Hi! I'm sorry if my post isn't as nice looking at the others, but I hope you like my idea! I enjoy world/story building and Black Clover! I'm looking for someone to be Yami to go along with an OC of mine.(I'm also looking for a Nozel but that story is just romance)
Our story will start after the elf arc. After that, we can make a completely new story. After Julius met with the Captains regarding repairs, Julius requested Yami to stay behind and come to his office. Julius explains to Yami that he has a daughter. One of the walls in his office opens to reveal a gorgeous Elven woman with gray skin. She was a dark elf and emitted no magical power, like Asta. Julius entrusts her to Yami and the Black Bulls as he can no longer keep her hidden since he has no Magic.
The jist of my idea is she's already kind of smitten with Yami as her 'father' has told her a lot about everybody. She has extremely powerful magic that is effective against devil's and she and Yami go on a quest to find out more about her heritage so she can control her magic. I'm happy to change anything and make more plot points. This is just the main idea I have for this particular OC.
I'm looking for a longterm roleplay partner who is literate, 3rd person, and detailed. I usually match my partners length. I'm fine with doubling so we can both get someone we want. I need my partner and all characters to be 18+ since this roleplay will get explicit at times, but thats not the focus. I prefer a mix of romance/slice of life/action to keep it interesting but this main focus is probably romance. I'm happy to discuss any and all other aspects with you! We can go along with the anime or make something completely new. The romance between them will be kind of a slowburn. I'd like for us to build a world we're both happy with. You need to have discord.
I have about 8 years of roleplay experience (back when IG and kik were really popular so starting in 2012) and am trying to return to it. I'm 23F and my timezone is +1 CST but I'm fine with any time difference. I'm a SAHM so I understand life gets busy and you can't respond all day. Just also let me know ahead of time if you'll be unavailable for an extended period of time. Feel free to dm me!

So, it might be implied and seem obvious, but I think talismans are like icons for monster's religion.
That's why you can't put it down, you must enact it, hang it and create some sort of sealed space which becomes shrine/praying place and thus can't be disturbed unless they are invited.
Also, that's why there were 12 in some cave, which was probably the old shrine, hence the collection of the icons of that religion.

Hello Post people!

Quite a bit of Reddit is going dark on Monday.

It's a number of issues, the API pricing (pushing out third parties), Reddit's need to get some of that sweet AI LLM cash (because Reddit is a huge source for training models), some bad treatment of developers - including tools that provide accessibility.
This is very much tied to the platform's move towards an IPO and showing it's value.
To put it simply (you can also refer to this image), these changes are causing some significant issues:

• Third-party tools are being priced out (and the pricing announcement/start day is rapid, relatively speaking)
• Reddit's change will heavily impact users with visual impairments - as Reddit's native tools lack.
• It affects quite a bit of moderation tools - making everything harder.

From our mod perspective, it seems like these shifts are happening far too quickly, in a rush to show value.

The new pricing model has already forced some third-party tools to exit, whether that's the intention or not. The implementation feels poorly handled (worse than Apple's FCPX or Avid's new title tool!). The recent treatment of the creator of the Apollo client raises concerns about Reddit's approach - especially the "remember the person behind the keyboard," which is part of reddits' own written Rediquette. Again, worst of all, users with visual impairments may be left behind for an extended period.

In response, numerous subreddits are going 'dark' for 48 hours starting Monday with some even considering a permanent exit.

This week, in the notes from a call from Reddit, there were allegations against Apollo for 'threatening' Reddit (They didn't). Additional language included "Go ahead and protest, it's a democracy" but also was a particular line:- "We are tolerant, but also have a duty to keep Reddit online," which feels like a thinly veiled threat.
We've received queries/concerns from our community, so we believe it's crucial to open this discussion.
Not participating in the blackout feels wrong…especially considering the large number of subreddits (800-1000+), including /videos, /gaming, and /music, that are going dark (large list here.)
Yet, we are also aware that it may not have any substantial impact on the corporate direction. If they lose 20% of their views, it doesn't matter.
For additional details, refer to the following links:

• Developer call
• Moderator coordination
• Apollo shutting down. (This is the Third-party iOS tool that was not handled well - see the developer call - especially that he was featured as part of Apple's WWDC this past week.)

Regarding the implications for our subreddits:

We're still discussing what we feel is the best course of action. I (Greenysmac), honestly don't think two days will mean "much"; I don't expect corporate entities to give in.
But Just nuking communities or turning them private forever isn't a great perspective either. It's a pretty great place here.

How it will affect you:

If you're a member of any of our subreddits, if we decide to go private, it means that the subs will still load for you - it'll just never show up on the wider part of Reddit (like /all). Many subreddits are auto-removing any new posts/comments or posting a note about this issue on every post during the blackout period.
Know that these paths increase the workload for our moderators quite a bit.
Please feel free to share your thoughts on this issue; we want to hear what you think, as it affects us and Reddit as a whole.

Have:
Honey, I joined a cult
Meeple Station
Spiritfarer - Farewell Edition
Bendy And The Dark Revival
Operation: Tango
Windjammers 2
Aliens: Fireteam Elite
Jurassic World Evolution 2
Edge of Eternity
Hero's Hour
Rogue Lords
Golden Light
Monster Crown
Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp
Revita
Founder's Fortune
Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel
Five Dates
Fallout 1
Builder Simulator
Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery
The Invisible Hand
Can trade single keys or multiple for reasonable offers. I would prefer Steam keys but TF2 Keys are accepted aswell. Comment on the thread first before you pm me.
Games i am most interested in:
Battle Brothers
Celeste
Caesar 3
Battle Realms: Zen Edition
Stardew Valley
Subnautica
Mark of the Ninja Remastered
Wasteland 3
Risk of Rain 2
Underrail+DLC

I was looking forward to doing a version similar to BOTW Eventide Island in TOTK. Which, for the unfamiliar in BOTW is an overworld island that strips you of your weapons and armor like many shrines do. The TOTK version is set up for such with a plentiful amount of Zonai devices and weapons at your disposal, yet you're free to use all the equipment outside as well. The enemies are pretty easy but would be more difficult without your current gear considering the terrain.
Just one of the very few disappointments as I was pretty late game when I found it. I would have put good money into having a similar island concept in TOTK.

