#bc i don’t think it’s a 1:1 parallel type thing

[wibble-wobbegong]

one more day. One more day of testing and having to do thing and then i can sit down and think and write for 12 days straight. One more day. Only one more day.

[kentuckyfriedmegumi]

i have made a comprehensive list as to why i think that itadori yuuji and fushiguro megumi love each other and are soulmates (platonic or otherwise)

edit: i also may or may not have an entire stanza by stanza analysis of the first year trio’s songs if anyone wants that too….

i read the entire series from start to finish in one sitting for this. here it is:

saving each other without question or second thought (volume 1)

megumi: “i don’t want to let him die.” gojo: “personal?” megumi: “yes.”

yuuji eats the finger to save megumi.

note: in the manga he is not trapped in a curse’s mouth

their entire interaction during the detention center (cursed womb arc)

yuuji: “fushiguro! please.”

 yuuji to megumi before fighting finger bearer alone

Megumi: “it was a selfish, emotional decision.”

megumi telling yuuji why he saved him

megumi running back to grab the name off the body of one of the inmates because it’s what yuuji would have wanted

“what kind of woman is your type?” “as long as the person is compassionate (see also: has unshakable character, unwavering kindness, etc.), i can’t ask for more.” (chapter 17)

yuuji’s kanji quite literally translates to unwavering humanity. could be a stretch, but an interesting connection considering that gege does not just throw things around like that

not necessarily a moment where i think they love/care for each other, i just love it, but… (chapter 33)

“i don’t know what he was up to while he was gone, but if it comes down to a brawl without any cursed energy involved… itadori would win.”

nothing special, just megumi appreciating and acknowledging yuuji lol

before the exchange event, megumi noticing something happened to yuuji (junpei’s death) (chapter 33)

megumi: “itadori, you okay?” yuuji: “well, it’s a big job but i should be fine.” megumi: “no, something happened, didn’t it?” yuuji: “huh, what are you talking about?”

megumi can tell that something has been/is bothering yuuji, even after his insistence that he’s fine

megumi being worried about the kyoto students trying to kill yuuji; specifically, he’s the one who figured it out (chapter 36)

yuuji stepping into the fight with hanami after fushiguro gets the bud curse (chapter 48)

yuuji: “fushiguro, don’t worry”

btw, this is a direct parallel of point two, back in the detention center

megumi: “if you die again, i’ll kill you” yuuji: “i guess i can’t go dying on ya then”

yuuji checking on megumi at yasohachi bridge when tsumiki was mentioned to have gone to the bridge and being worried when megumi tried to send him and nobara back to the school so he could exorcise the curse by himself (chapter 56)

megumi telling yuuji to go after kugisaki from the domain, parallel of the detention center when yuuji told megumi to go after kugisaki (chapter 57)

yuuji: “if you get in trouble, you better get out too!”

after the fight at yasohachi bridge, both megumi and yuuji are protecting each other from their burdens (chapter 63)

megumi: “don’t tell him.”

explaining to nobara that yuuji eating the finger caused curses to start killing people

yuuji: “hey! don’t tell fushiguro. don’t you dare tell him”

yuuji to sukuna after being told that because of him people were going to die.

see: cursed womb arc; “why’d you bother saving me then?

this one is just another funsie thing that i wanted to add, but in It’s Like That, megumi is the first person that yuuji notices when he arrives at the diner, completely bypassing nobara and ozawa (chapter 64)

the entire fight with the inverse guy was just peak duo-ism, you can’t even deny it, there is so much content in there (chapter 94–98)

megumi: “itadori!” yuuji: “no worries, it’s just a scratch!!!”

giving parallels with gojo and geto when toji first snuck up on gojo

megumi, using rabbit escape: “let’s retreat for now.” yuuji picks up a bunny, bc of course he does

inverse guy: “man up and come at me!” megumi, pointing at yuuji: “that’s really more his style.” yuuji: throwing a fucking car

yuuji: “i’m heading into the station” megumi: “fine, but–” yuuji: “’if you die, i’ll kill you,’ right”

them just working together in general, we love to see it

fellas, is it gay to think of your friend during your last moments? (chapter 117)

“i’ll see you later!” “sorry… itadori…” megumi summons mahoraga and apologizes to yuuji.

post-shibuya arc, yuuji spends the entire time between shibuya and the culling games avoiding megumi in order to protect him (volume 16)

megumi and yuuji taking on the burden of the deaths in shibuya arc together (chapter 143)

yuuji: “i killed people! because of me, lots of people died!” megumi: “it’s our fault, don’t be selfish and give up all alone.”

megumi tries to explain to yuuji that they need to save who they can

parallels grandpa itadori’s last wish

yuuji: “no, fushiguro, it’s because… as long as i’m around… you will suffer!” megumi: “so start by saving me, itadori! … i’m begging you, itadori. i need your strength.”

yuuji has a purpose and a reason to keep going (see chapter 212: “thank you for giving me a role to play”)

yuuji telling yuuta to kill him if he ever switches to sukuna, without hesitation, in order to protect megumi (chapter 144)

yuuji: “sukuna is plotting something involving fushiguro”

megumi not caring about the dangers of sukuna so he can stick with yuuji (chapter 146)

megumi: “if that happens and i die, just have him (yuuta) kill you” yuuji: the point is to not let that happen

they just care about each other, your honor

yuuji trying to avoid megumi once again before the culling games (chapter 146)

megumi panicking at yuuji getting beat by hakari (more so than panda was) to the point where he was about to jump over the rail and start interfering (chapter 157)

megumi: oh no! if he gets hurt anymore… “itadori! that’s enough!”

yuuji (again) trying to avoid being with megumi during the culling games in order to protect him from sukuna (chapter 160)

yuuji: “i’m just worried!” megumi: “are you going to say that every time? it’s annoying a waste of time!” (he is stubborn, refuses to be separated from yuuji)

they are bickering like an old married couple here imo

megumi and yuuji are split up and start working to find higuruma. they are each told different locations and immediately think of each other (chapter 162)

megumi: “shinjuku…” i hope itadori is on his way there too… yuuji: “ikebukuro?!” is fushiguro there too?

another cutesy one that i just wanted to add: megumi smiling when he realized that yuuji got the points to add a rule to the culling games (chapter 168)

megumi waking up and immediately speaking to yuuji (he doesn’t acknowledge hana or anyone else in any way, shape, or form for like an hour (chapter 199)

megumi immediately notices something is up with yuuji when they learn about “the disgraced one,” and this has one of my fave duo interactions with them (chapter 200)

megumi: “itadori, what’s wrong”

always so akin to yuuji’s feelings bruh

yuuji switches with hana to communicate to megumi that sukuna is the disgraced one. hana is just staring lovingly at megumi, megumi is only concerned about yuuji

their cute little charades act, oh my god they are so fucking silly bro

megumi: i don’t get it. what’s he trying to say?

oh my god bro pls

yuuji: *nod nod* did he get it?

yuuji is fully resolved in dying because megumi and tsumiki (as far as they knew) are safe, so he is okay with dying as long as they can live

megumi is immediately worried about yuuji killing himself and dying to end sukuna

my god they are both so worried about each other all the time

megumi is quick to notice yuuji’s disposition towards hana (chapter 210)

megumi: “this isn’t like you.” yuuji: “you sure about that?”

megumi: “don’t be dumb.” yuuji: “i’ll apologize later…”

can they stop flirting in dire times?

yuuji thinking of both gojo and megumi as they gave him a role in the world (chapter 212)

maybe i should have done it sooner. i could have helped fushiguro and disappeared. thank you for giving me a role to play

megumi suppresses sukuna’s technique when he first incarnates in his body (chapter 214)

literally any point during the fight with sukuna where yuuji is locked in on saving megumi (shinjuku showdown arc)

“wake up, fushiguro.” (chapter 251)

i’ll do it as many times as it takes! “wake up, fushiguro!” (chapter 263)

“you’re right, sukuna. i have the ability to end your life. if you release fushiguro and return to me, i will spare your life.” (chapter 265)

literally all of chapter 266 bro this entire fucking chapter hurts me so fucking bad??????

megumi just wanting a peaceful life with his sister and yuuji

yuuji knowing and understanding megumi’s pain to the point where he knows it isn’t fair to force or expect him to want to live

“i’ve started to understand and emphathize with the decisions made by people who encounter unavoidable realities, like grandpa. for that reason… for that reason, i can’t tell you to continue living, fushiguro.”

megumi: “huh? what’s with that face?” yuuji: “nothing, it’s just that… it’ll be lonely without you, fushiguro.”

what if i was suicidal?????

megumi hears yuuji telling him it’ll be lonely when he’s gone and sees one (1) tear form in his eyes and immediately locks in, using his technique to throw sukuna off guard and allow yuuji to land a hit

yuuji smiling when he realized that megumi was fighting back

see chapter 168: megumi smiling when he realized yuuji got the points for the games

EDIT: OH MY GOD CHAPTER 268????????

megumi: “i think i’ll try to live for someone else.”

also, see yuuji and megumi’s theme songs that were selected by gege:

yuuji’s songs:

heart ni hi o tsukete by 9mm parabellum bullet – a song about two people struggling to recover from their traumas and pain and wondering if they will find love within each other.

the last line of the song is “will we love each other? will we not love each other? will we turn to ashes?”

itsuka dokoa de by kuchiroro – this song overall seems to be a sort of conversation that the narrator is having with an unknown person. there is mentions of belief, love, and a desire for a simple, mundane life.

love is mentioned a lot throughout this song (it’s 13 minutes long and translations are hard to find online though)

megumi’s songs:

hakujitsumu by uchujin – the song is about wanting to save someone, but also battling with their own internal struggles as they try to navigate their trauma.

