How do you think Mono will behave in Descent to Nowhere? He's such a wonderfully weird little guy and it'll be very exciting to see how the comics develop his personality
Oooh yes. I’m really excited too! I’ve written Mono analysis in the past that’s touched on this but your ask is a good opportunity to update it with DTN predictions.
Before delving into Mono’s specific behavior in DTN, I want to preface that his survivalist attitude is a recurrent theme across the franchise: especially in Visitors who have been in the Nowhere long enough to adapt to its methodology. I am not saying that the character is evil - but I think it’s important to note that LN writes its child characters with complexity and flaws. This ties into the central commentary that’s meant to critique us. LN holds up a fanged reflection of our world- one that mistreats children and doesn’t take their feelings or personhood seriously. One that nurtures flaws in kids who are already damaged. This is one of the traits of the Nowhere that is most enticing to Visitors. In the Nowhere- they won’t be “just a kid.” Sure there are the horrors, but you get *control* over your life. “You” belong to yourself- or at least… that’s what the Ferryman sells.
Alright now with that out of the way- (slightly updated) Mono analysis. To predict his behavior/personality in DTN, let's look at the instances in which Mono has acted outside of player influence.
The LN2 comics establish Mono to the audience as a kid who isn’t actively malicious- surviving on his own is just second nature to him. Whether he entered the Nowhere already like this or had experiences that taught him- his DTN iteration is already at this point. He leaves the children to escape on his own because the alternative of bringing some to the stairway would further endanger him. This lines up with all we have so far regarding Mono’s lack of interest in assisting Hush, seemingly leaving the Prison without her.
I predict that DTN Mono will be aloof, laser focused on his goals, and desensitized to violence. There’s a good kid in there - but those traits have not been nurtured by this environment. Whatever initially connects Mono to Pale City/Thin Man… I think he is aware of it. His goal is to escape the Nowhere’s plan for him, but in doing so he ends up exhibiting behavior that reinforces it. The Nowhere “hating him” could refer to it mocking this. Mocking his cowardice, his use of the mask to distance himself from his actions, to escape the consequences. I don’t think it's a coincidence that all the glitch remains in LN2 are represented by the children he didn’t help in the sixth comic. The choices he’s made weigh on him. The Nowhere gets to hold him accountable for an unfairly stacked situation - for the actions of someone he hasn’t become yet.
(unused level of glitch remains staring at Mono entering the Transmission)
As for his change in behavior for LN2- while I fully understand speculation that Hush will serve as the catalyst that influences a change in Mono’s behavior-I’m skeptical as to the extent. It doesn’t follow for Mono to fully shift into a kid determined to help everyone he meets when all of the traits I noted above are still observable in LN2- it would leave him without a character arc to complete. Even when Mono makes an effort to befriend and protect someone other than himself, he struggles with it and sometimes falls back into the pattern.
(The ambiguity of moments like this is purposeful- does Mono hold his head and back away due to the pain of Thin Man’s presence? Is it old habits coming to the surface in the face of his greatest threat? Both? Whichever it is, he does show growth compared to DTN in that he goes after her. His adaptation to the Nowhere and dynamic with SIx directly clash in a way that seems new and difficult to him.)
I think it will be more of a parallel to VLN- the motivating, complicated guilt that stems from someone you weren’t close to meeting a tragic end that could have been prevented. For one more (admittedly biased) reason, I think there will be a story told for Hush that is compelling on its own. It would be a shame for a long anticipated female protagonist to end up as a plot device for the fan favorite boy- and from what I’ve read of his work (and TSON of course) - I have more faith in Lonnie’s skills as a writer than that.
So what motivates his change in behavior in LN2/with Six? Repressed loneliness? Guilt from those left behind? An attempt at redemption? Fate? It's definitely a likely option now with TLO doubling down on Nowhere's status as a diegetic story teller of sorts. It has full access to the Visitor’s minds, assigns them narratively poignant names, and even pairs them up for its own reasons (i.e Ruse noting the core similarities between her and her new friends, noting that they were brought together for a reason.) We will see!
TLDR: I think he’s a fantastic complex weirdo that will shock a lot of fans by being self determined, aloof and generally odd in DTN. And you know what that means in fandom culture.. Hold on tight and stock up on #ISTANDWITHMYCANCELLEDSON stickers for October 8th.
Why have gaming spaces come to a point where people can’t hype up their favorite characters without shitting on other characters + their fans and instigating drama
Like I can’t imagine it’s fun to argue all the time, so why is it like this, what brought us here
I've seen a few folks over on Twitter complaining about Hua Cheng and Xie Lian's "swapped dynamic" in the most recent short film (WHICH I LOVED!!!). They're complaining about Hua Cheng "being submissive" to pass censorship, which makes no literal sense. They're talking about it like its a well-known loophole in Chinese media if you just switch the gong and the shou's dynamic, you can get past censorship because somehow the government will be confused and let it slide. And then they go on to say all these things about how "Hua Cheng would never bottom" and I am so tired. Hualian's dynamic is more than just shou and gong, their characters are too complex to fit neatly in your little BL Box.
For some reason I’ve been seeing more “the land of the tender should’ve been an explicit scene” takes recently, and while I get the idea, cause more romance.. I always read it as very important that it’s NOT an explicit scene?
Idk I thought that scene is BWX trying to break XL by breaking his cultivation in the most humiliating way for him, and showing XLs control and drive and compassion by resisting, especially since HC was a teenager
Maybe I’m being too riled up by it, maybe it’s more up to interpretation than I thought, but I just figured that narratively it’s a good thing nothing happened there, and it makes more sense for nothing to happen there
I might delete this just cause I don’t really like talking about explicit scenes in media, but idk it just irked me a little
woohoo Hua Cheng day!!!!!!!!!!! I tried to get a lot more doodles and sketches done for it but I didnt have the drawing motivation for a while and then I went out with friends, so this is all I have for you
How do some people have good takes about most danmei series’, and then proceed to have the most diabolical and incorrect takes on Hua Cheng specifically
Like did I miss something every one else saw? Did we read different books? How did these guys come to this conclusion??
I saw someone swear up and down that he’s evil, when I thought we were all in agreement that we couldn’t fully trust what the heavenly official’s said about him. Not to mention in the books he’s almost constantly surrounded by people we already knew he doesn’t like, and that’s why he’s an ass?
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