#and even if not being pessimistic about his character portrayal

[sylenth-l]

How do you feel about the fact that Shin and his story seems completely forgotten as Destiny leans into the whole loss of the Traveler and dead ghosts and all the panic all that inspires when there's actual lore about how Guardians don't /need/ their ghost? And how it's just not addressed in any of this light-focused story, especially as we just had an important guardian lose his ghost and he's still trying to get work done and figure things out?

I really wish we could see Shin show up...

It's... complicated. I feel like his story turned out to be unexpectedly good and too much for Bungie to handle (in a sense that it requires a lot of story focus, it's not something that can be mentioned off-handedly). It had such a complex and multilayered approach to the whole theme of Darkness/Light that everything the game plot itself says about it looks like a flat cardboard in comparison. Can you imagine Rezyl Azzir walking around the Moon, seeing some glowing green snot on the side of the road and going "wow, imma use it now, woohoo! :D"? We were told and shown Darkness is a dangerous tool in the lore multiple times, yet we saw 0 consequences when Guardians massively started to use it. There were some weak attempts to show conflict with Stasis, but it was forgotten super fast, and Strand is just a bland new toy. Dredgens spent years trying to find the balance in using Light and Darkness together and had a ton of lore buildup only to be never mentioned when the time came. Etc, etc. So I'm not surprised nobody remembers Shin never even had his own Ghost to begin with and then had several Ghosts accompanying him in different times, yet he still is one of the most powerful Lightbearers.

But, to be fair:

1. Shin was always shown as special in many ways. Maybe he's just that unique, we can't be sure. Then again, Osiris is no less extraordinary, and I really hope we'll see him in action again someday. I don't believe one's connection with the Light, especially as strong as he had, can be cut forever that easily. I wouldn't want him to simply find a replacement for Sagira though... More like finding a way to feel the Light again even without a Ghost.

2. Characters may never bring it up because they simply don't know it's possible. I doubt Shin shared his story with everyone (at least the true one) and if some people know the truth about how he was resurrected and how many Ghosts he had/has, they both are unlikely to chat about that either.

#ask #destiny #also i genuinely hope shin will never show up in the game #since he'd inevitably get as simplified and flattened as everyone else #and it's something i doubt i can take at all OTL #i still struggle with accepting what they've done to drfiter... #and even if not being pessimistic about his character portrayal #i don't want his mysteriousness and elusiveness to fade away #in short i'm with jon goff on this one #he should never show up in person or he'll lose a huge part of his charm

[svsss-fanon-exposed]

Exposing SVSSS Fanon: 15/∞

SHEN (YUAN) QINGQIU IS A MONSTER NERD

Rating: CANON

One of the most common character traits of Shen Yuan!Qingqiu is his fascination with the monsters and demonic beasts of PIDW. This portrayal is based in canon, as he is shown on multiple occasions to have a particular interest-- in fact, the monsters were the reason he decided to keep reading PIDW in the first place:

There was another important “it” factor. It was, in fact, the main element that had first compelled Shen Qingqiu to follow the novel until the end. The demonic beasts! ... As a cultivation novel, it was out-and-out filled with landmines, but as a monster handbook, it was pretty entertaining. (7 Seas, Ch. 4)

This passage implies that Shen Yuan found the monsters entertaining, and enjoyed them over most of the rest of the novel. However, he is often portrayed in fanworks as having an obsession, special interest, or hyperfixation on demonic beasts.

This also has basis in canon. A bit later on there is the following passage:

Shen Qingqiu wasn’t so pessimistic about his ability to handle demonic beasts. His confidence in his own cultivation and spiritual power aside, his interest in the demonic beasts of Proud Immortal Demon Way had far surpassed his interest in all those flavors of women. He might not have remembered where any given female protagonist liked to go stargazing with Luo Binghe after being slighted, and he sometimes was unable to match names to characters, but he definitely remembered every demonic beast’s attributes and weaknesses with exacting clarity! (7 Seas, Ch. 4)

Speaking from my own experiences, this certainly does sound like a hyperfixation. Remembering the variety of beasts, and perhaps even every single one, would be the same as a usual level of interest, but the fact that Shen Qingqiu had perfectly memorized every attribute of every beast in a novel several million words long certainly seems to fall more into hyperfixation territory.

When it came to Proud Immortal Demon Way’s demonic beasts, he’d really asked the right person. Shen Qingqiu spoke with great familiarity, like he was listing his family treasures. (7 Seas, Ch. 4)

Another instance here, where it shows just how highly he values his knowledge of PIDW's beasts and how familiar he is with them.

Of course, on some level, this knowledge of demonic beasts is expected of his position:

The walking demon encyclopedia—both the original and current flavor could definitively live up to this title. After all, there was that stack of records and ancient books in the back of Qing Jing Peak’s Bamboo House, the same ones that hundreds of generations of peak lords had to read in full before they were allowed to succeed the position. (7 Seas, Ch. 6)

But we must keep in mind that Shen Yuan was not originally the Qing Jing Peak Lord and had no intention on becoming the Qing Jing Peak Lord when he read PIDW-- and the knowledge he has originally comes from reading the novel, so he was not only learning all of this because it was required of his position. Where Shen Jiu might have learned these thing out of necessity, Shen Yuan did so out of passion and genuine interest from even before his transmigration.

This is further supported by a comparison with other readers of PIDW:

He could never have guessed that Shen Qingqiu’s interest in such strange creatures was equivalent to the average Zhongdian reader’s interest in the hundreds of flower-like maidens, each more beautiful than the last. (7 Seas, Ch. 5)

Now, I have noticed that fanworks will have a tendency to play up his obsession with demonic beasts-- while he definitely does have some form of hyperfixation with them, it is not as prevalent in the novel itself (at least, the events that we, the readers see).

My guess as to why this is? Well, it's simply because he is obsessed with the demonic beasts, but he is even more obsessed with Luo Binghe. It's just not as easy for him to admit that.

So in conclusion, Shen Qingqiu's internal monologue indicates that he has some level of obsession, special interest, or hyperfixation with PIDW's demonic beasts. Though it may not be quite as intense or all-encompassing as fanworks often portray it, it would still be perfectly in-line with his character to have him gushing (at least internally) over the beasts of the demon realm while traveling with Luo Binghe.

#fanon exposed #canon #svsss #shen qingqiu #shen yuan

[faintingheroine]

What do you think of the idea of AM as a moralistic novel where Forbidden Love is not a specific relationship but any type of love with sexual connotations but the book has empathy for the "sinners" except if they're mothers. Nihal doesn't feel lust until right before she's to marry and for her fiance. She loves her father instead, the familial love that is *right* , pure and moral. So she lives. Bihter cheats on her husband and meets a grim end. What if the focus of Nihal's relationship with her father isn't on her but on the relationship itself since even the books is named after a type of love. About father/daughter love being better than sexual love. "Forbidden love" refers to Bihter but the opposite of it is Nihal and she's the one who's preferred. The characters are given their own complexity but the underlying message is still moralistic and archetypical. Firdevs is condemned and considered unnatural for not liking motherhood. You can say Mle de Courton thinking all women have a cradle in their hearts is proven wrong through Firdevs but Firdevs is also portrayed as unnatural and bad.

Thanks for this message :). It is definitely a thoughtful one.

I think you might be right in broad strokes. I certainly agree on your thoughts regarding Firdevs’s portrayal and sexuality being portrayed as sinful.

But I don’t agree on Nihal:

1) Nihal’s love for her family is portrayed as excessive and smothering and she is regularly called “pathological” by the authorial voice. She is deeply jealous. She faints and has severe migraines and it seems to be psychosomatic, something is ailing her even before Bihter’s arrival.

Aşk-ı Memnu does have conservative messaging by today’s standards and the authorial voice maybe regards Nihal slightly more positively than it does Bihter, but I don’t think that Nihal’s main function here is to be the positive example. She is a deeply troubled girl. And she is troubled in part because of her love for her family.

2) Nihal’s ending in the book is sad. It requires an essay to explain how and why it is sad but I don’t think that anyone who reads the last three pages of this book is left with the triumphant feeling of a family reunion.

Nihal is basically condemned to return to her childhood at the end, and she is now too big for this role:

“Adnan Bey had written the old governess a long letter, and received a short reply: Mlle de Courton would come at the beginning of winter; Şakire Hanım and her husband, having married off Cemile, would leave the two lovebirds in peace in their nest, and spend the last years of their life at the yalı; Bülent would not board at the school. There would once again be long chases around the garden, there would be desserts prepared among the shiny pots of the little kitchen, following recipes discovered in books. Life would once again be an endless holiday for them, now that the father had returned to his daughter, and the daughter to her father.

Only Beşir was missing. ‘Oh, poor Beşir!’ Nihal would say, and then, not wishing to dwell of this awful memory, she would continue, ‘isn’t that so, papa? How we will laugh, you remember, the way we used to laugh…’

And trying to find one of the happy laughs of her happy days, she would throw her arms around her father’s neck with a dry, broken laugh that caught with a sob of agony, would pucker her lips, and kiss him right there, on the bare, beardless spot under his chin.”

(Chapter 22)

This is not a triumphant return to Paradise. “A dry, broken laugh that caught with a sob of agony”.

3) Let’s say that the book actually unironically celebrates the father and daughter being by each other’s side for all eternity and Nihal’s wish to not marry. Nihal will probably outlive her father who is 38 years older than her. The last line of the book is “Together, always together, living and dying…”. She wants to be together with this old man while dying. This is morbid. It is also sterile and it is not future-oriented. It is deeply pessimistic. It is by definition, unconventional.

But ultimately, I don’t think that the book celebrates Nihal’s situation at the end.

I think “Forbidden Love” probably refers to both Bihter and Nihal. They are both troubled and needy in their desire to love and be loved, and both of their endings are tragic in a different way.

#aşk ı memnu #aşk-ı memnu #nihal #bihter #aşk ı memnu asks #asks #anonymous #titles

[komori--shoma]

【30 Questions of CP, OC & Fandom】

Credits to @mukami-kuron-mrsadisticcat

1. How long have you been in this fandom?

I've known Diabolik Lovers since June from 2015, and boy was that an extremely interesting time—

2. Who's your fictional boyfriend/husband?

Reiji "The Arsonist" Sakamaki has been my favourite Diaboys since day one and at this point I have no intention on apologizing about it. Followed by Ruki and Ritcher but we're only touching Reiji here—

3. Why do you like them?

Ok the first reason are the daddy issues—

I'M KIDDING I'M KIDDING. Honestly, I loved his design first, and fell for the rest second.

I knew since I was a kiddo that I was a SUCKER for evil dudes in purple/"Disney villain" colours, a simp for deep voices, AND a SUCKER for people in glasses. So when I heard Reiji's voice and saw him my world turned into whatever tf I am now and I have not known peace since then.

Now, let's go more in deep.

I saw Reiji, and I knew he was a gentleman. I knew he was the type that would kiss your knuckles as a "I love you" gesture. I saw him thanks to lots of translations in YouTube and Tumblr just how devoted and in love he is in the MC/Yui. I just loved how he eventually showed himself out of his shell (even if back then I also recognised some damn red flags and I felt conflicted), how bastard he can be, how smart and... Well, all that he is. It's hard for me to put into words how I feel about him as a whole, but I think this will do.

Also HE'S PETTY WHEN HE WANTS TO. I never wanted a man to be that petty until I met him. Love that he uses pans to wake everyone up.

Also HIS LAUGH PEOPLE. I LOVE Both OF HIS LAUGHS THE SEXY ONE AND THE GENUINE ONE.

4. Have you make acquaintance with anyone that ships themselves with the same character?

I don't think these people are truly shipping themselves with him but, again, they're interested so it counts. And there's only three that I'm aware they're Reiji stans so-

@the-mostdiabolik-of-lovers Ava I summon you from the darkest pit of the hell we have entered—

@ihatereiji the name itself it's a lie and you know it-

@yui--komori I'M ALMOST SURE YOU'RE IN THE SAME HELL AS I AM.

5. How do you feel about it?

“Finally a fellow simp I was about to go insane—” was my first thought when I met them so all good on that ❤️.

6. Do you feel any negativity towards them?

Nope! Not at all!

7. Do you like seeing their oc(s) interact with your man/woman?

ABSOLUTELY YES. GO ON HUN PLEASE INTERACT WITH HIM FOR ME SO I CAN TAKE TIPS— I'm kidding I'm kidding-

Still I love seeing other Oc's interact with different Reiji blogs and every portrayal I see is great!

8. Do you feel competitive against them?

No?? Just self-conscious tho-

9. Confident, or pessimistic?

A bit of both ngl— It depends honestly.

10. Would you like more to get to know about your ship, or would you rather it being lowkey?

If this comes for Shoma/The Kurosawa Family x Other Oc's, I'd love for more people to know about that once more of their stories comes to light! I'm thinking of doing routes for them but I'm not quite sure yet.

