#wdym he's throwing you around for human business you literally wanted this

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

I feel bad for Starlo.

Star has a point, idk what the four were ticked off about, there is like 99% chance everyone willingly participated in the trolley problem, based on what we've seen of his behavior thus far it's not like Starlo to be that big of a jerk/drag them by force/yell at them to do it. Ed's words:

he does it because Star asks NICELY

clearly jealous

It genuinely seemed like a fun time/fun roleplay, especially since every day is the same. Like, the five are supposed to be a rowdy and adventures bunch, what exactly did Starlo do wrong, I'm genuinely confused and curious. Except taking a big liking in Clover (his posse should know that this is a big moment for him, according to Blackjack they've known each other since high school and had the same liking for westerns. So they were basically a nerd gang.) Starlo was kind, patient and considerate towards Clover the whole time, even warned Mooch about them not being bandits, taught Clover gun safety, wanted to bring his posse along for a fun time, thanked Ace for telling him about getting Clover a new hat...

Sure, at first he only liked Clover for being a human, but as Ceroba says, that changed and he grew to genuinely care about them, plus I can't help but think Star saw himself in Clover and that's part of the reason he was so proud of them all the time even when they messed up (I'll talk more about this at some point)

What exactly made Ace want to leave the gang? He even said how he doesn't mind "getting run over by the fake train"

he's so nice. says sorry for forgetting the safety goggles even when he was scatterbrained due to his excitement. I love him so much

The only real "faults" (I'll call them temporary faults) I saw in Star during the Wild East section was that he was even more enthusiastic and more proud than usual. But how couldn't he be when he met a member of the species that he has admired for so long because they have real cowboys and sheriffs on the surface (who are seen as brave heroes who deliver justice, while Star canonically feels like a nobody farmer). His posse should have realized Clover wouldn't be there forever and just let their boss enjoy himself with his "deputy who'd have to leave sooner or later anyway"(or be more patient with him/ask him why he feels this strongly towards Clover/if there's a deeper reason for that). His friends including Ceroba just turn their back on him so quickly instead. The moment he's gotten the chance to feel valued for once and put himself first and not have to take care of this whole town and everyone in it and live his dream of meeting a real human, suddenly "his personality is damaged?"

Star's literally built this whole town, organised everything, he worries about everyone, Ceroba (plus was the one to give her emotional strength before and after Clover's sacrifice), Kanako, the monsters, his family, struggles with feelings of worthlessness yet never wipes that smile off his face, always does his best to be hopeful and optimistic and make others laugh, gave his posse a nap time so they don't become exhausted, gave Ceroba a free home, didn't act upon his feelings towards her and was a 110% supportive, caring friend instead. THAT'S who he is. He's the papa bear of this friend group, the glue holding everyone together.

He was just *really* excited. Y'all know he's insecure and just wishes to escape who he is and yet y'all blame him for liking Clover so much. Yeah, the four are very clearly jealous. But why won't the four of you control your feelings for a while? As mentioned, Clover WILL HAVE TO LEAVE EVENTUALLY. They won't be Star's "deputy" forever (the kid who's just as into westerns as he is, who values justice just as much, who also values doing the right thing. Someone he clearly felt understood in the presence of, whom he loved; just look at the way he talks about Clove during Showdown). Star seems genuinely confused of what he did wrong poor guy just wanted to live his fantasy for once and feel important:

Even at the beginning Moray's like "oh no Martlet is upset" Mooch replies "don't be a buzzkill nothing exciting ever happens around here" and Ray's like "Yeah you've got a point"

If you all agreed to have a little fun with a human who will very soon leave forever why is Starlo's enthusiasm such a big problem? If the posse weren't into this after all (unless they were simply too jealous which could have been solved with a honest talk and a little patience) why are you doing this "rowdy" job with Star in the first place? Do you want your boring routine day to day life so much back? Or just for Clover to leave (which they will soon enough)? You, western enthusiasts, literally met a real human, A HUMAN FROM WESTERNS YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PASSIONATELY INTO (clearly not as passionate as Star but passionate ENOUGH to understand where he's coming from).

