#And you know what people don't talk about their parallels enough in relation to each other and their own characters

[mercutio-the-velaryon]

Mel and Viktor being drawn to each other but repelling each other at the same time... Ughhh you know I critique the fuck out of the writing sometimes but someone COOKED HERE

[deiastormborn]

Arcane Season 2 Finale theory. (Jinx, Cait and Vi)

Heya. Since I was somehow on a roll with my theories about the show previously, and I somehow hit the nail on 90% of the things I predicted, here is a new theory of mine.

Jinx is not dead. Yes, of course, that makes sense considering League of Legends exists, and everything that happened in Arcane happened before the game. Arcane was made canon, and a lot of current lore is being rewritten to match the show, so to people that play the game it's no surprise that Jinx is most likely alive. But how?

Here is what I think:

After Jinx said 'I didn't know your mom was in there', Cait realized that Jinx did in fact change. Or, at the very least, could relate to her pain and mistakes. If you think about it, Jinx's actions were mostly fueled with grief, and the rocket that was shot at the council building happened right after Silco died, who was like a father to Jinx. Caitlyn lost her mother, and became angrier, irrational, fueled with revenge. I think Jinx saying that to Caitlyn made her relate, and maybe understand what is hidden below all the madness that Jinx has in her.

I think Caitlyn and Jinx had a dialogue behind the scenes, that was not shown to us. Knowing Caitlyn's character and somewhat a soft heart, I think Caitlyn sat down and told Jinx that she can't be truely free due to the volume of the crimes that she has done. My idea is that Caitlyn tossed the idea to Jinx about escaping, fleeing, and faking her death. Didn't Caitlyn tell Vi that she became too predictable? Doesn't it mean that Caitlyn knew that Vi will try to free Jinx? Didn't Caitlyn say something about this place being thoroughly guarded too? Yet Jinx managed to escape anyhow?

I genuinely don't think it was done without Caitlyn's interference.

Maybe, after the talk that Caitlyn had with Jinx behind the scenes, Jinx asked Caitlyn to keep Vi oblivious to everything that is happening. Hence why Jinx said that Vi deserves to be with Caitlyn - that could not have gone out of nowhere. Caitlyn and Jinx didn't interact enough in the show for Jinx to say that. And Vi never really spoke to Jinx about Caitlyn for her to make this conclusion.

Now, possibly, Jinx took the whole 'fake the death' quite literal, since we see her go quite suicidal after that. It is possible that she thought that it is pointless, and genuinely didn't want to try and run anymore, hence why she attempted to blow herself up. Luckily, Ekko came in, and the rest we know.

However, it doesn't sit right with me. Not just because Jinx is very much alive in game, but also the fact that we were shown Caitlyn looking at the tower where Jinx fell, while holding the Jinx's monkey bomb in her hand. She also let go of a slight smile when she zoomed in on all the exits and rooms in the tower. Something tells me Jinx knew how to escape, and something tells me Caitlyn was the one who told her. Something also tells me that the balloon we saw at the very last scene of the whole show might have had Jinx in it.

The show is notorious for showing scenes that always mean and imply something. I previously had a theory where I drew a parallel between Vander, Silco and Felicia, with Caitlyn, Vi and Jinx, where Felicia was bringing Vander and Silco closer to each other, and her death ended up splitting them both. I truly think Caitlyn was meant to be the same mediator for Jinx and Vi as Felicia was for Vander and Silco. And maybe that was it. Maybe that's what happened.

Knowing Caitlyn, she is more than capable of forgiveness, and seeing good in people. I think it would be in her character to help Jinx escape, even if it is at a cost of lying to someone she loves.

And, since we see Jinx tell Vi to let go, I think it would be in her character to ask Caitlyn to keep Vi in the shadows.

[lunainfortuna]

I just saw elriels post evidence that sjm set up the spinoffs in acofas and now I'm a little worried. I had never seen this evidence before and thought it was just something elriels said. I always was told acofas is just a holiday novella that isn't really important plot wise. Now I don't know what to think. I'm a bit new to acotar and I love gwynriel more than anything. I started reading acosf because of gwynriel and now I'm freaking out a little. I do not want to read about elriel whatsoever. What do you think about this? Is this legit that acofas set up the spinoffs? I don't understand why sjm makes elain interact with az like they do in acofas if she then made gwyn his mate and since elain already has a mate. And why was gwyn not in acosaf if acofas set up the next books? Sorry, im just a little worried now. Maybe this is old news and not a big deal. Gwynriel is my favorite ship of all time and I want their book so bad.

First of all, don’t worry about sending me this message!

I believe we’ve all had moments of doubt, hesitation, and nervousness – that’s part of being a fan. We create expectations, and just the possibility of them not coming true can be scary.

Now, addressing your concern…

Over the years, Sarah has said many things about her books. I’m not exactly sure which evidence you’re referring to, but looking at the bigger picture, I get it.

Yes, it’s possible that she outlined the spinoffs in ACOFAS. But don’t worry – that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be Elriel.

On the contrary, if we think about ACOFAS, three things stand out: 1. Nesta and Cassian (ACOSF) 2. Azriel 3. Elain

See, even though some people insist on the romantic undertone between Elriel in ACOFAS, the book addresses them separately.

For example, we have a personal issue about Azriel being brought up when Rhysand mentions his past traumas. Then, we have a question about Elain (separate from Azriel) when she asks about becoming human again.

The two don’t share interactions that connect them to each other, like Nesta and Cassian did. But there’s clearly an indication that both characters have stories to tell.

From this evidence alone, we can already imagine the spinoffs. However, nothing is conclusive, and it’s still a very preliminary thought.

This leads us to what came next: ACOSF and all the interviews about the book.

In ACOSF, we could have had a bigger focus on Elain. However, she’s almost a ghost – only mentioned by Nesta in relation to their relationship. Nothing more. Nothing else. Elain in ACOSF serves as a supporting character for Nesta’s journey.

Azriel, on the other hand, gets a special focus and begins to build a journey that gives him agency. Alongside him (and I’d argue even more than him) is Gwyn, who becomes the most prominent new character in the book.

This becomes even more evident in the bonus chapter. The chapter was from Azriel’s perspective, and the author created a perfect parallel between what would be wrong with him and Elain, and what feels right with him and Gwyn.

In other words, this suggests that among the stories Sarah wants to tell, Azriel’s will probably come first.

Beyond ACOSF, we can also point to interviews where she talks about Azriel and talks about what readers think of him.

After ACOSF, we also have HOFAS, which, honestly, only confirmed all our suspicions. Nesta and AZRIEL were the central characters in that story. There are MANY questions about Azriel in the book. It’s Azriel (not Elain) who gets the final line of an extra chapter. It’s all about him.

How can I believe that Elain, an Archeron sister, will share a story with him when she’s been absent from the books? How can I believe she’s the next protagonist when there’s not enough development for her yet?

How can I believe in Elriel when multiple books point in a different direction?

You say you don’t understand why Sarah writes Azriel interacting with Elain the way he does. I get it! But my honest opinion? She’s telling us: it’s not me! They don’t belong together!

Trust the process, dear anon. ♥

[hemingwaystan]

Dipper should have taken Ford's apprentice ship offer, change my mind.

