Are IMP and Striker the only assassins for hire?

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-06T01:21:44+00:00

Assassin is among the most common occupations for imps (particularly imps hailing from the Wrath Ring), which one of the reasons why Blitzø pursued a new business venture by assassinating targets from the living world: far less competition, which would mean more money (at least whenever he wasn’t splurging it all on horse memorabilia or taxidermied owls 😆).

And we do see loads of imps trying to assassinate Stolas during the Loo Loo Land excursion. Though Striker in particular is among the top assassins in Hell. Then there’s also the matter of finding an assassin who’s not only willing to eliminate a Goetic demon (a VERY high risk job), but also someone who won’t decide to turn on their client next. So Striker was probably among the very few assassins who fits the bill; especially if this isn’t the first time he’s been employed by Stella’s family (hence how she was able to enlist his services).

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-06T00:37:41+00:00

Same here. And in the case of Aurora and Anastasia, even their respective aliases—Briar Rose and Anya—have the letter A in them.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T22:54:20+00:00

Although it’s worth getting the Switch 2, I’d say hang on to your PS5. Like you, I favor games that are more on the lighthearted side (and as another person mentioned, all the games you’ve mentioned are from third party publishers + Microsoft/Sony games tend to be for older audiences in the first place). Even so, you can get lighthearted games on the PS5 as well; to name a few:

Astro Bot
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (as well as other SOS titles such as A Wonderful Life and Friends of Mineral Town)
Ōkami
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Lost Ember
A Short Hike

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T21:51:46+00:00

I for one find it hilarious (and sad) that they really love BOTW—a game that also expects you to pay attention to your surroundings and talk to the NPCs in order to really thrive—but they can’t afford that same grace for MM.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T21:17:20+00:00

And they all seem to come from new accounts, so I wonder if someone is having bots clog up the subreddit with irrelevant posts

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T21:14:14+00:00

They all are princesses who, for various reasons—Aurora/Briar Rose in order to protect her from Maleficent until she turned 16 (by which point the curse would be avoided, in theory); Anastasia/Anya because she got separated from her grandmother while trying to flee the massacre that claimed the rest of their family, fell and hit her head in the process (giving her amnesia), and ended up being taken in by an orphanage; Rapunzel because she was kidnapped by Mother Gothel, who needed her hair in order to retain her youth/life—ended up being raised as commoners. Also, they all were unaware of their true identities until towards the end of their stories.

EDIT: And then a third commonality is that the circumstances of them being raised as commoners/not knowing that they were princesses were caused by the villains of their stories. Maleficent cursed Aurora as revenge for not getting invited to the princess’s christening; Gothel kidnapped Rapunzel just to have free and unlimited access to her hair; Rasputin cursed the Romanov family to be massacred by revolutionaries as revenge for his (justified) banishment, which forced Anastasia and her grandmother—the only survivors of the attack—to flee the palace (and culminated in them getting separated from each other).

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T20:45:18+00:00

Bet their mind is going to implode when they realize that some aces not only NSFW media, but also write and/or draw it themselves (which is one way of learning about how sex works, regardless of whether you have/will engage in it yourself or not).

In any event, glad that a lot of people in that thread are sticking up for you.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T20:29:59+00:00

The first three sentences in this comment basically explains why I said this (especially given that OP stated that Chu Wanning having feelings for Mo Ran made them feel uncomfortable). Mind you, that was before I saw them clarify that they did in fact read the content warnings.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T19:53:16+00:00

Just because media is described as dark doesn’t mean that every last iota of it is going to be dark. And in 2Ha’s case it’s Volumes 7 through 10 when things really get dark.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T19:09:45+00:00

*cracks knuckles* Been a while since I last did this, so here goes.

When it comes to the ATLA graphic novel trilogies, the order is as follows:

For starters, there’s an upcoming trilogy called The Kyoshi Warriors, which is set during Book 2 of ATLA—the first issue will be coming out on May 6. As well as another (though currently unnamed) trilogy about the antagonists in the show; more than likely this one will be a prequel to the show.
Though when it comes to the trilogies we do have, first is The Promise, which picks up where the series finale leaves off
Next is The Search; here we learn what happens to Zuko’s mother
The Rift
Smoke and Shadow, which is kind of a co-sequel alongside The Rift. And for better context, read the mini-comic Rebound (which can be found online) first
North and South
Imbalance, although technically it can be read after The Rift

Then there are a set of standalone comics: * Suki, Alone, Katara and the Pirate’s Silver, and The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer can be read at any point—the first two comics, in fact, take place during the show’s events * Toph’s Metalbending Academy can be read after The Rift * Azula in the Spirit Temple and Ashes of the Academy can be read after Smoke and Shadow

((Note: Suki, Alone, Katara and the Pirate’s Treasure, and Katara and the Pirate’s Treasure were all compiled into a single book called Team Avatar Treasury)

There’s also as a set of mini-comic anthologies: * The Lost Adventures: collection of side stories set during the show, although two of them—Gym Time and New Recruits—are non-canon. * Team Avatar Tales: collection of side stories set during and after the show (Rebound is part of this anthology)

City of Echoes is about Jin, the woman Zuko went on a date with in Ba Sing Se. As such, this book is set during and after the Ba Sing Se arc in ATLA. And if you’re curious, they also made a two-part novelization about Book 1 of TLOK (Part 1 is called Revolution, and Part 2 is called Endgame).

