#To segment it into their own arcs and everything

[cyraen-ae]

AQ Story guide

AdventureQuest's story is known for being hard to follow due to its age and lack of a story guide, which LoreKeeper (AQ's main story writer) admitted is in the plans but hard to do due to the sheer scale of it So in the meantime, since I recently played through the game for the first time, I thought I'd offer a quick story guide for anyone who would like to play it for themselves, using a mixture of the story guide I used and notes from my own experiences

The story is a bit complicated and hard to follow at times, but it's genuinely worth the playthrough regardless

First main story : The Network and Seth Cay Dhows

1 : Devourer's Saga (Yulgar's Inn)

2 : Bizarre Flecks (World Map, bottom left of first screen)

2: Hall Of Memories (World Map > Darkovia > Dracopyre Legacy > 6.the hall of memories. Only play the first wing for now)

NOTE : Bizarre Flecks and Hall Of Memories happen at about the same time and are intertwined, referencing one another frequently, so you can play them in whichever order you wish or alternating the quests. It'll probably be a bit hard to follow regardless

3 : No Man's Land (World Map > Granemor (left of the first screen) > General's Tower) Not technically part of the main storyline, but sets up the aftereffects of the previous questlines

Important Side Story & interlude

Dragon King Saga (World Map > Dragonspine (middle top of the first screen > The Dragon King Part 1 and Part 2)

The Destroyer Saga (World Map > Dragonspine > The Destroyer Part 1, 2 and 3)

Current Arc : the Remnants of the West (LoreKeeper's tenure, very fun for Dragonfable players)

1 : Burning Solstice (Yulgar's Inn > Second Screen > Sage Uldor)

2 : Frostgale Set Mastercraft (Warlic's Shop > Mastercraft Sets > Frostgale Set)

3 : Dragonlorn Keep (Warlic's Shop > Quests > Dragonlorn Keep & Warlic's Shop > Mastercraft set > Haunted Dragonlord's Set for the second half of the questline)

4 : Entropy (Darkovia's hall of memories's later wings)

4 : Chessmaster Saga (World Map > right to the left of Battleon)

NOTE : Like Bizarre Flecks and Hall of Memories, these two quests happen simultaneously and reference one another. It's recommended to not start the Finale, Season Of Consequence, until you have reached it on BOTH of these questlines as it ties both of the plots together

5 : War Between Shadows (Warlic > Quests > War Between Shadows)

6 : Lost Talon Mastercraft Set (Warlic > Mastercraft Sets > Lost Talon set)

7 : Storm Of The Century (Twilly in Battleon > Anniversary Events > Storm Of The Century)

8 : The Last Ride (Warlic's Shop > Quests > The Last Ride) CURRENT ONGOING SAGA

Unfortunately for some reason, AQ had in its early days a tendency to get rid of questlines, so as a result stuff like the Fire War with Akriloth and the Carnax saga are mostly gone (you have access to two of Carnax's quests from World Map > Sail East > Stonerule) and even with my story guide, you will still get references to plots and characters that you may not understand immediately, so I can't help but apologize for this still.

However, the 10th anniversary quest offers a recap of early AQ stories to help get up to date as well (Twilly > Anniversary Events > The Dragon Of Time)

Under the cut is LoreKeeper's own story guide that I used to guide myself, which gives a bit more context for everything

[todayisafridaynight]

what makes minedai even sadder is that we never rlly see daigo try to build a bond with anyone else like he did with mine it rlly shows how badly it effected him like yeah he reached out to shinada in y5 but that’s rlly it and he probably would wanna leave him alone after that and not involve him in any yakuza stuff so i don’t think they would’ve hung out or anything like that afterwards. All he rlly had were saejima and majima but they were more like babysitters than anything, wish we saw more of their dynamic tho like we did with majima and daigo in dead souls since that was fun and we were lowkey robbed but in canon he’s just as lonely as he was before majimas promise to kiryu. And mine is the only person he really had a meaningful relationship with romantic or not they were still really close and we don’t see that again with daigo ever (from what i recall after y3) ok sorry for rambling LMFAO

even with shinada, he reached out to him more so out of 'duty' and trying to make up for the misfortune that befell him because of yakuza than wanting to rekindle any kind of friendship they might have had in high school (though it sounds more like they were just acquaintances if shinada needing a second to remember who daigo was is anything), so yah i doubt they really had any kind of bond afterwards

dead souls really was the only time after Y3 where we got to see daigo be more sociable with someone, but its as you say majima and saejima are more like retainers than close friends

[kinardsboy]

Kinda rambling here and apologies in advance because a majority of my blog is rants but I kinda just need to get these feelings out about how… terrible eddie is as a friend .. this is gonna be a long ass post lol

Eddie is, at his core a very opportunistic person.

Now, I think I should preface this with saying that this alone does not make him a bad person, and I would even argue in his defense that it is likely a trauma response/survival mode from being a dad at such a young age, and losing army pals and Shanon. However, that is not an excuse for the way he treats people.

Let’s start with the biggest example: Buck. Buck does, frankly almost everything for Eddie. He babysits without complaining, cooks for Eddie, does Eddies chores (when Eddie seemingly has fuck all to do versus buck who just worked a full shift), rents eddies house for him so he can go to texas, and then leaves without complaint when Eddie wants to come back.

Looking at the babysitting aspect closer, we can see that Eddie uses Chris as a bandaid for Buck’s problems because, its the easiest solution. Chris is a child and Buck cant be too sad around him otherwise he’ll likely worry Chris. So when Buck got his leg critically injured and was unable to work, did Eddie come over and show concern for his friend? Or did he throw his son at the problem (and get free babysitting on top of that) all while boasting about fixing the “problem”?

Then, when Buck was (imo rightfully) suing the department for his job back, did Eddie show concern for his friend? Try to understand it from his perspective? No. Instead Eddie insulted Buck for not being able to deal with shit like everyone else and called him exhausting. Then, SPECIFICALLY called out the fact that Buck wasnt able to do anything for him. 1. Not being able to bail him out of jail and 2. Not being able to see Chris.

The next issue I take with Eddie and Buck’s relationship is that Eddie seems to think he’s the only one allowed to have emotions. Especially because he stuffs most of them down all the time, so when he finally takes his head out of his ass and lets himself show something it feels like he expects the world to stop in amazing and praise him for it.

So when Buck is going through something at the same time as him, lawsuit and bobbys death arcs, Eddie gets frustrated very easily. Now, Eddies anger is something I have mixed feelings about and is not going to be the main topic of this segment. But, in both instances we see Eddie being VERY easily frustrated at Buck and our most recent example we had Eddie grab Buck, make him flinch and get in his face like he was going to hit him. Then, similarly to the lawsuit arc he uses Chris as a bandaid to fix everything. While AGAIN, making Buck do more emotional labor to keep Chris comforted and happy while BUCK IS GOING THROUGH HIS OWN TURMOIL JUST LIKE THE CRUSHED LEG ARC. Not to mention he also puts his friend duties onto chris to fix his mistakes and comfort buck..

I dont want to discuss the entire buckeddie stuff in 8.17 because honestly? It was really triggering and manipulative and people have already done much more deep analysis on it than what i have just said- so..

All this to say, Eddie and Buck have what is in my opinion an unbalanced and toxic friendship.

Eddie’s relationship with the rest of the 118 is honestly, hardly shown. However I think thats another point to my side, that Eddie is friends with them because its convenient and easy. He works with these people every day and naturally builds a bond with them due to the risky nature of their job.

This isnt to say Eddie hasnt done anything for Buck or the 118, but with Buck especially, its very unbalanced.

Two former 118 members were also see this issue with is Tommy and Lena,

Starting with Tommy: Tommy was a great friend for Eddie because he provided him with a lot of things. Fun (no doubt expensive for Tommy) excursions to Vegas, a basketball buddy(heh), i think he even babysat chris once(?), and someone to spar with. Now, theres nothing wrong with sharing hobbies in a friendship but the SECOND things got inconvenient and tough for Eddie to be friends with him, he decided it wasnt worth the effort and dropped him immediately.

This, in my opinion was not in solidarity to Buck, because Buck never spoke ill of Tommy or asked Eddie to unfriend him, Buck even seemed shocked that Tommy mentioned Eddie giving him the cold shoulder. It was because Eddie didnt want to put in the effort to something that was going to be awkward.

Next we have Lena, perhaps the only one to ever call Eddie out on his bullshit. Eddie took and took from her, vented to her and then when she tried to get something back from the relationship it.. well failed miserably, and she rightfully called their friendship a one way street.

We truly lost her too soon 😞 (real quick side tangent but i take huge issue with people whatabouting her in regards to Eddies fight club arc.. Lena had her shit under control PLUS, EDDIE IS A GROWN MAN WHEN ARE WE GONNA STOP BLAMING WOMEN FOR MENS OWN CHOICES DONT PISS ME OFF).

So yeah this rant was basically a very long way of saying Eddie fucking sucks a friend and needs to seriously work through some shit before I will consider him to be like able. ESPECIALLY after 8.17.

[amxrany]

!! CHAPTER 7 / DIASOMNIA ARC SPOILERS !!

Going into Vil's dream now lesgoooooo (warning i cannot find a lot for vil's segment for some reason so if i miss a lot of information im so sorry):

So I understand why they released Tapis Rouge before this update, because we are now in The Queen's Film Studio, where Vil tells everyone to look forward to live broadcast of the Diamond Film Awards (this is most likely a reference to another Diamond in-game)

(sheesh new vil outfit again)

But basically yeah Vil's dream is to be the fairest of them all and he got Neige as his assistant 😭

Rook sees that it is indeed Neige, and the group tries to get closer to Vil. But Vil called Grim a stray cat and shooed him away, he's now sad :((

Vil assumes we're paparazzi and tells Neige to throw us out, and we find out that Vil just abuses Neige. So the group tries to convince him to report Vil, but Neige becomes blot and tries to fight the group

(I like their weapon it looks neat)

They defeat Neige but security is now after their ass, and it's revealed that Diamon Film Awards is a type of awards show for actors and that in reality, Neige was the one who won the award. But in this timeline, it's Vil who wants the award. Not understanding how Vil changed, Idia mentions that Malleus's magic allows them to experience happy dreams, and those dreams can also release any resentment you hold deep inside.

