#because literally no individual detail will make sense unless you consider the show as a whole

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

okay i finished the anime. i feel like i'm going insane

[gay-dorito-dust]

I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.

Adrian was beautiful, even when dried blood clung to his porcelain skin in a haunting art piece only a select few would truly get. He was a harbinger of chaos and death, a force to be reckoned with within his black, white and teal suit. That is where you found the beauty within his madness for his madness was beauty in a more…abstract and lethal sense rather then the traditional. Though that wasn’t where it ended because even outside of his vigilante persona the beauty that was Adrian only blossomed further; within his mannerisms, within his habits, within his personality.The tender moments you’d have late at night later became playful debates on whether or not Batman may be a necrophiliac, something he heard from Chris who heard from the infamous Pepe the frog 89 on twitter.

The way his green eyes twinkled whenever he went into graphic detail of his recent killings with a boyish smile on his face that grew the more invested he got into his own retelling that you were blessed to bear witness to his dimples. Adrian maybe apathetic and literal towards most things that it has proven to drive people away but that seemed to have the opposite effect on you as you’d sit beside him day in day out in hopes of one day getting to say with your whole chest that you knew Adrian Chase the individual behind vigilante. You knew that Adrian didn’t view himself highly, he didn’t value himself as a human being thanks to the words everyone had threw at him or snarked behind his back that he was nothing more then a sacrificial pawn in the grander scheme of things. This lead to Adrian growing reckless as he did as a dangerous foe, uncaring as to when his body breaks and groans beneath him nor the punishment it received on his behalf on the predict that he would finally, finally get the validation from his peers that he oh so desperately craved; proving his loyalty to a cause that wasn’t loyal to him.

That alone disheartened you the most because Adrian -for all that he is- is as sweet and as genuine as they come; Though he outright admits he doesn’t feel emotions the same as others do that doesn’t mean he can’t be hurt like everyone else. The hurt in his eyes could be considered easily missable by many unless you were actively looking for a reaction from the male. The way he practically folds in on himself whenever he had done something wrong as though he were a child, frightened by the aspect of being yelled at or how he would involuntary makes himself the butt of everyone’s jokes and mistaking their laughters at him as them laughing with him. You only wish to show Adrian how you see him because if he did then maybe he would start putting himself first rather then people pleasing those who don’t deserve an ounce of his time.

Meanwhile Adrian thought you as an ethereal being because he honestly can’t name anyone who could understand or withstand him longer then you can; that wasn’t the only thing he thought that was special about you, oh no he was just getting warmed up. He you were especially ethereal when you had a semi-deep cut spanning from your left eyebrow to just beneath your eye as crusted blood flaked off your face like crimson dust particles. Let’s not get Adrian started on the warmth that spread throughout his chest the moment you shot him that soft smile of yours, followed by a tender squeeze of your hand on his thigh almost reassuringly as you engage in conversation with Leota for a while. Everything about you was unique to Adrian who has seen the same shitty personality plastered on every bastard who ever lived in Evergreen that something so sacred should be protected at all costs; a vow Adrian made up on the fly during a particularly nasty mission where he almost lost you on more then one occasion.

Adrian was so eager to learn about every aspect of you that it almost came across as borderline obsession or stalking but Adrian was quick to defuse such claims and cover his basis by saying that it was all to ensure your safety despite being painfully aware of the fact that you could take care of yourself with it without him. Which was extremely hot in Adrian’s opinion but Economos would rebuttal with the fact that Adrian found everything you do extremely hot that the statement looses all meaning after awhile and was just a subconscious response that left Adrian a little flustered whilst the others snickered. It almost felt natural for Adrian to open up to you about everything in a mess of word vomit that you somehow understood; He would open up about his childhood and how his father left him and his mother behind and would bring up the remarks Chris made about the situation which lead to him having to explain to you that his ‘best friend’ didn’t mean for it to come across in a negative notion when he saw your clenched jaw and furrowed brows.

Adrian never felt more seen the he did when he was with you and how you got defensive on his behalf only forced him to become uncomfortably aware of how his body reacted when you were nearby that he would rush home and make a bulletin board of what it could possibly mean whenever he reacted excitedly to you being pissed on his behalf or when you grew defensive over him whenever someone thought it’d be funny to make a snide remark about him while you were in the room. Adrian didn’t care about what was being said about him because he’s heard it all before but when he sees that you refused any sort of shit talking aimed at him only made him more aware of his infatuation with you. He loves being protected by you, cared by you, cuddled by you that couldn’t help but think of what it would be like if you were to ever get together. Would it be any different? Would you grow more defensive of him? Would you be the type to kiss his wounds if he were to ask nicely enough? Most importantly, would it even be possible for you two to be together.

You were ethereal in a way that Adrian feels as though no matter how much he knew of you there was always something new for him to learn about you that it almost becomes a hyper fixation of his. You were an enigma to him, an artwork only a specific set of individuals could understand the intentions behind that he wishes to be apart of. Though there were moments where he could make vague sense of what you were feeling most days but most of the times he was at a loss and he wanted to become better at reading cues so he could be of better aid to you whenever you felt like shit. So that one day he could repay you for everything you’ve done for him, he wishes that he could verbalise his thoughts so he could show you how he sees you because it’s beautiful. If only you could see yourself the way Adrian see you then maybe you could see that he would risk everything, even his own safety if it meant seeing you flash that smile his way one more time.

[shihalyfie]

You talk a lot about how the Digimon are born from the kids own souls, would you be interested into describing how the digimon partners reflect their humans' personalities?

Oh man, I love this topic! (You’ll have to forgive me in that my desire to do justice for it is why it ended up taking me this long to answer it.)

The part about the Digimon literally being part of the kids’ souls comes directly from official (it’s been mentioned several times, not only in what I just linked). This was never stated outright in the original Adventure or 02, and it took until Kizuna to really shove the link between the partner and the human’s inner self in your face and make it a huge part of the actual story, but fans had been catching onto it long before that, and even without reading what the staff had said. Kizuna throws a bit of a nail in this because it’s said to be a bit lore-noncompliant, but considering how much of the background lore it still goes out of its way to adhere to, and the fact it still does match the fundamental concept of “human heart = Digimon partner” regardless of detailed minutiae, we can still apply and analyze this concept with no problem, especially since Adventure and 02 always walked the line between sci-fi and fantasy, and there is undoubtedly a spiritual element to them no matter how you look at it.

(My personal comfort zone in analyzing Adventure and 02 comes moreso from a human behavior and mentality perspective, which is also why my meta on this blog tends to focus more on the human drama aspects of Adventure and 02 and especially the latter’s story being so heavily about human relationships, but if you’re interested in said spiritual elements, I heavily recommend @analyzingadventure‘s very comprehensive meta on Adventure background lore and themes, which also covers similar territory in detail. We’re different people, so our takes on it probably differ in some respects, but that’s the beauty of having different perspectives, after all.)

In any case, back to your question. I think it would be best to break this down piece-by-piece with the Adventure and 02 kids in detail, so more is under the cut!

...Well, okay, before we continue, I do want to touch on something briefly, and it’s regarding the fact that “evolution” in this series is generally a metaphor for human growth. That counts for when everyone gets their evolutions, but it also counts as a metaphor overall -- after all, Adventure is about self-assertion and pushing oneself as far as possible (the major evolution gimmick being tied to Crests), whereas 02 is about cultivating differing aspects of yourself and applying it to how you form relationships with others (the major evolution gimmick being tied to Digimentals and ultimately Jogress). The human self is quite a flexible thing, and the Digimon themselves quite often change personalities as they evolve. (I touched on this briefly in my discussion of honorfiics and first-person pronouns earlier, but in Japanese, the Digimon will often even change personalities and speech patterns as they evolve.) This also leads to a few other potential observations (not really corroborated by official, just my personal view of it):

Speaking from a meta perspective, the fact that only the “front protagonists” end up getting the highest level forms is pretty obviously so they don’t have to spend toy budget on allocating it to everyone, but from an in-story perspective, Adventure episode 50 adds an implication that not reaching as high of a form may also have to do with how inherently attuned one is to combat (Jou says that he believes that Gomamon will never reach Ultimate because he doesn’t have the sort of strength Taichi and Yamato do, and it contributes to his conclusion that his skills are more meaningfully applied as a healer instead of as a fighter). Of course, none of the Adventure or 02 cast is necessarily the belligerent type that inherently likes fighting in itself, but of course certain ones are less emotionally drained or more attuned to it, so you might be able to see a rough pattern there. (Again, I’m not going to sugarcoat how this still has a lot of dismaying issues on the meta level, but the difference between “how much this sucks on a meta level” and “whether this at least tracks in-story” is a common theme on this blog.) In a franchise sense, Digimon were of course conceptualized as fighting monsters, but within the narrative of Adventure, it probably stands to reason that having a manifested part of your soul or inner self shouldn’t necessarily mean they have to be fighting things all of the time unless it’s necessary.

It’s very often been pointed out that the 02 cast is at a sort of “combat disadvantage” compared to their seniors (well, and Takeru and Hikari, anyway) because their highest forms require two people/Digimon to be in play, so their overall combat power is rather low. My impression is that this is by design (and it’s a subversion of the usual expectation of shounen anime sequels where the sequel will often power creep everything to make the new guard outdo the first). That the 02 team is inherently dependent on each other for support, and to a degree far more than their seniors, is rather baked into its narrative, and moreover, from an in-story perspective, the 02 group doesn’t seem like the type to really care about being outflanked by their seniors (on the contrary, they’d probably take that as more proof that their seniors are amazing). Moreover, the forms you see their Digimon in most of the time tend towards the smaller Baby-level forms instead of the Child-level ones, and while this is partially due to plot logistics about being in the real world (and, admittedly, kind of inconsistently applied), it gives you a much stronger impression of the 02 kids and their partners in general being people who aren’t that individually imposing or strong and get more mileage out of flexibility and variety (see: the Digimentals and the huge number of lower-level forms the kids have access to).

With this kind of metaphor, I caution against taking it too literally as a 1:1 thing (especially since official has been generally quiet about it and there isn’t much in the series text itself to corroborate this), but I do think there is certainly some kind of relevance that’s worth thinking about.

Many people, including the official notes I just linked, refer to there being some Digimon partners that are "like-minded” with their partner, and some that are “opposite” in personality. This is roughly true, but I find this to be a very simplified description of the concept; it’s more like all Digimon partners are a reflection of the less easily exposed part of their human partner (and, most pertinently, the part that would allow them to express themselves in ways they wouldn’t normally), it’s just that the kids with more straightforward or less extreme personalities don’t have as much to hide or cover up in the first place, and so their partners come off as more “like-minded”. Even Urawa Megumi, voice of Iori and Armadimon (arguably one of the pairs of partners that seem “opposing” in personality), stated that she didn’t personally feel like the two characters are all that different, since humans have different sides to them, and Armadimon is functionally an expression of the side of Iori that isn’t apparent.

Because the Adventure narrative has the Digimon partners be linked to human mentality, this leads to the side effect that you won’t have a Digimon partner who ever truly denies the human partner (barring external factors like Evil Ring-induced brainwashing), which is something producer Seki Hiromi was quite insistent about. That said, this is a very Adventure and 02-specific thing, since other series go more into different angles about how one would approach partnership when this factor is not in play; half of Tamers’s drama regarding partners comes from the fact they are not necessarily mentally linked all of the time, and need to find a way to build a relationship by bridging that gap, and so non-Adventure universe entries are more freely able to explore the concepts of a Digimon partner more consciously entering conflict with their human partner. Well, that’s the beauty of having a multi-entry franchise, after all.

Taichi and Agumon

Taichi and Agumon immediately jump to mind as the first among the “like-minded” pairs, especially since the series shows them so often in sync and chilling together. Taichi himself is a straightforward person, so it stands to reason that his straightforward personality would also lend to Agumon coming off as being rather much like him.

However, there is one slight difference between the two, and it’s that Agumon has a somewhat stronger sense of “easygoing chill” than Taichi does, right down to using the more polite boku first-person pronoun in contrast to Taichi’s more assertive ore. He also lacks Taichi’s penchant for mild insensitivity -- in fact, very unlike Taichi, he has an incredible amount of emotional insight (02 spends quite a bit of time in 02 episodes 32 and 46 to showing off Agumon as someone who makes up for all of his lack of intellectual understanding with emotional and borderline poetic insight). And, really, while Taichi is a bit surface-insensitive, and while he seems to be impulsive, he actually is a conscientious person and is trying his best in his own way, and he isn’t the kind of person who cares about societal things like seniority, and he demonstrates multiple times that he’s easygoing and chill, and so you can say that’s a part of Taichi as well. Remembering that a Digimon partner’s presence helps their own human partner grow, Agumon being so openly friendly helps Taichi maintain good relations with others without running afoul of them.

One of Agumon’s most famous traits is that he likes food, which is not actually something that was in the original Adventure or 02 all that much but has been somewhat exaggerated since. That said, back in Adventure, while it was established that all Digimon regularly need food in order to maintain their evolutions, Agumon would usually be the first to complain “I’m hungry,” and whenever they did get food, Agumon would be one of the most prominently enjoying it. Food is, after all, one of the simplest and most universal of pleasures, and there’s a lot of visual framing of Taichi chowing down just as ravenously as Agumon is -- so, honestly, he probably got it from him.

Taichi also speaks a bit about his pain of being separated from Agumon in the space between Adventure and 02, and he directly refers to Agumon as “the other me”. The word “partner” was not actually used very much in the original Adventure or 02, and Taichi is not able to fully elucidate the sentiment of Agumon’s connection to his own self, but he still understands this much and why the loss cuts him so deeply, and by the time we get to Kizuna, it’s presumably why he uses similar language in his thesis proposal to refer to him. (I already covered the circumstances of Agumon’s relationship to Taichi’s existential crisis in Kizuna and how it led to their separation earlier, so I will omit it here for the sake of avoiding redundancy.)

Yamato and Gabumon

This might surprise some people to hear, but I would also pin this as one of the more ostensibly “like-minded” pairs. Gabumon is shy on the surface, but turns out to be quite passionate -- he uses the same assertive ore as Yamato, in contrast to Agumon’s boku, and he demonstrates his capacity for passion and action in that he’s arguably one of the most assertive in the cast. Note his taking initiative against Yamato’s frostbite in Adventure episode 9, or declaring his intent to stay with Yamato even if it means going against the others in Adventure episode 44, or singlehandedly dragging Yamato out of the hole of darkness in Adventure episode 51.

And, of course, Yamato himself is someone who initially seems a little awkward or detached around everyone, but is actually very passionate, so that’s all the same. And because Gabumon himself is so open about communicating with the otherwise closed-in Yamato, Yamato is able to express himself better over the course of Adventure.

Funny thing about that “shyness”, too -- the idea of Gabumon being particularly shy isn’t present in 02 much at all (we don’t get to see him very much, so it’s hard to say whether it’s completely gone, but it’s at least gone enough for the duration of his appearances). Which is funny, considering: guess who else stopped being shy and became naturally outgoing in 02? Yeah, so, as much as you might hear people (even official!) claim that the Digimon are static while their partners change, that’s not completely true -- the Digimon themselves develop in personality in the same way their human partners do. It’s just more subtle and less drastic, since they’re representing an abstract single part of their personality rather than being an exact match.

Sora and Piyomon

Sora and Piyomon have an interesting relationship in that they’re the only one where their relationship started off on a note of conflict -- mainly in that Sora was very put off by Piyomon at first and even looked down condescendingly on her (well, only for the duration of a single episode). In fact, Sora’s own surface behavior is very different from the kind and caring Sora we know -- Sora dislikes associating with the clingy and affectionate Piyomon for being “mushy”, and even declares that she doesn’t want to “take responsibility” for lugging her around.

Of course, Sora’s character arc later revolves around the fact that she has abysmally bad self-awareness and doesn’t even realize that she has a compulsive sense of responsibility to others. So Sora is affectionate and loving -- she just puts up a front of trying to act a little above that (well, at least, during this part of the series) and doesn’t even see herself as someone capable of being like that (again, purely during this part of the series).

Piyomon is also interesting in that she has one of the most dramatic personality shifts even as early as Child to Adult, where she suddenly switches from the casual atashi to watashi (sometimes even kono watashi, which is super regal), and becomes incredibly dignified and regal even as Birdramon, and you can certainly see why Sora immediately started taking her seriously thereafter. It also begs a lot to think about, considering Sora’s very convoluted character and the many layers of herself that even she isn’t consciously aware of.

The way Piyomon helped Sora shift her own mentality is pretty directly handed to you on a plate in Adventure episode 26 -- because Piyomon played the role of Sora in the metaphor of Sora’s behavior towards Piyomon correlated to Toshiko’s behavior towards Sora, Sora was able to re-adjust her position relative to her family and consider her both someone capable of love, and someone who is loved.

Koushirou and Tentomon

Koushirou and Tentomon are another pair that initially seem like they’re opposing types, with Koushirou being constantly curious and Tentomon being comparatively simple-minded, but the first key to figuring out where the similarity is ends up being a bit deceptive -- Tentomon says in Adventure episode 5 that he’s not particularly interested in himself. And, certainly, Koushirou is interested in Tentomon, but he, too, is not interested in himself -- in fact, he considers himself to be a topic he’d rather avoid instead of looking into everything else.

As far as language goes, while Tentomon does also use the stereotypically easygoing Kansai dialect, he also specifically uses the polite form, mirroring Koushirou’s own perpetual use of polite language. But unlike Koushirou, who uses it to keep distance from others, Tentomon is in fact very sociable, and is even portrayed as a Digimon who’s conscientious of others and “takes care” of them. And because Tentomon is so openly friendly, he manages to coax Koushirou out of his shell and allow him to think about more complicated things related to his own position in the world that he’d been avoiding.

As Koushirou’s character arc proceeds, we learn that he’s polite not only out of distance but also because he really is a very kind person, and moreover that he does eventually want to open up to others. And the payoff for this eventually comes in 02...

...when he ends up becoming one of the most visible members of the older Adventure cast to appear in the series, checking in on the younger kids and developing into someone capable of organizing and managing people. Hmm, seems familiar.

Mimi and Palmon

This one’s an easy one. Mimi is possibly the most straightforward person in the original Adventure cast -- well, that’s the point of her Crest after all -- and so Palmon is almost exactly like her, being a cheerful type who loves being cute. Any contrast between them is only really apparent in the very early episodes of the series, and that’s not even a contrast in theory as much as it’s just something that might intrigue audiences at first when Mimi spent a lot of those episodes complaining, but that’s also mostly because she was heavily under stress, and otherwise Mimi has always been kind and cheerful and indulgent in being cute.

Perhaps the only real difference is that Palmon, being a plant, is more willing to get involved with dirt and other things that Mimi ostensibly would rather not, but as the series progresses, Mimi manages to gain a higher sense of tolerance and get past her initial sense of materialism (which is something she’d had the capacity for the whole time).

Jou and Gomamon

Of the Adventure pairs, this one is probably the one that seems like the biggest contrast on its face, with the overly high-strung and constantly stressed Jou, and the more playful and relaxed Gomamon.

In the end, Jou is someone who’s defined by his desire to support others, and even admits at the end of the series that he’s better suited for a support role than for fighting, and that there’s nothing wrong with that as long as he continues to channel his desire to help people in a way he’s most comfortable with. So, in the end, he’s not actually an inherently aggressive type. And, meanwhile, Gomamon is the kind who’s constantly looking out for Jou, to the point of knowing (such as in Adventure episode 7) when he’s about to do something phenomenally stupid and minding him so that nothing bad happens to him, and so, this is probably why they’re ultimately able to settle down and end the series eye-to-eye (or perhaps hand-to-hand).

And, again, recall that Digimon partners generally reflect a part that’s vital to their own human partner’s growth; considering that Jou is most certainly one of the more extreme personalities in this cast, you get the feeling that he probably needs someone this chill to keep his massive stress tendencies in check.

Takeru and Patamon

Takeru and Patamon are an interesting case largely due to the two of them being so present for a whole two series. In Adventure, both of them seem to be largely like-minded, being playful, innocent, and childish -- although Patamon is more open about expressing the childishness that Takeru keeps trying to cover up. Patamon being roughly on the same playing field (no pun intended) as Takeru means that Takeru has someone he’s willing to be open with and let himself loose a little (such as in Adventure episode 12), because for the first half of the series, he’s almost entirely in the presence of elders and stifling himself for the sake of being “well-behaved”, and it starts his long journey of being able to understand his position and his actual sense of emotions over the course of Adventure and 02.

Patamon also has a striking personality change upon evolving, becoming the regal and dignified Angemon, and, interestingly, his appearances have a very “knight templar” vibe where he takes a no-compromise stance against dark forces and states that he’ll condemn all of them to oblivion. This is a stance that’s unnervingly similar to Takeru’s own no-compromise stance against the darkness in 02, and it’s interesting in that Takeru himself had been advocating for pacifism in Adventure episode 12, but this incident traumatized him enough to start taking a position that more resembled Angemon’s.

As we go into 02, Takeru’s contrast with Patamon initially seems like an increased mismatch, since Patamon is still ostensibly childish and playful while Takeru is ostensibly more mature. But for one, Takeru’s character arc is about the fact that he’s still pretending he’s more in control of his emotions than he actually is, and in some way you can also glean that there’s a sort of naivete present in his character that he keeps covering up with confident smiles. Patamon, for his part, does actually seem to have adopted a bit of a mentor role to the other Digimon, and we also learn that he’s capable of deliberately trolling people instead of just being generically playful -- much like Takeru himself, who’s a bit evasive and not entirely honest.

We do actually see Patamon reach HolyAngemon in 02 episode 34, but it doesn’t work out well, and while this is partially for plot mechanic reasons, it also says a lot that the “knight templar” stance that both Takeru and HolyAngemon have, with the full depth of no-compromise, isn’t going anywhere, and in the end, something more effective is only possible when Shakkoumon appears in 02 episodes 36-37 -- that is, Takeru is only able to better move on with Iori’s support.

