#the original section title was of course 'would like to fight'

[shazzeaslightnovels]

Shousetsu Sousou no Frieren: Zensou

Author: Mei Hachimoku (Author of Natsu e no Tunnel, Sayonara no Deguchi)

Illustrator: Abe Tsukada

Original Story: Kanehito Yamada

Label: Shounen Sunday Comics

Release Date: 17 April 2024

My Score: 4/5

This volume is a collection of prequel short stories set in the Frieren universe. Each chapter focuses on a different character as we learn more about what their life was like before the start of the series.

We start the volume off with Fern, shortly after she starts living with Heiter. We then have a chapter with Stark, taking place shortly after his fight with Eisen as he arrives to the village that he will come to protect for three years. The third chapter focuses on Lawine and Kanne during their time at the magic school. As part of a test, they each have to defeat a monster. This is one of the more interesting stories in the volume as we haven't spent all that much time with these two in the main series and their past hasn't been touched on as much as Stark's and Fern's. I like the relationship between these two so it was nice to see more of them. The next chapter is an Aura chapter. This one starts with her first encounter with Himmel and Frieren and the other heroes, and the fallout from her army's defeat at their hands. This is another highlight as we barely spent any time with Aura in the main series so it's nice to see her being explored here. It's fun to be in the head of a demon too and to see their POV. This the longest story in the volume, and it's also the only one where I think the experience is improved if you've read up to at least volume 9 of the manga (which is where I am at), because Macht, a demon introduced in volume 9, makes an appearance. It's still definitely possible to read and have fun without having read the manga, but it does slightly improve the experience. The final chapter, of course, focuses on Frieren herself, reminiscing about her time with Flamme, and then about her time with Himmel and the others. It's a good story to end the volume on, even if it isn't a stand out. It's also got a few references to popular gags in the manga (like Frieren's blowing a kiss special attack), which was a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed this volume. It was easy to read and Mei Hachimoku captured the feeling and atmosphere of the Frieren series perfectly. Even when it was covering ground already tread by the manga, like Fern's relationship with Heiter, it was never boring. While I wouldn't call it a must read volume as it doesn't provide any particularly new insights for the characters or important information for the story, it was a delight to read and I would easily recommend it to Frieren fans. You probably could get away with reading this without having any previous experience with the franchise, but it would be a lot more boring and I can't see any reason to read this if you don't already love the characters and the world they inhabit.

I do want to mention that there aren't really any illustrations in the volume. Different sections of the cover are used as the title pages for the chapters and that's really it. There aren't any colour illustrations or monochrome illustrations depicting the events in the chapters. I somewhat expected this to be the case, but it's still disappointing. I get that Abe Tsukada was probably too busy drawing for the manga to do more than the cover for this volume, but I can't help but wish that were just a couple of illustrations throughout.

[coldgoldlazarus]

I think in hindsight, one of the things I most appreciate about Prime 3 that I didn't when I first played it, is the double genre misdirect/switch.

The big bombastic first hour or so on Norion, even if I enjoyed myself with the crazy action setpieces like that falling fight against Ridley, had me feeling like Retro was trying too hard to turn Metroid into Halo or something, (and I do like Halo too, mind you) instead of just letting it be Metroid, but then after the timeskip the game settled down into more familiar territory. Still more on the more blatantly linear and action-oriented side of the series' typical genre range, sure, but it wasn't quite so overblown.

The early half of the Pirate homeworld was probably my favorite section of the game to play overall, the almost stealth-section like vibe of trying to avoid getting noticed, punctuated with frantic firefights to eliminate any Pirates who did spot you, the quite welcome return of a relatively more complex and mazelike layout to wind my way through... and all set to that eerie, ambient music that's near silence yet ooozing with tension waiting to be released.

And then yeah big epic battle on the train pushing through all the security checkpoints to the Seed, yet another chance to smack Ridley down with a steel chair, etc. A nice way of bringing it full circle, even if I did just personally prefer the tension itself to the release.

But then.

But then towards the end, with the GFS Valhalla and then Phaaze, the game did a complete 180 and leaned hard into pure, unadultered, pants-shittingly terrifying eldritch horror. If not for the rest of the game (and the final boss) counterbalancing it with bombast, taken on its own, those sections could possibly count as the scariest any Metroid game has been, with only Super's crashed ship, Prime 2's Dark Aether, and of course a lot of the original Return Of Samus as significant contenders. (Dread's EMMI zones are going for a different sort of scary) And given how retro-horror-inspired the series as a whole is, that's saying something.

But I think part of the beauty of it is because of the contrast with that earlier Norion action extravaganza I had been so put off by, and the context of Prime 3 coming out specifically for the Wii, one of the most-purchased consoles by "casuals." (I mean hell, that's why my family had it and I was thus able to play the Trilogy in the first place, when my parents saw videogames and their consoles otherwise as a total waste of time and money.)

I don't know how many people outside of Metroid's pre-existing fans actually did buy Corruption, (especially given it unfortunately got overshadowed the same year by another sci-fi shooter with a 3 in the title) but I feel like there has to have been at least a few people out there who picked it up and played it, got drawn in by the promise of a rocking military action-adventure, were indeed bouyed along by hypermode, and then got completely blindsided by the late-game shift to Peak Metroid Nightmare Fuel. I would love to know what they thought.

[homestuckdailyweekly]

Homestuck Daily - Week 2 - 4/27/2024

Last week was a real fucking mess. I wrote it a day late and I barely talked about the contents of the comic or my thoughts of it. I swore to myself that this week, I would get my head in the game. I would take notes on each day of comics, I'd pick out highlights I could talk about for the next update. I'd really do my best to give thoughtful insight into this comic. And then, as if Homestuck itself was mocking me from 15 years in the past, this was the slowest week of homestuck yet. 12 pages from 4/22/2024 to as I'm typing this. We'll get to those pages in a second, but first a bit of housekeeping.

I have previously mentioned I've scheduled out about which pages I would be reading which days, for up to about the first year of this project's runtime. This was a terrible idea, and I've deleted the calendar and replaced it with a daily reminder to check the Unofficial Homestuck Collection for updates. I would like to say this was to maintain verisimilitude for this project, but that would be at least partially a lie. The truth is that as this project began, I quickly learned the original schedule I wrote out was rather inaccurate, usually missing the last few updates of the day due to what I assume is a time zone difference. Fixing that schedule, or creating a new one from scratch, would be way too much effort, so I decided to throw away the gift and curse of knowledge. I plunge into the future of this project without a map or checklist.

Now, for a map or checklist of what happened this week in Homestuck. There was of course, Shenanigans, which I think I might create a separate section to discuss Shenanigans. A Plot-Recap and a Shenanigans Recap. But that discussion belongs in housekeeping, and this is the recap... as much of a recap that's possible with 12 pages. This week, John breaks the premise of this comic by exiting his house in search of the SBURB Beta. We get an iconic title-drop for the Comic with a short flash of John contemplating his 13th birthday and the feeling of something missing. He sees a mysterious green package and a piece of paper in his dad's car, but otherwise the beta is nowhere to be seen. He heads back inside, and spies a red package and a piece of paper with SBURB's Logo in the kitchen. John finally decides to enter the kitchen in order to confront his cake-wielding father, and we get our dramatic introduction to Dad. As of writing this, the week of updates ends with the calm before the storm of John facing his ferocious father in a fight.

As for shenanigans... uhhhh John watches an Ecto-Cooler commercial after really fucking up a card trick. Also he resists the urge to poop in his mailbox. This week is light on content on all fronts, I guess.

Before I go, I'd like to talk for a little bit about page 82 of Homestuck, the 2nd [S] of the comic that ends with a title card for the comic itself. I remember this page grabbing my attention when I first read this comic years ago. I'm not sure how quickly that past-me got to that page, but I remember thinking "Ah, the comic starts now." I think I assumed it must have released rather soon after the comic's start, but as the present-me reads this comic in real time, I realize it was released about 11 days after Homestuck began. That's a small percentage of the entire comic, certainly, but for me, I am realizing that a moment that I've considered the Beginning of Homestuck took nearly 2 weeks to get to. Not for the first time, I am hit with the monumental scale of the project ahead of me. A project I am doing for nobody but myself. I think about why I've decided to re-read Homestuck, and why I am documenting my re-read here. I think about the kind of person I was 7 years ago, and the kind of person I might be 7 years from now. I think about how many ways my life may change before I finish this. To paraphrase Walt Whitman, 'I realize today is going to be a long day.'

[itwoodbeprefect]

Hello, for the WIP game : Several of the Hawaii Five-0 section sound nice... I'll go with #23 because it does sound particularly intriguing!

Steve’s becomes… themed

ooh, another recent addition to the h50 pile! though the idea is one that’s been bouncing around my head for years - and then always ended up going a different direction, which this one already has again too, i think. the “steve’s” here is the restaurant (i forget if canon ever really nailed that down, but we do get steve asking danny to name the restaurant after him (so they can be together forever, you know, like good platonic buddies) so i think it’s at least generally accepted fanon that it’s called that?) and the “themed” is just, well. i think that in canon, at one point, danny says he wants the restaurant to be a place for cops to come hang out and get dinner after their shift? but this is steve and danny, so of course they accidentally open a queer restaurant instead. huge rainbow in the window, cheesecake in the colors of the transgender flag, they adopt half the local teens, that kind of thing. (obviously they keep the restaurant in this version instead of selling to kamekona - i think it would work out a lot better for them if they have a united Cause that distracts them from fighting over the shade of red of the chairs, anyway.)

which is a concept i really like, but it’s also always pretty Big. there’s a lot of stuff i would want to throw into that story, and to avoid starting something Very Long that i’ll never finish because it’s getting Very Long, i end up cutting myself short to keep things manageable and throwing the original idea overboard in the process, which i think might happen again here, but i’m also considering ways i could keep this fic short and set it up as a potential start to a series, so i don’t need to commit but there are still options.

for this particular go at this idea, this is the catalyst:

“Oh, it’s good that you’re both here,” Grace says, when she falls into the kitchen with a slightly chaotic energy. The double doors haven’t had the time to fully swing shut behind her when she follows that with, “I’m a lesbian.”

They were going over the menu - again - and it’s been a pretty boring if hectic day of ironing out the last details before the opening. Steve looks from Grace, hovering so near the door she looks as if she might run right back out, to Danny, who quietly unglues his shoulder from Steve’s and puts down the pen he’s been using to wave far more than write. “Monkey,” Danny says, with a lot of emotion but most of all baffled, and Steve has to agree that these are pretty uncharacteristic nerves for a kid as cool as Grace.

She shifts a little, folds her arms. “Mom already knows. I just wasn’t sure how you’d take it, so-”

“Grace,” Danny says, and this time he sounds like he’s about to cry, but in the next moment he’s around the counter and wrapping Grace up in his arms so tight it’s as if he’s trying to squeeze the thought that he could ever love her any less than he does right out of her.

Steve lets out a deep, shuddery breath, and closes the menu folder. They’re finished for today.

and then there’s some stuff about letter soup (“I tried to get someone to sell me only the LGBTQIA’s, but they don’t seem to do custom letter sets.” / “Right,” Steve says, because what else is he going to say? “And what would you do for the plus, anyway?”), and danny cooking sadness pasta while telling steve he feels like a Bad Dad because he’s known he is bisexual this whole time and if he had been open about it maybe grace’s life would have been easier, and obviously steve goes, paraphrased, “you are very stupid for thinking that you’re not the best dad, stop it”, and then he mentions that at least grace did tell her dad, that she trusted him enough to do that, and that steve never took that step with john - and that’s the story of how half the mcgarrett-williams family came out in maybe an hour.

-

send me the title of one of my WIPs and i’ll tell you something about it or post a snippet!  

[four-loose-screws]

FE7 Novelization Translation - Chapter 11 Section 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

Chapter 11: Four-Fanged Offense (Section 2)

The town's atmosphere, previously joyous as the people prepared for the upcoming ceremony, had changed to one of complete chaos.

All manner of weapons were being used, from sword and axe to magic and bows, and the battlefield had expanded to the edges of town. Any attempts now to tell either army not to cause any chaos would be in vain.

As Eliwood fought the Black Fang while being very careful to avoid hurting the townspeople, he noticed something strange.

'...They're trying not to get the townspeople involved either?!'

Those clad in black were refraining from attacking any of the locals, as regular citizens would not be associated with Eliwood. They also avoided casting any spells or shooting any arrows that had a chance at catching one of them in the crossfire; and even when slashing away with their weapons, they made sure none of the people were in range before acting.

Their way of fighting was so fair and just that it was unthinkable they could be Nergal's underlings, and it shocked Eliwood.

"Hey! Are you Eliwood?" 

A man's voice rang loud and clear in his ears. 

He laughed fearlessly and glared at Eliwood. 

From both his bold demeanor and appearance, Eliwood knew very well that he was no ordinary man. "...Are you this group's commander?"

"The name's Linus. Not that my name is something you'll need to remember when you'll be dead soon!"

"...In that case, there's something I want to ask you. I've been told the Black Fang is a group with strong convictions. …So why are you siding with a man like Nergal?”

Linus looked like he was thinking about Eliwood’s words, but only for a moment. He quickly drew his silver blade, shining in the sunlight. "...Nergal? That creepy guy Sonia introduced to our Father? I've got nothin' to do with him! I just carry out my orders!"

"And you haven't doubted whether those orders are right, even once?"

"Doubted? What is there to doubt? My father and brother's decisions could never be wrong!!"

"That's exactly why I…"

"Quit messin' with me!" Linus shouted to stop Eliwood from continuing the conversation any further. "I don't need Brother's help for this. In the name of the Fang, I will execute judgment!" That was the last thing he said before ferociously lunging at Eliwood. 

Eliwood himself also decided that there was no more room for conversation, and immediately fought back.

"Take this!" Linus put all of his strength into a single swing of his blade. 

In comparison to a standard, lighter sword made out of steel, his silver blade was much heavier, but he swung it with ease, fighting as if he was mad. Even Eliwood, who did not know his title, got the impression that he fought like a mad dog.