We then go to Vil receiving his award, but Rook stops him by telling him his time in NRC, but Vil tells him he doesn't know what he's talking about; and we go through the dizzy-but-is-trying-to-remember-everything segment again. However, the darkness was swallowing Vil up, and we couldn't save him in time because Neige managed to sink him down even further but Rook used his unique magic to follow Vil

So basically this next dream is the "What if Vil succesfully poisoned Neige and won VDC" scenario, we're in the part where Neige actually drank the poisoned apple juice and yknow, dies, and the dwarves are surrounding him crying

Epel uses "Sleep Kiss" to see if there's still a chance in saving him and let's just say it's the most Snow White reference I've ever seen. Oh and Rook is on the verge of breaking down

On stage, Vil's team has won VDC, but Rook and Epel come in to stop Vil by reminding him how he overblotted, and that causes Vil to wake up. Vil is back to normal and he's grateful that Rook and Epel came to save him and Epel said of course, we're your hunter and poisoned apple after all

The darkness comes back again to swallow Vil, but Rook and Epel aren't letting go. But idia orders Ortho to tell Rook and Epel to let Vil go. So you guys remember that one part during the last update where Idia fight his own phantom in OB!Form? Yeah we're doing that too but with Vil.

It's similar to that of the concept of Persona 4, where you learn how to accept yourself, even the ugly parts of yourself. Because Vil decided to use his weakness as his strength and overblotted to fight against his own phantom

MORE EVIL LAUGHTER AS VIL CELEBRATES HIS VICTORY DECLARING THAT HE'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF THEM ALL. We are then transported back to the fake event with Dream Neige where Vil tells him that he is indeed the most beautiful of them all (that is so true queen go slay)

Pomefiore all go in for a hug, and the others join in as well

Sebek was surprised that Pomefiore wasn't just all about beauty, but they were really strong as well, and then Idia thought it was funny to show their Absolutely Beautiful cover in which Vil proceeds to ruthlessly criticize them for it 💀

Vil receives his own invitation of deafeating Malleus and that's where the update ends

HOOOO BOY where do i start, this update is so funny it honestly took me forever just to look for parts of Vil's segment. But assuming that we're going backwards the next update will most likely focus on Scarabia so manifesting that we get a Kalim card next so that we can complete the light trio fr fr

Anyways, see you soon in the next update!

Previous: Rook's Dream

[fandomsmadness]

TBHX episode 11 rant (everything except X)

Because I am incapable of being normal about X, and also so Queen gets her screentime in the rant for her episode, he gets his own post right over here.

As usual, spoilers below cut.

Someone will need to really help me out with the timeline here (supremefloof halp) because we start at year 26AC (After Commission), Queen graduates in 28AC, yet and this is the speech Cyan and Luo listened to in year 34-36AC? We get the Mr. Matchstick/Ms. Blazing Fire cheating scandal, and then but we haven't hit 34AC in the news segment.

Edit: @/supremefloof did halp massively and my previous para has been reworded.

If Queen graduated at 14, as I've heard some of the fans say, and that was 28AC, she would be 18yo in 32AC (16th tournament) when Bowa became X. We somehow missed the 17th tournament, and Queen is 22yo in 36AC when the current X became X, catching up to the Lucky Cyan and Yang Cheng arcs.

Side note but Queen and her child-prodigy inclinations would make a splendid villain the likes of Azula someday, if the TBHX team ever decide to go that way.

I also absolutely loved the lore drop we got this ep. Bowa and Extro were absolute treats (we're meeting so many X's, huzzah).

Bowa, first. Girl is understandably salty ofc that she needed an idealistic young girl to bolster her own rankings, but I did quite admire her in the initial half. Slightly disappointed that LHO decided to go the women-bringing-women down route here, but seeing as this is actually a thing with the patriarchy (and considering they did say that until year 28AC there had been no female X's, we clearly see this is a patriarchy) I'm hoping this will make room for some commentary in future eps.

I love how Queen's arc is showing us the patriarchy and sexism in this world, and the feminist themes are very welcomed. A slightly (very slightly) smaller ongoing commentary of how for capitalist corporations, feminism, DEI, etc are just more gimmicks to gain popularity and remain trendy, not actually work for the betterment of the world.

So much power to her, truly.

Extro is very... extra. It's like someone took Megamind's Metroman and combined it with Bee Movie. I'm not complaining tho! Although I can't help but feel like there was something fishy in their fight. If you've watched the X PV, there's just something about Extro and his association with eyes that's throwing me off.

More about this in the X post because I feel there's something linking the two here.

And we got our first interactions with The Johnnies (cute!) an Ahu cameo, and little Loli! My heart is full. Seeing Queen, Cyan, and the Johnnies bond was very heartwarming. And the stoic Queen being smitten by a kitten was hilarious. Goes a long way in humanizing her.

Other (minor) thoughts:

New favourite character unlocked lmfao. You tell em, girl.

Queen's initial outfit is a massive vibe, someone cosplay this.

Uncle Rock isn't just a manipulative bastard, he's a traitor too (jk, mostly).

Poor Liu Zhen, he seems to be really trying. Why is Queen so cold towards him? She geuinely doesn't seem to like him. Who is her mother and was that was Bowa dug up there at the end?

Shang/Shand established Treeman (qutting his position as COO!) and Rock moved to MG at around the same time, year 36AC. Did Rock just dump a pile of money on MG and say "ta-ta guys, I got a job at a tea shop!"? Very Uncle Iroh of him.

Did Shang establish Treeman with the aim of looking into Fear? Are you Spotlight, Shang? You speech about "new ways" sounded awfully suspicious there.

Will X approach Queen now that he's X? Or will he continue his agenda from the shadows?

Lots to think about. And I would really like to have a bit more Queen in the rest of this arc. The hero lore dump is great, and X is amazing (totally unbiased) but this is Queen's arc and...give me backstory! Idc if I have to patch into Bowa's shady investigations to get it!

[bird-inacage]

The Heart Killers: Character Interviews (Kant/Bison Focus)

So this proved to be super interesting. Let us see what can be gleaned from these brief little interview segments with Kant and Bison.

Immediately, I'm struck by how serious and stoic Kant comes across. He has a very mature aura, and is quite hard to read (which I guess is a plus considering what he gets up to). I didn't expect this, based on how flirty and forward he appeared to be in the trailer, and that makes me wonder if it's all part of a persona he's playing. Or whether the real Kant is in fact more measured and introspective, and Bison just brings out his playful side?

A notable trait that gets signposted repeatedly is Kant's care for his brother Babe. I believe Khao has made a similar comment about him being family-oriented. It makes a tonne of sense to me as to why Bison would be drawn to a 'family man'; someone who has strong family values, when Bison's essentially been rejected by his own.

"My goal in life is to make sure my brother grows up into a good man. I want to make sure he doesn't feel like he's lacking anything. We're all we've got right now." "I just live day by day, just keeping with my goal which is making sure my brother grows up well." This is so telling of Kant's mentality. Not only does it suggest that Kant is a stand-in parent of sorts, but that he doesn't live for himself. (Which could be something of a parallel to Bison - who is unable to live by his own rules). His goals centre entirely on his loved ones' needs being met and supporting them. This definitely gives provider with self-sacrificing tendencies.

"I feel like my goal is just to make sure my loved ones get to live their dreams. For now, I just want my brother to have a good life. But one day, if someone comes into my life and I love them, my goal would be to make sure they get to achieve their dreams." And yet another selfless, touching sentiment. The desire to aid your loved ones to actualise their dreams, possibly before or over your own. I expect Kant will be a very doting, nurturing soul. (Lucky Bison).

I wonder if Kant and Fadel will empathise with one another over their respective little brothers, and the sense of responsibility that comes with it. Bonding opportunity perhaps?

The most mysterious thing Kant says is "One more thing I'm not a big fan of is the beach." (The reason is personal). Curious. First has specifically talked about filming on the beach, where they were able to do a lot more improv. Any speculations on the above are wide open.

Now let's move onto our resident Murder Kitten. I've always said that Bison reads as a real sweetie-pie based on everything we've seen thus far. He's very animated and expressive. Khao very deliberately uses a softer, lighter vocal register as Bison, which just accentuates this cute, darling image. A real child at heart who wants to make up for a life he didn't get to lead. "I go out, I'm just trying to live outside the burger shop." His childhood dream about seeing the northern lights is just another example of a boy who has daydreamed of escape, and welcomes any excuse to be as far away from his actual life as possible. He also mentions being fond of a stray cat who resides near their burger bar, who he enjoys feeding and playing with. This precious boy, I cant. (Note: I need to have scenes of this in the show PURR-LEASE).

Everything about Bison as a person feels at odds with his violent lifestyle, which seems to be a central conflict in Bison's character arc. It does beg the question of what if Bison had never been adopted, what kind of life would he be living instead? And I think this drives Kant's desire to fight for Bison's chance at a new start. A boy with big dreams meets a man who wants to realise them. What a match.

Another comment we've heard before in the pilot is "I also don't like liars", no doubt foreshadowing the fallout when he finds out Kant did exactly that. I do think it's likely that whatever drives Kant to take the detective job has reasons to do with his own brother. He may wish to clear his record of anything untoward for his brother's sake. Based on this premise, when Bison does find out why Kant did what he did, I think that will help soothe any hard feelings.

On a side note - I've seen a comment mention that Kant apparently calls Bison 'kitten' in the novel. ERM HULLO?!! I will allow one spoiler, and that is whether this is true or not. And if so, I DEMAND that it is a featured pet name in the show, because why on earth would you miss an opportunity like that?!

