#//Goro not having much to show for it but he does have the Proof of Justice that he would show to Ken ;3;

[kingspuppet]

@heartwilled || x

ken handshake goro both secretly very into superheroes

|| YES god if Goro and Ken had met they probably would've been really good friends because they're just secretly big nerds over heroes.

[anika-kanroji16]

Why I don't like Aquakana Part 3

Who expected this raise your hand

✋🏾

Least someone did

Okay basically the newest chapters basically said EVERYTHING I HATE ABOUT IT. But I ain't talking about the OBVIOUS MESS WHICH IS THIS. Today I am talking about a take I have been wondering for a while. Does Aqua love? No not Akane. KANA. Does he love Kana?

Aqua "loves" Kana? Does he really? The whole fandom thinks he does, but I don't think he actually loves her, well, at least not in the way you think he does. I was actually talking to a friend whose name is Antoniee. He thinks Aqua doesn't love any of the girls, which includes Kana as well. The more I think about it, the more I think he's right. I don't think Aqua loves Kana. I honestly think that. You guys think he doesn't love Akane but the real person he doesn't like is Kana. Now before you guys start being rage monsters. Let explain.

I don't think Aqua loves Kana romantically. I think he loves her as a best friend and more importantly for the point of this post. I think he loves her as an idol. Aqua said that the type of girl is someone like Ai in season 1 of Oshi No Ko:

And we know two girls which is his type Kana and Akane. And look how he describes Ai : Pretty Smile, Dazzling Performance and eyes that draw you by their very nature.

Reminds me of someone.

But let me explain further just to prove my point. Goro said "You always liked her straightforward gaze" And we all know Kana is like Ai,

Pretty Smile check

Performance check

Eyes which draw you check.

So therefore HE LOVES KANA right, WRONG. And let me explain why I still think he likes her as an idol and not as herself cause the picture where Goro said this "You always liked her straight foward gaze haven't you" if he liked Kana for herself it would be her playing baseball with Aqua in season 1.

Not Kana as idol when she first performing.

Not only this but in season 2 episode 12 this also proves my point about him only liking her as an idol. He say "Arima is an idol, any sorta of news of a boyfriend would cause a scandal and would lead to worse ending up like Ai."

Does he care about Kana?, YES VERY MUCH SO!! But I don't think he is saying this because of the reasoning of loving Kana. It's more oh she will be hurt if she dates me or hang out with me and ruin her job as an idol and not I love her and I can't bear to see her hurt. Even with his talk with Mem cho shows that more than anything else.

If this conversation was about how much he loves Kana and not what if she get hurt by a stalker fan because of him hanging out with her then it would have her not being on the stage.

And here what Kana said in chapter 107 "If you want to idolize me, you'd better do it now." In a Idol like pose may I add meaning basically confirms he likes her as an idol and not as her true self. What further implys this is lastest chapters of Oshi No Ko.

In chapter 161 Hikaru mentioned falling in love as one of Aqua's desires with Kana on stage with her last performance. You can say that show he love with Kana which yes be that but it could also be implications that He fallen for the idol of Arima Kana and not the one which off stage. For even more Proof Aqua in the same chapter says that "It might also be a good idea to respond to Kana's feelings"

Here the key words that you people miss. "IT MIGHT BE GOOD IDEA" Meaning He probably just saying it might be a good idea to make her happy or he unsure that being with Kana is what he really wants. Further more prove that he's fallen for the idol and that was his first mistake. And further more proof he never saw Kana as significant other. Now Compare it to his wants and desires with Akane.

He wants to rebulid a relationship with her showing A CLEAR DIFFERENCE HERE. And in chapter 163 it clearly show him not liking Kana

Espeically because "it had the season 2 kiss with Aqua kissing Akane in the background." and like @skania said "part of Aqua’s the moment he doesn’t catch Kana’s ball (symbolizing that their feelings don’t connect) vs the moment where he chooses to kiss and date Akane for real." Also proving my point even more. And it even explains this scene

And this explaintion even explains Akane saying this.

He isn't in love with Kana, he in love with the idol of her as I have proven time and time again. Now I want to explain Kana's faults cause I said that Kana doesn't understand Aqua but not even enough to describe it.

Akane is the only one which understands Aqua, Kana doesn't even understand Aqua and they were childhood friends. Like @skania Kana never got in understand Aqua as person and romantizance him instead meanwhile Akane still loved him till the very end and still love him for every bit of what he was. Even their conversation on the Balcony in season 1 was pretty much shallow and they don't know each other as well as they think they do like explained 2X in post of my post about Aquakana so I won't drive into it.

I will definetly be doing an part 3 about Aquakane and how Akane fits into his type of girl and how he actualy does love her because of it. Yea that all I have to say :D

[tenebriskukris]

Oshi No Ko Chapter 144 – My Thoughts/Analysis

We're thrown a bit of a curveball for this chapter, but it's certainly an enjoyable chapter nonetheless. Spoilers for Oshi No Ko Ch144 below.

A timeskip??? After the absolute banger we got in the last chapter we’re served up a timeskip?? Considering how the last chapter ended I fully expected things to focus on everyone else’s reactions to the kiss scene as well as Aqua and Ruby’s new dynamic but shifting the spotlight to the movie’s hospital scene in Miyazaki is a massive departure from where we were in the last chapter. The pacing issues of the arc are starting to become more and more evident.

Traditionally movie productions take months if not years to get to a stage where they can actually film the movie. Even setting aside that most of the people involved are basically newcomers to the big leagues of stardom, the production shouldn’t run this fast towards the finish line. And now the manga’s telling me that there’s nothing that would be relevant in between the bureaucratic mess that would actually be making a movie of this scale? I can believe reincarnation exists, but certainly not paperwork and bureaucracy running as fast as it has throughout the arc.

The manga does infodump some cursory knowledge on how actual productions are supposed to work—thankfully enough. But the fact that it has this basic knowledge and it hasn’t seen fit to add in other, smaller interactions between the cast members who already lack sufficient screentime—and by proxy Aqua and Ruby—is a grating offense. Perhaps it would have been better to split this entire movie arc into two, perhaps three arcs in total while juggling more character focused chapters? I’ll make sure to give my thoughts on this arc as a whole as soon as it finishes.

With all the hubbub of Aqua as Hikaru and Ruby as Ai, I’ve almost forgotten that Melt wiggled his way into production. Why is he here again as a B-list actor? I know Kaburagi likely pulled some strings to get him in, but his acting ability isn’t really something to harp on. Then again Goro would basically be a B-list character in a story about Ai so I get why they didn’t try very hard to find someone good in acting.

Ruby’s face as she glares at Melt is perfect. Her roasting Melt is fucking hilarious, especially since she’s not even wrong in her criticisms. Of course that girl is going to have opinions on someone that’s trying to portray her sensei. If it was some role that wasn’t Goro I’m sure she wouldn’t have cared as much as she has about how he acts.

The little little princess shirt in Ruby is a treasure. This girl needs to be protected.

Melt knowing that his acting skills are only decent is a great moment of self awareness from a character we don’t seem to see much of. Other actors coughKanacough would have egos too large than to admit that they were doing anything wrong without some sort of outside intervention.

We’re basically in the final stage of the movie??? This arc’s pacing has been all over the place, so I can believe we’re approaching its conclusion, but there’s still too many plot points left unresolved. 

It’s refreshing to see Melt admit his deficiencies to Ruby and doing what he can to shore up his weaknesses.  It shows that not everyone is not to the level of Akane or Kana or even Aqua—Melt may just be the least experienced actor among the cast. And while Ruby’s acting ability may be less refined in comparison to Akane or Melt, I don’t think it’s a leap to say that she performs the role of Ai better than Akane or Frill simply because she can understand Ai’s heart better than what’s written on the script. Her impromptu scene after Kana’s outburst was proof enough of that—I doubt that either of them would’ve let their emotions run free and gave us a peek at what Ai was really feeling.

Ruby saying that Himekawa would’ve been a better fit for the role of Goro is multi-layered. On one hand of course she wants a good actor to play her sensei. But on the other hand Himekawa is also her half-brother. 

Melt saying that he’s putting more effort to understand the characters than anyone else is somewhat ironic considering Akane’s very existence. Ditto for Aqua and Ruby when they’re playing their parents. Perhaps Melt has also been affected by Kana’s insensitivity with how those words can be interpreted very badly.

Oh. Some of Ai’s merch in Melt’s pocket. I’m starting to see where this is going. Also I know that guy who sold Ai’s merch! Funny how he keeps popping up.

Melt’s analysis of Goro…even if he’s not on the level of Akane or the rest of the cast, I think he’s managed to grasp the man’s heart well to make these kinds of statements. I have to give Melt props for it and I have to dock the manga points for basically infodumping this to Ruby and the average reader. It’s a typical case of the manga telling us rather than showing us Goro’s character. Really, would it be difficult for us to see another Ruby flashback of what her thoughts are of Goro?

Ruby’s face as Melt explains his reasoning for his portrayal of Goro’s character…And the way the panel is drawn—hiding Ruby’s star eye from the reader—that’s good paneling. Also, “A symbol for his feelings for that child.”? I’d say that the manga was trying to bash in the fact that Goro and Sarina had a very unique relationship even further but the fact that I can still see people screaming about this exact subject even almost 150 chapters into the manga so I can forgive them for it.

Ruby gushing about Melt’s portrayal immediately after dissing him is also funny. Melt’s proved he can understand Goro, so she has a greater respect for him after that. I’d also wonder if Akane would have similar thoughts about Goro from the script…

Crow Girl???? Finally you’ve reappeared. I was wondering what the payoff for her being in the arc would actually be.

Oh man Ruby…with how 143 ended I think this tells us that Aqua didn’t break Ruby’s heart after that kiss scene. If he did—which would be very much out of character with how AquaGoro holds RubySarina in his heart—it would definitely be shown to us immediately afterward. Letting what happened after that scene linger in the background still doesn’t sit right with me with the arc’s already bloated pacing, but I understand why it’d have to be offscreened—doesn’t mean I can’t critique the hell out of it.

Crow Girl lore???????? Crying and shaking and throwing up right now what the fuck does she mean by that. The implications are all running into each other because with how Crow Girl described how the reincarnators could be considered gods it’s looking more and more likely that Aqua and Ruby are in a position to eventually become gods. Comparing that with how Miyako in the flashforwards was talking about how Aqua and Ruby were given favored treatments and trials in equal measures alongside divine guidance…it paints a picture of how the potential supernatural aspect is going to pan out. 

I am also pretty sure that some of the gods Crow Girl refer to are Aka and Mengo themselves, the actual writer and artist of Oshi No Ko. Especially with that whole “you guys often receive help from god without knowing it” bit. That smells very much like narrative relevance and protagonism. If the manga decides to go meta now I wouldn’t really mind that, but I’d hoped it would be foreshadowed better beforehand. A small comment about how “god-like” Aqua and Ruby would be would’ve really helped. 

And of course we end off on Crow Girl being a gag. For a very powerful supernatural entity she seems to be easily handled by Aqua and Ruby. You’d think she would put the fear of god more into them, really, but if Aqua and Ruby actually do become gods I can see why she’s being pushed around by them like this. 

What the actual fuck was this chapter. We don’t get to see if Aqua has white star eyes after the kiss but we do see Crow Girl and her massive lore drops written between the lines. Ever since she’s been introduced in this arc I’d been wondering what the followup would be to her whole thing but having even more evidence that Aqua and Ruby are on the path to godhood was not on my bingo card for this chapter.

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have the cultural knowledge on the Japanese versions of gods—the kami—so I can’t put the pieces together on some of the more subtle things that Crow Girl might be referring to, but casting off mortality for the divine isn’t something that most people can aspire toward on a whim. In my mind you’d ideally need at least two things for it. Belief and freedom.

The former for people to believe in you in a certain manner—of which both Aqua and Ruby are already there with the movie releasing—and the latter through some sort of catalyst that makes a person more than flesh and blood. For a manga without much of a magic system at all, the only thing I can think of at the top of my head is dying.

Of course this assumes that both Aqua and Ruby will choose to become gods in the first place. Perhaps to reincarnate Ai again? But with how the manga is pushing this narrative of godhood and the supernatural it’s still in the cards for them. Something to consider as the arc unfolds.

[lokiarsene]

antis are so quick to call goro a hypocrite for saying things like the PT take the law into their own hands and shouldn’t forcibly change someone’s heart, because of the work shido makes him do--

but did any of them stop to think the reason he’s capable of making those judgments is (1) that’s how he feels about shido, and (2) that’s how he feels about what shido makes him do? these TV appearances are the only way he can speak freely about either of them, without actually feeling (or accepting that he feels) that way about himself.  the PT provide an outlet for goro’s doubt and frustration; their existence as his rivals--and by extension, everything ren does as the PT’s leader--allows goro to experience a much needed catharsis.

goro rationalizes and doubles down on shutting out any other thought regarding his work with shido because to do so would make him question whether he had any other option to take, whether he even made the “right” decision--or hell, it will just remind him of how brutally unfair his chosen path is.

sometimes all you have are bad choices, but you still have to choose. in proof of justice and their shido palace encounter, goro all but admits ren’s presence in his life shows him another option: if they’d known each other just a little earlier, goro would have had another choice altogether. the whole course of his life these past three years could have been totally different had ren been in his life earlier.

they aren’t enemies by choice, but circumstance.

[imaginariumpod]

Studio Ghibli; and the aesthetic of comfort and the mundane.

When it comes to animation movies, Studio Ghibli movies are still some of the long standing staples of the genre, and for a good reason. A lot has been said about these films, their thematics, their characters, their stories and the studio that made them, as well as one of their elusive and yet most well known creators : Hayao Miyazaki. I will try to focus on the ways Studio Ghibli views comfort as well the coziness in these little slower moments that fill the universe of Ghibli films. These movies are generally universally loved by the public, despite the fact that they are aimed toward a younger audience. These movies are definitely created with the goal of showing it to a public of children and families, and yet they still are very complex and layered pieces of art and animation that all audiences can appreciate. These movies also do not look down on their audiences, they do not shy away from touching upon more difficult themes such as war, loss, and fear, in a manner that’s adequate for the public it is targeting. With this article, I want to write an extension on the article I have already written on the subject of slowness in cinema and that has been asked by one of my subscribers on patreon. If you haven’t read that article yet, you can read it HERE on my blog. 

 The films that have been created by Studio Ghibli, are, and with reason, a cornerstone of the animated movie industry.  Despite the fact that these movies are definitely intended and made for a younger audience, I think we can all agree that these particular movies can be appreciated by everyone, at any age, and that anyone can find meaning and solace within these movies. Studio Ghibli movies are truly an excellent example of filmmaking that manages to capture a slower pace in media, slowing down the action to just offer a moment to breathe. Between all of the grand adventures and events that are happening in those movies, there are always moments of slowness to be found. Of calm. Of quietness. The characters of the Ghibli universe are permitted to simply exist sometimes. 