But Eliwood was not the kind of person to be put under pressure by such a fighting style.

“Haa!”

With a battle cry, in the blink of an eye, he brandished his rapier and cut a shallow wound into Linus' nondominant arm. 

Linus licked it and flashed a violent smile across his face. "Not bad. You're the second person to ever hurt me head on!"

The first was of course Lloyd.

"But I won't let you do it ever again!!"

He started his ferocious assault once again, forcing Eliwood to go on the defensive. 

Linus swung his blade down, thrust it in front of him, and ran forward to stab Eliwood with it. Eliwood either dodged or blocked each and every attack. To an observer, it looked like he was struggling, but the reality was quite the opposite.

"Dammit… Stop messin’ around with me!” Linus yelled in frustration as he continued his onslaught. He was actually becoming very angry. It irritated him that no matter how many times he attacked, he could not land a decent hit.

That was what Eliwood was waiting for.

The frustration built up inside of him would create an opening. When that happened, Eliwood would have his opportunity to claim victory.

"Eat this!" Linus raised his sword over his head and put all of his strength into swinging it down on Eliwood’s head. 

But instead his attack only sliced through thin air, and became lodged in the cobblestone laid out through the street.

"I-I failed?!"

As Linus shouted, Eliwood did not let the opening go to waste, thrusting his rapier in a blow intended to stab its sharp tip through Linus' throat.

However…

"Grrraaaaah!!"

Linus poured every ounce of strength in his body into pulling his sword out of the cobblestone. The force sent chunks of stone and dirt flying into the air, blinding Eliwood, and making him hesitate for a moment in his attack. For Linus, just that one moment was plenty.

He jumped back to put some distance between them, taking a moment to catch his breath and fix his stance.

"That was close. You're makin' this pretty fun!" He said with a fearless smile on his face. 

However, to Eliwood, this was not a time to be smiling.

After being on the offensive for so long and failing to take advantage of the opening his enemy created when impatient, he could not use that same tactic again. And Linus was a dangerous foe for him to fight head on. Both his strength and stamina were far superior to Eliwood's. With the opportunity he'd waited for gone to waste, now Eliwood was the one getting frustrated. 

Meanwhile, Linus, on the other hand, was enjoying their fight so much he could hardly contain himself. "It's been a while since I've found prey with this much fight in them! I'll be the one to take you down myself!"

“You won't have the chance!"

“Huh?”

Eliwood whirled around towards the source of the voice that had suddenly cut in between their fight from behind, and there saw the blade of an axe swinging down towards Linus' face. 

Linus swiftly blocked that attack with his blade, but the man - Hector - stood up and followed up with a second and third attack.

“I won't let you kill him!" Hector swung Wolf Beil and shouted.

“Alright, if you wanna die, then I’ll take you out first!” Linus raised his blade and roared.

They matched each other in both stamina and strength. Their head-on fight could only be described with one word: ferocious. 

Axe and blade clashed viciously, and their overflowing energy sent sparks flying. At its start, their grand battle overwhelmed all who saw it, but over time, it was Hector who became overwhelmed.

When two opponents are matched in strength, stamina, and skill, then superiority is determined by the difference in their weapons. In comparison to swords, axes have a shorter reach and smaller turn radius. Of course, victory against Hector would not be determined simply by what his foe was holding, but if his foe was just as strong as him or stronger, then that was a different story. The more equal they were in strength, the slighter the margin in the outcome would be.

“Hiiii-yaaaaaah!” With a thunderous battle cry, Linus unleashed a powerful attack.

Hector tried to block it with his axe, but in the end was pushed back. With the dry sound of scraping metal echoing into the air, Hector lost his grip on Wolf Beil, and it rotated through the air before finally lodging into the cobblestone.

“That was fun. But this is the end for you!” Linus shouted and swung his blade into the air.

But oddly, Hector, though he had lost his weapon, was smiling calmly. By the time Linus realized how strange it was, it was too late. At some point, Eliwood had gotten behind him, and was aiming the tip of his sword at Linus' back.

"Dammit, were you two plannin' this from the beginnin'?!" Linus said in regret as he threw his weapon on the ground. 

One foe was closing in on him from the front, and the other was taking him from behind. Linus thought that they had him completely trapped, but that wasn't really their intention. Hector had seen his best friend in trouble and saved him, and Eliwood had searched for an opportunity to help Hector once he was cornered again. They were in true harmony with each other.

From the very beginning, this fight had never been a one-on-one duel, but one where they risked their lives together. Linus did not think of Eliwood as a cheat, but was ashamed of himself for focusing so much on the enemy in front of him that he neglected to watch his back.

“L-Linus!”

“Don't come over here!" Linus barked at one of his men, who was coming his way to help him. "They're my prey! All of you get out of here! Now!"

"But…!"

"Shut up! Have you forgotten the laws of the Fang?!" 

Though it was obvious by the expressions on their faces that his words pained them, they slowly retreated.

To maintain their structure as an organization, the Black Fang had several rules. One that Linus’ followers could not betray was “Your superiors’ orders are absolute.”

After seeing that every last one of his followers were gone, Linus turned his head to look at Eliwood, who had the tip of his rapier positioned right up against his back.

“...I’ve lost. Brother was right. You guys are strong…” He said, expressing how deeply impressed he was, then took both of his hands off his blade, still lodged in the ground.

With that act, they could no longer sense any will to fight from him, and Eliwood relaxed.

He was too soft.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna die like this, without anything to show for it!!” The moment Eliwood let his guard down, Linus moved with unbelievable speed for someone so giant. 

He swiftly pulled away from Eliwood’s rapier, then immediately whirled around and wrapped his thick arms around Eliwood’s neck. “I’m takin’ you with me!!”

Crushing his enemy’s neck bones was nothing for Linus.

Like a large snake strangling its prey, Linus’ arms slowly began to move.

Though Eliwood knew that he was staring death in the face, his expression did not change.

“...Do as you wish.”

“...I’m sorry, what?!" At Eliwood’s unexpected response, Linus’ arms stopped moving.

“...I noticed something while we were fighting. All of you… were careful not to get the townspeople involved.”

“Of course! Our target was always just you!” Linus said with pride. 

Eliwood looked at him and continued,

"We don't think the Black Fang is an evil group. …Why do we have to fight?"

"That's because you're the bad guys… Dammit!" Linus clicked his tongue, loosened his grip on Eliwood, and let him go. 

"I don't get it either! Sonia told Father you're evil, and he trusts her, so he gave us this order!" Linus shouted, getting everything that had built up inside him off his chest. His expression was a complex combination of both and pain and confusion.

He was visibly wavering and questioning everything he had trusted.

"Sonia? She's…"

"...I'm gonna leave for now. Once I get the details straight about you, I'll be back." Linus did not answer the question Eliwood began to ask, instead leaving the conversation at that before walking off.

ー

[whynotsableye]

How I would do Kingdom Hearts 4

Okay so we know I love Kingdom Hearts and we know kingdom hearts isn’t exactly the best video game series as far as quality goes(it’s still like my fave tho idc if they’re bad). But I have a way kingdom hearts 4 would be modern, true to the originals, and also just cool as fuck.

Firstly the story would be told Birth By Sleep style letting you choose between Sora, Riku, and Kairi as your player character. Now this would not end up like BBS were they have the same planets and very similar boss fights no no. We have some planets that all of them go to yes but we also have planets exclusive to each character. I imagine something like Encanto could make a cool world for them to meet up in with a shorter story line and a place they could talk to each other and safely make plans.

Next up is the Modernization section where I would bring in a modified version of the command system from BBS and DDD. Then add a second attack button. Light attack and Heavy attack. Combos now exist between them and new ones in the abilities section for new cool finishers and a more controlled less button mashing feel to the combat(of course you can just the light attack or heavy attack sting combos if you like the old feel.

But having the game made for next gen consoles and not the PSP the worlds and story lines could be so much more expansive than the ones in BBS. We could have treasure planet, Moana, Lilo and Stitch and a bunch of other beloved or less represented Disney worlds.

We could also see some of disneys other-non original IPs but I wouldn’t put in more than a few. Big hero 6 and the Pixar worlds in KH3 shows they’re willing to pull works from studio collars at least. I would love to see worlds for some of the classic summons or Links from the other games.

Wreck it Ralph could be a fun video game world to feel like the Tron segments from 2. Another take on Toy Story. Maybe the incredibles?

Maybe even a fell Final Fantasy World? That would be cool

There’s so much untapped and unexplored in the Disney and Pixar media I would hate for KH4 to just be like Frozen 2 and the other sequels they haven’t done yet in KH. I mean I have nothing against the sequel worlds-some of them would be cool- but I want forgotten or very loved titles. Give me black cauldron, Treasure Planet, Atlantis, or sword in the stone. And give me some newer but still well loved and unseen in kingdom hearts movies like Raya and the last dragon or Zootopia (for all the furries)

Anyway. There’s so much potential. I just don’t want to see it fall down

[jcmarchi]

Persona 3 Reload Preview - A Final Hands-On Session - Game Informer

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/persona-3-reload-preview-a-final-hands-on-session-game-informer/

Persona 3 Reload Preview - A Final Hands-On Session - Game Informer

Ever since I got my hands on Persona 3 Reload over the summer, I’ve described it to folks as “Persona 3 redone in the form of Persona 5 Royal.” While that may be a gross oversimplification, it’s also pretty high praise. Longtime fans of the Persona series point towards Persona 3 as the entry that changed the course of the series, pointing it down the path it’s been on for nearly the last two decades. While Persona 3 may be the most important entry from a mechanical perspective, Persona 5 has the most mainstream relevance, particularly in 2024.

Back to Top

The mainline Persona series has since made the leap from being largely a PlayStation franchise to finding a home on multiple platforms, with Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal available now on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles. That opened the series to massive new audiences, but though the newer Persona 4 Golden still feels remarkably playable by modern standards, Persona 3 Portable – by far, the oldest of the trio – sticks out like a sore thumb amidst that collection of classic RPGs as having aged the worst.

While Persona 3 Portable is the PSP version of the title, even the other versions of the influential RPG would feel outdated in several ways by today’s standards. “[Persona 3] came out 18 years ago; a lot has changed in 18 years in terms of how you make a game and how you make a game entertaining and increase its usability,” Persona 3 Reload producer Ryota Niitsuma says. “Obviously, we’ve learned a lot over the years from making our other games; we picked up a lot of know-how and information on how to make a game more entertaining to play. We put all of that, without hesitation, into the game.”

“Persona 3 Reload is a title that takes all of the elements and things we’ve learned from [Persona 4] Golden and onwards and puts them into an accumulation of all of our knowledge to the title,” Persona 3 Reload director Takuya Yamaguchi adds. “I think in terms of playability and fun, this is a great place to get into the series.”

Fans made it known that a remake was highly sought after, and when the team wrapped up work on Persona 5 Royal, it heard these requests from players and decided it would be the studio’s next project. It quickly began discussing what approach it should take. “There were people that said we should just make a one-to-one remake and there were some people who said we should make big changes and kind of redo everything,” Yamaguchi says. “After a lot of discussion, we decided to mainly go with a one-to-one approach to recreate the original game. However, that’s for the major core of what makes the game it, and for small kinds of changes and powering the game up for a modern audience, that’s what we decided to focus our efforts on for the remake.”

While those changes were necessary to make to appeal to modern players, Atlus took great care not to disrupt the core tenets of the game, characters, and story. The focus on death, grief, and contemplating how to proceed with your remaining time continues to permeate this remade experience. 

Hands-On

While my previous demo was a more guided tour of the game, with a section dedicated to exploring Tartarus followed by a section devoted to a boss battle, this final hands-on session feels more organic. I’m dropped into the game in the month of June and can choose what activities I want to pursue outside of one day when I’m required to go into Tartarus.

I spend my first day exploring two new social link activities, one with Junpei and one with Akihiko. First up, during the After School timeframe, Junpei asks if we could go to the arcade. While there, he talks about how he thinks we could learn some moves from some of the fighting games there, and then challenges me to a competitive game. Following some friendly banter, I raise the level of his Hermes Persona.

After parting ways with Junpei, I see a text from Akihiko, who asks me to go with him to get some food. Unfortunately, we’re interrupted by a group of girls who view him as a celebrity thanks to his boxing win streak. He turns them down and we continue our walk. We walk a bit more but stumble upon that same group of girls cornered by a group of guys. They’re aggressively hitting on the girls, but it’s clear the girls just want to leave. Akihiko intervenes, allowing the girls to run while he confronts the guys. Just as a fight is about to break out, the police arrive. In this interaction, we learn that there’s been gang activity in the area recently and to be careful with whom you start trouble. Akihiko and I jog back, increasing my max HP.

As my character lays in bed after the eventful evening, he’s visited by the Mysterious Boy. After a brief conversation, I form a bond with him and his Death Arcana. Then next day, I walk home with Chihiro, forming a bond with the Justice Arcana. However, the most monumental sequence of the day occurs in the evening, as Ikutsuki calls a meeting with the team.

In this meeting, Ikutsuki provides special SEES equipment that allows the use of Theurgy, a new combat ability in Persona 3 Reload. Using characters’ emotions, you can unleash super strong powers. The team enters Tartarus to test out the new equipment. After Fuuka scouts for a good floor to enter, she mentions it feels distorted for some reason. Still, we go in and proceed with the test. 

The turn-based combat present in the series feels as good as ever. Taking on Shadows, exploiting weaknesses to earn 1 More attacks, and then executing an All-Out Attack always delivers a strong sense of satisfaction. But once I complete the floor, I finally get a chance to see Theurgies in action. Each character has a Theurgy gauge. Once that gauge is charged, you can unleash a powerful attack that doesn’t cost HP or SP, and it often ignores resistances.

