#if anybody actually sees this. and read this. and wants an analysis. then I have that

[insert-neologism]

cornflower blue by flower face

#jackieshauna #yellowjackets #jackie taylor #shauna shipman #flower face #gd i love them im so normal abt them #(<- lying) #(havent stopped thinking abt them i think im incapable to do so) #mine art tag #if anybody actually sees this. and read this. and wants an analysis. then I have that #Im actually thinking abt making an art blog for that kinda stuff and im probably gonna put analysises there too #bc. I have os many thoughts and I will not have them in vain #jackie x shauna #shauna x jackie #anyways this takes ages to upload #my longest edit yet #but i have SO many ideas like few jash but lottienat also #also that one part does imply a lot of stuff. that home fr jackie is shauna but a specific version of shauna #or rather the shauna she 'knows and loves' instead of the shauna that she mightve never known. #jackieshauna: The Shark In Your Water

[thelionandtheeagle]

On the misconception of Jason attempting to take Tim's life at Titans Tower:

I've seen people be confused about this one, so I figured I'd provide some context/ analysis/ what have you, for anybody who might be interested.

Now, the incident we're talking about occurred in issue 29 of the 2003 Teen Titans book.

There is a lot that could be said about the whole issue, but in the interest of not having this post run on forever, let's just focus on the end to the actual physical altercation between Jason and Tim:

Jason warns Tim of the dangers associated with being Robin. He uses himself as a cautionary tale, making it clear that this isn't about envy; that Jason has no interest in being Robin again himself. That that's not what this is about.

Then he knocks Tim out.

Tim is unconscious for a while and Jason uses this opportunity to very dramatically put the word out there that, yep, he is indeed the real Jason Todd and he's ready to cause trouble.

When Tim comes to again, he is injured, yes, but okay overall. He isn't bleeding out on the floor, close to death. In fact, he's very much able to just sit up and have a normal conversation with people. All in all Tim is fine, and Jason has left.

And, well, that's that. At least from Tim's perspective.

The issue actually concludes with a really interesting page featuring Jason's narration:

Here we see Jason easily concede that Tim is good. No malice, no hate, no ill wishes towards him. And Tim is doing fine. Jason is shown to be in no way surprised that Tim is alive and well, back out in the field. Because he was never out to seriously injure Tim, let alone kill him.

Jason didn't want to take Tim's life at all. He had ample opportunity to do so, but he didn't. One of the reasons the whole confrontation went down the way it did, is because Jason was genuinely excited to meet Tim (see the intro narration of the issue). Aside from delivering the warning discussed above, Jason wanted to see for himself what Tim is capable of, what makes him tick. And he has no problem admitting that Tim is indeed good at what he does.

It's obviously an important incident in their lives, but Tim was never in any real danger here. Getting into brawls is nothing crazy at all in their line of work, and Tim has canonically acknowledged that he holds no ill will towards Jason over the whole thing, e.g. here in issue 8 of the 2011 Red Hood and the Outlaws book:

Summary/ conclusion: Does Jason feel guilty about things he's done to Tim in the past? Yes. Does Tim hold it against him? No. Was their fight at Titans Tower a murder attempt? Not at all.

Thanks for reading! I hope this helps clear some things up for anybody wondering (:

Bonus: Jason talking about Tim in Battle for the Cowl (2009) #2

#I'm not properly Back TM but I did say I was working on this so I figured I'd make it available #don't fillet me #Jaytim #Jason Todd #Tim Drake #meta #my stuff

[basu-shokikita]

My Analysis on The Duel

Over the course of my stay in the MTL fandom I've seen several takes on what The Duel means so I wanted to throw my interpretation!

For the record, I used the isolated guitar tracks of Toki and Skwisgaar that user crystalsmeth made for this. Here is Toki's version and here is Skwisgaar's version of The Duel, so feel free to listen to them while you read this. Or you can also listen to the regular version Spotify with your headphones or something.

As we know, Toki walks into the auditions late and begs Dethklok, Skwisgaar specifically, for a chance to prove himself. Skwisgaar accepts and immediately starts playing, leading to the legendary battle.

From the beginning of the song until 0:12, Skwisgaar is the one playing. He's doing the call and he's reckless, unafraid to destroy Toki the way he destroyed every other auditioner.

As such, an afraid but determined Toki answers from 0:13 to 0:20. The rest of Dethklok are shocked, since no one else before him was able to hold against Skwisgaar for even a verse.

While they're metaphorically transported into the sky and turned into mythical beasts, the call and answer dynamic continues. Though their verses are much shorter than the beginning.

Side detail: Toki's verses here are a bit clumsy and improvised, reflecting of his nervousness.

However, around 0:25, a change occurs. When Skwisgaar plays his part, he doesn't stop to listen to Toki's response. On the contrary, he continues playing, and thus creating an harmony with him.

Visually, this is the moment where the tension starts building up, both of them wanting to overcome the other though Toki is visibly behind Skwisgaar.

Toki catches up at 0:38 and they face each other. The call and answer dynamic resumes briefly and intensely as they shoot beams at one another.

While spinning so fast that you can barely tell them apart, the harmony once again returns (0:51). The whirlwind of pink representing Skwisgaar and teal representing Toki only grows bigger, and they're entangled with each other.

There's a sudden cut at 0:55, and in comes the baroque segment. They're still harmonizing but the musical style has changed and so have their clothes and attitudes. They have unimpressed, smug faces, akin to the aristocracy of the time.

But then, around 1:10, their expressions change, indicating the end of this relatively low-pressure part of the exchange. Their fighting is about to resume.

It's 1:15 and they're playing together. But here's the key. It's not call and answer, it's not a harmony they're both fighting off either. It's lead and rhythm guitar. But it's not Skwisgaar playing the lead.

It's Toki.

That's right, go ahead and listen to the isolated tracks I linked at the beginning of the post. For a brief moment, Toki is playing the lead guitar while Skwisgaar takes care of the rhythm guitar. And guess, what? They're happy about it!

As they soar into the skies, they're smiling at each other. Yes, it's faint but you can see it. Both Skwisgaar and Toki joyfully staring at each other, while playing together. Skwisgaar, who minutes ago was defeating auditioners left and right. Skwisgaar, who said they didn't need another guitarist in the band. Skwisgaar who didn't think anybody could match him, less alone conquer him.

That Skwisgaar, relegated to playing the rhythm guitar to this boy he just met and actually enjoying it. I tend to believe this is the moment where he decided he wanted Toki in the band, and by this point on he was just playing for the fun of it, rather than to defeat Toki.

From 1:23 onwards, they're harmonizing though there's something different about it this time, and this is better appreciated with earphones, by the way!

So far, we've had Skwisgaar's guitar come from the right channel, and Toki's guitar come from the left channel. But here, their guitars come together, right in the middle. You can try it with your earphones, if you take off the right or left one during this part, you can still listen to the harmony perfectly, whereas before where you would effectively mute Toki or Skwisgaar's guitar depending on which one you took off.

While Skwisgaar and Toki play in the beautiful skies, surveilled by their animal spirits, their music has fused into one. They have become a single entity.

The call and answer dynamic returns at 1:40 and so do the guitars to their respective channels. The conclusion to this fight is near and the visuals mirror it too, as they turn night-like.

While Toki technically loses the battle, he doesn't lose the challenge, as he's accepted into Dethklok because of his playing and that was the whole point of the auditions.

So, here you have it, my lengthy analysis on The Duel. I haven't really seen people talk about the fact that Skwisgaar, even for a few seconds, allowed Toki to play lead. And it's a fact that drives me insane! I mean, we're talking about Skwisgaar, the guy that truly believes himself to be better than anyone...It really goes to that he respects Toki's playing more than he'll ever admit. Musical soulmates, man...

#metalocalypse #toki wartooth #skwisgaar skwigelf #basu post #analysis #skwistok #boy oh boy this took me longer than i planned djhsdjdfj #i just think the duel is neat!! perfect representation of storytelling thru music

[almightygremlinblob]

Gojo Satoru HCs - Canon & Fanon!

⚠️CONTENT WARNINGS:⚠️ None, for the first part. Under the cut is when stuff gets weird. So minors and those uncomfy with anything remotely sexual don't click the "Keep Reading/Read More"! Will put another warning, tho. Just in case.

This is for my fellow Gojo girlies, platonic and romantic, because WOOOW 261 MAN. Sukuna's up next and then I'll probably dip again lmao. 💅🏽✨

Word Count: 855

Gojo Satoru HCs - Canon Gojo

A mix of HCs and character analysis, if Imma be honest.

1.) His arrogance is an act - both to himself and to others; although a part of him IS actually crazy. He grew up a spoiled rich kid, yes, but the weight of what he represented in the Jujutsu world has been ingrained in him since…well, he could conceptualize things. He is the strongest, and as such he is responsible for the world's safety (at least against curses) - it is in danger if he isn't. He's the strongest because he also HAS to be. 2.) Is definitely a boy dad to his students - guy OR girl. Though, like Nanami, he does try to make sure his female students feel comfortable around him; he's just more obnoxious about it. Not condescending...just obnoxious. Calls out and makes fun of the male students that make the girls uncomfortable, gives them more breaks if they specify that it's their time of them month and they need it, calls them a cab he can monitor to get them home safe (though he does this for all of his students, to be fair), or other stuff along the likes of that. 3.) Bisexual and Demiromantic, but his first and currently only love was Geto. 4.) Is apathetic to the weak because thinking about them would only weigh him down. Moreso than Suguru's betrayal, I think the deaths of his friends - who were arguably the weaker ones - really solidified in his mind just how important it was to be the strongest because it was so personal to him. The more he cares about the weak, the more he thinks about that instead of BEING it - it's an unnecessary weight. He only needs to focus on being the strongest, and then he can be there for the weak if they need him. 5.) HOWEVER, Geto's betrayal and Nanami's initial quitting only further served to isolate him, to prove to him that strength = loneliness. This is probably where his dream of creating more sorcerers equal to him in strength came from. Guy knows how lonely it is at the top, and doesn't want that for anyone else.

Gojo Satoru HCs - Fanon Gojo x Reader

These can be read as either platonic or romantic. Reader's gender and sex isn't specified.

1.) Teacher has a faaaavoriiiittee…(if romantic then favorite other teacher, random person, sorcerer, NOT student)… 2.) Despite how bold he often is, Gojo shows that he cares and looks out for you in very subtle ways - whether that be gently convincing you to take a break when you clearly need it, standing in between you and the road, giving you his umbrella when it's raining (he doesn't need it - he kept it for you in case you ever did), carrying extra meds you may need on hand, or even just getting you a snack, coffee or tea when you need a pick me up. 3.) Congratulations, you now have access to a luxurious mansion(s)! Gives you the keys to one of his many estates. Come and go as you please. 4.) If anybody makes you upset, he won't do anything drastic per se but…he WILL embarass them, somehow - though he often disguises it as a harsh joke at the expense of the other. 5.) Grew up as a weapon, basically, and when he finds someone that actually treats him like a person - he sticks to them like glue, without even realizing it.

Alright you know the drill. Minors and anyone uncomfy with anything remotely sexual DNI, and just scroll past. Don't click the "KEEP READING" if you don't wanna see all the sex-y stuff, and just go on with your day, furendo!

Fanon Gojo - Romantic

⚠️Further Content Warnings!⚠️

Honestly, not much LMAO - I'll save that for the actual fic in, like, 10 years from now. Mostly Gojo fluff, some mentioned sexual activities, and Sub!Gojo.

1.) Inexperienced with women. As much as I love the fanon interpretation of Gojo, he has probably never once touched a woman in his life, even if he and Geto were popular during their younger years. Guys though? Yeah you guessed it - he and Geto had each OTHER. 2.) Adding on to the point above, this guy is LOOYAAAAL when he finds someone that he truly loves. Just look at him and Geto. He has YET to move on after Geto 💔 3.) A golden retriever boyfriend. AND shares his sweets with you but he has to feed them to you. He HAS to. 4.) Guy is a needy, WHINY sub in bed. Loves to please and can stay seated in between your legs for HOURS as long as you praise him. Loud AF too and is absolutely shameless about it - it ruins everyone's day (except for you and him). Loves the wear the marks you leave on him like a crown and it's awkward for EVERYONE. 5.) Because he has so many responsibilities, and the Jujutsu world won't give him a break, you guys don't actually spend much time together - even moreso if you're a sorcerer, too. Expect missing anniversaries, cancelled plans, mismatched schedules, even nights without each other. Despite this, Gojo does try for you, he really does. He calls and texts whenever he can, sees you the moment his schedule allows, and brings home something for you every time.

