#which is why V sees AI Alt as a human form kind of

[argentumcor]

Having just replayed Never Fade Away, Alt is full of shit. She's her, alright, and Johnny's memory of those events is acurate.

First of all, we have the journal entry, one of the underrated ways he interacts with V:

You get nightmares, don't you V? The stubborn kind that keep coming back, night after night, like they wanna make sure you never forget a single detail, sight or touch? The kind where you can barely breathe because you know what comes next? You ever get those? I know you do. So here - welcome to mine.

Also, there is no version of events, even if you chose the less asshole options, that comes across as flattering to him. He does not regard it as some heroic tale of Johnny; when V comes out of it, he expects her to be as horrified of how he was as he was reliving it.

But it doesn't come across as flattering to Alt, either. She shows up to the concert when she said she probably wouldn't, then they bang which he is sentimental about, and then she's all "it's been real, it's been fun, not quite sure it's been real fun, deuces." She doesn't tell him things, partly for perfectly rational reasons- he was out of his mind between drugs, fame, and, uh, anger issues- and partly because relationship stuff. I get the impression Johnny never hid things from Alt, not that his secrets were dangerous in any way no matter what he thought, but she sure hid things from him. It was an epic love and a true love, but it was not a good love. I think she sees the memory and is defensive about it.

Alt is so clearly still mad at Johnny. She is not human anymore in very fundamental ways, and I think that is far more a choice than just purely a function of her form of existence. We never get a reason for her creating Soulkiller when she was human, but I can't conceive of a good one. I am not one to think technology is ever evil- it's a tool, tools cannot be evil- but Soulkiller (did she name it? As an AI, she denies this, but she plays it that there's Alt and then there's Alt) is only going to end up being used one way, she had to know that, she was not naïve. I've got doubts about Alt's character is all I'm saying. Rogue may deal death callously, but I don't think she is quite so heartless as Alt. Too much heart, maybe- same as Johnny, hence the explosive mix.

Anyway, she is definitely still mad at him. Fond of him, too, almost helplessly, but very mad at him. She so clearly blames him for her death, which is in fact silly. She shuts him down hard when he wants to talk and not casually. An AI, even a cold calculating one, would not essentially slam the door in his face like that. She'd say "I am not the Alt you knew, there is nothing I can say to you that would give you what you want to hear." She does not. He wants to talk, she says "No" and kicks V and Johnny back.

What's interesting about Never Fade Away I think Johnny has some awareness that this is not real. That's why there's less asshole options. Johnny has changed in his time with V, short as it may be at that point (the VDB path is always my second, after Hellman). When he tells Milt "I missed you" it's not 2013 Johnny saying it. It's 2077 Johnny, who is very very alone except for this gonk dead merc chick who is dying because of him and pure shit luck. He should pay his tab the bartender at Atlantis, he should help the merc with the vending machine- I think in real life he didn't do any of these things. He's torn between the inevitable choices and wanting this to go better in some way, to be better. The real choices, I think, are the asshole ones- it's way he always has to come across as a lunatic egomaniac by saying several times that Alt was kidnapped because of him. In 2077, in V's sober brain (you can't match him for the substance abuse in game, excellently displayed), he knows that's not the truth.

This is thematic. The game's nearest thing to a happy ending is The Star, I think most people agree, but it is full of sorrow and uncertainty anyway. Johnny is gone and by the end of the game- if you didn't go for a speedrun of the Devil ending- he is as dear to V as anybody. The Aldecaldos may knows someone who can help, but they may not.

It's not the destination that matters- in the end that is, for all of us, the grave. It's how you get there. Do you choose others before yourself, do you pay your debts (a reoccurring theme in Cyberpunk 2077), or do your choose your own survival- yourself- before all else? You will see the natural consequences of your choice, and you will certainly die as all must, but you must choose.

And you can choose better, shit luck, incomplete information, rotten old world, and all.

#cyberpunk 2077 #video games are art fight me

[himebushou]

So I watched Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury in 24 hours — some scrambled thoughts below.

Ep 1.  The visuals of The Witch from Mercury... wow.  And I had such chills when Aerial used the shield.  What a gorgeous Gundam!  And ahh — the tomato stuff was so cute.

Ep 2.  The worldbuilding!!  It's amazing that they literally explain nothing to the audience fjdkdm and wow the way they play with gravity is something (though a bit inconsistent).

Ep 3.  I love this soundtrack and WOW PROSPERA IS SULETTA'S MOOOM — I felt sorry for Guel in this ep and I liked the strong stance against AI LOL but wow, Guel taking Suletta extending her hand as an opportunity to propose marriage is just.  BOY.

And phew, the mobile suits are stunning... I really want to know why the Cathedra Agreement outlawed Gundams.  Poor Gundams are always punished for some reason or other.  :(

Ep 4.  Bloody hell Chu-Chu nearly KILLED those girls FUDIKDK

Ep 5.  Some Elan character development and SHEESH IT'S DARK.  Also, I love how diverse the character designs are.

Wait.  HOW is Elan allowed to use a Gundam without people freaking out fhdjd like hello???  And is is a witch anyone who pilots a Gundam?  Who are the enhanced human beings?  What is going on!!!

Ep 6.  Okay I love the little slumber party at Earth House tbh these girlies are so sweet and supportive — WHOA WHAT.  CLONES?  FACE STEALING?  HUHHHHH????

I thought Elan was gonna die in front of Suletta or something but they just killed him??????