11. Do you follow any of those people (them whom ship themselves with your fictional lover)

Yes yes I do and with pride 👀

12. Are you friends with them?

Hell I sure hope I am- Love yall lots 🥺🥺

13. What do you think about the 'stans' ?

You go tigers.

14. Are you worried about plagiarism or copying of your oc(s) by others?

I live in fear everyday of what I'm doing everyday bc sometimes I'm really out of touch with other blogs that I'm afraid of doing something they did before-

15. How do you handle such a situation if it happens?

I honestly don't know.

16. Is your cp public or only between a particular circle of friends?

Well, both Shoma and the others yall already know are pretty public! I still have some others that are private, like a WIP, but I'm still willing to talk about them if yall ask.

17. Do you like a specific cp ship, whats the reason? (I dare you to tag them~!)

There ain't an specific ship in the Shoma blog, but... [ Cracks knuckles ]

For my Shoma blog.

@fruit-of-infidelity. When this first started it was just me seeing how Ryuuto is. Now I truly think I would give Ava my left arm JUST to see them together because my dumb ass... Cries of happiness every single time they interact I'm not even kidding.

@supersweetlyuniquebouquetstuff TOMOKY AND SHOMA ARE MY SETORIN I FHDGDGEGDFSFD AAAAAAAAAAAAH

For my Kurosawa Family blog.

@mino-diabolik/@daughter-of-royalty MY FAVOURITE SHIPS COMES FROM THESE TWO BLOGS AND THEY'RE PERFECT. LOVE THEM. ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL I CAN'T WAIT FOR CONVOITISE TO SIMP FOR KAZUHA LIKE THE SLUT HE IS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Also, AIMIC BECAME MY SETORIN I SWEAR TO GOD I WOULD DIE FOR THEM.

@bird--trappedinacage For legal and moral reasons I can't send a real August on your way Ava but every ask I get from you to August makes me really happy 🥺

18. What kind of behaviors do you suppose is pretentious to you?

I don’t know, honestly. Just like @mino-diabolik said, I suppose it's trying to embellish my writing to make descriptions somewhat prettier and more complex (???) because I don’t like repeating words.

19. What kind of comments do you dislike the most when it comes cp feedbacks of your oc(s)?

I’ve never had any.

20. Have you receive hates about your oc(s) before?

Just one and for the Kurosawa blog when I first made it public. It was about me having too much OC's and trying to show off. But since I'm a bit coo-coo, my reaction was... The complete opposite of what I expected.

21. Do you have a complete love story of your cp?

YES I HAVE DAMMIT.

Aimic is the only one "complete" and dare I say it's one of my first experiences that I genuinely have fun with since I got here. I would be lying if I say I am not grateful for meeting the Admin and their wonderful OC.

22. Do you allow joint of alternate universe with the canon version of your cp story?

I do!, even if there isn't really a "Canon" ship in here other than casual relationships with the DL boys and other people from other universes (always wanted to see how much would they fit in Twisted Wonderland tho 👀), I usually do enjoy these ships, because these clowns I have to call my children are mine to torture—. Both blogs exists to enjoy both "canon" ships and AU ships!

23. Are you okay with people shipping their oc(s) with yours?

YES YES YES. I AM SO HAPPY WHEN THAT HAPPENS. I LOVE IT. YES.

There’s nothing that brought me more to an excitement rush with me jumping up and down than to people thinking my characters are worthy of being paired up with theirs, but still, I expect someone to ask me if it's ok beforehand bc my dumb ass might get confused in the way unless you're absolutely obvious in the way.

Please if any of yall ever did this on Anon it's ok I really like it when it happens 👀🥺.

24. Ever gone through a bad experience in the fandom?

Thank god I didn't. Just one single anon hate (the one from question 20) and it literally made me so happy bc it meant I'm doing a good job—

25. The ocs that you admire in this fandom are? (Tag them~)

... Oh boy here we go.

I'll put here both OC blogs and Canon blogs because I can.

@mino-diabolik/@daughter-of-royalty

@fruit-of-infidelity

@supersweetlyuniquebouquetstuff

@smonie

@nutaella-kookie

@secretarykang

@crimson-mayhem/@retelling-of-ragnarok

@gingerall

@mukami-kuron-mrsadisticcat

@the-timeless-founder

@kauzebridgerton/@kauze-bridgerton

@lured-into-wonderland

@sunny-flower-spot

@ayamexe

@strawberry--bride

@solarstellarstar

@yourlocaltea

@serenaleblanc

@korisuu

@yuriko-tsukino-rp/@yuriko-tsukino

@ask--reiji--sakamaki

@ask---shin---tsukinami

@ruki--mukami

@yui--komori

@mukami-kou-dazzlingpinkidol

@sakamakithirdson

And a lot more!

26. What is the moment that caused you to feel most disappointed or excited?

When I get notifications in both aspect. Because that's how deep into yall I'm in.

Notifs from popular OC blogs, non OC blogs, new OC blogs, (definitely the porn bots-), I always get so happy! To just know people like my content enough to like, or to go as far as to reblog said content? I ascend.

27. The scariest era that you have come across in the fandom?

The hate storms that were literally coming from nowhere (four since I got here), that account that if you reblogged the fanart of any Diaboy told you that they did something awful to Yui and that they hoped the same happened to us (usually r*pe), that one time the Simone blog got hacked/they tried to pass off as them, literally just anons telling other blog Admins to unalive themselves.

At this point I'm not surprised, just disappointed. Also I'm sure most of the time, these people are just hitting puberty, or just "woke" people from twitter.

Hell it's not even scary, just tiring.

28. The most wonderful thing you have come across in this fandom?

Literally all the people I came across with. People here were nothing but all so nice, sweet, and creative; I'm literally so glad I got to know you guys and to have an opportunity to have met some of you, even if we have only talked a little. <3

29. Say something towards those that support and admire your cp~

THANK YOU ALL.

I'm always surprised by how many people actually care about both of my OC blogs and the little things I post of them. I really hope that one of these days I can give you proper content, like you deserve. Who knows? Maybe, when my art gets better, I might give yall something important 👀...

30. You've worked hard, keep up the good work! ★★★

Thank you yall— 🥺

#Admin Rosy #admin answers #admin time #admin speaks

[humiliationsheets]

who is your favorite bmc character and why? (please infodump at least several paragraphs tyvm /nf)

contrary to my username (which i only keep as a relic of early 2020 when times were easier and also because my usual one was snatched in 2018), i am a huge huge huge jeremy heere kin. like absolutely huge. he is me and i am him and i had a years-long delusion in which i genuinely believed i was him so he is obviously very special to me 😭 i even named myself after him so!! big jeremy fan over h(e)ere lmao!!

how i see him is based on troy iwata’s portrayal simply because he’s my favorite jeremy and i think he plays the character absolutely perfectly, but he is also combined with wrol and wcon in a lot of aspects because i adore their portrayals as well :-) so this post is gonna be based off my headcanons and development of jeremy over the course of four (nearly five) years, if you’re invested in 1000% concrete canon perception of characters and you hate when characters aren’t 1000% accurate to the source material (i try my best to keep him canon! just some people may think he’s not accurate enough which is fine /gen) then… please scroll away and don’t criticize me because he’s the loml LMAO

this is a big post so. continued under the cut !!

so first off, jeremy is just such an interesting character. he’s a pessimistic hopeless romantic, he’s sarcastic, he’s naïve and trusts so easily (see how he immediately trusts the squip, for example, as well as believing rich’s offer in the bathroom and giving him the benefit of the doubt), he’s gross and sometimes mean (unless if he’s talking to a girl, in which he’s the softest person alive), he’s funny, and he’s such a teenage boy and i just. wanna kiss him on his stupid freckled face. what i like about him is that he’s so fun. he can be whatever you want him to be and nearly every time, it makes total sense.

what i also love is just how relatable he is. it is also so insanely important to me to have an autistic coded character like jeremy represented in media. he acts just like me, an autistic person, from his stims to his mannerisms and all, and i think that’s why i was so set on believing we were the same person for SO LONG. (not to mention troy!jeremy is just. so pissed at the world from the get-go, just like me 😭, as opposed to wrol!jeremy’s sadness slowly growing into bitterness and spite. angry transmasc representation + bpd jeremy foreverrr /hj)

to continue, he’s an example of how good people can do bad things and still learn from their mistakes. in my opinion, jeremy is not at all a bad person for what he did. yes, he was a jerk, and yes, he was selfish, but LET THE BOY BE SELFISH. he’s earned it!!! he’s just a seventeen year old boy and he’s Really Going Through It. i mean, his dad is practically neglecting him, his mom has entirely abandoned his family, he gets bullied at school constantly and goes unnoticed by everyone he’s interested in, and his best and only friend is dismissive of his problems and feelings. i’m writing a post-squip fic currently (which i am SO excited to share), and some jeremy dialogue i wrote down is the following: “I wanted it all to stop so badly, I would’ve done anything. So I did anything.” he would’ve done whatever it takes to have a better life y’all. to stop being so angry and miserable all the time and to stop hating himself. the squip was his only way out and i absolutely respect him for deciding to take it. i understand hating being alive so much that all one can do is search for a way out of it. i do not, however, agree with him abandoning michael and turning into a huge jerk that nearly took over the world, but he was manipulated into believing everything he did was the right choice. i can’t stay mad at him because it wasn’t his fault. nobody blames rich for what he did squipped, so why is it fair to blame jeremy? they were both manipulated into the terrible things they did, and if some people continue to blame jeremy… oh sweetie i hope someone enlightens you soon.

IN CONCLUSION. jeremy is just a super complex and interesting protagonist who so many can relate to. i love how he can be whatever you want him to be and i love his personality, his flaws and tics and all. i don’t think he’s a terrible person like so many do, he’s just a kid who made mistakes and was manipulated and misguided. he’s absolutely just like me fr and i’m just <33 he has my heart forever and ever. i could go on for years and years about him (and i have) but i’m sparing your time. THANK YOU FOR READING THIS SHITSHOW I LOVE YOU

#thank you for asking !! #be more chill #jeremy heere #remy’s rambles

[crimson-mayhem-archive]

【30 Questions of CP, OC & Fandom】

[ credits to ⇨ @mukami-kuron-mrsadisticcat || whin: IMMA HOP IN AND BE COOL LIKE EVERYONE ELSE 💃]

1.How long have you been in this fandom?

not that long, actually! while i’ve known about the series since like?? middle school?? I never actually started participating in the fandom space until around October of 2021! and even now i’m still like? tip toeing around bc im scared.

2. Who's your fictional boyfriend/husband?

I’ll be so honest with y’all rn. I don’t actually have a DL character that I like that much— I really just kinda cycle through them in terms of how much I like them. As of right now though?? Probably Ruki or Richter. (lol bitches with R names)

3. Why do you like them?

richter?? well I actually hated his guts more than any other character until recently. idk what changed to be perfectly honest with you. just kinda woke up one day and was like “mmm i’ll give him a chance.” i do like the potential for angsty scenarios though!

as for ruki, he’s also one i wasnt fanning over until recently. i didn’t hate him ofc, but the only content of him i really indulged in on up until now was the anime. and when i saw him in the show i was like “okay” then moved on. after reading his routes though? i started to like him a lot more 😞 and ofc Jas ( @ruki--mukami ) has a flawless portrayal of him that i feel in love with so 💃

4. Have you make acquaintance with anyone that ships themselves with the same character?

I have no idea if they ship themselves with the characters I listed, or if they’re just one of their favourites. But Ava ( @fruit-of-infidelity ) and Jas ( @ruki--mukami ) are two people i’m fortunate enough to be mutuals with :’).

5. How do you feel about it?

i feel pretty great about it actually. it’s nice to find people who have the same amount of love for a character that you do 💃

6. Do you feel any negativity towards them?

ofc not!

7. Do you like seeing their oc(s) interact with your man/woman?

honestly yeah. seeing different characters combinations go in different directions is always a treat! i really enjoy scrolling through the threads.

8. Do you feel competitive against them?

yeah for sure we’re battling in a boxing ring rn 🤼‍♂️

i’m joking but no i don’t feel competitive at all!!

9. Confident, or pessimistic?

both at different times. and while i wouldn’t say i’m pessimistic, most of the time i’m definitely not confident.

10. Would you like more to get to know about your ship, or would you rather it being lowkey?

as for a ship with myself? i don’t post much selfship content (even though i do have a blog for it). but i wouldn’t really mind whether people know abt it or not!

as for a ship with my oc(s)— Virek is relatively new. so i haven’t developed deep enough relationships to have a solid ship with him yet. HOWEVER! gwen, my old oc, had a few ships that i adored.

the top to being Ryuwen ( @fruit-of-infidelity ) and Myswen ( @mino-diabolik) ((did we ever come up with a ship name for them?? idk 🏃💨))

the dynamics in those two ships were to die for honestly. vv enjoyable! but i also can’t wait to build up relationships with this character as well 💃

11. Do you follow any of those people (them whom ship themselves with your fictional lover)

well aside from those already tagged, no.

12. Are you friends with them?

i’d like to say yes, even though we don’t talk very much outside of Tumblr T-T. I do adore them though ^^ so hopefully we can talk more.

