#Would they have the same bounds/storylines/endings? I don't know

[phospolipid-bilayer]

Roleswap is pretty fun but I kinda want them to still have their base characteristics and backgrounds. Like Dankovsky the Changeling is still a relatively normal doctor from the Capital searching for a way to end death. Clara the Haruspex still came from Earth and has an evil twin sister running around. Something like that. Don't know how it would work though.

[the-broken-truth]

Missing Piece - Yandere Leona Kingscholar [Part 1]

Summary: Leona finds Yuu is pregnant with his child and demands she get rid of it; claiming he hated children and walked nothing to with the cub she was carrying. Upon refusing to do so, she ends their relationship. 7 years have passed since graduation, and Leona is working at his Father's Company but he feels like something is missing in his life. He finds what he is missing upon meeting a lost boy while on his way to work.

Broken: I don't know every single thing about Twisted Wonderland or Leona, but I really wanted to write this, so just bear with me. Here are some notes explaining a few things in this story.

Notes:

Yuu possesses magical abilities, but she is still human. Her specific magical ability is called Binding Magic, which allows her to use chains to immobilize her targets. However, she needs to be within a certain distance from her target for the chains to remain bound. Alternatively, she can use more magical energy to maintain the chains at a distance. The maximum amount of time the chains shall remain bound is one hour.

Night Raven College is an All-Boys School, so Yuu attends a school for girls.

This is a more modern version of Twisted Wonderland - The Kingscholar Family owns a major company and Leona is one of the possible heirs, but he has an older brother who is the main heir. There are still Beastmen and others, as well as magic, but they live alongside humans in this storyline.

Yuu sat alone in her dorm room, tears slowly streaming down her face as she attempted to calm herself down; stress was not good for her, not at this delicate moment in her life. She inhaled through her nose before exhaling through her mouth and opened her eyes to look around the room, she was currently in the middle of packing; graduation was right around the corner and her time at the school she was attending was coming to an end. She was excited and sad to leave this place, she made great friends and had some good times, but at the same time, there were some times she had massive regrets. One of those moments was happening right now. Yuu's attention was drawn from the room when the phone in her grasp dinged and vibrated against her palm, signaling she had a new text message. She unlocked her phone before opening the message, her eyes narrowed as more tears flowed upon reading the contents of the message and who it was from.

Leona, her boyfriend.

No.

She should not call him that anymore; no loving boyfriend would say the things he said to her earlier in the day.

Leona: You know that I love you, I really do, but I can't accept this; I refuse to. Just get rid of it and we can forget about the fight, we can continue being happy together as we planned, Herbivore. Just get rid of it.

Yuu scoffed at the message before turning her screen off and throwing the phone on her bed before placing her hand on her stomach which contained the most important thing in her life now - her child.

Yuu met Leona during a joint school event with Night Raven College as the main sponsor since it was much larger than the school Yuu came from. She was talking with some friends when she bumped into Leona and ruined his shirt with the drink she was enjoying; he literally growled at her and demanded that she apologize for ruining his shirt, but she stood up to him and told him to leave her be. This is what triggered Leona's Interest in her and he continued to follow her around for about 2 months - he somehow got her number and would constantly text her, asking her to give him a chance and she finally gave in, agreeing to a date at the cafe in the city. Things went well, better than well, and the two of them kept seeing each other until Leona asked Yuu to be his girlfriend; she agreed and life was good for them.

Alas, all good things come to an end eventually; do they not?

Yuu had been feeling under the weather for a while and her friend told her she might want to get a pregnancy test done since this feeling arrived after Yuu helped Leona out of his rut; Yuu was certain that the two of them used protection but she went to get the test anyway. Imagine her surprise when she discovered she was bearing Leona's Child; she was happy and terrified at the same time, she knew Leona wasn't fond of kids but she hoped once she told him the news, he would accept it because it was his own cub.

She called him and asked him to meet her at the cafe where they had their first date; she ordered his favorite drink and waited for him to arrive. Once he did, the two of them sat and talked about things going on in their school lives and possible plans for after graduation; once he was relaxed and Yuu had his undivided attention, she told him the reason he called him there.

The moment she told him that she was pregnant, Leona burst into a fit of laughter, thinking that she was joking, but when she told him that she was not joking and she was really expecting his child, Leona's tone changed and the next words that came out of his mouth caused a nail to hit in the center of her heart and it shattered like glass.

"Get rid of it." Leona growled out, making the young woman sitting across from her shiver in her skin; it was instant, no delay or thought given. He wanted Yuu to get rid of their child and she knew he wasn't kidding; she's been with him for a long time, and she knew that look in these green eyes. This seriousness caused tears to form in Yuu's blue eyes.

Yuu tried to keep herself together as she begged Leona to reconsider - this was another life they were talking about, a life their love had created. She understood that he wasn't really interested in children at the moment but they could adapt and watching the child grow and eventually be born could make Leona see just how precious this life was. Leona growled and glared at Yuu before he rose from his chair and hissed out his next words with venom.

"Either you lose it or you lose me."

As Leona left the cafe, a young woman was left crying alone in the booth, with her hands covering her face. The other customers looked at her with pity and concern. The barista decided to offer her a free drink and muffin, while another pregnant woman brought her a cinnamon roll. She sat across from the crying woman and introduced herself as Mira. They had a deep conversation for about two hours until Yuu returned to school. Mira made sure to give her phone number and urged her to call in case of any emergency or uncertainty. Yuu sat on her bed in silence for a while, remembering the words Mira told her in the cafe before she reached over to grab her phone and unlocked it once again before returning to Leona's Message Thread; upon collecting her thoughts and calming her heart, she started texting Leona.

Yuu: You have expressed that you want nothing to do with this child and that is your choice, that is your right as an independent individual. However, I am my own person and I shall make my own choices, and my choice is to keep my baby.

Yuu pressed the send button and waited - a response arrived 3 minutes later and she didn't hesitate to look at it.

Leona: You can't be serious. You're gonna choose a parasite that's not even alive over me?! You're willing to lose me over that thing?! Use your fucking brain, Herbivore; you need me just like I need you! That thing will only get between us! Get rid of it so we can be happy again!

Yuu typed her response.

Yuu: You told me to choose and I chose - I'm keeping my baby. My child will have nothing to do with you or the Kingscholar Name if that's what you are worried about. They shall not know your identity as their father or even as a past lover of mine. I shall give them the best life I can without you in it. All I ask is that you continue to live your life and find someone who will make you happier than I ever did. Goodbye, Leona Kingscholar.

Yuu sent the message before pressing the button on the upper right corner of Leona's Messeng Thread.

You Have Blocked This Contact

Yuu locked her phone once again before looking out the window at the full moon in the cloudless sky as the stars twinkled in a sea of deep darkness. She closed her eyes and prayed to the Great Seven that she and her baby would have a prosperous life, to give her the knowledge & resources to aid her child in whatever they wished, as well as a prayer thanking them for all they have done for her and everything they will do; once her prayer was done, she placed her phone on the charger before sliding into bed and fall asleep.

As Yuu slumbered, green eyes glared at the screen of the phone in his hand as he sat in the darkness of his room and he looked at the system message with hatred and heartbreak in his eyes.

The Person You Are Attempting To Contact Is Actively Blocking You

He snarled and threw the phone across the room causing it to hit the door and shatter into pieces, the male gripped his hair while covering his ears as the voice started coming back; the voices of doubt that once plagued him. He thought he was free from their curse when Yuu would hold him but now she was gone, she was ignoring him, and he was alone once again. He roared in anger and sorrow as he fell upon the blankets of the bed, tears flowed from his eyes until he opened his eyes once again to see the Lion Plushie Yuu gave him for his most recent birthday. He reached out, grabbed the plushie, and looked at the collar around its neck:

Leona & Yuu Forever

Leona hugged the plushie to his chest, balled himself around the plushie, and sobbed himself to sleep; she'll come back to him. She realize that he was right and she will come back to him. Everything was going to be alright and they were going to be happy once again; all he had to do was wait.

[Seven Years After Graduation]

It is said that time can heal wounds and allow scars to fade away, as well as allow us to improve ourselves for a better future; at least, that is what Leona wanted to believe.

After Leona graduated, he tried to speak with Yuu at her graduation ceremony. He wanted to explain that he cared about her and wanted to make things work between them. However, when he arrived, Yuu's best friend told him that he was too late. Yuu had already left with her parents after the ceremony. They promised to take care of her during her pregnancy and to support her until she could find a job and a place to live. Leona never got the chance to meet Yuu's parents or visit her home. It was then that he realized he had lost her forever. His heart was shattered into a million pieces.

Leona returned home and applied to work at his father's company- while he was not next in line to be the CEO, that title and right belonged to his Older Brother - Falena. Falena was rather serious about his job and family when it came to his wife and son, Cheka; Falena loved his family more than anything and he would do anything to protect them. He hated working under his brother, constantly in his shadow, but Leona was still a Kingscholar and he was not going to let his brother's high position outshine him for long; he would work harder than Falena ever could and continue to rise above.

Leona did just that and worked well with the other employees; he would always do his part and help anyone who needed it, he wasn't over-friendly but he was still respectful to those he worked with, including his father and brother in the office.

During those seven years, Leona managed to snare the President Title for himself while his father was CEO and his brother was COO; the pay was grand and the people in the office respected him, that should be everything he wanted but he could feel it - the hollow void in his heart that could only be filled by one piece, a piece he discarded and regretted ever since.