I know this is a really hot take but I want to state my argument and hopefully change some minds. This is my controversial argument, I don't want to start a flame war so try not to do any screaming hate comments although I'm down with a calm debate about it, anyways, without further ado, a really, really long essay explaining it.

First, I'm gonna take about Dipper's relationship with Mabel and the parallels between the Stans and them. Obviously, the show is kind of arguing that Dipper needs to stay with her so their relationship doesn't go the way Stans but I honestly think that's an irrelevant concern because they reconciled after Mabel-land in relation to the apprenticeship. I legitimately believe when they actually see each other, they'll love each other like they did before. Their was never a relationship ruining event like with the Stans that could force a rift, nobody closed the window and no one broke the perpetual motion machine.

Second, I want to talk about what it would be like living with Ford. Because it's definitely the most, in my eyes, reasonable argument against taking it I've seen but I still think I can prove it wrong, WITH FACTS AND LOGIC, lol. First, Ford and Dipper have already bonded deeply by the end of the show and will even more, probably like way more. That's why I think they'll look out for each other a lot more than a lot of people think. Ford has to drink water, Ford has to eat, so does Dipper, they'll just do it together. And about household accomodations, y'know like all the things a house needs to have. They'll probably have better stuff than almost anywhere else, think about Ford's lightbulb and extend that to just about all issues. And then I know what you're thinking, money, and that's definitely a hard one to crack but I imagine they'll either acquire their food through weirder locations, y'know like buying shit from the gnomes or whatever. I know this would be tough for Ford but I'm sure he'll quickly rationalize it as studying the economics of the different creatures intelligent enough to buy and sell food. I also think for standard money, in relation to the things that just doesn't cover. I think Ford, for his low-danger inventions he would happily do what McGucket did, sell some patents or produce shit on the side. Ford wants to advance knowledge and society with science. He has any number of things he could do that with while committing almost all his time to research, for example selling the patents for the scientifically perfect lightbulb. That would take care of him for an exorbitant amount of time, probably living rich for life if he cared about that, which he doesn't so non-sequitor but he will be safe.

The third argument against it I've seen is that Ford would be a bad caretaker, I think this one can be easily argued against. Because, again they have a close bond and will likely only grow closer. And I can tell you why that means so much. I'm a child of divorce and I stayed with my dad. And he wasn't a very good caretaker by any means but we looked out for each other in all the ways needed to survive. I learned how to do all the household stuff by 12. They care about each other, they're both intelligent enough to know how to keep kicking. Also, despite not appearing it Ford is clearly a caring person, the problem is people miss that due to his relationship with Stanley but that's built on decades of distrust,

The fourth possible argument is that Dipper would grow up too fast. But truth by told, growing up fast is a good thing in my eyes. You learn how to take care of yourself at a young age, you grow closer with adults by sharing many of their issues and with other people Dipper's age he can just not mention it. Also most people's innocence dies around 13 or 14, or maybe I just had a shitty childhood, who fuckin' knows.

The fifth argument against it I've seen is Dipper's social life and that is reasonable but if we follow the admitted assumption Ford will give him a fair amount of free time. He still is in with Wendy's friend group and he'll probably regularly see them after school, he'll also have Pacifica as they're relationship was improving rapidly by the end of the show and I think it's unlikely but possible he'll reconcile with Gideon given his character arc, assuming it continues after the epilogue. And Ford will probably become friends again with McGucket helping his own social life.

And now we're gonna talk about the advantages of staying with Ford. First, Dipper will probably have the intelligence of having a PhD by senior year. He'll get into a college of his choice and later in life, if not at a young age will advance the knowledge of the human race at least a fair amount. He'll have an incredibly promising life no matter what he does it just seems science is the most likely option.

Second, I absolutely love Mabel but honestly, she is kind of holding him back. He has a future and a life in front of him and he only ever sacrifices for her and she really barely does anything of the sort. She does apologize at the end but I don't remember any long-term change. I don't blame her for Weirdmagedon though.

Third, I don't know about you but a childhood spent in Gravity Falls, studying anomalies would be fucking sick. I know that's a personal opinion but honestly, wouldn't it?

Fourth, in the Book of Bill and other sources it's regularly implied that Dipper/Mabel's parents are regularly fighting and their suffering from it. A household of Ford and Dipper would be totally unstable as I won't deny Ford is rather unstable mentally although as the series goes on he seems to improve in condition with Weirdmaggedon as an exception, but like who the fuck wouldn't flip out during that but even then he maintains his composure. Dipper would be mentally safer, especially if my reasoning for fighting counter argument against apprenticeship five holds, but also, he'll be and this is an inference dodging a childhood of fighting parents and probably a bad divorce, that traumatizes people.

Thank you for reading my incredibly long rant, I'm happy to provide a counter-opinion because it seems like literally no one has yet. I really hope that the opinion he should've can become more widespread because I think it deserves to be, thank you.

[charmikarma]

hallo it's me. (crookedgrifter) I'm back and I want your davejade / davejadekat thoughts. gimme

my thoughts huh ... i sure am a rambler so you're gonna get a whole essay on this

i guess in thinking abt davejadekat it always starts with jade. which is well enough because davekat has been talked to death at this point, hasn't it? i don't think i could tell you anything new or interesting about that dynamic at this point.

ANYWAY. jade. i kind of get into this in my polar express fic which ik you've read, but she is SO lonely. what the fuck are you supposed to do for ~10 years alone on an island with just a dog?? a dog who could take you somewhere else, somewhere with people, but he won't. and maybe jade knows why because of her dreams on prospit, but also maybe not! either way i think she puts a lot of faith in her dreams. it's kind of the only hope she has for the future.

i think she also has some hope in dave, this really cool dude she has this awkward internet middle school crush on. and dave is super cool to her too! i think it's implied he furry roleplays with her even?? cutest shit ever. i think this is the thing that has made me always love davejade ... they are just. so sweet to each other. dave clearly cares SO much about her.

the other thing about jade is... she's kinda fucked over repeatedly by the narrative, isn't she? she's the last beta kid introduced, so she has a lot less time to develop. the closest she really gets to developing is being really pissed off at karkat after her dreamself dies (i'll talk about this in a sec). her arc basically ends at cascade. her character arc ends in the dead middle of the comic, in a flash animation that contains exactly 0 character development. hussie says so himself in the author's notes. (don't even get me started on the author's notes jesus christ.) everything that happens on the boat is pretty much irrelevant, because it gets retconned out. instead she spends 3 years completely fucking alone, and we like... barely unpack this in canon.

so her life story up until this point is basically: raised by grandpa till ~3-5ish > living on her own till 13 > meeting dave briefly in the game > DAVE FUCKING DIES IN FRONT OF HER, WITH HER OWN BULLETS > she meets john briefly > JOHN AND DAVESPRITE FUCKING DIE > she spends 3 years alone with no solace except "yeah they had to die but you'll see them again in the new session" from alt!calliope and i guess a bunch of sprites and consorts and chess dudes. she says it herself: as nice as it is to have these folks around, they're not able to relate to her. they're not fellow thirteen year old kids. she may not be technically alone, but she is essentially alone, and she just 1. died twice in one day and 2. witnessed the deaths of several of her friends.