13. What do you think about the 'stans' ?

i’m only a part of a tiny corner of the fandom. but the people around here are cool, so.

14. Are you worried about plagiarism or copying of your oc(s) by others?

lol, NO sjjsnd. i doubt someone would even try to copy my characters, given how complex and messy they tend to be

15. How do you handle such a situation if it happens?

i have no idea. so we’ll cross that road when we get there.

16. Is your cp public or only between a particular circle of friends?

generally all of them are public. but a lot of the relationship building with @simpemone ‘s characters are done in private. we do post a lot about our ocs publicly though— but if you’re wondering why those dynamics are much more developed than others jsns.

17. Do you like a specific cp ship, whats the reason? (I dare you to tag them~!)

i like a lot of ships actually, both with my own ocs and some ships my mutuals have with their’s!! i don’t have the guts to tag any of them though so 💃

18. What kind of behaviors do you suppose is pretentious to you?

i hope i don’t have any pretentious behaviours?? if i do and just don’t notice feel free to scream at me!!

as for others? ig the behaviour i hate most is ‘claiming’ a character for yourself. getting insanely jealous when they interact with others, things like that.

19. What kind of comments do you dislike the most when it comes cp feedbacks of your oc(s)?

i’ll accept any feedback about my oc as long as it isn’t malicious or obviously not meant to help and instead to complain.

20. Have you receive hates about your oc(s) before?

i haven’t!

21. Do you have a complete love story of your cp?

i don’t. but i, hopefully if i can find the energy, in the future hope to write routes for virek/a diaboy and virek/yui. or if i end up feeling too ambitious, have virek get his own route with each boy. but those are just plans that i don’t plan on executing for a while!

22. Do you allow joint of alternate universe with the canon version of your cp story?

well virek doesn’t have a canon story atm but ofc!!

23. Are you okay with people shipping their oc(s) with yours?

yes yes yes!! i adore it when people wanna ship their ocs with mine T-T

24. Ever gone through a bad experience in the fandom?

i havent been here for very long so no.

25. The ocs that you admire in this fandom are? (Tag them~)

all of @princesscrownprince ‘s OCs. Ryuuto ( @fruit-of-infidelity ) Scarlett ( @kindan-no-kanojo ) Sumire ( @sumire-bride ) literally all of @simpemone ‘s OCs. ALL OF @cursed--requiem ‘s OCs. Irina ( @iricathel ) Amani ( @ayamexe ) Simone ( @smonie )

26. What is the moment that caused you to feel most disappointed or excited?

disappointed?? i dont really have any specific moment where i feel disappointed. but it is annoying that a chunk of this fandom will not hesitate to jump down someone’s throat, instead of having civilised discussions.

the most excited? literally any blog that could be considered ‘popular’ or ‘big’ popping up in my notifs. like ik a few of my mutuals have bigger blogs, but when i first saw y’all in my notifs i was like “?!?!”

it catches me off guard knowing that some of the more popular blogs took a peek at my tiny lil corner and went “this? i like this.” LIKE Y’ALL SEE ME?

27. The scariest era that you have come across in the fandom?

see #26

28. The most wonderful thing you have come across in this fandom?

all the love i’ve received since being here. i’ve been fortunate enough to interact and talk with lot of wonderful people, and i hope we can talk more in the future. :’) (when i say i wanna befriend all of y’all i mean it. 🤼‍♂️)

29. Say something towards those that support and admire your cp~

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. truly. its a blast knowing that even one person enjoys what i put out :’). so i really so appreciate everyone’s kinda words, the enthusiasm with your replies/comments. it’s a joy T-T

30. You've worked hard, keep up the good work! ★★★

AHHHH I FINALLY FINISHED IT. now i need a nap 😞 ALSO I AM SOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR ALL OF THE RANDOM TAGS. FORGIVE ME 🏃

#diabolik lovers oc #dialovers oc #dl oc #dialovers #30 Questions

[hazisonline]

Death Stranding: A Casual Gamer’s First Impressions

Okay… straight up, full disclosure: I’ve only just started the game – more specifically, I’ve just started Episode 2: Amelie, but I can already tell that this game is going to be an absolute rollercoaster, so I wanted to pause and share some thoughts before I really get into it.

Second disclosure: This is my first ever playthrough, and my first ever first-hand experience with any of Hideo Kojima’s work, and so I’ve started my game out on ‘easy’ difficulty, with the intention of getting a feel for the controls and game mechanics before I switch to normal. ‘Very easy’ felt like a cop-out, but diving straight into ‘normal’ difficulty on a game with new controls and mechanics (after another Bethesda binge, no less) would be more frustrating than enjoyable… easy it is, for now.

Let’s get into it ✨

I don’t think anyone who’s played DS will be surprised that my first impressions were simultaneously “WOW”, and “what the actual fuck?”, and I highly doubt these will change much as I progress further. Rather than running through my questions and the unknowns of the story so far, I’m going to talk about some of the game’s conventions and ‘notable bits’ that have caught my attention early.

(Above: My literal first reactions, and the reason I started this blog. My friends have no idea what any of this means, and are bored of my game ramblings)

Visuals straight from a cinema screen

The cinematic shots so far have been incredibly beautiful, in eerie contrast to the desolate version of America that the game introduces us to. The game was released in 2019, only four years ago as I’m writing this, but even with our current expectations of what good graphics are, I was blown away by how ‘stunningly uncanny’ the landscape looks - both during cutscenes and gameplay. It’s rare to see a place that is both incredibly aesthetically beautiful, and to simultaneously never, ever want to set foot in that landscape, and yet DS have created a world that manages to do both within a few minutes of starting the game.

The lighting caught my attention straight away, and so far, it hasn’t missed once – from the grey ominous chill that comes from the title screen, to the clinical blue lab-lights in Bridge’s isolation lab, and ESPECIALLY the golden-hour shots in which we see Sam and Amelie in his dream at the beginning of chapter two. I could probably write about how aesthetically pleasing I find this game all day, to be honest.

Speaking of aesthetics, the character design in this game is INSANELY high quality. Seeing Sam for the first time immediately had me saying “Hey, it’s Daryl!” to my screen, and his likeness being so on-point only adds to the sheer horror that is Sam’s habit of fourth-wall breaking… but we’ll get to that in a minute.

The cast of DS is super impressive, too – Kojima could so easily have hired actors who are less well known and played it safe with their character design and responsibility to portray them well, but instead they went all out with their casting, a risk that absolutely paid off with the high-quality of their graphics and character design. On that note, I don’t believe a better actor could have been chosen for Sam’s character than Norman Reedus. He’s mastered the scruffy appearance and husky voice, which perfectly complements Sam’s somewhat apprehensive, so-far-pessimistic character – I believe Reedus’ portrayal of Daryl in The Walking Dead likely influenced this casting choice greatly.

A sensory portrayal of aphenphosmphobia

Very early on in the storyline, we learn about Sam’s dislike for being touched, which Deadman soon introduces to us as ‘aphenphosmphobia’. Whilst this is potentially a theme that the game will build upon further, as of now, it seems more than reasonable to have a phobia of touch in this universe – the way in which the BT’s have marked his skin with scar-like handprints being a stark reminder of the dangers of his work as a Porter, many of which are still just unknowns at this point in the game.

Whilst DS doesn’t hold back on using the controller vibration feature on PS4, the way in which the game incorporates this feature to emphasise Sam’s discomfort when being touched is somewhat jarring as the player, creating an interesting juxtaposition between feeling connected to Sam and the way in which he processes his senses, to then feeling suddenly very disconnected by all of the harsh fourth wall breaks… let’s talk about those.

Shattering the fourth wall (and any understanding of our player/character relationship…)                                                                                                       

Whilst I took Deadman’s quote of “The only ones to get a continue were you – for obvious reasons…” [when speaking to Sam after the vehicle crash during the prologue] as a huge hint to this, Sam’s fourth wall breaking whilst LITERALLY pointing us towards points of interest around his room at the Bridges facility opens up a whole new possibility for how the DS storyline is going to unfold. Does Sam know he’s in a video game?  Do they ALL know? Or am I, as the player, in his universe now? I have so many questions, and truthfully, I’m looking forward to the game progressing and answering them naturally, or more likely, giving me even more questions.

Whilst I’m not ready to make any real predictions about how the story is going to progress, I have a small gut feeling that as the player, our role might be even more literal within the game universe… something about the angle in which we seem to be placed opposite Sam in his room looks awfully similar to BB’s pod location on the back wall. Please don’t let us be BB… BB is vile. Speaking of which, Oh my god, I’m still not sure how I feel about BB. It’s fine in its pod, but in Sam’s throat? Its creepy hands? nah. Truthfully, more grossed out than curious. I hope Sam’s refusal to chuck that thing in the incinerator doesn’t come back to haunt him.

I couldn’t not mention the Monster Energy.

Listen… I’m not complaining. Get that coin, get that sponsor… I get it. Seeing a product I recognised in real life was also kinda fun, as was clearly the point, and the idea that Monster energy survives the potential end of humanity is hilarious. This kind of unintentional-but-also-very-much-intentional comedy feels like much-needed respite from the bleak and confusing world we’ve been thrust into, and paired with character names like Die Hardman, adds a touch of sarcastic humour that’s enjoyable, without taking away from the game’s bizarre, supernatural (???) overtone. I’m massively looking forward to playing further, to gage a better understanding of the vibe of the story.

We’re not in Skyrim anymore…

I briefly mentioned Bethesda in my intro – whilst I play a multitude of different games and genres, I repeatedly start new saves on both Skyrim and Fallout in between trying out new titles (as every other casual gamer on the planet does, too). They’re cult classics, and whilst Bethesda’s style is worlds away from that of Kojima productions, I still wanted to use them as a reference point to mention one of DS’s most noticeable differences when jumping from one to another – that being the way in which DS forces the player to use some autonomy.

Any avid Fallout 4 player, for example, will tell you that relying on V.A.N.S and  V.A.T.S is the equivalent of the game holding your hand and telling you where to go, and what to do next. This isn’t a criticism if that’s how you choose to play (your save, your rules, after all), but getting used to this style of playthrough can make it extremely difficult to adjust to new games outside of one studio; Whilst my FO4 playthroughs weren’t necessarily VATS-heavy, the jump to DS, in which you’re largely left to your own devices, was something I definitely noticed almost immediately. Physically balancing a character isn’t a mechanic I’ve experienced before, and there’s certainly no continuous mashing of triangle to walk a horse vertically up a mountain or fast-travel here. Whilst it took some getting used to (and is STILL taking some getting used to), it’s very refreshing to play a game that requires that extra level of concentration for a task as normally simple in-game as holding the left joystick in place. Dare I compare it to mindfulness? (Bit of a stretch…?)

Last but NOT least… Accessibility

The last thing I wanted to talk about, as I plan to discuss for any and all games I review on this blog, is accessibility. I strongly believe that gaming is for everyone, and that both indie and triple-A game studios should put in the extra work to be as accessible as possible to allow for this.

First up, the subtitles are clean, and the option to change the text size from medium to large is a great feature for easy reading. I’m also pleased to share that (so far!) there hasn’t been any cluttered overlapping of subtitles that can often be an issue when background NPC’s start talking within earshot.

On PS4, as previously mentioned, the game doesn’t shy away from using the vibration feature on the controller – this could be a positive or a negative, depending on the player, but in the instance of using the vibrations to intensify Sam’s dislike of being touched, this added sensory element works really well to further invite us into his story.

It does have to be said, though, that the almost-intricate nature of moving Sam’s character without him tripping or falling over won’t be an easy feat for all players, and my understanding is that this isn’t a convention that gets easier by changing your game difficulty. Whilst for a lot of us, it will just take a bit of extra practice, this feature of the game could deter potential players who don’t have the level of dexterity needed for Sam to be maneuvered without constantly tripping and falling.

Final thoughts? (Before moving on with episode two!)

So far? Massively excited about Death Stranding. I can already tell it’s going on my favourites list. It’s the perfect level of haunting and uncomfortably unfamiliar whilst also being mysterious and enticing, for the very same reason. Truthfully, I don’t yet have any game predictions, other than that the plot twists are going to be mind-blowing, and that as a player, we may play a bigger role in the game universe than initially expected.

I also predict that LOW ROAR’s “Don’t Be So Serious” will be stuck in my head for days. DAYS.

If you’ve not played Death Stranding yet, I highly recommend you give it a go, and if you have, let me know whether you agree with my initial reaction! (no spoilers though, please!)

I’m legitimately turning the PlayStation back on to continue DS as I finish this post.

See you around!

-  Haz x

#deathstranding #gamereview #casualgamer #sam porter bridges #first playthrough #hideo kojima #kojima productions #game blog

[puto-el-que-lo--lea]

The psychology of Eric Cartman (character analysis)

I found an interesting video from a psychologist who has a YT channel dedicated to analyzing portrayals of mental health in media, in which he analyzes Cartman. He talks about his possible mental disorders and more aspects of his personality. It's very well thought out so I thought I might translate it since it's originally in spanish but worth sharing.

