#(it would be like a final example of her growing resolve. that she's able to look at things and say that it is something she herself chose)

[slightlytoastedbagel]

kinda sorta want to do a room update for Kohane. as in adding in the littles trinkets she's acquired since vbs formed

[hismercytomyjustice]

HEAR ME OUT! IMHO (as someone who has it), Pacific Rim is a fantastic depiction of what it’s like living with OCD, specifically “Pure O” OCD.

It is exactly like “chasing the RABIT,” best depicted by the scene where Mako is trapped in her childhood memory.

SOME BACKGROUND ON OCD:

“Pure O” OCD is a term used to describe OCD where a person’s compulsions are mostly mental. Like getting stuck in thought loops as opposed to something like handwashing. You have a distressing/intrusive thought and your brain jumps through hoops to deal with the fear/anxiety/shame/etc that comes along with it.

From the ICBT (Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) model:

“A doubt is about a possibility - a thought about what 'could be' or 'might be'. Your symptoms of OCD begin with doubt. Consequences, distress and compulsions logically follow from the doubt. Without the doubt, you would remain firmly grounded in reality without any symptoms of OCD.”

Most folks get an intrusive thought and, while they might find it upsetting or out of character for them, they’re able to accept it as involuntary and more of a random brain blip. With OCD (and some other disorders), a person gets that same intrusive thought and fixates on it. They struggle to let it go, become emotionally tied to it, and experience shame and fear around it.

For example, say you have an intrusive thought of “I might have left the stove on.” Say you aren’t at home to check it. Someone without OCD might understandably worry about it, but maybe they can call a friend/family member to check or maybe they resolve to run by the house when they have a chance to make sure they turned it off.

Someone with OCD however, might spiral. They might go from “I might have left the stove on” to “What if there’s a towel on the stove?” to “the towel could catch on fire,” to “my kitchen could catch on fire,” to “my house could burn down,” to “I could lose everything in the fire,” to “and it would all be my fault.”

And with each mental leap, their anxiety/fear grows. They may not have even left the stove on, but they become convinced they did and now they’re panicking about the possible consequences of their theoretical actions. Their mind/body reacts like their house did burn down and it was all their fault.

Because this triggered such a strong emotional state, maybe next time they cook something they check the stove is off. But what if the knob wasn’t all the way in the off position? What if the burner was still hot and a towel was close by? What if they looked at the wrong knob and the one for the burner they used was actually on? So they check again. And again. And again. Because maybe if they check this time, they’ll finally have run through all the terrifying possibilities and their brain will accept that the stove is off and there’s no risk of a fire.

Meanwhile, by checking over and over again, they’re feeding into their fear and anxiety. It might make them feel better in the moment “oh good, the stove is off” but then they step away from the stove and the fear/doubt returns.

And then the cycle starts all over again the next time they use the stove.

HOW THIS PERTAINS TO PACIFIC RIM:

In Pacific Rim, Mako relives the worst moment of her entire life. She’s a child again and the kaiju is there, her parents are gone, and she’s terrified and running through the streets to try to save herself.

Raleigh realizes what’s happening. He’s a veteran jaeger pilot. He knows all about the RABIT (Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers). He knows what Mako is experiencing isn’t actually happening right now. He tries to pull her out of the spiral, but as she gets deeper into the memory, her emotions grow stronger. She KNOWS she’s not a child anymore. She KNOWS she’s in a jaeger. She KNOWS the kaiju of her past is dead and can’t hurt her anymore.

But none of that matters. She’s stuck in the spiral anyway.

In this case, the deeper she’s pulled down, the more evident her terror becomes because now her emotions are pouring into the jaeger. She doesn’t mean to, but she readies one of its weapons in her desperation to protect herself.

Pandemonium erupts. Everyone’s ordered to evacuate to minimize the inevitable damage the weapon will cause. No one can reach Mako. She’s too deep in the memory.

Even as others flee, Pentecost, Herc, Tendo, and Chuck struggle to manually shutdown power to the jaeger. They only manage it by the skin of their teeth because of how strong Mako’s connection to her memory is.

The memory is like an intrusive thought Mako can’t let go of, the anxiety and fear generated by it fueling her deeper descent into the memory. Everyone else knows it’s not real. Deep down, Mako knows it’s not real. But the emotions tied to the memory in that moment convince her otherwise. While Raleigh doesn’t get sucked into the memory too, we still see him reacting to it because it feels so real.

They finally manage to power down the jaeger and Mako escapes from the memory. In the aftermath she’s ashamed and embarrassed. Pentecost told her something like this might happen and it did.

Even worse, Mako’s always wanted the opportunity to avenge her family and put a stop to the destruction the kaiju have wrought on so many lives. She knew this could happen going in, but it happened anyway!

She relived the worst moment of her life, spectacularly failed in front of people she respects and cares about, nearly killed those same people, and she disappointed herself and Pentecost. She’s spent years trying to convince him to let her become a pilot and fuck, it turns out he was right all along, despite her training, her dedication, and her superior skills.

Now Raleigh is going to need a new partner. They don’t have time for this! The kaiju are coming! They’re humanity’s last hope! How can she face any of these people after almost accidentally killing them? Why couldn’t she stop chasing the RABIT? She knew it was just a memory! What is wrong with her that she couldn’t do this one thing she’s dreamed about and vied for her whole life? How can people like Chuck or Raleigh do this but she can’t?

Just because she’s no longer trapped in the memory, doesn’t mean it and the distress she experienced because of it haven’t had a ripple effect. Yeah, the ripples are less powerful now that she’s not in the epicenter of it all, but they’re still there.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER:

The memory in Mako’s case is the trigger/intrusive thought. She has a visceral reaction to it in the moment, but even after she escapes from it she’s not automatically fine.

That’s what is so fucking frustrating about OCD. You can sit there all day and think “the stove isn’t on, this is just my OCD” but it doesn’t magically make your OCD go away. Learning to live with OCD is learning to identify these thoughts spirals and preventing lapses from becoming relapses.

A lapse could be “I might have left the stove on” and worrying briefly bit about it before realizing it’s an OCD thought and defusing it, but a relapse is the full blown anxiety trip detailed above that ends in “my house is going to burn down.”

Lapses are scary. It’s so easy to have one and immediately think “oh fuck, oh no, the OCD is back,” but it’s not necessarily true. You can get OCD into a state of remission, even if you can’t get rid of it completely. It’s also incredibly easy to beat yourself up over a lapse or a trigger. Yeah, in the moment you feel like you’re being chased by a kaiju, but then you snap out of the memory and you’re embarrassed and frustrated and scared.

“Why doesn’t anyone else struggle with this,” “what’s wrong with me,” “I didn’t even fucking leave the stove on,” “if anyone knew how upset I was about this, they’d think I was pathetic/stupid/overreacting/being ridiculous,” and so on.

OCD thrives on fear and doubt and shame. Avoiding intrusive thoughts makes it worse by increasing fear/anxiety around them and ruminating on intrusive thoughts makes it worse by further feeding into the obsession.

But the good news is your life doesn’t have to revolve around your OCD! There’s a lot out there that can help like support groups, therapy (specifically Exposure Therapy and Inference-Based CBT), and medications (like antidepressants).

Something that really stood out to me from the OCD Conference I attended this weekend was this quote from the Strategies for Sustained Recovery From OCD panel.

“OCD should not just be about symptom reduction, but about reclaiming your life and finding genuine joy and fulfillment. The primary reason to persevere through the hard work of treatment is to make your life more fun, meaningful, and worth living. Identify activities, hobbies, and relationships that you find deeply rewarding and that bring a sense of purpose beyond just managing your OCD.”

So, yeah, I just wanted to share what it’s like living with OCD and also wanted to give a little hope to others who might have it or have friends/loved ones who do. It fucking sucks, but if you equip yourself with the right tools it can make it a lot easier to live with. It can take most folks over a decade to get diagnosed with OCD and get proper treatment. There’s a lot of factors at play in that regard like recognizing OCD in the first place, access to care, costs for care, shame and embarrassment, etc.

Hell, it took me ~34 years to realize I had it and I was lucky enough to have three therapists tell me they saw the signs! I’m only just now starting to really learn about it, how it impacts my life, and how to live with it.

Just know you’re not alone and that it can get better! I’m definitely not in remission, but I’m working toward it! And I hope if you’ve read this far and resonate with all this, that you’re on your way to remission too!

[lialovesstuff]

It's so interesting to me, as I grow older to see how some of the reactions these kids have are very mild considering that they go through the most traumatising experiences.

I was listening to the anubis backwards podcast interview with Brad Kavanagh (which if you are an anubis fan I highly recommend you go check out because it is super interesting), and he did mention something about how the reactions had to fall in line with the fact that it is still a kid's show. So the reactions could never be too strong.

Taking this, it makes me think about how mentally distressed these students are but they could never really express that because of the PG nature of the show. Having recently rewatched the show I realised how traumatising the things that happen to these kids are and how irl these things would affect a person mentally, but sometimes it makes you angry that these things are sort of just brushed under the carpet.

I want to start off by talking about my girl Patricia. She was gaslit by everyone around her, kidnapped, betrayed by the people whom she trusted would take care of her, has no memory of what we can assume is weeks of her life, and based on the whole Piper situation we can possibly assume she feels neglected or overshadowed. I think this is what leads her to not be vulnerable in front of anyone. Yet, we don't see her express her PTSD at any point after the whole nightmare situation with Rufus. I would have really liked to have seen her PTSD or trauma addressed in some form. For example, how her and Eddie becoming a couple helped her with her nightmares because she finally felt safe with someone and she finally feels like someone believes her and loves her unconditionally.

Then there's Joy. There is so much to talk about when it comes to Joy and I will forever be mad about how the writers address istg maybe 4 times since she came back. She was kidnapped by her own father, betrayed by her teachers, almost sacrificed to some Egyptian cult, had no contact with the outside world, had her education, friends and freedom taken from her at the young age of 16 (I assume), and after all of this still being forced to go back to school and be taught and associate with the people who caused all of this. I really hate how when she came back no one even asked how she feels to be back or just generally checking on her mental health. I’m surprised she went back to that school at all tbh. It was all business as usual and even she didn’t exhibit any ptsd symptoms. I think something as simple as just showing her being terrified of being left in the same room as these teachers would make for an interesting plot point, or talking to Patricia about how she feels scared going back to school. The only time when Joy does exhibit any form of PTSD is when they are forced to wear the robes in S3 and the poor girl literally looks terrified. There’s so much to unpack with Joy, so the last thing I will say is that in S2 I feel like one of her arcs could be learning to deal with the trauma and overcome it. Also it makes me so mad that none of the adults apologised to her.

Moving on to Eddie Miller. This boy has probably dealt with abandonment issues his whole life from his dad leaving. His whole 'rebel' persona probably came about from him not having a male figure in his life and was almost trying to fill that void or not being able to cope with his dad leaving. This is probably why Eddie finds it hard to open up to people, with the first person he truly trusts (besides his mum probably) is Patricia as he says multiple times that he trusts her and he tells her directly that he likes her, which he says himself was not easy for him. He does start to build a relationship with his dad but once again it is something that gets resolved in like 5 minutes and from there they seem to have the building blocks to start building a relationship. This is nice, don't get me wrong, but given that Eddie's dad has been out of his life for years and all it took was a 5-minute convo to get their relationship rolling seems unrealistic. In the conversation, Eddie does say "you didn't want me then, and you don't want me know", which I think is a very deep line for a nick show but still I think irl a boy in Eddie's position would have had a lot more of his true feelings and emotions flow out.

Jerome is a similar case to Eddie. A boy who struggles to reconnect with his father after years. I will say I always thought this arc was really deep for a nick show. A boy finds out his father is in prison and tries to rebuild a connection with him. I do have to say that arc of Jerome rebuilding his relationship with his father has a better pace in comparison to Eddie and his dad, but still, I do imagine a boy discovering his estranged father is in prison would cause a bigger reaction, but once again going back to the idea that it is a kid's show they had to keep his reaction relatively 'neutral'. Also considering that Eugene Simon is a great actor I think he would be able to represent those emotions really well.

Of course, there is still so much to say about all of the characters in the show, but I do find this an interesting observation also in line with what Brad said on the podcast.

[krikeymate]

Do you honestly think it would be physically possible for Tara to overpower Sam in a fight with no weapons? Even if we ignore the fact that Tara should at least be slightly handicapped from old injuries (leg and hand, for example), I don’t think she could overpower Sam. I mean, Sam’s just built differently. She’s not just much taller but also more muscle than anything else… so what that person on Reddit said about Sam feeling useless because Tara doesn’t need her anymore… I don’t think that will happen, unless Tara gets bitten by a spider first or something :D

Post. Realistically no, Tara's not likely to be overpowering anyone in a straight-up physical fight. The concept of Sam feeling like Tara doesn't need her anymore however, would be more than just her being able to defend herself. It'll be her growing up and being an adult, being in a relationship, her recovering from her trauma and being in a good place vs a Sam who maybe still isn't really making something of her life, other than to be there for her sister. So, what if her sister doesn't need her there? Where does that leave her?

No of course, Tara will always want Sam there. And she'll always need her big sister. But Sam's the type of person to be terrified she won't.

I was actually the one who extrapolated the idea of Sam feeling like Tara doesn't need her anymore. The OP actually said "Sam wanting to resolve it but feeling like she might no longer be as useful as she once was." which I realised after I had replied to them wasn't quite the same train of thought. In their line of thinking, it would be more like Sam questioning where her place is if Tara can do what she can do, act as a fighter and protector. That could be a really interesting meta-theme for the movie to play on to be honest, the idea of who is the final girl, Sam or Tara, and if Tara's hitting all the beats, does that mean Sam isn't one? (Ending with a conclusive they're both final girls obviously lol).

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Massacre Recap

This arc is the beginning of the final act of this story so all secrets and mysteries are being revealed now.

The most recurring aspect to this arc was the Three Rules, how they play out in each arc, and Rika's efforts to overcome them. The primary purpose of the Three Rules as I interpret them is to isolate Rika and hide Takano's plotting.

Even though Rika was killed at the end of this arc once again, the Three Rules failed their purpose. Rika's friends are united to save her, and Rika has found out Takano is behind her murders. Going into the final arc, the rules are completely broken.

As an ending, I'd call this the lead ending. We thought we had everything needed to gain a golden ending this time, but it turns out mistakes were made, unknown factors were not considered, and we were still missing a few key pieces. As a result, we have a pile of lead instead of gold.

But rather than being discouraged, Rika has found who she truly can and cannot trust this time. Her friends are united with her going into the next world. And she's gotten even Hanyu to believe they will succeed.

This arc is billed as the Answer arc to Curse Killing. Despite that, it answers questions that have been repeatedly asked for a while now. We finally know who is Rika's killer and what was actually behind the Great Hinamizawa Disaster. But those questions first appeared at the end of Curse Killing. So Massacre is able to answer them while technically still being an Answer arc to Curse Killing.