Leona moved back into his room at Kingscholar Estate and that is where he spent most of his time, lying in his bed while holding his lion plushie that was slowly falling apart at the seams; it was the only thing he had that reminded him of her and he refused to let that piece of her fade away.

Leona's Father attempted to introduce him to numerous women from respectful companies and families but he was never interested in any of them; he wanted her and none of them were her. His father would tell him that he was holding on to the delusion of the one he wanted coming back to him when it was Leona's fault she left him in the first place. Leona would snarl at him before leaving the room to leave Falena to reticle his father in kicking Leona at his weakest point; the younger brother no longer cared about being outshined by his older, his worst regret was letting go of the only person who truly understood him.

One day, Leona was out and about dressed in his suit with his satchel across his shoulder and resting on his hip; his father sent him to close a business deal with a potential new client, they were a rather small business, well, small when comparing it to the scale of the company Leona worked for but their name was getting out there and Leona's Father knew it was important to make the necessary connections the business world.

He walked down the sidewalk, eyes green eyes focused forward as his tail swayed from side to side with each step he took; he was so distracted that he wasn't really aware of his surroundings until he came to a stop when a smaller body connected with the side of his legs, causing him to look in the direction of the child and his eyes widened slightly in confusion.

The child's visage reflected his own when he was around that age with the only exception being the young boy's eyes were the deepest blue he had ever seen. He watched as the young lion rose to his feet and looked up at the man before him before bowing his head in respect.

"My apologies, Sir! I wasn't looking where I was going and bumped into you." The boy said before looking up at Leona with a bright smile; this boy radiated a kind aura that he felt like he was familiar with.

"It's alright, kid; I was rather distracted too, and wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings." Leona said causing the boy to gasp.

"That's not good! You have to watch where you are going or you shall get hit by a car, or a bus, or a train, or even stabbed by some stranger who is having a bad day or malicious intent! Then, your family shall miss you and people will be sad!" The boy exclaimed while waving his hands around.

"Where did you come up with that?" Leona asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mommy would say that when I was too distracted! I'm working hard to be more careful so Mommy won't worry too much about me and she will see that I a a big boy!" the boy smiled while placing his fists on his hips in a superhero-like pose, causing the taller lion to chuckle at him.

"Your Mommy sounds like a wise woman. What about your daddy? Is he just as wise as her?" Leona asked.

"Oh, I don't have a Daddy. Just Mommy and she is the only one I really need, but I also have God-Ma, and Auntie, as well as Grandma and Grandpa, so I'm really happy! I don't need a Daddy!" The boy smiled again as his smaller tail waved around behind him. Leona opened his mouth again when a voice called out through the air; sending a ping through his heart.

"Leonis!" A female voice called out.

He watched as the boy, Leonis, turned around and ran to a woman wearing casual clothing; long black hair, lightly sun-kissed skin, and a golden necklace with a locket pendant laced around her neck. Leona looked at this woman as the young boy hugged her legs as she petted him between his ears.

"Mommy!" Leonis called out while looking up at her with shining blue eyes.

"Leonis, I have told you numerous times not to run off like that. What if you got hurt or if someone tried to take you away?" She asked - her voice light and sweet but stern and concerned to her child.

"I would have scratched their eyes out!" Leonis said as he raised his claws to show them to his mother, "I am the Lion Strength of Our Family and Grandpa taught me how to fight! There's no one stronger than him and I'll be able to protect you too, Mommy!" She chuckled and smiled sweetly at the child.

"I know, My Sweet Cub, but Mommy wants to make sure that you remain safe. Now, it's time to meet Grandpa and Grandma for lunch, are you ready to go?" She asked.

"Yes, Mommy!" Leonis turned to look at Leona who was standing there watching the interaction between mother and son before he started waving at the male, "Sorry for bumping into you, Sir! I hope you have a prosperous day!" This caused the mother to look at Leona.

Time seemed to slow down around the Kingscholar Male as his breath was caught in his throat when sapphire locked with emerald.

"Yuu?" His voice came out in a weak whimper as he looked at the face of the woman who stood before him, who looked at him with wide eyes but said nothing.

He watched as Yuu reached down, took Leonis by the hand, and started walking him to their car in the parking lot;. He watched as Yuu placed the cub in the car seat behind the passenger seat of her car before closing the door and walking to the driver's door, opening it and getting inside before closing it. His keen ears picked up on the sound of the engine roaring to life before the car pulled out of the spot, out of the parking lot, and drove down the street until it disappeared completely from sight.

Leona stood there as the world moved around him, his eyes remained wide as the pieces started falling into place of realization and 6 critical points were made obvious to him.

Leona had finally seen Yuu after their break-up seven years ago.

Yuu was now a mother.

Her son was a Lion Beastman while she was a human.

His name was Leonis.

Leonis couldn't be older than 6 considering his size.

Leonis looked just like him when he was that age, only with Yuu's eyes.

Yuu had given birth to his child, to his son, and had been raising him alone. He was a father. Leona Kingscholar was a father.

However, that's when his eyes widened once again when he remembered what Leonis told him during their conversation and it caused his heart to grow cold once again.

I don't need a Daddy!

Leona stood there for a while before he started walking once again - he had a business meeting to get to and after that...he had to make a very important call.

[END]

[kleinblue52]

Since everyone's playing, let me add my two cents about the Agatha All Along/Teen theories.

First of all, I've read several posts mentioning that Teen said his mother is dead. Unless I missed something, I don't think that's the case. When he was talking about his mom seeing Alice's mother in concert before she died, I think he meant before LORNA died. Did I interpret that wrong?

So, if I'm right, Rebecca Kaplan might be alive and well. I do want Teen to be Billy. At the same time though, as soon as Nicholas' room appeared and we saw the lock of hair, I was immediately drawn to the Nicholas Scratch theories. I DON'T want him to be Nicholas, but it would make so much sense.

Right now the biggest mystery to me is that damn rabbit. There's a strong connection between that rabbit and Teen's identity, much stronger than the rabbit simply being named after Nicholas/Agatha's dead son. In WandaVision, Billy is very attached to the rabbit, and Teen is shown petting it as well. That might be a connection between the two. BUT, at the same time, Teen is shown next to the picture of a rabbit and he's also shown hopping around when he's bound. So those might be clues that connect Teen to the name Scratch. THEN AGAIN when we see Nicholas' room, his music award is shown next to the figurine of a rabbit. Which made me think... what if Señor Scratchy is actually Nicholas? Rio is supposedly Nicholas' mother as well and she spoke to Agatha in Spanish in more than one occasion. The rabbit being called Señor might be a nod to that. Maybe when Agatha tried to sacrifice Nicholas for some selfish reason, Rio intervened and made it so that Nicholas would only be (temporarily?) transformed into Agatha's familiar? I have a feeling that Rio is being painted as a villain because Agatha doesn't exactly remember what happened, but it's probably Rio who has a good reason to hate Agatha, and not the other way around.

SO my final theory here is that the rabbit is actually Nicholas. Agatha might find a way to remember about him and maybe save him from the spell he is under at the end of the Witches' Road and with the help of Rio. Teen is Billy, he knows that he's Wanda's son for some reason and he wants to use the Witches' Road to bring Wanda back, and he'll probably end up betraying the Coven in order to do that. He already has power and he's lying about his ultimate goal.

I would LOVE that storyline, not only because I want Teen to be Billy, but also because it would create such deep and moving parallels between Agatha, who barely remembers that she has lost a son, Rio, who is grieving that loss and maybe is manipulating Agatha to get to the end of the Witches' Road to get Nick back, Teen/Billy who is manipulating everyone to get his mom back and Wanda, who manipulated the whole Multiverse to get Billy and Tommy back. A finale in which Billy manages to bring Wanda back would be the perfect lead-in to a Jac Schaeffer Wanda movie.

[theflyindutchwoman]

I think they’ve made Lucy look so stupid. It annoys me so much cause she was my favorite. Isabel, Noah, Nyla have allllll told Lucy UC work destroys your personal life yet Lucy is running around like she’s the exception. She’s not. It drives me nuts.

I'm not sure if you just needed to vent or if you wanted me to answer… But I respectfully disagree. I get not liking this storyline and how frustrating it can be or even how out of character it might seem. That's perfectly fine. But I personally enjoy watching this journey. While I do believe that in the long term, UC is probably not going to be a good fit for her and the life that she desires, I love watching Lucy finding herself and trying to figure out a way to have the career AND life that she wants.

Let's get back to why Lucy became a cop in the first place. I joined the Academy on a whim. I knew that my parents would hate it. But I had no idea how much I would love it. Being a cop is the first thing I've ever been serious about. (1.04) I guess I've been adrift since college, trying on different hats and different personalities, and nothing's felt right, until -- until this. But I don't think the time spent trying to find myself was wasted. You know, everything I've done so far, the profound and the foolish, has prepared me to become a police officer so that I can protect those who need it the most and from those who would do them harm. (3.10)

By her own admission, she spent years trying to find her place, to find a job where she could feel fulfilled… So now that she found it, is it that hard to believe that she would do everything in her power to follow through? I know that she is talking about being a cop in general here and not UC. But at the moment, UC is what she wants to do… and honestly, she owes it to herself to try. Maybe she won't like it. Maybe she'll decide that it is not for her after all. But this is something she has to try for herself and decide for herself. Not because others have previously failed or because others told her to do something else - which is what her parents have been trying to do from the beginning by the way. Hearing other people's stories are not the same as living that experience yourself. Sometimes you need to learn first hand. There's nothing wrong with that. She may be 30 years old, but she is still at the beginning of her career. She is still finding herself and exploring all avenues. As she should.