“don’t disappear yet, i’ll rescue you.”

island in the sun by weezer – this song is about a narrator and their desire to run away with someone and live a peaceful life, away from their troubles so they will “never feel bad anymore.”

this song i feel reflects most with that idyllic life that megumi wanted to build for tsumiki and yuuji

[driftwooddestiel]

get to know me ‼️

thanks to @dear-space-cadet for the tag :-)

1. Do you make your bed? not really, but i do tidy up my bed a little

2. Favorite number? probably 7, i know its a popular favourite number but thog dont c aare its a good number

3. What's your job? don’t have one 💪 🔥 💯 i plan to apply to some like. shelf-stocking and similar type jobs soon when i get round to it

4. If you could back to school, would you? haven’t left it yet so i dont have much choice in the matter here lol

5. Can you parallel park? never tried but i doubt it considering i cant drive lmao

6. Do you think aliens are real? i believe theres bound to be other forms of life somewhere out there but idk if i believe in aliens in the traditional sense

7. Can you drive a manual car? once more i cannot drive any car

8. Guilty pleasure? watching true crime videos and then getting paranoid, getting into stupid arguments in youtube comment sections & getting way too invested in niche internet discourse

9. Tattoos? none atm and i dont think i plan to get any . but that could change

10. Favorite color? dull-ish blue (similar to the colour of my blog)

11. Favorite type of music? truly i cannot pick one

12. Do you like puzzles? jigsaw puzzles im ambivalent towards, logic puzzles i usually enjoy

13. Any phobias? no full-on phobias but i do kinda freak out at the idea of swimming with jellyfish

14. Favorite childhood sport? climbing!

15. Do you talk to yourself? all the time 👍

16. Tea or coffee? to be fully honest i drink neither but i’d have to say tea . ive had more tea than coffee in my life and i enjoy tea more generally

17. First thing you wanted to be growing up? when i was like 3-6 i would always say i wanted to be a dog (bc i did) and when i eventually came to terms with that not being a career option, i would usually say artist (but i also somewhat wanted to be a comedian from like ages 7 or 8 to age 10)

18. What movies do you adore? saw (2004) is my absolute fav, i also love donnie darko, american psycho, zoolander, ten inch hero & anything directed by jordan peele. + horror movies in general are my favs

im gonna actually continue a tag game for once SOOO. tags (no pressure ofc 👍): @nintendont2502 @gorillaxyz @s-ccaam-era-crepe @paranormalglass @dykesism

[sweetbans29]

Reader is a few years older than Caitlin, was the #1 pick in her draft after leading her team to a national championship. Was super hyped up going in but struggled a lot with transitioning to the W and then dealt with some injuries before finally finding her stride in the later half of the season but at that point most “fans” had written her off as a dud. Continues to be an underrated player until her breakout season and she finally starts getting the recognition she’s been missing for the last x years. When Caitlin gets drafted and struggles/doesn’t meet peoples expectations her first few games there are some fans that can see the parallel and are like “I hype she doesn’t get the y/n treatment, neither one of them deserve(d) that” Reader gets asked her thoughts on the discourse in a post game “I just saw the tweets actually and I was wanting to reach out bc I’ve been following her game for a few years now so I’m glad you asked but yeah I don’t really think that’s a fair assessment to her game…” then goes on to praise her and talk about how there are just things about her game that you just can’t teach and how she 100% believes that when she hits her stride she’s gonna be hard to beat. Then implores fans to not count her out just yet bc the W is a whole new ballgame that ccs got to learn and adjust to but she has no doubts that she will and that she will become a force of nature once she does, they just need to give her time to get there.

Then after the post presser she sends a real heartfelt message over dms reiterating what she said and letting her know if she ever needs someone to talk to who knows exactly the type of pressure she is under then to not hesitate to reach out. Then gives her her personal number bc she maybe has been harboring a teensy crush on the younger girl and hopes she’ll be more likely to get to know her that way.

Then while Caitlin is trying to process that THE y/n l/n just gave her her number half of her old Iowa teammates send her the clip of reader praising Cait for 5 minutes straight bc she has been very vocal about being madly in love with the woman during every possible opportunity. She ends up doing a group FaceTime with Kate, Gabbie, and Jada to help her draft a thank you message over text.

Then next presser cc gets asked about it and she blushes saying 15 people sent her clips bc they knew she is obsessed. When she’s done she sees a text saying “so you’re obsessed with me?” And thus the flirtation begins with ccs response being “I could ask you the same since you’re lurking on the live”

Fans eat up all their interactions and interviews when they talk about eachother and are obsessed with asking if they’re dating or not and trying to prove it one way or another. Little do they know they already started dating bc they hit it off instantly when they met, and r is just the person cc needs in her life bc she 100% understands what she’s going through

I LOVE THIS - Keep an eye on a 'Coming Soon' 🤍

[liamlawsonlesbian]

thanks for the tag, emy @albonoooo <333 ( @karlmarxverstappen here is mine!! enjoy my deranged list of movies dhjdjjzjzjjz)

1. do you make your bed?

Only if someone is coming to visit my apartment hzhzhjzjzj

2. favourite number?

7, 8, 15, 17

3. what's your job?

I’m an attorney at a small law firm!

4. if you could go back to school, would you?

absolutely not (but it might be less terrible now that I’m medicated for adhd)

5. can you parallel park?

nope

6. do you think aliens are real?

there are too many planets in the universe for earth to be the only one with life! in terms of like….societies, I’m less certain

7. can you drive a manual car?

no, and I actually legally can’t drive at all — I didn’t learn as a kid because my mom was sick and then I tried to learn during law school and failed the test three times so they took my permit away hxhhsjsjjzjj

8. guilty pleasure?

I don’t super believe in the concept but also the reality show Special Forces, bc it’s such naked military propaganda (it’s so fun to see celebrities compete at insane physical tasks, sorry)

9. tattoos?

yep!! five: (1) HP tattoo done by college roommate in ro and my apartment living room senior year; (2) realistic triceratops; (3) matching bouquets with ro [oblique phoebe bridgers reference, we did them to celebrate graduating law school]; (4) childhood home rendered in fairytale/children’s book style; (5) buffy’s “class protector” award from btvs episode 3x20, “the prom”

10. favourite colour?

golden yellow, or forest green!

11. favourite type of music?

I am a pop girlie, but I also enjoy indie rock & kpop

12. do you like puzzles?

I like to do them with family/friends! I get too frustrated on my own

13. favourite childhood sport?

I did one (1) season of soccer as a kid, and like six months of ice skating lessons, but was otherwise fully artsy and did not do sports at all

14. do you talk to yourself?

yeppp (“c’mon jo, stop being a baby”)

15. tea or coffee?

mate 🧉

16. first thing you wanted to be when growing up?

actress 💕 honestly I miss performing so much

17. what movies do you adore?

an incomplete list: the lord of the rings trilogy, school of rock, the philadelphia story, jurassic park, the edge of seventeen, notting hill, 10 things i hate about you, dunkirk, moonrise kingdom, moulin rouge, mulan, enchanted, moonlight, pride, when harry met sally, sleepless in seattle, mission impossible: fallout, spy, birds of prey

***

No pressure tags: @oscarpiastriwdc @omigodyall @bright-and-burning @vegasgrandprix @foggieststars @barbiedemonaco

[icy-watch]

So the mayor works for Lady Bone Demon, and they now have the lamp.

All they need now is the staff and the flower. I'm guessing the staff will be the last thing collected bc they know where it is. The flower... I'm not too sure on. There hasn't been any hints about it yet that I've noticed.

So that's going to be the next episode's adventure.

The skull made of bobba in the tea for Mei feels like some foreshadowing as well. It was there when MK came back with the snack, again when he went to hand it to her, and finally when Macaque was speaking to MK before he revealed himself. I don’t think she’s going to die, but something really bad will happen to her.

There's some parallels to Macaque and Wukong's story and to Wukong and MK's story of the warrior and hero. Even tho Macaque told it thru his POV, the puppet for the hero (the sun) was very much MK and the warrior (the moon) was Wukong.

