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robinnsblog · 3 months

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✨Who did it?✨

Or, as an alternate title:

I can’t believe I have to play Devil’s Advocate for Ozzy…

Yes, your honor, he did haunt Elise until she passed away, ruined Roman’s life as collateral, sort of kidnapped Henri and almost murdered Goldia. I can’t deny that he is, in fact, the main villain in Pocket Mirror and sole responsible for the events in that game.

However!

In Little Goody Two Shoes, he isn’t the only schemer behind the scenes. Our second player is Walpurga — and I don’t think we’re giving her enough credit. It’s easy to misjudge her as a secondary threat in Elise’s path when, actually, she’s the main instigator.

I dare to say that she’s even the one to start it all, the one who led Elise to her eventual downfall! Ozzy just took the merit after she was out of the picture.

But before I go through the events of the game, let’s review what some characters have to say, in special when it comes to the lore. We’re going to be judging…

… their credibility.

Our dear Rozenmarine here is talking about Ozzy by the way, and we have already established that he is, in no shape or form, a benevolent entity. Nonetheless, she’s the most truthful character towards Elise: she even warns her of the heavy price she’ll have to pay for her wish. Not even Walpurga, who is the first one to mention all of this information, alludes to such a thing; in fact, she even outright lies about it when she says that the Gifts will be “all that’s requested in return”.

The other character that gives the most exposition is Father Hans, and like Rozenmarine and Walpurga before him, we have to take his words and judgement with a grain of salt — in special when it comes to Walpurga and her sanctification.

Case in point: if a witch is a human woman and Walpurga is the consciousness of the woodland surrounding Kieferberg, can we truly call Walpurga a witch? Or is a human woman a forest now?

Despite the flaws in his logic, Father Hans doesn’t question much the nature of what he’s trying to summon and when he does, briefly worrying about the possibility of Walpurga being a demonic entity masquerading as a witch, he foolishly believes he’ll be able to take care of it. If you’re aware of one of the endings, you know how well that went.

His judgement, therefore, cannot be trusted.

On one hand, the demons themselves refer to Walpurga as a witch as well — and it’s likely they know more about this than our two faced priest. On the other, they also don’t hide their contempt by calling her creature and wretched thing, so it’s just as probable they’re insulting her and refusing to respect her as a fellow “patron saint”.

Meanwhile, in one bad ending, Rozenmarine is way more respectful and names her “old god”…

Either way, my previous statement about Father Hans still stands. However, does that make the demons a more trustworthy source of information? Several characters —mostly Golden Maidens and Walpurga, who has ulterior motives— disuade Elise from listening to them, and to tell the truth, they don’t reveal much about themselves or their reasons to not raise suspicion. In a twist of irony though, they do reveal the deceit of others more than being deceitful themselves: it’s Murim who points out Walpurga disguising herself as Rozenmarine and being the actual culprit behind the horses and Apfel’s disappearance, after all. And it’s also Ozzy who lets Elise know that Walpurga had been misleading her from the very start — although far too late, at the very end: “You’re yet to pay for what you truly desire! That witch made you think otherwise, did she?”

In conclusion, we can’t take what they say at face value — or at least, not all of it. Still, they do offer important insight into the lore if you know who and what to believe.

An interesting bit I want to highlight and that gives a different interpretation of the game is related to Walpurga’s true identity: if she isn’t a witch, but a being similar to Ozzy and his Marquises, her inactivity during the 18 years Elise was alive could be linked to the need of a witch of her own, since they act as a sort of medium between realms.

Although that raises the question: who could be Walpurga’s witch? Let’s review the story from the beginning first.

Around the time of Elise’s birth, in a far away place, Rozenmarine and her dreams of fate were born as well, while one of the last remnants of Walpurga’s cult was being burnt at the stake — that, instead of Elise being conceived, might have been what truly weakened Walpurga.

Later, during their pilgrimage, her granny taught Rozenmarine everything she knew, including Ozzy’s folk tale. Like His name being lost to time, the reason his story was spread about in Rozenmarine’s coven could also had been forgotten; Elise did mention it sounded like a cautionary tale and perhaps, it originally had been — do demons like competition, I wonder.

As previously said, Elise’s genesis had fascinated Walpurga. She wanted back what was taken from her and also recreate what Ozzy had done that day to no avail. No matter how much that ate at her, in 18 years, she didn’t target Elise yet.

Not even Father Hans, perturbed by Granny Holle’s dead bed confession 10 years ago, acted upon his suspicions until both demons and Walpurga made themselves known in town. Or maybe he did, if Elise saying she felt ostracized after her granny passed away is anything to go by.