It's my second playthrough of the game and been cruising through up until this point, now I'm just genuinely stuck. On my first playthrough I remember her going down pretty quick with my mimic tear and Rivers of blood + high Arcane. Infact I remember feeling q bad like I'd cheesed her.
Just wondering what other ways there are to fight her as I would rather not just respec to Arcane bleed build again. My character started out as int / dex but swapped the dex for str recently to hit harder with dark moon Greatsword.

We like to leave these types of choices up to the subreddit, so its up to you all. Simple majority wins.
For those who are unaware of what is going on this thread in the Formula 1 subreddit provides a lot of good information on the topic. I couldn't do a better job myself summing it up, so I'd suggest you take a look.
There are many good reasons why we should go dark, as well as many good reasons why we should not go dark. This poll does not ask you to get into the justifications for your vote. Just that you do please vote if you hold an opinion one way or the other. If you don't vote, your opinion might not be counted and as noted, simple majority *of those who vote* will be the path we take.
View Poll

My boyfriend started a hard conversation on Tuesday and then left for a trip on Wednesday. And I've been crying every day since. We've been talking through text while he's been gone. I just ended the relationship last night. I know he's done with me because I run away from hard conversations. We have a dog together so there will be future contact of some kind eventually. I sent him a final message sort of as closure. I'm trying not to bother him until he returns to get his things.
I don't know what to do with myself now.
I know that I won't be in bed 24/7 because I will take care of my dog. I am afraid that I will slip into a depressive state again where I stopped doing anything outside of working just to make sure the bills are paid so I won't be homeless. I didn't have a dog then so all I did was go to work then go home to stay in bed until it was time to go back to work. I stopped eating and lost almost 30 pounds then.
It's really hard to love myself right now, I feel worthless and I feel like I really failed our relationship. I thought this was it for me, this was who I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Honestly, maybe I don't deserve happiness. I haven't slept and I've just been sobbing which is worrying my dog. I just want him to hold me and tell me things will be okay because I still love him and I miss him. I'm being selfish.
My mind is all over the place.
I don't know what to do with myself.

It seems challenging to write a good villain for any fiction never mind fantasy. In fantasy there seem a few villain tropes that have been done to death: “ Dark Magic Lord take 500”, “ Evil King/ Queen with powerful army,” and “ evil dragon/ beast in the forest/ moors”.
Has anyone ever written a fantasy villain that wasn’t one of those? How did it go? Thoughts?

18m Im only 18, and im scared for ALS. I feel selfish to think I have ALS while there are many terminally ILL but I am no doctor and I don’t know what other things can cause similar symptoms. I woke up one day with severe weakness, no pain, just hard to raise my hands above my head and my legs feel like jello. I woke up the next day with my ring and pinky finger on both hands being completely stiff and bending like they are double jointed. I developed severe fasciculations occurring all over my body, a few months ago it was only in my eyelid. (Not sure if related) but I am losing the ability to use my hand, the ability to walk and now getting out of bed. The chances of ALS are extremely rare but I would like to know what else can cause these symptoms especially at my age. I’ve been to a neurologist for a different reason who did a physical exam and didn’t see any weakness but this was before I started experiencing these symptoms. I also have trouble with my jaw and speaking certain words sounds like I am slurring. Noticed some atrophy in my left leg when bending you can see the muscle difference from my left leg to my right leg. Please help, im falling into a depression because i am sure this is ALS and I am the unlucky one.

Album: https://imgur.com/a/LjHfSfv
Slotted DUK in 20CV. SV $1500
Has Zirc: Clip, Spacer, Thumb-studs, and Pivot Collars.
In good condition, has seen light use from me and I’m at least the second owner. No notable scratches in the handle finish as it’s a dark stonewash user finish. Has excellent centering.
Slotted Dukling in Magnacut: SV $1200
In excellent condition, at least the second owner, all the hardware is Ti, and the blade is zirblasted, the edge is still hair shaving sharp. Has excellent centering and no signs of use.
No trades at the moment. Can ship today if the funds are provided before 4:30 PM EST. Prices are OBRO.

I have played plenty of BBs but it was mostly when I was newer and grinding the various tech trees. Lately I've been playing more BBs to get out of a rut and it's stressful. I know all about positioning, angling, etc., and I have all the high level commanders, but without good support it sucks out there.
Blue cruisers get blown up or run away at 34 knots, destroyers don't know their role or how to survive the opening game, and I'm stuck trying to fight island humping HE cruisers, invisible destroyers, and multiple battleships all wanting to kill me. At least in a destroyer I can go dark and regroup but that so rarely seems to be an option when faced with bad odds in my slow high visibility ships. Punching some guy in the mouth from 17km away is still fun though.

​
https://preview.redd.it/wuzwnrsmfz4b1.jpg?width=660&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16d7424087c5edca7df4dd1f198a37158f95974e
Today we will do things veeeryyy different than during the main character study of Gorou Amamiya or Aqua Hoshino but I assure you it won't be less interesting. It was by pure accident that I stumbled over an old book I haven't touched for a long time, a book that goes by the title "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. It's from the late 19th century.
The story revolves around the rich and handsome Dorian Gray and a portrait of him painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian's and an artist infatuated with Dorian's beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat's cynical hedonistic worldview: that beauty and ruthless self-centered sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing in life while ethics and morals are the natural enemy to this philosophy. Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade. The wish is granted by some supernatural force and Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian's sins in grotesque expressions.
​
Now what I discovered during my excursion of a book that I actually didn't really enjoy at all to be quite frank, were similarities in both conception but also psychological realities for both Gorou/Aqua and his father Hikaru Kamiki. From time to time his monologues would sound like commentary to understand what is going on in Hikaru's mind, while the mystic circumstances of Dorian Gray's picture and his eternal youth have strong links between Aqua and Hikaru who indeed are lookalikes. Aqua by that is Hikaru's portrait which will age and visually record every of Hikaru's sins while Hikaru pursues a libertine life of varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful. It all culminates to Aqua's movie role of the culprit in which Aqua will be the living proof of Hikaru's sinful life and eventually lead to his downfall. This is also Dorian's fate with his potrait.
I know, this sounds so unbelievably far stretched but believe me I'm thrilled about the actual similarities and the integretiy of the psychological templates that found their way into Oshi No Ko. I firmly believe it's not accidental. And since I enjoy ONK but not so much Oscar Wilde's novel I'm glad those in itself truely interesting psychological types found their way into Aka's work.
​
​
​
AQUA HOSHINO AKA DORIAN GRAY
​
Trivia:

