#Im digging this lore analysis!

[anexpendableclawingoutthecoffin]

The blood is getting cold, you'll need to leave soon. Rejoin the expendables. Let your blood and bones rewarm this ocean once again.

(hey folks, guess who's back? It's me, Mori! Please send in asks for me to have even more post ideas/rp opportunities please and thank you- Mori, not ¿morı?)

[koushirouizumi]

"God told me that if I had any wishes, that they would grant just one." - Kobato {Kobato}

"...I... I still... haven't granted it. ... Your wish... I promised... ...that I'd grant it... ...I promised..." - Kimihiro Watanuki to Yuuko {xxxHolic}

"I answered that I wanted to live." - Kobato {Kobato}

"I'll do whatever I can because I want to be here." - Kimihiro Watanuki {xxxHolic}

"What is happiness {/to you}?" - {Chobits}; Dark Chii {as Red 'Atashi'} to Chii {Pink 'Atashi'} {Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card Arc}; Lilie Shinomoto to Sakura [IMPORTANT NOTE:] {Sakura relating this to a canon Non-human Character}

"My wish is for you to go on existing. That's ALL I want." - Yuuko to Kimihiro Watanuki {xxxHolic}

"But the one Tsuyuri {Kohane} cares about most is YOU." - Shizuka Doumeki to Kimihiro Watanuki {xxxHolic}

"{Doumeki} didn't want {YOU} to vanish FOREVER." - Yuuko to Watanuki; on Doumeki {xxxHolic}

"To be happy... that's a rather vague goal, don't you think?" "{YES}, but that's what makes it {'INTERESTING'}. All the more interesting... in that most people would consider it {IMPOSSIBLE}." "{Impossible}. How so?..." - Zima to Dita; {Chobits}

(More Observations + A Conclusion of Sorts {mainly for xxxHolic's WATANUKI}- {&Shizuka Doumeki} under the 'Cut'!)

{Note: This commentary was made before originally seeing the very end of+special chapter of 'Clear Card Arc', [also] xxxHolic Rei's 2k25 continuation [which I am r e a d i n g!]- Overall, I still [personally] feel most of the parallels hold up!} (You are free to disagree, but I will not be [ d e b a t i n g ] them on my things.) This compilation is a CELEBRATION of recurring CLAMP themes in their {S T O R I E S}!!

[Note: P o s i t i v e / R e s p e c t f u l C o m m e n t s or T a g s O K!] {*S p a c i n g is to K e e p O u t of certain S e a r c h e s!!}

"Well, you need a {life}... a {soul}. And if you're not alive... If you don't have a {soul}... what then? Then happiness is just a story... in a fairy tale book." - Zima to Dita; {Chobits}

"Even if a {combination}/{of two [or more] people} Looks a bit 'odd' on the outside... They can still be happy on the inside." - Ichiro Mihara {Angelic Layer} x {Chobits}, to Chitose Hibiya (later Chitose Mihara {Kobato})

"The greatest happiness for me is to let the person I most like have the most happiness." - Tomoyo; {about Sakura} {Card Captor Sakura}

"One day a man had a dream. He dreamed that he was a butterfly. He fluttered and fluttered, flew and flew. He so loved the feeling of freedom… That he decided that he was a butterfly. But when he woke up, he wasn’t a butterfly. He was a human after all. Then the man thought… “I wonder if I, The Man, dreamed that I was a butterfly… Or if this moment is truly the dream. Maybe the man I am now is a dream that a butterfly is having"" - Haruka Doumeki, who primarily communicates to Watanuki through dreams; relating a story, about dreams {xxxHolic}

"Some things are worth caring about." - Doumeki to Kimihiro {xxxHolic} {Heavily implied to be about Watanuki}

"{Yuuko said} 'at this rate', {Watanuki would} 'disappear'" - Implied by Doumeki {xxxHolic}

"I don't love Chii because 'I wanted' to 'make love' to {Chii}.

'I wanted' to 'make love' to {have sex with} Chii because I LOVE {CHII}." - Hideki Motosuwa, on Chii {Chobits}

"Chii Persocom." "Yeah" "Chii is not human." "Yeah"

"Can't do SOME things. ..." {Implied as: 'Have sex with'}

"YEAH." - Hideki; - Chii to Hideki {Chobits}

"Happiness... That is..." - Someone Just For Me {Chobits} (Storybook)

"Maybe the man I am now is

a dream that a BUTTERFLY is having" - Haruka Doumeki, relating "Chou no Yume" to Watanuki,

"Because if we can all find that special person{/people}, then the world would be a happy place. The love that we all feel may not be the SAME, but it won’t matter if it’s the ‘someone just for you’." - C.L.A.M.P {Chobits}

"Happiness doesn't just come in one shape." - Ichiro Mihara {Angelic Layer} x {Chobits}, implied relevant to Ichiro and Chitose Hibiya (later Chitose Mihara {Kobato})