I LITERALLY CAN'T WITH THE LEAKS PLEASE JUST TAKE THIS

#gojo satoru #satoru gojou #gojo jjk #jjk headcanons #jjk character analysis #gojo satoru x reader #gojo x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #sub gojo #my writing

[yannaryartside]

WHIT SIDNEY, THERE IS NO OTHER SHOE

OR

WHY DO THE BERZATTO SIBLINGS CHOOSE THEIR PARTNERS?

I will kick off this thesis with the belief that Sidney and Pete are Carmy's and Natalie's respective otps. They are destined, romantic partners. This seems to be what the show is pointing at.

I was reading "Sana tus heridas en pareja" by Anamar Oihuela, which explores the possibility of healing your inner child's wounds in a romantic relationship. I do not want to circle around why people select their romantic partners (that shit is quite complex), but the childhood wounds that we have that make us feel attracted to certain personalities or look for love in a certain way, with a particular shape. What are the Berzatto siblings really looking for, that will be healing for them?

THE WOUND

The Berzatto sibling grew up in a toxic environment, filled with the addition of their parents (drugs and gambling) and whatever strain those would create between the couple. The mother (the most present parent, apparently) was also emotionally immature. She would use insults and threats of harm or self-harm whenever she felt abandoned. Hence, the siblings grew up hypervigilant and afraid of upsetting her in any way . Most people seem to agree that Carmy has Complex PTSD, created during his early childhood but aggravated by his time as a chef. "I have to remind myself that the sky is not falling, not waiting for the other shoe (...) there is always another shoe." I am sure the CPTS can be applied to Nat as well. They never formed a secure attachment to their parents, which requires trust, the knowledge of the parent of the child's emotions, guiding them, and making them feel valued, loved, and secure. The kid can develop because he/she knows their needs will be met. That was impossible in such a dangerous (for a child) and unpredictable environment. Unpredictable and insecure are attributes I want to focus on. 

WHY PETE?

I love this man, and the show seems to be putting a lot of effort into making him look, talk, and behave in the most opposite to anybody in the Berzatto family; he doesn't get along (or is approved) with anybody at the beginning, and Carmy only likes him after Pete stood up for Carmy's career. Sometimes, even Nat seems to think he may be too passive or compliant. Like in the finale, it kinda bothered me that he was trying to give her his admiration, support, and approval (which she never received from her family, including Carmy in some instances). She is too busy dreaming about her mother coming in and giving her all exactly what Peter is giving her. It's pretty poetic. She chooses to marry this man for a reason; she loves him for a reason, which is more evident when Pete is crying, and she actually pays attention to him, admiring his transparency and sensibility, again, things that she never could expect of a parental figure. She may sometimes think he is "too passive" or predictable and takes him for granted; because she grew up surrounded by loud men who acted confident even if they were shit, part of her subconscious might be attracted to that reckless behavior. Still, she finds sensibility more attractive in the end because it is too rare for her. She knows that relationships with men like his father and his brother Mickey end up with her feeling like the emotional regulator that she wanted to be for her mom. Ultimately, the keys to her heart are predictability and transparency because they form trust, a secure attachment. And it is funny because those are precisely the same keys to Carmy's heart, but he sees them in a different context.

WHY SIDNEY?

Added to the context of his childhood, the wound that Carmy seems to feel the most is, no surprise, created by his relationship with Mickey. As pointed out by some excellent analysis, Mickey is the father figure in Carmy's life, the closest thing to a secure attachment he could ever have. He describes Mickey in his AA monologue "I thought I was my brother's best friend." Mickey was the person he thought he could always rely on, the one he knew well, and Mickey knew him too. Even though he felt hurt by Mickey cutting him out, when he comes back for Christmas, you can see Carmy hold to the hope that whenever is the time, he could come back, and his brother will be waiting for him. And then, Mickey dies. Carmy didn't know he used drugs or was depressed, the perfect image of his strong, funny, almighty brother crumbling before him. The questions pop out: Why he didn't reach out to me? He didn't see me as a confidant? Why did he lie to me all those times? All that trust was based on a lie. It is not a surprise that Carmy didn't go to the funeral. It could have literally sent in on a shutdown. Later in the show, we hear Mickey's voice echoing in Carmy's mind, "I am right here" "I got you." That is what he thought his brother was: his ultimate support. But he wasn't, not at the end; Mickey lied about how he was feeling, hiding from him the aspect of his life that would eventually vanish Mickey from Carmy's life without warning. 

Mickey's suicide was that shoe he was afraid of, the worst possible, the one that made him believe there is always another shoe.

What does this have to do with Sidney?: predictability and transparency. Sidney is the most transparent and constant person Carmy knows now, the one that he actually thinks he knows. When asked to do something, she gives her honest opinion of why she thinks ais a good or bad idea. She also organized, analytical, hopeful, and eager to serve others. She is the one that offers help when Mickey (it seems) didn't accept any form of it. She develops a detailed plan to save his brother's restaurant because anybody in their family is too dysfunctional to do so. A person with actual answers. But most of all, she is transparent, at least to a reasonable extent, usually only forced upon feeling frustrated. She asks him for open and honest communication. She communicates her needs, feelings, and expectations consistently, even when he doesn't want to listen. He gets frustrated because he is too wired but always realizes that she is leading him in the right direction. Christ, she even managed to express her feeling about Claire being in his life (and the impact it had on the restaurant and their partnership) and even gave him commitment advice without revealing that the root of it all was her feelings for him. With her, there is no other shoe because every single thing that has gone wrong between them is something that she previously has warned him about. Sidney always reaches out. She has made mistakes because she is green in season one. Still, in season two, when she has her shit together, Sidney keeps asking him to be his partner and communicating her needs, but Carmy fails anyway. Still, he can't say that she hid things from him that were important to their relationship like Mickey did. 

I am not saying that if they get together, Sidney will be able to predict their problems because that's impossible. She has relationship issues, too (I am talking about that tattoo, damn, I can't wait for season 3), but so far, he knows she intends to tell him her needs; that's who she really is. I think he recognized that nature of her early on in season one and then developed a hyper-awareness of Sidney's demeanor, too afraid of losing his most solid connection, and this time, is not based on a lie. I think that when, in the future, he starts to feel her hiding things from him (possibly about her past), he going to be really mortified, like, "You got me, and I got you, so why are you not letting me know the things I need to know so I can get you" type of thing.

THE FIGHT THAT IS COMING

But this has a dark side. Carmy thinks she is solid and trustworthy and that whatever he asks of her, she will find a way to do, so he relies on her to have the space to deal with his mental turmoil. Carmy is not there for her when she solves problems or confronts the mobs in the front. He is dealing with the chaos in his mind and his family. I am not saying that is bad; teamwork is power. Still, like, dude, he had known her for 3 whole weeks and decided to go to an overdue AA meeting in "Brigade," leaving her to deal with the consequences of the job environment created by Mickey. In that whole speech, "I hold you to a higher standard", I know he meant that in the context of work because they both have been in that environment of strict efficiency, but the standard could also be personal, "I think you are solid and trustworthy so I need you to be" is probably what Carmy is thinking. Didn't somebody else notice this tendency to show Carmy taking breaks after he knows Sidney is handling shit? 

In "Brigade," right after seeing her in control of the kitchen for the first time and hiring her, he goes to take a smoke break, and in "Sheridan," when she has set up this fantastic set for cooking and selling outside, he also goes to take a smoke break and give Marcus a pep talk, like seriously...they were saying something here. Trusting Sidney, because she has proven efficiency in every imaginable circumstance has given him (a break) a space to feel his feelings. You don't have that when you grow up in a toxic household. This is also the reason thinking of her calms his panic attacks. And the reason he gave himself a chance with Claire (lol, your trust in your future wife is the reason you can get a girlfriend). 

 

Managing a business like this is difficult with a sound mind. It requires discipline and clarity. And Carmy has too much emotional baggage that was going to try to escape any other way. He looks for healthy spaces for it to do so but has yet to learn the core of his issues. He is applying medicine without closing the wound (THERAPHY). That's why he says, "I wouldn't even want to do it without you; you make me better at this." No joke, Sidney is his walking stick, emotionally and in the workplace, the whole reason he was able to go this far. 

He praises her for her efforts, usually afterwards, when everything is calm. She likes that because she admires him (and has a crush on him). But damn, man, a million things could have gone wrong even in season one, and I wouldn't have blamed Sidney. And the dude exploded because she made a computer error in the to-goes? You had it coming. And then, season two happens. Carmy is a ghost in the restaurant, again, dealing with the chaos of his mind, emotions, and a fucking childhood crush. And what Sidney does? She handles it, she lets him wonder and solve his shit, and the restaurant is saved for her, with the help of everyone, the redemption of Richie, and the leadership of Nat. Carmy puts her in the second most powerful position, something she has never done before, without almost no support of guides, not about detecting good staff or creating a menu from scratch. She takes her motivation from Coach K and "adapts on a dime" because "she has to," in her own words. Again, that's her journey, being able to trust herself and believe in her potential. But what would happen when she cannot be his walking stick anymore? He already knows he failed, but what if Sidney has her own baggage to deal with in season 3, something she feels so ashamed of that she doesn't communicate with him? Would the need to be her support force him to look at his self-sabotage, so he can be someone predictable and transparent for her? Man, I LOVE THIS SHOW. That was a long one. Thank you for reading. 

#sydcarmy #jeremy allen white #ayo edebiri #the bear fx #carmy the bear #carmy berzatto #natalie berzatto #my otp #michael berzatto #there is no other shoe

[gerdy-sertorius]

The Definitive Damsel Analysis (if I do say so myself)

(Disclaimer: I know it’s absurdly long, and for that I apologize. I apparently am more unwilling to make cuts than I am to present subpar work. I’m working on it. Only editing I do for my autistic ramblings is copyediting, baby! Whoo! I will be updating this for the Pristine Cut once it comes out and we get even *more* Damsel. Obviously, as I’m sure you can tell from the length, I really like Damsel. There will be all of the bias. It will be great.)

(Author’s Note: For the love of the most high God, it took me like twenty read throughs for me to standardize what I wanted to call the Scorched Grey. Here is a brief list of all the terms I used to refer to her: Scorched Grey, Burned Grey, Burning Grey, Fire Grey, Damsel Chapter 3. Sometimes but not always preceded by “the” or “The”.)

Alright, ladies and gentlemen. I have oft made the statement on here that Damsel is the best route in the game, and this began as me trying to definitively prove that, by microscopically going through the route, I could establish exactly why, it would seem, that Damsel has objective superiority. It sorta… evolved, though, so instead I will be going relatively chronologically throughout, and trying to point out a couple things that all of you know about and maybe a couple things you don’t about the best character in the game. With that preamble out of the way, let’s begin with the goofy stuff, the grab bag if you will. 

This will certainly be more personal taste than anything else, but I do think there’s a lot of miscellaneous stuff that Damsel does better than the other chapters. For example, I am convinced that it has the third best music, behind Tower and her routes and then Thorn. I am genuinely obsessed with “It Was Always That Easy”. The basement has some *fantastic* art, and I think that really carries a chapter that is otherwise generally bland when it comes to actual visual activity. It’s really carried by its genuinely perfect dialogue. 

Overall, and most importantly, this chapter is the undisputed master of the idea of positive ambience. You know elevator music? How it’s there to artificially increase the cheeriness of an otherwise dreary moment, like a hotel hallway or, yanno, an elevator? Well, this is the chapter that does it perfectly. Everything is designed to make it “nicer” than it actually is. The Narrator even takes that into account when describing the basement. The sound design is fresh and relaxing, the music is uplifting, the Princess’s voice is obviously fantastically done, but also the Voice of the Smitten plays a large role in making it feel “good”. It’s something that exists in order to communicate exactly the feelings it wants the player to feel, which is all warm and fuzzy inside. But let’s move on to the actual content, shall we?

Damsel has *the* best Chapter One and it isn’t even close. Certainly not in the horror department, where I think Beast and Nightmare shine, or even in the whole characterization bit, where the award can only go to Spectre and the masterclass that is her Chapter One. But Damsel has something else to it. Damsel has tragedy, almost Shakespearean in nature. Nobody else has it (except Witch, to some extent, but nowhere close to the same level), nobody manages to reach that connection, there and then broken, to honestly feel for both Princess and Slayer. Allow me to paint a picture of a playthrough. 

