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[Komano Manato opinion piece: what the fuck... Aka the Manato incident]

[just a heads up, it's called an opinion piece for a reason]

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I'm a big Manato fan; in fact he's one of the reasons I still play Zenless.

But as much as I was upset at one of my favorite characters being an A-rank and not an S-rank, I couldn't even begin to describe how utterly shocking it was that this caused a huge divide in the zzz community. Cause this whole time I thought nearly everyone were gooners/waifu lovers.

This divide was so big in fact that Manato fans review-bombed Zenless on the app store from 4.5 stars to 3.7. and everyone started shit-talking each other to high heavens.

It's also very insightful reading everyone's comments in every video, reddit posts, Tumblr posts, basically anywhere where the discourse is happening. Here are a few of them I found interesting:

1.) "Manato as an A-rank is better than having no A-ranks at all/People were crying for more A-ranks then got pissed when we finally got one more".

Ngl, when I first heard that, I thought "Right for the wrong reasons".

Me personally I couldn't give a single fuck if we're running out of A-ranks, but it's still something that should be acknowledged overall cuz it just sets a bad precedent for the ratio of S-rank to A-rank agents in this game, regardless of my personal opinion on it. But the argument of Manato being an A-rank as a good thing from the reason/s states above is a bit of a subpar reasoning. It's indeed a problem if there aren't enough A-ranks in this game to balance the number of S-ranks we already have, but the issue the chunk of players found with Manato being A-rank has nothing to do with that particular problem in the first place.

In fact they're both completely different issues overall that just happen to overlap. It's why Manato fans say that Zenless could have made either of our two upcoming new S-ranks Lucia and Yidhari an A-rank instead. To be quite fair, Zenless could have gone with that route in the planning stages, but still, I doubt they could have predicted the amount of popularity Manato would garner among the playerbase that they'd have to change plans and make him an S-rank when they've already made up their mind. A character is not just made and put into the game willy-nilly after all, they made the decision to make Manato an A-rank from the moment they created him.

2.) "Zenless is a gooner game/Female characters would always take priority over male characters"

I found this to be true lol. Even though I don't care for gooner bait and just pull for who I like (booba would be gone and I would still play endgame), Zenless is undoubtedly predominantly made for the male gaze and people who just like to goon to female characters. But then as I thought about it more, and seeing similar comments: If that's the case, then what's stopping Zenless from just going all women and no men?

The whole female to male ratio in Zenless and the playerbase's opinion surrounding it has more nuance to it. There will always be nuance to every controversy, no matter how small.

Now, understandable that male characters should be given more attention. Unless you're Honkai Impact 3rd, male characters can simply sell equally, if not more than female characters. For Hsr and Genshin players, they're feeling fantastic right now (myself included) because of the god tier male characters or husbandos we're getting. Genshin's current treatment of their male characters in Natlan aside, three guys in hsr (Phainon, Anaxa, Archer) have made it to T0 for DPS units on the Prydwen tier list alongside heavy hitters such as Castorice and recently Hysilens, not to mention that Phainon's banner topped Castorice's in a couple or so days.

Genshin's most popular upcoming Nod-Krai character coming in the next patch is a brand new male character that we had no idea about until the Nod-Krai trailer revealing all the upcoming characters dropped. If you were to check the official posts for Lauma, Aino, and Flins, you can see that Flins has gained a lot of traction, if not more than Lauma. (Flashback to that one tall Genshin impact strimer who wrote a love letter to the Flins on Twitter, with one of them just being 'PLEASE' spammed. Note that said streamer is a guy).

Another funny thing to note is that Zenless is less likely to do a leap of faith and make a male character an S-rank when making a female character who looks hot an S-rank is better and safer. So it's unlikely we'll be getting an S-rank male agent from the initial characters we were teased with in the Season 2 trailer any time soon. (Hoping to god Ye Shiyuan is an S-rank. Or just playable cuz I'm close to losing hope in even getting an S-rank male agent)

If hsr and Genshin could do it, so can Zenless. But the issue lies in that Zenless' target audience isn't the same as hsr and Genshin. Which is a shame cuz the story for Zenless is fucking fantastic. And it also serves as a double-edged sword. This leads me to another point made by players who want Manato to be an S-rank.

3.) "Manato has significant story presence so he should have been S-rank"

There's more sides to this argument than one thinks. One other thing is that Manato has a (slim) chance of becoming an S-rank agent too if Zenless gives us S-rank Billy.

S-rank Anby is already a thing, we can just hope that they'll do the same for Manato (however unlikely it is.)

But I digress. Point of the matter is that there ARE characters that have significant story roles and presence but are A-ranks. Anby is one great example, but Billy counts as well. Where there's more to it than that lies in the majority of the A-ranks that are side-lined storywise, such as Soukaku in favor of Miyabi, or a side-piece to an S-rank like Seth is with Jane. Manato, in contrast to Soukaku and Seth, has a role to play in the MSQs of Season 2. He helped significantly when we first met him and he felt like someone who's been with us since we went to Failume Heights and got wrapped up in the Porculemex issue, not to mention if we hadn't gotten close with him, Yuzuha wouldn't have trusted us as much in the follow-up MSQ. I'd say that's a pretty damn important character right there.

