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vynegar · 1 year

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luke’s proposal card: poem analysis

The poem that features prominently in Luke’s proposal card is a translated version of “Heimweg vom Fest” by Hermann Hesse. This post will have some translations about the poem and discuss how it suits Luke’s proposal.

My usual disclaimers apply for any of my translations here. Check my masterlist for more translations and analysis. Please also note that the original language of the poem is German, so I’ll be referencing other people’s translations of it.

Background

I found the Big Data Lab entry for the poem in Luke’s proposal card, which I had previously translated as “Going Home After the Holidays” and was unable to find the source for. Here’s the BDL entry + my translation of it.

《节庆后回家》，是由德国诗人赫尔曼，黑塞于1913年创作的诗歌，收录于诗集《孤独者的音乐》中，1914年由海尔布隆Eugen Salzer出版社出版。原文写作“但要么至善要么至恶——可怜的灵魂恰恰喜好，或是痛苦，或是欢乐——因为它只为燃烧而燃烧。夏彦母亲在引用时，进行了略微的修改。

“Going Home After Festivities” is a poem written in 1913 by the German poet Hermann Hesse. It was included in his collection of poems titled “Songs of the Lonely”, published in 1914 by the Heilbronn publisher Eugen Salzer. The original text reads, “[the four lines of the poem which comprise the last stanza]”. When Luke’s mother quoted it, she made some slight changes.

I’ll get to the actual content of those four lines soon, but that last stanza is what appears in the game and reappears for the BDL entry. It seems to use the translation by Lin Ke (林克) that appears in Herman Hesse Selected Poems (黑塞诗选), published 2017 by Sichuan People’s Publishing House (四川人民出版社). Although the BDL entry states that Luke’s mother changed it, the only difference I saw in what appeared in the card story was the omission of “But” at the start of where she quotes.

Translation

You can find the original German text here, along with an English translation “The way home after celebration” by Sharon Krebs and a French translation by Pierre Mathé). Below is the last stanza in English:

The poor soul wishes to cherish

Only the most evil and the best,

Be they agonies, be they celebrations --

For [the soul] glows for the sake of glowing.

@enheduanna-bfv also found the German version of the poem, and would translate the title as "On the way home from a feast".

And finally, here’s the Chinese translation that seems to be the same version used in the game, alongside my translation of it (possibly influenced by Krebs’s). Please note that differences in translation could be due to different interpretations or errors at any step of translation, especially my own.

节庆后回家 Going Home After Festivities

又一个节日响成了碎片， Yet another holiday splinters with a sound.

恐惧令人窒息，我蹒跚 In suffocating fear, I stagger

走过冰雪覆盖的农田，across the frozen-over farmlands,

害怕再也回不到家园。fearing I can never return home again.

你呀，缘于痛苦的沉醉，You, the intoxication that comes from pain –

喜乐的杯盏破碎之后，After the joyful cup shatters,

我愿在心里，我情愿将你 In my heart, I’m willing to

当成半是欢喜来承受。endure you as a half-joy.

但要么至善要么至恶—— But the greatest good, or greatest evil –

可怜的灵魂恰恰喜好，it’s just what the sorry soul is after.

或是痛苦，或是欢乐—— Whether suffering, or celebration –

因为它只为燃烧而燃烧。because it burns for the sake of burning.”

As a note, my original translation was:

“The greatest good, or greatest evil – it’s just what sorry souls are after. Whether pain, or pleasure – because it burns for the sake of burning.”

Taking the cue from Krebs’s translation, I changed the “sorry soul” to singular, so it can connect more explicitly with the last line (the “it” in the last line would also refer back to the soul). I also changed the pain/pleasure word pair since it didn’t evoke quite the right dichotomy, and suffering/celebration at least let me keep the alliteration I used to reflect the parallelism of the line in Chinese.

Discussion

I think it’s pretty striking how the title evokes such warmth with the idea of home and celebration, then completely subverts that with its opening stanza – the celebration ends violently, and the poem paints a wretched, despairing picture of someone in the mindset of fear and anxiety. The tone of the rest of the poem is never quite as bleak, but even at best it’s a bittersweet one where pain is always on the other side of the coin.

There are a few ways I find this poem quite fitting for Luke’s engagement card. The first I thought of was that the more somber tone belied by the innocent title was like the experience of reading the story. Instead of the engagement being the happy occasion that we’d expect, Luke shows us the grave that the bought for himself. We’re faced with Luke’s mortality and fears and resignation in a way that we’ve never been before; instead of a pure celebration, it’s something that’s in pieces and bittersweet.

Rosa is indisputably “home” to Luke, and with that in mind, the narrator’s desperation in their journey back home seems emotional enough to describe how Luke must feel about Rosa.

For the second stanza, I’ll try to base it on Krebs’s translation since it makes more sense with the rest of the poem. The narrator declares that they would rather carry the pain with them than the “half-hearted joy” that remains when the “cup of bliss” shatters. Luke certainly intended to choose pain instead of allowing himself what happiness he could have, but I also think he ended up compromising many times for that half-joy, in the many compromises he makes himself when it comes to Rosa: be part of the family, but don’t ever cause them trouble; reunite with Rosa, but don’t ask for anything more; officially be with Rosa, but don’t let yourself take the next step. Luke may not align perfectly with the main message of this stanza, but the ideas here are similar to his mentalities that were explored in the card story.

And finally, the last stanza, the one that Rosa’s mom would recite to Luke, since it was his mom’s favorite that she often used as a lullaby, and that Rosa will repeat back to Luke as a plea. The card already explains what it meant for Luke’s mom and what it can mean for Luke – living their life fully, honestly, passionately. The only thing I can add is that if the poem begins with Luke alone and frightened, seeking his home and family, then it’s a beautiful bookend to have the words spoken to him by his family be the thing that pulls him out of his resignation to half-hearted joys.

#luke pearce #tears of themis #xia yan #tot luke #tot analysis #tot translation #thoughts of themis #'yeah this will just be a quick little thing i post before starting on that vyn stuff' (1.2k words)

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nachotrash · 10 months

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未定的注定 (Undecided Fate) --LYRICS RETRANSLATION + NOTES

A/N: finally, after all these years, I post something that isn't a shitpost. Was chatting with discord friends while playing ToT episode 9 and that one line by luke made me wanna translate this. Uhh, translation notes at the end. Have fun reading and geeking out with me. This is a personal translation of the lyrics of ToT's official theme song

曾是我寄身在黑暗中 Ceng shi wo ji shen zai hei’an zhong I used to be stuck in the dark 走尽夜路也盼有灯属于我 zou jin ye lu ye pan you deng shuyu wo Walking the night path with a lamp/light of mine 是否等候我的窗将有微光涌动 shifou denghou wo de chuang jiang you wei guang yong dong Whether a (soft) light shimmers through my windows 绽放成你温热在我手 zhanfang cheng ni wen re zai wo shou Gently blooms into you in my hands

你是未定的希望 ni shi weiding de xiwang You're the undetermined hope 却是注定的光芒 que shi zhuding de guangmang Yet the fated light 照引我的心 zhao yin wo de xin Light up my heart 到黑夜退去 dao heiye tuiqu Retreat into the night

