Damian

『Minor, Writer + Artist combo, Flower Enthusiast』

[wayrok]

maka the aura farmer

[fran-aka-mak]

"look, mama sent another postcard!" happy pride ft. bi maka and demi soul

pose ref

[akakris10]

One thing that Xichun-Ishmael's ID made me realize was the circumstances around every other ID. Yeah the idea that these guys have been found coworkers in every alternate universe known to man was really funny, but that isn't the only possibility anymore. Maybe, those mirror worlds reflected in Limbus Company's mirror because Dante was reaching for them. Dante has unconsciously affected the results of the mirror because of they always expect to see the sinners together.

Dante always believes that the sinners will find each other - in worlds where they suffer, thrive, or anywhere in between, Dante has always hoped that they'd have someone familiar beside them in some capacity!

Except for themself of course. Dante has never thought to imagine "Dante" beside their Sinners in any other world except for the one they're in. Dante. Dante, you know you exist as a person, right? Or is it that you can't imagine yourself in other worlds, because you don't even know who "you" even are?

[hyacinthwhispers]

I think a lot of the tv series only watchers reduce Chishiya to two words, those two words being "nonchalant" and then to argue that he isn't nonchalant they use "depressed". and both arent wrong words, they perfectly fit him tbh but I feel as if when they talk about chishiya specifically they reduce his negative traits to depression while viewing depression as just "haha i hate mysef so i dont care about my life or the world" while also saying "he still cares" and shit like "he cares but he doesn't know how to express it/he wont show it" and it just pushes him off as this cutesy silent sad boy. but hes literally not that, his depression builds up froma sense of apathy/lack of feeling for ANYTHING, nd he shows it off w vanity, trying to give off the idea that hes the worst of them all cuz he cant feel much. He KNOWS what hes doing and he KNOWS it hurts people. Hes an arrogant bitch of all things not jst sad and silent.

Like idk if I'm wording it right, but im jst tryna say I think a lot of the fanbase pushes him off as this character who needs the upmost empathy and pity for since hes such a sad little boy and they get away with that characterization by stamping a label and calling him depressed

[obsessions-haver]

OKAY SO. LIST OF THE BITS OF S3 OF AIB THAT I HATE NOW THAT IVE FINISHED IT. SPOILERS OFC

starting with THE MAIN DRIVING FORCE OF MOST OF THE PLOT. WHAT THE FUCK IS EVEN BANDA???? like this guy shows up in all of 1 episode and 1 scene in the last episode of season 2. HE NEVER EVEN MET ARISU!!! HOW DID HE FIND OUT ABOUT HOW GALAXY BRAINED ARISU IS???? WHY DOES HE WANT ARISU AS A CITIZEN SO BAD?????? HE SHOULD NEVER HAVE EVEN HEARD HIS NAME CONSIDERING THE LAST ROUND OF CITIZENS FUCKING DIED!!!

if ryuji was so guilty over causing 1 death that he tried to kill himself, thus permanently paralyzing himself from the waist down, WHY WAS HE SO EAGER TO KILL USAGI??? AND GIVEN THAT HE WAS SO EAGER TO KILL USAGI. WHY DID HE DECIDE NOT TO???????

WHY THE FUCK DID THEY INTRODUCE THIS MYSTERIOUS ASS RANDOM MAN IN THE LAST EPISODE???? serious "throw shit at the plot to try and resolve it" vibes tbh. ALSO HE CONTROLS THE LASERS? MAYBE? WISH IT WAS LEFT MORE MYSTERIOUS UGHHHHHHH

THE SETUP FOR ANOTHER SEASON. DIABOLICAL. EVIL. ILL PROBABLY STILL WATCH IT BUT IM GONNA HATE IT THE WHOLE TIME.

