#analysis and thoughts

[mochizuke-creates]

Lies of P DLC Analysis/Predictions:

(Spoiler warning - obviously)

I have to ramble about this somewhere because none of the prediction/dlc videos really go the same direction that I do in terms of lines of thinking in what the trailers present us.

People keep talking about how Lea is talking about her father, or some other person in the trailer but to me it is extremely clear that she is talking about Carlo.

I think what throws people off is the two sand memories at the end game point on the black beach. The first of her denying him training and the second lamenting that she’s too late. Those two likely did not happen side by side since every memory before that one showed a distinct time jump between them. It is highly likely that a good amount of time passed between them and they grew closer after her initially turning him down.

This is clearly alluded to in the trailer when she says “I won’t be late. Not again

In the game: “I was too late… If I had known that this would happen…”

The things talked about the trailer imply a close relationship with the person Lea is talking about.

Trailer: “Listening to this song always reminds me of you. Remember when we all gathered to play it together?” While distinctly playing piano and violin in the background.

Carlo played piano, and he played well. Regardless of the ending you get in game, you can get the pianist of Krat trophy from him either remembering in his “human” body, or remembering to play over time in his puppet body. What I think this implies via instruments in the soundtrack, is that our legendary stalker used to play violin with him.

Trailer: “Maybe if we can cross the bounds of time? We will meet again” notably this line is read out while they are in front of the Monad Charity House (or what looks like it.)

It looks like our protag- whether truly Carlo or not in the end (the game as it stands implies it but does not really confirm anything) seeks her out with the pocket watch. It seems he at least had enough memories to know to look for her.

The game- outside of the situation Krat is in- focuses extremely hard on Carlo’s relationships. Sophia worries for us as she realizes who the king’s ergo belonged to, Romeo calls us by his name, Antonia writes about us “whether you are that child or not” in her letter, and the final boss fight focuses on Carlo entirely which - if you get the best end- implies that Geppetto could not see what was right in front of him, being that his son was always here.

That combined with the instances of people who have come fully back in puppet bodies (both Sophia (good end) and Romeo do this) - all hint at us following that trail in some capacity.

So yeah- it tracks that the DLC will focus heavily on the relationship that was had between Carlo and the Legendary Stalker, Lea. At least that is my theory with the evidence provided.

Anyways, thank you for reading this if you did. I just had to get this out of my head somewhere before my brain exploded.

[lostsoulaltair]

Owari no Seraph - Answer Found. A reason to live

Hello everyone, this post itself is a final conclusion of one of the aspects it's often touched in the manga story...and I finally found the answer to it.

P.S: Theories, analysis, thoughts are held in a neutral view, ships are excluded.

What is a reason to live? Why is it always emphasized on this story?

With the many chapters of the story, we've seen how many characters have talked about a "reason to live" right? Along this we've seen many "finding out one". But...

"Is finding a reason to live equivalent to live for others? Is it equivalent to fulfilling someone's dream?"

The answer to this is a big no. But why? Is there something backing this up?

Such answer lies on the next questions

Have you ever wondered why vampires become demons?

Why even humans can become demons?

Why do demons feed on desires?

Those questions actually can be answered on the very core of how vampires are made which is back when they were human beings.

The very main task of humanity is to find a purpose, to find a reason and a place in the world. Something that motivates you to live another day and struggle against the constant battles in life.

Thus, let's focus first on the very core group of the three that are bound by desires and emotions. Correct, the first group is

Humans

Despite humans being the most emotional group; humans are tasked with finding a purpose. Along the series, we've seen the MC state so many times he's going to live for someone, this also applies with Guren and Mahiru mainly. What do I mean?

Contrast to what it is believed, Yuu, Guren, Mahiru are characters that haven't found reasons to live; they're living for others along having objectives for others rather than themselves.

Guren ever since he was small he was raised to follow what it meant to be the head of the Ichinose Family. But that responsibility changed when he met Mahiru and saw himself as weak, unable to save the love of his life; adding to this, when his squad was defeated and killed, he was about to give up but he didn't and instead chose to follow the path he chose. Mahiru's destiny was set in stone if she wanted to see her baby sister alive, she had to quit any idea of actually living and finding a purpose. Yuu doesn't love himself, he craves love but there's not a single hint of him focusing on pursuiting a reason to live; a reason that can be called his for his own.

All these three have something in common and that is that they are demons, they've reached a step of becoming demons that exploit their desires.

But for that, let's explore the next group.

Vampires

Vampires have the normal desire to drink blood to live, which is an equivalent to humans eating and drinking water to live. Vampires are the group of humans that long gave up on life, they chose a different path instead of finding a path, to find a purpose and Mikaela is a prime example of that. He lives because Yuu is the being that pushes him to continue living but that's very different from actually willing to live along finding a reason to live.

Yuu is a motivation source, but not what Mikaela wants for his own self but let's not confuse that Mika has bad thoughts. But rather, Mikaela is an example of humans who aren't able to be strong against certain conditions and it's normal and something that shouldn't be criticized.