... okay.

[evergreen-dryad]

thoughts about spook 64 (aoi, again)

Interesting soldiers you got there, No.6 ... vases of peach trees for heads

mm I love the colouring of dark Aoi (she’s gone over to the dark side, hasn’t she?)

Or in this case, really wants to go over to the Far Shore...

suicidal?

of course Hanako’s the one to bring that up XD It’s honestly such a real fear though if your friend who’s also the prettiest girl around has been abducted by a strange, dangerous man

UTTER MOOD NENE YES SO WOULD I I truly headcanon Aoi would do the same if it came to Nene, if Hanako ever did anything to Nene Will I finally get some Hanako & Aoi interactions,, pls,,,

hmmmm I’ll have to reread this arc won’t I for the significance of these baskets. (yorishiro? was the previous spirit another kannagi?) Also, AOI SHOW UP ALREADY

YES MY WISH CAME TRUE

hmm... confirmation, has memories

So much of the flowery sweet speech... Good boy Hanako be on guard

Nene gave Aoi an out from answering there 😂

And there she goes... this Aoi knows how to play them alright, look at her deflecting questions like a pro HANANENE SHIP ALERT And some Hanako & Aoi interaction yayy

Who said this, probably Hanako?? Look at him he can’t take the whiplash his emotions have gone 😂

Now look at them bickering about it lol ‘wdym do you have a crush on me or not’ ‘NO OFC NOT’

LMAO

NOW IT’S AKAAOI SHIP

ALL THE SHIPS ARE BEING FED HERE THANK THE ALMIGHTY AIDAIRO THE MONTH-LONG WAIT HAS BEEN WORTH IT

Honestly look at this Aoi throwing these bombs left and right to deflect questions she definitely retains her memories alright. But the Aoi of before would probably not have said something so important so carelessly? I think she knew she didn’t want to mess with anyone’s feelings? And probably she would have kept Nene’s secret, so... This Aoi just doesn’t care anymore, and is coldly manipulating them?

Look at her cheerfully controlling the situation she knows how to press which lever best 😂

You know where the exit is? There’s no way it’s just this simple...

hmm it’s a pool (Mokke out for a swim~)

I’m never getting over how pretty everything is in here

Wuh-oh

Just look at that closed-eye smile 😂 😂

I find most interesting Hanako’s sequence of expressions:

-surprise

-concern

-shock

-tense

-surprise

-wary/baleful

-but the last... he doesn’t look angry? Rather...worry? Some sadness for betrayal on Nene’s part? How do I pick apart this expression, how

Anyway, I think it’s muted horror/concern that Nene’s human friend has been controlled to this extent

Just look at him protecting Nene to the very end with his eyes wide open, awwwww

AKANE YOU SURVIVED THANK

your own will? hmmm... Did that soul gem-like thing extract your inhibitions and morality? What you care for? She’s holding her hands to her chest as if there’s something empty there, so it could be her ‘heart’ that had been taken, especially with that circular opening in her robes. Thought it was weird from last chapter!

suicidal?? Does it seem like that?

Feelings of isolation?? Because she’s perfect at everything she does??  It really does seem like she might be suffering feelings of depression, which was exacerbated when the minions took her ability to care? Those with depression often find themselves wanting to go far away.

When you really think about it, Aoi isn’t really seen to be interacting with anyone other than Nene or Akane? She has to keep a distance from boys or they’ll just fall for her or get threatened by Akane, and other girls are likely jealous of her.

And Nene recently has been away busy with Hanako, so she probably doesn’t see Nene that much outside of classtime or club.