HOW DID BASICALLY EVERY NAMED CHARACTER END UP IN ARISUS COUNCILLING?????

and on the topic of arisus councelling. CHISHIYA WOULD. NOT. GO TO COUNCILLING. HE WOULD NOT. THAT MAN IS MORE EMOTIONALLY REPRESSED THAN ANY OTHER CHARACTER IVE EVER SEEN

ALSO I DID NOT WANT A POSITIVE UPDATE ON NIRAGI GIVE HIM TO ME DEAD OR NOT AT ALL

[hyacinthwhispers]

another thing about the whole Banda thing trying to recruit Arisu, is arguably, Arisu did fucking jackshit by brain alone. In total he cleared 6 normal cards, most of which were done with the help of others, empathy, or sheer dumb luck. And then he cleared osmosis (tatta the main reason they won in the end), king of spades (but I think we can all agree that was fucking plot armor), and queen of hearts (which Usagi helped him a LOT given him being drugged)

in total of all those games, he used his brain to solve it 3 times maximum, dead or alive, light bulb (Ann knew the answer before him), and witch hunt

Arisu was NOT the dude who cleared all the games, it was a joint effort with most of the main cast as they combined and utilized all their different talents. It doesn’t make sense how Arisu was the only one who attracted attention as a good citizen when he could’ve gotten the whole cast back with the same idea at mind.

but to be fair while Chishiya is emotionally repressed I think he would go to counselling in due time, I don’t think it’d help too much more then a casual “huh… I didn’t consider that perspective” and leave him contemplative. But he is trying to change so I think he would with some pestering. It’s also been at LEAST 5 years since the meteor so I think he’d have developed his character at least a little by then. 😭

[hyacinthwhispers]

sorry ykw I have more to hate about ts

the banda ideology of Arisu, of all players making the ideal citizen is such fucking bullshit and it regresses arisu’s character to this wayyy too intelligent and secretly dark and mysterious character. And you can see that imprinting onto the fandom like how the fandom does w chishiyas character in the sense where now they reduce arisu to aura farming and all that nonsense. Of all the characters from the main cast, Arisu, after Kuina I believe makes out to be the worst possible citizen. He has no interest in ruling a world of death or any interest in its ideology whatsoever. The only thing that was important to Arisu were the people he met, Usagi, dodo, Kuina, tatta etc. Arisu is an empath at heart and the last thing on his bucket list is trying to find interest in the borderlands again.

It also really isn’t impactful in a philosophical sense for a plot drive, Arisu gains Absoulutely nothing regarding development other than sticking true to his character and that makes for a boring protagonist, in fact not only does the plot have zero impact on him as a character, it drags down characters like Usagi instead reducing their development and importance to the plot.

A lot of the other characters, that were more hopeless and conflictive like Niragi, Chishiya and Aguni being brought back to a jokers tournament after all their progress and change would’ve been wayyy more interesting considering how they’ve developed and what will they do and how they’ll proceed when faced with the borderlands all over again.

and characters that care so deeply about the people they love and are so passionate and moral being brought into such a miserable situation like Kuina and Heiya would’ve also made for a more suspenseful environment

[obsessions-haver]

OKAY SO. LIST OF THE BITS OF S3 OF AIB THAT I HATE NOW THAT IVE FINISHED IT. SPOILERS OFC

starting with THE MAIN DRIVING FORCE OF MOST OF THE PLOT. WHAT THE FUCK IS EVEN BANDA???? like this guy shows up in all of 1 episode and 1 scene in the last episode of season 2. HE NEVER EVEN MET ARISU!!! HOW DID HE FIND OUT ABOUT HOW GALAXY BRAINED ARISU IS???? WHY DOES HE WANT ARISU AS A CITIZEN SO BAD?????? HE SHOULD NEVER HAVE EVEN HEARD HIS NAME CONSIDERING THE LAST ROUND OF CITIZENS FUCKING DIED!!!

if ryuji was so guilty over causing 1 death that he tried to kill himself, thus permanently paralyzing himself from the waist down, WHY WAS HE SO EAGER TO KILL USAGI??? AND GIVEN THAT HE WAS SO EAGER TO KILL USAGI. WHY DID HE DECIDE NOT TO???????

WHY THE FUCK DID THEY INTRODUCE THIS MYSTERIOUS ASS RANDOM MAN IN THE LAST EPISODE???? serious "throw shit at the plot to try and resolve it" vibes tbh. ALSO HE CONTROLS THE LASERS? MAYBE? WISH IT WAS LEFT MORE MYSTERIOUS UGHHHHHHH

THE SETUP FOR ANOTHER SEASON. DIABOLICAL. EVIL. ILL PROBABLY STILL WATCH IT BUT IM GONNA HATE IT THE WHOLE TIME.