You can keep tabs on bird-inacage’s BL meta directory for other long-form posts around The Heart Killers, which I'll be updating as the show airs.

[raayllum]

Ezran in Season 6

Because Ezran was basically sad and/or worried about something every time he was on screen in s6 and I wanna talk about it, among other Ezran S6 related things

Episode by episode let's go

6x01 — Framing, Kingship, and Caretaking

This is in some ways I think one of Ezran's most important episodes in arc 2, if only from a framing standpoint. By that I mean, as one of Ezran's last occasions to be in the same physical places as Harrow, they use every ounce of parallel framing and lines they can to show how much Ezran is evoking his father beat by beat throughout the episode.

We also get more literal parallels to Harrow as well, with the king by the window thinking it's better to not go destroying the thing his high mage brother is very much in favour of destroying, with both eventually agreeing (albeit for different reasons for said destruction each time).

Beyond parallels to his father, we also see how Ezran conducts himself within the council meetings, with Zym, and with his brother (+ Rayla) and Soren by proxy. For example, in just about every scene he has this episode, Ezran is focused on either 1) taking care of others or 2) directing others / making decisions. He has the final say with the pearl, he's the one comforting Zym, he's the one deciding Soren and Zym will look for Zubeia and signing off on Callum and Rayla leaving.

This on the one hand makes sense, as Ezran uses similar language when discussing his bond with his friends / Zym and his kingdom ("everyone is counting on me") but more on that later. 6x01, therefore, builds on the patterns established in early s4 of Ezran stepping up to carry everyone else's emotional weight, to be a steady presence of reassurance and peace, and of taking care of his kingdom / making decisions as a king and as a diplomat (going on the mission with Zubeia, onto Rex Igneous and Domina Profundis, etc).

She's alive. And wherever she is, she loves you too. (4x01)

I know you're worried about [Zubeia]. But wherever she is, I'm sure she's okay. (6x01)

It's not just Ezran emulating Harrow in telling Callum and Rayla to "take care of each other," or entrusting Soren with Zym ("keep each other safe"), and knowing that they will. Ezran watching everyone else leave without him harkens back, I think, to Soren's assertion in 5x02 that "It's not fair you have to struggle through this alone," but that is by and large what continues to happen for Ezran.

If you're trying to be a pillar of strength and one that others can lean on, it is very hard to lean on others (as we see perhaps most predominantly with Rayla, who also has many parallels to Ezran). All you can do is grin, bear it, and keep your head on straight. Therefore, that begets the question of who Ezran looks most directly to for guidance, which takes us to our next and only non-episode direct segment:

Ezran and Fathers: An Interlude

I'll expand on this a bit more in the next section, but I think it's worth noting up front in many ways that Zym is to Ezran what Ezran is to Callum, re: the older brother being both a brother and semi-taking on a parental role by default because it otherwise won't be filled. For Callum, this meant stepping in for both Sarai and Harrow at different points, and for Ezran, it means stepping in for both Avizandum and Zubeia. Ezran himself identifies this specific struggle in 2x03:

Someone's going to have to teach him all the things he's supposed to do, everything he's supposed to be. And he's meant to learn it all from a big strong king of the dragons. But he doesn't have that. All he's got is me.

Zym lacking his father and Ezran feeling like those shoes are difficult to fill leads him to missing his own dad. While Callum assures that "Me, Rayla, probably Bait, we're all here for you," Ezran still longs for his father and Harrow's specific guidance in his dynamic with Zym.

But I really wish Dad was here. I keep thinking about what he would do, what he would say to Zym. When I was little and I wasn't listening to him, Dad would say "Ezran, you're handful." So I tried that with Zym. "Azymondias, you're handful." But he doesn't understand. He doesn't even have hands. I guess I just miss Dad. He'd know what to do, you know?

Ezran reaffirms this desire to keep Harrow close in more ways than one, as he reveals in 4x08 where the silver of his crown came from (and why) as well as in 5x06, citing, "It's not worthless, it's really important to me," and quoting Harrow directly in 6x07 (though more on that later). We also see Ezran be willing to defend even Avizandum, who killed his mother, solely because he is Zym's dad: "Everything Avizandum did was to protect Xadia!" (4x08). This doesn't mean Ezran thinks either are perfect (his speech in 3x02 in which he reaffirms Harrow was a good father but a deeply flawed king indicates otherwise) but that both, as kings and as fathers, are people he has tried to emulate with varying degrees of success and aspiration.

AVIZANDUM: This is a special day, a day of life. Do not force me to make it a day of death. (3x06)

And this bond with Harrow is, of course, exactly what Claudia preys upon in 5x09 and what is going to be brought to the forefront in S7 with Runaan, but again: more on those things later. For now, the most important things are Ezran's continual push for himself with king and diplomat as the bases of his identity, and how S6 increases the strain on both of those aspects one by one.

6x02 — Knowledge and Need

One of Ezran's many assessments of what made him a different king from his father, besides not fighting in battles, was Ezran's recognition that he "hadn't read many books of wisdom". I found it a cute fun character detail then that both times we see him in his apparent down time in 6x02 and 6x03, and really the first down time we've seen him be in since early S4, he's reading ("He's right, books are great"—so true 4x02 Ezran, so true).

The more interesting aspect I think this episode raises is along the continuing lines of Ezran and Zym's bond, which is sweetly highlighted here (and then accordingly gets pay off with Zubeia and Zym by episode's close). Specifically, the idea of need:

CLAUDIA: She said I had to stay with Soren, that this was my home, and that my brother and I needed each other. (2x09)

This idea of needing one another, and being together, is very human centric in TDP, Callum and Ezran each being strong and routine proponents of it, but eventually the mindset extends to more Xadian characters (such as Rayla's statement that she and Ethari need Runaan, too, by season's end). This sentiment of "we need each other" is important of course, as well, because it operates in direct opposition to the concept of doing things alone or in isolation, which is how Ezran has been left behind as king and has operated somewhat as king in general.

Zubeia's demonstration that Ezran is a true part of their family is also important, as while Ez isn't there directly to hear it, it narratively rewards his love of Zym and Zubeia by having it be equally reciprocal, and Zym accordingly returns to him. While Ezran is king, and a good king, he cannot and should not be walking his path alone, and that means relying on the people around him to help him.

Or not, if that person is Viren.

6x03 / 6x04 — Viren

Viren's arrival back in Katolis weighs on Ezran before it weighs on Soren, and we see Ezran carry this weight in addition to every other concern already on his mind (but more on that when we talk about 6x05). For now, I want to talk about some contrasts with prior seasons for 6x03.

First, I want to talk about Ezran's storm motif. While the weather is normally pretty stormy, with just about if not every initial shot of the castle each season embedded in a storm, Ezran is the character who surprisingly has the most interplay with it. While Rayla is introduced in a storm and illuminated by lightning (S1 and her tears as the rain in S5), and Callum is a sky-storm mage (prominently in S2 and a bit in S5), Ezran is probably the character who experiences the storm the most and the most consistently.

1x01: Ezran is startled awake by thunder, fearful of the storm

2x07: Ezran runs after Zym and faces Claudia

3x01: Ezran arrives back in Katolis on the back of Banthers

4x01: Ezran hosts his council meeting of the season while it's raining/storming

5x01: Ezran goes out into the storm directly to engage with Domina Profundis

Therefore, the storm has been adjacent to most of Ezran's important turning points as a character, moving from something he's afraid of, to a signal of his tumultuous homecoming, to something he faces head on without fear, and finally where we see Ezran in a lot of ways finally be recognized as King by the person who tried to steal his throne and remove him from the position than one, with Viren's body language directly heralding his last confrontations (1x03, 5x02) with Harrow.

Furthermore, we have the interplay of what both Viren and Ezran believe will happen in Katolis ("They'll throw you in a dungeon, if you're lucky") versus what Viren actually receives from Ezran's verdict(s). Ezran is the only other character we see Viren seek direct penance and apology to, fully recognizing him as king: "I need to see the king" much the way he needed to go to Katolis to face his primary truth with Soren ("I must face my truth... I see you, Soren").

Then we have the way S6 takes more background themes of truth and mercy and amps them up throughout the season, re-contextualizing Ezran's exchange with Viren in a few ways. The most straightforward example of what I mean is by looking at what Aaravos says in his conversation with Sol Regem.

AARAVOS: Would you like a reward? A small mercy before perhaps, before your death? The mercy of truth. (6x08)

So while Ezran doesn't provide Viren with mercy in a traditional sense, as he says, "Good, you don't deserve any" and therefore will not give any, he does provide mercy. He provides Viren a truth they can both agree on, he allows Viren to see him as was requested, and he spares the man's life, locking him away rather than executing him. Ezran's truth is harsh, maybe (deservedly) but it is merciful by its own measure.

On the other end of mercy with Aaravos and the Cosmic Council, we see concepts of mercy and cruelty be called into question.

Sometimes the line between mercy and cruelty can be thin.

Now, Ezran lived because of Rayla's compassion and mercy, and Ezran is someone who ordinarily shows mercy to others as well (i.e. Rayla, Soren, Claudia on more than one occasion, N'than). He's also not usually cruel. But "cruel" is one of Viren's many motif words (I do not mean to be cruel / I owe you an apology Viren, I was cruel to you even though I care for you so much / He's cruel, but you don't have to be / I have been cruel to you + I punished you with a life of cold cruelty), so I think it's worth taking into account. As the wonderful and talented @its-leethee once pointed out, Ezran denying Viren his own definition of mercy also means denying him cruelty by proxy.

I also think Ezran is aware he walks this line as king, however, given how we see things go when Soren returns in 6x04. Not only is the scene with the council while Viren is in the dungeon tonally completely different than it was in season 3 (nobody with the authority to do anything about it, not even Opeli outside of 3x01, really treats Viren being down there as a concern or something on Ezran's plate when he gets back), but also because it presents Ezran with a hard choice to make.