"Isabel, Noah, Nyla have allllll told Lucy UC work destroys your personal life" All true. And yet, she is actively supported by people whose very own lives were destroyed by undercover work. Nyla has been mentoring her from the beginning. The same Nyla who teaches classes on how to learn from past mistakes. Who told Lucy on their first shift together to be better than her. And what about Tim? He obviously believes that she is different (his words), that this could have a better ending. Otherwise he wouldn't have bothered taking that leap of faith. And more than Lucy herself, he knew exactly what he was getting himself into. Despite his past and own issues, he has been nothing but supportive and encouraging since she graduated. Did he underestimate the toll it would take on him? Probably. Is he hiding his own feelings on the matter? Most definitely. But the fact remains that he still chooses to believe that they can make it work. It's no coincidence that the two main characters who had their personal lives so negatively impacted by UC work, are also the ones actively encouraging Lucy. I strongly believe that you are not bound by other people's mistakes and failures. Learn from it but don't stop doing something because other people failed. And that's what Lucy is trying to do.

"Yet Lucy is running around like she’s the exception." Is she, though? So far, ever since s4, she hasn't been in any rush to do undercover work. The only times she was pushing for a UC op, was when she volunteered Tim as a hitman and as Jake. Which is hilarious when you think about it. Since we mentioned Noah, here's what he said on the topic : she could have done more missions. Now, granted, unlike him, she is still a P2 so that might hinder her. It's entirely possible that she didn't get more opportunities. But when she got one, like in 5.07, she was still being cautious at first. And in 5.21, she didn't hesitate to call off the operation at the end. Not only that, but every time she meets someone who has done UC, she jumps on the occasion to ask them for their advices, for their different perspectives. And every time, those advices ended up with a 'maybe it can be different for you'. She is actually trying to learn from others so she can avoid making the same errors. That's not the act of someone who thinks she is better than everyone. Or who thinks she knows better. If anything, she seems to be taking her time : this has been her arc since s3. Even when she got accepted to the UC Academy, she went to see Nyla for advices. Sure, she was looking for some sort of absolution, but it's still telling that she went to her first.

"She’s not." How do we know she won't be the exception? Why do we immediately assume that she can't succeed when the premise of the show is about a 40+ years old man who decided to become a cop and succeeded? Everyone was telling Nolan he was stupid and naive too. And yet, here we are. So why Lucy couldn't be the exception as well? To show that there may be a way? In the end, it's a story. The writers can choose the ending they want.

Do I believe she would love the full undercover lifestyle? No. Not for long missions. I can't see her enjoying leaving her life and the people she loves behind… leaving herself behind. Not for a year. And not without taking its toll on her. But that doesn't mean I find her stupid for wanting to try out anyway. That's just my opinion though. Also, a career in undercover ops doesn't automatically mean going under. She could be a case officer. She could train new agents. She could do short(ish) missions. All of this could be a really good alternative for her.

Side note : I didn't touch on the logistics of long term undercover work on the show (or her being outed on a documentary) because, at the end of the day, no matter how complicated it could be, if the writers want her to do UC, they'll find a way. I just wanted to focus on Lucy's journey.

[purplebass]

A comment under something I wrote about Kell's childhood got me thinking about antari and how they are objectified. I also briefly touch on their boundaries and dynamics and parallels.

I want to believe that Kell's parents cared about his well being and that the only reason they surrendered him to the Maresh family was to protect him. Imagine if Kell had continued living with his biological parents. They were likely thieves on the run without a home and they probably lived on scraps. Once it would be known that Kell was antari, someone could've taken advantage of him, or worse. Someone could've attempted to kill him. Offering Kell to the king and queen would grant him protection, an education in magic. He wouldn't have to worry about eating and where to sleep. I don't think it was an easy choice for his parents, but they did it because they believed it would be for their son's good. They couldn't know that Kell would end up being dehumanized by his new "parents" and like a bird in a golden cage.

The main og antari and how their storylines reflect each other in different ways.

Holland is the representation of the life Kell would've probably had if his family wouldn't have surrendered him to the royals, and if he wasn't born in Red London. His brother and the woman he loved tried to end him and he had to murder them to survive. Then the Danes and then Osaron made him their pet by literally erasing his humanity by controlling him.

Lila's father sold her to pay a debt and he didn't care about her. But she didn't know she was antari, so her magic couldn't be exploited and this somehow was her luck. Lila could run away from her oppressors, and in theory, is what Kell and Holland both longed for. Freedom. (Side note: that's why Kell likes Lila so much but she also gets on his nerves - affectionately -. The things that come easily to her, are harder for him. And he gets a little irritated by this but I think she also inspires him to improve and believe more in himself.)

Lila is the only antari who wasn't objectified up to this point. She didn't let the black stone or others take control of her, unlike Kell and Holland. It isn't a question of power. This is more of a question of mindset/personality. Lila shares personality traits with Kell and Holland and so do they (and they're a trio of introverts). While the other two are still trusting and kind despite it all, Lila is selectively trusting and kind. She built strong walls around her to protect herself and this is probably why she could resist possession. Perhaps this is her strength. She is also vary and hardly lets people in. She has strong boundaries but she's is selective about them.

Having been treated as servants and not human beings, Kell and Holland do have boundaries but they waver. Kell tries hard to put boundaries but he sometimes loses the fight. Holland has his boundaries destroyed after he was possessed, so it's no wonder he doesn't know what boundaries are anymore. They knew that they needed to get away and could try to leave (they were powerful magicians, after all!) but at the same time, they didn't know how. Oftentimes, the person who lives in a toxic environment knows it's toxic but is unable to leave. Holland was teetered by an enchantment to the Danes and then to Osaron. Kell was bound by duty and by loyalty to Rhy, whom he didn't want to leave because he loved his brother. Rhy was the only reason for him to endure this treatment.

This is why, once again, when Lila appears in Kell's life, she is the catalyst for his growth and for his possibility to get away from the toxic environment he was in. And at the same time, Lila appearing in the story influences Holland's story too. And they also influence her personal growth, because Lila learns to trust people a little more. At the end of the series, their power come together to destroy the enemy, which is cool.

After seven years, things have changed a bit. Kell is free from his royal duties at the end of acol, but his magic is broken and he finds himself without purpose. I think of him as a broken vase that was fixed with a thread of silver just like Japanese do (but with gold) to embrace the philosophy that humans have flaws and they're not perfect.

Lila is more trusting and letting people in (albeit still selectively), and I think that these seven years weren't easy for her either. She was the last antari left (I don't think she counted Kosika because she was still a child and uhm, what did I say about Lila trusting strangers? Read that again lol). I think she felt a huge responsibility on her shoulders, especially because she didn't want to involve Kell in any of the things regarding antari and such (see, reason why she didn't tell him about Kosika either). She was also emotionally tested because of Kell. She was desperately looking for a way to help him but also tried not to show him how desperate she was because she didn't want to show her feelings so openly (vulnerability again).

Holland is haunting the narrative. If the ghost Kosika sees is the real Holland, because I have few doubts that he is the same Holland we know. He's doing to Kosika what was done to him, but in a softer way, because he quietly speaks to her and helps her, and only later she realizes that was the reason she knew how to use her powers. He is using Kosika to act as his vessel so she can finish what he started years before. There's an interesting parallel with Kosika and Tes and the antari but I need to reread Threads to analyze it better.

If you read until the end thank you! lmao and if you have questions please send because I like to talk about adsom

[ae-neon]

@shadowqueenjude I was recently complaining about this in replies and DMs but you reminded me so I might as well make a post. Lets say sjm didn't want to make the pov switch in acomaf (ignoring that's almost exactly what ended up happening anyway post trilogy)

Then sjm should have done better for Feyre

First of all, we needed more put into the Cursebreaker title, even if it was burdensome to her, it still centred her. It was Feyre who should have given the HL speech not Nesta, Feyre is literally a living embodiment of the unification of the powers of the 7 courts

Also my personal opinion that Feyre shouldn't have been made High Lady by him but that by default she could be High Lady of literally any court because she holds a drop from each. Again, centring her and not him. It also makes the possibility of Feyre choosing Tarquin but ultimately picking Rhysand have more weight

On that topic. No mating bond. I know it's an sjm romance staple but let's be brutally honest about it.

each Archeron sister is an anomaly to the acotar universe, they should not exist and are not bound by the same magical physics so why would they have designated mates.

Feyre again has the magic of all 7 not just 1. If anything she should be recognised (by magic if not by law) more like a High Queen than a High Lady

SJM apparently ends up taking the "first High Lady" title from her anyways

As disgusting as it is, the acotar mating bond IS a magical eugenics programme and according to the lore, Lesser Fae are "less" than High Fae. Why would a being who is beyond High Fae be mates with a half or Lesser Fae.

Same way it doesn't make sense that human Feyre (or Nesta) could be mates with a half or full Illyrian. The wings would kill a damn near higher being but wouldn't kill a human?? I don't think they'd even make it full term

In conclusion no mates or their mates are higher beings like them but they reject those bonds in favour of love, showing their human values overrule Fae magic. Tying into Feyre's human heart (make it mean something!!)

So, Feyre chooses Rhysand

Now, if the NC is split into basically 3 autonomous zones, we needed to see her interact and integrate herself into those three in a way that matters. Something beyond the superficial title.

Keep Feyre's star motif as HERS. It's a pretty dehumanising take but she has that thought about being a star who only shines as bright because of his darkness or something. Anyways. Give her the star tattoo.

For some reason her bargain tattoos have a similar swirl pattern to Illyrian tats, cut that out and rather have her do the bloodrite and earn the tattoos.