Hikari and Tailmon

Hikari is the only of the Tokyo Chosen Children to have a Digimon who “defaults” to Adult instead of Child or lower, and it means that Tailmon herself comes with a certain amount of maturity -- on top of having been become a bit hardened due to her experiences being isolated. This is an ostensible contrast to the more pure-hearted and innocent Hikari, but note that Hikari’s own will can be pretty assertive when it comes down to it. On top of that, as much as Tailmon is a bit standoffish, Hikari is also “emotionally isolated” -- she has trouble vocalizing her negative feelings, and it’s difficult for anyone in Adventure or the first half of 02 to truly connect with her internal thoughts. Recalling that the Digimon partner reflects a side of the human partner that’s less easily exposed and allows the human partner to grow in ways they wouldn’t before, Tailmon’s sheer presence gives Hikari a route to action in ways she probably wouldn’t have beforehand.

In 02, Hikari becomes a little more mischievous and playful, and Tailmon also becomes a bit more willing to indulge (she even switches first-person pronouns in sync with Hikari, going from the more polite watashi to the more casual atashi). Both of them are now more able to enjoy themselves more openly. That said, Tailmon still has a certain degree of stuffy personal pride (she snarks at everyone quite easily for fussing over snacks in 02 episode 3), and Hikari herself remains emotionally elusive and repressive at the start of this series.

Tailmon evolves temporarily to Angewomon in 02 episode 13, which is the first time anyone (in this case, Takeru) makes some degree of headway to reaching out to her and allowing her to open up a bit more, but it’s not until 02 episode 31 when Hikari is fully reached out to via Miyako, which marks the first appearance of Silphymon.

Daisuke and V-mon

Now here’s a very like-minded pair, even more so than Taichi and Agumon -- and, after all, Daisuke is simple-minded, so painfully simple-minded that he’s practically incapable of hiding anything, and so V-mon is almost exactly like him, down to using the same ore pronoun and being feisty and mischievous (a point is also made that he plays soccer with Daisuke, something that Agumon didn’t necessarily do with Taichi), and, heck, in a rare show of Digimon-Digimon crushes, has a crush on Tailmon in the exact same way Daisuke has on Hikari. (By the time we get to Kizuna and its higher animation budget, a lot of attention is paid to having even their body language mirror each other.)

There is only one real functional difference between the two in disposition, and it’s that V-mon is very straightforward, friendly, and kind, without being prone to getting angry or spiteful at anyone, and in the end, it’s indicative of the fact that Daisuke’s tendency to lash out defensively at everyone is just a front -- at his core, he’s friendly, supportive, and kind. Daisuke’s experiences and banter with V-mon contribute to him getting the sort of validation he needed without having to worry about being on edge or lash out defensively, and because of that, he was able to form a healthier and more supportive relationship with the rest of the group.

Miyako and Hawkmon

This one seems to be a contrast right off the bat -- Miyako is bubbly, over-the-top, and rather messy and lacking in restraint, whereas Hawkmon is formal, graceful, and polite. But Hawkmon’s most prominent trait is his absolute loyalty and devotion to Miyako -- he’s very often referred to by both official staff and fans as her “knight” -- and is constantly minding her to protect her and make sure she doesn’t go over her head (most prominently, 02 episode 18). And as far as Miyako’s relationship to others goes -- she’s also devotedly loyal to everyone she loves and is constantly going out of her way to help others, and her character arc in itself is about the fact she wants to do her best to reach out to people and help emotionally support them in the best way she can, and Hawkmon managing to channel that to its utmost extent to Miyako in turn (in a very “who watches the watchman?” sense) allows her to regain her bearings and have better control over herself in the aftermath of 02 episode 18.

On top of that, as the series proceeds, it turns out that Hawkmon also shares Miyako’s penchant for dramatic theatrics and being a bit over his head -- even if he seemingly has himself more together than Miyako does, he’s not completely above it all...

Miyako is also the franchise’s first example of a female character with a masculine Digimon partner, and while Miyako herself openly identifies with and indulges in all things hyper-feminine, she also has zero issue engaging in more masculine-associated things as they suit her -- most prominently her Digital World outfit, and the fact she often displays a rather aggressive go-getter and hot-blooded/in-your-face personality that would not be out of place on a male shounen hero in a more conventional show. (Although, as much as these have generally been on the thread of “less visible aspects”, it’s not like this was that less visible of an aspect of her to begin with...)

Iori and Armadimon

Iori and Armadimon hold the honor of being the only pair in the Tokyo Chosen Children to be voiced by the same voice actress (Urawa Megumi), driving the parallel down even further. And while their surface temperaments seem different, with Iori being rather uptight and strict on himself while Armadimon is laid-back, carefree, and even somewhat assertive, they’re not that different -- Armadimon is basically the curious, impressionable, somewhat childish spirit that Iori would be if he weren’t constantly holding himself back. (There’s a lot to be said about Submarimon going out of his way to take Iori for a ride in 02 episode 16 so that Iori can finally properly enjoy himself for once.)

Iori takes a lot of very stubborn, no-compromise positions over the course of 02, but Armadimon asking just the right kinds of questions allows him to “snap out of it” and be a little more receptive to considering alternatives, or at least taking into account more emotionally-oriented issues he’s dealing with. You can say that Armadimon (especially as Upamon) softening Iori up a bit -- since Iori will never be cold or unforgiving towards his partner, no matter what -- serves as a precursor to Iori starting to question the limitations of his black-and-white view of morality, which allows him to successfully break through to Takeru and fill out the rest of his character arc.

Ken and Wormmon

Considering how much of the plot revolved around this one, this one almost goes entirely without saying! During Ken’s stint as the Kaiser, Wormmon represents the heart that Ken’s not entirely willing to leave behind -- and, also, the affection that he’s still craving from his family. The Kaiser going practically out of his way to deny Wormmon yet paradoxically keeping him around is basically his attitude towards his own “weak” and naturally kindhearted self. Notably, recall that the principle of “a Digimon will never deny their partner” applies here -- Wormmon’s “betrayal” of the Kaiser isn’t really any kind of denial, since he was doing it mainly for Ken’s own sake, and, more symbolically, it’s Ken reaching his own limit and coming to realize that this path isn’t what he really wants.

Wormmon is unusually clingy to his own partner over the course of 02, and it’s vital to Ken needing to learn to love himself and also getting important validation that he needs, especially during the critical point in time during 02 episodes 23-30 when he’s still not sure how to approach the rest of the group -- Wormmon gives him someone to talk to honestly and openly, giving him a proper springboard to sort out his complicated feelings about the others and himself. You can say also that as Ken becomes more open and straightforward over the course of the latter half of 02, he, in turn, becomes much more shameless about showing affection and opening his own heart.

Wallace, Gumimon, and Chocomon

Bonus round!

While it’s hard to fully apply Hurricane Touchdown to this theory (by official admission, it wasn’t properly cross-referenced with the original Adventure/02 series lore, and trying to correlate all of the evolutions in this movie to something metaphorical will give you a headache), Wallace’s two partners still fit very neatly into this overall theory of Digimon partners as a part of the self. Wallace is a character with very sharp duality, trying to be a flirt who asserts himself as a vagrant who’s about to “become an adult”, yet still feels an obligation to keep calling his mom and is engaging in increasingly self-destructive behavior.

Most pertinently, Gumimon and Chocomon represent the two stances Wallace is torn between: wanting to “return to the past” (Chocomon) because he’s still hung up on having lost Chocomon and is convinced that he can make everything just like it was before, and “being able to productively move on” (Gumimon). For most of the early parts of the movie, Wallace is stuck on Chocomon’s mentality of fixating on the past, and Gumimon isn’t even remotely subtle when he draws an explicit parallel between the two (saying that Chocomon didn’t like the heat, followed by offering to give Wallace shade as a hat). But once the conflict escalates and Wallace realizes just how deep in denial Chocomon is, to the point of being destructive to himself and others, Wallace comes to embrace Gumimon’s stance of practicality and moving on. In the end, the ultimate conclusion is reached, and Wallace is forced to fully accept that latter stance when Chocomon dies, but the movie’s ending (and Kizuna) provide an extra option: allowing the past to come back, but in a new form and treading new territory instead of trying to make it “the way it was before”.

[astubborntaurus]

Locational Astrology Part III - Choosing the Best Places to Go

Part I - Relocation Charts

Part II - AstroCartography Maps

Welcome to the 3rd and final part of my Introduction to Locational Astrology lesson! In Part 1 we talked about why location matters in astrology and the role of relocation charts, in Part 2 we talked about AstroCartography maps, and now we’re going to use that knowledge to pick out the best places in the world for you to go. If you haven’t read Parts 1 and 2 yet, I highly suggest reading through those before continuing so this lesson will make sense. Also, again, these techniques depend on having an absolutely exact time of birth for your chart, down to the precise minute. Even just a several minute inaccuracy can completely throw off the entire interpretation.

Here we go!

Start with the natal chart

Now that we understand relocation charts and AstroCartography maps, we’re equipped to start answering the fundamental question of locational astrology: “where are the best places for me to go?” The first step in answering this is to look at your natal chart to get a sense of your most advantageous and most challenging placements. If you have any planets that are in their ruling sign, are exalted, or have trine and/or sextile aspects, make a note of that. If you have planets that are in their detriment or fall, or have squares or oppositions to other planets, make a note of those, too. What we want to do in the next step is find places that put your best-placed planets on top of your AC, MC, DC, or IC, and in ways that line up with what you want to achieve through relocation.

Getting to know the planets

First, let’s look at the planets. Remember, moving to a location on one of these lines could turn up the volume of any of that planet’s traits for you, including those that come from more personal configurations in your chart rather than just the planet’s “normal” archetype. Things like rulership, aspects, sign placements, and anything else from your natal chart can’t be accounted for in this general intro lesson here, but make sure to consider those when interpreting what one of your lines will do. Each line will turn up the volume of that planet in your life exponentially, so you’ll want to get to know the planet’s role in your life as intimately as possible when interpreting what that line means for you.

The general effects of each line

Once you understand the personal role of a planet in your life, it’s a great time to start thinking about what the lines mean. Below are some general interpretations for each planet and angles on the lines. Be sure to check the interpretation for both the planet and the angle. For example, to learn about the Mercury MC line, read both the “Mercury Lines” and the “MC Lines” interpretations below to see which theme is being amplified and where in life it’s being channeled. 

Planets: Which themes you’re amplifying

Sun Lines: If you have a well-placed and well-aspected natal sun, these lines can amplify your vitality and life force, making you feel bolder, energetic, empowered, and inspired in these places.

Moon Lines: These lines put more of a spotlight on your emotions, family, fundamental roots, and sense of security. If you have a well-placed moon, this can go very well on your DC or IC, but it’s typically best to avoid more public-facing moon lines unless you have a really good reason for wanting to go more public with your emotions.

Mercury Lines: These lines can make you much busier and immerse you in constant communication with others and intellectual stimulation.

Venus Lines: These lines put more of an emphasis on themes like beauty, romance, and indulgence. These also tend to be great places to develop your sense of charisma if you have a well-aspected Venus.

Mars Lines: These places can really stimulate your passion, energy, and willpower, but also make you more prone to anger, recklessness, and accidents. They’re exciting, but can be a bit of a wildcard. They’re typically safest if you have a very well-aspected Mars.

Jupiter Lines: These are ideal lines for adventure, growth, and expansion. Your activities on these lines will probably expand to things much vaster than planned. They’re fantastic places to go if you’re feeling restricted and looking to expand more on something in your life.

Saturn Lines: On these lines, you may be forced to work harder and develop a much more rigid sense of discipline and responsibility. They also can make you feel very trapped and restricted, though, and you may end up stuck in these places (literally or metaphorically) and stay for longer than planned

Uranus Lines: These places will make you feel more rebellious and unsatisfied, demanding that you act on your need for freedom and independence to make changes and fight the status quo. They require a large amount of self-motivation, or else you might end up feeling angry and unsatisfied.

Neptune Lines: These lines are excellent for escapism and artistic endeavors. However, things might not be what they seem to be here, and you may find yourself seeing the world through rose tinted glasses in these places if you’re not very careful.

Pluto Lines: These are very intense places that will put you face-to-face with themes of death, the taboo, and very intense transformation.

Lunar Node Lines: These are probably the weirdest of the lines, and visiting them will likely be very deep and karmic experiences that feel too strange to be coincidence. These usually aren’t ideal places to live long-term because they are so spiritually exhausting, but shorter trips to these places can be life-altering experiences in unexpected ways.

Angles: Where in your life that planet will be channeled

AC Lines: These relate to your self, identity, and expression. These put the corresponding planet on the forefront of your identity, allowing you to explore formerly repressed parts of your identity and express yourself more truly to that part of yourself.

MC Lines: These lines make their corresponding planet become extremely public to the world and prominent in your career and public image. If you’d rather keep the traits of a particular planet private, such as your moon, don’t move to its MC line.

DC Lines: These relate to your relationships, coworkers, close friendships, and enemies. The corresponding planets of these lines might manifest in two ways: in the way you experience your connections with others, or in the kinds of people who come into your life here.

IC Lines: These lines make their corresponding planet manifest very strongly in your home and family life. This is ideal for stability-seeking planets that can help you build a solid foundation in your home life in the new location, but planets like Mars and Pluto on the IC can make your home life more volatile and unstable.

Good lines for challenging placements

Some lines may be extremely beneficial for some people, but rathe dangerous for others because of how the corresponding planet is placed and aspected in their natal charts. Earlier in the lecture, I said to take note of the strongest and most challenging placements in your chart to avoid moving to a line that will put your more challenging areas of your life on a pedestal. If there’s a theme in life that you want to develop, but it’s connected to a more challengingly-placed planet in your chart, another way to get beneficial effects for planets that are more harshly placed or aspected in your chart is to click the “w. harmonious aspects” button on the AstroClick travel map from Part 2. This shows where you can go to form trines and sextiles between planets and your AC, IC, MC, or DC in the relocation chart, getting a softer and more mellowed-down but harmonious version of what you’d get on the conjunction line. These can still be very powerful places to go with an incredible impact on your life. Seriously, these lines are epic - don’t underestimate them. 

What to do next

Looking at your AstroCartography map, make note of some specific locations on lines that you like. Once you have a few places in mind, check out your relocation charts for those places more detailed information about how they could impact you, and there you have it! You’ve done a locational astrology reading!

Advanced AstroCartography

These are just a few techniques used in interpreting relocation charts and AstroCartography maps, but many astrologers have their own individualized approaches to it. Some astrologers use techniques such as Zenith Latitudes to Crossing Latitudes to create even more lines, and some people even cross-check planets in both tropical and sidereal charts to see if a planet is well-placed in one but debilitated in another. Also, looking at any transits and progressions impacting the planets you’re hoping to amplify can give you a much more detailed view of what’s going on, but that’s more advanced and outside the scope of this lesson. That only begins the list of many other locational astrology techniques, but I hope that this lesson helped you get a feel for the general idea so that you can start building an approach of your own!

Thank you so much for reading this lesson, and I hope that it was helpful. As always, I’m here if you ever have any questions. This is one of my favorite topics in astrology and I’m always happy to talk about it more.

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

First I gotta say that I love you and your work, it's incredible and I enjoy every post✨

My brother said that Qui-Gon and Luke are grey jedi and that Luke has a red lightsaber as backup or something like that. And I'm looking at him with mad side eye and just wanted to ask your opinion on it?

❤️❤️❤️ Aaaaaw, so sweet!!!!

... Wait, Luke has a red lightsaber? *furious typing* Ah, yes. It’s in like three Legends books, and therefore worthless. 

Just kidding - but here lies the first problem. What continuity is your brother even working with? Because you cannot - and I will die on this hill even though it’s just basic common sense, cannot - attempt to reconcile the Legends EU and Lucas’ vision for Star Wars into one cohesive universe. The characters don’t work, the themes don’t work, the timelines don’t work, the ideas don’t work. 

Here is a bit of an explanation on why I believe that to be the case, and the quotes backing it up, but basically, Lucas, Filoni and LucasFilms all confirmed that the extended universe was not to be considered on par with the movies and TCW in any way. I’m not saying this to criticize the EU itself, or to say people don’t have a right to find it immensely entertaining/meaningful. I’m saying this to explain why you cannot take pieces of the EU (yes, even the old EU) to try and contextualize the movies - unless Lucas/somebody on the creative team of a piece of ‘higher’ canon expressly admitted to having taken something directly out of Legends.

Now, is there such a thing as a “Grey Jedi” in the movies, or TCW? No, there isn’t, but we’ll come back to that. 

The second problem is the very definition of Grey Jedi. Depending on who you ask, what decades-old Legends book you go on from, Grey Jedi are either individuals capable of using both the Dark and the Light, or simply rogue Jedi. 

Breaking it down case by case: I - Are Luke or Qui-Gon rogue Jedi? II - Do Luke or Qui-Gon use both the Light and the Dark?

I (A) - Qui-Gon is characterized as a bit of maverick, but he is by no means a complete outlier to the Jedi. I’ll just drop these two very interesting posts here and here that are a bit off-topic but make some great points about Qui-Gon loving the Order and definitely identifying as part of it.  We get many, many instances of the Council itself approving of him. They overrule Yoda’s vote to not have Anakin trained, they still assign Qui-Gon very important missions like the one to Naboo, and they don’t pull him out of said missions when Qui-Gon shows up with a random kid he claims to be the incarnation of the Force itself. That is indicative of a high degree of trust, to say the least - so you can say that he is ‘rogue’ in the sense that he used to eff off to wherever to do his own stuff, but he never claimed to be anything other than a Jedi, he never left the Jedi, and he never criticized the Order in the movies or TCW (yes, you can check - he never once directly says anything about them being wrong for not doing things his way; just that he will do what he feels he must.)

"Tu-Anh was something of a maverick. Much like my own master, Qui-Gon Jinn. She would disappear for long periods, conducting rogue investigations. Her activities often unknown to even the Council." ―Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Jen June on Tu-Ahn[src]   

So yeah, rogue somewhat, but still a Jedi Master, trusted to the point that they would have had him on the Council had he chilled a bit. 

He also never does anything in the movies that sets him apart as oh-so-different from his fellow Jedi. Arguing with the Council? Everybody does that. Anakin does, Obi-Wan does, Yoda does, Ahsoka does, the younglings do - they argue with Obi-Wan in the Ilum arc. Being compassionate/nice to people? Check out the Disappeared, two entire episodes that have Mace befriending Jar Jar Binks. Here’s a list of instances of the Council being incredibly nice. Here, here and here is Mace being kind and compassionate. Qui-Gon liking Anakin? Here’s the Council and Anakin bantering. Here’s Yoda caring about Anakin. 

Again, Qui-Gon wanted Anakin trained as a Jedi, and trusted his straight(er)-laced Jedi Padawan with it in the end. There is nothing in the movies or the show saying Qui-Gon was completely separate from the Order, or in radical opposition to them.

I (B) - Luke is the Order reborn, so he cannot be rogue, as the only thing he can measure himself against is himself. There is no longer a standard to be rogue in comparison to. Considering the state of the galaxy when he becomes a Jedi, Luke simply cannot function in the same way the Jedi who came before him did, but that doesn’t say anything about a rejection of the values of the PT Order. What it means to be a Jedi - being kind and compassionate, being in control of yourself, seeking peace before violence - is embodied by Luke. Furthermore, Luke loves Yoda and Obi-Wan - the quintessential Jedi characters - deeply, and finds much of his identity in being a Jedi. 

“I am a Jedi, like my father before me” would be a really weird line if Luke actually meant “but like, not a Jedi like those Jedi. I’m a me-Jedi. A not-like-them-Jedi.”

I can’t make this into a Luke meta, because it’d be too long, but I don’t get the idea that Luke could represent a rogue Jedi when, at the time of his creation, he was the one and only embodiment of an active Jedi Knight we got to see. Like, what were we supposed to compare him to to determine he was rogue/doing things ‘better’? 

Luke’s story is about becoming a Jedi and getting his father to become a Jedi again as well. That story makes little narrative sense if he’s supposed to be defined in opposition to the rest of the Jedi (that, at this point in time, we didn’t know) as instead of being defined as one. 

And again, the Jedi of old display just as much compassion and kindness as Qui-Gon or Luke.

-

II - No, Luke and Qui-Gon don’t use both the Dark Side and the Light, because that’s literally not how the Force works - and don’t take my word for it: here’s Lucas explaining it in details. You don’t get to do both. The Dark is selfishness. You can’t be selfish and selfless and the same time. You can’t crave power and holding innocent people’s lives as more important than even your own.

The words “light side” were never uttered in the movies and only really appear in the Mortis arc, and I dare anyone to claim they truly understand everything about it beyond “it’s a microcosm of the Galaxy/the whole Star Wars saga.” The Jedi never claim adherence to a “light side,” they say they seek balance. The idea that balance is 50% evil and 50% good is baffling to me and I blame the SWTOR video games and their in-game mechanics. (Look, if I pour 50% poison into my sugar when I’m making a cake, everybody is still dead in the end. And if I slaughter only half of the people I’ve got it for and forgive the other half, I’m still creating that many circles of hatred and revenge.)

-

Finally - if Luke or Qui-Gon were meant to be “Grey Jedi” Lucas would have called them that. It’s not the case. It’s not anywhere in the movies or TCW, hence, it’s not what he intended. They can be interpreted this way, but it’s still not what the movies where trying to say. 

[kyidyl]

Kyidyl Explains Bone - Part 2

(these are collected under the KyidylBones tag bc I have the sense of humor of a 13 year old boy.) 