Something is going to happen to Wukong and he's going to fall to the darkness. There was a shot from a few episodes ago where one of the people in the parade dressed as Sun Wukong was infected with the spider venom. Something like that will happen to Wukong.

It's going to have to do with MK becoming very powerful and casting a shadow over Wukong. Something with his self doubt? His fear that Wukong chose incorrectly?

I've never put much thought into why Wukong gave his powers to MK in the first place. I know that he said that he's ✨retired✨, but it feels like there's more to that. I'm putting a pin in that thought for now, bc I'm not entirely sure on it.

I feel like I have the right strings, but my brain can't form everything into coherent words. But I think I'm picking up on things. Enough that I have a sense of where this season is heading - Lady Bone Demon manipulating MK enough to be able to create her weapon and get revenge on Wukong.

That feels right.

Ok, so tomorrow is Wednesday (and yes, every time I write or type that, I do say "wed-ness-day"). And I didn't prep much for dinner tomorrow, so squeezing in an episode will be Difficult. I'm thinking 1 episode on Thursday and 2 on Friday to finish off the season, and picking up with s3 on Saturday. Sound good? Until then!

[spectrum-core]

hi if you don’t mind me asking I’d love to hear more about serrated duo parallels?

Alright, just to make sure we are on the same page because I'm not sure if many people know who am I even talking about when I say serrated duo, I mean this pair of goofballs who I love very much.

Fuckass essay about them and how this thing even came to be (which is not what you asked for but it's still important I think) under the cut, as a warning though this is EXTREMELY long, i'm also writing it assuming the readers have played ruina to completion, have at least glanced at the ruina artbook once and are decently familiarized with the pjm universe and its terminology.

"But Spec", you may (and reasonably so) say, "these guys show up in different story tiers, one is a glorified ranged attack tutorial with a minor lore exposition attached to him and the other doesn't even have anything going on due to being a general reception, what the hell".

So let's get into this, more meticulously organized than some essays I've submitted for my uni classes because I care that much about these guys (don't be like me and do your uni projects, please).

Table of contents:

How the fuck did this even come to be 1.1. Me yapping about character dessign

Liwei as a character 2.1. The surface 2.2. Emotional internal nature 2.3. Resentment

Dong Hwan as a character (sorry can't separate him into many categories bc there's NOTHING THERE man i'm absolutely grasping for straws here i KNOW it, but please bear with me)

Summarizing parallels

If you don't feel like sitting through my attempts to contextualize how this ship came to be and me desperately grasping for straws, feel free to skip all the way down to part 4

1.- How the fuck did this even come to be

Honestly the whole thing started as a sleep deprivation shitpost I rolled with because yeah i like these two guys a lot (if you read that one post talking among other things about why I like liwei so much in the first place, the short reply also applies to dong hwan and... Yeag, the only thing that's better than one hot guy is two hot guys and so on).

There was also an interesting aspect about this because maybe it's just me but based of liwei's dialogue lines and keypage text he suggests not trusting, or even liking/admiring/looking up to, high graded fixers (despite feeling that he's supposed to). With an emphasis put into colors because, I mean, he fucking died because he met one at the wrong moment, but I feel it's a general thing he feels for grade 2s and above.

With this in mind, putting him to interact with a grade 1 is... at the very least it has the potential to put them into a funny mutual vitriol kind of dynamic with lw constantly thinking "what's the deal with this guy? does he expect me to praise him just for having a high grade? well, tough luck, i'm no bootlicker" and dh constantly thinking "what's wrong with this man? is he unable to recognize greatness even if it punched him in the face...? should i punch him in the face?", but it becomes far more interesting when you try to imagine (and, with dong hwan being an absolute background character we can only assume things of from extremely vague hints, pretty much all we can do about him is imagining) what made them both special enough for each of them to think "wait, hold on, i actually like this guy" of the other.

After the initial shitpost stage was over, we (the guy who came up with serrated duo while sleep deprived and me) started talking about why we liked both characters and we essentially concluded that, at least dessign wise, they are the same type of guy (ofc I also added a couple of characters I like and who fit the criteria to my post but this post isn't about them).

1.1.- Me yapping about character dessign

On top of that, if you pay attention specifically to liwei and dong hwan in there, you can notice that there's a pretty neat balance of common and contrasting themes in their dessigns, almost in a two sides of the same coin way, so here's a non exhaustive list:

both characters have a primarily monochrome/dark aesthetic going on, with their eyes being the primary colored element that stands out in their dessigns (yeah, you could say that dh has brown hair too but it's a dark shade of brown that doesn't catch the eye nearly as much as the bright-yet-deep shade of red of his eyes)

on top of that, liwei's eyes are blue while dong hwan's are red (i thought they were reddish brown at first but that's just an effect of the transparency, if you separate the sprite in it's different parts, you'll notice his eyes are actually red), which happens to link with a certain trope about two-sides-of-the-same-coin pairs... (will elaborate on this later trust me).

despite the previously mentioned similar monochrome aesthetic, there's a clear contrast between their styles and how they wear their clothes, with liwei having a much more "only informal if it's more practical that way" type of look, with a focus on practicality over trying to stand out too much (for the most part at least, he was dessigned with the idea of a cool guy in mind after all), while dong hwan is essentially wearing a business suit in the most fucked up way possible (really, what the fuck dong hwan), which of course makes his dessign incredibly memorable. To further elaborate on this (and to add details that don't really follow this formal until unpractical/informal AND unpractical pattern): -Liwei's clothes stay in similar shades of grey and black giving him a more uniform look, while dong hwan uses more contrasting shades in his clothing (despite wearing primarily black clothes, that light grey shirt absolutely stands out, and by extension he does) -Liwei wears long boots, while dong hwan wears regular shoes -Liwei wears a long coat, while dong hwan wears a short jacket -Liwei has a fully buttoned dress shirt with a tie, dong hwan wears his shirt unbuttoned, in an universe where clothes are basically like armor this is essentially him saying that he's confident that his opponents won't be able to hit him in the chest, or that even if they did he wouldn't get too hurt from it, and it's a dessign detail that absolutely stands out in an universe where most characters only show skin in their head, neck and hands at most, as we know since its stated in multiple keypages and cutscenes, if a character shows more skin than the absolutely bare minimum, then that means that A. they are inmensely strong, and B. they are even more confident in their capacities, with this being a tactic to intimidate potential enemies for many factions -Liwei wears fingerless gloves while dong hwan wears regular gloves, while at first glance this detail seems to subvert the pattern, let's be real here... have you tried to hold any object and using it properly with gloves? unless you're wearing latex gloves or something made of very thin fabric that shit's absurdly hard, of course i assume there's weird city tech involved in dh's gloves but at least that's my own personal impression of that particular contrast)

and going back to common but not really details: both characters have something noteworthy in their ears (this is most likely just a result of the characters being visible as chibis in game so the best way to give them memorable dessigns is by slapping somewhat unique stuff in their faces and heads BUT IM GRASPING FOR STRAWS HERE OK) with liwei's earpiece (which serves a practical function) and dong hwan's earrings (which look cool as hell, going in line with both characters' general priorities)

similarly, both have something in their opposite eyes, with liwei partially covering his right eye with his hair and dong hwan having the scar going through his left eye.

the right-left motif is actually very relevant in their dessigns. You see, most character sprites in ruina switch the hand in which they're holding their weapons for certain frames (or at least, this is not uncommon to see), either for rule of cool, clearer silhouettes or whatever reasons. However, in every frame in which liwei is visibly holding his knife, he holds it with his left hand (and when he uses his pistol he holds it with both hands), suggesting that he may be left handed. On the other hand (see what I did there?), dong hwan consistently holds his knife with his right hand, in every. single. frame. of his sprite, suggesting that he's right handed instead.

And of course, both of them have elements in their opposite legs too, with liwei having these two stupid fucking belts (affectionate) in his right leg while dong hwan has... whatever the fuck that thing is, in his left leg.

Of course I'm not here saying that they were given contrasting dessigns on purpose, but all these details end up making both of them looking really cool when put together, specially with how their dessigns emphatize their personal preferences and priorities, something I will elaborate upon in each character's section later.

2.- Liwei as a character

Liwei is one of my favorite pjm characters as a whole, yes i like him more than ayin, yes i like him more than angela, yes i like him more than carmen, yes i like him more than dante, yes i like him more than your favorite sephirah/patron librarian/sinner, no im not saying i think any of these characters is bad or poorly written and in fact i think pjm has made an amazing job with protagonists so far catching my interest even with characters i thought i wouldn't vibe with at all, but i have a thing for unremarkable background guys.

As you may have guessed, this means that i have a lot, and i mean A LOT to say about him.

This also means that I have a very specific interpretation of him, this interpretation, while clearly taking bases from what we can see of him in game, is entirely fanmade and i'm not trying to claim this is what anyone intended to convey with him, but it's what makes sense for me.

