#the story looks interesting but how will they fit it in 8 eps

[autismprotocol]

TMAGP Theory Board (S1 EP 7)

Dang that episode was a RIDE Hope everyone had a relaxing week because after the newest protocol episode I am screaming!! so lets get right to it

What Happened in Episode 7: Give and Take

Celia seems to know something about the powers with her references to the buried and the flesh in the opening conversation with Alice

Celia recognizes Chester's voice!! since the introduction of Celia's last episode, I wanted to see how she would react to hearing Chester and Norris and we got that in this episode. It's safe to say that Celia recognized Chester's voice as Jon. This piece of evidence makes me almost 100% sure that this Celia is the same Celia/Lynne from Archives

Jon is Back!!! after Chester's statement (more on that later) we learn that Sam has been getting emails from someone named Jon. He also mentions it in an internal email. This helps support the theory that Jon and Chester/FR3-d1 are fused somehow which is what I (and a lot of the fandom) have been thinking. This leaves me with a lot of questions how else can Jon communicate through FR3-d1 with the outside world? Are Martin and Jonah sentient as well? Also, my big question is if this is the first time Jon has been able to signal to the OIAR Staff or if he has been trying to get them to listen since he manifested in the world and Sam was the first one to notice him or is this his first attempt to make contact. I'm interested to learn more about how Jon will continue to influence Sam. I think he's either trying to warn Sam about the OIAR's true intention or is he looking for some way to escape FR3-d1 and needs Sam's help.

This week's statement involved a place called Hilltop Centre branch of the Oxford people's trust. if you were like me and my roommate all your lore alert bells started ringing the moment Hilltop was mentioned. for people who are new to the Magnus Universe Hilltop Road is a major location for avatars (usually web-aligned ones) and also was the childhood home to the desolation avatar Agnes Montague. Hilltop is a big deal in TMA. Hilltop Centre being located in Oxford also lines up nicely with where we know Hilltop Road is located. I'm interested to know if we will hear anything about the house at 105 Hilltop Road being student housing because if that is true then we can connect the statement giver Anya Villette From MAG 114 to being from protocol's world. if that's true there could be a way to get to the Archive Universe through the gap in reality (a wormhole that exists where the house was built) Anyways definitely will have to listen for any more mention of a place called Hilltop in Oxford 

Gwen was promoted by Lena to external liaison and is officially "In" It's time to learn the OIAR's secrets! after doing some research into the job title of external liaison it seems that Gwen is almost gonna be acting as a messenger between the OIAR and another party which is unclear at this time. my guess is it has something to do with Starkwell which was the private military contractor that was mentioned in Episode 4 but that's just a guess and me trying to fit in pieces that have not found a snug place in the lore yet. could be someone else (I'd love to hear your thoughts)

Remember our Buddy Klaus from Episode 4 who we thought was killed by Lena? turns out Klaus is still alive we learn through Gwen and Lena's conversation, that Lena was paid by someone to kill Klaus but failed.

Colin is more paranoid than ever! could be because of the eye or the institute but he does not want to be near technology right now.

Ooh boy that was a lot I'm still reeling from this episode so I'll leave it there for now. honesty I'm most stoked to hear Jon's back in the story and excited to see what role he'll play in Protocol.

Hope you guys have a wonderful week ask box and comments are always open and I'll be back next week for the episode 8 debrief/theory crafting

-Echo

#augustus tmagp #chester tmagp #gwendolyn bouchard #jonathan sims #lena kelley #norris tmagp #the magnus protocol #tmagp #lena kelly #sam khalid #samama khalid #alice dyer #colin becher #hilltop road #tmagp spoilers #tmagp theory #chester and norris #celia ripley #klaus tmagp #fanart #theory board #martin blackwood #jonah magnus #the magnus pod

[1moreff-creator]

Everything We Know About Mai Akasaki + So Many Theories

AKA, me going insane over a character with exactly nine seconds of main series screen time so far. I checked.

At this point, it's probably fair to say that Mai Akasaki is by far the most mysterious aspect of DRDT. A character we only learn about in short, cryptic bouts of information, yet one which seems intrinsically linked with the series' plot and characters. We know extremely little about her, and what we do know, it's usually speculative.

However, it's still really interesting to talk about this funky little woman, and try to figure out what exactly her deal is. Join me in insanity land, as I compile everything I could find about her, and speculate on her story! I can practically guarantee that you'll learn something new.

WARNING: Insanely long post. I reached the 30 image limit, to give you an idea of how crazy this is.

Wait, Who?

Her! <3

(A lot of what I'm about to say come from this post by despairing-disaster and this one by akemiai, huge shout out to them!)

For the uninitiated, Mai Akasaki is the secret seventeenth student of the DRDT cast, hidden somehwere in this school wait no that's Mukuro. Her name can be found in the hidden quote in MonoTV's character profile, which itself is found by doing "inspect element" on said page.

Her name is Mai Akasaki

(I am such a hacker)

Typing in https://danganronpadespairtime.tumblr.com/maiakasaki (or clicking there) takes you to a pretty empty page, with this text:

All you have to do is ask for my hand, and I'll give it to you. Ask for my life, and I'll give it to you as well. Don't apologize for asking, I'll give you my forgiveness too.

As you'll see later, this quote is probably something Mai would say.

And this hidden quote:

"Are you still searching for a secret? For some explanation that will satisfy you? There's no answer I can give you that will make you happy. Maybe I should have lied instead. I'm sorry."

Note the quotes, which as far as I can tell, aren't in any of the other hidden phrases. That said, spoilers, I don’t have any idea what this means.

You may aso have noticed some highlighted letters in that first quote. Typing those in, https://danganronpadespairtime.tumblr.com/aoaviepkro, takes you to the most important page for our purposes:

(Also, you can just look it up on google nowadays)

Mai Akasaki's character profile. And yes, it's the girl Teruko remembers after being stabbed by Xander, in episode 6 of chapter 1. After that memory, Teruko thinks:

It's strange I would remember her now, of all times. What was her name again? It's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't remember. Xander always reminded me of that girl. Perhaps that's why I'm thinking about her now. They looked similar, with that same red hair and smile. And... they both wanted to help, didn't they?

Teruko and her clearly have something going on, but we'll get to it later (take a shot every time I say something like that). For now, we have to dive into the profile.

Profile of Someone Dearly Loved

Basic Info

She's listed as the "Ultimate ???", likes phone charms and dislikes silence. She's 5'8'' tall, weighing 124 lbs and with a chest sie of 30 in. I doubt anyone cares about the latter. Her birthday is February first, which you may want to keep in mind for later.

The Subtitle Quote

As every character does, Mai has a quote right under her name. In her case, "There's a way for you to be happy". Keep in mind these quotes are usually things the characters would say, and as you'll see in a moment, that fits.

However, what's interesting is that this quote was not the one originally there when Mai's page was first found. It changed. It used to be, apparently, "Anything, anything at all..."

What I don't know is when it changed, or why. The earliest reference I can find to the change is this post by stfu-sage, the 20th of March, 2023. This is just three days after the release of Ch 2 Ep 8, but that feels like quite a strange time for it to change, especially since we don’t know how many days passed without anyone checking the profile. I feel it makes more sense if it had changed either with the release of Ch 2 or with the BDA on chapter 7. Regardless, the exact time doesn’t matter much.

What do these lines mean, though? Well, starting with “Anything, anything at all”, I believe it’s related to line from the Mai Akasaki URL. You know, “All you have to do is ask for my hand, and I’ll give it to you…”, that one. When you read them together, it makes sense:

All you have to do is ask for my hand, and I'll give it to you. Ask for my life, and I’ll give it to you as well. […] [You can ask for] Anything, anything at all.

Considering the code for Mai’s profile is in the “ask for my hand” line, I think it makes sense.

Then, the changed quote, “There’s a way for you to be happy”. Considering the general time for the change, is it possible this is something Mai said to Arei, during their time at Hope's Peak? It's the best I have for now, but I feel we may need more context to know what this is about.

In any case, I can't gather much more from the subtitle quote. Although I do feel like pointing out, Mai’s quote is somewhat unique in that none of the words are highlighted. All the other characters have one or a few words highlighted (eg: Arei - secret, Teruko - no matter what), except MonoTV and Mai. Don’t think it means anything, but it’s there.

Hidden Quotes

And here we have it. The most important part of Mai theorizing. Whenever you refresh the page, a new body of text appears, which is related to a specific character via the code of the website. You can see in the screenshot I took, it says “A girl with many friends”. But here’s a full list of all the possibilities:

Teruko: Some years ago, she was searching for someone named ‘Teruko Tawaki.’ Charles: A girl who loves her family. Rose: She remembers everything that is important to others. Arturo: A girl who sees the beauty in everyone. Levi: A girl with a floral tattoo on her arm. Whit: A girl with many friends. Eden: She kept calling the number, even though no one picked it up. J: She kept it a secret, and told no one. Hu: A girl who wanted to keep everyone safe. Nico: Everyone confided in her. Ace: A girl who had a bright future. Arei: She doesn’t like it when her friends fight. Min: An average girl with nothing special at all about her. Xander: She couldn’t stand to do nothing. Veronika: A girl who didn’t foresee the consequences. David: She forgives everyone. MonoTV: It’s all your fault.

You may notice the order is somewhat peculiar, and it's for a good reason. It's the order the "bios" (name of the variable in the source code... I think that's how that works) are laid out in the source code of Mai's page.

... I know you can barely see and not all of them are on frame, but just trust me. If you want to check for yourself, you can go to the profile's source code (Ctrl U), and either scroll to almost the bottom, or just search (Ctrl F) for a word like "average" or "confided" which only shows up in the "bios". There's probably easier ways to go about it, but this is how I got there. I'm telling you this because it took me like an hour to find out where the hell the order came from. I am not good at computers.

However, for now, let's just ignore the order (and the tenses of the sentences, I swear I'll get there) and focus on the main points for now.

+Mai is extremely well-liked by the other members of the cast. In particular, some of the quotes compliment her based on faults the character attached to them has.

>Arturo is extremely judgemental based on ugliness, but Mai "sees the beauty in everyone".

>Charles forgot his dead brother, but Mai "loves her family".

>Rose is absentminded and often forgets things if she doesn't see them, but Mai "remembers everything that is important to others".

>The hidden quote on Ace's page has him saying "I don't know what to do with myself anymore", suggesting a lack of control over his future, but Mai "had a bright future".

>Arei constantly causes altercations between the cast, but Mai "doesn't like it when her friends fight".

However, plenty of quotes are simply good qualities, such as Hu's "A girl who wanted to keep everyone safe". The point is, everyone seemingly adored this girl.

+Mai is good at keeping secrets, as implied by J's and Nico's quotes ("She kept it a secret, and told no one" and "Everyone confided in her", respectively). Those same quotes actually seem to imply Mai likely knew those two's secrets, and possibly a lot of the others.

+Among other things, Mai is compassionate, forgiving, friendly, and generally a positive presence.

+Mai and Teruko have a particularly strange relationship. We'll come back to this.

+Mai seemingly did... something, and it brought consequences. This is implied by the quotes of Xander ("she couldn't stand to do nothing") and Veronika ("A girl who didn't foresee the consequences"). But, what was it? Well, to get a better idea, we need to take a look at... the Bonus Episodes.

A Not-So-Unnamed-Classmate

Technically-a-Theory: Mai is the Unnamed Classmate

I say "technically" because I'm pretty sure no one actually disagrees with this. Yes, technically it's never been confirmed, but it seems likely Mai is the Unnamed Classmate who shows up in both of the Bonus Episodes we have so far. The PoV character in both of those episodes has the same voice, which sounds like a girl's, and their personality seems to fit with the very little we know of Mai.

Additionally, as you’ll see, the text boxes in the Bonus Episodes are surrounded by flowers which look very similar to the ones in Mai’s tattoo, further connecting them.

It's not much, but since we don't know anyone else who could be Unnamed Classmate, they and Mai are likely the same person.

With this clarified, let's talk about Unnamed Classmate.

Bonus Episode #1

This episode is mostly focused on Min and the history of Hope's Peak, but we can still start to grasp a bit of Mai's personality. She seems generally upbeat and somewhat bubbly, and we can see glimpses of her kind and caring qualities when she comforts Min near the end of the episode.

There's also a few lines which actually tell us a few more concrete things about her, though. I won't post them in chronological order, btw.

Min: Hey! Put your textbook away! Don’t cheat!

Seemingly an insignificant joke, but it does help establish Mai as slightly mischievous/cheeky, which will be expanded upon later. Other indications of this cheekiness include Mai comlimenting Min and trying to distract her by talking about the sky and her backstory, presumably to procrastinate. I may be reading too much into it, but I really don't think Mai is as easily distracted as she makes herself out to be.

Mai: Auughh, the test is too soon, there’s no way I’ll have enough time! I’m totally going to fail!

Mai: I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you to help me study--

Mai: I see. That's how you got your talent. I'm ashamed that I'm only now learning something so important. I'm sorry.

(Yes, I had to bunch a few of these images together because I ran into the Tumblr 30 image limit)

A few lines which seem innocuous at first, but when paired together, they hint at something. Essentially, I believe this implies Mai doubts her abilities and actions, and may even have a self-deprecating streak. She's at the very least much harsher on herself than she is on others. It sounds like a stretch, but I swear it's not as farfetched as it seems.

Mai: You're somebody who buys fish-shaped pastries and saves the chocolate-filled ones for me, because you know that those are my favorite.

Mai likes chocolate-filled pastries. Hey, when I said “everything we know about Mai”, I meant everything (that I could find).

Min: I suppose for someone like you who doesn't care too much about Hope's Peak and who, no offense, would never be eligible for the [Ultimate Contest for Eminent Students] with such average grades...

Min: You might not do very well in school, but you're quite sharp.

Put simply, Mai has average grades, but is still considered smart by Min. Her intelligence is visible throughout the episodes, mainly in the form of emotional intelligence and a hint of deception (that's where the mischieviousness comes in).

However, perhaps it’s the first phrase which is most interesting. Mai “doesn’t care too much about Hope’s Peak”. Which is only reiterated by the following lines.

Min: Maybe someone like you who never cared about Hope’s Peak Academy wouldn’t understand. But it’s everyone else’s dream to be an Ultimate.

Mai: Ultimates aren’t everything. As if I’m only friends with you because of your talent. There’s more to you than that.

Mai seems to have a much more laissez-faire approach to the concept of Hope’s Peak and Ultimates than what Min considers normal. By itself, this isn’t too strange, as we know there’s other people not too attached to their status as Ultimates. However, this actually may have something to do with the incident implied in Xander’s and Veronika’s quotes. I’ll get to it later (overused phrase of the day), but for now, keep this in mind.

Nevertheless, there is one more theory affected by this nonchalance towards Hope’s Peak. Except, it’s a theory I believe is actually harmed by this attitude.

Good Theory I Don’t Believe: Mai is a Reserve Course Student

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a cool theory! I just don’t think it works all the way.

Essentially, this theory is what it says in the tin. Mai is the Ultimate ??? because she’s actually a Reserve Course student, a la Hajime Hinata. There are many good posts on this theory, like this one by delightfullydiscordant, and I recommend you read them since they’re well put together! Some of the main points of this theory include:

>Min’s quote for Mai is “An average girl with nothing special at all about her.”, which could imply she doesn’t have a talent. However, there are other interpretations for this line, so it’s far from conclusive.

>Mai seems to be wearing a Japanese Hope’s Peak uniform (check out this post by laly-481), but the jacket around Mai’s waist is darker than the one worn by Ultimates in DR 3. Instead, it seems closer to a Reserve Course jacket. The issue I have with this is that… well, we know very little about what the Japanese Hope’s Peak in the DRDT universe looks like, so this feels a bit vague.

>

Mai: You’re not nobody. Even if I pretend that you’re not an Ultimate and that we’re not both students in Hope’s Peak Academy, you’re still somebody to me.

I’ll ask you to ignore the lesbians for a moment and focus on the beginning of the quote. If you look at it closely, it seems to imply both Mai and Min are Hope’s Peak alumni, but they’re not both Ultimates. Thereby, Mai must be a Reserve Course student.

However, I actually have a different interpretation of that quote, one which, you guessed it, I’ll get to later. But for now, if we’re going to get involved in semantics, we also have to look at this line:

Mai: The US Hope's Peak Academy takes in college-age students, and there's two of them, and we have this really weird curriculum, and there's a bunch of other things, and...

Min: Remember that we’re East Class 27, so that means that Hope’s Peak is how many years old?

Min: Look at what our classmates are doing now. They're Ultimates too. They're all doing things relevant to their career, if not actually out working.

Min saying “we're class 27" could be interpreted as her simply referring to herself and the other Ultimates, but even then, referring to "our classmates" while talking to Mai implies they're in the same class. Also, Mai saying "we have" a weird curriculum feels odd unless both she and Min have the same curriculum, meaning both of them likely attend the same classes, thus again, both are Ultimates.

But that’s only a minor problem. In truth, there are other reasons I believe Mai has a talent, and I even have a guess of what that talent may be. But the main one is what we just established: Mai never really cared about Hope’s Peak.

I admittedly may be missing some context, since I’ve never watched DR 3, but from what I know, Reserve Course students are usually characterized as people who desperately want to be Ultimates and are obsessed with Hope’s Peak, which doesn’t fit Mai at all. You could argue maybe she went to Hope's Peak to search for Teruko as Teruko's quote implies, but the problem with that is that Teruko remembers Mai, at least a little bit (see: dream sequence), which means they should have reunited before Hope's Peak, since the last thing Teruko remembers before the "amnesia zone" is going to Hope's Peak's entrance ceremony.

Not to mention, we… can’t even be sure the Reserve Course exists. For as much info as we got from the Bonus Episode #1, that course was never even mentioned. And seeing this is a post-Tragedy world, the Reserve Course may not even exist. Especially when Min also says that actually being an Ultimate is considered more important than going to Hope’s Peak in the US.

So, final verdict on this theory? While it’s quite interesting and I definitely think it’s more plausible than many of the other things I’ll bring up, I don’t find it to be the most likely, again because Mai’s disinterest in Hope’s Peak pushes her away from the standard Reserve Course student, and because I prefer a different theory about her talent.

And with that, we’re done with the first Bonus Episode for now! Let’s see what the second one brings.

Bonus Episode #2

This one, surprisingly, has fewer lines which gives us info about Mai. However, what it does give us is arguably some of the most important intel we have so far.

Mai: No, it’s fine. Don’t think you’re making me come with you. I'm here because I want to be here.

Mai: [Xander reimbursing her for the trip]'s silly. I can pay for it myself. Besides, you're letting me stay at your place for a week, so if anything, you're doing me a favor.

The first just reiterates that Mai is compassionate and wants to help whenever she can. As for the second, it seems to imply Mai doesn't struggle too much with money, which is info I guess. However, she also says Xander is doing her a favor by letting her stay over. I think that just means the expenses of living wherever she's living for a week exceed the expenses of the trips? I don't see any other reason that would be considered a favor in that aspect. I considered maybe Mai could have a bad home life, but in the secret quotes:

Charles: A girl who loves her family

So, I don't think that's the case. I think it really is just a money thing, and we don't have to overthink it too much.

Mai: 'Oh, speaking of Hope's Peak. I need to ask Xander if he found that document I asked him to look for.'

Mai: 'I didn't want to unload the work on him, but he's much better at digging up stuff than I am.'

Mai: 'But it's definitely not something I should bring up in a public place. I'll remember to ask him later'.

And here we are. The single biggest Mai-related reveal in the Bonus Episodes. Her and Xander were involved in some sort of secretive operation related to Hope's Peak. In particular, seemingly during their trip to visit the graves of Xander's family, Mai asked Xander to retrieve a document related to the Academy, a document they shouldn't discuss in public. In fact, right after this, Mai changes the subject to Xander's eyes so as to not talk about it, again showing she can be somewhat deceptive when she needs to.

This might be related to Teruko's claim that "[Xander and Mai] both wanted to help", but it seems impossible for her to remember anything which happened during HPA (Hope's Peak Academy, got tired of writing it out) time, so I still don't know what she actually meant by that.

Nevertheless, it's pretty obvious that whatever this is, it would be bad news for HPA. I mean, if Xander's involved, there's no way it's good for an institution. But it also ties back to Mai's critical view of HPA and the Ultimate title.

