#I consciously know like. maybe two things about Color theory

[camscendants]

I WANT TO EAT MY ART

[oyster-sauce-tart]

SAGAU thoughts

I’ve had ENOUGH!!! of all the imposter sagau’s makinh me feel sad (as much as I love them it has completely taken over the genre and don’t like that) so taking matters into my own hands

*ahem*

So I have my own little thought about the multiverse theory in which different universes are constantly created; for every choice you choose, another universe in which you’ve made a different decision is created

Even the world of Genshin is no different.

When you, the Player, first downloaded Genshin impact the concept of a “Creator” was made. A being amongst gods who created everything, who created life to the entire world.

And technically it’s true! You are the Creator of Teyvat!

By deciding to *play* Genshin impact you created a world that is an alternative to the Teyvat you originally knew!

Heck even an another version of you exists!

In every which way this Genshin You is still you. The same appearance the same personality…

Although, this Creator you doesn’t just encapsulate how you act, but how you act and play in Genshin as well

So… if you’re one of those… bloodthirsty players that love to attack every enemy in sight…

The Original

Disclaimers: mentions of reader’s death, brief description of gore (getting hit by a truck isn’t a very nice experience), Aether is the traveler (mentioned), 2nd person pov/GN!reader, Reader is referred to as ‘The Original’ with no other name mention, I did all this on mobile w/o any spell check, implied Reader was an academic focused college student before death

You had originally thought, that when you died everything would merely turn black. Or maybe you would reincarnate into another person, forgetting your old life and starting anew.

You’d have yet to know that’s what exactly was going to happen (more or less) but we’d still have yet to approach that part of this tale.

After that spiraling truck hit you square in the body, knocking you out cold with too many injuries and too much blood loss for your body keep you breathing, you had woken up with perfect health.

Erm… well… sorta. You weren’t bleeding out with your limbs thrown every which way, with pieces of your bones poking out of your flesh, anymore but you didn’t really feel… anything. Just floaty, and a bit tingly…?

“Well, yes, transferring your consciousness from one realm to another before it drifted away at the last second can bring out that weird feeling… you may want to ask Aether about that, they might empathize with you.”

…

what.

It had suddenly came to your attention that you were laying down. On someone’s lap. Who’s lap? Well you still had your eyes closed so you decided to open them and jump up to stand in order to see what in the utter hell was going on.

You jump out of whoever’s embrace you were in and opened your eyes. You saw that you seemed to be in some kind of… space…?

The best way to describe it was like being taken to space to see the stars up close except you didn’t need a space suit, you were breathing just fine! As well as the fact that the surface your feet was under rippled like water droplets yet you didn’t sink nor stumble from the weird feeling.

“An amazing realm we’re in isn’t it? I’m glad I created this and hid up here after that dastardly war…”

Ah right the mysterious voice talking to you that suspiciously sounded like yours if you took etiquette lessons.

You finally turn to look up at the voice and your eyes widened. It wasn’t just that voice that sounded like you… the person standing in front of you looked exactly like you!

Down to the skin, hair, and eye color, the height, the body tone and shape, even those little marks that only you would recognize…! It’s like looking in a mirror…! Ah well sort of…

First of, the hair color you two may share but their’s was much longer than yours. It even reached down to drag across the water-space-floor thing. And also they weren’t wearing the same clothes at you, but rather in some really pretty and delicate looking robes. Although this person had the upper half of the robe be loosely worn hanging off the shoulders showing a moderately tight turtleneck.

You couldn’t lie you wanted some of those garbs yourself, did this lookalike had a closet you could borrow maybe…

Ah wait speaking of which…

After ogling at your mirror image’s body, you immediately pointed at your doppelgänger with an accusatory tone. As if you weren’t just admiring their beautiful wardrobe and fashion choice.

“Who are you?!” you shouted at them. You tried on a loud voice to make yourself seem more threatening.

Alas, you were more of the academic type rather than the intimidating one so this person-who-looked-like-but-wasn’t-quite-you-you-think merely chuckled and looked at you with a rather admirable look.

Slowly they started to get closer to you with a chill and calm walk and once they were close enough to you they placed their hands to hold onto yours. You had noticed their hands were as just as rough as your own, although you didn’t know why this person’s were like that you can thank yourself for your own hand texture thanks to years of taking scholarly notes until your wrists cramped up during college lectures.

They stared at your hands, having had come to a similar realization and rubbed the back of your hands in a delicate manner.

They looked at you again.

“I’m so glad to finally meet you… my Original…”

…

WHAT.

[ Prologue, The Realm of Inbetween 1: END ]

Well ummmmmm this went a big longer than I intended,,,

Originally wanted to just spew out thoughts then I blacked out and now here’s this. I’ll actually continue this tbh this is real good and I’ve been wanting to write smth for this idea for awhile soo lol

Umm anyways cue end card-

Ty for reading <3

As always, I am unable to respond to replies so please show your support for my writing with reblogs, asks, or even dms!

Feel free to read my Carrd here to keep track of requests or Masterlist!

[godisasimp]

Firefly's true identity "theory"

But like there is so many signs pointing towards it I don't think it's a theory.

There's 1 singular picture that is a leak : so no story leaks - but spoilers for Penacony's 2.0 story and if you want to keep yourself as blind and go with what you want to keep the suspense i would advise you do not read this theory : it could ruin the upcoming reveal and make it less impactful for some.

1- Firefly is working with someone

A person that can make themselves invisible through memories, as if bending reality to keep their identity secret. We only of one person that can do something like this : SilverWolf, a Stellaron Hunter. But upon first arriving in Penacony's dreamscape, we see SilverWolf... But who is she with? Sam.

Also it is very in character for the Stellaron Hunters to work in the shadows ; they rarely play a major role in the stories we've seen so far. Even when they were the ones to initiate the story of The Xianzhou Luofu they weren't the main antagonist, they were in the background.

So them being in the shadows doing their thing? Yeah.

Also both Firefly and her companion are interested in the Watchmaker's "Legacy", which is most likely a Stellaron (see Bonus) so that mysterious companion being a Stellaron Hunter is highly likely.

2- Firefly mentions a "Mecha"

There isn't a lot of humanoid robots in Honkai Star Rail, let alone in Penacony, the "Silver Armor" also basically confirms that this is Sam they're talking about. Now why would Firefly of all people talk about Sam ?

She has no reason to know him and talk about him ; unless he was chasing her but Sam doesn't chase people. He is stated to be the most ruthless Stellaron Hunter : ''If you entered the room and turned on the lights Kafka and Blade would be waiting for you on the couch, Sam? He wouldn't even let you turn the lights on''

So if he was pursuing Firefly. She would have been dead the millisecond their eyes meet.

While talking about Sam's violence I'd like to point out that : He didn't acknowledge Trailblazer (only mentioning the Galaxy Hunter and Memokeeper) and allowed us to leave. Yes, the one who would kill in a fraction of a second, would have spared the Trailblazer. Maybe it's because of Elio's plan for the Trailblazer (we were given life by the Stellaron Hunters so it would be weird for them to kill us right after) or it could be because Firefly's consciousness (still unclear if Sam and Firefly are two identities for 1 person or 2 separate entities) stopping Sam due to her affection for Trailblazer.

3- The achievement

I have nothing to say except that it's weird that the achievement we get for fighting Sam is named "Old Friends, New Friends" why would it be named that? Sam isn't a friend to the Trailblazer, at this point in time he is an enemy.

4- Sam's design

First let's talk about his "wings"

Those aren't designed as random shapes, but specifically to look like fireflies wings.

Images as well as this "fact" are taken from TheRealPetraeus on Twitter

Also Sam's color scheme/palette is very close to Firefly's : mainly light gray/Silver with teal and brown accents and even the orange "scarf" Firefly has could represent Sam's fire

5- Clockie

Clockie can only be seen by childish/pure hearted people, but guess who can't see him? Firefly, despite her seemingly fitting the criteria perfectly.

-------

Bonus : Watchmaker's "Legacy"

It isn't said what this legacy is, but the presence of the Stellaron Hunters is a massive hint at the fact that a Stellaron is present in Penacony ; this and the fact that Penacony is encountering a crisis with the Dreamscape. And Firefly is after this "Legacy" ; which is both a hint at the true nature of the Watchmaker's "Legacy" and Firefly's true identity as a Stellaron Hunter.

[hadesoftheladies]

one whopping giant wall in the way of female solidarity and consciousness-raising is that western folks have this mentality that they’re always at the front of humanitarian progress when they’ve been the same bloodthirsty society for the last two centuries. the same way men keep trying to take credit for “allowing” women’s rights like they weren’t fought for is the same way the western world takes credit for anti-colonial and imperial resistance and human rights discourse. we weren’t human until we demanded we were.

yet white radfems on here will talk about feminist movements in the global south like they’re inspirational stories or “attempts in the right direction” like they’re waiting for the global south to catch up on theory they’ve had for years. because women of color aren’t leaders in this movement. they’re niche, almost allies in their own movement.

maybe women from other cultures can teach you about the feminist fight. maybe they have a lot more practice with liberation and resistance movements. maybe they aren’t suggesting things but laying out the future of feminist thought and praxis. it’s time we started centering them. at least, I know I’m gonna try.

[camile-leon]

sanders sides

hello the special interest brain rot has hit once more and I’m writing it here because :)

okay so currently for characterizations:

Red “Roman”: Fanciful/Dreams/Passionate Side, However I feel is growing to be more representative of or taking more responsibility for C!Thomas’s Motivations. Presides over Left Arm, Brainstorm Mode, and Summons things very easily. Has a sword. One of the Primary Sides and Colors. Prince of the Imagination. Insecure and working on it. (?) Arc in progress.

