#and this is not even their only parellel

[macaroni-stars]

And what if this was my last straw-

[rosykims]

im a eurydice = solas truther btw and ill die for my beliefs

be so serious........ and lavellan as orpheus......

[mouseratz]

I headcanon ppl as trans constantly but never has a pre-transition childhood pop into my mind as clearly for peter. this is apparently how I can connect with the character.

[wispon]

if i had a nickel for every time there was a cosmere storyline concerning a scholar with self-esteem issues working tirelessly with a woman who would never collaborate with them under different circumstances, who brings a different but complimentary perspective and specialty to the table, to solve something that neither can crack on their own, bridging the seemingly insurmountable division between themselves, their ideals, and the forces they align themselves with, recording their work simultaneously in the same book where their contributions can be picked out by glancing at the handwriting, a process that excites the scholar, shoring up their faith in themself as they make new breakthroughs and find themself falling traitorously in love with this beautiful, intelligent, competent woman, only to lose her, cradling her corpse in their arms, knowing they'll have nothing to remember her by but the pattern of her handwriting, having been changed so fundamentally in their understanding of themself and their world by having known, loved, and lost her that they're able to take the steps necessary to accept incredible magic power and protect the people who they never formally ruled but have been involved in the stewardship of (a duty they were separated from when being made to work on their science project), i'd have one nickel because apparently it wasn't meant to be romantic the second time but dude holy fuck the parallels

[vexahlla]

they never bring up that “it moved but it didn’t change” is a mirror to “you can mess up even if you stand still”...

[angelwishess]

—⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ THEORY TIME : Crowley Summoned Yuu ?! ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

Before I begin, I’d like to give credit to @cheshiresaf on TikTok for inspiring this theory! Seeing their thoughts on the matter made me want to dive into the topic myself and give my own thoughts and opinions on the matter !

Reminders, this is all just speculation ! I have no concrete proof of any of this being canon in the slightest ! This is just a theory to make some sense of things, or atleast try to.

This theory will be cut into two parts, one focusing on the Opening scene and the second focusing on the Prologue.

Without further ado, lets begin !

Ever since I first downloaded TWST, the opening scene always bothered me. It was never really the scene itself, it was the fact that it was never brought up in the game afterwards.

The closest thing we get to a character acknowledging what happened was Yuu mentioning to Crowley how they remember “Seeing a horse with a scary face” / “Passing through a dark forest” in the prologue.

But after that, its never really brought up again. I had always wondered, ‘Why?’

I waited, played through the game wondering if it would ever be mentioned— But it never was.

Eventually, even I forgot about it. But after seeing that theory on TikTok, my curiosity flared up again.

Now, I was finally able to redownload TWST since I recently just got a new phone. So, I paid much closer attention to the opening scene.

—₊˚⊹ Part One : The Opening “Mirror” Scene.

Ill be talking about these two shots of dialogue first. What interests me is the way Crowley is speaking. Although you can obviously tell it is Crowley, it isnt seem as playful nor as dramatic as he usually speaks. He spoke somewhat more seriously than usual here, and, it seems like hes speaking directly into the mirror— or, more specifically, he is speaking directly to us, as Yuu.

With no one else in the room, Crowley speaks without his dramatic flair, with no room for playfulness. He speaks directly into the dark mirror— speaks directly to the person behind it. The person he knows hes talking to. The one hes trying to summon.

The definition of “Benefactor” is a person who gives money or other help to a person or cause.

Though, its pretty well known that Yuu is always helping around NRC (whether by will or not) and Crowley is almost always the one to take advantage of this— I doubt that is what he is referring to.

No, Crowley knows something. This was all on purpose, Yuu coming to Twisted Wonderland, to Night Raven, it was all on purpose. Ill research more into Crowley later, but for now lets focus on whats being said in the opening scene.

He definetly has plans, and he knows Yuu has more capabilities than what is known so far.

What interested me the most, though, is the wording right after referring to us as his “esteemed benefactor”.

“My proud, beautiful flower of evil”. This one sentence truly had me thinking, because what did he mean by this?

Well, the only thing I could think of is the vague hint that Yuu is much, much more than they seem. When you think about it, Yuu is strange in many ways. Not only do they come from another universe entirely, they get dreams of the past which warn them of future events— directly parelleling Levan/Revan (Malleus’ father).

I wouldnt be surprised if it somehow turned out that Yuu has either had magic this entire time and it just being hidden from everyone in the cast (including themselves), or theyve been absorbing the magic of people around them after being exposed to so much magic, especially from the overblots.

What im thinking, is that the true nature of Yuu and their capabilities is yet to be revealed, and will “bloom”. Just like a proud flower. And, flowers need to be nurtured to bloom ever so beautifully, do they not? Who would be a better fit than Crowley?

Now, Crowley may be somewhat immature and unreliable— But that does not make him stupid, nor does that make him oblivious. Many of the staff respect him greatly, and its a no-brainer that he must be quite powerful. He definetly knows more than he leads on, hes extremely mysterious despite being the first character (after Grim,) to be introduced to us.

Its clear to me that he knows what hes doing. He has plans, whether for better or for worse, and i think its safe to say that those plans include Yuu in some way. Perhaps theyre the final piece of the puzzle Crowley so desperately needs. ← keep that in mind. Hes desperate.