Each character charges thanks to different actions, while each character’s Theurgy move does different actions. For example, Yukari’s Theurgy meter charges when she heals herself or her teammate, and her Theurgy attack deals severe wind damage that ignores resistance. Other characters charge their meters differently like Junpei landing critical hits or the protagonist summoning his Persona. Or, as Junpei puts it, “If we’re fired up enough, we can really pop off!” You have to be careful, though, as the gauge stops increasing when you have a status ailment, and it drops by half when that character is KO’d.

I love how this meter encouraged me to perform different actions with each character, giving combat a fresher, more varied feeling. “For me, this fits the Persona 3 Reload vibe very well and also updates the battle system of the game,” Yamaguchi says. “We had the 1 More! system, but this is a really new evolution of that which I think works really well.”

I spend much of the rest of my hands-on session exploring social links, including shopping with Kenji, training on the track team with Kazushi, and walking home with track team manager Yuko. If you’ve played a Persona game, you have a great idea of what to expect as these social links continue to deepen, and I can’t wait to continue exploring these relationships further in the full game. I also spend a little bit of time in school, including answering a question to improve my Charm rating and studying to improve my Academics rating.

Before wrapping up my demo, I spend a bit more time exploring Tartarus. After fighting several Shadows, including a Rare Shadow, I learn about Fuuka’s Oracle Theurgy, which can analyze the entire battlefield, apply status ailments to enemies, or buff the entire team. I bet that’ll come in handy for boss battles, but in this scenario against standard Shadows, they don’t stand a chance. After continuing for a few more floors, I find a Valuable Treasure Chest, which holds a Dekunda Gem, and my demo ends.

After relinquishing my controller, I couldn’t wait to start the adventure earnestly. I love the updates made to this version of Persona 3, and it truly feels like it could replace Persona 5 Royal as the best jumping-on-point for the amazing role-playing series. Persona 3 Reload arrives on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on February 2.

[artschooldemon]

Yellow Light 💡

An Original Character Short Story

(Let this occupy you while I continue working on my Imodna Fanfic)

Helmine admired Erma’s large collection of books as the light of the setting sun passed through the large window in her home’s designated reading room. Helmine could understand a room dedicated to artwork or painting, hell she could even understand a room being turned into a collector’s vault, but a room given the purpose to only be used for reading baffled her.

Looking back on it, Helmine finds it silly that she didn’t expect this room to exist. After all, she had met Erma at the bookstore she owned herself. Of course she would have an almost-library in her own home.

Erma sat curled up on a large chair, pillows and blankets spilling off and around its form. It’s too big to simply be called a chair, but too small to be a couch. It’s a curious thing, but Erma is content lying on her strange hybrid sitting cushion.

Helmine looks away from the bookshelf and moves her attention to Erma. A dark royal-green book with golden designs rests in her one hand as the other turns the pages. It’s an odd book. There is no cover art or title and Helmine has yet to ask what the book actually is.

She can’t help but admire the women. Her bark coloured hair that ends just below her chin, causing her freckles to blend into her pale skin like paint from the tap of two paint brushes against each other. The glow of the setting sun shining through her glasses and coating her in an orange wash of watercolour.

Erma lightly adjusts her glasses as she runs her knuckle against the bridge of her long nose. Turning the page of her book, she hums along to the instrumental section of a particular Of Monsters and Men song that plays from her record player.

Helmine can’t wrap her head around how Erma is able to stay in this moment of bliss while the sun begins to set. While not a full moon, every night a Shifter will take on a simple animal-like look and Helmine doesn’t understand how Erma does it.

Erma just lets it out. Spends her nights shifted in her half form and continues like nothing has happened. Helmine fights to keep it in, just long enough for her to stay as human as possible before she makes it home. It’s not something she likes doing, but it’s necessary in order to stay safe.

Erma looks towards Helmine, the sunlight now just starting to fall behind the trees turning her hazel eyes to a golden caramel. She adjusts her glasses again.

“Something on your mind?” She asks, her voice having a knowing tone to it. Helmine startles a moment, moving her melancholy gaze from the window to the women.

“Yeah,” she responds, fidgeting with the tread ends of her scarf, “just trying to figure out what mysterious book you’re reading.” She tries adding a sarcastic tone to her voice to divert attention from the setting sun.

Erma gives her an insightful look.

“Well,” she begins, “it’s called Watership Down by Richard Adams and it is my favourite book.” Erma looks solemnly at her, “But that’s not what's on your mind. It is?” Helmine shakes her head.

“How do you do it?” She asks.

“Do what?”

“Not be afraid to shift. To let the thing out.”

Erma slides the book’s ribbon in place and closes it shut. “I’ve embraced that part of me long ago, and after a while I realized that I can’t fight a part of who I am.”

Helmine scoffs at the idea, lightly smirking, but her expression quickly turns sombre, “You would choose to live a life alone? Where you can’t be yourself around others?”

Erma nods, a gentle smile crossing her face, “I am happiest when I’m me, and the feathers are just a part of that. I would rather stay on my own and let that part of me out then spend a second keeping it locked away.”

“But don’t you get lonely? Not being able to make those connections with people?”

“Sometimes, but I don’t mind. Besides, it’s hard to find people who understand or are accepting so it’s sort of just easier to just be alone.”

“You don’t have to be alone. You have me.”

The sun, now falling below the horizon, makes way for twilight and it’s eery violet that slowly turns the room dark. Helmine feels her eyes adjust abnormally quickly, but that abnormal is normal to a shifter. It’s the one thing she can’t stop from shifting, but she tries to. The strain caused a headache to begin.

Erma lets the violet wash over her and allows her features to change. Long feathers sprout from her head as her hair and cheeks take on a dark chestnut colour. Her hands become clawed as smaller snow-

like feathers spread across her wrists. She removes her glasses as she opens her eyes, which have become a glowing gold.

She looks back towards Helmine who now squeezes her shoulders in a solo embrace, eyes tightly shut.

“Helmine?” Erma stands up and crosses the short distance between them. “Hey, you’re okay.” She places a hand by her cheek and Helmine leans into the touch. “You’re not alone, remember? You have me. You don’t have to hide it tonight.”

The other woman opens her eyes and lets them adjust. The room becomes brighter, like it’s midday, as she looks towards Erma. Her golden eyes turn a faint vibrant green as they reflect Helmine’s Electric blue.

Helmine holds onto the hand at her cheek. “I don’t?” She asks.

“Of course.”

Helmine takes a deep breath. Then another. And another. She exhales deeply as she lets her features change willingly for the first time. Her ears extend and autumn orange fur grows from skin along the sides of her face. Her hands became clawed as well, but not to the same talons like Erma’s. Her finger tips darken and black fur crawls up from her hands to her mid-forearm.

She lets out a soft sob. While before she would fight it and the creature would rip itself out of her, the sudden realization that it didn’t hurt this time overwhelms her. Her sobs grow as she collapses into Erma, and confused, Erma embraces Helmine in a gentle hug.

“Hey, hey you’re okay. Nothing is going to hurt you here.”

As the tears begin to slow, the same sentence repeats in Helmine’s mind. It didn’t hurt this time. It didn’t hurt this time. It didn’t hurt this time. It didn’t-

The record player skips and the needle lifts above the still spinning record, plunging the two into silence. Neither wanting to break contact and fix the record.

As Helmine calms, she starts to sing the song that would have been next on the record.

“I’m looking for a place to start, and everything feels so different now.” It's soft, barely above a whisper, but Erma hears it. She sings back.

“Just grab a hold of my hand, I will lead you through this wonderland.”

Helmine laughs lightly, taking in a shaky breath before continuing the song. “Water up to my knees, the sharks are swimming in the sea.”

“Just follow my Yellow Light, and ignore all those big warning signs.”

As if by magic or pure chance, the needle falls back onto the record and begins playing again. The faint chime of music continues the song. The two stay embraced as it continues to play, allowing the singers on the record to take over.

They lightly sway for a bit, humming along, but they eventually part as Erma holds onto Helmine’s hands. She smiles softly at the Fox shifter as she places a hand on her shoulder. Helmine gently laughs, placing a hand on the Owl’s hip as they begin to dance.

It’s simple, and neither of them can dance very well, but Helmine has never felt a moment of bliss like this before. The pain isn’t there like it used to be, replaced by the joy of being with someone who understands. Gazing into her dance partner’s golden eyes she sees that Erma feels the same.

Erma had been alone for so long, not being able to make a connection like the one she is making now as she dances with another shifter. The joy is loud enough that Erma is afraid her heart beat will mess up her rhythm with the song.

Helmine is the one to touch their foreheads together. The tenderness causes a few tears to fall from Erma’s eyes as she laces their clawed fingers together. The two sway together as the song reaches its peak before slowing to single chimes, repeating the song’s motif before ending with a few barely audible notes.

The record comes to an end as the two begin to slow, not wanting the moment to end.

[tenshiharmonia]

After finishing Pokémon Scarlet and Sparks of Hope (at least for the time being), I finally got to play Sonic Frontiers, and I must say, it's been quite a bizarre experience. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad game. Not by any stretch. But the architecture of the game certainly feels a bit weird. How do I put it, it's as if the game's world was both too empty and too full at the same time, if you see what I mean. Like, the conversations between Sonic and his friends (and Sage) were pretty delightful, but in the end, they were quite few and far between. And a lot of them boiled down to "wow, look at those ancient ruins ! I wonder what happened ?". I wouldn't call it meaningless, but the overworld certainly lacks substance... Anyway, it still was a pleasant - if only a little lackluster - adventure. I've been fan of the blue hedgehog for quite some time now, but it actually was the first title I've got the chance to play*. And really, it makes quite a charming impression. The bosses were easily the most exhilarating part of the game, though. The Titans, obviously, but also most of the Guardian mini-bosses (Sumo has to be my favourite ; fighting those guys was hilarious). And as a big fan of Evangelion, you can bet I really dug their esthetic. I have some gripes about the game, of course, but all in all, there only were two things I was truly disappointed or frustrated with (aside from the whole "one upgrade at a time" thing). First of, I wish we had some sort of Koco settlement acting as a hub between the different island, instead of simply finding the Elder and the Hermit standing there out in the open in some random corners of the overworld. I feel like it would really help tie the setting in a more organic way, as well as making it easier for the player to get invested in those little guys’ story. It could even get livelier and livelier the more Kocos you bring back, unlocking more and more features as you progress, in the same way as the Waddle Dee Village in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Really, I think that would have been neat. Secondly, why couldn’t we have some sort of marker indicating exactly where Sonic is above the ground when he is in the air ? I wasn’t even done with the first island that I already was tired of failing a platforming section just because I couldn’t tell when I was supposed to pound to land properly... Still, for my first time playing a Sonic game, I had quite a blast. Now if only they could port Unleashed to the Switch... Speaking of, I wish that Frontiers had gone more in depth regarding that game’s place in the lore. I mean, Unleashed established that there is some sort of symbiotic relationship between Sonic’s planet and the Chaos Emeralds, and yet, it doesn’t even factor in the Emeralds’ origins. It’s also interesting to see how the Starfall Islands were named after Greek deities when we already have Dark and Light Gaia... Anyway, thank you for listening to my divagations. It’s always a pleasure to write my thoughts down on this site. See ya !

* Technically, I could have played Forces, but I simply couldn’t stand the thought of that one being my first...

[alichiraku]

In today’s news: I love mistranslations. 

[joost8910]

Deltarune: The two Knights theory

MAJOR spoilers for Deltarune Chapter 2 ahead. Strap yourselves in, this post is a long one.

So, as the title suggests, this theory postulates that there are not one, but two knights in Deltarune: The Old Knight and Kris.

The New Knight, Kris

As we see at the end of chapter 2, Kris creates a dark fountain right in the middle of their living room. Presumably, they could have created the fountain in the library in between the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2. This would make Kris the Knight that Queen refers to.

“The Knight” “The Roaring Knight…” “Today, It Deigned To Create This World” “Reaching Its Long Hand Into The Sky” “It Coursed Its Will Into Its Blade” “And Made” “Thrusting The Fountain From The Earth”

[Image: Queen overlooking holograms showing a hand and a knife]

The blade shown in Queen’s cutscene is clearly a knife, much like the one Kris uses. Given that Queen confirms the cyber Dark World was only created today, Kris’s soulless moment at the end of chapter 1 fits into that timeframe.

Knight is a Title

Going by the continuation of Queen’s dialogue:

“This Power Of Determination…” “Is This Not Something That All Lightners Possess…?” “If One Was Simply” “Determined Enough” “Could Not Anyone Make A Dark Fountain?” “So Then” “If The Knight Has Taken Its Leave” “Then I Will Simply…” “Make New One”

Queen’s theory is that any sufficiently determined Lightner can create a dark fountain. This would make such a Lightner a New Knight.

It’s possible Kris only becomes the New Knight after chapter 2. Queen’s dialogue could be what gives Kris the idea to make their own fountain.

Escapism as Possible Motivation:

u/_snout_1’s theory on reddit postulates that Deltarune’s main theme is about escapism. Kris using the dark worlds as a form of escapism fits as a probable motive behind their actions to create more dark fountains. So despite Ralsei’s warning of the Roaring, Kris makes a new fountain knowing they will seal it by the end of the day; playing as a hero.

(Or maybe Kris is just getting possessed during the soulless scenes, but that’s less interesting imo)

 Why the Old Knight is NOT Kris:

The reason I theorize there’s two knights is because of King Spades, Jevil, and Spamton.

If Kris was the only Knight, then I think at least one of these three would recognize Kris. While King Spades could believably fall for a disguise, I don’t think Jevil would. I admit that is purely speculative, but I think the best evidence that there is a Knight separate from Kris comes from Spamton. 

[Image: Spamton saying “KRIS, DID YOU KNOW THAT THE KNIGHT…”]

[Image: Spamton distorted, saying “No, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to --“]

When asked about the Knight, Spamton is about to tell Kris something before suddenly his text shifts from all uppercase to proper case usage and he apologizes profusely. I believe the Old Knight somehow knows they are mentioned and stops Spamton from revealing anything. This also hints at the Old Knight being the one who helped Spamton’s career in his backstory.