I'd say Manato is in a similar position as Anby and Billy when it comes to story significance and their ranks. Anby and Billy are significant in the story, and the same can be said for Manato. Him being an A-rank then comes as no surprise if even two major characters are the same rank.

But this opens up something that's been on my mind: Zenless' enrapturing story is a double-edged sword.

Something that comes as a surprise for some newcomers to Zenless is that this game has a story. The gooner game...has a story. Okay obviously I don't play enough gacha games so feel free to enlighten me with other gacha games that have great story that isn't Fate. But Zenless' story is more intricate and interesting than one thinks. And it hurts itself in the process because of one simple thing: its story makes a character more liked than what was anticipated.

Because a story is inevitably going to do its job and make you wrapped up in it, there's the intent that the characters in there are basically being showed off to tell you why exactly you should pull for them. And where it worked for characters like Yuzuha, Alice, and a bunch of other characters I'm sure people pulled because they loved them in the story, Manato happened to be in the same boat. That's where Zenless fucked up, forgetting to make Manato as insignificant as they could. Cuz now they've endeared him to a sizable chunk of players who absolutely love this guy. This sizable chunk mind you put a dent in the game's rating on the app store and is part of this whole controversy in the first place that sparked a whole dumpster fire.

So story relevance doesn't matter to Manato's ranking but it does matter when Zenless accidentally made a character popular and thus made said characters' fans fume at his rank. (I wouldn't be surprised if they'd use this as a lesson and make A-rank male characters as lame as possible to not make the same mistake instead of, y'know, making more S-rank male agents. Why do I think of such a pessimistic thing? Cuz they hate us male enjoyers lmao)

[Conclusion]:

Those who are Manato enjoyers aren't all people who want him to be S-rank; some of them are completely fine with him being an A-rank and are glad he's playable at all. It's actually pretty sad when you look at it that way, for me at least in the perspective of male enjoyers, cuz it sounds like we're fine with scraps than a whole meal.

At the very least, male enjoyers who want a male character as an S-rank are valid in my opinion, but I feel like attacking the new female characters that are releasing alongside Manato is a bit too much (I saw Lucia's leaked animations, definitely gonna pull for her bc it looks sick but only if Manato is gonna be on her banner).

(What is funny tho is the fact that the players who chose to respond to ppl who are mad at the whole Manato A-rank sitch made things even worse)

People review-bombing Zenless from 4.5 to 3.7 (I checked again, nvm it's 3.2 now wtf) might change something, so who knows if this'll give the devs an idea of what other players want other than big boobs.

It's such a disaster to look at that I don't feel like I should care about it, but I do want more S-rank male agents. If Manato is unable to be that, then I'll write to Zenless on the survey thingy to release more S-rank males cuz god forbid we have another incident like this one.

Anyway, at the end of the day, it's just a game. I'm upset, yeah, but it's not like it's the end of the world for me. When I love a character, I love them a lot, and Manato is no exception. I just hope that he gets to see a lot of use once he comes out 🙏🙏. I'm excited for Lucia, even if it's just that I want another support on top of Yuzuha, and Yidhari is way too much gooner waifu, even for me.

(side note: I read the recent reviews for fun for Zenless on the app store, it's either liking the game or people raging at Manato's ranking, I couldn't help but laugh lol)

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Passione

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Going back to my gacha gay roots (haikaveh and ratiorine) after indulging in the fruits (phaidei)

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The moment I saw Manato's drip marketing, I knew the zzz community would be heavily divided. So far, generally it's either "R U KIDDING ME WHYS HE AN A-RANK" or "A-rank ain't that bad/lololol get rolled losers, he's an A-rank cry louder". As sm who HOPED for him to be an S-rank, I'm of the latter 😭.

At the same time tho, this is to be expected considering that the majority of zzz's playerbase isn't something like, say Genshin or Hsr, where male characters are treated a little better (this isn't to say that it's always the case, ie. Natlan only having one five star male characters) and both games' players are more inclined to pull for male characters as much as female characters (in the context of if the male character is competitive in popularity/meta/just treated well lmao). Zzz in comparison, I'd say has a playerbase mostly catered towards straight guys or anyone who's into female characters than the male ones.

Considering that zzz has extremely animated animations and jiggle physics, especially toward the female characters, it should be no surprise that the devs took advantage of this and drew in players that are into that shit. I mean, a lot of the characters cater toward what has ppl acting wild, booba just being one obvious example. While that's happening, male characters have to be extremely unique to even compete with the girls, and even then some of them aren't even played that often (Ben, Anton) or are overshadowed by better units that are/happen to be female (Billy, Seth). This is especially a challenge for exclusive S-rank males such as Lighter and Hugo, the latter of which is zzz's lowest performing banner, at least compared to other banners from both zzz and hoyo's other games.

Seeing zzz's rap sheet with its male characters, it's no surprise that Manato was gonna be an A-rank but BRUH did I not want that to be the case, but oh well. At least Lucia looks pretty neat, even if it's just her hair that had me looking.

