I feel like when it comes to the Dusthide debate, a lot of people seem to misinterpret the main point of Ancients as both a game element and a product.
A big part of Flight Rising is dress-up. While users can argue on what the sole draw of FR is (dragons themselves, breeding, the Dominance system, etc), it's generally agreed that the dress-up aspect is one with a lot of care and resources put into it, and is therefore very important to site gameplay. Dress-up keeps getting updated with new apparel, and if there is to be a new dragon breed, it needs every piece of apparel re-drawn on it. This takes time. A lot of time. Gaps between dragons (now known as Moderns) stretch for years at a time.
Ancients were initially created as a way to fill in these time gaps between Moderns, and the easiest way to do that was to release dragons without apparel. However, this is a game that puts a lot of emphasis on dragon dress-up. Imagine if Obelisks were released without any coded apparel. You'd just have a naked dragon missing a huge element of the game, and for most players, there's no fun in that.
This is where the second point of Ancients comes in: because the appeal of clothing is gone, there has to be some kind of compromise. So... if Ancients can't wear apparel, then they are no longer restrained by the requirements for apparel (1 head/4 legs/2 wings)...
which means that they can break the modern mold freely! You can have a dragon with no legs, or six. Or with two heads, or no head. And now that you don't have to worry about apparel clipping, the tertiary genes can go wild! There is room for customization that apparel can't fulfill - you could give it extra wings, or a jellyfish head, or giant tree horns, or you could give it nothing at all as tertiary genes are optional, and it wouldn't matter because there's no apparel to be drawn around it!
Ancients are supposed to be a trade-off. There's no selling point to a dragon without clothing on the Dragons With Clothing Game, but there is a selling point to a dragon with, say, 13 legs, no wings and no tail. It doesn't wear apparel, because it physically can't, and it makes use of this function in creative ways. The inability to wear apparel is justified by the Ancient's unique proportions.
And this is where the criticisms for Dusthides and other 'basic' Ancients stems from: if your Ancient dragon is just the 1 head/4 legs/2 wings setup, then is it really an Ancient or a Modern you can't dress up? You could have the wildest, gaudiest, 15-limb tertiary gene on a Dusthide and it wouldn't matter, because tertiaries are optional and aren't a permanent part of the dragon that would inhibit the usage of apparel.
If a dragon doesn't have a justifiable reason to not wear apparel, then there's no reason for it being an Ancient.
No amount of linebreaking tertiaries will be able to hide the fact that some dragons seem to be created only for the first, initial purpose: just to tide people over until a better, 'real' dragon is created.
And that's just disappointing.
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I'll follow you into the dark - death cab for cutie
This is such a "then she shall not go into that unknown and terrible land alone" song I'm losing my mind. It's exactly what I imagine Jonathan saying either to Mina or thinking to himself when he was considering things could take a turn for the worst.
"If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied, Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs; If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark"
The whole song is good and a mood for them but the chorus really is the highlight of "wtf do you mean this wasn't written about them"
A classic... I remember listening to this when I was younger and saying it was romantic, and my mom giving me a Look about the implied suicide after the death of a loved one being romantic. I had to clarify not in a 'emulate this' kind of way or anything. And certainly that same 'would they want that for you? no' element is going on with Mina's perspective. But that's not directly in the song either way.
Of course obviously no doubt the chorus/general premise of 'I'll follow you into the dark' is 100% Jonathan's thoughts on Mina turning. That first verse is excellent for his vow to himself. I love the emphasis on "our hands clasped so tight" because again I go wild over the handholding in this book. And yeah, the chorus just repeatedly reaffirming his choice...
The second and third verses are lyrically way less fitting, naturally. If I'm trying to look for it, I can find a comparison in the second verse to Jonathan's time in Castle Dracula. The Dracula as conqueror thing = "as vicious as Roman rule" and the lady in black telling him "fear is the heart of love" while he holds his tongue... Well, like I said if I'm looking I could compare that to the vampire ladies' and Dracula's ideas of 'kisses' and love, and Jonathan have to keep quiet about his true feelings during almost his entire stay.
As for the third verse, again less fitting but it comes closest to Jonathan sticking true to this choice later on. They've traveled together, which they always dreamed of doing, and even if this journey doesn't end the way they hope, then it's okay. He'll stay with her. No matter what, no matter where. But the main star is naturally the chorus.
The tone of the music and the song is so interesting in this context because on the one hand, it's way more resigned sounding than Jonathan ever is. He's burning up with a fierce, volcanic desire to make sure this never happens, and no way does the song get that across. But it is still an if/then and just very clear/firm on what the then will be, which does fit him. Again, it sounds so gentle, like he's reassuring Mina... except if he said this out loud to her she'd feel the need to argue against it, so it could only ever be reassuring to a point I guess. But a great song for them for sure.
