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i-guess-im-into-this-now · 21 days

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The Apothecary Diaries

S1E23 First Watch

Here's where I watch The Apothecary Diaries for the first time and give my thoughts, analysis, predictions, and occasionally I stumble into a joke.

If you want to start at the beginning:

Episode 1

My character/location cheat sheet

Fengxian: Maomao's courtesan mother

The show opens on Maomao's mother, who is in the late stages of her illness, delusional, softly singing a lullaby while moving around some Go pieces. Is she thinking of the past? The lover that she lost, or the baby that she had?

So the box that Maomao requested was a game. The English dub just calls it Chess, but I think it's called Shogi or the Chinese equivalent. Please correct me if I'm wrong. She challenges Lakan to a competition, who is giddy with delight. They will play best out of 5, no handicaps, and they call their prize before they begin.

Lakan: If I manage to best you. I want you to come and live with me.

Jinshi does NOT like that. Gaoshun reminds him that he promised not to interfere, but Lakan can't take his girl! Don't worry yet Jinshi, Maomao wouldn't be so bold if she didn't think she could win this bet. Have faith!

Lakan learns that Maomao is still under contract to work for Jinshi, and he makes a rude implication that has Jinshi grinding his molars.

And I think this is kind of weird. Just what does Lakan think or feel about his daughter? I don't know if he truly believes that there is something amorous going on between Maomao and Jinshi, but he's totally fine with implying that there is. They are talking about her contract here, and the implication that is being made is that Jinshi bought out Maomao's courtesan contract so that he could bring her to his house to service him solely. We the viewer know it's not true, and Lakan may have been able to pick up enough clues to realize it's not true, but still his joke is a weird one for a father to make. Is it just to get under Jinshi's skin? Or is it possible that he believes his daughter is truly acting as a courtesan? We know that Lakan has had dealings with courtesans in the past, and I'm glad he doesn't seem to have any prejudice against them and the work they do. Yet. I kind of thought maybe his whole reason for wanting to get Maomao to come live with him, was that he was trying to protect her from that work. Am I missing something here? Because it seems that's not the case. So if he doesn't want Maomao for her own sake, then he wants her for his own purposes. Which are??? Use her as another piece to maneuver? That doesn't seem quite right either, since she is the only one he doesn't see as a game piece. I don't know what this indecipherable man wants.

Maomao on the other hand wants Lakan to buy out an aging courtesan from the Verdigris House. Her delirious mother I assume. If that's her goal... is it really a good idea to put Maomao's mother into Lakan's care? Is he going to take care of her? It seems like if he intended to take care of her, he would have already stepped forward to do so. I know Maomao doesn't care about her mother, but she does take care of her when she visits the Verdigris House. Surely she wouldn't entrust any person to Lakan if she thought he would be a neglectful caregiver. I guess I just have to trust that Maomao knows these people better than I do, because this to me seems like a bad idea all the way around.

Maomao also adds a drinking element to the game, that includes poison. Also, if someone quits for any reason, they lose.

Lakan and Maomao are relaxed as they play, but Jinshi is worried. He doesn't like the terms or the rules of this game. Maomao loses the first round and is forced to drink, and Jinshi is the one sweating it. When she loses the second match, Jinshi starts to panic.

Lakan doesn't want to risk that Maomao might be poisoned by drinking a third cup, so he throws a game to drink one. If he drinks one that contains poison than he will know that Maomao is safe to lose her third game.

The cup that Lakan drinks from is poisoned, and he is not tolerating it well. Actually, the alcohol is far worse for Lakan than any medicine that Maomao may have added. Lakan famously abstains, and has no tolerance for alcohol. It's why he carries fruit juice with him everywhere.

So did Lakan know it was alcohol when he decided to drink it or did he think it tasted bad because of the medicine Maomao added? Either way, he agreed to the terms of the game and he has now lost the bet. Maomao never had to beat him at chess, she only had to risk drinking poison with a straight face which is an everyday activity for Maomao. Lakan lost the moment he agreed to play by Maomao's rules.

The show takes us back to see a young Lakan. He has hardcore face blindness, which makes for some very disturbing animation. Since he couldn't connect with people he devoted his time to playing Go and Chess. His uncle encourages him to identify people as chess pieces. His family name gets him a military position and Lakan tells us the following.

Lakan: Of all the games I've played. Chess with human pieces was the most fun I've ever had.

Chilling.

Lakan's inability to view people's humanity is frightening. Dangerous. A person without empathy. It's no wonder Maomao wants nothing to do with this man.

I do understand that Lakan's inability to recognize faces affects his ability to connect with other people, but wow, that's a whole lot different than viewing them as pawns you can manipulate for fun. I'm sure he was a brilliant strategist for the military, but the fact that he delighted in it, demonstrates his lack of humanity.

We learn that a courtesan named Fengxian from Verdigris House easily trounced Lakan in a game of Go. Finally he can see a human face. For years they played Go or Chess, slowly getting to know one another while they play.

Fengxian: A woman did give birth to me, but I have no mother. Because in the Pleasure District, a woman can never be a mother.

A pretty clear description of Fengxian's views on motherhood. If she maintained this view when she had her own daughter, then we can understand just what Maomao might have been dealing with. Also, didn't Maomao say something similar when she described Fengxian as the woman who birthed her?

Maomao: Maybe it's love. But if that's the case. It's not a rabbit hole I want to delve into. That's an emotion I'm sure I left behind. Back in the womb of the woman who birthed me. (Episode 18)

At the time I wrote that comment off to be because Maomao had experienced neglect, abuse or abandonment from her mother, which I do think is likely, however, Maomao's view of motherhood is perhaps not too different than Fengxian's. That a woman can never be a mother in the Pleasure District may be a common belief, but it isn't universal, because we saw the princesses, Pairin in particular, step up to fill the mother's role for Maomao.

Maomao has trash parents, but lovely found family.

Lakan tells us that Fengxian's price increased as she became more in demand. From then Lakan could rarely afford to meet with Fengxian.