HOW DID BASICALLY EVERY NAMED CHARACTER END UP IN ARISUS COUNCILLING?????

and on the topic of arisus councelling. CHISHIYA WOULD. NOT. GO TO COUNCILLING. HE WOULD NOT. THAT MAN IS MORE EMOTIONALLY REPRESSED THAN ANY OTHER CHARACTER IVE EVER SEEN

ALSO I DID NOT WANT A POSITIVE UPDATE ON NIRAGI GIVE HIM TO ME DEAD OR NOT AT ALL

[hyacinthwhispers]

another thing about the whole Banda thing trying to recruit Arisu, is arguably, Arisu did fucking jackshit by brain alone. In total he cleared 6 normal cards, most of which were done with the help of others, empathy, or sheer dumb luck. And then he cleared osmosis (tatta the main reason they won in the end), king of spades (but I think we can all agree that was fucking plot armor), and queen of hearts (which Usagi helped him a LOT given him being drugged)

in total of all those games, he used his brain to solve it 3 times maximum, dead or alive, light bulb (Ann knew the answer before him), and witch hunt

Arisu was NOT the dude who cleared all the games, it was a joint effort with most of the main cast as they combined and utilized all their different talents. It doesn’t make sense how Arisu was the only one who attracted attention as a good citizen when he could’ve gotten the whole cast back with the same idea at mind.

but to be fair while Chishiya is emotionally repressed I think he would go to counselling in due time, I don’t think it’d help too much more then a casual “huh… I didn’t consider that perspective” and leave him contemplative. But he is trying to change so I think he would with some pestering. It’s also been at LEAST 5 years since the meteor so I think he’d have developed his character at least a little by then. 😭

[autisticrosewilson]

It's not that I hate fanon or that I think fanon is inherently less intelligent or morally wrong, but a LOT of fanon is based in racism, misogyny, and classism that I feel like a lot of you accept without question.

WHY is Duke (Daredevil, son of a god, has never once allowed himself to be defined by anyone's actions but his own) relegated to a background role, only characterized by reacting to the whims of other bats?

Why is Babs - Birds of Prey leader and backbone of the hero society, tells Bruce to fuck off and die 4 times a day and is constantly ruining her relationships by being biased and unhinged - Gotham bound, the mature responsible mom of the group who never argues with Bruce and never gets in trouble?

Why is Dick, both a tactical genius and master manipulator, a himbo only appreciated for his sex appeal? Especially when he is both Romani (group of people demonized and condemned as hypersexual by their nature alone) and an SA victim.

WHY is Damian "feral" and "uncivilized" despite being raised as a literal prince? Half of you treat him like a sociopath with no hope of redemption for an unfunny three second joke and the other half of you go full throttle into Bruce's white savior bullshit so that Damian can be "redeemed". Y'know when you're not villainizing Talia and acting like Dick is his other parent, actually.

WHY is Stephanie - extremely intelligent detective who can't stand Bruce and has a living mother she loves - lumped in as another member of the Batfam, a blonde ditz who only cares about prank wars and emotionally supporting Tim?

WHY is Cass - intelligent, a grown adult, suicidal perfectionist - emotionally intelligent, primarily existing to support the characters around her, immediately accepting of everyone she meets regardless of her own morals?

Why is Bruce the golden standard? Enough so that though everyone in the fandom could agree that he's an emotionally unstable wreck, being considered "the most like him" is seen as a compliment and not the HIGHEST insult? Everyone would agree if I said that Bruce purposely self sabotages his relationship half the time and the other half he simply does things without caring about the emotional impact it will have on people because he has to be the smartest in the room, but if I said that makes him a shit partner and emotionally abusive parent the fandom would bend over backwards to argue with me.

Why is Tim "the best Robin" when Dick Grayson invented the mantle, it is impossible for someone to embody the spirit of Robin better than him because he made it and he created what being Robin means. Maybe Tim is the best in Bruce's eyes, but what Robin means and who has the right to give it over was a significant thing they argued about. Tim the high school drop out, and yet also somehow the smartest? Tim "the most like Bruce" except no he's not, that's Cass. Poor neglected, abused, victimized little Timmy (the rich boy at the elite boarding school with loving albeit busy parents and almost every instance of him being victimized by another character has either been racist bullshit - The Al Ghuls and Rose Wilson- or a complete 180 for the character that made no sense when examined through the lens of prior characterization - Jason for instance.)