more on being fucked over by the narrative - jade actually has a kind of interesting dynamic with karkat in the middle of a5a2! what happens with this dynamic later on? fucking nothing!!!! like seriously i am so interested in this whole. self-hatred parallel that gets drawn between them and then how jade puts her foot down and is like you are fucking nuts. no more yelling at yourself. and it goes nowhere!! this dynamic exists for like, maybe 1% of the comic. it's really fucking sad honestly. even at the very end of homestuck, she has to be sidelined for being too powerful, thereby excluding her from all the endgame convos. like we cannot win with her

ok anyway, here's where i get into the stuff i think is really interesting. at the end of homestuck, alt!calliope tells jade that she's suffered enough, and that it's time for her to live her life how she wants to. we don't see how this plays out in homestuck proper, BUT...... the epilogues. sighs heavily.

i may be an epilogues lover but even i have to admit that jade's portrayal is.... a mess. i don't think it's wildly out of character, exactly, but it definitely toes the line... and it's definitely extremely fucking uncomfortable. it does, however, give me some insight into how i think about jade now, because while the minutiae don't really feel in character, i do think the broad strokes of what they were going for make sense.

jade took alt!calliope's words and said, fuck it. i will take charge! i won't wait anymore! i am going to have what i want. and she does get a lot of that! she gets to hang out with her friends, hang out with her brother, meet a ton of people, have a bunch of sex (presumably when she's older), and so on. but see... doing a lot of things doesn't really fill the emptiness she feels. she has so much love to give and not enough outlet for it. she needs all the love in the world and has nobody to give it to her. and she still has this big fat ten-year-old crush on dave strider that never went anywhere. but the approach she takes to life now is just... so incompatible with what dave needs. same for karkat. they both need a LOT of patience to come out of their shells, and jade is living life in the fast lane. the more she pushes, the more withdrawn they become. it is a disaster.

i want to fix it so fucking bad.

jade needs a lot of character development for all this to work, but the dynamic is absolutely there. some of their convos in early meat are so fucking funny dude, they are such good friends. it is absolutely not for lack of caring on either dave or karkat's part that things don't work out in the epilogues. it's this disconnect between what jade thinks is helpful and what dave and karkat need. i really want jade to find the balance between living at breakneck speed and waiting ten years for something to happen. i want her to feel loved for once in her damn life. and i want dave and karkat to stop being such depressing shut-ins. please guys you could balance each other out if you would just figure out how to communicate

anyway. there's your essay. it's mostly about jade. hope that's ok. i love jade harley so much my ultimate goal is to see her happy and mark my words i will figure out how

[iamhereonlytobeanunstableshipper]

(First of all, English is not my first language so sorry if there are some mistakes long essays are hard to write djhdsfs)

HELLO GOOD MORNING CHERIK FANDOM SO the other day I made this post about a very hurtful and surprisingly overlooked parallel: Cherik not being able to shoot each other. Aaaand that second scene from DOFP where Erik is unable to shoot Charles has been keeping me awake at night for AGES and I really feel like we don't talk enough about it. So, here I am. Still being pissed off because of some fictional characters not kissing in some movies made years ago lol

So, here's an extended extract from that scene:

So. Erik's plan here is to kill Raven, bc you can't use Raven to create evil war machines if there's no Raven am I right lol. Charles, before Erik can shoot his sister, puts himself in between the gun and her (btw shoutout to Charles for being brave enough to put himself in front of a gun again after what happened in Cuba and the ptsd he 100% has bc of it I love you muac).

Let's make things clear here: There was nothing stopping Erik from killing Charles in this scene. He could've done it. Erik's mission at that very moment was to kill Raven, and Charles was getting between his mission and him. And we all know how things end when something gets in Erik's way when he's completing his mission. Erik does not care about collateral damage. For fucks sake, in this very same scene, he was willing to kill Raven off just bc it was easier and faster. He doesn't give a fuck about who has to die in favor of the greater good.

And I mean, technically, Erik should be more willing to kill Charles than Raven. Raven was his right hand for a while before he went to prison and she was his canonical lover. Charles, at this point in time, was his enemy. Both of them are very powerful mutants, with the difference that Raven is usually by Erik's side, and Charles is one of the only people in the world able to stop Erik thanks to his mutation. If Erik was willing to kill Raven, he should be willing to kill Charles too, if not as much, then more.

So... Why not? Why not shoot him, and once Charles was down, kill Raven too? Why is he able to attempt to kill Raven (his former ally and EX LOVER) and not Charles?

🤨 🏳️‍🌈 ❓ 

ALSO, now that we're here: Let's talk a bit about Dark Phoenix, too.

So, let's face it, DP is a bad movie. Overall, it's boring and that's pretty sad counting the masterpieces FC and DOFP are. But, hey, I can live with a boring movie. It's fine. What I CANNOT live with are things that are out of character. Especially when my fave characters are out of character. Ok maybe I'm being a bit too over dramatic here but I'M NOT

So: Let's talk about how Erik wants to rip the world apart over Raven's death in Dark Phoenix bc he's just so destroyed bc the love of his life died or whatever. Dude. I'm sorry but I don't buy it.

Correct me if I'm wrong here bc there's been a while since I don't rewatch Apocalypse or Dark Phoenix (again, meh movies), but from what I understand Erik didn't spend more time with Raven, apart from that bit in Apocalypse? Because after DOFP, Erik distanced himself from anything related to mutant wars to create a family, and then after Apocalypse Erik created Genosha and Raven stayed at the mansion, isn't it?

Assuming that this is correct, they're trying to tell me that between the scene where Erik was willing to kill Raven over the greater good in DOFP and the scene where he was willing to rip the world apart bc of her dying in DP, Raven and Erik only saw each other once. Riiiiight.

And, look. I'm not saying that Erik wouldn't feel sad about Raven dying. Of course he would. He's not made of steel (bc most steel is not magnetic. Get it? Magnetism, Erik... Imma shut up lol). Obviously he would feel bad. And I'm not saying that love can't last that long if they haven't seen each other in a long time, bc c'mon. I'm a cherik shipper. Of course I believe it can.

What I'm saying is that I can't believe that Erik is so devastated that gets blinded enough by his broken heart to hunt down a teenager that's being haunted by something she can't control. I can't believe it bc 20 years ago, it was him who was trying to kill Raven (and almost succeeding), a time that was way closer to their partnership and relationship than when DP takes place. If anything, he should be more affected in DOFP. Instead, he goes from almost killing her himself to wanting to rip everything apart bc of her death.

It. Doesn't. Make. Sense. So, Dark Phoenix's Raven x Erik plotline can suck my dick lol. If it doesn't make sense with the character's previous actions, it's not canon. That's how this works lol I don't make the rules

Summing up: Erik willing to kill Raven but not being able to shoot Charles in DOFP is EXTREMELY fruity and romantic, and Dark Phoenix's romantic plot between Raven and Erik makes 0 sense and is forced as shit

End of rant, thanks for hearing my ramblings on these gay old men and I hope y'all enjoyed it!!

(Also, of course, happy new year!!!)