愿我也能温暖你 yuan wo ye neng wennuan ni Hope that I can also warm you up 走向未定的真相 zouxiang weiding de zhenxiang Walking towards the undetermined truth 解除命运的捆绑 jiechu mingyun de kunbang Untie the restraints of life's path 无所畏惧和你相倚 wu suo weiju he ni xiang yi Fearlessly lean on eachother with you

在余生每个黎明 zai yusheng mei ge liming At dawn, for the rest of our lives 你是谜封锁住我眼眸 ni shi mi fengsuo zhu wo yan mou You're the riddle that locked my eyes shut 你是意义占据我所思所有 ni shi yiyi zhanju wo suo si suoyou You're the reason occupying all my thoughts 你是未定的美好我开始猜不透 ni shi weiding di meihao wo kaishi cai bu tou You're the indetermined perfection that I can't figure out

现在我才懂为何萦梦 xianzai wo cai dong weihe ying meng Only now have I realized why we dream 你是未定的希望 ni shi weiding de xiwang You're the undetermined hope 却是注定的光芒 que shi zhuding de guangmang Yet the fated light 照引我的心 zhao yin wo de xin Light up my heart

走向未定的真相 zouxiang weiding de zhenxiang Walking towards the undetermined truth 解除命运的捆绑 jiechu mingyun de kunbang Untie the restraints of life's path 无所畏惧和你相倚 wu suo weiju he ni xiang yi Fearlessly lean on eachother with you 在余生每个黎明 zai yusheng mei ge liming At dawn, for the rest of our lives

已注定 yi zhuding Already fated

你是未定的希望 ni shi weiding de xiwang You're the undetermined hope

却是注定的光芒 que shi zhuding de guangmang Yet the fated light 照引我的心 zhao yin wo de xin Light up my heart 到黑夜退去 dao heiye tuiqu Retreat into the night 愿我也能温暖你 yuan wo ye neng wen nuan ni Hope that I can also warm you up

NOTES:

绽放 specifically means the opening of the flower petals when a flower blooms Also MC is very flower-coded (rosa) So i thought that was a nice detail

Now the "warming up" specifically means the type of comforting warmth that campfires or torches will give you on a cold dark night

解除 (untie) could possibly be a reference to how the NXX investigation gets more and more complicated, with an overwhelming amount of cases practically "tangled up" in eachother, so you're slowly picking it apart one by one with the team (aka your soulmates)

Also I specifically used "lifes path" for 命运 because that phrase is only used to talk about the course of a persons life, aka the events/path that life has laid down for you (your canon events, if you will)

意义 means like, the significance, meaning or reason/motivation behind someone's actions, but idk how to translate that

黎明 was hard to translate, cause it can mean both dawn and dusk, or any time of day (altho dawn and dusk are the most used, hehe crepusculum and diluculum) but it basically mean that the two relies on eachother every single day for the rest of their lives

A/N: That's it! Hope this was comprehensible to read

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falling-star-cygnus · 2 months

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more on the topic of eyes in Hazbin Hotel; -> disguised as a Lucifer character analysis ehehehe

LUCIFER HAS EYES ON HIS COAT WHEN IN TRUE FORM??

ALONG WITH ONE ON HIS BOWTIE

this is a cool little detail, actually, because Lucifer is often interpreted to have been either a seraphim or a cherubim when he was still an angel -> which are both levels of angels described as having a surplus of eyes :D

there's also a few translations where he was said to be a cherubim that was defeated by the seraphims as well, which just adds even more layers of interest into his character

in short, Vivzie's character designs are everything I aspire to make one day

#y'all i promise i'm getting to your requests btw #school is just kicking my ass and im trying to keep a steady stream of content going for you guys #bare with me please ToT #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel 2024 #hazbin hotel lucifer #lucifer morningstar #character analysis #vivziepop #vivienne medrano

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xelasrecords · 3 months

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Interpreter Richter's Tragic Endings

I find Vyn's character to be the most tragic in most endings (Artem's is a close runner-up) because no matter the outcome, he cannot win. He loses his freedom for Rosa or loses her for power or simply dies to protect her. What Interpreter Richter truly wants is the freedom that one can only have with power, so he accumulates it at all costs without moral scruples.

These are all from different endings:

This one hurts the most though, because he knew he'd be forever chained to the gang that he wanted to be free from if he helped Rosa, yet he did it anyway. All for her. And she didn't even realise.

#it's so weird to see luke chilling in some of the endings #good for him i guess #he's suffered enough #and i guess marius gets away with least blood on him because of his status and power #i love this event so much #tears of themis #vyn richter #vyn richter meta #analysis #tot #mo yi #xela talks

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actualbird · 8 months

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“The Journal of NXX Investigation Team Behavioral Studies: Vol 2” | yet ANOTHER a compilation of fan analyses on the characters within the NXX Investigation Team.

hi everyone!! so after months (once again) of me working on and off (once again) on this pet project, it's finally here!!! the volume 2 of me compiling of my deranged analyses :D

for a gist of what it is, lemme give you the official spiel on the download page

How is Luke Pearce Catholic-coded? What does Vyn Richter’s damn name mean? How does Artem Wing qualify as an eldest daughter despite being an only child and also a man? And, most importantly, is Marius von Hagen, like, OKAY?!?? All your your questions about Tears of Themis characters may or may not be answered. Again. Somebody surely tried very hard to answer them. Again. “The Journal of NXX Investigation Team Behavioral Studies: Vol 2” is the not-very-much awaited sequel to the Vol 1 version of the same name. This fanzine is a compilation of fan analyses on the ToT characters within the NXX Investigation Team, created from March 2022 to September 2023. This entire work was written (and shoddily layouted, forgive me, I’m a writer not a graphic designer) by me, Zak, just some guy. This compilation is a total of 24.3k words and 62 pages long.

if youre new here, i definitely reccommend you check out and read “The Journal of NXX Investigation Team Behavioral Studies: Vol 1" first! but if youve read that and are raring to go then...

👉 download "The Journal of NXX Investigation Team Behavioral Studies: Vol 2 here, completely for free

☕ though if ever you wanna give me a tip, you can do so on my ko-fi!

i hope you enjoy reading :DDD

#tears of themis #tears of themis analysis #luke pearce #artem wing #marius von hagen #vyn richter #tot rosa #xia yan #zuo ran #mo yi #lu jinghe

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its-wabby-stuff · 4 months

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Me believing that toddler to child Leo was the kind of kid to always ask “why?” In an annoying way. Which would sometimes escalated to “what ifs..” like “what if the ceiling collapsed on us?” Or “what if humans find us?” Or “what if a giant alien with tentacles came from the sky and attacked New York?”

And how I think these tiny things were usually chalked up to a wild imagination. And how I think he was actually very worried about them. And how I think that made him look for every angle. How I think every time Splinter left, he would say luv you, just in case. How I think he would worry when Splinter did not come home when he said he would.