• In Greek the name Dorian means "child of the sea" or "gift of the sea". The name aquamarine comes from aqua (Latin for 'water'), and marine, deriving from marina (Latin for 'of the sea')
• Dorian is described to have gold hair, blue eyes (and rose-red lip)

​
1.
In Chapter III of the book we get to hear about Dorian Gray's tragic family background and this is already the first strong indication that 1. the similarities are real 2. what we discovered about Gorou's grandfather / family background could have been more right than wrong.
Now, the story behind the birth of Dorian is slightly so different then Gorou's but the general notion in a short poetic summary within the novel sounds pretty familiar:

"So that was the story of Dorian Gray’s parentage. Crudely as it had been told to him, it had yet stirred him by its suggestion of a strange, almost modern romance. A beautiful woman risking everything for a mad passion. A few wild weeks of happiness cut short by a hideous, treacherous crime [NOTE: HER FATHER, DORIAN'S GRANDFATHER KILLs HER LOVER, DORIAN'S FATHER]. Months of voiceless agony, and then a child born in pain. The mother snatched away by death, the boy left to solitude and the tyranny of an old and loveless man [NOTE: HIS GRANDFATHER]. Yes; it was an interesting background. It posed the lad, made him more perfect, as it were. Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic. Worlds had to be in travail, that the meanest flower might blow.... " (Chapter III)

Isn't this interesting? And there is another very cool symbol. Dorian - after he witnessed the first changed in his potrait - had to hide the picture in a diferent room of his mansion where nobody could find it and witness "his soul" which is captivated in that portrait that gets uglier and uglier with each day of his sinful life. About that room:

"He had not entered the place for more than four years—not, indeed, since he had used it first as a play-room when he was a child, and then as a study when he grew somewhat older. It was a large, well-proportioned room, which had been specially built by the last Lord Kelso for the use of the little grandson whom, for his strange likeness to his mother, and also for other reasons, he had always hated and desired to keep at a distance." (Chapter X)

So we have: A drama between mother and father, child born in pain, mother dies after giving birth, boy left to soltitude and tyranny of his grandfather who hates him for physical likeness to his mother (in PART II we wrote: Gorou would remind his grandfather every day of his own failure and guilt for losing his daughter), always hated his grandson. This is just literally everything we found out in PART II of our character study!
And the man with this background gets reincarnated in the body of a human being which looks exactly like his father Kamiki, thus is his "portrait" or "The Picture of Hikaru Kamiki"! But this portray inherited Gorou's trauma which is expressed by the symbol that the portray lives in the "trauma room" which had been specially built by his grandfather.
Also the metaphor's of "play-room when he was a child and then as a study when he grew somewhat older" goes hand in hand with what we figured out in the "THE RIGHT TO DREAM" essay about how Gorou's childhood-trauma and the guilt-complex provoked through his grandfather's abuse induced him to study medicine instead of striving for his own dreams as a result of him living in this "study trauma room".
Additionally "He had not entered the place for more than four years" - like Aqua who hasn't entered his trauma room for 4-5 years after reincarnation until Ai was murdered in front of his eyes! This reenactment placed him back into this room of guilt.
​
2.
Another interesting story revolves around Dorian's first love with the actress Sibyl Vane. While we can look at this "Arc" from the perspective of Dorian as represented by Hikaru and Sibyl represented by Ai - and we certainly will because actually looking at Dorian as the representation of Hikaru will be even more intereting then the things we have to say about Aqua right now - we can also look at it from the perspective of Aqua and Ai/Akane, which we'll do now.
Dorian loves theater and one night his curiosity leads him into a shappy filthy working-class theater, one with lousy actors and a lousy orchestra. It's essentially the last place a delicate creature would expect greatness. However there at a performance of Shakespears "Romeo and Juliett" he witnesses Sibyl playing and falls for "her" instantly.
​

"But Juliet! Harry, imagine a girl, hardly seventeen years of age, with a little, flowerlike face, a small Greek head with plaited coils of dark-brown hair, eyes that were violet wells of passion, lips that were like the petals of a rose. She was the loveliest thing I had ever seen in my life. You said to me once that pathos left you unmoved, but that beauty, mere beauty, could fill your eyes with tears. I tell you, Harry, I could hardly see this girl for the mist of tears that came across me. And her voice—I never heard such a voice. It was very low at first, with deep mellow notes that seemed to fall singly upon one’s ear. Then it became a little louder, and sounded like a flute or a distant hautboy. In the garden-scene it had all the tremulous ecstasy that one hears just before dawn when nightingales are singing. There were moments, later on, when it had the wild passion of violins. You know how a voice can stir one. [...] Harry, I do love her. She is everything to me in life. Night after night I go to see her play. One evening she is Rosalind, and the next evening she is Imogen. I have seen her die in the gloom of an Italian tomb, sucking the poison from her lover’s lips. [...] I have seen her in every age and in every costume."

