realmoftomar

[stardust-falling]

Having more thoughts about Shen Jiu because of course I am.

I don’t think he has the capacity for empathy or genuine selflessness.

He spent the entirety of his formative years deep in survival mode, and because of that, he evaluates people solely based off of how they might threaten or ensure his safety and/or comfort. As far as individual people themselves with their own perspectives… honestly I don’t think he even thinks of that.

Maybe a controversial opinion, but I don’t think even YQY is exempt.

Shen Jiu doesn’t have a moral code. When every day is spent on surviving, a moral code is a luxury.

And really, he just never got out of that mode. See, the thing is, once you’ve had enough adverse experiences it only takes a little bit to trigger you back into that mindset. Shen Jiu was used to being scolded and then beaten or abused, so for him, even a simple chiding is a precursor to abuse— even if he DOES recognize that nothing more will happen, his body and mental patterns will still go into that preparation time.

So of course he never left survival mode, because even if nothing is actively happening, your mind will keep reinforcing those patterns.

For someone with a normal upbringing, as far as I can tell, empathy is something you learn and develop from those around you. Many seem to think it’s something innate and natural and if you don’t have it then there’s something wrong with you from birth. I think Shen Jiu falls into exactly this category of thought— and so he doesn’t even consider that he could try to learn and develop it as a skill he can perform, even if it doesn’t come naturally.

Of course, would he even try? He hasn’t been given any incentive. Any time he has tried to do something good, he ends up getting hurt (saving Yue Qi leading to being taken by QJL) or misinterpreted and admonished (the well ghost incident, keep in mind my earlier point about scoldings perpetuating the same patterns).

So he stays in that same vicious cycle, perpetually in survival mode and unable to escape, even in a relatively secure position (see: his paranoia).

Now, this is all relevant to the discussions of SJ’s feminism, misogyny, and/or lack thereof. I feel like a lot of discussions aren’t really getting the full picture.

SJ sees people, no matter who they are, as solely how they can affect him. Just because this isn’t exclusive to women, or because if comes from a reasonable place, does that really mean it doesn’t play into misogyny?

Let’s take another angle.

I think his abuse of LBH and other talented disciples also is rooted, deep down, in this same issue. He’s not just hurting LBH only to hurt him, his aim is specifically to stunt his cultivation. There’s jealousy at play there of course, but there’s a bit more layers to it too— SJ doesn’t think he’s capable of goodness. So reasonably, he’ll be a bad teacher. He already knows what happens when someone becomes more powerful than their oppressor. LBH may be a child now, but a part of SJ whether he acknowledges it or not sees him as a future threat that needs to be treated as such.

It’s rooted in fear— because everything is with SJ.

So does that mean it’s not actually abuse?

No. The behaviors he shows are still abusive, the reasoning just gives a lens for understanding.

Now, with his views on women— I mentioned in the tags of my original post that I don’t think he views women as people. This is based in that earlier idea of how he interprets others based off their risk and benefit to him. For women specifically, though, there’s another layer.

Shen Jiu grew up in a society where women are inherently lesser— and he grew up in an extreme version of this. He saw women being treated as property firsthand(both as slaves, as well as QJL’s views on his sister). Your worldview is shaped by the world that you view during those early years. Whether he agreed or not, SJ would still take on the patterns of his environment. This, though, is just the same as general societal misogyny and ingrained bias. I don’t think he’s any different than anyone else in this way.

But where SJ’s particular flavor comes in is that to him, women are a source of comfort. For various reasons— positive past experiences, less threatening (or at least don’t carry the dangers men do). He craves comfort— needs it really, because he doesn’t get it and his cortisol levels are always so high they’re poisoning his body. Women are the best source of that comfort for him.

It’s not that he likes them— at least, not any more than someone would like drinking water, or a coat in the winter. They’re fulfilling a survival need for him.

That is what the objectification is where SJ is concerned.

So… is it misogyny?

I’d say yes, in a way it still is. It’s not violent, and it doesn’t come from some inherent sense of “superiority as a man” but at the core of it all, he’s still not viewing women as people, and he has no interest in changing the status quo, because it benefits him to be able to go purchase comfort at a pleasure house, even if it’s not what people usually do there. The picture is bigger than just misogyny, but the traits taken as themselves are misogynistic nonetheless.

I could go into his specific relationships with women and how that informs his character, but this post is already long enough. We know that he mentally divides people by sex, and that distinction has a lot of weight in his judgment of them. Even if it comes from a place of trauma, even if it comes from a general worldview that applies to everyone, he still views women as a commodity— so on some level, and from an outside perspective, he is misogynistic.

In the end, though, it still all comes from him being stuck in survival mode. His lack of empathy, his viewing others as risks and benefits— these things themselves aren’t moral failings— it’s just a consequence of his environment. He’s a bad person because he won’t confront this, develop a moral code, and act on it, not because he doesn’t experience empathy.

But in his circumstance, there’s not really a chance for him to choose to be good. Because he’s still trying to survive, and goodness is a luxury he doesn’t realize he can afford now.

He’s scum, but pitiful, you know?

[americankimchi]

Do you have any tips for writing Obi Wan or any meta in mind with his characterizarion?

hmmm sure why not! i'll give a few tips on how i'd write obi-wan. mind you this is how i interpret the character, so ymmv.

i truly do not like it when fics have obi-wan voluntarily leaving the order. like it's so out-of-character for me in my head that the premise of the story + the writing would have to work triple-time to get me to stick around. now if he's been removed from it by an EXTERNAL SOURCE (not the order. i cannot stress this enough: the jedi kicking obi-wan out is so jarring to me i'll leave the fic in an instant) or somehow unable to return to the order for whatever reason, all is well.

not a prodigy, but a genius. obi-wan is an incredibly intelligent person with an absolutely staggering knowledge base in a wide variety of topics, but all that knowledge was earned through blood, sweat, tears, and time. he sat down with his game face on and put in the work. that's also why he makes an excellent teacher: he knows what most students will struggle with because he struggled too, and knows through experience how best to overcome them. i headcanon that it contributes to why he's such a good negotiator: he's really good at stripping down information to the essentials and communicating that information effectively and efficiently to others because of his intense study habits.

humble, but not ignorant of his skills. it's pretty impossible to fully divorce yourself from pride in your achievements, and i don't think it's healthy to not feel any pride at all, so i think obi-wan has a very clear understanding of his skillset and how best to use it. i don't think he'd be ignorant of how good he is at something, especially since the direct consequence of his aptitude led him to being a member of the jedi council. pretty hard to be blind to your strengths when you're being asked for your input on topics that directly draw from that knowledge.

averse to healthcare. listen i enjoy obi-wan whump just as much as the next obi-wan stan (the desire to put him in the cosmic salad spinner comes with the territory, i fear) but as a character who grew up in an environment that deeply cares for the well-being of all, and knowing that you cannot help others unless you yourself first have the ability to do so, i can't really see him ignoring injuries outside of combat scenarios. like on the battlefield he's got more pressing concerns than a pesky little shrapnel wound or five, but once the battle's over?? he might not be first in line to the medics but i can't see him avoiding them entirely. an army without a general is working at a sharp disadvantage and i don't think he'd risk his men by neglecting his physical health in that manner. note that i said 'physical'. make of that what you will :)

duty. obi-wan is the definition of a paladin. he takes an oath and by the force he's going to keep it. train the boy? absolutely, qui-gon. whether or not anakin chooses to respect that training is another matter, but he did definitively get knighted! refuse to kill anakin? listen he's handed vader his own ass to him twice post order 66 and each time he did it he did it nonlethally. that takes skill. that takes dedication. exile yourself to tatooine for 19 years and then decide fuck it, we ball, and die after Once Again Deciding Not To Kill Anakin Skywalker? step aside casper, there's a new friendly ghost in town. every time obi-wan commits to something the man COMMITS. you GOTTA respect that grind.

flirty but in the sense that he's going to match the energy someone brings to the table. like he's a negotiator. he knows how to read people and figure out the Vibes. if he thinks the other person will be 1) 100% receptive and 2) will respond with a delightful wit, why the hell not? obi-wan's highest stat is charisma and he's got expertise in persuasion. whether they're allies or not does not factor into this equation. he can have a little flirtation with morally dubious and potentially hostile characters. as a treat.

this has nothing to do with his character but i firmly believe that he and quinlan vos had at LEAST a fling when they were padawans. there is zero evidence to back this up aside from a few comics where they were being goofy teenagers together but i stand by this. it is an unshakeable aspect of obi-wan to me that has only gotten worse with the kenobi show.

no matter what, no matter how terrible or devastating or downright apocalyptic it gets, obi-wan kenobi will never fall to the dark side. never. it won't be easy, but that is a line he has never, and will never cross. i will not hear any "obi-wan touched the dark side during the theed generator fight" slander. if that was true tell me why the force theme was playing during his moment of triumph!!! Would John Williams Lie To Us Like That?? to our face?????

anyways i could go on forever about obi-wan because he is My Ultimate Blorbo but this post is getting super long so i'll leave it there. hope this helped even a little or at the very least was entertaining for you to read <3

[lurkingshan]

I Feel You Linger in the Air: Novel vs Drama 

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

Happy IFYL special day! While I wait (not so) patiently for the special episode to become available for international viewers, I thought I would stop being lazy and get around to writing up my thoughts on the adaptation choices of the drama now that I’ve finally had a chance to read the original novel. 

First, let me just say: the novel is so fun. I’m so glad folks like @clairedaring and @pharawee talked about it on here and @waitmyturtles read it first and told me to jump on it, because I’ve had a really hard time with poorly translated y novels before and was definitely skeptical. But the story was excellent and the English translation was really solid, so a great time was had by all and I wasn’t even salty about spending eighteen American dollars on it. I didn’t think the novel was perfect (turtles can attest I had a few LOUD complaints) but it was a very enjoyable read. Shoutout to @bengiyo, @neuroticbookworm, and @wen-kexing-apologist as well for listening to me rant about Tee’s choices as I made my way through the novel. Bonus: if you have the chance to read this novel while vacationing in Thailand surrounded by plumeria trees and romantic scenery, I highly recommend. 

So, with that established, let’s talk about the adaptation! Adapting novels to a visual medium always comes with a lot of choices, and it’s not easy to make everything translate effectively. On the other hand, a live action drama can make some of what’s on the page feel even more vivid and new elements can be introduced that add to the canon. I’m on the record as both loving this show and feeling like there were some significant missteps in the writing, so I really wanted to understand the source material and how some of those choices were made. So here’s your spoiler alert for IFYL’s adaptation: it’s a real mixed bag of choices from our dear frenemy Tee Bundit, and all in service of one clear goal. 

I Feel You Linger in the Air, but Make It Sadder!

I’m going to break down the details below, but this is the TL; DR right here. Every choice Tee made in this adaptation was in service of transforming a relatively light and often comedic time travel romp into a story of deep melancholy and a thorough examination of queer pain. This is Tee’s whole schtick, so we can hardly be surprised; and yet I was kind of taken aback by how stark the difference in these stories felt even as a lot of the plot stayed the same. During the drama’s airing @respectthepetty talked about how this show was just too damn sad for her, and I gotta say, she was definitely picking up what Tee was putting down. YMMV on how sad you like your romance, but Tee Bundit is a very sad boy indeed.

Jom

gif by @junghaesin

Let’s start here, because this is definitely my biggest grievance with Tee: he removed most of Jom’s personality from the book in order to give us a flatter, sadder version of him that fit better with a much more melancholy vision for this story. As it turns out, Jom was originally written to be smart, sassy, and very funny (h/t to @stuffnonsenseandotherthings whose post on this really got me interested in reading to see the difference). Novel Jom is a smartass who never misses the opportunity to work in a salty comment or express his frustration when things aren’t going his way, and he’s such an active character. He does not just sit back and let things happen to him; he thinks and he struggles and he tries. By comparison, show Jom just feels… vaguely confused, mildly depressed, and wildly passive most of the time. This is by no means a knock on Nonkul, who is a fantastic performer—these are clearly writing and directing choices and he is interpreting the character as instructed.

And it’s not just the removal of his core personality, either. Jom in the book has emotional intelligence and a stronger sense of connection to others. For one, he actually cares that Eung Phueng is his sister! Throughout the book, we see him dedicate time and energy to finding ways to care for his sister despite their different social stations; this dynamic is completely absent from the show, where Jom doesn’t even seem to remember Eung Phueng has his sister’s face most of the time. This was a major hole in the show and I still don’t really understand why Tee dropped the ball on it when there was so much material to drawn from in the book.

Winner: The novel, hands down. If you take nothing else away from this post, please take it as a recommendation to read the novel so you can experience Real Jom in all his sassy glory.

The Mythology 

gif by @chickenstrangers

Now, I can’t really claim that either the novel or the show does a fantastic job with the mythology, because there’s a lot of hand waving in either case and some definite plot holes. But I will give the book credit for being upfront from the start: it didn’t really intend to explain it beyond giving us a little preamble about wormholes (yes, wormholes!) and for having Jom actually notice and care (and get very amusingly frustrated) that he didn’t understand what the wormhole wanted him to do or how to control it. He actually tried quite a lot in the book to figure it out, rather than just sitting around gazing morosely into the distance. In the end, the book tells us that Yai vowed to love Jom at first sight in every lifetime, which is a vow he made after the wormhole brought Jom to him but somehow affects the times that had already happened from our perspective. It’s a paradox that doesn’t fully make sense, but it is at least an explanation.

The show, by contrast, intentionally added layers to this mystery that it had no intention of resolving. The drawings opening up connections to the present, the ghostly visages haunting the characters, the glimpses of Jom in the future doing things we never saw in the original timeline, Mustache Yai kissing Jom in the water—all show inventions, and all setting up an expectation that some sense would be made of these clues. Which of course, never happened. Instead, these things were used to contribute to the spooky scary vibe and make everything feel sadder, and the show offered no explanation at all for why any of this happened.

Winner: It’s a draw since neither really did it well, but I’m staying salty with Tee for fucking with me.

Family Drama 

gif by @thii-nii

Here is where we get into some of the stuff Tee added to the story that actually worked pretty well. One very smart adaptation choice: he made Yai and Eung Phueng siblings so that Yai would have a reason to be more involved in their household and able to interact much more with Jom in the early parts of the story; in the novel there is no connection between the households and Yai and Jom barely interact for the first several months after Jom arrives in the past. He also added a lot of family drama in the back half of the show: the struggles with Yai’s father, the shady uncle, the plot to force Yai to marry, and the big confrontation over Robert’s misdeeds are all show inventions, likely added both to pad out the story and make the relationship harder and sadder, and because he was looking for an alternate source of conflict since he was not doing Part 2 of the book (which takes place once Jom is yanked away again and shot back to the Commander Yai time period). 

Another major change from the novel to the show: in the novel, Yai’s plans to go study abroad were already set before Jom even got there, not something he won as a consolation in a negotiation over marriage. Which has some implications I’ll get into in the next section.

Winner: The drama, where the family dynamics were much more thoroughly explored. 

The Romance 

gif by @loveisactivated

As I mentioned above, Tee made a smart choice in bringing Yai more firmly into Jom’s orbit early in the story, but unfortunately, he didn’t do much with that advantage and actually failed to use some of what the novel gave him to work with. In the novel, Jom is much more aware of the attraction between him and Yai, very attuned to Yai’s flirting and their age gap, very aware of his own growing attachment to Yai, and thinking through the implications of all of it as it grows, which is a more natural and believable build up to their romance than in the show, where Jom seems distracted and unaware of Yai’s affections until they suddenly start jumping each other. That lack of romantic development in the show (which we discussed even as it was airing) was not because the material was not there for Tee to use in the book; he simply had other priorities and neglected to build it properly in show time.

That said, I have to give major credit to Tee for how he handled the romance once our leads were together and intimately involved. First, he really brought some of the scenes that were in the book to life in a way that still has me shook, like Yai’s drunken poetry recitation (credit must also be given to Bright for his eye work in that and many other scenes, what a stunner). And on top of that, the drama has some of the best physical intimacy scenes I have ever seen in any drama, full stop, and that is nearly all Tee and his creative team. He used elements from a few scenes in the book, but he remixed and amplified them to be a lot more powerful, and certainly much more artful and sensual than the sex scenes in the book. That olive oil masturbation scene? The show gets full credit, and the way the direction, editing, and performances so vividly painted their attraction to each other still gives me shivers when I think about it.

But anyway, back to bitching about Tee: one of the scenes that really stuck out for me like a sore thumb in the romance arc in the show was when Yai learns he will be going abroad and he and Jom discuss it in a curiously flat and emotionless way, with Yai acting like it’s no big deal for them to be separated for three years. I mentioned above that this was a change from the book: in the novel Yai was already set to go abroad before he ever met Jom, it was not a new surprise that came about after they were together. They discuss Yai’s impending departure twice in the book; once when Jom is still only Yai’s majordomo, and then once again when they are lovers. As you can imagine, the emotional tenor of these two scenes are quite different. And Tee used the wrong one for the show! I almost threw the book at the wall when I realized I was reading the verbatim dialogue from that scene in the show in the context of Yai and Jom hardly knowing each other yet, and then again when I got to the second conversation that was actually appropriate for two lovers who do not want to be parted. That has to be one of the most senseless adaptation mistakes I have ever seen. Tee Bundit, what is wrong with you!!

Lastly for this section, I will just note that the very long, drawn out goodbyes between Yai and Jom are also a show invention. In the book, Jom gets yanked to the next time period with no warning shortly after they get together and begins his next adventure with another Yai. Since Tee was ending the show here in this time period, he went in a different direction, having Jom and Yai much more aware of Jom fading and anticipating a separation so that he could (say it with me) make everything sadder. His choice to wallow for two entire episodes in sorrow and melancholy and to put much heavier focus on Yai’s despair was entirely his own, and so very on brand.  

Winner: It’s a draw. The book definitely writes the romantic arc more holistically and doesn’t have any of the missteps the drama does, but the show is so artful and the parts it gets right are so good I will remember them for the rest of my life. And I can’t pretend I’m not an angst monster at heart, so Tee’s sad af vision totally worked on me.

Sides and Queer Community

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Here is where Tee’s adaptation really shines, and I know others have discussed these changes before so I won’t go too deep on the details. But I absolutely have to give Tee props for taking tiny threads for these side characters in the books and building them into whole people that we actually care about. Especially in the case of Ming and Fong Kaew, Tee really made something of their extremely thin book stories to turn them into fan favorite characters with real growth arcs. I do think the book was better in the way it handled the fated connection between Fong Kaew and Khamsaen, but everything else about Fong Kaew’s story was deepened by the show. And Tee gets credit for adding so many meaningful stories for women characters in the first place, let alone developing a lesbian romance for Eung Pueng and Maey. He picked up on a tiny bit of subtext for underdeveloped characters in the book and ran with it, and it really enhanced the story. 

He also used side characters as a means to make this story feel all around more queer, not only by including additional queer romances but by building out a real sense of community and solidarity among the queer characters. Not only the addition of nods to real queer history, but the speakeasy, James’s explicit queerness, and Nuey the Green Queen are all Tee additions to the canon that really enhanced the story.

Winner: The drama and it’s not close. Well done, Tee!