 Spamton’s Backstory:

The NPCs in the trash heap after the Spamton NEO fight talk about Spamton’s backstory. They talk about how someone over the phone helped Spamton become a [[BIG SHOT]]. Eventually, the help Spamton was receiving disappeared and his career fell apart as result.

 Gaster’s Connection to Spamton

[Image: the final NPC in the trash heap] From the last trash heap NPC’s dialogue:

“The day he was to be evicted from the Queen’s mansion,” “I went to his room to check on him…” “But he wasn’t there.” “There was only a phone hanging off the handle” “He must’ve left in the middle of a conversation,” “Because I could still hear someone on the other end…” “…” “But when I put the receiver to my ear…” “There was nothing but garbage noise.”

Garbage noise is the same phrasing used to describe the sound that plays when you use your phone in the dark world. This sound is mus_smile, which plays during Undertale’s Entry No 17. This is strong evidence for Gaster being involved here.

 Eggs, The Old Knight, and the many fragments of Gaster

Recall back to Undertale: this particular Gaster follower

[Image: the Gaster Follower that holds a small head]

“They say he shattered across time and space.” “Haha… How can I say so without fear?” “I’m holding a piece of him right here.”

This confirms here that Gaster himself is not whole. There are at least 3 main pieces of Gaster in Deltarune that are important here. The Voice that talks to us at the beginning and in the twitter, The Man that gives the eggs, and The Old Knight

The Voice matches Entry 17’s speech patterns of VERY, VERY, INTERESTING. As well as the music playing being AUDIO_ANOTHERHIM, with Gaster’s theme in Undertale being mus_st_him.

The Man that gives us the eggs is likely the Mysteryman sprite we’ve all come to love

Given that the narration vaguely describes him in each scene “Well, there is a man here” As well as how he disappears in each scene is very similar to the Mysteryman in Undertale. It’s also possible that each instance of the Egg Man is a separate fragment. Maybe the eggs themselves also contain small pieces of Gaster? Very speculative there.

The Old Knight’s best evidence for a Gaster connection I’ve already shown with Spamton’s section. However, there is another piece that many others have pointed out. EGG in WingDings is EGG

One Side and Two Up: matching the movement of the knight piece in chess.

 Additional speculation about the Old Knight’s connection with Gaster

The Old Knight either is a fragment of Gaster or has a fragment of Gaster like the follower in Undertale does.

If the Old Knight is a piece of Gaster, then one of their goals is most likely to become whole again.

If the Old Knight has a piece of Gaster, the same goal to make Gaster whole again could very well apply. Or, the Old Knight is against making Gaster whole so they can abuse the piece they own for some unknown purpose.

 Summary and Closing Thoughts

Based on what Queen has said, Knight is more of a title than a singular entity. The title applying to a sufficiently determined Lightner that creates a dark fountain. This makes Kris another Knight as shown in the end of chapter 2.

Evidence from Spamton shows the original Knight is a separate entity from Kris.

There is also evidence that links the original Knight to Gaster. We don’t know the exact connection, but given the Gaster was shattered into pieces, I believe the Knight either is or has a piece of Gaster.

That’s my theory on the Knight(s)! I’m very excited for how the plot develops in further chapters. 

[psychewritesbs]

Chapter 160: How much of Yuji’s life has been orchestrated? + Megumi the stage-five clinger

Happy JJK-Sunday!

If I had to describe chapter 160 with as few words as possible, I would say: Oh f*ck...

My favorite moment was, of course, Megumi acting like a stage-five clinger. His interaction with Yuji in this chapter is especially ominous in light of Yuji being adamant of protecting Megumi from Sukuna.

A second favorite was Sasaki showing up in this chapter because of the implications moving forward.

Let’s jump right in. 

How much of Yuji’s life has been orchestrated by Kenjaku?

We start the chapter with Kenjaku talking to none other than Sasaki, one of the members of the Occult Club at the high school in Sendai that Yuji used to attend.

Of course, the bomb that Gege dropped on us in this chapter is when Kenjaku thanks Sasaki “for getting along with my son”. 

Like... excuse you?

Not only does this 100% confirm that Kenjaku used Yuji’s mother’s body to give birth to him, but this specific moment + some foreshadowing from previous chapters also opens an interesting can of worms about Yuji’s life: just how much of Yuji’s life has Kenjaku orchestrated?

For me, the implication is that Sasaki had an assigned role to play in Yuji’s life that would inevitably lead to him eating Sukuna’s finger. 

I am assuming this because although we don’t see Kenjaku’s interactions with the other people in Sendai, we get to see that, in addition for thanking her for getting along with Yuji, Kenjaku is incredibly kind to Sasaki. We also learn that she’s the only one who has received a special message from him (thanking her).

Ready to make this whole interaction more ominous? Someone pointed out that the kanji in Sasaki’s name means assistant. 

All of this brings us right back to Yuji’s free will--or lack thereof?

We already know that Kenjaku claims he made Yuji “ingest” Sukuna’s finger and that Megumi is rightfully concerned with this idea because he witnessed Yuji eat Sukuna’s finger “of his own free will.”

It’s also becoming increasingly obvious that Yuji was "created” solely for the purpose of becoming Sukuna’s vessel. 

What this new reveal about Sasaki does is that it makes everything feel like certain events have been part of Kenjaku’s master plan all along. While this still feels a little farfetched, it will come down to how Gege works this idea into the story moving forward.

Come to think of it, even Yuji’s grandfather’s dying words to Yuji take on a new meaning since we know Wasuke knew something was definitively up with Yuji’s mother.

Another possible bit of foreshadowing all the way in chapter 1: While the intersection in the second panel below could be ANY intersection in Japan, it sure looks like the Shibuya crossing:

A quick note on the importance of kanji meanings in JJK before moving onto the next section: knowing the meaning of Sasaki’s name tells us that names are important in JJK. If you haven’t, I recommend you read my break down on the meaning of Megumi’s FULL NAME. His first name is important, but so is his last name.

The plans moving forward

Going off to Tokyo Colony #2 are Panda and Hakari. 

As the strongest, Hakari feels like he should take on Hajime. As for Panda, it looks like his focus will be on hunting down Angel.

Side note: I love that Hakari is still calling Megumi names. Guess Senpai can’t help himself.

I must admit I was disappointed to find that Kirara will stay behind to report, but it is what it is. I am assuming Gege could see no use for Kirara and decided to leave the character out of the action for the time being. 

As for Megumi and Yuji, they’ll be heading to Tokyo Colony #1 to target Higuruma, everybody’s new favorite Law & Order boss. 

This brings us to Megumi’s current state of mind...

Megumi the stage-five clinger

I had a hard time coming up with the title for this section because what I see happening is that Megumi is starting to feel the pressure of the looming deadline for Tsumiki joining the Culling Game. What his behavior shows, however, is that he needs Yuji with him and is clinging onto him but won’t come out and say it--opting instead for aggression towards Yuji, the very same person he needs most. 

His behavior reminded me of how Megumi could be mean to Tsumiki even though he clearly adores her. Apparently that’s the meaning of being tsundere. I’ve read about the term tsundere before but it never “clicked” until this moment and I just love Gege’s interpretation of the trope through Megumi’s character. 

It goes without saying that it was REALLY interesting to me to see Megumi’s dynamic and interaction with Yuji in this chapter because it looks like Gege is letting us know Megumi’s state of mind continues to be one of desperation--remember that dogeza bow from chapter 157?

The thing about Megumi is that he looks stoic on the outside, but he’s actually an incredibly emotional person who doesn’t often show how he’s feeling. 

I hadn’t caught on, but in chatting with @justafrenchlondoner​ about the chapter, they pointed out Megumi’s behavior in his dynamic with Yuji appears nervous and aggressive.

Upon a second look I have to agree that Megumi is acting out of character and aggressive with Yuji when all that Yuji really wants is to protect Megumi from Sukuna.

And yes, let me go ahead and sound like a broken record as I remind you of Yuji’s rather ominous words from chapter 143 yet again:

And this is the part of the chapter that knocked the air out of me: Megumi telling Yuji to stfu about Sukuna but Yuji thinking to himself “as long as I’m around you will suffer” back in ch143 is so damn ominous.

Oh f*ck...

But this is what REALLY gets me about this whole interaction and why I’m calling Megumi a stage-five clinger...

Even though Megumi is calling Yuji selfish, in reality, the one being selfish is Megumi.

This is, of course, my own interpretation of the situation, but to me it feels as though Megumi is clinging onto Yuji’s strength for dear life. 

It’s almost like Megumi needs not just Yuji’s physical strength, but also his unwavering conviction or mental strength.

If you think about it, Megumi has only recently started fighting to win. Remember how unsure he was of himself when fighting Sukuna for the first time? It wasn’t until he went up against the Cursed Spirit from the Yasohachi bridge that he let go of his inhibitions.

Megumi’s battles during Shibuya were the pinnacle of his growth as a character in that moment. If I remember correctly, according to the timeline of events, the Shibuya incident happened around two weeks prior to the current chapter. You could say that although he is more comfortable in his strength than before, Megumi is still growing into his strength at this point.

The thing about Megumi is that everybody and their Divine Dog believes in him and sees his potential except for him. As Gojo tells him “you undervalue yourself.”

Looking back, the way Megumi asks begs Yuji for help in chapter 143 is very enlightening of how Megumi needs Yuji’s strength: 

I initially had read this to mean Megumi needed Yuji’s physical strength. Upon second look, however, Megumi has always seemed to have admiration for Yuji’s conviction.

With the looming deadline for Tsumiki’s vow to join the Culling Game, as Megumi starts to feel the pressure to make his plan work, who better to keep around than the person who will always go for the home run and whose strength he admires?

In other words, like hell he’s going to let Yuji leave his side. Which, again, only makes it more heartbreaking to think Sukuna is up to no good regarding Megumi and Yuji wants to protect him from that.

Oh f*ck.......

The panel below feels like a bit of a lighthearted and comical moment, but it’s also interesting to note that this is the second time they “fight”.

The first “fight” having taken place during the Cursed Womb Arc.

If you will remember, Gege used the Cursed Womb Arc and the Origin of Obedience Arc to show us how much our favorite trio had grown. 

Not sure Gege is going to parallel something here again, but just interesting to note.

Oh f*ck...

Ya, please excuse the French.

Despite the many words I’ve shared here, this chapter left me mostly speechless. 

I feel like I’ve been trapped in Gojo’s limitless domain expansion and all I can think is “oh f*ck” or “halloween” (if you catch my drift).

Chapter 160 was incredible because it looks like Gege has finally finished putting all his pieces into place and is ready to go for the kill by: 

Starting to unravel the story bit by bit, giving us all of the twists we both saw and did not see coming, and

Ramping up the stakes. Taking into consideration the estimates that JJK is somewhere around 60-70% done at this point, It’s not a matter of whether some of our beloved characters will die, but about who, when and how they will die

One last detail

I love the last four panels of the chapter showing Panda, Hakari, Yuji and Megumi all wearing their uniforms (barring Panda) and getting ready to become official participants of the Culling Game by entering their respective barriers.

Knowing that Gege is a very talented artist capable of showing and expressing emotions through his art, I feel like these panels tell us a lot about what the characters might be thinking and I thought I’d expand on that. 

Bear in mind this is my personal interpretation as an artist:

Panda looks excited and ready to fight, perhaps even confident. Panda is saying “bring it!” with his body language

There’s a hint of something I can’t describe in Hakari’s face. It’s almost like he’s coming face to face against how big of a challenge this is going to be and yet he’s resolved to walk straight into “the depths of hell itself”

Yuji looks focused, determined to go in and give it his best no matter what comes his way--that’s just who he is

And then there’s Megumi. I’ve been drawing Megumi recently, and one thing I noticed is that he has very specific micro-expressions. In his panel, he’s warming up his wrists as though he’s getting ready to fight, he has a focused look on his face, but the shadows around his eyes say he might be feeling like he is carrying the heavy burden of the uncertainty surrounding the situation he’s going through

With all that being said... the Culling Game is officially starting and we’re in for a one-way ride straight to hell.

Thank you for reading and happy JJK-Sunday!

What about you? What did you enjoy most about chapter 160?

[jdrizzle15]

Her Second Return

Just like all of you, and especially my fellow Penny fans, I am absolutely devastated by the Volume 8 finale. I had been in quite a state these last few days, utterly heartbroken, and actually nauseous at times. It feels strange to me to be legitimately grieving a fictional character, but it’s not a bad thing to feel this way. To me, this just shows that CRWBY loves her just as much as us to have written her so well that we connect so completely with her, that it feels like we lost an actual piece of ourselves when she’s gone.

But as you can probably tell by the title, this mega post isn’t gonna be about accepting this end, not in the slightest! Today I want to share canon evidence that can point towards another return of our beloved quirky red headed cinnamon bun! I’m here to spread this hope that I and others in the Nuts & Dolts dolts Discord server have!

I have this separated into many different sections to keep these thoughts organized. With that said, here goes…

A Father’s Words:

In Episode 7 of Volume 7, ‘Worst Case Scenario’ we learn the origins of Penny’s aura, and thus her soul. We also learn that it takes more aura each time she’s brought back. This leaves open an option that could be used at a later point.

Many people theorized that Pietro could indeed revive Penny one more time, which he would absolutely do. But there also lies the possibility that someone else could donate some of theirs, I’m not sure about this as I feel like it’s akin to blood donation where compatibility matters or there's a high risk of altering her, but the possibility is definitely there.

Now, the conversation in Chapter 5 of Volume 8, ‘Amity’ that Pietro and Penny have is an important moment for both Father and Daughter. It was there to show how her death in PvP all that time ago really did have a heavy impact on him and is still affecting him to this day.

Instead of continuing to pretend that everything is A-okay, like he had done for most of Volume 7, he finally lets his true feelings about how it come out to Penny for what is quite likely the first time. Even going so far as to say "Are you asking me to go through that again?" when she offers to take the risk of trying to lift Amity with her power. He wants Penny to be able to live her life.