​
Aqua's similar rememberance of Ai in a sigfnificantly less pathos drivin manner.
Sibyl Vane is Dorian's ultimate ido. She can perform any of Dorian's romantic ideal heroines from the most captivating drama's written, in utter artistic perfection. He is "her" ultimate fan:
​

"Lips that Shakespeare taught to speak have whispered their secret in my ear. I have had the arms of Rosalind around me, and kissed Juliet on the mouth.”
“Well, I can’t help going to see Sibyl play,” he cried, “even if it is only for a single act. I get hungry for her presence; and when I think of the wonderful soul that is hidden away in that little ivory body, I am filled with awe.”
“You can dine with me tonight, Dorian, can’t you?”
He shook his head. “Tonight she is Imogen,” he answered, “and tomorrow night she will be Juliet.”
“When is she Sibyl Vane?”
“Never.”
“I congratulate you.”
[...]
"My God, Harry, how I worship her!”
[...]
“Harry! Sibyl Vane is sacred!”

​
To put it into Kindaichi's words in ONK C97:

"You'll find people with those eyes ... once in a while. Deceptive eyes that have the power to make lies look like truths. It's the best quality for an actor"

The concept of great acting is basically reduced in the symbol of eyes for the sake of keeping the lore a little bit simpler in ONK, but essentially he just means that sometimes there are special actors who can just perform like if they are literally what they perform.
​
Dorian approaches and courts Sibyl, and soon proposes marriage. They love each other. Dorian invites Basil and Lord Henry to see Sibyl perform in Romeo and Juliet. Sibyl, too enamoured with Dorian to act, performs poorly - also to the anger of the theater audience which left early because of that-, which makes both Basil and Lord Henry think Dorian has fallen in love with Sibyl because of her beauty instead of her acting talent. Embarrassed, Dorian rejects Sibyl, telling her that acting was her beauty; without that, she no longer interests him. The heartbroken Sibyl eventually commits suicide on this very night.
Now, we find every element of that story in the history between Aqua and Akane but in a reversed construction. Akane joins LoveNow but because of her personality she fails her role in this reality tv setting. She gets rejected by the audience and the audience is even angry with her. Under that pressure she attempts suicide. However after she studied Aqua's ideal role she becomes of great interest for both him and the audience. This is essentially like Vane performing Juliett or Imogen or what not but with the difference that Aqua just loves one Idol: Ai. Structurally it is similar though and Aqua falls for her role. During LoveNow we have the same realization inside Aqua and Dorian, so the plot reverses back but without tragedy: Aqua rejects Akane as serious love interest between her real self and him, telling her that hei's only interesting in her as an actor, just like Dorian rejects Sibyl by telling her that acting was her only beauty.
Dorian to Harry:

"Ordinary women never appeal to one’s imagination. They are limited to their century. No glamour ever transfigures them. One knows their minds as easily as one knows their bonnets. One can always find them. There is no mystery in any of them. They ride in the park in the morning and chatter at tea-parties in the afternoon. They have their stereotyped smile and their fashionable manner. They are quite obvious. But an actress! How different an actress is! Harry! why didn’t you tell me that the only thing worth loving is an actress?"

Well, in a screwed way this is also applicable to Ryosuke's issue, who loved Ai for her role but hated her for her real self and eventually kills her for it, as her real self not only is different but essentially is in total opposition to her role as an idol. Dorian describes a similar screwed misogynistic view on women: The actress is mystery and the only thing worth to love, the ordinary woman is the absolute opposite of it, disappointing and unworthy to be loved.
​
3.
By the way the director of that working-class theater is described as a stereotypical jew and while I of course do not endorse antisemitism or racism it still is kinda funny that Kindaichi, the director of Lalalie Theater Company and Akane's boss is always depicted with a pretty unusual big and oddly shaped nose while the name Toshirou that means "quick, clever, sharp" and Toshirou's surname Kindaichi that means "gold/metal, money/cash, currency". Pretty stereotypical if you link it to Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray"...But the theater itself also has some working-class vibes to it, since it's implied that back then they opened workshop classes for orphans and probably generally troubled kids without real guardians. Addiotionally he gave Akane the smallest bouquet at the Japan Actor's Award with the explanation that theaters are financially not doing great. Well if it's a reflection of theaters in general, his theater in particular or his personal greed I can't tell. His name implies the latter and the cost of a bouquet surely doesn't ruin a theater. But probably it's still a general observation because theaters are indeed a dying genre.
Some quotes about the "Jew" in the novel:

"A hideous Jew, in the most amazing waistcoat I ever beheld in my life, was standing at the entrance, smoking a vile cigar. He had greasy ringlets, and an enormous diamond blazed in the centre of a soiled shirt. ‘Have a box, my Lord?’ he said, when he saw me, and he took off his hat with an air of gorgeous servility. There was something about him, Harry, that amused me. He was such a monster."

​

"On the first night I was at the theatre, the horrid old Jew came round to the box after the performance was over and offered to take me behind the scenes and introduce me to her. I was furious with him, and told him that Juliet had been dead for hundreds of years and that her body was lying in a marble tomb in Verona. I think, from his blank look of amazement, that he was under the impression that I had taken too much champagne, or something.”
“I am not surprised” replied Harry.

This is just a little odd observation, in the epilog we'll find a more cheerful representation of Kindaichi (well, cheerfulness is of course a limited ressource when it comes down to that man :))
​
4.
While most of the time the monologues and thought processes of Dorian mainly concern Dorian as the representative of Hikaru, we have here and there sober reflections on what his soul - which is trapped in the potray - would probably experience, thus what he would experience if he'd have his soul inside his own body. Thus we can read this at the same time as a comment on what is going on in Gorou's / Aqua's soul, which is quite interesting. In the following quote for example it's about the nightmare of having a phantom of your guilt following you everywhere you go, essentially a description of Aqua's delusional vision of Gorou who blames him for Ai's death:
​
https://preview.redd.it/vns5efrx505b1.jpg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6ae6628023bb215a4e9ceb6ff08ce21013374eb
https://preview.redd.it/owuow261605b1.jpg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a54f4a6aa13610e04384407526573efc43fd8398

