#like. there's so much going on for me to do a proper analysis honestly

[autumnoakes]

hey

hey hey hey

don't you find it curious that kris opens the front door before creating the dark world at the end of ch2?

and at the end of ch3, we see the roaring knight in person for the first time

the roaring knight, who is heavily implied to be a lightner. who kris is very much in contact with in ch4. who shows up seemingly out of nowhere. who very likely gave kris the command to create the dark world.

now i'm not saying kris did it deliberately to let the roaring knight into their house and therefore into the dark world they created but the evidence kinda piles up here.

[elleloquently]

i honestly don't even really like to talk about tlou2 but something that will absolutely baffle me until the end of time is how many people romanticize the farm sequence and view it as happy. every time someone says the game should've ended there or that ellie threw away her whole life and she could've been happy etc etc etc, it really makes me realize how many people do lack literacy and the ability to read between the lines. because how are you seeing the farm scenes and not realizing how devastating it is?? it feels so empty and lifeless.

yes ellie laughed and they listen to music and dance but those are such small snippets. anyone with severe ptsd / mental trauma can be okay for a moment. but ellie was quite literally killing herself on that farm and absolutely would've ended up dead by her own hand (which is not a crazy assumption to make it is quite literally context clues)

like she’s always been skinny and lean but she’s even more thin on the farm?? she literally says she doesn’t eat or sleep?? and the panic attacks that she has?

also when ellie says “i’m not like you dina” and dina instantly snaps back with “you think this is easy for me?” like no that’s not what is being insinuated at all, but the fact of the matter is that dina is still able to function and cope in healthy ways and ellie is not. and the fact that dina doesn’t understand that kinda kills me. also telling ellie to “prove it” when she tells dina that she loves her is so fucked considering everything.

she would’ve died! i will stand by this forever, ellie would not have lived much longer. (confirmed btw in directors commentary, ellie was severely suicidal at this point. so not sure how everyone views the farm as her happy point.)

i don’t think ellie had an obligation to suffer in silence for the sake of what dina wanted.

i don’t blame dina for leaving obviously, that was the best choice for her and i don’t blame ellie for going either!! i think their relationship is very doomed, it was quite literally built on years of miscommunication and it only continues as they’re together.

i don’t blame ellie for leaving the farm whatsoever, she did not “fumble dina,” she didn’t throw away her life, she was barely functioning in the first place. if the game ended with ellie on the farm and the last thing we saw of her was her trying to play house while knowing how much she was suffering, that would’ve been so damn depressing. her leaving may not be the “morally good” choice but it was necessary considering her own mental state.

i think it’s also so important to remember the way in which joel died. she’s not just grieving and dealing with survivors guilt, she’s also living with the brutality of what she experienced. watching the person she loved the most get brutally tortured/beaten to death while she was held down and begging for it to stop?? and you guys expect her to just move on and deal with it so she can keep living on this isolated farm and play happy family??

and it’s not like ellie was fine until tommy showed up. she was already on the edge. the evidence is in her behavior, her journal, the clues around her house (the whiskey glass at her bedside) and her literal mannerisms.

this is very messy and disorganized i just don’t understand how many people STILL oversimplify the farm stuff or act as though everything was happy and good. every time someone says that ellie owed it to dina to stay, i lose a year off of my life.

basically a ramble instead of a proper analysis/breakdown bc i’m trying to focus my energy elsewhere but hopefully it makes enough sense to be understood

[anxiety-pickle]

Jade + Aventurine analysis bc you guys can't read

A somewhat pretentious analysis of Jade and Aventurine by your friendly local neuroscience major (with receipts) (I am putting my academic knowledge to good uses obviously)

Let’s recap what we know about Aventurine

He is, insofar as he’s aware, the last surviving member of the Avgin people of Sigonia

Is he actually the last member? It’s unclear, but the IPC seems to think so (which will become relevant later)

The genocide of his people occured on the day of the Kakava festival, his birthday, by the Katicans, an opposing clan of the Avgins. Both the Katicans and the Avgins were exiled to the desert because of the fighting. The assorted clans of Sigonia were not willing to protect the Avgin people, and they knew that if they were to be let inside the city, the Katicans would follow

The origin of their fighting is uncertain. It is implied that none of the clans got along well. (Aventurine’s second character stor)

Why did the genocide happen? Because of the Katicans and the IPC

But wait!! I hear you yell, didn’t you just say the Katicans are the ones who killed the Avgins?

And to that I say, yes! I did! But the IPC is still the reason they died. During the 2.1 story, All the Sad Tales, during the cutscene with Kakavasha and his sister right before the massacre. 

“Little do the katicans know, this time we will fight back! The men in black that descend from the skies are on our side. The Katicans stand no chance against them…” (Kakavasha’s Sister)

This means that the Avgin people only decided to fight back because the IPC told them that they’d protect them, which they clearly did not do

The IPC also had a financial motive for getting rid of the Avgin people (and the Katicans, though that’s not relevant to the discussion)

We can see in Aventurine’s character story I, “And let’s not forget the letters from the councilors of the Sigonian Sovereignty. They denounce his tribe for once breaking arrangements and sowing discord… resulting in repeated delays in the signing of agreements between Sigonia and IPC.”

The IPC therefore had a very clear motive for deceiving the Avgin people and allowing them to enter a fight unprepared

To make matters worse, the IPC, the hub for technological advancement, medical discoveries, etc, could not save a single person? Not a single man, woman, or child could be saved? Forgive me if I find that unbelievable

“The clan launched a massive attack on the Avgin… who were under the protection of the IPC, resulting in 6,728 deaths and 3,452 missing.”

So… around 4,000 people were missing…? This brings me to my second concern:

The Katicans do not particularly strike me as the type of people who take prisoners - their goal is clearly to exterminate the Avgins

4,000 missing individuals implies that either

1) The IPC did not give a single fuck and simply decided not to search for them (didn’t bother collecting their bodies, tracking down the Katicans who took them, giving them proper burials, etc), or,

2) The IPC DOES know where they are, and decided to mark them as missing persons

As far as real-world tragedies go, I am not inclined in the slightest to give the IPC any benefits of the doubt. These are the same guys who nuked Boothill’s planet. And are currently extorting Belobog. And canonically forced Topaz’s planet into indentured servitude (and were likely going to try the same with Belobog). We don’t even know the full extent of the damage they’ve caused, honestly, and I don’t think we ever will.

After the genocide, there is an unspecified period of time between Kakavasha’s escape and his enslavement. The ‘indifferent man’ in his quest calls him a “scrawny brat”, so he was probably a teenager/young adult at that time. It’s unclear what his history was prior to that point, however we do know:

Indifferent male: “The guys in black didn’t say much…”

…the guys in black? As in, the IPC? Those are the EXACT WORDS that Kakavasha calls the IPC workers multiple times throughout the quest

It also means that he bought him from the IPC

So, at the VERY LEAST one department of the IPC was involved in human trafficking

It would make sense if the IPC had somehow captured him at some point, as he would’ve been like. An unsupervised 7yo in the desert. And of course, upon realizing someone survived the massacre, decides to ‘maximize profit’, for lack of a better word

It’s unclear to me currently why the case of Kakavasha tricking the IPC and the Intelligentsia guild is called the “Eghazyo Aventurine case” because this would have happened before Kakavasha became Aventurine, unless this is a mistake or mistranslation. The voiceover seemed to imply that the name of the case was aired during the time that Kakavasha was testifying, so I doubt that it’s called the Aventurine case because Kakavasha became Aventurine

Another option I’ve seen is that ‘indifferent male’ is the previous Aventurine, which I can’t confirm or deny, though it seems likely

Only thing that doesn’t make sense to me is that if he was the previous Aventurine, why would he call his fellow IPC workers “men in black?” Does anyone know if there are other instances of IPC workers calling each other this?

Aventurine is forced, by ‘indifferent male’ to kill 34 other slaves. He essentially Hunger Games’d 35 people. It’s also implied that it was broadcasted, because other people were betting on it and were making comments about he “looked good”.

At some point, Aventurine manages to trick the IPC and Intelligentsia guild into believing that the remains of Tazzyronth (or the Sand King) are buried in the unclaimed Sigonian desert, costing the IPC billions of dollars and eventually killing the man who bought him (rightfully so)

After that point, he’s taken to trial before Jade, where he strikes a deal: he gets off death row if he proves to be a good investment

Now, let me make myself clear: Jade did not save Aventurine from shit. Aventurine got himself out of a horrible situation by any means he had available to him, and those means happened to involve leveraging his situation and putting his life on the line to prove to Jade he was a worthy investment. I’ve seen people try to argue that ‘joining the IPC is what Aventurine wanted’ but I think this is a shallow and disingenuous argument because it removes the context of his decision entirely. He did that because he felt cornered, and then, presumably, because he hoped he could use the power within the IPC to protect other Avgin people (which is why he asks after them in his character story). I also saw people saying that Aventurine deserved to be on trial…. Which is certainly an interesting opinion. Mind you, the man who Aventurine killed was responsible for the deaths of 34+ people and was actively buying human beings on the black market, so as far as I’m concerned killing him was an act of public good.

A few more things to clear up about this situation:

In the IPC broadcast about the Eghazyo Aventurine case, it conveniently leaves out that Aventurine was enslaved, probably because that could influence public opinion; additionally, I think the erasure of the whole ‘slave’ thing was just to cover their own ass because they knew that shit wouldn’t fly

Aventurine was not ‘in control’ of this situation; too many of you don’t understand what coercion is and that scares the hell out of me. He killed that man because that was the only way he could be free, and after that the IPC sentenced him to death. It isn’t a choice when your only other option is death. It baffles me that people think this.

Jade does not give a single fuck about Aventurine beyond what he provides to the IPC because she cannot conceptualize relationships or the value of human life outside of a transactional purpose, which tracks with her being a debt collector…

Jade literally says, and I quote, “A servant should obey his master”. For the people in the back, A SERVANT SHOULD OBEY HIS MASTER. Who the fuck says that. Even if she isn’t personally involved with whatever human trafficking the IPC has going on (which I seriously doubt she isn’t at least aware of, given her rank), she sympathizes with a literal slave owner over his victim which is genuinely insane.

Something also incredibly important: Aventurine had no legal defense

Like… none at all? I’m not overly familiar with the US legal system, but even in this case I feel like there would be some kind of self-defense justification. Like. He bought people. On the black market. And then made them kill each other. I don’t think killing him warrants a death sentence for Kakavasha (especially one that holds over once he’s a Stoneheart)

This extreme overreaction on behalf of the IPC probably also has something to do with him not having an ‘interastral refugee travel permit’ (mentioned in the first broadcast message during All the Sad Tales) which also begs the question what in the godamn fuck is an interastral refugee travel permit. I can only assume that the IPC is handing out these ‘travel permits’.... Which also means that they are directly responsible (for the sole survivor of a genocide THEY caused) not having one

The fact that the legal system is structured like this does not surprise me at all. It was stacked against him from the beginning and we need to stop pretending this was a power play on Aventurine’s part rather than a desperate last ditch attempt at some form of freedom

Additionally, Aventurine’s banner is literally called “gilded imprisonment” and his light cone is called “inherently unjust destiny” like they literally could not make it more obvious. He just exchanged his old shackles for shinier ones :/

Something else I’d like to point out: Penacony has a grand overarching theme of “a cage is still a cage”; in fact, Himeko says that verbatim in 2.2! I think that’s also important to consider when looking at this situation. 

Also, Aventurine also feels so little autonomy that he was literally willing to kill himself to escape. Like full stop kill himself. His future self tells him that “death” is the only real freedom he will ever experience, and I think that alone demonstrates that the IPC has done nothing more but lengthened his leash. I don’t think it’s fair at all to claim that any of this is what he “wanted” or that he’s like. Enjoying himself. Because 2.1 makes it so abundantly clear that he’s fucking miserable. Like you’re aware that this is still coercion right. What do you think happens if he stops performing well? What do you think the IPC will do to him if he is no longer producing money for them? Quickly. Look me in my eyes

Now onto the elephant in the room: Jade herself

Personally I find her character design gross fetish-bait, but to each their own I guess. It’s not really my business if you like her character for whatever reason. I’m not saying that you can’t enjoy her character, but I do think people should be examining their reasons for liking her a little more closely. Or at the very least not making jokes about slavery. That is very strange. 

