#general fate rant i guess

[jathun]

ngl I have such a love/hate relationship with the fate franchise

[thiscityneedslessfog]

the Midnight Channel Killer is a control freak and I’m going to shout about it

Alternate title: I can’t take it anymore, I HAVE to talk about the bitchy spider

I have to say, I love that Adachi is impulsive as hell and that p4’s plot happened entirely because this guy flew off the handle at Mach 8 over not having his rather invasive question answered. He’s not at all a master manipulator (though he likes to pretend he is), he’s an emotional wreckage that’s ruled by his violent temper and desperate clinging to his pride and I’d argue naivety.

I mean, I'm convinced the real motive of the Midnight Channel Killings is a horrific cocktail of boredom, misogynistic entitlement, jealousy, and most of all a desperation for a sense of control over his life... I love that irony because he loses control over his own body in his attempted power grab via Ame-no-Sagiri taking him over in the end before the Investigation Team beats the crap out of her.

Why do I say it’s a sense of control over his life? It's a bit hard to explain, but I've noticed every time Adachi complains about his situation he projects the issue onto someone else. Here he puts the blame on his bosses for casting him out to Inaba when… they cast him out because he screwed up. We don’t actually know what he did (I’d bet it’s information leaking if I had to guess. It sounds pretty severe but it’s clearly not bad enough to completely ostracize him), but it’s clearly was his own fault he got cast out.

Here’s the thing—Adachi clearly genuinely believes he has no control over his life, and makes it abundantly obvious he believes in fate, the idea that your life is decided the minute it starts, throughout his dungeon.

I mean… this is just blatantly not how the world works… talent is just a skill you catch onto faster. Everyone catches onto some things more than others. The real magic ticket is connection. Humans are social creatures. I could go on a long winded rant about this but this isn’t about humanity, this is about one insecure, prideful dumbass. This is why I call him naive, actually—his horrendously warped worldview.

Meanwhile Adachi’s rant after Saki’s death makes it… really obvious that he feels he had no control.

Again, he deflects blame from himself when he made the damn mistake that locked him in here. He firmly believes that he’s a victim in this situation when he caused it himself. And he wants a way out.

It makes sense, right? Adachi is a very controlling person in general, after all. Hell, Yamano and Saki’s deaths both make it obvious. Yamano’s I have more to say on with Adachi being a control freak.

The first thing I want to talk about is Adachi’s threat towards Yamano before he attacks and kills her. So, in my experience (I genuinely cannot cite a source here it’s “trust me bro”) there are two bases of power that you can have over people: trust and fear. Trust is usually built by a good rapport with another party (or numerous other parties) so that they’ll let and even help you get where you need. Fear meanwhile is built on making them believe they can’t stop you even if they want to, and it tends to be easier to spark than trust. And since Adachi is pretty livid with Yamano and feels entitled to her due to his Midnight Channel induced desperation, we get this telling line.

Also, a late edit: I finally found out from some of my friends why Adachi said he wasn’t intending on killing her…

Anyways, I’m keeping in the fact that JYB made this scene genuinely chilling. Holy crap, it’s weird hearing him voice villains. And great.

The second thing I want to talk about is how his really creepy entitlement towards women (including a teenage girl—SHE’S NOT EVEN A WOMAN YET) is another facet of how his controlling tendencies manifest. Not even just that entitlement—it’s his possessiveness and jealousy over them, like they “belong” to him. It doesn’t help that he’s got a violent temper—he killed them both because, again, he flew off the handle!! Yamano’s death has already been mentioned—he was angry at her for “betraying him” when she didn’t even know who he was until he approached her to ask that question.

(hardly can be called an affair when you two aren’t dating…)

But Saki’s was even more of him being a controlling bitch—he attacks Saki because he saw her just talking to Namatame. He didn’t want someone he was attracted to interacting with someone he was jealous of at all, and in response makes some violent advances on her. And then when she literally just defends herself, he kills her in response. All because some guy he hates spoke to her, and that wasn’t allowed in his eyes. Talk about a green-eyed monster…

Not to mention in both situations, Adachi is taking advantage of his inherently more powerful position as a police detective (you know, LAW ENFORCEMENT) and taking advantage of the people around him’s trust in the cops. I mean Saki asked him why she was being questioned right before he cornered and attacked her. I’m mentioning this because these scenes were him aggressively abusing that power that he clearly genuinely wants to have…

And speaking of Namatame, Adachi was panicked when Mitsuo Kubo became his copycat. He didn’t want Kubo to get accused of being the Midnight Channel Killer, he wanted Namatame to be! Just Namatame, nobody else! He threw away a very easy out just because he was so particular about who he wanted to frame for the Midnight Channel Killings.

(As another aside, I played p4 with a large pack of friends and even though I’d suspected Adachi since Yukiko’s dungeon, Adachi throwing in Kubo was what made me go “no way it’s ANYONE else.” Great job, Adachi, you played yourself. 👏…👏…👏…👏…)

He also risked himself being exposed (and got exposed) because of the “threat letter” (which, to be honest, from his interactions with Nanako during his social link, was really a PANIC letter) because even though Namatame was now doing something he wanted the whole time up until this point… Nanako is actually someone Adachi likes, and that one factor being present causes everything to crash. (To be fair to him on this point, it’s Nanako. So it’s a mix of his controlling side AND one of… what, two? Three, if we include Yu…? people he actually is attached to being in danger.)

As for why he’s so controlling, I don’t really know. I have speculations, though. I believe he’s likely got trust issues because he questions why Yu trusted him, and even stifles a laugh when Yu tells him he believed in him.

The fact you’re Dojima’s best friend, dumbass.

Yu didn’t trust Adachi out of naivety. I don’t know if Adachi genuinely doesn’t realize or is in denial about it, but Adachi is Dojima’s best friend. In his second scene and his first where he does anything more than throw up, he playfully teases Dojima upon him saying “Our perp… it’s gotta be someone in Inaba.” Adachi is invited to dinner numerous times, right after Yukiko is rescued, he drunkenly tells you about Naoto being rescued at Dojima’s place, Dojima doesn’t bat an eye when Adachi is near Nanako. Dojima cares for and trusted Adachi, and Yu saw that. And Yu putting his trust in Adachi was putting his trust in Dojima’s judgement by proxy. It makes total sense Yu would trust Adachi…

Not to mention, he constantly pushes people away, like Dojima or Yu or the old woman. Relationships at their core are exchanges—there’s no fundamental difference between a friend and a business partner other than potentially trust and attachment, so I think he’s just… not really willing to give any of himself and just takes. Also he just doesn’t seem used to it (he literally states he avoids the old woman because he has no idea how to respond to a woman who actually acts like a decent parent.)