Upon one visit Lakan learns that someone has bought out Fengxian's contract. She seems disappointed that she won't be able to meet with Lakan again. She makes a bet with him, with the highest stakes possible. Whoever wins, can take whatever they want from the other.

Lakan: Quite suddenly, a terrible thought crossed my mind.

He's thinking about that notorious way to lower the value of a courtesan isn't he? Just what is it that Fengxian wants from Lakan, I wonder? She has to know that he can't afford her contract. Could it be that she also wants to lower her value to avoid being bought out by someone else?

Lakan chooses to play Go, which we remember from an earlier episode that he could never defeat her in. Did he do this to give her the chance to ask something of him? To prevent himself from following through on that terrible thought that crossed his mind?

He does recognize that it's not right to impregnant a woman to lower her value. Is this because he has real feelings for Fengxian or that he simply acknowledges that it's manipulative? Does he think it's terrible because he would have to take responsibility for a child that is born this way? Or is it just terrible because time in bed would be a waste when they could be playing board games?

They never make it to the end of the game. Instead they sleep with each other and Fengxian tells Lakan that she wants to keep playing Go. She, like Lakan, likely has trouble connecting with other people. That they are well matched in intellect is like seeing another human for the first time. Everyone else is beneath them, not even human.

I'm convinced now that this was a tactical move from both of them. After all, Fengxian dismissed Meimei before they even started playing. Win or lose she was counting on sleeping with Lakan.

Lakan: There were no sweet words offered from Fengxian, nor from me for that matter. So in a way you could say we had similar natures.

Do these two care about each other at all or is it just that they don't express it? I have my doubts.

As Lakan is drifting off to sleep Fengxian sings a song, which I can only assume is the same one she tried to hum the day Maomao was in the annex to care for her. It is the same song from earlier in this episode where we see her in the present day playing with Go pieces on her bed. So her present day delusions are all about returning to this time which was the best period of her life. Before she had a baby, Before she cause syphilis, and everything fell apart.

But what is with singing the song in the past? I dipped into the Japanese with English sub to check the faithfulness of the translation:

Sleep, my baby, sleep. Where is she? She cries. Little birds are so innocent. Off they fly to somewhere far.

I'm not the best at interpreting poetry, so maybe someone else can help me with these lyrics. On it's surface it seems like a typical lullaby, but it could be taken as being about a loss of innocence since the innocent little birds fly away. Or perhaps since the birds leave, it could be about a desire for freedom? Both meanings could apply to Fengxian in this moment.

Wow. Okay. So Luomen is Lakan's uncle. I didn't see that coming. So there are blood ties between Maomao and Luomen.

In a fit of embarrassment and anger at Luomen's exile, Lakan's father also sends Lakan abroad. Fengxian's contract fell through and she made sure to alert Lakan, but it's not something he can deal with before his trip. It seems he intended to return to her, but it took three years before he could finally come back. He is greeted by a pile of letters. And a desiccated severed finger. A way to curse someone apparently. And there are two fingers there, a tiny one as well. What the fuck did Fengxian do? I suppose that this explains the nightmare Maomao had when she saw her mother with a knife. Does this have something to do with Maomao's twisted little finger? Did her finger get chopped off and reattached?

Fengxian took a chance when she decided to sleep with Lakan, and it destroyed her life. She ended up pregnant, which may have been okay, if Lakan had been there to buy her out when her value crashed. She was counting on him, and he wasn't there. It wasn't his fault, I think he would have bought her out if he was there, but the timing of everything was catastrophic for Fengxian. I suppose she didn't know he was out of the country, and her hatred grew, hence the finger severing curse. With that level of hatred I suppose it means she must have cared about Lakan, or perhaps she's just pissed that her plan fell through.

Lakan feels like a dumbass, which for a narcissist like him, is really saying something. He was so focused on playing Go and Chess that he didn't try to think of other ways to solve Fengxian and his problems, like impregnating her. Huh? Okay, I had that pegged wrong earlier. So then he must have thought his one night together with Fengxian was something special.

We get to see granny beating Lakan with a broom. She accuses him of not caring about a worthless courtesan and tells him that she's gone. She lost all of her value after being pregnant, and her actions hurt the reputation of the brothel. She had to take clients like a streetwalker where she contracted syphilis.

Lakan is too late to get what he wants from Fengxian. His fantasy with the high class courtesan ended when she lost her value and reputation. Now she is in a dire state, disgraced, diseased. So Lakan is distressed, but... fuck this guy.

l get that things fell apart while he was gone, but Fengxian is still alive at this point. She has a disease, but presumably she won't lose her mental capabilities until later down the line. He could still play Go with her. And even if she had lost her mind, fuck this guy! Does he really not care at all about her because of the things that have happened to her? He has zero capacity for actual love, like a psychopath. Many people become caregivers to the people they love when they become incapacitated. Only the shittiest walk away. Fengxian lost her reputation, her value, and her health, and Lakan is upset that she no longer fits into the perfect vision he had of her. Like seriously. FUCK. THIS. GUY!

I realize this is a HOT TAKE. And I stand ready to be corrected. But based on all I have seen thus far, Lakan is still a pretty shitty dude. I saw someone mention in a comment on one of these blogs about Lakan stans. At the time I thought to myself how the hell are there Lakan stans? It made me think that there was probably more to his story than I had seen up to that point. Well here is more, but it wasn't enough to make me like this character.

I could probably be convinced that he had real feelings for Fengxian, but then where the hell has he been all these years? Is it that Fengxian hated him and didn't want to see him? That she sent him severed fingers in an attempt to curse him would support that.

My opinion on Lakan still stands, even if Lakan loves Fengxian, and Maomao, and has been doing all he can to get back to them, he's still a shitty guy that seems to lack basic empathy. Like, he will only treat someone as a person if he is personally invested? I can't like a person like that.

Back to the present time, Lakan wakes up in Verdigris House and Meimei kindly tends to him. Apparently after he forfeited his game with Maomao by blacking out drunk, he was deposited here to fulfill his end of the bargain.