"I wanted to create, with {"Sakura"}, a series with a girl who saw {MINORITIES} as normal. For example, Syaoran and Eriol are foreign exchange students, but to Sakura they’re the same as {people} who transferred in from a local school. Similarly, Sakura believes in all the forms of love {Sakura} sees. Towards the end {of "Sakura"'s 1st series} I had several characters give advice to a worried Sakura, showing that there are many kinds and forms of love. I wondered how the series would be received, since it ran in Nakayoshi, but it was received better than I expected. - Nanase Ohkawa (CLAMP) {x}

"Ohkawa: (…) I am glad that the readers are happy that Sakura and Syaoran got together, but that anyone would think it’s {just} because they make a normal {combination}/couple… it’s a little disconcerting. Sakura didn’t chose Syaoran because {Syaoran}'s a boy close to {Sakura} in age. If Syaoran had been a girl, if they had been far apart in age, as long as {Syaoran} was still Syaoran, I think Sakura would have fallen in love with {Syaoran}. It’d sadden me if you thought they’re a good {combination} because they’re 'normal'." - Nanase Ohkawa (CLAMP) {x}

"Normal? What’s normal? To only do what the masses do? And what is the benefit of that? Where is the problem in adopting a custom that is ‘abnormal’ if it has no negative affect on the world at large?" - Yuuko {xxxHolic}

"I don't see anything wrong with being what everyone calls 'not normal'." - Yuuko to Watanuki {xxxHolic}

-Observations made when rereading mANY CLAMP Lores (To Be Re-Compiled, Someday)

Doumeki, probably:

"I don't love Watanuki because I wanted to 'have sex with' Watanuki."

"I wanted to 'make love' to Watanuki because I love Watanuki"

{AND IF WATANUKI EVER ISN'T FULLY 'HUMAN' ANYMORE?}

{Holic x Drug & Drop Cross-over} (Read panels right-to-left)

[bumpscosity]

God @ sera after the war (God made sera a war general in a war she didn't want where she watched many of her fellow angels die under her command and she became half blind)

[jennilah]

wanna take a moment to shoutout this channel which is relatively small but growing fast that some of u might enjoy

i enjoy it because i am actually horrendously picky with the movie analysis side of youtube bc im not really here for hot takes and digs and jabs and teases at the things that make me happy, no matter the rottentomatoes scores

and i also dont really care for normal reviews, i enjoy quirkier content. so, unique & silly concepts by people who are genuinely endeared to franchises and the jokes come from a place of real love for the characters and lore

so when Kitten Arcader's videos started getting recommended to me, i was hesitant. but i clicked, and ive been binging all their videos on movies ive seen because holy fuck they are funny as hell & fit all my criteria and are extremely well-edited and deserve more views 👌

theyve made one of these for each Saw film and they only get better and better as they get into the groove. theyre like comedy summaries of each movie but the only analysis is done on each object in the room. and the writing is hysterical. they come up with better trap names than some of the canon ones 😭

& they know about the fan theories & hoffthirst & fanfictions so they are def in the trenches

anyway if you also enjoy that kind of overanalyzing-the-mundane type of humor in general, Any Austin does the same thing but with video games

[jadedharleys]

Names ==> Lore/Jade/Rezi Pronouns ==> it/they/she/he (extended pronouns + names) Classpect ==> Heir of Space True Sign ==> Pigo

> Lore: Introduce yourself.

im an artist and fic writer (ao3 link) and also love collecting art, memes, and analysis abt my fave characters! ive been in this fandom a bit over a year but i still fill my queue on quests deep into ancient homestuck blogs to find old posts for my archives. some of the tags i use on posts are under the cut but theres a full list here and a fun way to explore art of various characters here.

main @lorettapetrichor / memes n shit @galacticcosmologist / problem sleuth @cucumberinspector / chronological reread project @chronologicalhomestuck / image spammin off main @crystamanthequinz

instagram / toyhouse / mutuals can dm for my discord, i also have a server for mutuals :3

tags

my posts:

#jade posts - original posts. sometimes i put it on art and stuff too

#jade arts - my art

#jade writes - my fics and writing

#jade does cosplay - my cosplay

#jade sings - my attempts at singing

answered asks:

#✉️ - show pesterlog

homestuck archeology digs (reblogging old posts, mostly art):

#📗 - let's see how far we've come

also see @crystamanthequinz

basic tags:

#meta tag

#fave tag

#save tag

#emo tag

#insp tag

#ultimate fave

#resources

#silly antics

#the baby is queue

#outfits & vibes

#lyricstuck

the guide to the rest of my tags is here and here!

[lycanresistance]

rereading all of your analysis on aarmau, and I can say you are mostly right, but headed a completely different path than what’s deliberating in front of you. Honestly? i can respect that lolz , i think your interpretation of aarmau could of almost work if later lore of mystreet wasn’t written.

im 100% sure jess wanted do a complicated familial relationship between all of the lycans…but i dont she’s educated enough to really different dig deep into them since most of their issues are cause because being a upper class bipoc household who also have to deal with an ancient curse (that’s a LOT of political discussion for indie anime blocks).