I think he not only thinks it’s safer to be this way, but…

Adachi is a very proud man, and shows that his sense of pride makes him believe he can do everything on his own. He sees all the events that led him to Inaba, to becoming the Midnight Channel Killer, as out of his control. I mean literally look at his rant after killing Saki above. He was “supposed to be the best of the best,” and blames his superiors for sending him to Inaba when, again, it was his own fault! I think partly because of his pride, he also just thinks “if anyone can do it right, it’s me, so if anyone should head this, I should.” I know tons of people like that! I mean, he tells Nanako that he’s the smartest person in the Inaba PD.

I mentioned this delicious irony with him and Ame-no-Sagiri, but even without all that, despite him being so controlling as a person, Adachi’s not even very good at keeping... anything under control. He was agitated when he realized Naoto wasn’t strung up on the power lines, and… he’s also wildly violent-tempered as Yamano and Saki experienced firsthand—this guy can’t even totally control himself. And manipulating Namatame severely backfired because it led to Nanako almost dying.

the spider is trying to weave a web. he’s struggling.

[millieisawriter]

rant about the show american primeval and why i think abish got her happy ending, spoilers under the cut

so after having finished the show in two evenings, i had told my friend to watch it. she did. and she's a romantic, just like me. except we're different types of romantic, i guess.

the end for red feather and abish. let's start with saying that my friend said the both of them died in the arms of someone they loved. while i agree it was the case for red feather, i do not agree it was the case for abish.

like, it's kind of beautiful how we can interpret the same thing differently. but, maybe it's just me, not once did i have the impression that abish loved her husband. from the first scene when we meet abish and her husband jacob, until the ending where she literally became a part of the shoshone and fought on their side.

yes, from the traditional point of view, or if we choose to sympathize with jacob, i can understand that someone may think their ending was beautiful because they do eventually reunite. the wife and the husband dying together is generally a concept i am very fond of, but not here.

i'm sorry, but to me it seemed abish was miserable in this marriage from the beginning. i don't know much about mormons besides the fact that they were rather insane, but i assume she could've been forced into this marriage, it was something arranged and/or forced upon her. to me, abish didn't love her husband, and quite frankly, i think she had a hard time even just liking him. she wanted to be free.

on the other hand, i'm not saying she was in love with red feather nor that he was in love with her. i wished they had ended up together, but they didn't, and that's okay. again - abish wanted to be free. and, ironically, she felt the most freedom when she was held captive. so much that she even decided to escape and come back after she had been returned to the mormons.

and, honestly, from the first time abish and red feather looked at each other i hoped they'd be a thing, like it would be so romantic. the way they looked at each other for the first time was like "wow, it's fate". i was sad that they didn't get their happy ending, and i posted about it. but now i think abish did get her happy ending after all. she didn't want to live in a cage. her marriage wasn't a happy one. her marriage was a cage, possibly forced upon her. she wanted to be free. and death? i think death is what gave her eternal freedom. and what makes it more beautiful is that the bullet that gave her this freedom was fired by her own husband.

[emblemxeno]

Sorry king gotta rant. Why does Bernie having trauma mean you can't dislike her? Where's this energy for Rhea, who lost her people and mother? Catherine has good reason to support Rhea since she saved her fucking life but she doesn't get that pass. Dimitri is mentally ill as hell but I don't see Bernie stans defending him? Oh because Bernie didn't hurt anyone else? Okay, what about cyril? The 14 year old boy who was saved from SLAVERY brings up his surrogate mom a lot. Who did he hurt? Why is Bernie's annoying "funny footsteps" ass where the line is drawn? Everyone in 3h has trauma! People can hate whomever they want don't get me wrong but don't act like your favorite traumatized waifu is above criticism while characters like Rhea get dragged through the fucking mud. I guess trauma is only valid if you support the emperor.

Valid feelings imo anon.

I have come and gone on how I feel about Bernadetta, because it's extremely apparent what she was written as: a character whose major gimmick is meant for surface level laughs and entertainment, with a backstory intended to endear her to the audience.

But therein lies many issues I have.

---One support conversation with Byleth, and she says she's fine around them, for no discernable reason according to her. Her entire support chain, including her Goddess Tower scene, is her all but saying "I can't and never could do anything without you professor!" That's a problem 3H has in general because it has no idea how to intentionally write an actual developed relationship. It's why the Lions' intense homoeroticism within its cast, along with Ferdinand and Hubert, are the most common ships outside of Byleth centered ones, as those effectively stumbled into gold.

Comparatively, most other romantic chains-where love/marriage/a relationship was blatantly intended-fall flat because they shove a lot of it into the A supports (sometimes the B rank ones too), which also has to complete the support chain's arc, making one/two conversations tackle two different and delicate topics at once.

I know people are critical of Awakening and especially Fates having romance being hamfisted in the S ranks, but at least you can complete a support chain's story in those games without the shoddy lovey dovey aspect being required reading alongside the conclusion. It's unavoidable in 3H, and also makes many characters look like shitty, emotionally immature people in a meta sense because they can have these near-confessions-of-love with different characters simultaneously due to it being in the A ranks. Not in a cute polyamorous way, either, no just ludicrous.

I digress though, because this affects Bernadetta for me specifically because it's such a rough backstory that it fails to get me to suspend my disbelief that she can suddenly become comfortable with a very speficic stranger to the point of falling for them. Compounding that with a military academy, events, and eventually a war? Yeah, no, it makes no fucking sense.

---Simiarly, as you say, the music that accompanies her supports makes the revelation of her backstory feel insincere and vacuous. Now, I praise similar kinds of writing in games like Engage with Alfred, for example, where learning a very important detail recontextualizes everything you know and have seen about the character. With Alfred, knowing about his illness and losing his father at a young age, it shifts the entire thought process about his supports, story scenes, Firene as a whole, etc.

The difference between him and Bernadetta though, is the sense of respect. Perhaps it's due to Alfred being plot important, but Alfred is written in a way that signals "I, the writer, respect my work, respect the character I'm putting time and effort into, and respect the audience who is consuming it." Alfred has funny music scenes too, but it's never at the cost of making a joke of his trauma. His muscle worship is funny to listen to, his fitness/health regimen is nutty, his overly enthusiastic personality is entertaining, but none of this is at the expense of his vulnerable points. There's hardly, if any, instances of him being forced into changing who he is, altering his beliefs and lifestyle, or being made into a perennial punchline.

Bernadetta, on the other hand, is almost always treated horribly by the support writing. Yelled at by Edelgard, forced out of her room by Ingrid, beat up by a rabbit in Petra's support, accosted by both Ferdinand and Hubert, carried against her will by Caspar, etc. The only supports where I can comfortably say she's treated all right is with Dorothea, Leonie, Raphael, Seteth and Alois, and even then, a couple of those are reliant on a character getting backstory/teachable moment in between her screaming.

It boils down to "Haha, look at this kooky situation that Bernadetta found herself in because of her shut-in personality, what will happen next? 🤪", meanwhile the whole reason why she's like that is because was violently abused by her father and a childhood friend of hers was nearly beaten to death. The backstory itself, doesn't even recontextualize everything the way Alfred's does either, because now all I think when Bernadetta's screaming is "wow, this is fucking gross and potentially triggering for people who also hate having boundaries crossed due to trauma."