[cdd-media-share]

I frequently think about all of the different types of things I wish I could Create that relate back to CDDs, relate back to my own experiences, especially being polyfragmented, and I always end with never knowing what I could possibly create, not because my skills are limited (though they very much are) but because I just never know how I could explain or Show what my experiences with my DID are.

Slay the Princess is really relatable to me in some ways, but not because I necessarily relate to "different voices talking to you" or something, I don't "hear" my alters, but more in a lot of the metaphors in the game and all of the DID parallels that are metaphorical enough to be interpreted in any number of ways and while yes there is of course a general overarching meaning of the game and its themes and all the stuff the game is trying to explain, it's still largely left up for interpretation, including the metaphors it uses for different things, and that's what I love most about art.

I love that artwork can be interpreted in many different ways by many different people - that a song about somebody's personal experiences with something can mean something different to a different person and neither interpretation is wrong, even if the original intention of the creation was one thing, a different interpretation isn't wrong.

This is my favorite thing about art - any kind of art - and I truly wish to see more and more art and media made about CDDs, or things that could heavily relate back to CDDs like Slay the Princess.

There are endless amounts of media created about struggling with depression, suicidal thoughts, grief, struggling with eating disorders, self-harm, etc., and I just want more stuff like that but with CDDs.

Even though many of those things are also relatable to people with CDDs, I do think that the Multiplicity/Plurality aspect of CDDs *is* unique to our experiences, and it's hard to see those kinds of experiences represented, even though plenty of media does also have themes that could be interpreted as, like, plurality/multiplicity/etc., like Inside Out is a common thing people point to and stuff similar to that kind of concept about a person's emotions separated as if that person's separate personalities correlating to their emotions, it doesn't hit quite like Slay the Princess does.

And it's hard to explain why Slay the Princess is sooo relatable in some aspects, I myself barely understand the meanings of the game (I struggle hard to understand the deeper meanings of things like this, I think it's probably due to being autistic? Though I do understand that even the average person would have a difficult time understanding what Slay the Princess is about). Like I still don't understand how the game is a love story. I definitely need to watch more videos explaining the game lol.

It's not just the aspect of there being multiple voices talking to each other, each with different personalities, and even each having different roles and goals - the arguing with one another is really fucking relatable and accurate, and the fact that it's all the same voice actor instead of being voiced by separate people is something I really like - obviously this game is not about DID, but I think that when it comes to portraying DID, it is all too easy to represent different alters as Literally being separate people, and switches get portrayed by completely different actors and voices and everything, and it's a lot harder to get show things like different alters, switches, etc. without doing that, so I love that the voices are all voiced by the same person, and it's obvious and clear that it is all "you" - the main character - it's all the same main character, but... Different. I like that a lot.

The way all of the voices interact with each other is just really natural and relatable in general, I don't know. Like I understand enough about myself to know that "it's all just my own thoughts" isn't true, it's different alters communicating with each other NFDSNAK And yeah like the way all the voices comment on stuff going on, chime in with their own thoughts/opinions - everything about how you can't keep your true intentions or whatever hidden because like.. We can all hear you NFJDSANFKJ

(SPOILERS FOR SLAY THE PRINCESS)

I also like to think of each "loop" where another voice comes in is akin to splitting new alters after traumatic experiences. And it makes sense even more since each voice relates back to how you "died" the last time.

The first time you walk up to that mirror and it says "It's you" and the achievement for "The Body" pops up? I don't know how to explain how chilling that is NFKDSNAFJDK

I don't relate to people talking about being uncomfortable in front of mirrors or whatever, but God that scene in the game hits somehow, and I just can't explain it.

The general imagery of the shattered mirror.

The ENTIRE scene where the Princess possesses your body and describes the voices as shards of broken glass?? That shit hit lmfao

Not to mention the way she's like "oh so this is what it's like to be you?" and you're all like "you mean it's not like this for you???" do I even need to explain NFKDSANFKJD

The Shifting Mound is highly relatable to me in a sense of being polyfragmented.

At least ever since really knowing about my DID, and finding that I'm polyfragmented, I've always felt like I would describe my polyfrag experience with metaphors like "I'm infinite, ever-changing, always shifting and changing" and The Shifting Mound is... Well.. That! At least from my understanding lol.

In speaking of being polyfragmented. This quote:

This is super relatable.

I have a whole shitload of screenshots I've had saved over the different times I've played the game that are super relatable to me. I wonder if anyone would be interested in me spamming some of them NFDSFKANK

[coralcatsea]

Can't all of that usuk things be seen as brotherly love or someone who is important in your life but not in a romantic view? Not hating, honest just thinking

Your ask is about this post, right?

So looking at my examples, you can interpret it that way with some if you want, but with others...not so much.

I hope you actually want to hear me out, because this might get a bit long. Apologies in advance. 😅

-I can't imagine how awkward it'd be to view them as sıblıngs considering some of the suggestive things they do in canon. Personally, I think it'd be pretty weird to grab/tug on a sıblıng's apron when there's nothing underneath and say it "matches them well".

-If someone talks about your sıblıng being good looking, I don't think most people would get flustered enough to start sweating and trying to play it cool. I feel like the sıblıng equivalent would involve something more like eye-rolling.

-For the cake one, sure, you could interpret it as them being goofy in-universe, but from a meta perspective, putting an item that is so heavily associated with you on top of the cake seems to me like putting the wedding figures at the top. It comes off as intentional fan service, which Hima often likes to include.

-For Valentine's Day, the scene with Alfred and Arthur is paired narratively right alongside the shippy GerIta stuff. Additionally, there is a note that says this:

"In Europe, it's traditional for lovers to give gifts to each other."

"In America, giving gifts is also mainly done between lovers."

It does indeed mention male to female, but only to give cultural trivia about the difference between Europe and America. The important part is the emphasis on lovers, and we all know Hetalia doesn't shy away from same-sex shippy moments – as evidenced by Germany proposing to Italy in the very same strip. Speaking of proposals, one dynamic that closely parallels Arthur/Alfred is that of Antonio/Lovino, and Antonio tried proposing to Lovino in the manga.

I digress.

-Sıblıngs typically don't suggest ideas like dressing in sexy outfits and swaying their hips provocatively. Which reminds me, I forgot to include a similar scene in my post where Alfred intentionally has Arthur wear a Robin costume that shows off his legs. Yes, intentionally.

"Also, didn't you notice your costume is from the movie and mine is from the comic?"

Of course Alfred would notice. There's no way a big Batman fan like him would've chosen Arthur's costume carelessly, but instead of answering why Arthur has the skimpy version of Robin's costume when it doesn't even match his, Alfred instantly deflects. He then proceeds to tell Arthur to stop crouching and show – ...something. Based on what Arthur is covering, the logical assumption is that Alfred is telling Arthur to show off his legs.

-"Are you fighting like an old married couple again?" Self-explanatory. If they were sıblıngs he could just say, "Are you having a brοthεrly quarrel again?"

-Cardverse is a canon AU by Hima, and Alfred and Arthur are the King and Queen. Magical Strike is also a canon AU, in which Alfred has a fαthεr who is the company president. No other fαmiliαl relations are given. Arthur is a salaryman who simply works for the company.

