#but also it's so interesting to me cause it's not like there aren't spoiler free items they could have put in him???

[illdothehotvoice]

Anyways I will never get over how cool it is that UT plushies have little extra items in them but you have to rip them open to get to them ddhsjgknsfh. I've always thought of it as it mirroring a No Mercy run cause you know there's something more to it but you have to hurt them to see it/find out qwq it's so neat and cool and also isn't it so interesting that every Deltarune Plush has something in it besides Lancer dshgjkgdsgfdh.

[melverie]

So......about Solomon

Before we get started: Discussions on this post are more than welcomed as long as you keep it civil and constructive. At the end of the day, this is still a game about fictional characters, so there's no reason to literally harass others over liking or disliking a character If it truly upsets you that much--which is valid btw--than the best thing to do would probably be to simply not engage with the other party, and not harass them over it; you won't change anyone's mind that way. I know most of you aren't like this but unfortunately it still needs to be said Also, if you want me to add sources to some points, feel free to ask! I've tried to mention the chapters as I go, but I might still have forgotten some. Some of the arguments I make are also hidden behind certain player options; if you can't find them, fell free to ask about them and I'll gladly tell you Also also, general spoiler warning for both the og game and Nightbringer. I'm not really covering anything specific after lesson 60 in the og game and lesson 14 in NB, but I might still mention things from later lessons

Now, onto the actual topic. There've been quite a few arguments against Solomon in the past few days, but I mostly just want to focus on those three:

Solomon wanted to force MC into killing Lucifer at the end of season 2 in the og game

Solomon betrayed the brothers and keeps hiding behind "wanting to protect humanity" as a scapegoat for his actions (putting these two together bc I think they go hand in hand, but it'll make more sense later)

Solomon tricked Asmodeus into a pact without his consent

This entire thing is very long, so feel free to jump around if one point interests you more than another

Solomon wanted to force MC into killing Lucifer at the end of season 2 in the og game

[mainly 38-12, og & 38-15, og]

He did, yeah. But here's the thing

They were all forced into a corner since the fate of all three realms was on the line here, and with the Ring of Light's whereabouts still being unknown at the time, they literally had no other choice if they wanted to save everyone. It wasn't Solomon that randomly decided the only way to restore the Night Dagger's power was by killing a powerful demon, it's always been that way. And he can't just be like "Oh well, let's switch strategies then and focus on finding the Ring of Light" when the entire cast (minus Simeon) has no idea where the ring is and the last time any of them saw it was centuries to millennia ago, if not longer. They don't have the time to search for it considering all the destruction MC's Ring has already caused in such a short period of time

Solomon first tells MC to do kill Luci, only to add that he was just joking and knows MC would never actually go through with it. Then, he says that if they wouldn't do it, he'd do it himself. Which kinda sounds like forcing, right? Except this happens [38-15, og; pic below]:

He was prepared to, which doesn't clear him of trying to indirectly force MC, let's get that straight. But ultimately he drops it and accepts that maybe their only option really is to just die here. This is also the only time we see him acting against his beliefs btw

Also yes, Solomon might not have been the one that decided they needed to kill a powerful demon, but he seems to be the one that settled on said demon being Lucifer. The only other viable options would most likely be Diavolo and Barbatos. Don't know if the Demon King in his vegetative state still counts but similar to Diavolo, killing him would probably be seen as a direct declaration of war, so they're out. And from a strategic standpoint, Barbatos is the better option to be kept alive simply because of his powers. There most likely also is some kind of sentimental attachment at play here since Solomon is much closer to Barbatos than he is to Lucifer. None of justifies killing Lucifer of course, but we also need to acknowledge that everyone's hands were tied, they were out of time and given the circumstances, this was probably the best decision they could have come to (until Simeon showed up with the Ring of Light, of course)

Solomon betrayed the brothers and keeps hiding behind "wanting to protect humanity" as a scapegoat for his actions

First of no, he did not betray them. Ever since the end of season 2 Solomon has made it clear that his ultimate goal is to protect humanity and that he, similarly to Diavolo in regards to the Devildom and its denizens*, would do anything in his power to protect the human world and its inhabitants [38-15, og; pic in the point above] [38-19, og; pic below]

*friendly reminder that Belphie was charged with treason for planning to destroy the human world, since in Diavolo's eyes that would have severely damaged the chance of peace between the three realms [13-14, og]

Solomon continuously sticks to his beliefs. He said he'd protect humanity, and that's what he's doing. He never extended that kind of protection to the brothers, he never made any false promises, he didn't betray them in any way, nothing

I'd also like to point out he's not actively going out of his way to antagonize demons, or angels, or whatever. In fact, he even explicitly says that he does not wish to make an enemy out of either party [10-A, NB; pic below], which of course also extends to the brothers

You can even outright ask him if he's planning on backstabbing the brothers, and this is what he has to say [11-8, NB; pic below]:

And you know what? That is a valid concern. They can't say for sure what the future holds, and they just recently had to deal with the entire Ring situation that could have very easily destroyed all three realms, so wanting to be cautious and to be prepared for the worst makes sense. He also makes it clear that he does not wish to fight the brothers if it can be avoided, so there's that

And no, he's also not tricking MC into siding against the brothers in Nightbringer. Rather, he just wants to know that they're fighting for humanity should the relationship between humans and demons in general ever turn hostile. He puts the cards open on the table and gives a proper explanation to his reasoning for siding with humanity [11-8, NB], and once again goes a little further into detail before MC gives their answer [14-16, NB; pic below]. Plus it's up to the player if they choose to stand with him or not, and no matter what you choose, he accepts the decision

Also keep in mind that season 3 heavily suggests that the human world at large has no idea that angels and demons even exist, so MC is pretty much the only one he can even ask to help protect humanity alongside him to begin with. He can't just go up to a random guy on the street and ask them to fight something who's existence they aren't even aware of in the first place

Imo Solomon also seems to know more about where things might be heading than he lets on, with him actually knowing Nightbringer and whatnot, so granting himself some peace of mind by making sure he has at least one ally is perfectly reasonable

Also, Solomon is very much aware that he is not infallible. For example, he states that he realized he still has a lot more to learn about demons [60-20, og], and he even admits that he doesn't always know what the right course of action to any given situation is, which was part of the reason he first asked MC to help him with protecting humanity all the way back in season 2 [38-19, og; first pic below]. In season 2 he actually wanted for MC to be aware of what's happening, but it was Diavolo that decided it would be better to keep them in the dark for the time being [36-18, og]. He trusts MC's judgment and that they will help him make the correct decisions [14-16, NB; second pic below]

Solomon tricked Asmodeus into a pact without his consent

Before I get into anything, let's summarize the base situation so everyone's on the same page. This is based on the things Asmo tells us [53-16, og], as well as the things Sol tells us [6-18, NB]:

Asmo was trying to flirt with someone but their friends kept on telling him to leave them alone since he's a demon -> Asmo's dejected by this and goes to a tavern in Solomon's hometown

Solomon notices and feels sorry for him; he offers to talk to him and they chat for a bit

Asmo lets it slip that he's Lucifer's younger brother

they get drunk and end up forming a pact -> Solomon says that he was only able to forge a pact with Asmo because his judgment was impaired at the time

Right of the bat--yes, the way Solomon got his pact with Asmo is not okay. I'm not putting that up for debate. He fully took advantage of Asmo here, and there's nothing that can excuse that. I also want to make it very clear that it is in no way my intention to relativize this in any way. The way he went about getting this pact is, to put it simply, fucked up and I do not wish to condone that in any way. With the following points I simply want to explain how I see things. Maybe it'll put things in a slightly different perspective for you, maybe it won't. Now, I hope I made that clear enough, so let's continue

The way I see it, Asmo seems to be pretty okay with the pact. From the way he acts around Solomon in the present day all the way to him describing his reaction to the pact as just a "did I really sign that" [53-16, og], nothing seems to suggest that he holds any ill feelings towards Solomon, and personally I don't see any reason to be angry for someone who himself seems to take no issue with a situation that is directly about him

If it were as upsetting to Asmodeus as some make it out to be, surely he would have found a way to get out of it? Asmo is one of the most powerful demons in the Devildom; if he truly wanted to break the pact he could have just killed Solomon and that's it. And if the pact itself somehow prevented him from doing so, I'm sure Lucifer would have more than gladly stepped in. Heck, I bet all of the brothers would have made it into a family thing in a heartbeat if Asmo wanted out but couldn't do anything himself. As Thirteen told MC, Solomon is immortal, not unkillable

But speaking of Lucifer, shouldn’t the same sentiment about forcing others into a pact be held toward him, too? Because he basically did the same thing with MC. This is what happens when you tell him you don’t want a pact with him [20-14, og; pic below]:

Yes, this comes down to player choice and yes, you need to make the pact for story continuity, but it ultimately does not change the fact that in-universe he forces MC into a pact if they say no

Also speaking of forcing others into a pact--Mammon and MC, anyone? Yes, MC did it because Levi asked them to so he could get his money back. We know they had no ill intentions. But you never know what the future holds and Levi literally proposed to basically hand over part of Mammon's agency over himself for the money Mammon owns him, to someone Levi has met about 5 minutes prior, knows nothing about and who's only been in the Devildom for a couple of hours at that point, no less. Lucifer also mentions that demons literally cannot resist temptation [4-10, og; pic below], so there literally was no way Mammon could have just noped out of that pact. We all know how badly he wants his credit card back, after all