The concept of slowing down in media is one that I deeply appreciate for the way it brings depth and serenity in stories. This is a very personal point of view of course, I find the modern pace of capitalist life deeply alienating at times, and sometimes I think we just need a moment to slow down and enjoy simply being. Doing nothing is a very anti-capitalist thing, in my opinion, and I greatly appreciate seeing this concept in books and movies. While being productive is always a nice feeling, and god knows I always enjoy being busy and having things to do, it is always in these moments where I feel submerged by everything I have to do that I yearn for some peace and quiet. While it is not always possible to have this, it is always possible for me to simply … start a movie, and try to escape a bit the weight of the world.

I personally think having these moments to be able to just breathe and be truly enriches a movie. Those moments of simple mundanity and ordinariness ground the story in reality even when the story is about a wizard living in a moving castle. Studio Ghibli movies are the epitome of films that can focus on fantasy and the imaginary and telling incredibly original stories, while also including this measure of the mundane, the routine and the ordinary in between the louder and more action-packed parts of the film. This way of constructing these films, makes it so that the universe feels more lived-in, real and comforting, the characters feel more grounded and rooted in reality. 

 Studio Ghibli: a brief history

Even though Hayao Miyazaki started working as an animator in the 1960s, working in TOEI animation and learning the tricks of the trade, it is only later in 1985 that he established Studio Ghibli as we now know it, with the partnership of Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki. It is with that previous working experience that he got to truly construct an identity as the type of animator he wanted to become, and the type of movies he wanted to produce. Before Ghibli, Miyazaki got involved with different animation projects such as Heidi (1974) , and Anne of Green Gables (1979) and a project that would never see the day : Pippi Longstocking. This project is quite interesting in how it simply … never got made, its a bit like a lost part of history, a what-if. Despite the fact that Hayao Miyazaki had drawn a lot of concept arts as well as storyboards for this project, they never got the green light from the swedish author Astrid Lindgren.  

Nonetheless, it is obvious how all of these projects forecast how Miyazaki and his business partner Isao Takahata will more often than not try to center young girls as the main protagonists of their movies. A trend that will continue on for the most of their careers to this day. They will continue to focus on young girls and women as the main characters of the stories they are telling in such a complex and intricate way, all of their female characters are different from each other, with their own complicated inner lives, dreams and goals. It seems like such a basic requirement to request from our media, and yet even now, it is still not something that… will be guaranteed in the stories we consume. It is not to say that ghibli’s portrayals of women is perfect, but I do appreciate their very complex heroines and their adventures. 

I will not try to pretend that I can totally understand the type of person that Miyazaki is, he’s a complicated figure at the helm of Studio Ghibli, the man behind the curtain. He is definitely a hardworking and self-critical person, but also deeply critical of others as well, wanting to set up very high standards of work that can be extremely difficult to achieve in a very high pressure environment. Thus is the complex personality of Miyazaki. I do not want to pretend he is a perfect man, and I do think some of his choices are things i don't quite agree with. There are some very valid and legitimate criticisms to be made about him, some by the closest people he works with as well as his own sons, especially Goro Miyazaki, who say that his father was always very distant, working long hours even by the era’s standards, and whose heart was obviously more into his work than his home life. Hayao Miyazaki valued work and putting in the time and effort into his art and job, pushing for very unhealthy job practices and work culture.

 He is far from perfect, and seek perfection in his work, both from himself and the people he works with. There’s a lot to be said on that aspect, and yet I still very much think that he is that he is still a very fascinating person to reckon with, someone who brought very important and beautiful stories and revolutionized the world of animation in a really significant way. The universes he created are some I keep coming back to times and times again. I also highly recommend the documentary A Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013)  if you have not seen it, as to have a glimpse of the way this animation studio functions on a daily basis. I find it always so very inspiring personally, each time I watch this documentary, I feel hugely motivated to create and to make something, no matter how small. Sometimes, it is simple about the sheer act of creating something, of spending some time away on the roof, looking at the skies while a cat is sleeping next to you. 

His involvement with the Union during his early animator years left him with a leftist tendency that will continue on during his career and seep through the themes of his movies.From the very firmly anti-war stances to the pro-environmentalist and anti-capitalist and anti-consumerist themes, Ghibli movies are a proof that you can tackle these subject matters in a very conscientious way even in children’s media. It can be seen in the movie Grave of the Fireflies (1988), a heart-wrenching movie about two children trying to survive the last months of  World War II.  Even though Isao Takahata, who directed this movie, says the movie was not made out to be an anti-war movie, this stance is still very much woven in the very fabric of the movie, from its beginning to its ending. 

This specific theme is very important here in terms of the experience of the mundane and the ordinary in Ghibli movies. Even within the most devastating of events, smaller moments of slowness can be found, and appreciated. Quiet moments of peace that feel even more poignant in the midst of struggle. Despite everything, I think we have all come to the conclusion that even when world-shattering events are happening, life truly must go on. And it does find a way to go on, and it feels mind-boggling that we all have to do our groceries, cook dinner, wash our laundry while terrible events keep happening, and yet, these mundane moments still occur. It is still possible to find a moment of respite and peace in the midst of uncertain times and terrible events. 

But also, as Marco says it in Porco Rosso, « I’d much rather be a pig than a fascist » and I think this really does say it all. 

The aesthetic of comfort 

Despite being usually  an animated movie set in a very obviously fantastical universe, Studio Ghibli movies tend to be very realistic in the way they portray the characters, their complexity, and also what are the real underlying conflicts. For example, in Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) «The primary conflict isn’t about magic—it’s internal and invisible and wholly human: Kiki’s brief period of lost motivation and artist’s block. She gets it back when she wants to help Tombo, whom she loves. Simple as that. She doesn’t have to wage an epic battle to prove her worth»  The stakes might seem lower in this movie compared to other stories, very mundane and ordinary, there is no war, there is no significant conflict, but I think this is what makes it so special in the end. 

One of the particularities of Ghibli movies is how they deal with the notion of childhood, a notion that few animation movies have approached with such delicateness and seriousness. One of the things I really appreciate from Ghibli movies is that it does not shy away from treating children as complex beings. It does acknowledge the fact that children are also able of complexities and of understanding more than we think they do, and yet creating media that is easy for them to comprehend and appreciate, which I think is no small feat. 

There is definitely also a definite focus on working class characters instead of the more “prestigious” ones in Ghibli movies, there is a desire to center normal people, whatever that means, in their stories. Most of the characters have to work for a living, earn their lives, and the value of hard work is definitely something that is highlighted in the Ghibli universe. In Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), the baker’s wife tells the young witch that work is work no matter how small and insignificant you might think it is,  and all work should be paid, and it is a truth that should be remembered.

In that movie, here is no world shattering events, no wars or massive destruction, only a young witch trying to make something out of herself, losing her will and creativity and gaining it again. That particular theme is one that resonates a lot with people on a very basic level, especially in this current day and age where so many of us are trying to monetize our creative work. So often, trying to capitalize off a hobby and enduring the bone deep dreary weight of capitalism is what will make artists lose their original inspiration and will to create, when a hobby turns into labor, and this is, at its core, the journey that Kiki went through. 

As Robert Ebert told Miyazaki, during an interview with him « I told Miyazaki I love the "gratuitous motion" in his films; instead of every movement being dictated by the story, sometimes people will just sit for a moment, or they will sigh, or look in a running stream, or do something extra, not to advance the story but only to give the sense of time and place and who they are.» 

And he was right, Ghibli movies have these moments where the action is not something that is strictly essential to the plot of the movie, and yet it is essential to the essence of what Ghibli movies do. Miyazaki then explained what this concept for him meant for him : 

  «"We have a word for that in Japanese," he said. "It's called ma. Emptiness. It's there intentionally."» 

Those slow moments between the actions are thus very deliberate, they mean to slow down the story and to slow down the pace. Unlike the generally accepted school of thought in modern Hollywood cinema, where every single scene and dialogue needs to move the story forward, Miyazaki lets his story and movies breathe and exist. This way of building a story does give it an added sense of calm and soothingness, but also it gives it a sense of realism. Instead of following a strict narrative outline, this fluidity makes the story feel more real and relatable.

These quiet moments and details that might seem innocuous and useless at first glance, and maybe look like they would slow and hinder the pace of the movie in itself, are ultimately what gives it this feeling of genuineness, of sincerity. It lets the characters as well as the plot have the space to breathe, evolve and grow. 

« Although these scenes may seem slow or unimportant, they give space to develop the characters and to heighten dreams or feelings the characters are having such as feelings of isolation, wonder, or anxiety. It is in these moments of stillness that the audience can contemplate with the characters and feel what the characters are feeling. These moments remind the audience the importance of stillness in such a fast paced world and highlights the beauty of a slower paced life»

Studio Ghibli movies insert those slo

wer moments in between their more faster paced and action packed scenes, but also in the midst of world-changing events such as wars, as shown in Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). This demonstrates how people still live on during those crises, even with the danger looming over their heads. This kind of media gives me hope that we can live through this, that moments of happiness and peace are still to be found even within the madness of our very fast capitalistic and  hyper consumerist life.

From visibly established routines to a focus on the mundane, the daily.  the ordinary, Ghibli movies will definitely bring these seemingly unimportant acts and integrate them as essential to the general experience of the movie. You see the characters inhabiting the Ghibli universe working, studying, sleeping, eating, in a way, you see them being alive. In a manner of speaking, of course, these are fictional characters in fictional universes, but it is obvious that the universe and the lives these characters lead extend beyond what we’re seeing on the screen. They have whole lives and experiences that we might not be privy to, as the audience, but it is apparent that these characters are fully formed. They are going on and about with their lives, and it is this emphasis on the ordinary that makes them appear so realistic. 

Falling and getting up again. Jumping and stumbling. So often, Ghibli’s characters are not perfectly graceful beacons of dexterity and elegance, quite the opposite even, their demeanor and posture will inform the character and their place in that world, and yet it is not always perfect and flawless. Sometimes, the characters will run and stumble and trip and fall and this mundanity of being.  

This representation of the realness of what it is to be a person, that sometimes we trip and stumble, that we fall and get up again and yet, we continue to walk or run. It’s also a way of defining the different characters, of imbuing them with their own personality and mannerisms and be able to distinguish them even with such small details as the way they walk and carry themselves. This is definitely not exclusive to Studio Ghibli, animation as a whole uses movement and mannerisms as an essential tenet of character, but it is  still very rare to see this sort of flailing included voluntarily in the films. Since the medium that these movies are created in is two-dimensional animation, it means that every single frame had to be carefully planned and executed, before being drawn and painted frame by frame.  These movements could have been easily not included in the final cut of the movie, they could have been considered superfluous to the film, and yet they were. These imperfect moments are what ultimately makes it better. 

Ghibli movies do that, not only in terms of physicality and concrete elements, but also when it comes to feelings and emotions. Emotions that we all feel and experience, from the feeling of restlessness to loss and  fear, to love and courage. Ghibli movies really do showcase all of these feelings that we all feel, even though in a manner that is easy to understand for all audiences. 

 “Only Yesterday does not hit the dramatic highs of Miyazaki’s work, but that’s partly the point. It’s less concerned with presenting a grand thesis about the nature of being human than it is navigating the heartbreaks, triumphs and regrets that make us. But it’s still comforting for a film about the relentless march of time, the title even invoking both the speed with which childhood can pass us by and how close those memories stay with us.

It’s immensely relatable in how it evokes these little tragedies: the feeling of being a fraud; of missing out’ of wondering if you’ve left your childhood self behind; idealism; dreams and all. It asks us not to mourn what might or might not have happened, but to keep those memories close, and use them to move forward. That Only Yesterday makes this feel as wondrous as a castle in the sky or a land of spirits is nothing short of miraculous, and why it ranks among Ghibli’s best.”

The act of eating is one that is heavily emphasized in Ghibli movies,  one only needs to read all of the articles dedicated to the mouth-watering food that fills its universe to understand that this simple act, of eating and of preparing food, is one that is very important. Countless of people have made videos on how to recreate some of the most iconic dishes and meals of the Ghibli universe, from Howl’s Moving Castle’s tempting breakfast to Spirited Away’s feasts, both the one that Chihiro’s parents eat at the beginning of the movie and the ones served to the bathhouse’s guests, and the simple snacks that are eaten throughout the movie, from the onigiri Haku gives Chihiro or the food she shares with Lin. Ghibli movies are very well known for how pretty and appealing its food looks, and simply taking the time to showcase the act of preparing and eating food, thus slowing down the pace and creating a break during the plot of the movie. There’s a certain type of media that does put a lot of importance on the act of slowing down, taking the time to cook, such movies such as Little Forest : Summer & Autumn and Little forest : winter and spring, for example. A lot of media that’s just about not doing much and preparing some food, which somehow has a very soothing effect. The act of eating and cooking is part of the greater character narrative and storyline when it comes to Ghibli movies, but also the act of sharing a meal and of eating together. 

Food, the preparing of food as well as the sharing of a meal, is a love language in itself, in my very humble opinion, taking the time to prepare all of the ingredients and then a dish for someone else or for one self is an act of care. And it is definitely one of the ways it is used in Ghibli movies, from My Neighbor Totoro (1988) in which the eldest daughter is often seen having to prepare lunch and food for her younger sister and her father, since her mother is sick and hospitalized. I will not be talking here about eldest daughter syndrome here, but it is very much a Real Thing™️. It is simply in this representation of the act of cooking, and the care she puts in it, that we can understand not only the love she has for her younger sister and father, but also the very real responsibilities that she has to shoulder as such a young age. 

In every single Studio Ghibli movie, this pattern appears, someone will make food, and it will be obvious how much time, effort and love it takes to prepare this dish, or someone will simply take a break from whatever they were doing and take a bite of a small but tasty snack. Somehow, the usage of food in the Ghibli universe is central to the way the characters will experience and move through the world. 

It is in these small moments of respite and calm that the characters, and by extension, us, are allowed to breathe. Moments that are quiet, where two people will share a meal and just be. I always terribly appreciate whenever a movie, or any piece of media really, simply takes the time to let the story expand and move at its own pace. Studio Ghibli movies are always ones I love to go back to whenever the world feels overwhelming and slightly unbearable. I hope that we can all have more moments of peace and quiet, that things can slow down enough for us to catch our breath. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Hayao Miyazaki interview | Interviews

The Magic and Artistry of Studio Ghibli's Films

The Low-Stakes Pleasure of KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE 

Wings and Freedom, Spirit and Self: How the Filmography of Hayao Miyazaki Subverts Nation Branding and Soft Power Shadow 

Miyazaki’s Magical Food: An Ode to Anime’s Best Cooking Scenes 

Food in Spirited Away: Consuming with Intent

Grave of the Fireflies: The haunting relevance of Studio Ghibli's darkest film

NAPIER, Susan. Miyazakiworld : a life in art. Yale University Press, 2018. 