I’ve seen a lot of people say that we should reserve judgment for what her character is like until after she’s out; I disagree. I think we have everything we need. (This is coming from someone who could see Aventurine’s backstory from a mile away and predicted it in 2.0. So far my track record is unblemished but if you don’t want to take my word for it I have evidence).

Let’s take a look at her eidolons:

E1: Altruism? Nevertheless Tradable

E2: Morality? Herein Authenticated

E3: Honesty? Soon Mortgaged

E4: Sincerity? Put Option Only

E5: Hope? Hitherto Forfeited

E6: Equity? Pending Sponsorship

That’s a mouthful, right?

Eidolons are supposed to be the truest reflection of one’s soul and provide us information on the character themself. All of her eidolons reference a kind of transactional relationship - in which she evaluates concepts like altruism, morality, and honesty on a scale of how much worth she can drag out of them. This is consistent with what we’ve seen from her character so far. I find the specific statements ‘Hope? Hitherto Forfeited’ and ‘Equity? Pending Sponsorship’ to be… so sinister lmao. Like she is straight up saying the quiet part out loud. Now let’s compare her eidolons to Aventurine’s:

Aventurine’s E1: Prisoner’s Dilemma.

The Prisoner’s Dilemma game theory wherein two people, separated, must cooperate for mutual benefit, or betray their partner for an individual reward. This perfectly reflects Aventurine and Ratio’s plan in 2.1, and goes to emphasize the importance of trust that Aventurine has. 

Aventurine’s E4: The Unexpected Hanging Paradox

At first inspection, the ‘unexpected hanging paradox’ appears to be a regular thought experiment, but actually has to do heavily with probability. The Unexpected Hanging Paradox entails a situation where a criminal is sent to death, however the Judge does not tell the prisoner which day he will be executed on, only that the executioner should ‘surprise him’ over the course of the next week. The prisoner therefore concludes that he will not be executed because it will be impossible to surprise him based on a game of probability. This directly references Aventurine’s experience in court both as Kakavasha, on trial for murder, and when he confronts Sunday.

We can see here that eidolons are absolutely reflective of character goals, intentions, and thoughts. Jade’s eidolons are based entirely on a manipulative, exploitative worldview. Whether or not her worldviews include herself are up for interpretation at this point, but it’s obvious to me that she sees Aventurine as an investment and not a person. The first thing she comments when she sees Aventurine is how pretty his eyes are - immediately assigning material value to his body, which is especially gross considering she is well aware that he was enslaved. 

Then, at the end of 2.2, she makes another cameo - and Aventurine does not seem to receive her well. Understandably so. He mentions wanting to “escape her” during his phone call, providing us with insight into his framework and how he perceives her. He literally uses the word ‘escape’. He does NOT like her. Jade proceeds to call him “child”, which I interpret as at least partially demeaning. She also didn’t seem to care at all when she thought he died in 2.1, so I’m not really sure where anyone got the idea that they were close. 

As another note on Jade’s character design before I wrap up, I personally find it extremely uncomfortable that she has a whip. Again, I’m not going to tell anyone that you can’t enjoy her character, but there are definitely some extremely strange undertones that hyv is leaning into that I really don’t appreciate. I also think the greater reception of Jade’s character deserves its own post because I don’t even know where to start with that. 

So, giving Jade EVERY benefit of the doubt, we can conclude that she: she ONLY knows about the enslavement - but has no personal ties - and does not care, does not appear to care that her colleagues were participating in human trafficking (specifically seemed more put-off about the lack of revenue than the various human rights violations, which makes sense because she doesn’t seem to care about any of the other human rights violations, such as nuking planets, either), would have had no problem sentencing him to death had he not been a company asset, implied that slavery is good, claimed that she didn’t know why Aventurine would kill the person who owned him because it ‘didn’t benefit him’, is participating in the repossession of Penacony by the IPC, is a debt collector (derogatory), did not gaf that her colleague was going on a suicide mission, and did not gaf when her colleague presumably died. 

Footnote: Before you start, no disliking Jade but liking Aventurine is not misogynistic (and that accusation is, in itself, misogynistic), yes, it is disingenuous to claim that Aventurine was not coerced, it is also disingenuous to claim that the IPC had no knowledge of the human trafficking, yes you can still like her. Idgaf. And stop making jokes about racism and slavery, it’s weird and I think your brain should be studied in a lab so that doctors can determine what is wrong with you

In conclusion:

Media literacy is dead and the hsr fandom killed it. 

[suitov]

The anti-Komahina copypasta of all time pt 1/4

(aka: "toxic submissive homoerotic flirting", "he is a homosexual who curses men hearts. It's my psychological analysis", "no matter how many semens he fills his stomach with. It's not possible!", "it's seriously getting on my nerves how he needs to homofy everything")

This piece was not authored by me and is posted here for archival purposes only, because I can't bear the despair-inducing despair of xitter potentially going down and demolishing mrpoopoofart's masterwork. Please refer to the attribution links throughout.

Seriously, not by me. I enjoy a little recreational Hinanami as much as the next gay but you'll quickly see that this thread reaches heights to which not even an Ultimate Hope could aspire. Not even if he had a snowboard.

[Square brackets (source links and video descriptions) are my only additions. Typos in the rest of the text are directly from the original.]

Goku Nr.1hater (@mrpoopoofart)

Nagito Komaeda influences Hajime Hinata into homosexual activities accompanied with his feminine aura he spreads through his toxic submissive homoerotic flirting. (A thread)

10:31 PM · Oct 31, 2023 [src]

Let's begin with a little introducton. So we all know that Nagito and Hajime are meant to be rivals throughout the game, even though apparently Nagito developed a supposed "crush" on Hajime,which is according to the media confirmed by the creator + [src]

But our (hetero) MC Hajime, doesn't feel the same way about him and despises him to death. [src]

1. Here is a theory of mine. Take your time and try to understand this complex comprehension analysis, even if it's difficult for you to understand at first sight. Take your time and read it carefully. [src]

2.Hajime having enough of Nagito Komaeda Every player knows that Hajime hates Komaeda's guts right? You can see how much hatred he holds for that psycho. The reasons are: his manipulation, crimes and the homoerotic submissive flirting he does when he's all alone with Hajime. [src]

3.Nagito's seduction trap In Chapter 2, when the vicious Nagito was tied up, you could notice how his voice sounded like he was moaning. Moaning mostly is a feminine sexual arousal to seduce men. (Straight men would never do this because they are not female). [src]

[Video: original here. Clip is of Nagito tied up on the floor of the old building, being offered breakfast by Hajime and remarking "Huh? You're not going to feed me?"]

In addition, Nagito seems to be very hungry and forces poor Hajime to feed him, even though he refuses to.But as he already asks with a moan, (theory)he thinks of wanting to eat Hajime's wiener in order to suck him dry. Like a needy prostitute! [src]

Hajime is stunned and feels anxious when he realizes what the antagonist actually meant by "feeding" him. Devestated, he leaves as quickly as he can. [src]

[order of images is as in original thread]

4.Nagito starving for Hajime's Pee pee. Apparently Nagito hasn't eaten any proper food for days, right, when he was tied up in the old building. Theory: What if the scoundrel wanted to only eat toast and milk to make room for Hajime's fluid? [src]

+That's honestly unacceptable for a freak like him, if my theory would turn out to be true. [src]

5. Nagito's attempt to make Hajime feel pity for him We players all know Nagito is just faking his backstory and his allegend disease. Even Nagito later on admits he read something like that in a book. He shouldn't wonder why he has no friends if he acts the way he does. [src]

+The untrustable antagonist is telling Hajime in this scene, he has stage 3 lymphoma and frontotemporal dementia and has allegedly 6 months to a year of life span. This guy really believes Hajime would forgive him for all his evil deeds. [src]

6. Nagito's terrifying eyes and grin Hajime already feels creeped out, when noticing the antagonist's swirling eyes, which causes Hajime to panic. Swirling eyes symoblise excitement, determination, rage or insanity. [src]

+But maybe, just maybe there was a spark of manipulation/influence behind those malicious eyes, to make Hajime aware who he's dealing with [src]

+ [src]

7. Shoe Licking In this scene Nagito tells Hajime he'd give him the clues, if he'd drop on his knees and lick his shoes. Now, that's a very strange and evil way to make a deal. However, Nagito then later on admits he's just joking, but not even the protagonist believes it was. [src]

+This might have been a way, to show off his dominance and inapropriate behavior towards men. [src]

8. Official art analysis So in this official art we can view those two sitting back to back. They represent the contrast of each other. The homosexuality and heterosexuality. The colors of Hajime's clothes express strong masculity, the way the Pyjama matches his hairstyle. [src]

+Also, Hajime is obviously smiling a lot more than Nagito does, because Nagito isn't exactly copying the same postion Hajime is in, otherwise their hands would have touched, which would honestly gross the MC out. [src]

9. Inapropriate Body reveal In one of Nagito's freetime events Hajime demands Nagito to take off his clothes to go swimming, but Nagito seems to "misunderstand" the question and believes Hajime wants to see him naked to enjoy his body. And many of you stan a delulu guy like him? [src]

[Video: original here. Clip is of a Nagito free time event on the beach. Hajime: "Let's take our clothes off." Nagito: "Does that mean... you want to go in the ocean with me? That's a bad idea. There are lots of ways that could be dangerous. But I don't mind if you just want to see me naked." Hajime: (You don't mind...?)]

7. Izuru controlling Hajime's mind Nagito has allegedly shown interest in Hajime before the killing game happened. When Hajime was Izuru at that time. Izuru sensed Nagito's homosexuality and unintentionally grabbed his waist, as an maneuver to shoot him. [src]

*10 [src]

+ Nagito however, got turned on and dropped to the floor breathing heavily with a red face. [src]

11. Love Nest Curse Nagito leads Hajime to "their" (actually his) love nest in one of his fte. Theory: The malicious boy planned something evil. I'm sure Nagito wants Hajime to act all lovely dovely with him and give him all those coochie coochie coos.Bro, that's a hetero MAN! [src]

+ Leave him the hell alone [src]

12. Cookie Monster In this magazine cutout Hajime and Nagito are once again taking the spotlight. The scoundrel on the right, is happily handing a scared Hajime a pair of cookies. I can't read any japanese so I let Google translate for me.+

Apparently one phrase says "Take a bite of him". I strongly believe that this sentence has 2 meanings. Meaning 1: Nagito biting into the Adam's apple (which is cruely erotic) but Meaning 2 convinced me more. Meaning 2: It's a metaphor and means they are playing Cookie Monster. [src]

Explanation: Cookie Monster is a silly children game where you try to "eat" the person. You have to run and try not being cought by your enemy. [src]

Nagito's character song analysis Someone sent me 2 character songs of Nagito to analyse for my thread and of course I analysed some of the lyrics as logical as I could. The songs do provide a connection to the game and mostly the anime. But I only decided to analyse one song. [src]

13. Zettai Kibou Birthday As much as I know, this song is dedicated to Hajime's birthday. The first of january. In this diabolic song, the antagonist sings about wanting a sexual affair with the protagonist, who was known as Izuru Kamukura at that time according to media sources. [src]

Furthermore, he seems to be the one "taking" it,  which is already terrifying to think about it. Now, it makes so much sense how Nagito manipulates men. It's hidden in his feminine aura he spreads when seducing men. [src]

+Since the song is pretty much telling us about oral and anal sex, there is a possibility that Nagito has experience with diabolic homosexual activities and maybe tells us, he had many affairs with other men before meeting Hajime. [src]

+This makes Nagito even more of a awful human being, who could have done better in life, if he took the right path. But he didn't. [src]

14 .Nagito abusing Hope for his homosexual desires I'm a Christian guy aka God's second beloved Child and I need to get this off my chest quickly. If Nagito Komaeda was real, he'd land in hell for committing one of the most awful sins close to murder. [src]

+Him utilizing hope for forbidden love,is concidered a crime. Explaination: Discrimination against God and Eve (God's first creation).An unforgiveable crime, exactly. Because Hope should be used for future goals and expetations from God and not the opposite. [src]

15. Hajime's forever longlasting unforgettable love for Chiaki Hajime 100% fell inlove with Chiaki when they met for the first time. See how he's looking at her. The eyes are telling me "She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen" [src]

[Video: original here. Clip is of Hajime meeting Chiaki. Chiaki: "First, like, ever! It's a classic, don't you agree? there's nothing else like it in the whole genre!" Hajime, strained: "Yeah, classic... I new-game-plussed it five times in a row once..." Chiaki: "Are you serious?" Hajime: "Yes! Cross my heart!" Chiaki: "I know how tough that is. I did ten in a row once." Hajime: "That blows mine out of the water." Chiaki: "It's just... I've never met anybody who can play games as much as me before. Some day, I wanna see your very best run, all right?" Hajime, cut off by end of clip: "Su--" Notably, their faces are generic anime faces throughout with no special effects applied to the eyes, but ya boy knows that destined hetship just hits different.]

