#understand and try to solve things vs just carrying out plans. but he also has eternity so who knows where that will lead him đ
do u have thoughts on what beast flavoured fyodor is like?
Similar to main manga Fyodor imo! Though there are things that would affect him differently I think? Without the challenge that is an ADA Dazai that might change things for him, but I wonder if he would just be more sure of his plans or maybe a little more bored as time goes on? I know it was only added into the movie, but when he watches Dazai die and learns about the nature of their universe he does not even seem that surprised despite talking like this is new information to him, but also says the next thing to do or whatever is to take out Atushi and Akutagawa because too many people can't know about it or things will become unstable. So he seems just as ruthless as he is not in beast. But why does he care about that?
If I think about it too long it does make me wonder if he would come to the conclusion that he can't effect things within this "story" the same way as the other him that he has to assume exists could, that the book he could obtain in his universe isn't the same as "the Book". I don't do great with multiverse shit or explanations it gets confusing for me so I won't go too far into that I'll just confuse myself. But, idk if he would be one to give up or lament. Or just obtain even more information to try and solve things?
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@callmeillbuyyoufood /Â @febfemnami
replied to your photoset:  âSanji is carrying so much guilt of everything that has currentlyâŚâ
But then Nami made the guilt worse because she for some reason couldnât understand that he was bluffing
Hiya and sorry for ultradelayed reply, mate!
Iâve been thinking about that Luffy vs. Sanji fight aftermath a lot (wtf itâs been several years already?)Â and I partly agree that she mightâve missed Sanjiâs bluff. However, maybe Sanjiâs disappearence can explain partly why things got out of hand in the first reunion.
First of all, when Sanji separated with Nami, Chopper and Brook the last thing they see from him is a warm smile. Sanjiiâs farewell couldâve triggered some worried emotions on Nami because it couldâve resemble her about BellmerĂŠ who got killed after the smile.
And to think about it, is not even the first time Sanji flashed this kind of smile. Letâs go back in time to Skypiea arc where is a similar situation: Nami and Usopp in a dead end with Enel and just when things look the worst, Sanji appears out of the shadows and takes the bullet for his nakamas and what else is there? A smile before they get saved. Even back then Nami was scared of the situation.Â
Also, when they were about to die in the avalanche in Drum Island, Sanji saved Luffy and Nami and smiled before saving them. At the first time Nami was unconcious but "farewellsâ like this by Sanji has pratically become a âpatternâ throughout the story and even though Nami has only âwitnessedâ a handful of them, his donât worry-smile at Zou becomes basically lots to worry-smile.
Another reason Nami did probably push so eagerly forward with the retrieval is that she felt responsible for his disappearance. Back then as the captain of the sub-group " The Curly Hat Piratesâ Sanji ordered her and Chopper to stay with the Minks when Begeâs crew first arrived.
Somehow they still couldnât wait, perhaps they were worried because it mustâve taken some time and so they end up being caught. On the other words they practically âdisobeyedâ their captain and since things escalated they both mustâve felt guilty about it. Nami even tells the reason for bursting suddenly into tears when she sees the others. Well she doesnât directly say that she is worried that Sanji might be killed but her actions speak for it.Â
Itâs also simply in her personality that she gets distressed if things get out of control. Good example of it was in Arnold arc where she started to stab her tattoo in frustration in tears. Also in Water 7 she was worried to sick about Robinâs disappearence and stressed greatly about Luffyâs and Usoppâs fight) and even tried to talk Luffy over to forget their grudge without results.
This is pretty much âoff panelsâ but it is highly possible that while the others were arriving to Zou Nami has probably pondered in her mind all the options and how the disappearance mightâve been avoided but itâs too late now and itâs again frustrating (and scary, itâs your nakama after all).Â
We must not forget that before they met with Luffy and the others, the crew did not know much about this arranged marriage in general or how Sanji was blackmailed (well Nami, Chopper and Brook saw that whisper but did not know what it was about, only that it made Sanji anrgy and uncomfy). Anyway, Nami pretty much took the disappearence to her shoulders while Luffy was his carefree âSanji will surviveâ-mood and didnât stress too much. So she indeed did push the retrieval team forward a big time.
Meanwhile we readers see Sanjiâs struggle with reuniting with his biological family and trying to solve the problem with self sacrificial nature. Remember that until Pudding revealed the evil plan, Sanji truly believed that leaving the crew for a marriage would save everyone: the rest of the SH and Baratie (which was threatened to be destroyed).Â
Another thing we tend to forget: Sanji is a tactician, known for many mischievous plans that has saved his buddies before from certain death. He has planned this as well that as long as he is âin this marriageâ his close ones will be unharmed but he forgot to count one thing in his plan, that theyâd come to save him.
So now when they meet suddenly Sanjiâs plan is basically ruined at the very first moment Luffy jumps to the wagon with his precious smile because for some reason Sanji counted on it that no one would come after him. Also, Sanji knows from the experience that Luffy is the master of doing whatever the captain wants, so Sanji needs a backup plan quickly but the thing is, that plan fails immediately.
For interesting twist, Luffy doesnât buy Sanjiâs crude acting at all (he just plays a little with him and then when they separate he shows up none of Sanjiâs act went through him) and then there is Nami who is simply in shock about what is happening. She did not expect this either.
And I donât blame her, I mean it must be awful to first worry a bunch about a missing friend and then in the reunion your nakama acts so mean and disrespectful towards the captain.
What makes this setting even tenser is that there are 3 of them. There could have been the whole retrieval team but Oda decided to split them up and g on with these 3 characters. Very interesting choice when we think about the backgrounds: those 3 have known each other for the longest, Sanji cares openly about Nami and Oda has now put her into a important role in this whole arc.
If it was only Luffy and Sanji things would have gone differently for sure. Or if it was only Nami and Sanji (which wouldnât make sense storywise though because the captain wouldnât send his crew alone to the danger). The story wouldâve gone differently too if it only Nami, Chopper and Brook only went to retrieve.
I think the latter ones wouldâve bought Sanjiâs lies easier but Luffy knows his crew mates and thatâs the reason why the captain doesnât back up.
Nami still in disbelief (and probably getting flashbacks from the Luffy vs. Usopp fight)Â tries to get between them but Luffy as a wise captain stops her intentions by telling not to interrupt. Nami clearly is buying Sanjiâs blabber (at least some of it) and it hurts her deeply. After all she did her best to help to bring him back and all she gets as a thanks is 2 fighting mates and Sanji acting cold hearted. She isnât used to see Sanji as a douchebag so of course it hurts.
Itâs actually interesting how Luffy, a guy who is considered to be an idiot is much better at reading this situation but on the other hand there are four things why:
He knows Sanji and his self-sacrificial nature, theyâve known since Baratie
(and back there Luffy tried to tell that sacrifices shouldnât be the way to pay back for the good he has gained)
 He knows Sanjiâs dream and he doesnât want him to give up on it
(there is a possibility that Luffy interprets in general that marriage would mean that Sanji wonât return and therefore seek for All Blue)
He knows Sanji worries about Nami a lot so probably with this stubborn attitude he tried to âtalk him overâ to stop the nonsense because he know deep down Sanji doesnât mean those shit things he said. Luffy has seen Sanji willing to save her countless times so as a captain he knows Nami is important for him even as a nakama
(and when later Sanji tells that he is ashamed to meet Nami after all he did Luffy comforts him saying âNami and the others were worriedâ instead of including her to the others)
He reads the situations more straightforwardly compared to Nami. Luffy is able to keep his head cool and doesnât let the emotions take the lead (whereas Nami got immediately caught by them when Sanji started to insult them and threw that glare to her).
So all in all, you are right fellow fan, Nami didnât understand the bluff at that moment but many reasons lead to why things ended up like this. Also, it would be interesting to see though how the rest of the crew would react but that might not be necessary storywise (it might not add anything more to it I mean) but itâs good that at WCI those 3 eventually were all able to reconcile later in the story so it it wonât bother them anymore and now their nakamaship has grown even stronger :)
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hi hi!! just out of curiosity, what's your favourite trait of zuko, ed and al? (maybe eren and armin too if you feel like writing abt them since i saw you tagged their names in your masterlist)
This made me realize how fast my interests change HGFHJGFHJFÂ answers under the cut because holy shit did i get carried away lmao
For Zuko, I know its clichĂŠ but i will say his entire redemptions arc is *chefs kiss* lol. But specifically, one of my favorite traits (honestly if you can even call this list a list of character traits lmao) of his is how passionate he gets about bettering himself and the Fire Nation. whether it was bettering his skills to capture Aang way back in season one, or when it came to stopping/reforming the harmony restoration movement after meeting Kori and her family and seeing the life all the elements made together, if he wants to change something for the better, he puts his heart into it and I absolutely love that about him.Â
With Edward, I think my favorite trait about him is how driven and persistent he is. No matter what life throws at him he still keeps his heart set on his goals and does anything in his power to get answers, and him also passing the message along to Rose via âYou have to figure it out. Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You've got two good legs. So get up and use them. You're strong enough to make your own path.â has seriously kept me going at times, especially when it comes to needing to advocate for myself, which did take me a while to start doing without needing someone to remind me to. Also his ending quote âThereâs no such thing as a painless lesson. They just donât exist. Sacrifices are necessary. You canât gain anything without losing something first, although, if you can endure that pain and walk away from it, youâll find that you now have a heart strong enough to overcome any obstacle. Yeah, a heart made fullmetal.â is so fucking beautiful i had to bring it up lmfao.Â
With Alphonse, I love how he wants to see the good in people, even if those around him are trying to discourage his feelings. He goes out of his way to try to talk to the enemies, a heart to heart if you will, trying to understand their point of view to see if he could reach a middle ground, and all while being calm, patient, and collected. I think the biggest example I can give with his is how, after being kidnapped by greed and his companions (fuck greed for calling them minions. booo), Al pretty much lets them explain their side and while still disagreeing with the way to go about things, he doesnât immediately jump into action to really stop them. After martel climbs inside his armor, he continues to talk to her like a friend, and even tries to shush her when they run into bradley. When he cares about someone (or something, him with cats make me sob) he does everything in his power to protect them.Â
Now, i think the reason i donât ask for SNK is because i read the manga and since it ended, iâm not on the hype train anymore. plus, of course the two characters i adore are the fandoms biggest issues lmao. So, iâll include them in this, but iâm not gonna get into shit. yâall can find that on twitter lmao. this also may be shorter just because again, i'm not really into it as much as the other shows anymore. this will also be in past tense for that reason as well as it truly ended in my heart.Â
For Eren, I think his determination has always been my favorite, even when i first started watching. From the first shots with him as a helpless 12 year old, to the final declaration he gives about saving his people and home of paradis, the way he would and does anything to save his friends and home is beautiful, though the entire âdestroy the 80% of the worldâ shit is very :// dude lol
With Armin, I will say his smarts and how outside-the-box he is when it comes to making plans and trying to solve problems is my favorite part of him. I know a lot of people had issues with him vs erwin but dude,, even erwin had times where was like âlol idk what to do. Any ideas armin??â so. Also him making a plan to sacrifice himself without any hesitation so eren can get the upper hand with bertolt while erwin was riding towards his own death was really heart wrenching to me i absolutely love that episode.Â
Since I added stranger things characters, here is why i love them briefly bc i do be tired lol
Steve- cmon. His redemption arc was just as great as, if not better than, zukos like??? He didnât have to do anything to help everyone out but he does bc he cares :(( also him being jealous of eddie dhkjfslkfjdskl ALSO ALSO him and robin talking about boobs was so fucking great lmao. i love their friendship sm
Eddie- dudes just a silly metal nerd i cant not love him???? I love any man that can make me giggle for hours and eddie accomplished that almost immediately
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astro observations pt. 3
a/n: if u believe i took your comment/observation without credit, please reach out and let me know! i have no problem including you in my post (or taking it down if u ask :))
these observations are a lil wordy so sorry about that
iâve got a nice theory/question/discussion for anyone open to talking about it :)
iâve noticed that cancer placements tend to rlly like anime and i honestly think itâs because anime girls typically have this soft girl vibe and they may be rlly into that
gemini & scorpio placements together tend to be very curious and good at solving that curiosity
for example: they could wonder (gemini) why someone does something and be able to use their detective skills (scorpio) to find out what they want to know
moon in 4th overlays tend to create a long-lasting crush or that may create feelings of always having a soft spot for that person
similar to my last post, i think cardinal signs in angular houses are very good at achieving or going after what they want in those major life aspects meanwhile fixed signs in angular houses may be a little more fixated and expect certain life stages to go as planned and may not budge or give up when something doesnât go as planned
these imo are interesting to see play out when different signs fall into different house types (angular, succedent & cadent)
for example: having cardinal signs in succedent houses can manifest as a person always trying to obtain or taking the initiative to go after themes of the houses
example example: capricorn in 2nd can show someone always working to achieve or taking the initiative to obtain monetary, material or inner needs, etc.
water signs in the 2nd house has a tendency to hoard things because it has âsentimental valueâ
having virgo, libra & scorpio influence in your personal planets is so powerful because historically, virgo & scorpio used to be one sign and represented the duality of humanity: feminine & masculine energy meshed together. libra then was placed between the two when they became separated as a bridge to marry to the two energies--if you look at the glyphs of virgo & scorpio, they are very similar but virgo is supposed to represent the feminine genitalia and scorpio represents the masculine genitalia
credits go to novembr-11th on tumblr because i read a post about this and thought it was super interesting! especially since itâs been circulating (not sure if itâs confirmed?) that virgo/scorpio used to be one sign that split into two
lmao bUT anyways, my point is that having these three energies in your personal planets (especially) makes one thatâs very âwholeâ if that makes sense lmao
personally, 7th & 8th house synastry isnât always all that
i have these placements with someone and we do not mesh well đ but 8th house can also represent enemies so idk
sun in the fifth individuals tend to be very creative and have a powerful & sure way of expressing themselves
you tend to be attracted to those that have your moon sign as their sun sign and i honestly think this goes to the perspective of the moon person having this soft spot for the sun person because they express themselves in the way the moon person wishes they do or theyâre inspired by the sun person because they admire the way the sun person express themselves (that the moon person may not be able to)
although itâs important to look at very aspect of astrology to understand it, i think beginners have a tendency to look at the signs rather than houses because itâs easier to understand but i implore those learning to study houses first before planets--idk it just seems easier because youâre learning houses & the signs in one go (kinda anyways lmao)--this isnât even an observation lmao oop
the rising is honestly way more important than people think--i used to be guilty of this and disregard my rising until i rlly looked into it
mars in fire signs tend to be rlly selfish in bed and can be pretty similar to each other
sag mars rlly like to have their pleasure before their partners
leo mars like to have the attention on them
aries mars tend to do things fast--to get themselves off
scorpio & virgo mercuries tend to have this monotone (not rlly--itâs just dry if that makes sense lmao) way of speaking--like there may be a lack of emotions because they can be logical (virgo) and sarcastic (scorpio) that people may not pick up on that if theyâre joking or whatnot
tbh capricorn (degrees especially) & aquarius influence can do this tooÂ
interceptions can show what you lack (obviously)/misunderstand or what you may attract imo
pretty sure i literally said this in one of my previous posts but đ¤ˇââď¸
i remember an astrologer said that a theory of theirs is that your sun signâs degree can show something important that has happened/will happen to you when you become that age
for example: an ex friend of mine has a taurus sun in 4 degrees and he was involved in a car accident where his father and brother died when he was 4 years old
an astrologer mentioned that the planet with the highest degree is the planet that is considered something you need to learn to do in your life
example: my best friend has trouble with communication and her mercury has the highest degree of all her other planets--sheâs been doing really well though and learning to communicate better :)
i see a lot of astrologers frequently cover 0 & 29 degrees but usually not a lot of critical degrees such as 0,13 & 26 for cardinal signs, 8-9 & 21-22 for fixed signs and 4 & 17 for mutable signs
itâs assumed that it has a potent effect on that planet (or whatever iâm not quite sure because i donât see it being spoken about in detail) but my assumption is that it maybe a focus in your life or more power is added to that
example: i have 4 degrees sag venus so iâm going to assume that thereâs something going on there with my love life but tbh idrk đ¤ˇââď¸ pls educate me--iâd love to hear more about it and how it manifests
tbh major asteroids are so important to understand imo
i know some astrologers donât gaf about them but i think they can be rlly important & definitely play a major role in someoneâs personality & chart like pls donât underestimate asteroids and their energies
i remember an astrologer stated that having a leo part of fortune is an indicator that itâs fated for you to become famous (or something along those lines)
dominant houses are important to your identity meanwhile stelliums may also be important to your identity but i personally think they carry lessons to be learned but idk this topic is very different per astrologer (this is just my personal take on it)
*just a theory and definitely open to discussion and idk if anyone else has spoken about this but do any astrologers here think that 3rd & 11th house can represent crushes as well--more like fast crushes vs longer crushes? since 3rd & 11th house can equate to your community while 4th is childhood--do you kinda see where iâm getting this from? lmao
i think it wonât manifest like 5th or 7th or 8th romance--it would be more likely to manifest as a person you had a crush on for like two weeks if that makes sense? iâd love to hear your thoughts :)
thatâs everything i have for now :)
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âCerebos: The Crystal Cityâ Actual Play Part III: The End
This is the third and final entry in a series of posts recounting a session of actual play from Cerebos: the Crystal City, currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter. The first two parts can be found here:
https://tumblr.penguinking.com/post/646498084013195264
https://tumblr.penguinking.com/post/646788426842128384
This session was conducted on March 20th, 2021, with Matthew Dorbin as GM, and Amelia Gorman, Ashley Flanagan, Will Mendoza, and Kevin Snow playing. The events of play were recorded by Zach Welhouse.
The First Leg of the journey has ended, and the Lady in Blue is the Seeker. She remembers her past: she was a small-time crook who left the City by the Sea to kill her murderous, thieving sister. Having pieced together her past, she has until arriving at Cerebos to decide if she still wants to kill the Lady in Red.
The Unqualified Robot, Tinderling, and the Lonesome Seafarer wonât find the answers they were looking for in Cerebos. However, theyâve ridden the rails with the Lady in Blue long enough they may have learned something else. Aiding her in her journey may clarify their own futures.
Tinderling and the Unqualified Robot hope the Lady in Blue will kill her sister. Actions have consequences and violence is sometimes necessary to restore balance. The Lonesome Seafarer has had enough pain. She hopes the Lady in Blue will be able to move on â or find common ground with the woman who did her wrong.Â
Sixth Round of Train Actions
Tinderling notices an enormous marble building in the distance. From its Greek pillars and statues of Justice, itâs probably a courthouse. None of the travellers are on especially great terms with the law, but the train stops anyway. This journey isnât just about them. There are other passengers too!
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A trial is in session when the passengers arrive, and it requires four jurors. As outsiders, the travelers are unbiased. Wigged functionaries encourage them to attend the dayâs arguments.
