GGaD » Cosmic Dim. (V. XVIII), You're Correct but You're Not Right

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 16:19:51

Oh yeah, wait, I do remember something
People decided to saw down the tree outside of our house or something, which kinda sucked because that tree definitely had sentimental value. Not to say that I don't understand why they did that (it was starting to get sick, I believe), but it not only provides shade in the morning for our house during the hottest day of summer, it also lets the birds who live on the porch go up there and sing in the morning. And I'd buried the brine shrimp from APES under it too.
Oh, well.

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 21:20:28

4 hour nap!
I do think I feel a bit better. Let's see how tonight goes lol

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 21:22:06

Lol me immediately noticing how I started two posts the same way: A word and an exclamation point
Look, I can think now, so I'm happy about it. Don't make fun of me xD

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 22:26:37

I dislike how one can be bitten by a mosquito 5 days ago and still inadvertently smell the anti-itch balm under their nails to the exact degree it smelled then today

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 22:44:44

Oh yeah, I beat like one portion of Grail Front.
Ashwatthama is a lifesaver, lemme just say that.
Tbh I'm imagining how it looks in canon and I just imagine this really loud and scary guy with a fire wheel chasing after you and shouting all the while. It's rather terrifying.

Also there is definitely a reason why I didn't learn how to play chess (: (too dumb)

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 22:57:13

Oh also I might share my wacky farming team for the first portion's legendary node (it is actually super wack xD)
If it works, that is. Yesterday it was basically a 4-turn run, except one turn got stalled by me being stupid (not applying some buffs and just going for base damage,,, definitely not a good idea), and then the last turn got stalled after Cu and Scathach put up Evade.
I need to remember to put up buffs and also maybe switch around CEs, so let's see if it works.

Tbh F/GO continues showing how I actually have rather decent luck :') I've cleared out the first round of rolls already. I also got the grand prize on the 4th roll, which is pretty early I think?
Kinda sad, tbh.

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 23:39:06

On the topic of luck, I do have 2 K-Scopes and 2 2030s, so as long as I have sufficient buffs, I could probably farm easily (given that one Servant has a charge of their own or something like that...I'm mostly thinking of Buster compositions for this tho)
Now that I think about it, I've never used two K-scopes in a team since I got the second one (: it's kinda just sat there.

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 23:52:52

I did a left-brained/right-brained quiz for a class (for fun, basically) and somehow managed to get a perfect 50/50 lol
Kinda reminds me of how when I first did the MBTI quiz, I got 51%/49%
Fun times

According to (other) quizzes, I'm still an ambivert (and I would agree with that assessment, just because I don't feel like my enthusiasm for interacting with people in general has changed), but man my willingness to initiate interactions with most people has dropped from lack of faith in most of society's ability to sympathize with others
Like I get happy talking to and helping people, but only at a distance, and also, them not being willing to wear masks means my mind goes into a spiral of focusing extensively on the ideological differences between us (or whatever one would call it)
Just to reiterate, I understand wearing a mask is hard. I really do. So if people don't wear masks (wrote "buses" lmiao) at work and with family/friends, I can understand it, even if it's not the most rational thing. 'Cause I know most people aren't that rational. Heck, I can struggle keeping it up, too.
But not quarantining and masking up when you're sick, as well as not doing those things when you're in crowded places with lots of people, is just stupid, and I dunno a nicer way to say it.
Maybe it's just an opinion, but I think I probably lean towards right on this one lol

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 23:55:25

By the way, here's the quiz link! It's just for fun lol
https://www.idrlabs.com/left-brained-right-brained/test.php
Feel free to share your results if you'd like (idk I just really like random quizzes I guess), but also feel free to not do that or do the quiz at all, obviously.

