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independentzaun · 9 months

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My Silco, and where he comes from.

First things first: This is solely about my Silco, and concerns details I saw in Arcane and personally latched onto. This is by no means the only interpretation nor is it the “correct” interpretation, or any other such thing. People latch onto different things, and explore different concepts and themes and ways of forming their muses and I love that. Whatever I post below is purely for the purposes of explaining my personal thought process, and trying to show how I got to the point I did nothing more.

Second: This is solely about my Silco. Do not reblog. Do not copy, or steal from. Thank you.

TLDR: I take a lot of inspiration from the comments Silco makes about the mines, what Jayce says about making something to help with the mining colonies in the fissures, and Jayce’s comment about Viktor growing up in the fissures. My Silco’s backstory has a heavy connection with mining, and in turn I’ve used a lot of inspiration from real world stuff about company towns and labor wars/coal wars. He also had a younger brother who passed away from a wasting sickness caused by living too close to a mine while dealing with the dust and everything else that came from it, and yes Silco very much places the blame for his brothers death at the feet of Piltover’s greed. My Silco is a fanatic because he’s seen the worst of what Piltover has done to Zaun, and full believes that Zaun deserves better and that Piltover will fundamentally never listen.

Side note: This is not an attempt to excuse what Silco does. He’s not a healthy person, not a good person, is a villain (although I would argue not the villain), and does some very bad things. This is simply my personal thoughts as to how mine ended up in the place he does.

~~~Cut for length.~~~

I feel like I need to start this off with an observation. Wealth does not come from nowhere. At the end of the day if there’s a large gap such as between Piltover, and Zaun that came about (generally speaking) from one taking advantage of the other and more specifically the resources the other has. To be clear I’m not talking about a house with an extra room, or a bigger TV. I’m talking about Piltover being nicer in every way possible, and the Enforcer’s gear, and Piltover being the city of progress and their nice buildings and university and well fed people and everything else. If you disagree than fine, but that’s the view point I’m starting with. That Piltover fundamentally exploited Zaun in order to obtain the wealth it has, and than shoved Zaun into the darkness and blamed them for their condition ignoring the issues that were caused by Piltover. In essence I’m working with the idea that Piltover dug deep, and ripped a lot of minerals and stone and the like out of Zaun taking as much of it as possible for their benefit without sharing any of the benefits. You don’t see a whole lot mentioned about this, but you do see a bit. One of the first mentions of the mines is with Jayce who says he wants to help the mining colonies work faster and without fatigue.

Now another thing to note is Jayce also says that he thinks Viktor’s health concerns stem from growing up in the fissures.

So between Jayce talking about mining, and the fissures, and Viktor being from Zaun there’s a picture developing. Piltover had to get resources from somewhere, and the nearest place is Zaun. The mining colonies in the fissures. All of that is something that caught my attention. Partially because of my interests about certain things in real life. Another thing that stood out to me is the attitude of the Enforcers. Every time you see the Enforcers except for the ones you need to see the face of so they stand out as a character they in full face masks with armor when dealing with Zaun, but not in Piltover. The Enforcers are not there to keep order, or to help.

They are there to enforce control. For all intents and purposes they are guards similar how Company Towns had guards in real life. Company towns being in essence enclosed living areas for workers and their families that was assembled cheaply by whatever company or corporation owned the nearby mine or other area they needed workers for. There were any number of tactics used to control these company towns, but for now let’s just say they aren’t a good thing and at best are exploitative and controlling. So it could very easily be argued that Zaun is in essence at best a company town that’s largely abandoned to itself so long as they don’t attract attention, and at worst a mostly open air prison for the undesirables. My point being this is what Silco grew up in. An environment were he watched everything his family, and his people produce get taken away from them and moved topside for the benefit of people that looked down upon Zaunites for no good reason other than an accident of birth resulting in them being born on the “nice side” of things. Why do I say this is were he grew up? Simple.

“Have you forgotten where we came from? The mines they had us in?” To me that’s a very specific statement particularly when you combine it with the other mentions of mining, and also Silco’s dream of a Free Nation of Zaun. My head canon is that Silco grew up in a mining community/colony/company town ran by Piltie overseers and guards. That he knows exactly how bad those mines were because his father worked in one, because he worked in one, and because his younger brother died far younger than he should have due to the pollution and toxins and dust caused by the nearby mine. Why is all of that important? Because miners have a history of fighting back. As some easy examples you have Paint Creek–Cabin Creek strike of 1912, Ludlow Massacre in 1914 as part of the 1913-1914 Colorado Coal War, and the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. All events in real life that are a part of what is called the Coal Wars that happened on, and off from 1890 to 1930. Side note that yes I understand this is American-centric, and I apologize for that. It’s what I know the most about however, and (although I should change this) I haven’t yet taken the time to look extensively at stuff in other countries. Regardless the point stands. Armed labor conflicts, strikes, and in a sense revolutions against the status quo or at least the oppression and exploitation of the companies that did their best to rule and control the miners happened multiple times through out history. Often with miners organizing into Unions to fight side by side, and to aid each other. For that matter they had to in order to push back against the companies while ensuring their wives and children stayed fed. Because a lot of those miners had full families living with them. Why is this important about them fighting side by side?

“Brothers and sisters back-to-back against whatever the world threw at us.”

Silco never really talks about himself. He talks about the mines. He talks about where “we came from”, brothers and sisters back-to-back, the sons and daughters of Zaun, loyalty, and with a consistency and fervor that I choose to believe indicates he is a true believer. His fault is not in that he wants to help his people his fault is in how far he goes. Of course I could write a whole post about current day media turning nearly every character that wants to change the status quo and challenge the system into a villain, but that’s another thing entirely. My point is that for me because of my personal interests, and because of the mentions of mines and Silco’s comments and my head going to the coal wars and everything else… my Silco is very heavily rooted in those concepts.

He grew up in a community of bleak poverty watching these guards, and “company people” ruling over everyone despite doing no real work. People speaking up got punished, and if they went too far they got arrested or worse. Attempts to organize were broken apart (see real life union busting) more often than not. Food wasn’t plentiful. There was no public schooling. He basically had to raise his younger brother himself because their parents despite doing their best were always working in one way or another. Not only that, but he got to go up to Piltover once or twice as a child and got a very good look at just how very different things are in each place as well as the fact that what Piltover has isn’t as far as the Piltie’s are concerned “for those dirty Zaunite’s” in essence. Everything around him taught him a couple of very important lessons.

Pilties see his people as fundamentally, literally, and metaphorically beneath them.

His people deserve better because they are literally dying around him.

Without violence nothing will change because Piltover will not listen.

You can argue about how correct or wrong any of those view points are, but Silco fully believes all three of them. He also believes the end justifies the means which is what allows him to do the things he does. Maybe he hurts Zaun a bit, but it’ll be for the best in the end. Now I could continue this for quite a bit longer talking about his feelings concerning what Zaun has become, the chem-barons, the full extent of how his younger brother dying effected him, and so on however that’s not really what this is about. This is about something much simpler. Where does my Silco come from?

My Silco comes from a small family in a company town surrounded by poverty, and miners. He comes from a life in which he’s never had someone else take care of him for any length of time, and he had to grow up too fast. He comes from a place that forced upon him over, and over, and over again the idea that people from Piltover would never care about nor understand Zaun. He grew up among hard men, violence, oppression, and death. The never ending belief that Zaun deserves better as well as his need to be able to control his own life forcing him forward down a road of blood and revolution.

Silco is a man that in another world might have been a Punk, a protester, someone well known in one leftist movement or another. He could have been arrested for being involved in riots, and telling cops to go fuck themselves, and cursing out TERFs and bigots and would punch a Nazi without a second thought. He’s a driven man with a hatred of those that think themselves better than others for no good reason. In another world he might have been a good man.

In Arcane? In Zaun? He’s not a good man. Even if there are good reasons behind his ideology, or at least understandable ones. He has been driven too far, and gone too deep into his obsession and fanaticism with nothing and no one to take the edges off. He's never chosen to take the time to rest, and take a breath, and heal from anything. He could have been someone else of course. Someone better, but he chose not to be. After all...

“The only way to defeat a superior enemy is to stop at nothing. To become what they fear.”

To put it another way, and to close this out for now if I might be excused the theft of a good line from another character. "In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good."

#justsilcothings #silcodrabbles

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yoshilisk · 1 year

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WHAT Is happening in trigun stampede... i don't watch it i'm just nosy and i like hearing people hate on stuff... talk about it‼️‼️‼️

so um. i'm gonna do a readmore bc i rambled a lot and also what in the goddamn

so, some context assuming you're not familiar with The Lore. in trigun, humans are able to survive in terrible conditions because of plants: creatures that can create electricity, food, water, all kinds of things. they can't live outside of a controlled atmosphere, so they're kept in large glass containers. in the manga they look like angelic beings; in stampede, presumably for "gotta make the names literal" reasons, they look like alien fairies with flower petal wings. in both cases they're always feminine-looking.

vash and his twin brother, knives, are independent plants--they look like humans and can survive in the outside world. in the manga, vash & knives often refer to the other plants as their sisters, and vice versa. iirc the plants call vash "red brother" which is cute :)

anyway. context over. in the most recent episode of trigun stampede, knives has abducted vash and put him in some Sci-Fi Water. this allows him to invade vash's mind by stabbing him with his knives (which he makes from his body, and that's why he's called knives. this is actually NOT a case of orange trying to make all the names literal--he was always like that). he spends the episode erasing vash's memories to, in his view, "fix" vash's love for humans. during that process vash becomes petrified and sprouts a bunch of tree roots. some of the roots reach out and attach to some plants nearby.

a scientist working for knives gives exposition: in this version, plants are able to create things by pulling from a "higher dimension." he asks, rhetorically, why independents like vash & knives have free will and the other plants don't. then he says it's because the others are just husk bodies that don't have souls. so knives is going to use vash's unique special powers to go to the higher dimension, touch the "core," and give all the plants souls.

then the plants lower their petal-wings to reveal their bodies. the tree roots coming from vash are attached to their... very pregnant-looking stomachs, and their faces are agape.

not only is NONE of this anything like the original story, but i just... i genuinely don't know what the point of it all is. i've seen people say that last part is playing into a theme of bodily autonomy being stolen, but i still really do not like it. the manga also had themes of autonomy re: the plants, but it was generally in a "being treated as a tool or an object, not a person" way. labor exploitation type stuff. not... the main character being (either metaphorically or literally) forced to impregnate a bunch of his fellow kind?? who, again, were referred to in the original version as HIS SISTERS???

there's also the fact that stampede has repeatedly minimized and shaved the edges off of female characters, so they're less capable, less important, and have less agency. i feel that the plants being said to have no free will in this version is one more example of that. add in a scene where they're forcefully impregnated and are basically props for shock value, and it just... it feels really bad.

overall my thought is that it's needlessly gratuitous and fucking weird. not that the manga is innocent of being needlessly gratuitous (looking at a certain scene in legato's backstory 😕), but i'd hope for an adaptation to be better about that, y'know? not make up new, different things to be gratuitous about.

(oh, and as a side-gripe, stampede previously downplayed knives being a very paternalistic, "this is for your own good" type character. originally, he cut vash's left arm off because he was mad that vash tried to defy him and just generally wouldn't listen to him about humans being bad. stampede changed it so that he cut vash's arm off to save vash from getting absorbed by a magic sci-fi black hole. now he's back to being paternalistic? make up your mind)

#sorry it's so long ily #stampede negativity #yoshiposts #if anyone stumbles on this and wants to argue: please save both our time and don't

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kromlock · 1 year

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A transcript of my relationship with JK Rowling

Joanne: Hey kid, would you like a decent children’s book? It’s a little dark but it’s also a fun quirky story about a magic school.

Me: Oh hey, I like lots of those things! Hey, this is pretty good for the stuff that’s usually aimed at my age group!

Joanne: Yes, cool. Here’s a sequel. It’s foreshadowing some political intrigue and has a gut wrenching portrayal of the horrors of slavery, but I swear it’s still for kids.

Me: Oh wow, this is even better than the first! Hey, you’re a pretty good mystery writer too.

Joanne: Why, thank you! Now this next one gives Harry some deep backstory.

Me: Wow, I love this! You did a great job shattering the illusion that James was such a great guy!

Joanne: I beg your pardon?

Me: Well, I mean, you kind of outed James as the bully, and like even though it doesn’t excuse his behavior at all, Snape was right about Harry’s dad.

Joanne: ……huh.

Me: And I loved the disability rights theme so much I didn’t notice the part where the central character in the disability metaphor then turns his condition into a deadly liability in a boarding school. Or the skin crawling ideological implications of that.

Joanne: Hold on a second. I have to do something.

Me: What’s up?

Joanne: Just jotting down notes. Snape…. Was… Right….

Me: Well I didn’t mean it like THAT…

Joanne: Skin crawling… ideological…. Implications…. Okay, all done. By the way, here’s an extra long book!

Me: WHOA HOLY HELL does the shit hit the fan here! The bad guy’s back in action, the government is Fucking Horrible, and the Avengers are assembling. And that gleam of triumph in Dumbledore’s eye! I bet you’re going somewhere great with that! God I can’t wait to find out what happens next. It’s just… umm… a couple things.

Joanne: Yeah?

Me: Why did it have to be so long? And I like plot twists and all but this was just weird and convoluted.