Ep 7.  Man, Miorine forming that company and getting investment was really moving... and we finally get confirmation thar Aerial is a Gundam.  Tbh, I'm pretty surprised that the lives of pilots are prioritised so much in this world.  Hmm.

Ep 8.  It was cool to see all the business stuff being taken seriously and to finally get sort of confirmation that a witch is anyone involved with Gundams (honestly the title is a massive chunk of the reason why I picked up the show; it's so cool).  But man, I'm wondering what direction they'll take for the last few eps of the season... that's obviously too short a time to have any significant progress in developing medical tech.

Felt bad for Guel in this ep... and what is Shaddiq's deal, anyway?

Ep 9.  Yahoo, another battle!  All the Grassley House drama was interesting to watch (the name makes me think they should be running a gym in Pokémon).  The nature of Suletta's bond with Aerial seems to be changing... interesting.

Ep 10.  Flipping heck, the new Elan is a lot??  I'm glad that we got this lil timeskip to progress the plot — the prosthetic legs are definitely v. cool.  BUT WHAT IS THIS INTRIGUE with Shaddiq and Nika?

Ep 11.  Hot dig there was a lot happening in this but flipping heck I'm honestly so sad that Suletta didn't get to have lunch... and that might actually impact her piloting skills if she has to use Aerial in the next ep because she needs to be in good physical and mental condition?

Someone save Guel what the heck!

Ep 12.  Wow so much death in this ep!

- Miorine's daddy dies trying to save her (presumably — I don't think he'll live)

- Guel kills his own daddy in a weird twist of fate

- And Suletta???  I'd seen the mentions of Suletta killing someone in cold blood but that was GRUESOME.

What a way to end a season!

Ep 13.  Miorine seems to be keeping her distance following the last ep, which makes sense... Sophie is kind of an annoying character tbh.  I'm wondering how all of these different threads will come together, what with Earth folk vs Spacians, the Gundams' true forms and all the stuff with the Big Three.

Ep 14.  She turned her daughter into a Gundam?!?  What?!?!?

PROLOGUE.  I'm a goof djdjd I skipped the prologue because I figured it wouldn't really add to the story but I just watched it and everything makes so much more sense now fhdj what a dummy

Ep 15.  Man, Guel is shaping up to be a rly interesting character.  I feel for this boyo.

This ep was good; it was interesting to see the Earth stuff (although I am losing track of ppl's motivations).

NOREA IS SCARY.

Ep 16. Guel is back and taking matters into his own hands!

Man, seeing the extent to which Suletta is brainwashed is pretty scary.  I'm glad that Miorine confronted prospera directly...

Ep 17.  Oh geez, that duel!  Definitely emotionally-charged...

I really want everyone to find out the truth about Elan already...

Ep 18.  The Elan reveal dropped like a lead balloon and I'm mad that they didn't do more with that moment.

BUT WOW.  When the Gundam itself is accidentally the villain...?

This anime has so many themes linking to a notion of people only being important when they have utility and it's just so sad...

Ep 19.  I'm feeling a bit frantic because there are only 5 eps left and these chars are so bad at communicating with each other djdjjd like to this point there isn't anyone who knows the full story.

Ep 20.  Whoa... whoa.  The level of destruction in this episode?  All the feelings being aired?  All the death?  This was so —

And man, I didn't realise that I had been missing out on end of episode illustrations! This one of Norea and the fifth Elan is heartbreaking...

Ep 21.  Petra is alive!  For now, at least.

I cried a few tears when Suletta told everyone the truth about herself — and whoa, the power of Quiet Zero was SOMETHING.  But damn, I think they really wasted the Elan revelation AGAIN: Nika's outburst was so vague and there was basically zero reaction from the others, even when he barged in.  Considering the horror of Number 4's death sceen, they really just... kind of shrugged it off?  Even though there are so many parallels between Elan and Suletta.  Sighs.

Ep 22.  Finally... a conversation between Suletta and Elan, mostly off-screen, but at least it happened.

One thing that's odd is how everyone seems to have a secret Gundam hidden up their sleeve. Like it was weird enough to find out about Schwarzette but Calibarn literally came from nowehere lol

Ep 23.  I feel a bit dopey because a lot of technical stuff happened in this episode and I didn't really follow/understand it, lol... like Miorine recoding the password?  Huh?

Man, when I thought Landa had killed Guel I was SAD but then I was pleased to see Felsi for like the first time lololol

Ep 24.  A very flashy ending — the visuals were super cool!  And things ended well for everyone (except Shaddiq); the epilogue demonstrated that there was still work to do.  Guel working for OG Elan Ceres is pretty hilarious

AND MAN, dead Elan appearing was a welcome surprise!

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Hmm.

So yeah, on the whole, it was a very good and enjoyable show, though not one that really gripped me, I suppose (though I did watch the whole thing in a day, so maybe I didn't give myself enough time to absorb what was happening).  Some things felt a tad convoluted towards the end.

I thought the scenes where the characters were crying or having difficulties in their Gundams were really, really well done. And there was a lot of sweetness between different characters, especially Earth House. But yeah... I guess it felt like there were some missed opportunities (like we probably could have looked at the events of Episode 12 a bit more — there were some viewer theories that "Gain two" was some sort of trigger phrase for Suletta that sent her into a trance and this idea was glossed over pretty quickly, despite Suletta and Miorine having a heart-to-heart in the greenhouse).

The tech was freaking cool, so I enjoyed that aspect a ton!

It might just be that I'm currently on more of a nostalgia kick, lol.

#mobile suit gundam: the witch from mercury