How he looks up to Raph who said he wouldn’t let bad things happen. How he turns to heros like Jupiter Jim and Lou Jitsu. How he pretends he is strong and cool just like them.

How I think he didn’t trust April at first. But she won him over pretty fast. How he’s afraid to get hurt. And afraid that those he loves will get hurt. So he tries his best to keep them safe.

In how Raph guides his decisions. In how he knows his family so well. In how he knows how to push their buttons. In how he knows they are strong. Even without him. In how he feels he needs them more than they need him. In how he tests that they care. In how Leo doesn’t trust his place in the family that he has to say “I love you..” before giving any kind of potentially painful criticism.

Why he doubts himself. Why he curls into himself when he’s stressed or scared or nervous or petty. Why he doubts strangers “good intentions.” Why he runs away before he gets caught. Why he knows he has to go back. Why he faces his fears.

Why, despite everything he’s shown, and every action he’s taken to assure his own safety, he stood up to face the bad guy and leap into the unknown to protect his family from the giant alien with tentacles who attacked New York City.

#Leonardo #enneagram 6 #rottmnt #wabbystuffpost #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #characterization #character analysis #some headcanons mixed in with canon #turtle tots #turtle boys #tmnt #why why why why why why why why why why #core fear: not being secure #Leon’s way #but that’s just a theory

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apatheticlexicographer · 11 months

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i'm about to get mauled ALIVE for saying this but here goes:

i think m'leven's relationship should be based on a mutually requited crush. both the implications it would have on their personal development as characters and the message it would send to the audience would be substantially more impactful, healthy, and progressive than if they only dated out of obligation. in fact, the thematic message of their relationship SIMPLY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE without a foundation of genuine romantic attraction.

still with me??? okay, good.

when shows deal with romance they tend to fall into the categories of either having pretty much every character shipped with every other character at some point, or of having the endgame ships be the most obviously pushed from the start. byler has definitely been built up from the start, but the majority of the show's audience didn't consider it as an option for canon until s4, when they started making it blatant. hell, a lot of people didn't even realize WILL was queer until s3 (again, when the show started to place heavy emphasis on it), and even then a lot of people thought he might be ace rather than gay.

mike and el, on the other hand, were practically the show's flagship couple for the first 2 seasons at least. it wasn't until s3 that their popularity started to dip and their relationship began to receive a lot more criticism. which makes sense, considering they hadn't actually been IN said relationship in the previous seasons. they had a couple of romantic interactions, sure, but we didn't see how they would interact *as a couple*. people obviously couldn't predict how their dynamic would actually pan out!!! that isn't to say that the negative aspects of their relationship were a bait-and switch, though: red flags were visible since at least s2, but they were far from being the focal point and a lot of shippers interpreted them as being cute (like el's jealousy over max).

having a show acknowledge the fact that the first person you get a crush on (because correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure they're canonically each other's first crush???) isn't necessarily your ~soulmate~ is a great thing. even better when they go a step further, and play with the concept!!! the text of stranger things doesn't actually push m'leven as a paragon of romantic love. if you listen to what the other characters say about their (romantic) relationship, their opinions are entirely neutral/negative???

lucas teases mike about his crush in s1, but calls him hopeless in s3. hopper is out of line with how agressively he acts about their relationship, but the resolution of that character arc for him is about him acknowledging that he's been overbearing and accepting that he needs to let el grow up, and NOT some hammy realization that "what they have is true love, i was wrong to interfere!!!" max thinks their clinginess is sweet at first in s3, but she isn't very close with either of them. once she and el start to bond AND SHE LEARNS THAT EL HAS NO EXPERIENCE WITH ROMANTIC ATTRACTION OUTSIDE OF MIKE she encourages el to assert her own self-worth and dump him. [which... actually mirrors the progression of opinions in a lot of audience members??? 🤔🤔]

and those are just a few examples!!! i won't go on an exhaustive list, because honestly we'd be here all day.

furthermore, m'leven's steady downward trajectory is not the only instance of the show basically dunking on the trite expectation that a character's first love interest is automatically their happily-ever-after, AND the recurring motif that any relationships a character explores before their endgame ship are wrong because the alternate love interest is Bad.

dustin has his first crush (onscreen, anyway) on max in s2, but ends the season happy despite his sadness over rejection and later gets together with a girl who's basically his perfect match. in s3, robin confides to steve about how she was so far gone for tammy that she would cry into her pillow. in s4 she's able to laugh over just how bad her singing is without denying it, and is tentatively flirting with vickie. joyce was genuinely really happy with bob, but after having time to heal from the tragedy of what happened to him she's ready to move on with hopper.

again, not an exhaustive list. why??? because outside of m'leven, the only relationships where the characters ARE each other's first love interest are: lumax, whose entire arc together is about growing up as a couple (you know, the exact arc m'leven shippers pin on mike and el, as if it would make sense for 2 couples to have the same format and message...); stancy, which is only one prong of Love Triangle Hell and the controversy around it speaks for itself; and TED AND KAREN. WHO ARE POINTED OUT EXPLICITLY BY THE TEXT OF THE SHOW IN S1 NO LESS, TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF A WORST TIMELINE FUTURE THAT CHARACTERS DO NOT WANT TO REPEAT.

but if you're reading this, you already know all of that.

the point i'm trying to make is that stranger things shows a consistent palette of themes across all the relationships it portrays. i've obviously been going over the romantic ones, but this applies at least as much to the plationic bonds as well. those themes are of GROWING AND MATURING, of SHIFTING DYNAMICS, and of BECOMING SECURE IN YOUR PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE.

i'm sorry but to present a pair of characters with apparent mutual feelings; to elaborate on how dysfunctional their relationship is; and to ultimately reveal to the audience that actually they were both just confused, they never had feelings for one another in the first place and that's why their relationship didn't work out; sends an extremely mediocre message, to put it nicely. all the characters learn from that lived experience is "don't date people you don't have feelings for, and if you were unsure about how real those feelings were... get good???" meanwhile, all the audience learns from that VIEWED experience is "if the relationship doesn't work, it's because the people involved don't like each other enough." if byler goes on to be canon and is immediately much healthier, that only enforces that shitty message. in that situation the only reason THEIR relationship works while mike and el's didn't is that they actually have feelings for one another!!!

from a show which has explored complex arcs and messages with *LITERALLY EVERY OTHER RELATIONSHIP* they touch on, this would be beyond disappointing. particularly as the central message for the arc of 2 of the mainest main characters in the whole show!!!

on the other hand, to present a pair of young characters at the start of the show and flag them as having an obvious mutual crush; to allow them to explore that crush as a serious prospect; to have them realize that their relationship is dysfunctional; and to have them move on as friends; sends???

a great???

fucking???

message???

they both get to progress and move on as more enriched people than they would have been without their time in a relationship, and that is fucking wonderful.

el has a deeper understanding of romantic interactions based on actual lived experience and not just TV shows. she's able to develop into her fledgeling sense of identity more securely with the knowledge that relationships can change, and that's okay. not everything has to be forever.