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 24, 2022 00:03:56

My mind just now: Would you like to remember that very awkward scene in Huyao Xiao Hongniang's Zhuye Arc
Me:
Me: No, why would I want that
My mind: Coming right up!
Me: I said no.
My mind: Here you go! In full detail! Completely and fully envisioned!
Me: :/
My mind: Oh so you'd rather remember what happens in the upcoming arc then huh
Me: NO! WHY WOULD I WANT THAT???
My mind: Also coming right up!

suffering suffering suffering

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 24, 2022 12:53:20

I got the emails I've been not getting done done, so I'm pretty happy about that!
Again, I'll be out during the afternoon, so I'll come back in the evening or tomorrow and let you know I'm still around (I was gonna say something like "up and about," but no lol "jubilant" does not describe Galaxian as you know)

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 17:37:55

I still feel like Mutian City's second leader had a crush on Xiao Tianhao,,, I've been trying to look more into his scenes but it just feels like it's the way it is. Xiao Tianhao had fallen in love with a girl who basically just used him, and the Second Leader's way of expressing his feelings was through also embroiling himself into Li Muchen's schemes to support Xiao Tianhao. He ultimately died after splitting his own soul, with his last wish being that Xiao Tianhao would find fruition to his efforts
There's some joke about a gay guy liking a straight guy in there somewhere
Idk, I just feel like the way he acted for and with Xiao Tianhao was not normal behavior (they called each other brothers, but that's a thing in Chinese culture for people with the same cause, not actual sibling relationships). The biggest thing for me was definitely how much raw resentment he had towards Li Muchen. He was forced to watch as Xiao Tianhao pledged his life and heart to her, and the donghua specifically honed in on his expression (he grimaced and wanted to say something but turned away angrily)
Interesting lol.

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 17:47:02

Oh wait, I forgot what his last words actually meant.
The Second Leader's words implied that he viewed Xiao Tianhao as working for his own goals rather than those of Li Muchen (as there are cultural connotations in Chinese relating to people when they have a cause of their own, as opposed to Xiao Tianhao, who had no ambitions of his own), when in reality, Xiao Tianhao was really more of a willing puppet for Li Muchen, who he'd loved at first sight when he was little. That implies that the Second Leader was really trying to convince himself that he was helping Xiao Tianhao rather than the woman he disliked so much, and he persisted in that until his death (where he established a connection so his soul's fragments would complete Xiao Tianhao's soul).
I love these little details.
I think any ship would probably be less toxic than Xiao Tianhao with Li Muchen, since Li Muchen didn't understand love and kindness and really just used Xiao Tianhao while trying to love him (though she could only see love as being a forced connection between two people and couldn't understand the emotional component), while he allowed himself to be used and was content with her just wanting to try liking him (even if it was for her own gains). But Xiao Tianhao and the Second Leader's relationship probably wouldn't work either. Xiao Tianhao was a rather weak person who could only follow the will of someone else. His greatest resolve was being willing to sacrifice himself for the love of his life, even if he could see that she didn't truly reciprocate his actions. He was pretty much a pushover. Meanwhile, the Second Leader also only followed Xiao Tianhao, whatever their actual relationship was. He demonstrated a degree of cruelty in disregarding the consequences of his actions, and while he also was willing to sacrifice himself for someone else's cause, he clearly was deceiving himself to the end. Both of them hoped for what could never be and didn't hold the world in any regard when it came to what they were willing to do. Pushovers or not, they were definitely not good people by any means, and they were dependent on someone with an actual cause.

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 17:58:32

Tbh earlier I hadn't understood why Mu Mie died and guessed that it maybe had to do with Jin Chenxi, but now I think I was pretty stupid, and it was probably from Honghong punching the place he was in over and over or something like that (this is kinda a joke, I feel like it still had something to do with Jin Chenxi instead but still don't quite understand. I might have to rewatch at some point lol)