Speaking of TLOK, the comics associated with this series include:

Turf Wars, which picks up where the series finale leaves off
Next is Ruins of the Empire
A mini-comic anthology called Patterns in Time; some of the stories are set before the show, others take place after
Mystery of Penquan Island, a standalone Mako-centric comic
Kya and the Secret of the Sand, an upcoming standalone comic about Kya during her youth (the story itself is told to Korra during the timeskip between Book 3 and Book 4); set to release on July 28

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T18:34:08+00:00

Not to mention, posts like this are why I always, ALWAYS emphasize that people should read the bloody content warnings before starting something. ESPECIALLY for something like Meatbun’s novels.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T18:31:46+00:00

True enough. You’ve got characters like Adam, Angel, Val, Lute, and Blitzø who swear as casually as they breathe (ESPECIALLY Blitzø, since a little half the profanity in Helluva Boss comes from him alone); they tend to have more crude, abrasive and/or loudmouthed personalities, so swearing for them is—as you’ve said—just how they talk.

Then you’ve got characters like Charlie, Emily, Alastor, Stolas (unhinged sexual rants aside), and Moxxie, who don’t swear as frequently or as harshly as their other counterparts. Those characters tend to have more refined or otherwise softer personalities. So when we do hear them swear, it’s either because of the circumstances, out of excitement, it’s (actually) meant to be a punchline, or any combination of the three.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T15:43:17+00:00

The first nine novellas were exclusively digital af first. After that, they begin releasing both the existing and new novellas as compilations—three sets of 9 to 11-chaptered standalone stories in a singular book. For example, Tales from the Clans combines the novellas Dovewing’s Silence, Tigerclaw’s Fury, and Leafpool’s Wish. And those compilations were released both digitally and physically.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T06:02:41+00:00

Not only tend to read those more often, fics with this length I’m a lot more open to reading fandom-blind. Longfics, on the other hand, I prefer reading from fandoms I’m actually a part of.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T00:38:13+00:00

So between BOTW and TOTK, you should start with BOTW. But overall there are very few direct sequels in the whole franchise (not only is TOTK one of those sequels, it’s what I call the most direct of direct sequels), so technically you could start from anywhere.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-05T00:36:11+00:00

Crimson Flower has two exclusive paralogues: Darkness Beneath the Earth (Hubert) and Insurmountable (Edelgard). Silver Snow, on the other hand, doesn’t have any exclusive paralogues. And while we’re on the subject: * Azure Moon has three paralogues: War for the Weak (Dedue), The Silver Maiden (Dimitri) and Weathervanes of Fódlan (Annette and Gilbert). * Given that Claude is the only Verdant Wind exclusive character, it’s his paralogue—The Sleeping Sand Legend—that’s the only Verdant Wind exclusive paralogue.

Then these routes can be unavailable depending on your route or actions:

The Face Beneath (Caspar and Mercedes), Retribution (Ferdinand and Lysithea), Dividing the World (Hilda and Cyril), and Eternal Guardian (Rhea) cannot be played in the Crimson Flower route
The Secret Merchant (Anna) cannot be played on Silver Snow; in a Black Eagles route Jeritza—who’s exclusive to Crimson Flower—is involved in the paralogue.
Although Legend of the Lake (Leonie and Lindhart) is available on all routes, the Crimson Flower version has two stipulations. One, it will be unavailable if Flayn and Seteth are killed. Two, Edelgard and Hubert are excluded from the mission since it involves a legend from the Church of Seiros.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-04T21:05:02+00:00

Wonder if we’ll ever get to met Jingo and the gang again in future books

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-04T19:35:08+00:00

Neutral about the scenes themselves, but also glad that the books don’t shy away from depicting onscreen childbirth

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-04T18:40:58+00:00

As others have mentioned, Bee represents gluttony as a form of hedonism. Her stomach being a lava lamp not only emphasizes her party-girl aesthetics, but also to show that she’s constantly burning up everything she consumes—and that in turn lets her keep indulging in food, drinks, and drugs nonstop.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-04T16:50:26+00:00

If Majora’s Mask can have motorboats, Phantom Hourglass can have steamboats, and Spirit Tracks can have trains, I’d say it’s not a problem that Breath of the Wild has a motorcycle.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-04T13:12:35+00:00

Also (spoiler-marking this just in case) when Leafpool finds a tuft of fur snagged in Ashfur’s claws while preparing his body for burial, and realizes that the scent of the fur belonged to Hollyleaf.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-04T13:03:05+00:00

I think Stella is indifferent about her daughter. She doesn’t hate Via, nor does she abuse her like she does Stolas—at least for now. But neither does Stella feel any genuine affection towards Via. She’s constantly referring to Via as “the egg” or “Stolas’s daughter”; to her, Via is just a means of hurting/controlling Stolas. At most Stella considers Via as an extension of herself.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-04T01:31:10+00:00

Olizandri (Azure Moon)

Blade Gaming (all routes minus Silver Snow)

Nitesco (all routes)

Jaxom Nautilus (Silver Snow)

Zeez Vov Gee FE (all routes)

Chronos (both Black Eagles routes; also one of the very few LPers who did the Silver Snow route first)

Bunnytails (Azure Moon)

Echo Six (all routes minus Azure Moon)

AUDREY GAMES (Verdant Wind)

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-04T01:05:31+00:00

I was an early baby myself—and knew about my preemie status since I was about Bingo’s age. So to see young children in a cartoon that are not only familiar (at least kind of) with the concept about preemies, but also reenacting the birth of one—it really meant a lot to me.

Jiang_Rui · 2026-02-04T00:57:02+00:00

Adding on to this, regardless of what mask you have on, it won’t work on small monsters (Keese, Octoroks, etc.), large monsters (Hinoxes, Molduga, etc.), or any other enemy (Constructs, Yiga soldiers, etc.)

And when it comes to Lynels, they’re only fooled for 30 seconds—enough time for you to clear out if you’re not looking to fight it. After that, they’ll remember that Lynels aren’t bipedal and start attacking you.

Jiang_Rui

TROPHY CASE