mike understands how to process and manage his own feelings much better, and is equipped with a firsthand understanding of how a relationship can become emotionally dysfunctional without proper communication, making him ready to enter a new, healthier relationship. he has displayed the same overprotective behaviours towards will as he has to el, but he's begun to learn how to manage them so that he doesn't stifle his partner. after previously failing to communicate his feelings to both el and will in s3 when he fought with them, he's been making a deliberate point of doing so in s4. this didn't work with el when he tried to open up about his own experience with bullying, but it DID work with will when he admitted to his failings in balancing relationships.

are either of them finished in their personal arcs??? no, of course not!!! they're not even fifteen!!! but they have both grown as people, not in spite of their romantic relationship, but BECAUSE of it. you don't change as you grow up, so much as you start to understand yourself better. but self-discovery and subsequent self-acceptance CANNOT come without self-explaration.

it's okay to try things out, and it's okay if they don't end up being right for you.

meanwhile, the broader message about relationships that this imparts on the audience is an extremely important one. one which gets overlooked continually by storytellers in every industry. one which the show itself has brushed on, but not explored in depth.

one which fandom, in particular, likes to ignore.

ATTRACTION ≠ COMPATIBILITY

(...and that's okay!!!)

#hahaha i'm gonna get so much hate over this #preparing to lose a few followers tbh ToT i know a few of my moots and followers are Adamant gay mike truthers #jsyk i don't even dislike or necessarily disagree with gay mike???#taps the *sexuality is a spectrum* sign #he can ID as gay AND he can have a crush on a girl. get kinsey scale'd #i mean i'm an unlabelled mike truther bht i'm favourable to either bi or gay interpretations #also!!! as an aro person who had crushes on guys and girls as a kid #i get legitimately very pissed off by just how adamantly ppl base their opinion on whether mike is gay or bi #in whether or not he had a 'real' crush on a girl at age twelve #i just don't say it bc i'm not usually in a controversial mood #anyways labels are social constructs. not in a sarcastic way that is LITERALLY WHAT THEY ARE. TEXTBOOK DEFINITION #have a nice day <333 #(all this is ofc assuming that anybody still reads long meta posts which is doubtful tbh 💀💀)#byler #mike wheeler #el hopper #anti mileven #mike wheeler analysis #el hopper analysis #byler analysis #byler theory #byler meta #stranger things #stranger things thoughts #stranger things theory #stranger things analysis #stranger things meta

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biceratops7 · 11 months

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The whole “just like we told you not to eat our Halloween candy?” thing gets a lot sadder when you realize Halloween was probably the one time they could go play with other people their age and feel like normal kids 🫠

#biceratops #meta #analysis #rottmnt #rise of the teenage ninja turtles #turtle tots

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cartoonrival · 3 months

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can u explain (at least ur interpretation of it) the meaning behind the catgirl art cause i feel stupid for not getting it at all 😭

the way i interpret it is that its about how people refuse to see meaning in things outside of themselves. if something isn't about them they're going to make it about them, and they'll ignore it's uncomfortable elements so that they can SAY its about them. being online makes everything and everyone hyper visible, but there remains an expectation of relatability that just. is not always there. sometimes it isn't about you. but people especially online like to scrub the meaning and the sharp edges off of things so they can make it relatable to them, or so they can make it into a funny joke. loose examples off the dome are people going into the comments of a video about bean soup and being like what if i dont like beans? or when people make animatics of their fave loving mlm ships set to songs about abuse or the struggles of being a woman of color.

using catgirls as the subject 1) connects it to a type of art that is frequently used for relatable jokes for the sake of irony and baiting the audience into WANTING to try to make it about them and 2) ties it closely with internet culture in general because that is what the piece is commenting on. overwriting the original text, which clarifies part of the art's intent, with "me and who", and rewriting the thought bubbles from the girls thinking about how they're in pain to how theyre in love takes the original piece and does the exact sort of sandpapering that its commenting on and warding against through the original text. "i am in severe love" isn't even correct grammar, which highlights how in a lot of cases the original intent of a work doesn't even HAVE to be heavily shrouded in poetry or flowery difficult language for people to willfully misunderstand it.

halfway alternative is that rather than commenting on OTHER PEOPLE'S willful misunderstanding, its about how artists feel the need to make their own struggles more palatable in order to appeal to a wider audience, fear of being open and known and being afraid that people won't understand the unique struggles you're trying to articulate if you don't sand them down into something recognizable (like the "me and who" meme).

this is obviously just what i read from it i cant say what op intended. maybe im being an asshole and the ppl in the notes saying "^im a catgirl in chronic pain #mecore" arent getting it wrong at all

#asks157 #i wrote this in a really pretentious way i wasnt trying to be like. an ass about it #its just how i like writing formal analysis ToT #also you shouldnt feel stupid #this is like one of my fave things to do tbf

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aroacedaddytalksshit · 1 year

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Has anyone else considered the fact that the rise turtle tots wore clothes regularly and the present turtles don’t? I have two thoughts for reasoning.

1) They haven’t grown into a stable thermoregulation system that balances the mix of warm and cold blooded DNA yet as children. New York is a relatively cold climate and if they were purely cold blooded like turtles, they would have trouble living normally without accommodations to keep them warm. If they were purely warm blooded like humans, you would expect them to run hot like human children and not wear clothes that aren’t necessary. I can imagine that their super soldier dna would adapt to the cooler surroundings as they grew up to prioritize a warm blooded homeostasis system, explaining why they needed clothes as kids but opt for the natural look at some point, being more comfortable to go as far as be outside at night with no clothes

2) Their sewer home is cold for a long time. Splinter is taking care of 4 babies all by himself and trying to create a safe home underground in a cool climate where the ground freezes. The sewers are cold with no insulation. Splinter is a former actor and martial artist with minimal to no handyman skills. It would take him time to figure out the best way to heat their new home and learn the skills to implement them. He has the benefit of fur where his boys have vulnerable bare skin. Clothes would be the easiest warmth to access initially through stealing and dumpster diving. Leading up to the show’s start, Splinter has 13 years to install a good heating system, probably with a lot of help from Donnie as he shows engineering talent. So by the time was see the turtles, the lair is well heated and they don’t need clothes to keep warm

I love how much you can pick apart in this show that proves how much love and care went into its creation ❤️

#rottmnt #rottmnt hc #rottmnt headcanons #rottmnt analysis #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #turtle tots

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vynegar · 7 months

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ummm LUKE??

This is... such a harsh perspective to take, especially since the kinder, more common response was commented right there by Marius.* I wanted to dig a bit deeper to try to figure out why Luke might have this viewpoint.

For more context, let's review Brad's own words on how he viewed his actions. Here's Brad's final voice memo from the USB drive. I'd actually translate the first line like this:

I have decided that I want to become a hero. No, that's not right. It's not that I want to…

Luke has definitely heard and remembers this memo. Aside from it being a crucial piece of evidence for an NXX-related case that he'd want to investigate, he was the one who analyzed the USB drive to restore the video file at the end of the chapter so he must have checked its contents. Crucially, and not apparent in the English translation, Luke's comment uses the exact descriptor that Brad uses: "被逼无奈的", which I've bolded in the chn/eng versions below.

