#and I had to rethink the analysis

[deeism]

frank waterboarding dee.... scenes to sink your teeth into and shake around frantically

[nicxxx5]

some of you guys have really extreme takes and need to like...chill the fuck out

[aromacaque]

Quick S5 Analysis and Theory

I AM GOING TO RAMBLE ANALYSIS BECAUSE THEY ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY

I cannot stop thinking about the way Wukong reacts to Macaque when he goes "oh no 'gee thanks for saving me macaque!...'" cause if this were before the S5E2, he would have snapped back at him, like he always does.

We know Macaque does this solely to rile Wukong up. It's how we're introduced to his character in S1E9 and he does it throughout the series. This is why he did it here too (or at least partially), BUT WUKONG DOESN'T TAKE THE BAIT THIS TIME.

While he's obviously still reeling from seeing the memory of their fight he was forced to watch,

you can still see that, for a split second, Wukong almost does snap back, but he instantly rethinks that and decides to be passive

Macaque, again, pokes at him trying to get a reaction, but this time Wukong doesn't even think about snapping back. He simply responds casually/lightly (before then realizing that MK is in danger)

This tells us possibly two really important things

Macaque sacrificing himself in S5E2 was a turning point for Wukong's perception of him. An increase in personal trust/faith/etc.

2. Seeing the memory of their fight made him rethink his behavior toward Macaque

For the rest of the season, they don't get a lot of moments because of, well, Everything, but we see Wukong is not only more willing to show concern for his wellbeing, but also seems to be more open/emotionally vulnerable in front of him than before (in little moments, anyway).

Granted that has been building up since S4E11, arguably before that but I'm not going to deep dive analyze season 3. He's being more communicative with Macaque in S5E1 about MK too. In other words, not completely shutting him out or pushing him away, which seems like their natural progression from S4E11 as well.

All of that being said, this brings me to The Scene. Which I am completely normal about because there's so much to unpack about it and I am so normal about that. Evidently.

First of all, they wanted to hold hands during their final moments. MK and Macaque are the two most important people in Wukong's life, I feel like that speaks for itself.

BUT it's Wukong who reaches out here.

This is Wukong's first major attempt to bridge the gap between them, at least in such a direct way. In my opinion, it's almost a wordless forgiveness on top of acknowledging how Macaque has changed and improved himself, as well as his reciprocation of that behavior. He wants to fix their relationship too, just as he has seen Macaque willing to do the same.

This moment being interrupted was actually a good thing. It's a good visual reminder that, despite them both wanting to reconcile, they aren't Quite there yet. There's still a lot left unsaid between these two, most importantly Macaque's death. (I'LL GET TO THAT. HOLD THAT IN YOUR BRAIN)

For macaque, this moment has another important meaning.

AND NOW I GET TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF MY FAVORITE WRITING TOOLS HELLO PARALLELS!!!!

In S2E7 we are introduced to this shot of Wukong on a pedestal over Macaque, turning his back on him and abandoning him. This is firmly established in that episode as one of the main reasons Macaque resents Wukong.

He is also portrayed as above him, subsequently nodding at Macaque feeling inferior to him.

In S4E11, we actually watch how this dynamic destroys their friendship. It is a MAJOR reason for their falling out. Macaque feels neglected, overlooked, ignored. Promises are broken and trust is lost. To him, Wukong is selfish, self-righteous, egotistical, uncaring, etc.

Obviously we as the audience are aware Macaque has a rather skewed perception of Wukong that seems to be influenced by his projection of his own insecurities, but that is a whole other analysis for a different time.

In S5E10, this shot is paralleled. Visually demonstrating that Wukong isn't forgetting about him this time. He looks for him. Macaque is being considered in a way he had previously believed was lacking in their friendship.

Not only that, but they are on level ground. Balanced and equal.

Macaque is reluctant to reach back out. His trust in Wukong is practically non-existent, has been for a while (understandably), so it's a little hard for him, but he reciprocates because, like Wukong, he's acknowledging that he has changed. He wants to try to fix this too.

TO RECAP!

They know they both want to fix things

They can see and have acknowledged changes in their behavior on both sides

Wukong seems to be less prone to arguing back, which will most likely make Macaque less likely to try and provoke him. All in all, they will be more civil with each other and most likely argue much less.

They are being held back by things left unsaid.

WHICH LEADS ME TOO...

WHERE DOES THIS LEAD THEM IN S6?

The obvious is they need to address Macaque's death. If they don't do it in this season it's bad writing and they are dragging it out for too long. It's the obvious natural progression here.

This is where they will have an actual, long overdue constructive conversation. It is literally singlehandedly the only thing preventing them from reconciling at this point.

Now, the problem, is how this would happen. Because we all know neither of them are going to randomly apologize out of nowhere. It's gonna take something to push them into that direction. And that should be how it happens otherwise it'd most likely feel forced in the script.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO A THEORY. A GAME THEO-

I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty details of this particular theory, but just know that I am a firm believer in the "Macaque was consumed by his own powers and that's what killed him" theory. I do think Wukong played a substantial role in his death, enough for Macaque to reasonably believe Wukong killed him, but ultimately it was less Wukong directly killing him and more indirectly causing it and not saving him.

That being said, Wukong and Macaque's relationship is a major subplot in this show with a considerable amount of focus. They have been slowly building to their inevitable mending relationship since Macaque's first episode, which means that they're going to want to reach that climax in a pivotal emotional moment. Not a random conversation smacked into an episode.

And what is going to be plot-relevant next season??

MACAQUE'S CHAOS POWERS.

S5 built up to Macaque being an established member of the group

(Also the VO here being "change can be terrifying" is absolutely foreshadowing to some degree)

Now, there's also something else I need to address. Macaque has gone out of his way 3 separate times, 4 if you count the LBD fight, to save Wukong. On the other hand, Wukong obviously cares about Macaque, but ultimately hasn't had many opportunities or reasons to try to save him specifically.

With all of those details in mind, I think Wukong will need to take direct action by either saving him/protecting him/etc. because I think it would be a high-stakes moment that inevitably kickstarts an apology/conversation between them. Maybe it's something that reminds Wukong of their fight or that macaque can die (hence the chaos powers potentially harming Macaque in some manner or maybe a potential difficulty controlling them reminds Wukong of their fight, something along these lines).

Why this route?

Macaque has regained Wukong's trust. He basically says as much in S5E2. And while it's fairly obvious with Macaque's behavior and choices that he has learned from his past mistakes and is working on his faults, he definitely needs to acknowledge his wrongdoings. However, I think that would naturally happen during any conversation they may have (or the aftermath) regarding his death and their feelings.

That leaves Wukong because he made a promise to Macaque that they’d spend eternity together and that he would protect him and their home. A promise he broke multiple times and has not made up for yet. He needs to mend that and make it right to solidly regain Macaque's trust in order to reconcile.

[dejabooooo]

Alex hirsch interviews always leave me blown away. I could listen to this man talk for hours, he is so inspiring. Definitely the kind of writer I strive to be like.

One of the main things i took away from this interview is how strongly his every word reiterates that his number one priority is the emotions and arcs of the characters. Here’s a couple tangents about that cuz I gotta get them outta my brain:

It became really clear to me on the Fiddleford question about the memory gun and the timeline. He couldn’t even remember how the events lined up but what he DID remember once reminded was the incredibly complex feelings McGucket was having and the specifics of how his friendship with ford was affecting him at that point in time.

It was fascinating to hear because this information was so much more complicated than the initial timeline rearrangement question. Almost all of his answers were like this. So, so deep and thoughtful and it really highlighted the fact that he is a storyteller whose focus is on the important things.

Canon dates and hidden codes and funny jokes are secondary to heart because heart is the big picture. Ppl say it’s the codes and secrets are the “deeper” part of gf. But the complexities of the characters in and of themselves are INSANELY deep. It becomes especially clear when Alex himself is talking about them. He knows their minds and motivations so well, and it tends to get overshadowed by lore questions but to me the details of the inner working of the characters minds and the psychology of their actions is the MOST interesting information that comes out of these interviews.

I feel like ppl might not agree with me when I say this. But for me the answer about ford looking at romance the same way Tesla does is a way more fascinating idea than concluding definitively that he’s gay (and this is coming from someone who’s written an entire fic about the latter). Because that’s so unique! That’s so different! I’ve never seen that before! It gives him such a distinct and fresh identity and it makes so much sense for him

I myself wasn’t particularly a fan of don’t dimension it before I watched this. Because I had thought that it was humoring the fandoms bad faith gripes about Mabel’s character, but luckily I was wrong! Online media analysis has unfortunately forced a moral priority on most story explorations and I’ll admit I bought into it a bit with this. I thought Mabel was being punished for her personality. But Alex’s incites quelled this worry. The narrative wasn’t blaming Mabel for weirdmageddon, Mabel was blaming Mabel for weirdmageddon. As he explained, she was just experiencing a bit of self awareness for the first time just like dipper did in double dipper.

This interview has made me rethink things a bit. I feel like the very first question a gf fan should ask themselves before building a theory is ‘does this idea compromise the arcs or narrative purpose of the characters?’ If the answer is an immediate yes then it’s not canon full stop, because then it becomes the antithesis of what gravity falls is really about

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

I don't know if you can do it but if you can (want to), can you do child Atsushi and child Akutagawa in teyvat with teen reader.

Or they could be with normal Ages too!

If you were not alone

Part IX

Characters: Self-Aware! (Child!) Atsushi Nakajima, Self-Aware! (Child!) Akutagawa Ryunosuke

Reader: Teen! GN! Reader

Warning: OOC. English is my second language. Physical age regression (Atsushi and Akutagawa remain their memories, mental age and abilities, but physically were turned into children). Platonic hug.

________

🐯🧥 After you, Atsushi and Akutagawa woke up in Teyvat, you tried to find both good and bad in your situation. Bad № 1 - you were transported into Teyvat, without your phone and without any idea of how to go back. Good № 1 - Akutagawa and Atsushi were with you. Bad № 2 - They, somehow, become children. If the situation was better, you would tease them for being an older sibling now. Good № 2 - Their memories were intact. Bad № 3 - You were on Dragonspine in your normal clothes, that wasn't suitable for this mountain. Good № 3 - You ended up in Durin's cave, so, for now, you were warm.