This entire scene with Pietro established “this is what will likely happen” even if circumstances are much different now, it doesn’t negate the fact that this is a key part of Penny’s story. Scenes like these have a purpose beyond simply making an eventual death all the more heart wrenching. Her never actually getting to live her life makes those scenes basically moot. It makes them effectively pointless from narrative point of view. Unless there's more to it.

Building Relationship:

The build up between Ruby and Penny the last two volumes has been absolutely phenomenal with a definite destination in mind, and this doesn’t feel like that destination. So much of the arc of this season was to help Penny. This girl that our main protagonist absolutely adores and treasures, it would just be awful to throw all of that out for what amounts to an avoidable end. Why use so much of their precious and very limited runtime on deliberately building up this relationship only to end it abruptly, and permanently, when they’re separated?

In my opinion, RT is definitely smarter now than to intentionally set up what was really looking like a budding gay relationship only to kill one of them for good. If N&D wasn't actually going in a romantic direction, why would they leave in all of the romance-adjacent stuff that they got, that's not how ‘just friends’ act. And that is not something you use such valuable time building up for absolutely no pay off whatsoever...

Representation of Hope:

At its core, RWBY has always been about hope. It’s not at the forefront the whole time, but there's been an underlying theme of hopefulness that has persisted since it began. Some describe the show as a Hopepunk, I personally find this to describe RWBY really well. This genre of storytelling is about caring for things deeply and the courage and strength it takes to do so. It’s about never submitting or accepting the way things are. Fighting for what you believe in and standing up for others. RWBY fits all of this extremely well. How does this relate to Penny? She has been shown to be a sign of hope for everyone, but especially for Ruby, the main main protagonist. A prerequisite for a Hopepunk story is the hope.

Her first death in V3 was something that fundamentally changed Ruby. For the first time in the series, we see our main character all but broken by this event. With the loss of Penny, immediately afterwards, Ruby’s hope followed. She made up for it through determination and force of will. We see it affect her multiple times throughout the journey to Volume 7. But upon her return in V7, Hope reached a high point for everyone, the sheer relief on Ruby’s face is plain to see!

In V8 chapter 5 ‘Amity’, Penny literally raises hope by lifting the arena into the sky so Ruby could spread her message. And when she falls, and Amity with her, the connection is lost and hope plummets again. From there things take a very negative turn with the hack begins to take Penny’s agency.

In chapter 11 ’Risk’ is the point in the arc where everyone is reunited for the moment, so two separate hero stories are no longer a thing at that point in time. For the time being focus seemed to be shifted to care about the characters and how they’re going to solve the current problems. This is also where Ruby reaches her lowest emotional point in the season.

It’s not huge, but it’s interesting how connected this is. Before Ruby and Yang share a good cry over learning the possible fate of Summer, Yang brings up restoring optimism and hope to Ruby after the younger sister storms out of the room in frustration. This is where Penny’s scenes take up the rest of the episode. Getting Penny back in control of her own body and safe again is what makes the ending of the episode much brighter, when just 5 minutes before Ruby had been distraught and scared. This then spills over into the group coming up with the plan to use the staff, putting the main group in a much better mood. Of all the things to go right, it’s interesting that it’s Penny.

Things go wrong with the plan in the end and Penny dies. I find it interesting that once again, Penny got them hopeful in their chances of doing something right. Given said plan succeeded but at the cost of Penny of all people, Penny is shown to be the beginning and end of hope for them

The highest and lowest points for hope seem to directly correlate to when Penny’s around. When she comes back again, hope will return too, just like it had before. And because she’ll likely be back for good this time, the second return will probably be close to when Ruby is nearing the complete abandonment of hope. This would be pretty par for the course of the show honestly.

A little aside, but in a sense, Penny also represents Unity. The CCT in Vale fell after her first death, knocking out global communications and the unifying connection it gave. When it was restored for the briefest moment, she was there. Her body connected so she could allow for its launch, her soul lighting the night to hold up Amity with every ounce of her strength. So of course when the Hack succeeds and she falls, she takes global comms down again with her. At a smaller scale - even at the Hack's second last attempt to control her, she draws everyone in the Schnee Manor together. At the start of the volume, Yang states the one thing that they all agree on is not surrendering Penny.

Unity seems appropriate for one whose first song and wish was for but one friend, who would go on to find so many more in the process, and permit for a moment the possibility of all Remnant becoming friends once more. Where she first died, the name of the episode devoted to her story - Amity, "friendship", from the Latin root amicus, "friend" - she almost lives and dies with the very possibility of a united Remnant. It's no wonder she's a priority target for Salem, the great divider, and it seems natural that her next restoration may very well allow the next bid to bring the world together.

The Void Screams:

Moments after Penny's death, we hear a weird scream in the void space. It was a guttural, pained, angry scream, almost like the void space itself was crying out. All the portals shuddered and flickered when it happened.

Some think that this scream was Salem returning, but that happens earlier than Penny’s death, her return is signaled with cinder's arm acting up. We know this because after the arm finished flailing uncontrollably, Cinder said triumphantly "she's back." If it were Salem screaming, it would have happened after she fixed herself, but it didn't.

And I doubt Cinder would have been surprised or unsettled by it considering she was happy Salem returned not long before it. And why would a Salem scream affect the portals anyway, she has no connection to the staff or it's magic.

Another thing to consider is the fact sound is not transmitted through the portals. Otherwise, they would've heard Oscar and the rest calling for them, or the screams of the citizens of Mantle and Atlas. This lowers the possibility of that scream being from Salem even further.

The sound really seems to be coming from something else entirely within the void, and that something is not at all happy. There’s also the fact that Penny was the only person who died in the void space, everyone else was just thrown out of it like Ruby and Co. The only logical cause to me is Penny. Her body was a product (or byproduct) of the same creation magic that made the void space, her blood seems to have been a trigger.

Now I can't be sure about it, but this makes me feel like Penny is almost a part of creation itself? For whatever this thing is to be so angry, that is the only explanation I can think of currently. But all of this could possibly relate to the Narnia allusion of 'the willing victim killed in a traitor's stead' that others have brought up, which will be covered next.

Narnia Parallels:

Atlas has several parallels and references to fictional places (putting aside real world ones like the United States). One of those is that of Narnia, both on the surface and on a deeper level. It is a land of winter year round, where people struggle to survive and there is a present divide between those loyal to the current Monarch and those who are not. James is a parallel to Jadis, the White Witch, a ruler whose thoughts and cares aren’t exactly centered around the actual well being of the people. The hologram table in Ironwood’s office is designed to look like stone, like the Stone Table which features prominently in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He has a handpicked cadre of special agents/secret police, like how Maugrim and his wolves served Jadis. Another key parallel is how Jadis’s winter sets in to oppress and kill everyone in Narnia, but the Witch provides aid and protection to her loyal followers. She has all the power to spare harm to others, and uses it only for the loyal. As soon as Mantle splits from James and Atlas, no care is taken to protect them from the cold of Solitas even though he has every ability to turn the heating grid back on. His protection is only for the loyal.

Now that the parallel is established, let's look into the details. Starting with how James plays the role of Jadis.

"I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is a high and lonely destiny." These are the words Jadis says in the Magician’s Nephew to justify the blood civil war she and her sister had waged for rulership of Charn, before she came to Narnia. She won that war, technically, but only after the last battle had been lost and her sister had marched right up to her so that they were face to face. Jadis’s troops were dead, her followers had surrendered, and the capital was under full control of her sister. But, she still had one card, one ultimate play to win and prove the throne of Charn was rightfully her. The Deplorable Word, a piece of old magic that killed everyone and everything except for her on Charn. It was monstrous, senseless, cruel beyond measure. But it got her that hollow victory. This mindset, the disregard for the people except as tools for her own will, the ultimate ‘aoe’ destructive move that no one had even considered her using, the unwillingness to stop even when by all practical measures the war is over, is a shocking parallel to James. In many ways, he is Jadis in mindset and deed.

Then there is the shared desire for A Thing that both James and Jadis have. For James it’s the Winter Maiden and control over her. For Jadis it’s the Silver Apples from the Tree of Youth. And funnily enough, the Maiden Powers parallel the Apples quiet well. These apples grant power and a life of eternal beauty, but should not be taken or eaten on one’s own initiative. They must be given, a gift granted by another, or only suffering will come from obtaining them. "For the fruit always works — it must work — but it does not work happily for any who pluck it at their own will. If any Narnian, unbidden, had stolen an apple and planted it here to protect Narnia, it would have protected Narnia. But it would have done so by making Narnia into another strong and cruel empire like Charn, not the kindly land I mean it to be.” Jadis’s immortality, and some of her power, come from the fact that she ate an Apple of her own will after stealing her way into the garden where the Tree of Youth had been planted. She gained the eternal life she had wanted and the power along with it, but she did so by taking it and was cursed because of it. Her skin turned pale and her lips blackened as if she were a frozen corpse given life. She will be trapped in a life of misery and hate according to Aslan- oh hey Cinder, how’s having stolen the Power you always wanted working out for you? Cinder had the power she wanted, but she only got hungrier, eager to claim more and increase her might. But in her pursuit she was defeated and humiliated by Raven, had to steal her way out of Mistral, and then suffered defeat after defeat while in Atlas. Only in the end, when she didn’t keep pursuing the Maiden Power, did she get any kind of victory.

The reason these parallels to Narnia are so important is one of the most famous events of the series. The cracking of the Stone Table and the rebirth of Aslan after his death. ‘When a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.’ Well, the ‘Stone Table’ in James’s office has cracked, and Penny strikes me as a pretty willing victim. She has never actually committed any actual treachery or harm, as she was the Protector of Mantle, and fought for its and Atlas’s people until the very end. And because of her death, the actual traitor, Winter, who loyally served James until he had gone too far, was saved. Through Penny’s self sacrifice, Winter was saved. So now Death itself will start working backward.

(Major props to my friend @catontheweb for writing this section, I was getting nowhere with it, if they weren't there this part wouldn't exist!)

Norse Mythology:

The tree we see in the post credit scene gives off some serious Yggdrasil vibes. Also called the World Tree, it is essentially all of creation in Norse Mythology. It connects all nine realms, including the God realms of Asgard, the human realm of Midgard, and the underworld of Hel.

Humans are born from the branches of Yggdrasil. The web of Wyrd is woven for every person once they're born, and their path is set from there regardless of how many times the souls cycle over. But at the end, they're destined to end up in one of the worlds, for a myriad of reasons.

I believe Penny landed closest to this giant tree. She was on the center platform in the void space, so if that space is directly above the island(?) the tree is on, it makes sense for her to fall by the center nearest to the tree. This would not only open up all kinds of possibilities for the volume in general, but it would also create options for Penny.

The whole of Yggdrasil’s representations fit well into Penny’s story. Birth, growth, death and rebirth. We can count Penny’s appearance in V7 as birth for now, her growth is all her development in leaving =the military and becoming a Maiden, her death just happened, and her rebirth would be her revival. And this is a cycle she’s gone through before.

The Norse god Odin and Yggdrasil have quite a connection. In one story, Odin cut out one of his own eyes to gain knowledge from a pool underneath Yggdrasil. The only one that fell whose eyes alone are incredibly significant to the story was Ruby. So, they could choose to have her allude to Odin by having Ruby make some kind of deal with whatever entity likely rules over this magical place. An eye for Penny’s life.

There’s another story about Odin, Yggdrasil and the pursuit of knowledge. Odin so loved knowledge, that he sacrificed himself in a quest to learn the deeper magic of runes. It was believed one could only learn the magic spells from runes in death. So, Odin hung himself on Yggdrasil for nine days as an offering, and teetered between life and death. After he mastered the last spell on the ninth night, he ritually died and all light was extinguished from the world. Odin’s death lasted until midnight, when he was reborn and light returned to the world.

This story doesn’t fit Penny perfectly, but allusions often don’t. So If she really did land near the tree, she could be another loose representation of Odin’s story here. What she did wasn’t for knowledge, but to save her friends and keep Cinder from getting the Winter Maiden power. She believed it necessary that she sacrifice herself to achieve this end. As we established, Penny represents Hope, so her death means the loss of hope. This parallels Odin’s story of his death meaning the loss of light itself. So if this theory holds up, it would make this death temporary, until her rebirth and the return of Hope with her once again.

Alternatively, Ruby has the potential of loosely representing Odin in this story as well. Odin later uses the knowledge of the runes to do many things, but the most relevant one right now is awakening the dead. Both of these stories are about making a personal sacrifice to gain something that is desired. Ruby would absolutely make such sacrifices if it meant saving Penny.

It is said that Odin lived “according to his highest will unconditionally, accepting whatever hardships arise from that pursuit, and allowing nothing, not even death, to stand between him and the attainment of his goals." This sounds like Penny's arc of accepting the WM powers. This is more just a general connection between Penny and Odin, but I found it interesting.

Side Note: I encourage anyone who’s interested to look into RWBY connections to Norse Myth, there’s a surprising amount of things that feel eerily similar to the show. Likely just coincidental, but it’s fun to think about!

(If I got any of this wrong, I sincerely apologize by the way. I researched as best I could, but I admit it could have been lacking.)

Ambrosius and the Staff:

Ruby told Ambrosius "we kinda wanna keep her around longer than that" as part of her very specific instructions. Then Penny died about ten to fifteen minutes, at the absolute most thirty minutes later in-universe. I don’t know about you, but to me that seems very short to be considered ‘longer than that’. Technically it is, but when writing a story and a character says something like that, you typically don’t just kill the character they were referring to basically right away. It makes sense for a week-by-week watch, but in a volume binge, which many viewers do, it becomes ironic how fast Penny dies after being removed from her robotic body.

The first time we see the staff of creation being used, it's to save Penny. Using the staff of creation to help Penny is a sign of how incredibly important she is.

They’ve even got this entire transformation sequence for her, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to throw all that away two episodes later. In a meta context, it’s a massive waste of time and budget considering the asset creation for Penny.