+compared to Nagito his eyes are filled with negativity, telling "He's the most awful human being". So don't come at me for being an expert for noticing love at first sight unlike you Yaoi shippers. [src]

Theory: Furthermore, since Hajime posses all talents now, he definitely would turn Chiaki into an Ai again, so that she keep remaining being his true waifu. [src]

[Oh no! Image limit reached? Never fear; it's onward to.......]

[Part 2/4]

[spork-supremacy]

probably not that unpopular of an opinion, but I really believe that the love triange in season 3 could have worked if it had something to say about the characters and had proper care and attention put into it. Like it could've actually been somewhat beneficial to getting to know them.

Cole probably wouldn't really have needed much in terms of character study, considering it feels like he was more a victim to an impending break up. Honestly I would be fine if his entire thing was just about him being petty towards Jay because it woud be mostly justified considering Jay immediately puts the blame on him for Nya's change of heart. However, it could also focus on someone wanting Cole for himself, no matter who it was that took interest because, hear me out, while his Dad did love him, he never felt he could really be loved for himself growing up (especially after his mother's death) Because he was always hiding who he was and what he wanted. And now someone has taken an interest in him and who is he to pass up on the feeling of being truely accepted?

For Nya it could touch on her wanting to try new things as she finds her identity, even if that means wanting to try being with different people. Maybe instead of just blindly following the machine it could help her realise that she should consider other options. She is the type of person that needs to be absolutely sure she is making the right descision when it comes to who she wants to be with for life, so in order to do so she needs to branch out beyond the first boy she dated. Then she is no longer the bitch, or the helpless fool that came between a good friendship for no reason other than a machine said so. Instead just a girl trying to figure out if her current relationship was right for her in the first place. Sure Jay made her laugh, but there has to be more to a good partner than that, and how can she grow if she doesn't learn outside of what she knew?

Jay would definetly go into his boundary issues when he was in a relationship probably with some proper build up to better justify Nya wantig a break from him, the extreme jealousy that he displays to an unhealthily over the top degree, the insecurities and probably abandoment issues that I don't know the origin of...

wait, I feel like this one has been done already, just in a not so great way...

*scratches head* I can't seem to quite put my finger on it...

Hehe... all jokes aside...

For the love of all that is sacred someone please direct me towards something someone else has doen that does a deep dive into Jay's unhealthiness in relationships despite how much he really just wants to do it right.

Also by all means though, if anyone wants my own very long "Jay when he's in a relationship." analysis and properly expand on the points I made here...

[nataliaphantomhivesblog]

Hi hi!! Idk if you remember me but we had a discussion in one of your analysis comment section! You're still one of my fav kuro people honestly.

Anyway! I wanted to know what you think about Modri Vladis in the newest manga chapters? There has been a lot of theories and speculations about him. Do you think he's going to be a key piece of the current arc?

Hey there! I do remember you, thanks so much for engaging with my content and going as far as sending in an inbox :)

I think it's still very early to come with a very defining conclusion about Mordi Vladis, but I do think he will be a very key piece in this arc, and definitely a threat...or a distraction from something more sinister beneath the surface.

What I really like is how this character seems to be more of a rock in the way for Sebastian, than to our earl.

So far, there's been many theories:

some fans speculate that Mordi Vladis is confusing Sebastian with Vincent.

others believe he truly is one of Sebastian's past contractor , lots of fans on tik tok adopted the concept that Mordi and Sebastian were possibly lovers in a past life (likely manipulated and used by Sebastian if that was the case)

then there's also the theory which i believe is the closest to the truth, which is that Mordi Vladis is possibly just a bizzare doll whose memories got altered in order to give the demon a hard time.

Again, i think it's too early to have a proper concept/conclusion, but one thing i'm sure of and it's that Mordi Vladis as well as the hotel in general is going to give Sebastian a hard time.

So far, it's intresting that ever since they arrived to the hotel, Sebastian has been getting slight jabs and quiet insults about his job. I dare say they sound like quiet threats about Sebastian's position, considering they want to "relieve him from his duty."

One confirmed fact is that Undertaker oversees these facilities. What’s another thing we know for sure about him?

This grim reaper does NOT like Sebastian and the way he makes the earl miserable, he literally attempted to get rid of him because he is aware that the demon's presence is slowly draining the life out of o!Ciel.

The message in book of atlantic was clear and simple, Undertaker doesn't want to harm o!Ciel, he just wants Sebastian gone.

So isn't it intresting how the hotel keep making a clear separation from "master and servant" as the staff is going to basically take over Sebastian's duties.

A moment free from inconvenience’—what an interesting way for Yana to place emphasis on that particular word.

Especially if we consider, that's quite literally how Undertaker views him.

Though their methods and motives differ, both Sebastian and Undertaker have their sights set on O!Ciel—one intends to devour his soul, the other to preserve it.

The Grim Reaper is clearly searching for a way to break the contract. He shares a special connection with the Phantomhive family, and if he went as far as bringing one of them back to life, it’s likely because he doesn’t want the one still living to fall into the demon’s claws.

Given that Undertaker has no real intention of hurting O!Ciel, it becomes increasingly clear that his real aim is to bring harm to Sebastian, and most likely, getting him elimanted.

(which i think is clear, if thats UT plan, it's not going to work lol)

Both of them continously clash, and Sebastian seems to be not just an inconvenience to not just o!Ciel, but Undertaker as well.

And isn't it quite riveting that the moment Sebastian has stepped his foot into that damn hotel....

He is met with someone who directly affects Sebastian NOT o!Ciel and is possibly a threat, a distraction or maybe just an inconvenience.

So while I don't have a real idea who Mordi Vladis is, I think it's clear that the hotel is built to mess with Sebastain.

I don't think we are getting a Sebastian backstory, Yana herself said it's not relevant to write it in the story considering that all we need to know about him is his newfound identity as a butler.

I doubt we’ll get a full deep dive into Sebastian’s past, but I do believe we’re heading toward an arc centered on him—one that will unravel his butler façade and place him in a conflict where the emotional and mortal stakes are dangerously high.

Tysm for reading !! :)

[sonicjustbecause]

Headcanon time: Shadow's limits...

I didn't bother much actually.

Until yesterday I saw this:

And this (that is too much also for him, honestly. In term of self destructive behaviour, I mean)...

I'm surprised that in 24 years, nobody explored this territory with Shadow. We see fanart of all sonic characters swimming, diving etc... Even Sonic who is occasionally given the ability to swim to suit the needs of fans. For Shadow is unusual seeing him underwater.

Some fans think he just doesn't need to breathe, eat or sleep and that's boring I think. In official material, though rarely, it is shown that he needs at least to breath and sleep (eating too I guess, the way Rouge in Shadow generations tries to convince him to join Sonic's party with the 'free food' thing).

"There is free food."

He is shown to need to sleep in Sonic X, Sonic Movie and Shadow Dark Beginnings. I think is especially clear in Shadow Dark Beginning. Shadow is falling asleep while driving toward the ARK and he already starts to dream (when you're sleepy it may occur you fall asleep while looking awake from the outside). It is shown he lives a stressful life and a life he clearly doesn't want. Shadow would choose to live a peaceful 'NPC' life, far away possibly in the colder regions of Earth (Holoska in Sonic Fandom, naming actual place he would choose Canada, Alaska, Norway, Finland, Greenland, Iceland and north Siberia but also Antarctica). But he is forced to fight, is duty!

100% goth

Shadow is also shown to experience physical pain and damages. It also should be noted that this varies, depending on who writes him.

Shadow was shown he needs to breath in SA2 first. If you mod the game and go in underwater places, like Acquatic Mine, soon the countdown starts and you have to seek the bubbles. But somebody even managed to drown Shadow in the Chao garden (there is a video on YT that I can't find at the moment).

Characters that aren't supposed to enter in water levels still have the drowning animation. It is also shown in Sonic Speed Simulator and at least twice in Archie comics.

In SSS ther are also characters that don't need to breath, like the robots. Clearly Shadow is not one of them.

How long Shadow can stay underwater? We'll, since this topic has never been touched, who knows? We only got stated that Shadow, unlike Sonic, can swim. In Sonic Prime is shown he might be able to stay underwater longer than Sonic. But how long? We don't know. In Archie's he was brought to his limits but without a proper feel of a passing time.

About the Fandom, they explore this territory very little. A lot of them think Shadow just don't need to breath. In their fictions they put him in poisonous places or underwater and nothing happens. It is often described he does breath because how he is designed to do so naturally but doesn't need to. Other fan think he just might get a little headache, but no other ill effect. Few others (including me) think he will suffer, loses conscience and appears dead until somebody doesn't rescue him. The longer he will be 'dead', he will need more time to recover, even days or weeks.

Anyway, I think he can stay underwater for a decent amount of time before losing consciousness. Because we are talking about Shadow, I would think something between 7 and 8 minutes max, comfortably 5 or 6 minutes. More than this would appears very exaggerated and not believable.

In some fan games featuring Sonic and Shadow, Shadow can stay underwater at least twice of Sonic Time

References from canon material:

There are four main recognizable incarnations of Shadow:

Maekawa's (Original) Shadow

Iizuka's (Emo) Shadow

Flynn's (Archie) Shadow

Fowler's (Movie) Shadow.

Now, for this analysis they can combined in pairs, due to characteristics they have in common.

Maekawa/Flynn

One noticeable thing in those incarnations is Shadow's willpower. When needed he push to his limits if not beyond. This is the Shadow that fought the byolizard until he passed out and the one that forced himself to not cry while he was both emotionally and physically exhausted.

I can easily see this Shadow remaining underwater the longest, to his very limits if needed. I don't think Shadow would do this just to prove anything, he doesn't seem this kind of guy. Just, if he has to do something underwater, he tries to finish the job if it doesn't take too much time or if is very important before doing anything else (aside saving people 😉). However I think he would not be so stupid to let himself drown.

Iizuka/Fowler

Well, this one can wink more to the part of Fandom that thinks Shadow doesn't need to breath.

Iizuka often describes Shadow as somebody with no weak spots. Hearing him, at worst Shadow can feel minor annoyance, but he got never crippling flaws

As for Fowler, the scenes that might suggest Shadow doesn't need to breath are several.

When he escapes from prison island he doesn't cough up the liquid he was submerged in for 50 years.

In his past he was contained in a liquid tank, however it can be easily one of those special breathable sci-fi liquids.

When he is put in stasis he is clearly afraid, but we don't see him trying to swim to escape the liquid or to keep his head above as much as possible. But is also possible that the scene has been toned down.

[efy727]

I'M NOT OKAY. I'M NOT OKAY. I'M NOT OKAY. I'M NOT OKAY. I'M NOT OKAY. I'M NOT OKAY. I'M NOT OKAY. I'M NOT OKAY.

