#literally only one person argued with me and it ended pretty well lol

[shesgonnachangetheworld]

someone screen-shotted the redemption arc post on The Website Formerly Known As Twitter and all i can say is that i'm so glad i deleted my account, because lord knows i would have been tempted to read the comments and given myself psychic damage

[transmutationisms]

what's your opinion on medications that require pregnancy testing? like accutane, I think they end your prescription if you get a positive pregnancy test, due to birth defects. i personally refused accutane for several reasons but the mandatory pregnancy testing was a big one

wow i literally just mentioned this to someone the other night lol. yeah it's pretty paternalistic. obviously fetal health complications should be taken seriously but it's very noticeable to me that the medical presumption here is that the automatic course of correct action is to prevent people access to their prescriptions, rather than, yknow, discussing options like abortion.

i know dorothy roberts ('killing the black body') and i think also jacqueline wolf ('cesarean section') have discussed the development of the concept of a 'maternal-fetal conflict'—ie, the notion that there's a conflict between the interests of a fetus and those of the actual pregnant person—and argued that american medicine's current tendency to prioritise the fetus has its roots in plantation medicine. the idea was that enslaved women were negligent, at best, or even outright infanticidal (as in, because they were trying to spare their children from being enslaved) and therefore white doctors and enslavers needed to treat the fetus as the patient, presuming its interests were of more economic relevance and overrode the actual human person. and this framing has been echoed since abolition, such as during the so-called 'crack epidemic' w/ state and medical discourses about black women specifically being unfit mothers who therefore needed to be legally regulated, separated from their children, &c. anyway i would guess that there are probably some echoes of this history in the decision to so tightly regulate pregnancy testing wrt accutane as well, plus ofc the legacy of the thalidomide scandal.

also, like, although risks obviously vary with different meds, it's not like isotretinoin is the only drug that can harm a fetus; many benzos and antibiotics do as well, for instance, and probably lots of other things that people are not routinely required to be pregnancy-tested for. so that also does make me wonder if part of what's going on is that accutane/isotretinoin is considered to be a 'cosmetic' (read: frivolous) intervention and therefore medical authorities have been more comfortable deciding to just yank people off it in case of pregnancy rather than, yknow, providing full information and advocating for patients to have full reproductive choice and such. this is rly just speculation though lol.

[starcurtain]

I guess it's because his Warp is called 'gilded imprisonment', and the phonecall with Jade where he says 'I don't wanna bet anything just to escape your clutches'.

Kinda makes him a foil to Robin and warped parallel to Sunday in a way I think if you see him as thinking of his job as a gilded cage. It may not really be true, maybe he can walk away anytime he wants I'm sure he has the power and ability to even if hed be up for silencing if he left the Stonehearts, but he has nowhere else to go so he may just be trapping himself there with his own apathy. Hope that made sense lol

Always enjoy reading your thoughts ty for the food 🙏

(Will answer the part about the character foils in a different post because that is a whole long thing of its own!!)

See, I definitely think this is the issue, because I have had people say that exact thing to me "Well his warp is called gilded imprisonment so that has to be referring to the IPC!" Like... Do people think the IPC has a monopoly on the word "gilded" or something? Or that "gilded" can only refer to literal gold coins and not any of the many, many metaphors for being a prisoner to destiny that are swirling around Aventurine?

"To gild" means to "cover thinly with gold." It doesn't mean to create wealth, to imply actual money, or even to relate at all to the concept of "golden handcuffs" (which is what people seem to be mistaking it for). Gilding could more accurately be described as a process of taking something cheap--like low-quality nickel--and plating it over with the thinnest layer of gold, to try to make the item seem much better than it is. Gilding something is often like dressing up a pig--you can make it look pretty on the outside, but on the inside, it's still a pig.

Just the thinnest layer of gold over a darker interior...

There's nothing about "gilded imprisonment" that automatically has anything to do with the IPC, unless you're already coming in with the impression that Aventurine is a prisoner of the IPC. If you start with a preconceived notion of what "imprisonment" means for Aventurine, then and only then do we make the jump to "Oh, this must be in reference to the IPC." Take that preconception out and there's zero connection lol.

Even the Chinese name of the warp, "囚石铸金" (lit. "Prison stones cast [in] gold") and other languages' translation of the banner name (like German's "Stein zu Gold," lit. "Stone to gold") imply that the most important element of the banner is "coating over something bad with something good"--i.e., turning prison walls into gold, turning the "stone" of his dark past into something shining. (This actually makes a nice irony in several languages, because he turned the rocky desert of his homeland and the stone walls of a prison into gold by... earning a Cornerstone and becoming a "Stoneheart"--or, that is, he himself is a "worthless" stone that has been thinly coated over in shiny wealth.)

But personally, if we really want to go by the English name of the banner, I would argue that it is much more likely Aventurine's banner name is a reference to his own troubled relationship with the concept of "blessings" and "destiny" than anything to do with the IPC.

From the beginning of his life, Kakavasha was told he was "blessed" and that he was the "chosen one." He was favored by a goddess, born on the day of her rebirth, and told that he will be the savior of his people. So, we can literally say he's the Avgin "golden child," which is further supported by the constant connection between Aventurine and gold colors (his golden-haired appearance, his mother's gold accessories with him since his birth, the word "Avgin" itself even meaning [golden] honey). So as the "golden child," we have this perception that his power of incredible luck, gifted to him by a goddess, must be a blessing, a good thing.

And yet that's not how it plays out for him. What his family tells him is a blessing ends up functioning more like a curse for Aventurine, when it becomes clear he can't use that luck of his to protect those who mean the most to him. He might be the goddess's golden child, the chosen one--but no one else is chosen with him. He's a failed savior, an incapable hero, and there is no escape from the destiny which has been decided for him.

There's a reason his lightcone is called "Inherently Unjust Destiny." His own destiny, decided when he was born favored of an aeon, makes him a prisoner of the suffering that he can survive but never avoid.

We see how much this haunts him constantly throughout his experiences in 2.1...

To me, I would interpret the English banner name "Gilded Imprisonment" as much more related to how Aventurine's blessing, which is supposed to make him the favored, lucky, golden child, is actually nothing more than a thin veneer over the terrible destiny that binds him, continually costing him everything and everyone he loves.

On to the other point entirely, I think people might also really be misinterpreting that sentence about "escaping Jade's clutches." Again, I think this relates a lot to the fact that people are coming into Aventurine's character with this preconception of him as a prisoner to the IPC, so they're interpreting this sentence in the most literal way possible ("I want to get away from you"), but that is actually not what Aventurine is saying at all there.

Jade's rank in the IPC is P46. If Aventurine is promoted to P46, he would no longer be her subordinate. Therefore, when he says "I don't want to bet anything just to escape your clutches," this is actually a (vaguely snarky, to be sure) compliment. Aventurine is saying "I don't want you to think I'm engaging in a bet [that I know I'll win] because I dislike working for you."

It's supposed to be flattery. He's saying "Don't think I'm trying to get away from you, oh great Madam Jade. I wouldn't try to make any bets just to get out of being your underling."

I think it's got a healthy dose of sarcasm to be sure, because Jade herself would have trained Aventurine to snatch every chance to get ahead. So now he's in the hilarious situation of having to balance the expected respect to his mentor ("Of course I would never want to leave you! You're the best boss!") with the fact that his own mentor wants him to be cut-throat at all costs lolol.

It's irony-laced flattery for sure.

That's why his next line is "Well, if it's just a friendly bet though, then sure, I'll engage." He's saying "So long as you know I'm not betting because I dislike working for you, sure, I'll play along." Because he knows that's what he's supposed to do--as a Stoneheart, he should be seizing every opportunity to advance. He virtually has to make this bet that he'll be promoted just to demonstrate the desirous personality that Jade would be expecting.

And honestly, it's supposed to be a callback to their first scene together too. They literally add that to text so people can't miss it. Kakavasha came to Jade as a person "hungry" to rise up the chain, to change his circumstances. He's making the same bet again to suggest to her that he hasn't changed in the slightest even after his experiences in Penacony.

(Now, why he's trying to act like he hasn't changed in front of Jade is another story, and "Aventurine is out to destroy the IPC" conspiracy theorists can run wild with this one for sure.)

