descendant-of-truth

[descendant-of-truth]

For Splatoon 4 I think they should have a group of four idols, but return to the two-teamed Splatfests. Each time, we'd get a different combination of which idols are working together - that way, there's even more opportunities to explore the characters, and hopefully prevent one from outshining all the others

#splatoon #There's probably a way to get a four-way Splatfest to work #but it doesn't feel like it'd be a regular thing y'know?

[descendant-of-truth]

Personally my main complaint with Side Order was that there wasn't enough horror in it

Like I don't have a good frame of reference for how dark Splatoon can get (still haven't watched the story modes of 1 and 2), but the advertising for the DLC made it seem like we were going to spend a lot of time with just... the desolateness of the area, with an Eight who is probably very scared but also a little closed-off and doesn't really understand what's going on.

But with Pearl at our side from the very beginning, it's... kind of impossible to be frightened, or for the oppressive mood of the location to really set in. It doesn't help that she and Acht basically tell us what's going on immediately, so we don't even get to be confused for very long.

It's sweet that Eight gets to have friends, to not have an opportunity to be lonely and frightened, but. it seems a little at odds with the art direction, no?

I get that Splatoon is a fast-paced action game first and foremost, but you can't advertise something with these kinds of shots - putting this surreal, claustrophobic, cold tone at the center - and not give us any time in the actual game to experience it.

The story we got is good, and the fun, colorful boss fight at the end with the boppin tunes is absolutely what Splatoon is all about, but I think it would've hit a lot harder if we actually had to work our way up to it. Start us off with no companions, so that when we do find them after ascending some floors/completing runs, there's a substantial difference in how it feels to be in this place.

The elevator, once terrifying to stand in alone, becomes a safe haven between floors where your friends can chat among themselves. Replaying the floors over and over again starts as a sanity-reducing loop, but becomes a fun game to challenge yourself with. With Marina's help, the climb can become less grueling, the enemies easier to handle with Pearl at your side.

It's easier to sell a message about not just the power of friendship, but of the value of change and building a community, if you start us off without any of those things for contrast. Also the implied tone of the concept art is such a vibe and I just really wanted more of it in canon okay

#splatoon #splatoon 3 #splatoon side order #splatoon 3 side order #analysis #meta #spoilers for slimes #Started thinking about this again after seeing more fanart that leans more into the surrealist/unsettling tones #Incredible work they're getting up to but MAN I wanna PLAY IT

[descendant-of-truth]

So I was thinking about what Klug could realistically know about the book demon and its connection to Sig, given that it's so rarely elaborated on, and my conclusion is: more than he wants you to think he does.

Exhibit A: the ending of Fever 2

The first thing that needs to be addressed is the fact that Klug is Right There while Ayashii is monologuing. I guess we don't really know what it's like to be trapped in a book, so there's nothing to suggest either way if he can hear anything... but we do see him look at stuff. Even if he can't hear, he can definitely see, so I think it's reasonable to assume that he'd notice a shift in Aya's demeanor when it sees Sig.

And if he wasn't looking at Aya, then surely he noticed that Sig's hand started glowing and his other eye turned red, right? Hopefully? If he wasn't too busy wallowing in despair, I suppose. Oh, the limits of character portrait-based cutscenes...

He doesn't seem to forget that the possession happened, though. When he's returned to normal, he's not confused about what's going on, he just tries to save face by saying it was all totally according to plan. And while he never brings it up again, I don't think it's ever been strongly implied that he forgot about it - if he did, one would assume that it'd be mentioned in his new Puzzle Pop bio, since it already references the event directly.

So, he likely remembers this, and if he was being observant enough, he could've at least noticed something was up with either Sig or Aya - maybe even both of them.

Exhibit B: Sig's story in 20th Anniversary

So, this part of the theory relies a lot on Klug's line delivery, so I'll include a link to the scene I'm going over. (It's got the timestamp ingrained in the link, but just in case, it starts at 12:49)

Structurally, this scene is... kind of odd, if you take Klug at face value? He's quick to ramble about everything he knows regarding Sig's arm when prompted, no arguments involved, but then he just. says that he doesn't know what any of it means, and demands a Puyo Battle as compensation for wasting his time.

Like. ???