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 18:22:12

I really do like the little relationship chain that the Mutian City Arc incorporated and all the little themes within each component, like Li Muchen's narcissism and non-heroic ambition coupled with Xiao Tianhao's single-sided love and utter lack of such ambition. In their case, the leader was always her, but there was such an imbalance between what they wanted to do in life that it ultimately ended in failure. She was always looking outward, towards the most grandiose achievements, while he focused on her as an individual, hoping for a possibility that she would look back at him while simultaneously, somehow, understanding the impossibility of that hope. Ironically, he was so attracted to her because of her sense of drive and "understood" that she wouldn't reciprocate his feelings because of that drive, thereby appreciating that she was willing to try to return his feelings (though he didn't quite understand how much she lacked the capability to feel). Meanwhile, she seemed to understand that he'd do anything for her, and exploited his willingness to do so (by understanding it as dual-sided love), but ironically, the idealized version of him that she created to try to love was also a Xiao Tianhao who would be willing to do anything for her bravely, just without any cowardice.
I quite dislike Li Muchen, as she's a very cruel person who even spurned family (when it was implied that her brothers at least did care for her, even if they tended to leave her behind in what they did) and was willing to do anything for her own interests, but I suppose there could be some undisclosed backstory for her for why she became the person she became. She was someone with a lot of drive, who felt overshadowed by her brothers. Her ultimate goal became related to the outside world like her brothers, but she took an entirely different approach that involved killing multiple innocents by manipulating their love for their loved ones. Essentially, she was someone who spurned the idea of love in itself and saw it only as something to be manipulated. My personal opinion is that it was possible that as a girl, her family (the Li family) led to her developing that unhealthy drive, and their lack of attention on her, likewise, made it so that she fostered horrible morals on her own without anyone to correct them. She wanted to become an equal to her brothers, if not more, and she was willing to do anything to achieve that. I really do feel like there was some reason to her becoming that sort of person, rather than her being that sort of individual by nature. But all of this is just speculation, as I said.
Interestingly enough, it's implied that Li Muchen ultimately ended up falling in love with the actual Xiao Tianhao moments before their souls disintegrated together. Before, she had tried to "love" (in her twisted definition of love, which btw is related to my speculation) a version of him that was an equal to herself--someone with the same drive as her, with the same amount of ambitions, willing to protect her at all costs and help her no matter what he had to sacrifice. The irony was that she didn't realize that he already loved her without any calculations, and that he could find a drive to do things if only for her (rather than for any cause), even though he was scared all the while. So at the end, when she lost after being unable to realize that, she was only able to realize his feelings when he showed that he believed in what she/they had tried to do, even if it was horribly immoral in the eyes of the rest of the world--which I think was a sign of the bravery and protection she had been seeking.
I don't think I can really describe this relationship adequately. It's not a healthy connection between two characters, but it's really meaningful, and I think it does teach a plethora of lessons. For one, true love can only exist when genuine feelings are in play and are directed towards the real version of someone, not the idealized version of someone. Second, two people in a relationship need to have a similar view of the world and what they want to do within that world. Third is that obviously, a relationship between a narcissist and a person with a more normal interpretation of love will not work, which is why I found their conclusion so interesting--it looks like at the end, Li Muchen wasn't a complete narcissist.

Sorry for the bad writing lol. I really do want to analyze what the author did. I think these two side characters were very compelling, even though their actions didn't seem the most complicated.

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 18:42:23

Here's the clip I was talking about btw
连旁人都不忍心啊#李慕尘_哔哩哔哩_bilibili
I'll even translate it badly for anyone interested
(I can't translate Chinese titles well so I'll just use the names. Bear with me please lol. The essence is that Xiao Tianhao and Li Muchen also call each other "Brother" and "Sister," in a sense, but again, it's not sibling-related. It's more of an indication of who's older and who's younger [Tianhao is older than her and the Second Leader, and thus Li Muchen calls him "Tian ge" {Elder Brother Tian}, and the Second Leader calls him "Da ge" {Eldest Brother}].)

Xiao Tianhao, to Li Muchen: ...have you ever thought about what I think?
Li Muchen: Why are you talking about that all of a sudden?
Li Muchen: Of course I know. You're obviously doing this...because you love me.
Xiao Tianhao: Well, that's not wrong. Ever since I first saw you, when I was still a kid, my soul never belonged to me since. Every day, I'd go to the Li family's place, when their family hated mine.
Second Leader: (*making a face lol*)
Xiao Tianhao: No matter what you did, I'd always cover for you. And this time, for the sake of your plans, I even helped you dissect the Yaomeng ambassador while she was still alive and steal the secret scrolls of the Daomeng League, publicly becoming an enemy of the entire world by doing so. And even while doing that, I was just trying my best to shield and support you.
Li Muchen: ...so...you want to back down now...?
Xiao Tianhao: ...No. You can do it now.
The Second Leader: (*clearly still very unhappy about what is happening for some reason. Visibly upset, he starts towards where the other two are but stops himself. He clenches his fist and jaw and looks away.*)
Xiao Tianhao: I just wanted to say one thing.
Xiao Tianhao: In reality...I've always known. You...
(The ritualistic knives slice down and kill him before he finishes.)