Joanne: No, but you see, more is better.

Me: Huh. I guess I see your reasoning there. But another thing I just realized. This is a bad school.

Joanne: Excuse me?

Me: It’s a death trap and the faculty is incompetent.

Joanne: Dumbledore is a legendary sorcerer, philosopher, and warrior!

Me: But that doesn’t make him a good teacher! That’s a completely different skillset!

Joanne: And about the death trap! That’s because of Voldemort. He does evil things.

Me: Voldemort didn’t resurrect an ancient blood sport for children. The first event was throwing teenagers one by one into an arena with a pissed off dragon to just see what happens.

Joanne: They were all supposed to be of age, and the binding magic contract-

Me: They couldn’t just rewrite the contract? Do they have to use the exact same cursed artifact that they used thousands of years ago, with the only guard around it having easy exploits?

Joanne: ….

Me: Come to think of it, the other books were pretty fucked up too. It’s quicker to list the school years where someone doesn’t die on campus.

Joanne: I-

Me: And I don't mean "Old Professor Giddyfart passed away in his sleep last night. He was 239 years young." I mean "Our star pupil was murdered in cold blood by Wizard Hitler during our international child bloodsport tournament."

Joanne: Technically that was off-campus.

Me: "Last year our students almost had their souls stolen by undead horrors that were posted here -at a fucking school- because that’s a good idea. This was minutes after almost being mauled by our werewolf on staff."

Joanne: They were only there because they thought a convicted-

Me: "Oh, that was also the same day we had a former Nazi combatant come to lop off the head of a hippogriff who actually did maul another student for the dreadful crime of not paying attention in class.”

Joanne:

Me: "Oh and the year before it turned out we just kinda had a basilisk in the plumbing and it kept turning students to stone, it was really annoying, totally disrupted the curriculum”

Joanne: But that was because-

Me: "Oh and the year before that one of our teachers was possessed by the still-living shade of Wizard Hitler. He set a troll loose in the school to try and steal our Bring-Shades-Back-To-Life Macguffin. We just figured it was the safest place because our unhinged headmaster is fucking Hercules, Perseus, and Theseus rolled into one. He could've taken a sabbatical to guard it without putting children in harm’s way, but he's just that quirky!"

Joanne: Well, perhaps Dumbledore isn’t all perfect-

Me: "What's that? Oh yeah, it's guarded by goddamn Cerberus, and a series of challenges even more dangerous than goddamn Cerberus. But don't worry, we sealed the door with a spell that a first year student can unlock."

Joanne: What are you getting at?

Me: Where’s the lawsuits? Absolutely nothing was done to rein Dumbledore in. Well, except for once and it was the one time the danger wasn’t his fault and it was at the behest of the bad guys and swiftly overturned.

Joanne: Government regulation?

Me: And what the fuck was with that “Hermione is an idiot for being against slavery” thing? That made me feel icky.

Joanne: Well, I will be right back!

Me: Oh, okay.

Me: Maybe that was a bit rude. Every story has its flaws.

Me: ….

Me: Wow, Lord of the Rings is really good.

Joanne: Here’s book 5! Harry Potter and the Reason Government Regulation Is Bad

Me: Uh… this is quite a bit longer than the last one.

Joanne: Yes.

Me: The one that I thought was way longer than it had to be.

Joanne: Yes.

Me: And I just read it, and like nothing happened in it. You took the shortest story so far and padded it out with a weird political manifesto.

Joanne: More is bette-

Me: And it’s not even good politics! Anyone but the most Randian hardcore libertarian would want to do something when a school actively contributes to the death of a student.

Joanne: Yeah but the person doing it is juuuuuust a fucking cunt.

Me: I mean, yeah I have to admit she was a pretty good villain. Kinda overshadows Voldemort though, you should really step up the menace in your main antagonist because all he’s done so far is get his ass kicked by a bunch of high school students.

Joanne: Ohhhh just you wait. Okay I’ll be right back.

Me: Oh, okay.

Me: I think we really connected that time.

Me: …..

Me: Huh, Revenge of the Sith was pretty good actually.

Joanne: Okay, this one is all about Voldemort. Also I heard you like Lord of the Rings, so you’re in for some good stuff!

Me: Do tell!

Joanne: So the One Ring was cool right?

Me: Oh yeah, it’s menacing as hell.

Joanne: Well Voldemort made SEVEN One Rings! You can One Ringify any object in this universe.

Me: …please tell me you gave it a name other than One Ring.

Joanne: I sure did! It’s called a Horcrux.

Me: ….Horcrux.

Joanne: You got it!

Me: …….so you can turn anything into a One Ring?

Joanne: You bet! And that diary from book 2 was a One Ring.

Me: Hey that’s a pretty cool retcon.

Joanne: Or maybe… I had it planned all along.

Me: No you didn’t.

Joanne: And just you wait, I have a big twist on those things coming in the next-

Me: It’s that Harry’s scar is a One Ring.

Joanne: …

Me: What? It’s kind of obvious.

Joanne: ….anyway they’re being super careful to make the school safe now so YOU’RE WELCOME. Plot hole fixed.

Me: This book ends with a bunch of Wizard Nazis infiltrating the school, assassinating the headmaster, spray painting a Wizard Swastika in the sky, trashing the place, and just walking out. So yeah, pretty safe. You know what, screw it. The movies are pretty good so I’ve tricked myself into still liking this shit. Hey, if you keep up your writing pace then Harry’s gonna graduate the same year I do! You gonna have the grand finale out in time?

Joanne: I sure am! Here it is, it’s more than worth the wait.

Me: WHOA now this is more like it! The last book was kind of a mess, but this? I love the dystopian setting and the breaking of the formula, and the moral complexity of Dumbledore, and you even managed to do some cool stuff with that Horcrux shit. And ohhh, the schoolgrounds are an actual castle so of course that’s where the final battle takes place, and it’s still fucked up that this is a school but that’s also pretty cool. And here’s the final confrontation, aaaaand…..

Joanne: And? And?

Me: …..what the hell was that ending?

Joanne: Excuse me?

Me: The bad guy dies on a weird wand ownership technicality? Not a whisper about freeing the slaves or undoing any of the other heinous shit the government does and permits? Harry names his son after the greasy incel who blew it with his mom when he shouted slurs at her and never got over it?

Joanne: Severus is a tragic figure who never stopped caring about the woman he loved!

Me: He held on to a creepy obsession with the idea of her while devoting his professional life to tormenting her surviving loved ones.

Joanne: He had to keep up appearances to fool Voldemort.

Me: He tried to poison a sensitive awkward child’s pet in front of his class, just because he could! Well before he was a blip on Voldemort’s radar! You know what, the movies have been doing a pretty good job cleaning up this mess so far, so I guess your job’s done. Oh, one more thing. I still don’t know what the hell was up with that gleam of triumph in Dumbledore’s eye?

Joanne: Oh, that’s a thing to do with his blood and Lily’s protection and the power of love and-

Me: You didn’t have anything planned, got it.

Joanne: Well, I never! I bid you farewell! And by the way, you were wrong! Harry’s scar wasn’t a One Ring! Harry’s SOUL was a One Ring!

Me: …okay, bye

Me: Say, the movies really did clean up that bullshit. You know, I think the series was pretty good after all.

Me: ……

Me: Well the new God of War was a pleasant surprise-

Joanne: BACK BEFORE PLUMBING WIZARDS SHIT THEMSELVES!

Me: Uh, what?

Joanne: THE AMERICAN TERM FOR MUGGLE IS “NO-MAJ”

Me: Is this a troll account?

Joanne: DID I MENTION TRANS PEOPLE ARE A BLIGHT?

Me: Oh no, this is just awful. Please stop tarnishing your weirdly good reputation.

Joanne: I WILL NOT BE SILENCED! MY NEW BOOK IS ABOUT HOW INTERNET TROLLS ARE BEING MEAN TO MEEEEE

Me: You know, maybe I can do without Harry Potter in my life.

Joanne: I’M BEING CANCELLEEEEEEDD

#harry potter #trans rights #literature

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studentofetherium · 2 years

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i finished Saya no Uta and have thoughts

it's really good! but also clearly still feels very basic compared to what Urobuchi would make later (in particular, Fate/Zero, Madoka, and S I N). part of that comes down to the short length, but Madoka packed its original series into a single cour and managed to be satisfying on its own, so i think the other aspect of this is just coming from it being an earlier project of his

glibly, i wish Fuminori, Saya, and Yoh could have had a happier ending than the one they were given. something with the three of them on their own together without any big events ruining their peaceful life, living off of small carrion and the occasional human. more seriously the three endings for the series are all plenty interesting in their own right. the first ending, earlier than the other two, felt like a possible branch of the narrative that needed to be explored, and even if it wasn’t particularly long, i’m still glad it was included. the other two are also compelling for being completely different while also leaving a big gap between what they’re doing as endings. the lack of a “good end” (outside of my joke earlier) feels fitting— this is a story where nobody is winning, no matter what

the order that i played the endings in seems pretty good, i think. in the first choice, i picked the one that would get me the closer ending, and with the second, i picked the ending that focused on Ryouko more, which meant the ending focusing on Saya was last, which felt most satisfying from a narrative perspective

my second biggest issue with the storytelling is that i think towards the end, there's too much focus given to what Saya is, which is ultimately unimportant to the characters' stories and the main theme of love. the part of Saya that matters is who she is to Fuminori and Ryouko. for one, a lover, for the other, a monster. that’s all we need. unfortunately, further exposition is necessary for the shift into cosmic horror that the back half of the game has. eldritch horror lives on mystery and giving only some answers, but in this case, too much is said so that the narrative item of “Saya as a lover and a monster” becomes “Saya, the interdimensional alien who will colonize earth and turn everyone into meat”. some amount of this exposition was necessary, both to build Saya up as a threat, but also to let the final ending be what it is. the problem is that by the end, too much had been said about Saya and her backstory, which stole a lot of her mystique which she carried in the early game. this issue doesn't ruin the story and i think those eldritch aspects bring a lot to the game, but i wish it had been more cagey about the backstory

obviously, the biggest issue is the use of rape and underage sex. i’m of two minds here. without a doubt, the game went too far in how it portrayed these aspects, but at the same time, i understand why it was included. it’s incredibly uncomfortable, but it’s supposed to be. the problem is that it would be uncomfortable without showing the sex scenes on screen, or even explicitly describing them like happens. i played the censored version, and those CGs ended up being heavily censored, but even that is a step too far. but as i said, it does serve a purpose. Fuminori is a monster and having him do something like this clearly brands him as such, but it could have been more careful and less exploitative about how it presented this

BUT WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, there’s a lot of other aspects of the game i really liked

the soundtrack, for one, was all bangers and the entire time serves as a highlight for the entire game, especially the track Schizophrenia and all of Kanako Itou vocal tracks. i can see this being one of the aspects that sticks with me most

most of the designs are pretty dull, but i think it's intentional, as their mundanity makes Saya as a fantastical element stick out more among them. the same is true for Ryouko, who shows up early on but only becomes a major character later on, and with her appearance ushers the story into a faster pacing as exposition becomes more common and we approach the ending. so the designs aren’t really much to talk about, but are such in a way i really appreciate

the meat dimension is great. it’s very visceral and striking especially due to the dated CGI, which gives it an uncanny and otherworldly feeling. turn of the century CGI is always a fascination of mine and i absolutely adore it, but i especially love when it serves a purpose that couldn’t be fulfilled by more technically modern renderings. also love it as body horror which sets the tone for the story early on and continues to work as a striking backdrop for the story later on

Saya no Uta is great. i enjoyed it a lot* ** and i'm glad i played it, but i will never recommend it to anyone unless i know them very well because there are a lot of elements here that are off-putting and debatably abhorrent. the One Problem is big enough to be a deal breaker for many people and that’s fair; it wasn’t for me, but only because i played the censored version. i can’t imagine stomaching this uncensored

but yeah! good game! has problems! both of these are very hot takes that i’m sure no one has ever said before

* minus the child sexualization

** with the caveat that no one ending feels satisfying, even if all of them together make for a good conclusion

#saya no uta #post-game write-up

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sevendeadlypens · 1 year

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Vigilante WIP Brainstorm

At some point I will clean this up and make official character profiles, but until then, please enjoy my semi-jumbled thoughts and blurry visions of my first story :)

Vigilante Brainstorm

Super powered friend group

beach trips, adventures to relax during chaos, emotional turmoil

vibes are dramedy - Claws

Characters:

Sebastian

Opa

Violet

Kai

Sebastian is the main character with elemental powers that he can't control. He is consistently trying to boost people up as he believes he is able to handle his own. He comes from a background of emotionally supporting his parents and family until he chose to stroke it on his own with the faith that he was meant for more than. his current lot in life. While outwardly social and friendly, he is constantly looking towards what comes next and how he can improve and move forward. This mix leads to him keeping secrets and being closed off to those around him. He just wishes to be their savior, finding the correct path and then showing others the way instead of relying on those close to him to help him find that path.

Opa is a rough and tumble type that has lived in [city] all her life. She has fought her way off then streets through street and club contacts and using her street smarts to stay afloat. She has a strong aversion to authority and evil. She wants everyone to be protected and is instinctively vicious in her protection of her friends/family and those that she sees are vulnerable and being exploited and/or hurt.

