#somebody explain this to me blease i want this to end

[army-of-mai-lovers]

tbh I think watching lok b1 fucked up my brain permanently because it’s been months since I finished the show and yet every night before I go to sleep I start thinking about these very plot-relevant questions like “are nonbenders in Republic City systemically oppressed? how so? were they able to vote in local elections? it seems like they weren’t able to because there are no nonbenders on the Council. but wait, Sokka was on the Council, and he was a nonbender. so between Sokka’s death and the start of lok, did nonbenders lose their right to vote? or did they always not have the right to vote, but benders just voted for Sokka in the Council elections because they liked him? why would a nonbender not be allowed to vote but then be able to run for office? was Sokka given special treatment because he was friends with the Avatar and the Firelord? did Sokka further the systemic oppression of nonbenders? but why would he do that? how would he do that? what did systemic oppression of nonbenders look like prior to the start of lok? clearly, Tarrlok rounding up nonbenders was supposed to parallel instances of authoritarians scapegoating racial and ethnic minorities in the real world, but there had to have been some kind of buildup to that, probably in the form of legal and social disenfranchisement of nonbenders by the government. but we, the audience, never actually see the  effects of that disenfranchisement. Both Asami’s mom and Mako and Bolin’s parents are killed by benders (specifically Firebenders) and there’s that scene in the beginning where the Triple Threats are antagonizing local businesses, but do any of these actually indicate systemic oppression of nonbenders? those are definitely evidence of certain individuals using their power to hurt other individuals, but you can’t really chalk that up to a coherent system of discrimination, especially since none of those people were connected to a government body. and yeah we see the government antagonize nonbenders in lok b1, but it’s after Amon’s already risen to power, and so one would assume that the government has already antagonized nonbenders enough that they’re willing to follow essentially a cult leader because of their dissatisfaction with their station in life, allowing tensions to grow to the point that Tarrlok can use nonbenders as a scapegoat without much pushback. but, while there aren’t actually very many nonbender characters in lok, those who are in the narrative are all immensely successful people (Hiroshi Sato and Varrick are both wealthy industrialists, Bumi is a military leader, etc). but this is probably just a symptom of lok’s obsession with rich and powerful people at the expense of the everyman, so I probably shouldn’t assume that the status of these nonbenders reflects the status of every nonbender in Republic City. but if we look at atla, benders were never treated as better than nonbenders on a systemic level, except maybe in the Fire Nation, and actually we have evidence of benders being treated worse than their nonbending counterparts as a result of Fire Nation imperialism in both the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes (not to mention the decimation of the Air Nomads, who according to canon are all benders.) so is bender supremacy a result of Fire Nation colonialism? but then why are Earthbenders and Waterbenders treated well under this system? further, wouldn’t Asami’s family have some kind of privilege as Fire Nationals, despite their status as nonbenders? is that why they were able to get rich in a world that’s hostile towards nonbenders? plus, Amon is one of the villains of this season, but if he’s trying to fight for a group that’s been systemically oppressed in Republic City, wouldn’t he be a good guy? but taking away people’s bending is wrong, plus he bloodbended Korra, so obviously we’re meant to interpret him as a villain. he didn’t even get a redemption arc like Kuvira did, so I guess he must have been really bad. so was it just that people didn’t like his methods, or did they genuinely not believe in his cause of fighting against bender supremacy? if they just didn’t like his methods, did anybody start working on some plans to address disparities between benders and nonbenders after they defeated Amon? did President Raiko solve the issue of bender supremacy? how did he do that so quickly? if bender supremacy was such an issue on an individual and systemic level, why did they never talk about it again? were nonbenders allowed to vote in that election? was this just a Romeo and Juliet situation where both sides had equal power and hated each other for no reason? but no, if that were the case then nonbenders would have had enough institutional power in Republic City to not be rounded up when Tarrlok decided they were a threat, and there probably would have been at least one nonbender Council member in Korra’s time. did they ever talk about the fact that a government body rounded up all the nonbenders in the city? were there reparations? did Korra and the rest of the krew assist in giving out the reparations? was there nonbender housing discrimination?” and before you know it I’m screaming and tearing my hair out demanding bryke let me see the Republic City constitution because why didn’t anyone sue the government what the fuck is this plot--

[snowtimeisbesttime]

Thoughts and questions on Pesterquest Volume 6, routes 1 and 2! Aka the one where shit finally goes down.