Is the fact that Fengxian's illness has progressed to delusions now allowed her to forget about her hatred of Lakan? She was seen tying to play Go and singing an old lullaby in the beginning; is she thinking fondly of old times? Does Maomao think now that Fengxian is more out of her mind, she would be willing to see Lakan? Regardless, she's about to end up with him now.

Maomao concocted a bitter beverage for Lakan and gifts him a dried blue rose. Maomao's message: leave the people I care about alone.

After all, Lakan requested blue roses from Jinshi, a nearly impossible thing for him to procure. Maomao made it happen because she didn't want to let Lakan get away with trying to manipulate Jinshi. The roses were all a ploy to draw Maomao out, which it did, but only for her to defend Jinshi and send a message to Lakan to back off.

The rose Maomao left for Lakan is dried. From an earlier time perhaps. Maybe blue roses were a tradition at Verdigris House or something that Fengxian knew the secret to. Perhaps the the blue rose simply represents Fengxian, and Maomao gifts it to Lakan to represent the meaning behind her bet, I'm giving Fengxian to you. There is a secondary meaning here that I don't know the meaning of. But Lakan does.

Cut to Maomao riding in a carriage with the always cheery Basan, where she pulls out a blue rose bud. Is this the bud she helped grow and create for the Garden Party or a dried one from the past? Is she thinking about whatever connection the blue rose has to her mother or is she thinking about what she did to grow these roses for Jinshi? Is she hoping that her message to Lakan will be enough to protect Jinshi and anyone else he may target? Enough to get Lakan out of her life?

I truly hope that this is the last episode with Lakan's POV. I hope to never see these faceless animations ever again.

If you want to read these from the beginning:

Episode 1

Next episode:

Episode 24

#apothecary diaries #jinmao #jinshi #maomao #the apothecary diaries #seokjin

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bloodypeachblog · 4 months

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My Hazbin Hotel OC: Vendetta

(image made with NovelAI and edited by me)

Name: Vendetta (Ven) Nicknames: Babe (Vox), Sweetheart/Sweetie (Velvette), Madam/Miss Ven (Alastor), Dearest/Sparrow(Zestial), maldita perra/perra [fucking bitch/bitch] (Valentino), Venny (Niffty & Rosie) Age: ageless, but appears to be in her 20s-30s. Death year: mid to late 1980s Cause of death: decapitated due to an onstage accident Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: Pansexual Height: 6'2 Weight: 164 lbs Likes: music (all but country), DJing at her club, 80s stuff, sex, TV, technology, horror movies, spiders Dislikes: Jerks, useless fights, ungrateful and disrespectful people, country music, bacon Friends: Niffty, Angel Dust, Velvette, Charlie, Vaggie, Emily, Blitzø, Loona, Octavia, Rosie, Lucifer Enemies: Adam, Lute, Stella, Valentino Frenemies: Alastor Relationships: Vox (boyfriend), Velvette (best friend), Niffty (best friend), Zestial (2nd boyfriend) Speaking/Singing Voice: Susan Egan Abilities: Super hearing: she can hear a pin drop from 2 miles away even when music is blaring. She mostly uses it to catch unruly customers at her club. Sonic Boom: a scream that can reach 160 decibels and extend over 200 miles, causing massive damage, even physical. She can wipe out an entire city if she screams loud enough. Telepathy/technology interference: her headphones can play the thoughts of whoever she wants into her ears, they can also pick up any phone calls or radio/tv signals (audio only, of course). Killer Queen: She can summon black long arms and hands and use them in fights, from binding an opponent up to ripping them to pieces. She can manipulate them by using her own arms and hands (kinda like Nico Robin's Hana Hana no Mi from One Piece). ~~~~more under read more~~~~

Her personality and wit are a mix of Meg from Disney's Hercules and Chel from the Road to El Dorado, but she can be kind, sweet, and loving to people she cares about. Just don't make her mad, or your dead body is for dinner.

She runs Hell's music industry and she owns a majority of singers' souls in it, an example being Verosika Mayday. She treats her souls fairly and like they're people instead of possessions, but she won't hesitate to put an ungrateful bitch in their place.

She wouldn't call Alastor a friend, nor an enemy. She is civil when they interact, and she has nothing too personal against Alastor. She just doesn't like his uncaring attitude.

Alastor has no ill will on Vendetta and allows her to run her radio station, as long as she doesn't overstep her boundaries and try to take down/take over his radio station. They even collab on music sometimes, making electro swing works

Vox and her have been dating for eons, she isn't too keen on Valentino, who Vox is friends with benefits with, but tolerates him because of Vox.

Ven despises how Val treats the souls he owns, any of his workers, or even the other Vees, especially Vox.

She tries to keep Val from absolutely pummeling Angel Dust, and if unsuccessful, she treats Angel's wounds and comforts him.

Velvette and her are close, almost like sisters. They hang out and gossip whenever they can.

She makes her own music under her record label, Baphomet Records, playing it on the radio stations, music videos, and at her club.

Her and Niffty are best friends, Ven absolutely adoring Niffty. Niffty thinks she's really fun to hang out with. If you just looked at them together, you'd think they were related, like aunt and niece or mother and daughter.

Ven sometimes visits Rosie and they talk over cannibalistic lunches. Ven likes to buy meat from Rosie's store from time to time. Girl's gotta eat.

Vox and her are very close and very loving to each other. Val may be Vox's fuck buddy, but Ven is his true love.

She has 2 tv shows, including a TRL style show, where she shows the latest music videos. She also has a talk show where she talks about various topics and answers questions asked by viewers, sometimes having interviews and special guests. She even broadcasts the audio on her radio station.

Vox has Val as a fuck buddy, Ven has Zestial. The only difference is that Zestial actually cares about Ven, where Val couldn't give less of a shit about Vox.

She calls Vox 'Voxxy', Velvette 'Vel', Zestial 'Zest' and Valentino 'Mothman', 'Moth-brain', or just 'Asshole'.

one time, she saw Val abuse one of his souls and Ven called him pathetic and weak because he only uses violence to establish dominance instead of using respect. When he hit her in response, she took it like a champ, not even flinching, proving her point.

