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As #MountEtna continues to erupt, here’s a look at the chemistry of the lava and gases it’s spewing out in C&EN: https://ift.tt/2NyO9H2 https://ift.tt/3qJ00FK

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As global temperatures increase, so does the risk of #wildfires. This previous edition of #PeriodicGraphics in C&EN looks at the causes and chemical consequences of wildfires 🔥 https://ift.tt/2SBnGwu https://ift.tt/2UMsWBB

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Looking at the flashbacks and honestly prior to the fight that got him "killed", there wasn't a single moment where Madara looked like he enjoyed fighting Hashirama. In fact, in the two we actually get to see more than just a single panel's summary, he's either exhausted and nearly considering taking the offered olive branch

or outright angry

And I feel like if he were have any much of a good time during any of this, it would've been shown.

I don't think Madara doesn't enjoy combat or a challenge, we see him drunk on the adrenaline he gets when Gai's beating the shit out of him and even as a child he believes his own skills are worth bragging about, but his finding enjoyment in battling Hashirama all-out specifically comes directly after their final rift after Hashirama becomes Hokage; after, presumably, years of unspoken disagreement over the village and if it would actually work in the long-term, as long as Hashirama dreamed and hoped it would.

How exactly Madara lived the time between Konoha's founding and the day he left, we can only guess, but what we do know is in the end he couldn't take Hashirama's insistence that this was it, that the village was the final stepping stone and the key to long-lasting peace, and no one was listening to his warnings of how it could all still go wrong, so he left.

How he turns his back on Hashirama this time differs from the first time he did it because the first time, the inevitability that they'd have to fight is clearly not something he looks forward to

meanwhile the second time, he's asking for it

And where I'm getting at is that Madara's resigned to the fact that he and Hashirama will never truly be on the same side but he matters so much to him that he'll gladly fight him just to feel any sort of rush or intensity in being with him. If he can't be at his happiest at his side as his friend, the next best thing is to goad him into going at him full throttle so he can at the very least be with him and feel something.

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UPDATE: My estimate for the Haitanis' age gap was off by about 6 months based on the information provided in the second character book.

Ran Haitani's birthday = May 26, 1987

Rindo Haitani's birthday = October 20, 1988

I haven't found information confirming if they are full biological brothers but it seems likely since 18 months is a pretty realistic age gap between siblings.

The Haitani Brothers Are The Same Age

Based on canon it appears that both Ran and Rindo Haitani were born in the year 1987.

The facts:

BOTH brothers are referred to as members of the S62 Generation. [Chapters 130, 139, and 156.]

“S62” is an abbreviation the year “Showa 62” in the Japanese calendar. [Translator’s note, chapter 130.]

The western calendar equivalent of 62nd year of Showa is 1987. [Wikipedia: Shōwa (1926–1989)]

Relevant quotes:

“Two years above me, the S62 generation.” -Taiju Shiba, chapter 132

“The S62 generation is 18 years old now.” -Mucho, chapter 139. (Said in February of 2006)

“The Haitani brothers ruled Roppongi at 13.” -Hanma, chapter 160.

Possible scenarios that would lead to the Haitani brothers sharing a birth year from most to least likely (in my opinion):

They are full siblings but not twins. Ran and Rindo are never referred to as twins and it appears to go undisputed that Ran is the older one and Rindo is the younger. They also appear to have a more noticeable height difference as children, making an age gap of 9-12 months plausible. R.I.P. their mom.

They are half-brothers with the same father but different mothers. While the Haitani’s bear a striking resemblance to one another, I think they differ enough to realistically be half-brothers. It could also be the case that they don’t know that they’re half-brothers.

They are twins. [EDIT: This theory has been ruled out by the second character book.] Why is this so low on my list? In addition to the reasons in scenario 1, the way they are presented to the reader is different from how our canon twins, the Kawata’s are presented. The Kawata’s are stated to be twins multiple times while it’s never even suggested in the Haitani’s case.

They are step-brothers, adoptive brothers, or extended family. I consider this one to be the least likely due to the similarities in their character designs. I think Ran and Rindo resemble each other too much to not share one or both biological parents.

Image credit: Tokyo Revengers Volume 19 cover, cleaned by @/uwurmy on Twitter.