仲向盛：[...]被逼无奈的人不只有我一个，[...] Brad Gries: [...] I'm not the only one who has been forced to act.

渡鸦：被逼无奈的牺牲，真正需要的并不是称颂。 Raven: A sacrifice out of helpless doesn't deserve praise.

So if Luke is echoing some of Brad's exact phrasing, I think it's safe to say that Luke has this specific monologue in mind when he makes his comment.

My first thought was that this was a clash of ideology over what a "hero" is. Luke is someone who is often put into and puts himself into the role of the hero, especially knight-like roles of wholehearted devotion to their purpose. This isn't just a recurring aesthetic in cards, either; Luke explicitly talks about his mindset in his Blossom Chapter 3-11:

Luke has always seen being a hero as something positive and aspirational; and even if heroes don't always look the coolest, that part doesn't change. Brad defining a hero by negative space, a path taken because there is none other available, goes completely against Luke's viewpoint.

My second thought about an explanation for Luke's comment was that it reminded me of his strong reaction to Skye Harper's confession about using the unknown drug to kill Gerard's mother (Main Story 9-20). Back then, the possible connection to the incident at First People's Hospital and a reminder of his survivor's guilt over it triggered his anger when questioning her. So maybe Luke's reaction to Brad is also because it reminds him of his own condition?

Luke is one of those people Brad mentioned in his monologue, someone who may die young, forced by events that happen. Unlike Brad, though, Luke has been constantly investigating and doing whatever he can to find the source of the contaminated drugs and bring them to justice. Brad initially tried to be a whistleblower, but stopped and only took action again when he felt he was forced to. One could argue that if he had continued his efforts, he could have prevented people from having a similar fate.

It could be one or both or neither of those explanations, I don't have any conclusion that I feel confident on -- I just wanted to talk a bit about something that stood out to me. Either way, I think it's interesting how the recent main story chapters have been portraying the worsening of Luke's condition: not only do we see more of the physical impact of him having bursts of pain and weakness, but we also see how it's tied in with his reactions to things and his worldview. Examples are his reactions to Skye and Brad as discussed above, as well as his comments on ghosts and spirits.

*Regarding the stark contrast between Luke's comment and Marius's: I know I presented Marius's comment as the "normal" reaction, which is still generally true, but I also do think that part of the difference is also fueled by Marius's own Issues. While Luke is a hero/knight who is proud of the undertaking the duties that entails, up to and including self-sacrifice, it doesn't go beyond that; self-sacrifice may be necessary, but it's only one option out of others. Marius often specifically aims for self-sacrifice as the solution, some significant examples being him preparing to give up his identity as Z in his Blossom Chapters and trying to take himself out of the running for Pax heir. In his comment, you can sense Marius's admiration for Brad making sure he would fully follow through on his plan, as Marius is also someone who has had plans for (metaphorical) self-sacrifice.

#tears of themis #luke pearce #tot luke #xia yan #tears of themis analysis #thoughts of themis #marius von hagen

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torturedblue · 4 months

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Ya know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the expedited aging factor from mutation and wondering how they might use it more in Mutant Mayhem/Tales of the TMNT…

Idk if many people caught it because it actually took me so many watches before I started thinking about the aging timelines of the turtles and the other mutants despite being mutated at the same time and age(ish), but it catches my attention every time I watch the movie

I started wondering why Superfly and his siblings were all already adults while the turtles are still teenagers. Plus, Splinter regales that he was in his early 20’s when he was a pre-mutated rat. And yet when we see him mutated 15 later older he seems to already be more in his 60’s or 70’s with his white hairs and massive balding and less teeth, not like someone who’s actually only in their mid to late 40’s.

And it finally hit me. “Because I was older, I became older rat man. You guys was babies, so you stayed baby turtle creatures. If you think about that, it couldn’t make more sense!”

For the longest time this line kind of struck me as strange because it seemed Splinter was simply explaining that he stayed older than them in his mutation, and that they stayed babies of course. Which like, that’s obvious. Why have a line about it? It finally hit me that Splinter said he became an older rat, not in relation to the boys, but to his age pre-mutation. At first when he mutated he still looked pretty young, and in the Eye Know montage we see him develop his huge curly fro, then become the bald, whiskery white-haired rat who needs glasses by the time the turtles are done training. The mutation aged him up at a faster rate somehow and the line clarifies that, but that it had no effect on the turtles.

Which means it also affected the other mutants that same way, because they’re strangely closer to their own age group more in the 30’s or 40’s maybe.

Not to mention, there are varying levels of strength too. I mean Superfly is the toughest mutant around and dude was on that level since he was a baby. Rocksteady couldn’t even take him on and it was literally a rhino against a super buff fly lol. Maybe there’s something to be said about the fact that he’s the oldest too/the first one mutated. And strangely, when the blue “de-mutantizing” goes into his bloodstream he’s turned back into a regular fly looking more like how he did as his baby self 🤔

Maybe the way everyone was exposed to the ooze had varying effects on each of them. Superfly and his siblings were experimented on and created much more intentionally, seen floating in their canisters of ooze in the beginning scene. The turtles were exposed slightly more indirectly, and then Splinter even further removed with how little ooze he was exposed to. It does seem that between all the mutants there’s varying in age; Superfly as a baby was very astute and calculated, while the turtles were still hardly aware of much going on around them when the vial of ooze had splattered all over them. But it’s also harder to tell the exact ages of babies.

This whole aging element is something completely new introduced in this version of turtles, and honestly you have to question what led the writers/creators to make such an interesting change. I’m so excited and curious to see them explore this factor in the future and why it works the way it did with Splinter, the older mutants, and not the turtles. I think they could do some really interesting stuff with that change.

#mutant mayhem analysis #tmnt analysis #tmnt 2023 #tmnt #mutant mayhem #tmntmm #tmnt mm #tmnt mutant mayhem #tmnt mm turtle tots #mm tmnt #mutant mayhem splinter #mutant mayhem Superfly #tmnt superfly #superfly

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sg-artem · 2 years

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ArtemRosa Relationship Progression

As an Artem main who loves a good relationship progression, I can’t just pass the opportunity to do this. So, here’s me doing an Artemrosa relationship progression analysis and rant just in time for 1st Anniversary (I’m cutting it so close). I did a thorough (as meticulous as my mind could) run-through of all the card dates and compiled them into the timeline below. In my opinion, this is the best way to read all of Artem’s dates so that readers can get a nice and progressive flow of their relationship with Artem.

Personally, the event cards were easily set in a timetable because I just needed to follow CN’s timeline for those. However, the standard banner cards [2 SSRs and 4 SRs] and the top-up cards [1 SSR and 1 SR] were difficult to place into the timeline. Even if it was newly released, his top-up SSR had to be placed before event SSRs. This is because the events in the SSR were flashbacks that were dated around the time Rosa just became Artem’s partner.