It’s when Rozenmarine reached Kieferberg, when everything happened all at once again: she met Flocke and her fateful dreams stopped; Elise got attacked by roots in her own home, but never again, and she dreamt of Ozzy’s realm even before getting the shoes; and a windstorm hir town, stirring Father Hans into action, believing it was the result of Granny Holle’s pact with the demons years ago.

Suddenly, everybody had a bone to pick with Elise. What changed? Rozenmarine.

This scene here is what makes me think Rozenmarine is Walpurga’s witch. In the bad endings where Walpurga kills and possesses Elise, she does so by impaling her with roots or branches like the ones that appear here. Not to mention, it all occurs next to a St. Walpurga’s statue, like it were a macabre foreshadowing of her involvement in the plot. If she could always have done an attack such as this, why then and not before? Elise had been alone for years, living in a house far away from town — nobody would have heard her scream for help. It’s, however, easily explained if Walpurga required of an intermediary to physically manifest.

The curious thing is, like I mentioned earlier, that it doesn’t happen again. For some reason, Walpurga doesn’t get a second chance to attack Elise within her own home. Coincidentally —or not—, in the next morning, we are introduced to Flocke, who mostly stays around the house with Rozenmarine.

That incident, and Rozenmarine’s dreams about fate coming to an end, I believe are related to Flocke’s presence. It would be in Ozzy’s best interest, if Rozenmarine was supposed to aid Walpurga, that she were to be as much confused as possible about her true purpose in Kieferberg — lo and behold, depending on the ending, she has a different idea about what that purpose was.

Thus far, we have a back and forth between Ozzy and Walpurga, and it keeps going: unable to go after Elise directly and following the demon making his move to snatch her first —the shoes—, Walpurga lures the girl into venturing the woodland by telling her about the Gifts.

You’ll think that Ozzy would be pleased with the idea, after all, it played in his favor. But, judging by this mysterious line of his: “Although you didn’t quite need them (the Gifts), did you?” And the look he gives Elise after she returned with the basket, maybe things weren’t going according to plan at all.

This is going to be pure speculation, however, it’s undeniable that Elise and Henri have certain parallelisms between them: their isolation and desire to escape it. Perhaps it goes further than that and Henri’s fate was supposed to be Elise’s as well: I don’t think he had to go through the Trials or sacrifice The Good Company, after all, he wouldn’t have followed her mother’s footsteps had there been someone in his life to alleviate his solitude, and it’s highly doubtful Elise would have told him about the Gifts to begin with. Like Henri, maybe she would have died in her sleep after the deal was sealed and she gave her name as payment, becoming Ozzy’s new loyal servant.

Furthermore, it could be possible that Ozzy only asked for her first born to spite Walpurga, who had been a sore thorn in his side through the whole game. Failing to procure Elise, she lost her only chance to become a woman and bear life in her womb, so what better way to twist the knife than to ask for a child with the sole intention of eating it? Because then, I don’t know how to explain the presence of the moths in the bad endings where he wins otherwise: did Ozzy kill Walpurga offscreen and steal her familiars? Maybe so.

As I said, it’s pure speculation, like Ozzy slowly grooming Henri into a demon, treating his name the same they do their own —with mystery— and giving him duties that eerily resemble what Murim and Aziel are tasked to do. So, in other words, let’s get back in track.

Before Murim was sent to meet Elise, Walpurga had kept herself busy with Eugen’s horses. We later find one, twisted into an enormous monstrosity —inspired by Mari Lwyd, maybe?—, which attacks Elise. It could have been Murim’s doing, however, he had already given Elise the Testament, meaning she had passed the Trial and was free to leave — like in Aziel’s domain. Not only that, the monster only appeared after the reason our heroine stayed —a disguised Walpurga—, finished her creepy monologue.

Walpurga apparently had something to gain if Elise died within the woodland, or else she wouldn’t have forced her back in Murim’s grove to rescue Apfel. In this second incursion, she also made an interesting revelation that supports this theory.

She always wanted the Gifts for herself — like Rozenmarine had explained at the start of the game, they represented Elise’s whole being. If she were to get her hands on the Tender Flesh, she gets Elise’s body; if she gets the Sweetest Nectar, Elise’s blood; and if she gets the Good Company, Elise’s love. And it illustrates so wonderfully why the endings happen the way they happen: if the Tender Flesh and/or Sweetest Nectar are offered, she can’t possess Elise and would rather she died in a pyre or have her turned into a tree; if the three Gifts are correctly offered, Elise is untouchable, the parts representing her under the protection of demonic sigils; and if Elise failed to offer any Gift, because they’re on her person one way or another, Walpurga gets to wear her like a costume.