If sjm insists on keeping the CoN scene, write it better. And change the values of the CoN to hedonism so they embrace her introduction to court.

Put up a statue of Feyre in the Rainbow

Give Feyre her own place (not physically but politically and socially) in Velaris. Let her learn to read at the library and befriend some priestesses. It's literally that easy

Now

One complaint I made again and again was the KoH not being Feyre's villain. Sure he turns her sisters but after that he's so focused on getting her sisters and beefing with Rhysand, it doesn't feel like Feyre's at the centre of it by design but rather by default

So make something like her resurrection in book 1 was a result of her stealing Amarantha's power. We know Amarantha was able to become that powerful because she stole from Hybern. whatever it is, he wants it back.

Then, have Feyre actually fighting in the war not running around observing and doing side quests. HAVE FEYRE ACTUALLY INVOLVED IN THE SERIES VILLAIN'S DEATH??? (sjm is a hack fraud) Then she dies and is resurrected by the High Lords at the end of wings and ruin.

Cut the vassa storyline it's nonsense

Full circle from book 1 with a mirror ending!!!

Ultimately these are small changes that don't alter the course of the story (the way making Feyre naturally shielded instead of Nesta or switching pov to Nesta in acomaf would) but it helps

[autumnslance]

The Unsundered and Tempering

There's apparently some kinda post going around ruffling jimmies about the Ascians versus the Ancients, with extreme assumptions about a society we see precious little of ourselves in game and mostly get informed of by people still grieving it millennia later.

Most of them antagonists, that like many other antagonists and allies, folks seem to want to take at face value for a lot of what they say, while often ignoring what they do and how, while speaking.

This is something I have noticed among fandom and roleplayers for decades, so it's nothing new, but there's a lot of times the text of any situation is making it clear that even if a character isn't outright lying--even thinks they are being "honest"--that is not necessarily the case.

It also comes back to making sure one is using all the available information--goodness knows I've made a fool of myself before by missing scenes or text that did explain someone's position on lore and characters!

Regardless of how one feels about certain plot points, storylines, or characters, they all inform each other in canon. Different characters say different things at different times in different company. A scene from two expansions ago may inform a new patch cutscene. Actions may contradict words. It all works together.

For an example, since it's come up elsewhere, I've had doubts about how Tempered the Unsundered were from the moment Emet-Selch claimed it, due to one of the last scenes in ARR, cutscene #5 in "Before the Dawn" where we see Lahabrea and Elidibus speak just before Urianger arrives in response to the Emissary's request for a meeting:

Lahabrea: The earth is fertile, and the seeds well sown. By my will, they shall reap salvation unlike any the world has known. Elidibus: By His will. Lahabrea: …By His will.

The Ascians in ARR and HW spend a lot of time telling the WoL about their One True God. Here though, in a moment of privacy before the Archon's arrival, Elidibus has to remind Lahabrea to check his ego as his actions are for Zodiark, not himself.

This is an early indication, alongside Nabriales's actions in the previous patch quests, that not everyone's on the same page in regards to the Ascian agenda. Nor is Zodiark's hold on each red mask absolute--even the ones initially at His summoning.

EDIT: Not to mention Fandaniel's actions in their entirety in Shadowbringers and Endwalker; killing one's god to usher in the end of the world is not the act of a tempered man!

Further doubt is placed on Emet-Selch's claim by Tiamat. We get more of her situation in the Shadowbringers patches, in the "Righteous Indignation" cutscene:

Tiamat: Recall, mortals, that it was I who did first summon my beloved, praying with all my being to bring him forth. You who contend with eikons cannot well be ignorant of the consequence. Alphinaud: …You too were exposed to his influence. That you are yet in possession of your own will is testament to the indomitable strength of your soul. Alphinaud: But were you to meet with Bahamut again, you fear you might succumb. Tiamat: Indeed. Ask the dragonslayer, and he will tell thee the power we of the first brood wield. Were I to lose myself to the eikon's influence, all would pay the price. Tiamat: But it is of little matter. For even had I the strength to resist, I yet lack the strength to break my shackles. This prison shall be my tomb. Alisaie: On the matter of Bahamut's influence, at least, I believe we can be of some assistance. Alisaie: If you're afraid of being enthralled, don't be─we have a cure. And while we've never tried it on one such as you, its basic principles are universal. Tiamat: Speakest thou in earnest? Alphinaud: There is no future for those bound to the past. Alphinaud: That you committed a terrible sin, I do not dispute. But if you feel remorse, you may yet make amends. We offer you that chance. Take it, or you will forever remain a prisoner, not of these cruel shackles, but of your own guilt. Tiamat: A chance to make amends… To lay Bahamut's memory to rest… Tiamat: When our own star faced annihilation, Hydaelyn granted us sanctuary. And now your foes would bring about Her destruction. This I cannot allow. For the debt I owe to Hydaelyn, and to all who have suffered for my sins…I shall fight with you, children of man.

Tiamat is a victim of the purposefully corrupted summoning magic the Ascians distributed. Yet she is not entirely enthralled by the Bahamut she summoned; she fears she would be if she were exposed further to a primal. Tiamat, as a Great Wyrm of the First Brood, is more akin in her aetheric composition to the Unsundered than most others on Hydaelyn. She knows she is influenced by the primal she summoned, and part of her remaining bound is to protect herself and the world from that consequence.

And then she chooses the cure and to move forward with her life, when given the option. As do other enthralled figures among the tribes when granted the option.

While there wasn't yet a cure when still fighting the Unsundered, entreaties to end their crusade and move forward fell on deaf ears--but I doubt very much it was due to Zodiark's influence entirely, and more their own stubborness after having clung to this course for ages.

The first cutscene of "Unto the Heavens" in Endwalker presents finally the intersection of original creation magic and modern summoning, as preparations are made to board the Ragnarok:

Livingway: You've done a fine job of readying the Ragnarok, but for it to take flight, we'll of course need the power of the Mothercrystal. Livingway: Given its immense size, however, transporting it would be an absolute logistical nightmare. Not to mention we'd need to shatter it into tiny shards for feeding to the engines. Livingway: But a brilliant idea came to me: we convert the crystal's energy into forms that can transport themselves! Urianger: Thou wouldst employ summoning…or should I say its precursor─creation magicks. Thancred: Care to explain for our benefit? Urianger: As you may have witnessed at Bestways Burrow, the Loporrits are capable of creation magicks, which they use to shape the moon's environment. Urianger: Yet simple though they make it seem, 'tis a highly advanced and exacting art. To perform it correctly requireth that the wielder holdeth the object in his mind's eye in clearest detail. Alphinaud: Hence the ancients' meticulous management of concepts. Urianger: Drawing upon this art, the Ascians conceived of summoning as we know it. Urianger: A derivative that replaceth the complexity of concepts with the simplicity of zealotry to make manifest a creation. Y'shtola: I see… By combining the Loporrits' magicks and the tribes' faith, we convert the Mothercrystal into primals of purer form and greater obedience. Y'shtola: Summoning as it was intended, one might say. Livingway: Indeed, indeed! Livingway: While Hydaelyn gave us the ability to use creation magicks, She forbade us from using it to make anything possessed of a soul─or similar. Livingway: She didn't say anything about fulfilling the desires of others, though. So! Borrowing our friends' faith, we'll create deities using the Mothercrystal's power, and send them to the Ragnarok! Alisaie: Am I the only one here concerned about the risk of being turned into a tempered minion? Livingway: Oh, right, I was getting to that… From what I've read in Sharlayan tomes, it appears the Ascians incorporated an additional nasty element into their summoning method: the fervent desire to assimilate others into one's belief. Livingway: Beings thus created are instilled with the selfsame desire, and use their powers to enthrall people─starting with the summoner. Livingway: In contrast, our creation magicks─the original and the best, accept no substitutes─don't incorporate any of that rubbish, so there's no risk of tempering. I mean, if the being was on the scale of Zodiark, you might feel a little “tug”…but I think we'll be safe enough.

From what we get here, summoning is quite obviously an offshoot of the original creation energies of the Ancients, but twisted by the thinness of the sundered mortals' aether and using faith and collected aether as a substitute. The tempering part was a later, intentional addition, possibly after the Unsundered had opportunity to examine the effect of Zodiark's summoning on themselves and extrapolating that.

Now, is some of this likely retconning to explain discrepancies in how characters acted and how tempering has been used? Probably! There was supposedly a rewrite of the main Ascian/Hydaelyn/Zodiark storyline, inherited from 1.0, which Stormblood allowed the time and consideration going forward on how they wanted to resolve this long arc. There's a lot in ARR and HW that has been recontextualized to fit, though some things still stand out a bit oddly; they did as good a job as they could, especially given the many years and writers involved.

But from the more recent writings, the intention is not to excuse the Unsundereds' actions with "they were tempered." And the final proof comes from Emet-Selch in Ultima Thule in cutscene #4 of "You Are Not Alone", having been through the preliminary wash cycle of the Lifestream long enough to have had various enchantments removed from him, while yet retaining his self before that too is washed out before reincarnation:

Alisaie: You're leaving!? Emet-Selch: Of course. The encore is finished, and I will not suffer myself to live again by Hydaelyn's magick. Emet-Selch: But more than that, the future you seek is not the past we loved. That is why we fought. And why I lost. Emet-Selch: But though you defeated me, my ideals are inviolate. Invincible. Emet-Selch: Spare me your pity. I have no use for it. If you would do something for me─save our star. Emet-Selch: See this tale to a triumphant conclusion, and with elation in your hearts, bid the final curtain fall. Emet-Selch: Only then may it rise again and a new tale begin─with new parts for all to play.