I decided to do this today since the other part was basically like boring intro stuff and that’s not really what you showed up for.  So today’s topic is: 

Human vs. Animal

Anthropology and archaeology departments the world over are often brought random bones people find to ID whether they’re human or animal, so you might be wondering how do we know the difference? Well...it takes practice.  And, honestly, if the pieces are too small we can’t tell without microscopic analysis of the bone structure, but most of the time we can tell.  

Human bone is very unique.  Our anatomy is unique because we’re the only living members of our genus Homo and the anatomical adaptations of Homo are unique among animals.  The weird combination of big brain, walks upright, fine motor control, and used to live in trees is just...weird.  Our internal microscopic structure is different than that of any other animal. We grow differently than any other animal because our young take so long to mature and are born so helpless.  So anatomically...we’re unique if you know what to look for, but fragmentary remains are super common so you can’t do it by anatomy alone.

One piece of info that’s important.  Bone is made of two components: collagen and minerals.  Squishy bits and crunchy bits respectively.  And, yes, if you’re wondering...scientists DO sometimes remove these bits for Reasons (TM).  

Context! 

Where did you find this thing? Was it a single bone in a patch of woods in your backyard? Probably animal, but not always.  In a pit at a dig with burned animal bones? Probably not a human because people don’t toss the remains of their friends and families in with dinner.  Across cultures people treat their own dead differently than their animal dead or their food.  So if you find it with the food? 99% chance it’s animal, even at a disturbed site (tho it’s not *impossible* to find people in with animal, especially in caves, very disturbed sites, or very old sites.  With very old sites you have to get comfortable with the idea that sometimes people were food and it wasn’t even that uncommon.)

Texture! 

I’m doing this one first bc I can’t give you pictures of texture so it can go outside the cut.  That microscopic structure I mentioned and differences in bone growth all lead to a different texture in human bone.  Now, I want to preface this by saying: this varies with the age of the bone and the age of the individual and the environment in which you found it.  But human bone tends to be a bit less....greasy than animal bone.  I don’t know how else to describe this, because understanding the difference in texture is literally something you can only do by handling them, but I’ll do my best.  

See, animal bone found in association with humans is normally put through some kind of alteration process.  Cooking, smoking, etc.  Human bone sometimes is - after all, people cremate their dead or dry them out or mummify them or eat them all the time - but buried bone tends to be drier in texture than animal bone.  Animal bone won’t leave greasy stains or residue, but it will feel smoother - less porous.  As humans (and animals) decay, the collagen goes first and leaves behind the minerals.  This happens at different rates for different organisms in different conditions, but human bone that has been buried will have a different texture than animal bone, and it will be slightly less smooth or greasy (listen bone grease isn’t GREASE grease it’s just like a way of talking about how dried out it is. Older = less grease.  New things will leave like food grease on your fingers.). But after you’ve felt it a few times - buried human bone has a different texture than animal bone.  

Color! 

Human bone is a different color from other kinds of bone.  It’s similar, but not the same.  And! Unless it has been bleached by the sun (something I’ll touch on more when I do the damage post.), it’s not white.  Not when it has been defleshed naturally.  So halloween decorations? Yeah, all the wrong color.  Anyway, this is where we start to get into images, so I’m going to start putting things behind the cut.  

Here is an image of mixed animal bone from my own collection: 

Ooooo so many cool things in this one picture.  There’s burned bone, small bone, big bone, MgO staining, teef!, moar different burned bone...and one of the things that gets mistaken as human most often: turtle shell.  It’s the piece that’s in the top row, fourth from the right.  It looks very much like human skull when it’s fragmentary and is easy to mistake it as such.  It’s flat and the lines look like sutures (place where the bones in the skull fused, and are now the markers of separate bones.), but they don’t go all the way through.  Anyway, this is a good depiction of the wide variety of colors animal bone comes in.  The large piece in the very lower right is close to what I’d consider an average.  

Here’s an image of human femur that has been defleshed, but not buried: 

(Source)

Probably a young adult because the bone is in good condition, and the head has been fused but the suture isn’t completely grown over (obliterated).  

These are also human femurs: 

(Source)

Side note: they all probably had rickets and that center one is a juvenile, and I’ll teach you how to ID that later on.  They were found in a cave, a burial, and an archaeological site respectively.  

This is another femur: 

(Source)

Bottom is the femur, and it has a healed break in the middle.  The top is also a femur but it has....so...so...many problems.  SO MANY.  I could barely tell it’s a femur from this angle.  

Anyway, the color and texture on that front femur is what I would consider like an average color and texture for a human bone.  And it’s tan, sure, but it’s a different color tan than animal bone, especially IRL.  

In short: human bone looks different and feels different than animal bone, even before you take into consideration things like anatomy.  

Regarding anatomy, it’s...well, it’s an incredibly complex topic and I don’t know that I can really cover it appropriately here in my blog.  It mostly boils down to the impact that bipedalism has on our bodies, the impact that a big brain has on our skulls, and the impact that our manual dexterity on our fingers.  The walking thing is especially important because it changes *everything* about our anatomy.  Like...head to toe.  Everything.  

If you’re interested in human bone anatomy I have two resource recommendations for you.  First, The Human Bone Manual.  This is the one I used for school, and it’s the most useful textbook I’ve ever purchased.  I still use it all the time.  The ebook version is around $18.  Second, this app is called Essential Skeleton 4. It’s free, and it’s the most comprehensive skeletal anatomy app I’ve ever seen (and I’ve used a LOT of them.  It’s made by the same people who make essential anatomy - but EA isn’t free.).  Unfortunately, it’s iOS only and I’ve never found a decent alternative for android. :/ 

There is a lot more to telling human from animal, but my hope is that you’ll pick it up as I make the other entries into the series.  My best advice here is to develop an eye for detail.  Be like Elliot Spencer: it’s a very distinctive ___________. 

One final note on anatomy: people almost always do not realize what size bones actually are.  Human femurs are long and they’re heavy for their size.  They’re usually at least a foot or two in length (I mean...obviously...height is a factor.). The head is good and solid, and the shaft is thick with a lot of compact bone, but when the soft tissue is gone they’re hollow.  Most of the long bones are.  Foot bones are larger than most people expect. Skulls vary in size between softball-ish and volleyball-ish.  And human bone has a distinctive density which, unfortunately, you can’t learn the feel of without handling bone.  If you pick up a bone that looks right but doesn’t feel right - you know it.  I handled a human femur that felt like bird bone (bird bone is very light with a lot of spongy bone bc they fly.) because of a pathology (a non-standard but usually naturally occurring thing on the bone.  Breaks aren’t a pathology, but their regrowth can be.  Syphilis damage is a pathology because bacteria is naturally occurring, as are things like bone cancer, osteoporosis, etc.).  Other times it’s because your damned osteology prof mixed in a human-looking animal bone with the box of remains to trip you up because the differences can be real subtle and you need to learn that.  

Anyway, I think that’s it for today.  I’ll seeya tomorrow, peoples! 

[constablegoo]

𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 .

1. What does your muse smell like?

nothing. absolutely nothing at all. HOWEVER. if he’s in an environment for long enough, especially one with a lot of... scent in the air, maybe he absorbs a little of it. so: he probably smells faintly like Station Grime, but in comparison to the rest of the... “ambient station scent” (GJDFJ??) he’s pretty much indistinguishable. If he goes to some planet like, say one with a huge field of tulips, then he can smell faintly like a field of tulips. if he goes to one with a lot of pollution, he comes back to DS9 smelling like gasoline or whatever for a day or two. as a solid he probably just smells like whatever soap he uses (??) and otherwise like any other bajoran or cardassian? but he’s a little bit of a hypochondriac so probably he indulges in things like hand sanitizer or... cleaning products. as a changeling he has no sense of smell at all, so i reckon when he gains it as a solid its all a bit overwhelming at first for a while.

2. What do your muse’s hands feel like?

c-c-c-cold, or at least a notably cooler than you’d expect from a humanoid, or like someone with mildly bad circulation. he has no fingerprints. that’s a totally smooth-hand fella. if you hold his hand, you won’t feel individual bones, the whole hand is,,, consistent, though sometimes softer sometimes less. if you’re startled and squeeze his hand, you could crush all his little fingers into one mush if he’s not paying proper attention to them. no sweat, ever. i can never decide if he should have nails or not?? maybe it depends on the day and how busy he is.

3. What does your muse usually eat in a day?

nothing!!! can’t smell, can’t eat. maybe he survives off a nice tasty stream of background radiation or something, like some gooey filter feeder. but when hes a solid... simple things. for the first few weeks, it’s a mostly bland liquid diet (ironic). he’s obviously not in the habit of knowing when to eat, or what, and it’s... chaos. sometimes he gets really cranky because all he’s had that day is a bowl of bajoran cheerios and like 4 raktajinos. BUT once he gets it down, he settles on the same reliable things at the same reliable times every day, studies and plans out as perfectly balanced a diet as he can, and only deviates when purposefully exploring, motivated by someone else, or at an event. when he moves on to solid (haha) foods, he’ll eat all kinds of fruits and veggies and grains, the more plain, the better. he’s not strictly vegetarian considering the cultures around him, but i think when given a choice he avoids meat / animal products, partly because... he has BEEN some of those animals gjfdkg and also just personal preference. they can be awfully rich and i think for a long time anything rich beyond a small dose would make him queasy. he does not have a sweet tooth in any capacity... except in alcohol. bitter things are fine for him, because he is so bitter, but spice (like bajoran hasperat) he can’t tolerate very well. in all cases, texture is a major factor for him and it can totally keep him from eating a food he likes otherwise.

4. Does your muse have a good singing voice?

the fact that we kind of get to hear odo sing (quietly) in canon is ;-; so good. so yeah, i think he can sing in spite of having such a crunchy humanoid voice. certainly, he can match tone and pitch, and in many ways it makes sense - its just another form of imitation, and he’s plenty good at replicating the nuances of sarcasm and other vocalizations. bird noises, anyone?

5. Does your muse have any bad habits or nervous ticks?

hahahaha yes. he has a bad habit of snapping back with a rude comment (even when it isnt called for. he can be pretty defensive, too)  as a changeling, the easiest way to tell when hes unsettled or experiencing a strong emotion (including nerves!) is that he stops reacting entirely / goes blank or is otherwise unresponsive (shame...) or goes stiff. in these cases, he’s too busy experiencing whatever-it-is to manufacture a proper response (or he has no idea how to express it in humanoid terms) -- with the exception of actually losing physical cohesion... if he’s really really upset, he might literally start to melt :^) as a solid (and as a changeling when he frequently chooses to perform these responses) he’s prone to huffing and rolling his eyes (general impatience), THE ARM CROSSING he’s constantly crossing his arms, i mean Constantly, maybe its a comfort thing but its also a defensive thing and an intimidation thing and a in-control-of-the-conversation thing and a habit of his that will never die.

6. What does your muse usually look like / wear?

we all know odo is so sad and pathetic that as a solid he’d sleep in his uniform, but when he does start to wear other things he goes for muted, earthy colors (very bajoran of him), often dark, long-sleeved, very snugly bundled up, much as he’s used to being. i don’t think he’d ever go for anything flashy or fancy, even as a diplomat - he’s constantly going to be trying to get away from the way the founders painted themselves and plain and boring is his life’s design of choice. that said, i think he appreciates the intricacy of certain fabrics etc just like he’d appreciate any other detailed object or creature. and just as with food, texture is also of paramount importance. his other senses are comparable to a human’s -- but his sense of touch even as a solid is far more sensitive. as he gets older, odo continues to refine his face and appearance -- he changes a little every day, but it’s never with any particular destination in mind. in the end, he is genetically limited to stand out among other life forms, but also comes to appreciate the face he’s created for himself as his very own. he tries things like eyebrows (cursed) and defined bajoran nose ridges but by the time he does, they’re just not quite him.

7. Is your muse affectionate?  How much?  How so?

yes and no... he won’t say it much, but he’ll show it in little ways -- looks and smiles (smiles are always something he performs with a purpose) and if its in any way loving, tiny, light little touches. touch is natural to changelings and the easiest way for him to communicate, even if there is no possibility for a link. but even if he’s generally subtle and subdued, the affection is big and very much fills up the entire goo.

8. What position does your muse sleep in?

he only sleeps as a solid... and god he probably sleeps like a vampire. at first the sensation of falling asleep and waking up is really alarming to him, but it becomes a comfort and one of his favorite things about being solid hgfjkdfhjg and he probably becomes good at it, once he gets a schedule down, looks forward to it at night. if he’s with someone else, he will want to snuggle like a starfish hugs a rock :(

9. Could you hear your muse in the hallway from another room?

not unless he’s talking, and even then he’s pretty low and soft-spoken until he’s annoyed. then you can Definitely hear him gfdhjk. but if he’s just passing through, he’s soft-footed and hardly makes a sound, often startling people on accident, even as a solid.

Tagged by:  @sampati  MUAH <3

Tagging:  @positronicminds / @distantsuns / @fasciinating / @thebrazenandbold / @asynjja / @sailorvinus / everybody do this thinnnng !​

[mistresseast]

can you explain in more detail why you think the PT weren't good friends for akiren? i'm not asking out of hate or to start drama, i just never interpreted things that way and i'm genuinely curious. i don't think them being brainwashed by maruki makes them "bad friends", but i don't know if that's what you meant either. i'd love to read a proper explanation on this that isn't just people arguing in the notes of that post.

Hi! Yeah, I know the ~discourse~ climate is pretty touchy and not a good place to exchange ideas, so I’ll do my best to put my thoughts on this matter into words. 

Settle in, bc this one is long.

I’ll start off by saying I don’t dislike the PT, nor do I think they’re bad people, and honestly I think they love Joker a lot! Ryuji calling Akira after his fake death and talking about how his ideas on what makes a hero have changed because of Akira genuinely makes me emotional, along with dozens of other scenes with the thieves! They’re good kids who could be really good friends to Akira but that’s not what’s shown in the game. I don’t think it’s controversial to say Akira’s relationships with all of his friends are transactional. That’s kind of the point, all of his confidants arise out of deals, give and take, and in the metanarrative of the game, that’s how it works. You as the player help these characters solve their problems, and through ranking their confidants up, you get access to more gameplay perks. So it’s pretty even!! But like,,Akira, the character, isn’t the player. There’s no in-story mechanic by which he can cash in friendship points for being-good-at-killing-things prizes. Yes, he uses those abilities to not die in the metaverse, but there is no literal, in-universe way to explain how hanging out with someone translates to [insert gameplay perk here]. So you have to look at what is physically happening in the story. Akira hangs out with the PT, stands there while they have drama with another irrelevant character, and then one way or another their problems get solved and they swear to be Akira’s blood brother or whatever. Akira is a crutch for these characters, and they say multiple times that they wouldn’t have been able to do what they did without him. So all of their shit gets handled and Akira gets?? Like actually gets?? What? Inquiries about his well-being? Offers to help him? Questions about his life, his interests? No,,,not really,, But he gets access to a super powerful persona!! Yay!!! Bc everyone knows he’s just a little shadow-killing machine, right? And even the relationships he does get something tangible (as in separate from the mechanics of the game) out of, like Kawakami’s, are built on the notion that if Akira stops providing for whatever reason, the relationship will end. So essentially, Akira is under the pressure of filling whatever role his friends need him in for however long at any time, and he’s been led to believe that if he stops or fails, he will stop receiving any reciprocal care and acceptance.

(And I know this is all gameplay stuff, I know it has to be like this to codify the complicated process of human relationships, I know all of that, I’m just trying to find a deeper layer bc that’s what I do.)

This whole thing comes into pretty clear focus for me during the third semester when you visit everyone in the false reality. Everyone is happy to see him, of course, but they’re clearly wrapped up in their own happiness. Which is understandable, again, I’m not saying the PT need to be attached to Akira to be good friends, but it all still feels off to me.

If they know Joker, then they’d know it’s weird that he just shows up and starts asking these pointed questions while they’re in the middle of something. All of their other interactions with him have been led by them. Yeah, Joker approaches them bc the player has decided to hang out with them, but the other character always chooses the activity and leads the discussion. Akira showing up out of nowhere and asking them to “remember” and “move on” and whatnot should be raising some major red flags. And it clearly does, since their memories do start to return, but they’re all too scared of losing their happiness that they nope out of the conversation as soon as possible, without stopping to consider why Joker might be trying to reach out to them like that. They’re his friends; they should know he wouldn’t just be trying to hurt them or make them unhappy. After all, their entire relationship with him up til that point has been exclusively about Joker trying to help them. This doesn’t make the PT bad people, running away is a totally natural reaction in that situation. They’re just kids, and their minds have been manipulated to a point, but it’s not like they don’t remember Joker or the way they’ve grown since meeting him. In fact many of them mention how much they’ve matured recently, but they never actually relate that back to Akira, despite him being the primary driving force behind most of their personal arcs, even though they definitely remember him. Translation vagueness or deliberate nod to the idea that the PT don’t actually credit Akira with all the hard work he did after their initial lip service? Hmmm. Anyway, their failure to recognize that Joker is struggling just demonstrates to me what was set up all throughout their confidant links, that their relationships are transactional and that they don’t necessarily consider Joker and his individual needs outside of what he provides for them. And when they no longer need him bc that hole has been filled, he simply doesn’t occupy the same place of importance in their lives. 

Makoto’s flashback in particular stood out to me, bc it was from a moment where she was specifically talking about feeling like she finally found a place to belong with the Phantom Thieves (and by extension, with Joker), but then she desperately tries to brush it off. Obviously that sense of belonging wasn’t meaningful enough to her for her to want it back. And I’m not blaming her, of course, any teenager would choose to have their father back over being in a vigilante group lmao, I just thought it was telling that the devs decided to show us a scene that was originally meant to be heartwarming as an example of the harsh reality Makoto wants to forget. All of the flashbacks are from defining moments for the thieves, but that one specifically got me like *thinking emoji*

So his friends are hesitant, despite the fact that they must know something is wrong. It’s understandable, they all stand to lose a lot if someone messes with the status quo. I genuinely don’t think I would react any differently. But there is someone who reacts differently and against his own self-interest. It’s Goro, the one who has arguably the most to lose, who doesn’t turn away from Akira. He seeks Akira out and teams up with him to uncover what’s really going on, even though he has every reason to believe that prodding too deep will literally mean the end of his life. He forces Akira and himself to face the truth because he knows anything else would just be an insult to what they’ve suffered so far. He’s the only one who never flinches, and that, more than any of his friends’ come-to-jesusing (which Akira still has to initiate) is what Akira needs in that situation. For the first time (outside of the brief instances in the tutorial levels), we see a situation where Akira is actually the dependent one, the one who needs help, who needs support. And the only one who has ever provided that, unconditionally, without demanding anything in return, is Goro. I could go into how Goro’s confidant blows all of the others out of the water in terms of building both himself AND Akira as characters, but it’s been said already and by smarter people than me. But basically, despite competition being a core theme of their relationship, Goro is the only character who is portrayed as Akira’s equal. Their contests are all in the name of improving not just Goro, but Akira too. Goro is the only character who expresses an interest in Akira’s inner life and development, and as such he knows Akira better than anyone else. So when Maruki tries to trap them all in a gilded birdcage, Goro won’t stand for it and he knows Akira won’t stand for it either. That’s why he’s so betrayed if you choose to accept the dreamworld. You’re negating the basis of your entire relationship with him and going against your own principles. Out of every character in the game, the one who knows Akira best and refuses to abandon him even when that could mean his own death is Goro Akechi.

I want to reiterate: I do not hate or even dislike the PT!! And tbh I don’t really think they “abandoned” Akira. That post, imo, is supposed to be kind of hyperbolic. Unless it’s referring to how many of them literally sprint away when he comes to talk to them lol. I look at it more like a commentary on how thoughtlessly the PT act as soon as their wishes are granted. I know it’s set up linearly for story purposes, but isn’t it kind of sad how no one checks up on Akira in the week he’s going around talking to people? Especially after he’s been acting so comparatively weird? It’s not unusual that they might be caught up in other stuff, but while you’re going around and visiting everyone, you don’t get a single text or call from ANY of the thieves, for a whole week!! Goro even comments on it directly with his pointed little “I’m sure you’re just as close as you were before” comment. God, he’s such a bitch. Ultimately, the PT do get their acts together, and it’s partially out of the realization that Akira is struggling alone against something and needs their help, which I love and appreciate. I think they are good friends who want to support Akira, but they can’t understand him past the role they’ve placed him in, and until they do, they’ll never be able to be what he needs. Akira loves his friends and knows he can rely on them in most ways, but those relationships will always be dogged by the pervasive fear that he must constantly earn the right to have the relationship at all. What he needs MOST is someone he doesn’t have to perform for, and from what we see in the game, none of the thieves fit that bill. Except Goro. 

I know this was long and rambly and probably pretty disjointed but I wanted to be as thorough as possible and all of my thoughts just sort of gushed out. Obviously ymmv about all of this depending on how you interpret the game, but this is what I arrived at thanks to my analysis so this is what I have for you! Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

[priorireverte]

Congratulations Lizzie!

Your application for Narcissa Malfoy has been accepted. Another time I will ramble about the power of mothers in the Harry Potter Series, but for now let it suffice to say we have our third of the Mother’s Love Trio.

Please look to the checklist for the next steps and reach out if you have any questions!

OUT OF CHARACTER

NAME & PRONOUNS: Lizzie she/her

TIMEZONE: GMT

ACTIVITY LEVEL: Because they’re long threads, I’ve been preferring to let them build up and tackle them all at one when it comes to replies – but I am always around for plotting!

ANYTHING ELSE: Same triggers as before woo!

CHARACTER DETAILS

NAME: Narcissa Malfoy (nee Black)

BIRTHDATE: 27th May, 1955

DEATHDATE: n/a

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Narcissa identifies as cis female, using she/her pronouns. She also identifies as heterosexual. Her gender and sexuality have always just made sense to her, and she is lucky in that her identity is considered ‘normal’. Whilst she grew up very comfortable in herself, she knows that might not always be the case and so she made sure that Draco grew up in an accepting environment, at least from her perspective.

BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Slytherin

OCCUPATION: Narcissa is not employed, but she has never felt as though she didn’t have an occupation. She ran Malfoy Manor after Lucius and her were married and dedicated her entire being to raising Draco to the best of her ability. Whilst nannies or governesses were available to her and she was encouraged by her mother to take advantage of them, Narcissa was steadfast in her desire that she was going to raise her son. She also stands as counsel for Lucius and has done for their whole marriage. She might have been raised to be a lady, but Narcissa has always been clever in her own right, advising her husband as she could.

FACECLAIM: Kathryn Winnick

CHARACTER BACKGROUND

POSTBELLUM

Narcissa never wanted any part in the war. She knew who she was marrying, what kind of reputation both his family and hers had, but she had always believed that part of Lucius’ life could stay out of their home. Then the war turned everything upside down and no matter how much she loves Lucius she cannot help but blame him. Since the war has ended, she’s accepted that he is and was simply a man who made mistakes, but she still hasn’t truly forgiven him. Narcissa blames him for Draco being put in danger, blames him for the fact that she nearly lost the person who means the most to her in the world.

Since the war ended, Narcissa has kept mostly to the manor. She doesn’t want to deal with the accusing looks and hostile interactions she knows she will be met with. She goes out when she needs to and appears to the world as aloof as she always has. In truth, the words and looks do get to her. She knows they were on the wrong side of the war and she regrets the things her family were responsible for. Not just Lucius, but Bellatrix as well. However, Narcissa has never regretted and will never regret the actions she took to keep her son safe.

The news of the Returned has stirred a lot of complex emotions up for Narcissa. She’s glad, somehow, that some of the tragedy caused by the wars might begin to be undone. Her heart is particularly with Andromeda, who she knows lost so much during the war, and might now have a chance to heal. Just as strong as the joy, is the fear. She has no wish to see any Death Eaters who fell rise again. Not even her sister. The person Bellatrix was when she died was not the sister who Narcissa remembered; she had been corrupted and driven mad. She finally feels like her family’s life is getting back on track, building trust with Lucius again and trying her hardest not to smother Draco as he makes his way in the world. Her sister’s return would ruin everything.

PERSONALITY What are they good at? What do they struggle with? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Narcissa is surprisingly empathetic, though she certainly knows how to hide it. She feels others’ pain so acutely and it was this which helped undo years of indoctrination into the Pureblood mindset. This makes her an incredibly caring individual once you’re past the layers of aloofness and the austere nature she has carefully cultivated.

She can struggle to let people in, scared of showing a weakness that people will take advantage of. She can’t trust that not everyone is going to want to take something or use her for something, a trait only heightened by her experience in the war. As such, Narcissa isn’t often forthright unless it’s with those close to her. She will always be defensive; every strong emotion she hides in indifference.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY

The Black family had one rule: be perfect. Of course, within that were lots of different rules. As Narcissa experienced it, the pressure mostly came from her mother. Narcissa looked far more like a Rosier than a Black and Druella took it upon herself to mould Cissa into a perfect pureblood lady. Etiquette, manners, how muggleborns were the scourge of the Wixen world. Druella was cold and she was cruel and no matter how much Narcissa tried she never seemed to be enough. She never stopped trying though, wanting to make her parents proud. It didn’t seem that important to anyone that Narcissa had thoughts of her own but develop them she did. She had no wish to end up a trophy wife, so she studied hard at school whilst still acting as the perfect daughter to her parents. Parents aside, Narcissa absolutely adored her sisters. Andromeda was far easier to get along with, despite adoring Bellatrix there was an intensity in her eldest sister which always slightly scared Narcissa. She couldn’t help but feel betrayed when Andromeda left, when she chose Ted Tonks over them. At that point Narcissa didn’t much care that Ted was a muggleborn, she cared that her sister had never trusted her enough to share the secret. She was still young and foolish and she turned her back on her sister with the rest of the family, even if her heart wasn’t fully in it. The loss of one sister pushed her harder towards the other, and despite Bellatrix’s unnerving devotion to dark magic Narcissa committed herself to keeping a strong bond with her sister.

HISTORY What was their life before the end of the war in ‘98 or before their death? What was important and formative for them?

(N.B I say here that Cygnus and Druella were hoping for a boy here. I know that inheritance is gender neutral in the Wixen world, I believe they more hoped for a boy in order to literally carry on the Black family name, as the Blacks have historically thought their family (as carried in their name) to be worth more than others. Hope that makes sense!)

Cygnus and Druella were still hoping for a boy when Narcissa was born and not only was she a girl, she barely looked like a member of the Black family. Bright blue eyes and blonde hair which was almost white, she took after her mother’s side of the family and that perhaps spared her the disappointment which was inherent in all her father’s interactions with her older sisters. She was so wholly not what her father had wanted, his disappointment was instead indifference. On reflection, Narcissa can see that she was spoiled, constantly told she was the prettiest sister, the perfect little lady. She can also see now that when that attention was laved upon her, it was always to the detriment of her sisters. At the time though, she simply became entirely possessed with her own beauty and in being as perfect as she kept being told she was. There was no real affection from either of her parents, but even the smallest praise was something Narcissa would treasure. She didn’t begin to realise how cruel her mother could be until she approached puberty and everything she did became open to censure. She was getting fat, growing too fast and too tall, told no man would want to marry her if she carried on the way she was. Hogwarts was an escape for her, not being monitored at meal times to make sure she didn’t overeat, no-one taking her books away because she should have been studying music instead. It was during her time at Hogwarts that she began to privately question the strong anti-muggle beliefs she had been taught from a young age. Narcissa thrived, but she always had to return to the family manor over the summers and deal with an increasingly strict Druella.

After Hogwarts came the expectation of marriage and that pressure only increased when Andromeda left the family. Andromeda’s departure also pushed Narcissa back towards her family’s belief in supremacy, it was too hard for her to process just why she felt so betrayed by her sister, so it was easier to go along with the family line that it was because she’d run off with a muggleborn. Her heart was never really in it, but she knew to keep that to herself.

No matter what has happened between them, Narcissa still considers marrying Lucius to be one of the happiest days of her life and once of the best things to ever happen to her (second only to the birth of Draco). She loves her husband so completely, even though that love has certainly been tested over the years. Draco is the brightest shining spot in Narcissa’s whole life. She would, and has, done anything she could to protect him. Even when he was just a toddler and the worst things she had to protect him from were imagined monsters under his bed. The peace between the wars were the happiest years of her life, getting to raise Draco and live in what felt like domestic bliss. Fear began to creep back in as she heard of the events that began to happen at Hogwarts, fear that maybe there would be another war which could endanger her family. That danger was made all too real when Bellatrix escaped Azkaban and Lucius was sent there. Her sister no longer felt like her sister and her home was no longer her home. Worst of all, Draco was punished for Lucius’ error. Narcissa would have done anything to take the punishment instead, but she had to figure out a way to protect Draco in any way she could. She never gave up hope that Lucius would be returned to her, that his time in Azkaban would not leave him as damaged as it had left her sister, and that he would see how stupid it was to still stand on Voldemort’s side. Narcissa truly believed that even if Voldemort won, her family would never know peace. So she did what she could, to protect her family through the worst.  

OOC EXPLORATION

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?

When I first applied, I was trying to decide between Ginny and Narcissa and I wrote apps for both. I’ve played Narcissa many times before and I love the complexities of her character, but I decided to take a risk on Ginny who was new to me in a rp setting. Now, I’m excited to play a character well known to me in a completely fresh setting. I’ve never played post-war Narcissa and I am so filled with inspiration for her!

ANYTHING ELSE?

Pinterest board here, because I am That Person.

Also headcanons (tw: miscarriage, tw: eating disorder)

I think Narcissa always wanted a family, and probably wanted a large one. Not too large, but she never intended to have just one child. The early years of her marriage to Lucius though were plagued with fertility issues and she suffered more than one miscarriage during this period. When Draco came along, a healthy viable pregnancy, Narcissa was overjoyed. No matter her joy, delivery took a toll on her and whilst it would have been technically possible, she was advised it would be unsafe for her to carry another child to term. She was devastated, but she poured all that sadness and anger into loving Draco as much as she could.

Druella’s controlling nature and constant badgering about Narcissa’s weight definitely led to her having an incredibly unhealthy relationship with food. She suffered from bulimia for most of her teens and into her early twenties. It was when she and Lucius started trying to have children that she began to fix her relationship with food and she knew she needed to be healthy to support a child.

[buddha-in-disguise]

I'm not going to review the season finale in quite the same way as I've usually written something afterwards. I'm ultra tired due to distinct lack of sleep. So it is more truncated than I'd intended. Also unedited so advance apologies if something makes no sense or is misspelled etc.

The episode was facing the challenge of not only being edited after COVID-19 shut down production, but what was intended to be the penultimate episode became the finale. So I'm trying to take that into consideration.

First part in Kara's loft. It was choppy. Don't get me wrong, I had nothing against the humour, or the scenes in general. Although they missed the glaring opportunity to place a "flew here on a bus," moment! It felt pretty disappointing they didn't recognise what has become an iconic line within the SG fandom, and made it even more iconic.

Before the bus though, back at the loft, considering that Lena had literally only just arrived at Kara's, with all that entails, it felt completely out of place for that context. Did it have been overwhelming heavy at that point? Absolutely not. But it was too close to slapstick at times for me and internally I was cringing. I admit, I'm not sure where they could've put it in, but perhaps if they'd just lowered it a fraction, made it a little more subtle a couple of times, it would've helped for me.

Some of the dialogue (especially early on) was also all over the place for me. It did get better as the episode wore on, but I wonder how much was the need to redo parts of the episode because of COVID-19? Unless they think to put an episode as intended in a future season DVD (perhaps S6 DVD), or someone gives us full details via an interview we will probably never know.

Which brought me to one piece of dialogue that I wish they'd not put in at all!

In 5.18, as I've spoken about a lot on Twitter especially, the way Lex screams into Lena's face, and Lena's flinch, and how that had been me 20 odd years ago. They then had the line as Lena talks to Kara; "Go ahead. Scream at me if you have to, I know I deserve it."

I know for many, they'd just see it as a line to use, but .... for many of us who have suffered abuse, who recognised (& in some instances were triggered) by last weeks episode, to not have acknowledged why that line was so problematic is worrying. It heavily suggests they're not going to address Lena's trauma and abuse because they really don't understand it (& again, if anyone believes she didn't suffer trauma and abuse, but accept others in SG do, go away with your bias from my page), but considering they haven't addressed much of Kara's trauma, particularly watching Argo destroyed again, being stuck for months during Crisis like they were, etc - then I guess it isn't a surprise.

But it is uncomfortable as hell to watch a line like that glossed over.

Overall though, I did enjoy the episode. Once that 1st half was over, especially (baring a few moments, including watching Alex do her badass Mission Impossible meet Cirque du Soleil moment because that was awesome) it felt much more like SG of previous seasons. So that was great.

Watching Lena as she watched Alex and Kara hug behind her was so emotional. Watching siblings love unconditionally. Something she thought she had with Lex, only to realise he hadn't changed at all. Lena didn't need to say anything, as once again Katie's acting brought all the emotion Lena was feeling to the fore.

Having Lena and Alex mirror they choice of words in regards Kara was pretty iconic. Then having Alex whisper, "Jinx." really made it work.

Seeing Dreamer in her element, including some great lines again. "I can't believe you left to fight Earth, Wind & Fire without us." "Guess they didn't take the bait? Maybe you should've been meaner?" As they begin the fight with J'onn, M'gann Alex and Dreamer - Alex to Dreamer: "You ready?" Dreamer. "Nope." Alex. "Me neither." Dreamer at her best imo.

Kelly going all, damn my girlfriend is hot & I want sex right now despite the circumstances was pretty cute and funny.

The Kara and Lena monologues being in unison. Now that was pretty amazing and one of the best parts of the whole episode imo.. But again, you feel as if they're matching Lena and Kara together with those scenes as a couple.

Lena not only protecting Kara, but stopped Andrea from going down a dark path as Acrata. Was also great.

Last frame of Lillian. Does it turn out she is the head of Leviathan? Because again they laid out more than once the leader was a woman. It has been noted several times now in different episodes. I was hoping Lena's biological mother, considering she knew of the legend of Acrata, but it is now looking more likely this reincarnation of Lillian is who it is, unless it is a character we've not been introduced to, but I highly doubt that.

The 2nd half of the episode was what we missed so much this season. In fact aspects throughout the episode were missing for too much this season.

This includes the women being the focal point of it. Brainy though absolutely rightly taking a strong subplot to what else was going on. J'onn ably supported by M'gann. M'gann who managed to advise Nia on embracing her dreams and not trying to avoid part of them. Dansen actually working together and both being badass in their own way (after all, this is something I've advocated for much of the season, & while fantastic to see, it never should've taken this long. Now where have we heard that before?)

But we still have glaring unanswered questions that I can't imagine would've been answered in 5.20.

Every indication since 5.17 is Kelly knows Kara is Supergirl. Yet we don't know for certain, because they've failed to show us how or when. I've said before, considering every other person who knows Kara is Supergirl, we had them tripping over themselves to explain to the audience how it happened. I'm pretty annoyed that we as the audience don't get given the same courtesy with Kelly. This is why so many of us feel short changed on some characters this season. The really aggravating thing is would only take a few lines to clear it up!

Now onto Alex. This ties in with J'onn. Where are they getting the money to survive? Did J'onn manage to accumulate enough over all the years he was on Earth to finance everything & pay Alex a wage? No clue.

Also, are Kelly & Alex living together? Or do they have keys to each others apartments? Yes, Kelly was at Alex's in 5.17 so the answer is pretty much yes, but nothing has been said! We knew more about Brainy & Nia's living arrangements from 5a than we do Kelly & Alex.

Kara's trauma. Lena's abuse & trauma. See above.

Lastly, the one most I know want (except a few vocally against), leaning towards Supercorp becoming canon. Again for another season, we end up with the, 'Maybe they'll do it next season.' being said. Particularly as in 5a they really went all out on Supercorp parallels to Clois and at times Dansen, plus even a little on Brainia. But unless something pretty fundamental changes behind the scenes, they're going to recognise what their biggest draw is, keep baiting but never fully go into it. And that is what I fear the most. When you've got media, even non-Supergirl fans saying it, but the show refusing to acknowledge it - that could be their legacy, and it will not look good or have a lot of fans look back kindly on them for it.

The 4 seasons it took for Lena to find out Kara was Supergirl was, in the end, terribly executed. This waxing and waning as well of; is Lena good or bad? Will she follow in the Luthor footsteps?

She is flawed. She's made some pretty awful mistakes. But now they're said she is good. She isn't evil or a villain. So now that line they've drawn needs to stay there! No more ambiguity on her character being a villain.

But you know what's not good? Feeling you can't trust the show to draw a line under that aspect of the character. That doesn't mean you have to have any one of them not be flawed, or to even cross some lines (they've all done it at some point, some moreso than others, but not one character is innocent).

When the show is now generating that level of mistrust on how they could handle future events, that is a problem.

Season 5 overall (particularly 5b) was absolutely horrendously bad. It had some moments of sheer brilliance (either individual scenes, or some episodes), but the rest was just flat out awful. Irrelevant. Messy. No cohesion. 5b became too much of the Lex Luthor show. Certain character additions were vastly unpopular and definitely caused down turns in viewer numbers (& again, from far more than a section of fandom). As did keeping Lena away from everyone for so long.

To sum up. Season 5 was a disaster.

Season 6 needs to have considerably different direction to even try & pull back some viewers (if they can at all). Distrust is rife.

The worst is no-one in the cast deserved this, especially as they're so talented. Some of the performances, even with how poor much of the season was, have been magnificent. But as the saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

I've never been so relieved a season is finally over. We'll watch our favourite episodes for sure, of which there aren't many, but a full rewatch of the season we normally do will not be happening. Some episodes were better off consigned to the trash.

[howtodrawyourdragon]

There is a whole other story beneath Twilight Princess’ main plot- [1/3]

And it explains why the children of Ordon were taken in the raid.

They were taken because King Bulblin was searching for Link.

[Part Two]

[Part Three]

Okay, but hear me out for a second here, I come with a theory that I think really makes sense and it can possibly answer a few question in the plot of the game.

Why were the children of Ordon taken? (You Are Here)

Why was Link, after his first transformation, still taken as well?

Why was he taken to Hyrule Castle of all places?

And more.

Now, before I begin, which are some of the games we tend to associate with Twilight princess chronologically? Ocarina of Time. Which is the other game that also serves as a sequel to Ocarina of Time? Wind Waker.

I bring these two games up because there is a notable difference between these three incarnations of Link that I want to bring up before I continue.

OoT: Link receives the Triforce of Courage due to Ganondorf’s attempt at making a wish, causing the Triforce to break into three.

WW: Link earns the Triforce of Courage after finding all eight broken pieces found scattered in the ocean.

TP: Link is born with the Triforce of Courage.

Remember this detail.

(Video for reference from NintenU on YouTube)

Why were the children of Ordon taken?

First of all, what do we know of their abduction?

(Timestamp for video: 11:00)

We know that they were taken right before the Light Spirit Ordona was to lose their light as we know from the same cutscene that Faron was already cloaked in darkness. We also know that only the children were taken and nobody older than Ilia.

When Link is concerned we can only make assumptions whether he was meant to be taken, too. As, while he is knocked out cold by a bulblin, we see King Bulblin enter the spring as well and then not notice that Link is even there. He just blows his horns and hauls ass after a portal opens up. So whether Link was actually meant to be taken, too, is something that we can’t quite answer from the scene presented to us.

(Timestamp for the lines: 44:33)

When Link reunites with Colin, Beth, Malo, and Talo after light is returned to the Eldin Province, Colin and Malo tell Link that the bulblins had left them for dead somewhere far enough away from home for Renado to find them. The children aren’t injured either and Twilight Princess isn’t exactly above showing us injuries or even violence towards children.

We’ve seen Rusl covered in blood and bandages. We’ve seen him limp his way through Ordon when he hears Wolf Link in the distance and then later can be found sleeping deliriously on the sofa of his home.

And them being kids doesn’t spare them either as we see young Ralis (very likely) near death when we hurry him to Kakariko Village. His mother, the late-queen Rutela, states “I feel it. His presence grows fainter to me over time.” This most likely means that Ralis is losing his life.

(video for reference from Psuedo Twili, timestamp: 2:04)

And if you remember the cutscene in which King Bulblin charged through Kakariko Village, Colin wasn’t exactly left unscathed as he was run over and knocked out cold for the entire duration of the fight between King Bulblin and Link and then later found resting in bed with Beth and Luda looking after him.

The bulblins aren’t above hurting children, yet, instead of harming them any further, they choose to simply abandon the children instead. If they were harmed any more than they already have been, the game would have shown us.

It is also interesting to note from the Queen Rutela cutscene, that the Zora’s were raided, too, but their child, Prince Ralis, was not taken. This is a striking contrast, compared to the raid on the human village of Ordon, where the children were taken. Though, admittedly, this is possibly because they were raided by the Shadow Beasts and not the bulblins.

So what do we know?

The children of Ordon were taken, nobody older than Ilia (or presumably, older than Link)

They were brought all the way to the Eldin province, which is far far away from home.

Abandoned, left for dead. This makes their abduction strange and out of place, without reason.

Not physically harmed, from what we can see.

With these facts summed up, we have to wonder why the bulblins would steal people from their homes if they are just going to abandon them in the middle of nowhere anyway. What is the point? Why go through all that trouble of kidnapping them? (Besides moving the plot forwards and giving Link reason to set out, of course) And why do I claim that the Triforce of Courage has something to do with this?

Let’s begin with why I would bring up the fact that TP Link was born with his piece of the Triforce.

(Timestamp: 1:42:20)

Well, we’ve seen the cutscene with the Sages. We’ve seen that they attempted to execute Ganondorf themselves, believing themselves capable of bringing justice to the King of Thieves. But that it was a foolish attempt as Ganondorf, in what they call a divine prank, possesses the Triforce of Power and uses it to revive himself. Whether this was a conscious decision or not, we don’t know and for this theory it doesn’t really matter too much.

Now, the reason why this Ganondorf, which is canon to be OoT’s Ganondorf, has the Triforce is because OoT Link was sent back in time with his piece. We saw in the very last cutscene of OoT that the mark of the Triforce is on his hand, meaning that he traveled back with it still in his possession.

With TP Link stated to be his descendant by blood more than once in-game, it is natural that the Triforce would be passed down through Time’s bloodline until it eventually reached Twilight. What happens with the Triforce after Twilight is a mystery.

(I’m not familiar with Four Swords Adventure’s story, so I don’t know if the Triforce really makes an appearance in that game)

With Courage already gone, it caused Wisdom and Power to break apart and go to their respective holders as well. Wisdom, of course, to Zelda. Power to Ganondorf. (Link being sent back in time with Courage, may also explain why this particular piece is in literal pieces in WW. Or maybe it was explained why you had to find the individual pieces and I just don’t remember.)

We know that it is canon now that the Triforce tends to break apart under certain circumstances. I.e when evil touches the Triforce or when a piece is already missing, as was the case in TP, WW and presumably at the end of OoT. We also know that the former fact is a known fact, at least for those who know the Triforce and are familiar with its lore.

Knowing this, would it really be farfetched for Ganondorf, who already knew exactly where and how to find the Triforce in OoT, to look at the back of his hand, see one of the pieces of the Triforce there, and conclude that there are two others with the other pieces? I don’t think so, with how much Ganondorf already knew of the Triforce.