Disclaimer: I'm just translating word for word what he says in the video, but I might comment on it in parenthesis and put images as examples.

I also don't think he watched the entire 23 seasons just to make this video so take it with a grain of salt, plus since Cartman is a fictional character it's impossible to diagnose him so it's all up for interpretation or author intent. But you'll find that his conclusions tie very well with the recent specials, especially the ending.

anyways here we go, it's gonna get LONG AF so i'm gonna put it under a read more. general content warning for sp-level dark stuff.

Main traits

Eric T. Cartman is a 10 year old boy whose main character traits are being evil, obsessed, angry, self-absorbed, inmature, destructive, sarcastic, conceited, curt, sluggish and mentally unbalanced.

He's ill-spoken, r/acist and stereotypes every single person/group he sees. He's also portrayed as a kid who lacks a general sense of moral responsibility or social awareness and seems to enjoy schadenfreude (suffering of others) and lacks empathy towards other people, except for a few counted occasions.

Roots of his problems

Despite the gravity of his actions, these could possibly be an emotional defense mechanism against his big insecurities and potentially, his confused s*xuality.

However this defense mechanism is not bulletproof, as in more than one episode we've seen it fall apart.

A quick judgement might be to label Cartman with an antisocial disorder, and even though he meets several of the requierements to diagnose him as such, in this analysis we'll try to understand that his aggressive and inmoral behaviors might be a result of an upbringing lacking in genuine affection and /or affirmation, generating a very low self-esteem.

Motivations and inferiority complex.

It's been shown that he harasses and intimidates people in his school and as a result most people in the show despise him.

Cartman however does not consider himself a bully who messes with people to generate pleas*re from it, as a matter of fact he seems to completely ignore what's good or bad or simply doesn't have a concept of it and seeks to get through stuff/ahead by any means necessary; That would be the biggest evidence of him having an antisocial disorder as this is one of the most significative traits.

Cartman's motivational drive comes from his need to affirm superiority over other people, not as much from personal benefit; And it's this quest for harassing and submission of others that shows Cartman's low self-esteem and inferiority complex, possibly disguised as a superiority complex.

In other words, Cartman is visibly affected by the triumphs and virtues of those who surround him, perceiving them as an attack on his perception of himself. Said perception is poor, pessimistic and weak, so everybody else's failures represent a relief for him as he no longer feels alone in his frustrations and own failures.

This low self-steem hides well behind dictatorial and d*minant attitudes from him that are also part of his personality, showing aparent security and firmness in delicate topics such as xenoph*bia and antisemitism, reforced by his strong ignorance, which will be further explored next.

People Skills

Ironically, despite, or, perhaps as a result of those qualities, Cartman is a natural leader capable of using an overpowering charisma and rethoric to earn the obedience of big groups of people in any given moment. For example, he seems to be inherently aware of the mafia mindset and directs people towards the achievement of his own goals, as it has been evident numerous times in the series.

Matter of fact other people seem to voluntarily look for his guidance and trust in his leadership skills when they're used for good or for the sake of a common goal.

Deviance

This is specially interesting because Cartman is probably aware of this and acknowledges his potential to influence other people but he prefers to mantain a rebellious stance that goes against the mentality of the rest of the people, generating constant friction between his acquaintances and friends because Cartman has built his identity from hate and rejection. Meaning, Cartman SEEKS this rejection.

That's why he adopts an extremist and dangerous mentality, all in order to attract this negative attention towards him and show himself as someone strong, dominant and self-confident, since if he adapted the mentality of the rest of the people his low-self-esteem would show through and he'd be left in a position lower than his peers Stan, Kyle and Kenny.

Bigotry and se/xism

Even though Cartman is a child, he discriminates people a lot; He's s*xist, ra/cist, xenoph/obic, hates all kinds of different groups. He verbalizes that he's ra/cist because minorities "will take over the world some day", but in reality he seeks to reject everything that is different to him because of his self-ha/tred.

How does that work? Well, if Cartman subconsciously feels hatred towards everything that represents his own self, to hate, discredit, belittle and hold contempt towards everything different to him, in a bizarre way it helps him reconcile with himself.

If he finds in what is different to him what he perceives as a flaw, it will provide him with an illusory security. When he shows se/xist attitudes towards the opposite s*x it shows his fragile masculinity and attempts to divert the attention by discrediting them.

His s/exism is also verbalized in the series in repeated occasions through his hatred of women, however this is due to him being se/xually confused. This contempt for women that reaches the point where he believes they are inferior to men is just a projection of cartman feeling like he is weaker/stupider than everybody else.

It also reached the point where he made his own mother his own personal slave that pampers him and responds to his demands. This is evidence of the excessive need to feel that he is superior to others and that he's getting enough attention, when in reality he feels weaker than the rest.

Antisemitism and repressed se/xuality

Cartman is extremely antisemitic and a big part of his intolerant actions and behaviors are geared towards jewish people, specifically towards his friend Kyle, who he openly hates and considers the lowest of the lowest due to his faith.

He verbalized he admired H*tler as a role model (Tom Brady now lol) , on top of regularly attacking racial, religious and ethnic minorities and of different incomes like Kenny, but it is really interesting to try and interpret the hatred Cartman has towards the jewish community and, specifically, towards Kyle who is his greatest rival, as an actively aggressive behavior that tries to hide a liking or appreciation towards Kyle.

In other words, Cartman admires Kyle to a such a high point and holds him in such a high esteem that it probably edges on an emotional liking from his part towards him.

By hating and harassing Kyle he's able to repress his real emotions of admiration and appreciation towards him, although these behaviors are subconscious and Cartman might not know this information on a conscious level and intentionally seems to hate Kyle and everything that he represents as a defense mechanism.

There exists a defense mechanism called Reaction Formation in which the person transforms the energy of an emotion perceived to be unacceptable or anxi*ty-inducing into the complete opposite direction as a form of repressing while releasing it.

That is to say "Since I'm in love with you I act in a despicable way to express how much I 'hate' you."

Speaking about hate, Cartman's most passionate hatred is directed towards hippies, though he uses this term for liberals in general. His allergic reaction towards liberals could point out that Cartman is a conservative as a manner of generating negative attention towards him for his extremism and differentiating himself from the rest.

In several episodes Cartman has been shown to have emotional and behavioral problems, anger management problems and violent tendencies when upset.

Possible mental disorders and addictions

Even though he's a child he has the profile that would indicate that eventually in his teenhood or young adulthood he would suffer from Antisocial Personality Disorder, without being able to discern right from wrong and harassing, damaging and deceiving the people that surround him for his own benefit. Although this wouldn't be the only mental disorder that child Cartman would be exposed to, he could too potentially develop:

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Histrionic personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder

Addictions like ab*se of alchol, s*bstances, gambling and others.

Ignorance and disconnect from reality

Cartman is often ill-informed, naive or ignorant in comparison to his peers. Example of this is how he believed dolphins lived in igloos or his general lack of knowledge of se/xual topics like not knowing how a woman gets pregnant or believing girls have b*lls just like boys. The security he shows in being ignorant tell us of his need to seek attention rather than showing his knowledge.

It's also worth noting that Cartman is completely alienated from the fact that the others kid hate him and assumes they're joking even when they openly declare it to him.

An even worse thing happens when in episode 201 upon learning that he had previously cooked his father in chili and fed it to his half brother, Cartman completely ignores this fact and is more preoccupied with him being half-ginger.

This disconnection with the real world tells us about a level of emotional repression and narcissism worthy of a possible psychopath, by unlinking his own emotions to a very extreme point to avoid suffering. However a psychopathy diagnosis would entail other specific variables so for now it's just another possibility.

Anxi*ty disorder

Cartman also shows a pathologic grade of impatience when forced to do things he doesn't want to do or when he has to wait to get something he desperately wants. (Ex: when he freezes himself to wait for a wii) to a point where he could sustain an anx*ty disorder or at least present many of its symptons.

It's also possible that Eric has mor/bid child obesity as a consecuence of his anxi*ty, low self esteem or self-loa/thing. (And his mom constantly giving him food to make him happy, I'd say)

This possible disorder can be observed in his constant preoccupation for maturing or maturing more than his friends which often ends up in him acting inmature. Knowing that his satisfaction comes mostly from seeing other people unhappy, when Kyle once congratulated him for winning a bet, this ruined Eric's egoistical satisfaction for humilliating him.

C/S/ A

Cartman also sees disturbing imagery everytime he closes his eyes, but says he doesn't think much about it.

These images in his head could be a result of different factors, but a probable cause is that Cartman might have suffered from se/xual ab*se from a family member when he was younger

(OP note: There's actually proof for that, he yells "Uncle Jesse no!" in his sleep, and he has been se/xuaIly ab*sed by some of Liane's clients , Ben Affleck and a man in an alley, there's also the fact that Liane makes no boundaries to separate her se/xual life from eric and se/xuaI humilliation from her part is even implied)

this would explain part of his hatred and disregard of women, along with the constant repression he does of his own se/xuality, and the aggression he wants to take out on family and friends.

He also shows less interest in se/x than his peers, which is a normal behavior in children who have gone through ab*se.

(I put this image from Cartman's journal from the FBW game here because although it also hints at his se/xuality, I find the graphical depictions of s/ex and vi*lence disturbing for a child his age, even though in this game he's still ignorant towards basic se/xual education topics, such as not understanding how babies are made, he still has a clear understanding of how the act of se/x looks and based on the fact that the people depicted are people he likes to humilliate -Butters and Kyle mostly- it's a manifestation that he thinks of se/x as some sort of punishment.)

___________________

Aaand that's the end of the analysis, and though it was very long I'm sure that was just scratching the surface with Liane's parenting, which alone might be deserving of its own post.

anyways, sorry for any translation or spelling errors this might have, i'll put the source video in a reblog if you speak spanish and want to watch it.

#south park #eric cartman #south park analysis #south park meta #eric cartman character analysis #feel free to discuss or add stuff

[kanohivolitakk]

Two writers two ways to see villains: How Bob Thompson and Greg Farshtey viewed Bionicles villains

One of my favorite things to think about as of late is how differently the writers thought Bionicles villains should be portrayed. More specifically I believe there’s a stark difference between Bob Thompson’s  and Greg Farshteys portrayal/view on Bionicle villains. I know Bionicle had other major writers/story team people as well, but in this article I will mostly focus on Thompson and Greg, as I’m not 100% certain how Alstairs portrayal differed from Thompson.

In the beginning, Bionicle largely used more creatures rather than characters as the opposing enemies for our heroes to fight. Between 2001 and 2005 (the time Bob Thompson was head of the story-team) every “main” villain group was mostly made of mooks, and the big boss was usually a titan set. However despite being drones there was a bit of characterization in them. And a large unifying factor was that  none of the main enemies between 2001 and 2005 were pure evil. Rahi were just corrupted wildlife, Bohrok were a hivemind that was created for a good cause and were just fulfilling said cause, the Rahkshi just obeyed Makuta’s will, (cop allegories aside) the Vahki were literal tools whose owner decided whether they were used to good or evil and the Visorak were servants to a greater threat. Heck even most of the minor villains such as Krahka were just villains to survive (itshould be noted that Krahka was written by Greg but she fits better this mold than Gregs mold soo)

And while this can be seen mainly in the canister villains, I do think this plays with the titan bosses as well to an extent at least. The Bahraag were an extension of the Bohrok and the brains of the operation, so what I said about Bohrok appeals to them as well.Nidhiki and Krekka while somewhat intimidating were mostly played as a comedic lackey villain duo rather than anything serious. Sidorak may been opportunistic and cruel king who stole others credit for himself, but he was played like a fool and was completely unimpressive. (This can also be said about Nidhiki as well, since alone he may been a competent villain due to being a cunning opportunistic, but thanks to Krekka being an idiot, he was kept in check). Roodaka is really the only exception as she is cruel, manipulative and incredibly competent. She was really the closest to how Greg viewed his villains before Time Trapped changed the course.

But by far this out of all our initial villains, this the most clear with Makuta himself. Makuta’s initial incarnation wasn’t the pure evil chessmaster we all know and love, but instead was an eldritch force of nature. He was more an entity of destruction rather than an actual charcter. Furthermore, he was largely played as a force of other side of the coin, destruction to Mata Nuis creation, rather than an evil wizard that needed to be stopped. Even when Makuta became an actual charcter, he was still painted as a somewhat tragic villain, a tortured soul who simply did the atrocities because he felt he had to do them. It wasn’t til 2004/2005 when we started to see Makuta become the bastard we all know and love to hate.

By contrast, once Thompson left the tone of the villains changed drastically. From 2006 onwards, the canister villains became actual characters as opposed to just being drones.  But so many of them were the same “megalomanicac warlord with a godcomplex who wants to have as much power and dominance as possible” archetype just painted with a few different colors for some variety. There were only really two sympathetic villains, and one of them got redeemed and the other wasn’t even sympathetic he just was pessimistic the main villains plan would bring more harm than good to himself).