-There's the scene where Arthur is dying that plays on the "near-death love confession" trope.

-Other characters comment on their relationship...

Again, if it was brοthεrly they could just call it a brοthεrly quarrel. It comes off to me more as teasing friends who could potentially have romantic feelings for each other.

-Tony sees it, too, teasingly commenting "Love me bubu. Kiss me bubu," in reaction to Arthur and Alfred's conversation. He doesn't normally say things like that, either.

-Terms like "big brοthεr" in Hetalia shouldn't automatically be taken literally. They are used in a more Japanese sense (e.g. calling a somewhat older person who isn't related to you "big brοthεr" out of respect). France calls himself "big brοthεr" to literally everyone and even Norway refers to Denmark as "brοthεr".

-Regardless of how you interpret their usage of "big brοthεr", Arthur decides against being called that right away, Alfred himself rejects the idea of it during the Revolution, and Arthur later claims their relationship is "not like that" and fumbles for a way to describe it, mainly considering himself as more of a former mentor or boss.

So I believe that after the Revolution, it's most accurate to consider them as coworkers or friends (who may or may not be attracted to each other).

_____

At the end of the day, you can interpret it however you want. But with how often USUK fans are given a hard time for liking this ship, I wanted to point out that we're not pulling this stuff out of nowhere. It's hinted at and given shippy fan service moments just like several other ships.

I only really disagree with people constantly insisting they MUST be fαmily. Romance vs fαmiliαl are NOT the only two options. I would honestly like to see more non-shippers just let them be friends. Just because I ship it doesn't mean others have to, and just because some perceive it in a fαmiliαl way doesn't mean everyone else must view it like that, either.

And to those who do decide to hop aboard our ship, welcome! We have lots of variety to offer and are always glad for more people to have fun chatting about ideas with.

[twig-tea]

Hi Twig!

I have a burning thought I needed to share. Aren't T-aras and themes surrounding them in this adaptation of Love in the Big City somewhat similar to the ones for Diary of Tootsies bunch? Or at least I feel like there are some parallels to be drawn here. I don't know if it's the presence of Kylie or like the importance of the support group (and what they do and don't share with each other) but I sense a weird connection. And I know in LITBC we concentrate on one character while in the DoT the focus is distributed rather equally (not to mention the whole tonal difference and the unhinged factor) but it's been running through my mind all day.

Hi Kat! I can totally see why Diary of Tootsies would be brought to mind when watching Love in the Big City, especially around the T-aras and the club scenes and Kylie. Though Bangkok and Seoul are very different cities in very different countries, and these stories take place in very different times in each of their countries' HIV prevention histories (Diary of Tootsies takes place years after PreP was approved and made available in Bangkok though before it was made available at scale across the country, while LitBC takes place before PreP was approved or covered by public health in Korea), there is something about the queer club scenes and found family that feels relatable across many cultures and decades. Other shows that also come to mind include of course GayOK Bangkok (Thailand), Getaway (Singapore), Handsome Stewardess (Taiwan), and films like Himitsu no Nacchan (Japan). Just one of the things I find so relatable to my own queer friend groups and that is in both shows is how we can be so mean to each other, and how knowing where the line is shows how well you know each other.

A non-comprehensive list of some of the other similarities:

Group dancing to choreography

Gossiping about dick sizes, whether or not someone is into you, and whether or not they're worth seeing again

Keeping things light with your friends even when you're having a hard time

Your party friends visiting in hospital and making sure you know they're there for you and love you

Struggling with the closet, the judgment of family members, code switching depending on who you're with and where you are

The comfort of a gay club as a space to relax and unwind

Dating people who are judgmental of the club scene and of the person they're dating (especially of different ages)

Themes of loneliness, searching for love, and not feeling like you're enough

As a card-carrying Club Queer who has dances I would do with friends, I relate to a lot of these things, so I always get excited when this aspect of queerness is depicted in media (it is of course not universal or mandatory, I am also friends with queer folks who never have and never would set foot in a club). An upcoming show that has this vibe (but closer to Diary of Tootsies than LitBC in terms of the comedy/drama ratio based on the trailer), and which I am very excited for, is The Nipple Talk, which starts November 1 on GagaOOLala.

Thanks for dropping this in my ask box, it gave me an excuse to think and chat about some series that don't get a lot of attention! If you want to chat about this more, feel free to DM me, I'm always happy to chat shows.

[sapphic-agent]

I thought of something that could add to the discussion around Izuku and Shigaraki. Back in the first war arc, Hawks made the morally gray decision to kill Twice before he could start multiplying and endanger the lives of every hero in the war. He didn’t seem to want to do it, but he did, because a lot more people would have died if he didn’t. Twice also wasn’t as malicious as Shigaraki and was portrayed as one of the more sympathetic League members.

Compare this to the current fight between Izuku and Shigaraki, where Izuku insists on saving him even when Shigaraki has been threatening to destroy everything, with the “sympathetic” part of him being buried underneath metaphorical rubble. There are parallels between the two, but I don’t know if Horikoshi intended there to be.

It adds to the problem of how Horikoshi never properly set up Izuku’s conflict of “saving” Shigaraki. It’s been mentioned by others how the relationship between Izuku and Shigaraki wasn’t expanded enough, but another way the conflict could’ve had more impact was through the reactions of other characters.

Hawks could have talked to Izuku about his decision, possibly pushing back against Izuku trying to save him and saying it’s “necessary” to kill Shigaraki because he’s too big a threat. And if he was written better as a more strict mentor, Aizawa could have been a character that pushed back against Izuku’s insistence towards saving Shigaraki, with possible parallels to Kurogiri/Oboro, while also pointing out the irrationality of (unintentionally) prioritizing one life over the millions of Japan (compared to his inconsistent logic in canon).

Seemingly the only significant pushback Izuku gets for his decision is from the vestiges who would probably be the only ones who would understand him when he talks about Shigaraki’s inner child. Instead we’ve got Izuku still insisting on saving Shigaraki, or the child inside of him, not only risking his life but also probably the entire country of Japan if he fails, and Horikoshi is forcing him down that path by making Shigaraki so overpowered that he can’t defeat him the normal way.

To add a question onto this, what do you think could have been done in the story to better set up Izuku’s decision to save Shigaraki, or at least what could’ve been done to make sure that Izuku didn’t come off as overly misguided in his decision?

Bestie, you hit the mark with this one.

I agree with basically everything here. Having Hawks talk to and relate to Izuku's situation (seriously, why is it so hard to get positive Hawks interaction) would have been perfect. Izuku learning that you can't save people who don't want to be saved would have been a crucial lesson as it goes against everything his built himself up to be.

There's saving people, and then there's the fucking mental torture Horikoshi's putting Izuku through for no goddamn reason.

There's actually a few things I think could have been done.