[patchesthegothictramp]

Part 3 of P5R review: Akechi

Next up, my favourite part: Akechi! Also mostly likely the last part since I don’t think I missed anything else. Feel free to hit me up though if you’re wondering about anything I haven’t mentioned

Akechi was undoubtedly, and still is, persona 5’s most hotly debated character. From what I’ve been seeing people who even loathed Akechi are starting to become fans of him, or at least don’t hate him anymore. Royal expands on his character in a way that fans of his love because it confirmed so many of their suspicions of what he’s really like but also just adds more depth to him. I could even understand why people who played vanilla only saw him as ‘boy takes things too far cos daddy issues’ cos, well, without deeper analysis that is what atlus was presenting. There was a lot more to his character in vanilla but I don’t blame people not looking into him because what they saw on the surface didn’t interest them enough... though that being said the abuse and torment given to his fans was super uncalled for.

Let’s start with his confidant and take it from there- it’s special, it’s fun, it’s emotional and it’s so layered I could watch it a million times and I’d probably still miss something from it. It’s special because it’s the only confidant where Ren just gets to hang out with someone, with nothing expected in return. All Akechi wants is a conversation and to play billiards with him. All of the other confidants want your help in something, want you to solve their issues without any regard for what they could do for you in return. Of course when Ren’s in jail they help him out then but it’s only when he’s facing the worst-case scenario. Interestingly enough, Akechi goes to jail for Ren at the first opportunity he gets and in that world none of your confidants ever return the favour of Ren changing their lives. To nail this point further, his confidant does have some requirements for social stats, but it’s the only instance where it’s made clear that it’s for Ren’s own comfort, not for someone else’s. Akechi says he needs someone charming and knowledgeable because he’s genuinely concerned for the abuse Ren might get if his fans didn’t consider him worthy of their idol’s presence.

It’s unexpectedly fun too, you’d think that an Akechi confidant would be just about rivalry or him talking to you about his Tragic Backstory but you get quite a few moments which are just… fun. The first one has them playing billiards and uncovering that he’s ambidextrous, and while it is a set up for their rivalry it’s still just them playing billiards like regular teenagers would. There’s the café date where silliness ensues and funnily enough you end up finding out more about Ren in that interaction than you do Akechi; about how Ren too hides from the public and has his own mask (glasses) that help him cover up who he really is.

But of course, it’s also emotional, like the bathhouse scene where you finally get to know more about Akechi’s past that’s not just a random info dump, there’s him clearly crying for help in the final billiards rank where he talks about the game as if it were his own life and even asks you if you’d help him (even though he doesn’t let you help regardless of what you say).

Term 3 Akechi… well he’s everything I hoped he would be. Sarcastic, sardonic and all around Done With This Shit. He never holds back anymore, both on the battlefield and real life and he doesn’t care what the Thieves or anyone else thinks of him anymore. He’s done with the detective mask and the charade and can finally be himself for once, and I absolutely love it. He’s gone from a character I can only theorise about being rude in my writing to one who’s everything I hoped for and so much more.

Now to the shuake stuff: Oh my god its so gay. 

Yes a lot of it is regular friendship stuff but also if you can’t be friends with your boyfriend then that’s just casual sex, not a relationship. And I’m not talking about the bathhouse scene. Actually, what’s interesting is what happens after which is when Akechi specifically says that no ones ever seen that part of him, Ren’s the only person who he’s been able to open up to like that. There’s the jazz club, which you find out later is a special place for Akechi to the point that the owner says he’s never brought anyone else there. Ren is clearly special in Akechi’s eyes, he’s the one person he can be around and be his true self.

You even see it in term 3 when he’s sarcastic and sardonic around Ren but still continues to put up a façade around human Morgana, Futaba, Sojiro Wakaba and later Kasumi, at least until they see him for who he really is inside the palace and he’s forced to show his true self. The writers make that so obvious that Akechi’s face visibly changes when he’s talking to Ren and when he’s talking to everyone else.

And Akechi is equally special to Ren. Ren doesn’t wish for his criminal record to disappear or to be a Phantom Thief again, he wishes to keep the promise he made to Akechi even with the knowledge that the other was going to kill him. We’ve seen him mourn Akechi’s death in p5a proof of justice- the OVA that was so clearly meant to set up royal considering how many similarities it had with that more so than the original game. For a silent protagonist and a self-insert Ren shows more feelings towards Akechi than he does any other character. 

Even down to their showtime, everyone else has these elaborate plans that they have to explain to each other then to Ren and hope that the wishing star will make their wish come true and yet Akechi and Ren are just able to improvise it completely on the spot, staying completely in sync. Interestingly enough if you compare it to Joker’s only other one- Sumire’s, she’s leading him into the showtime, she’s the one who has to have him follow her, but with Akechi, he’s equal, they’re in sync, all it takes is Ren shouting ‘Crow!’ for him to jump at the enemy without further instruction. Just as their showtime says, they’re two sides of the same coin.

There’s a reason that somehow, despite never having spoken about Akechi to him, Maruki knows that’s what Ren’s biggest wish would be, he knows that it’s the only way he might be able to stop Ren and the Thieves from infiltrating the palace, and in one alternative, the dream ending, it is enough for him to dangle Akechi’s life in front of him for Ren to fold. He insists Akechi’s life isn’t just something small that he can sacrifice once again.

Our Light is even further proof of it, it’s a love song, not to Kasumi, or not from her, it could clearly not be more obvious that’s it’s from Ren to Akechi. The song describes missing someone who’s gone in such a romantic way that seeing it as Sumire to Kasumi is borderline incestuous, and seeing it as Ren to Sumire or vice versa makes no sense either since they’re just a train ride away and even speak about seeing each other soon. It’s unlikely to be about anyone else either since yeah, Ren can just go and visit them any time and for that to be the ending song of a remake where the only character who’s made more important than he was previously is Akechi. It wouldn’t make sense for the song to be about that one girl out of 10 that you can romance but doesn’t really change the plot as significantly as he does.

In this way, P5R does a great job of showing, not telling. There are frequent comparisons of Maruki and Rumi’s situation to Ren’s and Akechi’s (not direct ones but it’s obvious the two are similar) and if they were a het couple that romance would be unquestionable. At the end of the day, persona is and always will be a game about choice where the protagonist is mostly a self-insert which is why they’ve never been able to outright say ‘this is the canon romance route’ but honestly, if it were to be anyone, it’s so painfully clear it’s Akechi.

Especially when you remember the director’s words of this being a love triangle. We know Sumire has a crush on Ren but doesn’t seem to have an interest in Akechi and outside of being a possible conversation partner, Akechi clearly isn’t interested in Sumire. So then if they’re a love triangle the only logical conclusion is that they’re both vying for Ren’s affection. From Ren’s perspective, the player can choose if he will romance Sumire but regardless of what Ren says to Sumire, he always ends up having Akechi’s life dangled before his eyes and can always choose to have him by his side.

TL;DR Goro Feral, Shuake Canon

[bastardsunlight]

My buddy over at @sxvethelastdance​ is doing some deep dive shit on the subject of Liu Kang’s faith in all his iterations—95, games, 2021—so I decided “hey why don’t I do that too?” because I also desire to be one of The Cool Kids™. This is in no way meant to be taken as gospel truth or whatever. It’s mostly for me own records, headcanons-wise, and just kind of a character-building exercise since Lao has become one of my more active/sought-after muses of late. I’ll hide it under a cut because it’s liable to get long

Like my S C H L O N G [cue pornbot invasion]

PS THIS IS GOING TO BE ABOUT MORE THAN JUST HIS FAITH BECAUSE A LOT OF THAT WILL COME FROM UPBRINGING/FAMILY AND WILL ALSO FOCUS ON HIS PERSONALITY AND THE INS/OUTS OF IT

For our purposes (and like, in reality because I DO respect authorial intent to some extent), Shaolin Monks isn’t canon, like at all. Someone had a fever dream and Liu Kang/Kung Lao were bimbos for a few hours. Okay they’re still kind of like that, god bless ‘em, but you get the idea. AIGHT now that’s out the way, let’s get this cue ball rolling.

Okay for starters, games Lao because well he’s only ever appeared in the games (and we don’t usually talk about Legacy Because OOF middle-aged Liu Kang with a hot topic sweater and anger issues—Liu Kangst. You’re welcome [plays a high G on the nearest piano]).

Kung Lao comes from a long, distinguished family who has always contributed to the order of light—they’re founding members, all that stuff. They did not build the academy itself, but the Order started with the Great Kung Lao. OUR Kung Lao is the fulfillment of a prophecy, some vague old thing that told of an ancestor who would carry the “spirit of the Great Kung Lao”. They figure reincarnation, which is a reasonable assumption. If that’s true or not, only Fire God Liu Kang and Lord Raiden know, because they’re the only ones to have met him in person. Whatever the case, Kung Lao is born with the ability to call spirits and channel their energy, their “pressure” to do a variety of things, including teleport, an ability that thankfully did not come until later—can you imagine a teleporting toddler? Good god.

The entire Kung line is blessed with some spiritual power, here and there. Kung Lao is off the charts. His mother, a short time before his birth, has a dream where the GKL came to her and said “this is the one”. He is reaching out to his ancestor from the Realm of the Honored Dead, knowing full well that the once-a-generation tournament is not far off and feeling the pull to Lao like some kind of magnet or doorway. Kung Lao is the strongest spirit-channeler the Kung family has ever seen. His parents therefore name him Lao and with the name comes a great and terrible burden.

He is, naturally, chosen as the generational tithe to the Wu-Shi academy and, naturally, the Order of Light. This is a case of being raised in the faith, knowing little else, but being sharp enough to question some things. Obviously, as a kid, he doesn’t question—he just learns and obeys, trains under various masters, etc. Sometime during his younger years, an orphan shows up at the temple and, being a charitable organization, the elders of the temple take him in and name the boy Liu Kang. Liu and Lao become fast friends and the elders are, of course, pleased as  punch to see the Kung’s legacy being a good influence on someone like Liu Kang who, unbeknownst to anyone but them (and Raiden), is the blood of Onaga and in possession of a terrible power himself. It does not occur to them that Lao will not be chosen by the god of thunder to be Earthrealm’s champion. Everyone at the academy trains for this purpose, but in THIS generation, no one even questions that it will be Lao.

Kung Lao is extremely gifted, rarely has to study, hardly tries on all exams and new techniques and masters the strange and deadly weapon that is his signature with relatively few injuries. Combining that with his abilities to move spiritual force and teleport and he is a shoe-in. His faith in the Elder Gods is more of a background hum, at this point and, though he has met Lord Raiden, his faith there, too, is hardly a thought. It’s just part of his life. As anyone who grows up in a faith could tell you, the routines become like breathing.

Liu Kang and Kung Lao grow side-by-side as best friends, confidants, troublemakers (though Lao is absolutely the one cutting class), and, as they grow older and into themselves, lovers.

The first time Kung Lao’s faith comes to the forefront and really shakes is when Lord Raiden choses Liu Kang to be his champion for Mortal Kombat. There is the initial shock, of course, and then there is fear. Mortal Kombat has killed very Earthrealm champion, without exception, since the Great Kung Lao’s second attempt. The legends of Prince Goro are written in the forbidden texts of the academy’s library and naturally, the shaolin rowdy boys have broken in and read them all. Kung Lao meditates for hours, wondering what he did wrong. He is never, at any point, resentful toward Liu Kang himself, who has always been an unfailingly loyal friend, a humble monk, an excellent student, and has, with hard work and perseverance, excelled in HIS classes as well.

The more he considers it, the more his faith in the Elder Gods is shaken—if it was ever terribly solid in the first place. More than that, he begins to mistrust Raiden. Kung Lao determines that, due to the hopelessness of the situation, the likelihood of Liu Kang’s return is almost zero. He has all the faith in the world in how strong Liu Kang is, of course, but those odds are not good. He begins to deeply resent the idea that Liu was chosen as a lamb for slaughter based on factors other than likelihood to win. This is also when the insecurity starts to REALLY set in.

Kung Lao doesn’t realize that Liu Kang views him as equal or superior, seeing how he has never had to study or work at ANYTHING to just nail whatever it is, every time. Kung Lao is one of those young adults who was a child prodigy and is experiencing some SERIOUS burnout in his early twenties. It isn’t that Kung Lao doesn’t know he’s good—he’s very aware of his skill. It comes out as brazen arrogance. No one but Liu Kang can seem to knock him down ANY pegs. His faith, he realizes, has always been in himself and in Liu, in what they’ve built and shared. There is a depth of intimacy in that friendship that goes beyond even the physical—though there IS that.

He’s kind of in the mode of “what have the Elder Gods ever done for me?” (spoiler alert: nothing) and he questions Raiden’s motivations as he slowly adds shit up. Liu Kang is an orphan, of no family, with great power. He doesn’t know if there’s something else to it, but he sees the reactions of the elders of the temple when Raiden chooses Liu and it isn’t “weird that you didn’t choose the kid we groomed from birth to do this” but an almost insane level of like, understanding, as if this was a possible outcome. There is something else up, but he has no way of knowing it. He hates the way Liu just accepts it and while they are still capable of making jokes about the whole situation, he can sense the turmoil within Liu, as well, who is ALSO wondering why Lao wasn’t chosen.

Kung Lao is now the black sheep, the family failure, the one who was beaten out by an orphan. This really begins his “second banana” status and everyone seems to know it. They equate his brash pride to insecurity, which in a way it is, because part of him will always wonder what he did wrong, but they did not know him before. It goes from being part of his personality to being a shield. If he is arrogant and aloof, untouchable, no one will see the doubt and trepidation within. And STILL the Elder Gods do NOTHING. When he sneaks into the tournament, he’s taking matters into his own hands, where he is convinced they have always been.

See, he had been okay with dying for Earthrealm, though he was certain with this power, he wouldn’t—that he could save the place like the ancestor for which he was named. He is not ready to lose Liu Kang.

Aight so caveat here, most of this above was built with a VERY specific Liu Kang in mind and below is 100% riding on that same writer (heh riding). None of this has to, in any way, reflect on anyone else’s Liu Kang—not that I’ve seen a ton of those.

MK2021 for all its faults, had amazing characterization for the heroes, even if some of the cuts, scenes, and lines were a bit ……. Clunky. Kung Lao is clearly a powerful fighter, confident to the point of arrogance, but with the skill to back it up. Even when Cole puts him in the dirt, he hops back up and summons his hat, like “okay cool, now let’s get real” because Kombat is not like a cage fight. This is a man who knows few limitations, is highly skilled, and has clearly been raised in the faith, much like his counterpart from the games. His Arcana is passed through his bloodline, much like that of the Hasashi clan and a few others who have passed out of living memory, likely done in by previous Outworld assassination coups.