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Itâs the trial of Hodur, Norse god of winter and accidental murderer of Baldr. Baldr is testifying when the jury enters: âMy death was absolutely necessary! My death was all part of a larger plan!â He cites Romulus & Remus, Osiris & Set, and other famous examples of fratricide. Sometimes a death is necessary for the greater good.
Tinderlingâs player spends 1 Momentum to create a Danger 2 Stop as a Saintly Revelation. She doesnât want to make the journey to Cerebos more difficult for anybody, but she does present the Lady in Blue with an argument to stay the course.
As with the previous Stop, the other travelers should have received a Train Action before arriving at the courthouse. The GM had been keeping an eye on the clock and made an executive decision to ensure the trains kept running on time. The whole session, including several snack breaks, fit into a four-hour session with only fifteen minutes of overflow!
Stop Actions: The Trial of Hodur
The Unqualified Robot has decided to Seize the Opportunity to divest itself of its past wares. It is defined by actions now, not junky gadgets. It offers gadget after gadget from its backpack to passing barristers, seeking some way to communicate. It rolls a Success and scores a giant foam finger with âFRATRICIDEâ written on it. The new jury is fitting in with the trial, so the Danger reduces to 1.
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The Lonesome Seafarer waits for a lull in the trial and vaults out of the jury box to cross-examine Hodur: âDid you mean to kill Baldr?â She rolls 1 + 5 = 6, but spends a rank of Tunnel Vision to really focus on the heart of the matter and eliminate all obstacles. The rerolled 1 becomes a 5, netting the Lonesome Seafarer an Inspired Success -- and one Momentum to her authoritative hat for rolling doubles!
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Hodur begins to weep under the incisive questioning: âI could never have done it if I had known! Even if I had to for a better future, I couldnât kill my brother!â The Stop Danger is reduced to 0. Had Tinderling paid an extra Momentum while setting up the Stop, the Unqualified Robot or the Lonesome Seafarer would have received a keepsake for their efforts.
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Tinderling, disgusted by Hodurâs breakdown, starts carving something rude in the jurorâs box with her bird bone sewing needle. Sheâs learning that sheâs really into this justified violence thing. How come these people donât understand progress is impossible without sacrifice? She rolls to Release the Touchstone â a symbol of peace â and succeeds.
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The needle snaps. She burns with clarity and gains one Contemplation.
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The Lady in Blue isnât in danger. She rests, shakes hands with a few visiting gods, and loads up on jury cookies. She removes one Momentum.
The court is in an uproar over Hodurâs outburst. The travelers arenât interested in being further embroiled in someone elseâs problems, so they sneak out back and return to the train.
Sixth Round of Train Actions (Continued)
The Lonesome Seafarer triggers a Revelation to counter Tinderlingâs full-throated endorsement of fratricide. Two high-pitched voices begin shouting from the next car: âI hate you! I wish you werenât my sister anymore!â The fight spills over into the travellersâ car as two six-year-old girls shove and cry into each other. Itâs a Danger 2 Event demonstrating that just because siblings fight doesnât mean they have to be enemies.
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The Unqualified Robot triggers its Saintly Revelation. Since leaving the courtroom, it has been busy building an effigy â a new sibling â from its unsold junk and extraneous body parts. If it canât communicate with people, maybe something closer to its temperament will do the trick.
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Calamity strikes! After a disagreement, the Robot and its twin begin to fight. Encouraged by the violence theyâve recently observed, it escalates. Presumably the twin was at fault. The Robotâs player explains, âI think the moral here is the danger siblings hold and how they must be destroyed.â The Robot Battle Event is Danger 5, threatening to strip the train to its bones. Luckily, Cerebos is in sight!
Since the Saints and Demons have introduced their Revelations, itâs time for the Endgame. Cerebos arrives! Its towering spires of crystal and neon illuminate the night. Squabbling siblings, a pair of robots engaged in an all-out hurly burly, and passengers who have begun to take sides pour from the train, attracting the attention of a number of station agents armed with stern frowns and truncheons.
Normally, the gates of Cerebos are a Danger 2 Stop, but the unresolved Events from the train boost it to a worrying Danger 4.Â
Stop Actions: The Gates of Cerebos
Tinderling stands on a barrel and fans the flames of animosity, pulling unrelated passers-by into the fight: âHey! This is what happens when you have an evil twin. Monsters are monsters and they donât change!â She Causes Trouble to boost the Stop to Danger 6 and extend the scene. Everyone receives an extra cycle of Stop Actions.
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The Lonesome Seafarer also trusts her words to address the growing riot, arguing for peace. She draws on the harsh lessons she learned from Scurvy, her missing mate: âYou have to give people a chance to change!â Itâs like shouting into a storm. Fists and rocks fly as she takes Damage, her words unheeded.
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The Unqualified Robot briefly breaks free from its apocalyptic struggle with its evil twin. These⌠emotions are just holding it back. It tries to Release its last remaining expression slide, a smiley face defaced by angry eyebrows.
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An Ugly Break. Communication is easy when it involves throwing things. It gains Momentum on its whiskey flask and gains Contemplation. It thanks Tinderling for introducing the path of rage.
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The Lady in Blue lays into the fray with elbows and right hooks, clearing people away from the Unqualified Robot. Theyâve shared whiskey. Everyone just needs to stand back. She takes Damage and reduces the Danger to 4.
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Tinderling is taken aback at the chaos she has unleashed. It was all going so well, but the Unqualified Robot is taking a lot of hits. Itâs burning too bright! She Seizes an Opportunity and starts laying into station police and onlookers alike. Even spending Burns at Both Ends to flare up like a hero, she takes Damage to reduce the Danger to 3.
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The Lonesome Seafarer pushes through the thinning crowd of combatants to the main event: robot vs. robot. She engages the evil twin with watertight logic and the Coat of Thesus Trait: âThat robot is made out of your same parts! Why would you fight yourself? Thatâs not fratricide. Thatâs suicide!â After a string of unlucky rerolls, she ekes out a Partial Success, taking Damage while wrestling the Evil Twin off the Unqualified Robot. Danger 2.
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The Unqualified Robot scrambles back, throwing everything in reach at its evil twin: unsold junk, garbage, rocks. Itâs not enough. The only way to end this is to carry its actions to their logical conclusion.
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The Unqualified Robot tears off its head and flings it at the effigy.
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The effigy, stunned by the extreme act of violence (and the high-velocity assault) explodes. Danger 1.
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The Lady in Blue needs a moment. Watching her travel companion tear off its head to kill its sibling is a lot. Battered passengers and station police slink off. A siren wails in the distance.
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The Lady in Blue turns to the squabbling children from the train, who stayed focused on one another the whole time the battle raged around them. âKids. Letâs talk. What happened?â she asks.
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The sisters explain a very long, very important story that involves teasing and boysenberry (or possibly poisonberry) tea. It is ridiculous.
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The Lady in Blue sighs long and deep. âItâs not like Iâm not already headed to Hell. Try this, kids. This is what real poison tastes like.â She offers them each a sip of whiskey, transferring their animosity to her as they taste the rough, foul drink. Two-vs-one isnât fair, but the Lady in Blue weathers their coughing and shin-kicking.
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Failure. The Lady in Blue takes stress Damage and the round ends: âI solved a fight between two children and I feel terrible about it.â
Epilogue
Tinderling, the Lonesome Seafarer, and the Lady in Blue walk the backstreets of Cerebos. They donât glisten with empyrean light like the main thoroughfares, but neither are they patrolled by gendarmes searching for whoever it was who started the brawl at the train station.
The Lady in Blue takes out her revolver, spins the cylinder, and stares down the barrel. She pops out the last bullet, sheathes her gun, and leaves her fellow travelers. She has chosen the Devilâs Path, deviating from her initial goal thanks â in a strong part â to the tragic brutality of the Unqualified Robot.
Everybody looks at their goals, laughing at the fresh round of revelations. The only thing left to do now is tally up Momentum and Contemplation to make epilogue rolls.
The Unqualified Robot died doing what it loved: throwing something. The end. No moral.
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Tinderling is a member of the Walking Wounded, unable to settle down in Cerebos, which seems just as bad for workers as the City by the Sea. Nevertheless, sheâs gained a newfound appreciation for robot rights.
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Before leaving for Cerebos, robots were machines, jerks, and scabs to Tinderling. But the Unqualified Robot taught her that treating robots like tools would only lead to calamity. Maybe her redemption lies in solidarity with all workers...
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The Lonesome Seafarerâs epilogue roll is similar to Tinderlingâs. Scurvy isnât in Cerebos, but sheâs found moderating influences elsewhere: âThat robot ripping its own head off has taught me some valuable things about myself.â She still hopes to find her missing mate someday, but it isnât quite the obsession it once was. In the meantime, sheâll keep traveling.
Â
The Lady in Blue rolls a 4: Self-Actualization! She acknowledges the wrong the Lady in Red did to her, but finds peace in putting aside revenge. Sheâll live her own life, not one controlled by a further descent into bloodshed.
Â
Strolling the streets of Cerebos, she sees Tinderling passing out leaflets and the Lonesome Seafarer inspecting a ship-in-a-bottle in a shop window. She feels a fondness for the Lonesome Sea Captain, perhaps from the adventures theyâve had or perhaps because it was she who first directed the Lady in Blue to Cerebos.
Â
âCaptain,â says the Lady in Blue, taking the captainâs arm. âHow do you feel about having a whiskey with me?â
Â
âIâve only had grog before,â the Lonesome Seafarer hazards.
Â
âI think youâll be pleasantly surprised.â
The Lady in Blue and the Lonesome Seafarer walk through the electric streets, arm-in-arm, in search of drinks.
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rewatched sga 1x04 thirty-eight minutes! thoughts under the cut!
this is an episode i already rewatched very recently, when i was wildly hopping back and forth through the show (but mostly in seasons 2-5), but iâll watch it again now for context.
love the start of this episode, which is so in the middle of the action i always have a second of âwait, did i skip something?â
teyla correctly guesses that the bug thatâs on johnâs neck is related to the wraith! SHE is the one that makes the connection because SHE is the one that knows the most about this universe! THIS IS WHAT IâM TALKING ABOUT when i say that the expedition needs the athosians, oof.
also though, itâs both really great to see that teyla is (especially here, early on) so often the one with very important key insights that (help to) solve the expeditionâs problem of the week, and honestly a little sad, because the earth humans just. donât seem to learn from that to respect the athosians a little more, maybe, mayhaps. they respect teyla, yes, but (and iâm getting ahead of myself a little here because iâm expanding on bits of this after iâve also already watched the next episode, which deals with the earth vs. athosian clash a lot) they kind of... only seem to take from all of her extremely valuable contributions that she as an individual can be an asset to them, instead of viewing it in a broader context. (but yeah, definitely getting ahead of myself here.)
ZELENKA. ZELUMPKA
kavan-ugh
this episode has a very cool format!! the jumping back and forth!! the bits of information weâre fed through people starting to give long explanations and then being cut off, making us puzzle it all together a little!!
throughout the entire ordeal rodney keeps being distracted by what is happening with john and thatâs good on every level. just makes sense, because theyâre in a tiny space, and itâs also potentially shippy, and itâs also just a sign that rodney most certainly does care - though at the same time also one of how early on this all still is, because i do feel rodney ends up getting better at working through a crisis. (though itâs also like. very often john who keeps rodney focused, so in that context it makes sense rodney keeps getting distracted if john is, uh, otherwise occupied. with, like, dying.)
teyla is wearing earth gear in this episode and i think thatâs the first time we see that? but she does seem to have her own shirt under the jacket, which, idk, feels interesting. sheâs putting on this uniform over her pegasus identity.
the elizabeth vs. halling bits where she denies his request for last rites for teyla (thatâs not just coming from him, but from a group of athosians), even though the radio is totally free so they could have talked to teyla without obstructing the earth efforts at that moment... are always so uncomfortable to me. elizabeth says she doesn't want to make the people on the ship think they will die because earth people value life and will keep trying to save everyone, etc etc, and thatâs fine but itâs. such a sad way for this all to go down. i love elizabeth most of the time but these bits are most definitely not my favorites - like, sheâs in love with the ancients but she doesnât have enough respect for the living pegasus culture to find a way to make this work for everyone. i never fully know if i think this is an interesting flaw in her character or if i just want to blame it on the writers, who have a certain perspective that elizabeth is now an unfortunate mouthpiece for.
(and getting ahead of myself again here, but then later after the rescue efforts paid off thereâs THAT NOD she gives halling across the room and thatâs just fdjkfd nahhhh. you did not earn that nod. you donât have some cool understanding now, you were just disrespectful to him and his culture and his religion and this, now, feels a hairâs breadth from gloating over how your perspective was right all along, even though this outcome!!! does not mean!!! that it couldnât have ended differently!!! and i do think elizabeth means well and is not trying to be a dick, but that doesnât mean she isnât. i have extremely mixed feelings about all of this.)
for a lighter thought, markham and stackhouseâs biggest roles in sga are the episode that they spend being dematerialized and i think thatâs very iconic of them.
at one point john is talking to carson and is like âi need to move to help rodney with the mechanical problem!â and thatâs so very john of him. heâs actively at deathâs door and still doing his level best to be a control freak about a different life-threatening problem.
i PROMISE iâm not trying to rag on elizabeth (i do like her!!! when sheâs not in this episode), but this quote, when sheâs making a point to kavanaugh: âwe are cut off from earth, which makes atlantis almost like a colony, doesn't it? (...) well i'm governor of that colony.â itâs just laden with so, so, so much oof.
anyway, this episode has a lot of team!!! gate team one!!! team cooperation!!! at some point ford is updating atlantis on the status in the jumper and heâs like âdoctor mckay- [pointed pause in which he looks at rodney] doctor mckay is still hopeful he can come up with a solutionâ and then rodney GETS BACK TO WORK and thatâs good, i like a lot of things about that and what it says about how these characters and this team works.
john comes up with the solution to his own near death experience, which is also very john of him. bonus points for the plan being one in which john dies. sets a trend for a surprising amount of the rest of the show, even though he doesnât usually actually end up dead for a little bit when those plans are carried out, like he does here.
grodin, gosh, heâs so present in these early episodes, and it makes me sad that heâs one of those characters that just end up fading away eventually.
TEYLAâS RAINBOW WRAP AROUND SHIRT at johns bedside is !!!!!!! so good, omfg.
john, telling everyone what he was supposedly going to say when he was about to die: âtake care of each other.â rodney, a little smug: âand indeed we did.â fdjkfd these lonely men are still adjusting to having a family, but sometimes they are very :D about it and thatâs very cute.
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Just saying on the whole: I decided on Brackenpelt and Mintfur's personalities, this blogs anon's (and a bit you, no offense) literally decided to kick canon Reedwhisker to the curb, he now looks like Oakheart, and he's a sweetheart and a bit of an idiot who tries his best to protectand tell on Hawkfrost? (I've not read past TNP, so idk if he's actually like this so if he is forgive me.)
oh my god i. i can't.
okay so i have this thing that. is kind of long and convoluted to explain and also i neither want nor have to but i have this thing about repeating work. i can't do it. like i physically cannot make myself do it. if something interrupts what i am doing, and i lose what i wrote for an ask, i cannot make myself rewrite it. the thought alone is enough to make me want to cry.
so. i was. god. i can't even -- even summarizing what i wrote is very difficult for me. so i'm just going to jump in to where i was writing, maybe back up a little, because i was having fun talking about character arcs, and -- y'all can just deal.
(n.b. when i bring this up, people tend to suggest things like drafting responses to asks in software with autosave, or just saving responses to asks as drafts periodically. the answer is always, "i know that's an option, and it doesn't work for me for any number of reasons." while i appreciate the care, i'd rather save us all the time.)
(but to respond as quickly as i can to your actual ask -- i change background characters all the time, and no one has ever commented on it. secondly, while i often enjoy what anons offer me from different ideas, i'd prefer if we don't -- treat them as mine, perhaps? hm. not sure how to phrase that well and i want to move on now.)
anyway, basically, i'm rambling about decisions anons make and why i wouldn't personally make them. because i was in the middle of a thought, i'm going to have to back up a little, but -- i'm going to try to save myself some time and pain and just make one starting statement and then move on.
while i'm about to explain why i wouldn't make the following choices, that does not make them bad choices. in fact, i often enjoy responding to your asks with snippets utilizing these choices. they're just not choices i would independently make, but that doesn't make them bad. i just like to ramble about character arcs, and this gives me an excuse
reedpaw interfering with hawkpaw's dreams of the dark forest
the arc i have planned for hawkfrost revolves around no one knowing about the dark forest. it is essential to tigerstar's manipulation of him that no one knows. it is fundamental to his character arc.
so -- i can't just throw in reedpaw interfering. it would change every character's arc. and i like my arc for hawkfrost. i do not think it is benefitted by reedpaw interacting with it.
(this is kind of what i mean -- i've greatly enjoyed writing the drama that comes of reedpaw interfering, but i would never choose to have him interfere in independent content.)
reedkit being born not long after hawkkit, mothkit, and frogkit
this is the piece i'm most angry to have lost. i had -- guys i had a very good explanation of this one. it's. i will do my best because -- i don't know.
i am very -- the misty au matters to me. unlike the other aus, the misty au is mine. it is not some web of ideas, it is my au, and while i adore seeing everyone play with it, it often feels like -- handing someone a rubiks cube, watching them fiddle with it, and then, when they give it back to you, you solve it in a few moments. (i did speed cubing personal best was 27s, although i doubt i could get anywhere close to that now.)
like, you hand me this idea. mistyfoot has another kit about six moons after hawkkit, mothkit, and frogkit. i nod as you explain, am excited to see you so excited about it, but i cannot simply leave the cube unsolved. it is a compulsion of a sort. you hand me an unsolved cube, and i will solve it. i don't mean to, sometimes. it is simply that i know the patterns so well, and the process of observing and solving a cube is so instinctual, that i look for the best cross without realizing what i am doing, start to solve without meaning to.
and -- in this case, this is me solving the cube, this explanation. i have inserted this metaphor in part to explain why i feel i must try to explain this once again, why i am -- now that the chance, the idea of covering this topic has been raised, i cannot set it down.
so. although it is difficult, i want to tell you why i wouldn't choose to do this. again. there will be less couching this time, as there always is, so review my -- i don't think you're wrong, i just wouldn't make these choices -- above. i mean it.
reedkit being born changes every character's arc inherently. i've mentioned this in passing, but it fundamentally changes every single character's arc. for the main seven, it is a direct and tangible change, and for others, it is a ripple effect, and no stone is left unturned.
but i will use mistyfoot's arc as a catch-all, to explain my reason for not making this choice.
mistyfoot -- okay, if reedkit is born, mistyfoot's primary focus is no longer feathertail. i'm not one for "one child is loved more" stories. i don't like writing them. so. mistyfoot's focus is split between reedkit and feathertail.
and that is a problem. because -- feathertail is the most important thing in the world to mistyfoot. in an unhealthy way at first, but in a healthy way, later on. it is Unhealthy for mistyfoot to base her every action around how it affects feathertail; it is healthy for mistyfoot's top priority to be feathertail. codependency vs being a parent.
so. why is that a problem? well -- because it changes a lot of things, but most importantly, or at least, most close to the main time period the misty au covers, it changes how mistyfoot builds a relationship with hawk, moth, and frog.
because -- well, let's back up for a moment.
mistyfoot does not go in the nursery once. despite the fact that it is feathertail, that before and after this, they are nearly inseparable (unhealthily before, heathily after), she does not visit feathertail in the nursery a single time.
