#contradictions in his character. and that to me makes it sooo interesting

[halfbaked00q]

OH YEAH. okay one thing I DO want to talk about from Skyfall. That I think we should be talking about more. is the "he went into the priest hole for TWO (2) DAYS" thing.

I had like. known that was A Thing, but ig didn't see or forgot what it looked like. but the first look at it I was like. whoa. this is.... how do I say. like there's something visceral and primal and primitive about it just being bare rock. and I made a comment about how insane that is, and esp seeing the mine/cave-like rock and the thought of TWO DAYS down there.. that it's sth "like returning to some sort of primordial earthly womb (tomb)"

but then later they showed that the priest hole is NOT just like a bolthole. but a whole-ass tunnel system!!! EXTRA wild! what was Bond doing down there? WHERE exactly was he in the priest hold then? Was he hunkered down in some corner? Was he wandering around the caves like some sort of primordial spectre.

also there's something interesting/cool about it being like. seemed like it was just going to be a bolthole, and then they revealed it was this whole-ass tunnel system. Skyfall has a lot of maze/hidden/hiding symbolism, and there's something interesting about there being this, like. hidden earthly labyrinth at the heart/hearth/underneath Skyfall.

also the idea of baby Bond wandering a stone labyrinth under the very bones of his ancestral home after the death of his parents... and the whole when he came out he wasn't a boy anymore or whatever it was exactly Kincade said.... hmmm......... Minotaur? Minotaur vibes perhaps? I think there is something here- I think there's something to be said about hidden monstrosity/adversity bringing out monstrosity in us, plus the whole nature/nurture question of like, Bond and HIS "nature," was he born brutal or was he made brutal

(by his career, by his forging as a 00 agent, by M's machinations-- speaking of machinations. but okay god the way she. Manages him... I DO think there's a lot of interesting parts throughout the movies but there was a particular moment in Skyfall when she was like. hunt them down. for Ronson. like ggngng that was like. the emotional equivalent of those loop/stick leashes they use to capture stray dogs.... lowering the loop around his neck and tightening... and then once it's tightened she can move him around cuz it's a stick and not just a rope leash, she can literally physically lead him...) (and also the nature/nurture question of Silva's rats thing)

[ckret2]

I saw a theory that the journal pages Bill shares in tbob are fake. Thoughts?

Don't buy it, not interested.

When Bill lies, the story finds ways to show us that he lies. The show doesn't let him get away with claiming he liberated his dimension without outing him as a liar by letting us hear the Euclideans' screams; the book doesn't let him get away with claiming the pharaoh was his bestie without outing him as a liar by including a quote from the pharaoh about how annoyed he was by Bill. Whenever Bill lies, it's not subtle, it's not secret, and the story around him makes a point of exposing his lies as blatantly as possible. He's not allowed to get away with it.

The idea that the journal pages are fake comes from readers going "but hold on, didn't we already see the fully repaired Journal 3?" "isn't Ford's hair slightly wrong here?" "doesn't this contradict the timeline in some places?" etc. Details you wouldn't know or notice unless you're armpit deep in Gravity Falls lore. If you have to think real hard to realize Bill might be lying about something... it's probably not intended to be a lie.

If it was meant to be a lie, the book would have showed us somehow. One of the letters from Ford would have blatantly contradicted the information we get in the journal pages; or, Bill would have provided fake pages saying such outrageous things that we'd KNOW Ford couldn't have possibly written them ("my muse is so wonderful and perfect and brilliant and I regret not joining him to conquer the world sooo much, if only my stubborn short-sighted human pride and dumb family loyalty weren't stopping me from making the right decision" etc).

My theory is that the guy who hasn't worked on the show for the better part of a decade, with a proven track record of accidentally making the main characters the product of two generations of teen pregnancies and sending the cast on a road trip the episode after building a magical barrier that will protect them only if they're inside the shack, decided to prioritize an interesting narrative over rigid adherence to timelines and 100% internally-consistent lore.

A theory is something you think might actually could be what's REALLY HAPPENING in canon; a headcanon is what you've privately decided is true solely for the version of the story that exists inside your own head. "The journal pages in TBOB are fake" is a perfectly workable headcanon, nothing wrong with it, you can fit it in and justify it with no trouble—but as a theory it holds no water.

[cocogum]

Weird things I want Ankama to explain.

Why did Tot develop the adventures after season 2 into a manga? Was it because of budget related reasons? Because it couldn’t have been for its maturity. Tot follows the audience as it kept growing and at the time, the majority were still young. The only reason why the Great Wave, on the other hand, got turned into a manga was because it was apparently going to get graphic.

Why did Tot jump 6 years into the future instead of making more adventures when the gang still had no responsibilities or duties?

Why did tot not make up a new queen outfit for Amalia in the Great Wave instead of making her feel limited to her strict s4 budget? I thought the entire point of converting the story into a manga is to be finally be free from restrictive animation budgets.

Why was Arpagone added into the story??? Ruel specifically stated in two moments that he never got married. In season 1, he spoke to Kabrok and when the wife topic came up, insinuated that if he ever had a wife like Miranda, he'd stop his adventures. And in season 2, when Yugo asks Ruel if he has ever fallen in love, Ruel says that he did and had many lovers in the past but ALMOST married one of them. In season 3, we see that he officially married Arpagone, which completely contradicts what he has said in season 2.

Why are there good concept arts of the characters from seasons 3-4 from the yt videos Ankama uploads for us but these same concept arts are not included in their respective season artbooks??? I thought the whole point of an artbook was to show ALL character concepts and sheets.

Why did Nora have this entire redesign? Don't get me wrong, I think she looks cool as hell but it threw me off so much when I first watched the S4 trailer. I had to get used to it lol

It's funny how Wakfu's main role was to introduce the eliatrope class but then finally opted to introduce a sub branch of it being the 'eliotropes' instead. Like Tot please give us more info in Season 5, you literally did an entire reboot of the eliatropes' history FOR SOME REASON and it now feels like we're back where we started because of Season 4. We now have more questions than answers and it literally took us 16 years to get here and we BARELY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE.

Sooo are we just gonna forget about how Amalia dreamed of Sadida telling her to go out and help a hero? The hero being Yugo? She literally tells Eva in Season 1 that she had a dream of her GOD, but Eva doesn't believe her cuz she thinks she's making up things or whatever. But when Amalia says the same thing to Armand, again, NO ONE BATS AN EYE??? Tot you seriously need to give me an explanation for why Amalia was able to meet her god like this, AND why she seems to have a special connection with the Tree of Life SINCE IT SPECIFICALLY CHOSE HER TO POSSESS DURING NOX'S WAR. Also, why would Sadida willingly make Amalia meet Yugo?? I ain't complaining, I think it's such an interesting thing to know about, BUT EVEN AFTER FOUR SEASONS AND THREE SPECIAL EPISODES, we still don't know why she is so special! She was even able to find a solution for Pandiego's village CUZ HER FUCKING TEARS HAPPENED TO BE THE SOLUTION FOR THE MILK PROBLEM ‼️‼️‼️‼️

[teardrophand]

kajiyama fuuta does not feel remorse for his actions

okay. this is gonna be an extremely long post so bear with me

the idea that fuuta is like super duper remorseful for his crime in t2 is thrown around by this fandom sooo much to the point where it rly seems like his entire voting period in t2 was based on it. which is like. frustrating. because what's actually written for him is way more interesting than that but people don't acknowledge it at all... people are so quick to assume the best of him (because they like him on a surface level), assume that his intentions were wholly pure and that he only got swept up in the thrill of everything and took things too far without meaning to. but that's like a hugeeee misinterpretation and i don't rly know how it became so widespread

i went back through and read thru everything relating to his t2 case and the only way you can view it as if he's really sorry is if you approach it with a very shallow view of fuuta as a character and take the things he says and does purely at face value, which i guess. a lot of people do. i get the sense that a lot of people interpret him the way they do because they want him to be forgiveable, or because of their own personal feelings on the case leading them to believe it's not that bad of an offence. but the text itself doesn't offer any indication that he's actually sorry

like. okay sure. there are specific ways you can interpret the text to support the idea that he’s really sorry and just avoids saying it outright. you can absolutely read between the lines to make a case for that… but in doing so you’re just outright ignoring what’s on the actual lines. you can find roundabout ways to assume that he feels remorse, but that interpretation actively contradicts what he actually says and does, especially when held up against the rest of his character.