Orange “REDACTED”: theorized to be Wrath or some form of Rage, based off of all of the ostrich sized Easter eggs. *See the “See/Speak/Hear” theory below*. Previously seen as the orange fruit (Thomas doesn’t like fruit? 🤔), and possessing Logan’s Eyes as he finished ranting his arc motivations to remus. Notable uses of the color include as text in the SvS redux game, saying “hello” using *upside down calculator* (👀) speak.

Yellow “Janus”: Deceit/Self-Preservation, and recently accepted, or, at the least working hand in hand with patton. Can silence/repress any of the sides, disguise self as any of the sides, and also can summon things when inside the mindscape. Has a shepherds cane. I feel like has a strong or at the least secure ego after being resisted on the mere basis of his presence alone and continuing to offer arguments without giving up. He responded after Roman made fun of his name yes, but like that was fair, and even though it hurt, it did give insight on how much Janus knows about Romans insecurity. Primary color.

Green “Remus”: Intrusive Thoughts, and by extension repressed thoughts?? Can conjure out of the mindscape, cast shadows over vision(?), allergic to soap. Carries a Mace. Duke of the Imagination. Chaos incarnate and ego doesn’t GAF. My theory is, because of the unique connection to repressed thoughts, he can bring out the repressed sides when out of Thomas’s direct consciousness’s “line of sight”. Maybe teams up with Janus for that ability? Idk.

Navy Blue (Dark Blue) “Logan”: Logical Thinking/Rational Thoughts/Local Librarian. Has incredible memory recall and database. Carries or Conjures Flashcards. One of the Primary Sides and Colors. Only side to not reveal own name. Closest contact with the orange side. Wants to use the chemistry degree. Mid Arc. Secure Ego is struggling because of arc.

Light Blue (Cyan) “Patton”: Morality/ the Feelings(??). Head honcho like Joy in Inside Out. Can use Nostalgic/Sensory memory. Can turn into a giant frog when overwhelmed? Possibly a primary color? one of the primary sides. Unstable ego/sense of Thomas’s self.

Purple “Virgil”: previously black color. Anxiety/Fight or Flight. Increases anxiety levels in whoever, eyeshadow levels indicate anxiety, can magnify and multiply voice, can also make things darker. Has built a more secure ego, but is still defensive at times. Pet spider. Theory is that paranoia is old version? Future version? Coexisting part that needs stability which makes sense.

color theory:

complimentary colors- the characters at odds to each other. Red green/Yellow Purple/blue orange. the first two groups don’t like each other like at all. HOWEVER, i think Logan and tangerine would work together??

also, Primary Colors- I think Janus, Logan, and a form of creativity(?) are the oldest. I think it took time before orange, patton, and Virgil were developed. But! I think the creative split happened latest, with remus and Roman being youngest in the group unless patton is cyan in which case I think that uses green so then patton is youngest which is SO FUNNY.

see, hear, speak: ???

Janus= can hide other sides entirely, can silence other sides entirely, I don’t think effects ears directly

Remus= can make other sides quieter? (Could also be just movie making and focus), can make the screen black, I don’t think effects other sides mouths directly.

virgil= can make voice louder/multiply, can make the screen black, I don’t think effects ears directly

orange= effects eyes “blinded with rage”, I don’t know anything else ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ

now you may be asking why is a primary color getting the perks of the secondary colors?? I don’t know. It’s a darkside thing?? I Guess?? Catholicism!

I love psycho analyzing my faves <3

and this concludes my note to self theory notes.

thank you Thomas sanders for my favorite special interest, giving my therapist an in to understanding/communicating with my brain, and for still sharing all of the fun you bring to content in such a wide variety.

it’s very weird and para social but I would love to give you a hug one day, and to share the PowerPoint I made in middle school as a leadership project based off of you and the sides (of which I saved the very enthusiastic and uninhabited script of a first special interest). I aspire to remain even half as busy as all of your projects. Absolute wildest dreams would be to work with you on a creative project.

does anyone know where to send fanmail? Is it just Twitter?

[callsign-rogueone]

ok but!! ive been reading some fw theories in the subreddit, and one that has a lot of diff opinions on is whether liam has a second signet or if he was wielding ice in that scene, especially since deigh’s name means ice. what are your thoughts, do you think it was just a mistake?? and what about liam in your universe?

[insert that clip of Cardi B going: “I’m glad you brung it up because I’ve been dying to talk about this for a minute”]

FOURTH WING AND IRON FLAME SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT. this ramble is not going to be proofread, nor supported with textual evidence, because I have a migraine. but if anyone wants to jump in with page numbers and quotes or things I missed / got wrong, please feel free! 

in short: I think it’s possible that Liam did have a second signet.

first, my only hangup on this theory: what are the odds of two riders in the same squad, in the same year, having the same signet (Ridoc and Liam)? I know some signets are more rare than others, but that’s still a very slim chance when there’s 20+ signets out there that we know of, and RY will probably come up with more (fr, I need to know what Garrick and Aaric's signets are. I hope they're something unique, that we haven't seen yet.) but here are a few arguments in favor of two-signet Liam:

one: I don’t think it was just “RY putting the wrong name”.

Ridoc wasn’t there at Resson, so RY would have to have confused the two boys entirely for it to be a mistake. besides them both being perfect little bbs and adoring fans of Violet, they’re not alike in appearance, dragon color, nor backstory -- what is Ridoc’s deal? like why did he want to become a rider? I need to know for my next gfverse chapter 😭 and the mistake would also have to slip past multiple rounds of editors and proofreaders as well, which is possible, but not probable.  and was Ridoc's signet even confirmed at that time? maybe this is me forgetting things, because ADHD, and it’s been a while since I’ve read FW in full, but the first time I remember hearing about Ridoc’s signet is in Iron Flame — when they’re at RSC and he’s like “I could force the locks open with ice”. that confused me at the time because I didn’t know about (or remember) his signet. and then it really clicked for me later, when he makes an ice pack for poor Brennan after Mira decks him lmao. is it mentioned earlier than that? when I search “ice” in my FW ebook it shows me every instance of “voice” and "nice" and “office” etc., too, and I'm not scrolling through all that 🙄 and neither of the reference sites I like to use have a page number listed for him getting his signet or the first time it’s mentioned. as another aside: look how gorgeous Ridoc is here. smash. EDIT TO ADD: it is mentioned in Fourth Wing, in one line on page 289 (as identified by @hockeyspiral23 - thank you!) but he doesn't actually use it. no wonder my adhd brain forgot about it when there were bigger issues at hand lol they also pointed out that it could still have been a mistake, if RY meant to have it be another one of the barely-mentioned marked riders who aren't part of the main gang, as ice-wielding is "a common signet" (FW p. 289), and there were a few students we never really met apart from Resson (including Masen and Soleil. RIP.) so it could have been one of them. another possible explanation that I just came up with for the mistake category -- unreliable narrator? the events of that day were incredibly distressing for Vi, and she literally gets poisoned and loses consciousness and doesn't wake up for three days (following the theory that FW and IF are her diary, written in an ancient language and translated by Jesinia later) so it could have been a blur / hard to remember and VIOLET could have gotten it wrong. If I were RY, and it was a genuine mistake, this is the explanation I would give lmao

two: Deigh meaning ice is another tally in the “not a mistake” column.

RY likes to have the dragons' names refer to their current rider's signets. (Tairn = thunder, Aimsir = weather...) but not all of them match (Tiene = fire, I think, and Mira makes shields.) Liam and the ice is only mentioned once, at Resson, but there are many characters who we don't see getting their signet -- really just Vi's sex-induced lightning, and a mention of Sawyer nearly killing someone in a swordfight on accident. and Sloane's siphoning, too. okay, maybe this isn't a great point. but I still want to hear how they figured these things out! especially Bodhi. and Xaden's second one. poor thing couldn't tell anyone, even his best friend, and had to figure out how to manage it entirely on his own (he had Sgaeyl, but that's it.) and maybe Liam didn’t realize he had the ice until Resson, and just started slinging icicles at the wyvern once he figured out that he could. though that's kinda unlikely, I guess, since he would have channeled in November or December and Resson wasn't until July... hm.

three: Deigh could have been the dragon of Liam's relative, giving him a second signet like Xaden has with Sgaeyl.

it’s my understanding that Liam, like all the marked ones (except my addition of Darling and her little sibs) were military kids, and his mom is mentioned in IF as being the one to weave the protection runes, which I believe requires a level of magic that only a rider would have. so he has at least one relative who was a rider, and therefore probably more. ngl, at first I thought it was mad suspicious that his parents were executed separately from everyone else’s, but then we didn’t meet them in Aretia, so I guess they really are dead. but how mf heartbreaking would it be if they were alive -- and the first time they see their son in a whole year of him being gone at Basgiath, it’s Xaden carrying his body into the fortress 😭 and Vi and X crying and apologizing to Mama Mairi for not being able to save him… I’M SO SORRY. IT JUST CAME TO ME, AND I HAD TO WRITE IT DOWN. if any FW writer wants to write that AU, go for it. we could all use another good cry. there seems to be a trend of the dragons who had Tyrrish riders purposely (and "illegally") bonding the descendants of their previous riders. - Xaden has a second signet from Sgaeyl as his grandfather was one of her former riders, allegedly, but he "didn't make it out of the quadrant"? so he had a kid (Fen, Xaden's dad?) before graduating? is that why Xaden mentions that his dad hated dragon riders in one of his letters to Vi? - and then I believe Imogen has the dragon of a relative, but not a direct relative, so she doesn't have a second signet, but the one she does have is just really strong? I feel like they glossed over that a little too quickly, and it remains unclear to me how that whole thing works. - and now maybe Liam, too?