"And yet if it had been merely an illusion, how terrible it was to think that conscience could raise such fearful phantoms, and give them visible form, and make them move before one! What sort of life would his be if, day and night, shadows of his crime were to peer at him from silent corners, to mock him from secret places, to whisper in his ear as he sat at the feast, to wake him with icy fingers as he lay asleep! As the thought crept through his brain, he grew pale with terror, and the air seemed to him to have become suddenly colder. Oh! in what a wild hour of madness he had killed his friend! How ghastly the mere memory of the scene! He saw it all again. Each hideous detail came back to him with added horror. Out of the black cave of time, terrible and swathed in scarlet, rose the image of his sin. "

18 years after Sibyl's suicide her brother James Vane found out Dorian's identity and swore to kill him. He saw Vane lurking for him and panicked, feared for his life. But later he'd reflect that this must've been just a phantom. That's the story behind that quote in that novel. However he would calm after some days and think that he's out of danger.
​

It was not till the third day that he ventured to go out. There was something in the clear, pine-scented air of that winter morning that seemed to bring him back his joyousness and his ardour for life. But it was not merely the physical conditions of environment that had caused the change. His own nature had revolted against the excess of anguish that had sought to maim and mar the perfection of its calm. With subtle and finely wrought temperaments it is always so. Their strong passions must either bruise or bend. They either slay the man, or themselves die. Shallow sorrows and shallow loves live on. The loves and sorrows that are great are destroyed by their own plenitude. Besides, he had convinced himself that he had been the victim of a terror-stricken imagination, and looked back now on his fears with something of pity and not a little of contempt.

​
We ultimately experience a similar transformation in Aqua's temper after he learns about the apparent death of his father from Taiki. He was away all night (the "night" is a symbol here) but finally came back "in the clear, pine-scented air of that winter morning that seemed to bring him back his joyousness and his ardour for life" He steps to the window and gives Ruby an reliefed smile for the first time since Ai's death:
​
https://preview.redd.it/e0ezsvfp705b1.jpg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97f0236ae0606e6e37654d96b6ed11b55068cfcc
https://preview.redd.it/kd421eyo705b1.jpg?width=1083&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60ffd4450b497632b36904ce7ba7b35d6727bf3b
​
It's not directly "winter" although Ruby's wearing a pyjama which indicate that it's also not summer, but the symbol contracts with the Takachiho arc which we can't spare for Aqua's transformation. What for Dorian was a mere material process of healing his tension and therefore would go away after 3 days of bedriddenness is for Aqua a inmaterial soul-process and he has to put a meaningful end to the phantom of Gorou in his head. And their stay in Takachiho surely appears to be in a winterly setting. This novel must've been of great inspiration for Aka and so he honors it by reimagination of the mental images Oscar Wilde created.
​

"Our father died long ago. There's no way left to avenge Ai. So what should I do? My... revenge..." (C 68)

​
Aqua is finally free and live normaly but when the news about Takachiho appeared he knew he has to somehow find his corpse so that he can "burry his phantom'" so to speak. The corpse of Gorou would be his symbolic proof that it's over, that he has nothing to fear anymore. Eventually Akane and Ruby find it.
​
\"Keep out\" meaning keep this rotten and grotesque thing out of his mind. It's over.
​
Correspondingly Dorian would soon after his "winter-morning" go on a hare shooting in some rural countryside (=Takachiho) where they would by accident shoot James Vane who still was following Dorian. James was finally dead and Dorian could finally close that chapter.
This is everything I could for now link to Aqua without talking about Hikaru's links to Dorian. So for now we have to stop the analysis and call it a day.
​
Epilog
So I hope I could convince you to look at ONK from this perspective. This is just the beginning though, the actually interesting part we will only tackle in the next essay Because I believe we can learn a lot of Hikaru's ideology through the character of Dorian, his hobbies, his views, his extreme hedonistic sensualism, perhaps even his relation to his portrait.... It actually concerns me: My very first essay on ONK like a month ago was a half serious schizo theory about Hikaru's involvement in the plot so far where I made the assumption that he probably constantly observes Aqua from far away for years but now - if we apply "The Picture of Dorian Gray" to his personality then this in fact is real.
Dorian would in fact over the years go into his secret room and look at his portrait with a weird for us the next time to explore interest and strange reflections. Maybe there is really more to it...
​
Lets end for now with a somewhat luckier characterization of Toshirou Kindaichi. Because he actually looks a lot like the author Oscar Wilde himself:
​
https://preview.redd.it/9xoj9ihah05b1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=781921c3c82f4fce235a14f8433fe906c904e064
And to quote Wilde - which could also be just Kindaichi's own words :

“All charming people are spoiled. It is the secret of their attraction.”

​
​
​
As always: Thanks for reading!
​
​
****
​
​

Darkness has descended upon Auri’sia
From a young age, Aay’ika was trained as a warrior. She was taught to lead. To command armies. For years, she did just that. As a highly respected commander within the Order, Aay’ika had everything she could have ever wanted. Wealth. Power. The love of her life. Then, on one fateful day, it was all taken from her.
Accused of treason, stripped of her rank, and sentenced to death, Aay’ika had lost everything she held dear. Condemned to live out her days rotting in prison and wallowing in her own despair, she never lost faith. A glimmer of hope remained. But escaping from her confinement is only the beginning of her journey.
On the run from her own people, Aay’ika must join forces with old friends and new enemies alike. In an attempt to prove her innocence, she uncovers a plot that could unravel the entire Order. Aay’ika must head down a treacherous path. Deadly secrets and ominous figures hide around every corner, threatening her at every turn. Death follows in her wake. Aay’ika is left with little choice as the legend of the Awakening looms over her.
If you’re intrigued by the story, you can pre-order now through Amazon and Barnes & Noble
The Last Scion - Amazon
The Last Scion - Barnes & Noble

More of a question to the mods, but the recent announcement and changes to reddit's API and the potential loss of third-party apps and bots will have a huge impact on the greater community. I haven't seen anything here about it.