i'll shortly address backdraft, though there isn't really much for me to say about it (in comparison to the amount of thoughts i have on other material from trial 2). it depicts him aacting cruelly towards his targets, as well as displays his resentment towards those who were forgiven when he himself was not. towards the end is when we see him as he watches his victim suffocate as a result of his own actions, then turn and run as his own hands turn to stone, ended by es spraying him with their own spray can after he collapses.

to me that fear doesn't really equate to actual regret for his actions, especially considering he runs away. of course it's hard to witness the horrible things that have happened as a result of your own actions, but he runs. he avoids the truth at all costs, and we see this in the voice drama where he's already deflected blame and tried to drag others (namely es) down to his own level. the mv can be interpreted any number of ways so it's hard to make a definitive statement on what exactly it means, becaue it could mean a lot of things and we can't be fully certain what's intended. i'm not really interested in arguing over the 'correct' interpretation of the mv either so i'll leave it at this.

what i actually want to focus on is his voice drama, baptism of fire, i’ll try to address these events in the proper order but i’ll only be highlighting the most important points here. this isn’t a comprehensive summary of the voice drama in any way.  

starting off with a section where fuuta claims that the two of them (himself and ed) are similar. his argument for why he should be forgiven depends on this idea that him and es are the same. and on a surface level, that's true. they both decided not to forgive someone they found unforgivable, and their choice to do so brought about unintended and severe consequences that they couldn’t have anticipated. he even implies he might be more morally sound than es because he was never violent against the person he killed.

Fuuta: I'm in the same boat as you, and yet-and yet- You didn't forgive me, did you!?

What did I do? All I did was say that what's wrong is wrong!

ES: …

Fuuta: I was just going off at a bad person online!

I didn't even take it as far as to be violent towards them, unlike what you're doing right now!

(baptism of fire, 4:21-4:41)

—and he says that if mahiru had died, he and es would be in the exact same situation. but of course, that’s completely ridiculous, when you stop for 2 seconds and consider the fact that es is 15 serving as the warden for several murderers  who they’re expected to judge without any alternate options presented vs fuuta who took it upon himself to harass and cyberbully a child as a way of making himself feel like a good person. but that’s obvious:

Es: ...Don't make a fool of me.

Fuuta: Huh?

Es: I've seen it! The way you got amusement out of your actions like it was just a game!

The way you agitated the crowd and unilaterally trampled against the opponent! That, being the same as me?!

Fuuta: ...!

Es: You've got to be kidding. I am the Guard of MILGRAM, the one who judges your sins.

It's not just you and Mahiru - l've faced all ten of you prisoners with my own life.

Don't lump me in with someone like you, who used someone's sins for cheap entertainment!

(baptism of fire, 6:54-7:04) 

even after es says this, he tries to claim that they do use the sins of the prisoners are entertainment, and references the voices in his head. aka, the voices of the audience, and their methods of judging him. he assumes they’re es’ thoughts (keep the favt that he assumes it’s es’ voice in mind— it’ll come up again in a moment) and tries to use that to reinforce his claim that they are the same. 

one minor (but interesting!) thing to note in this exchange:

Fuuta: (Laughter) There's nothing that sets you and me apart.

You're also getting entertainment out of my– out of our sins!

(baptism of fire, 8:54-9:03)

his immediate instinct is only to protect himself, but he then corrects himself from “my” to “our” as a way of making his cause seem like more than it is. he wants to seem better, like he’s not self-centered, like he’s thinking of how unfair it is all the prisoners when he makes this claim… you can imagine how he made this slip in person. usually, he can retype a tweet before he sends it to make it sound better 🙂

he depends on that surface level interpretation of their respective situations because he needs a way to make himself feel better. he can’t be the one in the wrong. hes clinging onto any excuse he can make for himself because he can’t bear the weight of his actions. it would wreck him completely. everything he did online, everything that lead up to this case, was done with the intention of propping up his own morality and inflating his own ego, and and this is where he ended up. and he hates that more than anything. 

es (obviously) shuts that idea down, and this is when fuuta starts begging. he even actually says the words “i’m sorry”… but not before first offering to forgive es for what they’ve done, too. he frames it as if he’s doing something gracious: 

Fuuta: Listen— I'll forgive you for what you've done too, I'll accept this pain... So-

Please. Forgive me, I'm begging you...!

(baptism of fire, 10:57-11:05) 

and after this, he apologises.. to es, not his victim. of course, his victim is not present because she is dead, and would have no way of hearing a hypothetical apology whether he said it or not. but look at the way he words this: 

Fuuta: The feeling of getting judged by countless people at once is the worst, too…

I can't sleep, feeling like the whole world is watching me!

I'm tired of everything hurting and being difficult! Please...! I'M SO SORRY, ES!!

(baptism of fire 11:22-11:40)

everything he mentions is directly related to the consequences he’s experiencing: the feeling of being judged, of being watched, not being able to sleep. being in pain and finding things difficult— these are all things that happened because he was unforgiven. he doesn’t express any guilt or regret for his victim or her living family. it has nothing to do with what he did to her, and everything to do with what happened to him as a result. 

remember when i said to keep in mind he thinks the voices in his head belong to es? he states some of the things they gave for judging him the way they did—“Just for interest, just for fun, just because they don't like me” …to me, this reads very much like he’s apologising to es because he wants to be someone who can be forgiven by them. making a desperate appeal to be more liked by them because he wants to be forgiven. he has no intention of apologising to the people he actually hurt, or even really thinking about them. he only wants to apologise to the person who he thinks can save him from being in pain. that’s all he wants. he wants to be relieved of the pain he feels, both physically and mentally. to him, the physical pain is terrible, but it’s also agonising to be seen as a “bad” person. (npd fuuta truthers rise up ��🙏)  

in response to this breakdown, es explains to him that they don’t have any ill will towards him or any of the other prisoners. that they’re even starting to think of them as “something of comrades”. they say it’s a pity that they’re the guard, thank him for helping them realise that their role requires resolve, tell him that his pain won’t allow him to evade justice. one interesting thing about this is while they’re explaining all of this to him, they say this: 

Es: Either way, I have yet to figure out what the relationship between your current, hurt self and the crime that you committed is.

(baptism of fire, 13:03-13:10) 

straight up stating that his actual feelings towards his crime itself are still unclear. as of trial 2 it’s only possible to discern how he feels towards the pain itself.  

after this, they acknowledge his lack of a proper apology (? this is unclear to me. i’ve heard it mentioned that what es says here is badly mistranslated, but i haven’t been able to find a verifiable correction for what it should actually say. so im at a bit of a loss here and don’t have much to say only since i believe i’m working with incomplete information, but if if i can find a good translation i may update this post at some point ☺️) *(1/6/25 i got clarification on this point and have added it on at the end of this post in a reblog! i'm going to leave this post how it was originally though, except for adding this.)

what sets fuuta off into threatening es’s life is their statement that they have to make their judgements even when the subject of those judgements breaks down in front of them. he lashes out and gets angry with them… which is something you probably wouldn’t do if you were genuinely sorry. of course, it’s not that this is a “wrong” way to react inherently (actually, it IS 100% wrong to threaten a child like that no matter the scenario, but i mean that him being angry isn’t necessarily the problem here) but it’s what sets it off that sets off a red flag to me. because it’s clear he still believes he’s in the right. he wants to be validated in his believe that he’s innocent, not actually forgiven for what he’s done wrong. in his mind, he hasn’t done anything wrong. he wants the pain to stop. which isn’t remorse. not at all  

like here i will reiterate the fact that he threatened to kill es. this exchange stands out to me a LOT:

Fuuta: Es! Es!!

….YOUUUUU…..!!! I'LL KILL YOU!

Es: Heh.

Fuuta: ARE YOU LISTENING, YOU BASTARD?!

FORGIVE ME!

IF YOU DON'T FORGIVE ME, I'LL KILL YOU, Y'KNOWWWWW!!!