Barius is distanced enough that he can almost smile about the mushrooms, so I knew either Opeli or Ezran were going to be the ones to tell Soren what had happened. Ezran in 3x02 states, "I didn't see everything [Harrow] had to do as king, but I do know that my dad had to make many hard decisions." Not only does this form the backbone of Ezran's entire philosophy as king (going back home in the first place, refusing to have a regent, sacrificing himself, taking the throne up again, etc etc) but it informs him here. Someone has to do the hard thing of telling Soren the truth, and Ezran decides it'll be him, so he does.

Because he's not just Soren's friend, he's his king. And that's Ezran's responsibility.

6x05 — Ezran and Responsibility

Ezran has a very interesting mindset when it comes to what people are responsible for. He holds Claudia accountable in 2x09, but still chases after her and believes in her in 3x09; while he presumably doesn't like dark magic for obvious Ezran-y reasons of seeing all creatures as friends, he's not judgmental about its usage for either Claudia or Callum, even when Rayla holds his brother's usage against him in S2. And when Rayla returns in season 4, he's also not visibly upset with her, either. So I think we can say, if you express regret, had good intentions, and prove you can change, there's a lot that Ezran can forgive, even if it's not everything (re: Viren).

I think we see some of his struggle with it, though, when it comes to the weight he feels for his own actions and choices. Despite Kasef bringing war to his doorstep, Ezran laments, "How can I let this happen?" When he creates a plan where Katolis could escape the war wholly if enough people laid down their hands, giving them agency at the expense of his own, and it doesn't work perfectly, Ezran says, "I let [Corvus] down as king," and feared doing the same earlier: "I feel like I'm letting everyone down." This idea of immense collective responsibility, and the persistent fear of letting people (specifically and in general) down, is one of the many reasons him and Rayla are, often times, so very similar.

Ezran has a tendency to take on an internalized feeling of responsiblity to begin with, and that simply gets amplified with the external circumstances of him being king:

I know everyone is counting on me to teach Zym how to fly. But that's just the start. (2x03)

I don't have time to do kid things. I must gain the trust and cooperation of the dragons, and I shall not be deterred. So many people are counting on me to do my duty. [...] Every time I sit on my throne, I'm reminded of the immense pressure of my kingly duty. (5x02)

But when I struggle, I think of the people I love and how they are counting on me to do the right thing. (6x07)

So Ezran holds himself to a high standard, and that trickles down into how he interacts with others typically in a more compassionate rather than judgemental way—letting things go, holding the group together, being a routinely validating presence—and how he operates as king (4x04):

EZRAN: Wait, please don't go yet. If the Fallen Star is a danger the whole world will face, this is a chance to solve our problems together. [...] I wish there was a way we could combine our strength and purpose and face this together. OPELI: Maybe there is a way. Go with her. EZRAN: But Katolis needs me. OPELI: The world needs you right now. The High Council can take care the people, I promise. EZRAN: You're right. The kingdom will be in good hands.

As king, his kingdom and people come first ("As princes of Katolis, it's our duty to put you all first"—Dreamer's Nightmare) and we see this continue in 6x05 with his conversation with Soren.

LUJANNE: Consider the half moon. Light only falls on half its face right now, but that doesn't mean the other half isn't there. The same is true with you. There are parts of yourself that you keep hidden. (2x02)

Him and Soren are both worried and both fronting with each other, Ezran smiling when Soren enters and giving him a reassuring hug, and Soren's smile dropping the second he leaves.

EZRAN: I'm really excited for Aunt Amaya's wedding, but it also feels like a bad time to leave Katolis. There's so much happening. Callum and Rayla aren't back yet. I'm still worried for Zubeia. And there's that other thing. The prisoner. SOREN: Oh, don't worry about—Viren. Everything will be fine.

Even after receiving news from Soren and Zym that Zubeia is alright, and reaffirming he knows that Zym is worried, Ezran doesn't open up to Zym about it or let the worry go. He feels responsible for his kingdom but also in handling things with Viren.

Speaking of Viren from last episode: while Ezran is typically non-judgmental and forgiving of choices/mistakes, we also get an important piece for how Ezran views responsiblity from 3x02:

My father made choices to keep fighting battles that started hundreds of years before he was born. To punish enemies for crimes their parents committed.

The same way Rayla turns because "how can we take vengeance for something that never happened," Ezran didn't punish Soren and Claudia for crimes their father made ("They thought I ran away, just like my parents" / "But if I die, I'll just be paying the price they should've paid a long time ago") but he does punish Viren for crimes Viren has committed. His emphasis on agency extends to 3x04, in which he gives up his agency in order to give his army some: they can choose to walk away with no technical consequences, even though the deserters are jeered at and forced to wear identification badges / are publicly shamed for their choice to not go to war against Xadia. Rayla was also ordered by Zubeia to kill him and his father, but went against orders upon seeing the egg; Zubeia's heart likewise changed upon seeing her child had been returned to her. (Runaan, comparatively, refused to disobey orders even once seeing the egg, and then attacked and tried to kill his daughter over it by his own admission—but more on him and Ezran later).

The point I'm trying to make is that Ezran feels responsible for his own and other people's decisions when it comes to the good of his kingdom; that he fronts just as much as Soren does about feeling okay; and that he highlights people's agency / right to choose as something that can help them break the cycle, as indicated in his infamous 4x03 speech:

But violence tests us. In a twisted way, it converts us to its cause. Because pain and loss feel so terrible inside, you want to hate. You want to hurt someone else. So what do we do? How can we stop this cycle? [...] We have to acknowledge the weight of the pain and loss, but open up our eyes and allow ourselves to hope and maybe forgive and love again. We have to give today’s children a chance to inherit a future filled with peace. To give them that, we have to hold pain and love in our hearts at the same time.

As king, he has the ability—the responsibility—to make better choices in leading his kingdom, leading his friends.

With that in mind, time to finally talk about the biggest Ezran episode this season:

6x07 — Choices and Sisters

In 6x07, we see Ezran away from Katolis, which he was worried to be, but bonding with Queen Aanya, which is rather sweet. When war is brought to his aunts' doorstep, though, Ezran accordingly steps up, and that is where the real meat of the episode begins for him. Not only is he much calmer and more direct when bargaining with Janai than either his brother or Rayla were (5x03), he's also directly successful, with a little help from Aunt Amaya.

While Ezran to this point has had a bit of interplay with the Mercy motif running throughout the season, and a bit of Truth by proximity, here we see him step more fully into the Path motif that's interwoven with both of these concepts ("Only you can find your one deep truth. Only you can choose the path you're going to walk" —6x04):

EZRAN: What? No. This is supposed to be a day of love, not a day of bloodshed. Maybe we can talk him down. [...] Queen Janai, please. Go on with the wedding. Send me as your emissary to Karim.

There's a few reasons Ezran steps in, I think. He wants to help his aunts and allow them to have their wedding day (again, taking something onto his shoulders to avoid it being on someone else's). He wants to save lives. But perhaps most personally is that this is his path and therefore his truth. He believes in peace and more than that, he believes in choices, offering one both to Janai (and Amaya) of whether to send him or not, and then to Karim of whether to listen.

So he goes, planning for contingencies in bringing Corvus and leaving Aanya by the rocks to watch their backs with her bow and arrow.

A few notes on his discussion with Karim in quick succession otherwise we'll be here all day:

The return of the child-king dichotomy ("a child is freer than a king" / "but I can't run away from growing up, now that I'm king" / "the whining child king" / "this is a child!" "he is a king!") makes a return

As does Karim's typical brand of condescension

Ezran offers Karim the same thing he offered his armies, as well as Ezran's emphasis on the future > Karim's emphasis on the past and power: "Take your army, the people who follow you, and build your own future somewhere away from here."

Reaffirmation of Ezran believing humans and Xadia are stronger together and that people should be reintegrated with each other (bringing Zym home, working with various elves and dragons, his offers of togetherness to Zubeia and Rayla, his love for his aunt, etc etc)

Ezran quoting Harrow's letter directly: "No, history doesn't have to be a narrative of strength. Not if we don't want it to be. It can be a narrative of love."

Initial break down of key points:

Once again, Ezran highlights people's wants. Queen Janai wants peace. It doesn't have to be a narrative of strength if we don't want it to be. "We all want peace and we all want love." Karim is about to deliver a very harsh lesson about what can happen when that isn't what people want, as he's more motivated by ego and pride than any measure of love. Ezran's emphasis also ties into opposition with how when people / characters in the show don't listen to their wants, they're more likely to engage in the Cycle because they think they have no choice: "I don't want to," Rayla says, threatening his brother, "but I have to" (1x02) + arc 1 Viren's entire character arc.

Secondly, while Ezran begins by stating that "Human, child, king" (or his three identity monikers) "none of this matters," that's not where he ends his statement. Instead, he builds his identity directly upon his kingship (which Karim notably does not have):

K: Those are childish dreams. E: Not dreams. Choices. I am a king. And as a king, I choose love over strength.

This is an interesting reconciliation, as we see Harrow forced to choose in dreams precisely because he's king (2x05) and we see dreams interplay with choices for both Viren ("Every step forward is a choice") and Callum's dark magic dreams ("No, I get to choose who I want to be"). It also sets up inevitably that Karim won't choose love over strength almost precisely because he's not king and that's what he wants to be, perhaps in a symbolic sense.

Then we get to the meatiest part of S6 Ezran in a lot of ways, in terms of set up for next season:

Sometimes it’s hard, but when I struggle, I think about the people I love and how they are counting on me to do the right thing. Not the harsh thing, not the strong thing. The right thing. Do you love your sister, Prince Karim?

Again, a few quick notes:

Verbal acknowledgement from Ezran himself that choosing love over strength is hard and is a struggle, harkening back to 4x03

"Counting on me" pattern

Ezran specifically references to the people he loves as balances, which most clearly points to Zym and Zubeia, I think

Ezran will be challenged in that exact way next season with Runaan, precisely with "Do you love your sister?" (and brother) being what can bring him back from the brink

But more on this when I get to my Ezran-Karim meta, which all of this meta was originally supposed to be in, and then it got way too long and got split in two.