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fruit of knowledge 🍎

hello i am insane about them now……

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[Aglanaxa fic idea]

Based on the recent fairy restaurant management event (aka the mimi cooking event lol)

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Modern AU; in a vast land just at the borders of Grove City stood a small farming town, where Anaxa works as a farmer, owning a large farm land he manages by himself after retiring from his work at the Grove of Epiphany. But where he sought peace in a new home, a piece of the past appears in the quiet town when the noble-like Aglaea comes to pay him a visit. A visit for what? Did that woman finally have a brain aneurysm and is taking her last time on Earth to come pile her grievances on him?

(tldr; Farmer Anaxa and CEO Aglaea with a history deeper than the dent in my wallet–)

[Fic highlights]:

• Anaxa spending half the fic wondering what the hell Aglaea is here in the town for while Aglaea wanted to see if Anaxa is doing alright. Y'know, after all, he just up and left the Grove of Epiphany and didn't so much leave a retirement notice or anything. Classic Anaxa

• Aglaea claims that she's here because Anaxa's students, Phainon and Castorice, and his TA Hyacine have been worried sick when he didn't come back for more than half a year (the average of him being gone since it's normal for him to just disappear for long periods of time). She finally made the decision to go find him herself after it's been FIVE YEARS–

• Aglaea genuinely wondering what caused Anaxa to leave and build a life in a small farming town. She comes to learn that it's because Anaxa wants to conduct his work here instead of at the Grove. Obviously she calls cap since she knows he's an emotional wreck who flies off the handle more often than not

• (She later learns during a rare heart-to-heart that Anaxa simply had a breakdown concerning his sister. Turns out this town was his homeplace, where his sister is buried. In a fit of rage and emotional vulnerability, Anaxa fled the Grove and came here to find himself again.)

• Aglaea learning how to plant potatoes and pumpkins from Anaxa, who takes great pride in his crops. Aglaea couldn't help but smile when he isn't looking

• The Nousporist kiddos come to visit! All of them are obviously worried about their professor and didn't bold back in expressing their concerns for him, much to Anaxa's dismay. Aglaea meanwhile is amused at him just trying to reassure them in his own scathing way

• Anaxa's farm getting hit by locusts. His first instinct was to concoct a repellant with an effect so horrifyingly graphic that it has Aglaea shivering. She managed to convince him to just deal with it the normal way lol

• Aglaea outfits for farming hehe, she has to dress right for it ofc. Anaxa is then reminded of how beautiful she always looks in every outfit she makes but is too petty to complement her

• (Backstory time in which Aglaea and Anaxa were once fiances but broke things off when things got too heated between them. Since then they've stayed in a state of vitriol against each other up until Anaxa vanished for 5 years)

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A little bit of a funny thing to note abt the slow burn to this: I've read a little something called "My Lv 999 Love for Yamada-kun", which took about 40-50 chapters for the main couple to confess and get together. So for me, I didn't feel the slow burn in How to Train Your Healer in the slightest cuz not only did I enjoy the MMORPG gameplay and the guild members (hipdisco is my absolute favorite from all of them, OvO being a close second), but I pretty much had a similar experience with the manga mentioned above.

That said, How to Train Your Healer is slower, nothing would ever change that lol

BL Review, Part 2: How to Train Your Healer

"When a high-strung guild master Alchemist is in need of a partner healer and God answers his prayers by introducing a newbie prodigy."

[Heavy Spoiler Warning]

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Summary: How to Train Your Healer features Sung Chahyun, a college student who plays MMORPGs; he is what you'd call a hardcore gamer. As someone who puts his all into everything, including the game Asta Chronicles, Chahyun expects nothing less from his guild members and to their guild Haste.

But one day, when the game is due a new patch featuring a new raid coming in a few months, Chahyun's partner healer is unable to participate because of his military draft. Enraged (as usual) and pissed (also as usual), he attempts to find a new partner healer with little to no luck – until he sets his eyes on the new guild member Healteaser, who might just be the healer Chayun needs as long as he trains him to fit his ridiculously high standards.

1.) The main characters

SO! The main protagonist is a riot to read; he is by all means dedicated to gaming and stops at nothing to remain at the top. He's quick to anger when people piss him off, but also indifferent to anything he doesn't find worth his time. Chahyun is a one-track minded person and prioritizes anything he deems important to be the focus of his attention. It's actually surprising to know that he's diligent in his schoolwork despite its setbacks to him playing Asta Chronicles.

But where his nasty attitude turns a lot of people off, once someone gets to know him, he isn't at all that bad to hang out with. He lets people enjoy their fun and doesn't think to ruin it, genuinely enjoys having fun playing with his guild members and even hangs out with them irl when they can, and even started Haste because of his original friend group that grew in size as Haste started getting traction as the top guild. Plus, the guild members acknowledges Chahyun to be a skilled player that they can't fault him for his skills and him pushing them to get better. The banter he shares with his guild is also endearing to read.

He's also a very introspective person, as expected of someone who strives for perfection. When he starts to realize his feelings for Healteaser, he tackles it head on just how he usually does. Reading him ask himself questions that probe into his feelings toward our male lead is such a blast to see, and him just FUMING at the raid rules saying 'no dating allowed'? As the guild master, fine, but as someone who genuinely does want to date Healteaser despite him saying otherwise? I cackled at him nearly crashing out, he literally crashes out the most and it's so funny to read.