However, messing with something as powerful as HPA could be pretty dangerous. Thus, I believe this little operation is likely what's being referred to in Xander's and Veronika's quotes.

Xander: She couldn’t stand to do nothing. Veronika: A girl who didn’t foresee the consequences.

(By the way, Xander's quote in particular is why I don't quite believe the theory that the document mentioned here is only to get Teruko into HPA somehow. It's a cool theory, but Xander's quote feels a bit too dramatic for that to be the end goal of Mai's plans)

I mean, for one, it's Xander saying Mai did something, and messing with HPA could have quite drastic consequences, from what we know. Thus, from now on, I will henceforth call this vague action against HPA "the HPA Operation", because saying "that thing Mai did which Xander's and Veronika's quotes allude to" is gonna get tiring.

What exactly the HP Operation was, I obviously don't know, we're on chapter 2 of the series and this is quite clearly a mystery which may last until chapter 6 (assuming a standard DR formula).

However, I can tell you one thing. It may not fully be Mai's idea.

Mai: If you set out to do something, then never give up on that, no matter what obstacles may stand in your way. Even if it's risky or against the rules, as long as it's for a good cause...

Mai: I'll trust that you know to do the right thing.

Xander: Yeah, of course (NOT PICTURED)

Xander: That's why I've come to Hope's Peak, isn't it?

The lines about the HPA document appear right after this, although Mai does seem confused at first by Xander's claim that "that's why [he's come] to Hope's Peak". So although Mai is the one who asked Xander to find the document, it's possible the basic idea to go against HPA came from Xander. After all, remember. Mai never cared much about HPA, so it seems unlikely she paid enough attention to it to notice its flaws as quickly as Xander would. Ultimate Rebel, and all that.

However, even if Xander was the one who planted the idea of revolution in Mai's head, she's clearly invested in it. She tells Xander to never give up on anything he sets out to do, even if it's risky or against the rules.

So, there it is. So far, what we know about the HPA Operation is:

>Mai and Xander were heavily involved.

>It may have originally been Xander's idea, but Mai seems to have taken the role of tactician at some point.

>HPA likely wasn't too happy with it.

>It likely had horrible consequences for Mai.

And that's all we had for a while, as Chapter 2 Part 1 didn't add anything to the conversation. Well, except maybe a thought Teruko has when Arei starts crying after her breakdown in the playground:

That pitiful crying... It reminds me of... Of...

That could be about Mai, but I really don't know what it could mean, so I'm sorta ignoring it for now.

So, yeah. Nothing new.

Until it came out.

Going (Literature Girl) Insane

Yeah, the David MV. Mai is listed in the cast list as a secondary character, though her name is crossed out. This likely refers to the portrait of her seen in the background.

The portrait of Mai is labeled "portrait of someone dearly loved", while Teruko's is labeled "portrait of someone dearly unloved", the words flipped. This is one of many things which seem to imply Teruko and Mai are meant to be opposites of each other.

There is also that one image of a girl whose identity is unclear.

It doesn't look like Mai, but maybe that's my prosopagnosiac ass assuming different hair = different person. Generally, people assume this is "Diana Chiem", if she even exists, though I somewhat lean on it possibly being the mysterious name out of frame in the cast list. You know, the name which vaguely looks like "Ms Naegi". However, I'm showing you the image to get a second opinion on something.

You see the hand Mystery Girl is holding? Doesn't it look like it's wearing a glove? Because of the white line in the wrist. Maybe I'm going insane, that could just be a bend of the wrist, but... I kinda don't see it? It makes a bit more sense to me as a glove. And since it doesn't seem to be cut off at the fingers like Xander's, it would have to be Mai's. Other characters also wear this type of glove, but they’re not on the cast list.

The counterpoint is that it looks like you can see the nail of the PoV person's thumb, but I'm not sure that's the case? That part of the sprite is really strange and seems to be different in all three of the Mystery Girl images, so I can't tell. Anywyas, if any of you have ideas, tell me. Again, it's most likely I'm overthinking and that's just a bend of the wrist.

Anyways, enough dillydally, let's get to the big stuff.

The Roman numeral

As you may or may not know, during the MV we’re shown a crossword puzzle which is solved with the characters’ names, and this assigns each character with a different Roman numeral. This numeral later shows up attached to some kind of phrase, which in turn relates that character back to the phrase. I made a post talking about all of them, but I'll go more in detail about Mai's in this post than I did in that post.

Solution by raspbeyes

In the crosswords, Mai intersects Arei and Levi. I don't think this means much by itself, since the way the names intersect doesn't seem to be too important in general. Like, yes, if you squint you can see things like Whit only intersecting Charles, but there's also things like Min only intersecting Arei, Eden only intersecting Rose, Veronika intersecting everyone and their morther... My point is, the exact position in the crosswords doesn't tend to matter much.

What's more important are the numerals. Mai's is XI (11), a number which, from my research, is related to leadership and bringing out the best in others, as well as nobility or higher conciousness and spirituality and knowledge and new beginnings- Okay, the point is, I found mostly inconclusive stuff, but a lot of this sort of relates back to Mai, so we take it.

And the phrase itself:

XI. God is dead

What could this mean? Well, in philosophy, the phrase "God is dead" refers to the breakdown of ethical and sociocultural structures as christianity and religion in general became less universal. So, loss in faith in an institution leads to changes in the status quo. One way to interpret this in the context of this numeral is that Hope's Peak is the "God", and Mai's actions involved a loss on faith on HPA, and everything which comes with it. This could even be related to the phrase which directly follows this numeral in the song, "become brainwashed: go do it!". If HPA's propaganda which makes everyone love Ultimates can be considered brainwashing, anyways.

...

But that's not what any of us first thought when we read that, is it?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is Mai Dead?

Yeah, we gotta talk about the elephant in the room.

You'll have noticed, lots of the hidden quotes on Mai's profile speak about her in the past tense. This already had people thinking she was dead since it was first found, but the MV really drove the point home. Considering how the characters think about Mai, it's not impossible to imagine Mai is the "God" here, and "God is dead" has a far more literal meaning.

But, let's hold our horses here, no need to kill her so quickly. There is a chance she's alive.

Coping With the Quotes

Like I said, some of these quotes speak about her as if she's dead, but some of them actually talk about Mai in the present tense. Here, I sorted them out.

Referring to a past event:

Teruko: Some years ago, she was searching for someone named ‘Teruko Tawaki.’ Eden: She kept calling the number, even though no one picked it up. J: She kept it a secret, and told no one. Xander: She couldn’t stand to do nothing. Veronika: A girl who didn’t foresee the consequences.

These are phrases which can't be used to determine Mai's status, since they talk about a specific thing which she did. Even if she's alive, these would still be in the past tense. Teruko's is explicitly talking about years ago; J and Eden are talking about things Mai probably did during her time at HP; and Xander's and Veronika's talk about the HPA Operation. These are inconclusive.

Miscellaneously inconclusive

Whit: A girl with many friends. MonoTV: It’s all your fault.

MonoTV's line doesn't refer to Mai at all, so it's not useful here. And I put Whit here because... frankly, I wouldn't trust him to tell us even if Mai really is dead. "[His] mother is dead, [he] omit[s] this truth", and all that. Though his quote does seem to imply she's alive, for what it's worth.

Present Tense

Charles: A girl who loves her family. Rose: She remembers everything that is important to others. Arturo: A girl who sees the beauty in everyone. Levi: A girl with a floral tattoo on her arm. Arei: She doesn’t like it when her friends fight. Min: An average girl with nothing special at all about her. David: She forgives everyone.

Admittedly, some of these don't actually have verbs, so putting them in "present tense" is a bit of a misnomer. Still, all of these seem to imply Mai's alive. Notably, David's line is right after Xander's and Veronika's in the code, so he might be saying this after the HPA Operation fell through? Take that as you will.

Past Tense

Hu: A girl who wanted to keep everyone safe. Nico: Everyone confided in her. Ace: A girl who had a bright future.

I was surprised by how few of these lines actually speak of Mai strictly as if she's died. They are all together, too, and separated from Xander's and Veronika's by Arei's and Min's in the code. But what's even more important is that these are still inconclusive.

When Hu says Mai "wanted to keep everyone safe", she could be talking specifically about the HPA Operation, and the phrase would be in the past tense even if Mai survived that.

When Nico says "everyone confided in her", that could mean everyone at one point or another told her their secrets, and again, it would be in the past tense even if Mai is alive.

And although Ace says Mai "had a bright future", we don't know why she no longer has one. It's possible the consequences Veronika speaks of only ruined Mai's future, but didn't get her killed.

With all this in mind, it actually seems like the quotes lean on the side of Mai being alive! That's still inconclusive, and MonoTV's quote is a bit too ominous for me to say they definitively confirm her status.

Especially because... well, the quotes aren't the only part of this discussion.

The MV Killed the Hope's Peak Star

Let's start with the biggest issue, the flowers of an unknown species.

As pointed out by delightfullydiscordant in this post, those flowers appear to be the same ones on Mai’s tattoo and Unnamed Classmate’s text boxes. And as the comments point out, they seem to be camellias.

The issue is that the MV confirms they’re white. And white camellias, in Japan, are popular funeral flowers and are associated with death. Yeah.

Now, let’s not bury the girl yet. White camellias also represent adoration and respect in a more platonic way than, say, red camellias, for example. They can also represent purity, beauty, and even hope. Yeah, we’re dropping the H word.

I also tried looking for literary references with white camellias, in the spirit of the MV. However, the only thing I found was that they show up in “To Kill A Mockingbird”, a book which if I recall correctly is never mentioned in the MV. And it’s a good thing, too, since they apparently represent racism in that book. I don’t think that’s related to Mai, frankly.

So, good news! It’s still not conclusive! Well, but there’s more. In particular, take a look at footnote 20.

This shows up directly after Mai's numeral and the brainwashed phrase I mentioned earlier. It’s a definition of the model of the five stages of grief, with the footnote itself simply claiming it is considered by many to be outdated. Also, there’s an emoticon of someone sticking out their tongue. Don’t know what else that would be, and I don’t know what to make of it.

But the fact it’s a model of how people deal with grief, usually related to death, and that it shows up directly after Mai’s numeral, seems to imply Mai’s dead.

And then there’s the problem of her numeral! Mai has one of the only ones numerals which is colored, in this case gray. The others are mostly just white, with the only other exceptions being Xander's (translucid, "(the world of abnormal sentiment dances)") and Min's (pink, stylised as the X of a death portrait, "democratic-ly" and the rules of class trials). It doesn't bode too well for Mai to have something in common with 2/3 of all confirmed dead people, I have to say.

However, it being gray specifically could be a direct reference to her death as well. Color theory (don’t question it for now) connects gray with the depressed persona of David, though, so this isn’t very conclusive.

And finally, edging into more “confirmation bias-y” territory, you remember how I said the position in the crosswords doesn’t really matter? Well, yeah, but. Mai’s name, as it goes over the A in Arei, also happens to cross the Roman numeral IV (4), a number related to death as per footnote four. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s why Arei has it. You know, the third dead person. Nevertheless, again, crosswords positioning is usually not important, so take that with a massive grain of salt.

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So, what’s the conclusion? I think it’s still up for debate, but I lean more on the idea of Mai being dead. The flowers and the model of stages of grief are pretty damning, and I don’t think most of the quotes being in present tense can really be trusted.

Anyways, let me continue a bit with the idea of her being dead.

Sub-Theory: Shot Through the Heart, Xander’s to Blame

You remember how the MV claims there’s six bullets around? But it also tells you it’s impossible to find them all? I made a post about it, where I found the five bullets which I think are the only ones which i can be found.

My conclusion in that post, which I sort of stand by, is that if there’s six bullets, but only five are visible, the last one is likely loaded in the gun. It’s labeled “(not) a prop gun”, so it’s apparently real, but still connected to Xander.

The issue? That gun is sorta pointed directly at Mai’s portrait.

This kinda fits with the pieces I’ve been putting together. Mai (possibly) died because of the HPA Operation, but Xander may have been the one who originally planted that idea in her head. Or at least enabled her plans by finding documents. In that sense, one could argue it’s Xander’s fault Mai died. So, it kinda fits! I’m going with that.

The question now would be who blames Xander for Mai’s death. After all, I sorta doubt he’s the one who actually killed her. My original instinct was David, since that’s the guy the MV is about, but that doesn’t quite fit. David idolizes Xander a fair bit, so it feels odd to think he’d blame him for this.

Instead, if this theory is true, I think it makes more sense for Xander to blame himself for Mai’s death. Survivor’s guilt is a huge part of his character (see: the Bonus Episode and the quote on his page), so if he survived the fallout of the HPA Operation when Mai didn’t, he’d be quite heartbroken by it. And thus, he may end up blaming himself for dragging her into the whole mess.

So, that's about it for what we know about Mai's status. But would you believe it if I told you we're not done with the MV yet?

Color Theory

Color theory in the context of the MV refers to this post and reblog by accirax, where she went over every colored lyric in the MV and assigned each color a character based on the characters' color scheme and the lines themselves. I recommend checking out her whole post, it's really good and I won't talk about everything she brought up.

For our purposes, the important color is Mai's. And I agree with accirax that Mai is likely black (the color, not the skin tone). Although the color doesn't show up much in her color scheme, she's a generally cryptic character with a generally cryptic color. But the lines work with Mai better than practically anyone else:

>"You" x3: As pointed out by accirax, everyone is obssessed with Mai, so it sorta fits.

>"The track to the ideal country ->" The arrow points to a passage from "Utopia", btw. This makes sense with the HPA Operation. It's a vaguely revolutionary operation which seeks to improve the world, so you could consider that "the track to the ideal country."

However, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. Her color scheme would still set her up to be red. Maybe yellow if you count her eyes, but red is an important color for her. It wouldn't be unheard of for an important character to have two colors, since David has two. But red is a special color for color theory... because it's completely nonsensical.

Red is by far the most overrepresented color in the MV, having practically double the amount of lines any other colors do. And considering the color, you'd imagine it would either go to Mai, Xander or Veronika. However, no character fits all the lines that well, as explained by accirax in her posts. I explained in this reblog what I believe about this in detail, but essentially, I believe red is intentionally ambiguos, and any given red line can belong to any of the three characters I mentioned.

I'll quickly go over the way I would assign the red lines, but I'll only explain the Mai lines, since I already went into detail on the other ones in that reblog I linked to before. Keep in mind some may apply to multiple characters.

Unassignable: Aa, ah, isn't it?!

Veronika: whatever; go mad x3; broken; go insane?; won't change; original; you've killed so many; medicine; self-denial confessions; self-delusion.

Xander: are all just idiots (final verdict); Bye x2; Goodbye; escape!; together; are all just idiots!; ignorant; great applause!!!; won't change; original; and disappear!; 1; medicine; revolutionary; idiot; self-delusion

Mai: Bye x2; Goodbye; broken; God; and disappear!; medicine; revolutionary, self-denial confessions

I will mention, you can also give her all the "idiot" lines Xander has, as well as "won't change; self-delusion" and all that, since David (the guy presumably "singing") may be somewhat skeptical about Mai and her revolutionary ideas.

>Bye x2, Goodbye, broken, and disappear!: She's probably dead, so. I also inexplicably think "broken" works with her death, but not Xander's. I have no idea why.

>God: The biggest reason why Mai has to be included, the others just aren't as God-ish as Mai (hey, it's like that song!). Not much to say; it's connected to Mai via numeral XI, and I already explained why she could be "God" here.

>Medicine; revolutionary: She's a revolutionary thanks to the HPA Operation, and you could argue that means she's the "medicine" of society.

>Self-denial confessions: Mai works better with this line's original context (revolutionaries being coerced into going back on their ideals) than Veronika, but it still leaves behind the question of what exactly she's denying. Maybe denying the ideals of Ultimates, when she herself is (probably) an Ultimate? Something like that. I guess that could also work with Xander in hindsight.

So, there we go! Full interpretation of Color Theory as it relates to Mai. Wow, that was a lot for very little new info!

We're almost done with the MV, but first, we have to talk about the man himself.

David's Relation to Mai, and his Potential Involvement in the HPA Operation

But first, a side note.

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Does David remember Mai?

There's a theory floating around that David might remember parts of his time at HPA, including Mai's existence. Check out this post by anderscim and reblog by xmicrophonyx if you want a full explanation, but I'll cover the main points here. It's a really good theory, and it's not any less plausible than some of the other theories I'll mention later in the post, but I don't quite believe it.

See, the main evidence for this theory is that the Literature Girl MV includes Mai's face in the portrait and an image of Xander with two eyes, as well as things like the morse code and possibly tally 5 which seem to reference David and Xander's relationship during HPA time. And that's my first issue with the theory, I just don't think the MV can be used for this.

Of course, it comes down to interpretation, but the way I see the MV is as an abstract form of storytelling, not a completely 1:1 view of David’s mind. Essentially, while a lot of it is spoken from the perspective of David, it’s not actually a reflection of his real mental state, but rather a representation for us the audience. It’s hard to describe :v

The main thing that I want to bring up in support of my interpretation is the youtube comments scene, I hope you know what I’m talking about. There’s no way David would be aware of these comments, such as the one referencing the J and Arei swap theory. In particular, the comment talking about (presumably, the names aren’t explicitly written) Teruko as a protagonist is impossible for David to conceive, since there’s no way he would know we see her as the protag; and the ones that namedrop Byakuya, Nagito and Kokichi are practically impossible as well, as Veronika has claimed not to remember any other killing games before the one in DRDT. Kokichi in particular would be problematic depending on your interpretation of V3.

What does this mean? This means that the MV isn’t beyond showing us the audience things outside of David’s own mind, for the sake of storytelling. It’s not hard to imagine, then, that the scene with Xander having two eyes is meant to show us that they had a good relationship in HPA, even if David doesn’t remember it. Same with calling Mai “someone dearly loved.”

There’s also a few things about other characters which don’t quite match what David would know about them in the killing game. For example, Rose’s numeral: II. Ego cogito ergo (turbatus) sum. (I think therefore I am disturbed). This only really makes sense in the context of Rose’s conversation with Teruko and Nico, where she admits to having trouble separating reality from her memory and her dreams. But David wasn’t there for that. Another example is Teruko’s: XIII. or not to be? Which seems to reference her suicidal tendencies, implied in that one thing she said to Arei. Again, that’s not something David would be aware of during the killing game. 

Either David remembers way more about HPA than implied in the theory, or those are also examples of the MV going beyond David’s mind to continue telling us things about the story.

In xmicrophonyx’s reblog, she also brings up the pre-chapter dialogue as possibly being David’s. I… don’t see it, frankly. The pre-chapter 1 dialogue seems to fit Teruko more, imo.

“Half-remembering is worse than forgetting. Her name, his face…”

We know Teruko doesn’t remember Mai’s name based on the CH 1 EP 6 dream sequence from before, and the “he” could be her brother. Prosopagnosia, and all that. 

And while the chapter 2 dialogue could fit David and his feelings towards Xander  better, there’s nothing which explicitly implies he remembers anything about HPA before the killing game.

I still miss you. I miss you so much that I wish you had never been part of my life. The worst part is, even though you left me like this, there’s nothing I can blame you for.

Also I think that’s Eden but that’s besides the point.

And finally, now that you understand why I don’t think the evidence for isn’t very good, we have to address the evidence against. Mainly, the fact that David doesn’t seem to recognize Xander during his introduction. At all. He even explicitly says, “... I don’t believe we’ve met before”, and calls Xander “sir”. There was no indication at that point that they’d be missing memories, so David has no reason to pretend he doesn’t know who Xander is. In fact, I imagine that if he did remember Xander as having two eyes, and he sees him with an eyepatch, he would react to it in some way, right?

In conclusion, although I like the theory, I don’t think it’s very likely that David’s kept any memories from HPA time.

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Anyways, back to my speculation. There is relatively little reference to Mai in the MV, so it's not like we can get much here, but there is still one thing I want to talk about. And that's the morse code at the end of the MV. As translated by dav-suburbiia:

“YOU STILL BELIEVED IN ME DESPITE EVERYTHING I’VE DONE.” “BUT THAT’S JUST FANTASY, ISN’T IT?” “I SIMPLY CHOSE TO BELIEVE THAT YOU DID.” “AFTER ALL, I’M INCAPABLE OF BEING SOMEONE WITHOUT YOU.”

