#I mean that was my interpretation of events originally… and continue to be…

[cq-studios]

You know that scene in KH3 where Ven is talking to Aqua about what it was like in Sora and he mentions “some more people [he] didn’t recognize” and “these weird animal creatures”?

I know it’s commonly accepted that he’s talking about the TWEWY gang and Dream Eaters (or just DDD) there, but what if he’s actually referring to the NULs and Chirithies. Like while he was chilling in Sora’s heart he was also reliving his old memories and just not recognizing them.

It’s not too far out there to think that, is it? I mean he says he was dreaming about Aqua and Terra as well…

[project-sekai-facts]

Wait An/Kohane have outright stated romantic interest?

poor wording on my end bc they never actually say "an and kohane like each other romantically" but the evidence it very much there and it is clearly depicted and phrased in other ways. for example: the shoujo sparkle effect that is used for An from Kohane's POV.

This effect is often used on Haruka in Minori's imagination, which, well, let's just say it doesn't disprove that Kohane is attracted to An. While the effect is also used to show a character being cute or having a strong "idol" aura without any attraction attached, it's prettly clear the intent was to show Kohane's attraction. Also she was blushing.

Bonus points to the fact the wedding event has a underlying message (they say it on screen) about how marriage should be equal regardless of the genders of the couple [because gay marriage currently isn't legal in Japan].

There's also literally everything in Buddy Funny Spend Time. While almost all of the interactions in that event can be read as platonic if you really want to, they're written so you can interpret it as romantic if you choose to. And considering the featured pairs in this event were Minori/Haruka, An/Kohane, and (briefly) Shizuku/Airi, it's not like that reading isn't supported by the writers lol. There's one part where Minori and Kohane get jealous of how close Haruka and An are as childhood friends and aren't sure if they can amount to that, but they want to try. Doesn't necessarily have to be romantic but can be if you choose to read it as such.

When Kohane is visibly attracted to Haruka, An gets slightly jealous and says that her singing should be the only thing that makes Kohane react that way.

Haruka also points out that although An has always been super friendly she's never been like this with anyone until Kohane came into her life, and still keeps this behaviour Kohane-exclusive. An says it's because they're partners, which, kinda friendzones them, but kinda doesn't.

The word for partner used in the story - "aibou" - means, to put it in incredibly basic terms, coworkers. It's like the cowboy or detective word for partner, though I believe it comes up in shounen every so often (the genre vbs story is based on). In itself, aibou has no romantic connotation. But 3 of the partnerships we see in VBS' story have lots of interactions that easily read as having romantic undertones, so basically in the context of VBS story the nature of said partnerships becomes a little more ambiguous. The word is still platonic and that doesn't change, but you get the idea. Oh and VBS has recurring romantic soulmate imagery more on that later.

continuing on BFST, yeah they went on a date. which is strongly suggested to be a romantic date unlike how it's sometimes used platonically. like the other characters say An is "seeing someone", at least in the English translation, which is very much associated with romantic interest. Also the original Japanese for the "do you know who she's going out with" line uses the phrase デートの相手 which is the Japanese equivalent for the word "date" (as in a person/your date), so it's not really any different. they go on another one in Kick it up a notch and An's card story for the event. their relationship is never labelled or anything (probably bc this genre avoids that sorta thing for fan-related reasons) but this very much was a thing that happened.

(also when ken says partner he says aibou. so not partner /r but anyway it does clarify that this date is to do with their relationship on a different level to partners /p. ie: an's going on a date with kohane because she's cute not because she's her partner. language is fun)

Lastly back on that thing I said I'd come back to. The Walk on and on costumes have romantic soulmate symbolism included on them. The wings on the backs of the outfits are based on the mythical hiyoku bird, a one-winged bird that could only fly after meeting its other half. Kohane's costume has pink accents, one of the variants has accents in An's image color and the wings on the backs of those variants match up to each other. The card illstrations themselves also feature crows, which mate for life. While the symbolism is mostly associated with Toya, the Whip the Wimp Girl! cards take place in the same location as the woao cards which is pretty neat, and makes sense given the themes of both events. I've put both their gacha logos above as well. Oh and An's card for wtwg was. Something.

And Kohane got the valentine event this year and it was about her entering a contest to win limited edition chocolates for An I forgot about that until just now.

Have fun with that.

[actual-changeling]

I know a lot of people interpret Scully's reaction to Mulder's love confession in 'Triangle' as her assuming that he is drugged up and talking nonsense.

There is another (worse) option, though.

"Oh brother" is definitely not what you respond if you're taking it seriously, we can probably agree on that, but i don't think potential drugs are the reasons here.

Let's look back a little. I'm working with the assumption that 'Folie a Deux' is set in May of 1998 with FtF taking place in August. 'The Beginning' happens sometime in September of the same year. If we use this as our timeline, we have a total of around five months during which a LOT of shit happens.

'Folie a Deux' is important because this is the "original" drugged up love confession Scully hears when Mulder is in the psychward. It gets to her, she thinks he is being genuine and does what he asked her to do.

More important than the act itself is what he tells her. I assume most of us have that conversation memorized, but just as a reminder:

"Scully, you have to believe me. Nobody else on this whole damn planet does or ever will. You're my one in five billion."

Even from our point of view, this makes complete sense—she IS the only one he trusts.

Except that it's a lie. I don't expect Mulder to think of Diana in that moment, and it wouldn't have been an issue at all if it weren't for the events of 'The End', which happen about 2-3 weeks later.

Suddenly, there is a person from his past that he trusts unconditionally to the point of stupidity, and he not only doesn't talk to Scully about any of it, he stops talking to her period. It's as if she has been a placeholder for Diana, and now that she's back, there is no use for her anymore.

Mulder works the case with Diana, Scully is dragging herself along and he does not care about her or her work until it is useful for him; he doesn't back her up when a room full of people (including Diana) belittle and mock her. He nods along, which, to Scully, is just the last puzzle piece slotting into place.

To summarize, Mulder's confession in Folie a Deux that she took seriously is revealed to be a lie—a means to an end to get her to do what he wants her to. Whether or not that's objectively true is a totally different matter because this is what Scully is confronted with.

Betrayal.

With that in mind, their argument in FtF in his hallway and Scully thinking of herself as redundant makes complete sense. We get yet another love confession, one she ALSO takes seriously, and if it weren't for that fucking bee, they'd have kissed. Maybe then, the whole mess that comes after could have been avoided, but here we are.

In "The Beginning", Scully repeats said confession back to him in an attempt to calm him and regain his trust in her/her science. Let's see what happens:

He implicitly tells her that none of what he confessed still applies, that the whole speech was, once again, nothing but a farce to get her to stay. Mulder confirms this at the end of the episode, and Scully asking him with tears in her eyes to trust her is a deeply painful contrast to his earlier declarations.

Two times, Mulder confesses his love to her.

Two times, he takes it back later and continues to use it against her.

In 'Triangle', Scully once again finds herself next to Mulder in a hospital bed and listens to him as he confesses his love for a third time. Does she think he's drugged up? Yeah, probably, but that's not the reason she cannot take him seriously.

Considering her track record with Mulder and big speeches, is it at all surprising that she no longer trusts what he tells her?

"Oh, brother," because she is forced to grapple with her many, many feelings for him and process it in a way that fits into everything else that has happened so far.

"Oh, brother," because it might be an attempt to placate her and nothing else.

"Oh, brother," because there is a chance he will twist his 'I love you' into a weapon to stab her with later. Because he says it and does not mean it.

This is not a "oh, he's drugged up" expression to me. This is Scully preparing to get hurt again.

The funniest part is that she's right. She is right. He couldn't have meant it because then he wouldn't be staring her down with apathy in his eyes and tell her not to make it "personal".

SHE is making it personal? After Mulder manipulated her by pulling on their connection like a leash to get her to do what he wants? After he confessed how much he loves and trusts her over and over just to throw it all away?

To ignore all of it in the moment it actually fucking matters?

The drug option is less angsty and kinda fun, and I do enjoy reading fics that interpret it as such, but with their history attached, it is so much more—and so much worse.

Pretending it never happened is one thing, but then actively denying it to her face and using her feelings to hurt her? Yeah, no.

Mulder fucked up and Scully has every right to reject his declarations and distance herself from him.

[dnphobe]

hello, analysis question. what do you think about the fact that in the slime video dan is the one whose blood is spilled first? the only wound he has is on his hand, as opposed to phil's much more severe one. does this mean anything?

okay, this is going to be based more in personal interpretation than something with references and sources because off the top of my head i can't think of situations that mirror this in horror. I will, however, be sourcing from other people's anlysis on here when it's relevant.

The first blood spilled in a piece of media heavily relating to horror or death is most often the inciting incident. However, I don't think that's relevant here. I think the inciting incident of danandphilcrafts is something that happened off screen. As is very well explained in this post by @dapg-otmebytheballs, everything that happens in these videos is a joint and agreed upon act created by a joint belief system. BUT...there's a clear pattern from all the way back in Squareflakes that Phil is the ringleader in what they're doing. He explains the crafts to Dan and the Audience, he tells him and us what to do and chides Dan if he's not doing it right. It's my personal interpretation that Phil was the original believer and the one who brought Dan in.

That makes Dan's blood something else–the blood of the innocent. The spilling of innocent blood is an inciting incident in itself. It's a point of no return. and can be tied back to its importance in rituals. Rituals (at least in media, i don't claim to speak on real practices) often ask for virgin blood. virginity = innocence. This is often interpreted as a sexual virgin, as that is how the world is most often used today, but (from what i've read) it actually refers to someone who's blood has never been used in a ritual before. Phil has already been sacrificed once, in Potato Prints, so perhaps part of the reason Dan's blood was used is because just Phil's was no longer viable to summon Him.

Back to Phil being the leader of the two of them, I believe the reason Dan gets off with a much smaller wound is, perhaps, a matter of responsibility. If Phil got him into this, then it's only right that he take the brunt of the sacrifice. Dan's sacrifice, all along, has been his innocence, not that either of them know that. By spilling innocent blood, and using it in a ritual, that virginity/innocence is lost. and it only continues to be lost even more as the ritual progresses, resulting in the biggest lost of innocence of all, killing another human being.

Dan's blood being spilled is the point of no return. With Phil back alive again after the events of Potato Prints, they could have made a fresh start. But they're devoted to eachother, and to Him. There was no hope for them, but maybe before this moment, if things had been different, there could have been.

So, in summary, my personal interpretation of the significance is this piece by Jenny Holzer

and this quote by John Darnielle:

This is why people cry at the movies: because everybody’s doomed. No one in a movie can help themselves in any way. Their fate has already staked its claim on them from the moment they appear onscreen.

[dr-spectre]

Hey guys! I wanna share something REALLYYYYYY important with you all!!!

So, I was having a nice conversation with an editor from Inkipedia. Really friendly individual, we had a nice civil discussion and it was great to hear out their points and wiki related things. I learnt some cool things and how Nintendo operates in certain areas.

I asked them about some stuff relating to Callie and localisations, and they told me that the "Hypnoshades" are actually just called "sunglasses," in the original Japanese version of Splatoon 2 and theres no mention of brainwashing OR hypnosis. All of the events in the original japanese version of Splatoon 2 seemed to be a lot more vague and up for interpretation which i found to be very interesting!!

However.... the editor told me that the English localisation line from DJ Octavio, "I remixed Callie's brain!" is actually different in the original japanese version.

GUESS WHAT DJ OCTAVIO SAID...

"Aori-Chan is so simple minded! I was able to brainwash her with ease."

Nintendo JP.... WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!?! I WAS YOUR BIGGEST DEFENDER!! WHAT IS THIS?!?!?! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT IN THE ORIGINAL JAPANESE VERSION... CALLIE WAS STILL BRAINWASHED?!?!

Oh I'm gonna be sick....

You know, this ultimately just proves something to me.

Splatoon 2's writing... just fucking sucks. Straight up, it's ass. And not the good kind. It's poorly written and you wanna know why? It's set up is REALLY GOOD!!!! but it's pay off is the most uninteresting, vile, disrespectful, childish, lazy, DISGUSTING THING THEY COULD HAVE POSSIBLY DONE!!!

All this interesting set up with Callie and having this arc where she's so lonely and busy that she ultimately runs away to the Octarians, joins them willingly and ends up getting hypnotised, resulting in her becoming more emotional and seeping into the darkness in her heart... Marie, having to come and remind her of the good times they had together... to reignite the positivity in Callie's heart... to repair what they have broken... to have a fresh start...

But did this setup get paid off in a satisfying and emotionally deep way? No.... they choose to TREAT CALLIE LIKE A FUCKING MORON AND FOR WHAT REASON?!?!?! ARE NINTENDO JUST SCARED OF DEPTH?!?! WHATS THEIR FUCKING ISSUE?!?!?!