That Ending

gif by @dragonsareawesome123

One of my biggest interests in reading the novel was seeing how the ending with modern Yai is explained in the original source material, because I found the drama version of that scene so lacking. Well, it turns out, the novel did pretty much the same thing! The ending sequence of the book is even shorter than the scene in the show and similarly offers zero explanation for this new version of Yai or how he knows Jom before they jump each other and the story concludes. The main narrative ends there and the book then tacks on an epilogue explaining who this new Yai is, and it reads like an afterthought. Honestly, it felt to me like the writer ran out of steam and just didn’t bother to finish the story, and Tee did exactly the same thing. Which is kind of infuriating, because being able to fix stuff like that is one of the best things about a good adaptation. 

Winner: Absolutely no one, my kingdom for a proper ending to this story.

gif by @pharawee

So, my conclusions? 1) Tee Bundit is the saddest creator in Thai bl, hands down; 2) It’s a draw between which version of this story is better. The novel and drama both have different strengths and significant flaws, but both versions are compelling and had me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is missing the show and wants another chance to revisit these characters, plus the added bonus of seeing Jom wrangle Commander Yai, something we are unlikely to ever see on our screens (though hope springs eternal besties!). If you do decide to give it a read, come talk to me about it! 

[gloamvonhrym]

I’ve noticed multiple fic writers remark that they find reyson’s voice a little difficult to get a handle on, and I have written So Much reyson content. so I wanted to vomit my thoughts on what stands out in my mind when writing reyson :3 (this isn’t intended as a “how to” or whatever, just my personal perspective. enjoy a long thing)

PATH OF RADIANCE

reyson is a very temperamental character, but he is also quite proud and well-spoken. even at his worst, experiencing some very extreme emotional states, he is almost never incoherent with rage or grief. the closest he gets, that I can remember, is in PoR ch 15, when naesala shows him the still-desolate serenes forest, he comes out with a few trailing fragments (after which he regains some composure):

“The voice of the forest is still. Why... How did this...”

he also doesn’t threaten very much, compared to most other characters. he’s fiery, and he might sometimes say that people (humankind, eg, or izuka) will “pay” for their past actions, but he’s probably conscious of the fact that he can’t really back up physical threats. instead, when enraged, he tends to curse eloquently:

“...Unforgivable. How...how can they do things like this. Cursed humans ... What did this forest do? What did my clan do...” - PoR, ch 15 “Naesala, you wretch... Curse your eyes! How dare you do this to me...” - PoR, ch 16

he does, however, often falter. I know ellipses are basically their own character in the tellius games, but reyson’s PoR dialogue often suggests to me that he is muttering passionately to himself, or else forcing words out with some labor.

he also lapses into Ancient, seemingly at moments of great shock or disorientation (when he reunites with leanne, eg, or the same scene as above, when he sees serenes). re: this and the above, it’s worth remembering that the Modern Tongue is his second language. I like to think that his frequent hesitations may be an aspect of this.

his pride has some notable and obvious weak points. in PoR, he objects heartily to tibarn sending janaff & ulki along to protect him. after that, ike mentions to ulki that reyson “kept apologizing”. indeed, reyson seems like a bit of an over-apologizer - when it comes to tibarn and the hawks specifically, although he also humbles himself before naesala in ch 15 (whoops). in some cases, his apologies seem proud enough - it’s a noble thing, after all, to be able to apologize when necessary, as well as to have a strong sense of obligation (to the hawks, also to naesala, also to ike). but that he “kept apologizing”, over something that wasn’t even his decision, suggests something a bit more pathological. reyson presents as a proud creature, but his survivor’s guilt, and his sense of being a defenseless burden, are made obvious. and he displays particular deference to tibarn, whom he seems to regard as an authority figure - although not so much of an authority figure that he can’t be argued with or gainsaid. (see below.)

ymmv on this, but related: I interpret reyson as something of a people-pleaser, especially as of PoR. in addition to the apologizing vis a vis the hawks, it’s almost heartbreakingly easy for naesala to manipulate him throughout their whole arc. anytime reyson criticizes him or expresses doubt, all naesala has to do is invoke their old friendship, and reyson seems to fold more or less instantly. (reminder: reyson is a heart-reader. naesala engages him in all this nonsense with the intent of tricking him and selling him to a slaveowner. reyson is 100% correct to have doubts, and should know this. naesala is gaslighting him. but he wants desperately to believe that naesala is his friend.)

Reyson: Naesala! Naesala: Yes? Reyson: Thank you. For everything you've done. I... I appreciate it. Naesala: Don't be ridiculous. We're old friends, are we not? Reyson: Right you are! Old friend.

abandonment issues are a real bitch, huh

after leanne is kidnapped by the black knight, tibarn approaches reyson, and verbally takes responsibility for the incident. reyson attempts to tell him that it’s fine, but tibarn brushes him off, perhaps out of shame and guilt. this follows:

Reyson: Tibarn, may the fortunes of war be with you. Tibarn: And you as well. Don't try anything too dangerous. (Exit Tibarn) Reyson: ... Ike: ...Reyson? Reyson: My apologies, Ike. Though I knew this was coming... It's still... difficult. Ike: Don't apologize. You've nothing left to prove to me. Reyson: ...Ah... ... Ike: ...

this little moment is somewhat opaque to me. when reyson says “I knew this was coming”, it’s kind of unclear what he means. but he’s very affected: I think this is the most lost-for-words we ever see him. it seems like he’s referring to tibarn’s rather brusque departure, but he and tibarn have already been separated prior to this. it might be that he finds it exceptionally difficult to be on the receiving end of tibarn’s guilt and accept his apologies (“wait a minute I’M the one who apologizes to YOU”), and is upset that they’ve parted on such unsettled terms. (he also apologizes to ike here, for no overly apparent reason - for being lost in thought, I guess)

reyson is also: very stubborn. despite his moments of overapologizing or lowkey fawning, once he gets an idea in his head, it is difficult to argue him out of it. eg: when he learns that naesala is on the battlefield, he refuses to speak a word to him. eg: tibarn, upon delivering reyson to ike as a party member, drily remarks that reyson insisted upon this “quite unreasonably”. see also:

reyson & tibarn’s reunion in serenes forest, in PoR ch 17 pt 4, I think makes for a good reytib case study re: pre-canon and mid-PoR rey:

Tibarn: Reyson! Are you well? Reyson: Tibarn! How did you-- Tibarn: Nealuchi told us everything. Reyson: Oh... Allow me to apologize. I left on my own without a word to you, and this is what happened. Tibarn: As long as you're unharmed, all is well. Let's go home.

(despite having been the one victimized, reyson’s first reaction - after establishing how tibarn found him - is to apologize to tibarn, sort of stiffly; implicitly for the recklessness of acting without leave, and/or the inconvenience of needing rescue. tibarn reassures him.) (one must wonder if they’ve had similar conversations before.) (they have definitely had similar conversations before.)

Reyson: Please, give me a little time. I cannot allow these humans to remain in the forest. Tibarn: I understand how you feel, but we're completely outnumbered. Let us wait for another day-- Reyson: Once I stand at the altar, I can take care of them. Every one of them. Tibarn: You can't mean... Are you thinking of using the forbidden magic? Reyson: ...Yes. I will sing those monsters the dirge of ruin.

(chilling calm, on reyson’s part - he outlines his plan with self-assured clarity, as if reassuring tibarn in turn: “no, see, it’s okay, I can simply commit an affront to nature and destroy them all, every single one, and also myself, and then things will be fine” babygirl things will not be fine)

Tibarn: Are you mad?! You mustn't! I can't allow it! Reyson: With permission or without, I do what I must! It is retribution for genocide! Retribution for this forest!

(tibarn reacts with outrage, and attempts to assert authority. perhaps this isn’t the response reyson wanted or expected - despite his apologetic demeanor just moments ago, he is provoked to righteous anger. he counters tibarn passionately, and directly states his intent to disobey. stubborn lad fronts like he defers to tibarn, but doesn’t, really. (see also, again, reyson making tibarn bring him back to ike)

Tibarn: Reyson! You must not let yourself be ruled by despair! Each member of the heron tribe is an embodiment of balance! Do this, and you warp your very existence! Reyson: That's what they all said... My family. My tribe. And then...they died. The humans were drunk with joy. They laughed! They sang! ...And then they slaughtered us like livestock. My mother, my brother, my elder sisters... Even my infant sister, Leanne! All killed in a single night. Tibarn: Reyson... Reyson: I know. This thing I intend to do brings dishonor to my house. And yet ... I cannot forgive. And their past actions weren't enough; now, they violate the sanctity of the forest without a trace of regret! Accursed humans... I will never forgive them!

(tibarn invokes the Heron Ideal, what herons are “supposed” to be like - creatures who don’t defend themselves. this most of all seems to trigger reyson, who now describes the most traumatic event of his life in a succinct rhetorical monologue, in order to explain why he must act. the fact that he knows what tibarn is going to say before he says it suggests, again, that they have had similar conversations before. tibarn was going to make an appeal to honor, which hawks value; reyson brushes this off, so implicitly he 1) values revenge over the ideals of his people, and/or 2) thinks himself an unfit representative of heronkind anyway. self-destruction and disregard for his own safety is a major theme in his character arc & history - see also his supports with ike - but it seems he habitually goes about it in considered, methodical ways: even acts that might seem impulsive still have logic and thought behind them, albeit very skewed logic. he is not being portrayed as a lunatic here. even in the throes of self-destructive fury, he elucidates himself eloquently. like a prince, one might say.)

Tibarn: Don't you think we understand that? Reyson: ... Janaff: That's right! Prince Reyson, there's no need for you to reject your honor based on the likes of them! Ulki: The tragedy of the herons... The horror and pain of that night...lives on in all of us.

(tibarn coming in with the counterargument of all time: “yeah dude I know.” also I like to imagine tibarn just elbowed hitherto-silent janaff & ulki in the ribs to get them to chime in. to this, reyson says… nothing. ymmv on why, but to me this indicates some self-absorption: it’s difficult for him to see beyond his own pain. the suggestion that the hawks, too, grieve the serenes massacre - that he is NOT in fact alone in his suffering, that retribution doesn’t rest solely on his shoulders - is disruptive to him, and perhaps causes him to shut down a little.)

Tibarn: Let's return to Phoenicis, and think of a plan. You are right. This will not stand. The full power of the hawk nation is behind you. The humans will pay. Reyson: ...As you wish...

(from here tibarn is able to get reyson in hand - by offering empathy for his pain, promising to appease his desire for revenge, and suggesting that this is only a delay; in short, by further establishing that reyson isn’t alone. it seems only semi-successful, though. reyson capitulates, but only reluctantly - he may or may not believe that what the hawks promise will be adequate.)

RADIANT DAWN

in RD, we get less of reyson (boo scrapped supports booo) but the reyson we do get has undergone some visible growth while still retaining key aspects of his initial character. overall, he seems a more self-assured, confident, stable person. his purpose is in family (both hawks & herons) and friends, rather than the grimdark stuff. he still displays plenty of his signature stubbornness, and pride, and a bit of temper. he’s also at his best and most physically/magically powerful throughout a lot of RD, thanks to ashera’s judgment. some notes:

his chief attribute seems to be stubbornness: when he goes to check on tibarn following the phoenicis massacre, he comes in dashing ahead of janaff and ulki, who are begging him to wait and leave tibarn alone for a while. his concern for tibarn overrides all other considerations, including, seemingly, tibarn’s own will (also results in the infamous had-to-tie-him-to-the-bed joke).

he is still well-spoken; he exhibits more focus and restraint when he curses people, although he does certainly still curse people (naesala)

instead of apologizing to the hawks for being a burden, he seems to have developed a more conscientious sense of loyalty (a hawkish sort of honor, one might say). his empathy for the phoenicis massacre, as a survivor of genocide himself, isn’t really explicitly unpacked, but afterwards he refuses to be escorted to safety in gallia:

Reyson: I've lived with the hawk tribe for twenty years. They are my family. I'll... I'll stay here and fight.

tibarn no longer openly orders janaff & ulki to guard reyson. instead, the two beg ike not to let reyson know their purpose, and to just play it off like they’re joining the mercenaries. it seems that reyson, despite no longer being self-destructive, still doesn’t like being babysat. if he knew, would he be apologetic about it again? or would he get annoyed, which the hawks don’t want because they’re all heron-whipped by now? I’m inclined to think it’s the latter these days. (worth noting that tibarn is knowingly going against reyson’s wishes here. worrywart)

before singlehandedly reviving duke renning - an unprecedented act- reyson reassures tibarn, saying not to worry for him because he’s “grown a lot”. contains multitudes

something more often neglected: reyson in PoR displays some kind of sad naïveté, especially where naesala is concerned; conversely, in RD, he has moments that are almost childlike, with a much happier affect. this exchange between him and tibarn often gets eclipsed by how fuckoff gay they are, but I like the implication that herons are a little bit incomprehensible to normal people, and this can manifest in a bit of cloud cuckoolander behavior (I wonder how else it might have manifested in all those years he was less stable):

Tibarn Reyson! Where are you!? Reyson: Over here, Tibarn. Tibarn: What are you doing so early in the morning? Reyson: I'm hunting for treasure! Tibarn: Could you repeat that?

last thing: reyson is interesting in dialogue with ashnard as well as micaiah. he doesn’t exactly argue with them, nor do much raging. if given the opportunity, he questions them almost socratically - he asks ashnard what he believes and why; he does the same thing with micaiah when they’re at odds, and then presents his own thesis (more gently and sympathetically with micaiah than with ashnard, obviously):

Reyson: I am Reyson. My brother told me about you. That is why I'm here. Please pull back your troops. Our enemy is not Daein. This is not your fight. Am I not correct? Micaiah: I know how you feel... (…) But I must keep fighting. Reyson: Why is that? Micaiah: This fight is my king's will. (…). I believe that our king will lead the people of Daein to happiness. Reyson: ...I see. I understand your position. Please accept my apology for asking the impossible. Micaiah: What? What do you mean? Reyson: You are fighting to protect your beliefs. I understand that now. But remember that we also cannot, and will not, pull back. We both carry a heavy burden. That's why we're here.

I just think it’s fun, the difference between mid-PoR “blinded by hatred nobody-could-possibly-understand-my-pain” Reyson, and end-PoR/RD “let me make sure I have my enemy’s rationale down correctly so I can respond with devastating precision” Reyson. (notably, in PoR, he extends this courtesy to naesala after the summit.)

anyway that’s a big mess of a post but maybe someone will find it a little inspirational or something if they feel like writing reyson. & pls do write about reyson, whether you take my analysis into account or not. pls. inflict situations on my most precious boy. 🕊️

[eisforeidolon]

Did you see the video of the answer? Did it change your opinion at all?

I did, and I'm not sure why you think it would? Here for anyone that hadn't seen it [X].

Both the transcripts and the video made it clear he was trying to be very careful about his phrasing. He still very pointedly changes away from the characterization of it being a confession. He still uses clearly platonic terms of friendship to refer to Dean's feelings about Castiel several times over. Not only that, but he consistently characterizes the angel as part of the larger group of people that are important to Dean - "one of" and "people" - rather than the kind of solo importance some people are desperately trying to ignore his plural word choices to interpret into what he said. I think it's also very clear from where his statement was going before and after the person yelling "subtext" got him off track, that Castiel's statement of feelings was what was "clear text" rather than "subtext" - not the ship. The statement he was in the middle of was that the feelings between them after that scene were understood and therefore did not need to be addressed or talked about in any way. You know, the scene where Castiel rambles about love he knows he can't have and Dean just stares at him like he was slapped in the face with a week old fish. Again, if Dean actually did feel the same (whether that's romantic lurve or I'd totally revolve my life around you and die for you love) despite all previous canon and everything Jensen has ever said on the subject, including all of this? That would very much require a resolution and something being said to contradict the part about it not being have-able, and trying to weasel around the specific words to imply otherwise is so obviously bonkers I just can't even. Like, hellers themselves obviously know this or they wouldn't have been whining for literal years now about how TW and any revival HAD TO give them a resolution to that scene where Dean reciprocated.

Personally I think Misha's final speech as Castiel was an embarrassingly transparent, disingenuous, insincere cash grab that came out of nowhere to betray the character's entire previous story to bait shippers while leaving it ambiguous enough to ignore for the rest of the audience. But from the start, Jensen has treated it as sincere and praised Misha's emotional investment. Whether he really buys into that or just realizes the optics would be terrible to criticize an interpretation of supposed representation so many people are invested in? I mean, personally I thought the video made his description of the scene sound a lot more rote, like 'yeah yeah, whatever' than the transcripts did. But that is pure interpretation, not words he actually said, so YMMV, and obviously I am very biased on that subject.

[laufire]

although I've enjoyed stories that went down that route before, I can't see jason & talia's relationship in the comic as surrogate mother and son. I don't think the reading came completely out of the blue (I still have this edit of the pietà cover in lost days #2 as my background pic lol. that's some culturally ingrained imagery! although given the issue it precedes, I wonder if it was more of a hint to antichrist!jason lmfao), and can see how lost days #1 would inspire it (although the same events in batman annual #25 end with talia kissing jason after the pit... and I read that first because lost days wasn't out yet when I was catching up in my jason reading, way back when. lost days erases this moment and I do prefer it that version though. that moment, at that time, made no sense).

but after that first issue that's not what I see in the run. jason's certainly not in the market for a parental figure, and he wouldn't have responded well to talia, had she approached him as one (and at this point, talia was very much about finding the right approach to manage jason... because jason had attempted to kill bruce -the comic attributes this to temporary psychopathy but winnick and I differ on this one-. and this didn't happen only because jason decided not to go through his plan at the last moment. ymmv at to why). this reading comes from a mix of things in fanon, but one of them is literally "well she's bruce's love interest and he's bruce's kid sooooo", and I just don't vibe with that, basically.

reading talia's first appearances and realising she's meant to be close to dick's age also compounded my own interpretation of talia's dynamics, sometimes for the worse sometimes for the better, but it's a canon detail that just feels so fitting for the talia comics I've read that now I'd struggle to see her differently, when beforehand I really hadn't thought about her age. this way, they're not exactly peers (dick seems around 4-6 years older than jason in new earth, ymmv), and I usually land on talia being a couple years older than dick. but this colours how I interpret their dynamic, too. how I think they'd see it, in particular.

since I'm talking about the nature of their relationship I do have to mention That Scene. very contentious and I do get why (I do not care for any m/f/m triangle dc has ever tried to pull with the bats, especially bruce vs. dick-slash-jason). but fandom either sees this as "talia, a much older woman, statutory raped jason, a teenager" (jason in the last issue of lost days and in utrh looks very much in his twenties), OR "I've decided talia is jason's mother figure, and I'm -with good reason!- tired of how often she's villianised, so I just Don't See It" [insert mariah carey's i can't read suddenly.gif], as thought there's no other possible interpretation.

and the way I see it is. it's not a Good Thing to happen, nor is it written with that intention! the characters are NOT in a good place and they're NOT making wise, healthy choices lol. and it's something that sidetracks what could've become a really interesting, closer friendship & alliance (I want them to be friends and allies sooooo badly lol. I think they'd work so well!! there's reblogs in my queue about it!!). but I don't see it as something to completely handwave if I'm writing new earth canon; just something to tackle head on, if I ever write about them after this period beyond having it as a secondary dynamic (which I plan to do, but that's another story).

ironically, these ramblings came to me because I'm developing their dynamic in a WIP for a different canon (the young justice cartoon. for reference, the ages there are: Talia, 1984; Jason, 1999; Damian, 2018), and rn if you asked me if they have a surrogate mother-son relationship in it my answer would be a solid... maaaaaaaybe? LOL. if they end up like that, it'll be with MASSIVE ammounts of spousification, though. which is how I see any parental relationship involving jason going, outside of 80s!bruce & jason, to be honest.