To top it all of, we have MC's and Mammon's conversation in Nightbringer where Mammon explicitly says that he would only want to forge a pact with someone that is special to him [2-9, NB], and that he'd make sure to be their first pact [2-11, NB], yet he is forced into his pact with MC. A pact that ultimately turns out to be exactly what he wanted, but nonetheless he was stripped of the ability to say no when it was forged

And for the record, I'm not saying "oh, others did it too, so we shouldn't be so harsh on Solomon!!!" No! Forcing a demon into a pact isn't something that should be taken lightly. A pact literally means a demon hands a huge chunk of control of themself over to a human for as long as the pact exists. And on the other hand, for a human, making a pact with a demon usually means selling their soul. Neither party should EVER be forced into it. We of course don't know if MC actually sold their soul to Lucifer when they made their pact, but even if they didn't, Lucifer's "I won't belong to you. You will belong to me" speaks for itself

What I am trying to say here is that if you want to be mad at Solomon for forcing Asmo into a pact without Asmo's consent (which, again, is valid), you should also be mad at MC for forcing Mammon, and Lucifer for forcing MC into a pact

Anyway, back to Solomon now

Solomon actually admits that he used to treat demons like collectables--more or less, at least since he immediately follows the confession up with "just kidding" [14-14, NB]. Judging by what we've seen in the og game though, he seems to genuinely make an effort to better his relationship with the demons he has made a pact with, or at the very least with Asmo and Barbatos. I mean, the difference between Sol's relationship with Barbs in the og game vs in Nightbringer is night and day

In the present time, Asmo and Solomon are also super close. I literally cannot think of a single instance where they did not get along (though it might have happened like once or twice). You can literally pic any part in the og game to see their relationship play out, but some highlights include Solomon saying he got a huge oil painting of Asmodeus as his "permit" to summon Asmo across worlds [39-13, og] (which is not something you would allow someone you hate to do btw) and both of them mentioning that the two of them repeatedly hang out together in the human world [Proud Brothers, devilgram on Asmo's page, og], the hickey on Solomon's neck that's most likely Asmo's doing [Who Left the Hickey?, daily chat with Mammon, og]. Asmo (while drunk) is comfortable enough to tell Solomon that his cooking sucks and Solomon actually takes it to heart [47-16 hard mode, og]. Then there's Asmo's excitement at Solomon being in the Devildom for the first time [Proud Brothers, devilgram on Asmo's page, og; both of the pics below]

There's also that infamous chat pic of them doing face masks together (that I unfortunately don't know which chat it belongs to, so if someone could tell me, I'd appreciate it <3)

I don't know about you guys, but that's not typically an activity I do with someone I despise

So it's clear that current day Asmo holds no malice toward Solomon

Which, finally, leaves us with the way they forged their pact in Nightbringer

[mainly 7-12, NB & 7-15, NB]

@impish-ivy already went over it in this post, especially in the tags (I highly suggest checking out the reblogs as well btw), but to reiterate--Asmo was IN NO WAY forced into that pact. His brothers tried to talk him out of it, but at the end of the day Asmo willingly agreed to it. Yes, they were in a dangerous situation, and yes, Solomon used that as a basis to ask for the pact, but as ivy correctly points out in the tags, Lucifer could have easily handled the situation by himself, yet Asmo agreed regardless. By implying that Asmo was in any way, shape or form forced into that pact you're not only taking away a huge amount of his agency, but you also deny him his character moment and development that came with this scene. Asmo himself says that forging this pact will finally help him accept himself as a demon. Taking this moment from him is doing him a huge disservice

Aaaand that's pretty much all I have to say

If there's anything else you'd like to add, OR if there's anything you don't agree with, feel free to share! And once again, I'd like to remind everyone that civil and constructive discussions are more than welcomed on here!

Anyway, thank you all for reading, hope you have a great day! <3

[king-paimon]

Houseki no Kuni Chapter 103 Thoughts: Can't Stop the Inevitable But It'll Be OK (Maybe...)

Hello hello hello. Long time no see, Houseki no Kuni fandom! How have you all been? It's been a while. That hiatus Ms. Haruko Ichikawa took much longer than expected. That's fine by me because I've been pretty busy these past few months. Mostly the usual stuff; had some major ups and downs for me and those who I care about, annoying work/life events, though I had the wonderful opportunity to branch out and meet people who could help me with my career, found some new stuff to obsess over, etc. I honestly forgot about Houseki no Kuni for a little while until I saw the announcement about the latest chapter.

And now here we are.

This chapter was very dialogue heavy, though fairly straightforward. It seems to confirm some of the thoughts and theories other fans and myself had made back in chapter 102, though I left me asking a few new questions. They aren't big questions, but I just can't help but wonder...

This will definitely be one of my shorter posts because I don't have any big analytical thoughts here, just with lots of pictures from the chapter, so I'll make sure to add the spoiler tag. As always, please feel free to share your own thoughts in this post and sorry in advance for any mistakes or ramblings. Might add more later, but I can't promise anything.

Anyways, here we go!

It'll Be OK: Liberation Of Internalized Suffering

The interaction in this chapter was interesting. Like I stated above, this chapter confirms that Phos is scared of corrupting the new rock species or being the catalyst that would cause humanity to come back. They don't want to be the source of suffering again, even if it meant destroying the very last remaining piece of their original self. They were ready to do whatever it took to prevent that from happening, even by having the entity who hated humanity do the deed.

But what surprised me a little in this chapter was Eyeball. For one, even though he could have fulfilled Phos's request, he didn't. He claims that there's only a trace of humanity on Phos's remaining piece, but states that it'd go away over time, therefore there's no reason to destroy it, even though Phos initially wanted that. I'll get back to this part later.

The other thing that surprised me was how Eyeball was able to placate Phos's current mindset, at least for a little bit, and he do it in an interesting way. Eyeball basically told Phos "Hey, your fear might come true... but it'll be okay. If if comes to that, I'll figure something out. And you shouldn't worry too much about it even if it happens because all things will come to an end one day, including us, and things will start over again in some way. There's no point in stressing about that future, so don't worry about it."

In some ways, I kind of see this as Eyeball liberating Phos by taking some of their burdens onto himself by him stating that he'd be the one to figure out what to do if humanity did come back, not Phos, all the while dispelling Phos's other concerns by stating that Phos shouldn't waste their time worrying about what could happen. Phos's fears might come true... but so what? That's just how things go. Somethings are just out of your control and change is inevitable. Yes, it's stressful to worry about but that's just how it is. That's the strange beauty of it all, at least that's how I see it.

And I don't know about you, but I just really liked Eyeball's monologue through these pages.

In the end, I think this interaction helped Phos by the fact that despite their fears, they chose to tell the pebbles about what the Professor said and humanity. Because even though Phos understands that humanity is capable of doing horrible things, thanks to their own experience as a sufferer and perpetrator, they also understand that there are parts of humanity that is capable of creating wonderful things. I'm glad that Phos is the one who wants to take this task. Despite everything, Phos is taking it upon themselves to be the one to teach these aspects to the pebbles so they can have the freedom to figure out how they can learn and evolve from this point onwards. It may lead to a better version of "humanity" or it could lead to something very similar. Who knows? But at least Phos is (hopefully) giving them what they need to figure themselves out.

What will come from this interaction is anyone's guess and I'm hoping we will soon see within the next, and hopefully last, couple of chapters.

The Last Piece Of The Past: Why Keep it?

One of the things that this chapter left me questioning was the final piece of the original Phosphophyllite. Not only is this the last remainder of Phos, but it may be the very last piece of the last human descendants; not just for the gems, but for the admirabilis and the lunarians. If what Eyeball said about the Lunarians intentionally leaving a piece of Phos's untarnished self behind is true, my question.. is why? Why did they leave this behind in Phos?

Was this for Phos's benefit somehow? Is it supposed to remind them of their origins or who they represented they obtained their final deity form? Or is the piece supposed to serve as some sort of artifact that could be beneficial for future organisms that would form over the course of time?

At this point, I have no clue. If anyone has any theories, please feel free to add them or post them!

Until Next Time! (Hopefully sooner than 4 months...)

That's honestly all that I have at this point in time for this post. I may come back to it and add more, but I can't promise anything. I don't know how my future posts for the hopefully last chapters will go, but I'll be honest... I can't wait to see it end. I enjoyed this story and I'm still looking forward to see what happens next, but I'm ready to it end.

For those of you who like these rambles, thank you so much! I still love seeing everyone's thoughts and I can't wait to see what people think of this chapter.

Hopefully this will be the last hiatus Ms. Ichikawa will have and we'll be facing the true final stretch of this story.

Or maybe we'll face another hiatus after another couple of chapters.

We'll see.

See you later!