Now, most people assume this is about Xander, which is perfectly understandable seeing the context of the MV. However, I think there's an argument to be made that this is actually about Mai.

The main thing here is the apparent contradiction which rises if we assume this is about Xander. The "you" in this code knows what David "has done", but they also seemingly aren't around anymore. If we assume the first is referring to David's "manipulation" thing, then this would have to be about HPA Xanvid, since we've never heard of David confessing his issues to killing game Xander. However, if the "you" really isn't around anymore, this would have to be for killing game Xanvid, since Xander only died in the killing game. Am I making sense?

This isn't conclusive, mind you. You could say the code never explicitly says the "you" is actually gone, just that David can't be someone without them. Or, alternatively, that David did reveal "everything [he's] done" during the killing gmae. But it's still an odd way to phrase all this.

So, is there any evidence this is actually about Mai instead? Well, if you squint. The code is directly followed by footnote 22: "The rest is silence". Silence is the dislike stated in Mai's profile. Word association coming in clutch.

But perhaps more interesting is the phrase "You still believed in me despite everything I've done", combined with:

David: She forgives everyone.

The "you" in the code forgave David, and Mai evidently forgave him as well. It's not conclusive either, but it could be a connection.

Under the interpretation that this is about Mai, it would be related to HPA time. Mai still believed in David, or at least, at one point David believed Mai believed in him, and apparently gave him a purpose in life.

The worrying part about this code is actually the middle. "But that's just fantasy, isn't it? I simply chose to believe that you did". Apparently, it's possible Mai never actually trusted or forgave David, another reason I believe it's possible this isn't actually talking about Xander. As established, Mai can be deceptive when she wants, so it could work. We're missing a lot of information, so what exactly this all would mean is up in the air.

But in any case, it's possible that if David was given purpose by Mai or Xander, he would be involved in the HPA Operation, though how exactly is obviously impossible to know. I know this is really weak, but...

Okay, can we talk about Tally 5 yet? I kinda have to talk about Tally 5. Don't worry, I won't actually post the image.

!!!TALLY 5 SPOILERS (NO IMAGE)!!! SCROLL IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF TALLY 5!!!

If you've been living under a rock under the past month or so, Tally 5 refers to an image you get to by solving a code related to the "correct/incorrect" code in the David MV and inputting it into a webpage accessed via the QR Code in the MV's books. I won't talk about the puzzle itself here, so if you want to solve it, maybe go do that or just scroll past this part of the post.

Anyways, as I imagine you know by now, Tally 5 shows David holding Xander's jacket with the following quotes under it:

I became a villain in pursuit of your dream.

I threw away my humanity for an ideal that I couldn't understand.

But I don't regret it. To "regret" is to imply that I could have done anything else.

I never told you, but the truth is, I wasn't capable of ever becoming human in the first place.

So in the end, you're always-

Listen, I'm not gonna pretend I have some sort of infallible exaplanation of what this means. I have several theories about it, and to give you an idea of how insane it is, one of my theories involves quote 3, the one about regret, being said by MonoTV. Don't ask. I might have to do a completely different post about all this, but I'm sorta waiting until I can read some other peoples' thoughts about it.

But for the purposes of this post, this, to me, heavily implies David was involved in the HPA Operation. He's probably talking about Xander here, and Xander's dream would be the HPA Operation, since as I said, it may have been his idea in the first place. That's the ideal David can't understand: an ideal to change a world David sees as immutable.

Now, the lone jacket would imply this isn't the case. It would seem David is saying this in the killing game, after Xander's death, as holding his jacket seems to imply he's gone. However, I don't know what the dream would be in that case. Killing Teruko? It's possible, but I find that unlikely.

So, yeah. Combined with the morse code, here's a full interpretation of what this could mean in relation to Mai:

Mai or Xander somehow learnt of David's true feelings and the way he sees his own actions. She/he forgave him, or at least pretended to forgive him, and this gave David hope. Mai/Xander then introduced David to the HPA Operation, and asked him to do something which would turn him into a villain, asking him to throw away his humanity for an ideal he couldn't understand. What exactly that would be is obviously impossible to know. David accepts, and even when the plan fell through, he doesn't regret doing what he did, because he feels he couldn't have done anything else.

Am I confident in this interpretation? Not really, but it's a plausible interpretation which is related to Mai and the HPA Operation, so I wanted to bring it up. There's a lot there which is probably wrong, but it's what I have for now.

!!!TALLY 5 SPOILERS OVER!!! YOU CAN START READING AGAIN IF YOU WERE AVOIDING THEM!!!

And with that, we’re officially done with the MV! I mean, I may reference it later, but now the bulk of it is gone. Surely this means we can get to some lighter theorizing and-

Teruko Tawaki

Yeah, we gotta talk about the other elephant in the room. Mai and Teruko are clearly connected in an important way.

The first thing to note with them is that they’re generally set up as opposites. Of course, the most straightforward thing is the “dearly loved/dearly unloved” portraits in the MV, but it goes much deeper. Also in the MV, Teruko’s numeral appears right after Mai’s, if that counts for anything.

Another thing is their color scheme. Teruko is mainly associated with green, while Mai is mainly associated with red. And these colors are complimentary; they’re opposite in the color wheel. Not to mention, taking Teruko’s redesign into account, one could associate her with black and Mai, thanks to her uniform and the white camellias, to white. In particular, it’s notable white camellias actually have a white flower, but a black stem. They’re even the same height, at 5’8”! It’s so they can kiss each other in the lips more easily

Additionally, their attitudes from what we’re seeing are also opposite. Mai “forgives everyone”, which means she’s really trusting, while Teruko is (for now) very distrustful. That one’s a bit looser, but eh. May I even go so far, as to say that right now, Teruko represents despair while Mai represents hope? Alright, now I’m reaching, but it fits. Teruko is someone resigned to her horrible fate (luck), while Mai constantly fought for a better world. In fact, Xander, someone Teruko associates with Mai, calls our protag out on her hopeless view of fate… right before stabbing her.

Hell, practically all good things said about Mai? Not true of Teruko (at the moment).

Charles: A girl who loves her family.

Teruko’s an orphan, and doesn’t remember her brother.

Rose: She remembers everything that is important to others.

Well, you could consider people’s faces something important to them, but Teruko has prosopagnosia.

Arturo: A girl who sees the beauty in everyone.

If you watched chapter 2, you know this isn’t true of Teruko.

Honestly, I could keep going like this, but I feel you get the point. There’s no reason for me to dwell on this further when you can just read the quotes and figure out how Teruko isn’t described by most of them.

Well, one possible exception is Levi.

Levi: A girl with a floral tattoo on her arm.

Yeah, time to talk about this theory.

Theory I Absolutely Believe: Teruko and Mai are Tattoo ‘Bud’dies

(Get it? Because flowers and buds- Yeah, no)

So shoutout to cider-est for first pointing this out in this post, but it’s true. Teruko’s left arm is always fully covered, either by bandages or by her jacket sleeve. Which is especially odd, considering her right jacket sleeve is always rolled up.

And it’s especially odd, because her left arm is covered even in the jacket-off reference picture.

And yes, there is a suspicious question mark next to Teruko’s left arm. It ain’t even subtle.

But if there’s still any doubt left in your mind, let skulemojee dispel it in this post, where they point out this image from Ch 2 Ep 2:

Yep, you’re seeing that right. Those black lines on Teruko’s left arm look a suspicious lot like the stems of Mai’s tattoo. It's not perfect, since we can't see any flowers and that may just be scars, but we never get a good enough look at the back of Mai's left arm to know if the flowers are tattooed on the forearm, or if only the stems reach that far.

(Also, Teruko in this scene says she doesn’t remember that scar in her back. Part of me thinks it’s related to Mai and the time of the missing memories, but the more rational side of me tells me I need to chill and stop seeing Mai everywhere)

It's also worth noting this would explain the choice of camellias for the tattoo. Remember, although they represent death in Japan, they mainly represent platonic adoration and respect. A very pretty thing to get matching tattoos with your bestie. But since they're not colored they could be interpreted as red and thus romantic for the shippers

So, yeah. I believe they share a tattoo. Which gives a whole lot of context to the quote.

Teruko: Some years ago, she was looking for someone named 'Teruko Tawaki'

In case it wasn’t clear before with the way Mai smiled at Teruko in that dream sequence, or the way Teruko associated Xander with Mai before she got stabbed by him, the fact they possibly share a tattoo implies they knew each other for a while and had a good relationship with each other. Another indication is that Teruko's favorite color, in the latest Q&A, is stated to be red by association. Sorry Xanruko shippers, that's clearly about Mai, since Teruko associates Xander with Mai in the first place.

What exactly the timeline of this mess is, is... complicated if the tattoo thing is true. Because that would require Teruko and Mai to have gotten the tattoo when at least Teruko was 18, both in Japan and the US. In some states of the US, she would be able to get it at a younger age if she got parental consent, but... what parents? She's an orphan.

In fact, when does that dream sequence take place? Is it Hope's Peak time? Can't be, because Teruko wouldn't remember it. Actually, why doesn't Teruko remember Mai's name is Mai had been searching for her for a while?

Yeah, I can't pin down anything specific about their relationship. Obviously I can't, this is a big mystery and we're only in Chapter 2. The best I can give you is that their relationship was clearly very positive, even before HPA.

...

Which is what makes this line so weird.

Mai: Hang on, "real Ultimate talent?" You're the Ultimate Student! I mean, it's not like you're a "Lucky Student" who was picked by lottery.

This line is really odd, isn't it? It seems uncharacteristically mean for Mai, to dismiss someone else's talent so readily. And Teruko's in particular, when again, they clearly liked each other well enough before HPA. This almost reads more like something Mai would say about herself rather than someone else...

Huh.

Theory: Mai, the Second Ultimate Lucky Student

As established before, Mai has a slight self-depricative streak, where she says things about herself she would never say about one of her friends. So, the fact she's so quick to dismiss the Ultimate Lucky Student as a concept could imply she is the Ultimate Lucky Student. (ULS)

Of course, the first question is how this would work with Teruko. A HPA class only has one ULS, and Teruko's there. I've seen others suggest perhaps Mai was the ULS at Japan's HPA, which is apparently still a high school, so it's possible for her to go there and then go to US HPA, which is more like college.

However, I actually think there's an easier explanation. Mai and Teruko both went to US' HPA at the same time. They just went to different ones.

Mai: The US Hope's Peak Academy takes in college-age students, and there's two of them, and we have this really weird curriculum, and there's a bunch of other things, and...

Yeah! Did you forget there's two HPAs in the US?! Because I sure did! I swear, I rewatched that Bonus Episode like 5 times before I caught that. How does this thing keep spawning in information?

I believe this is why Min specifically calls their class East Class 27. Seeing as this is in the US, I imagine there's likely an East Coast HPA and a West Coast HPA. But what would be the point of splitting the school like this? There's no reason the dev couldn't just keep them as just one HPA... unless there's a reason.

Because with two classes of the same age, there has to be two ULS of the same age.

Now, of course, it's possible West Class 27 is completely irrelevant to the story, but if you assume Mai is East Class 27's ULS and Teruko went to west coast HPA, a lot of things start to make sense. Have you ever wondered how Mai could have been in the same class as everyone else, when HPA usually only have 16 students? Well, it's because one (or more, possibly) just went to another class.

This also explains why we have to get this particular detail from a Bonus Episode. Although all the characters have talked about going to HPA, no one ever mentions which HPA they were invited to. It seems like a weirdly specific detail to omit, unless there’s a reason for it. Because if most of them were part of East Coast HPA, and one of them wasn’t, it would immediately stand out as strange to the cast.

And Mai does have some connections to luck. I mean, of course she does, her story is closelly intertwined with Teruko. For example, remember her birthday? February 1st? I told it'd be relevant, right? Well, as pointed out by fuji-iri in this post, on that day, there's 333 days left of the year. 3 is a number associated with bad luck, but there's also associations to "parting ways" and the three stages of life (birth-marriage apparently-death), again explained in the post I linked. That works with Mai and Teruko splitting up... whenever that happened, as well as Mai possbly dying, but the luck thing in particular is notable.

Now, the main reason I believed this before was just that "it's not like you're a 'Lucky Student' line", but as I researched this, I may have found something else? Except, it may just be me being horrible at code and getting really confused. If anyone can confirm or deny this, it'd be great.

Here's what happened. I noticed that when you look up Mai's name in Google, the text under the link to her page had Teruko's hidden quote: "It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust no one at all." So I went into the code again.

First, I right-clicked on the title (Mai's name) and clicked "inspect". I expanded the "<head>" section (God I'm bad at this), and found this under <meta name>.

meta name="descripttion" content="Mai Akasaki Ultimate ??? "There's a way for you to be happy." It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust no one at all. The protagonist. Despite having the Ultimate title of "Lucky..."

Now, at first, I assumed this was just a coding quirk where for some reason, I was seeing the text of the next character or something.

But, I checked some the other characters, and none of the ones I checked have the same style of text. Look, I'll transcribe some.

Teruko:

meta name="descripttion" content="Teruko Tawaki Ultimate Lucky Student “I will survive this, no matter what!” The protagonist. Despite having the Ultimate title of “Lucky Student,” it seems like the only luck Teruko has is bad luck..."

Xander:

meta name="descripttion" content="Xander Matthews Ultimate Rebel “Screw the rules!” Loud in both voice and personality, Alexander “Xander” Matthews earned the title of Ultimate Rebel through his consistent tendency to go against the..."

MonoTV:

meta name="descripttion" content="MonoTV “Ultimate TV Show Host” “I’m the most beloved character in the cast!” A strange robot with a television for a head. MonoTV claims to be the “Ultimate TV Show Host” who is in charge of an..."

I also checked Veronika, Whit and Nico, but didn't check any more since the pattern's easy to see.

As you can see, usually this section of the code just has the name, the subtitle quote, and part of the body text. None of them have the secret quote, unlike Mai's, which has the quote which is supposed to be Teruko's. But Teruko's name or subtitle quote is never brought up in Mai's "meta name" thing.

Again, maybe I'm missing something, but it really looks like that is meant to be some kind of description of Mai.

It sort of fits. Teruko's quote about trust can fit Mai, hell, is completed by Mai. Teruko usually shows the failing of trusting no one, but Mai may be meant to show the failing of trusting everybody. Mai is also important enough that calling her "the protagonist" is fitting enough.

And, if that really is about Mai, then the final portion is confirmation. "Despite having the Ultimate title of "Lucky..." If this is about Mai, then Mai is unequivocally an ULS.

Again, I don't consider this conclusive because I am an idiot and could very easily be wrong. The wording is exactly the same's as Teruko's, so again, it may be a coding oddity. But with all the other stuff I mentioned, I can at least say this is the theory for Mai's talent I believe the most: She's East Class 27's ULS, while Teruko went to West Coast HPA as their ULS.

Anyways, anything else about Teruko? Oh, yeah, a final sub-theory on her.

Sub-Theory: Shot Through the Heart, Teruko's to Blame

Take a look at the 2nd Anniversary picture.

[The three frames of the 2 year anniversary "video"]

Okay, I know you can't see shit here, but I'm running out of the 30 image limit. Check out lacunasweven's post where she discovered this (to my knowledge), and stfu-sage's reblog where he solved the code.

When solved, that code translates to “It’s all your fault”, which you may remember as MonoTV’s line about Mai.

So, Teruko reaches out for Mai, then “it’s all your fault” appears for a frame or two, and then suddenly Mai’s gone. It’s not exactly hard to imagine that this means Teruko is at fault for Mai’s death, or at least whatever consequences the HPA Operation had. How exactly is impossible to know, because again, it’s a mystery we’re not meant to solve yet. I have a gut feeling it’s probably related to Teruko’s luck, but that’s all it is, a gut feeling.

This doesn’t conflict the “Xander’s at fault” idea, if you’re curious. It’s possible for multiple people to consider themselves at fault for Mai’s death. Xander for bringing her into the HPA Operation, Teruko for her luck or whatever else happened.

Although… yeah, we gotta talk about that right? The scene before the prologue.

I can’t say anything definitive, because again, not something we’re meant to figure out at the moment. But I can tell you what I think.

First, the PoV character is probably Xander. There’s a bloody fork there, and while I’m not the one who came up with the idea, (see: anderscim's post about this) that’s likely the weapon which was used to take out his eye. His wounds do look suspiciously fork-like, though I struggle to explain it without images, and I’m already stretching thin to make the image limit. I’ll have to ask you to look it up yourself.

Anyways, that may be Xander, and this may be the incident where Xander lost his eye. The reason I’m bringing it up is that, since Xander is involved, there’s a chance this is somehow related to the HPA Operation. Here’s a full transcript of what’s said:

... Fuck!! Fuck, fuck, fuck, this really hurts... Ouch... I really wasn't expecting her to attack me like that. I made a massive mistake to trust them. I can't rely on anyone. All by myself... I have to end the killing game. And even if I can't do that... I have to kill Teruko Tawaki. No matter what.

So, a woman attacked Xander unexpectedly, managed to overpower him and stab his eyes out with a fork, then presumably ran away. And this all seemingly happened in some form of killing game. And Xander already wanted to kill Teruko.

I doubt Teruko was the one who attacked Xander. Because Xander calls her out by name at the end, and also because, how would Teruko be able to overpower Xander? Unless you “divine luck” your way into an explanation, I just don’t see it. In any case, it’s probably a different woman. Without knowing anything about the previous killing game, we can’t know much about this situation.

However, the fact that Xander already wanted to kill Teruko here is notable because it seems to imply this killing game happened after Mai's death. After all, Mai and Teruko had a good relationship, right? So Xander wouldn't have a grudge against her until after the HPA Operation fell through. The final conclusion here is that Teruko somehow caused Mai's death, which somehow led to the pre-series killing game. I think? Obviously, it's impossible to say anything conclusive here, and I don't even know what exactly the connection would be between Mai's death and the previous killing game.

And with that, we finish discussion of Teruko.

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Quick Side Note: The Mai-stermind Theory

I’m not funny.

So, in case it isn’t clear yet by the fact I keep assuming she's dead, I don’t think Mai is the mastermind of the killing game. I’m aware it’s a possibility, seeing as she’s very mysterious and all that, but frankly, I just have never seen anyone seriously bring up this possibility, since there’s essentially no evidence. It’s also important to note, even if she is a mastermind, she can’t be the only mastermind, since we know one of the participants of the killing game is a mastermind as well.

To be fair, I did notice some connections to MonoTV while researching. Like I mentioned at one point, they’re the only characters without any highlighted words in their subtitle quotes. And the secret quote in MonoTV’s page is “Her name is Mai Akasaki”, but frankly that feels a bit too… unsubtle. Also... no, actually that’s kinda it.

I’ve also seen some people attribute the “teacher” speech to Mai, but I really don’t think that’s her. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s the text in the code of the About page for DRDT on Tumblr. Here’s a post about it by delightfullydiscordant. I won't go into their theory on it, since it's unrelated to Mai. As you'll see, there’s nothing intrinsically relating the speech to our girl, and nothing in the text suggest she’s the one speaking, so I don’t think it’s related.

With what we know of Mai, I don’t think it makes sense to call her the mastermind. I’m only bringing it up now to be thorough, and because I didn’t know where else to put it :v

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Characters, Miscellaneous Connections

Essentially just me talking about all the characters I haven’t covered yet, to see if any of them could have a connection to Mai or the HPA Operation than what may seem at first.

Already talked about: Xander, Teruko, David

No Evidence of Connection Beyond ‘Classmates’: Rose, Arturo, Levi, Hu, Nico, Ace, Arei, Min

What this means is that while it’s technically possible these characters are related to Mai and the HPA Operation, right now we don’t have any indication of it. Sorry. That doesn’t mean I don’t have things to say about them.

Arturo is usually so mean that, honestly, the fact he says anything positive about Mai at all makes me wonder if he may actually be related. Reminds me a bit of David’s quote, I guess. But maybe I’m just biased because I want this guy to be plot-relevant.

I guess Levi mentioning the tattoo in his line could be important, but unless he has the tattoo too (which is possible I guess, but I don’t quite see it), I don’t know what it could mean.