(baptism of fire, 13:47-14:06) 

—because it’s hardly acknowledged by anyone??? even though it feels extremely important. he’s set off this badly by es simply explaining why that they have to continue and why. 

and this threat wasn't taken seriously at all with good reason of course, the most obvious being that he can't actually hurt es at all even if he tried. the barrier would stop him like it always has. and even if he could physically attack them, it's pretty clear that he's not a physically strong enough person. not only is the weakest of all the boys according to yamanaka, but considering all the injuries he sustained after kotoko's attack, it's safe to say he's in no actual condition to actually hurt anybody. he's all talk.

…and on an objective level we know this. but fuuta...? it's not like he's saying these things knowing that they're empty threats, with only the intention of expressing his frustration or something. he just doesn't think like that, especially in the heat of the moment, in this situation where he’s been so incredibly emotional the entire time. in his mind, if he was given a reason to, he could kill es. he fully believes that he could if he really wanted to. he’s a 20 year old man, saying that he’s going to kill a 15 year old. of course he thinks he could do it, given a reason, given an opportunity. why wasn’t this taken seriously? not as an actual danger to es, but as an indication of his character? he’s threatening to kill another person, a child who’s probably about the same age as his actual victim, even though he claims to be sorry for what he did??? he knows killcheroy was a child, because he saw her photos and tracked down her school. 

it’s just… absolutely ridiculous behaviour. to read all of this and interpret any amount of it as him being genuinely sorry is all confirmation bias. it’s wishful thinking.

i’ve said this befote, that fuuta doesn’t feel any genuine remorse, over on twitter albeit without any of the elaboration from above because of the character limit over there. and a response i got at the time was along the lines of “he joined a cult because the guilt was too much for him and he wanted to become a better person” and i’ll address that quickly because it does seem to be a growing sentiment now that trial 3 has been set into motion. 

he did not join the cult out of any genuine desire to improve as a person. he joined the cult because it validated him. he’s being forgiven by religion, he feels like he can be a “good” person if he followings the teachings of the cult. that’s all it is. he so immediately adopts amane’s beliefs into his own mindset, even in trial 2 he was going around saying awful stuff to people, like telling haruka he was an “idiot” for choosing to kill himself instead of letting himself be saved. (!! keep this interaction in mind for a little bit) in the most recent timeline conversation, he pleads with yuno to come be saved with him. this interaction highlights another important part of his characterisation. when yuno says she doesn’t want to be saved by someone else, he responds: 

Fuuta: ......why not?

It's pointless to carry it all and die.

To live in this world, we need hope, and companions who forgive each other!

Otherwise- 

(19/04/2025, fuuta’s birthday)

it’s long since been known about fuuta that he thrives on community and acceptance. a huge part of his case is the idea of “mob mentality,” it’s one of the biggest contributing factors to killcheroy’s death. he needs to be surrounded by like-minded people so that he can feel validated, especially in his current environment. even though he was forgiven, that’s not exactly what he wanted to begin with. if he’s surrounded by people who think the same way as him, it’ll make him feel better. 

now i won’t take an entirely cynical approach to this timeline conversation. i’ll acknowledge the fact that he said this in part because he probably wants other people to be relieved of suffering in the same way he was— this is probably his conscious motivation for going around talking to people like he does. if you asked him, this is the explanation he’d give. but don’t forget the earlier interaction with haruka that i mentioned.

Fuuta: —Hey, are you really okay with that? If you come with me, you might also be saved you know...... Haruka.

Haruka: Yeah...... since l already made a decision. I, have something that I must do.

Fuuta: Ahh, is that so...... Hey, Haruka, you truly are an idiot. If that's the case, you won't be able to be saved.

(19/04/2024, fuuta’s birthday)

he’s so unwelcome to perspectives other than his own. yes, these interactions take place a full year apart in our time, but i find it hard to believe he’s doing anything but putting on a show for yuno. he’s become more adapted to amane’s way of thinking, but the insensitive, abrasive person we see in the interaction with haruka is always who he’s been. he hasn’t given us any reason to believe that this change is anything beyond self-serving. because even though he’s not as rude to yuno, he still pushes back and tries to make a case for her to join the cult. he says “why not?” and tries to explain to her why she needs this, then gets cut off before he was going to say something clearly intended to pressure or frighten into joining his way of thinking. whatever he would’ve said probably would’ve been some kind of fearmongering (and i honestly to have to give him some props how well he takes to being a super religious person just instantly. that’s lowkey impressive) it’s just… not a good thing no matter how you look at it. 

soo the conclusion to this very long post is simply that fuuta does not feel remorse the way people seem to think he does. that’s all. i wanted to provide a lot of explanation because people usually don’t like it when i just state that conclusion outright, but i have a lot of reasons for thinking it and i feel pretty strongly about his character in this aspect (obviously) lol 

for the record i stil like fuuta in spite of every mean thing i just said about him. he is my overall top 3 🙏 this is just an analysis. i am not a fuuta hater. smile heart sparkle star. thank you 

[epiphainie]

Can I be honest? I really don't like how the show changed the reasons for their conflict. Going from Tommy's insecurities about being the first man for Buck to Tommy being insecure about Eddie when they previously multiple times said that it wasn't an issue for Tommy. From them moving on from Buck being the one left behind to Buck being the one who said something he needs to apologise for. I don't know.

you can be honest, i'm being honest, i think this version of their conflict is not as interesting. 8x06 and 8x11 don't really contradict each other, but i agree that certain elements have already been dropped and it's a bit of a step down from what tommy actually presented as his insecurities in the breakup scene. and yeah i hate that it just circled back to buck needing to apologize because he said something bad out of feeling hurt when there was sooo much more with tommy being the first person who left him, not because he didnt love him, but precisely because how much he loved him. buck not only being wanted but also realizing it doesn't mean shit if he doesn't go and demand that he's given the chance for once...oh i could have had it all with that confrontation.

but also! it's a lesson. don't ever believe what tim says lol, like they keep throwing shit at the wall and his writing abilities goes as far as "how can i make the audiences talk about this as much as possible?" and to moderate our expectations. i love bucktommy but i also see that it will never be the one exceptional writing choice for buck, at least not in certain ways. because we will always be tied to the dynamic of buck being the main character and tommy being the supporting character. the narrative will always come back to buck's wrongs (and subsequent growth/change) and tommy reacting to that instead of having any agency of his own in the story. this is not just a bt thing either, like, look at every single conflict hen and karen have. it's always what hen does/says being the root of the conflict and karen being the mirror for her which at the end is resolved with hen apologizing/making up for it/changing from it while karen's not being granted any of her own flaws/biases/traumas/wrongs/motivations.

if anything the og breakup for bt gave tommy more in this instance. like yeah it annoys me that the fandom turned around with the narrative and expect buck to be the one to make up for it (as previously stated that's just how it is, rip the post-breakup storyline we could have) but at least the narrative itself doesn't paint tommy as flawless (yet). there's still a thread of grace for buck's side of the things, like sure, we will NEVER acknowledge how he must have felt with tommy dumping him but at least he acts in line with it and even acknowledges how fucked up it was that everyone (implied tommy) assumes he's in love with eddie. like buck will never say to tommy's face how hurt he was after the breakup and he will never say to his face how presumptive the eddie thing was but at least the narrative acknowledges that tommy is partially acting out of his own insecurities instead of fully putting it on buck. people can interpret it as they want but buck's only on-screen fault here is the i don't have feelings comment, not a million other tommy things that are being pinned on him.

(sadly i also think they already moved past the eddie thing as well and it will never be brought up again and their reconciliation will be grief/support after bobby's death substituting for all of this which is SIGH but this is the weewoo show, so)

[meear]

umineko fans are the original "if you don't like it you just didn't understand it" people. I genuinely cannot think of anyone more annoying and obnoxious, except SNK fans, except not even them, because in Umineko's case that behavior is enabled by the author himself. It's crazy how a story that spent hundreds of hours discussing the value in several coexisting interpetations will have both characters and fans turning around and tell you that actually you're completely wrong for thinking a certain way

The crazy part is they don't even realise how their smug attitude about being part of R07's very special club of people who "have love" and the superior way they act about holding the true answer are EXACTLY the Erika traits they criticise in readers who don't think like them. "He spells it out but you still cannot see it? Lol" "are there still people who can't accept the literal canon answer? lmfao" "you know you're exactly the goats r07 wrote about right?" (Because r07 is a god who cannot possibly be contradicted, this is supposed to be the worst insult somehow) (these fans cannot seem to decide who the goats are an analogy for, considering they'll scramble to say they only represent the story's witch hunters as a criticism of true crime fans when you call out r07's arrogance, yet they'll smugly tell you you're just a goat when you question the story itself. Thank you, it's nice to know that Ryukishi wrote about me, but that doesn't answer the fucking question, Brian)

It's incredibly ironic. How did a story like Umineko create and encourage so many people to sanctify one "official answer" and taking any other attempt as an insult?? Like is anyone feeling how ryu07 completely fucked up at what he was trying to do?