Ninjago Dragons Rising Season 3 Part 1 SPOILERS

Sorry followers.

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH

Ok, ok. Calm down me... I just watched the entire thing. Still shaking... I'm cursing and praising the writers. This is not a smart analysis, if anything btw. This might be cringy when I re-read it. But I'll just live in the moment.

Ninjago Dragons Rising's writing is so good, saying that as a Ninjago fan since childhood that felt the show lost a direction in later seasons, even with the good seasons.

Is just, this new series has given the world new life. Ok, out with the general thoughts. Focus.

Gosh, I haven't scream this loud this many times. So much going on... Can't really focus.

I guess I can get out some grievances first. I don't like how Kai felt like just comic relief in these episodes. The way the Forbidden Five were disposed once Thunderfang got released, I asume they are not dead, but idk, felt most were underutilized despite hyping all five as a big threat.

This part of episode 4 where Lloyd and gang were clearly heading to the Spectral Land only for next scene to show them in this canyon place, like they didn't need to emphasize there to not go there, it feels like continuity error. I felt baited. I wanted Morro and Lloyd to interact. It specially hurt due to the framing.

But oh well, that's just small nitpicks to a solid season.

Anyway, I already mentioned him, so let's talk about Morro. This season became my most anticipated thing the moment rumors of him showing up started to circulate. I had an attachment to the former master of wind; I was 14 during Possession alright.

A foil to Lloyd, Wu's biggest mistake, the missing element. A villain you can feel bad for. I was glad he had a redemption even if it came with his death. I mourned him.

I also like seeing him and Lloyd as cousins and their hypothetical dynamic did inspire me to create characters based on them, but I'm not elaborating on that.

Back on track, I loved how they portrayed him in this season. A soul weighted by his mistakes, trying to make up for them, guiding anyone he encounters, refusing to give himself rest. Far more noble than before, but in a way that feels in character.

Oh, and how the afterlife is handled. So, the dead still go to the new departed/cursed realm/Spectral Lands; but the souls eventually move on to somewhere else. It's good to know dead villains don't have to show up. (Damn, I wish Harumi was still dead.)

But now that I think about it, can Morro even leave the Spectral Lands? Is there a Monastery to begin with? I mean not that it matters, since his soul got absorbed.

Golly, they brough him back only to kill him again. He and his fans can't catch a break. Though part of me thinks he will be fine, though may be his only way out is moving on. Hoping he gets out of his predicament before the final two episodes. It would be cool to have an actual team up with the Ninja and Euphrasia (also hope she shows up in part 2).

Ah, honestly, I just wanted to gush about him. But I guess I'll talk about other things.

Arin's whole thing this season had me at the edge of my seat, like I don't want him to adopt Ras' mentality. Thank goodness he didn't got to hate the ninja.

Also, it's good that he and Sora are friends again. This two are kind of like brother and sister to me, the only family they have at this point.

Speaking of family, I knew Ras was wrong with Arin's parents being dead. Though it's weird how everyone refers to Arin's parents as just that, no names proper, that's all they need, so how could Ras guided Arin to tombs with their names?

I know that I just said I was done talking about him, but anyone else thought of Arin just asking Morro if his parent's departed. Of course, I know it wouldn't be as compelling as what we got, Ras is truly doing whatever he can to accomplish his goals.

But another thing regarding the ghost ninja, or really what was brought up in episode 3 was the elixir. I was convinced that was the only thing that could cure Roby. I kept waiting for a way to be brought up. I didn't know Arin still had some left.

Like I'll just accept the way Wyldfyre cured him, whatever, let her be happy. But no way using heat can undo decay. Maybe it was the power of love? Will this be addressed?

Speaking of love, we finally got Pixal back! Thank goodness it went straight forward and nothing really bad happened. I always love seeing her and Zane fight together.

Discussing another couple, oh my, we finally got him, no memories but at least they have him. All the stuff they did with Jay was fun, but I feel it's time to get him back to normal, maybe a little changed.

I can't wait for that.

It's embarrassing to admit, but I screamed at his long hair. How long has passed since the tournament? I like it but not in the ponytail he has it on, some many characters had that hair piece before. Hope they style his hair differently in the middle of his next arc.

(Ok, there's other thing I wanted to discuss, Jay's hair)

I do say, his electricity daggers were cool.

...

I guess that's all I wanted to talk about. Can't wait for part two and how are they going to deal with a ghost dragon. I'm considering doing art, but not sure.

[curio-queries]

ARE YOU SURE?!

Episode 4 production Notes

Again, I genuinely didn't think I'd have anything to say at this point about this episode. I had such a good time the first time I watched it, just smiling the whole way through. There is one thing that did stick in my brain a little bit though so here I am again with another post.

Episode Break Points

We honestly can't be making any final conclusions at this point but there is starting to emerge a picture of how the production team approached the development of this show as an episodic release. The question that was rattling around my brain after watching episode 4 was how they are choosing their cut points between episodes. We really only have three data points right now which is not enough to definitively identify their intent but it does start to paint the picture a little bit. Sometimes, the break point is beyond obvious, like cutting ep.2 at the end of the USA trip. But when there's not a definitive line, a choice has to be made when to bring one episode to a close and start another.

Some shows use the changing of the day as a break point but that's not necessarily always the best choice to make for the narrative of the show. For example, the break between eps 1 and 2 is in the morning after JK has his coffee and makes the stone tower. This better served the momentum of the episode and wrapped up the story beat of JM's rough night. Ep 2 then starts on a high note with JK's motorbike ride. In my opinion, this was an excellent choice as we close ep.1 feeling all cozy and ep.2 begins with a little bit of excitement.

A Look Back

So why am I bringing this up now? It's because I was so confused as the choice of when to break these two episodes. I don't know if I've decided if it was good/bad/somewhere-in-between but I absolutely was not expecting Episode 4 to start the way it did. Ep 3 ends at the Go Karts and feels like a complete story beat. While ep 4 starts with the drive to the Omakase.

To me, it feels like we're picking up on the last remains of the previous episode and not starting a new section. Which is honestly, kind of counterintuitive. Why would it feel like that? They're literally on their way to the next activity. I suspect it has more to do with the tonal momentum. The guys are still coming down from all of the energy they expended from Rock Climbing and racing and are having a well-deserved relaxing drive. Even the brief moments we see of JK on the motorbike are quite chill. (mostly because there's not really a great way to get action footage on a bike in the dark lol).

So...to see if I could support my suspicion, or if I was just bringing something else into my viewing experience, I decided to rewatch the whole series so far and rank every story beat on a scale for how energetic/intense I felt the narrative was supporting.

A couple of notes before you judge my rankings:

This data is the very definition of subjective. if I redid this same exercise even the next day, I'm sure I would disagree with myself on certain rankings so you certainly don't have to agree with my rankings.

If a storybeat had a noticeable tonal shift, I entered it twice and included both rankings. If it just varied a bit, I entered a ranking more representative of the scene as a whole.

This won't be reflective of the time occupied by each story beat. Some sections are longer than others but with sustained energy so it doesn't translate in this visual representation how much of an impact on the overall tone of the episode any one of these are.

I also added a star at the end of each episode of my median scores. I feel that this was a better representation of the overall tone of each episode rather than an average but that's just my personal view on this teeny dataset. Please don't come for me analytics folks! This is just a post for funzies, not proper analysis!

So What?

The point was curious about is in the gap between eps 3 & 4. Everywhere else there's a pretty clear shift in the start and end of the energy but that gap looks like it was just a step that was missed in what could have been a continual episode.

Here are the runtimes of each episode so far:

USA: 56 min

USA: 72 Min

Jeju: 56 min

Jeju: 70 min

I don't have any conclusions about why it was done this way other than they felt the tonal break was the sacrifice for keeping the Omakase story line in tact. Which honestly, I agree. There would have been time to include the drive in the previous episode but it would have left us on an unfinished storybeat. This is one of the reasons that we never get footage of the members return trip from their travel shows. Bon Voyage ends every episode with the members remarking on the trip overall. Even though we know they have to return home, we don't see it because that would start to build energy for whatever they're doing next and not the story of their trip.

Even in ITS1 when the members do return home in the middle, we see them packing up and getting in the cars but the episode ends before they really start traveling. (Actually it ends before they even let Jin in the car so they're definitely not on their way yet!)

Commercials?

I have a question for anyone that's watching this with ads. I don't really watch streaming content so I'm curious, do the ad breaks just randomly occur? Or does it seem like they're intentionally scheduled? Building story breaks for commercials was a huge focus of legacy tv and I'd be interested to learn more about how streaming services are incorporating it (not enough to not have commercials though, I get insta-rage when the content I'm consuming is interrupted lol). I vaguely remember getting frustrated when I was attempting to watch something at my parent's over the holidays but I don't recall if it seemed structured or not.

That's it. That's all I've got to say right now. We're definitely getting a lot more to the story of this show and I'm absolutely loving it. I'm going to be away for a bit next week and I honestly don't know when I'll fit in watching episode 5 but I'm very much looking forward to it!

If you've seen this post and are interested in some more of my thoughts on Are You Sure, here's a link to my AYS MasterList. Still can't believe I've rambled so much about this show but it's been fun! Thanks to everyone that's been rambling with me!

[kiingfluffybuns]

Okay, I just gotta rant a bit about TGED, and probably will get other opinions, and that's great, so please share them!

Also, this is mostly my speculation, I have ONLY read the webtoon, and I haven't been able to find the novel properly translated to read, so have mercy.

SO. I know that og!Lloyd was a bully to Javier and Julien and all that jazz, but it looked to me that he was an alcoholic that desperately needed help.

He lashed out and thew fits to call the attention of his parents, that he was sure as hell they were going to replace him with Javier at any point. (Bc let's be real, the Frontera's affection seems heavily conditional)

Arcos was pretty okay by letting Javier do whatever he wanted, becoming a knight was his choice and he did everything to make that happen.

Then, we have Javier's duties, that was to watch over 'Lloyd', which that also more or less what he did because he wasn't with Lloyd all the time.

The Fronteras were more than okay by letting him leave their alcoholic son alone and drunk somewhere in town. Which was what killed him by falling n breaking his head,,,, that wouldn't have happened if Javier was actually there,,,,

The there's this detail I noticed in the imagery, in most cases it's suggested that Javier is confused as the heir and novel bc he's handsome, but that's not it.

it's bc he gives a novels profile. And the reason is his clothes.

Javier seems to be dressing like the proper heir, and wears the same style as Arcos Frontera, meanwhile Lloyd is left to dress like a commoner. That's why he's confused as Javier's servant, bc he looks like it.

Arcos Frontera didn't want to deal with an alcoholic son, he had enough on his plate by letting his estate become in debt and bc of his spineless attitude.

He was most likely replace Lloyd with Javier, or make Julian the heir. He was ignoring Lloyd, and just paying attention when he caused damage to the town. Because then it would come back to him.

He didn't actually cared if he died in a ditch.

I don't justify og!Lloyd's behavior at all, but I understand what was going with him. He was mad, he was jealous, and he was frustrated, and the only thing that made him feel better was some drinks.

He was so depressed he wanted to be blackout drunk, and that killed him anyway.

I'm honestly very much into how our!Lloyd has put such boundaries with the Fronteras, bc he's a guest in his own home. He wants to lazy around, but he doesn't actually do it at home, he did it once and immediately got an excuse to go out and work.

But anyway, this is such my own analysis on the matter, I find absolutely fascinating the takes this webtoon has taken over the Isekai trope, and how that affects to those around the mc.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi Raven! Just wanted to thank you for all the work in the Fandom you do. I've been lurking and following since 2021 (end of book 5ish?), and I always look forward to your posts, from analyses, to your blog events, and character interactions.

I appreciate the fact you give every character proper respect and care, even if you don't personally enjoy them. It gives a more well rounded aspect to your headcanons and 'char x reader' posts, cause theyre definitely some of my favorites.