(the only thing I can't forgive Chahyun for is him being a lore skipper /j)

But since this is a bl, this obviously has our other lead character! Also known as Healteaser.

Healteaser, or rather Choi Soobin, is a pretty mysterious character so far. It's undeniable that he's a kind and sort of innocent player in Asta Chronicles compared to the rest of Haste, but he's already endeared himself to them. You'd think that he might have a sinister agenda; turns out he just wanted to endear himself specifically to JJA (Chahyun's ID). Considering that he is no newbie despite his level, gear, and stats, it makes sense that he's played MMORPGs before but damn did it shock me that he played Asta Chronicles specifically in the past and more importantly has met JJA multiple times before. (More on this later!)

I'm actually surprised that the other main lead isn't the type you'd call dashingly handsome like most bls, so it was such a breath of fresh air to see a doe-eyed, innocent-like male lead alongside the prickly Chahyun. Speaking of, it's undeniable that he likes Chahyun to a great extent (which makes sense if you've caught up in the manhwa and novel) that he cares greatly about his opinion and likes being in his company. Despite early readers thinking he's up to no good, it's clear as you continue to read that he doesn't have any ulterior motives at all and simply wants to be with Chahyun.

He, like Chahyun is very perceptive, but on top of that is able to clock in someone's personality since he's able to deduce the type of person Chahyun is. It's almost scarily accurate despite him never meeting Chahyun irl until later on. This makes Soobin a great judge of character and observant, very fitting for someone like him who's the right amount of polite and still being able to get what he wants.

2.) Story

If you're here purely for the romance, your luck just got shitty cuz this manhwa teeters toward the MMORPG aspects than the romance. It makes sense in a timeline sense since they'd want you to get to know the other guild members first (honestly good choice cuz gods I love them to bits), but for the romance it's a slow burn. YEP you heard that right; this manhwa is a slow burn romance in favor of elevating the main characters individual personalities and story roles. For me, I'm all for it cuz it feels like these two have a life outside of each other. For others, it might not be your cup of tea.

Once the romance does happen, it's SO CUTE. The moments between the two of them aren't what you'd say seamless but it's clear that they do enjoy each other's presence and company as they continue to hang out and get to know each other better. Seeing as Chahyun's usual walls are down because of him wanting to train Healteaser/Soobin to be the best partner healer, he's more inclined to be more friendly or agree to do things he doesn't usually do like tackling old raids or hanging out with Soobin irl more. And it becomes less about endearing Soobin to him and more of them genuinely hanging out for the sake of the other and themselves.

BUT! THE PLOT, OMG THE PLOT! I must say, how the story handles certain plot points is impressive, at least for me, cuz it doesn't treat the reader's reading comprehension as subpar and is actively making sure you know what's up. One key example is Soobin's 'true identity'. Early in the story we're introduced to the Boss guild, the rival guild to Haste and is infamous for issues within the game like monopolizing hunting grounds and spreading false information, making them a guild to avoid and generally disliked. As a result of one player's efforts in exposing them for those deeds, the majority of the guild members were suspended from the game for two months, but in the process the player who exposed them got themselves banned.

If you've read the source material, this player is Soobin, once known as the assassin named 'Hope' who's one of, if not the rank #1 assassin in Asta Chronicles. And Chahyun is very much familiar with Hope to the point that he could even sus out an impostor from the real deal. Hope's ban is one of the reaons Chahyun went through that phase of 'Human Thresher'. Anyone who speaks ill of Hope meets his wrath. This was how Chahyun and Soobin originally met in the game. Before Hope's ban, him and JJA/Chahyun would often fight with or against each other during PvP matches or raids. Skilled players as they are, they both acknowledge each other's skills and constantly try to one up the other, something that brings them both great delight considering they made up a routine thing of whispering 'hehe' to each other during PvP matches.

This is what cemented to me as to why they are such a good bl couple. The fact that Chahyun would kill players who diss Hope, Soobin loving being around Chahyun both in-game and irl regardless of what they're doing and vice versa, and their dynamic within the game. It's a slow burn and it burns well with the entertaining gameplay and their fellow guild members serving as a great cast of characters.

3.) Personal thoughts

I've been on the hunt for bl MMORPGs for a while now after reading The Guild Member Next Door and when I found this one, I knew I shouldn't be expecting for the romance to take center stage. More likely than not, MMORPG-based storylines like to focus a lot on the game, the players within in, and if possible, the guild the main character is in. I don't mind this at all compared to other readers because I find this aspect so fun to read since I get to see more interactions with other characters besides the main leads.

What I love the most from these types of bl is the gameplay! It's the most fun thing to read for me, it's like watching commentary let's plays on YT but with an actual story, AND IT'S BL SO SIGN ME UP! So far I love comedy in these types of bl because it adds a sense of whimsy to the story and to the characters, especially the main male leads.

Chahyun is an entertaining main protagonist because he's such a hardcore gamer. He's not afraid to tell you exactly what he thinks about you, worked hard to get where is in Asta Chronicles through sheer need to achieve, and became one of the best players in the game. He'd cuss out anyone who gets on his nerves, even his own guildmates that it becomes one of the comedic aspects within the story lmao. That unrestrained and unfiltered attitude of his makes me smile every time he rages or crashes out, bro does not wanna deal with bullshit ppl keep getting themselves in.