"So I won't open the catbox and reveal what actually happened on the island." oh, that's cool, I actually really like that! I agree that ultimately the true events of that day are a pretty trivial part of the story, and it's way more interesting not to know - "anyway it's Rudolf and Kyrie and it happened exactly like so and so, and Shkanontrice did this and that".

... Okay, well I really wish that had remained a mystery forever, since the point was that any truth would've been anticlimatic, and the choice to reveal that genuinely kills a lot of what made Umineko's appeal to me, but I guess we can still have fun with EP1-4 and try several alternative theories for the sequence of events- "here's the manga explaining everything in detail and if you didn't get it have you tried maybe having some more love? It would be sooo clear if you had love lmfao. you literally cannot comprehend my work unless you have"

... I really wish that guy would stop making assumptions about the inner mind of complete strangers who read his work, but I do enjoy getting to choose an ending! it really fits in with Umineko's theme of choosing the truth for yourself and making your own path that you can be happy with, as long as you keep thinking- "the Magic ending is meant to be the true end btw. if you prefer the other one you pretty much have no heart lol, it's obviously framed like a bad ending and there's only one acceptable choice and one way ange can find happiness"

... man, I'm so bored. Why write a game like that and then make it so that some choices are better than others instead of letting people think for themselves? Why would you force an interpretation on people/Ange when I've been led to believe that the narrative was against that sort of things? You want to highlight the value in your vision of "magic", fine, but why am I the heartless bitch for disliking that perspective and even trying to see things differently?

Why would you write a whole game around the really fun concept of several tales happening at the same time and the existence of endless truths inside the same catbox only to open the catbox and tell me "NO, you need to think a certain way, and if you don't like my answer FUCK YOU"

I understand that maybe he just had a specific answer in mind but I'm sorry the way he write the ending simply does not match the vision he seemed to have in the earlier chapters.

I genuinely respect Umineko as a work, I think it's one of the most ambitious stories I've seen and there is some amazing writing in there, but if Ryukishi wanted to allow for people to keep thinking and discussing what it means, he has failed miserably and I'm not talking about confession of the golden witch, I'm talking about the way he and his minions have shut down any possible discussion under the guise of "you just don't get it" (rephrased to "you don't have love" to make it sound more enlightened) and it's soured my enjoyment of something that should've been an amazing story. What is even left to discuss here when everyone has pretty much already made up their mind?

[kirkwallguy]

this has a ton of asunder spoilers so just delete it if you care abt that but the other thing with Cole that pisses me off so much is that just by including him (and Fiona) they bring up a dozen questions about why Inquisition doesn't give a shit about Asunder but keeps bringing it up

Rhys and Evangeline? not there. the war? only about Anders, not the book. Cole dying? random accident and look the guy feels bad about leaving a 12 year old boy (hello anders/justice parallels) to starve to death in solitary confinement. we'll have this kid then go on to smooth over Cullen. anything involving the cure for Tranquility? locked exclusively to Cassandra's quest of all things, and she does literally nothing about it despite the fact that Fiona, the whole mage rebellion, Leliana, and Vivienne knew about it the entire time before the game even started.

the cure was disseminated from Montsimmard! the Circle that Vivienne was the First Enchanter of! and neither of the enchanters get any dialogue about it whatsoever.

the rebel mages even get mad at you if you choose to make anyone Tranquil (a choice locked to mages exclusively for some reason), but then nobody brings up that it can be reversed? Leliana just murders some of them for it? and then Cassandra does literally nothing with the information, there isn't even a mention in an epilogue slide? why do we have an Asunder character here if we don't actually care about anything about him? it's kind of the exact same with masked empire up to and including the white-washing (that briala is a different woman entirely. cole is half-chasind but given morrigan we couldn't expect anything else) but it's so grating because they keep having Cole say this fake deep stuff and tie him to Solas and Varric who have become the Misters Dragon Age but then just ignore the actually interesting stuff about him.

sorry that was too long I'm just constantly baffled by every choice Inquisition ever made

i never mind da book spoilers because i know deep down that whenever i say im going to read them im fully lying to myself

but literally it feels like inquisition is confusing in completely different ways depending on if you have and haven't read it. if you haven't read it you don't know who any of these people are or what's going on, but if you HAVE read it you're confused about why so much is contradicted. they wanted a middle ground sooo bad but they just made a mess. some of this stuff is still news to me i had no idea cold was half chasind wtf.

and yeah. having cole basically have anders' backstory but gone wrong and then be empathetic towards cullen is so crazy to me. recruiting the templars should have corrupted him! cullen could have been the templar he wanted to kill in his companion quest. just ANYTHING that matters.

[missholloween]

🎧!!!!!

OKAY I SHUFFLED MY UNHINHED OWEN PLAYLIST AND THIS IS THE FIRST THING I GOT. OH MY GOD

dust and ashes is probably my favorite song from musical theater period. Like, she's That Girl, no one else (haha, get it?) does it like Dave Malloy and Dust and Ashes is one of his best songs (which is a lot to say, because his musicals are sooo good). He's my favorite composer with Matt Dahan. Dust and ashes was my third most listened song last year EVEN THOUGH it is 6 minutes long.

Why is this in my (unhinged) Owen playlist, though? Because it represents his conflict during and post fall perfectly. It starts with an inner reflection of his life to that point– Was his life worth it? Did he live his life to the fullest? Is the fall a worthy ending to his life? I love the expressions Dave uses in the song, because there's so much negotiation from Pierre that I think fit Owen perfectly: yes, there's frustration because of his almost death some minutes before, but there's also genuine regret that he's trying to cover. Rage and grief blend in one, and I think that's the inmediate emotional response when Owen falls and is captured by the russians when he think of Curt.

This leads us to the chorus, that takes a different turn for me regarding Owen. Owen Carvour was a man in love before the fall, he had a partner that he cared for and he was the reason he kept going. Owen Carvour was awake, he was a god and he knew the angel's song. However, the fall takes everything away from him, forcing him to fall asleep and tearing away his divinity. That's why he feels so angry, but especially so betrayed, because he was used to the love and thought it had become a part of him... But he was wrong.

In that mindset we get to the verse after the chorus, where there's so much rage and regret of his previous life. "Now at the end all I know that I've learned / Is that all that I know is I don't know a thing!" The negotiation has turned into mere frustration and rage, not just to the world but to himself. Things should've been different because he should've known better! He should've done other things instead of waisting his time playing with Curt... But deep down, he knows that's a lie. That's when we get to (one of) my favorite lyrics of the whole song.

But then why am I screaming? Why am I shaking? Oh god, was there something that I missed? Did I squander my divinity? Was happiness within me the whole time?

First of all, shoutout to Josh Groban and his performance. Yes, I love Dave Malloy's Pierre and that's closer to who Pierre Bezukhov was on War and Peace. But there's something so... Raw, so emotional in his performance, there's a vulnerability very hard to achieve that even translates to the recorded version! I will never forget he was stole at the Tony's.