In special conditions, no matter the willpower one's soul carries, some things simply come like a wave, hitting us and overwhelming us. There can be sources that push us to continue but it's not akin as having the will.

This also applies with the vampire progenitors. They endured trials in their life but instead of walking in the path where the light of the sun lied, they chose the shadows. They resigned their humanity but in exchange, they became unable to find reasons to live.

Urd for example, given that he has no passion or lively emotions, he can only seek salvation through making vampires humans again, letting them find the final solace which is to die as a human being.

And given that we know that the final path for vampires is to become demons. Let's head towards such group.

Demons

The last step for vampires. But why do they become demons? Is that really the end?

Yes.

Vampires turn into demons not just because they can be made but rather, because they've never found out a reason to live. Hence as demons, they have a neverending craving of human desires so they can keep searching for eternity what they long lost and cannot seek. Demons are bound to get lost given that their former selves gave up in life to find a reason to live and exist.

One of the best examples for demons is Ashera Tepes. One who accepted the conditions of the First with the long dream of giving a happier world for his sister, Krul Tepes.

For sure, the day he died as a human, he was born as a vampire, he sought for his sister only to find her in her last breaths. But instead of allowing her to travel through the course of life no matter how painful it was, he made a choice for her. Krul didn't have a voice but rather his brother. The consequence? Krul was unable to die; she as a vampire was tired of living endlessly, with a never changing body, being unable to walk under the sun, being unable to walk on the path on which humanity walks and most importantly, being unable to the be ruler of her life.

Furthermore, even if he felt gratitude towards the First, what did Ashera even fulfilled? Did he have a personal dream for him? It will forever be unknown...he became someone that fed on desires given that demons have a chained need to them.

Then. What is to "find a reason to live?"

To find a reason, is to find a purpose, to give meaning to one's existance. It's not receiving or giving to someone given that people will be part of your path; but rather, it's actually deciding what you want to do, what dreams you want to achieve, to cry, to get angry, to stand up once again.

It's to literally choose why you want to keep standing, why a new day is a new opportunity, it's deciding your path for your own, not choosing for others but you alone, it's defining what makes you "you". What defines you exactly as the current being existing.

This couls be compared to our daily lives. What do we want to reach? You get emotion thanks to someone's art, speech, actions; then something like a flame bursts giving a fiery passion like emotion, and so, our actions begin but they're not made for selfishness. When you draw, when you create your first piece, what is it that you feel? When you manage to play your first song, what is it that you feel? When you make your first discovery, what kind of emotion is born? When you create your first story, what do you feel? When you conclude and give birth to new ideals, what is what your heart feels? When you pursuit a goal such as becoming number one or aiming to be first place or managing to do something that gives fulfillment, what kind of emotions are born?

But most importantly..

This is a delicate thread between being selfish vs giving love to one's self, embracing the concept of one's existance and walking firmly in this trip called life.

The squad right now, are having their own agenda, not Guren's, not Ferid's, not Mahiru's, nor Rigr's. But their own. They found a beacon of light but said beacon is motivating them to fight for what they want to achieve, for the very goals they have along finding for each other why they want to live and see a new tomorrow.

Mitsuba is slowly finding a reason, so will the boys do so as well.

Lastly, what differences humans from vampires in general, is that humans have the right to walk under the light for the very reason they keep fighting. Whereas vampires long lost the opportunity for that. They long abandoned the righteous path that would let them have a human heart.

Humans on the contrary, strive down a path until they leave a mark on the world. The memories they bury on Earth dance between the hearts of people they managed to connect with. And so it begins once again in a new cycle.

That's my answer.

What do you think dear readers? Let me know!

[brain-depositary]

I was looking at @smol-lydia’s Jewish Viktor Arcane headcanons and though they’re mostly fluffy cultural things it’s really gotten me thinking about with in comparison how Jayce’s arc and surrounding milieu is so 19th century and by that assumption maybe calling Viktor Jewish-coded makes a lot of sense.

Like we look at other characters from Zaun and even given what we know eventually happens to Vi, there’s a definite undercurrent of loyalty to their position societally, geographically, that Viktor, despite apparently being from the same place, doesn’t seem to have, despite being passionate about problems that have affected him and people he knows due to geography (water purity, mining safety, etc). Considering the way the rest of the show handles matters of national/ethnic identity this is actually very weird. What’s his deal?

Well, look at this through the 19th century lens, and consider if Viktor was Jewish, well, a LOT is going on for Jews during that time — Jewish Emancipation was happening piecemeal in Europe and Jews were slowly gaining equal rights to Christians and integrating into mainstream society and struggling to navigate what that meant. With this as the backdrop, Viktor not feeling especially connected to Zaun vs Piltover makes more sense. His family may have only recently begun integrating and he would likely still consider himself an outsider to both words, possibly symbolized by his accent. To him, Topside and the Undercity may be the same (derogatory), to the point that he rarely mentions anything about it to Jayce despite being very close and only begins pushing back when Jayce starts being weird about it. He seemingly only caves to ideas of national identity under huge pressure — which is exactly what the conflict in the show continuously ratchets up. So, we’ll see how he fares in season 2.

