and sits in the back, too out of it to comment on the yellow bunny mascot in the front seat. They return to the house without incident, and his dad passes out on the couch.

Oswald eventually figures out that PB is the one making his dad so loopy - that the connection PB formed so that he could know how to drive the car, how to work the vacuum cleaner, how to make Oswald's meals, is also keeping Oswald's dad borderline comatose. It takes some convincing to get PB to give that up. PB is afraid to give that up - afraid that if he doesn't have an anchor, he'll go back to being an aimless product of rage and murder.

Oswald's solution is to spread the bond out. He'll take part of it. If PB splits his focus, it'll be less of a strain on his dad, and PB will have more than one anchor. This has the added property of giving his dad the ability to see the seven-foot-tall grinning plush rabbit (he doesn't react well. Neither does mom. Oswald has never had to talk so much in his life)

So now Pit-Bonnie is a part of Oswald’s life, and it’s hella weird at first, but everyone gets over it, because eventually you just get numb to weirdness. Except Oswald becomes obsessed with Freddy Fazbears, in an Unsolved Mysteries kind of way. Starts researching the place wherever and however he can.

Pit-Bonnie helps, in his way, after they figure out a way to communicate efficiently (modified Sign Language, because being bonded to Oswald means that Pit-Bonnie knows how to do all the things that Oswald knows how to do. So Oswald learns sign language. Which means that Pit-Bonnie knows how to sign now. He still only has the one facial expression, which makes asking questions a little complicated, but they work it out).

I imagine that Pit-Bonnie is very tuned in to the weirdness/darkness vibe that Freddy’s and its remnants (ha) give off. He starts reading local and then state, and then national newspapers, and whenever he gets the Fazbear vibe, he sets the article aside for Oswald to look at. Also he doesn’t sleep, so in the first week of Oswald’s obsession, he generates a lot of leads for Oswald by going through back issues of...everything.

This is a rambly thing, but my point is that most horror has a solution and most of the time this solution is subverted by having it happen to people who have no experience with horror movies, books, comics, or other mediums, which is…I dunno. Kinda cheap.

‘What if they ever saw Frankenstein and sympathized with the monster enough to have empathy for this thing?’

‘They’re not horror fans. And the ones that are have never seen or read the stories where empathy solves the problem.’

To Be Beautiful (a terrible, one dimensional story with a terrible message about self-image told the way that high school stories in the 80's-90's were told, which wasn't even accurate to how highs schools were in the 80's-90's) could have been solved by literally anyone being more than passively curious about the drastic changes that Sarah was undergoing. (Puberty doesn't work that fast. Her whole freaking face changed). Or by her mom going into her room at some point and asking about the 5 foot robot doll.

Count the Ways has many solutions, although, really? She shoulda chosen starvation. More time to escape or be rescued is always, always, always going to be better than a 'maybe I won't be bifurcated’ any way you slice it (I’m not sorry), but I'm fond of the idea of Oswald coming across an article about ‘theft of proprietary animatronics from a Fazbear Entertainment property’ and it leading him to Milly’s grandfather’s house in time to save her. Along with his seven-foot-tall grinning plush friend who can alter people's perception.

Fetch could have been solved by treating Fetch like a dog. Seriously. He is dog shaped. He is therefore a dog, first and foremost. Dog first, killer animatronic second. Which Greg didn't fundamentally understand (he strikes me as a cat person anyway). But Fetch spent that entire story trying to do what he thought his master wanted, and never got so much as a 'good boy' out of it. He didn't even try to defend himself when Greg went to town on him with a baseball bat because he just wanted to be a good dog for his boy. And even after that, when Greg expressed a desire to see Kimberly, Fetch still wanted to do something to get his master to call him a good boy. Honestly, if - after being warned about Fetch - Kimberly had planted her feet and said 'Sit!' I would bet actual Faz-dollars that Fetch's haunches would have dropped to the pavement out of surprise alone, because it would have been the first time in the story someone treated him like a dog.

Alec was doomed to be a teddy-bear from the moment his parents picked up a ‘how to raise my kids’ book, but he’s still alive. There’s no reason he couldn’t be rescued (by Oswald, who’s on the trail of all the weirdness related to Freddy Fazbear. I’d read that story. I’d write that story. I will probably write that story)

The Plushtrap story...had no flaws. That was the only solution, and good on those boys for making all the right choices except for the initial choices that put them in that situation to begin with. A+. Those teeth, Jesus.

1:35 am could have been solved with an apology. Come on. For a character that was supposedly in the Foster Care system being bounced from home to home, you’d think she could empathize with an entity that didn’t appreciate being thrown away. A sincere apology, a promise to never do it again, and Ella would probably have forgiven her.

I don’t remember where I was going with this. I started writing it before I clocked on for work, but that was eleven hours ago. Who can remember where a train of thought that far back?