There’s a loneliness in not being able to bond with anyone over shared experiences, like complaining over school together, or gossiping about love. We’ve seen that Aoi can beat Akane in academics seemingly effortlessly even when Akane goes through tremendous stress and effort. (speaking as a formal gifted student, it seems like this is what’s happening here, or I may be projecting 😂)

And of course, there’s the fact that she‘s probably more spiritually attuned as a Kannagi. How much of the supernatural can she see?? CONFIRM IN THIS ARC AIDAIRO

Oh whoa there where did this come from

No.6 how much power did you give this girl. You gave her the power over the monsters of the trash pit?? Is that a monster-ass centipede with teeth. Dinosaur-sized teeth. I feel the Inuyasha references here alright! Cold girl in a miko costume, there’s a well, and yokai like these too????

Oh boy she’s really sticking to her miko/sacrifice role

Akane is literally just brute-forcing through the entire attack huh. Look at him go~ punching bugs into itty-bitty pieces~

And now he’s throwing rocks at them. How much force is that. What.

So Akane has super-strength, super-speed? Since he’s running up walls and there’re dust clouds... I’m assuming that supernatural contract gave him that  for his wish to be there in time/stop time. (fjdjsj the PMMM comparisons are real)

FLOOR-SLAM

HELLO THE SECOND I LOVE YOU OF THE DAY

(In comparison to the first one, Akane’s eyes are open showing how sincere he is about it.)

AAA

RUTHLESS

SHE REALLY DID THAT AS A DISTRACTING PLOY

NO MORE COMPUNCTIONS HUH

She’s really trying to throw everything and push everyone from the past away. Interesting that she doesn’t just let him adore her from afar as always

nooooo akane pls don’t die oh dear oh dear I hope that supernatural contract protects you... with either a zombified body or speedy healing prowess?

That hit... close to his stomach?? His lung?? Ouch

The closed eye smile again with these two!! They’re childhood friends alright

Still has the strength to drag his love down with him into hell huh

Wonder where the hole leads...?

WAIT JUST A SEC LOOK AT HOW THOSE HOLES LINE UP IN THAT LAST PANEL -- THE HOLE IN AOI’S CLOTHES/SOUL AND AKANE’S WOUND?

This chapter gave me everything I wanted: more of Aoi’s character, ship development, Aoi meeting Hanako (hopefully she retains her memories fingers crossed), and supernatural Aoi vs Akane. I LOVE IT, SO CHOCKFUL OF MATERIAL

More Aoi background + character *chants*

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

I feel bad for Starlo. (pt. 2)

Had they just let him get Clover the badge (and literally finish the best day of his life since, again, Clover's gotta go) and then all sat down to chat, everything would have been solved in minutes. Because clearly Starlo's main motivation is making sure other people are happy, right? If they tell him they're not happy, he'd sure as heck care about that. Just look at how he tells the group to have fun with Clover:

btw, this is a human they SHOULD be excited to talk to more since well... they're a human. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, and they are SUPPOSED to be into the western culture almost as much as Star, or at least that's what Star thought. More on this later

But no, gotta act jealous instead, call Starlo's training lackluster...

Then you make a better one, Ed, instead of complaining, Star's mind was too occupied with everything, as it always is. The town needs to be led by someone every day after all. It's all harder than it looks, you've gotta focus on schedules, new ideas, and most importantly radiating positive energy even in the worst of times

...say he's been throwing them around for human business...

huh Moray?? He didn't force you to do anything, you all just went with it. If you hated the training, y'all never said it. Ed also says how he basically doesn't want to participate in the trolley problem which I found sorta.. weird. I mean, it's not very likely that in all the years they've spent roleplaying here, they've never done this before. And even if they hadn't, it really is logical to assume Ed didn't really mean he was terrified and was just acting to make the scene more "dramatic" The five of them ARE sort of actors anyway (why would he be scared tho? it's not a real train that's coming, no real danger here, just harmless fun)

... and apparently call him a meanie and a big-headed sheriff:

HOW is he a meanie Mooch?? How??? He was just trying to be helpful and got too into everything. It's not the same as being mean on purpose. And even if he DID act prouder than usual, he honestly had every right to do it. After everything he's tried to do for the underground, his friends and family, he had every right to lift himself up. All you guys ever did was tag along with him everywhere apparently, never having to worry about anything but your own hobbies, had a secure AND fun job thanks to your boss, a place to live, nap times, PLUS Star was always a nice leader (Ed himself admits this; from my previous blog). How do I know he was nice? Aside from signs in the game, the gang only argued over trivial matters (IDK what exactly but Dina said this)

And Ace... wdym you're following them??