KARIM: What? Of course I do. I... She has led our people down the wrong path, but she will always be my sister. EZRAN: Then you can still choose love. It’s not too late.

However, all of Ezran's best efforts — his emphasis on choices — doesn't matter when Karim actively "wants Janai to attack"; that history wrote that fire must be chosen, so he'll choose it again now. What follows is Ezran desperately running to save lives and go against the perceived destiny Miyana sees ("Open your eyes, little king. You cannot be blind to destiny") as both Zym, Aanya, and Corvus help Ezran escape. We see Aanya continue to be a great support, extending a hand to him rather than being someone he extends aid to, and although Ezran is unable to stop the Sunfire armies from colliding with Sol Regem, they are spared anyway.

And while he's undeniably grateful and happy it didn't happen to the Sunfire elves nor his aunts, it's for a fate that's far personally worse for our young boy king.

6x09 — Castles Crumbling

Remember how I've emphasized throughout about Ezran treating kingdom — particularly in S6 — as an underpinning for his entire identity, both in professional and interpersonal relationships? Well... what's a king his castle? What is a king without a kingdom?

Furthermore, Katolis and the crown, the kingship, is also key to how Ezran conceptualizes and remembers Harrow. The emphasis on his throne, the emphasis on his crown, the way Ezran speaks and forges ahead as a leader... these are all ways to keep his parents'—his father's—memory alive. Now there's not even that.

Ezran has always had semblances of phoenix symbolism, surviving death, riding dragons rather than being burned by them, waking up with the rising sun in 3x02 and claiming his crown at sunset by the end, being taken to the dungeons at nightfall, etc. Now he's been pushed into it full throttle, dealing with many types of grief at once.

A loss of his people and the responsiblity he felt towards them, grieving innocent lives lost; the destruction of his childhood home and safe stronghold; in many ways, the loss of his father and family all over again; and lastly, a loss of sense of self, symbolized by the literally fallen towers of Katolis.

This raises an especially interesting arc for Ezran going forward. On the one hand, being king is a deeply positive experience for him: it's hard but it's liberating, he deeply loves his people, and it's a role as mediator he's always naturally stepped into (1x03, 1x06, Dreamer's Nightmare, 4x06, etc). It's something he actively chooses and uses to choose the Narrative of Love.

At the same time, it's also been deeply isolating, and something he's prone to utilizing in anger: "If I am the king, you have to let me go" (2x08) when it comes to pulling rank. The fact it's so bound up with his bond with Harrow (and Callum having distance from Harrow partially specifically informed by Harrow being king) is also likely to hurt as much as it helps.

In the same way that other characters are being pushed to their dual identity breaking point in S7 — Rayla as a protector or an assassin, Callum as someone who can break away from Aaravos' corrupted control or will play right into his hands — Ezran will likewise be similarly tested, being a King of Strength and a King of Love, potentially falling prey to the same pitfalls that doomed his father but also coming back from them as well. In a lot of ways, therefore, each of his scenes / episodes in S6 take the former dominos from S4 and S5 and line them up all for 6x09—7x02 to likely knock them down in brutal succession, and then see how he — like his brother and friend; like a phoenix; like his kingdom — rises from the ashes.

And I can't wait to see it.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this very long Ezran meta! There was a lot to dig in from S6 itself as well as from prior seasons, and is — I think — probably tied for the 2nd best Ezran season with season 3 (the best season for him being S4, tbh). Contextualizing things further both in regards to the past and the future for his character arc is also very exciting, and I hope this meta helped create hype — for the boy, for the king, and for the way Ezran has continued to grow and be tested.

The next meta will either be Terry (S4—S6) or Claudia&Rayla (S6) centric, and I will see you then!

In the meantime, Dragons out!

[nohara-rin-dot-mp3]

Hello hello thinking about Rin again and realized I don’t know exactly what went down in canon during kaguya fight… did she try to make obito and Kakashi kill themselves?? Does she appear to Obito in dreams/purelands…? Couldn’t find good sources to confirm and thought if anyone knew it would be you lol. Needed for research purposes :)

OH BOY!!!! rin's appearances in the war arc are all so fucking unhinged (not going over the flashback sections here because that's a topic that's already been covered extensively, but yes. she is also unhinged throughout those). there's two major points where she shows up and they are, yes, that time she tries to get obikaka to kill themselves and that time she tells obito that he did nothing wrong ever. really normal points of characterization for her.

as to whether or not this is really rin's ghost... i consider it to be about as canon as hamlet's dad's ghost really being there. which is to say: i think that it is the more textual reading to say that rin is really there, but there is also absolutely merit to reading her as not there! i personally go back and forth as to what it is on purpose, because rin is the Contradictions Character. and also not even allowing her ghost to be real emphasizes rin's non-existence within naruto (always a fun thing to do). but i do think she would say + do all of that shit because she is insane.

WEIRD STUFF PART ONE: "kys" said rin like a kind devoted intellectual girl

naruto manga chapter 686 consists mainly of some not-particularly-well-written scuffling with kaguya narrated by kakashi and occasionally intersected with a healthy dose of self-loathing to prep us for some fun avoidable suicidal self-sacrifice

he's fine this is normal kks behavior actually :]

both kks and obt end up attempting to jump in front of kaguya's attack to save team seven. this is a choice that both of them make un-influenced, because [uncritical glorification of self-sacrifice as redemptive as a vehicle for pro-konoha ideology internalized and sought out due to their intense self-loathing], but it is very notably a choice that they might not have been able to make were it not for rin's ghost swooping in to help drag them into the path of the attack!

obviously, obito intervenes to ensure that he alone is able to commit epic suicide no jutsu, but i think it's notable that obikaka both acknowledge rin as the reason they are able to jump in front of the attacks... and neither of them think the question the morality of this. naruto does not condone helping your friends commit suicide. rin having a level of influence over the physical world and using it to help those two's suicide instead of. doing literally. anything else.

that is weird!!! that is weird okay!!! rin does not know team 7. rin has no reason to value their lives over her own teammates. rin does not help obito minimize the damage to just himself; rin helps both of them kill themselves. and no one fucking questions it because of course not but like that's not very normal!!! that's not a decision that is kind or normal!!! i don't know what kishimoto's purpose in adding rin to this scene was.

WEIRD STUFF PART TWO: genuinely how were we meant to interpret this shit

here is an image of an illusion of rin that is representative of obito grappling with his morality and love for her. it is meant to be somewhat unsettling and horror-toned.

here is an image of rin's real ghost that is supposed to build sympathy for her and obito as characters and is meant to be romantically toned:

not news because there are many rinmages that depict her on the verge of homicide. but it certainly is a framing for that scene!!!!

genuinely unsure what the fuck was going on throughout the entire segment of obt's afterlife. i wrote a meta about a sub-textual horror reading of it a while back that still holds up imo if you want to get more into it...but the big things of concern to note about this scene is that rin is totally okay with everything obito ever did :]

THIS JUST IN: nohara rin supports the bombs on babies movement. unsurprising.

anyways. textually, this was probably meant as a way of cementing obito's redemption/change of heart but. that is not how it comes off. "the whole time." even during the genocide??? really???? really??????? also not relevent to the point of this. ramble. but i like the background being light grey because the present has white borders and flashbacks have black borders and this liminal space has something inbetween. big win for enjoyers of girls who don't exist

uhhh hopefully this was helpful? lmk if you need any other screenshots of panels or context i'm happy to provide. as long as it's about rin i mean i don't know shit about anyone else

[sheepwavehdg]

HDG story Recs: Read Only Mind exclusives

HDG used to live on a website that wasn't AO3! these are some stories that are often forgotten because they haven't fully made the jump after ROM banned HDG (because it was too big and taking over the site) because I'm not from this era, I got help from a pal who is to fill this list out!

The Saga of Dandelion Fluff, Real Affini by Anglemoon: two absolute moron rebels attempt to evade capture by assembling a fake suit and pretending to be an affini. it is hilarious, fluffy, and heartfelt.

Petals and Vines by evningrespite: the seediest sub in the entire universe is slowly domesticated in this fluffy romance story that still has a fair bit of bite in its consensual sadomasochism elements.

Satirical Spouting by Violet: a goofy oneshot that pokes fun at common tropes in the setting. I literally laughed so hard it hurt when I first read this story.

In The Shadow of The Independence by TsukiNeko: a somewhat controversial story that I have a difficult time recommending without qualifying first. this story is painfully sharp, has long segments devoted not to its own narrative but instead extremely clumsy metacommentary on the setting itself, and a cringe final chapter note devoted to a discord that no longer exists. It is still one of the most influential HDG stories to many writers, and there is an incredible story about sadism, communication, dominance, and surrender buried under the nonsense.

Human Domestication Guide by Glitchyrobo: while this one is being ported over to Ao3, the original 12 chapter arc is still incomplete, and the 1984 style ending to that arc that is still currently ROM exclusive is one of the most chillinglingly happy moments in the entire setting.

thanks to my anonymous friend for the following:

Hospitable Takeover by wyril: The first ever HDG fanwork! a bit of a lighter take than the OG story, while still maintining the underlying feel of creeping manipulation.

A little Self Sabotage by Doeposting: Captain Samuel Dirkost is commander of a wing of Resistance fighters unwilling to surrender to Affini Compact. The Affini have plans of their own, unveiling a secret prototype device used to curtail the Terran Rebel threat.

What Sunlight Tastes Like by Fallenlog: an M/M ace semi-romance story about a scared and lonely rebel finding happiness in a new home. It's very cute.

In the Garden of Eden: far in the future, a lone terran ship has been running dark the whole time, flying towards an affini core world. everyone on the ship are clones, and everything is recycled to keep everything going. one clone starts questioning things. a story that notably features an affini the size of a planet, and is generally a really nice story about overcoming trauma.

[taag-the-withering]

I'm back on my bullshit. Go my scarab, be free.