But yeah. That line... really does not mean what people think it means, apparently.

Anddddd I'll get to the character foils in another post; this was already long enough as-is! 😂

[funkylilomen]

i have somewhat of a different interpretation about The Mind Electric

> It's less of a diss track and more of using Heart's tactics against him to get him to listen [while also still definitely being a diss track]

somewhat disorganized rant below the cut [also lots of my own interpretations of the album that may very well be inaccurate, so take everything with a grain of salt] :]

The Mind Electric has a bit of a different topic when it comes to Mind's songs/lyrics, to say the least. while Mind does jab at Heart a lot, he does often try to reason with the other in between insults. The Mind Electric has much less of trying to convince Heart to work with [or behind] him and instead focuses on.. insulting the shit out of them

this is extremely funny, but it seems somewhat abrupt and out of the blue for Mind [see what i did there?]. however, i have a.. semi-theory as to why he suddenly just goes off on Heart. he's playing into the other's tactics

and i don't mean that Heart is constantly baraging Mind with insults. in fact, compared to Mind, Heart very rarely verbally attacks the other head on. instead, Heart builds up this fantasy around themself that paints themself as completely innocent, whereas Mind is this irredeemable villain that wants nothing more than Heart's head on a platter. and while, yes Mind definitely isn't fond of Heart, from what we've seen and heard, he is at least somewhat willing to work with Heart—although his idea of "working" with them seems more for Heart to sit in the backseat and shut up while Mind is the one actually in control, but I digress. this fantasy that Heart builds is most clearly seen from both sides in The Heart Acoustic and Be Born

Throughout Mind's songs [Be Born especially], he is trying to reason with Heart and get them to understand his point of view. he tries to explain that he only wants the best for the person that they make up. but Heart either argues with or outright ignores Mind, holding fast to the facade that they built up—that Mind is the bad guy trying to hurt them, and Heart is the good guy trying to save them. they don't want to hear anything that goes against that. so all that Mind says just ends up hitting a brick wall. this might also be a reason as to why Mind sees Heart as childish [their stubborn nature and them "playing make believe" to a much more serious degree]

at the end of Storm and a Spring, Mind and Heart sing over each other, almost sounding like an argument. this is Mind's breaking point. here, he throws his hands up and pretty much goes, "Fine. You want to see me as the villain? I'll play the villain." cue The Mind Electric. this song serves two roles, in my view. One, the one I've been building up to: Mind is leaning into this role that Heart has forced him into in a last ditch effort to break through and actually get him to listen for once. that's why the song eases up at the end. the last few lines of the song are literally, "Though I seem harsh in all my assessments / We each seek a life lived in the light / Yet there lies our Heart, engulfed in resentment / Stubborn, pale akaryocyte." aka, "Although you see everything I do as cruel and unforgiving, I'm not trying to hurt us. I'm only trying to make things better, and yet YOU refuse to see that, no matter how much I try to tell you this. You're being stubborn and resentful with practically no reason other than to perpetuate your own lies."

The second reason is that Mind is beyond frustrated at this point. he has tried and failed so many times to talk to Heart and get them to see the truth. he's tired. he's fed up. he needs an outlet, so he takes this opportunity to air his grievances [this is what i meant by it still definitely being a diss track, lol]. not only is it a method [albeit a poorly thought out one] to get through to Heart, it's also an excuse to let out his frustrations

that's all from me. i have no clue how to end these so. yeah. please don't execute me :]

[sophieinwonderland]

Now, why would you dare me to embarrass you and your pals like that?

I appreciate how you wanted my attention so bad you posted me to not one, but two subreddits.

Makes a girl feel special! 🤣

I have actually never seen Wikipedia cited as a source about endogenic plurality. Though I do see anti-endos all the time, when asked for sources, telling people to just Google things.

Anyway, here's @guardianssystem's document filled with academic papers about endogenic plurality:

I've compiled my own, but honestly, theirs is better organized than mine.

And in the interest of fairness, here are all the anti-endo papers debunking endogenic plurality:

Sorry, I forgot. Those don't exist. Oops. 🤷‍♀️

Echo chamber? LOL!

Weren't you the one spouting a bunch of lies on Tumblr, got totally debunked, posted the people who debunked you to r/systemscringe to have a hugbox where fakeclaimers could assure you how the people who contradicted you are all fakers, and then blocked everyone who disagreed with you?

Weren't you also the one who, when shown a quote from an expert in dissociative disorders who worked on the DSM-5 saying that a disorder isn't a disorder if it doesn't cause distress, argued that the people who defined what disorder are must be wrong about that definition?

You're a misinformation machine who can only find support when huddled in cringe subreddits. Don't try to talk about people in echo chambers.

Also, you know most of psychology is just... listening to people? That's how it's been as long as the field existed. DID (or MPD at the time) was a recognized disorder since long before the first brain scans were conducted on DID patients. It's saying something though when basically every single scientist who has ever researched endogenic plurality has said they believe it's a real thing, or that it could be. While absolutely zero academic papers have expressed that it's fake.

There is also an fMRI study into tulpa systems that's been in the works, but results have yet to be published.

Sure, if that's what you'd like me to call you, Crazy. 😊

Anyway, Crazy, you should know that just because you personally find something scary doesn't mean everyone will or that the thing is bad. Personal preferences are a thing.

In a study of tulpamancers though, most generally reported their lives becoming better after the practice.

78% reported improvements in their mental health, and 91% on overall life.

There are many out there who would jump at the chance to have someone there with them that knows them intimately, and to never have to be alone again.

If it's not for you, then so be it.

But it's certainly not something to be afraid of.

And maybe, for those who are willing to commit to the practice while America struggles with an epidemic of loneliness, it's something worth being open to.

This is actually pretty fair.

But that's now, and I'm looking at course of history and trends of plural acceptance.

300 years ago, any plural would be viewed as demon possessed and end up tortured or killed for their plurality.

70 years ago, all plurality was seen as a mental illness, and it was common to force plurals, as well as anyone else associated with mental illnesses, into asylums.

30 years ago, the first real plural communities were able to connect on the internet and form in small numbers.

8 years ago, the first studies into endogenic plurality started being conducted. 4 years ago, the ICD-11 acknowledged that you could have multiple distinct personality states without a disorder. 2023 marked the first, but certainly not the last, time a system used their system name as an author of an academic paper.

Recently, new plural resources have been designed and put into use. More servers than ever are using Pluralkit. And Simply Plural went from 100k users at the end of 2021 to 210k at the end of 2022.

Progress is happening far more rapidly than you realize. And you had best be ready for it.

BOO! 👻

Oh, hey, I just realized... this is literal pluralphobia!

Liberté!

Egalité!

Fraternité!

And yes, The Future is Plural! 😜

[sodium-sillycate]

Some thoughts about ch2ep12. It's pretty long. Also spoilers ahead.

A bit surprised the episode was "only" 23 min long but I imho it's good we are warming up first before we get that one hour ep lol.

I love that they brought up Arei's body still swinging when the trio found her. Details really do matter in this fangan :)

About Ace not knowing how water evaporation works... Afaik starvation does negatively impact cognitive functions, just throwing that out there.

Nico really are one of the only usefull people in the room.

Arturo's little rant... First I'm really he glad continues to get more characterization and glimpses of his backstory. Not because I care about him but because he is finally an actual character (only took him until ch2 trial huh). Second I'm glad the series adresses it's weird to have a medical professional that young, especially a fking surgeon. And that he's highly specialized and doesn't know literally everything about medicine. I just think many other fangans would not bother with this. Third I think it's highly unsual for a 12 y/o to not just think about becoming plastic surgeon specifically but also to completelly dedicate himself to that goal. Idk I think there was something weird going on in Giles household.

For a second I was confused how Whit faceplanting into a wall would cause a dent like that but then I remembered that a lot of american buildings seem to be made of like... cardboard instead of bricks. Anyway RIP any theories surrounding that dent ig.

Whit: "I don't have an alibi in the morning. Neither does Charles." Okay but how do you know that lol. It's kind of weird for him speak for for Charles in this instance. (Ig this was because it flows better than to cut back to Charles.)

I bet Xanvid shippers were happy about this episode.

David: You didn't even know him well enough to tell when he was trying to stab you. Bruh that's so cold.