To me, the bridge is the vulnerability Owen had to hid and burry after the fall. Even if he doesn't want them to exist, the feelings for Curt didn't simply disappear or turn into rage (although many of them did). Deep down there's a part of him that still loves the man that left him for dead, that yearns for the person that made him feel alive, that would never be able to kill him even if he wants to make him pay. That contradiction, those mixed feelings, are what build Owen's character, and I think dust and ashes is a really interesting way to explore them <3

[relicsongmel]

hi im also a raymond shields lover [you know this its no surprise] and i am also SOOO autistic about music so i totally ripped apart his theme to analyze it and i wanna hear YOUR THOUGHTS PLEAAAASEEE I NEED SOMEONE TO BE INSANE WITH

HELL YEAH an excuse to geek out about Joking Motive? You better believe I'm taking it

Ok so right off the bat—THE FIRST FOUR NOTES. The first SEVEN notes, even—you can hear Miles’ Great Revival motif, plain as day. Close listeners will recognize that this iconic ascending minor third and whole step pattern can be heard all over the Investigations soundtrack, everywhere from the cross-examination and objection themes to the character themes—including but not limited to Kay, Lang, and in this case, Ray (there’s even an inverted version in Gregory’s theme that uses a descending half step and major third instead!). What’s really interesting is the use of this motif sort of contradicts Ray’s attitude toward Miles when we first hear the track—it’s played during his initial introduction when he still has that grudge towards him. It’s not NECESSARILY out of place considering even Quercus Alba’s theme uses the motif, but it’s a pretty strong musical foreshadowing that he could potentially be swayed over to Miles’ side, which is indeed followed through on later.

As for the main body of the track itself, it’s pretty distinctly blues-y, making gratuitous use of standard blues chord progressions (Am7 -> D7 and whatnot) and pentatonic melodies ornamented by that sweet sweet flat 5 that I have now dubbed “the Ray Note” because the man has melted my brain (what else is new). One thing worth noting that’s a bit atypical of the genre, however, is the Fmaj7 chord used a couple of times throughout (in Roman numeral notation it would be the VI chord); the first instance of it is about 44 seconds into the linked video for reference. This, in my opinion, is a really clever way of hiding emotional nuance underneath the otherwise upbeat instrumentation and playful melody—the VI chord sounds a bit more melancholic in comparison to everything surrounding it and hints that despite his jokester persona, Ray might not actually be as cheerful as he seems.

And now my favorite part—the synesthesia of it all. Idk if you’ve read my pinned post or not but basically the key of a song has certain colors, moods, scenery, etc. associated with it in my brain and it’s been a part of my life since even before I had any sort of musical training. Joking Motive is in A minor—which is represented by the color gray and its associated moods are those of emptiness and yearning (it’s a functional opposite to E flat minor which is pitch black and represents the crushing weight of despair). And I mean. Considering Ray’s whole character revolves around the void left in his life after Gregory’s death and how he desperately tries to fill it by doing everything he can to bring Miles back to his side? I’d say the key choice fits pretty well. If Capcom REALLY wanted to steal my heart away and make me even MORE smitten than I already am they could have put it just a half step higher in B flat minor (my favorite key of all time. Beautiful midnight blue queen I love her so much) but their key choice reflects him too perfectly so I’m willing to overlook it.

And that’s about it, really! I hope you enjoyed reading my insights—Joking Motive is one of my favorite tracks so I'm glad we can be autistic about it together <3

[wouriqueen]

Okay so I'll obviously need to mull this S02E05 episode over but first impressions.

General thoughts

Dubai trio my beloved. This ep is a fave right now despite the lack of Claudia.

Louis' memories. I still believe the showrunners know Louis and Armand staying together without Louis having some doubt about his involvement in Claudia's death would be boring, but regardless of what happens later, I'm glad we at least know Louis remembered Armand's involvement in Claudia's death until 1973!

2 amnesics at the table. Love the concept of them trying to recover their memories together.

Acting off the charts in San Fran . Louis seductive, then manic and resentful, then drugged up and scornful, then back to self-containment and the careful navigation of his relationship with Armand. Armand standing there so fucking full of RESENTMENT in that first shot of him at the apartment, the anger the pain the JEALOUSY the contempt then the tenderness as he's about to kill Daniel. Excellent.

Still not a fan of how they executed Armand's pupils vibrating but the concept itself is awesome and the timing here was excellent.

Armand and Louis

Worst argument in this entire show. Some heinous shit has been said before but damn. So violent, especially Louis. Horrible.

The dynamics were dynamiquing. I'll have more thoughts later but Armand accepting Louis' "authority" only when it's working in favor of their relationship stood out to me.

Renewal of vows? That coffin scene. The tender hand on the cheek. Louis making it clear to Armand he has NOT "crawled even an inch forward" towards forgiveness for Claudia... yes choosing him again over Lestat again, it seems right now. This looked like a renewal of their commitment ("Yes, Maître" parallel to the bench scene included - that scene was their real beginning).

Armand

Armand is so HUNGRY. For love and acceptance. It's almost ugly to see. Like I've seen book-readers say it but only now am I feeling it and if only for that... yeah. Fave episode. Fave character. He's got me here I'm obsessed.

ARMAND HORROR MOVIE VILLAIN YESSSSS! THE CHAIR TORTURE. THE CRAMPS TORTURE. THE UNSPOOLING OF THE TAPES WITH HIS MIND. The vibe was awesome too, with Daniel's sobs, Louis' pained grunts and the TV all in background of Armand's interrogation.

Daniel and Louis

Danlou. Did this show give me Danlou without giving me Danlou?

"Just make me your Claudia, your Lestat" This was insane like I know he was on drugs but to think he said that AFTER Louis told him the whole story all the way up to Claudia getting on the train. The IMPLICATIONS for how he envisioned their relationship after turning...

More Danlou. Daniel looked disappointed when finding out he and Louis didn't sleep together and Louis jokingly asked "do you wanna do it now"? Yes that's how I saw and I'm dying on this hill. In the flashbacks he was sooo eager.

Even more Danlou... I LOVED that Louis' words are revealed to be what kept Daniel afloat like maybe Armand's prediction would have been correct without it!

Daniel

Daniel's relationship to his own sexuality. It was interesting to see the nuance to Daniel's attraction to men like on one hand he was clearly eager to fuck Louis, even before he was given any drugs. Like his first thought seeing the coffin was "we're gonna fuck in it"??? He wanted it BAD. But on the other hand the way he asks Louis if he's in San Fran because of the large gay community is huuuh a little condescending? We knew about that contradiction but it was interesting to see it live.

Sex and addiction. Most importantly, I think his addiction really muddled his views on sex as well, as in, having that transactional relationship to sex, not even really as a choice but to deal with his addiction, must not have helped him to get clarity on the matter. The fact that he so quickly propositioned Armand to save his life shows he did that very, very often.

I liked the empowerment in this episode. The Talamasca gave him clues, he has a lead to follow, so he can do more than react in anger now and go back to being a journalist. But not just a journalist. The connection between him and Louis flourished. I'm actually very worried for him now LOL the green eyed monster in the room with them.......

[catiuapavel]

I completed every main mission and sidequests in Cornia (excluding the forbidden level 40 area)

This game is so fun and refreshing to play. When I played Ogre Battle March of the Black Queen a few years back, I dreamt of a game in the same vein that could grant you more control over how battles play out and Unicorn Overlord is a far more layered iteration of the timid concept I imagined. Going through all these menus and setting all these conditions, testing them out, doing it all over again to optimize them... This is so thrilling. I love micromanagement.

The more gameplay devices are introduced (like watchtowers, catapults, balistaes, rams, units to rescue in the middle of nowhere), the more fun it gets. Thanks to these elements coming into play one at a time, the stages never feel dull or the same.

I'll say Cornia on expert mode was hardly that difficult. It provided fun challenges so I don't mind. I'm just surprised that the highest level of difficulty feels like a normal mode. That being said I'm not a good judge of strategy games difficulty because I'm pretty much like that:

The presentation of the game is sooo beautiful. The hud, style and environments all fit so perfectly together. So few games seem to understand the value of these things nowadays and it's refreshing playing such a well-crafted one. I just wish there were more parity in character design: men with sillier outfits and animations and (a handful more) women with... let's say more pragmatic ones.

The soundtrack has been alright so far but I'll say: BOY am I glad to get out of Cornia. I think the area could have used 1 or 2 more songs for diversity (even if they kept a similar style or leitmotiv). Drakenhold is delivering in terms of music already!

Unfortunately the only tar so far is that the story is just so very... mid. At best, It's simple and serviceable even though you feel like you've seen it a hundred times before. At worst it's... mind control to handwave morality and responsibility away. However, I don't want to judge it too hastily and I hope to be surprised eventually.

Mostly, I'm genuinely, desperately, hopeful that recruiting everyone merrily will have dire consequences at one point or another. As much as I enjoy collecting every little guy on the continent, defeating a boss set on murdering you and/or terrorizing the countryside and having Alain choose between executing them or recruiting(/releasing) them after hearing their tragically lukewarm backstory (and everything ends well and fine) is becoming jarring. I want to feel regret, I want to feel pain. I want my decisions to come back to haunt me. I want to be crushed under the weight of my actions.