And this is the same game that gave us Dimitri's story arc lol. Then again, most of the female characters in 3H have some garbage writing attached to them, soooo...

---This is personal, but I also just can't jibe with Bernadetta conceptually.

Her part one design is okay (aside from the "wow crazy face Bernadetta cuz she's scared haha! 🤪), but her part two design is kinda horrid.

I don't like her voice at all, though that's not an indictment of Erica Mendez at all (she's great as Deirdre and Lianna). It's the direction and character concept, I just hate high pitched squealing and screaming, no matter the voice type, it hits my ears in the worst way.

She's pretty cool as a unit, due to the vengeance builds and having a good spell list if you wanna go a magic route, but... that's about it.

I don't know if I hate Bernadetta herself, or even really dislike her, but I do vehemently hate the concepts behind her and how she's written.

Really, I think people should feel how they feel about whatever character. And I agree, I think it's kinda BS how certain characters are treated worse than others because their personalities are "more annoying/less endearing" despite also being in similar situations.

[enden-k]

it's so disheartening seeing big companies who have the funds for their own original stuff get their near-copied slop eaten up so much by the masses

but then I see storytellers like you and others here on tumblr who make their own comics and blurbs and share their ocs and their stories with the world without the predatory tactics and i gain a little more hope in humanity lmao

i mean its not bad if you take inspirations here and there, and lots of stories or designs end up sharing similarities of various degrees with one another, unintentional or not (parodies are a different topic, i love parodies lmao) i guess that just happens. theres so many works and creativity, ofc lots overlap or follow a similar pattern whatever etc english is hard, idk if ppl get my point

its smth else if its blatant rip offs tho, just like idk what game it was with gnshit years ago where they even got in trouble iirc, and i cant stand when its ppl intentionally copying others works and then claim its their own ideas (thats a constant fear i have, ppl copying my things) or when smth copied smth else and everyone goes like "ohh so cool so unique", not knowing abt the og (lit saw that in the hsr guy comments already, ppl screaming abt how good his design is and how hsr team outdid themselves EVEN THO MY GILGILMACHINE AND HIS UNIQUE DESIGN WAS THERE FIRST AAAAAA???????? cant wait for ppl getting into fate in the future and then call gil whatever that guys name was, just like how every single JJK fan does with any whitehaired guy ever. i saw a comment saying my bbg failwife gintoki looks like gojo and i think i cried a little inside)

ANYWAY. i dont wanna sound like a whiny bitchboy sorry oof just ranting here

thats why!!! i really enjoy reading/seeing other ppls own creations. ppl rlly follow their own ideas and dont bow to the masses or very heavily take inspo from existing popular characters to the point of copying 1:1, just to gain the same popularity or whatever (saying this in general, not accusing hyv here btw. idk what their deal is and idc tbh, ive got better things to do rn)

[chaifootsteps]

(Long semi rant trying to dissect what the basis of stolitz bond is supposed to be)

Some time ago Viv liked fanart of Blitzø holding a broken gold chain round his neck tearfully saying “please don’t get rid of me” so she knows his reaction is Stockholm syndrome not love but she’s trying to sell it as love? Going by her “what are you doing here then?” Line from stolas, she thinks him crawling back and begging to be sexually abused again, means he is in love and wants stolas to be his boyfriend. Christ.

She’s really struggling to write their supposed connection. If it requires a tertiary character like Millie or Fizz to state it to us, that’s not enough. Millie made him mad, and Fizz was saying “well your jokes are so bad that anyone laughing at them proves how in love they are!” I mean cmon. That’s nothing. Everyone laughs at the jokes of a guy they want to fuck.

It’s never organic. Either someone purchases one of them to be owned by the other, or the person is forced against his will by some contrivance, to leave his home behind and get stuck with the other. Vivzie sees this force, coercion and transaction as the strings of fate connecting their pinkie fingers. Is she deranged?

I guess he blushed at stolas ugly human form and made weird faces during All 2 U, and even though she strongly established him as not wanting to have sex with stolas all throughout season 1 and the start of season 2, she’s trying to go back and tell us he actually did? The evidence being his photo on his phone, where the phone inexplicably hovered above then both without Blitzø holding it at all, and his confusing horny song at Full Moon. Sorry but no matter what I can’t unsee him as a rape victim who can’t accept anything else and is very hypersexual.

Stolas is a guilt-ridden rapist trying to overcome his lust and domesticate a prostitute his father bought him as a kid 25 years ago, who can’t fathom love and has severe mental health issues. The rapist then gaslights and devalues the prostitute in public shaming, until he sees the rapist as superior to him and accepts all abuse as deserved. He feels like he has to win his abuser back to prove his own worth. Then once the prostitute sees the rapist has an abusive wife, starts dating him like he always demanded. That’s her magnum opus.

I think she just can’t comprehend the psychology of someone who’s been forced to have sex with another person over and over. Gross as it is, you can become accustomed to it and try to find power in it. This is the psychology of sex trafficking. And in general, she doesn’t understand Blitzø at all. She can’t understand someone not loving stolas. She thinks that someone compartmentalising the trauma and forcing themselves to be into it, kindve a “fake it til you make it” type deal, she thinks that’s a sign someone is attracted, and falling in love. In that case I hope she stays away from victims who’ve become attached to their rapists. She would tell them they protest too much and need to grow up, stop letting their self hatred make them imagine abuse that’s totally not real and just assuming the worst, and settle down with them.

Sorry, take from this what you will, or don’t, it’s just my long winded dissection for anyone willing to read it.

No, it's a great dissection, thank you for sending it!

And the thing is, fictional Stockholm syndrome relationships are super fascinating in fiction; everyone likes them. If they'd just call Blitz and Stolas's relationship what it is and explore that to its full twisted potential, I don't think there'd be any complaints. I certainly wouldn't be objecting.

[neerons]

What are the flaws/weaknesses of the masquerade kiss main character?

Hi anon! Great question! Thank you!

The Flaws/Weaknesses of the Masquerade Kiss 💋 MC?

When it comes to her agent self, she’s perfect in every way, like she’s going "by the book", as the Boss taught her.

She might face difficulties depending on who she’s up against, like the 3S’s in their respective routes. But usually her weaknesses and flaws come out when she’s being her own self, and dealing with her personal feelings.

She’s someone who’d rather keep things to herself and bottle everything up, than whine or rant to someone else about her problems. Due to this, she often deals with things herself, so first of all:

1. Hyper-Independence

This is a general aspect that'd be easy to guess due to her inner strength and the fact that she's been living alone for a long time now. I don't think she fits every example of what a hyper-independent person is, but she has a few similarities:

In every route and in her character introduction, she has shown that she can be perfectly fine dealing with things on her own. She actually doesn't try to rely on others all that much unless necessary, and wants to succeed on her own to become better.

