#he's got all this symbolism around him... things that are clearly being foreshadowed in the story

[kacchanisms]

look at this bnha panel from chapter 326:

i'm intrigued by how AM's lines bleed into deku and bkg, showing how they're the inheritors of his legacy. but interestingly enough, the woman who maintains the statue also blends into bkg, which seems symbolic of his relationship with OFA.

in the same chapter, it's shown that the woman started maintaining this statue because she was grateful for being saved at kamino, and arguably, this is relatively similar to bkg's feelings after kamino. she cares for the statue, just as bkg learned to care for deku and AM after dvk2.

consider how the woman cleans up the nasty signs placed on the AM statue. bkg does the same with deku, trying to clear away the toxic effects that OFA's legacy (& his own actions) had on deku. hence, "deku" becomes "izuku", and "your turn" becomes a plea to share the burden alongside deku.

framing this in terms of OFA, this is a good comparison to bkg's own connection to the power. he's not the inheritor of OFA in flesh (that's deku, shown by how the majority of AM's image bleeds into him), but bkg does (currently) play an accompanimant role to OFA.

he's like the woman, tending to OFA's legacy. he's the only character in the panel to be holding a dialogue bubble, cupping it between his palms respectfully. he's... one of the select few nurturing the flickering ember left behind until it grows into a roaring blaze.

perhaps he is even the one holding the ember. after all, in this scene in 326, stain isn't talking about a legacy composed by quirks or powers. he's talking about heroes devoting themselves to the people, like bkg's recent philosophy.

not to mention how his cluster upgrade resembles the OFA stars. or how he's directly connected to this idea of legacy through these panels in 364:

oh, and the scene with all might and stain? it happens in the rain. as stain runs off and the woman finishes cleaning the statue, this is the last page of chapter 326. take it as you will.

[corvidares]

breaking down arcane's s2 intro

this intro sequence is so damn good - i spotted new symbolic details every episode. so here's a post about everything i noticed!

spoiler warning for the whole show!

everyone featured in this intro is dressed very plainly, in white underclothes, showing how much this sequence is about where people are at emotionally, a commentary on vulnerability. this is a big theme this season. even the setting is plain, highlighting only the characters in a way that feels like a mental landscape.

immediately, we see vi wiping away her face tattoo as if its shallow ink, naturally showing how she betrays her own values and personhood in (briefly) becoming an enforcer, helping caitlyn gas the fucking undercity, and hunt down her sister.

i saw a post that pointed this out, so i cant take credit for it; ekko standing there forms shadows that mimic the hands on a clock, foreshadowing his time travel powers.

viktor is almost entirely obscured in an oversized cloak, reaching to pick up a mask and contemplate it. his entire personhood is murky, in question. hes about to don an identity much larger than himself. that being fantasy jesus the herald of course. the mask will be him taking on that role, as well as eventually putting it on to suppress his humanity entirely, even in a literal sense when he changes forms.

next we get embessa, sitting regally, surrounded by fallen petals and holding a black rose in her hand, examining it. this reflects her history with the black rose, the conflict - her son and the council member die for it, and countless others im sure. but shes still got her predatory gaze fixed on it. a slash of light goes through her - perhaps symbolizing a break in the family legacy, between their past and present. mel will be taking over and changing things, changing the family's relationship with magic.

caitlyn psyches herself up, then hesitantly steps out past a curtain into a lit space, tilting her chin up after a moment in a show of bravado. clearly showing her "stepping onto the stage" and into her role of new power; both under embessa and in the wake of her mother's legacy as a councilmember.

jayce squints in the face of a floodlight, bringing up his hand to block out. the light is the arcane, and he blocks it out in his refusal to let it take over the world with viktor's perfect evolution.

embessa crushes the rose in her hand, but curiously, her eyes glow. perhaps showing that her being with whoever mel's other parent is, the magical one, is her introducing magic to the family?