After the analysis you came a to a conclusion - situation was a bad one, not a good one or neutral one. How are you supposed to get down from Dragonspine? The closest people to the cave were Fatui solders, and you don't want to go near them. And you weren't sure, if Albedo visited this place at all. Atsushi and Akutagawa offered to use their abilities to get down from the mountain. However, there were two problems. First - it was almost nighttime, and you don't want to wander around Dragonspine at night. Second - none of you were sure, that Beast beneath the moonlight and Rashomon still have the same power level.

You three decided to sleep in a cave and rethink the situation in the morning.

You fall asleep, listening to a Durin's heart beating.

🐯🧥 The dream you have was strange. Like... You could see everything, that was happening around the Dragonspine. Hilichurls, boars, Fatui, members of Adventure guild... You even saw Albedo in his lab. Yet, you couldn't move. You saw, feel all of them at the same time... Strange dream indeed.

'Durin could not move, but he has remains of his will. It was hard, but he left the message in Scarlet Quartz's pieces near the lab. He knew, who was sleeping near his heart. Creator...'

🐯🧥 You woke up because of Atsushi's and Akutagawa's angry shouts, the smell of burning firewood, toasts, fried onions and tomatoes. The moment you opened your eyes, you saw Albedo, together with Klee, were trying to calm Akutagawa and Atsushi, while trying to keep an eye on the fire. Albedo calmly tried to reason with your older(?) brothers.

"Please, we don't mean any harm. We just want to help."

Well, it seems, you got some luck on your plate.

🐯🧥 You jinxed it. Yes, you had breakfast, and Albedo brought warm clothes. But, the biggest threat was soaring above you three. Because, if Albedo wasn't lying, soon you will have a bounty on your head and an angry mob chasing after you. On your meek "But... what if I told the person on the throne, that I don't want to be in charge and only want to return home" Albedo responded with "The Cursed Brat won't listen. They won't change their mind."

You three were in danger. And you need to move fast. Chase after Alice. To get home.

Albedo couldn't help Atsushi and Akutagawa became adults again. But, he said, that they would either get to their original age soon enough, or Alice could help with that.

And, according to Albedo, she was on her way to Fontaine.

Albedo gave you supplies and helped you find a boat.

Your journey has begun.

🐯🧥 Almost near Fontaine borders, you three were captured by Fatui. You were brought to the House of Hearth. You three were separated. Atsushi and Akutagawa were with other kids. And you were kept in the basement. In a hidden dungeon.

🐯🧥Atsushi hated the House of Hearth. While it wasn't as bad as his previous orphanage, this place still felt rotten. Especially because of the other residents.

"Poor brothers, the Sinner had corrupted you. Don't worry anymore. Father will protect you." Lynette, as Atsushi learned her name later, couldn't finish the line. Akutagawa still can't use Rashomon, but, the knowledge about self-defense was still with him. And Atsushi knew, how to throw a punch without white tiger's help.

Two ten-year-old boys were throwing punch after punch, hitting Lynette.

"Don't you dare talk about [Y/N] like that! They are our sibling!" yelled Atsushi. Akutagawa growled, trying to bite Lynette's ear.

Both of them were restrained and locked in a storage room.

They could hear, how Lyney and Freminet, who locked them, were whispering about "poor kids. I hope, it's not too late."

When the voices disappeared, New Double Black tried to make up a plan.

Akutagawa whispered.

"Did you learn, where [Y/N] are, Man-tiger?"

Atsushi shook his head.

"No. You?"

Akutagawa shook his head in return.

"No. This damn place is too big."

And, Atsushi could bet on it, other kids were keeping an eye on him and Akutagawa. They can't search the orphanage freely. But they knew, that you were still here. Something tells them, that your... "Punishment for being an Imposter" won't be quiet and hidden.

🐯 They were talking the rest of the day. And no good effective ideas were proposed. Atsushi hated it. He hated to be small and powerless. He hated, that you were in danger. If only his ability was here...

Atsushi's eyes slowly focused on the small window. At the full moon.

The transformation was painful. But, the white tiger has returned.

🧥 Akutagawa didn't pay attention to Atsushi or moon. He was thinking about you. You were his little sibling. And he was your protector. And he can't fail his job. He just needs… Just need his power. Akutagawa almost shouted.

"Rashoumon: Tenma Tengai"

And black tendrils finally came to life.

And the black hellhound has returned.

🐯🧥 Huge feline were shuffling the air, like it was trying to find something... Or someone. Yes... His family were missing. Tiger cub were missing. Tiger saw, that dragon knight was here. He will help find tiger cub.

Akutagawa, in his Rashomon's armor, climbed on tiger's back. Rashoumon's tendrils ripped off the door.

Their search has begun.

🐯🧥 You were half glaring at Arlecchino. The Forth Harbinger has been visiting your cell every day. Trying to convince you to be reasonable. She won't let you and Shin Soukoku go. She saw a chance of having her own loyal Creator. And she won't lose her chance.

Her voice was calm.

"Be reasonable. I can protect you and two kids you were traveling with. All I need from you is to be an obedient godling, child."

You breathe in, but stayed quiet. You already begged Arlecchino to let you three go. She didn't. Maybe, if you tried again...

🐯 He could smell it. Faint scent of his tiger cub. He snarled, following it. His tiger cub was in danger. Dragon knight on his back destroyed doors, that were on their way.

They reached the basement. And white tiger finally found his tiger cub.

🐯🧥 The door behind Arlecchino fell apart. Before Harbinger could react, familiar black maw sank its fangs in her shoulder and threw her away. The door of your cage have no chance against white tiger and Rashomon.

Immediately, you were hugged by Akutagawa, and the huge feline rubbed his head against your torso, chuffing happily.

Happy tars flow down your eyes.

"Guys! You are here!"

Akutagawa, before answering, put you on tiger's back, sitting behind you.

"We would never abandon you."

White tiger waited, before you two sat on his back, and started to ran off.

You three left the House of Hearth behind.

🐯🧥 Tiger were running all night, until sunset. Then Atsushi transformed back. Then the tears and hugs came again. You three were finally safe, Atsushi and Akutagawa were adults again. Now you can focus on finding Alice.

🐯🧥 It took two more weeks, but you managed to do it. You found Alice. And you finally went home.

____________

🐾 Reunion was tearful. Your fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts and siblings were happy to see you. They were happy to see Atsushi and Akutagawa.

🐾 Your stay in Teyvat were scary. But, one thing you knew for sure. Doesn't matter, what age they were, your brothers Atsushi and Akutagawa will protect you.

_______

Tag list: @withered-blossoms , @myluckymoon @cocodrilofeliz @c4xcocoa @vvyeislazzy @whisperingwinters @nervousinfluencertidalwave @ayameshu

[gabrielleyueerrrrr]

What led to Showdown—a character analysis

Summary:

Chosen was the one who initiated the rampages after he and Dark escaped the PC.

Dark created the Virabot in an attempt to please Chosen.

I firmly believe that the names of the hollowheads shaped their personality to some extent. The name "The Chosen One" not only bestowed god- like powers upon the black hollowhead but also a instilled a sense of responsibility, strong self-esteem, and a drive to fight for what is right.

Upon his creation, he immediately rebelled against Alan, seeing the animator as "evil" for creating and torturing stick figures just for fun. Five years of enslavement didn’t wear down his spirit, the moment the slightest opportunity arose, he broke free from his shackles and unleashed his fury upon the PC.

But even when victory was within his grasp, with his tormentor's pawn, The Dark Lord, trembling powerlessly before him, he still chose mercy.

I believe his sense of responsibility and justice wouldn’t allow him to harm someone who was already defenseless, even if that person was his enemy.

I couldn't imagine someone with such a strong moral compass initiating or even agreeing to participate in rampages on the internet purely for the sake of destruction and vengeance. A more reasonable explanation is that Chosen initiated these attacks due to a warped sense of justice. The mistreatment by his creator, the only human he ever knew, might have led him to believe that all humans are tyrants who abuse and exploit stick figures. As "The Chosen One," he felt a responsibility to fight on behalf of his own kind, believing it was his duty to deliver well-deserved punishment upon humans.

But as for Dark, he had no interest in justice whatsoever, he went along with Chosen purely for the thrill of it. Contrary to "The Chosen One", the name "The Dark Lord" weakened his sense of morality and empathy(a sociopath, in a sense). This doesn’t mean he was incapable of learning to be good or sympathetic, though. Chosen simply didn’t realize Dark's moral deficiency until it was too late.

(Or perhaps Chosen was in denial? Dark was his best friend after all)

As time passed, Chosen became more aware of the complexity of mankind. He realized that not all humans were evil, some even formed positive connections with stick figures, like building websites where they could live and work. By attacking the internet and destroying these sites, he was inadvertently harming those he wanted to protect. This made him hesitant and forced him to rethink his actions.

But Dark, he didn't care. Humans, stick figures, animations, it's all the same to him. He enjoyed causing harm and destruction, because it was fun, because he couldn't see that it was wrong.

Imagine Dark laughing joyously as he hurled fireballs at the screaming, retreating crowd of stick figures and animations,

but when he turn around he saw Chosen's shocked, horrified expression, it was as if Chosen was looking at a monster, not his best friend.

Chosen could no longer ignore the fact that Dark was betraying the very ideals he had lived by in his whole life. It became painfully clear that the noble qualities embedded in his code which he so deeply valued were absent in his best friend.

They argued, definitely, fought, maybe. Their once impregnable friendship was cracking, threatening to collapse.

And it scared Dark. Dark didn't understand why Chosen was so angry at him, but he cared about their friendship, he cared about Chosen.

And he wanted to salvage their friendship, he wanted to make Chosen happy again.

So he came up with a plan. He would create a virus so powerful the world has never seen—a virus that would paralyse the internet once and for all. After all, mankind was evil, wasn't that what Chosen always told him? Dark would give humans what they deserve, just as Chosen had always wanted. And then, surely, they could be friends again.

That’s why he eagerly presented his virabots to Chosen, like a child showing off a prized drawing to their parents.

He was certain that Chosen would be impressed, that Chosen would share in the excitement for this grand scheme of destruction.