For one of the pieces, the most obvious choice would be someone of the Hyrulean royal family. Hyrule is where people know the entrance to the Sacred Realm to be at, tales say that is where the three Golden Goddesses made their exit after creating their world, leaving the Triforce at that exit that is now the Sacred Realm. It is even the reason why Ganondorf is so set on taking Hyrule, of all places, because it is The land of the Triforce.

But with Wisdom (presumably) already found, where would the third missing piece go?

Well, what are the chances Ganondorf knew OoT Link was in possession of one? That OoT Link, upon attempting to convince Hyrule’s King of Ganondorf’s treachery, was forced to show Courage as proof? If the King doesn’t even believe his own daughter, what are the chance he would ever believe Link without the Triforce?

Maybe this is how Ganondorf found out the third bearer was Link? A ten-year-old boy in possession of one of the three golden triangles isn’t exactly something that would stay under the radar of someone with a deep desire for said Triforce.

But before Ganondorf even realizes he has Power, he is captured (at a much later age than he is shown in OoT, btw), executed, and sent to the Twilight Realm when Power revives its holder.

Years pass, so many that the former Gerudo King is completely forgotten by everyone except for the five remaining Sages who banished him as a last resort.

In the meantime, Ganondorf, believing himself Hyrule’s rightful king because “the Triforce chose him”, figures out there are two others with Triforce pieces, remembers that this one boy was one of them. And then Zant comes along and Ganondorf sees a way to return.

Presumably, the first place Zant takes in Ganondorf’s name is Hyrule. It leads to Zelda surrendering instead of choosing to sacrifice the lives of her people in a battle with an enemy she clearly recognizes as powerful. Keeping Zelda hostage in her own castle, it is possible GanonZant find out she is in possession of Wisdom. The very reason she is still alive and kept well is most likely because of the Triforce. (but this is only a guess)

If Zelda can use hers to sense which magic Wolf Link has been cursed by after the Lakebed Temple, maybe Zantdorf can sense she has Wisdom?

And then their question remains; Where is Courage?

What if Ganondorf still remembers that young boy even know? Knows that it is possible for even a Hylian of low beginnings to have it as well? What if King Bulblin and his bulblins were approached by Zant, under Ganondorf’s instruction, and told to pillage each of Hyrule’s villages in search of the final one bearing the mark of the Triforce? Right before each of the Light Spirits had their light stolen?

King Bulblin, in their last confrontation, tells Link that they “follow the strongest side”. That this is “all they have ever known”. That makes them sound more like a mercenary type of group, people following those they consider “the strongest” unless the other side can prove himself more powerful, which Link does.

What if this is the reason why Ordon’s children were taken for seemingly random reasons? Because King Bulblin was actually "hired” and told to search Hyrule for Courage? For Link? Maybe he was even specifically told to look for children? Much like how, in Wind Waker, young girls with pointy ears were hunted down and kidnapped by the Helmaroc King?

It is interesting to remember that this very similar plotline started Wind Waker’s main game. Link started his journey to save his younger sister, who was kidnapped in Ganondorf’s search for Zelda.

It would, in my opinion, explain why the kids were taken and then just randomly left for dead without really physically harming them, in spite of the game clearly not being above hurting children and showing injury. Or it would explain why that horse battle scene after Colin’s second abduction went the way it did.

But I’ll come to that particular part in Part Three.

[Continued on Part Two]

[twilightofthe]

Anakin Skywalker Has ADHD.  Here’s Why:

I’ve noticed during my time as a neurodivergent person in the Star Wars community that Anakin, a favorite character of mine, displays a lot of neurodivergent traits.  Other people have noticed this too; in particular, @bpdanakins has made a really in depth and detailed post explaining how Anakin having BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) makes a whole lotta sense.  I’ve got ADHD, so this post is gonna be about how I as an ADHD individual see Anakin Skywalker as having ADHD too!!!

Note: Symptoms of ADHD include inability to focus and disorganization.  I have ADHD.  This post is gonna be a wee bit disorganized and I probs won’t be the best at citing a million sources cuz I do not have the mental focus to do that right now.  Thank ye.

So, what is ADHD? (Complicated.  The answer is complicated.) (If you don’t want the general ADHD lecture, just scroll down to where I start talking about Anakin particularly).

ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurological disorder that impairs the brain’s executive functions.  People with ADHD have trouble with impulse-control, focusing, and organization.  Basically, ADHD is a developmental weakness in how the brain manages itself.  I like to picture it like a filing cabinet.  Everyone else’s brain has a neatly sorted, labeled, and organized cabinet full of drawers that contain typical brain executive function commands.  ADHD people’s brains have a monkey in them that runs around screeching loudly, ripping labels off drawers, rearranging stuff, throwing the files everywhere, eating the papers and generally making a gigantic mess, so whatever you need to go to the drawers to look for something, it takes you ten times longer to find the mental command you need to do if it’s even still there-- and also the monkey is biting your leg the entire time.

People tend to say that this monkey infestation is a gift because sometimes, occasionally, the monkey will rearrange the papers in a different, special way that makes a beautiful picture that no one’s seen before and you can share it for the world to enjoy and everything’s great, you’re just quirky!  People tend to forget that it can be like that, but 90% of the time it’s more like the monkey has decided to take a massive shit all over the one specific paper you needed really badly and then put it in front of your foot so you step in it and don’t notice until people point out you’re tracking monkey shit paper everywhere.  Anyway.

ADHD is a complex condition and difficult to diagnose because it has so many different varying symptoms, and one person who has ADHD may experience none of the symptoms than another person who also has ADHD does and vice versa because there is a lot.  ADHD also tends to go unnoticed because it overlaps symptoms with a LOT of other mental illnesses an individual might have, so you might not even know you have ADHD if you’re also, say, autistic or bipolar, or again vice versa, because there’s a lot of “same hat” stuff going on there.  

ADHD also can have its own subcategories of mental illness that can also stand on their own, like ADHD-induced anxiety or ADHD-induced depression.  It can be really confusing to know everything going on in your head and put a label on it; for example for me, my doctors and I think I’ve got a separate anxiety disorder that works on its own that my ADHD makes worse, but that the depressive episodes I can suffer likely stem from my ADHD, and don’t need to be tackled individually or say that I have depression.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has previously identified three subtypes of ADHD:

Primarily Hyperactive-Impulsive type: Mainly have impulse control problems, tend to be impulsive, impatient, and interrupt others.  They fidget, hate sitting still/need to be in constant movement, tend to blurt out what’s on their mind or do what they feel like without thinking it through.  They’re constantly up with the thoughts in their head and have difficulty focusing on a single task unless they’re in hyperfocus mode (explaining more later)

Primarily Inattentive type:  Are easily distracted and forgetful.  Tend to be daydreamers who lose track of memories and personal items with regularity.

Primarily Combined type: Tend to display a mixture of both symptoms.  I was diagnosed as a child with the combined type but leaning more towards inattentive.

Anakin and Signs of ADHD:

SO.  For starters, I see Anakin as primarily combined type with heavy leanings toward hyperactive-impulsivity.  While this type is used to describe the stereotypical hyper little boy media tends to paint ADHD people as, adults can have it too and I see it a lot in Anakin.  ADHD magazine ADDitude gives examples of adults with h-i ADHD as people who find difficulty in waiting around for anything, interrupt others in conversation, make impulsive decisions, and have reckless driving skills.  Sound at all like someone we know?

Now Anakin absolutely checks all of the above boxes, but it’s way more than that, though.  I looked up Healthline’s basic signs and symptoms of Adult ADHD, and I am going to run down the list to show how basically all of them apply to Anakin Skywalker in one way or another.  Let’s begin!

Anakin and LACK OF FOCUS:  ADDitude suggests that saying ADHD people don’t have attention might be a bit misleading.  More accurately, ADHD people have tons of attention, we just can’t harness it in the right direction at the right time with any consistency.  In canon, it is made very clear to us very early on that Anakin has issues with some of the more spiritual aspects of Jedi training, like meditation, because he does not possess the focus necessary to concentrate.  We get other times when Anakin’s on missions with Obi Wan, where it is made clear Anakin has read the mission brief, but he hasn’t done a good job on it as he’s overlooked something.  He gets distracted while in diplomatic situations and Obi Wan needs to tell him to pay attention.  Palpatine is able to pull sketchy shit because he knows how to slip under Anakin’s radar while he’s not too focused on him.  Anakin isn’t always aware of his surroundings, seeing as how basically everyone who knows him knows about Padmé because he’s not good at being subtle; he’s not good at reading a room.  Canon has established that Anakin, while brilliant, has a very flighty attention span and unless it’s something that is deeply important to him or made glaringly obvious, his brain has a tendency to skip over it, and makes him less aware.

Anakin and HYPERFOCUS:  The flip side of ADHD focus issues.  While our brains don’t always want to pay attention to important rules or other peoples’ emotions or basically anything presented to us that we find boring in any shape or form, if we find something we like, we LATCH.  ON.  And we cannot stop concentrating on it, up until the point that we lose track of time and ignore others around us.  In canon, it is shown very easily what Anakin hyperfocuses on.  He’s described in several SW books and is shown in show and movies to completely go into a zone when in combat mode.  He’s good at it, he enjoys it, and saber skills is easily something that he can concentrate and get lost in.  Another obvious one is mechanics.  We see briefly in TCW and bits in the movies where when Anakin is fixing something or piloting something, he kind of drifts away from reality-- he’s got an ear on the situation if there’s danger of course, but he goes just solidly into Tech Mode where all he concentrates on is whatever he’s fixing/piloting at the moment, and that’s why he’s so skilled at what he does.  It’s also possible to hyperfocus on specific ideas or opinions, which you can see in basically every argument Anakin ever gets into with someone.  He’s like a dog with a bone on a topic he wants to discuss Right Now This Very Second and he will not let it go, nor will he allow you to either, because when we hyperfocus, our fixation can bleed into conversation until it takes control of the conversation, without us even knowing we’re doing it, so it can be surprising/embarrassing when someone points out we’re doing it. 

Anakin and DISORGANIZATION:  ADHD people basically struggle with organizational skills.  While we don’t see much of Anakin’s living spaces, we can see from the brief TCW snippets that his living quarters are a little cluttered.  However, he does run a relatively neat army-- though we don’t know how much of that has Rex, Ahsoka, Obi Wan, or someone else to thank for it.  In Anakin, most of the disorganization we see is in his mind.  Priorities can be an issue for ADHD people, and Anakin tends to prioritize the wrong thing at the wrong time at certain points.  He doesn’t always know what to say or how to say it, making him awkward and not very eloquent when speaking.

Anakin and TIME MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS: An issue that goes hand-in-hand with disorganization.  We have trouble using time effectively.  We procrastinate on things we don’t want to do, show up late, ignore things we consider boring, and the idea of the future or the past is overwhelming and or scary to us and can cause panic-- we need to focus on the now and the now alone because if we try to cross that bridge before we get to it, we might end up burning it.  All throughout TCW, we get Obi Wan in particular, but others as well, harping on Anakin for showing up late.  And, uh, he kinda does.  He makes it, he always does, but it’s always at the last minute just when everyone’s worried he’s not gonna show up.  He sometimes doesn’t go to important meetings.  He puts off paperwork.  Lots of people use all of this to make fun of him, be like “ah, he’s a bad Jedi, he’s lazy”, but like, that’s standard ADHD time management issues.  And fear of the future?  Hoo boy...  Anakin may handle his fears of the future in the literal worst way possible, but that overwhelming anxiety that everything’s rushing at you so fast and holy shit, you don’t have your shit together NOW, what the hell are you gonna do THEN, holy shit holy shit everyone’s gonna DIE PANIC PANIC DANGER PANIC--  Like, I get that.  I really do.  Fear of the future and inability to manage time overlap a lot.

Anakin and FORGETFULNESS:  ADHD have a tendency to forget important stuff, but here is where I remind y’all that not all ADHD people experience all the same symptoms, because Anakin actually has a really damn good memory.  Boy is sharp, he recalls really obscure stuff, and if you piss him off/do him a favor, he’s remembering that to his deathbed. Anakin, however, does display what is common in ADHD people, having a selective memory.  This goes hand in hand with our attention issues.  We remember what we focused on and that sticks in our mind: hopes, fears, interests, stuff like that.  Anything else?  Eh, if we didn’t notice it then, we’re not noticing it five years from then, or even five minutes from then.  That you can see in Anakin, where people like Ahsoka and Obi Wan have to teasingly remind him of important stuff that he tends to just shrug off like “oh yeah that thing that I didn’t care about then and don’t really care about now”, or he feels guilty cuz “oops I didn’t notice it then so now I’m lost”

Anakin and IMPULSIVITY: Aight y’all, this probably requires the least amount of explanation for Anakin Skywalker cuz the Star Wars narrative calls him impulsive like every ten seconds xD  ADHD people with impulsivity can be socially inappropriate (Anakin, always managing to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, king of escalating tense situations because he blurts out whatever he feels like), interrupt others (something Padmé and Ahsoka have both canonically called him on doing, he does it to plenty of others as well, Vader does it all the damn time by just force-choking people silent), rushing through tasks (”Oh Anakin, always on the move”.  He does not wait, he makes up plans as he goes, he’s constantly in motion), ACTING WITHOUT MUCH CONSIDERATION TO THE CONSEQUENCES (Examples: The entirety of Star Wars episodes 1-6, Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Anakin and EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS: Alright, maybe THIS is the one that requires the least amount of explanation, haha.  ADHD peoples’ emotions seem constantly in flux.  We get bored easily and need constant entertainment. (Anakin running off doing crazy stuff seemingly for fun)  Small frustrations always feel like the end of the world because it takes over our entire brain. (Anakin being “overdramatic/overreacting”)  The slightest sense of rejection or negativity towards our ideas or anything we do can read as total hatred (this is called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, it SUCKS) so we’re oversensitive about criticism of basically anything.  RSD also means we’re paranoid that we’re not noticing other people’s emotions, so we always tend to worry everyone else hates us or our friends are going to leave us-- we have serious abandonment issues. (Basically all of Anakin worrying about the Jedi’s image of him, worrying about Padmé and Obi Wan loving him, freaking out over Ahsoka leaving, etc.)  Our mind is focusing on a million things at once so our emotions run super quickly, causing what looks like mood swings because in the time it takes someone to get surprised, we’ve already gone through surprise, confusion, realization, betrayal, fury, and sadness and are now “randomly” crying in front of you (Anakin and his mood swings).  Focus issues make us not realize that something we’re doing is upsetting/bothering someone unless they flat out say it, so we may seem mean/inconsiderate/careless (ok, not excusing that part of Anakin’s personality is that he’s just kind of a dick lol, but other stuff that he does seems accidental; he doesn’t want to hurt anyone he loves).

Anakin and POOR SELF-IMAGE:  HOOOO BOY THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!  So adults with ADHD are often hypercritical of themselves, which can lead to a poor self-image.  I do this a lot, and I can’t really explain why, just that I am frustrated with myself and need validation from outside sources.  Anakin verbally expresses this to Padmé and Palpatine in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith especially with all his “I’m not the Jedi I’m supposed to be” bits, how he constantly puts pressure on himself in the novels to be “the very best, I have to be better than everyone, I SHOULD be”, the conflict with that Chosen One label and whether he believes it or not and the pressure he feels from others to fulfill it, to be the Hero With No Fear when he’s fucking terrified all the time.  He’s relentlessly hard on himself for his failures and is always looking for an insult in others’ words (Like if Obi Wan gives him gentle concrit, Anakin will subconsciously tear it apart to turn it into how Obi Wan has found an error with all of him and hates him and Anakin sucks). For all his pride in his abilities, Anakin really does not like himself, poor dear, and seeks outside validation in Padmé, Palpatine, and Obi Wan.

Anakin and LACK OF MOTIVATION: Also ties back to focus issues again, if we don’t like it, our brain won’t focus on it, and we can’t convince ourselves to do it.  We can see this in times where Anakin has to be gently (or not so gently) prodded by Obi Wan or Ahsoka or someone into doing some Jedi business Anakin considers annoying.

Anakin and RESTLESSNESS AND ANXIETY: It’s described as our “motor won’t shut off”.  We always need to keep moving and doing things, and we get frustrated when we can’t do something immediately.  There are also bodily tics with fidgeting or frequent hand movements.  We see this several times with Anakin during wartime, where he’s practically vibrating over having to play the long waiting game instead of rushing in and getting the job done immediately (See: on Naboo where Anakin is pacing a hole into the floor and Obi Wan is telling him to kindly chill pls).  Part of his issues in ROTS happen when he’s worked himself up into a frenzy over sitting not knowing what to do over what’s scaring him so he jumps the gun and goes with the first available (awful) option.  I don’t remember if this is Hayden or if this is me projecting, sorry, but I always feel that when I watch Hayden in the movies, he always portrays Anakin as vaguely squirmy/fidgety, not really ever sitting PERFECTLY still, like he’s always moving some body part, fiddling with something in his hands or on his clothes.  In TCW and the OT especially, we see how hand-wavey he is when he talks, especially when he’s pissed, then the Finger Wag Of Doom comes out, but his hands are ALWAYS in motion.

Anakin and FATIGUE: It’s as the word describes it, we feel tired.  All the craziness in our head is overwhelming and we just.  Feel.  Tired.  We don’t see this as clearly in Anakin because all the Jedi seem fatigued, they’re fighting a fucking hopeless war, but it’s definitely there.  He has sleeping problems with his dreams and nightmares that spawn from his anxiety that could easily be ADHD-induced; they’re there.

Anakin and HEALTH PROBLEMS: Long story short, it’s basically all your ADHD issues making you neglect to take care of yourself.  We see how Anakin has unhealthy coping mechanisms, neglects sleep, and throws himself into reckless, dangerous situations.  He does not take care of himself very well at all.

Anakin and RELATIONSHIP ISSUES:  Ruh roh...  Aight, so all of the symptoms above can very obviously prove to be hurdles in professional, romantic, or platonic situations.  We can see how all the above examples in Anakin have in one way or another caused an argument between himself and basically everyone he loves (Obi Wan, Padmé, Ahsoka), people he has to work with (the Jedi council, anyone he gets assigned to on a mission), and anyone else.  He’s not called a human disaster for no reason, his actions can make him rub people very much the wrong way, and being kind of lonely and awkward and with not many friends is unfortunately a common occurrence in the lives of ADHD people (It happened to me, and I would consider myself much more of a pleasant individual than Anakin (no offense, hon), other people who met me just thought I was “strange” and that was that).

WHEW.  So yes, all of the above state my reasons why I think Anakin Skywalker has ADHD (as well as anxiety, but that’s another post).  Please remember once more that these are MY EXPERIENCES AS AN INDIVIDUAL WITH ADHD and that once again, NOT ALL ADHD PEOPLE SHARE THE SAME EXPERIENCES/SYMPTOMS

I will give the two articles I bothered fact-checking with below, the one from Healthline and from ADDitude

If y’all wanna talk more about ADHD!Anakin or any other ADHD Star Wars characters or just neurodivergent Star Wars character headcanons with me, my inbox and DM’s are always open, I love talking about this!!!!!!!!!

[eatprayworm]

without fox demons, no village is complete: an essay on tsomd’s li zilong and fox spirits

The big bad of The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty live action series, Li Zilong, is in many ways a mystery. We never learn his real motivations for wanting to take down the emperor, and there’s so many odd details about him that don’t add up (how did he disappear in thin air from Wang Zhi?). I propose a theory that provides an explanation for this antagonist: he is a fox spirit. I use a combination of sources to come to this conclusion. Let’s read.

The Real Li Zilong

A good place to start is the history of the real life Li Zilong. According to “The Eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty” by Shih-shan Henry Tsai, the Chenghua emperor established the Western Depot in 1477, with Wang Zhi at the helm. What made the emperor create the Western Depot? Well! The original mission of the Depot was to investigate the case of Li Zilong, a “transvestite” (the book’s words, not mine) who allegedly practiced witchcraft and had magical abilities. Li Zilong worked with a court eunuch to sneak into the imperial harem and mingle with superstitious women. And so, the Chenghua emperor created the Western Depot and had Wang Zhi search for any other witches or strange people. Wang Zhi went on to become a terror in the lives of many common folk.

So, the real Li Zilong was tied to mystical practices.

The Book Li Zilong

What about Li Zilong in the novel? Well! I haven’t read the novel so I can’t fully speak to it, but I’ve read some passages that describe Li Zilong. In chapter 3, Tang Fan discusses the Demon Fox Case, about a golden fox demon who was sent in to kill the emperor. This demon fox was said to be killed by the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor. There was also a Taoist named Li Zilong who appeared around the same time, and for whatever reason, the court associated Li Zilong with the fox, and he was executed. After Li Zilong was executed, the emperor established the Western Depot so he’d have a more reliable source of information.

Since I haven’t read the novel, I can’t say if Li Zilong is really dead or if there’s more information on this case. I’d love to hear if there is! Otherwise, what we can infer here is that Li Zilong was, most likely, a fox demon spirit out to kill the emperor.

The book is not the show, though, so this could be dismissed. However, I propose that the show version of Li Zilong is indeed a fox spirit. To better explain why I believe this, we need to understand a few things about Chinese fox spirits.

What are fox spirits?

There is a very long history of fox spirits in Chinese lore. I’ve done a few hours of research, but I am by no means an expert, so take all of this with a grain of salt. Likewise, fox spirits are called many terms (huxian, humei, huli jing, to name just a few) and they have various roles within ancient lore. For the purposes of this essay, I’ll focus on some general fox spirit information.

There are some generally accepted lore about fox spirits. According to old records, fox spirits have long lives and can take different forms depending on their age. When they reach 500 years, they can take the form of a beautiful woman, a handsome man, or an old wise scholar. When they reach 1,000 years, they may enter the heavens and become a celestial fox.