My take, personally, it’s pretty evident that rachel and derek does care about aaron, and doesn’t see him as a nuisance. And i really wished jess didn’t slack off of with behind-the-scenes moments when writing important interactions. I’m not really a lycan parent defender that much either cus abusers can still love or care like a regular person, but it’s just distasteful she’s given those two such a quick redemption — and hopefully in the future they are written more throughly if we do get that mystreet rewrite.

(part of me really wished lycan parents just stayed gone, but the other half of me is too invested in shitty older characters, this was MY yellowjackets before yellowjackets dropped)

i love these kind of asks but i do find them funny because i haven’t even reread my own aarmau analysis in like years lolz. anyways i appreciate it but i also would like to clarify that i never believed it was in any way aphmau intended the interpretation i wrote. in fact i knew she’d always disagree with it. i just love analyzing the implications of things! sometimes you accidentally put abuse in your minecraft series

for the lycans, i think she intended their relationship to be rocky but accidentally made it too bad and had to go back on it, especially because they were in part based on jason’s parents. their redemption and general treatment is just a symptom of bad writing, mystreet and minecraft diaries are horribly written and don’t handle any topics well. they don’t even commit to the lycans being bipoc even though they clearly are (flashbacks to the official aaron art that made his skin really yellow)

i’m not watching the mystreet remake if it drops but i do have to catch up on yellowjackets, i haven’t watched last week’s episode and another one out tonight, i liked the first two even if i think the series overall could thread the needle a little better

[lizardsister]

i've gone on record a few times as not being a fan of vaatividya (and honestly Lore Analysis makers im general tbh but he's the most egregious) but i think my absolutely biggest complaint about him is more the Culture that developed from him within the soils community when it comes to lore discussion where like. i've heard So Many Times from different people whether it be other content creators on youtube or just scattered comments throughout the net or even from friends where they'll have some kind of question/confusion over lore and they'll just go "i'll just wait for the vaati video"

and like maybe it isn't that deep but i know a lot of the times people say that they mean it! they're not going to attempt to come up with their own interpretations or examine things! they're just going to wait to get spoon fed takes by vaati (which he'll present as Fact and then just reference himself as proof, sorry had to throw SOME kinda other dig at him) and it just. I hate it. so much of the fun & joy of those games i think is the world and the lore and finding your own meanings in things and i hate how stagnant the discussion can become when people talking about it just becomes "well vaati said-"

again it's truly Not That Deep but it just always annoys me. and i know that some people aren't really about finding stuff out themselves or have trouble really understanding things sometimes and that's Fine. just. man. hate how one person has become The Authority on lore especially when i really simply do Not agree with so many of his takes

[the-owl-tree]

as someone who has watched literally nothing about mlp but had always had an interest in it and its fandom like xenofic bugs in a jar, im living for this new pony tangent. what are your favorite and least favorite brony tropes, when it comes to the fan media they make?

you and me ngl lol i’m both surprised and not surprised at the response to my mlp posting, the mlp and warriors community feel like they’d definitely cross over lol

also good god this got long

I feel like I have to preface that the community was a huge inspiration to me and the sheer amount of creativity that people put into their pony projects is still amazing. It’s so clear that a lot of the songs, animations, literature, and general fan creations came from a place of love and a lot of that inspired me to try new things! For all the bad press “bronies” got (and let’s be real, a lot of media outlets just wanted to mock them), it’s clear that a lot of older fans were having a blast creating. I still listen to a lot of the songs from the community and watch lullaby for a princess or rise the moon from time to time because of how much they still hold up.

I guess lore is a double edged sword? Because on one hand, I love reading too deeply into media that does not call for it. I loved reading the analysis on class divisions in mlp and I really liked the critical side of the community, it helped me really develop my own skills as a kid and helped me question a lot of the stuff that I was consuming. I loved watching reviews of episodes or hearing what my favorite artists thought! I think a vocal community can definitely be a double edged sword, but it really did encourage me a lot in speaking up about my interests.

But I don’t know if that’s a trope lol so I guess…definitely the sociopolitical analysis of pony society. The ones that picked at the show and what it intentionally or unintentionally would say. I love that stuff, it’s super fun to dig into. But on the other side, lore was something a lot of people held up as the best aspect of the show, and there was this sort of clamoring for the writers to dump more and more. Which, look, a lot of the original lore was weaved within dialogue or conflicts, it wasn’t quite “dumped” on the audience as it became in the newer seasons.

But there was this sort of fascination by some on war and the military in the pony universe. This obsession with royal guards and political conflicts, and I guess in some ways I get it? But also, look, it was peddled by a lot of self-proclaimed military bronies. It does not help the show did in fact do a little pandering with one of the episodes actually featuring an alternate universe where the ponies go to war and we get to see them in full armor 😭 like there was this big fascination of the princesses killing and leading battles and it just was not for me.

Hm….maybe nextgen stuff? I always did like the idea of seeing what happened next and all the various pairings. Though sometimes that did give a lot of artists the chance to be edgy and admittedly a bit inappropriate for the pony show. Like with lore, double edged sword I suppose. Can’t complain too much, I was a pretty edgy kid and loved angst and edge and drama! Still do but I keep it for my uh older audience OC’s.