I might tack more stuff on below as it comes to me, or RB with commentary, but I think that's all I've got for now.

but regardless of if it was a mistake or not, I’m not planning on putting it in Liam and Spark’s story — just his farsight, which is confirmed multiple times. if Spark believed in the gods, she’d thank them for not giving him something as destructive and deadly as her water, but Li’s still gonna have some issues with it, because I feel the need to project my issues onto my fave characters, and everyone loves some mild hurt/comfort that’s resolved with cuddles and a nap, right? 🥰

[dream-in-fall]

The theory of Gabriel's obsession.

In the S1, Gabriel is an unpleasant character - he is arrogant and sometimes really cruel. He has no empathy for people and his subordinates. When Gabriel loses his memory in the S2, he becomes completely different. Yes, he behaves like a child, but he is a kind child whose first motives are honesty and a desire to help people. When Aziraphale says that Gabriel was a terrible person, Gabriel asks him - And now? I assume that along with his memories, Gabriel extracted something else that controlled his behavior and influenced his personality. That's what I'm basing my guess on:

There are three scenes when Gabriel remembers something. I should immediately note that there are two types of these memories.

1.The first two memories do not belong to Gabriel, he was not present at these events. One memory from the past (for some reason it seems to me that it is addressed to Aziraphale), and the second memory from the future (for Crowley). When Gabriel speaks, his eyes change color, his consciousness turns off, he experiences physical pain and discomfort.

2.His own memories of events from the present. His eyes don't change color. It is obvious that Gabriel has kept pieces of his memory, his mind and the temperament of a gentle and sympathetic character.

Now learn more about the first and third memories.

1.Crowley asks - What is the very first thing you remember? Gabriel speaks the words of God that he spoke to Job. These lines were about the creation of the Earth. This cannot be Gabriel's first memory, but more on that later.

2.The most important thing is the third memory. Here is the scene and dialogue between Crowley and Gabriel. Crowley accuses Gabriel of involvement in Aziraphale's execution and cruel words. Gabriel replies that it couldn't have been him. After Gabriel's attempt to jump out of the window, Crowley says:

-"Well, if you're really not him, what are you?" (that is, Crowley is ready to believe that this is not the Gabriel he knew.)

-"I don't know, I feel… like, an empty house. A house someone lived for a very long time, but now they're gone (not "he" not "it", not "has gone" - "They") and the house can sort of tell where the things used to be. Like when I remembered how it all begin."

The "house" is Gabriel's brain. Some "they" lived in it. They left traces of memory there, so Gabriel was able to remember how it all begin. So "It" began for Gabriel right then, at the moment of God's conversation with Job. When the events with Job took place, God and Satan had an bet (and obviously had a personal conversation.)

Red rays descend on Job. Do you expect white or gold rays from God

I assume that at this moment something was implanted into Gabriel's personality, and his eyes turned violet. Gabriel is literally the only character with such eyes. Was it a joint work of God and Satan? The violet miracle is a powerful miracle that occurs when combining the miracles of the red and blue spectrum. (a violet pillar appeared above the bookshop after the joint miracle of azicro.) "This" suppressed Gabriel's personality, but when he fell in love, his personality became more mature and came into conflict with "this". Then Metatron was sent to depose Gabriel and take away "it" from him under the guise of taking away memory.

It follows from all this, if Aziraphale is hired to replace Gabriel, then he will receive this control and obsession. Maybe that's what happens to him in the elevator.

For the sake of objectivity, I will note. This theory is contradicted by the fact that Gabriel's eyes remained violet after gaining memory. Aziraphale's eyes did not turn violet. Although in that case, the solution would be too obvious.

[the-meat-machine]

Im confused about Cherub anatomy

I thought it was kind of odd that they have gender? Like you could assume that they just choose one because they're trying to project an identity on the same body which sorta gives an indication that the body lacks male or female traits for this reasoning to make sense. BUT, if we look at Caliborns/Calliopes mother and father theres some clear sexual dimorphism. It makes me wonder how their bodies even get that way? I ended up theorizing that they may metamorphosize to achieve these differences. My theory 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 hold some weight, ex: in Caliborns Masterpiece we can hear that his voice is deep and snarly. Now, we haven't heard Calliopes voice to make a fair comparison after all, she could also possibly sound just like that. So maybe this isn't the strongest example but when Cherubs sleep and when the other personality takes over, the body does change. From the eyecolor, tongue color, cheek color, and blood color, as for body figure it's unclear if that changes when waking up. If we want to count how Caliborn and Calliope are drawn in Act 7, in the opening you can see Calliope has a curved figure and breasts while Caliborn has a wider shoulders, and a flat chest . But then again, Calliope is drawn differently multiple times throughout the act 7 flash so maybe not much weight either. The strongest basis i have for this is probably just how their mom and dad look. In conclusion: either their body fully transitions into the other gender when one of the personalities wakes up then swaps into the other gender when sleeping for the other personality to take over the body with their traits included OR the body has both male and female traits at all times and are stuck there until the one the personalities wins the body and the loser personality bodily traits disappear from the body so the winners traits take over. But this could also not hold weight since Caliborn apparently didn't know what boobs were when talking with Jane. But yet again Calliopes drawings featured boobs so idk. Feel free too tell me everything i got wrong not even i know what the fuck im talking about I've been listening to karkalicious for like 6 hours today (newer version)

So I came into this ask fully intending for my answer to be "cherub sexes make no sense, just throw them out". But then as I was writing out why they make no sense, I accidentally came up with an explanation that makes them (sort of) make sense. Whoops. I'm going to post that as its own separate thing, 'cause it got long, and I probably should edit it to include a clearer explanation of isogamy, ha ha… ha.

But anyway, that aside, some of the details you brought up still don't really make sense - especially alt!Calliope's appearance in Act 7. Because the thing is, alt!Calliope shouldn't look like an adult cherub at all. Even if she predominated "correctly", she still died young, before she could fully mature. If she was truly fully grown, she would have wings, but she doesn't. And during the conversation where she and alpha Calliope meet, the two of them appear to have the same height and build.

The simplest explanation for her Act 7 appearance is that it's just art weirdness. But if we wanted to come up with an in-universe explanation, two possible ones come to mind:

She's a ghost. Ghosts are shown to be able to change their appearances, either consciously or subconsciously. So she's given herself a more adult body that matches her adult mind.

She lived long enough after predomination for her body to partially, but not completely, mature. Thus, she has a somewhat adult-like body, but doesn't have wings and doesn't look as large as the adult female cherub we see depicted elsewhere (because even the females are pretty darn ripped). In this case, it's during the conversation with alpha Calliope that she's altering her appearance, perhaps choosing to make herself look younger to put Calliope and/or Jade at ease.

As for Caliborn seeming to have broader shoulders in Act 7 than Calliope does, we could say that maybe it's just that Caliborn has more muscle mass there by virtue of being more physically active.

I do like to imagine (when I accept that cherubs have biological "sexes" at all) that young cherubs have undifferentiated bodies, and they only develop into "male" or "female" forms after predomination. This fits in with what Aranea says about how the only way to tell the two young cherubs apart is by the color of their cheeks (though as you note, there are a few other differences too).

But that's still kind of complicated, because what makes one of the personalities definitively "male" and the other definitively "female" when their bodies are identical? My best theory is that there's some sort of hormone or something in their blood that differs between juvenile males and females, since the blood seems to be the main thing that physically changes when they swap bodies.

As for Caliborn not understanding what boobs are while Calliope does... that's probably just because Calliope actually pays attention to humans, whereas Caliborn is willfully ignorant about them.

(p.s. I didn't notice until this ask that alt!Calliope appears to have boobs in Act 7. I always assumed cherubs didn't have them, since during Aranea's explanation, the art is ambiguous enough that you could interpret the female as being flat-chested. But no: act 7 says cherub boobs. Argh. Why. I am rejecting this from my personal headcanon and assuming that it was just some weird folds in alt!Calliope's robes that made her look like she had boobs.)

[bargainbinwizard]

You may be wondering where I've been outside of tumblr.

I kind of hit a brick wall in terms of post creativity (not that I am creative in the first place) and therefore I don't say anything. I still do magic outside of tumblr but its not noteworthy really. Just charge a candle with breathing and light it.

Well, now I have something to talk about...and it's divine narcissism! Remember the time where I've made up a new God to speak to a made up spirit that was able to give me signs on tumblr? I've turned ''Horaideus'' into a higher self version of myself except more it's supposedly more powerful. Canonly speaking, Horaideus is one of the divine names of God in the story I'm planning on writing and this God encompasses multiverses everywhere and has managed to reach this one with its influences. It's not the sort of God that has a personality, it's actually just a multiverse consciousness with many names that has ''shook hands'' with many divine pantheons in real life. Through the powers of Chaos Magic theory, I've decided to treat this God as a higher version of myself since I'm the future author of the story and also I'm treating it as an ancient power that's been in this universe since the beginning along with the other big boy Gods. It has its own symbolism,favorite colors and the like.

I'm not delusional enough to think I can do grand feats with Horaideus as a power though. Today I've started to give Horaideus a offering candle and powered it some coffee along with some prayers to give it power and influence. I visualize Horaideus as a dressed up version of myself. In theory, I believe I can give Horaideus offerings and in exchange, I can have it give me more spiritual power and influence over things through visualization. Hell, I even think that if I screw around with my spiritual body in the afterlife, I can even ''merge'' with Horaideus but it's going to take years and years of work,prayers and spiritual surgery in order for it to happen.