(DON'T tell me whether that's the case or not)

But so far the characters are just bad until they're good and once they join your ranks, they are unconditionally loyal. It lacks conflict and makes everyone far less interesting as a result.

(side note: this one isn't recruitable (thankfully) but Gaston in "Province of Famine" was one of the worst parts so far. You've got a tyrant pillaging his subjects' reserves, depriving them of food while bragging he's enjoying several lavish meals in a row with the most episodic cartoon villain presentation, but when you defeat him suddenly he wasn't actually that bad and was just keeping a reserve in case of famine. Surely... There was a way to write this with a bit more nuance and with less contradictions. The worst part? I called that one as soon as the stage began so it wasn't even shockingly bad, just disappointingly so.)

Still, the characters themselves feel engaging enough. The writing is decent when it comes to interpersonal relationships. I've set one foot in Drakenhold and I was delighted to see Travis and Aubin come into the picture once again. It makes me hopeful the greater cast will develop outside of rapport conversations. And if the narrative truly doesn't deliver later on... I will have these lively and diverse characters to fall back on at least.

[fayesemblemring]

Congrats on beating 3H !! So what are your thoughts of the complete Fodlan experience ?

Jokes aside, honestly I'm not sure I can give a straight answer.

Overall I'd say it's been one of if not my least favourite Fire Emblem, but that really doesn't sum it up.

A more accurate description would be that it had a good chunk of things I loved (above all the Nabatean fam, Dimitri and his story and Claude as a character)... But it's buried beneath a mountain of boredom to slog through, decisions I just don't vibe with and The Bullshit™. Sooo much tedium and Bullshit in this game, and the fact I was kinda done halfway through VW and only persevered through the end out of sheer spite doesn't help.

And it's such a shame because when I liked the game I REALLY liked it and think it has some of the best/most interesting ideas of the entire series... But was it really worth slogging through hundreds of hours playing the same mediocre at best maps and story beats over and over and having to constantly bear that. Fucking. Monastery? Right now I'm inclined to say no. As much as I love those things, it was not.

Playing all the routes one after another really lays some of the biggest issues of this game, like the repetition. SOOO much of this game is recycled between routes and also in a single route to honestly insulting levels, and it doesn't get that much better in Part 2. The fact the devs somehow didn't think people would want to play more than one route is just. Baffling.

Something I realized in the final playthrough is that they also recycle maps for what are supposed to be completely different locations. So you get shit like Brigid somehow looking the exact same as a forest in the Alliance filled with Demonic Beasts, or Rhodos Coast and a beach in the Sreng Peninsula perfect copies of each other. Complete with the monuments for Cichol and Cethleann. Also like damn, Seteth's wife was so dead they had to bury her twice. In two different locations.

The writing is all over the place as a result of the chaotic development where not even the devs could agree on what the story was, and the whole game could be used as a test study on the sheer damage scope creep can do as well as the obsession with lore and worldbuilding that they contradict as soon as it's convenient over making an actually coherent narrative. And also why you don't throw literally any idea you can come up with to the wall hoping something sticks.

Because of the overreliance on telling over showing, what with the bland recycled maps and all, that Garreg Mach almost feels like the only real location in Fódlan, and that's something no amount of in-game libraries or novels worth of lore if those ten thousand years of lore are even real and didn't just make it up

Speaking of Garreg Mach, dear Sothis I hate that place now.

The monastery was fun the first time around, but then it became a chore to something I actively dreaded doing. It's monotone, you do the same shit every time, it lasts FOREVER compared to, you know, the ACTUAL Fire Emblem gameplay I'm playing for. And while you can technically skip it, you're losing on so much stuff to progress your units if you use it, so it feels like the option is just there to mock you. Getting into Persona and realizing how well the calendar system can work if done properly did nothing but sour me even more on the monastery.

The characters having new dialogue every chapter is really neat and something I wish got properly carried over to Engage, this game manages to turn even that into a chore.

And like - I really want to like this game, and in a sense I do, there's quite a bit of it I love. But so much of it makes me actively groan that I don't think I'm gonna replay it for at least a year. And if I do it will be with the No Monastery mod.

[dallonwrites]

from the oc asks: 🍑🌽🥃🌿 and 🍀!! (any oc you want but i wanna know about beau a little)

Well luckily my brain is just a rotation of Beau like a microwave so! I'm about to infodump

🍑 [PEACH] How do they show their kindness? How kind are they truly?

Beau has always been a kind character to me but in Lover Boy he struggles a lot with the "ugly" emotions that come with grief + emotional regulation in general (lol that grief + autism combo) so sometimes he THINKS he's become more jaded/meanspirited and I mean tbh...he has in some ways! It's hard not to when you go through a lot of sudden trauma! But I don't think that means he isn't "truly" kind. I like when characters have "contradictions" like that and what their awareness of it is (I also think with characterisation in fiction it's like...I'm not trying to write a "good" person I'm just trying to write a person. So even though I think Beau has a lot of kindness I try not to treat that as more "valuable" or than the not so kind parts of him, or as a redeeming factor.)

In terms of how he shows kindness, with his friends/loved ones he's absolutely a quality time guy he just loves spending time with people!! But also it's because he's terrified of being alone and he's having to confront that LOL

🌽 [CORN] How good are they at hiding and finding their way?

Okay this isn't very interesting for Lover Boy because like he just lives where he grew up LOL but in Winter's Slaughter (need to re-intro but basically: apocalypse AU set in a fucked up haunted forest) YESS he knows that forest like the back of his hand. He knows her rhythm. Which is a trait a lot of the main characters have but Beau has spent the most intentional time alone in the forest + he's also sooo good at being sneaky. Like he's SO quiet (autism swag) nobody suspects he's hiding around nearby.....the amount of people he has probably accidentally ambushed

🥃 [MATE] What does your OC look for in a friend? What do they find is a turn-off?

I think Beau finds it really easy to make friends because he comes off very extroverted (most of the time/in the right space) but he struggles to maintain deep and long term ones. Patience is probably the trait he looks for the most, because a lot of people haven't been patient with him

Also, you have to be nice to kids and be willing to hang out with his little brother. Like fair play if you don't like kids but Beau's brother is like his best friend and he wants close friends who would be happy to hang out with both of them (in Lover Boy he is 7 and Beau is 23! It's cute!)

🌿 [HERB] Is your OC religious? What do they believe in?

Oooh recently I've been trying to unpack + figure out Beau's relationship with religion in his upbringing and if he was raised religiously at all and I haven't decided for sure beyond being in a place that's culturally Christian. (Basically the basis of RR is a criticism of Christianity and I'd like that to extend to Beau even if he didn't have the same fundamentalist upbringing that Felix and Dorothy had). But as an adult there's two parts:

Absolutely has a growing resentment towards Christianity for a lot of reasons but specifically the way certain Christian communities weaponised AIDS as a punishment from God. Generally he would be an atheist anyway but seeing things like that just reinforces that for him

Desperately wants to believe in an afterlife because of all the people he knows, and knows of, who are dead. Not directly in conflict with above because you don't need Christianity to believe in an afterlife ofc but it's just something he finds very hard to conceptualise/visualise. He would def want to learn more about different belief systems re the afterlife so he can form something for himself outside the bounds of a Christian Heaven VS Hell

Ultimately though if you asked him what he believes in he would just say "ghosts" LOL and he is impatiently waiting for concrete proof that ghosts are real. Never met a man who wants to be legitimately haunted as much as he does

🍀 [FOUR LEAF CLOVER] Would your OC spend hours looking for a four leaf clover?