Anyway lot of the animosity between David and Teruko seems to stem from Xander? Not sure what implications this has for Teruvid lol.

David having memories of Xander... what does it mean...

David's little speach about the nature of the killing game as an entertainment meaning that "we are supposed to catch the killer, again and again, and participate in the trial after trial" makes me fell like Despair Time is going to deviate drastically from the typical danganronpa 6 trails formula at some point...

I was so ready for David to say that his goal was to kill Teruko. Although "stopping the killing game" and "killing Teruko" do seem to be related atm. Especially if the secret David recieved really does actually belong to her. I find it a bit funny that no one brought up "huh wait you are saying that you want to carry on Xander's ideals by ending the killing game but this secret says the killing is literally his fault?".

Hm probably controversial but I'm more interested in David and Hu arguing than David and Teruko arguing. Also I'm really hoping Hu has the hopeless child secret because it would make everything she says go even harder. I think this trial is so good for Hu's character.

Also Hu really said

David snapping at Whit made me laugh ngl.

One thing I certainly didn't miss was Ace accusing Nico and J accusing Arthuro. I mean it's not like they don't have reasons for it, but it does get repetitive and annoying. It happened only once this episode so that's fine, but I hope it won't happen every episode you feel me.

Hu yelling "Actually Nico has an alibi, we were together!!!" immediately after Ace accuses them is not credible to me sorry lol. I think that 2 person alibis should always be taken with a grain of salt, but especially considering their relationship it's worthless as an evidence lol.

Nico getting interrupted is a running theme and the fact that is has been pointed out again... Will Nico have a "standing up to Hu" moment later in the trial?

I'm a bit frustrated with the ending. Not because it is a cliffhanger, but because there could have been a pretty good segue into discussing HOW the murder happened instead of WHO did it since they currently don't have a good way to slim down the suspects list. Instead we are next time going to open with Levi's backstory (, maybe get Levi & Arei flashback), the other characters are gonna freak out about it (*cough* Ace *cough*) and Teruko/Charles will have to convince them to not immediately assume he murdered Arei too. Yea I think that's how we will spent most of the next episode. And don't get me wrong, I want Levi lore, it's just that we are almost 2 hours into the trial and we still know so little about the actual murder.

[professional-demon-master]

Cutting you off pt3

Leviathan

Light angst/ fluff. Good ending !! GN reader

I had to change colors to avoid confusion lol

Levi was a jealous person. It didn’t took you long to notice that. I mean, he was literally envy incarnated and he did showed that pretty well.

Despite of that and the disastrous way you guys met, you did ended up having a good relationship with him. There were anime nights every week and at least one day you would dedicate to gaming with him.

At least there were when he actually approved your presence in his room

And it wasn’t even the fact that you were human, but he still hold a grudge at you for being a normie.

*And don’t get him wrong, he knows you watch animes and have enjoyed a manga or two and let’s not talk about you video games experience, but you’re still too normie for him.

And that’s way most of the time when you asked him to do anything together, he would take a long time before accepting, because he just couldn’t believe a normies like you would want to do activities with him.

Please! A normie like you asking him to see a new anime together? You’re probably joking.

You? Asking him how Henry 2.0 was doing? You were probably doing it to make fun of him!

But you still found patience to actually convince him that you just wanted to spend time with him and that it wasn’t a tactic to mock him later

Up until one disastrous day where everything went wrong

You couldn’t concentrate in class, you had a pop quiz and you had a ton of homework.

You were just praying for the day to be over so you could finally relax and spend time with Levi like you had planned two days ago, the new season of an anime you both liked was airing that day, and you were going to celebrate it by spending the day together.

After leaving school, you practically ran all the way from RAD to HoL, only stopping once you were in front of Levi's door answering his password to get there and finally relax.

“Hey Levi! Where were you after class? I had to drag Mammon all the way home because I couldn’t find you.”

He didn’t actually answered, but since he was looking at cd's you supposed he was too concentrated to actually answer you.

“You choosing what to watch? That’s wise, the new chapter won’t drop for another three hours”

…

“Levi?¨ Still nothing.

“You can just drop it, you know?”

“What?”

“I-I said you can drop it! The act!”

It was your time to be in silence. He turned around to look at you.

“Don’t act dumb! You know what I’m talking about!”

“I really don’t Levi. Please explain it to me”

He inhaled a little bit frustrated. “The act where you come in here pretending to be interested in my and my hobbies, wanting to watch an anime with me that you probably don’t even like!”

“Oh my… really? This again? It’s getting ridiculous, Levi.”

Levi dropped the cd's in his hands, position both arms at his side while walking towards you.

“You’re the one who’s acting ridiculous! Why pretend you like me?”

“I’m not pretending! I thought by now you would’ve realized I like spending time with you.” You explained, a little bit desperate this time.

“I know your type M-MC! Just pretending you’re interested, but you’re just passing the time cause I’m the only one who’s available right now!”

“Levi, what the fuck?” You frowned while painting your gaze locked with his. “I think I better leave”

“Yeah, there’s probably another demon you can throw yourself at by now”

You bit your tong to avoid answering. Levi often got into these moods and arguing with him was like yelling at a wall.

“You know what? Forget it, think whatever you want to think.” You opened the door and muttered an “asshole” before closing it behind you.

Levi knew it, he knew he was acting like an asshole and that it technically wasn’t your fault, but he had spent the whole day at RAD watching you pass the time with everybody else. Reading at the library with Satan, eating lunch with the twins, passing notes with Mammon during class and even walking through the halls with the angels. And please don’t even get him started on how you hugged Solomon during the morning after he gave you human realm chocolate he had retrieved for you!

Even though he knew he was in the wrong he couldn’t stop himself from thinking that MC was going to come to him and apologize at any moment. That’s how it worked before and he was almost sure that’s the way it was going to work now too.

Still, as time went by he was getting worried he had now scared you off for good.

It’s not like it was just an idea in his head, you were actively avoiding him now.

You stayed behind to watch Beer practice instead of meeting him after school to watch anime together, you had ramen dates with Mammon and even started watching movies with Satan! He didn’t bothered to pretend he thought they were lame normie movies, he still wanted you to watch them with him!

His breaking point came when he heard you laughing while playing video games with mammon and beel in the living room.

¨That’s enough! Stop it!¨ he sprinted to unplug the console before any of his brothers could stop him. Everyone stopped abruptly, not even having time to complain before Leviathan started yelling again. ¨I knew it wasn’t gonna be hard for you to replace me but this is enough!¨

You just watched him a little bit concerned, the brothers looked at each other a little bit confused by the sudden appearance of Levi’s temper tantrum and apparently not realizing it was directed to you.

“Man I swear Levi keeps gettin’ weirder by the day” Mammon whispered and frowned while he sunk by your side.

That same night, when you were in your room getting ready for bed you heard three little knocks in your door. You were pretty sure it had to be Mammon who was probably coming to spend time with you before falling asleep, a little ¨Come in¨ escaped your mouth almost in automatic.

“Hi” you lifted your head and observed Levi there, opening the door just enough so you could see his face. You kept quiet, and Leviathan took that as a sign to continue talking before his little window of bravery closed. “I-I wanted to say I’m sorry. About the game… and yelling at you… and, well, e-everything.”

You stood up from your seat at your bed and went started walking to the door without taking your eyes from him. Levi felt nervous and started playing with your doorknob while his gaze looked down.

“I-I know it was wrong, but I guess I was just… jealous. N-Not that it’s an excuse! I know you were just being your usual normie charming self. Just… sometimes it’s hard seeing you being so close with everybody, b-because I know they’re cooler than me, and that after spending enough time with them you’ll stop coming. Nobody would want to spend time with a yucky- eek!”

You interrupted him with a hug that caught him off guard. “Shut up”, you fix your posture so you could look at him without breaking the hug. “Levi I love spending time with you, and nothing will change that. C’mon, you know it.”

“B-But… I mean, you spent this last days just with my brothers and you looked just fine.” Levi spoke through scarlet cheeks and a little stutter. You gave him a sad smile.

“I mean… yeah, but they were just helping me pass the time. Don’t get me wrong I love them, but it just felt weird not spending every free time I had with you. They tried to help me take my mind off of our argument but it just wasn’t the same.” You finally broke the hug and looked at him while you tilted your head. “I missed you, Levi, but this can’t happen again, next time you’re feeling like this please just talk to me.”