I’m not knowledgeable enough in LoL lore but I have a feeling this analysis would make Arcane Viktor Jewish and LoL Viktor a gentile.

[twilightofthesandwiches]

The funny thing is that despite the many surface-level similarities between Mettaton Undertale and Tenna Deltarune; both being rectangular, charismatic TV Hosts who subject the Player Characters to many TV-Themed Minigames and a ‘score’ based Sparing Mechanic

And they even have a very similar taste is suits!

On a deeper character/thematic level, they’re actually total opposites.

Mettaton is the Underground’s only celebrity and main source of entertainment, he’s highly watched and highly popular (Well, within the standards of the Underground, it's implied they are just not that many Monsters around). Meanwhile Tenna’s whole thing is that he’s been abandoned and ignored by the whole Dreemurr family. Outcompeted and overshadowed by the many other sources of entertainment in the modern Light World.

And while Tenna is motivated by an obsessive desire to not be abandoned ever again, to keep Toriel and the Fun Gang on his shows forever… One of Mettaton’s biggest flaws is his tendency to abandon those he’s close to. He pretty much cut ties with Shyren and Napstablook when he became a star.

And he’s been growing distant from Alphys as well.

And, actually his whole darn motivation is to abandon the Underground in search of even greater fame on the surface.

His Pacifist Ending is all about him confronting that flaw in himself, understanding how important he is to the Monsters of the Underground and deciding that he should stay so he can keep bringing his brand of entertainment, joy and glamour to the people who needs it.

While Tenna’s Happy Ending is about helping him to get over his obsessive neediness to entertain specifically the Dreemurr family, and realizing he can move on to someone else, to someplace else, who will actually watch him.

On a deeper thematic level... I think you can also talk about how Mettaton is driven by his Dreams, while Tenna seeks Hope.

And also, I always saw Mettaton as representing modernity for the Underground.

Due to his human-fanboyism and fascination with the Surface, Mettaton has ended up creating and/or promoting a lot of aspects of modern human culture in the Underground. Mass media entertainment, merchandise, trademarks, fast-food, minimum-wage retail jobs, unions…

All of these things seem to exist in the Underground primarily or entirely due to Mettaton’s influence.

Every other Boss/Main Character has some kind of ‘official position’ in the Kingdom's traditional power-structure; Sentry, Royal Guard Captain, Royal Scientist, King, Queen, Prince… Mettaton is a creation of the Royal Scientist, but on his own he’s just a rich and famous celebrity. That's kind of a modern concept in it and of itself, since it kinda requires the existence of a mass media culture....

Or hell, just the fact that he’s the one Monster in the game who seems to have no real respect/loyalty for the Monarchy, and is actually working against him…

Both out of his individual sense of morality (he cares for the Humans) but also for the sake of the very modern goal of mass fame.

And of course on the most obvious level he’s a technologically-advanced robot whose ‘zone’ is the most tech-themed part in the game. (Zones? if you wanna count Hotland and the CORE as separate areas. Either way it's true of both when compared to the rest of the Underground.)

And Tenna is obviously the exact opposite of this. He and his Dark World are still kinda tech-themed in the sense that he is a Darkner based on a household electronic device, but he’s still clearly supposed to stand as a vast contrast to the much-more advanced techy-themed Darkners of Cyber City. He’s specifically meant to be themed after outdated and old-fashioned technology

And the concept of Nostalgia.

… In a way, despite Undertale being a very 2010’s game and despite the Underground being established to have 2010's technology such as Social Media… Mettaton's being primarily a TV Star with TV Show theming in most of his encounters is a very 20th century sort of concept. To use the Television as a shorthand for the concept of modernity.

Obviously that works within Undertale because that is a very familiar cultural shorthand and also it does make sense within the Very Particular Technological and Cultural Framework of the Underground… But with Deltarune being both a much newer game and taking place in a world much closer to our own, I guess it makes sense to instead use the TV to symbolize the past, outdated technology and nostalgic yearning.

[the-irreverend]

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH watching Kris flee out of the room when they find out we're with them KILLS ME every damn time, and perhaps the detail that hurts the most is how their expression changes and how that adds a new understanding to how Kris sees us.

The moment they realize they and Noelle are in terrible danger, the netrual, reserved expression we're so used to seeing from them changes into one of ABSOLUTE TERROR as they flee out of the room; terror which I firmly believe is rooted in the psychological, emotional, and physical trauma we have caused them and Noelle.

The things we made them do in the Snowgrave/Weird Route made them realize just how much harm we're capable of causing them and the people they care about, and how great our capacity for evil truly is. They already resent us for depriving them of their agency, and now that they've endured us abusing said agency in the worst possible way, their hatred and fear of us has increased a thousandfold.