Penny is a character who has already hopped bodies two times. And now we're supposed to just believe that this time it really is a final death? Just two episodes after we were explicitly told her body isn't what matters, that "Her soul is who she is" and that "the mechanical parts are just extra"? From a writing perspective, it feels strange, like your breaking a promise right after making it. And frankly, CRWBY is better than that, which makes me think this is not the actual end for her.

A possible connection between Penny, Ruby, and the Staff (thus Creation) can be seen in the intro. As Ruby is falling and being dragged down into the darkness, she is shown reaching for the staff. In the void space, Penny is the one with the relic. So with Penny having this strong connection to Creation, and the lyrics “fight for every life” playing as Ruby reaches for the staff, it’s a safe assumption to make, with the knowledge we now have, that the Staff of Creation represents Penny in this particular moment. Which could mean that V9 will be about, at least partially, fighting for Penny’s life.

Musical Hints:

In terms of music, Friend, as a song for Penny, is very dissonant from the episode itself. The song is oddly cheerful for Penny’s recent untimely death, and it overall highlights the wrong parts of death. It’s simply too happy to be a song about losing one of the most, if not the most joyous characters in the entire show. The song also abruptly ends. There’s no outro, and while this could symbolize the fact that Penny died young, it could be that the song itself is unfinished in a story sense.

What do we hear just before the song finishes, though? A progression of notes that sounds eerily similar to the last line of the opening of Volume 8. The notes for “Fight for ev’ry life” and “Who fin’lly felt alive'' share a similar melodic structure, they aren’t perfect clones of each other, but they are incredibly similar, to the point where it seems intentional. Penny may very well be the life that the opening song is fighting for. It is also worth noting that the line “Fight for every life” comes just after “Sometimes it’s worth it all to risk the fall,” which is the exact wording used for the description in the Volume 8 finale. Team RWBY risked the fall, yet, strangely the opposite of fighting for every life happened with Penny’s sacrifice. Perhaps the time to fight for every life has yet to happen, and we will see it come Volume 9.

For another thing, the lyrics for Friend are entirely centered on Penny’s feelings for Ruby, to the point where they read very much like a bittersweet love song. The music itself is incredibly cheerful, as mentioned previously, creating a mood whiplash with the end of the volume. Why would we hear a song about Penny’s feelings for Ruby, sounding like a love song, if her death is supposed to be a tragic sacrifice akin to Pyrrha’s? The song may very well be giving a clue into its future use in the show proper.

If this was meant to be a good bye song, why make it so cheerful and romantic sounding? There's only one part about her dying and even then, it's just too accepting and goes right back into cheerfulness. The song is also pretty hopeful, telling Penny's story in a fairly chronological order. And the part where she talks about sacrifice is quite pointedly followed up by one about feeling alive. It also ends with the super cheerful chorus, the word "alive" being the last... (Remember the episode title: The Final Word)

(I want to thank my friend @shadow-0f-x for writing the majority of this section! I was struggling to choose how to tackle it as I am not well versed in music theory.)

What We Didn’t See:

It is likely that Penny understood Jaune's semblance better than him and figured something out about it’s abilities in the same way that she understood Ruby's semblance better than her. She had plenty of time to observe his semblance up close as he boosted her aura to stave off the virus. Because of that intentionally timed cutaway in the finale, we don’t get to hear her explain herself after her strained “Trust me.” All of that seems really suspicious to me.

Pyrrha Parallel:

Pyrrha and Penny both sacrificed themselves to stop or stall Cinder. Jaune tried to convince the both of them to stop. With Pyrrha, he failed, while with Penny he actively helped her sacrifice herself. Doesn’t make sense for the guy who was determined not to let anyone else do what Pyrrha did, unless of course Penny assured him she’d be alright.

The Moment:

RT including the suicide hotline in the description shows that they're aware that Penny basically committed assisted suicide, seeing it as a noble sacrifice worth doing to save her friends. They're aware, and I believe they're smart enough to condemn that decision to hell and back.

The best way to do that in my opinion is to pull her back into the land of the living and let her witness first hand the consequences of throwing her life away so freely. This would show Penny how her actions affected others so maybe she could learn to truly value herself. To not think herself expendable. It would be bold and unwise to portray this choice as something good, unless it was going to be called upon later and be pointed out for how horrible it really is.

On top of this, Penny was way too content with her death, happy even. There's no way team RWBY is letting her stay content with it. It’s almost as though we're supposed to join Ruby and Co. in calling bullshit on what Penny is saying and doing because no, Penny, this is not how things are meant to work. It's as if Penny was basically saying "I want to die for my friends" because most of the volume had been about everyone else making sure she didn't die. She knows it will hurt them. She knows.

At the peak of it all, a choice like this will totally destroy Ruby. It may very well be her breaking point for Volume 9. Curiously, the moment itself is written like it’s the first choice Penny’s ever made, yet the entire Volume shows this isn’t the case. However, this is the first choice that Penny’s made solely independently and it’s rather pertinent that the choice she makes is a mistake. Outside of giving Winter the Maiden gift and saving the day temporarily, this sacrifice will not have any lasting positive effects. Jaune will be saddled with the grief of killing Penny. Ruby will have to live with losing her best friend and not being able to protect her a second time, and Winter now has the burden of the Winter Maiden abilities, making her a target of Cinder. This is a bad thing, and Penny needs to see the long term consequences.

Transfer of Power:

As we all know, colors in RWBY are really important and get a lot of focus in the show. That means the yellow we see as Penny gives Winter the Maiden Powers was intentional and likely important, no matter how insignificant it may seem. It’s possible that the transfer effect being yellow could have something to do with Jaune’s semblance. When Fria gave the power to Penny, the effect was very much blue, so this transfer should have been green since she was the one giving it this time. The weirdness of this transfer and the focus on color in RWBY really makes it look like something’s up with how that went down.

A little off topic, but Penny saying "I won't be gone, I'll be part of you." makes me think... Winter is smart, so when she gets time to think about what Penny said, maybe she'll arrive at the same question many in the audience came to; if she's literally part of Winter, can they be separated again? If Winter starts questioning that, the possibility of Penny coming back just skyrockets.

Fria actually tells Penny "I'll be gone" before giving her powers up, which is an interesting contrast to Penny telling Winter "I won't be gone". She may have gotten that line from Winter be all philosophical in V7, saying Fria was now a part of Penny, but it hits differently coming from an actual Maiden. S5o it’s possible that Maidens usually actually will be gone, but Jaune's semblance did something to change that.

This could go well with the theory that they won't need to find an aura transfer machine, or build another one, because Jaune will have a semblance evolution allowing him to do the transfer instead. It might actually be that this evolution already happened and the golden light we saw was Jaune transferring penny's aura to Winter in some way?

An observation that I find interesting is when Penny gives winter the powers, not only is the aura yellow but penny completely glows yellow too, and she obviously starts to disappear, but she doesn’t seem to fully disappear, she just glows.

It's possibly a fading out effect and she does fully fade but animation makes bright light easier, and so we don't actually see her disappear because she's dead and not gone. But it does once again emphasize the color yellow here!

And the color is coming from Penny, it does go up Winter's arm a bit, but Penny is clearly the source. This transfer is so weird and I’m not really sure how to interpret it. There's just actually no reason that we are aware of to make the effect yellow here is the thing. Unless it has something to do with either Jaune or Ambrosius, or potentially a combination of both...

Jaune’s Aura:

The way we see Jaune's aura break in the finale is strange. His aura shouldn't be breaking here. It had been long enough since he was boosting Penny, he's had time to recharge, and it didn't look like it was a strain on him at all. Plus, we know he has a lot of aura, so there probably wasn't too much to recharge in the first place.

He has a massive amount of aura, it has never broken before as far as I remember. Even if it has though, that doesn’t make this occurrence any less odd. It should absolutely never be a one-hit KO. We didn't see anything that would've drained it, that should not have been enough to break his aura. Unless he did something - something that would require a huge amount of aura - that we just didn't see. That amount of aura drain is far more than just an attempt at healing would do, Jaune absolutely did something with his semblance that took up almost all of his aura.

Pinocchio Allusion:

As any Penny fan knows, her character allusion is Pinocchio, the puppet who became a real boy. Penny deviates from the allusion by having always been a real girl, as Ruby is quick to point out, but she shares many story beats with her original story including multiple deaths. In the original story, Pinocchio dies from being hung by his own strings due to his poor decision making and he dies. Sounds a little familiar, does it not? This is where his tale originally ended. Readers were unsatisfied with this ending however, so the author decided to change the story by reviving Pinocchio and teaching him to be more careful.

Unlike Pinocchio making all the wrong decisions, Penny often makes the right ones, or ones she thinks is right, when concerning others. While usually a good thing, this has meant Penny almost giving herself up multiple times during V8, her last attempt being successful. This is where Penny and Pinocchio begin to share similarities again. They are both very reckless when it concerns themselves. This carelessness comes from different places, but it ends with the same result of them endangering their lives and even sometimes losing them.

In the Disney movie, Pinocchio dies by drowning after going to rescue Geppetto and washes up on the shore (like the beach in V8’s post credit scene). His father is devastated and takes him home to grieve, but as a reward for his selflessness in rescuing his father, the Blue Fairy returns and brings him back to life, as well as granting him humanity. Penny sacrificed her life as well, and it stands to reason that she should be rewarded for it, much like her allusion was.

Penny got her maiden powers from someone with blue aura and then gave her powers to someone with blue aura. So it could be that not only Ambrosius, but Fria and Winter as well represent the Blue Fairy. It could be set up for Winter helping to bring Penny back to life once more. It’s an out there theory I admit, but it’s not outright impossible either. The Blue Fairy in Pinocchio saved him three times that I know of, so RWBY having three representations does make sense.

Geppetto wished for him to live as a real boy, but it depended on what path Pinocchio took. This is very reminiscent of Penny and Pietro. Pietro wants to see her live her life, and surely with him absent in V8C14 that didn't work, despite Penny choosing. Her father did not see her happy enough to live her life, and will only be able to learn her death through others. But Pinocchio's themes were life and being alive. So the likelihood that this is not her end yet is quite high!

A Girl That Fell Through the World:

Penny could be the girl who fell through the world. The girl in the story fled the consequences of a choice. The only person who chose her ultimate fate was Penny. The others were pushed into the void, but she chose to die. The consequence of her choice is Ruby’s grief first and foremost, which Penny won’t see. The girl who fell through the world does come back though, and the world will be changed severely with Penny’s absence. Alternatively, it could also be Penny coming back to Wonderland or wherever they currently are, as long as it’s unrecognizable to her.

What Returning Brings:

Others might say another return would have no story relevant purpose, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Penny gives a profoundly youthful, joyous, and wondrous outlook on the world and story that we hadn't seen since Ruby in Volumes 1-3(not the end), Penny returning would bring a much needed levity back in after the despair they will undoubtedly be going through. While not necessarily a huge thing in most other shows, for RWBY, a show largely about keeping up hope, an ounce of such relief is a necessity.

As much as I hate saying it, Penny’s death does actually make some narrative sense because she had to pass on the Maiden powers. (They could have done this in a number of ways, and I personally think they chose rather poorly, but I digress.) Throughout this whole volume, we can see Penny seemingly being set up to join the main cast, but would have been too strong with the powers. This also accomplishes ridding her of the burden of responsibility that comes with being a Maiden and lets her obtain the freedom that’s so important to her character.

Once she returns, seeing this grief that her actions caused, particularly to Ruby, will get her to realize more that her actions can have serious repercussions. She made a choice, but that choice hurt the people she loves. She must have known that it would but I’m not sure she ever realized just how much.

I didn’t want this post to be heavy in the shipping department, so I largely left it out, but I am going to say this one thing that could have an impact. If Nuts & Dolts is on its way to being canon, which this volume makes it feel highly likely, this could be a catalyst.

It could prompt an arc for the both of them in which Penny learns to live her life fighting for her loved ones, rather than sacrificing it for them. A relationship could potentially start from there. And Ruby seeing Penny learn these things may also help her to stop doing the occasional but very dangerous and reckless things she does. Ruby witnessing Penny coming to terms with what she did to the people that care about her would actually make her stop to think “wait, is this how everyone else would feel if I got myself killed?” That would be a very important moment of character growth for her.

I’m certain there are other significant things that Penny returning can bring to the show. And there are definitely more sections I could add to this. At this point though, assuming anyone even made it this far, I think I’ve been going long enough already. So let’s just roll into the outro!

As painful and hopeless as it seems, I'm choosing to trust them with this because there is absolutely no way they didn't see backlash coming. The way this finale went makes me think that they calculated for backlash and aren’t jumping into something they don’t have a plan to recover from. Whether this trust is unfounded or not remains to be seen, but I don’t think it is currently. I do think, however, that the cause of this backlash was a major misstep. Now that it has happened though, they have a chance to do something good with it.

I know for a lot of you, trust in CRWBY has been damaged, some even irreparably so. And for those that feel this way, I don’t blame you. My trust in them took a hit too, but isn’t broken completely yet. There are many ways that they can bring her back that would make sense with the narrative, they have the ability to make it right, and after going over all of the hints and general weirdness of things many times, I think they will.

I'm feeling pretty confident now and I really didn't expect that to happen at all to be honest. But discussing and theorizing with the discord server seriously helped get my hopes back up surprisingly fast! It’s actually thanks to all of them that this gigantic post even happened! So thanks a ton my fellow Dolts! And a special thanks to!!

@arcana-amicus

@catontheweb

@cosmokyrin

@gaydontmesswithme224

@jammatown919

@shadow-0f-x

They really helped get this thing across the finish line!

And thank YOU for reading all~ of this! I sincerely wish it gave you some of the hope and confidence that I now have!

[chaoticfandomcat]

Where Will They Stop?

@wolfcamellias I wrote a sequel to Round and Round They Go

It was like 2am and the thought bubble came to me and then *waves hand at word doc* this happened. 

By this logic chances are there is going to be a 3rd to finish off the saying. That wasn’t even planned the first title was a joke on circles

They couldn’t even plead the 5th that’s not a thing there. Remember everyone, don’t drink coffee and redbull even if it taste like a jollyrancher. 