I could actually see Hu’s and Ace’s lines implying a connection to the HPA Operation, honestly. Seeing as they’re some of the only people who actually talk about her in the past tense, I think it’s possible they were involved. Hu would want to help Mai if she felt she “wanted to keep everyone safe”, for what it’s worth. I sorta hope Hu is plot-relevant too.

Even if Mai is talking to Arei in her current subtitle quote, I don’t see much evidence Arei would be involved in the HPA Operation.

You may be wondering about my old theory about the Sleepy MV and how it could tie back to Mai, and while I still think it's a possibility, I frankly don't believe it anymore. It requires a very specific reading of the song which I don't think is entirely accurate, and there isn't actually much connecting the MV to Mai. I still think Min's line being so overly insistent on Mai being "an average girl with nothing special at all about her" could imply their relationship may have broken down because of the HPA Operation, which makes sense. If Xander engineered the plan, obviously Min will dislike it on principle. But that's probably me trying to make Min more plot relevant than she actually is.

Only Connected via “Original Killing Game” Theory: Charles, J, possibly Ace and Arei

What the hell am I talking about? In the Color Theory reblog I mentioned earlier, I described a wild theory that quite a few of the characters we know were actually involved in that pre-prologue killing game, and we can learn who those characters are thanks to the word "original". Sound insane? It is. I won't go over the reasoning here, I'll ask you check the reblog I linked.

This is the "Original Killing Game" Theory, and it's one of the most far-fetched theories I've ever enginereed. But since it's sorta connected, I thought I'd mention it. The characters involved are Charles, Veronika or Ace, David, Teruko, J/Arei, Xander, MonoTV, Whit. I’ve already talked about some of these, and don’t think MonoTV is worth talking about, frankly.

So, why am I only bringing up Charles and J for now, as well as potentially Ace and Arei since they could actually be part of the theory depending on how you interpret the colors? Well, these are the only ones in the “original killing game” theory who I don’t think have any evidence of being connected with Mai any further. Since that theory is already insane to start with, and it’s possible Mai was already dead when that killing game started, I don’t think it tells us anything.

Although sometimes I wonder if J’s quote is talking about something other than Mariabella, but at the moment, I have no clue what that would be. So that’s still the likeliest possibility.

Eden: Eden

Eden, huh? In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been sorta dancing around Eden’s line a bit, because… like, what in the actual fuck does it mean.

Eden: She kept calling the number, even though no one picked it up.

It’s such an odd line. It’s nothing like the other ones, which you’d think would make it significant, but it’s just… cryptic. I’m sorry, but while I think this probably means something, I don’t have a good answer of what it could be.

… Well, there is the one thing.

——————————————————————————————————

Crack Theory: Mai the Girl Kisser

This theory states that Mai is the girl mentioned in Eden’s secret, the one the Clockmaker kissed.

See? Theorizing’s easy! Just grab a random character we don’t know anything about, and slap Mai on top of it like a bandaid!

I’m aware the dev has sorta poked fun at people like me who see an unknown face and instantly jump on Mai, but at least this one has a bit more reasoning. Mainly, that I just don’t know what else Eden’s quote could be referring to.

Consider this concept: Eden and Mai kiss at some indeterminate point before HP, and Eden freaks out. She gets extremely worried about how Mai’s going to react, and she runs away. Mai tries to contact her afterwards, but Eden was avoiding her. Still, “[Mai] kept calling the number, even though no one picked it up”.

Is this essentially just fanfiction at this point? Practically, yeah, but I have nothing else.

On the insane off-chance this is true, it would come with certain implications. It would mean Eden and Mai had met before going to HPA, which is… uh, something. If it helps, that would mean their relationship would have a “new beginning” at HPA, and Eden’s character has some themes of new beginnings. Her birthday is on December 31st, so New Years, and her favorite color is daffodil yellow, when daffodils represent new beginnings. It’s small, but it’s there.

(And if you know who I am, you know I believe Eden killed Arei to reunite with the girl of her secret (long story). Mai helps here because of course she would have enough rizz to make a good girl go bad, have you seen how everyone talks about her? She would get all the bitches!)

Anyways, again, this is extremely silly, but it’s sort of the only thing I can think of for Eden’s line, so for now, have it. If anyone’s got better ideas, I’m more than open to hear them.

——————————————————————————————————

A Connection is More Plausible: Veronika, Whit

In no particular order, these are the characters, apart from Xander and Teruko and David, which I think have an actual chance of being involved with Mai and the HPA based on what we know so far. Let’s go a bit more in depth.

Veronika’s Peculiar Problem of Popping Up Fucking Everywhere

It is insane how many times I’ve brought up Veronika in this post without being able to pinpoint why exactly she keeps appearing. She shares the color red with Xander and Mai in my version of Color Theory, though admittedly that may just be her hair. She’s in the “original killing game” under that theory. Hell, she’ll show up again when I talk about Whit.

But by far, the most concerning thing about her is her line in the Mai page.

Veronika: A girl who didn’t foresee the consequences.

I’ve mentioned this line before, of course, because it’s clearly related to the HPA Operation’s fallout. In fact, it’s the only line apart from Xander’s and MonoTV’s which explicitly reference it. This could easily imply she was involved somehow, either as someone helping Mai and Xander, or actually going against them in some way. Whatever is more entertaining for her, I imagine.

There are two issues with this. One, I cannot discount the possibility that Veronika got that creepy and ominous line because she’s the creepy and ominous character, and it doesn’t actually mean anything for Veronika herself. It’s a very real possibility.

Two, even if she is involved, there’s nothing we have which could help narrow down what she did. Again, she’s too unpredictable.

In other words, while I’m putting Veronika here with the vague idea that she could be connected to it all, I don’t have any concrete theories.

Though maybe I should address the one Veronika-Mai theory which exists, for the sake of completion.

——————————————————————————————————

Crack Theory: Veronika Is Mai

To be clear, I don’t believe this. It’s pretty clear to me that Veronika is her own character with her own backstory. But I still want to point out some connections to show you how insane I’m going writing this.

+They’re both the same height (5’8”) and have long red hair. This is enough for my prosopagnosic ass to confuse them if they change hairstyle. Their weights and birthdays are different, but weight can change and birthdays can be lied about. Their chest sizes are different, though, so I’m pretty sure that rules out this theory already.

+Speaking of birthdays, August 7th, Veronika’s birthday, happens to be 7 months away from Teruko’s birthday on January 7th. 7? Lucky number. Lucky Student. Word association -> Mai.

+Veronika covers both her arms, so no tattoo would be visible.

+Veronika asks Teruko if she would recognize her were she to wear contacts, a wig and different clothes. This could imply she is, and would therefore be Mai.

+Her pose in the character profiles is vaguely similar to Mai’s, but flipped. This is interesting because no other character’s pose is even close.

+She wears a small earring given to her by someone named “Alyssa Belyaeva”. This by itself means nothing, but the earring is a small green triangle she considers a good luck charm. Luck?! And triangles have three sides. 3?! That number we said was unlucky and related to Mai before? And green. Green?! Teruko! Auasfruryg- <- short-circuiting from thinking too much.

+Veronika has plain brown eyes. Come on, have you seen this cast’s eyes? Those are absolutely contacts.

+Her hidden quote about people being broken could refer to the hopeful Mai being broken into Veronika as a result of the HPA Operation’s consequences.

Yeah, most of this is pretty silly, but again, I don’t think this theory is very likely, so I’m just poking fun at how suspicious Veronika can be at times.

——————————————————————————————————

Whit and Tetraphobia

At first, it doesn't really seem like Whit is too involved in this. I mean, his quote is pretty inoffensive:

Whit: A girl with many friends.

And sure, he is the Original Killing Game Theory, but even if that's somehow true, it's no guarantee he's involved in the HPA Operation or anything. Nothing really seems to connect him to Mai...

Except the one thing.

XV. Remaining ignorant, isn't that "happiness"¹⁵?

XV is Whit's Roman numeral, and again it isn't too strange on its own. Other than being the only numeral to ever show up alongside another numeral, in this case Veronika's because of course it's Veronika's.

The issue is the background text. It's hard to see, but there's faint pink text saying "subtract 4, due to tetraphobia⁴". Footnote 4 simply defines tetraphobia, which is the practice of avoiding the number 4, as it's considered a number related to death, and is seen as unlucky. Of course, the fours themselves are colored green for Teruko, presumably.

But the important part is, what does this mean? The most straightforward idea is to subtract four from the numerals on screen, or perhaps the footnote?

For the footnote: Subtracting 15 - 4 = 11, quick math, and that's the footnote which talks about being an only child and that (presumably) Diana Chiem never existed. I... don't think that makes too much sense for this scene, frankly.

For Veronika's numeral, subtracting XIV (14) - 4 = 10. That's Min's numeral, which shows up in the part of the MV most directly tied to class trials. This could simply imply she enjoys the trials and the bloodshed, and it also looks somewhat mastermind-y, but that's not really new for Veronika. You could also do this one more literally, taking out 4 from 14 and ending up with 1, connecting her to Xander, and at this point I'm not surprised.

But, of course. The tetraphobia line only shows up when Whit's numeral does, and it's colored in the pink associated to him via Color Theory, though of course, being background text, the tetraphobia line isn't actually included in that theory. That would seem to imply it's about him, right?

Well, in the same vein as before, if you subtract XV (15) - 4 = 11 (XI). And... that's Mai's numeral, attached to the line "God is dead". So, uh-

Sub-Theory: Shot Through the Heart, Whit's to Blame

The idea that maybe Whit was somehow involved in Mai's death. By the end of the series, I'm gonna end up blaming half the cast for this, apparently.

So, the tetraphobia thing is the most straightforward piece of evidence towards this possibility, but there's a bit more. For one, in the recent Q&A, it was stated that Whit's least favorite color is gray because it's boring, and that's the color of Mai's numeral. Remember how I pointed out it's actually one of the only numerals to be colored? Yeah.

Furthermore, Whit's numeral appears right before Mai's, but that may just be the way the song works out, since LGI wasn't made for DRDT. However, remember that "become brainwashed: go do it!" line I said was directly after Mai's numeral? Yeah, the word brainwashed is color coded pink, connecting it to Whit via Color Theory. And, if that wasn't enough, in the section for footnote five, the one with the Japanese characters? The word blood shows up, in pink, as the song speaks about revolutionaries. Yes, DR blood is pink usually, but there is red blood in the MV (near the snake), and the characters canonically see it as dark red (since that's the stated reason why dark red is Xander's and Charles' least favorite color). My point is, the dev could have made the blood red there, and/or just written the symbol for blood in red, but since it's pink, Color Theory ends up connecting it to Whit.

All of this could point to Whit as another culprit of Mai's death, but don't jump to conclusions. For one, since we have no clue about the circumstances, perhaps he only accidentally caused the death. We've seen that Teruko is also likely to blame in some way, probably in a similar fashion. And because it may have been accidental, this also doesn't mean Whit has to be the mastermind. It makes him look oddly suspicious, sure, but nothing too damning.

And of course, there's a huge chance I'm reading too much into things. There are other explanations for brainwashed and blood, and it's still totally possible that the tetraphobia thing refers to Veronika or even the footnote.

A Summary of Her Story, So Far

To end things off, I'll go over everything I've concluded with what we know so far, though of course I know we're missing a lot, and that a ton of this is also probably wrong. Here's how this is going to work.

Regular text means this is something we pretty much know for sure.

Italics means it's a theory I'm quite convinced of.

[Brackets mean I'm relatively unsure about something]

*Asterisks mean the theory is insanely unlikely, and it can probably just be assumed false*

{Braces are for flavor text, you can ignore this for theorizing purposes}

Closing Argument

>Mai was born February 1st, 20--, to a nice family she loved. We know little about her childhood, but [it's possible she was friends with or somehow got interested in a girl named Teruko Tawaki. However, fate kept them apart for years]. But Mai was not easily deterred, she would search for and find Teruko, no matter what.

>*As she searched for Teruko Tawaki, she met a girl named Eden Tobisa. They kissed, but Eden freaked out and ran away. Mai tried contacting her, she kept calling the number, even though no one picked it up.*

>At some point before Hope's Peak, her and Teruko reunited. *Even when Teruko couldn't recognize her and even struggled to remember her name*, Mai still remembered everything that was important for Teruko, as she always did.

>Mai and Teruko, loving each other so much, decided to get matching floral tattos on their arms. White camellias, a symbol of adoration and respect.

>{But fate really didn't like to see them together.} Soon, Teruko received a letter, teling her she was chosen as the Ultimate Lucky Student of Hope's Peak's [West Class 27]. This was uncharacteristically good luck for Teruko, who before had to hop around schools, always stealing uniforms, just to get an education.

>{The problem?} At the same time, Mai received a letter that she was invited to join Hope's Peak's East Class 27 as their Ultimate Lucky Student, on the other side of the country. Mai never really cared much about Ultimates or Hope's Peak, {but Teruko insisted it was too good of an opportunity for either of them to pass up. They decided to keep in contact,} as Mai headed to East Coast Hope's Peak.

>Alexander Matthews is scouted as the Ultimate Rebel. David Chiem is scouted as the Ultimate Inspirational Speaker.

>At Hope's Peak, despite being an average girl with nothing special at all about her, she quickly became a girl with many friends. She saw the beauty in everyone, and everyone agreed she had a bright future. Everyone confided in her, J even telling her about her mother, something which Mai kept secret, and told no one.

(Okay, maybe fitting in all the quotes isn't as easy as I hoped it'd be)

>*She even reunited with Eden, and they decided their relationship would have a new beginning*.

>However, she also met a very interesting boy: Xander Matthews. He had gone to Hope's Peak with one goal in mind: revolution. He confided in her, as they all did, his issues with Hope's Peak and the system it was built upon. Mai was revolted by the truth, and asked what she could do to help. She couldn't stand to do nothing. She wanted to keep everyone safe.

>With that, the HPA Operation started.

>They started small; stealing a few documents here and there. [But their plans grew bolder over time.]

>[Along the way, they discovered something shocking]. David, who always spoke of change and hope, was hiding his true feelings. He didn't see himself as human, not being able to relate to his peers as the others did. He saw himself as a manipulative bastard for lying to all the people he gave speeches to. He hated himself, and expected Mai and Xander to hate him, too.

>[But they didn't. Xander still saw the best in him, and Mai? Well, Mai forgives everyone. And to make him see the good in himself, they asked him to help in the HPA Operation]

>He didn't understand it, not really. The world wouldn't change, no matter what Mai and Xander told him. But even though he didn't understand, he still wanted to help them.

>As the popular Ultimate Inspirational Speaker, David had more connections and influence than a simple Rebel or Lucky Student. That meant he could offer things to the Operation the other two couldn't, even if it was through... less than moral means. But to David, that was no object. He would become a villain in pursuit of their dream, throw away his humanity for this ideal. It's not like he could have ever been human, anyways.

>*Not everyone was as receptive, though. Min in particular, after finding out about the plan somehow, got quite angry with Xander and Mai. It wasn't unusual for the Student and the Rebel to disagree, but Mai still didn't like it when her friends fought*

>Mai knew it was risky, she really did. But nothing could prepare her for what was about to happen. She didn't foresee the consequences.

>[When Teruko was visiting], the HPA Operation faced a huge issue. A plan gone wrong, a variable miscalculated. And, with Teruko to blame, [and possibly Whit] *and Veronika, who got dragged into this mess at some point*, Mai died.

>{Chaos ensued. Mai's death broke the class, reverberating through the students like the rumbling of a fallen god's corpse. "It's all your fault!" Xander screamed at Teruko,} hiding that he felt responsible for her death as well. After all, he was the one who had dragged her along. And now, he was once again left alive to mourn a death he himself narrowly avoided. Talk about survivor's guilt.

>[One thing led to another, and a killing game was set up]. Xander and Teruko got stuck in it, with Xander losing his eye as he tried everything he could to end the game, or at least kill Teruko. *Charles, Veronika/Ace, David, J/Arei and Whit might have also present in this killing game, ran by MonoTV.*

>More stuff happened, and finally, the students all lost their memories and wound up in the killing game we follow throuhout the series.

>A shattered dream, a tragic fate, a broken hope. Though mystery continues to shroud her existence and her role in the story, for now, this is my final conclusion on the story of: Mai Akasaki, the Ultimate ???

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Holy hell this was pain to write. I don't want to make another post this complicated for a while. Jesus. This broke my soul.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my insane ramblings, if you really were strong enough to put up with my madness for this long. I still want to hear any thoughts you may have, since this character is really interesting and cool and fun to theorize about.

But for now, I leave. Thanks for reading! If you made it this far, then just know, Mai would be proud of you! And you should know, because you should practically be a scholar on her by now. Take care!

#drdt #danganronpa despair time #fanganronpa #mai akasaki #drdt theory #xander matthews #drdt xander #david chiem #drdt mv #teruko tawaki #i am so tired

[littlelesbianintern]

My more in depth thoughts on Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies ep 8 (1/4?)

CYNTHIA’S COMPULSORY HETROSEXUALITY

Obviously the whole Cynthia/Shy Guy plot is to cover Cynthia’s compulsory heterosexuality and is quite natural given the time period. I think that’s probably the reason behind the dress and makeup this episode as well - as in its shows her outward desire to conform to what’s expected of her and so she tries to copy the other pink ladies.

Lydia’s “you can’t pull that off” line was really interesting to me though because throughout the series it’s already kind of been established that Cynthia and Lydia can have conversations without ever saying anything to each other out loud. So what I think that line actually directly translates into is “I don’t believe you actually like him”. And this triggers Cynthia because she did the dress, the makeup, all of which make her so uncomfortable in order to hide her true character almost like a suit of armour to protect herself but Lydia STILL sees through it and that scares her so she backs herself further into this corner by calling Shy Guy her boyfriend. And that’s why she tries it on with Shy Guy in the kitchen - almost like she’s trying to convince herself that she can like men but when it doesn’t change anything she projects this onto Shy Guy by saying he’s not a “real man”. It’s another defence mechanism, almost like she’s so sure that if he was a “real man” then she would like it so it’s not her fault. The problem is despite her feelings being valid, she hurts those around her in the process.

I also wonder if we’re seeing her story mirroring Shy Guy’s. If the show does goes down this root of Shy Guy also being queer, it would make sense as to why he seems to like Cynthia out of all the girls because of her masc/butch presentation. And why when Cynthia kisses him, he pulls away because maybe he’s realising that he actually doesn’t like her like that either. I also cant stop thinking about that short scene in ep 8 when he’s stood by the car with a few of the thespian guys (all of the thespians are queer and I will die on that hill) but it definitely looks like they’re nodding towards him - as if they kind of recognise him as queer as well (gaydar anyone?). It would be nice if the show took this root because if so, when he and Cynthia hopefully makeup, it would be cool to see some mlm/wlw solidarity.

Obviously it could also be that he’s feeling self-conscious about Cynthia’s comments - the thespian guys don’t fit into the category of stereotypical masculinity and it may be that he’s trying to figure out how to fit into that stereotype and they make him self-conscious. Shy Guy’s whole character arc seems to revolve around masculinity and how he can show that masculinity and the softness that comes more naturally to his character at the same time much like the subplot in ep 7 with his father and the boxing. So for Cynthia to say he’s not a “real man” probably cuts really deep.

I just hope we get everything between Cynthia and Shy Guy resolved in the next two episodes because I need them to go back to being besties.

#rise of the pink ladies #grease rise of the pink ladies #grease #grease 2 #grease: rise of the pink ladies #rotpl #grease rotpl #olivia valdovinos #jane facciano #cynthia zdunowski #nancy nakagawa #shy guy #shy guy rotpl

[randomidiocyncrazies]

Hot take but I actually don't like Isami's "hot-blooded super robot protag" makeover in the finale. (Elaboration below)

For one, I think his character design is now way less charming because 'Hero Isami' kinda just slapped generic protagonist design traits together and called it a day (and i know this is just personal taste, so no shade to those who prefer his new look). Also, while I like the symbolic reason for him looking like a super robot protagonist when he decides to fight back against the remaining Death Drives/embrace the kind of narrative he's in, I'm not super enthused by how they've executed it? I don't feel like he's really embraced it so much as 'had to embrace it', like how he kinda had to go along with the rest of the story thus far. His new look is very much a 'super robot protag' look imo, but I personally think the transistion from him running away to embracing the 'super robot protag' label is a little superficial in terms of the character's emotional development.