This interpretation also strays away from some other fan characterizations I've seen of him. So if you think he's actually, at his core, a serious, formal, emotionally detached and unbearably professional, even outside work hours, guy who's deeply dedicated to the honorable task of murder and who is in good terms with the shi association or holds them in high regard? sorry, but for me he's nothing like that.

2.1- The surface

"But Spec", you may say again, "he does act emotionally detached during his cutscene, he even says that people die all the time! are you sure you are actually reading this character right?"

Of course I'm not, I'm just saying that I'm reading him in a way that makes enough sense to me, but I do have reasons to believe that the serious and emotionally detached attitude is an akward mixture of a facade he puts up to be taken seriously by others and an incredibly unhealthy coping mechanism, so let's start by analyzing his artbook profile...

Wait a minute, is that..?

Ok, I'll see myself out and continue writing the actual character analysis this is what people are here for.

Anyway, going back to the character profile, you may be inclined to see it and assume "well, that actually just proves that he's a serious and formal dude" at first, until you realize that artbook profiles, due to their in-universe explaination being that they were compilled by roland and angela from the information they could take out of the guests' books, are most likely to be about what the guests perceive themselves as/would say to describe themselves rather than what they actually are when looked at from an outsider's perspective. Further proof of the artbook profiles being subjective comes from how the profiles change almost erratically for distortions and ego users, with people in the middle of both states simply not knowing how to describe themselves, the fact that we lack any information about the agents of the head as they were never booked, or how characters such as tomerry have...

This, which I mean, it's very clear that's just tomerry talking about themselves.

Now, liwei's personality traits, or at least what he'd use to describe himself, are "Meticulous, Efficient, and Sharp". We know that he has to be efficient at the very least, considering the nature of his job and guns in universe, the same thing goes for meticulous, we can assume he wants to do things the right away so that he gets paid, sharp as a personality descriptor can take multiple meanings and frankly i don't know which was the original korean word used to describe him so i can't tell which is the right one but most of them seem pretty accurate, at least when looking at him from a surface perspective.

To be honest, I don't think any of the traits mentioned there is precisely wrong, I simply don't think that they are the main or core ones, but they are the traits liwei tries to show, at least.

Another interesting detail is that all full stop fixer artbook profiles have food related items for the likes and and dislikes sections, except for stephan disliking dangerous jobs.

Not particularly noteworthy for this category in particular but still tangentially linked to a point that I believe is also a core characteristic of all three full stop fixers and that is key to understand all three of them, their dynamics and the choices they make during their reception: they are Poor As Shit, because guns and bullets are expensive of course, we also get to see this in stephan's obssesive fixation in money (come on nobody actually checks their bank account as a hobby... right, guys?), and of course this ties in with wanting to be seen as someone serious and professional people will trust with their money AND with the idea of them having the need to maximize efficiency to... well... you... you know... not end up even worse than they actually are.

2.2- Emotional internal nature

Alright, and here we dwell into the actually spicy part of the essay, at least for liwei's character: the moments in which the mask of a professional and emotionally detached guy cracks and he shows his more emotional, and mostly caring, side. This is focused in the way in which he treats stephan and tamaki (compared with how several other faction leaders treat their underlings).

While I should probably need to read all the dialogue in the game to make sure this is a particularly notorious detail, something that inmediately caught my attention is... the fact that liwei never uses a single honorific when refering to other people, neither he's bothered by stephan's more informal speech and the fact that he doesn't refer to him by any honorific or title either (sure, you could say this is because they were in a life or death situation but also y'know, it says something about you that the people below you don't feel the need to use formalities when talking to you), the only person he calls by title instead of first name is... well, the blue reverb, whose real name we can assume he didn't know, with also him being someone perfectly capable of killing not only him but the guys standing beside him as well, you'd want to be as respectful as possible when talking to a guy like that and trying to negotiate.

(even then he doesnt use any sort of honorific towards him, at least in the english translation of the text, he simply refers to him by title)

He neither uses any title or honorific when talking to angela, despite keeping a formal/respectful attitude, i honestly believe that he is genuinely formal and respectful but... you know, that's not the beginning and end of who he is.

Of course, this isn't a major point, but I think it's worth mentioning considering how important honorifics can be to establish the speaker's relationship with the people a message is directed to, they can be used to distance oneself from others. So in a way it could be seen as him putting himself at an "equal" position relative to stephan and tamaki, as opposed to trying to assert that he's their superior (at least in the context of the mission they were working in, since his title is merely fixer, not operator, president, director or anything implying some form of leadership on his end).

Another extremely important detail is his inmediate first reaction once argalia shows up and ruins their plan is... not coming up with a plan b, not trying to fight him in any way, not doing anything about trying to save what little money they can, he quite literally tells stephan "forget about money, we need to survive now".

His initial reaction is directly just yelling at his team to run away, and this stays consistent once he:

Notices that stephan and tamaki are beginning to argue over the future of their mission and how much money they lost.

Realizes that they can't outrun argalia as long as they're wielding their heavy (and again, extremely expensive) equipment. This says a lot as it shows that he cares enough for the people under his care to let the office go bankrupt if it means they can live.

Needless to say, stephan and tamaki refuse to do so and while he clearly isn't precisely happy about the inevitable confrontation with argalia, he doesn't argue about this, he does understand their concern about money, he's not like the other authority figures who will ignore their underlings' concerns at best and ditch them once they outlive their usefulness at worst (at least, that's what i imagine he thinks as he makes these choices).

Not to mention, once they are in a, if only slightly, safer situation in the library, his inmediate response is trying to comfort stephan and tamaki, things dont look good but theyre at least alive, for now.

And there's this line which... doesn't seem to fit at first glance with the idea of him wanting his office to survive at all costs... right?

That is until you realize that he says that line during yet another argument between stephan and tamaki, as an attempt to get them both to calm down, this could also fit in with him trying to keep or restore the cynical, stoic and serious act, but then again we get to see his more emotional and sincere side once he:

Gets killed, quite literally saying that he didn't want to die yet, at least to me this line alone is enough to pretty much confirm that he didn't really mean it when saying that trying to delay their deaths was pointless, but if you need more, he also acts against that same line when he...

Sees his allies die, and inmediately starts freaking out.

Wins the reception, in which case his inmediate first concern is, again, not money, lost ammunition or anything, but rather if stephan and tamaki are okay and if they will be safe once they return.

I don't think that line was him fully lying though, it does say something about him that makes enough sense to me and fits with the rest of the characterization: that his cynism runs much, much deeper than stephan's.

Tl;dr he is extremely caring and emotional deep inside, and even though he tries to suppress that side of himself it always finds a way to show itself, I feel like in other contexts this makes him prone to emotional outbursts and generally make him an unpleasant person to be around... save for people who are already familiar with his personality quirks and the fact that he is Like That.

2.3- Resentment

Of course, this dissonance between the person he tries to pretend to be to fit in/keep his job and the person he actually is made him grow a pretty strong disliking of... well, everything he considers related to the fact that he has to act like that to get enough money to feed the people in his office.

I also feel like he feels genuine guilt over the fact that his job is essentially just glorified murder, I have no base for this other than the more detached way in which he refers to the church of gears, it almost feels like hes forcing himself to not care because its them or him and his office, and that he has genuine self-hating tendencies because of it (which he also uses his stoic act to hide, he doesn't want to worry his office and become a burden to them, after all), in a way he may be trying to overcompensate by being nice to his office to feel like there's people he can help/protect.

But this hatred towards himself also manifests in the form of hatred towards anything he can blame over him being the way he is and working the job he has.

As I said before, I don't think liwei likes colors, or most high grade fixers for that matter, you may also extend this to figures of authority, influential organizations or even the city's society as a whole (and honestly? i do personally, i don't think he's actually capable of forming any particularly healthy bond with people outside his office because of this, and even then saying that the relationships he has with his office are healthy is... generous to put it softly, this is not to say that he secretly hates the other people in the office, but rather that he fears that they may secretly hate him, because he's the highest graded member of the office, he hates people sitting above him so it only makes sense that people below him hate him for being above them, right?), and of course I'm not saying this because I'm projecting or because I think it's cool and edgy and sad but I actually have bases for this from what I can see in the game.

The first example of him not trusting high grade fixers AND influential organizations being one of the very first things he says when being introduced: that having an important person, from an important organization, belonging to an important section of said organization, approach him and give him a request was shady as fuck.

And he turned out to be right, as Yujin was planning for him and his office to get sent to the library and die there so she could read their books and find some passage saying shit like "well we were found by the blue fucking reverb and our only choice was to come here and die even though we were royally fucked either way life sucks see you all in hell my final message 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕" so she could use that on her favor.

In this topic too, I'm personally firmly opposed to the idea of full-stop office being affiliated to the shi association and this is the hill i'm willing to die on, but I digress.