All of Ven's music equipment was provided by VoxTek. The nightclub even has VoxTek as one of its investors. Vox had offered to give it to her for free, but Ven feels better paying for it to support him. She does get good discounts tho.

the kind of music she makes: [SCRATON - Another Girl] [Madeon - Imperium] [Porter Robinson - Unison (Knife Party Remix)], [Madeon - Pop Culture]

Her and Zestial are very close, like almost husband and wife close. They definitely fuck, but they help each other out with anything bothering them. Like, they lay in bed and talk about anything after they have sex. Vox is pretty jealous about this, but he has Val, so he can't say shit. But he has told Zestial that if anything happened to him and he wasn't around anymore, he'd trust Zestial to take care of Ven.

When Ven was alive, she witnessed the AIDS epidemic firsthand and lost many friends due to it. When she entered Hell, she was an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness. She doesn't promote condoms or anything like that (she would, but since who in Hell is gonna use them? Do they even exist down there?), but more like awareness, like 'hey, make sure you know what your partner has before you go and have fun, cuz otherwise your afterlife's gonna suck!' kind of stuff.

Her weapons are the following: An angel spear and an angel gun she took off of a few dead angels from Extermination Day. She easily gets the angel bullets from the black market. She also has a regular 1911 pistol and a silver dagger. She only uses the angel gun for instances where she wants the target to never come back, or absolute emergencies. More headcanons will be posted as time goes on! Feel free to ask any questions about her you have! Taglist: @omniuravity, @fatgumsurpremacy-remastered, @neonvehk

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel oc #hazbin oc #hazbin original character #vivziepop oc

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himebushou · 1 year

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A very bad ending for Buddy Daddies; lots of angst under the cut.

Misaki reappears in Episode 11 or 12. It's December. Her career has finally taken off, but something's missing. She wants to see Miri again

Miri instantly bonds with her mother and is happy to see her. She shows Misaki all the progress she's made. Misaki is proud... and then regretful

Meanwhile, Kazuki and Rei have a conversation about whether it's immoral to keep Miri and Misaki apart — after all, Miri is Misaki's daughter. "Without Unasaka Misaki, there would be no Unasaka Miri," Kazuki says. Rei stares out at the sky, miserable

Rei confronts Misaki and asks if she really loves Miri. Misaki says that, for so long, Miri's laugh irritated her — but when she could no longer hear it, the silence was painful. Rei says that she has to commit to Miri properly, this time. Otherwise, she shouldn't bother coming back into the picture. Misaki swears that things are different now

Then, Kyuutarou delivers the news: the hunters are to be hunted and there's a hit on Kazuki's head. Kazuki panics and says that they have to get Miri to safety. Rei remembers what his father said: "It's kill or be killed."

For safety, Misaki whisks Miri away. Miri and her papas have a tearful goodbye, but both Rei and Kazuki swear that they will not be apart forever. There are many promises of love

There are two separate fights in Episode 13: Ogino vs. Kazuki and Rei vs. Suwa Shigeki. Kazuki learns, for the first time, that Ogino was responsible for Yuzuko's death. The revelation sends him into a tailspin and he fatally shoots Ogino... but not before getting shot himself. Kazuki thinks, "I want to go home... with Rei and Miri..." and then faints

At the same time, Rei battles his father, denouncing the organisation and saying that he doesn't want to kill anymore. Shigeki saya he's useless and asks what could be more important than serving the Suwa name? Rei whispers, "Being a father."

Shigeki laughs — Rei uses the opening to shoot him. Like a Shakespearean character, Shigeki manages to choke out a whole monologue before finally dying

Rei's phone rings. It's Kyuutarou. Rei answers — and Kyuutarou tells him that Kazuki's dead

Rei is so shocked that he doesn't realise that his father's lifeless form is not so lifeless. Shigeki musters enough strength to stab Rei

Rei's life flashes before his eyes — but he only sees happy memories of himself, Miri and Kazuki. To treat the viewers, the images we see from Rei's final moments have never been seen in the show before. The last thing that Rei remembers is a shot of the pair holding Miri's hands, one on either side. With a soft smile, Rei dies.

Timeskip. Several years have passed. An older Miri is standing in front of a row of three graves: Yuzuko's, Kazuki's and Rei's. She crouches down and runs her fingers over the names

"I love you, papas. I'll love you forever."

#buddy daddies #death cw #(for me) bd is one show that absolutely has to have a good ending #because like... what would be the actual point of ending in misery?#but generally speaking i don't really enjoy timeskip endings #they're a bit blargh

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xtinaangelicax · 9 months

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J Being on the Chapter 2 Title Card?? Theorizing (sorta... I'm clueless ;-;)

Can we talk about the fact that J is on the chapter 2 title card rn?? Like... I see ALMOST NO ONE so far in the fandom theorizing about what this could mean. We know that her secret about Mariabella being her mom was revealed during this chapter, but... I don't really feel like that's big enough to warrant her being on the title card yet so far? I think? It's an important secret, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't rly rival the importance of the actual murders going on imo.

I mean-- Teruko and Xander were on the first chapter title card. That is a big deal. Xander died after trying to kill Teruko, and got killed by Min instead: Teruko's our protagonist. Being on the title card is obviously the most indicative clue of a character being insanely important to the narrative for that chapter, possibly even a culprit or victim, but we all just been sleepin on that clue lately and ignoring it lol wut--

Like... I mean, J tries enlisting Teruko's help getting away from Arturo for a minute in this chapter- the dressing room scene- and has a frigging knife pulled on her. She got her secret she desperately wanted to cover up, probably for a large portion of her life, exposed by some jerk in the very same, what, 24 hour period? And she's constantly now being stalked by said jerk, too. Poor gal.

I don't know if J maybe snapped from it all, and murdered Arei. I'm not sure how she WOULD have, given Arturo stalking her. So... maybe it's... something else? But like? SOMETHING is being set up with J here, and if anyone has any ideas feel free to suggest, cuz I can't figure out what it is yet. I'm thinking randomly off the top of my head of stuff we know... like...