But instead, the black hollowhead was terrified. Having already lost his trust on Dark, he immediately jumped to the worst conclusion, that Dark was going to terrorise the world including the stick figure civilisation with his virus.

(But Dark's plan never involved harming stick figures. He knew Chosen was adamantly against the idea, so why would he risk their friendship by going against Chosen?)

Dark was understandably hurt and furious at Chosen's betrayal.

It was Chosen who had fuelled his love for destruction, who inspired him to create the virus in the first place. And now, Chosen had the audacity to demand him to stop? Even going so far as to attack him to protect the very humans Chosen had once hated so much?

Was their friendship truly worth less than the properties of evil humans?

As for Chosen, the destructive power of Dark's virabot was the final proof that Dark was an irredeemable villain down to his code. Consumed by a sense of justice, Chosen attacked without mercy.

And Dark, wounded and enraged, retaliated with everything he had.

[impyssadobsessions]

Prompt/Relationship Analysis/Headcanon DPxDC

Okay This can be taken as a prompt~ As I love to dive into possibilities of WHAT IF- Basically after becoming friends/adopted by the bats and entering the hero circle he starts to become insecure in his place as a hero. Not feeling good enough.

So I can imagine after Danny befriends/gets in touch with the batfamily in some way. Like they've pretty much adopted him and now he's surrounded by heroes- (Both from Gotham and outside of it) That he starts to get insecure about his heroics as phantom. He starts to get to know other vigilantes, some with similar struggles and then it just dawns on him that they're better at it then him.. in every way. There is always someone who has one of his powers and does it better. Who can do the only thing he has been dedicating himself to- way better. And it hurts. Danny who grew up with a "perfect" older sister and being known as the failure of the two-I can see his insecurity eat at him. The feeling of not being good enough. Which is bad if mixing his trauma and guilt of a future that never happened or fear of losing everyone. ESPECIALLY because he's close to the bats.. The batfamily are perfectionist- because they have to be but Danny can't see that. Even rougher if the bats don't even realize they're doing it. Yeah they're better at sneaking, duh. They're highly skilled, because they've trained on it to be that way. Even if they don't hold the standard on Danny's head- it kills him to know he with all his powers is struggling to be as good as them. Can see only ones really about to notice are like Duke and Steph, or like Kon and other YJ members. Those that know how it feels to be next to them. Kon or Steph having to basically spell it out for Tim- which Tim like what? Then realizes and feels dumb because its so obvious. (plus having felt that way before just feels like a double whammy) (Can see all the bat members having felt that pressure too so its like an OOF how did I not notice moment) Or Step and Duke spelling it out for the rest of the family.. like DUH =w= Babs probably figures it out too. Imagine a cute heart to heart with Duke and Steph, and Alfred. Those picking up on the reason WHY Danny's acting strange. Danny pushing himself harder- feeling guilty about making it a competition but also not wanting to fail- ends up breaking down a little. Because he feels not enough. Even if he had reconciled with his parents and everything- still lingers that he was failing school.. struggling as a hero, struggling with relationships. Now he with other heroes and the doubts are so heavy. But he has no choice to pull through. So he does as he always does and keeps going even if he's crashing. Danny just not realizing his worth, despite everyone seeing it. Idk just seem like a perfect bonding moment for after Danny enters the dc world, for the bats to be like OH fucking right. Because they just accepted him as their own- Like setup for each bat to have their own one on one with DAnny. Each relating in different ways. Learning each has their own motivation and they all worry about not being enough- but how they cope. Danny rethinking reasons why he saves ppl- and in the end its just because he CANT let things happen when he has the power to stop it.. And even if he's not enough- he's there. And that can make such a difference. ......IDK if any of this made sense btw- couldn't focus properly at work because many scenarios of this was popping in my head. Still can't focus enough to keep a consistent thought- BUT I wanted to get this out <3 Because the scenarios in my head are so cute.

[yannaryartside]

THE LIE THAT CLAIRE BELIVES

THE CARETAKER WOUND

So, I keep coming back and forth with my opinions on Claire. Yeah, she did many things that will be a no-go for me as a person, sometimes cringe or childless, and could be taken as manipulative as well. I have been rethinking about it after reading this amazing post:

But there was something constantly ominous about how she was presented, not only as a manic pixie dream girl coded woman but also as a helper, described as an "incredibly good person" who sometimes managed to become an enabler. I will use some books about childhood wounds I have been re-reading, trying to do for her what I did for Carmen in this post. A deep character analysis speculating on the character's childhood wounds based on behaviors they display.

Let's go brick by brick. Long post underneath.

PART 1: THE HELPER OF DRUNK, SAD PEOPLE

Quoting from @brokenwinebox post: In the party.

Claire: “In college, people would come back to my house after parties. and I think I got really good at managing sad drunk people.” Carmy: “Yeah, I know that feeling.” Claire: “I know you do.”

That made me pause, because she made it seem like a common occurrence. She doesn't say these people were their friends, and maybe they were. But it becomes weirder when you think they were at that party (with Carmy) with the excuse of helping her broken-hearted friend. Claire said, "She needs me"

Girl, what? I get wanting to be there with your friend, but you are talking to your (you said later) childhood crush, dont you wanna spent time alone with him? The other girl doesn't seem like your best friend or anything, so doesn't she have other friends she could rely on during this hard time? She was throwing a party, so she was surrounded by people who could have cheered her up. Why was your presence so needed in particular?

Even if you say they were really close, when Claire said that other people would come to her house drunk after parties, my question is

Why? why was your house the place to do that? Did they insist? Some people can be dangerous while drunk, even if she described them as "sad."

Why did you feel these people were your responsibility? To be a good friend? Didn't you have to study? I had a heavy reading career in college, and I will read while eating or even in the gym, but it didn't come close to being a medical student. I assume these parties were in college, and I understand partying is a college thing, but having to stay awake and comfort a drunk person for as long as they need is another thing. It demonstrates a disregard for your time and needs; weren't you tired, busy, and probably also drunk? You are accepting people who come to you at their most vulnerable but also their most unpredictable. We all have people in need we want to care for even when they are messed up, but she didn't say "my friends" or even "my girlfriends". She said people (it could be a wording thing, but this dialog is very intentional)

She seems proud of it, giving her limited time to confort people she may not be closed with.

Here is my point about the lie I think she believes. I was reading again How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self–by Dr. Nicole LePera, and there was this passage that sounded very familiar:

In the book, Dr. LePera explains "The 7 Inner Child Arquetypes" as behavior tendencies and internal beliefs that one may develop depending on the environment one grows up in. We don't know much about her childhood (I have a theory about it, which I will discuss in another post), but I think this description can apply to her behavior.

The issue here is not to "feel good to take care of people." There are many reasons one may do that, and many of them are altruistic in nature or just love for the person. the key element is the "disregarding of one's own needs." Look at me in the face and tell me that doesn't sound like Claire. She seems proud of how much people would go for her for comfort when she was a student in a very time-demanding career. It was likely very taxing, but she doesn't want to say it was. Not to mention that comforting somebody is emotional labor on its own.

The lie that Claire believes is that she needs to sacrifice (time/energy/emotional labor) to be loved, that only that is her worth as a person, particularly in the role of a caretaker of people in need.

And it also shows in her relationship with Carmy.

PART 2: LOOKING FOR THE LOVE

A scene that always stayed with me was this:

This "I know" seemed childish on my first watch, kinda saying "I know ligfe is not as complicated as you think."

But then I realized she was happy to say the right thing for him to love her. This "I know" is she saying, "I know I am perfect for you, I am catering especially to your needs" after saying, "Nobody is keeping track of shoes," which was kind of nonsensical, to begin with, but it also sounds like something from a Hallmark movie when they try to be profound and prophetic.

I want to bring the Caretaker Archetype to her relationship with Carmy because she also completely disregards her own needs with him. To begin with, when you have a profession with little time outside work, you probably will like it to be a good, stable one. Why are you chasing a guy who gave you a fake number and that you had to "push' for them to be with you? You even joke about the Faks beating him up for giving her a fake number, like wtf. In her interview, Molly Gordon talked about how Claire was pushed in a previous relationship, which gave her the idea pushing was okay, which is an entirely different conversation, but ok.

Regardless of that context, she went for a guy with also a time-demanding job, that you have seen in ages, and that you know it has social issues and comes from a family of addicts, and that family as a very tragic story.

Here is my biggest question:

DOES CLAIRE SEE CARMY AS ANOTHER "DRUNK, SAD PERSON"?

gif from @mporium

He may not be an addict, but he is aware of the substance; they made us watch her purposely giving him the soft drink; he didn't ask for one. Like she is saying, "I know you have this issue; look how good I am at anticipating your needs." Their first date was at a party, the place where she was to rescue a "sad drunk person," as she had done so many times.

Coming back to disregarding her own needs, she didn't establish boundaries or expectations throughout the whole relationship; she said, "I love you," after 2 months of fucking, no dates, and a homemade pasta dinner.

She squished herself into whatever hole Carmy needed her in. I have read in other posts that her profession does not give you much free time. Doesn't she sometimes need time of her own to keep studying, just relaxing?

I am aware they could have just not shown any of it, but when you are writing a romance, it is important to show how each person can satisfy the needs of the other; it is not supposed to be one-sided.

She doesn't discuss her stressful work or mean patients. She does not discuss her dreams; we don't even know her last name.

I think this is why she felt so empty to me: even in her conversations, she seemed to be mirroring him the whole time, looking to say the right thing. She only seemed to address her needs by asking him about the fake number because she felt rejected, and Carmy's pathetic response seemed to be what she needed to hear. For many people, that answer would have been a warning of someone not ready to be in a relationship. But for her, it was okay.

She has to be able to at least suspect his depression and other mental issues. She doesn't know about his fire incidents yet; why does a person look for a partner she has constantly to care for while he can't take care of her besides one dinner (or at least, she doesn't ask)? Because she finds her worth in caring for others while receiving very little in comparison. That is why their dynamic is that Claire is always giving and Carmy is always taking.

That is my theory. That's why many of her actions look both good-intentioned and manipulative because she is doing both. She wants to be loved in a very specific way after providing care and sacrificing a good deal herself. She wants to be loved because she does these things; that's how she earns it.