“I’ll try to be better, I promise” You nodded and walked inside your room again. Levi stood there, a little awkward and unsure of what to do.

“Aren’t you coming in? We have a lot of catching up to do on a lot of Animes”

His face lightened up while he run to your bed. You were right, how could he doubt you?

Omg I’m so sorry It took me so long to finally post but work is literally killing me. Why can’t they just leave me be the silly little sheep writer I am 😩

Hope you like it guys! -B

[tamamatango]

Unplanned character analysis I should’ve saved for 6/23 but I need instant gratification whenever I have a thought or I explode

Sup nerds, thanks for reading my master’s thesis completely overanalyzing what literal scraps we have in relation to the new anime. Unfortunately no updates yet on that front but I’m starting to go a little Cuckoo For Cocoa Puffs in anticipation so fingers crossed they drop something soonish. I have a couple of longer form posts in my back pocket that may or may not happen in a nearish timeframe, we’ll see what I get around to.

I was going to not do any more posts until one of those materializes but I’m detouring from that for a bit because I had an epiphany about Saburo now that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this series again. Those if you who know me and/or were around for when I was most active here know he is my favorite character behind Kururu and that’s still true. So here’s like. A reading of him that I think completely changes the way you will look at this character. If you don’t see him like this already.

Saburo(/Mutsumi since this goes equally for the manga side) is not actually cool. Like this kid is totally cringe and a weirdo right. Literally thinks of the most unnecessarily extra solutions to things, wardrobe that gets increasingly bizarre over time, writes poetry that is usually either obnoxiously cheesy or just doesn’t make any sense. Spends his free time doing stuff like talking to cats and collecting shitty kids’ meal toys. His drawings aren’t even that good most of the time. Unironically Momoka has more swag than Saburo does (granted Momoka has more swag than most characters but that’s besides the point). Yes he is a super genius and athletically gifted and conventionally attractive to other people his age, and (for manga Mutsumi only) it’s later implied he was modified by the N326 in some way. But here’s the thing—a lot of his peers either think he’s a smarmy ass show-off little shit (manga) or just completely inaccessible to the average person so why bother (anime).

The reason why he’s such a celebrity is because the only people who think he is really cool are children and preteen girls (and secretly Giroro but the whole reason that’s a funny joke is because Saburo is totally not appealing to adults at all let alone hardened super serious soldiers). But this is a very profitable and exploitable audience so he is really successful. He is the equivalent of a Disney Channel teen star. He’s like what Justin Bieber was in 2010 or whenever. In the manga Mutsumi gladly eats up this attention, but the anime pretty heavily implies especially toward the (until this year tee hee) end of the series that Saburo kinda dislikes being under the celebrity microscope and having producers who want to milk their child star as much as possible; he just wants to create and entertain and express himself freely which is why he does everything anonymously.

I think the anime tried a little too hard to make him unironically cool and my guess is that this is for a couple reasons. One, he has Akira Ishida’s voice coming out of him which yes was obviously chosen primarily because lol Kaworu but also his voice is just inherently associated with “we want you to think this character is a mysterious ikemen” most of the time. Two, compared to the manga there’s a lot more fillery stuff revolving around Natsumi idolizing him and because so much of the show is from Natsumi’s perspective, that’s the perspective the viewers (who were also intended to be children then, though I think now that it’s a 20 year old series they’re going more for the nostalgic adult audience) get as well. Don’t get me wrong though the VERY few serious moments he had were fantastic, 229 best episode movie 3 best movie etc etc.

You could also argue Kururu thinks Saburo is “cool” but I think he respects him more in the way that he’s kinda like him but younger so they understand each other intrinsically and that makes Saburo more reliable in fulfilling Kururu’s specific needs than most other characters. Saburo’s a lot kinder ostensibly but unlike the rest of the cast, who recoils at Kururu’s mannerisms and psychological torment of everyone, Saburo usually just thinks it’s funny. Kururu is much of a freak as he is but is very particular about his image and actively micromanages almost every aspect of his personality to get people to see him a certain way and avoid showing too many of his vulnerabilities (it’s all but confirmed in the anime that his entire cadence and vocal tics are an elaborate act and his normal voice is totally different). We don’t see it much on screen but it seems he can kinda relax a bit around Saburo who himself is totally out there but in a more genuine and unabashed way, like even in the anime where the radio persona is a secret it’s not like he acts that much differently on the air than he does in his personal life. Besides maybe the early manga Kururu is not really a romantic and probably thinks Saburo’s sappy wappy poetry is cringe too, but he likes Saburo enough that he supports him being himself no matter what bullshit that entails (besides getting himself killed of course). Sorry had to shoehorn best partners talk for a bit longtime Kirb readers know how it is.

So there is actually a specific thing that made me decide let’s do a fucking character analysis for the first time in like 5 years or something, and that’s that I was browsing through raws of the one 4koma book I don’t physically own (shoutout to @kagender for those scans along with some other cool stuff like Keroro Land issues, storyboards and ref sheets!), and it was these strips:

This is a 4koma series in which Meru and Maru from Movie 2 hang around with the main cast for funny shenanigans. Not super relevant because these two strips don’t have them pictured but anyways. They’re having a beach day and Natsumi runs into Saburo who is there to “surf” but actually there are no real waves and he is just pretending. Because he’s copying the 1978 film Big Wednesday (it is Sunday in the comic). In other words teenager larps because he saw it in an old movie once. I know this is not really a pertinent example because the Keroro Land 4komas are all very silly and non-canon (a lot of the artists are actually former doujin artists) but look. This is peak, okay. This is my ideal Saburo outside of serious scenarios. I’ve seen the vision.

I swore I was gonna make this a short post but it’s not I guess. Can’t resist turning these into goddamn essays. So to wrap it up: Saburo is some dorky kid who thinks he’s way more of a hotshot than he really is and totally owns it with no shame. This is adorable. I will defend him with my life. I need Anikero The New to agree with me here. In like 85% of cases I prefer the anime’s takes on everything but Yoshizaki cooked with the ideas behind this guy so listen to word of god. Give us more Silly Saburo. The TikTok teenagers of today deserve this representation.

[no-psi-nan]

[Context]

Ok @fluffydice, sorry for the lateness on this one but as anyone following this blog for over 5 minutes probably knows, I think Aiura x Saiki x Akechi makes so much sense and it is insanely compelling to me. I've posted so much fanfic about it already and that's only like 20% of the Thoughts™ I've had about them tbh.

But when you're doing an analysis of a triad, you have to breakdown 3 different ships and also how they would work simultaneously, so I needed time to write it all up. Buckle in!

Let's talk about Saiki x Aiura first since they had the most screen time together and they're the most "canon". I was genuinely shocked to see how rare this pairing is in fandom when they're literally canonically soulmates and also actually prove it on their every interaction.

From their very first meeting, Aiura and Saiki work together flawlessly to save Yumehara's life many times in a row + the life of the truck driver. Aiura then figures out how to hang out with Saiki without having to deal with his tsundere rejection, which he can leave at any time (unlike with Teruhashi) because she knows about his powers and won't stir up trouble if he leaves. Saiki keeps allowing her to schedule 1:1 dates and is basically like "don't bother asking me, you know I'll go" about the dessert buffet date lol.

Even when they disagree and neither of them will back down, they still work wonderfully together and they both end up learning and growing from it. Saiki trusts Aiura to help him, and Aiura always agrees to help him just because she cares. That's HUGE considering how hard it is for Saiki to ask for literally anything!!

Aiura also respects Saiki's boundaries more than anyone else imo. She only joins him when he's out in public, she tries her usual heavy-handed flirting at first but quickly adjusts when she realizes he's not into it, she puts her clothes back on immediately after realizing that she misunderstood the situation, she starts asking him out instead of just joining him, she asks for a kiss and respects his "no", and she hugs him anyways because they both really need it after the stress of the day.

And Saiki responds to that, opening up more with Aiura than he has with anyone else in way less time. Aiura had under 2 years with Saiki while Saiki's core friend group had like 6 years, and yeah, she benefited some from his character growth over the past 4 years. But still, the way he banters with her shows how comfortable he is– he's more open with her than with anybody else, and not just with his annoyance like he is with Toritsuka lmao.