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Hi! I just came by the anon ask about Ruka's and Kyo views of life. I think not many fans know it, but the whole concept of Rengoku's character seem to be based on the Mono no Aware concept, which is very intricate to japanese philosophy. Mono no Aware can be interpreted as "finding beauty in the ephemerality in things" – the most obvious example is the Sakura tree, how it's valuable for it's flowers having short, but beautiful when it's blooming. But it's not just "acceptance of mortality" but also admiring it, wholeheartedly accepting and embracing this fact, which is not something easy for everyone. Also, this concept was very related to samurai and warriors in old times. And since KnY is so full of religious and japanese philosophy, I'm surprised anyone didn't say anything about it, bc that's totally Rengoku's character: a beautiful, short life, that valued life itself so much, even knowing that it doesn't last forever, and embraced this fact. And the fact that it's fated to end, doesn't mean it's meaningless– he may have lived short but his time was enough to impact many other lives; Another detail I noticed is that in the Gaiden'd cover, there are apricot flowers in the background with the flames, and apricot flowers are also related to the "ephemerality of flowers and beauty". And for last, he was born in spring, around when the Sakura blooming is at the peak. So, I'm very inclined to believe that Gotouge created Rengoku with his fate and purpose already in mind... But honestly it's a little detail that makes his character even better

Hi!! Thank you so much for sharing this important and amazing knowledge!! I would be among the fans who did not know this 😅 so I’m really grateful to have this insight shared. I absolutely agree with you, Mono no Aware sounds like our favorite flame boy to a T. Also, if I remember right his name literally translates to something along the lines of  “Apricot longevity”, (I looked up the character break down here: https://sekaikokeshi.com/rengokukyojuro-japanesename/ ) I have seen other tumblrs such as demonslayedher mention in collaborative posts that apricot fruit also have a short life once they’re ripened/harvested so Kyojuro is a hardcore representation of his name to me, and I feel like that concept ties really well into Mono no Aware as well (If you haven’t checked out her posts go do it they are super insightful!) This adds so much weight and additional meaning to his conversation with Akaza and his effects on everyone that is really cool! Gotogue really wanted strong symbolism with our boy! I noticed the apricot flowers in the background too and learning they are also related to “ephemerality of flowers and beauty” is so neat! I love thissss. And yeah I agree, Gotogue created Kyojuro probably planning to kill him from the get go based off all his symbolism but this little detail does make his character even better for sure, and honestly I really love that Gotogue gave Kyojuro so much thought. Because yeah she did kill him off and killed him off first but he wasn’t a throw away character for her, she put a lot of thought and work into him and I do think she really cares about this character and really likes him.

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I feel like Hanma was raised by a single male relative

Like his maternal uncle had to take him in when Hanma was a toddler because he was the next-of-kin when something happened to his parents. The uncle does kinda care about him because Hanma is his sister's kid but he was honestly too young to suddenly be responsible for a child.

I guess if I had to give reasons for this headcanon they'd be:

He doesn't show any bitterness towards the concept of family, so I doubt he was completely abandoned by his blood relatives.

The outfit he first shows up in, like idk but it just gives "I was raised by someone who doesn't give a shit about clothes and neither do I." Like yeah he cleans up as an adult but let's be real he's just imitating Kisaki's style.

His extreme, novelty-seeking behavior suggests that he did not grow up in a mentally stimulating environment. His first chronological appearance in chapter 205 is him bemoaning his boring life. In this scenario, I doubt the uncle would've provided any activity beyond sending Hanma to school.

No observable feelings about women, positive or negative. Hanma just generally doesn't give a shit about anyone, women included. This could sort of be explained by him being gay or ace but I feel like that's an over-simplification. Take Mitsuya, for example, who's gay-coded but clearly has strong opinions about how women should be treated.

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Mitsuya, Hakkai, and Gay Coding

So the Tokyo Revengers' fandom's notorious and rampant homophobia makes this topic almost impossible to discuss anywhere outside of Tumblr... But I at least wanted to touch on it here.

Mitsuya and Hakkai are almost certainly gay coded, and there's a reason it's important.

Mitsuya is gay coded individually. He's written to be read as a young gay teen.

The most compelling piece of evidence to this is his Home Economics class. He is the only man there, seemingly friends with a ton of girls, who all seem to trust and like him.

Note here that Japanese culture isn't American culture - men being casual friends with women isn't as normalized as it may be here, and in most places a man in an otherwise all-woman club would be considered to be trying to "get with" one or more of them. We never, ever hear this about Mitsuya.

In fact, Mitsuya is one of the few TR characters that we see show no interest whatsoever in women. The most notable scene here is the beach scene, Kazutora and Pah-Chin both stare at the women in bikinis, but Mitsuya and Draken instantly dash to the ocean without paying it any attention. This is even pointed out by Kazutora, who remarks on how strange it is that neither of them cared.

("So is Draken gay coded?" My heart says yes, but his relationship with Emma says no. Draken is just desensitised to seeing female bodies.)

And of course, sewing and fashion, very stereotypically feminine things, are Mitsuya's main interests. While it's not exactly progressive to say that effeminate = gay, I implore you once again that this is all being written by an old Japanese ex-gang member, and not a modern day American LGBT teen.

My point is that, though it's a little stereotypical, Mitsuya has many qualities that would liken him to an old-school depiction of a gay teen. Which, in a way, is in line with the old-school aesthetic and worldview of Yankees and Yankee culture.