Hm let’s see….fascination with side characters. Maybe because the show indulged them a little too much. I can’t blame the fandom for everything when the writers weren’t exactly tempering expectations. But that’s the same reason why I enjoy it! I loved seeing people provide full on backstories and character to ponies who were mentioned once (someone gave the idea that Woah Nellie is an outspoken activist and i still love that).

But yeah! Honestly? The ultra violent military obsession has always just been the weird one for me. It’s fine and I get why some people would be interested in the social and politics dynamics of a pony military, but I think the people who really liked it just liked the idea of the ponies going to war with cool weapons and fancy armor and not much else (gotta show how MANLY mlp is amiright guys)

I feel like there’s others but nothing is coming to mind rn other than the insane amount of sexual content.

[mochiotomedumplings]

start the week with some unplanned-but-not-unwanted sunturine analysis (delulu) bcs they’ve got so much lore to dig 🍰

part 1 😂

first, the progression of their character story. im only looking at the four unlockable stories here, but we can see a distinct sort of parallel between their journey - it started with them diving head first into what would make up the majority of their persona/ life so to say. at this point they’re still both quite full of energy - easy to see from sunday’s, and while aven didn’t quite show up we know what kind of things he did just before joining the ipc. sunday was very much full of hope for his dream with noticeable rebellious streak against his teacher, while aven put off his colleagues by all the stunts he did to get into the ipc (back when he still had plans, whether it was revenge against the marketing dept or gain power to find and help any remaining avgins).

then as it goes, we see how they went deeper and started to become the version of themselves we saw in penacony. as sunday took on more responsibilities (and went thru his pessimistification into the order) he became more rigid, more formal, more “dead” in his letter to his most beloved sister, clearly struggling but unable to voice his pains. as aven took on more projects and gambled his life again and again, winning with luck again and again, he rose in status but is notably desensitized/ “dead” to things that should otherwise invoke bigger reaction. he didn’t seem to care that the numbers don’t reflect his struggles nor that he had become a stoneheart, only that there’s no more avgins left nor the people he wants to repay, which made him go into daze and question his luck - coupled with what we know of his mentality in penacony, he seems to have lost whatever it was that was driving him forward and continue living. also unable to voice his pains.

last bit of their character story is at different stage but both point to penacony being a turning point. sunday seems to regain a bit of what he was before the order, less burdened and with energy towards his new journey - no longer wanting to die like right after being defeated. whereas we have aven’s state right before penacony, with his goal to die being alluded to. and then we know from the quest that he found some kind of will to move on, saying that its not yet time to meet with his family.

the parallel here is how they slowly lost their initial drive as they went further down their path - heading towards “death” in penacony then finding new life after (this got mentioned in one of sunday’s lines as well).

its really quite hard to read aven. i think he didn’t use to be so reckless as he was in penacony (i think he said jade was reckless during an earlier project when she was testing him) but after realizing all the avgins are gone and he can’t pay back the ppl he wanted to, it made him more bitter towards his “luck” - how is he lucky when everyone died and he can’t do anything, before and now, and despite it all he only has luck, and has no choice but to rely on luck. it’s a special kind of helplessness and resentment that would somewhat explain him being more reckless over time, to test his luck and die (probs can’t outright kill himself bcs of what his sister told him).

theres another theory which would contradict this, in which aven had little control and desire to join and stay in the ipc, and only did in order to survive. while true that he’ll have to keep up his performance to stay alive now, his “future” self once mentioned that he had a choice to live a normal life by selling his mother’s charm. of course with how he is with “sentiments” this was a very unlikely outcome… but this does suggest that he himself chose this path.

“Aventurine": The road less traveled is less traveled for a reason. But you've never gone in any other direction. Your own life is the chip you're most eager to lay down. Always has been.

this also points to him having chosen this path - he could have made a break for it after killing his master, but he chose to commit the high profile scams and got into the ipc. same for how he said he had “sought” the position of stoneheart.

“Aventurine": …That way, the IPC will earn a place at the table. And as for you, you'll just happen to slip the leash, leave the rat race, extract yourself from this endless debacle. You'll have the freedom you've always dreamed of.

"Aventurine": This isn't the first time... you've been an escape artist from day one. This fiasco started with a "Death," and its curtains will fall on another "Death."

"Aventurine": ...So, that's why Diamond chose you?

aven has a lot of prisoner/ captive imagery from his neck brand to his banner name to the way the coins in his splash art look like prison bars, and his collar too. but what is his prison actually ? if he had joined the ipc voluntarily, then perhaps the real prison is “destiny” - his fate of being “lucky” at the cost of everyone dear to him. notice he said leave the “rat race”, extract himself from this “endless debacle” - this could be referring to his own life, what he agonized over continuing since destiny is set in stone and we’re all meant for death. the freedom he seeked was from the “destiny” of his own life.

this is direct parallel to sunday’s theme of caged bird and being chained down by thorns. his prison is penacony - the dream that only showed him a helpless reality that could only saved by an even bigger dream. they both walked into their cage - questionable agency, but still they chose the path. the “happiness” sunday seeked was to leave a world that’s destined for suffering.

why was aven chosen for penacony ? beside how aven seemed unsure of himself talking to opal, which was different from his usual image - my guess is that he didn’t expect to be handed such a case like penacony, and he had barely talked to opal who gave him the task - they must’ve already known his self destructive methods. that he is more likely to harm himself than penacony itself, which would lead to a more “peaceful resolution” than if someone was to do serious damage to The Family. maybe diamond even somehow knew he would find a way to actually die which would give the ipc pretty good leverage to get back penacony.

they’re both pretty “righteous” people, and want to play fair.