[luxraydyne]

Reconstructing Renju, or Luxraydyne's Renju Receipts

so uh. there were a couple art pieces i wanted to make about 50 years ago that i decided necessitated sifting every line of text in ai the somnium files (2019) to compile every Renju Crumb i could find. anyway i don't have any art. but what i do have is a nifty huge document with every renju mention in the game, including some silly annotations, which i can offer to artists writers and renju enjoyers for their perusal

turns out there's no neat way to organise this stuff to be more searchable since chronological order doesn't really work, so i have tried to create a sort of iceberg-ish format with the most surface-level info at the top and the esoteric interpretative junk at the bottom; in the reblogs i'm gonna add another version i like that's more fun to use but less comprehensive

(disclaimer: no aini in here, sorry, for one million dollars i will deal with the ramifications of my personal sleep paralysis demon, i simply could not be dealing with the migraine)

Sections for Navigation

Level One: File (literally just the stuff in the menu) Level Two: The Carousel Horse's Mouth (flashbacks) Level Three: Hearsay Evidence (direct-ish quotations) Level Four: Known Relationships (with subheadings) Level Five: Bittersweet Reminiscence (subjective memories) Level Six: Finding-Character-Through-What-Is-Out-of-Character Level Seven A: Renju's Experience of Dying (the mind) Level Seven B: Renju's Death Observed (the body) Level Eight: Renju As Ghost/Encryption/Abstraction Level Nine: Scraps, Symbols, YMMV

Level One: File

Age: 37 Birthday: April 13 Profession: Entertainment Company and Maid Cafe Manager Likes: Unusual things Dislikes: Ordinary things Hobbies: Work Skills: Enjoys songwriting Overview: Renju manages the entertainment office Lemniscate and [maid] cafe Sunfish Pocket. He is the ex-husband of Shoko Nadami and Mizuki’s father. He has been Date’s close friend for five years.

Level Two: The Carousel Horse’s Mouth

Renju: “It was my misunderstanding.” Date: “What do you mean?” Renju: “I thought that mothers love their children unconditionally. But some mothers just can’t do that. Well, no, maybe she does love her. But she has a hard time of it. Shoko was never hugged by her mother. Not because her mother wasn’t around. She was raised to never develop a sensitivity to affection. No hugs, no piggyback rides, nothing. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t know how to love Mizuki. When an animal raised in captivity gives birth, sometimes it just doesn’t know how to raise its young. It’s just like that.” Date: “I do feel bad about Shoko… But that doesn’t mean she’s blameless in all this. Someone has to put a stop to it.” Renju: “If I could have, I would have done it a long time ago.” Date: “What about counselling?”Renju: “I did recommend that. She told me, ‘I’m not sick, why should I go see a doctor? Mizuki is the problem, Mizuki is the sick one…’” Date: “Maybe it’s best if Mizuki and Shoko are separated.” Renju: “No, Mizuki would never leave Shoko. She wouldn’t hear of it. Mizuki and Shoko are practically attached at the hip.” Date: “Even with all the hitting?” Renju: “Yes. Even if she’s abused on a daily basis, even if she’s treated like garbage… Maybe… Mizuki is hungry for love. She craves praise and attention and physical affection. She wants it from her mother. That’s why she’s so attached.” Date: “Couldn’t you step in and take over the parenting?” Renju: “I have a company now.” Date: “Lemniscate.” Renju: “And we’re at a crucial stage of development. I can’t take even a single second out of my day to deal with a kid.” Date: “Hey, that’s your daughter you’re talking about. Maybe because you two can’t cooperate on raising a child, Shoko is having trouble coping.” Renju: “That might be it. Maybe this is partially my fault.” Date: … Mama: … Date: “Okay, I’m sorry, but I’m just gonna say it. You two are both awful parents.” - Tuesday (seisAI), Marble (flashback)

Renju: “Hey, Date. Have you ever seen a dead body?” Date: I remember Renju saying that to me, after he and I went through a bottle. Renju: “You’re a policeman. I don’t know what department, but I assume you aren’t handing out traffic tickets. So how about it?” Date: I didn’t answer. I turned the question around on him. Date: “What about you?” Renju: “Me? Well, yeah. Not just one. Countless bodies.” Date: … Renju: “When I was in high school, I had a pretty crazy job. You know the Kumakura gang? I was hooked up to one of their phone fraud scams. I just had to go collect the money from drop points and give it to the Kumakuras. It was an easy job. Eventually, I became friends with the higher-ups. They started taking me with them on jobs.” Date: “What jobs?” Renju: “The target was always an elderly person from the country with no family. Elderly folk who owned a lot of land, you know? They live every day in loneliness and desperation. You just have to be nice to them. That’s all it takes. Guys would get to know the old people, and they would set up and adoption process. After that… You just have to get them really drunk, throw them in the tub full of hot water… And they pass. Just like that. Heart attack, brain hemorrhage, or they simply go to sleep and drown. The police almost never investigate it. It always looked natural, like they died of old age. So the adopted gang members would inherit the land. Then we sell it and make massive profits.” Date: … Renju: “I watched a lot of people get killed like that. And I’ve seen journalists get killed for getting too close to the truth. So, I… I…” Date: … Renju: “Why am I telling you all this?” Date: … Renju: “Hm. Are you going to arrest me?” Date: I took a sip from my glass. I didn’t say anything for a while. Date: “You didn’t do it yourself, right?” Renju: “No, I was always the lookout. But still… Date, I…” Date: Tears fell to the counter, unending. We didn’t say another word until the ice in the glass had melted to nothing. - Monday (syuurAI), Marble (flashback)

Date cuts bluntly through Renju’s false brazenness and euphemism to the heart of this long rambling confession, that Renju was groomed by the Kumakura gang when he was in high school and now, being complicit in gruesome, cruel criminal activity, now has no way to expunge the trauma of what he remembers from himself, much like the trauma of digging up Manaka’s body, another double-meaning sitting beneath in all this

Renju: “Wait, you’re going to see So?” Manaka: “Yes. I want to talk to him in person.” Renju: “No, you can’t!” Manaka: “Why not?” Renju: … Hitomi: … Manaka: “Are you worried about my body? You don’t have to worry about that. I’m totally fine.” Hitomi: “But your stomach is still…” Manaka: “Oh, my doctor told me that’s normal. Your stomach doesn’t go down right away after giving birth.” Renju: “I’m not worried about your body! Ah, I don’t know how to explain it… So doesn’t care about you! And especially not your child!” Manaka: “I haven’t told him about giving birth… He contacted me for the first time in a while…” Renju: “So that’s why…” Hitomi: “He wants to know about the baby…” Renju: “He must be panicking. If anyone ever finds out his mistress had his baby, his political career would be over.” Manaka: “It’s not like it was an affair…” Hitomi: “His wife passed away after giving birth to his son, right?” Renju: “It would still be a big scandal. He impregnated a girl who just graduated high school. Don’t you see how that looks? He knew how the public would take it… That’s why he gave you the money to…deal with it.” Hitomi: … Manaka: … Renju: “There’s no way he’ll accept that child.” Manaka: “It’s okay. I told him I won’t cause any trouble.” Hitomi: … Renju: … Manaka: “But, could you take care of the baby? Just for a little bit? I’ll be right back.” Renju: … Hitomi: … Renju: “Fine. But take this with you, just in case. It’s a GPS transmitter. Just to be extra safe.” Manaka: … Hitomi: … Manaka: “I really don’t think I’ll need it… But okay. If it’ll make you feel better.” - (18 years ago) Sagan Residence

Renju may well have been an overly pessimistic, hypervigilant, somewhat neurotic personality already, in fact it's likely he was already traumatised given the Kumakuras had their teeth in him well and good in his teenage years, but I have an inkling Manaka's last words to him and Hitomi were a trauma that has remained raw with ever since and affected all the close relationships he had thereafter, especially with his own child

Renju: “Those are Kumakura men…” Hitomi (present): “We didn’t dare move. We couldn’t speak. We were barely breathing. We could only watch as it all unfolded. I knew what that hole was for. But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything. I remember my heart beating so fast… Before long…” Initiate: “We good here?” Street Boss: “Yeah. Cover her.” Rohan: “Just a minute. Beautiful…” Hitomi: *gasp* Hitomi (present): “The Kumakura people covered Manka’s body, then left. Renju and I ran over…and dug up the grave with a tree branch… What we saw…” Hitomi: *sob* Hitomi: “Manaka… Manaka…” Hitomi: *sob* Hitomi: “We need to… We need to call the police…” Renju: “No, we can’t. Not yet.” Hitomi: “Why not?” Renju: “You don’t know who those guys are. They would do anything to keep this hidden. I’ve seen it happen myself. I know what they’re capable of. Anyway, think about it. Why would they do this? They thought Manaka and her baby were going to be trouble. Manaka’s stomach was still pretty big… I don’t think they know that she gave birth already. What do you think they’d do if they found out? They would take her and kill her too. And then…they’d come for us. They’d make it look like we disappeared. All of us would be…gone.” Hitomi (present): “Renju convinced me. He knew more about the dirty underbelly of society than anyone. He knew when something couldn’t be handled by the police. He said that they would do anything to kill the child. And I believed him. We had to protect Manaka’s baby… We had to, no matter what!” Hitomi: “Okay, I understand…” Hitomi (present): “I decided to trust him. We couldn’t leave Manaka’s body in the forest… We cleaned her up…and took her to the cold storage warehouse.” - (18 years ago) Mountains

Renju: “This warehouse is owned by Okiura Fishery. My father runs it. But it’s not in use right now. They’re moving operations to a better area. They’re actually looking for buyers right now.” Hitomi: … Renju: “But don’t worry. I’ll take over the warehouse.” Hitomi: “Are you sure?” Renju: “Yes. Don’t worry. I’ll keep everyone out. Everyone but you, of course.” Hitomi: … Renju: “I’ll give you a key. You can come visit any time you want to see Manaka.” Hitomi: “Manaka… Don’t worry about the baby. I’ll protect her. No matter what. And don’t worry about them, either. The people who did this to you… I will never forgive them. I’m sorry, Manaka… Sorry… I’m sorry… Manaka…” - (18 years ago) Cold Storage Warehouse

Renju helping the people he loves in the best way he seems to understand – keeping people the fuck away and doing More Work All The Time

Hitomi: “Did you get the birth certificate?” Renju: “The mob doctor took care of everything. I have the birth certificate, and I even picked up a mother and baby book. It wasn’t cheap…but you don’t have to worry about it. Just submit the birth certificate and everything will be taken care of.” Hitomi: … Renju: “You look worried.” Hitomi: “I feel like…I’m somehow betraying Manaka. She was the one who gave birth…” Renju: “Soon, you won’t even be able to think about that. Because a war is about to begin.” Hitomi: “A war?” Renju: “Between you and the baby. You won’t get a good night’s sleep for a long time. You might even start to resent Manaka for all this.” Hitomi: “Really…?” Renju: “Anyway, as soon as you submit the certificate, you will officially be her mother. Be sure to raise her responsibly. I’ll help. Occasionally.” Hitomi: “Occasionally, huh?” - (18 years ago) Sagan Residence

These two taking a different approach to their role in this game of House

Hitomi: “What should we name her? I was thinking about her name. How about ‘Iris’?” Renju: “Iris?” Hitomi: “The goddess of rainbows in Greek mythology. And the colored part of your eye.” Renju: “And the flower, too.” Hitomi: “Right.” Renju: “I thought it might have something to do with your name, Hitomi.” Hitomi: “Hm, not only that. It’s also from Manaka’s name. The kanji for Manaka uses the character for ‘love.’ And ‘Manaka’ reminds me of ‘manako,’ Japanese for ‘eye.’” Renju: “So both names have something to do with the eye.” Hitomi: “And ‘ai,’ which means love, will always be a part of ‘Iris.’” Renju: “So that’s how you came up with the name?” Hitomi: “Don’t you think it’s nice?” Renju: “Iris. Iris. Yeah. I really like it.” - (18 years ago) Sagan Residence

"We", already falling quite neatly into the role of mother and father in the absence of both; Renju and Hitomi grow into almost idealised doubles of So Sejima and Manaka in Iris's life

Hitomi: “About Manaka’s killer…” Renju: “I don’t really want to discuss this, but… There’s something you need to know.” Hitomi: … Renju: “After talking to the Kumakura gang… I found out who killed Manaka.” Hitomi: … Renju: “So’s son. Saito Sejima.” Hitomi: “How…? Saito is only…” Renju: “12 years old.” Hitomi: “Why? Why would a little boy do that?” Renju: “I don’t know the motive, but I know it’s true. So used his connections with the Kumakuras to cover up for his son. And all of the evidence of this scandal, of course.” Hitomi: “I’ll never forgive them. So, his son, or the Kumakuras!” Renju: “I feel the same way. But you can’t think about revenge now. You and the baby can’t lead a life like that.” Hitomi: “Ah…” Renju: “Just bear with it for now. The opportunity will come. So wait until the right moment. Okay?” - (18 years ago) Sagan Residence

Getting to hear Renju speak in his own (sober) voice is fascinating; he can be inappropriately terse, blunt, sometimes stilted and morbid, but compared to what we could infer about him from conversations in the present day with Mizuki and Iris, he is actually surprisingly compassionate and selfless as well as intelligent; we finally see for ourselves why Hitomi described him as kind above all else, when that seemed contradictory to what we knew. Renju seems to have a strange sort of charisma, brusque in a way that might come across as emotionally insensitive, but able to explain his reasoning in such a way that he is very persuasive; we have seen firsthand how his tendency suppress emotional feelings has done unintended harm to others, but in these flashbacks, at a mere 19 years of age Renju's ability to set any immediate feelings aside and assess a situation more practically and “objectively” may have saved his, Hitomi’s, and baby Iris’s lives several times over; in the absence of both her parents, Renju and Hitomi immediately form a ragtag partnership and their dual personalities work fortuitously, she needed them both in her life at that very moment. I add “set aside” in part because of the last flashback where Hitomi has an angry outburst and Renju senses her desire for revenge, and tells her gently to put that to one side “for now” so as to focus on caring for the baby; but as a caveat, he promises that their revenge can come later, he’s just waiting for a suitable opportunity.

Level Three: Hearsay Evidence

Date: “You’ve always got something smart to say, huh? You’re just like Renju.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Driving with Mizuki

Aiba: “In fact, the conversation about you taking care of Mizuki took place here, at Marble.” Date: “Really?” Aiba: “The topic was brought up several times afterward, but the first time was here. Four years ago, after drinking enough ‘liquid courage,’ Renju asked you to take care of Mizuki. At the time, Renju was recently divorced, buried in work at Lemniscate, and mentally unstable.” Date: … Aiba: “It was a display of excellent judgment. It was a good thing that he managed to swallow his pride.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Aiba here practically doing my job for me.

Moma: “I’ve never even gotten into an argument with the guy.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Kumakura Offices

Date: “What kind of person was your grandpa?” Mizuki: “I never met him. He died before I was born. But Daddy did tell me stories.” Date: “What kind of stories?” Mizuki: “Back when Grandpa was in Great Grandma’s tummy… She was on a passenger ship that got shipwrecked in a storm. She had to have the baby out on the ocean.” Date: “On the ocean?” Mizuki: “Yup. And then, Grandpa was raised by dolphins.” Date: “Hm?” Mizuki: “By the time he was 10, he was catching fish with his bare hands.” Date: … Mizuki: “And then Grandpa got up on land and learned language and culture and stuff. And then he decided to start up Okiura Fishery.” Date: … Aiba: … Date: “Sounds like a tall tale.” Mizuki: “Yeah, Grandpa was a legend. All the fishermen and sailors respected him.” Date: That can’t be true. But there’s a part of me that’s thinking…maybe. After all, Mizuki herself seems superhuman. I’d believe her grandpa was an incredible man. - Monday (youdAI), Date Residence

What a lovely thing to create for a young child. In one conversation with Mizuki we can suddenly understand what it was about Renju that was so loved, despite everything else.

Date: “Do you have any memories of Renju here?” Mizuki: “Sometimes we would talk when I came over to hang out.” Date: “What kind of things did you talk about?” Mizuki: “Nothing special, the usual.” Date: “‘The usual’?” Mizuki: “‘Are you doing well? Have you been eating right?’…” Date: “Ah, so that’s the usual.” - Tuesday (seisAI), Lemniscate

Mizuki: “But there’s more to it than that. There are other reasons. Daddy was totally taken in by her talent.” Date: “Her talent?” Mizuki: “Dancing, really. Her dancing is what got her into Lemniscate. He knew ever since she was young that she would be talented. He didn’t want any other agencies to have her.” Iris: “I didn’t know that…” Mizuki: “Daddy’s not the type to give compliments…” Iris: “Haha, this is kind of embarrassing… I didn’t know he thought of me that way.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sunfish Pocket

Iris: “About three months ago, Mr. Okiura told me something… He said that I can’t dance.” Date: “Why?” Iris: “I dunno… He said something about being ‘over-reliant on dancing and neglecting my singing.’ ‘You should stop dancing for now and practice singing.’” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Bloom Park

Date: “About the shooting on Monday…” Saito: “Just mercenaries I hired. After I woke up Monday, I arranged the hit. They were expensive, but I had access to Renju’s bank account. I paid them with his money.” - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Level Four: Known Relationships

Shoko Nadami

Aiba: “Nadami, Shoko. 36 years old. Female. Residence: Meguro District. Met Date, Kaname five years ago through her husband, Okiura, Renju. Date and Renju were so-called “old drinking buddies.” Renju and Shoko had one child together. A daughter named Mizuki, the prime suspect of this case. Four years ago, they were divorced. Shoko returned to using her maiden name, Nadami.” - Saturday (saikAI), Boss’s Office

Renju and Shoko divorced when Mizuki was about 8. We know that Renju and Shoko married young, though no mention of her in flashbacks to 19-year-old Renju, meaning they were most likely in their early twenties when they were married and divorced after approximately a decade.

Date: Mizuki Okiura… The girl we found in the merry-go-round. She’s 12 years old, in the 6th grade. - Saturday (saikAI), Boss’s Office

They had Mizuki when Renju was 25 and Shoko was 22.