J was the first to go to Arei's room to check for her body, after they realized she was missing? Also, J was the first to complain about Teruko possibly being in cahoots with the culprit and choosing who guards the body based on that. After which, J was then promptly chosen to guard the body as well. Important? Possibly. Maybe. Idk...

She goes on a whole spiel about how serious murder is that gains a lot of spotlight for a few minutes, when she was talking to Nico... also, she has this new sadistic grin sprite after revealing Arturo's secret. UH is that sprite gonna be used again for something?

I think there's literally no way J isn't gonna have some sort of big reveal of significance to the plot during the rest of the chapter 2 trial.

There's a bit of evidence that could point to her being the killer, but I don't wanna say I believe that for sure. Just that... SOMETHING'S up.

J being on the chapter 2 title card is definitely important.

ALSO FINALLY: J's hidden quote is "Please don't call me your daughter ever again."

????????how the frick is J going to say this quote?? So far, all the hidden quotes have been said a little while before the character dies, before/during a pivotal moment in the plot and their development... therefore, J is gonna say this line at some point. That's indisputable.

But??? How?? Will it be said during a flashback where she said it to Mariabella in the past? Or... are we gonna see J get in contact with her mom somehow? Is J the culprit, and MonoTV calls in a 'special guest viewer video call' right before her execution just to rub it in her face, and it's her mom, and... J says her hidden quote there?

Is one of the future motives gonna involve being able to communicate something with your family, maybe, and then J says it?

I'm probably gonna look back more and see if there's any other sort of hints or foreshadowing going on with J, but... I just wanted to point all this out and possibly open up discussion/theorizing about this :)

#drdt theory #drdt spoilers #danganronpa despair time #despair time #j rosales #j moreno #teruko tawaki #xander matthews #min jeung #monotv #arturo giles #fangan #fanganronpa #drdt #arei nageishi

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culttvblog · 5 months

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The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries: The House on Possessed Hill

I've never read any of the Hardy Boys books. The reason for this is that our headmistress subjected Enid Blyton's books to the same unfounded criticism levelled at the Hardy Boys books in the US: that they weren't proper literature and would stop the kids reading any proper literature. On this basis she banned the books completely from school premises and systematically shamed anyone caught with them. Of course the result was that Famous Five and Secret Seven books were passed around surreptitiously like the contraband they were and nobody at my school read the wildly successful Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew because they weren't banned.

I did, however, manage to watch the TV adaptations later, in my teens. Perhaps I should clarify that this post is about the 1977 to 1979 ABC series starring Parker Stevenson, Shaun Cassidy and Pamela Sue Martin or Janet Louise Johnson. I loved the mysterious theme tune and the plots. It's a show of the genre that I like to think of as aspirational for early teens: the kids are definitely kids but just older enough that they have a freedom the viewers don't have so that it can prompt dreaming, hero worship, or even crushes. This was never the effect of the Famous Five, which was clearly set in a world which didn't exist and where the kids had a freedom that no kids in human history have ever had. In the books Frank and Joe are permanently 16 and 17 respectively, which is probably just the right age to get this effect, They're probably a bit older in this series but still apparently free of the adult responsibilities of earning a living, studying, family, and so on.

The House on Possesed Hill is an absolute superb episode which basically takes the plot of a horror film and twists it slightly to fit in into the mould of the show. Joe and Frank come across Stacey, a young woman who is running away from a baying crowd who are after her. She wants to shelter from them in a mysterious house and she says the townspeople are after her because they think she is a witch: their evidence for this is that she foresaw an accident a friend had.

The show plays her psychic abilities very straight, at no point questioning what she says. In fact it seems uncanny.

Rightly, I think, at the beginning the townspeople just keep their distance from the house and don't give any excuse to Joe for being after her. This is somehow much more scary than the classic horror film tropes where she's either excaped from the local Nursing Home for the Insane Daughters of Gentlefolk (Matron: Jessica Fletcher) or she is the ward in court of the town sheriff who for no apparent reason doesn't want to go back to his house. We hear them talking amongst themselves and they do believe the house is cursed.

In fact the local sheriff doesn't help at all, saying that there's nothing he can do because it's not illegal to want to speak to someone and demanding that a crime be committed or else the Hardy boys had better shut up or leave his town. But then, ACAB.

In fact I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that on first viewing I completely missed that the house Stacey and Joe escape into is of course the house from Psycho. Since realising its identity I have seen that it's been used endlessly in film and TV since obviously a boy's best friend is his mother. I was going to make a quip that the only show it hasn't appeared in is Murder, She Wrote, but of course it's even made an appearance in that. Damnit this show follows the old dark house trope to the extent of having a mysterious hand pull out the telephone wire just as Joe tries to make a call.

The show returns to the world of the classic horror film when Joe and Frank take Stacey home and she's met by the family doctor, who is utterly creepy. Despite Stacey having been seen by specialists in New York who couldn't make head nor tail of her, Dr Creepy then does some kind of regression in the show which mysteriously reveals everything that has happened in her life. Medical ethics, anyone?

If you want a criticism of this episode you might possibly feel that it's got an embarras des richesses in the multiple possible explanations for what's going on in the house leading to a conclusion where it turns out it's several at once. However since the point of this episode is to draw from about every old dark house film ever, that's the point. There's also my enduring query about this show that Parker Stevenson was too old for the role he plays.

This is an excellent episode drawing on the rich horror film tradition.

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#70s tv #the hardy boys/nancy drew mysteries

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papabearbobbynash · 3 months

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Fire Country S02E02 thoughts.

Honestly Sharon looks like a completely different character from S1, and I'm not so sure if this is a good thing.

The interesting point to me is how she feels like she enabled a lot of Bode's reckless behavior and she doesn't know how she can be any different and so it comes the stiffness in her current relationship with Bode. This is actually an interesting stance, considering how her role pretty much has reversed with Vince regarding Bode.

Speaking of Vince, we have the other main relationship of Sharon, and one that was pretty much the only solid thing during S1 and most likely an aspect it kept a lot of people watching...