Excalibur, Tales of Arcadia's shiny "new" weapon introduced to us in Wizards. As we all know, Excalibur was handed off to Jim in the movie who's name we do not speak of. However before the trailer drop, I remember several theories going around of who would be the wielder of such a weapon, one amongst those who were theorized to hold the weapon was Steve Palchuk.

This will not necessarily be a what-if theorizing segment of what I think would happen if Steve had Excalibur, but rather this is an analysis of Steve and how him holding the handle of Excalibur would have been a fantastic writing choice.

To state why I think the choice would have been well-made I need to break down my main talking points. Firstly, the choice would have been a incredibly strong ending to Steve's entire character arc. And secondly, the thematic standings would have made far more sense than it would with Jim.

Steve's entire arc is about proving himself.

He starts off in Trollhunters lashing out against anyone who looks at him wrong in order to show that he's better than everyone else. This sounds kind of like a crack theory but I have proof of this ideal which I'll mention later.

Anyway, people don't deny Steve or go against that idea of his normally because they don't want to get caught in the crossfire, which further attempts to prove to Steve himself that he is special. When Jim intervenes against Eli and eventually wins the fist-fight against Steve, it becomes a defining moment for both of them. Jim proves to himself that he can in fact win a fight against Draal and Jim directly counterattacks against Steve's mindset.

With the entirety of Steve's identity being threatened, he now targets Jim, albeit in a very stereotypical bully fashion but he still targets him and threatens the things that Jim cares about and his identity. For example, Jim's love of vespas is threatened by Steve owning a vespa as well. Jim's crush on Claire, Steve is going to get in his way as much as possible (the play understudy, etc).

What makes all this fruitless for Steve is that Jim doesn't care, Jim could care less that Steve has a vespa and by the time Jim's Trollhunting is revealed to Claire it's already set in stone (get it cause-) that Jim and Claire will become a couple. Steve basically has nothing to prove himself as better against Jim, they both got a vespa, and Jim "gets the girl". So when Spring Fling comes around and Steve is one of the nominees, he focuses on that, the title of king to show that he's special.

Once again, Jim could not give a shit, and Steve ultimately wins. Which is a major ego boost for him, taking him out of that very desperate mentality he held beforehand… but not without it being threatened first, and not by Jim.

Steve's pixie scene, like to many other characters is pivotal to understanding how they operate (thanks Angor, you save this theory/analysis). What is viewed typically as just a gag, rather provides us with some useful insight into Steve as a character and backing to my theory that Steve desires to be special.

In Steve's pixie scene he sees several highly confident copies of himself, all doing things like him. With these exact carbon copies of himself, Steve's entire identity of being special is once again threatened, because if everybody is Steve and Steve is supposed to be special… then he himself isn't special, isn't unique, isn't different from everyone else.

In fact, he drops quite the brutal line during all of this "Don't kill myself. Don't kill myself. I'm special." So… yeah. I'd say the pixie scene is enough proof alone that Steve hinges everything on seeing seen as special. At least until S2 when he teams up with Eli and becomes a Creepslayer.

When Steve discovers the hidden world of Arcadia beneath his feet, via a "raccoon" in his garage which is actually just a goblin he, interestingly enough, goes to Eli to ask about the monsters in Arcadia. And they both determine that they together need to help save Arcadia from the monsters in the dark. What makes the Creepslayerz episode so pivotal for Steve's arc is that Steve does not pursue the idea of saving Arcadia alone, but rather goes to someone he was previously pushing down against, Eli. I would argue that Steve actually did believe Eli on some level about the monsters in Arcadia, but in order to prove that he special he made sure to ostracize Eli for talking about it, because if Eli was getting attention then Steve isn't.

Over the course of this episode, Steve's desire to prove himself to being special and his actions taken to prove such a thing go from putting down and harming others to helping others, not just alone but aided by someone else.

This is big. And the first steps taken by Steve into stepping into the roles that would be needed for Excalibur.

What exactly are the roles needed for Excalibur though?

Based on some light research the general idea was to be a "true king". But that is a quite subjective standard to have. What does it mean to be a true king? For the sake of this not becoming more philosophical, I will say a "true king" is a person who possesses the qualities of a strong leader and is more morally sound than the average depiction of a king nowadays.

While Steve was not a good person, nor a sound leader at the beginning of Trollhunters, he begins to grow as a person from the Creepslayerz episode and on. Helping others, becoming kinder, and becoming more brave. By the Eternal Night, Steve had taken the steps needed to become a better person.

Steve's love for Aja is also very developmental for him, because she is a queen, and holds far more power and ability, and is essentially far more special than him. But rather than attempt to push Aja down, he falls in love with her. By 3Below and Trollhunters S3, Steve recognizes his place in helping others as one of the Creepslayerz with Eli, who he formerly tormented.

Though by the end of 3Below and the beginning of Wizards, Steve's identity is threatened again. But this time is because he won't be able to see Aja or Eli again for quite a while. His identity then hadn't hinged on being special, it had been hinged on helping others alongside and with the people he cares about.

Not that Steve doesn't necessarily care, in fact he begins looking for a place amongst others to help and fight with them in the beginning of Wizards. But the Trollhunters team is already set, so Steve keeps searching for belonging with his identity alongside other people.

When the group lands in Camelot, Steve begins to look for his identity within the knights of Camelot. Now faced with professionals, and lacking anyone to associate himself with, Steve's identity is under threat again. But rather than lash out against others or even himself, he just keeps trying. Jim, who Steve had previously bullied, he now saves the life of and helps him during Wizards. He battles against Nimue and earns her tooth as a weapon, but doesn't search for more, he just keeps to what he has earned himself, trying to become better. By the old Battle of Killahead, Steve is entrusted the role of helping others by Lancelot, whom Steve admires greatly. So by being given that role by Lancelot and continuing to help others afterwards in Lancelot's steed, Steve has essentially built his own identity revolving around helping others and being brave, neither of which stem from being special.

This full development arc of Steve, displaying his shifting goals and him changing as a person to become better is incredibly important. As it would have been 10x more thematically significant for Steve, the person who wanted to be special by default to earning the title of special himself through hard work, dedication, bravery, and helping others would have been a great finalization. Steve is special not through a default matters that typically come with earning Excalibur, he's not a good person or a good leader by default but he grows into those roles. Steve grows into Excalibur.

Fortunately for you, my first point is a lot longer than my second point.

For the hints of foreshadowing and theming, while Jim did technically pull Daylight out of the conveniently placed boulder in his backyard in Trollhunters. Steve also has plenty of hints for Excalibur himself, hidden throughout the set of series.

In Trollhunters, Steve becomes Spring King, which is incredibly funny on his own, because at that time Steve was not qualified to be a leader or figurehead of anything at all. But the fact that it could have easily been drawn back upon is hard not to ignore. The first time Steve was assigned King, he did not deserve the title, but earning Excalibur, he would have earned that title. That parallel could have been a fantastic writing device if Steve had been the choice. In 3Below, Steve is deeply in love with Aja, as said is a queen. The hints of royalty are not subtle here either.

And of course in Wizards. Steve does not only resemble Lancelot, but also subtly resembles King Arthur. While there has been people who assign the thematic roles of the Wizards to Jim, Claire, and Douxie (King Arthur, Morgana, and Merlin). I believe a more accurate telling to what the roles could have been in order would be Steve, Jim, Claire, Douxie to King Arthur/Lancelot, Deya, Morgana, and Merlin respectively. Ultimately, I would argue that Jim's role should have always remained as the Trollhunter, not a king. The Trollhunter armour always gave the air of a knight and protector rather than the high standing role of a king. While Jim does also have leadership qualities that should not be ignored, he also uses those leadership qualities in the heat of battle, organizing his allies and defeating enemies. Jim would be far more suited for the role as a war general than a straight up king.

Nonetheless, I'm under the impression that giving Steve Excalibur would have been thematically amazing. As it would highlight the change of a person and how becoming kinder and more helpful are actual qualities that make a person special. Jim was kind and helpful on a default, therefore people associate that with his personality, not the general requirements of what it means to be a good person. Steve shows that people can change and become better, and his character development in the background would have had a fantastic finish with him earning Excalibur, becoming not only an actual king, but the kind of special that he wanted people to look up to in the first place.

[project-sekai-takes]

I don't like Unreliable Notes and I'm tired of pretending I do—like, I get it, after everything Kanade is still focused on "saving Mafuyu", we are almost doing a full circle back to the main story, inevitably she will be present a lot in Kanade's events—but I can't really stand it anymore because the way they go about it just makes it feel like Mafuyu is always shoehorned in there and we cannot take a moment to actually let Kanade tell her own story. It's locked away until we finish Mafuyu's arc even though we arguably already closed one.

Can't we take a moment of this "Kanade back to square one" to delve into Kanade's character, then? Subvert the main story? What IS Kanade thinking other than "I have to save Mafuyu"? Why? I obviously know it has to do with her childhood, what happened to her mother and father... but I'd like to see how these figures and things relate in her head. Are you really going to have a segment of her hallucinating Mafuyu and her mother, yet nothing about Kanade's own memories. Can you tell me how she feels about her mental health relapses, down to neglecting her physical again, and why they happen. How she feels towards anything else that isn't Mafuyu??

But instead we get... two whole chapters of Kanade hearing about Mafuyu's mother (???). Couldn't we save this for a Mafuyu event? And then just... ok, music making of course... there's that one comment about "trying to apply her own mother's warmth" and what frustrates me is that we can't even take the time to delve into something like that, we just have to make it a fleeding comment to focus on more Mafuyu I guess. She's admittedly the support character. It's not showing anything about Kanade's character, it's teasing about it. This is what we got for what is meant to be Kanade's spotlight, but it just feels like obligatory setup for Mafuyu's.