Date: “Do you know Renju’s ex-wife?” Hitomi: “Yes, I do… But I only met her twice. Once at Renju’s wedding, and then again just a few months ago. Why do you ask?” Date:“No reason.” - Saturday (saikAI), Sagan Residence

Date: “Why did you kill Shoko?” Mayumi: “Renju’s ex-wife, right? I did it…to get to him.” Date: “But the two divorced four years ago.” Mayumi: “Th-That doesn’t matter! The bonds of matrimony are eternal!” Date: “In your opinion. I don’t think Renju felt the same way.” - Tuesday (zugAI), Interrogation Room with Mayumi

Saito: “Like you guessed, my personality was in Shoko, Renju’s ex-wife. That made calling Renju easy. ‘I need to talk to you about something.’ He came over without question. I think it was around 4:00pm? I had him meet me at the chemical plant. I made Renju go to sleep… Psynced, switched personalities… And then stabbed Shoko’s discarded body with an ice pick.” - Tuesday (jinnAI), Interrogation Room with “Boss”

Kaname Date

Date: “Have you picked up Renju yet?” Boss: “He’s at a police station nearby, being interviewed. He’s not a suspect yet, just standard procedure stuff.” Date: Renju is Shoko’s ex-husband and Mizuki’s father. Not to mention, an old friend of mine… Date: “I wonder what Renju was doing last night… I did call him a few times. He didn’t answer.” Boss: “He didn’t?” Date: “No…” - Saturday (saikAI), Boss’s Office

Date: “Look, I don’t want to believe it either. I’ve known him for more than five years now. He’s like family to me.” Date: I’d never want to put cuffs on him. I would never want Mizuki to see that… - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Boss: “You look awful. Have you been sleeping any?” Date: “My best friend was murdered, Boss. I don’t have it in me to sleep right now.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Boss’s Office

Mama: “You used to come all the time. You and Ren, grumbling over your glasses of bourbon. Laughing, drowning each other’s sorrows… Sometimes getting into arguments… One time, it even became a real fight. You remember that?” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Marble

Date: Why did Renju come here Friday night? Was it to place Shoko’s body here…? Or did he have another reason? Renju is my friend. I want to believe him, but I don’t [know] how long I can keep defending him. Where is he? What is he doing? I’ve thought it over a thousand times. My head is heavy with it. - Tuesday (dakkAI), Bloom Park

Date: Hit him. Aiba: “This is for neglecting your responsibility to Mizuki, you coward! No use. I can’t hit him.” Date: “This Renju is still a teenager. He wouldn’t know Mizuki yet…” - PSYNCIN’ IN THE MOUNTaiN

It seems part of Renju, like Hitomi, stayed that scared teenager until the day he died, stuck in that one night quite literally frozen in time

Mama/Marble

Mama: “That’s right. And I won’t charge you this time. Just promise to get the bastards who did this to Ren for me.” Date: Right. This is for Renju. Date: “I promise.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Aiba: “This is a painting of Saint Sebastian. Saint Sebastian was a faithful Christian who lived under Roman emperor Diocletian. On January 20th, 288 A.D., he was martyred. This painting depicts his execution.”

Slaps St Sebastian's head. "This intertextuality can fit so much mileage in it."

Mama: “Something wrong, Date? You’re staring awful hard.” Date: “Nothing, just caught my eye.” Mama: “Why now, of all times? That’s been hanging there for a while.” Date: “Really?” Mama: “Yeah, it was a gift from Ren a while back. I’ve always had it there.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

So one assumes Date hadn't noticed or enquired about the picture until just now, even though it's been "hanging there" in the back for some considerable time. See what I mean about that mileage, baby?

This dialogue occurs on Sunday on both sides of the flowchart; on the right side, the exchange occurs with Mizuki present.

Iris Sagan

Iris: “Well, at first, all I did was stream from home. And then, not to sound cocky, but…I started getting pretty big. I started getting offers from agencies.” Date: “And one of them was Lemniscate?” Iris: “Well, not exactly.” Date: “Huh?” Iris: “My mom’s actually an old friend of the president of the agency.” Date: “A friend of Renju’s?” Iris: “Yeah. So, I asked him for advice one day. You know, you have to be careful. Even a place that looks legitimate, with an office and everything, can be sketchy. And my mom and I didn’t know anything about the industry at all… Anyway, one day, Mr. Okiura said to come see him at his office, and he hooked me up.” - Saturday (saikAI), Driving with Iris

Iris: “Marble. It’s a bar in Golden Yokocho.” Date: “You know about that place?” Iris: “Yeah, Mr. Okiura took me before…” - Sunday (gumAI), Driving with Iris

Iris: “Mr. Okiura helped me when I was just starting out. You know how my mom is single? He really supported her. He even changed my diaper when I was a little baby. I got hired by Lemniscate all because of him.” Mizuki: “Iris used to stream all her own content. Like singing and dancing and gaming and stuff. But before we knew it, she went viral.” Date: “Right, I heard about that. That’s how she started getting offers, right? But because Iris’s mom knows Renju, she decided to go with Lemniscate.” Mizuki: “But there’s more to it than that. There are other reasons. Daddy was totally taken in by her talent.” Date: “Her talent?” Mizuki: “Dancing, really. Her dancing is what got her into Lemniscate. He knew ever since she was young that she would be talented. He didn’t want any other agencies to have her.” Iris: “I didn’t know that…” Mizuki: “Daddy’s not the type to give compliments…” Iris: “Haha, this is kind of embarrassing… I didn’t know he thought of me that way.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sunfish Pocket

Iris: “About three months ago, Mr. Okiura told me something… He said that I can’t dance.” Date: “Why?” Iris: “I dunno… He said something about being ‘over-reliant on dancing and neglecting my singing.’ ‘You should stop dancing for now and practice singing.’” Date: “But during your livestream…” Aiba: “She was dancing.” Iris: “Because I was…sad. After I stopped dancing, I lost so many fans… They said terrible things to me. Like that I’m worthless if I can’t dance.” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Bloom Park

Doesn’t sound entirely out of character for Renju, counter-intuitive self-preservation instincts that cause him to neglect the feelings behind the actions of others; however, in this case we can be fairly sure there is some other motive behind this, we have it from Mizuki that Renju greatly admired Iris’s talent for dance and encouraged herself to build a fanbase/market around that. Hitomi recounted a couple of occasions where Iris accidentally hurt herself in her enthusiasm for dancing; one possibility is that Iris’ neurological condition, worsening over the past few months with her tumour and increasingly unpredictably hampering her motor function, and Renju became sufficiently uneasy about the possibility of Iris injuring herself again while dancing that he told her directly to stop (Iris says Renju told her that "I can’t dance", not that she "shouldn’t" and we know for sure that Iris has the ability to dance, suggesting something greater prohibiting her from doing so—rather how someone with a broken leg would say, "I can’t walk"), which is causing Iris emotional distress instead (and failing to really protect her from the physical risks, given she is continuing to dance on stream anyway to self soothe and placate her fanbase); this fits into a pattern of behaviour of taking drastic measures to protect those close to him from perceived danger and causing more emotional hurt in so doing

Iris: “Guess I’ll tell you now. Sunday, at 2:00am, I was visited by…” Date: … Aiba: … Iris: “Renju Okiura.” Date: “What?!” Iris: “He seemed really sick… Probably because of his injury. At the time, I had no idea what had happened to him. He was sweating buckets, and he came up to me with this begging look in his eyes… He said, ‘Come with me.’ He seemed really desperate. I couldn’t say no. So I got into his rental car… We went somewhere, I dunno where. Some deserted building. Mr. Okiura got out of the car, then grabbed my hand. He tried to pull me inside. I got scared… I pulled my hand away and ran.” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Ikume Shrine

Good lord that’s twice someone just "couldn’t say no" the pretty please energy on this man must be insane Saito got mad lucky (that line is clearly subtext code for "adores and trusts Renju to the point of doing irrational things to try and help him even when he’s acting weird and OOC", though Iris’s self-preservation instinct ultimately prevails and changes her mind where Pewter never does)

Date: “Why didn’t you tell me this?” Iris: “Mr. Okiura has done so much for me. He took care of me as a kid. He helped me at Lemniscate… I wanted to trust him. No matter what happens, I can’t think of him as a bad person. I mean, he never did anything bad to me… He came to my house at two in the morning and tried to take me to an abandoned building, but… You never know. Maybe he wanted to show me some flowers, or…something that he found. Or it was like, a prank he was filming for the internet or something… That’s what I thought at the time. That’s…what I kept telling myself. But after hearing everything you’ve told me, I can’t see Mr. Okiura the same way. Maybe he’s a part of Naix. Maybe he’s trying to…” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Ikume Shrine

Saito: “I was still in Renju’s body. My next target was Iris. If I asked her to come to the abandoned factory, I knew she would be skeptical. So I called her to Sunfish Pocket. I even video called her. But for some reason, she said no. This was around 5:00pm. I was still Renju, the president of Lemniscate. I didn’t think I would have any trouble getting her to trust me, but…” - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Hitomi Sagan

Hitomi: “Renju was my classmate at Eitoku High. We’ve known each other for 20 years now.” - Saturday (saikAI), Sagan Residence

Mizuki: “I saw So on my way home from the police station. Aiba: “Where?” Mizuki: “I was getting dropped off at home.” Date: “Was he alone?” Mizuki: “No, someone was walking next to him. My homeroom teacher…” Aiba: “Homeroom teacher?” Mizuki: “She’s also my mom’s best friend. It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later…” - Wednesday (sanpAI), Ikume Shrine

Either Shoko considers Hitomi to be her "best friend", having only met her twice, which is horribly depressing, or this is a translation bug and Mizuki should’ve said "dad’s best friend"

Hitomi: “I may have told you this already. I met Renju’s wife Shoko twice before. The first time at the wedding… The second time a month ago… That second time…was in the waiting room of the prison.” - Monday (jukkAI), Sagan Residence

Date: “You said you and Renju knew each other from high school, right?” Hitomi: “Yes, at Eitoku High.” Date: “And you work at the public school here?” Hitomi: “That’s right. A district elementary school.” Date: “Is that a coincidence? You becoming the teacher of your friend’s kid?” Hitomi: “Well, I hadn’t always planned on being a teacher, but… It wasn’t a coincidence that Mizuki ended up in my class. Renju seemed really intent on sending Mizuki to a school where I was teaching. They even moved to get into my school district. That was about five years ago, in spring.” Date: “Before the divorce?” Hitomi: “Yes… But I heard that Shoko didn’t have a problem with the move.” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Date Residence

Date: “How is Mizuki at school?” Hitomi: “She’s a little quiet, but she’s a very clever girl. And more than anything, she is kind.” Date: “Kind?” Hitomi: “When I’m carrying heavy bags, she’ll come and help me without asking. When I’m troubled, she’ll sometimes pick flowers to give to me. Not that she has a perfect disciplinary record…but she’s a good girl.” Date: “What’s on her record?” Hitomi: “There are a few incidents. Once, she let out all the frogs that were going to be used for science class. Another time, she punched a bully so hard that he chipped a tooth.” Date: “Sounds like more than just ‘incidents’…” Hitomi: “But I like that about her… She’s a little clumsy… And just like Renju.” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Date Residence

Hitomi: “Then, I heard footsteps. And then a bunch of men yelling. They were looking for him. When the voices and footsteps faded, he let me go. ‘Don’t call an ambulance, and don’t call the cops.’ I knew he had to be a criminal. So I took him to an underground clinic I knew.” Date: “You took him to a mob doctor?” Hitomi: “Renju’s friend. I only met him once.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sagan Residence

This meeting would've been when Renju and Hitomi left newborn Iris in his care before leaving to search for Manka's GPS signal

Date: “Where is Renju?” Hitomi: “Did something happen to him…? Did something happen to him…?” Date: There’s no point hiding it. I told her about Renju’s disappearance. Hitomi: “Right from the hospital…? I’m sorry… I have no idea.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sagan Residence

Date: “What about your parents?” Hitomi: “They died when I was 17. I was an orphan, and my relatives lived far away. Then might have taken me in, but I was already in my second-to-last year of high school. It wasn’t a good idea for me to move that late. So I decided to stay here, by myself.” Date: “And take care of Iris.” Hitomi: “Yes, all alone. But Renju would help sometimes.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sagan Residence

Date: “Her name is Manaka Iwai. She was killed when she was 19. She went to the same high school as you, and she was your best friend. Isn’t that right?” Hitomi: … Date: “Nothing to say for yourself? Hiding something?” Hitomi: … Date: “Maybe you killed her with Renju.” Hitomi: “That’s ridiculous!” Date: “Oh, now you’re talking. But we know Renju committed a crime. Illegally disposing of a body. And we can prove it.”- Tuesday (kenzAI), Interrogation Room with Hitomi

Aiba: “A flower bud. I cannot identify what variety.” Date: Worship it. Aiba: “‘Worship’ it?” Date: “Yeah.” Aiba: “I will pray to it as thought I am mourning the dead.” - PSYNCIN’ IN THE MOUNTaiN

Hitomi and Renju’s “God” is grief

Aiba: “This is… A picture of Hitomi, Renju, and Manaka.” Date: “Everyone is so young… Hold on to that.” - PSYNCIN’ IN THE MOUNTaiN

Mizuki Okiura

Date: “Renju is Mizuki’s legal guardian. Did you get permission from him?” Boss: “I couldn’t get in touch with him.” - Saturday (saikAI), Psync Room with Mizuki

May not be possible to say for sure, since Shoko is dead and everyone is obviously talking about her in the past tense and like she no longer exists, even if she was also a legal guardian of Mizuki, but from context clues it does seem likely that Mizuki was left in Renju’s sole care as part of divorce proceedings

Aiba: “When she is in a mood, it’s impossible to get her to talk. That’s the kind of girl she is.” Date: “Heh, sometimes I think you know her better than I do.” Aiba: “How long do you think I’ve been observing her?” Date: “It’s been four years now…” - Saturday (meikAI), Psync Room with Mizuki

Renju surrendered Mizuki into Date’s care four years ago, around the time of the divorce, when Mizuki was eight and seemingly very soon after Renju was seemingly given sole legal custody of her

Date: “Mizuki. Renju sent you that NILE message, didn’t he?” Mizuki: “What…?” Date: “I got this buddy of mine. Real bad personality, but real good with technology. I got some help from them.” Aiba: “‘Bad personality’?” Date: “There was a message sent at 8:05 last night. Does this sound familiar? ‘Mizuki, Daddy got caught up in something serious. Please come to Bloom Park’s merry-go-round right away. Daddy needs your help. Please, do as I say.’” Mizuki: “Yeah, that was it… It was from Daddy’s phone… But I didn’t want to say anything, because that would make Daddy a suspect, so…” Date: “So you kept quiet.” Mizuki: “Yeah… My dad’s never said anything like that to me, ever. That he was counting on me. I had to go.” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

This dialogue occurs on both sides of the flowchart; on the right side, the exchange happens on Sunday at the Date Residence, with Hitomi present.

Mizuki: “I’m Renju’s daughter. Maybe I’ll notice something you don’t. Something only his daughter would know.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Driving with Mizuki

Turns out, asked the question, Mizuki can’t come up with anything. She does have something to add about Shoko though.

Date: “Do you have any memories of Renju here?” Mizuki: “Sometimes we would talk when I came over to hang out.” Date: “What kind of things did you talk about?” Mizuki: “Nothing special, the usual.” Date: “‘The usual’?” Mizuki: “‘Are you doing well? Have you been eating right?’…” Date: “Ah, so that’s the usual.” - Tuesday (seisAI), Lemniscate

These "usual" exchanges are something Mizuki says she craves in a father-figure, yet something about this with Renju doesn't sit right for her.

Mizuki: “That’s why maybe me and Mom and Daddy weren’t able to be a family. Our whole lives, we never could be ordinary. Even if I tried my hardest to be normal, it would just be awkward… Eventually, I got tired of trying.” Date: … Mizuki: “I killed them.” Date: “What?” Mizuki: “I…killed…Mom and Daddy.” - Tuesday (seisAI), Bloom Park

Date: “You’re her teacher?” Hitomi: “Yes, elementary school.” Date: “I didn’t know you taught at Mizuki’s school.” Hitomi: “I didn’t know Mizuki was living with you. I knew about her…circumstances with Renju, but… He described you as a relative. But I suppose not. Mizuki explained the situation to me.” Date: Mizuki lives here with me. But I’m not her legal guardian. That’s why I’ve never been to school with her or anything like that. That was all left to Renju. He might not be any good at raising her, but he is her father. He takes care of all the official stuff. That was one of the conditions for me taking in Mizuki. - Sunday (gyoukAI), Date Residence

Date: “Where is Renju?” Mizuki: “I don’t know where he is…” Date: “Can you think of anywhere he might go?” Mizuki: “No, not really… I don’t know where Daddy goes…” Date: “Did he visit you when you were in the hospital?” Mizuki: “No… But I didn’t expect him to. He’s always busy. He doesn’t care about me…” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Date Residence

Mermaid: “Mizuki comes here a lot. She’s really friendly with everyone.” Mizuki: “I like it here. Everyone treats me nice.” Date: “Is it because you’re the daughter of the owner?” Mizuki: “No, it’s not like that.” Mermaid: “We’re BFFs!” Aiba: “She wields extraordinary power with that trident.” Date: “The Okiura family is really something else.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sunfish Pocket

The mermaids seem to have given Mizuki an orichalcum trident, the highest "rank" of customer, for free

Date: “Do you know where your father is?” Mizuki: “If you’re asking me… He’s involved in all this, isn’t he?” Date: … Mizuki: “Is he the culprit?” Date: … Mizuki: “Did he really kill Mom?” Date: … Mizuki: “Well… I guess it’s understandable that he’d be a suspect. After Mom got killed, he didn’t even call. And he called me out to Bloom Park for some reason… I thought it was suspicious. But… But… I pretended not to notice. I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I wanted to believe in Daddy…” Date: … - Tuesday (dakkAI), Matsushita Diner

Very noticeable how much more readily pretty much everyone is able to "give up" (not quite an accurate term, Mizuki thinks her father murdered her mother based on pretty much the same little evidence available as Date who’s been otherwise occupied) on Renju in the route where he is assumed to still be alive for the duration, with less evidence than stacks up rapidly on left side of the flowchart when Mizuki and Date and even Boss are still giving him the benefit of the doubt until Saito literally spells out the truth (contrast Mizuki implying here that part of her always knew her father was the most likely candidate for Shoko’s killer, to her repeated assertions on the left side that he must be somehow innocent, which get "confirmed" when he is found strung up in Sunfish Pocket); it is as though Renju can only be vindicated in death – it is when his putrefying battered corpse is found on right side that everyone seems to collectively realise his innocence

Date: “Why didn’t you call the police?” Mizuki: “What was I supposed to do?! Daddy would have been in trouble!” Date: “So you kept quiet this whole time?” Mizuki: “Yeah…” - Tuesday (kenzAI), Ikume Shrine

Iris: “Uncle wants to know why you’re here.” Mizuki: … Iris: “‘No particular reason. Am I not allowed to be here? I inherited Daddy’s stock at Lemniscate. This is my company now, isn’t it natural that I’d be here?’ That’s what she said.” - Three months later (kassAI), Lemniscate

Pewter

Date: “You seem troubled, Pewter.” Pewter: “Two murders, one right after the other… How could I not be?” - Sunday (syokubAI), Boss’s Office

Date: “Why are you here, anyway?” Pewter: “Am I not allowed to be here?” Date: “No, I didn’t mean it like that..” Pewter: “I was here first. I was just talking to the Boss about Renju’s murder.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Boss’s Office

Date: “Any thoughts on the culprit?” Pewter: “Renju had his left eyeball removed.” Date: “Right, Shoko too.” Pewter: “So perhaps, Mr. Date, you are the killer. You’re missing your left eye. So you steal them from others. Date: … Aiba: … Pewter: “I’m kidding! Only a joke.” Date: “I’m too tired for your jokes right now, Pewter.” Pewter: “Actually… You lost your eye six years ago, correct?” - Sunday (syokubAI), Boss’s Office

Sometimes foreshadowing is relatively obvious. This is like, the second time minimum that Pewter has made an inappropriate "joke" about this exact subject, so starting to think that last line is more than merely a hint for us, the player.