You mean to tell me that Klug, the guy who's obsessed with gathering knowledge, who prides himself on being the know-it-all who can answer any question thrown at him, would be satisfied with saying he doesn't know something? Yeah, I don't buy it.

Let's go over what he says in more detail, and pay special attention to those line deliveries.

Klug speaks very softly during this whole section, as though he's lost in thought. I want to draw special attention to the line, "in comparison to the book I have here..." It's subtle, but his voice actually wavers a little bit on the last syllable. And he all but whispers the last half of "It's as if it's identical in nature," as if he's talking more to himself than Sig at this point.

He keeps up this vaguely ominous, deep-in-thought tone for the rest of his dialogue, until something very interesting happens.

As he's going on about the Weird Vibes he gets whenever he's around Sig, he seems like he's about to go into more detail... and then Sig makes an innocuous "huh" sound.

Which is exactly when Klug pivots to sharply saying that he has no idea what they are. He doesn't sound irritated or panicked, just... I dunno, comfortably back in his usual, uppity tone.

Suspicious.

Amitie proceeds to theorize that the blue thing that sometimes comes out of Sig's back may have a connection with the red thing in Klug's book, and what do you know, Klug actually stutters when he denies the possibility.

Suspicious.

Awfully bold of Klug to say that there's no way the two things could be connected after he just said that Sig's arm and his book feel like they have the same power, by the way.

This whole exchange reads to me like Klug got carried away with the topic of Sig's arm, and ended up saying a lot more than he planned to. He only snapped out of it when Sig's voice alerted him to what he was doing, and then he started hastily covering up his tracks. He had to dismiss Amitie's theory, not because he genuinely thinks she's wrong, but because he knows she's right.

And for some reason, he can't let them know that.

So I gotta ask. Why? What's he trying to accomplish by covering up what he knows? He likely doesn't even know the full story, so what does he think will happen if other people find out?

Maybe he just doesn't want anyone else learning about the book before he can make its power his own. He is rather possessive of it, continuously renewing it from the library with no intention of ever giving it back. Even with his tendency to blab, I could see him wanting to keep something like this a secret. Not just for the eventual power, but as a special something he knows that nobody else does - anything to boost that sense of superiority, even at risk to himself.

...And maybe, in the depths of his tsundere heart, he's trying to protect Sig a little bit, too. He knows that the demon is dangerous, and probably doesn't want to find out what would happen if Sig started pursuing it for answers. Plus, if he did notice Aya gunning for him back in Fever 2, then all the more reason to be wary.

(I'd still posit the idea of him trying protect himself as his primary motivation, and the only one he'd ever acknowledge, but I'm taking my "Klug cares about his friends" crumbs wherever I can, okay)

Of course, if his ears were working in spirit form, then that suggests he knows way more than I've been assuming, but. I'm not sure his behavior really matches up with that idea? He sounds like he's genuinely speculating about Sig and the book here, which would be a little weird if he heard it point and shout "AYO THAT'S MY DESCENDANT AND/OR TRUE FORM. GIMME"

...not that Sig himself seemed to hear that either, but that's besides the point

#puyo puyo #puyo puyo 20th anniversary #puyo puyo fever 2 #klug puyo puyo #strange klug #sig puyo puyo #analysis #theory #meta #spoilers for slimes #New theory question: why does nobody ever seem to hear the important parts of what Ayashii says skldmfsklm

[descendant-of-truth]

Losing my mind over the fact the Possession Event is described as a painful experience for Klug, because to my knowledge, it had kinda just been a widespread headcanon that he was particularly bothered by it until this game came out.

Yes, his little spirit looks very sad and scared when trapped in the book, but narratively, he just goes "ahem, that was a totally controlled experiement" and it's never shown to be anything more dramatic than that. Now, we're not only being given an idea of how he felt about it at the time, but also finally some insight into why he still carries the book around; he wants to control its power for himself.

Which is an INSANE reaction to have to being possessed, by the way. "A demon sealed my spirit inside a book and used my body to attack my classmates, better keep it with me at all times until I can pull a Reverse Uno Card on it"

If I didn't know better, I'd say it seems like he's trying to protect everyone by keeping the book from falling into the wrong hands... but maybe he just wants the power all to himself. A little of both, perhaps?