-!!!! musics from the homestuck albums!!!! more concretely i'd say they’re from Alterniabound; Gamzee's is MiRaClEs, while I can't for the life of me remember how that Vriska theme was called but it's Good.

~ROUTE 1~

-The question of “does alternian seawater corrode humans (/friends)” is left for another day (considering the acid rain. it probably does corrode humans.)

-Gamzee warms up to MC almost immediately; which actually makes a lot of sense considering... later events.

-Why's his hive so shoddy, by the way? He's in the highest landdweller caste and benefits from the miracle of speedy online deliveries (when back in Hiveswap 1, Xefros mentioned that deliveries for rustbloods could take sweeps- then again Hiveswap (/Friendsim) is a very different time period than Hivebent, and one we'll hopefully learn more about soon!). As far as I remember trolls would have their hives built by carpenter drones very shortly after leaving the Caverns... how long has he been eating those pies again?

-what's the thing about MC that makes everybody go “hmm yes I am going to give Funky Chemical Substances to the alien now”. Seriously by this point I'm expecting Feferi to bust out a 6 pack of Drugs (soda) the second we even see her (as we all know, her mom bought them).

-We also get a pesterquest murderstuck!! Though iirc HS's murderstuck happened because Dave sent Gamzee an ICP video, not just because he ran out of slime pies... and here, he says that someone's been talking to him, and that we'll meet him soon...... (he does go for a lot longer without sopor in pesterquest though...)

(-also like. why wouldn't he get a pie's captcha code and alchemize more on the meteor??? like they had at least one alchemiter... were they too expensive?)

-We got the “okay ending” from that post i made yesterday: clown lore!! As well as our memories of Karako, briefly... he did make MC an honorary clown when he took them with him to the Dark Carnival, didn't he? (There's also the blood initiation (murder) they got in Chahut's bad route... i cant believe mc is double cloun)

-Once they remembered Karako, MC tried to zap to him, and ended up... somewhere nobody was ever supposed to see. A tunnel with a light at the end, where we got to see MC themself in third person and some random humanoid figure T-posing at us (though that was more of an A-pose); before getting zapped back to the main narrative, some time after leaving. ...Might Karako, our most baby clown, be dead when Hivebent happens? Highbloods are supposed to be very long lived, but we don't know just how long has it been since Friendsim's time... and of course, we've already seen him die once :(((.

-wait didn't karako also all but instantly befriend MC? As in, the only route of his that didn't end with friendship was the one where the drone took him...

-Somebody does NOT want MC to get their memories back. We also have more limits here than in Friendsim; if MC opens the mop closet instead of Gamzee, the universe straight up crashes, whereas the last time something like that happened it was more gradual (Boldir & Karako's routes)

-most importantly, we did Not get anything similar to the “cursed ending”, thank fuck.

~ROUTE 2~

-Vriska's good route in a word and several images of crying cats with heart emojis: aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

-trans vriska real!!!!

-Of course, we open with a callback to Ardata's route.

-MC manages to miss Vriska doing stuff with dice right in front of them and thinks she means a political campaign, but they're happy to help anyways- and Vriska's definitely happy to explain how FLARP works to them!

-Was that a Nepeta hint??? We know she lives in a cave and it seems that houses are very important focus points for MC's powers... blease let me see my daughter soon (also. when the fuck has vriska been to nepeta's hive??????)

-And we get a sweet sweet FLARP loredump, featuring classes and attributes and Interactivity!!! fuck now i wanna make my fantrolls stats

-The weird shit starts early on in this route- see MC's random reluctance to make more friends, the few monochoices before the route's Actual Big Choice, MC briefly thinking this is the first time they've been to Alternia, the actual literal punching of a hole through the fourth wall when they check out the warnings on the options menu (while vriska just waits for them to finish)...

-We get to give MC an actual name we can see in words! In a route where they explicitly have trouble seeing themselves as a distinct, unique entity...