[insert a tangent about mistyfoot being in the nursery with reedkit i cannot bring myself to rewrite]
her interactions with the kits, once they are weaned, are either highly structured, or incidental moments she avoids and escapes from as fast as she can.
but -- feathertail is always there as a buffer. feathertail brings them out to mistyfoot as her kits, as a form of -- presentation, almost. or, mistyfoot and feathertail are talking, and one of the kits approaches momentarily.
because she can't do it anyway.
[insert tangent about mistyfoot being a good mother and how in this instance, that means not being around them]
and as the kits grow up, it is through feathertail that mistyfoot manages to build a relationship with them. the fact that they are feathertail's kits is how she does it. in part because -- it is a degree of separation that she is afforded. if things are too much -- she is not their mother. she can back off. but also because -- they are important to feathertail, and that makes it easier for mistyfoot to want to know them.
this is -- core to all five arcs at hand, here.
she sees hawkpaw seek out feathertail after a nightmare, and she sees a kit, who loves, who feathertail loves. she sees -- it makes it easier to forget his father, if he can simply be a child, sleeping with his mother to ward of nightmares.
hawkfrost is -- will always be the one she has the hardest time connecting to. this has little to do with his appearance (while he looks similar to tigerstar, he is not a clone -- he has more contrasting markings, a white chest, blue eyes, a narrower build, sleeker, glossier fur, and so on), and everything to do with the grief he causes feathertail as an apprentice. she worries over him, and mistyfoot doesn't know what to do.
frogheart is easier, or at least more straightforward. he bonds with mistyfoot when he's carrying feathertail down the mountain. there's -- two levels. first, he's doing a great service to the most important person to mistyfoot. second, this is a very hard time for feathertail, and mistyfoot wants to be with her for it. so -- they walk down together.
mothwing is -- she starts to be more and more responsible for feathertail's healthcare. and -- mistyfoot is. pretty much always with feathertail for that. even something as simple as marigold on a scratch, or getting a thorn pulled out -- mistyfoot is there.
it is an Anxiety Inducing Time. feathertail associates being treated with very bad things, and avoids going to the medicine den, so like -- mistyfoot has to be there to actually get her to go.
so while mothwing is learning to deal with -- a bit of a role reversal, in that she has to take care of feathertail. as a doctor, yes, but feathertail -- requires a lot of patience, cajoling, and creativity. and you know, that's hard. it is hard to see the cat who raised you like that. that's a big theme for mothwing.
but it means she starts to build a relationship with mistyfoot.
so -- why does it matter?
well, putting aside a long list of reasons that mistyfoot having reedkit then is so angst inducing (she's grieving for her first litter, she's not in a place to voluntary have another child, she's still coping with the trauma of a forced pregnancy, etc), if her focus is split between reedkit and feathertail, the weight of all of this is decreased.
not -- by half, or anything. love is not some finite resource. but mistyfoot no longer avoids the nursery, and she has many more early interactions with the kits. when feathertail leaves, she has another kit that means she can't fall apart in the same way. and -- that means that frogpaw, hawkpaw, and mothpaw's initial impression of her never changes.
when feathertail vanishes, they start to gain a deeper understanding of mistyfoot, which enables them to be able to start connecting to her.
other stuff
i'm doing this thing where i try to go to bed before 3am, so unfortunately, not right now.
oh wait i lied real quick
tawnypelt
i think this is because you haven't seen her pov yet, but a lot of asks about her tend to misunderstand her internal thought process. or at least -- they don't characterize her the way i intend to.
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The Evolution of Katsuki Bakugou and The Importance of Saving
after the last chapter, i couldnât help myself and wrote down a huge...meta? description of a collection of moments? relating to bakugouâs ongoing arc with his increasing dedication to prioritizing rescuing others in his pursuit to be a top hero. feel free to add on if i somehow forgot something!
behind the cut bc itâs really image heavy!
CHAPTER 5
weâre introduced to the concept of combat vs rescue, win vs save - and of course itâs by comparing our main boys. they started on opposite ends of the spectrum, after all. dekuâs all hero, no super. bakugouâs all super, no hero. so yeah, bakugou managed to get first place in the entrance exam without a single rescue point. which is a feat considering even iida managed to get 9 points and it was clear he wasnât thinking about helping others until he saw dekuâs bravery when uraraka was in danger. at this point, bakugouâs only interested in showing off. being flashy and tough, proving heâs the best!
CHAPTER 18
bakugouâs first rescue and he could give less of a shit! he saves deku from running into kurogiriâs portal here, not with the motivation of saving his life but to get him out of the way - he jumped into the fray in order to take down kurogiri. saving deku isnât even a plus, really, itâs just a side effect.
dekuâs still grateful though.
EXTRA 1: THE FIRST OVA (actually written by horikoshi!)
bakugou initially complains about having to be on rescue duty, but he still gets praised by thirteen for his efforts: many heroes struggle with the parts of heroism that they canât easily solve with their quirks, and simply by manually pulling the stretcher up, heâs showing heâs capable of overcoming that. a beautiful hero, indeed. then, later, while he himself doesnât rescue todoroki, he works in tandem with deku and class 1A to ensure that save AND their victory. and while iida, uraraka and asui give deku the credit of coming up with their plan, and he modestly returns the praise to everyone, he makes sure to give indivudual kudos to bakugou - because like this OVA, aizawaâs âtwin pillarâ speech, all mightâs âraise each other upâ speech, and the upcoming movie all prove: deku and bakugou work best when leading their peers together using the âsave AND winâ mentality.
CHAPTER 65 + Ultra Archive Databook Omake
saves deku again, this time from all might. this is interesting because heâs doing this for both their benefits despite still not really having the ârescueâ mindset. heâs counting on deku to make it to the gate, but he was the one (by launching deku towards the gate to begin with) who assigned them these roles. deku as the runner, while bakugou distracts all might and therefore, shields deku from the brunt of the attack. heâs putting himself in physical harm for deku. but heâs not thinking it that way: to him, this is still just for personal gain (passing their exam) and due to (thanks to deku) a renewed sense of willpower and drive. he sees these actions as his own willingness to destroy himself for a victory.
 and heâs definitely pissed later during the databook omake that deku went back for him, seeing no positives in dekuâs innate inability to ignore others when theyâre in trouble (especially when that someone is bakugou himself - since we learn during this exam that bakugou equates all might being able to stand against any kind of tribulation by HIMSELF and coming up on top as what makes him the strongest hero).Â
EXTRA 2: THE FIRST MOVIE (not written by horikoshi but i still wanna bring it up)
uraraka canât fight back or escape the drones because sheâd have to release her quirk to do so - which would put deku and melissa in danger. but when things look grim, who comes to the rescue? bakugou does! like his first rescue, heâs not doing this with the thought process of âoh i have to save my friendâ but rather, âhey i just got here and thereâs things to fight and one of them is about to attack uraraka so might as well start with thatâ but in this case, itâs....the action that counts! and the action was still heroic! he did it in a very dramatic way too!
CHAPTERS 79, 80, 85, 90
i decided to group all these together. itâs all in the same conjoined arcs and itâs a little more nebulous on whether it counts for this particular meta because, well, bakugou doesnât really do any rescuing. i didnât bother with the sludge monster scene because itâs pretty clear-cut but i think that this really set the baseline for all future bakugou development and he filled the role of the damsel in need of rescuing - so it definitely affected his perception of it.
things i wanted to point out: during the forest, he and todoroki are together since they ended up partners during the forest activity. at some point after (or maybe as it happened) the mustard gas filled the forest, they came across tsuburaba and todoroki decided to carry him through the rest of the way. todoroki also has to continually point out to bakugou that he should avoid using his quirk as to avoid further endangering their peers still in the forest (since, yâknow, fire and explosions + wooded area = bad). for this entire time, bakugou is the hothead who just wants to fight and needs to be reminded that, hey, others could get hurt if youâre not careful. he barely pays tsuburaba any mind either, and we can probably assume he refuted it if todoroki even slightly implied they take turns carrying him or something.
he still helps out tokoyami even though he didnât really need to, since todorokiâs fire would have probably sufficed on its own. so thatâs nice! but then the convo switches gears to the fact that the legue of villains are here to kidnap bakugou and his friends all agree to be his [fandom voice] defense squad. EXCEPT, WAIT, WHAT THE FUCK? HE DOESNâT NEED ANY PROTECTION, THANK YOU VERY LITTLE, HEâS FINE BY HI - oh, yikes, and he got taken by mr. compress. i do like how he did listen to todoroki telling him to follow them, and must have stopped grousing about it long enough for the guys in front to not realize when he and tokoyami got taken.Â
urarakaâs the first to bring up that bakugou would probably feel bad about being rescued - because of his pride. thatâs what leads deku to add the caveat of, if we offer our help to kacchan, kirishima should be the one reaching out - at this point, bakugou would hate help from anyone, even though he KNEW that he was a hindrance to all might during the fight, and deku knows from personal experience after the whole sludge monster debacle, but itâs less of a blow to his ego if itâs someone he doesnât see as a threat, and heâll be less hostile if itâs someone he recognizes completely as a friend. the fact that heâs starting to see anyone as a friend is a lot! and though he denies it later, that grin says it all - heâs glad to be saved. heâs thankful.
CHAPTER 110 (& 113)
this is also an interesting one. i wish more people did a bit of retroactive meta for bakugou during this arc, because everything he does really shows his mental state in the aftermath of his kidnapping. anyway, while the first part of the exam was to show off your battle prowess against foes (which, another interesting note, bakugou would have FAILED without kaminari), the second test is where you show off your saving skills. and this is NOT what bakugou does. his tagalong BFFs chastise him for his behaviour, but the âvictimsâ seem to realize bakugou is observant enough to know theyâre low priority civillians. this doesnât stop them from taking points off for his bad attitude though - because the thing about bakugou is heâs actually emotionally intelligent enough to understand other people (when not clouded by personal feelings), but he repressed his empathy at a young age and therefore struggles with acting appropriately without coming off as terrible. and he ends up failing because he presumably doesnât try to alter his method and lets kaminari and kirishima do all the heavy lifting while being unusually complacent throughout - not even bothering to check out the big gang orca fight, despite apparently being aware it was happening.
but also, side note about the first test - where kaminari notes that bakugou held back on using his more powerful attacks because he didnât want to hurt kirishima (who was on the ground) or kaminari. i didnât include it as its own thing here since it more shows bakugouâs development in terms of teamwork, and not really rescuing - though i DO think getting kirishima back was on bakugouâs mind - but itâs still bakugou being pre-emptive and mindful of not hurting others and caring about his friends. sowing the seeds for his future motivations.
CHAPTER 120
after he failed his exam, finally vented his guilt and frustration, and beat deku in their fight - all might shows up with some words of wisdom! bakugou admits that all that ^ wasnât what he wanted to hear, but a cool thing about bakugou is that he always absorbs criticism and advice and takes it to heart (ex: bakugouâs start line!) heâs not averse to changing himself to improve, and if his IDOL says that being a bit more like deku is the way to be the best hero: that he can finally put aside all that anger and all those misunderstandings, and instead rise up by helping deku and keeping pace with him? surpassing him? that saving people is just as important as the final victory? then there has to be some truth to that, right?
bakugou has nothing to do now but let all those revelations simmer, attend his remedial classes, and wait to be relevant again.
and so weâre now in a different ball game!
CHAPTER 207
letâs fast-forward a few months. bakugouâs been out of the spotlight for a bit, if you donât count him getting his babysitting credentials, joining a band and just generally being more invested in ~friendship~. but we havenât seen him fight anyone for a while! he automatically puts himself in the leadership position of team 4, annoys his friends by being bossy and impatient, same old bakugou, and then - wait, he throws himself between kamakiri and jirou to save her?
we finally see the fruits of his labour after deku vs kacchan 2. the old bakugou wasnât a team player, didnât care if anyone else got hurt as long as they didnât get in between him and his opponent - him and victory. the new bakugou is still prickly, still has the same personality, still wants nothing more than to surpass the number one hero - but heâs had a change of heart. the new bakugou has discovered a new strength, and thatâs the desire to rescue others.
CHAPTER 208
i donât even have to say anything. class 1A does it for me. while monoma, tokage and class 1B are shocked beyond belief that bakugou is capable of changing...his friends are just proud and happy. at this point - seeing him day in and out - they (especially the ones heâs built up closer friendships with, like kirishima and kaminari) all know exactly how he thinks and feels.Â
we also get to hear that, before the fight even started, he straight-up put it out there:Â âif you guys are in trouble, iâll save you. if IâM in trouble, YOU gotta save me.â and thatâs the next step, right? bakugou never put stock in protecting others, sure, but he was adamantly threatened by the idea of being the one that needed protection. because that would mean he was weak, right? he can handle anything by himself! except....his friends saved him in kamino ward, and maybe - his databook bio implies this too - time to reflect on it has let him see that...was okay. we saw in the license exam with kaminari, and during the culture festival with jirou and the band (both things that are brought up here) that heâs begun to - not just acknowledge his peers as worthy of respect, as he did with todoroki and yaoyorozu after the battle trial and with kirishima and uraraka after the sports festival - but TRUST them too. specifically here, he trusts that if he fucks up or if class 1B decides to target him, he can count on his teammates - on jirou, sero and satou - to rescue him and take over when he canât do it himself. and they do, so well done!
CHAPTER 219
the sketch is from the volume extras: to let us know that bakugou attacked from up above in the air (and the lamp post) in order to make sure no bystanders got hurt from his explosions or todorokiâs ice. :)
anyway, this is his official premiere into the hero world! his first licensed fight, and it serves as a surprising template for how bakugou operates these days. for one, he has no qualms with teaming up with todoroki - whom he claims to dislike (haha, suuuuure, kacchan). two, he lets todoroki call dibs on the main baddie while bakugou takes care of all the lackies (in one fell swoop bc heâs THAT GOOD) - even though one could easily argue that thereâs less glory in that. three, heâs aware of his surroundings and notices a civillian in danger at the same time as all might, moving quick to save her, whereas todoroki only manages to react in the aftermath - because, as weâve seen, rescue is now firmly imprinted in his mindâs eye. if he sees someone in trouble, thatâs going to be the most important thing to him. four, we find out after the fight that he prioritized saving everyoneâs wallets and purses before blowing up all the lackies. and i love that bakugouâs more talented at snatching wallets than actual goddamn thieves. master cook, natural musician, battle genius, honour student.....pickpocket extraordinaire?
bakugouâs still rude to the civillian, still brusque with the pro heroes (even trying to act cool when faced with proud dad might head pats), but this fight showed us where his priorities lie - and itâs not what they were when he started school and couldnât even garner a single rescue point.
EXTRA THREE: THE SECOND MOVIE (also not written by horikoshi but it seems he had more of a hand in it)
the movieâs not even out yet but itâs clear that the boys are going to be leaning HARD into their new shared mantra. defeating nine and his lackeys, in order to save everyone on the island, and personally motivated by protecting mahoro and katsuma in particular.
so even though we donât know the nitty-gritty of what happens yet, i felt the need to include it. bakugouâs gonna be doing a lot of saving in this movie. i can tell.
CHAPTER 248
he doesnât do any rescuing here. on the contrary, he and the multi-quirk boys almost let a couple people get run over by a truck head-on because theyâre still too slow to keep up with endeavour. but endeavourâs words here are pointed directly at bakugou: he canât treat hero work like school, he canât make excuses for his shortcomings - because he has to work his ass off in order to save lives.
once again, the narrative ties bakugouâs growth with the lesson that the goal of heroism is to save other people.Â
CHAPTER 251
earlier that week, endeavour set the three main tenants of heroism: combat/suppression, evacuation and rescue. the intent was to show that a top hero has to do all THREE, instead of just one, but a lot of fans obviously instantly tacked one of those on each of our trio. i wasnât surprised that most put âcombatâ as the bakugou one. because, yeah, bakugou....battle instincts, feral boy, here to fight and win....
BUT THATâS BECAUSE YâALL WERENâT PAYING ATTENTION SINCE SOME OF YOU ARE ACTING LIKE THIS IS SURPRISING. so, letâs break it down - bakugouâs the first out of the car and first to activate his quirk. heâs so in the zone that he doesnât even turn his head when catching his suitcase. and what does he do? he, ONCE AGAIN, just like in the ch219 fight, allows todoroki to be the one that handles the villain. instead, he uses his new supernova flashstep move to focus on RESCUING THE HOSTAGE. he catches ending by surprise, securing natsuo away from him, and blasts away to safety while also using his explosions to rip the other cars out of endingâs grasp, fully entrusting in dekuâs ability to catch the cars safely and evacuate all the bystanders with zero injuries, and DEFINITELY zero corpses.
early bakugou would have immediately stormed for ending (then again, early bakugou wouldnât have chosen to do this internship in the first place) but heâs not that guy anymore. weâre dealing with bakugou 2.0 now, and we have for a while now.
WOW, THAT WAS A LOT OF WORDS BUT I CANâT WAIT UNTIL WE CAN KEEP ADDING MOMENTS TO THIS COLLECTION OF BAKUGOUâS LOVE FOR SAVING PEOPLE.
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âJORGE JOESTARâ, Wikipedia + Google Translate edition, volume 2.
For example, the 4567 characters meet each other, the boss characters fight each other (time stand vs time stand), the ultimate life cars are revived, and so on.
(Quite a company.)
In 1900, 10-year-old George Joe Star, living on the Spanish island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, was struggling by Antonio Torres and sent a daily life to help his childhood friend Lisa Lisa.
(Yep, heâs just sent the entirety of his daily life to help Elizabeth. Thatâs the Joe Star way for yaâ!)
A mysterious case of being killed occurs.
(... I donât even know, what to think about this)
Detective 999 (Tsukumoduk)
(Poor boy. At least heâll now understand Dio, who was only called âDâ and was miserable)
George Joe Star, who lives in Nishiaki Town, Fukui Prefecture, meets with a boy 9999 who came from another world because he was able to unlock the code hidden in the murder of a closed room.
(Sounds kinda like unlocking secret codes in games)
In addition, a message from Yoshikage Kira sent a message saying, "If you get close to Morio-cho, you will kill it."
(Kiraâs message sends a message on itâs own, while Morio-cho decides to die for no better reason, than someone getting close to it)
As it continued, 999,99 were found dead in Morio-cho the next morning.
(... Quite the killcount.)
Yacross House
(Yaâ, ainât no ye olâ Arrow Cross House!)
