#reddit cross post

[suitetarts]

some lucky redditor got a bug where the drow twins scene wasn't blacked out, and turns out there's most perfect snuggle pile if you brought halsin 😭

[redefine-ur-plurality]

I don't think it should be necessary for me to state how much I fucking despise r/systemscringe and similar communities and forums. What do they even think is so good about what they're doing? They actively hunt down traumatised minors on the internet, post their screenshots and publicly shame them until they are too scared to be active anymore. They fakeclaim anyone and everyone who doesn't precisely conform to their exact definition of what a plural should be - which is ironic since the majority of them are not plural. Everything they say seems to contradict itself, it's hard to tell what they think a system can be/have. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided systems weren't real altogether.

It's like

High alter count? fake

Low alter count? fake

Positive, healthy relationship with alters? fake

Negative, unhealthy relationship with alters? fake

Traumagenic? faking trauma to harm traumatized victims

Endogenic? faking a disorder, even though they never claimed to have it

Tulpagenic? cultural appropriation.

Enjoys problematic media? oh god they can't have interests!!! They *must* be faking

Stereotypically cringe/2020core? fake.

Basic person(people) functioning in life and working a job? fake.

Struggling to function properly? fake.

Stuck living with abusers/still being abused? fake.

Easily triggered? fake.

Hardly ever triggered? fake.

Vivid memories of trauma? fake.

No memories of trauma? fake.

Mixed origin? fake.

Undiagnosed DID/OSDD? fake.

Diagnosed DID/OSDD? fake.

Minor? fake. (which is odd, considering DID is known to form in early childhood)

Adult? fake.

Had more than one account of trauma/abused by more than one person? fake.

Ritually abused? fake.

Abused sexually/verbally/emotionally, neglected, gaslit or manipulated (any form of abuse besides or alongside physical)? fake

They are hypocrites.

[oldsoul--newmachine]

Fallen Hero Retribution: The Complete, Unabridged Guide

9½ months. 650 pages. 75,000+ words. Pages of notes, countless sleepless nights, and one Revelations demo later- Finally, here it is. Our answer key to all things Retribution. Enjoy.

So, You Want To Be A Villain?

As of posting this has not been play-tested. If you notice an issue, feel free to let me know.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

me: sigh i think my jgy hyper-fixation is finally fading. oh well i knew this would happen eventua—

some idiot on reddit: it was totally within jin guangyao’s power to execute xue yang, and also he should have done this because he SWORE an OATH to nmj, it was nmj’s RIGHT to make this demand of him

me:

[hauntingofhouses]

While theorising about the events to come in future seasons, I just keep going back to the question about who Mizu's parents really are.

So to try to figure it out, let's go over what we already know about Mizu's parentage and the white men. This info is from the flashback of Mizu as a baby in Episode 3, from the bounty hunters who came to kill Mizu in Episode 5, and from Fowler's reveals in Episode 8, assuming that everything he said is the truth.

Mizu must be someone important, as Fowler calls her Little Miss. It is capitalised in the Netflix official subtitles. This implies that Little Miss is something like a title, rather than just a nickname.

There is a bounty on Mizu's head with a sum few can resist. Whoever is trying to kill Mizu is rich and powerful.

Two men are sent to kill Mizu as a baby. They are Japanese. We know this because their swords are both katanas, and they're shocked when they see Mizu's blue eyes, discovering she's a "half-breed." Man #2 also calls her a "devil child" at the end of the flashback.

Man #2 is hesitant to kill her, as she's "only an infant," and ends up killing Man #1 to stop him from killing Mizu. Man #2 then gives Mizu to Mama, who is actually her maid.

Mama is paid to keep Mizu hidden. Mama does as told for years. We can infer that there was a steady stream of income going towards her, as she did as told until "the money ran out."

Skeffington and Routeley were the "worst" of the four white men, making their money from "selling Japan's unwanted daughters." Unwanted daughters like Mizu.

One of the white men "tried to burn Mizu alive as a baby."

One of the white men killed Mizu's mother ("Don't you want to know which one killed your mother?").

When bounty hunters came to the ranch to ambush Mizu, she asked them which white man they worked for. They only replied that the only white person they see is her. This could just be a way to avoid her question, or it could also imply that they do not work for a white man at all.

So from this, again assuming this is all true, let's go over some things:

The white men are NOT the ones who paid Mama to protect Mizu, as one of them had been responsible for trying to burn Mizu alive as a baby.

Mizu's mother was killed by one of the white men. She likely died protecting Mizu.

If it was the white father who tried to kill Mizu and her mother, then it's likely the mother's side who paid Mama to hide Mizu.