“Aventurine": … What you want, what you need, is to be the smooth operator — the solid gold deal- maker who doesn't waste a drop of sweat even when he's up to his neck in danger, deep inside Family territory. You want to be polished up, cuffed with red-hot chains and spotlit center stage...

"Aventurine": You'll be the closing act! The final sacrifice.

Aventurine: ...I can do it, and it will be flawless.

this is so similar to sunday, wanting to be all smooth and unruffled even when it’s panic-worthy. also taking spotlight center… just like someone who wants to be the “sun” and sacrifice for everyone. they both have quite the flair for drama, and wanting to be “flawless”.

also worth noting that aven’s helplessness & resentment towards destiny is similar to what sunday feels towards the reality that he perceives - the weak gets exploited and suffers and loses their way, he couldn’t do anything when the bird died, when his sister almost died, when people keep on suffering because it’s survival of the fittest. they both want a way out of a world that’s painful and unchangeable to them, both wanting to be someone who can be in control of their world as opposed to their helplessness.

sunday was strong in his belief that the weak is destined to fail/ suffer, so he should create a world where there wouldn’t be any suffering. he was against this kind of destiny in the real world, believing that it’s better to have a new world order where people wouldn’t have to fight each other to survive and could live in happiness. after his fall, he has begun to embrace reality - the bird might fall but that’s its destiny, and so is his to start a new journey. just like aven, accepting his destiny and choosing to live on.

they actually share very similar outlook, pessimism on how “set” the world is especially. as for whether aven would want to stay in sunday’s dream… note that “future” aven said he will be in the dream along with past aven, accompanying aven “forever in this dream”, and that they chose to be there because they’re “tired”, and that aven’s family is “in this dream” but “not here” in the dreamscape. this can somewhat be interpreted as aven wanting to stay in his dreams - like penacony, his own sleep where he can recall the past and thus his family, hence he calls it rehearsal for death because it’s like practice going to see his family - but he also wants to leave because his family isn’t actually there. the dream is beautiful and sweet, but he knows he can only meet his family when he dies. being hit by the harmony and accompanied by his past and future is like being unable to move on and having no future - running towards death. i think aven will indulge the illusion since he wants to see his family again, then he’ll realize the flaws and wake up (to die).

sunday genuinely wanted a dream good enough to replace reality’s suffering, and aven would not be totally against it since he wants a break from his turbulent life. it was said several times that aven wants to leave the dream, but symbolically him wanting to die is like staying in the dream forever (future and past aven), not able to move on and find a will to live - the “dream” he wants to leave is his current life. it’s a different yet similar answer to sunday’s escape from reality - they both choose a form of death with which they can have what they want that’s impossible in reality… aka delusions/ dreams. they both didn’t see/ think they have a real “future”.

either aven would wake them both up, or they will live in the “dream” together forever 🥹

[widogastsweboffire]

.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Previous anon discussing the depth and lore here!

Read your response and I gotta say I still don’t completely agree, but I see where you’re coming from. Just wanna clarify that I do think Obey Me is one of the better otomes imo, but I just don’t feel like all decisions (ie facial expressions, lines) were exactly made with as much thought as you express (don’t get me wrong tho, I’m not saying the devs don’t deserve any credit or praise for decisions or writing). The best way I can explain it is when a teacher is analyzing a blue curtain in a film as “expressing sadness” and then the director saying he just liked the color blue— that’s kinda how I see the fandom’s analysis to the Obey Me plot. I do agree that it’s important to pay attention to details, but personally with *some* things, it feels like an over analysis. But of course that’s just me (and i enjoy reading it anyways lmao)!! TLDR; story is great, but it could be better lol. ANYWAYS sorry for rambling so much, we can agree to disagree on some things </3 still love you

Oh yeah definitely! Sometimes a blue curtain is a blue curtain. God, I'm not saying 0M! 's got some amazing depth or whatever😂😂😂 and I'll definitely be the first person to admit that I overanalyse things ( *cough*mammon's panic attack in the cupboard*cough*im so sorry michael i was just playing around and having fun i didn't mean to make people hate you before you even appeared*cough*) but it's also got more depth than people give it credit for

And while I don't think there's some deep analysis or reason behind the lines & expressions, you also don't just put lines or expressions in yknow?