Also, come ON, there's just no one more deserving of an epic husband/wife local god with transformation powers than Aiura. She works so hard with her powers to help everyone and convinces Saiki to help others more and she helps him get the best outcomes for everyone. Let her get her hands on her soulmate who can make her bi dreams come true, who can give her third eye a break from constantly seeing auras and death marks, who can grow big fluffy wings to hug her with, etc etc etc!!!!! LET HER HAVE SOME FUN FFS!!

There's wayyyy more people forcing Aiura into the platonic bucket with Saiki than I've seen with Teruhashi (even though Aiura has way better chemistry with Saiki), which forces me to wonder whether it's because Aiura is more overtly sexual and "lowbrow" than Teruhashi, showing more cleavage, getting bad grades, putting stickers on her face because they're cute, showing pride in her sexual escapades. None of those make her a bad person, but a lot of people seem to think it does.

Some people more reasonably point out that if Saiki is very asexual and Aiura has a high libido then that could cause trouble for them. Well, first of all, while Saiki is pretty much obviously somewhere in the asexual and aromantic spectrum, his belief that boyfriend is the next level after best friend shows that demiromantic / demisexual is a strong possibility for him. And honestly I'd argue that whatever he has going on with Satou is at least partially sexual, though I'm not going to get into that in this already long-ass post lol.

But basically, I think there's a lot of room for a demiromantic and graysexual interpretation of Saiki and considering that Aiura has apparently stopped going out with other men for at least 2 years with no ill effects that we can see, it's quite possible that they'll be very compatible in bed after all. And if not, that's where consensual non-monogamy comes in lol. But genuinely I think that the fact that they're soulmates means that there probably aren't any major incompatibilities between them, otherwise the term would be meaningless.

So yeah, makes sense and really compelling because there's so much room for stories on how they actually got together, how they work together as their powers continue growing, and what their future looks like!

OKAY, now it's time for the Saikechi essay lol.

Actually, I don't think Saikechi needs a ton of justification, because it's kinda standard extrovert x introvert childhood friends to lovers lol. Saikechi only isn't more popular because Akechi appears for like 5 whole minutes in the undubbed second season of the anime and he was annoying for 90% of that time hsfjdlshfks rip.

But yeah, Akechi and Saiki are quite perfect together, as shown by the horse gambling episode. Akechi can see right through Saiki's tsundere facade and Akechi is extremely open about his wants and needs, which is important since Saiki can't properly understand his thoughts most of the time and is very bad at figuring that stuff out even with telepathy.

They're both some flavor of ace. Akechi offu's at Teruhashi and comments that she's the most beautiful women he's ever seen, but does not express wanting to date her, which is big ace vibes, plus he's one of the few characters that doesn't have anything to say about Aiura's boobs lol (even Teruhashi can't shut up about them). They're also similar flavors of highly intelligent + neurodivergent. Consider Akechi's analysis skills vs Saiki's ability to come up with dozens, if not hundreds of plans in extremely short notice.

Akechi is also great at making accommodations for Saiki's powers, even without knowing about all of them, and coming up with activities they can do together that will be equally fun and challenging for both of them! And I still love that it was Akechi showing Saiki what a fun low-stakes game can be like that basically repaired Kusuo's relationship with his brother (see: manga, as this was cut from the anime 😩).

It's a very nice and straightforward ship that still leaves a lot of room for fun stories. I've been dying to write a Saikechi frogboil (plotted but needs writing) just because Akechi would be so perfect at it and he would be very likely to approach Saiki that way to get around all the tsundere bullshit lol.

OKAY, now for the third leg of the triangle lol, Aiura and Akechi!!

(couldn't find an anime gif of this moment which is SO SAD)

Let's be real, Akechi and Aiura only share 5 moments on screen: the intro with all the chibis, when Aiura checks out his aura, when Aiura & Toritsuka kidnap him, the competition to find Saiki's hanky, and Akechi pestering Aiura about dress code violations in the every-character-appears episode. And 3 of those scenes are from the same chapter lmao.

Actually I think this ⬆️ scene is kinda cute because Akechi's teasing Aiura lol, I think he's being friendly in his little freak way <3

HOWEVER, if shipping was only about what we saw on screen, then it would be way more boring. So let's think about it!

Aiura and Akechi actually share a lot of similarities: they're both extroverts, they're both incomprehensible, they are both almost immune to lies, they have both have a drive to help other people including strangers, and they're both seeking someone who will love and understand them as they are.

They would just make a really great fit! Akechi could help with Aiura's fortune-telling by prompting better questions for her to ask, and Aiura might actually make Akechi's mystery-solving TOO easy, so she probably holds back on that one lol. Akechi would throw himself wholeheartedly into working against a death mark on a stranger.

They're so fun to think about too because neither of them is embarrassed easily at all and they're both completely in touch with their own feelings so they are going to be SO lovey-dovey, no matter how cringe it seems on the outside lmao.

Akechi seems like he'd love doing traditional courtship if given half the chance, and Aiura seems like she's mostly had one-night-stand kind of situations until now, so what a perfect opportunity to indulge! What a change for Aiura to date someone who respects her and isn't just after her body! What a change for Akechi to date someone who actually wants to hear what he has to say and isn't put off by his frankness around taboo topics!

They'd pick up phrases from each other and develop so many ridiculous in-jokes that become their own sort of language, which makes them both even more incomprehensible.

We do also run into the allosexual x asexual problem here but Akechi is so unbothered by bodily functions and so quick to find compromises and enrichment that I genuinely think he'd kind of turn that into a game lmao.

And I think Akechi would be down to start a family and give his kid(s) the kind of loving home he never really got to enjoy with his parents' ongoing domestic turmoil. And their kid(s) would be sooooooooo incomprehensible, bless. 🙏🏾 Raised by 1.5 psychic parents and sprinkling both terminally online lingo and academia-level terminology into their speech from day 1. Imagine...

So Aikechi definitely gets the A+ on making sense and being compelling here!

Which FINALLY brings us back around to the main question... Does Aiura x Saiki x Akechi make sense, and is it compelling?

Well, obviously I think so, since I've posted so much about it lol.

I think the main question for the viability of this ship is whether Saiki would be comfortable with polyamory, since Aiura and Akechi are unconcerned enough with social norms that they'd probably have no problem with it.

After some time getting used to the thought that he will never have the veneer of normal he's always wanted to project and that the pleasures of living authentically far outweigh the pains of being different, I think Saiki would actually love having his best friends as lovers and not having to choose only one person.

After all, most of his struggle is about lack of connection and his alienation from humanity. Well, here are Akechi and Aiura, who respectively mirror his lonely childhood and growing up with uncontrollable powers. They're both clever enough to see through his tsundere bullshit, they're both happy and able to help him with his powers & duties to save others, and they will both stand up to him if he's wrong or letting something slide to avoid conflict.

They're both perfect for him! And Akechi and Aiura would be much happier sharing him than trying to make him choose between them since they also get along so well. And let's be real, Saiki definitely deserves to be loved by the two people who know him the best. 💜

There's also a lot of story potential for how this ends up happening. In Extra Love Stories of Psychics, Saikechi and Saiura are basically happening in parallel and the Aikechi will close in the loop in a few chapters. But in Didn't see this one coming, I wanted to focus on Aikechi, so they get together and are basically ready for Saiki to finish his character growth and join whenever lmao.

You could also have them as like a hero team of lovers if you want more action-y plots, though tbh it's really hard to come up with situations they wouldn't immediately solve lol rip.

Another nice thing about Aiura, Akechi and Saiki being together is that Aiura and Akechi get a chance to help each other overcome some of Saiki's limitations, and the stuff they can't work around, Akechi and Aiura can do together.

An easy example is hand-holding. Changing Saiki's gloves to another texture is all well and good but sometimes you want to touch skin to skin, and it's much more overwhelming than calming for Saiki to do that. Akechi and Aiura can hold each other's hands without gloves though, and while it's not the same as holding Saiki's, it helps a lot to fulfill that desire.