RJ is everyone's big brother. He is someone that feels and acts. There is no room for though, only pushing forward. He cares deeply for those around him, but very quickly involves them in trouble from his impulsive actions. A subconscious lack of care for himself leads him to put himself in danger often, especially if that danger is to protect a friend (n his eyes.)

Kai is the family screw up that is trying his hardest to be the best version he can be. He works hard to be financially stable and dependent of his family's wealth. They use is as a carrot to make him do what they need him to. At least they used to, as he no longer subscribes to their wants or needs (conciously). He leans towards cryptobro in his relation of financial success to completed personhood. He wants to show his friends (and by extension his family) that he is capable, independent, and better than the rest. This can cause hum problems as he attempts to strike out on his own and is one of the Volder me bees of his team, viewing his pragmatic approach as the safest and most catch all of the group.

Violet is an enigma. She is the success of her family. Someone who sees what she wants and attacks it until she reaches her goal. This has led to her selling fake IDs and identity packets to those that can afford. She doers this to give her family more than they've ever had. She wants to give them the stability and ease that the upper class is afforded. This mentality even drips into her fashion and understanding of the world. Her clothes are always ahead of the curb and 0one of the few ways she is able to feel free due to the boundaries she can push with it. She also is aware of the classism that perpetuates the everyday as she is trying to move her family beyond lower class into the freedom and luxury that money provides.

While am origin story has been made, I think it is better to start them as superheroes in a superhero world or possibly have them gain their powers in a power filed world. Maybe they gain these powers from the chemical explosion but aren't the first to gain these powers. They then. don't have to hide as much and are able to have a more casual outlook on this.

If I had to choose themes for this story (very early on) then I would say the top three would be friendship, independence, and trust. These are shown in the main characters backstories and will be shown in the villain's story as well.

The antagonist is a club owner who has looked after her town/city well beyond what the government and politicians have. She has maintained her funding through unknown means until the chemical explosion. This will lead to a discovery that she was the owner of the planet and sold the chemicals manufactured there to give others powers. This began to be sold to the wrong people and this is what the Vigilante was after when they followed him to chase the Vigilante. She uses this money to help her community, but the funds become dirtier and dirtier as her story progresses (possibly in front of the heroes or in the past and the heroes see this ideology come to a head.) She also has a very grey moral compass along with a propensity for violence against those that cross her or her friends. This is something that some of the protagonists deal with in lesser degrees. She will be a mirror in one way or another to each protagonist. As the club owner, she will have the closest relationship with Opa, her bartender.

The Vigilante is a local hero that has stopped other criminals previously. This legend is what leads the main five to recognize him and follow him to the chemical plant which gives them their powers. The Vigilante works to protect the city by his own means, usually having high tech gear and a calling card left with the criminal he has apprehended. This calling card is seen as a taunt by local law enforcement as it undermines their hold/respect over the city. As the city has fallen more out of control the law enforcement has began protecting the rich (and city donators) more and more, essentially seceding the city to the chaos and anarchy overtaking it.

If the five aren't going to start their story receiving their powers and meeting each other, then finding a new start will be imperative. Along with determining the other four's powers.

Sebastian has elemental control, but is unable to control which element he is in use of. This leads to regular retraining and understanding of his powers as problems and fights occur. He works primarily with water, fire, earth, and air (avatar shiiiiiit)

Rj is wild and reckless. He has very little regard for himself and will jump into any situation if he thinks it will protect and/or help his friends. He comes from a troubled background where his family relationships are contentious at best. This causes him to put a lot of value into his close friendships as he sees them as the only ones who have every truly accepted him and thus, are very worth his life in exchange for saving theirs. This reckless behavior and desperate need to protect gives him powers of

Explosions (ala Piper)

Invulnerability

Phasing

Opa is a character that has seen how the world leaves the disenfranchised behind, She carries a lot of anger and has trouble containing it when she sees people being hurt or taken advantage of. This unstable anger will have a big effect on her powers and how it manifests in tough situations. Her powers could be

Explosions (ala Piper)

Ice

Telekinesis

Violet is someone who is brilliant. So brilliant it almost seems effortless as she moves through the world. She does everything to an elite level and often picks up things the quickest. Her powers will be one that feels very beyond her and is something she has trouble handling and controlling. This will test her understanding of herself as she sees those around her surpass her for the first time. Her powers could also include

Telekinesis

Technology Control

Shapeshifting

Kai is someone who is a perpetual fuck up and is doing all he can to show he's anything but. This mindset has given him a very morally grey outlook as he has become an ends justify the means type. He is outwardly distant and relatively cold. He uses this as a way to keep people at a distance and unconsciously show people he isn't any good before they're let down. This could manifest as

Laser eyes (ala Cyclopes)

Super strength

The five of them will have to work to better each other's power sets as they track down the person the Vigilante was chasing. They will also discover the Vigilante's secrets during this process and have to almost blow their lives up to finish their goal. This will cause many climactic tennis near the end battle as they question if its a worthwhile give.

The Vigilante himself is someone that has been in the club where the antagonist and Opa work before, he has no powers, but has put his tech investment money and tech knowledge into a super suit that he uses to fight crimes. What he knows about the residents of the city and who the major players are will be invaluable. There is also the question of if he truly died in the chemical explosion. After being followed to confront the club owner, an explosion is triggered the takes out a big chunk of th chemical plant. When the five awake, they are outside of the plant and confused about how they got there. of course this is followed by the revelation that they have powers.

There is a question as to how much he knew/helped the five the night.

It may be worth writing this origin and giving it as a piece that shows the overall vibe and direction of the series. This would (hopefully) work as an origin and as a start to the story if I decide to use it as such.

I would also like them to run into other supers (along with a superhero fight club) and make a little JLA. There will also be doomed romances and blooming relationships which will color the relationships in new ways. The will also hopefully highlight different angles and perspectives of each other main five while showing the lengths they go and amount they care for and protect each other.

I would like for the series to end with the five in their (new?) apartment smoking along watching the news discuss wither the final climactic battle with the antagonist and its aftermath or a new villain-of-the-week type showing that the five are a fully formed team that work towards the greater good fighting off villains for the city in lie if the Vigilante.

#Vigilante Story #Brainstorm #WIP #Writeblr #Superhero Story #Look who officially has something to show for all the stress ((:#also if anyone has any superpower suggestions please lemme know

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thepenguinisagoodboy · 2 years

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julian day headcanons 📆

theme-related

the big concepts: cycles, order, the human need to establish order in a chaotic universe, commemoration, seeking patterns, rituals

according to julian, calendars and cycles allow us to feel some control over the yawning void of time, breaking its enormity into 365 bite-sized pieces.

his favorite cycles are holidays, the 7 days of a week, the 12 months, the seasons, the farming cycle (seeding, harvesting, etc) and like moons with special names and shit, equinoxes, leap years, anniversaries, the lunar cycle, the advent, the zodiac, and saint days

other favorite concepts: birthdays, new years’ resolutions, the origins of holidays, finity (a calendar after all is just one year), memento mori ⌛️

interested as shit in alternative calendars like precolumbian calendars, eastern/lunar, and egyptian

backstory

(canon from long halloween) orphan, exploited by the system and by foster parents

surrendered anonymously by his birth parents on february 12, hence named for St. Julian whose feast day is feb 12

assigned a birthday of february 1 but doesn’t consider this his actual birthday; in his opinion his birthday is unknown which bothers yet intrigues him

was fostered at one point by the wealthy but detached Day family for tax breaks, and they’re the ones who kept him locked up for long stretches before he was eventually returned to the system

the Days were catholic and he would pass the time by reading the book of saints’ feast days he found in their house. also woe religious trauma be upon ye

spent a good few years on the streets as a runaway between homes. eventually ended up in juvenile detention for stealing, where he spent a lot of time in solitary confinement

there was like 10 solid years between when he turned 18 and when he started doing crime where he was alright, struggling financially but getting along

miscellaneous

he/they

6’0”, almost as tall as batman. (i rlly enjoy about him that he’s one of few batman rogues (and characters in general) whose appearance don’t correspond to their theme i.e. riddler is small and wiry and his power is intellectual, scarecrow is gangly and skeletal and his power is spookiness. calendar man is kinda esoteric and conceptual and he’s (in some adaptations) great big for no particular reason. i love how his voice catches you off guard). haven’t decided on a preference for him between buff but sorta toned like he was a skinny kid who decided to work out while he was in arkham, or bulky with a sort of caber-tossing physique of both strength and fat. both are good.

alopecia areata, started losing his hair at around ten and it was gone by 13.

ocd. counts stuff not exactly compulsively but to relax and pass the time, sometimes unconsciously. favorite numbers, naturally, are 4, 7, 12, 28, 30, 31, 52 and 365.

says he isn’t motivated by revenge but by a desire to enlighten people. (lying and/or wrong) (he is motivated by revenge)

more jealous, petty, emotional than he likes to admit to himself or others

he has hobbies other than calendars that aren’t mentioned because they’re not relevant to batman’s journey. he likes film, especially old movies (this is me projecting), botany and paleontology

gay but flirts with women but not in a genuine way; he’s just being polite and debonair. like the guy who’ll kiss an old lady on the hand and ask if the woman who’s clearly her daughter is her sister, that kind of old-world charm. i’ll hear bi as well i’m not picky

ace spec (grey)

likes to take very good care of his appearance. being that he doesn’t have any hair and that he’s often in a uniform, there isn’t that much he can do to impact how he looks in arkham, so he takes what control he can by growing out his nails and then filing them round, and by doin a lil makeup

top 2 most requested items in arkham are calendars and eyeliner

doesn’t generally wear the complimentary arkham assigned grippy socks - being barefoot makes him feel more connected/grounded. plus he read online it’s good for your health

astrology bitch that has everyone’s charts memorized. thinks astrology is ridiculous and made up but this is also his relationship with all holidays and date systems so he still loves astrology. philosophically intriguing to him. especially loves bothering the Staunchly anti astrology rogues with it (riddler.)

bit of a history buff who knows the significant historical events from every date in the year. gotham history and world history

likes quoting ‘thirty days hath september’ but thinks, and readily admits, that it’s a very sloppy rhyme.

one on one, he will small talk. especially if you’re in a hurry and he wants to be annoying. but in a group setting, like a team-up, he’s usually the one who does not talk until he has something important to say.

actively trained himself out of his natural jersey accent because he thought that it, combined with his looks, made him come across as a mook. speaks softly and in a tiny bit of a falsetto to counteract his intimidating build. picked up a bit of a trans atlantic accent from film. difficult to provoke but when he wants to raise his voice he doesn’t, like, shout or change his tone, he just, like, increases the volume of his usual voice

relationships

actively friends with: catwoman, mr freeze (freeze keeps everyone at a distance but CM holds him in high esteem), ivy, harley, ragdoll, toymaker

him and scarecrow are passive aggressive. they are polite and civil but it takes like one sentence to provoke them to physical violence. they squabble over halloween. him and anarky also fight over nov 5. him and music meister don’t fight over anything, they just hate each others’ vibes. him and zsasz can be alopecia buddies but i hesitate to suggest they actually like each other.

he’s worked with joker once or twice but that does not mean he likes him, also has a deep distaste for professor pyg. he has nothing but respect for bane but bane thinks he’s silly.

i love when jokey/forgotten rogues are in a gang. like he should be pals with tally man. square and sharp. there’s one person on here who ships him with eraser and like that’s just fine. me if i had to pick a ship i’d say maybe mr bloom or maybe polka dot man. there’s a couple of riddlers that’d like him for being Stronk but also Intellectual like maybe dano or carrey

he’s in the arkham theater troupe with clayface and babydoll but he does costumes (who wouldn’t want a costume by the guy who made calendar man’s costume shdjdjs)

notes: i love that TLH tried so hard to make calendar man cool and kind of succeeded? like what seemed like an objectively stupid theme can actually be kinda cool depending how you play it. i stuck with the TLH movie for most of my hcs for “my” version of him but versions that are 1) small 2) a disaster (B:TBATB, TLH comic, etc). i just think it’s funny to have calendar man of all people have a tiny bit of class. mix it up

#dc #batman rogues #gotham rogues #dc rogues #dc villains #batman villains #rogues gallery #calendar man #julian gregory day #julian day #the long halloween #he’s like a blorbo to me #davey d

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decayingalive · 2 years

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what do you think about dabi's backstory? do u think endeavor will save him?

Horikoshi’s decision to throw so much trauma on Dabi in a whole unnecessary flashback chapter was frankly disgusting. Trauma for the sake of trauma was unnecessary and exploitive, those who already sympathized with him would not sympathize more than they already have and it won’t win those who refuse to over. All in all it was an uncomfortable backstory made for people who will be drawn to wanting to see Dabi in pain. like what you like, but he’s in more than enough pain already without adding another unnecessary layer to the story to appeal to people who want trauma. What does it give the story?

Displaying something as real as kidnapping and child trafficking for appeal that added nothing but sadness to his backstory was gross, and the medical torture that was thrown in there to resemble Frankenstein completely unnecessary for anyone who could already see the obvious resemblances. I’m sorry to say that if you can’t see what’s obviously being put down it shouldn’t have to be spoon-fed to you. It doesn’t make for a good story.