(l think the only time you can get accidental expressions is in live action - where someone isn't meticulously planning out every line of a person's face. Like obviously in cartoons there'll be a lot of times where the fandom overanlyses an expression but at the same time even if the fandom is digging too deep that expression was a deliberate choice on the creators' parts)

At least in my experience you don't - if a character changes their facial expression between one sentence to another because they're talking to a character they're close with vs one they're not (eg: asmo in the s2 example I gave in the previous post when he spoke to Solomon vs Diavolo) then someone made a deliberate decision to make that expression change

Like if a line or expression is there it's because the devs added it, which means at least some small amount of thought went into its placement. Obviously not every line or expression has a deeper meaning but you can usually tell which ones do by whether or not they stand out compared to what the character will normally say/do or compared to what the character is currently saying and if there's a sudden shift in their expression triggered by a shift in the scene (eg: who they're talking to/ who arrives in or leaves the room etc)

Eg 1 : These 3 screenshots follow each other and are (obviously) about the same topic

Talking to Diavolo

Vs

Talking to Solomon

Eg 2: Usually when Mammon calls Luke a Chihuahua

If he's teasing/deliberately saying it to be an asshole, he's smiling:

If not, his expression usually fits what he's feeling/saying,

when casual:

when angry:

when exasperated:

But this is his expression after Luke interrupts their serious yet secret discussion with Simeon, where up to this point Mammon was angry, worried & upset:

Specially after going through so many "high"/"large" emotions, he instantly becomes uncharacteristically blank/stoic when Luke barges in

Eg 3 :

After MC commands 6 of the brothers in one swoop and feels no adverse effects while Solomon & Diavolo know that their magic is going out of control and destroying things. Solomon asks about how they feel after controlling the brothers for the first time and is his usual smiling self. When MC leaves though his expression drops. And this is significant because

a.) We rarely get to see the characters' expressions after MC leaves

b.) Solomon's always so smiley that any change is very noticeable

c.) There's no dialogue box that appears and usually a character is not kept on screen for that extra second like that since they're either immediately switched with another character or the scene ends and the screen turns black

Eg 4 :

There's also expressions/dialogue that's repeated when a character is feeling the same emotion

a.) Lucifer goes "..." when he's worried (eg: when Mammon runs away from home, when Mammon starts acting upset/distant after being forced to act like an angel - both in devilgrams)

b.) Mammon goes "..." when he's truly upset (eg: when MC's day to leave draws closer, when MC kisses Lucifer - both in the main story)

So yeah, not every line/expression has some deeper meaning but there are lots of moments like this ^ where it can't be anything but a deliberate placement on the devs part and that's what I was talking about in the previous ask

But yeah at the end of the day to each their own and I'm more than happy to agree to disagree I just needed a place to talk about those ^ examples with screenshots because they're some of my favourite moments in OM! writing wise

[steelandscience]

Thank you for this!

The idea that shimmer gives you mana makes... so much sense and yet it is completely blowing my mind. I think it completely ties into the idea that Viktor, if not born a mage, is certainly becoming one. 

My original notion was that the visions were simply there to serve an emotional or artistic purpose: either to demonstrate Viktor’s genius, or the way that he was slipping deeper into hextech research as Jayce began to pull away. 

But I think it serves a more important purpose, especially with the information you’ve gathered and the visual parallels to the mage that saved Jayce, and as the hex core grows as a literal sentient character.

An anon also responded to my post and suggested it may be brackerns trying to communicate with Viktor which... lead me into a massive spiral of analyzing what would change if Viktor is actually a true mage now, what it would mean to be connected to the hex core / brackerns / a namestone like that, and how that could affect how Arcane!Viktor becomes the Machine Herald of lore (and what might change between the two). I posted that one here if you are interested!

so are we ever gonna talk about Viktor’s visions and wtf THAT was or are we just gonna leave that one alone

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

anon who sent that ask about Silver here— i agree with all of your points, and im sorry that my original ask came off as harsher than i’d intended. i just haven’t seen much of Silver content at all, both in the game and fandom, which sort of bugs me because he’s my favorite character. if you asked me to list 5 interesting traits about him, i don’t think i’d be able to. kudos to you for being able to make an entire character analysis for someone who doesn’t stand out much at all in my opinion. all we can really do is wait for chapter 7, i suppose ^^

[Referencing this post!]

Oh, welcome back! ^^

I do feel kind of bad for Diasomnia fans 😭 Since those boys come last in the main story, they’re pretty starved for content compared to everyone else… Heartslabyul fans get tons of canon content via the various iterations of TWST’s main story (game, light novel, manga, etc.), and Octavinelle fans have tons of fan content to eat up. But on the bright side, there is a decent amount of Silver content out it just requires more digging to find 🥲

What’s considered “interesting” is very subjective 🤔 but certainly the most interesting thing about Silver is all the fan theories flying around about him, since we don’t know all that much about him in canon. We gotta work with what we have, yeah? I personally think his childhood stories are pretty fun, and I enjoy Silver more for how his personality plays off of other characters rather than how much screen time or explicit lore he gets.

xbsksbskwgwuxnkaka I wouldn’t call it a full-blown analysis, just me pointing out some little things I noticed 😅 but I’m glad that it was appreciated!

