Adrien is definitely gonna take Emilie’s place in a coma (A Theory)

Yeah so I mean the title of this is exactly what I’m pretty sure is gonna happen. This is because there has been a huge load of foreshadowing and some other subtler reasons I will be going over in this post. Of course, there’s always a chance it won’t happen, but if it didn’t I think I’d be pretty surprised considering just the amount of evidence thats going into this.

(Also sorry ahead of time for the structure of this, I tried to structure this based on my specific reasons for this theory but I kind of went off on tangents in some places and in others I use ideas that I assume come with the theory and don’t necessarily fit into any specific reason (like Emilie coming back to life and what would happen there, why Adrien and not Nathalie, and loosely how theyd get Adrien out of the coma), although I mosty stick to the structure I still want to add this disclaimer just so you’re aware that I wrote this in one go at midnight (also wait right now its 12:10am it is now ten minutes into my birthday??? ok ignoring that))

I dont know man. Just consider what I have to say. Or dont. I will be listing my reasons starting now.

1. Imagery of Adrien being in comatose state/ in a coffin-like thing.

This is surprisingly common??? Off the top of my head I can think of Style Queen and Riposte (I believe) which involve this. In Style Queen, Audrey in the form of her akumatized self had essentially kidnapped Adrien and put him in this gold/glass coffin thing that disintegrated the longer it remained untouched. The other one is Riposte, where Ladybug hides Adrien in that big sarcophogus in the Louvre (he didn’t stay in it but still the imagery is there.)

I also just remembered in Chameleon when Lila took Adrien’s form he was asleep/in a comatose state in that locker and Plagg was like “aw man am I gonna have to kiss him.....” but then Adrien wakes up because Lila stole someone else’s form

EDIT: another instance of Adrien/Chat Noir being shoved into a sarcophagus (besides Riposte) is in Pharaoh in season 1

So yes there is definitely a good number of foreshadowing for this. I might take this further and say if Adrien were to go comatose and be in the coffin Emilie was in then Felix might replace him for some amount of time?? Like impersonate him amd stuff?? Just because there’s lots of stuff in the show with impersonation I feel like it could work aNYWAY BACK TO THE EVIDENCE I KNOW ITS A TANGENT

2. Possible evidence foreshadowing Emilie *inadvertantly* killing (not killing but making comatose you get it) Adrien

This one is not as strong as the first but its worth considering. I was googling the word “mayura” just out of curiosity a while back and basically its a peacock in Hindu stories (like peacocks are a kinda revered animal) and I just initially found a couple websites that said that the mayura has been depicted eating a snake as a symbol of the cycle of time (you dont have to read this part in parenthesis, its just kind of a tangent: the cycle of time as known in Hinduism is another aspect of Hinduism directly referenced in the show: the horse/space miraculous kwami Kaalki’s name is a reference to the prophecied tenth avatar/reincarnation of the god Vishnu, and he is referenced in the Kalachakra tantra which is basically a Hindu book about the cycle of time. Keep in mind I got all this from wikipedia and other internet websites, I do not practice Hinduism and I dont directly know anybody who does, so if any of this is wrong pls lmk because there is surprisingly not a lot of information on the internet about it from what I could tell)

So anyways yes peacock (mayura) eating snake representing the cycle of time. Both Luka and Adrien are represented in the show as the snake, but ultimately I think the snake here represents Adrien just because it makes more sense (Snake Noir, future Alix’s tattoo depicts a snake to be Adrien and is meant to represent Adrinette, Adrien just has some shifty stuff going on with the snake in general etc) and thus, if Gabriel manages to actually get the ladybug and black cat miraculouses and make the wish to bring Emilie to life, then this “mayura” analogy (assuming Emilie as the mayura in this scenario) would make sense if her life brought upon Adrien losing his.

The reason I dont think it would refer to Nathalie even though her official name is Mayura is for pretty much two sub-reasons. The first is that I think she is going to die before this wish happens. I know, its a kids show, whatever, but consider it. The Agreste/Graham de Vanily family has a trend of having opposite names [I am so sorry I literally first heard this from a tumblr user but I cannot remember who I just remember they had made a string of theories on why Emilie Agreste will not be who she seems to be so credit to them I did not discover that] for example the name Gabriel means hero/angel, Felix means happy/fortunate, Adrien means dark, etc, and Nathalie Sancoeur means “birthday (of Christ)” and “heartless” respectively. We already know she is not heartless but rather full of heart because she has fallen in love with Gabriel. So then,,,,,,,,,, the opposite of birth is death. She’s already shown to be pretty sick too despite the peacock miraculous having been “fixed” (as of the New York special being the most recent piece of content). I’m sorry guys I do not make the rules

stop why his face look like that though

The second part of why I think this is a little stupid but. The original art released by Jeremy Zag for Mayura does not look like Nathalie. Plus this art was only released under the name of “the Peacock” (originally Le Paon in French) so it might not actually be the Mayura we know as of now. Now, theoretically, it could be that they had made this art before they knew they wanted Nathalie to be Mayura or just as art depicting what Emilie would have been like as the peacock miraculous holder, and it could literally just be Nathalie. When you compare the images, though, the original Mayura art looks far more like Emilie and a lot less like Nathalie. Yes I am aware this is stupid just know this is only a minor point