Almost every fanon trope that gets passed around like gospel seems to deliberately push POC characters and women into the background and strip them of interesting complex traits and stories, usually for the purpose of fitting them all into bite sized incorrect quote character types and uncomplicated narrative roles that are not only completely divergent from canon, but primarily exist to prop up the two rich white boys.

Also the insistence that Bruce, a 20 year old at the time, should actually be excused for how much he mentally and emotionally fucked Dick up because really they're more like siblings! While deciding that Dick at the same age was actually the perfect candidate to be Damian's new parent/guardian...have you lost the fucking plot you don't even make sense to yourselves.

Okay I lied at the beginning, I do hate fanon. You guys are so uncritical about the media you consume it is BEYOND just letting people enjoy things and have fun. I guess it's one thing if you KNOW this stuff isn't canon and UNDERSTAND why these tropes are problematic and you engage with it as such, it's fine read and write what you want, but just spreading the same nonsense around and parading it around as "better than canon" (version of the character so bland and boring you've somehow made the old white men at DC look like geniuses in the art of representation) is just infuriating.

[sanctimoniousplatitudes]

Here's the problem with this season: I don't care about any of these people.

Why should I care about this Ryuji guy who got Usagi back into the games under false pretenses, is going around using people as human shields, doesn't give a damn about anyone other than himself? Why are he and Usagi hugging in relief when they clear the train game as if they're super important to each other? Since when is he so concerned for her safety? Why does she care so much about his? Why are they making plans to go back to the real world together? Am I supposed to find this moving and emotional? Why? They literally just met. When was this entire dynamic we're supposed to be buying into and concerned about developed? Certainly not on screen.

They did a marginally (and I'm being VERY generous here) better job at making us care about Arisu's group but it just begs the question, why not bring back the characters we already know and love?

We already had a team in Arisu, Usagi, Ann, Kuina, Chishiya and Aguni.

It was a great idea to have all the Joker games be played in teams. They spent two entire seasons developing those 6 characters and the dynamics between them, then they create a situation where, not only are all the people involved ones who have been in the games before but you can't clear the games without a team and instead of bringing them back they go, "Nah. Let's have all these randos running around instead."

It was an even better ideia that you can change teams depending on how each game pans out. They could have had each of them start out on a different team and fighting to get on the same one as they find each other along the way, and once they're all together, fight to remain together until the end. Which could lead to them inevitably being in two different groups for the the final game, thus having to find some way for both groups to survive, despite the odds.

That would have been incredibly compelling cause we would be worried about everyone.

I don't want to watch Arisu going through hell and risking his life trying to save these bunch of people who just got here.

I don't want to watch Usagi going through hell and risking her life trying to save these annoying, shrieking assholes they paired her with.

[hyacinthwhispers]

finch after glazing my takes again ❤️❤️

[hyacinthwhispers]

OKAY so I saw a TikTok that was saying that Chishiya would sacrifice himself for Kuina in marbles squid game

then I saw Twitter users disregard the statement entirely saying “Chishiya would pull a sangwoo on her so fast”

and honestly? I agree w neither statements. While I do think Chishiya would come out of the game as the winner, it is not due to any potential foul play on his side.

(I am in fact talking about their manga counterparts as I usually do lol)

while Choshiya has been shown/proven to be 100 percent CAPABLE of cheating his way to victory, I think it’s pushed to the wide that while he also has no interest or much care for others lives he ALSO doesn’t have much care for his own, he’s a blatant passive suicidal and it’s not talked about enough in favor of his sociopathic tendencies

he found the borderlands interesting because he hoped it would help him develop any sort of feeling regarding his life and the lives around him, he hoped being surrounded by people “like him” would help him understand his own vanity by getting into this whole main character sort of vibe. The people interested him the most, considering they were so passionate about life, Kuina is NOT exempt (cough my other paragraph on that). He wanted people to see and hate him cuz hes immature and wants people to see him as “the mst vane of them all” so I believe he’d taunt Kuina, be cruel, play w her feelings to evoke a reaction- a negative reaction- to the fact that it’s most likely she will die.