Honestly, Idk what to say about the episode outcome, I really want to believe the writers are misleading us... Because it does not to make sense for them to throw a possible cheating storyline after Sharon literally throw a tantrum about how Vince wasn't with her in the camp fire and how she, wanted him there but he wasn't and how she wanted him to show he missed her and all (something I also don't think it makes sense because I mean they were pretty solid before this).

I'm giving the benefit of the doubt to her, like maybe this Liam is a guy who kept trying to convince Sharon to have something with him and she was annoyed hence her behavior with his presence and reason she was so vigorous about Vince not being there in the camp, maybe is that idk, but I refuse to believe the writers really think trying to ruin the only healthy and mature relationship of the show was a good idea.

About Vince, I actually think he is the only character in the show that has been written consistently in character so far. You know when you watch something and you feel like you know where the arc is going? This is the feeling I get from Vince rn. Like his S1 arcs actually had a point considering his current stance compared to how he started S1 and he is trying to make up and redeem himself with Bode this season. It's like the writers know where they want the character to go and we as viewers can get that from how he behaves on screen, unfortunately he is the only character in the show rn that gives me that feeling.

Bode... Idk if trying to show off to you potential daughter is the way to go here champ. That implies you're still reckless as always so behave.

Jake has nothing going on to be commented at all, and I'm really not interested in Gabby drama regarding her marriage and Bode... Eve is kinda forced rn so I will give a bit more of time to see if her current stance changes or not.

#fire country #vince leone #sharon leone #shavince #bode leone #fire country season 2 #fire country spoilers

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mindmeltonabun-blog · 2 years

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Alchemy of Souls: Theories and Analysis for Eps 9-10

For this week’s theories and analysis post, I don’t think there’s much to add that I haven’t already gone over either here or my Twitter account. Something I do want to stress upon is that Alchemy of Souls needs to be read like a novel. Always keep in mind the underlying messages the Hong Sisters are trying to communicate. Realize that the soul is more important than the body. Do not immediately jump to a conclusion based on what you physically see. Try to dig for deeper meanings and/or connections rather than accept things at face value.

With that being said, let’s begin! Thinking caps on!

Jin Bu Yeon

In Ep 9, we were given a small crumble of Jin Bu Yeon’s past. I was crying! Even though this scene was short, so much information was given if you knew where to look.

These scenes showed the Jin Bu Yeon was a kind soul who could see what others could not normally see. Haha…get it…a soul is something people can’t see with their eyes. I just had to insert that in there. Anyways what can we infer about who Jin Bu Yeon was as a person? Well she loved birds and she could feel “warm” energy from there when they were alive. What else? She seemed to be her mother’s source of light, warmth, and love. The same is said for Mama Jin. One could even say that this scene is like a Mama bird (Mama Jin) spending time with her egg (Jin Bu Yeon).

The tragic thing about this scene is that we have seen what happens when a Mama Bird and her egg get separated from one another. Before, they were each other’s “light” and “warmth”. After becoming separated, they were “dark” and “cold”. Jin Bu Yeon turned into the dark and cold shadow assassin “Naksu”. Mama Jin became cold and distant towards Cho Yeon and Daddy Jin. Both Mama Jin and Jin Bu Yeon felt “lost” without the other. This is like Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu/Egg’s relationship with Jang Uk/Mama Bird 2.0. Now I understand Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu’s separation anxiety from Jang Uk/Mama Bird 2.0. Jin Bu Yeon had developed separation anxiety as a child after she became separated from Mama Bird Jin and this translated into adulthood when Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu became separated from Mama Bird 2.0 aka Jang Uk.

I cannot wait until Naksu is revealed to be Jin Bu Yeon and is finally reunited with Mama Jin aka OG Mama bird. I will seriously cry! There is no one more fitting to protect the treasures of Jinwoyon than Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Mama Jin and Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu’s personality are quite similar if you think about it! Like their dark sides can be are quite scary while their light sides are so sweet! Also, fuck Jin Mu. Seriously fuck him. He took Jin Bu Yeon from Mama Jin then brainwashed her or whatever and turned her into an assassin. Think of all the years Mama Jin missed out on with Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu and vice versa because of Jin Mu’s treachery. Can’t even!!!!

The Hong Sisters' Warning

Over and over again the Hong Sisters have warned viewers to not focus on what someone looks like on the outside (body). They have told you in so many ways to focus on what’s inside (the soul). Someone's soul is more important than their body. This message has been communicated numerous times now whether through various characters’ dialogue, situations, objects, etc.

In Ep 9, the Hong Sisters shows viewers what happens when you try to look for someone’s body and not their soul. You end up like Mama and Daddy Jin who have spent the past 10 years searching, but never finding their daughter. So for all the viewers who have made very superficial theories that Mu Deok is Jin Bu Yeon, here's a warning from the Hong Sisters to not do it. You can read my other posts to see what all you missed while you were so fixated on Mu Deok being Jin Bu Yeon. Power, physical blindness, not having memories of your parents are very superficial qualities. Those things do not define a person nor their soul. It can be one aspect of them, but it doesn't encompass all that they are. Just saying.

Why are the Hong Sister's warning these people? Because when they drop the bomb that Naksu’s soul is Jin Bu Yeon’s soul and Naksu’s real body is Jin Bu Yeon’s body, they don’t want you to feel disappointed like Daddy Jin and Mama Jin.

It’s like I mentioned in one of my other posts, finding someone’s soul is much more difficult than finding their bodies. It’s easy to find someone’s body, but it’s much more difficult to find someone’s soul. To find someone’s soul, you must look for their habits, likes, dislikes, thoughts, way they say things, etc. Those are the things that tell you who a person is aka their soul. A person’s soul is what makes them unique not their bodies. What matters more is what is inside not outside. This is same message that has been repeated so many times, but people have been too blind to see it.

This brings me to my next point, did anyone notice what Mama Jin said to Daddy Jin? She said, “So you just brought anyone?”. What she meant to say is, “So you just brought any body?”. Get it HAHAHA…sorry Hong Sisters like play on words! Anyways, all the girls Daddy Jin would bring back were just any blind girl or body. Instead, what he should’ve been doing was searching for a soul that was similar to Jin Bu Yeon’s soul (i.e someone who liked birds). Notice too that Mama Jin uses the “just anyone” phrase which is similarly used by Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Like mother, like daughter!