Deltarune isn't some cute little otherworldly adventure; it's a goddam cosmic horror story, except the twist is we're the eldritch being that brings ruin and madness wherever we go.

[wintersnails]

House has definitely sent Wilson a dick pic or several but he sends them by email because they are both old men and the titles are things like ‘URGENT: please identify if lung cancer’ or ‘patient biopsy results - respond ASAP’ so that Wilson’s guilt complex makes him feel obligated to open each one just in case someone’s life is actually on the line

[artbyblastweave]

I'm not the first to mention this, but one bit that I thought was really clever in Steven Universe is the ways in which the show subtly justifies the cartoonism of the principle cast always wearing the same outfit for ease-of-animation purposes. The gems are a gimme in that they're all hardlight-projections, and even before that's solidified as a plot point they're otherworldly and superheroic enough that you don't really think to question it. But Steven canonically just owns hundreds and hundreds of those star shirts, which are leftover merchandise from his father's fizzled-out career as a rock star. Into which you can read a whole bunch of other stuff if you really want to, right? And I do want to. It's reflective of Greg's misplaced optimism that he got hundreds of those made in the first place, and it's a benign but visible example of how Steven's life is shaped by the knock-on effects of decisions his parents made before he was even alive. He's got his mother's superpowers and he's wearing his father's shirts.

[chirrups]

my favorite nonsense headcanon: winners get silly little marks like in warrior cats

for extra drama: the previous winner gets to decide where the next one's mark goes

[wormspoodle]

he's brought a friend

[shitpostingsapphic]

"Caitlyn never verbally apologized" no, she did so much more than that.

She betrayed Ambessa. She let Jinx go. She led the battle against Ambessa in the finale. She lost an eye and nearly died. She gave up her seat on the council to Sevika so that Zaun could be represented.

Does it fix everything? No. Systems of oppression aren't fixed with a handful of well intentioned actions.

But Caitlyn DID feel remorse and DID make attempts to reverse her wrongdoings.

Did you want Caitlyn to change, or did you just want her to be punished?

[mrchoppedslefthand]

[SPOILERS] Homicipher Is Actually Romantic, Convince Me Otherwise [Analysis/Opinion] [SFW]

Word count: 3,332

Edit: 11/7/2024

[Feel free to skip to the last objective "Individual route discussion + what made it romantic" if you want to get straight to the point]

Homicipher is truthfully a romantic (or platonic) game. It is a game that has to be looked at from a different perspective when it comes to love/romance. A game where you have to take in consideration of the characters and the nature of their 'other world'. Today's post will discuss into what I believe made Homicipher an oddly, but romantic game, despite its shortcoming and abrupt ends.

⚠️[MAJOR LORE/CHARACTER ROUTE SPOILERS] ⚠️

Discussion Objectives:

Definition of Love & how it plays into Homicipher

The nature of the 'other world' and ghosts

Individual route discussion + what made it romantic (thoughts)

What Is Love & How Does It Play Into Homicipher?

Love has many layers of definition and associations. Maybe, that is why some may deem Homicipher to be "unromantic" and some disagree on that thought. It also varies based on the type of content/exposure you had consume in the category of love [whether romantic or platonic]. Socially, from a common standpoint, love is a strong attachment or affection for someone. Often from a social standpoint associated with dates, affection, and intimacy. However, love is always changing, since it is a social script on what its suppose to be, and changes as society progresses. Some notions stay the same but some begin to change (just like how language and certain concepts begin to change in the other world, a different society from our own). For the sake of a "true" definition of love. I will be using the definition offered by the Oxford Language Dictionary. So, what is love?

Love as a noun is...

"An intense feeling of deep affection"

"A great interest and pleasure in something"

"A person or thing that one loves"

Love as a verb is...

"Feel deep affection for (someone)"

"Like or enjoy very much"

Not long after its release there had been a fair number of comments/reviews criticizing Homicipher for its lack of romance. This claim is NOT entirely wrong. From the expectations of a "normal" Otome/dating sim it doesn't necessarily meet the requirements because of its lack of intimacy, affection and interest from a HUMAN/SOCIETAL perspective. We must remember that romance/love does not necessarily equate to kissing, hand holding, and intimacy especially considering that these are the HUMAN (societal) views on what romance/love is. A concept that had become lost in the 'other world'. So how can we call Homicipher romantic if we have to cross out the influence of our society? The answer is that we can't fully avoid it, HOWEVER, we must be open to a different perspective of what 'their' version of love is (platonic love/or romantic). No matter how lacking, dense, twisted and grotesque the moments we have spent with these ghosts are. In some shape and form it CAN equate itself to love (platonic/ or romantic). I think a lot of people forget that time itself can be equate to some complicated level of love. The fact you spend time with someone, and it develops to something further for worse or better, something that even love may not be able to name, is what this game demonstrates.

Homicipher has a consistent theme, the loss of truth, the acceptance of ignorance and the concept of eternity. Which shockingly is where the romance comes from. When we allow ourselves to rot in that world. When we ignore the exit and choose to stay, is where the romance comes through. Love is complicated. What can I say?