then we cut to mel, who again has that slash of light going down the exact center of her face. shadowy hands reach out to her, and her expression if one of apprehension. she closes her eyes as they close in. the slash is back representing this divide, this change, and most importantly her decision regarding this change. she hasnt made it yet, and despite all signs pointing to her needing to, she closes her eyes to the bigger picture, her mothers influence and agents creep in, nearly overtaking her. the black rose does literally capture and almost kill her.

jinx waves her flag, and we see her shadows multiply behind her. she has unwittingly started a revolution with her image, people are inspired by it and use it to push for change. we zoom into her expression and its uncertain, and yet full of wonder. she is reconciling with what shes created, this revolution in her name.

we cut to vi's face, hardened in determination, and then to her and caitlyn facing off. theyre intimately close, and yet they crash into each other just a moment later, obviously showing theyre conflicting ideals this season literally breaking them up. this is in direct relation with the previous shot of jinx, because it comes down to her and caitlyn doing anything she can to hunt her down.

caitlyn is now alone, breathing heavily, and her fingers around her face form a shadow of a clawed crown. shes wearing it now, but her leadership is a violent one. she peers up through her fingers, towards the light. perhaps realizing what shes done?

ekko runs forward and then rewinds time. time travel. not much else to say here LMAO

we go back to the same shot of mel from before, but now she opens her eyes and roars, the shadows immediately being driven away. she is stepping up, taking charge of her own destiny, influences be damned. next shes sitting on the same couch her mom was earlier, picking up that same black rose with intrigue. she is finally learning what it is, how it relates to her family and herself. picking up gently where her mother refused to.

we see, jayce again, but now from his own perspective, raising up his hand to the bright light, which then cuts to viktor about to don the mask. cut again to jayce, from behind, still squinting into that light. he is the last one to stand against viktor's glorious revolution, to save his last dreggs of humanity.

all that, in just over a minute.. so fucking good. not to mention the various frames that change from episode to episode, which arent really visible unless you slow down the footage, but hint to various happenings.

[slowthypiglordblr]

Toh Theory: Will the Titan aid Luz in the Final Battle, and has he been helping her?

Throughout the course of the Owl house (especially after the revelations from S2b) a question has been in the back of my mind. Has the Titan of the Boiling Isles been secretly helping Luz this whole time?

A major element of season 1 and early season 2 was Luz’s uncanny ability to discover and utilize glyphs, something witches and demons didn’t know existed until then. In a matter of weeks, Luz had mastered all four glyphs, and would eventually learn to combine them in only a few months. While this also stems from her artistic ingenuity (and reading some of Philip’s journal), it’s almost like the Titan itself had been guiding her as a sort omniscient second mentor. On the opposite, it took Belos/Philip Witterbane years to figure out the gylphs even requiring Luz to teach his past self the light spell (her first glyph). He even speculated that Titan would have such knowledge to begin with and was actively sabotaging him to prevent him from threatening the people of the isles. It’s fitting that the self-proclaiming “Humble Messenger of the Titan” was actually a false prophet despised by the being he claimed to serve where as Luz was unknowingly the Titan’s true champion.

Another interesting thing in “For The Future” of all the Hexsquad, Luz was the only one to stuck in the rift (a place she had previously visited in Yesterday’s Lie). The spiritual figure (who I presume is the titan’s soul) is desperately trying to reach, even waving at her to get her attention. Whatever the reason, the Titan clearly wishes to speak with Luz specifically as if he needs her for something important. 

This is mostly just a guess on my end, but I’m starting to wonder if Dana has been hinting this connection from the beginning. During the countdown for the season 2 premiere, Luz is shown resting inside the skull of a giant beast which seems to greatly resembles a Titan’s head. Another art piece shows Luz playing with a massive paper mache King’s skull, wearing it and even sitting inside of it. 