Through Shadowbringers, Emet-Selch claimed to want to cooperate with the Scions, while only giving bits and pieces of carefully considered information, and moving the goal posts whenever they did prove to him they were able to pass his tests and meet his expectations. It is not until this moment where, his duty to fight finished and the fate of his beloved world in any form at stake, that he is truly honest about what he did and why.

(I may also have an analysis WIP about comparing him and The Sandman's Morpheus and that stubborn refusal to change his mind and ideals, but it's slow going)

So while we mostly do have to go by what characters say, directly to WoL or to other characters in other scenes, each conversation cannot be taken in a vacuum; it is taken into account with their other conversations, with their actions, with other characters' input. And sometimes, the writers change direction, and new information will overwrite the old, even as it builds off of it.

The game is not consistent about Tempering and Summoning, though the double acts of Shadowbringers and Endwalker's story tries to clean that up. I just seriously doubt, from all the evidence, that the Unsundered were as entirely under Zodiark's thumb as say, one of Ifrit's over-hammered thralls and therefore not responsible for their choice and actions, the plans they made and came up with and clung to in stubborn guilt and grief and rage for so long they couldn't do anything else, even when presented proof of other options and chances to change or move forward.

Because another thing ShB and EW have shown us in both MSQ and in the Pandaemonium storyline, is who these men were, to become the Ascians we know, and how their own beliefs shaped them individually when faced with such loss--and how in each case, those past, pre-Zodiark selves would look at the eldritch beings they became by the Seventh era, and be horrified. Not because of any god's influence, but what they were capable of on their own.

...Well OK, Lahabrea already had a pretty good idea of what kind of monster he was capable of becoming. He also chose the worst way to handle it, and never seemed to learn from that. Elidibus and Emet-Selch though, while adamant in their beliefs, were also warped by what they chose to do and be, to where Elidibus even refused to remember his past to avoid the pain, tunneling into his duty with no wavering. Only Emet-Selch chose to remember, wallowing in it, acknowledging the monstrosity of his actions...and choosing to commit them anyway.

EDIT ADDITION: Relevant lore info directly from Banri Oda on Tempering and many other things.

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.219 thoughts

[Big Dick is Back in Town!]

(Contents: immediate reaction - gushing, setting analysis - Clothy, character analysis - Chikara/Ruin)

This chapter is the perfect example of why I don't do numerical ratings. If last week I'd said ch.218 was a 10/10, that would carry the implication that it was the perfect UU chapter, that nothing could top it, and come this week I'd look like a fool! Nor am I willing to give 219 any such rating, because I refuse to believe that we've reached the pinnacle of what Tozuka is planning to show to us. However, my refusal to assign a number to this chapter should not be taken as indicative of my opinion on it, because, as I'm sure you've all guessed by now...

This is the best god damn chapter in the entire series so far!

That entire sequence, that eight-page span, with two of the most exciting and jaw-dropping spreads that Tozuka has produced to date, was an immediate daymaker. Fuuko sticking the five-point landing, the realization that she was back on the bridge where she and Andy first met, Andy's head dropping onto the bridge only for him to revive just like in the anime's interpretation of the same originally more low-key events of the manga, all culminating in Andy sweeping Fuuko off of her feet with the two most lovely and romantic smiles I've ever seen in ink put to page?! Like Andy bursting through Ruin's Bloodclot Ball and allowing the radiance of the sun to shine down on Fuuko, I too felt like my day was instantly brightened

And that's just from Andy coming back! Now that he's here to stay, I can only imagine what moments Tozuka's going to hit us with! Sure, Andy and Fuuko are gonna have the most romantically charged kiss in all of Shonen Jump's history, but that's a given! I can't imagine Tozuka's going to stop there, there's bound to be all kinds of great lines, action setpieces, character developments, and don't even talk to me about the catharsis of it all! Tozuka's always been good at wrapping up storylines in my opinion (not you, Kururu) and this was such an incredible payoff for the Andy is Missing arc that I just know the ending of the main plot is going to render me unconscious

But of course, the latter eight pages aren't the only things that matter here; sure, they're what elevates this to being my current favorite chapter, but don't be fooled into thinking that the rest of the chapter isn't an absolute banger in its own right!

Chikara

First of all, Chikara is, without question, the MVP of the Union. Juiz and Victor going through 456 billion years worth of loops? Nah. Fuuko raising the first complete and upgraded Union? Nope. Andy becoming hands down the single strongest Negator in any loop ever? Forget 'im!

Chikara's not invincible. He doesn't have eons of experience. He can't even use his ability offensively! And yet? Chikara always pulls through. Rip? Killed 'im! Summer? Killed 'im! Creed? Got his eyes crushed and his knees capped, and he still beat 'im, only to limp his way to helping everyone beat Spring too! Then in the fight with God, this kid loses his arm immediately upon the fight starting, but still manages to crawl his way forward to halt his approach from Fuuko!

Fuuko, Juiz, Billy, Shen, etc., they're all monsters, fighting prodigies or ancient entities unlike anything the world has ever produced, and Andy and Victor are so unkillable that nothing they do should be even remotely surprising. But Chikara? He's just a boy. Just yesterday his biggest concern was whether he was going to pass college entrance exams, and now he's getting his eyes chopped in half and not even crying about it! He just decides "this is unacceptable. I will not be a liability just because of something as petty as losing my eyes!" If you don't think that's badass, there's just no helping you

And why shouldn't Chikara be the toughest "normal" character? He was the first Negator that Fuuko ever recruited back in L100. He clearly means a lot to Tozuka and was always intended to be integral to the plot, and he has absolutely stayed true to that vision. I know I've ranked Chikara pretty low when compared to everyone else, but that is not because Chikara's character is lacking in any major way, he's always had one of the most compelling arcs in the story, and every time I think Tozuka is done building on him, I am delighted to be proven wrong

Speaking of characters that continue to surprise me...

Clothy

CLOTHY IS BAAACK!!! No wonder he wasn't around for Tatiana's fashion show, he never left Andy's side! You know what that means?

Clothy survived Ragnarok

Even when every other UMA was erased from existence, Clothy lived on, retaining his memories and his friendships so he wouldn't need to be tamed all over again! I mean, just look at how happy he is to see Fuuko! Poor little guy, I hope Andy changed his criteria for an ideal outfit to include "unconscious when not on Earth," or at least offered to if Clothy wasn't willing to wait the whole 4.6 billion years along with him

I once questioned where Clothy's core was, as he frequently gets completely engulfed and destroyed when Andy gets hurt, say by lava or whathaveyou, but now thanks to this, I finally understand

Because Andy is his wearer and Andy's ideal outfit is one that can regenerate along with him, Andy has essentially overwritten the core as a weakness: Andy has become Clothy's core. So long as Andy survives, so too will Clothy; without meaning to, Andy has already successfully externalized Undead

...Hey, that sounds kinda familiar, doesn't it?

Blood and Shadow

Oh yeah, Ruin also wears his UMA partners and shared his immortality with them! It turns out that I was wrong last week, and that Ruin does still have both Blood and Shadow, and unless I'm mistaken, it...looks like Shadow is his pants??? Or...maybe he's hiding in Ruin's pocket? The position of Shadow's attack and Ruin's leg makes it a little ambiguous, but honestly whether he's in Ruin pants or is Ruin's pants doesn't change the fact that it's a completely undignified position for a villainous entity to be in and it's very very funny to me

Based on the way that Blood seems to flow out of the scar on Ruin's body, I think that Blood has actively become Ruin's own blood and Shadow his...shadow. These are likely extensions of their own Rules, the same way that Clothy has to abide by the wishes of his wearer, but becoming a part of a self-targeting Negator's body would certainly justify coming under his Rule's effects. I also wonder if their presence is related to Ruin's new appearance; Soul calls Blood and Shadow "the powered-up pair," so their increase in strength may be related to Ruin's sizeable scar and loss of hair color, though there are certainly other probable explanations

Ruin's Past

Blood and Shadow's return have shaken the likelihood that this is Ruin 101 and not 100, but the lack of his Regulator status, his new appearance and Billy's read that Unruin doesn't actually allow Ruin to survive Ragnarok all greatly imply that this is, in fact, 101, even if he's somehow able to remember his past iterations

This week's chapter has given us the most insight into his character that we've ever gotten: that Ruin loves the world, but hates people. There are so many ways that this could have come about, but given the flow of the rest of the story, I think I have a pretty good idea

Ruin is already a pretty heavy inversion of the rest of the cast just by virtue of being God's servant, but I don't think that the parallels stop just with his status. Everyone else is God's enemy because the awakening of their Negator abilities were all tragedies that they blame God for, so what would motivate someone to become God's ally instead?

What else could it be but for Ruin's awakening to be a blessing that he thanks God for?

Let's say a child is born in some small, superstitious village. The baby is quickly observed to be harmed by sunlight, and within two years it has grown exceptionally sharp canine teeth. I don't think they'd wait to find out if it's allergic to garlic before tossing that baby out - that thing's a vampire, after all!