Atonement actually had a hand in letting Massacre be the arc it is. Atonement answered questions like "What happened to Teppei's body in Curse Killing" so this arc doesn't have to and can instead focus on answering "How do we resolve things the right way?" And because Rika and her friends defeated Teppei early and without repercussions, the rest of the arc could focus on the bigger problems in the whole series.

I have one thing I want to complain about with the story of this arc and it's that the last third of the story feels utterly disconnected from the rest of it. The first two-thirds of the story are about Keiichi bringing the whole village and several people from the surrounding towns together to save Satoko. It's a grand "Everyone is Here" story where even the most insignificant characters make a return to help. But once that's over, none of those characters matter to the story anymore.

The last part does have a sort of inversion of what happened earlier though. The Teppei part starts with Rika's friends and grows into this grand united force. Meanwhile the final part starts with Rika having a greater than normal support network she might be able to call on, but it systematically gets dismantled until she only has her friends to help her.

I just wish some of the whole "uniting the village together" applied to saving Rika as it did Satoko. Rika's death is a concern for the whole village as we saw in the final chapter. But to be fair to Rika, she doesn't know that's the case.

Jiro Suzuki didn't reprise her role for this arc. Instead we have a new artist, Hinase Momoyama. I'd say Momoyama did an excellent job throughout this arc. This arc would probably have been one of the harder ones to do because there are so many different people throughout it.

In every large crowd shot, you can see each face is clearly unique. If I had taken the time to try cross-referencing EVERY face, I might have been able to find more instances of background characters showing up in several shots.

One aspect of their art style that really stood out to me was how they draw hair. They draw hair in a more erratic way than the other artists tended to do. Hair would be drawn less like a piece of cloth and more like messy tufts, especially on people with shorter hair. People with long hair would have multiple locks moving in multiple directions instead.

Hair added an extra layer of expressiveness throughout this arc. For example, characters' hair tended to get spikier when they were angry and would puff out when they were happy.

Because of the theme of everyone coming together for a common cause, I'm declaring this panel to be my favorite one this arc.

It's an excellent mix of characters in the main, secondary, and tertiary cast of the series.

I was considering the panel from chapter 11 when everyone walks into the Child Consultation Center together as another contender but chose against it because A) Takano is in the group and B) Ichirou was not.

Ichirou Maebara's involvement during talks with the village council has made me absolutely love him as a character and I was absolutely determined to make sure he was in whatever crowd shot I made the highlight panel. I'm upset he's not going to be more involved in the plot.

Now let's clean up everything about the overall mystery. At this point, we know what's going on in June 1983. But much of the background details are still unknown. We still don't know anything about the past series of murders and disappearances, but Rika has suggested "Tokyo" might be behind them as well.

We've also been shown the supernatural aspects affecting the world, but whether those will be explained and to what extent is unknown. Hopefully we get to find out more about Hanyu.

Bold text is new info.

Character Info:

Keiichi Maebara: He moved to Hinamizawa three weeks ago. He was a generally average student but excelled when he started cram school. However he became frustrated and his father decided to move to Hinamizawa after some things happened. The stress caused Keiichi to assault little girls with a toy gun, causing one girl to suffer serious eye injury.

Rena Ryugu: Birth name “Reina”. She had moved out of Hinamizawa when she was younger. At some point she assaulted three boys with a bat and smashed every window in her school. In her psych evaluations, she frequently talked about Oyashiro-sama as if she is possessed by it. She moved back to Hinamizawa a year ago. Her mother had an affair and left Rena and her father leading to her behavior and decision to rename herself.

Mion Sonozaki: Leader of the group’s after-school club. She has several misdemeanors due to her actions during the village’s protest against the dam project. She’s the heir to the Sonozaki family and lives with her grandmother. She has a demon tattoo on her body. She was born as Shion Sonozaki but was forced to become Mion when she was given the demon tattoo.

Satoko Hojo: Related to the second and fourth set of victims. She and Rika live together. She had a bad relation with her step-father to the point she falsely accused him of abuse. She relied heavily on her brother when they were living with their aunt and uncle. She believes herself cursed because she had damaged the statue of Oyashiro-sama a few years ago.

Rika Furude: Related to the third set of victims. Rika is the head of the Furude family which is one of the main houses of Hinamizawa. She’s in charge of the priesthood. Rika is believed to be the reincarnation of Oyashiro. She has the power to see the future and foresaw the murders as well as her own imminent death in 1983. She’s able to communicate with Oyashiro and has been aware of the repeating cycle of events. She has existed for about 100 years. Rika has been repeating the timeline for 100 years trying to survive past June 1983. She is a descendant of Oyashiro and is the only person who can see Hanyu.

Shion Sonozaki: Mion’s twin sister. Shion lives in Okinomiya with their parents. She’s the manager for the Hinamizawa Fighters baseball team. She loved Satoshi and has been trying to uncover the truth of the series of murders after he vanished. She was born as Mion Sonozaki but was forced to become Shion when her sister got the demon tattoo.

Hanyu: Known as Oyashiro-sama. Hanyu is a spirit who only Rika can see and interact with. Hanyu is responsible for the recurring cycle in 1983 as she lets Rika jump to an alternate timeline whenever she is killed.

Curaudo Ooishi: A detective with the local prefecture who wants to figure out the cause of all the deaths. He suspects a group within the village is behind the deaths. The villagers call him Oyashiro-sama’s messenger because he’s interacted with every victim prior to their deaths. He has dealt with the Sonozakis in the past and has a scar because of it. He was friends with the dam project manager.

Jirou Tomitake: A photographer who visits Hinamizawa several times through the year. He died by scratching out his throat. Jirou Tomitake is not his real name. He works as a liason between Irie Clinic and "Tokyo" and was killed as part of Takano's plan.

Miyo Takano: A nurse at the local clinic. She’s interested instudying the doctrines of Hinamizawa. She went missing after the Cotton Drifting Festival. She was strangled and her corpse was cremated. Her autopsy suggests she died the night before the festival however. The night of the festival, Takano was driving off the main road with Tomitake’s bike in the backseat. She wrote several occult stories based on Hinamizawa’s legend. And while they’re not true, she did correctly predict the disaster in one of them. Takano faked her death as part of Operation Apocalypse. She is the mastermind behind Rika's murder and the Great Hinamizawa Disaster.

Kyosuke Irie: The main doctor of the Irie clinic. He is also the coach to the Hinamizawa Fighters. Irie is secretly studying a localized disease called Hinamizawa Syndrome. Research was originally directed toward use in bio-warfare, but has since transitioned to treatment study. He was framed as the killer as part of Operation Apocalypse and was killed and his death declared a suicide.

Zouen Okonogi: Leader of a task force called the Wild Dogs. They work under Takano and provide services such as espionage, sabotage, and disposal. Okonogi was behind the kidnapping incident 5 years prior and is working with Takano to complete Operation Apocalypse.

Satoshi Hojo: Satoko’s older brother. He used to be part of the after-school club. He disappeared a year ago. Prior to his disappearance, he started carrying a bat and practiced his swinging. He also became distant from the club. Satoshi may have been the one who killed his aunt. It was believed that he had been saving money to buy Satoko a doll, but then he withdrew the money and vanished on her birthday. However the doll Satoko wanted had been purchased that day.

Mamoru Akasaka: A police officer from Tokyo. He came to Hinamizawa in 1978 to investigate a kidnapping case. Rika warned him to return to Tokyo and later told him about the imminent series of murders and asked Akasaka to save her. Akasaka did not heed her warnings and as a result, his wife died in an accident. He never returned to Hinamizawa, but later wrote a book about the mysteries about it. He returned to Hinamizawa 22 years. Akasaka heeded Rika's warning and would return to Hinamizawa in 1983, but he did not help Rika.

Village details:

Hinamizawa was originally known as Onigafuchi. The residents were believed to be descended from demons and the nearby villages offered tribute out of fear.

Oyashiro-sama is believed to be a god who gave the demons human form so they could live amonst humans

After the war, Mion’s grandfather, Souhei Sonozaki, used black market funds to bring great prosperity to the village.

There are three main houses in Hinamizawa: The Sonozakis, the Kimiyoshis, and the Furudes.

The villagers have a strong sense of unity and will work together to cover up any crimes a villager has done. However, this has allowed someone to slip into the village and commit murders unimpeded.

Because of their mistreatment of the Hojos during the Dam War, the village has had a lingering sense of fear that someone is always watching them. However, that has been broken thanks to Keiichi's actions.

There is a localized parasitic infection that can induce a sickness called Hinamizawa Syndrome. Symptoms tend to be heightened when infectees leave the village or are under extreme stress.

Murder Mystery details:

Since 1979, someone has died each year during the Cotton Drifting Festival.

The first death was the director of the Dam Project. He was murdered and dismembered by several people. The person who took the right arm is still at large.

The second death was Satoko’s parents. They fell off a cliff. The wife’s body was never found.

The third death was Rika’s parents. Her father died of an illness and her mother drowned herself in the swamp. Her body was never found. Rika is certain they were killed by "Tokyo" to continue their research.

The fourth death was Satoko’s aunt. She was beaten to death. Satoko’s brother Satoshi also went missing around that time. While a drug addict had been convicted for the murder, it may be possible that Satoshi was the actual killer.

The fifth death was Jirou Tomitake. He clawed out his throat after apparently being attacked by several people. Tomitake’s death is suspected of being drug induced. He was killed by Takano as part of Operation Apocalypse.

Miyo Takano was also murdered. She was strangled and then burned.

Every death has a pattern of one discovered death and one missing person. People in the village refer to the disappearances as the person being “demoned away”.

The villagers refer to the series of deaths as Oyashiro-sama’s curse due to the connections to the dam project. However, each new victim is less and less connected to the project. Tomitake had no connection at all, and Ooishi suspects the murderers are just targeting outsiders at this point.

Oyashiro-sama’s Curse and other mysteries

Rika Furude was found disemboweled outside Furude Shrine. The reason and perpetrator are unknown. She was killed by Takano to as part of a plan to inflict a "curse" upon the village

Poisonous gas erupted from Onigafuchi swamp enveloping the village and killing its residents. The disaster is neither natural nor divine in origin. The local environment is completely unharmed, implying the poison gas eruption is not true at all. "Tokyo" killed all the residents under the belief that Rika's death will drive the villagers insane and to cover up their research into Hinamizawa Syndrome. They covered up the mass murder by pretending it was due to a gas eruption.

Rika predicted the series of murders and her own death. Rika has lived through the series of murders multiple times. However, she did not foresee the destruction of the village.

Many relatives to the villagers went mad after the disaster and several died under mysterious circumstances.

One speculation is the villagers were infected by alien brain parasites and the disaster was a coverup by the government trying to eradicate them. While there is likely some coverup, the alien parasite theory was a story made by Takano.

The village was closed off for 20 years after the disaster.

Onigafuchi swamp was sealed with concrete early in the containment, supposedly to seal the poison gas.

The World as a whole:

Oyashiro is real, but their involvement in all this is unknown.

The world has been trapped in a loop for roughly 100 years.

Rika appears to be the only one aware of the loop.

Hanyu is Oyashiro. She is able to functionally rewind time by taking Rika to parallel timelines whenever Rika is killed.

Each timeline is governed by the Three Rules. However, Rika's actions have broken the Rules going forward.

Additional Speculations:Operation Apocalypse:

A group called “Tokyo” was behind the kidnapping incident in 1978. It has no affiliation with the Sonozakis or any major figures in the village.

One of the kidnappers in the incident is working as a gardener.

There are some loose affiliations that might tie Tokyo to Irie, Takano, and Tomitake but the true nature of that affiliation is unknown.

"Tokyo" is an organization of influential figures. They've been funding Irie Institute to research Hinamizawa Syndrome.

One aspect of the research states Rika acts as the Queen Carrier to the disease and her death will cause everyone in the village to go insane.

If necessary, "Tokyo" has an emergency protocol to kill all the villagers in order to cover up the research.

Takano led Operation Apocalypse to force "Tokyo" to have to use the emergency protocol. She and the Wild Dogs killed Rika and framed Irie for all the murders than happened.

Takano's motivation is to become Oyashiro by performing a grand action that people would call the curse of an angry god. The motivations of any of her affiliates in "Tokyo" are unknown.

back

[lesbiancarat]

i finally finished exclusive fairytale and i want to give some thoughts/a review! (contains spoilers)

honestly modern school/coming of age dramas usually aren't my cup of tea, i wouldn't have picked up this type of drama if jun weren't in it. but i was determined to enjoy it for what it was even if it's not the type of story i usually find compelling, and i definitely did

i really appreciated the humor, i'm a sucker for 4th wall breaks and record scratch moments, even if it's kind of cheesy humor i thought it was well done. they didn't overdo it, i think they kept a good balance of humor and sincerity throughout the show

i also REALLY like how realistic most of the relationships felt in the show. a lot of dramas will create over the top/dramatic plots with big misunderstandings or jealousy or these very dramatic romantic moments that just don't happen to most people in real life. and there's nothing wrong with dramas that are like that, dramas are meant to be entertaining and dramatic plots make them so. but especially when it came to xiao tu and ling chao's relationship it felt really refreshing to see a very quiet and gentle romance that develops over the years

like after they got together they didn't dramatically change their personalities or how they acted around each other, even when other's commented how they weren't being "romantic enough". because they were already comfortable with each other from growing up together, and the drama just let them be comfortable in their relationship from the get-go. and how xiao tu kept "forgetting" she and ling chao were together at first when she was making plans, honestly that's a very realistic thing. like moving through the world as a single person is different, and you really do have to adjust your mindset and your habits to accommodate another person when you're in a couple and that switch doesn't flip overnight

and there were misunderstandings and moments of jealousy but they were all handled pretty realistically too. when xiao tu and ling chao had misunderstandings they would just talk about it and resolve it. and even between characters that had a conflict, like liking the same person (eg. ling chao and yin zihan or xiao tu and xu linglong) they were still able to be civil toward each other and even friends rather than treating each other as mortal enemies (and on the topic of xu linglong i won't spoil her character arc but i really appreciated how it ended up)

like there's a thousand other examples i could give but i really was very impressed with how realistic the relationships were. it really felt like the author was writing from experience and not writing an idealized version of a romance or over dramatizing it

the one relationship/plot point i didn't really like was the whole thing with ling chao's father. imo given the fact that ling chao's father as far as they told us had NO contact with him or his mom for like the first ~16 years of his life so he could start a business to support his family makes no sense to me. like why did he need to move out and cut off contact completely if he still cared for them and was doing it for their benefit? it would have made more sense to me if he was still living with them but wasn't a good father when ling chao was a kid bc he was busy with work. or if he was always on business trips, or making some effort to be a dad but failing bc it wasn't his priority. like it was an active choice for him to not contact his son for his entire childhood. or alternatively, the dad could have left when ling chao was a kid bc he fell out of love/separated from ling chao's mom and then have them fall back in love again when ling chao's in highschool. idk the motivation they gave him for being absent but apparently still being a really loving and invested dad just seemed like lazy and unrealistic writing. like i didn't need them to spend longer on that plot and i was fine with ling chao forgiving his dad relatively quickly bc that's not the main point of the show i just wish the logic behind him being an absent father for the first part of ling chao's life made a bit more sense lol

on another note, i've seen some people complaining about the dubbing, but from the perspective of a regular c-drama watcher, it's actually not bad. there were some scenes where the dubbing was more out of sync but it was all pretty standard. it's actually on the better end of dubbing i've seen. of course it's not the same/as ideal compared to not dubbing, but if you watch c-dramas it's just something you have to get used to lol

overall i don't think this show is super groundbreaking, but it is very well done for the coming of age, childhood friends to lovers show that it is. it's a really light and easy show to watch. not something with a lot of excitement but if you want a show that's relaxing and easy to digest then exclusive fairytale's got you covered!