In an alternate universe, Cereza (or even Viola) must battle the last Umbra Witch Rosa and her army of demonic beings.
Instead of angels, we fight demons and instead of auditios, greater demons (Malphas, Hekatoncheir, Scolopendra and Phantasmaerenae, for example).
Perhaps the goal is to bring Sheba from Inferno to transform the world of chaos into a world of darkness, in the twisted belief of freeing humanity from the theocratic dictatorship of the angels and avenging the Umbra clan.

Tl;dr

^{I'm sorry I couldn't make it shorter than 4 paragraphs. This post is simply too long, and I'm going over a lot of factors}
If you don't want to read my spiel on why I believe Chrome Mox can be unbanned, scroll down to "Disclaimer + Request" where I talk about conducting an experiment with it to verify my thought-process.
Simply put, I believe that due to Chrome Mox causing you to neg 1 each time you cast it, it would be pretty safe to unban. Of the degenerate decks in Modern, Chrome Mox wouldn't fix any of their known issues. Ad Nauseum, Storm, Belcher, etc, aren't rogue tier because they are slow. They are rogue tier because they are extremely vulnerable to hate cards that are common in the format, or are just simply inconsistent. Chrome Mox doesn't fix either of those issues. Instead, Chrome Mox would actually help other decks back into the format.
Tribal decks like Humans, Slivers, and Merfolk (I go over Elementals below) would definitely benfit with Chrome Mox being unbanned. Additionally, despite being technically a generic card, it wouldn't be a good inclusion in a lot of decks that are already considered good. It goes against the gameplan of Murktide and Rakdos, and it straight up cannot be used in Creativity, Cascade, and Affinity decks.
It is because of this that I believe Chrome Mox is safe, and would be a healthy inclusion for the format in terms of not just deck diversity, but also in skill due to this card being able to make or break your gameplan.

End Tl;dr

Pretty much everyone seems to agree that Chrome Mox would be way too powerful and would completely ruin the format.
But after having giving a lot of thought, I'm actually pretty confident it won't. Here's my reasoning:

Firstly, here's what it does:

Chrome Mox: (0)
Artifact
Imprint - When Chrome Mox enters the battlefield, you may exile a nonartifact, nonland, card from your hand.
(Tap): Add 1 mana of any of the exiled cards colors.

Unbanning consequences

If this was unbanned, it would see play in the following decks:
• Tribal decks, like humans, merfolk, elves, slivers, and elementals. These are the decks that can capitalize the most on Chrome Mox since they have a lot of redundancy and get a lot of value by getting stuff out ahead of curve.
• 4c Omnath would without a doubt gain some dominance if Chrome Mox were unbanned. The deck runs multiple cards that allows for replenishing of any sort of card advantage lost from playing Chrome Mox. Though, this is less on the power of Chrome Mox and more on the raw power of Omnath. In my personal opinion, whether or not Chrome Mox is unbanned, Omnath should be banned due to the amount of power it brings. If you use any removal on it, you will neg 1 because Omnath replaces itself on ETB, it stabilizes you due to the constant life gain, it allows you to go off even harder with spells due to the mana it gives which is much more free than Chrome Mox, and it can even deal damage without attacking. (Which is niche, but its worth mentioning when trying to close out a game) Combined with the Evoke elementals, and Wrenn & Six to make 4 colors extremely safe, this card is completely absurd.
• Elementals (assuming that Omnath is banned. This is a hypothetical scenario, like the rest of the post) would actually be pretty balanced with Chrome mox. The additional mana allows them to get their threats out faster, and because a lot of their cards actually exile from hand for cost, it would actually create a deck that promotes skillful play, since using Chrome Mox, or any evoke elemental, at the wrong time would set you so far behind that you'd just lose.
• Dredge would definitely love Chrome Mox since it allows you to fire off a turn 1 cathartic reunion, which would definitely be a pretty good plus. However, like one other deck that I'll get to a bit later, Dredge isn't hampered by speed. It, in of itself, is a very speedy deck already, and it also runs gemstone caverns for said fast mana. Turn 1 Cathartic is already pretty common with the deck. The issue that dredge has is consistency. Dredge is inherently a luck based deck. Chrome Mox doesn't provide consistency, it just provides a fast mana in exchange for a card in your hand. Both are appreciated by dredge, but it doesn't solve dredge's problem of being luck based.
• Storm would also quite like Chrome Mox since it allows them to go off 1 turn earlier, and they have a ton of redundancy. I am confident that Storm will actually go up a few tiers too if Chrome Mox is unbanned. But this won't be a bad thing because Storm still has the issue of being very reliant on easy to remove creatures, as well as their graveyard.