The biggest difference between games and 2021 Lao is that the latter is a man who demands proof at every turn, by force if necessary, AND HE IS AWARE OF THIS. His faith rests not in the Elder Gods—not caring much for them or their lack of involvement—but in Raiden himself and only then because he has challenged the god of thunder and was put down pretty soundly. Kung Lao respects ability. He has it, so he therefore expects everyone around him to hold themselves to that same standard.

He is two or three years older than Kang, the young orphan Master Bo’ Rai Cho brought to the temple when they are still children, probably six and nine, give or take. They have no classes together, initially, but Kung Lao ss instructed to keep an eye on him, to help him adjust. The two become fast friends and Liu Kang admires the bejeezus out of his shi xiong, both because of that age difference and the obvious experience gap, and because Kung Lao will ALWAYS go to bat for him.

Kung Lao is well aware of the stakes of this tournament, knows that it is, for the most part, riding on him. This becomes doubly true when Sub-Zero is sent to Earthrealm to start taking out the other champions, one by one, to halt a prophecy. Someone carrying Hasashi blood will upset the balance of the tournament.

He is a dutiful monk, a competent teacher, a powerful fighter, and, alongside Liu Kang, the best hope humanity has for victory. Kung Lao’s resentment, in this universe, is directed primarily toward the elders who sent Kang out into the world after his graduation from the academy as a student (as must all students, some with specific orders, and some with more vague directions) to find his true path. The elders have essentially forced Kang to relive the darkest time in his life and thence, to feel the rage and resentment that has for so long boiled beneath his skin, channeling it into a killing urge. Kung Lao protects Liu Kang from this as best he can and, more than that, he protects the world from Liu Kang.

[thedorkmagiciangirl]

The Mysterious Cases in Domino City

Summary:Multiple deaths.  Supernatural insanity.  And not enough proof to show how it all happened. 

This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved, we dive into the series of inexplicable events that took place ten years ago in Domino City.

Two men sat at their desk, papers stacked in front of them.  Ryan sat on the right, trying to hold back a grin, and Shane was leaning back in his seat.

"This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved, we're diving into a series of inexplicable events that took place over about a year in Domino City, about ten years ago."  Ryan says, and Shane glances at him.

"And all of these," Ryan said, clearly enjoying himself as Shane began to frown, "are connected back to one Yugi Mutou."

"Wait, Yugi Mutou?"  Shane paused.  "That's the Duel King. isn't it?"

"Yup.  I'm surprised you know about Duel Monsters."

Shane sighed.  "Before we get started, I don't believe any of those rumors that it was designed by aliens or that the cards are possessed by spirits or anything like that.  Now go on."

"For those of you that don't know-"

"I.E. those of you living under a rock."

"Thank you, Shane.  Duel Monsters is a collectible card game that has taken the world by storm, and the best duelists have risen in fame to be celebrities, such as Mutou Yugi, Kaiba Seto, Jonouchi Katsuya, and Kujaku Mai."

"Wait.  How come they're all Japanese?  I thought this game started in the United States."

"It's taken off in Japan.  But there is another reason why all of the most famous duelists are Japanese.  Two of the most high-profile tournaments were held in or near Japan."

"So Domino City.  Hometown of Kaiba, Mutou, and Jonouchi.  Also home to one Domino High School, which is arguably the worst high school in the world."

Okay but like

Aren't all high schools the worst

This high school...look

It was something

"High schools aren't created equal in awfulness," Ryan said, "and Domino High School had it all.  Even though Rintama, a nearby school, was known to be the one for gangsters, Domino High School had more bullies than a football team, ludicrous levels of violence that everyone just...got away with, including murder, and cartoonishly evil teachers.  I cannot overstate that last bit."

"I feel like I'm going to regret asking this," Shane looked at the camera, "but how bad was it?"

"We're gonna talk about the murdered student later," Ryan said, "but one of the teachers was named Ms. Chono.  She expelled fifteen students in six months.  Among the student body, she was called the Wicked Witch of Expel."

Are you kidding me?  The Wicked Witch of Expel?

Who came up with that?

Wheeze

No really like

Did she just really hate her students

If so, why become a goddamned teacher if you hate kids?

Why?

In what world does that make sense?

And who let her get away with that?  Doesn't someone have to check over expulsions?

Shouldn't somebody be like why the hell are you expelling so many students?

So basically

All the others teachers sucked too, she just sucked the most

And apparently the principal had a crush on her

And also she would go on dates just to reject men apparently

What?  Are you kidding me?

She's like a caricature of an evil teacher from a kid's show!

I did say cartoonishly evil teachers

"But it doesn't end there.  Time to get to the juicy bits."

"Again, all of the weird shit about to go down centers on Yugi Mutou.  One kid with dyed and spiked hair-"

"His hair could be an Unsolved episode on its own.  Yugi insists it's natural in every interview where he has been asked but I refuse to believe that."  Shane said.  A picture flashes across the screen.  "His hair is three colors!  Three!  Colors!"

"That's only the start of the weirdness," Ryan said seriously.  "He was also short, geeky, and into games and puzzles."

Or in other words

He had a target painted on his back for all bullies

A kick me sign.

One student described it as

If there was a bully within a short distance of Yugi

They would find him, specifically

And they would bully him

This apparently happened outside of school too

Of course it did

"Now according to what testimonies we have from Domino High students-I've asked Yugi Mutou's close friends and even the man himself about this, by the way."  Ryan said.  "All of them refused to answer questions about this in particular."

"And you think that's because they're hiding something rather than because they don't want to be on a show that will accuse them of murder or being aliens."

"It's suspicious!"  Ryan insisted.

"Sure it is."

Ryan frowned at his co-host.  "Moving on," Ryan said, "two of the first of his many, many bullies were Hiroto Honda and Jonouchi Katsuya."

"Wait, what?"  Shane frowned.  "Duelist Jonouchi Katsuya?  That Jonouchi?"

"Both of these two ended up becoming his best friends."

WAIT

So these guys like beat him up

Bully him

And then yugi is like haha

It's fine we're friends now.

According to domino high students

That is exactly what happened

"Most Domino High students were mystified at what they described as a sudden change in Jonouchi's behavior, though Honda was apparently more reluctant to befriend Yugi.  But this sudden change occurred at the same time as the first of our inexplicable events."

"And you think they're connected."

"I know they're connected."  Ryan cleared his throat.  "At Domino High, Tetsu Ushio was the hall monitor, known for his physical strength that intimidated pretty much everyone, including the teachers."

"I'd be more scared of his eyebrows."  Shane said.  "Those things are ginormous."  A picture of the man flashed across the screen and confirmed that his eyebrows were indeed giant.

"Ushio would find the kids that were bullied often and offer to help them out with their bullies."

"That sounds noble, but the way you say that…"

"He would then force the victims to pay for his services and then brutally beat them if they didn't pay up."

"I knew it.  And since this story is going oh so predictably...he tried it on Yugi, with the bullies being Jonouchi and Honda."

"Stop stealing my lines!  But yes.  What we know after this is...a lot more sketchy.  We know that Yugi ended up standing up for Jonouchi and Honda, cementing the beginnings of what would be a lifelong friendship.  We know that Yugi was beaten up for not paying.  But...and here's where the weirdness shows up."

"Finally.  Hit me."

"The next day after this at school, Ushio was found playing with garbage and dead tree leaves and calling them money."

Wait WHAT

Predictable NOW, shane?

Okay fine that was a turn I didn't expect

So he was hallucinating garbage to be money?

Wait if this was at school so did everyone just see him

Hoarding garbage or something

Like how would you even respond to that?

What do you mean?

So there's this terrifying bully and he's holding garbage

And he tells you it's money

And you're just like, yup!  It sure is money!

Please don't hurt me

wheeze

It probably happened that way

"Before we get to the theories, we have to go over some other incidents."

Shane leveled a stare at Ryan.  "Wasn't this just a psychotic break?"  Ryan shook his head.

"The incident with Ushio was only the beginning of the mysterious incidents that began to plague Domino High School.  After this, bullies at Domino High started going mad.  All of them in ways that seemed karmically designed to punish them."

"For instance, a TV director who filmed at Domino High and filmed Yugi getting bullied-the footage has his face censored out but not the hair so it's plainly obvious who it is-was blinded and sees nothing but digital mosaics, the same used in the film to censor Yugi's face."

"That could still be a coincidence."

Ryan pulls out a clipboard.  "Sozoji, bullied people into going to his music recitals that were described as being so painful and loud that one student was sick for three days afterwards.  Sozoji now hears his own heartbeat in his ears so loud he's practically deaf.  Then.."  Ryan's eyes fall on the next name on the list.

"Then, since we're going in chronological order-"

"We are?"

"Next comes the murdered kid."

"Oh.  Wait.  Are we accusing Yugi of murder?"

Ryan paused..  "Maybe?"

"Brilliant.  I look forward to getting sued."

"So the story of the murder begins with Domino High's school festival.  Yugi's class had pulled a popular spot out of the lottery, and then seniors, led by one Goro Inogashira, came, beat them up, and took the spot."

"And they didn't get punished for that?"

"See earlier note about getting away with murder."

"God, this high school really is the worst."

"The seniors who took over were making okonomiyaki, which is like a savory pancake.  It's been called Japanese pizza."  Ryan said, gesturing with his arms in a circle.

"And this is relevant how?"

"The seniors put the grill they were using for the okonomiyaki in the festival spot.  Traces of explosives and the senior classroom's leader's remains were later found on the grill."

"What the fuck."

"He was blown up with his own grill."

"I repeat.  What the fuck."

"The school festival continued."

Shane stared at Ryan.  Ryan was looking down at his notes.  Slowly Shane put his head down on the table.  "Tell me there's not more.  There is.  Isn't there."

"Altogether, there's about 13 incidents that we know of, two of them taking place during Duelist Kingdom.  Not at all of them are as firmly connected to Yugi as these though."

"Like what?"

"Well, Ms. Chono got hit with this and ran out of a classroom screaming.  A producer started insulting the audience on air while Jonouchi was competing on a competition show, resulting in the producers going bankrupt and being unable to pay the prize."

Wait so Jonouchi won

And then they went bankrupt

So he never got the prize

I feel bad for that guy

If it was Yugi who did it

I can just picture him

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly

Ooops, Jonouchi!

I didn't mean to cheat you out of-let me check

One million yen

wheeze

What's that in dollars?

About 95000 dollars

Shit

That's a pretty good payday

I would not have forgiven yugi for that

That's fair

"And a shop owner was poisoned with his pet scorpion."

"Wait, what's the connection for that last scene?"  Shane muttered into the table.

"The shop owner found some of his shoes missing afterwards, and while we don't have any direct links proving Yugi was at this scene, buuuut we do have the testimony of a Domino High School student, who stated the following…"

"Jonouchi bragged about those stupid Air Muscle shoes for days afterwards."

"Guess what shoes were missing?"

"Air Muscles."

"Got it."

"That is a really weak connection."

"It's possible!"  Ryan protested.  "But think about it Shane.  13 incidents in which people were...punished, for lack of a better word, in a karmic fashion that all relate back to one Yugi Mutou."

Shane opened his mouth.  Then closed it.  "And you have theories?"

"Oh yeah I have theories.  And none of them involve aliens for once."

"Theory One.  Yugi is our metaphorical Carrie."

"As in the Stephen King novel?"

"Think about it!  Outcast, bullied, then their enemies are killed or maimed or driven insane or what have you through inexplicable means."  Ryan crossed his arms.  "You can't tell me there aren't parallels there."

"Yes, but then Yugi would have to have psychic powers."  Shane said dryly.  "And psychic powers don't exist."

"Really?  Then what's your explanation?  They can't all have coincidental mental breakdowns.  Remember, Goro Inogashira was murdered.  With the traces of explosives on the scene, there's no way it was an accident."

"Yes, but you're forgetting one thing."  Shane said.  "Carrie did all of that on purpose because she was vindictive and spiteful.  Whereas Yugi is apparently Mr. My Best Friends Were My Bullies."

Ryan raised a finger before lowering it.  "He could have lost control of his powers."

"But if he'd lost control there'd be less signs of intent.  All of the punishments were designed-the extortionist hallucinated money, the TV producer mosaics, and the horrible singer was driven deaf by sound."  Shane says.  "That shows intent and purpose.  Not what you'd expect if somebody lost control.  And that still wouldn't explain Inogashira.  Explosives means he didn't blow a guy up with his mind."

Ryan nodded.  "The explosives were taken from a chemistry lab."

Shane stared at Ryan.  "They had explosives lying around?  God.  The question is why haven't more students been murdered."

"Anyways," Ryan said, "that's the first theory.  Theory Two ties in with my first and it is:Yugi had a second personality."

Shane stood up and started walking away.

"Wait!"  Ryan cried.  "I have evidence for this, I swear."  Shane walked back, a long-suffering look on his face.

"This better be good."

"So, Yugi Mutou is most famous for participating in the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City tournaments, which," Ryan added, "could both get an episode of their own.  Half of the finalists in Battle City were hospitalized.  In Duelist Kingdom...between Yugi's incidents, other murders on the island-"

Wait wait wait

Other murders???

Okay so

A total of about ten people were murdered at Duelist Kingdom by my count

…

TEN?!?!

Why haven't I heard about this before?

It was covered up by Industrial Illusions

Only one death was reported to the public

Maximilion Pegasus

His eye was ripped out

That sounds disgusting

If it helps it was his prosthetic eye

It actually does

So it's okay to rip someone's eye out as long as it's a fake eye?

Shut up

"Duelist Kingdom had ten casualties.  One of which was Maximilion Pegasus, who died after his match with Yugi Mutou.  Another was "Bandit" Keith Howard, who was found shot through the head.  It is possible that this was a suicide, since Keith was known to show symptoms of depression, but this cannot be confirmed.  No bullet was found at the scene of the crime, and so no guns can be reliably linked to the crime through rifling marks.  The other eight were found after the tournament had ended and information of their deaths were only released to the public four years after the tournament. Those duelists had been hanged on the island, and afterwards all attempts at investigation were stifled by Industrial Illusions."

"Also during Duelist Kingdom, there were two incidents with the previous M.O.  The first was a man who thought he was being controlled by a puppet.  The second was a man who hallucinated being hanged himself, suggesting that this was a karmic punishment for the murders he had committed.  He also later confessed to those crimes while he had been hospitalized for injuring himself."

So there were at least three murderers on this island

The guy hanging people

The guy driving people insane

And the guy ripping out people's eyes

And a maybe-suicide maybe-murder

This is just crazy.

We haven't even gotten to Seto Kaiba and his connection to Yugi

Or Battle City

Or

Look

A lot went down at Duel monsters tournaments

Why do people go there then?

Like stop going to duel monsters tournaments

Apparently if you make it to the finals you have a one-in-two chance of being hospitalized

Fame

Fortune

And you could just get off on it

Is that your theory Ryan?