(As for the “evil” part… Man idk leave me alone)

“O magic mirror, thy wisdom I entreat…”

Remember what i said earlier? About Crowley being desperate? Dire, even?

Well, the definition of Entreat is to plead with especially in order to persuade. ask someone earnestly or anxiously to do something.

He is earnestly, pleading the Dark Mirror for answers, for wisdom regarding the “Visage he seeks”.

“Reveal onto me the visage I seek…” Once more, this further proves that Crowley is speaking and seeking out someone specifically. He is seeking out the visage, the face and appearance of the benefactor he is requesting for.

“You, whose image the Dark Mirror did beckon forth…”

Here, Crowley once again speaks directly to us/Yuu. Later on in the Prologue, when the Dark Mirror states that no dorm could possibly suit us/Yuu because our soul is “empty and colorless” due to the lack of magic, Crowley objects, saying that its impossible for the Dark Mirror to summon a student without any magic, as the system has never once erred from the beginning of NRC being established.

(Crowley ure not slick i know what u are)

So, in NRC’s 100 years of being established, why would it’s seemingly very stable system of retrieving students fail? How would the Black Carraige retrieve a student from an entire different universe, putting aside the simple fact of Yuu not having magic? Well, its simple.

The Dark Mirror did not summon Yuu. Crowley did.

Crowley was the one to bring Yuu into this world. The Dark Mirror did not beckon forth Yuu for the sake of the school, rather it was because Crowley requested for it, for whatever reasons he has.

(Alright, now this is where i will be getting into some delusional territory but i will try to remain as logical as possbile pls have mercy on me ໒꒰ྀིっ⸝⸝⸝ ꒱ྀི১)

This scene has always bothered me. Not in like, an uncomfortable way— but ever since first downloading the game, I have always wondered what this scene meant.

“If your heart bids it, take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror.”

Although Crowley is obviously the one summoning us— it is not his hand extended out to us. Rather, it is one of the characters we meet later on. (The sleeves are quite obviously the ceremonial robes, too)

To take the hand of the one reflected into the mirror… Why is that? Why do we need to take someone’s hand? And, furthermore— the hand of a specific character? Though it is a clever way to introduce the cast of characters and give us our first card of our chosen character— why this way if it doesn’t have any significance in the game other than to serve as a “baby’s first card!” scene? We already have the later free gacha, so what was the point?

(I may be overthinking this guys someone help me)

Ive always been curious, since the game never seems to mention this part, and in none of the mangas they have never shown this, either. So, whats the purpose of it?

My guess is that Crowley himself cant summon us himself. Though Crowley must be powerful— summoning someone from an entirely different universe must be difficult, almost impossible seeing as this has probably never happened before.

See, no matter who you are or how poweful you are, I have no doubt summoning someone from a different universe is an incredibly strenuous feat that near no one average could ever do. To break past the bonds of reality, and peer into another, that is something that is beyond imaginiation.

So, what if us taking the hand of our chosen character was the last nail in the coffin for us? The last thing needed for us to be brought into Twisted Wonderland.

To establish a connection.

“If your heart bids it,” why else would you take the hand of a complete stranger? One that mysteriously appeared before you in an extremely strange situation, you can’t even see their face in this scene. Yet, we still take their hand. Why? I couldn’t think of any other explanation other than an already existing connection between us and the character that we chose. Why else would your heart tell you to trust?

Now, i have absolutely zero proof of this being true, its mostly just a little guess, a situation i like to daydream about but hey, its better than nothing.

Anyways, what if Crowley needed the assistance of one of the characters to finally bring us into Twisted Wonderland? Yes, as i mentioned before he is alone in the room when speaking to us— but perhaps theres some ‘magical’ explanation to the figures of our beloved characters standing before us and not Crowley himself, despite him actually being there.

My guess is, that Yuu and whoever they chose have a strange connection. And i dont exactly mean this as strictly romantic, it could be platonic or hell, even more than both of those bonds (maybe even hatred LMAO)— but im talking about a bond and a connection that somehow transcends the borders of realities and their universe itself. They would not be aware of this— neither would Yuu. But it is there. Perhaps its a kind of “soulmate” situation (once again, i do not mean this strictly romantically, you may interpret this however you please!!)

This furthers my suspicions that Yuu needs that connection with your chosen character in order to be brought into their world.

The sound of dragging chains could be somewhat like symbolism or a physical embodiment for Yuu being tied down to their original world. A last effort of their universe to keep them there, but yet Yuu fights against them and is “freed” from those chains after taking the hand of our chosen character.

Only when you take the hand of the character you chose are you able to start the game, both literally and figuratively. (I like to imagine the characters js pull Yuu in after they take their hand i think its funny HAHAHAHA)

The mirrors and coffins at NRC are used as gateways. But it seems Yuu is the only one who needed that extra help to actually be sent into NRC through said gateways. Yuu needs that law-defying, reality bending connection with one of the characters to be able to even step foot into their world. And honestly? I think its super cute HEHEHEE🤭 (fanfic writers, feel free to use this i live to serve content)

(Unfortunately, I have hit the photo limit here. So, I’ll have to settle for typing out all the dialog for the lasst few screenshots ! So please bare with me ૮꒰ྀི⊃⸝ ⸝ ⸝⊂꒱ྀིა !)