Now - Hakkai.

Hakkai is not gay coded individually - he's a model, but that's not seen as a particularly effeminate thing, and he's shown to have some interest in girls, seeing as he freezes up talking to them.

However, Hakkai is absolutely intended to be read as having a crush on Mitsuya. Honestly I can't even bring myself to write a paragraph explaining it, so here's a bullet list of things Hakkai has done:

Repeatedly remarked how much he "really likes" Mitsuya, coupled with other characters talking about this. This is not something that happens to any other duo with this frequency.

Set Mitsuya's face as his phone lockscreen.

Immediately thought of Mitsuya when the words "I like him" were spoken.

Said "Who wouldn't fall in love with him" after something that Mitsuya did almost exclusively for his sake.

Immediately upon finding out that it WASN'T about Mitsuya, was completely baffled and confused about how it could possibly be anyone else.

Gave Mitsuya a specialised nickname that consists of shortening his given name and adding "-chan". Given names are seen as more intimate in Japan, while the "-chan" suffix is mostly used for girls, younger relatives, or romantic partners. Mitsuya isn't a girl, and he's older than Hakkai, who looks up to him. So... Again, this is not mimicked by any other duo.

Chose a career based on what Mitsuya wanted to do in an attempt to be close to him.

Then, when he got more famous and busy, still carved out time to visit him seemingly very regularly.

Seemingly ignored a crowd of girls that all wanted to talk to him to make his way to Mitsuya as quickly as possible.

Straight up called Mitsuya "hot".

Maybe some of these things individually could be read as a coincidence, or a joke, but compiling it all in a list definitely shows that this was, more than likely, very intentional.

"But he says he sees Mitsuya like a brother!!" Hakkai looks up to and admires Mitsuya, who, as a child, taught him how to act and inspired him to be better. This is how Hakkai thinks brothers should be, and given his issues with his real brother, it's not a surprise that he's looking for brotherly guidance elsewhere.

However, three things.

Hakkai is very young and inexperienced. At that age, it's not difficult to confuse romantic feelings for familial ones.

Relationships change and grow with people. Many childhood friends-to-lovers feel as if they're siblings when they're little kids, but then transition to a relationship. This is also a VERY common anime trope that seems to only be an issue when they're both boys. 🤔

"Like a brother" is, sometimes, used as a euphemism in East Asian countries to censor or hint at gay lovers.

Mitsuya is almost certainly coded to be gay, and Hakkai is almost certainly written with a crush on Mitsuya in mind.

And why is this important?

Because they're both scrappy, edgy, shitty teenage boys.

Neither of them are misfits or outcasts. Neither of them are weak or dainty or need protection. They're not perverts, or deviants, they're not girly or looked down on. They're loved, respected by their friends. Their friends don't question their interests, or their bonds.

They're allowed to just be two teen boys that happen to be gay.

Two teen boys that happen to be gay, that are accepted at face value for who they are by their friends, no questions or conditions.

Nothing more, nothing less.

You can't pay for that kind of representation.

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Alrighty! After spending the last 24 hours reading until my eyes burned I've got some ideas about the direction/overarching plot of Tokyo Revengers.

Manga spoilers under the cut. If you're a Mikey lover, I recommend tissues.

(Please remember that any or all of these could be red herrings, so don't freak out too much)

So, I believe that there are supernatural entities at play in Tokyo Revengers which are likely based in Buddhist and Hindu Mythology. These forces are responsible for both the phenomenon of "time leaping" and "dark impulse".

Mikey is the epicenter of a supernatural conflict due to the fact that, for some reason, these entities have decided that Mikey must achieve nirvana a.k.a. enlightenment. This is hinted at on the Toman uniform, which has the phrase "Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one." stitched above the chest pockets. This phrase is attributed to the original Buddha when he first achieved enlightenment.

The entities are fighting as a result of conflicting views on what makes a person enlightened. One side follows the buddhist belief that nirvana is synonymous to emptiness. This is the side responsible for Mikey's great loss as they are attempting force him towards nirvana by stripping him of all worldly attachments.

The opposing side follows the hindu belief that nirvana is oneness with Brahman a.k.a. "The Ultimate Reality". The deity worshipped by Hindu and Tantric sects as a manifestation of Brahman is the Hindu goddess, Kali, also known as the master of death, change, and time. Not only that, but one of her symbols is literally in the original title of the manga.

The symbol in question?

卍

BOOM BABY!!! it's been right there under our noses this whole time brb gonna do some more digging love u guys <3

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Horikoshi: See, no one judges her for being a woman! She's equal to men! She's cool!

Horikoshi: *almost immediately throws her away because she has too much spotlight.*

Like Hori. You do that to every female character. Remember Midnight, Lady Nagant, Miruko, Mount Lady, Curious... Even La Brava. You simply don't let a woman with a consistent story and we'll written arc take the focus of the manga.