PART 3: ALWAYS SMILING

Gif de thoughtfulchaos773

She always makes this picture of perfect faces and soft smiles; a part of me wonders if she wants to display exactly that. She is inviting, always a calm and happy person, which is also on brand for someone who may have grown up finding worth in being pleasant to others. It is not like I hate pleasant female characters; I love a cinnamon roll any day, but this could be very performative, especially the way society pressures women to present themselves this way in order to be lovable. For Claire, this is the cherry on top of her masking to be a good caretaker, always available and welcoming.

This may also have a dark side. Why doesn't she recommend that Carmy seek professional help? Nobody wants to be confronted or hear that they are broken. She knows he may react negatively to her suggestion, so she doesn't do it; love is what she is after.

PART 4: CODEPENDENCY

This topic is huge, and I am gonna brush over it.

A person who only feels worth taking care of others will try to make the other person rely on them as much as possible. The party scene becomes dark-toned in this subtext. She brought him to a place where he felt like an outsider, she supported him in using a fake persona (ew), she knew there was gonna be alcohol there, didn't she feel bad that people may pressure him to drink, or she wanted to be his aid on the scenario (giving her the soft drink), she tried to make him fit in, even told him what to say in certain scenarios, especially when she was doing the thing she says she is so good at: taking care of the drunk friend. She kept bringing up in the phone conversation how much the Faks would be angry with him for rejecting her. She kept saying things like, "You could not have done this without me." Idk. Now that I keep thinking of the caregiver archetype, I can't unsee it.

Why did she leave that voicemail? Who says I love you for the first time in a voice message? On the opening day of the fucking restaurant? A very high-stress, demanding job, that day with so many things can go wrong?

Was it because she wanted her voice to comfort him during the most stressful times? The only comfort? Was she so sure that after all she had done for her, how could he not love her back?

PART 5: THE DOCTOR CONTRADICTION

This is to lomg, but to analyze Claire, I cannot ignore this part. I said this before in this post, but when Claire said:

I had to pause. That didn't sound like something a doctor would say. There is a reblog from @ciaonicole85 that I would like to quote:

I'm a healthcare provider, and I don't know anyone in my field who would say that setting a fire is cool. We're typically very respectful when talking about someone's dead family member, especially when suicide is a factor and mental health generally.

Then there is also the mention of discussing her classmate getting a broken arm in kindergarten. Quoting, again, from @brokenwinebox amazing post:

Claire: "When we were like six, she fell off a fence and broke her arm, and it scared the shit out of everybody. Except me, i just like sat there and stared at her arm." Carmy: "Cause you wanted to fix it?" Claire: "I wanted to understand it."

First of all, why is one thing exclusive to the other?  She said she wanted to understand it, almost as a priority to fix it. That is weird as fuck. She tried to make that distinction, that point. As @brokenwinebox mentioned, is this supposed to be a clue that she wants to understand more than fix? I think it is.

A little side note here, this line gave me a "I am not like other girls (or people for that matter)" vibe, because she made a point to say that everyone else freaked out but her, as if that made her extra brave or something, destined for what she does now, an emergency doctor, but no, a kid freaking out would be the most normal thing. The brave thing would have been asking for help, like wtf. But coming back to the point.

I am not saying Claire doesn't care about his patients or that she doesn't want to fix them. However, her dialogue displayed carelessness and ominous comments about other people getting hurt/sensible topics.

I don't think it's because she doesn't care but because she is attracted to risk. She mentioned she used to shoplift as a teen (I am not judging, but wtf). That surely will give her an adrenaline rush. She mentioned she likes driving because of the risk of it.

This also makes me think: Does she like Carmy because she thinks dating him can also be risky? Not in a dangerous context or anything, but because of how emotionally unreliable he is. There is a thing as always looking for emotionally unavailable people, and there is a psychological explanation for it, too.  

So yeah, those are my thoughts. Maybe s3 will prove me wrong.

Thank you so much for reading.

[nanthegirl]

🪻04.04.2024🪻 the date is so cute

• I studied Biomechanics for about 3 hours. Mainly just the intro to Clinical Gait Analysis. I made really rough notes in my ugly notebook cause I still haven’t decided how to divide the cute one. I didn’t even try to write pretty, I promise I can do better than that😭. I don’t mind rewriting them though cause I took them English cause the textbook is in English, so I’ll take the chance to translate them.

• We had an information seminar about writing a thesis and doing a practice project. I don’t have to think about those for a bit but I felt very motivated afterwards.

• I wrote a very short card for my friend’s birthday tomorrow and crocheted a headband. It’s a bit wonky at the edges and I just realized I could’ve gotten her a puzzle instead cause she loves those. I’m really rethinking gifting it to her but I’ll ultimately decide tomorrow.

All in all, I feel really good about today. I took a walk and had at least one nutritious meal and loads of water. I sat down and studied without doing my stupid ritual of scrolling on my phone and feeling guilty about not studying. My flatmate has people over so I couldn’t keep going but I’m proud of my progress. And I really enjoyed it.

[sugar-grigri]

Fujimoto : + = -

I don't really have time to do a really interesting analysis, but here are a few thoughts

I'm doing what I've been doing for several chapters now: interpreting in reverse.

Because although the chapter is fascinating when interpreted in the right way, the opposite way makes things even more exciting.

It's simple: Denji isn't reconstituted; humanity and demons are reconstituted.

It's the "kids" who are rebuilding Denji, just as humanity has rebuilt itself, rebuilding an image of its savior Chainsaw Man.

The demons have no interest in this image, because they don't idolize Chainsaw Man. Mankind has to reconstitute its savior first, so that the demons can take him down later - that's the order of things, and it's up to the kids to do it, certainly not the demons.

Why does Fami help? Because she used this image precisely because she knew what CSM meant to humanity.

And Katana is a subtle case: the use of "kids" forces us to see him as a demon, but also as an adult. Katana claims to still belong to humanity with his human heart, but that doesn't change anything. Humanity certainly projects itself in Chainsaw Man, but there are dissidences. And the fact remains that it's youth that's subjected to this image.

In this image, humanity finds meaning in creation, while demons find meaning in their very existence.

Fighting, taking revenge, devouring Chainsaw Man - that's how the demons intend to make sense of themselves: in direct combat, not in salvation.

Above all, the nail fiend refers to interesting things: stupidity itself, or better said, living more lightly is fun.

What's even more amusing in this line is that the nail fiend says that Yoru/Asa doesn't understand this as a high-school girl.

School is the most powerful socializing experience, the most grueling confrontation with others, and the one that will have the greatest impact on our personality and our approach to happiness. Happiness we achieve by unlearning, by taking life less seriously.

Unlearning, i.e. removing knowledge from the brain, brings something positive, happiness. To put it another way: moving backwards allows you to move forwards.

Although Yoru is a devil herself, she's already decomposed, but above all, this maxim of seeing life with less seriousness is one that Asa experienced with Denji: having fun allows you to escape misfortune.

Asa and Yoru are not yet familiar with these different ways of looking at life, which is why it's a good idea to rethink the puzzle of their existence.

And in this scene, another puzzle comes together. Denji has seen Asa, he has also unknowingly seen Yoru, as he repeatedly insists on their kiss. But Asa has never seen has never seen the whole of Denji's being, adding to his person CSM. And so that the pieces fit together properly, she's allowed to see Denji without him being able to see her, with that (almost martyred) upward gaze.

Fujimoto takes his time to complete the puzzle, first Yoru sees him... then Asa.

And then Quanxi intervenes, the one who had requested her beheading to spare her girlfriends...

A sacrifice can complete other pieces, other mosaics of life

And it's a theme I love, but in CSM, subtraction is as good as addition.

In other words, even broken down, Denji completes the others, and even in this state, he is precisely Chainsaw Man, that entity into which we project ourselves, from which we draw to complete ourselves.

So, to sum up in even simpler terms: Pochita marks the beginning and the end of the devils' lives.

He is the precise reason for their existence and death

Saving is indeed fighting Chainsaw Man

[nostalgicmiscellaneous]

Finally tomorrow i have time to rewatch S3 again. I love to discover something i haven't noticed yet everytime i watch. Even some interpretations i had, it makes me rethink. I think this season, with how much the characters internalize things, allows us to truly go further with our analysis. Specially Colin, we have so much to talk about him and his every scenes, mirroring his part 1 behavior with his revelations in part 2. I could write pages about all he confessed about himself, about Pen and his family, in the Cressida scene. That's why i encourage a careful rewatch of S3. Pay attention, the acting choices and the body language, the words and behaviors that are later on addressed, directly or with a change. So interesting.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale’s Analysis: Felix Fathom (The Shadow of Perfection)

I am a Felix enjoyer. I was fine with his introduction, and I was fine with his role in the story. And I never really looked too much into his stake in the story until we actually learn who and What he is.

(Spoilers if you haven’t seen it)

Felix is a Sentibeing, just like Adrien is. But he was created by his Father, Colt Fathom. Out of jealousy over Gabriel and Emilie’s child. Giving up his bodyguard in the exchange.

Colt felt his health decline and feeling as if he basically sold his soul blamed Felix’s existence for this instead of himself. It’s heavily implied there was abuse and that he may have even killed Felix by destroying his Amok once.

After learning the truth, Felix made it his goal to take the power that created him, so that no one would have to suffer like him.

Not knowing the details of how he was created, he first set his sights on the Graham de Vanily Rings. Believing they had the power he was looking for. He was dismissive of Adrien and looked to stir chaos, (in the episode, Felix) upon rewatch we see that Felix never meant to cause actual harm to Adrien, he only wanted a deal that would help him get the rings he wanted. Not caring about the people involved.

The next time we see him (In Gabriel) he has done more research and learned what the True item was that created him. The Peacock miraculous. And he had suspicion that Gabriel was the one who had it. So his goal, steal the Peacock. Of course, Felix failed to get it, BUT he did confirm Gabriel had it. Leading to his next plan.

In Risk and Strikeback. He saw his cousins vulnerability, and decided to use it to infiltrate the manor, while giving Adrien a break from his life. Perfect chance to get what he wanted. Of course Felix confirmed a LOT after that. Including that His Aunt was in a glass coffin. And thinking he got what he wanted, he left. Getting the information how to work the peacock and the peacock itself… unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. It was a fake peacock miraculous.