In some stories, foxes are seen as good omens who bring wealth and fortune to humans. In other stories, foxes take human form and seduce men or women. In others still, foxes are seen as signs of misfortune, sorcery, and rebellion.

Powers

Fox spirits are noted to have particular traits and powers, including:

strike their tail on the ground to cause fire

the ability to possess humans

ability to see into the future

can see events up to 1,000 li away

invisibility

pass through walls

a cunning and trickster disposition

Motives

The motives of foxes vary. Some have no moral alignment. Others seek to play mischief and tricks on humans; others steal the spirits of men so they may increase their own.

There are also tales of fox spirits taking revenge, either for themself or a deceased individual. To quote one source, “Typically in folklore the Chinese fox had two basic motives, to show its powerful shape-shifting ability by assuming the form of a person or demon to achieve the second motive: that of revenge for some crime it perceived, real or imagined.”

Interestingly, this is not the only source to discuss fox spirits and revenge. One tale speaks to a fox who cursed three generations because it was harmed by the family. Another source states, “...the Chinese revenge-fox stories: the killed fox is able to punish his murderer, being almost as clever as he is.”

Li Zilong? A Fox?

Now, why do I think the show!Li Zilong could be one of these crafty fox spirits? It’s a combination of canon clues and some inferences on my part. Let’s begin!

Age & Revenge

Li Zilong tells Princess Gu’an that he is a descendant of the Li family, who ruled during the Tang dynasty. The Tang Dynasty. What’s interesting to note is that the Tang Dynasty ended in the beginning of the 900’s - over 550 years before the present day in the show. Why would a descendant from this very old royal family have it out for the emperor? And what does this have to do with foxes?

The Tang Dynasty was the height of fox and fox spirit worship. The Tang Scholar Zhang Zuo noted: “From the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, many of the commoners worshipped fox deities. They offer sacrifices to them in their bedchambers, and food and drink offered are the same as those consumed by humans. At the time there was proverb saying ‘without fox demons, no village is complete.’”

There are other mentions of fox demons and their roles as gods. In one instance, dozens of “fox demons” appeared at a temple honor Li Jing, a Tang Dynasty general who was revered as a god. In another instance, a temple was erected for the “fox kings” in the land. In the year 1110, the Grand Councilor ordered that 1,000 fox-king shrines should be destroyed. (Li Jing? Some demon foxes being called huli jing? interesting coincidences.)

So. We have Li Zilong, who was a descendant of the royal family that ruled during the height of fox worship. What’s more, Li Zilong wears the same type of headpiece that the Chenghua emperor wears.

Was Li Zilong truly the descendant of royalty? Or, is he perhaps royalty from the era itself, a remnant of the fox kings of old? After all,  why would a descendant of the Tang Dynasty care about an emperor who lived hundreds of years later, unless he’s been around long enough to have a reason to care? Could he, like his book counterpart, have been slighted by the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor?

When he finally confronts the emperor, he stares and says he’s waited a long time for this day. Maybe he’s waited over a hundred years.

Photos for reference:

Powers & Omens

Li Zilong exhibits traditional powers of fox spirits.

Invisibility. When Wang Zhi and he are walking out of the brothel, he tells Wang Zhi to look away. Wang Zhi looks away for a few seconds, turns back, and Li Zilong is gone. There’s no hint that he leaped away; he seemed to disappear out of thin air.  Or, perhaps, he simply turned invisible. He pulls a similar trick when Tang Fan sees him across the street, but he disappears after a carriage goes by. Naturally, he probably hopped on the carriage. But….what if he didn’t. Additionally, how did Li Zilong get into the brothel when he was holding the meeting with the Oirats? Why was he so unafraid to be in public when he was literally public enemy number one? Only someone who could disappear quickly could have such confidence.

Precognition/knowledge. Li Zilong knew everything about everyone, even when it didn’t make sense for him to know these things. How did he know so much about the chicken cup? How could he predict the moves of the heroes again and again and again? How did he know the history of individuals so well? Sure, he had men that kept him informed. He had Qing Ge. But his ability to not only know so many past and current events, and keep a thumb on so many individuals and schemes (like the Yunhe silver situation) for years is very, very impressive. Almost inhumanly impressive.

Fire. Now, Li Zilong himself does not have the power of fire, but he sure is attracted to it. Ding Rong describes the explosions of the bolang as a sea of fire - and wouldn’t that appeal to a fox who can strike fire with his tail? Imagine being able to amplify this natural ability. Li Zilong seemed to grow particularly protective and fond of the bolangs; his eyes would light up, he asked for far more than he ever needed. A fox with a penchant for fire indeed.

Wealth & Rebellion. Li Zilong fits the archetype of the fox being both a benefactor and an ill omen. He says time and time again that he’s a businessman, and indeed he is: he fills the pockets of men (and himself) with gold, so long as they follow him. Sounds almost like worship? And wouldn’t an old fox king just love that? Additionally, Li Zilong is considered a rascal, an outsider, a rebel; Shang Ming, Wan An, and Wan Tong will collude with him, but they still deem him an “other”, an outside force. Fox spirits were typically seen as the other, as a sign of chaos.

Miscellaneous

Here’s some additional details I picked up while rewatching that lend some credence to my fox theory.

Fox Rings. On one of his hands, Li Zilong wears orange and black rings, side by side. These colors are typically associated with foxes.

2. Actual fox reference. In episode 47, Li Zilong warns Qing Ge that you cannot run from the eyes of the “three old foxes.” These mean the corrupt officials, of course. But what’s even more curious is what Dong’er tells the emperor: don’t run from Li Zilong, because he will always find you. So who is really the old fox here?

3. Qing Ge. One of the most common tales of fox spirits is them taking on the form of beautiful women to enchant men. Li Zilong adopting a skilled courtesan who canonically has men falling at her feet? Could this old fox king see a potential fox spirit in this adoptive daughter?

4. Tang Fan. In the Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures, the author states that “huli jing are especially fond of attacking virtuous scholars, as reasonable and virtuous people enrage them.” Li Zilong focused on Tang Fan as his real enemy. Not Sui Zhou. Not Wang Zhi. And why, when all three would eventually lead to his downfall? Because I think Tang Fan was the exact kind of scholar who Li Zilong couldn’t outsmart and beat, and he hated it.

5. Eyes. When Li Zilong falls down and dies, his eyes briefly change color. They flash from grey to silver; in the next scene, they’re brown again. What happened here? What spirit has left him? Could it be the death of a very old fox?

Conclusion

Fox or human? Descendant or royalty? Who knows what a Li Zilong is, but I think we can certainly assume he isn’t human - and may be the trickster from old. Ultimately, this is just my headcanon. At the end of the day, he may just be an old man who wanted to cause havoc for the hell of it. But I think this is a fun theory to entertain, and it gives him far more depth and intrigue than canon gave him otherwise.

Again, I am no expert in Chinese lore or Chinese fox spirits. Any mistakes are mine, and I’m certainly open to corrections!

[littlepurinsesu]

V Watches MagiReco - Season 1 Review

*Spoilers for Magia Record Anime*

If you’ve been been following my weekly reviews on the Magia Record anime, you’ll know that my “reviews” are really more like general impressions, thoughts, and fangirling as I mentally recap the episode after my initial viewing.

For this final review of the season as a whole, however, I’m actually going to try and make it more like an actual “review" and discuss each aspect of the anime separately. I’ll be splitting my points of discussion into individual sections and giving each a score out of 10, before rounding it all off with an overall score/grade.

Oh, not sure if this needs to be emphasised, but these are just my opinions! You may agree and you may disagree, and either way is cool!  (・ω・)b

Before I begin, I just want to make it clear that one very, very important thing to keep in mind when watching and reviewing MagiReco is the fact that it isn’t a direct continuation of PMMM. So many people find themselves unable to enjoy the series because it’s “not the same” or “not the PMMM they know” etc. But it isn’t and was never intended to be. It’s a spin-off, not a sequel. To expect a spin-off to have the exact same impact and level of quality as the original is unrealistic to begin with, not to mention that although comparisons will be inevitable, the original PMMM anime has reached a legendary status where it isn’t really fair to compare anything with it xD

(And for the PMMM fans who are unhappy with MagiReco simply because it isn’t “dark enough” and there isn’t enough “suffering”, all I can say is that if a lack of darkness and suffering automatically means the show is bad, then this one just isn’t for you. Dark doesn’t equal good, and suffering isn’t essential. MagiReco is not intended to have the same tone as PMMM, and those elements do not entail everything that defined PMMM to begin with anyway.)

For these reasons, I’m going to try my best to review the MagiReco anime as a standalone piece and try not to make too many comparisons with PMMM, unless explicitly necessary. Also, as a game player, the inevitable curse of “expectations” was a major issue I needed to overcome when watching the anime. I will therefore also try my best to look past these expectations and try to see the anime as a story of its own. However, there will be discussions on the changes that the anime made and how I feel the anime did in adapting the game story for a television series.

Anyway, sorry for all the additional rambling. Let’s jump into the review before I lose everyone’s attention ^^;; 

Plot: 8/10

One thing I love about the MagiReco plot is that they take the original world and concepts of PMMM and actually come up with a whole new story. It’s familiar yet different, and a perfect way to please the nostalgic fans while also offering something fresh. The PMMM world always had a lot of potential to explore other girls’ stories, considering how many Magical Girls there are, and it’s nice to meet a whole new cast of characters with their own story that’s still set in the same world and uses the same concepts we’re familiar with.

I think my favourite thing about the MagiReco plot, which is the same both in the game and in the anime, is the idea of the Wings of Magius. Any story that involves Magical Girls somehow trying to undermine or overthrow the Incubators’ system always has a lot of potential, in my opinion, and it’s a creative way to delve even deeper into PMMM’s unique take on the magical girl genre without being repetitive. But the key to what makes the Wings of Magius so compelling and intriguing as antagonists is the moral issues it raises. The grey morality going on with the Wings of Magius is not too different from the issues presented by Kyubey, and these kinds of moral debates get the audience really thinking about what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s evil. The Magius are presented as being very similar to the Incubators in many senses--sometimes even worse--and I always love a compelling villain or villain group that actually gets the audience pondering whether the bad guys really are that “wrong" after all. Plus the whole idea of salvation and liberation and the whole cult impression we get from the Wings of Magius really adds another layer of that dark and creepy atmosphere that PMMM does so well.

However, I do strongly feel that many of the important scenes and major plot points were presented much better in the game. As mentioned earlier, having played the game meant I was going in with expectations for how I wanted/hoped/expected certain things to be done, and this is a common issue that adaptations have when there’s an audience familiar with the source material. I’m okay with completely changing parts of the game’s story to create something new, but there were instances where the anime intended to replicate the scene as it was in the game but somehow fell short in its presentation. These cases of inadequate storytelling thus hinder the unfolding of the plot, ultimately creating problems with coherency and pacing. (I mean, if you think about it, the “main plot” doesn’t really even truly begin until all five main characters have been introduced.) I have dedicated a whole section to this pacing issue, so I’ll go into detail when we get there xD

Characterisation: 7/10

The anime’s presentation of the characters ranges from fantastic to extremely lacking. Iroha has moments where she’s extremely passive, but also times where she’s shown to be quite proactive and brave as well. I’m honestly not too sure what to make of Iroha’s characterisation so far due to this big range, but I’m hoping that she’ll show more growth and that her changes will be written in a way that actually makes sense, rather than abrupt shifts that make you question how and when she had it in her. Either way, she’s a lovely sweet girl and a very likable character, and I do like that even if she isn’t necessarily always doing anything or contributing to a fight, the sole reason she’s in Kamihama in the first place (to look for her sister) is a good sign that she knows what she’s doing and has taken the necessary measures to go about her quest.

Yachiyo didn’t seem to display much uniqueness until her past was unveiled, and that wasn’t until we were well into the second half of the first season. In my opinion, this took way too long. I find this to be a slight problem because of how central to the plot Yachiyo is, and while I understand that backstories being revealed later on can have a bigger impact (like Homura’s in Episode 10 of PMMM), the way they portray Yachiyo throughout the majority of the season doesn’t have that constant loose thread hanging. She almost seems too “normal” at times, blending into the cast, and only when certain things happen or when someone says something in particular do you actually remember that we still don’t know what her deal is yet. I guess what I mean is that a more looming sense of “mysteriousness” could have justified the late reveal a lot better. The reveal of her past and her wish were slightly underwhelming, too, seeing as we hardly got to know Kanae and Meru before they were killed off, making it difficult to connect with those characters and thus relate to Yachiyo’s grief at losing them. And as for the revelation of her wish, I’ve ranted enough about it in my review for Episode 13, so you can check that one out if you haven’t already xD

Tsuruno has it even worse than Yachiyo because they literally haven’t revealed or even teased anything about her. All we know is that she works at a Chinese restaurant, was already friends with Yachiyo in the past (this “mystery” was later explained in Yachiyo’s flashbacks), and is super cheerful and energetic. Her backstory is the only one that hasn’t been shown yet, and they never really even hinted at there being something deeper about her character. While I completely understand that they’re intending to leave all that for the Rumour Tsuruno arc (which will most likely be done next season), I feel that they really needed to give us at least something for now. Even in the game, we got a better sense of who Tsuruno was as a person before the Rumour Tsuruno arc revealed her hidden sadness. I guess I can’t really fault the anime for this, since they’re just going in chronological order, but a little more insight into Tsuruno’s character would have been a better decision so that we don’t get another round of “info-dumping” when we do get to Rumour Tsuruno, and the reveal about her inner emotional turmoil would actually be a slight twist that adds even more depth to her character, rather than random information that never seemed important because there were never any signs of it.

But while Yachiyo’s and Tsuruno’s characterisation could have been better, Felicia’s and Sana’s were handled superbly. The anime actually made me adore Felicia as a character when I merely “liked her enough” in the game. She’s so much more than just the spoiled and rowdy child who goes berserk when seeing a Witch, and her introductory episodes (namely Episode 7) actually managed to move me to tears. Her bond with Iroha is also portrayed even more nicely in the anime, and I have a newfound love for the friendship between these two, which is quite underrepresented in the game. Felicia manages to retain all the lovable traits she displayed in the game with just the right amount of brattiness so as to not seem too annoying, and the anime hasn’t even really touched upon the cruel reality behind her wish. Whether or not they venture into that territory at some point, I just hope they continue doing as amazingly as they’ve done with Felicia so far, because she really is super cute and a lot more likable in the anime version <3

As for Sana, she’s more or less the same as her game counterpart, but something about the way the anime unveils her past makes it even more tragic. We’ve always known of her terrible “family” and the unfortunate circumstances of her home life prior to joining Mikazuki Villa. But the episodes that detail her story did a stellar job at bringing out and actually showing the sheer horror of having a family like Sana’s, and just how deep and suffocating her sense of loneliness was. Her story is absolutely miserable, but the anime manages to present it in a way that doesn’t make it seem like they were “trying too hard” just to make it as sad as possible. The things happen for a reason, and the consequences it has on Sana as a character are all realistic and believable, and even a wish as extreme as hers made perfect sense after seeing everything she had to go through.

Other characters don’t seem to have as much of a presence to warrant a paragraph of their own, but I will give honourable mentions to Rena and Tsukuyo. Rena’s Magical Girl Story made me a sobbing mess when I first read it, and while the anime obviously couldn’t sidetrack and include all the details, I think they did a pretty good job considering the limited amount of time they could spend on a supporting character. The anime also did a really nice job at giving Tsukuyo that humanising moment during her conversation with Iroha at the cafe, emphasising the good inside of her despite being an antagonist, and also taking the chance to give her a sense of individuality so that she and her sister are not always seen as an identical and inseparable pair with no personal lives or traits, so props to them for that :) Mitama has hardly made many appearances and doesn’t even seem very story-relevant at this point, so I’m wondering how they’re going to build up her importance in the next season so that she doesn’t seem like the “token shopkeeper character” who’s there for no real purpose outside of gaming mechanics (because we all know that Mitama is so much more than that). And as for characters like Kaede, she’s been changed so much that I’ll reserve my judgment for now because I simply don’t know where they’re intending to take her character. Same goes for Kuroe and her still-unclear purpose in the plot lmao

I think it’s important to remember that a lot of characterisation we get in the game is from Magical Girl Stories and Event Stories, both of which are obviously not viable to delve into too much in the anime. As a result, I guess it’s “to be expected” that the anime will have to give up quite a bit of the details that make all these characters so real, likable, or relatable. I’m not an anime writer, nor do I know anything about adapting games into anime, but I do feel that it would have been so much better if they had come up with some other way of compensating for the lost characterisation moments that are only shown in the game’s side stories. Not sure how else they should have done it, but simply removing some of these vital bits of information does harm the portrayal of these characters, especially when they’re part of the main cast.

But yeah, mixed feelings because while some characters really needed more work in the characterisation department, others were handled amazingly well xD

Pacing: 4/10

Okay, let’s be real. The pacing was almost definitely the anime’s weakest point, and possibly one of the main reasons why someone would find the show hard to enjoy or even understand. I’ve seen people complain that the story is too fast, and I’ve also seen people complain that it moves way too slowly. In my opinion, it really is a combination of both, and I’m honestly quite fascinated at how the anime somehow manages to pull off being both too fast and too slow at the same time xD

The story is almost excruciatingly slow in that it takes a whole ten episodes before the main cast is fully assembled. I thought a bit about this and, to be fair, some classic magical girl shows also take many, many episodes before all the main characters are introduced, such as Sailor Moon taking a whopping 33 episodes before all five Inner Senshi have gathered. So I guess this slow episode-by-episode “collection” of team members really isn’t something new. But MagiReco isn’t really a long-running anime that has filler episodes back-to-back to justify the slow pace of the plot. The plot is moving every week, yet it still feels like it takes forever to get the main cast together, which is slow enough to make the viewer question what they had been sitting through all this time when it’s been ten episodes and the story is really only “actually beginning” now.

And at the same time the plot somehow manages to feel too fast at the same time. How is this even possible? My answer to this is simply the fact that they introduce conflicts and mysteries, only to quickly resolve them and then immediately jump to the next one before the audience has even had a chance to really process or understand what they just watched. We’re not given the time to really absorb the development of the story or the subtle changes the characters are undergoing before we’re immediately thrown into a new mini “arc” the next week. In some ways, it almost seems like the “Monster of the Week” formula that many magical girl series adopt, only instead of being aware that we’re seeing trivial conflicts that are intended to last for one episode with characters we are likely not going to see again, MagiReco is throwing out new ideas, new terms, and new plot-relevant characters almost every episode, vomiting out information in a way that viewers who haven’t played the game will find very difficult to keep up with.

And that brings me to one of the biggest problems I had with the anime: important terms and concepts are often thrown in as a “by the way”. (This is most apparent with anything to do with the Wings of Magius before Episode 10, most notably Alina’s introduction.) Game players will obviously know what they’re talking about, but anime-only viewers are left confused and lost as to what exactly is happening half the time. I’ve seen more than a few instances where a viewer who wasn’t familiar with the game needed extra clarification and explanation before they understood certain things, and honestly that isn’t a good sign. All the important stuff should be made crystal clear so that even anime-only viewers will be able to grasp all the concepts without game players to spell things out for them. The anime should be a standalone piece on its own, not a “supplement" to the game. And the consequence is that anime viewers are constantly raising their eyebrows and wondering what the heck just happened or when the heck something was ever established, because crucial information is thrown around with no emphasis and the fast pace doesn’t allow viewers to digest anything properly. This unclear storytelling wastes the opportunity to present mysteries that are intended to keep the audience invested; rather than continuing the series because you just have to find out what something means or why something is the way it is, you’re left with question marks popping up all around your head because you’re confused af and wondering if you forgot or missed some crucial information at some point.

Another issue I had with the anime was what I’ve decided to dub the “one-shot curse”. Witches and Rumours alike are one-shot-ed so quickly and fights resolved so suddenly that I was often left wondering what the point of that fight was. Not to mention that a lot of the battles lacked real “action”. Witches appear, get one-shot-ed, and the characters return to whatever it was they were doing before as though nothing had happened. So... what was the point? I guess they really wanted to emphasise just how many Witches there are in Kamihama and just how easy it is to come across one everyday? Or maybe it was just for the sake of including an obligatory battle in each episode so there’s at least some action each week? Either way, if you’re going to include Witch battles, you may as well do them properly. For crying out loud, InuCurry, the guy who designs the Witches, is the director of the MagiReco anime! You’d expect a bit more emphasis and flourish to highlight what he’s so good at! But to be fair, there were some good Witch battles, such as the ones in the first episode, the ones in Yachiyo’s flashbacks when Kanae and Meru died, and of course, the epic battle between Holy Mami and Sayaka in the final episode. So they’re not all that bad, but I just feel like there was a lot of wasted potential.

I find that the main problem is a lack of balance between the battles, the exposition, the plot, and the fluffy slice-of-life stuff. All these are crucial to a good anime, and a lot of these moments were done quite nicely as standalone scenes. But the way the MagiReco anime has packaged them together and tied a very unattractive Bad Pacing ribbon on top just doesn’t work. It’s like a giftbox that has some lovely things inside if you look carefully at them one by one, but the way the gift is presented just isn’t very appealing and ruins the goodness of the content inside.

I get that the anime probably has issues with pacing because it’s essentially adapting a mobile game. I’m not sure if the pacing would be better if this weren’t the case and the MagiReco story was scripted for an anime to begin with, but I really, really hope they fix these pacing issues next season.

Visuals and Animation: 8/10

To me, the visuals were nearly always top-notch, and definitely a huge improvement from the original series. They managed to retain the art style of PMMM while also updating it so that it looks a lot more sleek and polished. The characters looked great, the scenery is gorgeous, the labyrinths all unique and intricately designed, and there was a lot of clever visual symbolism going on in the still shots and subtle scene transitions. I’m not an expert on animation or visual arts, but I definitely think this series deserves a very high score for this section.