I've fallen in love with Kanade's character in Carnation Recollection, and then proceeded to get no more decent spotlights on her. It seems she's just forced to hold her spotlight and point it to other characters instead, sacrificing screentime from her own development and storytelling—and don't come tell me this makes sense just cause self-sacrifice is what her character is (mostly) about; I know that, but that doesn't mean that the best and only way to display it is to literally neglect telling me more about her and her own story. I'd rather you take more time to tell me why it is she is the way she is, and show me her development. This is how we get people saying she hasn't evolved at all ever since the main story, because you didn't bother showcasing how this is a relapse and how it doesn't mean she's stuck at or back to square one.

Also: I don't dislike Mafuyu. I'm just frustrated with seeing one of my favorite characters being sidelined time and time again to make more space for her. I get that Mafuyu is logically a prominent figure in Kanade's life, I just think literally having her events always be about her, down to constantly having her on screen to showcase it is, dare I say, a bit lazy.

Ok that's it... sorgy... yeah

- ☕

.

[sanders1665]

We're not people anymore—we're pixels, posturing avatars in a never-ending gladiator match of validation. Each tap, each swipe, another offering to the algorithm gods. Welcome to the feed, baby. Step right up. Strip yourself down to marketable traits and watch the likes flood in like dirty money through a cracked Vegas slot.

The feeds are everything. The feeds are nothing. They're just human vending machines now—stick a coin in, out pops someone’s trauma, their tits, their kid’s birthday, their dog’s death, their hot take on NATO, their #GRWM grief routine. It’s all content. All of it. And goddamn it if we’re not feeding each other into the beast with smiling faces and monetized hashtags.

Political leaders don't debate—they stream. War criminals with ring lights and branded hoodies. Soldiers of the dumb leading armies of dopamine addicts. Left, right, center? Nah. It’s all just teams now. Just jerseys. And behind the jerseys? Content creators. Megaphones with egos. Opinions wrapped in sponsored segments.

And TikTok? That’s the town square where Shakespeare got replaced by someone lip-syncing about their break-up while bouncing in yoga pants. Instagram is just soft-core capitalism—filter your face, filter your life, but don’t you dare filter your reach. Got a modeling gig? Great. But make sure you clock in at CVS this weekend because fame don’t cover rent unless it’s viral.

Facebook? Like a community notice board run by madmen and bots. Join a group? Sure. Want to bond over asbestos? Enlighten your soul with naked yoga and essential oils that cure cancer? It's all there. Fifty million dopamine churches, each one with its own gospel, its own snake oil priest.

And X—oh, X. A cesspool dressed up in silicon armor, run by a man-boy who thinks he's Tony Stark but acts like a bored Reddit mod with a God complex. Every take is a flame war. Every thread a minefield. And we keep scrolling through the carnage, thumbs twitching like lab rats on speed.

Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. There’s a plane crash. A school shooting. A fucking cat wearing sunglasses and playing piano. A celebrity redemption arc. A breakdown. A comeback. A murder. A make-up tutorial. A ghost sighting. An alien. A child dancing at a funeral while someone vlogs their grief.

We’re in a constant state of voyeurism and exhibitionism, both at once. The orgy of self-exposure, the bloodsport of public opinion. You want private content? Pay up. You want the truth? Scroll past it. You want peace of mind? You’re in the wrong century.

This isn’t a society anymore. It’s a contest. A rat race on LSD where the finish line keeps moving and the prize is a poisoned trophy.

So here’s my message, not that they’ll hear it—too busy counting followers, likes, clout. To the influencers and the brand consultants, to the blue checkmark prophets and the dopamine pimps:

Fuck off.

Give me back sanity. Give me back privacy. Give me back a world where your value wasn’t measured in engagement metrics and trending hashtags.

We’re drowning in noise. And somewhere deep down, someone still remembers silence.

But not today.

Because the feed’s still scrolling.

[tthevoic3s]

From Blood Births Life And Death | extra

A Torture Enveloped in Soft Silk

MASTERPOST

word count: 750

Note: this is a filler set in arc 2, it doesn’t contain any explicit spoiler. it may contain some hints but nothing too crazy, it can be read as a silly, unlinked oneshot. Still, the road to the real, finished version of this part of the story is pretty long. :)

During her career as a top class troublemaker, vandal, war criminal and jail escapee, Maya Strauss had endured several humiliating situations. From stressing, to painful, to life threatening. Bullets whizzing next to her head, climbing to dizzying heights, escaping from soldiers.

But this.

Oh.

Oh, this was vile.

Outrageous.

An insult to her person and her whole existence.

If Dante’s hell had a circle dedicated to everything Maya hated, it probably looked exactly like that precise segment of her life.

Maya Strauss, the mighty, courageous — and definitely tomboyish — human rebel, who was fighting against her own kind for the greater good, was-

Sigh.

She was currently being pampered and taken care of by a darn giant priestess.

She had been bathed like a goddamn kitten.

She had been getting a hairstyle — and gods it took hours for the giantess.

Maya’s hair was so tousled that if straightened they almost doubled their length. Well, maybe not doubled. But now, the ginger locks that usually framed her round face were straighter, the tips reaching past her shoulders. Her scalp was still sore.

Still, she could have tolerated a hairstyle. It wasn’t the worst thing it could happen.

Because, to her own horror, Maya had even been wrapped in a handmade sewn dress. A dress. The only thought of it was enough to make Maya gag. In 18 years of her life, she had never been convinced to put on one of those awful pieces of fabric, not even by her mother.

She just didn’t expect that it would take a hundred-foot tall priestess with fingers as long as Maya’s entire body and a curtain of silk fabric to fulfill it.

Yet now here she was, enveloped in a doll outfit without the possibility to fight for her rights, perhaps because of the size disadvantage.

She had caught a glimpse of herself in one of the polished tiles near the prayer basin — and nearly screamed. The girl staring back at her was an alien.

The beige silk clung to her skin in soft waves, enhancing her body curves and making her look more feminine than she ever had been before.

Jesus, mom would be proud.

Maya really wanted to forget what her father taught her and unleash her ungodly wrath now. She had already considered it before, but now it seemed indispensable.

Was this to be her fate? Condemned not to death penalty, life sentence as the traitor to her homeland that she was, but to layers of pleated silk and the judgmental cooing of a woman large enough to grind her bones into fertilizer? End her. End her now.

She knew, intellectually, that Hieri wasn’t being cruel. She knew this was “hospitality.” That it was probably sacred. That even Andrew would say it was sweet.

And still, despite how much she cared about Andrew and loved him as her best friend, as one of the only people who didn’t turn his back on her because of the follies she was committing… she couldn’t stand the girls of his kind.

They were… particular.

Beautiful, sure, but utterly stupid, Maya had to say.

And not that she wanted to approve any kind of ideology Scott was trying to portray them as — but God.

This was the second time she got treated like that since she arrived in the capital.

Well, maybe not the dress part specifically, but this whole being treated like a small, fragile little doll thing.

Before, it was the suspicious maid in the Matriarch’s palace. The one who fell down the stairs like a sack of potatoes and transformed Maya’s crime attempt into a comedy sketch.

What was her name— oh yes, Nayeda. Who claimed herself as Eira’s humble collaborator, servant, nothing else. Of course.

Maya snickered at the thought, spreading her legs slightly — and fighting the dress in the process — to sit more comfortably on the large, marble table standing in the centre of the temple hall.

And now, speaking about the temple, that priestess. Hieri. The third of the matriarch’s triplets. Eira and — ugh — Ra’ei’s twin sister.

The mere thought of that evil spoiled brat still made Maya scrunch her nose in disdain.

“Lord Ra’ei” my ass — she thought — that guy would fit better in a damn Kindergarten rather than in a council chamber. She still couldn’t get over the fact that his party, guided by his own stubbornness and close-minded attitude, nearly led Andrew to the fucking gallows.

Fuck you all, tall women.

And fuck you too, Ra’ei.

It’s never an insensitive time to wish you some disgrace. May your pillow be warm on both sides. Or may your stupid palace take fire.

[fluffypotatey]

To be honest I am a huge Nalu shipper. But the thing is I want to know the difference between the way Natsu cares about his guildmates and Lucy. Like what is the obvious difference since that boy sees every as Nakama so how can we say that the wag he cares about Lucy is different?

Like even when Erza passed away? (All the way back in first season there was a segment where the guild was gathered at her grave and all) Natsu was still very reactive. Plus he was also said to be depressed even when Lisanna passed.

What's the difference between all of them and Lucy?

the fact that he stayed. the fact that before he met Lucy, Natsu wasn't one to stay in a group or even want to work with anyone besides Happy at the start of the story. hell, he was ready to just file Lucy down as "New Guildmate" once they reached Fairy Tail

but then, Lucy doesn't leave. she follows him on his mission to save Macao despite her not needing to or even really understanding everything about it. she stays and then fights with him and saves him. it's no secret that Natsu is strong and can take care of himself really well. he's been going on solo missions for years now, and no one has really stopped him, but that means he's been in a lot of sticky situations where he and Happy are on their own and have no backup. and yet, without asking, Lucy offers it

and i think this is the moment when Natsu considers that maybe it's okay to have someone there to have his back (sans Happy)

"but Natsu only needed Lucy for the next quest because of the requirements," well, Natsu also wouldn't have taken or even considered that quest if it weren't for Lucy, yeah? he was not a team player (in the picking job's sense) or really wanted other people to help him on his quests sans Happy. and then he goes and picks a job that caters to their team whilst ensuring that Lucy can't say no

or maybe i'm reading too much into it 🤷🏻‍♀️

or maybe Natsu's got horrible abandonment issues that he will latch onto people so fast (Igneel & Lisanna) but also cause him to distance himself so far when left behind (his 1st time at the guild, Lisanna's death). Erza and Gray are Natsu's closest friends after Lisanna and yet they cannot reach him when he closes himself off. and then we have Lucy, who stuck by and had his back, so who is to say Natsu didn't make some contingencies to ensure whether or not she'd join him?

but maybe it's the rose, colored ship glasses i have on

because yeah, Natsu cares for all of his guildmates. the power of friendship is his biggest motivator. when we meet Natsu, our first introductions of him is defending his guild's reputation from Bora (who was using it as a guise for human trafficking) and saving Macao. and our 1st big arc (Galuna Island), where Natsu adamantly refuses to allow Gray to use Ice Shell and sacrifice himself despite how antagonistic they've been to each other. we get Natsu 100% at Erza's defense throughout the Tower of Heaven and he is even ready to defend Wendy though they only met hours ago

Natsu is a character with a bleeding heart and cannot help but wear it on his sleeve, but we don't really see him allow others to fight his battles or have his back until Lucy comes in. to be honest, i don't even think he had his heart on his sleeve until Lucy. he still has a bleeding heart (i don't think anything could stop that), but he was not ready to be open in receiving company because he was so used to it being ripped away from him

that being said: of all the characters he interacts with, he finds Lucy to be someone compatible enough for him to start going on team missions and inviting her on them (for example, his 1st S-class mission, which he stole, he went to her house to show it to her. the fact that part of the reward was a celestial key might be a coincidence, but i wouldn't doubt it as Natsu and Happy's trump card in case she refused)

but yeah, the difference is that he stayed and didn't push her away at the beginning, but instead continued to invite her along with him to the point that doing a mission without Lucy wasn't his regular anymore. compared to the rest of the guild, of whom he spent most of his childhood with, even if he spoke to no one, they would still be around and talk to him anyway. he might not invite them on job and only challenge them to fights, but the guild is his home and a constant in his life, a constant he needs (bc heavy abandonment issues).