[seoafin]

i was rereading chapter 5 of dog days are over and fuck man i just love it so much ik we are all excited for the smut but these chapters before are what make the smut all the more worth it!!! if it was just straight sex without building up their relationship and their dynamic it would fall so flat for me but the way you freaking write geto and his flat smiles and his measured tone of voice anytime he’s slightly displaced or wants to manipulate ripmc to stay longer or eat more food🥺🥺🥺🥺 my heart flutters u can rlly see the cult leader coming in my pookie and my heart starts hurting so muchhhhh have u felt like that when you read a rlly good fic? like ur heart is weightier than before and u can just feel it in ur chest and you’re so nervous but fluttery and geniunly fucking shy as hell too…..or do i just have heart problems omg. when geto asked ripmc if the food wasn’t tasty in front of the waitress to get ripmc to eat while he was ordering drinks my pussy fluttered when gojo said put it all on my card too omg MY MAN RIGHT THERE how do u think of scenes like that scenes that are just so fuckinh them like scenes that until you write them i wouldn’t even think about but then i read them and i’m like fuck yeah geto would not even just geto gojo too and his indiscernible looks i can literally visualize him sitting there with his glasses looking at you and i can feel the weight of his stareeeeew gojo asking for more kisses when yours and getos lasts a second longer i love them so much omg. especially when she’s all like guys let’s keep this a secret and they’re all like ……….fine🤨 JSJWKWKKS so pls take all the time in the world you need to not get to the smut i’ll love the smut but i love these kinda scenes even more. also take some time for yourself to decompress and relax!!! i just love the way ripmc fits seamlessly between the two so bad omg she’s literally their missing piece i’m gonna fucking sob. can i ask? is she gonna tell geto and gojo about the mission that went rlly bad? do they know already🧍🏻‍♀️? omg imagine if they find out nanami knew before them?? also do you think there’s anything ripmc could do to get them genuinely mad and angry cause i was thinking of gojos “you cheatin on me” which btw i literally could imagine him saying those exact words and it was teasing so it made me think do they actually care about cheating? like have they had actual fights about it before geto n gojo? and what would they do if like ugh thsi is so angsty i’m sorry i’m on my period🧍🏻‍♀️but how would they react if like ripmc cheated on them? like a kiss or smt? would they be hurt because their trust was broken or would they be hurt because they think ripmc is theirs? BTW THIS SO MAKES IT SOUND LIKE I CHEATED AND IM JUST SELF INSERTING AS RIPMC I SWEAR I JUST THINK ITS INTERESTING TO THINK ABOUT THE SADDEST OF SCENARIOS IF UR UNCOMFY ANSWERING FEEL FREE TO IGNORE PLS!!!!!! anywaysssss i rllly fucking love ur writing so much and i hope you’re having a blast in japan you deserve it❤️‍🩹 i’m so excited and proud for not being like scared to go after what u want u too omg❤️❤️

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THANK YOU!!!!! can I just say that I LOVE writing geto and his subtle cult leader tendencies in the poly au like YES gaslight gatekeep girlboss (but in moderation lmfao) It's really the small moments where you could think that yeah...this is a guy that totally went off the rails and started a cult lmfao...he keeps his manipulative tendencies but channels them into forcing ripmc to take care of herself and [redacted] he's so awful I love him truly!!!!!

niku also brought up stsg knowing spoiler alert......they know and they definitely aren't happy she talked about it with nanami instead of them. they wanted her to tell them of her own volition, so expect the mission to come back up again in a later chapter lol also for all of ripmc's many faults I genuinely think she can do no bad in their eyes. if she did something it's justified unless it's directly impacted her health as in she put herself in danger and got grievously injured. I can definitely see them getting actually upset and angry with her for that but if anything the repercussions are more like....ripmc being stuck in a room for a week and getting coddled to death until stsg deem it enough 😭

It's not that stsg care about cheating it's more the fact that they are very secure in their relationship with each other and aren't worried about it. gojo might occasionally be annoyed and even pissed when they're arguing about geto being popular but it's never that serious. on the other hand ripmc.... 😭😭 ripmc would never cheat on them and they know it but she's also the most likely to entertain flirtations without knowing someone is flirting with her. when stsg jokingly flirt with another person they're always in control of the situation. they know which lines shouldn't be crossed. they use it as a means to purposefully get the other jealous. sometimes they try to make ripmc jealous and it backfires! another thing is the fact that because the line between lover and friend is so blurred in regards to stsg she doesn't quite understand that there are certain things that only a "boyfriend" gets to do to her which further translates to her not having any sense of boundaries with other people just like she doesn't have any sense of boundaries with stsg. obviously stsg wouldn't be happy about that 💀 if ripmc kissed someone else they probably approached her and asked if they could and she just said yes bc she couldn't find a reason to say no dhjsnfjsndb anyway they'd be more peeved than anything and they'd make it a point to make sure nothing like that ever happens again [ominous]

ANYWAY yeahhhhhhhhh I just think about geto a disproportionate amount aka so much it's unhealthy I'm so obsessed with him

[bonesandthebees]

feel free to use this ask as a reason to ramble about eternal sunshine of a spotless mind, id love to hear

oh man okay you asked for it spoilers for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind under the cut

I just think this movie is such a good display of a toxic/unhealthy relationship. joel and clementine are terrible for each other. by the time they're at their bitter end, they constantly argue and insult each other and neither one feels like a good person when they're around the other. but they also truly, deeply love each other. the tragic thing about those kinds of toxic relationships is that it comes to the question of "is it more painful for us to be together or for us to be apart?"

the end of the movie is just what drives me the most insane. after hearing the tape recordings from each of their mind erasure sessions they know full well how this relationship is going to play out. it's not like they broke up, learned from their mistakes and worked to become better people, and then got back together. they didn't learn anything because they erased the other from their memory! there's no chance for them to not repeat those mistakes. it's going to happen. they both know where this is going to lead. but that love is still there even if they can't remember it. they still feel drawn to the other person. the theme of is the pain you'll feel at the end worth the love you feel during it is just one that I love thinking about. it's so raw and messy and human. you know you're going to hurt this person but you want to love and be loved by them anyway. you're not meant for each other but you're going to pretend to be for as long as you can. it's tragic and beautiful and again, so utterly human.

and of course there's the smaller things like clementine being a fantastic deconstruction of the manic pixie dream girl trope before the manic pixie dream girl was even formally named. like yes she's got colorful hair and a quirky personality but then you see that oh, she's actually fucked up. at the start of the movie when we're introduced to her post memory wipe, she's blunt and spins wildly between moods and she's got the colorful hair and talks about wanting to name the dye colors—she's got the quirky weird girl personality! then as we go through joel's memories we see that bluntness and those mood swings aren't a joke. she can genuinely be a mean person and her entire mood flips on joel in two seconds flat just because he made a single comment. the quirkiness isn't a cutesy thing, it's a facet of her personality that might seem intriguing and fun at the start, but does also cause issues in the relationship later on.

and joel is an interesting dive into the nice nerdy guy who ends up with the manic pixie dream girl trope too. yes he's awkward and nice and offers her a ride home and all that, and doesn't really know how to respond to her flirting in an awkward but charming way. but then later on (or technically earlier on as we go back through joel's memories) we see that while he's quiet, he's very judgemental. he thinks of himself as better than clementine and picks at her flaws in his head. the fact that he never puts a voice to his thoughts lets him bottle things up inside and makes him bitter. like how clementine's bluntness is strangely charming at first, joel's awkwardness is only charming until it makes it impossible for him to properly communicate his feelings with his partner.

and again, despite all this they love each other. they love each other so fucking much. and they would rather be hurt by one another than be happy with someone else.

and yeah theres also the subplots with the memory wiping staff and I really liked the inclusion of the girl who works there finding out she asked for her memory of her affair with her boss to be wiped and how betrayed and violated she feels after finding that out and all that, but the highlight for me is always just joel and clementine and everything about their fucked up dynamic.

we all know on this blog that I love unhealthy and messy relationships. and tbh I think it started with this movie! out of my top 4 movies, 3 of them (including this one) are about complicated messy relationships between people so. I have a type lol.

[ybblue]

Lowkey, I'm so glad to read the history of YB. I really enjoyed the content I was able to find of him with the game, Day 1 & 2. It was hard to find info about this game at first, so I read the wiki of course. I saw the traits of a wholesome yandere, if such a thing could exist. A yandere who wasn't violent with their target. That sounded like my jam!

(My Commissioned Art by @Two_Leaf_Cl0ver on twitter, feel free to use it for whatever!)

So I supported the Patreon cause I wanted to see how far along the game was and to play it for myself, because nothing beats personal experience.

I want to lay my thoughts out as I process why I like YB and what disappointments I've come to have with the game and maybe what I would like to have seen done instead. I'm not a game dev, so I'm coming at this without knowing everything involved in making a game.

[SPOILERS BELOW, DUH. I mean for ALL currently playable days.]

[Also HEADCANON stuff.]

(Source: Wiki, not my art, pretty sure its Fuboo's)

Day 1 is pretty sparse, but I likened it to being a demo of what to expect. Since YB said things like "I'm your boyfriend. Isn't that why you're here?", I took it to mean he was aware everyone who downloaded the game wanted him to be their boyfriend. However, maybe Y/N is sentient in their own world and is mostly like wtf is going on with this dude. It would also explain the "mixed messages" he says we are sending him when we reject his advances. I thought he might have even chosen to approach Y/N that day because he could see we, the player, were inhabiting their body.

In short, I was pretty thrilled to play a weird meta yandere dating sim. Moving forward, I am treating Y/N as an entity separate from myself. They are my (likely very unwilling) vessel, and even though I can influence how they behave, they obviously have their own will. They don't seem to know I'm possessing them either.