We see this same resentment on an even deeper level in his keypage where he talks about colors (and we can assume this view extends to other high graded fixers, and to a lesser extent to the hana association), he doesn't sound like he wants to become a color, he doesn't sound like he even likes the concept of colors being a thing that exists in the first place.

The most important lines from these fragments to me being the following:

"A color is the dream [...] of all fixers who wish for freedom.", freedom is a VERY relevant concept in project moon and ruina makes a very clear point about how nobody is free in the city, roland says it, most plot relevant guests say it, some patron librarians say it too... a huge part of the story is how angela comes to terms to the fact that turning human wont grant her freedom and how she ultimately becomes free by embracing her nature as a machine (so free indeed that the head decides to kick her and the entire library out of the city, not only shes a machine that acts like a human, which is already a major city wide taboo, she made a choice that no human in the city should ever make). Essentially, liwei seems to see colors (and im assuming that by extension high graded fixers) as the ultimate example of an impossible aspirational class (think of these "self made" enterpreurs who received extremely generous financial support from their rich parents to start massive companies as the closest irl equivalent, except that obviously not the same, i will elaborate more on this later).

"They put forward the colors as great and successful people that other fixers will look up to. They dream of earning wealth and fame, and to be free like them one day." Why would he be talking in third person here if he too admired colors, or wanted to be like them, or thought that were free in any way? Also that separation between money and fame (something that colors objectively do have since they can afford exclusive high tech weapons and armor) with freedom (something that is debatable, but liwei seems to assume colors don't have) feels too much like a deliberate choice to further push towards that point of him seeing colors as not only an impossible goal to achieve for the average fixer but also that the ideal of a color as someone who is free is something impossible to achieve even if one were to become a color.

"Colors are assigned by the 'Hana Association'. [...] The title of a color is forcibly given to fixers who qualify essentially. Can a fixer be truly happy with freedom that was forcefully handed to them?" This particular fragment, specially the last sentence, is absolutely key for Liwei's characterization, and the final and most important part of him saying "wait, no, colors aren't free, because nobody is" to me. It is also worth noting that this fragment can be read in multiple ways, all of them are important and accurate for his characterization.

He thinks that the responsability and risks that come with being handed the title of a color are far greater than the prestige that comes with the title, can you really say that someone who cant afford to decline requests due to being contacted by the most important organizations in the city, whose closest friends or family WILL be regularly targetted by rivals either to extort them for money or just try to attack them to the point in which most high graded fixers abandon any personal attachment to others, who will have to see the horrible things that happen in the city in an almost day-to-day basis and will likely have to do even worse things in the name of corporate interests is free? Can you really call it freedom if you can't refuse it? Essentially he is saying "actually every single aspect of being a color is terrible and to make matters worse that life is forced on them after they go through extreme miseries in the hopes for a better life but all they get is more of the same if not even worse, they aren't free and shouldn't be refered to as such."

He thinks that in order to become a color (or any highly graded fixer, really), you must essentially lose yourself, which is to say abandoning all friendships or familiar bonds, only keeping shallow interactions with people, desensitizing themselves to whatever horrifying shit they may have to see, abandon all sense of morality as they never know what their next request will be and "im sorry but i dont do xyz, it does against my personal morals" isnt an argument that will work in a place like the city, this also fits into the whole "actually having a much more chaotic emotional side he's trying his absolute hardest to supress but failing" theme mentioned in point 2.2., someone who is so deeply emotional and whose actions are ultimately defined by what is the most likely to keep the people around him alive is obviously not going to like the idea of keeping his distance to them, or to dispose of people with lower grades than him because they were supposed to be expendables anyway.

I don't remember the exact quote and i dont feel like looking for it but in one of gebura's cutscene she claims that all power in the city only serves to strike those below but never up. You have to climb to get stronger and then you'll only be able to assert dominance (through violence) over people weaker than you are, and she grew to dislike this, as she wanted to protect others but was never able to do so because of how the city was dessigned.

Of course, liwei reached the same conclusion but he took the much simpler but much more unhealthy approach of assuming "well, if things are like that, then that must mean that everyone in a position of power (over me) must be responsible for this".

Of course this also comes with the side effect of him being as caring for the rest of the office as he can because he doesn't want to be like other figures of authority as i mentioned in point 2.2, but thats not to mean that things are all fine in the office, i feel like there are several moments in which he internally curses his position of authority but not quite (bc i don't think he's actually The Big Guy In Charge of the office, really), most obviously the aforementioned moment in which he yells at tamaki and stephan to drop their guns so they can run away and live when they clearly dont want to, i feel like at moments like that he feels like they only do things because he tells them to and they "can't argue" (except that they do, fortunately for him the enviroment in the office is healthy enough for the rest of full stops to not abuse this fact, but the "what if"s are absolutely eating him from the inside). As ironic as it sounds his earnest desire to not be Like The Others is the same thing stopping him from being the perfect and efficient leader he wishes to be, and he probably isn't sure of which thing he values more than the other (it's staying true to his own morals and keeping the people under him safe).

However, there's a key detail here that's worth noting: liwei has a tendency to treat everyone else as equals, sure he is formal and respectful when doing so (pressumably even when talking to people he'd rather never interact with if we assume his conversation with argalia was actually how he is and not him just walking on eggshells to not get killed) but he doesn't bother trying to make a clear distinction of who is above and below him, no matter what their title and rank may be, and for people who are used to being looked up to by everyone else this will be seen this as him insulting them in some way, it may come from a sincere desire of him to come off as insulting while not breaking any (major) social convention in an act of malicious compliance or just the type of person he is, that's up to you to determine.

"But how the hell does any of this relate to dong hwan?" we'll get there right now.

3.- Dong Hwan as a character

This is kinda... the hardest point to talk about, because sure I can yap all I want about him but... it's hard to without going "Source: I made it up" too much.

So, looking at his combat sprites you may notice one thing: he is unbelievably hot for real what the hell he has an incredibly smug aura, most people who care about him to some extent i've seen tend to depict him as a very prideful person, and honestly i dont think differently either.

HOWEVER, i feel like despite this he's still a levelheaded guy who can aknowledge his own flaws. On top of that, i think he's a pretty charismatic guy and he's capable of noticing other people's strenghts, and he'll let people know about their own strenghts too.

Also, to contrast with his smug and cheerful exterior, his combat lines depict him as someone very serious when at work, he doesn't even react emotionally to getting killed.

His first "on kill" line is also particularly interesting, as it shows that he prefers to work on his own (unlike everyone's favorite monochrome moody boy), which makes sense considering that he comes alone to the library when you fight him, he may belong to a one-man office (which is the closest a fixer can do to be fully independent, as far as we are aware).

His keypage story also fits this more serious and analytical personality but not much of it is particularly noteworthy from a character analysis perspective, it doesn't say much that you couldn't notice from his combat lines anyway.

Another important factor to me and to contrast him to liwei is... okay, this may be the fact that he's a solo fight and he is, pressumably, an independent fixer, so he's not titled as a member of a particular organization, instead his title (for him, his reception, his keypage and his book) is "dong hwan, the grade 1 fixer", which i mean, again, is most likely just so we dont fight this guy with zero context on who he is and what hes even doing in the library in his own is he stupid? but i like to imagine that the in universe explaination is that he has tied his perception of himself and his own self worth to his grade, to the point in which using both his name and grade is what comes naturally to him when introducing himself, since books are essentially physical manifestations of the soul, then it just makes sense then that his book will give both his name and grade the same importance. This may come from a need to compensate for something else and i actually like to imagine that's the case because it adds yet another layer of parallels with liwei (source: trust me).

Another point is... remember that I mentioned how food was a very consistent thing in the full stops' likes and dislikes sections in the artbook? this point is also not relevant but dong hwan is frequently assumed to be the owner of that pub that shows up at that short side story about roland and angelica which i never watched because i Literally Can Not Care about angelica sorry, but, hey, it's a cute detail, i think he should cook for the full stops.

I feel like there's something to be said about dh's red eyes because in pjm when a character has red eyes you know that means one thing: they will be a big deal, but dong hwan, other than looking incredibly fucking cool and carrying me through the snow queen suppression (FUCK THE SNOW QUEEN ALL MY HOMIES HATE SNOW QUEEN) and star of the city tier 1 (thank you dong hwan i love you dong hwan)… he is rather unremarkable on the grand scheme of things, he's a general reception so you don't even need to defeat him to beat the game, and he only serves to give us some insight on who the fuck was the vermillion cross, and even then he does a terrible job at explaining who he was other than "well, he was a guy i guess" and honestly, the relevance of both liwei and dong hwan is ALSO an important factor in these parallels, as with one being the guy who introduces the concept of colors and the other being the guy who introduces one particular color fixer by casually mentioning being friends with him, both feel like characters who would be much more narratively important in any other story, but here they... aren't.

4.- Summarizing Parallels

Aka the part you may want to skip to if you don't care about me analyzing characters with little background info about them.