Right now I've only read the manhwa and caught up to it (unfortunately I'm still looking for a link to the novel itself) so I'm excited to keep reading this!

4.) Negative thoughts

Don't have any major negative thoughts or criticism tbh, I just love the story so much lol. Again, I'm not here mainly for the bl, I'm also here because of the MMORPG gameplay. If I have to give one, it's that I really want to find a website where I could read the novel 😭😭 PLS WHATEVER GOD OUT THERE PLS LET ME FIND ONE

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[Rating]: 9.5/10

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Many people like to (correctly) point out the hypocrisy of religious extremists claiming to "protect the children" by restricting their access to information. As has been proven time and again, knowledge protects children from harm, helps them to identify abuse, and teaches them ways to protect themselves proactively. An "innocent, pure" child is a euphemism for a child that is ignorant, kept in the dark about things that could harm them. No amount of distress brought on by learning disturbing information could endanger a child the way that information control can.

The issue with this criticism is that it misunderstands what conservatives mean by "protecting" children. They don't think of children as independent beings who deserve dignity and respect. They think of them as future investments, cultural tokens, and blank slates to pour their dogma into. A church wants to "protect" children from information that might make them leave the faith, even if that information could improve the child's life. A conservative parent wants to "protect" children from information about abuse, religious coercion, bodily autonomy... anything that could loosen the parent's power and control over the child. What these groups are really "protecting" is their investment. They see children as property that they are entitled to groom and manipulate to whatever purposes they see fit, and they attack anyone and anything that suggests otherwise.

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my place of work has just restricted and forbidden the use of AI tools and any use will treated as a security and policy breach

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Wikipedia is lost to our friends across the waters.

EDIT: This post took off in a few days. I’m glad, very glad in fact. Yes, I see additions people add and argue but I dont post these to argue.

The more people talk, the more this spreads, the more people learn of what the UK and US is trying to do.

By all means, keep going. Research KOSA, the SCREEN act, the censorship in the UK that could be us soon, the scary situation in Europe, by all means keep pushing.

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[HSR 3.6 leaks/spoilers about Evernight]

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Okay obviously nothing can be taken as fully canon until the patch releases but considering the track record of boss story notes previously, this can be cautiously taken a little seriously.

That said, OKAY THIS IS GOOD SO THIS MORE OR LESS GIVES A BETTER IDEA ON WHO EVERNIGHT IS AND WHAT SHE'S UP TO.

I've always felt that she's a follower of Remembrance but isn't necessarily someone to be labelled a 'good guy'. To be quite fair, the members of the Garden of Recollection that we've encountered so far are so dubious in their intentions that they are one of the most neutral factions in hsr. But of course, the Garden doesn't hold a candle to their more radical factions. With this leak, I can now put my suspicions and questions at ease (for now cuz this is tentative information AT BEST) that Evernight IS a follower of the Remembrance, but is more likely a Cremator, or someone who acts similarly to the Cremators. Bruh y'all have no idea how much I find the idea of Evernight being a pathstrider or Emanator of Voracity to be a little bit of a leap in logic (nevermind the fact that some people clocked in that Destruction was the third path in Amphoreus but was mostly ignored bc it was too obvious lmao).

Evernight being a Cremator makes so much more sense, especially in the context of her deeper connection with the Remembrance and now this description of the new boss (low-key looked ugly and still is, I was shocked when I first saw this boss lmao). What makes me all the more curious though; is Evernight one of the reasons the Garden of Recollection wants to make a move in Amphoreus? It's actually quite odd that the Garden hasn't been a part of the grander scheme of things in Amphoreus considering that the Remembrance is a major path alongside Erudition and Destruction. 3.6 will definitely cover the Remembrance side of Amphoreus now that we've witnessed Destruction in 3.4 and Erudition in 3.5, so I'm curious if they'll ever say what the Garden is truly up to and why it's only now that they've found Amphoreus when apparently their Aeon has been around there for years.

It's also fun to know that the idea of a Cremator creating a creature that devours memories isn't new.

I'm really banking on Evernight being a Cremator guys, that scene of her devouring Amphoreus HAS to mean something sinister (like, y'know, devouring a whole fucking world)

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so i’ve been catching up to the hsr story and i just finished 3.4……… why would they do this to us……………………….

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Phainon: Working the land has really helped me appreciate the ingredients we get to use in the kitchen and the effort it takes to procure them, and made me realise how wasteful we were in our competition

Mydei: Yeah

Phainon: Anyway I harvested more crops than you

Mydei: FUCK OFF NO YOU DIDN'T

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part 1 of watching Team Bucciarati's favourite movies: Pretty Woman, Mista's favourite movie.

Ok. Let me tell you. Watching this sugary sweet little movie made everything fall into place. He's just a hopeless romantic. He's an optimist out of necessity because his own life was destined to be an aimless and dirty road. He just wants to be happy. What's not to love about a narrative of an outspoken and earnest woman finding the one person who can love her and change the course of her life? I swear, this man just wants a fluffy, happy ending.

AND COME ON, he canonically spends more on fancy clothes than all the other members of Passione combined. He says what he wants to say, no matter what the context, and people either like him or they don't. I will die believing he relates to Vivian.