---

They're that pair that's hard to sympathize with but is super fun to analyze (at least for me) (:

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 19:00:13

Just found a clip of Li Muchen saying to the Second Leader, "If you don't do what I say, I won't call out your most beloved Elder Brother"
FSDJIFJDSIROJFSDOFDJ THIS IS NOT PLATONIC

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 19:03:37

I really do need to rewatch this arc just to support my theory

Li Muchen: (*acting insane*)
Second Leader: (*look of disgust that can be interpreted as "Why does he like her again???"*)

I also don't remember if the manhua had these details. It'll be even funnier if it didn't (animation squad exclusive interpretations lol)

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 23:41:22

Ngl, I finally got around to finishing all my emails, and then today I come and there's somehow even more :') please send help somehow

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 23:49:09

On a lighter note, I finally have an actually funny story to tell you guys (idk how long it's been)...though we all know I will suck at making it sound funny in actuality
My mom and I were walking back from my school, and at one point we stopped to rest because...that's a wise thing to do. So we were sitting on the ground near some fencing on top of a hill. At one point, we both notice a lil white doggo staring right at us. It's pacing around a bit and just looking at us, not doing anything else. I go back to my "no thoughts, head empty" state pretty quickly, but my mom thinks it's funny to talk to the doggo. She basically says (loudly) down the hill, "Why you staring, huh? Doggo? You too scared to come up to defend your territory? ;)?"
The doggo, as you might think, doesn't talk back. It actually goes back to the house after half a minute or so. But another half minute later, it's back, along with a slightly bigger dog (a medium sized), more yellow in color. And I watch it as the two of them start stalking up the hill together. (My mom is too short to be able to see down the hill at this moment.) I'm kind of dizzy from excessive sun exposure at this point, but also I find it funny, so I don't say anything until both of them are up against the fence, and the white dog my mom "taunted" starts barking its head off at us.
To her credit, Mom realized the irony of the situation pretty quickly, so she started laughing. I of course blamed her for taunting the lil dog as well. Another funny component to the situation is that the little dog was really riled up at us for some reason, while the bigger dog it dragged along with it mostly didn't bark and only chimed in once in a while. It made me think of those people in group presentations who only interrupt once in a while to make it seem like they contributed, which is funny.
Anyhow, the little dog hightailed it back into its house after a little while, which was funny to watch for me since I'd seen it come up the hill. The other dog just stuck around and sniffed some grass. xD

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 26, 2022 15:30:32

Mom's bad luck is getting progressively less funny (':

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 26, 2022 16:11:06

Anyways,
I didn't share Term 1's 90+ node farming team yet, but Term 2 is really simple. Turn 1: Tangseng. She has Devilish Bodhisattva on, so her first skill charges her NP gauge above 100. Pop Castoria's first skill just to be safe. She plows through the single unit's 100K health.
Turn 2: Sieg (with a Black Grail, not MLBed yet). Finish rest of Castoria's skills, then swap out for the second Castoria. Use all three of her skills as well, and then Xuanzang's third skill (just to be sure), and Sieg's first and third skills. Assassins gone. It's really important to get all the NP gain skills up for him, because Assassins offer really low refund, and you won't have any charge left the way I'm doing it.
Turn 3: Pop Sieg's variation of a Mana Burst (skill 2). You won't need the Mystic Code's attack boost. Plow through Summer Ushi and Scathach.
And done.
I got a lot of farming done just with this team. Bless Tangseng for coming twice lol. NP1 her getting to max gauge and getting 30% more gauge from Castoria with me being unable to see it would drive me crazy

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 26, 2022 20:58:18

I'm not gonna lie, casserole and lasagna look really good to me, but I've never tried them before, so I wanna try them at one point in the future lol
I think I'll try nonetheless but you guys let me know if it's actually good (if you want)