Sounds crazy, I know. I'm telling the witchcraft community that I can merge with an egregore to ascend to Godhood.

I've always liked to do things differently though. I've always wanted to pick apart major religions and spiritual systems to understand where they came from and the first thought that appeared in the first prophet's head that caused people to acknowledge its existence. Maybe even build me a science machine or two under the guidance of spirits to prove to the world that magic exists. Who knows?

If I can get Horaideus to pop up in my hallway and I can see it with my third eye,there might be something to this pretend Its God thing. What if I can get major spirits to acknowledge Horaideus's existence ? What if I can get A DEITY to acknowledge its existence? I haven't heard my spirit court criticize my bizarre Horaideus ideas yet.

[topazshadowwolf]

I have questions about nightmare’s ability to enter dreams if that’s okay? He did it when dust was having a hard time waking up from his injuries, so can he enter any of their dreams at any time or just when they’re having negative ones? If he’s in their dreams and it becomes positive does it hurt him? Can he be in all of their dreams at once? Can he conference them all into the same dream like a zoom call?? I’m just super fascinated by this power and wondering if we’ll see him use it again?

OH if he slipped in and one of them was having a super positive dream about him (maybe a bit father-figurey) how would he feel? Or!!! If they were having a nightmare (haha) about him how would he deal with it?

(Sorry this is so much I just think this is a super interesting ability and I’ve never seen it before but I love it!!)

That is totally okay, just next time just send it in a bunch of different asks. Simply because I do ramble... and this is going to be long. Okay! Onto the questions. (Spoilers ahead if you aren't caught up to that scene at least)

Okay, so this is an ability that the originals do not have, which is odd to me considering their names. Or so my research found. So I did have to put this together myself. He gets into dreams through emotions and naturally, he can not use positive emotions, it would have to be negative.

---

(all of these are from Ch 5)

The emotions were like tendrils, much like his own physical ones. Most were not one solid color, formed out of blips of various emotions strung together by a scattered mind. Projecting his mental self, Nightmare took hold of one that he saw was one solid color. That one will lead to Dust’s consciousness. Upon his mental state touching it, he could feel himself fill with the emotion it was projecting.

REGRET

He followed it down into Dust until he entered the other skeleton’s dreamscape. Once there, he found himself in a snowy space surrounded by trees.

---

That being said, while it doesn't have to be a nightmare there has to be some negative emotions felt.

Now if he was in a dream and it became positive he would not be harmed but it would be uncomfortable to him. For him, being around positive emotions generally is like being in a room with a bad smell or having a bad flavor in his mouth. However, if he is around a lot of pure positive emotions or his brother, it does sting or burn.

Since it is his consciousness, he can only be in one dream at a time. BUT, if he can get them gathered together and go to sleep himself, he can pull them into his own "dreamscape." And he can take someone from one dream to another, and even into his own. So, in theory, he can collect them together.

Though he would not be doing any important meetings. After all:

---

“You have been here long enough. It is time for you to rejoin us. Is that understood?” Nightmare asked.

“yes, boss…,” Dust looked like he wanted to shrink away from the idea, but he didn’t. Nightmare smiled and nodded at that.

“Good, we will speak again in the waking world, where I know you will remember my words. What is said and done in dreams are oftentimes forgotten,” Nightmare stated before turning and leaving.

---

The only thing to remember about dreams... they are affected by the mind of the one having the dream. After all, Phantom Papyrus is still a hallucination even though Nightmare saw him.

---

“HE WANTS TO CONTINUE HIDING LIKE THE COWARD HE IS,” a sharp voice mocked as a distinct apparition appeared. Two bright red eyes looked at Nightmare, and he could feel it was the primary source of self-loathing.

“So, I am finally meeting the infamous phantom? I would like to say it is a pleasure, but it is not,” Nightmare said with a grin before making a shooing motion with his hand to wave the false ghost away. “We were having a private conversation. One that I don’t remember inviting you to join.”

“BY BEING HERE, YOU AUTOMATICALLY DID!” the phantom snapped angrily before resting his hands on Dust’s shoulders. “DO YOU HEAR HOW HE SPEAKS TO ME? WE SHOULD KICK HIM OUT. HE’S NOT WELCOME IN YOUR HEAD.”

---

Seeing anything in your dreams does not make it true, and anyone being in your dreams does have access to what you see. Including... memories.

I am inclined to believe it will be used again. However, it is not going to be as common as entering someone's dreams is intrusive. Dreams can be memories, our weakest moments, our fears. Also, It is leaving his body unguarded as his mind is someplace else. This leaves him very vulnerable. Between those two reasons, he does not often use this ability. (This is not true if the dream is his and he pulls someone into his dreams)

Now, if he came to a dream and found them dreaming about him being their father, he would be both amused and... worried? happy? Oh dear... they don't really think of him that way, do they? He would likely stay unseen and watch as he tries to figure out why they feel that way about him.

And a nightmare about him?! No, no, NO! That will not do. Is it because they are dreaming something bad happened to him? Well then, he will appear and make sure that one is aware he is alright. And if it is a dream about him yelling or hurting one of them. Well, he will, again, make himself known and tell this imposter to go away. That he will not tolerate anyone looking like him talking to his sons henchmen like that

[waterboiaqua]

What Truly Is on the Other Side

Prologue

In the beginning, I feared death, but now, it doesn't scare me. I feel nothing, not sadness nor happiness nor any emotion at all, you might think it's not a bad thing since at least I don't feel sad. But sometimes, I wish I could feel anything, even if it was sadness, I wish I could feel any emotion at all even if it's only for an instant, just to know if I still can feel anything. But no, all emotions and feelings have long abandoned me, left me here, in this life to be alone. I reflect on my life and as I see the river below. Hesitant, like I have always been, my instincts prevent me from falling, what do you feel when everything is against you? You feel like you can't trust anything, not even your own instincts, so I decide to stop being the coward I was in my lifetime, and finally. I fall, and as I see the river, a thought comes through my mind, as the hands of death embrace me: “In the beginning, I feared death, but now, it doesn't scare me”…

Chapter 1 - The beginning of death

I opened my eyes thinking that maybe I finally did it, maybe I wasn’t a coward, maybe I had finally done it, died, but no, I woke up in my room, I looked around, everything was the same, just like the day before, nothing had changed, my closet was still in a mess like how I left it, and my window looked exactly how it did before, I looked around and no one was home, I went downstairs and saw everyone, my mom, dad, and siblings, looking at the TV, but something was off, they were completely ignoring my existence as if I were not there, I moved around trying to get their attention,

but…nothing, I looked at the TV and it was the news, I thought to myself “That's weird, we've never watched the news, I wonder what must have happened” so I looked at the TV and I saw myself, it was the news showing a story about a boy who jumped off a bridge, he was identified as: “Angel Perez”. By the time I processed what happened, a question had appeared in my mind, “If I did truly die, ¿why am I here?” I thought I’d be in heaven, or hell, or heck, any type of afterlife but no, all I was, was a spirit roaming around the real world, the world I once lived in, in the house I once lived in. I was too scared to leave my home, even though I perfectly could since I was dead, but somehow my fear of being far from home struck me in the afterlife, the fear was only temporary, I was blind to get over it eventually, so I did, I tried leaving my home for the first time, even though my first time was after my death, I walked up to the door, tried opening it but my hand went through it, “That makes sense” I said, I wasn’t a material being anymore I decided to just walk through the door, and so I did, saw the outside for the first time in days, beautiful as it could ever be, the colors were all so vibrant and majestic, the trees look green…very green, too green some might say, not an artificial green, no, no it was a vibrant green, a green you would only see in a “Picture perfect”. Tree, but why that was like that didn’t matter, I continued with my journey, I got to the school near my house, and a bit farther than that, when suddenly I felt nauseous, I felt nausea so strong you can't even compare it to anything, and before I knew it I was in the floor unconscious, in what felt like a blink of an eye, I was back, back in my bed, I was confused about what happened, but when I regained consciousness I remembered what I had tried to do, then I ran a few experiments, and wrote them on a piece of paper so I wouldn't forget, I had one or two theories already but I wanted to test them out, the easiest one is to wait it out, I wanted to see if I fell unconscious after a set amount of time, so I waited, a day, a week, and then even a month, and nothing��so I ultimately concluded that time was not a factor, so I

assumed that my second theory was correct, I was bound to my home somehow, I tried walking again, and I got a little bit farther this time but I faced the same fate eventually, falling to the door and waking up to my bed, I made a few more attempts and walked in different directions, nothing had changed, after a certain distance I just passed out and woke up in my bed, I was trapped, somehow I wasnt able to leave a certain area surrounding my house, all i could do is sit around and watch, a few days after this relaization, they held my funeral, everyone gave their speeches and talk about how muched they missed me, I couldnt help but roll my eyes, my family weren’t bad with me, I'll admit that it's just that no matter how hard I tried, I just could hardly believe them, their words failed to convince me, I walked up to my grave to see myself, surprisingly my skull was not destroyed, I was laying there, my family crying, I felt bad for a moment but, I just could not bring myself to feel anything, I was well accustomed to this feeling, this feeling of numbness, and emptiness, nothing fazed me anymore, the only question or feeling that arose was, “How did I get here?”...

Chapter 2 - A new journey awaits

We were at a church, and my church was too far away for me to wander to without feeling nauseous and waking up in my bed, but then a realization came over me, “I'm bound to my home, I was bound to my family, where I can go depends on where they go, if I go too far away, I feel nauseous and pass out, that is was going on!” That same night I sat here laying on my bed, or more like levitating slowly over it due to me phasing through it. I started to remember the life I used to have, how it felt to be alive, to have feelings.