Now maybe the baby wasn't cast out into the wilderness. Maybe just a church or a religious orphanage that refuses to believe a child is evil without observing any bad behavior first? So the baby starts to grow up, gets to be a child or maybe even hits adolescence; all the while, the families in town have avoided the vampire, giving him dirty looks when he comes out at night, scrutinizing every little thing he says and does; they all know that one day, he's going to bring the village to ruin. Only the priest or a nun or whoever believes he's human, and assures him that this is all a part of God's plan, that he will do great things someday

Then something happens. Tragedy strikes. And whether the child was involved or not, whether he was anywhere near the scene, it's all his fault. And the townsfolk have had enough

The church is destroyed. The priest is killed. The child can only watch as everything he holds dear is taken from him; his eye or his body wounded and bleeding, his hair rapidly losing color from the trauma, the light of the sun burning his very flesh away, his life lies in ruin

As his consciousness fades, hatred bubbles up inside. With his last breath, he wishes to punish those who ruined what little hope he had in life, those who defied God's plan, those who broke the rules. And then...the pain is gone. The scars remain, but the boy's body is no longer broken. The Blood no longer spills, and a Shadow shields him from the scorching sunlight. Though his past is set in stone, the boy can no longer be brought to ruin; and with this new power he will enact God's will and put right the world that humanity has harmed - it will be Unruined

At least, that's how I'd write it

Ruin's Present

Tozuka probably has different plans for the specifics, but I expect Ruin's backstory will have some elements along those lines, with him feeling like God is his savior and humanity being the ones ruining God's plan for an ideal world

Someone on twitter pointed out that Fuuko once said that the Rules themselves aren't inherently harmful to humanity, that it's usually people who abuse the Rules to do harm. This is likely the same conclusion that Ruin came to, and took that sentiment to its logical extreme - since Negators, who are humans, defy, enslave and kill Rules, humanity are the evil ones, and they must be stopped

Ruin likely believes he's the hero of this story and that the UMA are the victims! That would make sense, as the only characters he's emotionally attached to are UMAs! They're probably his family! While visually Ruin is the anti-Andy, morally he's the anti-Fuuko, fighting to protect as many of the Rules as possible, as they ensure the world keeps turning the way it's supposed to!

No wonder he killed Fuuko right after the Spring fight last time! She triggered Revolution!!! She sent his beloved world hurtling into the sun!!! That is ultimately a good thing from his perspective, as it means that God can come down and wipe the slate clean, but that's only a good thing because so many UMA are already dead! This is God's opportunity to reset the world to how it should be, the way it no longer is because of Fuuko and the Union

But from Fuuko's perspective, Ruin is one of the people who abused the UMAs. He had Blood, Shadow and Ghost rounding up people to use as sacrifices and taking hostages for blackmail. He was serving the misanthropic God that reveled in humanity's suffering. He was the reason she now had to go back to make sure that the world was reset to how it should be, with all of the people she loves in it, the way it no longer is because of Ruin, the Rules and God

Buuut maybe I'm getting ahead of myself again. I certainly don't want this to be another Kururu situation where I write up a whole backstory that we never get to see, and I'll definitely feel foolish if I make Ruin out to be a secretly heroic figure from a certain point of view only for it to turn out that he's just a bloodthirsty killer using faith as an excuse to cause mayhem. But I can't help it!!! Tozuka's characters are all so interesting to me that I can't help but want to look at them more closely and try to puzzle them out myself! It doesn't matter if I'm wrong, I just have so much fun thinking about them!

Conclusion

The mystery is part of what makes it compelling. This has been true since the literal beginning of the series, which I think is part of the reason I've been such a diehard fan since day one. Chapter one made us ask "who is Andy really? Why are there Negators? And how will Fuuko help him die?" Chapter two made us ask "what's a UMA? Who are the Union?" Chapter five made us ask "why AREN'T there any stars??" I've been so engaged with this series from the get because it only gave me what I needed to know in the moment and teased everything else, a tradition that it's clearly kept up 200 chapters later!

It's never been perfect. Sometimes details that should be given aren't, or are given in external material that a lot of fans may not see. It's not a 10/10, because there are certainly "better" manga out there and even they aren't 10/10s

But it is my favorite

Even when it doesn't give me exactly what I want, it always resonates with me. I always feel a deep connection to this series, to this world, to these people, and I want to deepen that connection as much as possible. Even if Tozuka won't tell me everything, what he does tell me makes me want to know everything, to be closer to what I love so dearly. That's how I enjoy life, and I'm grateful that Tozuka has given me such a great avenue to do it

Until next time, let's all enjoy life! Welcome back, Andy!

[hpowellsmith]

Ohh i have an ask about honor bound routes! I have no clue whether someone asked this already or not, but is there gonna be a RO who wouldn't want a poly relationship?

Also OH MY GOSHHH a creme thing in honor bound??? Hannah, youll bring the end of me one day i swear😭🤍 I've been missing Creme SO terribly aaaa

There is a definite point where a Creme MC can appear onscreen in Honor Bound! It's slightly specific, though. It'll be obvious, I think...

I might end up doing a Creme-related something but it's very up in the air at the moment!

Mild spoilers below about polyamory:

Some of the romanceable characters would enjoy being in a triad with the PC if the PC likes them both and their actions are compatible with romancing both characters in each pair. These pairs are:

Matia and Korzha

Savarel and Fiore

As for the others:

Raffi: would hypothetically be happy to be in a polyamorous romance, or a triad, with some of the other characters, but it's not something those characters would be into.

Raffi is also happy to be in an open/casual relationship in which the PC and/or Raffi sleeps with or gets close with other people who aren't the main cast.

Same for Matia.

For both of the above Raffi and Matia scenarios, the PC sleeping with/getting close with other people isn't going to be a major part of the game because of the time/space that would be needed for it.

Denario: is slightly complicated, because of the shape and outcomes of his storyline and there are some links here relating to him and polyamory; I think I won't know entirely how much it would be on the cards until I'm closer to the end of the draft.

Unlike some of the polyamorous characters in my other games, they don't get together independently if unromanced: they're not in mental/emotional places to do that without the PC's input.

(The polyamorous romances are also not intended as better/worse than the solo romances, just different. Each romance structure shows different facets of the characters and how they act in romantic situations.)

Thank you for the ask!

[theriverbeyond]

I guess we can't know Mizu's gender til he tells us, but tbh I think he's a gay man. In the scene in the brothel, he only has the response and flashback when it was two men kissing, not the man and the woman. He also bound his chest when it was only him and Swordmaster at the time. It's possible living as a man has affected him that intensely but he's actually a woman deep inside, but I personally don't think so. However! I don't get onto anyone for thinking differently because we Just Don't Know Yet.

I agree!!! this is how I see him... as either a gay man or transmasc nonbinary. idk i've read/watched a LOT of stories about women who dress as men for battle, freedom, etc, and this storyline definitely seems to be framing his gender as something different

and obviously I won't get on anyone for viewing him differently (especially if they identity with the character!!) but I also think that unless and perhaps even if explicitly proven otherwise, I will personally be treating Blue Eye Samurai as a trans story and Mizu as a transmasc person. Because honestly, I feel like we HAVE been told his gender, in ways far more extensive than many cis characters in media have their gender told. like.... most characters in media don't have a "JSYK, I'm a man/woman!" moment. they just Are and we the viewers understand. I think Mizu's gender is clear and I as a viewer am Understanding. (spoilers ahead!)

like u said, he bound his chest and presented as a man when it was just him and Swordfather, who is totally blind. you'd think that if he didn't have at least SOME kind of gender fuckery he would probably have just done the voice and dispensed with the rest of it at least while inside/not training/for sleep? and you'd think after Ringo saw him naked, if he wasn't trans he would probably unbind around the campfire/etc when it was just them. and if his male presentation was really just a front, after Fowler says Mizu's bones "break like a woman's" (and clocks him, basically) and he runs away to London you would think Mizu would dispense with the disguise while on the ship. but he doesn't do any of those things!!!!

he COULD have snuck into Fowler's fortress dressed as a woman, as one of Madame Kaji's workers, hiding his sword under the dress. and I was actually really EXPECTING it to happen... it truly seemed like the most logical way for him to sneak in, and you could still have included the epic fight scenes. But he didn't? the story made a concious choice to reveal that women often went in via the (for lack of a better term) sex worker tunnel system, and then made the concious have him sneak in *as a man*, using that same tunnel. that feels important idk!!

during his marriage era, despite dressing as a woman i just literally could not see him as one. He was eventually attracted to his husband, definitely, but the entire section felt somewhat like watching him in drag, and the times when he presented most feminine felt viscerally uncomfortable. especially the end, when he put on makeup as a way to try and present himself as less-of-a-monster specifically right before the betrayal. i don't how how to really articulate it but like. his husband had a husband. TO ME

i think Akemi's storyline also makes me think Mizu is more of a transgender story than a woman crossdressing for freedom and power reasons. Akemi is a female character that is presented to us explicitly as someone who strains against the social expected norms for womanhood. through her, we (the audience) also learn about how women's opportunities are severely limited, and through her, we see her rebel against those to seize her own power within that social hierarchy. like as a character she functions to give us a foil for Mizu on what their other option could be, and it just feels. really not Mizu!!! like the contrast just feels huge in terms of being able to directly compare Akemi, who doesnt want to be a woman because of the social/cultural burden, to Mizu, who seems to reject womanhood for intrinsically different reasons.

the way people clocking him is framed feels VERY trans in a way I am not sure I can articulate. But basically, the way the narrative acknowledges but also brushes over those multiple reveals (Ringo at the Lake, Fowler during the final battle, etc), the way everyone in the story still treats Mizu as a man despite and through those multiple reveals basically without batting an eye, is NOT how I would write a cis woman being recognized. to ME

also yeah. he only reacted in the brothel when two men kissed.

tl;dr transmasc mizu sweep!!!!