I dont know man those faces do not look the same to me and the original Mayura definitely had Emilie’s eye shape and face shape in mind. They might’ve changed it after making the concept art but my point still stands

Ok next reasoning

Again not a very strong point but sometimes dialogue just implies things in Miraculous and I can think of a very specific quote that would fit this happening, and there are probably more that I just dont know to look for since I dont have this whole show memorized

So the quote is from Startrain after Gabriel loses control of the akuma then learns about the Startrain having been akumatized with Adrien on board, and he says “hoping that my enemies will save my son..... how ironic.” When I first heard this quote I really, really felt like it was foreshadowing something just based on his tone and the way this new idea was being introduced of him having to be on the same side as Ladynug and Chat Noir for once, even if it was just temporary. This quote absolutely is indicative to me of a future event in which he’ll have to work with his “enemies” to save his son. A situation in which Adrien is in comatose would perfectly align with this. At least for how I would predict the show would make it, Gabriel would have to turn away from Emilie (who represents the past for him, and this action would therefore represent moving on) and join forces with Ladybug/Marinette, his “enemy”, to save Adrien.

Onto the last reason!

Emilie is probably definitely coming back. Which means someone’s going into a coma in her place.

I mean come on it would be so anticlimactic if they just caught Gabe before he fulfilled his wish. Plus with the way they are outlining Emilie to be this perfect golden being is definitely because its going to far contrast with how she will actually turn out. This doesnt really support the Adrien thing in particular but honestly it would also be anticlimactic of the coma was for anyone else. If it was Nathalie, then yeah itd suck for Adrien I guess but like???? Doesn’t really connect the plots as much. Whereas if its Adrien, that brings Marinette into it, that gives her a powerful as heck conflict. Im guessing they would also somehow resolve his coma with “the power of love” mentioned in the theme song, just because of the foreshadowing with like waking someone up with a true love’s kiss (think Plagg in Chameleon, I guess the rose in Style Queen, maybe Alya’s story to Manom in Stormy Weather if we’re strecthing it....)

TL;DR: Adrien is probably gonna go comatose (like Emilie did) at some point because its been pretty foreshadowed (think Style Queen, Riposte, and even Chameleon), because of the legend surrounding the Hindu “mayura” peacock eating a snake representing time (wow that was not a sentence ok then), because Gabriel has previously foreshadowed having to work with his enemies to save his son, and also just because it would be super awesome and allow each character involved to have a pretty fulfilling conflict and arc.

(all images from the miraculous ladybug wiki excluding the piece of art depicting the mayura which is from murugan.org)

I hope however took the time to read this post enjoyed this theory, sometimes I have really random yet detailed theories regarding this show and I wanted to share this one because if I’m right then this will be proof I had predicted it, also you guys could possibly elaborate on it. I’m all for friendly discussions folks fr

If this doesn’t end up happening the theory is still awesome and they should have done it, and if it does my ego will probably expand and hopefully they will make it as awesome as it seems like it would be. Sorry if the structure of this post is not great, but thank you for reading. I appreciate you, have a wonderful week :)

this is what riverdale is about (part 4)

part 1

part 2

part 3

i’m back, to continue from where we left off. obnoxiously, i’m going to take a minute to plug my patreon, which is primarily for my webcomic but i also do movie reviews and talk about bad books i find so if you like these posts, you’ll probably like those as well. all i ask....is one dollar a month.

anyway fuck that let’s get back into this.

images are from the riverdale wiki

SEASON ONE (PART 2):

the last picture show: immediately this show reveals that our beloved jughead has been living in a nearly abandoned drive-in that he also works at. too bad for him, because it’s closing down. hilariously, literally nobody in his circle of friends cares and call his make-shift house a crack den. owned. its revealed an anonymous buyer purchased it from the town and the mayor decided to sell it to whoever.

archie brings flowers to his teacher-girlfriend’s recital and when he and grundy (and his dad) head to pop’s for a good ol malt or whatever, betty confronts him about his relationship. betty is hurt when he says grundy believed in him when no one else did and goes home with renewed purpose: take grundy down.

veronica’s mom is caught having a heated argument with a member of the southside serpents gang next to a dumpster by cheryl who, as she delights in misery and disaster, captures it all on camera. she shows veronica, who confronts her mother who brushes her off.

betty lures grundy into a fake interview for her school paper instead of going to the police. betty seems to be determining all of this based on the fact that she didnt have any social media until a year ago, which really makes me question betty’s journalistic bonefides. its framed like this means she didn’t exist before she got a twitter or whatever. its really weird. more relevant is that the only record of a geraldine grundy.....WAS AN OLD WOMAN WHO DIED 7 YEARS AGO!!!!! she takes this information to archie as well, who doesn’t care at all. he’s way too horny to care.