In the show proper, in the episode “Thanks to Them”, Luz and Hunter adorn themselves with a King and Owl mask respectively to face what they think is Belos returned. While this was mostly helped to give Hunter a much needed confidence boost, it might also serve as a symbolic function in the narrative. Hunter is revitalizing a part of his former identity as the Golden Guard whereas Luz wears the likeness of someone she views as a younger brother for emotional support. It also may foreshadow Luz drawing strength from the Titan itself in order to be on par with the Collector as what Lilith mentioned in “For the Future”, Titan’s magic can negate Collector magic. (Makes you wonder if instead of a CollectorLuz, we got TitanLuz, but that’s probably just me.)

.Before we get into Titan’s plans for Luz, we need to take reflect on elements on the small tidbits of information revolving around the Titans in general. As we can recall, the Titans were once the ruling species of the Demon Realm for an unspecified amount of time. One day, the Collectors arrived on their crusade of capturing and taking over other planets for their own agenda. The Titans stepped forth to oppose the Collector and drive them back, with the latter alongside the witches and demons who worshiped them and sought their extinction. This would lead to a long and bloody war which ended in both sides wiping each other out, save a youngster from each opposing species (King and our Collector). 

During this period of time, it helps to shed a small light on the Boiling Isles Titan likely as a person. While we don’t know much about King’s father, it’s in the face of the war and the slaughter of his kin, a he sought to protect his son (the last Titan) at all costs. He created an island hidden away from the Collector through a protective sigil inside a massive tower which King’s egg would be nurtured. As a last line of defense against any intruder seeking to harm his son, the Titan created an army of golems made from flesh and bone to protect and care for King. This proves to us that regardless of circumstance, King’s father loved and cherished his son more than anything in the world, even before his own life. 

This leads into the reason for the Titan seeking out Luz, the answer is as simple as it is profound, to be there for King. Ever since Luz arrived on the Isles, she’s had a massive positive impact on the island and it’s inhabitants (despite her believing the contrary). She helped Eda reconcile with her curse and her sister, she helped Willow, Gus, Hunter, and Amity overcome their personal struggles, reforge their friendships and come into their own, as well as play an important role in stopping the Day of Unity. But one of major accomplishments was with King, at the start of the show, he was self-centered attention seeking child lost in delusions of grandeur who often caused a lot of trouble her and others around him. But thanks in part to Luz, King not only learned that actions have consequences and to appreciate what he has, but also resolve his own identity crisis and discover his nature as a Titan. If not for Luz’s influence would’ve never become the mature, responsible, empathetic boy he is by season 3. Through that, it’s easy to see why the Titan would see Luz as the perfect person to watch over King, as well the world he created in his own death. 

While the idea of prophecy and chosen ones does not fit the themes of the owl house, but take away the Titan’s preconceived divinity to the witches and demons of the BI and a new picture is formed. A father who in death left behind a world for his son to call home and a family to cherish, with Luz serving to guide him into becoming a good person in a way he could not. 

[timperi-fan]

Hello!

Just want to say I’m absolutely loving ILITAYH so far, it’s so cute!!

For the spoiler question, I was wondering if that broken mirror outside Timmy’s house has any significance later in the story? (My brain is going crazy with theories)

Thank you for your amazing work and for pioneering this ship, I never thought about it until I saw your page and then read the story. Now I can’t STOP thinking about it.

@far-from-fran :

Hi, hi! 👋🏾

Thank you! Thank you, thank you so much! >////<

*Squee* Thank you so much for asking! Ok, so the mirror is a hint that Irep is stalking Peri, and has been for a while. I picked a broken mirror, because, well, I wanted Peri to check his appearance, but I thought it would be boring for him to just poof up a compact mirror. So, I figured, why not do a bit of foreshadowing? UwU Peri was in an alley anyway, it wouldn't be weird for there to be a mirror that someone threw out. People throw out old junk all the time. So, I thought it would be cool if Irep poofed in a broken mirror for Peri to look at himself with. Because:

1. Irep is sending bad luck Peri's way. To be clear, the date was going to go bad either way. Irep didn't do anything to effect it. That was all Peri's doing. :)

2. Irep wants to play into Peri's image/identity problems, by giving Peri a distorted image of himself.

3. Irep just wants to taunt Peri, not that Peri knows that. (Yet. 😉) Irep is (going to be) placing little clues around Peri fuck with him. An, "I know what you've been doing." type thing. Basically, Irep wants to drive Peri at least a little crazy. And, to be very, very smug about.