We're told that Isami accepts Bravern, and we do see them get closer, but we don't actually get any meaningful depth about Isami's definition of heroism prior to Bravern—we understand Smith's idea and drive to be a hero, we understand Lulu's motivations, but we don't really get that for Isami. The finale gave us "I never wanted to be a hero" to contrast with Smith's "I've always wanted to be a hero", but we don't really get why Isami wasn't interested, nor what he thought a hero was before Bravern. I know they wanted to set up a situation where Isami is inspired to become a hero because of Bravern, but the slightly ham-fisted way they say Isami trusts Bravern/is inspired by him etc didn't feel very compelling to me because they focused on Smith's character in the first 8 episodes and Isami's character didn't get that exploration.

For the impact of Isami finally embracing being a 'super robot hero' in the finale, we should see a change in either his understanding of heroism itself, or his understanding of himself in relation to the concept of heroism. I mean, i guess his talk with Smith kinda touches on it, but without exploration of how he was before Bravern re: heroism, the impact of him choosing to embody the typical 'super robot hero' approach (shown by literally changing his character design to fit the vibe) falls a bit flat for me.

And like! The idea that Isami needed to actively embrace the super robot story he found himself in to get his happy ending is a really neat one! He's been steamrolled into it for pretty much the entire show, so him seizing control over his story is inspiring—and I think a little more clarity on what heroism means/meant to Isami would elevate the character writing. Right now he's kinda just this guy who gets bullied by the story, and tbh the change between his despair + begging for his life to taking up the hero mantle willingly in the finale feels kinda like he's reacting in whatever way the plot needed him to. In general there were times where I felt Isami's reactions seemed abrupt for what was established between him and other chracters; it's not a huge deal, but it did stick out to me.

(As much as I loved the the love confession scene in ep 11, I was confused at Isami's emotional intimacy with Bravern; not because I don't ship it, but because Isami seemed quite bothered by Bravern's overeagerness before this point. They grew closer after ep 9, but the intimacy at the beach wasn't convincing on Isami's side for me because there was barely build-up. In general, Isami's acceptance/buy-in to Bravern's definition of heroism was mostly glossed over imo.)

Don't get me wrong, it's still a very fun show! I enjoyed the wild homoerotic ride and most of the humor (LOVED the little meta jokes), and the story's themes are really compelling in theory. Bang Brave and unleash your courage in a stylish explosion! I just wish they gave us a little more time to sit in Isami's head.

#bravern #ric reacts #bravern critical

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a long weekend

10pm, sunday, oct 8, 2023

it's canadian turkey-day tomorrow ~ it's windy and grey outside ~ there is pumpkin pie in the fridge and i'm wearing an extremely pleasing wooly sweater my housemate was going to give away. we've turned the heat on for the first time this season. the cozy season of the year has arrived.

reading finished victoria goddard's whiskeyjack, book 3 in the greenwing & dart series! reading this series for me is an exercise in noticing the easter eggs that tell me it was written by a medievalist, and an academic, and a medievalist academic with a degree from the program i'm currently in. there's so much in this particular volume about poetry analysis. she came so close to using the word 'semiotic' and actually did use the phrase 'exoteric.' while i might have quibbled about things like pacing and plot and how i still don't always think first-person is a good fit in the hands of most authors, these books are like tailor-made for me. i can't not enjoy them.

and then on the other hand, i spent some extremely happy hours this past week with patrick o'brian's post captain. when i first read the aubrey books, i was probably in high school, fresh out of racing through the hornblower series. because the aubreyad is-- i'll be honest-- better writing, but also demands more of you as a reader, i fully didn't appreciate like 80% of this book. i knew the series, as much by osmosis as by actual time spent reading, and reading it now? felt like coming home. especially since i now have the attention, and the ability, to read between the lines. to pick up on the irony, the allusions, the humor, the misdirection! the women oh my god how did i not appreciate sophie, diana, or mrs. williams before now. i didn't mind before how little of the larger world and society made it into the movie, but i actually understand the griping now. but even more than that, i found the ship action and actual, like, battle extremely tense and interesting this time; i was up well into the night at one point just to see what would happen next, because i was nervous for my dear boys.

watching friday night double-feature with @hematiterings where we enjoyed the first three new episodes of Our Flag Means Death and finished with another two of netflix's Arcane: League of Legends, which we're probably going to finish fairly soon so i'll focus on that one. just quickly though, had a great time with the first new ofmd episode, just extremely good work from all involved, and then was weirdly not as into the second two-- though the end of ep 3 was back to grand. i think in general i like where the season is going, and i'm going to withhold further comment until we've seen some more.

i was not expecting to like arcane as much as i have been. didn't have a clue what it was when we started, but the art style has absolutely blown me away. here's a quick run-down of the animation, which is a mix of hand-painted digital, 2D, and absolutely gorgeous. it looks like a video game and a painting at the same time-- not in the same way spiderverse combines animation and illustration, but with some familiar elements. people's eyes have this amazing jewel-like depth and clarity? scenery that made us go 'oh, paris looks so nice!' and 'man i love cyberpunk' and other such witticisms. but seriously, if you like good animation and also art nouveau-inspired steam-punk aesthetics, there's a lot here. plus a good (dare I? could league of legends be good, actually?) tragic story-line, and enough twists that i haven't seen coming, to really get me curious about what comes next.

listening a long time ago, probably back in 2021 around the time of the most recent album, i think @mankillercalledbunny was sharing playlists or links that featured The Amazing Devil, and at roughly the same time i had a spotify playlist include a track or two for me, and now here we are. had their two albums "ruin" and "the horror and the wild" on all week, which made it a bit hard to read at times because i would get caught in the lyrics. this is exactly the kind of music two people who met at the RSC would make, it is dramatic, sort of gothic, sort of folky, sort of theater. the contrary motion, the interweaving voices, esp. in the chorus of "marbles", is where i've been living recently. i like knowing this about joey batey, i like that he has this extra dimension now when i see him as jaskier! i hope he can find a way to come back to it again, whenever.

playing i finally (after how long!) got the wizard's ink well - witch's pendant - goblins (??) quest in stardew! not a hard one at all, but so satisfying to be able to use that hint that had been hovering there in the library for the past, oh, real-world year or so. i'm like 50 pieces of hardwood away from getting the ferry up and running too, and i'm excited to move off of the plateau i've been on and open up the next level of the world.

making i mentioned the pumpkin pie up top, and it did turn out well this year despite a distracted me happening to leave out the butter when mixing the filling-- i noticed before it got into the oven, luckily, and was able to add it in! but...while it was in the pie crust, which was kind of sloppy. no nicely pinched or braided crust for me this year. and then, since the size of can of pumpkin you buy here is always a little too big for the recipe, i tried out the smitten kitchen pumpkin bread that many friends have recommended before, and that has been a delight. moist without being dense or heavy, but still very substantial? a little bit less sugar than the recipe called for, and no freshly ground nutmeg, but we did have fresh ginger and overall it is very nice. it also rose architecturally, which was maybe a function of it being on a higher rack? or of me miss-counting scoops of baking soda? anyway, hilarious.

working on working on consistency. working on momentum. working on not getting in my own way. draft of this conference paper due 10/26, slides and notes for this guest lecture due 10/25, and the chapter abides. the conference paper serves it directly, however, which i feel good about. i keep finding new things to read about, and keep being glad i've continued researching, since i'm coming up with excellent (it feels) material to work with, but i can't let that get in the way of actually. writing.

#in lieu of a commonplace book #ilcb #weekly roundup

[thesiriusmoon]

Alligator Valley

Summary: there’s a not so new agent in town, and Bonnie is helping out on her first case with him. A cannibal case in Florida.

Characters: Bonnie McBride (OC), Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia

AU: Criminal Minds

Episode: Lucky (S3, Ep 8)

AN: follows canon but I tweak it to fit my story lol

TW: Possible mentions for gore and death, drugs use, abuse (all aspects).

Please reblog and like!! It really helps me out <3

———————————

A couple of days had gone by since Bonnie physically saw her mother, nor heard much from her at all. She was always away, and it had taken a bit of a toll of her mood. Second guessing whether or not her mother really wanted her anymore. No text messages to let her know she’s alright, just things about microwave dinners and pop tarts. Ever since Bonnie could, she had worked. From age 14 earning $5 an hour. She helped pay the bills and whatever was left was for school work and clothes. Now that she had this assistants job she had felt a little lighter. Not having to worry too much about what she would have left over, but that didn’t stop her mother from disappearing for days. The longest was two weeks then one day she walked in, drunk out of her mind Bonnie was amazed she could stand, and walked straight past her and into bed. The next morning ate cereal from the same table without lifting her head, continuously scratching her arm full of needle piercings.

The woman she looked at was not the same in old photographs when she was a baby or toddler. Her brown hair was thin and greying at only forty. Her skin so tight that Bonnie could see her mothers cheekbones and ribs as clearly as she could see her eyes. It made her wonder, if she was watching her mother wither away.

Bonnie had became quite agitated. Everything said to her must have been against her. If she were asked to do her job she’d take it as being bossed around, but would comply quietly, seething under her breath. Or if she had been given constructive criticism she would convince herself it was because someone didn’t think she could handle her own.

David Rossi was quite the character. She had read one of his books before. Detailing his journey from the army, to the FBI. It was really quite interesting. She never thought she’d be standing in the same room with the man who caught Ryland Posey. The man who set off five bombs, almost six, if David Rossi hadn’t gotten to him in time. The man was made of stone. Every time Bonnie were in his presence she found that she was too intimated to talk. His legacy was bigger than her whole life.

He spoke sternly and low, creeping her out a little bit. Also adding to her quiet teeth gritting as she didn’t like how much of a know-it-all he could be. Speaking to the team as if he owned them.

It was an hour after starting her shift, 11am, when her phone beeped, and the team were getting ready to leave for Florida.

Before Bonnie could get to the jet first like always, Penelope had appeared, popping out of nowhere, and grabbed her arms with haste. “Guess what!” Her cheeks were rosy pink and the smile on her face was just ready to burst and spew confetti.

“What?!” She jumped up and down with Penelope, the woman’s excitement rushing through her hands and intertwined hers.

“I met a guy!”

Bonnie gasped dramatically. “Shut up! Who!” Stopping jumping to get to the serious parts.

“Well, his name is James and I met him at a coffee shop!” Penelope squealed with delight.

“That’s so cute! That’s literally the ideal place right? Going in for a cute little coffee and just bumping into someone!”

“I know!” Penelope strained her voice in attempt to remain a little composed in the office.

“Well you’ll have to tell me everything and more when I get back!”

“I will! I’m very excited for our sleepover young lady!”

Bonnie felt her heart melt and ache at the same time.

There was no hiding anything from Penelope Garcia. She was infamous for it. Literally smelling mood changes. It didn’t take long for the woman to question Bonnie on why she had been acting off. And it was easy to talk to Penelope. She actually listened to her. She was just like an open diary all ready to be written all over

So then the door of Penelope’s apartment was open to her 24/7. She had insisted at first that it was too generous to offer her a place to stay until her mother returned, because it would be too often and might be longer than Penelope had expected. So Bonnie had negotiated that she’d go for a night or two, for snacks and movies, just like having a best friend. Something Bonnie never had the time to have, skipping grades and going to college at 16 being surrounded by people much older than she was.

“Don’t take too long!” Penelope waved Bonnie off as she sped towards the jet.

“So, this guy is a complete and utter psychopath!” David Rossi ranted at the screen which showed an assortment of body parts. No faces. Just legs and arms. Fingers and toes.

“Someone very mentally ill Rossi.” Derek said from across the table.

“Obviously.” The older man sassed and Derek rolled his eyes, clenching his jaw like he always did if someone pissed him off.

“Guys. Listen up please.” Hotch scolded the two like a pair of kids, before clearing his throat and putting his attention back onto the computer. “This is Abby, nineteen, she left for college and never returned home. A pair of joggers found her body in a nearby park three days later. Everything below her waist had been eaten. All ten fingers gone, and her throat slit.”

This girl was only a year older than she was. Bonnie couldn’t help but feel attacked herself. Why must it always be women?

“What did that to her?” Derek asked, pointing to what would have been the girls bottom half.

“Bridgewater's off of i-75, Which is often referred to as alligator alley For reasons that are now apparent.” Hotch answered and Emily grimaced.

“I suddenly don’t feel so bad about my alligator purse.”

“Ah, the circle of life.” Rossi commented casually.

“An alligator couldn’t have carved an inverted pentagram on her torso though right? Or slit her throat? Unless he’s really skilled.” Derek conspired.

“The locals believe that a satanic cult is at fault.” Hotch replied, and Spencer quickly intervened.

“S-Satanic cults have been debunked as a myth actually.”

“What?” Jennifer looked unconvinced.

“Yeah, it was Rossi who debunked it.” All heads turned to the older man.

“Thanks kid.” Rossi gave Spencer a nod and Bonnie almost laughed at how his face radiated.

“Cult or not, this is ritualised.” Said Hotch and Emily sighed.

“So… satanic cults don’t exist, but satanic killers do?” She asked and Bonnie also rolled the question over her head.

“Lasciate ogni speranza ch'entrate.”

The team looked at Rossi with clueless eyes.

“Oh. Thanks for clearin' that up.” Derek tutted.

“Uh, it's from dante's inferno. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." Spencer answered proudly.

“So… yes?” Emily asked and Rossi nodded.

“Precisely.”

But the boy genius wasn’t quite done yet. “There are two types of satanic killers actually. One is the rebellious teenager. Looking for a way out of reality. Mix this with some drugs and alcohol and it could turn violent. In some cases deadly.”

Rossi looked up at Spencer who smiled. “That’s from my book.”

“Trust me, we know.” Jennifer laughed and Spencer’s happiness faltered slightly.

“And the other?” Hotch asked.

Spencer continued, a little quieter and less enthusiastically this time however. Looking down towards the computer. “The adaptive. The worse one of the two I believe. I-it’s when a serial killer begins to blame his doings on fantasies. They will adapt satanic beliefs to fit their cause.”

“He doesn’t kill because he believes in satan. He believes in satan because he kills then. Is that it?” Rossi nodded at Derek who rubbed his head. “I don’t believe in all this crap!”

Spencer never missed a beat as his mouth ran faster than his thoughts. “Maybe that’s because you never really let god into your life?”

Derek whipped around, his thick brows crossed. “No offence kid, but you don’t know what I believe in.” And Spencer gulped, sinking into his chair.

“Alright well… we’re almost there. So when we land Bonnie you’re with me and Rossi, the rest of you visit the police department.”

Bonnie didn’t have that many notes yet. All she had picked out from the group was that they were looking for someone who believes that satan is real because they have committed such a heinous act. It wasn’t much to go on, there were probably lots of people who believed that.

Following Agent Hotchner and Rossi, they were led down to an examination room where Abby’s body- what was left of it- was being autopsied.

“Sir, I’m SSA Aaron Hotchner with the FBI.” Agent Hotchner shook the doctors hand after the man removed his glove.

“David Rossi.” Another shake.

“Bonnie.” She smiled and kept her hands on her notebook.

“Thank you for coming. I’ve been needing to speak with you.” The man said shaking every so slightly. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Agent Hotchner lifted his head with interest.

“Fingers. Ten of them found in Abby’s stomach. They’re away for testing right as we speak.”

“He made her eat them?” Bonnie asked and the man nodded.

“Yes.”

“Are they hers?” Agent Hotchner asked.

But the man shook his head. “No… these belong to other people I’m sure of it. Three are index fingers.”

“More victims.” Rossi said aloud.

“He fed her other peoples fingers… why?” She asked the other two agents with her pen in hand ready to write.

“To send a message he’s killed more. And that…” agent Hotchner sighed and looked away from Bonnie. “He’s possibly eating them.”

The man from the autopsy stopped dead. “Serious?”

“Yes.” Agent Hotchner stated in his classic monotone voice.

“Well if it’s satanism, I think we should talk to the local priest don’t you think?” Rossi suggested and Agent Hotchner nodded.

“Yeah good thinking.” And she followed the two out of the room.

Rossi and Derek decided to go to the church, while Bonnie and Agent Hotchner returned to the police station to share their findings. Jennifer and Emily had just returned from visiting Abby’s father.

“He fed her fingers? That’s messed up.” Jennifer scrunched her nose like being hit with a bad smell.

“You ever wonder what human meat tastes like?” Emily pondered to herself and Agent Hotchner ignored her, while Bonnie shook her head.

“Never thought about it, never want to.”

Before Emily could go on further about eating people, an officer barged into the office and all heads turned.

“Sir, we’ve just got a call about a woman being abducted at a rest stop near the state park. We’d like you to check it out. We think it’s your guy.”

“Alright. Emily come, JJ and Reid stay and wait for Rossi and Morgan.” The boss had ordered and Bonnie could easily see how restless Spencer was getting being stuck in this small room from the minute they arrived.

At the rest stop, the team were brought into a bathroom, a smelly one. In one stall, a red inverted pentagram had been drawn on the door, marking which one the act had been committed, possibly to tell satan it was here. The toilet lid was down and a stack of books perched on top.

“Books?” Emily questioned.

“Satanic ones. And they’re nice and neat. This unsub may have been institutionalised, seeing as we’ve profiled he’s mentally ill. The only form of control he had was being tidy, almost military. Everything else was stripped away.”

Then he paused, his thumb running over the rest of his fingers. “Host a search party. Five o’clock today.” That was in two hours.

“You think she’s still here?” Emily asked as the three strolled back to the SUV.

“Maybe. There’s only one way to find out. Plus, the woman at the store said no cars have driven in…”

“Maybe she just didn’t see it or something? On break?” Bonnie suggested but Agent Hotchner shook his head.

“I don’t know. But… hopefully this search will help us.”

Two hours rolled on very quickly, and the whole team arrived to see a whole town at the park. Flyers being handed out, snacks and water, even hot food.

Father Marks had volunteered as well, he was the priest that Rossi and Derek spoke to. Bonnie wasn’t very sure of the man, she’d never met him, only that the team are assuming the unsub has some sort of connection to worship… and could tell that neither was Derek.

“What the fuck is that guy doing here?” The man mumbled next to Agent Hotchner who rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“He’s helping with the search.”

“Hotch you know that unsubs will sometimes insert themselves into the investigations right? This dude knows about this satanic stuff!”

“Morgan, chill out. Rossi said he was very cooperative right? He knows his stuff, you interviewed him… i don’t think your dislike for this man has anything to do with this case.” Bonnie feared that Derek may land a punch on Agent Hotchners face the way the man stepped back and clenched his fist. “Let’s just focus on finding Tracy Lambert alright?” Derek huffed, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and shoved on his dark sunglasses and walked alone into the forest.

Meanwhile Bonnie landed herself beside Spencer. “They’ve got chilli over there. Who eats chilli on a search party?�� Bonnie chuckled, pointing out the stand to Spencer who hummed.

“Apparently Emily.” He said as they watched Emily take a bowl and scoop some into her mouth. “I hate public food. Don’t know where it’s been.”

Bonnie didn’t mind it. Sometimes it was better than buying ingredients from the shop which costed more than a simple takeaway. She couldn’t really afford to care about who handled her food. As long as she wasn’t hungry and it tasted good.

She signed the searchers sheet and herself and Spencer stuck close together. The memory of going off alone in the woods during the Sandy Parker case crept up on her like a stalker and choked her from behind. She started combing her hair with her fingers, protecting it.

Her breathing became heavier as her eyes frantically scanned her surrounding, instinctively looking for short red hair.

“Hey.” Spencer’s voice didn’t exactly make her stop, but she now had something to focus on. “Everything’s gonna be alright. I’m here with you. And I’m allowed to use a gun now!”

That made her feel a little lighter, but with each step further into the woods she felt the trees closing in on her.

“I hope so… just the last time I did this I almost died… on my first case as well.”

“You ever hear about my first case?” Spencer asked, trying his hardest to comfort the younger girl.

“No?”