[sinnohborn-trainer-evan]

Successors of the Swords (Swords of Justice Headcanon)

[C](This was something me and my friend summoner-robin had worked together to come up with back when I was playing Blaze Black 2 just because it sounded fun, and it gave us inspiration to make Pokémon OCs.)

~~The Prologue~~

After Keldeo had finally learned to properly wield, and master, the latent power of their Secret Sword, it seemed like their training had mostly been finished, now that they have been recognized as a Sword of Justice by their mentors, Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion. Keldeo would go on to use this new power to assist the three swords in keeping the peace in Unova, protecting innocent Pokémon from aggressive and invasive species, and leading them to safety from natural disasters.

However as time passed, each of the formers would somewhat begin to miss the days when they were just helping Keldeo grow from weak and reckless to strong and with great resolve.

The Swords would then convene at their usual gathering place, where Cobalion would bring forth the idea that each Sword would raise their own apprentice. It sounded like an interesting prospect to all the rest, as their heroic efforts garnered them a proud reputation among the local Pokémon, who admired their bravery and steadfast approach to all manner of dangerous situations. Some of those Pokémon have even expressed desires to learn from these heroes so they too can better protect themselves, their families, friends, and their territories.

It was decided then that each Sword would go to visit the locals in their downtime to seek out any willing potential successors, under the key condition that they should be of one type the same as the master. Training a Pokémon of the same type as oneself would ensure they would be able to learn from the best parts of the master's natural abilities. Eventually, each would regroup, bringing along a young Pokémon that suited their range of expertise, ones that they could be certain would grow into the finest protectors of their kind.

~~The New Apprentices~~

Spencer the Riolu

Training under Cobalion is a Riolu named Spencer. He and his family have known of the Swords since generations ago, when they saved his great grandfather from a rock slide that nearly fatally wounded him. Out of all the Swords, Spencer had the most respect for Cobalion, who carried his ancestor to safety, and admired their sacred sense of duty. Wishing to protect his kin from future disasters, he accepted Cobalion's invitation with child-like glee. The two would make a perfect combination, as Riolu's evolution is the exact same dual-type as Cobalion, Fighting/Steel. Cobalion would teach Spencer about focus and knowing when and when not to act in a desperate situation.

Marigold the Deerling

In Virizion's care, a Deerling who was crowned the name Marigold, she got her name when she was born during the fall season, and so her first fur coat was the autumn variant. Virizion once rescued Marigold when she strayed too far from home, and found herself surrounded by a vicious pack of Houndour led by a Houndoom. Despite being partially Grass type, Virizion showed no fear in dealing with the fire-fanged aggressors. Personally indebted to Virizion for saving the fawn's life, Marigold wanted to learn all she could from Virizion, not in the way of fighting, but to provide comfort and a safe way out of crisis for the scared and helpless among her. As such, Virizion would teach Marigold how to better understand her surroundings and find vantage points to either escape from danger, or slow down attackers. Marigold would also learn from Virizion's example to remain calm and show bravery against all odds.

Conrad the Dwebble

Conrad is an interesting little guy. For how small and meek he may appear to be, he doesn't fear anything no matter how big or mean-faced it is, and that's exactly what sold Terrakion on welcoming him aboard. Conrad doesn't have any history with the Swords, but he is known by his peer group of other Dwebble to be pretty stubborn and reckless, often throwing himself at anything he can just to try and prove he's the big man in a child's body, and so never fails to amuse Terrakion, always getting a hearty chuckle out of the brute. Terrakion's favorite nickname for Conrad is 'Connor' because they know it makes him mad, because he thinks 'Connor' makes Conrad sound weak. At times, it seems like Terrakion and Conrad are playing more than training, but Terrakion truly believes that Conrad can grow up to be big and strong like the big bull that can destroy a castle wall. Seen together, one would think they look like a father and son match made in heaven.

Marin the Azurill

Though the former three Swords have easily managed to find themselves an apprentice that fits them perfectly, Keldeo would be the last to find themselves a partner to take under their wing. They've struggled to struck a chord with any water-types along the riverbanks and lakes given that Keldeo hasn't had much time as a Sword to build themselves notoriety within the region. Though eventually Keldeo would find themselves a successor through the help of the other Swords, who scoped out a secret admirer in an Azurill named Marin. He never appeared to them first because he felt he wasn't worthy of their time, but was more than eager to join their cause when the Swords finally met Marin and gave him the opportunity. At first, Keldeo was a bit put off by the Azurill as a candidate, as he didn't seem at all like the type who enjoyed fighting as much as he just enjoyed being in the company of some legendary Pokémon. However Keldeo would not have much room to argue, so they reluctantly accepted their new compadre. Despite the awkward initial phase, Keldeo would end up growing to love the little water ball of energy, Marin reminded Keldeo of themselves from before they became a Sword, wishing to become brave and powerful and mature like Cobalion, Virizion and Terrakion. An unbreakable friendship blossomed between the two, and Keldeo hoped to teach Marin everything that the Swords of Justice ever taught them.

[mirambles]

The Law Cafe - Episode 11 Kim Jung Ho’s confession.

At the end of episode 10, YuRi took the step ahead to resolve her conflict. She loves Jung Ho and doesn’t want the unfairness of her father’s case to be the reason stopping her from being with him. Kim JungHo has also inherited the guilt from his father and family’s doing and not being able to resolve the conflict. He has loved her for 17 years since they first met and wants to be with her; but hasn’t expressed the depth of his feelings to her as he doesn’t want to burden her. He hopes someday she will be able to forgive and come to him freely and he can love her openly without guilt. He has waited for 17 years and is willing to wait for however long it takes. That scene at her home was another example of what consent means in a relationship, not enforcing your feelings, but giving your partner the time to come to you. YuRi’s response cracked me up - she is so in character telling JungHo it won’t be a long wait because she is impatient by nature 😂

Kim YuRi has been oblivious to Jung Ho’s growing feelings and the flashbacks hint at this. But the moment she realised her feelings for him, she didn’t wait to express them and Jung Ho is baffled at how easy it’s been for her to express while he has struggled; but then that’s the beauty of these two characters who have stayed consistent from start to date. JungHo is an over thinker, YuRi is the free spirit. However, instances occur which make YuRi doubt that JungHo has not told her the entire truth about his growing feelings for her. The realisation scene for her is beautiful, she happened to mention during their college days that she would love to work with him in a cosy office in their neighbourhood once she had made enough money as lawyer. They weren’t in any relationship, probably fake dating and JungHo saved up and bought a whole ass building for her - for her! YuRi just drop everything and marry the guy (I’m materialistic like that). Lee Seung Gi being cold and practical to her when she is expressing her ideas, but that bright smile on his face when he takes the bookmark, he had me smiling from ear to ear. How JungHo managed to never express his feelings to her is something I will never understand.

YuRi being YuRi rushes to find JungHo and JungHo being JungHo is scared she wasn’t answering her phone. His worry for her security is natural knowing his family and his step-uncle. But YuRi is determined to get the truth out of him and asks if he has been lying about his feelings to her all this time.

This is where JungHo stepped higher into the ‘Green Flag’ zone, his love and desire for her runs so deep that he has not been able to date or love any other girls (and we know he tried a lot), he could have easily told her everything, but he never wanted to burden her. He doesn’t want her to come to him out of obligation or burdened by his feelings. And so he calmly tries to belittle his feelings by telling her it was a simple crush at that age like all boys have. But YuRi knows that he won’t tell her if she doesn’t push him over the edge and she refuses to accept this.

And so the dam bursts and Jung Ho asks her if it would it be fair on his part to burden her with his feelings - how he is dying to hold her, kiss her and make love to her , that he can no longer hold those feelings back despite the dangers that loom around them. And YuRi tells him yes, he should be sincere to her no matter what the situation.

Lee Seung Gi excelled in the next scene , his face is so innocent, his eyes so full of love and admiration for her, he finally has found the courage to tell his one true love that he has loved her all this time, from the beginning since they met, it’s only been her.

Anyone’s heart would melt at this confession and YuRi is no different, I love how YuRi tugs at JungHo’s shirt collar. It’s such a beautiful gesture, she leans in and kisses him. Lee Se Young’s expressions in her eyes are so on point.

JungHo is startled at first and then leans in and it’s one of the most beautiful kisses I have seen in KDramas. He gently wraps his arms around her and finally they both have found each other at last.

I love how deep their love is for each other, their concern for each other, their mutual respect for each other. They are honest and communicate, they are not afraid to express their vulnerability. Their desire for each other is so strong, its endearing , passionate and hot at the same time.

What followed the kiss scene is doing the rounds on twitter and social media - the scene could have easily bordered on obscene or become awkward (*cough business proposal*) , but credit to Lee Seung Gi & Lee Se Young for their chemistry. So comfortable, so natural, so effortless, so in character. YuRi and JungHo have been friends for 17 years and are well past the let’s get to know each other phase. They are in their mid 30s and with the conflict resolved, it’s natural to take the next step. Thank you to the writer and director for not showing them as a couple who does yoga , kisses dimples and brushes their teeth together!

The entire flow of the scene was organic and natural and yes it was hot and sensuous, but you know what was hotter? JungHo asking YuRi if she would be okay before proceeding. That’s CONSENT, that’s consistent writing , that’s being in character. JungHo has always given YuRi’s feelings topmost priority, never burdening her with his feelings and he stayed true to this even though he knew very well she loves him equally.

This is why The Law Cafe edges out a lot of Kdrama romcoms , this is why JungHo and YuRi are a superior couple. I have said time and again that Lee Seung Gi and Lee Se Young are absolute fire together in this drama and they are now amongst my top 2 favourite couples of all time in KDramas and so is this drama amongst my Top 2 romcoms.

[narniangirl1994]

I, like many other fans, was disappointed with several aspects of Lucifer's final season. Although it could have been much worse, I feel like certain decisions ruined several aspects of the show. For example:

They didn't show nearly enough of Trixie this season and didn't give her a satisfying ending. Not only did it make no sense for Chloe to ignore her child so often after Trixie just lost her dad, but she never officially found out about the celestials in her life and never got to say goodbye to Lucifer.

It was tough to care much about a new daughter from the future who was introduced at the last minute, yet had such a huge impact on her parents' stories. Especially seeing how sidelined Trixie was this season for a biological daughter (with Rory even saying Lucifer wasn't Trixie's real dad 😡).

I disliked the reasoning behind Lucifer abandoning his family at the request of a daughter who shouldn't have been that invested in Lucifer's calling. Yes it was important, but why was she willing to put them all through so much suffering for a calling that had nothing to do with her?

It was especially tragic to see Lucifer's choice essentially taken away from him because of Rory's insistence/coercion that he keep everything the same, after how much the show emphasized personal choice and responsibility. Not to mention his separation from his family for most of their lives is just needlessly tragic after everything they've been through.

Here's how I think the final season could have been made 100x better while still keeping the overall plot and taking into account the scheduling/COVID safety issues with Trixie's actress:

Instead of introducing Rory, have Trixie be the one who time travels back from the future to see Lucifer (therefore keeping her character relevant while using a different actress). This could be explained by her having asked Charlie to send her back in time. Not only would it make sense for Charlie to be the one to develop time traveling powers (since Amenadiel's powers were also time-based), but his powers could even be teased briefly with baby Charlie earlier in the season.

Her anger would be due to two reasons - Lucifer abandoning her so shortly after her father died, and Chloe telling Trixie that Lucifer was the only one who could have freed Dan from Hell, but that he didn't do it before leaving. Perhaps Chloe waited until Trixie was in her 20s/30s before telling her this, and that was the breaking point that made Trixie ask Charlie to send her back in time.

In the past, she somehow conceals her identity and uses tricks Maze taught her over the years to (pretend to) threaten Chloe in order to force Lucifer to bring Dan to Heaven. Lucifer knows he can't do that and it would likely make Dan a ghost, but Dan agrees to it anyway to save Chloe.

Once he's back on Earth, Trixie demands to know why Dan isn't in Heaven and gives up when both Lucifer and Dan convince her it's impossible. Realizing she failed her father, Trixie frees Chloe and leaves (obviously never intending to harm her in the first place). She later comes back, revealing her identity and explaining why she did what she did, why she's so angry at Lucifer, and how things go down in the future.

All the same shenanigans ensue, with Lucifer asserting he would never leave Chloe and Trixie, and trying to prove that he does actually love Trixie as his own daughter. He could do the same goodbye tour just in case, but this time spend a day at the beach with Chloe and adult Trixie.

Meanwhile, child Trixie can be off at a camp designed for children who lost a parent(s) and want to spend time with counselors and other grieving kids to help them recover. This would be a much better explanation than Trixie being off at a science camp and never seeing her mother so shortly after the trauma of losing her father.

All the other plots could still happen with Dan trying not to be a ghost, possessing Le Merc, talking to Lucifer and realizing he needed to speak to (child) Trixie, etc. Lucifer would still realize he didn't want to be God while Amenadiel would realize he did want to be God, yet more emphasis would be placed on Lucifer wanting to find his true calling.

Le Merc could kidnap adult Trixie, and she could similarly need to be talked down by Lucifer so that she didn't kill Le Merc in revenge. They could still figure out that Lucifer ultimately helped Dan get into heaven, and that he has helped other people (like Lee and Trixie) move past their own mistakes/flaws.

Rather than pressuring Lucifer to keep the time loop the same like Rory did, Trixie could explain how important it is to her that Dan was able to get into heaven because of Lucifer (and the time loop). And how important it is to her that other people who made mistakes, like her father, can get into heaven with Lucifer's help too.