Also, it's almost impossible for Aiura to surprise Saiki because he can read her thoughts, but while Akechi can probably figure out that she's planning something in general, she would have a much easier time surprising him. And similarly, since Saiki can't properly read Akechi's mind and doesn't have too much emotional intelligence, Akechi has to openly communicate his needs with Saiki all the time, which isn't a problem for him. But it's really nice when Aiura can tell from his aura or from her own emotional intelligence what Akechi wants/needs without having to explain himself. And even if Saiki can literally hear Aiura's thoughts, Akechi is still better at responding to her feelings because he's not tsundere and he actually understands feelings and what to do about them.

Additionally, Aiura has said she wants to be a mother, and while Saiki's affection for kids indicates to me that he wouldn't mind having kids, I think that he would be VERY opposed to passing on his genes due to how much trouble his powers have caused him. And Aiura's genes also are probably loaded with psychic powers! But if Akechi is there, then he can knock up Aiura no problem since he doesn't seem to have any psychic powers, and then the three of them can have their own family <3 Plus all the shenanigans that comes with having 2.5 psychics (and maybe more!) under one roof!

In conclusion, they're perfect, your honor!!

Also I probably should've been writing more fic of them instead of writing this novel XD XD

Thanks for the ask!!

[snekverse]

MCD Tarot deck 0-VII

Here are the first seven cards of my MDC Tarot deck, a project a year in the making!! For times sake and my own sanity, I'll only be doing the major arcana, but expect the next seven (hopefully) soon :)

Introductions + explanations under the cut! and disclaimer: I know VERY LITTLE about tarot, so please take all this with a grain of salt!

Aphmau, the Fool - Among other things, The Fool is representative of new beginnings, opportunity and potential, things Aphmau's character (specifically in MCD) encapsulated. Her newness to the world is a huge part of her character in the beginning of the series, and towards the end as the lore fleshes out it gets reflected in her dynamic with Irene, and being Irene's reincarnation. She is the culmination of the fresh start Irene wanted, and was filled with the potential to be everything she could never be.

Zoey, the Magician - Among other things, The Magician is representative of manifestation, resourcefulness, power, and inspired action. This was somewhat of a hard call on my end, but I think her dedicating the 15 year timeskip to research on how to free Aphmau and co. from the Irene Dimension, and ultimately succeeding even though it would cost her her immortality, aligns with this best. She worked hard and used all her power to change fate, to return her loved ones to their rightful home, which is pretty inspirational if you ask me.

Lucinda, the High Priestess - My note for this one is "I don’t know how to explain how this makes sense to me it just suits her" so there's no real reason for this decision lol. Among other things, The High Priestess is representative of intuition, sacred knowledge, divine feminine, and the subconscious mind. You could argue that MYST Lucinda inhabits some of these, being very comfortable in her femininity and having a strong sense of intuition as well as knowledge most of the cast isn't privy to, however we all know that MYST =/= MCD so do with this information what you will.

Zianna, the Empress - Among other things, The Empress is representative of nature, nurturing, and abundance. This is based somewhat on headcanons, but Zianna is heavily associated with being a kind, doting mother. She loves and nurtures her children, and in MYST we see this kindness applies to others' children as well as her own. Additionally, The Empress when reversed encourages one to make self-love and self-care a priority, something this ever-doting woman desperately needs after devoting all her time and energy to other people's needs for the past several DECADES.

Garte, the Emperor - Among other things, The Emperor is representative of authority and establishment, and when reversed is representative of domination and excessive control. This is based somewhat on headcanons, but Garte more so resembles The Emperor reversed, being a cold and controlling tyrant, both as the leader of a nation and as a father figure. He is a man of strict rules and regulations and tends to abuse the power he holds over people.

Zane, the Hierophant - Among other things, The Hierophant is representative of spiritual wisdom, religious beliefs, conformity, tradition, institutions. Zane canonically is the high priest of a very large and traditional religion, this aspect of The Hierophant is self explanatory. He is literally the head of an institutionalized religion of which he is very knowledgeable about. When reversed, The Hierophant is representative of personal beliefs and freedom. This is based somewhat on headcanons, but I believe Zane's hunt for Irene's Relic/the Divine Relics is a personal goal, and ties into breaking free from the controlling nature of his father, his nation, and his religion: who would dare control you when you become their god?

Donna and Logan, the Lovers - Among other things, The Lovers card is representative of love, harmony, relationships, values alignment and choices. I feel like this one if the most self explanatory, as their entire arc together is about over coming differences, and choosing to love each other in spite of those differences. Y'all remember how freaked out Logan was when he got turned? Specifically about Donna's reaction? And how she chose to love him anyways because this plot point happened before Jess added her werewolf kink to the canon lore? They constantly choose to be happy and they choose to be together, who else could I have picked for this card?

[scitties]

LMAO literally worry about your own health, how mentally ill do you have to be to post that preachy shit? easily the most self righteous thing ive read this week. drama over a minecraft competition will never be enough for me to think any of these people are bad people in their cores, and frankly it's extremely weird to me that anyone else does think that way, or think they really know any of these people from their streams well enough to make that kind of call. some of your faves have acted in ways that personally offended me, and tbh so have some of my own faves. fucking up and disappointing people is unfortunately the nature of being human. all these streamers are very young and very passionate about what they do. they won't always handle things correctly but i do see growth in sapnap AND the others who don't like him! (bc yes it is possible to like both, if you have any common sense at all and realize you don't know these people and there is no need to pick a side) and you talk about watching a sapnap stream as if it's snorting coke lmao like it's actively harming the viewers to watch a sapnap stream, and i would argue that is only true in cases like yours where someone is clearly only paying attention because they want another reason to be angry at someone they already dislike. so, yeah, you should quit hurting yourself by ever giving him the time of day. you aren't required to and even if you do you definitely have no right to dictate how others feel about watching him, or anyone else. grow up and stop giving sermons on what people are allowed to enjoy

drama over a minecraft competition will never be enough for me to think any of these people are bad people in their cores, and frankly it's extremely weird to me that anyone else does think that way, or think they really know any of these people from their streams well enough to make that kind of call

bro i didn't even know twitch rivals was happening until yesterday when the guy i mod for talked about all the shit happening LOL. for someone who claims i'm assuming to know a lot about complete strangers, you've essentially done the same but with me yknow

some of your faves have acted in ways that personally offended me, and tbh so have some of my own faves

i haven't been into mcyt for over two years—i pretty much only reblog fanart i like and the occassional shitpost that makes me laugh. i am not nearly into any of this as you make yourself out to be

fucking up and disappointing people is unfortunately the nature of being human

i think where i failed in my wording was using "mistakes" instead of "acting like a manchild", because that's what i was shaking my head about. mistakes happen, and i wholeheartedly agree with you that it's in our nature. but sapnap still acts immature

(bc yes it is possible to like both, if you have any common sense at all and realize you don't know these people and there is no need to pick a side)

oh i don't know him one bit, and i won't pretend to. but i still have the right to voice my opinion on the way he chooses to act in front of a camera, just like you have the right to ignore what i'm saying and continue watching him. at the end of the day i really dont care. if you feel like he's improving in a way that aligns with your own integrity, good for you man

and you talk about watching a sapnap stream as if it's snorting coke lmao like it's actively harming the viewers to watch a sapnap stream, and i would argue that is only true in cases like yours where someone is clearly only paying attention because they want another reason to be angry at someone they already dislike

are ya sure you're not projecting a little with this one

so, yeah, you should quit hurting yourself by ever giving him the time of day. you aren't required to and even if you do you definitely have no right to dictate how others feel about watching him, or anyone else. grow up and stop giving sermons on what people are allowed to enjoy

man i saw how sapnap acted, went "damn, that's unsexy", wrote about it, and moved on. woe me, i forgot that tumblr is a hornets nest of angry people. either way, this was me expressing genuine confusion in my own (misinterpreted) humor. the internet is a tough crowd these days

LMAO literally worry about your own health, how mentally ill do you have to be to post that preachy shit? easily the most self righteous thing ive read this week. grow up and stop giving sermons on what people are allowed to enjoy

i don't even have anything funny to say. my eyes rolled over halfway through reading this. it is just a minecraft competition which is why i find your ask hilarious because am i really the one who cares too much here. like really

[lunar-years]

why didn’t you like Roy & Ms Bowen outside of ship reasons?

Reason #1 is simply that I ship something else and prefer it enormously lol but outside of that reason...