betty breaks into grundy’s vw bug and finds a gun and her real i.d. with her real name. archie is still too horny to care, even though betty (again, really overstepping her journalistic bounds) says that grundy might have killed jason (BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF A GUN BETTY!!! COME ON). archie finally asks grundy straight up what the fuck is going on and she cops to trying to escape from an abusive husband, hence the gun and fake names.

jughead finds out that archie’s dad’s construction company won the bid to destroy the drive-in. its a bad time to be jughead. he tries to ask archie’s dad not to tear down the drive-in. through this convo we learn that jughead’s dad was fired from andrews construction several years ago for theft. a scene after this reveals that veronica’s mom is facilitating the purchase of the drive-in with the mayor pn behalf of her incarcerated husband.

i’m so glad the wiki reminded me of this line, word for word: everyone (and i mean literally everyone in town) goes to the drive-in for one last hurrah, where the southside serpents are guffawing up a storm. veronica somehow silences them by saying “You know what happens to a snake when a Louboutin heel steps on it? Shut the hell up or you’ll find out.“ it sucks so bad. veronica then witnesses her mother having an encounter with the same gang member who she is revealed to be paying to drive down the value of the drive-in property so hiram lodge can buy it for cheap.

archie and grundy are caught in a passionate embrace after betty’s mom reads her diary and goes on the warpath, rightfully telling her to get the fuck out of town or she’ll reveal her to be a child molester. grundy agrees to leave and archie is heartbroken. the last show of geraldine this season is her ogling two teen boys. horrible. leave, woman.

jughead leaves his shitty home and on his way out is accosted by the same gang member who was talking to hermoine lodge and is revealed to be....JUGHEADS DAD!!!!!!!!!! whatever.

heart of darkness: the town is abuzz with jason’s upcoming funeral and the teens of riverdale are fighting over who gets to take the dead kids spot as captain of the football team in a really normal and not at all super ghoulish way. archie is working his heart out now that his favorite teacher/pedophile has fled town. he has his time wasted by a member of the pussycats, valerie, who nets him a meeting with a music songwriter who tells archie he doesn’t have time for his shit. its a weird and totally pointless scene in the long run. it doesnt matter because archie’s music thing never comes to anything. the guy tells archie later, when he returns with sheet music, that his songs suck shit and he hates his music and to get out of his office.

jason and polly’s (betty’s sister) relationship seems to be at the center of whatever happened to jason, so betty starts asking around town about her sister, by using dates as a cover to ask probing questions to members of the football team. she also tries asking her father, who explains that polly and jason had a fight, polly tried to kill herself and so was shipped off to a mental institution. learning about jason’s death fucked her up again so they shan’t be exposing her to more sordid info about the events. the only information they get is that jason was selling drugs to raise money to leave town.

betty and jughead trace this thread to find out why jason would want to leave town but veronica is already finding out firsthand after she is invited to the blossom mansion for the world’s worst sleepover before the memorial (cool timing): the blossoms are all insane. they make their money on maple syrup, using the funds to build riverdale as we know it. veronica and cheryl bond over their awful parents and versonic encourages cheryl to act out at jason’s memorial FOR SOME REASON. KNOWING FULL WELL WHO CHERYL IS.

demonstrating extremely normal judgement, betty and jughead plan to raid jason’s room during the memorial to find clues. cheryl goes full hamlet, throwing herself on the coffin and weeping during her eulogy. they use this as cover to sneak away and go commit the worst social faux-pax you truly can do. however, they are interrupted by cherly’s senile grandmother, nana rose, who mistakes her for polly and reveals polly and jason were engaged. 

betty takes this information to her father who reveals he already knows but forbid the arrangement because the blossoms and the coopers have been trying to kill each other for decades over the whole maple syrup empire thing. betty and jughead later suspect her dad broke into the sheriff's office to steal his files related to uhhh everything i guess; a hunch which turns out to be correct.

meanwhile veronica’s mom is sent a live snake by the serpent gang, calls big strong fred andrews to come save her and then asks him for a job.

faster pussycats! kill! kill!: first of all fuck, the name of this ep.

archie, for some reason because i guess he doesn’t know what embarrassment is, decides he’s going to play an original song he wrote for the school talent show. he immediately gets stage fright at the try-outs and wusses out. veronica goes behind his back to sign him up anyway. thanks, asshole!

valerie, from the last ep, quits the pussycats because josie is slightly more stressed than usual about uhhh the talent show. also because she has a crush on archie for some reason.

hermoine, while acting as fred andrews’ new secretary, realizes he’s fucking BROKE. why’d he hire her? who knows. too late now. she suggests firing some people (for example............her, maybe, fred) but fred cant bear it...and is hoping to be saved by the newest construction job he doesn’t know that hermoine is manipulating under the table. much like his son, fred is now too horny to care and they make out while veronica watches awkwardly.

the remaining pussycats try to figure out what to do about their missing member problem. josie’s mom helpfully lays out that they need a strong woman of color, but not one prettier or more talented than josie. enter...VERONICA!!! who is miffed because archie replaced her with valerie in the talent show duet. veronica is now scientifically less pretty and talented than josie by show standards, which just rules because i love thinking that there are teen power rankings in riverdale.