@msnihilist :

I'm actually the one who added the detail of the mirror being "ornate," inspired by the gothic architecture of Anti Fairy World.

When I started ch.7, I paralleled the broken mirror scene by having Peri look at his reflection in a nearby window.

ch.6:

ch.7:

I think the "bad luck" thing is fairly obvious, lmao. Irep is in the fic's character tags and the main antagonist for season one, so I don't think it's a secret that he's going to show up at some point.

I like the symbolism of Peri seeing his broken/unclear reflection when he thinks everything is fine, and then when he sees his reflection clearly, he can see that he's actually a mess. He's seeing his situation in full now and it's not looking good, haha.

Fun fact, Fran is actually the one who had the idea for this fic / the ship. I became a co-author over time, but she definitely had the idea! She talked about it during one of my Twitch streams and I immediately loved it, it's what got us talking more and more often, and now we're besties!!

Fran is the TimPeri founder 🥺 So based of her, honestly.

I do get credit for posting the first Timmy/Peri fic to AO3, though.

Thank you for the ask!!

[beanieman]

Traffic cone lore post when /hj

(Before I Wrote Anything: The more I thought about making a twenty-paragraph post about the traffic cone Sara sits on, the funnier the idea got, so this happened, and I have no regrets. Later me: I actually have a lot of regrets and only managed to write fifteen paragraphs which is still way to many.)

The traffic cone Sara sits on has some plot relevance and is a good addition to the game. Not only does it help establish the bond between Sara and Joe, but the symbolism of a traffic cone also serves as foreshadowing.

It's an important story because it establishes that Joe and Sara spend time together outside school hours. They aren't just two acquittances who only hang out because they're in the same building. They're friends who make the active choice to spend time together. It's vital that the audience understands this so Sara's grief for Joe hits harder.

Thirteen More Paragraphs Undercut

It also shows that Joe feels comfortable enough around Sara to tease her. He's not careful to bring up an embarrassing story. Instead, he tells it with a smile because he knows it won't actually bother Sara that badly.

We know this because Joe never does anything to hurt her. All he wants is to see her smile, so it would be out of character for him to bring up a humiliating topic for the sake of it. Instead, his motives seemed to be cheering her up after what happened with Mishima by reminding her of carefree days. It worked as Sara responded with playful anger.

For a brief moment her mind is taken somewhere far away from the death game, and that's why their friendship is important. While the other participants need Sara to keep her head in the game for their survival, Joe doesn't need that from her. He allows her to be a teenage girl who sometimes does embarrassing things that wouldn't usually be expected of a leader.

It's good for characterization to hear that Sara sat on a traffic cone as well. It's so short sighted and dumb that it reminds you how goofy of a girl Sara can be. She's not always pointing fingers and heroically yelling "This is it!" Sometimes she's just a person who makes decisions that aren't well thought out. Much like the logic route choice.

The danger seems clear if you keep Shin alive, but much like the traffic cone, Sara doesn't consider the consequences of her action properly. She sees an easy solution to her problem on paper: keeping Shin alive equals survival, and a traffic cone could be a good chair. Yet both of those things could so easily backfire on her, as she learned when the cone tipped over and as she's yet to learn with Shin but no doubt will.

The symbolism of a traffic cone itself could be tied into the death game. Much like anything if you tried hard enough, which is definitely not what I'm doing in this post. Nor am I using this paragraph to help fill the twenty paragraph criteria. We both know I'm lying, but I doubt anyone has read a post about a traffic cone this far anyway, so y'know.

Traffic cones encourage people to proceed with caution and be aware of their surroundings. Something the participants should have been as they were being watched by ASU-NARO their entire lives. Of course they could never fully understand the danger they were in, but if they had known they likely would have kept their eyes more open.