Chloe's acceptance would be due to several things: wanting Dan to get into Heaven, being happy Lucifer found his calling, and - tying into the background plot of police brutality/inequality- realizing that many 'criminals' are a product of our broken system and deserve the chance to better themselves in this life or the afterlife.

Perhaps if they changed the focus of the Hell episode (where Lucifer helped the guy he hated confront his deepest insecurity), to his brother Michael instead, Lucifer would have a deeper connection to his calling. If he could learn to care about and understand Michael, he could care about/understand anyone. Perhaps Michael's issues aren't fully resolved by the end of that episode, but some sort of progress was made. This would enhance Lucifer's motivation to follow his calling/keep the time loop and give the ongoing Lucifer and Michael plot a real conclusion.

To emphasize that this really is Lucifer (and his loved one's choice) - rather than Rory or fate itself - perhaps they could even include a conversation with Ella, theorizing the possibility of creating an alternate universe if he chooses to break the loop, rather than making it seem like the loop is inevitable.

As such, he willingly chooses to 'abandon' his family (with their consent) for the next decade or two so that Trixie time travels and all of this comes to pass.

But unlike the finale, he can become a part of their lives again after Trixie has completed the time loop. That way, he isn't apart from Chloe and Trixie for the rest of their lives, but they all had a chance to learn and grow on their own before coming back together and understanding one another.

All of this would have provided a much more satisfying conclusion to the show. It would respect the relationships already formed (and affirm the validity of non-biological family), respect Lucifer's newfound ability to make his own choices, keep character motivations realistic, and more.

What do you think? What would be your preferred finale of Lucifer?

[lockhartism]

Aerith and Tifa as Sephiroth’s Foils

There are a lot of moving pieces to Final Fantasy 7--something that has historically contributed to its infamous reputation of being confusing. But one consistent thematic pattern that FF7 utilizes is duality. Life and death. Meetings and partings. Loneliness and togetherness. Many of the main themes presented in FF7 fall into this same format. Even the characters can be considered dualities in and of themselves. One of the most obvious dualities in the game is that of Aerith and Sephiroth. However, in varying degrees, all of the main characters are in some way antithetical to Sephiroth.

Like in many other classic hero vs. villain tales, you’d think that Cloud is the perfect foil to Sephiroth--after all, they’re at odds, so it would make sense that they’d be opposites. However, what makes Cloud and Sephiroth’s conflict so fascinating is that they actually have a good amount in common. Both Cloud and Sephiroth struggle with their identities. They also experienced trauma and loneliness in the past, and tended to isolate themselves from others. It’s this commonality that actually makes them compelling rivals, as Cloud not only has to battle Sephiroth, but also the aspects of Sephiroth that Cloud himself struggles with.

The real foils of Sephiroth are Aerith and Tifa. While there is some debate as to whether Aerith or Tifa is the real heroine of FF7 (mostly spear-headed by weird LTD-pushers), the big-brained answer is that they’re both the heroines. This is evident in concept art from an older FF7 Ultimania, pictured below: 

As you can see, the concept for the story’s heroine started out as a hybrid of Tifa and Aerith. The character’s design resembles Tifa, and the name below the sketch reads “テ��ファ”, or Tifa. However, the character’s role was very different. She was intended to be both the childhood friend of Cloud Strife and a Cetra, the sister of Sephiroth (who originally looked more like Vincent). Eventually, the idea to kill off one of the main characters was introduced, and the role of the heroine was split in two: the Cetra, Aerith, and the childhood friend, Tifa. There is some evidence of the original concept still present in the series; Tifa’s iconic red eyes match Vincent’s, because originally, the two characters were designed to be siblings before eventually going to separate roles.

Based on this evidence, it would seem logical that both Aerith and Tifa retained their dualities with Sephiroth. And, indeed, even in the final product, both characters provide a foil for Sephiroth to balance the scales.

To exemplify the dynamic that Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Sephiroth have with one another, I’ve drawn a (crude) spectrum:

Obviously, Aerith and Tifa play different roles and have different importance to the story. Aerith’s role is more “big picture”, so to speak. She is responsible for the Planet and for protecting it from Sephiroth after discovering his plans to destroy it. Tifa’s role is more fine-tuned and detailed. She is the rock and the only stable element of the Nibelheim story, a key part of Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth’s backstories. To understand how each of them foils Sephiroth, we have to look at them individually and analyze how they interact with both Sephiroth and Cloud.

Part I: Aerith as Sephiroth’s Foil

As stated above, Aerith’s role as foil is a little more obvious. Sephiroth and Aerith are both “Cetra”--or, at the very least, they both claim to be. For Sephiroth, his identity as a Cetra is tied to his belief that Jenova, his “mother”, was a Cetra who was betrayed by humanity when humans left the traditional Cetra nomadic lifestyle in order to colonize the land and the Planet. 

However, Jenova was not a Cetra at all--she was actually a “calamity from the skies” that crashed down and created the Northern Crater two thousand years before the events of FF7. After encountering the Cetra, the creature known as Jenova began infecting and killing the Cetra one by one. These killings only stopped when the Cetra banded together to seal Jenova in the Northern Crater; but, by the time it was done, the Cetra were dying off.

So how did Jenova become known as a Cetra? That seems like more than a clerical error to me. It was actually Aerith’s father, Professor Gast, who uncovered Jenova from the Northern Crater and mistakenly identified her as a Cetra. The Shinra Corporation, desperate to find the Cetra’s “Promised Land” thinking that it would be rich in Mako energy, enlisted the professor to find a way to create a Cetra from a human specimen. Using the cells extracted from Jenova, Sephiroth was created, and after reading Shinra’s archives, he discovered his relationship to Jenova and embraced his identity as “Cetra”. 

Aerith, on the other hand, really is a Cetra. Her mother, Ifalna, was the last Cetra--making Aerith, by relation, half-Cetra. Her connection to the Cetra race is real, unlike Sephiroth’s.

This give her declaration in the final chapter of FF7 Remake all the more important:

There’s a duality between Aerith and Sephiroth in truth versus lies. Aerith’s heritage as a Cetra is founded in truth. She is connected to the Planet in a way that is real. She is a Cetra, in covenant with the Planet to protect it that was passed down to her by her mother. In contrast, Sephiroth’s claims to be a Cetra are lies--whether he’s aware of it or not. Jenova, Sephiroth’s “mother”, is not a Cetra. She is not even from the Planet, but rather from somewhere beyond it. Jenova acted as a parasite of the Planet and is actually responsible for sending it into chaos and draining it of its life. He has no real obligation to protect the Planet, and he is not truly connected to it the way that Aerith is.

Aerith and Sephiroth also represent the original duality between the Cetra and Jenova, with both parties continuing to be at odds with one another even two thousand years later.

Tying in a more overarching FF7 theme, Aerith and Sephiroth also personify the duality of life and death, respectively. With Aerith, her “domain” of sorts, the Sector 5 church, is bursting with life. It is the only place in Midgar where flowers will grow. Even gameplay-wise, she is a healer, and is constantly giving life to other characters in the party. Sephiroth, on the other hand, only destroys. He set fire to Nibelheim and killed the townspeople, including Cloud’s mother and Tifa’s father. Cloud even notes his strength while recounting his version of the events in Nibelheim.

Cloud: “Sephiroth's strength is unreal. He is far stronger in reality than any story you might have heard about him.”

Therefore, Aerith and Sephiroth represent two different dualities: life versus death, and truth versus lies.

Part II: Tifa as Sephiroth’s Foil

Tifa’s role as foil to Sephiroth is more understated but nevertheless important, especially in the latter half of the story. Tifa, Cloud, and Sephiroth are the only survivors of the Nibelheim incident, wherein Sephiroth burned the town of Nibelheim to the ground and killed the townspeople after discovering his “Cetra” heritage. However, Cloud’s memories are clouded due to his trauma and the Mako poisoning he endured during the five-year gap between the Nibelheim incident and the start of FF7; and Sephiroth purposefully twists the truth in order to weaken Cloud’s already-fragile mental state. Therefore, the only one who can decipher what’s true and what’s not is Tifa.

Like Aerith, Tifa also represents the truth, while Sephiroth represents lies and deceit. This is very evident in this scene that takes place in the Northern Crater, and again in a scene during Tifa’s journey into Cloud’s mind. In the Northern Crater, Sephiroth tries to convince Cloud that he was never real, and that all of his childhood memories, even the ones he shared with Tifa, were fabricated.

Sephiroth: “You are just a puppet... You have no heart... and cannot feel any pain... How can there be any meaning in the memory of such a being? What I have shown you is reality. What you remember, that is the illusion. [...] Five years ago you were... constructed by Hojo, piece by piece, right after Nibelheim was burnt. A puppet made up of vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge, and the power of Mako. An incomplete Sephiroth-clone. Not even given a number. ...That is your reality.”

Sephiroth, at first, succeeds in convincing Cloud that he is not the “real” Cloud but rather someone who never existed, who never grew up in Nibelheim, and who clung on to fake memories as a means to cope with that fact. However, later in the Lifestream, Tifa expresses a different sentiment:

Tifa: “Sephiroth once said... Cloud made up his memories by listening to my stories... Did you imagine this sky? No, you remembered it. That night the stars were gorgeous. It was just Cloud and I. We talked at the well... That's why I continued to believe that you were the real Cloud. I still believe you're the Cloud from Nibelheim...”

By reminding Cloud of a memory they both share--a true memory--she is able to provide a solid ground, wherein Cloud can begin to rebuild his true self after falling for Sephiroth’s deception.

Obviously, Tifa’s relationship with the truth is complicated, and she herself suffers from her own self doubt throughout the story. But in this defining moment, Tifa finally realizes without a doubt what the truth is, and together both Cloud and Tifa are able to reconstruct what really happened in Nibelheim and solve the mystery once and for all.

But this duality isn’t simply about truth versus lies. It’s also about hope versus despair. In deceiving Cloud, Sephiroth strips him of all his hope. Cloud is filled with such fundamental despair that he can’t see the truth and believe that he is indeed an experiment created by Hojo. Tifa, in contrast, provides him with hope when she affirms his memories with her own. Separately, Tifa’s resolve to continue the team’s journey without Cloud is another example of her hope in the face of Sephiroth’s despair.

The idea of hope versus despair in Sephiroth and Tifa is exemplified in Kingdom Hearts (although KH is not canonically related to FF7, I think it’s a neat little call back):

Tifa: “Cloud, you can have my light.”

In Kingdom Hearts II, Sephiroth represents Cloud’s darkness, while Tifa represents Cloud’s light. This is a similar dichotomy to truth versus lies, metaphorically, where Sephiroth is “casting shadows” on the truth, and Tifa is “shedding light” on what really happened. (Okay, sorry for the puns!)

Another duality that Tifa and Sephiroth represent is the dual meaning of reunion in the context of FF7. It’s common knowledge among FFVII fans at this point, but to everyone who’s playing for the first time or who has recently picked up the franchise and not gotten all caught up yet, Sephiroth talks a lot about “the Reunion”.  Like, a lot.  Sephiroth’s “reunion” is a reference to the Reunion Theory, a scientific theory posited by Professor Hojo that states that Jenova’s cells--once separated from their host, i.e. Jenova--will seek out the main body.  This makes everyone who has ever been injected with Jenova’s cells essentially part of a massive Jenova hive mind, with the primary goal to eventually reunite with Jenova.

Obviously, this is a bad thing for Cloud, who was exposed to Jenova cells and is thus connected to Sephiroth.

However, Cloud and Tifa also have a reunion at the beginning of the story--a reunion between friends who haven’t seen each other in a long time. Unlike Sephiroth’s reunion, this is a positive thing. Cloud and Tifa, on multiple occasions, discuss “meeting again” and “finding each other” after so many years apart. Even after they reconstruct Cloud’s memories, he says:

Cloud: “Yeah...... Tifa...... We finally...... meet again......”

Sephiroth’s reunion with Cloud leads him astray from the path; Tifa’s reunion with Cloud sets thing right again. One reunion destroys Cloud’s perception of what’s real, and the other helps him to find the truth once again. Reunion changes meaning with Sephiroth and Tifa, and these opposing definitions of what “reunion” is make Tifa and Sephiroth perfect foils.

Part III: Final Thoughts

Part of what makes Sephiroth such a compelling villain are the striking similarities he shares with the protagonist Cloud Strife. In the original storyboard for FF7, Tifa and Aerith shared a role as the main heroine and the perfect foil for Sephiroth. But even after the role was separated into two distinct characters, the characteristics that made each one of them a foil to Sephiroth remained. For unique reasons, they balance the scales, providing an anchor of “good” to counteract the badness of the story’s main antagonist. 

That’s all I have to say about it! I’ve been thinking a lot about Tifa and Aerith’s unique roles in the story as deuteragonists, or dual heroines, and how they both represent antitheses to Sephiroth. I figured I share my thoughts!

[royalequeenofships]

HSMTMTS Season 3 Predictions and Character Analysis

Ricky & Nini:

Ricky and Nini have a complicated relationship. I feel like they have the whole dynamic of “right person, wrong timing” vibe. They have chemistry and a bond with each other. However, for them to grow as a couple, they really need to have character development first. Nini really needs to figure herself out and who she truly wants to be and figure out her dreams and how she wants to pursue them. We had the whole YAC arc in season 2, where she goes there because she thought it was something that she wanted, but she realized that YAC was not truly what she wanted and isn’t what makes her happy. So, she’s slowly trying to figure herself out with independence and not relying on anyone except herself. In Season 1, most of her moments were with Ricky, with only the YAC arc really showcasing her independence, but her reliance on others in season 1 and parts of season 2. For example, Kourtney was the one who submitted her application to YAC, and partially her reasons for coming back to East High were also her relationship with her friends and Miss Jenn. Also, the fact that Carlos posted her song online, and she asked Ashlyn for help to write “Ain’t see nothing.” However, in episode 11 and 12, really starts showcasing her independence and stop relying on others for her journey. She BECOMES the one other people rely on, she hypes everyone up for their performances and is really figuring herself out and blossoming like the Rose. It is a great metaphor for Nini’s journey, and the fact that she herself calls Jamie’s brother instead of other people doing it for her, really makes it more special. Gina could’ve easily called her brother and be like “Oh yeah I have this friend who’s a great songwriter, yadda yadda.” But she does it herself, which is really great. Now with Ricky. Many people would agree with the fact that he truly does need therapy. He needs to learn how to handle change, and dare I say, realizing that other people are more important in his life. Personally, I felt like Ricky was very selfish this season. Last season, he was being selfish as he broke up with Nini because he couldn’t say I love you, and once school started again, he wanted Nini back so badly, but he proved himself worthy at the final episode when he stops being Troy to give Nini a chance to perform for YAC. However, this season once he and Nini are back together again, he was being selfish and thinking of himself again. When Nini goes to YAC, all he could really think about was how HER leaving was affecting him and his relationship with her.