Lacing AFO into Dabi’s backstory was also pointless, and told us absolutely nothing we didn’t already know. Tomura is expendable, he always was. It was hinted at so many times before it was spelt out with his possession.

The only positive I will say is that it was an interesting touch to choose to lace Shigaraki and Dabi’s backstories together to show that Dabi could’ve become Shigaraki, it shows just how similar they truly are and connects them in a way that I think is sweet, because I’d like to see all of the league connected to Shigaraki in a fated way like that.

on the same note though, some of it really takes away from what the League was always laid out to be, a found family. They found each other all connected by one shared interest for many different reasons, a lot of them had to learn to understand each other, and the point was no one but Tomura was forced into this. They chose and still actively choose to stay by Tomura’s side because they want to. Yes, even Dabi.

Throwing All for One into the mix of Dabi’s backstory smears that so much, taking Dabi’s choice to stay with Tomura and hinting it’s All For One’s fault. Not everything has to be all for one’s fault, and the more everything is completely his fault, the less interesting the story and he as a villain is becoming.

It wouldn’t have taken away from the story to never have revealed a backstory for Dabi, or even to say he spent his years homeless before finding the league. And while it may have been unrealistic to say he ever survived those burns, nothing has been realistic in BNHA, and the surgery he went through was in no way realistic either.

I do think Endeavor is going to save Dabi in the end, it’s been set up for a long time and I don’t think Horikoshi has shown much of penchant for big plot twists that aren’t very spelt out or obvious. Endeavor will never deserve forgiveness for what he did out of selfish greed, but more than anything it should be his job to fix what he broke and in the end he more than likely will, and I think that’s what will reward him as being “a true hero in the end.” (Which I don’t believe is a title he’s worthy of for that, but it seems likely)

I think endeavor has major death flags and likely will die saving Dabi, but I seriously doubt Dabi will ever die in the story that’s theme was always meant to be hope.

Thanks for asking, dude.

#Note that I haven’t continued reading this manga since the chapter mentioned #so if anything recent obscures my opinions I’m sincerely sorry #Dabi anti’s will be blocked #literally don’t bother

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gritsandbrits · 2 years

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Twenty Two things i like about edward

Being one of the most consistent characters

His design

His age doesn't stop him from accomplishing his goals

He managed to avoid the disaster that is BWBA

Smart enough to know that TATMR was bull so he decided not to take in it

His backstory leaves a lot to explore

Willingness to overcome prejudices (writing aside, I relate bc I'm struggling to lose my judgemental attitudes)

Wise but still has room to grow himself

Kind and respectful

Actually sympathetic

Started the franchise as we know it

His fandom as vocal as they are they are actually the tamest character stans I've seen

He actually LOOKS old, he got wrinkles crows feet EVERYTHING

His theme song is just gorgeous to listen to

Imho he has one pf the least creepy model faces

His voice both US and UK versions

Being like the only engine to tame Bill and Ben

The episode Edward's Exploit being one of my favorites in the series

Victorian Era Baby - being built in 1896 and all and I love Victorian era stuff

Was the only tender engine who didn't go on strike so he ain't petty

Capable of shade I KNOW he's shady af

Always tries his best even if it doesn't always work out - the persistence man THE COURAGE!!

#edward ttte #edwardappweek #edward the blue engine #twosday #ttte #rws #the railway series #thomas the tank engine #favorite characters #2/22/22 #Positive

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my-name-is-dre · 3 years

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Mettaton is a False Prophet - Pt. 2

This is a continuation post from my older theory back when Undertale was still the big thing that Mettaton was a false prophet designed by Alphys and Asgore to fulfill the Deltarune prophecy, which explains all of his eerie similarities to Flowey and Asriel. Here is Part 1 if you wanna catch up!

[UPDATED INFO FROM DELTARUNE CH. 2]

With the debut of Deltarune Chapter 2 came a fan-favorite newcomer called Spamton, and the interesting thing about his character is that it has a lot of similarities with Mettaton, especially his secret form known as ‘Spamton NEO.’ Now, the general story behind his character is that he was once a spam email puppet account who was never able to make a deal. This was his life until he was called by a mysterious person who suddenly made him wildly successful by continually aiding his career over the phone, eventually causing his friends to leave him over their envy of his newfound success. This success eventually landed him a spot in Queen’s mansion until it all came crashing down one day, and the only remnant left of him was a dead phone line tied to him that only repeated static back at anyone who tried to call it.

As everyone’s likely aware of now, there is a hidden bossfight in which you can, once specific conditions are performed, fight Spamton NEO, a version of Spamton hooked up to a suit that unabashedly resembles the same form Mettaton took on in the no mercy route of Undertale. This suit has been referred to as ‘the machine’ which is described by Swatch as the creation of an unknown Lighter, “digitally visualizing their hopes and dreams which never came to be.” This then became an incomplete dream which was locked in Queen’s basement. In battle, the fight also resembles the fights the player had with Mettaton through Undertale, with their soul turning yellow and shooting projectiles to take Spamton down. But the similarities between the fight against Mettaton Ex and Spamton NEO don’t end there, as both fights involved taking apart components of the body gradually over the course of the battle, with Mettaton having his limbs blown off and Spamton having his strings cut.

Now, this backstory is all very important as it alludes back to the body’s origin in Undertale as a creation of Alphys to make its host proficient at killing and absorbing a human soul. The description of the body is textually different but similar, in that Mettaton NEO was designed for the purposes of killing explicitly whereas Spamton NEO’s body is described by Swatch as being an agent in which one can envision their hopes and dreams through an implicit power of determination.

It’s important to note here that, career-wise, Mettaton is quite similar to Spamton in that they both had great and newfound success upon accepting a deal that gave them some meta-knowledge of the world they inhabit, with Spamton being told that the world he lives in is a game that can be exploited (as implied by his dialogue), and Mettaton was granted some of the same abilities that Flowey possesses (changing the game’s name, being able to audibly speak, and being a monster soul possessing an inanimate object). Whereas Mettaton is a story of continued success, Spamton is a story of failure, but how does this fit into the context of the theory that Mettaton was a failed attempt to fulfill the Deltarune prophecy?

That quote from Swatch on describing the purpose of the body is important to explaining this, as it eerily resembles Mettaton’s role in Undertale’s story as a machine designed to harvest a human soul and potentially fulfill the Deltarune prophecy but was unsuccessful to do so because Mettaton is a false prophet. The theme of false prophecy and failed transcendence is exemplified by Spamton’s backstory, as the power of meta-textual awareness granted to him (by Gaster presumably) resulted in short-term success that rose him to the heavens only for him to fall down hard back into being forgotten. The fall he suffers from cutting off his strings is a dual-layer metaphor for how Spamton fell from success and how Mettaton was unable to fulfill the Deltarune prophecy unlike his parallel successor Flowey.

And if it wasn’t obvious that Mettaton’s constant desire for your soul is equivalent to Spamton’s desire for [hyperlink blocked], he goes on record describing all of the control he’d have over his life if he were to harvest your [hyperlink blocked], implying that the hyperlink is code for determination. Spamton also routinely refers to “heaven” throughout his dialogue, which could imply anything transcendental, but I believe this is also another direct allusion to the Deltarune prophecy and its description of an angel: The divine vocabulary fits. Perhaps Mettaton was trying to indirectly achieve this reception from heaven through his promulgation as an icon of monsterkind wanting so desperately to have a human audience? Perhaps this constant appeal ‘heaven’ is Spamtron’s version of Mettaton’s constant appeal to a nebulous audience? If that’s the case, it implies that the audience of Mettaton has divine power, which seems to suggest that it’s composed of far more than just monsterkind. Another minor thing to note here is that Spamton also refers to “the presses” if you defeat him by depleting his health bar: “WAIT!! [$!?!] THE PRESSES!”

“KRIS, DON'T YOU WANNA BE [Part] OF MY BEAUTIFUL [Heart]?” is a very unsubtle nod to the process Chara and Asriel underwent to bypass the barrier and return to the Surface. There must be something about the abilities that the NEO suit offers that is implicitly tied to the Deltarune prophecy. Spamton’s constant use of the phrase ‘big shot’ is another multi-layered metaphor. The ‘big shot’ in question is a triple entendre, as it refers not only to Spamton’s aspirations, but also the fulfillment of the Delta Rune prophecy and also more banally refer to the yellow soul’s newfound ability to shoot a charge shot.

After sparing Spamton NEO, he offers some dialogue that resembles Flowey’s plea to you after defeating his Photoshop form, in which he asks why you’re showing him mercy after all of the unnecessary cruelty he did to you to prove his worldview correct. He then goes on to make a reference to Pinocchio in which he asks you to cut his strings and make him a “real boy” (an even funnier phrase given that he’s a puppet). But this is also an allusion to Mettaton, as he reveals to you throughout the game that his robot body designed for him by Alphys is a form that makes him feel more like himself because it’s implied that Mettaton is an incorporeal ghost like Napstablook. He then makes one least appeal to Heaven and says he’ll live for himself and his friends, acting as a microcosm of both Mettaton and Flowey’s character arc.

In the “weird route”, Spamton also makes remarks prior to battling him that allude to Mettaton NEO’s fight in the no mercy route: “THANKS TO YOUR [Total Jackass stunts] I HAVE [Becomed] NEO.” “TO [$!$!] ME OVER RIGHT AT THE [Good part]!? WHAT ARE YOU, A [Gameshow Host]!?” “MY ESTEEM CUSTOMER I SEE YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO DEPLETE MY HP! I'LL ADMIT YOU'VE GOT SOME [Guts] KID! BUT IN A [1 for 1] BATTLE, NEO NEVER LOSES!!! IT'S TIME FOR A LITTLE [Bluelight Specil]. DIDN'T YOU KNOW [Neo] IS FAMOUS FOR ITS HIGH DEFENSE!? NOW... ENJ0Y THE FIR3WORKS, KID!!!” One line in particular references Asriel calling Chara’s name before Frisk lands in the bed of flowers in the Garbage Dump: “YOU MAKE ME [Sick]! MUTTERING YOUR [Lost Friends] NAMES AT THE BOTTOM OF A [Dumpster]! NO ONE'S GONNA HELP YOU!!! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR [Beautiful Head], YOU LITTLE [Worm]!”

This is an even more poignant line, as Spamton resides in Trash Zone, which is meant to resemble the Garbage Dump area of Undertale, which was a point in Waterfall where you were given a hint into the backstory of the game before landing on a bed of flowers. It’s also the area where you encounter Mad Dummy and where Alphys dates Undyne in the true pacifist route. Clearly, the symbolism of taking place in a dump is very important for connecting the worlds and stories of both of these games, given that it’s such an important spot for two major characters tied to Mettaton.

If it weren’t obvious at this point, Spamton damn near confirms that Mettaton was designed at least partially to fulfill the Deltarune prophecy but was unable to because he didn’t possess the same potential or determination that Flowey had due to his lack of relation to the original human and his focus instead turning towards an abstract human audience. The dialogue from Swatch about Spamton being the embodiment of a Lightner’s dream also implies that, keeping in line with the themes of desire in the Dark World, that Mettaton might be directly responsible for the creation of Mettaton. Perhaps this is why the NEO suit so eerily resembles the God of Hyperdeath if it’s directly tied to Mettaton’s desire to fulfill the Deltarune prophecy. If this is the case, isn’t it a bit odd that the God of Hyperdeath is also implied to be Asriel’s creation from flavor text in Kris’s room? What an interesting parallel.

#undertale #deltarune #spamton #spamton neo #mettaton #mettaton neo #undertale 6th anniversary #deltarune theory #deltarune spoilers

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renegadewangs · 3 years

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Van Zieks - the Examination, part 12

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles. Additional warning for racist sentiments uttered by fictional characters (and screencaps to show these sentiments).

Disclaimer: (see Part 1 for the more detailed disclaimer.) - These posts are not meant to be taken as fact. Everything I’m outlining stems from my own views and experiences. If you believe that I’ve missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know so I can edit the post accordingly. -The purpose of these posts is an analysis, nothing more. Please do not come into these posts expecting me to either defend Barok van Zieks from haters, nor expecting me to encourage the hatred. - I’m using the Western release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for these posts, but may refer to the original Japanese dialogue of Dai Gyakuten Saiban if needed to compare what’s said. This also means I’m using the localized names and localized romanization of the names to stay consistent. -It doesn’t matter one bit to me whether you like Barok van Zieks or dislike him. However, I will ask that everyone who comments refrains from attacking real, actual people.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Let's bring this thing home! It's time for the conclusion of the essay series!

Conclusion With a stupidly long essay series behind us, it's time to look at what we've learned! Let's go back to Part 1 and review what we needed from Van Zieks's character development for a fully rounded redemption arc, shall we?

1) Present an antagonistic (possibly immoral) force who personifies Ryunosuke’s biggest personal obstacle/weakness, in this case racial prejudice. 2) Humanizing traits begin to show. OPTIONAL: A backstory to justify any immorality he has. 3) Over time, Barok has his realization and sees the error of his ways. 4) Barok atones for his immorality, not simply through apology but by taking decisive steps. 5) The cast around him acknowledges his efforts and forgives him.

And looking at the main game (plus additional dialogue), we have...

1) Antagonistic force:

Etc. etc. I have many of these. We can all agree that as an antagonistic force, he does his job quite well. CEO of Racism and White Privilege in the flesh. It works, since we as the audience get very frustrated and want to see him defeated.