"okay, but he still pushed her away after he watched Igneel die right in front of him. and he left the guild for a whole year, too. so what's the difference there?" you may ask.

so 1) Natsu never thought the guild would disband. he returns to Fiore after a year and is the last to know that they disbanded. he assumed, like all the other times before and while he and others were sealed for 7 years, that Fairy Tail would still be there when he returned. he assumed that his disappearance would not impact so hard because the guild would still be around and Lucy would have the others with her

which, did not happen :)

and like, so many guild members go off on jobs, quests, or even just leave for an indiscriminate amount of time (which i, personally, believe was his rationality for leaving), so him being gone for a year was nothing! right? no harm, eh? his plan was never to be gone forever :))))

2) he just watched his father die and lost any chance of having some semblance of a long term reunion with Igneel. he literally lost one of his main driving motivations for getting stronger and taking jobs. before Fairy Tail, before anyone, it was Igneel. and to learn that a) Igneel was always with him to begin with and b) he only got to see him for less than a day after 14 years of nothing......i would feel lost too ngl

man's needed space from everybody. and he also needed comfort, but Natsu has been shown not to really be the character who asks to receive comfort (and when he does receive it, it's usually when he's already emotionally compromised). he is in the habit of shutting people out after being abandoned or losing someone close to him, with his next rationale being to "get stronger" in order to prevent what happened in the past to ever happen in the future.

anyway

what makes this different? well for one, he sent the letter only to Lucy (or it's implied since no one else is shown getting one) because of how the two spend most of their time together. even the line that goes with the panel makes it sound like Natsu is unsure on how the note will be received (maybe even hesitant? but that could be my own hopes)

and one of the 1st people he reunites with after a year is Lucy and we get such a similar parallel to the first chapter of Fairy Tail between the two as if the narrative itself is slotting them together to say "ah yes, now everything is back to normal and new journeys can begin"

but yeah, this is just a long way of saying, that Natsu does love his friends and guildmates but even when he is close to them, he kept to himself (and Happy) and sort of stayed in their orbit but always with some emotional distance because of his fear of abandonment. and then you have Lucy where he will stay for and allow her to orbit around him and he will invite to new adventures no questions asked

that's the difference

[goodlouse]

my thoughts on the two most recent games i've played (mouthwashing and silent hill 2 (2001)) which i've been thinking about alternately for the past few days for similar reasons

going to mention spoilers in here but this post will probably only be fully comprehensible to ppl who have experienced both games

not expecting many to read this but tumblr is quickly becoming my outlet for opinions that I can't rlly post on very public sites like tiktok where any criticism of a media means that I hate it and hate you for liking it. haterism be damned I actually got a net positive from playing both of these games!!

so I started playing silent hill 2 (original because I do not believe in/have the money to buy modern remakes) fresh off the back of silent hill 1 which is a game I REALLY enjoyed. I would EVEN say that sh1 is my number 1 cosiest game of the year.

sh2 is dirtier, bleaker and sleazier than sh1, and is lacking a lot of the occult aspects that I really liked. it's also like one of the most talked about games ever so like . i went into it with the knowledge of a few major plot beats and it took a long time playing to be able to take the game on its own terms.

i also took a little break halfway thru the game to stream mouthwashing for some curious friends. mouthwashing is a game thats very popular w streamers & youtubers and their audiences, so major plot points are also incredibly talked about. I mentioned this to a friend while setting up the game and he said I'll get something out of it anyway and then compared it to silent hill 2, which I kind of brushed off as a "psychological horror w unreliable narrator" thing (sorry choccy if you ever read this) but it turns out the two games are actually very similar in the way they draw my ire LOL

these things being: -sexual assault victim who doesn't have time in the plot to exist outside of her trauma. this is partially due to both plots being very tight and concise with no elements that don't serve a higher function BUT -this is then undermined by certain areas of gameplay dragging. for mouthwashing especially the last ~45 minutes felt very weirdly paced and unfortunately made me think of ppl who speedrun garten of banban in under 2hrs to get the steam refund, which resulted in later chapters being padded w drawn out segments.

The friends I was streaming for that have consumed more media than I have said that a lot of tropes in the game felt a bit derivative, but I don't know the things its deriding from BUT I wish mouthwashing would take more from the survival horrors its imitating in it's style. The gameplay between character interactions is limited to inputting codes you've read or corridors where there's only one correct route and everything else results in a reset - I think people that watched mouthwashing through a letsplayer might not truly get how understimulating that feels. Some more psychologically symbolic puzzles and riddles would not have gone amiss!

which brings me back around to silent hill 2, where I am legitimately just too stupid to do the 'collect and combine 3 items to progress' without a guide. because A) I don't intuitively clear out all rooms because I hate all combat encounters BECAUSE i am being too overly conservative with ammo so every enemy gets a fight to the death with melee weapons

i finished the game with a SURPLUS of ammo btw so that is partially on me for making myself struggle unnecessarily, but oh my goddd the prison/labyrinth section took so long!!

I also quite disliked eddie's plotline, which unfortunately literally just came down to his character design :/ his plot revolves around resentment over the way he's been treated for his appearance, but as a fat fuck myself my grievance was with the way he's been dressed by real world character designers that are falling on stereotypes. its juvenile in a way that betrays the subtlety of the rest of the game, and makes him seem infantile despite being so essential to james's arc. I genuinely think that a wardrobe change would have silenced my gut reaction of "what are they trying to say with this?", and its disappointing to see that the remake didn't take the opportunity when they did with maria

angela's plot was fascinating to me for depicting an abuse survivor with some imagery I've not really seen in other media! I think her character was written with a lot of respect, and her and eddie's plots feel like complimentary and cautionary tales to james, but it's very sad that ultimately her trauma was depicted as something that can't be lived with - this is something she shares with anya. I guess it's kind of disappointing that a womans struggle with sexual trauma ends in death in two games that are 20 years apart, I personally feel that theirs (and jimmy's suicide) is a bit of a tired trope

however. despite finishing extended periods of both sh2 and mouthwashing feeling annoyed and frustrated that they werent as tight as the rest of the game, but now that I've had days to process them my mind has been lingering on a few moments.

-pleasantly surprised by how legitimately startling pyramid heads introduction, really good use of unsettling imagery -sh's soundtracks always hit at the moments it counts -the last hour of sh2 had me in tears, mary's letter was bittersweet and I love how the tone completely changes depending on the ending. as someone that likes the occult stuff in the other sh games I loooove the implications of the rebirth ending but I appreciate it seems a bit left field in this standalone plot

-jim & curly's ladder conversation in the cockpit, I think that one stuck with me especially as the one defining moment in both of their outlooks, the wealth and status inequality that still leaves both of them wanting more out of their lives.. the guilt and resentment that can come of circumstantial success etc etc -similarly the dead pixel convo -swansea's honest monologue -the glitch effect after anya's suicide was REALLY cool visually, it felt like the one defining moment where mouthwashing really took advantage of its medium

TLDR I feel like I learned a bit about what I like and dislike in psychological horror by playing these two side by side, defintely interesting research while I'm drafting a horror comic with a dreamlike atmosphere... :)

[lizardsfromspace]

More discoveries from being forced to "try" ChatGPT by an AI person, besides it boldly telling me my own OC is a real person:

I also asked it "what is the first feature film" and it correctly said Story of the Kelly Gang...and then hallucinated that Passion of Joan of Arc, one of the last prominent films of the silent era, is an "early contender" for first feature film.

All while regurgitating the story of the "influence of The Birth of a Nation - but, of course, it's going off popular history sources that regurgitate that, which gets at a point of why it's important to do your own resource. If something is just telling you what the most popular texts are saying, how do you know if the most popular texts are wrong?

So this one is a bit more complicated, but it's also wrong. "Phase One" of the Line is officially the completion of the "Hidden Marina", a 2.4 km section of the city that will feature the canal cruise ships will fit through. This segment will also include the elevated soccer stadium. However, as we've, uh, got closer to the stated date with no sign of completion, they've revised expectations down.

Absolutely none of this nuance can be captured here because it's just going off of the main sources online, which are all to some degree or another propaganda. When confronted with a hype wave that large, research involves either digging deeper, or doing it yourself. I learned a lot about the Line from literally opening Google Earth & looking over satellite imagery of the site and surrounding areas. Which is not something an AI can reflect, because it just wants to give you a simple answer, and it wants to give you a positive answer and not be sued, and so it can't process all the sources & go "it's never going to be complete, it's a sham" like a human can

Anyway they didn't believe me when I said it was blatantly wrong about everything I asked it & would never use it again lol