I also can't help but notice the fact that the only times Klug has reportedly talked to the book out loud has been inside a dream world of some sort. In PPT, Schezo's chapter takes place in a dream, as does the entirety of Puzzle Pop. Does this suggest that Ayashii can only communicate with him in his dreams, or is it just a coincidence? "Lately" is a pretty vague timeframe, after all.

(We've also only heard of them talking to each other when Sig passes by, and both times an argument has ensued... I wonder if they're arguing about him)

#puyo puyo #puyo puyo puzzle pop #klug puyo puyo #strange klug #puyo puyo puzzle pop spoilers #puyo puyo spoilers #analysis #meta #I'm not sure how they could argue about Sig without Klug knowing the demon's intentions though?? #I've always felt it was kind of unclear how much he knew on that front #Maybe with future updates we'll finally get some answers #(Also the file name for that screenshot was 'Eating this.png' which says something about me I think)

[descendant-of-truth]

I have no more need for that name.

#puyo puyo #puyo puyo puzzle pop #sig puyo puyo #my art #Art of Truth #puyo puyo puzzle pop spoilers #puyo puyo spoilers #PLEASE let this canonically be Ayashii in some form #I went out of my way to fetch their outline color from Fever 2 and everything #(The rest of the colors were taken from screenshots of the game itself)

[descendant-of-truth]

made a character opinion bingo

#ask game #bingo card #miscellaneous #Oh this one seems fun! #I don't have a specific series I want asks about this for so you guys can go wild (as long as it's a character I know)

[descendant-of-truth]

For Boop-Badges Collectors

Rough estimate: It's possible to reach 1000 boops in less than 2 hours (took me 1:30h), if you got some people to spam it to.

If you are a blog where people can spam boop's to, reblog this.

#boop #april fool's day #Go right on ahead folks #XD

[descendant-of-truth]

So, these two pages from chapter 88 have been causing a lot of confusion due to inconsistent translations, and I've decided to set the record straight as best I can with the knowledge at my disposal.

Starting with the first page, this is where Mitsuki says that he and Eida are similar. In the next panel, he says: 「どうしてカワキを好きなのか。。。その理由が自分で分からない」

This is the first point where fan translations and the official VIZ translation differ. Fans generally seemed to agree that he's saying he doesn't understand why Eida loves Kawaki, while the official version has him say that he doesn't understand why he himself loves Kawaki.

And unfortunately, both of those are understandable translations. The first part of the sentence contains no indication of whether he's talking about himself or Eida; the most literal translation I can do is "Why is Kawaki loved... that reason, [I/you] don't understand."

The reason it's "I/you" is because he uses the word 自分 (jibun), which depending on context, can be equivalent to either "my" or "your." It's not really the same deal as 僕 (boku), Mitsuki's primary first-person indicator, which makes it extremely annoying to translate.

So, which is it? Well, as vague as it is, my best guess is actually based on the dialogue of the second page.

Thankfully, this one is much easier to answer. In the largest panel, Eida says: 「あたし達。。。超恋バナしてるね」

The conversation around this line seemed to be, "she clearly said they're talking about romantic love!" "No, she's just using a slang term akin to 'girl talk,' so she only means that they're bonding!" And guess what? They're both right!

I consulted a friend of mine who speaks Japanese natively on Eida's word choice, and he said that while "girl talk" is closer on the basis of it being a casual/slang term, it's gender-neutral and is more about people "talking about their love."

In other words, "we're both chatting about love" or "we're having a love talk" would probably be the most accurate ways to translate it.

At this point, I want to bring attention to Daemon and Mitsuki's reactions to what Eida just said:

Daemon is flabbergasted, only able to say "Huh...?" while Mitsuki blushes for a second, then turns away and says "Well... I guess it didn't matter."

What exactly would Daemon be surprised about, if not the implication that Mitsuki loves someone who isn't Eida (and a guy, no less)? Why would he be showing that surprise now, instead of when Mitsuki allegedly announced that he loved Kawaki a few pages ago?

Likewise, while Mitsuki blushing around Eida isn't unusual, he actually spent the vast majority of this conversation remarkably composed. He only blushed for a single panel when he first noticed Eida was in the area, so having it come back after he's basically called out for being in love (real love, as it was already established that they both knew his feelings for Eida are fabricated) is a very deliberate choice.