You are on a path in the woods. At the end of that path is a cabin. In the basement of that cabin is a princess. You are here to slay her. But you don’t do that. That voice itching in the back of your skull, the one you quite literally call Hero, your moral compass even, raises some objections. You don’t want to kill *anybody*. That isn’t something you want to mark yourself with, especially not solely on the word of an individual you just met. For now, violence is a nonstarter.

You enter the cabin. And you hear her voice. And you see her. You even talk with her for a while. The moment is… hypnotizing. Despite the Narrator’s warning of manipulation, well, you cannot help but be manipulated. This is a genuinely nice, sweet, scared Princess who simply wants to be free. You have to save her. It is the right thing to do, it is the… only thing to do. Anything else marks you with the dirtiness of simply being unwilling to help someone in need when you had the full ability to. 

You go to get a key. Unsuccessful. The door locks. Even worse. The Narrator is moving from irritating to downright malicious, clearly enjoying recounting the lock of the door. Disgust for Him has been present since you entered the cabin, but it shifts to anger very quickly. That shift continues with full force as you attempt with what little ability you have to save the Princess, even if you don’t quite know how you will get out. The question does not last long. For the shift to anger shifts once more, to a sort of incomprehensible fury.

For the Narrator has crossed a line. Not only has he taken away any semblance of choice, not only has he raised your own knife against an innocent, someone who has been nothing but kind to you, but you are the one who must bear the shame for it. You are the only one who is doing the foul deed in any eyes but your own. Speaking of, the Princess’s eyes are filled with genuine happiness at the moment, as you are finally giving her the freedom she has yearned for such a  long time. Yet through no fault of your own, you raise the pristine blade, the one you refused to bring down to the basement in the first place. You scramble through the list of options, attempting to find anything that could provide a sliver of hope in the situation, anything without the grim finality of “Slay the Princess”. 

At last, you find one, and are able to bark out a warning to the Princess. That happiness in her eyes is shifted to a look of fear, one directed at you alone, one condemning you with such a sorrowful betrayal that it almost hurts to see. She begs for you to stop, and then she says something that almost calms the internal storm of the player: “Please, I know this isn’t you.” She recognizes that it isn’t us that betrayed her, she understands that we aren’t trying to do this, that we are flat-out trying to stop it. But the eye of that storm is passing, and soon.

And as she takes the blade, as she prepares to do what she must to live, that same look of tragic betrayal crosses her eyes, this time not directed at us, but at herself. She hates that this is her only option, the only way that she can live is to kill another, one with every intention of freeing her and no intention of harming her. And in the end, she simultaneously underscores the tragedy of the moment while confirming our perception that she could never be a threat to the world. As she plunges the blade into our chest, she has failed to even do the bare minimum of making our death painless, something that fills her with even more guilt, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tries and fails to end our own agony. The last thing we see of her are her endless cascade of both tears and apologies, as everything goes dark. 

This… is beautiful. A glorious tragedy, one with limited theming, simply two characters with emotions that feel natural. And, quite strangely, the first chapter has almost nothing to do with the second chapter. But it is still important. I’ll get to that later. Better things await now! For with the end of the tale of the Hero and the Princess, we have a new individual, everyone’s favorite buddy, the Voice of the Smitten. 

I am certain I do not need to underscore just how popular Smitten is. Easily the most fan favorite of the fan favorites, especially solidifying his place within that roster with the Kiss from a Thorn. He is jovial, passionate, he is Don Quixote, complete with the unlimited self-delusion that comes with the territory. There’s a reason people love him. Romantic in a game entitled a love story, the largest of personalities in a game stuffed with them, he is the storybook hero come to life in a game that has just as much reverence for storybook heroes as the deconstructions of them. In short, he is the visage of likability itself, with all the bombast that comes with that. Yet that is only from a wholly external perspective. 

For what I am certain I do need to underscore is just how sinister Smitten is. For all of his likability, the Smitten is also probably the single slimiest voice out of all of them with the possible exception of the Opportunist. This is not a new revelation – people have understood that since the beginning with his frankly disturbing behavior regarding the Princess. What is perhaps more interesting is his relationship with the player. For he is one of the two options that reflect the player at this point within the story. Either the player is trying to do the right thing and free an innocent, or they have somewhat… different motivations. 

The former reflects the Hero. Somewhat naive, in many routes somewhat bumbling even, but first and foremost focused on the external. That is, “how can I make a positive impact on the world around me?” As contradictory as it may seem to how the Hero is presented, it’s something of an intellectualist approach. The Hero is trying to find the best possible world and working towards that with all of his might. It is, one could say, devoid of emotion except that determination to change the world, to make it a better place. While the goal remains the same, the path to get there is fundamentally continuously being calculated. The Hero is your conscience, and as such he must *always* work overtime for that. 

The Smitten is not that. No, he has made no secret that he is the path of passion. Even when he is generally considered to be a better person, he declares that, “Whatever world would condemn two star-crossed lovers to a cycle of violence and despair isn’t a world worth saving.” His focus is internal, it is on ourself and our romance. There is no extensive study into what is the correct option, there is only what would assist in our relationship, which is somehow ordained by the universe. To put it into understandable terms, Hero is a modern hero while Smitten is a Romantic-era hero. 

There’s an important line when going down the stairs that I think speaks volumes about the type of player and playthrough currently occurring. That is “We can still do right by her without all this over-the-top fawning.” *That* is the line of demarcation between the route of the Hero and the route of the Smitten. If you decide to embrace or repudiate the Smitten at that point, I think the route is sealed. I am convinced that the game will continue on in a fixed way based on that philosophy. The point where you must, internally that is, decide if you are doing this out of a desire for what is right, or an infatuation with the Princess. 

Now, of course there isn’t anything wrong with taking the path of the Smitten, and it’s personally one of my top points in the game, but whether you admit it or not, you are long past morality being what decides your actions. That has come and gone. Now, the goal is to express the passion of the moment and delve into your romantic relationship with the Princess. I’ll be evaluating each of the routes differently, loosely organized with a focus on how it reacts to the player. After that, I’ll go on into theming of each route one by one and all that jazz.

The path of the Smitten first. The player embraces that he has been sent to save the Princess from her unjust and foul imprisonment above all else. So that is what he does. He marches downstairs, the blade being nothing but a passing afterthought as it is immediately dismissed out of hand. When it comes to the crucial point of “doing right by her”, the justification is made that two things can be done at once, that you can do this for her and do a little bit of fawning on the way. Doesn’t harm anyone.

And with that the basement arrives, and you see the Princess on the floor. She is perfect in all ways. There is nothing wrong with her. And that’s before you start talking to her. When you do begin talking to her, all of the kindness and innocence from Chapter 1 are magnified to the greatest degree possible. She can do no wrong. And, from a meta standpoint, there’s another thing that stands out – it is really, *really* funny. From everything the Smitten says to the “Then I didn’t end the world!” to the Narrator’s (a villain at this point) growing exasperation at your trust for the Princess, it endears you to the moment even more. 

Because it’s not only that it’s funny. It’s not only that the Princess is genuinely nice to you. It’s something more than that. Something that I am loath to talk about but will anyway. The Princess is incredibly – *sigh* – **cute** within this chapter. This is objective, with science to back me up, I’m sure. But she is specifically designed to be as heartwarming as possible, and every line makes her more and more into someone who should be saved by you, into, well, a Damsel. While it isn’t explicitly stated, throughout the progression of dialogue, the need to protect her becomes more pronounced. You were already primed to like the Princess, you already internally committed to a romantic future. But after stepping into the bear trap willingly, you cannot escape. 

And if you’re anything like me, you are perfectly fine with that. So you take in the moment, you rescue her from her chains and laugh at the way her hands slipped out of the chains and the Narrator’s comical anger at it. It’s all very feel-good, all cleanly written dialogue, and both the Princess and the Smitten are likable, they’re fun, and the Narrator is a fun enough villain for the Smitten and you to unite against. The Hero, if we’re being honest, barely registers, and if he does it’s usually as an extension to the Narrator, as a foil to yourself. And with her finally free, she embraces you, sealing the deal on her perfection. 

And after that, something else happens. The deconstruction begins. You want to see if her dialogue has any more of that saccharine present throughout the rest of the chapter, and are immediately rewarded with the “The princess closes her eyes in deep reflection” and the follow up joke. Hungry for more, you click through some more of the dialogue, but something begins to happen. She begins to… unwind. The Smitten seems to reciprocate in turn, to a lesser extent. In fact, she really starts to return to the horror that this chapter was a nice respite from. So you cut your losses, decide to leave with her, and everything returns to normal. Bathed in the glow of your future, you immediately forget about the deconstruction.

After that, you finally get out of the basement, get a genuinely great moment opening the door alongside the Princess, never think twice about clicking “You’re not doing that.” as fast as humanly possible, and finally await the door at the end of the cabin. You finally get your fairytale ending. The princess goes out into the world together with you. You brought her out. And then she is taken by the Shifting Mound in a way reminiscent of her dying. Even if this wasn’t your first playthrough, it still comes as a shock. For the most part, you were being that Romantic hero, living in the moment with your passion. The thought of this happening was gone entirely. This wasn’t supposed to happen. And it *hurts*. And the chapter is over. 

The route of the Hero has a different point of view on the whole situation. That’s not to say it’s not easy to get drawn in by the hilarious dialogue and sheer cuteness of the Princess – far from it. It is, after all, what drives the conflict within this. For the Hero, and the player that goes along his path, has one bit of information stand out. That the world ended after the Princess killed you. Now, you can naturally be skeptical of the information, but the Princess isn’t helping her case here. Entirely vague, entirely unwilling to mention anything about it. The only thing she seems to care about is getting on your good side. 

Now, you still want to save her. That much is clear. You still don’t take the knife in the beginning, and you saw her Chapter 1 incarnation. She is still a good person, kind and loving. But there are questions raised, important questions. Which is why not all Hero routers get the same ending. There is a conflict between how far you’re able to go before the risk of the world ending eclipses your distrust of the Narrator and your trust of the Princess. If the whole world really does end if she’s free, is it worth it? And as such you get to the major points of the Hero ending. 

The first is the Deconstructed ending. As you question the Princess, you desperately try to figure out what the best way to go forward is for you. And that starts with getting a straight answer from the Princess on what exactly she plans on doing. The operation… does not go well. As you try and push for anything, any sign that she isn’t going to end the world, the same rejoinder comes in, alongside a distorted track. “I just want to make you happy.” The Princess is not an individual anymore, and begins to change shape. But you are locked in with a horrified inability to look away, like one who sees a car accident. And with that, the Princess is a Princess no longer, and the Shifting Mound takes her away. 

There’s also the option of taking the Hero’s advice when confronted with the scenario: to leave. You don’t like what’s going on and you try to do whatever you can to undo the doing. Perhaps surprisingly, it works. And then you’re forced to deal with the cognitive dissonance of the Princess and *that* being the same individual. But you, not without a healthy dose of skepticism, still head upstairs alongside the Princess. In the end, you can’t bring yourself to kill her. Throughout it all, she still has been the beautifully endearing picture of innocence, if a questionable one, and especially with regards to the knife on the table, there is no way you can take it to her chest with no warning, especially after everything you did in the first Chapter. So you leave with her, and the “end of the world” really does come in one fell swoop with the call of the Shifting Mound. You can’t help but wonder if the decision you made was the right one, not really. Like, you still believe she didn’t deserve to die, but maybe, just maybe, it would have been a better ending.

So what if you did kill her? What happens when love *truly* melts away into skepticism. After the continuous question dodging and whatever the… other thing was, this is clearly not an ordinary Princess, it is not the same Princess that you tried to save at the beginning. There is only a sliver of her, a shadow of her former self. Slaying her, well, slaying her is probably doing her a favor. It might be doing the world a favor, too. Maybe she is an individual with malicious intent. And as you take the blade and plunge it into her chest, you instantly know you made the wrong decision. She does not oppose it. She simply lets you kill her with a single tear hanging in her eye, saying “I think this is what you want.” It’s meant to feel dirty and it does, even heartbreaking in the moment, although it is immediately counterbalanced by the effect of the Smitten killing you over it.

I won’t exactly go over Scorched Grey the same way, I think there’s generally only two frames of mind going into it, and that’s either the standard “Hero-Skeptic” framework that I’ll expand on later, or simply a completionist mindset. Plus, it’s technically not The Damsel. Plus I’m lazy. But this is the point where I will try to expand on the theming of each and every route and mindset to go through within the Chapter, and that *will* include the Scorched Grey theming. 