He laughed at the reminiscence. “I was twenty one. I’d never been in a fight or-or anything like that my entire life. I had just been granted permission to be allowed in the field. Hotch took the lead like always, and-and told me to go round back with Morgan. I was basically a look out.” He was smiling. “So we went around the back of this big house, and he told me to stay put while he checked the inside was clear. I couldn’t shoot by then, I was awful.” She managed to laugh a little, still keeping close to Spencer, grazing his arm as she walked through the woods.

“The unsub jumped me from behind. And I wasn’t stocky or strong like Hotch or Morgan, hell I’m still not! He took me down and whacked me hard on the head and I couldn’t see from how dizzy I was. I genuinely thought I was gonna die. That was until morgan shot him. The first time I’ve even been close to a bullet. When I sat up, I threw up all over myself. Like literally everywhere.” He began to really laugh now. So hard he could barely finish his sentence. “And then- and then, Morgan took of his top and had to physically change me. Mind you we’re in this person back garden with a dead man behind us and he’s stripping me! My shoes at that point were covered in vomit and y’know the first thing I said was?”

“What?” She asked laughing along, despite how scary it must have been.

“I asked for my mom. My mother! At my grown age being an FBI agent I asked for my mom. Morgan had to take my shoes off and carried me bridal style to the SUV. I’ll never forget that. Or Gideon… while I was in the hospital getting stitches he stayed by my side the entire time. Reading from his bird books… he knew I hated hospitals…” Bonnies smile slowly faded to a frown.

“I know you miss him… he was a great guy. From my little time with him I learned a lot! Like that time he called that man’s mum a whore? Who does that?!” She hadn’t been present from the amount of guns pulled, but agent Hotchner told her everything once they were back safely in the jet. How Gideon confronted this man named Frank and simply insulted his mother, before the man and a victim jumped in front of a train.

That insult must have really hurt.

“Only Gideon.” Spencer laughed again, but distantly. Sadly almost.

“I’m sorry he left Spencer. If I could bring him back for you I would. I know what it’s like to-“ she stopped and cleared her throat. There were some things in the world that aren’t meant to be said. Like how it was actually quite obvious Spencer lacked a parental figure. Seeing how much he admired… and actually loved Agent Gideon as if he were his own flesh and blood.

“It’s that obvious?” Spencer turned to her with a smirk. “Shit I thought I was doing well with hiding the fact I don’t have a dad.”

Bonnie snorted. “I understand. My dad passed when I was little. Just been me and my mum ever since.” Thought now it seemed like it was just her alone. Eighteen and all by herself in this big big world.

“I’m… I’m sorry to hear that. This team… it’s a family. I’ve gained a father, lost him, but I also gained brothers and sisters, and whatever Hotch is… I can’t put my finger on it…“ perhaps Agent Hotchner just had that dad vibe. Considering he had a little boy at home.

Or maybe it was his age actually…

The Tobias Hankel case file flashed quickly in her mind, and she remembered Spencer’s name very clearly, and wondered if she could risk asking about it. If there was something wrong, she’d like to know. It could help her understand the team better, seeing as this went down before she had joined them.

“Spencer…” she started anxiously. Sandy Parker no longer in her thoughts.

He hummed back.

“When I was sorting the case files, I saw one with your name in it.” The man shifted and cleared his throat.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah… Tobias Hankel?” You couldn’t have missed the flinch even if you weren’t looking. And with that she regretted every opening her mouth. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“No…” he scratched his arm. “No it’s ok. We’re a family now.” She wondered if he knew how much that had meant to her. “He was a sick man. Mentally unwell. He kidnapped me, drugged me. I dug my own grave.” He scoffed sourly. “But the team found me just in time… sometimes I wish they hadn’t.” He whispered the last part, but having it be so quiet around this forest Bonnie heard, and tentatively reached for Spencer’s hand which he flinched at.

“Sorry… I forgot you don’t like to be touched.”

His face of fear turned soft, and he gave a small smile, and took her hand in his. “Only with family.”

A surge of warmth coated her body as she really smiled.

Unfortunately, after a couple hours no girl had turned up. So both Bonnie and Spencer reluctantly left the forest, despite how much they wanted to keep looking, and were met with a serious faced Agent Hotchner, and they let go of each other.

“It’s getting too dark, we have to go back to the station, JJ has an idea.” And the two younger ones shared a worried look before getting into the SUV, driven by Agent Hotchner.

Back at the station, Jennifer began reading over the search list and volunteers from the church, hoping the theory of the unsub being part of the church was right, but so far had nothing.

“Garcia’s I’D the fingers. No two are the same. That’s ten victims.” Spencer began drawing on the map. “Hey look at this.”

Jennifer, Agent Hotchner, and Bonnie stood closer.

“The hunting ground is in the middle of it all. The last time any of the woman were last seen.” Agent Hotchner thought aloud.

“He likes to stay close to home then. Gives him familiarity.” Jennifer said and Spencer nodded.

“It was prostitution that helped Garcia with the ID. I think they were easy to catch.”

The thought of her mother out all alone with strange men was too much for Bonnie, so she slipped outside and pulled a cigarette from her blazer pocket, walking around the side of the police building for a bit of privacy. Hoping none of the team would discover her disgusting habit.

It was a simple little thing that filled her with relief. A break. She started when she was 14 after getting her first job in a small take away shop that was always busy. Nipping out the back for five minutes was a blessing. The nicotine high would relax her tense body and she’d go back in after drowning herself in perfume, and feel as if she had rested well and could continue.

Quitting was very hard and sometimes she regretted ever picking up a cigarette. But on the most stressful times such as thinking about her mother, it was the only escape. The only thing to take her mind elsewhere.

It was later that night when Derek left the station, only to come running back in with the news of a body which was already on the way to the hospital, and father mark was brought in for questioning.

Agent Hotchner began. “She’s Hispanic for one. She’s not either of the women we’ve been looking for.” As amidst the searching for Tracey, another woman had been abducted. Every single member of the team had felt absolutely hopeless. How could they host a search only for another woman to go missing?

“Her names Maria Lopez, 31, 2 kids. Numerous arrests for solicitation and prostitution. But she was reported missing nine months ago.” Jennifer furrowed her brows in confusion.

“How does that work? He’s holding them?” Emily asked Agent Hotchner who was double checking the search sheets while Rossi and Derek spoke to Father Mark.

“Get Dr Fulton on the phone.” Agent Hotchner demanded and Jennifer began to dial.

Once the man answered, Agent Hotchner started immediately. “Has Maria Lopez’s cells burst?”

“Why?” The doctor asked and Agent Hotchner groaned.

“Because we think she was killed, frozen, kept, and eaten.”

The line went silent. A couple of seconds passed and the doctor replied. “Yes, her cells were burst.”

“Thanks.” And the man ended the call.

“Well that explains why we haven’t found any other victims.”

Bonnie took a shaky breath. “Garcia’s checking mental institutes still, there’s two but we’re gonna have to narrow this down.” Agent Hotchner sat down and failed Penelope’s phone.

“Now call Garcia.”

“A please would be nice.” Jennifer held her phone in her hand waiting.

“Please.”

And she then dialed.

“I’m your fairy godmother Garcia, you may grant me one wish!”

“Have you found anything in the institutions yet?” Agent Hotchner asked.

“So I can't find any patients in florida Who have the charmheg of being both a satanist and a cannibal. However, hazelwood mental institution is the place to go When looking for florida's most dangerous kinds of wackos, And they had a fire in 1998 that destroyed all their records.”

Agent Hotchner listened intently, not moving a single muscle.

“Let’s give hazelwood a visit, JJ call them and tell them we’re coming. Reid, Bonnie let’s go.” As tired as she was, Bonnie went, lunging her first steps and cracking her neck that Emily gagged at.

“What are you expecting we find?” Spencer asked from the front seat.

“A man who would have been young at the time, very mentally ill, and hopefully someone who will know of our description.”

“That’s really vage.” Bonnie piped up from the back and agent Hotchner nodded.

“But this man would also be prone to biting, like during fights or something. Hopefully someone will have a file.”

So when they pulled up to Hazelwood, that’s exactly what they did.

They were brought into a doctors office, not much decorating the area besides a couple diplomas and such.

“As I told agent Jareau on the phone, We have no existing record of that patient you described.” The doctor said feeling helpless. His hands out in front of him on the table, as if trying to grab any sort of memory that would help.

“We know. We were hoping you might actually remember a patient. He would have been an adolescent when admitted.”

“Dr Lorenz was in charge of adolescents.” The doctor replied as grief covered his sunken face.

“Is he here?” Agent Hotchner asked and the man shook his head.

“He died in the fire. He was leaving when he heard the alarm and ran back in.”

“Why?” Spencer asked.

“He was a very dedicated man.”

“Like he had something to protect? Something to risk his life over?” Bonnie then asked.

The doctors wrinkled forehead creased, and he stood up from his chair. “There was one thing…” moving towards a desk and sliding one of the drawers open, pulling out a worn out notebook.

“This boy… he wrote about taking a bite out of his nine year old sister… cannibalism’s what you’re looking for isn’t it?” Agent Hotchner took the book from the doctors hands and flipped to the front.

“Floyd Feylinn Ferell.”

The sirens were on, speeding down streets and running red lights, Bonnie gripped onto her door handle in fear of her life. She’d never been in a police car like this before.

Rossi and Morgan were closer than they were, having been at the church with Father Mark.

By the time they arrived, the suspect was in Derek’s hands, shirtless, being pushed into the back of a police car.

“That’s him?” She asked peeking to look out of the front window with wide eyes.

“Yep.” Agent Hotchner answered, and began following the car down to the station.

The team were all together again, and their anxieties had dropped slightly, all hoping this truly was the man the town was looking for. To bring justice to those dead.

The entire team stood outside of the double sided glass window of the interrogation room, all very eager that this was the one.

Father Mark was waiting with the rest of the team.

“Kobe girl steak.” The man began. “That’s where you prepare the meat isn’t it?” The man was unresponsive. “You’ve got a lot of unusual recipes in here Floyd.” Derek held up a better looking journal than the one found at the institute. “Must have tried some of ‘em?”

“Hm.” Floyd hummed down to himself.

“Talk to me.” The agents eyes digging holes into the smaller, much weaker man. “Which ones?”

Floyd slightly lifted his head in the direction of Derek. “Some have smiley faces. Some have sad.” It was the first time any of them had heard him speak. It was soft, calm, unnerving.

Despite how sick Derek just have felt, he carried on. “You ever hear voices Floyd?”

“I’m not smart. But I have a smart friend who tells me things.” Floyd responded.

“What’s your friends name?”

Floyd ignored him. “He wants me to tell you something.” And Derek waited. “Your watch has stopped working.”

“He’s trying to spook him.” Agent Hotchner commented from the other side of the glass

“Yeah uh… I’ve been meaning to change the batteries for a month.”

Bonnie hoped Floyds plan wouldn’t work on Derek, because she was certainly taken back.

Derek then proceeded to suggest that Floyd took fit women due to the fact they would have more ‘meat’ on their bones for his recipes. To which Floyd answered he thought that skinny people who took drugs didn’t taste very nice.

“Where’s Tracy Lambert?” Derek drilled, and Floyd smiled.

“I can only tell Father Mark.”

Derek excused himself and even though Agent Hotchner was against it, the man was able to take Father Mark into the room. “I do all the talking. Alright?” And the priest nodded.

Floyd immediately looked up when he saw Father Mark. “Thank you for coming father.”

“Anything I can do for-“ Derek paused the priest with a finger in the air.

“I had to pull a lot of strings to get him in here Floyd. My bosses really didn’t like to idea of him sending him in at all. So he’s gonna sit here nice and quiet, and you’re only gonna talk to me, alright?”

“Ok.” Floyd answered. “I’ve done bad things.”

“We’ve all done bad things we’re not proud of Floyd. The only thing that helps is to tell others.”

“Not everything” Floyd shook his head.

From beyond the glass, Bonnie’s head had tilted in interest looking at Floyds demeanour. He had completely opened when Father Marks had came in, and could not stop taking glances every couple of seconds to the priest. He looked, like he was planning something.

“This isn’t right.” Agent hotchner’s brows were furrowed as he too stared at Floyd. “When Floyd was at the search he signed the sign in sheet, but not the searchers.”

Inside, Derek pressed. “Come on Floyd. I got him in here because you wanted him, now it’s your turn. Where is Tracy Lambert?”

Bonnies eyes faltered around the room in thought. She could see some stalls. Snacks and drinks, then she looked up to the people. Those handing them out. “Something wrong…” but she hadn’t made it out yet.

“I feel so alone father. That god had abandoned me.” Father Mark looked at Derek for permission to speak, and the man nodded.

“You are not alone, my son. God is in all of us.”

“We have to stop the interview.” Agent Hotchner panicked.

The man, Floyd, began to grin sinisterly, twisted his head upwards, and laughed.

“So is Tracy Lambert.”

Then it all made sense.

She could see him so clearly now. Standing behind the stand where chilli was being served. She had watched him give a bowl to Emily.

Bonnie spun around to watch the said woman run out of the room covering her mouth with her hand.

“You son of a bitch- you son of a-“ Father Mark flung his body of the table and lunged for Floyds throat, Derek catching him by his waist and yelled for back up. All while Floyd watched with a grin on his face.

A face Bonnie would not forget.

Back on the jet, after Emily was done throwing up every piece of food in her body, everyone was silent.

Derek was not present, but no one paid much mind.

Bonnie brought out her small flip phone and texted Penelope. She first had to collect her things that she left at the BAU, then find a way to get to Penelope’s apartment. Maybe Agent Hotchner would give her a lift. Or Jennifer. Not Emily… Emily would want some alone time. Probably to make herself throw up some more.

Well at least she knew was human meat tasted like now…

Bonnie screwed her face up at the sudden thought.

‘Hey Penelope, we’re on the jet now, I won’t be long!’ She texted and sent, before passing out on the plan ride home.

——————————

“Bonnie! Bonnie wake up!” A strong hand was shaking her from her slumber and she jumped out of her chair in a panic.

Agent Hotchner grabbed her shoulder and hurried her out of the jet, her still being in a sleepy state.

“What? What’s wrong?!” She breathed heavily as she tried to keep up with the man’s long strides.

“I…” his grip on her tightened. “Penelope’s been shot.”

#criminal minds #spencer reid #derek morgan #aaron hotchner #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #david rossi #moreid #jemily #penelope garcia #thesiriusmoon bonnie cm #cm fandom #cm fanfic #cm fanfiction #criminal minds fanfiction #dad!hotch #father figure hotch #thesiriusmoon writes cm

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

My weekly roundup CW 13

Well, I watch a lot during the week, as you all might know. I really want to write a little bit more about the stuff I watch, but time and work kind of get in my creative way. So I try to write down my thoughts after watching stuff to create a little weekly ranking in relation to the previous week on my, most of the times, quiet sundays (and because I love lists and this is a good excuse for me to create a new OneNote journal!).

The Promis is on hiatus, so it didn't make it on this week's list.

→ 1. Our Dating Sim (Ep 7+8 / The Final)

The final! It is so perfect. The whole story just feels realistic! How Wan makes his decision at the end is understandable and that they then offer him to develop a webseries out of the game, perfect. Ki Tae's fear of loss broke my heart. I can understand him so well. What I especially liked were the little things. How Ki Tae and Wan hold hands in the office, how Wan hugs Ki Tae a little tighter when he realizes how much his leaving in the past hurt Ki Tae. The whole birthday present with the snippets of Wan's life where he missed or thought of Ki Tae. Uhhh, that gives me goosebumps and tears in my eyes right away. The last scene where Wan says goodbye to Ki Tae and gives him little pats on the butt. This normal tenderness that belongs to most relationships was just beautiful to watch. It all seemed very natural and that's why again this week's number one goes to Our Dating Sim. And if people haven't already, check out the BTS…highly recommended!

→ 2. Unintentional Love Story (Ep 5+6)

Okay…I think it's so ridiculous that some people really skip the show because there is a Dead Fish kiss. The chemistry between the two is just awesome! I didn't watch that scene just one time. Yes, I just close my eyes for a moment or look away during the kiss, but the whole build up to the kiss and up to the second is so worth the watch! It is just so good! I felt it tingle in my stomach. I love the story of the two mains and also the second couple. I'm excited about the series and I really wish more people would watch it, despite the not so nice kiss. Yes, it sucked, but it doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the series. There were worse ones, but I probably didn't like the show that much either (All the liquors I'm looking at you).

↑ 3. A Shoulder To Cry On (Ep 5+6+7 / The Final)

Reading the comments on MDL, you can get really sad. It feels like every second person is upset that there wasn't a kiss and I'm sitting here, being glad that there was at least an "I like you". That's where they stayed true to the manhwa. Their love is a little different than others. They aren't big on romance, the bouquet of flowers at the end was really a lot. In general the weekend away was something special. And why not show this side of the romantic relationship? I think it's good that not everything always has to be so over-romanticized, but that relationships also sometimes start slowly, take their time until the characters feel comfortable with each other or just don't show that much affection. That doesn't mean they don't care for each other or love each other. It is so stupid to always demand a kiss. Not every relationship needs those and not every story needs them. I thought the series was great. Great chemistry and a cute story.

☼ 4. The Eighth Sense (Ep 1+2)

Ohhh such a good start. I love stories about surfers. I've been excited about the subject matter since "Shelter" (one of the best queer movies I've seen). The story starts with what I would say attraction/interest-at-first-sight and I like it so much. Also how the more introverted Ji Hyun comes out of his shell and wants to learn to surf to get closer to Jae Won, at least as a friend. I'm already looking forward to the heartbreak! It's going to hurt so good. If there's no happy ending, I'm starting a revolt. I really can recommend this series.

↑ 5. Jack o’Frost (Ep 6 / The Final)

All in all, the final was a bit unspectacular, but it fits the overall picture of the series. Not that it was bad or boring, but it was told at a steady pace and I like that. I think it's nice that Ritsu was able to remember everything at the end and give the relationship a second chance. Now the reason for forgiving Fumiya, that he hid from him they didn't meet each other for the first time at the cafe, I thought was a bit weak, but again sweet because he was able to give their shared history a different meaning. The way he forgot everything about Fumiya after his accident and can now remember everything about him has something very romantic and I think that this time they'll manage to communicate and make each other happy.

↑ 6. Bed Friend (Ep 7)

I wanted to hit them all! King, you stupid idiot! The man you love comes out of the boss's office visibly distraught and you can't think of anything better to do than accuse him of doing it on purpose? Your stupid jealousy comes at the shittiest time ever here! A slap for you! And Krit…you fucking asshole! I'm really uncomfortable watching him act. Not just the sexual assault, but the invasion of Uea's privacy when he showed up at his family's home. That's where it really shakes me. A kick in the nuts for you. And at the end, Uea's mom gets a load too. What a bitch! I hate her. It's good that Uea was finally able to stand up to her a bit. Hopefully he can cut off contact altogether. I big fat slap on her filthy mouth. I feel sorry for his poor sister too. What a crappy episode full of trauma and pain! Honestly, I'm so fascinated by how Uea continues to stand tall. I would have broken down. But he's a strong guy! Jade was the sweetheart in this episode. A little silly at times, but a true good friend.

↓ 7. Chains Of Heart (Ep 7)

Oh man. This show is killing me. Can't they finally kiss? What is this series waiting for? Something until the last episode? Looking at the previews, I don't even want to see the next episode…But back to this episode, where it felt like hardly anything happened. There was a stupid fight in an alley, sorry, but Hin really shouldn't fight…it looks way too posed. I don't like DeeDee. He is way too possessive of Ken for me. You two aren't dating and just because you are jealous doesn't mean Mr. Lue is a bad person. Yes, I'm still on his side. Poor little guy. Had to get drunk this week out of heartbreak. Ken was mean though…Well, they still ended up in bed together in the end! And the scene with the friends outside the door was indeed hilarious. I also think Din as Mr. Lue is trying to expose our one-eyed man and his illegal dealings, and the purchase of the wood is meant to be a trap. At least something I can take away from this episode as insight.

→ 8. A Boss And A Babe (Ep 5)

I don't know, I think Gun approaches the whole thing a bit too offensively. I really didn't like the kiss in the car. To see how confused and jealous Cher is, however, I find very sweet again. Yes, Gun has to bring out the big guns to show Cher that he likes him, but just because our boy just don't get what Gun is trying to tell him doesn't mean I have to like what he's doing. I continue to think it's good that Gun values Cher's opinion so much. I think he needs that kind of appreciation a lot, especially considering his past. Oh yeah, I think they're cute together.