Bonus: he definitely quotes this film in his daily life and nobody ever knows what the fuck he's talking about. "50 bucks, grandpa. For 75 the wife can watch" while he's torturing some low level gangster. It all clicked for me. Thank you, Araki.

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BL Review, Part 2: How to Train Your Healer

"When a high-strung guild master Alchemist is in need of a partner healer and God answers his prayers by introducing a newbie prodigy."

[Heavy Spoiler Warning]

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Summary: How to Train Your Healer features Sung Chahyun, a college student who plays MMORPGs; he is what you'd call a hardcore gamer. As someone who puts his all into everything, including the game Asta Chronicles, Chahyun expects nothing less from his guild members and to their guild Haste.

But one day, when the game is due a new patch featuring a new raid coming in a few months, Chahyun's partner healer is unable to participate because of his military draft. Enraged (as usual) and pissed (also as usual), he attempts to find a new partner healer with little to no luck – until he sets his eyes on the new guild member Healteaser, who might just be the healer Chayun needs as long as he trains him to fit his ridiculously high standards.

1.) The main characters

SO! The main protagonist is a riot to read; he is by all means dedicated to gaming and stops at nothing to remain at the top. He's quick to anger when people piss him off, but also indifferent to anything he doesn't find worth his time. Chahyun is a one-track minded person and prioritizes anything he deems important to be the focus of his attention. It's actually surprising to know that he's diligent in his schoolwork despite its setbacks to him playing Asta Chronicles.

But where his nasty attitude turns a lot of people off, once someone gets to know him, he isn't at all that bad to hang out with. He lets people enjoy their fun and doesn't think to ruin it, genuinely enjoys having fun playing with his guild members and even hangs out with them irl when they can, and even started Haste because of his original friend group that grew in size as Haste started getting traction as the top guild. Plus, the guild members acknowledges Chahyun to be a skilled player that they can't fault him for his skills and him pushing them to get better. The banter he shares with his guild is also endearing to read.

He's also a very introspective person, as expected of someone who strives for perfection. When he starts to realize his feelings for Healteaser, he tackles it head on just how he usually does. Reading him ask himself questions that probe into his feelings toward our male lead is such a blast to see, and him just FUMING at the raid rules saying 'no dating allowed'? As the guild master, fine, but as someone who genuinely does want to date Healteaser despite him saying otherwise? I cackled at him nearly crashing out, he literally crashes out the most and it's so funny to read.

(the only thing I can't forgive Chahyun for is him being a lore skipper /j)

But since this is a bl, this obviously has our other lead character! Also known as Healteaser.

Healteaser, or rather Choi Soobin, is a pretty mysterious character so far. It's undeniable that he's a kind and sort of innocent player in Asta Chronicles compared to the rest of Haste, but he's already endeared himself to them. You'd think that he might have a sinister agenda; turns out he just wanted to endear himself specifically to JJA (Chahyun's ID). Considering that he is no newbie despite his level, gear, and stats, it makes sense that he's played MMORPGs before but damn did it shock me that he played Asta Chronicles specifically in the past and more importantly has met JJA multiple times before. (More on this later!)

I'm actually surprised that the other main lead isn't the type you'd call dashingly handsome like most bls, so it was such a breath of fresh air to see a doe-eyed, innocent-like male lead alongside the prickly Chahyun. Speaking of, it's undeniable that he likes Chahyun to a great extent (which makes sense if you've caught up in the manhwa and novel) that he cares greatly about his opinion and likes being in his company. Despite early readers thinking he's up to no good, it's clear as you continue to read that he doesn't have any ulterior motives at all and simply wants to be with Chahyun.

He, like Chahyun is very perceptive, but on top of that is able to clock in someone's personality since he's able to deduce the type of person Chahyun is. It's almost scarily accurate despite him never meeting Chahyun irl until later on. This makes Soobin a great judge of character and observant, very fitting for someone like him who's the right amount of polite and still being able to get what he wants.

2.) Story

If you're here purely for the romance, your luck just got shitty cuz this manhwa teeters toward the MMORPG aspects than the romance. It makes sense in a timeline sense since they'd want you to get to know the other guild members first (honestly good choice cuz gods I love them to bits), but for the romance it's a slow burn. YEP you heard that right; this manhwa is a slow burn romance in favor of elevating the main characters individual personalities and story roles. For me, I'm all for it cuz it feels like these two have a life outside of each other. For others, it might not be your cup of tea.

Once the romance does happen, it's SO CUTE. The moments between the two of them aren't what you'd say seamless but it's clear that they do enjoy each other's presence and company as they continue to hang out and get to know each other better. Seeing as Chahyun's usual walls are down because of him wanting to train Healteaser/Soobin to be the best partner healer, he's more inclined to be more friendly or agree to do things he doesn't usually do like tackling old raids or hanging out with Soobin irl more. And it becomes less about endearing Soobin to him and more of them genuinely hanging out for the sake of the other and themselves.

BUT! THE PLOT, OMG THE PLOT! I must say, how the story handles certain plot points is impressive, at least for me, cuz it doesn't treat the reader's reading comprehension as subpar and is actively making sure you know what's up. One key example is Soobin's 'true identity'. Early in the story we're introduced to the Boss guild, the rival guild to Haste and is infamous for issues within the game like monopolizing hunting grounds and spreading false information, making them a guild to avoid and generally disliked. As a result of one player's efforts in exposing them for those deeds, the majority of the guild members were suspended from the game for two months, but in the process the player who exposed them got themselves banned.