ITS SO DISRESPECTFUL!!! SHE LOST THE FINAL SPLATFEST AND YOU CONTINUE TO BEAT HER DOWN?!?!?! WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?! WHAT WERE THE WRITERS COOKING?!?!?! GET THEM OUT OF THE KITCHEN DAMN IT!!!!

They literally picked the most uninteresting and disgusting fucking outcome possible and I genuinely don't know why. There's SOOOO much concept art and multiple sunken scroll entries that showcase this depth for Callie, AND THEY THREW IT AWAY!!!

But you know what? Im gonna continue to hold my stance about the events of splatoon 2 because I would rather like to look at the story in a more interesting and narratively fulfilling way than what Nintendo is trying to push. Sure, it might not be what Nintendo said happened, but I would rather look at the events in a different, more character rich way for my own fucking sanity and enjoyment. I am going to continue to say fuck you to the notion that "Callie was brainwashed and kidnapped" because I like stories where characters go through character arcs and growth!!!! I hate it when that depth and agency for my favourite character in this franchise IS TAKEN AWAY!!!!

I would rather live in a world where Fresh Start ACTAULLY MAKES SENSE AS A SONG!! I would rather live in a world where OCTAVIO ISNT A FUCKING UNREDEEMABLE EVIL MONSTER THAT CUTTLEFISH WOULD NEVER WANNA SEE AGAIN AFTER HEARING WHAT HE DID TO CALLIE!!!!

I would rather live in a world where Splatoon 3 feels more satisfying to me and the Squid Sisters get proper send offs and pay offs to their arcs from the start of Splatoon 1.

I would rather live in a world where Tidal Rush is more emotional and personal, THAN SOME BULLSHIT "oh we gotta save callie because she's a dumb idiot and she's an object to grab because it's a video game!!! Ha ha!!!"

I would rather live in a world where Callie is given a proper character arc, INSTEAD OF GETTING KIDNAPPED AND THESE AWFUL AND DISGUSTING THINGS DONE TO HER! ONLY FOR IT TO GET REVERSED SO EASILY WITH NO MENTION OF THESE EVENTS EVER AGAIN!!!!!

UGH.... I'm actually so angry. I hate this so much.

When Splatoon 4 comes out, I'm not gonna hold back on my criticisms. I want change out of these writers because the current format we have for Splatoon stories is actual dogshit and I'm so tired of it. Everyone in the community is tired of the cool and interesting character details being pushed to the side and hidden away because Nintendo fucking hates narratives and only saves it for RPGS for some ungodly reason.

Im tired of important character details giving shoved off in optional and hard to find content. I'm tired of these awful implications and events being spread like wildfire in the community because daddy Nintendo said so.

Im done.

[justalazytrashpanda]

Hi I was originally gonna make a post analyzing all the blackmail available in PJED but I got sidetracked and just analyzed Desmond's

Theories below the readmore! Warning for spoilers

Desmond: with weapons at his disposal, he guards the only person he trusts

So Eva told Damon that it meant he had weapons at his disposal, which he does, but I find it interesting that we never see the picture that goes along with it. We see Cassidy’s image (despite her secret being an undertale reference) so this feels intentional

Which leads me to believe that the photo attached to that secret will be revealed eventually (if it wasn’t burnt to ash when Eva died), and that it might reveal who exactly the person he trusts is. Which leaves one question: who is it?

Before I get into theorizing I'd like to preface this saying that it's very possible that the blackmail is just trying to say that Desmond only trusts himself and is able and willing to defend himself, which is how Damon and Eva interpreted the secret. 

However, they're interpretation may not be the correct interpretation. He’s notorious so far for assuming the worst of and underestimating people in this game, and Eva could've been hiding information, so it's not a stretch to say that this is another instance of that.

But anyway, I think the person Desmond trusts is Eloise, and here’s my evidence for that, loosely ordered from least to most convincing.

They’re often seen together in promotional art

At the beginning of the game they’re both in the courtyard, and they continuing to hang out throughout the game (granted this could be interpreted as Desmond trying to get closer with her, since in the FTE'S he expressed a desire to get close with everyone and Eloise expressed the exact opposite)

When Desmond is trying to explain his roommates idea Eloise helps him out, she’s also the first person to question separating the roommates by gender

When Grace is giving Eloise shit about the blackmail Desmond comes to her defense, and it's only after this that Eloise hands the blackmail over

He's also seen comforting her after Grace tackles her during the investigation, and is the first to insist challenging Grace to get into Wolfgang's room.

During the class trial Desmond backs up Eloise’s criticism of Grace, and when people start suspecting Desmond, Eloise is quick to come to his defense

And by quick I mean she reacts to it before Desmond does, and you have to agree with Eloise to progress the game

Judging by how the group tends to read people AND what's revealed about the both of them in their freetime events, I could see a situation form where people are more scared of Desmond (with the marksmen talent, involvement in case 1 via the taser, and the blackmail) even though Eloise is a much bigger threat (with her threatening Damon in her first FTE and being very wary of the cast in general)

Which could be an interesting parallel with their respective animals with sharks being over hated while swans are way more violent than people give them credit for 

Speaking of animal symbolism, it's also worth noting how several species of sharks have been seen forming friend groups, and how swans most often display violent behavior when their chicks or mates are threatened.

Now why he trusts her is still up for debate, but judging by the evidence my best bet would be that they were friends outside of the deathgame. Ingrid did mention being named an Ultimate a year before attending the academy, so it's possible they met through that.

I saw some people theorizing that he may be a bodyguard and this might be like a Peko situation, but I personally doubt that in connection with this theory. Mostly because in Eloise's freetime events it seems like she isn't in the best financial situation, meanwhile in Desmond's its confirmed his family is rather well off.

How likely do I think that this is actually the case? Idk like… 60%. I could’ve completely misread things, this was mostly just me rambling lol

[invisible-pink-toast]

who's who in the zoo wilderness

like many yellowjackets fans i am Obsessed with the flashbacks in the pilot episode - but while many theories are about who pit girl is or who the antler queen is i also wanted to have a look at who each of the creepy cloaked cultee's might be under their masks...

Info

in the flashbacks we have nine characters -

pit girl (called "The Runner" in the script)

antler queen (called "The Shaman")

the one wearing beaver fur ("The Overseer")

the one wearing a skunk fur ("The Hunter")

the one in the pink hood ("The Butcher")

one wearing an owl

one wearing racoons

one wearing what appears to be a wolf

one wearing pants/leggings in a way that looks rabbit-like.

The antler queen is the name the fans have given the mysterious veiled figure - but the creators have been firm in saying that is an interpretation and not a fact. What we know about this figure is she's referred to as "The Shaman" and she's obviously a significant figure in the group - but not necessarily the queen/leader. I don't think this character is automatically the leader of the cult.

The definition of a shaman includes:

A member of certain traditional societies, especially of northern Asia and of North and South America, who acts as a medium between the visible world and an invisible spirit world and who practices magic or sorcery for purposes of healing, divination, and control over natural events.

The term shamanism comes from the Manchu-Tungus word šaman. The noun is formed from the verb ša- ‘to know’; thus, a shaman is literally “one who knows.” 

So of these nine, seven of them must be our seven known survivors:

just a note: aside from sammi hanratty (misty) none of the other actors were playing characters in this scene - those roles were filled by body doubles. so i'm not going to be too specific in comparing looks to try and match these characters to our known characters. There's also the fact that these scenes were written and filmed for the pilot before the show was greenlit and since then the story has changed somewhat (for example - van most likely originally dying from the wolf attack but that being rewritten because they loved what liv hewson did with the character and wanting them to continue). So I'll mostly be focusing on the characters we know were absolutely intended to be there: Shauna, Tai, Natalie (confirmed to survive in the pilot) as well as Travis and Lottie (confirmed to survive later in s1).

Theories/Predictions/Headcanons

Only one figure is 100% confirmed - the Overseer being Misty, as she is the only character seen to remove her fur mask at the end of the pilot episode.

The other that is basically confirmed is the identity of the Butcher being Shauna.

Not only was Shauna... literally the butcher in the past and the present ("Shauna, you're the best with the knife, so you'll handle the body. I mean cut it up." - Misty in 1x10) but when Shauna kills Adam she has flashbacks that include the Butcher bleeding the Runner's corpse.

Then there's the Runner, and given that she dies gruesomely she is not one of the survivors, but is one of the yellowjackets who survived past the end of s2.

Aside from her face, she is the character we see the most of physically (so i will mention her physical appearance in relation with who her character might be) - she has long dark hair and lighter/olive coloured skin.

based on this we know that pit girl is most likely either Gen or Mari (my vote is mari, and i wrote a meta on why). now that gen has been recast for s3 :( i'm thinking it's almost definitely mari.

that's 3/9 and where the clearest examples stop.

Owl

I think the animals were chosen with intention, both by the costume designer and within the story by the characters. whereas the other masks seem more for the sake of warmth (like the raccoon pelts sort of sewed together into a hood) this one feels a lot more symbolic. like can you even skin an owl while keeping the feathers??

I think this is a reference to Tai's connection with the "Other Tai" - the one who comes out in sleepwalking, and somehow knows the lay of the land (where the symbols are, where the other yellowjackets are) in a way that Tai doesn't understand. The imagery of having a character appear to literally have two faces just screams Tai to me.

From some very basic research it seems that owl can symbolically mean: wisdom, a guide in the dark, death, visions, etc.

While this could relate to Tai, it could also relate to Lottie.

While as the audience we know Lottie is schizophrenic and without her meds, the others have taken Lottie's visions as signs from the wilderness and treat her as the resident seer. While she's clearly trying to pull away from that role and the responsibility it entails by the end of s2 - the other yellowjackets already look to her as someone with the knowledge to guide them through the wilderness.

There's also the clothing. While most clothes seem to be passed around communally (a sweater Misty & Mari wear in s2 is the legwarmers on the owl and the mask on the skunk) there are some items that are reserved for specific characters (like Shauna wearing Jackie's butterfly shirt).

In the '96 timeline Tai wears a lot of patterned blue and purple clothes, some of which almost definitely become part of the outfit for this owl character.

There's also the vest - it could be an animal fur but it has some of similarities to Lottie's fluffy coat, especially one that's become dirtier while stranded without the cabin. This coat is only worn by Lottie. The raccoon character also wears a similar vest, so it could just be fur, but Lottie's coat resembles the owl character's vest more based on the colour, or the coat could have been split in two.

Overall I think the owl character is most likely Tai.

in doomcoming and in the hunt in the future the upper half of tai's face is covered and it makes sense to me that trend would continue in all her hunt outfits. there's also the repeated imagery of eyes within her story - the man with no eyes, her grandmother's eyes, sammy's doll on the altar missing an eye, so her outfit having a taxidermy owl with no eyes tracks.

Wolf

unfortunately not many clear images exist for this character. i'm not even sure if the pelt they're wearing is a wolf, it could also be a bear, but i'm going with wolf for now.

i think this is Travis. travis is the other hunter of the group and it makes sense that the characters furs might come from their own hunts/kills. symbolism wise travis does fit a wolf as well - loyalty, protection, strength. wolves are closely tied to the bonds of packs and family, making sense that travis would be the lone wolf as he's lost his father and brother out here.

tai and van are also associated with wolves - but i don't think either of them would want to wear one all the time, given that van was attacked by one and tai is haunted by them.

the wolf character also has some small details that fit for travis' character. their face is covered from the eyes down, something travis often does throughout season 2. the wolf, owl and skunk characters are also the only ones (that we can see) wearing fingerless gloves. given that the last time travis saw javi happy was him being gifted gloves by natalie, and that much of their clothes would have been destroyed in the fire (but not javi's, which were most likely still outside) i can see travis wearing javi's gloves.