2) Humanization:

Giving him an old friend to be a defendant was a brilliant move, really. Albert's reflection on the friendship and the person Van Zieks used to be really helped flesh him out and make him appear more like a human being with, y'know, emotions and weaknesses. The little snippets of dialogue in his office really help too. Presenting evidence can also lead to fun tidbits. All in all, considering how gruff and distant Van Zieks is, they really did their very best to humanize him. The writers were given very little to work with but they exploited every opportunity to come their way.

OPTIONAL backstory:

Again, I don't think we needed a tragic backstory to have a well-rounded, redeemable character. Still, it ties in very expertly to the game's plot and the motivations of quite a few other characters. The story of Klint van Zieks and his death isn't necessarily Barok van Zieks's backstory, it's the center of an intricate web which also holds Kazuma, Stronghart, Gregson, Jigoku, (S)Holmes, Mikotoba, Sithe, Drebber- I could go on. A LOT. So because of how very integrated it is into the main narrative's recurring themes and characters, I'll give it props for being relevant and well thought out. The bigger question is: Does it justify his immorality? Not entirely. I think the game could have gotten more out of this if they'd involved the other two exchange students in this tale just a bit more. They could have given more attention to how Jigoku's aggressive behavior in the trial impacted Van Zieks, and explained whether he might've suspected Mikotoba of sabotaging (S)Holmes's investigation. If the narrative had done that, all three Japanese people to come to London would have been ‘the bad guy’ in Van Zieks's eyes and it would have given more credence to his racial generalization. They could have also given more attention to how the people around him reacted to Genshin being the Professor, because I'm sure Stronghart and Gregson stoked the fire in terms of xenophobia. As it stands, there isn't really enough there to justify hatred of an entire race as opposed to just one person.

3) Realization/Redemption

We see him already start to realize the error of his ways around the end of 1-5, which is technically only about halfway into the full narrative. Unfortunately, thanks to 2-2 being played afterwards (but chronologically set before 1-5), any progress made in 1-5 can become invalidated in the player's eyes. Growth works best when it's done linear. Don't get me wrong, flashbacking to earlier times when a character is still more morally tainted can work well, but it needs to be executed properly. Barok's behavior in 2-2 is downright insulting towards the audience itself and therefore, it causes emotional friction when relaying the narrative endgoal of redemption. It also makes it extra jarring when we hit 2-3, and suddenly Van Zieks is meant to be relying on the protagonist's desire to expose the truth. How on earth can we as the audience trust that Van Zieks believes in Ryu's abilities when we just came fresh out of a case where this man actively sabotages Ryu's efforts?

Still, the line of redemption continues from 2-3 into 2-4 well enough. He admits that he was wrong- that his hatred was illogical and that he needs to change. This is the very definition of redemption. I need to stress once more this is not to be confused with atonement, which comes next.

4) Atonement

Here it is. It's not enough to simply acknowledge mistakes; one needs to work hard to fix them. Since Van Zieks is the defendant for two whole episodes, equaling roughly 20% of the full narrative and 67% of the time following his first true realization (chronologically), there isn't much that he can actively do to atone. Because remember, not only do these actions need to fit the situation he's currently in, they need to fit his personality. These two limitations ensure the atonement mostly takes the form of dialogue. Of apologies.

One might want to point out that he never apologizes specifically for his racism, but there's a reason for that. If you pay close attention, you'll notice that there isn't a single character who ever uses a word like “racism”, “xenophobia” or even “racial prejudice” in this game. It's for the same reason you'll never see an Ace Attorney character utter words like “alcoholism”, “drug abuse” or “depression”. These things may be implied very strongly, to the point where you'll know for certain a character is suffering from it, but it's never given these exact labels. It has to do with the tone of the game. In Great Ace Attorney's dialogue, Barok van Zieks is only ever described as holding “a deep hatred for Japanese”, which is then the only thing he could apologize for. And he does, so long as you aren't looking for a literal phrasing of “I apologize for my deep hatred of your people”.

Regardless, he can't take more active, decisive action until he's freed from prison and two scenes with Van Zieks later, the game has ended. He still manages to take two actions, though! The first is to publicize the truth of the Professor, taking the blame of the mass murders off Genshin's shoulders (and losing his own privilege in the process). The second is to take Kazuma under his wing as his disciple. I'm not certain there's anything else the narrative could have had him do. What is decisively missing, however, is the following:

5) Acknowledgment

The above aren't good examples of cast acknowledgment that Van Zieks is taking part in a redemption arc, rather, they're the best I could find. Characters are acknowledging that he's changing- that he's being kinder to them and they can get along with him now, but they're not acknowledging that he caused hurt in the first place. This, in my opinion, is the Great Ace Attorney's biggest narrative flaw. I've talked before about how Ryu's reaction to Van Zieks's racism is 'indirect communication', a typically Japanese manner of dealing with negativity. I've also talked about how Ryu is not in a position to speak up, as he's a literal minority who is there to represent his country in an official capacity and can’t afford to make enemies. However, characters like Susato and Kazuma are far more outspoken in their opinions, as is Soseki. The only one who ever calls Van Zieks out on his racism is the British judge, and even that is done very meekly. When an old crusty white guy is the one who condemns white privilege in a cast full of minorities, you've got a problem. The Japanese cast's refusal to acknowledge that Van Zieks's words were harmful is like Team Avatar telling Zuko that sure, he can join since he's a good guy now, but never once acknowledging that he burned down villages or betrayed everyone's trust in Ba Sing Se. There's something very vital missing, see? If indeed the cast had called Van Zieks out more actively on his harmful ways and how necessary it was for him to change, he in turn could have taken more atonement steps in response.

So, for the conclusion: Does Barok van Zieks tick all the necessary boxes for a complete redemption arc? Yes. In a very technical sense, all the requirements are there. But does that mean it's a successful arc? Not necessarily. The game has a few slip-ups, a few things not executed as well as they could have been. For that reason, whether the audience is satisfied with the arc is entirely up to them. Taking into consideration that they had to cram a whole lot of story into just two games- the second game in particular, I can acknowledge they did their very best with the limitations that were there.

And there we have it! That’s all I could think to say on the matter. I hope everyone who read this till the very end enjoyed it, maybe even learned a thing or two. I’m always open to questions, input and constructive criticism!

#dgs #dgs spoilers #tgaa #tgaa spoilers #barok van zieks #I'M FREE!#well until I tackle the DLC content #but until then...#FREEEE

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betawooper · 3 years

Text

rating every demon fight in kny bc i can

non-biased, completely objective rating (more or less) of every significant demon fight in kny based on a number of factors, including:

cleverness of fighting tactics

placement in the story’s timeline

integration of character backstories

cohesive themes between characters

etc

by non-biased and objective i mean i’m not skewing the rating if a death felt fair or whatever

everything past where the anime ended will be under a read more so anime onlys who havent watched mugen train, youre safe lol

oh and i reread the manga like 20+ times (reread the latter arcs at least 40 times, haha hyperfixations am i right?) so be rest assured im not pulling these ratings out of my ass

also ill randomly be bolding certain phrases just to improve readability

anyways let’s gooooo

VS NEZUKO

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kamado Tanjirou and Nezuko. Tanjirou is fending her off by putting the axe handle in her mouth, keeping her from eating him. End Image Description.]

10/10

i like how realistic it is, because yeah tanjirou would react the way to he did with zero fighting skills against a demon

very clear why tanjirou is fighting nezuko and shows a bit of worldbuilding on how normal people react to their family becoming demons

always nice to see worldbuilding

giyuu is the perfect example of a seasoned demon slayer who’s good at his job, and he juxtaposes tanjirou very well in that aspect

my only complaint is not directly in this fight itself but how nezuko is handled throughout the story as a whole

like bro, it is literally never explained why nezuko is different from demons

could have been easily explained if maybe her family’s ghosts like slapped her hand every time she wanted to eat a person but nope

she’s just built different lol

so yeah youll see future ratings get points docked off bc nezuko unlocks some secret power with no prior explanation other than she angy >:3

VS TEMPLE DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of a demon. The demon has a sharp-nailed hand over his neck and there are four text bubbles around him saying “But a wound like this... will heal in no time! See? The bleeding already stopped!” End Image Description.]

10/10

may be more forgettable compared to like rui but still good

tanjirou did exceptionally well in this fight and his ability to think on his feet is once again beautifully illustrated here (trapping this dude’s head against the tree trunk with the axe)

very clever

again, establishes more demon worldbuilding regarding regeneration and still being able to move without their head

and the demons burning in the sunlight thing since nezuko wasn’t able to show that

the ending where tanjirou hesitates to kill the demon also serves to show his sympathetic nature towards demons that will last throughout the entirety of the first 60-ish chapters

we’ll talk about what the hell happens to tanjirou after that

or not, it could honestly be its own post

VS HAND DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of a many-handed demon. He has six hands around him, three of them covering his mouth while he chuckles, two of them grabbing his cheeks, and one holding on to the top of his head. There are two text bubbles saying “That’s how many of Urokodaki’s students I have eaten! I’ve decided to kill all of his students!” End Image Description.]

10/10

ooooh probably the first big fight against a demon in the series

oh yeah not doing the two random demons tanjirou one shot in a single blow bc eh

anyways hand demon’s pretty goddamn scary, considering the fact that this is the 5th demon or whatever tanjirou has had to face so far

very nice way to show us how much tanjirou’s innate intuition and all his other random abilities (sense of smell, hard forehead) can come together and help him decapitate this guy

i liked the mini history with urokodaki this dude had and why he had beef with our favorite mentor figure, it establishes that urokodaki was in fact a super good demon slayer and its cool to see that actually shown

i also liked that small moment of compassion tanjirou gave this demon, staying consistent with tanjirou’s established kindness

the demon’s sad tale with killing his own brother very much humanizes him when all the reader has seen up to this point is that this guy is a monster who eats people

sets up the theme of demons just being humans but being victims of circumstance that unfortunately doesn’t hold up as well in arcs past mugen train

VS SWAMP DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kamado Tanjirou fighting off three horned demons as they appear from below. There is a spiky text bubble saying “Three of them!!!” End Image Description.]

10/10

not my most favorite fight but it still portrays everything alright and im not allowed to let my personal opinions mess with the rating so

i like how tanjirou mentioned the fact that he trained in conditions similar to the bog and explains how he pulled off the whirlpool form

using past experiences to aid him in the present, nice nice

tanjirou and nezuko dont quite work together very well but its yknow the first mission so ill chalk it up to simple inexperience

also the way the muzan curse thingie was hinted at here? fantastic way of showing that little bit of demon worldbuilding

...

oh god, it mentions nezuko being stronger than normal demons

ok its not a problem here per say since i can still suspend my disbelief, but later on it just becomes a glaring problem that gets worse over time

VS SUSAMARU AND YAHABA

[Image Description: Manga panels of Susamaru and Yahaba. The first one is a joyful Susamaru about to throw a temari ball. There is floating text saying “Is she one of Kibutsuji’s minions?!” The second image is an annoyed Yahaba, holding one of his eye-hands to cover himself. There are two text bubbles around him saying “My kimono got all dusty. Tch!” End Image Description.]

9/10

why dont these bitches have a good looking panel together dammit

anyways amazing entrance, the way yahaba used his hand eyes to track down tanjirou is really neat

the synergy yahaba and susamaru have is incredible, its awesome dude, they work extremely well together and it shows

tanjirou actually mixing his water breathing forms together is a god tier move and i absolutely love how he can show off his ability to think on his feet once again

establishing how yushiro’s bda works early on is really well done

establishing tamayo as a fugitive this early on is also super well done

not to get into spoiler territory but both these things pay off

how tamayo ended up defeating susamaru is literally awesome in so many ways

shows off both how smart she is by exploiting the muzan curse

and speaking of the muzan curse, we actually get to see what happens to demons who even say his name, back when it was hinted with the swamp demon

tamayo is amazing dude, and we get some real evidence of the horrible suffering demons go through if they even accidentally attempt to betray muzan :D

...

now heres what keeps this fight from being perfect

nezuko somehow grew stronger against susamaru’s temari

with no explanation

which could have been easily explained if tamayo was like “oh yeah the drug also boosts a demon’s strength temporarily”

but nope

god, i just dont like how gotouge handles nezuko’s power boosts throughout the series bc like i said before

no explanation is given anywhere

this is a huge issue, this isnt a pokemon game, you cant just kill demons and get exp at the end of every battle, level up, get some sweet stat bonuses and move on

(actually if gotouge established that this is how nezuko grew in power, than all my complaints about this would be gone, im not even joking)

anyways i get that nezuko is supposed to be “special” but thats too vague of a descriptor

how the hell is she special? ya gotta be more specific and stick with that explanation or that suspension of disbelief is going to disappear

VS TONGUE DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of a four-eyed demon with horns and a long tongue. He is crawling in an awkward position, one foot in front of his tilted head. There are two text bubbles around him saying “Heh, heh! I’ll slurpy slurp your brains out through you ear!” End Image Description.]

10/10

not much to say, showcases zenitsu’s true abilities really well

nicely done

VS HORNED DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of a big, single-horned demon. There are three text bubbles saying “You dodged! You’re awfully lively for a human! It’ll be a treat to carve away your flesh!” End Image Description.]