If you've read the source material, this player is Soobin, once known as the assassin named 'Hope' who's one of, if not the rank #1 assassin in Asta Chronicles. And Chahyun is very much familiar with Hope to the point that he could even sus out an impostor from the real deal. Hope's ban is one of the reaons Chahyun went through that phase of 'Human Thresher'. Anyone who speaks ill of Hope meets his wrath. This was how Chahyun and Soobin originally met in the game. Before Hope's ban, him and JJA/Chahyun would often fight with or against each other during PvP matches or raids. Skilled players as they are, they both acknowledge each other's skills and constantly try to one up the other, something that brings them both great delight considering they made up a routine thing of whispering 'hehe' to each other during PvP matches.

This is what cemented to me as to why they are such a good bl couple. The fact that Chahyun would kill players who diss Hope, Soobin loving being around Chahyun both in-game and irl regardless of what they're doing and vice versa, and their dynamic within the game. It's a slow burn and it burns well with the entertaining gameplay and their fellow guild members serving as a great cast of characters.

3.) Personal thoughts

I've been on the hunt for bl MMORPGs for a while now after reading The Guild Member Next Door and when I found this one, I knew I shouldn't be expecting for the romance to take center stage. More likely than not, MMORPG-based storylines like to focus a lot on the game, the players within in, and if possible, the guild the main character is in. I don't mind this at all compared to other readers because I find this aspect so fun to read since I get to see more interactions with other characters besides the main leads.

What I love the most from these types of bl is the gameplay! It's the most fun thing to read for me, it's like watching commentary let's plays on YT but with an actual story, AND IT'S BL SO SIGN ME UP! So far I love comedy in these types of bl because it adds a sense of whimsy to the story and to the characters, especially the main male leads.

Chahyun is an entertaining main protagonist because he's such a hardcore gamer. He's not afraid to tell you exactly what he thinks about you, worked hard to get where is in Asta Chronicles through sheer need to achieve, and became one of the best players in the game. He'd cuss out anyone who gets on his nerves, even his own guildmates that it becomes one of the comedic aspects within the story lmao. That unrestrained and unfiltered attitude of his makes me smile every time he rages or crashes out, bro does not wanna deal with bullshit ppl keep getting themselves in.

Right now I've only read the manhwa and caught up to it (unfortunately I'm still looking for a link to the novel itself) so I'm excited to keep reading this!

4.) Negative thoughts

Don't have any major negative thoughts or criticism tbh, I just love the story so much lol. Again, I'm not here mainly for the bl, I'm also here because of the MMORPG gameplay. If I have to give one, it's that I really want to find a website where I could read the novel 😭😭 PLS WHATEVER GOD OUT THERE PLS LET ME FIND ONE

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[Rating]: 9.5/10

[coloredsp3ctrum09]

[Hsr 3.5 TB quest spoilers]:

On the topic of Evernight...

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So Evernight is a mysterious figure that appears for the first time in the 3.5 Trailblaze mission where she serves as a somewhat distrustful yet helpful person who has made our mission easier as well opened up a lot of questions on who she is, what she wants, and what her deal is.

I'm basically compiling a bunch of ideas/theories on Evernight before 3.6 cuz hoo-boy is she quite the topic of discussion in the fandom (aside from, yk, everything else lmao).

1.) Who is Evernight?

I've covered this before in a previous post about the Trailblaze mission before but to summarize, I believe that Evernight is March's original self before her memories were wiped. She is a pathstrider or possibly an Emanator of Rememberance who is currently helping the Trailblazer and co in opposing big bad Lygus, aka Zandar. Her motivations are, unfortunately, unclear.

2.) What is Evernight's connection to Amphoreus?

This unfortunately, is something we don't have enough information on, just tidbits and information in As I've Written, the TB missions, and her scenes to work with. We do know that she is supposedly the one to fill in the role of Chrysos Heir of Time in place of Cyrene and the Trailblazer, and her name, Evernight, is a blatant connection to Oronyx, so that's a good starting point. We already know from 3.0 that March (or rather 'Mother', who we know is Evernight based on Oronyx's reaction to March's camera) is connected to Amphoreus because of Oronyx's reaction to her camera, but other than being called 'Mother', there was nothing else to go off of there.

But there's more to 'Mother' when you turn to As I've Written for Time, where it's labelled as 'Mysterious Foreign Guest'.

Now when it comes to the titles given to the Saga of Heroes in As I've Written, they all reference the Chrysos Heirs' signature traits to their legends/myths/stories (eg. Triplets of Fate, Chessmaster Monarch). For Chapter 3, we're instead given the title 'Mysterious Foreign Guest', which...haha, already vague in of itself. But it's still telling, considering that there are only three possible characters who that could be; Cyrene, Trailblazer, and Evernight. Cyrene is immediately crossed off the list since it's been told in the 3.5 TB quest that she didn't inherit the Coreflame of Time and didn't become a demigod like the others so she's out. The Trailblazer is out by default since they never had any connection to Time other than Mem. That leaves Evernight; if it wasn't obvious enough with that jellyfish on the cover. So Chapter 3 is about Evernight, but what exactly can we possibly find here?