────୨ৎ────

“As flame reduces even the stars to ash

As ice seals away even time itself

As great trees swallow even the sky

Fear not the power of darkness.

Now— demonstrate your power.”

────୨ৎ────

In the next views of dialogue, Crowley is obviously foreshadowing to the kinds of magic the player will have to get used to during battle scenes— but what interests me is the very last part of the dialog. The last thing Crowley says before the mirror brightly flashes and the game sends us into our first battle against the overblot Grim.

“Now— demonstrate your power.”

Yuu is magicless, so what power could he be referring to? This could be taken both literally and figuratively, as “power” is not only strength, it can come in many forms, and Yuu has obviously shown to be quite cunning themself, and that could be considered a power.

But, what if Yuu DOES have powers, in a literal sense? What if that power has been secretly sleeping inside of Yuu this entire time, waiting for the right moment to burst forth and bloom like a flower? Their power could be much more than just being a peacemaker or a beast tamer, who knows?

────୨ৎ────

“To me. To them. To yourself.

The hour grows long and time is scarce.”

“Keep steady your grip, no matter what may come…”

────୨ৎ────

This final piece of dialog paired with the earlier “As ice seals away even time itself” statement from when Crowley was speaking of the elemental forms of magic, it really does feel like its hinting at a time loop.

Perhaps that is why Crowley had summoned them, and why he seems to not be even trying to look for a way to send them home. Not just because hes “lazy”, but he very well may have a plan for Yuu. He is purposefully trying to keep Yuu in NRC.

Maybe he is aware of this timeloop, and out of desperation seeks out the wisdom of the Dark Mirror, trying to find a way to put a stop to it— and who better than Yuu to be that final piece he needs? His dear, esteemed benefactor… His fair, beautiful flower ready to be extorted for whatever purpose he had summoned them for.

Nothing is a coincidence. Everything happens for a purpose, good or bad. And Yuu just happens to be in the middle of every messy situation that happens at NRC.

“For them”, who is “them”? The one whose hand we took? Or perhaps the friends we meet later on? Whatever i means, its obvious theres a certain danger lurking in the shadows that has not made itself known. Atleast, not yet. And for some odd reason, it is up to us to “show our power” and keep it from happening. (If it has something to do with Grim, maybe that “Beast Tamer” title was hinting to that all along lol)

“Time is scarce.” An absolutely chilling line that is never really explained. Time has always been an element that seemed infinite, yet in some cases thats still too little. Time is something no one can have enough of, no matter who they are. Yet what does it mean in this context? Why is our time running out, and furthermore what are we trying to prevent? For Crowley? For them, for our friends… And for us? I’m sure Crowley himself must know, if he didn’t why would he be asking the universe to bring him a helper so desperately?

“Keep steady tour grip, no matter what may come…” This, paired along with the earlier dialog of “Fear not the power of darkness,” could be foreshadowing the later overblots that we face in the game. Crowley knows that we will face hardships, and says to keep steady our grip. To not let the darkness consume us or our friends. To not fear the “darkness“. Crowley could be aware of the challenges we are to face, not even bothering to help in the midst of Riddle’s overblot (very responsible of you, Headmaster). Almost as if he expected it?

That is the final line of dialog from Crowley before the Prologue actually begins.

And now, speaking of the prologue, lets talk about some dialog from Crowley in the actual prologue!

—₊˚⊹ Part Two : The Prologue

“Ah, I’ve found you at last. Splendid.”

Crowley’s wording here, “I found you at last.” Is pretty sus, he speaks like hes been keeping out an eye for a specific someone. And the fact that he went out of his way to find Yuu is also pretty telling. After all, from what we know of Crowley its obvious that hes not the type to do that kind of thing. If Yuu was just any other student, Im sure Crowley wouldn’t have gone out of his way to look for them for the sake of the ceremony.

Furthermore, judging by his tone and expression, he doesn’t seem very surprised to find a student where they aren’t supposed to be. Yet he playfully mentions that most other students usually wait for him to open the lids of their caskets before running off. Making Yuu differ from the rest of the student body once more.

Later on in the prologue, we have the infamous “Deuce throwing Ace at the chandelier” scene. (I giggle everytime I hear Ace’s scream. Its so funny i cant)

When Crowley comes over and discovers that our little group had broken the chandelier and expels us, Ace tries to reason with Crowley saying that surely, he must be able to fix the chandelier himself with some fancy pants magic.

“Even magic has its limits.”

If Crowley can’t fix a magical chandelier without it having any circumstances— Then surely there must be some very… Specific conditions when summoning a person, let alone one from another universe.

Magic itself is limited in certain scenarios. Later on, Deuce mentions that if you can’t strongly visualize your magic, it isn’t going to happen.

Which must be why Crowley went to the Dark Mirror for wisdom. “Reveal onto me the visage I seek,”

It could be that Crowley himself didn’t exactly know what form or appearance his dear benefactor would take, and because of that could not properly ‘visualize’ who he is seeking out. Out of desperation, he seeks out the Dark Mirror for wisdom to finally be able to summon this benefactor he desires so greatly, and it just so happens Yuu fits that role perfectly.

