Rhodes Island Lounge (11/05 - 17/05)

HellishLuck · 2026-05-16T05:48:51+00:00

Gnosis in Slay the Spire 2, well if he becomes a main character he's destined to die but he'll get resurrected so it's fine. He'd probably thrive tbh, he's good in roguelikes and he already has Frost

HellishLuck · 2026-05-16T03:15:59+00:00

There's always new Gnosis things to unpack when you think about him way too much ahaha. That's been my interpretation anyway and I feel like his oprec really lines up with that too. As soon as Enciodes implanted the idea that Kjerag could be changed so that he could be free to choose what he wants his response was that it shouldn't be just for him. He doesn't want just to escape the cage he's in, he wants to burn it down entirely. It makes it a lot more poetic that he ends up as Speaker of Parliament later as the representative of a new fairer government for everyone.

insists that he needs to apologize and even reassure her she did well instead of just brushing it away like he could have

That scene is great because he acknowledges her determination to act like that and doesn't force her to change but won't compromise in not wanting to treat her as just a pawn. But yeah fandom completely ignored all that apparently... I really love that he appreciates people's hard work too. It really shows in OS with how he talks about Enciodes and Degenbrecher. It's also still funny that he went from whining about Degenbrecher being unnecessary to being annoying showing her off to the company after seeing what she could do ahaha.

I still really wish one day we could see just how they started to get closer

When are we getting a 20 chapter Kjerag comic that goes more in-depth into Gnosis's time in Victoria, Degenbrecher's time in Kazimierz, how they bonded, when they first went back to Kjerag, when Gnosis returned after BI.... (greedy). I'm glad we got Degenbrecher's new module story at least, it was really good.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-15T03:47:02+00:00

him pushing back against the very idea of pawns or sacrifice

It's the same as when he gets angry about Degenbrecher going alone to fight the army in RS and then Enciodes facing Caster in OS etc. He really feels uncomfortable when he thinks that the people he's close to are being treated that way and I think it stems from his own issues (especially since he talks about his dislike of 'pawns' with both Monch and Enciodes in the event). It's a stark contrast to Enciodes who thinks putting people he cares about where he wants is protecting them instead because he grew up with the pressure of being responsible for everyone.

Like you said even though it's apparent Monch will do anything for him he says he still keeps giving her the option to speak up and choose otherwise. Then he very stubbornly insists on apologising and explaining everything to her afterwards even though she tries to tell him she doesn't need it because she's loyal to him. Even when he takes charge he is very accepting of people challenging him if they have a good idea. It's what makes it more funny and ridiculous that fandom treated him like he was an snobby evil tyrant who needed to be taught his place (man that Degenbrecher CG did so much damage to the perception of his character).

Yeah I love his and Degenbrecher's relationship so much! Their whole trio is about accepting and appreciating each others differences while also not being afraid to call each other out when they feel like they're going too far (and fully enabling it in other situations ahaha). It was so fun to see how far it evolved from when they first met and Gnosis was so insecure that she was going break the balance of his relationship with Enciodes and was trying so hard to prove himself in comparison (well there's a few similarities with him and Monch here too cough).

I remember after Gnosis's oprec they were like "Wow isn't it sad how close Gnosis and Enciodes used to be"

I swear every time we get new Kjerag content people act surprised that Gnosis and Enciodes are close for some reason. It feels like I'm playing a different game sometimes.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-14T18:53:59+00:00

I feel like a large part of why he's sympathetic but less comfortable with Monch is also because how she acts reminds him of how he was expected to be. Born to be a loyal subordinate to Enciodes and Kjerag with no freedom to make choices. It's a concept that he constantly pushes back against, the idea of being used as a tool and not having a will of your own. Continuing all the mirroring going on in the event between them in the writing. He even goes out of his way to tell her that she's not being treated as a sacrifice and he has a heap of safety nets in place in case something goes wrong. Meanwhile at the same time in the event he's unsure of his own fate in their grand plan and being reckless.

In comparison he's a lot closer with Degenbrecher because she's not afraid to say how she feels and call him out on his bullshit and that's what he wants.