Why the demons would do nothing after technically being offered and accepting the Gifts in the good endings, is a mystery on its own. Perhaps the commitment they were all on about, was the commitment to love? That brings us to Aziel’s grove and all of its mixed messages.

The next morning Elise rescued Apfel, Flocke can be witnessed throwing a tantrum and promptly leaving — Ozzy obviously displeased with Walpurga interfering so brazenly. The back and forth between the two beings never stops, even if Walpurga makes no further appearances —thanks to Aziel— other than in the endings and those branch attacks inside of Ozzy’s realm which, judging by his sigil after they have already crossed the portals, perhaps he’s trying to dispel instead of summon — the mist is also suspicious, being almost identical to that which follows the moths.

While in her domain, Aziel kept insisting to Elise that she should indulge and dive deeper into her desires, while pointing out that she has yet to discover what they are. It might be a red herring, but after Elise had confessed her wish to the old hag in the beginning of the game, Rozenmarine warned her with urgency that she shouldn’t disclose it to anyone. We’ve got to remember that one of Father Hans’s documents also describes how the woodland —Walpurga— harbored people’s wills, wishes, desires and sins in the past. Was Aziel trying to make our heroine know that her desire had been tampered with? Truth be told, Elise seems to yearn leaving Kieferberg more than riches, giving weak excuses as to why she doesn’t: “… if only it was that easy.” It is, in fact, since in the good endings she just does that. So, it could be possible.

The mixed messages, however, made themselves present during Aziel’s boss fight. After encouraging Elise to pursue her wish until then, Aziel asked to be shown how much Elise cares for her love interest. And if that wasn’t enough, she one-hit kills her if her answers didn’t prioritize her paramour —heavily foreshadowing the requirements for the good endings— while giving her this quote:

“Rather self-serving, aren’t you? You’re not worth my time, let alone His!”

Recalling the scene with the Golden Maidens, you can’t make me believe that some of them truly loved anyone in their lives, lest pass this Aziel’s test. Like, between the three first Golden Girls, who was supposed to be The Good Company: the one being murdered or the one thrown under the bus? The main one fitted the self-serving moniker perfectly and yet, Ozzy was to await for her in his banquet.

The fact that Ozzy would allow the Golden Maidens prowl around and warn Elise left and right is suspect as well. In his defense, he does say that they’re hard to tame.

Did the demons want Elise to succeed? Or perhaps they were quite content with Walpurga losing. If it’s the former, what a plot twist!

Nonetheless, I believe we have answered the original question quite well: who did it? The one who kickstarts the whole conflict is Ozzy, being responsible for Elise’s very existence to begin with, but the one who actually makes the first move to snatch our gal and keeps the pace of the game is Walpurga. Father Hans is also there, aiding Walpurga by ruining people’s livelihoods, when the demons only pulled what amounted to pranks in comparison — crows standing around menacingly and stealing some grain, and floods that caused no lasting damage.

🦋Still, I hope you enjoyed my descent to insanity and that you now appreciate Walpurga as the proactive villainess she is — not everything was Ozzy’s fault, even if he would love you to think so.🦋

#robinn.txt #lgts #little goody two shoes #pocket mirror #I finally finished writing this I’M FREE!!

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palaceofpassion · 2 years

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Alrighty! Time to get some hate! Also, keep in mind these are my opinions. You’re free to like, and feel however you want about whatever you want.

Buuuut, time for some Temple Manga/Manhwa opinions.

Bleach and Naruto are both good at the start, however, they both suffer as the series goes on. Kubo made it rather apparent that he didn’t even want to continue, this is a series that benefited from the color and action design from the anime as the manga itself is droll. Everything is just a black ink blot, and he doesn’t do backgrounds. Also he has the problem of same face. It’s not good.

Naruto I feel is better, but it’s still not a good series. I will give Kishi that he’s a good artist though! His backgrounds were very nice. I was able to stomach through the end of both of these. Alright story wise, but kind of meh feel wise.

In comparison O-parts Hunter or 666 Satan, did the Naruto thing but better. It was done by his brother. It didn’t feel drawn on, but the battles were fun and the story actually pretty sad. You can most def see the inspiration from Naruto though.

Dragon Ball, oh god, the anime drags on way too much. But the manga is a great read. I think it’s a fun series, but it’s not great story wise.