So, basically a list of personality (and background, i guess) traits they have in common and how they're different:

Both characters are putting some sort of facade, with liwei trying to act serious and stoic so he's taken seriously while dong hwan... i dont think he even knows what the facade he's putting even is, he's been putting an act for so long that his mask became his true self

In both characters' cases, the first impression they give isn't really the kind of person they truly are (in lw's case this is a deliberate choice and in dh's case i assume that's just the type of person he is), HOWEVER, while liwei acts serious and analytical (and to some extent he is), his true self is far more emotional and prone to form deep bonds with people, while dong hwan has a more passionate, smug and cheerful external attitude but he's much more serious and levelheaded deep down

Both characters have different, conflicting views about their grades, however these differences ultimately lead to both of them being able to treat each other as equals, or as close to that as possible in the city, i feel like liwei can see dong hwan as someone of worth so to speak for reasons unrelated to his grade, while dong hwan does see liwei as a good person (well, good is a subjective term specially in a place like the city) and far better at teamwork than most people in the city, in a way both value something in the other that the other never stopped to consider "hey this is actually a good thing i have"

Both characters are (pressumably?) trying to compensate over something, with liwei putting his professional and formal act to compensate for his sentimental self while dong hwan puts a strong emphasis on his high grade for... who knows, really, i just like this parallel being there because i think it adds a lot

Both have problems forming relationships, with liwei being a generally unpleasant person but being capable of forming deep, meaningful relationships with the people capable of seeing through it, while dong hwan is a charismatic guy liked by almost everyone he's met, but whose relationships tend to be shallow

Not really a personality thing but both characters have a thing for being remarkably unremarkable guys, dong hwan is obviously forgotten by most ruina playes because he's a general reception and the biggest impression liwei leaves in most players is "OH SHIT HE HAS A GUN", even though both are pretty intentionally dessigned with the intention of making them look cool however ive very rarely come across full stop or liwei fans (by which i mean people who like them particularly instead of "actually the entire pjm cast is cool and that includes them) and dong hwan fans are.... yeah, i think ive met like, 4 of them at most (thanks guys i owe you my life)

Something about their combat styles including their passives, liwei's only visible passive is called Concentration and gives him extra strenght for the first turn of a fight, after which he relies in the fact that his attacks weaken the enemy, so he comes off as the sort of guy who prefers to keep his distance and figure out the opponent's weak spot(s) (something he canonically is good at doing) to keep an upper hand at combat, however despite this he's still lacking in both strenght and technique, being only a grade 4 (which i mean let's be real the grades go from 9 to 1 and i feel like a majority of fixers are in the lower grades so he's still pretty much above average but he isnt doing all the cool shit you see the stronger characters do, because that's not the kind of character he is). On the other hand dong hwan's passives have much more cooler sounding names (Fervor, Carver of Scars, Toughness...), all of them focused on either inflicting bleed (status ailment that gradually makes the opponent lose hp)/buffing him against enemies with bleed or buffing him as he gains emotion levels, and his focus is just inflicting bleed like crazy, as well as delivering harder blows against people with bleed, prioritizing raw damage over strategy (but likely being able to figure out an opponent's weaknesses as well, brute strenght alone are most likely not enough to get you far in a world where the powerful people are INSANELY strong bc physical enhancements are commonplace)

I feel like in a way both admire each other, liwei admires dong hwan's capacity to keep a cool head at all times when at work and not letting his feelings have too much weight over his desicions, but dong hwan admires how honest liwei is about himself as well as his capacity to work in a team taking in consideration what will be best for the team as a whole even if it's perjudicial for him in particular.

In Conclusion

Your honor, two of them

[kamiversee]

KAMMMIIIIII that last chapter was AMAZING (also yes the theories on sukuna blackmailing gojo were RIGHT RAAAAAHH)!!!! ok ok ok so here’s the parallels/new info we’ve got so far:

- this is why gojo HATES when the reader calls herself a whore (esp thinking about after she hooks up w sukuna and gojo is driving her and he gets MAD about it)

- this is also why gojo insists on making her hate him bc he knows that’s the whole point, he knows he’s not completely clear of his obsession but he finally understands that what he did was wrong and he can’t let her love him in the way he wants

- YES the stuff abt choso being on there bc sukuna knew she would have feelings for him!!! im still a firm believer that it’s bc sukuna feels bad about what happened w choso and wants to make it up to him in some way but idk if we’ll get to see that through

- ALSO a few sukuna thoughts: sooooo was he being stalked by his ex, the one he ended up hitting? bc he talks about being afraid, and the whole “never let a woman take away what makes you a man” thing could be because he was scared by the situation? idk that just felt too personal

- i also don’t think we ever found out who actually hurt sukuna the night of his party and gave him that bruise (i thought you said at one point that it wasn’t gojo but tbh my brain is a little mushy so that might be wrong), i don’t have many theories on that one just yet but we will be cooking hmmm

- i’ve been SAYIN it but like yes what gojo did was bad. full stop. but! he also really did seem to grow throughout TFL and the idea of him being blackmailed by sukuna makes him much much more sympathetic!!! like he knows you don’t have a job so he comes up w the idea to pay you, he keeps pushing you away bc he knows you shouldn’t love him, ugh just makes my heart hurt for this poor man

- also ….hot take incoming…..but idk that sukuna is as bad as we thought. like rn he’s just trying to protect the reader from what he sees as creepy ass behavior from gojo, presumably he’s had something similar happen, and like yes bro thrives on chaos and wants to hurt us but not just for the purpose of causing pain to a stranger but specifically to punish gojo; idk i’m not here to debate intentions vs actions vs consequences but it’s not like he just did this for laughs he really is trying to make gojo hurt and clearly he has some emotions tied up in this too

- ok rereading that last paragraph idk lmao like bro still (presumably) hits yuji bc gojo also mentions bruises idk idk idk don’t come for me

- something else that stuck out to me that i haven’t been able to stop thinking abt is that in the TFL extra on reader’s wedding night w choso, it’s mentioned that sukuna gives up custody of yuji the same night gojo reveals everything (i think tbh it’s been a min since i read it), but like….why? (i think) that extra was canon and it almost feels like too much of a coincidence but maybe it just is ????? someone else who has better thoughts than i do please share hahahahaha

PHEW this got long but i just had to type it out after all our theories have been coming for so long it’s so exciting to see everything start falling into place!!!! i can’t wait to get back to the run in w sukuna at the gas station AHH i have a feeling bro is about to blow shit up and i cannot wait!!!!

- 🩷

WOOHOOO YAP SESSION

Glad you enjoyed it my love!!! I shall disagree/agree paragraph by paragraph so lets get to unpacking :P

1. Yes! Sukuna was the first and only person Gojo’s ever heard call her such a thing so when the term is later used by the reader herself, it triggers him all over again :)

2. Yes yes yes yes!! This is exactly why Gojo kept telling her that love between them is “forbidden” and why he’d compare it to being a “crime”. You can also see how as tfl goes on, his obsession returns due to him being so close with the reader and finally experiencing her just as he’d always longed to.

3. Mhm! Sukuna is quite the mastermind :3

4. This Sukuna thought is on the right track to say the very least & avoid further spoilers! ^.^

5. Gojo was not the person to hit Sukuna that time!

6. YES I CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. I know he’s bad terrible etc BUT, Gojo does do exactly as he always said he would & changes for the reader to become deserving of her whilst also telling her she cannot be with him… I’d also like to point out how a lot of Gojo girlies said they would’ve picked him right then and there after his confessions but I wonder how they feel now knowing that Gojo would’ve almost never told them about his past actions 🤔

7. Sukuna is… Well, let me say this, there are no true villains nor hero’s in tfl or ftl. No one is completely good & no one is completely bad, both stories are just messy tales of humans figuring life out.

8. Well, Gojo did mention bruises but that is before tfl takes place so we don’t know when exactly Sukuna’s domestic violence stops…

9. Think about two things here— One, Sukuna mentions that the reader deserves some form of happiness out of her, a feeling that could’ve doubled after he experienced her for himself. Two, it’s theorized that Sukuna still wants to make things up to Choso. Similar to Gojo, Sukuna cannot undo what he’s done in the past but he can try to make amends. I hope that makes sense & helps your thoughts ^.^

Im happy to see u excited about this!!! I was excited planning this & writing this >< When we circle back to the gas station & enter the sequel… things will indeed be insane. 🙂‍↕️

[l1veleak]

thank u @nick-cassidy for the tag waaahhh i love doing these.

1. Do you make your bed?

only when i’m at my parent’s house 😸

2. Favourite number?

17 bc i was number 17 on the attendance sheet things when i was a kid so it just stuck lol

3. What’s your job?

i am an intern at a museum which sounds way cooler than it actually is

4. If you could go back to school, would you?

IM TRYING TO LEAVE!!!!!!

5. Can you parallel park?

i am 21 and don’t have a driver’s license but thank you for asking.