And while I feel there’s a lot of reasons for this change (tone-shift, Legos change in what was allowed and not allowed regarding violence) , I feel one of them absolutely has to do with the way Thompson and Greg viewed villains.

Thompson has said a few times that in his eyes, no character in Bionicle were truly evil or rotten. That there were some kind. Most notably Thompson has said this:

“I don’t believe there’s a truly bad Lego”.

This heavily seems to imply that in Thompsons mind, no Bionicle character was truly evil. Everyone has at least some kind of reason, some motive and greater reasoning behind their horrible behavior. Even the more direct villains were either played comedically pathetic like Sidorak or had a somewhat sympathetic backstory that made their descent almost pitiable like Nidhiki. Heck, I believe that Thompson most likely was the one who thought of Vakamas temporary heel turn, to show that even the heroes could fall to their vices, no matter how temporary it was.

Greg meanwhile had more or less the opposite view from Thompson. He said how the villains he enjoyed writing the most were cruel and manipulative, while feeling villain redemptions were overdone and cliche (to think he said this before Zuko made everyone obsessed with redemption arcs.) Greg has also stated numerous times how he prefered simpler conflicts where there were clear heroes and villains. This was one of the reasons he didn’t like Vakama’s heel-turn, as he felt it wasn’t something his heroes would do.

And the way Greg sees things really bleeds to his way of writing. Many villains he wrote were opportunistic and cruel. They were capable of emotions and rare RARE glimpse of something deeper (mostly accidental see with Nidhiki), but most of the time they were pure evil. Brutaka was really the only exception, but even then he was more a good guy who lost his way before coming back rather than a bad guy who was redeemed.

At the same time is worth noting that Greg was the one who wrote most of the books even when Thompson was at helm. And back then he wrote villains taht were more in style to the Thompson era than his own. Krahka is the clearest example, as she wasn’t really a villain, she was just trying to survive. Mavrah saw himself being wronged and wanted to justify that. And lastly, even if Greg says otherwise, he wrote Birth of a Dark Hunter, the exact oneshot that gave Nidhiki some depth and made him arguably one of the more complex and tragic villains in the entire franchise.

And this makes me wonder. Had Bob Thompson stayed in the storyteam, would the shift in villains had been as drastic? While I’m sure we would’ve have had some twisted and cruel villains, I wonder if Thompson being at helm would’ve let us have some more complex, tragic and even sympathetic villains as well? I would’ve loved this, since as much as I like Greg’s writing and many of his villains, I feel the villains being the same is one flaw I have with his writing. We get it Greg you prefer more “evil for the sake of evil” type of villains. But wouldn’t one or two sympathetic villains really have hurt in the grand scheme of things?

#Kirika Talks #Bionicle

[addictedtostorytelling]

Do you think they’ll give us a GSR kiss before CSI Vegas’ season ends? They’ve called back to most GSR moments from the original series thus far so it’s only a matter of time right? And, any idea why the kissing scene might have been cut out of 1.04? I’m assuming they needed to meet the time on the ep and GSR kissing would’ve offered no info to progress the plot, which is why they cut it out and kept the face touch scene.

hi, @vmreborn!

i honestly have no idea if we'll ever see another kiss (and am feeling pretty pessimistic after they cut the kiss from last week, tbh).

as for why they cut the kiss from episode 01x04 "long pig":

when they first started filming this season, i wondered if maybe we wouldn't get to see any gsr kisses because covid restrictions wouldn't allow for the filming of them in the first place.

however, obviously no such restrictions exist, as a kiss was (to the best of our knowledge) filmed.

and that's what i can't wrap my head around—the fact that there was a kiss recorded but they didn't end up using it.

why bother to film AND advertise something like that and then not show it?

—and especially when they absolutely had to have known how highly it was being anticipated.

the second the near-kiss promo dropped, the entire "csi vegas" tag on twitter turned into a gsr fandom jubilation. the showrunners track their social media (or at least have interns who do so for them and report back on what they find). they know that people were excited. it's not a fucking secret. that's why they included that image in the promo to begin with—because they knew it'd be a draw.

usually when things get cut, it's either for time (like you mention) or because something about the scene isn't right, in terms of aesthetics/acoustics or storytelling or portrayal or dialogue.

tptb obviously liked the kiss enough that it made it into a fairly late version of the episode—hence why it was used in the promos pretty much all the way up until the episode finally aired. to me, that fact suggests that there was probably nothing wrong with the kiss in terms of how it looked, aesthetic-wise. it wasn't a bad take with poor lighting or a botched angle or anything along those lines. and considering that the rest of the scene around where the kiss would have been sounds good, the audio probably wasn't off, either.

maybe there was a storytelling problem, though given that the kiss seemed to be a quick "sara is walking out the door, so she gives grissom a peck goodbye" thing, i have a hard time imagining what kind of problem that could be.

i mean, they're married. married people kiss each other goodbye. it's not like that's going to seem wrong given the context of the scene.

as for a portrayal issue, i mean, i know sometimes when actors don't really have chemistry (or even actively dislike each other, despite the fact that their characters are meant to be together), on-screen kisses can come across both looking and feeling uncomfortable—unbelievable at best and excruciatingly awkward at worst.

but here's the thing: billy and jorja have fabulous chemistry. they kiss each other socially as friends when they're out-of-character, so kissing is obviously something they're comfortable doing; they don't have any qualms about it. also, they've kissed in-character before, and it was aces. i'd find it hard to believe that they had lost enough step in that regard that they'd be significantly worse at depicting a kiss now than they were back in 2009.

perhaps dialogue, then?

i mean, based on what we see in the promo, sara is talking when she leans in for the kiss. maybe she's saying the "you know how persuasive i can be" part of the line that in the final version of the scene is overlaid with her leaving (when her back is turned to the camera, so we can't see her mouth moving). however, it's also possible that maybe there was an additional line that got cut in-between her saying "have some faith" and "you know how persuasive i can be" that somehow felt off or didn't work. if so, then there is at least a possibility that the kiss got cut along with the line as a "baby out with the bathwater" kind of deal.

still, just like i have a hard time thinking of a storytelling problem significant enough that it would justify cutting the kiss, the same goes for a bad line.

i mean, what could sara have possibly have said that was that objectionable? and why wouldn't they have caught it during filming and simply dropped it then?

of course, like you mention, it also may have been a time issue, but if it was, that's just—

i mean, unless the kiss was actually a full make-out scene, it probably only lasted for a couple of seconds at most.

if the episode were running long, why cut that particular three-second snippet of footage? why not pare down one of the "exterior vegas" transition shots or have three fewer seconds of grissom reacting to max and allie's conversation about the note-taking or make the montage of allie and max hitting the dummy include one less weapon?

there were a million other editing choices they could've made besides that one! there were other things that didn't progress the story that could've been taken out or shortened instead!

why deprive the fandom of the thing that everyone was desperate to see?

and especially when, at this point, a significant portion, if not the majority, of this show's audience is comprised of gsr fans or at least people who are gsr-friendly, meaning that it's not as if there are lots of people watching who don't want to see grissom and sara kiss.

i get that way back when, the production team on the original show got a lot of mileage out of teasing us by withholding gsr kisses.

the unfilled anticipation of the "pin me down" scene in episode 04x07 "invisible evidence" smoldered.

the beekeeping helmets mishap in episode 08x04 "the case of the cross-dressing carp" was cute.

plus, i mean, there was the whole thing of, "since we didn't actually show the 'moment of consummation' where these two characters involved in a very slow-burn romance finally get together—which would have been the natural point for a first on-screen kiss otherwise—we now find ourselves in a position where they've been together for a long time and are in the habit of regularly kissing, but our audience still hasn't seen them do so yet, which means we need to pick a significant moment to debut a first on-screen kiss in order to justify our having withheld the kiss to this point."

i mean, that all makes sense.

but that was a long time ago, you know?

things are different now.

we have seen grissom and sara kiss before—albeit fucking rarely—so it's not like they have to build up to a kiss in the same way they did in the original series. they could just "fold one in" and not really make it a thing, and it'd be fine, because we've seen kisses before and we know that kisses are something that are already happening between grissom and sara off-screen.

at this point, it's just getting fucking weird not to have two characters who have canonically been in love with each other for twenty-three years, who obviously adore each other, who've been together on-and-off since 2005, who've been married TWICE, and who are presently very happily together, not ever kiss on-screen, even at times when them doing so would be entirely natural (like, for instance, when they're saying goodbye to each other for the day).

do they think we can't handle seeing it?

are they still adhering to some bizarre variation on the hayes code, where instead of "the married couple shall not be shown in bed together," it's "the married couple shall not be shown locking lips"?

come to think of it, so far, every "in bed together" scene we've been shown in the reboot does follow the hayes code rules, as grissom always has one or more feet on the floor at all times. huh.

do they still think that every kiss needs to be an event™ and/or are they laboring under the delusion that we're not interested in seeing average, run-of-the-mill, everyday, comparatively "tame" kisses?

is there some kind of arbitrary limit that the network has placed on how many kisses can be shown between a married couple in a 10pm est time-slot show that we are unaware of?

i am beside myself.

no matter how i try to rationalize the decision to cut the kiss, i can't do it.

—and especially not because they advertised it so heavily.

like.

if they weren't going to use it, it shouldn't have been in the promos.

to get our hopes up like that and then not follow through is just cruel.

why fuck with the fans that way? why misuse our excitement?

all i can hope is that they somehow make it up to us by having other kisses elsewhere in the season—though, as stated before, at this point, i don't necessarily trust that they will, as we've been baited too many times.

i wish there were some way for us to assure the production team that we are all adult enough to handle seeing two happily married people lock lips on tv and in fact would be glad to witness any kind of kiss between them, be it a big event or a small "just because" thing, and that we'd make it worth their while to show us such an interaction by reacting favorably on social media.

help me, jason tracey. you're my only hope.

anyway.

sorry to be so salty.

here's fingers crossed that they do eventually give us at least one more gsr kiss—bringing the grand total up to three!—before the season is over.

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

#answered #vmreborn #asks: csi #** #my meta #meta: vegas #meta: production #cv 01x04 #let's talk shop #csiverse

[chikkou]

Legit question. How do you balance out enjoying works in pop culture, and being critical of the corporations and conglomerates that fund and produce said pop culture? It always seems like there's no in-between of "mindless consume product sheep" or "100% miserable pessimist", and it's just. Fucking exhausting.

sadly this is the natural consequence of a highly corporate culture; damn near everything you consume is either produced or funded by a media conglomerate of some kind, and there is absolutely no way to get around that. if you tried to avoid that by only consuming content made by independent artists/creators, youd probably spend more time researching every individual associated with something than you would actually consuming the damn thing. ive seen people go this route in trying to limit their exposure to mainstream media, and i completely understand & admire the motive behind it, but trust me - this is a miserable & unrealistic way to live.

for me personally, its about still staying vigilant at what messages the content youre consuming is giving out, and WHERE those messages are coming from. brooklyn 99 is a great example of some really insidious copaganda, and i fell for it myself when i was younger - the show makes it a point to make the police seem well-meaning and personable, even when they are ACTIVELY committing crimes on the show; they even bring in the BLM movement and basically have the episode just say "well ok people are right about police brutality but those are just bad cops and also we're trying be nice :(". this is not the first time michael schur slipped this kind of copaganda into one of his shows; parks and rec had a very similar issue where the police were treated as harmless & even a bit silly, even though one of the early episodes of the show has tom (a brown man) getting arrested for trying to break into HIS OWN VAN, with the cops excuse later on being that tom was "being belligerent." even when the main character (leslie) gets justifiably angry about this and demands he be let out, the show treats her as overreacting/in the wrong and he is still kept in the holding cell overnight. to make it even worse, she also ends up dating that cop later.

i went off on a tangent a bit LMAO but the bottom line is that, while youll never be able to avoid unintentionally consuming content like this, you can always do research about something youre watching/reading/listening to/etc. in fact, i would never have connected these dots if i hadnt tried to watch b99 and started feeling really uncomfortable with its portrayal of the police; by looking into it, i realized it was the same creator, and that he had done the same thing in parks and rec too. that was a dealbreaker for me, but it wont be like that with every piece of mainstream media you consume, so it really has to be taken on a case-by-case basis, or youll drive yourself crazy trying to remain perfectly ethical in a society that simply wont allow for it.

also a very simple solution is just to pirate every piece of mainstream media you consume cause that cuts the middle man out entirely LMAO

#anya's anons #long post #this was a toughie! made me think

[cateringisalie]

My list of bearable Binal Bantasy VII tags is thinning...

But seriously. Being skeptical of Tifa’s narration of past events is not without merit. By the time the Lifestream scene rolls around she has been through three comas and some grevious injuries. The Lifestream scene is as revelatory for her as it is for Cloud.

The new assertion she was in any way actually friends with Cloud is not only in conflict with the OG’s portrayal but counter to Cloud’s development, her development, the growth of their relationship as adults and why (in general) people have them stay together post game.