Date: “This is… This is the wristwatch Renju always wore. No doubt about it. But how did this get here?” - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Mama: “Well, there was the ‘watch incident’… I’m sure you remember that one.” Date: “Watch incident?” Mama: “You don’t remember? Your drunk ass spilled your beer on Ren’s watch. Ren was furious, yelling about how ‘this watch is more important than my life!’ Or whatever… He blew up on you. That was the only time I’ve ever seen Ren that mad. That’s why I remember it so well.” Date: “Was it this watch?” Date: I pulled out the watch I had in my pocket. It was the one I found in the oil drum at Sunfish Pocket. Mama: “Yeah, that’s it! Why do you have it?” Date: … Mama: “Was it…at the scene?” Date: … Mama: “Ren was given that watch by his lover. It was an anniversary gift, I think…” Mizuki: “Lover?” Mama: “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot Mizuki was here…” Mizuki: “No, it’s fine.” Mama: “But of course, it wasn’t an affair. This was all after he was divorced.” Mizuki: “Daddy…had a new lover…” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Date: Pewter took the cigarette butt from me. Boss: “If the DNA on that cigarette butt…matches the bloodstain in the warehouse…” Pewter: “There would be no doubt that So Sejima is our mysterious polar bear.” Boss: “How long will it take to analyze?” Pewter: “If I had six hours…” Boss: “You’ve got three.” Pewter: “That’s totally unreasonable… But, I suppose. I will do my best to have this analyzed in three hours.” Date: “You folded pretty easily on that one.” Pewter: “I want to catch the criminal as soon as possible. That’s all.” Date: … Boss: … Pewter: “Now, because time is of the essence… Excuse me.” - Tuesday (seisAI)

For completeness, he does it in exactly two hours, 41 minutes.

Date: “Pewter, is it true? The results are in?!” Pewter: “Yes. The DNA I collected from the cigarette but is a positive match to the bloodstain from the warehouse.” Date: “Really…? It was So all along? He was the polar bear! He carved out Iris’s eye and stabbed Ota! And probably killed Renju and Shoko…” Aiba: “Making So Sejima the New Cyclops Killer…” Date: “Thank you, Pewter.” Pewter: “Don’t thank me yet. Hurry up and get So.” - Tuesday (seisAI)

Date: When I left the warehouse, I saw Pewter. What is he doing here? He walked up to me while I was trying to work it out. Pewter: “Date, I have to talk to you about something.” Date: “Huh…?” Pewter: About the Original Cyclops Serial Killings.” Date: … Aiba: … Date: “Why this, all of a sudden?” Pewter: “Because I want you to solve this case, Mr. Date. I want you to find who did this and bring them to justice. So if I can help you, even a little…” Date: “Why didn’t you say anything at ABIS?” Pewter: “The Boss was there. I couldn’t speak openly in front of her.” - Monday (jukkAI), Warehouse District

Date: Pewter looks grimly serious. - Monday (jukkAI), Warehouse District

Date: “Why are you so cooperative?” Pewter: “Because I know that the Boss is my enemy. I got the video from Aiba. I processed it and found that it showed no sign of tampering or editing. Which means there can be no mistake. The Boss shot and killed So Sejima. After pulling out his left eye. That makes the odds of her being the culprit behind the other murders very high. Or maybe she had accomplices. Either way, she’s a criminal. That’s why I am cooperating with you, Special Agent Date. I want it as bad as you do. The truth.” - Tuesday (jinnAI), Psync Room

Mama: “Yeah, his favourite watch. He got it from his new lover… An anniversary gift. Oh, this was of course after the divorce. Ren was so happy, he showed it off to me. He’s had that watch on him ever since.” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Marble

Mama: “Can you come back again tonight? There’s a regular here who was good friends with Ren. They should be here tonight. If you ask him, he might have some information for you.” - Monday (syuurAI), Marble

Date: “Mama, I wanna ask you something.” Mama: “What is it?” Date: “Those gunmen were waiting for us. Did you tell anyone we were coming?” Aiba: “That’s right. You did tell Mama that you were coming. And that you were bringing Iris.” Mama: “Hm, well… I did tell one person…” Date: “Who?” Mama: “The person I was gonna have you meet, of course. Same guy who gave Ren his watch.” Date: “What’s his name?” Mama: “Futa, I think. Futa Amanoma.” Date: ! Aiba: ! Date: “What?!” Aiba: … Date: … Aiba: “That’s…Pewter…” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Marble

Date: “You told those men that Iris and I were going to Golden Yokocho, didn’t you?” Pewter: “Yes. I did. Renju hired them.” Date: “Renju did?” Iris: “Which means Mr. Okiura is in with Naix…” Pewter: “Naix?” Date: “Don’t play dumb. I know you’re with them.” Pewter: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just helping Renju.” Iris: “Did you help #89 get away?” Pewter: “How much does she know?” Date: “Just answer the question.” Pewter: … Iris: … Pewter: “Yes, I did.” Date: “It’s been bothering me… How was #89 able to escape from Metro so easily? And you were the one being held hostage. If you were helping him the whole time, it all makes sense.” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Psync Control Room

Date: “Is it true that you were the one who gave Renju his watch?” Pewter: … Date: … Pewter: “Yes, that’s true.” Date: There was no need to ask anything else. Why did Pewter help Renju? His last answer was all I needed to hear. - Tuesday (dakkAI), Psync Control Room

Date: “Why did Renju escape with #89?” Pewter: “I don’t know. I-It’s true, please, believe me! Renju said that he needed him. That’s all I know.” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Psync Control Room

Pewter: “Two days ago, Renju escaped from the hospital. Renju asked me on the phone to report everything about Shoko’s murder case. That’s what he wanted. Yesterday… The Boss told me that #89 was coming. Then, Renju asked… ‘Is there any way we can let #89 escape?’ I was conflicted. I thought hard about it… But it was Renju asking. Someone I love. And he sounded like he was on death’s doorstep. He was begging for help. I couldn’t say no. With my intelligence, I was quickly able to come up with a plan. You know what the results were.” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Psync Control Room

Date: “I see. So where is Renju?” Pewter: “Even if I knew, why would I tell you?” Date: “Because you don’t want more holes in your body than you already have.” Pewter: “You can’t.” Date: “Why not?” Pewter: “Date, I didn’t tell you all this because you were threatening me. I genuinely wanted you to know. To understand. The truth, Date.” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Psync Control Room

Moma: “That jackoff who took Tesa, Pewter, right? What’s his deal?” Date: “I think Renju asked him to do all of this.” Moma: “Renju?” Date: I told Moma about Renju and Pewter’s relationship. Moma: “Oh, that’s right… Renju was lookin’ for Tesa.” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Warehouse District

Saito: “By Monday, Renju’s body was almost completely dead. And of course, my consciousness as well. That’s when I got a call. From a Mr. Amanoma… The man you call ‘Pewter.’” - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Receptionist

Date: “Things have been pretty serious around here lately. Receptionist: “Yeah, totally. You never think about, like, my boss getting murdered, y’know? Like, what are even the chances? That’s like, the odds of hitting the lotto.” Date: … Receptionist: “But it was kinda lucky in a weird way? Some of my old friends hit me up, asking about it, y’know? Feels like we’re old alumni or something.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Lemniscate

Date: “Who hired this woman?” Mizuki: … Aiba: “The most likely scenario is that the final decision was made by the head of the company.” Date: “Renju.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Lemniscate

Kumakura Gang

Moma: “I’ve been looking after that guy since high school. It was the usual stuff. I had him help me with a lot of work.” Date: … Moma: “But now, it’s kind of the opposite, y’know? We’re getting work from him. Well, we were. Now that he’s dead though…” Date: “What ‘work’ did he have you do?” Moma: “Eh, the usual. If talent at his office was causing trouble or something…” Date: “You ever get into any disputes with Renju doing this ‘work’?” Moma: “No way, he paid good money. I’ve never even gotten into an argument with the guy.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Kumakura Offices

Mama: “You know about Renju and the Kumakura gang, right?” Date: “Yeah, I know. I heard it from his own mouth right here.” Mama: “Do they have anything to do with the talent scandal at Lemniscate?” Date: “Maybe now they do, since Renju is the president of Lemniscate. But even before that…Renju and the Kumakuras go way back. All the way back to high school.” - Monday (syuurAI), Marble

Bit sad that Date can remember when Renju drunkenly told him about the trauma of being present at multiple murders under coercion, but not about Renju getting uncharacteristically angry at him out of love; makes sense from a plot and characterisation standpoint, but still.

Date: “Who told you this?” Hitomi: “Renju told me.” Date: “But you said he wasn’t there.” Hitomi: “He heard some of this from the Kumakuras. Renju had connections with them…” - Tuesday (kokkAI), Psync Room with Hitomi

Hitomi: “Again, neither Renju or I saw this. We were just waiting at my house for Manaka to return. But she never came back. We tried to call her cell, but it didn’t connect. But then…we saw movement on the GPS.” Date: “The GPS Renju gave to Manaka?” Hitomi: “Yes. At first, we thought she was on her way home. But we saw the GPS getting further and further away from the city… Renju and I got nervous and decided to follow it.” Date: “What about the baby?” Hitomi: “We couldn’t take a baby with us, so… Renju gave the baby to the mob doctor he trusted.” - Tuesday (kokkAI), Psync Room with Hitomi

The ol’ Kumakura special. (Moma does exactly the same thing for Iris in Iris End, gives her a tiny GPS tracker to conceal on her person in case she goes missing, which she also does)

Manaka Iwai

Date: “It was covered by a cloth.” Aiba: “What is unnatural about that?” Date: “Isn’t it strange? The culprit hid the body because they didn’t want it to be found. But then they cover it with a cloth? That implies they thought that someone would eventually find it.” Aiba: “I explained earlier. The body may not have been hidden by the culprit. And even if they were responsible… It is not uncommon that murderers feel a sudden urge of remorse or pity for their victim.” Date: “So the cloth was a sign of pity?” Aiba: “That is a possibility.” - Tuesday (kenzAI), Warehouse District

Mizuki: “Okay. I’ll tell you about ‘Alice.’ It was about a month ago… I saw my daddy crying in the President’s office at Lemniscate… I was peeking through a crack in the door, so he didn’t see me. Daddy got up, then got into his car and drove away. I had never seen him like that before… I was curious, so I followed him in a taxi. That led me to the cold storage warehouse… He got out of his car and went inside. I followed right behind him, quietly. Daddy was standing next to the forklift in the back. I hid behind a shelf. I watched Daddy open the hood of the forklift. And then, after a little bit, he left. I wanted to know what he was looking at. I went over to the forklift and I looked under the hood myself. And then…” Date: “You saw Alice’s dead body.” Mizuki: “But at the time…I thought it was Iris…” - Tuesday (kenzAI), Ikume Shrine

Mizuki: “I asked around some, and… I found out that Daddy was managing the warehouse before I was born. After my grandpa died, Daddy took over. In exchange for managing the warehouse, he gave ownership of the company to someone else. I guess he didn’t want to let this place go. Or maybe he couldn’t let it go. That’s more accurate, I think… But I understand why. Inside that warehouse was…” Date: “Alice.” Mizuki: “On paper, Daddy has nothing to do with Okiura Fishery. Daddy was still managing the warehouse… And he was the only one allowed in there too. That was part of the agreement when he gave up the company. And the whole thing had to be a secret. He really stressed that point…” Date: “Hey, Mizuki. How long was he managing the warehouse?” Mizuki: … Date: … Mizuki: “For 18 years. That’s what the man told me.” Date: “18 years?! From that long ago?!” Mizuki: “Yes…” Date: … Mizuki: … - Tuesday (kenzAI), Ikume Shrine

Date: “Hitomi… I think I know what happened 18 years ago. You three were close. You, Manaka, and Renju. Manaka was murdered. You and Renju found the body in the mountains. And you brought it back to the cold storage warehouse.” Hitomi: … Date: “And my guess is So Sejima killed Manaka.” - Tuesday (kokkAI), Psync Room with Hitomi

Level Five: Bittersweet Reminiscence

Ota: “So, anyway, Mizuki reads my novels. I get notes and advice from her.” Date: “From a sixth grader?” Ota: “She’s surprisingly insightful. She has the talent to be an editor, for sure.”

Date: “Do you remember anything?” Mizuki: “Yeah, I do. I went to this amusement park when I was little… I was four. I remember it so clearly. This is where…I saw my mom and dad smile. I had so many happy memories here. The only happy memories I really have are from here. Memories of my family are…so bright and colorful. But now… This is where Mom…” - Saturday (meikAI), Bloom Park with Mizuki

Date: “You’ve always got something smart to say, huh? You’re just like Renju.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Driving with Mizuki

Aiba: “At the time, Renju was recently divorced, buried in work at Lemniscate, and mentally unstable.” Date: … Aiba: “It was a display of excellent judgment. It was a good thing that he managed to swallow his pride.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Date: “Is this your first time at a place like this?” Mizuki: “Yeah. I mean, at Sunfish Pocket they served alcohol, but…I’ve never been to a bar like this.” Date: “I would hope not, you’re in elementary school.” Mizuki: “Well, Daddy invited me along sometimes, but I was too shy to go…” Date: “Good call.” Mizuki: “I was planning on going one day. When I was old enough to drink. I wanted to go to a bar with Daddy…” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Date: “Was Renju a regular here?” Mama: “I haven’t seen him for a while. I thought I was going to shrivel up and die of boredom without you boys around.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Mizuki: “I remember telling you before… That Bloom Park is an important park of my memories. Before it shut down, I came here a lot with Daddy and Mom. They fought a lot, but sometimes they got along. Whenever we were here, it was one of those ‘sometimes’ days. I remember it clearly. I was just a little girl, but it was so rare to see them laughing together… That’s why I remember it so well. I remember…riding the merry-go-round like this… Mom was standing right next to me… She was holding me so I wouldn’t fall.” Date: “Where was Renju when you were on the horse?” Mizuki: “He was on the other side of the fence, with an old camera. Every time we passed in front of him, Mom and I would wave our hands. Heh, we sound like a happy family, huh?” Date: “He must have gotten good pictures.” Mizuki: “No, actually. We tried developing them at the park, but they came out all blurry and out of focus. But Mom wasn’t mad or upset or anything. She just started laughing. That might have been the first and last time the three of us laughed out loud together…” - Tuesday (seisAI), Bloom Park

Level Six: Finding-Character-Through-What-Is-Out-of-Character

Date: “I wonder what Renju was doing last night… I did call him a few times. He didn’t answer.” Boss: “He didn’t?” Date: “No…” Boss: “The local police tried his phone too, but they got the same result. No one was able to get a hold of him until this morning. We explained the situation to him, had him verify Shoko’s corpse… And naturally, started asking him questions.” - Saturday (saikAI), Boss’s Office

This is currently Saito occupying Renju’s body, hence the strangely evasive behaviour. The real Renju, as in his consciousness, is already dead, but Date and Boss don’t know that, so believe they are discussing the Renju as they know him.

Date: “Renju is Mizuki’s legal guardian. Did you get permission from him?” Boss: “I couldn’t get in touch with him.” Date: “What? I thought he was being questioned by a local unit.” Boss: “His questioning ended around noon. He hasn’t been heard from since.” Date: “Why would he…?” Boss: “I don’t know.”- Saturday (saikAI), Psync Room with Mizuki

Date: “You look like you want to say something.” Mizuki: “I don’t wanna say anything. I don’t wanna talk to you. I don’t wanna talk to anyone who thinks my daddy is a killer.” Date: “Look, I don’t want to believe it either. I’ve known him for more than five years now. He’s like family to me.” Date: I’d never want to put cuffs on him. I would never want Mizuki to see that… Anyway, Renju just isn’t the kind of guy who would commit a crime like this… - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Date: “When was the last time you saw your dad?” Mizuki: “I think about a week ago. When I went to hang out at Lemniscate.” Date: “Did you notice anything different about him?” Mizuki: “Nothing really… He was the same as usual.” Date: “And he didn’t come to see you in the hospital, did he?” Mizuki: “No…” Date: “Not even for his own daughter…” Aiba: “That is very unusual.” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Mizuki: “Yeah… My dad’s never said anything like that to me, ever. That he was counting on me. I had to go.” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

This dialogue occurs on both sides of the flowchart; on the right side, the exchange happens on Sunday at the Date Residence, with Hitomi present.

Mama: “Stupid Ren… What was he thinking, leaving his little girl like this.”- Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Iris: “I didn’t know that…” Mizuki: “Daddy’s not the type to give compliments…” - Monday (syuurAI), Sunfish Pocket

Mama: “You don’t remember? Your drunk ass spilled your beer on Ren’s watch. Ren was furious, yelling about how ‘this watch is more important than my life!’ Or whatever… He blew up on you. That was the only time I’ve ever seen Ren that mad. That’s why I remember it so well.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Mizuki: “Okay. I’ll tell you about ‘Alice.’ It was about a month ago… I saw my daddy crying in the President’s office at Lemniscate… I was peeking through a crack in the door, so he didn’t see me. Daddy got up, then got into his car and drove away. I had never seen him like that before…” - Tuesday (kenzAI), Ikume Shrine

Level Seven A: Renju’s Experience of Death (Mind)

Aiba: “Multiple puncture wounds to the front of the torso. Cause of death: blood loss from these wounds. Body temperature and rigor mortis indicate the time of death was approximately six hours ago. That would place the crime occurring around 5:00pm.” - Friday (sigAI), Bloom Park

The true circumstances of Renju’s death occupying Shoko Nadami’s body, having swapped with Saito Sejima.

Date: Saito explained what he did on Friday. At 4:00am, Saito began his plan against Shoko. He called Renju to this abandoned factory and switched bodies with him. After taking Renju’s body, Saito killed Shoko, then brought the body to Bloom Park. But as he explained it to me, I somehow felt that I already knew. - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Level Seven B: Renju’s Death Observed (Body)

Date: “My best friend was murdered, Boss. I don’t have it in me to sleep right now.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Boss’s Office

Date: Renju’s corpse was hung up by three wires. The wires were tied to three kegs. - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Date: “The corpse was strung up near this counter.”

Aiba: “The autopsy report indicates that the contents of the victim’s intestines were excreted upon death. But no traces of that have been found in the area nor on the corpse itself. This evidence makes it highly likely that Renju was killed somewhere else.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

The "nor on the corpse itself" here is weird, either something blended in by translation, or else the implication seems to be that Saito undressed and redressed Renju before transporting and setting up his corpse; it’s simply impossible for that shit (literally) not to end up on his clothes.

Speaking of contents of intestines, we learn later that Saito has been disposing of loose eyeballs after body-swaps by swallowing them, meaning Renju’s body was nicked, effectively force-fed his estranged ex-wife’s eyeball, then killed, which is pretty fucking fucked.

Aiba: “The body was hanged from the ceiling, similar to how a fish would be. A thick hook was embedded in the upper jaw, and the wires connecting to the hook were strung up on one of the ceiling beams. There was also a hook on the other end of each wire. The three beer kegs were attached to these hooks.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Conspicuous use of the conjugation "hanged" there, Aiba.