Also you've infected me with brainrot for all the characters that you like like Sebek, J-word, and.... L***a... sebek is just bestboy and jade I'm more willing to love openly bc hes cute and scary. But I don't want to admit i like that annoying sexy lion man because I disliked him when I first got i to twst and now I'm actively looking for posts about him and my camera roll is full of l*ona fanart and looking at merch *rattles l*ona nui like a maraca*

That is to say... thanks for making this Fandom a great place. I'm sure it isn't easy coming up with such detailed posts, even if you enjoy what you do. Here's to many more years? Of brainrot and analysis and screaming 🥰🥂🥰

Omg, a long-time reader?? 😭 Thank you so much for the positive feedback on my works and for sticking with me all this time~!!

I’m the type of person that likes to compartmentalize the objective (lore/canon) from the subjective (whether I like a character or not, headcanons). This usually leads to some… interesting placements in my personal tier list, like some dorm leaders being in tiers lower than universally hated characters like Mrs. Rosehearts or the Briar Valley senators. There’s no true way to eliminate all bias, but I at least try to make it clear what’s speculation or my own interpretations. If I feel I’m being too biased, I have friends that are fans or dislikers of most characters that I can hit up to ask for their opinions. It’s really important to me to have balanced views for analysis, so thank you for also recognizing this. (I’ll also go ham when it’s time for me to rip off my anime geek glasses and ramble about why I like/dislike certain things about Twst though 😂; it’s just as important to be willing to critique the media you consume, because it’s not always going to be perfect!)

bdisbajVaja I’m honestly shocked at the asks and comments I’ve received crediting me for spreading brainrot of The Big Three (yes, that is what I am calling them now) 💦 Of course, it wasn’t my intention to do this so chsbsjwbke I’m flattered that my endless screaming into the void had an effect on others?? I mean, not that L*ona or J word were ever short on fans or in need of being defended. I do however find it hilarious that L*ona fans keep proving me right about being tsunderes over him 💀 This is moreso an achievement in regards to Sebek, a character that I always felt was unfairly bashed, especially early in Twst’s service. I’m so glad that people are starting to open their eyes to Sebek’s charm and not just… seeing him as being the Malleus Fanboy or loud, obnoxious, and hateful. If I could play even a small role in that shift, I’m proud www

Again, thank you for your support! Let’s make the Twst fandom the kind of place we want it to be ^^

P.S. … Wanted to share that I recently won “most tsundere” and “biggest character growth arc” in a Twst server’s yearbook polling OTL

[hellspawnmotel]

Two questions:

1: Thoughts on Deltarune Toriel and her relationship with Kris alongside what her ultimate in the story will be like? Personally, I think we may get a lot of development with her if she joins us in the chapter 3 Dark World, but that’s just me.

2: Thoughts on also what Asriel’ stole in DR will be like? Considering how much of a fan-favourite he is and how Toby’s definitely aware of that, it feels we might good some subversion thrown out with him, whatever that may be like. Love to hear your thoughts on this as well.

um..... honestly I don't have that many thoughts on either of them as characters in deltarune, haha. as I've said before, I'm not really into making theories for its own sake and most of what I do is just speculating on really vague stuff, based on dialogue and themes- okay so maybe I do make theories LOL I just like doing analysis better, but I really don't have anything new to say about toriel or asriel, that hasn't been said before......

..........except, I'm not totally convinced that asriel actually exists? in deltarune?? like he exists in the lives and memories of the characters obviously, but on a meta level I don't know if he has like. a character file, a sprite, etc, if that makes sense. I dunno, I sort of suspect that might be why kris can't reach him- nothing actually exists outside of hometown and the dark world, because that's all that needs to exist to make the setting of this video game. I kinda hope that's not true because it would make me pretty sad and I'd love to meet an adult asriel, but I can also totally see it happening! on the other hand, that idea has been done before in so many other settings that involve a metanarrative or "fake"/artificial location (I can think of at least three off the top of my head) and I'm sure toby also knows that so he might not go for that angle, or do a different kind of twist on it. after all dess also "doesnt exist" within the game proper outside of other characters referencing her, same as asriel, but she's clearly a physical entity in the code. it might be that rather than not existing at all, asriel just hasn't been "built" yet because it's not time for him to appear, if he's going to. so like- he exists within the story of deltarune and he's just off having fun at college, but outside in the next layer that sits in between the game world and our world, where gaster is doing whatever, he doesnt. gaster (if we're to assume it IS him behind everything) hasn't made him yet. yknow. or hasn't acquired him. toby still has custody. I hope that makes sense

[acaplaya-musings]

Hunt The Sky - thoughts/commentary

Oh good lord almighty that was freaking incredible! Man, I know it's a good one when I can't even look directly at any of their faces for most of the time because it's just so overwhelming!!! In a good way!!! But I don't need to think too much about the actual video right now anyway, because this video is absolutely getting its own Voiceplay Visuals post! (And note that I write my thoughts/commentary posts on the day the video hits Patreon, but if I choose to also make a visual analysis post, I wait until it hits YouTube, so there's a definite time gap!) So just to fully confirm: This post is just about the musical and lyrical elements - I will make a separate post for the video itself

Now obviously I can't pull up lyrics from the internet like I usually do for my second watch, and Patreon videos don't have proper subtitles/closed captions like YouTube does, but Huldra Draco (one of the Patrons who also has her on YouTube channel posting lots of fan content for VoicePlay/Geoff) has already transcribed the video to the best of her ability and posted the lyrics in the Patrons Discord server, so I'll be using those!

Analysis below the cut!

Right off the bat, I have to remind myself that this is all acapella, and so that opening chord/note (idk) that kinda sounds like it's from one or more low-pitched string instruments is actually coming from a person? Probably? Like one or more of the guys humming, but maybe with a bit of post-production editing on it?

And then there's a rumbling dragon-like sound, which is almost definitely just an added-in sound effect, like the little lion sound in Be Prepared.

Geoff starts the song right down in the basement, and you can pretty much guarantee that he's not gonna go any higher for the whole song (just like in Valhalla Calling, and also My Mother Told Me, to an extent)

I'm going through these lyrics bit by bit, so I'm not gonna scan through the full thing right now (though I might come back to this dot point at the end), but just based off my memory of my first viewing, I don't think they actually say/sing the word "dragon/s" at all? (UPDATE: okay nevermind, there is a line a bit later, at about the 1:15 mark, where it goes "the dragons fall and we stake our claim")

Just like with My Mother Told Me and Valhalla Calling, Layne gives himself a little lead vocal part, and We Love To See It <3 (or hear it, I guess)

Oooh that change in the harmonised humming in the background! Right before "the fires roar, the night grows near", like it sounds kinda discordant? dissonant? Idk I really am not great at music theory, maybe it's just in minor key and that's it, but yeah the humming becomes more kind of eerie in a way, like it puts you on edge!

Oh wow the harmonies on the actual lyrics are doing a lot as well! So much variety! And although Geoff stays down in the basement for his lead vocal lines, I think there's at least one point where he goes a bit higher than usual in the backing harmonies, on the lyric "from cliff to cloud", specifically on the word "cloud" it's the most noticeable. It makes sense, as it fits with the lyrics - they're singing about cliffs and clouds, things high up, and so the vocals raise up a little as well.

I went through all of what I wrote here and was like "oh I don't think I entioned Cesar or J at all, whoops". Of course I'll give all five of them shoutouts in my VoicePlay visuals, but definitely kudos to them musically as well! All brilliant as ever! I also like the bit of accent Cesar puts on "the dragons fall and we stake our claim"!

This song is so good and captivating that both on my first watch and on this second watch I completely didn't even think about beatboxing/vocal percussion, until Layne actually started doing it, and I was like "oh right, that's what Layne usually does in VoicePlay songs". They're getting freaking strategic lately with choosing when to bring the vocal percussion in honestly!

Of course if you're gonna have Geoff down in depths, you might as well 'balance it out' with Eli soaring up into the sky!

"Through strength and unbroken W I L L L L L" hey Geoff what the HECK was that?!!? Damn, we haven't been totally devoid of subharmonics from either channel so far this year, but it's been a hot minute since there's been a new song with a "Geoffquake" so low and so thick that it gets me all tense and hunched up! And he sustains it for a little bit just into the next vocal line! Good lord! Like are we sure that he isn't secretly just a dragon in disguise?

UPDATE: That was a freaking B0!!!! Like y'know, what he did in Valhalla Calling (and Halo Theme), but even thicker sounding! MAN!

Ooh that was a cool use of sound effects (like swords slicing against each other?) behind the "shield wall strong" lyric, and in time as well! And then everything in the background drops out for just a moment as Eli keeps singing, and then it comes back again!

"We fear no beast at all" the start of that lyric is about the highest Geoff goes on a lead vocal line for like the whole song, and even then it's like probably still only 2nd octave at highest, and he descends down at the end of the line again.

"No rest till we hunt the skyyyYYYYYYYY!!!!" HOLY- ! ELI! I think I might have been so overwhelmed the first time around that I didn't fully process this bit! My god! We get Geoff descending into the deepest bowels of hell, and then like 30 seconds later we get Eli rocketing up into the heavens and beyond! (UPDATE: it's a F#5 apparently). (If any group wants to cover this - good freaking luck!)

Despite all this talking I have done about the song, as I listen through bit by bit, I am still left speechless by the end of it! I mean like yeah, god, wow, it's incredible! Man I can't wait to watch some reaction videos to this! But anyway, me typing this has to wait three weeks until it even hits YouTube, but you reading this only have to wait a couple of days or so (give or take, we'll see), before you get a new Voiceplay Visuals post where I delve into everything the video itself had on display! See you then!

[thekatea]

“You can always be on the receiving end.”

"Secret Relationships" review (LONG!) - Finished watching 20.03.2025

To say I was impressed is an understatement. I am honestly shocked how well this story was presented, acted and developed for how short it was. It was engaging from the beginning till the end. It completely took over my life for a month. I am not ashamed to admit, this will be a full on positive analysis of the unforgettable story. I will point out some minor flaws I have seen, but for making me this obsessed, I cannot care for them too much.

This is a great presentation of how external circumstances can shape a person. How one can be a perpetrator without being a victim first, be a victim and become the perpetrator, and sometimes just be the victim who tries to free themselves out of the abuse. How one cannot be saved from toxic relationships, they need to leave them willingly. How our current situation is not always our fault, but it is our responsibility.

I appreciate so much that Da On did not fall under either a submissive shy mouse, nor a chaotic victim who acts with no reason. I loved how he did try to set boundaries, sometimes he managed to, sometimes he failed. He knew the limits of how much he can do without putting himself in harm's way. There was a clear pattern to his behavior - he was more willing to say no to Su Hyeon in public, than in private. He set boundaries and when the situation escalated, he gave in. Yes, him not being straightforward was frustrating to watch, but that’s life. Su Hyeon had too much power over Da On’s life. There was too much trauma associated with his aggressive behavior to move past it quickly. Leaving an abusive relationship takes time, learning how to set boundaries has to be learned. It’s a process.

Even with limited length, they were able to explain the context of Da On’s life. Being neglected, living in a toxic environment, feeling like he has to carry too much responsibility from a young age, being ridiculed for being poor, isolated from others by Jae Min, attacked and abused, and on top of that abandoned by the person he liked. He did not know what it means to be in a healthy relationship. Or what is an appropriate behavior. He was simply groomed by Jae Min - to trust him only, alone with no other relations. Being groomed for 11 years has a massive impact on you, and you cannot just cut these people off like it’s not a big deal. Even if they do something awful, traumatic, scary - they have been part of you and your life. Da On acting like that was annoying, but it was not lazy writing. People wanted him to go from victim to a completely healthy person with proper coping mechanisms right away, and were frustrated when it did not happen.

Out of all the scenes, the one that truly got me a bit confused was when Da On willingly left the building and got into Su Hyeon’s car just to avoid Seong Hyeon. This scene was weirdly constructed and contradictory. They were really clear Da On wanted to have nothing to do with Su Hyeon… but then he put himself in the position to be with him alone with no valid external reason.