Still, the damage has already been done, I can't go back, I started reminiscing about mostly my childhood, on how when I was younger, I was happier, and any worries or troubles in my life would go away with just a simple hug, with just one simple hug, with just some simple words of affirmation, now all of that is gone, even if I were still alive, I couldn't go back to those days, since they are in the past, just like my life, now only a past memory, then suddenly, something strange happened, I began…to cry, this was a feeling so foreign to me now, god I can't even remember when was the last time I cried, it was a while ago before I was silenced at a young age by my parents, making it hard for me to cry when I approached my later years, but now… I felt…something, feelings had abandoned me so long ago I forgot what they were, I was crying, I was sad, “But how?” I thought, “What changed, I then remembered a quote I heard a year or two before: “One does not cry because they are weak, one cries because they have been strong for too long” This was heavily paraphrased, but I believe the central idea has been communicated so we can move on from this. As I remember this, I understand it all, all those years of silent suffering and pain, were finally let out, and all at once, so I just laid there crying, I cried for almost half an hour when I finally stopped crying, I decided to roam around my home to see what the others were doing, coincidentally, it was dinner time, so I wandered down the stairs and saw them all, my siblings and parents, at the dinner table, like as if nothing happened, which I understand why, my dad once told me “Son even if you were to leave this earth, we would be sad, don't doubt that, but eventually we will have to move on”...

[jennamoran]

A key lesson of tumblr is that even people who are unutterably ridiculous can be insightful and that it is not necessarily possible to disentangle the two.

**

So as you know, but not every Glitch reader necessarily does, the Glitch traits are conversions from the 24 Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG Arcs. And those Arcs are loosely divided into eight “colors” and three “types,” with one type being the “while you’re on this Arc you dramatically suffer, because this Arc can’t coexist with reality.”

In this light two things are extremely notable:

* all four of the Deceiver Arcs are of the dramatic suffering type, as opposed to, say, Strategists, who actually only have one trait, Wyrd, completely unable to coexist with the world.

* ... but the “colors” of the Deceiver Arcs themselves are relatively peppy: they’ve got “dramatic suffering while having a good time,” “dramatic suffering while being over-the-top,” and “dramatic suffering that’s spiritually enriching” (plus “dramatic suffering to live up to their role in the world,” which isn’t really peppy, but isn’t *not* peppy.)

The conclusion I tend to draw is that they’re Like That because that’s what *lets* them survive in the world with more ease than the Strategists---that a Deceiver who let go of the theater or equivalent survival strategy would just get crushed utterly and practically instantly by the world. That they’d have it worse than the Strategists if they weren’t Like That; that it’s by being Like That, and only by being Like That, that they have it better.

(I don't have a better term than "Like That." They're a lot.)

Anyway, this does wind up meaning they roll up a lot of personal mythos into what they’re *doing,* a lot of stuff that isn’t “the True Thing” from some kind of grand Doylist perspective but just ... like ... what keeps them going.

So what does that mean about your question?

**

I think Deceivers are fundamentally postmodern and transcend the division between “full of it” and “not.” 

It’s like asking whether GalaxyQuest is serious science fiction, or whether Ivan the Fool would be better off with a ring of +4 intelligence.

Like ... OK, to be clear, I am not ... actually much of a postmodernist. I don’t understand much postmodern theory, and the bits I do understand appear to be ... half-finished thoughts, like a philosopher putting half their shoes on in the dark. But! I can still recognize that a couple core things are going on with the Deceivers:

* first, the pseudo-Estate stuff is probably fake. Not every Deceiver knows it’s fake, but it’s fake even for them. At least to the same extent that, like, it’s fake when someone mentions that we’re out of eggs and I "blame society." I mean, yes, if you trace back the causality, society is almost certainly to blame, but! I'm not blaming society in the sense you would expect if you took the sentence apart and analyzed the words individually and then rebuilt it. I'm blaming society as a gestalt meme waved in the situation's direction. I'm serious, and the sentiment is accurate both literally and as a gestalt meme, but it's also intrinsically fake at the same time.

* second, the Deceivers' personalities are exaggerated. Not every Deceiver is consciously exaggerating their personality, and maybe a few aren’t doing it at all, since they don’t have Eide, but, they are. They’re not *forced* to be Like That, it’s a survival strategy.

* third, the Deceivers are perceiving something that is at least as legit as the Strategists’ contention that the world is wrong---something about the world’s fundamental falsehood that I would hesitate to declare as factual here in a tumblr post but could absolutely see myself declaring in a Deceiver game.

* fourth, they absolutely conflate one, two, and three, even though one is fake, two is personal, and three is "real" ... and very few of them could draw a line between them if they had to. Part of this is because the player of any Deceiver that can distinguish the three would have to be genuinely insightful on command, which, like, isn’t necessarily a problem but can be.

So like ... are they full of it? Is it all just a pose? Or is it real? ... like, it’s usually both?

In theory, you could have a Deceiver that wasn't really “full of it,” just “over the top.”

Given precisely whose perspective Glitch is written from, it makes sense that Powers are depicted as brainwashed child soldiers, Warmains as violent idiots, and Deceivers as fundamentally full of shit – like, of course that's how Strategists would see it, being the way that they are, and the text of Glitch is severely biased in their favour as a conscious creative choice. It does make me wonder, though: is there an alternative perspective on the game's setting where Strategists are whiny nerds and Deceivers have the right idea, or is being fundamentally full of shit so central to the Deceiver idiom that they're full of shit even when the story is being told from their point of view?

[pikahlua]

Still Waters Run Deep: Aoyama observations I have no idea what to do with but I’m scared

Something is very wrong with Yuuga Aoyama and I don’t know what it is. Please help.

I used to be a big proponent of the Traitor Aoyama theory right up until his weird stalker red herring episode. After that, I let it drop. But like many other people, a certain Drawing Smash art exhibit piece got me thinking again. So I did some more digging.

I’m not necessarily convinced there is an active traitor/mole at UA. (I found the Traitor Hagakure theory compelling as well, but recently I was starting to think maybe AFO bugged Izuku via an OFA connection or something.) But I just went through the entire MHA manga for every piece of Aoyama I could find, and I found so much unexplained weirdness...I just don’t know what to think anymore. I know one thing though:

I am absolutely terrified.

Let me take you on a journey through my last 24 hours.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Aoyama sus... I. A brief summary of the Traitor Aoyama theory II. The tentacle monster that made everyone do a double-take Huh, well that’s odd III. Weird AF Aoyama things IV. The anime added a ton of extra Aoyama scenes for some reason?? V. Aoyama has 0 problems after being brainwashed, I GUESS VI. “I mostly just need bug spray” for Aoyama Inception UM WHAT VII. Summer Training Camp: WHAT. THE. FUCK. VIII. USJ: He’s not...THERE...is he? Protect him IX. “I can’t help but stand out,” says the background character X. Theorizing my ass off

I am warning you right now: This is 80% stream of consciousness sleep-deprived screaming, not solid meta crafting. I found two (or more) dots, and I have no idea how to connect them.

I. A brief summary of the Traitor Aoyama theory

I am not the first person to posit that Aoyama could be the traitor. It is a suspicion I came to myself while watching the show, but others came to the same conclusions themselves. I don’t know what all everyone has said about it, but here are the points I’ve had on my mind for a long time, so I assume everyone else is kind of aware of them:

Aoyama’s introduction and Horikoshi’s character notes imply Aoyama’s role was determined early in the story. He features quite prominently in the UA entrance exam and quirk assessment test arcs, noted by others for his ability to keep cool under pressure, but then suddenly fades to the background.

Aoyama’s location during the USJ arc is conspicuously identified to us as “a secret.” To this day, we still don’t know where he was. If he is on the LOV’s side, Kurogiri could have warped him to a safe location.

For a student at a top hero training academy, Aoyama has no clear “heroic” aspirations or dreams, and he’s not a particularly motivated student.

Aoyama appears to be keenly observing his fellow students, particularly Izuku, and picked up on how Uraraka has a crush on Izuku before even she realized she did.

For some reason, it seems Dabi noticed Aoyama hiding nearby at the summer training camp but didn’t do anything about it. Aoyama also seems afraid/reluctant to engage the villains until the end when he saves Tokoyami, and he votes to dissuade Kirishima from trying to track down the kidnapped Bakugou.

Aoyama’s behavior during the hero provisional licensing exam is notably mysterious. His brief childhood memories imply he feels different from everyone else and distresses over it. He also has some vague “dream” along the lines of “wanting to feel equal to everyone” that still has not been explained.

In the short arc featuring him right before the school cultural festival, the “cheese incident,” if you will, Izuku narrates about Aoyama’s free spirit, and Iida comments on Aoyama’s loner tendencies during lunchtime. His strange behavior in the arc is referred to as “showing his true colors.” This is right before Aoyama delivers the cryptic “still waters run deep” message, which is an idiomatic expression meaning “silent folk are dangerous.”

Included in the cheese incident, Aoyama delivers another cryptic message to Izuku: “I know.” Many have theorized this means he knows Izuku’s secret about One For All. Aoyama explains it away by saying he and Izuku are similar in that their bodies are not built for their quirks, so he felt a sort of kindred spirit in Izuku. Izuku is happy to befriend Aoyama, but Aoyama makes a dark, sad face at the end of their interaction that is either the punchline of a joke or hinting at...something deeper. Many people theorize he likes his classmates and is sad to betray them.

II. The tentacle monster that made everyone do a double-take

So Twitter user @aitaikimochi gave us a glimpse of some special art Horikoshi made for the Drawing Smash art exhibit along with a general sketch of the setup to give us the full picture, and...just look at it.