10/10

would have ignored this fight if not for the fact we havent seen inosuke fight before

it definitely shows how very fast-paced and wild inosuke is

no complaints here lol

VS KYOGAI

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kyogai, a demon with tsuzumi drums attached to his shoulders. There are four text bubbles around him saying “Why?! Why does everyone keep sneaking through my house? It’s so aggravating. It’s my prey! It’s my prey! Found in my territory!” End Image Description.]

10/10

establishes marechi blood pretty early on, once again expanding the worldbuilding of kny which is always cool

interesting terrain where it’s always shifting, tanjirou once again proves his ability to adapt really quickly by altering one of his forms to work with the turning room

(man, i wish the form mixing/form modification thing carried on throughout the rest of the story, but it really didnt which is just a shame)

the injuries tanjirou had prior to this mission actually affecting him was a nice touch

oh yeah, kyogai gives us more worldbuilding (which is always nice) regarding the 12 kizuki, and the aspect of him being cast out due to being weak shows a lot about muzan’s indifference towards his own demons if they arent strong

his backstory being a failed writer once again humanizes kyogai as a former human being and not just a monster

tanjirou shows his sympathy and compassion again by not stepping on his written work and complimenting his bda

well, tbh tanjirou’s actions kinda came out of nowhere but its a very minor thing and not enough to dock a point off, like it didnt affect the outcome of the fight that much if at all

(so if you see future battles where points are docked off for things not logically making sense, its bc whatever nonsensical concepts were integrated into the fight actually turned the tide of the battle and thats a big no-no)

very good fight and if you remember how kinda bad tanjirou was at accurately slicing the swamp demon, you can see that he’s already improved leaps and bounds

im so proud of him

VS MOTHER SPIDER DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kamado Tanjirou and the Mother Spider Demon. There is a light shining down from the top right on to the demon as Tanjirou slices her head off, rain following in his wake. There is floating text saying “Water Breathing: Fifth Form - Blessed Rain After the Drought!” around them. End Image Description.]

10/10

i mean does anyone disagree?

all the demon slayers getting their necks snapped by her threads was pretty horrific, probably more horrifying than anything else we have seen in the entire series if im gonna be honest

the death scene is probably the most beautiful one in the series

it reveals a water breathing form that we havent seen before thats the 5th form

as far as i know, no other breathing style has this merciful sword stroke so it shows a lot about the original water breather and what they might have been like

but enough about them, really the focus is on tanjirou bc this is like the best example by far of how kind and sympathetic he is to demons

dunno what else to say, its perfect

VS SON SPIDER DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Agatsuma Zenitsu performing Thunder Breathing 1st Form: Sixfold on a spider-like demon. Zenitsu is crashing through the roof of a shed, and a zig-zag path is left behind. There are sound effects all over the panel, saying “Bam!” in large font. End Image Description.]

10/10

chose a picture without a huge spider on it bc i would like to not scare myself half to death

anyways extremely amazing fight, showcases zenitsu’s immense talent and skill, adapting the 1st form of thunder breathing to be a more versatile move

theres a moment where his backstory with kuwajima and kaigaku were revealed and his hidden insecurities are out in the open which is super nice and further develops a character weve only considered as comedic relief until now

the anime made the backstory scenes and the killing scene so much cooler

while there is no thematic connection between zenitsu and the demon, it really isnt necessary to keep this fight interesting

anyways another pretty much perfect fight

VS FATHER SPIDER DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kamado Tanjirou and Inosuke slashing at the Father Spider Demon. The demon has blocked Tanjirou’s sword with his arm, and Inosuke is slamming both his blades down on the demon’s other hand. End Image Description.]

10/10

again, not my most favorite fight but it does everything right

i do have to say it was excellent how gotouge hyped up the father spider demon to be the big bad, only just so the plot twist later takes the readers by surprise

nicely done

VS DAUGHTER SPIDER DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kochou Shinobu and the Daughter Spider Demon. Shinobu’s back is seen and her haori looks like a butterfly’s wings keeping her afloat as she holds her stinger blade out to the side. The demon looks surprised as blood gushes from her side, arm, shoulder, chest, neck, and forehead. There is floating text on the panel, saying “Insect Breathing - Butterfly Dance - Caprice!” End Image Description.]

10/10

first time weve seen shinobu and her fighting style

what i love most about this is how much it shows her true character, appearing as a carefree and naive individual so she seems underwhelming

then bam, reveals exactly how dangerous and uncaring she is of demons, listing out the specific ways she would torture the daughter spider demon in grotesque detail

her using poison to take demons by surprise is also super clever and brings back the worldbuilding established way earlier about wisteria being poisonous to demons

amazing integration of that concept

anyways this fight really encapsulates who shinobu is as a character and thats why it gets a perfect score

VS RUI

[Image Description: Manga panel of Rui holding his hand out directly towards the viewer. There are two text bubbles around him, saying “Give me your sister. If you hand her over quietly, I’ll spare your life.” End Image Description.]

8/10

not only is it a super scary fight but there is a deeper conflict between rui and tanjirou, what it means to be family

they are opposites in the sense that while tanjirou believes love is what makes a family, rui’s subconscious desperation for an unbreakable bond drives him to use fear to keep his “family” together

excellent juxtaposition of their values, and this is only further emphasized when rui expresses out loud what he was going to do to nezuko

i also like the symbolism regarding rui’s bda, how he uses threads or the “familial” bonds to cut up his fake family with it if they act out of turn or annoy him

super neat detail

alright what i dont like about this fight is nezuko (again)

mostly her unlocking her bda to turn the tide of the battle bc her mom was like “yo, wake up, your brother is going to be killed”

feels... forced ig

her bda in general is confusing and not consistent

man, i wish i could make a stronger argument for this but i do believe the problem stems from the fact that we dont ever know what nezuko is thinking, and what she thinks of tanjirou specifically

if she even cares for him as a sibling or if shes only going along with what her family is saying to her, things like that which would have been fixed if gotouge actually gave her thoughts some screen time

so the action feels pretty shallow

im also conflicted over tanjirou somehow remembering how dance of the fire god works

on one hand, hes using past information and applying it in the current setting so he doesnt die, which is understandable

but on the other hand, this was a teeny bit random?

i think what could have fixed this is if there was a scene in the beginning of the series where tanjirou was performing it himself, like practicing before he actually had to do it for new years

so that when the rui fight rolls around, it would have felt less like throwing dry spaghetti at a wall

but yeah

overall super good fight, giyuu ending up having to kill rui instead of tanjirou was super good in that tanjirou didnt become a pillar this early in the series and to show how strong giyuu is

there are some odd bits regarding the ultimate “beheading” of rui using nezuko and tanjirous supposed bonds but it doesnt kill the fight entirely so it deserves its pretty high score

***under read more is manga-only fights so beware***

VS ENMU

[Image Description: Manga panel of Enmu holding his hand out directly at the viewer, with a mouth on the back of it. There is floating text to the top right of Enmu that says “Whispers of Forced Unconscious Hypnosis!” End Image Description.]

9/10

id say this fight is definitely overshadowed by the dream stuff prior to this but its pretty good in its own right

enmu fusing with the train was kinda confusing, like when was it established that demons could fuse with objects?

this worldbuilding element doesnt even appear again so yeah thats why it loses a point

how the kmbk gang end up defeating enmu is pretty sweet though, tanjirou using dance of the fire god to sever the neck bone was really nice and shows that him using the breathing style in the rui fight wasnt a one time thing

while kyojuro’s role was smaller in this part, the next part makes up for it so i cant complain

anyways ye, almost perfect score but its pretty good

VS AKAZA (MUGEN TRAIN)

[Image Description: Manga panel of Akaza holding his hand out to the viewer’s left. There is a text bubble saying “Why don’t you become a demon?” End Image Description.]

10/10

this encounter is literally amazing okay?

after the crew kills the big bad, it seems like everything is fine

but plot twist, upper moon 3 appears out of nowhere

this is the first time the reader has seen an upper moon, let alone the 3rd/4th strongest demon in existence and the way gotouge handled this twist is fucking amazing

kyojuro’s death scene really shows just how human even the strongest pillars are against demons with incredible power

its just

amazing

VS OBI DEMON

[Image Description: Manga panels of the obi-like demon. The first image shows the obi hung in the air and strung over each other like decorations, with women-shaped patterns in its folds. The second image is Hashibira Inosuke fighting the Obi demon which now has lips and eyes. There is floating text in that panel saying “Breath of the Beast: Sixth Fang - Jagged Gnaw!!” End Image Description.]

10/10

on to red light district

this fight is admittedly super forgettable and not very interesting at least compared to the main fight with daki and gyutaro

but it wraps up the sub plot of the women and uzui’s wives going missing so it gets a perfect score for not messing that up

oh and it establishes the stretchy neck thing daki has going on which is very good

VS DAKI AND GYUTARO

[Image Description: Manga panel of Daki and Gyutaro. Daki is sitting on Gyutaro’s shoulders. There is a text bubble on the top right that says “The two of us are one, after all.” as well as floating text that reads “The power of the irregular siblings...!? Next issue lead color and the fight reaches its climax!!” End Image Description.]

8/10

love how this battle challenges tanjirou’s sympathy and kindness towards demons, just simply bc daki and gyutaro are horrible people

(too bad nothing came of this, which ill explain in the hantengu portion)

daki and gyutaro are very good villains and kept this fight super interesting from start to finish

uzui acting as a foil to gyutaro is nicely integrated and properly shown with how jealous gyutaro gets over seeing uzui’s perfect form and stature

tanjirou not only mixes forms but mixes breathing styles as well, which is so fucking awesome

(too bad it was only used like once throughout the entire series, its quite unfortunate)

the super high tension right after inosuke gets stabbed and tanjirou wakes up was expertly portrayed and handled, it felt like the kmbk gang and uzui were actually going to lose

super awesome

the tanjirou and gyutaro parallels are expertly portrayed, with how gyutaro taunts tanjirou over failing to protect his little sister, and the more visual thing where tanjirou imagined his own neck underneath his blade, that was super duper nice

the ending is extremely tense and emotionally gripping, gotouge did a really good job with that artistically too

the demon mark acquisition scene was surprisingly not frustrating, considering that it wasnt really explained prior to the battle

i do think it has to do with how it was explained later just exactly how they worked so its not just some random thing gotouge pulled out of their ass

so pretty good

what i dont like is nezuko and her full power demon form

first of all where the fuck did that come from? she just got angry and suddenly shes as powerful as an upper moon

how?

that doesnt make sense???

her extremely quick regeneration makes no sense

her ability to manipulate her blood’s properties makes no sense

and it doesnt even appear again so what was the point of that existing

none of this is even explained later which annoys me

that one part where tanjirou sings a lullaby to her to calm her down was alright ig but nezuko in this fight makes me extremely irritated and frustrated

just ugh

VS HANTENGU

[Image Description: Manga panel of Hantengu opening a shoji door. He is crawling inside, his hand in a gnarled, unnatural position. There is a text bubble saying “Eeeeeeek.” End Image Description.]

1/10

swordsmith village

this fight can go fuck itself /j

no but seriously it has so many problems that it would be shorter to name its redeeming qualities (which ill do later)

first off, the nezuko full power form thing again

i hate it so much with a passion

again, where did her ability to regenerate instantly even come from???? this is never explained, ever

and why did she cut herself on tanjirou’s sword anyway

did she somehow know that it was going to turn red if she burned it?

gotouge what the fuck, there is literally no reason why nezuko would do that and we cant even read her mind to see her thought process

gotouge hates nezuko, i swear

remember when i said uzui is meant to be a foil to gyutaro in the rld fight? its pretty obvious that those two are opposites, it was nicely done

... what the hell does mitsuri’s insecurities about strength have to do with whatever the fuck hantengu has going on (which is basically nothing)?

so no meaningful connection between mitsuri and hantengu

theres no meaningful connection between tanjirou and hantengu other than tanjirou getting pissed off for like the second time

also tanjirou’s thing with being kind and sympathetic to demons was entirely dropped at this point

but instead of it leading up to a corruption arc of some sorts, it just doesnt

like honestly if something actually came of that anger he exhibited in this arc and from red light district from this point forward story-wise, i would have counted this as an amazing writing decision

but it literally doesnt so who cares

(god, i really start to hate what happened to his character after this )

and genya’s revealed motivation also doesnt fit at all with hantengu’s thing, he’s not a foil, not a parallel, nothing, there is nothing

tanjirou being the catharsis for development for mitsuri and muichirou, who he has only talked to like twice

theres definitely a better way to handle those two’s developments without his help

like gotouge, you have a big cast of characters, use them lol

i want to kick hantengu in the face for being boring as fuck (at least his clones have cool looking weapons)

doesnt even have a proper backstory, just a single spread of him being blamed for shit as a human

like... thats it? this is upper moon 4 what the hell

theres no clever form mixing here at all (regarding tanjirou) which probably would have helped with foreshadowing the 13th form for dance of the fire god/sun breathing better

also gotouge established that as tanjirou’s thing and now he doesnt do that stuff anymore which sucks

oh hey remember when tanjirou actually learned how to do zenitsu’s speed boost thing?