After the fiasco at rhe Dwarfs’ Mine, Yuu, Grim, and the Adeuce duo all return back to NRC safely and recap the story of their little journey to Crowley in the privacy of his office where he promptly bursts into tears after.

He begins to ramble about how the students of NRC, as talented as they are, have egos bigger than mt. Everest and this is the first time in his decades of working at NRC where the students have finally joined hands to defeat a common foe.

“I am convinced that people like you are necessary for the future of this school.”

This line of dialog caught my interest greatly. Though he was already going on and on about how Yuu’s “mundanity” is great for the students of this school— for some reason this line simply seemed to stand out to me.

“People like you”? But, there has never been a magicless student at NRC before Yuu, atleast as far as we know. Could this possibly hint to the Yuuniverse? People like you being the countless of other Yuus that were summoned in a past timeline— perhaps each one restarting after the last Yuu fails, and Crowley summons another in an attempt to stop the constant loop of each timeline resetting after every calamity that falls upon NRC.

Perhaps Yuuken failed during Leona’s overblot, and that is why he’s replaced by Yuuka in the Savanaclaw manga volumes? Maybe Yuuka failed during Azul’s, then Yuuta was summoned forth? And then so on, so forth.

Perhaps that is why Crowley is so desperate. Continuing to try and summon the perfect benefactor, the right flower to nurture in hopes that they would survive and deal with each and every calamity accordingly, in order to stop the timeloop.

Why he doesn’t get off his lazy ass and help Yuu himself? Who knows, I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt and say theres a completely understandable reason of him not helping the students hes supposed to be protecting— but then again, it is Crowley. You really never know with him.

Right after he accepts Grim and Yuu as students, he immediately foists upon another job for Yuu. Gifting them a Ghost Camera, which captures the Memories of the photos taken by the photographer.

The photographer and the subject are then considered “Soulbound”, which apparently just means that when the photographer and the subject’s bond deepens, the Memories captured in the photos come “jumping out”. Crowley says it enables the user to not only photograph the subject, but parts of their soul itself.

(I want to relate this to the part where we take the hand of our chosen character but i cant think of anything so …)

He then tells Yuu to take the camera, and make a record of their campus life. But why Yuu, specifically? And only Yuu? Surely, he could’ve given such an object to the Housewarden of each respective dorm— yet he gives it to Yuu and Yuu alone. As if he knows that they’d get involved in all sorts of trouble, face the unthinkable. And he brushes it off saying how much more convenient it would be instead of documenting everything himself, but how could he be so sure that Yuu would come across such events?

“As a prefect, consider it your duty to maintain a sharp eye on your surroundings and record them.”

Yuu and Yuu alone has been given full freedom to mettle in whichever dorm they see fit and “beast tame” them. They do not have the restriction of the Housewardens, where they only keep an eye strictly on their dorm and dorm mates. No, Yuu has been given full and complete freedom to keep an eye and ensure that everyone is in line regardless of their dorm due to Crowley’s blessing upon Yuu to do just that.

While Housewardens are only limited to their respective dorms, Yuu is allowed to discipline and punish whoever they see fit regardless of which dorm they belong to.

It is because Yuu is magicless that they alone have this privledge of overseeing every dorm— even being able to tell off the Housewardens themselves.

It is because Crowley has given them this role that Yuu is constantly faced with so many challenges from each dorm as a result of their meddling.

He pushes them to meddle in the business of other dorms, making it their “duty” as a prefect (A job that he forced unto them). In a way, this is isn’t just Crowley extorting Yuu into looking after the students instead of him despite it being his job and not theirs, perhaps it is him also trying to ‘nurture’ Yuu. Putting them into these situations, in hopes that they allow Yuu to unlock their true potential and stop the timeline from resetting.

It is because of their job as a prefect that they get into these situations. And it is because of this meddling that they face such challenges. Yet, they wouldn’t have had to if Crowley just didn’t appoint them as “Prefect”. (Well, I suppose Ace was the one that started it— but shh lets ignore that for now!)

Thats all the dialog that stuck out to me for the Prologue.

—₊˚⊹ Conclusion !

In conclusion, I think that Yuu was not brought to Twisted Wonderland by mistake, but on purpose by none other than Crowley himself.

Perhaps each character has their own “Yuu”, and that connection between a character and their Yuu was what enabled Crowley to bring them into their world.

With each Yuu failing at a calamity / overblot, the timeline resets and Crowley summons another Yuu to try again to stop the timeloop, hence the Yuuniverse.

Crowley alone remembers every reset, perhaps not all of it which is why he has given Yuu the Ghost Camera in hopes that the Memories in the camera remain. But, he is aware that the timeline resets every time a Yuu fails— yet it is only a Yuu that can stop the calamities due to the mystery of their true nature.

Yuu is Crowley’s “esteemed benefactor”, the one summoned specifically to aid Crowley in his agenda, whatever it may be. Yuu was brought to NRC to assist him, and Crowley seeks to nurture Yuu until the time their true powers are revealed.