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 27, 2022 14:18:43

I might have gotten through a few Grail Fronts, but it's probably because of luck and my Servants being good. I keep ending with only one Servant lol
Grail Front 1: Ended with Changgong
Grail Front 2: Ended with Ashwatthama (I did this one first)
Grail Front 3: Ended with Yang Guifei

I might be forgetting one, or maybe I just did 3. But :') lol thank the gods I do have soloing experience
Yang Guifei got her first bar popped, but then she just two-punched Mr. M. so lol. I backed her into a corner but also backed him into a corner
I kinda like how I like tactician characters so much but suck as a tactician myself. I'd really rather read people instead xD
I guess I am improving, I'm just pretty bad at it still. Lemme see if I can improve even more so I'm not too big of a noob.

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 27, 2022 14:33:27

Btw I feel like this game mode is pretty sadistic. For Grail Front #3, I literally had the Saint of Orleans watch as an enemy Servant punched her Master, who she failed to protect under her flag, into oblivion
And for Grail Front #2 it was basically Ashwatthama going "C'MERE!!" to Mr. M., who clearly feared for his life

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 27, 2022 17:15:18

How the school year is going so far:
-Galaxian is actually glad they took Gov before Stats because otherwise they wouldn't even know what political parties are lol
-They also nearly cried at Fun Theory videos (r.i.p.)
-They definitely are not qualified for Spanish; someone boot them back to Spanish 2 please
-> Also Spanish is at like 9 in the morning so that's not okay :')

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 27, 2022 18:36:37

I actually like MSN's new emojis, not because they're better than the older ones but because I can look at them and not get stressed. They don't express emotions as well and are generally more cartoony, and if that was their purpose then I am of the opinion that they achieved that purpose well (for context, if you can't see MSN as your homepage, most articles have angry face reaction emoticons showing next to them, and for me they used to be really stress-inducing and stuff)

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 27, 2022 19:03:06

I usually can understand why China censors the things it does, but the recent batch of Chinese server F/GO censorship is kinda just.
I guess I can infer why Scathach's bodysuit was censored, but Darius and Curse Arm Hassan? Really??
Why lol
At this point, just ban the game or something. If you were to censor all the iffy stuff in F/GO, you'd ruin the game experience by a lot

Like if you don't like F/GO's interpretations of Chinese characters, I get it. I don't like some of them either (though some are also interesting imo lol)
But why censor other countries' historic/legendary figures??? I mean, if the Japanese minded Ushiwakamaru's design to a huge extent, shouldn't they be the ones trying to get her a redesign or something? Idk

Also if you can use so much energy in censoring specific characters and CEs, why not just redraw them while you're at it or something?? Going off of it being censorship rather than the game just being banned, I assume they want the money, so????

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 27, 2022 19:05:26

I don't know the changed names of the characters (though ngl my imagination of what "Abandoned Son of the Mist" (Jack) is is rather cool, lol), but I'm kinda just imagining the censorship changing Asterios' name to "Minotaur" and him just going after them with a vengeance

-Galaxian-

GalaxianExplosion · August 27, 2022 19:10:54

Nvm, found the post
Jack's name ain't very cool lmiao. "雾都弃子" is not what I was expecting.
I guess the thing to mention here is that in Chinese, “子" can just mean "child" or "children," and because it refers to a group, it can be directed towards a group of children with various genders. So it's not necessarily "Son," but rather "Abandoned Child(ren) of the Foggy City" or something like that. It's not as bad in English as it is in Chinese (it's just weird there lol).
Medusa's censored name is funny. It's “歌果," which is clearly a transliteration of how "Gorgon" is pronounced, just done badly. Compared to "Geguo," I would probably go with "Guogen" because it's just more accurate. As of current, that name means "Fruit of song," which is kinda funny since it makes her sound like she's a Siren (which she isn't, clearly)

Finally:
Eddy Sage lmiao
His name is literally Edward Teach.
The reason I find this funny is because I actually quite dislike Blackbeard, so his name getting butchered is 100% fine by me, but still xD. Why?

-Galaxian-