It’s made quite clear from the chapter that one of the primary themes is objectification, the making of the Princess into nothing more than a vehicle to live one’s fantasy into. The taking of an individual and making them into an it. The destruction of humanity by your own desire, and what that says about your desires in the first place. Ironically, this is merely one fourth wall away from the rest of the Princesses, each of them being a piece of fiction that many simply engage with *because* they are an object, but with the Damsel it is directly nodded to within the narrative. One meta-layer is peeled back, if you will. 

Nothing hammers this more home than the entirely jarring line that escapes the Shifting Mound’s lips when you ask about the vessel she holds. Unlike the rest of the fragments, which are all given an indication that they have been fulfilled after the Shifting Mound takes them, the only note she has to say is that the Damsel has “served her purpose”. There is nothing that she wished for, as anyone who has obtained the deconstructed ending can attest to. But even in the more standard runs, she is simply a tool to be used and discarded. And there are three general reactions to this line. 

The first is the hardcore Smitten route’s preferred choice, denial. “The Princess was far more than an object, she had character, she had kindness, she had motivations from the beginning! The narrative is what is wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the Princess. She. Is. Perfect. Not just from a narrative standpoint but a metanarrative one as well. She has depth, she *is* a character.” All in the hopes that if they insist on it enough, it will become true. The Damsel was not designed to be viewed in a vacuum. There are themes that run through her character, and including negative ones, and the denial of them is a far truer denial of the character than any sort of objectification could ever be. 

Then the more moderate Smitten routers get a different response. A slap in the face. They did all of this, they had fun, they laughed with her, they cried when she was taken. They were connected to her, they had a real connection to what she was. One could even accuse them of… loving her. They honest to goodness cared about this Princess, they were invested in her story. Yet, in the end, they also formed her around themselves. They “molded her to love you”. As much as they loved the Princess, that was only because they cut out a piece of the Shifting Mound that they *could* love, a caricature of her true nature. They still took an individual, and despite truly loving her, made her into something that she was not so they could do that very thing. She is not a person. She is a plot device, an individual made to love and be loved with nothing beyond that. She is an object. 

Lastly, those who went on the route of the Hero get that same slap in the face, that selfsame bucket of water poured over their heads, but in a different way. They didn’t try to objectify her. They didn’t want anything of the sort. All they wanted to do was the right thing. Right? Yet even in that desire to do the right thing, they still get that same chilling text from the Shifting Mound. They have built an individual just like those who went on the route of the Smitten. Just a different one. Not one who was built around your “glorious romance”, but rather one built around something of a glorious Romance. The need to be a Hero. The desire to do what was right, to save an unjustly imprisoned Princess. The Princess became a plot device in the end anyway, just one that needed to be saved rather than one who needed to be loved. 

I want to continue off of that. The player is trying to do nothing more than the right thing, he is simply doing what a Hero should. And that determination to do what is right leads to him getting impacted the most by that line in the ending, the line that implies that whatever right he was doing, he was still being driven by selfishness, by that need to be a Hero. That hits the player right within where it hurts, it almost could be said to strike at the one emotional vulnerability of them. To have your hard work, your pain, your desire for what is right to be considered nothing more than the delusions of a Don Quixote tilting at windmills in order to fight giants, just as lost as Smitten, that doesn’t feel too great. It almost minimizes your struggle, and it is genius. You play as a Hero because you want to feel like a Hero, not because the morality of this world means anything to you. It is stripping that meta-layer down one by one.

But objectification is not the only theme present. While it may seem like something of a potpourri topic to throw in, earlier on the server we were talking about the Damsel in particular’s perceptiveness with regards to perception. When the door shuts and locks, it is the first and only time the Princess gets visibly **negative** in any way during the entirety of the Chapter. Even when you kill her, she still does so with nary a frown on her face. Even as a tear rolls down her cheek, she still smiles. But not at the door. The narration points out quite clearly that she frowns. This is, I reiterate, the only thing that happens. And her response is not “we’re stuck down here”, it is not “I’m unable to leave now”. 

What it is happens to be “that’s not supposed to happen”. She recognizes the construct in a way very few allude to within the game. Adding onto that note, within the Scorched Grey chapter, she (correctly) determines the very nature of the construct and that inherent “cycle of violence and despair” inherent to it, even (correctly) determining that the only way to leave was to annihilate that very construct. This is shown even clearer at the other major event at the door. When you ask if the Princess can open the door, the sole question she throws back at you is “Do you think I can?”, and after a response in the affirmative, “Then I can”. In the end, it is quite clear that she is, *heavily* ironically, one of the more aware characters in the game with regards to your circumstance. 

While speaking of the Scorched Grey, I think this route also exemplifies another major theme – the nature of the Princess as a being of perception. All routes exemplify one facet of the Shifting Mound: Spectre represents the gravity of her, Tower her divinity, Prisoner the very incarnation in and of itself of her within the construct, and so on. Damsel has something different, though, and that is that she’s just a slippery little fella. Far more than anybody else, Damsel changes throughout her chapters, in ways more pronounced than anybody else. The Shifting Mound declares that we “molded her to love you”, as I quoted previously. That molding takes stage front and center throughout all of our interactions with her. 

The most obvious example is her deconstruction, which when her sole true motivation (to leave) is discarded, she begins to break down, unable to offer to the player anything beyond the only desire every other Princess has. With the compulsive need to love the player, etched into her core, there is nothing she can do other than try to add to that love, losing herself within the process. But that is not the only time she changes. Because she is willing to give up that freedom in, well, a heartbeat. Attempting to kill her does not lead to any sort of resistance from her. The one goal she had, staying alive and winning her freedom, is out the window despite being (questionably) willing to kill for it in the last chapter. Now, throughout the Scorched Grey, it’s made clear that she did not, in fact, want to die, that she just wanted to be free together, but the complete unwillingness to save her own life is a stark contrast to the first chapter. 

In fact, that perpetually changing nature alongside her being so objectified means that it’s really, *really* hard to figure out her true character. There is very little in her that does not change and very little remaining that isn’t specifically put there by you. She is an eel, wriggling out of your grasp and impossible to pin down, in a large way like the Shifting Mound herself. But… for the most part, there are two facets to her character beyond the already listed themes. And a sharp divide between them. 

Chapter One Damsel and Chapter Two Damsel are not the same person. That’s usually true for most of them, but they also usually have some semblance of similarity between their counterparts. The only exceptions I can think off the top of my head are Spectre and *maaybe* Stranger if you want to count that. The rest of them act as exaggerated versions of the existing individuals shown. Chapter One Adversary likes fights. Chapter Two Adversary likes fights. Chapter One Witch is built on the back of distrust. Chapter Two Witch is built on the back of distrust. Everything lines up nicely. 

That is not the case for the Damsel. The only thing that you can say with both of them is that they are nice and do not want to hurt you. The Chapter One incarnation (henceforth Princess) is a tragedy of a character that doesn’t want to kill you but still must to secure her own life and freedom against a renegade puppeting you. The Chapter Two incarnation (henceforth Damsel) is a Horror-”Feel-Good”-Comedic-Tragic character that shows nothing about the emotional anguish she went through in chapter one. I love both of them, but they have an unmatched disconnect. And I think that sort of adds to the character. Now, there is absolutely a benefit from an emotional through-line (there’s a reason Thorn is my second-favorite chapter), but in this case, only brief touches to the beginning enhance the story. 

The most striking thing is the sense of comedic horror that comes when Damsel just completely ignores any expected trauma from the Princess’s emotional destruction. It, depending on the route you take, either makes you love her character more and more as the humor begins to entrap you, or it begins the process of getting the player unnerved, exactly like the developers wanted. It is a key dividing point in the mindset of the player and the route that they have chosen. The Damsel says nothing about what happened, heck, she barely acknowledges it except to indicate that “You died!” 

Secondly, it sets up Damsel as a sympathetic figure while still allowing her to begin establishing herself. Without the setup from the Princess, the player has no idea how to view Damsel, potentially even seeing her as a less on-the-nose Razor, with her comedically hiding her sinister intentions. The Princess allows the player to begin on a note that the Princess is *actually* friendly rather than simply pretending to be so. At the same time, it’s divorced enough that apart from that frame of reference at the beginning, Damsel is still allowed to shine within her own character. 

Lastly, and most importantly, it sets her up for the Scorched Grey. The guilt at causing the death of an innocent and the belief that you would be unable to cause the death of an innocent yourself leads her to blame the construct and attempt to bring it down, which seals your fate in the third Damsel chapter, the only time where the two chapters meet in a beautiful climax of Passion going too far and causing pain, in attempt of running away from that very thing, morphing into something that not even the Smitten is able to remain devoted to in an awful tragedy of love being not enough in the end. 

Wait, wait, wait. Did I hear “the end” being spoken? At this time of year? Localized entirely within this essay? Well then, it’s time to talk about what puts this saga at pure perfection, shall we? I probably could just use the awesome power of Ctrl + V to get the desired effect, but I still do want to offer my narration, so I’ll compromise and do a bit of both. “Your lover drives a stake into your body. And another. And another. And another. And another. Do I miss your heart because I cannot stand to see it go? But the stakes meant nothing to you. You had a desire, and you set that desire free, you lifting me and me lifting you, forever and ever and ever, consumed by true belief, there was nothing that could hold us back.” 

Do I even need to explain why that’s so good? Definitively the best poem in the end, it isn’t even close, especially when coupled with Ms. Goodnight’s awe-inspiring delivery. Did I say that the Scorched Grey was the perfect synthesis of the Princess and the Damsel? I was lying. This is. Every word so lovingly placed, the language sounds like it comes from the pen of God Himself. It is emotionally resonant, the art is beautiful, I have not run into such a short piece of dialogue that outdoes it. Gonna be honest, mostly just wrote up this essay to gush about it. Even now, it is considered by most everyone to be one of the best lines of dialogue in a game filled with magnificent ones. 

And the other one, that of the Scorched Grey. It’s simpler, ironically. “I kill you. You kill me. Back and forth we go, faster and faster and faster. I kill you. You kill me. Hollow eyes watch from the dry corners of a memory. A home built on all of the futures that were supposed to be, preserved until the moment of reunion. The fire of the heart sets it all ablaze. I kill you and me.”

This, this right here is one of the most slept on ending poems and it’s not even funny. So fantastic at expressing the heartbreak inherent to the Scorched Grey’s character. I don’t know how you can see the line “A home built on all the futures that were supposed to be”, especially with the Scorched Grey dead and charring in a wedding gown, and not feel *something*. It’s not as good as the standard Damsel stuff, but then again, nothing is. It’s still deserving of more praise than it currently receives, and one of my top three ending poems of all time, only edged out by Prisoner. Gosh, this game belongs in a museum. 

Seems I need to debunk some stuff that happens to get a lot of traction regarding those who speculate on Damsel, too. First of all, her character motivation is not guilt nor gratitude. That sort of thing works incredibly well in fanworks, and I’m happy to see it ~~because that means I get to see Damsel in a fanwork~~. It has little to no backing within canon. Damsel is a chapter about the only motivations for the Princess being those put in place by the objectification of the player. There is nothing regarding anything beyond that, and it detracts from the existing, well-elucidated themes that are actually within the chapter. The only sort of substance to them is both Chapter 1 Princess and Scorched Grey indicating guilt for killing you, but that is almost entirely repudiated within the actual Chapter 2. 

Speaking of the Scorched Grey, another thing I saw somewhat extensively is that you somehow “taught her” that killing is the way to love one another, and that’s why she kills you in Chapter 3, and I honestly do not know how that gained any traction at all. It’s pretty clear that she views all the death as a pretty terrible and messed up thing and only kills the two of you to escape the cycle of death. It’s spoken of as a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. I am genuinely confused on how this got started, because it really just… opposes the main *in-narrative* themes of the Chapter??? Like, you don’t even have to analyze it, it’s just within the text, plain and simple. 

Anyway, I deeply apologize for the length of this once again, look forward to an appendix when Pristine Cut comes out. I’ve already played it because my uncle works at Black Tabby, but I don’t want to spoil it for you gents. If my opinions change massively after playing through the new update from today, I will change that too. Anyway, Damsel is the best character, literally does not do a single thing wrong within any of her chapters, has definitively the best Shifty stuff, and you should invest in her. As more people vocally become willing to throw money at anything related to Damsel, the likelier it is that we get Damsel merch. I need it so badly. Please. Anyway, if anything stands out to you or you disagree, I am begging you to tell me to get my act together and explain what I said wrong, so do that. Also please. 