betty and jughead make their way to visit polly at The Sisters Of Quiet Mercy which is literally the best name for a goth cover band in the world. surprise! polly is pregnant with jason’s baby. polly reveals she and jason planned to run away together, but she was caught by her parents and sent away. she then awkwardly asks how jason is and someone has to break the news to her.

josie’s dad makes a brief appearance, which i absolutely do not remember at all. i thought he only showed up in season 3 which makes mayor mccoys character arc way more awkward. anyway, the mccoy family, the andrews and the lodges all have dinner together to discuss business and its awkward as all hell. no one at the table likes the andrews.

betty straight up asks her dad if he killed jason and her mom laughs her ass off at the idea of betty’s soft white suburban ham shank looking dad being able to kill a weed much less a human. keep that in mind.

veronica’s mom forges veronica signature on a form allowing andrews construction to move ahead with the job.

jughead and betty kiss after talking about how they arent their parents. keep that in mind. anyway, betty takes jughead to a car polly mentioned that full of EVIDENCE. they take picture of it and leave the car to go tell the sheriff because i guess suddenly no one has cellphones.  jughead and betty return with the sheriff later to find the car has been light up by an unknown person. almost immediately after, bughead tries to rescue polly at the institution only to find she’s already bailed. welp.

josie and valerie make up and all four pussycats perform. josie’s dad walks out on her performance? harsh. cool dad moves.

archie sings and the crowd loves it. who gives a shit.

a kid died, guys. come on.

Cultural Appropriation, Two Sides of The Coin

First of all, we need to define what it means. By Wiki: Cultural appropriation, at times also phrased cultural misappropriation,[2][3][4] is the adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from disadvantaged minority cultures.

A very famous example of this was the Washington Redskins NFL team, who had this logo:

And the name RedSkins. There are debates about its origin but everyone agrees that it is offensive.  One explanation dates back to a time in history when colonial and state governments paid white people to kill Native Americans and were encouraged to cut off their scalps and even genitalia, to prove their “kill count”. 

Urban Dictionary however defines it as “The ridiculous notion that being of a different culture or race (especially white) means that you are not allowed to adopt things from other cultures.  This does nothing but support segregation and hinder progress in the world.  All it serves to do is to promote segregation and racism.”

For some people, white Americans walking around in traditional east African garb, for example, is considered cultural appropriation.  Others would argue it is a form of self-expression and shows appreciation and respect of another culture.  Alternatively, a white American wearing a sari to a traditional Indian wedding ceremony is considered by many not to be cultural appropriation, but instead is showing respect of the culture and tradition.

But there’s a big problem with critiques of cultural appropriation.  They reaffirm the very thing they intend to oppose: white Western domination over and exploitation of culture at the expense of everyone else.

This is the problem with cultural-appropriation critiques. They depend on reductive binaries—“high culture” and “low culture,” and oftentimes, “first world” and “third world”—that preserve the hierarchical relations between the fashion industry and the cultures being appropriated. This is related to the problem with cultural-appreciation defenses. Producers and consumers of culturally appropriated objects often present them as examples of healthy cosmopolitanism, of an openness to diverse global sources of inspiration. But the Indonesian plaid example shows that such production and consumption of “diversity” can often—intentionally or accidentally—obscure the actual diversity and complexity of the cultural object being copied.