Hunter X Hunter is held back by the mangaka hard. I know that he’s sickly, but there’s also the parts where he just doesn’t want to work most of the time. Which ya know, fair. It’s possible he doesn’t know what he wants to do with the series anymore, as it’s basically Hiatus x Hiatus. Unfortunately, the Chimera Arc isn’t great, it takes a way a lto of the creativity that Nen had earlier and just goes into full on battle Arc. It doesn’t help that the manga art turns into literal sketches at this point.

One Piece, I fucking LOVE One Piece, but it’s long. And you have to be ready. It can be a bit of a slow start up, however, Buggy had already drawn my interest from the start. I do think people over hype how much oda has planned. I do think he’s winging it a few times. But it’s got a great feel to it, it’s probably one of the msot fun Manga, which I think is what it’s going for. Battles, especially early in the time skip, are hard to read. But what happens in them is amazing. Also, I’d rather not talk about the anime, I’ll look up clips when I want to see things animated. It’s just... episodes are drawn out way to damn long! At least the filler is fun compared to Naruto’s. Also Backgrounds 10/10 Oda. This is on my to re=read list.

MHA, I enjoy it, but it hasn’t been enough to keep my attention. I think it’s a good story, yet somehow, I was able to finish Bleach and Naruto, yet I don’t have the attention span for this series for whatever reason. I’ll sometimes come back to it, so again, yeah not sure what’s the deal with that.

Berserk is really good, I’m sad about the hiatus and what happened to Miura. But his friend, the man who did Holy Land, I recommend Holy Land by the way, will be continuing it. Though, their art styles are incredibly different so I imagine this is going to go vastly different. One of the things I really enjoy, at least for what it was becoming, is something I enjoy about the more Recent god of War. Someone who was ravaged by nothing but revenge, finally finding peace in themselves.

Komi Can’t Communicate, It’s cute as fuck. But it peaked at the second year class. Year 1 was super annoying, I hate Yamai. That’s all.

Volcanic Age, this is a Murim styled martial arts Manhwa, so be warned. It’s better than most! Like, a lot better, the main character is reasonable, he doesn’t try to be the big bad man and tries to make everyone his enemy. His knowledge actually feels well earned, compared to most of this type where they’re just gary stus. Over all a good fun read.

Kingdom: Fuuuuck, this manga is an emotional ride. I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s historical fiction. I enjoy this type of series, ancient warfare, as i was a huge fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms growing up. I still have the novels! I suggest giving it a read, it’s really good.

Mashle, this is the over powered MC kind, but unlike One Punch Man, it doesn’t just remove the main character until plot demands it. It’s about him, because it’s more than just a gag that became popular and now doesn’t know what to do with itself. It give sthe main character to learn more about things, be more than just himself. And he’s just a damned good person, if not a bit...k well weird.

Helck and Verndio, these are togther because one is a sequel to the other, and the effects of helck are slowly leaking it. It’s pretty godlike. Probably one of my favorites of all time. Really wonderfully done, and it doesn’t last for very long. Helck is a, OP main character, but it’s a riveting story! You get to learn more about their world, and actually how terrifying it is. In the end, being a single lone powerful figure just isn’t enough. I really recommend these two.

Solo Leveling, it’s cool. Like, it has that power fantasy down pat way more than The Gamer. I’ll give it that for sure. If you’ve read fics you’ve read The Gamer ones, the Gamer itself isn’t great... by any means. Solo Leveling is definitely better, but at the same time it falls into the same problem of not being great story wise. If you’re just in it for fantastic fucking art, and great fights though, this is really good.

On the note of Gamer style though. Infinite Leveling: Murim. Another Murim styled, but with stats and leveling for the main character. This is done well, like fantastically well. The leveling system is harsh he doesn’t just gain stats after stats, and they’re kept within the people of the world he’s with. Those around him are truely superior, and the stats feel more like a natural progression of hard work he’s doing to train. Unlike msot of the Gamer styled manga/manhwa, this one feels like he has to truly work for it, from excercising to training.

Worn and Torn Newbie, this is a game Manhwa, but the main character is fun and such a damn bastard. You just can’t help but love him. This series has really good art, and it’s a fun read if you want to just see how things go. I suggest this one as well.

Return of the lEgendary Spear Knight, Another Manhwa, this is a breath of fresh air! This one is one of those rare instances where people straight up change when they’re shown the error of their ways. The world is shown to not be black and white, and characters who appear to be bastards can actually become better people due to the difference of environment.

The Lazy Prince Becomes a Genius. The title is misleading, but this Manhwa is really damn good. Probably my favorite Manhwa at the time of this post! There are some pacing issues, but over all it’s great, and i feel like I’m losing point.

Anyways!