Let’s pray for episode 7 to be released soon! 😌🙏

[wonda-cat]

okok so like...... im just now getting into finallt being able to watch lore streams I’ve missed and! after watching the one stream where c!quackity goes around getting ppl to join las nevadas, I wrote this! I’m new to his analysis & just now learning more so lmk what u think? :D c!quackity is like..... actually a master manipulator? he’s somewhat unhinged (? wording.) & getting deeper into his shit as the days pass. for good reasons. (cont. in next ask ;;;)

> (cont.) but he can hide it SO fucking well, esp when it comes to getting ppl to join his side. while c!dream was a master manipulator, I wouldn’t say he has the all-around charm that c!quackity is able to exude & make use of so well. furthermore, I feel like so far his tactics have been subtle or “friendly”/“charming” enough that no one is gonna come for his ass for it. easily disguises it as wanting better for them.

> (cont. IM SO SORRY JUST IGNORE IF ITS TOO MUCH HELP) & maybe he actually does, who knows. but. anyways. it’s not obvious or out there enough like c!dream’s cruel actions were. he digs deep, subtly uses their weaknesses while offering them a “better opportunity.” tells them straight why they’re lacking, then softens it with how he can fix that for them. it’s so intriguing but idk if I’m getting this all wrong so far JDBCJDNF thank u

No, anon, you’re right!

c!Quackity does have a more charismatic quality that makes manipulation easier and oftentimes makes him seem more appealing when engaging with it. While I wouldn’t say he’s quite a “master,” he may seem more competent at it than most because he’s well-spoken and knows when to approach a target. 

However, even with these qualities, Q’s specific tactics when manipulating people are much more reckless, impulsive, and dangerous (to himself, specifically.) They almost always end with him at the mercy of his targets, one moment away from being hurt or killed. 

He, for lack of a better term, bets his life on the outcome of these conversations; something which c!Dream would Never do.

(I was actually planning on writing an analysis post on which manipulation tactics certain DSMP characters used most often and how they’re applied. I’ll be elaborating more on Q’s specific technique in that essay later.)

[triageatborealis]

disease themes...? oooh. elaborate

yeahh!!

 first, i wanna talk about the stuff that has to do with gman and the imagery surrounding him. like, in hl1 at the end of the game, when gman takes gordon out of the nihilanth’s chamber, the xen has a background very reminiscent of bacteria

(image credit)

also, in half life alyx, they touch upon this idea again by making the prision gman resides in look like bacteriophage

(image credit)

also, a lot of people point out how when gman speaks, it sounds like a dying man, or like someone struggling to breathe and talk. and gman looks so pale, and pale skin means no blood. and guess what! sick and dead people often don’t have blood pumpin’ through em

(image credit)

but its interesting to think about! like, why would this imagery be used for gman specifically? especially when he’s about to put gordon or alyx into stasis. how and what exactly does gman “infect”? maybe its a commentary on corporate/capitalism, seeing as gman is meant to be taken as a bureaucrat and/or businessman.

ALSO the overwatch for the combine!! im gonna use RescoeZ’s analysis video on the overwatch‘s voice here (by the way, the videos they make on the combine are so good please go watch them)

RescoeZ mentions that the overwatch has a "clinical and monotone voice, using formal and medical language" here’s some examples of that:

“code reminder: sacrifice, coagulate, clamp”

“social fracture in progress, respond”

“attention infection ... ”

“deprioritize exogen containment.”

“attention nova prospekt internal containment teams: ...  prohibit external contact“

“internal stabilization teams: deploy sterilizers in suspected infection blocks“

“deploy. diagnose. dissect.”

“deploy... diagnose... deploy... diagnose... ... “

“priority alert... internal stabilization teams... deploy sterilizers... deploy...“

“debride and cauterize.”

its so interesting that the overwatch, a voice that controls the combine force, is much more medical rather than bacterial or infectious. this pits gman and the combine against one another, reinforcing this idea that gman is against the combine. gman is the infection, something that is also extended to freeman in the combines eye’s, while the combine are the doctors, working to deploy, diagnose and dissect gman.

im sure theres still more to this, i always feel like theres something new i havent learned when it comes to half-life lore because of how much detail and care goes into making the game and story. i love looking into it though, so i’m always glad when i see people digging into the meat of this series.

[autisticlalna]

ALRIGHT im awake, let's talk Tales.

i am many thoughts head full about last night, so this is gonna be somewhat disorganized. im gonna start off with my overall opinion of the episode: it was okay! it was fun to watch, and it wasnt what i was expecting tone-wise which, honestly, seems to have been intentional.

that being said, i really hope tales with casts as large as this one arent super common because theyre really overstimulating, especially when you have the full dream team so theyre constantly bickering and fighting each other. they can be a Lot to deal with. schlatt was wonderful though, and it was a fun surprise to see connor back! and still being connor. punz was also fantastic

it's not going to be my favourite episode, but it was fun and thats what matters. karl is definitely steering in the direction of tales having lighthearted endings again, which he confirmed on twitter-- he doesn't want the twist endings to stop being twists, which makes sense. from a creator standpoint, tales is a series where cc!karl gets to mess around in cool locations with his friends as they play characters, so they just kinda do whatever and have fun with it! and its cool

so. let's talk analysis. namely, the breaking of the suddenly-dark endings.