60% of people on Debate.org say “No, they do not believe it is an issue.” 40% of people on Debate.org say “Yes, they do think it’s an issue.” Some of the top responses include: “Both sides have blown cultural appropriation way out of proportion. Anti-political correctness people state that it is a form of censorship and totalitarianism, But no one is banned from culturally appropriating. You can't expect for there to not be a backlash when you take the culture of a minority that your people group have oppressed and trivialized it. The arguments that everything is culturally appropriated, That plaid is Scottish and other things like that, Don't work because cultural appropriation is about stigmatized groups. Indigenous people, For example, Have been killed, Forcibly assimilated, And given little to nothing to make up for it (it can't even be made up for). Their culture is a core aspect of who they are, And after being aggressively challenged and slaughtered by Western society they are trying to preserve the last pieces of their rich culture. Western people don't understand why cultural appropriation is a problem because they've never had to deal with being stigmatized. When white people, For example, Dress up as Native Americans, It is trivializing a very sacred tradition, And being completely disrespectful to a group that is still hurt by white people to this day. But there is a line. There needs to be freedom of speech and expression, And the simple wearing of patterns and styles from a different culture isn't necessarily wrong. It's important to pay respect to its source, Though, And to understand its significance. I see no valid reason why people would be so upset about not being able to wear something that doesn't have anything to do with them. It's not about oppression, It's about acknowledging a culture and paying it the minimum amount of respect it deserves. No one is controlling what you wear, But the least you can do is pay respect to something very important to another culture, And make sure that where you are getting it from comes from actual members of that culture.“ “I don't think there's anything wrong with people 'stealing' aspects from other cultures. I don't see the issue in a white girl wearing dreadlocks, if that's what she wants then she must feel free to do so. Dreadlocks is not a priviliged hairstyle only black people can have (this is only an example). I know there are people who don't feel this way and are really offended when parts of their culture get 'stolen' by other people, but I believe there are worse issues like racism and homophobia that need solving first.“ “The way I see it anybody can use anything from any culture if it suits what they need it for. No invention is the sole property of any culture because no invention was created by a culture anyway, they were created by individuals. But, in some cases, certain aspects of culture are very important to the people who live in those cultures which can cause an issue. For example, a lot of Christians value the God they worship and take offense to people insulting him. Some Americans put a lot of value in the flag and hate to see others not respect it as much. And we can all agree on the song Feliz Navidad which is an appropriation of Christmas music is cancer. There are many other examples like the British Queen and guards, the Catholic Pope, that some people take serious offense to. So, why is it we sometimes can't see how other cultures might hold aspects of their culture with a certain dignity that they feel we don't respect. Like the Native American headdresses. We may see them as colorful garments that look interesting but too many of them it's a religious item. I remember many people took offense to urinated on the image of Jesus Christ so how do we tell them that we don't care if they feel its disrespectful. It doesn't only go one-way folks, so before we use concepts from other cultures we should make sure there isn't significant importance assigned to it.“ “I believe that if we give credit and respect the source of the culture that we adopt then we can have no systemic power dynamic between two cultures and abolishing any thoughts of racism consciously or subconsciously. We should respectfully adopt all cultures and shouldn't prevent or stop any other ethnic group from adopting your own culture.“ “There is an issue look i typed a whole nuch of stuff and it deleted and i dont feel like explaining all over again so im just going to start typing a whole bunch of blah but stealing someones culture is not right you ignorant bastards stick to your own culture.“ “Where are the arguments concerning Plaid? How many times has this pattern been used in cultures other than Scottish? Here the debate ends, because it will prove that if you are not white, you have a right. I am all about honoring all cultures. I support all things related to improving cultural and racial equities...But the debate about what is cultural appropriation is utter nonsense. Shall we all go back to animal skins and furs?” “All these things that people wear like bindis and headresses (sorry i dont know the name) without knowing the meaninh and how to wear thwm is simply wrong. Just because something looks nice and cool or 'urban' doesnt mean you should wear them. People get offended because their culturistic objects are simply used because thwy look 'nice' before wearing anything like these you have to take in the consideration that they are symbolic and you should only wear them if you are using them the way they are meant to be used.” “If people think cornrows look disgusting on black people but edgy on white people then the problem is with the society of people that think that not with the white people with cornrows. If there even is a problem at all. And why is everyone so concerned with what white people think anyway. Disallowing people to borrow ideas from other cultures obstructs the progress of the arts and of the world. Pretty much all american food is appropriated from other cultures. Actually most foods associated with particular cultures are appropriated from other cultures. Thats what happens. Everyone gets ideas off each other and we all progress and learn things from each other.“ “While white people are praised for altering their bodies, plumping their lips and tanning their skin, black women are shamed although the same features exist on them naturally. What looks ghastly, horrible and repulsive on the actual culture, looks ‘cool’ and ‘exotic’ on the oppressors. How can this be? A culture is supposed to be something that is vibrant, unique and homley to the person that belongs to that culture. A culture is what gives you history and what makes you interesting- It gives you a sense of belonging to a certain group. It isn’t there to be stolen or made fun of. A culture is sacred and it’s what makes you, you. It influences the way you dress, dance, how you act, what food you eat, and the list goes on. Therefore culture is a substantial part of somebody’s life. Hence you can’t just take it like it’s yours and change the entire concept of it; changing the meaning and turning into something it’s not. It’s just not right. In a song Selena Gomez, a pop artist, dresses up in traditional south asian clothes. Now I'm not saying that's wrong. People can wear whaevr they want. However what has Bindis and Saris got to do with her song? Absolutely nothing. Then why does she wear it? She is stealing an entire culture and ethnic identity and turning it into just a mere costume. She is changing the meaning of the once- important Bindi and turning it into just an ordinary fashion accessory.” “"Cultural appropriation" is a morally confused and historically nonsensical idea. All culture, across history, has been appropriated from other cultures. There is no such thing as pure culture. All culture is in flux and is in a state of appropriation and change, at all times. The Italians got pasta from the Chinese -- should they give it back? The Japanese took much of their culture from the Chinese, and Buddhism from the Indians. There is no such thing as "black" culture -- what we call "black" covers an extraordinarily diverse set of peoples, all of which have for centuries been pillaging and appropriating one another's cultures in Africa and elsewhere. Some culture, somewhere, started wearing corn rows. Should only the black people who trace their lineage to that particular people be allowed to wear corn rows? Should we stop eating Tex Mex food? Is it wrong for a white person to wear a ninja costume to a party? Should Native Americans be asked to shut down casinos because they came from white people? Should white jewelry makers in New Mexico stop making jewelry with Native American designs and symbols? Should black people be banned from wearing bowler hats? If you are half white and half black, do you get to wear corn rows on only one side of your head? Absurd. Totally, completely absurd. Food, dress, hairstyles -- none of it is pure, none of it "belongs" to anyone of any particular race, and talking about it being "stolen" is talking pure nonsense.” For me personally-I am on the 60% that say it is not an issue. I do think there is a line you cannot cross, but to get offended for wearing “om” yoga pants, using chakras, chopsticks, practicing Voodoo, cornrows, the list goes on and on. People, witches, wizards, or not, have the freedom to look into the history of the cultural, say per example chopsticks. Is the Witch Nancy going to cultural appropriate by using them? In no way. Doing a quick Google, Nancy can look up “where did chopsticks come from” and find: “Created roughly 4,000-5,000 years ago in China, the earliest versions of something like chopsticks were used for cooking (they're perfect for reaching into pots full of hot water or oil) and were most likely made from twigs.” Now she as both knowledge on wear chopsticks came from, how they made, and possibly who made them.  The same goes for Witchcraft and it’s paths. Yes, steer clear (unless you want to) of initiation only practices. Do your research. If a  spiritual path, or religion, or group, doesn’t fit in with your ideals, then you’re free to move on to the next idea. However if something really interests you? Say mojo bags, smudging, dolls, etc? My advise would be: -Buy from local sellers. (If you cannot buy from local sellers because of the price, cheaper ones do fine too! Respect =/=  going broke!) -Ask the people from where the cultural came from.  -Ask people/the group on how to properly do whatever Witchy thing you want to do. 