Day 2 has more dialogue and such, introduces the other characters, but I still find it doesn't feel like there is as much content as I would have liked. All answers that day basically led to the same way the day ends, which I find to be really weird. It makes me wonder if dev isn't sure how to do branching paths so that Day 3 can start exactly the way they need it to. Based on what I know about YB, it felt like he was in character in all routes until the very end when he just attacks. It's especially out of place when playing along with him.

As a side note, Y/N's personality has the biggest divergence in this day. If you are mean to YB on Day 1, then you are a complete asshole to everyone around you. This route is called the abuse route, I think, because YB will abuse you? However, I think of it as the abuse route because Y/N is really abusive to everyone around them and YB just sort of runs with that energy. (I am saying here: the player is influencing both Y/N and YB to be assholes, so we are basically the assholes in this route? I'm not trying to victim blame Y/N, but rather, I'm saying Y/N and YB are our victims. I would say Y/N is always our victim regardless...)

Day 3 is when shit hits the fan for the story in many ways. For Y/N, they just lost someone they knew, probably. TK or Lucy (who both seem to come off as potential love interests) or the Landlord/Don Williams (who doesn't read as a love interest at all to me, maybe I'm just oblivious as fuck) will die. Or, if you played Day 2 a certain way, a random person will be murdered.

My gripe with this is mostly that it comes so quickly, so soon, just a random murder of a major character. With how little content I feel there is in Day 2, I feel like I barely formed any attachment to TK, Lucy, or Don Williams, especially from the perspective of only having played the games.

This isn't to say they aren't great characters, because I think they are.

In fanon.

The fans have really taken these characters, the random snippets we know about them from various sources (the Tumblr and Wiki) and ran with them. Though these characters don't receive the same level of love and attention as YB, I feel like they have really enhanced any attachments people could form with their own skillful writing/observations.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't also point out how Peter comes off out of character on this day. He's pushy, demeaning, and outright abusive towards Y/N.

A part of me wonders: is he just pissed off because Y/N is in his way of getting to us, the players? Or is he actually not aware he is in a game despite what the creator said?

If he is aware he is in a game, and this is supposed to be out of character for him to behave this way, does that mean the game is forcing him to act like this?

But then he admits to grinding against Y/N at night when he sneaks in through the window. He doesn't just watch Y/N sleep, he touches them. That's not consensual for Y/N at all. I thought he was just a guy who was peeking at worst (still not great), but he actually sexually assaults Y/N. (Not to kink shame anyone, but outside of fantasy obv that is not okay.)

It really left a sore taste in my mouth. I thought this game was about a meta yandere guy who loves the player so much he is trying to take advantage of the game to talk to us through Y/N. Obviously, this is me building up my own expectation for the game, but I would have accepted any other way the game turned out as long as it was still meta and vaguely wholesome in his actions, at least with regards to him never hurting us, sexually assaulting us, or berating us.

But instead, it's just a simple "he's just Y/N's stalker" and makes no further attempts to speak to us, the players. It all just feels disappointing.

Day 4, I won't say much since the creator doesn't want much to come out about it, but I will say it gets a tad better, though its gross inside the context of Day 3.

YB returns to being a sweetie cutie pie, mostly because he finally won. Depending on how your route has been going so far, you can experience the 'erotic' part of the game. Currently, there isn't much CG to it, its a still image with smut. I'm not going to complain about it. I will point out you can tell him to stop and he will.

Which is really out of character for how he acted on Day 3. Does he respect our consent or not? Does he care about how we see him or not? Day 3 he's acting like a huge douchebag, and Day 4 he is like 'uwu okay i'll stop.' It feels inconsistent with the narrative of the game.

I'll stop discussing day 4 here.

Right now, I feel like this game is missing so much. I feel like the game relies on the player to find lore about YB on their own, rather than include it in the game. The characters don't have enough screen time for me to miss them when they are killed or absent from Day 4.

It seems we are supposed to meet a new character on Day 4 who is a friend of YB, but it seems REALLY LATE to be introducing a new character. This character has been known to die hard fans for like over a year, but we don't know ANYTHING about him aside from a short list of bullet points.

Then there is the mysterious Greta. YB's therapist or some such. Supposedly this person is encouraging Peter's behaviors. Why would they do this? What is going on? Will this character make an appearance in the game at all? If they do, why so late?

There's a chance that a completed Day 4 and 5 (aka a finished game) will tie this altogether, but unless more is added to Day 1, 2, and 3, I don't see it coming together in a satisfying way.

I'll still play the game when it's completed, and I'm staying in the fandom, because I love YB and the fan content for YB. I love the YB we have all collectively imagined, the one who is a yandere stalker, but isn't hurting us. The YB who is sweet and thoughtful, even if he's stupid enough to think stalking is okay.

Here's some fan content that I really enjoy and is what helped me build my own personal head canons about YB, the game, and what it all means:

Sugar Gives Me a Toothache (SGMATA) - This is a fanfiction on AO3 and its a masterpiece. In this, the game's Y/N is called MC, and the reader is a Y/N that stalks YB (Peter). There is so much longing, pining, sweetness, bittersweet, and just... I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

Game Over - A comic both on Twitter and Tumblr. It hasn't been updated in a long time, but it's still soooo good, and the art rocks.

And just all the random comics people draw for YB. Him being goofy and stupid. Him being a lovesick puppy. Him being a dangerous animal only Y/N can tame. All the memes and jokes. All very inspiring.

I guess in short, I really love YB more than I love the game, and I think YB might end up being something that transcends his own creator and becomes something that belongs to the fans.

[violentdevotion]

wait ok if you did your dissertation on nlmg then you’re the EXPERT. would love your opinion on the angle i’m taking if you don’t mind!!!

basically i’m looking at how the text showcases how soft power/ideological structures like schools/church/media/art (specifically schools and art in this case) reinforce the status quo and cause people to internalise their societal roles etc.

i also think the way it plays with utopian/dystopian genres is sOoo interesting like. the pastoral idealised Boarding School Vibes feels very utopian but a lot of utopian ideals require some level of authoritarianism and. hmmm. like a homogenisation of ideals that pretty much always dismisses the wants/needs of more marginalised people. and i feel like nlmg Gets It because the way the world is described for non-clones is kind of utopian with the whole No Sickness thing. and even amongst the clones hailsham is considered a sort of utopia compared to other schools or whatever.

idk honestly i could talk about SO much but my essay is examining it through marxist literary analysis so i’m basically focusing on althusser’s concepts and how they apply to the text but there’s SOOOOOO much to examine from so many different angles i would love to know what your dissertation was about !!! feel free to dm me because idk what counts as spoilers anymore skdhsjd

that sounds super interesting and absolutely a valid angle to take it on. i am absoultely not an expert on it though lmao. my disso was how grief is portrayed in nlmg and one other book so I didn't touch on authoritarian power structures except in relation to who is considered grievable (which if you want to explore id recommend judith butlers frames of war)

I think there's a lot to say on the topic. At the top of my head there's how Tommy was ostracised because he was bad and art and later chose to not take part in the gallery. There's when he was mocked for his little animals. There's when they meet with madame and in the time prior he obsessively draws little animals in order to show her. When they touch madame as kids and she looks at them as if they're spiders. Their limited access to the outside world. Even as adults they have limited time to themselves either being too busy as carers or needing permission to travel. How there's never even rumours of people who escaped. Cathy never really mentions surveillance or something like they're chipped, they're just so indoctrinated that they don't even bother trying to escape the system.

I think boarding schools as well is interesting because it draws on school stories in historical british fiction. Some stories (jane eyre) present these schools as a place of suffering and a child's first insight to injustices in the world, but still preferable to her home life. whereas I think most often they were serialised stories that portray the growing character of a child/children. So I think looking at halisham is interesting as well in this dual place boarding schools hold in the canon and how it fulfills both in nlmg (kathy looks back at this time fondly but most of the stories she tells aren't very happy) I think isolation plays into this as well. I'm thinking of the abandoned bus stop they hang out ??? But I coukd be misremembering. Ya know they live in a pastoral heaven but they also live in the middle of nowhere.

I think it could be interesting to look at how there's the no sickness thing but when kathy and Tommy meet madame and their other teacher again (forgot her name) I think one of them is physically disabled? Or at least she is in the film. Like all ailments aren't eradicated and they can't feasibly be. I think a comparison to the child of omelas could be made, a utopia of sorts built off of the subjugation of a class of people, except instead of walking away the class is so dehumanised the idea of it they even have souls is put to question.

I think your topic is really interesting and like you said there's So Much you could say about it all of the time. I recommend the book to everyone I can and when they finish it I like to ask them what they think it'd About (the same question proposed to my seminar group when I studied it at uni) and everyone's answers differed somewhat but a Marxist reading of 'it's about how our bodies are reduced to our labour" was the most popular one i think. I'm not familiar with althusser and I have work in 10 minutes so i dont think id be able to find + read his work in time but overall I think your idea is incredibly thought out, unique and you could dor sure get an amazing grade in it

[hadeantaiga]

I'm watching Twin Peaks for the first time.

Pilot episode spoiler free thoughts: I am hooked. The characters are all really interesting and I want to know more and to watch all of them like ants. I want to put them in a jar and shake it up.