6. Do you think aliens are real?

no but the moon landing IS

7. Can you drive a manual car?

no but i have deluded myself into thinking that i could drive an automatic car

8. Guilty pleasure?

narrated reddit stories LOLLLLL. omg. i also unfortunately love shitty portuguese reality tv. and vaporwave

9. Tattoos?

nope and as much as i would LOVE to get one i have an embarrassingly low pain tolerance :| i do have a nose ring if that makes me any cooler

10. Favourite colour?

any shade of blue, but especially dark blue!

11. Favourite type of music?

idk my favorite band is swans so wtv that is. i really like neofolk, house and shoegaze boooooo

12. Do you like puzzles?

yes!, i did a 1000 piece puzzle a couple months ago i love puzzles and legos

14. Favourite childhood sport?

i used to be a figure skater so. that !

15. Do you talk to yourself

monologue all day long baby

16. Tea or coffee?

tea because coffee makes me jittery but i love a good iced latte

17. First thing you wanted to be when growing up?

i wanted to be a volcanologist i was obsessed with volcanoes as a kid

18. What movies do you adore?

the wind rises, interstellar, dr strangelove, madagascar (the 1st one….), the departed,….the right stuff…so many to choose from

i never know who to tag in these lol ajksjdjd uh. @valmontheights @letsgoricciardo @jessmac566 idk !!! ur all tagged. take this as an invitation.

[daxromana]

KotOR companions from my least to most favorite (based exclusively on the first game)

9. Canderous — I have this thing where I don’t like evil guys, especially not ones that revel in violence. Sorry :/ I do think he’s fun sometimes, like his open admiration for Revan is pretty great, but he’s like my least favorite type of Mandalorian

8. Zaalbar — IDK he’s fine. He’s a Wookie. His story is about what you’d get if you were writing a Wookie story (in that it feels ripped from older adventure stories about “primitive” but noble societies). It’s whatever.

7. HK 47 — He’s more fun than Canderous bc he’s a murderdroid instead of a murderhuman. I like the “true master” stuff, it throws in some fun consequences and drives home some things about Revan.

6. Bastila — I should like Bastila more than I do, like dedicated Jedi who is psychically linked to me and is keeping secrets from me should be my favorite character, but she mostly bores me. Sorry :(

5. Mission — I think her character sidequest works pretty well! Also she is a teenager and that’s fun. A stock character but a stock character I don’t mind.

4. Carth — I like angst and I like him but once we started to talk about his still-alive Sith son I lost interest ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I liked him a lot more in the first half of the game.

3. Juhani — She’s this high on the list mostly for the potential story evoked by the game than for what actually happens in the game. Her faith in you after you save her parallels her faith in Revan, the Jedi who saved her when she was younger. Like a tortured soul who wants to believe in the Light so bad.

2. T3 M4 — The only thing I don’t like about him is that I can’t talk to him. Like please let me have a conversation where he just beeps at me :)

1. Jolee — The game got Jolee so right. He’s a grey Jedi, he has a purple light saber, and he’s a grumpy old man. I adore him. I also adore that he’s like “I’m here to see what happens” like I like him so much!

[nnato]

got tagged by @striking-stroll forever ago and finally got around to do this

1. Do you make your bed?

Depends on how you define it lol but it’s probably a no. I do put a soft blanket over it tho bc my cat likes to sleep on that while I’m away

2. Favourite number?

9!! It’s my bd month and I’ve used the number all through my active sports years as a jersey number

3. What’s your job?

I’m a primary school teacher!

4. If you could go back to school, would you?

Yes and no. Like I’m happy to make my own money now, but school was never really a problem for me. I (mostly) enjoyed the time there, didn’t have to do much for it either.

5. Can you parallel park?

Yes but I’d rather not lol

6. Do you think aliens are real?

I mean I don’t think we are the only living things in this universe, so that probably makes it a yes

7. Can you drive a manual car?

Technically, yes. My driving school car was a manual but I haven’t driven one in like 2.5 years and I only have my license for 3 years now lol

8. Guilty pleasure?

No clue rn

9. Tattoos?

Oh fuck yes, got 5 of them now and plan to get more. My self made rule is to get one once a year at least.

10. Favourite colours?

Green, but like a forest green or sage green, and blue!

11. Favourite type of music?

Mostly rock, I can always listen to that. STARSET, Eisbrecher, Sleep Token, etc. But also pop!

12. Do you like puzzles?

I haven’t done one in a while but I do!!

13. Favourite childhood sport?

Floorball/Unihockey which is like ice hockey but in a normal gym? And you have carbon sticks and plastic balls with like holes in it.

14. Do you talk to yourself?

Yes, a lot lmao sometimes out loud, sometimes only in my head.

15. Tea or coffee?

Depends on the mood so both

16. First thing you wanted to be when growing up?

The first thing I can remember is criminal investigator. There was a German crime show I loved to watch with my grandma and I wanted to be like that so bad haha

17. What movies do you adore?

“Rise of the Guardians” is great but I’m also a big fan of the Marvel movies. The new Star Trek movies as well!

tagging @dacchamp @alles--oder-nichts and @phanofclouds (if you want to)

[hischiersjohnston]

get to know me

tagged by: @jonassiegenthighler Ty for the tag!

do you make your bed?

yep! I need to make my bed or else my day is not good lol

favourite number?

16! idk why? It’s a nice even number that’s divisible by 1, 2, 4,8 and 16

what’s your job?

Currently a server and have been for five years. It’s sometimes fun ngl but I’m really just here while I’m in school and hoping to jump start my career

if you could go back to school, would you?

I mean I’m in school now? But if I wasn’t, and money wasn’t an issue too, I definitely would. College for me is a lot more fun than uni was and it’s more hands on too

can you parallel park?

Theoretically, and about three years ago yes. I haven’t tried since I was practicing for my G2

do you think aliens are real?

I wanna say yes bc you never know what’s out there

can you drive a manual car?

lmaooo nope

guilty pleasure?

Huh… this is a tough one bc I don’t really feel guilty for anything I like? I learned to embrace the cringe and I wear it with pride

tattoos?

i don’t have any but I’d absolutely love to have a few. I wanna have the Capricorn constellation, a quote that says “you are the author of your own story”, a yin yang symbol and also maybe a little movie camera

favourite colour?

it depends on the day and it’s between blue, gray, green, white or black lol

favourite type of music?

very much like pop/pop rock/pop punk. I listen to all time low, fall out boy, Ed Sheeran, Taylor swift, Knox and sub-radio to name a few artists

do you like puzzles?

Yep!

any phobias?

I used to be kinda terrified of dolls bc of chucky but now I’m kinda meh about them? And I’m not deathly scared of heights bc I’m fine going up. It’s the going down part that the issue lmao

favourite childhood sport?

the closest I’ve ever done to a sport was cross country so I guess that

do you talk to yourself?

All the timeee

tea or coffee?

coffee all the way

first thing you wanted to be when growing up?

A dentist! Idk why but a lot of kids are scared of the dentist but I was obsessed with the getting my teeth cleaned? So I wanted to be a dentist when I was 6 lol

what movies do you adore?

I really like the campy ones and horror films! Like my Letterboxd in order goes: The Mummy (1999), Fear Street: 1978, Ready or Not and Pride & Prejudice. Honorable mentions go to Scream (1996) and Scooby Doo (2001). Also White Chicks. Like I love a wide variety of films. The cheesy, the horror, parody… but also I do love some international films like Big Deal on Madonna Street, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Like I said: very wide variety and it’s a mix of me being a film student and me just going for vibes lmao

tagging: @barkovsasha @tangerwolls @offside-the-lines @coffeehound91 @hischierlovebot @useragarfield @nicohischier and anyone who wants to do this!

[stargarland]

getting to know you tag game!!!

tagged by @holdinghistorsogently

tagging @riq10 & @mythicalpoolnoodle (u absolutely do not have to!!!)

1. Do you make your bed?

yes! and i am so particular about it i can’t lie like it has to be done Right

2. Favorite number?

13! it was my the number my dad picked when he played football so that’s the one i picked and now both my siblings also picked it (bc i picked it🙄🙄 always copying me🙄🙄) (just jokes fr i love them sm)

3. What’s your job?

i work in history/the archives!!!! i’m also an athlete but idk if u count that as a job bc it rlly doesn’t feel like a job to me

4. If you could go back to school, would you?

ya! i mean i am going back to school in the fall im starting law school🤓

5. Can you parallel park?

yes but genuinely only under pressure like i can only do it when there’s loud music, like 6 people in the car, on coming traffic idk it makes me lock in other wise i can’t 😭

6. Do you think aliens are real?

100%‼️‼️ i’m nothing if not an x files fan

7. Guilty pleasures?

i feel guilty about everything but also don’t believe people should feel guilty for enjoying things still working that one out but

8. Tattoos?

i have one (1) but it doesn’t get out much😭 it’s on my ankle and i live in a most of the year cold place so i’m wearing pants and when i’m like running / competing i tape over it for reasons i literally can’t explain

9. Favorite color?

blue !!!