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

The Nature of the 'Other World' & Ghosts

Alot of the ghosts we encounter can be friendly, but also just as deadly. We hear it from almost all of the casts warning or discussing about how dangerous a lot of the ghosts (including themselves) roam in this world, and in different endings, succumb to this danger ourselves. The longer we stay in this world, we soon start to become no different. As we, a human, begin to slowly transform into a different entity. We begin to react more violently (though it can be argued that since our MC is a serial killer, she might have just been violent and cruel in general). When angered, or things start not to go her way, she gets filled with bloodlust and takes it out on who she's with. Killing is a common thing to do in this world, especially when experiencing anger, sadness and even boredom. The concept of death is a little complicated as they can easily regenerate themselves back to "life". As the game progresses, we learn that some of these ghosts cannot grasp certain concepts (such as love), remember their own name and self, and don't have exact words (sometimes none) for items.

When sometimes even confessing that you like some of the ghosts they question you, and state that they cannot understand you or that feeling (platonic/ or romantic). We are in a setting that is beyond the mortal realm, there aren't any exactly "ideal" dates in a place different from the moral realm... so you're going to be stuck in a scary place, having a scary "date".

However just because they cannot understand the concept of love, doesn't meant that they can't feel it. It is something that the body may still feel, and the mind not being able to put an identity to that feeling or even situation, since meanings and concepts get lost within this realm. The fact that we are allowed to spend an eternity in this realm, with our handsome casts of ghosts. Is oddly and sadly romantic. For Mr. Crawling it is his devotion and loyalty to you, it is how he worries and cares for you, it is his affection and attempts to soothe you. For Mr. Silvair it is his care for you (as research of course lol), your usefulness (which is why he is attracted to you), but even then, one of his endings he keeps you as a head, when you had become useless to him. For Mr. Gap he finds you intriguing, he wants to play and follow you around, always asking for parts of you with consent, loves to brag about himself to you. For Mr. Chopped it is his want to rely on you, to feel safe with you, to protect him, to spend time with him. For Mr. Hood it his willingness to help you for an eternity, to roam with you forever, keeping you away from danger. For Mr. Machete it is the fact you both spend an eternity searching for a home together, to suffer boredom together, to suffer within each other's presence. For Mr. Scarletella it is his obsession for you and his willingness to spend an eternity with you.

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

Individual Routes + What Made Them Romantic

[Not in any particular order]

Mr. Crawling

If I had to rank who had the most "romantic" route overall, it would be Mr. Crawling. With the definition usage of love from the Oxford dictionary, verb and noun he checks all the list. Not only that, but we spend time with him the most out of all the other casts. He was the very first ghost we meet (briefly in the beginning) and got stuck with. We are like a baby bird imprinting on him because we saw him first and spent time with him the most, so of course we might feel the most attached to him compared to the others. As the game progresses Mr. Crawling doesn't fail to let us know that he cares for us and our safety warning us of the dangers that come and explaining how to navigate our way around danger. He expresses his worries when we disappeared. He seems to have some concept of love (platonic/ or romantic) as he admittedly tells us that he likes us and ask us if we like him. He expresses how he wants to follow and protect us. He also has so many cute scenes! Scenes where he pats our head, scenes where we lay together, chat a lot together. He is devoted and loyal to us, never harming us even once.

We even get a scene where he gets jealous when we called Mr. Chopped cute with the cat headband! So, he also makes an attempt to be cute too! We are always together with him, and that makes us BOTH happy. Although we don't have our traditional romantic dates like shopping, movie night. We get a bed scene and get to take him back home with us.

There are many types of romance. Platonic and romantic. You the reader/player is allowed to view it however you want. The game does not punish you for the lack of interactions with the casts. You just end up missing out on certain scenes/moments with them is all. However, for the sake of this post I will be making attempts to talk about the romantic aspect (but platonic romance can also be put into place).

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

Mr. Silvair

lt's apparent that Mr. Silvair keeps us as research material and confines us in his lair. He is interested in our body, and also interested in returning our mind/intellect back to its original state. It is this interest in us that makes him "love" us. Does confinement and research count as love? Well...maybe not in terms of human definition but in the Mr. Silvair way, it's the closest thing you can get to romantic (or platonic). Afterall, the concept of love has become lost in this world.

I believe he still has some attachment to us, because in the ending A Head's Life, he still keeps you as a companion along with Mr. Chopped. He claims that you are no longer useful/capable but that it is okay, as long as danger is no longer here. When you choose to ask him why he did what he did and ask if he likes you, he tells you it was for research and that love is something he cannot understand. He also doesn't understand why you get so angry when he helped you return your intellect back. He still though has some sort of concept of empathy, because in his route when you choose to kill him and hide yourself away. He comes follow you and expresses that he's sorry and tells you a little about himself. He allows you free will, at this point, allowing you to leave him or stay with him.