The fact that Joe was with Sara during this incident symbolizes how Sara should be cautious and aware even with other people. They won't always register the danger for her, even when it's right in front of their face. It's up to her to be aware or else she'll face consequences.

Then we have the colors and shape to consider! While the shape of a cone itself has no symbolism, a pine cone carries the interesting meaning of human enlightenment, resurrection, eternal life and regeneration. Since a pine cone is close enough to a cone shape this is clearly a reference to the dolls and how they're able to be resurrected and granted eternal life .

Orange symbolizes energy and optimism. A color filled with irony considering Sara's exhaustion lead to her sitting on the cone and me writing this post for some reason. It's a strange butterfly effect that no one could have predicted.

The butterfly effect is sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state according to Wikipedia. A great example of this would be Sara walking home on a route with a traffic cone. If she had walked a different road that way things would be different and Joe wouldn't have a story to embarrass her with.

Back to the color symbolism though, white symbolizes purity, simplicity, and cleanliness. It's a good color that correlates to Sara living simple days when she sat on the traffic cone, each of her hours spent with her best friend without a care in the world.

I can't believe I managed to write fifteen paragraphs about a traffic cone. I didn't think I'd be able to make it through five much less ten more than that. I over complicated things so so much for a funny Tumblr post that isn't even that funny. Though I appreciate how much of a leap of logic I was able to make with the pine cone thing. Anyway post finally over.

[ravendruidreads]

A Vicious Game - Review

Author: Melissa Blair Saga: The Halfling Saga Date Read: February 20, 2024 - February 24, 2024 Format: Physical Pages: 458

Characters: 8/10 Atmosphere: 7/10 Writing: 7/10 Plot: 8/10 Intrigue: 8/10 Logic: 7/10 Enjoyment: 8/10 Rating: 7.5/10 (4 stars) Spice Level: 2/5

The review is hidden below due to spoilers.

What changed from the previous books:

The first thing I can think of to mention is the main plot. I am a sucker for nature-based quests, so as soon as it was clear that Keera was going to have to travel around Elverath to unlock the seals, and that they would unlock possible nature-based powers, I was hooked. I even made a list of locations where I thought the seals would be, based on the map and the hints provided (my theory was that the seals were connected to the different woods, so I looked for water bodies near them. I only got one location right tho).

Despite this, there were some plot parts that I disliked or that confused me. One of them being Killian's presence in Myrelinth because I was 90% sure Damien had ordered him to be locked his in room in Koratha, and even more because no one (particularly Keera) seemed to ask any questions about this. Of course this would be answered toward the end of the book, but I'd still have preferred if there had been some sort of explanation or mention.

Another part I didn't like (as I mentioned in the review of A Shadow Crown) was the possibility of a love triangle with Killian, Keera and Riven (if only I knew...), so when Keera kissed Killian (and he kissed her back) because she was hellbent on pushing Riven away, I was so angry I almost stopped reading the book. Props to the author for writing the chemistry between them so well (again, if only I knew) that it made me question if Keera and Riven were endgame or if Riven was going to die and she would end with Killian.

However I wasn't just upset with the relationship side of this scene, but also with Keera's dumb behavior, which brings us to...

Even though there is a content warning list at the beginning of the book and I clearly read 'relapse', I was not emotionally ready to read about Keera's relapse. The first few chapters were hard to read, but I'm glad Gerarda was there to get Keera's head out of her ass (I cannot believe I'm saying this!).

That was another pleasant twist I wasn't expecting. Gerarda turned out to be a character that I grew to love and admire, and I was especially happy to see her as another symbol of representation.

Let's now address the elephant in the room, the plot twist to rule them all. I felt like I hit a brick wall headfirst. It was one of those plot twists where I had to close the book and take a moment to gather my thoughts before I could proceed, because all I could think about was EVERYTHING that happened in the other two books, and how much foreshadowing I missed (I can't wait to reread the saga with a different set of eyes.