-Vriska tries to use her powers to control MC and give them Epic Sword Skills- but all she can do to humans is make them fall asleep. (also it says that “the seven red dots of her prosthetic” glow- what prosthetic??? her glasses??? did she have a robot eye all this time???)

-Thanks to that we get to meet again with the Best Troll, Boldir!!! Who also speaks about a he who's fucking shit up here. Her presence in MC's mind (and maybe not only there) also helps us remember our friends, finally. Sadly we're separated by the strings way too soon... and immediately transported back to DS the first's house.

-What will you do? That's STILL the best fucking question anybody's ever asked. MC has the power to direct the narrative now, and what they'll do is FIX THIS.

-Not only do we get explicitly stated out that Spidermom's a piece of shit (as seen in the post i made yesterday), but MC also yeets her into Jade's volcano!!!!!!!! Now all Vriska needs to do is break free from all the boxes society's given her... (while her good route's great, both her bad routes are short and sad...)

-Vriska also joins the list of Trolls Who'd Benefit A Lot From Living In Earth C (As We Imagined It Before The Epilogues And All That), which includes Karkat and of course Daraya, amongst others.

-She looks up to Mindfang the rebel, too........

[musesfromnippon]

   { So I’m still awake and thinking... “You know, until I get those about pages set up, why not write short bits that sum up the muse?” So that’s what I’m doing.     Expect some of these to be a bit ridiculous, cause I haven’t slept yet. }

Amenominakanushi: The Dad of all Dads. He’s gonna drop some wisdom on you and also be really vague sometimes. I bet he knows too much about everything.

Inari-okami: Gender doesn’t exist, especially for them. Feel free to refer by she/her, he/him, or they/them. Foxes are friends and also the thieves of your missing socks. Might adopt you like Ammy does, but less “parent” type and more “party uncle/aunt with a glass of sake in one hand.”

Nuregami: Pure bean who is here to make sure things are going okay...with the water, of course! She’s a little awkward around people. Family, save her.

Kabegami: Will climb everything tall that you own, including you, if you’re tall. Hope you like cats; she’s got a lot of kitty friends. Will steal any seafood you have...or just give it to her. Make a new friend.

Sakuya: Guardian of the trees and wishing she could do a bit more with her life. Still, she knows all the secrets of Kamiki. All. Of. Them. Become her gossip buddy, it’ll be worth your time. But be careful of what you want to know about....

Kushi: Came home to raise her sons and brew sake...and her adopted son left to figure out his past while her other child is probably learning things he shouldn’t from his father. Brew so good it can get the gods wasted, so beware....

Camellia & Camille: The traveling sisters who visit Guardian Saplings around Nippon! Camellia being the elder sister and Camille being the younger and who is also super up to date on that kami stuff. Big sis is waaaay behind, yo.

Princess Fuse: Princess of the canines and the boss of Kusa Village. Totally. Also OkamiDen isn’t canon, so there’s no acting going on here. Only a woman trying to keep her warrior-dogs in line and encourage them to keep protecting their home!!!

Kaguya: Just your average space princess from the moon, no big deal. Also one of few remaining Lunarians after some massive bullshit that somebody pulled and our bets are either on Orochi or Yami...... So yeah, now she’s the ruler of the shambles of her home and kinda needs to get on fixing that. Sometime soon, hopefully.

Queen Himiko: She may be dead in Okami canon, but now is the time to say, “fUCK SHE MAY BE DEAD....but that’s what we have past RPs and AU threads for.” Anyways, she’s a badass who rules the throne while her husband plays with demon fangs, so know who’s the powerful one around Sei’an City... Cause it’s her.

Kamo & Abe: Some Tao Troopers who serve under Waka. Just remember that Abe is the ditz and Kamo is the cool, collected dude you can trust with anything. Abe would probably sell all of your secrets for a dinner at Sei’an’s finest. Abe is a DORK.

Queen Oto: Remember kids, “Otohime” is “Princess Oto”, so technically she’s “Queen Oto” now, a’right?? ANYWHO. You know Himiko and how badass she is/was? Well, here comes Queen Oto, ready to LAY DOWN THE LAW OF BADASSERY. Cause she changed into a huge fucking dragon while preggo to help the sun kami and her bouncing friend fight off a God Complex Ninetails. She’s also a widowed, single mother and that kid is gonna be just as incredible as she is. Damn.