#slay the princess #the damsel #the princess #black tabby games #I spent an ungodly amount of time writing this up #But I honestly think this could be the be all end all work for this tiny character in a tiny game #Also #Seriously #Play Slay the Princess

[i-heart-hxh]

hello! i have a question, but i dont quite know how to word it….

i like listening to people’s thoughts on hxh, because sometimes its difficult to collect my own thoughts and hearing others articulate it helps me form my own analysis. usually it clears up confusions on narrative choices, however this thing still confuses me because ive seen lots of meta which sometimes conflict with each other or infos from the show. maybe i missed something?

i dont want to link anybody because i dont want to “call them out” but its a frequent opinion ive come across, so not one person. but what i hear sometimes goes along the lines of: gon vowed to sacrifice everything to defeat pitou -> killua arrives -> despite going through with his jajanken, killua’s presence causes gon to realize he doesnt actually want at all to sacrifice everything and the vow is broken (causing him to lose his nen when he recovers from the physical toll)

i really love this reading. the scene where gon turns to killua right before the screen goes white has always been impactful and seemed important to me for reasons i cant explain. but i’m reluctant to adopt it because the way i understood the nen vow was that it was actually a condition—that gon would only use this power to kill pitou, and then per the “rules” he would lose everything as equivalent exchange when pitou was defeated. and that the reason why his nen was lost was because nanika healed him as he was—which was nen-lost. but the show mentions vows and conditions in conjunction so much sometimes the difference gets muddled in my brain, so i suppose im confused about that as well.

i guess im just asking your thoughts on killua and gon’s love for him potentially being the thing to cause gon’s vow/condition to break. i think its a really sweet idea but im not sure if the mechanics of what exactly gon did to kill pitou support it

sorry for the long ask. please have a nice day!!!!!

Hello! Great question!

So, my way of understanding it is that Gon traded all of his nen potential (meaning all of his nen he had at that time and all of the nen he would have ever had in the future) in order to achieve his adult form and have enough power to kill Pitou. By the time he had achieved that form, he was already doomed to have no nen once he used up the massive but finite amount he had, which was his whole lifetime worth. Like taking out a loan on the full amount of money you'll ever make in your lifetime and then burning it all, but more abstract because it's not money.

It very well may have killed him as well, if not for Killua arriving. Think of the cost to his body to unnaturally achieve that form and use that much nen, which is what Killua recoils at realizing when he sees Gon in that form. I'm sure this is why he ended up as such a withered husk afterwards.

Killua showing up definitely saved him, however, both because he helped him dodge Pitou's Terpsichora and in a more far-reaching emotional sense as well. I think when Killua arrived and called his name that final time, it made Gon realize that he wasn't just giving up his own future--he was giving up his future with Killua as well, and by giving up his life it was going to destroy Killua and leave him alone. Gon had steeled himself to die prior to this, but looking back at Killua's face, his expression entirely changes, softens. As a result, I think Gon holds back a bit with his final Rock and preserves himself just enough to keep his body going. Then Nanika heals Gon's body, but this doesn't undo the nen contract he made--even though his body fully recovers, he did still give up all his nen potential, after all.

(I'm very sorry for posting these pages, know that it breaks my heart to look at them.)

So, the way I see the scene, it's less about the mechanics of it, as that's relatively straightforward. Gon losing his nen was already set when he decided he wanted to give it all up in order to be strong enough to defeat Pitou. It's more about how Killua reaching Gon impacted him emotionally and made him hold back to the degree he could at the very end. Because at that final moment Killua was able to reach him at last--by saying his name, an echo of other scenes in the arc with Meruem and Komugi.

I absolutely think the intent of that scene is that Killua has become Gon's light and saved him--by showing Gon that he wasn't alone, that there was someone else worth living for, that Killua cares about him and doesn't want to lose him. Gon lost sight of that previously amid his trauma and guilt, but in that final moment, he truly sees Killua's horror and pain at what he's doing, and Gon realizes he doesn't want to leave Killua behind forever. Gon manages to barely survive as a result.

#hunter x hunter #hxh #gon #killua #killugon #gonkillu #meta #asks #anonymous #my posts #chimera ant arc #ugh it's painful examining this scene in depth #just heartbreaking #but it's definitely about how killua's love saves gon #tw: suicide

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

cw: simon and betty and their professional relationship

People jump to be either offended or defensive when talking about this so Im putting that cw there. Practice self defence. if you dont wanna read this and you click through, yeah thats not my problem.

So this is about Simon and Betty, and regarding the vague setting around their professional relationship, namely that Simon is shown giving a guest lecture and Betty is part of the class that he is lecturing to

But the setting doesn't pin down the specifics - like is he a visiting researcher, how long is he affiliated with the school, etc. That said, given this:

I've been tooting some thoughts around and here's what I find funny

How unappealing this relationship could be to general fans of the Teacher-Student fantasy.

My psuedo-analysis from being a fandom oldie is that usually this fantasy caters to the idea of having the teacher, usually the man, devote himself to caring for and promoting the student, usually the woman. And like fantasies don't need to make sense? But I'm thinking that in a society where women are always the nurturers, portraying a relationship where the man is dedicated to nurturing the growth of the woman - well that's novel. It focuses on the woman's character arc - she's the main character! - and all the ways the man supports her into becoming an accomplished, successful professional in whatever field they're in.

Do you see where I'm going here?

Simon and Betty fulfill none of that.

Straight off the bat, Betty introduces herself by teaching Simon something. She was never positioning herself as someone who wanted to learn from Simon, and often assists him. And right there? Already breaking the Teacher-Student fantasy mold.

Like the usual template for this fantasy would actually emphasize the power imbalance between the teacher and the student. The teacher knows everything. The teacher has the most responsibility and the most authority. If the student steps out of line, the teacher is supposed to provide discipline.

If it's not one of the saucier takes of the fantasy which revels in the taboo, the teacher-student romantic plotline usually center around overcoming that power imbalance. (exceptions of course exist)

And I think about how... if Simon was just less of a pushover, Simon and Betty would have followed the usual template for a teacher-student fantasy. And they would have been actually better off that way?

Let's go back to the part where I mentioned that a teacher-student dynamic would have emphasized the power imbalance, specifically if the student acts out, the teacher provides disciplinary measures. You know what Simon does? Not that!

Oh he started to. If he had exercised his authority better, he would have continued his lecture to Betty about leaving love letters to university staff out in the open for literally anybody to see. She left it in a book in the library!!! What if Simon didn't see it first?

And you know, the whole enforcing boundaries thing. He was radio silent for two (?) weeks after their trip, and he was willing to keep things professional. Betty leaves him one love letter and he goes running. Which in hindsight, that's actually uncharacteristic for staid, fastidious Petrikov. He makes the decision to confess the moment she confesses first. Like! Boundaries, gone. Wrist, snatched. Relationship, doomed.

Which is primarily the point in the whole Betty and Simon relationship. Simon treated her as an equal when he should have been aware that their relationship was never equal to begin with - not with the way Betty kept putting him on a pedestal. It's a matter of perspective and professionalism, yada yada blah blah.

TL;DR: Simon did not get the memo that he was in a teacher-student romance plotline. Hell, even if it was the saucier taboo take, that would still mean he was aware of the imbalance between him and Betty.

He was living a college AU, where they had a meet cute as collegues. She was in a celebrity AU, where she's a stan that managed to score a trip with her idol. They were never on the same page.

#adventure time #fionna and cake #simon petrikov #betty grof #very lighthearted #i dont read enough teacher student romances #but i know it aint new #personally not compelling to me #but like i see you out there who love it #like i get the appeal intellectually

[gustavgiles]

It's time to put Way Too Much Thought into cats playing chess

Or: an overanalysis of this short, in which I try to find a story where one doesn't exist, and also I leave vapid dribblings about my favorite ship (Vikdecai!!!) everywhere because Fuck You That's Why.

TL;DR: Viktor wants Mordecai bishop. Viktor takes Mordecai bishop.

First off, some caveats: 1.) I'm actually pretty fucking bad at chess. I'm going to offer some commentary on their game later, and although I'm going to put on a very confident face in the interest of making this entertaining to read, you should know that I'm *probably* wrong about lots of stuff, and I'm *definitely* going to massage the analysis to make a story out of it.

2.) I don't think anybody ever intended for the chess board to stand up to scrutiny, since Mordecai's queen and king are the wrong way around and the a2 square (Mordecai's pawn in front of his leftmost rook) is black when it should be white, showing that the chess board is set up sideways:

...But as a Vikdecai shipper I am eminently practiced in the art of expending ridiculous amounts of brainpower reading patterns and subtext where they don't exist. So! Let us sally bravely forth, heedless of the futility of our efforts.

First, a reconstruction of the board, or at least a realistic position that's close to what's presented (the obvious change to make is to put Mordecai's king and queen the right way round). The screenshot above gives us a pretty good idea of what Mordecai's half of the board is; we can combine this with the opposing shot of Viktor to learn some things:

Both of Mordecai's bishops have been captured, so the first shot of Mordecai actually shows the positions of all of White's pieces. Then White's board looks something like this:

Viktor's side of the board is a lot harder to construct because the angle's quite poor, so let's start again with Mordecai's shot and see what we can do. One of his bishops has been captured; from Viktor's shot we can see it's his dark-squared bishop (light-squared in the short because remember, the square colors are backwards in the animation). He's just taken a White bishop on b3 with his knight (presumably the queenside Knight, since the position looks quite early), and he's got a pawn butting up against the White e4 pawn, but it looks like no other pawns contesting the center. So let's lock rows 1-5 of the board down as something like this:

Now the guesswork begins. Black's kingside pawn structure looks unchanged, and his kingside Knight is developed somewhat, I'm going to assume to f6. I have absolutely no idea what the hell's going on with his queenside pawn structure. His d-column pawn is no longer in the d column, but it hasn't been captured? We can see from this shot that he's got two pawns on row 5 (side note look how CLOSE TOGETHER they are in this shot they're MERE INCHES from KISSING):

...*ahem*. So let's assume that his d-rank pawn was pushed to d6, then captured something on c5. That lines up with his shot where we can see an advanced pawn on a light square (so dark in our correctly-colored reconstruction). Then the final board position looks something like this:

After all that work I was super excited to plug this into some online chess databases and find out if it actually matched any historical games...

...Only to be quite disappointed. But wait! If we roll back one move, before Viktor initiates the bishop<>knight exchange that's put such a bee in Mordecai's bonnet, we *do* get something: Olga Dolzhikova vs. Nikolay Bodnar in a 1998 correspondence game.

That game ended in a draw, though Viktor and Mordecai's might not have, after Viktor's divergence. Getting to that would be jumping the gun, though. First, let us stray even further from the folds of probable reality and assume that Viktor and Mordecai played *exactly* this game, which lets us crack on with the narrativizing:

First we have e4...e5, a very standard opener:

Then Mordecai bares his teeth with the Vienna Game:

The Vienna Game is quietly threatening, but at this point noncommittal. The idea here is to threaten pushing a pawn to f4, making an immediate and aggressive play for the center. Of course, we know from the position we reconstructed earlier that this *doesn't* happen. So was Mordecai just posturing, or did Viktor manage to defuse the threat?

Viktor plays Nc6, the Max Lange Defence:

Which takes the fangs out of the Vienna Gambit. Pawn to f4 is most dangerous when Black plays Nf6 rather than Nc6 because there's a nasty trap line to the intuitive response from Black, namely e5xf4 followed by e4 e5, which forces the f6 knight back into its hidey-hole and allows White uncontested control of the center, where he can set a whole slew of hazards for Black to step into trying to get out of the cramped back rank.

None of that matters since Viktor played the Max Lange.

Perhaps Mordecai chose the Vienna Game hoping to catch Viktor, whom he suspects has no formal chess education, with his pants down (yes that wording is very much intentional); it seems Viktor's wise to the tricks, though.

The game continues with Bc4:

So Mordecai settles in for the long haul and plays for the center in a more reserved way, now preventing Viktor from moving his d pawn by threatening d5 with three separate pieces. Viktor responds with...

The Copycat Variation?????

Once when I was a young child who was tired of getting their ass beat by their dad in chess, I decided "fuck it" and just mirrored the moves he made. We ended up in this exact position.