For example, he would ask Gina for help on HIS own relationship, and sending Nini the message of how much he missed her and wishes she would be there because HE misses her so much. And thinking that Nini came home for him and him only. Plus, he thinks that the rose song that she wrote was SPECIFICALLY related to him, and then the whole situation with Miss Jenn and his dad, in which he was only thinking about himself and his feelings, with no regards to theirs. However, in episode 10, he finally stops being selfish and really opened his eyes to his surroundings, as he helped Carlos with his song for Seb. I hope this development continues, and once he realizes that he needs to stop being selfish, and is able to handle change and mature as a person, then maybe the Rini ship can happen once again. Another thing I’ve noticed about their “angst” in season 2 was the long-distance relationship, especially in episode 3. Although, Ricky and Nini were in the same city, throughout the episode, it still felt like they were going long-distance, which was probably foreshadowing their breakup. They only communicated through their phones that episode, and even at the end, their songs for each other wasn’t sang in person, but through the phone. As for predictions on the Rini relationship, I think that if Tim only plans on 3 seasons, then Rini will probably get back together at the end of Season 3, but if he has 4 seasons planned (which I am hoping for), then Rini will probably get back together then. Now we also have to take into consideration the career of Olivia Rodrigo. We do not know if she wants to continue with HSM, and even she herself is not sure. What I think will happen is, if Olivia decides she wants to take her music career to the next level, I think a really easy way to write her out without breaking the contract, would be to have her travel to L.A. to work on her music for the summer, so that there will be reason as to why she is absent for most of the season. This will probably take 1 episode to do and Olivia can spend the rest of her time focusing on her music. However, if Olivia decides she still wants to work full time in this season, then she might stay in Salt Lake and do the musical and write some songs for Jamie, etc but personally I think Olivia would want to focus on her music more than the show, as she posts about it more on social media than the show, and even with interviews. Nini might return for the final episode when summer ends and the new school year starts, so Olivia might just be in like 2 episodes. That’s my take on Rini for now, we get back to Ricky later.

E.J. & Gina:

Portwell is literally my favourite ship of the series, and it is just amazing. I personally would not like to see any angst in their relationship next season, but honestly it is probably going to happen and here’s why. Their relationship was built really steadily and took a long time to flourish. With other couples, like Seblos, Redlyn and Kowie, they got together awfully fast, taking 2-3 episodes to truly get together. So, the angst that those couples go through gets resolved rather quickly. Seblos with their relationship gets solved within 1-2 episodes, for the whole “does he like me because im the only gay one” storyline. Redlyn has the whole “Antoine” situation (which I will get back to later) and the “Red’s future” which again, took 1 episode to resolve. And Kourtney and Howie took 1-2 episodes to resolve the whole “Howie is from North high” and “Why Howie seems weird”. The reason is because those couples got together really quickly, and therefore their angst can be easily resolved through that, and wouldn’t really take time to fix. As you can see, Rini took a while to really get together. They were childhood friends off screen and we get to see their past relationship through flashbacks in season 1, but technically they took around 10 episodes to fully get back together. They have their cute., fluffy episodes for the first 4-5 episodes of season 2, but then their angst slowly starts to build at episode 5-6. It drags on until episode 8 where they fully break up, and counting episode 9 with their take on how they’re handling the breakup, so that’s around 5 episodes worth of angst for the couple that took 10 episodes to get together. So, with Portwell, they’ve technically been building them up at the end of season 1, but we’ll truly count the buildup starting from the Quincenero episode, which is episode 5, and they had 7 episodes worth of relationship buildup. So, I think, for the first 4 episodes, we’ll see some fluff and cute moments between the two when summer starts (and hopefully some kisses cuz like please I need to see at least one), but the angst will probably start in the middle of the season. It might take like around 4-5 episodes to fix, but I truly believe that they will not break up, and it will get resolved either near the final episode or the final episode of the season. Now for the REASON of their angst. I truly think the only “angst” worthy storyline is about EJ going off the college. As I can’t think of anything else that can topple their relationship. Firstly, EJ knows about the chocolates, which makes me think that he probably knows about Gina’s past crush on Ricky. Secondly, they resolved the whole “Big Brother” situation, and EJ knows that Gina doesn’t see her in that way. And the character development of E.J. and Gina. Back in season 1, they were arrogant and straight up ambitious people, who really don’t care about how others feel, but they truly changed as people in season 1 and 2, and had their character development moments. The contrast with them and Rini is that Season 1 focused on rini’s relationship development and season 2 and maybe 3 will really focused on their CHARACTER development. For Portwell, I think that would be flipped as they already had their Character development in season 1 and 2, so we probably will see their RELATIONSHIP development in season 3. So, since they already had their character development, I think it would be pointless to have unnecessary drama about their personalities or jealousy or whatnot, since they truly developed as people. So, the only thing I can possibly think of for their angst is EJ college arc. I know that they will probably fix it, but still I’m dreading to see it as I don’t want Portwell angst anymore. ☹ (ALSO PLEASE GIVE ME A PORTWELL DUET!! I NEED IT! Also, an EJ solo)

Ricky & Gina:

Personally, I do not ship Rina. I don’t think they would make a good couple; however, I think they would be really good friends. Someone they could confide in about their issues like Gina said “Sometimes I tell you things I don’t tell anyone else” and Ricky being like “I think we do that for each other.” We didn’t really get to see Ricky and Gina resolve their issues in season 2, partly because of Ricky’s character development. I am hoping to see in season 3, Ricky working on himself and fixing up his friendship with Gina. I think something that might happen is when Gina is going through her angst with EJ, and Ricky going through his own angst with Lily, they might be able to give each other advice and on how to handle it. However, PLEASE for the love of God, do not drag the whole love triangle back, because we do not need it. Gina has truly gotten over Ricky, and Ricky never seeing Gina as someone for his romantic relationship anyways, and he really needs to work on himself more, they should not be together as a couple. However, I do hope that they amend their friendship and is able to confide in each other once more, which I think will be cool and really help with Ricky’s character development.

Ricky & Lily:

Now this one. We know they will not be endgame, and I am 90% sure of the fact that Lily does not have romantic feelings for Ricky. Sure, she might find him attractive (and I mean who can blame her, Joshua Bassett is gorgeous), but she definitely does not like him in that way. We can see it when she “confesses” to him, she said to him “I like your brown hair and brown eyes” which are all physical descriptions of him, nothing about his personality which makes sense because she barely knows him, so how could she develop feelings for someone she doesn’t know. She has also stolen the harness, so we know that there would be no way that she likes him, and at the end of season 2, we don’t even get to see her feeling guilty about doing it, because she likes him. So that definitely setting in stone on how she’s only using him and manipulating him. Now for Ricky, yes you might be thinking “oh he’s calling her, why?” But Ricky does not know what we know. He was not there when Lily was talking to Gina about their roles as Belle, he was not there when Lily was laughing at Big Red, he was not there when she had a conversation with Miss Jenn, and he was not there when she planned with Antoine and when she stole the harness. In Ricky’s eyes, the reason that she was so mean to them is because of the Menkies, and their schools were enemies and rivals for it. He doesn’t know about Lily’s evil and ambitious side, and he believes that the Menkies might have made her that way. For example, he knows that the Menkies has turned Miss Jenn into someone different and a little bit mean, so he assumed the same for Lily, and when she asked for a second chance, Ricky gave it to her as he didn’t know. I feel like for the first couple of episodes, it will show Lily and Ricky “bonding” or getting to know each other, but Lily lying about the whole situation and really planning something behind his back, but we don’t know what yet. Maybe Ricky will be like “Huh, she’s a cool person, I’m starting to like her.” But then figuring out her plan, and finding out that she stole the harness. He then will be very upset and kind of heartbroken as he gave her a chance and she was only manipulating him the whole time. Maybe then, his character development will continue to grow and he will realize that he does not need to be in a relationship right now, and that he needs to work on himself and mature as a person. And I think him and Lily’s “relationship” will be a strong pushing point that he needs.

Seb & Carlos:

Now Seblos is one of my favourite ships in the show, and I love them to bits and pieces. However, as regarding their relationship, I feel like they have already resolved all their angst in season 2, it will be hard to make up angst for them in season 3, if they ever have one. I would like to say this though, I knew there was going to be angst for them in season 2, but the way they built it up, I thought the angst would be about how Carlos’ family is really rich, and Seb can’t compare because he lives on a farm, and it might make him self-conscious. Cause that’s where it seemed to be leading in the first few episodes of Season 2 (the sled, cashmere etc.). However, they brought a completely different angst to them which I thought was pretty surprising. Personally, I think they should’ve done the “class/money” difference in season 2, and then maybe the whole “why are you with me” angst for season 3, but maybe they MIGHT switch it around for season 3, and have the whole “class/money” difference then. Although, that’s probably the only “issue” I see for them ever, cause they’re a power couple and like what other angst could there be? Maybe they’ll introduce a new love interest but I highly doubt it because they already resolved the “I choose you always” in season 2. So, hoping there’s no Seblos angst, but if they do decide to throw in one, that might be the one they’ll do.

Big Red & Ashlyn:

Again, Redlyn is one of my favourite ships and they’re just so amazing. However, their storyline is hopefully again, all fluff for season 3, but one thing I realised that they didn’t really resolve in season 2 was the whole “Antoine” storyline. After episode 7, they never really talked about it again and introduced the new angst next episode with the whole “Career” thing. I feel like Antoine will be a more recurring character in season 3, as he only got like what? 10 minutes worth of screentime this season? (Maybe even less) and especially at the end as he joined Natalie in the final scene. So maybe there will be more of him in the next season, and slowly moving in on Ashlyn and making Big Red feeling like he’s not good enough, and then maybe Redlyn will FINALLY get their “I love you” confession then, because WE NEED IT! I’m manifesting for Redlyn “I love you” next season, and I think the whole situation with Antoine would be a nice way for Ashlyn to TRULY confirm to Big Red how much she loves him and how grateful she is for him, and vice versa. (Also manifesting for more EJ and Big Red friendship moments, like maybe Big Red goes for EJ for advice for his relationship with Ashlyn, and maybe EJ confiding in Big Red for Gina as well)

Kourtney & Howie:

As for Kourtney and Howie, they’re probably still going to work at the pizza shop together and continue to bond. A plot point that I think will be very interesting is maybe Kourtney trying to convince Howie to move to East High, but Howie kind of not wanting to, because he spent like 3 years there and it’s kind of his home. That might be a nice storyline to do, or it can be the opposite, where Howie is trying to transfer to North High, but Kourtney being worried like “Is he going to North High for me? I don’t want that, what if he hates it here”, but Howie confirming that he’s going to North High because the environment for him is better there and less competitive and toxic than North High. That might be a storyline that can happen for these two. I would also like for them to have a duet as well; I think Dara’s strong voice goes well with Roman’s soft voice and it would mesh well together.

Miss Jenn & Mr. Mazarra:

Now this one is a toughie, but I have some theories. Now we know that Ricky has given Miss Jenn permission to date his dad, which is another great character development for him, as he’s handling change and seeing other people’s happiness. However, as soon as he gave her permission, Mr. Mazarra confesses his feelings for Miss Jenn, which seemingly makes her happy, as we did get to see a little smile on her face when he did. Throughout Season 2, Benjamin was really the one comforting her, and giving her courage for the Menkies. We see it through episode 8, when he helped Miss Jenn film the commercial and how he put so much effort into making her coffee and setting up a table, just so she could relax. Same goes for episode 10, when she confides in him, and he acting like a therapist to her and accepting her anxious feelings, and helping her feel calmer and better. They are both opening up to each other. And I believe Miss Jenn truly appreciates him as a colleague and a friend. Now another moment is when Ricky’s dad comes to the show with flowers, and she was talking with Mr. Mazarra at the moment. When he called out her name, she smiles awkwardly and immediate turns to Mr. Mazarra saying something along the lines up “Why we always running into him?” and very awkwardly makes his way to him and you could tell she was slightly uncomfortable, with her awkward smiles and everything. This really contrasts from episode 3, where she herself walks up to Ricky’s dad and starts up a conversation, and how now, it is the other way around. Now, the whole problem of Mr. Mazarra leaving for Caltech. He confesses his romantic feelings to Miss Jenn, and really emphasizes on how she’s the only one who is stopping him from running off the California, which I believe that she is a big part of why, but also not fully. We really get to see Mr. Mazarra bonding with a lot of the students this season as well, E.J., Ricky, etc. I feel like he truly cares for his students, and in season 3, maybe he is thinking about if he really wants to stay in Utah for his students and of course, his budding relationship with Miss Jenn. Now, there was a scene in episode 4, where he was confiding to EJ about his rejection from Caltech. And he admits to EJ how he doesn’t think about Caltech very much anymore. He’s made his peace with it. This kind of mirrors EJ’s situation about Duke. EJ didn’t get into Duke from his own accord, but rather his dad got him in. Same can be said for Mr. Mazarra, EJ’s dad made the call for him for Caltech, and he didn’t really get in from his own as well, as he said previously, He was rejected many, many times. So maybe next season will really show him and his decision of staying at East High back in the fall, or leaving for Caltech. Now moving back to Miss Jenn. Next season, I feel like will focus on her and the students more, as this season, she was a really crappy teacher, and kept pushing them due to stress and wanting them to beat her ex at the Menkies. This season, I believe that she will return to the teacher that she was in season 1, and really focusing and hyping up the kids’ talents. I would love to see that Miss Jenn come back, and really help her students. Of course, the whole love triangle debacle will probably be fixed, I can maybe see Miss Jenn going out on a date with Ricky’s dad but thinking of Mr. Mazarra the whole time, and Ricky’s dad is a good man, so he might notice something is different about her, and tells her to go for it, her relationship with Mr. Mazarra before he moves or something. Also, since in season 2, we got to see Mr. Mazarra comfort Miss Jenn a lot, maybe this season will have Miss Jenn comforting Mr. Mazarra about Caltech, and if he truly wants to leave his students. Another thing I’d like to maybe see is Mr. Mazarra singing a song for Miss Jenn. We know that Mark St. Cyr has a good voice, as we saw from the Christmas special. So, him singing to Miss Jenn even though he doesn’t like musicals that much and all that, would show a lot of character development from Season 1.

Overall Plot:

Now, I have a few theories about summer. I’ve seen a lot of people saying they will go to a camp like “Camp Rock” which I think will be very likely to happen, and they put up a musical. What I can also see happening, is like High School Musical 2, where they go to a resort for work, and then putting up a musical there for the audience as well. Or they could just stay in Utah, and just relax for the summer, and not have any musical but just a lot of original songs about their summer in general and the stuff they’re going through. If they do a musical, I don’t think that they’ll do a musical from a movie or theatre, but rather write their own musical. I think it would be a really interesting concept, it can show us more imaginative and creative concept for a musical and have more original songs for the season. I would truly love to see that.