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mafuyu, tsukasa and bunnies, or why boku wa kuuki ga yomenai should get into project sekai
this is an analysis originally posted as a comment on youtube, but someone asked me to post it on tumblr, so here we are! if you're reading this, thank you! i appreciate your support very much!
when it comes to character analysis comparing these two, i feel like i don't have much to add, but a recap would start things up nicely!
first of all there's the obvious things they have in common, like being the sole responsibles for their sekais, and the first song being born in them, but even threre, they are quite different! you can't say there's an empty place in the wonderland sekai, it's an ever-expanding amusement park, and new things keep appearing in it! it was even the first sekai to gain all six virtual singers, while mafuyu's the last.
also, they both forgot childhood memories regarding rabbit plushies and family members. when mafuyu did, she shut down and thought more about what this means for her and who she is as a person. while tsukasa remembering just created a song, there was one time when tsukasa remembered something and shut down, during dazzling stage. though, unlike mafuyu, after shutting down, instead of thinking about that, he went "i can use this pain to better my acting skills" which is like. tsukasa. tsukasa darling no, oh no.
also! mafuyu was the first character from her unit to get an event, while tsukasa was the last (they even had they same attribute!).
mafuyu, to my knowledge, hasn't been missing from any n25 event, while tsukasa has been absent from nene's first two events.
actually, while mafuyu's not the leader, everything revolves around her: mizuki relates to her, ena envies her and is kind of fed up with her 'i don't care' attitude (yet worries about her), and one of kanade's main reasons to keep composing is to save her.
tsukasa's the opposite. even though he's the leader, he never feels like a 'main character'. hell, his first event was more of emu's 2.0! even when the conflict revolves around him (in the wonder halloween or the doll festival events) he rarely shows up, he's out of focus.
there's also the fact that, when it comes to themselves, they also parallel each other. tsukasa's self-centered, boasting about how he's going to become a dazzling star and everyone will look at him! and mafuyu is a selfless honor student who will help anyone who ever needs it. ... but it's not actually like that. tsukasa is very selfless, would do ANYTHING for his loved ones, and wanted to become a star to make others happy. mafuyu, while lacking a sense of self, when asked if she wants to do something, like going on the mystery tour or to the fan festa, answer something along the lines of "as long as it'll help me find myself"
hell, even how honest they are. tsukasa is an actor, but he's very earnest, and genuine even to a fault. he's very emotional and if he feels something, he'll express it somehow. mafuyu has a persona she won't give up, and if she even SEES someone from her school, she'll put it up inmediately. but when it comes to their issues, mafuyu knows what's wrong with her and is working towards getting it, but tsukasa buries his issues and IF SOMETHING he'll ask toya for advice but not before telling him that he owes him or that he's the best underclassman ever.
THEIR SONGS TOO. tsukasa's, besides the world hasn't even started yet (whose meaning again gets overlooked because when i read the lyrics for the first time, knowing what they meant to symbolize, i went "oh. oh this guy's not okay is he" and emu and miku go "this is a very cute and bouncy song, tsukasa!" IT'S NOT. I HAVE A PASS, I DON'T KNOW JAPANESE. YOU GUYS DO. WHY DID TSUKASA GET THE PINOCCHIOP SONG.) is a lot about the "we". tondemo wonders talks about how cool WE are, how WE still believe in wonders! and when it doesn't, it's about how the singer feels about the person the song is being sung to. and 88☆彡 is SO CLOSE to tsukasa being self-aware. SO CLOSE. i want the next tsukasa focus to destroy me. to kick my ass and stab me to death.
mafuyu, even though has not much sense of self, has her songs be more about... well... her. SHE is the jackpot sad girl. SHE remembers laughing with "you" when she's alone. isn't that strange?
also! the virtual singers! mafuyu's are most likely based on the other nightcord members (rin, sort of tsundere-y but caring deep down, is ena. meiko, not wanting to get involved directly and putting a distance between who she calls friends, even though she is trying to help, is mizuki. luka, being harsh when it comes to criticism, but having good intentions nonetheless, is kanade (though her harshness most likely stems on how harsh kanade is on herself. harsh, yet truthful) and miku, not knowing much about the world but wanting to experience it, is mafuyu herself. i haven't read the bug event, but i've heard len is mafuyu when she was a child.
wxs virtual singers are... kind of strange, when it comes to analysis. they're very secretive! wxs miku even refuses to talk about what she does when no one is visiting, which ties in with what i said before, that tsukasa barely depends on others when he's in trouble. but if i had to think of a pattern... they're there to help the members of wxs! compare wxs miku at the beginning of the main story to her in the latest event, or even the first few wxs ones. she's much more upbeat! as if she's trying to keep up with emu. rin and len are curious, and rin helped nene make more friends. len even got slowly more and more interested in rui's inventions. luka provides a sense of comfort, and meiko is very supportive! kaito... kaito's who tsukasa wants to be and never will. hell, they even bully him like wxs bullies tsukasa! and yet, he's responsible, wise, and can provide advice to anyone! the ideal big brother.