People are like

Oh I could get murdered

Finally a game with high enough stakes to turn me on

Wheeze

It's possible

"Okay, but I was promised evidence of a split personality.  You haven't delivered."

"I'm getting there," Ryan said.  

"And how come more people haven't talked about this story?"  Shane asked.  "Three murderers at a single tournament?  Come on!"  Shane started muttering.

"Cover up."  Ryan deadpanned.  "What else could it be?"

Shane groaned.

"Also, this tournament...was fishy.  For one thing, half of the finalists hadn't even been invited to the tournament."

Shane's groans grew more pained-sounding.  "Of course they weren't," he muttered.

"Yugi invited Jonouchi along, and he placed second, with Yugi himself being first.  But I've spoken to some of the duelists at the tournament, who saw Yugi duel firsthand.  All of them state that Yugi was a completely different person when he dueled.  Take, for instance, Insector Haga's testimony, who reported that Yugi told him to 'Get off the island, insect, or I'll pull off your legs one by one!'  Which is to say the least, uncharacteristic of him."

Shane banged his head into the table.  "God help me, your theories are making sense to me.  Maybe I've been driven mad too."

"So yeah.  If Yugi had a split personality, he was apparently crueler than the original Yugi, and it's this personality that developed the powers and hurt those people."

Shane raised his head before slumping back onto the table.

"But that's not the last theory I have."  Ryan smiled.

"This is the most insane of them all, isn't it."

"Theory Three.  Yugi was possessed by a ghost."

"Of course we're going back to possession now."

Two images appeared on the screen.  One was of Yugi.  The second was of Yugi dueling.  "Yugi has red eyes when he duels."

It could be contact lenses

Red eyes

Come on

That's possession if I've ever seen it

Or it could be red contact lenses to go with his already weird taste

Like look at what he's wearing

He's wearing a fucking collar

He would absolutely wear red contact lenses

Okay probably

But this theory has more evidence going for it

Sure it does.  Even though ghosts don't exist.

You're in de-nile

Did you just-

Another image popped up onto the screen.  "This was an exhibit at the Domino City Museum on ancient Egypt, featuring exhibits about the reign of the Nameless Pharaoh.  Called that because we have no idea what his name is.  Notice anything-or should I say anyone-familiar?"

"That's Yugi Mutou's hair."  Shane said.  "I'd recognize those spikes anywhere.  And...that one facing him.  That's Seto Kaiba."

"And above them are the Dark Magician and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

"Wait, what?  I don't see a dragon.  Do you mean that clawed thing?"

"It's not very detailed, okay?  Go with it for now.  Those two are their favorite cards in Duel Monsters, the ones they are famous for using...and this is a 3000 year old tablet."

"Are we sure it's three thousand years old?"  Shane said.  "It could be a forgery.  I don't think carbon dating can be used on stone."

"It's been verified by several experts on ancient Egypt.  The one on the right was a pharaoh, and the other his high priest."

"And this relates to Yugi and Kaiba how?"

"Yugi is possessed by the ghost of the pharaoh, who delivers karmic justice because of the eye for an eye thing, and has magic powers because he's a ghost."  Ryan nodded, as if that made perfect sense.

It did not.

"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."

"Look at the carving of the pharaoh again.  At his chest."

"The weird triangle thing?"

"Now look at the photo of Yugi Mutou.  That pyramid around his neck.  He only started wearing it at around the same time that the weird incidents started.  And according to Yugi and some other experts I spoke to it's a genuine Egyptian artifact."

Wait wait what.  

This guy wears gold around his neck? 

Isn't that super heavy?  

and stupid to carry around a priceless artifact like that?"

If it's cursed, I guess it'd be able to protect itself from thieves.

Except curses aren't real!

Then what's your explanation?

…

You don't have one, do you?

No

But that doesn't mean any of your crazy theories are right

Shane sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose.  "Okay.  So.  All of what you said was completely batshit insane."

"But…"  Ryan prompted.

"But I can't say you're wrong."  Shane looked physically pained at having to say those words.  "I mean, the number of incidents means it can't be explained away as coincidence, there's no mundane explanation I can think of…"  Shane now looked like he was choking on a lemon.  "You might have a point."

"Yes!  And that has been recorded!  You can't deny you said it now, Shane."

"I said might, Ryan."

"Well, given that our best theory relies on psychic powers and Yugi and the others that would know aren't talking, we still have a lot of questions."

"Were these people driven mad by Yugi or someone else, purposefully or not?  Was Yugi haunted or did he want revenge for himself?  Who chose up the deaths of people in Duel Monster tournaments, and for what purpose?  Was it only to preserve a company's reputation, or was something more sinister at work?  And most importantly of all, is Yugi's hair dyed or not?  But despite all of our investigations, the people with answers have chosen to remain silent...and so this case remains unsolved."

[twilightknight17]

Still in the first dungeon of Scramble. Still having a blast. Dying a lot. XDDD

The hardest thing about this has been getting used to watching my health in real-time. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve gotten walloped and died because I took a bunch of damage that I didn’t notice.

(The answer is, “Enough times that the game asked if I wanted to switch to easy mode.” No thank you, P5S. I’ll get it. Give me a minute.)

Anyway.

Sophia and I love this Jail. XDDD “Oh hey let’s climb the ferris wheel so we can slide down the banners to reach the last prison keep.” Hell fucking yeah let’s do that!!

Alice has finally noticed that we’re running around messing with things, though. And continues to be totally understandable in her opinions about Joker.

We had to leave the Jail because it put up a giant wall blocking the main castle, so we’re gonna put together a plan and head back in to hack the wall out of the way. I really like the hacking battles; it’s a really good way to include Futaba in the actual heist directly.

When we got back to Yongen, though, there was some drunk businessman harassing Ann, and Akira gets a prompt to step in. And I swear, this man was getting ready to take a swing at ‘Kira, and I was having Shido flashbacks. This really needs to stop happening to this poor boy. But he’s not in trouble for assault, because of the arrival of...

...yeah, sir, this is not how to endear yourself to these kids. They’re not going to fall for the dashing hero act. They’re friends with Goro Akechi. XD

He did get to have the “I’m gonna call the police!”/”I am the police. Scram,” exchange, so that was fun. And pointing out the police tail on Akira was an interesting move. It’s definitely not working on the kids, though.

Zenkichi basically tells them that the police are determined to blame the recent incidents on them, and that Akira’s going to be arrested and charged with criminal mischief regardless of him claiming that he’s innocent. Which, god, this kid really can’t catch a break, can he? Zenkichi offers a deal; he wants information to help him find the true culprit, in exchange for helping make sure Akira’s not arrested.

I genuinely can’t tell if he really does think they’re innocent, and actually wants to help, or if he’s hoping that if he can gain their trust, he’ll find the proof he needs to arrest them for real. He did mention that the police don’t have any proof right now. That’s what the tails are looking for.

The kids, of course, don’t trust him as far as they can throw him. The fact that he acts like such a goof about it doesn’t help. But the best part of this whole thing is that Sojiro is there for the conversation, too, and he’s in 100% protective dad mode. His one line during the discussion is legitimately angry. And when Zenkichi says he’s gonna come back for curry another time...

DAD. <3 I feel so validated and canon. This is absolutely a man that would ban Hamuko from his cafe. I love it.

Of course, literally as soon as Zenkichi leaves, Sojiro wants to know what bullshit we’re up to now. But he’s okay with it as long as we’re keeping ourselves safe. Thank goodness for a stable, trustworthy adult presence to help the Phantom Thieves.

The Thieves put together a plan to break through the wall, using two teams and a decoy. And Akira’s becoming very self-aware, because as soon as Ryuji says, “But who could do that?”, everyone looks at Akira, and he acknowledges that this is the second time in three days that he’s gotten roped into something.

One of your dialogue options is “I refuse”, and I am nothing if not willing to test my friends.

At least it lets me whine about it. XDDDDD

The Jail infiltration is absolutely incredible, though. We’re fighting through hoards of shadows, blowing up cars, blowing up searchlights, hacking the wall out of the way, and charging forward as a team. They know how to fight and work together, and it’s... really amazing, actually. They needed a little bit to get back into the swing of things, but these are the kids that took out two gods six months ago. These are the sort of battles I was picturing in P5 itself, if they were unrestrained by the turn-based system. I love it. We fought our way all the way to the top, and now we’re plotting to steal back the desires that Alice has imprisoned and bring down the Jail. I love that they acknowledge that this isn’t the same as a Palace; I’m gonna have so much fun wedging this into my big lore document.

Zenkichi shows up one more time with more attempts at banter and the revelation that Alice was a Shujin student, which will help us get through the barrier around the stolen desires. So... helpful, I guess, but the kids are still thoroughly unimpressed. I really like Zenkichi so far, but he’s absolutely not going about this the right way, even though Haru keeps reminding him that they hate the police.

Oh, but he’s not the police! he claims. He’s Public Security!

I wonder if that’s the same thing as Public Safety. Those are the people who were bugging the Shadow Ops in the Arena era. That could be interesting.

Next time: off to Shujin to find the secret room!

[mintchocolateleaves]

Emogust - 09.08: Stubbornness // @sup-poki - so the other day I rewatched that 1998 movie, ‘The Parent Trap’ and it gave me ideas for this-

“I think I can see what’s going on here,” Kaito says, leaning forward, practically halfway across the table. Aoko thinks he looks stupid when he does that, leaning on his elbows as if he’s preparing to climb over the diner table at any moment. “Wait – nope. What’s going on here?”

Aoko sighs, leans back in her chair.

Waving a hand towards the girl who’s sat beside her, Aoko offers a smile. She says, “this is Mouri Ran.”

“Yes,” Kaito says after a moment, “I kind of caught on after she introduced herself. Why do you two look identical?”

Ah, he’s always been quick. Aoko would give him a gold star if she had one. Although, actually, he’d probably like that, the weirdo.

“Well,” Aoko says, watching Ran from the corner of her eye. The girl tilts her head, offers a soft smile, reassuring. “That’s because we’re twins.”

His expression drops, and for a moment, Aoko isn’t sure what he’s thinking. A flash of fear, of concern? Something. Eventually, he settles on horror as he leans back against the cushioned booth.

“You mean to say there’s two of you?”

Ran frowns. Aoko lets out a dry laugh. “Very funny.”

“I know,” Kaito says, around a wink. “But like, I’m sorry – twins? Aoko, you’ve been an only child for sixteen years.”

“We’re identical!” She pauses, tries to smother the rising irritation that arises every time she talks with him. “And anyway, Ran-chan and I have proof.”

“Yes,” Rans says, quiet. She still seems like she’s in a state of shock, which Aoko supposes is understandable – they’ve only known about the others’ existence for a matter of days. “We found out very recently, but there’s overwhelming evidence, Kuroba-san.”

Aoko can see his eyes dull at the word evidence. She doesn’t call him out on it, simply reaches into her backpack and brings out the tiny memory box that belongs to her mother.

“That’s–” Kaito leans forward, eyebrows squinting. “You went into your mother’s room?”

She would find the concept of him knowing about the box suspicious, knowing his tendency to poke into things that aren’t his business, if they hadn’t been caught as children searching her mother’s bedroom as children.

“Uh-” Aoko hesitates, “well, yes, but only because I was looking for Goro. He was meowing like there’s no tomorrow. I thought he was hurt in there.”

Goro, their family cat. Aoko had wanted to name the blue Russian cat ‘Tsuki’ because his fur had reminded her of the moon, but her mother had insisted on the name.

And well, the cat had been named Goro from there on.

He’d never responded when Aoko had tried calling him Tsuki. Which – evil cat playing favourites. Maybe it was because her mother usually took him to the law firm with her?

Who knows.

“Anyway, I found this and I opened it. It doesn’t matter how.” Aoko opens the tin now, glances at things her mother has kept back over the years. There are a lot of photos of Aoko and her mother – some are taken with her mother at the Kisaki law firm, others with them on various trips out of town – and some with her and Kaito.

Some even have all three of them.

“Look at this,” Aoko says, moving the more recent pictures and taking the photograph at the very bottom of the tin out. It’s yellowing with age, crinkled ever so slightly. She passes it over to Kaito.

His eyes widen.

“Wow,” he says, hesitant, “that’s so weird. It’s almost hard to believe.”

Aoko nods. She glances at the photo again. It depicts Aoko’s mother in her hospital bed, presumably just after delivering them. She’s hugging a baby to her chest, a tired smile up at the camera. And beside her – the man Aoko has never known – her father.

He’s holding another baby. Aoko doesn’t know who’s holding her, but she likes to imagine she’s in her father’s arms here. That they had at least one photo together.

“I don’t get it,” Kaito says, “why would your parents not tell you about each other.”

Fiddling with her hair, Ran says, “my father didn’t tell me much about my mother growing up, but he always said that near the end of their relationship they had a lot of arguments. They couldn’t stand each other, so they split up.”

They receive a hum. And then, after another glance at the photograph, Kaito mumbles, “and here I thought the secrets my parents were keeping from me were big…”

Beneath the table, Aoko kicks him.

Ran doesn’t need to get involved in the whole KID business yet, thank you very much. She doesn’t want to explain to her newly found twin that the boy she’s been crushing on since they were kids is actually a master criminal.

“Ow,” he hisses and then, another glance at the photograph before he passes it back, “wait, isn’t this that famous sleeping detective, Mouri Kogoro?”

“Yes,” Ran says, and she flushes, as if nervous to have family recognised. “He’s my – I mean, Aoko-chan and I’s – father. Aoko-chan told me that she recognised him from the news and wanted to meet him, so she looked up the address of our agency and brought the photograph with her.”

At the weight of Kaito’s stare, Aoko finds her own cheeks burning red. She can practically hear the thoughts as if he’s plucking them from his own head and transferring them over to her: Your father is a detective?

“I wanted to see if he could tell me about the photo,” Aoko says, trying to explain. “I’ve never had a father before, so I- Anyway. When I knocked, Ran-chan was the one who answered the door and here we are.”

“Here we are,” Kaito echoes back. He looks around the diner, to his hot chocolate on the table, and at the tea each girl is drinking. Aoko follows his gaze as it brushes past the waitresses, past the other tables and patrons enjoying their meals. “…In a diner?”

Aoko wants to kick him again. This time however, she restrains herself.

“Well, we had a plan we wanted to get you to help us with.”

The flash of his smirk shouldn’t piss her off as much as it does. Maybe because it’s accompanied by Kaito’s drawl of, “Oh, this is gonna be good.”

“Ran-chan and I want to get our parents back together,” Aoko says.

The way Kaito’s lips part into an ‘o’ shape shows Aoko that it’s not what he’d expected to hear.

“You want your parents,” Kaito says, slowly, “who, as far as you guys know haven’t seen each other in what? Sixteen years? To get back together?”