The Hunter / Skunk

i think this is Natalie. before the season 2 finale i would've said this was 100%. now knowing that natalie is their new leader, there is the possibility that she is the antler queen character, which i will talk about later, but for me this character only makes sense as natalie.

nat's the hunter! even as a new leader, she's still the most capable and knowledgeable in hunting. travis is very much her second while she leads the hunting trips. it also makes sense that as the leader she would be the first one to check The Runner, to stand over the pit. both an 'honour' and a duty.

natalie's also been the one standing over the bodies so far. she's the one waiting outside with jackie's body at the start of 2x03, she's the one who takes jackie's remains and has a short memorial for her. she's the one who stays outside the longest, standing over travis with javi's body. obviously not definitive but does work with the skunk character.

as for the clothes - the hunter wears the iconic co-ed soccer shirt, pink converse, and for a mask the cloth is currently a sweater within the show.

the shirt begins the show as van's - but almost every character has worn it now (including tai, travis, akilah, etc.). the pink connverse have never been quite as clear, but it appears that might have originally been shauna's (a darker colour that most likely faded over the 19 months) and have been worn by at least lottie, gen & tai. the sweater that the mask is made of has been worn by misty, mari & mel. so none of that narrows anything down sdjflsakhfl;h

i think the skunk is quite a specific choice too. could be about seeing things in black & white, about keeping your distance, etc. there's not a lot about skunk symbolism but it mainly seems to involve confidence, courage and direction. these are interesting when paired with natalie, given that she fits some very well but struggles with others.

it's also implied in the original pilot script that this character is natalie.

while we do see the hunter pulling up the runner's body with the rope, the scene with natalie does not make it into the episode. it does suggest that when filming the pilot this character was thought of to be natalie though. of course, as the show progressed this may have changed.

still in 1x10 when it's decided that shauna will cut up adam's body, natalie is the one who volunteers to help her, while misty is the one who directs all of them, mirroring this scene with the butcher (shauna), overseer (misty) and hunter (natalie).

some say that the hunter is van - has a similar build and the general blankness/darkness that van has by the end of s2, as well as being the shirt's og owner. but van wasn't supposed to be there in the initial conception of this character. while it may have changed now, for me this character is natalie.

Raccoon & Rabbit

I'm honestly not sure who these two might be. One is most likely Van, given that we know she survives.

Early on there were theories that Jackie was the Rabbit, due to her association with rabbits, which makes sense, but now we know Jackie's dead. Then they were possibly Javi, but he's dead too. As for symbolism, I'm not sure who of the remaining Yellowjackets fits either of these characters.

I think the creators were purposefully ambiguous to leave themselves with options. If the audience doesn't know who is who, they have the opportunity to change the story slightly as the show progresses (like with Van surviving).

The Shaman / Antler Queen

while initially thought to be lottie, as she is set up as the leader in the wilderness, the season 2 finale revealed that natalie was the new leader. both of these characters could be the shaman, but i feel as though it makes more sense for natalie to be the hunter. even though there are moment that in retrospect hint that natalie becomes the leader (misty's devotion, natalie stating that she lacked a purpose after they were rescued, tai and shauna's conversation about nat being the reason they're alive), there are no clear references to natalie being the antler queen character in the story so far (although that could have been hidden on purpose for the reveal).

in the adult timeline the others are terrified of the antler queen in a way that's different from their reactions to the symbol from the wilderness. when they receive the postcards or realise the symbol is under travis' body they are disturbed, they have a distrust of the symbol and everything it reminds them of.

but their reactions to the shaman are different. she appears in shauna's flashbacks when she kills adam, in natalie's visions/hallucinations after she overdoses, and in lottie's visions/hallucinations after hearing natalie's experience and in her office with the fake therapist. each of them are utterly terrified when she appears.

i think who the shaman is depends on what her role truly is. as i've already said, the "antler queen" is a title made up by the fans.

Leader:

The Shaman does appear to be the leader of the group, sitting in the centre of the semi-circle, being elevated, everyone waiting for her go-ahead to begin the feast, and everyone waiting for her to leave first.

If The Shaman is the leader, then she is Natalie.

This is supported by the editing in the pilot episode - at the '96 party when Natalie gets high, she stands by the fire and sees Misty standing across from her. It then cuts to the Overseer bringing the Shaman the cooked feast.

Chief Mourner:

If the Shaman is the chief mourner, it would depend on who the Runner is. If she's gen, the Shaman would most likely be mel in this instance. if she's mari, the most likely mourner would be akilah. the shaman doesn't appear to have akilah's dark skin, but body doubles were used and her face is veiled. if akilah has already died, the mourner might be lottie or gen.

It would be interesting with the idea that the antler queen changes from person to person. That they're all still terrified of "her" when what she represents is you losing the one you love most, you being the one with the most grief.

This is supported by what's happened with the two acts of cannibalism so far in the series. Shauna is Jackie's chief mourner, she is the one to light her funeral pyre, she is the one to give the go ahead that they should eat Jackie's body ("She wants us to." - Shauna in 2x02). Travis is Javi's chief mourner, and he is also the one to give the go ahead to eat Javi's body, everyone rushing in for the 'meat' after Travis has put Javi's heart on the pan.

However the Shaman is never seen eating. Both Shauna and Travis have the first bite of their loved one, whereas the Shaman only nods for the feast to start. It's possible this is part of a ritual that evolved over time, but it's still puzzling.

Spiritual Advisor :

if the antler queen is some sort of spiritual advisor, then she's most likely lottie. this fits with what we've seen in the '96 timeline already, with lottie's wilderness connection and the reverence shown to her by other team mates. even though lottie abdicates her role of leader in the s2 finale and claims she 'can't hear' the wilderness anymore - it's clear this is because of the weight of the responsibility to keep them alive, as well as her grief and guilt over javi's death.

still, several of the others seem confused at lottie's decision, and only seem to be accepting natalie as the leader because lottie said so. if this is something that creates tension within the group, it makes sense that natalie might appoint lottie a role where they can still look to her.

natalie as the leader/hunter is the one brining in the kill, but lottie as a spiritual advisor/shaman is the one leading the ritual.

this is supported by how in the adult timeline when they are having another hunt, it's lottie that leads it, not natalie. though that may be because lottie was the one to initiate the hunt. lottie also still acts as a spiritual advisor, with the others coming to her for advice.

the other option for a spiritual advisor is Tai. Not necessarily tai though... but Other Tai.

Much about Other Tai still remains a mystery. Is she another personality, a response to the trauma and repression, some sort of possession from the wilderness? In the adult timeline Lottie says that Other Tai is a part of Taissa, but Other Tai's conversation with Van in the woods raises questions about this.

Van: How do you know where you're going? Other Tai: He shows me. Van: Who's "he?" Other Tai: The one with no eyes. Van: Is that who you always follow? Other Tai: Only when she lets me. Van: Okay there's a "she" too, am I "she?" Other Tai: [shakes head] Van: Then who is "she?" Other Tai: Taissa. Van: Then who are you? Other Tai: [gives Van a look before walking away]

Other Tai's ability to track the whereabouts of the other survivors (Javi, Natalie), her connection to the man with no eyes, and knowing where all of the symbols are imply something more supernatural then just "sleepwalking".

Other Tai is the one to participate in cannibalising Jackie, she's strongly implied to be the one who pushes Taissa to continue running for senate even after she told Simone she would drop out, and she is the one to behead their fucking dog and make an altar in their basement. The creators and actors have talked about Other Tai and explain that she has Tai's best interest in mind, but she is willing to do what Tai wouldn't do to get it. Other Tai has a connection to the wilderness and the supernatural, she desires power and can become violent. She could very well be The Shaman.

"I don't know how bad it's going to get this time, but you know how bad it can get." - Tai in 1x06

Group Hallucination:

It's been theorised that the Shaman / Antler Queen doesn't really exist at all.

With the show toeing the line between visions, hallucinations and grief-induced psychosis with multiple characters (including Lottie, Tai, Shauna, Natalie, Travis) it's possible that as the group spirals more and more out of control and into ritualistic cannibalism - a way that they attempt to cope is through this Shaman. A 'physical' manifestation of the Wilderness itself. Something that gives them permission to feast on the flesh of their teammates, but does not eat herself, because she's not really there.

We only see The Shaman during the feast scene, and in other's visions/hallucinations. We know there are seven known survivors, but during the pilot's flash forward scene we see eight. Only if The Shaman doesn't exist, it's our seven survivors and a hallucination sitting around the fire.

So in the end my main theories/predictions/headcanons stand as:

Mari as The Runner / Pit Girl

Misty as The Overseer / Beaver

Shauna as The Butcher / Pink Hood

Natalie as The Hunter / Skunk

Tai as the owl

Travis as the wolf

Lottie as The Shaman / Antler Queen

the one I am least sure of is The Shaman, she could still be Tai or a hallucination, and I look forward to finding out!

[ssruis]

Hello welcome to yet another post that was 1) originally meant to be a short thing but it rapidly got out of hand 2) caters to me specifically 3) is all over the place because I kept finding more things I wanted to talk about

The way rui approaches emotions is so fascinating to me bc like. He approaches everything with a very rational/logical thought process instead of an emotional one and he tends to either ignore his emotions or view them as an obstacle/hinderance.

(From his gleaming stars card story)

If he acknowledges that he’s upset or unhappy he tends to just go “oh well. What can you do.” & then berates himself for not wanting to be unhappy. I feel like a lot of that can be explained by his childhood alienation from his peers.

In RMD his reaction to his classmates refusing to take part in his play once he explained the tree jump stunt & them calling him weird is to blame himself:

Little Nene: Rui, what’s the matter? Did something sad happen?

Little Rui: Nene… No. That’s not it. I pushed my show onto everyone and bothered them.

(From RMD - TL by Arven Oven)

Which is pretty telling. To Rui, the issue is that he asked for too much, that he as a person is something that must be tolerated by his peers.

But ultimately he still has faith that he’ll find his people.

Little Rui: …That’s right. People like you, Nene, who would say that they like my shows, surely exist out there. I want to make my own shows. But as of now - I think it might be a little hard.

(RMD)

And he *did* keep trying to find people who would accept him for a while - Wonder Halloween shows that he continued to try to reach out even after the stuff that happened in RMD, but eventually anyone he got a little close to would end up leaving & reinforcing his idea that he was too different from others to form relationships.

(From Wonder Halloween)

I’ve seen some people say him giving up on forming relationships was due to the events shown in RMD, but I think it was more of a result of him experiencing the same rejection over and over again. The definition of insanity is trying over and over again when the result never changes, and despite what his peers may think, Rui is not insane. I think he gradually lost faith in his parents assurance that he would find people who accepted him - he begins pushing Nene, the only person who hasn’t left him yet, away.

Middle School Rui: I’m working on a solo project… but I haven’t found anyone else like you that’s willing to help.

Middle School Nene: oh, I see…

Middle School Nene: then would you like to join the troupe I’m in…?

Middle School Nene: I mean, uh…

Middle School Rui: hehe. It’s nice of you to invite me, but there’s no need to pity me. I’m doing ok on my own, and it’s for the best anyway.

(From Wonder Halloween)

Why he pushed Nene away is sort of left up to interpretation - To protect her from himself? To leave her before she left like everyone else? - but I think the assumption that her invitation is out of pity show that at least part of his decision to push her away was out of the belief that she, like everyone else, was simply tolerating him. If he assumes everyone hates him/is scared of him right off the bat, he can avoid getting his hopes up and being crushed when he’s inevitably abandoned. It’s not unhealthy or detrimental to forming relationships he’s just recognizing a pattern and using it to predict the behavior of others (blatantly wrong).

Zombie Plushies: We can tell you’re just pretending to be friends! Deep down, you’re probably scared and disgusted by us too!

(…)

Zombie Plushies: We’ll never fit in with them anyway…

Rui: …! (Never fit in with them, huh…)

(…)

Rui: When I look at them… I remember how things used to be.

(WXS world link, TL by Haruka’s penguin)

He rationalized his loneliness with “I’m just incompatible with other people” which

1) ow.

2) if he’s incompatible with other people, there’s no reason to get his hopes up because he’ll never find people he fits in with

3) if nothing is ever going to get better, he should be content with being alone. There’s no reason to be sad over a fact of life. It is what it is.

4) being sad over this is inconvenient, unhelpful, and a distraction from following his dreams (on his own)

5) inflicting himself onto others is a selfish desire and he should just keep to himself. “It’s for the best, anyway.”

6) he’s perfectly fine on his own. He doesn’t need anyone for his shows, and he doesn’t need friends.

By the time the WXS main story takes place, he’s already fully convinced himself that he’s better off alone, and that Actually It’s Super Beneficial For Him & His Shows And He’s Fine Like This.

Middle School Rui: Solitude isn’t as bad as people make it out to be.

Middle School Mizuki: huh?

Middle School Rui: In fact, it has had certain benefits for me. It’s given me plenty of time to see plays and to think over ideas for shows, for example.

(Kamikou festival)

Rui: hehe. Unfortunately, we won’t be doing a show together.

Rui: you see, I like to work alone and with absolute freedom to stage any show I want.

Rui: as long as my shows fill my audience’s hearts with joy, I’m perfectly satisfied.