(About 1.3k words for people who wish to know)

“Are you sure he won’t mind us doing this?”

“He told us if we wanted to continue on our own we could”

“Well yeah but…. I don’t think even he’d expect EVERYONE to show up”

“This is why you don’t send it in the group chat”

“You aren’t even in our section!”

“Hey we also talked about it in ours not too long ago too!”

A book slamming against the table making the students within the room jump. Eyes turned towards the source of the senior, the unofficial leader by proxy of being the best at adulting, as they sighed and slouched down into a chair.

“No fighting. Same rules as in class.”

“Right. Sorry”

“Yeah…sorry…”

“Besides if people here weren’t open to the discussion they wouldn’t have shown up just,” They waved a hand to the large group within the, admittingly, large conference room they were able to snag, “Get started I guess?”

“Uhm…right so…” Nervous eyes bounced around the room as heads turned towards them, “I guess we should first re-establish the basic sides…left for yes, right for no. Did the Monkey King deserve the circlet?”

Chairs shifted and scrapped across the floor as everyone moved to their sides. Some even sliding over the top of the table. Many were hesitating in which side they wanted, and the overall grouping being oddly divided for a topic that originally had stark contrast in answers.

“Do you…think that’s the right question?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean….he both did and did not deserve it.”

“How can he both deserve and not deserve it? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Well I. I mean. I…”

“Go on, it’s an open discussion don’t worry.”

“He deserved it in that…something had to teach him. He learned really quickly but, he was also very. Whimsical. The circlet was a constant deterrent.”

“He did leave the minute the monk and him got into an argument. Probably would have again without the circlet.”

“That doesn’t mean he deserved it! The mountain should have been punishment enough without needing to atone.”

“That’s,” The original student spoke up stuttering a little but bringing attention back to them, “That’s what I mean though too… He didn’t deserve the times it was used on him.”

“The journey was as much of a learning experience as it was atonement really.” Eyes were drawn to the speaker, some in confusion, some thinking on the words, and others nodding in agreement. “For each of the pilgrims really. Except maybe the monk but I would put that as a different debate what his would have been.”

“Huh. It kind of was, wasn’t it? The horse, or dragon which I wish did more,” scattered sounds of agreement followed the statement, “learned discipline by having to stay as a horse carrying the monk around.”

“And the pig demon working on his laziness.”

“The river one on his temper!”

“And of course the Monkey King on his whimsicalness.”

“Okay so the journey was also a lesson but was the circlet really needed? Its use was barely ever done as intended.”

“I mean, besides what we talked about I don’t think the monk had known either before giving it to the Monkey King.”

“That and he had to vow never to use the tightening spell after the Monkey King left that one time.”

“So I pose the same question I asked in class then,” Other conversations where hushed as all attention was brought to the question, “What else would have worked?”

“Practically invincible, 5 times over or so immortal, and tons of battle experience and time spent under that mountain? Probably nothing.”

“Oh come on, you can give it a little more than that. Plus there’s a second part to this all,” They waited, sweeping the room with their gaze letting the tension build, “What else would the Monkey King have understood.”

“Understood? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean. He learned from being punished for his actions. He was expecting punishment but didn’t think there would be anything they could do to him.”

“You might be right… I mean he’d push the boundaries.”

“That and it never helped every appeasement attempt was left at the bare minimum.”

“Well the Heavens did need to keep up with his ever changing whims. I wouldn’t want to put a lot of effort into something that the person might suddenly not care about the next day.”

“Like the never-ending goal of being on trend.” A few laughs bubbled up from the students as the conversation lulled. People had slowly migrated closer to others they knew, and the groups looked more like one blob than two.

“Seriously though. It’s not like they couldn’t have just told him, but pain was the easiest for him to understand.”

“It also insured he would stay since there wasn’t any proximity requirement.”

“I’m sure there was, are, probably other ways but in terms of time crunch and otherwise hands off approach from the rest of the celestial deities it was the best.”

“You know. I think the question of if he deserved the circlet is wrong.”

“I thought there was no wrong question,” a few laughs and eyes rolls accompanied the statement, even as the original speaker pressed on.

“I’m serious! It’s not if he deserved the circlet itself, it’s if he deserved what it symbolized!”

“And what do you think it symbolizes?”

“Redemption! A second chance. I mean arguably Pigsy and Sandy had done worse, and they were given redemptions.”

“Oh like someone said in my class! He’s a trickster, and any time he was malicious someone had first been malicious to him!”

“That and, he was old compared to say human age but to celestial beings he was probably kind of young wasn’t he?”

“I wonder when the last time the celestial court had even gotten a new member. Being surrounded by people who have known the rules for centuries, or longer, tints the world a little.”

“Yeah yea. I bet they got so use to everyone there just knowing they hadn’t even thought about what Monkey King didn’t know.”

“That and the amount of ammo they gave him to cause troubles. I mean? The peaches? The festival? For how important it all was they really did underestimate the trouble he could cause.”

“Wait aren’t we getting off topic? Didn’t we assign a group to prevent that?”

All heads turned towards a group that had nestled itself into the back corner of the room. Mostly comprised of seniors, and a few juniors, who had taken on leadership and or role model positions around campus. The intention had been for them to help keep the peace and topic on track.

At least, that had been the intention.  

Instead, all of them had slumped against each other in various states of comfortable looking to ‘should that bend that way?’ and were otherwise sleeping peacefully even with all the noise they had made during the debate.

“Should we wake them?”

“Doesn’t one of them have a paper due tomorrow?”

“I think I saw that one drinking coffee and redbull from a thermos.”

“Guys just wake one of them up,” The exasperated speaker rolled their eyes and poked one of the students near the bottom of the pile. Their arms failed as it caused a chain reaction of various others falling over and more failing of limbs until it had one of them waking up shouting.

“MONKEY DILF”

Silence weighed down the room as each second seemed palpable before it all exploded into noise and questions on what that meant before another voice somehow broke through the din.

“Wasn’t he called grandpa?! Doesn’t that mean he’s a GILF?”

One awkward campus police conversation later had the students shuffling back to their various dorms, heads bowed low.

And furiously texting on their phone as they debated between DILF verses GILF before one message silenced them all. 

 They had been texting in the official class group chat.

Not the one without their teacher.

[aquafaith]

My lengthy, angry ACOSF rant review.

Spoilers, TW for mental, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.

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.

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I loved ACOTAR. I still love ACOTAR. I always will love ACOTAR. But every book afterwards made me give up more and more. ACOMAF romanticized an abusive relationship and assassinated characters for the author's convenience. ACOWAR was a bunch of boring and inconsequential death scares. ACOFAS was all-round dreadful. And each book kept shitting on and pushing away Lucien for no reason.

I'd like to preface this by saying I hated Nesta too. I hated the way she treated Feyre in ACOTAR especially, and I wasn't even too excited for this book because I wasn't that keen on Nesta as a character.

Nesta's POV and her backstory changed my perspective. It does not excuse her actions. All Nesta stans can hold these characters accountable for what they do - trauma is a reason, not an excuse. I, and many others, sided with Nesta because of the way she's treated by everyone else in this book. Also, if you're going to hate Nesta for not teaching Feyre how to read and letting her hunt at fourteen, (which I did, and are very valid things to hate), AT LEAST hold Elain accountable too.

This book. This fucking book.

Shall we start with the intervention? Feyre on her little power trip thinks that her boyfriend that hates Nesta and Nesta hates back, Nesta's ex-best friend, and her possible mate who she never talks to should be at this stupid fucking intervention??? Excuse me???

Remember in ACOMAF when Feyre wouldn't shut up about how rich Rhysand is? Feyre literally has four or five houses and is always talking about how much jewelry and lingerie she can afford because Rhysand is so rich??? Well, Nesta has a few shots. So you know what Feyre does? Humiliates Nesta at this "intervention", TEARS DOWN HER HOME, and forces her to go to the Illyrian training camp.

That was the god awful premise for this book.

Did you think Elain wasn't there because she was against the "intervention"? Nope! She was packing Nesta's belongings without permission.

Remember in ACOMAF when it's made a big fucking deal that locking up a traumatised woman is extremely damaging? Well, when Nesta decides she doesn't want to be in Illyria, Feyre locks her in the House of Wind. Nesta can't fly, so her only way of leaving is down the TEN THOUSAND STEPS, that Feyre KNOWS Nesta isn't capable of climbing.

Feyre's pregnant. In ACOFAS she randomly decided that she wanted a baby to remember Rhysand by if he dies. Which doesn't make any sense because they made that stupid fucking death pact in ACOWAR. It's just SJM superimposing her pregnancy onto her early 20's protagonist. Ignoring the fact that Feyre isn't ready for a baby and Rhysand CERTAINLY isn't, and with a war just ended and another looming and so much trauma and a DEATH PACT are all such horrible circumstances to bring a child into, Feyre is already pregnant. Remember when SJM made a big deal about Fae babies being so hard to conceive, and Feyre said in ACOFAS they wouldn't have to worry for a long time because it can take years to conceive your first Fae child? Well it's been no more than 3 or 4 months and Feyre's already pregnant. Yep.

Also the birth will kill her. Because of course it will. Rhysand KNEW this, and still agreed to try for a baby.

There's no solution. Abortions don't exist for some stupid reason, and a C section would apparently kill Feyre?

(Wasn't this book supposed to be about Nessian?)

In ACOWAR, Cassian was on the battlefield with his entrails around his knees. Someone had to literally hold his guts in for him, and he's fine, but you're telling me a C section would kill Feyre?

Don't worry, this is just setting up the AWFUL ending to this book.

ACOSF amounts to Nesta being gaslit into believing her abusers are right. Her friends and family slut shame her and shame her for her lifestyle constantly. Cassian says it took him decades to work through some of his trauma, and he tried to drink and fuck it away too, but suddenly when Nesta does so it's heinous? Nesta's barely twenty five and she's expected to cope better than these ancient immortals.

Hell, didn't SJM write ACOMAF? Nobody expected Feyre to pick herself up so quickly. The IC (excluding Rhysand) respected her boundaries for the most part and understood when it was grief, trauma, and turmoil that made her angry, sad, want to be left alone, etc. But that's all forgotten here.

Amren also compares Nesta to the people in, and says she belongs in, The Court of Nightmares. You know, the murderers, abusers and rapists? This innocent woman who had a few shots and a bit of sex is on par with them, apparently!

The sex scenes.

SJM is scared to say vagina so she says sex.

She says seed to mean semen.

Apparently the word cunt turns SJM on. I just found Cassian saying that kinda cringe because I'm Bri'ish so the word cunt really isn't a big deal.

Back to the baby killing Feyre, because this is definitely what we all wanted from this book as indicated by the change in covers and format and title... Rhysand decides not to tell Feyre. He tells her friends and family, and tells them not to tell her.

SJM loves sweeping Rhysand's abuse from the first book under the rug and claiming it's always about Feyre's choice... where is that here, MAAS? WHERE IS IT?

Anyway, when Nesta rightfully decides to tell Feyre (although it is kind of out of spite), Rhysand threatens to kill Nesta.

And I believed him. With the way he treats his """mAtE tHaT hE lOvEs sO mUcH""" and all the people he's mindlessly killed before, do you really think he wouldn't kill the person who gave Feyre an inch of autonomy?

So what does Cassian do? His lover who he cares deeply about and suspects is his mate has received a death threat from tHe mOsT pOwErFuL hIgH lORd iN hIsToRy.

Cassian simply gets Nesta out of the court.

EXCUSE ME?

He doesn't breathe ONE word to Rhysand about this. This Illyrian WARRIOR who fought with his GUTS HANGING OUT didn't dare step up to the hIGh lOrD who he considers his brother and sparrs and fights with all the time?

Cassian literally does nothing.

Was it not Rhysand himself who said Mated males are dangerous? Can kill anyone who looks at their mate? Can be dangerous simply leaving the house? Rhys and Feyre both pull the Mate card to justify their bad actions on the other's behalf... and Cassian just tried to get Nesta out of the court?

Also, this High King bullshit.

I swear to fucking god, if SJM DARES to make this abusive, power-tripping, mOsT pOwErFuL hIgH lOrD eVEr, husband-insert of hers hIgH kInG, I will fight her in the street.

My beloved Lucien is in this book. Only for him to be used and shat on.

I really liked it when he calmed Cassian down with just a look though. Yes please fox man.

Helion is also in this book. Nothing to do with Lucien.

Eris is also in this book. ERIS. Lucien's eldest brother. The same one who abused him for years, but according to SJM he's slightly better, because at least he didn't agree to kill Lucien's lover. He betrayed his daddy that one time, therefore Eris is good. Y'know, the same Eris who abused Mor? Left her laying on the Autumn Court border with a nail in her womb? Well SJM is going back on her own canon to redeem yet ANOTHER abusive male, while continuing to demonize Tamlin for things he only happened to do when SJM decided the villain from the first book was sexy.

Nesta and Cassian are Mates.

Remember when Mates were supposed to be a rare and sacred thing? Now SJM dishes them out like Oprah.

I don't want these characters to be mates. I want to see them slowly fall in love. But SJM is incapable of writing that so she forces them together with the mAtInG bOnD. That's literally the only basis for most of these relationships, Feysand especially.

The only relationship where the bond would make sense is between Helion and The Lady of Autumn. Who still isn't named. But I will die on the hill that they're mates, I can feel it between them.

I wanted someone to die in this book. I predicted that it would either be Helion or Tarquin, but Tarquin isn't even in this one.

And the ending.

SJM can't write a decent climax, so she kills both Feyre and Rhysand for the second time. Yep.

The baby is being born which stupidly kills Feyre, and thankfully takes Rhysand with them.

Nesta decides to save them. Bad choice. But she decides to save them! Because she's so powerful and she ATE THE CONTENTS OF THE CAULDRON and she's CONNECTED TO THE MOTHER.

Do you know what happens.

Nesta loses her powers.

NESTA.

LOSES.

HER.

POWERS.