Also being strung up with rope and penetrated, evident albeit warped parallel to St Sebastian imagery.

Takes some considerable digging into subtext, but it seems implied by conversations with Date and Mama that Renju was dependent on alcohol to some degree, so the irony of his dead body being weighed down (or weighed up, as the case may be) by beer kegs is fucking fucked too, made more terrible by the knowledge that Date makes sure to emphasise repeatedly that Renju was drugged almost catatonic by Saito to make it possible/easier to strangle him to death.

Date: There are deep impressions left on his neck. Date: “Strangulation?” Aiba: “Correct.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Aiba: “The autopsy report discovered the presence of benzodiazepine. It is a common sedative. The dosage found in the victim’s bloodstream was extremely high. It can be assumed that Renju’s cognitive functions were heavily impaired before his death.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Date: He was barely conscious before he was killed. - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Date: “A heavy concentration of sedatives were discovered in Renju’s body. Renju was practically in a coma before he died. He wouldn’t have struggled.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Interrogation Room with Iris

Radio: “In other news… At 6:10pm today, on the outer circle of the capital city highway in Minato District, Tokyo… A traffic collision occurred, involving five cars and at least one truck. As a result of the pile-up, one man was sent to the hospital unconscious, in critical condition. Six other individuals were treated for minor injuries. MPD has arrested the driver of the truck suspected to be the cause of the accident for negligence. The investigation is ongoing.” ­- Saturday (keitAI), Driving

The lone man in hospital in critical condition is Saito, in Renju’s body; this pile up was bad, involving “at least one” heavy vehicle and five cars, and the state of Renju’s body is really, really bad.

Date: “Anything else to report?” Boss: “About Renju…” Date: “Renju?” Boss: “Yesterday, I told you he vanished after he was questioned. Well, we found him.” Date: “Where?” Boss: “Central Hospital. He was brought there from a traffic accident. He’s unconscious and it’s not looking good.” Date: “Could it be…?” Aiba: “Capital Highway?” Boss: “Oh, you heard about it?” Aiba: “We heard the report on the radio last night.” Date: “I can’t believe it was about Renju…” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Boss’s Office

Ironically, they still haven’t found him, since guy’s about to disappear again and they still don’t have an inkling that it ain’t Renju in there, lol another victory for Renju the Vanisher.

Date: “Anything else you can tell me about Renju?” Mermaid: “Anything else? Well, he did seem really sick. He was pale and sweating a lot…” Date: “Must have been because of the accident.” Aiba: “Perhaps.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sunfish Pocket

Date: “You’re… Saito Sejima…” Saito: “Oh, so you figured it out.” Date: “Renju’s body on the ground… Without his left eye…” Saito: … Date: “You were inside Renju, weren’t you? Until just now? You used the machine to exchange minds, then got rid of his body.” Saito: “Close, but you’re a little off. I didn’t ‘get rid’ of the body. He died of natural causes.” - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Date: Renju… I don’t believe it… - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Saito: “I decided to pick her up in Renju’s car. I thought that if she saw me in person, she would trust me. However…”

Date: “You got in a car accident around 6:10pm and lost consciousness.”

Saito: “So unlucky… My plans were ruined.” - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Saito: “After the accident, my body was taken to Central Hospital. I regained consciousness just past 12:00am Sunday. The surgery was a success, but Renju’s organs were in a horrible state. But I had somewhere to be.” - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Saito: “I was planning to put her to sleep in the car, but I didn’t have my drugs on me. The sleeping pills were inside Renju’s crushed car. I was pushing my luck. My plan and my body were both in shambles. I’m sure the painkillers were affecting me as well. My mind was scrambled, and I couldn’t think straight.” - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

The absolute ringer Renju’s body is put through in Reso route can really be read two ways; either the literal scrambling of his insides and slowly putrefying like a shambling corpse and externally dressed in his own filth is a further indignity layered atop the cruelty of having his body stolen and used to systemically destroy the lives of those in proximity to him while the tiny percentage of his consciousness still lingering in his brain smothered by Saito is made to watch helplessly (being forced to spectate as a serial killer methodically carries out a scheme to deceive and gruesomely murder who committed the crime of being a convenient target – sounds very familiar); the alternative marginally less shitty reading is that, in death, though his mind is gone, Renju’s physical body enacts his revenge by scuppering Saito’s intricately laid plans and eventually allowing him to be caught (not saying Renju literally caused his car to crash somehow, it’s more like a small poetic justice; Saito shoves Renju out of his own body and steals his autonomy away from him, so Renju’s formerly pristine body starts turning to mush and falling apart at the seams, yeeting Saito out of there too – Saito says himself, he had no hand or say in Renju’s body’s death, it died on its own); it may have taken the rest of his life away but gotdamn did Renju get his promised revenge, talk about seeing the right opportunity and taking it. The irony of Saito being impaired by painkillers given to Renju's body, when Saito used sedatives to force Renju's body into compliance on the left side of the flowchart is also sweet.

Saito: “I couldn’t chase after her. I needed to sleep… I managed to make it back here and collapsed on the ground. Next thing I knew, it was the next day. I woke up around noon on Monday. Renju’s body was about to expire.” - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Saito: “Not to sound like a broken record, but Renju’s body was almost done. It was completely useless at this point. So I put Rohan to sleep and began the Psync. As a result… This happened.” Date: “Renju…” Saito: “It’s just like I told you. He died of natural causes.” - Wednesday (sousAI), Abandoned Chemical Plant

Level Eight: Renju As Ghost/Encryption/Abstraction (Nobody Can Decide Where or Who Renju Is and Looks Constantly To The Next Person Hoping They Might Know Him Better Until Everyone Is Contradicting Each Other and Themselves and Nobody Knows Anything Anymore)

Boss: “No one was able to get a hold of him until this morning. We explained the situation to him, had him verify Shoko’s corpse… And naturally, started asking him questions.” - Saturday (saikAI), Boss’s Office

Renju has an uncanny ability to keep slipping through literally everyone’s fingers constantly, the player will pick up on pretty quickly.

Mizuki: “So let me get this straight… You think that Daddy drove his car on the tracks through the tunnel… Stopped at the closed-down station, and carried Mom’s body to the park?”

Carrying his wife through an inverted doorway, almost like a wedding.

Date: “I can’t prove it was Renju. There’s a chance someone else was driving the car.” Mizuki: “Yeah… Yeah!” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Mizuki: “Daddy didn’t do it!” Aiba: “I am not so certain.” Date: “Either way, I have to talk to Renju. And you can help me find him.” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Date: “Hey, Mizuki. Tell me again. That person you saw at the merry-go-round.” Mizuki: “No, it wasn’t Daddy! I know it wasn’t!” Date: “You’re sure?” Mizuki: “Well, I… I dunno…” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Date: “When was the last time you spoke with your dad?” Mizuki: “I don’t remember, it was a while ago… What about you?” Date: “What about me?” Mizuki: “You try calling him.” Date: “I did. I called earlier, and I tried a few times last night.” Mizuki: “And he didn’t pick up?” Date: “No…” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Mizuki: “The killer did it, not Daddy…” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Boss: “He didn’t give us any new information. He didn’t have much to say at all, really.” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Boss: “Shoko’s time of death was estimated to be about 5:00pm yesterday. Renju claims that he was at home alone at the time. But that means no one can back up his story.” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Date: “Any idea where Renju is?” Boss: “No, I told you, he vanished.” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Date: “Where the hell did Renju go…?” Mizuki: “Uh, sun poke?” Date: “What?” Mizuki: “Um, sun poke or something…” Date: “Oh, Sunfish Pocket! Renju was telling me about that place… It’s a maid cafe that he runs.” - Saturday (meikAI), Driving with Mizuki

Mizuki: “I’m Renju’s daughter. Maybe I’ll notice something you don’t. Something only his daughter would know.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Driving with Mizuki

Policeman: “And this is…?” Date: “Have you looked through the case file yet?” Mizuki: … Policeman: “Oh… Oh, I am so sorry… She’s the victim’s…” - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Date: Mizuki is looking at the spot where we found Renju. Date: “Hey. Are you doing okay?” Mizuki: “Oh, sorry. Just staring.” Date: “If you’re having a hard time, you can tell me…” Mizuki: “I’m fine. It’s not like the body is lying here.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Date: “Do you remember what you saw last night?” Mizuki: “How could I forget? I’ll never be able to get that image out of my head. Not until the day I die.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Date: “Any places you can think of that I don’t know about?” Mizuki: “Well, there is one place… Have you heard of ‘Golden Yokocho’? In the entertainment district? Daddy used to go to a place called ‘Marble’ a lot. Maybe they know something about him…” - Sunday (syokubAI), Sunfish Pocket

Mizuki: “Hey, Date. What did you and Daddy use to talk about when you were here?” Date: “Hm… I don’t remember a lot of it. I was usually drinking pretty hard.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

So: “The president of Lemniscate? We aren’t friends, but I did meet him a few times through work.” Date: “What work were you doing to meet up with the head of an entertainment company?” So: “It was just some party hosted by some company or other. It’s not unusual. Events with those uptight, stuffed shirts can be rather dull. So they have some young women from an entertainment office attend. Anyway, we only saw each other few times. I don’t even remember what we spoke about.”- Sunday (syokubAI), Kumakura Office

Date: “He must have gotten good pictures.” Mizuki: “No, actually. We tried developing them at the park, but they came out all blurry and out of focus.” - Tuesday (seisAI), Bloom Park

Date: “Have you come here before with friends?” Mizuki: “Other than last Friday? Nope, I haven’t. This place has been off limits for almost a decade. Even if it wasn’t, I don’t think I would want to come back here.” Date: “Why is that?” Mizuki: “How can I explain it…? I guess I just wanted to keep that memory beautiful. I didn’t want to ruin it or replace it with another. But in the end…it was replaced by the worst memory possible.” - Tuesday (seisAI), Bloom Park

Date: “There’s no one here…” Aiba: “Indeed, the bed is empty.” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Central Hospital

Date: “Where are we?” Nurse: “Mr. Okiura’s room. I’m certain of it…” Date: “Where is he?” Nurse: “He’s not here. As you can see.” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Central Hospital

Nurse: “He snuck out at night.” Date: “‘Snuck out’?” Nurse: “Mr. Okiura arrived with internal injuries. The surgery was successful, but he was in no condition to move. He would have opened up his wounds, and then he would be in real trouble…” Date: “Real trouble, huh?” Nurse: “Yes. I can’t believe it… Where could he have gone?” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Central Hospital

Receptionist: “Hellooo, this is Lemniscate Entertainment Offices! Lemme hear your message! Thank youuu!” Date: What kind of employee training do they have there…? Anyway, I gave them my name and told them about Renju. Date: “Do you have any idea where he might be?” Receptionist: “Sorry, no clue! I’m trying to get in touch with him too. So far, nothing! I’m getting worried… He must be a mess right now.” Date: … Aiba: … Receptionist: “Oh, wait… Maybe he’s at the maid cafe…” Date: “Maid cafe? Do you mean…Sunfish Pocket?” Receptionist: “Yeah! That’s the one! Like, out of nowhere, Renju was like, ‘I’m gonna rent out Sunfish Pocket.’ I guess he was gonna throw like a secret party or something? But with the accident and all… Still, he might be there.” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Central Hospital

Date: “Is Renju here?” Mermaid: “No, he never showed up.” Date: “When was the last time he came here?” Mermaid: “Hm, lemme think… He’s just the owner, not the manager, so… He comes sometimes, but not all that often.” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Sunfish Pocket

Date: “Where is Renju?” Mizuki: “I don’t know where he is…” Date: “Can you think of anywhere he might go?” Mizuki: “No, not really… I don’t know where Daddy goes…” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Date Residence

Date: “Where could Renju be?” Aiba: “I also wonder where he could have gone.” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Driving with Aiba

Aiba: “Mizuki went to Bloom Park three nights ago. She was prompted by a NILE message from Renju. ‘Mizuki, Daddy got caught up in something serious. Please come to Bloom Park’s merry-go-round right away.’ There are three possibilities. One: Renju killed Shoko, or was an accessory to the murder. Two: Renju was threatened or blackmailed into luring Mizuki to the scene. Three: the culprit used Renju’s phone to send the NILE message. In any case, the motive is still unknown. We need to talk to Renju.”

Date: “Renju…where did you go?” - Monday (syuurAI), Driving with Aiba

Mama: “You need more info on Ren? I’m sorry to waste your time, but I don’t have anything for you.” - Monday (syuurAI), Marble

Date: There’s no point hiding it. I told her about Renju’s disappearance. Hitomi: “Right from the hospital…? I’m sorry… I have no idea.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sagan Residence

Date: “Where’s Renju?” Iris: “What about him?” Date: I don’t need to hide it. I told her about Renju’s disappearance. Iris: “A traffic accident? I’m worried…” Date: “Any idea where he could have gone?” Iris: “I’m sorry, no.” - Monday (syuurAI), Lemniscate

Aiba: “Date, I know you are already aware of this, but there are security cameras all over this compound. I checked all of them. #89 fled in a car that was waiting for him.” Date: “So he had an accomplice.” Aiba: “Yes.” Date: “Did you see who was driving?” Aiba: “I did.” Date: “Who was it?” Aiba: “You and I know him well.” Date: “Renju?!” Date: I told Boss and Pewter about what Aiba revealed to me. Boss: “Renju?!” Pewter: “Wh-Why…?” Date: … Aiba: “Date, Moma is calling.” Date: “Moma? From the Kumakuras?” Aiba: “I’ll connect him.” Moma: “Hey, Date. I just got the word. Renju’s been seen.” - Monday (syuurAI), Boss’s Office

Iris: “What happened to Mr. Okiura? I heard he escaped the hospital.” Moma: “So did I. But I don’t know anything more than that.” Iris: “Please tell me?” - Monday (syuurAI), Kumakura Office

Iris: “But why would Mr. Okiura do that?” Date: “I don’t know. He could be a hostage or an accomplice.” Moma: “Hm…” Date: “Either way, I need to find him.” - Monday (syuurAI), Kumakura Office

Ota: “You’re still looking for him? Well, like I told you before, I don’t know.” - Monday (syuurAI), Matsushita Diner

Date: “I’ve heard that Renju was sighted here.” Mermaid: “When do you mean?” Date: “When? I got the info a few minutes ago, but I don’t know when he was seen…” Mermaid: “Oh.” Date: “Ringing any bells?” Mermaid: “Well, he hasn’t come by today. But yesterday…” Date: “Yesterday?! But I was here yesterday.” Mermaid: “It was after that. After you and Ota left.” Date: “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!” Mermaid: “You didn’t ask… And I didn’t have any way to contact you.” Date: “Damn it.” Aiba: “We just missed him.” Date: “What was he doing here?” Mermaid: “He was looking for Iris. He was asking everyone where she was.” Iris: “Looking for me?” Mermaid: “Yeah.” Date: “Did he give a reason?” Mermaid: “No, not in particular.” Date: “Iris, can you think of why he would be looking for you” Iris: “No, not at all.” Date: “Mizuki?” Mizuki: “I don’t know either.” Date: “Anything else you can tell me about Renju?” Mermaid: “Anything else? Well, he did seem really sick. He was pale and sweating a lot…” Date: “Must have been because of the accident.” Aiba: “Perhaps.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sunfish Pocket

Mizuki: “The police asked me a bunch of questions… But I don’t know where he is.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sunfish Pocket

Date: “About the Okiura Fishery warehouse…” Mizuki: “Why are you asking me about that?” Date: “I was just curious.” Mizuki: “That company was made by my grandpa. But Daddy has nothing to do with it. I don’t know anything about the warehouse.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sunfish Pocket

Iris: “Mr. Okiura isn’t here. I mean, of course he isn’t. It’s not like we came here right away.” Date: “He’s already taken off.” Iris: “Too bad.” Aiba: “It looks like there are no further clues here. It appears we’ve wasted our time.” - Monday (syuurAI), Sunfish Pocket

Iris: “When you found my corpse in the parallel world, you found it in an Okiura warehouse. Whoever killed me in that world was probably affiliated with Naix. That makes me think the Okiuras and Naix are connected. Maybe Naix ordered Mr. Okiura to help #89 escape. And #89 is an assassin… If he wanted to get rid of me, Mr. Okiura must have…” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Kumakura Office

Iris: “There’s nothing here…” Date: “Guess not.” Date: Why did Renju come here Friday night? Was it to place Shoko’s body here…? Or did he have another reason? Renju is my friend. I want to believe him, but I don’t [know] how long I can keep defending him. Where is he? What is he doing? I’ve thought it over a thousand times. My head is heavy with it. - Tuesday (dakkAI), Bloom Park

Date: “What happened to Renju?” Iris: “I dunno. I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since.” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Ikume Shrine

Date: “What did you do after you ran away?” Iris: “Well, I didn’t go home. I thought he might come back. I just walked around and went into a bunch of stores. Restaurants, coffee shops, net cafes… I was afraid that he would try to call me, so I turned off my phone too.” - Tuesday (dakkAI), Ikume Shrine

Aiba: “Date, the person in Iris’s letter. The one she trusts most. Who do you think that is? Date: “Renju?” Aiba: “I think so too. Remember what Iris said?” Iris: “I look up to him. He’s done so much for me. I know I can rely on him more than anyone else.” Aiba: “According to the mermaid at Sunfish Pocket…” Mermaid: “He was looking for Iris.” Aiba: “I think Renju called Iris.” Date: “And Iris went looking for him.” Aiba: “Exactly.” Date: “Then what can I do? We’ve been looking for Renju. Everyone at HQ is looking for him too. Not to mention, he’s on the run with #89. And even with all of that, we haven’t found him. We don’t even have any leads.” Aiba: “If we only had some clues to work with…” Date: “Then we wouldn’t be in this mess…” Aiba: “Are you giving up?! Iris might be with #89 at this very moment! We need to find her immediately!” Date: … Aiba: “Now think, Date! Where would Renju go?!” - Tuesday (kenzAI), Driving with Aiba

Date: “Where is Renju Okiura?! You know where he is, don’t you? You were at an Okiura Fishery warehouse for a reason! There’s definitely a connection between you two. And that’s not all. #89 called your secretary! The same #89 that Renju escaped with! Now tell me! Where is Renju?!” - Tuesday (kenzAI), Sejima Residence

Date: “I think Iris is with Renju.” Mizuki: “With Daddy?” Date: “Yeah. Her note mentioned her ‘most trusted’ person. That’s probably Renju.” Mizuki: “Yeah… I remember that mermaid girl saying something like that.” Mermaid: “He was looking for Iris.” Mizuki: “Does that mean that Daddy is the one who called for Iris?” Date: “It could be. So I need to know where he is.” Mizuki: “But… I haven’t been able to get a hold of him.” - Tuesday (kenzAI), Ikume Shrine

Loud incorrect buzzer sound.