10. Favorite type of music?

i genuinely like all music i’m rlly open to anything there is very little i don’t like in this regard

11. Do you like puzzles?

i am a bitch who doesn’t play about crosswords🤓🤓 i love them literally so much my friends and i race to see who can do them fastest

12. Phobias?

i don’t like snakes but if i had to like hang out with a snake for whatever reason id lock in and get it done like there is very little i wouldn’t be able to do that with honestly

13. Favorite childhood sport?

football for sure!!!! and also the obvious of xc/track i mean 9 years later and i’m still doing it, at the elite level somehow 🙏🙏

14. Do you talk to yourself?

ehh not rlly i’m not rlly a talker period

15. Tea or Coffee?

coffee!!

16. First thing you wanted to be growing up?

an athlete😭

17. Movies you adore?

i’m so bad at watching movies i rlly am but challengers is rotting my brain as of late and i think other favorites are black swan and dead poets society

[mousydentist]

tagged by @xxatlasxx !! 🫶🫶

Do you make your bed?

genuinely don’t remember the last time i made my bed if it wasnt when i was putting fresh sheets on

What’s your favorite number?

3!!!! so hard 3. multiples of 3 are also good, my favorite multiple of 3 is 27. 9, 81, 6 are also good(in that order). 24 is also not bad. i know this wasnt the question but fuck 4

What’s your job?

full time student

If you could go back to school would you?

🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲

Can you parallel park?

aaaaaaaaabsolutely not. im a dishonor on my family bc of how bad a driver i am

A job that would surprise people?

my family owned an ice cream shop for several years, and i think within that specifically i would say dipping and delivering chocolate strawberries for 1-800-flowers (fun fact, they outsource all their stuff to local businesses)

Do you think aliens are real?

i guess i do in the way that i think it would be harder to believe that they werent

Can you drive a manual car?

no.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

i feel no guilt or shame and you cant make me vampire knight

Tattoos?

no but i want soommeeee

Favorite color?

blue?

Favorite type of music?

kpop? vibes

Do you like puzzles?

yeah i can fuck with a good puzzles every now and then

Any phobias?

spiders and any crawly insect

Favorite childhood sport?

mmmm probably basketball. even though i hate watching basketball lol

Do you talk to yourself?

who do you think ive been deliberating over these answers with

Coffee or tea?

iced coffee

First thing you wanted to be growing up?

💀 i genuinely think it was a parent 💀💀💀 after that probably some kind of engineer

no pressure tagginnngggg @yourknightofrage @risu442 @shubaka @jazzyjj and anyone who wants to!!

[ernestinapickman]

ship ask meme kurapika/leorio

THIS IS SO TOUGH BC LIKE……I do ship it but I’m not like…….super into it or anything? So I guess I’ll answer all the questions for it lmao.

1. What made you ship it?

Honestly seeing art of them prior to watching/reading hxh. He’s worse than ever you will always be famous.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

THE PARALLELS……b/w each other and with Gon and Killua. Also I do love a “Why don’t we find out what the hell your problem is over dinner sometime”-type pairing.

3. Do you have any unpopular opinions?

I think my answers to the “why don’t you like it” portion will answer this

1. Why don’t you ship it?

There’s just so little that’s actually there……I wish I was into it more but they spend so much of the series apart. I need more like. Actual interaction.

2. What would have made you like it?

I haven’t seen ‘99 yet so maybe that’ll turn me around on it when I get around to watching it. More black whale Leorio page time pls also

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

See above! It’s a ship with a lotta potential I think.

[bonesandthebees]

So Everything else has gone wrong is giving me major Pogtopia vs. Manburg vibes. It’s always fun trying to spot the events and relationships referencing canon in AUs. The crimeboys be doing crime, but they aren’t the only ones. They are just slightly better at it because of some supernatural abilities. And I love how that is 1. Not a common thing at all, which explains all the secretly having to switch you could just take as trying not to be seen because Wilbur’s being cased.

2. It seems to be a hard magic system. Wilbur can’t just change into anyone, he has to constantly consciously keep the change in position. Because of that he has to know what the person he shifts into looks like, and I love that how well he knows a person affects how fast he can shift into them. On top of that there’s some serious painful drawbacks and a clear limit on how long he can keep going (which depend on how often his shifts and how much energy he has).

Tommy seems to have the same thing. I don’t know what things clairvoyance is capable of because I don’t think I know what the word means in English, but it seems to be some combination of telepathy and being all-knowing, but in a way where you have to focus to do it. So obviously Tommy uses that to always bet on the right outcome. Also, his drawbacks seem like shit.

Gotta love all the references to backstory such as whatever happened between Niki and Schlatt as well as Quackity, Schlatt and Wilbur. It’s a nice example of showing vs. Telling. We are technically told what happened between Niki and Schlatt (though it’s vague enough to not feel like exposition and it’s done by a character talking). We are very clearly told something happened between Schlatt, Quackity and Wilbur, but then we are shown how close they were via Wilbur knowing him well enough to know he’s not bluffing and the touching knees. Also, Quackity not selling Wilbur out mainly because Schlatt’s a bitch but also a little because Wilbur indirectly says he deserves better than Schlatt. (though Schlatt not believing him is a very good point.

Also, gotta love self-sacrificial Wilbur. Though he does have a much better chance at getting away with it and Tommy has the money on him, but it’s more protective older brother than common sense. Still, it’s a solid plan, it’s just a shame he overexerted himself by running and shifting and couldn’t hold on until he was actually safe. Also, that he didn’t think of Niki because that held him up and made him have to shift longer.

As you can tell, I’m mild obsessed with this concept. I love the worldbuilding. It’s very intriguing and fun.

-🌲

YEAHHHH the dynamics were definitely inspired by pogtopia vs manberg. I love including loose parallels to dsmp events I feel like it's just such a fun thing to base conflict on

yeah I wanted to make crimeboys abilities not be a normal thing in the world bc i see so many aus where 'powers' are considered the norm. and that's all well and good I've written those myself, but I just wanted to try something different. so yeah the general public does not know those abilities exist at all, hence why wilbur and tommy have to keep it a secret.

I wanted wilbur's shapeshifting to feel realistic. I had to think to myself how I wanted it to function—whether it was more of an illusion-type thing where wilbur can just project an alternate image to everyone around him, or if he's actually physically changing his body. I went with the latter because I felt like it had a lot more restriction to it, which made it more interesting for me to work with. technically he doesn't have to personally know someone well enough to shift into them, but he has to have spent a LOT of time observing them which is almost only going to happen when he, y'know, hangs out with someone a lot. like could he stalk a stranger for days on end and be able to shift into them really well without saying a single word to them? technically yes. but it's just easiest if he knows the individual personally.

clairvoyance is defined as 'the claimed psychic ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception.' it can also be described as being able to perceive future events 'beyond normal sensory contact'. it's kind of a loose term when it comes to describing psychic abilities, but for tommy specifically I decided he's got three main things he can do. 1) he can remotely view a location or person he's not physically near. technically, he can only do this to a limited range, so if he's inside a building he'll just be able to look out onto the street but not go much further than a block or two. but because of the psychic link he and wilbur have, he can remotely view wilbur and the area he's in up to way greater distances, so that's what he's doing for most of the chase scene. 2) he was able to form that psychic link with wilbur, giving them the ability to communicate telepathically (not technically part of clairvoyance but it's just a bonus I gave him). wilbur didn't do this at all, that's not in his wheelhouse. tommy bonded them. 3) perceive future events but only in a very limited sense. this is how tommy was good at gambling. he can see what's going to happen right in front of him in the next few minutes. it tires him out to do this because it's an ability he has to 'activate', and he can only see what's going to happen around him specifically, hence why he doesn't use this during the chase. but if he's about to bet on a dice game or a roulette wheel, he'll be able to see what the winning number will be before it happens

I had so much fun indirectly explaining the backstory between those four characters (wilbur schlatt niki and quackity). especially with the 'niki' and schlatt interaction. it's such a unique perspective to get for a convo like that (schlatt thinking he's talking to niki but he's actually talking to wilbur), and I had a lot of fun playing around with how I'd imagine wilbur would act pretending to be niki while also setting up schlatt and niki's dynamic in this.

and then of course quackity. ah, tntduo. they gotta have something going on in every universe lmao

yeah while wilbur's plan was him pulling a self-sacrificial move it was also the best option for their situation. they were going to be way slower running through that crowd together, so getting tommy away was the priority. and what better way to do that than by tricking the guys following them? yeah, it exhausted him, but if he had chosen someone other than niki to shift into after tommy then he would've gotten back to tommy way faster. it was only bc pulled that stupid move that he was delayed talking to schlatt and overexerted himself so much.

i'm so glad you enjoyed!! i had so much fun with the worldbuilding and dynamics of it all