So that’s all for the character analysis and predictions I have for Season 3, sorry if it’s long lol

[ninjakitten1699]

More Oni headcanons that I wanted to add on

to @ambrosial-tea post but I forgot until now!

There are different tribes of Oni as stated in the last post. Aka Oni (Red), Ao Oni (Blue), Shiro Oni (Pale/White), and our Kuro Oni (Black/Dark).

We don’t know too much of the Dark Oni we got but we do know that Oni were originally intended to be guardians between Material Plane and Spirit World when the two began overlapping (possibly The Grasslands/Departed, and Cursed Realm before they began separating). Put a tribe of Oni on the Material Plane for a couple years and they’d splinter into subraces of Oni and become more corrupted by the years. Dark Oni became one of the tribes corrupted.

Aka Oni are the most common type of Oni with their dark red colors, large size, and toughness. They’re slightly bigger than the rest of their kin, more violent, unfocused, and pursue immediate satisfaction, disregarding long drawn out plots and schemes. They’re mostly known for strength too.

Ao Oni are known for their unnatural cunning and aptitude for magic, smaller than their red kin but larger than pale, and have different shades of dark blue. They’re the ones you’d catch calculating and meticulously pursuing lofty goals like power and knowledge.

Shiro Oni are known for their aloofness and connections to the spirit realm. They’re the smallest of the main three tribes and the fewest of members. They vary from pale white to light gray. (They may as well adopt other Oni who share their colors and hopefully teach them their ideals.) Pale Oni would rather keep things in balance between the material plane and spirit world as the ancient Oni intended. They guard their locations but will adventure for artifacts of the spirit world and mend balance. If we take that into account perhaps they are another reason why Realm travel is difficult to Oni who try to cross through the any of the realms involving afterlives.

While Oni have no concept of gender since they have both reproductive organs, they also have no concept of sexualities either. Honestly they just didn’t have a name for it when one didn’t feel the need to have sex or when another felt more attracted to the same sex aspects of their partner. (If anything, their type of relationships or way of thinking would be looked up upon because they felt closer to their spirituality and their true selves.) Again they sometimes don’t mate for reproduction but just for the vibes of their partner.

They probably didn’t have a name for having multiple partners at the time either. If one Oni wanted to be a part of what the other two had and they were content with the feel of them, then it was okay. Plus more hands to help raise the cub personally. (Essentially that’s what PolyGarm would basically be. They make Garm happy, they’re happy with him, and Lloyd would basically have more than two parents. At this point Lloyd would just have more dads and Koko is just the one good mom he deserves.)

The second Oni learn what kisses are and how they work, they find it just as addictive as they do with other acts of affection.

Oni are more closer to their family than they are to strangers because in most Oni’s belief, strangers brought suffering to the family. In turn they displayed their family’s name first before their own, showing pride in them and hoping to intimidate any strangers with ill intent towards them.

Speaking of Oni names, they don’t usually have any but when they do their names would be what positive traits the parents wish the child to take on. For example, a son could have “Akihiko”. “Aki” meaning “bright” and “hiko” meaning “boy/prince”. They could want him to be someone brighter than they ever hoped for. For a daughter, “Asuna” with “asu” meaning “tomorrow” and “na” to “greens” or “apple tree”. Maybe the parents are hoping the Oni daughter would lead them to a more plentiful day. And then there’s the family names. The most famous ones are “Hideyoshi” and “Ishikawa”. We’ve heard of these names and the history behind them, I wouldn’t want to come across any of their descendants that carry their name with honor.

Ironically “Harumi” is actually a name for a female Oni in some home brewing lore. One of her meanings is “govern/rule” and “beauty”. Goes to show how far she would take her name literally.

Shiro Oni/Pale Oni don’t have names, but it’s because they don’t want to be too close to the material plane while they guard the spirit realms. They would refer to themselves and each other as “that/this one” instead like how gargoyles in the old days would. If they come up with names, it’s for the sake of working with others on the material plane, but even then it only happens when they really trust the people around them.

Oni have a large appetite that could put the Pythor and the Anacondrai to shame. They could honestly compete against the Great Devourer and other wyrms.

An Oni’s pair of horns are a sign of honor. No pair of horns are alike, not even the closest siblings’ horns look the same. They all have their differences. Their horn length is their pride. Having them sawed off is quite literally shameful to the owner of them but they did do something to deserve it.

It’s possible that some Oni were confused at Garm’s horns not being there at first but they hear about the first time they grew out of his head he quite literally broke them off and bled for a good long while to the point of passing out. (Blood vessels actually go throughout the antlers/horns in animals which is why they aren’t busted right off easily. Why wouldn’t they to Oni horns?) Come to find out it was the FSM’s hate for Oni that made Garm hate himself and how he looked so Garm had them filed down to his scalp or small enough to hide in his hair. It honestly almost hurts the Oni’s look on the FSM even more but hey who hasn’t he hurt? It takes a couple more decades and some therapy before he finally let’s go of his internalized self hatred and trauma that he grows out his horns and finally has pride in himself like most Oni already do.

So it’s not uncommon for Oni to live among other races, whether secretly or not, due to their shapeshifting abilities, however sometimes they’re immediately shunned when their true form slips out. Unless they proved otherwise to the most accepting of inhabitants, they’re allowed to stay. By then they’d have a hybrid appearance with their horns out, either out of their kindness to ease the others’ fear of them or for their own personal benefit.

Oni that do live on their own choose to live in the wilderness or in the mountains. If living in society but still wanting some sort of solitude, they’d either be closer to the outskirts or deep in the downtown where you’d either have to ask directions to specific people to find them or already know where they are. Hence Mistaké with her small tea shop and Wu being able find her.

As stated before Oni have no problems with Half-Oni at all. They’re just welcoming another cub into the pack and it’s just the fact that they are a child of an Oni who fell in love with another humanoid. Although there are some cases of Oni being chased out by the other race with their cub in their arms and they just run until they find the closest tribe. They’d be welcomed into the tribe and the cub is basically adopted by them.

Again half Oni isn’t a problem to them, but they do have a problem with any particular wizards experimenting on Oni breeding with any other humanoids. The know it’s not the parents’ fault neither is the cub’s. If neither parent want nothing to do with them, then the half Oni cub is taken off of their hands by another Oni who was grieving at a loss of a cub (or the realization they couldn’t have any) or a pairing who wouldn’t mind another. The cub won’t have a terrible environment, the parents won’t have to unwillingly interact with the child until they resolve their own issues or they wish to visit and see them grow.

Meanwhile, those wizards will never know peace again until the day they die, even other tribes, who they could be at war with, will catch wind of what happen and help in taking them out. By the time those wizards die, even the Pale Oni who have no ties with Omega or any other tribes won’t be forgiving to them. They won’t do anything too harmful to them, but they will lead them to the terrible part of the Cursed Realm and those wizards proceed to stay there until they fade out of existence entirely.

Enough angst there and let’s go back to fluff. I bet Oni would love dice. Like not even for games but for the click-clack sound. (“Lloyd. They’re metal dice. You cannot have—.” “Shiny sparkly metal bits make pretty sounds! :D” “Garmadon please tell your son not— Not you too!” “Wha~ It does sound pretty.”)

Y’all know how like adult lions play with their babies? They pretend to be hurt and that the cub is super strong to help build up their confidence. Hear me out, Oni do that too. Big goddamn Omega really be taking hits from tiny little cubs, Mistaké be playing with little Garmadon and playing dead on him, then Garm just does the same thing for little Lloyd. (“Koko, sweetie, help. It’s the battle of the century in here. Help, save me. He’s too powerful!” “*tiny war cry*”)

Someone makes a baby Oni cry one time and boy it’s absolutely over. It’s on sight for that person. I’m telling you On Sight!

Oni can purr loud enough to the point where it rumbles in them like a motor and that’s how cubs feel their parents’ purring. Then there’s baby Oni just babbling and the adult Oni just pretend to have a whole conversation with them. Don’t get me started on them playing soft flute music to help the toddler Oni sleep.

We probably only got a few words out of Omega when they first appeared because we were hearing them through human ears. Lloyd’s Oni brain would click on and translates what he knows while Garm in full Oni form can get full sentences out of Omega.

Oni are willing to learn a different language if it helps others understand them and their intentions. Now let’s just think of Lloyd connecting to his Oni side of the family (since let’s face it, the Oni are going to be around longer than most of his friends are) through teaching them sign language.

They also try to teach him their Oni tongue but he can only grasp a few words at a time easily. When he finally learns the language, next thing you know he’s going to be cursing and only Oni will understand. Some (aka Mistaké) want to scold him and others (*cough*Garmadon*cough*) find it hilarious.

Garmadon’s Oni-Dragon hybrid brain wants him to decorate his significant others and now I think of Oni just sharing the precious items they hoard with their mate. Wait till they figure out they can make jewelry and have their significant other wear it.

[misslolasynastry]

Celebrity Synastry Analysis

Married at First Sight - Season 13

Ryan and Brett

Couples' Synopsis 🗯: Brett (yes her name is Brett) is a more liberal pop-chic, glamour, outgoing type of woman. Ryan is conservative, country music, outdoorsy, camo hunter, introverted guy. So far up to episode 11, they arent really into each other but they get along okay. You can tell that there isnt much of a spark, yet they still participate in activites. First day of the wedding, they were like oil and water as Brett felt uncomfortable with Ryan's lifestyle and views as she grew up in a more socially relaxed upbringing. Ryan is more quiet and soft spoken so although he peeps things he doesn't say much. Brett leads most of their activities together and although she is aware of their differences she's modest and optimistic about it. They dont argue theyve just sorta accepted how different they are and casually press on. They look more like coworkers that dont talk much. Ryan has gone on to say that he doesnt feel a connection with Brett and so he doesnt put in much effort toward the relationship. I created a poll amongst fans asking if they think Ryan's lack of connection is valid OR should he try more to make it work as Brett does? The results were 55% with 75 participants leaning towards them just not being a good fit. I agree in that regard.

Below is an example I give for basic synastry clients. One thing astrology doesnt account for is having a connection, as 2 people can be completely incompatible yet still crave each other in a love/lust way. Ive also seen couples that had highly compatible charts but they werent interested in each other. However, despite lacking a natural bond, theyre more likely to come to appreciate one another over time due to how naturally smooth things are. Synastry is more for analyzing the differences in 2 persons' behaviors and personality, as well as how they interact with each other. Youre able to see where you disconnect and where you have similarities. I do them for couples, family members, and best friends.

🌞 Sun - Leo * Scorpio

Represents what each person takes pride in and is the core of their personality. They are incompatible here because they view life and take pride in very different things. Their Suns also create a square aspect which intensifies how polar they are. Leo Suns are more extroverted and take pride in the joys of life, creativity, romance, independence, and things that encourage spontaneity and challenge. Scorpio on the other hand is a deeply emotional intimate sign, as an empath are often more introverted in relationships and prefer a slow and steady intensity. Scorpio is also more a codepenent sign as they feel at their best an most powerful when theyre in charge and can command change in their surroundings. This doesnt work very well with an independent Leo Sun as both of them are fixed (stubborn) signs, one emotional/sensual and the other more playful/fiery. You could see this on their wedding day as Brett felt out of place while Ryan couldnt figure out why Brett couldnt just let go and enjoy the moment.

🌛 Moon - Virgo * Cancer

Represents how each handles emotions, feelings, the way they feel nurtured and nurture others. They have compatible moon signs as their zodiacs are both introverted, sensual, slow and steady, as well as sensitive. Virgo moons are the organizing perfectionists so they tend to pick apart everything they sense and how theyre feeling. As an earth sign theyre very grounded but at the same time are constantly trying to perfect their relationships with others. If youre paying attention to the little details, they will love you for it. Cancer moons are the motherly type and at times codependent because if they care for someone they will try to protect and "mother" them. As an empath they are very sensitive to the feelings of others and do things to try to keep the peace. Because both are introverted, slow paced, and sensitive emotionally this pairing works well. You can see as Brett and Ryan are talking that they feel comfortable with each other especially when sharing their feelings.

🗣 Mercury - Cancer * Libra

Represents the way you communicate, process information, and the key to what goes on in a person's head. They are incompatible here because they process information and communicate very differently. There is also a square aspect which indicates being more prone to misunderstandings as well as having alternate viewpoints on many topics. Those who watch the show can see that they have very different social lives and beliefs. Cancer is more sensitive, family based, an emotional speaker, and empath. Cancers are in a way more dreamy and poetic conversators. They are sensitive to the things others say and fear hurting other's feelings as well as hearing harsh words. Libra is more intellectual, analytical, extroverted, and social. Librans are peacekeepers and enjoy light hearted fun conversation, they arent afraid of blunt direct speaking but dont take well to conflict. However in ways both individuals are people pleasers as these zodiacs feed off the other person, in order to respond in a way they think is acceptable. Ryan prefers a communication style thats more emotional poetic and intimate, while Brett wants someone to joke with and is engaging to have a good time. They dont really talk much and as you can see, Brett engages him more than the other way around. Ryan doesnt feel emotionally connected so often opts out of conversation unless its deep.

💝 Venus - Libra * Sagittarius

Represents your creativity, romance style, inspiration, and foreplay. They are compatible in this area as both zodiacs enjoy this more light and fun essence when doing different activities together. Libra Venus tends to love social activities and things that bring a bit of challenge in to the mix, having a peaceful loving relationship is important to them. Sagittarius is the spontaneous optimistic adventurer, enjoying someone they can grow with and exchange ideas. And because both are able to let go and have fun, theyre able to spend time with each other despite differences. You can see this in the show as both Brett and Ryan still participate in activities together while other couples struggle more.

😡 Mars - Capricorn * Libra

Represents the way you respond to conflict, what motivates you, and the style of sex you prefer. They are incompatible in this planet as they resolve conflict in very different ways. Capricorn the fatherly hardworking zodiac can be more withdrawn and stern, seeking to take some time to calm down before trying to resolve things. They approach conflict by way of hardwork, discipline, structure, conservatism and law. Capricorn Mars play by their rules on whats right and wrong and can have a traditional stance on things. They can get emotional and defensive of what they deem to be law. Libras dont mind approaching conflict head on, because when resolving they tend to remove emotions and analyze the situation. Theyre considered the best judges of the zodiac due to their ability to find balance and bring harmony. However, Libra Mars can be people pleasers and kinda passive about things. If they feel the other is uncompromising they will withdraw. Although Ive never seen them argue, I can predict that Ryan is more on the sensitive side and very matter of fact, while Brett may attempt to get her point across then cave-in once Ryan is noticeably uncomfortable. Although they may be able to trigger each other in the mood by way of Venus, Capricorn mars prefers more slow and steady lovemaking, while Librans like things more fast paced and fun in the bedroom. Im willing to bet that Ryan enjoyed Tantric yoga more than Brett did.