For those asking details of this picture, here's a very crappy drawing of what the art looks like. Basically, the purple monster is coming out of a warehouse door, and Aoyama is sitting on a box right in front of the monster with an empty bottle next to him.

- aitaikimochi

And now, as you can imagine, the Traitor Aoyama theories have been given second life.

But the thing that set me off was...the empty bottle.

If you go look up the #MHAExhibition tag and check out the setup of the expo, you’ll see how they decided to display the art throughout this warehouse. There’s a sandbag in front of the “effective sandbag that hits back” Noumu from the USJ arc. So that empty bottle is likely very deliberately placed.

And all I could think was...

And my brain just started firing off absolutely wild observations like:

Did the heroes/police actually manage to collect all the scattered sludge after All Might defeated him?

They do keep referencing the sludge villain incident a bunch over the series don’t they...

Did like a little piece of the sludge villain get away?

Is it hiding inside a “skin suit” like a wire tap, or is it full on controlling someone’s actions?

Is the empty bottle maybe a metaphor for an empty vessel, sludge villain questions notwithstanding?

Still waters run deep

So, obviously, I went full Shouto Todoroki and had to see how deep the rabbit hole would go.

III. Weird AF Aoyama things

I pulled up all the background info on Aoyama I could and went through his character intro scenes, and, honestly, what am I supposed to think about this stuff????? This is just bizarre.

The kanji in his family name just mean “blue mountain,” but the kanji in his given name Yuuga (優雅) are...INTERESTING.

Yuu = a person with lithe movements, kind, superior, rich/wealthy, gentleness, actor (UMMM?????)

Ga = gracious, elegant, graceful, refined

His hero name “Can’t Stop Twinkling” is shortened from “I Cannot Stop Twinkling” and is translated into Japanese as “kirakira ga tomerarenai yo.” Has anyone really thought about this? He named himself “I AM UNABLE TO STOP THE TWINKLING.” Were you trying to stop it? Are you okay???

Why is Aoyama the one to recognize and provide exposition on who Recovery Girl is??? Like, why? What? The narrator could have told us who she is, right?? (Did you know Recovery Girl has the same birthday as Tomura Shigaraki, April 4th, super super unlucky day of DEATH NUMBERS?)

But while rifling through episodes and manga pages, I pretty quickly came upon another discovery...

IV. The anime added a ton of extra Aoyama scenes for some reason??

Aoyama isn’t in this scene in the manga. The anime added him in.

And then he gets interrupted and hidden by Ashido. Why? Why add this? We already learned his name a few episodes ago!

But the anime doesn’t stop there.

This was almost the entire Ashido vs Aoyama fight in the Sports Festival as told by the manga. The anime stretched it out, which, I get it, filler. But I just...now I want to know what does his bellybutton look like without the belt? I can’t help but wonder??? SHOULD I BE WONDERING THAT?

Because at the time, I was looking for evidence that maybe Aoyama is just the sludge villain inside a skin suit. And gosh, I still can’t discount the possibility. Aoyama is normally able to keep cool in dangerous situations, which is pretty much his highlighted trait in the entrance exam, but every so often he looks utterly terrified by something.

He’s really not fond of Ashido after she acids his cape. You know, the goopy acid girl. The one who...wanted to name herself Alien Queen, which was rejected because of the Ridley Scott movies...about the alien bursting out of people’s stomachs.

Aoyama gets a lot of stomachaches.

The anime also just recently added in this bit in Season 5.

Aoyama was not heavily featured in this moment in the manga, but the anime adds this whole scene of him cowering in fear of Dark Shadow (despite being able to protect himself with his navel laser quite easily here). Why is he freaking out when he normally doesn’t panic in battle?

Is it just bad filler? Is it...because he’s facing a parasitic body-controlling monster?

But the manga isn’t completely silent on this theme, because remember, Kuroiro shows up and fakes Tokoyami out, revealing his true goal is to capture Aoyama first. And he successfully abducts Aoyama, which the anime adds an excellent R2D2 scream to, because humor will properly distract us from HOW TERRIFIED AOYAMA IS AT THIS MOMENT.

Because he’s been snagged by a guy who melts into the shadows with the “ooze” sound effect.

WE HAVE TO GO DEEPER

V. Aoyama has 0 problems after being brainwashed, I GUESS

Aoyama is on Shinsou’s team for the cavalry battle in the sports festival. Shinsou brainwashed everyone on his team. The other two members of his team dropped out of the tournament in shame, believing they should only make it to the finals on their own merits and skills. How can they claim to do that if they can’t remember even getting here?

But Aoyama isn’t moved. He stays in the tournament.

He also makes a weird (twinkling) facial expression though, kinda like the one Toga makes when she’s pretending to be Ochako and about to knock Izuku out of the provisional hero license exam. I do not know what to make of this. Maybe Aoyama just has no shame about being mind controlled because he’s already that way on a daily basisvlfhabjhkksdn no we’re not there yet.

VI. “I mostly just need bug spray” for Aoyama Inception

Why does the final exam arc start like this?

Which way are you facing, sweetie???

Like I can’t even tell if he’s looking at the people standing beside him or just directly at the audience because we all know he’s capable of the latter, but this is the arc where...

Is it possible Aoyama asked Ochako if she has a crush on Izuku to...distract her? Like it’s not true at all, but he wants to distract her so she’ll end up his meat shield or something? So he basically inceptions her with her crush, which is why that romantic subplot seems so damn forced?

Was he worried the power of Thirteen’s Black Hole would have bad repercussions for him? Like his belt might slip off or...something might...slip out...?

NO NO NO I’M NOT GOING INTO CONSPIRACY THEORY MODE YET

How convenient that his crush inception distracts Ochako long enough for Shigaraki to get the jump on Izuku though.

I mean, if we’re taking these panels literally...Aoyama is the bug?

VII. Summer Training Camp: WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Remember when everyone draws lots to form pairs for the test of courage? Aoyama gets paired with Yaoyorozu. Then, Katsuki wants to swap with Ojiro, Mineta’s partner, so he can get out of being paired with Todoroki. At the same time, Mineta asks to swap with Aoyama so he can be with Yaoyorozu.

Aoyama refuses. Why?

It could be for Yaoyorozu’s sake. It could also be because...he doesn’t want to partner with Ojiro, I guess. OR...maybe he doesn’t want to partner with Katsuki if all the swaps happen?

Traitor theorists: Because he knew Katsuki would be targeted by the LOV tonight?

Me, doing everything in my power to ignore how this all started when I wondered if Aoyama is the sludge villain in disguise: God, I hope it’s just nothing.

And then we don’t see Aoyama again for quite a while, until we find him hiding in the woods with the unconscious Jirou and Hagakure, and...um...

Why isn’t he wearing his gas mask?

No. Seriously. Why did he take that off??????

Yaoyorozu asked Aoyama to take Jirou and Hagakure back to camp, but this WHOLE time he was hiding in this little area with them? If it was a safe breathing space, HOW DID HE FIND IT? And if it wasn’t, WHY WASN’T HE WEARING HIS GAS MASK? He left the masks on the other two, so clearly he thought it was still necessary for them. Does he not need to breathe?

...

DOES HE NOT NEED TO BREATHE??

...oh god, setting that aside.

Even if Aoyama is the traitor, I don’t know how well this scene works as support. Dabi clearly doesn’t expect Aoyama to be there, and then for some reason forgets about him? Aoyama covers his mouth like he’s afraid, but we established earlier that he’s not a coward. It seems he’s just afraid of...certain situations.

What is going on here? Does he know something no one else does?

DID YOU SEE HIS FACE AT THE HOSPITAL WHEN HE IS TRYING TO CONVINCE KIRISHIMA NOT TO GO RESCUE KATSUKI?

You okay, bud?

He looks so much more freaked out than everyone else. That’s his reaction to Tsuyu’s line about how, “If we break the law, then we’re no better than villains.” WHY?

VIII. USJ: He’s not...THERE...is he?

Does this seem out of order? Bear with me here.

Here’s the famous panel that gets everyone talking about “Hey, where DID Hagakure end up when everyone was teleported away?”

People theorize that Hagakure lies about ending up with Todoroki because she’s standing so far away from him (she’s in front of Satou), and also because she saw Ojiro but that would be a very far way for her to see if she was where Todoroki ends up.

Generally speaking, people ended up warped together with whoever they were standing near.

The most obvious places for Aoyama to end up would be with either Todoroki or Ojiro because that would spread the teams thinly and he was standing fairly close to them. However, might I point out something VERY INTERESTING.

As they’re being warped away, Aoyama gets shown together in a panel with one particular group.

...did Aoyama end up in the flood zone with Izuku’s group?

If so...why didn’t we see him?

Where could he have possibly hid?

...underwater?

...

D O E S   H E   N O T   N E E D   T O   B R E A T H E ? ?

Still waters run deep.

STOP

IX. “I can’t help but stand out,” says the background character

I’m going to round it all out with a few miscellaneous notes because I just don’t have time for all of this I have to sleep someday.

In his flashback to his childhood, we see him speak to his “Papa” and “Maman,” but we’ve never seen his father. WHO IS HE?

Aoyama’s inspired by Iida in the hero provisional license exam to perform “actions that reflect his dreams,” and proceeds to make himself bait for Iida’s sake stand out so everyone can see him.

That one scene in the mall where Ochako needs bug spray? I said Aoyama is the bug. The Japanese word used here is “mushi” (means more like creepy crawlers than just bugs), which is a homophone of a Japanese word meaning “ignore.” He wants to stand out, but he’s a pest to be ignored. STILL WATERS RUN DEEP

Aoyama often has stars drawn into his speech bubbles for some kind of flair, but it seems like most often these stars show up when he’s upset or angry??? There’s also a star on the “I know” cheese platter he leaves for Izuku...