Its unnecessary, frustrating and further damaging Tifa’s character who is spinning off further from who she was.

That Tifa and Cloud were not actually childhood friends does not mean they do not have a relationship in FFVII. It does not mean they cannot be together. Tifa “falling in love” with Cloud at the water-tower does not for a second make their later relationship any more meaningful.

All this new ship information does is make the relationship have longer longevity than previously assumed. As if whichever relationship has lasted longer is betterer and stronger. As if this should automatically undercut any other relationship Cloud or Tifa can possibly experience.

(in fact - and darkly cynically - this feels a lot more like enforcing that Cloud/Tifa and Zack/Aerith operate in near exactly the same way. The pairs fall in love in record time (two years prior to the Nibelheim incident both times as far as I’m ware), the boys go missing and the girls never move on with their lives. I get the boys have gone missing without a shred of explanation or closure, but now for both of them people are willing to wipe out a quarter of their lives waiting. Teenagers are resilient you know? They will be inconsolable if this happened but they would bounce back a lot faster and cleaner than they would expect. The approval of the never moving on this is purely to keep the shipping uncomplicated. There can only be one pairing for Tifa, there can only be one pairing for Aerith. And if you think otherwise you’re wrong in canon. And who wants to write or read about a non-canon ship? Unless its yaoi/yuri in any case. I am so tired)

Childhood friends incidentally is not, however much some insist, a common trope of the series - unless you stretch it a fair amount and it encompasses a trivial number of the pairings. And none of the big ones (you know; Squall/Rinoa or Tidus/Yuna).

Could Tifa do with more backstory? Of course. Did Tifa’s mother deserve a name? Absolutely! But not like this. Not when Cloud helping round up cats in Remake is now tied to finding Tifa’s cat in a new authored backstory. This speaks again to the constant magpie-ing of existing imagery and moments from older parts of FFVII to feed the present. The retconning in of importance by changing the meaning of otherwise unimportant moments.

Tifa is not and never was under any obligation to like Cloud as a child. She did not bully him, but neither should she expected to involve him in anything she did. I understand the book has muddied this gloriously, but for what effect?

I mean, I know where the desperation to make Cloud and Tifa childhood friends stems from. I know why you want Cloud to have fallen in love with Tifa at like age 5 or something and for Tifa to fall in love with him at 13. And I rail against it all the time that its not necessary. Being first does not mean better.

Maybe I am old, cynical and exhausted, but I kind of like watching Cloud and Tifa grow closer in FFVII. I like watching Cloud and Aeris grow closer in FFVII. I like to experience these things where I can... experience them? I don’t like reading books which assert things in blunt statements that clarify exactly what the writer intended. I certainly don’t have the patience to wait for a later book to clarify what happened on-screen when I have drawn my own conclusions based on my preferences. Especially as this is all contributing to that continued sense that the OG is a smelly, badly designed embarrassment we would rather tiday away for the crime of being graphically inferior (never mind it was championed on its looks on release) and “goofy” (and apparently unable to run the gamut of emotions I remember from serious to comedy, to silly, to tragic, to pessimistic and quietly optimistic and moving).

I’m coming back to this point to stress it - I want to see the relationship growth. Remake gave me that for Aerith and Cloud even if the details aren’t to my taste. First meeting is awkward because hey, random stranger/Cloud is tired. Cloud gets involved and spends more time with Aerith. And the high-five thing is used as a clumsy/awkward/eh but clear metaphor for how their relationship develops over the course of their time together.

To the point that yes, it makes sense for Cloud to want to rescue her. Less sense for Elmyra and Tifa to be “Well they might not vivisect her” and then delay for two full chapters, but the whole thing flows.

And here’s where I get accused of being a fake fan: I don’t like how Cloud and Tifa’s relationship develops in Remake. Flirting. Tifa being mildly fazed by Cloud claiming its been five years. Scared when he almost kills Johnny. Maybe hurt depending on your resolution scene (hey podcast people! No Gold Saucer multiple dates because too expensive? How are there branched resolution scenes in Remake then?). But there isn’t growth. They seem to fit into each other’s lives without worry, bit of flirting, strange super-intense moments jammed into inappropriate sequences (the train roll, climbing the plate, Cloud remembering the promise unprompted, Tifa not actually engaged with Avalanche’s plans). There’s no sense anything has changed between them, the missed five years has done anything to them.

And I’m sure some would take this as proof of correctness. But... somehow Remake is better for realism despite a lot of new clumsy, but this relationship is not dinged for being implausible? No way does that five year gap not seriously impact any prior relationship to say nothing of developing from scratch.

See this was a neat thing about the OG; while Tifa seemed to have an edge over Aerith by knowing Cloud longer, he was in effect meeting them at the same point in his life and more or less starting from scratch with both. Both ships are valid, and even if Cloud is with Tifa come the end, it doesn’t mean he can’t have romantic feelings about both women.

Oh, but Nojima has changed his mind/always intended it this way. And? I can change my mind about liking what he’s written - and my patience and tolerance of Nojima has waned massively since 1997. To the point where his involvement invokes a pained groan from me.

Plus the hilarious attitude that this is from the same people who insisted “the OG will always be there, stop moaning about Remake”. Well guess what? I don’t like Remake and I don’t really want it around. The OG is better.

Yes, Tifa is under-served and sure, it could be clearer about shipping (but the apparent hostility to ambiguity and personal interpretation is deeply distressing. These things can mean something to you and don’t have to mean the same thing to everyone. Interpreting the romancs - again - not a competition).

BUT

I will take the OG version of Tifa where she believed in the cause, where she had friends (again, yes, the relationship between Tifa and the rest of Avalanche is not well depicted, but it was better than actively curtailing it), where she ran a bar THAT ACTUALLY OPENED AND SERVED CUSTOMERS, where she hated Shinra, where she didn’t know how to treat Cloud because she had only really talked to him once in her life and DESPITE THAT that they great closer and spent their last night before THE END OF THE WORLD together over the Remake.

Where Tifa is wary of Cloud for about 5 seconds, twice and then defaults to constant flirting. Where Cloud is near smothering Tifa every second they’re together and she doesn’t tell him to fuck off once. Where she’s allied with Avalanche but hates their methods (and the pacifists are in a shop around the corner and she is not with them because...?). Where she has some absurd contrived plot about medical bills and buying Seventh Heaven for Barret and Marlene.

Which would lead to a whole other rant titled “Marle is the Worst” but this has dragged on quite long enough.

But seriously; if you argue that we can’t hate Remake because OG is always there, then you have to stop applying Remake back to OG and using it as proof. Which is exactly why many people bemoaned the Remake at all. OG is one thing, Remake is another. I don’t care for the latter.

And I know if anyone does read all this it will be about the meanie Cleriths who diminish Tifa for no good reason. And yes, they are indeed acting in bad faith. But what makes you think for a second evidence will convince these people?

In particular, the argument has raged so long and always will because if people do not like a ship they will not accept it as canon (if they care about this as a factor) NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. Literally. Look at Loki if you want the most recent example of this.

Canon is to many “what I want” and often does not tally with the general interpretation. And you know, if being “canon” or guessing right early wasn’t triumphed as such a vital thing, we might not get these really terrible and pointless arguments.

Canon is a prize but here’s the big secret: fandom - in general - does not care. FFVII is an excellent case example given Sefikura overwhelms the other ships (and I think AZGSC is close?). And that’s not canon. That’s not even in the ballpark of the Cloud/Tifa vs Cloud/Aerith arena (even give that the former is roughly twice the size of the latter, you already won, so please stop?). Canon is only important if you think its important - and you get some more official art of sequences you can gif. And maybe you get kissing/implied sex/marriage/kids, but most of all you get a smug sense of superiority. And the last is why I have no patience with this.

[cowardtranslation]

Making LND Depressing for Everyone Else

In the original Phantom, Raoul is the loyal, loving, non-murderous choice for Christine, a true himbo, at least depending on the portrayal. But that's the version most fans like best!! He has his stupid moments, but he also has his endearingly adoring and caring moments. His character in the show is designed to love and be lovable.

During the events of LND, Raoul is imported from the original show a complete shadow of his former self. The man characterized by the pureness of his love for Christine is now an alcoholic, deep in gambling and drinking debt. He's been cut off financially from his family back in France and nearing being cut off physically by his close family due to his addictions overwhelming his life. His relationship with Christine and Gustave is rife with miscommunication and lack of communication altogether.

Please note that I'm not a psychiatrist by any means and I have no qualifications to diagnose (even if these are fictional characters), but in LND, Raoul is showing multiple signs of depression.

He's irritable. He's seemingly lost interest in music despite becoming a patron of an opera house, and feels as if he doesn't or can't love Christine. He's pessimistic about their situation, and hopeless that their situation can improve. And of course, he's taken up alcohol abuse and high risk gambling behavior to the point that he is in massive debt. But he's still Raoul. He wasn't changed enough to completely negate his character, he's just become depressed. He still shows signs that he loves Christine and Gustave, but just feels completely unworthy, or uncaring, of their love in return. At some points it seems like he doesn't even think Gustave likes him at all.

It's been canon-adjacent that Raoul knew Gustave was the Phantom's son, not his, further causing him to feel as though his relationship with Christine is a failure.

All of it begins to culminate in Act 2. After intermission, we see Raoul drinking heavily in a bar that, in the West End version at least, was located at Suicide Hall, literally named for being the place people go to step off the pier. The bartender remarks that Raoul looks to be in "a bad state," "worse than most that wind up here." Raoul has an entire number about how he's undeserving of Christine's love, how he feels like he's only dragging her down, and that he wishes to "leave the hurt behind."

Then the Phantom shows up. Erik brings up Raoul's inability to care for his family, no doubt only exacerbating his mental health. Then they get into the drunken bet. Raoul is heavily intoxicated and unstable. Despite his feelings of worthlessness, Raoul insists that Christine still loves him enough to trust him to get them out of this child kidnapper's grasp. And he still loves her, so much so that both he and the Phantom sing that Raoul is playing "for his life."

When the time comes for Raoul to attempt winning Christine over in her dressing room, he admits that he's been a terrible person due to his problems. He straight up says that he's been denying his family what they need, that there's something wrong with him. He says that his family needs the man he once was. That if he can get help, he can try to be that man again. If the Phantom removed the unbearable burden of debt, he might've actually been able to afford medical help to fulfill that promise(if any was available in the period). Of course there's the whole "why didn't he just tell her about the bet" thing but I blame biased writing for that.

She sings, and Raoul has lost her. It's an ultimate rejection and Christine doesn't even know it.

Back in the dressing room, Christine reads Raoul's note with legitimate concern. In the note, Raoul begs her forgiveness. He still refers to her as his wife, but never mentions divorce in the note, despite the fact that he "must go" away. It almost reads like a suicide note.

Raoul is not there when Christine is shot, but was apparently close enough to the pier that Gustave could retrieve him relatively quickly. Raoul was not there when she died, and just like that, he's lost her twice. The Phantom is implied to take Gustave, and if ALW gets his way, Raoul is likely left alone with Christine's body, his son not needing him, his family hating him, severe debts he cannot pay, and likely, terrible thoughts in his head. Remember that cuddly guy whose character was designed to love and be loved?

Raoul's character during LND is implied to be a drunken, snobby aristocrat. He's depressed. Webber tries to paint him as abusive. He writes him as depressed. The Phantom, who literally threatened to kidnap/kill her child, is now the good choice because Raoul can't get his shit together. He's depressed. And no one will just COMMUNICATE

This is a shitty ending, Webber. Fuck you

thanks for coming to my ted talk

#Phantom of the Opera #depression tw #suicide tw #headcanons #swearing

[entracteofevil]

Character Introductions

Entr’acte of Evil, page 14-36

“Come, kneel to me!”

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Riliane Lucifen d’Autriche

(Kagamine Rin)

The princess who rules the Kingdom of Lucifenia. For her arrogant behavior and proud personality, she is despised by her people, called the “Daughter of Evil”. She and her servant Allen are twins, but as she’s lost her memories of when she was young she doesn’t remember him. Her life was endangered in the civil war with the revolutionary army, but with Allen’s help she escaped from the palace, and later came to live in a monastery.

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AkunoP’s comment

Her character isn’t very complicated in construction, following the template of the ‘willful girl’. I guess she’s developed a bit more than her portrayal in the song. Though I did want to write more on how she grows after joining the monastery (haha). I do regret not being able to do that. It’d be nice if I could write about that somewhere.

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID 2 Character Vocal Series 02 Kagamine Rin of “Kagamine Rin/Len” published by Crypton Future Media.

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-Her monastery outfit is cinched together by a strap tied at the left side on her waist. Her back is the same design as her front.

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-These are the accessories that Riliane wears on her person (rough depiction). There’s a lot of simple items that just have a gem in the middle, but they are still quite expensive.

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Ichika’s comment

*Princess outfit: She has a kind of light and fluffy dress design with a lot of lace and ribbons to show her more adorable side. There’re a lot of rose motifs on her decorations. I wanted to have her hold onto some connection with her and Allen’s parent, so I drew her necklace to look like it was it was made out of something Queen Anne wore.