Crowley was desperate to summon Yuu. And it seems the worst is yet to come, and for that reason he summoned Yuu.

With Yuu’s mysterious background and even more mysterious ability to see the past through their dreams— Yuu must have some sort of secret power. The true nature of their being, perhaps they themselves have some sort of magic, or are destined for something great. Whatever it may be, Yuu is not a normal, everyday person. Though they are magicless, that does not make them average at all.

To summarize: With every calamity that falls upon NRC, the timeline resets to the night before the Opening Ceremony. Crowley, being the only one who retains any memory of every reset, desperately seeks out the Dark Mirror in search of wisdom, and a benefactor who can help him and the rest of NRC and finally end the loop. That benefactor being Yuu. Yet, because of the limits on magic— it is difficult to summon such a person, let alone the right one. Conveniently enough, there are a select few of students who have some sort of connection with the one Crowley may be looking for (ex. Yuuken paralleling Riddle, Yuuta paralleling Azul, ect.), and it is because of that law-defying connection that Crowley is able to summon each of their respective Yuu’s.

Yuu’s true abilities have not yet been revealed, and still remain veiled in mystery. But, Yuu may have powers of some sort, or a destiny that they are to fulfil. One greater than they can imagine.

— Phew! That was a lot, wasn’t it ? Sorry, I didn’t expect it to be so long ! (Thats what she said)

Anyways, if you’re still here and managed to make it to the end— Thank you so much for reading my little yap session !!! I appreciate it, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic !

If I got anything wrong, please feel free to correct me! After all, I don’t have the best memory and I may be remembering things wrong. But once again, thank you so much for reading !

Don’t forget to drink water, and take care of yourself, pretty ! See you next time, bye-bye!~ ♡

[disco-troy]

I realize that this was initially retconned in the new 52, but I just assumed that now that we are out of the new 52 the ntt backrounds would be canon again for Kory… instead I have to sit into 3 pages that completely invalidate some of Korys core themes for what?!? Why can’t we be free of Lodells retcons!?!?

WHAT R U DOING?!? Kory and Koms relationship is interesting because inherently doomed to happen, created by factors beyond their control. Kom, born hated, was pushed into being the Tamaranian equivalent of “child that was not embraced by the village grows up to want to burn it down”. Kory, born heir apparent, takes Koms throne. How are you supposed to come to terms with being hated by your parents and your people as a young child?!? She takes it out on Kory as she seems the only acceptable target but it only makes her only more hated by her own sister. It was an inevitable self propagating cycle… Making them always co-rulers changes the entire narrative!!

They created sibling rivalries do you even care?!!?!??

The tragedy of they being they only two who can understand what each other went through but they will never be able to at the same time.

Kom being the only character who on panel tells Kory what she needs to hear - that Korys parents pretend to sacrifice when it’s Kory who is being sacrificed! All they have done in exchange for her undying loyalty was sell her to slavery and then exchange her for a political marriage - both arguably having other solutions that would have only required more bravery or political sacrifice (said by character explicitly on panel!)

Kom - older and more experienced is the only one who can recognize just how much their parents fucked them up. But Kory can’t because her parents being correct is the only way she can justify the years she spend in slavery. To bring the cycle full circle Kom becomes Korys only acceptable target

Kom couldn’t blame her parents. Kory still can’t. Myand’r and Luand’r lurk large in the life of their childen…

The parents who… are dead?!?

You are going to take the Fucked Up Parents away from girl in the Fucked Up Parents team?!? DO YOU EVEN CARE??

You don’t need to kill Korys parents to have things in common with Dick? You can parallel their needs to do their duty for their parents sometimes against their own well-being!! You want to talk more parellels? Korys backstory is packed with parellels to the other titans!

What happends to both Kory and Joey having parents who hurt them, and instead of ever apologizing always double down on how hurting them is the only and best option?? What happens to Korys seeing herself when Raven exchanging herself so trigon will leave earth alone!?

GIVE HER HER PARALLELS BACK HER THEMES!!!

[drieddpetals]

(warning: literary analysis ahead) i know i'm not the first person by far to say this, but there are so many similarities between kaz and wylan in six of crows and ESPECIALLY crooked kingdom.

there's obviously the big one of both of them having a re-birth type experience in the harbor, but that's not where the similarity stops. during my ck reread, i noticed that the reason kaz and wylan are in the harbor in the first place is because a father-like figure.

pekka rollins was a father-like figure to both kaz and jordie, and the book says this. the rietveld boys had just lost their father, and one of the big reasons pekka was able to scam jordie and kaz so well is because he provided them with a comforting and parental like space. kaz ofc eventually ends up in the harbor, and it can all be traced back to pekka rollins.

wylan has his rebirth in the harbor due to his father. the connection is more direct with his, but even then there are middle men and other things involved. but again, it can all be traced back to his father.

going off this thought, they both lost a close family member due to a father figure.

another big similarity i found that i feel like i haven't seen anyone talk about his what kaz and wylan are both motivated by: revenge.