Notes: This analysis will contain detailed spoilers of the main story, Artem’s personal story, and all of Artem’s Card Stories/Dates released on the Global Server. I will also be hinting at and mentioning the Anniversary card as a little easter egg so that you won’t miss these details once you read that card story.

I included Main Story Chapter 1-5 because this was when Artem and Rosa started working together and where we get to see the scene of Rosa choosing to be Artem’s partner. It is also good to note that Main Story Chapter 6 comes before Personal Story Chapter 3. I don’t mention Chapter 6 as much because the only thing referenced from it is the information on Artem’s father, which is mentioned in his Winning Ball SR [Electrifying Night].

Additionally, I didn’t include any private messages since those 2 minutes are tough to place in a timeline. Also, part 1 and part 2 don’t even happen sometimes in the same timeframe, so it would be difficult for me to place them. Artem currently has 12 private messages in-game right now. Six from the grindable 3 SR card fragments in Anomaly – Staying Humble, Darkest Before Dawn, Choice. The other six from his MR cards – Intentions, Stretching, Unwilling to Part. I only have to say that for the private messages, Unwilling to Part’s [Code of Flowers MR] messages canonically happen after the 1st Anniversary based on the CN server.

Lastly, like and share if you enjoyed and can since this took me a long time to make, and I really poured my efforts into this. I have 46 pages of data and story notes if anyone is willing to read them. I’m also thinking about doing this with the other boys, so comment if you want to see that happen. If I do the other boys, I might release it after the Anniversary drops because I won’t have the time to finish.

Act 1: Being Your Partner This relationship phase primarily includes the main story, chapters 1-5. Even though the main story can’t really be associated that much with personal story and date cards because it messes up the timeline. I think it is still important to note how Artem and Rosa’s relationship started in the first place. The two were just ordinary co-workers, one a senior attorney and the other studying for the junior attorney exam. The thing that brought them together was NXX essentially. NXX allowed them to interact more with each other and become work partners. This causes them to spend more time together and interact more than ever before since they now have the duty of sharing workloads and solving cases.

An important thing to note, though, is that while Rosa might not be aware of Artem. Artem does already harbor some sort of feelings towards her even from the beginning chapters. We get these clues from his protectiveness over her. How he hesitates to choose her as the NXX candidate because of her safety. Also, in how he acts around her, Rosa’s existence was already precious from the beginning of the main story. Rosa may have only seen Artem as a strict boss, but Rosa’s presence was already unique to him.

However, as we go on from the chapters, we get to see Rosa’s change in perspective about Artem. She slowly starts to see the other sides of him one by one. She starts to see that the cold façade might not all be there is to Artem. He has his clumsy and lonely sides to him as well. Furthermore, even though they might not be close, Rosa still trusts Artem a lot. We have the scene where Rosa faints from overwork. Her last thoughts were, “If he’s here, then there’s nothing to worry about.” This means that even if they did not know much about each other, she still trusts Artem enough to take care of her and finish what needs to be done.

This is how we were introduced to Artem and Rosa’s dynamic. They go from simply co-workers, and by the end of the main story, chapter 5, they begin to work as partners – together in NXX and in Themis.

Act 2: The Strongest Foundations Need a Lot of Work and Care: Getting to Know You Like most relationships, the most prolonged phase will always be the getting to know someone stage. It’s not so much that the both of them are just loveable awkward idiots, but also because you can never truly get to know everything about a person all at once. People will constantly change and grow because that’s what our environments set us up to do. Consequently, as you can tell from my timeline, this act will have the most dates in it. The beginnings of a relationship always need a strong foundation for it to grow and prosper.

The cards I included for this act are from Sparks to Entwined Fate. Through these cards, we learned how their relationship grew and what things they have encountered together for it to grow. Primarily, the dominant factor that happens in all these cards is that something new is being learned about either one of them. Not to say that the latter cards don’t provide further information, but just that both of them are still trying to get to know each other and are not yet comfortable in each other’s presence.

This is evident in Rosa’s behavior with Artem, especially in the earlier cards. She still finds it hard to ask personal questions and to engage in physical contact with Artem. ArtemRosa are like any other friends or strangers who have just gotten to know each other. There will be awkward moments but moving past those moments, people get to see the gems and diamonds hidden beneath the rubble. The more you dig and try, the more information about the person you can learn.

What all these cards have in common is that they are all scenarios in which others can learn something new about the other. For example, in Loving Memories SSR, Rosa personally learned about Professor Neil Hume from Artem. It wasn’t through the news or gossip. Artem opened up his vulnerability as he shared precious memories of a person dear to his heart. Other examples would be Sparks, Thin Veil, Focus Fire, and Entwined Fate. Rosa learned about Artem’s hobbies and what he likes doing in his spare time through these cards. Connecting more to Rosa and seeming more down to earth than before. Reminding her that he may have achieved many things at a young age, but overall, he is still human and needs to rest.

Additionally, Atmospherics does a great job of showing Artem’s more vulnerable and childish sides. We see him childishly jealous of Kanon, who makes Rosa smile at a party. In reality, they were smiling because they were talking about him. We get to see his fears, how he is afraid that he’s too dull for her, and how he knows that Rosa might choose to leave him. It shows that even though he appears strong on the outside, on the inside, he is still capable of feeling scared and childish.

Another thing we see well during these cards is how deep Artem’s feeling for Rosa goes. We get a pretty good viewpoint from personal story chapters 1 and 2. We see the sincerity and how hard he is working to showcase the feelings he respectably has for her. He doesn’t want to be a burden or to force his feelings onto her. He just wants an appropriate direction on how he should make his move and show his feelings to the girl he likes.

In my opinion, Unusual Love and Entwined Fate showcase just how deep his feelings for her go. He protected her without hesitation from a sulfuric acid attack for Unusual Love. We see how much Artem would sacrifice to protect Rosa (Also, how he didn’t even bat an eye when she spent more than half a million on shopping). When they thought sulfuric acid was being thrown at them, he shielded Rosa from any of the debris. The glass itself stings when being cut, but if it was genuinely sulfuric acid that hit them, Artem’s skin could have been permanently scarred. There would have been burns and blisters, and in extreme cases like that, it could have resulted in death. This is how far Artem goes to protect her. It didn’t even matter to him that his face would have been scarred. What mattered the most was that she was safe and protected in his arms.

On the other hand, Entwined Fate contains scenarios vital to his 1st Anniversary card story and his first solo banner card. However, it still depicts how deep Artem’s feelings for Rosa genuinely go. We can see it clearly from the marriage wish tags both get. Rosa’s was, “Like the red bean set into a die, my yearning is etched into my very bones.” The master explains it simply. It means lovesick to the bone. Someone in her life clearly harbors deep and true feelings for her if she got one of the luckiest wish tags of the year.

[Tip: Remember Rosa’s wish tag when reading Artem’s 1st Anniversary Card. It will be a nice easter egg if you find the reference.]

On the other hand, Artem was the unluckiest wish tag the master had seen all year. Artem’s wish tag says, “It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all,” By the end of the story, we get to see the other half when they walk through the shrine walkway. The whole line goes like this, “It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all. My entirety is yours, as my mind, my heart, my soul, needs you to become whole.” The whole line seemingly connects with Rosa’s lovesick to-the-bone wish tag. It shows us just how profound Artem’s feelings are for Rosa and how he would wait than search for another.