Mairimashita! Iruma-Kun, this will be the last one! This is just a better RWBy style story. If you like RWBY you’ll probably like this one way more. The author fleshes out the characters at a much better pace, they’re all able to do things even if they aren’t combatants, and unlike RWBY, they feel like genuine friends who have good teamwork. Story is pretty basic, but it’s elevated by the fun cast of characters who are all incredibly charming. The main character is also just fun, he gets better and better as the series goes on. The Rival character, so to speak, makes Bakugo eat dust for sure.

Feel free to tell me off if you want. Just some thoughts i had when watching a Trash Tastes episode.

#Temple THoughts

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theofficialuriel · 3 years

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Dokhyuk Moments: Part 36

(— means I skipped parts)

(420+)

I disappeared for a long time— tbh I was just too lazy to actually do anything, but I found out about how many good Dokhyuk moments were eradicated in the ebook version and so I decided to write more Dokhyuk moments in anger and rage.

There’s so many good things we won’t see in the Webtoon ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡

The kkoma Yoo Joonghyuk number [999] polishing his [Heaven Shaking Sword] atop my shoulder grumbled softly. “Your driving sucks.”

I know it isn’t our Yoo Joonghyuk but still.

Right after I went past the Gate, I was greeted by the rainbow-coloured aura swirling around, followed by the guide message as well as an accompanying video.

Rainbow for the gays.

[Player 1-nim says that ‘It’s fine if it’s a Murim dumpling’.]

Is player 1-nim Yoo Joonghyuk…? I forgor.

“By the way, you must really like Murim dumplings?”

“Yes, I do.”

“…..An ahjussi I know also really likes them, too.”

I knew well who she was talking about there.

I may have skipped a few parts after this one because this has been sitting in my drafts for 77 days 💀.

A heavy-sounding tone of voice came out from inside the carrier. It seemed to contain this surprising power to change the mood of the surrounding atmosphere with just a single word.

I swallowed my saliva and walked up to the kids.

OooOooO

For sure, calling a face like that ‘Yogoe’ didn’t seem all that out of place. Because, well, it was inconceivable that a normal human would be blessed with such looks, after all. —?

Eyebrows seemingly drawn by a single, uninterrupted stroke of a famed artist’s brush; a nose and a chin shaped in perfect angles that defied attempts to measure them through mere devices of men; a pair of deep eyes seemingly carved out of a beautiful jewel containing all the misfortunes found in this world.

If someone saw those features and not get immediately drawn in by them, then there must be something wrong with that person.

Dokja, you have something to tell us?

“Shin Yoosung! What are standing around dazed for?! Quickly defeat this guy!!”

Lee Gilyoung, still dangling in the air, began to thrash about frantically.

Gilyoung is adorable.

“Zhu Bajie is not our enemy.”

Yi Gil-Yeong’s eyes went extra-round after he heard me. He even looked disappointed for some reason. “Whaaat? Dang it….”

Gilyoung’s constant antagonizing Yoo Joonghyuk reminds me of Louis and Sherlock from Moriarty the Patriot. It’s adorable.

Yoo Joonghyuk stepped forward and suddenly brandished the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] in my direction, then drew a very tiny circle on the ground around my feet.

“You do not step beyond this line.”

“Eh?”

“Move one step, and I’ll kill you.”

Bwhahaha

His sword technique on display was beautiful enough to entrance the viewers. His swordsmanship had taken yet another major leap forward when compared to before, making it impossible to imagine just how far he had to push himself to reach such a realm.

The fact that almost all of his new found strength came from training due to Dokja’s disappearance—

I ended up worrying about him and so, I had to say something. “Excuse me, Junior Brother. Why don’t you walk closer to us?”

“….And who’s your ‘junior’ now?”

That idiot glared back at me with incredibly intimidating eyes and I couldn’t say anything else.

“The idiot” awwww~

⸢In that moment, Kim Dokja

I think this said something important, but my dumbass deleted the rest of the text in accident ;-;

Yi Gil-Yeong wordlessly tossed a pebble inside the campfire, while Shin Yu-Seung nervously studied Yu Jung-Hyeok’s and my current moods, her fingers fidgeting around with the soil on the ground.

It was then we heard the sound of a stomach growling loudly. Yi Gil-Yeong frowned tearfully and rubbed his belly.

“I’m starving….”

I grinned slightly and pulled something out from my inner pocket. “Would you like some dumplings?”

When dad and dad are fighting but you’re hungry, so they stop their fight to feed you:

#kim dokja #omniscient reader's viewpoint #orv #omniscient reader #yoo joonghyuk #omniscient reader spoilers #lee gilyoung #shin yoosung #dokhyuk #joongdok #jongdok #dokhyuk moments #dokhyeok

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