Mizu's mother must have been rich enough to afford servants.

Mizu's mother must have been someone powerful enough to have been in the shogun's inner circle, allowing contact between her and the white men.

Furthermore:

Mizu's mother should be someone tied to existing characters, to make the reveal of her identity more narratively significant.

So with all that said, let me dip my toes into wild theory-land for a bit and propose a new idea.

WHAT IF: Mizu's mother was a concubine or even the previous wife of the Shogun? And, considering how people have pointed out how similar Lady Itoh and Mizu look (credits to @roninzuzu in particular for her post on this), what if, maybe just maybe, Mizu's mother was also Lady Itoh's sister?

If this is true, then Mizu's connection to the shogunate would explain why and how Fowler knew so much about Mizu's past, especially regarding her maid taking care of her, etc. This is because Fowler is allied with the Shogun himself, as well as one of the shogun's closest advisors, Master Chiba. So if it were true that the previous wife/consort of the shogun gave birth to a blue-eyed baby, it would've been a big scandal that was certain to reach Master Chiba's ears, and he would have in turn informed Fowler about it.

If this is the case, both the shogun and the white man would be trying to kill Mizu and her mother. The shogun would be trying to cover up the scandal, while the white man would be furious that she wanted to keep the baby at all, as the scandal likely ruined his business dealings in Japan and forced him to retreat back to London or wherever else he came from.

But then, if that is the case, then who would have been the one paying Mizu's maid to take care of her? I think it's Lady Itoh. If she and Mizu's mother had indeed been sisters, perhaps Lady Itoh went behind the shogun's back to protect her sister and her baby niece. Because maybe Lady Itoh knew that Mizu's mother had wanted to protect her no matter what happened. In such a case, what kept Mizu alive would thus have been love. Her mother's love. In this scenario, Mizu would have been brought into the world through the sheer strength of her mother's unconditional love. This would be a very poignant message that overturns everything Mizu believes about herself.

Moreover, Mizu having connections to the shogunate would inevitably lead to her wanting to discover the truth about her mother's identity. This would thus bring Mizu back to Edo palace, and would neatly tie Mizu and Akemi's storylines together again, letting them cross paths once more and work together to face the main plot-conflict.

TL;DR it's my crazy theory that Mizu's dead mom was the sister of Lady Itoh and the previous consort of Shogun Itoh. She had an affair with one of the white men, and against her better judgement and against what everyone else wants from her, she decided to keep Mizu. By making this decision, she risked and sacrificed everything for Mizu, out of love.

[remythologise]

Would you give Expedition 33 a third ending, and, if so, how would you do it?

This is such a meaty question!!! Thank you so much for asking it I had so much fun chewing it over because there’s so much to say for such an incredible story!

[Full spoilers for the game and very long rambling below. Don't read unless you've played it!]

First of all I want to say that Clair Obscur is nearly perfect in its current form so when I make complaints they are really minor. Also the creators have very much said they deliberately created two pretty equally ‘bad’ endings and I really appreciate the tragedy they created, and the choices they made. So I appreciate the story in its current form, and I don’t know my quibbles can be fixed without fundamentally changing the narrative, which might have made it weaker!

Let me use an example to illustrate that dilemma. So we raise the question of the agency and life and betterment of the people in the painting by having Gustave as our protagonist in Act I - but if we remove the question of that agency/revolution to make the narrative ‘stronger’ (i.e. it fully becomes a narrative about the family tragedy by just having Maelle as the protagonist for Act I) I think it loses the complexity presented by having that question there, and also lessens the tragedy and shock of losing Gustave. It also makes the Maelle vs Verso ending choice much easier morally, because the characters in the painting may well be just like video game characters - not really ‘real’. Of course, just because Gustave wasn’t our POV character doesn’t mean the painting people weren’t ‘real’, but by making him so in Act I I think it really is intentional to prove that the painted people ARE real, with just as much agency as the Dessendre Family (metaphorically, because the player has the POV agency of both).

I don’t know if it’s possible, then, to change it neatly to ‘solve’ the game without weakening other parts of the narrative (i.e. if we make Gustave protagonist for Act III instead of I, we lose the Alicia parallel shock and grief of losing her brother for good).

But let me see if I can at least unpack the problems and find solutions for them.

So there’s some themes/ideas which are ambiguous or left unanswered in the game which I need to address.