Tobi: Speaking of the Ninetails, that big bro had a cool dude working for him...and that guy, was a demonic slip of paper. Who liked to race! And helped you to the top with those races!! LONG LIVE TOBI!!! So yeah, he’s stickin’ around here and ready to hand out some flowers.

Samickle: Yo, you won’t believe this, but.... This guy is the Oina chief now. Crazy, right?! Yeah... He’s also sorta engaged. Just some fanficy shit, dON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, GOSH.

Tuskle: They made her as a one-off priestess in-game.... And then I came along and went, “Mine now.” So now we’re gonna get a badass shaman in this group, helping people heal, giving advice, and lowkey being a mom to everyone. Someone’s gotta!

Ayame: The OkamiDen one-off to play really hardcore on your emotions, while also tying into a story nobody knows about... Again though, I’m taking her. She’s mine now. Imma make her cute as hell and ya’ll gonna have to love her now!!! (Don’t worry, you will naturally. Ayame is too cute and pure. Gotta love them pure peeps~)

Kuni: He was the son of Susano and Kushi...until he revealed he actually wasn’t, he’s just adopted. We can either talk about this crazy kiddo and his attempts to figure out who he really is...or just get our butts into the future, where he’s a damn good swordsman and a handsome boi.

Nanami: The Dragonians continue to be badass and elegant...and Nanami’s here to hammer that point home. Hope you like water and water hair, cause that’s what you’re getting here, bucko. She’s real cute, though. Prepare to be charmed.

Kagu: OkamiDen may have flopped in story, but DAMN if all their girls ain’t #goals! Our little actress-miko Kagu, back at it again with her incredible powers, eventual (possible) heir to the Sei’an throne, and also getting a little sweeter with the acceptance of who she is. Confidence out the wazoo and it looks GOOD for her!!

Kurow: ...Blease protect my boy..... He did not deserve what canon gave him...... So now he’s gonna be coddled here and protected... Probably for a week or two. Then we toss him to the angst hounds. Also should mention all of the kid partners (including this rad dude) have “adult AUs” so... That’s a thing.

Sugawara: Hey, if Capcom could maybe like....stop hurting my babes from the Moon Tribe, that’d be rad, okay? That’s gonna be my job, dudes. SO. Denying canon a bit? Maybe. Mostly just wanna set this guy free... Maybe get him a date. He’s too attractive to be single I mEAN WHAT--

Dark Chibiterasu: Remember that bit? At the end? Well, screw that, too, cause I’m gonna make my own dark Chibi. He’s sorta his own entity now, though. How you interact with him, shapes how he’s gonna be, so.... Play with him wisely! Else you’re gonna be at fault if he grows up to be a very bad pupper.

(Oh hey, it’s the OC section. We made it this far!!)

Koamashi of Nippon: So in a summary, Koamashi are like...land guardians? They collect the history of their homeland and stuff and this could go on forever. This one is a happy being and also ready to kick your ass. But she probably won’t, cause being friendly is the way to go! (Also that whole “cursed land” thing didn’t go well for her, so she’s still trying to recover from that.

Koamashi of Kamui: A cold guy (ahahahaa, get it??), but could be tight-knit...if he had friends. He just sorta...watches over the Oina and Poncles. That’s his main dealio. He’s a sad man, give him a hug...once you know him better, anyways. Doesn’t like touches from strangers, m’dude.

Koamashi of the Takamagahara: You’ll likely never meet this guy unless, like... You die or something. Or are a deity of some kind? He’s a cool dude, though. Very friendly, patient, and kind. Probably gives warm hugs. Will kick your ass if need be, though. Died once; not fun. Also, the Koamashi are technically genderless, but they do lean towards a preference of appearance, so.... And they really don’t mind, either way.

Handmaiden Reiko: Dad the sake brewer, mom the painter, and big brother the warrior...and their parents are dead, of course. Reiko somehow managed to get a job as a handmaiden to a tanuki princess, but... Geez, is it straining or WHAT?! Makes using a bow look so, so easy.... Patient af, though; she’s still working to keep getting money to ensure a good life back at home. Also has an Oina bf named Hayato.