There were a few instances where we saw some wonky “meguca" shots, but those were rare and nowhere near bad enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the series. I don’t really have much else to say because, like I said, this really isn’t my forte, but I genuinely loved most of the visuals we got.

Music and Soundtrack: 9/10

I know a lot of us were disappointed when we learned that Yuki Kajiura would not be returning to do the music for MagiReco. And we all knew that whoever they hired would have very, very, very large shoes to fill. And I can definitely say that I was not disappointed at all.

Guys, the music for this series is AMAZING. Takumi Ozawa managed to capture the style that Kajiura used for PMMM in a way that retains the original tone of the franchise without seeming like a mere carbon copy of her work. I don’t think there was a single musical piece in there that didn’t make me feel like, “Ah, this is no doubt a PMMM anime!” And none of them gave me the impression that he was “trying too hard" to “rehash” Kajiura’s style. No, there’s familiarity and there’s originality, and it’s all packed together in a way that allows MagiReco to retain the charm of its predecessor while also standing strong as a work of art by itself.

I only docked one point because there were so many amazing tracks from the game and I don’t really understand why they didn’t use them when there were moments that seemed perfect for those tunes. It would be a nice sense of familiarity for game players, and it’s still considered “new stuff” for anime-only viewers too, so I really don’t get why xD Maybe they really wanted to separate the anime from the game? Which is also fair enough :)

I wasn’t so sure about “Gomakashi” as the OP when I first heard it in the trailer, but it’s definitely grown on me! While I still think “Kakawari” is superior and has a more catchy and iconic sound to it, “Gomakashi” is sweet and girly, very much like the kind of song you’d hear in a magical girl series. I don’t think this is an OP that will be legendary enough that everyone knows the tune (like the theme song for Sailor Moon, for example), but it’s a lovely song and I do like it a lot ^^

“Alicia” was beautiful from the very first time I heard it, and I’ve only grown more and more fond of it with each listen. Definitely one of my favourite EDs of all time, and perhaps my favourite OP/ED song out of the entire PMMM franchise.

And that ED song for the final episode? Gorgeous, too. Almost has a “Magia” kind of sound, and definitely sets a darker tone for the upcoming season where (I assume) sh*t starts getting real.

Overall: 7/10, B+ or A-

Despite my criticism and picking the anime apart in this review, overall I still genuinely enjoyed it a lot :D It’s far from perfect, but I was nowhere near as disappointed as I’ve been in the past with other anime adaptations, and while some parts could definitely have been handled a lot better, it was mostly still decent in my opinion. Get rid of the pacing issues and I’d probably give it a solid 9 (for context, I rate the original PMMM anime a 10/10, perhaps even higher if possible).

Again, I think my experience and knowledge as a game player definitely influenced my view on the anime as an adaptaion. For example, I already love the characters and know enough about them, and so I probably didn’t really feel the consequences caused by the anime’s sometimes lackluster characterisation. I also often have ideas of how I want or hope a part gets adapted, and then get disappointed when it’s done in a different and underwhelming way compared to what I imagined. I’m sure my impressions, comments, and scores would be very different if I were an anime-only viewer and had no idea how things went in the game. But alas, you can’t have both experiences to compare, so it is what it is xD