Are the painted people (and Nevrons, Gestrals etc.) real/do they have as much value as real people? For the purposes of this post, I’m going to say they are. There are multiple things the game presents us with to suggest that, such as the aforementioned Gustave POV, the child-Verso-ghost dialogue at the end of the post-game where he says they believe they are, the ‘free will’ Nevrons, and the diaries of people like Julie and Painted Verso. I actually don’t think this is ambiguous compared to other things, but I thought I would get it out of the way since a lot of people dismiss the ending by saying the painted people aren’t real so killing them isn’t really a genocide. I disagree...

Continuity of consciousness; if the painted people die, might they as well be dead? That is to say, if revived they are just 'imitations' and not their true selves? I'm going to say that they aren't imitations, because Sciel and Lune seem to retain their 'consciousness' and identity for all intents and purposes when they are revived by Maelle. But it’s an interesting question.

Is the labour of Verso’s child-soul-fragment the only thing that keeps the canvas working? I don’t know if this representation of a fragment of a soul has the same agency and consciousness as a person, or if it’s more like an echo or ghost. But let’s assume, to make the argument harder, that child-Verso IS as real as a person, and deserves as many rights. I think that untangling that question is the key to any satisfying question because to be clear, either a) the child-soul-fragment is not as real as a person or, b) the Dessendres have a house-full of eternal sweatshop workers split off from their souls who are trapped forever painting their creations. If the Writers are trying to stop the Painters, maybe they’re the good guys! But speaking of labour and revolt, let’s talk about;

The collective effort to revolt against an unfair fate dictated by an upper class. The fact that the FRENCH game leans on ‘Tomorrow comes’ as a tagline, invoking Les Mis directly, then DROPS the thematic drive of the people Fighting Back against their fate, is crazy to me. The endlessly repeated ‘for those who come after’ doesn’t really make sense with the endings, either. These are lines which directly invoke the sense of the collective fighting for a better tomorrow, which is not what happens - not even for Maelle. The people of Lumiere are not fighting just for HER to have a happy ending (not that she does!) and in fact, Maelle pretty much doesn’t even acknowledge the people of Lumiere as being her primary motivator for saving the painting. It’s all about the members of the upper class - the Dessendres, the gods of the painting. Yes, you can have a tragedy (as Les Mis is), but Act III’s endings are not even about the metaphorical working class, or their sacrifice, at all. It’s not clear the game remembers any of this theme by Act III, which is very frustrating. I understand the game undergoes a focus switch to great effect for the theme of GRIEF, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of dropping other themes entirely - it lacks narrative neatness and structural integrity to me.

Most importantly to me, though, and the reason I found the ending unsatisfying, is because the game hints at a secret ‘third’ path/ending/solution - most explicitly in Alicia’s letter to Maelle:

“But perhaps you'll find another way. You who have lived amongst us. Perhaps you differ from your father and your sister, as I differ from mine. Your mother paints life. Whilst your father, death. What will you paint?”

And secondly at the end of the post-game Endless Tower section with Clea:

“It’s not selfish to make your own choices, sister. You’ve made great strides since I saw you last. Don’t go backwards. Take this. A reminder that you control your life. And if you’re not having fun… do something else. (…) I hope you had fun. Just remember… The only thing you owe them, is to live a life you enjoy.”

(There’s also the fact there’s an OST track called ‘A Life to Dream’ (as opposed to ‘A Life to Love’ and ‘A Life to Paint’). But that plays during an Alicia Reacher sequence, so I wouldn’t rely on that alone if it weren’t for the other things.)

You’ll notice Clea’s Endless Tower speech brings up a key problem with the ‘better’ ending with Verso; that Maelle has no agency. Although you could argue that she’s at least a) b begun to process her grief and b) not controlling anyone against their will, as she is in the Maelle ending, Maelle doesn’t get to make that choice in Verso’s ending. And she certainly isn’t having fun or living a life she enjoys (as she frequently reminds Renoir and Painted Verso, the painted worlds allow her freedom from the pain of her body that reality does not).

Okay, so all that to say; what would I want from a third ending?

I think the key thing missing from the two endings is agency; for Maelle, and for the people of Lumiere. In Verso’s ending, Maelle is forced into reality against her will, and it’s not actually clear whether that’s really a ‘happy reality’ that she can grow to accept at all. For all we know, her existence continues to be miserable - there is no symbolic indication or otherwise that Maelle’s future there has hope in it. (Which they easily could have added, if they wanted - they didn’t for a reason!) And for the people of Lumiere - in Verso’s ending they are killed against their will, and in Maelle’s ending, it’s kind of implied they could be or are being controlled by the whims of their god, Maelle. It doesn’t really feel like THEY saved themselves for themselves - Maelle’s justification for continuing the canvas is all about Verso, not about them.