if you didnt, i dont blame you bc it literally doesnt appear again, ever

you could argue that he adapted it into his “waltz flash” technique or whatever the fuck that is but the way it was integrated into this fight was like throwing dry spaghetti at a wall

which is just a shame bc its meant to be representative of how tanjirou and zenitsu are good pals but the way it was utilized is forgettable as hell

i absolutely loathe the crimson blade concept as a whole and im mentioning this now bc its going to come into play why future instances where this goddamn thing comes up again causes points to be lost

its inconsistent as fuck ill tell you that

at least some yoriichi stuff appeared here and not shoved into the final battle with everything else

so the yoriichi stuff later didnt come out of absolute nowhere

genya and mitsuri’s unique fighting styles expand the kny worldbuilding just a little more which is always nice

tanjirou got a cool sword out of this which would have been cooler if him and yoriichi had a deeper connection that was actually explored

but we didnt get shit so whatever

other people getting demon marks being revealed here is also okay so that again, the final battle isnt filled with absolutely everyone getting their marks at once

demon marks have their own slew of problems but its not as bad as the fucking crimson sword shit

god i hate the crimson sword shit

...

dude this section needs a tldr, even i cant sit and read through my shit

TL;DR - this fight sucks and crimson swords are bullshit (more on this later)

VS GYOKKO

[Image Description: Manga panel of Tokitou Muichirou and Gyokko. Muichirou is looking to the left while Gyokko is looking to the right, both with their backs to each other. There are mist clouds billowing in the foreground and background, as well as a slash mark going across Gyokko’s neck. End Image Description.]

7/10

this fight suffers from the same lack of cohesive themes through characters like the hantengu battle bc the antagonist is given nothing

but its better

we havent actually seen mui fight before so theres no consistencies that the reader has to keep track of for now

and there arent like 10 characters in the fight so this fight gets a lot of points just for being a lot more coherent

i do like that this fight shows just how good mui is that he can defeat an upper moon by himself

mui’s backstory is neat

gyokko’s bda is very interesting too

... thats pretty much it lol

ye, anyways not the best fight but not the worst fight either

VS KAIGAKU

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kaigaku holding the hilt of his blade with one hand. There is two text bubbles around him, saying “...As usual, you’re still shabby. It’s been a while, Zenitsu.” End Image Description.]

9/10

alright on to final battle arc

theres some good fights and then some really sucky ones, but this one was pretty incredible and very emotionally charged

theres a clear reason why zenitsu and kaigaku are battling each other (kai betrayed the corps and inadvertantly caused the only parental figure in zenitsu’s life to die, and zenitsu is rightfully pissed off about that)

the visual yin-yang symbolism is awesome too

zenitsu winning due to using the 7th form he created himself (which i have reason to believe was inspired by tanjirou) was the perfect ending to the fight, really couldnt ask for anything better and is a perfect example of how much of an effect tanjirou has had on zenitsu

the 7th form is what tanjirou’s waltz flash should have been lol

what keeps this fight from being absolutely perfect is lack of development prior to this conflict

(since the final battle arc is basically a culmination of all the hinted developments through the series, im going to actually factor in how much and how well these conflicts were foreshadowed)

anyways if we had actually seen zenitsu, kaigaku, and kuwajima actually interacting with each other and showing how they were essentially a family (not just through flashbacks), it would have made zenitsu placing the responsibility of killing kai onto himself a lot more tragic

but like, apart from brief flashbacks where zenitsu actually met kaigaku off screen and that one thing all the way back in natagumo where both kuwajima and kai were introduced, thats pretty much it in terms of thunder family development

so yeah its underdeveloped for sure

also one random thought, i personally think zenitsu should have gotten his demon mark in this fight, it would have been cool to see

VS AKAZA (INFINITY FORTRESS)

[Image Description: Manga panel of Akaza’s face. There are two text bubbles around him, saying “Okay, let’s get started. It’s time for the feast.” There is also floating text saying “The inspection of the strong has begun...” as well as a simple box on the lower left, denoting its the end of chapter 147. End Image Description.]

6/10

oh god please dont hate me for this

ill list the good things first how about that

this conflict was foreshadowed perfectly in mugen train, you bet the readers were expecting a tanjirou vs akaza battle after the death of kyojuro and gotouge delivered

akaza’s power is shown extremely well with how many close calls tanjirou and giyuu had while fighting him

akaza eventually giving up on his own volition was really nice and fit into the context of the battle very very well, like sure tanjirou and giyuu wouldnt understand why he gave up but us readers do know

akaza is a really good character and a good villain

now notice how im only mentioning akaza and not giyuu or tanjirou in the good aspects

bc those two are eh

no form mixing at all from either tanjirou and giyuu

i know i said form mixing was kind of tanjirou’s thing but you’d think giyuu would have gotten more creative with his moves once akaza said that he was getting predictable

(well he said he “ran out of water breathing forms” but same thing)

so its kinda bland lol

speaking of giyuu, his whole thing with his insecurities of being weak wasnt handled well (it was sort of immediately brushed off in pillar training, and its unclear what part of his character arc he was in)

like sure him announcing that he’s going to protect tanjirou is cool but it feels like he was haphazardly dropped into the tanjirou and akaza conflict

isnt he supposed to be both their foils? that wasnt really explored that well in this fight and theres no deep meaning behind him even being here just analyzing what he did in it

he could have been handled better or even given more focus is what im saying

the anatta state came out of nowhere, im sorry okay? just bc inosuke like barely hinted at not being able to sense grandma hisa bc she had no fighting spirit and tanjurou magically taught his son how to achieve this state doesnt mean it was properly integrated into the fight

if the anatta state was actually explored prior to this battle, i would have given it a pass but it just feels like a cheap and poorly developed trick to get around akaza’s technique development (which is overpowered as fuck might i add)

gotouge should have just given akaza a plausible weakness to his technique development instead, especially since they dont use or even mention the anatta state after this

the transparent world shit makes no sense but ill elaborate on that in the koku battle analysis

oh and this thing doesnt affect the score but why wasnt there a “yoriichi visage overlapping” moment when tanjirou was fighting akaza? hes an upper moon, he should have gotten those visions but he didnt

for some reason

anyways this battle was alright and has good set up but the middle and end parts didnt hold up as well bc random concepts were thrown at us without prior explanation or development

VS DOUMA

[Image Description: Manga panel of Douma licking Shinobu’s butterfly pin. There are two text bubbles around him saying “Anyway, tonight is a good night. Such fine feasts keep showing up one after another.” End Image Description.]

9/10

damn, such an amazing fight

the build up to this was properly foreshadowed

shinobu finally showing her true anger after hiding it for so long is amazing

douma is a super interesting character and fantastic villain

shinobu showing off her true power and determination against douma was sooooo nice

shinobu’s poisonous body plan is so clever and so interesting

if i was to rate the shinobu part of the fight alone, it would have gotten a 10/10 no question

the reason why its knocked down a point is because of the kanao and inosuke part

dont get me wrong, the way kanao is able to hold her own against douma by herself is pretty cool, how shes meant to parallel douma with their similar struggles surrounding human emotions and demonstrate how she has grown as a person, how she regains the ability to cry

that shit is cool, inosuke also getting in touch with his emotions after learning what happened to his mom was super neat as well

however

bc this battle takes place in the final arc with everything else, there wasnt proper build up regarding many things, the kotoha reveal especially

so inosuke feels kinda forced into the kanao shinobu and douma conflict, similar to how giyuu felt forced into the tanjirou and akaza conflict

its quite unfortunate bc if the kotoha stuff was actually explored prior to the confrontation, this “forced” feeling would have disappeared

i know some people have suggested that the douma fight should have just been its own arc, and i very much agree, it would have certainly helped fix this problem regarding inosuke and kotoha

last random thought, i wish shinobu, kanao, and inosuke got their demon marks

VS KOKUSHIBOU

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kokushibou looking directly at the viewer, holding the hilt of his blade as if he’s going to pull it out. There are text boxes around him saying “This... is Upper Moon One... He’s so different compared to the other Upper Moons. He looks so dignified and majestic.” The text boxes are narrated by Tokitou Muichirou. End Image Description.]

5/10

this fight is... mediocre

at least theres a more tangible connection between muichirou and kokushibou

even though that was handled kinda poorly

tbh there really was no point to revealing that mui is koku’s descendant like at all, it just had no significant bearing to the plot of the fight

sanemi’s backstory being here is... okay ig?

idk the whole shinazugawa conflict has fundamental problems that i just cant think of any other place to put it without changing the entirety of canon

the marechi blood concept coming back was nice though

genya is there

him getting his bda was cool and helped turn the tide of the battle in a satisfying way (before kicking the bucket but thats not the focus here)

gyomei is a hollow husk of a character who barely got anything at all

but his fighting style is extremely cool and conveys his immense power very well

oh and him and sanemi are amazing at working together, like better than giyuu and tanjirou, and better than kanao and inosuke

theyre that good yet pretty much nobody acknowledges it which is sad

koku himself is pretty interesting and pretty tragic, very nice villain

but everyone together?

gonna be honest but this is such a random collection of characters, there was basically no foreshadowing that these four were going to go up again kokushibou, they are not that connected very well

i know there was this one post that focused on the theme of family that was common in all 5 characters in the fight but its just not enough

it would have been more cohesive if gotouge emphasized gyomei, mui, sanemi, and genya being like different aspects of yoriichi coming together to kill kokushibou hundreds of years after yoriichi failed to kill him

lmao its not like the 4 of them defeated koku with the power of family or friendship, they just smacked him over and over with a flail, shot him with magical bullets, and stabbed a crimson sword into his abdomen

wouldnt have been too hard to switch over to koku’s pov and go “damn these bitches are like my stupid brother”

...

speaking of crimson swords

i fucking hate the crimson sword concept oh my god can i complain about it now? im gonna complain about it now

unlike demon marks, the crimson blades werent even given any proper conditions, you just hold the stupid thing hard enough and it somehow imbues it with magical properties with no logic behind those properties

what part of crimson swords completely destroys a demon’s body in an instant? even muzan didnt go through that process when he was almost killed by yoriichi so where in the goddamn fuck did it come from

it could be explained bc the sword was left in the same spot for a long time but this tactic doesnt even appear again in a meaningful way (didnt kill muzan when tanjirou and giyuu held the sword together) so what the fuck was the point of having this even exist

its so underdeveloped and confusing and i hate it

the transparent world stuff is also confusing as shit and its pretty much never explained how they work aside from the vague “close your mind” advice, like why did it exist, it did nothing to help the present day demon slayers

its just so... poorly integrated

yeah anyways this is around the same rating as the akaza fight but a little worse bc there wasnt that strong set up beforehand

VS KOKUSHIBOU (SENGOKU ERA)

[Image Description: Manga panel of a bag getting ripped open, pieces of a wooden flute tumbling out. End Image Description.]

10/10

easily 10/10

this fight shows the tragedy of kokushibou giving in to his envy and hatred, when yoriichi cries over seeing his own family commit terrible attrocities against the people he wanted to protect

and yoriichi dies, now carrying the fact that he couldnt even save his own brother from the influence of muzan on his conscious forever

what a sad ending for yoriichi

and after koku angrily slashes apart yoriichi’s corpse, having him find and keep the flute he gave to him when they were kids to the present day gives him a small shred of humanity in the midst of his monstrous anger

VS NAKIME

[Image Description: Manga panels of Nakime. The first one shows a low quality version of her playing her biwa. The second one is a close up of her eye. There are spiky text bubbles saying “It’s Upper Rank... 4!” End Image Description.]

0/10

no nakime backstory

not even a goddamn fight

forgettable

useless

VS MUZAN

[Image Description: Manga panel of Kibutsuji Muzan in his white-haired, mouth-covered form. There are text bubbles around him saying “Not a single one was of use to me. I will crush the demon hunters tonight. I’ll massacre them all right now.” End Image Description.]

1/10

._.

i have many complaints but ill try my best to not make this another hantengu rant section lol

first off, obanai deserved better

im serious, this poor dude was forgotten until pretty much the end when we finally get a backstory out of him

and then he died

what a waste of a potentially amazing character

mitsuri getting taken out early was ehhh

pretty sure someone else made a post about her supposedly being extremely strong but she was nerfed in this battle which i agree with

literally none of the pillars work together very well, like remember how i praised sanemi and gyomei for being super coordinated? lmao that doesnt exist anymore

you could say this is caused by desperation though and you wouldnt be wrong, its just boring to sit through

that causes issues bc this now basically requires the crimson sword and transparent world concepts to be there to spice things up

but in this fight, they do nothing in the long run (except for tanjirou using the crimson sword at the very very end)

youve already heard me talk about why those two things are super shittily integrated and i cant be bothered repeating myself so moving on

kanao, inosuke, and zenitsu

they... exist? they didnt do much tbh, which i guess is the point but like, now its boring again

nezuko could have been used as a potential way to raise the stakes and make things interesting again (like “ah shit, muzan might actually be unkillable if he gets nezuko but its okay bc shes not here- oh fuck shes here this is not good”)

but nothing came of her running off except confirmation that she became human again so whatever

uzui and shinjuro are useless, why werent they at the fight?