Don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t be afraid of dabbling in a few things until you figure your own path out. Ask, ask, and ask some more questions.  Sources: https://www.debate.org/opinions/is-cultural-appropriation-an-important-social-issue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/2017/session/whose-culture-is-it-anyway-the-cultural-appropriation-debate/ https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/teenager-prom-dress-cultural-appropriation-chinese-culture-criticism-debate-appreciation-a8330006.html

Tips for People New to Fate/Grand Order

Been playing the Japanese Version since 2015 and thought I’d share some things I’ve learned/ would be awesome to know in advanced.

I’ll give this another check over in the morning x_x EDIT: made a few fixes and added a little more details to noble phantasms

I will NOT post spoilers for the main story, and I’ll keep spoilers for game mechanics, (ex. Boss fights), future servants, etc. to a minimum.  Can look up on the FGO wiki for more information regarding these.

If you love your account, Bind it.  Go to your room and do it.  This will protect your account and if you ever need to switch devices, just put in the code and password (and then once logged into the new device, go to your room again to generate another one since they are one time use).

If you love your servants and Craft Essences, lock the ones you use.  Select them and on the left of their profile will be a lock, if its blue click it, if its orange you are good.  On their small portraits should be a lock image on the left indicating they are locked.

Lingo-

CE = Craft Essence

NP = Noble Phantasm (ultimate move)

SERVANTS

--Keep at least 1 copy of every servant you get.  The biggest reasons for this are because of events and interludes.  It occurs more often than not that an event will give you bonuses (usually more item drops) for using particular servants.  Usually the higher star rating = better drop rate BUT dont count the lower stars because 

1. They are more common and easy to get

2. Events often come with event CEs that will grant you nice benefits, BUT will eat up your cost [see section on cost for info on what cost is]

Interludes can give you things like saint quartz and materials, more on this later.

--You can also have that servant eat copies of itself to make their noble phantasm (powerful/ultimate move) more powerful. Lower star servants are cheaper to level up and if you really like them, you can raise their level cap through “grail ascension” (palingenesis).  Grails are not a common item, and I would look to the wiki for more information.

Who you level is up to you.  The game is based around you who can get from the gacha, so everyone’s team composition will be varied. There are guaranteed servants from the story and 4 stars that can be obtained from events.  But things to keep in mind:

1. Mashu/Mash may not seem like much in the beginning, but she has 0 cost and her skill set down the road will probably come in handy (again depends on your team composition). Personally I can say that her costing 0 is VERY VERY useful and I still use her occasionally- esp events.

2. [see cost]

Keep in mind that when you get to higher levels it will be MUCH easier to level up servants.  I do suggest in the beginning focusing on a team that works for getting you through the story, and eventually, 1 of every class (but maybe not so much berserker in the beginning)and later look at adding different roles (ex. aoe np and single target np).  Experiment and see who works best together for you and your master level.

Also note that (inregards to should I re-roll)

When I started, people’s first servants were probably 3 stars (unless you rerolled/ were super lucky) so my first servant was Caesar who I leveled with Robin (gods his np used to be OP).  Though I started a few months after release and was able to get away with riding coattails through the first part of the main story (all hail Gil).  Point is, who you start with may or may not be in with you for the long haul in your main group- and thats ok, also your friends are important.

There will be events that will allow you to get 4 star servants by participating.  It does require effort though so the higher level you are and the higher level your main team of servants are, the easier it will be to obtain them.