But as luck would have it, Ladybug showed up asking for Adrien’s help. (And Felix happened to be pretending to be Adrien) so Felix jumped at the chance. Getting ironically the Perfect power to get what he wanted.

And we see some hesitation before going forward with his plan… until he witnesses the death of the sentimonster strikeback. Being a Sentimonster himself, he knew he needed to go through with his plan.

And sure enough Felix trades the other miraculous AND the Ring he stole for the Peacock. The one thing he wanted to ensure HIS freedom.

But now that no one could Poof him with a snap of the fingers, his true plan could unfold.

The world of people that thought so little of sentimonsters… time for his people to rise up. Thus we get Emotion.

Felix in an ironic action Snaps away the people who threatened him. And actually does win… only to see the misery he inflicted on his cousin and the other sentimonster, Kagami.

After this Felix has to rethink his actions, as not all normal people are bad, and even with his power he can’t stand against Monarch/Gabriel now. As he revealed his hand. His chance was gone.

The only thing he could do. Try to help that Girl he met. Cue the Feligami. Because without a means to fight Gabriel and no way that ladybug or chat noir would trust him. He was SOL.

Until learning from Kagami that Marinette was Ladybug. Making her able to understand the situation. Someone that loved Adrien and understood Gabriel as a threat. She could hear his plea. He was convinced to trust her.

Thus, he explains the backstory to her resulting in the events of the finale.

___________________________________________

Now you notice how I called Felix the Shadow of perfection, in the title. It’s actually quite simple.

Felix is basically the shadow while Adrien is the light.

Adrien doesn’t know about the dark history. He doesn’t know Gabriel is Monarch, doesn’t know he’s a sentimonster, he doesn’t know about anything regarding his family’s past. Adrien only saw the good, the pleasant memories. All of that dark business is hidden, it’s in the shadows. That’s where Felix is. Felix is the Adrien of the Dark. He’s the one that learns the secrets, does the digging, handles all the grief and strain so Adrien can be the bright sun princess. Felix is the thief of the night. Even his creation was made with envy as the base emotion. Adrien was made of love, a bright emotion. While Felix of envy, a dark emotion.

Even Felix ending up with Kagami is fascinating because Kagami (her name being mirror) and Felix being a mirror of Adrien. It fits that Felix would relate to Kagami.

It’s also fascinating when we think of the promotional video. Felix was the original Chat noir, but before the show aired, he was replaced with Adrien. Only to then be rewritten into the show. He has become the shadow of his former self.

In the end, Felix couldn’t help in the final confrontation (ignoring writing choices) because he wasn’t one of the heroes. And Adrien couldn’t because he was left in the dark on all of the things he would need to know to be a part of the finale. Felix was the piece needed for the writers to write the finale as a final confrontation between Marinette and Gabriel. Because Adrien never knew and Felix wasn’t the hero of the story.

Ironic how both the light and dark were not complete and thus could not be present in the finale

[alicent-vi-britannia]

Why does Shirley have to die?

One of the most frequent comments I found while browsing when I entered this fandom and it bothered me greatly was that Shirley's death was useless, which reflected a lack of understanding of the series and the character of Shirley and her relationship with Lelouch and Suzaku. So today I'll explain what the effects of Shirley's murder were.

Broadly speaking, Shirley's murder serves as a catalyst between the first and second half of the second season. Likewise, Shirley's sad murder resonates with the main theme of the series and influences the narrative arcs of Lelouch and Suzaku.

1. Shirley's death was what pushed Lelouch to change his plans for the Geass Cult. Instead of controlling the orphans who had been turned into Geass users, Lelouch decided to destroy the Geass Cult by decimating the children and scientists who participated in the project by organizing a clandestine operation with the Black Knights.

1.1. This operation will later become one of the reasons why the Black Knights will betray Lelouch. It's information that is leaked to Asahina, a member of the Four Holy Swords, and reaches through him Tohdoh, who, together with Ohgi, were the ones who convinced the rest of the Black Knights that they were angry with Zero for abandoning them in the middle of the takeove of the Tokyo Settlement. So the massacre of the Geass Cult influenced the betrayal of Tohdoh, one of the pillars in the Order of the Black Knights and most loyal to their leader.

1.2. Additionally, the Black Knights' attack on the Geass Cult resulted in the death of V.V. and attracted the Emperor who took the code from V.V. and then attempted to initiate the Ragnarök Connection in episode 15, but C.C. prevented this by sealing her code and suppressing her memories. Something that will influence Lelouch's isolation. Also, in the massacre of the Geass Cult, Lelouch captured Cornelia, which will be important in the future.

2. Shirley's death was what pushed Suzaku over the edge and motivated him to coerce Kallen through refrain to get confirmation that Zero was behind her murder. About to do so, Suzaku realized that he was about to become completely corrupted and begins to rethink his beliefs and methods for the first time. It's because of this incident with Kallen that Suzaku is willing to reunite with Lelouch and team up with him, even if it means abandoning Britannia. But, well, Schneizel ambushes the two former friends and makes Lelouch believe that Suzaku betrayed him once again. Consequently, Lelouch is determined to kill Suzaku in revenge, but it turns out badly due to the cursed order he gave him long ago and which causes the total annihilation of the Tokyo Settlement, something that will mark a turning point in Suzaku's narrative arc and It will also affect Lelouch...

3. Shirley's death was a turning point in Lelouch and Rolo's relationship. It was a relationship in which love and hate were quite balanced, but, after this event, Lelouch leaned towards hate. I'll talk more about this point in my analysis of Rolo's motivations for killing Shirley, so that's all I'll say for now. I'll add that, if Mao made him realize that Geass can corrupt the user and Euphemia's death made Lelouch realize that Geass is an evil power, Shirley's death made Lelouch realize that Geass will condemn him to isolation (damn, Lelouch saw a lot of red flags and kept going; I don't know whether to call it idiocy or determination). At the same time, he realized how terrible the power of Geass is in the hands of a child and became terrified that all Geass users were like Rolo, which is why he thinks it is better to eradicate the Geass Cult and not control them.

4. Shirley's death is linked to the main theme of the series (will) and, in a certain way, influenced the epiphany that Lelouch will have in the final stretch of the series. Rolo didn't get into a vehicle, he drove to Shirley's house and got out to shoot her. No. Shirley was murdered, following her will. She abandoned the security force that was guarding her because she wanted to offer her help to Lelouch. To paraphrase Lelouch's words to Schneizel in the series' penultimate episode, people are actively seeking happiness, and for Shirley, her happiness was with Lelouch. Even though Lelouch erases her memory over and over again to protect her, Shirley will always do what her will dictates, and that includes falling in love with him again. Shirley's firm resolve, added to that of other characters, is what teaches Lelouch to value human beings' will and constant pursuit of happiness.

In short, Shirley's death is what leads to most of the events that occur in the second part of R2. Without that, the Zero Requiem doesn't even take place. For all this, it is ridiculous that the alternate universe continues with the same events as the canonical universe, but, well, nothing makes sense in the alternate universe (hence it is complete garbage and I'll maintain this statement until the last day of my existence.)

Having said that. If anyone still wants to be angry about Shirley's death, they have to change their focus on her. The point isn't that Shirley's murder adds nothing to the plot (we already saw that it isn't true); but this seems to show that Shirley is a "woman in refrigerator." This is a term coined by Gail Simone to refer to female characters who face disproportionate harm, which will serve as a plot device to motivate male characters. The term was used to talk about situations in Western comics, but can be extrapolated to other media. Is Shirley a "woman in refrigerator"? I would say yes, but I think that term should be applied when there are female characters who have great potential and the authors don't exploit it, but rather prefer to reduce them to a motivation for the current male hero. And Shirley is not Kallen (an action heroine and Knightmare pilot, whose talent and skill can change the flow of a battle), she is not C.C. (an Immortal Witch who knows all the secrets of Geass and is clandestinely working with our protagonist's worst enemy for her own interests), she is not Euphemia (a princess in the Holy Empire of Britannia who can challenge the status quo and change the system from the inside), she is not Nina (a prodigy in science, capable of creating a weapon of mass destruction). She's only Shirley. An innocent civilian trapped in a bloody war. She cannot contribute more than she can, so let's not ask for pears from the elm.

I really wanted to write this analysis! I just removed a thorn that was stuck. I feel better.

[cilasbestos]

My autistic rambling about Cassandra from Tangled.

I refuse to use Gothel as her last name…

Anyways,

Saying that Cassandra was “angry at Rapunzel for getting kidnapped” is such a grossly incorrect representation of what was actually going on and I am tired of people pushing that that was all that upset her, instead of the seasons long conflict that was building up that culminated in her taking her anger about something only partially related out on Rapunzel because she was ALREADY upset with her.

Cass’ issues with Raps did not start when she took the moonstone, hell it didn’t even start when she went into the room in the house of yesterday’s tomorrow. It started in season one when Rapunzel was constantly, even if unintentionally, finding ways to overshadow her. It was worsened when Raps stopped valuing her opinion, which was a problem for Cass because she felt she had outlasted her usefulness, even though Cass is shown as a character who feels like she always needs a purpose or a duty to follow (which is likely a trauma response from being abandoned tbh???). Everything builds through seasons one and two, and Cassandra consistently finds herself overshadowed and ignored by Rapunzel and the people around her.

And THEN, Cass is given earth shattering news. Everyone else already chooses Rapunzel over her, of course her own mother did too. This particular instance wasn’t Rapunzel’s fault, but it pushed the same idea and feeling that all these other instances did; Cass isn’t important, and will always be outshined by Rapunzel. Something she had felt and experienced over and over, but this time the information was just big enough to be what sent her over the edge.

Yes, Cassandra overreacts, but she also is CONSTANTLY shown to be seeing whats wrong with her actions and rethinking everything. The first time, during Crossing The Line, she only doesn’t back down because Rapunzel triggers her by telling her to “wait”, the one thing she had been doing her entire life.

After that, every single major conflict with Cass throughout season 3 involves her realizing her error or questioning her path in some way, but people love to forget that she was actively being manipulated by Zhan Tiri at this point, leading her to being convinced to stay on the path Zhan Tiri wants her to be on. Yeah Cass is acting terrible, because an actual warlock found her when she was at her lowest and used her negative emotions to manipulate things in their favor. Eventually, when she is freed from that relationship with Zhan Tiri, everything resolves rather quickly, her having noticed the errors of her ways for a while now, but being constantly assured she was right.