I always had a feeling of suspicion about Killian, but honestly, I thought it was because he was going to turn out being a spy to the crown or something. I am very pleased with the plot twist, although it was a bit hard to read the spicy scene the way it happened.

Two honorable mentions before I move on to the theories:

Keera's depression is so relatable. How many times did I have the same thoughts of "The time of easy days is gone, but perhaps they would be easier without me"? For the same reason, "Your mother felt everything as deeply as she could. it made her a fierce leader and a loyal friend, but it also made her lonely" is also something I relate to a lot.

Keera holding lightning was hot. When I read "You will be able to call storms and lightning at will" I almost died. Give me as strong, powerful woman who can wield lightning and I will fall at her feet.

Theories:

My theory of the lock of the power being connected to the King proved itself wrong, but I don't even care because I preferred the way it happened. I figured early on in the book that Riven's power was connected to the seals and he was going to die when the last seal broke, so I wasn't expecting him to actually survive, nor that he would become a Halfling, which I guess makes sense.

Because of this, I think that the reason why Riven was the way he was (Fae and Mortal) was because of his miskwithir connection to Keera. Like he was born with this power because Keera would need it in the future, and once she "siphoned it" (which is not confirmed but it's my theory), Riven no longer needed to be Fae.

Based off on that, I think Keera's blood is no longer Amber, because she went through a reverse transformation. Which means she's no longer Halfling but full Fae.

Let's talk about Collin (again). I should really trust my instincts. I had a feeling from the first moment that he was the mole, and turns out I was right, just... not in the way I wanted to be. Damien is a psycho and the way he used Collin is disgusting. I love it.

A quote that stayed:

A person only has as much power over our minds as we allow, Keera.

[beevean]

The reason why I like Netflix Hector is, that he does not ooze toxic masculinity - unlike his game counterpart.

And N!Hector, who was one of the two only male characters, the other being Alucard, who didn't get radically redesigned and therefore ended up being one of the most feminine-looking of the cast, and also rewritten to be more meek and passive and seen by the fandom as a gentle animal-nurturing babyboy, got completely emasculated by being reducted to a victim of forced petplay and rape, and also implicitly blamed by the story (and explicitly blamed by the fandom) for that, because he was too stupid and weak. (and before one says "but he gets better in S4": no, because he only serves to help N!Isaac's epic final boss fight, and then chooses his rapist anyway because she's the only thing left in his miserable life)

That's hardly better. I'll take a generic revenge quest any day.

(also, the fact that Alucard suffers a similar sexual trauma which is similarly brushed aside, the only consequence being a more fanservice-y design, is... :) )

I hate the Julia romance as much as the next guy, and I prefer to think the two "broke up" offscreen because neither of them could handle the trauma. I get where you're coming from with how disrespectful to everyone involved it is. But reducing Hector's Curse- and grief-induced fury to "toxic masculinity" is exactly what I was talking about: either Hector is seen as a gigachad without personality, or he's seen as an edgelord without personality.

Fun fact: while yes, Hector is rather classically masculine, especially for the standards of a Kojima protagonist, he's also masculine in a good way, shown in the mangas. He's thoughtful, protective, and happy to do chores for Rosaly to thank her for all she did for him.

Chopping wood, drawing water, I’ll do anything for you I’ll give you my arms and my eyes

I’ll give you my life Without forgiveness or atonement

And even he has his moments, like when he bursts into tears simply because Rosaly is happy that he exists :)

so toxic, wow. clearly, reducing him to fetish fuel was totally for the better.

"oh but the mangas are obscure" yes. That's why even in the game there are hints that Hector's default personality is not "angry dude", shown by the way he's actually very polite to Julia. It foreshadows the big realization that all this time, Hector was out for Isaac's blood because he was being manipulated by outside forces that wanted to use him as a vessel. When he calms down, he's even able to show pity to Isaac.