Ran, at least, has the courtesy to look embarrassed. Aoko, refuses to give in to him. She nods her head.

“That’s the plan.”

“They’ve been apart for over a decade and a half!”

Ran reaches up, scratches at her cheek. She says, “neither of our parents ever moved on to other people.”

“Circumstance.”

“And I mean, mum’s cat is named after dad. She literally called him Goro!”

“You’re reaching.”

“My father has letters that he writes asking for my mother to come back,” Ran says quietly, “but they’re all unsent. I doubt his pride will ever let him send them.”

Kaito’s expression shifts now. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, micro-expressions disappearing, making him a less readable, harder to figure out. He sighs, “if they wanted to be together, wouldn’t they just get back together?”

“They’re our parents,” Aoko says.

“You don’t know if they even want to be together!” Kaito blinks, takes a moment to cool himself. Aoko hadn’t expected him to be so against it, to raise his voice.

“I want to know my father,” Aoko says finally, “and Ran wants to know our mother. If they get back together, we can be a family.”

And how long has Aoko dreamed of being a full family? How many father’s days had she missed out on? how many hugs could she have had…?

Kaito breathes, “you can know them without them being together.”

“We want them to be together,” Ran says, slowly, “and we want to try that, but honestly… if they meet again, and realise they’re in the same city, wouldn’t they arrange to introduce us to each other?”

Lifting his hand, Kaito strokes at his chin. He says, “what’s to say that they don’t know that the other is in the city. I doubt Kisaki-san doesn’t already know. She reads the news.”

Alright, so that fact kind of makes Aoko’s stomach turn a little bit. Knowing how recognisable Mouri Kogoro is in the newspapers at the moment, it’d be wrong to assume her mother didn’t know…

“Well,” Ran says, “my father has only been in the news for a few months now. It might be less a fact of our mother not knowing, and more, trying to figure out what to do now.”

“And your dad?”

“Well, when they first split up, Mum and I moved to Nagoya. We stayed there until I was around five.” Aoko tilts her head, considering. “It’s possible he thinks we’re still there.”

“You lived in Nagoya, Aoko-chan?” Ran claps her hands together. “It’s so beautiful. Dad, Conan-kun and I visited on a trip a while back.”

“Conan-kun?”

“Oh yes,” Ran says, “Conan-kun is like my… honorary little brother? He’s been staying with us for a while now, since his parents move around a lot, and it’d be cruel to not let him settle in one place.”

“Ah, I see.”

Actually, considering it, that name connecting to Mouri Kogoro does sound familiar. Are they referring to Edogawa Conan maybe? The famous KID-killer that Kaito finds himself playing games of wits with during his heists.

She glances at him from the corner of his eye, and is satisfied to see his eye twitch, ever so slightly, as he comes to the same conclusion.

“Oh, oh,” Aoko claps her hands together, “I’d love to meet him at some point. We could have him visit us at some point, Kaito is really good at babysitting too – aren’t you?”

She sends him a look.

It reads: Help us, or I stick the KID-killer on you and hope he figures out your identity.

“R-right,” Kaito says, leaning back to rub at the back of his neck. “Fine – whatever, I’ll help. But honestly, I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“I have a plan,” Aoko says, finally. She shares a smile with Ran and takes a sip of the tea she’s long since forgotten. It’s cold now, they’ll have to order fresh cups. “Let me explain–”

-----

*Some notes on the twins AU because I’ve thought a bit about it and wanted to share:

In this AU, obviously Aoko isn’t Nakamori’s daughter. Instead, she’s Eri and Kogoro’s daughter, and Ran’s identical twin. When Eri left Kogoro, the twins were maybe 5-6 months old and they came to the agreement that they would each take one of the girls. She’s named Kisaki Aoko.

Eri takes Aoko, and they move away to Nagoya until Aoko was 5, then they moved in next door to the Kuroba’s in Ekoda.

Aoko doesn’t hate KID so much because her father isn’t chasing him down and as such, she doesn’t feel like she’s missing being able to see him. Kaito told her about how he is KID, but doesn’t mention much about all the danger he’s in.

When Kaito was about 11, years after his father’s death, Chikage started seeing dating Inspector-Nakamori. They’re currently engaged. Now, Kaito is essentially being hunted down by his step-father.

Chikage didn’t know about KID, or about Toichi being murdered. In this, she retired shortly after Toichi saved her and before he debuted at KID. She had suspicions but she never knew for certain.

Aoko’s plan for Kogoro and Eri to get back together involves having Kaito use his impersonation skills to get them both to come to the same hotel under the premise of work.

Conan and Kaito learn the truth about each other pretty early on, and try to navigate the truth without letting the twins and their parents in on it. 

[missredtie]

So, you all know by now how much I love talking about Adachi and since I don’t have much on my hands right now, I think I’m going to do it again.

Yesterday night I stumbled upon this video while looking for ... Adachi things (yes, I do watch periodically his final battle against the IT, don’t judge me ok) and I wholeheartedly recommend it to those who still have doubts about Adachi as a villain or as a character in general. 

Summing up, this video answers two questions which have gone around the fandom for a while (how old is this fandom anyway? it feels like I’ve been here forever, someone give me a veteran discount), namely:

Is Adachi realistic? 

Does Adachi fit P4′s story as its villain?

I’m not going to make a summary of what the guy says in the video (I mean, watch it), but I’m going to simply add or stress some of the things he mentions. 

Question 1.

"It doesn’t take an horrific childhood trauma to make a person into a monster”: I particularly loved this sentence because, well, this is kind of what Adachi’s character is all about. I think I will have to add just a little bit more of a context (because remember kids, when analyzing a character, never forget about the time and the place), by directing you to this post on the so called “Lost Decade”. Either way, what is important to understand is: Adachi is not your common villain who had childhood traumas or underwent abuses of some sort. For all we know, he lived in a well-off family who wanted him to study and become someone important and gain lots of money. Lots of pressure, of course, no time to have fun, high expectations and all that jazz, but no one would compare such things to what, for example, Goro went through. No. Poor kid had it much worse. However.  As the video correctly mentions, other factors like isolation, arrogance, lack of human contact twisted his view of the world to the point of him hating his current life to death. It doesn’t take much to turn a person into a monster. Which means, that your neighbour, your childhood friend, even you, under the right conditions, can become Adachi. And this is exactly what is fascinating (and terrifying) about him. I think that many people don’t like the way he’s written because he’s too real, and deny him for what he represents: how easy it is to step on the wrong path. 

However. There is something I didn’t like about that part of the video; or, let’s say, it was not clear enough. Adachi is compared to a mass-shooter who, I am very sorry, I don’t know much about. The comparison works, when the roots of their hatred towards the world are analyzed. Still, let us take a step back and try to be as objective as possible.

Adachi many and many times mentions that: “It was the TV that killed them”, “Throwing them him was never the plan”, “Everyone is the killer, including you”, “All I did was to give a little push” (quoting from memory here). Let’s leave these sentences here. Now, let’s recall the scene in the TV World where Yu confronts Adachi on his own: as we know, he shoots the boy to scare him away, but remember what Yu (or Souji, whatever floats your boat) thinks? “This didn’t seem like a threat” (again, quoting from memory). Then again, we have the infamous scene of him puking at the sight of a corpse (I have no objective proof here, but I honestly think it was a sincere....uh, puking-moment, if it makes sense). What I am trying to say is: he is not capable of killing anyone with his own hands. He did that - I mean, if Yamano was an accident, Saki surely was not- however he keeps on trying to distance himself from such things, “It was the TV that killed them”. He’s a disgusting manipulative bastard, but getting his hands dirty? I can’t see him having it. Even when stating that “We don’t need our world anymore”, Adachi can do that because he’s not actively doing it. Let the TV World engulf reality, see what I care. But firing a bullet through every people’s head and killing them? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, nah. So, honestly? I don’t think he’d have the guts to go, I don’t know, at Junes, gun in his hand, and kill everyone. 

After all. What he wants is slightly different from what a mass-shooting is. “Better for mankind to turn into shadows.” He hates this world, Adachi hates this world’s guts. But what he can’t stand is, and now I’m accurately quoting: “Once everyone turns into Shadows, they’ll still keep on living, oblivious to all the things around them...[...] No need to hold back to anything...No more pretending we don’t see things.” People see things going wrong in this society, they see injustices, they struggle to obtain nothing: and this causes pain and suffering. At the end of the day, he doesn’t want to kill people, he wants to free them from society’s chains and turn everyone into creatures of pure instinct. In his very own weird and twisted way, he thinks he’s making a change for good. And I’m going to get a bit deeper about this in just a second.

Question 2.  

I don’t think I need to add much more to this part of the video. Adachi is clearly the other side of the coin of Yu. I actually want to continue talking about Adachi’s speech during his last fight. 

The whole point of P4 is understanding the power behind bonds and friendships, how they make you grow and change, and help dealing with the world around you. Listening to what the others have to say, understanding and trying to put yourself in people’s shoes. And this is where the IT utterly failed.

I am not saying there was any other way to behave in such a situation: in no way I am implying they should have gone like “Owww poor little ‘dachi, it’s ok, we forgive you”. No, that asshole needed a good spanking (no innuendos intended, please, no). However. 

What Adachi missed all his life was someone, anyone, to stand by his side, to vent to, I imagine, someone to share his troubles with. During his speech, he many times mentions things like “You are young and you still don’t know anything about life”, “I’m telling you this ‘cause I already went through this shit and I’m warning you kids”. He’s warning them. He’s explaining that life is not all merry and happy and friends and adventures and fun. He’s saying, you might have hopes and dreams, but life will crush them, so be prepared. And the best response the IT can give to him is “Wow this is bullshit u suck shut up”. And again, yes, they had ALL the reasons to be mad at Adachi, BUT there was no point in straightforwardly denying anything he was saying. I think that in this regard, the P5 gang did a much better job while dealing with Akechi, and I’m infinitely grateful to them for this. So, basically, what the IT did was nothing but to corroborate Adachi’s twisted view: “No one listens, no one understands”. 

This pretty much covers all the topics dealt with in the video. But there is something more I want to say. Of course, the video tries to explain Adachi as a villain. And when we think about a “villain”, as the guy mentions, we think about someone who can be described by negative adjectives or emotions or words only. So, yes, the video does a good job telling you why Adachi is a well written bad guy, but despite it being the first question addressed, it does not fully explain why he is a well written human being.

When I say human being, I mean that he is capable of experiencing not only negative feelings, but also positive ones. Him caring about Dojima, or about Nanako, him showing interest in Yu’s life is not in contrast with him being the P4 (mid) villain. 

Given the very poor contribution the IT gave to Adachi’s final speech (”guyz this world sucks and ill tell u why. in this essay i will” “sHUT UP ADACHI WHO CARES” >magydyne), he understands he has to abide by the rule of the world on his own. As shown in P4U, he wants nothing but serve his time in prison peacefully, he steps up only to help the guys preserve the world he still hates (’cause he still hates it ok), he understands that Minazuki is full of hatred like he once was, and hopes that he will change and open his eyes. Adachi understands the importance of the bond he shared with Dojima and realizes how blind he was. All on his own. Yeah, let’s say that Yu did like 50% of the job, but that’s because you are the main character and whatnot. 

He is capable of growing, of understanding and being stubborn (’cause lets admit it this world suckz am i rite fellow kids), because he is a well written human being. He can care for Dojima, while wanting to obliterate the world. He can tuck Nanako in, and still throw Saki in the TV. People are not completely black or white; they are made of many colors and shades.  

And this is it. I could talk about this piece of shit for hours, but maybe it’s better if I cut it here. Thanks for reading the whole thing, I know it’s long, so you deserve a round of applause, Adachi-style.  

Wow, I’m surprised you made it this far --quote. 

PS. I didn’t throw in the Ameno-Sagiri possession thing, because I wanted to be as objective and mumbojumbo-free as possible; I do believe it played a role as well, but probably only for a 20%. In any way or capacity I endorse what this piece of trash did; you can appreciate a character for what it is without calling it a poor and misunderstood babu uwu. Adachi needed prison, like, all of it. I hope he’s there staring at a wall.

[cloelia1987]

Blue Exorcist Theory #5

Was Rin’s journey to the past foreshadowed from the beginning? Will Rin interact with someone in the past/affect some happenings?

BE is currently on hiatus and so, even if it’s gonna be a bit frustrating, we’ll have to wait till May to find out what’s gonna happen in chapter 100. Even so, based on what we learned from chapter 99 (through Mephisto’s words), I think we can already start making some predictions. And I got a few.

This theory is about what I think we can expect to see/learn from Rin’s journey to the past. And also about the possibility that Rin’s journey was foreshadowed to us since the very beginning.

Note: I started writing this theory the day after chapter 99 raws came out but was waiting on the release of the eng translation to add the translated panels before posting it. Meanwhile someone else (@vongrell and @skeletonsketches) noticed about this panel too ( you can find the post here). So this part is nothing new but I needed to keep it to better explain the rest of the theory.

From the first moment I read it, this line always bugged me. What was Shiro exactly referring to? A lot theorized he was merely talking about the moment Rin would awaken to his powers or Shiro’s death. And that’s 100% possible. But I think that if Shiro was specifically talking about those things (and they both happened at roughly the same time), why say “things”? It’d seem he was talking about -a lot- of terrible events and not just about a single episode. So, after reading chapter 99, I started wondering: what if Shiro was talking about Rin’s journey to the past instead? Rin will indeed witness -a lot- of terrible things during this journey. Also, considering Yukio was around 6-7 years old at that time, current happenings are more or less taking place 10 years from the moment Shiro made that statement. I know this is poor reasoning and could be applied to that other theory too, but I think 10 years is closer to the latest happenings rather than the day Rin awoke to his powers.

Anyway, if that’s the case, how would Shiro know about Rin’s journey? Was Mephisto the one who told him? It would seem logic, but I think there could be a more complex explanation behind this. But let’s take one step at a time.

One note before I start. Mephisto gave Rin some specific gear for his journey, which includes something like the poncho he gave the exwires during the IK arc. I guess the reason Mephisto gave it to him is that Rin will need it to hide himself so people won’t see him (so that he won’t be able to affect any happenings, which imo it’d prove that Rin will be traveling to the current timeline’s past and not to a separate dimenion’s one) but, since by taking the hoodie down the effect disappears, Rin will potentially be able to choose who to show himself to and who not. And this also means he can potentially choose which events to affect and which not.

First, I wondered where Rin could decide to start his journey from and which places he could choose to visit. Rin wants to know about how he and Yukio were born. So I’m guessing he’s gonna visit a time close to the day they were born. December 27th. Winter time. Let’s take a look at his “travel gear” again:

The first thing that got my attention are his gloves. Why would he need gloves? My guess is that Rin will visit some outdoor places too. And since it’s winter time, it’s gonna be pretty cold outside. Now, what does Rin know so far about the past he could use as a starting point for his journey? This, for example.