I also lowered my rating from a perfect 10 to 9.5 because of that presentation. That scene was more psychotic than anything Jae Min did in the whole show. After being kidnapped and almost killed, witnessing the man he loves stabbed, having his face smeared with blood… He went and did the presentation. What the actual fuck.

That said, except for these two moments, while his actions were frustrating, they were cohesive, they made sense in the context of the show and who he was as a character, they were believable. I will die on this hill if needed, but I do believe Da On was not a weak person nor weak character. And here comes the compliments for Kim Jun Seo’s acting. I cannot believe this was his first role. To be able to present so much vulnerability and deep emotions, while also showing determination and strength. The duality!

Then we have the toxic and the psycho - Su Hyeon and Jae Min. Can we appreciate that we got two completely different and distinctive versions of different abusive relationships thanks to these characters? We really got a deep dive on what can go wrong between two people. Be it constant criticism and belittlement, psychical violence and intimidation, excessive jealousy and controlling behavior, lack of respect and boundaries that Su Hyeon presented, or lies and deception, emotional manipulation and gaslighting, unhealthy dependence and isolation that we saw with Jae Min. They are both toxic, they are both unhealthy, even if they are vastly different.

I know people love to have a soft spot for Su Hyeon, mostly because of his rather tough upbringing in a psychotic family and how he was not as aggressive in the flashbacks. I get it. But the fact is - there is nothing redeemable about him in the present timeline and I strongly believe even without Jae Min in the picture, he would still turn violent at some point. Why? Because from the start the issue was not Jae Min, but Su Hyeon’s complete lack of emotional maturity and emotional regulation. If it’s not Jae Min, he would snap because of his family. If not the family, he would snap if Da On would not be able to handle the constant micromanagement, jealousy and possessiveness. Su Hyeon does not know how to deal with negative emotions and frustration, they always lead to anger and aggression.

Yes, the flashbacks were great. I agree that the library scene with him pinning Da On on the desk and the chat about the ring was great. But putting it into the context of who his character is and how he behaved - this is way too little for me to see him as a right person for Da On. Or anyone if I must be honest. Maybe a “hot date” with a psychiatrist. Can he get better? Yes. But that would require a lot of work. To be honest, I did not want him to be redeemable, but the last episode changed my mind a little bit. I struggled with seeing what could possibly happen for me to believe he might change. But with how psychopathic Jae Min became, I think the shock of that situation could potentially be enough to make Su Hyeon do 180.

On the other hand I believe Jae Min cannot get better. The difference for me between Su Hyeon and Jae Min is why they act the way they do. Su Hyeon had bad tendencies that were reinforced by his environment - he learned a lot of negative actions from his aggressive father. As far as I see it, Jae Min’s natural negative tendencies were actually held back by his environment. The advantages of acting good and not going full psycho were strong enough to keep him in check. Let’s be honest, if he grew up in the same environment that Su Hyeon did, by university age he would be a serial killer.

And that’s when I knew the one that kidnapped Da On was Jae Min. Because it’s not something Su Hyeon would be capable of doing. Not that he wouldn’t want to, he just couldn’t. Su Hyeon would never go full psycho, because he still has many things that limit him and things he fears - especially his family and his father. He acted out as much as he could with the external restrictions he had.

On the other hand the only restrictions Jae Min had were the ones he placed on himself. He acted as this model teacher, great friend, cool hyung - perfect man, because it was advantageous for him. He controlled himself, because it was worth it. But when he lost control over Da On, keeping that perfect persona was useless, he let go of all the restrictions he placed on himself, and now nothing was stopping him from going full loco.

And when Jae Min went full loco, he truly did not hold back. What glorious moments these were. I am amazed with Kim Ho Young’s acting. You watch him act and you understand why people believed his fake personality. But you also truly see how out of control he is when the hell breaks loose. Whenever it was his nice act, or the chaotic outburst - they were acted perfectly.

Cha Jung Woo did not do worse. Truth to be told, the whole cast did an amazing job. Kim Su Hyeon was such an annoying character, and yet even I saw the charm he had during some scenes. I could understand why Da On fell for him. And the last episode? Outstanding.

While these character had many differences there was one thing that they had in common - they wanted to own Da On, claiming they love him. Love and obsession are different though. Neither of them truly cared about Da On, his feelings, happiness, life, well-being. All that mattered was to possess him. They both believed it would be better to have him in their life broken (or dead), than set him free. From the start they kept using terms like “What I want”, “What I lost” - indicating they saw Da On not as a person, but as a thing they wanted to possess.

And that’s when Seong Hyeon shows up. And you know what I love about this character? That he makes mistakes. That he is not in fact this perfect green flag with no flaws. He is a human being with his own feelings that also get hurt. He sometimes reacted emotionally, childish even. And that’s what made him real. Because of these moments when he acted more selfish, when he did something without thinking - that’s what made his character more interesting.

While he had a lot of great personality traits like being helpful, kind, patient, mature when dealing with setting boundaries, and confident, he also had many relatable flaws. He was childish and pity when he thought someone was not following certain social norms he deemed important. Sometimes he regretted saying something, sometimes he regretted taking actions. And then at times he regretted backing off.

One of the aspects of his character I found the most fascinating was his ability to be really flexible in his reactions and behaviors. Depending on the external context, he reacted differently to the situation, but it was all consistent with his motivations and goals. He was more straightforward with Da On when he saw he was in a good “state”, he tried to distract Da On instead if he saw he was exhausted. Even without understanding the reasons behind Da On’s state, he was really good at reading his emotions and acting accordingly.

What separates him from Jae Min and Su Hyeon is the fact he knows how to love and how to receive love. How to care for people and receive that help. How to view relationships as mutual support and not transactions. For Seong Hyeon it is not “I want”, but “Can I?”. Can I stay with you? Can I hold your hand? While Jae Min and Su Hyeon try to control Da On, Seong Hyeon gives Da On the choice. He asks instead of stating. While Jae Min and Su Hyeon said they want to be with Da On, Seong Hyeon asks if he can stay with Da On. Yes, he is persistent in his approach, but there is something gentle about it. Rather than forcing himself and his presence, it seems more like a reassurance that he is willing to wait, to fight for Da On, to be there for him. Reminder that he is waiting and still there, whenever Da On is ready.

One thing I feel like Seong Hyeon and Su Hyeon share is the fact they are rather emotionally expressive. The difference? Seong Hyeon is expressive, but in control of his emotions and how he expresses them, while Su Hyeon is completely lost in his emotions and has no control over them. Then Jae Min is not expressive, but also in control of his emotions (until he is not… oops).

Here sadly comes one issue I had writing wise - the non-consensual kiss between him and Da On, and the aftermath of it. Truth to be told, I was not even “angry” at the writer for including the kiss. As I said, I love the fact that Seong Hyeon fucks up from time to time, and this was one of these cases. There was no excuse for that kiss to happen and then continue with Da On being this drunk. But while I can understand what led to it happening, the fact that it was not once addressed later on kind of annoyed me. He apologized for wrong things. It’s less a character fault, but more cultural norm fault though.

Now, Cha Sun Hyung’s acting. I still cannot get over how he switched from Puppy to Guard Dog depending on the scene. The way he was able to present that golden retriever energy, but without looking dumb and silly that often happens with characters like him. He still looked mature, strong and confident.

For the general writing, directing and editing:

I really liked the structure. I think the placement of the flashbacks was perfect. The way they were cut in just the right places to give some information, but also mislead us as viewers. The way they made it seem like Da On liked Jae Min in the past, just to reveal it was Su Hyeon. Or who Su Hyeon attacked and why. They just cut the scenes smartly. How much we want to show, how much we want to confuse the viewers - all seemed like deliberate choices, carefully crafted.

Was the “borderline childhood connection” needed? No. I honestly dislike that so much. This was just… unnecessary and added nothing to the show for me.

I’m not going to lie, I am more of the internal analyzer of the bigger picture and the context, than someone who looks for details and symbolism. So to truly appreciate the production, I had to do some research, because I simply do not pay that much attention to things that are in fact important.

Let’s start with the fact the drama was more or less color coded for specific characters (Da On - yellow, Su Hyeon - green, Jae Min - pink, Seong Hyeon - blue). The scenes for the characters were actually often light in a specific color hue. Even in the intro scene with Da On and Jae Min they used this peach pinkish hue, the scene where Su Hyeon attacked the guy with the bottle was yellowish-green. The color flipped only between Da On and Seong Hyeon. Da On’s narration had a blue background, and the scene between Seong Hyeon and Da On had the yellow/orange warm tone from the setting sun. Am I reading too much, or was it a deliberate choice to hint who the end game is? Who knows, I like to pretend it was all planned and hype myself more about why I love this drama.

Colors aside, they also really did a good job with just the lights and the warmth of it. Perfect example - the scene when Su Hyeon dragged Da On away to his apartment, leaving Seong Hyeon behind. The part of the corridor with Su Hyeon and Da On is cold and dark, while where Seong Hyeon is staning it has this warm orange light.

Then we have the symbolism of chess connected to Jae Min - how from the start it was hinted (for some less, for some more obvious), how he was the mastermind behind it all, how he manipulated both Su Hyeon and Da On for years. How he was the one controlling the situation.

Also, extremely random thought, but white is such a psychopath color, so the fact Jae Min was the only one wearing the white outfit in the intro is just cherry on top. And how it had a comeback when he completely lost his marbles in the last episode. Greatly appreciated.

Overall, what a fucking ride. I get it. This drama had flaws. It was not some high budget production, but the way it won my heart is illogical. One could say I was in a completely toxic and dependent relationship with it for the past month. I’m Da On - blind to flaws the same way he was blind to all these red flags.

[chynandri]

My Thoughts on Ratchet After 14 Years

This is nearly 5000 words of my analysis and impressions of Ratchet as a character (...there are pictures, at least 😃). I can't say I've been interested in any other character for this amount of time so - he truly is special to me. I wanted to externalize all I love and see in him in one post, more for myself than anything as I've held so many thoughts in my head for so long.

This is largely based on my own inferences. I won't bother to make proper citation or anything, it's more of a huge ramble based on me rewatching basically all cutscenes, the movie, and rereading the comics. Almost every year I do a big Ratchet and Clank marathon like this, but I might get some things wrong or skip over some things as I'm focusing on articulating my thoughts rather than being completely comprehensive.

Ratchet's Beginnings

Ratchet’s background is pretty fundamental to all this so let’s establish that first.

I will be basing this post on Ratchet as he is in the original games, but I do want to say that I like movie Ratchet too! I don't think it completely cancels out all my thoughts because imo they captured all the main traits of Ratchet. In one scene he says he wishes to 'matter'... to others, as a person, to the universe? Maybe all three. And that is truly the most concise way to describe what drives Ratchet the most.

But for now all we can do is infer on his life prior to Ratchet and Clank 1. I think it’s not too hard to make some assumptions based on the circumstances or a few lines:

1. Ratchet seems to have fended for himself/lived alone.

2. He is likely self taught on rocket mechanics and general machinery. He has an intuitive understanding of how machines generally work and wings it.

3. He has been on Veldin the whole time and never had the chance to go anywhere else. He also could not afford many things.

4. TV (or Holovision) is the most accessible form of media and likely what Ratchet grew up with, as he is aware of and looked up to heroes like Qwark and Ace Hardlight.

Given these inferences let’s look at how Ratchet behaves in 1. He awkwardly addresses authority figures, is rude to Clank and others - he’s just very blunt and critical of people’s intelligence. And why is that? Thinking of how he had to probably rely on himself first and foremost, having street smarts and situational awareness must be important to him. And that he’s likely not had friends before Clank - he’s not gonna know how to act lol. Besides that, he’s honestly just a Guy and a teenage Guy at that. This is his Very First Time outside of the backwater planet he’s been ‘stuck on’ (his words) and it’s extremely exciting for him. And what is the thing that consistently gets him excited and motivated to do things? Fame.