While she doesn't reject help from others, she doesn't seek it either. She could be fine on her own, which is why:

In her past relationships, this made her ex-boyfriends think she doesn’t need them, and they ended up breaking up. While this is also due to their own insecurities, she often depicts a behavior that could make others think she’s good on her own, and therefore doesn't need anyone.

Her job itself made her think that having a relationship, or marrying someone like she initially would have wished, was not a possibility anymore. Her lifestyle doesn’t match that dream she has anymore, and she accepted it as her fate, until she met her LI.

On the other hand, because of her secret job, she doesn’t have any friends or family to talk to about her issues now. The only ones she can go to is Hugo, or anyone working under the EAC that she trusts enough (Old Man Shige, or Theo), as well as the 3S’s, once their bond has deepened

She lives a lonesome life due to these circumstances. She learned to care for herself, and deal with things on her own. However, being less surrounded by people didn't make her lose her compassion for others, and she's often willing to... ⬇

2. Self-Sacrifice

Her most blatant and obvious flaw/weakness to me is her love for her LI, and her attachment to the things or people her LI is linked to. While her self-sacrifice is more highlighted in Kei’s route, this actually happen in every route.

It's one of the many things I actually find beautiful in this title, because while she can have her pride about being an agent, or ambitions to go further in her career, she is able to throw everything aside if it means saving someone she loves, or for the name of justice. A few examples:

In Kazuomi’s route (S2), despite her argument with Kazuomi and being separated, she secretly goes see Stanley on her own and risks her life and identity, just so that Kazuomi wouldn’t be involved with Stanley, and protect him from his plans.

In Yuzu’s route (S1), she "betrays" the EAC by not giving them Code 007 to destroy Victoria, despite having found it, because she trusted that Yuzuru’s creation was not a threat. She also knew what Victoria meant for Yuzu and wanted to protect her. She chose to do this, knowing it’d cost her her career and life, for Yuzuru’s sake.

In Kei’s route (where do I begin…), she agreed to break up with Kei despite still being in love with him, because she understood he couldn’t be her lover anymore, with the state he was in now. She kept her passionate feelings hidden for his sake. She’s also hinted to potentially become an offering to the Vatican, instead of Kei’s mother, as per Louis' request in the "Bride Rescue Operation" story.

In the Boss'/Seiichi's route (S1), she goes save him and joins his fight against Z and Huang, despite initially having faked her death to survive from them. In his (S2), after being surrounded by Igor and his men and having no way out + her identity discovered, she was ready to take a suicide pill if no one came to save her in time.

While the MC cherishes her life, has ambitions to have a successful career and become the best agent she can be, she can be very selfless and throw her life or career away, if it means saving someone who's innocent and dear to her heart.

It doesn't matter as much for her to die or be pitiful the rest of her life, as long as the one she loves is happy or free from any danger thanks to her sacrifice.

3. Lady Borden overconsumption...?

This is probably something Hugo would complain about, as it often ruins her skin later on! 🤣

I think that's actually a very cute flaw for her to have when she's stressed. I don't have any other idea for a more serious flaw she might have, so that's it haha

Thank you so much for this ask!

[sillykytty]

SOO HOW ARE KFP VILLAINS THE OPPOSITES OF EACH OTHER??!!11 (SILLY ME SAYING STUPID THINGS I GUESS¿¿)

Let's start with Tai Lung (TL), he is strong, self-centered, and obviously a frustrated student

He is a "fallen hero" (at least for himself), the Dragon Scroll was his destiny and he knew it, Shifu knew it and so did everyone else. But then, it isn't, he feels betrayed and left behind. They denied his destiny and glory, in his eyes ofc.

Now Lord Shen (LS), is sophisticated and ambitious, that's obvious. He is reserved and also self-centered, but he wasn't always like that, he LOVED his parents and his parents LOVED him. But his parents' love and pride (added to his flaws) led LS to commit the biggest crime.

And finally, General Kai is (almost) all things mentioned before but worse.

Now, how are they opposing each other?

Tai Lung and Lord Shen: The best example, Tai Lung and Lord Sheen have many differences, the main ones are the fighting style (Tai Lung being pure force and Shen being refined), their experience in fighting (TL is an expert while Shen himself admits he isn't very good at it) but overall THEIR ORIGINS. TL was an orphan left on his own luck and Shen was the child of a rich and powerful family. TL ALWAYS had a difficult relationship with his father/master, looking for his pride and love; Shen had it, he knew it, and he grew up being loved and independent

Ironically they ended up with the same fate, and how they ended up like that is also different. TL believed with every fiber of his body that he was the Dragon Warrior, his destiny; Shen didn't, his destiny was death and humiliation, and he wouldn't let it happen.

Tai Lung committed his crimes to achieve his "destiny", and Shen committed them to escape from it.

Lord Shen and Kai: Their difference are abysmal, not only in their size and strength but also in their ways of showing dominance. Shen doesn't have to speak too much, he chooses his words wisely; Kai chit-chats, even if he is more than able to do all he says, but still, he is just ranting half of the time. Even in their final moments, Shen is more desperate, forgetting completely his elegance while Kai becomes a wild beast in his attacks. And of course...

Lord Shen envisioned the "Future" and ignored his past, Kai envisioned the past and ignored the future.

Last but not least, Kai and Tai Lung: Yes, they are very alike but they are still opposites in something really important: their objectives. Tai Lung is the "Hero of his own history" who "Didn't do anything wrong" Even when he was about to kill his own father, he still wanted to be the "Chosen One", and Kai... Well, he is not a hero, and he is proud of it.

Beast of Vengeance, Maker of Widows, Supreme Warlord Of All China, etc, etc. Really different from the "Real Dragon Warrior". Honestly, that's something that makes me think that they wouldn't get along, Kai didn't care at all for others (Oogway being the only exception) or learning different ways actually, even when he was shown something new he only wanted destruction or death since the beginning, at least Tai Lung tried to excuse himself.

Tai Lung is a "Fallen Hero" and Kai is a villain.

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

Remember that scene from episode 7, when Aemond tries to approach Jace on Driftmark, looking like he is about to offer his condolences but at the same time knows he shouldn't because even Jace can't acknowledge his real father? And Jace looks somewhat annoyed and Aemond leaves, then Jace glances at Aegon who is already in his cups and doesn't even notice him? There were no scenes like that in season 2. Short but meaningful, the scenes that reveal so much about the characters involved. We have Aemond who even after being mocked by his nephews still can sympathise with them in a way and the two (Aemond/Jace) can give us a 'what if' moment that creates the ultimate fallout more tragic. Then we have Jace who obviously is interested more in Aegon as a ringleader, an older boy he looks up to, and yet, it's Aemond, the boy he mocks for not having a dragon, the one who approaches him. These kind of scenes are important for the character building and also for making a stronger emotional impact on the audience when it comes to the fate of the mentioned characters. S2 had none of this and destroyed and undid whatever s1 built character and story-wise. Aemond's and Alicent's characters suffered the most, no doubt, but it was bad in general.