(WXS main story) (“I’m perfectly satisfied” me when I lie)

I feel like it’s overlooked that the only reason rui joined wxs was to get nene in the group. I’m probably going to talk about his continued pushing of Tsukasa’s limits/suggesting insane stunts and over emphasizing how dangerous they are at a later date - and how that was (imo) an attempt to find the point where Tsukasa would hate and leave him too -

(surely this is too good to be true, Tsukasa/wxs will be like all the others -> wait he’s not calling me a freak and leaving ok I guess I’ll go full throttle on the insane shit surely at some point he’ll get tired of me -> he got injured because of me and he’s still here?? what the fuck???? Well now I care about him & this group so I need to pull back I’m not going to get a second chance)

(Wonder Halloween)

- but I would like to briefly mention that Rui literally suggests risking Tsukasa’s life right off the bat & when Tsukasa is like “?? I don’t want to die???” Rui just goes “alright I’m out of the group I guess bye. have fun nene!”

Rui: Don't worry, the device can be securely attached to the stage in a way that will keep the audience perfectly safe. Please make sure you don't touch it or you'll die.

Tsukasa: what about keeping ME safe?!

(…)

Tsukasa: I’m not going to risk my life on-stage!

Rui: but you said you’d perform any role I gave you to, quote, 12000%, unquote!

Rui: I'm afraid that I have no choice but to step down as a stage director. Nene, good luck working with these people.

(Wxs main story)

Unfortunately humans are a social species & emotions don’t follow (faulty) logic so rui *was* unhappy on his own and he *did* want to have friends. Which I’m sure he continued to call himself selfish/greedy for feeling. Rationalizing all of this was a way he could accept/make peace with being miserable (because it must be this way, because this is how it will always be).

Rui: I was the same a long time ago… I gave up on fitting in with anyone.

(…)

Rui: If they don’t understand me, that just can’t be helped, if they disagree with the way I think, that just can’t be helped… I would think like that.

Rin: Rui-kun…

Rui: - in reality, I really did want to put on a show with someone else. But people didn’t understand the shows I was making. On a subconscious level, I convinced myself it wasn’t going to work out and gave up on the idea.

(WXS world link)

(Wxs Journey to bloom animation)

This added scene from the main story animation adds to this - why he leaves WXS did have to do with Tsukasa yelling at Nene, but the reason he doesn’t come back after Nene forgives Tsukasa is because Tsukasa’s self centered attitude is something that antithetical to a belief that Rui thought he’d given up on a long time ago: great shows *can’t* be made alone, no matter how many times you insist that you don’t need anyone else. As much as he denied it, Rui *did* still want to connect with people and be accepted - not just for the purpose of making shows, but to have a place where he belonged. For the first time in years Rui got his hopes up, started believing in what his parents told him, and Tsukasa proved to him that he never should have done so in the first place. Unlike the other times, though, Rui is the one to walk away first. & then tsukasa/wxs do the whole “true feelings” show etc etc we know how the main story ends.

That being said, I think that Rui still subconsciously believed WXS would grow to hate him and leave because he would finally be Too Much. Wonder Halloween showed him that this wasn’t true (Which is why it’s so important that the zombie plushies in the world link performed potato ghost to connect to the other plushies - it’s the show that was performed when Rui fully realized that wxs was not going to abandon him.) but I feel like that only cemented the fact that wxs would keep performing alongside him, not that they were his friends.

Rui also very clearly did not process or evaluate how his childhood impacted him.

Nene: When you talked about the old days, you seemed happy.

Rui: fufu. I don’t mind it anymore because it was so long ago.

(His RMD card story - TL by Rubilia Heartfilia) (me when I lie part two)

After so long by himself, with shows as the only thing he had, I think that having a connection to people *outside* of shows was completely unfathomable to Rui.

Which is why he’s kind of incapable of realizing why the idea of leaving wxs hurts him so much,

(Curtain call)

why he doesn’t realize why he starts holding back in wonder Halloween or why he holds back on the cheer squad,

(Cheer squad event)

And why he’s surprised that wxs cares for him not just as a director, but as a friend.

(Festival bathed in twilight)

I make fun of him for taking a year to finally be like “yeah tsukasa-kun and I are friends” but I think it’s pretty reasonable taking his trust/abandonment issues into account. Accepting Tsukasa’s offer to join wxs (twice) changed his life drastically - he realizes that he can connect to others outside of shows, that it’s possible for him to form relationships with people outside of wxs. Rui just needed to make the choice to accept the outreached hands - not changing the parts of himself that people previously deemed too weird or strange (not that he was ever going to do that anyways) but changing his attitude of “it’s just impossible for me to be accepted.”

Rui: I had always thought that I could never properly understand everyone around me.

Rui: as I started doing shows at Wonder Stage with everyone, my way of thinking and feelings began to change.

Rui: now, I am able to understand and connect with someone without relying on shows, and I’ve come to value the beauty of laughing alongside others

Rui: that’s why — tsukasa-kun. Thank you for giving me the chance to change.

(…)

Tsukasa: but… it’s not only just thanks to me, y’know?

Rui: eh?

Tsukasa: think about it. No matter how many chances I gave you, if you had refused to change, you would never have done so, right?

(Pandemonium, TL by Tsukasa’s #3 fan)

This is also why he tends to berate himself for having the very normal desire to hold on to wxs. He’s never had something like this before, where he has people who accept and love him as he is. He’s never wanted to keep something as badly as this. He’s asking too much of them, he’s imposing like he did with his classmates in RMD, he should let them leave. It’s the mature thing to do. He spent so long on his own, he should be fine going back to that, isn’t it selfish and greedy to want more?

(Curtain call)

(Talking abt wanting to keep doing shows w wxs and his actions in OHE) Rui: Now that I think about it, I’ve been pretty selfish.

(World link)

Rui: (…When the time comes, even I, too, will have to move forward.)

Rui: (…Moving forward, can I do that?)

Rui: (…Geez, I really lack a backbone. When will the time come when I find myself satisfied with the way things are?)

(…)

Rui: (While working to make my dream come true, together with everyone, I will make their dreams come true. A way to do that - let me think of one.)

Rui: (fufu, how greedy of me.)

(Curtain call - TL by Arven Oven & Tsukasa’s #3 Fan) (fuck you ensekai)

I think that, in future events, he’ll (hopefully) come to realize there are more people who will accept him (& get more trust ranks. Please.). I think it’s an impossible ask for him to be completely fine with wxs going their separate ways some day (and the same goes for everyone else in wxs), but I think when the time comes it will at least be bittersweet and with the knowledge that he can find other places to belong & that his relationships with the rest of wxs is strong enough to withstand not being in the same troupe. Things can’t stay the same forever, but change doesn’t have to be bad. Etc etc.

[anniesilverl2]

CHARACTER STUDY: Darkwing Duck, Representation of the superhero or the insecure man?

INTRODUCTION

Good morning / good afternoon / good evening, whatever time you are receiving this, I hope you have been keeping up with your sleep schedule, and we are back with some loose ideas for characters in an animated comedy show. I apologize for the delay, it is difficult to have good plans to express the ideas that are lingering in my poor memory. I will probably mention some of my own ideas to explain some information. So be prepared for me to hide parts of the story or make jokes with double meanings among readers and acquaintances of mine who mentioned the entire plot. Without further ado about this post for the holidays, let's face the night duck!

IMPORTANT WARNINGS ABOUT SENSITIVE CONTENT: MENTIONS OF LIKELY COPING BEHAVIORS AGAINST BULLYING OR RECURRENCES SUCH AS GRIEF AND LOW CONFIDENCE.

DARKWING DUCK SERIES - Taking everything the show SAYS for itself

Darkwing Duck, aka, Drake Mallard, is the central protagonist of the series' story along with his social circle, both family and local criminals. The series will not have a direct say as it did with the rest of the characters, no, no, that would be too much luck. A conclusion, out of curiosity, of an art project by Tad Stones and Bob Kline called “Double O Duck”. Moving on to the story before, he became a considerably clumsy crime fighter. A visual sample is given in the episode entitled.

“The Secret Origins of Darkwing Duck” was nothing more than a parody of the great Superman, but to summarize the content. The young Drake was sent to Earth by the destruction of his planet along with Negaduck where the young duck spent his time training to face the opposing duck (it's a very short summary, sorry). The parody sequence was cut, in relation to the episode “Paraducks” where Darkwing made a paradox that made his younger self need help from his older self to face a group of troublemakers and shoplifters.

Ironically, this version reunites with the continuation of his childhood to adolescence, following the episode “Crash Reunion” where they confirm that Drake Mallard himself studied and was bullied for a considerable time by the former Megavolt entity, Elmo Sputterspark. In many parts that are searched separately will complicate to a difficult level and to put together independent material is worse Going, but hold on there because I will do you a favour with the notebooks (be careful, I had to cut the technical part so as not to give away spoilers that will be used in the Purple Union AU universe).

DARKWING DUCK FANDOM - Building everything that was formed for the fans together with the most indirect interpretations perceived in my participation when writing or drawing with lore

Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard is a character as popular as the other characters in his cast. Of course, some more and others a little less, however, both the protagonist brings enough mystery and characteristics to attract all types of writers and fans, from the series to the comics from 2010 to 2024. I also love the dynamics and stories involving Darkwing, it has the essence of 80s-90s comedy, the animation is one of the few in Disney's transition period. The story behind the character, however, is what gets me because there is nothing to deepen his life before the series and the comics. All the events that readers get are after his entire life, even more so with some rumours that make you stop and think about what exactly happened to make everything go wrong for DW.

At this point, just like Megavolt, I have some points regarding the development and carelessness of the narrative in addressing some themes. For the character Darkwing Duck, it goes much further than what is done with any other character. The character suffered from what I call the “clean formula.” Why this name? The answer is simple: it is exactly every piece that leads to a direct influence on the character’s mind, and in the next episode it is partially or totally undone to continue with the script of a single episode, which is somewhat exaggerated? Yes, my explanation makes it seem that way, but going deeper, I might be able to convince you of this point.

IN DARKWING DUCK appearing in the episodes:

Darkwing Duck - Series (1990-1991, 3-4 Seasons) -

IN DUCKTALES 2017 appear in the episodes:

The Duck Knight Returns! (Season 2, Episode 16)

Moonvasion! (Season 2, Episode 24)

Let's Get Dangerous! (Season 3, Episode 12)

Escape from the Impossible! (Season 3, Episode 13)

The Last Adventure! (Season 3, Episode 22)

IN COMICS (Boom! Studios and Joe Books):

Darkwing Duck - Series (1991-1996, 48 editions)

Darkwing Duck: "The Quackshot" (1991)

Darkwing Duck: "Danger Time" (1994)

Darkwing Duck: Classics (2011) - IDW Publishing

Darkwing Duck: "The Untimely Terror of the Time Turtle" (2011)

Darkwing Duck: "The Duck Knight Returns" (2010)

Darkwing Duck: "F.O.W.L. Disposition" (2011)

Darkwing Duck: “Toy with Me” (2011)

Darkwing Duck: "Crisis on Infinite Darkwings" (2011)

Darkwing Duck: The Secrets of Darkwing Duck (2011-12)

Darkwing Duck Annual (2011)

Darkwing Duck: "Campaign Carnage" (2011)

Darkwing Duck: Omnibus (2014) - IDW Publishing

Darkwing Duck: The Definitively Dangerous Edition (2015) - Boom! Studio

Darkwing Duck (2016-2017, 8 editions) - Joe Books

DuckTales (1988) - IDW Publishing

Uncle Scrooge (1986) - IDW Publishing

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories (1991) - IDW Publishing

Disney Afternoon (2013) - IDW Publishing

DuckTales/Darkwing Duck (2019) - IDW Publishing

Disney's Hero Squad (2019) - IDW Publishing

Darkwing Duck: Justice Ducks(2024) - Dynamite

DARKWING DUCK/DRAKE MALLARD - Story adapted without extreme spoilers, just adding the changes, ideas on his biological identity and influence:

With the introduction of the character in the Ducktales universe in 2017, there were many doubts. Not only him, however the other characters in his show suffered with the drastic change, involving all the participants and some actors such as Jim Starling, the former Negaduck. Drake Mallard is also an actor, replacing the original Darkwing Duck, who was Mr. Starling. And as we know, the character tried to get revenge and regain his great role of glory. The aspects related to his family are left open regarding the relationships before Launchpad, Fenton and Gosalyn. The changes were not that many, to a certain extent the changes make the character follow the line of his development as in the original series.

Focusing on his future, while the aspects that need to evolve arrive, positively or negatively, as the character has his moments as a hero. Or, in some cases, a not very responsible personality as a night watchman and experience will seek his responsibility as the criminals appear. In the description most often used in some of my or shared ideas, it is Drake Mallard working as a member of the acting team. Either directly as a protagonist or as an employee for effects and preparation for filming, involving everything from makeup, improvisation to editing after filming. When he is no longer active in the studios, since the events of Ducktales “The Last Adventure”, Drake Mallard came into contact with SHUSH due to some missions involving local superheroes and criminals. For now, he tends to work alone to face the big personalities of Saint Canard, he was just a vigilante until the arrival of new characters that can directly affect his way of thinking or acting (for now this part will be cut, but it is related to some future AUs with my help in the main art).