But Kuina’s character has never been that, she bravely faces death and she’s the type to keep fighting till the end (osmosis), she wouldn’t care for his taunts and shrugs them off with her brash attitude. I also think in the situation of squid game her character wouldn’t fully develop, and wouldn’t be able to get past her cowardice of not being able to land killing blows/being okay with going to that level, so I can’t see her trying too hard to live.

it’d prolly bother Chishiya a bit to see her still so passionate and positive despite her having so much more reasons to live then he ever did.

but anyway, Chishiya has been known to usually leave the games up to fate and luck, perhaps in order to see if he can find any sort semblance of care for his life, or any excitement/interest. In blackjack he could’ve won ruthlessly, his plan had been foolproof, but in the end he decided it was boring and chose to leave it up for fate and draw of cards. In tag, he could’ve gone for the exit and wrapped up the game within the first 2 minutes, but was more interested in seeing the players and not caring much for his own individual life AGAIN. In the live adaptation of Jack of hearts, he takes a wild guess. In King of Diamonds he chose to leave his fate up to Kuzuryu. There’s this repeated theme of him of not him choosing to live entirely based on his own decision he just gets lucky while trying to find some trhill.

and I think especially with someone like Kuina, and a game like this, after messing with her, they both strive for an fair game, leaving it to chance

and of course, because the theme has to keep up, Kuina loses and she has no regrets, Yk she might even remind him of all the patients who’s wills he discarded cuz she asks him with this huge grin on her face that kinda tells him she doesn’t really believe hed do it either, but she tells him that it’d be real nice if he could find her mother for her and hire a caretaker for her.

and her death would BOTHER him, like how when she left him it bothered him, cuz again the passionate one who has so much to live for dies while he, a pathetic excuse for a human being who couldn’t even bring himself to care more than an agitating irritation is still alive. Plus I do think he would’ve still formed an attatchment for her even in the squid game atmosphere.

[hyacinthwhispers]

OKAY so I saw a TikTok that was saying that Chishiya would sacrifice himself for Kuina in marbles squid game

then I saw Twitter users disregard the statement entirely saying “Chishiya would pull a sangwoo on her so fast”

and honestly? I agree w neither statements. While I do think Chishiya would come out of the game as the winner, it is not due to any potential foul play on his side.

(I am in fact talking about their manga counterparts as I usually do lol)

while Choshiya has been shown/proven to be 100 percent CAPABLE of cheating his way to victory, I think it’s pushed to the wide that while he also has no interest or much care for others lives he ALSO doesn’t have much care for his own, he’s a blatant passive suicidal and it’s not talked about enough in favor of his sociopathic tendencies

he found the borderlands interesting because he hoped it would help him develop any sort of feeling regarding his life and the lives around him, he hoped being surrounded by people “like him” would help him understand his own vanity by getting into this whole main character sort of vibe. The people interested him the most, considering they were so passionate about life, Kuina is NOT exempt (cough my other paragraph on that). He wanted people to see and hate him cuz hes immature and wants people to see him as “the mst vane of them all” so I believe he’d taunt Kuina, be cruel, play w her feelings to evoke a reaction- a negative reaction- to the fact that it’s most likely she will die.

But Kuina’s character has never been that, she bravely faces death and she’s the type to keep fighting till the end (osmosis), she wouldn’t care for his taunts and shrugs them off with her brash attitude. I also think in the situation of squid game her character wouldn’t fully develop, and wouldn’t be able to get past her cowardice of not being able to land killing blows/being okay with going to that level, so I can’t see her trying too hard to live.

it’d prolly bother Chishiya a bit to see her still so passionate and positive despite her having so much more reasons to live then he ever did.

but anyway, Chishiya has been known to usually leave the games up to fate and luck, perhaps in order to see if he can find any sort semblance of care for his life, or any excitement/interest. In blackjack he could’ve won ruthlessly, his plan had been foolproof, but in the end he decided it was boring and chose to leave it up for fate and draw of cards. In tag, he could’ve gone for the exit and wrapped up the game within the first 2 minutes, but was more interested in seeing the players and not caring much for his own individual life AGAIN. In the live adaptation of Jack of hearts, he takes a wild guess. In King of Diamonds he chose to leave his fate up to Kuzuryu. There’s this repeated theme of him of not him choosing to live entirely based on his own decision he just gets lucky while trying to find some trhill.

and I think especially with someone like Kuina, and a game like this, after messing with her, they both strive for an fair game, leaving it to chance

and of course, because the theme has to keep up, Kuina loses and she has no regrets, Yk she might even remind him of all the patients who’s wills he discarded cuz she asks him with this huge grin on her face that kinda tells him she doesn’t really believe hed do it either, but she tells him that it’d be real nice if he could find her mother for her and hire a caretaker for her.

and her death would BOTHER him, like how when she left him it bothered him, cuz again the passionate one who has so much to live for dies while he, a pathetic excuse for a human being who couldn’t even bring himself to care more than an agitating irritation is still alive. Plus I do think he would’ve still formed an attatchment for her even in the squid game atmosphere.