Pilot episode - liveblogging, full of spoilers.

----

Lots of machinery ASMR and nature porn. Not sure what the show's about though.

Who is this sad person making sad eyes at the camera.

Hello fisher guy. Oh, a thing. Oh it's early spring, those tulips aren't up yet. Oh that's a whole body.

Lucy's gonna tell everyone. Oh boy he gets to use the siren!

Andy's got a big heart huh. Ope, they know her.

Hi lady (mom?), Laura's not coming down.

That kitchen is red.

Does David Lynch have a foot fetish?

Gross, don't spit dude.

"We're businessy businessmen doing business"

Is this Mr. Palmer? Yup. Also, there's the sheriff. Sarah knows what's up. Glad to see he cares about his kid tho. So often the businessy businessmen don't care about their kids.

Oh, I know this music! Now I know where it's from.

Ow, my ears.

Ah, Bobby. Here you are. You're a greaser huh? Ah, smoking and drinking, it's what Teens Do.

Idk if the acting is good or bad but I do believe Laura's dad's character is genuinely sad.

No really, does David Lynch have a foot fetish?

Bobby I want to hate you but you are very charismatic. Random screaming student. Everyone just seems to instinctively know Laura is dead.

Bobby was driving his third girlfriend home, he wasn't murdering anyone. Hey whoever this guy is, he's actually ensuring Bobby gets his rights, to a degree.

Everyone also seems to have really loved Laura. Like. It's almost creepy how much they all love her.

Oh, it's the music again.

Don't be sad, just get some drugs.

Oh, sad lady owns the mill. Josie Packard. Why is the other woman so mad?

Oh, that doesn't look like a good time, girl. Oh, she escaped.

It's Flattop greaser guy. He was in love with Laura too??

Hello eyepatch lady.

IT'S OUR GUY, RIGHT? The detective??? That's some sleazy music, he's gotta be a detective. He's very cheery.

Dale Cooper, FBI.

Huh. Dale, you're a bit of a snob. Also, you're annoying. Am I supposed to like you?

What is in this psych's ears?? Also, creepy, yuck.

Ew, Dale's going really far up there under that nail. Oh shit, a letter. Dale your face disturbs me.

Hey blonde boy, you don't tell Donna what to do. Heh, Ed's alright though.

Yeah, I'd also break the diary open, it's not like she's gonna write in it again. Hm, "J" is not Bobby. Day 26? Cocaine? Lockbox key? Mysteries abound. Also, chocolate bunnies.

I kinda love this cop who can't stop crying. Andy.

I don't think Bobby killed her. Wait, how was she studying at Bobby's house at 9:30 if her mom said she came home at 9? Lol using a calculator to type messages. "She wouldn't do that to me" hmm, do what? See "J"?

Audrey does what Audrey wants. *snort*. Audrey, you're great. Terrible, but I love you anyway.

Ooh, who said that line about the picnic earlier in the episode???

I guessed there'd be a reflection in her eyes.

Oh - it's flatop kid. He's the biker? But is he THE biker? And just cause he was the person behind the camera doesn't mean he killed or hurt them.

Oh, I've seen/heard "Fire walk with me" online before, didn't know it was from Twin Peaks!

Flattop has the other heart piece...

Seems that whole family is a bit... in need of help.

Ronette, who escaped, was a sex worker or something? In a skeezy magazine. Also a photo of trucker guy?

Ok Leo, your acting is kinda bad.

Oooh, Ed's getting it on with diner lady? Don't blame him. But meeting at the Roadhouse at 9:30? That's when flattop is gonna meet whatshername!.

Oooh she was his sister. That's why sawmill lady was so angry.

"Who's the lady with the log?" "We call her the log lady"

Mayor is senile, apparently. Dale, don't scare them all by saying the killer may be among them and then tell them not to start a witch hunt.

~oooh nighttime scary~

Hi, old man. Oh, Donna's relative of some kind. At least her sister(?) is gonna cover for her. Harriet. The bros are here to grab Donna but she's not there hehe. Blondie is Mike, got it. Heh. Harriet, that wasn't much of a cover. But Dad? Grandpa? I wouldn't have told THOSE losers she was missing, I would've said "She doesn't want to see your sorry asses".

Are you really gonna leave Hank? For Ed? Are you? Love this singer though. Ah, so the other bikers? greasers? don't like Mike and Bobby huh?

Oooh Joe's taking her to "James".

I'd turn off your lights if you're tailing, that's just me.

I do like how like, not-glorified this bar fight is. It's kinda lame actually.

So here's James.... oh, it's flattop. Oooh, so Laura WAS into sketchy stuff. And maybe Bobby killed someone? Aw, James. I don't think you killed her either. I might be super wrong, but hey. And it's the music again. It's fine, you can trauma bond and kiss to the music. Eey, Donna, that's a good plan to hide the necklace actually. If he's innocent.

Oh, I like that Dale already believes James didn't do anything.

Bobby that's a hell of a look on your face.

Aw, Donna's dad is a sweetie.

Bobby, you're so fucking weird. But apparently so is Mike, so whatever. Two peas in a pod. Also I don't like you anymore.

Ooh Mill owner lady and the sheriff are together, and the mill sister is planning some murder perhaps?

Uh, what? Was Laura's mom dreaming? Having a vision? Screaming for an unrelated reason?

(end of episode)

[jmagnabo92]

CBS Ghosts - Hello! - Ghosts Don’t Like To Be Ignored Part 2

After Jay convinces Sam that the ghosts aren't real, they must come up with a different plan of attack.

Spoilers may appear.

Discussion and Gifs below:

I love how Thor's like "Enemy hurts feelings" when he literally just cursed them and wants them to suffer so that they leave.

OMG Trevor's so excited to have another idea. We can tell a lot about him here. Despite the fact that he knows he's at fault for Sam's fall, and he did/does feel guilty, so he's so excited about having her around that he's like "don't ignore me - not okay."

He's definitely the type to be hurt by exclusion. He definitely dislikes being ignored. it could be why he was sulking a bit earlier in the scene.

LMAO - Trevor name drops and makes these references that frankly looks like Alberta's offended (What is a white party? It's a Labor Day dress in all white party, right? That's what Gossip girl tells me).

Also, he's such a puppy, so excited to have another idea.

LMAO - Thor wants to learn but Trevor's the IDEA is more important. I wonder if that's because of the scene in Episode One where he's like "I've explained these things before".

I love the quick succession here. Thor asks, Isaac answers (so he pays attention to Trevor's stories) and Trevor's like "That's not the point".

I like how Alberta and Sass are looking at him like 'what?' rather than speaking.

LMAO - Pete's face, he's just shaking his head. Like no.... no...

Meanwhile, Trevor's so excited that he stands up quickly - probably because he feels standing gets him listened to more - and immedaitely flashes Sass and Alberta.

No mention of it, but it gets better in a moment.

Aw, Isaac might be a good captain if he understands giving praise. He's like 'oh, Trevor has an idea, it's a good one... praise him'.

I do like that he's willing to listen to Trevor here. Trevor's had a few ideas lately and clearly trying to get a good one in.

OHHHH TREVOR.

I don't know why he's always doing these bowing things, but it's pretty clear that he's flashing Alberta and Sass, who have moved forward on the couch to avoid it.

I can't believe he doesn't think about these things, but then again, he's pantsless for 20 years so...

Feel bad for A & S though. BUT Trevor's cute.

LMAO, Isaac is SO HAPPY about this plan and it's crazy how excited this makes everyone else. They're just like yes!!! Let's DO THIS!

Also, notice Alberta has to move forward 'cause she's getting flashed and Sass does too, and he's like not looking at that.

Meanwhile, Trevor's glowing because they like his idea again!

I wonder if there's some issues with Trevor not being listened to so he's like "It's my idea and it's good!" With his last few ideas. Especially since Haunting didn't work.

It's interesting that Sass actually agrees with this plan. Because he states plainly that he DOES NOT agree with Trevor on principle.

He must really be bored.

LMAO - Isaac and Thor are SO EXTRA.

Isaac's like 'yes, she must acknowledge us and make her life hell' and Thor's like 'yes, and we drive them from the land!'

It's so DIFFERENT to the rest of the crew in the room.

LMAO - Pete intervening like he does ... such a peacemaker - nice friendly chat.

And Thor and Isaac being so opposite "Punish her, kill her"

and Everyone else is like "No, no - bad - let's just get her to talk to us."

I love this ending gif.

Pete's Face.

Alberta saying "It's too much"

Sass saying "Roll it back."

And Trevor's gesture and saying "YOu're making it weird."

I love that they're just like "Stop it - you need to be a little less."

I wonder how everyone dealt and continued to deal with Thor's extraness over the years.

Anyway, This was fun. Mainly for the faces in the background.

Feel free to chat :)

[wellsayhelloaagin]

Spoiler free Black panther: Wakanda Forever review in one word:

Powerful

Spoiler riddled, incoherent and chaotic brain thoughts about the movie under the cut. Read at your own discretion:

Okay, my brain is still a big old jumble from seeing the movie so I'll try and organise this as best I can.

First of all, that post credit scene was not on my bingo card. Baby T'Challa was not expected but oh lord the audible gasp I let out in the middle of the cinema was loud. I'm so glad I went into this blind because I think that's one of the biggest "holy shit" moments I've ever had in a Marvel movie.