Anyway, no matter how much I nitpicked, I still love MagiReco a lot, both the game and the anime, and am really looking forward to Season 2! With the obvious changes they made in that last episode, I get the feeling that it’ll only diverge even further as the story unfolds. I’m okay with these new surprises and new takes on characters, but I do hope that they aren’t changing it all completely, because there���s a lot of good stuff in the later chapters that I really hope gets animated, e.g. Kanagi’s entrance, Rumour Tsuruno, Yachiyo vs. Holy Mami, basically everything that happens at Fenthope in Chapter 9, and of course, the big reveal about Ui, Touka, and Nemu’s wishes in the final chapter. Just imagining these things animated already gets me super excited, so hopefully we’ll at least still keep the core of the game’s story despite the changes (and hopefully these changes are all improvements!) ｡^‿^｡ 

~~~

And since the anime is taking a break, my reviews will also be going on a break ╥﹏╥ I’ll probably still pop up in the MagiReco tag every now and then if I can think of something to talk about, though? Depends on what I can come up with xD But yeah, I don’t really post updates about my gameplay here (unless it’s something major like pulling my favourite character lol), so if you’re interested in seeing any of that stuff, you can follow me on Twitter instead, since I’m much more active there nowadays. I’m always happy to discuss things and scream with fellow fans, so whether it’s here or on Twitter, please feel free to approach me anytime if you want someone to fangirl with (๑ゝڡ◕๑)

I’ll be ending this post here! Thank you so much for reading, and please continue to love and support MagiReco while we wait for the second season ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡

[somniumoflight]

Crossover Idea #9 – My Hero Academia/Bendy and the Ink Machine

Izuku ends up sharing a body with the Ink Demon and slowly changes his mind about wanting to be a hero – he ends up being a villain instead

Still haven’t read/watched My Hero Academia, but I’ve read a lot of fics in that fandom and recently I’ve been browsing the Vigilante/Villain!Izuku fics, and then suddenly my brain went “hey man, do a BATIM crossover of this.”  And, well, here we are.

So, the basic idea of this story is as follows – the Studio (and all the monsters/people in it) where actually a product of both Joey Drew’s Quirk and some occult stuff he dug into in an attempt to make his creations last for longer on their own instead of relying on him.  In the process he accidentally made sentient self-sustaining Ink, which in turn became the Ink Demon when it grew strong enough, and then the whole downward spiral of BATIM canon backstory basically happened with one major twist – Drew managed to deal with the Studio’s occupants on his own without Henry ever needing to be involved, and decided that he was going to just chuck all the evidence of what he’d done into the ocean – including what was left of the sentient Ink that made up everyone in the Studio, in the hopes that it would just dissolve into the sea thus officially be “dead.”

What actually happens is that the crate with the Ink in it eventually washes up on the shore at Mufastu (think that’s the town?), and the Ink breaks free and, since a lot of it did get washed away by water leaking in, starts trying to gain enough ink to reform by basically sneaking into stores and stealing from people. Eventually, though, people catch on to this ink black blob, and since it’s been hurting people in the process of trying to reform (by sort of possessing them/absorbing their minds??), the local Heroes start chasing after it, and after several months, the Heroes finally get a lucky break and manage to both figure out its weaknesses and isolate it in an empty warehouse to keep it from getting away.

Except the warehouse isn’t quite empty, because guess who got shoved into that same warehouse and locked inside of it by his bullies earlier that day?  Who else but a 11-year-old Izuku, who, when the Ink tries to possess him in a last-ditch attempt to escape the Heroes, somehow accidentally traps the Ink in his own body with a passive quirk he never knew he had, and then flees in panic.

At first, Izuku is not happy about having what’s essentially a villain sharing a body with him.  Especially since he starts having nightmares of the Studio and everything in it from the Ink Demon’s pov, and the Ink keeps basically using him to steal ink to eat so it can get stronger.  When he wanted a quirk, he didn’t want this! Except… then a series of unfortunate circumstances leads to him never getting into UA.  And the Ink, though sinister and deadly, has been reluctantly helping this kid, because now that they’re stuck together the Ink really doesn’t wanna test what will happen if the kid dies.  And Izuku’s been seeing memories of some of the worst things that people do to each other, through the memories of everyone trapped in the Ink.  And how villains are treated by Heroes. Suddenly, the notion of being a normal Pro-Hero doesn’t quite appeal to him as much any more… and when All Might tells him he can’t be a Hero because he’s quirkless, well, that’s the last straw.

So instead of going to UA, Izuku decides he’s going to become the vigilante/villain that shows people just how wrong the current system is about treating their “villains” and everyone who eventually becomes them… with the Ink, and eventually the Ink Demon once the Ink fully recovers, acting as his Quirk to help him.

Details of this crossover I’ve figured out:

Joey’s quirk is called “Animation.”  Anything he draws on paper can come to life, but only for a very limited period of time, and it only really works with ink, not pencil or anything else. Problem is that Joey’s creations can only really last for so long before they fall apart.

So when Joey decided he wanted to bring his creations to life permanently, he started diving into some old occult stuff from the pre-Quirk era to find something that could make his creations self-sustaining.  He finds something that works a little too well, and ends up accidentally creating the Ink.

According to the Dreams Come to Life book, the Ink in the studio is actually alive and manipulating things.  Here that’s not exactly the case – Joey literally just accidentally created a sentient liquid being with initially no sinister intentions unless you count trying to, you know, survive.  It’s not controlling anyone, even if all the ink critters are made of it.

The Ink starts off as shapeless, but slowly begins shaping itself into the form of the Ink Demon.  So, basically, the Ink Demon and the Ink are mentally one and the same here, it’s just that the Demon is the Ink’s properly solid form.

Joey is of course irritated, because in his mind this thing has no right to exist, and tries to get rid of the Ink Demon.  This is a big mistake.  The Ink Machine, though not directly bringing the demon to life or anything, has been pumping ink into the Demon p much ever since he existed, without Joey realizing it, so the Ink Demon is almost literally unstoppable.

Joey does end up eventually destroying the Ink Machine, thus cutting the demon off from their supply of ink, and then uses acetone on it until it’s an inky blob again, then shoves it in a leaky container and chucks it into the ocean, in the hopes that when water started leaking in it would dissolve the Ink and ultimately kill it, and thus erasing the evidence of his crimes.

What actually happens is that the container ends up washing up on the shores of Degobah(?) beach (what’s one piece of trash amongst others?) and manages to break out.  The Ink then begins searching for normal ink to “eat” so it can become strong again – it doesn’t like being weak.  

However its abilities as nothing but liquid are limited and so it starts trying to manipulate people into stealing ink for it and accidentally discovers it can possess people a-la the sludge villain from MHA canon, only the people’s minds are trapped in its ink when it leaves instead of dying, putting those possessed people into a coma regardless of how long the ink is in them.  Still, if they have a useful quirk the Ink can use it, and that’s good enough reason to keep doing it.

The Heroes eventually catch on to these possession tactics and start hunting this creature down in earnest, since its obviously dangerous.  Negotiations don’t work – it just attacks, seemingly mindlessly to them.  They then try fighting it – that doesn’t work out because so long as it’s got a mouth or nostril or even breathing tubes to get through it can possess literally anyone regardless of their quirk, and while freezing it does sort of work it’s only really frozen on the surface and the rest of the ink is warm enough to start thawing the rest of it.

Eventually though a certain flaming garbage can finds out that the “liquid” they’ve been chasing is strangely flammable (as some pen inks are).  Then suddenly things start getting worse for the Ink FAST.

The Ink eventually gets cornered in an old warehouse on the shore that nobody uses, and Endeavor ends up getting permission to burn the thing down since this “villain” will clearly not come peacefully and literally nothing else seems to permanently effect it other than fire.  He has people block off the warehouse entrances and burns the place to the ground with great glee, and it seems to the Heroes that the Ink is now dead.

Not quite, as it turns out. Because earlier that day, Izuku got locked into that same warehouse by his bullies, and the Ink desperately tries to possess him in the hopes of being able to use his mystery quirk to escape.  Except of course he has no such quirk.  Instead, he has an unregistered passive quirk that somehow fuses the two beings together into one body while leaving them with their individual minds.  This allows Izuku immunity to most of the Ink’s more harmful tricks, though possession is definitely still on the table (for limited periods of time).  

With flames rising around them, the Ink, sensing an opportunity, intimidates Izuku into keeping his silence as they try to escape, because nobody’s ever survived the Ink possessing them before so the Heroes will probably try to hurt Izuku thinking he IS the Ink, and if he’s quirkless he can’t defend himself, can he?

Izuku ends up escaping with the Ink in tow by sheer luck – one of the nicer Heroes sees a scared, burned, scorched kid escaping from the blaze, and after asking him a few questions (the Ink never talked to anybody before, just acted “mindlessly,” so the Heroes mistakenly believe it’s mindless and thus cannot talk) he lets the kid go, telling him to run home.

After that, things are difficult for a while – the Ink has basically threatened Izuku into silence considering its existence, and sometimes forces him into letting it puppet his body to grab ink to eat and heal itself with.  It doesn’t help that the Ink’s on edge, fully expecting to eventually end up getting caught again, and its nervousness is rubbing off on Izuku, who gets even more skittish than normal (not that anyone except Inko and Bakugou really notice, and Izuku can lie to his mother p well when under pressure as it turns out, and Bakugou could care less about “Deku” at this point.)

Eventually, though, the Ink calms down when it becomes clear that the Heroes have written it off as dead.  It still uses Izuku’s body to steal ink to heal itself, but other than that its… calmer. Less threatening-feeling to Izuku.  And having it around is actually helpful to the poor kid too, because having the Ink fused with him means he’s gotten its abilities as well, including healing from drinking ink, which helps avoid awkward questions about bruises and stuff wonderfully.

On top of that, realizing that it was a bunch of Pro Heroes that burned down the warehouse he was stuck in sort of shook Izuku’s faith in Heroes.  Like, a lot.  All Might wasn’t one of those Heroes, though, so he still admires him and wants to be like him, complete with being a Hero himself.

This is the prime reason why they stay on edge around each other for a couple of years, because the Ink hates Heroes (they tried to kill it, and Joey once admitted he had aspirations to be a Hero when he was younger until he found his true calling in life – that’s enough for a grudge in the Ink’s mind) and Izuku’s a little scared of it because of the previously mentioned threats and the fact that he’s technically sharing his body with a villain.

Then comes the day when Izuku’s told by All Might that he can’t be a Hero because he’s quirkless. Izuku is heartbroken, and thanks to the trauma and the Ink’s influence over the last couple of years, he ends up just… giving up on being a Hero.  What’s the point of trying, when his idol says he could never succeed, and all other Heroes might hurt him?

This is when the Ink, wanting to get revenge on the Heroes that nearly killed it, and possibly Joey as well, gets an idea which it presents to Izuku – become a villain. Rob a bank or something.  Izuku’s against this at first, trying to scout out actual legal jobs, but as it turns out, hardly anyone wants to hire a quirkless teenager no matter how good his grades are if there are people with quirks they can hire instead.

So Izuku’s slowly worn down to the Ink’s idea, and after some very careful planning, lots of training with the Ink in how to use its abilities, and finagling a promise out of the Ink that if Izuku doesn’t want to keep doing the villain thing that they will stop after this, they end up robbing a major bank.

Izuku wasn’t intending to keep doing the villain thing after that – robbing a bank of that much money is bad enough – but then he sees how everyone and their mother is talking about his villain persona, and how the news is painting him, the quirkless loser, as a threat. And suddenly, he’s feeling a vicious kind of satisfaction at his actions.  That’d show everyone – his bullies, Kaachan, they were all wrong, he’s not useless!

So Izuku starts tentatively committing more crimes.  At first he keeps to robbing places to get money.  Then some local criminals try to corner him when he’s out and about as a villain (to get his money that everyone now knows he probably has) and Izuku ends up killing his first person in self-defense.

He freaks out about this big-time at first, especially since due to basically drowning them in the Ink, their minds are trapped inside of his own body along with the Ink itself, and god but does it give him nightmares to hear them screaming.  But as more and more criminals start coming out of the woodwork to try to get rid of him, and he starts slowly getting used to killing, and the Ink outright encourages the whole killing-people thing, he slowly starts to take a vindictive satisfaction in killing people too.

Eventually, around the same time that the Ink recovers enough to become the Ink Demon again (when it can convince Izuku to use enough ink at once for their body to form, they’re still connected) Izuku’s convinced to plot a proper villain debut in the underworld.  No more just robbing banks and killing people in self-defense – time to act like a proper supervillain.

So, after some more careful planning, practicing summoning the Ink Demon and other super-Ink abilities that the Demon was holding back on until then, and planning their “costume,” Izuku and the Demon make their debut as a duo of villains.

Izuku’s villain name is “Inkstone,” and by this point he’s sort of learned to associate being a villain as his safety blanket – nobody knows who he is, nobody thinks he’s a quirkless loser, HE’S the dangerous one like this – so he’s a lot more confident as Inkstone than as Izuku, and has even decided to put on a bit of an act to make it harder to identify him – “Inkstone” outright worships their villain partner, and will willingly claim that the Demon “saved him from being worthless.”

His starting costume is basically just black clothes, shoes, gloves, etc, with a bunch of ink leaking out of his hair turning it black and dripping down his forehead.  He also orders some black contacts to put in to disguise his eyes and complete the spooky-ink look, and he’s naturally a little pale, and his freckles are hidden pretty well by the dripping ink.

Their initial debut involves killing a small-time hero – more specifically, the same Hero that let Izuku out of that burning warehouse, in order to keep him from identifying Inkstone as the same kid he saved from a burning building.  The two of them team up on said Hero and kill him as a warning to the rest of the criminal underworld to not mess with them. (They also use the Ink to absorb his mind like other people in the past – having his knowledge could definitely help in the future.)

After this initial debut, Inkstone and the Ink Demon quickly take over the criminal underground.  Nobody wants to mess with the duo that mercilessly slaughtered a Hero and left his corpse hanging up by the police station.  

Nobody wants to mess with a giant hulking demon made of black shiz, either, especially since the underworld catches on faster than the Heroes and figures out that hey, these two have something to do with that string of comas that was happening a couple years ago.  Soon Izuku has a healthy trade going, and ends up cornering the market when it comes to information gathering – all he and the Demon have to do is grab the right person and absorb their mind into the Ink, and bingo, they’ve got info.

At some point these two end up going up against Dabi and Toga (who have joined the League at this point) and end up absorbed by the Ink as well after a grueling fight – however, instead of their minds eventually being broken down by the Ink like all the others, the Ink Demon finds something very interesting in their minds – the existence of the League of Villains, their apparent goals and of course, Dabi’s history as one of Endeavor's sons. (They don’t pay much attention to UA stuff except to keep an eye on future heroes – they know that class 1A was attacked by villains and that’s about it at this point.)

And also the fact that neither of them are nearly as scared as most people that got absorbed have been. Toga’s mostly whining about not being able to make people bleed anymore, and Dabi’s furious that he didn’t manage to get revenge on Endeavor.

Neither Izuku nor the Ink Demon are thrilled about this – Izuku because while he is indeed a villain at this point, he still has some morals, and he still admires All Might and doesn’t appreciate the League trying to kill the man.  The Ink Demon’s more pissed off about the info on Endeavor over anything else, because this man is reminding it a lot of Joey.

In the end, the two of them end up using Dabi’s information to kill Endeavor for him (with Dabi’s blessing – yeah, he’s dead, but he’s also cheering his killers on because fuck Endeavor), and exposing his dirty secrets to the world to discredit him after death (also with Dabi’s blessing).  This is when Inkstone and the Ink Demon are officially designated as super-villains rather than normal ones – they took out the number 2 hero.

Dabi may or may not end up being basically revived as an ink creature by Izuku, since the guy wants to hang around and keep an eye on his siblings.  Also, he’s NOT going back to the League, thanks – he was more a vigilante in mindset than anything when he first got recruited.

Toga may also be kept around because the Ink Demon finds her bloodthirst and her excitement about killing folks amusing.  Also, they need some trustworthy minions and if these two are made of ink now, Izuku and the Demon can control them if need be.

Of course, now being considered one of the top villains in the country has a downside – in that everyone knows about them now thanks to news coverage.  This includes All Might, who Izuku still admires and never wants to go up against if he can help it, and Joey Drew, who basically spittakes when he sees the international news and realizes oh shit that’s his creation being a supervillain in Japan how.

All Might eventually tracks down Inkstone, and Izuku doesn’t bother trying to hide that he’s an admirer of All Might (which makes All Might uncomfortable because oh god this better not be like Stain all over again.)  Izuku’s also willing to give him some info on the League that he got from Dabi, such as info on their next moves as Dabi knew them – and All for One’s location, since they managed to get that thanks to Dabi snooping plus absorbing some of the rest of the league.

When All Might wants to know why, Izuku tells him that All Might simultaneously saved him (true) and ruined his life (also true), but that he doesn’t hold any grudges against him for the latter – I mean, look, Izuku actually has a life now instead of being a loser like before, and its all because All Might shattered his hopes and dreams!  (All Might is of course horrified by this.)

Joey crosses over to Japan at some point and attempt to get rid of the Demon for good this time. This doesn’t exactly work out because the Ink Demon is publicly enraged by his presence and makes this known in spades – and exactly WHY.  Joey gets arrested pretty fast after that, but not before Izuku and the Ink Demon basically pummel him into a coma.  The only reason they don’t kill him is because the Heroes catch up before they can.

Izuku may or may not have spilled some of his life story on camera while being driven into a rage, though, so that causes problems.

Eventually Izuku gets found out to be Inkstone, and may or may not end up being confronted by 1A after they’ve graduated and become proper heroes.  Including Bakugou, who is the guy who manages to figure out who he is under the ink.  Cue angst and Bakugou finally getting some consequences for his shitty actions as a middle schooler!  Yay!

Also there will be at least one or two glorious “oh shit” reveals about Izuku and the Ink Demon technically being the same person.  They’re not going to happen for a while though.

Holy wall of text, Batman!  Sorry about the length of this one, okay, but I’m a sucker for good Villain!Izuku stories – because quirk discrimination is NOT fine and Izuku getting to lash out at the world for it treating him so badly and getting away with it because he’s scary smart or strong now is like my favorite thing in all MHA fanfiction.  Green bean deserves to beat up some people.  (And so does Bendy, because its not his fault he came out misshapen!  Sure, he’s not exactly Bendy here, but… who cares!  Not me!)

[ngame989]

SVTFOE 4A Prediction/Analysis Master Post

So we just had the first two episodes come out, and overall I enjoyed them. There’s been a lot of mixed reactions to the details, from myself included, so let’s dive in a bit. Apologies for when this becomes a giant wall of text in the back half, I'm not digging through promos for images.

Butterfly Follies

In the first episode, 98% of it is focused on Star feeling like shit because Moon is missing and nothing she does to try and find her works, and other people keep telling her she is screwing it up. Yeah, many of us thought this theme of “Star screwing up” would extend a bit more concretely to stuff with Marco and Tom, and it was present but only a tiny bit as a reminder. Her interaction with Tom was basically just a reminder that the situation from after Booth Buddies hadn’t budged - Star still was barely paying attention to him, Tom was still not really a companion to her at all, it just isn’t working, but they haven’t talked about it yet.

Tomstar has always had the candy coating of a romantic relationship (nicknames, handholding, occasional smooching, gossip and drama, etc) with virtually nothing underneath. We see this over and over - Demoncism has a genuine emotional connection between them in that moment, but once their relationship starts up again, it takes until Is Another Mystery for even a hint of true, genuine support between them, and it still doesn’t extend to either of them considering the other as a life companion at all. Most of it is going through the motions for both of them. When everyone’s lives were on the line, Tom stepped up, but this doesn’t immediately make him Marco 2 - the issues that existed before, the lack of commitment and drive between them (still candy-coated by nicknames and whatnot) is as present as ever, and arguably more so, now that Star has the events of the end of S3 dwelling somewhere in the recesses of her mind. Plus we get a moment of Tom checking in with Marco about Star’s comment, showing once again that Marco is the one Tom actually turns to for genuine support.

Contrast that with Starco in these episodes. Yes, it’s not magically perfect, there’s still lots of stuff to resolve and many people (myself included) have felt that it was a bit “off” (more on that soon). But there’s still a genuine sense of progression, where Marco is comfortable being close with Star again, being emotional support, even if he doesn’t always know how to help.

As predicted, Eclipsa’s style of ruling has mostly been “make disliking monsters entirely illegal because that’s Equality™” and it’s not working out so well for true social change. I expect this to be a major plot point moving forward.

Honestly, I dunno what all to make of the details of Glossy’s lines here. Considering the situation with Toffee was pretty explicitly Glossaryck’s intentional method of teaching Star how to do things her own way, this definitely isn’t literal. Maybe he’s playing 4D chess, and Star questioning whether Glossaryck was misleading her is all part of how he leads her. There’s a... nonzero chance, I suppose, that there is some more direct connection here and trying to fix past mistakes (since time travel is brought up very shortly) but I’d be incredibly shocked and largely appalled if that’s where things actually head.

(Skipping around on photos a bit here to just get the point across)

So let’s talk about this for a moment, shall we? I’ve seen a lot of talk about this photo and how it’s really sketchy that Star apparently knew it was from the future the whole time, given its past importance in Starcrushed. Granted, we don’t know exactly how it’s going to pay off yet, but I’ll take a strong educated guess - it’s basically a gag because the writers thought it would be fun. A relevant gag and kind of an asspull, yes, but still just a gag. Yes, the photo is now factually from the future and will be relevant again in that capacity, but I’m entirely convinced that the point of it wasn’t to intentionally retcon something about Starcrushed or anything like that - a meaningful photo of Star and Marco was used in Season 2 to generically remind her of their “good times” and their relationship as a whole, and that same photo was used here as a promise of happiness to come, and the primary purpose of the photo in each case is how it was written for that case.

I know it’s not a satisfying explanation, but it is entirely consistent with this show to have details occur that are largely arbitrary and inconsistent, and there’s a consistency to that inconsistency. Adult Marco is another example, Janna implying Kelly maybe had feelings for Marco in Stump Day is another, any time Star yeeted a high school student into some pit of horrors is another. All of these are situations where, if you examine them thoroughly as a whole and consider all the possible implications, they get kind of sketchy really fast. Yes, it is frustrating at times, but I think you just have to roll with it - Marco has memories of a 30 year old when the boarders want to make a cool reference before Marco does a bunch of fancy weapon tricks, but it never affects his normal existence unless it’s needed for a joke/reference. Janna says something that implies complicated romance drama incoming when the boarders want girly banter to accompany dudes fighting, but it doesn’t go anywhere beyond that. Star has a body count on Earth but she’s not a wanted criminal, probably. The consistency here is that if the show kind of glosses over some sort of possible implication and plays it off for a gag, then that’s what you should take it as.

Again, I don’t know exactly how this will pay itself off, but I have an incredibly strong suspicion that the answer to “what were the boarders thinking when they did this??? It screws up a core moment in Starcrushed!!!” is that they weren’t thinking about that. COULD they actually do something more in-depth with the time travel aspect? I guess, but “throwing organic core moments of character/relationship growth under the bus for the sake of wacky over-the-top plot” sounds like the opposite of this show. I’ll cover more about how I think this might actually work later.

A lot of people said Star and Marco felt like acquaintances this episode, and not best friends. I understand where they’re coming from - there weren’t all kinds of hugs and affection flying around, their talks were awkward. But this honestly makes a lot of sense for where we’re at now. We’re completely over the hump where they they're hesitant to even think of themselves as best buddies, where they’re struggling with their feelings just to spend time with the other. Marco is back to making all attempts to be her close friend and companion and support, Star is comfortable around him... but, there’s still some lingering “OK we moved forward from here, what now?” We saw in Divide that a simple hug between them brought out strong feelings for both of them. I think a lot of the awkwardness remaining could be attributed to the strong sour mood of the situation overall, but part of it could also be a subconscious “OK, Marco confessing his feelings made things better, and we’re OK being close, but...” lingering, waiting to be addressed. And given pancake and cereal clips, it will be soon.

Escape from the Pie Folk

I have less to say about this episode, it was fairly straightforward, honestly. It was 22 minutes of adventure and fights while trying to find and steal away Moon - lot of really fun and well-executed humor, it definitely was a strong showing for pretty much all the parts of the show besides “focus on the relationship growth of Star and Marco”.

More Marco trying to be constantly supportive, but still maybe having a bit of lingering tension in the how.

And sweet family moments.

Overall, a very isolated situation, honestly. The actions and interactions of the characters were put in a very specific, very focused situation where “finding Moon” overrode anything else, and didn’t allow for much other special elements to shine through. I liked the episodes, but some part of me was disappointed that most developments besides Moon were put on pause for the premiere. Still, resolving this in its entirety straight away sets up for some pretty strong coverage of the rest...

INTERMISSION

Let’s take a moment to talk about compartmentalization and the rules of TV pacing. I love Star vs the Forces of Evil, and I’m sure many of you do, even if its infuriating and painful at times. A lot of times. But I definitely think the show is special and does things differently than many others, to an extent. And that extent is key - I like to think of it as content vs structure. Content-wise, it is rather different from what you might expect (especially with character/relationship development). Characters come first, always, and there isn’t a sense of outside drama pushing characters around like ragdolls, changing their relationships and emotions in ways that they aren’t already naturally primed to at that moment. Romance isn’t handled as a drama-fest love triangle, with Star and Jackie or Tom and Marco directly vying for the affection of their love interest, nor do those love triangles ever damage the development of the main dynamic, Starco. Basically every shift in Star and Marco’s relationship, the ebbs and flows of it, can be entirely explained by just the two of them. Yes, seeing the other be romantic with someone else was a partial catalyst to individual moments of growth, but by and large Star and Marco themselves have been their own biggest obstacles, their own insecurities and missteps guiding the path of Starco 1000x more than Jarco or Tomstar or plot.

However, this doesn’t mean the show is magically free of the confines of episodic story pacing, and that’s where people often find faults in it. Many, including myself, went into the premiere thinking/hoping that it would include some relationship payoff, or skip some steps and just have Tom and Star break it off right away. And while anyone is free to disagree with the general concept of the premiere being entirely focused on Moon and plot setup, it’s completely logical for the show to take its development in concrete, compartmentalized chunks. An episode dedicating itself to a theme, to a concrete piece of plot, is likely going to focus on that. And this can be nuanced - I don’t think it was wrong of people to think that Follies could have had a theme of “Star confronted with her screwups” in a broader way that included multiple aspects of that, but it doubled down on Moon and it’s totally understandable that she didn’t take time during her hunt to figure out her feelings, etc. Still, it included reminders of the current situation, and we’ll see those pay off very soon. It’s not so reasonable to expect the show to bend over backwards to steamroll through Starco development right away, but it’s also unreasonable to expect no chunks of development at all, or for them to stop randomly. 

More specifically, the way the episodic structure handles these chunks is to follow up underlying buildup with inevitable realizations. It’s very, very rare for an episode that confronts a character with a specific question (e.g. “How do I feel about my Earth life” - Marco in Sophomore Slump, or “How do I feel about Marco” - Star in Starcrushed) to actually have the emotional development required to understand it occur within that episode. Star isn’t confronted with her crush on Marco until it’s developed enough to be ready to burst out. Marco isn’t confronted with his priorities in life until he’s experience enough of a bold, adventurous life with Star that his heart has already decided, and in both cases it’s a matter of a climactic wake-up call to what’s already there. On that note, onto predictions.

Moon Remembers

Well, I dunno much specific to say about this. Seems like this will be the episode dedicated to trying to get Moon her memory back - we have scenes from the promos of them riding warnicorns and Eclipsa playing guitar with her, maybe just trying to jog it. Could lead to some type of plot revelation (”I remember something big I saw in the Realm of Magic!” etc) but who knows. Seems likely that it’s entirely plot/Moon-focused, maybe with some more tie-ins to magic lore.

Swim Suit

This is a big one. So from the synopsis, we know that this is when Star and Marco attempt to have their beach day (which we now know is a celebration of things being “back to normal”, with Moon being back) but get interrupted by Eclipsa. I don’t know specifics of it, but in general, I think this is going to be the episode where Star truly settles in to an understanding of how she feels.

Quick tangent about the photo and how I think it’ll be used: in Follies, it was primarily encouragement for finding her mom. It’s still definitely interesting, and intentional, that the particular reminder of future happiness is a time with Marco, but it wasn’t relevant immediately - I think it will be used that way moving forward. Basically like this - “I kept this photo as encouragement to think positively and know I’d find my Mom. We found Mom, so now I can be happy like in the photo. It feels really good being happy with Marco like I am in the photo. Huh, I wonder why it is that my ideal of happiness is having fun with Marco...” Clearly the underlying feelings are already there, this is just bringing them to the forefront, actually giving Star a chance to reflect on how her heart feels after recent weeks/months and big events. As for specifics, I think they won’t actually take the photo here. They’ll try to have a beach day, get interrupted, and throughout the course of Eclipsa shenanigans, the episodic plot will tie in towards thinking about her feelings, with the end result being a “well, we didn’t achieve Beach Happiness™, but it was still nice.” We already know that an Earth beach is in episode 16, so maybe the photo comes full circle then (and at that point, they’re completely together already, and the photo is spontaneous). Or maybe I’m wrong, but who knows, this is a level of specificity I can’t predict with any confidence.

Also note here that, provided animation studio order stays consistent as expected, the cereal/pancake/babysitting Meteora scenes aren’t actually from Swim Suit, so who knows where those end up.

Overall, my general expectations for this episode are to set the stage for Starco developments, to start the ball rolling on payoff from last season and to start characters recognizing those changes and truly moving forward. Of course Tomstar is likely not going away officially until Lake House Fever, so I don’t exactly expect Star and Marco to talk about their feelings in depth here, but it’ll still be an important episode for Starco regardless.

Ransomgram

Alright, let’s just make something clear here. Yes, we already know Star is going to be fawning over adult Marco’s hot bod here, and very likely before breaking up with Tom. I know a lot of people are gonna find that sketchy, and I don’t entirely disagree, but adult Marco (and Star thirsting after hot dudes in general) has always been a gag never treated with any real serious weight. Both Jarco and Tomstar overall, but especially Tomstar, never really ever are treated with any true weight in the story. Like, yes, it’s acknowledged that Marco and Star kissing while she’s dating Tom are bad, but none of the moments of Marco abandoning Jackie to be with Star, or Star ignoring Tom to be with Marco, or Tom being a really unhelpful/unsupportive boyfriend, are ever treated with any real gravity. In the real world, perhaps these would be frowned upon much more even in weaker relationships, but in the show, “Star and Tom are dating” is taken as a given in the background, and none of the actions that characters take are really ever truly treated seriously as hurtful. So yes, on some level it’s weird and questionable that Star will be drooling over Marco (again) while STILL not talking to Tom, but Compartmentalization™ and the general lack of concern for treating the possible implications of situations like this seriously add up to explain it. Feel however you want about it, but this is how I expect it to work, because it’s how it’s worked in the past.

MHC is gonna come back here, and there might be a connection to the monster side of the plot, figuring out where the old guard fits in with the new regime and how politics are moving forward. Also, as far as Starco goes, I think this will be a sort of emotional payoff to Swim Suit. Not that anything tangible will result within the episode, but showing the differences in how Star acts around Marco when she’s actually admitting to herself that she loves him. Just like how Marco Jr., for instance, showed a very clear and different Starco interaction than 3A episodes, as a result of the concrete development moments in Deep Dive. Or how their interactions in Divide were very clearly the result of changes in Booth Buddies. So on and so forth.

All of this, then, leads into...

Lake House Fever

So this is where Tomstar finally rots. We have all-but-confirmation from animation studios, hints in the title, and background/SFX “leaks” that this is where the Tom and Star clips in the promos are from. So how exactly might this work? I can’t even say for sure, but I think it’s going to follow the usual trend of Tomstar episodes and basically be a vehicle for Tom development. Let’s face it, Star basically got nothing out of Tomstar besides a general passive armor against having to contemplate heartbreak/feelings since Tom filled the checkbox of “romance” in her life. She initially at least did truly fulfill the role of “normal teenage girlfriend” by spending time with him, dates, etc, but that started to wane after Lava Lake Beach and kept doing so more and more, and it’s now basically at the point of Tomstar being a couple in name only, with 0 effort between either of them put into actually... being anything. 

Let’s compare to Sophomore Slump for a minute, shall we? So in that episode, we had Marco who had undergone a ton of previous developments in how much he cared about adventure and a greater purpose in life and Star, and his heart had already basically made up its mind (Scent of a Hoodie’s ending and wearing the cape in Rest in Pudding, as clear signs of this). Sophomore Slump was the direct reality check, the final piece of the puzzle slotting into place, at least with regards to specifically “where he’d rather be” (even if the why still needed a bit more). So we could say, in effect, that Marco had fully developed everything underneath to answer the question of what mattered more to him, the old safe kid Marco’s ideal Earth life, or the new Marco’s life, and the breakup was simply everything that was already there clicking into place - he moves to Mewni immediately afterwards.

So how does this fit into Lake House Fever? I think the positioning of the episode is going to revolve around Star’s “growth” from it to work like Marco’s. In the Jarco case, the breakup wasn’t about Starco specifically, but Marco’s overall goals and focuses in life (Star was a part of that too, of course). It’s fairly clear that the Tomstar breakup will be different - the tension in their relationship is FAR more directly related to Starco itself (and also a much greater overall dysfunction within Tomstar compared to Jarco). It’s not a case of “this is a perfectly working relationship but it’ll eventually have issues, so let’s end it before we both become miserable”, it’s “this relationship isn’t working at all right now, for multiple reasons, among which are that Star prioritizes/loves someone else, but also general incompatibilities between them for committed companionship”. 

I think on Star’s end of things, we’re going to enter the episode with her knowing, very close to the surface if not on the surface already, that she has feelings for Marco and they need to talk, but will just have the one last hesitation holding her back. Not a “I genuinely don’t know who I like/whether I want to keep going longterm with Tom”, but a “this overall situation needs resolved and I just don’t know exactly how to handle it”. From the very limited info we have from the title/promo (no synopsis yet), it seems like Star might be helping Tom with something - he kind of looked ill in the promos. Regardless, I still sort of predict a semi-arbitrary episodic plot leads them to meet up in the episode. Give em a reason to interact that isn’t directly related to awkward and complex feelings, and let the handling of those naturally evolve from there. 

So as for Tom, I think the bulk of the change in this episode will be on his end. I think he’s going to sort of have an attitude not too dissimilar to Star - knowing they should talk at some point, but not really knowing how. I think the bulk of the episode’s plot, whatever it may be, will lead up towards Tom getting the wakeup call that it 100% won’t work and that he needs to pull the trigger on it. It would give Tom a really solid moment to follow up on some of his initial moments in Season 3, would give him some critical agency when he honestly hasn’t had much of it for a while (Starco developments just kind of happen around him, although of course his general lack of presence in Star’s life contributes to this as well - Star’s a fairly absentee girlfriend, but Tom’s no angel either). Getting over that initial hump of awkwardness would still accomplish things for both of them, but Tom being the one to first make the leap of faith into starting the uncomfortable conversation would fit best imo.

As for afterwards, much like how I said Jarco was the final puzzle piece for Marco decisively figuring out his priorities, I think this will be the same for Star’s feelings. She’ll be aware, nearly-consciously, that she has feelings for Marco ahead of time, but will just be stuck on inaction, not being confident enough to take a bold step forward on her own. So I think the breakup for Star’s feelings will do what the breakup did for Marco’s sense of accomplishment - the final domino will not only help her realize that she has feelings for Marco, but prime her to actually act on them.

Now if this breakup occurred earlier, I’d say it could have a major impact on Star’s own growth and understanding, and it still could, but I don’t think it’ll be so likely. There are certainly situations where the breakup would serve as a shakeup for her to consider her feelings, which would then take some more time afterwards to solidify, but I can’t help but assume that’s what the purpose of multiple Starco episodes beforehand is. The situation is too much of a powderkeg for Star to have any downtime with either of them that doesn’t start turning the gears in her brain. Anyway, that’s all for this.

Eps 5-7

Yada Yada Berries/Down by the River

The Ponyhead Show!/Surviving the Spiderbites

Out of Business/Kelly’s World

These, I have no clue on specifics, to be honest. There’s an RDK Ludo episode coming up, so that would be part of episode 5 most likely. Second half of that seems like a River episode contender, but who knows. The first half of episode 6 is some type of variety show involving Eclipsa in part - this may be part of the plot of Eclipsa trying to find her place as Queen. Spiderbites is a possible contender for the babysitting Meteora clip, the first half of episode 7 is Quest Buy with the Ocrams, and Kelly’s World is something with Marco and Kelly. We’ll circle back to these, but let’s look at broader strokes first.

Curse of the Blood Moon

I’m entirely confident that by the end of this episode (at the latest) Starco will be 100% canon, ready to move forward into Season 4 as a couple, romantic uncertainties behind them. It’s the only possible next “big” step in their development, one that was set up very directly in Booth Buddies with the idea that things were different now and they could no longer ignore their friendship meaning more than friendship. I’m sure it will be tied in to Starco relationship progress, but as I’ve said many times before, it’s entirely out of the realm of how this show handles development as a whole to actually prioritize plot over characters and obstruct character development with plot. The “Curse”, whatever it may be, could very well be activated by Starco itself, but it’s entirely out of line with everything the show has ever done with characterization to actually claim plot is “forcing” feelings, capisce?

Now how could this be accomplished? Well, given the pacing of the show in general, concrete chunks of development along the way seem most likely. And Star and Marco acknowledging the stronger nature of their relationship and stepping over the edge towards mutual romance, to me, seems like a different piece of the puzzle than something so strong as becoming 100% canon forever. After all, Bonbon for Jarco still had a Naysaya before it, a setup with clear and direct Jarco moments nudging it over the edge of romantic before going the whole way. Similarly, Tomstar had Demoncism before they officially confirmed they were a couple a few episodes later. 

Curse is definitely going to be a big episode, but I don’t see it being very likely that we entire the episode with the entire prospect of Star and Marco talking about their feelings still completely looming over them. Another major reason I have to believe this, which is in some ways related to the above point, is that the show doesn’t overly fetishize romance. It’s all-too-common in media, especially family-friendly/kid media with romance, to warp the whole concept and make the “confession + big kiss + happily ever after” one monolithic moment at the very end, as the pinnacle of romance, often going so far as to delay natural developments and put roadblocks of misunderstanding in the way to keep the pair apart until both could have this moment. SVTFOE, on the other hand, historically hasn’t done this. It has always, thus far, recognized the ebbs and flows and slower progression of natural relationships, with steps in between “I guess we might like each other” to “yup we’re 100% dating”. So I can’t guarantee anything about the specific pacing along the way, but I’d wager that Starco has already crossed the threshold into mutual romance before Curse begins.

I have genuinely no idea what the plot will be here overall. We have a shot from the promo which is a newly animated version of the Blood Moon Waltz... flashback? Recreating the event? Time travel? I hope not the last one, but I have no clue.

So circling back around, we have the cereal, pancake, and babysitting Meteora scenes which (as far as I can tell, assuming animation studio order holds) are unaccounted for. There’s... I suppose a nonzero chance for a huge curveball, with some of them being Lake House Fever? Star wears the new S4 outfit in cereal/pancake as well as then, and they’re all Sugarcube. Another option I’d been considering was for Surviving the Spiderbites to be their attempt to spend time together, either resulting in feelingstalk or being the result of feelingstalk and tiptoeing into romance, with the cereal/pancake scenes being about trying to have a good “date” but getting interrupted... which is now the plot of Swim Suit, so I don’t know. Quest Buy has always, historically, involved heavy Starco importance, so perhaps that episode is a leadin to Curse on that front. Note that either everyone actually thinking Kelly’s World (and their baking scene in Ponyhead Show) is actually implying more love triangles is wrong, or the writers officially gave up and we can all go home.

As a note, I’m of course not really making any bold claims of confidence in the minutiae of these predictions: there’s so many options for curveballs that I can’t say anything for sure! But I think, in a general sense, the path of Starco buildup towards and through Curse is a sure thing, one way or another, because there’s basically nothing else meaningful that could happen!

Hope you enjoyed the read, and stay tuned for any new updates we get on future episodes.