Here are decks that would not use Chrome Mox

^{or could use it but it would be better off replaced with a different card}
• Midrange decks are comprised of almost no redundancy. Pretty much every card would much rather be cast. They also want to go 1 for 1 most of the time and slowly gain value with threats like Fable of the Mirror Breaker, Expressive Iteration, or a simple creature threat like Fury or Murktide. Chrome Mox makes this game plan less efficient since it takes two cards out of your hand. (Chrome Mox being played, and the card being imprinted) Midrange decks today would be Murktide, Rakdos, and Jund. At first these decks would likely play with Chrome Mox, but then after a while they would ditch it when they realized that they would rather have another spell to ruin their opponents day.
• Aggro decks, like burn, would hate using Chrome Mox because the issue with aggro decks is that once they run out of steam, if the opponent is still alive, they are at a disadvantage. Chrome Mox accelerates how fast they run out of steam ans even delegate one of the cards in their hand that can do something to instead do nothing. That would cause said aggro deck to be that much weaker.
• Control decks have no use for Chrome Mox since mana ramping in control is generally not needed due to the fact they run a ton of lands anyway. Also, like midrange decks, every card would rather be cast than imprinted. They would more than likely rather see another counterspell or draw spell instead of Chrome Mox.
• Affinity and Hardened Scales straight up cannot use Chrome Mox due to their decks being almost entirely artifacts or lands, or both. The only cards in each deck that can be imprinted is Hardened Scales, Ancient Stirrings, Thoughtcast, and Forging the Anchor if they play it. All of these spells are spells that you would rather cast than exile it for mana ramping. There is also a likelyhood of Affinity running Metallic Rebuke and Emry mainboard to support the Chrome Mox, like they do in No Banlist Modern. Honestly, that would be fine. Affinity won't actually be a crazy deck again unless Mox Opal is unbanned, which it won't be. Additionally, NBL Modern is safe to run Emry because NBL Modern has little removal compared to vanilla Modern.
• Cascade and Creativity decks also cannot use Chrome Mox due to it directly conflicting with the decks combo.
• Yawgmoth would seem like a good candidate for Chrome Mox, but the reason it runs mana dorks is because they can also be sacrificed to Yawgmoth. Yawg can't sac Chrome Mox. So if Yawg did run it, it would probably be a 2 of. But they'd probably be better off with the mana dorks they have already since that is what they would be cutting for Chrome Mox.
• Hammertime wouldn't be able to use Chrome Mox because a lot of the cards in their deck are artifact based. The only cards that could be imprinted are Stoneforge Mystic, Puresteel Paladin, Giver of Runes, Steelshapers Gift, Surge of Salvation, and Sigarda's Aid. All of which are cards that Hammertime would much rather cast than just lose for mana ramping.
With this in mind we ask a question: With Chrome Mox back...

Would anything degenerate happen?

I did leave one deck out, and that deck is Belcher. The reason I left it out is because it would probably be the most unbelievable explanation. Blecher is one of those decks where if it ever sees tier 1 relevancy, then the entire format burns down. So, if Chrome Mox is unbanned, it would enable a whole lot of degenerate plays for Blecher, right?
Well...
Both belcher decks are designed to kill you in one turn, though the method differs between the two.
Belcher is, essentially, just a modified storm deck that tries to get as much mana to both cast and activate goblin charbelcher. As soon as Charblecher hits the field, they win. The earliest they can go off is on turn 2 by using a bunch of mana spells to immediately ramp into Charbelcher. (2 lands, 2 pyretic/desperate ritual, irencraag feat, and belcher) To go off on turn 2 requires a 6 card combo.
With Chrome Mox the earliest they can go off is turn 1... but that requires 7 cards now. (1 land, chrome mox, 1 imprint fodder card, 2 pyretic/desperate ritual, irencrag feat, charbelcher)
The other deck, oops all spells, relies on either charbelcher, or one of the creatures that mills the entire deck to get 4 Vengevine onto the field and kill their oppoent, or they can get Thassa's Oracle back and win instantly if the Vengevines didn't finish the job. With Chrome Mox they can go off on turn 2 at earliest. (Land, Chrome Mox, imprint fodder, Pentad Prism, and either creature that mills their whole library, a 5 card combo) Essentially this deck trades Belcher's speed for consistency. However it now has a super big vulnerability to hate cards that Belcher didn't have. Graveyard hate delegates them to only being able to use Charbelcher as their win condition, and they only run 1 in main and 1 in side.
But thats where we hit a problem. See, speed isn't the issue with charbelcher decks. Charblecher isn't putting up weak results because its slow, it most certainly isn't lacking there. Its putting up weak results because its inconsistent. (Or in Oops' case, extremely weak to hate cards) I watched some streams of people playing belcher and the number 1 reason they lost was because they couldn't find a belcher to combo off with. (The second reason was because the first belcher got answered)
For Oops All Spells, the main reason they lost was because either they got hit with graveyard hate, or they couldn't find a Belcher after getting hit by said graveyard hate.
In a manner of speaking, Belcher is like Tron. If you get all the necessary pieces, you win! If you don't, ugh. Chrome Mox doesn't provide any consistency, it only provides just mana. If it was unbanned, Belcher would more or less be the same as it was before, whether or not it played Chrome Mox. (Which in NBL Modern, it does alongside Street Wraith and Gitaxian Probe which gives it a lot more consistency)
Having read up to this point, you're likely thinking that because Chrome Mox is so common in NBL Modern, that surely it can't be unbanned right?

Observations on No Banlist Modern

So, first, lets assume that Chrome Mox was included in a deck because the card is unironically really good in that deck and not because literally everything is suddenly legal and Chrome Mox is a generic card as seen in a so far unsolved, unsupported, format with Dark Depths being the established best deck.
Despite literally being a subformat of Modern, No Banlist Modern can't be used as a metric for what can be unbanned in Modern.
The reason for this is because, unlike our Modern, NBL Modern has a lot of degenerate decks that would absolutely ruin your day, and Chrome Mox is just there to enjoy the ride. The best deck of NBL Modern is undoubtedly Dark Depths, with UG Emry being a close second. Both run Chrome Mox, but both aren't absolutely busted because of it. They're busted because they're running Oko, Sensei's Divining Top, Deathrite Shaman, and Dark Depths. Cards that should absolutely, positively, never be unbanned in Modern. These decks, even if they didn't use Chrome Mox, would still be the best decks of NBL Modern.
Additionally, the way that NBL Modern plays is nothing like Modern because the "checks" are different. A check is a card that is included in your deck so that it can be used to deal with a certain threat. For example, in Vanilla Modern, Unholy Heat, Bolt, Prismatic End, and Fatal Push are all very common checks. Most decks that can play them do so because they check a good amount of the format. But in NBL Modern, the checks are actually pretty different, mostly delegated to a couple removal spells and instead running more cards like Thoughtseize and Force of Negation. Actual on board removal is run in very low numbers outside of Yorion Piles. Due to this, permanents have a much higher probability of staying on board for several turns compared to Vanilla Modern.
With this idea, we can conclude that even though Chrome Mox sees a lot of play in NBL Modern, it cannot be held to the same standard as Vanilla Modern.
We can also apply this kind of thinking to cards that are banned in Legacy, but fine in Modern. The best example of this is Dreadhorde Arcanist, a card completely unseen in Modern.
The reason for this is because, like mentioned before, the checks in legacy are much different than in Modern. Legacy, just like NBL Modern, doesn't run much in terms of removal, and what little removal they did have was easily dealt with by countermagic which is very common in the format. The same thing also applies to Ragavan and Wrenn & Six.
It is because of these factors that NBL Modern and Legacg cannot be used as a metric to determine whether or not Chrome Mox is safe to unban in Vanilla Modern.