*Monastery outfit: She’s a novice nun, so her skirt length is a little short. It’s a simple outfit that’s just overall a bunch of sewn together cloth, but as she’s a former princess she has the kind of setup of wearing it well. Though she’s probably a bit bad at her work. Or maybe I should just say she’s not used to it.

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“How’s the flavor, Princess Riliane?”

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Allen Avadonia

(Kagamine Len)

A boy who works as a common servant in the Lucifenian royal palace, despite possessing substantial skill at swordplay and horseback riding. He has a very mature personality, but occasionally he’ll show a bit of boyishness in his expression. He is actually Riliane’s younger twin brother. He wishes for Riliane’s happiness more than anything. He helps Riliane escape during the civil war with the revolutionary army and takes her place, being executed as the princess.

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AkunoP’s comment

He was the hardest character to write (haha). Despite being a protagonist. Mostly in that I would worry that I was making him seem too young (though he is young), and that his youth in itself was a bit difficult to write. Fourteen-year-old boys are tricky. Even now I don’t think I’ve really got a handle on it (haha). There were a lot of parts where I felt like I messed up.

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID 2 Character Vocal Series 02 Kagamine Len of “Kagamine Rin/Len” published by Crypton Future Media.

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-The ribbon that ties his hair back looks to be a butterfly knot. His shoes are a simple loafer design.

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Ichika’s comment

*Servant outfit: He’s a servant, so he has clothes that are easy to move in. In order to show a bit of his boyishness I made the lower cuff of his outer jacket a bit too big for him. His pockets are decorative. I think he should take off his upper coat when doing more strenuous work.

*Traveling outfit: I made his coat a little bit loose, so that it could be worn as-is above his normal clothing. I was thinking about various things when I drew it—like making sure he has a relaxed formal air even when he’s attendant on the princess, that he’s alright even if it rains as he has a hood, that it’s one-size-fits-all, etc.

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“To me, you are a very wonderful person.”

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Michaela

(Hatsune Miku)

A servant who serves Lord Keel, and originally a spirit that lived under the great earth god, Held. She has an inquisitive personality, and her hobby is people-watching. She chose the appearance of the ‘original sinner’ as her human form when she reincarnated. She is beloved by everyone for her kind and sociable personality, as well as her beautiful looks and singing voice. She’s always worrying about her dear friend Clarith, and also this “love” that humans have.

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AkunoP’s comment

This one was also hard to work with (haha). On a fundamental level, she’s less the “of Evil” Miku and more just straight up “VOCALOID Miku”. Like the whole “Miku is an angel” thing from the early days. I think it was through her relationship with Clarith that she was finally able to set herself apart as the “of Evil” Miku. I’ve still got a few more developments for her yet (haha).

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID 2 Character Vocal Series 01 “Hatsune Miku” published by Crypton Future Media.

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-The sleeves of her town outfit are lined with lace. They are three-quarter length.

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Ichika’s comment

*Town outfit: Given that she’s meant to be adorable, her outfit was made with a kind of fluttering look in her sleeves and such. There are a lot of parts where two sleeve ends  overlap. I drew her to be more of a diva than a servant in appearance. Also, while her pendant is a scallop in shape, its size is close to that of the end of her thumb.

*Village outfit: As she’s sort of German in style, I drew her with the image of the German Fairy Tale Road in mind. As I have the personal idea that it’s a hand-me-down from Clarith’s mom, the skirt for her dress is a little too long. I didn’t get the idea that she was dressed all that fashionably in the village, so I made it so that this one had no ribbon.

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“I—I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”

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Clarith

(Yowane Haku)

A servant who works at the Keel estate alongside Michaela. She’s a Netsuma girl with white hair and red eyes, and she has suffered persecution from the Elphe people due to being an ethnic minority. It’s because of this that she developed her catchphrase, “I’m sorry for being alive”, and her pessimistic personality. On a fundamental level she’s clumsy and not really good at anything, but she does have skill in cooking. She also likes plants and animals, and she takes very good care of saplings.

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AkunoP’s comment

She’s the character that’s the closest to my “real self”. “I’m sorry for being alive” is actually my real life catchphrase (haha). So she’s easy to empathize with. She has a few odd points but she’s really the most normal, “everyman” character in the story. Haku herself was originally conceived not as a VOCALOID but as a “master”(song producer), you know.

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*This character was based on “Yowane Haku”, a derivative of the VOCALOID 2 Character Vocal Series 01 Hatsune Miku published by Crypton Future Media.

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-The length of her hair goes down to slightly above her knees. She also tends to use the bangs on the side of her face to hide her ears.

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Ichika’s comment

*Town outfit: On the whole she’s like Michaela, but I made her design more simple to express a grown-up and “in the background” air. I didn’t see her as someone to wear particularly girly clothes, so her collar is a bit more masculine. I think four out of five times she’d have Michaela help out with the ties on her back.

*Monastery outfit: I designed her sleeves to be neat so that it would be easy for her to cook, which is her main strength. As they don’t have any ostentatious stuff like hair decorations at the monastery I tearfully cut down on her ribbon… It’s a useless detail but her waist sash is supposed to be in a granny knot.

*Village outfit: I put her in a simple, full dress that’s easy to put on. I had intended for her outfit to both show that she was an outsider and be something that Clarith herself picked out to not stand out in a village, which ultimately gave me this image of a slightly overdressed outfit. Hence her design coming out like this.

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“I ain’t broken the fountain yet, yannow!”

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Chartette Langley

(Kasane Teto)

A maid who serves in the palace, and Allen’s childhood friend. Due to her frightening strength she excels at heavy work, but struggles with more delicate tasks and is often breaking things inside the palace. The princess is fond of her for her outgoing personality, and they will sometimes take tea-time together. During the revolution she engages in a duel against Mariam, one of the Three Heroes, using a broadsword larger than her own height.

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AkunoP’s comment

I like this character (haha). She was easy to work with. I wish I could have had her do more. She didn’t get to do anything in the second book, so I’ve been thinking about maybe having her show up in the third book.

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*This character is based on “Kasane Teto”.

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-During the duel she took on the style of wielding a sword larger than her own body. For that reason her outfit was made to show ease of movement.

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-The broadsword is of a simple design, but that’s overpowered by its sheer size. It sort of has the image of a blunt weapon more than a slashing implement.

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Ichika’s comment

*Maid outfit: The ends of her sleeves are precisely folded back. The hem of her skirt is frilly and puffs out a bit, as the style of the maid outfit in the country of yellow. The hem is also slightly short, as she does a lot of running around. The ribbon at her collar had been red at first to match her hair, but I figured that it wouldn’t be red in the country of yellow so I changed it to yellow.

* Resistance outfit: She’s a peasant, so she has light armor on her casual wear. The coverings for her wrists were a bit more unrefined at first. I drew her leg armor in to serve as a sort of counterweight for when she swings her sword around. As such, they’re supposed to be much heavier than they look. She could probably mortally wound someone with one kick.

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“Please…keep what I’ve said a secret.”

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Ney Phatipe

(Akita Neru)

A maid who serves in the palace, and the adoptive daughter of the head maid and one of the Three Heroes, Mariam. She does all her work flawlessly, but it’s countered by her being a gossip and loose-lip, which results in some turmoil occurring. She’s favored by Riliane, and becomes a source of information for her. Her true identity is that of Marlon’s thirteenth princess, Ney Marlon.

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AkunoP’s comment

Like Clarith, Ney is a character that I had a concept of since the very beginning. She was originally a childhood friend of the twins who stood in a sort of “big sister” role, and wound up becoming “another servant”. She’s the character who’s changed the most from how she was in the beginning. I actually had plans to make her into a joke character (haha).

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*This character was based on “Akita Neru”, a derivative of the VOCALOID 2 Character Vocal Series 01 Hatsune Miku published by Crypton Future Media.

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-I considered several different ways of her tying her hair when she’s an assassin, but how she ends up being in that situation is a secret.

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Ichika’s comment

*Maid outfit: The basics are the same as Chartette’s maid uniform. Only the hem is longer, to show the difference in work and her personality. She feels like the kind of person to wear her maid uniform so well that she could do her work from start to finish all day without anything out of place. She was trained by her adoptive mother.

*Assassin outfit: She’s doing espionage activities, so it’s an entirely black uniform. The main focus was ease of movement. The boots are made of a soft fabric to make it harder to hear her footsteps. Her ponytail can be bundled up and pushed under her clothing depending on the situation. It probably just barely gets in. –Fits in.

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“…Stop mocking me.”

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Kyle Marlon

(KAITO)

The king of the island country of Marlon (the “Country of Blue”), and Riliane’s fiancé. Riliane adores him, calling him her “dear”, but he falls in love at first sight with Michaela when meeting her in the mansion of his friend, Keel, and so breaks off the engagement on his end. He is no match for his mother, Empress Dowager Prim, something he’s a bit ashamed of.

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AkunoP’s comment

I’m so sorry, but he’s the one I care about the least (haha). Frankly I seriously didn’t want to write him all that much. These novels aside, don’t expect me to make KAITO this cool overall. Though he’s a pretty toothsome character, with how many turns he gets.

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID Character “KAITO” published by Crypton Future Media.

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-The basis for his masked appearance is a certain sha[redacted]. It’s a simple outfit, but the decorations it has here and there are gaudy in a minor way.

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Ichika’s comment

*Main outfit: As he was designed with a theme of solemnity, his whole appearance is composed with a precise and stiff feel. The collar of his jacket is designed like a suit. His sleeves are meant to feel a bit stern. I drew his outfit with a sort of square image of the country of blue in my head, so he’s light on the curves. Since he’s a male character I put more emphasis on being chic than flashy.

*Disguise outfit: I drew this to feel like the sort of typical outfit of the country of blue. But the quality of the fabric is a grade above that of the average person. If I were to draw in any armor it would let slip what country he’s from, so he’s just got the one sword as equipment. It’s the same sword he wields in his king outfit, but he tries to hide it.

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“Let’s go, everyone.”

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Germaine Avadonia

(MEIKO)

Allen’s adopted sibling who lives in the town below Lucifenia castle, and the adopted daughter of Leonhart, one of the Three Heroes. She’s dependable and cares about her friends, but that comes with the snag of her being a little crude. In actuality she’s quite smart, becoming the leader of the Resistance and earning the people’s respect.

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AkunoP’s comment

At first, I had wanted to make her into a classic, genuinely heroic character…But I guess that got a bit warped. Like Miku, there’s a lot of influence taken from her character as a VOCALOID. I want to write about her past sometime. She’s an unexpectedly pitiable character, who winds up not having a lot of influence.

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Ichika’s comment

In addition to being based on Leonhart’s armor, the insignia above her chest is taken from the hilt of his sword, so in that sense it’s like her equipment has inherited her father’s will. It’s lighter armor, given that as she’s a woman there’s more emphasis on maneuverability. As it prioritizes heroism over sex appeal, her legs haven’t been left exposed.

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID Character “MEIKO” published by Crypton Future Media.

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“You working hard, kids?”

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Leonhart Avadonia

(LEON)

Allen and Germaine’s adoptive father, and one of the Three Heroes. He’s the captain of the guard of the royal family, but he clashes with the princess over their different opinions. An unparalleled drinker, he often drinks the night away with his daughter Germaine.

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AkunoP’s comment

Among the Three Heroes, he’s the one that came to mind first. He vanishes pretty quickly from the story for someone who was present in the plot of the Daughter of Evil since its original conception… Though I guess he does get to do more in the bonus story, so it’s all good. He’s a bit of an old fogey by the Daughter of Evil era. I did have some other more detailed ideas for him, but ultimately wound up not using them.

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Ichika’s comment

He has solidly built heavy armor. The main colors of his outfit are red and white, but there’s a single thread of yellow on his mantle alone to symbolize the people of the country of yellow.  The mantle is part of his uniform as captain of the guard; he didn’t have one during his hero days.

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*This character was independently made based on VOCALOID “LEON” published by ZERO-G.

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“Lucifenia will very soon be overthrown.”

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Elluka Clockworker

(Megurine Luka)

A court sorceress who served the previous monarch, and one of the Three Heroes. Her predictions are never wrong, and so there are many who trust in her in the palace. She has lived for a long time, and is carrying out the task of collecting the “Vessels of Deadly Sin” as a favor to the great land god Held.

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AkunoP’s comment

It’s the postscript character! (haha) Originally I planned for the sorceress role was going to be played by a different character, but then I swapped her out when Luka was published, resulting in her ultimately getting the best role. Personality-wise she’s similar to how I am when I’m drunk (haha). So, like Clarith, I’m quite fond of her, and she’s easy to write.

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Ichika’s comment

It’s a bit hard to tell with the robe on, but despite not looking like it she actually has some degree of exposure. Mostly her shoulders and legs. Her outfit was designed to look bewitching. The jewels at her hip are taken from her VOCALOID image character. After Riliane, she probably has the most accessories out of anyone else.