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After meeting mitsuri in episode 22 and reading the pillar impressions from the kny fanbook i feel like mitsuri secretly has a crush on every hashira. She's loyal to obanai, YES! but she does find others attractive too and would date them.

i do agree, she had a lot of love to give. if one of the other hashira asked to date her, i wonder what would she would’ve said.

she loved everyone else, but herself. even with someone as scary sanemi, she still manages to say “ that’s the charm of it! ” she wanted someone to love her just as much as she was able to love others. maybe it could have been she did not want anyone to go through what she did, or she simply wanted acceptance—approval.

being a woman back then, what people thought about you really mattered. and the negative out-weighed the good. she never got over what this man said to her; that is why it was the first thing she flash-backed to when she thought she was on the verge of death.

because of this she hardly acknowledged her self-worth, until kagaya commended her. even then, she struggled with finding confidence. it was as if she unknowingly became dependent on others’ approval for her own source of strength.

she strived to get a husband so that he can love her for her true worth, because she was incapable of doing so. and obanai actually did that. they actually had that in common—neither of them loved themselves.

she never knew obanai even liked her until he just straight up said it—but she probably did have feelings for him that were more powerful than what she felt for the other pillars.

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This episode is perfection. It is literally everything I could have asked for. I don’t want to provide spoilers but this is some amazing Kyojuro content and I am so happy we have it because it adds so much to the story for me, it adds so much more weight, so much more to Kyojuro in the very best ways and I just love it so much!!

Also….more excuses and scenes to analyze with Kyojuro 😍😍😍

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The Duality of Tanjiro

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Big fan of how despite his kindness and ability to empathize, Tanjiro refuses to take the “talk no jutsu” route. The first time he came face-to-face with Muzan he screamed (in the middle of a crowded street, no less) that he’ll never forgive him, and that he’s going to kill him. He called Akaza a coward and a loser.

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Does Tanjiro feel his enemies’ pain? Yes!

Will this stop him from calling them pussy-ass bitches and cutting of their heads? Absolutely not!

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Tokyo Revengers Theory Time!

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In what I call “Alternate Present One�� Naoto’s predecessor was probably Chifuyu or, less likely, Mitsuyu.

Also in both the Original Timeline and Alternate Timeline One, Baji is not dead as a result of the conflict with Valhalla.

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WARNING: One SLIGHT manga spoiler (I mention someone’s present-day hair color).

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Definitions

Original Present = The present as it existed prior to Takemichi’s first leap. Both Hinata and Naoto die on July 4, 2017.

Alternate Present One = The present in which Naoto is a police sergeant as a result of Takemichi leaping back 12 years and warning him on July 4, 2005. Only Hinata dies on July 4, 2017. Akkun commits suicide in front of Takemichi.

Alternate Present Two = The present in which Hinata is not killed on July 4, 2005, but on a later date by Akkun in a murder-suicide with a truck. Draken is alive but on death row. Mikey killed Kazutora on October 31, 2005 for killing Baji.

Alternate Present Three = The present in which Takemichi is at the top of Toman.

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Naoto’s Predecessor

This is the image we’re given of Naoto’s predecessor:

This person appears to be

male;

fairly muscular;

have short, black hair;

have a small hoop earring in his left ear.

Sound familiar?

Although it is worth noting that the earring worn by Naoto’s predecessor is more like the one Chifuyu wore in the past.

In Alternate Present Three, Chifuyu’s earring has a little embellishment, so there is a slight difference.

I only mention Mitsuya as a possibility because he could also fit the physical description (he does have black hair in one of the presents in the manga) which means I cannot rule him out.

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Baji Lives

Now before everyone gets too excited, let me explain.

What I mean is: Baji did not die in a conflict with Valhalla. There are definitely other ways he could’ve died during the 12 year gap. Therefore I can’t say for sure that he was alive in 2017 in either the Original Present or Alternate Present One.

Back to the theory, in Alternate Present One, it’s stated specifically that Mikey went off the deep end due to Draken’s death on August 3, 2005. It was then that Kisaki assumed a position at the top of Toman. Since this happened, Kisaki had no need to orchestrate Kazutora stabbing Baji. Toman simply absorbed Moebius, and Valhalla never existed.

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It’s getting late so I’m going to sleep but I may elaborate on these topics in the future!

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The older sibling energy in this one line was so powerful it touched my soul.

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I JUST HAD A TERRIFYING THOUGHT

What if

Hood up = lives

Hood down = dies

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So like when Takemichi’s consciousness goes back to the past is he in the brain of a 14-year-old? Because that would explain a lot and also suck for him because imagine having a chunk of your frontal lobe taken away but you still gotta plan and strategize and stuff.