Yasuhiro Hirose, Mysterious Nijimura, and the innumerable large number of Nijimura
(The Nijimure family keeps getting bigger)
Moriojima is covered with a transparent barrier, and cannot pass military missile attacks
Outside detectives said, âKira Yoshikage, calm down. We know you are not the culprit in the detective triple murder case. The true criminal may be trying to hunt down you in wet clothes. Could you consider cooperating in the investigation?'
(The wet clothes saga continues)
Nijimura and his colleagues prevent the townsmen from getting confused and hysterical, and at the gymnasium that causes mass burnt suicide.
(What a nice gymnasium)
Nijimura and his colleagues prevent the townsmen from getting confused and hysterical, and at the gymnasium that causes mass burnt suicide.
(The townâs not better either)
However, Kenton is killed and George is suspected as a suspect
(Makes sense)
The George criminal theory is an impossible crime
The mafia boarded the town of Morio and began controlling the mayor and residents.
(No opportunity wasted)
Mafia Shiohana Hatsuryu calls the detective George and requests a detective to "find out the boss's diabolo."
(Kinda ironic, given, who Giorno is here)
Darlington tells George "Resuscitation of the Dead". What we did about Dio Brando and Stone Mask, and that my father and brother were obsessed with the delusion of resuscitating Kenton.
(What a nice time to live)
300 zombie aviation units have launched a mainland attack on Britain. George and Lisa Lisa are all defeated in an aerial battle, and London is regained.
(... Are they sure they didnât completely misinterpret the results?)
Butcharati says, "The bad guys who die are good. You don't have to figure out the truth of death."
(Great words, Butcher-rati!)
I have Giovana treating my wound.
(Whom do you mean by âIâ?!)
The explanation of the stand was received, and with the help of dew, it was possible to see the stand and have a conversation in Japan.
(M - Multitasking)
In this place, Arrow Cross House, the mystery of the diabolo, Yoshikage, and 999 killings is to be solved.
(The killcount stays awesome)
When I was a kid, I had a timid personality. When I was a kid, I was bullied by Antonios and helped by Lisa Lisa. He became a friend of 9999 and gained experience as a detective assistant in his early teens. He is also very interested in airplanes and cars, and once he is an adult he becomes an excellent British military pilot.
(The POV keeps jumping. Also, multiple Antionions? I think Torres wasnât a skin zombie yet by this point.)
Shortly after his birth, he was adopted and was adopted, and was adopted by the British Joe Star family in Fukui Prefecture and was named "George".
(The holy adoption trinity, embodied in one boy. Maijo be happy)
Received a message from "Yoshikage Kira" by name, and further killed 999, whom he met, in Moriomachi, leading to Moriomachi and becoming involved in a stranger case.
(... Iâve thought serial killer detectives were a thing of the ID: INVADED)
Kato Tsukumo 99 (Tsukumoduk Kato)
(Poor boy.)
The world has a meta- idea that it is a story, and I believe that by believing in Beyond, we must overcome our destiny as the protagonist.
(Quite an optimistic outlook on life)
In Chapter 1, I was aware that I was a detective and the protagonist of the story, but when I learned about unknown existences such as vampires and ripples, I was convinced that Beyond moved to George and became the protagonist.
(The fourth walll just keeps getting broken)
Seiryoin Ryusui 's JDC series ' famous detective " 9999 " has the same name as "Kato 9999 " in Maijo's past work " 999-Tsuku Moduuk- ", but it is set. And different people.
I had been planning for 100 years in a canoe on the sea floor.
(The coffin was too expensive, so, he had to do with canoe)
.
Elizabeth Strazzo
Known as Lisa Lisa . George's one-year-old childhood friend.
With a strong personality, he helped George, a bullied Antonio, in his childhood. He later married Ai Soai and has a son, Joseph Joe Star .
Under the influence of the ripples of Jonathan Joe Star, he learned the basics of ripple breathing when he encountered a marine accident at an early age.
(Wait... did Lisa Lisa transition at any point?)
Penelope de la Rosa
A younger girl than George, a person who was involved in a case that was resolved by 999 and George.
In a nightmare, the clown forced him to murder a closed room, causing him to become a clown phobia. Later he worked in Elina's office and became a co-resident of the Joe Stars family.
(Penelope too... also, murdering the closed room? And becoming the embodiment of clown phobia? AWESOME)
Nijimura Mysterious (Nijimura wonder)
Bad-looking student with left and right afro hairstyle. A high school boy with a fast-moving personality, and an enormous twin brother. The shirt and school run have the description " 10^64 ".
I am chasing Yoshikage Kira who has gone missing. There is a character with the same surname in the fourth part of the original work.
(Nijimura with afro. Cool)
He has the appearance of a middle-aged man and can speak with his ego.
(NYPD Blue speaks not with mouth or some Stand bullshit, but with ego. Awesome.)
On Manhattan Island, I am motivated.
(And nowhere else)
Yuki Kachi, Cat Cat Nyan Nyan Nyan
He had been killed in the Boyoyon cape and the Angelo rocks in the town of Duo.
(Neko Neko too...)
Lumbaba 12, lol curry
(Lol)
PocoRoco Triple Seven
Astronaut of HG Wells. Black youth.
Light staff
Multiple stand. Carry out the given instructions.
Goya Three Soundman
Astronaut of HG Wells. A Native American bloody youth.
"Soundman", which was said to be the real name of "Sandman" in the 7th part of the original work, is in the family name.
Dune
The body and sand are united. Bounce, not stand. Ability has a vision.
(âI, Dune, have a vision!")
Giorno Giovana / Shiohana Hatsuno Rino
Executive of the Paschone family. Betrays the boss Diabolo and pursues his identity with his colleagues. It has a star-shaped bruises, although its history is unknown.
Brno Bucharati
(Vry intrsting mfioso)
Narancha Gilga
A mafia boy whose age is not so different from that of George. Shake the knife easily. Even simple calculations are wrong.
(That... is correct)
.
Panna Cotta Fugo
It seems to be a hallucination stand.
(Well, at least Reimi wonât be only one of her kind anymore)
Diabolo (common name)
The boss of the Paschone family. He never reveals himself to his subordinates.
I have been betrayed by Giorno and others and are being chased by them. Later discovered as a corpse at Arrow Cross House.
Dio referred to him as "the son of a train robber," and was sucked into the blood as familiar.
King Crimson
Diaboro stand. You can skip the time for a few seconds.
(Now Diaboro has become a familiar?)
Dorcio chocolate
Doctor. A person involved in drug trafficking and terrorism in the United States. Gaido is also taking a slaughter of civilian massacre by taking advantage of Giorno-led boss purge operation.
(Dorcio expanded his influence to the USA? Cool)
A man dressed like a bondage. A patient with chocolate, who has a psychiatric outpatient history. He is involved in the massacre of civilians with Chocolatata.
Evil Dead
Secco stand. It looks like a giant person.
It has the ability to hide events that occur anywhere and make them imperceptible from a particular direction.
(Chokolatata. I think Iâm going to keep this one in mind. Also, Evil Dead got buffed, I see.)
Cars [B]
The ultimate life form born by a man on a pillar wearing a stone mask wearing Aja's red stone. Dangerous creatures that are strictly ordered by the United Nations to never approach the earth.
After being thrown into space at the end of the battle with Joseph Joe Star, he wandered through space and arrived on Mars and settled in.
He had previously communicated with Fannier Valentine of the United States (the previously mentioned fear was Tatezen), and returned to Earth with Fannier's death along with George, Nalancha and Pucci.
By further learning the stand as the ultimate life form, it is possible to copy the stand ability of others (the ultimate is added to the stand name, and it is further strengthened).
The Eyed Baroon
Spacecraft HG Wells newly discovered Mars' third moon, or creature. A sphere with eyes, fangs and tentacles. Named by NASA.
It is directly connected to the right hand of Cars on the surface of Mars, and a sphere with a diameter of 5 km floats in the sky 8 km above. I couldn't observe it from Earth because Cars was hiding it by moving against the rotation of Mars.
As described above, it is a living body that extends from the body of Cars, and the inside is hollow and contains the body of the spacecraft Giotto.
(UN ordered Kars never to reach Earth? Ha-ha-ha.
Also, is he now just a simple Homo Sapiens, who wore an Aja mask on a pillar? And whatâs the Tatezen?)
Jonathan Joe Star [B]
Jojo, the fifth generation detective George. He died together in 1889 in an attempt to prevent Dio's train robbery.
Dio Brandow Joe Star [B]
Adopted by the Joe Star family and Jonathan's brother-in-law. It is said that Jonathan died in a train robbery.
(The family tree keeps getting weirder)
Joseph Joe Star [B]
The Joe Star family emigrated from the United States to Nishixiao Town in his time. He was the great-grandfather of the detective George, and was called "Joseph Grandfather". Died in 2010.
He is a hero who once exiled the ultimate life cars. Honoring his grandfather Jonathan, he called Dio only "D" and said it horribly.
(Dio still has no luck with names)
The land is only one huge continent Panlandia, and the Japanese archipelago is attached to the eastern end. The ocean is Ocean The Ocean.
(The ocean is Ocean The Ocean. Does it make a trinity?)
Arrow Cross House
A residence of Rohan Kishibe. A strange structure where the four tips of the cross are in the shape of an arrow.
It was said that it was built without anyone's knowledge, it seemed to have been relocated from Sai Akatsuki-cho, or the shape had changed before I knew it.
It was the scene of the 9999 killing case and the Yoshikage Kira & Diaboro killing cases.
Remi Sugimoto, the stand, controls the building and space. The interior space embodies the tesselact structure, which is a conceptual figure because of the stand.
(How did they manage to pile up 9999 corpses in there?)
14 words
In July 1999, the fragments of the spacecraft Giotto crashed, the Pucci family became craters, and only the eldest son Enrico, who was out, escaped the difficulty.
14 words on the surface of the iron plate "spiral stairs" "beetle insects" "ruins town" "fig tarts" "beetle insects" "road to Dolorosa" "beetle insects" "singularity" "Giotto" "angel" "Hydrangea," "beetle," "singularity," "secret emperor," and "how to reach heaven" were written.
Detective George experiences these 14 things through the story. Pucci, who accompanies George, also experiences these phenomena, and when all the conditions are met, a maid in heaven is born.
( @sophianightdreamer So thatâs how this Touhou/JJBA crossover came to be...)
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I donât have much for unpopular opinions, but Iâll try this instead: whatâs your take on the whole situation regarding RWBY and their recent decisions in the latest season? (Frcstbxte)
send me controversial or unpopular opinions and Iâll tell you if I agree or disagree đ¸ âď¸
Hoo boy. People are going to unfollow me for this one guaranteed due to how may super strong opinions people have about this. This oneâs getting a cut to avoid drama.
I do want to stress that I donât want to devalue or invalidate anyoneâs complaints regarding the show. Enjoyment is a highly personal thing and if youâre frustrated, upset, disappointed, or otherwise had negative feelings donât let this convince you that youâre not allowed to feel the way you do about the volume.. My gripes are more on the mechanical and storytelling aspects of things and with the arguments used to criticize the volume. I only hope I can make my case on why the commonly complained about parts of the show donât warrant the vitriol in my opinion. I likely wonât convince too many people, but Iâd like to make my case here anyway.
I honestly believe a lot of the complaints about the latest season from a writing standpoint are short-sighted, lack scope, and/or just miss the point of what weâre looking at. From an overall storytelling perspective this was definitely the most well put together season the show has had so far and a lot of the complaints only address individual concerns that some fans had regarding things not happening the way they wanted to without a regard for the overall plot. This is why I think a lot of the complaints donât measure up and where my actual gripes with the part lie.
1. Theme
You cannot consider yourself to have analyzed a work without first looking at its overall theme. RWBYâs structure doubles up on this as not only does the show as a whole have its overarching themes and plot, but each individual volume has their own to deal with as well. Here the theme is trust, as directly stated in the opening lyrics and itâs a common source of problems and solutions throughout the the show.Â
From an overarching standpoint, we have Salem doing her darnedest to break apart any alliances that could be formed against her. I do not believe this is because she fears humanity in terms of tactical numbers. This simply isnât that kind of show. The writers have said in interviews that they take most of their story and theme cues from the magical girl genre. You know, the same âlove and friendship conquers allâ magical girl genre that all those shows not named Madoka Magicka use as the basis for their protagonists. The silver eye power seems fueled by that exact sentiment and I think thatâs going to be a huge factor close to the end. This is not a setting where pragmatism and strategic thinking will carry the day- keep that in mind.
2. RWBY vs. Ironwood
This is the part everyoneâs been talking about and I think a lot of the hard-line side-taking in either direction is missing the point entirely. This conflict was always going to happen and both sides have fault to bear.
The two sides can be seen as having their own character arcs on a macro scale. Individual character motivations werenât nearly as important as they were in previous volumes and it helps to see them mostly through the lens of Ruby and Ironwood. The basic core of the problem throughout the series is this, Team RWBY has decided to go along with Ironwoodâs plan for lack of one themselves, but donât trust him with the whole truth until they know how heâll react to it. This is a man with an army and a paranoid streak after all. This, of course, is a decision that winds up instrumental in triggering Ironwoodâs paranoid shitstorm later in the volume.
That said, I donât believe the problem is Rubyâs decision making- Itâs the narrative. The whole reason this comes across as weird and contrived is that we are never told the reason Ruby and co. donât trust Ironwood with the information from the lamp. By all accounts up until this point there was no visible reason for them to do so and weâre simply never told WHY. Answering this simple question would have made the entire rest of the narrative make a lot more sense were she just given a believable reason to hold the info back, let alone any reason at all.
Now letâs bounce back to Ironwood. Iâm going to just go out and say I grew tired of the âIronwood did no wrong.â discourse pretty quickly because, again, people are missing the point. For this one, we have to look back into the theme- trust. When Ironwood has his breakdown, he not only turns his back on Ruby and her team for lying to him, but he goes right into his martial law plan also betraying the trust of the council, Robyn, and the people of Mantle who are now going to be sacrificed for the sake of salvaging his original plan. Despite Ruby and coâs actions making the situation worse, we arenât meant to see Ironwoodâs new solution as a better alternative purely on the moral cost of what heâs doing. This is what is called in screenwriting the âMoral Lineâ defined as a vision of right and wrong as told through the protagonists. Weâre meant to sympathize with Ruby owning up to lying to Ironwood and trying to move forward despite the setbacks, not cheer for Ironwood calling them out and forcing out a more pragmatic path.
To me, I think this stems from a common sentiment shared in a lot of popular media and deconstruction of tropes that idealism is a naive and childish flaw and that proper strategic logic is what solves problems. Again, I predict that due to the genre inspirations of this story, this wonât be the case at all. Ironwood is going to fail because he turned his back on moral idealism, trust, and friendship in favor of planning and decisive action no matter the cost, not despite it. Harriet summarized the entire philosophy well during her fight with Ruby:
âItâs not excessive if itâs necessary!â
This line feels, to me, like a reflection of everything that Team RWBY is now fighting against and we should be able to understand as an audience from a moral standpoint why this is the way it is.
As a small aside, letâs cap this off with the RWBY vs. ACE-Ops fight. A lot of people called foul because the ACE-Ops lost and I just donât understand why. The moment the fight started, I knew what the outcome was going to be purely because the story as it was set up simply couldnât progress otherwise. Much like Mercury and Emerald in volume 5, RWBY matching and defeating the ACE-Ops shows the progression of the main characters. Them choosing to fight also shows RWBY the final stakes moving forward and symbolically shows them that the might of the entire Atlas army is now their enemy moving forward.Â
With this in mind, I want to go back to Ironwoodâs martial law plan and defend some aspects of his character that should be. Up until the point of Ironwoodâs breakdown it was seriously and soberly treated as a last resort option with a clear understanding by Ironwood, Winter, and the ACE-Ops that they knew exactly what was it was going to imply. This does not make them evil and itâs important to understand that. However the Tin Man needs a heart and this brings us to Ironwoodâs fatal flaw. The real bad decision was that the martial law plan was enacted despite already having the unity of the people of Mantle behind them. He lost far more than the stands to gain with his decision, thinking only from a tactical and strategic standpoint regardless of what he has to sacrifice to get there. Those sacrifices have already all but left him facing Salem alone. If he survives next volume, Iâll be surprised.
3. Qrow and Clover
For a few moments, I do want to discuss Clover and Qrowâs dynamic because itâs very important to Qrowâs story throughout the part. Regardless of how you choose to interpret their exchanges, the important takeaway here is that for the first time in possibly decades Qrow had a friend he can talk to as an equal and not have Ozpinâs plans or a generational gap in the way.Â
Ever since we were introduced to Qrow, heâs shown himself to be a dysfunctional loner who is only just recently trying to seriously pick himself back up off his feet. I believe the fact that he was finally shown that he can actually have friends is a huge factor in this. His life has always been dominated by his feelings and doomsaying. He spends every interaction waiting for the other shoe to drop and uses his own semblance as an excuse to perpetuate that worldview.
And this is why I think Qrowâs fight with Clover makes total sense to have happened. Heâs one of Ozâs main team and also has a fatal flaw.
The cowardly lion needed courage and he died for his cowardice.
The tin man needs a heart and lost all his allies in the pursuit of his goals.
The scarecrow needs a brain and his emotional decision-making cost him his friendâs life.
This is a genuine tragedy, literary-speaking in fact. Qrowâs awful situation was one of his own making and he knows it, but I canât imagine him doing anything else. One thing that Iâve seen throughout the show about Qrow is that heâs never given up trying to stop Salem- heâs an idealist like Ruby and in my opinion has been subverting the mentor archetype beautifully. However, every time heâs made a major decision in the series, heâs done it on an emotional or practical level. No real thinking ever goes into what he does. When Clover calmly announces to Qrow what was just ordered and Robyn summarily attacks him, his first instinct is to try and stop the fight.
Iâm going to break here to discuss Robynâs actions at this moment- another common complaint. Would we really expect someone like her to have done anything different with the news that the city sheâs worked so hard to work with all those years was just cast aside? This would have been seen to anyone in her position as nothing less than a double-cross given how just a few hours ago everything for the evacuation was moving apace. From a characters standpoint, I donât get why anyone would fault Robyn for being furious at this aside from âItâs not the smart thing to do right now.â No, itâs not, but Iâm also very tired of seeing people complain about characters making non-optimal decisions. Not everyone things with perfect logic, strategy, or sense at every given moment. This is a perfectly human response to finding out your loved ones were just given a death sentence. She lashed out at Clover over lack of Ironwood face to punch.
With this in mind, Qrowâs decision to fight Clover is a bit more personal. Heâs treating it more or less the same way that he treated Raven joining with Cinder a few parts ago. Qrow is clearly very much against the idea of leaving whatâs left of Mantle to die and now has a lot of aggression to take out seeing how calmly and without complaint Clover takes the order. The only friend Qrowâs had in a long time chose his duty over him and he doesnât know how to take that- so they fight. Itâs safe to assume that Qrow is likely in a highly emotional state and, as weâve established before, not thinking about what heâs doing. Robyn is passed out in the wreckage, Tyrian is left unattended, and theyâre miles away from any real contact from anyone. Bluntly, he screwed up, he screwed up big time, but his character leads me to believe he wouldnât really have done anything else.