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

Mr. Gap

Mr. Gap always wants a piece of us, literally. Why does he? Because it's just for fun. The most interaction we get with him is through the multiple crevices within this world and the short route he gets in chapter 4. He takes but sometimes may give. However, he doesn't fail to be thoughtful. It's hilarious how in chapter 4 when he offers us a crowbar in exchange for your heart, you can just smack him for it with no consequences. He also likes to brag about himself to you which honestly is a little cute. With his ending Return, we only have him left in the 'other world'. Our comfort lies with him, although he may be a little annoying, he is the only one we have left. We maybe have become a little codependent on him, but maybe he likes that?

God his annoyed/disgusted face is so hilarious, do it again Mr. Gap! He seems to stick around with us mainly just for funsies and being nosy, and honestly, he is so real for that. But it seems he likes to stay around with us at least. In the return end he is with us, and continues to stay lurking, perhaps watching over us until he is needed. Quite handy am I right? Haha.

He is depicted as quite the gentleman, but also just as fun and teasing. There are times where he does help you with no charge, such as barging into his hole (the face he makes in that scene is hilarious). Again, when presented with beating him for your crowbar, he gets a little upset but, honestly still helps you out. He probably thinks violence is funny which is why he constantly still teases you by asking to take away your body parts. It's just too fun!

Someone had brought up to my attention that Mr.Gap tends to ask for parts that can be easy to part with as we progress. Asking for our feet, legs, and fingers instead, when he seems to still clearly prefer the heart over the other parts. He adjusts his request when he realizes we won’t give our heart.

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

Mr. Chopped

Mr. Chopped is just a head; how can he possibly be or have anything romantic? Well, not necessarily to the level of Mr. Crawling but, we get to have a few small moments with him and spend some time with him. Since he is just a head, he can't help but need to rely on others. Of course, he has to be selectively about it because falling in the wrong hands devastates him.

Mr. Chopped when he gets forced into playing with the deer child, he seems happy to see a familiar face and calls us out to help him. Our poor baby was in trouble!

His ending head hunt is tragically sad but also bittersweet. MC cares so much about Mr. Chopped that she spends an eternity as an entity searching for a lost head, searching for Mr. Chopped who she failed to rescue.

During his own special route Mr. Chopped does his best to help us, but there is only so much a head can do. To make up for his lack of body though, he seems to be more expressive with his mouth and emotions. We get to take him to get a haircut and wash his hair. This seems pretty date like to me. Although our time was abrupt and short with Mr. Chopped. It makes me happy that we get this small, cute scene with him, which makes him much more lovable.

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

Mr. Hood

Mr. Hood protects you from harm, and also heeds your commands. He also carries you around. He means no harm and is there to guide. He cares for your safety and seems to dislike anything dangerous or threatening towards him and others that he protects.

At the end of his route, he states how often you get in danger and takes you with him, telling you that he must protect you since you asked him to (referring to an earlier scenario when you asked him to stay with you, when you reunited with Mr. Crawling and the others, but he leaves). So I would assume he would always be by your side now eternally staying together and protecting you from danger when needed. How cute! Some people are into that. But personally, for me Mr. Hood felt more like a father/brother to me. Maybe it was because he was always willing to guide us? But some people are into the brotherly/fatherly type of men, and hey I don't judge.

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

Mr. Machete

At first, I did not see the appeal to Mr. Machete, he seemed like a ghost that killed for boredom and most of the time we just followed him around aimlessly...WELL, after playing his route and letting it soak in my brain. That is entirely the whole point of his character. He is a ghost that had become bored because he had too much time on his hands and continues to search for his home. He is our tsundere dummy macho ghost, and honestly, I love that about him. He could've killed us again like how he tried earlier, but after that first attempt, he reluctantly allows us to follow him. It's funny how much he runs away if the odds are against him, and when he mocks us it's even more hilarious. Mr. Machete likes us if we are strong opponent for him, he even expresses that he thinks we are fun and likes us when we defeat Mr. Hugeface on our own.

Not going to lie, I fell for Mr. Machete right here. We were low on blood, and he just slices his hand, FEEDING us HIS BLOOD. Like OMG that was so hot, he opens our mouth forceful, and we drink his blood. He somewhat cares about us, to be doing all of that for us. After that we get a timed choice to stall or follow him. When you choose to stall he pauses with you and asks if you're okay and to catch up with him. For someone who had been reluctant and annoyed at us for following him, took a moment of his time to wait for you. He WANTED you to tag along with him. We then venture on with him aimlessly searching for his and our home. Torturing each other with our presences. But maybe, just maybe, they can slowly become that home together that they were searching for.