→ 9. Tin Tem Jai (Ep 5)

And we took 45 steps back and the show is kind of annoying like before...Tin can't stop aksing Park to marry him and it gets to a point where it just annoys the crap out of me. But Park can't say a clear word so what do we do here? Just let him date the cute senior and Park sucking up on his jealousy. I feel there is no progress between those two.

→ 10. PastSenger (Ep 4)

I'm writing the recap on sunday and honestly, I don't remember what happened. All I remember is that they almost kissed, in Kiao's memory of their clash they kissed. There were so many filler scenes in it. I don't have to watch the friends eat for ten minutes without anything happening or talking. I didn't get the slave thing either. Why am I still watching it? I don't know. Now I have The Eighth Sense to watch on wednesdays and I'm so much more into it! And these stupid revenge plots…Oh man, you're in university and not in kindergarten anymore.

#josi watching bl #weekly update #weekly wrap up #sunday charts #our dating sim #unintentional love story #a shoulder to cry on #the eighth sense #jack o' frost #bed friend #chains of heart #a boss and a babe #tin tem jai #past senger #bl drama #bl series

[hughungrybear]

Me watching Laws of Attraction Ep. 8 (Final EP):

1. Well, well, well up until the end, this series is trying hard to make me believe that either Charn is going to betray Tin or Charn will end up sacrificing himself to death. I would believe neither lol. I have seen this type of plot before. This ain't my first lakorn 😂😂😂

2. Gawd damn. At first glance, I thought Charn was offering a bottle of soy sauce to his mum 😂😂😂

3. Oooh. I guess they will do a live on Thattep's crimes. Side note: Silvy looks good.

4. Navin is all types of mental 😂 Even if Tin has some training in professional fighting, I don't think Navin, with all his craziness, will go down easily lol 😅 He is a gangster, after all.

5. I guess the ring DOES have power (forgive me for the LOTR pun 😅)

6. Sorry, that does not looked anything like an airplane (or an airport) 😅😅😅

7. Oooh. TinThee team up. Interesting... 🤝🤝🤝

8. I knew it! They will try to do a live feed on what will happen inside the warehouse.

9. You know, this all would have been avoided if Thattep was a bit smarter and did not kill that reporter outright. Or tried to frame up his own son. Then changed his story to the gardener stealing that car. Finally, ofc, Charn is going to double cross you 😂😂😂 For a supposedly smart politician, Thattep isn't all that lol.

10. Now, him and his goons are hunting Charn in warehouse. Really? After knowing they are the main characters in a live stream??? If Charn is killed inside the warehouse during that feed, then what does Thattep think would happen? Stupid, stupid man. 🤨🤨🤨

11. I guess Charn stopped being bulletproof. 😵 But, I still don't believe Charn will end up dead after this. Why? Because the villain didn't shoot him in the head. Lol. Again, Thattep is a stupid idiot! 😂😂😂😂

12. Oh, Charn is still bulletproof (with a real bulletproof vest). I guess he really does learn from his past mistakes lol.

13. Thee, stop being dramatic. Tan will surely come back lol. <after five seconds> See? Lol Tan made use of his famous tantrums and got banned from riding an airplane 😂😂😂

14. Charn playing the spoiled brat lol. The fvck. You are lucky, Tin dare not slap you 😂😂😂

15. Grandma KNOWS. Lol.

16. Why do you even care, Tan? Let your father rot in jail 😑

17. I cannot with Charn 😂😂😂😂😂 he made Tin a subservient househusband lol

18. The post-its remind me of Bad Buddy. Yes, BBS is in my blood. Get over it 😅😅😅😅

19. In a sense, this series does not only follow the classic lakorn plot, but the classic BL too (with one of the main characters singing for some reason) 😅

20. There he goes, like he swallowed the volumes of law books, before agreeing to marry Tin. 🤣🤣🤣

21. Navin, still crazy as always lol.

22. Waiiit. How did Thattep became the big boss inside the prison? Just because he used to be a politician? Because he's got money to pay everyone? And look, he still has the guts to threaten Charn inside the cell. Wth. But then again, Charn's smile is devious. Lol.

23. <after five seconds> That's what I'm talking about. Good riddance, Thattep.

24. Oooh. Wedding photos. 😊 Cute. I guess in this universe, same-sex marriage is legal in Thailand.

25. Thee and Tan are also free, with added bonus as Tan is Thattep's sole heir.

26. Ngl, I'm not feeling Charn's wedding fit. <after five seconds> nvm, it has a coat lol. That would work.

27. As always, Grandma is the ship's biggest cheerleader 😂

Despite having a plot that heavily borrows from old lakorns, this series is still enjoyable. I also like Film's (Charn) acting. His smile is creepy and devious whenever it needs to be. Also, they had let us listen to Silvy's golden voice more than once. What more can I ask for? 😁

On to the next series, then - either To Sir with Love or I Can Feel You Linger in the Air.

#laws of attraction #laws of attraction ep 8 #tincharn #laws of attraction final ep

[canonicallysoulmates]

Jensen Saturday Afternoon JIB12 Solo Panel

At the beginning of the panel there was a problem with his mic so it was changed and to test the new mic he made a reference to Lionel Richie's Hello, and said he got to hear him sing that song in person a few months ago. Cool.

He also complains about his hair, says he’s not a fan of how it currently is and that he misses the Dean hair. Briefly mentions his Soldier Boy beard and that maintaining it took more product than the rest of his body which was a new frontier for him. But he just doesn't know what his current hair is, it's up, it's down it's floppy. Jensen baby you need a nap.

Starting the questions: If he could have a Diabolical ep about Soldier Boy what would it be about? 

Real quick for those that don't know Diabolical is an anthology animated spinoff of The Boys with each story set within that universe.

If he had his wish about the story of Soldier Boy, it would be a story back in time when Soldier Boy was in like his Homelander prime which would be around the 50's or 40's. That's something he would like to see (so would I Jensen, so would I) and thinks would be really interesting.

Before he was asked the question the fan congratulated him on his Saturn award nomination, and Jensen said that Antony Starr, who plays Homelander, texted him congratulating him on his nomination like 20mins after Jensen found out about it and Jensen's reply was 'thanks, man! that's great'. Antony is also nominated so Jensen felt like a dick because he didn't congratulate him till the next day 😆

Is he considering directing an episode on The Boys or Big Sky? Or maybe another episode of Walker?

Answers that while he loves to direct, and it’s a treat when he gets to do it there’s a lot of work in front of the camera that he’s doing right now which doesn’t allow him to have the time.

Directing take a lot of time, it’s not just the six, eight, ten, fifteen days it takes to shoot an episode of xyz show. Becasue for example The Boys one ep is roughly 15 to 20 days of filming (wow 🤯). SPN was 8 days. He shot his Walker ep in 6 ½ days. Big Sky is 9 to 10 days. So it varies from project to project.

He would love to direct a Big Sky ep but he doesn’t think that’s gonna happen that’s not in the cards right now he’s also hoping to direct an episode in the new year of The Winchesters. That one is probably on the list of directing things to do first that is if they get picked up for a full season. He says networks don’t like to order whole seasons until the show has proven itself so if that happens then he'd be looking to direct in the latter half of the season and he's looking forward to it if it comes to pass. x

For him what is the most significant part overall of Dean’s entire character arc? He’s not sure there's a specific season or story that can be pinpointed when it comes to this but the progress he enjoyed the most was Dean becoming the man he needed to be and not the one his father wanted him to be.

Obviously, he was heavily influenced by his father but, John’s shortcomings aside, Dean idolized and looked up to his dad even though it may not have been the best parent-kid relationship on the planet it’s what he knew.

Here he goes on a bit of a sidetrack and says he himself deals with that in his real life that people will ask him how his kids deal with him being away so much or how his wife deals with him working away so much, and it’s because it’s what they know. It’s their normal it’s all they’ve ever known and to say that’s wrong or that it’s not right or it doesn’t fit inside what society says a family should be he thinks is obtuse. Ooookay then.

Getting back on track he thinks everyone has their normal that is unique to them, and Dean’s normal was having his dad leave him in a motel room with his younger brother saying ‘listen I’m gonna go kill some sons of bitches I need you to look after your litte brother’ and he'd (Dean) say 'yes sir' and was a soldier from the get-go and he grew up to be a soldier but then, and this is the story that Jensen loves about Dean, he went from being a soldier to a general. x

This question was originally meant for him and Jared: after 15yrs of SPN which aspect of Sam and Dean’s personality was hardest to act? 

He buffers for an answer, because at this point he is in the buffering zone of being tired, then admits he doesn't know so he's gonna go with his first impulse reaction which is Dean’s insensitivity.

He thinks Dean was very insensitive in a lot of situations and that’s not something he tends to be, he's a little more sensitive. He wouldn’t say it was necessarily hard to act but that it was against the grain to act. He’s sure there were many things like dealing with a father the way he did or dealing with his mother having the conversation with Mary when he really confronted her that’s not something he’s ever had to deal with so it was probably more situational than it was character aspect.

He tries to answer on Jared's behalf and says he would probably have a lot of things to say then jokingly says probably dealing with an older brother shorter than him.

Which makes him mention Jeff, who is Jared's actual older brother, and is taller than Jared which makes according to Jensen makes him a giraffe; and he is a doctor so he walks in and is like 'all right what seems to be the problem today?' and one goes 'not you. you are not the problem you handsome tall son of a bitch' This is both adorable and funny 😂

He also mentions that now going on all these new sets he’s the tall guy. They’re all ‘I didn’t expect you to be so tall’ and he's all 'oh, you haven’t met sasquatch.' x

Does he have any personal projects he wants to do? Projects specifically for him that he wants to accomplish?

He wants to sit down like really sit down but when he does he’s like nope. 

He answers that he has had time to internalize and think about what it is he’s doing because he has been spending a lot of time on the move and doing a lot of different projects, and his time is spent spread out quite a bit, and he does have moments of reflection where he doesn't go ‘i wish i didn't have to do this’ or ‘i wish i had more time to do this’ or 'i wish i could comparmentalize a b and c' instead he sits back and goes 'man, I really love this. i really love doing what i do'.

He does wish he could clone himself and be in multiple places but obviously that's not the case so he has to be really smart about where he puts his energy and time, and he has to make sure it fulfills his obligations, and supports his family, and fulfills him. So, no there's nothing on the horizon where he's like 'if I could just get to do a road show or a sailing trip'. He's looking at right here, right now at what's in front of him says that he's more of a roll with the punches, take it day by day kind of person but that he does steer way from what he doesn't enjoy and what he's steering into is things like cons, and work, and that while he facetime's his kids constantly that he's either in their face or with them, and he got to spend a lot of good time with them during covid now he’s like we got that reprieve we got to spend that time with each other but now daddy’s gotta go to work because that’s for him. And much like Dean he is a soldier and a general who needs to be working, he keeps his head down and he works, and that fulfills him it truly does he loves it.

Mentions that there was a covid nurse, who was actually in the crowd of this panel, who told him earlier in that day that like him she kept her head down and kept working no matter how hard it was, and that meant something to him. That she said that because he feels like if anything that’s the hardest thing to do; to not look up and be distracted or look up and be like 'what about me? give me accolades pat me on the back I want an award I want recognition' and sure that’s needed as a human but he’s someone who likes keeping his head down, keep driving, keep moving forward. x

Any funny stories that he has experienced during his travels?

The fan who asked this question was almost not able to attend the con because her dog chewed up her passport which makes Jensen crack up. You know when you're so tired that the smallest thing can make you laugh? Yeah, he's reaching that point.

Anyways to answer the question he shares a story that just happened on the way to JIB. He was in New Mexico shooting before his flight, got home at around 2am, hadn’t packed anything, got to bed at around 3, woke up a few hours later to find somebody had messed up the car service so he hopped into his car and drove to the airport in NM. And as he’s cruising down the highway at around 9am which means it’s pretty busy a car comes in the wrong direction in his lane! He’s cruising at 75mph, going pretty fast in a four-lane highway and there’s this car coming right at him but luckily he was able to quickly change lanes and as he gets closer to the other car he lays on the horn and as he looks he sees it's just an old man gripping the steering wheel going the wrong way. At that point he wondered what to do so he called 911 to let them know, they tell him they know that they’d gotten a bunch of calls and instinctually he wanted to do a 180 and go chase the old man down and jump out of the window and grab the steering wheel. In his mind, that’s what he wanted to do, and he has no idea what happened he had kept an eye on the news to see if anything was said but he hadn't seen anything and he hopes nothing happened and the man made it to his destination safe.

I'm so thankful he was able to switch lanes safely and quickly or he could have found himself in a very bad accident.

He also mentions that when he was in Toronto for a con he had to get a work visa because he was going from Toronto to Van to shoot the movie so he was sitting in the customs hall there, and it took like 2hrs and in those 2hrs he took photos with half a dozen customs officials and kept asking them if they knew who was dealing with his paperwork. x

And that was the last question, or at least it was for me there was a slight crossover between the end of his panel and the beginning of MC's so this is when I checked out.

Jensen's Saturday Afternoon Panel

#he was so noticeably tired during this panel but he's a trooper #jensen ackles #mine #i wanted to also do a recap of jared's virtual mini panel/appearance but i'm too tired so it'll have to wait till tomorrow

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 8 Ep. 101: Babies On The Brain

Following their ride, congratulations on the couples’ nuptials continued to pour in as they made their way to The Ranch with August.

Paul was excited to show them his new greenhouse and introduce them to the resident miniature livestock and the visiting large pink horse.

Spencer was stabling Steven’s mare Misty temporarily. His twin had recruited some elder mages to help conjure her up to his specific preferences but had not yet renovated a fitting space for her back at the juice farm in Henford-on-Bagley.

As everyone headed inside to meet their newest relative, they were given a small celebratory sample of The Ranch’s nectar to share.

---------------------------------------------

Nikita and baby Denton were resting upstairs in the nursery. Her blood sugar had stabilized nicely after his birth, and everyone was quite happy to have that particular health issue no longer causing chaos and worry for the family.

They all took turns saying hello to the new addition, who seemed to be in a great mood, just sleepy enough to enjoy cuddles. Peachy didn’t miss how happy and natural Jack looked snuggling the newborn in his arms.

Peachy was sure Jack would make a great dad, and with their limited time together, they wanted to get started soon. He planned to talk more about it with his spouse during their trip to The Falls.

---------------------------------------------

Peachy and Jack had originally planned to head straight to their cabin after the visit but when Tori invited them to join her and Miguel at the Romance Festival, they decided that seemed like a perfectly thematic start to their honeymoon.

August opted to stay behind and spend some more time with his favorite relative’s newly expanded family, so the newlyweds made a party of six when they spotted the ancient mages Peppino and Candor chatting with their cousins around the Sakura tea fountain downtown.

Their elders were both eager to consult the Love Guru about their current relationship concerns, and the group snagged a private karaoke room while they waited their turn for sage advice and (hopefully) encouraging predictions.

---------------------------------------------

While the others enjoyed Candor’s rendition of a popular upbeat rock hit Peachy settled next to Peppino to discuss state of the art baby-making tech.

Peppino was intrigued by the tales of the “Science Baby” advances in Jack’s homeland but told his old student their own nation hadn’t popularized and polished his own research to quite the same level. Anyway, the Mad Scientist mage thought pregnancy was beautiful and highly recommended the experience, and for Sims that weren’t interested in carrying a child themselves there was always surrogacy or adoption.

Peachy still needed to discuss with Jack which path they would pursue, but he appreciated the chance to get more information.

---------------------------------------------

After they tired of karaoke and rose to head back outside Peppino invited Peachy to give him a call if he or Jack decided to follow in his and Steven’s footsteps and make their family dreams a reality through the pathway of “mad” gestational science.

The group ended their evening out with some spirited dancing. As their small group headed their separate ways Peachy gave Tori a big hug and told her how great it had been to see her again. The pair had been close in high school and tonight had reminded Peachy why.

The cousins looked forward to spending more time together in the near future.

---------------------------------------------

Want To See More? View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

#sims 4 #sims 4 challenge #sims 4 legacy #sims 4 nsb #sims 4 not so berry #sims4 #sims4nsbstraud #sims 4 let's play

[thepersona]

Extraordinary Attorney Woo: A classic in the making (Midseason spoiler-free review)

Whoa whoa!

I don't like to exaggerate, nor do I like giving out 10 stars willy-nilly, but so far this show has definitely deserved it. I've seen every episode at least twice since the beginning and Wednesdays can't come any sooner!

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in autism spectrum disorders so I can't comment on the accuracy beyond trivial observations.

Story: I love the pacing so far. The first episode was perfect in establishing the main characters and making the audience ask questions to be answered next week. This set the formula for subsequent episodes, and with the watercooler effect that we're experiencing, the viewers are constantly at the edge of their seat waiting for what's to come. I really appreciate how points of conflict are addressed at the appropriate time. For example, the drama surrounding Attorney Woo's family is hinted at by the end of ep. 2, confirmed at the end of ep. 6, then talked about by the end of ep. 8, with enough room in the rest of the show's run to elaborate. That's really good pacing. Older dramas would have waited around ep. 14 to do anything about it in a cheap attempt to get viewers to stay tuned.

There's something healing about this drama, whether it's the characters or the cases or the visuals, or maybe all of it combined. Almost everyone is likeable in the show but it doesn't ever feel too saccharine because of the weight of the cases (assault, murder, copyright disputes, gentrification). Young-woo has a great supervisor, a wonderful dad, a few amazing friends, and a huge green flag of a love interest. But she also has a big rival and critics who may or may not be set in their understanding of her.

I'm not the type to seek out romance in dramas, but the one featured here is healthy and seems to ask the right questions. (Episode 10 premiers tonight so I can't say more). I like that it's not romance for the sake of romance, but because it's just a part of life that Young-woo would have to encounter at some point. And personally, I pay more attention to Young-woo's friendship with Dong Geurami and Choi Su-yeon. I love how they look out for her but also talk to her the way they would talk to any other adult.

Acting / Cast: Park Eun-bin! I think many would agree that if she doesn't get recognized at Baeksang, then something is clearly wrong with their criteria. What a layered performance. We know that Young-woo is a genius but her intelligence still has limits, like in ep 6. She can also be blindsided by passion despite being awkward with emotions. On the other hand, we know she's not stupid and has a lot of common sense. She can be blunt and misread social cues but she's never annoying or overly cute. We see all of this in every scene. Her acting at the end of ep 8 alone is worth all the awards. You can see Young-woo processing complex feelings and choosing her words very carefully to react to what's been said to her.

The same could be said about the supporting cast and guest actors. I was particularly impressed by Moon Sang-hoon who played Kim Jeong hoon (Peng-soo) in ep. 3. Overall, the chemistry between all of them is undeniable and the director has done a marvellous job balancing these big personalities on screen.

Music: Adorable, warm, optimistic OST. My personal favorites are "Beyond My Dreams" by Sunwoojunga and "Inevitable" by Suzy. But the whole OST is fitting and the editing is appropriate in the show.

So why do I think that Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a classic in the making? It's because of the careful balance it manages to strike between sweet and realistic, funny and mature, healing and intriguing. The most beloved dramas tend to share these qualities but EAW has the advantage when it comes to its premise and setting. Young-woo's condition allows for a fresh take on emotions in a setting that deals with very emotional cases.

Midseason verdict: 10 / 10. Even if it’s not a whale.

(gif by casualscribbler)

#extraordinary attorney woo #woo young woo #park eun bin #kang tae oh #kang ki young #netflix #kdrama #lee jun ho #choi su yeon #dong geurami #jung myeong seok #kwon min woo #joo jong hyuk #ha yoon kyung #joo hyun young #gif not mine #kdrama review #review

[party-in-eldarya]

Playing ANE ep 9 p1

We woke up in Infirmary. If you read the summary of last ep you can change your LI, Nice .

Probable reason- Mathieu running away and breaking the connection? BTW, last episode was not enjoyed by me, but Erika’s powers were used and useful. Credit when its due.

