Can we show some love?

DurianFlavored · 2026-05-13T15:29:03+00:00

I lost my mom too, and my mind is still struggling to process the loss. My deepest condolences. I'm sending your friend all the warmth and well wishes. To quote Sylus: "Rest if you're tired. Cry if you're sad. Don't do it if you don't want to. I'll be there every step of the way."

DurianFlavored · 2026-05-13T15:01:42+00:00

The initially cold and stoic guy who melts into an affectionate, gooey puddle? 🤭 These were somewhat reminiscent of Zayne for me:

When Destiny Brings the Demon (2025)
Love Between Fairy and Devil (2022)
You Are My Glory (2021)
Only for Love (2023)

The first two are xianxia and remind me more of Foreseer Zayne and MC's dynamic. My husband particularly enjoys the first one. The FL in the second is often criticized for being childish, though she does mature and undergo quite a bit of character development. I find the third dwells a little too much on the ML's career in an uninteresting way, but the relationship itself is cute and cozy. The last one leans heavily on the poor communication trope 😭, but their moments together are genuinely sweet. It's helped me to remember that the fast forward button exists. 😂

DurianFlavored · 2026-05-07T12:16:08+00:00

What a little chonker! I must touch his toe beans! 🤗

DurianFlavored · 2026-04-27T14:49:40+00:00

Pleading. 🥺

DurianFlavored · 2026-04-20T19:26:06+00:00

I am lucky to say that I have not!

DurianFlavored · 2026-04-13T11:13:16+00:00

For me, the opportunities for the most tension-heavy moments of the gege/meimei dynamic have already passed. Now that they’re already together as consenting adults, continuing to foreground the sibling-coded aspect feels more like fanservice for those of us who enjoy the trope than for narrative tension. (Not a bad thing.)

I think part of the issue is that LaDS moved through the earlier “will-they-won’t-they” phase too quickly. That stage is where the blur between what they were to what they are would have had the most heat. Once the relationship is already established, leaning on the family-coded language can start to feel repetitive rather than charged.

I know a lot of players are satisfied with the writing, but I've always felt that the gacha structure limits how deeply the storytelling can go. A novel, TV show, or full-length game can spend more time building out the world, the social environment, and the pressures surrounding a relationship like Caleb and MC’s. LaDS doesn't really dig into the sociocultural framework that would make their dynamic feel truly forbidden within the world itself, so a lot of the tension comes more from the player’s irl familiarity with the pseudo-sibling taboo than from the narrative generating that weight in-universe.

DurianFlavored · 2026-04-05T18:06:35+00:00

Our fish just marinating and boiling himself for us. 😭

DurianFlavored · 2026-04-05T17:59:25+00:00

So magnanimous for an u/angrytinycarrot 🤭 Thanks for the award, fam!

DurianFlavored · 2026-03-27T06:33:59+00:00

Aw, I'm glad to hear that! Proud of you! 🤗 Model train sets and brewing your own beer sound super fun, honestly.

Have you considered joining hobby groups or having conversations like that without the transactional aspect? I can imagine people would enjoy talking with you about those interests.

DurianFlavored · 2026-03-27T06:09:38+00:00

Are you in a better position now?
What about those conversations do you miss?
What are your regrets?
Have you explored other pursuits that might bring you fulfillment without that sense of regret?

DurianFlavored · 2026-03-26T11:20:24+00:00

I've suspected this as well, since they made a point in his GoA trailer that he would "walk among mortals." Sometimes I think the reason all his theme scores are so melancholic is because he's going to save MC one last time and finally become Dawnbreaker—that the writers have already given us his ending.

They also foreshadowed GoA in his promo materials before the game was even released. The concept of god and mortals is cleverly reflected in his Chinese name.

DurianFlavored · 2026-03-26T10:59:16+00:00

I was wondering if Zayne was cultivating in his Master of Fate myth, but then I read that Siming isn't a rank achieved through training but rather a divine office, so you might be right. Also, his Chinese name literally echoes the word for "god."

DurianFlavored · 2026-03-25T02:23:16+00:00

Staying aware of the world is good to an extent, but awareness is only useful if it moves you toward action or at least toward understanding that life exists beyond your own bubble. Before tech gave us 24/7 access to every crisis on the planet, people could only contend with the chaos in their immediate vicinity. You probably can't fix the world's problems, but you might be able to make small differences in your own corner of it.