Since we’ve talked about Artem’s feelings, just how deep are Rosa’s in this relationship stage. Well, to be honest, not that deep. If the other party is 100% sure of their feelings for her, hers are like a flower bud. They are just starting to form a bud. Rosa, through these dates, is still slowly starting to get to know Artem. She is gradually beginning to take notice, and her heart does flutter around him. However, we don’t have any confirmation or monologues from these dates that she is starting to have feelings for him.

Act 3: Comfortable in Your Presence The cards I have placed for this phase are In Sickness or In Health to Personal Story Chapter 3. Also, the name of this phase really encompasses what I want to say about these dates. Both of them, namely Rosa, are finally comfortable in each other’s presence. It’s not so much that they don’t have any more awkward moments, but rather that they have found common interests to discuss. They can care for one another and ask more personal questions. Also, they have finally removed their masks in front of each other and are showing their true selves without worrying about judgment.

You might wonder why there are two standard banner cards so further up the timeline. It’s because personally, for me rereading those two cards again, I didn’t get the slightest bit of awkwardness from the two. Sure, there might have been some awkward moments, but overall, the date had a more comfortable vibe. The first is Artem taking care of Rosa when she’s sick, and the other is them doing a tutoring session together. You just don’t do these things with someone you’re uncomfortable with. It shows a significant amount of progression between what the two had before.

Furthermore, if the previous cards focused on getting to know more about one another. These cards focused more on showcasing how comfortable they are in each other’s presence. We still get atmospheres of hesitation and awkwardness, but through these cards, we see how much their relationship has grown deeper.

For example, Dreamful Melodies’ whole premise is to help Artem with his insomnia. I don’t know about you, but I think people are the most vulnerable when asleep. If they’re not in a comfortable enough environment, then sleep is basically impossible unless the person is fatigued. The amount of effort Rosa went to for Artem to just relax and take a break is not something just about anyone does for unimportant people. Additionally, the Wandering Heart card story helps us realize that both of them are comfortable enough to try new things together and travel with one another. People don’t just travel with anyone. The people that you are with when you’re traveling are someone you are comfortable being around. This is because they’re basically the only people you actually know in an unknown country or place.

Cards like Fixated on You and Por Una Cabeza showcase again how much Rosa means to Artem. Fixated on You shows that he does pay attention primarily to her stories and wishes. He listens and then tries to implement them so she can enjoy doing things with him. Can I just say it was so cute how he practiced drawing that cartoon pumpkin? That is my standard for a man now. Get me someone who would practice drawing a cartoon pumpkin for me. Moving on, Por Una Cabeza showcases how for Artem, Rosa will be his one and only partner. He didn’t try to dance the tango before, not because there wasn’t anyone to dance with but because he didn’t have anyone he wanted to dance with. For him, the tango is a dance meant only for someone you are genuinely passionate about; to him, that person is Rosa.

On the other side of the spectrum, Rosa’s growth was also seen in these cards. Fixated on You and Personal Story Chapter 3 brings great amounts of feeling progression on Rosa’s side. Fixated on You mainly showcased how Artem was once Rosa’s idol. Someone who she saw on a pedestal. However, in the end, we get to know that perspective changes. Artem goes from being her idol to an important friend. The friend zone is real, but Artem brought that upon himself in this card. Also, in Personal Story Chapter 3, Rosa says that Artem already has a lot of charm and that everything will just work out whenever Artem’s around her. They also fall asleep together while on the phone with each other. If that’s not cute, I don’t know what is.

These cards showcase how the last remaining barriers are slowly being torn down. Through their previous interactions, they learned more about each other. Now they can joke around and act silly with one another. They are more comfortable in the other’s presence, and Rosa now sees Artem as an important friend in her life at this stage.

Act 4: Only a Small Push will be Needed I have only three cards for this phase, so please bear with me while I fangirl and name all the essential and cute scenes for this phase. The phase title says a lot. They have passed the point of being just comfortable with one another. Here we are getting heart fluttering, fluffy moments, and the just kiss please atmospheres. These dates showcase just how far we’ve come from the start, and actually reading all of these dates in one sitting made me realize just how much growth Artem and Rosa have come from before. The two of them started off as being awkward partners to being irreplaceable people in either’s lives.

Firstly, we have Two Hearts as One. However, before we talk about this birthday card story, we have to talk about the birthday preparation story since it is crucial. Through the birthday preparation story, we could see both of them act out About Time, which was super cute. Also, Artem confessed to Rosa that he was Mockingbird in the end. Closing the Thin Veil arc for Rosa’s speculations that Artem was Mockingbird. It was not really mind-blowing, but it was a nice conclusion to the Mockingbird arc.

For the main card story itself, the main point I have gathered was that the amount of trust between the two is on another level. It’s to the point where they can’t even imagine hurting the other person. The thought of the other person hurting brings them pain, parallel to something in Personal Story Chapter 4. Their empathy for one another is something that cannot be compared. Artem literally cried when he saw that Rosa was crying. Also, it is crucial to note that once the leak issue was started, not once did Artem suspect Rosa. He even defended her honor in front of the client. He was willing to sue his client if he kept saying mean things without solid evidence. That is how much their bond of trust has grown up to know.

I also want a special mention for their almost-kiss during this card when they were acting. They were so cute during their acting scene. Also, Artem softly asking Rosa what was wrong and why she was crying even while they were doing the scene was everything. The amount of love this man has for Rosa. I’m on my knees for you, sir. Lastly, the physical touch they share in this card story is so good. Rosa initiates holding hands with him and palm to palm with him at the end. Rosa clearly has overcome the shyness barrier regarding physical affection, and I am here for it.

Secondly, we have Sunshine After the Rain. This card, to some, might not be super important, but in my opinion, this card has one of the best Artemrosa scenes and progressions in this category. Sunshine After the Rain marks their second trip overseas together. While Dreamful Melodies and Wandering Heart started as work, this card purely focused on the vacation aspect with its RRG story and gave work as one of the conflicts for the card story itself.

Through this story, the two finally solve one of the final barriers hindering their relationship. The two of them sometimes care too much about the other’s reactions and feelings. They hold back at certain times because they are afraid of the response they might be getting. This led to a cute ending scene where the two of them agreed to stop being so conscious of the other person, and Rosa rushed into Artem’s arms for an embrace. The both of them share a cute ending scene where Rosa asks Artem if they’ll be able to spend more time alone together after the trip. [The both of them are just dripping with sugar. [S O C U T E.]

Other things I would like to point out for this date are overworked Artem, black swan interpretation, and the wool scene. The overworked Artem scene was a nice change of pace since, for once, we are seeing Artem get hurt because of his choices instead of external factors. He was not forcing himself to do it. He selfishly wanted to do it to spend more alone time with Rosa. This leads to him stretching himself too thin and Rosa finding out and helping him out anyways. However, this scene is crucial for them to realize that they must stop being so conscious of one another. Without Artem overworking himself, they wouldn’t have gotten to open that conversation up in the first place. So, thank you, Artem, I guess?