wylan does not start off the books being motivated by revenge. he ends up in the barrel and with the crows out of a desperation to both hide from his father and because he genuinely has no where else to go. later on in ck, after wylan finds his mother at saint hilde, the book very clearly states that his motivation changes. at the begining of chapter 31, there's a scene where wylan is staring at himself in the mirror. there are lines that say, "What am I doing here? But he knew the answer. Only he could see his father punished for what he'd done. Only he could see his mother freed." which drives me INSANE!! because it's a DIRECT PARELLEL to things kaz says/feels about jordie!! in the chapter right before that (30) there's a line that says, "He'd found his way to shore, devoted himself to the vengeance he and his brother were owed." (there are other and better lines that reference wylan's "only he could *take revenge*" line, but this is just the closest one that comes to mind)

there are differences between their motives—you could say that kaz's revenge motive is more direct and violent—but there's also the fact that we see both kaz and wylan get their revenge in the book.

both kaz and wylan want revenge for one of their family members, and themselves, from what a father figure in their life has done.

they've also both been kidnapped by jan/held in captivity by him. i know this happens to inej too, but i think it's important that one of the first scenes we see with kaz is him negotiating with jan after being captured by him, and then towards the very end of the series, we (very simplified and on the surface) see the same thing happening to wylan. i know the two jan captivity scenes with kaz and wylan are very different, but i think the basic similarity of these scenes really attest to how far wylan has come and how much he's been assimilated into the crows.

there's also of course the part where wylan's expression is said to be something that looks kaz-like, which i feel also shows how far he's come and how he's truely developed into a crow.

in conclusion, as others have said, they truely are two sides of the same coin. they're so different but so alike, and i absolutely love how leigh bardugo was able to directly juxstapose wylan and kaz when they're so different on the surface.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Who is The Mayor? Theory

Me and some guys on discord talked about a joke theory that I must share:

The Mayor is Hou Yi aka Chang'e's missing husband.

A former Celestial hunter turned mortal, forever separated from his true love due to mistakes.

Specifically, he's Hou Yi driven to desperate means after being separated from his wife and barred from the Celestial Realm.

We know that the Mayor has been alive since before the Pilgrimage and perhaps maybe even beyond. He also didn't drop dead the second LBD took away his powers, meaning that some other force was keeping him alive.

So imagine Hou Yi: left immortal and trapped on an Earth he cannot leave. He attempts to do some good with his limitless time. Becoming a loyal soldier and later Chief of War to a mortal Emperor - only to find himself disheartened by the imperial court's similarities to the one he was cast from. Then he meets an Ivory Lady that reminds him so much of his wife...

Comparison; painting of the Ivory Lady vs Chang'e as seen in a memory Tang jumps to.

Hou Yi!Mayor: "I miss my wife..." Ivory Lady/Lady Bone Demon: "Best I can do is destruction of this current world to make way for a clean slate" Hou Yi!Mayor: "...ok, that might make me feel better."

When the Mayor is cast aside by LBD during her fight with Sun Wukong, he doesn't seem betrayed by her disloyalty, not even disappointed. The greatest emotion he gives to the Monkie Kid gang is hysterical laughter combined with annoyance at being captured. Not to mention that the gang just sorta... leaves the Mayor tied up at the temple and he never appears again. What happened to him after that?

With the Lady Bone Demon's constant talk of others being pawns in her game, it would be equally amusing for her to be barely a rook on the board.

If the Mayor turns out to be the same person in S4 who stole the Scroll of Memory - Hou Yi would be somebody with person beef with the Jade Emperor.

According to some versions of "Hou Yi and the 10 Suns/Sons", the Jade Emperor/King Yao gives Hou Yi the (unclear) order to "take care" of the 10 rowdy sun gods. Hou Yi (an archer/hunter) naturally assumes that his order is to shoot them down. It's only after 9 are killed that he's stopped. After this, Hou Yi and his wife Chang'e are banished to earth. Later they obtain the Elixir/Pills of Immortality from the Queen Mother after Hou Yi slays many a celestial beast threatening the mortal realm. Chang'e then (whether accidentally or to prevent Hou Yi's student/Hou Yi himself from taking it) consumes the dosage meant for Hou Yi and is forever cast into the sky.

Imagine being Hou Yi in this situation. Betrayed not only by the Celestial Realm, but also by one of your closest companions. Forever alone because he were just following orders. You'd want to take a shot at the person most at fault for your pain. And like Hou Yi, the Mayor ends up with nothing for his loyalty.

It also continues the theme in LMK of people being separated/sealed away. Perhaps even a parellel to Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King. A married couple torn apart and separated for countless years.

Also I think it would be funny if perfect Cinnamon Roll Chang'e's true love turned out to be a man with the personality of a cat about to knock a glass off a counter.

[patheticblorbloscholar]

I want a scene that parellels the moment Jake is saved by Eywa. Neytiri doesn't shoot her bow because the seeds are following Jake. Just follow me here, what if she finds out Quaritch is still alive because Spider confesses he saved him from the wreckage. He couldn't let the man die even after everything and she reacts terribly. Horrified he runs, seeking safety through the forest he knows so well and Eywa[in all her mysterious glory] sends a storm of seeds and covers Spider. For the only force Neytiri has ever listened to is her.