He loves the idea of being famous, like the celebrities he’s seen on TV and the ones he meets while on this adventure. And while this is a pretty common desire for kids, let’s think about why this is for Ratchet specifically.

We inferred that he probably has been alone up to this point. This means: no friends, no family (the movie also makes Ratchet explicitly say how he had absolutely nothing to his name.) Family as we know becomes a huge part of Ratchet’s character arc later on. No friends or family means no support system: no attention, love, or validation. You see what I’m getting at. Ratchet always responds with pride and excitement when others praise and recognize his actions - puffs up his chest and grins, it’s very goofy and all. But you have to consider how he likely just did not receive this validation much prior to 1. Now he’s doing all this stuff and getting recognition. This is how he ends up acting very selfish and self absorbed, the most prominent character flaw of his. In his eyes, Clank’s insistence on him seeing the bigger picture is just not as important as all this sudden attention and new experiences that finally validate his pretty lonely and insignificant existence.

And let’s consider that Ratchet and Clank are not even really friends until the end of the game. For the most part, they are useful to each other in their goals. When Clank claims that it ‘isn’t like Ratchet’ to not care about what’s at stake, Ratchet responds with ‘and what do you know about me?!’ - and it’s true, what DOES Clank know about Ratchet, or Ratchet know about Clank? Clank, too, hasn’t had a long time to exist yet and this is his very first friend. But he does have a natural charisma and strong sense of morality - which leads me into some more core aspects of Ratchet’s character and inner conflict.

Ratchet's Struggles

In the first game and onwards, Ratchet and Clank are kind of like rivals in certain things often for a gag. To put it simply - Ratchet has no rizz or game. Clank often catches the affections of both robot and squishy people. He DOES always know what to say without even trying. Clank always does the right thing. And that’s the thing… in these same situations of talking to girls, or making a speech or commercial - Ratchet tries too hard.

Consistently, when put on the spot, Ratchet freezes up and all his bravado is gone. He stutters and stumbles and is just a mess and Clank has to speak for them. Ratchet visibly shows how frustrating it is that Clank has more rizz than him. He’s clearly jealous of how Clank always knows what to say and do and people just seem to like him more. And his pal is the star of a TV show while he’s the bumbling side character who gets fired anyway. Not only is Clank ‘better’ than him, Clank is getting more validation and attention than Ratchet is - the one thing Ratchet has lacked in his life.

But let’s consider the first time a girl DOES actively like and pursue Ratchet - Sasha. The first time they speak is cringe but cute. Sasha is describing the state of the art gaming console on the Phoenix and Ratchet is so impressed he says in a daze ‘will you marry me? 😍’ AND IMMEDIATELY SLAPS HIS FACE cuz he really was just NOT THINKING. But Sasha doesn’t seem to mind, she goes along with it! I think she can tell he didn’t mean to. And although it’s not been long since they met, her father tells Ratchet ‘she’s said a lot about him’. And… when Ratchet is recounting his fight with the Teranoids, she’s giggling along and very engaged with how he’s acting out his story like the silly guy he is.

And although the first 3 games occasionally emphasize how heterosexually interested in girls Ratchet and Clank are based on Ratchet’s comments about girls - when Sasha kissed him he’s just… quiet and bashful and has no smartass ‘cool guy who likes girls’ comments. He obviously has no experience or idea of what really goes on with girls or relationships lol. If you think about it - has he even really tried to like… flirt? He’s all talk about it, but doesn’t seem to put it much into action. He also associates popularity with girls as a part of fame.

But - he pulled a girl without even leaning into status or fame. What I’m getting at here is: Ratchet didn’t try hard in front of Sasha and she was so endeared to him. She LIKES how goofy and cringe and, in a way, how pure he is. She was probably like ‘can you believe he wanted to marry me just because we got a PS5? Hehehe’ at her dad. He was just his cringe, rizzless self and talked to her like she’s anyone else. We can infer that Sasha, as the daughter of the President, is not used to that and likes it.

But let’s think about why Ratchet feels he’s suddenly got to be a different person when on the spot? He tries to sound cooler and more well spoken (like Clank, Qwark… people on TV!) but he’s no good without a script. In Deadlocked, he even felt like he had to rehearse a bit before calling Sasha (this is why Ratchet’s characterization there is a bit weird to me, when they’re supposed to be more comfortable around each other).

This is all indicative of how Ratchet is not confident in his sense of self - and where do we get a confident sense of identity from? Our friends, family, culture, community. Things Ratchet did not have a lot of before meeting Clank. Ratchet may have asked what Clank knows about him in the first game. But what does Ratchet even know about himself? What consistently gets Ratchet angry and protective is when Veldin ends up in danger. Veldin was really all Ratchet knew for a long time, and we can assume he sees it as part of himself. But beyond that…

This is why Clank is so… so… SO… important to Ratchet and why he could literally be nothing without Clank. Despite Ratchet being mad at Clank’s uselessness and stupidity in the first game, Ratchet is genuinely upset at the idea of losing Clank when lightning strikes him. He awkwardly suggests that he and Clank stick together at the end of the game without directly saying so. It’s his first time having a friend and wanting someone to stick around. In the end… he’s not as independent or self assured as he thought he was.

Size Matters may be a weird spin off game but it did have a pretty important line: after fighting the Ratchet clones, Ratchet tells Clank that these clones weren’t that powerful because ‘I’m not half as good without you.’ It’s a really significant thing to say, and this sentiment echoes all across the games. After all, without Clank’s robot ignition system - who knew how long it would take for Ratchet to get out of Veldin, if at all? Would Ratchet have gotten as far as he has now as a person without Clank?

It’s an admittance of how much Ratchet truly depends on Clank for self worth even if he feels inferior to him - Clank consistently supports, loves, and believes in him despite his flaws. He basically never had this presence in his life. Clank is like his whole support system while at the same time, a source of his feelings of inferiority and jealousy. Although as time goes on Ratchet does thankfully make more friends along the way. Even though Qwark is nothing but trouble to them, I suppose Ratchet still bothers with the guy cuz he’s just that loyal to the few people consistently in his life in some way.

Ratchet's Home

And this leads me to another point. Ratchet’s lack of belonging, identity, and validation ends up having him go from occupation to occupation, world ending situation to world ending situation. In the second game he is markedly different now that he’s got military training and surprisingly (to me) doesn’t question Fizzwidget that much (though the goofy rough parts of his personality still shine through while out in the field). Then he’s the captain of the Phoenix for a while. But overall he’s just kinda unemployed until he’s gotta shoot people and save the world. When given a sense of purpose and belonging he seems serious about it, though how long he has a purpose and group to belong to is relatively inconsistent.

Aside from the meta circumstance that the Ratchet and Clank games needed a new plot, it’s in the Future trilogy where Ratchet started thinking deeper about his origins. As we often have new revelations or thoughts about ourselves and past as we get older, I think Ratchet finally started to realize… there’s quite a big thing missing from his life - which to him was his ‘normal’. Why IS he one of the few lombaxes in the universe? Why did they leave HIM behind? You can imagine the amount of sad thoughts from just asking that question, when coupled with his already shaky sense of self worth.

The way Ratchet acts in Tools of Destruction is interesting. Although he could hardly be qualified as an expert on his own species cuz he’s never even been a part of lombax society - this is something Talwyn does not hesitate to tease him about, which he seems to not take so well. Yeah he gets it, he’s a disappointing representation of his people. And for some reason he acts like the spokesperson for lombaxes when they come under fire by Tachyon. He takes it all SO personally, as if he invented the dimensionator himself. Which then really becomes all about how he’s invented a series of not too successful inventions and sees Clank as someone who doesn’t support him enough. He uses the lombaxes as a way to validate himself: ‘oh, so a lombax can’t invent anything useful?’ he says derisively at Clank and you know it’s not JUST about the lombaxes as a group. Here he is finally finding the reason for why he is the way he is and that his inherited inventive spirit just isn’t appreciated enough. With the way this games story makes Ratchet feel stupid and inadequate at every turn for his lack of connection to the lombaxes, I can see why his worst personality traits jumped out with all his insecurities.

I think Ratchet wanted to lift himself up by association with the lombaxes, to say he IS lombax enough and he knows what it means to be one! Which then made him lose sight of what really mattered - destroying the dimensionator before it breaks the universe and no one is safe. And ironically, when Ratchet realizes this and refuses Tachyon’s offer to see his family, Ratchet embodied the heroism of lombaxes more than when he was trying too hard to prove he was one.

Now put into perspective how Clank fully finds HIS own purpose and origins in this trilogy. I read an interesting YouTube comment on a Size Matters cutscene video that said something like ‘Ratchet is so against the idea of technomites and the Zoni being real, because he always had a feeling Clank was meant for something more and admitting they were real is like losing his friend.’ I thought this was so profound because Clank truly is all he has and could leave him when he’s found his own purpose and family.

Especially since for a while, Ratchet was prepared to do so himself after learning that there is a chance to save his family with the Great Clock. Even if it meant not ever meeting or remembering Clank, the biggest person in his life. But Ratchet's character truly reaches its most mature in ACiT. Instead of reacting negatively to Clank finding his own home and family while having a possible means of fulfilling Ratchet and Alister's desires - Ratchet is supportive and willing to let go of Clank. Because after all, they have to be their own people and Clank has supported him long enough. Just because Clank has found where he belongs, doesn't give Ratchet any right to selfishly keep Clank to himself. I feel so proud of Ratchet in ACiT, as it was clearly hard for him to let go of such an important person in his life. But the combination of what he learned in ToD and from Alister's own life led him to be at his best in this game.

(But come on they're so inseparable there’s no way Clank would be happy without Ratchet either. Because that’s HIS very first friend in the whole universe that gave HIM a place to call home even if it’s just the two of them in a small garage. It’s RATCHET who decided that he wanted to actually be friends with Clank, beyond fulfilling their goals, at the end of the first game. They’re… each other’s home 😭)

Alister represented a major turning point in Ratchet's own definition of himself. And in the end he chose not to be like Alister, to not let his identity as a lombax control his life. Unlike Alister, Ratchet isn't bound to a childhood of belonging to lombax culture and society. And though Ratchet shared Alister's goal for some time, the way Ratchet goes back to rescue Alister when he was captured just goes to show that Ratchet won't think like him. It's just not in Ratchet's character as we know it to forsake the present when up to now he has always, always been about loving and enjoying the present moment and all he could do in it. From Ratchet chastising Clank for not being able to have fun, to being a guardian of all that he loves in the present... it is a beautiful progression of Ratchet's character.

Ratchet so far has been given two chances to finally reach what he thinks should validate his own existence. But he chose to protect the present, the universe he lives in, the people who already give him a sense of self - most importantly, he chose self-determination.

However, he didn't know he would lose Alister with this choice. But it was out of his control, as Alister was too far gone and would act regardless of what Ratchet said. The shock of not only losing someone like family to him, but the sole link to his past and family sends Ratchet into depression and grief. His choice to own his life is not made with triumph as it should've been, but with deep regret and fear. From this point on he truly has a different vibe to him. His energy is dimmed, he gets down on himself more easily. He had his fill of the validation of being a hero, and with Clank choosing to remain with him he's content to retire from it all and try to go back to the things that defined him from the very beginning.

And exactly so as in the comics he went back to Veldin and being a mechanic. Though Ratchet seems his usual, careless self the comics reveal the huge amount of underlying emotions Ratchet has been struggling with in the aftermath of ACiT. The comics have Ratchet going through an utterly terrible time, as someone whose mental health is already fragile: Veldin is in danger once again, Clank recklessly kills himself for an hour, and he nearly lost Talwyn for good. Ratchet almost loses the three crucial things that defined him. Talwyn, Clank, and Sasha help Ratchet work through his guilt over what happened and taking time for himself, while also making a point of how self-isolation isn't healthy for him.

And eventually, Ratchet does get back on his feet and involved with his friends again - but not unscathed, as one major issue would still affect him. The pain of loss leaves Ratchet with a deep fear of experiencing, or being the cause of it, again. And this wound would be reopened too soon with Into the Nexus where we see him struggle to cope with losing Cronk and Zephyr on his watch - if the events of the comics weren't enough...