The mall scene should have been extended. I like it for what it is, but it really doesn't get into the difference in their ideals or what really sets them apart from each other. The parallels were all there, Hori just couldn't design to expand on them

Izuku should have been the one kidnapped, not Bakugou. Fucking Bakugou's kidnapping was so useless to the plot. All it proved was that Shigaraki can't recognize what makes a villain. Bakugou had everything handed to him his whole life, why would he compromise his secure future? Izuku would have had every reason to be a villain, but wanted to be a hero. This could have been the arc where the two of them learn to understand one another. Izuku sees the hurt kid and Shigaraki sees the battered hero

To expand off #2, I think it should have led to them both trying to "save" one another. Shigaraki wants Izuku to give into his hurt and anger, Izuku wants to give Shigaraki a chance at reformation. And that would make their final fight so much more interesting. They both think they're doing the other a favor when in reality Izuku doesn't want to hurt others and Shigaraki doesn't want to conform to society. And that ends up with one of them finishing things off for good

This Izuku vs Shigaraki fight should have had way more buildup. But that would mean properly developing Izuku and Horikoshi would rather die🤷🏾‍♀️

[duckyfruitbat]

YoHoHo, It's a New Era of Pirating

I'm sure a lot of us have been ruminating on this lately, but first I want to draw some parallels.

Picture it, the year is 2005 and you are watching a movie you picked out with your grandma at blockbuster during your weekend visit to give your parents a god damned break from your bullshit. Relatable so far yes? You pop that disk in and sit down as grandma makes the popcorn and an odd little PSA comes up between the previews. It's the infamous pirating PSA that compares downloading films to car jacking. So what do you do? You download copious amounts of pirated music onto the computer under your fathers supervision of course, still pretty relatable right?

You have entered the world of media piracy my friend, an old tradition with a rich culture and history. The early 2000's were some wild times, piracy was at its peak, the internet was a lawless land, and the 2008 housing bubble was just around the corner, truly a glorious time.

Now needless to say, publishing companies hated piracy and were desperately trying to curb it but only through legislation through a government that didn't really care. It was already hard enough to catch one pirate so why waste resources to crack down on it. There was an attempted crackdown by the publishers but that completely failed, one infamous case was a grandma who didn't even have a computer.

This age of piracy was only stopped when Itunes and Netflix made their way online. That was only because everything was on these two websites and later also Hulu. The only people who continued to pirate were kids who didn't have money and anime fans. There were two specialized websites just for them.

Everything was going smoothly, until we get to today, now every studio has at least one streaming service and even then there is no guarantee that their own shows would even be up and they're all owned by the same five corporations. Discovery got in trouble not too long ago for deleting their own shows from their own streaming service. Disney still has a backlog to upload onto Disney+, and there are many exclusives between each site. It's very similar to what cable and satellite television was, gotta pay over a hundred dollars and you don't even watch half the channels. These streaming services are getting too specialized, sure it makes business sense especially when you already have a large library or you're just Disney, but when there are obscure TV channels trying to get their own service, you know something's wrong.

Somehow the music industry didn't go the same path, yes Spotify has its problems, especially for musicians, but it is far better than purchasing entire albums or the old piracy methods that always put your computer at risk.

The obvious consequence of all this is that piracy is once again going up once again. Why? Because it is far easier to pirate than it is to figure out which steaming service that Disney owned show you want to watch is on. The only reason Itunes and Netflix originally won was because it was more convenient to actually pay for the things you wanted to see and not have to worry about malware. That's a lesson that these corporations could benefit from again, but they are if anything stubborn.

Now because of the stubbornness of these corporations I will have a lot to talk about, specifically with all sorts of pirating methods, and some fun stories. I already talked about Tengen and their massive swinging balls of steel as they walked into the patent office to steal from Nintendo, but there is so much more. So plenty of legally dubious fun to be had!

[veliseraptor]

What are some MDZS characters that never/barely interact that you think would be interesting to throw in a room together?

another "I'm not looking at the date stamp on when this was sent, I don't want to know"

hmmm I mean there's all kinds of characters who don't interact much on page that I'd love to see interact more and most of them are with Xue Yang because I'm the person that I am. but let's see here, to give a more comprehensive list of some characters it could be fun to lock in a room and see what happens (or just wish we saw more of their dynamic)

Xue Yang & Jin Guangyao. I mean, I've gone on plenty of record about this/written a middling amount of fic, but I just love their relationship so much. I love that while they have some things in common their approaches to life are almost diametrically opposed, specifically the way that they react to learning that people/society doesn't give a shit about them - Xue Yang chose to reject everybody and everything else as fundamentally worthless, and Jin Guangyao chose to try to find a way to prove people wrong about his worth.

I also love the dynamic in the Villainous Friends extra specifically where Xue Yang is in several places clearly trying to get a rise out of Jin Guangyao by being extra edgy and Jin Guangyao just meets it with perfect equanimity ("no thank you, I would not care for some tongue tea") rather than freaking out about it. I don't think that's so much because he's actually that chill about the concept of tongue tea, just that he knows that giving Xue Yang the reaction he's looking for isn't a good idea. I like in that in general Jin Guangyao seems to...not respect Xue Yang, exactly, but he treats him well, and with a level of etiquette that I doubt many other people do. Will never get over "Xue-gongzi" specifically.

Also how defensive Xue Yang is of Jin Guangyao in that extra even if he's also needling him the whole time. He's not tactful. He will cut out a guy's tongue when he insults Jin Guangyao in front of him, though. He's so ready to murder Jin Guangshan, you guys.

It's just this...very particular relationship they have with each other that they don't have with anybody else. And I personally like the version where, in the end, Jin Guangyao's need to prove himself, his need to survive within the society that still, in the end, rejects him, trumps his affection for Xue Yang, and that I think on some level Xue Yang gets that and only sort of holds it against him.

Jin Guangyao & Jiang Cheng. For a pair of characters that doesn't involve Xue Yang! I feel like for all people talk about parallels/foils between Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian (present for sure), I'm interested in the parallels/foils between Jin Guangyao and Jiang Cheng, and the way that they're both far more politically/socially oriented than Wei Wuxian ever is, even as a gulf of status and origin separates them and their perspectives from each other. And at the same time I feel like I can see them agreeing on a lot of things. Not necessarily philosophically, but in administrative terms specifically. I think there's something definitely to be said for the way that Jin Ling relates to both of his uncles speaking to the way they relate to each other. That Jin Ling views them both as the most powerful cultivators ever speaks to at least an amicable partnership if not anything warmer than that - and I don't necessarily think it would be any warmer than that. But I can see mutual respect, at least to a certain extent. Not to the point that Jiang Cheng would expend political capital sticking his neck out for Jin Guangyao, but enough that he's not wiping his hands after taking tea from him either (so to speak). And I would like to know more about how that relationship develops between Wei Wuxian's death and resurrection, facilitated by Jin Ling and then their interactions as respective sect leaders.

Maybe I just want to see two people with control issues bond about their control issues, so sue me.

Xue Yang & Mo Xuanyu. I know people ship these guys and I very much don't but I do want to know more about their relationship as at least people who were in the Jin Sect at the same time and both somewhat knowledgeable about demonic cultivation. I don't know that we get confirmation one way or another how much or what Mo Xuanyu knew about the research projects Xue Yang was doing, at least in the novel, but I just. I like to imagine Xue Yang finding Mo Xuanyu interesting in the "I want to study you like a bug" kind of way. He's weird and a little unstable and fucking around with dark powers. Xue Yang is fond of him and also kind of treating him like a science experiment. Jury's out on how aware Mo Xuanyu is of this dynamic vs. whether he just thinks this is what friendship is like (he hasn't had a lot of friends).