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:··:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

Mr. Scarletella

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. At first, he appears to be just any ghost that wants to attack us. It took me a while to warm up to him because of so little we knew about him. I thought he wanted to take our name for fun/or collection, but then it's revealed that he knows us. That he harbors some sort of love and obsession for us and believes that we love him because of all the blood and bodies we "offered" him. In a twisted way, this situation is a cute and romantic misunderstanding. Mr. Scarletella fell in love with us for providing him many blood and bodies. He wants us to spend an eternity with him. He WANTS to spend an eternity with us. He invites us to this other world because perhaps he wants us to become a ghostly being just like him, or maybe he wants to have easier access to us (since his myth that he only appears on rainy days) to meet us. Although we didn't get to have as many interactions with him, that is what makes this love toxic. It is a parasocial love, he fell in love with us from afar. When you piece everything together with your dictionary the words he proposes to you sound like wedding vows when you give your name to him. Which make it all so more lovely, even if he takes our soul away.

(My translation/interpretation of the scene, where he asks for your name)

Chapter 2, Scene 24

Scarletella: "You found your name...?"

Scarletella: "Teach me your name." (ARF ARF WRARF)

Scarletella: "I want you." (YES PLEASE)

Scarletella: "Will you give your name?" (OF COURSE)

Scarletella: "Your name?" (👁️👄👁️)

*You give him your name here*

Scarletella: "I have your name."

Scarletella: "I have obtained you." (YES YOU DID, COME TAKE ME)

Scarletella: "Let's leave together." (ARF ARF WRARFFFFFFFF)

Scarletella: "I love you"

Scarletella: "And you love me."

Scarletella: "You gave it to me...Thank you" (I'LL GIVE YOU IT ALL)

Scarletella: "Forever/eternally together..." (YES SIR)

Scarletella: "Together." (ARF ARF WRARRF ARFA)

He is quite the romancer hehe. It seems like Mr. Scarletella has some form of concept when it comes to love, which is to be together forever, even if you end up as a blood pool. Together is together.

I find it interesting how his two endings: Scarletella and Scarlet Rain parallels each other so well. In the Scarletella ending, we (mc unknowingly) give our consent to being together forever with Mr. Scarletella, but we are still alive. When MC wakes up, she sees a clear umbrella on the floor and picks it up. I believe that we have now embodied or spirited the umbrella, spending eternity with Mr. Scarletella. He owns us now.

However, in the Scarlet Rain end he becomes ours, the umbrella stays red, and we still, eternally are together forever.

[alicentsgf]

some people are dodging the point so hard. like yes shaunas the "bad guy", shes the one who wants people dead (and maybe lottie too ig) but this story has always been about why its even possible for that to matter. shes literally just one person so why dont they all just refuse to participate? nat does, repeatedly, but no one stands with her so lottie and shauna get what they want. we saw that shauna literally backed down when tai stood up to her, she isnt some unstoppable force.

this is and has always been about passive violence. how being silent in the face of violence, not actively standing up and saying "No" is complicity. tai and van rigging the cards so it will be the "outsider" who gets hunted is complicity. it is commentary on how we allow "fringe" members of our communities to be cast out, othered, hunted, because we're too afraid for ourselves to stand in solidarity with them. but then in the end when the violence comes for you or your friend or your family theres no one left to stand with you because you abandoned those "others" who could have stood with you. shauna and lottie only have the power that the girls give them by being passively complicit in a similar way to how shauna was complicit in tai's plan for allie in the pilot. and so it goes again and again. they all ostracised jackie, watched javi drown, let shauna intimidate and lottie lead them to vote against ben. this show is literally inspired by twin peaks, a story in which an entire town is found to be complict in the murder of a girl they all snubbed every possible opportunity to save. the point is not that shauna is the villian but rather that she is only able to hurt people because the others have created an environment that indulges her worst impulses.

[keets-writing-corner]

Thinking a LOT about Lucifer in the latest Hazbin episode. Idk what I was expecting but not this??

As I was watching my immediate thought was just "huh... Lucifer is kinda of weird..." but as the episode went on I realized the issue

the dude is off the chain depressed, like he says it as a joke but holy cow it is SO BAD

He's manically just creating rubber ducks cuz his daughter really like it that one time but it's empty, it's never good enough but he keeps doing it, maybe cuz he doesn't know how to pass the time otherwise.

like I get the feeling he HAS better things he SHOULD be doing than making rubber duck after rubber duck. At first I was like, "Bruh why isn't the king of hell doing anything?" aaaaand then it became clear...

The dude is disassociating so bad he can barely hold a conversation let alone remember information. He clearly WANTS to, he wants to be involved with his daughter so bad, he wants to care about the things she's doing so bad, but his depression keeps interfering. It's like he can only hear every other word and he grasps onto the ones he does hear semi-out of context. Like you can see every time he catches something that he hadn't before and he just "well shit I didn't catch that part"

and that's why he reacts so weird when people talk to him. He is struggling so bad to engage with the conversation he's only getting 50% of it

does that look like the face of a man who knows what the hell the conversation is even about??? he is STRUGGLING

like Charlie spent so long telling him about the hotel, and he STILL didn't understand what she wanted. Yeah it comes off as ditzy but literally I've been in that position where your brain just "nope, not doing this right now" and nerfs your conversation comprehension. So as someone who's BEEN in that position, to me it feels exactly like what he's dealing with. He's sorta engaged with the conversation, but only as much as his brain will allow