Short answer: I could totally see them hooking up and I thought they had a fun vibe (and were definitely charmed by one another and attracted to one another!) but i personally cannot see their relationship having longevity. the very basic reason boiling down to that Roy is too famous (and likes being famous) and Ms. Bowen is too "normal." I do not think their lifestyles would necessarily mesh or that they'd end up with that much in common, so they're very much a "maybe in another life" pairing to me.

Long answer copy-pasted from an old but similar ask (so if you're thinking 'gosh this seems familiar' these are indeed my own old words lol...I'm too lazy to type the same thing up all again, there are only so many thoughts I have on Ms. Bowen):

"As for Ms. Bowen... I think in the s2 scene, Roy is drawn to her not only because they have a nice back-and-forth banter going, but also (and crucially) because of the momentary allure of her lifestyle, which is so very different from his own. On the one hand Roy is stressing about Keeley's photoshoot, where the VF people have already told him he's basically going to be a prop to make her look good. So he's feeling insecure and like Keeley is on her way up while he's on his way out, petering into irrelevancy in the public eye. On the other hand...enter Ms Bowen. And in that moment, he almost feels like he's on more equal footing with Ms. Bowen, who's just a regular woman with a regular profession outside of the spotlight doing well for herself, than he is with Keeley. So Ms. Bowen provides him a temporary relief from the problems of his own life in a way that appeals to him (for three hours, apparently).

But like, the reality is that all we see them talking about is Ms Bowen being good at her job, what her jobs entails, Phoebe, the other children, etc. He doesn't learn her first name! It's pretty harmless flirting, not a very deep connection or a particularly meaningful conversation, and I don't think we were ever meant to see it as such (just my opinion, there's a bunch of shippers out there I know!). She's an easy escape, and then Roy's phone buzzes with the reminder to go to the photoshoot, and Roy steps back into his own life, which he was always going to return to.

I'm honestly less clear what the point of her reappearance in s3 was for because I'm not sure it really works as Roy's big epiphany moment for me... her telling him he was stuck is literally nothing Rebecca didn't already tell him! and "I hope that mess didn't cause too much damage" is such an odd Realization™️ line to prompt Roy to action because 1) he already knew it caused damage. He was there and saw Keeley's face when he told her he'd talked to Ms Bowen for 3 hours and 2) I dislike how that frames it as Roy flirting with Ms Bowen being THE driving force in the r/k breakup, when the reality is it was the very tip of the iceberg in a relationship that was falling apart no matter what. I think you could argue it was the point of no return, so maybe that's what they were going for? But they don't make that very clear because they don't write a very specific apology for Roy, do they! ugh"

[swordmaid]

jb + 7, 15, 30, 34

7. How often do they say “I love you”?

i do think jaime's the type to say it in passing like if brienne were to ever crack a joke and jaime would cackle and LAUGH he'd def go like ohhh i do love you while wiping away a stray tear. but i don't think they'll be the type to say it constantly though, only in serious and/or intimate situations. they both know they love each other ofc, but i see them being the type to only say it in situations where it is just the two of them, no one else. like just imagine jaime whispering it to brienne's ear and her face is kind of turned to him and their figures are tucked to each other HRK!!!!!!!!! like ill combust right now god

15. What songs remind you of their relationship?

FUNNY that you bring up songs because i actually have a playlist for them called the lovers [:. you should have a listen i think it's pretty nice hihihihi. also unironincally and not even in jest, shrek soundtrack gives big jb energy like they got bangers in there

30. What are their respective love languages? Do their love languages work well together?

i think they're both acts of service with the way that they both want to protect the people that they care about (brienne with renly, jaime with tyrion and cersei). which--if you put throw two acts of service bitches at each other you get something like in the bear pit where they're both arguing who's going to be protecting who. not to mention brienne wanting to finish her quest not only because she promised catelyn but also for jaime's honor. and also i guess you can consider jaime's love language to be gift giving since he gave her a whole bunch of stuff to prep her for her affc povs but honestly i'd consider that as acts of service LOL.

but tbh the both of them wanting to protect the people they care about makes such GOOD conflict because it's like they're both willing to sacrifice themselves for the other but then the other would HATE that like how dare you throw your life away for ME when i should be the one doing that for YOU. and it's such an interesting place for both of them to be in because they've never had someone be THAT person for them before, because they've always been THAT person. and now they're in the receiving end!!! and they're both like HMM i don't know if i like that. like i can't ever see jaime being okay with brienne wanting to hang herself for HIM because first of all why would you hang yourself for me im literally the kingslayer second of all how dare you throw yourself away like that. like i love that whole conflict of brienne's self martyr nature not sitting right with him, because why should see sacrifice herself to the people who don't even give her half the respect that she deserves?? and brienne not understanding why jaime is so bothered by that, but also being bothered at his insistence that he doesn't have honor and he's IS the kingslayer that's all he's ever going to be and she's like well no you're not and i literally can't stay in the room if there's jaime haters bc they're so wrong about you. like idk to me they're SO similar!! but because of how similar their natures are they have conflicts over it!! and then they learn how to compromise... something something batb being about transformation of self from being influenced by the other.

34. Do they have any inside jokes?

jaime will have PLENTY, like it would be such a surprise if they don't even have any inside jokes. they already have the 'as if you could' line going on i want them to make more i need brienne to start cracking jokes with jaime you have no idea how much i crave that im starved for it. also, i def think they'll be the type to have conversations through eye contact alone. like jb standing at the opposite end of the room listening to someone's speech and jaime will just look at her with amusement in his eyes and a smirk that brienne knows he has a joke in his head already he's clowning at this person and she KNOWS he's clowning at them she already knows what he's going to say but she doesn't approve! she gives him a frown instead. and jaime will call that HIS frown, btw. that's the frown that brienne gives him when he makes a particularly funny quip that she insists is not funny at all and he's so wrong to think that what's wrong with you honestly except she's fighting not to smile

ship ask game

[squishylemonbubbles]

HI IT'S SKRUNKS im here for the fic ask game >:]

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

H: How would you describe your style?

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

K: What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?

T: Any fandom tropes you can't stand?

(if this is too many to answer feel free to like. pick three or something <3)

WAAAHHH SKRUNKSSSS!!!! >:D i will do my best!!!

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

i guess... hmmm... like, a lot of my character elements and dialogue pieces come from personal experience, but not necessarily full plots? i think to be alive (majima in hospital after being freed from the hole) is my most direct "personal experience" kind of fic... most of that was true to my own experience nearly dying, up to and including the fucking awful blood pressure experience, and the shattered faces arguing.

another one that comes from personal experience in a way is i'm sorry i'm sorry (kiryu's nightmare in hospital) because that was literally a nightmare i had in hospital and i've been carrying it with me for a year lmao. it still gets under my skin sometimes but i wrote a followup, the sweetest company, so i try and think about that instead LOL

H: How would you describe your style?

UHHHH... i dunno?? a lot of times i don't really feel like i have a "style" i just feel like i'm stumbling around in the dark. i know that's not really true though? it's just, i have the inside view of how tangled up my brain is so i see all of the things that i don't like, that don't match up, or that feel inadequate.

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

that definitely depends... i mean i've done both, especially in multichaps, but i've found that doing things out of order sometimes ends up weaker for me. something about the jumping around makes inconsistencies in my head lol

K: What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

hmm. i guess that depends on the kind of angst...

yearning angst maybe? anything with goromi, or especially the hannya, set while kiryu is in okinawa and majima's still in tokyo. i dunno if you've seen much of my ramblings about the hannya but she's like, the cross between goromi and hannya man, since i think majima's faces are funky like that - there's an ebb and flow and sometimes they take shape together. i have a post here for visual reference with a lovely fanart!! i am still dying over this!!

the essence of the hannya is that she's silent, desperate for love, and possessive - pretty much, kiryu is the only thing she cares and thinks about. so if he isn't there to hold onto her, to remind her that he loves her, well... pain and despair. (see: starlit love)

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?

fuuuuck lol.

ryuji kicking around somewhere - i would love to do this, i really would. but i can't figure out how to write him, or even what he should be doing. i take a slight dead souls approach to him where he's alive as an amputee, though he does not get a gun prosthesis. actually, he doesn't like having a prosthetic arm at all, entirely refusing it.

maid cafe kazumi - this was my original idea long before i went maid cafe goromi! but i do think she's too shy to put on that kind of act, even in private. it's funny because kiryu has no problems with doing it himself, but the idea of acting along - or leading the act - as kazumi just. completely flusters her.

anything with tanimura - i want to write him. i don't know how to write him. i like him. i like him a lot more than i expected. he's also a stealth trans man. that's an experience i'm not quite sure how to write, i guess.