My gods, the writers are really stretching those lines. Erika keeps on telling how anxious she is for her (missing) friends, how worried she is for them and how physically ill she feels when thinking about it. Couple times, in almost same words. Maana flows. I might be forced to buy myself another outfit in this promotion. 

I do hope it’s just a translation but gosh, for a peaceful creature she is supposed to be, Erika is pretty flippant with humans dying (Edgar, those soldiers). 

Look. I really do not think that mentioning NAME of Mathieu’s sword at every possible moment adds... anything to the story. It’s just boring and pointless. Yes, we were given the chance to name our sword. I do not remember what I called it, nor do I care. This is a really unimportant detail and no idea why they keep on mentioning that in ANE everyone has name for a weapon. It’s not a Bleach.

Erika is having... some kind of hysterical fit. I think? She sees her friends anxious of her well being, and she bursts into tears and laugh. I guess... it could be a good scene? But I dont feel it, it’s like I was reading a story written by alliens who heard about humans emotions, but never felt any. Could be google translation tho. CLICKING FURIOUSLY because CRINGE is real here. 

That pest, my familiar costs me 8 maana. Erika hugs him and: 

Same. Same.

(Karuto avoids looking at my /Erika/ body) The game suggests that we are here on a display, half-naked for everyone to sit and glare at us: 

And honestly, wtf. Evelein tries to kick all of them out of hospital, but they refuse to do it, stay there and look at half naked Erika who is having a break down. At least throw some blanket on her. This is not a life saving moment, when you do not care for modesty (and even then, medics try to be as discreet as situation allows). I feel for Erika, she is violated in almost every moment. 

Erika is having a major break down. As far as I know she won’t/didn’t act similar when her bae (Nevra) is hurt, when her bae (Mathieu) is revealed to be a traitor, when her father turns to H*tler, or when Edgar died. She woke up once again in hospital and has hysterical fit. the hell?

HONEST QUESTION: did you enjoy this scene? Is it only me? 

Anyway, then there is a nice scene of Karuto being adopted father of Erika and hugging her in a moment when she needs him, however with the rest of her “friends” watching, I feel like being on a cheap show. 

And daaaaamn, they really chop those sentences to squeeze out more euros from us. 

Huang Chu is fine btw. 

As for sentries...

Those sentries who according to Erika were dead? I knew she pull out that fact from her skinny ass. 

YOU ARE A HUMAN ERIKA.

Anyway, A CHOICE to improve friendship with Evie by thanking her. 

Karenn decides that she wants to talk to us first- because my friends are to take turns visiting us, and you know what? What a bitch. She KNOWS we are in love at this point, and she knows we try to confess, so it is obvious that there might be at least one person that we want to talk to first. And yet, and yet...

Rrrrromance. 

Because? Why not? They would laugh at you? Report you to teacher?

HEADCANON YOU MAY WAN TO SKIP TO ANOTHER PIC there is a part in my story where Imogene, my OC is held in hospital, and Ewelein is keeping everyone from visiting her (with more success than here). And after some time Leiftan decides that tonight he will see her, whether he has to break in, or not. So reading ^^^ in canon story I was gleeful :) weeeee END OF HEADCANON

But this is actually a rather nice thing in ANE, add it to “what ANE did well” list. It was interesting to wonder why the shield and connection broke, and to learn the reason next episode. No irony here, well done Beemoov. 

Erika for some reason tries to excuse him. Oh, but he is only a human, a young one .Ummm? So are you (YOU ARE A HUMAN ERIKA2). Huang Chu is young and is not a warrior, she was standing on a firing line and btw... what he has done almost costed you all lifes. This is a right moment to feel angry and disappointed, but I guess- it’s forgive everything era, right? 

The Guard think that Mathieu was possesed by that djin. 

What? He... Lemme repeat this:  what he has done almost costed you all lifes. If he run away because of fear (and we know he kinda did- out of fear of being outed as spy) he could feel guilty af. Erika was almost killed, if she wasn’t Ophelia’s dummy, she would be  pushing up daisies. 

And that awkard phrases... Huang Chu managed to defend herself. until all of them came to her side.. How? They were using machine guns. Was Huang Chu doing Matrix?

Blabla bla. Maana is changed. portals work like they never worked before. Everything is possible now. How nice for a lazy writer. No rules because everything is possible now. Players complain it is against a lore? EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE NOW. 

I bet they are. You are the dumbest character in ANE, and they made you a leader of branch. Erika is the 2nd dumb one, and they almost made her a part of LIGHT GUARD. The leader of your organisation leaves and never uses any sort of communication. You are like dodo, you survived only in a v secure, srificial and isolated enviroment. 

but we have something even more powerful, Chrome!!!!

What do you mean, Erika? 

FRIENDSHIP! (it didnt happen btw)

blah blah blah, empty phrazes used to waste our maana. there are no ideas, plans behind them, because how can there be any? Erika is not known for her military knowledge but let’s pretend she is a STRONG WOMAN

Oooh, so she is doing something that causes her and Zifu to die later in game? mmkay. Ewelein, dont give me that face, your eyes are uneven and I can judge your girlfriend however I want. You looked better in TO, btw, and your shoes are STUPID. 

Well, I never. 

HH is our friend, we miss her, we should never blame her because she works so hard. 

Erika is having another dream. It’s written well, she woke up and: 

He is here. WEEEEEEEEEEEE. 

And it was such a sweet scene. I dont know why it lasted only for 10 maanas, but for some reason Erika had to focus on how long she was sleeping. Because we cannot have nice things for longer than 10 maanas. 

You smart, suspicious hot bastard, you! you know a traitor when you meet one, right?

Sadly, it is followed by “I trust HH and I am sure she will think of the plan”. Why? Why such sudden trust in person you hated? Why he is not thinking about plan himself? Beemoov, Leiftan was smart. He was a leader, a 2nd in command. Why made him a puppet, following orders of his enemy?

I am a bit upset, as much as ANE can upset me. This conversation shows how much Leiftans changed in ANE. Dont worry, rest, everything will be fine, trust in HH and let her do her magic, you are a chosen one. He talks to Erika like he was her father, he even says “take example from your familiar, it is sleeping”. 

You know, when I was young I had to wear glasses, and my father made glasses out of paperclip for my teddy bear. It was sweet, but it has same vibes. 

Rrrrrrromance. 

And it is sad, because they gave me those 10 maana worth of really nice dialogue with him. 

Erika is sorting her thoughts, but nothing new is learnt. One of the problem of ANE is that everything is repeated, at least twice. 

CHOICE:

we could be happy that our friends visited us (karuto and Jamon, that was nice)

we could feel biter that our HH didnt come and see us (fat chance Beeemoov)

we could think how spending that 10 maana with Leiftan was worth it. 

Another choice: 

following 

following

Niiice, is that a bug? wth wth?

Erika was healing the old fashioned way because Guards are stingy on healing potions for their HERO, but the moment HH wants to talk to Erika, Ewelein decides to use one. Ewelein, you are a tool and your shoes are stupid. 

Ewie is... another person who changed a lot. So she heals Erika, says that HH wants to see her at council room, ask her to eath breakfast and... leaves. She never stays and talk to us, like a friend. She is a medic, there are no other injured right now. She could have spared some time with us, but I guess we are no close anymore? 

The clothes that we bought last episode are damaged, but no one brought her new one. I remember when Miiko gave us our first set. When fenghuangs prepared clothes for us if we were well liked. Here no one cares if we will walk in rags, no one even cared to brought some clean ones from our room. Sad. No one reall cares for Erika as a person, except maybe Karuto and Jamon. 

I will leave you here, just as we leave the infirmary. 

This part has some good moments.... the dream sequence, the night meeting with Leiftan. 

#Playing ANE what a joy #will edit it later

[zaggyzoo]

ok let's go. tumblr user zaggyzoo currently watching dramas recap (or whatever):

love in contract (ep. 9): as we say in italy, this is just fried air. i feel like every episode progressively gets worse, but not even in a "this show is Bad" way, it's just sooo mediocre. to me. mediocre premises, mediocre characters, mediocre plots, mediocre love triangle that i hoped we had left back in 2017. every episode i feel like nothing happens at all and I can't wait for it to end and i think the reason i didn't drop it yet is bc it's the only show that isn't on fri/sat/sun. and tbh things do happen, the problem is that they're all things you could've guessed from the third episode and they're just. not up to the quality of the type of drama it wants so badly to be. djjdjdjd wow sorry i don't even hate it but it's just sooo mediocre.

one dollar lawyer (ep.8): my bestie <33 love this show wow. they had a bit of a too long and emotional heavy two-episodes backstory that could've have been maybe managed differently but i get why it was necessary and now we're back to the silly antics soo I can't wait to see the new episodes!! it's genuinely so funny and it even made me think the courtroom scenes were soo fun to watch. made me think of while you were sleeping, which i loved watching so 🙏 that's high praise hfhdjdh

the golden spoon (ep.5): wow i'm three episodes behind on this helppp i do enjoy watching it (even though it has its flaws) but i never feel like starting an episode. helppp it feels like a chore even though i want to catch up. so uhm sjhdhdhdh but anyway i think this is very korean in themes, I don't think this story could work in any other context quite as well. and i also like how sungjae character is an interesting protagonist, as in, interesting how his character is, considering the usual role of a protagonist and its relationship with the viewer (that makes sense to me sorry). but in contrast I don't quite like how they didn't give the same treatment to yeojin as a villain 🤥 but maybe it's too early to talk (i hope)

gaus electronics (ep. 6): soooo silly djjdjd <3 the comedy is so slapstick and i think sometimes it could be finer, to be funnier. like for my tastes, it doesn't make me laugh out loud the whole episode, but i AM entertained for a good portion of it so 😌👍 also better kiss scene than most romantic dramas rn like 🙏😳🙌 and the 45 min format is really fitting

under the queen's umbrella (ep.2): this just started so 👁️ but i missed watching a period drama so much sooo i want to enjoy it fjjfjf gye seong must be protected at all costs 😭 btw actually surprised they went there! like i called it, at the end of first episode, but still ! i hope they're respectful and treat it with dignity and respect and the preview of next ep it looks like it but i'm still scared a bit 🤥 anyway why did i think it was a comedy when I start it fjfjfj also chani mean girl slay

may i help you (ep.2): the happines-park-hyungsik-ification of lee junyoung.... 😳😌🙌☺️🙏😼😖 sooo glad to see him act with hyeri, and it looks like a good one?? i'm shook. the start was a bit confusing but I think it was intentional, and i was then pretty neutral about the show but in the second episode there's a scene that is just soooo cute and made me think. oh this is good i enjoy this ! junyoung comedy king tbh. ALSO interesting how kdramaa usually like to have older actors with younger actresses, while he's often paired with older actresses à la lee jaewook 👁️ they do have the same charm i think... tbh while watching alchemy of souls i did think junyoung could do that role too so fjfhjfjf (love jaewook btw no hate 😭) OH ALSO it's so funny always to me to see how different catholicism is in korea from here lmaoo and i guess I don't really get how it ties in with the supernatural aspect of this show, that part leaves me a bit 🤔 but it's probably also too soon so we'll have to see

#stream of consciousness ienfjcjcuuc #i think there was more i had to say but i have to go to work soooo bye be good guys i love you

[songofclarity]

After 100 years, I finally watched (more like marathoned) the SVSSS donghua and I'm kind of obsessed now?? That moment in ep 8 when the young Luo Binghe runs to Shen Qingqiu's bedside all concerned and innocently says, "Shizun," and then it flashes to an older, Dark Protagonist™ Luo Binghe saying, "Shizun," in a sinister yet somehow provocative fashion with that look...

Yeah. That moment rightfully frightens Shen Qingqiu but it's also sexier than anything that happened in MDZS if I'm being completely honest here LOL

(Dark Protagonist™ Luo Binghe vs Sunshot Campaign Wei Wuxian, fight!!)

Shen Qingqiu is also hilarious and delightful as a protagonist and I love him?? I've heard season 1 only covers up to ch 27, so I don't know the whole story yet, but it does feel like perhaps MXTX cut Nie Huaisang from the same cloth? They just want to survive the story so yeah, they're going to finagle things and play some tricks to get what they need, but they aren't stepping up in the story to win it. They don't actually have any ambition to become a person of importance! A passing grade is OK! They are fine being supporting characters!

But Nie Huaisang lives in his story while Shen Qingqiu has genre awareness since he has been isekai'd. Shen Qingqiu knowing VERY WELL that he is a supporting character/backstory antagonist makes him completely oblivious to how he is slowly setting himself up to become the future love interest is a grade A dining 10 course meal.

Shen Qingqiu: [Subconsciously keeps glancing over at Luo Binghe while trying to figure out how to achieve the next plot point without 1. the system deleting him for messing up and 2. without giving Luo Binghe another reason to put him in The Pot™]

Meanwhile, the sweet and impressionable Luo Binghe who doesn't think he's of any importance: 'Why does Shizun keep looking at me 😳'

and

Shen Qingqiu, to himself: 'Hopefully my good advice just now will make Luo Binghe reconsider putting me in The Pot™ later on!'

Meanwhile, the earnest and hardworking Luo Binghe, to himself: 'Shizun is the best and kindest person I know. I need to get stronger so I can protect him.'

Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe are having such wildly different experiences to the same moments and just. It's strangely wholesome. I'm super into it. Shen Qingqiu also going from hating on the story to appreciating/empathizing with Luo Binghe in small moments are also quite sweet.

But of course it also comes back to this element of Inception (like the movie lol) in how our Shen Qingqiue is reworking the story. Luo Binghe experienced horrible abuse at the hands of and by the will of the original Shen Qingqiu. That negative experience is destined to help drive Luo Binghe in the future to get his revenge on Shen Qingqiu. Our Shen Qingqiu can't fix what happened before he was isekai'd. But the shift in meaning behind the abuse is obviously setting the stage to make the difference. Slowly the abuse isn't seen as cruel and meaningless harm by a jealous man, but by someone who wanted to push the weak and tragic Luo Binghe to get stronger.

Which still doesn't make the abuse OK, but I actually really like what SVSSS is doing with this. Our Shen Qingqiu didn't do what the original Shen Qingqiu did, so it's not like we should feel like he deserves to be punished. It also doesn't feel like Luo Binghe has yet grown to resent or hate the original Shen Qingqiu for what has happened. He's still young (14!) and at that age kids are more focused on their social group and trying to fit in. So Luo Binghe has been taking the abuse and bullying in stride and showing great mental strength. It's still quite sad how quickly and eagerly he is to grab onto the hints of kindness and acceptance that our Shen Qingqiu is suddenly able to offer him (even when Shen Qingqiu is trying to fight the OOC system lol), but it's also quite endearing that even after how much he has suffered, he gets the opportunity to feel like someone cares about him.

Plus, we already know what happens when Luo Binghe views all the abuse and bullying as negative (Dark Protagonist™ Luo Binghe, smacking the top of The Pot™: 'This can fit so much Shizun in it.'). Now I get to see what happens when he views it as, at worse, tough love. Best of both worlds, let's go!!

What did betray me though was the donghua's ending! The characters finally found a chance to run away from some monsters and it felt like the episode was cutting to a commercial break but then... it's the credits? Hello!? Excuse me!??? I didn't care at all for them awkwardly tacking on the cliff scene after the credits, like they included that scene in the opening and Shen Qingqiu talks about it as one of the big story moments, so I expected the season would at least to build up and then finish with that dramatic moment... But they skipped the build-up! So I'm going to pretend I didn't see it for now lol

In any case! I bought the first SVSSS book way back when it was first released to throw in my support for the genre getting English translations, but I never got around to reading it. Something I need to remedy as soon as soon as possible.

#svsss #svsss thoughts #i know i'm late i know!!!

[procyo9]

Get to know me!

Thanks for tagging me @hydrasshole !! :3

Tagging: @quaddmgd, @juststayquiete, @ghostoffuturespast (i know most of you were already tagged but im curious lol) - no pressure ofc!! :3

1. are you named after anyone?  Nope, although I first fell in love with the word halcyon when I heard it in this song <3 I really like it as a name but I'm still looking for more nb names that would also fit me!! I want to have a lot of cool names hehe (as for my real name, my mom picked the least popular name from the most popular names at the hospital that day, lol)

2. when was the last time you cried? Yesterday (saw a couple of edgerunners gifsets from the last ep and. Welp)

3. do you have kids?  Nope!! NEVER!! no fucking way im having kids lmfao

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?  I'm short and fragile and sarcasm has been my only means of defense since always lmao. So yeah, I think I use it quite a lot

5. what sports do you play/have you played?  Never been a fan of sports but liked floorball a lot. Too bad there were no teams i could sign on, so the interest kinda burned out

6. what's the first thing you notice about other people?  cutting in when somebody else talks. i will fucking remember that for life

7. eye color?  To be honest I have no idea. Everyone tells me different things about my eyes while all I see is that they're green with brown insides. Hazel perhaps?

8. scary movies or happy endings?  Happy endings. I'm a sucker for a scene that can make me cry and scary things just make me paranoid lol

9. any special talents?  my voice makes heads explode. i can also belly dance (kind of)

10. where were you born?  the fog

11. what are your hobbies?  gaming, 3d, drawing, writing, bass guitar

12. do you have any pets?  can't have them at our apartment :( but i kinda wanna ask if our landlord would be mad if i adopted a couple of lab rats ovo i'd love to be able to take care of a deaf/blind dog/cat someday tho!!

13. how tall are you?  155cm/5'1"

14. fave subject in school?  none, school STINKS (english)

15. dream job?  making games!! i would be so so happy to make my little worlds and stories real! especially models and animations to make characters alive,, khsfkjs

#.txt #about me

[violetren]

Finished watching Dragon Age Absolution.

My biggest take away is that it feels like it was made as Game Bait.

Like it was made to up the hype about Tevinter and the idea of a game being set there. When the Nessum title card came up my first thought was how people might react if Nessum is an in-game location in DA: Dreadwolf.

The series is six 25min long episodes and so it has to fit A Lot in since 1. The world of dragon age is pretty expansive at this point, and on top of that this is set in a place we haven't actually been to in the games, and 2. It's trying to have a very personality packed ensemble cast. This means the pacing can be a little... meh. It also means that some of the major beats feel like they only get the minimum or not quite enough set up before we get sent barreling into them.

The characters are all very intense. Some of them could even be called bombastic. Combined with how the show animates the fights and magic, there were times were it felt like their lighter moments were just trying to copy the tone of The Legend Of Vox Machina's lighter moments. The different personalities of the characters do at least help them stand on their own a little more.

The strong characterisation is kind of a double edged sword. For the most part its a great thing. All of the major players feel like they have a fleshed out idea behind them and in fact come into the story feeling like they are already very established.

Which is were it becomes a double edged sword. This story and the stories of their characters is starting at a point that feels like the beginning of the middle more than it does the beginning of the start. This isn't surprising considering how little time they had to work with, it's a common bit of advice for writers to start where the action starts to both save time and get the audience hooked. Honestly I didn't mind it too much but my friend found it nearly unwatchable because she didn't feel like she'd had enough time to figure out whether she liked or cared about the characters all while the characters were rushing ahead acting on motives and instincts the audience hadn't seen them develop or had explained where they came from.

I think part of the reason my viewing experience was so different to hers is because what they did isn't too dissimilar to action heist films like Oceans 8 where someone puts together a team of experts and since we've already been told they are meant to be experts we don't pause to question the whys and hows of their talents and drives.

The only real differences are that in DA:A the object being stolen is magic relic which raises questions about the motives of the group hired to go after it, that the series barely answers and only where its convenient, and also the framing and time given to the antagonist of the show and the fact that the primary main character wants nothing to do with the fucker rather than looking to spite him with the successful heist.

I think if the show had been given a few more episodes, maybe a typical 12 ep run for short animes, but even 8 or 10 might have been enough to give the story the space it needed to nail flimsier character and plot beats and make the story feel smoother.

Overall I think it was ambitious and moderately entertaining, but fell short of its potential because of it's limited run, and as a result the finished product just feels like its trying to generate interest for the upcoming dragon age game and serve as bait for a sequel.

At least I hope that ending was supposed to bait a sequel. If it was supposed to be setting the stage for the beginning of the game I am going to be annoyed. I hate when games and shows require homework to make their plots make sense.

#chirping wren #dragon age absolution #da: absolution #da:a #da:a thoughts