Absolutely + he would give it to his little brother

emoji themed OC interview

[your-local-granny]

for the old ass AA asks: 27, 37, 40, 45

GUESS WHO LET THIS DIE IN MY ASKS ACCIDENTALLY RIP

27. Apollo’s perceive, Phoenix’s magatama or Athena’s Mood Matrix?

I think Apollo’s perceive is the most fun visually but the least interesting in terms of gameplay. It just feels like finding a contradiction with extra steps and except for very rare instances it doesn’t tell you much about a character :/ I love it in fic tho lol— so many needless misunderstandings coming from it!! And the ability to show someone else that you’re telling the truth… and Trucy!!! God I love Trucy and I love how discerning she is (even though she doesn’t have her own bracelet. Sigh)

Athena’s mood matrix always felt a bit clunky to me gameplay-wise but I LOVE it from a character/ information gathering standpoint. I am truly obsessed with Athena and I think her interactions with characters/ her own psyche/ the world at large through widget/ the mood matrix is so cool and makes the feral dog in my brain run in circles

The magatama is SOOO good to me and i love it from both a character and gameplay standpoint. I think it really adds interest to investigation segments which is needed imo. I especially love it’s implementation in jfa with 2-2 and 2-4 and in 3-5 with Iris… MWAH!!

37. Capcom suddenly announces that Phoenix will no longer appear in the Ace Attorney franchise! Your reaction?

oh girl I am posting crab rave gif if that EVER happens. I’m so sorry but that hag is OLD put him in the GROUND!!! I need the other thousand characters that have been introduced to have their own time to be played with!!! As someone who really loves the implications of Apollo justice and the characters and dynamics of dual destinies (especially Athena and Blackquill), I was really bummed that more time wasn’t spent on unpacking and linking dd and aj in spirit of justice :-(

I love Phoenix but largely in regards to his interactions with the feys and Trucy and edgeworth and not so much is character by himself. Like many I find his character writing after aj really jarring and unappealing especially with how he eats into Athena and Apollo’s screen time. Sad!! That being said I’m pretty sure Shu Takumi has gone on record saying that he wanted to make a ghost trick game where Phoenix fucking died and I would pay good money if that ever happens fhfjfjfj

40. Would you like an Ace Attorney anime?

As someone who hasn’t seen the current AA anime…. Uhhh idk. I’ve heard it’s very good but some of the animation flaws have REALLY put me off of it and im not usually someone who gets excited by rereleases/ adaptations normally so it’s just not very exciting to me. I remember losing my shit when it was announced but since it didn’t really feel like there was a lot added outside of the game plot I’ve never felt much urge to set aside time for it. I’ve seen gifs of some moments that compel me but idk. Also I really don’t like Maya’s voice rip!!!!

if there was another one made with triple the budget and more of an OVA thing I might be intrigued but tbh I can just look at fan worlds. @/ricadiazarts’s old fake anime gifs are everything to me so if there was an anime that looked and felt like them I’d be interested :))

45. One thing you think the Ace Attorney games can improve on?

I mean god. So much. I love the games dearly and I think largely they get a worse rap than they deserve but… certainly there’s issues. Tbh most of my issues are with clunky game mechanics of the later games (magatama AND perceive AND mood matrix AND spirit seance) as well as just How Many Characters there are for no reason just hanging out at crime scenes which really take the tension out imo. Most of this is expected bloat from any series that goes on too long but in the og trilogy… I have very few issues and since it’s so nostalgic and of its time they really don’t bother me much 🤷‍♀️

If I was to pick one thing it’d probably be having shu takumi stay on as the head writer for DD and SOJ to save some of the reoccurring characters’s writing. And maybe implementing that underground court setting for DD/ tossing out the “dark age of the law” bullshit. Smile :)

[izartn]

This was from my backlog; many months later....

Yesterday night I finished CFC and today I super finished the extras. One of these days Meatbun is gonna really kill her protags and making the extras their next life. She truly had me there for a moment, and I kind of love certain tragedy so.... Meatbun, kill your protags for good once, I want to cry about it!!!

Btw, when each thought the other died: that XQC went numb and uncaring of himself (passively suicidal basically) until his niece was born to spark a bit of life, and HY straight up violent and suicidal and then just suicidal as he finished up all pending affairs (bc he doesn't have anyone to pull him to life) is very them and so so very sad. Truly an example of do not separate, and codependency. Aish these two ;_;

One of these days Meatbun is also getting the shou pregnant; feeling very relieved this isn't that day and that HeXie can't have kids bc that'd be a disaster. (Also mpreg isn't my thing and preg in general is a squick for me in fiction, I'd read it for Meatbun but uff) XQC would love to pieces that kid, but I'm less sure about HY loving a kid for themselves and not about his need for XQC to be only his. (He Jiwei was a perfect example, although Vivian last moments are also there sooo.) Those two are functional enough to be with each other, and He Yu at least as of the ending is still trying to be "baby" at Xie Qingcheng, and XQC is loving it too lmfao. A kid wouldnt be good. Maybe in like ten years I'll give them the chance? Eh. I just don't feel them as parents.

Bout the story perse; surprisingly interesting sci-fi/fantasy stuff with the Mandela people, and I can see, having read the three novels a clear connection on the stuff MB wants to explore. Couldn't care less for the villains this time though; that's usually me but in Yuwu for example I was much more interested on the stories of the side characters and enemies beside the protags and Erha has Shimei and Hua Bin'an in its cast which wow.

In CFC I was truly reading only for HeXie and sometimes I was even angry about the plot; I don't think it was so well integrated as in her previous novels. I would have love to read about HeXie personal drama without it though, because they're so rich in conflict by themselves. The near death experiences made it so they could open to each other specially XQC, although HY also needed that push so I don't know what would happened without them, or only with like, two near death experiences. A very different novel for sure. Their truly abysmal comprehension of limits could also have been even more very crunchy if spoken aloud even if they ended up concluding that limits and safewords are for other people,and whatever, they love each so much. They know what Bdsm is by the extras they have no excuse! Deranged couple (affectionate and worried).

Very Meatbun of her to get what she wanted and end up tackling the theme of spies and double agents and crime in modern au like she wanted in Yuwu at last btw, even if neither HY nor XQC were officially cops. Also HY studying filming and being a hacker and talking a book it fiction, technology and life... Really nice. Hes very concerned about the stories we tell ourselves, given his propensity to hallucinate when he's down so it makes sense. Ties into his love of roleplay in bed too.

And I have to make a post about XQC bc what he says, does and the narrative says about him and the way they contradict and how they form his chara is fascinating.

In resumen: very entertaining and fun and sometimes deliciously angsty read, but not a favorite. Still really really liked it, and I have thoughts about it.

[kellykadesperate]

>:3c hello!

Judd is never there lmao … He has strong friendships but he goes home to his wife. ooooh, damn, that is so true! the contrast of judd versus the others makes complete sense indeed, that judd's first choice will always be his wife and kid, and then maybe friends his age that he's known for many years, e.g. tommy and his poker buddies. he's been living and having a fulfilling life in texas before the new team was formed, and it's nice that this is visible in these choices. it makes things clear without downplaying his friendships with the team. also re tommy, she is another good example of more realistic freedom: she did choose her family over her job because it made sense back then until she eventually returned. i liked that – life is long, and people temporarily leave their jobs, go on sabbaticals, etc. this isn't a death sentence to solid friendships.

we don't see them close in that sense despite being very involved in each other's personal life. this!! there is this weird disconnect happening between what i actually feel when i watch canon versus what i know i am supposed to feel (what the shows tries to make me feel) when i watch canon. i get what the show tries to convey but they suck at believably executing it, so i just. do not really feel it lol. i mean, you cannot be amatonormative (all of them have separate families; not being each other's top priority in comparison to their actual partners; being single is equaled to living an unfulfilled life/ romance seems to be regarded as vital) and anti-amatonormative (all the scenes that emphasize that family can come in many forms and that friendships are meaningful too) at the same time. these puzzle pieces do not fit together at all, and whenever one of them is shoved into my face, i just like ??? why is this show just contradicting itself repeatedly? one episode ago, you said something else! either you tell me that a life can be fulfilling and incredibly happy without a romantic partner or nah, but you can't do both.

He's poor little has no clue what he wants Buck in a way that feels like they're almost laughing at him lmao. djdjdjdjdj THAT is so real. they use buck a lot for those purposes, and it's not doing his character nor the other characters a favor lmfao. at best, he's relatable for having those struggles while the others seem supportive. at worst, he seems like the laughing stock because he is young and does not have a romantic partner/children yet, which means his life must be empty and he lacks life experience, while the others seem condescending. "judd with the younger members" feels better than "bobby, hen, chim with buck". i exclude eddie bc he's apparently buck's age but never got the baby treatment.