Second, that marvel logo scene at the start. Talk about poignant. Holy cow. The collection of scenes from his time in Marvel almost had me sobbing in front of strangers. The cinema was dead silent and it was honestly such a touching moment.

Adding to the not on my bingo card moments, we have the Queens death. So not what I saw coming. I can understand why it was necessary in terms of the plot but damn it did hurt (even if she kind sucked in the movie but I mean we all process grief in our own way so she is totally forgiven). Her UN moment was so fucking boss. The way that scene was cut together had me frothing. Ugh, love love love.

The end with Shuri burning the outfit and remembering her brother. The way it all kind of built up to that moment and again the silence was just a great piece of cinema. Kudos to the editors for that one.

I gotta say, the Black Panther movies really have a way of making me love the villians. It's the way you can understand their motives and why they are doing what they are doing. Like you know that they have taken it too far and are proving their point the wrong way but you can sympathise with their cause. I really cant wait to see Namor again (and him being gorgeous is just a bonus)

I love that the movie still kept some of its humour from the first one, its why I love this franchise so much. It is so impactful and has such deep messages and conveys meaning so well but it's also light-hearted and fun and just a joy to watch.

Seeing Val was great. I like how we keep getting snippets of her as it builds to the Thunderbolts. She's a complex one and sneaky as hell but damn she is smart and knows how to get what she wants. It was good to see Ross again, even if he was reduced to a bit of a pawn. Adding their marriage to things that were not on my bingo card as well.

Also, M'Baku. That's it really. He really is just a fantastic addition to the movie and I fucking love his character so damn much.

I think overall the movie was fantastic. Held up to the original and honestly, in my opinion it may have surpassed it. The pacing was good, the storyline complex enough to hold your interest but still easy to follow. It showed the characters in a new light and once again, grief was the real villain. It let the characters be human and process their emotions in ways that aren't always healthy. It felt true to life in that sense.

The visuals in this film were sublime, honestly, it felt like marvel at it's best. The score really added depth to the story telling and it just felt like a true cinema experience. I loved it from start to finish and I know it's going to become one of those films I watch over and over and find new things to love each time.

10/10 flawless. I can't recommend it enough. If you're a fan of the first film you should enjoy this one.

[hiddenbeks]

what does your soul look like?

tagged by @katsigian and @hibernationsuit to do this quiz for an oc, thank you both!

tagging @nokstella @simtalics @famewolf @magicmissiled if you feel like doing this, no pressure as usual!

did this for liah because this tortured war criminal has utterly consumed me 😔

bloody knuckles and scabbed fingers

"you did something bad. you're paying the price for it each day, aren't you? you're picking at your skin and fighting everything off because of your own actions. you resent your own free will because of the harm it brings. you should lay down a while."

haha wow this is way too accurate actually. suffering because of her own actions and paying the price for what she did... yea... also the part about free will is especially interesting [BIG KOTOR SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU CARE ABOUT KOTOR SPOILERS IN THE YEAR 2024] so. i know about the Big Twist of kotor and the pc being revan but i don't know all the details yet. but from what i've gathered bastila captured revan and the jedi council brainwashed them into thinking they're a republic soldier right. so i've had this scenario or fic idea rotating in my head where liah is a Mess post-reveal and angry at bastila and the jedi for what they did to her. for basically robbing her of her free will. but on the other hand. if they had not done it how much more death would liah have caused as revan? she's so conflicted about it all and maybe for a long time thinks that she shouldn't be trusted with free will because look at what she did with it and. yea. prescribing laying down and taking a few deep breaths to liah rn. she will defeat her demons but it will not be easy...

[askmstau]

Hihihi mod ask!!!!

But I wanted to ask, is there anything you think we should prod/ask about to the characters? Or maybe just a topic you want some more asks to be about? :D /nf

(I ask cause I'm having a hard time coming up with asks rn sudneudj)

i have another ask in the inbox but this is higher priority

SO! the blog is in a. very weird spot right now where Shit Is Weird allow me to introduce you to the askmstau timeline

...basically all major plots are locked behind a fic that i lowkey lost interest in writing and just Dont Feel Like It "now mod", you may ask "why not just change the order!" and the answer to that is that no <3 (its in this order for a reason) so basically shits a standstill. this isnt to rag you guys but "has anything interesting happened" asks are SO PAINFUL bc i have no idea how to answer them! all the interesting shit is behind a wall and its a wall i created so the answer is: probably encourage majortimes. they are in desperate need of development, since flowerhusbands are basically together (TECHNICALLY) and solidaritimes are fruity on all fronts also, feel free to do mod asks! i love answering and infodumping lmao the "detached but related" area is perfect for that sort of thing, since the characters themselves aren't going to talk about a thing that didn't happen. TLDR: uhhh idfk majortimes? dont be shy to ask abt info from them (unless they just. straight up dont know)

(also off topic but if anyone who can assist in writing fic and doesnt mind plot spoilers my messages are open)

[muzzable]

My thoughts on the Miraculous Movie (in List Format, Written as I Thought Them)

With added comments as I'm making this post in purple, and a short review at the end.

Spoilers for the movie and show under the cut; though most of my comments may not be the most relevant, many are.

"Do you believe in magic" you mean miracles? Cause it's Miraculous?

"stronger than death" they're reviving Emilie aren't they (thankfully not; I guess they mean love is stronger than the grief of death)

Tom looks creepy

I actually think "believe in me" could have been tied to "Believe in Miracles" well

I like her having more general social anxiety compared to just around her crushes like in canon (and then it kinda disappeared)

This girl really does have a pretty singing voice so I'm conflicted but like. Who is this singing. Not the same as talking.

I like getting to see more of Gabriel running a fashion empire (has probably just not watched those episodes of the show) (I think this helped set the tone of Gabriel being controlling down to the last detail, and he didn't even act like he cared about fashion so it helps sell him as the villain or something)

Why is Luka here

I kinda like this chloe more so far tbh

Did they take Marinette's freckles? (pretty sure they did; they're really subtle in the show though)

Why does Emilie sound so impatient if she doesn't mind waiting forever lol

I like that tying into him as hawkmoth though, that she'd wait forever for him so he'd try forever for her

This is a completely different school lol

Saw a brown eyed student that looked more like Adrien than Adrien I think lol

Why'd she start calling her Marinella (seriously, why? she demonstrated she knew her name and they did bring back "baker girl" eventually)

Is she crying? I don't think they animated it (i still don't) Cristina voice acted it though

Adrien sells being socially inept by asking if Marinette's ok then walking away

Marinette holding a black cat book is sweet

I think she and Adrien look better in motion (seeing lots of screenshots I didn't really feel they looked like them, but it was mostly fine when animated)

Ok but he did not say "she's so weird" like he liked it and that's not an Adrien thing to do (and then he seems to love Marinette later for no real reason? Since they can't be together due to his love for ladybug and not "sorry I don't feel the same to you.")

Dang Nathalie get a better guy already he's rude

I thought that was Amelie in the picture cause Gabe had long hair lol

Also why is Adrien at school already? Chloe made a big deal about showing him around so I know he's new but. (in fact they didn't show Gabriel as controlling Adrien at all, just emotionally distant. kinda hurts the point of Ladybug making him feel free or whatever; i guess she makes him feel free from...being depressed that his mom is dead? even thuogh he tells Gabriel to move on at the end, it feels like Adrien's character in this movie is defined by his mom being dead almost as much as Gabriel's is, while in the show he genuinely does move past it.)

Emilie looks the most different (And then the painting is exactly the same lol)

Nooroo temple is kinda cool. Why does he sound like a 36 year old lady

Flying miraculous is .. interesting

"friends don't run from frienfs who hate them" "nice screaming exchange" ok yeah I think this Chloe is funny lol (in hindsight she was funny in the show too i just forgot)

"you are the one" you mean one of the two

Ok so Marinette is chosen for saving Fu's life and Adrien for…having a trash can for Plagg to hide behind? An open window? (Answer: we don't know. We don't really see much of how Adrien gets his miraculous.)

Why is that lady who rejected that guy's proposal the only one in Paris with a French accent (later on there were two other Parisians with accents! wow!)

Also the first akuma is just…some guy? (i just really like how in the show the first akuma was a classmate, and someone they know. we get to see ivan grow, and he rejects perfect alliance in the season 5 finale if i remember right. come to think of it they don't put a lot of emphasis on the fact that akumas stem from emotions here, which pretty much exists to explore characters and stuff.)