oh god i think im gonna have to split this into two parts because i am talking way too much im so sorry [ edit: here is the second part where i talk abt the inbetween! ]

so, here's how the tales have been going so far.

the town that never was: pilot episode so im not entirely sure about the vibes on it, and i also havent seen it all the way through yet, but it ends with gogtopia (rip) getting destroyed and everybody moving on. its nbd.

the village that went mad: in the "canon" ending, everyone dies except the murderers. still framed as pretty goofy though, because this was pre-tales shifting into full lore mode and is blatantly just them messing around

the beach episode: ranboo digs up the treasure! and then gives a graphics card to.. sapnap? i think? but keeps the cool sword. pretty positive ending!

the lost city of mizu: everyone explores an underwater city where the vibes are clearly... off... and then Everyone Dies. ranbob reveals his true colours and wipes out all of the fishermen, either directly or indirectly (technically benjamin's death wasnt caused by him but they Were fleeing from him at this point so uh ??)

the masquerade: everyone goes to a party! and then someone gets brutally murdered. and then someone else gets brutally murdered. and the cast steadily dwindles until its just karl and the two revealed villains, and then karl Also dies.

the wild west: everybody bands together to stop the bandits! john john dies in an unfortunate accident of getting voted to go shoot someone by karl because the chat wouldnt put ranboo on the line otherwise (/j), but besides that everyone makes it out okay.

so, now we get to last night's tale, the haunted mansion.

from the start, it's got vibes of the masquerade. everyone's gathered together for a party, they do the duck/duck/goose joke, there's just this sort of vague feeling of "okay, SOMETHING" is gonna go wrong. i was expecting things to go south as soon as schlatt showed up, but.. nah, he's just here to chill. he breaks his legs trying to play duck/duck/goose and gets bullied by a pair of twins. hes actually pretty friendly, all things considered.

then connor gets kidnapped at the mansion, and karl decides to save him! no one else really cares or takes it seriously. karl has to, like, rally them together. schlatt's just screwing around the entire time, and is v clear that this is just like, a fun game for him. he's here to have a good time!

so, this was when i expected things to start going south for the characters v fast. literally the first challenge in the first trial people were struggling with, but anyone that fell/"died" just... came back okay? which like, alright, its the first challenge, there's some leeway. but like, for every misstep after that, if somebody died there'd be a couple jokes abt it from schlatt or somebody else but they were fine. a lot of the challenges in the trials werent lethal, actually.

im noting this mainly because of mizu. mizu was, like, the first real instance of "if someone dies, theyre permadead" (with the exception of ranbob exploding himself on accident). it happened in village too, but that was baked into the premise because of it being town of salem. mizu was the first big "oh, fuck" moment, and benji's death especially comes to mind because of it being a deadly parkour challenge like they encountered a couple times in the trials. plus, like, masquerade was a surprise murder mystery. john john got shot in the wild west and stayed dead. (o7) tales, starting with mizu, had v much switched to "people die if they are killed" outside of minor goofs like ranbob exploding himself or michael getting shot. and with how chaotic the mansion was, as well as everybody sabotaging each other, you could argue that all of the deaths would be in the same funny mistakes category, but after getting used to the tone of the other tales it stood out to me as a "huh" moment. i was genuinely expecting people to start getting killed off because, haunted mansion, death trials, menacing ghost, etc etc, but even when schlatt kidnapped people over the course of the tale there still wasnt a big dramatic reaction.

which leads into the reveal, or rather the lack of one. no one was actually hurt! schlatt brought up a few times that he was torturing them, but.. it's schlatt. the entire time everyone was in the main room, you could see the nameplates below, even. the only ones actually upset abt stuff were karl (who was in "save my friends!" mode) and ash (because zachary got put in the fun pit on accident). there really Was no danger the entire time, for the first time since the beach episode. schlatt was having a fun party with connor and connor's friends were invited, and sometimes fun parties include weird death trials! he's a ghost, he's bored.

this was... pretty anti-climactic. both to the audience, and to c!karl himself. karl gets frustrated that he went through all of that and no one was actually in any danger. when tales started, he was just the narrator, not a participant-- he watched everything go down, and wrote about it afterwards, so it didnt really matter much to him. the first time he gets directly involved is mizu. mizu, where he sees everyone die. the masquerade, where he sees everyone die. the wild west, where things have a happy ending, but there is still a clear threat he helps defeat and people die in the process.

karl is used to being an active participant for a reason. he's used to something terrible happening and him having to respond to it. in this case, something "terrible" happened, but it wasn't really a big deal in the end. it almost all seems pointless. the most karl did was push everyone into actually trying to save connor; francis, rash and joey solved most of the challenges, so they wouldve done fine without him. karl was here to observe, but thought he was here to participate and help save the day, because thats what he'd been doing the past few tales.

this entire point is honestly explained better in this post lol oops: [ x ]

so... now we get to the inbetween. which is, uh, a lot. i am going to have to make a new post for this god fuck damn