I don’t think a third ending has to be fully ‘happy’, but I do think it has to be about Maelle processing grief on her own terms, and in a healthy way. And I think the key there is having the people of the painting help her mature in a way her family never could. Because they themselves, are more mature than her family are.

What do I mean by that? Well, let’s compare some of the characters who I think draw a nice contrast in how they handle grief.

So we have:

Sciel whose husband (and child) dies, accepts death so much she sees it as an old friend, and lives what fleeting life she has with joy. Contrast with Aline’s denial and depression, and Clea’s anger.

Lune, dealing with the death of her absent parents, nevertheless acknowledges their flaws and how they had good and bad in them - contrast with Aline, who paints idealised versions of her family to memorialise how they were with Verso.

Emma, who lets her brother go off to die understanding his sacrifice even though she doesn’t like it - contrast with Maelle of course.

Gustave, who breaks up with Sophie more or less gracefully understanding her reasons - compared to Renoir and Aline’s destructive anger at their loss and relationship breakdown. (Not saying Renoir is wrong in trying to save Aline, but he's certainly very destructive about it.)

Okay, so, I think the key would be some version of Gustave talking with Maelle and helping her process both his death and Verso’s, so she can make her own choice. I think they have to emphasise the future of Lumiere and the people in this conversation, or have Lune and Sciel do so and have more agency. Painted Verso has to die; I think it’s important specifically because it’s why Maelle and Aline keep coming back. I think I agree with the characterisation and sacrifice he made, i.e. realising that his dying was the only way Maelle would leave the Canvas.

And Maelle has to leave the canvas behind; whether or not she returns one day to dabble, maybe to see Gustave might be left impossible or ambiguous. But I don’t think any god-like being can remain in the Canvas and allow the Canvas agency; I think this was sort of proved in Maelle’s ending.

There’s one problem left, which is; what about the piece of Verso’s soul left in the Canvas? Unfortunately I don’t have a good solution to this because I’m still not sure how much ‘personhood’ it has or how the magic works; maybe someone else like Maelle leaves part of herself behind to replace Verso’s child-fragment, but maybe then it wouldn’t be ‘Verso’s’ world. Maybe the world doesn’t naturally expire immediately without that soul-fragment.

Let’s say, worse case scenario, the child, who has full personhood, MUST labour endlessly for the canvas to exist, and it’s an The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas situation. In that case, we have to add an extra layer of complexity to the ending because of course, the fact the paintings exist at all - not just this Canvas, but all of them - is monstrous.

So in that event, it’s possible the writers or some other force - the creations of the works themselves - have to take control of their own narrative or existence, or even decide themselves to end their lives after discovering this fact. What matters is that, as in The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, THEY have the information and agency to do so. I think the ending could almost be improved a bit if Sciel and Lune agreed to the choice because of the child, rather than Verso and Maelle deciding for them.

Anyway, at the end of the day I think that the story just requires quite a bit more interrogation of the nature of the godhood and class dynamics of the Dessendre family versus their creations, and the lack of agency of those creations - and how they might acquire that agency. HOW that plays out could be as simple as Sciel and Lune being more a part of the choices in the endings - and having more agency in those choices - or as wrought out as an entire new Act, DLC or sequel game, in which the Writers are involved, or just the creations of the paintings revolting properly to seize control of the means of production (Maelle, this could have been you… but I understand why it wasn’t!)

One last note* which I find very funny is that the writers apparently didn’t even intend for the story to be primarily about grief, but more about an artists’ relationship with their work. Which like. Very funny to me, like I simply don’t agree that is the primary theme here. It’s obviously in there, but THAT over GRIEF? So if we ignore the beautiful tragedy of the ‘dealing with grief’ endings then, I think it’s even more cool to have the characters ‘seize control’ of the narrative from the artists. Because, once a work is out there, famously, it’s out there! Lots of things you can read into that of course, and we love that kind of moral of ‘the author is not in control anymore’ in transformative fandom, but this post is long enough already. Thanks for reading all of that, if you did!

*see replies to this post for clarification on this!

[blessedgirthma]

How I would take the relationship between Batman and the Joker

This is just something that I've had in my veins for a while now and needed to get it out there so I wouldn't go CRAZY.

Howdy Doody!~

For a long time, I've been trying to figure out what would be an interesting direction for Batman and the Joker's relationship. One of the directions that I like the most is for Batman to finally kill the Joker.

Now, I know DC would never go for this because the Joker is one of their main cash cows. But I think what it could end up being is a spiritual successor to Knightfall. Where instead of Batman being broken physically and partially mentally, I think his killing the Joker would break him spiritually and shake him to his very core regarding why he became a hero in the first place.