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID 2 Character Vocal Series 03 “Megurine Luka” published by Crypton Future Media.

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“Yes, the green onion, the Very Amazing, Green Onion.”

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Gumillia

(Megpoid)

A sorceress in training who serves in the palace, and Elluka’s apprentice. She is very close with Michaela, and was originally one of the spirits who served Held alongside her. She picked the form of Elphegort’s first female prime minister, Gumina Glassred, as her appearance when reincarnating as a human.

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AkunoP’s comment

She hardly got to do anything at all…Since she hasn’t had a lot of influence on the story at present, I think I’d really like to give her more to do in the third book (haha). I think she’s the character with the most potential. She was originally a spirit, and is a sorceress to boot. So, expect great things from her in the future!

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Ichika’s comment

As she’s Elluka’s apprentice her outfit design is made to resemble hers, though it also shows a more apprentice-esque childishness in it. But I also see her not changing her outfit even after her training his passed. Like Elluka, she has a single jewel around her hip.

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID 2 Artist Vocal character “Megpoid” published by Internet Co., Ltd.

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“I am one of the Three Heroes, Mariam Phatipe!”

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Mariam Phatipe

(MIRIAM)

She once engaged in espionage as one of the Three Heroes, but now she serves as the head maid in the palace. Her personality is extremely rigid, but she has her kind side as well, and there are many who admire her. She prides herself on covert work, like running secret intelligence.

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AkunoP’s comment

Her appearance is meant to feel like a gorgeous, cool beauty. In conception she’s this badass secret intelligence operative, but in the end she wound up being a dud spy (haha). She was completely useless, and failed to see what was happening with her own daughter. Her position is sort of that of everyone’s stern mother. Though the “Of Evil” series is full of stern women, and all of them are strong.

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Ichika’s comment

She does have a theme of being a rigid, cool beauty. With this sort of masculine air, too. Her outfit is a bit old-fashioned, bearing in mind the image of the previous queen’s reign. I pictured her being able to move a fair bit whatever her uniform, so I think it would always be prim and proper, without anything out of place.

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*This character was independently made based on VOCALOID “MIRIAM” published by ZERO-G.

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“We have a favor to ask of you.”

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Anne Lucifen D’autriche

(Sweet Ann)

The old queen of Lucifenia, and the mother of Riliane, who admired her. She often said she wanted to “build a country where children can live with a smile”, and devoted her energies into the strengthening and expansion of her country. Like her husband Arth I, she passed away from the incurable “Gula” disease.

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AkunoP’s comment

She’s sort of like what Riliane could have turned out like if she’d been raised properly. Strong, kind, and popular. Only, I’m sure she must have been more mischievous when she was younger. She probably had reckless adventures and passionate romantic stories, but I’ve got no plans to write any of them (haha).

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Ichika’s comment

I drew her with a theme of a queen’s strictness and a woman’s gentleness. Actually, her character design is the one I liked the most on first drawing it. She’s not too gaudy, but I’m really happy her outfit conveys a sense of stability in its place.

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*This character was independently made based on the VOCALOID 2 “SWEET ANN” published by PowerFX.

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“That’s just common practice among merchants.”

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Keel Freezis

(Hiyama Kiyoteru)

A famous merchant who conducts trade in Elphegort, while being an immigrant from Marlon. He serves as the head of the trade association, and is also proficient in handling information. He’s an old friend of Marlon’s King Kyle. He has three children.

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AkunoP’s comment

The no.2 super afterthought character (haha). At first I had no plans for him to do anything at all, but when I tried giving him a few more scenes he turned out to be a pretty fun character; I ended up shortening Kyle’s role to compensate (haha). It was a lot of fun to write a character so cheerful. And it was pretty amusing to have him be such a doting parent.

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Ichika’s comment

As he’s a merchant, he wears shoes and an outfit that are both easy to walk in. His uniform base is the country of blue. Fundamentally his robe is for use in business discussions, and is supposed to easy to remove when it gets hot or gets in the way. I would imagine he probably dresses down a bit outside of occasions where he’s conversing with royalty and nobles.

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID 2 Vocaloid teacher “Hiyama Kiyoteru” published by AH-Software Co. Ltd.

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“Tell me the story of the ‘Daughter of Evil’!”

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Yukina Freezis

(Kaai Yuki)

The eldest daughter of the wealth Elphegort merchant Keel Freezis. She’s very attached to her servant Clarith, and often has her wrapped around her little finger, being both naïve and mischievous. She has a hobby of writing stories, and excels at it despite her young age.

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AkunoP’s comment

She’s going to be more active in the third book. She’ll be a main character!! (haha) She becomes the author of the Freezis Fairytales, and the official teller of the story. Come to think of it I did buy the Yuki software the other day, so I might make a song for her after this.

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Ichika’s comment

Frankly she’s the most fun when drawing. While heavily basing her off of her original character image, I also gave her a more chic and mature air befitting a merchant’s daughter. I’m happy I was able to make her appearance show how doted on she is by Keel.

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID 2 Vocaloid student “Kaai Yuki” published by AH-Software Co. Ltd.

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“I was the same as you…Evil.”

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Gast Venom

(Gackpoid)

A skilled mercenary who heads a mercenary band, called “The Demon of Asmodean”. During the revolution he stays at the palace until the end under Allen’s request, and fought against the revolutionaries using a weapon called a katana, something unfamiliar to the Evillious region.

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AkunoP’s comment

He’s got a mystery for so few appearances (haha). I’ve given him a ton of backstory but I haven’t shared any of it. Like that he’s a descendant of Venomania, that he isn’t actually [redacted], none of it’s been shown in story. And he got killed by an amateur girl (haha). In that sense I guess he’s more pathetic than Kyle. I’d like to get some of it out someday though.

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Ichika’s comment.

I made him more Japanese in style to give him a foreign feel. I drew his outfit and his equipment to be like the protective armor of a swordsman. His outfit’s meant to have a slightly feminine component to it, like having a feminine sash at his waist. He’s got a decent amount of layering in his clothing. His physique is meant to feel pretty lean.

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*This character was based on the VOCALOID 2 Artist Vocal character “Gackpoid” published by Internet Co., Ltd.

directory

[paramcur-archive]

@paradiscm​​:

when situations arise, instinct tells simon to view it as an opportunity. he agrees to a stupid plan because there’s a meal involved, agrees to lying on his resume because there’re bills to be paid, agrees to allow unforgiving strangers to pinch drinks from the store freezer because he can’t afford to make enemies with local mafia. it’s his way of adapting, transforming to suit a scenario, of surviving. so even as teddy murmurs a -- frankly surreal -- confession, simon wonders, briefly considers the perks that could come with being in a relationship. (teddy’s better off than he, rent could be halved, and whatever sex they’re already having would probably double in frequency.)

and he doesn’t want to admit it, but the idea (so cruel, so singleminded) lingers in his head longer than it should. it sours after a few beats, leaves his tongue feeling heavy and bitter, and simon’s already warming cheeks only pink further. what a terrible person, he thinks. what a greedy little monster, so undeserving, so mean, so materialistic and slick with poison.

his head swarms with a darkness, and simon, suddenly wary that he’s been chewing on the inside of his cheek instead of looking teddy’s way -- glances over. the least he can do is recognize the confession, he figures. merely noting it is a start that takes more courage than he’s used to. “...oh.” he’s so frazzled about how to respond that he forgets to ask himself how he actually feels. and as if suddenly guided to a blinding realization, simon’s arms seize up, dark eyes still focused and wide and unsure. “uh.” there’s a beat of silence, tension thick enough to choke on. “like -- like how? what’s the fake way?”

he doesn’t mean to question it -- he’s not intending to second guess or disregard the comment out of sheer self-deprecation, but he’s stalling. simon struggles because he fucking cares about teddy. he likes it when teddy smiles his way, laughs until his eyes scrunch up, arches into him when he’s needy, quips back with a ridiculous comment or two. likes it when they’re alone and inebriated, fingers lightly smacking at thighs or brushing at skin, eyes filled with honey. simon doesn’t want to lose any of it. simon doesn’t want to lose teddy. and his clouded, heavy, pessimistic mind makes every option feel like a terrible one.

teddy knew it couldn’t be sunshine and daisies forever, knows simon was aware of that too. maybe a little too aware of it. teddy often finds himself wishing love could be as pure and good as the concept of it was - the fluttery, sweet feelings and the rush of it all before the unsavory things like power, control and resentment came into it. he’s seen all the pretty things making someone fall in love and lust with you could get you in the material world, and as soon as his family started to oust him from their nest - began to take his name off of things and stopped inviting him to social events, teddy had dug his talons in and clung on to whoever was adjacent or equal in status to make the inevitable descent down less crippling so he’d still have one leg to stand on. it had worked, his family hadn’t managed to isolate him or push him into a corner the way they’d intended - but it wasn’t without sacrifice from teddy. everyone knew he was a social climber, people would whisper about him behind closed doors about which lonely chaebol’s wife he’d be cozying up to this week, but the same people would quiet down whenever he threw a smile their way and began to tell an animated story. everyone was so nice to him when he pretended to know nothing. he’s always daydreamed about being a performer, wanting to touch peoples’ hearts and minds with the conviction behind his portrayal of a story or character. (but not like this.) 

teddy is waiting for simon’s reaction, fork and knife paused over the steak sitting on his plate like someone had actually hit the pause button - and for a while, he just feels like a deer caught in the headlights. he had said it without realizing the heaviness of the confession, too caught up in the comfort simon’s presence provided that he forgot who simon was, forgot who teddy was supposed to be. it’s not supposed to be so serious. it’s not supposed to be like you could hear a pin drop. once upon a time, he’d felt that despite being from such different backgrounds that he and simon were really close - but right now the distance between them felt miles apart. he wants to break the tension the way teddy feels he’s always inclined to do, remind him that this wasn’t bad news - but the way simon’s eyes had practically glazed over hurt and it would take even a skilled pretender like teddy a second to pull himself together. 

“well, if i liked you the fake way and you liked one of the multiple fake versions of me instead, you wouldn’t have reacted like that,” he says with a feigned smile, placing his cutlery down and off to the side. realizing that was more confusing and intimidating than it was comforting, he decided to switch tactics. “hey, it’s okay. it’s not like i said the scarier word,” he reasons, confident that simon must like him or at least parts of him at least a little. (this is how teddy is reasoning with himself, too - it’s not like he had said something incriminating. he was still safe.) “it’s not every day someone this beautiful says they like you, so stop overthinking it and just enjoy it. are you worried i’m going to start getting expectations? asking things of you?” he raises an eyebrow at simon, a condescending grin on his face.

#🌹 “ 𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲. ‣‣ ( interaction. ) † #🌹 “ 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. ‣‣ ( tedmon. ) † #not @ me finally responding this NOW #fdkhgkdfhgkf #kill me .......... #also teddy's vetting process for 'dating' #is very thorough #he goes from asking ppl how they feel about sex workers to how they feel about popstars he cares deeply about along w/ how well they get #along with kids #and scores them off of those things #along with whether or not they do math for fun

[autumn-foxfire]

I think its really telling to what kind of manga jjk is when the main characters goal isnt 'save people' or 'become the best x' but 'make sure people have a proper death'. It really does set a tone right away that in this world people die, they die often and they die grousomely and theres not much the main charas can do about it because once they got to the scene the damege has usually already been done and all they can do is try to deafet the curse so it doesnt cause more damege from then on.

Making sure people have a proper death is such a minimal goal, it immidietly admits that its HARD even IMPOSSIBLE to save people sometimes. You can struggle to save them from danger so they can live and hopefuly die a proper death later but that in itself is hard. Yuji fails to save people left and right constantly. Npcs but also people he considered friends. And its ugly and its painful, these are horrible twisted deaths. Yuji cant even do a bare minimum, he cant even ensure that people die without being tortured through it.

It really sets the tone when the bar is that low n still so hard to reach, jjk is such a dark manga in that aspect n im only like 30 chapters in

Jujutsu Kaisen is a very dark and almost pessimistic manga when it comes to the concept of death. It’s very realistic in the portrayal that it is something that is both inevitable and the manga also quickly sets up the idea that being a jujutsu sorceror isn’t to save others but to stop curses before the kill anyone else.

Yuuji is constantly made to face the reality of death, whether it be himself dying a painful death, his friends being put in danger and dying, or him having kill people and not give them the proper death he feels like they deserve. The manga constantly challenges Yuuji’s view on a proper death too because of this and we see him struggle with the reality that even he himself isn’t exactly sure what a proper death should look like.

I absolutely adore the tone of JJK because it is both extremely realistic with down to earth characters and characterizations and I love how the grand goal of Yuuji’s is something as simplistic and yet extremely complex as having a proper death surrounded by people he knows and loves and trusts.

JJK has managed to break my heart over and over again because of this concept and yet I love it to pieces (it’s going to hurt watching all of this animated though).

#jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen spoilers #thanks for the ask!! #what I love about the manga though is that they still find a way to smile #because while it may be a dark and thankless job #they still have a reason to live #thegaygyrus