Why??? Star literally praised you and thanked you! What the heck?? Yeah life dealth him a bad hand but you're not doing anything about this situation aside from leaving.

I love all four of them, but honestly, It's not like Star ditched any of you, he didn't ever act angry (besides when Ed insulted his mission, which IS frustrating because: 1) he tried his best to make it enjoyable for everyone 2) this comment Ed made contradicts everything Starlo wanted to feel that day: genuinely proud, happy, useful, important. He wanted to enjoy himself as much as possible and bring as much joy to others as he could. And he was right to want that... especially after all he's already done. Or tried to do. Even though he's too fiery, too passionate, *too much,* why didn't anyone let him know this? Why didn't they tell him he's NOT been making anyone happy, aside from the tourists? Why keep lying to him until his breaking point?

Better explained down here during a discussion in the messages here on tumblr in case ya'll have the patience to read it ↓

Just... After thinking things through, I've started seeing things from a different pov. Yeah, the Four apologise to Clover in neutral, but Starlo STILL has to be the one to come to THEM for forgiveness. Forgiveness for what exactly? What did he do that was worse than what YOU guys did to HIM? (you too Ceroba, especially you, and I'll talk about this VERY soon, in a few days)

Forgetting to tie them off the rails (Ceroba forgot too) because he was too excited to well... feel like a somebody for the first time, like a real sheriff with a real deputy? Putting his needs and feelings first for once instead of walking outside his house at night and whispering to himself and thinking about every single problem he has on his plate? (I think it isn't the sheriff stuff he thinks about) Thinking he was doing the right thing by doing what he thought would be fun for everyone? Being kind to Clover? Not ditching his posse and just... idk, not running off to have an imaginary adventure with the human kid, with just the two of them? What the heck, guys.

Now, I'd understand if he'd been saying stuff like "Alright y'all, you better listen to everything I say, you understand!? Clover is the greatest thing since sliced bread, while all of you all nothing but a drag! Tch. Losers." Or "If you don't do this and that, you're fired for good! Clover will replace you! You're all lame anyway!" Or "Clover, get over here and join me on this and that! Right. NOW."

Starlo literally never said something even CLOSE to this. Only after Ed left did he let him and everyone else go, then blurted out "I was considering firing y'all anyway!" Honestly what I know about Star is that he's fiery and passionate and just snapped because he didn't understand why they left. He had done everything right.. right? He couldn't, no, wouldn't comprehend that his whole life in the Wild East has been a big fat lie. It hurt emotionally and his coping mechanism were always distractions. So he refused to see what he had (accidentally) caused.

In short, what bothers me is that all blame is put on Starlo and he's the only one who has to say sorry when he genuinely didn't know any better. Some folks just aren't introspective enough to notice people's true feelings and Star's one of them. And even if he's good at that, he's been so foused on this whole Wild East thing to think about that too, on top of everything.

He literally had to just stare off into the distance and rethink all his life choices that led him to this point (based on his letter), when instead he could have been a lone entertainer from the start. I mean, he carried all the comedy and charm on his own anyway (imo). He'd get to live his passion, plus entertain the tourists, plus boost his own confidence, PLUS none of his friends would be stuck at a job they hate! PLUS Ceroba, while still staying at Star's, could have gotten a better night's sleep with only the two of them being roommates! It would have been a win win win win win kinda situation if only they hadn't been lying to him for such a long time and just spoke up openly. Simple as that!