There are countless ways that it could go down. But if I were to write the story, I think I would have the Joker trap Batman in some sort of labyrinth underground where he's completely cut off from the rest of the family. Joker would obviously put Batman through the wringer, torturing him and forcing him to go through deadly trials and tribulations. Overall, standard stuff when it comes to both of them. However, while Batman is trapped, the Joker plays him videos and footage of Gotham being destroyed, forcing Batman to watch as he destroys his city, kills his family, and ruins everything while he's still trapped.

It pushes Batman to his breaking point as he sees countless people being murdered, butchered, and torn apart. And it's all to the sound of Joker's constant mocking as he blames Batman for everything since he never decided to finish things and just kill him. At the same time, he's also throwing him through death trap after death trap before Batman finally gets to him.

From there, it's the standard beat down. However, this time, it's different. It isn't Batman fighting the Joker anymore; it's the man, Bruce Wayne, who's beating the clown prince of crime to death. And in a moment of pure and utter hate on Bruce's part, he finally does it. He kills the Joker. For me personally, I never see him doing it with a gun since he's so opposed to guns. But when he does it, Bruce finally manages to escape, only to find that Gotham is fine.

Turns out that all the footage he showed Batman was fake and that the Joker finally managed to get Batman to kill him without even having to kill anyone.

From there, word began to spread rather quickly that Batman killed the Joker, and it completely changed the dynamic between Batman and his villains. They're all now more cautious around him since it's been proven that if pushed far enough, Batman IS capable of killing. But for the most part, the entire world celebrates along with most of the hero community. However, for Batman himself, he hates it, he hates it all.

He hates that he's being celebrated for breaking his one rule. He hates that he's now one of the world's most beloved heroes for finally killing the Joker. He hates how no government or law enforcement official wants to bring him in. Most of all, he hates how good he feels afterward, like he can finally breathe easy and not have to worry about the clown prince of crime. And so, for a time, he hangs up his cowl and retires. He sees himself as tainted after taking a life, even if that life was the Joker's. But through his support system, people like Superman, Nightwing, and even Jason help Batman see that he can still be a hero even if he broke his one and only rule.

It takes time, of course. When he puts the cowl back on, he drifts between being too brutal and being too soft. He's scared that he'll end up killing again since he's done it once before, but at the same time, he doesn't want another Joker. But after a while, he finds his right footing and becomes a brighter hero. Not on the same level as someone like Superman or Nightwing, but for the first time in almost 30 years of crime fighting, he has hope that his mission will finally come to an end.

From here, he fights other villains, with perhaps someone like Bane stepping up to the mantle to become Batman's greatest foe now that Joker is out of the way. But for the most part, things return to some form of normalcy. Even then, the death of the Joker still weighs heavily on Batman's mind, but not as much as before.

But life goes on. Villains come and go. Gotham sees destruction come its way time and time again. However, one day, via some villain, whether it'd be in a Justice League book or a Batman title, Batman ends up in Hell. And who's there to greet him at those Hellish gates? Well, it's none other than the Joker.

Turns out that, after everything the Joker had done throughout his time as a villain, he's earned himself a special spot in the underworld as one of, if not THE most evil human being out there.

But for Batman, he now has to traverse Hell and find a way out while Joker tags along and tries to make his journey all the more painful as he taunts him about the fact that he finally managed to make him break his one rule. By the end of it all, Batman manages to escape Hell after managing to trick the Devil himself. In response, the Devil then revives the Joker as a demon whose sole purpose is to torment Batman.

However, unlike before, the Joker can't die since he'll just be resurrected, thanks to the Devil. This allows Batman to be more brutal than ever with the Joker; whether it'd be chopping him up into tiny pieces or burying him alive on the moon, there really isn't a limit to what Batman will do. But every once in a while, the Joker comes back, and Batman has to stop him once again. Although, thanks to the Joker now being part demon, he's able to pull more tricks that push Batman further than ever before.

Just off the top of my head, I see Joker maybe possessing people Batman cares about, creating new strains of Joker toxin that transform people into horrifying laughing monsters, and maybe even shapeshifting into new forms so that he can become an ally to Batman, only to stab him in the back.

To add onto this, Batman would ONLY get that brutal with the Joker since he can now take it.

I don't know if any of this makes sense or if it's any good. If anything, at the very least, I think it'd make a good Elseworld story, but beyond that, I'll leave it up to you.

[adarlingmess]

So, let's discuss that scene in Raphael's Boudoir.