My dad played Qg4. I suspect his intention was that if Black continues copying and plays Qg5, then White takes g5xg4 and now White's up a queen. So Black can no longer mirror White's move; if Black was *actually* just brainlessly copying White, then this forces them to stop it and think about what they're doing, and Black will wind up adrift with no real gameplan. Easy pickings.

Of course, that's assuming your opponent is an actual literal child, which might not be the case. It's not like this position isn't one that a serious player would never wind up in; much like the board is symmetrical, the advantage is symmetrical, and I believe the Vienna Game, Copycat Variation is considered generally even.

So there's a distinct possibility that Viktor *does* know what he's doing, and he's just decided to play the Copycat Variation for whatever reason.

Maybe that reason is because he knows Mordecai will be pleased by the symmetry and he likes seeing Mordecai happy.

Mordecai chooses to play d2 d3 instead of developing his queen:

Is this... begrudging respect?? Another compact push for the center instead of a trap with the queen. Granted it's not much respect, the only assumption you have to make is that your opponent isn't a total idiot with the chess ability of a toddler, but still! My Partner's Not an Idiot With an Underdeveloped Brain! That's the first small kernel that leads to the blossoming of a beautiful marriage friendship!

Viktor continues with a conventional sort of play, developing his knight:

And Mordecai pushes his bishop to e3, offering an exchange of bishops:

I'm not sure what Mordecai's going for here; the obvious line for Black is now c5xe3...f2xe3, which is still pretty much a dead even position. Maybe he thinks a more open center will let him outmaneuver Viktor?

It doesn't matter, anyways; Viktor doesn't take the exchange, instead pushing a pawn up to defend against the threat while keeping the exchange open:

"No." Viktor says obstinately. "You come to me."

At first glance I thought this was just *worse* than Viktor taking the exchange, and I was watching Viktor hurt himself by being obdurate about not dancing to Mordecai's beat. My thought was that now we'll see e3xc5...d6xc5 and Viktor will lack a pawn on the d column, denying him potential center influence...

But on second examination, the d column pawn was already pretty locked down, and now his queen and bishop are opened up. The positions are still even, but that was a surprisingly deft way of not initiating the exchange.

Mordecai rolls his eyes and does what he was going to do anyway:

And Viktor, satisfied that Mordecai had to take the first step, gladly reciprocates:

With that little do-si-do out of the way, Mordecai continues developing his pieces:

And Viktor makes a mistake:

It's not the end of the world, but it's still not amazing -- Stockfish (a chess computer) evaluates Viktor's previous position at -0.1, meaning pretty much even but with an imperceptible advantage for black (more negative means black has more advantage, more positive means white has more advantage), while it evaluates this position at +0.3, a 0.4 point swing.

Insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but the largest difference in this game so far has only been 0.2 points, so this is a change in advantage twice as large as anything that's happened before.

Back to the game: the obvious intent here was to threaten the c4 bishop with his knight, but not only did he have to lower the threat level on d4 to do it, but he's also pushed his knight to the edge of the board where it's quite boxed in.

The threat against the bishop is idle, as well; the bishop can simply retreat to b3, still threatening d5 but making the exchange unappetizing for Black, since then a5xb3...a2xb3 results in an even exchange of material for a slightly better White position.

It's an odd misstep for how solid Viktor's been playing so far.

Mordecai, testing the waters, retreats his bishop:

And Viktor takes the bait, pushing the evaluation to +0.5 and realizing the losing exchange:

Mordecai's perception is unravelling now. He's slowly coming to the conclusion that Viktor doesn't know the Vienna Game. He doesn't know the term 'Max Lange Defense'. Maybe he played the Copycat Variation for shits and fucking giggles, or because he wanted to make a joke about Mordecai's predilection for geometric perfection.

Viktor has not been driven by tactical acumen and a surprisingly agile intellect, carefully considering all variables before picking lines of play. He has not been carrying on a delicately intricate wordless conversation with Mordecai.

Viktor's been putting pieces Wherever the Fuck He Wants because Fuck You, That's Why.

And Mordecai is *incensed* by this because he can't stop imagining Viktor pursuing him with that same brutish efficacy Viktor's almost kept pace with him while putting in 5% of the work and brainpower.

"Wait," Mordecai says.

"*What* is that?"

#vikdecai #viktor vasko #mordecai heller #lackadaisy cats #lackadaisy #not tagging chess cus I know someone watching that tag will tear holes in my analysis with their Giant Chess Dick which I'm not ready for

[consistentsquash]

Author Love Letter!! Eldritcher <3

Gosh. I love eldritcher's works. One of the funniest/kindest/brilliantest folks in fandom and I am just excite when I get a new fic from them because it's guaranteed to be fresh/different/unique/empathetic and just 100% written with heart and emotional connect. Even the darkfics/smutfics are just really soulful and beautiful.

Because the majority of their fic in 2023 are not HP I don't want to do a fic deep dive here. You can check my 2022 letter for those! But everybody should read the fantastic Birds of Paradise, about the friendship between Fawkes and Albus Dumbledore. Definitely in a nutshell shows a lot of the emotional richness of eldritcher's writing.

Eldritcher writes a lot of Problematic (affectionate not derogatory!!!) Because of their fic I read the following Really Problematic works.

Anne Carson. I mean! Really problematic. Lots of gender.

Beowulf. Nobody told me it was super problematic. Anyway, I read Beowulf because Ossuarium is technically Beowulf fanfic. I ship Grendel/Grendel's Mom because it's pretty much every single Ossuarium dragon/dragonrider ship ever. Also I am Team Modthryth if anybody cares. Also I don't really do anything outside Heaney version because English. Heaney is a hero.

Tempest. Also super problematic because Prospero did some serious Not Good stuff. Also Sycorax and Caliban is pretty much the same vibes as Rubicon parental relationships.

Piranesi. Idk how this happened. But this happened.

Lots and lots of other stuff. The Easter Eggs. Rocky Horror Picture Show coded in a Asoiaf fic. Love love love for the ingenuity and absolute why the heck not attitude.

2023 was an amazing year for me with eldritcher's works. Loved the fics, loved the books they got me hooked on, loved the folks I met reading the fics and the books. It was super brilliant to have a lot of challenging books to read and discuss with other folks/understand different perspectives/see the common patterns and things like that. It's like movie analysis when you can have a lot of fun if you are doing it with the right folks. I feel like it's incredible to enjoy the good parts of a franchise when you have a writer who can work it out. Ossuarium can be technically called Beowulf fanfiction but it's also the best deconstruction of the pseudomedieval fantasy genre/that part of the asoiaf canon I have actually read.

Anyway.

Everything is Beowulf. Also I support Modthyrth Wrongs.

#author love letter #eldritcher #fandom #love love love #fan folks i love #beowulf #support modthyrth wrongs #multifandom fic authors

[exoticalmonde]

IS2 also known as Phantom & Crimson Solitaire but the Part where I learn about some of the Lore via Operator Records

This all started because I am a stupid idiot simp and have no self-control, okay?

The other day I was trying to mind my business when I was wondering who out of my Bandorio (husBandorio) squad I want to E2. It was almost an unfair match between Shalem and Mr. Nothing (whose position in the band is already shaky with Lessing and Hoderer coming eventually).

I thought to myself 'The best way to really know who I want is to see how useful they are in batte-' WRONG, I wanted to know if I vibe with them on a personal level. Which meant that I had to sit down and read their Operator Records.

And proceeded to yap about Shalem on TWTR since harlot gloves and an iridescent shine on his tail + it being cutely wrapped around his leg is the go-to if you want to impress me.

Also because I like the look of sheer exhausted, barely clinging to sanity look he gives me when I zoom in on his person.

Continue below if you want to see me cry about Shalem, the Troupe and then about the Crimson Solitaire and what it was throwing at me the last two days.

So being said, I started admiring... everything that is happening in his E2. Prior to actually reading anything I knew that Shalem has something to do with Phantom, at least something enough that he has to go and save him from IS2. I've dabbled with it before just a tiny little, never reached an ending and I still haven't as I write this.

Items of background as of yet unverified, which is really funny because I think the same goes for Phantom. Maybe I should look him up while I'm here to read side-by-side comparison.

Take note, it says Shalem works in logistics.

Both Victorian, born within a month and a bit of each other, so that's interesting. What's that? Phantom is taller?? Than shalem?? The twink black cat is taller than the black snake?

Insanity.

Oh, he's doomed. Who do I like that ISN'T infected with Oripathy??? It feels like they're all sick... But now that I look at my list, Chongyue, Ebenhol-

Okay... that leaves SilverAsh, Vigil, Lee, Tequila, Lessing they're all fine.

My head is too full of Czerny and Hoederer being Infected on a very advanced level, so it feels like my world is ending every time I start reading the Medical Analysis.

-Shalem Trust 50-

Considering Rhodes Island's operators come from all corners, races, temperaments, histories and myriad diversities of the land, there are indeed plenty who are weak with communication yet possess a kind heart, and thus HR's operators haven't had serious concern, vis-a-vis the state of Shalem's life. 

Me *handshake* Shalem Disliking mixing friend groups so we just avoid it at all cost

He's been waiting forever, waiting for his chapter's end, but he doesn't anticipate that in ten or so months, when Rhodes Island life has long since become routine, that a shadow of the past will sorrowfully arrive.

Congratulations, everybody, another sad boy has reconsidered subearthing themselves because he found a place to call home and a bed he can sleep in with both eyes closed.

-Phantom Trust 50-

When Phantom first set foot on Rhodes Island, he terrified the logistics personnel who were on duty at the time. He suddenly appeared behind one individual, standing there without a word until the person turned around to discover his presence.

IF SHALEM WORKS IN LOGISTICS WAS THIS ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT HIM???? I can't believe Shalem was stalked by Phantom for absolutely no reason and then Closure got pissed that this arrogant feline just boarded the ship without telling anybody, or anybody noticing even, until it was too late.

Talk about being a professional assassin.

Accompanying Phantom on his arrival to Rhodes Island was a person as mysterious and alluring as the night itself, someone known as 'Ms. Christine.' Through her demeanor, it was clear that she was a refined and haughty woman. No one knows whether she will remain or leave, and she is not always seen with Phantom, instead happy enough to wander around as if quietly patrolling her turf.

To this, I have only one responce

*Throws 15, 000 of those at Phantom* I HAVE THE LADY'S PERMISSION!!

-Shalem Trust 100-

After a field mission ended, Shalem noticed a phantasm behind him. He was the most brilliant of those young stars in the troupe, its leader's favorite, a crimson blood diamond, and he stared at him, naturally not seeking to reminisce. 

Oh my god I was right.

An acquainted operator informed him someone called Phantom had joined as an Operator in the past few days. Who was Phantom? Shalem knew in his heart as clear as night.

Joined like it's nobody's business.

After which Shalem just decided his anxiety is too much to handle and didn't go out of his room for a small eternity.

When he received a mission on his terminal to seek the missing Operator Phantom, Shalem believed someone to be pranking him, but after verifying high and low, he realized Phantom truly had departed Rhodes Island, and no one was more familiar with the mission objective's search area than Shalem. It was his and Phantom's home, and the beginning of their nightmares. The past had already found Shalem, and he could not choose to stay uninvolved again. He accepted the mission to search for Phantom.

Oh no, he's being sent to whatever hellhole the Troupe is situated at. That must actually be one hell of a notice to get on his terminal. Go look for the person you have been trying to avoid, with whom you were potentially raised to play an endless play because he disappeared.

How did Phantom even end up there??? I have more questions than I have answers now.

-Phantom Trust 100-

After receiving his permission, Rhodes Island conducted a series of tests aimed at targeting this ability, basically confirming that Phantom's ability to alter the shadows is related to sound. By using his throat to vocalize certain sounds, he is able to interfere with and severely damage the psyche of a living being. The more intense the emotion in the tone, the deeper the effect is, producing psychological damage that is difficult to repair or reverse.

Sweet Mouthpiece... What the actual hell?

-Shalem Trust 150-

After the flood receded, some sumptuously graceful guests entered the village. Yes, they handed people money to seek local aid; yes, they carefully selected, adopted many children who were without claim, now their parents had vanished or been lost.

I have a bad feeling about thi-

Numbering one of them was the young Shalem.

I hate this with all my life, actually.

'You are children of the arts. Now, you may rest well.' So the old butler promised, and so Shalem believed. Soon after, his life became a play. Modest and gentle was the label the troupe gave to Shalem, and ever since then, it has become his 'true personality.'

'Modest' and 'Gentle'? Explain this, then

We shan't dwell on the daily physical training and rehearsal of lines. Understudies as excellent as Phantom would be led upon stage, given verbal motivation and material reward in front of them all.