Then we see Qrow in engage in a little something we in the literary community call âseriously fucking up.â In the heat of the moment, he decides to trust Tyrian at his word and it ends about as well as to be expected. Qrow made a mistake, one of the biggest mistakes in the entire series and one that looks plainly obvious and avoidable to the audience, but only when you consider it through the lens of someone whoâs making calm and rational decisions. Yes, Qrow fucked up, Iâm not defending his decision making; Iâm defending the scene and why that faulty decision making was the only thing that could really happen.Â
4. Winter and Penny
The biggest complaint regarding these two is Penny leaving Winter behind at the end of the part. Frankly, for this one Iâve got nothing so Iâm not going to pretend I have an answer to the complaints. Much like Ruby early on, the show just outright refuses to give us the reason she left. Winter getting the maiden powers might have been part of the plan, but I donât think Ironwood would be so inflexible as to not settle for Penny getting it instead. The only thing I can imagine that could be going through her head is that she still wants to try and save Mantle and live up to her title, trusting Winter can handle herself. However, again like with Ruby, I donât believe that the character is to blame here, but the narrative just refusing to give us an explanation and leaving us to sit there in frustrated confusion. We might get it next part, but I donât like that...
5. Can I Talk About Watts Now?
With that out of the way, I do have one really bizarre complaint regarding the part that no one else seems to talk talk about.
I am very disappointed with Watts. This is mostly just be griping about lost potential so bear with a small rant.
There was a lot of setup regarding Watts as a threat and when he got the codes. Weâre told that given time he could control literally all of Atlas (because apparently two-factor authentication and dead manâs switches donât exist but thatâs a logical gripe for another day). My question is why this wasnât capitalized on. I wanted a repeat of the mechanical soldiers turning on the Vale citizens. We could have had automated vehicles wreaking havoc, fights between people and robots, and all sorts of fun stuff. You can argue that Watts was distracted by Ironwoodâs trap and didnât have the time to really cut loose and Iâll accept that, but I just wish we could have seen more. Any Watts RPers out there who want some ideas, youâre free to steal this one.
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SnK S3E21 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)
The poll closed with 260 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Please note that these are the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!
RATE THE EPISODE
251 Responses
As usual, the episode received good ratings! A small minority could have been more impressed, but overall people were happy.
It was great, another 10/10 episode. My only gripe is that they should've cut the opening this time as well to have more time to put some great dialogues from the manga.
A bit bummed that quite a bit of lines from the manga didn't make it into the episode, but otherwise pretty damn good.Â
Great one, though not as great as the previous one.
Some shots were not 1 to 1 to the manga, which was a bit sad, but overall the episode was amazing!
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS THE MOST IMPRESSIONABLE MOMENT?
255 Responses
Kruger bringing up Armin and Mikasa to Grisha was voted as the most notable scene from this episode. Behind that at 18.4% was the âAttack Titanâ name drop moment. Kruger encouraging Grisha to carry out his mission came at a distant third with only 5.7% of the vote.
Everyone joking about Erenâs phase was hilarious. The lampshading of generic anime protag behaviour was great.
The end gave me c h i l l s. I loved how the outro started playing in the last little bits of krugers and grishas conversation and how the outro imagery was changed to titan history images instead. That whole scene was such a pleasant surprise.
KRUGER SAID EVIL AND GOOD PEOPLE ONLY EXIST IF THATâS WHAT THEY ARE CALLED. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?
253 Responses
Just over half of respondents believe that âgoodâ and âevilâ are typically subjective terms, although there are a few who are objectively one or the other. 40.7% feel that âgoodâ and âevilâ are always subjective no matter what. A small 7.1% feel that âgoodâ and âevilâ are entirely objective with no room for argument.
Kruger's "you can be a god or demon depending on what you claim" is maybe the most overrated line in the story. He's musing on the fallibility of historical narrative and the ease with which people are deceived and made ignorant, not making some grand statement that there is no real morality.
DO YOU THINK GRISHA WAS THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR KRUGER TO ENTRUST THE TITAN POWER?
254 Responses
The vast majority of respondents feel that Grisha was a suitable successor of the Attack Titan after Kruger, while 18.5% arenât certain he was the right choice.
WHAT IS THE BEST NAME FOR ERENâS TITAN?
255 Responses
69% percent (lol) of respondents prefer the official English name, âAttack Titan.â 18.8% prefer the literal translation of âShingeki no Kyojinâ as âAdvancing Titan.â A few fans still prefer Erenâs long-time fandom label as the âRogue Titan.â A few write-ins also had some fun takes:
American Titan, because he loves Freedom
Bedhead Titan
F R E E D O M TITAN
Crotchless sex on legs.
Elfian Titan / Elf Titan
Attacking Titan
Grisha, this titan has a name, it is Best Ass Titan.
WHAT ARE PATHS?
254 Responses
What are paths though? Like seriously? Okay, but seriously, 35.4% of respondents feel that they are metaphysical threads of fate. Closely behind at 32.7%, people are simply just confused and still canât wrap their head around the concept of paths. 25.2% believe that paths are like an invisible highway between time periods. What are paths really, though?
As a manga reader i still don't get what paths are
By Ymir and the walls, every time I think I understand or at least accept paths something comes out of left field and leaves me shooketh.
PATHS IS NOT A SPOILER ANYMORE!!
EREN KRUGER MENTIONED MIKASA AND ARMIN WHEN HE WAS TALKING TO GRISHA - HOW DID HE KNOW THEIR NAMES?
254 Responses
42.9% of respondents feel it can only be explained as paths connecting all Eldians like a thread of fate, something unexplainable. 33.5% believe that Kruger simply tapped into the memories of either Grisha or Eren. 14.6% think that Eren sent this message back in time to Kruger.Â
I think its a message passed down through the Attack Titan
Eren confused his own thoughts with the memories
I was always thinking it was someone else talking to Eren and as Eren did something, the memories were sent backwards
The Attack Titan keeps moving forward. It can glimpse further down the line into the fourth dimension.
I don't know, hopefully Isayama will explain this one day.
I noticed during this episode that Kruger looks just like Grisha as both a child and an adult. Perhaps he... is Grisha?
This conversation is a flashback alright ? Then, itâs only Erenâs wish interfering with the flashback. Itâs actually Erenâs actual mind which is deforming the thing
If the theory of the time loop is real, maybe that's how the message kinda got sent, similarly how Eren got glimpses of his future when he was a kid. Maybe they've been doing this for so long now that they've tried to send messages through time so that they know what needs to be done.
Kruger was speaking as Grisha, which means he was experiencing Grisha's memory
it's the time loop guys
I have always assumed Eren's memories were mixed up with Grisha's, which is why he'd âremember" Kruger mentioning Armin & Mikasa's names, but now I'm not sure. Maybe "PATHS" really make memories a two way street.
KRUGER SAYS IN ORDER TO STOP THEIR CURSED HISTORY FROM REPEATING, GRISHA MUST LEARN TO LOVE SOMEONE. DO YOU THINK THIS COULD BE GENERAL ADVICE FOR THE REST OF HUMANITY?
253 Responses
We had an almost-tie here, but 43.9% took the lead, with respondents feeling that âloveâ is a primary method for breaking a cycle of hatred, prejudice and despair. 43.1% feel that while âloveâ is a nice, flowery solution to the worldâs problems, itâs just not that simple. 8.3% arenât sure either way, and a small amount believe firmly that âloveâ isnât a reasonable approach to solving the worldâs issues.
NEXT WEEK IS THE FINAL EPISODE OF THIS SEASON - ARE YOU EXPECTING A TEASER FOR THE NEXT SEASON?
256 Responses
52.3% of viewers remain hopeful that we will have a season 4 teaser will happen at the end of the episode, solidifying another season of the anime. 38.7% are confident that a teaser will be present. A small percentage have less optimism.
HOW WELL DID THE EPISODE ADAPT THE CORRESPONDING MANGA CHAPTERS?
252 Responses
This episode didnât get as many 5/5 rankings as most previous episodes did, with quite a bit of commentary about some of the things that were cut from the adaptation:
I missed the line where Kruger said Marleyans wouldnât exist if the 1700 years ethnic cleansing really happened.Â
Felt a bit rushed and they left quotes from Kruger out which I believe are important.Â
They cut way too much of Kruger dialogue. They missed some of the things that made him such an interesting character.
This episode was good as always but I'm mad that they cut a lot from the Kruger and Grisha scene (mainly the mention of Grandpa Jaeger or how marley keep the eldians in the camp as weapons). Those aren't essential but important to add layers and complexify the plot. Kruger speech was what I was looking forward the most this seasonâŚ
The Kruger conversation was cut down too harshly imo
I was missing the scene where Kruger tells grisha that his father was a smart man & that he was just trying to prevent losing more of his family.
They decided to cut some of the most important dialogue pieces from this episode, like "a doctor to falsify his blood testâ
Less rushed than the previous episode but I really hate how they cropped the entirety of Kruger's involvment. It makes him look like more of a plot device than in the manga: the implications he had an agenda with the restorationists, his view on good vs evil explained (unrealistic ethnic cleansing and unrealistic miracles), how he perceived Grandpa Yeager (a smart man who didn't want his last child to walk on the path to hell)...
The anime also omitted a couple of things: Kruger suspecting Marley would no longer have any use of Eldians in the internment zone if they get the Founder and the past of the Eldian Empire, saying they used titans as weapons of mass destruction. The last one is important as the anime is really biased towards EMA's side.
Some minor dialogue cuts but it's not nearly as bad as manga readers are making it out to be.
DO YOU THINK KRUGER SACRIFICING ELDIANS FOR VITAL INFORMATION IS COMPARABLE TO WHAT EREN MAY BE DOING NOW?
254 Responses
43.3% of manga readers feel that Eren and Krugerâs actions are comparable as necessary evils in order to reach a beneficial goal for everyone. 32.3% feel that while the actions are comparable, the goals may not be. 11.8% feel that thereâs not enough evidence to say either way. 7.9% felt that the contexts for both characters are completely different and not comparable.
I think what Kruger.did was more cruel than what Eren is doing now
Need to know Erenâs actual plans tbh.
They both believe that their goal is ultimately right - although I wouldn't necessarily call it beneficial
GIVEN THE MANGA EVENTS, DO YOU BELIEVE EREN IS BEING INFLUENCED BY HIS TITANâS MEMORIES?
256 Responses
Nearly 40% of respondents feel that Eren is influenced by the memories given to him through his titan part of the time. 32% feel that it is happening always, and 15.2% arenât sure.
This episode wonder if the nine titans had wills and personalities of their own. It canât be a coincidence that the Attack Titan always finds its way to Eldians who desire freedom. It also makes me wonder about the way Bertholdt addressed Armin and seemed way different than usual in rts. Mikasa thought that Bertholdt was acting like a different person than theyâve seen. I think the Colossal influenced that behavior and was anticipating a new holder. Perhaps the colossal titan is always in love with the Female Titan also, forcing its holders to have feelings for the female titan holder. Which might explain Arminâs strange behavior in other chapters. This is just rambling and the concept of paths are still confusing though.
Regarding the influence of Titans: I believe everyone is being influenced. Having the memories of a differet person, their experiences and feelings is an influence. Wether they are acting different because of these is a different story. But even then, the current holder is still the one who decides to act different, based on their (now gained) own experiences. It's therefore not different from people changing after going thorugh something horrible themselves. 'influenced' is mostly used as 'being controlled' by this fandom, which I think is simply wrong. So: Yes, he is influenced. No, he is not being controlled.
HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT HISTORIA SEEING YMIRâS BACKSTORY THROUGH PATHS?
256 Responses
33.2% of respondents feel that it was a reasonable way to recap Ymirâs story while also giving closure for her character, while 28.1% found that it only made the concept of paths come off as more confusing. 16.4% feel that this will be touched more on in future manga chapters. 12.1% disagree with WITâs decision to put Ymirâs backstory in season 2, as opposed to here.
Historia being able to glimpse into Ymir's memories made perfect sense to me. She's done that before with Rod in a moment of emotions running high, so Royal Blood+contact with DNA+strong emotions might have a role. Beyond that, I'm sticking to my belief that paths can be compared to the fourth dimension in spacetime terms.Â
I didn't really like the execution of Ymir's letter to Historia. The paths looked kinda cool but it's also a little out of place and just ??? The letter also kind of lost its value as well since it was cut short and seems like Ymir doesn't tell Historia anything about her past as well. Yikes
Did Ymir write the letter with her blood for Historia to see her past ????
The path scene with Historia and Ymir was odd: at the same time the anime isn't at its first when it comes to plot conveniences (sleep darts, berserk Eren), but it's also not the same time Historia got an influx of erased memories at random times (her playtime with Frieda)
I lost it when PATHS activated for Historia
WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT YMIRâS FATE BEING IMPLIED IN THE FLASHBACKS?
256 Responses
Nearly 45% of respondents feel that WIT did a good thing by placing the implications of Ymirâs death in this episode, rather than show it as an afternote during the Marley arc. 17.2% wish the scene would have been longer. 14.5% were simply hyped to see Porcoâs silhouette.Â
I hated how unclear Ymirâs death was. You really couldnât tell she died without knowing from the manga, and in the manga, it was a really impactful character moment. It really showed how little Ymir cared for herself and submitted to Marley because of her guilt for eating Marcel by accident.Â
I think Ymir's death should have been focused on a bit longer, because I saw ppl did not quite catch what happened. Then again, people don't seem to care much about her anyway :(
PORCO THO!!!!
WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?
256 Responses
Unsurprisingly, the journey to the sea is the most anticipated moment of the next episode. There are a few who are looking forward to the moments that take place during the ceremony more, though.Â
next episode, we will see Hitch again and I'm not ready for that.Â
I'm honestly not looking forward anything in the next episode, all the really interesting stuff already happened
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?
The pace are a bit weird, they skipped several parts but i think isn't the problem if anime onlies had critical thinking/observation. Overall it's good and i though porco inherited the jaw titan after the timeskip(because how the flashback played in manga) but the anime cleared it and his lifespan is same as armin.Â
I noticed that Hanji had referred to Grisha as "Mr. Jaeger" and not Dr. Jaeger. 1) that just doesn't sound right to me. 2) is there any reason for that? I believe earlier in the series they had referred to him as Dr. Jaeger, so why the change?Â
Roses are red, PATHS are confusing, this episode was very amusing. Mina's best girl PEACE OUT
I want to hug eren. Both Anime!Eren and manga!Eren.Â
I didnt particularly like the way they did the Attack Titan namedropÂ
There were so many mistakes with the height of the characters this episode... What is WIT doing?
WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES?
244 Responses
Thanks again to everyone who participated! Weâll see you back in a few days.
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set it up and pay it off
This was going to be part of another post which I ended up breaking into two. Finally had a chance to get to this tonight.Â
Iâm watching tDP and istg Iâm trying my hardest not to compare it ... but every mistake [other shows] made, tDP is doing a right (and an amazing right). But in terms of writing?? The fact that they solve small issues without dragging it to the next season making the audience tired and not interested?? Amazing!!
Hello, payoffs! Not only does tDP do setups and payoffs right, it knows how to gracefully remind us, and then delivers those payoffs thatâll have the most bang for the screentime. Â
For those unfamiliar with the term, if the classic chekovâs gun is the setup, the moment the gun is used (in whatever way) is the payoff. Payoffs are delightful things, and very little compares when it comes to satisfying readers (regardless of the nature of the payoff). Humans like getting the answers to questions.
Behind the cut: types of setups and payoffs, four things to remember, choosing payoffs and their role in the narrative, the dangers of doing them cheaply, and how to destroy a payoffâs weight.Â
Spoilers for the first episode only; everything else is vague or uses non-tDP examples to illustrate. Â
a bit about setups and payoffsÂ
When the story asks a question or raises a possibility, thatâs the setup (aka the gun on the mantle), and the payoff is the answer. This is not the same as a character asking a question; setups and payoffs are designed for the audience.Â
Frex, talking about bad weather is effectively asking, âwhat if the weather got really bad?â Now when the tornado strikes, the audience was primed for the possibility. A setup can be to show a characterâs skill, so the audience isnât surprised when the character devises an ingenious solution in the finale. Odd descriptions and curious hints will spike the tension and raise the question, âwhat if this house is haunted?â long before a ghost even appears on the page.Â
Most stories have an overall question, like âcan A win the Kentucky Derbyâ or âcan B find true loveâ --- this is often what we call the throughline. But stories are also full of ongoing questions for the characters, and also about them (or their world, their backstory, their perspectives). Some get answered right away, some explained later, and some, well, never.Â
Nearly every conversation between Viren and Harrow raises about twenty questions and answers perhaps five. The characters know (or think they know) the answers to a lot of these questions; their dialogue works on the level of exchanging information, and also to provoke or establish possibilities in the viewerâs mind. When we later see Ruunanâs skills or Amayaâs rank or some other detail that resolves the setup, itâs an aha! moment. Â
four things to remember
1. Setups should make sense at that point in the story. If a character is busy trying to master unfamiliar machinery, itâs probably not the most appropriate time to mention the character is a croquet champion. If the character is in a room with no windows in the buildingâs interior, itâs going to be awkward if you decide itâs time for them to worry about the strange weather.Â
2. A setup needs to make sense in hindsight. If the ghost died by drowning, and your tension-raising questions are all prompted by lightbulbs breaking and the smell of an open fire... thatâs not going to make much sense, thematically.Â
3. A setup must be intriguing. Say a story raises questions about a characterâs animosity or honesty. If the reveal is, well, he always looks like that, or sheâs always nervous, the readerâs going to apply that retroactively and decide that question had no point. (Thatâs a fast track to losing an audienceâs trust, by the way.)Â If your setups are boring, the audience will find the payoff boring.Â
4. Donât delay all your payoffs until the end. You donât want to answer everything too fast, or youâre losing a great source of tension. But you canât put off answering for too long, or the audience will get frustrated and quit. (Or theyâll hold on just long enough to get the one answer they really want, and quit then.)Â
answer this, not that
As tDPâs three protagonists move through the season, they know nothing of the larger intrigue going on, and they have no clue what lies ahead. Resolving any of those other questions might answer some world-detail for us, but theyâre not an immediate concern for the protagonists. That makes those setups less valuable for an emotional payoff, because they donât hold as much story-weight, comparatively.