Before anything else, I want to thank the studio for giving us that treat after us devil simps kept asking for him, and apologize for the unholy fanwork it might inspire.

Right, now that it's out of my system...

At first, I found it hilarious that Raphael only ever sleeps with a copy of himself. On brand, for a narcissistic devil. But after some thought, I just realized how that might've been a half-truth, and how utterly self-indulgent, controlling and depraved Raphael actually is.

Haarlep himself told you that the person he copies his appearance from will know that they're having sex in that form. By sleeping with himself, he's experiencing twice the pleasure he gets. It's basically masturbation with a few extra steps. That would also mean Raphael felt everything and is perfectly aware that his incubus fucked you if you do it.

If you steal the hammer or rip up your contract, Raphael will confront you. You can try to get Korrilla on your side, she will say that the only reason why we're here is because Raphael allowed the player to be there. So, he is actually allowing you to use his "toy".

This is where it gets more screwed up: Haarlep is Raphael's personal incubus. It doesn't help that failing to resist them leads them to saying that the player's body will be "left alive as a loving doll to obey the wishes of me and my master"

In conclusion: Raphael orchestrated everything. He didn't sleep with the player himself and let Haarlep do it so that he will have access to your form at any given moment and do whatever depraved thing he wants with it. I guess that explains why he was eyeing the player from head to toe when he claims to just be protecting his assets when you meet him outside of the Thorm Mausoleum in Act 2, too. It lends a whole new sinister meaning to him saying that he's grown fond of you in his own way.

The rational part of my brain says this is so fucked up, but the other half is in morbid awe. The writers managed to make what seems to be a minor fanservice moment into a further glimpse into a character's psyche. By that point in the story, it's glaringly obvious that Raphael is a control freak- and dominating you by making you feel it whenever Haarlep uses your body is another way for him to exert control.

Such a bastard. I love to hate him and hate to love him.

[tvckerwash]

watching people discover the fucked up science guy part of viktor's lore and then being like "we need to acknowledge that he's a fucked up science guy 😔" is so funny. like yeah, he is a fucked up science guy who thinks ethics committees are bullshit because in his mind having rights temporarily violated is perfectly fine if it means saving lives—especially when the ones condemning his beliefs don't offer what they consider to be an ethical alternative to fix the problem and simply let it continue to exist.

and yeah, he's a fucked up science guy who experimented on himself following a, quote: traumatic period of introspection. he had a mental breakdown, fell into a major depressive episode, and spending this horrible time of his life "alone in the depths" reinforced and radicalized his previous beliefs, and to showcase his beliefs (and to try and get rid of his emotions because of how overwhelming they were) he turned himself into a cyborg (and did in fact make himself worse in certain ways but ehh who cares /j).

and yeah, he's a fucked up science guy who gave a kid back alley anti anxiety meds so he could face down his bullies, but he did so after making him a cozy beverage, teaching him about the dangers of propaganda and baseless rumors, and having him scream into a megaphone to freak out said bullies because it was funny (not that he'd admit to finding it funny because then he'd have to admit to having emotions, and well he can't do that, no sir).

so yes, viktor is a fucked up science guy, but that's half his charm! he cares so much about helping people, but he's a weirdo and freak about it! though to be fair, in the city that also has a chemically enhanced werewolf (warwick), a sentient blob of goo (zac), a wind and water goddess (janna), and a literal war criminal who invented chemical warfare (singed), among many other wacky individuals, he's pretty normal all things considered! fucked up science is just a part of life in zaun, my dudes!

[totallyrad01]

Enjoy this goofy finger doodle of my fursona Marigold :3

Only spent 10 minutes on it so pls be kind!!

I’ll post his full ref sheet later

[delu-lusional]

Junko enoshima ft. Ikuzono below the divider :333

[fishy-poof-crackers]

Why Trios Work - Part One

The Training Trio: Kaito, Maki, Shuichi

In Danganronpa: Killing Harmony, Kaito invites Shuichi and Maki to train at night. Though their time together comes with character and relationship development between the three of them.

Relationship & character analysis.

Disclaimers:

Spoilers for the entirety of v3: Killing Harmony.

Content warnings: illness/disease, discussion of blood.

I haven't seen v3 in awhile. I tend to think as I write and I may ramble and repeat things and not make any sense, haha.

1. Kaito has Maki's and Shuichi's best interests at heart.

The loss of Rantaro and Kaede has taken its toll on everyone in the killing game. It starts a sequence of events that leads into a downward spiral of bloodlust and murder.