[heartbreakprincewille]

Thinking about parellel between the denial and Wilhelm and Simon's love confessions in the last episodes of both seasons. How in the first season the denial teared them apart and Wilhelm's confession of love was the only thing keeping their relationship tethered by the end. And how in the second season Wilhelm takes back the denial after Simon confesses his own love to him. How the statement which uprooted their blooming love deepened that very love even more by the end.

[azurajae]

Thematically, I think Star Wars would be a great world for KH4. Not only just because of the whole Light vs Dark themes, but also mirroring Anakin's decent into darkness to what Sora is (possibly) going through. I know a lot of people wanna fight Dark Vader not befriend him, but hear me out.

Kingdom Hearts always liked to have "Disney" worlds connected thematically with a character's development or overarching plot (ex. KH3 Carribean connecting thematically with Sora's sacrifices in the end). People often talk about how they'd like worlds that theme with 'death' (ex. Coco, Soul) or worlds that give Sora therapy (ex. Encanto, Inside Out, etc), but what about a world that brings out his darkness? To emphasize his pain and isolation?

Come KH4, it seems like Sora is beginning his 'Dark Road', with most of the DS Saga only hinting and building the turmoil underneath, just like how Anakin's darkness had been throughout his life in the Prequels.

My dream scenario would be having the Prequels, specifically the Clone Wars era instead of the OT or Sequel era, just so Sora can physically interact with Anakin and have those parellels with him. Imagine Anakin talking with Sora about how he'd do anything for the people he loves, and Sora realizing he feels exactly the same. And while Sora isn't the typical 'Chosen One' like Anakin is, Sora was pushed into that role by circumstance and feels the stress all the same. Both these characters are pressured to repress their emotions/trauma, which often manifests as rage. Maybe some paralells could be drawn between between Obi-Wan, Padmé, Ahsoka, and Rex with Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy.

Sora would leave the world before RotS happens, so he has no idea what kind of path Anakin was about to follow. He might even be happy that he finds someone who feels the same way as him, completely unaware that he's also spiraling into that same darkness that turned Anakin into Darth Vader.

If you wanna get into this idea even more, let's factor in the 'realm moves at different times', so by the time Riku and friends arrive in Quadratum, It's the OT era and their version of events is helping Obi-Wan or Luke deal with Darth Vader to coincide with Sora's Dark Road.

Honestly, It's more likely that the OT will be the focus if a Star Wars world appeared because its just overall more popular (and like how can you deny the suspiciously placed AT-ST foot on "Endor", which takes place in OT era), but can you imagine the parellels? A Darth Vader boss is scary, but Sora befriending a "Pre-Darth Vader" because they are on the same Dark Road feels a bit scarier, right?

I may also be putting all my chips on Sora becoming a boss down the line for Riku, Kairi, and/or Yozora to fight please

[peachuuuux]

Another one cuz I need to let my frustrations out and it will be confusing asf cuz Im so depressed that I can't even format it correctly

I feel like yuta would be the next gojo in the near future after shibuya if he ever does survive

I mean gojo did call him his next successor and he has rika who is literally called the 'Queen of Curses'

Of course there is still a chance where he will not survive since gege did say that it's either one survivor or only one dead

If yuta ever does survives and gojo passes away, the higher ups will definitely use him like how they used gojo

The worse part was yuta was always there with satoru, he was there when satoru killed his one an only, he was there when satoru died, he was always there

AND MAYBE..

The cycle will continue where yuta meets someone like suguru and you know what happens

The parellels between them would be insane

The way the higher ups in the jujutsu tech only cares about power and not the person instead OH MY GOSHHHH I HATE THEM SO MUCHHHXHXHH UGWHWGGGV

They need to stop dehumanising my pookie gojo

And my poor bb yuji...

The survivors guilt he would have after shibuya would be heart wrenching ong

Gosh I just need a fanfic or anything about gojo and yuta just bonding and maybe shoko and yuji too, my heart hurts imagining it already fuckkkkkm

[naeldeus]

jjk 251

Megumi is a background character to his own tragedy

Chapter 251 dropped, and a certain character is not coming out unscathed. Our cast is trying to seperate Sukuna and Megumi, and after a few tries, Yuuji finally reaches Megumi. But Megumi denies Yuuji's help, having lost the will to live, allowing Sukuna to launch a counter-attack once more. For this, Megumi is called a bum and slandered all over the internet. Yuuji and Megumi's suffering is pitted against each other by the fandom. Part of it is memes, sure, but it's clearly more than that.

Realistically, Megumi and Yuuji are going through very similar events. Megumi lost his sister and teacher while under Sukuna's possession. Yuuji lost his friend, his mentor right in front of him in the span of minutes. Sukuna killed an untold amount of people in their bodies. Both went fetal after it happened. So why is the response so contrasting?

Yuuji's trauma in Shibuya is front, right, and center. His relationships were developed on-page, the reader is just as shocked by the loss of his loved ones, we're grieving right along with him.

Meanwhile, the events Megumi goes through aren't given the same care. Ever since he got fed the Finger Special, at no point does the narrative slow down so the reader can digest what's happening. Megumi's plot and struggles gets glossed over, skipped, or is a complete tonal disconnect to what's actually happening.