Sometimes I get the feeling Aoyama is speaking in code, maybe because he feels like he’s being watched? What if the “cheese” he keeps giving out is a hint. Like...for Hagakure??? “SAY CHEESE!”

Aoyama loves surprises. You know what counts as a surprise? A PLOT TWIST.

WHY WAS THE MAJORITY OF THIS SCENE CUT FROM THE ANIME? I feel like it’s hinting at Aoyama’s loneliness and fear of being watched or something I DON’T KNOW

X. Theorizing my ass off

So uh, what do I do with this crap?

Is Aoyama just the sludge villain in disguise, hence why he doesn’t need to BREATHE? (Probably no, UNLESS...??) **Edit 4/29/21: U N L E S S

Is he bugged, maybe by the sludge villain or something else?

Is this even related to the League of Villains at all?

Did he catch the traitor but can’t tell anyone? Is it Hagakure? Is it IZUKU and Aoyama’s trying to tell him without alarming him that something’s in his head?

PROTECT HIM

[iliterallydecepticanteven]

A Knightverse Blitzwing Theory

I haven’t talked much about how much I love the Bumblebee (2018) movie but more news about the next live action Transformers movie coming out, I really wanted to share this insane theory I had about the Knightverse Transformers films so buckle in. 

If you haven’t seen the Bumblebee movie, please go watch it and then come back to this as this post will have spoilers and it is hands down on of the absolute best live action Transformers movies ever made. So after this point, there are spoilers for that movie, Transformers Prime, and IDW comics. You have been warned. 

Background about the movie first: when the first trailers dropped, fans noticed that this dude right here looked an awful lot like Starscream. Similar colors, similar body type, obviously a flyer, etc. Not a lot was clear from the first few trailers except that he was on Earth. So the assumption was that maybe Starscream was the big bad of the movie. 

Now if you’ve seen the movie, you’d know, that’s not Starscream, that’s Blitzwing. And you may have been confused like me. How is that Blitzwing? He looks nothing like Blitzwing! All of the Knightverse characters are supposed to be based on G1 designs and this is G1 Blitzwing’s design. 

They look nothing alike so what gives? One theory most people have is that originally that was going to be Starscream. But if you’ve seen the movie, you know that Blitzwing dies on Earth after fighting with Bumblebee. He gets exploded on a military training base. And if this movie was going to have a sequel, you can’t have one of the most famous and recognizable Decepticons die right off the bat, that would limit your options for future movies. So maybe they got 70% of the way through, realized they needed Starscream for a future sequel, and didn't have time to remake his CGI model and said "screw it this is Blitzwing now."

But I think this isn’t the last we've seen of Blitzwing in the Knightverse movies. I've noticed that big name franchise movies like to put in a big twist or surprise recently (I'm looking at you Godzilla vs. King Kong (2021). That surprise was divine.) So my theory is that Blitzwing as we know him, as a triplechanger, will make an appearance either in the next Knightverse movie or a future one as a rebuilt version of himself as a supersoldier for the humans.

In Bumblebee, part of the human government worked with the two main villains of the movie, Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick, both of whom are triplechangers. Both die at the end of the movie. But the government knows about Decepticons now, knows about triplechangers, and if there's one thing the American government loves more than anything else, it's money and power. 

And where did Blitzwing die? A military training facility. 

So in the next Knightverse movie or the third one, we are going to see a Blitzwing that has been completely rebuilt by the US government to be used a weapon. Transformers Prime already showed that a human could inhabit a Cybertronian body after death and pilot it around like a mech and in the IDW comics, Blitzwing was found injured and mangled and was being rebuilt by the US government as a weapon. He’ll probably be rebuilt as a triplechanger, since that’s what the government was exposed to, but may end up going crazy from the modifications, a la Animated, if he regains consciousness. 

I’m really hoping this is what they do, but I won’t be surprised if Blitzwing in the Knightverse is just gone forever. 

[lobster-sock]

Fun Amphibia side character theory

Hi welcome to my TED Talk, I promise this theory has nothing to do with severing characters' arms. Without further ado, here are my reasons to believe that "One-Eyed" Wally Ribbiton is Ivy Sundew's father!

I first subscribed to this theory in March '21 & have since become its most fervent champion, plugging it wherever I could. And now with Amphibia S3B coming in less than a month, I'm finally deciding to make my case here on tumblr. Also the images are from my reddit post about this

So let's start off with how similar Wally & Ivy's respective Season 2 episodes are: "Swamp & Sensibility" & "Ivy on The Run". In both episodes, Ivy & Wally fight with their parents, who set different expectations on their children. When those expectations are shattered, the parents and children compete against each other. In the end, the children win & reconcile with their parents. Of course, there are a few embellishments to distinct the two episodes, but the plots to both are more or less the same!

In "Swamp", we find out Wally actually lives outside the valley as a very rich boy, & he only poses as a homeless vagrant to escape the stresses of rich boy life. In "Ivy", we find out Felicia, Ivy's mom, traveled outside the valley before Ivy was born. It's not implausible to assume that Felicia traveled to Wally's town of Ribbitvale while collecting her tea & china, where they met & hit it off. A lot off.

When Wally decided to leave Ribbitvale, why did he go for Wartwood? It's a relatively unassuming town, sure, but it's like he was going there for something or someone. Felicia, perhaps. But at this time, Felicia could've been pregnant with Ivy, & knowing Wally didn't want to take part in a family in fear of becoming like his father, Felicia didn't tell him he was the baby daddy and let him be a vagrant.

In "Ivy on The Run", about four minutes in we discover Wally is an expert fighter in Muay Thai, or whatever the Amphibia equivalent is. In the same episode, Ivy & Felicia's final battle is a 3-round Muay Thai battle, where it's revealed Felicia is also a very skilled fighter, having picked up the moves outside the valley. Having Wally & Felicia revealed to be adept fighters in the same episode does sound a little sus. Maybe they had the same teacher, or they taught each other. Honestly it's cute thinking about them teaching each other moves.

Wally & Ivy share similar characteristics. They're both wild childs compared to their pompous parents. And in "Anne of The Year", Ivy pulls down her hat so that only one of her eyes is shown. One Eyed Ivy, anyone? Okay. They also seem to be self-conscious about their hair. In "Wally & Anne", Wally's iconic hat blows away and he says, "My iconic hat!", revealing a luscious Beatle-esque hairdo. And he says it like he's ashamed of people seeing his hair, Wally baby don't be ashamed! Anyway, Ivy has a similar reaction when her hat falls off in "The Shut In", and she tells Sprig not to look at her, even though Sprig thinks she looks gr8. The hair keeps in "Ivy on The Run", so while most of the stuff in "Shut-In" might have been non-canon, Ivy's self-consciousness may just be canon.

Also this is probs reading too much into things, but both Ivy & Wally have purple mouths while Felicia has a bit of a turquoise mouth. And Wally's open eye is the same color as Ivy's skin. Yeah that's a stretch but it's not implausible.

Oh and I also wanna point out a scene in "Reunion" where one of the toads throws Wally to the floor, & Ivy's first reaction is to throw a plate at the toad. Even though Ivy probably doesn't know Wally is her father, it's a reaction like that that really shows Ivy has some sort of connection to Wally.

Onto what I think is the most damning piece of evidence. In "Ivy on The Run", Ivy says to Felicia that she still can't believe she was a world traveler. Keep in mind while Anne & Sprig are in the shot, the only people fully in frame are Ivy, Felicia & Wally. Wally's on the left side of the frame while the Sundews are in center. Anyway, Felicia replies "Oh honey, where do you think I met your father?" Instantly, the camera shifts left to have Wally in the center frame. Our attention has been brought to the mother & daughter to this side character. There is a sense of importance to this character now.

Trust me guys, I took many film classes, I know my film theory.

There's also a sting chord played after Felicia says that, which makes it a little "aha" moment for people who cared who Ivy's father is. I wasn't one of those people but I've been converted.

Also there was no reason at all for Wally to be in Ivy's episode. The only logical reason is that they're building up to something. I've clarified Wally & Ivy's episodes are the same conceptually, so having Wally in Ivy's episode is logical just to remind us of his episode. If Wally isn't revealed to be Ivy's father, then there was no reason to have him there at all.

Anyway yeah, that's my theory, thanks for looking at this & feel free to give your feedback even though none of this is up for debate. Special thanks to RedMetalSky on reddit for basically birthing this theory.