Kaede's death hits the hardest for Shuichi. It's implied that Shuichi had feelings for Kaede. Even if it was a small crush, Kaito knows that they had a deeper emotional connection. They trusted each other, they were there for each other, etc.

But because Shuichi spent so much time with Kaede, he didn't form hard connections with the other students.

Kaito invites Shuichi to befriend him and help him cope with the loss of Kaede.

Shuichi makes a promise to Kaede that he will end the killing game. Kaito knows that Shuichi can't do this on his own. He knows that someone at least needs to be there to boost Shuichi's morale. By showing that he believes in him, Kaito is being his shoulder to lean on.

(Kaito himself also wants to end the killing game. He doesn't believe that he can do it by himself, or that Shuichi can do it by himself. It isn't just Shuichi fulfilling Kaede's wishes to stop the killing game; Kaito fulfills her wish to have everyone band together. He believes that it takes a team. Teamwork makes a dream work, right?)

Kaito invited Shuichi to help him grow stronger.

They have similar interests at heart.

Kaito invited Shuichi to achieve their goals.

Since this is chapter two we're talking about, there isn't much to say about Maki.

Kaito takes an interest in Maki.

Okay, Kaito isn't very smart, but somehow he's able to see inside her. The rest of the students brush her off, including Kaede, the main protagonist. I don't remember who, but one of the two (I think Shuichi) points out that Maki can't be heartless due to her talent. In chapter two, Shuichi still doesn't have the mindset of the others when it comes to her. He doesn't make an effort like Kaito, but he doesn't think she's some stone-cold bitch with a secret.

Yeah, it isn't much, but Shuichi sees something else in Maki, too. So, Kaito and Shuichi both see something in Maki (mostly Kaito).

Shuichi is surprised to learn Kaito invited Maki, but he's even more surprised when she joins. It's disappointing when she doesn't interact with them like Kaito and Shuichi have been, but as you probably know, this eventually changes.

Like Shuichi, Kaito invites Maki to help her grow stronger.

When I say stronger, I mean in all aspects. Emotionally, physically, mentally. He wants them to become stronger people, wants them to have stronger relationships- Kaito wants them to be strong.

Kaito invites Maki because he wants her to open up.

This is a big recurring theme in chapter two. Going back through this analysis in my head I simplified the reason why, and it makes me kind of sad. There are a few reasons Kaito wants Maki to open up. I'll do my best to emphasize how heartwarming they are.

Going stronger, yadda yadda.

Curiosity. This is far from the main reason, but I respect it. Heavily. I'm a curious person (sometimes) and I always want the fucking answers.

He sees her as a closely-guarded person. This ties into the third reason, so view this as a prequel, haha. Kaito doesn't think isolation will help her at all. I don't remember if he thinks this will make her a target (he probably does, but he's still not the main reason he wants to connect with her), but in general, he thinks isolated people are not happy. In a high-pressure situation, Kaito believes she's burying her emotions deep. He knows that isn't a good thing.

Kaito is genuinely concerned for Maki's well-being.

This hurt me a lot. It's so sweet, and it shows how good of a person Kaito is. As stated, the reason he's concerned about her is because he wants her to be happy. He wants her to be comfortable with herself. Kaito shows this throughout the game- evidence on this later.

Kaito wants Maki to heal.

Again, evidence on this later, but Kaito believes that if Maki lets her guard down and learns to trust others, she can learn to trust and love herself.

2. Dynamic (+Humor).

Their dynamic works beautifully.

Technically, their dynamic is called a "complex bro-ship" LMAO. ("Gym bros" also works, I guess. I hate that term, it's more sexualized than bro-ships.) But they ARE! This post was meant to be ambiguous- you can interpret it as a friendship or a romance. You still can! I just use the term 'friendship' a lot for this point.

Honestly, "bro-ship"s in media makes it seem like they have to be between two guys and there's sexual tension and they're probably fucking on the side, or it's a Disney Love Triangle where it's romantic and you have to choose one (not to mention that your love interests don't like each other), or it's one ship and friend-zoning and jealousy.

The Training Trio not only defies the typical stereotypes, but they go beyond it. It truly is a complex friendship. I fucking love it when relationships make the stereotype complex, but I love it even more when they break it entirely.

This trio also brings some good comedic relief.

And relief in general, but allow me to elaborate on the humor aspect.

When Maki first starts exercising with the group, the boys' reaction is priceless. They're like, 'Woah, where the hell did this come from?' It's hilarious.

Kaito doesn't do the workout with them. It quickly becomes obvious that he set the group up for emotional reasons, but it's still funny to watch. Maki and Shuichi call him out on it and he straight-up makes excuses and picks on Shuichi.