Also, in the balcony scene it's obvious how helaena and aemond have a great chemistry and it just made me even more mad because they had so little screentime together in both seasons. Same goes for Aegond. It's criminal they had zero good scenes , save for that one in e6 that is just used to not so subtly remind us that Aemond is a sadist. Also, why wouldn't Aemond just finish Aegon off because as long as he lives, Aemond is not safe? The answer: in the book he obviously didn't try to kill him at RR and therefore wouldn't want to kill him in the aftermath either, but these idiots just needed their shitty change to all of the sudden make Aemond a one dimensional villain, make Aegon as pitiful as possible and to show how terrible and dysfunctional the greens are as a family. However, they couldn't just kill Aegon off so early and that's why they attempted to fix their stupid plothole with that scene when Aemond threatens him. Like, what?? I'm supposed to believe that was enough for Aegon to shut up for weeks and then just leave? Nah. There were bunch of similar idiocies through the whole season and I'm sure that something seriously went wrong between s1 and 2 because the drop in quality is jarring. I'm not saying s1 was that great, but this one was abysmal. Probably Miguel leaving was one of the main reasons, but whatever it was, this season will remain a great example of what not to do when you make a TV show. I just feel sorry for the lost potential and also for the people who are planning to watch s3 because, unless you're a die hard tb stan with zero critical thinking skills, I can't see the appeal.

Ugh, I hope this rant makes sense 😅

Hello, and thank you for the ask!

You're making a very good point. Season 1 was by no means perfect; but there was at least some if not love then genuine investment in the story and the characters from the showrunners - one could feel that at least occasionally. I guess it really came from Sapochnik's end because Condal clearly couldn't care less. The show used to have a soul - and now it feels empty. And, as it has been proven time and time again through the entirety of cinematic history, it is virtually impossible to create a truly good film or TV show if you don't give a damn about its essence.

I saw some people calling season 2 "a trailer for season 3" - because of how underwhelming and lacking in substance it turned out to be, I assume. To me it feels like something in between a trailer for the things to come and a recap of an actual season that was filmed but not shown to us for some reason. Pretty much everything feels superficial - even the dragged out scenes supposedly added for symbolism purposes or whatnot. The relationships between the characters are underdeveloped at best, destroyed at most (for example, chemistry between Green siblings' actors is utterly wasted indeed); some plot points make no sense; quite a few characters seem to have got a personality transplant in between the seasons.

Actually, I can understand why people, even TG fans would still be willing to watch season 3 (some for Aegon and Larys storyline, some for Alysmond - whatever form it takes, some for other reasons which could be many). As for me though - at the risk of sounding too dramatic - I had too much heart poured into this show and got hurt too badly by what it has become to even think of continuing to watch it without feeling sick. At least, for now.

[affluent-havoc]

Naegami Fluff and/or Shenanigans 8

Sometimes, the two just have those classic movie nights. Not anything super fancy or romantic. Just the two of them chilling while watching a flick. It started off as Makoto's one-off idea before it blossomed. The two aren't even that big into movies but it's something they do together. However, one day, after finding a shit movie neither of them have heard of, the movie night spiraled into something bigger. Basically, the gist of their new and improved movie nights is:

This definitely became something the two never would have guessed to become so chaotic. Cus, every few moments in movies, Byakuya just HAS to pause it and go on a rant on everything wrong with the scene or dialogue while Makoto desperately tries not to laugh too hard. He fails though. Every. Single. Time. I mean, how can he NOT laugh when his boyfriend is absolutely ROASTING and MURDERING the poor movie with expert precision! Like, Byakuya's just stabbing the ever loving shit outta every plot hole imaginable and there is nothing that Makoto can do about it. Not that he'd WANT to... Makoto genuinely loves hearing his boyfriend rant about stuff in general, so this is no exception. Hell. The fact that Byakuya isn't even that big of a movie fan makes it better. Also, the ways that Byakuya explains the movie plots to him also doesn't help due to Byakuya's general sass the whole time. Gets Makoto every damn time.

The initially just watched bad live-action movies like The Room, Sharknado, all Neil Breen movies like Fateful Findings and Twisted Pair. However, after digging around for more bad shit for them to find, they decided to bite the bad and strange animated movies which Byakuya has his own new type of rants for. AKA "Stupid Children's Movie Humor that Moronic American Executives Force to Add into the Movies is Dumb and Stupid" rant. Also, there's also the obvious rant about the animation or animation errors. And that is where they made their best/worst decision ever. Yeah. Makoto nearly died when they watched The Bee Movie because of the unhinged rants Byakuya went on. Tldr; Byakuya absolutely DESPISES Jerry Seinfeld and made that VERY clear. Meanwhile, Makoto barely knows who the fuck Seinfeld is, though that doesn't matter because the boy is literally curled up on his side, on the couch, clutching it for dear life while freaking snort-laughing to death as Byakuya just won't let up. Makoto also leans on Byakuya a bit for SOME semblance of support but it barely helps and the heir's movements just make him laugh and giggle even harder. The whole time, Byakuya's just smirking at him while being amused at Makoto's response. And, gosh. The day after was almost as bad when Byakuya pulled at the cork board to explain even MORE about his hatred of Seinfeld. Makoto shed many tears those days from how hard he was just dying from the whole thing. Also didn't help when Makoto tried to engage himself with the discourse by asking questions. The key word is TRIED. He could only get a few legible words out at that point which Byakuya absolutely teased him for. Like: "Ah, Makoto. This is no laughing matter! I am talking about the heinous deeds of an unfunny comedian! This man is DESPICABLE!" he says, also struggling a bit not to laugh himself. Cus, Makoto has the gift of having a bit of a contagious laugh. Specifically in the sense that hearing it is cute and, if one ever laughed along with him, zero shits would be given about one sounded cus they're too busy trying and failing to keep it together. Also, it's just easy to kinda have fun laughing with the little guy like that. 'Tis hard attempting to not be charmed by he eggy ways though some are obviously immune. Byakuya is not. AHEM