Next, we have the black swan interpretation. During this date, they were able to spot a black swan. According to the date’s description, a black swan stands for unrestrained desire and yearning a person feels after giving up one’s internal struggle and casting aside all pretense. On the internet, a black swan event is a metaphor for a surprise event that might have significant effects. Sounds familiar? It’s basically a foreshadowing of the flood that happens on this date, leading us to the adorable wool and ending scene. In addition, black swans also mean rarity and in love signs of commitment, romantic love, and lastly, trust. All these words I just mentioned ideally signify and describe the relationship between Artem and Rosa. Both of them have a rare relationship that is hard to find. Also, they both trust each other a lot and firmly commit to each other. The only thing missing is the confirmation of their romantic feelings towards each other, but we’re just waiting for that.

Then, the wool scene. I don’t actually have much analysis for this scene. I just think it’s adorable how Artem sacrificed his sweater to make that thread of wool since he noticed that Rosa was just acting tough. The wool that connected them reminded me so much of the red threads of fate we see in East Asian mythology. It was just a string that tied them together, but Rosa felt safe enough to go to bed since she knew she was connected with Artem. How is this not the most adorable scene in the world? They literally made their own threads of fate and tied them onto one another.

A special mention for this date is Artem flicking Rosa’s forehead because that’s just so adorable on so many levels.

The final date for this phase is Winning Ball. Personally, reading this date after experiencing Sunshine After the Rain made this date make a whole lot more sense to me. When I first read it, I was confused about how much intimacy they shared between them from just this date. The two of them were literally dating, just without the label. However, after reading Sunshine After the Rain and scrutinizing winning ball, the levels of affection they showed just made more sense to me. They are now more open and less conscious of the other person’s opinion. This led them to be more upfront with their affections for one another. May it be from the milk tea sharing or the overall vibe the two give off. They seem closer than ever, and my phase title could never be truer. The both of them just need that final push to make them a couple.

There are, of course, cute scenes from this date. One is Rosa as Artem’s personal cheerleader. The lady used a loudspeaker just to cheer for Artem. Also, after Artem won, she ran straight into his arms to congratulate him on the win. The barriers to physical affection no longer exist, and I am here for it. Secondly, we have Rosa looking at Artem’s lips while drinking milk tea. Rosa is such a cutie. Oh, how you have grown so much from your earlier dates. Thirdly, we have Artem inviting Rosa to the next time Artem has a basketball session with his dad. This is basically Rosa’s meet the parents already. We also get this conversation out of that invitation which is so cute.

• “I hope he thinks I deserve to be with his excellent son.” • “Of course, you deserve me. You’re outstanding.”

Lastly, we have Artem protecting Rosa from the fight, and when he wants to leave her, she says this to stop him from going without her. “Artem, I hope I can be with you, anywhere, anytime.” The amount of physical affection in this card is too much for my brain to handle. They’re so cute with each other once they removed the restraints they had for their hearts. Artem literally cups Rosa’s face with both hands and presses their foreheads together to check if she has a fever. If that doesn’t scream almost dating to you, I don’t know what will.

Act 5: Setting Up for the Confession This Act will purely be focused on Personal Story Chapter 4, so if you haven’t read it, look away now since this will contain lots and lots of spoilers. I do suggest reading it before his anniversary card, though. It does a great job setting the atmosphere of the date’s story, which is a crucial part of their relationship progression.

Artem’s Personal Story Chapter 4 does a good job, especially near the end, leading up to his anniversary card date. Throughout Chapter 4, Rosa and Artem are constantly being aware and questioned about their feelings for one another. Rosa is mainly trying to find answers to why Artem is super empathetic and caring towards her and how she might feel for her partner.

I loved the part where they were questioned by Lynette Li. She asks them, “According to your logic, are you in love with him? Or is he in love with you?” The question did not shock Artem as much since our boy knows his feelings quite well now, but it shook Rosa to the core. When they left the faculty, she continued to think about the question and how the answer for her could not just be a no.

Another scene that makes my heart flutter is when Artem confidently says, “Because there is someone I love, and I know how it feels to love someone.” It might not be the confession yet, but it is one of the only verbal and physical evidence we have of Artem saying he loves her. Take note of this, though, because verbally, he’s saying 喜欢/좋아해요 which means more to like than love. We don’t actually get to hear 愛/사랑해 from his 1st-anniversary card. The latter is more intimate and serious rather than the former. I think we’ll be hearing those words in the later stages of their relationship, like 2nd Anniversary or even after that, since in Asian cultures 愛/사랑해 are really used sparingly, and with someone, they are in a relationship.

Also, Artem and Rosa’s talk at the end was my everything (4-14). I actually cried while reading it because Artem was so sweet throughout it all. He slowly explains his reasoning for why he loves her and him explaining what it feels like to be in love. Hoyoverse made this scene really well by giving us the bare truth of how deep Artem’s feelings truly go for Rosa. I love that Artem has the confidence to question why Rosa’s asking him these things. He does it not once but twice. He questions her why she’s suddenly asking these love-related questions to him. It goes really well, as we know, and Rosa finally realizes the feelings that went unnoticed in her heart. She almost confesses to him right away, yet Artem stops her. He says, “Yes, after you think it over, and if you still don’t regret it. Then tell me your answer when I confess my feeling.” This statement shows us how much sincerity Artem honestly does give to Rosa. He is willing to wait for her to be sure of her feelings for him. Also, it confirms to Rosa that the one he does like is her and that there will be a confession of feelings in the future.

To end Act 5, can I just say how it was so cute how Rosa found, read, and kept the book. I can’t believe she found the “Introduction to the Psychology of Romance” book. It was so funny and heartwarming at the same time reading it. My mind was going through all the scenarios she mentioned and how Artem worked hard to show his feelings for her. I appreciated her take on it, though. She said, “For me, this is not cowardice or an escape, but a reflection of his sincerity.” She acknowledges the hard work and sincerity that Artem put out just for her. The man wrote so many notes and remarks on the pages that who wouldn’t be touched. The book was a nice breath of fresh air, reminding me as a reader that looked how far they or we’ve come. It started with being partners, but now they’re each other’s half, which they would choose to not live without.

Artem and Rosa’s relationship might not be the most complicated out of the bunch, but it centers around growth and sincerity to me. They did not have any life-changing problems that needed supernatural fixes. They have the typical relationship growth we would see daily [with a sprinkle of Otome and Artem magic]. Their relationship centered around how they slowly formed that strong bond through getting to know each other and being able to experience different things with one another. They spent time together, which led to a strong foundation of trust. This trust will soon lead to a happy and strong relationship centered around understanding and communication.

I look forward to seeing the growth in their relationship, with 1st Anniversary Cards being the confession cards and the cards after being dates, where we can continue to see their relationship flourish as more time passes by.

#artem #tot artem #tears of themis #artem wing #artemrosa #relationship analysis #rosa qiangwei #the both of them are too cute

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