One point that was added is that Drake's childhood significantly influenced many things in his life. His family, especially, and being a little more specific about HIS ABSENCE in his life story, the character here carries many mysteries about how this happened. In the past, together with Elmo, Drake was tormenting so much that he continued in the current storyline. People hardly expect anything good from him. Although, he managed to have good influences. Such as his mention of the old show, it is an idea that I add that the series was originally presented by his father before the events that gave rise to his last events. It is a case of almost hyperfocus / a fascinating on the character, even with the near-death incident for Jim Starling, who previously became an idol. The meaning behind it did not disappear, as it was the memory that gave him his true motivation, even with everyone who does not trust him or sees him as useless (remembering that he had his ups and downs and is not confirming anything). There was a difference in Drake's portrayal of the character, who carries enough for his life and dealing with situations that put him down, very different from Elmo, who carried repressed anger until he exploded in full fury. The point is that the show would have meant much more family than directly the actors involved, not disregarding the event of nostalgia. Of course, Drake is an old guy, although the notes make him about 5 years younger than the original.

DARKWING DUCK/DRAKE MALLARD - Character Design:

Concept art Vs Final Design (Credits to User Acmeoop)

Canon Redesign

DEVELOPMENT:

One fact that I note as responsible for the brief evaluation of most DWD viewers goes far beyond opinion. Even though it influenced a good part of the critics of the time and even today, with how they deal with the program as a whole and even in the approaches given to recent writers (there were some situations of writers coming and going, I recommend doing more research if you are interested in the behind the scenes). The main fact is that I reached a conclusion after reviewing the episodes in English three times, the fact is the script style of the episodes, no, no, calm down! I'm not saying that the episodes made are bad. I love every questionnaire for the writers who didn't drink too much caffeine- I love the style, the fact that I enter is considered the atmosphere of the first pilot of the show.

“Darkly Dawns the Duck” was the first episode I looked for when I still didn't know the program. I initially came from the beginning of the release of Ducktales 2017. A fact that makes me only look for the episodes to review, it is directly about the atmosphere. The first episode mixes the tone of comedy and the tone of seriousness with balance. The scenes in which Taurus Bulba appears have always had an air of villainy worthy of a film by the studio, and without a doubt one of the few in the series that challenge Darkwing Duck's inner concern. Once again, this mood returns in a tone similar to the episode “Steerminator”. My sense of production is affected due to ADHD (and in the current situation I feel like I'm going to leave with another diagnosis, so get ready to deal with an imperative or “inattentive” young woman). Without losing the point, I say that Darkwing Duck could have followed the line of these episodes. Not just the constant continuity made from the comics and double episodes, in general, it would have been a big difference if it were remade in modern times. There is a fan universe that Beatriz (@zelda-cooper) and I made called “Classic” where we redid some changes in the 1990 Darkwing Duck series. One of the main ones was the mood of the episodes, of course, there are still great moments and development thanks to the tone of the comedy and some silly moments of family banter. However, one of the main differences is in the atmosphere and some changes in the events involving the character's life against crime. In the same way that he got some moments right, there were times when he was irresponsible due to his behaviour, an example? We have directly the degradation of his relationship with the main team of the Fearsome Five, there were ugly fights, there were threats. There were also events related to the appearances of these criminals and the main point that I will mention as a bonus is his origin story, yay! So will we have a mini Drake? Yes, my child, feel free to give an excerpt of the ideas that I wrote down in the notebooks for both the shared universes and the LYG AU.

Eliane and Musson Mallard are the names I chose for the characters that represent Drake's parents. The essential information is that Eliane had a job outside the home, and it was thanks to it that she met Musson. And, let's say, this job was not the most conventional for someone looking for a quiet family. Well, here is the first step towards a stubborn personality like Drake's could have been influenced thanks to a rebellious woman after World War II. She had a job, personal items, access to difficult equipment and had such a strong personality and was committed to bringing security to people. Hm? Was it golden with a young protagonist who would confidently lead her story? Yes, Eliane was a mix of a friendly, caring personality for a person who had high confidence and a desire to find solutions. Musson, he was created taking as reference the silliest traits of Drake, the real Darkwing Duck, besides the mask, he was a goofy, clumsy, not very mature or with a sense of being a common person. I hope the small excerpt I removed is understandable. One point I tried to make is that Drake directly had or could have had the influence of a person as eccentric as his future self, but without the “Paraducks” part. In this version, it was his own parents who inspired traits of his older personality. So, where were they both in the end? Unfortunately, as a good writer and artist, we must have the courage to put the blade to the fate of OCs, like Bruce Wayne. The Mallards' deaths are unknown. Drake still doesn't remember them completely, it was right when they left. In this space, so, created the participation of another character called Dap, Daphine Mallard, who was her little brother's legal guardian during his elementary years until the end of high school, and where is she? Unfortunately, the two don't talk to each other for a small reason linked to the X of all the character's relationship conflicts, LACK of communication.

CONSEQUENCES

The only point that raises doubts and raises some questions in the minds of fans is directly related to Drake Mallard's self-destructive personality. Individuals with events marked by high stress or lack of freedom to deal with things go through many things in their lives, and this goes from reality to fiction. Mourning, bullying, low self-esteem and anxiety are the main points that I found when reviewing the character's ups and downs. Maybe it's not so obvious, I thought at first that it was just an idea in my head until I became aware of some thoughts from Darkwing's own artists and writers. Officially or from fan activities, it is an essential fact to relate to the beginning and end of a journey. The problem that marked it was exactly this jump back to the passage of the character's development, the difficulties, and traumas were not completely resolved, they still remain in the imagination and vision of the purple duck.

What makes me believe this is reviewing episodes related to the character's mind. “Dead Duck” is the most famous and once again made characters free to work on these points for the vigilante, but let’s leave my opinions aside and get to the questions. Why exactly did Drake never have the courage to properly fix his past relationships? Who did this directly affect? We see this among everyone with Morgana, their relationship is often cut short due to the recurrence of the lack of communication. Darkwing does not respect his partner’s wishes, interests, and even requests at times, and we regularly see that situations lead both her and him to embarrassment. They think that Gosalyn could escape, in reality it is the complete opposite. Gosalyn clearly carries the hero’s motivational point, his reason for being rises and returns to the fight regardless of his original state. However, “Darkwarrior Duck” is not far removed from the imagination of some and possibly of the child who had to see his father as a worse criminal than the main cast. And it is hardly said between the hero and his insane counterpart. How do they deal with this? The answer is that we rarely have direct answers in the show, and this does not fail to bring thoughts for the fans to make.

RELATIONSHIPS

In the end, Darkwing Duck is a show chosen for children, as every company does with its cartoonish characters. However, here are some things from the point of view of a slightly older fan. The main characteristic of posts like this is to bring something original from a different line. According to the observations they left, whether serious or not. Between the lines of the show, those involved in writing Darkwing Duck still brought great things that can be used in the imagination for the present day. Feel free to disagree or correct some points, just like any artist. I am open to having opinions to develop and have better results. The character's relationships vary mainly according to the author's objective. One pattern, by chance, is the perception of how much could be deepened how much Darkwing Duck relates to his family and friends. How close he is and his strengths and weaknesses, even with all the duck's appreciation for them. Also, the parallel of his personality with the fearsome ones, there are some characteristics that have a sequence of being too specific with the opposing choice, some ideas below.

CREATIVE WRITING: What ideas can be worked and how can each one fit in?

RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE SUPER VILLAINS:

The best place to start is with the lowest expectations, when there is a group against the character's difficulties. Do you remember when I said that you could explore the superhero's similarities and differences with his villains? I'll give you a less visible example: Quackerjack. The character can be a counterpoint directly related to his stubbornness and inability to change, as he gets into his mind and is seen in episodes that require dealing with new information or new relationships. The same reasoning goes for Liquidator, and his greed. The mutant's character is directly related to greed for objects, but Darkwing could very well be related to indirect greed, the accumulation of things, his interests versus the needs of others. Did the examples help? In this regard, just take the opportunity to play around with how well his dynamics can work to maintain his stability and sense of duty. At the same time that he needs to face figures that remind him how close he is to being someone as crazy as evil, he has the strength and skills to his advantage in the fight. As far as it can serve for other points, such as the degradation or approximation of their dynamics, feel free to here.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS:

Gosalyn is her daughter, despite being adopted, she is everything to her character, she is her motivation, her responsibility, and the fact mainly of some episodes. Her concern for her safety, from the smallest to the biggest troubles that she follows looking for help, her only relative, Drake Mallard under the mantle of Darkwing Duck. Their dynamic has many moments of comfort and affection, as well as learning over the course of some episodes. Sometimes, will she ever grow up, and how long will it take until she wants her independence? Will Darkwing/Drake be okay knowing that she can follow in their footsteps after so many arguments? There are many approaches to be made, from the adoption process, the trust being established, to the moments when both get into arguments due to lack of communication and. Speaking directly about this, Morgana Macawber was said to be the character's final romantic partner. Having only one problem that leads to many others, does Drake trust her? Does Drake really care about trying to bring her the comfort and trust that she deserves? Of all the episodes, inconsistency, and fights more than support and support, but how would it be working on its point? Did the two resolve it? Will Drake and Morgana be sincere enough to be reciprocally boyfriends, or a step further, as married? And what is the mother-daughter relationship between the witch and the hockey troublemaker like? Dig deeper! This is the best idea to play with, and there are no answers other than those I agree with when discussing with others. The dynamic also applies to friends, they can either have access or none of your identity.

NON-INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH STRANGERS:

The point that begins another similarity with some Fearsome, this time to the beloved Bushroot, Darkwing Duck is not great at keeping things private or completely safe unless necessary. One point that marks the attention sensor is his need for approval to a significant degree. However, what would it be like for the character when there are still no people who care about him beyond the closest ones, who are his friends and family? The development of a prepared hero is when he recognizes his ability as a guardian for people, but still knows what is important to keep everyone safe. Well, those he can reach, remember the brief end of Bud Flud, right? Of course, there wouldn't be all the responsibility of the character, however… if Darkwing Duck was responsible for some problem or mistake to someone innocent? How much would the common people not pull his feet? If all the attention and admiration he wanted to get were enough to make him worried and even panic about having his head on the news posts, “Is Darkwing Duck truly an ally or a threat to propagating these lunatics with powers?” Don't be afraid to be creative or a little dramatic, it is a point that allows for many points to be explored regarding the common personality and how one or the other influences the fate of Drake Mallard.

INTERESTING REFERENCES FOR YOU TO PICK YOU TO PICK UP FOR THE CHARACTER

Batman / Bruce Wayne of DC Comics

The Shadow of Detective Story Hour

Blitzo "Blitz" Buckzo of Helluva Boss

Rose Quartz / Pink Diamond of Steven Universe

CONCLUSION

For now, that's all, I got tired of editing again and, along with that. Unfortunately, I was out of ideas of how to organize this, especially having to remove all the points that gave too much revelation to the story in planning. I hope I have answered your request well enough, what do you think of the next Liquidator being? I have some ideas for revamping the future post. Leave your opinions open, I would love to see what you think of this clumsy vigilante, see you? BYE-EEEEE!

[abidethetempest]

Eliksni Conditional Mood

This post is part of my ongoing project to create a language for the Eliksni! For more information check out my masterpost linked here.

Recently, I added a new mood to my verb system: the conditional. It somewhat overlaps with the hypothetical but, it expresses the fact that an event is possible/likely, IF another event happens first.

This post got pretty long, so look for the deets under the readmore!

The most obvious case of this would be in statements containing the word "if". "If x happens, y will happen." In English, the use of "will/would" is how the conditional mood is often marked. In Eliksni, you use the particle kas.

Examples

Thal kas biir klii, kas priistun klii. "If you look, you will find."

Thal kas biirem klii, kas priistem klii. "if you looked, you would find."

NOTE:

This is a different meaning from the simple future tense statement, Priistun klii, which in English also translates to "You will find it." The difference is that that statement is not dependent on another event to cause it to happen. In both statements, "priistis" is conjugated for the future tense, because the act of finding is happening in the future.

Conditionality can also be expressed about the past, as in example 2. It also is not restricted to simple verbs, continuous and perfect aspects can be applied to verbs in the conditional mood, the tenses and aspects just need to match across both statements. This use of the conditional cannot be applied to present-tense statements.