Oc, I’m not saying Rin will start his journey from THIS exact moment. But I’m talking about the place itself. Kyoto. Why do I think this could be the first place Rin will visit or will at least visit at some point of his journey? This:

It always had me wonder why Tatsuma reacted that way at Rin stating his name. So I thought: wouldn’t that make sense if Tatsuma happened to ACTUALLY meet Rin in the past? And the reason he specifically stated: “Oh! So you’re...” could be that he didn’t recognize the current -Rin- at first 'cause, well, he’s a lil different from how he remembered him (his hair color at least) or maybe Tatsuma forgot about his appearances since almost 16 years have passed since he’d probably met him for the first time. And if that’s the case, this could be proof they actually met in the past. So I think Tatsuma could be one of the people Rin will interact with during his journey.

This aside, who else could Rin encounter/want to encounter? In chapter 98, Rin did specifically state who he’d want to learn the truth about.

He’s quite certainly gonna meet Yuri. He could not meet Satan himself, but he could meet Goro. And this could lead to some exploration of S13/Asylum. Which, at the time, was part of the True Cross Academy’s building. And this would explain why Mephisto gave Rin an exorcist uniform. To “ camouflage” himself amongst other exorcists.

Now, let’s go back to Shiro. Rin asked to be told the truth about his and Yukio’s birth, about their mother and about Satan. Seems legit. But he asked to be told the truth about Shiro too. I guess Rin’s gonna meet Shiro too. But, considering the chapter 2 panel above, I believe Rin will also interact with him. In fact, I believe this is where Rin could end up affecting some events.

We don’t know why Shiro spared the twins lives yet, even if he stole the Koma Sword from Kyoto specifically to kill them. It could be ‘cause, as Tatsuma said, Shiro wasn’t the type to kill children. But what if there’s more behind this?  We do know Shiro does know more than we think. He often talked about things like he could “see” in the future. Again, maybe Mephisto’s the one behind this since he and Shiro worked together to keep the twins hidden.

But what if Shiro and Rin actually met in the past? This is what Shiro’s statement in the first panel would suggest: Shiro met Rin in the past and Rin could have told him that he traveled 16 years back in the past with Mephisto’s help. Shiro will be there with Rin as Rin will witness the Blue Night happenings with his own eyes. Shiro will witness Rin’s pain. And that’s why Shiro will be able to tell Yukio that Rin will see much worse things in the future. He was there.

And if Shiro and Rin will indeed meet and talk (in the past), what if the reason behind Shiro (but also Mephisto) deciding to spare the twins lives had something to do with Rin telling him something about the future? I followed this train of thoughts: a few months before the twins were born, Shiro was sent by Mephisto to steal the Koma Sword from the Kyoto Branch. The plan was to kill the twins before they were born/as soon as they were born. Mephisto is the one who ordered Shiro to steal the sword.

But, at some point, it looks like something happened to have them change this plan.

And now things get more complex. So let’s take another step back. Why did Mephisto say he couldn’t tell Rin about the Master Key earlier? It’s clear (and Mephisto stated so himself)  that he was waiting for a specific moment/situation to tell him. He was waiting for Rin to be the one asking him to tell him the truth. He was waiting for Rin to be ready. And NOW Rin is. But to get to this point, Rin had to undergo a specific development and reach a specific “stage”.

Why was that important? Imo, Mephisto was NOT only waiting for Rin to “mature” enough to be able to face/stand/accept the truth or the reality of the past, but also for him to “reach” a specific stage of his “demonic evolution”. But what for? My theory is that Mephisto could be using Rin to affect the past. Not to affect it in a way that will change the future. But in a way which is NEEDED in order to have the past happen the way it already did.

In other words, Rin could be the one who’ll have past timeline!Mephisto change his plans about killing the twins and will be the reason behind past timeline!Mephisto deciding to make a weapon out of Rin instead. Past timeline!Mephisto will see the results of Rin’s growth and will decide to go for this plan instead. After all, it was a success.

Another reason why I think Rin will meet and talk with Mephisto in the past.

Why did Mephisto send Rin alone? Does he really trust Rin will make wise choices/won't affect the past/will be okay on his own? After all the work Mephisto’s done to make events go the way he wanted, would he really let Rin “screw” them all just like that? But then I noticed: when Rin asked him if he was not gonna follow him, Mephisto NEVER said he WASN'T going to.

So, my theory is that 16 years ago, right after Mephisto decided to turn Rin into a weapon, he planned to send Rin in the past someday, so as soon as Rin will meet past timeline!Mephisto, he will be there to welcome him (knowing he would’ve come), and will stay close to him to guide him/monitor him so he won’t screw anything up. That’s why Mephisto is not worried about sending Rin alone.

But I got a third reason why I think Mephisto considered NOW to be the perfect time to have Rin learn the truth about the past/sending him back there. And it’s related to Yukio.

Maybe Mephisto is planning to use Yukio joining the Illuminati as a way to somehow "blackmail" Rin into doing something. That would explain why Mephisto never gave Yukio any answers before, eventually forcing him to look for them elsewhere (the Illuminati). Now that Yukio's joined them, Rin is in a position he'd do anything to get him back and Mephisto could be planning to take advantage of this.

Based on what Lucifer said, Yukio got a power of some kind which Lucifer could awaken for him and that this power is related to the mystery behind Yukio’s eyes and the secret of the twins’ birth.

Rin “wants” to know how he and Yukio were born. Which means that, during his journey, Rin should eventually find out or even see with his own eyes how that happened. Which could lead to him finding out about the entity of Yukio’s hidden power and “how” this power was kept “separated” from him till now.

(My wild guess is that Yukio’s power could’ve played some role in the Blue Night happenings and Goro/Satan releasing their ego or could have a connection to this event. But this part of my theory is all messy, so I will skip it.)

In any case, Rin will find out about it and he could understand why Yukio “had” to be separated from his power. (Shiro never said to Yukio that he’ll “find” out the truth someday, but that he’ll “understand” (something) someday)

At this point, after he’ll have gathered all these infos, Rin will travel back to the present time. He’ll be more willing than ever to interfere with the Illuminati’s plan and get Yukio back. Mephisto could tell him that Lucifer’s planning to help Yukio unlock his power. And Rin will want to do whatever it takes to prevent that.

[yakumtsaki]

I only call you when it's half past five, the only time that I'll be by your side, I only love it when you touch me, not feel me, when I'm fucked up, that's the real me, when I'm fucked up, that's the real me, BABE ♪

Here we fucking go again, desperately trying to make the fuckboi wolf commit to a serious relationship. My plan to turn Komei into a werewolf crashed and burned last generation and Jojo has had the want locked for like 10 years and it just won’t fucking happen. I’ve never had a non-cheaty werewolf in this game, I don’t know how other people do it but I’m having a ridic hard time with it. Victor’s ghost is judging me and who can blame him.

Speaking of, Shajar’s makeover is this wolf shirt, and yes, full shade intended. I still can’t believe she rolled popularity, way to single out your weakest spot and make it your life’s purpose. I mean that would be like Wyatt rolling fam-  ..nevermind.

UGH. Will you pick a fucking attitude and stick with it you furry asshole??? 

What kind of defective cuck wolf even is this. He won’t befriend us but he won’t attack either, he just sits around with his plastic bone playing house. USELESS. I didn’t know it was possible to hate a digital animal this much..

..but here comes Maxx to defy all expectations. Happy birthday Maxx, you look so wholesome and Lassie-like, I’m sure life with you will be like a vacation!

LOL. Is antagonizing Sophie really how you want to start your adult life, Maxx?? Well I guess having eyes is overrated.

SOPHIE WTF. You beat Victor but can’t take on this flop? Where is your holy warrior spirit??

- I’m old af and starting to worry about my eternal soul, so I’m literally turning the other cheek.

Nice, thanks for nothing. God I miss Victor.

Man, Maxx has ISSUES. He doesn’t even have a mean personality or a bad relationship with the cats, why are you like this you freak??

NOOOO not the fucking pet fight club again omg MAXX YOU DICK

Great, amazing job, Goro! The real Goro is rolling in his grave. All this went down in literally under a minute after Maxx grew up, talk about determination. 

-HA, kneel before Zod!

That’s not even from Mortal Kombat, Maxx, god, can you not make this worse than it is?

-Yea like I give a shit, what am I, some kind of fatass nerd cat?? I’m a dog, bitch, I like running..

Omg.

-And playing outside..

OMG.

-And being affectionate to my owners!

STOP. Christ, what kind of monster have I brought into our lives???

-One day in and I’m already the alpha.. Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? Oh yes, Maxx is.. The best boy. And soon this cat legacy.. will be history.. the Age of Dog.. is finally.. upon us. 

💔💔💔💔💔

Not that we needed further proof that Maxx was given to us straight out of Satan’s unholy womb, but guess who else loves him on top of Cyneswith?? Why, Wyatt, of course, chief of police married to a serial killer, truly the best judge of character the world has ever known. Show me your friends..

..and I’ll show you who you are. UGH DAGMAR

-As a mailwoman I’m programmed to hate your kind, but I feel such a connection between us.. It’s like the universe conspired-

GTFO. Don’t test me, istg I’ll marry you in..

..you actually don’t look half bad compared to what else is out there. Shajar brings Toadface McBooberson here home from school which. why does bigger cleavage clothing even exist for teens and why do I have it, I really need to stop downloading default replacements in the dark. Anyway, hope you’re all ready for the adventure called ‘What is Shajar’s sexual orientation/does she even have one’!

Ugh, this certainly feels familiar. Shajar please, PLEASE fight your Jojo genes, I mean everyone loves Cyneswith, this is shaping up to be Gunter/Jojo volume 2 AND I CAN’T DEAL WITH IT AGAIN

-So, Butterface, my ambition in life is to have my own music theme play whenever I enter a room, like Darth Vader or Mary Poppins-

-Isn’t the sound of people already in the room sighing enough of a theme for you?

-Well it looks like one little frog around here isn’t getting turned into a princess!

Yea, I really don’t know what I expected?? Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

Speaking of daddy dearest, let’s check in. How’s it going, Jo? Great? Thought so, ok bye-

-DON’T YOU DARE PAN AWAY AND LEAVE ME TO MY MISERY MY ASPIRATION IS SCARLET RED

I’m sorry Jo but I’m a hear no evil, see no evil, spend-legacy-time-on-no-evil type of bitch and your life just bums me out at this point. But if it’s any consolation, it’s all your fault!

-HOW THE HELL IS IT MY FAULT I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS BULLSHIT

Um, YEA YOU DID. This is generation 2, we’re barely middle class and being heir is quite literally a shit job. Of course you could have minimized the impact had you chosen someone else to marry, but you just HAD to have Wyatt Narcolepsy Monif so.. talk to you later?

-Wyatt I’m worried our ship is sinking and no amount of rotting birthday cake can ease the pain.

-Oui, my estomac hurts toό.. Nothing 14 heures of sleepé won’t remédit of coursé :)

-DIDN’T NEED SUCH A GRAPHIC REMINDER THAT LIFE IS GARBAGE

God, wtf more do you want, 15k and still whining-

-OH. Well this just has Wyatt written all over it, but omg he tried to do a household task, just got confused at the very end. Bravo, leaps and bounds!

Meanwhile Shajar is having a successful interaction with a family member!! It’s a toddler who can’t get away, but whatever, it counts. Looks like this is a game-changing night for everyone.

-YES IT REALLY IS.

Jojo how about you take a page out of Komei’s book and devote your leftover energy to cats or cooking contests or banging Marissa Bendett instead of this constant, obnoxious guilt-tripping?? Man I really didn’t appreciate Komei while I had him.

7 a.m., the usual morning lineup, start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean, polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up, sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15,  

and so I'll read a book, or maybe two or three, I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery, I'll play guitar and knit, and cook and basically-

-just wonder when will my life begin? ♪

And of course that’s Victor making his nightly appearance and helping put Jojo out of his misery. What a sweetheart!

With the addition of Wulf and his 10 active points generation 3 has officially evolved past sleep, we’re talking 10/10/9 (Shajar you lazy bum) and it’s seriously exhausting. You know how when sims are asleep you can check your phone or eat smth or w/e, yea that’s simply not happening anymore, I’m in constant vigilance all night long..

..and thank god because otherwise I would have missed Allegra and Victor’s ghosts playing??? WTF MAXIS. I’ve never seen this before and it’s the rare combo of sad and adorable. Right in the feels ❤️💔

THAT WASN’T AN INVITATION TO EXPRESS YOUR SADNESS FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME JOJO

Oh “ok” it’s a cockroaches related freak-out. I don’t see anyone else crying over them but that’s Jojo for you. Exterminator bro if you’re that grossed out by a pile of dead insects I have some bad news for you regarding your profession. And while we’re on the topic of professions and crying:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You may recall that Wyatt has been one promotion away from his LTW for about 150 years and all we’ve been doing since is trying to amass the 8 friends needed for it. Welp, we finally got them through our blood, sweat and tears, so what does Wyatt do the day he was supposed to get promoted?? Get fired of course, what else! 

Honestly I’m not even mad, this truly is like the culmination of everything we know Wyatt to be. I mean just cast your minds back to the final moments of this post. We knew what we were getting into. Rock on, Wyatt!

-Nό, there is no disgracéd police capitaine in this maison! Quelle?? I’m not even Français! Et toi shouldn’t be calling personnes at 5 p.m when everyόné is sound asleép!

Time for the black sheep to get the full Kylo Ren treatment. Looking good, Shaj! Now let’s put that hot makeover to use-

-NO.

Here we go, HUMAN contact. Toadface was a bust so let’s try a dude. Shajar do you mind talking about something other than your dead pets??

-But I don’t want to talk about anything else!

Yea and I don’t want to overstate things but I’m getting the distinct feeling finding you a partner is gonna make Daniel’s run at it look like Californication.

Well, the data we’ve gathered so far points to Shajar being a noogiesexual, I’m sure somewhere on tumblr there already exists a pride flag for it. 

That’s right, mop up the dog piss from that grass and think about the face you present to the world.

HOW IS YOUR ASPIRATION GONE TO SHIT AGAIN. WTF ARE YOU DOING WHEN I’M NOT LOOKING, GOING AROUND FACING YOUR FEARS?? JFC

-I have a perma fear of leading the miserable life I’m trapped in.

-Oh look, my kid is potty trainted and I get 5k points.. I’m soooo happy... Definitely don’t miss my serial killer days...

Ok I can’t take this anymore, either Wyatt will have to take up more household duties..

..or we can aim for something within the realm of reality and build a robot servant instead. And if you’re thinkering you’re not whining! Everyone wins.

In the dead of the night, a time when only 12 year old children are awake and watching god knows what-

-Game of Thrones! Team Stark!

Ugh, of course you are-

-Wulf grows up! 