also, is it just me or the fact that wxs luka is the only virtual singer to first appear in a non-unit event is weird as hell? it wasn't even a tsukasa-focus! saki was the main chatrecter!
while n25 miku is mafuyu with an added childish wonder, kaito is an idealized version of tsukasa. and i think it's really funny, you know? how kaito's wxs "key" virtual singer, while he's taking his sweet time appearing in the empty sekai.
also, parents! mafuyu's put a lot of pressure in her, i guess you could say they pay her too much attention. tsukasa's (AND I'M NOT BLAMING SAKI FOR THIS, SHE'S A RAY OF SUNSHINE AND I ADORE HER) barely paid attention to him when he was little. he would wake up in the morning only to find them gone. or even in the middle of the day. or he would spend entire afternoons on his own because his parents had left. i don't really remember them appearing much on current events. i mean, i don't remember them showing up to tsukasa's show in stage of dazzling light, and they weren't around much in the doll festival event... ACTUALLY, he did run from their house to the hospital and they just. didn't notice. neither tsukasa nor saki mention being scolded for running away like that...
and this is kinda dumb and inconsequential, but tsukasa's first event was originally held during my birthday (june 15th) last year, and this year, a mafuyu event was held during my birthday. oh, and their palettes are opposites too!
SO THEN, WHY IS BOKU WA KUUKI GA YOMENAI THE PERFECT MAFUKASA DUET?
because i really like the song.
just kidding!
as i said in the video, the POSING, it's very tsukasa-ish. and there's a girl, the one the posing guy likes, who's always smiling, mantaining a perfect girl persona. posing guy takes interest in her, and tries to get a reaction out of her, which never happens. this is where my hcs start so take this with a grain of salt lol
emu has probably already told tsukasa about mafuyu. how she has this scaaaaary senpai who is always smiling but it's so unnerving! and her wonderhoy... is so not genuine! so tsukasa gets curious because what kind of person could scare emu. if she met a super aggressive thug she'd probably befriend them, getting them to smite her enemies or whatever.
so tsukasa meets mafuyu and yeah, seems pretty normal, emu's exaggerating, until SOMETHING happens and tsukasa's like HUH. HUUUUUHHHHHHH. so he tries to get a reaction out of her. not by being annoying or bothering her, just trying to get her to do something other than like. :)
tsukasa would probably become the first non-nightcord member who mafuyu shows her true "self" to because he's being too annoying (he didn't mean it!) ... but mafuyu finds it endearing. or, like, the lukewarm edition of endearing. they'll work on it.
LYRIC ANALYSIS TO TIE ALL OF THIS TOGETHER, I GUESS
translated lyrics by vgperson!
mafuyu is very... unreadable. he trusts emu's judgement, so even though she's smiling, she probably isn't really feeling it. he's tsukasa tenma, world future star, of course, so he'll get to the bottom of this! ... he just hopes he doesn't get mafuyu to hate him on the way.
tsukasa's behaviour is very... unconventional? he breaks the rules on the daily (thank you, rui! you made him a war criminal, just like you did with mizuki!) he doesn't really act according to any communicative rules, he's just. him
(like when he bumped into kanade and started communicating solely by onomatopoeia.)
(she did it back, so i guess that's good?)
tsukasa decided to become a star, and since saki liked his shows and his exagerated movements made her laugh, he adopted this as his default.
also, that last part, the pv has classmates saying "so happy we're shooting lasers!"
i want robo-nene to do that.
as i said. tsukasa tries to get a reaction out of mafuyu, but she doesn't yield, if she does, tsukasa's gonna tell the church emu, and if emu knows, the whole school knows, and that... would be bad. so she's not gonna play this game, she'll entertain it, sure, but she won't play.
i skipped a lot, sorry, but nothing to add :')
this, more than his mafuyu situation, would be more about where he was before the main story started. he focused so much on wanting to become a star, that he forgot why he wanted to do that in the first place
(we could also take into account the theory that mafuyu was, at some point, a childhood friend of tsukasa's, but due to both repressing their childhood, they forgot about one another. then this lyric could apply to the two of them instead of just tsukasa)
mafuyu THINKS tsukasa just wants to see her break, so she doubles down, but some part of her does want to trust him, so she takes barriers down slowly, because she IS getting tired, and maybe if only tsukasa sees, even if he tells emu, they'll think she's telling a lie or something, because why would they believe the cloudcuckoolander over the honor student? so mafuyu just joins tsukasa's toomfoolery... not by tomfooling herself, of course. she just indulges him and gives him what he wants: a peek at the real mafuyu
and mafuyu probably would think something like "well, now that he's seen the real "me", if that's how he wants to call it, he'll be disappointed and leave, and he can stop bothering me" but tsukasa is genuinely tearing up because mafuyu trusts him that much
he, of course, doesn't tell emu. but he makes sure to tell her that there's nothing wrong with mafuyu.
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