In a way, Zhan Tiri plays a very similar role for Cassandra to that of what Gothel was to Rapunzel in the original movie.

I can probably do a more coherent, not-written-at-almost-midnight analysis of Cassandra eventually, because I have a lot to say and this is all over the place, but to conclude: Cassandra’s anger is not directly at Rapunzel for being kidnapped by Gothel. That simply happened to be the straw that broke the camels back after other events causes Cass similar feelings. This reveal was just the biggest, held the most weight. Even though Cass calmed down and again and again realized her wrong doings, the wrong person had influence over her when she was extremely vulnerable, leading the conflict to continue when it could have easily been avoided without the warlock’s influence.

[thundercrack]

Study of Elite College Admissions Data Suggests Being Very Rich Is Its Own Qualification

By Aatish Bhatia, Claire Cain Miller and Josh Katz July 24, 2023 (full text under the cut)

Elite colleges have long been filled with the children of the richest families: At Ivy League schools, one in six students has parents in the top 1 percent.

A large new study, released Monday, shows that it has not been because these children had more impressive grades on average or took harder classes. They tended to have higher SAT scores and finely honed résumés, and applied at a higher rate — but they were overrepresented even after accounting for those things. For applicants with the same SAT or ACT score, children from families in the top 1 percent were 34 percent more likely to be admitted than the average applicant, and those from the top 0.1 percent were more than twice as likely to get in.

The study — by Opportunity Insights, a group of economists based at Harvard who study inequality — quantifies for the first time the extent to which being very rich is its own qualification in selective college admissions.

The analysis is based on federal records of college attendance and parental income taxes for nearly all college students from 1999 to 2015, and standardized test scores from 2001 to 2015. It focuses on the eight Ivy League universities, as well as Stanford, Duke, M.I.T. and the University of Chicago. It adds an extraordinary new data set: the detailed, anonymized internal admissions assessments of at least three of the 12 colleges, covering half a million applicants. (The researchers did not name the colleges that shared data or specify how many did because they promised them anonymity.)

The new data shows that among students with the same test scores, the colleges gave preference to the children of alumni and to recruited athletes, and gave children from private schools higher nonacademic ratings. The result is the clearest picture yet of how America’s elite colleges perpetuate the intergenerational transfer of wealth and opportunity.

“What I conclude from this study is the Ivy League doesn’t have low-income students because it doesn’t want low-income students,” said Susan Dynarski, an economist at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, who has reviewed the data and was not involved in the study.

In effect, the study shows, these policies amounted to affirmative action for the children of the 1 percent, whose parents earn more than $611,000 a year. It comes as colleges are being forced to rethink their admissions processes after the Supreme Court ruling that race-based affirmative action is unconstitutional.

“Are these highly selective private colleges in America taking kids from very high-income, influential families and basically channeling them to remain at the top in the next generation?” said Raj Chetty, an economist at Harvard who directs Opportunity Insights, and an author of the paper with John N. Friedman of Brown and David J. Deming of Harvard. “Flipping that question on its head, could we potentially diversify who’s in a position of leadership in our society by changing who is admitted?”

Representatives from several of the colleges said that income diversity was an urgent priority, and that they had taken significant steps since 2015, when the data in the study ends, to admit lower-income and first-generation students. These include making tuition free for families earning under a certain amount; giving only grants, not loans, in financial aid; and actively recruiting students from disadvantaged high schools.

“We believe that talent exists in every sector of the American income distribution,” said Christopher L. Eisgruber, the president of Princeton. “I am proud of what we have done to increase socioeconomic diversity at Princeton, but I also believe that we need to do more — and we will do more.”

Affirmative action for the rich

In a concurring opinion in the affirmative action case, Justice Neil Gorsuch addressed the practice of favoring the children of alumni and donors, which is also the subject of a new case. “While race-neutral on their face, too, these preferences undoubtedly benefit white and wealthy applicants the most,” he wrote.

The new paper did not include admissions rates by race because previous research had done so, the researchers said. They found that racial differences were not driving the results. When looking only at applicants of one race, for example, those from the highest-income families still had an advantage. Yet the top 1 percent is overwhelmingly white. Some analysts have proposed diversifying by class as a way to achieve more racial diversity without affirmative action.

The new data showed that other selective private colleges, like Northwestern, N.Y.U. and Notre Dame, had a similarly disproportionate share of children from rich families. Public flagship universities were much more equitable. At places like the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Virginia, applicants with high-income parents were no more likely to be admitted than lower-income applicants with comparable scores.

Less than 1 percent of American college students attend the 12 elite colleges. But the group plays an outsize role in American society: 12 percent of Fortune 500 chief executives and a quarter of U.S. senators attended. So did 13 percent of the top 0.1 percent of earners. The focus on these colleges is warranted, the researchers say, because they provide paths to power and influence — and diversifying who attends has the potential to change who makes decisions in America.

The researchers did a novel analysis to measure whether attending one of these colleges causes success later in life. They compared students who were wait-listed and got in, with those who didn’t and attended another college instead. Consistent with previous research, they found that attending an Ivy instead of one of the top nine public flagships did not meaningfully increase graduates’ income, on average. However, it did increase a student’s predicted chance of earning in the top 1 percent to 19 percent, from 12 percent.

For outcomes other than earnings, the effect was even larger — it nearly doubled the estimated chance of attending a top graduate school, and tripled the estimated chance of working at firms that are considered prestigious, like national news organizations and research hospitals.

“Sure, it’s a tiny slice of schools,” said Professor Dynarski, who has studied college admissions and worked with the University of Michigan on increasing the attendance of low-income students, and has occasionally contributed to The New York Times. “But having representation is important, and this shows how much of a difference the Ivies make: The political elite, the economic elite, the intellectual elite are coming out of these schools.”

The missing middle class

The advantage to rich applicants varied by college, the study found: At Dartmouth, students from the top 0.1 percent were five times as likely to attend as the average applicant with the same test score, while at M.I.T. they were no more likely to attend. (The fact that children from higher-income families tend to have higher standardized test scores and are likelier to receive private coaching suggests that the study may actually underestimate their admissions advantage.)

An applicant with a high test score from a family earning less than $68,000 a year was also likelier than the average applicant to get in, though there were fewer applicants like this.

Children from middle- and upper-middle-class families — including those at public high schools in high-income neighborhoods — applied in large numbers. But they were, on an individual basis, less likely to be admitted than the richest or, to a lesser extent, poorest students with the same test scores. In that sense, the data confirms the feeling among many merely affluent parents that getting their children into elite colleges is increasingly difficult.

“We had these very skewed distributions of a whole lot of Pell kids and a whole lot of no-need kids, and the middle went missing,” said an Ivy League dean of admissions, who has seen the new data and spoke anonymously in order to talk openly about the process. “You’re not going to win a P.R. battle by saying you have X number of families making over $200,000 that qualify for financial aid.”

The researchers could see, for nearly all college students in the United States from 1999 to 2015, where they applied and attended, their SAT or ACT scores and whether they received a Pell grant for low-income students. They could also see their parents’ income tax records, which enabled them to analyze attendance by earnings in more detail than any previous research. They conducted the analysis using anonymized data.

For the several elite colleges that also shared internal admissions data, they could see other aspects of students’ applications between 2001 and 2015, including how admissions offices rated them. They focused their analysis on the most recent years, 2011 to 2015.

Though they had this data for a minority of the dozen top colleges, the researchers said they thought it was representative of the other colleges in the group (with the exception of M.I.T.). The other colleges admitted more students from high-income families, showed preferences for legacies and recruited athletes, and described similar admissions practices in conversations with the researchers, they said.

“Nobody has this kind of data; it’s completely unheard-of,” said Michael Bastedo, a professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Education, who has done prominent research on college admissions. “I think it’s really important to good faith efforts for reforming the system to start by being able to look honestly and candidly at the data.”

How the richest students benefit

Before this study, it was clear that colleges enrolled more rich students, but it was not known whether it was just because more applied. The new study showed that’s part of it: One-third of the difference in attendance rates was because middle-class students were somewhat less likely to apply or matriculate. But the bigger factor was that these colleges were more likely to accept the richest applicants.

Legacy admissions

The largest advantage for the 1 percent was the preference for legacies. The study showed — for the first time at this scale — that legacies were more qualified overall than the average applicant. But even when comparing applicants who were similar in every other way, legacies still had an advantage.

When high-income applicants applied to the college their parents attended, they were accepted at much higher rates than other applicants with similar qualifications — but at the other top-dozen colleges, they were no more likely to get in.

“This is not a sideshow, not just a symbolic issue,” Professor Bastedo said of the finding.

Athletes

One in eight admitted students from the top 1 percent was a recruited athlete. For the bottom 60 percent, that figure was one in 20. That’s largely because children from rich families are more likely to play sports, especially more exclusive sports played at certain colleges, like rowing and fencing. The study estimated that athletes were admitted at four times the rate of nonathletes with the same qualifications.

“There’s a common misperception that it’s about basketball and football and low-income kids making their way into selective colleges,” Professor Bastedo said. “But the enrollment leaders know athletes tend to be wealthier, so it’s a win-win.”

Nonacademic ratings

There was a third factor driving the preference for the richest applicants. The colleges in the study generally give applicants numerical scores for academic achievement and for more subjective nonacademic virtues, like extracurricular activities, volunteering and personality traits. Students from the top 1 percent with the same test scores did not have higher academic ratings. But they had significantly higher nonacademic ratings.

At one of the colleges that shared admissions data, students from the top 0.1 percent were 1.5 times as likely to have high nonacademic ratings as those from the middle class. The researchers said that, accounting for differences in the way each school assesses nonacademic credentials, they found similar patterns at the other colleges that shared data.

The biggest contributor was that admissions committees gave higher scores to students from private, nonreligious high schools. They were twice as likely to be admitted as similar students — those with the same SAT scores, race, gender and parental income — from public schools in high-income neighborhoods. A major factor was recommendations from guidance counselors and teachers at private high schools.