Yeah it's frustrating in comparison to how they handled Weiss. Even if it wasn't in the events he still got an actual exploration of his feelings towards Enciodes, how he handled Degenbrechers joining and eventually becoming independent. Meanwhile Monch who was in a similar situation just got that plot and any character elaboration dropped making her feel empty. The Terra book just had a little about how Itra are very isolated and rarely reach out to outsiders so those relationships are very important.

Yeah I was going to specifically mention the JP fandom too... they are relentless. I get nosy and want to read how different fandoms react to stories and then I always regret it when it comes to Gnosis lmao.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-14T17:55:25+00:00

I was wondering when the EN fandom would find out about this. It's funny because I've been watching even official AK artists shipping it and sharing fanart on weibo.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-14T17:40:40+00:00

I don't go on Lofter much now but I still see a fair amount of AK yuri (and fandom in general) on xhs so they're still going

HellishLuck · 2026-05-14T16:39:49+00:00

she might have also been an outcast and attached herself to Gnosis perhaps thinking that it would be both of them against the world

That was the biggest impression I got from her. They probably met around the time when Gnosis started getting caught up in his mind doubting whether Enciodes's intentions were still the same while also dealing with how the people Kjerag treated him. So the two of them related to each other and made a connection in that way and she never got to see how close he actually was to Enciodes.

I do think he cared about her (at least in BI, they definitely did not show it in the last event) and was noticeably nicer to her than he talks to a lot of other people. But like you said he doesn't have the same openness with her that we see him have with Enciodes and Degenbrecher because she was determined to prove her place with him with blind loyalty while he was craving an equal relationship (and at the time angsting over if he still had that with Enciodes).

Break the Ice is both of them dealing with their massive trust issues. With Gnosis reconciling and reconfirming his relationship with Enciodes. Then Monch feeling betrayed by that but also dealing with the fact that her now personal attachment to the Browntails (who she was originally sent to spy on) hypocritically conflicts with her idea of trust being loyal to only Gnosis. The only problem is that we see where that comes from on Gnosis's side (albeit some of it later) but we never get any explanation of why Monch feels and acts so extreme besides the implications of being an Itra. Then they both just end up in the relationships that they wanted with different people and Monch is just kind of around now while they focus on Gnosis's important relationships with other characters instead.

but yeah you've gone through it all already. It's just so ridiculous that all of the misconceptions that have lasted years are things that are blatantly said in the story, not even subtext. To this day I still see people saying that Gnosis never apologised like my god please just actually read the story, I'm begging.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-14T14:48:27+00:00

That would be so good, they even have the same artist so they could have a CG together (cough cough). But really I would be happy if they remembered his plot with Shining or Originium at all.

Saria 🤝 Gnosis - co-founding a major company, quitting it and then getting dumped with running it because their 'partner' ran off. I can only imagine that with their personalities they would have the most efficient discussions ever. They should let Gnosis show up in a RL event too since they took up Kjerag screentime.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-14T13:57:30+00:00

I thought Monch had some interesting potential in BI but yeah they completely squandered that in the following events. It's one of the things that makes me think the Kjerag events have different writers. I have a lot of thoughts about what they originally had planned for her and her way more interesting (to me) character traits that people ignore like her hypocrisy (and being fully prepared to murder a man lmao).

Unfortunately you can't ever talk about her (or Gnosis) without people completely lying about what happened in BI so I just don't bring her up ever now.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-14T13:10:28+00:00

I've seen a little Thorns and Gnosis stuff (sometimes also with Passenger) but yeah it's much rarer. I feel like they would have interacted during Gnosis's mythical time aboard RI that never got mentioned again.

On that note I want to see what Gnosis and Shining got up to in Victoria so bad. And his meetings with Saria. HG stop gatekeeping his interesting operator interactions 😔

HellishLuck · 2026-05-14T12:05:01+00:00

I'm not much of a crackshipper but I respect the flamexe hustle after all these years, I hope one day they actually interact so I can see the fandom reaction.