Yeah. Byakuya was SOOO having a fucking blast tearing apart both the movie and Seinfeld both cus he likes ranting but also because, at this point, he knows he just genuinely likes seeing Makoto happy. Makoto's the same way which is why, even during the times he was absolutely crying at that point from how hard he was laughing his ass off, he only sometimes told Byakuya to quit it, which was mostly in a playful and kinda whinny way cus Makoto was still losing it BAAAAD. That is not an understatement. Can also see Byakuya being a bit of a dick here by ruffling Makoto's hair or something which just makes the guy both flustered and even more giggly than before. Having said all of this though, I have a feeling Makoto finds a way the break the bastard back though. I mean, Makoto's been doing a lot of laughing! Might as well get some payback! Also payback for Byakuya freaking poking him, rubbing it in that Makoto sounds like a total loser. Nothing too lethal though. Not that Makoto could BE lethal. Just the boy trying and failing to maybe crack a joke or something but he's bad at it, regardless if he's laughing hysterically or not. The attempt is short lived though as Makoto kinda just tries to get everything back on track regarding the actual PLOT of The Bee Movie. Cus, Byakuya's actual a bit out of breath from all that Seinfeld ranting. It backfires though. They both end up in a weird conversation on how the fuck Vanessa is plowing that bee. AKA, the strangest talk they've had about anything ever up until this point... Like, it starts off as a genuine question before it just devolves into Makoto trying to end it all while covering his face, laughing hysterically while Byakuya's no better. He just keeps trying and failing to actually psycho-analyze the logistics here. Meanwhile, Makoto is lowkey squealing for him to finally quit the bit while Byakuya just keeps going. He may be out of breath from the Seinfeld rant but he is just on a roll today and nothing is stopping him. And, when everything FINALLY starts to calm down a bit, the two reflect a bit on what the fuck just happened. Oddly enough though, they're content about it. Like, the two had fun. Makoto nearly died. All is good in the world. And maybe they just cuddle after. Idk! T-T

[tahiriveilasolo]

Forgot to rant when I finished reading Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison but DANG that’s an absolute banger. I didn’t think it would go this dark but heck guess it’s gonna be one of my favorite comics now.

So first of all—love the storytelling aspect here. It’s filed as Tohm’s report after all, so we’re in Tohm’s perspective and when the narrative of the incident ended we still get to see the continuation in “reality”—but yeah just as I thought everything was chill after that…thank goodness I realized that we still don’t know about Tohm’s fate just in time when he went to meet Vader…

Vader…that frocking brat who just keeps killing Imperial elites and gets away with it almost every time…

Anyways. There’s something about cataclysmic destruction on Coruscant and plotting revenge in the hideout that always make my brain go brrr—I mean, last time it was NJO (technically in the future, but last time for me) and now we have a coup this scale in the early days of the Empire? goes feral

General Gentis was such a goat tho. Really did a good job in plotting and acting…a shame what you’re up against are also bad*sses…but yeah I do wonder what it would be like if Gentis did manage to take over 🤔 there’s so much potential in this

Speaking of goat…Tohm. Tohm you absolutely nailed it in your first actual mission. A pity in the end. Such a pity…I had hopes that he might’ve made it to the rank of grand admiral…but guess the Senate™️ had to mention that one triggering word on purpose and guess that one brat-who-did-not-get-to-have-the-rank-of-master had to mess with things

Wait Trachta had actually made his first appearance in the Empire series? Need to read that next. Boy imagine if Tohm didn’t choose Vader to follow, but him instead…

Ok this whole comic series has so much potential. I mean, the Jedi’s secret prison for Dooku’s warriors, the teamwork to preserve Palpatine’s life, the coup itself, the theme of betrayal…and there’re so many amazing scenes, the emotional anguish in certain parts, the storytelling itself, and the the whole vibe of this comic…I just love this so much.

[er-ghost-in]

The Primordial Sea

Ok, so, we know how the primordial sea is underneath Fontaine, and we also know, according to the Petrichor mission, that its ancient history is based on greek mythology.

That had led me to the assumption that, maybe, the primordial sea referenced a god/place talked about in greek myths. That would lead us to the god Pontus, who is a child of Gaia [the personification of the world (aka land)] (according to Hesiod) but also (according to Hyginus) a child of Aether.

Honestly, the fact that it is thought that he's a child of Aether would make things too confusing and doesn't contribute to what I want to explain. BUT Pontus is often represented accompanying the goddess Fortuna, the latin and persian goddess of Fate. (So I guess that's an interesting thing to know)

Anyway...

While I was in class, my Ancient History professor (I study archaeology) mentioned the primordial sea while discussing the "Epic of Gilgamesh" (good read), which leads us back to the Mesopotamian religion.

I'm not going to go into too much depth as I'm already writing this past my sleep schedule, but Tiamat is THE primordial sea. According to the epic "Enûma Elish" (haven't read it, but is apparently a good read), her and Abzû, the Groundwater, created the first generation of gods in Mesopotamia.

Could Abzû be referencing the Primordial One? The one who made the world habitable to humans, then created the first generation of gods (Celestia or possibly the first generation of "humans") did so through the Primordial sea (which we kinda know thanks to the Fontaine archon quest). This also means that modern fontainians weren't exactly humans because they didn't have the "consent" of the Primordial One.

I like to point out the obvious and talk about the correlations of everything. If a lot of this rant doesn't make sense, I'm tired.

Feel to point out any mistakes and add more information, I'd love to hear it. 😌

[betareki]

Don’t know if you’re comfortable with this but I’m so interested in riders route for the fate au so I’d love to hear more!

But if you’re not comfortable just delete this ask and pretend nothing happened haha…

Not at all!! I’m actually so overjoyed to know that you’d be interested!!

I can’t say that I have much to share in terms of specific events, since it’s mostly a general idea. The main story itself is pretty much done and doozy, and the other routes are vague deviations from that. I hope you don’t mind if I rant a little!

//cw very brief mention of suicide

While your “supposed” to take the main route and continue down the cycle of the HGW and the never ending death game, Grian and Pearl’s routes are arguably a happier/better ending for Scar. In both situations, the other will pass (Grian dies in Pearl’s route/Pearl dies in Grian’s route, both by a Servant’s hand. There’s no weird backstabbing love triangle between the three), and the post-ending of these stories is supposed to navigate the pairings’ grief and life after the events of the HGW. So while a bittersweet ending, both routes are probably most favorable.

Rider’s route however, isn’t really one that’s meant to be pursued. I mentioned it in the doc, but hypothetically, to unlock it, you’d have to make very specific choices to keep the trust points of both Grian and Rider high. But since they repel each other so much, especially with Rider’s disdain for Grian, a choice for one would decrease the affection for the other. You’d need to keep them both high enough so Scar would be romantically interested in Grian, as well as make Rider feel confident enough to reveal himself to you.

In terms of after the September 28th event, it’s a little hard to explain. With Archer unable to recall much of anything and Berserker reduced to her state of mind, this leaves only Rider with the conscious to process living these events over again. It’s a little nauseating for him and Assassin to live in the same moment as another version of themself. But unlike Joel, Grian’s so heavily involved in the HGW that, as Rider, he feels responsible for the events around him.

While in Grian’s route you are capable of absolving him, it isn’t the same case for Rider. As the audience can guess, after the finale of 3L, Grian was so overcome with guilt and grief that he ends his own life. This isn’t really something that goes away after he’s been summoned.