I think Xue Yang would find the whole "sacrificed his soul in order to resurrect Wei Wuxian to get vengeance on his family" thing absolutely hilarious, though. and would also 100% be like "dude why didn't you just kill them yourself" about it.

Xue Yang & Jin Ling. I wrote one fic for this a long time ago and dipped into it a liiiittle bit in the Jiang Yanli/Xue Yang fic but as far as I know nobody else has taken advantage of the overlap between Jin Ling's childhood and Xue Yang's Jin Sect stint. Jin Ling is hardly going to be exposed to lower level disciples of questionable intentions. not intentionally, anyway.

But the quickest way to get Xue Yang interested in a thing is to tell him its off limits. All that has to happen is one casual remark around Jin Guangyao that results in a horrified O__O face, momentarily, and Xue Yang is already making plans for his unsanctioned babysitting experience. it's gonna be great.

this just also opens up such opportunities once Yi City rolls around for Jin Ling's week to get even more surreal, which sounds fun to me.

yes all of these but one are for xue yang, so sue me. I am who I am.

though I would enjoy seeing Xiao Xingchen interact with just about anyone in a political setting. speaking of things that would be really funny.

[midnightactual]

Kūkaku's Relative Power & Narrative Role

I've mentioned this before, but, really look at this in CFYOW Volume II (emphasis mine):

“I’ve got one thing to say.” Kukaku’s piercing voice resounded, and those who had been making a commotion all stopped at the same time. “This is my house. I don’t mind you being rowdy, but if you’re going to cut each other up then take it outside.” Though her voice was soft, there was an energy in it that indicated she wouldn’t take no for an answer. “That woman’s strong.” “Yes. She doesn’t seem to be a Soul Reaper, but I suppose…I suppose there were some strong people lurking around.” Halibel could comprehend Kukaku’s power through the spiritual pressure in her words, and Nelliel agreed with her. Needless to say, those who knew Kukaku from the start, like Ginjo and the others, became quiet and subdued. The same was true for the Quincies and Corpse Unit. Other than Mayuri Kurotsuchi, that is, who marched to the beat of his own drum.

So, the obvious joke first:

But that Kūkaku is able to put reiatsu in her voice, and that is enough to get Grimmjow & Luppi—aspects of death of destruction—to shut the hell up, as well as enough to make guys like Ginjō "quiet and subdued" (read: submissive and avoidant) tells you a lot, beyond just Tier and Nelliel's judgments.

Now, in the manga, back during chapters 78 and 79, we go from here:

to here:

You can see that her kiseru goes missing. Something like what the anime suggests happens is relatively plausible (and yes I know I just got done talking about the anime being lesser canon):

At any rate, Kūkaku goes on to readily disable both Ganju (whom is giving Ichigo trouble) and Ichigo himself (and by the way, this is much like how Yoruichi often at least initially easily handles people who are giving Ichigo trouble, from Byakuya, to Yammy, to Askin):

Now, this is played for comedy. However, I urge you to recall both Isshin and Retsu, whose strength was also initially played for comedy. I also ask you to remember Tsukishima, who is immensely powerful but often passive. And I'll note that in CFYOW, Ginjō has Tsukishima and Giriko at his disposal and yet all three of them don't even seem to entertain the idea of messing with Kūkaku and put up with whatever she says, both there and in chapter 518:

We know that Bleach already has a Red Oni in Kenpachi:

I would submit to you that, at least figuratively, Kūkaku is something closer to the Blue Oni (yes, I know it's funny when she wears red):

This is especially interesting when Yoruichi is routinely paralleled with Kenpachi and is sometimes a Red Oni herself (and sometimes a Blue Oni):

As I've related a number of times, Japanese loves puns, and the Blue Oni is often associated with being a Kuudere. Well, there's K[uu]kaku. More importantly, we know the Kū of her name, 空, is the Void in the Godai:

空 Kū or sora, most often translated as "Void", but also meaning "sky", "heaven" or environment, it represents those things beyond and within our everyday comprehension, particularly those things composed of pure energy before they manifest; the emptiness that the energy is made up of. Bodily, kū represents spirit, thought and creative energy. It represents the creation of phenomena. It can also be associated with the potential of power, creativity, spontaneity and inventiveness. Kū is of particular importance as the highest of the elements. In martial arts, particularly in fictional tales where the fighting discipline is blended with magic or the occult, one often invokes the power of the Void to connect to the quintessential creative energy of the world. A warrior properly attuned to the Void can sense their surroundings and act without using the mind, and without using their "physical senses".

This would explain why, oh, say, Kūkaku can sense Yoruichi remotely when no one else can. (I would also submit that the Void, the Garganta, is perhaps the opposite of Hell, with which it seems Kenpachi may be associated.) Anyway, going back a little, we can see that Kūkaku's smoking and drinking is perhaps actually a limiter upon and restrictor of her "true" self, which only becomes evident when she's stirred to anger. She's trying to be chill. (Note also that even her "comedic" anger is shocking to Yoruichi.)

Keep in mind that Kūkaku also channels the sun to use the Kakaku Taihō cannon, and that the SRDI can only build a one-shot replica of the cannon which requires dimensional energy to act as fuel. If read in a sci-fi context, Kūkaku functions as the equivalent of a warp core reactor.

Basically, Kūkaku was always implied to be extremely strong, but given the additional context from CFYOW, we can make an educated guess that:

Kūkaku is the Broly of Bleach and you're in danger. I offer you this scene for free:

Whomever: You can't stop me. Yoruichi: I know. Wiping blood from her mouth. But she can after you split my lip. Kūkaku: Bursting out of whatever like Surtur in Thor: Ragnarok.

Or perhaps:

[justatalkingface]

Out of curiosity: how you would make the whole "lets save Shig" thing? Bc I do like the idea but god the execution is soo bad. Shig never show any remourse to Izu or heroes, gladly participated in a war (I do say he was just a figurehead as Redestro was the main leader of all this. The villains rally on his name) and still talks about destruction...

Izu is just saving (or trying as hori needs to make this mega hard for some reason) bc of bodyhijack (and the wierd thing "I cant ignore the baby tenko and munchan") out of nowhere.

But lets assume this was foreshadow. Lets assume the goal since day 1 was "Izu sees shig is a good person and wants to be saved"

"Ah so shig needs to be the perfect victim?" No. I dont like fics where Shig is a poor baby who needs cuddle, but there a huge difference in making Shig fight back against those who want to hurt or take him away and...Whatever the fuck Hori did.

So, I ask: if you could write "Izu saves Shig" how would go?

Well, the obvious problem is Izuku needs a connection, a real connection, with Shigaraki. The problem with that problem is to do that, to make heroic Izuku want to save a villainous mass-murderer... that's. That's going to need a lot of work.

To be blunt, the fundamental structure of the pre-War story arc would need to be thrown out, because while it develops both of them as characters (if not as much on Shigaraki as I'd like), it does that separately, and they need to spend a lot more time with literally any interaction at all, to start.