Yeah, so they did know each other and everybody hated Phantom because he was good at what he was doing. Actually terrible by definition.

The children who entered the troupe together one by one disappeared, and those left were completely changed in temperament, not a speck of the innocence of their years left visible. As they grew in years, Shalem had convinced himself to accept one fact: We were only brought into this troupe to offer our lives to the arts. If we are unable to perform... Then we have no right to live within the troupe. Whether voluntary or not, so long as you joined the troupe, the script you were given would be written long in advance. To run until your life's end.

God, Shalem... My darling...

Survival drives all to the brink, and they who ought to have worked together past these difficulties began to slaughter each other. In the end, no one escapes. Only a few uneaten slices of meat remain, scooped away by fowlbeasts, flapping their wings across the endless waters.

Is this... hinting at... cannibalism...? Again?

-Phantom Trust 150-

We can infer from our investigations that a wave of Oripathy that ripped through parts of Victoria a few years ago destroyed this troupe, and changed the trajectory of Phantom's life. He may have had a wonderful voice in the past, but as he is now, he could not be further from the stage.

I feel like I need a little more context about this. Shalem's town was flooded, but the Troupe exploded because of a wave of Oripathy? Where did it come from? Did I miss it somewhere? Obviously, this information is outdated because we know the Troupe exists in a much more bloody cult-like fashion now, but WHY? What is their point?

I can also tell you about the impressions I now have about him, but it may not be of any use to you, because there's a good chance you won't listen. But if you insist? Very well. I don't have much to say, but there is one suggestion. —Stay away from him. He's still caught in a nightmare, not fully awake yet.'

—A conversation with Schwarz

Schwarz?

This Schwarz?

Ma'amn you need to explain why you think all of that, I'm getting a little sweaty about how much people know and what they think about Phantom, because I kinda still do like him.

-Shalem trust 200-

He should have delivered that dagger to their heart, felt the spasm of their limbs, watched the light in their eyes little by little melt away. But the boy of the abyss did not do so. The weapon meant to murder instead cut the rope, and was handed to another to become a tool protective of life. And so did a meticulous production end. A play rendered a complete shambles by this boy of the abyss. A stage offered to him to prove his talent, so wasted and defiled by a conscience. Sinner, sinner! This coward, this lamentable coward. A hunter letting go its prey, presuming to still return to the castle, to report to its king. And yet he! He follows the prey's steps, disappears with it into the barrens' ends?! Let him be far from civilization, far from art, to go to that wild brink. He is fit only to be exiled.

HE ESCAPED BY TURNING ON THE TROUPE IN A MOMENT OF CONSCIOUS GUILT AND REBUTTAL!! My sweetest, tormented darling yeah, you get to stay in my husband team forever.

-Phantom Trust 200-

[Classified Log] We found the site of the incident that befell the troupe at the time.

Alright...

All the residences, facilities, and public spaces have been preserved as is, including the troupe's tents stationed in the park, just like in the records - the only thing that's missing are the residents.

Gosh, the description is like they got wiped away by Nuclear power. What in the world kind of Oripathy wave was that???

The best way to describe it is as if a piece of cake was sealed within a plastic bag, then thrown into a fervent crowd at an Iberian festival.

Someone gave their all fishussy to write this line.

What we managed to recover is pretty similar to whatever would be left in that bag afterwards. As for the portion of the data that was sent out, the path was too vague and could not be tracked.

Data sent out? Am I understanding this correct, the show was being streamed?

In order to verify the content, we played a portion of the video footage that could be considered somewhat intact. While doing so, three of the investigators present experienced degrees of psychological disturbance, so we were forced to temporarily seal off the remaining files.

What the absolute hell, so we never got to really see/hear what was happening? Was Phantom... the one to do this? Was he singing and it destroyed everything?

[Video File - Encrypted] [Encrypter - Kal'tsit] [Danger Level - 3] '■■■stage, death■■■■behind■■■loop, song■■, ■■■■end, all■begin.'

I need to ask Dr. Pinkie as soon as they wake up about this. I didn't read a lot of stuff about the game while I was playing it, only laughing at items I got.

-Shalem E2 Promotion-

When a person begins learning to perform, or takes up the profession of an actor, they bear for the rest of their life a curse: Are you doing what you would, or carrying out an endless performance?

This is not going anywhere nice.

Do you enact your true personality? Or is your false personality itself the true you? Oh, I imagine you likely can't make heads or tails anymore. Let me show you a way forth. Whether you're the bottomless boy of the abyss taking the stage, or the nobody Shalem aboard Rhodes Island. Listen to this suggestion from your old butler. Everything is a sham. You are not your own self. You were born a performance. Don't be led astray by your self. You are a role, and the role is all that you are. The role's choices are your choices. Now take the stage, performer. The time to offer yourself to art has come.

-Phantom E2 Promotion-

...

...

...

#arknights #arknights IS2 #Phantom #Phantom and Crimson Solitaire #Arknights event #Arknights Integrated Strategies #Arknights Phantom #Arknights Shalem #Arknights Lore #Arknights Operator Records #Arknights makes me feel sick again #Arknights The Troupe #Arknights commentary #Event experience #IS2 makes a crybaby out of the Doctor #I can't handle this anymore #Actually upset I dont know more right now #This calls for a second post

[spade-riddles]

Florida!!!

Hello, dear spade-riddles. An anon mentioned Florida getting shout-outs in two songs, and since no one seems to have tackled it yet, I thought I’d give it a shot. So to start, the outro in Fortnight where Florida is mentioned:

I call you up, but you won’t pick up

Another fortnight lost in America

Move to Florida, buy the car you want

But it won’t start up ‘till you touch, touch, touch me / ‘till I touch, touch, touch you

And then there’s the entirety of Florida!!! Which we could analyze, but I think it’s important to see what Taylor said about it to iheart Radio first:

“What happens when your life doesn’t fit, or the choices you’ve made catch up to you? And you’re surrounded by these harsh consequences and judgement? And circumstances did not lead you to where you thought you would be. And you just wanna escape from everything you’ve ever known. Is there a place you could go?  

I’m always watching, like, Dateline. People, you know, have these crimes that they commit, where they, like, immediately skip town, and they go to Florida. You know, they try to reinvent themselves, have a new identity, blend in. And I think when you go through a heartbreak, there’s a part of you that thinks: “I want a new name, I want a new life. I don’t want anyone to know where I’ve been or know me at all”.

I’m sure someone’s who’s more talented than me could add a deeper analysis of the actual lyrics of Florida!!!, but to me, in it Taylor is saying she commited a crime so despicable she decided to run away and move to Florida (and Florence basically says the same thing in her verse). It seems perfectly cut and dry, just like she claimed in the iheart Radio bit.

But if we want to read it with our Kaylor lenses on: We know Karlie spent some time down in Florida (can anybody guesstimate how much time?). And we know she was (still is) basically considered a criminal by swifties, who accuse her of the unforgivable crime of backstabbing Taylor. The latter could be singing from the former's perspective, or maybe Taylor is saying she feels like a criminal herself (because after all, she is a participant in KK and JK’s charade) and Florence is maybe a stand-in for Karlie.  

Now as for parallels between Fortnight and Florida!!!. Both songs have lines about cheating husbands, which seems to be a running theme since folklore (cheating husbands, cheating wives, infidelity in general, marriage, children… all these themes have been present in her songs since roughly the time KK got quote unquote married).  

In Fortnight she seems to be saying that she had a love affair with this person, and now said person (her neighbor, in the song) is married to another woman and Taylor is married to another man. And she says to them, “even if you go to Florida, leave it all behind and live the life you want, it won’t be as good as it could be if it isn’t with me”. And Florida!!! could be from the perspective of the person who left. And even though the person escaped, the car they wanted just won’t start up.  

Not sure where I’m going with this… Like I said, maybe someone else can put it together but it seems to me that there’s more to these two songs than Taylor watching a lot of crime tv and writing songs about it to just say “I killed my cheating husband and moved to Florida”.

Tell me I’m despicable

Say it’s unforgivable

#submission #interesting read #thank you!

[beanghostprincess]

Usopp is shafted by the fandom bc of racism mostly unfortunately but also I've heard a lot of people tend to not like Usopp because of how pre timeskip he's so cowardly or whatever which really throws me through a loop and floors me personally because besides the fact that he's my besutiful funny little guy for that, I also think Usopp isn't really that cowardly at all--I think he's brave. For the same reason why Nami is brave and why they both help eachother. They don't have superpowers or freak bones built into them, they are realists and grounded in the fact they know exactly what they're up against and they're just normal ppl against gods and bloodthirsty weirdos. And yet they both overcome that fear of...Dying and stand with their crew anyway. They are so brave and strong to me. Usopp is amazing and the reasons people have for not loving him to pieces are ones I always find quite shocking.

I agree wholeheartedly!! Tbh I've always thought Usopp was underrated mainly because of racism but being white I don't think I can make a proper analysis about the racism within the fandom because I don't get it first-hand. But I would love somebody to write it because I genuinely think it's very off-putting how the fandom treats him and I'd love to read it. So, if anybody knows/writes a post like that please send it to me!!

And yeah, most of the people I've known who dislike Usopp always use the "he's a coward" excuse when he's genuinely one of the bravest characters. Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji can rely on their abilities while Usopp is just- He's not built different like them. He's no swordsman. He can't ignite fire from his leg. His body isn't rubber. The monster trio is called the monster trio for a reason, lmao, and they're also pretty much normatively pretty and just guys. Like average guys. Don't get me wrong, I love the three of them, but they're extremely sexualized for a reason and it's because they're sooooo made for the male/shonen-gaze. And I actually love the Monster Trio because even if they're like that, they have amazing backstories and their personalities are extremely complex, even more if you compare them to an average shonen protagonist. But, you know, after all, they're still normative af. They're made for men to want to be like them and women to love them, so a straight white cis guy from the general audience will see them, and ofc he will resonate more with them than with Usopp (when actually the Monster Trio is also for the queers and their stories are wayyyy better than what the general audience ends up seeing, but the mischaracterization of these three is for another post, ig).

On the other hand, Usopp is not like that. He isn't normative. First of all, he's black (forever mad at the whitewashing the own show did to him) so of course racism plays a big role here. But also he's scared most of the time because he's not built like the monster trio. He's scared of dying and scared of being left out and a burden. He wants to be stronger and turn into the adventurer he dreams of being. Despite not having any talent (or not seeing his own talents), he still tries to train harder and harder every day to overcome that fear. Even when he's scared, he'll help his friends and his captain even if that means dying. And people still call him a coward because they can't fucking read properly and they just see the first layer of his personality. I honestly think people don't like him because they hate having to think and having to analyze a character that has more complexity than just fighting and being hot (two things that he also does very well, thank you very much). Usopp is brave and complex and he's so so so funny and enjoyable to watch. He's a relatable character for a lot of people and he has one of the most emotional moments in the whole show. Maybe the people who don't like him suddenly skipped Water 7 because otherwise I don't fucking get it. One of the things I love the most about him is that his dream is something he has to achieve by himself. A thing he has to do by himself and for himself. Believing in himself. Unlike the other dreams of the crew, because most of them are tangible. I know his character is often played for laughs but damn, his emotional moments hit hard and they always break me. I've always loved him and I always will and I will forever fight Usopp haters because I just don't get them.

People hate seeing complex characters because then they have to think instead of just staring at men titties <3

#i'm the hater of usopp haters #usopp defender for life #i luv him he's the love of my life #my cutie patootie #he's the best and i will fight for him forever #one piece #usopp

[redcracklestan]

Carulia ship analysis pt.1

Ok i decided that I’m gonna do an analysis of every ship (maybe more parts for each one) that are in the show, idk if anyone is actually gonna read it but anyway.

I decided to start with carulia because i have a LOT to say about this ship.

First of all I don’t like it.

I think that carulia is the kind of ship that, yes, is cute but is not gonna work at all. They have no chemistry, literally 0, they are very different, they would not complement each other well, and they have no “ship moments”

I’m gonna talk about each one of these points in order, maybe each one in different parts.

They have no chemistry

I think that it’s kind of oblivious that Julia may have a little crush on Carmen, but that’s all. Carmen sees Julia just as a good friend , or at least it is what i got from their scenes together.

They literally have nothing in common except that they both like history very much, but this is not enough to build a relationship off of that.

But to better understand what I’m talking about I’m gonna mention every episode that they are in togheter.