DATE X EARTH ANGEL MAMA - i need it so bad. this was born entirely of a scrambled-brain misconception and it'd be so silly but like... what if... what if i made it cute?

puppyplay kazumaji - specifically, pup majima. i really like it but i just can't get it to work when i try writing it... dog day by faggotrevolution1917 is like, what i WISH i could write, "and then they boned" is what i FEEL like i write LOL.

club four shine meeting kazumi - this one feels out of reach for me because i just don't have yakuza kiwami 2 and my bf never really touched club four shine, lol. i think yuki caught onto hints of goromi way back when, even though she never saw goromi herself, so when kazumi rolls around she's like ":) FINALLY a guy who can admit herself"

nishiki and majima NOT bonding - i feel strongly about this, that they wouldn't get along no matter how hard kiryu might try, but also... like, i view nishiki as a character sympathetically, i understand him, but any time i try and write him i just feel THE WORST because i knew someone that reminds me too much of him and they still make my fucking blood boil because of how they treated me after having been my best friend for years. it's VERY PERSONAL. so like. i don't want to write nishiki horribly out of character - it's one thing if you write a character OOC but positively, because fans of that character can often at least try to nod along. but OOC negatively? people are a lot more upset by that.

drag king haruka - that says it all basically!!

this isn't even a premise it's just a vague "i wish" but i think nair is really really cool and she deserves at least ONE fic featuring her

T: Any fandom tropes you can't stand?

hmmmm... i guess, like:

goromi being hyper-violent - more on that here but basically i don't think she's actually that interested in fighting for fun outside of kiryu. she can and will fight if threatened, but the enjoyment comes from kiryu specifically.

kiryu or majima randomly degrading the other during sex - like if there isn't explicit mention of humiliation/degradation kinks, or any kind of negotiation, even if it's just vaguely referenced... it just does not do it for me. i don't like kiryu randomly saying "you fucking bitch." he would not do that :(

hannya man being easily "shed" - i think the whole point of hannya man is to scare people, by majima pulling all the strings and being mysterious while doing it. so i don't think he'd just pull off the mask and cackle when he's "done with it", you know? he'll slink into the shadows like nothing happened, and some time later, majima will reappear, feigning innocence.

AH i'm sure i've missed some things for any of these questions lol but hopefully not too much?? i hope this was fun/cool/enlightening to read hehehe

[luxwing]

For the Astarion query you had and will not say any spoilers/will be normal lol.

My first time playing I missed a few companions so less choice. He's hard to miss so anyone in the same boat as me would have had more time with him. Some you can almost miss till end of act 1 so again you'd end up with him for more.

Everyone that I did get for act 1 till maybe a little into act 2 was on the same level of fuckable for me (in that I wasn't too bothered as actually went into the game not knowing the romance was that well developed)

The most romanced characters are Shadowheart, Lae'zel and Karlach. So a lot of people agree with you. I would argue its more that Astarion ticks the right boxes for the people that create stuff for tumblr and tiktok and also has a lot of content/a lot of content that is easily quotable. Then because of algorithms etc the hype train kicked off.

My hope is that it doesn't end up going the other way and he doesn't end up getting hate because of counter culture or whatever. He is a very good character, as they all are and his story is also very moving. Again without spoilers, at release there were some people grateful that they could connect with his story and felt they hadn't seen it, as it is in the game, in media before.

Astarion slowly made his way up that list for me for the following reasons

Funny

Interesting backstory that gets more we will say interesting as the acts go on

Backstory has moments of oh fuck I get that trauma

He has the ability to change either way possibly the most

He literally has the most hours of dialogue etc and a bunch of romance scenes when some characters sadly don't

Now I have done more times through the game, personally I think they all have pretty good character development and are all very fuckable as yous say.

If you held a gun to my head and made me pick 1 I would pick karlach, gale and astarion in no set order and take the bullet. But honestly the others are really pretty much just as good to me.

Now the hype is dying down I feel like a lot of convos have been moving onto other characters including wanting to fuck NPCs.

I've gotten far enough not that my character did spend a night with Astarion and it's opened up some more information about his backstory, so I'm starting to see what draws a lot of people toward him. Also, someone mentioned this on my other post, but yeah Neil Newbon's performance does so much heavy lifting that you can't help but find him a bit charming.

And God I forgot this game has three acts my ass is just now almost finished with everything in act one I'm only level 5 after nearly thirty hours oh my god

But I guess one reason people might not be fans of Astarion (not just because they're tired of the fanmedia saturation mind you) is because of his approvals. He gains approval from you being mean or snarky and from some displays of cruelty, so that might be a quick turn off for people. Ive bypassed this by leaving him at camp whenever I wanna be nice along with the other "kindness is cringe" people.

But yeah, he's a well written character, I'll agree to that. Honestly, all the party members seem really multifaceted whether for better or worse, and I actually like that a lot. I do wish Shadowheart and Lae'zel would stop trying to kill each other and make out already, tho.

Tbh I haven't seen anyone 'hate' on Astarion. Joke about him, sure, but i think I've seen way more people shit on Shadowheart than on him. Which, that's a whole nuther discussion to be had in itself, but yeah idk.

God I still have so much of the game left to do what the fuck

[musette22]

there's a new rumor about bucky getting his own Disney plus show 🙄🙄🙄 and I hope it isn't true but even seeing the rumor annoyed me so bad. that would b such a waste of time. 🙄 Sebastian is doing very good outside the mcu and with his indie projects. i hope he realizes that because sometimes i feel like he's still saying yes to marvel only because he's grateful but ugh 🙄🙄🙄 I'm so mad lol. i the other hand, feige did say yesterday that there will be less shows to avoid saturation and given that there are already like 5 or 6 upcoming Disney shows, i hope this rumor isn't real. i don't even understand how some fans can get excited about it 🙄🙄🙄

Yeah, I saw that rumour, and I got a few more asks about it, but I'm just going to answer one, because it's not something I want to talk about in general, and especially not when it's only a rumour at this point.

I REALLY hope this isn't true, pretty much for the reasons you listed and some additional ones @becccaagain mentioned in the reblog of this post (I'd rather not reblog the post itself because I don't want to have that rumour on my blog like that). I think if there's one reason Seb keeps saying yes to more Marvel, then it's the paycheck rather than that he's grateful, to be honest. I'm sure he knows that he's in a better position now than he used to be, and I'm sure he's business-minded enough to realise that he doesn't doesn't have to take literally any job he can get anymore, at this point.

But while I can't begrudge him wanting to get those paychecks (whether it's for personal reasons or for professional ones, such as wanting to produce more in the future) I am begging him to stop accepting Marvel gigs if he has any choice in the matter lol. He doesn't seem to get much out of them anymore creatively and artistically speaking at this point, and if he did do more Marvel, it'd probably go at the expense of other projects that could actually bring him those new, challenging, fulfilling experiences he's always looking for and advance his career in a way that will mean he'll get more and more of those opportunities, plus more money eventually.

And from my personal perspective, I just want them to leave Bucky alone already. They have mistreated him for years, and he just deserves to rest, goddammit. Bucky is literally one of my two favourite characters of all time, so I'm not saying this lightly. But at this point, I don't trust Marvel with him anymore at all. There is no way they'd suddenly start doing him justice (it's gone too far for that already anyway), and I am not interested in seeing him be mistreated more, and get further and further away from the Bucky I fell in love with (and that is not Sebastian's fault, by the way - he's always done the best with what he was given, but he just has been given fuck all in the past few years). So yes, anyway - this is still just a rumour at this point, so let's hope it's disproven soon. And if not, well, that would suck but we'd deal with it, I guess (again).

And just a little disclaimer at the end here: this is my personal opinion. I personally am not excited at the prospect at all, but I know there are people who are, and that's great for them, truly. So I don't blame anyone for having a different opinion, but I'm also not interested in arguing about this. Let's just agree to disagree and move on <3