For example, when I'm dealing with this, this is what someone talking to me feels like this where the crossed out parts are what I missed and bold is what I catch, "Hey! You know I was thinking for dinner we could either make some chicken with rice? But if you don't feel like cooking, pasta is super easy and you love that right? What do you want to do?" you can kinda get that someone is trying to talk to you about dinner, and towards the end you get the impression that they asked something that needs your input so you can decently put 2 and 2 together and try and pass off, but crucial bits were left out, I would have no idea that either chicken or pasta is in the conversation only having heard "rice". When someone is just talking at me, I can decently pass off as being engaged but the second I'm required to participate in the conversation I'm screwed. Seem familiar? At which point I have 2 options, try to give a bullshit answer, or admit that I missed what they were saying and ask them to repeat

Lucifer, unfortunately, is trying so damn hard to hide that he's dealing with like 24/7 dissociation, so he can't admit that he's missing entire chunks of the conversation, hence his really weird replies. He does eventually get the full picture and then he and Charlie start having the real conversation

Also, the Alastor/Lucifer rivalry was hilarious but also really indicative of more of what Lucifer is dealing with

Alastor is, unfortunately, really good at picking up people's insecurities, and thanks to Charlie's description earlier and watching Lucifer clearly trying to overcompensate, he immediately picks up on the fact that Lucifer KNOWS he struggles to be a good dad (we know cuz it's cuz of the depression, hard to be engaged when your brain keeps turning off) and decides to rub salt in the wound by pretending he's been acting as a surrogate father to Charlie. Now why Alastor decided to pick a fight with the king of hell is beyond me, I do not understand Alastor (and I LIKE IT) (maybe it's cuz Alastor thinks he's hot shit and was expecting Lucifer to at least have heard of him but Lucifer just treats him like a nobody? who knows)(why would Lucifer listen to radio anyways when he can't even pay attention to a conversation it'd just be white noise)

But yeah I just was expecting someone who oozed either charisma or presence and instead I got a depressed dad who's dissociating so bad he can barely function and be present in his life. The only thing it seems he CAN do is make rubber ducks cuz his daughter really liked it that one time

Idk Lucifer is tragic to me. Whatever the full details of what heavan did to him absolutely broke him and he can't deal with it. He's aware of it, and he doesn't know how to fix it, so he tries to over compensate and sorta makes an ass out of himself but no one says or does anything cuz this guy is supposed to be THE king of hell

Suddenly it's making a lot more sense why he just rolls over and lets heaven do what it wants and even told Charlie to go in his place the start of the show. He's not in any headspace to hold a basic conversation let alone negotiate! He didn't even know who Alastor was, he's been so out of touch

idk I like him, he seems sweet, I hope Charlie brings some light back into his life. He really needs to get out of that rubber duck room

[astrangeavenue]

drew some totally normal sadnesses

blank bg and individuals below the cut

edit: i posted some of my thoughts that went into these designs! if youd like to read you can find it here

[twilightofthesandwiches]

It's really cool how, after Chapter 2 established the idea of Darkners (who aren't Ralsei) eventually petrifying when in a Dark World they 'don't belong' in, both Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 found a way to use that idea in really weird and creative ways to enhance their themes.

Chapter 3 blurs the seemingly obvious lines of "every Darkner belongs in the Dark World that created them", asks what does it really mean to 'belong'. A Plugboy (Ramb) and plenty of Pippins were brought to life via the Dark Fountain that created everything in TV World… and yet there are characters expressing the idea they don't belong due to their Dark World Backstories that means that they come from other Worlds - even if these obwere still totally in Kris' living room when those those Dark Fountains were opened.

And then it messes with it even further by having all the Pippins be totally fine, while Ramb the Plugboy and even one of the Zappers got petrified. It seems like the idea of belonging or not belonging in a Dark World is a lot more abstract and emotion-based then we previously thought. The Pippin's dialogue about Ramb implies he got petrified simply because he never really made friends, because he never fit in.

And that just… really helps the atmosphere of the endgame of TV World. The way that Tenna's obsession and breakdown is causing his world to crumble all around him, causing his own people to feel alienated. And this idea of feeling like you never really belong in your own home obviously fits in with the undercurrents of Dreemurr Family Drama that run through the entire chapter.

Meanwhile in Chapter 4, the Petrification is used to emphasize the narrative element of Predestination and, well, Prophecy. Because it's not just that the Darkners from the original "Dark Sanctuary" manifest as Petrified when Susie creates her "Second Sanctuary"

The Darkners of the Second Sanctuary already appeared Petrified in the First Sanctuary.

Meaning that basically, as far as the Dark Worlds were concerned, Susie's creation of the Second Sanctuary was preordained. So preordained that the objects that would become the Darkners that populate that Dark World came to life as soon as the First Sanctuary did, but then turned to stone because they actually belonged in that not-yet-created other Sanctuary.