“Parents rattle off that a kid got in because he was first chair in the orchestra, ran track,” said John Morganelli Jr., a former director of admissions at Cornell and founder of Ivy League Admissions, where he advises high school students on applying to college. “They never say what really happens: Did the guidance counselor advocate on that kid’s behalf?”

Recommendation letters from private school counselors are notoriously flowery, he said, and the counselors call admissions officers about certain students.

“This is how the feeder schools get created,” he said. “Nobody’s calling on behalf of a middle- or lower-income student. Most of the public school counselors don’t even know these calls exist.”

The end of need-blind admissions?

Overall, the study suggests, if elite colleges had done away with the preferences for legacies, athletes and private school students, the children of the top 1 percent would have made up 10 percent of a class, down from 16 percent in the years of the study.

Legacy students, athletes and private school students do no better after college, in terms of earnings or reaching a top graduate school or firm, it found. In fact, they generally do somewhat worse.

The dean of admissions who spoke anonymously said change was easier said than done: “I would say there’s much more commitment to this than may be obvious. It’s just the solution is really complicated, and if we could have done it, we would have.”

For example, it’s not feasible to choose athletes from across the income spectrum if many college sports are played almost entirely by children from high-earning families. Legacies are perhaps the most complicated, the admissions dean said, because they tend to be highly qualified and their admission is important for maintaining strong ties with alumni.

Ending that preference, the person said, “is not an easy decision to make, given the alumni response, especially if you’re not in immediate concurrence with the rest of the Ivies.” (Though children of very large donors also get special consideration by admissions offices, they were not included in the analysis because there are relatively few of them.)

People involved in admissions say that achieving more economic diversity would be difficult without doing something else: ending need-blind admissions, the practice that prevents admissions officers from seeing families’ financial information so their ability to pay is not a factor. Some colleges are already doing what they call “need-affirmative admissions,” for the purpose of selecting more students from the low end of the income spectrum, though they often don’t publicly acknowledge it for fear of blowback.

There is a tool, Landscape from the College Board, to help determine if an applicant grew up in a neighborhood with significant privilege or adversity. But these colleges have no knowledge of parents’ income if students don’t apply for financial aid.

Ivy League colleges and their peers have recently made significant efforts to recruit more low-income students and subsidize tuition. Several now make attendance entirely free for families below a certain income — $100,000 at Stanford and Princeton, $85,000 at Harvard, and $60,000 at Brown.

At Princeton, one-fifth of students are now from low-income families, and one-fourth receive a full ride. It has recently reinstated a transfer program to recruit low-income and community college students. At Harvard, one-fourth of this fall’s freshman class is from families with incomes less than $85,000, who will pay nothing. The majority of freshmen will receive some amount of aid.

Dartmouth just raised $500 million to expand financial aid: “While we respect the work of Harvard’s Opportunity Insights, we believe our commitment to these investments and our admissions policies since 2015 tells an important story about the socioeconomic diversity among Dartmouth students,” said Jana Barnello, a spokeswoman.

Public flagships do admissions differently, in a way that ends up benefiting rich students less. The University of California schools forbid giving preference to legacies or donors, and some, like U.C.L.A., do not consider letters of recommendation. The application asks for family income, and colleges get detailed information about California high schools. Application readers are trained to consider students’ circumstances, like whether they worked to support their families in high school, as “evidence of maturity, determination and insight.”

The University of California system also partners with schools in the state, from pre-K through community college, to support students who face barriers. There’s a robust program for transfer students from California community colleges; at U.C.L.A., half are from low-income backgrounds.

M.I.T., which stands out among elite private schools as displaying almost no preference for rich students, has never given a preference to legacy applicants, said its dean of admissions, Stuart Schmill. It does recruit athletes, but they do not receive any preference or go through a separate admissions process (as much as it may frustrate coaches, he said).

“I think the most important thing here is talent is distributed equally but opportunity is not, and our admissions process is designed to account for the different opportunities students have based on their income,” he said. “It’s really incumbent upon our process to tease out the difference between talent and privilege.”

Source: Raj Chetty, David J. Deming and John N. Friedman, “Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges”

[lxmelle]

Just some thoughts on the observable pairs we see - satosugu and itafushi. Not really an analysis or anything - just sharing my observations. Blabbing as usual. I’m sure I’ll miss something, so feel free to comment or reblog!

Word vomit under cut (please be warned: I did say I wanted to blab ;_;)

I shared a more concise version on X but I guess I wanted to elaborate in a stream of consciousness style.

So here I am. Here you are. Feel free to click away if you’re get bored 🤓

There are parallels between Gojo & Geto and Yuji & Megumi; however, they’re inherently different people. I came across some tweets rethinking the last words in jjk 0, saying things like: this is how stsg should’ve done it, etc.

Yeah, I do get it... just... I just think they’re different people within a different set of circumstances. Could it have been different? Sure. But if they could have a chance to re-do something - at what point would one pick? How would that even guarantee the best outcome? No Toji? Haibara doesn’t die? Gojo admits he is lonely? Or Geto admitting he is lonely?

Mind you, they learnt about love through their separation... How would those lessons have been learnt? There would be no guarantees of Teacher AU being a reality. It would be nice, but that would be straying from the story that has been masterfully - albeit painfully littered with ANGST - written by Gege Akutami.

It is enough for me that Gojo and Geto reconciled at the end of their lives. Salvation. Being together for what could be eternity (for as long as they chose to stay) in 236 is, for me, already a beautiful bittersweet love story. Especially after all they’d been through. Anyway. My point is... context matters. I don’t really enjoy discourse over who did it better. They had what they had. They made the most of what they had. And the tragedy is what is relatable and is beautiful too. So once again, they’re unique characters within a setting that is different.

Their bonds are therefore, by extension, also very different, although there are similarities. I don’t want to engage in debates over which is superior - that’s not my point, intention or interest. They’re different and appreciable within their own uniqueness.

Friendship is friendship, and love is love, after all. But even within the expression of affection and love, our individual needs and/or methods of expressing such emotions will differ.

I think to consider themes and what insights we can gain from these two… We have to look at their situations in its entirety. Gojo, Nanami, and others from that generation learned about the necessity to protect the youth.

So I think: compared to what Yuji and Megumi had, it seems as if what Gojo and Geto had (in terms of emotional safety and intimacy) were with each other - and it was somewhat lacking due to their own individual limitations. They had no other significant persons to speak of - at least, for certain, for Gojo. Since we don’t know Geto’s history aside from how he had human parents and he was scouted <- But more on this later.

What Yuji and Megumi had was by no means adequate, I don’t think, but at least from what we can infer from Gojo and Geto, it was more than what they had. Not only because the adults within the sorcery world like Yaga, Nanami, Gojo, Shoko (perhaps?), and Ino were more involved than whoever else were teachers during Gojo & Geto’s time - but Yuji had gramps and Megumi had Tsumiki who offered the a glimpse of what familial love is.

They had some form of a secure bond in another person to offer a sense of security and inherent worth. Megumi lesser than Yuji, but this is also why we see him as an avoidant-ambivalent kind of person who is also much like his father who grew up emotionally deprived and rejected. His sense of worth came from being independent and aloof despite being emotionally and psychologically deep (and parched for compassionate & authentic human connection).

The school itself seemed to have more teachers and fellow students. Possibly fewer curses due to Geto’s active efforts for 10 years to amass 6k for the Night Parade. Furthermore, more sorcerers may mean fewer student casualties (fewer deaths like Haibara’s) and improved manpower to counter curses. And when it came to Yuji’s time, not only was he personally rather resilient, he had companionship with Nobara, Megumi, Todo, Choso... that bordered on familial love and likely assisted with maintaining his sanity when faced with the gruesome cruelties he witnessed & endured.

And circling back to Geto: We don’t know what Geto had growing up, but for him to be that emotionally attached to Gojo, and that way inclined to immediately rise to fury (at the abuse of the girls + having been asked to kill them) and seek to avenge, protect and become a parent in his teens - can can assume he was somewhat parentified himself. Meaning, he likely learned the need to play this role during his formative years - likely him childhood.

He felt highly responsible for everyone and his personality was as such where he took things very seriously & earnestly. The parallel was drawn between him and Yuta - the original “parallel pairing” from jjk 0. The world he was shown was far too cruel; especially for someone who felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and didn’t know how to share it with someone who he probably saw Gojo as shouldering it in his own way. The perfectionist that was Geto who tried to live sincerely and be a role model ended up falling through a gap, leaving him with no choice but to force himself to keep living towards some kind of a redemptive goal, within a punishing life consuming vile curse after curse (his only source of stress), to either succeed a crazy dream, or die trying to Gojo’s hand. But he remained true to himself - Geto lived for others. He was only ever shown to be selfish with one thing: Gojo. (Don’t follow me: It won’t be bad to die by your hand. I’m envious.)

They had no capacity - knowledge, experience, or language to reconcile their differences. It wasn’t as if anyone showed them how to share the burden. Right? Throughout HI - did anyone offer comfort to Geto? That man was so very much like a “mum” who mops up shit and vomit without complaining. The emotional and mental burden. I wrote about this before - Gojo is masculine-coded (Yang energy). Geto is Yin. This is another parallel with Megumi and Yuji. Shadows - Yin. Yuji is kind of dazzling isn’t he? Light, heat, strength. Yang.

And Gojo? The “sheltered but forced to grow up too quickly” boy probably never knew what being nurturing love or unconditional love meant until Geto came along. Probably never thought he needed it. When touched by someone’s love and compassion like this - isn’t it natural to just react to it? To lean into it like a monkey separated from its mother, with only a warm furry surrogate to cling onto? Never thought he needed it until it was no longer there. Why? It would be enough to inflict some kind of an identity crisis for someone like Gojo Satoru. How could someone NOT want him for his strength?! For the first time Gojo Satoru probably felt a vulnerability he could not bring himself to eliminate.

With a background like theirs: It’s no wonder what they developed was a form of codependency. They complemented one another in so many ways - it was effortless and natural. Both strong, both intrigued by each other, could keep up with conversations, engage in mischievous cheekiness, etc.

They almost/probably(?) completed one another - but of course, what fulfils a person cannot just be one other person alone. Especially as a monster like Gojo Satoru with a thirst for fulfilment of his powers and someone like Geto Suguru who needed to have a deep meaning and purpose in life.