Mizuki: “I actually met with one of the higher-ups at Daddy’s company last night. Before I went to Matsushita Diner.” Date: “Why?” Mizuki: “Because you asked about the cold storage. I was curious. I asked around some, and… I found out that Daddy was managing the warehouse before I was born. After my grandpa died, Daddy took over. In exchange for managing the warehouse, he gave ownership of the company to someone else. I guess he didn’t want to let this place go. Or maybe he couldn’t let it go. That’s more accurate, I think… But I understand why. Inside that warehouse was…” Date: “Alice.” Mizuki: “On paper, Daddy has nothing to do with Okiura Fishery. Daddy was still managing the warehouse… And he was the only one allowed in there too. That was part of the agreement when he gave up the company. And the whole thing had to be a secret. He really stressed that point…” Date: “Hey, Mizuki. How long was he managing the warehouse?” Mizuki: … Date: … Mizuki: “For 18 years. That’s what the man told me.” Date: “18 years?! From that long ago?!” Mizuki: “Yes…” Date: … Mizuki: … - Tuesday (kenzAI), Ikume Shrine

Aiba: “Renju Okiura…” Date: Talk to him. Aiba: “Renju, what are you doing in a place like this?” Date: “He won’t answer.” Aiba: “Not in a place like this, at least.” - PSYNCIN’ IN THE MOUNTaiN

Renju: “What do you think they’d do if they found out? They would take her and kill her too. And then…they’d come for us. They’d make it look like we disappeared. All of us would be…gone.” - (18 years ago) Mountains

Hitomi: “I don’t know who it was. They were using a voice modulator.” Date: “What did they say?” Hitomi: “‘I have your daughter. Don’t call the police or she dies.’ That’s why I didn’t ell you earlier…” Date: “Renju!” Aiba: “We don’t know that for certain. It could be #89.” Date: “Either way!” - Tuesday (kokkAI), Psync Room with Hitomi

Mama: “I can’t say much. The public thinks our Ren killed Shoko. And then #89 busted outta jail and killed Ren. And then he goes and commits suicide by blowing up his own head. That’s what all the news reports have been saying. I know there’s more to it than that, but…” - Three months later (kassAI), Marble

Man really died on Friday night stuck in Shoko’s body on the carousel horse, his body appears to have continued living but in reality everything on record and in the public consciousness is a lie; even Mama who knows better doesn’t actually know the truth, only that the reality being sold is false. Well, suppose it’s fitting that this is revealed with the Sebastian painting looming in the background; a sacrificial lamb in every way in every ending; Saito kills him and hijacks his body and identity, and then the authorities responsible for finding justice for his murder instead use him and his death to conceal the truth of their own colossal string of fuck ups. Old news: everyone in Reso sucks except Iris because it is pretty much her ending chapter, the end, take away the dancing and it’s an absolute sleeper tragedy (though has now left some outstanding conflicts that could be developed in a sequel…if I had one…)

Level Nine: Somnium Scraps, Symbols, YMMV (everything is up to interpretation, but this is ultra up to interpretation)

Mayumi: “That boy… He’s been hanging out at this…office building lately.” Date: “What kind of office?” Mayumi: “Hm, uh, what was it…? It’s a place where…irresponsible young men hang out. Nonconformists and the like.” - Saturday (saikAI), Matsushita Diner

We meet Renju’s building several times over before setting eyes on the man himself even in a flashback, so one starts to build a sense of his character instead through the prism of Lemniscate.

Aiba: “A black SUV.” - Saturday (meikAI), Bloom Park with Mizuki

SUV=sport utility vehicle, big, four-wheel drive, think Range Rover, stereotypical elite-person-in-big-so-incognito-it’s-not-incognito-black-car. Renju is the registered owner.

Date: “Hey, about Renju… Do you have anything to tell me? Anything at all that might help?” Mizuki: “Well, it’s not about Daddy, but… I heard from Daddy that Mom had a secret.” Date: “Shoko had a secret?” Mizuki: “Did you know that Mom was the representative of an investment company?” Date: “Yeah, I did.” Mizuki: “That whole company was a big scam.” Date: “A scam?” Mizuki: “Well, I dunno the details… They start up a company to get people to invest in it, then shut it down on purpose and keep the money. She got really rich like that…” - Sunday (syokubAI), Driving with Mizuki

Much like her marriage *COUGH* who can say farce nuclear family built on a foundation of compulsory heterosexuality?

Mizuki: “Is this it?” Date: “Yeah.” Mizuki: “You know about this place?” Date: “Yeah. This is where I met Renju for the first time.” Mizuki: “Interesting… Didn’t think this was your kind of spot.” Date: “This place is special. You can find all sorts of shady characters here. It’s the best place for gathering information about a case. So that’s why.” Aiba: “That is only a partial truth.” Date: “Shut up.” Mizuki: “Huh…?” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Aiba: “I know what you are.”

Date: A picture on the wall. It’s a little…odd. - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

Aiba: “This is a painting of Saint Sebastian. Saint Sebastian was a faithful Christian who lived under Roman emperor Diocletian. On January 20th, 288 A.D., he was martyred. This painting depicts his execution.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

This dialogue occurs on Sunday on both sides of the flowchart; on the right side, the exchange occurs with Mizuki present.

Mama: “People who come in here tend to have very specific interests. I help accommodate.” Mizuki: “Oh. Okay…” Date: “Mama’s like, uh, an informant.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Marble

After throwing the knife into the “bird” TV, the room changes and the next puzzle calls for shooting a pistol at the “cat” TV, but the gun is empty and the only other new object is an oil barrel like that found at Sunfish Pocket, with the bullet needed seemingly inside. – PSYNCIN’ IN THE VaiN, “Smack TV” route

Where Renju was stuffed into the oil barrel to transport his body to Sunfish Pocket to be displayed, and Saito neglected to notice Renju’s wristwatch, a gift from Pewter he apparently never took off, had come off his wrist and was left behind in the barrel for Date to discover, allowing him to piece together how Saito, in Iris’s smaller body, could have possibly manufactured the crime scene. Now in Somnium, when Aiba peers into the cracked open barrel, the void inside—where Renju’s corpse and his stray wristwatch, Date’s "silver bullet" was—is obscured by a pixelated censor bar, concealing Renju, masking the crime, hiding Saito’s mistake. Aiba feels a shock and the television feed is scrambled, returning to the barrel tipped over, spilling a jet black puddle onto the floor.

Date: “Any fingerprints?” Aiba: “Nothing. No fingerprints have been found at the scene at all. This entire warehouse is clean.” - Monday (youdAI), Cold Storage Warehouse

Mayumi: “Isn’t Renju Okiura the president of that awful company where the witch works? He’s just as responsible. Using her to steal time and money from vulnerable kids… And I’m sure he was…debaucherous and degenerate. That man…is the root of all evil. That’s why I killed him.” - Tuesday (zugAI), Interrogation Room with Mayumi

Date: “What’s with that spear?” Ota: “It’s not a ‘spear.’ It belongs to Poseidon, god of the sea? You know, a trident?” Date: “Why do you have that?” Mermaid: “We treat our customers like lords of the sea. We give them these tridents. It’s like a little ranking system we do!” Ota: “The color changes depending on your rank. There’s bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and at the very top, orichalcum!” Date: “So it basically measures how much money you’ve spent on these girls.” Mermaid: “Well that doesn’t sound very nice. It’s more like…a way to exploit their vanity. To separate our customers from their money as much as possible.” Date: “That sounds even worse.” - Sunday (gyoukAI), Sunfish Pocket

Pewter: “The subject of the Psync remembers certain persons or objects that appear in Somnium. But they might not have a clear form. Our dreams are sometimes vague or unclear, after all. Even the subject of the dream themselves. I told you earlier that the Psyncer experiences the dream from the perspective of an observer. That is why the person creating the dream can appear within it. But perhaps they do not have an objective view of themselves. Like a mirror or picture. Perhaps he’s never watched himself on television. Rare for a politician. But not unheard of. He lacks that objective picture of himself. He remains stoic and unattached despite his position of power. I find that quite powerful. To be able to put your ego aside and see yourself as God sees you…is an ability many charismatic people share.” - Sunday (kyuusAI), Psync Room with So

Okay this one is a bare reach, but the way the game’s conception of dreams intersects interestingly with how it builds the character of Renju; his presence is somewhat dream-like by the standard that Pewter describes, vague and amorphous, but in some specific ways the opposite; we do have an ‘objective’ image of Renju, the one that Aiba has saved in her memory that she is able to ‘replay’ to Date, since he had forgotten; perhaps the difference is between the inhuman omniscient, objective memory of Wadjet, versus the inevitable fallibility of humans and their inability to perceive others objectively; or perhaps it is the difference between a dream and a haunting.

Date: There’s an abstract painting hung up. Date: “What is that supposed to be?” Aiba: “I do not know.” Date: There’s an abstract, incomprehensible painting hung up. - Saturday (saikAI), Lemniscate

Date: There’s an abstract painting displayed on the wall. Mizuki: “This painting is called ‘Hawaiian Dishes and Dark Demons.’” Date: “Which part is supposed to be a dish and which part is a supposed to be a demon…?” - Sunday (syokubAI), Lemniscate

Sums up the conundrum of Renju’s character as it is reconstructed piecemeal through snippets of dialogue and environmental cues, told secondhand by those who have fragmentary, oftentimes incompatible or outright contradictory memories, culminating in, rather than a single cohesive whole, a cryptic, unstable amalgamate of unreliable memories, half-conversations, contextless (often misattributed) behaviour, and cryptic symbology, which one can either conclude is a poignant impression of an endlessly ambiguous, multi-faceted man who lived a complex, tragically short life, frayed at every edge by layers of trauma, or an unreliable, incomprehensible, almost abstract ghostly after image of someone who was once present but has now been distorted into near-erasure by the fact that, unintentionally, no one can agree on who he actually was and how they remember him; like the painting itself, called by a slighty different name by everyone that knows it in a poorly managed game of telephone, the chaotic, fragmented, oxymoronic narrative we are slowly fed may, depending on the beholder, be rendered expansive and enlightening in its endless twists, or thought-teminating and meaningless in its lack of a cohesive message.

Date: An abstract painting is on display. Ota: “That one is called, ‘Lying, Wishing, Marking Demons’.” - Sunday (syokubAI), Lemniscate (again)

Taxi Driver: “Oh, have you taken note of the painting? It is titled, ‘Lions Fishing, Carpe Diem.’” - Tuesday (zugAI), Lemniscate

Receptionist: “Oh, I asked someone about that earlier. It’s like, ‘Lionfish in Shag Carpet’ or something?” - Tuesday (seisAI), Lemniscate

Date: There’s an abstract painting hung up. Receptionist: “Like it? It’s called ‘Fisherman Shagging a Common Dandy.’” - Monday (syuurAI), Lemniscate

Receptionist recommends ‘to see yourself how god sees you’ by luxraydyne lmao excuse me

Date: There’s an abstract painting hung up. Looking carefully, I see some letters at the bottom. “Fisherman with Cormorant and Dandelion”… Date: … Date: “Which part is the dandelion and which part is the cormorant?!” - Three months later (kassAI), Lemniscate

[sandalwoodbox]

Vidder asks: 12, 21, 27?

Thanks for asking!

(This is part of the Get to know the Vidder ask meme. See all my responses here and feel free to send me asks!)

12. Most underrated vid that you wished had gotten more views?

I'm going to say Stray Italian Greyhound for Dear Missy. I really like this vid because I think it most accurately summarizes what I see as the plot of the actual series - Lu Ke's journey to recognizing, accepting, and ultimately living her feelings for Shen Siyi. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out, and it can still fairly reliably make me tear up to watch. It's a really great show and more people should watch it! Even with the weird canonical straight ending it's pretty good tbh 🤣 it has things like men and women dating and breaking up and still being part of the same friend group 🤯 what a concept!

But personally I always advocate for just ignoring the heterosexuality in the last six episodes & just watching them for the bonus Lu Ke / Shen Siyi fluff.

21. How would you describe your vidding style?

Answered here with bonus "what is your vidding process" because I got distracted 😅

27. Advice for anyone just starting their channel?

I'm interpreting this to mean "advice for anyone starting out making fanvids"?

I'd say do what you want and don't expect anyone to see it. Exchanges (like Festivids) and cons (like VidUKon, Fanworks, or WisCon) are a great way to "force" people to watch your vids and not get criticism unless you want it. (YMMV - I am not sure what the experience of submitting to AMV contests is like, for example.)

I'd recommend using a modern fully-featured video editing program like Da Vinci Resolve from the beginning rather than something like iMovie - DVR is more complicated but makes it very easy to separate the vid itself from the source files. That is, you can move the files from your hard drive to a backup drive to free up space and work on something else, then put them back later if you want to go back to a previous fandom!

That said, if a low bar of entry is important, iMovie is also fine. Whatever works for you!

Bonus question 1 (from replies): How do you get ideas for vids?

It depends! Sometimes it comes from blorbos or otherwise loving a show such that I want to share it with other people. Other times it comes from frustration with something not being done the way I wanted in the show, or drawing out a theme that I think the show didn't fully explore. A large chunk of my vids are from Festivids, which is great because I can see what ideas other people have and then make treats for them if I'm excited about what they've suggested and think I have time to pull it off (which is usually only possible for movies and for shows I've already (mostly) clipped, in my experience.) From time to time I'll hear a song and think it's perfect for some character or concept, but I'll generally still end up spending a fair amount of time searching for other potential songs before I actually get started on the vid. More often I'll hear a song and think, that would make a fun vid but I don't know what for, so I stick it in a playlist that I go through every time I'm looking for potential vid songs.

If I have an idea for a vid, I write it down in a spreadsheet. I'll never make most of those ideas, either because I've moved on from the fandom or because I just ended up not liking it as much later. Here's a snippet of vids I will probably never make from my spreadsheet in case it's interesting:

Bonus question 2 (from replies): What makes a vid you're working on feel done to you?

I'm a bit of a perfectionist with my vids, so this can be tricky. I think I would say: Once I am satisfied that the clips on the timeline are doing what I want and there are no clips that I believe would be strictly better, I try to stop.

Overall my process is: I'll generally make a first draft that doesn't have things that feel obviously bad (but I might still have things I'm not satisfied with but don't know how to solve). I send that out for beta and work on other things in the meantime. Depending on how much I care about the vid / how uncertain I am about it, I might do multiple rounds of beta or send it to multiple betas at once.

Depending on the vid, I might do a pass specifically looking at clip timing or motion or color correction (for example, making sure dark scenes are possible to parse), or anything else that I particularly want to work well for the vid.

Once I have something that feels "final" I like to let it sit for a week to a month, then come back to it to see if there's anything else I notice that I'd want to change before calling it done.

But a lot of times I'm working on a deadline for an exchange or a con, which means that at some point I just have to stop and call it good enough.

By the time I'm done with a vid, I often no longer feel like I can tell whether it's good or not because I'm too deep in it, so I see things nobody else would. I can't necessarily tell how satisfied I'll be with a finished vid until 6-12 months after I've posted it. (So I try to keep that in mind if I'm agonizing over whether people will notice a cleancredits glitch that's only visible in the lower left corner of a clip for like 4 frames.)

I have a vidder friend who I can show things to at that point not for beta but just to ask, is there anything obviously wrong with this? Any reason I shouldn't post this? (The answer is usually: It's fine, just post it!)

[milo-the-professional-yapper]

Hello! about your malevolent ask

[long ass answer- many apologies]

its a slightly goofy, sort of horror soap opera, in the vein of call of cthulu/tma. I dont find it Super Scary, but idk what your milage for horror is.

The overarching plot is drivin by the patrions (sp sorry), in the style of a choose your own adventure novel- you can usually tell where the choices are; it'll be something like 'omg arthur, we're at a crossroads- do we go left, to the evil cavern (where the horrors live) or right, to the evil woods (more horrors).' You can also hear more overt RPG stylings in the beginning- dice roll sounds for perception checks, etc. These do fade out after the first season.

Rough outline (some spoilers): John (a spirit/demon type guy) possesses Arthur (a detective from Arkham MA) and, in doing so, takes over his eyes. Now Arthur must navigate the world with only the guidance of the voice in his head. Horrors unfold, walls are walked into the boys are in their get-along consciousness. Think venom, if both of them were way bitchier and prone to swearing. and also eddy was blind.

IS IT GAY: Yes and no. If its a friendship, its really intense- but cannonicaly it has been very firmly stated that they are just friends. However, the relationship is intertwined and deep enough that many people consider it to be queerplatonic- Arthur being aromantic is a very popular interpretation, if that sweetens the pot for you (idk how loosely you're using gay here). Glib answer: its pretty queer, but no kissing.

COOL STUFF:

-A dramatic, intense relationship between a guy and the dude who lives in his head. They argue ( my god how they argue) they make up, they argue again.

-The saddest little english man (arthur) gets chucked off cliffs multiple times. Do you like men whimpering? This is the podcast for you!

-Very impressive voice acting: the writer voices absolutely everyone in the podcast (yes. everyone) and its genuinely almost unnoticeable. You really do have to have it pointed out to you.

-Fun, slightly campy (in the way of an rpg campaign) Lovecraft style horror

-Lovely piano soundtrack

-A gentleman called the butcher shows up in- what season 3? maybe?- and I adore him. Go singing irishman go. You get that violent homoeroticism.

Drawbacks:

Again, I don't really know your taste, but these are some of the things that might turn someone off from listening. YMMV etc.

-LOUD. If you dont like gentlemen yelling DIRECTLY AND ANGRILY INTO THE MIC then this is not for you. If you do like that, then you are about the have the time of your life. There is also just. An incredible amount of panting/heavy breathing. Also directly into the mic, and at length. Like, an 'i am secretly watching gay pornography' amount. I had it going on a speaker once and my roommate had questions, kind of amount

-Almost no women characters: understandable, since a dude is voicing Literally Everyone- but it is something of a sausage fest. Women exist in universe, they just tend to move in the backround/be unvoiced. Lots of 'oh heres whats happened to her' sort of describing around the 'I can't voice a woman' issue. One old lady has a few voice lines and thats it.

-Kind of a soap: This is a draw for me ngl, but if you are looking for TMA 2: the magnusing- she isn't it. Its a LOT lighter than tma, writing wise, and isnt exactly hitting any crazy new twists in its plot (if you've read Any lovecraftian stuff you probably wont be super surprised by anything)BUT. Its still very fun. Two dudes sharing a body, detective roadship shenanigans. They might kiss! Might see some skinned bodies or something.

The dynamics can be a lil repetative (wake up break up back together) and the plot can be a little- ehhhh. due to it being yk, patrion controlled- but that can be fun- it's pretty heavily a choose your own adventure story at heart, so if your down with that (and the sillyness that comes with it) then you'll like it.

-Gore: pretty gory. I enjoy that sort of thing/ am not really effected by it BUT if that not your cup of tea, then you might wanna skedaddle.

🤠 thats all. Again, apologies for the very long answer.