My first event happened less than a month after I started and I ended up getting the servant, but not their special ascension items so I couldnt level them passed 40. Fixed that during the re-run though xD

Interludes- Interludes unlock as you progress through the story and raise your servant’s bond level.  They can grant you quartz, items, and some will make your servants (the one featured) more powerful.

MASTER LEVEL- AP, COST, FRIENDS

AP- is your energy which you spend to do missions.  you recover 1 every 5 minutes.  When you level, you will be given points that WILL carry over your cap if applicable.  You will not recover ap until your points are once again below your cap.  The cap increases with leveling, but not with each level and the same goes for friend points and cost.

COST- Cost limits what star rank servants and craft essences you can use for your level.  AS OF WRITING THIS THE CURRENT LEVEL CAP DOES NOT HAVE A COST HIGH ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A FULL TEAM OF 5 STAR SERVANTS AND 5 STAR CRAFT ESSENCES (and thats on the Japanese side which is about 2 years ahead). Ok with that out of the way.  This means that you will  need to use 3 star, and maybe lower, to have a complete team. while this isnt necessary, it will more than likely be helpful..  

costs:

* -- servant -- CE

1 -- 3 --  1

2 -- 4 --  3

3 -- 7 --  5

4 -- 12-- 9

5 -- 16 - 12

To give you an idea, at level 100 your cost cap is 98.

Max number of your servants on a team is 5 + 1 support who DOESNT count towards your cost cap.  Point is all the shiny 4 stars and 5 stars costs will add up, especially if you are lower level, so keep some lower star rank stuff (and Mashu/Mash) on hand.

my front row would change but for the longest time my back row consisted of (in this order)

Mashu/Mash, Hercules, and David -cost of my back row = 19

Ces- I usually gave Herc a 4 star and Mashu/Mash and David’s would change depending on need.  19+9 = 28

FRIENDShip is magical. seriously.- As stated above your friend limit cap will increase as you level, but not every level. and you will want friends.  You can find friends by:

1. using people’s servants as support and after the battle ends, send them a request.

2. tell a friend your friend code

3. tell the internet your friend code

Setup your support team- AND KEEP IT UPDATED.  If a servant or craft essence is on support you can still use them and best of all there is no cost limit so you can attach your best craft essences to them.  Got a better higher level servant? remember to add them to your support team to help out your friends. There an event going on? give your support servants the event craft essence and if applicable switch out servants to the event servants (up to you as sometimes a high level non-event servant can be more helpful than a low level event servant- but it really depends.  When I was low level I looked for servants that could help me through the battle, as a high level, my team is beefy enough that I can usually move my support to my back row and I look for who gives the biggest bonus).  Some people also enjoy trying out new servants (esp. if they are released without a way to try them out), so switching them temp. or otherwise can be fun too.

What friends do for you:  

1. If you use the support servants of your friends, you will be able to use that servant’s noble phantasm 

2. You gain more friend points by using their servants and by them using your servants. Friend points can be used in the friend gacha. -see GACHA

3. Because of the gacha, events, etc. Your friends will likely have different servants than you and this is to your benefit.  

What you can do for your friends:

1. keep support list updated

THE GACHA

tips:

Saving quartz for limited gachas is probably for the best.  (I would also argue if you really like a servant on rate up or need that class, BUT limited servants are well limited). 

single rolls are fine and dandy.. but really should be done with tickets.

a 30 quartz 10 roll guarantees that you get a 4 star something.  single rolls do not.

the rates on getting a 4/5 star servant are lower than craft essences...but both are about single digit percentage tiles if I recall correctly...either way its pretty low.  But patience is rewarded eventually. I have, in 2 years as f2p, drawn 9 5 stars and numerous 4 stars

New years is famous for its paid gacha.  You can buy quartz and use that to get a guaranteed 5? star.  NOTE: the bonus quartz you get from buying larger quantities is seen as FREE quartz NOT paid. 

rate up means that IF the gacha determines that you are to get a particular 4/5 star something. that it is more likely that it will be whatever the rate up is, not that there is an increased overall chance to get them.

When rate up a gacha occurs, sometimes the rate ups change though out the time the gacha is available, so be sure to check the rate up times.

The friend point gacha has a free daily spin.  Max of 3 star rank on things pulled, i.e. you cant get 4/5 star things from this gacha.

Also note worthy- there is a servant in the friend gacha that is probably about as rare as a 5 star... if not rarer, not sure if they will be in the gacha upon release or a later date, but if you pull a servant not in the ‘regular’ classes, then you are VERY lucky.  I can’t recommend trying to explicitly pull for this servant though...

taping your screen during a summoning will advance it to the results.  This also works when feeding exp cards.

The community currently has a term called “Getting spooked” this happens when you get a 4/5 star servant of the same class as the rate up servant, but end up getting a non-rate up servant.