He isn't hurting Shuichi's feelings too bad either, and it gets Maki to laugh.

I adore humor like this if no one is actually getting hurt. Maybe this isn't the perfect example of how this humor works because Shuichi does feel a little put-down, and I don't think he should feel bad at all.

Even so, the way they make me laugh feels way less awkward than most of the other characters do in the cast. Partly because the other jokes used in v3 are rude and sexual, partly because the Training Trio brings a sense of comfort because it feels like a joke between friends.

3. Character Development.

Character development and a closer look to each of their characters.

I'll start with the most obvious one.

Maki

Maki becomes less cold-hearted and more open. She shows kindness to others while not letting them walk all over her. In the past, she kept up a prickly barrier that would poke you if you even touched it.

In the end, she falls for Kaito. She reveals it after the fifth trial when he's about to get executed for murdering Kokichi.

"I've never... fallen for anyone before."

Kaito replies that by learning to love and trust others, she can learn to love and trust herself.

More than vulnerability, allowing herself to care, and showing the two on numerous occasions, Maki allows herself to feel. After Kaito's death, she admits she cried that night. Although she also says she wouldn't allow herself to cry about it anymore.

Shuichi

Honestly, most of his character development can be chalked down to Kaede, but... Nah. I do believe that she was a huge influence, but hear me out.

I believe Kaede pushed Shuichi towards being more confident, but there were still times when he doubted himself. Shuichi is always doubting himself; however, we see Kaito and Maki not only back him up, but sometimes they even go so far as to give words of encouragement.

There were multiple times when Shuichi said he didn't think he could fulfill Kaede's wishes. At some point, he thinks about how he doesn't think he's able to do it without her...

...But he has Maki and Kaito.

Shuichi will never be alone again.

Kaito

This was harder to think about, especially because I didn't really care for Kaito in my v3 phase. I did go back to be able to form an opinion.

Kaito is encouraging, brave.... and full of himself. Maki (and Shuichi) have to put him in his place multiple times. Kaito listens and tries to become a better person while still maintaining his own beliefs. He sticks to what he believes in, which is also his downside.

But that's a character description, not development you're saying?

Yeah. You're right.

Kaito more or less stays the same. Not all the characters are going to develop that much. Especially in v3.

4. Mutual Relationship.

I implied before that their relationship doesn't lean one way or the other, meaning it's extremely mutual.

"But Maki has a crush on Kaito!"

Yeah.

So?

Maki still looks out for Shuichi after Kaito dies. While they're training Maki chooses to talk to Shuichi to get his view on something. She says that Shuichi can give her different viewpoints than Kaito, so she goes to him instead.

You have to understand that Maki and Shuichi went through Kaito's downfall together.

I've already explained how Kaito cares for Shuichi and Maki and how they care for him in return. So, there's no need to elaborate on that, but I will add a point.

Kaito's illness. They're both genuinely horrified. Neither of them wants him to die, and both of them want to do their best to help Kaito recover. He brought them together.

Conclusion

I've never been good at ending things, haha. I really like these three! I believe they were crucial to the plot and they definitely didn't waste our time.

If you have any suggestions you can put them in my inbox, but I also read comments and reposts.

Speaking of which, both of those are very appreciated! I've never done an analysis on my own time before. Thank you.

[mynameisvarian]

Drawing people's Camp Camp Related Dreams (Reddit Edition!)

See the original Reddit post here!

[vampiresblog]

I won't lie gang... this past month I have gone from using a cane to get around outside to only using my wheelchair- propelled by someone else- to get from my bedroom to the bathroom. needless to say my condition is progressing at a really steady rate and things are getting scary. I am unable to make myself food or even hold my phone and type for too long. However as this is all so new and happening over the christmas/new year period I am not getting adequate assistanc or healthcare as I still need to APPLY FOR ASSISTANCE to help me APPLY FOR ASSISTANCE which could overall take 6+ months. Despite people pushing me to remain hopefull, I can really only see myself getting worse from here. My resilience can only keep me awake for so long. What I really want to ask, specifically the me/cfs community but the wider chronic illness community too, is for help arranging a sort of "living will" for however long I'll be alive but not able to do very much. my will for what happens to the life that I used to have before it all got worse - and how I would like to be taken care of. Are there any templates out there that I can send to my carers? If not that, some advice or words of support anybody can give?

[nymori]

Just finished my first spooky cross stitch of the season. It honestly wasn't so hard on the eyes until the last two colors, and then... ouch.

The (free!) pattern is Lost, based on a design by BlindCherub.