#first arc impressions

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Shout out to all artists who had to work without any strong direction or instruction.

I wish you a merry “the client likes it anyways”

[il3x]

Commenting on superhero fiction as someone who's very new to the superhero genre is always risky. I want to gush about everything that's cool but I also don't want to become the equivalent of a first-time fantasy reader saying "Woah, it's so awesome how your wizard lives in a tower!!"

[biscuitboba]

From this:

To this:

From "yea idk maybe i'll let him join my crew:D" to "yea you'll join me and be my first crewmate, idc i'm no taking no as an answer>:("

He was completely enraptured. Needing zoro to be by his side badly, to the point of blackmailing him into joining his crew😭

Also god... zoro being the first person to join luffy's crew therefore zoro's existence is what made luffy a captain, im-

[gaylactic-fire]

Did anyone else notice Tri becoming more empathetic throughout the story or just me? 🥺. Like toward the start they act mostly peeved when Dradd and Kushara keep running off, and when Zelda stops to help the Gerudo with their problems. But toward the end (especially with Darston and Condé) they seem equally invested in mending rifts as they do helping others. It was soo 🥹

[miwiromantics]

I think one of the evidences for Mike and El breaking up is the Nina Project. The story of Nina. I think they not only used her story to show that El is repressing her trauma but is also waiting for something (or someone) that is never going to come back.

Nina stood at the train station waiting for her lover but he never returned just the same way El waited for Mike to say I love you, but he never did (not sincerely at least).

This is also why I believe that they were once in love. When he was a little boy holding her hand at the snowball dance but now those are just memories she's holding onto. She's holding onto something that was once true but now isn't.

Brenner then tells El to 'find her own way out'. he tells her to stop waiting and leave her train station. He tells her to 'focus', 'listen' and 'remember'. To focus on herself, listen to the world herself and to remember her worth.

He's essentially telling her to stop depending on someone's actions (lover coming back/mike saying ily), to stop waiting for it and find the truth. He's telling her to release whatever is holding her back from reaching her potential, whether its unlocking her repressed trauma and gaining her powers back or defining her worth in 'i love yous' from mike.

either way it's el's journey now. it's time for her to board a train into her own life.

[asgardian--angels]

things I wish I could relive for the first time again:

that magical window where you finish a new piece of media, having watched/read it all by yourself with no fandom contact whatsoever, and you are just so happy about it, and full of interesting theories and takeaways, and just in love with it as a gorgeous piece of art.

because I swear to god as soon as you join the fandom for anything, you're bombarded with how you're supposed to view characters and their arcs, how you're supposed to morally and ethically judge the plot and the ways it apparently failed to present the right message, and if you don't you'll either be shunned for not sharing the popular headcanons or you'll be harassed for not criticizing the source material enough.

like how is it that the fans of a piece of media are also the ones being the most negative about it? If I like a show or a movie or a book, well, I liked it. That's kind of the point. I'm actually not here to tear it apart and talk about how it didn't live up to standards other people had! I enjoyed it for what it was, and forcing myself to find negative things to say about it doesn't actually bring me more enjoyment of it or reap any benefit to me. Fandom's a double-edged sword; you want to join a community to share your love for a piece of art, and the price you pay for a modicum of joy is a mountain of negativity. that's one main reason that I never engage with fandom until I'm completely done with a show, because if I was plugged into all of that commentary and discourse during the process, I'd be completely colored by how I'm expected to interpret everything this piece of art is presenting to me without being able to even form my own opinions.

[duckiemimi]

it's interesting that even after everything that's happened in shinjuku showdown, gege is still persistent on picking it apart through his characters 😭 at this point, i thought we'd move on to rebuilding jujutsu society just as fast as gege resolved the last battle, but it seems like skimming over the core of the matter and jumping straight to the aftermath is something gege tends to do a lot...so many setups with potential only for them to go largely unaddressed. wish we could've seen the whole ritual with yuuta, at least :') i do appreciate what we can take from the character interactions in this chapter, though!

also, more translations pending, but we finally got that new shadow school explanation, so that's cool! though i wish it happened earlier so we knew what to do with the information. it did seem like the ex-head of the school (the little old lady before kusakabe, or at least i think she was the head of the school before he became the current head?) was planning something like a coup against the big three clans alongside jujutsu headquarters. for context, the big three clans hold more power than jujutsu headquarters, as higher-ups are nominated by the big three and chosen by the prime minister. though this itches a long-time spot i had for more political lore, i'm a little confused on why it needed to be added here and now 😅 but maybe there's more to reveal in the next two chapters! who knows!

[illmoraineakoi]

Alan Becker has me writing fanfic about a glitched up video file.

what the fuck is my life, man

[dragonologist-phd]

i think what compels me so much about the galfrey corruption arc (and alternate character endings in general, even the darker ones) is that it's such an interesting thing to be able to see the worst version of a character, and it gives so much insight to them!

and it's something that's pretty unique to video games. other media can have 'dark timelines' and things of that nature but rpg's are the only thing i can really think of where you can draw such direct lines between a character's traits that are constant in every iteration and choices/fates that vary wildly based on other variables and! i love that! it's like the definition of putting a character under a microscope! you get to see new facets of the character and appreciate their other endings that much more!

and i love when there isn't a clear cut good/bad ending too! that's also so interesting! it comes down to what the MC values and how they influence people in their lives, and there's no right answer just versions of the character that have grown in different directions!

and for galfrey in particular the devil arc is a pretty definite bad ending, but it's such an weighty bad ending, and so much more narratively juicy than her other bad ending of 'she gets killed by the KC who doesn't face any actual consequences for that choice'