How Will Naksu's Reveal As Jin Bu Yeon Happen?

I really don't know exactly how or when Naksu's reveal as Jin Bu Yeon will happen. I am thinking it won't happen until after her mother, Mama Jin, becomes Jin Mu's puppet. Also it won't happen until after Park Jin has a mental breakdown of sorts and figures out that "Mu Deok" is Naksu. Naksu's reveal as Jin Bu Yeon will probably happen around the time Fake Queen Choi and Jin Mu really start setting their evil plan into motion. At that point, Naksu will figure out who she really is and that's perfect timing because she will have to retake Jinwoyon from Fake Queen Choi and Jin Mu. So yea the two reveals are Mu Deok is Naksu to the characters in AOS and then Naksu is revealed as Jin Bu Yeon to both the characters in AOS as well as the viewers of the show. Can't wait to see Jin Mu losing his shit!

In all honesty, I feel like the Hong Sisters have been stretching Naksu's secret identity as Jin Bu Yeon for way too long. I thought they've would've done it by now. However, I guess it could make sense that Mu Deok is Naksu needs to happen first so that there's more drama in the show.

Like what is Park Jin going to do when he figures out Mu Deok is Naksu? Will he lock Naksu up and make it publicly known that they have caught her? Will Park Jin punish Naksu for the crimes she committed in the past? I don't think he should though because I mean she was brainwashed and used by Jin Mu.

Spoiler in the Poster

For those who have been wondering if Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon will end up with Jang Uk, I can tell you they do (sniff sniff I did like Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon with Seo Yul…oh well). The spoiler was in the poster. In the poster, you will see you Jang Uk is holding Naksu’s sword.

I had mentioned before how I think Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon’s sword is actually one of the treasures of Jinwoyon. It’s a one of kind magical sword that reacts to its owner soul. There’s no other sword like it in AOS. Other mages’ sword do not react to their owners. The only magical objects which react to their owners are ones found in Jinwoyon. Additionally, to unsheathe this sword, you need to have the power of the Lake or Ice Stone which is like hella powerful.

Now going back to Ep 7, the Prince tells Jang Uk that if you marry into the Jin family, you will also become owner of all the treasures of Jinwoyon. Well, there you have it folks, Jang Uk does end up marrying into the Jin family. He marries Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu and that’s why you see him holding her sword in the poster.

Examination of Seo Gyeong’s Love Letter

These are some of the interpretations I had about the love letter:

Love (Name of Seo Gyeong's love) is the key to unlocking one’s soul/energy (what cannot be seen with one’s eyes)

Applying this to current events, I believe Jang Uk is the key to unlocking Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon’s energy

To see someone’s soul (invisible pages are Seo Gyeong’s soul), you must see it with your heart (focus your energy towards your heart)

Love is the key to seeing what cannot be seen with one’s own eyes: the soul

Symbolism

The purple flower and spring season is representative of Jin women. The winter snow helps the purple flower to bloom. In my mind I think this is supposed to mean that Jang Uk is the winter snow that helps Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon to grow and blossom.

Additionally, if you remember in Ep 1, Naksu was wearing blue and purple. This was supposed to represent her soul (blue) and body (red) and it signified that her soul and body were not one. Now in the latest episodes, she’s starting to wear purple (when you mix blue and red, it makes purple). I think this represents that her soul and body are starting to become one. She’s starting to become who she was before all of Jin Mu’s influences.

The orchid in AOS is actually a real flower found in real world. It’s called, “Crocus”. The flower symbolizes “rebirth”. Which makes sense when you’re applying it to Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Naksu is about to be reborn as Jin Bu Yeon! She was an egg that is about to crack out of shell and become a phoenix…caw caw RAWRR! Or she’s like a caterpillar about to come out of her cocoon and become a butterfly!

Ice Stone Battle 2.0

Other things I wanted to mention is that Park Jin had said, "the air is getting chiller now". This means winter is coming. For those who have never watched Game of Thrones, the phrase, “winter is coming” means shit is about to blow up. Like doom, destruction, and death.

It’s already been hinted that Jang Gang is about to return. His return is going to stir a bunch of shit up. Remember that Fake Queen Choi and Jin Mu are worried about Jang Gang’s return. We don’t know what Jang Gang has been up since he left for his soul-searching journey (pun intended). I think he’s been hiding somewhere remote. Maybe he was the person who created that wooden doll that the kids found in the mountain. I’m still not sure.

In the background of all this, you have Master Lee who has been trying to tempt Jang Uk with power by offering him a pupil position. Why does Master Lee want Jang Uk? That’s one of the questions I have. I feel like Master Lee knows something is about to happen and he wants Jang Uk to be the best in preparation for it. Maybe Master Lee knows that the next battle for the Ice Stone is coming.

This leads me to my next point: Fake Queen Choi and Jin Mu’s evil plan for world domination. As far as we know it, these two evil doers have been creating soul ejectors and taking officials (creating an army?). Jin Mu has been manipulating the Prince and trying to make him hate Jang Uk and the other members of the 4 families. What Jin Mu doesn’t know is that the Prince is starting to become friends with them rather than enemies.

Right now one of priorities of the evil duo is to get Jinwoyon. Why do they want Jinwoyon? Because Jinwoyon has relics and artifacts created by the energy of the Ice Stone. Therefore, in their whole big scheme of taking over the world, they want to gain more power and so the treasures of Jinwoyon would guarantee this.

Going back to Naksu’s sword and how I think it’s probably one of the treasures of Jinwoyon, it would make sense why Jin Mu was so hell bent about getting it. As of now, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon’s sword is in the possession of the Prince. What I think is going to happen is that Jin Mu will ask the Prince to give him the sword, but the Prince will end up giving it back to Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon.

In the battle for the Ice Stone, someone has to die. I think that someone is probably going to be Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Don’t worry folks I think she’s going to come back in Part 2. The show started with her 1st death and so in many ways it would make sense the Part 1 end with her death. Damn just how many times does Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon have to die?!!