Tsumiki wakes up: the only on-page interaction is Megumi telling Tsumiki to go back to sleep, even though she woke up from a nearly two-year coma. She doesn't show up the entire Culling Games arc even though Megumi's participation was to save his sister

Tsumiki turns out to be an incarnated sorcerer: Megumi's reaction to his sister being dead and possessed is practically non-existent because Sukuna takes over Megumi right after

Tsumiki gets killed by Megumi's own technique: This is the worst one, imho. Yorozu is completely in control during this fight, we learn nothing about Tsumiki. There is almost no acknowledgment on how horrifying this situation really is. The narrative focuses more on Sukuna trying to kill Yorozu, creating this disconnect where Tsumiki is seemingly already dead but she has to die again for Megumi's angst. Does it really matter that Tsumiki's body needs to be killed by the 10 Shadows? Isn't the fact that Megumi will forever remember her dying by his own hand not enough? There is accidental pseudo-incest in this arc and it's completely unacknowledged. The tone is just all over the place.

Megumi takes the damage of 5 Domain Expansions: Is he brain dead? Was his soul damaged? Is he fine? What are birds? We just don't know

Gojo, Megumi's guardian, gets killed while possessed: Megumi and Gojo's relationship is a hotly debated topic amongst fans. Is Gojo Megumi's father figure? Are they even close? Did Gojo hold back from trying to kill Megumi or did he think Megumi was a lost cause? Is Megumi even aware of what's going on?

And the ultimate kicker to all of this: Megumi has shown up for a handful of panels for most of the events described. His story is absolutely horrifying and would cripple any man, but it's all off-screened or shrouded in vagueness.

But to large parts of the fandom none of that matters. If Megumi's friends put aside all their pain, why can't Megumi? Setting aside that Yuuji very definitely did not when it was him, I believe this is a direct consequence of the lack of character work. For months now, character after character dies, and no one reacts to it. Gojo, the biggest hope to most of the current cast, died and the story moves on to the next contender in the same chapter he kicks it. They all just jump into the fight like they're swapping party members in an RPG. It's no wonder Megumi gets disrespected for being the one guy who breaks down to the shit he goes through like a real human being. Why should the fandom care when the story itself does the same thing?

There's a lot of parellels Gege could have drawn between Yuuji and Megumi, and while that might still happen, the way Megumi has been treated as a plot device makes the entire experience incredibly unsatisfying.

[a-court-of-moonlight-and-ire]

since ive been really obsessed with it I was thinkin about making a post thats like "Rhysand is like what if Count von Krolock of the tanz der vampire musical was a swagless cishet man with no self awareness who didnt even have a weird gay son" but then I was like, honestly how come neither Tamlin nor Rhysand ever had kids from their dillydallying before they met Feyre. yeah yeah I know bc fae are supposed to be borderline infertile but 1) thats not true, points towards Beron and Tamlin's Shit Dad 2) theyre both like 500 years old, even if the odds of having kids are astronomically low if they were just fucking around without protection, they would both atleast have one. And yeah, i know about the fuckin Safe Sex Tea too but idgaf about that, the worldbuilding of acotar is bland and unimaginative it makes me wanna cry, these fae should be like quiverfull family levels of weird about having and absolutely refuse the notion of birth control except it would be less horrible an damaging by virtue of them only having like 2 kids a century, if that. Also, even with the Safe Sex Tea I feel like if you knew that you were borderline infertile and you didnt have to worry about stds bc you lived in a world without actual disease, you would be wayyyyy less careful about protection during sex anyway

Anyway, sorry about that rant, I have terminal worldbuilders disease and it flares up when I encounter this kind of thoughtless bullshit, back to my initial thought of "how come those ancient horny bastards didnt have kids before Feyre" beyond the possible in-uinverse justifications of how they could have them despite the bullshit worldbuilding, it would just be interesting. and fun. Yknow, maybe not for the first book since that would maybe ruin the romance a little but from acomaf forward its like, why shouldnt they aside from the fact that sjm did not at any point stop to consider the implications of making her characters this fucking old

Oh man, speaking of sjm not considering the implications of things, given her track record of writing the contrasts/parellels between Rhysand and Tamlin, I feel like if she had actually done this she wouldve made Tamlin be like, not present in his children's life at all, he just pays them the fae equivalent of child support and maybe they exchange letters or some shit and Feyre would be like "thats so cruel and cold of him!!" but then Rhysand would tell her about his kids and he would be like "pshhh, I would never pay child support! But I give them positions of power in my court and take the boys (and girls hashtag feminism) out for a game of faeball every month" and Feyre would be like "oh, thats so much better my bestest and most handsomest highlord <3 <3" but all us Rhyshaters would forever make fun of him for it. Feminst King Rhysand Who Doesn't Pay Child Support 😍

[niko-jpeg]

ANOTHER SHIP 4 THE BINGO. Since someone else asked the same ship as me

Sonadow maybe??

There is only one ship that makes me crazier than the other one and thats SONADOW. Good FUCKING god. I could scream forever about their narrative parellels and chemistry and I just. AUGH. I can ship it either platonically or romantically, but I usually run with somewhere in between. They aren't a traditional couple, and I don't think they ever could be even if they wanted to be. AND BINGO BINGO I GOT A BINGO They are everything to me. I am insane. Chewing on drywall.