[hyacinthwhispers]

I think you can’t fully enjoy Kuishiya without being deluded if you’re trying to pretend like it’s more than a semblance of attatchment for each other mixed with hatred and probably a bit of yearning ngl. And you’ve also got to acknowledge neither of them would properly push it out bcs during the times of borderlands they aren’t able to fully be honest even with themselves as they haven’t changed yet. But they are the subtle type of love that blooms eventually with time and change.

[hyacinthwhispers]

OKAY so I saw a TikTok that was saying that Chishiya would sacrifice himself for Kuina in marbles squid game

then I saw Twitter users disregard the statement entirely saying “Chishiya would pull a sangwoo on her so fast”

and honestly? I agree w neither statements. While I do think Chishiya would come out of the game as the winner, it is not due to any potential foul play on his side.

(I am in fact talking about their manga counterparts as I usually do lol)

while Choshiya has been shown/proven to be 100 percent CAPABLE of cheating his way to victory, I think it’s pushed to the wide that while he also has no interest or much care for others lives he ALSO doesn’t have much care for his own, he’s a blatant passive suicidal and it’s not talked about enough in favor of his sociopathic tendencies

he found the borderlands interesting because he hoped it would help him develop any sort of feeling regarding his life and the lives around him, he hoped being surrounded by people “like him” would help him understand his own vanity by getting into this whole main character sort of vibe. The people interested him the most, considering they were so passionate about life, Kuina is NOT exempt (cough my other paragraph on that). He wanted people to see and hate him cuz hes immature and wants people to see him as “the mst vane of them all” so I believe he’d taunt Kuina, be cruel, play w her feelings to evoke a reaction- a negative reaction- to the fact that it’s most likely she will die.

But Kuina’s character has never been that, she bravely faces death and she’s the type to keep fighting till the end (osmosis), she wouldn’t care for his taunts and shrugs them off with her brash attitude. I also think in the situation of squid game her character wouldn’t fully develop, and wouldn’t be able to get past her cowardice of not being able to land killing blows/being okay with going to that level, so I can’t see her trying too hard to live.

it’d prolly bother Chishiya a bit to see her still so passionate and positive despite her having so much more reasons to live then he ever did.

but anyway, Chishiya has been known to usually leave the games up to fate and luck, perhaps in order to see if he can find any sort semblance of care for his life, or any excitement/interest. In blackjack he could’ve won ruthlessly, his plan had been foolproof, but in the end he decided it was boring and chose to leave it up for fate and draw of cards. In tag, he could’ve gone for the exit and wrapped up the game within the first 2 minutes, but was more interested in seeing the players and not caring much for his own individual life AGAIN. In the live adaptation of Jack of hearts, he takes a wild guess. In King of Diamonds he chose to leave his fate up to Kuzuryu. There’s this repeated theme of him of not him choosing to live entirely based on his own decision he just gets lucky while trying to find some trhill.

and I think especially with someone like Kuina, and a game like this, after messing with her, they both strive for an fair game, leaving it to chance

and of course, because the theme has to keep up, Kuina loses and she has no regrets, Yk she might even remind him of all the patients who’s wills he discarded cuz she asks him with this huge grin on her face that kinda tells him she doesn’t really believe hed do it either, but she tells him that it’d be real nice if he could find her mother for her and hire a caretaker for her.

and her death would BOTHER him, like how when she left him it bothered him, cuz again the passionate one who has so much to live for dies while he, a pathetic excuse for a human being who couldn’t even bring himself to care more than an agitating irritation is still alive. Plus I do think he would’ve still formed an attatchment for her even in the squid game atmosphere.

[aqukana]

yeah i did not like ryuji at all.

he wasn't even particularly smart or cleverly strategizing, the man just wanted to die and see the death world and was dragging usagi down with him for no fucking reason

[hyacinthwhispers]

I think my dislike w Ryujis character is probably because we’re given like 30 moments of him staring and are expected to understand how his mind works + expected to see contemplation and good acting as good character building.