While Mitsuki doesn't always emote very much, we can assume he was taken a little off-guard here - and again, if he was already confident enough in his love for Kawaki, why this reaction? Why all the talk before now about how he wasn't sure he'd know what romance felt like without Eida's ability?

The only conclusion I can make is that, in the first page, he's not saying "I don't know why I love Kawaki" like in the VIZ translation. It's much more likely that he's saying "I don't know why you love Kawaki." That's the only way that Mitsuki's feelings for Kawaki can be treated as a reveal, to both Daemon and himself.

And given that his love for Kawaki stems from his love for Boruto, due to the memory swap... yeah, if his side of Mitsuboru wasn't canon before, I think it's safe to say that it is now. Now excuse me while I go be extremely sane and normal about this information

#boruto #boruto tbv #boruto two blue vortex #boruto spoilers #boruto tbv spoilers #boruto two blue vortex spoilers #mitsuki (boruto) #analysis #meta #spoilers for slimes #mitsuboru #borumitsu #It almost feels weird to tag this as a ship since I was analyzing the text as objectively as possible #but I can't say they're NOT relevant tags either #Anyway I'm now just a little bit annoyed at VIZ for their translation of this scene but it's Fine I Guess

[descendant-of-truth]

There's something extraordinarily funny to me about the fact that Kawaki has the classic fankid design element of having both of his parents' hair colors at once, but also having it be purely coincidental because he's adopted

#boruto #kawaki #kawaki uzumaki #spoilers for slimes #It's a nice touch that the blonde part is a different shade from Naruto's #but still #XD

[descendant-of-truth]

this has been in my head for almost 3 years at this point

#kingdom hearts #megaman #megaman x #megaman axl #kh axel #xigbar #roxas #saix #flame hyenard #THIS IS SO ACCURATE HELP #XD #Axl truly is doing it all I love it

[descendant-of-truth]

Wanted to draw Aang's new outfit from the upcoming live action and then got carried away with an idea for a minor change to the first episode; why not have him get a little offended on Kuzon's behalf after hearing Sokka villainize the Fire Nation so much? Could make for a more mutual conflict between the two before Aang learns about the war properly

#avatar the last airbender #atla #live action alta #atla live action #netflix atla #aang #netflix aang #my art #Art of Truth #natla #Another self-reblog before the show airs officially #(Once again I'm going to add that I got all of the colors here from an official promo screenshot)

[descendant-of-truth]

So it may have taken me until they released this screenshot to notice that they did, in fact, add more details onto his tattoos in the Netflix show as well

And I really like them! The design is a lot more swirly than in the movie, which prioritized sharper geometric designs at the forefront. It does a better job at capturing what airbenders are all about; freedom, going with the flow, etc. Personally, I think the spiral patterns look like stylized wind or clouds. Good stuff!

I still enjoy the movie tattoos for what they are, but from a character design standpoint, I think these work a lot better. They don't sacrifice recognizability (especially from a distance) for the sake of intricate details, because they found a way to do both. Which is a pretty apt way to describe all of the designs in the new show that I've seen so far, so suffice it to say that I'm a big fan of that already

Also while Aang's tattoos don't look bad in the Netflix version by any means, there is a part of me that misses how intricate the movie version made them. Most tattoos I see in real life tend to be very detailed, and with how they put the air symbol in the center of the arrow, it felt like a slightly more purposeful design rather than a one-to-one recreation of the sky bison's fur marks

#avatar the last airbender #atla #netflix atla #atla live action #natla #Probably gonna be tagging all of my posts about the show as 'natla' from now on since it seems to be taking off as the main tag #Plus it's a lot more concise than the alternatives

[descendant-of-truth]

I recently decided to watch the Last Airbender movie in full for the first time for analytical purposes (and as a fresh comparison for the upcoming Netflix series), and like. yeah, it's still decidedly Not Good, but everyone's already talked about that so instead I wanna write about the stuff I actually thought was interesting.

Some small things, first: despite it not really having any cultural significance, I was weirdly fond of Aang's red cloak?? Like it could've looked a little less like it belonged on a jedi, but it functions well for hiding his tattoos when necessary and makes for a cool silhouette.