(another funny thing: both Hector and N!Hector get tricked and manipulated by two people. The difference is that in CoD, you never get the impression Hector is a dumbass because of it: it's that Isaac and Death are both very clever and able to take advantage of Hector's haywire emotions, while still being vile. In NFCV, the show makes a fine point that N!Hector is nothing more than a stupid manchild and really, he deserves every beating and "walkies" he got, and aren't Carmilla and Lenore so cool for playing him like a fiddle. I find it disgusting. Sure, N!Hector is not a saint, but his belief that humans should be stuck in pens to be vampire food doesn't even get challenged anyway, so what's the point?)

Hector is more nuanced than people give him credit for. By all means, the plot of CoD can be criticized for being a product of its time, including how disposable Rosaly is, but please don't just say "oh Hector is a symbol of toxic masculinity", and especially don't say it to defend such a meanspirited show that diluted and wasted his character for the sake of porn and rape apologism. CoD was written in 2005, NFCV was written between 2017 and 2021, I know which product I'm more willing to cut some slack to.

To be extra clear: my issue is not that N!Hector doesn't go around badassly killing everyone. I find frustrating when game fans talk as if that's the only issue. I'm perfectly okay with male characters without an outstanding fighting prowess, and in theory I like that N!Hector's big win is due to him sneaking around and laying low. It's that his interesting take in S2 doesn't go anywhere and he gets humiliated for the sake of humiliation, not for the sake of growth. Hector grows, and grows a lot, which is why I love him so much.

People only talking about Netflix Castlevania's Hector makes me kind of sad.

Not because Netflixvania Hector was so broken and tragic, but because OG Hector (who also went through some tragic stuff off screen and before the game officially begins) would have been 100% done with everyone's(Mainly Isaac's) shit and had 0 chill. And the main character of his own fucking video game!

I'm talking HAM levels of anger and tearing everyone up with his bare fists (that's an option btw). He fought Trevor, Saint Germain, and Death and triggered a time paradox!

I don't think it's saying too much that I'm not very impressed with how they handled his character in the Animated Series. Or anything after Season 2... (Except Isaac... I guess...)

[neversetyoufree]

So while I know it sounds a little counterintuitive on the surface, one of the reasons I'm really hoping VnC goes down the Vanitas/Noé path is that, out of all the routes the romantic plot could take, VaNoé is by far the most interesting outcome for Dominique.

It's been made pretty clear that Noé is going to end up with a crush on somebody in the long run, and the beginnings of that foundation have been in place since all the way back in chapter 12. And of course, given how Domi has very strong feelings for Noé, whoever Noé ends up pursuing is going to have a huge impact on her as well.

Personally, I'm just not very interested in the stories we'd get out of Noé having feelings for Jeanne or Dominique.

Although Domi's crush on Noé is often played for fluffy comedy, it's also clearly tied into a lot of the less than healthy aspects of her character. She tried to completely rewrite herself and transform into her brother to make him happy. She tried to kill herself because she thought it would save him, and the only thing that could snap her out of her suicidal mindset was the fact that her death would make Noé sad. It is incredibly unhealthy to tie your self worth so deeply to another person like that.

Domi's had a crush on Noé since before things got so unhealthy, and she'd probably still have these problems to some degree even if she weren't in love with him, but the fact remains that the two issues are inextricably linked right now. And going further with DomiNoé would mean either leaving Domi's issues about Noé worsening/unresolved (which I doubt will happen), or writing her working through her baggage and learning to value herself outside him, then coming back to her crush with a new, healthier viewpoint. And that could technically happen!

However, I think we would make a much cleaner narrative break if Domi's learning to live for and value herself coincides with her finally moving past her feelings for Noé. Her moving on romantically would be a really good way to symbolize her moving on from her unhealthy dependence on him, and I don't want to pass that up. She needs to have something in her life that isn't connected to all her baggage about Louis.

Also, from the Noé side, I just don't see much practical evidence of him having feelings for Dominique. Chapter 12's romantic foreshadowing coincides with Noé's obvious jealousy over the whole Vanijeanne situation, so I'm pretty sure his eventual crush is going to be on one of them. And that brings me to the issue of NoéJeanne.