The best way to do it, I think, would to be to have Shigaraki played off against Izuku... like, a lot. Have AFO send him against 1A to, I don't know, claim a win? I know the League, in general, ends up against them, but Shigaraki generally isn't a part of it, which doesn't work for this. Have some confrontations where they fight but actually can't get too far into it, for whatever reason, maybe an arc where one or both of them are imprisoned somewhere, giving them time to talk without two absurdly lethal Quirks constantly going off, and them actually fighting enough before Shigarkai's body gets upgraded to make that connection, without someone dying, is far too unlikely to work as a story.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of Shigaraki getting captured (or, maybe is purposefully captured, in an AFO plan he may or may not be in on, to help develop him more) and then have an arc or two focused around that. Think about it: all the heroes trying to figure out who he is and what he knows (and AFO had all his information removed from the various records, so they can't figure it out), increasing pressure from the Hero Commision to Do Something, which would develop them more, and then at the core of it all, them trying to make Shigaraki talk, but they really can't; he doesn't want to talk to them. Hell, maybe even throw in a few semi-serious torture attempts from the HC end, only for him to laugh it off.

At the end of the day, he'll only actually talk to two people: All Might (to help drop some cryptic hints for later in the arc, and also for him to vent his frustrations; probably something something 'you didn't save me', he has a lot of All Might-based rage after all) and Izuku. Izuku who he connected with on a small level in the mall. Izuku with OFA. Izuku the hero in training who has defied him and lived.

So, as the plot continues on, and the pressure ratchets up, Izuku and Shigaraki are slowly starting to get a handle on each other, their personalities, likes; similarities are starting to be seen, some deliberate parallels are invoked by various people, to them and to others, about the two of them both being successors. Climax starts, HC says, 'Kill him'... and then it comes out.

The backstory. Who Shigaraki is, who he's related to, what happened to his family, all of the stuff from the War Arc, but not as a flashback, but as a conversation, with Shigaraki triumphantly presenting his horror of a life as proof of AFO's, and to some lesser extent (because it's still developing) his own philosophies, while Izuku stares on in horror, and somewhere else, Gran or All Might or someone else finds out the same information, at the same time.

Izuku agrees with part of what he's saying (society needs to change), but rejects the rest, and counters with a point of his own, and then just as the heroes roll up to interrogate/kill him (depending on who sent them), Kurogiri does his thing and whisks him away, either as some too perfect timing, or perhaps more likely, he's been on standby to save Shigaraki if anything was to go wrong the entire time, or maybe he showed up earlier, and he's been waiting for Izuku to leave, but the new people forced the issue for him (depending on the reason Shigaraki is there, of course).

They go their separate ways, both of them brooding over what happened, and as the heroes and as Izuku try to grapple with the revelations, then the War Arc happens, only this time, there's less, 'here's my trauma story' and more communication, Shigaraki challenging Izuku to prove his ideals, maybe, to help explain why so many heroes survived him (looks at Endeavour), or maybe just both of them affirming which side they're on, with Shigaraki more confident in himself than ever, and Izuku declares he'll show him that he's right.

It's only a skeleton of an idea, and it'd need a lot of work (and a firmer plan), but I think it'd be a good start. At the same time, though, I think it helps highlight just how off that whole motivation really was.

[calliettes-posts]

If you had to how would you rank the skams wlw couple? With mayla season 6 (let’s forget about s9)

1. Kieutou

This is me being incredibly biased, but watching Fatous season live did something to my brain, because as long I can remember there's never been a black main character like her on german TV, and that's why I'll defend Fatous season with everything. Also I loved how Kieu My and Fatou talked about being children of immigrants and how they related to eachother about that topic. And I loved that it wasn't a season about coming out, but that in s5 and 6 at least, everyone was casually gay and it was no big deal and they could talk openly about it. Additionally, even though the general audience may have not liked it, i absolutely lived for how the season was catered to non-white people, and our struggles, and for that druck s6 will always be the best skamverse season for me.And also, the symbolism. I lived for all the symbolism regarding Kieu My being the ice queen and the axolotl, and Fatou the warmest person ever, and how they complemented each other. And lastly for now, Kieu My climbed on a fucking roof for Fatou, alone for that they'll be always my top 1 skamverse couple

2. Anobbie

I don't think I've ever seen a skamverse couple in general having such great communication, and I don't think there's a skma season where a couple is already together early in the season and staying together and growing together throughout the clips and episodes and learning more about each other. And just like Fatou and Kieu My, Anais and Bobbie really complement eachother and I love that. And I also love how Anais season is lowkey Fatous season from Kieu Mys perspective and I also love how there are so many parallels between those two seasons. I also love how Bobbie tries to help Anais to stand up for herself, and just how much she cares for her, and also how much they can't get enough of eachother, they're just really cute so far

3. Mayla

First of all, Lola really went through it in her season, I don't remember everything from s6, but her suffering is what I remember because there was so much, I love how cute Lola and Maya were together and honestly I just watched skam france for them, I didn't even watch the other seasons, which shows just how popular they were as couple

4. Crisana

I've actually never watched Skam España before, but I've seen edits of crisana, and I know their season was iconic because it was a wlw of an isak season. Honestly they're really cute, but I need to watch the season to make a better judgement

[soullessjack]

I don't know if you've talked about it before but I find the difference between the way the fandom treats Emma (and Sam's distrust and subsequent murder of her) vs the way they treat Jack (and Dean's distrust and poor treatment of him) - I get that Jack was around for longer and we saw his character development, so people are understandably more attached to him, but the parallels between the two characters are fascinating. I appreciate your blog for going into more depth in his character and not reducing him to a baby like is popular fanon, your meta is pretty interesting.

thank you!!

i haven’t posted much related to emma or her parallels with jack but i have talked about them with mutuals (hi shal). apologies if you’re an Emma enjoyer, but i think in some ways she’s used more of a blank slate for the fandom to make one of Dean’s kids, if that makes sense. she has limited screentime + development and is ostensibly a child with just enough of some ‘connection’ with dean that the fandom can fill in with their imagination and make her the perfect child for him to have (because parentifying a guy with parentification trauma is the best way to fix him of course)

both jack and his relationship with dean are more complicated than Emma and her 48-hour Amazonian connection, a lot rougher around the edges than what you could imagine Dean might be with a blank daughter-figure, and a huge amount of the fandom just doesn’t like it. it’s oversimplified or exaggerated or one-sided in discussion (cannot begin to explain how the idea of jack as a baby makes him more victimized in these discussions). to each his own and all that fun stuff, but it’s such a prominent [incorrect] opinion in all corners of the fandom that it’s hard to avoid.

the most complicated part of Emma’s relationship with Dean was that she was supposed to kill him, and apparently that’s the most complication a child figure can have with their father before the fandom starts getting scared /ref. but that’s an easier conflict to consume than one where Dean is being a huge prick to a kid and saying that he’d kill them if it became necessary. it’s also easier to fix by just making Emma this overly important daughter figure to Dean to fill in that wholesome dad fantasy a lot of the fandom has for him, in the same way it’s easier to just make Jack a baby so Dean has to be nice and domestic and totally not abusive