Plus, it works as a good representation of the part of him that just wants to run away and hide from his responsibilities - something that the original design never really needed to account for, per se, but it still makes for a neat edition.

The movie cuts out the quirky conversation with Aang after freeing him from the iceberg in favor of him being too delirious from a 100 year coma to say anything, and on principle, this isn't. great. but the more I think about it, I think it comes down to the fact that his actual introduction to Katara and Sokka is so dry, not because they waited to have him wake up.

In fact, I think this could've worked out really well! The longer Aang takes to wake up properly, the longer everyone else has to develop an image in their head of what he's going to be like, and the bigger their surprise when this kid who was barely conscious and on the verge of hypothermia a few minutes ago starts bouncing off the walls with this big smile on his face.

The time spent at the Southern Air Temple also introduces a few things that I liked, for example: Aang actually namedropping some of his friends from there

Petition to bring back Chinto and Monae for the Netflix version

But for real, that scene just made me realize how kinda. odd, it is, that Aang never mentions any of the Air Nomads by name other than Monk Gyatso originally. We know he was friends with Bumi and Kuzon, but did he not consider any of his peers to be good friends of his?

More importantly though - just like in the original, Aang recognizes Gyatso's skeleton by his necklace. Unlike the original, however, this necklace is one that Aang made for him.

And I love this idea, but ohh boy do I not like how under-explored it is in the movie. You're telling me that they decided to have Aang make a necklace for his now-deceased parental figure, and didn't use that as an opportunity for him to connect with Katara?? The one who wears her mother's necklace as a memento???

Regardless of whether or not Aang decided to keep Gyatso's necklace, it's a conversation that absolutely deserved to happen, and despite the chances of it being extremely low, it's something I'd like to see the new version take a crack at.

Also this was just a genuinely cool action setpiece, the idea of using spinning boards as both a defensive and offensive structure for crowd control is super creative and I love it

The fight between Aang and Zuko at the north pole was also great; even though there was uncharacteristic lack of bending involved, they were able to capture a real sense of frantic energy and got some really cool moves in there that are difficult to show properly through screenshots.

Definitely one of the biggest changes to a plot beat (in my opinion) comes in the form of Aang struggling with waterbending rather than being a natural at it, and you know what? Probably my hottest take of this post is that I think this is a worthwhile angle to explore.

Water is the element of change, and in the movie, it's said to teach its benders "acceptance." On a purely tangible level, the movements for water and airbending are pretty similar, and they're both kind of "floaty" in a way. But ideologically? What part of Aang at this point in time has a grasp on how to handle change, much less reach acceptance?

He ran away from home because he was scared of all the sudden changes happening in his life. He didn't want to be the Avatar, and couldn't accept what that meant for him.

So, from that perspective, doesn't it make sense that water could be difficult for him to learn? I mean, no matter what you do with air, it's still just air, and it's everywhere. You don't really have to worry about not having enough of it in most situations.

But with water, you gotta think about what forms you can make with what you have, you need to be able to change its form from liquid to solid and back again, and it's just a lot more dynamic and weighty than what he's used to dealing with.

Combine that with just not being in the right headspace for learning after The Horrors and yeah, I'd totally believe that there's a world out there where Aang struggles to waterbend! A shame that it had to be this world, where the writers have little interest in exploring it beyond letting him make a Really Big Wave at the end in lieu of a character arc, but an idea with potential nonetheless

(Speaking of which, while not nearly as satisfying as the original finale, this shot does look extremely cool)

Overall, this was actually a pretty entertaining viewing experience! I already knew what to expect when it came to its flaws, which in turn made it easier to focus in on the parts that were interesting for me.

I went into it for a thought experiment, and it gave me a lot more thoughts to experiment with than I was expecting, so y'know what? I call that a net positive in this case.