[artemis099]

Spoilers for AIB Season 3

So I'm watching Season 3 of AIB today and I'm in Zombie Hunt and the game is throwing me. Wouldn't the most logical course of action have been to just turn everyone into a zombie? Unless I missed something, which is absolutely possible, the rules only state that the larger group wins. In the Queen of Spades game the massive caveat with her tagging you meant you had to join her team so I can fully understand that they had to beat her to progress but this game didn't mention anything of the sort. It just feels weird that no one so much as mentioned that you could just turn everyone, not even Arisu. Instead he brought up just banking on curing people with the vaccine cards and that is such a shaky plan when there are an unknown amount dispersed and they only have one use. For all anyone knows there might only be 1 vaccines card, it's just not a reasonable plan. Statically it would be the quickest option. We don't have an exact number count but you would be doubling the zombies every round, and going off of how many people there looked to be they would've turned everyone with plenty of rounds to spare. Everyone turning would also maximize lives saved, since, you know, literally no one would have to die. The only draw back I can see with the plan isn't even with the plan itself but rather the consequences later in of having to potentially face everyone later on but without knowing what comes next I wouldn't consider that risk to outweigh the benefits, especially considering they know they'll be competing with other groups later on, and depending on what that scenario is, having a bigger group might come in handy. So I really don't get it. Unless I missed something, which again, completely possible. It just seemed like a really obvious solution so the fact that not a single character has so much as suggested it extremely confuses me.

[itsclydebitches]

I was thinking the same thing and Arisu obviously was too, given that his end-game strategy was to infect as many of his allies as possible. As you say, he didn't need many rounds to do that, as spreading the zombie cards has exponential growth. Notably, it's that speed that let him wait and scope out the situation.

I think the reason why he and the other zombies kept silent and didn't pose infection as an all-player solution is because of the "humans are selfish" angle that exists in all the games. As we saw with the violent group that eventually died, they quickly turned to hunting and killing as many zombies as they could, even though they didn't have to. They saw killing as an extra insurance policy, a way to take out players they might have to face in future games, and, frankly, just as a thrill. They wanted to kill and/or manipulate others into killing for them. The reality is that only zombies can be killed during the card game, making them the most vulnerable, and everyone has a shotgun card + the ability to lock in an opponent by touching them. That's a huge threat. In an ideal world Arisu would have been able to say, "I'm a zombie. Let's infect everyone and then we'll all be safe." In reality though others may have responded, "How about we just kill you and the three other zombies instead? Humans get to win and we take out at least four players." Arisu wants everyone to live, but that mindset isn't shared among every member of Borderland. There was always the chance someone would kill him simply because they could and they'd be able to lead Arisu into that trap by going, "Yes. Please infect me. It's a great strategy! And you'll have no idea I've got my shotgun on the table until it's too late :)" So he (smartly) bides his time, figures out who he can actually trust, and then uses the last couple of rounds to infect those allies. Basically, a "save everyone" plan doesn't work if you've got assholes in the mix who will use that altruism against you... and given that there were 64 players, Arisu knew there was a damn good chance some people would turn to violence simply because they could. Which is exactly what happened.

Plus, I think there's a psychological part at play too. Zombies are bad. They're the monster and the card - deliberately so - features creepy af art. Top that off with the fact that there are initially only four zombies - they're the outliers, the outsiders - and people are primed to try and stay human, regardless of whether that makes sense for the game. As we often see, people are governed by their emotions more than their ability to work through the games logically. The instinct to run towards the doorway marked "Live" even though "Die" will lead to safety. Following the path that depicts the best future rather than what likely heads towards the exit. Wanting to stay human even though being a vulnerable zombie is actually the safer bet... Arisu's ability to prioritize strategy over emotionally-driven decision making is what makes him so good at the games.

[x-sumi-x]

Ok, maybe I'm not the biggest Usagi fan, but this is crazy

[finch-like-the-bird]

These people have never been severely mentally ill or dealt with death/suicide and it shows

[hyacinthwhispers]

it’s acc so maddening + I think some blame for their lack of understanding is how they built up Usagis character throughout the first two seasons nd the contrast when it came to the 3rd season