[theartofdreaming1]

Here is my attempt at portraying Peeta’s camouflage skills convincingly 😅😅

As usual, my thoughts regarding this week’s prompts and random thoughts on chapters 19-21 are below the cut.

heart

While I love all the banter between Katniss and Peeta, I think my favorite of these three chapters is: “Trust me. Killing things is much easier than this,” I say. “Although for all I know, I am killing you.” “Can you speed it up a little?” he asks. “No. Shut up and eat your pears,” I say. A classic 😄

mind

I always imagined that Cato went after Thresh before coming for Katniss and Peeta because a) Thresh took the backpack for District 2 (which contained the body armor that would make dealing with Katniss’s arrow so much easier) and b) Thresh killed Clove and Cato wanted to avenge her... Although I have no idea how Cato ended up killing Thresh... he was doing pretty well for himself in his grass-y area... Maybe the Gamemakers wanted to punish Thresh for not killing Katniss and generated that thunderstorm and rain to force Thresh out of his refuge, which would give Cato a fair chance to kill him, I guess...

soul

Lol, honestly, since Peeta just generally seems to be motivated by kindness and love/caring, I don’t think it took much for him to keep the star-crossed lovers angle alive (I could easily imagine him actually noticing Katniss in the willow tree early in the Games and offering to take care of the District 8 girl, so the Careers would get the hell out of there, away from Katniss)

Chapter 19:

Peeta, who’s been wounded, is now my ally. [...] I’d loathe any tribute who didn’t immediately ally with their district partner. Besides, it just makes sense to protect each other. - Honestly, this just highlights what a kind person Katniss is, despite her aloof front; her innermost instinct is always to stick together and to protect. Because it doesn’t really make sense for her to team up with Peeta - she knows he’s wounded and won’t be of much help to her, her chances of survival are way better if she stayed on her own, but it’s not something she’d ever consider now that they are allowed to form a team (and only then does she even factor in the whole ‘star-crossed lovers of district 12′ -angle)

Peeta, it turns out, has never been a danger to me. The thought makes me smile. - Aww 😊 (but also, how heart-breaking that the Capitol will do everything in their power to change that, to make Peeta become a danger to Katniss 😢)

He’s very hard to predict, which might be interesting under different circumstances - Okay, but this just makes me think of that exchange in Gilmore Girls when Paris and Rory talk about how you know a guy is right for you:  “Someone who’s compatible but not compatible.” “Yeah, kind of. I mean, you respect each other’s opinions and you can laugh at the same jokes, but I don’t know – there’s just something about not quite knowing what the other person’s gonna do at all times that’s just really exciting.” - fits these two to a T 😏

In fact, I’ve just about decided I’m on the wrong track entirely, that a wounded boy would be unable to navigate getting to and from this water source, when I see the bloody streak - Okay, but how flipping tough is Peeta?! He’s severely injured, with multiple tracker jacker stings and he drags himself to this terrain that is almost impossible to navigate for someone in his condition - a sturdy dandelion, indeed!

“You’re here to finish me off, sweetheart?” - What an entrance after having gone AWOL for quite a couple of chapters 👌🏼👏🏼

“Remember, we’re madly in love, so it’s all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it.” I jerk my head back but end up laughing. “Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.” [...] “Katniss?” Peeta says. I meet his eyes, knowing my face must be some shade of green. He mouths the words “How about that kiss?” I burst out laughing - He’s lying in a river bed, slowly dying, and he can still make her laugh 😊

“You know, you’re kind of squeamish for such a lethal person” - It’s such a small comment, but I can’t help but think that Peeta is just kind of intrigued to discover all these little idiosyncrasies that make up the ever-elusive Katniss Everdeen ;)

Impulsively, I lean forward and kiss him, stopping his words. -  Aww, she doesn’t even want to consider him dying, so she spontaneously decides to cut him off with a kiss👀👀 Honestly, at this point Peeta has elicited 2 (!) spontaneous kisses  (the kiss after the chariot ride and this one) from Katniss, who generally isn’t that big on touching people

“You’re not going to die. I forbid it. All right?” - Stubborn, protective Katniss... But also reminds me of their rooftop “date” in CF and the “Then you’ll allow it?” “I’ll allow it” - exchange

I kiss him awake, which seems to startle him. Then he smiles as if he’d be happy to lie there gazing at me forever. He’s great at this stuff. - KaTNisSs, gurl... 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️

Chapter 20:

But I knew he was injured. And still I came after him. I’m just going to have to trust whatever instinct sent me to find him was a good one. - The very best of instincts, Katniss, don’t you worry😉

Peeta’s struggling to get up when I reach the cave. “I woke up and you were gone,” he says, “I was worried about you.” - Gah, why are the both of them so good?! They just care for and worry about each other 24/7

“How do you feel?” “Better than yesterday. This is an enormous improvement over the mud,” he says. “Clean clothes and medicine and a sleeping bag... and you.” Oh right, the whole romance thing. - Oh Katniss...😐 I reach out to touch his cheek and he catches my hand and presses it against his lips. I remember my father doing this very thing to my mother and I wonder where Peeta picked it up. - Where did Peeta pick this up? From a time his family was less dysfunctional? Observing couples in the town square? Or is he a fricking disney prince and these things come natural to him? Questions, questions...

“You didn’t sleep,” Peeta says. “I’m all right,” I say. But the truth is, I’m exhausted. “Sleep now. I’ll keep watch.” [...] I test his cheek. Hot as a coal stove. He claims he’s been drinking, but the containers still feel full to me. I give him more fever pills and stand over him while he drinks first one, then a second quart of water. - These two are just too stubborn to take proper care of themselves - good thing that each of them is adamant to force the other to sleep/drink/eat when necessary

“Besides I like watching you sleep. You don’t scowl. Improves your looks a lot.” - When presented with the choice of being flirty vs being a cheeky little shit, Peeta will choose being a flirty cheeky little shit every time 😂

“I’m going to make soup,” I say. “Don’t light a fire,” he says. “It’s not worth it.” - Okay, but what he’s actually saying is “I’m not worth it” 😭😭

Katniss telling that story about buying Prim’s goat😊... A young buck, probably a yearling by his size. His antlers were just growing in, still small and coated in velvet. [...] Beautiful. - We are all very much aware of Peeta’s appreciation for beauty, but the same does apply to Katniss, too (she’s just overall more pragmatic)

“Was it [the goat] still wearing the pink ribbon?″ he asks. “I think so,” I say. “Why?” “I’m just trying to get a picture,” he says thoughtfully. -  Peeta is so detail-oriented! I have this theory that this is actually something that enables him to overcome his hijacking; we catch glimpses in MJ of how he inches himself out of his condition by asking/focusing on small details or things most people would dismiss as trivial (Katniss’s favorite color, the color of her dress visiting District 7, her Dad singing the Hanging Tree when Peeta was 6 or 7 years old...) and I feel like it makes a lot of sense - his tormentors in the Capitol either wouldn’t have access to distort these moments or not even consider them to have any significance (since they are all about big, flashy gestures in the Capitol), so these memories would remain untouched. Luckily, Peeta seems to live by Robert Brault’s words: “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. “

“Really? What did you cost me again?” I ask. “A lot of trouble. Don’t worry. You’ll get it all back,” he says. - Well, he’s going to cost her a lot more trouble in the future - but we know he’s going to make up for it and bring her much happiness, too 😊

“You’re not risking your life for me.” “Who said I was?” I say. [...] “Of course I’m not going.” [...] “You’re such a bad liar, Karniss.” [...] Anger flushes my face. “All right, I am going, and you can’t stop me!” “I can follow you. At least partway. I may not make it to the Cornucopia, but if I’m yelling your name I bet someone can find me. And then I’ll be dead for sure,” he says. - Soo.. their love language is offering to sacrifice their life like it’s nothing, huh?! 😳😅 

Peeta eats without complaint, even scraping out the pot to show his enthusiasm. He rambles on about how delicious it is, - lol, sounds like a husband trying to get back on his wife’s good side after they had a row 😂

I clamp my hand over his mouth and nose hard, forcing him to swallow instead of spit. He tries to make himself vomit the stuff up, but it’s too late, he’s already losing consciousness. - Ah, the most important indicator of true love: having person A force-feed person B a sedative so they can run off to get them life-saving medicine ;)

Chapter 21:

I lie next to Peeta in the bag, trying to absorb every bit of his fever heat. It’s strange to be so physically close to someone who’s so distant. Peeta might as well be back in the Capitol, - Reminds me how in MJ she’s going to be so close to Peeta (mentally/emotionally) while he will be physically so distant (in the Capitol!)

a tiny orange one [backpack] [...] that must be marked with a 12 - Interesting how that backpack is orange, huh? Why is that? Are smaller backpacks generally orange (like the one Katniss already has) to be more visible or is this simply to connect the backpack to Peeta (though we don’t know his favorite color at this point)? Do the Gamemakers care whether Katniss gets a matching backpack? It just seems like an unnecessary detail to throw in🤔

The table has just clicked into place when a figure darts out of the Cornucopia, snags the green backpack, and speeds off. Foxface! - Honestly, this was a truly brilliant move; kudos! 👏🏼

[Clove] carefully selects an almost dainty-looking number [knife] with a cruel, curved blade. “I promised Cato if he let me have you, I’d give the audience a good show.” [...] “I think...” she almost purrs. “I think we’ll start with your mouth.” [...] she teasingly traces the outline of my lips with the tip of the blade. - Okay, but the idea of Clove cutting off Katniss’s lips is just all kinds of terrifying and disturbing 😨

“No! No, I-” Clove sees the stone, about the size of a small loaf of bread in Thresh’s hand [...] Thresh brings the rock down hard against Clove’s temple. [...] and I know she’s a goner. - Interesting how Katniss describes that rock that basically saves her life (or at least kills her assailant) as bread-sized, huh? “Your district... they sent me bread. [...] Conflicting emotions cross Thresh’s face. He lowers the rock and points at me, almost accusingly. “Just this one time, I let you go. For the little girl.” - Katniss mentions the bread from District 11 as a proof of her alliance with Rue (and the recognition of D11) and Thresh spares her; bread keeps saving her life (while it keeps representing acts of kindness)

Cato kneels beside Clove, spear in hand, begging her to stay with him. - I appreciate this small, humanizing moment with Cato

The last thing I remember is an exquisitely beautiful green and silver moth landing on the curve of my wrist. - I don’t know much about North American insects (not that I know that much about European insects either - just recently came across a relatively rare moth on my walks that I had never seen or heard of before) - is Katniss describing a special/noteworthy species of moth? Or is this a more literary symbolism kind of moth? (Just looked up some symbolism meaning of moths: change/transformation, seeking light; power of regeneration in some Native American mythology, hmm...)