(Also if anyone can link me to the comic adaptation of this movie, please do, I would love to know exactly what the differences are and how the art looks but I can't find it anywhere)

#avatar the last airbender #atla #aang #analysis #meta #atla movie #Bringing this back before the new show on Netflix airs #Original tags: #This was basically all about Aang whoops #He just had the most moments that made me go 'oh that's neat' #and I mean. to be fair he had very little competition XD #But still! Fun to think about #Also for some reason the subtitles on the site I was using had every single W in the script capitalized #which is really funny because this movie was not exactly what you'd call a W for the community

[descendant-of-truth]

Just here to remind everyone that "Kraven hunts down both of the Spider-Men, captures Miles at some point (voiced by Nadji Jeter) and taunts Peter about it" was done in 2017 before it was cool

#spider man #miles morales #peter parker #kraven the hunter #msm 2017 #spider man 2 ps5 #insomniac spider man #insomniac spider man 2 #spider man 2 spoilers #spider man 2 ps5 spoilers #insomniac spider man 2 spoilers #Also in the cartoon Kraven runs a (very literal) reality TV show that Miles is a huge fan of up until ya know #the electric net and the laser cage and the fear dart

[descendant-of-truth]

Also, I just realized - Sokka's guilt over letting Azula provoke him and wasting their time during the invasion? That deserved to be a part of Aang's arc, too!

If they had done the sensible thing and actually let Aang be affected by what Azula did to him, then he absolutely should've been thrown off his game by seeing her there. Here he was, all ready to face the Fire Lord, but it's the princess that he's truly, personally afraid of. And she's specifically there to taunt our heroes and rile up their insecurities, and we know for a fact that Aang did not take kindly to her making the world believe he had failed again.

So of course he should be a major part of the invasion plan failing, because his encounter with Azula would show that he's still not ready to do this. He hasn't achieved balance in himself yet, not just because he doesn't know how to firebend, but because he still lets his fear and anger overtake him during critical moments. He hasn't overcome his feelings about what happened to him at this point, because true to his character, he likely would've avoided thinking about it too much until then.

I'm not saying that Aang should've taken this moment from Sokka entirely, but I don't think it makes sense for it to only be his moment. They're both allowed to mess up at the same time, and it would actually be a good setup for more bonding scenes between the two afterward. Goodness knows they needed more of them, too

I never really thought about this until now, but. why did Aang never express any opinions on Azula whatsoever after she literally killed him

Like, am I supposed to believe that he's not deeply afraid of her after that? Or at least angry? She left a scar on his back that interrupts his culturally significant tattoos, and we just... never see him notice or care about that??

I'm currently about halfway through Book 3 on my rewatch, and the fact that nobody's even told Aang on-screen that Azula was responsible for what happened is more than a little absurd. I'm pretty sure they acknowledge it at some point, but in some kind of offhanded way that really doesn't do the matter justice.

It honestly feels like the show didn't want to touch that plot point with a ten foot pole, only mentioning it when it was absolutely necessary to further the plot on Zuko's side of things. Which is weird! Why kill your protagonist on-screen, leave him with two permanent scars when he's revived, and then never have him confront or even talk about the person who killed him again???

Aang deserved to have a significant dynamic with Azula after what happened at the Crystal Catacombs and the fact that they dropped the topic almost entirely two episodes later lowkey fills me with rage

#avatar the last airbender #atla #aang #azula #sokka #analysis #meta #Watching Aang have no particularly special reaction to seeing Azula after writing this post hit different okay

[descendant-of-truth]

My personal compromise between a Sonic who never shuts up and one who barely says anything would be to give him a constant inner monologue that he routinely forgets to share with anyone ever

#sonic the hedgehog #How often we as the audience get to hear that monologue would depend entirely on the circumstances #Sometimes it'd be more effective/funny to hear it and other times it wouldn't #I feel like this combination turns Sonic into a bit more of a space case than usual but I'm vibing with it honestly

[descendant-of-truth]

The possibility of them rewriting the original Sonic Generations cutscenes for the remaster is very small, but the alternative is having Pontac and Graff's writing from 2011 juxtaposed with Ian Flynn's current writing in the same game, and I just. don't think anyone is ready for that

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic generations #sonic x shadow generations #sxshg #That abbreviation just looks like a keysmash but it's the best I could come up with #Unfortunately this is exactly how I'm expecting the game to turn out #Guys who were deliberately hired with no knowledge of Sonic being forced to make Sonic References: the Game #versus the guy who has more Sonic references than he knows what to do with and throws them into everything #FIGHT #XD