Also, both verbs in a conditional statement such as this need to be accompanied by the particle. The best way to remember this is that the conjunction thal, "if", always causes the conditional particle to appear.

There are another use for the conditional mood besides plain "if-statements" like the above, which is polite expressions of wanting.

It is perfectly valid to say:

Nuls neh empuursis, "I want to sleep."

But a more polite, formal way of saying you want something is to use the conditional mood:

Nuls neh, giire kas empuursun. "I want, that I would sleep."

The reason it's considered polite is, well. Not based in anything super logical to be honest, but it originated from some thoughts I had that the thing you want being conditional on your wanting it makes it more of a request than a demand. Sort of like the difference between "want" and "would like".

It's also a way to soften a request when you want someone else to do something.

Instead of:

Nuls neh aklii anen amyksis. "I want you to follow me." or Niidreh amyks anen. "Please follow me."

You would say:

Nuls neh, giire aklii anen kas amyksun. "I want, that you would follow me."

Nulsis is not the only verb you can use in these statements either. Freyis "to need", griiris "to hope/wish", and even liidravis could also be valid.

Notes about "future-in-the-past": In English, the auxiliary verb "would" is used sometimes to express things that happen in the future relative to an event that happened in the past. You see this in statements like "I said I would sleep." The would there is expressing that the "sleep" happened after the "said", so in the future..... but also in the past. In an effort to help anyone doing translations who runs across this sort of construction, I am saying here and now: MY ELIKSNI CONLANG DOES NOT USE THE CONDITIONAL MOOD TO EXPRESS FUTURE-IN-THE-PAST.

"But Indee," I hear you ask, "how do you say things like "I said I would sleep", then?"

Like this: Ehlanem neh, giire neh empuursun. Literally, "I said, that I will sleep."

Technically, the second part of this statement being in simple future tense means it could happen anytime in the future, including after the present moment. However, without a word specifiying which time in the future the sleep part will happen in, such as "now, soon, tonight, tomorrow, later", etc., this statement is interpreted as future-in-the-past.

Sorry if things got a little confusing at the end there! Time stuff can be such a hassle to try and explain. As always feel free to reach out to me directly if you need clarification on something :)

[jeio-kimi]

Lost In Translation

For context please consider reading:

Part: 1

So, I've made my case on why the four main characters are most likely not in middle school. Then, what are are their ages? I must convey, that Old Xian has never mentioned within or outside of the series what the ages of the characters are. All anyone can do is assume. But, there are in fact, context clues that are given to us in the chapters of what their ages might be.

Most of the "evidence" I'm including in this part are more so logical fallacies. I am just going by the "Affirming the Cnsequent" theory. Which, refers to the statement of: "If X is true -> then Y is also true." So nothing here is gospel, just my own interpretation of given context clues.

I will not be using any non-story related art created by Old Xian, due to me wanting to count the chapters within the story as canonical events.

Some Thoughts:

Mo Has a Job

In what is probably the most crucial confirmations of the characters not being in middle school. Mo Guan Shan has a job.

As apart of child labor laws in China, 16 is the minimum working age nationwide. Meaning Mo Guan Shan has to be at least 16 years old. I guessing that the woman Mo works for is not a relative being that she fires him later on.

What's interesting about this is that not only does it confirm that Mo's age is at least 16 years old, but in tandem, confirms that He Tian is above 16.

So what's important for context here is understanding Chinese honorifics.

What He Tian is calling mo whenever he says "little Mo" in Chinese is 墨子 (Mò-zi). " 子" (Zi) literally translates to "young one" or little one" but in context is an indication that Mo is younger than He Tian.

"Big Bro" is 哥哥 (Gēge) and "Brother Mo" is 墨哥 (Mò-Gē). "Gē & Gēge" is an honorific that conveys the person being spoken to is older. Mo's friend Cun Tou has always referred to Mo as "Gēge" meaning Mo is most likely older than him.

Since it is confirmed that He Tian is older than Mo,

He Tian is probably jokingly referring to Mo as "Mo Ge" to putting Mo metaphorically above himself.

This means that if He Tian is older than Mo, and Mo is 16, then He Tian is above 16.

He Tian's Hotel Room Purchase

Another interesting idea here I that He Tian is able to purchase a hotel room.

So He Tian has his account frozen here, so it's more than likely a joint account (I'm guessing with He Cheng since his account is frozen after they fought). Since He Tian is also told beforehand that he can not purchase the hotel room without a legal guardian, he's probably not 18 (age of an adult in China). I do feel as if he is above 16 due to the fact that he is able to purchase a hotel room later, without a legal guardian.

Since you must be above 16 to purchase a hotel room in China. And, at least 16 to apply for a joint bank account, I'm assuming that the hotel room he was trying to purchase originally was for adults only (ie. Had purchasable alcohol or was a "Love Hotel").

Anyways... that's where I'll leave it for now. I have a lot more thoughts on this that I could make a whole other post. But the rest is mostly circumstantial, so I didn't want to include it here. Just know, there's so much more about the characters' ages in this. If you made it this far, thank you for reading! And let's continue this discussion together! I would love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions on this, as well as anything I might have missed! ❤️

[dia-souls]

DIABOLIK LOVERS DAYLIGHT Analyzes [ Vol. 6 Sakamaki Laito ]

Original title: いつものゲーム

Source: Diabolik Lovers Daylight Vol. 6 Sakamaki Laito

Seiyuu: Hirakawa Daisuke

Analyze by: Admin Afra

Admin's note: Laito is the boy who, in my personal opinion, has endured the worst trauma among all his brothers, and the reason for his violent and deviant behavior now may be justified with the bitter memories of his past. But with Laito I can learn many lessons and I hope he will stick to these lessons. He should try to forget the relationship and bitterness of the past and believe in a brighter future. Maybe we can call him the poor broken man, but this man deserves a second chance and I'm sure he deserves Yui's pure love. What he could not receive from his mother.

Who are you, Laito? Are you sure that the only way to return to reality of yourself is to become carefree and not care about the things that really matter to you? Are you sure that this is the real you? Are you sure that your true self is not that kind and innocent child who forgot his entire childhood because of a tragic event and decided to create a new identity for himself. Your true self has been dead for years. Your true self died in your childhood.

This is the only answer I can give to Laito when he decides to kill Yui to end all his pain. But how did the story get here?

Playing hunter seems like a lot of fun for Laito, especially since Laito likes to see his prey try and his prey's stubbornness always amuses him.

This is why if a girl is submissive to Laito, Laito will never be attracted to that girl and finds her boring. In fact, it was Yui's special quality that made him the first person to see even a little bit of Laito's kind and pure love. Of course, this pure love of Laito can be interpreted in different ways, which has a different analysis of this CD.

As usual and like the previous CDs, Yui is suffering from a disease that weakened her heart. But Laito isn't like Reiji or Subaru, who notices Yui's poor health right away.

So when Yui can't continue the game the way Laito wants, Laito gets frustrated. In any case, Yui is someone who never gives up easily, and this is what made Laito attracted to Yui, that's why when he saw Yui not trying to escape from Laito in this game, at first he thought that Yui didn't take the game seriously.

In any case, when Laito wins, he also receives his prize. Even Yui's body shaking doesn't make Laito immediately notice her illness. Why? Because we are talking about Laito. A boy who can interpret the worst things in a way that is enjoyable for himself.

I personally believe that Laito is one of the smartest characters in this story. It's wrong to say that Laito doesn't notice Yui's bad situation. In fact, he noticed this the same day he was playing with Yui in the waterway, but the reason he doesn't pay attention to it is not because he didn't notice Yui's unusual illness.

He doesn't really want to pay attention to it. Laito considers himself a carefree and happy person and wants to maintain this fake persona that he has created for himself. Even thinking that Cordelia's return is painful for Laito, that's why he doesn't even want to think about it. And because he knows that perhaps Yui's illness is related to Cordelia, he tries to ignore it.

But Laito's behavior when he saw Yui using the medicine was really cruel. I mean Yui really needed that medicine. Come on, Laito, be at least kind enough to let her use that medicine to improve her health and restore her energy, but what you said to her was very cruel. Are you so selfish that you just don't want to suck the nasty blood soaked in medicine and ignore Yui's whole illness?

It's really funny that Laito says that if Cordelia is behind all of this, you should stop trying to fix things. It's really strange to hear this from a guy who loves tough girls, but I think it's a sign that Laito has been giving in to Cordelia for years. In fact, since he forgot his innocence and was infected by Cordelia.

Laito's character is very complex. The thoughts in his head are completely different from the sentences he utters in front of others. You can never judge him by his words because the thoughts in his head are completely different from the sentences he utters. Knowing Laito's thoughts on Yui, we can definitely tell that he is worried about Yui even if he pretends not to care.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Laito is afraid of Cordelia. Laito pointed out that if she was behind all this, he should surrender.

I don't know how to describe how Laito feels about Cordelia, but Cordelia definitely made Laito the person he is now. Because even Laito himself has forgotten his real identity and misinterpreted his feelings towards his mother. Laito never wanted to be infected. Maybe this is the reason why he doesn't like others to be pure and tries to pollute them. So easy that if I am not pure, others should not be pure either.

Does the fear of Cordelia's presence make Laito force Yui to stay at home and rest, or is it the fear of her becoming weaker? In my opinion, both. Laito keeps thinking about Yui's bad situation and we can't deny that he is worried about Yui, but he doesn't like to express this concern directly, so he uses Cordelia as an excuse. But even the presence of Cordelia scares Laito, so even this is not a lie.

The fact that Laito keeps thinking about Yui but tries to lie even to himself with different words shows that he is not being honest with himself. Or in other words, Laito is lost in this false identity he has created for himself and thinks that if he is really worried about the one he loves, he can no longer be his true self, while all these feelings are showing us the real Laito. Laito who tried to hide behind a false identity for years. This is something he himself admits.

(I shouldn't care about it. That's what someone like me should do.) Actually, the false persona that Laito uses to hide in this cruel world. This is Laito's way of defending himself against the oppression of the world. Hiding in a false identity that hurts everyone and cares for no one. Even if this Laito is not real.

Laito's excuses for forcing Yui to eat to regain her health are believable because that's what Laito always pretended to be. That he doesn't care about anything but his own pleasure.

I have a question here. Why was Laito angry at Yui's apology? I mean, Laito didn't show so much sensitivity about this before and didn't shout that you shouldn't apologize if you didn't do anything wrong. Because none of these events are your fault.

I interpret this way that Laito gets irritated by Yui's purity. Maybe this is the reason for Laito's compassion towards Yui. Laito has witnessed how much Yui has suffered and endured for having Cordelia's heart, and the fact that she apologizes even though she is a victim makes Laito angry because he knows that Yui does not deserve to be treated like this. And that she considers all the bad things to be her own fault.

Laito doesn't say it in words, but he wants Yui to care more about herself and know how valuable her existence is. Laito has been hurt by a cruel world before, just like Yui is now, but Laito hides in a new identity to save himself, something Yui can never do because Yui is a pure and simple girl. Yui's innocence makes Laito angry so much that he shouts, don't apologize. You are not the one who should apologize.

Laito's attempt to avoid Yui is futile. He thinks about Yui every moment and everywhere, and even he considers this incident as karma.

Laito shouts out loud why my heart hurts. It is not possible that I got Yui's disease. These feelings are heavy and painful. He doesn't want to accept it, but the reason is because of his love for Yui, and seeing her wither before his eyes hurts him more than anything.

Laito does not want to experience the pain again. That's why he shouts, I don't need these feelings. These feelings are not mine.

In fact, Laito has forgotten his true identity and thinks that these feelings have nothing to do with his new identity. But he never gets rid of them. Because Laito is still the same guy who stands behind a mask because he doesn't want to get hurt.

Laito does not want to accept these feelings lightly. Because he is Sakamaki Laito. Vampire who says lies and does not care about anyone. The mask with which Laito shows himself to the world. But behind this mask, the real Laito is hidden and does not want to come out. So he tries to get rid of these painful feelings in another way.

When Yui loses consciousness on a very dreamy date, Laito sees it as his best chance to end her pain right there. Of course, to end her pain? Or is this what he thinks?

"If we settle everything here, both your pain and mine will be relieved. You are tired of this pain. me too. So wouldn't it be great to get rid of it right here?"

Laito doesn't expect Yui to agree with him. That's why when Yui smiles at him, Laito shouts that he didn't smile. Cry and beg for life.

Again, it's Laito fighting his own emotions. Seeing Yui's innocent and pure face who accepts death and smiles at him in the last moments of her life torments him more. The thought of how Yui can be so pure even when she is contaminated by his hands. How can Yui look at him with love like this when she is going to be killed by his hands.

but no Laito's hands do not move. Because that's not what he wants. These feelings tormented him even more than Yui's pain. He wanted to end his own pain, so he decided to end his own life instead of Yui.