Watching the scene with him hiding in the crate and refusing to come out, the distance between the goofy and prideful kid we used to know and Ratchet as he is now has not felt more evident. Into the Nexus really highlights how Ratchet at this point just wants a secure and permanent place to belong to. Tal is so important because she may really be one of the few people who could understand and relate to Ratchet. Her family is missing too, she’s been lonely her whole life too. She is a link to lombax culture. She was there for him when he lost Clank. They see themselves in each other, and I think the opening scene of this game speaks a lot to how comfortable and perhaps emotionally reliant they are on each other.

It‘s understandable that Ratchet would let go of the pursuit of finding the lombaxes for someone who not only needs him, loves and supports him just as he is - but also someone he almost lost for good. She is also home and his family, even when or if Clank chooses to go back to his Clock duties. Ratchet just doesn’t want to lose anyone else, can’t handle the possibility of losing one more person - so he finally decides to end his eternal search for purpose, belonging, and validation and cling onto his sources of such things that were in front of him the whole time.

But as fate would have it, Insomniac really will drag out this whole finding the lombaxes thing even longer lol. This is the logical conclusion to the Ratchet and Clank story as of now, so Ratchet isn’t allowed to give up just yet.

Ratchet's Heart

WHY I started thinking so deeply about Ratchet’s character is because of how he is in Rift Apart. I LOVE Ratchet and Kit’s friendship so much because it highlights and reveals so much about each other!!! There’s probably a reason why Kit and Ratchet share a colour palette, and it’s because they’re kinda parallels:

1. They’ve let bad experiences in the past control their present and future - but it limits their world as a result. (Interestingly, Alister also let the past rule his life. But he was so obsessed with righting the past that he would endanger the present. Ratchet learned what not to do from Alister, but he kinda ended up being a different version of him.)

2. They’re both afraid of getting hurt and causing hurt - so they avoid it. They both have a tendency to hide away when feeling bad about themselves. They’re both seen as cowardly for this (Vendra and Rivet judging Ratchet for being too scared to find the lombaxes).

3. Ratchet’s advice to Kit when it comes to socializing is ‘don’t overthink it.’ I’d love to make a connection here to how Ratchet would overthink what to say on the spot or overcompensate for himself in the past.

Kit is potentially dangerous and doesn’t know how to be a friend. She’s caused real hurt before. But Ratchet accepts and believes in her, and is adamant about expanding her world, seeing all the good in her, and encouraging her to grow. Ratchet knows what it’s like to not be perfect, to be stuck somewhere, to make mistakes, and be rough around the edges. I believe this is why he is so kind to Kit, providing the validation and belonging and opportunity he would’ve wanted for himself.

And it’s to Kit that he opens up about his anxieties. Ratchet’s true feelings about finding the lombaxes… he’s so… defeated, unsure and doesn’t think much of himself anymore. This was also evident in how anxious he was about the parade celebrating them at the beginning of the game. Yet another indicator of how different Ratchet is now - younger him would’ve loved all the attention even if ‘unearned’ (cuz they haven’t been a hero for a few years). It’s crazy because he’s done SO MUCH and yet - from the way he talks to Kit he still doesn’t feel like he measures up to how great the lombaxes are. Or his parents, judging by his apologetic tone when he explains that his dad tried so hard to keep the dimensionator safe.

And let’s think on this idea of not measuring up - his self worth issues, he’s not exactly a successful inventor, overall flawed and clumsy personality, seems to only be useful for shooting some bad guys, plus not being able to prevent the deaths of some people very important to him - it becomes clear why he thinks so little of himself in comparison to the lombaxes legacy of being brilliant heroes and creators. Beyond the misfortunes that seem to happen around the dimensionator, Ratchet’s problems stem far deeper into his sense of self. So he tells Kit that even if the lombaxes are the perfect family - would they be disappointed in him, or he disappointed in them? He also doesn’t want to lose the life he has now, not when it has finally given him some stability.

But it is Ratchet’s very own kindness and faith in her that allows Kit to turn this issue on its head and address the crux of the problem and reveal the precious thing that ultimately defines Ratchet and his identity - perhaps more than wanting to matter and belong, what he had almost lost over the course of his life up to now.

I would like to say that in a word, Rift Apart is about possibilities. The alternate counterparts of Ratchet’s world and all the implications of it exemplify this.* The Clank sections directly use this word I believe, as he helps Gary fix the dimensions.

*(I don't know where else to fit this observation, but the ways Rivet and Ratchet contrast are somewhat relevant. Rivet, unlike Ratchet, has friends and a group to belong to earlier on in her story - so she doesn't end up falling into the same character pitfalls of being selfish or self absorbed. She and Clank share that big picture awareness. But she's lonely in a different way: having to be strong for herself and everyone else, she's a Ratchet that doesn't know how to be open and vulnerable. I just wanted to point out how cool it is that they considered all this as a 'counterpart' to Ratchet.)

‘Possibility’ is also probably… at the very heart of Ratchet’s character.

One of Ratchet’s defining character traits is his recklessness. He risks too much, takes too many shortcuts, doesn’t think enough when he should. But this is precisely why Ratchet is amazing at the same time. Of course it’s good he grew more careful as he got older. But the big thing to take away from his anxiety about finding the lombaxes and him wanting to stay safe and content with what he has is that - he’s almost lost that crazy and beautiful ability to risk it all and take a chance. Namely, on himself. And it’s ironic because he convinced Kit to risk it all and be friends with him, to go out into the world she’s so afraid of! And this is exactly what Kit points out to him, and expresses her belief that finding the lombaxes will turn out alright for him - even if he still struggles to believe so.

In the way he loves living in the moment, pushing himself to the limits, making weird inventions, pulling off unsafe stunts, throwing together scraps to fix and modify things against better judgement, trying to beat the odds, befriends strange little robots that are just as odd as him - Ratchet thoroughly, intrinsically embodies possibility. If you have nothing to define you, then you have so much freedom to define yourself. And that has been Ratchet’s whole life. Being able to not only think of all that’s possible, but being brave and silly enough to try to achieve them - that in itself, is an extremely valuable gift.

Ratchet is just not the same anymore because he is scared to be and act on what is the most natural and fundamental to him as a person - lest it lead to immense pain and loss. And as I have established multiple times in this post: Ratchet is at his best when he allows himself to just be… himself without pretense. Perhaps Clank knows or doesn’t know this, but he took it upon himself to try to help Ratchet find what makes him whole and himself again. Because the people around Ratchet can see that him completely giving up on what is in his heart would be truly sad and a loss to the universe he loves so much.

Ratchet and Clank were always meant to keep expanding their universe and themselves! That is the very spirit that propels this franchise. And by the end of Rift Apart, and even if Ratchet is still scared - he’s going to find the lombaxes, scared. He’s not going to give up on himself anymore: just as he didn’t want Kit to give up on herself, didn’t want Rivet to give up on Kit, and how Clank never ever gave up on him, believing in the possibility of him being a good and worthwhile person from the very start.

I feel really optimistic for Ratchet and wonder how they will (possibly?) end his character arc in the next game. I’m deeply grateful that Insomniac still cares about this franchise, and cares about Ratchet as a character so much. It truly is a unique privilege, I think, to see one character’s story develop and grow and change over a decade. I love Ratchet and all he is and represents so, so much.

[ro994art]

Finally watched Brave New World today

I thought I'd share my thoughts about it! Disclaimer, this isn't a proper review or much less an analysis, these are literally just some scattered personal thoughts and opinions. Yapping, if you will. 😬 Think of it as my Bluey Minireviews, but longer. 😅 You may disagree with me and that's fine, but please be civil in your interactions, thank you.

Oh, and just in case, spoilers ahead.

BNW movie wasn't perfect, but it was FAR better than the fanboys online led me to believe.

I don't care what anyone says, Sam is an amazing main character. A friend of mine pointed out how awesome it is that his first move is always to de-escalate conflict. His people skills and getting others to aid him and be on their side are honestly so underrated, and are actually a great skill to have when you're Captain America.

Also worth mentioning that his compassion and empathy are by far the best aspect about him, and I love that we have a hero that displays those qualities. But that doesn't stop him form being an incredibly cool hero and fighter all the same. Sam is just such a great role model and I love having him as Cap.

I've also really liked Joaquin ever since TFATWS, and this movie made me love him even more. He's just so funny and sweet and a great friend to Sam. I loved getting more of him. 🥰

Isaiah and his story also continues to break my heart and how he gets continuously used by others and treated so unfairly, but it also makes me very happy that he has Sam now and that he was able to once again bring some justice to Isaiah's name. Glad he ended the movie on a good note.

Almost every review and plot summary I read online about this movie made me think the plot was going to be hard to follow, too clogged, or convoluted. But in my opinion, it really wasn't, and I thought all plot lines actually came together quite nicely. I honestly could've done without all the Incredible Hulk elements, and yeah, it honestly does kind of suck that they gave Sam leftovers from not one but two of the MCU's worst-ever received movies (although in full transparency, I actually liked Eternals more than most people), but for what they did with it, it felt really well handled.

I'll also be honest about not being a fan of how this film tried to make us sympathize with Ross far more than I would've liked to, but to their credit, the film doesn't overly-victimize him or make an effort to make us think "Oh he's always been A Great Dude™ actually" or anything like that. It leaves clear that Sam still doesn't like him and that Ross is still an irascible jerk, but apart from him taking a very smart approach to working with Ross, it's very in-character of Sam to still give him opportunities to be a better person, because he sees that Ross wants to become a better person (even if he falls short more often than not), and him wanting to do so for his daughter was a believable motivation. And that line about Sam still seeing him as a soldier who needed support? Amazing. 10/10. Peak Sam Wilson.

Sterns as the main villain was another element I didn't like from the get-go, mainly because 1) I personally hate know-it-all villains, 2) his role in The Incredible Hulk was forgettable in my opinion, and 3) him having zero connection with Sam made me fear that he wasn't going to feel very impactful as a villiain. And unfortunately, I was proven right. 😬 Don't get me wrong, he was threatening, his plan was solid, and he played his part in the plot just fine. But that's about it. I honestly don't feel anything towards him other than annoyance, especially in that post-credit scene. Like, yeah, thanks for the reminder that the multiverse is still coming. Still doesn't make me look forward to it. 😑 (If the multiverse storyline does hype you, I'm glad, and please don't let me take that away, I just personally don't like it)

Also, I'd hate to become one of those people who only talk about this part of the film, because this film was about SAM and he's the one who should be getting the spotlight and be talked about. However, you all know me and my bias, and I'm sure you'll want to know what I thought of the Bucky scene, so here it is: It was beautiful. It was a gorgeous scene and really a prime, peak example of what the friendship between Sam and Bucky should be. Proof that Bucky isn't, in fact, emotionally unavailable, at least not with Sam. THIS is the Bucky I know and love, a Bucky who is nothing but supportive of Sam Wilson and is there for him when he needs him, even if he can't be there all the time. Funny how the writers of this film understood his character and made him more justice in 3 minutes than the Thunderbolts* writers did in 2 hours. You can tell clearly who watched TFATWS and who didn't. As far as I'm concerned, this is the last canon Bucky scene. "I love you, buddy." 🥹

So, to wrap it up, I enjoyed BNW more than I thought I would, not only because of the trolls and haters online, but also because I'm usually not a fan of political thrillers. Was this the best movie ever? No, it wasn't. But I think Sam and Joaquin carried it REALLY well and I was invested in their storyline and their interactions the entire time. I love those two and I hope their future MCU entries will get a better treatment by the franchise, because those two deserve the world. The Ross storyline was not my favorite but worked well for what it was. The emotion was hard-hitting and made the characters feel very human and relatable, and the action was also super engaging and proved unequivocably that Sam is a really cool and very capable Captain America.

Sam is my Cap.

This movie was a really good time. If you're on the fence about it, please go give it a chance, and hopefully, you'll be pleasantly surprised.