What tDP did so well was that it never lost sight of the protagonistsâ own questions. The writers then identified what they could answer without giving everything away --- and of those questions, they chose to answer the ones with the greatest urgency and emotional weight.Â
To understand why youâd answer those in the middle of the story, it helps to understand what payoffs do, in the narrative.Â
the role of payoffs in the narrativeÂ
Iâve talked before about the promise of the premise, and the payoff of the setup is a parallel to that concept. When the story sets up a question (a premise), that payoff is where it delivers on the promise. Itâs not always good news. Payoffs are consequences; sometimes itâs more powerful to have everything go wrong.Â
Hereâs an example of a mid-story payoff that doesnât have emotional weight, vs several that do. In LotR, the fellowship is forced to go through the Mines of Moria. This is a double setup: one, can Gandalf remember his way through the labyrinthine halls, and two, can they get through without alerting whatever now lives in the mines. The tension hangs on those setups, and the story delivers four payoffs for it.Â
Gandalf halts the party while he tries to remember which branch in the path is correct. When he does, itâs a payoff, and it does double duty: yes, he remembers enough to guide the fellowship (what a relief) and now they can proceed (as opposed to spending the rest of the book wandering around in the dark). We readers get a breather from the oppressive tension, and the story is pushed forward.
For at least a chapter or so, Gimliâs been insistent they should go through Moria. A marvelous place, distant kin sure to show them dwarven hospitality, etc. Seeing Moria is a question that only appears once they reach the mountains, and Gimliâs interest in it is mostly from a need to impress: his constant talk becomes another setup.
The second payoff comes Gimli forces a detour to investigate a tomb. We get a short passage where Gimli reads the eye-witness account of the mineâs last occupants. Itâs an emotional payoff... but only for Gimli. Itâs certainly not much of a payoff from the perspective of a reader whoâs focused on the urgency driving them through the mines. Had the mines been a planned part of the route from the beginning, with the entire company desperate for the safe shelter, the mineâs disaster mightâve carried greater emotional weight. Â
When Pippin knocks a helmet down a well, itâs a third payoff, addressing the setup created by Gandalf's strict warning about stealth. The tension rises but itâs alleviated in another way: the setup has been fulfilled. Now to find out the consequences: a fight scene, a chase, and the situation turns dire.
Gandalfâs fight with the Balrog is the fourth payoff, pushing the setup to its limit (whether they can all get through safely), but also resolving a setup planted much earlier in the story. That is, that Gandalf is what will make the journey possible, and keep them safe (and together).Â
That setup (of Gandalfâs necessity) is fulfilled when the story yanks him out of the picture, and it comes with substantial emotional weight. Weâve had seventeen chapters showing how much Frodo admires, even adores, Gandalf. Not only is the result of that setup potentially threatening the fellowshipâs success, itâs also emotionally devastating for Frodo and the other hobbits.Â
In sum, payoffs do three things in the narrative: they remind readers of the stakes by delivering smaller consequences along the way, they deliver emotional beats (including the catharsis of laughter if the payoff is the punchline to a humorous setup), and they regulate the storyâs tension and pacing. Â
disingenuous setups make for cheap payoffs
If you look at some of the turning points in tDP, there are payoffs previous to the final episode. Think of every place the story is begging a question, and you end up with a whole lot of chekovâs guns; tDP practically has three mantlesâ worth.Â
If the elves swear an oath to fulfill their duty, what happens if they fail? If the boys canât protect their prize, what will happen to them, to Rayla, to the humans and elves? If the boys trust Rayla with their prize, will she betray them? If the elves assassinate King Harrow, will the other human countries march to war? And whatâs the deal with that mirror, anyway?Â
What makes tDP especially satisfactory is how it plays with closure before any payoff. This can be a little tricky; it requires a narrative voice thatâs gained the audienceâs trust. In short, you take any given question, let the characters acknowledge the consequences of failure, and then let them accept this as the price of making their choice. Skip this step, and any reversal will feel cheap.Â
Take the pivotal moment in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. From the moment Edmund meets the White Witch, heâs set on a path to betray his siblings. With Narniaâs prophecy hanging on the need for all four children to sit on the thrones at Cair Paravel, the story has setup Edmundâs actions to have significant payoff. If the White Witch kills him, the prophecy wonât be fulfilled.Â
When the Witch delivers her ultimatum, and Aslan decides to offer himself as substitute sacrifice, Susan and Lucy end up bearing witness. Aslan explains his choice (but not all of his intentions), and the moment is heavy with emotional weight as the girls realize the consequences of their brotherâs actions. The story doesnât shirk from their grief, either; itâs a long passage of their distress as they do their best to undo --- or at least ease --- the worst of the Witchâs damage.Â
The contrast of that seeming abject loss with Aslanâs return --- and his explanation of the loophole that only he knew about --- couldâve been a cheap trick. What makes it such a pivotal moment is that neither of the point-of-view characters (Susan and Lucy) have any idea of what lies ahead, nor does the story ever slyly wink in the readerâs direction.Â
In tDP, thereâs an ongoing looming consequence of Raylaâs choices, and she goes through the stages of handling that with all the gravity of what she believes to be true. The story never contradicts her beliefs; in fact, it reinforces them repeatedly, closing each additional option until only one terrible consequence remains.Â
We can hope that some loophole might exist, but the story never winks in our direction: it does nothing to reinforce that hope, instead pushing the setup inexorably towards its logical payoff. Like tLtWatW, nothing breaks the looming anguish of the setupâs apparent consequences, just as Aslanâs resigned wish for the girls to look away closes the door on hope that he'll at least fight his fate.
embrace the weight of a payoff
Thereâs an excellent video that deconstructs the use of bathos in Marvel movies (good to watch if this paragraph confuses you). Bathos is an abrupt turn from the serious to the trivial, which parallels a cheap payoff in that it tips its hand. It tells viewers: hey, weâre not taking this seriously, so no reason you should, either.Â
This is where tDP --- like Trollhunters --- really shines, because it never raises the veil to show the writers behind the curtain. Too often, stories (especially in current media) back away from committing to the payoff; itâs almost like weâve got a generation of TV/film writers afraid to show any depth of emotion. The tension gets above a 2, and the writers retreat to a joke.
Thereâs plenty of humor in tDP; itâs filled to the brim with witty lines even funnier in context. What keeps it from being bathos (too much) is that itâs rarely an intentional quip on the part of the characters. Rayla is deadly serious when she tells the boys, âIâm not falling for that flashing frog trick, again!â If the writers expected me to laugh, the narrative doesnât allow even a beat as indication. The story treats its characters --- and every payoff --- with a sincere gravity.Â
I think the crucial ingredient comes in how the narrative understands itself: as an intimate portrayal of a character in this situation, vs that of an actor onstage before an audience. You mayâve heard that over-quoted bit about âdance like no one is watchingâ --- the same is true for stories: they must unroll as if thereâs no audience other than the characters in that scene, in that moment.Â
This goes back to a setup that revolves around characterization such as honesty or duplicity. If a character cries in private, the readerâs assumption is that this characterâs grief isnât meant to be seen as feigned. With no audience (as far as the character knows), thereâs no reason for pretense. If the payoff later is a reveal the character was faking all along, the story did worse than laughing at its own characters: it lied to the audience.Â
It set up a premise which the audience trusted as valid, only to deliver a payoff that hinged on the audience's gullibility. If bathos trivializes an emotional payoff, a storyâs duplicity mocks the audienceâs engagement.Â
A story can lie to its characters, can mislead them into thinking they have options when they have none, can maneuver them into thinking they have no options beyond one... but a story should never, ever, lie to the audience. If thereâs a setup, its payoff must be honest.Â
To paraphrase Gaiman, a story doesnât have to be real to be true --- and the place we most often glimpse a storyâs truth in how it handles its payoffs. Â
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âBut thereâs something in the air
They share a look in silence and everything is understoodâ
- Wonderful life - Hurts
Sannami week 2020 - day 7 touch
Frankly spoken, it was really hard to decide that in which prompt this video project would be put since the Wonderful Life by Hurts could fit in any of them (based on its lyrics). However, the emotional slap scene was the reason why I chose day 7. So, fellow shippers, here is my second prompt for Sannami Week 2020 and little thoughts below :)!
Iâve written a handful of thoughts of the happenings of chapter 844 since it was pretty interesting plot wisely. Nami slapping Sanji with teary eyes is pretty much one of the turning points/milestones of the arc along with the Luffy vs. Sanji fight.
In the review, I  was pondering how much the role Sanji âputâ on when he met Nami and Luffy for the first time after his disappearance did have an influence on his crewmates and how before the captain vs. cook- battle Nami was eager to find him and the one who pushed the team forward and then later was shocked to find out that the Sanji who they met was claiming to be something else.
The stare Sanji made towards Nami when she tried to interrupt and stop him from beating their captain (that I also tried to re-build/refer to the amvâs story) was sort of uncharacteristic twist since before this chapter, Sanji had never ever treated Nami so distant and coldly.
This very chapter gave out a bunch of reactions among the fans since there was the unexpected set of panels of Nami dropping the well known -kun-suffix (that she always uses when talking with him) first and then hitting Sanji with her bare hand before leaving him with teary eyes.Â
Some of the fans felt that these had a deeper meaning and discussed a lot about it. I also immediately started to ponder whether there is a connection to the other emotional slaps in One Piece and later wrote a post about it since those sort of slaps doesnât happen in every chapter.Â
During the history of emotional slaps, theyâve always had happened for a reason and theyâve always developed the relationships between the characters. Â The reason behind Namiâs slap was completely understandable and human.
She did care,
surprisingly openly (in my opinion) since first in the reunion in Zou she shed tears in public while she apologized to Luffy that their team lost Sanji and then later she got annoyed by Luffyâs and Zoroâs easygoing attitude considering the disappearence. On top of that, when the retrieval started, Nami was the one consantly trying constantly to get more information to solve the case. Only these mentioned above are the reasons why she probably felt that Sanji wasnât appreciating her efforts enough and it hurt deeply and ended up slapping him.
It was also interesting to notice that Namiâs and Luffyâs roles in Sanjiâs retrieval âturned upside downâ after the huge battle. Nami seemed lost her spark to be the driving force for a while (probably because there was lots to digest) than in beginning. Probably because she was angry of Sanjiâs decisions and actions while Luffy put on a hunger strike and took the lead in their retrieval team and kept believing that Sanji would come back eventually.
What Nami did not probably figure out due to the shock was that this was exactly a typical way for Sanji to handle the situation, putting everyone before him
(he tried to push his friends away and solve this whole marriage issue alone because he really thought that Big Mom would leave the Strawhats alone if he accepted his faith).Â
However, it was incredibly kind of Oda-sensei to give us a panel of them having a bridal carry (which was also great parallel to Sanji saving Nami in Thriller Bark) and later she hugged him with teary eyes. Fellow shipper @pernanegraââ not only summed the eye contact theme really well in his post but also pointed out well that the hug panel was Odaâs way to tell that things are now ok between them and mistakes have been forgiven.
Fellow shipper @sanjiafsincedayoneâ wrote great ponders about the another key element of Whole Cake Island arc, rain/storm [x].
Itâs easy to be seen that when Sanji was dealing with his worst moments (departing from his friends after a fight, getting a slap from a person he adores but is forced to do radical desicions and later finding out that the whole wedding was just a plan to get rid of his biological family and when he goes out to find Luffy who is about to starve death) the rain and storm gets heavier.
and then again when Luffy punched him and made Sanji confess his true feelings and thoughts made all that rain go away slowly..
So the main idea of this project was to create an alternative version of that all. Kind of a âwhat ifâ-scenario about the reconciliation between Nami and Sanji since the canon story and animation left it pretty open (mostly because they simply didnât have time to talk deeply when they were in middle of a war).
So the âplotâ in the amv is pretty much with the same idea what happened in the canon: they find each other, Sanji (still) tries his best to push away his friends or survive all alone. Then comes that very moment when the other has enough and does their move to make Sanji realize that the game isnât over and that he doesnât have to fight all alone.
@sannamiweekâ
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Trial 4 - Post-Trial (Pre-Execution)
Investigation 1 / 2
Trial: 1 / 2 / 3Â / 4
DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW FEW SHITS I GIVE ABOUT YOUR PREGNANCY DRAMA RIGHT NOW
Glad you care as much as I do, Monokuma.
... Nothing? Heâs completely stone faced. What does that mean? Is he shaken at how Shuichi wrest control from him at the very end? Is it regret? Taking the time to mull things over, or brace himself? Something else? Iâm pretty convinced he showed a lot more of his true self in this trial than he usually does, so he may be trying to calm himself down. Hmm....
Nice reflex, Kokichi!
H-Heâs just going to roll with that? Well, I guess he did get the murder he was hoping for...
MY CUTE LIPS
how dare you make me laugh during such a trying time
Wait, are you saying the memories are being held separately now? Youâd think the avatar error would corrupt that kind of data. I guess I might be overthinking things though - I suppose the memory data could be being held separately until Gonta goes back in and is able to retrieve them properly? ... Yeah Iâm definitely overthinking this.
OH WELL OKAY NEVER MIND THATâS APPARENTLY SPOT ON
no way
NO WAY WE HAVE AN ALTER EGO GONTA
ahem, my apologies, ~Gonta Alter Ego~
Well shit, thereâs that second self Gonta had been lacking!
FML THEYâRE SO CUTE
WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN PRE-EXECUTION UGH
So weâre establishing that they have the power to do this kind of work, huh? I guess... having a mini-killing game simulator inside another killing game simulator would be too much? I do remember that one image of Kaede with that helmet on her head, but...
Wait so - wait wait wait, doesnât that mean Gonta Alter Ego knew that real boy Gonta wouldnât be able to remember what happened in the world?
No seriously, give me a second to think about this -
- Iâm 99% sure Gonta wasnât lying to us when he said he didnât realize he switched the cables. He did make it sound like it sound like he was following what Himiko was saying.
- Could Kokichi have tricked him into switching them? But then that would a) mean that Kokichi knew what the error would be and how it would affect Gonta and b) fly in the face of everything we saw in the last half of the trial, including absolutely losing it on Gonta when he was incapable of defending himself. He was also sitting on the opposite side of the room, and Iâm pretty sure everyone would have kept Kokichi from physically putting together his helmet because, well, come on.
- Is Gonta Alter Egoâs existence dependent on the error, as I mentioned earlier? Monokuma said that he was created using the simulated thought patterns of Gonta via his previous login and combine them with the leftover memories. I wonder if they could do that with anyone else? Or or or -
- Monokuma has very, very easy access to this stuff! What does it say about Monokuma and the whole situation that he has the memory and personalty files on hand like this? Could the computer really be powerful enough for them to have completely - well - scanned their brains in a way that allows him to just pull up Gonta again, after the fact, without Gonta being directly plugged in?
- I... just... keep returning to seeing Kaede and Shuichi in that helmet from way back when, you know? That was supposed to be them losing their talents, but if thatâs true (and it isnât my semi-crack theory about them having downloaded the personalities/memories/etc of previous dead? Ultimates or something - âI want to dieâ), then that would mean their talents, their beings - because I think itâs fair to say their talent informs their personalities, and vice versa - are literal digital files floating around somewhere that had to be accessible in order for them to be âreturnedâ to them - and man, if Monokuma had access to those, that would help solve how he planned to act on that Necronomicon motive if Angie was able to go through with it!
Interesting how this has been the motive in the first, second and now this chapter, huh? Kirumi might not have included the class in her âeveryoneâ, but that was definitely what moved her hand.
meanwhile Korekiyo Shinguuji, you special, awful, special boy...
His weakest points, of course, are always painfully exposed during the trials, and there have been plenty of people willing to comment on them, even when theyâre thinking they are being kind about it (and of course, not all of them are). His strengths - rendered useless, nearly immediately.
And his talent - well, other than pointing out the distinct lack of insects in the area, the only time it was âusedâ was in the disastrous Insect Meet-n-Greet. When it rains, it pours.
Maybe thatâs what Gonta needed - not just someone to listen, but someone who could relate to him so strongly. But of course, at this late hour...
Damn, and it changed from âable toâ to âwilling toâ.
And there it is - straight from the horseâs mouth. No wait, thatâs not right - we got it from the horseâs mouth earlier, but our resident horse is an admitted liar -
I donât know if heâs so much âbadâ as he is being cagey about his reasons.
Wait you what??? So the card key is for a place we havenât been able to access yet? Where, then? An area of the school we havenât unlocked yet? A viewing tower - or hell, Kaitoâs lab? That would be the prime place to have a (powerful) telescope and we havenât gotten it yet -Â Â
âSave everyoneâ - it sounds... less believable from you, but at the same time... Iâm just, are you saying it for Gontaâs sake? To trick us? Or are these your real thoughts? Youâre a smart guy, Kokichi - you have to know that getting past the obstacle that is Miu here is only a short-term win. From this point on, youâre going to have to live with everyone left, and Gonta isnât going to be here to protect you...
And hell, if these are - were - your real thoughts, at the time, does that mean you really were thrown off enough in the trial that you threw everything you and Gonta planned to the wind?
So, the meeting we got to peek in on... Man, I really, really want to know how Kokichi was able to figure out Miu was gunning for him. Maybe theyâll explain that next chapter? Heâs perceptive, but thereâs gotta be a limit - right?
Oh, so thatâs - completely - hm. At first it seemed like the motive was âthe right to see itâ - something for the classmates to fight, or kill over. But now, the way Monokuma is talking - heâs making it sound like seeing the outside itself is enough to drive someone to murder. I am... totally... biased by my VLR-loving ass and still thinking it has to do with them being in space/on a ship, and them either being far, far away from Earth or them being able to see the devastated ruins of Earth after being pelted by meteors.
So, uh, I feel like that motive would work with everyone except... maybe Kaito lmao. N-Not that I think he wouldn't be upset, but I imagine heâd be like, oh fUCK YES WEâRE IN SPACE! And oh, thatâs definitely not Earth. Thereâs no way the Earth was destroyed. Itâs totally fine, we just canât see if from where we are! insert monokuma hitting his head against the wall in the background
So there actually was something in the simulation after all of that? I was 99% at this point that it was all a lie too!
Why do you insist that the motive and the case itself are separate???? Sure, knowing the exact mechanics are important, but knowing what moves the hand and heart in the end are pretty damn important!
This... this had to be when they left near the beginning. Does that mean they were carrying the Flashback Light with them the whole time after that???
OH you little stinker
By the way:
vs
Interesting choice in wording by both of them. Earlier Kokichi said he âshowedâ Gonta, and here he says he âentrusted him with itâ - both very much a way of talking about Gonta as if he was at least near him, if not equal to him. However, Kaito is using the term âexposed toâ which is very... well, passive, and really makes Gonta out to be the victim. So who do we believe? Kaitoâs side, where Gonta is just a hapless victim in all of this? Or Kokichiâs side, where Gonta was a willing perpetrator? Weâre going to get more on that, but I think the way they talk about Gonta is so interesting - itâs clear a lot of the classmates ended up putting Gonta on a pedestal via infantilization, something weâve brought up before, and I (RELUCTANTLY) love how that was used against them all as a weapon.
Also damn it I definitely checked all over the map and found nothing but that was only because Kokichi got to it first >:(Â
Itâs always interesting to watch how Kokichi uses his status as a liar to get what he wants.