These feelings torment Laito more than anything to see the dearest person in his life die in front of his eyes, or even worse, decide to kill her with a false mask, with the lie that the pain of both of them will be relieved.

This is why Laito considers himself a loser. A loser who didn't even try to save his lover and selfishly decided to relieve his own pain. Not the pain of his lover.

It is hard for him to imagine a world without Yui. The pain is much more terrible than the pain Yui used to endure. Laito sees this world with pain and suffering. That's why he wanted to relieve his pain quickly, not to see Yui's withering and death. Maybe it's a strange way to express love. But Laito needed to lose his true identity once to understand what his true feelings are and how much Yui is dear to him. His loss behind a false mask led him to find Yui and Yui saved him from the false world that Laito made for himself and showed him that even in a cruel world there is light and hope.

Yui is dear to Laito. Dearer than anyone else. Yui made Laito rediscover his true self. And understand that there is nothing wrong with having feelings and hiding them is more painful than anything else.

Laito knows that he can't live without Yui and that was the feeling that bothered him, but hiding behind a false mask was never the way to ease Laito's pain.

It was hard for him to express his feelings because he was afraid of people and the cruel world, but now with Yui's help, he has learned to overcome this fear and come out from behind the false mask. This is the only thing that relieves his pain. Being by Yui's side and expressing his true feelings.

[aliceoverzero]

Arknights lore continues to be insane

Babel event spoilers below . . .

What a mess. Finding out that the Originium project is human instrumentality via contagious protomatter is interesting. What threat was so horribly insurmountable to Doctor's people that the best solution they had was to create a grey goo scenario that also subsumes everyone into a simulated reality? It does explain the alternate version of events glimpsed through the dialogue in Kal'tsit's Remnant skin, as Originium has become more successful at its original purpose in that outcome.

This means Dorothy unwittingly reinvented a crude imitation of Originium via the transmitter fluid, which so far is only mildly less terrifying as I don't think it's been established to be capable of self-replicating. My favorite Warcrimes Jerboa has been made to look even more insane by an event she has nothing to do with, because holy shit girl.

Speaking of alternate means of making the many into one, is Terra operating under some passive rule of carcinization but for human instrumentality? Between Originium, Dorothy's transmitter and the Seaborn we're already at three different methods/interpretations of the same goal that are/were trying to unite all people on a fundamental level.

All those "if I met original Doctor I would be filled with the strength needed to beat them to death with my bare hands" types of posts are right. It's not that this fucker was unempathetic, they actually cared for people deeply, it's that they did care but ultimately twisted that caring towards serving their original goals. "It's fucked up that people are suffering right now, but I can end all suffering by having Originium consume the universe and integrate everyone into the Minecraft server that is running on it."

Fuck, every time we're shown Kazdel culture it's fucking bleak. The only way to be notable as a Sarkaz is to be a successful mercenary, and they perpetuate a habit of using toxic-masculinity bravado to cover up and downplay the fact that they were deprived of education. Literacy and just general wider knowledge of the world is a luxury to have in Kazdel.

This event has really made it feel like the Victoria arc is what the current writers want people to consider to be Arknights' real main story. The Lungmen arc can't be outright dismissed because of how much it's used to characterize so much of the main cast, but I do get the impression it's something that we're being further encouraged not to linger on. I get the sentiment. Those first few main story chapters are a rough read, made even rougher depending on when you started playing and what event stories you can contrast against it. I talk pretty regularly about arknights with my sister who started playing just before Lone Trail originally dropped, and comparing that writing against the Lungmen arc is an abyssal power gap that does make the main story harder to trudge through.

That said I do wish Babel was positioned better from a narrative perspective. I've spent the Victoria arc up to this point sitting on a lot of questions of "who the fuck is this guy" that were only answered just now. I'd probably have appreciated what's going on with Theresis, Theresa, Manfred and Ascalon a lot more in my original reading if I had been given the context for the baggage between them and why they're all this way.

[darkreaderdan]

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

ʟɪɴᴋ ᴄʟɪᴄᴋ: ʙʀɪᴅᴏɴ ᴀʀᴄ

✲꘏ ꘏ ꘏ ꘏✲꘏ ꘏ ꘏ ꘏✲꘏ ꘏ ꘏ ꘏✲꘏ ꘏ ꘏ ꘏✲꘏ ꘏ ꘏ ꘏✲

N.B: i wrote this all in a jumbled 3rd POV/ really formally cause that’s how my brain was operating. I might comeback later and fix it.

The first episode of Link Click: Bridon Arc opens up many intriguing possibilities for theories, especially given its focus on fate, mystery, and new characters. Here are a few theories based on the episode's events and overarching themes:

The Photo's Connection to Cheng Xiaoshi’s Parents • The mysterious photo found in the Time Photo Studio suggests that Cheng Xiaoshi’s parents may play a crucial role in the larger story. It's possible that the photo contains evidence of their involvement in the supernatural phenomena or a link to why Cheng Xiaoshi has his unique ability. This could lead to revelations about the origins of both his and Lu Guang's powers.

Lu Guang’s Risky Time Interference

It could also mean that Lu Guang has crossed the limit by "retracing the path of destiny" to save Cheng Xiaoshi. This might make the powers go beyond the limit, creating new timelines or raising new enemies who understand the use of time manipulation. It hints at a tug-of-war between fate and free will.

3. The Fate Deadlock

The "fated deadlock" from the synopsis could be interpreted as some kind of time loop or a fixed point in time, which Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi can't change no matter what, lest some terrible consequences occur. This connects to the show's main theme of cause and effect: how one action in the past trickles down into the present and future. Here I wanna deep dive on the 3 points I made above.

Theory 1: The Photo's Connection to Cheng Xiaoshi's Parents What we know:

• A mysterious photo linked to Cheng Xiaoshi’s parents appears in the Time Photo Studio. This could hold significant clues about his family's past and possibly their connection to time manipulation. Speculation: • Family Connection to Time Abilities: Cheng Xiaoshi’s parents may have been researchers or individuals connected to the supernatural phenomena surrounding time and photographs. If true, this could explain how Cheng developed his ability to enter photos.

Hidden Truths About His Parents' Fate: The picture may show why his parents are not there. It could be that they have some sort of danger connected with time manipulation, which would explain their disappearance or even death. • Trigger for Cheng's Powers: The photo may be the source or the key to unlocking memories or truths that Cheng has repressed, making it crucial to the Bridon Arc. Implications

This would deepen the emotional connection of the story with Cheng's character as he will be confronted with some painful realities about his family.

The picture can also cause new conflicts since people who knew about its importance might want to capture the attention it receives.

Theory 2: Lu Guang's Risky Time Interference What we know:

Lu Guang "retrace the path of destiny" in order to save Cheng Xiaoshi; this calculated approach he was showing means he knew the risks and yet is ready to get going for Cheng's sake. Speculation:

Time Loops and Paradoxes: Lu Guang can create some kind of loop where, through interference, he causes an event which he is trying to prevent. For example, if he tries to save Cheng, he could put them in danger.

Fate vs. Free Will: The show has continually struggled with whether things are set in their ways or if they can be changed. The interference of Lu Guang might press the limits of free will to the extent that some things are fixed, no matter what he does.

Backlash of Overuse: Pushing the limits of their abilities may result in unwanted consequences, such as harming Lu Guang's health or further destabilizing the timeline, hence bringing greater consequences to their world. Implications: • The theory leads to a tale in which the decisions of Lu Guang are emotional and moral dilemmas; it is costly to pay for his devotion towards Cheng Xiaoshi.

It could also introduce new adversaries who see time interference as dangerous and seek to prevent him from continuing.

Theory 3: The Fate Deadlock What we know:

The "fated deadlock" is a certain point in time or situation that keeps occurring no matter how many interventions are made. Speculation: • Fixed Points in Time: There may be specific events or outcomes tied to Cheng Xiaoshi’s life that cannot be avoided. For instance, his death (or the situation leading to it) could be a fixed event that repeats despite Lu Guang’s efforts.

Conflict with Other Time Manipulators: The standoff could involve another faction or individual that actually works to make sure these events do occur as they were "supposed to." This would create an adversary that is the polar opposite of Lu Guang's changes. • Emotional Themes of Acceptance: In the case of an impossible deadlock, the arc could well become about themes of loss and acceptance, where the characters must learn to accept their limitations. Implications:

This might result in a dramatic plot twist: Lu Guang realizes that he cannot alter Cheng Xiaoshi's fate and is forced to learn to live with the loss or find other ways to resolve the situation. • The impasse could be a metaphor for the fact that the show explores human emotions, where some things in life are inevitable, but it's about how we face them.

Conclusion: These theories make Link Click: Bridon Arc a deeply emotional and philosophical sequel to the series. The photo, the choices of Lu Guang, and the concept of a "fate deadlock" all intermingle with the show's exploration of destiny, consequences, and the limits of human agency. Each layer builds suspense while promising emotional and moral depth.

[theggning]

Luis as Don Quixote

Luis' affection for/continuing references to Don Quixote are one of my favorite little details in RE4make. We find several files that mention it was his favorite book as a child, and of course he brings it up in chapter 11, casting himself as Don Quixote (the "dashing" hero), Leon as Sancho Panza (the goofy sidekick), and Ashley as Dulcinea (the beautiful, kidnapped princess.)

For the uninitiated, Don Quixote is an early 17th century Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes about a middle aged nobleman whose obsession with books leads him to become a "knight," setting out to live the romantic ideals of chivalry and make the world a better place. However, out of delusion or idealism bordering on delusion, he makes foolish mistakes and causes a lot of trouble (for instance, the famous "tilting at windmills" incident.) The novel is a parody of the chivalric stories popular at the time, and interpretations over the years vary on whether Don Quixote is a comedic or a tragic figure, whether we are meant to feel pity for him or view him as a fool and a menace to society.

RE4make shows us that a young Luis was inspired to become a scientist by the plaga infection and death of his grandfather, and set out on his career in the outside world with good intentions. But just like Don Quixote, his obsession and idealism led him to making mistakes, both in his work for Umbrella and his affiliation with Los Illuminados. Though it's implied Luis kept some kind of moral compass intact (he quit Umbrella even before everything went to hell, and he was working to undermine and counter Saddler for some time,) he feels responsible for the collateral damage wrought by his work and blames himself for not seeing his mistakes before it was too late to prevent them.

I just find the whole thing really poignant. Luis holds lifelong enthusiasm for a story about a man who wants to make the world a better place, but who screws up over and over again. Regardless, Don Quixote keeps trying, hoping he'll be able to live up to the hero he's always wanted to be. The "Man of La Mancha" Quixote himself never succeeds at this, eventually returning to his ordinary life and regretful of the harm he has caused.

Luis, on the other hand, really does become a hero. No matter his past actions and no matter how sketchy he acts, by the time he announces his partnership with Leon, Luis is fully committed to a cause greater than saving his own skin. He makes an ACTIVE CHOICE to help Leon and Ashley when it is completely at odds with his own survival, and when he has the means of his own rescue in hand. If he left with Ada as soon as he recovered the Amber, Luis would have lived longer-- but more than likely fallen right back into his same old mistakes and handed over a bioweapon to Wesker. Choosing to help Leon and Ashley seals his fate, but it unquestionably saves both of their lives-- not to mention leads to the chain of events that end Saddler and Los Illuminados, potentially saving the world.

Unlike Don Quixote, Luis does manage to become a hero in the end. And unlike the original game, RE4make acknowledges and remembers it long after he's already gone. Dr. Luis Serra Navarro really was a fine knight, and he really did save the day.

[david-talks-sw]

An allergy to the Prequels

While I'm putting together a post about the evolution Lucasfilm's transmedia strategies, this part kinda turned into its own thing!

So I'm not sure if anyone else noticed, but, uh... there hasn't been that much Prequel content since the Disney sale, right?

'Couple novels and comics, some episodes... but nothing meaningful.

The more I look into it, the more it feels like a deliberate avoidance to touch on anything Prequel-related - beyond the required quota, that is - to a point where they'd rather tell stories set during periods that are Prequel-adjacent (Dark Times, High Republic) than something set around Episodes I, II and III.

On-screen policy: "pretend they never happened"

I mean, this one's no secret. When The Force Awakens had been announced, with J.J. Abrams at the helm, everyone sighed in relief. "Finally, George Lucas won't keep ruining the franchise."

When Abrams had been announced as the director of Episode VII, I remember this cringey animated video started circulating online, titled "4 Rules To Make Star Wars Great Again" or "Dear JJ Abrams":

“Star Wars isn’t shiny and clean... Star Wars is a western.”