-Woo happy birthday Wulf! Don’t even try to come for my golden child crown, I’m as perfect as my grades.

I don’t like what Game of Thrones is doing to you, Cyn.

First thing Wulf does after his pj makeover is head for the keyboard, which makes the choice for his general makeover clear as day:

Wulf...Wolf...WOLFGANG. I mean, some things are just written in the stars..

..AND SOME THINGS AREN’T, in this case Shajar’s dating life. We get another Butterface McBooberson (wtf is it with this dress in this town) but this one is also sporting terrible hair as a bonus. Score!

Great, we’ve moved from music themes to dead pets to world domination. At least we’re committing to the Kylo persona. Butter 2.0 is into it?? Get a grip girl.

-Um why do you think I have this last century hair? I’m very into monarchy.

This is not only going non-disastrously but dare I say, well?? I can’t tell if I want it to work or not though, on one hand I’ve made my feelings about this face template abundantly clear.. on the other hand this is the first human (except her 10 nice point sister) to like Shaj.. 

..thankfully it looks like there’s no need to solve that dilemma after all. Btw at the time of this writing I literally still don’t know if Shajar is into girls or dudes, or both. No reaction to anyone whatsoever. 

Meanwhile even after the noogie Butter is super receptive and doesn’t hate us? I was as shocked as you are, if we were rich I’d think she has some ulterior motive but nop, it’s just low standards. God bless them-

-cause we made our first friend!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank the fucking lord Shajar’s LTW isn’t friend related, take a wild guess what it is instead.. And of course, the answer is ‘become Mayor’. I can just see the banner now: ‘vote Shajar Union or face the deadly consequences’.

-Ahh my dear, finally, no screaming toddlers ruining my life while you pretend you can’t hear them.. Now I can slowly start un-resenting you.. Maybe there’s hope for this marriage after all..

Not if Cyneswith has anything to do with it! After spending her entire childhood cockblocking by sleeping in her parents’ bed, she literally grew up just as they were about to woohoo for the first time in 10 years. how in character. Wanna know what isn’t in character??? Hold on to your seats, everyone..

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OK THEN. Much like Wolfgang there is but one appropriate look for the above:

Did anyone think fucking Lolita Cyneswith was remotely possible, let alone probable?? ROMANCE?? And into the elderly???? I thought that combo was bad enough, I mean then you bring in the tinkering factor on top of it and it’s like, Waylon Fairchild and college profs won’t know what hit them.. How naive I was. Things can always, always get worse, and in this family, they usually do. You can probably tell where I’m going with this.. Fast forward a few days and the LTW shows up..

..........................................yup. You know it’s been months and you’d think I’d have articulated a response by now that isn’t just screaming or miscellaneous incoherent sounds, and yet! what can I say, sometimes emotions are so powerful that words fail us. In lieu of a written reaction please listen to this song after the specified time stamp. It’s 3 minutes long and the only lyric is ‘oh no’.

[lokiarsene]

goro’s near transparent eagerness and borderline desperation to bond with ren, to be accepted by ren, to be liked by ren, is so transparent in his confidant in p5r that it makes his later breakdown about mona saying he likes joker make so much more sense. goro probably knew he liked ren, he knew that he was attracted to ren, and it fucked him up because ren should be the last person in the world he should waste time/energy on.

but then i think that like. ren is a rebel hero. ren brings shithead abusive men to justice, or helps women confront the pain in their hearts so they can heal and grow. ren does exactly what goro wishes he could do (live a life of justice) with the same power, but a different result (redemption, instead of punishment).

and he hates it. he hates that ren can succeed in this. he hates that ren is living, breathing proof that goro’s method of the long game con and biding his time for vengeance is not the only way to have succeeded in his goal. and not only that, ren’s success is a reminder that goro being alone for so long likely makes his plan considerably less wise and unlikely to succeed when compared with ren’s whole crew of people helping him.

and goro hates it. hates it hates it hates it. hates to be reminded of failure or inadequacy because all he has is his mind, himself, and proving that he is smart and needed and useful. 

yet he wants ren to accept him. he wants this person he admire-envies to enjoy spending time with him, to listen to him, to connect with him. goro can’t help but open up to ren and then catch himself, surprised. he’s absolutely delighted when ren acknowledges the similarities between them, when ren encourages goro to think of him as a rival; he promises ren future rematches in games as long as ren can keep up with him. he’s not only giving himself an excuse to spend time with ren (beating him in games), but also giving ren an incentive to spend time with him (”maybe you’ll beat me next time”). all the while hoping that ren is spending time with him because he wants to. goro even asks him this in rank 7, the same rank where he asks ren to stay with him and ditch his friends. he’s much happier if you tell him repeatedly that you’re his rival, and you like him better if you are rivals. hell, he WANTS to see your relationship as that--a contest of constant improvement and competition--because of the thrill, the challenge, and the excitement that that brings.

which is why he freaks out in february, when ren shows the slightest bit of hesitation in giving up the dream world if it means goro’s life might be at risk. because at that point, it’s not about sticking together for rivalry or games or winning. it’s about actual, sincere affection. the acceptance and affection goro has craved from ren all along.

this comes after maruki tells ren and goro that they’re like kasumi, looking for a place to belong. the game makes no hesitation or subtlety about goro’s reaction, or what it makes him think of; the camera cuts to framing just him and ren in the shot.

maruki’s whole MO towards ren and goro is bringing the two of them back together because their forced separation was so awful, so horrible, and far too familiar to him. and goro still thinks that the truth, and not being controlled by anyone, is more important than the one thing he’s wanted all year. maruki offers goro and ren the chance to stay together--something goro himself wants--and goro still refuses because he doesn’t want maruki to hold him and ren’s affection for each other hostage.

and that’s... such an insanely strong, powerful, mature decision. that goro would encourage ren to accept the uncertain reality of the truth over a comforting lie. that goro would rather risk the possibility of never seeing ren again if it means they can meet again under their own power, making up their own minds, with no one else interfering.

that’s how much goro loves ren, and how much ren loves goro: they want the painful, real world where they made a promise together, instead of a comforting, fake world. and goro is the only one ren had to choose between when it came to that dream world. the only one. rip other shippers but akeshu’s different jfkldsa

[badlydrawndrawnings]

Everything Is (almost) Connected

(The one with Haru makes it seems like she’s saying it asdfjk)

Looking through the /pg/ goropocalypse (I bookmarked it because I wanted to keep something of the madness that was the first month of the game’s release; don’t judge me), I see these gems that honest made drop my jaws. I’m going to admit something too; I almost bought into it until more fan translated info came out. 

In some ways, this is almost hilarious in hindsight because the artbook did state Goro and Makoto were, in development, plan to be related. Granted, from what I gather, it didn’t state if they plan on making them adopted siblings, twins, born within 12 months or less between each other (I think that makes them Irish Twins? Is that the right word?), or if one of them were going to be younger (there is a random sketch of someone looking like Makoto in the Treasure Section of the Japanese artbook...).

Also, nothing in the artbook, and the word online said anything about Makoto, Sae and Goro being related. Just Makoto and Goro. So why am I bring this up? Because I have something dumb written that makes things almost everything connected.

It’s common knowledge that early on in development, Ren/Akira/Joker was going to live with Sae and Makoto Niijima in their apartment (I seen variations it’s the same apartment building complex, but it’s usually the former). The source for this claim came from this video of Ren/Akira/Joker walking inside a woman’s apartment and a Persona Central article. The woman shown in the video (the model is Katherine from Catherine btw) is in final game, as the character we know as Sae. The Persona Central article has more information about this test footage and game’s early development (it has other videos and info too): 

According to Hashino, the main character was living in the home of a woman prosecutor who was actually chasing him [as a Phantom Thief]. She would have the image of being angry with the calling cards, showing them to the protagonist. He thought that this setting would look too much like a cheesy drama.

Even though this is second hand information, the Persona Central article never stated Makoto was living with the woman persecutor. In fact, there in no mention of the woman having a sibling at all. However, I seen countless fans (one example from reddit, with one comment having a rough translation on what the woman is saying) thinking otherwise. This sprend and became popular among fans to where it’s stated on the TV Tropes Trivia Page for the game. (Megaten Wikia listed it in Sae’s trivia section, with their source from this site, stating Sae is the playable character’s guardian. Neither Megaten Wikia or the site they linked has no mention of Makoto living with them.)

So we’re in a pickle. There is proof the woman, aka Sae, is taking care of Ren/Akira/Joker at her home. Despite what fans say and think, there nothing in the video that shows the woman having a sibling (or at least another person) living with them, and even the article/Hashino himself didn’t say anything about the  prosecutor having a sibling. In fact, wouldn’t it make sense for the article/Hashino to say the Main Character is living with a teammate and her sister, a prosecutor chasing after them [as Phantom Thieves], or something along does lines if what the fans claim is true?

Unless of course, it’s not true. Let's look again at the two facts we know:

In the final game product, Sae, a prosecutor, is the older sister to Makoto.

Early on in game development, Ren/Akira/Joker was going to live with a woman prosecutor, coming from Persona Central’s article and Hashino himself, chasing after his PT alter-ego.

It’s easy to see why fans claims Ren/Akira/Joker was going to live with Sae and Makoto in early game development, Because they assume, as Sae and Makoto are in the final game, are just the same during the development of the game. And fans assume, in game development, that Makoto was Sae’s, aka, the woman prosecutor, younger sister. But things change in development, and they are rewritten for the final product. While it is possible Makoto, in early development, wasn’t going to live with Sae since one or both of their parents were alive, there is something that is even more possible, with proof. 

It’s very possible that Makoto wasn’t related to Sae/the prosecutor during this part of development. Since the artbook stated Makoto and Goro were going to be related, the two were potentially still related when the game development footage was made. It’s entirely possible Goro and Makoto were the siblings, while Sae/the prosecuto isn’t, and was someone with little to no connection to them (because let’s face it, who knows if Sae and Goro worked with each other this early on in development). Sae/the prosecutor was a completely separate character who only connection to the plot and the PT as a whole is with Ren/Akira/Joker as his guardian (again, who know if Sae was going to have a Palace this early on in development)

It would certainly explain why the article/Hashino stated the Main Character was living with a woman prosecutor, and not Sae and Makoto specifically.

[i-w-p-chan]

He Believes Not

Summary: A Soulmate AU where a person sees the aspects of their relationship with their soulmate in their dreams. Shuake.

Note: I get questionable ideas at 3 am and follow through with them. Welcome to Pain Central.

I’m experimenting again. Oops?

Warnings: Welcome To Pain Central, Akechi Goro’s Stream Of Pain And Suffering, Author Laying The Angst On THICK, Author Lives Up To The Universal Writing Criteria: Character Torture, How Much Suffering Can I Put In Here? (Answer: A LOT), Kinda Hopeful Ending, Hints At So Many Things, Goro Dreams Of Kisses At Some Point And Makes the Author Sad, Goro Does A Thing And Kills The Author Too, Blood, Implied Character Death (Canon Compliant), Goro In Denial.

Disclaimer: Don’t own P5.

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Goro is thirteen and he dreams.

He’s an unwanted child. Undesired. Cursed. With no mother or father. No home. No family.

He dreams and it’s not of his soulmate. And it’s of his soulmate.

He’s an unwanted child. He doesn’t have a soulmate. Doesn’t deserve a soulmate.

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(But he dreams anyway, because he is selfish. Because he wants. Because he is greedy.)

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(He dreams of comfortable silence and darkness interrupted only by the sounds and lights of his favorite show, and a comforting weight pressed against his side, hair tickling his face and neck.)

.

(It’s all a lie and he doesn’t believe it.)

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Goro is fourteen and he dreams.

He hungers in the middle of the night, the cold, dreary night.

He dreams and it’s not of his soulmate. And it’s of his soulmate.

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(It’s cold and it stings and he wishes. Wishes for a home, for a place to call his own, for a person to smile at him just for him. It’s a wish so small- so large- but heart-wrenching all the same.)

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(He dreams of warm food, warm drinks, a warm smile and a pair of dark eyes.)

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(It’s all a lie and he doesn’t believe it.)

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Goro is fifteen and he dreams.

He longs for freedom, longs for justice, longs for his father’s (pride in him) downfall.

He longs, but stays his hands, the road is long and he will be patient.

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(His hands grow redder and redder with every command from that man (his father) and he suffocates.)

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(He dreams of blood. Of a face beaten black and blue staring at him in shock and betrayal. Of a gun in his hand. Of a pair of (familiar) wide, dark eyes on the end of the barrel. Of his finger pressing the trigger and a lifeless body slumping over, dark hair matted with blood.)

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(It’s all a lie and he doesn’t believe it.)

.

(But oh no, that is the lie. He believes it. It’s not a lie. He is cursed, unwanted, undesired, with no family no home. No love, no warmth to embrace him, because he is a murderer and he does not deserve-)

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Goro is sixteen and he dreams.

The spotlight burns him. His mask sticks to his face, his hands wet with blood and lies constantly spill from his mouth.

He deceives and tricks, cheats and kills, burns with rage and hatred and murderous intent.

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(His body is cold and he craves- desires- longs- wishes- for what, he doesn’t know (he knows) but wants all the same.)

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(He dreams of arms around his body, cradling him, carefully holding him like something precious. Of kisses pressing searing heat into his skin. It brings him to life, lights a fire in his body and sends his heart stuttering a mile a minute. And he wishes, oh he wishes-)

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(It’s all a lie and he doesn’t believe it.)

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Goro is seventeen and everything is drawing to a close.

He has lied-

(-not him why him-)

-and played-

(-not him why him-)

-and killed-

(-not him why him-)

The only person to look at him and see.

(Dark hair matted with blood. Dark eyes wide with betrayal. Pale face swollen with bruises.

A dead body in the middle of an empty room.

And he holds the gun heavy in his hand.

It’s all his fault, all his fault.)

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Goro is seventeen and stands on the precipice.

A gun is pointed at him by his father’s (that bastard’s) image of him as he stands between two sides.

He doesn’t dare move, doesn’t dare escape the fake, for then the fake will redirect his attention to Goro’s rival (the one who carries Goro’s heart and soul and hope with him) and that must not happen.

Goro stands on the precipice and finally makes a decision of his own free will.

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The wall rises and parts the room in two. Goro hears the bullets, feels them impact his body, knows he gives as good as he receives as blue fire consumes him (not harmful, never harmful, I am thou and thou art I). He feels at ease, his Heart and Soul on the other side, safe and away from danger (for now), but insistent enough to pound on the barrier separating them.

His Heart and Soul will have to leave, eventually, but Goro is selfish and basks in the moment, basks in the worry, basks in the proof that he matters for this one person he gladly gave away his hope, his wish, his desire to.

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(His eyes slip closed and he dreams. He dreams of a familiar attic above a familiar café, of a familiar body curled around him and a familiar voice in his ears.)

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(This time- this time he chooses to believe.)

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End