All of the sayings I want to use right now involve horses for some reason, and I swear that isnât intentional, but what comes to mind immediately is, âyou can lead a horse to water, but canât make it drink.â And of course the inverse is right here - Kokichi led Gonta to the light and chose the exact words that he knew would make him pick it up himself, but unlike what Kaito said âGonta was exposed to itâ, which paints the picture of Kokichi unexpectedly blasting him with the light - Gonta practically runs over before shining it on himself. With that said, Iâm absolutely not absolving Kokichi of wrongdoing - he is fully aware of how desperately Gonta wants to feel useful. Feelsbadman.jpg
METEORS? RADICAL 6? HINAMIZAWA SYNDROME EPIDEMIC???
FUCKING BRUTAL
But... damn it. No, this makes sense. This was the motive I was struggling with outside of âkilling in defence of someone elseâ. Ah, damn it, damn it, Gonta...
ISNâT
WAIT
ISNâT THAT WHAT SHUICHI REMEMBERED HIMSELF SAYING
Man, I canât imagine how shocking it would be to see someone who is you, with just a few hours of extra memories and a bit more insight separating you, saying something like that.
And he was able to find some reprieve last chapter via Angie, but then she died... Oh, Angie, you were divisive and manipulative as hell and I even found times when you rubbed me the wrong way, but Iâm still mad about you going out the way you did. You earned that halo and those wings on your portrait, damn it!
Seeing Gonta like this is breaking my heart. oTL But damn it, âoutside is hellâ. Thatâs... leading exactly where I think it is, huh...
Iâm just struggling with how convenient it was for him to target Miu, who was coming after him! I guess he knew that Miu was creating circumstances for her to murder him away from prying eyes which, of course, worked out in the opposite direction, but still - !
This is a terrible time to push the âGonta is martyring himself for usâ line strategically speaking, which... could mean that either this is from the heart (evidence for - his current sprite, which seems to only accompany the most weighty lines and is far different than his usual crying sprite / evidence against - the way he attacked Gonta in the trial... unless now that the trial is over and the execution is looming, heâs realized their time together is limited?) or this is his way of thanking Gonta for his service, by trying to get him the recognition he craved before he dies? Or something else entirely?
Is this... real, Kokichi??? Is this real??? And possibly a much better use of the âdespairâ mechanic than DR3 could ever hope to use???
still a stupid name
The shocking thing is how simple this all is when you look at it. The complications came from Miuâs murder plan, and the only thing that implicated Gonta is the avatar setting on Kokichiâs avatar. Without that one clue, they would have absolutely would have implicated Kokichi.
I do enjoy that in the face of âdeathâ, heâs still able to make jokes like this. Then again, maybe itâs only because of having Gonta as back-up that he can...Â
Yeah, she is not happy about being called out. Sheâs pretty resolute despite that, which speaks to how confident she is in her work.
Of course, Miu being Miu, she has to say it out loud because her general insecurity is next level.
Aaha never mind about what I said before - this is absolutely because he has Gonta on back up. Actually, I wouldnât be surprised if that was his signal to Gonta to come and âsaveâ him.
Isnât it amazing that we have now had two killers who both want to get out to âhelp everyoneâ and believe they alone can do that in a way no one else can?
He actually made a remark about how Miuâs reason was just an excuse, which - man, âyour murder isnât valid but ours is?â That sure as hell wouldnât fly in court.
Ugh, and this is why Iâm super curious about if the faces they make in the simulation can be manipulated by the user of the avatar or if they are directly informed by how theyâre feeling and canât be controlled. This is a very angry face or someone who has previously described this as a âfun killing gameâ! Is it authentic or not?
Iâm not sure if itâs nice of Kokichi to tell Gonta and everyone else that Gonta was able to come up with that plan or not. On the one hand, it really rubs in the fact that everyone was underestimating him. On the other hand, it further dirties his hands to have participated in the cover-up afterwards.
Again... is this more kindness on his part or not? This isnât a team that real Gonta would ever want to be on, but on the other hand he is validating Gonta as an equal in a way that he was never able to in the regular school life..
Yeah, actually though... fair.
I-I donât know if I would go so far as saying tricked, Kaito! God, I do love you, but you are making incredibly rash and biased decisions right now!
Real!Gonta is miserable because he killed Miu and Gonta Alter Ego is miserable because he made everyone suffer needlessly and heâs assuming they will continue to suffer as they outlive him and everything is such a damn mess right now fml
Meanwhile Shuichiâs heart is being torn in half which, you know, #relatable
Notably absent:Â âusâ. Not please forgive us, please forgive him.
Interestingly enough, itâs changed from âtheir planâ to âGontaâs planâ now that heâs casting it in a sympathetic way.
And here we are, on the opposite side of the âtruth and liesâ theme - being presented with a case where maybe it is better to not know. I can see why Umineko fans really enjoy DRV3 - replace âliesâ with âfantasyâ or âmagicâ and weâve got that same battle being fought out here. Actually, now that I think about it, both had a âlower levelâ game master obscuring the truth with fantasy/lies with a âhigher levelâ game master pushing the protagonist(s) to find the terrible, bloody truth...
This sprite is a bit closer to his âcrocodile tearsâ sprite so Iâm a bit wary, but - hm...
I wonder if their deaths would have been instantaneous, similarly to VLR and their poisoned bracelets, or if it would be a spectacle. Oooh, a terrible thought - if everyone aside from the culprit was dragged off to their own personalized execution...
The fact that Gonta Alter Ego is willing to jump to Kokichiâs aid would mean more if he hadnât also been so fast to help Kokichi out in Chapter 2. :(
âRole of the villainâ, huh? This... if all of this and everything coming after are his true feelings, then...
Shuichi has his role as the detective, and he has his role as the Supreme Leader - but who but you yourself imposed that burden on you???
Heâs really trying to create a clear line between Gonta and himself - Gonta is a martyr, who took it upon himself to do a terrible deed on behalf of Kokichi, while Kokichi, the villain extraordinaire, was the bastard who pushed the burden all onto Gonta. How the hell is he going to survive the next chapter??? I swear I keep saying, Kokichi, are you trying to make yourself a bigger target - but seriously, Kokichi, are you trying to make yourself a bigger target here???
He is really not used to anyone coming to bat for him! Especially after that bit about âeveryone hating himâ this must be like a punch to the gut.Â
You will always be a gentleman to me!!!
AH NO FUCK I MEAN WE ALL KNEW THIS WAS COMING BUT -
Shuichi is me right now because - is this, real? Are you legitimately saying that? I... Iâm pretty sure you were the one who brought up how Monokuma would never let one of us switch out for the blackened in Kirumiâs trial, or am I just misremembering??? Is it okay for me to be questioning your sincerity right now? I feel awful, but -
He... Maybe he was prepared to get executed, if they landed on him as the criminal. Would Monokuma have let them choose Kokichi as the killer if they got it wrong, or would he really have killed everyone else and left Gonta alive? What if they had tied in the votes? Would Monokuma have executed both of them?
T... This just brings me back to Kaede, but this time itâs directed at Kokichi specifically as well as everyone else...
K... Kokichi turnaround? Maybe? M... Maybe heâll... actually pull a Kuzuryuu and work with....... us......... why does that not seem likely at all......
I REALLY DONâT GIVE TWO SHITS ABOUT YOU TWO CAN YOU NOT
H-He has a specific âGonta!!!â audio clip?! A-And his face here, omg -Â
Even now heâs just thinking about what he wasnât able to do as;lkdfj
NO KOKICHI ACTUALLY CRYING FOR GONTA IS MAKING THIS 100 TIMES WORSE
NO THIS ISNâT - DONâT LET THOSE BE HIS LAST WORDS - NO FUCK NO NO ASL;DFKJ -
WHELP -Â
You may be wondering why the screenshots cut off here. The answer is - oh dear god Monophanie just went full ALIEN on us and mY GOD YOUâRE GOING TO KILL OFF GONTA, BUT ALSO HAVE A FUCKING SCYTHER RIP OUT OF HER STOMACH AND GO ON A MURDER RAMPAGE
yeah I was, uh, physically unable to keep screenshotting though the execution
but I can still give you my general thoughts ranging from the eloquent to the general brain babbling:
whY is she getting so big the pregnancy thing is gross enough but -
Oh god sheâs swelling up, Gontaâs face is swelling up, everything is terrible -
WHY. WHY OH GOD WHY WHO CAME UP WITH THIS EXECUTION IDEA
Rest in fucking pieces Monophanie/Monotaro, I didnât expect you both to die but Iâm not mad about it
Evil Scyther fUCK NO i-it... ran Gonta through....
And now theyâve been set on fire for NO FUCKING REASON DAMN IT YOUâRE ALREADY STINGING HIM AND HEâS BEEN STABBED - I-I suppose it could be seen as a reverse Celes, considering she was going to go out via fire then was unexpectedly hit by that truck
For that matter this was also very - well, they killed Alter Ego in the first chapter 4, so thatâs the obvious reference, but all those insect shots was a bit âA Million Fungoesâ too, yeah?
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Liz Liveblogs Bravely Second: Chapter Two
And weâre back, baby! Finally back with the second chapter of Bravely Second: Whatâs Past is Prologue
Buckle up, pals. This oneâs a long one. Lots of ranting about sidequests and one amazing reveal
Warning that I start cussing more than usual around the mid-chapter reveal, should anyone care about language
Geez, yeah, Yew actually got shot last chapter. Glad to see that heâs alright
Heâs also still upset about what Janne said. Turns out Janne had a point: Yew only did what he did because it was his duty as part of House Geneolgia and the Crystalguard. He doesnât think any of his life has been his own choice
The rest of the team disagrees. Duty dictates that Janne should be executed as a traitor, but Yew consistently keeps trying to reason with him out of compassion
Edeaâs giving a speech about how the Crystalguardâs actions may have been black, but the organization as a whole may have been a lighter shade of grey or white with a black mark on it. Coming from last gameâs foremost âblack-and-white moralityâ thinker, that just goes to show how much Edea grew during Bravely Default, especially since sheâs no longer painting entire organizations as a single color, but noting that theyâre a mixture of both good and bad people
Agnès is crying and now Tiz is SUPER pissed that they may have hurt her. Turns out itâs just the smoke irritating her eyes and making it hard to breathe
So... to Eisen? Weâre gonna need a bigger boat!
Edea and Magnolia talking in their sleep is keeping Yew up at night. I feel ya, buddy. Edeaâs snoring is grating as anything
Oh god Yewâs getting accosted by a mysterious voice with a music box backing track. Run!
âI... havenât the faintest idea what youâre talking aboutâ neither do I, Yew. You wanted a boat and this voice went on a tirade about cabbage
Voiceâs advice is use your rowboat and go through a whirlpool that MIGHT go away. Thatâs TERRIBLE advice. Just rent a boat! We have SO MUCH money thanks to my level grinding
Guess the whirlpool IS gone. Still
*Insert months long break for college* At least this liveblog lets me know where the hell I am in the plot
The boat ride to Eisen is super long even with encounters turned off. Who thought the canoes on shallow waters only idea was good?
Oh! OH! Fox girl! Sheâs the one with the YĹkai job that I heard was super broken oh please let me get the demonic summons (unavailable until Chapter 6. Aw)
Ah, sheâs the princess of Yunohana and is looking for her missing brother. And sheâs joining us temporarily! Normally Iâd be excited because she seems cool, but RPG experience has taught me that most of these situations end in betrayal, so now Iâm suspicious (especially since the YĹkai asterisk involves summoning demons)
Princess YĹko is flirting HARD with Yew and Magnolia is so offended (older siblings Tiz and Edea are giving the most backhanded compliments right now)
Commander Goodman is back at Eisen Bridge! Good to see some old faces again, even if itâs under less than ideal circumstances
How good of a shot is Aimee that the entire Eisenberg army is at her mercy?
âYew Googlymoogly and his three yutzesâ is the new party name. Itâs taken â Agnèsâs Avengers,â put it in a stranglehold, and had it beg for mercy itâs so strong
Giving the cowgirl a Boston accent is bizarre to experience
God she is just smitten with the Patissier boy, huh?
Magnolia just saved Yew, but Aimee... psychically moved the bullet to hit Goodman when it missed? Guess that explains the cross-continental shot
âThe wound is deepâ the man was wearing full plate armor. At that point itâs more blunt force impact damage than a bullet wound
The Hartschild festival looks great! I still love the graphical upgrades in this game over Defaultâs. The town looks gorgeous
How on earth DID we carry Commander Goodman to his home half a continent away?
Patissier boy is funding all of Hartsfest. Heâs also absurdly tall like what
Aw, Yew and Magnolia are on a goldfish scooping date. Edea ships it so hard it hurts
Yew got flowers for YĹko and Magnolia, but I sense some cultural confusion happening on Magnoliaâs end
Yeah, Magnolia thought that giving a flower was a marriage proposal because thatâs what it is on the moon and now sheâs crushed because she legitimately thought Yew was her maybe-fiance
DAMN YĹKO. HARSH. MAGNOLIA JUST RAN OFF CRYING
That was some mood whiplash. We just went from a heartbroken Magnolia to HEY GOODMANâS DOING FINE YAAAAAAAY
Eleanorâs missing and the culprit is probably Patissier Angelo, using his cupcakes to mind control the town because duh. What else would Aimeeâs boyfriend do?
Oh for fuckâs sake. Voice is writing in Yewâs journal and heâs soliloquizing about ONIONS now
He knows French. Potential moon person?
YĹkoâs brother is here and heâs not a fox boy. Shame. Though the sibling matching clothes are cute
DanzaburĹâs hair kinda looks like the Kaiserâs, but itâs hard to tell under the hat. He doesnât sound like Kaiser, though, so itâs probably just coincidence
So a samuraiâs gonna help us fight a sniper. Rad
Itâs been so long I forgot about warp pig. How could I forget warp pig?
Ughhhhh the innâs out of commission. Damn, that makes journal grinding so much harder. Ugh. Okay. Better solve the Hartschild disappearances first
This sidequest is starting with a grandpa and granddaughter moving into the old boat shack. Iâm certain this will end in failure
YEAH THEREâS PROFITEURâS FAKE MOON PERSON ACCENT
And HOLLY. Because you two were just my FAVORITES in Default
Actually, I already spoiled this one skimming through the TVTropes page, so reminding everyone that I am actively making the this The Worst Timeline: weâre siding with Holly. Probably for the best, as I technically already have a healing job
Does this grandfather... have a face? He looks like a yeti. Itâs just all hair
So what I got is that Profiteur wanted to buy the sea shack from the family, probably to fix it up and flip it for commercial use. Which was fine because it had been abandoned for years, but the family suddenly came back. And Holly was just here... and against it for some reason
??? Does the sidequest not continue until youâve solved the Hartschild problem or am I just missing something?
Man, YĹko ADORES her brother. Yew is sighing and musing about how nice that relationship is. Jealous?
DanzaburĹâs plan is for the party to use the aqueduct to go under the bridge and sneak up on Aimee from behind while he distracts her. Not a bad plan at all
Damn. He just sliced a bullet in half in midair. Woah
And Hartschildâs fine now? Ooooor itâs only active at night? Is this a town of vampires now? Is that why thereâs a âplay with dog until duskâ option?
Profiteur wants the inlet to turn it into a trade port. âOld Codgerâ objects because the inlet is pretty. And Holly is projecting her own childhood sadness onto that girl and thatâs why sheâs intervening
So unlike the impression I got in Defualt... Profiteur is actually a decent businessman? He was scoping out Eisen Bridge, too
Profiteur does make a decent point. The partyâs been mostly listening to old, retired men who arenât directly effected by the changes, theyâre just against the idea of change in general. Ask the young folk currently in the workforce and theyâll want to try anything to make things better. Nostalgic emotions vs practical problem solving
And another good point! They canât ship things through Eisen Bridge due to the fighting, but the Empire doesnât have a hold on ocean trade. Siding with Holly really is the worse choice here. That little girl being sad about moving is a worthy price to pay for improving the lives of all Eisenberg citizens
Aaaaaand the little girlâs missing. She left to try and get a job so they can keep the house. Children are bad at big-picture thinking
Oh good sheâs in the Mythril Mine. That never went poorly for any child, ever
Damn, Profiteur came to help the kid? Iâm liking him more the longer I do this quest
Holly, I donât need your whole dang life story about how your grandfather worked so hard he ended up neglecting you. Itâs sad, but youâre gonna subject a lot more kids to that if you keep harping on this one girl
Holly, itâs not like Profiteur hired the miners. They were working there on their own. Because the economy is bad. This ainât his fault. Heâs trying to fix this exact problem
âIs this the cost of rebuilding a nation?â Did you listen to a thing heâs said? Heâs trying to open up trade ports so that they DONâT have to rely on the mine!
Is it obvious that I have little patience for characters who think emotional gratification gives them moral superiority yet? Or characters who prioritize it over actually solving the damn problem?
âIt may not be feasts and finery, but isnât it better just to live together, as long and as happily as you can?â WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT FINERY. These people are scrounging to EAT, Holly. They ainât gonna be LIVING for long if they donât get the money to buy food and shelter you useless high school economics flunkie
Sorry game. One sad girl and her grandad do not outweigh the needs of a nation. But Iâm siding with them anyway, because Worst Timeline
âThereâs something wrong with driving a family out of their home for the sake of a country!â NO EDEA THERE REALLY ISNâT. JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING MAKES YOU SAD OR UPSET DOESNâT MEAN ITâS WRONG. YOUR EMOTIONS ARE NOT A MORAL SCALE
âWhat is zis sentimental nonsense you fools are spouting!?â THANK YOU PROFITEUR FINALLY SOMEONE WITH LOGIC AND SENSE
I donât know if I ever mentioned it, but I appreciate that the game gives you a summary of the two potential sidequest jobs before you make the choice, as well as warning you that you only get one. Itâs nice, clear, and considerate
âIt seems youâre having trouble understanding simple economic theoryâ is the theme of this sidequest
I donât see why they had to give Profiteur generic villain quotes when you fight him. He was doing so well this sidequest
I donât think Iâve ever seriously used the Merchant class and I doubt I will now
I donât want your approval, Holly
AND THE PAYOFF WAS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT BARRAS WANTS TO SETTLE DOWN AND OPEN A CLINIC WITH HOLLY this was not worth it
At least Profiteurâs bestiary entry has Magnolia comment on his accent, even if itâs more tongue-in-cheek âwow he sounds dumb who would talk like thatâ than â...was he secretly from the moon, too?â
I donât think I noticed before, but if you Brave multiple spells together it seems to merge them into one animation and thatâs cool. Not sure if thatâs something related to Yew being a Bishop or Magnolia being a Wizard, since it only seems to do that for Yew
This is the most lava-riddled sewer Iâve ever seen in my life
*gasp* Ancient ninja artifacts have been found in the sewers! Clearly Konoe Kikyo must have been here (and since sheâs on my sidequest list for this chapter, I imagine sheâs nearby)
Iâm so overleveled for every dungeon. The joys and pains of bestiary completion
Why are there so many dragon men in these sewers?
