#ghostpost

[ghsot]

everyones got that fic they chip away at like michaelangelo sculpting david. and brother? its penis month

[ghostpajamas]

(talking to myself about my oc plot) this shit is mad interesting #layers (remembers ive only posted like 2% of it) youll just have to trust me

[lateghost]

It's heartbreaking to think how if Shane had realized that his initial draw to Ilya was in fact attraction, if he had known he was gay at that time he never would have approached him in that parking lot.

Something tragic in the idea that him being unaware of himself and his desires was the only way he was going to actually let himself want and to act on it.

[aghostwithablog]

take my hand - let's be aroace on valentines day together <3

[citrineghost]

Spotify is lying in your Spotify Wrapped to promote popular artists

So my partner and I were just going through our Spotify wrapped 2024 favorites playlists and they stopped and said, "... This is weird, why is Good Luck Babe by Chappell Roan in here? I swear I only listened to this like twice."

And I said, "I know how to find out," because both of us have our Spotify hooked up to Last.fm which basically saves information and stats about everything you listen to. So it would say exactly how many times they listened to it.

I went to their profile.

I went to top tracks of 2024.

I scrolled.

I scrolled some more.

That song by Chappell Roan, a notably popular artist atm, was around 50th place in their Spotify playlist.

On Last.fm it was 212th.

They had only listened to it 4 times.

All of the songs in their top 100 on Last.fm were, at a glance, in the same order as in the Spotify playlist, and all had over 4 listens, so it was not just a matter of each software choosing a different 4-play song to put in the list. In fact, their top tracks don't even drop from 5 plays to 4 until 199th place.

Anyway this is largely inconsequential but it puts a really bad taste in my mouth that Spotify is knowingly lying about people's top songs in order to deliberately plant popular artists in the top-100-for-the-year playlists that they KNOW most people are now going to go listen to excitedly.

[ghostgiving]

"there is strength and meaning to be found in your trauma" no there fucking isn't. there's no meaning in what happened to me. there's no strength to be found there. what happened to me was senseless and painful and almost killed me, and when it didn't kill me it made me wish I had fucking died. there's no greater purpose here. there's no honor in my suffering. it was a tragedy and always will be. I don't need to find some sort of meaning in it in order to get better.

[canine-thingz]

So many humans think there is a distinct difference between a “human” and an “animal”, but there’s just not.

humans think they are the most important species, but so does every species. being a majority does not make that a truth.

sometimes I wish papers about human physiology and psychology were written in the same way they’re written about other animals. I feel like people would better understand.

[ghost-rocker]

S2,E1: The MCs, The Priest, The Student, & The Actor

1. The MCs

Even ignoring Season 1's ending, this episode had a rather uncanny vibe. The whimsical, low-stakes plot was certainly part of it, but the MC's passiveness was also a big contributor.

A typical S1 episode introduced an episodic conflict within the first few chapters and noted the MC's plan of action to address it. In this episode, the MC does actively check on the band's progress and assist, but she's not actively investigating her curse or the Bray Men; Jiro and Yuri lead those efforts.

The number of meta references also factored into the eerie vibe. Following S1's end, players are thrown back to October where a different timeline is unfolding. The writers were not subtle that shenanigans are happening:

CSC performing "Stuck On Repeat," the name referencing a loop

The Bray Men's "Thief," which references a circle and time blurring

Kaito and Ren referencing gameplay

Elias' pointed silences and convenient appearances

Throughout the episode, Kaito mentions his dream of becoming a lead singer and expresses hope for his year. Not only does he become the band's vocalist — he also fulfills other dreams like spending one-on-one time with the MC, having her cheer for him, and winning the contest.

It's bluntly sweet following S1's end. It rather feels like the whole boy-band journey serves fulfilling Kaito's wishes...

And of course, our knowledge from S1 indicates Elias knows more than he's letting on... So who is the main character? Or really, who is the master of ceremonies overseeing this all?

2. The Priest

This may have been obvious to everyone, but it finally feels safe to confirm that Haku was the "sketchy priest" referenced in S1:E2.

He is a ghoul, his eyes are quite unique, and he did transfer houses twice, but overall he's been described as knowledgeable and reliable... So "sketchy?"

Yuri is, of course, savage to everyone, but I do wonder if there's a reason he chose this insult, particularly in S2...

3. The Student

This Hotarubi student or his look-alike sure likes popping up in interesting places...

The student Jiro encountered in Obscuary is the same one who alerted Subaru and Haku to the cursed stickers stuck around Hotarubi. In S1, he's also the one who delivered the Yumeyashiki investigation order to Haku after nearly running into Rui and failing to find Subaru. Ritsu later met him outside Ultio after tracing Tohma's steps.

His sprite isn't used as frequently as the male brunette Hotarubi one... Personally, due to his suspicious appearances, I choose to believe all sightings are the same person or related to someone impersonating him.

Who is he? Why was he outside Ultio in S1 and wandering around Obscuary in S2?

4. The Actor

In S1, the game's dialogue emphasized a number of odd decisions Subaru made.

In S1E15, three chapters are spent mentioning Subaru's disappearance. S1E18 likely answers this -- Subaru likely wasn't feeling well since he was practicing using his stigma.

However, that same episode spotlights another odd moment. When the MC suggests they discuss the festival inside the Jabberwock dorm rather than outside, Subaru declines on the grounds of propriety (he also declines the option to head to the main building, but that one is more plausible due to distance). Perhaps he doesn't want to let on how much he likes anomalies, or perhaps he's avoiding someone. The latter seems unlikely -- he speaks to Haru normally later in that episode. Is he afraid of touching something? Or is he really being polite..?

Circling back to the first S1 mention, E15, Subaru asks Haku to write his/ Zenji's slogan entry, claiming his handwriting is poor. It's easy to infer that Subaru, as a famous celebrity the park manager almost recognized, wanted to take further steps to hide his identity, i.e. hiding his handwriting. But could this mean something else?

And of course, there's this famous moment at the end of that episode:

Beneath the Tree of Severance, after a bumpy mission where his past was mentioned, was Subaru merely contemplating cutting ties to his connections and experiences, or something more?

Jumping back to S2E1, Subaru opts not to wear his Hotarubi T-Shirt. He claims he forgot, which could be true, but why is there a pause when he agrees to wear it the next day? If he doesn't want to wear it, is it simply a style preference, or for some reason, does he not want to be associated with the dorm he captains..?

So many of Subaru's decisions superficially make sense, but when combined, they paint a suspicious picture.

5. Bonus: The Park Ranger

The S2E1 Star Contest takes place on the second day of Samhain, the same day the various dorms are running their events. Despite this, Towa claims Haru doesn't need his help that day. Maybe having a free-spirited murder suspect as a tour guide posed a poor choice to Haru?

Even more interestingly, Ren also appears to be free during Samhain prep and on the second day, working in the diner and attending the song contest (despite hating noise and people...). Did he blow off Haru like he did in the S1 Star Festival?

And of course, aside from wondering what Haru is doing, what does he know in this timeline? Did he get a heads up that the Dionysia ghouls would be released?

Samhain occurs between S1E9 and E10. Episode 10 sees Rui, Romeo, and Haru discussing the bar's closure for Samhain, Rui's upcoming mission, and then Haru's lack of action regarding the Dionysia students.

Canonically in S1, the Dionysia ghouls were captured in September and imprisoned. But something has happened in S2 prior to Samhain that sees them go free...

Haru has a lot of trust in Elias to handle something so complex. Why? Does he really know how Elias aims to settle things? Would he be fine with timeline-hopping as a solution?

This brings us back to Point #1...

Who is the MC, and just who is calling the shots?