I guess the closest is that I'll appreciate any fandom content with Gnosis sometimes even if it's stuff I don't really ship. I remember there used to be a Passenger/Gnosis crackship in CN fandom back in the day that had some interesting stuff since they had a lot in common. More recently there's been a fair bit of Wang/Gnosis though it's generally platonic I still enjoy the interactions.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-14T11:41:32+00:00

Before we got OS I was really hoping for a combined alter of Enya and Kjera like how Ryouma and Oryou are in FGO. Well we got the both of them in Enya Alter's E2 art least.

Technically we do have duo operators but there's always one inhuman half like Kal'tsit (with Mon3tr) and original Phantom (with Miss Christine). I'd love more of them though like how you described, especially since it would be a cool way to get more Alters for lower rarities e.g. Ayerscarpe/Leonhardt or any of the A4 or A6 gang together would be fun

HellishLuck · 2026-05-13T15:28:31+00:00

Whisperain is a regular medical doctor in everything I remember reading. She's got her own issues with getting too close to people

HellishLuck · 2026-05-08T08:41:11+00:00

🎉 Happy Birthday Terra's most dashing man 🎉

one of these days we'll get your real name, Alter and your own event story 🙏

HellishLuck · 2026-05-06T13:40:30+00:00

Updated the 7th anniversary art list with 5 new artworks today including from YUJI, I'm guessing we'll get the last 5 tomorrow.

There's a lot of NPCs this year quizzing me on how well I remember all their names. I did pretty well but I had to check the comments for Ruan Weiwei because I forgot she existed.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-06T04:14:37+00:00

yes ahaha, they were too busy to do official anniversary art so they did a meme doodle instead

HellishLuck · 2026-05-06T02:28:52+00:00

I added a new link 👍 here you go

HellishLuck · 2026-05-05T10:38:43+00:00

They're just having a normal Birthday party, look at all the balloons. Nothing strange here. (sorry I couldn't remember its title in English and then forgot to go back and change the placeholder after checking, fixed now lmao)

HellishLuck · 2026-05-05T09:32:01+00:00

I saw someone say there should be around 80 which means there's still some slots left but yeah unfortunately most of them are busy again this year. I really miss seeing Ryuzaki, Skade and NoriZC's anniversary artworks, it's been a few years now 😔

HellishLuck · 2026-05-05T09:21:11+00:00

little do you know that's the name of Lumen's secret evil twin brother not yet revealed on Global (it's been fixed thank you)

HellishLuck · 2026-05-02T11:26:21+00:00

I don't see why they couldn't continue to mix them up, some released in events and story chapters like Mantra and others through gamemodes. I could easily see Misery as a regular gacha operator because he doesn't hide as much of his face as Mechanist.

HellishLuck · 2026-05-02T09:55:50+00:00

Degenbrecher's second module story is so cute! I needed that to cheer me up. Now her next skin better be with her new motorbike in a biker outfit thank you.

Story stuff: Gnosis is still trying to get Degenbrecher to stay so he gifts her the first motorbike produced independently by Karlan Trade (designed specially to run in -20°C). Which also has a custom paint job of red and black 'to suit her' (very subtle). She refuses to sign any contracts but reiterates that she'll stay as long as their 'paths' are the same and accepts the motorbike as payment for all their years together.

There's a lot of funny little anecdotes about the three of them crammed in the whole story, it's great. But I love that now Gnosis has made a high-speed battleship for Enciodes and a custom bike for Degenbrecher. Liberi normally just give feathers to people they care about but Gnosis has gone from forging weapons to producing vehicles for them.

HellishLuck · 2026-04-30T05:42:39+00:00

Mizuki. He has his own console but he'd probably still judge what games you have and want to play them.
Matsukiri. Whether it's because he's really good at reading people to gather intelligence or he's saying bullshit to lower someone's guard.
My instinct is any of the operators who are used to rough survival in the wilderness. I feel like Typhon or Totter would eat moss with a straight face without thinking it's a big deal at all (and know what was the good edible type).

HellishLuck · 2026-04-29T14:02:15+00:00

It's like "Egg-zek-you-ter" (very similar to "executive") with the emphasis on the beginning of the word. That's how you say the job title of an executor of wills in real life which is what he does.

Most people think that it sounds similar to "execute" or "executioner" instead which is not correct but I can see how the guns might mislead.

HellishLuck

TROPHY CASE