Oh no! YĹkoâs been shot trying to protect her brother! Time to conveniently exit the sewers with dramatic timing an end this
Is Aimeeâs guncleaver just the next step up from gunblade?
Yew, that was the saddest cheer Iâve ever heard. Good to know Aimee still ships Yew/Magnolia, though
Iâve accidentally made Edea a physical attacking monster. I think she just took out half of Aimeeâs health singlehandedly
And the gunslinger goes out apologizing to the Patissier boyfriend. A lot of dying apologies in this game
Gotta get Tiz up to Level 8 Catmancer before fighting her boyfriend. I want 100% completion and thereâs a skill in that fight
YĹkoâs giving a dramatic death speech and then DanzaburĹ cuts in with âsheâs fine weâre taking her to a hot spring to relax.â Already loving the sibling dynamic
...I just noticed that her fox ears were actually a bow. The small details in this series are incredible
Aw, thatâs cute. Magnolia wants to travel the world and eat every food she can because theyâre all so different from moon food and from dishes in other regions
Edeaâs all for it. Of course
And weâve just crossed the border from medieval Europe into feudal Japan. Eisenberg is weird, but the music here is great
Aw. DanzaburĹ is carrying YĹko. What a good big brother
I now present to you: A Generic Anime Hot Springs Episode in a Medieval Fantasy
Oh Iâm so glad DanzaburĹâs hanging out in the hot spring with Yew and Tiz. And that he wore his hat in
Yew please. We all know DanzaburĹ has great pecs. They ainât even submerged
Girls come on. You JUST gave the guys a talking to about peeping. Donât you three go turning it around on them like that. Guys have a right to privacy, too
Does DanzaburĹ have a chinstrap beard or is that the actual chinstrap of his hat?
âWe should peek backâ âIf you peek on my sister I will murder you without hesitationâ This is exactly what I expected
Ah, YĹkoâs asking Yew about a Sword of the Brave. MacGuffin senses tingling
Awww. She wants it because her father wonât let DanzaburĹ take the throne until he returns with it, since heâs not the emperorâs son by blood. An impossible task, and I suspect that the emperor doesnât want DanzaburĹ to succeed
And Yew knows more about the sword than heâs telling, so Iâm sensing a tragic sword-related backstory
Oh, damn. YĹko went after the sword on her own, didnât she? Great
And another sidequest. Sorry YĹko, youâre gonna have to wait a bit
Aw great weâve injured a delivery man. Nice going Edea
Ominas Party... Guess Black Mage is coming up. And they hired Artemia. Itâs a safe bet weâre doing Ominas vs. Artemia this quest
It looks like 1/4 of all undead in the game are in Grapp Keep. What the hell happened there?
Earthquake happens and everyone falls unconscious + stairs are out of commission? At least we have food
Seems like the conflict is going to be Ominas wants the food for himself, and Artemia wants to ration it
Jambalay, Risotto, and Paella? Ominas, dude, you guys are screwed. When your hired help is named after food during a food shortage you know things have gone bad
So the moral conflict is mutiny with Artemia so no one starves or side with Ominas because heâs funding it and nominally in charge. Guess Iâm siding with Ominas for Worst Timeline reasons
I donât mind it for gameplay reasons, though. I like Ranger. It was one of the jobs I used most in BD and I already have a spellcasting job in Wizard
...that Currently Alive status screen was more worrying than necessary
Ah, so the conflict is a little deeper that I thought. Ominas is training his dâgon to smash the rubble out of the way, and I imagine heâs gonna want the food to keep Bahamutâs health up. So do we get out faster by prioritizing Bahamut, or do we wait for the search party while keeping everyone alive?
Ominas is still an ass, though. So Iâll have to side with him regardless
Oh. He wants Bahamut to learn Femto Flare to kill the Baâals. I know the game isnât gonna go this route, but Iâd love it if I could side with Ominas and learn Femto Flare, and then loop and side with Artemia, but still teach Bahamut Femto Flare after weâre out of threat of starvation
I also have the benefit of meta knowledge. We have to make it out alive so thereâs no real threat of at least the party dying. Similarly, I doubt Bahamut is gonna solo the final boss for us, so learning Femto Flare will be useless in the long run. Artemiaâs solution ensures that the NPCs survive to be rescued, while Ominasâs only ensures Bahamutâs survival and little gain for our future because the game has to have Boss Fights for us. Also, assume someone never did the sidequest. No Bahamut either way
Worst Timeline prerogative sometimes makes this game hard to get through. Itâs better to get it over with now, but still. I really like Artemia and I so want to side with her, but time to give Ominasâs baby dragon the rest of the food
Wow we tied Artemia up? Seems a little much
This actually ended pretty well. Ominas managed to teach Bahamut Femto Flare early and everyone made it out alive. Artemia ainât even mad. ...did I fail to make the Worst Timeline?
âHustle, donât hurryâ is some pretty good advice, Tiz
So Magnoliaâs learning to cook and just ended up making as many rice dishes as she could, because the team likes carbs. At least Edeaâs into it?
So the Geyser Grotto gimmick is that each room has you start the battle with a different status (ex. Magic Up, Berserk) due to the spring waters. Itâs a neat concept, but wildly inconvenient for my bestiary completion
Welp, YĹko found the sword and itâs pulling a Sumrbrandr from Magnus Chase and speaking
Ohhhhhh shit YĹko made a pact with it to claim its power and said sheâd pay any price, so it took DanzaburĹâs sword arm. It never said sheâd be the one paying
Yewâs having a trauma flashback! Awww, he had an older half-brother that he loved a whole lot and was so excited for him to inherit House Geneolgia, but their dad picked Yew as his heir
Their dad gave Yewâs brother the ultimatum of âprove yourself by finding the sword or leave foreverâ and his brother left, so Yew went looking for the sword to get his brother back
You know, Iâm playing Hogwarts Mystery at the same time as this, so between Yewâs brother, DanzaburĹ, and HPHMâs Jacob, thatâs three instances of âolder brother leaves/disappears and devoted younger sibling goes to fix the problemâ in games Iâm playing
These drawings of baby Yew are adorable. His hairâs a complete disaster
And since this is a flashback relevant to the current situation, Yewâs brother finds him just as Yew is about to make a pact with the sword (which big bro Geneolgia claims is a demon) and the sword attacks Yewâs brother as the price. He survived, but disappeared and no oneâs seen him since
Wait, so Yew had this whole flashback, none of the party heard it, and then the second he wakes up he goes âIâll tell you everythingâ and we get a fade to black as he tells the party what we just saw in flashback? Why not just have the flashback be Yew telling the party? This is a baffling structural choice
His brother was also going to be the leader of the Three Cavaliers, and the only reason Yew joined was to take up his brotherâs position. Yeesh, kid, youâre 16! When did all of this happen, when you were 12? How the hell did you accomplish all of this?
Whhaaaaaaaaaat the fuck? What the... Okay, I knew YĹko was the holder of the YĹkai asterisk and that it involved collecting âSinsâ that act as dark summons, but I was not expecting her to be a literal yĹkai fox demon using illusions of the sword and creating the characters of âYĹkoâ and âDanzaburĹâ (who is not real) just to elaborately fuck with Yew
My actual theory was that DanzaburĹ was the son of the Emperor of Yunohana and YĹko was a demon (or half-demon), but also his adopted sister, and the whole âfind the Sword of the Braveâ thing was actually going to be to name YĹko the heir, not DanzaburĹ, and heâd just lied to YĹko about the real reason he was looking for it. Maybe YĹko had lost her memory of being a demon, so DanzaburĹ and their father made up a story to cover it up, explaining why she thought DanzaburĹ wasnât the true heir of Yunohana. Guess I was pretty far off
Wait, does this bring my missing big brothers in games count down to 2, since DanzaburĹ wasnât real? Man, thatâs not an impressive number at all!
âYou, who let your poor little brother die. Has finding a new âlittle brotherâ freed you of your guilt?â Bitch, I was literally just about to say how Yew and Tiz were good for each other because they filled the familial roles that the other had lost. Do NOT speak ill of my brOTP. It is a relationship of mutual healing
Sheâs also accusing Magnolia of defeating Baâals just to run from the pain of losing people on the moon
OH HELL YEAH I KNOW THAT VOICE AND MUSIC. The sweet, echo-y tones of Alternis Dim!!! Just as YĹko was about to go after Edea, not-quite-Ringabel-but-close-enough shows up to save the day, to the theme of last gameâs Asterisk fight theme, âThat Personâs Name Isâ. THAT PERSONâS NAME IS ALTERNIS DIM, BABYYYY!
...well he got blown up fast. Typical Alternis
Well, YĹko thought this whole thing was fun, so sheâs gonna let us live and give us some information. Go to the Temple of Fire. Thatâs it. Thatâs the information
Alternis confirmed that no one died in the opening sequence when Agnès was kidnapped. Heâs also glad to see Tiz awake
If only âyou know whoâ could be here... Edea, are you talking about Agnès, who has been kidnapped, or was that a really harsh dig at the fact that you love Alternisâs alternate timeline self more
Awww, she tied a bow just like hers on Alternis as a bandage. Girl, heâs already in love with you youâre just gonna drive him nuts like this
Aternis: UHHHH WELL ITâS BEEN FUN GUYS but Iâm gonna go chase after whatever the heck that demon was byeedeabyetiz
So the Fire Crystal is going out of control, just like what happened when you charged the crystals in Bravely Default. So the Kaiser is overloading the crystals to bust through to another world, like Airy did. Only a Vestal can do that, though, and Agnès claims that she hasnât been doing that, and they never replaced the lost Vestals from the previous games. So either Agnès is getting controlled randomly and forgetting, or thereâs someone else with a Vestalâs power hanging around
...didnât Bella refer to herself as a Dark Vestal? I assumed she was dead, but she could still be alive. That, or the Kaiser has assembled a few âDark Vestalsâ for this purpose
So the plan is to beat the Kaiser to Florem, where the only crystal he hasnât visited yet is
...dammit Janne, you edgy loser. How many times am I gonna kick your ass? I was like, 10 levels too high for the last dungeon. What are you gonna do? Make scary wolf moves with your stances again?
Was that dialogue specifically because I defaulted the first few turns, or is it based on the amount of turns I took regardless of my actions?
âFight like you mean it!â Yewâs my healer, Janne, I donât think heâs gonna
Oh nooooo Janne fell from the bridge. He definitely not gonna come back I promise. Thatâs why thereâs still a bestiary entry for him! Dude is so extra
Being able to turn off random encounters is so good for backtracking. I appreciate the variable combat frequency feature a lot. Itâs great. Cuts down time for bestiary entries and grinding, and makes travel faster (though no less tedious at this point)
Kaiserâs got a robot hand. I imagine that thatâs all that scene was for. I wonder where this could be going (I already know I was spoiled on the Kaiserâs identity, but for potential readers Iâll keep my mouth shut)
Nikolai: Janneâs gone maybe we should look-
Anne: Nah
Kaiser: Nah seconded, letâs book it
And Patissier boy works for the Kaiser. Like, duh. He was Aimeeâs boyfriend, why wouldnât he be?
It seems that relationship may have been one-sided. Angelo says he doesnât care much for Aimee, but Anne thinks heâs bluffing
Are those soldiers Angeloâs admirers from town? Did he recruit random Hartschild women, or were they spies while in Hartschild
And back to Sidequest corner: Knight Heinkel vs. Ninja Kikyo! Ninja was the only one of the two I used in Default, but Worst Timeline prerogative determines the outcome here
Sholmes and Whitson? Seriously? Weâre gonna solve the mystery of Edea eating Yewâs dumplings?
So Sholmes is Heinkelâs nephew, Heinkel is now an Inspector for the Yunohana police, Sholmes is going to interview for a position somewhere, and I imagine that Kikyo is the other person they mentioned
She is. Sheâs a private eye and apparently also related to Sholmes on his motherâs side? Sheâs his aunt?
Both cancelled the interviews to investigate a Starkfort murder! I imagine this is gonna be a battle of who each person thinks the culprit is
Man, so in the first game Heinkel and Kikyo went the whole game without mentioning either of their siblings AND the fact that their siblings were married to each other. Weird
The location card reads âStarkfort (For Sale by Owner)â oh my gosh???
Lord Earl Gulliver. This man has too many titles (I know thatâs probably his first name, but still)
So our three witnesses are Gulliverâs wife, Madam Goldiga (pronounged âgold diggaâ), the owner of Starkfort, Lande Lessor, and Gulliverâs financier, Noah Entreste
Sholmes please. This is serious. You canât just scream that someone in the room must be the murderer, even if someone in the room is probably, definitely a murderer
(Itâs us. The party has killed people in the past and they shall do so again, even if this game made most of the murders in the first game non-canon)
You wanted Starkfort as a vacation home??? It is literally infested with demons
Goldiga left during some point in the tour for seemingly no reason, so she doesnât have an alibi. The real problem is figuring out if the game is cliche enough to make her the killer, or if theyâre gonna subvert it
Kikyo believes that the murderer was someone Gulliver trusted, since there was no sign of a struggle. That rules out Lessor, as they hadnât met until that day. She suspects either Entreste or Goldiga because Entreste could move about freely since he was the owner and presumably had the keys, but the method of murder points to Goldiga
Edea accuses Kikyo, and Kikyo just hauls off on every way the murderer was an amateur. The blade was rusty, which wouldâve taken two hands to use. It was poisoned, but a slash on the belt indicates that they missed, but the presence of poison suggests that the murderer had weak upper body strength, indicating Goldiga. Hell yeah you go Kikyo show that assassin knowledge
I actually do like this sidequest. Iâve got a thing for mysteries and solving this one is fun
Lessor and Entreste both wanted the sale to go through. Lessor wanted this demon-ridden property off his hands. Entreste is a banker looking to make a sale. They met that day. Goldiga has the most motive, though Edea and Heinkel are skeptical, as I was
Can I guess now that the culprit was Gulliver and he accidentally killed himself with his own poisoned dagger like a chump
Actually, scratch that. I want to say it was Whitson. Heâs using too many ellipses
Heâs going on about how his entire family has just been the assistants to the members of Sholmesâs family. It was definitely him
Goldigaâs dead you say? Iâm so shocked! I could not possibly have seen this game attempt to subvert expectations!
She had a note reading âI shall follow where you goâ. So now itâs a question of planted to make it look like a suicide, or an actual suicide
So Sholmes and Whitson worked at Starkfort years ago. Whitson is the murderer is looking more and more likely
I think I was wrong about what the conflict is. Itâs should Sholmes be a police inspector or a private investigator. Honestly, Iâd say neither, but at least Heinkel could whip him into shape. So letâs pick Kikyo
Man, that pissed Whitson off
There really isnât a âworseâ option here, I just personally think the police office is better for Sholmes. He needs someone to tell him when heâs out of line, and I feel like Kikyo would sooner ignore him and go off on her own than help. Besides, Heinkelâs trained worse, and he could do a lot for Sholmes in terms of training. So naturally Iâm gonna tell Sholmes to go with Kikyo and kick Heinkelâs ass
Damn, I forgot how hard Heinkel could be. I ended up spamming my Zeusâs Wraths near the end of that
It WAS Whitson! Actually, Whitson was Heinkel, at least for that fight!
So the epilogue says that Whitson told Goldiga about the hidden passages in Starkfort, and she killed Gulliver. She tried to get Whitson to help her. The note was from Gulliver. It was part of his novel. Sholmes is working solo and acting as a police consultant a la his namesake
Kikyo actually likes Sholmes and sheâs proud of him. âI feel compelled to come to every crime scene with a batch of freshly baked cookies.â You know what, I like Kikyo. Sheâs good
Off to get a decent boat! And meet the lord of Yunohana. For the boat!
Kusatsu Arima, Lord of Baths. Can that be my new title?
He... only has a gondola. And only makes soap and bath puns. And oh Angeloâs here. Teamâs about to get pastry drugged, arenât they?
Aaaaand now Tiz is unresponsive because I let him eat first
Oh was this the boss fight already?
Tiz just faded from existence? Because his cakes literally whisk you off to heaven? And he did that to all of Hartschild?
Tiz is a ghost in this fight and can only use magic BUT DOES THE CATMANCER ABILITY STILL WORK???
Well, I completely murdered the girl who gives the Catmancy skill, so it doesnât matter. Oh well, I think thereâs more in Florem
I had ghost Tiz summon a Tiz doing a gun special attack and that wrecked everything. I feel it was poetic considering Angeloâs trash talking Aimee
Angelo just tried to commit Suicide by Cake. He was stopped by a ring with a farewell note from Aimee tied to it that I imagine she shot into the air when she died, and because sheâs just THAT GOOD of a shot it made it to Angelo at precisely this moment
Her last request was for Angelo to open a pancake shop and make everyone as happy as he made her, as long as he loved her even a little. And heâs gonna do it, even though heâs calling her annoying as he was agreeing to do it
Can the hot springs cure Tizâs... ghost status?
Oh they dumped spring water on him and it worked. Okay?
Just Yew and Tiz in the baths again, since it turns out DanzaburĹ wasnât real so they were alone in the first place
Aw, Yew and Magnolia are talking about the accidental engagement. Magnolia admits she overreacted, but she was so touched when he proposed
Ah! Voice is here! Man with the Purple Pen that for some reason everyoneâs cool with!
So the hot springs were a boat, and Voice just unanchored it
The lordâs actually excited about this. He gave us the boat. So now we can take the springs to Hartschild and save the people Angelo ghosted
Edeaâs gonna drive? Whereâs Alternis when heâd actually be useful?
I was wondering what the last icon on the bottom screen was gonna be for. Itâs boat access and switching to the raft
We just accidentally adopted bath lady Sakura as our mom
Oh come on, I just want the chapter to end. We did the boss fight! Why are Sergeant Sapp and Private Piddler here!?
That fight sucked
And we have fixed Hartschild. Nice. And Goodmanâs okay! Nice.
Magnolia, stop waxing poetic about Goodman and his wife having to put their love aside to fulfill their duties. I get how itâs relevant to you and Yew, but can we just end this chapter?
Yew has named our boat the Rubadub. Cute
The Skyhold has been hit! By a laser! CHAPTER END
Female voice monologues about memory and regret. Every day was meant to change you into a better person
And theme song. Is this gonna happen every chapter? Not that I mind, because itâs a good song. Gives the whole game structure a very anime feel
FINALLY. This chapter feels like it took me a century. Iâve been on it for several months, at least! Thatâs not to say it was BAD (certain sidequests aside) but boy did it feel like it was dragging on forever. Iâve gotta wonder if the arc fatigue was just due to how I was playing the game, or if other people felt it, too. The YĹko reveal was pretty stellar, though
Hopefully the next chapter wonât take me at least 1/4 of a year to finish!
SPECULATION SPOILER CORNER
Rereading this to edit, Iâm pretty sure DanzaburĹ âs physical similarities to the Kaiser werenât just a coincidence like I brushed them off as above. That had to be intentional on YĹkoâs end. Yewâs jealousy about YĹko and DanzaburĹ âs relationship also makes much more sense now
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