Who knows, maybe she doesn’t like die die, but like ends up in a frozen coma or something? Maybe Part 2 is about how to bring her out of the frozen coma. In one of the scenes in Ep 9, you do see Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon trying to destroy the Ice Stone. What process is this? Review my other posts if you don’t know. It looks like it’s going from solid phase to gas phase which is “sublimation”. This means Jin Bu Yeon was injecting a lot of heat energy into the Ice Stone. I think when Jin Bu Yeon tried to destroy the Ice Stone the first time, she was unable to because she was so young and did not have the sufficient amount of energy. Maybe her trying to destroy the Ice Stone is what caused her to lose her memories in the first place or maybe she got amnesia after falling out of the boat.

Flash forward to the present, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon will try to destroy it again, but this time she will have help: Master Lee and Jang Uk. I did say in my other post that to destroy the Ice Stone, you will need energy that this greater than the energy of the sun which is what the Ice Stone is. But really though….is Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon going to be in like some sort of frozen coma….that’s like a literal representation of an Ice Stone. Hmmmm what’s between life and death….limbo. Is Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon’s soul going to be in some sort of limbo? Ok maybe my frozen coma theory isn’t that bad. When you’re in a coma, you’re neither alive nor dead. One of the themes in AOS is transitional states!

Other Thoughts

Love all these budding romances!!! There's so many geometric shapes right now that I can't keep up! I really love the development that is happening between Dang Gu and Cho Yeon!! My heart is crying for Seo Yul!! Park Jin needs to get his shit together like seriously! He can be so book smart, yet so dumb when it comes to love!

The whole interaction between Dang Gu, Seo Yul, and the Prince was so heart warming !! I loved seeing them all work together !

MASTER LEE...HAHAHA...I CANT EVEN !!! He needs to up the dosage of chaste tea hahah!!!

The whole father and child relationship between Master Lee and Heo Yeom is just so cute!! Master Heo Yeom acts like a child that only wants the best for his dad! Love it!

The remake of Nonstop by Oh My Girl was amazing!!!

Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon fighting her feelings for Jang Uk is hilarious! She's trying to do everything and anything to stop herself for feeling the way she does about Jang Uk including trying to get him killed. Girl just stop fighting with yourself and be a free bird who can love !

Poor Seo Yul though like now he's having to deal with so many conflicting emotions. He's like debating on whether to turn Naksu in or not. Then he's conflicted that his best friend is falling in love with the girl he once loved.

Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon needs to spend more time at the Jin family residence to regain some of powers back ! Here’s to sister bonding time between Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon and Jin Cho Yeon!

Bu Yeon means “to amplify”….so is Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon some sort of lucky charm? Maybe the reason Jang Uk’s luck has begun to change is also due to him being around Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Maybe she amplifies his energy. Idkkk. Haha maybe Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon is Jang Uk’s shooting star !

Ok that’s all I got out of me today folks! Hope you enjoyed reading my ramblings! If there’s anything I’ve left out that you want me to talk about, just let me know!

Update 7/20/22: Soy and Jin Mu

Totally forgot to mention what I think may happen with Jin Mu and Soy (Soyi, I can't remember her name). So either Jin Mu will use Soy to impersonate Jin Bu Yeon or he will get Soy to help him find "Mu Deok". Now if it's the latter then that's going to be hella dramatic. Remember that Jin Mu is aware that Jang Uk has a maid by the name "Mu Deok" and if he puts two and two together then he will realize Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon is still alive and that she had managed to go back to her original body. However, some things to keep in mind is that the name "Mu Deok" may be a common name. Other things to consider is that if Jin Mu figures out that Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon is still alive, what will he exactly do? I mean he's obviously going to try to get rid of her before the Queen finds out. I don't know there's a lot of things to think about.

Jin Mu could also make Soy bring in "Mu Deok" to be used in the scheme, but considering that Jin Mu knows what "Mu Deok" (as Jang Uk's maid) looks like this probably won't happen unless Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon wears a cloth over her eyes to hide them. This would be pure irony because Naksu would have to pretend to be who she is actually haha. Hope this makes sense !

Last scenario could be that Jin Mu kills Soy and tells Mama Jin this is Jin Bu Yeon!

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call-me-vendetta · 4 months

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Bio

Name: Vendetta (Ven)

Nicknames: Babe (Vox), Sweetheart/Sweetie (Velvette), Madam/Miss Ven (Alastor), Dearest/Sparrow (Zestial), maldita perra/perra [fucking bitch/bitch] (Valentino), Venny (Niffty & Rosie)

Age: ageless, but appears to be in her 20s-30s.

Death year: mid to late 1980s

Cause of death: decapitated due to an onstage accident

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Pansexual

Height: 6'2

Weight: 164 lbs

Likes: music (all but country), DJing at her club, 80s stuff, sex, TV, technology, horror movies, spiders

Dislikes: Jerks, useless fights, ungrateful and disrespectful people, country music, bacon

Friends: Niffty, Angel Dust, Velvette, Charlie, Vaggie, Emily, Blitzø, Loona, Octavia, Rosie, Lucifer

Enemies: Adam, Lute, Stella, Valentino

Frenemies: Alastor

Relationships: Vox (boyfriend), Velvette (best friend), Niffty (best friend), Zestial (2nd boyfriend)

Speaking/Singing Voice: Susan Egan

Abilities:

Super hearing: she can hear a pin drop from 2 miles away even when music is blaring. She mostly uses it to catch unruly customers at her club.

Sonic Boom: a scream that can reach 160 decibels and extend over 200 miles, causing massive damage, even physical. She can wipe out an entire city if she screams loud enough.

Telepathy/technology interference: her headphones can play the thoughts of whoever she wants into her ears, they can also pick up any phone calls or radio/tv signals (audio only, of course).

Killer Queen: She can summon black long arms and hands and use them in fights, from binding an opponent up to ripping them to pieces. She can manipulate them by using her own arms and hands (kinda like Nico Robin's Hana Hana no Mi from One Piece).

~~~~more under read more~~~~