When it comes to aspects traditionally I would break down them all, but when first looking at someone's chart in a basic synastry standpoint, I analyze longevity factors first. Such as aspects to Saturn, Pluto, North Node, and at times Juno. But to keep this shorter, I'll stick to the 3 major aspects. Conjunctions, Trines, Squares

😇 Saturn Trine North Node - support each others growth through maturity and discipline

👥Saturn Conjunct Uranus -traditionalist vs nonconformist, the unexpected and practical nature of each other is beneficial, but feelings of restriction or unpredictability can crumble the relationship

💣Saturn Square Moon - saturn sees moon as overly sensitive while moon feels restricted. It grows worse over time as each feel misunderstood, its up to Saturn to reconcile this issue by being more attentive.

😇Pluto Trine Sun - encourges confidence, positivity, and has a transforming effect on each partner, mostly Sun

😇Pluto Trine Jupiter - optimism remains through difficulty which allow both to persevere through challlenges

😇Pluto Trine North Node - pluto has the ability to transform and empower North Node on their path to success

💣Pluto Square Lilith - good intentions can get lost in the mix as pluto person attempts to transform liliths obvious struggles

😇North Node Trine Mercury - Mercury stimulates North Node's intellect regarding their purpose and karma in unexpected ways.

👥North Node Conjunct Jupiter - optimism and a sense of purpose motivates each other. This can help them succeed in things they do together.

💣North Node Square Neptune - the future of the relationship can be very cloudy, they may seek to look at each other for inward healing and North Node will lose patience for it all

💣North Node Square Venus - indicates differences in where each person wants the relationship to go, Venus prefers lighthearted fun and romance while North Node takes their path more serious.

📒 Final Thoughts: Based on their compatibility and aspects, there isnt much spark or longevity between them. And they may never quite align for that reason. They could attempt to work through these problems but for a lack of connection on Ryan's end, hes less likely to try to make it work. Brett is at least open to it but having different lifestyles and alternative desires for a relationship will make it hard to move forward. This is why having a mutual connection is so important in a relationship because both partners at least have that glue to try and make differences work. The only thing theyve got going for each other is the ability to understand each other's emotions and have a good time. But when examining aspects, Ryan still views Brett as overly sensitive and not disciplined in her reactions. Even if they did press on with their relationship, they may still find it dull, just based on the lack of fun aspects in their synastry chart.

🧜🏽‍♀️ For inquiries regarding synastry charts please visit my profile introductory post, email misslolasynastry@gmail, or shoot me a message. If you'd like me to analyze a celebrity couple im open to doing so as long as you have both birthdays on hand. I can also analyze family members as well.

[offbeatcappuccino]

Why Ko Moon Young Didn’t Become the Pretty Witch of the West : It’s Okay To Not Be Okay and Cancel Culture

After I finished watching Its Okay to Not Be Okay, I grappled with many questions, one of which, is why did I end up wanting to root for Ko Moon Young’s happiness at the end. While for many, it might appear straightforward as to why Ko Moon Young is the protagonist, if you dove right into the first episode of the show and you didn’t look at any of the promotional material, you could have easily believed that she was the antagonist. In fact, Ko Moon Young could have become one of the most detestable characters of 2020 rather than one of the most endearing ones. Within the first episode, we see Ko Moon Young make a little girl cry, refuse to care for her ill father, and manage to stab Gang Tae’s hand. By episode three, we see Moon Young chase after Gang Tae in Seojin City even though Gang Tae makes it explicitly clear that he doesn’t want to see her again and despite such warnings, she continues to make unwanted advances towards him. 

While many fans would be quick to point out that she is “badass”, everything she does in the previous paragraph is definitely not badass because they are unhealthy and intrusive. Other fans of the show may attempt to justify her behavior by claiming that she has antisocial personality disorder and her history of trauma, but I don’t think that Moon Young is a character, whose behavior need to be justified. Moon Young is a flawed character and was never intended to be a role model of what ideal and healthy behavior should look like. However, Moon Young challenges us to reevaluate the idea that people are one-dimensional and stagnant. While this may seem like common sense, as we now live in a world of “cancel culture” and first impressions, it is a necessary reminder. Through Moon Young’s character, the audience can reach two conclusions. Firstly, all of us can have flaws that co-exist with our redeeming qualities. Secondly, it is important to understand what is the source (e.g. trauma, upbringing, etc)of our flaws and choose to embark on a journey to resolve what is holding us back from achieving warmth in our lives. In this post, I will be analyzing Moon Young’s redeeming qualities and how she grows as a person throughout the course of the plot. 

For a woman that struggles to treat others with respect, Moon Young in many ways possesses almost a clairvoyant-like property into addressing universal human emotional needs. We see this immediately through her art, the children books that she writes. One of the reasons that Moon Young becomes such a popular children’s book author is because her work is able to comfort and soothe each person’s deepest vulnerabilities and fears regardless of their age. Before Moon Young even embarks on her own healing journey, she becomes a guiding light for others and this is perhaps her most admirable quality. 

We see this quality in many of her unconventional tactics that provide the necessary catharsis for many of the OK Psychiatric patients to acknowledge and move on from their trauma. In Episode 3, when Ko Moon Young, effectively aids in the escape of a VIP patient and takes him to his  politician father’s rally, he is finally able to vent his own frustrations of being considered inadequate and unworthy by his father and in doing so, finds much-needed contentment. Additionally, she is the first person to truly offer friendship to Sang Tae and provides him with the opportunity to become an illustrator for her books, and she does this because she truly values his talent and follows through with the promise. She doesn’t use Sang Tae simply as a cover to bring Gang Tae closer even though one may assume that at first glance. For Moon Young, Sang Tae really is her friend and “older brother”. For Gang Tae, Moon Young helps him prioritize his own self care and realize his own self worth beyond his relationship with his older brother. These examples suggest that Moon Young’s greatest strength is her ability to truly see individuals beyond their predicament in a world that reduces people to their mental illnesses. Unlike many who simply pity, Moon Young empowers these characters by supporting them in their journey to take back control of their own stories. Maybe this is because Moon Young, herself suffered years of abuse and trauma by her parents, and thus she is able to empathize with these characters in a way unparalleled to those who we may define as conventionally nice like Gang Tae or Ju Ri. 

For Ko Moon Young, her trauma stems from the abuse that she faced at the hands of both of her parents. Ko Moon Young’s mother, a murderer, who probably has some sort of personality disorder, controls Ko Moon Young because she is her “greatest creation”. It can be argued that her mother’s controlling behavior is what may have reinforced any antisocial like personality traits that Moon Young exhibits. On the other hand, her father, who despises  what his wife represents, tried to kill Ko Moon Young as a child, so that she wouldn’t end up becoming a monster like her mother. The lasting scar from both of her parents is what effectively makes Moon Young build a wall over herself and causes her to come off as cruel and difficult to others. 

However, after having to re confront her trauma when her father tries to choke her again during a routine visit to the hospital ( and with the entrance of Gang Tae and Sang Tae in her life), Moon Young demonstrates an unwavering determination to not become what others expect her to be. She proves time and time again that she is more than an empty can. She breaks the chain that her mother had over her life by symbolically cutting her hair in Episode 7 and also tells her father off when he tells her that she will turn out to be like her mother. She makes amends with Juri despite their distasteful past and upon realizing that the brothers are left alone in the castle with her mother, she risks going back to the castle and confronting her biggest fear to save them. Perhaps, the greatest indicator of Ko Moon Young’s growth is her admission to her mother that she feels sorry for her because she hasn’t found the warmth that Moon Young found. In Its Okay To Not Be Okay, Moon Young’s character arc is much like ice that melts. She may be stubbornly stiff and cold but through the warmth and support from those who care about her, she ultimately melts into the very water that nourishes the magnolias of her garden. 

[maddogofshimano]

Miss Tatsu Character Story

This one was voted on by the good people of Fats Clan, so here’s everyone’s favorite trainer!

Summary: Miss Tatsu is still doing the rounds on debt collection when Ichiban happens to see her in action. He tags along to help as she handles a few more cases and muses on who the worst people are.

We open with a goon harassing Miss Tatsu.

She tells them to get lost, she doesn’t have time for this, but they’re very persistent. Ichiban sees this happening and thinks that these assholes have way too much free time on their hands to harass women. (Since Ichiban is here, this must be in 2018)

Miss Tatsu just beats the guy over the head though, so it’s fine (I really hate the face the goon is making).

His lackey jumps in to defend his aniki, but he’s not sure if he should get rough... She says that that’s enough out of him, and beats him over the head too. 

Ichiban loves to see it. He comments that it looked like it hurt, and that lady really handed it to them. The now beaten goons run off. Miss Tatsu is glad that’s dealt with, and Ichiban approaches to tell her that was really cool how she kicked the hell out of those guys all on her own.

Miss Tatsu thinks Ichiban is also trying to hit on her, and tells him that he already saw what happens if he tries it. He says that he’s not trying to hit on her, he just didn’t know young ladies were so strong these days. 

Miss Tatsu says she is not young. In fact, she’s probably older than Ichiban. (She’s correct!) Ichiban is surprised, it didn’t seem like she was that old at all. The goons return, this time with another, larger goon.

Miss Tatsu’s a little miffed that no one recognizes her. It doesn’t matter, this guy bringing his crew saves her the time and effort of tracking them down. Turns out she was coming to collect on the big guy today.

Miss Tatsu: It’s obvious. If you have the money to go play around with, you have the money to pay your loan back. It’s my job to keep collecting until you’ve paid it off in full.  Goon: J-Just try it. This doesn’t concern you Miss Tatsu! Don’t think that I’m going to lose to a woman! Ichiban: Woah woah, this lady is really strong, but isn’t it cowardly to fight her two on one? Miss Tatsu: This doesn’t concern you. I can handle this on my own no problem. Ichiban: I don’t doubt it. I’m just all worked up for a fight. I’m cutting in to throw some fists. Miss Tatsu: Heh... You’re a rare kind of man these days. Sure, be my guest. I’ll borrow those fists.

<They fight the goons and obliterate them>

Miss Tatsu wants the money now, assuming he hasn’t blown it all already. He hands it over and begs for forgiveness. She complains, this is only half of what he owes. She’s going to come by later for the other half, so he better not try to run off. With that handled, she comments to Ichiban that it was a fun battle, yeah?

Ichiban is impressed with her level of violence. He finally introduces himself and asks if he should call her Miss Tatsu. She says yeah, that’s not a problem. He confirms that she’s a debt collector, based on what he just saw. She says yep, and she has been for a long time now.

He says he’s a little surprised about that, given her looks. She says that’s nice of him to say, but she’s been doing this job for decades now. Ichiban thinks “Decades...? Just how old is this lady?” Ichiban: Is the job dangerous? It seems like there could be a lot of assholes to deal with.  Miss Tatsu: That’s true. There’s a lot of trash out there that borrow money they can’t pay back. That bastard just now is a perfect example, he’d have more than enough money to pay everything back if he didn’t keep blowing it on gambling and women. Miss Tatsu: Even worse, he had a wife who was completely in the dark. That’s the kind of thing I hate most of all. Miss Tatsu: ...Say, you’ve got a pretty good punch, what do you say you work as my assistant for a bit and help me out? Ichiban: Well I gotta say I’m interested in that job, unfortunately I’m a little busy right now. Miss Tatsu: Aww, that’s too bad. Well, till we meet again then. See ya. <She leaves> Ichiban: (Miss Tatsu the debt collector, huh...)

<Part 2>

They happen to bump into each other again. Ichiban asks if she’s out collecting again.

She is, she was just about to head over right now. If he’s got time, maybe he’d want to tag along? Ichiban is glad to, he is still interested in seeing Miss Tatsu in action. They head off and find their target. It’s a homeless guy begging for food.

Ichiban: ...Hold on. There’s no way that guy could have any money, right? Miss Tatsu: Is that what you’re seeing? Well I guess you are still an amateur.  Ichiban: I guess she’s the pro here. ...Still, I don’t like this.  Homeless man: Oh... are you going to give me food- Ah! M-Miss Tatsu! Miss Tatsu: You might be acting like you’re broke, but I see right through that. Now pay your debt! Homeless man: Wh-... I really am broke! I haven’t had anything to eat today! Onlookers: Hold on... Is that lady heartless? Demanding loan payments from a homeless person... Onlookers: Debt collectors are really... the lowest of the low. Still collecting from a person like that.

Ichiban tries to intercede and stop Miss Tatsu. She says that she knows this guy has money, and rips the jacket off of him. He’s wearing a full suit underneath! Ichiban doesn’t understand.

Miss Tatsu explains that this guy had actually been homeless once, but he borrowed money and created a very successful business. He had a large income and a comfortable life, but his obsession with money kept growing. He was terrified of ever losing money, or even spending any that he had, so he started dressing like that to beg for money in the streets and reduce his spending as much as possible.

Also, he’s started referring the local homeless to an abusive temporary staffing agency just to collect the referral bonus. Ichiban says that he’s a real villain, and that he’d have a little more sympathy if the guy at least made all the money honestly.

The man snaps back, saying that neither of them know what they’re talking about! They don’t understand how scary it is to not have any money!

Miss Tatsu says that she’s not trying to take all of his fortune. If he doesn’t pay back the money he borrowed, it’s the lenders who will be in trouble. He tells her to shut up, he’s never going to give up any of his money! The goons from before show up. They want revenge on Miss Tatsu, and it turns out they’re the ones running that abusive temp agency that this guy has been referring people to! 

<They fight, and Miss Tatsu and Ichiban kick their asses>

Miss Tatsu once again demands the cash. He says that well, he doesn’t have anything on him right now... Miss Tatsu says that’s fine, for now he can just hand over everything he’s wearing. That’ll be enough to excuse today. 

He does so, stripping right in the middle of the street. Miss Tatsu says great, she’ll be back for the rest later. He better have actual money next time. He says he will, for sure, and runs off.

Miss Tatsu says that that got a little crazy, huh. Ichiban says that was fine, and even if it was, Miss Tatsu was really cool. 

“Cool? Why would you think that?”

Ichiban explains that it’s just what he feels. Being a debt collector is a job that gets a lot of people hating you. A long time ago he used to collect debts too, but he really hated doing it because of that. 

Miss Tatsu says that yeah, debt collecting has a real bad reputation. But, as long as people lend money in this town, there’s going to be people who abuse it. She can’t stand scumbags like that, so it’s satisfying to stop them. 

Ichiban says he thinks that’s what makes her cool, that she takes on a negative job like that but manages to find satisfaction in it. She says she can accept that compliment then. Since today’s job is over, she heads off. 

“(...She’s got some serious balls.)”

<Part 3>

They’ve run into each other again. Ichiban asks what’s up? She looks tense. 

She says he’s right. She’s going to collect from this guy who she can’t let get away from her. She’s psyching herself up for it. Ichiban offers to help, Miss Tatsu accepts gladly.