I like Plagg seeming to turn into a black cat and Tikki as a ladybug (unless Marinette and Adrien are just attracting those animals which is also cool) (this was also not really expanded upon, but I think the ladybug turned into Tikki)

Also the animation is just so pretty. I love the ladybug miraculous and Tikki here

I like keeping Marinette thinking she can't be ladybug

Ok Tikki is acting like there's no such thing as Chat Noir

Also I like them using the theme melody

Also she already had black earrings

Tikki's lines are definitely funny though

I mean gargoyle is practically flying stoneheart lol (this is related to me talking about Ivan earlier)

I feel ROBBED of seeing Adrien and Plagg meet for the first time Plagg is so important for Adrien as a character (especially with Chat saying in one of the songs that he feels free, and Plagg as his confidant is a really big part of Chat Noir being so liberating to Adrien)

Chat why are you being so mean

Chat expects Ladybug to be his sidekick so at least Plagh told him about the existence of Ladybug which is more than Tikki did lol

I'm finding Chat kinda annoying. I do not think that is good. (Ladybug go to the supermarket and pick up some taste in men)

I'm not sure what's supposed to be going on with the yoyo. It seems alive or at least responsive to Marinette's desires but the staff doesn't do that? (Later he calls it back to him kinda like how Hawkmoth called his cane back in Chat Blanc)

Ladybug sure did go to "no I'm here to save the world" fast after arriving on site and seeing another hero and no villain

Ok don't just say stronger together but like. Tell them why their powers rely on each other (I don't think they did. They were only really stronger together in the sense that two people are more than one)

See I don't like Ladybug actually disliking Chat at first but I would too and I don't think that's good

This guy sounds a bit more like Bryce Pappenbrook than that girl sounds like Cris

Yeah I'm not completely sure why he's in love with Ladybug? I guess cause he smiled when he made jokes at her? I mean I like the idea of her making him smile and that's why he likes her since his life otherwise is so frickin depressing but I don't recall her making him smile.

So he likes Ladybug because he's delusional?

Ok what the frick did they do to Plagg (maybe it's a good thing he wasn't in the movie that much actually) "you'll destroy everything" "duh I'm the kwami of destruction" was the only part of it I liked

Marinette what the heck lol. Just throw Tikki out a window. Unhinged Marinette (good)

Afraid Marinette (sad but also good)

Did Gabriel forget what happened when he akumatized that guy? Interesting if so (I think Nooroo's power just knocked him unconscious. It feels like a way to say using the butterfly miraculous isn't good for him but it's not brought up again.)

Why did Tikki and Plagg disappear if Hawkmoth can have Nooroo while transformed

I don't feel like this animation/choreography fits Gabriel but the song itself works

So is he just akumatizing people who are already supervillains or is this song completely metaphorical

No way. Ladybug the world's first female superhero. (I forget this is a show aimed at preteen girls sometimes lol. That being said it feels odd for a modern day setting to have Alya emphasize that she's a girl superhero because just having a female superhero isn't a new concept.)

I feel like they've got Alya down character wise

Is the mime still Mylene's dad. Why was he in prisonMatPat

Today's back to school fair? But they were just at school yesterday?

Are they trying to set Adrienette together? Because I don't recall Marinette telling Alya she liked Adrien

She seems to have gotten over her social anxiety fast

"leave the fair. I won't drive you myself. I'm sending a car." Gabriel moment

Alya and Nino are going to die

When did Marinette put the earrings back on

This song reminds me a bit of Wall Between Us (rip)

Marinette you don't have time for this musical number PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE

Yeah I think they recycled some of Wall for Courage in Me's melody (unless it was originally a reprise of Courage)

Wait didn't they say they needed to free the akumatized victims or whatever earlier. Is there no consequence for them failing to do so with Gargoyle (no, because all they do is just fight the villain until they're knocked out or in Gabriel's case reject the akuma. So I Guess they technically succeeded with Gargoyle.)

Ok Ladybug smiled even though she acted upset about Chat so I think she likes him lol

Dang Chat catching an invisible bullet

Poor Nino. Flying blind through the sky.

I'm confused about when his ferris wheel has windows and when it doesn't

I liked that Alya/Nino scene

Maybe Magician is Mylene's mom lol

Ok no they were just dressed like a mime and magician already (do people in Paris just wear their same outfits in prison? Were they already supervillains with theming or did they just arrest an actual mime and magician?)

What do you mean you think you know what to do Marinette. Nobody told you.

Ladybug and Chat Noir cars lol

Is her Lucky Charm move not gonna be in this movie (no.) Sorry Paris no miraculous cure for you (until the end, which i did like that it reminded me of the "holder sets the limits" thing from Mr Pigeon 72. If you're going to ignore your main character's main superpower until the very end of the movie, that's the way to do it)

How much time passed in that montage I wonder. They should make a show about it (this was mostly a joke, but I do think the movie suffered from a confusing sense of time.)

I like that we've seen a bit of Adrienette and Ladynoir already. Surprisingly I was worried they'd forget that a big part of the show is the interactions of different love square sides

You can't just have a shot of Chat alone in front of the moon like this you're giving me Chat Blanc trauma

Tikki why are you not encouraging her to be happy lol

Ok that was smooth Chat lol (when he pretended to be dead)

Chat just traumadumping Adrien stuff to Ladybug

We're not seeing Plagg again are we

Ok so Chat's verse makes clear that what he likes about her is that he can share anything with her, which I like. It's always been about the freedom from his civilian life and his dad (I liked Stronger Together as a song that explored what they both got out of their relationship, with Marinette sorta getting the ability to do anything. However, I went in knowing that it replaced Wall Between Us, which was about the emotions that make them love both sides of the other, confuse them, and keep them apart. This fact was a bigger part of the movie I feel like, since they both said they had someone else they loved, so I think it kinda suffered by losing a song that actually explains and explores those emotions.)

Ok good job singing with Chat, Mrs Marinette "hes not my boyfriend" Ladybug

What do you mean you can't date cause your heart is someone else's? You and Adrien are not dating.

Oh did you Plagg? Did you tell him not to love Ladybug? I don't recall that (he probably did and I forgot. I don't know.)

Oh dang Adrien. Good for you. (yelling at Dad I mean)

Ok so every love square side is already in love but they can't be with each other despite not having made any commitments to any other side. I shouldn't bash that I guess they're teens dealing with hard feelings

Gonna say I love the animation again

I wish the show had this budget

Alright then. Paris apocalypse. Honestly I'm here for it. I wanna see where Gabe akumatizing himself to die goes (ok I guess he didnt akumatize himself to die. He said he'd be joining Emilie by doing so but I guess not.)

I feel like the characters have a lot of emotions driving their actions and we're not getting time to explore them in this movie (actually my main issue with the movie)

Ok are they gonna address Chat Noir being mad at Ladybug for rejecting him the same way he did Marinette or. (They really didn't.)

Cataclysm the Eiffel Tower. This is in fact a Miraculous Ladybug movie

I'm guessing there's no senti lore

So the suits can just be cut up, huh?

They still haven't actually said that the two Miraculous grant a wish. There was no explanation for how getting them would get him his wife

Ok I'm glad the ultimate takeaway was still "Let Emilie be dead"

Ok so this is kinda like her Origins speech. Except that Chat is already in love with her. (And Gabe's been defeated or whatever)

Oh my word finally. Miraculous cure.

They kinda skipped out on Marinette's emotions and reaction to seeing Adrien was Chat huh. And also that Gabriel was Hawkmoth

Finally Adrien gets to go to the dance. (He could have gone in Representation if his dad was already in jail or whatever. Food for thought.)

Marinette did you seriously just wait months to be like "oh also I know your identity and I'm Ladybug"

Why did they stop being superheroes? No patrol?

How is her hair in that bun is it longer now

That's sweet. Except they cut off before the kiss.

Oh Emilie has the peacock on already. Maybe there is senti lore in this universe after all

Ok no credits song for me I guess it cut to puss in boots

Alright so to recap: I really did like the movie. The characters were fun, it got some laughs out of me, and I liked how emotional the ending actually was. I just think the story is too big for a movie. When watching it I was sure there were complex emotions in mind when writing the characters and their motivations, and that's great; it just didn't feel like they had enough time to explore those emotions. Frankly, I feel like Miraculous needs to be a show. It needs that time for the characters to grow close to each other, to grow as people, to process the revelations they have to deal with. Even with the movie focusing almost solely on Marinette, Adrien, and Gabriel, none of them felt like their character arcs were completely shown. We're told "Marinette's afraid to be Ladybug," "Adrien's never felt free since his mom's death except for when he's Chat Noir," "Gabriel finds his life empty without Emilie," but I don't feel we see those in-depth. Even Marinette and Adrien/Ladybug and Chat Noir getting closer together felt rushed because it was mostly a montage. It's stuff that fans of the show already know, so they don't exactly need to see in the movie, but I think it hurts the movie as its own independent story. I could see this version of the story working better as a one season show, or even a miniseries. Of course, there is a show, so it's not like I can't go back to that.

So overall, I'd say I like the show more than the movie, and I feel like the show is better as well, due to really having the chance to get to know the characters it's about.

[nygleskas]

wait is afterparty like a mystery thing? they have clues?? can you tell me more about it (if you wanna) i could be open to getting into something new perhaps and this sounds interesting ! <3

YEA it's a comedy murder mystery show on apple tv!!!! there's 2 seasons out!! they're fairly short too.

each season involves a different murder at an afterparty. s1 is abt xavier (sensation popstar, played by da.ve f.ranco) getting murdered at his afterparty for his high school reunion. s2 which is airing rn is abt edgar (cr.ypt.o titan played by za.ch w.oods who i really enjoy) getting murdered the morning after his wedding! also their deaths aren't spoilers they quite literally happen within the first minute (few more for s2) of the opening lol. there's clues in each ep to denounce a suspect and in s2 there's suspect clues, and also other clues like causes of death that get ruled out! there's morse code, base36, semaphore signals etc.