like they could have followed nezuko and contributed to the battle even a little but they just didnt and now theres literally no point to them appearing in this arc at all

wasted potential

tanjirou

i wish him going absolutely apeshit had actual substance behind it, like it being a part of his character arc or something

i remember having this one theory that he had a corruption arc (due to dropping his kindness thing towards demons) and i wanted this to be true so badly

but it doesnt exist

not with how the series ended

god

the only thing that saves this fight from being complete trash is tamayo’s poison thing being amazingly executed

and the part where everyone got blasted away, losing limbs and shit, that made things a little more interesting again

but thats it

VS MUZAN (SENGOKU ERA)

[Image Description: Manga panels of Kibutsuji Muzan, Tamayo, and Tsugikuni Yoriichi. The first one has Muzan and Tamayo, while the second one has Yoriichi pulling out his sword. There are text boxes saying “And the moment I met him, I understood that I was born into this world to defeat this man.” End Image Description.]

9/10

finally something good again

while short, that’s just the nature of all of yoriichi’s battles with demons

anyways pretty nice, theres a clear reason why this battle exists (shows the scenario that made the original breather get super close to defeating muzan in detail)

adding tamayo here was a nice touch

my only complaint is that it seemed extremely coincidental that yoriichi somehow developed a breathing style specifically countering muzan’s multiple organs without even knowing prior that he had all those brains and hearts floating around freely in his body

like thats kind of ridiculous, even for yoriichi whos supposed to be “blessed by the gods”

could just be me though

VS TANJIROU

[Image Description: Manga panels of Kamado Tanjirou in his demon form. The first image has his eyes closed. The second image has his eyes opened and the tumor on his face almost completely faded. There are text boxes around him saying “You will destroy the demon hunters in my stead.” End Image Description.]

1/10

hoo boy

ok first off, demon tanjirou lasted for 2 chapters

thats it

2 chapters

so thats already a problem

i am aware its meant to parallel the beginning of the series but also its ridiculous how completely vague and rushed this entire thing was

nezuko doesnt do shit through not just this battle but this entire arc which i already explained so not gonna go into it further

kanao magically having a demon cure on her made very little sense

the scene where tanjirou leaves muzan in purgatory is pretty but if you look at it in the context of everything else, its ambiguous and confusing

(if someone could explain it and see how it connects to the original theme of “demons just being victims of circumstance,” i would love to hear it)

actually you know what makes me so mad about this “fight” as a whole? there was so much potential to do more with this concept

and im not talking about him escaping and nezuko becoming a demon slayer roleswap au (even though its a pretty cool concept)

him becoming a demon could have been a metaphor for his lost kindness and sympathy towards demons halfway through the series

it could have been a punishment for letting his anger towards muzan cloud his judgement

it could have symbolized literally anything about him losing his humanity as he got stronger

but those three things are just scenarios from my head, they dont exist in this series just based off of what weve seen from these two chapters

its disappointing

the only thing keeping this from getting a 0 is the one part where inosuke couldnt chop off tanjirou’s head bc he cared about him too much

that at least shows inosuke had grown as a character

everything else is just meaningless and convoluted garbage and “convoluted” is not what you should be aiming for if this is supposed to be the ending of your series

IN SUMMARY

early kny is very good, later kny is questionable and the ending is just a mess of wasted potential and disappointment

i get why gotouge had to have the transparent world ability, crimson blade ability, and the demon marks appear before they all appeared on yoriichi but theyre all just so underdeveloped and terribly handled in the battles they are used, it makes me want to kick a wall

like lmao, i could literally think of so many ways they could have been properly integrated, hell, im even writing a whole goddamn rewrite using my ideas for these three things (link to that is in my pinned)

just, god

if you want to debate over these ratings, my ask box is open ig? idk

#kny #kimetsu no yaiba #kny meta #demon slayer #my writing #long post

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mmikmmik2 · 3 years

Note

If you were to sort the Infinity Train cast(s) into the Major Arcana a la the Persona games, which Arcana would you give everyone?

anon I had SOOOOO much fun thinking about this, thank you so much for sending me this. I sorted all the major characters, plus a few other entries, based on a mix of Arcana symbolism, Persona series character archetypes, and general vibes. I came up with answers I feel pretty good about for all but four of the Arcana. (Was really tempted to say Strength is every human character who doesn't board the train because they can handle their problems on their own lol.) This is going to be a long-winded post, so I thought I’d post just the list as an image (which hopefully won’t be too blurry!) rather than wrestle with Tumblr formatting trying to make a short list, and put a big text wall under the readmore talking more about my picks.

If this list does end up illegible, the same info is under the readmore as text! Plus some characters for Magician, Strength, Justice, and Death that I didn’t want to add to the “official” list because they’re more based on headcanon. (Although my reasoning for some of the “official” picks is pretty weak lol.)

One-One as 0. The Fool

Oh my gosh, what am I?

IT is great at fleshing out character backstories and families, so One-One at the beginning of S1 is one of the few characters who really feels like a blank slate. He's got a lot of his baggage back by the end of the season, and I think One and One-One are more similar than they seem at first glance, but S1 does seem to have been very formative for One-One and how he thinks about what he's supposed to be doing and how he relates to other people. So it does kind of feel like his fool's journey.

Alrick Timmens as I. The Magician

The magician begins the journey... by beefing it on a dirt bike, dying, and sending his wife flying off the deep end. Rip.

Alrick was an engineer like Amelia, so I could see him suiting some of the themes of the Magician, like conscious thought and manifesting ideas. His apparent playfulness and insecurity are similar to the Magician characters in Persona.

Kez as II. The High Priestess

“We can’t make this decision for you, Kez.” “You know what to do.”

I thought really hard about making Kez the Magician because just like every Magician since Persona 3, she's dumb, horny, and insecure dlkjasfdkl

(and also her showing up at the start of the story arc and being helpful but also super needy is very Magician)

But the idea of "intuition" really does suit Kez. Sometimes her intuition is as bad as her conscious reasoning, but I think that's a lot because she's so confused about what happened with Jeremy, and Morgan making Kez feel like she did a bad thing by helping him.

Tuba as III. The Empress

She made me feel like I was warm all the time.

Tuba's a mom. Sorry, this one's not that deep, haha.

Simon Laurent as IV. The Emperor

Highest number! I'm the leader now.

Simon has a lot of issues, but the one that felt the most prominent to me was his unhealthy relationship with power, authority, dominance, and rules. Another quote I considered using here was what he said in Grace's memory of meeting Amelia: "I never thought I'd get to see the Conductor with my own eyes. He's perfect! Everything finally makes sense again." In his emotional crisis, he thought everything could be fixed just by the existence of a huge, scary, powerful, male authority figure, even if they weren't doing anything helpful or informative.

Atticus as V. The Hierophant

I like to think that our stones are sturdy and handsome, like the Corgis that crafted them.

Atticus is a figure of traditional authority who deeply loves the history, society, and culture of his people. He often provides spiritual wisdom and encourages Tulip to get out of her own head and engage with the world around her. Also in Persona, Hiero is the Dad Arcana so it's very funny to me (a) to make the little dog be Hiero and (b) that the little dog really does have the strongest Wholesome Dad Energy of the whole cast.

Jesse Cosay as VI. The Lovers

Don't tell me what to do. I'm not going to be a part of anything like this, on or off the train.

This was my first and easiest pick lol, Jesse is sooooo Lovers. Like, the focus on choice and personal values and relationships? Yep, that's Jesse. It works on an "actual meaning of the Arcana" level and a "vibes with the Persona characters" level lol... popular, upbeat, and having such an identity crisis.

Lake as VII. The Chariot

I'm my own person, who is getting off this train!

I don't know if Chariot captures all the ways Lake grew over the course of S2, but I feel like they had the most externally focused conflict of all the IT characters, which suits Chariot. They've been fighting to stake out their personhood from start to finish, and they took action and used their willpower to achieve that goal. Also they have at least a little jock energy which is a prereq for Chariot tbh.

Frank as VIII. Strength

I dunno, I kinda imagine him as a simple man and easily underestimated, but with a lot of heart. The Cat may say they're keeping things casual but I don't think she'd take him with her on her private vacation unless he had some kind of inner toughness that would let him stand toe-to-toe with her.

Morgan as IX. The Hermit

I need to be alone right now. Kez... maybe... we can talk later.

I like that Morgan embodies toxic self-isolation and stonewalling and rejection, but that she seems to be moving towards the positive aspects of Hermit and taking some time to calm down and process and think. I like it when characters can embody the best and worst of their Arcana.

Tulip Olsen as X. The Wheel of Fortune

We have to adapt to the changes in our lives. It's the only way things can get better.

Tulip has a lot of themes and conflicts, but this one is a clear standout as the most important. I also like it for Tulip because, while she has to handle a lot of difficult and even traumatic situations, some of the change that challenges her isn't as unambiguously bad as e.g. the death of a loved one. It really is just change itself she's struggling with, and that's Fortune babey. Also, from the perspective of the train itself and lots of other characters, by reversing Amelia and One-One's positions again and changing how One-One administrates the train, Tulip is the one giving the wheel a spin. That's fun.

Lucy as XI. Justice

One of my friends once described the Justice characters in Persona as "the ones the player character is ultimately accountable towards", and I like to think of Lucy as kind of being that for Grace (...since Hazel has excused herself). Lucy is the Apex kid we see Grace interact with the most, the first Apex kid Grace admitted to herself that she had harmed (see Grace very briefly showing distress and then regret when Jesse points the harpoons at his face and she stops him), and the first person to confront Grace when she came home in The New Apex.

Min-Gi Park as XII. The Hanged Man

I don't know if we'll sell a single album, but we'll figure that out as we go.

Min-Gi sacrifices his "realistic", "sensible" goals for a more personally (spiritually, even?) enriching life that's beyond his control and outside of the expected norm. Like the Hanged Man, who dangles foolishly upside-down, but as a deliberate choice and in a state of serenity and enlightenment. I also think this arcana suits a reading of Min-Gi's character development as starting off going slower as a way to stall and live in denial, but then going slower with deliberation. Compare his arrogant insistence on refusing to act in The Astro Queue Car to his patience and care in The Castle Car and The Train to Nowhere.

Jeremy as XIII. Death

This isn't about the death of his family - I'm thinking of his reluctance to admit his number was going down. He cared about Morgan and Kez, and it's possible both that he may have really wanted to stay with them despite his exit and that that might even have been a healthy choice - they're real ass people with feelings and everything, not holodeck characters. But I also think Jeremy was using his life with them to avoid moving on out of that fog (because it was hard and it hurt and he didn't want to think about what that would mean for him and Morgan) and Morgan was enabling him.

Ryan Akagi as XIV. Temperance

Maybe the experience is the point. I wasn't just rushing you. I was rushing myself.

I think this one speaks for itself. Also, the other quote I considered putting here, from The Art Gallery Car: "You told me I can't appreciate the song without taking in the rest of the album. I need the whole package."

The Cat as XV. The Devil

I always do the right thing.

Honestly, this is one I really wasn't sure about. The Cat isn't a great pick for a lot of the meanings of Devil. She is definitely consumed by material comforts, and the short-term rewards of ignoring her issues at a long-term cost, though. This is more of a "vibes with Persona characters with this arcana" pick... Devil characters tend to start off being somewhat exploitative or even antagonistic towards the player character, and gradually showing a more conflicted and genuine side.

Amelia Hughes as XVI. The Tower

There's a hole in the universe where Alrick used to be.

Amelia's life is defined by catastrophe and upheaval - both those she's suffered and those she's inflicted on others.

Hazel as XVII. The Star

I'm going to keep loving you like you're still here.

When I think of "The Star" as a small but inextinguishable light in the darkness, Hazel seems like the obvious choice. Although we left her deeply wounded, I think she still has a flicker of her hope, faith, and purpose.

Grace Monroe as XVIII. The Moon

But it's unfair for me to tell you how to understand yourself. I mean, I don't even fully understand me.

Grace is probably the most complex and dynamic character on the show and hence one of the most difficult to place. I considered Empress, Strength, Devil, and Judgement for her... I think ultimately, lies and illusions are the most unifying theme of her character arc. Also, from a Persona angle, her pursuit of status out of a lack of true self-worth reminds me of Ai and Mishima.

Alan Dracula as XIX. The Sun

Brought together by the majesty of a superpowered deer!

I'm sorry dkjasfklads this is largely because I thought it was funny to have this completely inexpressive dead-eyed deer as Sun akfk but also... like... it kind of works okay!!! Think about the genuine joy and comfort and positivity he brings to Lake and Jesse (and me)!

The New Apex as XX. Judgement

"Then what are we gonna be?" "Guess we'll have to figure it out?"

This is kind of a Persona mythology gag again because of Judgement being a group social link near the end of the narratives of P3 and P4, when the protagonists have pierced through the lies and actually figured out who the villain of their game is and are ready to really start making progress.

0 as XI. The World

Ah, train does it again!

It's an ending and the completion of a journey, but also the beginning of a new one. And the world is literally what the passengers receive at the end of their train journey. Welcome home.

#infinity train #infinity train spoilers #protagonists of IT #Anonymous

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