His mind is, in a way, split in two; he sees himself as Grian from 2004, but he also can’t shake off the person he became in 3L. With the similarities between the two situations, Rider will get certain events mixed up, and it’ll start to drive him a little mad. These clashing emotions only brew inside him; he’ll be overly affectionate one minute and lash out the next. He can’t stand being around Scar, but at the same time he’s obsessed with being bounded to him. The events of 3L sow distrust in him about the people around him, and with Scar now clearly on his side, Rider will try to convince him of his delusions. He firmly believes Scar should depend on him alone, and it frustrates him to see Scar interact with Grian. Rider’s actions aren’t done out of any real malice; it’s just how he processes the situation he’s in. He’s supposed to be someone you empathize with, but clearly can’t save.

Scar is conflicted, because to a certain extent, Rider is so similar to the Grian he knows, but also someone he doesn’t understand at all. As Rider descends further into his madness, Scar finds himself torn between helping him and putting as much distance as he can between the two. This internal conflict causes him to lash out and harm his relationship both Grian and Pearl, making him more dependent on Rider. The whole route is essentially following how Scar handles the weight of this responsibility. Saving Rider means saving Grian, but it feels more and more impossible as the war goes on. It turns him desperate and harsh, until when it finally comes to the last day of the HGW, he isn’t so sure of himself anymore.

In a way, they’re both chasing different versions of each other. Rider wants Scar to be the one he’s grown so close to, and Scar wants Rider to be the Grian he’s fallen for. Neither can be what the other needs, and it creates this feedback loop of pushing and pulling each other until they tear apart.

As for the final day of the HGW, it’s a really difficult situation to summarize. In the finale, Scar is suddenly faced with a decision, and against his own ideals, he ends up shooting Grian. Horrified by his own actions (led by the player, deviant to what he would do himself), Scar ends the story with his own suicide. Really a bad ending for everyone involved, not a path you’re meant to go down. Of course, this is meant to be more emotionally charged with a lot of build-up beforehand, but there’s not much I can do without writing a full on fic haha

The protagonists’ deaths, if applicable, are different in each ending. In every route, Rider will come to the conclusion that ending Grian’s life is necessary. It’s up to you whether or not he’s successful!

Waaaaaaa that was a little bit of an essay,,, I’m sorry if I dumped too much on you, I try to keep it as simplified as possible. I’m not the most coherent writer, so if anything is confusing please let me know! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to take interest in this; genuinely, it means the world to me! Thank you so so much, and I wish you the most wonderful day!

[2minutesnotice]

Got in a heated debate that ended with agree to disagree about Valentino (and Vox).

And YES, I'm aware about how complicated it is to LIKE these characters and how IMPORTANT it is to be aware that they're fictional but their actions (especially Vals) are something that happens in the real world and has long time consequences for the victims of said people.

More under the cut:

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

talk about sexual abuse/victim shaming/mental issues/dubious consent/rape

While Vox is easy to explain, his actions are something we are confronted with every day and question every day (especially in this decade):

How does Media influences and manipulates us and how we try to find a good middle line to consume but not be consumed.

Vox powers, besides his physical ones being able to teleport through media, we know about and with every new generation we try to fight it more and more.

Media is something that can't hurt us deeply. It can make us uncomfortable, but we can turn off the TV and blend it out. If we're kinda okay-ish mentally. But let's get with the norm.

While Valentino is a WHOLE different book.

Sexual abuse, non consent physical contact, dubious consent, victim blaming, narcissistic behavior, anger issues. The list goes on and on and I guess with a new season it will even get longer.

These are all things we learn from a young age are WRONG. It is wrong to do things without consent, we learn from young age that people with anger issues are scary and should be avoided. You wouldn't greet a person like Valentino with open arms and think "Oh wow he's nice!" if you have been raised kinda traumaless and without mental issues, in a normal environment.

Because this plays a big role how people even connect with him and how they get into his circle. People who are mentally unstable, people who see him as someone who has everything under control and lay their fate in his hands. (And sometimes they see his fame and glitter and we have to agree he is kinda charming).

His powers are pheromones. He can influence people with his breath and spit and he knows how to use it, paired with toxic charme. And that what makes him dangerous, paired with his anger issues and I guess, personal trauma.

Which does not excuse his actions in any way.

Sexual Abuse is something that goes so deep with us, because if you're not a sociopath or psychopath, you know it's wrong. Someone coming at YOU, into your personal space and takes something from you, you can't even GRASP, you can't touch or hold dignity, breaks you. You won't be able to fix that. Our personal space is something that no one should be allowed to touch without consent. I. ANY way.

That's why Valentinos actions hit so hard. He takes things from people they will never get back in full. He brakes people, in body AND mind. That's fucked up.

BUT, and that's the point for me, we see all this and we know he is BAD. He is a VILLAIN.

While Alastor is a witty guy, who catches us with his quirks and old timey puns, he is, a villain. He is a bad guy, a bad person. His actions are villainous. But his powers and actions are so supernatural, he does not seem a threat to us.

Vox is a charismatic guy who knows how to use people and what to say to make things go his way. He IS a villain. He controlls, he is also a narcissist, I also bet he is an misogynistic asshole (Velvet being the exception, but I'm not diving into that, don't want to rant about how much I hate men lol).

He has his fair share of kills, talks about it like afternoon tea. He is a villain. But his actions are so far away from a normal daily life, we kinda excuse it, because we don't walk around neighborhood and shoot people out of fun. Yeah I know there's always the exceptions.

And villains are bad, it's not complex, this is black and white in most cases.

Villains are bad. They hurt people, they kill your father and want the throne, they make the sons of gods human to kill them, they rape the Queen to get what they want, you get where I want to go.

And people always liked villains. They make the story go, they make us questioning ourselves. How many of our actions would make us the villain in someone elses story?

How many of our own issues do we reflect into this (in this case) fictional character?

It's deep psychological shit why people fall in love with Serial Killers and Rapists, even when society says it's WRONG.

If you actually tried to have a conversation with Valentino fans, mostly ALL of them know his actions are wrong. Yes, the Voice Actor KNOWS THAT TOO. They understand that he is a villain, that he does bad things. We only see Angel Dust as his main victim but we know there are more. Angel is just the tip of the iceberg.

But he is also, fictional. And Angels victim story gets explained, they show how his life has been influenced by Valentino and how hard it is for a victim to try to break the chains of their abuser. A story that a lot of people can identify with. And they feel seen (another topic I won't go into deep here).

Maybe they could've taken more time to explain all of it but we all know Hazbin has a pacing problem.

So, why do I share pics of these guys and don't have an issue with Val/Vox fans?

I'm 35 old and know it's fictional media. I know that these people and these characters don't hurt me or others. Yes I question their behavior, that makes me an healthy adult who knows that things sometimes are black and white and sometime, are grey.

Also, most of the art of especially these two, is hilarious. You see that people don't take them too seriously. You see that people want to give these characters some depth without trying to erase their origins.

Yes, Vox is a mastermind, but he's also so self centered and obsessed with things, even over DECADES, that it's easy to not take him seriously.