Demon Cat Sukei: Fight first, questions later. Won’t let you pet him and will bite if you try. Maybe claw, too, if he can manage it. Can speak English/Japanese and will hand over demonic wares and give advice on demons/imps to talk to who might be of help, if got need of them. Alright, if an asshole.

Genetic Pup Aoi: Remember the “Science is Bad” trope? Well, it’s sorta true here; get the hair and blood of a kami with some science shit and BAM!! Here’s four godly puppies, have fun explaining that shit to the higher ups. Aoi is the blu boi and he’s got them water powers. Eldest of the four sibs and thus, the leader.

Genetic Pup Hinote: Second in command to Aoi, but sorta like Starscream in that he keeps trying for first place. Dark pupper and the only one to have black fur; he controls fire and- yes- is a bit of a hothead. He’s a good big bro to Kusa, though.

Genetic Pup Kusa: The green boy, associated with wind, and the fastest of ‘em all because of it. Could probably speed over water, honestly. He just likes to run and play with Hinote, cause they’re the other duo to Aoi and Sakura.

Genetic Pup Sakura: Cliche name for the pink pup with the earth powers... Also the sole girl, but she knows that just makes her better then! ...Right? Is the runt of the group, but also sorta the powerhouse, considering how important nature is, and all. Is the “underling” to the duo between her and Aoi, though she secretly prefers Hinote to give her attention.

Lunarian Aristocrat Kiyoshi: One of the Moon Tribe runaways during the fall. Kinda sorta doesn’t care what happened back home, cause Sei’an City is a lot cooler, anyhow... Mostly cause 300+ years of being there and it’s still a neat place to him. Is a little shit in the way only a very flashy man can be. It’s all a part of that Lunarian charm, eh~?

Tanuki Princess Yua: Got big tiddies cause mythology states that tanuki have ridiculously huge and useful ballsacks. The more you know!! Yua, however, is the second child who is a girl, and thus won’t get the throne. So via la rebellion and exploring the world of Nippon and Kamui time!! She’s the princess Reiko has to watch over, bless the woman’s heart... Yua likes playing tricks, flirting a bit, but has some wild ADHD that just....won’t settle. Can at least relax a little in Wep’keer/Kamui, so Reiko can see her man and not have to fuss over the princess during that bit of their trip.

Oina Woman Miame: CALLBACK TIME. So remember Samickle? Being engaged? Here’s his fiancée. YUP. Casual woman who he kinda had to help when she got herself trapped and hurt... Sorta stuck around with nowhere else to go, wormed her way into the pack....and then some cheesy bit like “warming up Sami’s heart” or something. Definitely does know how to keep him from stressing out too much, though, so... Go her!!

Demon Priest Takahiro: He got a name for this appearance. At long last, he hAS A NAME!!! He’s mostly here to pay for his crimes years ago, when he forced Amaterasu to swallow up this stone of darkness kinda thing? It makes her go into a baddie mode, basically. Yeah, he did it. That’s his fault. Also, that hasn’t been fixed, so..... Someone needs to get on that and drag Takahiro with them!!

Young Fox Akemi: “Young” by kitsune standards, thank you. She’s still in her early 200s! Anywho... Fox from a small kitsune village. Has been going around to learn stuff about the world as she gains her tails. Made a friend in another wandering kitsune with similar goals, so they joined up; he’s been traveling longer, though. Associated with the autumn season.

Teenage Fox Yoshirou: Akemi’s friend and a black fox of 3-tails, so... About 300 years already under his belt. Wanted to be alone and in peace, but Akemi was younger than him, so... He relented. Acts like her big brother now, basically. Since they’ve wandered from their homes and families, expect him to be the one to look over suitors in place of her actual family.

Lunarian Scholar Kazuki: If you’ve been around me for about a year, you know this guy already. If not, he’s basically the ex-love interest to Shiori over at Goddessof-Poems. He kinda died during the whole wipeout of the Moon Tribe? Yeah... He used to do a lot of important writing for the Moon Tribe and gave Shiori her signature, golden collar. (Still wears it to this day.) He’s a dead guy now, but Izanami likes setting him free sometimes to amuse herself. So whether in the past or present, Kazuki is around somehow...somewhere.....