Becoming carmen sandiego pt.1-2

The first episode where both Carmen and Julia make the first appearance is in the very first episode, Becoming Carmen Sanediego pt.1 but they don’t interact, the only thing we can say about this episode is the fact that Julia is starting to think since the start that Carmen is actually a good thief that just steals from other thief, taking her parts since the start, but i don’t really see any romantic thing in that, just an opinion coming from a smart girl. In becoming carmen sandiego pt.2 it’s the same.

The chasing paper caper

Fast forward to this episode because here is when their relationship start to get interesting.

In this episode, we see carmen going after paper star that stole the Magna Carta. In order to do that, she has to follow paper star on a train and to follow her, but from a distance, because otherwise she would probably die. While she was following paper star on the train, she bumped into Julia, who was sitted on a dining table, probably waiting for devineaux. Carmen sits down on devineaux seat, and she talks to Julia ONLY TO KEEP AN EYE ON PAPER STAR. And then this scene happens.

SHE WAS WATCHING ON THE SIDE TO SEE WHO HER PARTNER WAS BUT NOT BC SHE WAS JEALOUS, BACAUSE THEY JUST MET. How can someone you just met be jealous of you??? Literally all forced, 0 chemistry.

The fashionista caper

In this episode carmen is in Milan (which i loved since i live here) and is trying to stop VILE from stealing the Medici’s dresses, and ACME is trying to stop carmen from stealing them too.

Here we have that scene where Julia tries to stop her before she can go on the catwalk in a very weak way if you ask me (Julia has a soft spot/crush on carmen it’s so clear)

And people are so brave to say that Carmen was checking her out romantically in the middle of a damn caper. See? All forced literally no chemistry. And in the same episode

Here, people say that she was protecting her because she loved her, WHAT. Maybe it is just that carmen is very empathetic, and she doesn’t want anyone to be killed? Maybe? Mhhh, idk this seems like a fair point to me. She would have done this for anybody. Everything here is so forced. Carmen clearly doesn’t reciprocate her crush.

The day of the dead caper

In this episode the only “carulia” scene is when Julia quits her ACME job to follow her other dream: teaching history. And she says that thing to chief

This could be interpreted in 2 ways: 1. Her heart is out of the game because she is going against her ideologies and morals for ACME 2. Her heart is out of the game because of carmen and honestly, like I said before i think that it is both because she has a little crush on carmen, even thought carmen doesn’t reciprocated at all.

The haunted bayou caper

Even here, the only “carulia” scene i can think about is the one where the following conversation happens: (i could not find any gif)

Carmen: devineaux, where is jules today?

Devineaux: that’s classified, but ms.argent is doing other things

Carmen: shame, she’s probably a better driver. And those are such nice cars.

Ok, how can this show any kind of romantic interest? How? She just likes to tease people, and Julia and Carmen are friends. They help each other, but nothing more. Again, forced and no chemistry.

The Egyptian decryption caper

In this episode carmen ask Julia for help to decrypt some old artefacts because she is the only one that can possibly help her, she goes to one of her lessons and she wait, just like devineaux did except she acted in two different ways

Ok, I'm gonna say that again one more time, she may have a small crush on her, but she was mostly surprised, and you can’t deny that. And even if it wasn’t, a small crush not reciprocated is not enough to base a relationship off of that. Another scene

Carmen is just curious about her meeting up with devineaux after everything that has happened, and I’d be curious too tbh. While Julia is just answering a question. Again, all forced, there is nothing romantic in that interaction. Going further on that episode, she is curious why devineaux is answering her private phone, NOT JEALOUS. But anyway, after she convinces Chase to go and save Julia with her, she ends up here

she would say goodbye to her plan to save her, like she did and would do for literally anybody, nobody esclused (like she did for zack and Ivy even though she had just met them) Again I see no romantic interest in that.

The dark red caper

Here there is also only one “carulia” scene and it is that

how can a fight scene be considered a romantic thing? how? again, all forced.

The interactive game, to steal or not to steal

Where carmen dances and Julia looks at her like that

again, this confirms my theory that Julia may have a small crush on Carmen, but she doesn't reciprocate. You can see that by the look in her eyes.

[edit] My stupid ass forgot to mention (thank you @emily-prentits for correcting me) that this was actually all in Carmen's mind, but I think this only proves my point more. because look at how Carmen looks at Julia and how Julia looks at carmen. You can see that even in her imagination, Julia has a crush on her, and i interpreted it as if Carmen noticed that (so it shows in her imagination), but Carmen again doesn't reciprocate, so she looks at her in a "normal" way

I want to specify that you can ship whatever you want this is just an analysis that I made, this is all for today, sorry if i made any grammatical errors but English is not my first language.

I will continue this analysis in the other parts idk when but i hope soon, bye!

#carmen sandeigo 2019 #carmen sandiego netflix #carmen sandiego #julia argent #ship analysis

[chuuya-fan-page]

Regarding E’s post about Taylor Swift...

No offense, but who are you to say that? Like, let people have their fun. Who are they hurting by adding Taylor Swift to their soukoku playlists and posting about her songs/lyrics in relation to them? If it annoys you—don’t interact with it. Scroll past, press not interested/dismiss depending on the platform you’re on, filter tags/key words, block people (Blocking was made to allow people to curate their timelines and not see content they don’t want, it doesn’t mean the blocker has some sort of agenda against the person they blocked, like many people love to pretend). All these alternatives are a million times better than being mean about it. As a placeholder for blocking, you can also filter out someone’s username on Tumblr and it’ll hide all their posts from your dash the same way filtering a tag would. There are so many ways to avoid this without posting about it and spreading negativity.

If you disagree with someone in regard to a song fitting a ship (or anything fandom related, really), that’s completely okay. That’s your opinion, and you are entitled to it. What you’re not entitled to is shaming the person for it and telling them what they are and aren’t allowed to do.

Some Taylor songs genuinely fit them very well, in my opinion. Yes, also in my opinion, not all the songs people claim do actually fit them. But in their opinion the songs do, and who am I to tell them they’re wrong? My opinion isn’t in any way superior to theirs. And I’m not about to tell people what to think, or how they can interpret relationships, or what songs they’re allowed/not allowed to have in their relationship playlists. It’s not my place to. It’s not anybody’s place to.

It’s the same way the problem with the Chuuya hate page isn’t that they hate Chuuya, but instead that they’re unnecessarily loud and mean about it. Of course, I’m not trying to say that you’re “the same” or anything, because what the Chuuya hate page is doing is a thousand times worse than this, but this is the beginning of what evolves to be posts like theirs.

Not to mention that this whole mindset of “Stop making everything about X”/“Stop throwing X at everything” is rooted in ableism. What if an autistic person has Taylor as their special interest and they can’t help make everything about her? Heck, what if they have soukoku and Taylor Swift as special interests simultaneously and combining the two brings them unrestrained joy? Why should that bother you?

As an autistic person, I’m really tired of people telling me to stop making everything about my special interests. It’s genuinely out of my control, and I don’t understand why my happiness annoys them so much.

Please don’t take this as hate. The whole reason I sent this is because I like this blog, and I like to believe you’re mature enough to understand what I’m saying and where I’m coming from. Thank you for taking the time to read this <3

Hey I'm sorry that my post was read as being mean, I didn't mean for it to come across as anti-Taylor Swift. I do have my own issues with her but her music is good and I don't have a problem with people thinking a few of her songs fit whoever.

And also I'm not talking about actually explaining why you think a song fits them, that's cool as fuck. Analysis is great I love character analysis, especially if you talk about songs that represent the character and why.

Now respectfully, I think you are reading into a post too much but you did send me a well formatted ask so i'll by paragraph.

Who am I to say that? It's a take, I can have those and I wasn't shaming anyone. I said Taylor Swift makes good music but it doesn't fit everything. Which is true.

Please do not compare me to the Chuuya Hate Page as what she does is entirely different and my saying not everything works with Taylor Swift is so far away from being a bigoted shithead.

I'm not going to say much on the ablism but do know that I am also autistic. I understand where you are coming from but you also have to understand that sometimes special interests can clash. I said what I did because most of the "this Taylor Swift song fits them so well!!" is full of mischaracterization and it pisses me off because bsd is my special interest.

So, I'm not telling anyone specifically to stop doing what makes them happy, I made a very short post where I didn't even say anyone was doing anything bad. I said Taylor Swift doesn't need to be for everything.

Having said all that I do appreciate that you took the time to explain why exactly that post upset you and that's valid, however I am allowed to post whatever takes I want and you don't have to agree with me.

-E

[acourtofthought]

is acotar third person limited? because i am seeing posts about feyre being unreliable and being influenced by rhysand. has the author said anything about what kind of POV the series will be having? i think a clarification from her could set some things straight about the series because i am seeing very valid yet conflicting interpretations of the series.

also can you recommend anybody who makes good character analysis in the fandom? this is more for enrich my reading experience with the books. thnx

The first three books are a first person POV and SF is a dual POV but from a third-person limited style of writing rather than a third-person omniscient POV

"First-person perspective typically takes on a limited perspective—the story is told directly, and only, from the narrator's internal thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences. This means the entire story has a limited view of how the character sees and experiences the world."

In third-person limited: "There’s a clue in the name of this point of view: limited. In third-person limited, you stick to one character’s perspective and are “zoomed in” on them.

The only way there's not going to be some bias to these characters' perspectives is if the style were written in third-person omniscient (which this series is not).

"In third-person omniscient, we still use third person (he did this, she did that, they did this). However, omniscient is “zoomed out”. The narrative doesn’t come from the point of view of any one character. It comes from the point of view of an external, godlike narrator, who knows everything about the story and its characters.

This means that the narrator can enter anyone’s mind, and is more detached from the story. This narrator can provide a perspective that the characters can’t. For example, they can give knowledge of future events that haven’t happened yet (to use a very hackneyed example: “little did they know, the worst was yet to come…”). They know everything about the characters and their situations."

While I don't think Feyre has been brainwashed by Rhys, I do think that it's evident she's seeing him through biased lenses, which is colored by her emotions at any given time throughout the series. At first he was evil, wicked, someone to fear. Later he was good, kind, self-sacrificing, etc. Tamlin was at first someone to fear, then someone to love, then someone to hate. Lucien was at first arrogant and vain, then a loyal friend, then someone whose training had "festered" and who had abandoned her, then he was back to being a good male, Elain was at first someone who didn't quite grasp things and never thought to get her hands dirty than later she was someone who was wise and generous, someone who does act with bravery when she has to.

The same can be said of Nesta, even from a third-person POV. At first she hated Feyre, hated Amren for siding with Feyre, thought Cassian was a bastard-born nobody, thought Elain was a dog, hated Rhys, he was a preening asshole and Feyre was only there spending her mates money. Later Nesta loved Feyre, realized Amren had only ever tried to be her friend, acknowledged Elain was the only person who had maybe truly grasped who Nesta was, wanted Cassian from the moment she met him, acknowledged that Rhys had only ever tried to help her (etc).

These characters opinions might be valid for them at various points throughout the series but it doesn't mean they're actually able to see the other characters as they truly are. The other characters aren't the ones who drastically changed over the course of Feyre or Nesta's stories, it's Feyre and Nesta's thoughts that changed because of the growth they have and that's reflected in how they view the world around them. But even now, we can see they're not capable of seeing things through a truly unbiased lense. For example, Feyre embraced the "Court of Dreams" nickname while making fun of the "Band of Exiles" for their name. There's really no difference between the two, it's two groups of people giving themselves a moniker yet Feyre insults only one and that's because she's experiencing emotions over the thought of Lucien choosing to live away from the NC which hurts her. Similarly, Nesta experienced this heartfelt moment with Rhys in SF, notes how he was showering her with mating presents, proclaiming she'd found her home in the NC, her home in the HOW, how she was finally where she belonged, but all of a sudden there's this weird tension between Nesta and the IC in HOFAS, how she's always in trouble with them.

At this end of the day, I think the reader has to step into the role of the third person "omniscient" narrator looking, not at the thoughts of Feyre or Nesta or Cassian, but the overall actions of all the characters to sort through their personal bias from what is actually true.

I am primarily be a Elain / Lucien blogger and most of who I follow are primarily Eluciens and Gwynriels so I'm not sure I could give any good recommendations of bloggers who deep dive into Feyre though @olenvasynyt has a few TikTok videos on her (but they're mostly in relation to her relationship with Lucien). However, I'll add on that if anyone who sees this can make a suggestion, please add a comment for my anon ❤️