[sugarcarnation]

think it’s so interesting to see people complain about the bsd update schedule

[quazikam]

randomly feeling a very passionate himiko yumeno mood but I'm here for it

I just really love her

funny to think that I used to be able to easily call her my least favorite character in v3

glad I had a change of heart though, because she's really warmed up to me over time and is now one of my favorites for sure

[aerticent]

it really sucks that RQ is the worst book in the series and is also the first book in the series. I genuinely dont blame anyone for dropping it after because i think i would too if i read for the first time now😭

[sun-marie]

as i get closer to finishing this playthrough, i once again find myself locked in the dilemma of "the trick solas ending is sick as hell and very in character for lydia" vs. "i can't do any other ending for solas besides the mythal one bc i feel so bad for him and I wanna see my inky" 🫠

[gayofthefae]

We can tell a lot about Will, Mike, and El from their first moments with each other.

Will and El's first interaction is in the void. Will is fighting to keep himself alive and El finds him and tells him his family is going to reunite soon. Little does she know, she is included in that statement.

El and Mike's first conversation is "No." [accommodates] "Is that better?" "Yes". She is independent and makes choices for herself and her boundaries. He respects that and adjusts, leading to a successful relationship between them.

In a moment of vulnerability and fear, Mike works up the courage to take action by getting out of his comfort zone and allowing himself to ask Will for something he wants. Will says "yes". Will allows himself to have good things, even if they mean taking up more space.

[mwolf0epsilon]

Gossip Train

Jesse, currently lifting weights while he waits for Hardcase to meet up with him for a spar:

James, walking in and looking around before frowning when he realizes whomever he's looking for isn't there: Hmph...

James, decides to hit the weights as well and grumbles a little:

Jesse, not overly enthuses about the other lieutenant's presence: You need something?

James, huffing: Don't flatter yourself Coggy, I don't need help with my training sessions.

Jesse, rolling his eyes: Suit yourself. Just keep the attitude to a minimum, I don't need distractions.

James: Urgh, whatever. Just waiting on Clearcut anyway... Owes me a spar and an ear.

Jesse, setting his current set of weights aside to take a breather: Does he now? -snorting- Seen the guy on the mats before... He's a heavy gunner like 'Case.

James, raising an eyebrow: Yeah? So what?

Jesse, holding up his hands in mock defeat: I'm just surprised you'd spar with someone that built. You cower whenever your captain so much as walks up to you, so I figured you weren't that ballsy.

James, offended: I'll have you know Clear and I spar regularly! And if the captain gets in a mood, it's dumb not to be prepared to tuck and roll! Guy's a monster at hand to hand and I'd rather keep all my teeth!

Jesse, smirking: Sure...

James, putting down the dumbells and poking Jesse hard on the chest: It's the truth! I'm a great sparring partner! Just know better than to stand in the captain's way, that's rookie osik! Besides, sparring with Clear is a good way to unwind. And to unload all the hot goss...

Jesse: What?

James: You know. Unload the rumor mill's freshest load? Engage in some civil tea spilling? Break the ice over a few knuckle sandwiches?

Jesse: I have seen none of you bastards socializing like normal people. Where do you even get gossip?

James: Nowt's a nosy bastard and also a great source if you ignore the fact he's an absolute bitch.

Jesse:

James: Latest juicy tidbit he got is that General Windu used to be a big fan of the 'fro in his youth. There's holopics stashed somewhere in his quarters that only Commander Ponds has seen.

Jesse, gawking: No way...

James, smirking: Yes way. Command chat ate that up like ravenous loth-wolves apparently. Nowt caught the tail-end of that talk over Blondie's shoulder.

Jesse: General Windu with an Afro, and Rex wasn't gonna share this knowledge! Unbelievable.

James: You better believe it brother, and there's more. SO so much more...

Jesse: Hit me up, I so need this right now.

[raayllum]

S5 is shaping up to be so good, I think, because of the way everything is compounding onto each other in the basis of theme

Rayla becoming more like Runaan - obsessive, rigid, driven, independent - more like an assassin in both the best and worst ways during the same season she’ll likely have to confront possibly killing a possessed Callum. Her and Callum continuing to foil each other for better or for worse - asking the question of what are you willing to do to free the people you love?

And then you have Callum and Viren’s foil parallels coming to a head in regards to Viren’s dream visions that will shed light on his history with Soren, which will also nicely drive forward their shared question of what are you willing to sacrifice / do to save the people you love?

And Viren’s dream visions also nicely complements S5 letting Soren deal with some of his own emotions regarding his father being alive as well as providing a traumatic reminder for Claudia of what it was like when he was gone, perfectly opening up a place for more elaboration for both her (and Rayla’s) time during the timeskip - once again asking what are you willing to put yourself through for the sake of those you love? What pieces of yourself are you willing to destroy?

And Claudia and Soren being driven even further apart also naturally complements Karim and Janai’s escalated political and personal estrangement and disagreement, possibly losing her kingdom (a rising sun) to her brother (a fallen star) just as the Fallen Star himself is released - showing what pieces of yourself you must hold onto for the sake of duty and righteousness, rather than forsaking them for family

Which then just comes right back around in Claudia and Rayla trying to do anything to save their parents/fathers and Terry and Callum being poised, respectively, to see what they are or are not willing to do in that endeavour, and how freedom and salvation isn’t always a good thing, and when it is, and

Rayla being unwilling to entirely take up Runaan’s mantle (re: refusing to kill Callum), while Callum has to confront Harrow’s (in passing down the cube) and Claudia fully takes on Viren’s as Aaravos’ right hand and

y’know?