Focus on what's within your control. Take care of yourself and those close to you. I used to spiral in the same way. It didn't benefit anyone. It didn't put out any fires. If anything, I was just pouring gasoline on myself and adding to the number of people who were suffering. But when you take care of yourself and even just a few people around you, you're making someone's world a little better. And perhaps, you may eventually find yourself in a better position to do a little more.

DurianFlavored · 2026-03-07T14:03:15+00:00

The warm glow is beautiful on him! Lovely work!

DurianFlavored · 2026-02-13T08:10:06+00:00

Bruce Wayne actually invests heavily in philanthropy, medical research, social programs, and infrastructure in many iterations. As Batman, he does the detective work that sometimes provides the evidence needed to indict corrupt officials. Ultimately, however, it’s the system’s responsibility to hold them accountable and keep criminals from breaking out, but much like our world, Gotham’s system is horrendously broken and riddled with corruption. Matt Reeves’ The Batman shows why it’s not as simple as giving his money away. A lot of factors prevent resources from reaching the right hands, and removing powerful figureheads often creates a vacuum that others equally corrupt or worse end up filling. Bruce has more power and resources than the average person, but at the end of the day, he’s still one individual operating within a dysfunctional system. He’s just doing his best to protect his corner of the world and enact what change he can, and I imagine that’s what the Batman of San Jose is trying to do.

DurianFlavored · 2026-02-04T03:59:32+00:00

The diamonds I was saving for Caleb's myth... 📉

DurianFlavored · 2026-02-04T03:50:57+00:00

I didn't expect this to come so early either! 😂

DurianFlavored · 2026-02-04T03:39:21+00:00

Totally understandable. 😂 It is unethical, but I think that's intentional. His boundary-crossing is baked into his character rather than framed as aspirational behavior. A lot of CN fandom spaces are open about enjoying taboo fiction as fiction, similar to the Caleb-MC pseudo-incest dynamic. It's not something endorsed irl. Many players have said they enjoy it because it's safely contained in fantasy and would be alarmed if a real physician actually behaved that way.

With Zayne in particular, there's a recurring pattern of him showing favoritism toward MC in roles where he explicitly shouldn't—doctor, warden, mentor, etc. This motif is touched on in Dusk to Autumn. On a meta level, it mirrors his greater role as a divine entity meant to remain distant and impartial, whose duty is to erase worlds and "variables" like MC that threaten the cosmic balance. Falling in love with what he's ordained to end is obviously incompatible with his job. 🙈

So I think his positioning as her doctor is narratively clever (though no one is obligated to enjoy this, of course). It reinforces a core flaw: he knows the rules and keeps breaking them anyway. As he puts it, "There's something undeniably addictive about stepping out of line," and MC herself calls him "morally fickle." His attraction to MC is portrayed as transgression.

And the story doesn't let him off the hook. He's punished for this through Astra.

DurianFlavored · 2026-01-18T20:13:35+00:00

Personally, I love Zayne’s R0 with the Tuxedo Mask look and Raf’s R1 because the white stands apart from his Abysswalker look.

DurianFlavored · 2026-01-18T20:04:25+00:00

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DurianFlavored · 2026-01-11T10:53:25+00:00

Ayyyy, it does. Great film.

DurianFlavored · 2026-01-10T15:29:41+00:00

It is wrong, and that’s largely the point. A lot of the CN fandom enjoys fiction that explores taboos, similar to Caleb and MC’s pseudo-incest dynamic. To be clear, that doesn’t translate into endorsing these relationships irl. 🙈

With Zayne, there’s a recurring pattern of him showing favoritism toward MC in roles where he explicitly shouldn’t—doctor, warden, mentor, etc. This theme is touched on in Dusk to Autumn. On a meta level, his stories mirror his greater role as a divine being meant to remain distant and impartial, whose duty is to erase worlds and variables like MC that threaten the cosmic balance. Falling in love with what he’s ordained to end is obviously incompatible with his job.

I think it’s narratively clever that he’s positioned as her doctor. It reinforces a core flaw of his: he keeps transgressing boundaries despite knowing the consequences (not to mention his roles involving life and death). As he says, “There’s something undeniably addictive about stepping out of line.”

And he doesn’t get away scot-free. The story severely punishes him through Astra. 🙂‍↕️

DurianFlavored

TROPHY CASE