In this chapter, you get to see things from Oronyx's perspective. Here, we get to hear what 'Mother' sounds like (she sounds like March, who knew–), as she comforts Oronyx and attempts to teach them how to answer prayers. So we know at least Evernight has been around since this iteration of Oronyx up until the Chrysos War (judging by the 'Law' being taken down, which was only possible through Cerydra's efforts through the Chrysos War), where Evernight made Oronyx sleep and disappeared after they woke up.

So to recap: Evernight is an important figure in Amphoreus and has a deep connection with Oronyx, being a guiding hand for them up until the Chrysos War, where they then vanished afterward.

But what exactly is she then? This is a simulation after all, and if March was able to move about in the universe with the Express without any issue, that would mean Evernight isn't supposed to be a simulation, right? It's very confusing urgh. But I do have a theory for that.

There's already talk of March, or rather Evernight, not actually physically with us. After all, the last we've seen of March's body was in the Express where she's being encased in Six-Phased Ice. March herself says that the Path Space is a place where your consciousness goes when you're walking on a new Path, so when she passed through that doorway and entered Amphoreus, that was basically her consciousness that went in with us, not her physical body. So that means that Evernight currently is something intangible, kind of like Herta and Screwllum right now, where they are able to see Amphoreus for themselves but aren't physically there.

I suspect that Evernight is a cross between a consciousness and memetic entity. Most of the followers of Remembrance we've met thus far are memetic entities, being formerly human or otherwise. It's not a stretch to suspect that Evernight is a memetic entity too. And March? It's possible that Evernight employed the same tactic as Herta and Screwllum, in which she's not physically there in Amphoreus and her real self is someplace else. So when I say she's a cross between consciousness and memetic entity, I say she has a real body and consciousness and is a memetic entity all at once. It could explain why March is obviously very real and is able to travel around the cosmos without a problem.

3.) But if that were the case, then what was Evernight doing in Amphoreus to begin with? And why did she feel the need to leave?

If I were to give the best answer I could for the first question, it must be because of the Remembrance.

Note that Oronyx mentions 'Mother' but as well as 'Sky Father', and we know that Aeons are able to see Amphoreus without any issue (ie. Terravox seeing Long the Permanence and ofc Fuli casting their gaze on the Trailblazer). Since the Rememberance is one of the three leading Paths in Amphoreus' fate, it means it's been around as long as the other two. Fuli has an agenda in Amphoreus, so possibly that's where Evernight comes in, acting as the agent for Remembrance within the simulation. As for why Lygus didn't do anything about her is possibly the same as him not doing anything to Cyrene until the moment she trapped him in a loop; Evernight hid in a corner of Time and only ever interacted with Oronyx, the one whose simulated Path is Remembrance.

But as to why Evernight left, it probably wasn't because of Lygus (for now, I don't think it's him), but it is likely because of the Garden of Recollection. We know already that the Garden is interested in Amphoreus, but since the faction itself has outlier groups such as the Cremators and Memosnatchers, it wouldn't be strange to think that they possibly tried to interfere with Evernight's physical body. Seeing how Evernight showed animosity towards those Garden members (who might be one of those two groups) who tried to influence the Trailblazer, she must either dislike them or holds a grudge. Either way, with Evernight's body being compromised, she had to leave Amphoreus in order to deal with the Garden herself. But this is where the trail cuts off as it then transitions to March drifting into space in Six-Phased Ice. Whether the memory loss was caused by Evernight or the Garden is honestly anyone's guess.

4.) What does Evernight gain in helping us?

Honestly I have no fucking idea lmao. She's clearly considerate towards the Trailblazer considering she didn't want to use March's name in connecting with us, and her conversation with Dan Heng is of her not being hostile toward him. She also helped Cyrene and has guided her while the Trailblazer was in the Exomyth. The best I could deduce is that by helping us, we can save Amphoreus from its fate, so she obviously gains something by either saving Amphoreus or defeating Lygus and stopping Irontomb's birth. For now there's too many missing pieces that it's hard to make a solid theory out of.

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I think that'll be the end of this post on Evernight. I have to say, I am hyped for 3.6 already and I can't wait to see who Evernight really is and if our baby March is gonna be okay. Dan Heng too hehe.

Anyway this is me just recounting info ppl probably already know and giving out my thoughts and theories on Evernight. Enjoy (?)

[coloredsp3ctrum09]

some of my favourite moments from the restaurant event

absolutely LOVING how chaotic anaxa was the whole time i can’t with him

also shoutout to his brief time in customer service he would not survive a DAY in retail, my god

mad scientist anaxa how i love you so. i was LOSING it during his whole alchemical testing spiel

this man and his damn dromas i swear to god 2. just. phaidei this whole event

this whole ordeal was absolutely UNHINGED and i loved it so much

THIS SCENE AYO???? SIR THIS IS A MCDONALDS aside from the sillies, just seeing all the chrysos heirs interacting and goofing around with each other made me so happy i miss them all so much 🥹 RESTAURANT AU SAVE ME RESTAURANT AU