IGNORE THE BABY WITH XAVIER-MONEY-TIGER😭 just sharing examples of clues they have. ^

each episode is a interrogation of a suspect, and we get to see their mind movies! their mind movies are their alibis through the night told through movie genres!!! here's some examples from both seasons :00

in order: film noir (s2), musical (s1), horror (s1), animation (s1), regency (pride and prejudice! s2), 50s hitchcock thriller (s2), and wes anderson (s2)! there's such a variety. it's crazy how carefully crafted everything is and how each genre perfectly matches the character who's being interrogated so it's not out of place or anything.

i loveee this show sm i'mprobably the biggest fan ever. i've watched s1 14 times, i've made like 12 edits, i have a blog for it, i made [two] [carrds] (spoiler free, the s2 one is a wip tho) dedicated to it, i'm so prevalent in the ap circles that i'm mutual with 3 people (1 cast 2 crew) who worked on the show 😭😭 it even became a special interest bEFORE it came out like i Obsessively checked the wiki every day for a month before even a teaser was out . i'm soo normal abtthis show /s ok jesus this is getting long SORRY . basically this show is great and it has a compelling mystery and s2 is phenomenal so far and everyone should watch it it's so underrated and i'd love to talk abt it w everyone okthANK YOU ANON. For letting me just go ham. apologies for how long this is actually there's one more thing i wanna discuss but i'lll stop for now .

[hesitationss]

thinking about how near the end of ergo proxy (spoilers!!!) pino is walking through the area with all of the auto rieves on their knees praying and she’s like ‘i don’t get it, if they all have kokito virus, shouldn’t they have a soul just like me?’ and raul’s autoreive appears and explains that pino had developed freewill. her ‘proof’ of existence beyond being a companion bot. she can imagine, dream, and make original drawings, she learned about grief and all the other things that autoreives would not get the chance to do because they are either destroyed or turned into killing machines,… i know that a lot of philosophers who discuss freewill describe a detachment from god and freedom causing humans to act out in destructive ways, but i am also thinking about when caregivers are abusive and control every ounce of your freedom. like of course sudden freedom results in unpredictable, it’s impossible to cope with. but pino was never an autoreive for serving people, she was a companion bot designed to be raul’s kid. sure, her mom was unkind, but raul saw pino as his daughter and taught her to do things like play the piano. so pino is an example of developing freewill without the deep trauma or confusion that other autoreives have, raison d'être viz, like iggy who received poor treatment from re-l. idk just thinking about the repercussions of creating a secondary class of life form resembling humans w algorithm designed to also replicate human social norms while their only reason for existence is to serve these also incomplete humans who were also ‘manufactured’ by lonely gods and grown in test tubes… certainly interesting to think about things like existence and free will, but I think these core concepts stand even if your aren't christian or don't believe in capital G god -> it requires a christian/catholic framework to also reject god or a ‘creator’ or to implicate it’s death w all the nietzschian exploration.

however i really like the ending despite not prescribing to a ‘god’ myself (i can have a suspension of disbelief for consuming media lol). ergo proxy/vincent does not wish to follow the path to transcend to death, he wishes to stay on earth and help rebuild. he chooses to live and experience things like pain and suffering, chooses to understand life beyond theoreticals about purpose and existence, etc etc. idk it’s like apocalypse pt 2, but throughout the series it is mentioned that the world is ready to heal again and it’s a lively sentiment that proxy, autorieve, and artificial human alike want to bear witness and survive together.

[lovedaisy02]

First Kill, thoughts/review. Elaborating on my spoiler free post

Spoilers ahead

A big critique I have of the show is a lack of world building and coherent plot points. There is an established organization for hunters, the Guild, and for the original vampires the Legacies . It's hinted at that there are multiple legacy families that are all part of a counsel.

So then it's illogical that monster hunters and Legacies don't have ways of fixing these kinds of events or contacts within government. They were quick to be turned on and lose control of the situation on both ends. Although I found it very interesting that the concept of the supernatural is one understood by the current society they just disappeared for a while. The MAAMS group was an interesting addition and I liked that time wasn't wasted with cover ups or convincing the town that monsters aren't real.

Given that Margot states she has been essentially exiled by the family because she married Sebastian, it may be understandable that the other families wouldn't jump in to help them however it seems unlikely they'd be so on there own concerning the murders.

Also, it seems odd to me that the Guild and the legacies don't have an established treaty or agreement considering both have been around since the garden of Eden. All the thousands of years and no wars? Two forces living near each other, hunting each other, at odds, with the same origin point and story not having some kind of protocol or history? No meeting between the two? No form of communication at all? It seems unnatural.

For having a guild the hunters appear disorganized and the structure hasn't been explained. Plot exposition may be obvious but at least it's helpful in understanding the world. There may be explanations to a lot of these points but so far it only seems convenient to the plot not to explain it, which makes the writing appear messy and lazy.

Big Pros of the show is the realism or some commitment to realism:

The police officer that stopped them wasn't represented as a complete idiot mostly that was a good dose of realism.

There were many parts that felt realistic and I genuinely appreciated it. I also liked that Ben stood up for himself against Noah and said he was worth more instead of wasting countless episodes on a relationship that isn't going to work.

I actually liked Elinor and Oliver a lot more than I thought I would. When Oliver first appeared rebellious and that long hair I just wanted him to tuck it behind his ears so bad it was hanging in his face but I didn't take him seriously. He's kinda interesting and Elinor is enjoyable. It is hinted that she's clearly not morally sound or filled with empathy but she's shown to have emotions. It's better than the usual ruthless family member dynamic. Margot has a similar characterization. At first she seems like the type to force her daughters into decisions but she is revealed to have defined her own path, she fell in love with a human and she accepts Juliette's decision. It took me by surprise that she was quick to force Elinor into her agreement. I thought because of her past she would want Elinor to choose differently but in a way it makes sense that she doesn't always show her best self to her children (no parent does).

I like Elinors progress throughout the season. She's not shown to be completely right but not quite wrong. She lies and appears callous when underneath she isn't. She was going to walk away and leave Apollo and Theo alone until they attacked. She didn't try to kill them and honestly just dodged an attack. She could have told her sister all of this but chose not to protecting her idea of power. She was disappointed her sister didn't identify with her beliefs in seeing humans more as food. This can be described as psychopathic tendencies but she's shown to have emotions. A lot of her situation is caused by her idea of not being seen as weak combined with her reckless and often cruel attitude. For a family that throws a gala after you've murdered someone I don't see Elinors actions as too much of a stretch.

I was unhappy with them leaving Elinor in jail. You're really going to have sex while your daughter sits in jail? Really? But that's personal preference not a critique.

Oliver and Elinors story needs more explanation. Why did he kill his turtle? What would she have possibly said to get him to kill his turtle? Suggest he see inside? Just because she told you to do something doesn't mean you should do it? Apparently killing the turtle was your own doing but the other two weren't? Even though you did both? Bud why do you have the turtle shell that's a little weird? Elinor must have felt rejected by her twin too.

Half of that is my personal preference not a critique.

My second biggest concern is the feeding. Legacies can tolerate human food but do they need it? They're shown only feeding once a day and it's only Elinor, can they survive with blood packets? Normal food? Does normal food provide any nutrients at all? How long can they go without blood? What do they do for blood during the work day? What does age have to do with their feeding? Does it mean they don't need blood as children? Why do they have to kill someone when they come of age? Is it a creed of their own making or a requirement? Elinor is seen feeding and erasing the persons memories so it's possible not to have to kill to feed although not everyone can make them forget but it's possible to feed and take just a little. There are servants that provide 'food' but that isn't explored. Why is the kill itself necessary? What is the snake? Why did it merge instead of just biting the father? The bite is what is said to have the effect of creating Lilith unless Lilith became a snake? Or is the snake an entirely different creature unlike vampires? How does turning work? What makes the one feeding different from any others?

Oliver said Margot bought the pills off the "black market" but so far there's been a disconnect between them and anything supernatural. How can they stay hidden but have blood pills to buy let alone find someone to buy them from in a place that's supposed to not have monsters? Who makes these pills? Who else is buying them? Are there other vampires in the town? Why can't they make their own? Or get blood donations? What does Margot do for work again?

What about babies? Do they still breast feed after birth? Do they need blood?

Humans have a lot of blood don't you get full?

Ok those last two aren't related to the show that's I've just been thinking about it.

To conclude, there's not plot holes per say since there really isn't a plot. Not yet, kind of a hint of one but season one did very little to set up for it. Clearly Oliver is going to attack the town in some way and although it's an interesting idea not to go for the "monster of the week" formula while the girls try to find out who is doing it for the entire season like 90 percent of these kind of shows having them do everything and nothing doesn't help either. If someone asked me what this show is about I would have a lot of speculation but not a real answer, the only thing I'd have is "vampire girlfriend and hunter girlfriend".

It felt like it was falling apart near the middle but the pay off in the finale brought it back although the last line Oliver delivers is dumb and none of the plot and reasonings make sense.

Overall I really enjoy the freshness, and ingenuity of the narrative, what little we have so far, and the final episode was very well done. I actually became very emotional when Talia refused to kill Theo and when Cal threatens Juliette to get out of her life. It was heart wrenching both scenes.

Not great, not bad, and did things differently which I respect a lot.