He asks what’s special about this target. She asks if he’s heard of people who carry multiple debts. He says yeah, those guys who borrow from a bunch of places, right? Exactly, Ichiban’s pretty knowledgeable on this stuff. This scumbag is a real piece of work, he made his younger brother sign as the guarantor and then ran off, leaving the younger brother to pay for it all.

Ichiban: That is dirty. Though, does that mean you should be collecting from the guy’s younger brother? Miss Tatsu: That’s not an option. The younger brother filed for bankruptcy.  Ichiban: ...Huh, that seems like it’s resolved.  Miss Tatsu: The younger brother is the victim here. Ichiban: A victim...? How do you mean? Miss Tatsu: He only signed because of his relationship with his brother... but his brother was a multiple debtor and had no way to afford paying the debt.   Miss Tatsu: Even more, some of the debt was delinquent enough that the courts were starting to notify him. Ichiban: Ah... Miss Tatsu: The younger brother couldn’t get in contact at all, his brother had already fled abroad. Miss Tatsu: Therefore the younger brother went bankrupt because of the debt left by his older brother, who had no intention of ever paying it.  Ichiban: Being betrayed by your family, huh... Miss Tatsu: Mhm. And with the guarantor bankrupt, there’s no choice but to collect from the debtor himself.  Miss Tatsu: Besides, I think the older brother should have to deal with the consequences of his actions. Miss Tatsu: So I’m going to go collect every penny this guy owes. Ichiban: But, does that mean you’re flying overseas for this? Miss Tatsu: About that... He’s returned home, to Kamurocho. Ichiban: So that’s what you meant about not letting him flee, because he’s finally returned to Japan? Miss Tatsu: Right, it seems like he’s here to visit his favorite hostess in all of Japan. Miss Tatsu: With that information, I’ll be able to grab him before he goes home while he’s off playing with that woman. Miss Tatsu: So you see why I can’t miss this opportunity? I’ll definitely collect on this guy, for sake of his younger brother.  Ichiban: Then I humbly offer my services. <They go to the club>

The target is there and ordering up Gold Champagne.

Miss Tatsu: Seems like you’re well to do. Why don’t you get me a drink. Man: Hm? Lady, I don’t think I requested you? But, you’re pretty so it’s totally okay!

Man: Come, sit~. Why don’t you tell this old man what you want? (Tl note: I don’t want to translate it as daddy but that might be... more accurate) Miss Tatsu: Alright then... How about you paying all of the debts you’ve racked up. Man: Wh-what..? Miss Tatsu: You’re Takeshi, aren’t you? The piece of shit that pushed all his debts off onto his family. Miss Tatsu: I’m here to collect. Takeshi: Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about! Miss Tatsu: Oh yeah, you got amnesia? Well then, how about I refresh your memory! Miss Tatsu: Here’s the loan book of all the money you borrowed. Are you saying you don’t know what this is? Takeshi: Uh... I-I don’t know what it is! You’re... trying to scam me! Miss Tatsu: You’re the one running a scam!!! You outta know when to give up!! Takeshi: Wahhh!? Ichiban: Oooh, she snapped that table in half. That’s scary. Takeshi: M-My younger brother, collect from him! I don’t have any money left to pay back! Miss Tatsu: You brother went bankrupt. This debt is all on you. Takeshi: Wh-... shit! Hey, you all! Tag in here!

Some new goons step in to help. They think this is an interesting sight.

Takeshi tells them to shut up and help him already. He’ll pay however much they want! Miss Tatsu wonders why he would hire bodyguards if he’s so broke, and says that dirty guys like him are all the same. Takeshi says he’s not returning the money, and tells his posse to do whatever they like to this woman. He’ll give them a bonus for it afterwards!

<They fight, Miss Tatsu remains undefeated>

Miss Tatsu has dragged the man out of the club. He bemoans that this is happening to him, and blames his brother, if he hadn’t filed for bankruptcy then...

Miss Tatsu yells that he’s the one causing troubles for his relatives! He’s so damn irresponsible! Takeshi says that if the person taking the loan can’t pay it, then the guarantor is supposed to pay it instead! 

Miss Tatsu: I’m not one to force stuff, but you listen to me. I know you don’t have any way to pay off this debt right now. Miss Tatsu: Since that’s the case, your only option is to go work on a tuna boat until it’s paid off. Takeshi: W-What! I can’t...!! Miss Tatsu: What kind of man are you? Take some responsibility! Man: Miss, it’s okay. Miss Tatsu: Who are you? ...Ah, you’re Yoshikazu, aren’t you. What’s wrong? Yoshikazu: I heard from a friend that my brother was hanging around the cabaret clubs here.  Ichiban: Oh, I get it... this is his younger brother. Yoshikazu: Here... It’s not a lot, but I think it should cover the interest.

Miss Tatsu: Yoshikazu... Why are you doing this?  Takeshi: What... Why do you have money, even after bankruptcy!? Yoshikazu: You’ve got it wrong, brother. This is money from our father. Takeshi: Our.. parents...? Miss Tatsu: Yoshikazu, even still, I can’t take this money from you. You’re no longer obligated to repay these debts. Yoshikazu: No, this is a family problem. Please, I want you to take it. Yoshikazu: My brother really is a decent person. I’m sure he’ll get all the money back to you. Yoshikazu: Unless you’d rather work on the tuna boat? Takeshi: N-No... I’ll work hard! I’ll work until I can return all the money! Ichiban: Hey, he could be lying. Is it alright to trust him? Miss Tatsu: ...Yoshikazu says so. It’s not my place to say otherwise.  Yoshikazu: Thank you, Miss.  Yoshikazu: I’m going to have a lot of meetings with him to work on how best to pay back everything he owes.  Yoshikazu: Miss Tatsu... You’re a debt collector of justice. Miss Tatsu: ...Justice is stretching it. Yoshikazu: Not at all, that’s what I really think. ...Well, let’s go, brother. Takeshi: Yeah... I’m, really sorry... <They leave> Ichiban: ...Well, do you think this case is settled? Miss Tatsu: We’ll see. Did Takeshi really turn over a new leaf... I’ll have to wait and see. Miss Tatsu: Well, if he pulls something, I won’t forgive him again.  Ichiban: Haha, that’s terrifying. But I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Miss Tatsu. Ichiban: That Yoshikazu guy sure looked relieved though.  Miss Tatsu: ...Yeah, he did. That’s a first when I’m working a case. Miss Tatsu: People are thankful for the moneylenders, but no one’s been thankful for the debt collectors.  Miss Tatsu: ...Heh. Maybe debt collectors aren’t as bad as people think. <END>

Bonus facts: Miss Tatsu usually uses アタシ (atashi) which is a very feminine personal pronoun. The one exception is when she’s asking why Ichiban thinks she’s cool and she uses 私 (watashi), which is a polite pronoun that leans slightly feminine. 

I wasn’t really able to find a clear explanation, but Miss Tatsu ended a few sentences with かい, and I’m not sure if that’s a dialect or slang or a character quirk. They usually write things phonetically including slang, for example Ichiban says カッコイイ as かっけー and お前 as おめえ to match the lazy slur of the words, so it can be tricky to translate. 

[my-bated-breath]

Do you think Aang and Katara would still end up together if Katara killed her mother’s killer? How would that affect their relationship?

Hey anon! Sorry it took me a while to answer your question, but the truth is that there is no clear trajectory regarding Kata/ang in this situation, especially when we take into account that Kata/ang in the show canon was abrupt and significantly underdeveloped. More specifically on Kata/ang, both Katara and Aang’s arcs were twisted to accommodate for their endgame romance, but while Katara’s arc reaches its culmination by the end of the Final Agni Kai, Aang’s character had become inconsistent in its direction throughout all of season 3.

As such, two conflicting outcomes can result from this hypothetical scenario — one outcome which upholds Aang’s flaws and stagnated growth, or another outcome which forces Aang into growing, accepting, and understanding, as was the original intent behind his character.

From a broader context, Aang’s entire journey since he woke up in the iceberg has been about him reconciling his airbender and Avatar identity, and by the end of season 2 when he is with the guru, Aang is on the cusp of fully accepting his Avatar responsibilities, of letting go of his selfish attachments (or in other words, his blinding biases).

Except Aang cannot let go as he hoped he would be able to. Because his attachment to Katara is selfish, but beyond that his attachment to Katara is a replacement for his attachment to the Air Nomads — and it draws him away from his duties as the Avatar, causing him to embrace an ideal he does not comprehend. After all, the Air Nomads were not perfectly pacifistic either.

Still, just as Aang refuses to recognize the complexity in the Air Nomads’ legacies, dismissing what he may deem as an act of violence, Aang refuses to recognize the complexity to Katara’s rage and compassion, to her violent and protective nature. In my meta “On Ideals and Idealization,” I elaborate on Aang’s idealization of Katara:

Aang loves Katara, yes, but he is in love with an idealized version of her. In his mind, he holds close the idea of a gentle Katara, a smiling Katara, a compassionate and all-loving Katara. Even though he has seen her darkest moments when she bloodbends Hama - arms bent in disjointed angles, fingers curled as if manipulating puppet strings -  it does not tarnish his image of her because, at this moment, she is not the persecutor, but the persecuted.

After her experience with Hama, Aang is there to comfort her and help her come to terms with the terrifying power she now possesses. With her face streaked with tears and eyes widened with horror, it is clear that this is a power that Katara does not want, that it has been thrust onto her against her own will.

The conclusion that Aang draws from this is that Katara’s inner darkness is a separate entity from her inner light, and he perceives this acquired part of her as a blemish on her inherent goodness. As such, in “the Southern Raiders,” when he witnesses how Katara’s anger and grief drive her to hunt down her mother’s killer, he equates Katara seeking closure to Katara succumbing to darkness, tainting her purity and compassion in the process.

Thus, given Aang’s reaction to Katara’s bloodbending, he may be inclined to love her in a piteous, nearly-obligatory manner. He’ll love her as the victim who lost sight and control and he’ll love her as a being of compassion and pacificity, but nothing more. Just like in the Southern Raiders, he may magnanimously grant Katara his forgiveness and his continued love even when she never asked for it. And in the end, Aang and Katara will kiss on the balcony of Iroh’s tea shop, only this time it’s not only “the hero winning the girl,” but “the bright and cheerful boy fixing the broken girl” as well.

This is the ending where Aang clings onto idealization even when it renders him a hypocrite, in the same way he is a hypocrite for shouting at his friends for pushing him to kill Ozai when it is implied he killed thousands at sea in the Siege at the North Pole.

This is the ending where he does not grow.

Note: Aang retreating into a ball of earth as a narrative parallel to the beginning of the series when he was encased in a ball of ice would have been much more powerful if only Aang entered the Avatar State through character growth rather than by the power of the Pointy Rock of Destiny (TM).

Now, let’s consider an ending where Aang’s perspective broadens rather than narrows and where Aang unroots himself from the past, pulling free from stagnance. Let’s consider a hypothetical scenario in which Aang finds out Katara killed Yon Rha. How may he react?

He may not be able to at first, too torn between his belief that Katara only uses violence as a last resort and the reality that Katara uses violence as a means of agency as well. Revenge corrupts; it is a stain that cannot be washed away. There is no reconciling Katara’s previous compassionate and loving nature with this dark path she has now chosen.

Except this is Katara he’s talking about, Katara who he loves and gave up the Avatar State for. Surely there’s a way to save her, right? Yes, just as Aang told Katara before she left, forgiveness is the answer. And while Katara may not have chosen forgiveness in the end, Aang can guide her by example.

The next day, he approaches her with the offer to exempt her from her wrongdoings.

Katara, tired and mournful, looks down at Aang.

“What was so wrong about what I did?”

Inside she is hurting. There is truth to what Aang said, that revenge is poisonous both to the victim and the perpetrator, but it is not poisonous for the reasons he thinks it is. As George Orwell writes in his essay, “revenge is an act which you want to commit when you are powerless and because you are powerless: as soon as the sense of impotence is removed, the desire evaporates also” (Revenge is Sour). There’s no doubt that Yon Rha was despicable, and there’s only a little doubt in saying that his punishment should fit his crime — the only regret Katara may have here is that killing Yon Rha is a meaningless act, for she has already gained power over him in every meaning of the word. Revenge is only a gateway to senseless violence and hatred; it is not a slope from which there is no recovery, and given Katara’s emotional intelligence, she likely has or will recognize this. Although she may feel regret, she needs no one’s forgiveness.

Aang is shocked. “But violence is never the answer,” he stands by, he pleads by. His voice grows quieter. “You know that… you knew that, didn’t you?”

Katara answers him, but it’s all a blur. She says something about agency, protection, and justice. He remembers something about that too, about the fury that burned in her eyes when she declared, “I will never, ever, turn my back on the people who need me!” Then there was the hostility simmering in her glare towards Zuko, the way she muttered that she didn’t trust him, not when he could still hurt them — hurt Aang — again. 

Because Katara’s anger and compassion do not simply split themselves into two identities. Instead, they coexist and coalesce into one. They drive each other; they feed into each other; they are two sides of the same coin.

Excerpt from my meta Rage, Compassion, and the Bridge in Between

The beloved ideal of Katara — the one that he thought was on the verge of being tainted, the one that never existed — shatters. But just because it’s broken doesn’t mean Aang doesn’t want to fix it. So in the days leading up to Sozin’s Comet, he tries to pick up the fragments to the Katara-he-knew and piece them together again, all the while avoiding Katara’s mournful (yet resolved) stare. He ignores the way Zuko and Katara share glances with a heaviness as if they were the only two people in the world, full of some significance he cannot grasp. Still, it haunts him like the way Zuko’s touch lingers on Katara’s shoulder or Katara’s hand brushes Zuko’s briefly whenever they don’t think anyone’s looking, reflecting a togetherness escaping loneliness.

But there’s no answer that arrives quick enough to save Aang from his doubt and confusion. All too soon, Sozin’s Comet is upon them, and Aang wanders to another world on the lion turtle's back — but this time when he listens to the past Avatars’ advice, his perspective undergoes a paradigm shift.

They are right. The Air Nomads that he prioritized, that blinded him to his duties — they do not exist. Their love is still there, pure and human but not all-encompassing, tucked in the corner of his heart. And Katara was the same. She was and is not all-loving or all-compassionate or all-anything, really, because she is more human than that.

This time Katara’s image shatters again. But Aang does not follow the falling pieces to the ground, desperate to find them and force them together again. No, he sees past the remains and sees Katara for who she is. For who she wants to be. For who she can be (around someone else), when she’s not compelled to take on the caretaker role just for him.

(And he thought he was so generous, offering to forgive him. But it was never his forgiveness to give in the first place.)

Aang lets go of his last attachment.

The last airbender lives on, but so does the Avatar.