Disclaimer + Request

This, of course, is all completely hypothetical. Given that Chrome Mox has never been legal in Modern, and despite me doing several days of research on the matter, it is still uncertain on whether or not my claim is true.
Which is why I have a request for any LGS who wants to do some science! (If it's allowed)
I would like to conduct a study in a controlled environment where Chrome Mox is unbanned for about 8 months. (Though a year would be more ideal since it would give more time for the format to settle, which would give me much better data) During these 8 months, after each tournament, the organizer (I would be doing this myself if an LGS in my decides to do this) notes the decklist of each person in the tournament, their winrate, their matchups, and whether or not their deck has Chrome Mox in it. (For simplicity, the decklist doesn't have to be noted down. Ideally it would just be like: Player A, Izzet Murktide, /w Chrome Mox, 60% winrate, played against: Cascade WW, Affinity LWW, Jund LL, and UW Control LW-tie)
In addition, because Chrome Mox is pretty difficult to get, for the duration of the study, all participants will be allowed to proxy it.
Also the tournaments where Chrome Mox is legal would essentially be no different than a regular weekly tournament. Pay to get in, get store credit if you go 2-1-1 or better. The literal only difference is that now Chrome Mox is legal.

Expectations of this study

For the first several months, almost everyone is going to be using Chrome Mox. This is to be expected since it is a card never before legal in Vanilla Modern and is generally seen as strong, much like how when Stoneforge Mystic and Jace the Mind Sculptor were unbanned 4 years ago.
Then, over time, the useage of Chrome Mox will gradually go down as people begin to get used to the card and only put it in decks that actually should run it. Other people would likely start making decks that would like using Chrome Mox rather than use a deck that Chrome Mox is weak in but strong in the meta, like Rakdos or Murktide.
At roughly the 8 month mark, the format should more or less resemble the format we have now, except the decks Chrome Mox is good in, Tribal decks, Storm, Dredge, etc, have their foot a bit further in the door and see more representation.

Possible issues

• At the start of the study, if everyone starts playing degenerate decks, the study will fail because the format will be too grueling to actually settle and people will just leave instead. (My biggest fear is doing the study and 90% of the sample size deciding to play only Belcher) This issue would cause all data to be nonconclusive, since the study would have to be aborted soon after it began.
• A lot of stores might have a small player population. If the sample size is too small, the format may never actually settle and instead convey the idea that Chrome Mox would be too warping, even though it might not actually be. To remedy this, a survey could be given out every few weeks to ask how players feel about Chrome Mox and if it helped them win or lose a game. Make sure to not ask how they felt towards the game as a whole, because that will only tell us that they liked the card when they won, and disliked the card when they lost.
• The study length might not be long enough to settle, even with a respectable sample size. It took about a year for Stoneforge decks to settle down. Chrome Mox is seen as a stronger card than Stoneforge, so it is definitely possible it could take even more time to settle, much longer than 8 months, or even a year. I proposed 8 months because I didn't want to scare people off by saying this would take over a year to conduct. But if the LGS is willing to do this for over a year, that would be ideal.
• Magic players could just be stubborn and when they see that Chrome Mox is being unbanned, they just might decide they don't want to even give it a try.

Closer

Good god, this took a while. I worked on this for about 6 days. (not 6 days straight, just on and off researching and typing)
I definitely expect most, if not all, of you to actually disagree with me, and I definitely will be downvoted to oblivion. Some will probably call me a troll even though I am completely serious.
Anyways, this is what I did instead of my calculus homework.
Cheers!

Hello everyone. I've recently gone back to playing "Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate" on my 3DS. I enjoy it for both it's mechanics and the way the game looks. A while after coming back to it, my cousin loaned me a copy of "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" for the PS2. I noticed it had a similar art style, as in how things were shaded and modeled. I began to think about other games that look this way, and two great examples are the Wii/Gamecube version of "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and "Smash Bros. Brawl" on the Wii.
As I began to think more and more about this subject, I eventually figured out that I must have a thing for early 2000's to mid 2010's video games. I really love the way that they "feel". They are super clunky, but that clunkiness makes the game feel great. I love the lighting. The games look objectively dark, and it looks stunning. MH3U shades everything in such a way that it feels natural. It had a large emphasis on water and swimming, and when we think of those two in real life, we think happy and sunny things. In a game that is literally focused on hunting monsters, it should feel a little more dark. But it doesn't! Instead, there are places that shock you with their sheer beauty. In the middle of hunting monsters, sometimes I'll just stop and take in the scenery. I see beauty in the large areas all the way down to the small details. I cannot stop thinking about how amazing the developers did, everything looks just right. Not too cartoony, not too light, not too dark, everything is just right. This game, just like the others mentioned, feel so well lit and feel so exhilarating to play, and I've only felt this way with very few games. Of those few games, I noticed many of them were, once again, from the 2000s to mid 2010's. So, talented and wonderful people of the internet, I've come to ask for your aid. There is so much I want to know. What is this style called? Did games from this period often look like this, and I just don't remember? Why do I find it hard to describe the way these games look and feel? But above all else, what other games are like this "genre" in this specific time frame? I implore you to help me learn more, and I hope you learn something too. Whatever you can find and/or know would be greatly appreciated. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I thank you in advance!
TLDR: I need help finding games from around 2000-2015 that look like "Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate", where the game has a distinct look and feel to it (other games that look similar include "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" , "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater", and "Smash Bros. Brawl")