Think about a sportsperson and a philanthropist, respectively. Neither should be expected to concede to the other and be forced to be satisfied with the other alone. It doesn’t and shouldn’t work that way.

The respect and love they had for each other was profound. It was beyond themselves. So they did their best to support each other without an open conversation in the 10 years - just like a quiet love. Apart from each other. Despite the time and distance, their selfishness and possessiveness for each other was also telling of their twisted love - it’s crazy exclusivity. Geto calling Yuta a womaniser simply for healing/having a friend in Maki and then processing his love for Rika? That still makes me chuckle. As much as Gojo liking dogs (source GIGA character book) because Geto was once mistaken for Takeru the dog. 😂 unbelievable. Other examples: I’ll die to your hand. If you were there I’d be satisfied. Hm. Yeah. Crazy exclusivity. Almost at the expense of themselves...

Anyway. In terms of bonds: The codependency between Gojo & Geto is both a positive & negative. Maybe a byproduct of their generation & lack of emotional support within that time. The title as the strongest was a burden to Gojo & Geto (together and individually) that was different to that of what Yuji and Megumi carry respectively. So the context, era, setting, etc. would’ve shaped them differently too.

It’s also worth remembering that Megumi’s level of self importance, like Yuji, is not like that of Gojo or Geto who carried the weight of huge responsibility from a young age. Their bond was also therefore a little bit more twisted comparative to what Yuji and Megumi have.

And despite the short time together, we do see a the beginnings of preciousness between them with Yuji being determined to at least reach Megumi with a conversation in his fight with Sukuna - despite the insane power difference.

It’s absolutely mind-blowing when I think about this teenager going head to head with this old fart who is on the level of a calamity and has taken countless lives. And earlier on, soulful yet apprehensive Megumi not wanting someone compassionate like Yuji to die. Even making a request with Gojo to do something about it. Like a sense of inner knowing that the other was someone special and worth protecting. Yin is also associated with intuition.

They also underwent transformation where “if you die I’ll kill you” is now replaced by a different dialogue spurred on by Megumi’s honest narrative of the simple pleasures of living… and the devastation of his very down to earth/humble dreams being dashed and Yuji’s heartfelt response that showed acceptance and love beyond himself for Megumi’s plight. It was really moving. The power of such a love and the capacity of Yuji to grow as he did. Perhaps it was also because he was given the ingredients (love, faith, friendship, belief, resolve, etc.) to nourish him whenever he faced adversity. I mean, resilience is about growing from “trauma” and overcoming the tendency to hide which can result in becoming brittle (therefore weak).

Anyway. They’re like Gojo & Geto on a speedrun. But that is not the only difference… The forcible nature of having their bodies & wills violated - taken over as vessels for Sukuna- used to commit crimes against their desires - is something they share. A point of reference that can lend itself to relating to one another. It stimulates protectiveness. Compassion & connection.

Surely a common enemy changes things? Gojo & Geto could not see eye to eye when it came to it. Timing wasn’t on their side. Almost as it lateness was a theme. It was difficult to be vulnerable to one another. It almost mimics real life generational differences. They existed in a different world. When a common enemy is present, it is normal to rally together. Once again, their roles were different. Stronger than their sensei. Their expectations will be different as a result. Tengen requested their assistance.

Were the younger generation shielded from such burdens? I’d say so. Those on the frontlines within the school probably also changed (a little) after Geto defected, especially with Gojo using his influence to save and protect his students. We saw how Yaga reflected on his regrets as a teacher, relating to Gojo who opted to be a teacher too.

I think it was horrendous how nobody really noticed or anticipated that Geto would struggle the way he did. It was left to a peer (Gojo) we had no personal resources to support Geto in his own youth. It didn’t make sense. There was a lot lacking, as we know. It was a different time with someone to shield the young sorcerers to some degree. There was already a “strongest” (Gojo) when they were born.

Further, Gojo did his best to offer the kids something different - with Megumi having a different option to the Zenin & Nanami’s involvement with Yuji.

Their loneliness have subtle differences, so Gojo wasn’t lonely (in 236) with the companionship of others after being taught how to connect with people by Geto, but he still needed Geto to feel fully satisfied.

I think that’s why Geto said he was envious, because he assumed after hearing those words that Gojo was fully satisfied - eventhough his last words to Geto must have implied that Geto was important to him. Geto had a void that only Gojo could fill but he was, as ever, conceding enough in his love for Gojo to say “as long as you’re satisfied I’m relieved for you.”

Gojo corrected him by telling him he still needed him to feel fully satisfied. Implying it was something only Geto could fulfil. Gojo’s heart grew to accommodate his students and everyone but the shape in his heart of Geto was for Geto to fill.

Similarly for Geto, when he defected, he also wore the Gojo kesa like a lingering connection (longing/codependency). He did not feel he could smile as sincerely as he once could after he committed the crime and had to leave his best friend’s side to pursue the only option left.

Their love was somewhat twisted in nature, as it blessed/saved & cursed them equally. They needed other things to fulfil them but their bond was irreplaceable.

I’ll say it again: a partner’s place isn’t replaceable by students, children, friends, etc. Especially if it was someone you truly love. You can grow around the grief but the shape left behind by that person is still the same shape of that person.

Another way I conceptualise it is how they feel that the other completes them. On their own they feel incomplete. Lacking. Therefore to Gojo, Geto was a part of him. So he would feel incomplete (as a person) without Geto - within this kind of codependent bond.

It was noticed by others like Shoko who pictured them as a pair who seemed like nothing could come between them. A pair who she could never fall in love with individually, or offer to one what the other offered... (love, of course) but she was there. Shoko was never one to shoulder the burden of strength and the involvement it entails, but shouldered the entirety of having to witness passively (helplessly) from the sidelines. This was symbolic of their roles. Fighter versus medic. Gojo & Geto in a world of their own. They were the strongest. Somehow this role mattered to them. What a burden of responsibility that could erode their human nature. Don’t you think?

Back to parallels: With Yuji & Megumi, their relationship is younger. Despite the year between them the apprehensive Megumi already trusted Yuji so much that he considered him a brother on the same level as his sister. He’s a good judge of character. I always enjoyed how perceptive Megumi was.

With the loss of Tsumiki, I’m sure the bond will change / deepen as he realises his value as a person (not just observer standing behind Yuji & Tsumiki) with a new reason to live/fight. Adopting the same purpose as Yuji, perhaps, for each other. We do not know how much they rely on the other for fulfilment, but I’m encouraged that their bond will be unique and rich after these life experiences. How could it not be? How could Megumi not respond to such a kind & heartfelt expression of sincerity? Because Yuji isnt asking anything of Megumi : he was very simply saying: I’ll accept you, Megumi. What a demonstration of unconditional love and compassion. Incredible. It reminded me of how Gojo found the words to say to Geto to save his soul at the end of jjk 0. But once again, lateness seems to be a theme for the older generation.

As it stands, Megumi wished to see Tsumiki with Yuji and he observed from behind. Once again his level of self importance wasn’t high. Neither was Yuji who felt he was a cog in the wheel, a sacrificial vessel, etc. until recently. Gojo and Geto grew with the notion that had set roles to fulfil as the strongest. This was true of the time. And when we think of who they had around them… each other. Gojo and Geto were very codependent so they’d imagine themselves walking together. But in the end I can see how Geto felt like he was watching Gojo from behind. And Gojo felt he watched Geto leave - twice over; the final time to his own hand. Thank goodness for 236.

So I think the relationships have parallels but they are different… I don’t think this can translate into the last words in 0. Gojo admitting he will miss Geto or that he would be lonely - would sound too much like a curse. Thematically the only thing that fits is “I love you”. But the unsaid implications for the feelings (will we meet again, loneliness, my best friend, I love you, etc.) were all hinted at.

The similarities between them as individuals are many, for example : Geto and Yuji consume curses, and I think the intimate knowledge of this helped them have empathy. Geto and Megumi manipulate shadows/curses/creatures. Gojo and Yuji are strong in constitution and cope with adversity with resilience. Further, Gojo and Yuji suffered loss of someone important and witnessed their suffering, allowing them to let go out of compassionate mercy, despite the loneliness it created for themselves. Gojo and Megumi were blessed with historically revered Cursed Techniques. Being vessels also became a parallel: Yuji and Megumi to Sukuna & Geto to Kenjaku and Gojo to Kenjaku’s technique via Yuta. In this sense, Yuji and Gojo both became vessels upon their own volition.

For someone like Gojo he may not have struggled with the loss of comrades in the past and in the future. Geto did and this was also what broke him without the support to maintain his emotional wellbeing. Yuji saw far too much tragedy within a short space of time and the difference is not only in his personality but the availability of people around him who regarded him as family - Todo, Choso, etc. Megumi is like Geto in that sense where they were selective in who they wished to save, knowing their limitations maybe, or the wickedness within their flawed humanity. But the loss of the important ones also broke them. So I think in that way they respected and admired those who could remain objective like Yuji and Gojo.

Loneliness was a given. Gojo could not ask Geto to live, & at the end of 0 Geto must have thought that someone (strong & objective) like Gojo who raised such students & could cope with the deaths of others better than he, should be allowed to keep living on a righteous path after all - so he could die with a peaceful heart knowing he was loved by Gojo even after “leaving him behind” and urged to live righteously on a different path. He also didn’t kill any sorcerers which was the group he chose to protect.

They were both lonely in life, needed each other to feel complete (codependency), so in 236 they reunited as a form of salvation. As many others have said... 236 was also like a comfort for satosugu fans because without it, 261 would’ve been even more painful.

With just 5 chapters until the end... I’m not really ready for the series to end, but I’m so grateful Gege sees that he can can finish it as he envisions. Hopefully we get a satisfying conclusion to Yuji & Megumi (and end up getting some bonus side stories or backstories).

Ah I’ve rambled far too much. All this is just my opinion / observations of course. Parallels are parallels but they don’t necessarily overlap. I’m looking forward to seeing how the relationships of the new generation will unfold.

…and not forgetting about the fate of Yuta & Rika 😣 since they go back into 0 & have similar parallels with the pairs.

Hopefully curses can save people’s souls too...