If you ask me, those two things are not mutually exclusive.

'Cause Star Wars has always been both, for many Prequel kids. Both clean and dusty, Coruscant and Tatooine. There was never a disconnect between the Original Trilogy (OT) and the Prequel Trilogy.

Even the documentary The People vs George Lucas shows Prequel-hating fans begrudgingly admit their kids felt all six episodes tied seamlessly.

Abrams, on the other hand, said: "I think [the "Dear JJ" video] was right on." Later on, he also said:

he considered "putting Jar Jar Binks's bones in the desert" on Jakku, somewhere, and

he intentionally made the lightsaber fights "rougher", "primitive" and "more powerful" unlike the fast-paced ones in the Prequels.

Later, we found out he wanted to blow up Coruscant.

It's clear he wasn't a big fan of the Prequels.

But y'know what? Not many fans over 20 were, at the time. And when The Force Awakens came out, most them celebrated it as a wonderful love letter to the OT.

Star Wars is cool again. Mission accomplished 🙌 !

However movies keep coming out, and references to the Prequels - if there are any - are literally just that... references.

Sometimes in the shape of a cameo ("hey look, Genevieve O'Reilly from the Ep. III deleted scenes is playing Mon Mothma again!")

Sometimes in a name (Luke name-dropped "Darth Sidious"!)

But nothing set during the Prequel era, and nothing treating the events that happened in that period as relevant or impactful, beyond subtextual nods.

In fact, the trend of avoiding anything Prequel-related continues as the final film in the Skywalker Saga comes out:

The Rise of Skywalker has a secret Sith society that chants the name "Palpatine" instead of his Sith name "Darth Sidious",

the film pretends the Kaminoans never existed,

and neither TROS nor Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates script even try to bring Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker back on screen. Let that sink in, we're talking about the Chosen One, Skywalker Senior, whose sins caused this whole mess... and his name isn't even uttered once in the final chapter of what Disney dubbed the *Skywalker* Saga (or the entire Sequel trilogy, for that matter).

But hey, The Clone Wars got renewed for one last Season! That's cool right? So many stories had gone unfinished and somehow the animation looks even better than befo--

-- oh. It's not 22 episodes? Only 12?

Four of which had already been shown to us, but hey! We need to set-up the Bad Batch series, so let's shoehorn those episodes in there, and forget Son of Dathomir, Dark Disciple or Crystal Crisis.

*sigh* Better than nothing, I guess.

In other mediums: "just not a priority"

Now this is something that I'll explore more in the transmedia post (and purely my interpretation), but the noticeable change between Lucasfilm's transmedia strategy *post-ROTS* and the one post-Disney sale is that:

Before, the games, comics and novels were the main content. After all, Revenge of the Sith had been released, so that was it, for the movies. Thus, a variety of other content was being cranked out to keep the Star Wars franchise relevant. There were comics set 100 years after Episode 6, comics set 25,000 years prior, games set in the Old Republic era, other stories in the New Republic era, novels galore, a couple of parody films and an animated show, The Clone Wars, which sometimes received its own tie-in comics, novels and games.

After the sale and ever since, most of the transmedia products have had only one goal: promoting the films & streaming shows.

So while in 2015 you won't see an abundance of Prequel content... you'll see an avalanche of OT books and comics come out.

Why? Because the heroes of that era will be in the Sequel Trilogy movies. It provided context to the kids who hadn't seen the OT yet, and reintroduced those films to a new generation of fans, while priming them for the Sequels.

A multimedia marketing strategy that ultimately proved successful.

However, it continued even after The Force Awakens came out.

Don't believe me? Compare how many comics there have been set during the Prequel era vs the OT era.

If they make comics about the Prequels, they're limited runs.

Case in point: before the current Yoda series, the best any Disney Prequel-set comic series ever got was 6 issues.

Note: it's worth pointing out that the frequency of mini-series aren't just a Star Wars-specific thing, it's a comic book industry thing. The readership for comics is dwindling, many people are reading scans online, and so no publisher wants to commit to a story that lasts more than 4-6 issues. My problem is: there absolutely would be readership for a Prequel comic series to warrant an extended run instead of a mini-series.

Let's talk books. There have been give or 64 canon novels published since the Disney sale.

Only 11 of them are set during the Prequel era. And even those stories only came out when the planets were aligned.

Almost half of them were released while being a part of some bigger multimedia push.

Example:

Before the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was being released on Disney Plus, we'd had one novel and like two comic stories about him during the Prequels... released between 2012 and end 2021. That's about three pieces of content in almost ten years.

Clearly a low frequency.

Then, when the series is around the corner, two books and a comic story comes out in the space of months, plus an anthology book with an alt cover with his face on it and a comic with a story of him and Anakin in the first issue, all in 2022.

My takeaway: short of there being a film or series that needs to be promoted, you'll rarely get any Prequel comics or books.

And this is OBI-WAN we're talking about. The character who even the Prequel haters love. Imagine how little attention the other ones get.

Gaming-wise, Battlefront had no Prequel content at all (again, 2015 was the year where OT content was shoved down the consumer's throats to prep them for Episode VII), and Battlefront 2 only released Prequel content a full year later.

All that being said, we did seen some Prequel elements here and there. After all, some actors got to reprise their roles, books and comics came out featuring Prequel characters... but there's a catch.

The stories they appear in are set in-between Episodes III and IV, a time-period known as "the Dark Times" or the "Imperial era".

"Dark Times" being used instead of the Prequel era

It's easy to see the appeal of this era. You keep the same threat from the Original Trilogy - the Empire - but redress it with Prequel elements... while also cherry-picking the best characters of both the OT and the Prequels and giving them a chance to shine again.

The situation is more clear cut, as opposed to the complex one in the Prequels. Bad guys are stormtroopers, good guys are anyone else. And the stories no longer take place in the shiny capital, you're back on the frontier.

But at this point... it feels like a cop-out.

When you consider how much content has been set during the Dark Times, it's nothing to sneeze at. Since the sale, we've had:

2 movies (Solo, Rogue One)

4 series set in that time-period (namely The Bad Batch, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Star Wars: Rebels).

2 video-games (Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor).

17 novels (such as Ahsoka, Lords of the Sith, the new Thrawn books, etc)

And just a whole bunch of comic book series & mini-series (like Kanan, Princess Leia, various Vader-centric comics including Darth Vader: Lord of the Sith, many tie-in mini-series promoting Rogue One, Jedi: Fallen Order, Obi-Wan Kenobi, etc).

There's been so much content made for this time-period that it feels like an unwillingness to do the work and create something set something during the Prequel era, let alone something that follows its Jedi.

After all, why make a story set in the Prequels (disliked by vocal fans) when you can just take the characters in that story and put them in an OT setting (which will appease the Prequel-haters)?

Maybe these stories get relegated to the Dark Times because:

there seems to be a perception that anything set in the Prequel era won't sell?

or maybe the current SW writers weren't fond of Episodes I, II and III, and don't find those Jedi characters likable, thinking they're too righteous and dogmatic which makes it hard to craft a story around them.

Or maybe it's because they're under the impression that the Prequel Jedi are bad. Like, canonically, in the narrative. Not just in a "I don't like them" sense, but also in a "the story is all about them becoming corrupted" sense.

Let's expand on that last point.

Retconning the Prequels as the "Fall of the Jedi" era

Somehow the rare stories set during the Prequels that we do get seem to automatically be about how "the Jedi lost their way/failed".

The series Tales of the Jedi is explicit about it...

... and I already explained why it contradicts what George Lucas established here and here.

You also see it in Rebels and the new season of The Clone Wars...

... in comics...

... in games...

It gets to a point where the Prequels era has now been redubbed the "Fall of the Jedi" era by Lucasfilm.

You wanna know what that period was referred to before the Disney sale? The "Rise of the Empire" Era.

Because - and I'll never get tired of saying this cuz it's factual - the Prequels aren't about the fall of the Jedi, they're about the fall of the Republic and Anakin, and rise of the Empire and Vader.

So in addition to being overdone, the "Jedi lost their way" is not even the intended narrative of the Prequels (if one puts any stock in Lucas' words). It's a minor subplot at best, hardly the focus of the films, let alone a whole time period.

But dubbing it "Fall of the Jedi" implies that there's another era in which the Jedi were in their heyday.

Because Star Wars authors are in luck! Yet another alternative has presented itself in the shape of a new transmedia initiative, and it's even better than the "let's set it during the Dark Times" solution:

A new transmedia initiative: The High Republic

You wanna deal with the Jedi before the Empire, but for some reason you wanna avoid dealing with the ones seen in the Prequels?

Look no further. Meet the Jedi of the High Republic.

Noble, adventurous, inspired by the Knights of the Round Table, they're everything the OT kids dreamed about when they heard ol' Ben Kenobi talk about the Knights of the Old Republic.

That's more like it!

Note: the High Republic was created for other reasons and has many more upsides than the ones mentioned above. Namely, a fresh new spot in the timeline that allows for creative freedom and a beautifully-coordinated transmedia storytelling effort where retcons are non-existent. However it does seem evident that not having to deal with the 'unlikable' Prequel Jedi and their "fall" is one of those upsides.

Another perk that the High Republic era offers is more freedom in terms of storytelling compared to the Prequels.

In 2016, Pablo Hidalgo tweeted he still quotes to authors the following excerpt of West End Games' guide for aspiring Star Wars writers, from 1994.

You can't write "this was the best day in Luke Skywalker's life", for example, because another author may want to write a better day than the one you just wrote.

My guess is that a similar approach applies to how all characters from the movies are treated. They're massively iconic. So you can't write a book that drastically changes how Mace or Yoda or Obi-Wan are perceived overall.

The stories need to be self-contained, disregardable if necessary, because you'll have dozens of writers coming up with new stories for those same characters, and you need to leave them some room.

Examples:

Notice how in the book Dooku: Jedi Lost we never see how Dooku turns to the Dark Side and joins the Sith.

Same goes for crossover comic book arcs of the Star Wars issues, like Vader Down or Crimson Reign... the characters don't really change by much in those comics. You could stick to just watching the movies and you wouldn't really miss anything.

But with The High Republic, you indeed can develop these characters as much as you want.

All stories featuring Avar Kriss leave an impact on her, you can nail down who she is perfectly in one book or one comic arc, both being just as meaningful to her character.

The fact that she's not as iconic/famous a character as Mace Windu means that authors can go to town on crafting an interesting and nuanced character arc for her that'll have a beginning, middle and end... something Mace will never really get.

CONCLUSION:

Back in 2015... let's not kid ourselves. The Prequels were unpopular and Disney is a multi-billion dollar corporation. Opting to make as much money as possible is what they do.

It's the same reason they decided not to go with George Lucas' original plans for the Sequels, in 2012.

I mean, imagine you're Disney. You just dropped 4 billion dollars, with a B, on this franchise. Your next Star Wars movie needs to be worth the price tag. Now, you can pick between two options:

Option #1 is uncharted territory and it explores the midi-chlorians (the cursed word…!) and the guy who presented you with this option also openly admits that a big chunk of customers won’t like it, but he wants this to be done because it’s his vision.

Option #2 is very simple: a soft reboot, that plays on nostalgia that the same chunk of customers (aka the 'boomer and Gen-X fans who grew up with the Original Trilogy and now have kids, grandkids and MONEY) will like.

It's a no-brainer. They gave the customers what they wanted.

But time has passed, the fans who were children when the Prequels first came out have grown up, and grew up with characters like Yoda, Mace, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto and other Jedi as their heroes, aside from main characters like Anakin and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

Can we maybe expand on them, flesh them out more?

No, let's either ignoring the storytelling potential of these characters or reducing it to them being "righteous, arrogant and dogmatic".

God forbid we get a story showing the Prequel Jedi in a *gasp* more positive light? One where their POV is more understandable, instead of the same old "we brought this on ourselves" storyline.

There's a whole decade between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones... you're telling me there's no space to show us Anakin's training and how he formed bonds with the Jedi we later see in The Clone Wars? I tried my hand at it here:

Interesting or fun Prequel-set ideas from other pro-Jedi fans on Tumblr can be found here, here and here.

And y'know, part of the Star Wars intent is for fans to take the ideas in the movies and come up with their own stories. You're supposed to create headcanons.

What I'm saying is fans of the Prequels are being given less "imagination food" than the rest, and many of us who like the Jedi in particular are forced to rely on headcanons only. "Better than nothing" is no longer an acceptable standard.

There's a range of recognizable Jedi characters that have already been established in films and TCW, can we maybe expand on them, flesh them out more, instead of whole new ones?