Valentino is a nearly blind Himbo, he has his multiple hands in many things but as we have seen, most of his actions are controlled by the controll freak in the team. They are peak comedy material.

While being dangerous as fuck.

Very long story short,

It's okay to like a villain, as long as you are aware that not every villain has good roots, but is just an asshole with mental issues, who not wants to be redeemed. Sometimes people are bad, because, surprise, they like to be bad.

And if you don't like content, you have all the power in your hands. Scroll, block, make a blacklist of tags you don't want to see. Learn how to consume media, if it's not healthy for you, skip it, take control of your timeline.

But don't harass people on the Internet over fictional people. Put that energy in stuff you like, that brings way more joy.

[littleshysheep-at-da]

So I’ve been into a lot of different Fandoms over the years and wanted to try and make a List of them! You might see me come back and Edit this to try and keep it up somewhat Up To Date but I promise nothing. Both those “try”s are doing a lot of heavy lifting btw.

I can’t really make a List of all the Fandoms I’m into because…. There’s just too many! The best way to introduce it would just to say “VERY avid Manga Reader”. Like no I have a liiiittle under 300? Series marked on MangaDex alone.

And like there have been a lot of Series I super enjoy without being Series I would make fan work for if that makes sense?

So if I were to actually give Series I’m into…?

It’s easiest to just say my two MASSIVE brain worms Persona and KumoDesu, because I don’t even think they count as brain worms anymore, they're just part of my brain. Been down right obsessed with both for over 7 years and have TONS of ideas/headcanons/ships/aus/etc.

I would say that Vocaloid, Evangelion, and Soul Eater are my Roots. But I’ve been a Weeb LITERALLY since birth so I could go even further back than that.

Other big Series I’ve been obsessed with in the past are: Madoka, Tokyo Ghoul, Seraph of the End, Love Live, Death Mount Death Play, Fairway Paladin. I was also maybe a little too into Pupa and Mysterious Girlfriend X as a teen heh.

Other big Series I currently am or recently have been into? This is way harder to pin down when you're in it (without listing all 100+ Manga I keep up with) so missing most here! But I guess: Frieren, Dress Up Darling, 2.5 Dimensional Seduction (LOOK I CAN EXPLAIN), Blue Period, Fate, UUUUUHHHHHH…. Massive etc???

But look, even both of those are missing a TON the more I think about it!!! The more I think about it, what should I decide to count and what not to count? At any given time I’m probably following 100+ Manga and a couple current Animes! I’m probably reading 90% of any current Series people are talking about online.

For Games is easier because despite hearing a lot through the grape vine (and one off playing a bunch), what I actually consistently play is much smaller; Persona (all of them expect Phantom X), Rain World, Splatoon 2, Identity V, Sky Children Of Light, Nu Carnival, Mahjong Soul, and Guilty Gear.

Ah but even with Games there’s way more than that! That’s sort of just what I’ve had longer periods of being more consistent about! Also heads up despite playing a handful of App Games consistently (and liking those ones) I am VERY sick of the format (Gacha Slop sucks) and refuse to add anymore… Gaming is becoming uniquely exhausting in a lot of ways so I’m sticking to what I know I like.

Also also I’ve already said before that I’m a MASSIVE Shipper (and a diehard OTP type) but I’m also a Character Design Nerd and will constantly rant about both lol (even though despite being an Artist a lot of Art terminology is not in my brain… I do not have the words all the time rip). I love Over-Analyzing my favorite Series (and Storytelling in general and in Manga/Anime in specific is my passion) but often lack technical terms.

[olivers-undersea]

Welcome to Oliver rants abt marine life

TOPIC(S): Whale fall, the purple octopus, salmon

CW:animal death and the futility of existence

SO WHALE FALL IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON IN WHICH A WHALE DIES AND ITS CARCASS FALLS TO THE OCEAN FLOOR FEEDING THOSE FOR DECADE (AROUND 50 YEARS) ECO SYSTEMS ARE BUILT AROUND THIS THAT LAST FOR DECADES

THERE ARE FOUR STAGES, WHILE FALLIN SHARKS AND OTHER FISH WILL JUST NOM ON IT,

THEN IT FALLS TO THE FLOOR WHILE MOST SOFT TISSUE IS EATEN BY OCTOPI, ISOPODS ETC

THEN BONE MARROW IS DRILLED INTO AND EATEN BY MORE EXOSKELETAL CREATURES/ALGAE COVERS THE BONES T

HEN IS THE REEF STAGE WHICH IS LARGELY UNKNOWN BECAUSE OF THE NUTRIENTS DEPOSITS IT WILL LEAVE BEHIND NEEDS TO BE OBSERVED MUCH LONGER

AND WHILE WHALE FALLS ARE COMMON MOST ARE UNOBSERVED BECAUSE THE SEA IS FUCKIN HUGE

SCIENTISTS WILL LOOK FOR WHALES THAT ARE DEAD AND THEN SINK EM BUT IT'S NOT A TRUE OBSERVATION

WITH WHALE FALLS ARE ACCOMPANIED BY A HUGE OUTBREAK OF BACTERIA AND ALGAE WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS IS LIKELY THE FIRST LARGE MEAL THESE CREATURES HAVE EVER AND WILL EVER HAVE

the VERY vital part in how deep sea creatures survive is a phenomenon known as "marine snow" which is organic materials falling from the top layers of ocean, a whale fall is just the jackpot of that, I guess what gets me is when you die on land you feed your neighbors, but when you die in the ocean you fall so deep that the only thing you are known as a blessing, perhaps a fallen god something that so few experience in their lifetime but that carries on for generations

It's a similar thing to the purple octopus the TLDR or their life is that mother deep sea purple octopus's brood for FOUR AND A HALF YEARS which means just sittin on their eggs they do not eat, rarely sleep due to the optic gland then as soon as their eggs hatch they die the mother will in a desperate frenzy eat herself and then fall into the abyss (coming the very marine snow she fed on) AND WHAT GETS ME IS HOW IT HAPPENS

like does she know this will be her fate? in her big alien brain when she swims past the cliffs speckled with other mothers she must realize this will be her fate right?? Does she live her life agonizing over when her time will come? when it is inevitably her end? Does she sit there for those four years angry, upset, this is her fate that she knew all along? or one day is she taken over with this undesirable urge to protect her eggs and is she happy and content or does she wait day by day waiting for it to end

AND IT'S ALL CONTROLLED BY THIS TINY ASS GLAND THAT RUNS IN BETWEEN THEIRS EYES THAT WHEN TAKEN OUT FOR EXPERIMENTATION (kind of on accident 💀) SAVES THEM FROM THIS DOOMED CYCLES, IN SOME CASES THE MOTHERS WILL ABANDON THEIR EGGS BUT THEY MOSTLY JUST LEAVE FOR SHORT PERIODS OF TIME TO HUNT, RETAINING THEIR BODY MASS AND DON'T EAT THEMSELVES ALIVE AFTER THEY HATCH