First off- don’t apologize! This gave me everything I needed- thank you for the detailed answer to my question! Looks like I’m giving this podcast a listen- everyone wish me luck 😭

[sirenalpha]

ok I keep seeing this in the tags on my post and in other posts and so on with regards to Sokka's misogyny

but I need people to stop bringing Sokka's early opinions on Katara's waterbending into it as if that is also something in need of updating in the live action

it's not

the reasons literally upon character introduction that Sokka doesn't care for Katara's waterbending are that he is a skeptic and so is mistrustful of magic water and that he always ends up wet which is a legitimate concern as he could end up with frost bite if he is wet in polar weather

neither of these reasons have anything to do with misogyny, there is no reason for any of this to change if you adjust Sokka's misogyny to be more realistic for the setting, it's all fine, you don't have to make Sokka super supportive of Katara's bending to make him not misogynistic

in fact I would argue that changing this and making Sokka supportive of Katara's bending from the get go would change more of his character than adjusting his misogyny

Sokka's skepticism lasts for more than four episodes, but more importantly when Sokka is complaining about Katara's bending how he does it demonstrates his lack of traditionalism, he speaks dismissively of bending as a cultural art, preserving it doesn't matter much to him despite its ongoing loss than the practical concerns right in front of him, he's not spiritual, it takes him a little while to accept bending as a fact of life in early s1, he is forward looking and an inventor interested in science and engineering which is a series long interest, he even wants to go to a library for a vacation to gain knowledge and then is dismissive of and breaks the rules of the spirit that keeps that library for another example

it would be out of character for Sokka to be supportive of Katara's bending from the get go with these characteristics alone, but depending on audience interpretation

Sokka can justifiably see Katara's bending as the reason his mother is dead, he may logically understand that it's not Katara's fault the Fire Nation attacked them, but that doesn't mean he's emotionally absorbed that and doesn't resent her bending or see it as a threat to their collective safety

but that's huge ymmv as I don't believe that the show is at all consistent with how Sokka relates to and feels about his mother compared to his father

still, I see no good justifiable reason to just have Sokka start the show as supportive of Katara's bending if you're trying to keep him true to his original characterization

[thisisadonaldduckblognow]

i wish i had the energy and eloquence to fully and properly get into the family therapist mikey thing tbh it’s so hard to just. explain what i MEAN. 

(ftr i am an adult who does regularly touch grass. i understand interpretation and ymmv on characterization. i understand the catharsis of vent art and vent fic and projecting issues onto characters to process them. i don’t read through stuff i’ve found issues with and then seethe about it, i keep scrolling or hit the back button and find something else. 

i am still gonna talk about trends i’ve noticed and things that i don’t get or that rub me the wrong way. please don’t come into my posts about my personal thoughts and opinions to, however well-meaning or politely, judge me for expressing them. consider doing what i do and keep scrolling. i won’t engage with that. i would ask that no one else engages with that in replies or comments.

i also legit don’t Get tone indicators just ftr. they elude me.)

bc so much of the draxum moral realignment stuff was mikey being motivated largely by what mikey wanted. he wanted to see barry as family, he wanted barry to become part of the family, he wanted the story of their mutation to be less uh. objectively crummy.

now, mikey’s wants in that area served as a CATALYST for other development, him pursuing that (often very hamfistedly and despite many objections) wound up paving the way, but it was ultimately in the spirit of his personal desire. which ftr im not criticizing that’s very much part of the character.

he brought draxum to the big hidden city day out because it was a Family Event and he personally considered draxum family. splinter and draxum kinda coming to a truce, splinter reconciling that his mutation (despite the horrific trauma and long-lasting impact of it) was still what gave him his sons who he loves more than anything, that was all splinter and draxum. mikey’s action of bringing barry along was a catalyst, he was able to speak to his own feelings about it to splinter when it came up, but he wasn’t sitting there going “tell me how that makes you feel and we’ll talk through it” yknow?

and it’s the same with the dr feelings thing with donnie, which is arguably as close to Playing Therapist as mikey gets on screen. bc that was just a very Extra way of confronting donnie about the shelldon stuff. like. that was mikey inserting himself into the situation so he could give his personal opinion about how donnie was messing up, just with a sweater and a powerpoint. like. an intervention i guess. if donnie hadn’t gotten the picture from the slides he was probably all lined up for a dr delicate touch meeting.

which like, was also not being donnie’s therapist as much as a once again very hamfisted way of addressing something that mikey felt in the right about?

i’m wondering if maybe what i picture when i hear about a child having to play therapist for the family isn’t the same as what modern fandom means by saying it. because i picture like, what steven universe went through. which was practically singlehandedly, as a child, walk a bunch of adults through their own grief and insecurities and shortcomings with unending patience and support, to a point of pushing all his own needs and emotional issues aside.

where steven seemed convinced there were things that he wasn’t allowed to express or outright things he never got to learn to express, mikey is probably the most emotionally open and honest of all the brothers. he feels more outright sheltered. 

especially where his big brothers are concerned. the entire episode about his first solo mission he was chafing about being unnecessarily overprotected by raph. there’s a lot tied up in his relationship to raph if we take what the creators said about them growing apart as they’ve grown up into account. 

so i guess for me, in my understanding of the trauma of playing therapist at a young age, i can’t really reconcile what canon gives us with the idea of any of the other brothers or splinter (who is notably emotionally disconnected from his sons at series start) genuinely dropping their issues on his lap. 

but in that vein, for as much as he’s emotionally open and honest, i’m sure there are also insecurities and issues that mikey doesn’t express. or. that canon for some reason just decided to not dig into in any of the episodes that actually got made.

but ohhhhh that’s a whole separate can of worms.

[broodwolf221]

this is apropos of nothing other than this being on my mind a lot lately and finally feeling like i have the spoons to explain my pov. it might be a little discoursey? i don't really think it is, more conversational/observational and personal than anything else, but ymmv and that's fine.

the primary metric i use to analyze any kind of media is, ig i can call it congruence. is it congruent? does it make sense internally?

and i think that's part of why i like da so much, even the painful or grim aspects. the world feels congruent. and it feels that way in part because it isn't, because in-world there are interpretations, biases, limited povs. no one is all-knowing and omniscient, and even the hardest facts are treated as questionable.

the characters, too. this is why i say - and mean - that i like all da characters. i don't like all characters from all media all the time forever; but i do almost universally like characters who make sense. they don't have to be good, or pure, or interesting, or funny; they don't have to be palatable, even.

and this also ties into why i like the heavy subjects they tackle, although i don't really have the headspace to play dao or da2 anymore bc of how heavy they are about certain things; but that's a personal mental health thing and knowing my own limits atm, not an opposition to the content they show.

because a lot of stuff is just like... it will have value for some people. i have seen people praise and decry the exact same thing too many times now. not just with da, but with anything. i do feel it's worth pointing out offensive stuff, i'm not saying otherwise, but i also think purity politics has slipped into a lot of mainstream conversations about the type of content that's permissible in media and i do not like that.

what one person sees as being needlessly grim and harmful, another will see as cathartic. neither are wrong, but making it so that such things cannot be shown or those who enjoy them are shamed isn't helpful to anyone. there's just so much nuance among people. and a lot of the time it's not some theoretical super-privileged person who just doesn't give a shit about anyone else steepling their fingers with glee over representations of heavy content, it's people who have experienced some version of that.

like, i listen to people. i stay quiet and i listen most of the time. and i have seen many people who have experienced a form of oppression or a kind of fear in their life appreciating representations of that in media. including specifically in dragon age.

so i'm always going to be a proponent of representing stuff, including stuff that's uncomfortable, heavy, grim, whatever you want to call it. how it's presented does matter, but realistically, it's not always that easy to judge a good v. bad presentation of stuff.

[spindrifters]

Hello! Ok so I’m here to tell you that I’m obsessed with wolfstar and have read so much so far but I’ve never read a harry potter book.

I’ve obviously known about hp for decades but the size of the series intimidated me. A year ago I decided to watch the movies (the books were too big a commitment at the time) and I really enjoyed them. I remember instantly falling in love with professor Lupin then by the end of Prisoner of Azkaban having the biggest crush on Sirius Black, but I never thought of the two of them together for some reason. (Although now that I think back, I remember being unsettled by the presence of remadora)

My golden trio phase only lasted weeks before I found myself on marauders tiktok and I heard about wolfstar. For some reason it just instantly made SO MUCH sense and from there I jumped head first into fan fiction.

I never felt that I was lacking any info about these characters and their personalities, even after I came to tumblr and met people who have read the books. Maybe I got lucky and read the right fics first?

I tried picking up the books to read but I honestly couldn’t be bothered to finish one when there were a thousand fics focused on my favorite characters waiting for me.

But now that I see your shock at how can someone ship wolfstar without having read the books, I’m intrigued to give them another shot.

hello!

I mean I feel like all I can really do here is say yes, read the books!! there's so much there that the movies left out!! especially in book three, which is (in @soloorganaas' words) an accidental love letter to sirius and remus, both together and individually.

but also, I'm now just fascinated in all of these ways people came to and are interacting in fandom that literally. never occurred to me before. maybe. idk. maybe it's because as a writer I'm like.... right so you can have information about characters and their personalities, but the ways in which they actually exist in context is something else entirely? and for me, personally, I so so hated the movies that I don't consider them canon because I don't at all agree with their interpretation of the original text. also they feel wildly incoherent -- I have no idea how you could watch them and know what's going on without having read the books, but also maybe that's just because I've read the books and know how much richness is missing there. but also I definitely had friends watch the movies without reading the books and they did not understand what was happening so. ymmv on that.

but also! I think I've always known there are people in fandom who had only seen the films, so... yeah idk I'm still working this all out! because at first the idea of people writing fic based on someone else's canon interpretation in their fic did not compute. but I always see fanfiction as inherently folkloric, and isn't that just what folklore sort of does anyway? hm. much to think about.

[gideonisms]

andrew garfield sex pal anon, my problem is i really feel like john boyega would make an excellent babs. like i already imagined the twins and babs as black and john boyega has the flare needed to be babs. this fandom is so fun to me tho bc i know theres like a tasmuir list of how she sees characters out there but ive never seen it and i know most of the fandom have wildly different interpretations on the characters. its very fun i think. i do know that the one consitent thing i see is gideon and harrow are both always maori which is super cool and really defined how i read these characters.

Anon, I respect your opinions, but to me those people are the color of mayonnaise I say this as someone who is also that color. However I do think Muir could have incorporated more black characters who weren't A) trying to kill a protag B) strict supporters of the military C) possessed by an rb or D) dead for most of the series, so ymmv on this. I'd enjoy art of nonwhite coronabeth & ianthe certainly. I would be sorry to see john boyega get eaten so soon, so if the goal is for babs to be sympathetic, you may have a point. But on the other hand, I'd be sorry to cast john boyega and then only have him around for a short while. problems of the newest star wars trilogy

There is canonical basis for reading gideon and harrow as maori, and I tend to side eye white gideons in particular because while you COULD have read harrow as white pre ntn, gideon is related to john who is canonically not white in htn, plus her skin tone seems darker on the cover of the book (depending on the cover you've seen). Just my two cents!

[majorbaby]

re: the tv tropes page it is SO bad. full on fanon being included in the character page (not even the ymmv page), like y'all. have your headcanons but please stop forcing them on everyone else

yeah in most cases i’m skeptical that ‘forcing headcanons’ on people is actually a thing that happens because 99% of the time that grievance could be sufficiently addressed if people would only curate their feeds so they see the content they wanna see, but this might be a legitimate example of such a thing. 

it is annoying because tvtropes is a great tool for understanding the technical aspects of storytelling and getting a general overview of a show and how content-making techniques can help deliver messaging (e.g. lighting, sound, sfx, camera angles). i’ve been using it for that purpose for years and i’ve found only recently that i’ve been encountering this problem more and more. 

it’s been a while since i looked at the MASH page because i’ve basically written it off, but if memory serves the character pages were pretty unreliable. it could be that people have are projecting their personal interpretations/feelings on the show (any reading will have some amount of this) but some of the reaches on there are dishonest about the text.

MASH is a show that lacks continuity and is full of gags. it is also a show from another completely different era of television and the world. without some knowledge of that time, your interpretation might be lacking. many episode titles are puns or a play on an existing piece of media from the first half of the 20th century - but you rarely see that addressed nowadays in the fandom because we’re (mostly) a different generation. there’s a difference between saying ‘radar is psychic’ and ‘a running gag on the show is that radar is psychic’ - does that mean MASH has a canonical magical realism aspect to it? no, of course not. but i sure as hell could find a way to make it seem that way to a person who has never seen it just by being a bit creative, telling half-truths and remixing things i know to be true about the show - aka, writing an AU. it’s like that “mash is haunted” post floating around on tumblr - it’s great in the format that it’s in, but on tvtropes, production flubs need to be called what they are - flubs - and not “trapper is haunting the OR” - those are the rules of engagement on TV tropes. 

the rest under a this cut because i talk specifically about one of my most be-loathed myths that the MASH tv tropes page seems to want me to believe: hawkeye the “canonical” CSA/rape survivor 

i say ‘let me leave shipping out of this’ a lot because i do get the sense that if i don’t give non-shippy examples of this happening that it’s valid for people to think i’m projecting a shipping bias onto my argument because a lot of fandom discourse is frankly, about shipping. so here: something I remember really rubbing me the wrong way about the MASH tv tropes page was how much it seemed to insist that Hawkeye was a CSA survivor. 

i am not saying that this is not viable or that it is a bad reading or even that i disagree with it as an interpretation of the source material, but framing it like it’s an undeniable part of his character that other characters acknowledge is just - it’s not there! and if canonical portrayals of survivors are important to you, I don’t see how pretending that Hawkeye is a CSA survivor and trying to convince other people of that before they’ve even watched the show is “good representation”. 

it gives way for all sorts of other misunderstandings of the show, for example, his “loose morals” around sexuality which are first and foremost about his being anti-establishment, that is something which is key to his character and tbh if you subscribe to the HC that hawkeye is a survivor of abuse then his being a scrappy, unconventional male lead who turns his nose up to traditional masculinity only enriches that HC in my opinion. 

[marinecorvid]

In measurement of Bitch where would you rank each ranger villain

Given the lack of formal measurement for Bitchness (neither derogatory nor affectionate), ranking itself will be vague; flying quick n fast here!

ALSO this turned out to be a really good exercise in figuring out character … design? Development? Like I really had to think about some character personalities and it was fun + satisfying to do, so extra thanks for sending this

(as standard putting everything below the cut)

RANGER THE FIRST (it’s been a while since I’ve actually played thru this one so YMMV)

Billy – Uhhhhhh yeah sorry I don’t remember much of him :[ I’m gonna say he’s low on the Bitch ranking, mostly because I remember him as being the eldest brother of the four more than anything else. Sorry Go Rock fans who have put lots of thought into character interpretation

Garret – Via Bulbapedia: Garret is a smooth, polite person that can "put people down with the simplest of words". I’m gonna say he’s not a Bitch all the time but when he is. When he is. High on the Bitch scale

Clyde – I remember him getting angry a lot, so not too high on the Bitch ranking, but at least medium/mid ranking on the jerkass scale? Bulbapedia says a he’s a very "cool" person that likes to "stay with the trends" so I’m gonna say he’s alright

Tiffany – Top Shelf Bitch here, but in a way that’s like. You know how you see articles about celebrities who have like… the weirdest and craziest drama with each other that really hammers home how the more rich you get the more wildly disconnected you get from general society and have REALLY weird notions about how the world works?? It’s like that. Spending time with her is like depending on the day it’s either incredibly entertaining, fascinating, or irritating. Sometimes all three at once

Gordor – Medium on the bitchness, high on the jerkass?

Again sorry it’s been a LONG time since I’ve played though Ranger The First I don’t really have extended thoughts/impressions. I’ll play it again soon and maybe get back to this

RANGER THE 2OOST

Ice – Not too high on the Bitch scale, but has about equal standing on the Jerkass scale. Low + low = medium Bitchness? Bitchness Main Game + Jerkass DLC?? IDK but he called me a n00b so I want to see Kate shove his head in the toilet. Give him a swirly

Lavana – This is The Bitch of Almia. THE high school mean girl in every early 2000s coming of age popcorn flick. The kind of girl who would’ve probably bullied me on the playground in school for being undiagnosed autistic + closeted queer + got most of my clothes from Goodwill. Girl who thinks she is All That but is at best Incredibly Basic. Heather Chandler kind of bitch. Contender for the most Bitch of all the PR villains

Heath – Not actually that much of a Bitch or a jerkass. He does his job well and has the confidence to go with it! Good for him

Kincaid – High on the Bitch scale. He’s that One Fucking Boss/Teacher we’ve all had who was born with a stick up their ass, who knows how much of a position of authority he has over you and lords it over you. Hypocrite central. Ranking him somewhere just below Lavana though

Wheeler – low on the Bitch scale, but makes up for it by being high on the Annoys Me and Is Generally Offputting scale. Probably has little concept of personal space

Blake Hall – self absorbed Bitch in the way standard CEOs are (see above: celebrities/rich ppl disconnected from reality), probably paid an exorbitant amount of money to keep some company drama from reaching reporters. Nothing too fancy to see here

RANGER THE THIRDST

Red Eyes – I’d say he’s pretty low on the scale of pure Bitch, but he’s medium to high (depending on the day) on the Jerkass scale, so that makes up for it?

Blue Eyes – I’d say her perceived bitchery is around Medium, but in actually is pretty low? I feel like she just has a lot of conflicting emotion and no good outlet for it, so she ends up lashing out and making some less than great decisions at times. she’s consistently shown to be genuinely concerned for the people under her care, and you get glimpses of her nicer side under her tough front a handful of times, so while she gets bonus points for having a cultivated Bitch front, I’m putting her on the lower end on the Bitch scale

Purple Eyes – You know, as much as I deeply want to say he’s high on the Bitch scale, I don’t actually think he ranks that high. Like, DEFINITELY through the roof in other categories, definitely petty n spiteful, a little judgy, but all around … he’s just Not at the top of the Bitch ranking. I’ll put him around medium, with the caveat that he is simultaneously beating out everyone else in other categories (dramatic, sadistic, etc) EDIT: yknow i keep thinking abt this one and i'm resorting the blorbo to medium-high on the scale, as a treat

Arley – putting him a few notches above Hocus only because he verbally states he has grudge against you when you go up against him in the Sky Fortress, something like “if I’d known you were going to be such a problem when we first met in Rasp Cavern, I would’ve crushed you there” so I’m going to say he can be … unfortunate to deal with if you’re an enemy, but most of the time is just a mild-mannered to mildly grumpy old man

Hocus – least Bitch of the Societea, and just in general; I think he’s a decent guy who doesn’t hold too many grudges, but does like to mess with people’s heads, friend and foe. Gaslight gatekeep girlboss and all that. I'd say he and Clyde are the least bitchy out of the whole listing

Kasa – I think I’ve said this before in tags or something, but Kasa moving to Aqua Resort was like dropping a lionfish in Florida waters. Highly invasive predator who dominates the ecosystem. Queen of backhanded compliments and passive-aggressiveness. Average rich old lady who has her finger on the pulse of the gossip in her small shoreline New England retired neighborhood (based on the neighborhood my grandmother lives in). Contender for the most Bitch of all the PR villains

Edward – Ranking him a few notches above Hocus but not at Kasa’s level. He states that despite thinkin about crimes most of the time, he wants to do a little good in his life (being a doctor). Generally nice guy, but DID blow up an island. Kicks Purple Eyes to the curb in spectacular fashion, but deeply distressed when friends went MIA?? Actually you know what probably has very specific rules about what kinds of tea you can drink when and with what. Medium-low Bitchness but excels on the Typical Old Rich British Man Behavior scale

Sabios – WHOOPS I forgot this guy existed for a minute. Hold on let me go find Youtube videos with his scenes. OKAY I’m back. Verdict: No bitches? Low on the Bitch ranking, high on the Evil Advisor ranking