[lej222]

Hey... What's your thoughts on todays chapter of aslfua

I apologize in advance for the short answer, I'm working on a big post about the supernatural force in the story and it takes up my time 😃Episode149 spoilers:

I personally liked this chapter. We had a lot of interesting moments, like:

Miae can indeed hear the voice of the higher being(?) and it seems to steer her towards Jisu. I cannot emphasize this enough, but there's two possible outcomes, one is the happy ending with Miae fighting her own fate, the other is the bittersweet one about a young love that was not bound to happen. So far, Miae has been ignoring this voice and might continue to do so, but even if her fate is not with Cheol, the story is about them. There's no way we will see Miae with Jisu together unless it's an extra/epilogue chapter if Miae and Cheol don't end up together. So even if that comes true, it doesn't diminish Cheol's role as the main character as some people claim after this episode. It is a story about growth and learning and first love.

Miae finally remembers Jisu which makes me think her memories about him will emerge just like they did with Cheol. Like I said in my previous post, Miae might just have kickstarted her own destiny that the higher power foreshadowed. If it's true, this unknown voice will be even more active in the future chapters. The direction of the story from here on really depends on the author's vision.

Jisu and Miae playing the guitar was so cute. Poor Jisu said he cannot control his yawning, I know people on the spectrum who are the same because of sensory overload...and because he was the same as a kid it pretty much explains it

Jisu got himself involved with both the Shim (the bully with the mole) and the Yonghui-Yunhui storylines. So his character will definitely be a cornerstone from here on, regardless the love triangle.

Soonkki said that she would focus on the main plot because of her health problems. Which pretty much confirms what I've been yapping about, that Jisu is the 3rd main character and is important to the main plot. There was no way he would be irrelevant with how much attention Soonkki gave him, he was basically having his own parallel storyline in the background up until ep 75. We could even say ASLFUA is about two stories about two childhood friendships, and the intersection is Miae herself, that's why she's the main character who can hear the voice of the higher being. We got her story with Cheol in a chronological order, starting from their first meeting, and it continued in the present. While her story with Jisu was intentionally left open for a long time.

It's just my personal opinion, but I hate comments like how Cheol should beat up Jisu for this episode. They genuinely make me angry. I never cared about the romantic outcome in this story, I'm an adult. Hating on a teenager like this is an awful thing to do and trying to justify it with how you want your 15-year-old characters to end up together is just immature. Jisu has a role in this story, whether people like it or not. What role, we can only make guesses. I hate to say this to some readers, but there are people who experience heartbreak countless times in their lives before they find the one, or they might never find them. So arguing about fictional teenagers and their love lives seems pretty pointless, especially sending asks to me about it, because while I think it's nice if first loves last a lifetime, I'm not naive or young enough to believe that it is always true. (Not your question anon, it was respectful!🤝)

Random thought, but I just realized Jisu and Miae are two characters who still don't have their resolution to their character arcs and it's interesting how they have to spend more time together.

Because we have:

Cheol: he stops hiding from other people, becomes more animated and honest about his feelings, more open to new experiences

Johan: steps up to be brave and opens up to make friends

Honggyu: stops judging people and learns to accept help

Jinseop: forms genuine connections instead of hanging out with bullies

Song-I: stands up for herself and for what she wants

For Miae, we know she has to mature but she's not there yet, she needs challenging experiences like Cheol, e.g. when Jisu called her out for interrupting the confession was a moment that genuinely made her think about her actions. As for Jisu, we don't know what his character arc will be about, but he's already connected to important subplots.

[karizard-ao3]

I don’t know if this is just my reading, but it is implied that Eren would start the rumbling because he wanted to, regardless of seeing the future when he kissed Historia’s hand or not. If he didn’t see the future then, the alternative seems to be Eren’s downward spiral into something more truly evil, instead of the depressive, resigned Eren we had, that knew that the future was already set in motion. Perhaps this Eren would only realize at the very end the same things our Eren realized much earlier. What’s your perception of this? and do you think that Eren not seeing the future but instead slowly descended into evil would’ve been a more interesting storyline?

So, my interpreation of what Eren said is this, and has been since the manga concluded: Eren did want to do the Rumbling but the compulsion he felt to do it came from Ymir. Here's why:

We know she wants to do the Rumbling since, despite Eren saying he would not try to stop his friends from stopping him, she sends the past shifters out to interfere with them.

We know that she feels bound by her duty to her king.

We know that Eren's selfish desire is to live a peaceful, domestic life with Mikasa, even if it means letting the rest of the world go to shit everywhere else.

We know that Ymir is able to influence Eldians. While she has previously done so under the command of the Fritz family only, Eren gives her a measure of freedom to defy them.

We know that time exists in one instant for Eren when he has the Founders powers and so we must consider that all of time happens at once for Ymir, too.

I believe that Eren was a vessel for Ymir desires, one which she could use to carry out her wish to fulfill King Fritz's orders to see Eldia conquer the rest of the world. I believe that she felt that by fulfilling her duty to him, she could be free of her endless existence in the Paths.

This isn't to say Eren is a poor innocent baby who would never ever resort to violence if it weren't for mean old Ymir manipulating him. I think he was her choice because he already has the capability for great destruction inside him and he is a monster in a similiar way to her king. However, I don't think that without her influence he would have gone that far.

I think we would have seen Eren struggle against his black and white thinking and how to reconcile that the true enemy of humanity was itself. I do think he could have spiraled anf that he would have channeled his energy and his hatred into Marley. I think he would want to see them wiped out and have Eldians be free. However, I think he would also have Armin and Mikasa reining him in a bit and so whatever violent and extreme plans he might have, they would have tempered them. I think it's also important to consider that Eren is a bit of a white knight who wants to save the world. He ended up destroying it at the end because his wish for freedom had become twisted and rotten, but his original inclinations are grandiose hopes to bring about peace.

I guess what I see is, without the future visions, Eren becomes a hard and vengeful man, fighting against the people who make the Eldians into titans, but not neccessarily evil. It's hard for me to call him evil to begin with, because in the end, he grieves over what he's done and we can see that he seems to feel powerless to have stopped himself. I see him not as evil but as misguided and angry and, like he said in the episode, a garden variety idiot.

Sorry, I feel like this is all over the place. I do not think Eren without the visions would have become a better version of himself, but I also do not think he would have sunk to the same depths.

I would have liked to see him struggle with the idea that humanity is the true enemy of itself and see how it would play with the "children of the woods" theme. If he did end up descending into evil, I would have enjoyed that, too. I like that kind of character study/ exploring ideas type stuff more than epic fight scenes and whatnot, so it would have been really fun for me to watch.

I hope that was fairly clear. I don't really reread what I wrote on these things so you're all subjected to my stream on consciousness takes and I don't know how cohesive they are lol.

[leenaur143]

Bad Lawyer & Crazy Dog, an unconventional love story

JUST FINISHED THE LAST EPISODE OF LAWS OF ATTRACTION!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Okay this is your HUGE spoiler warning because I have so many thoughts and my love for this show knows no bounds but I don't wanna take away from the magic of living it through on your own so go watch it!!!

Overall episode rating: 9.5/10

Overall show rating: 10/10

I was so tempted to take away points for that SILLY GUITAR AND THE SINGING 😭🤣 but it's fine they can't help that they're in love dhhxhdj

So, currently writing this at midnight just after 2/9/2023 which was Tinn and Charn's wedding day!!!!!!! These two goofs have come so far and yeah, couldn't be happier for them 🫶

I took a pause in the middle of the episode to collate my thoughts and here was the list I made about the first half:

1. the mma boxing unconventional fight between tinn and nawin, it was giving 'youtube boxing: worst bits!' but it made me laugh so its fine 😭

2. thee having no one truly there for him except tan - his fellow bodyguards didn't even back him, meaning ever since he started working for tan's family he truly has known no one who cares and loves him deeply which 🥹😭 how did he manage to stay so kind through all that

3. thattep that psychopath.

4. nawin being the best character ever

5. how similar nawin and charn are (one just has a few dozen more braincells than the other

6. how charn planned that entire plot knowing the risks not only to his physical self but knowing he could be risking his entire career but he's ready to do that as we saw when thattep called him to prison 🤧👏

7. the one guy that said you dropped the soap in the prison showers 🥲

8. tan using his annoyingness to his advantage and celebrating being banned from an airline - the most tan thing to do tbh

9. thee and tinn link up AGAIN!!!

10. the wedding talk made me emosh.. the entire proposal (lets ignore the singing but even that wouldnt wipe the huge grin off my face as i was watching it) i love the storyline of the song though (hats off to that tumblr user who explained the story behind the song, this was perfect

11. emotional during the seeking of blessings from charn's mum

12. grandma is a gem 💯

13. maya and rose doing so much to help the people they love - they truly are the MVPs

14. tongkhao's dream living on 🥹 all she wanted on Tinn's birthday was for him to be happy and start a family with someone he loves, and he did it 🥹😭🤧

Also, completely ignore the fact that I skimmed over the whole exposing scene because it was decent but I knew, I just knew Charn wasn't gonna die today and a bullet wouldn't be the thing that ended him so IM GLAD I WAS RIGHT 😭

The wedding! OH THE WEDDING 🥹👏 It was beautiful, just everyone who loves them there and present in form or in spirit - seeing the dolls and knowing Tonkhao was there just 🥹 maybe I'm just an emotional wreck but this episode really got me in my feels

I did laugh my butt off when they were taking wedding photos because why so stiff 😭🤣 It served prom in a nice way WHICH IS FINE it was just looking a bit awkward and hence it was funny 🤭

Also I could write entire essays about Tan's storyline but the fact that he never held any resentment for his dad even after all of THAT is just astounding, and it highlighted how even though Thee and Tan are very different, down to their core values, they're the same which is why they're perfect for each other

Speaking of perfect for each other, seeing Rose and Maya get engaged!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH I WAS SO HAPPY FOR THEMM

When Tinn said 'one day' concerning the conversation about the legality of same sex marriage in Thailand, I got in my feels again as you can probably gather is a common theme here, and I realised how much good shows like this promote.. and yeah I won't waffle on too much about that but it was really powerful 🥹

All in all, if we learnt anything from Laws of Attraction, I'd comfortably say it would be... how to say doll in Thai 🤣 (WHAT? It sounds so amazing! tuktā (pronounced too-ka-ta), it's a much better word!)