The powers we've hardly seen, the powers that were briefly mentioned and used ONCE in ACOWAR, then we saw like two flashes of in this book? They're GONE now. GONE SO NESTA CAN SAVE HER ABUSIVE SISTER AND ABUSIVE HUSBAND WHO ABUSES THEM BOTH.

Nesta is just an Amren now. They both fought for their powers, and had to give them up to save people who didn't deserve it. Now they're anticlimactically trapped in powerless bodies.

Also, and I can't BELIEVE I didn't originally include this - do you know what else Nesta TRADED HER POWERS FOR?

Illyrian anatomy so she can carry Cassian's baby one day.

EXCUSE ME?

I am so fucking SICK TO DEATH of the narrative that every woman needs a man and children to be happy. SJM clearly loves this because she's literally only keeping Amren and Nesta alive now to be sex objects to their partners and nothing else seeing as their POWERS WERE RIPPED AWAY FROM THEM, and now NESTA TRADED THOSE POWERS TO HAVE A BABY SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW SHE WANTS? Nesta does NOT strike me as a motherly type. She's the wine aunt, she and Cassian are the couple that go on holiday a lot and and babysit their nieces and nephews, but nope. Nesta HAS to have children.

The Feysand baby is called Nyx. That's just so underwhelming, you go from these huge, multiple syllable names like Amarantha and Morrigan and Lucien to Nyx? I get it's supposed to be unique but it's not even meaningful. It's just more shit-flavoured icing on the hAHa nIgHt uWu cake. I prefer Renesmée.

Nesta is wrong somehow. She says she's sorry as she's saving them. FOR WHAT? For being a little rude to Feyre as all sisters are? And rightfully hating your sister's abuser?

Oh yeah, remember in ACOWAR when Nesta took care of a comatose, starving Elain for months? Elain is randomly okay now because she takes care of her mental health the stereotypical way of baking cakes, and not drinking and fucking, which she shames Netsa for.

Remember the slut shaming, demeaning comments that the whole iNnEr cIrClE made about Nesta? They all expect apologies from her. For some reason.

Nesta has done nothing wrong. She coped with her trauma and minded her business in her own ways, and she's expected to apologise to the people who control and emotionally abuse her.

Nothing that any of these characters did to Nesta is right. Nesta wasn't okay at the end, this wasn't Nesta's healing story. This is Nesta being shamed and degraded until she submits.

Oh I can't believe I forgot to write this in my first draft of this review, do you know how Nesta "overcomes" her grief about her Father's death and her conflicting feelings about him and his life and her guilt? When she visits his grave for the first time, she takes Nyx.

NYX.

She holds NYX up to the grave and talks about how it's his grandson.

GO AWAY YOU STUPID DEMON BABY THIS IS NOT YOUR BOOK.

Speaking of, it's revealed that Nesta was abused by her mother and grandmother in this book? Something we were all looking forward to is seeing more of the Archeron's mother seeing as Feyre was so young when she died, but... nope. She gets a few vague mentions, and this newly revealed abuse is entirely glossed over. Nesta was also actively groomed by an older man at 14. But SJM glosses over this because of course she does.

Finally, the bonus chapters.

My edition came with a bonus chapter from Feyre's POV. It was pointless and I hated it.

There's another bonus chapter from Azriel's POV. Once I'd finished this book, he was one of the few characters I still harboured a shred of respect for.

Then I read his bonus chapter.

This exists to purely objectify Elain.

Whether you ship Elain with Azriel, or Lucien, or neither, this chapter is disgusting. He thinks about her coming on his tounge, and other things simply just to please him.

He then dares to suggest that "the Cauldron picked wrong" in choosing Lucien as Elain's mate?

No Azriel, SJM picked RIGHT in not giving each Archeron sister a bAt bOy.

Rhysand does the only right thing he's ever done by telling Azriel to stay away from Elain, but then he has to ruin it by clarifying that it's only so they can manipulate and use Lucien more.

Oh, and Azriel wants to kill Lucien.

Need I remind you that Lucien respects Azriel? Lucien is another victim of the Night Court's needless, baseless torment, and Azriel is no exception.

Lucien stays well out of Elain's way because she makes it clear that she's not interested in a mate, but Azriel wants to kill him simply for being her mate.

Lucien has done nothing. And I mean literally NOTHING to warrant any of this treatment. From the bAt bOyS, from Feyre, from his family, from SJM, from the deluded part of this fandom that think he's done wrong. NOTHING.

All I liked about this book was the Lucien scenes (which is a given), ((although I hated the way everyone talks about him behind his back)), Nesta's relationship with the house, Emerie and Gwyn, the evidence that Gwynriel is endgame and subsequently Elucien, and the book love. Everything else was horrible. Oh, and Nesta hates Rhysand. I love that for her, because everyone else bows at his feet.

Oh yeah, when Nesta DARES suggest that Rhysand is an "arrogant, preening asshole" which I think is a compliment, Cassian can't take Rhys' cock out of his mouth for one second, and has to get mad at her for having an opinion. Don't even get me started on Azriel in that scene.

If each book after ACOTAR made me slowly give up, this book made me give up altogether. I cannot go on to support this victim-blaming, abuse-forgiving, misogynistic series. I've given up on SJM, and the only characters I care about anyone are Lucien, Nesta, Helion, and Tarquin. I'll continue to read this series to see if SJM redeems herself, but I'll be downloading them for free. I'm not giving this piece of shit any more of my money.

I hope we don't get the Lucien book. I don't want her to slaughter my fox in the way she slaughtered LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE.

Thanks for listening.

Edit: I put the review on Goodreads!

[four-loose-screws]

FE7 Novelization Translation - Chapter 10 Section 4

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Chapter 10: New Resolve (Section 4)

The continent's largest militaristic country was Bern.

And though the continent of Elibe was a vast land, the only region the wyverns inhabited were the steep mountains of Bern. Because of that, Bern commanded the most highly honored of all the continent's wyvern knight units.

One of those mountains was also home to the Black Fang's main base.

Snow lingered on the peaks of each mountain, regardless of the season.

On one of those peaks stood the Black Fang's base. The building slightly resembled a fort from the outside, and was completely white in color, making it blend in with the snow piled around it. 

Inside was a room lit by lamplight and the flame of a fireplace, through which the voice of Nergal’s underling Sonia echoed.

"Is everyone here?"

Inside the room, including Sonia, six people total were gathered together.

One, a muscular middle-aged man standing next to Sonia… was Brendan Reed himself. On his rugged face were many scars big and small, and he was both the founder and leader of the Black Fang. His expression struck fear, and there were also countless scars across his bulging muscles.

In front of the two of them stood the other four.

They were the most skilled assassins of the Black Fang, gifted with the title of the "Four Fangs."

Among them was Jaffar, the man who had murdered Leila at the Dragon's Gate and impeded Eliwood's path at Ephidel’s orders.

"With the four of you gathered here, I need no one else… There is a target I want you all to kill. His name is Eliwood, next-in-line of Pherae."

"...Pherae is one of the territories of Lycia, correct?" Ursula, the one woman of the Four Fangs, asked.

She had short hair and a cold expression on her beautiful face. As a Valkyrie who was also known as the Black Crow, she killed her targets without mercy.

"Yes. But you cannot underestimate him to be just a backwater noble. He has allies, also nobles from Lycia. Their strength individually does not hold a candle to yours, however… taking them lightly would lead you to your demise."

"...I will keep that in mind."

Sonia smiled in satisfaction at Ursula's obedient words, then she looked over at two men. "Lloyd, Linus. I also have orders for you as the Reeds Brothers. Is that alright?"

Though they were indeed brothers, the two were total opposites, from their facial features down to their personalities. 

The elder brother, Lloyd, was a master swordsman. His facial features were sharp, and his tall, thin body allowed him to repeatedly unleash deadly blows. 

The younger brother Linus, on the other hand, was a head taller than even Lloyd was, and unlike his slim brother, had a body with a muscular build like steel. 

And his face, unlike Lloyd's which resembled their late mother's, resembled their father's, his features rugged and manly.

In contrast to Linus', who brought his enemies to their grave with exceptionally skilled technique, his philosophy in battle was to target his opponents with single, decisive blows utilizing the broadsword he carried on his back.

This fighting style, relying on power to crush his opponent, had earned him the nickname, the "Mad Dog."

And as anyone would know by the name Reed, they were trustworthy and reliable sons to their father.

"There’s just one thing I want to ask. Is this an order from our father… the leader of the Black Fang?" Lloyd asked Sonia with questioning eyes. 

Linus also glared at her with an openly cautious look on his face.

Sonia laughed at their guarded demeanors calmly and answered, "Hee hee, of course it is. Isn't that right, Darling?"

"Mm… Uh… yes, it is." He said in response to his beautiful wife's words like a person talking in a fever dream.

Sonia infiltrated the Black Fang as Brendan's second wife.

Over time, she'd increased the number of members that followed her will, and changed the structure of their organization to be much more tightly controlled. It was all out of her love and respect for Nergal…

"See? You understand now, right? Killing Eliwood is the will of the leader of the Black Fang, Brendan Reed… If you are members as well, then show your loyalty. Or… are you so afraid of your opponent that you do not want to take action, Lloyd?"

"Sonia! How dare you speak like that to my brother!"

"Linus!"

"...Fine."

Linus lost his temper, insulted by Sonia's words. Lloyd held him back, then said with conviction, "Sonia, we don't need you to tell us. We are the ones who have carried out the law of the Fang under our father. If Eliwood is a bad man, then we have no reason to hesitate."

"The Black Fang never lets anyone escape!" Linus cut in to back his brother's words. "We Reed Brothers execute the Fang's judgment!"

Having said those words, they left the room.

Sonia saw them off with a cold smile on her face. The look in her eyes left such a cruel impression that one would never imagine it was meant for her stepsons.

But that expression lasted only for a moment before she immediately looked at the remaining two members of the Four Fangs.

"...Ursula, Jaffar. You understand your orders as well, correct? Once you’ve found your targets, make it your first priority to kill them!”

“If it is an order from you, then it is my priority above anything else.”

"...I’ve received my orders. I will carry them out.”

Sonia listened to Ursula and Jaffar’s responses, then said in emphasis, “The name of your target is Eliwood of Pherae! He must be killed! The Black Fang’s reputation depends on it!”

☆

Eliwood entrusted his father’s body to Marcus, then arrived at the fort on the border between Thria and Ostia.

They went there to report to Uther on everything that had happened until now in great detail, then discuss what their next steps should be.

To have that conversation, they came to the closest port from the port town of Badon.

“...A message came from Brother. Telling us that he’s already on his way, so wait here.”

Eliwood was genuinely surprised by Hector’s words. “Lord Uther is coming here personally?”

Because he was such a busy person, Eliwood thought that surely the only person to come would be a messenger with orders to give.

“Seems that way. We’ve talked about this before, but right now, word has it that spies from every country are in Ostia Castle and the castle town right now. He probably decided that if we want to speak freely, this fort would be best.”

“...Wouldn’t the marquess himself making movements stand out more?”

“Stealth is his greatest skill. We have no reason to worry about him.” Hector flatly rejected the need for Eliwood to worry.

Hearing that, Lyn cut her way into their conversation. “Sounds like he’s your brother, alright. His movements are unconventional.”

“...You got something to complain about?”

“Not really. I’m just looking forward to meeting him.” Lyn quickly dodged Hector’s words tinged with anger, and left the room.

She intended to simply step outside for a bit to get some fresh air. As such, she would have never imagined that doing so would lead to her reuniting with a familiar face.

ー

He saw a dream of long ago.

It was from around the time either before or after he turned four years old… a vivid dream of a cruel duty he had been given when he was a powerless child. The tribe’s diviner saw a terrible omen in the stars, foreseeing that a calamity would occur across the continent. He was told that he was born to become one of those with the power to prevent it. 

From that day forward, he was alone.

He, who knew almost nothing about survival, was forced to leave his tribe, and did quite literally whatever he could to survive. His days were spent quivering in loneliness, enduring ridicule and contempt, and living his life wherever the wind took him… Before he even realized it, the day he turned fifteen had already passed.

He was still waiting for the calamity, not knowing when it would make itself known. But it had not been long since the last time he saw a dream about the time when his fate was decided.

‘Is the calamity… drawing near?’

That thought came on his mind as he returned from his guard duty of the surrounding area to the fort to switch off with the next guard.

An unexpected reunion awaited him.

“Rath?! It’s you… Rath of the Kutolah Tribe, isn’t it?”

She was a nomad of Sacae and noble of Caelin that he fought alongside one year ago. 

Lyn smiled at him as warmly as she always had.

“It’s been a while… Lyn of the Lorca Tribe.”

“Yes, it really has been… What are you doing here?”

“...I’ve been working here as a mercenary ever since we parted ways.”

“I see… you haven’t changed at all. It feels so… nostalgic.” Lyn said, then smiled from ear to ear as she remembered the past.

Rath felt nostalgic for the events of one year ago as well, but more so than that, he was curious about why Lyn was here. He could think of many reasons why a Lycian noble like her would come to Ostia, but he couldn’t think of a reason why she would make a stop at a fort that was not suited for accommodating guests.

“...Why are you here?” 

Rath asked, snapping Lyn out of her reminiscing and back to the present.

“Actually, we’ve… been dragged into something very bad!” 

Lyn said and tried to start to explain, but just then, a gust of wind blew past them.

One so powerful that it pushed at his back...

Rath sensed that this wind was telling him to devote himself to her cause, and immediately made his decision. “...Are you in need of my assistance?”

“You’ll help us out? But I haven’t explained anything to you yet, and this is very dangerous.”

“...That does not matter. The only thing that does… is the question of whether you wish for my help or not.”

“Then please! Lend us your strength!” Lyn answered immediately.

Rath nodded to say, “Of course.” "I will. I shall cancel my mercenary contract here immediately… andl return in a little while."

That gust of wind that blew with Lyn’s arrival…

It signaled that the calamity he’d waited fifteen years for was coming. He couldn’t help but feel that.

☆