If it wants to be dramatic, give me drama with lifelong consequences. i agree! i like silly, i like drama... balancing them can be tough tho, and then they just water each other down until you do not really get to enjoy either of them to their full extent. love the funny episode but the entire premise of this show is sooo wonderful for whump that i cannot help being a big sad that they don't manage to build proper suspense :'(

It just feels weird when they really hammer home how close the crew are and important they are but really don't show them all hanging out for extended periods of time. In fact they make a point of showing them hanging out separately. i am taking a megaphone to shout this so loudly that the 911 makers can hear me <3 exactly. it really is a Choice™.

I was fully convinced Kameron was going to try and kiss Buck or something, I still kinda think they'll go there because ... why not! OHH, interesting! i personally did not think that would happen, but it's an intriguing idea to me. i really loved that the only reason this entire donor sl even happened is because an old friend remembered buck to be such a good person that he decided "his [buck's] babies will definitely all turn out great" lmaoooo. and that kameron felt comfy enough to seek out buck's support even though they've only known each other for a few months! <3 cute! ngl i would not even hate them getting together. what a story to tell the child someday LMAO. no but jokes aside, pls omg give these characters something to do that isn't their next love interest for once <3

The whole destined to be alone, unloved, I'll never find someone who knows me is just ... I'm sick of it and makes both characters feel like they actually don't know what they want. absolutely this! i am okay with some romance and drama, that is all a-okay with me, but we've reached a point where it's really just chipping away at the characters. the others have the advantage of being in clearly endgame-coded commitments already, so buck and eddie drive most of the "unsure single life" perspective in the show, which is very very very unfortunate for them because the show sucks at that LOL. i enjoyed natalia and the scenes she had with buck, but i am only "tentatively hopeful" at best at this point sksksksk. we've already covered the whole issue with 911 and side characters in general – i cannot imagine that the show will suddenly improve the writing in this regard, so i expect the worst treatment for all these poor side characters. plus, season 6b felt incredibly rushed and dropped a lot of balls; the buck and natalia romance definitely needed much more room to feel more organic and authentic. it felt like a choice made because the s7 renewal was not certain, so ig we'll see what they'll do with it now that they do get a s7.

It also makes the idea of them invested in each other's lives seem a little truer, more authentic rather than them hearing about snippets of things on the way to calls. hell yeah!! i remember the nancy thing, that was so adorable and relatable! building meaningful relationships takes time and effort and mutual liking and intention! yes, even if those relationships are platonic! it's a little bit like the crucial difference between "what you say" versus "what you do". calling somebody a "friend" but never hanging out with them one-on-one or not seeming to share any interests with them is... weird. saying things to the audience (e.g. mentioning snippets on calls) but not showing things to the audience just doesn't feel as authentic, yes yes yes. i'd rather verify things with my own two eyes if only 911 allowed me to actually see some of those alleged friendships it attempted to establish as canon lmfao.

IDK I just think it's a lot easier to let your audience see a group of friends grow into a family than start by showing them THIS IS THE FIREFAM FAMILY. very true! it's funny because og 911 kinda started out in a similar way? both bobby and buck were quite new to the 118, and none of them were friends except hen and chim. they could have build friendships from there, and they did, in a way, but the approach was so different (and i personally think worse) from how 911 ls did it. they started out with the heavy shit, which isn't bad per se but... they then neglected to do the normal friendship stuff on the way? e.g. they mentioned buck and bobby going to a concert in season 1 and even now, after 6 seasons of development, that seems absolutely unlikely to me. because... do they even like music? do they share the same music taste? what does music mean to them? we simply do not know!!! i cannot emphasize enough how empty all these dynamics feel because the characters lack interests and passions and a life outside of their job sksksksksks. another example, we saw buck being very interested in fitness in season 1, but that was then completely dropped. we see he's fit, but it's not portrayed as a hobby or interest or big part of his life anymore, even thought we know that realistically it must be.

and they all have to go their separate ways and it just shows a nice way of moving these characters along but not damaging ties they still have. oh yeah, i have seen the end of s2 and ik from tumblr that they had to go separate ways – and i LOVED the balls of the show to externalized the reason for such a big change in the show and showcase how the job is not the be-all and end-all for the team. characters trying to constantly fix themselves and that being the entire topic of a show is simply boring to me after a while. i'd much rather watch characters having to work together to fix some big external problem while their self-improvement occurs on the journey. another thing that i miss in 911.

ooooohohoho i watchedAE (it's fantastic!) and severance and succession are both on my to-watch list! i heard fantastic things about them. mostly i am scared of succession being all business talk LMAO i am absolutely no economist asdfghj. might be a nice break from yellowjackets tho hehe (i started it impulsively and really have fun so far)

hey hey!

this isn't a death sentence to solid friendships - And that's it. I think they did such a good job of showing Tommy's influence on the whole group so quickly. The fact that she replaced Michelle was such a good thing for the show. Michelle was outrageously isolated from the group and maybe they would have paired her with Owen but then the stuff with Gwyn might not have happened and that again was a real step up for the show I think.

i exclude eddie bc he's apparently buck's age but never got the baby treatment - Which is so interesting to me. It's like they realised they wanted to make a different/mysterious/he's gone through so much type of character for Eddie so ran with it and they have genuninly unpacked a lot about him which is great. At the same time, Buck is seen as like you say a bit more of a dumbass and they play on that. YET they have given him the most devastating backstory and show him being competent and caring and mature all the way back to season 1 with Abbey so it's ... it's weird. They want a baby of the group and that was fine in s1 but now it's s6, that baby has rightfully grown up and doesn't fit the mould they tend to shove him in for the sake of it. I really hope that stops soon!

The whole donor sl is really an interesting one. I wasn't mad about it but would love to know what the general vibe was a little more because it did seem to come out of nowhere. It seems like another 'give it to Buck!' type of sl where everyone else is so settled, Buck seems to be the character they can try stuff out on without thinking long term. Idk if the sl is going to continue or just be dropped but it's something I think they did give a lot of airtime too in terms of him making his decision.

the buck and natalia romance definitely needed much more room to feel more organic and authentic - It definitely did feel like a choice. Natalia seems a bit more grown up, and settled and that's about it! We literally no nothing else lol. I think they'll probably have her in the next season and I hope they want to build something settled and nice for Buck because it would be nice to see that side of him rather than just being ridiculously unsure of the relationship he's in. It needed a lot more time, you're right. When Buck was like she sees me/it's different, I really didn't know whether we were supposed to laugh or agree with him which is obviously not ideal.

i'd rather verify things with my own two eyes if only 911 allowed me to actually see some of those alleged friendships it attempted to establish as canon lmfao - YES. I remember when Hen and Maddie had that talk about getting engaged I was like dear God have these two ever had a scene together? Have Chimney and Hen and their families ever had a scene together? Hanging out? They're best buds? Maybe they have and I've forgotten but again it was just quite jarring to see. The only relationships I'm sure do exist are: Buck/Eddie, Hen/Chim, Hen/Athena, slightly Hen/Buck but aside from that ... nothing really and usually these parings are at the expense of seeing them all in an environment together.

e.g. they mentioned buck and bobby going to a concert in season 1 - LMAO WHAT! I have no memory of that whatsoever but that seems hilarious. I do have a lovely soft spot for Bobby and Buck, I think their relationship is super sweet but they need to develop it so much more. I get the whole dad/son dynamic but !! I'd love to see more. It's like they can't decide whether to go all in, have Buck be seen as Bobby's family OR they're colleagues. The middle ground sometimes feels ... unresolved or lacking.

i'd much rather watch characters having to work together to fix some big external problem while their self-improvement occurs on the journey. - Yeah exactly. Because the stakes are high. It feels really important and you see them changing as characters and it's meaningful! They're not stuck in their ways. They're developing as people. With some 911 characters, I don't think they're done developing but I think the writers are done with showing any true development.

AE is amazing! I watched it from the first two episodes and was hooked. I'm a secondary school teacher myself so I just die at the accuracy and OMG you need to watch severance, it's one of the best things I've ever watched.

mostly i am scared of succession being all business talk LMAO i am absolutely no economist asdfghj - MOOD. That's how I felt but honestly it's not tooooo jargon-y at all. There's talk that you might not fully get but then other characters explain it well. I had the same time with watching Suits and talks of merges and stuff lol