No, but seriously, what a show, I'd definitely recommend watching it and I hope, whoever is still reading my midnight rambles, enjoys it as much as I did 🫰

[sunflowerdigs]

So, I can't in good faith complain about the Succession trailers being 90% made up of cut scenes because, if I'm honest, the only reason I'm really upset about that is because of the cut Mencken scenes, which I was really looking forward to (and Tabitha!).

However, I feel like I need to say something about the Tomgreg stuff because it's been bothering me.

As a disclaimer, I hate Tomgreg. Truly. I blocked the tag earlier this year. Imo, it's an example of people taking a relationship based primarily in toxic masculinity and kind of transposing queerness into it as a reaction to the lack of actual queerness on the show. And I hate that tendency a lot. However, I'm also not the arbiter of which dynamics and characters people read as queer. And, clearly, a ton of people disagree with me. And for that reason, the reluctance to call out the marketing team for basically by definition queerbaiting with Tomgreg because they're technically not connected to the writing of the series is...Not Good to me. Because it kinda gives networks carte blanche to do that in the future with actual queer storylines and excuse it by saying that the marketing team wasn't aware of what the writing team were doing, they just wanted to sell a product. I can see a world where queer storylines become more and more cynically used for marketing purposes only, and aren't put into the text of shows or movies (or are added in sloppy, homophobic ways). And that's...not a great outcome.

It's tricky with Succession because it's just such a great show that you won't get very far criticizing anything about it. Black people have criticized its use of rap/hiphop music when there are zero black characters for years and those complaints have mostly fallen on deaf ears. Plus, tomgreg was never going to happen and there's also a really compelling reason for their dynamic drying up (it was 95% about power, not love or genuine caring, and in s4, they got that power).

However, as a closing thought, it's worth considering the huge difference between the way that Romangerri (which is in a similar spot) and Tomgreg were advertised for s4. They deliberately backed off Romangerri - they cooled the advertising for them right down to almost nothing prior to s4. Kieran and JSC haven't done a single interview together, I don't think. And there were almost no shots of them together on the red carpet. And I think they did that because the marketing team knew that falsely advertising a straight couple that straight people were excited about would get them in trouble (with critics who liked that couple, at the very least). However, at the same time, they ramped up the marketing for Tomgreg so hard that I was genuinely worried it might actually happen (Jesse is crazy, you know?). And I think they did that because, at the end of the day, queer feelings aren't particularly real for them. Queer couples and characters exist primarily to add color to the fictional worlds that straight people inhabit. And until that changes...more of this crap is bound to happen. It's a concern when straight people might be disappointed; queer people cannot be disappointed because our existence in fiction is mostly a joke anyway.

I guess my point in writing this is just to say that, although I loathe Tomgreg, I understand the desire for actual queer characters on a show as rare as Succession. I get how powerful that desire can become. And while I'm personally glad that their relationship isn't what shippers may have wanted, I understand also how the marketing for the show exacerbated those wants, and I'm sympathetic.

[theflyindutchwoman]

I’ve been feeling so upset and down and sad. I hate that they broke up. I hate how he just left Lucy there. I hate how sad my baby girl is in this season. I need them back together, they are so great together. I am so afraid that it will take the whole season for them to reunite romantically and we are left in a chenford drought the rest of the season.

Let me start by sending you a virtual hug, we are going to need it for this journey. That last scene of Lucy has been haunting me… So know that you are not alone in this! As for them getting back together… Listen, this is probably an unpopular opinion (?) and not the one you might be hoping for… but I don't want them back together this season (and I can't believe I'm writing this).

What Tim is going through on a personal level is not something that can be magically fixed in one or two episodes. Otherwise, it just cheapens his storyline. He needs therapy - with someone who is not spying on her clients, by the way (speaking of, I really hope that he doesn't reveal anything incriminating to our resident psychiatrist, that would make things worse on so many levels). He needs to work on himself, he needs to learn to come to terms with his past so he can forgive himself. That's not to say that Lucy can't help him along the way in the future. But, at the very least, he has to start the work.

As for Lucy, she also needs therapy. She needs to focus on herself, to deal with everything that has happened to her in the last couple of months (if not years), to figure out where she goes from there and rebuild her confidence (which should not be dependant on the approval of others). It could be interesting to see her navigate this new stage of her life without Tim at her side. Ever since she started in Mid-Wilshire, he has been her one constant. He was her TO, her Sergeant, her case officer in her last UC mission, her boyfriend… There has been some periods of time without him, of course, like right after her graduation… or after she stopped being his aide… But this time, it won't be as easy to get past this hurdle. Or it shouldn't.

But doesn't mean that they won't interact at all. They still work at the same station and with Tim back on patrol (and as her direct superior officer), they are bound to bump into each other. So we should definitely have some pining moments. And awkward interactions. Maybe some angry words. What I hope, I guess, is that by the end of s6, they will have a meaningful conversation, where Tim explains to Lucy why he broke up. Because I'm not sure she understands why. Scratch that : I'm not sure she even has all the information. We don't know what Tim told her since we didn't see that scene (I'm a bit bitter about it). I think it could be a first step in the right direction. For both of them individually and for their future. But they still have a long road ahead of them. They need to work on their friendship first, before even thinking of being a couple again.

That's going to be the biggest challenge actually : finding the right timing to get them back together. Too soon and you risk ruining that storyline. Too long and your risk losing your audience's interest. I wish I had more comforting words for you, dear Anon. I still believe this could be a wonderful journey, even an empowering and beautiful one for the both of them. And at the moment, I'm holding on to that.

[aangmarble]

Now that episode 1071 of One Piece is out...

I'd like to share my two cents on Gear 5. I'm pasting what I posted on ANN's forums:

Episode 1071 is without a doubt one of the biggest turning points in One Piece, but what does it actually mean for the story? Is it really a turn for the best? I mean, sure, Gear 5 looks great, and it's a joy to see the Luffy vs Kaido fight becoming a Looney Tunes segment all of a sudden. One Piece's goofiness has always been one of its biggest strengths, so if you turn it up to eleven, it's bound to be fun as all hell, especially in animation form. But what about Gear 5 as a concept? Because the truth is, what once was a story about freedom and inherited will might now become a story about destiny and The Chosen One™. And yes, you could easily argue that destiny is not a foreign concept to One Piece, not to mention that small doses of destiny in a story are okay**; afer all, that's how most main characters work in the first place. But the way destiny has been framed in the Wano arc is different from the way it was framed in the past. Before Wano, with the story constantly making allusions to "the dawn of the world," it seemed like the world was waiting on someone capable of achieving the will of D, and Luffy was simply shaping up to be that someone. But Wano has been presenting it as though Luffy was always scripted to be that someone. Remember what the Sea Beasts said back in Oden's flashback?:

Now, with Wano introducing the concept of Nika out of nowhere***, Luffy's Devil Fruit actually being the Sun God's fruit, and Zunesha saying Joyboy is back****, things are not looking good. Did Luffy become a great pirate through his own efforts, or was he always destined to become a great pirate? There are also so many other things that just don't feel good. I will always prefer the idea of Luffy accidentally eating one of the crappiest fruits possible but working hard to make it good versus the idea of Luffy eating the most powerful fruit in the whole world. I will also always prefer the idea of the people of the D. and Luffy being framed as "the enemies of the Gods" versus the idea of Luffy now being a God-coded character. Still, I don't want to make it sound like I think One Piece is ruined like some people have been claiming ever since the Gear 5 reveal. Oda has made it clear over and over again that Luffy is a character that will always go against the path other people want to force on him. He has made it clear over and over again that One Piece is a world where the characters forge their own future. Plus, there are still so many things we don't know about Joyboy, Nika, and the Void Century, and the story might easily pull a twist that subverses all the destiny stuff that was introduced in Wano. So even if it is revealed that Luffy is indeed the Chosen One, how Luffy will react to that information is what I'm interested to see. We'll just have to wait.

*I will say that the episode could've fixed some things from the manga. Hiyori's scene felt pretty out of place and should've been moved somewhere else to give it the focus it deserves. Also, I think they reused the same sequence of Luffy jumping around like three times. **It's worth mentioning that even stories that function on the principle of destiny can be good. Not because the destiny stuff can be good, but because if everything else in the story is great, it balances things out. A great example of this is Avatar: The Last Airbender. The problem with One Piece is that its main theme is freedom itself. Our main character's goal is to become the freest man in the whole world. So if One Piece turns out to be a Chosen One storyline in the end... well, I think we call all see how that would spell disaster. Is our boy Luffy actually free? ***No, that silhouette of Luffy dancing in Skypiea is not foreshadowing. Stop it. ****It bears repeating that there is still much we don't know about Joyboy and the Void Century, even in the manga, so we can't take Zunesha and Momo's words about Luffy being Joyboy too literally yet. I say this because people have been claiming that Luffy is Joyboy's reincarnation or something along those lines, but I believe it's too early to conclude that.