Ex. I wanted Iburaki (4 star berserker) from a gacha where she was on rate up. I got Beowolf (4 star berserker).  I proceeded to amuse my fiance with my cries of agony. (For added salt this was my 2nd beowolf and my fiance has Iburaki.  For the record  am pretty happy with my collection of servants, I just like her design)

LEVELING SERVANTS

Fou-kun cards that give a bonus to hp and atk are cheaper to feed to your servants at lower levels.  On the same token it is possible to critical with only fou-kun cards so I recommend throwing some exp cards in the mix just in case since crits save you qp (esp higher levels)

SKILL-  In the beginning, dont worry about leveling skills.  Seriously.  Leveling skills takes a TON of qp and requires a variety of materials.  How much depends on the star rank of your servants.  To max out a 5 star’s skill set takes millions of qp.

ex. My Waver (Zhuge Liang) has maxed out skills and it took months to achieve this as he was my first 5 star that I got about 2 months after starting.  To max 1 of his skills was 54.5 million qp x 3 = 163.2 million qp total.

Qp can be earned fairly easily (esp higher levels) so its just a matter of time.  The real drain is materials, which is why I recommend only leveling the skills of servants you use.

Again, I recommend using your qp and materials to level your servants in the beginning and waiting on skills.

LEVEL INCREASING

3 star and below exp cards start seeing a decline in effectiveness around level 30, and esp once 50 is reached.

servants have a level cap that can be expanded 4 times by ascending them. You will need statues of the servants class and materials*  The amount and type varying on class and individual servant.  The overall level cap depends on star rank with a 5 star at 90 and 1 star ~60.  As mention earlier all servants can increase their level cap up to lv. 100 by using grails.

(classes such as ruler dont have their own class statues; Mashu/Mash ascends automatically with the Main story)

NOBLE PHANTASMS

Noble phantasms can be unleashed once you have 100% (or more) gauge.  Np level and charge are very different. In general Level increases the primary affect and charge increases the secondary affect.

For example Cu Chulainn’s Noble phantasm deals damage to a single target (primary) and has a chance of instantly Killing the opponent (Secondary). 

 Feeding him copies of himself will up the level of his np and increase the damage and his maximum charge*.  Charging his np gauge more in battle and/or using his noble phantasm directly after another noble phantasm (or two) will increase the charge.  The higher the charge, the more likely he is to instantly killing his opponent.  The additional charge that consecutive nps receive increases as follows:

 100% for 2nd position and 200% for 3rd position. 

The gauge can be charged to a maximum of 300%  and when put after 2 nps will be at 500%.  Note that the charge operates at a 100 benchmark so a charge of 150% will act as 100% and 298% will be 200%.  

*np 1 servant can charge to 100%, np 2 up to 200% and np 5 can go all the up to 300%.  Np level will go up by one with each copy fed, to a total of 5 (4 copies).

MISC.

utilize storage to declutter your inventory.  Not as much of a problem in the beginning.

Events will usually require you to have cleared the main story up to a certain point.  most common are the first and second areas.

Events have re-runs so dont stress too much if you were unable to get everything that you wanted.  Downside is you will have to wait another year. HOWEVER I would like to note that the Saber Lily, and collaboration events have NOT had a rerun.

Burning exp cards, craft essences, and servants of 1 or 2 star rank will give you a little bit of extra qp. 3 stars+ will give you mana prisims.  Do note that craft essence exp cards are rare and I’ve only seen them in a handful of events so i recommend using them to increase the level of your craft essences rather than burning them.

Burning 5 stars will give you a special item that once you have 10 you can use them to get a 5 star of your choosing from a list, and limited servants will appear on that list when they are available in the gacha.  BUT this mechanic is really for people who whale- spend money, usually large amounts- so they can put the extras/servants they dont want towards a servant they want.  Or for people who keep getting the same 5 stars.  5 stars are normally pretty rare.  In 2 years my fiance and I, free to play players, both individually have drawn about 9 5 stars.

Some servants (ex. cu chulainn lancers, stheno, more down the road, etc) Have noble phantasms, etc. that have a chance to instantly kill your opponent.  Be aware that enemy servants are SUPER resistant to it.  The odds of it happening are near astronomical, while it does happen, dont count on it.  Against just about any other opponent that is not a servant, it should happen infrequently. 

Bond points- 

unlock interludes

above level 5 they earn you rewards (quartz) and at level 10 grant you a servant specific craft essence.

There’s also a (very) late game mechanic that will utilize bond.  But if your favorite servants have bond 5+ they should be fine, but the more the better.

The main story (and free quests???) seem to give the most bond.  there are 2 craft essence that have been released in Japan that help increase bond gain a little, one will be given for free (if memory serves).  The other will be a limited craft essence from Da Vinci’s shop for mana prisims (NOT cheap).

Buy the tickets from Da vinci’s shop each time its refreshed.  Currently that might not be for awhile, but that should change in the future.

Da vinci’s shop refreshes with the same items, but sometimes will have limit craft essences and esp around new years more “bang for your buck” deals and bundles.

Just started and have time? dailys are good at getting your servants off the ground.  Farm for exp cards and throw in qp daily as necessary. dailys give more exp than the main missions and will give you exp cards as well.  You will gain a ton of ap through leveling, which again, wont start regenerating until you use it up.