As I've said before, I do think there's a small amount of evidence that could support Noé's eventual crush being Jeanne, so it wouldn't be completely out of left field. However, I'm personally hoping this isn't the route Mochijun takes, and the biggest thing that turns me away from this idea is what it would mean for Dominique.

When Misha manipulates Domi during the Amusement Park arc, he uses not just her crush on Noé, but specifically her jealousy over Jeanne as ammunition against her. Because Dominique has noticed Noé's jealousy over VaniJeanne, and she fully believes that Noé has feelings for Jeanne. But the thing is, the Amusement Park arc is almost entirely a story about the destruction and pain that comes from falsely assuming that you understand a loved one. Dominique almost dies because she mistakenly thinks it's what Noé would want. Misha's whole motivation as an antagonist is trying to bring Vanitas back to a family dynamic that Vani no longer wants or believes in. And Noé's big turning point is the realization that he has to look at Vanitas clearly and think about how he actually feels, rather than judging based on his personal feelings.

So with all that said, Mochijun turning around and saying "Domi's right about Noé's feelings for Jeanne, actually" would be really weird and out of place. I'm fairly sure that, although it's implied earlier, the first time "Domi thinks Noé has a crush on Jeanne" is called out explicitly is when Domi and Jeanne talk in chapter 45. This comes immediately before the start of the Amusement Park arc, and that scene in particular serves as the buildup to Domi's imminent breakdown, so her jealousy and the themes of the Amusement Park are pretty inextricably tied.

"Domi makes a false assumption about Noé's feelings, and it leads to her fighting with her dear friend Jeanne for no good reason" would fit very well with the rest of the arc. "Domi is right about the jealousy, but wrong to fight with Jeanne anyway" would be a much clumsier from a thematic and storytelling perspective, and I'm inclined to think Mochijun knows better than that.

In short, Noé having feelings for Jeanne is possible, but it would make Domi and Jeanne's part of the amusement park arc a lot worse.

So would Noé having feelings for Vanitas be better?

For starters, Noé having feelings for Vani would make Dominique's jealousy of Jeanne incorrect, which solves the thematic problem outlined above. Beyond that, though, Noé having feelings for Vanitas would also allow for the most interesting interpretation of the original "Noé is jealous" scene from chapter 12.

In that scene, it's obvious that Noé is jealous over Vanitas and Jeanne's new romantically/sexually charged blood drinking situation. Noé thinks it's because he's jealous that Jeanne gets to drink Vanitas's blood, and Domi thinks it's because he's jealous that Vanitas is getting close to Jeanne sexually/romantically. Noé being correct is frankly not worth considering, and we just addressed why Domi being correct creates problems. However! If Noé is jealous that Jeanne is getting close to Vanitas in the romantic sense, then Domi and Noé are each half right in a way that I find both logical and compelling.

Noé struggles to understand his own feelings on a deeper level, but he can understand his own physical cravings for blood, so it makes sense that, even when feeling other types of attraction, blood is the one thing that gets through to him. Meanwhile, Dominique dislikes Vanitas and is pretty obviously attracted to Jeanne, so it follows that she'd assume Noé thinks the same way. They each have an insight into Noé that the other doesn't, and they're both also a little bit misguided, which seems pretty in keeping with their characters and VnC as a whole.

Then, on a wider scale, a "Noé's in love with Vanitas" angle would also do some really interesting things for Dominique. My best guess right now is that Domi's arc will eventually end with her finding some self worth/reason to live beyond Noé, but she'll have a long and painful process getting there. And Noé liking Vanitas would help facilitate exactly that! It could force her to accept that she's not going to get with him, which could in turn help her move on and find her self worth elsewhere, but it would also put her through. just. so much suffering. On the pettier level, she'd have to watch her dear friend and crush fall in love with someone she finds rather despicable (and for the second time!!). And on the more serious level, she'd have to watch Noé once again link his heart to a doomed man and have to reckon with the aftermath of his death.

That sounds about like the kind of growth to angst ratio that Mochijun likes to go for.

So tldr: Noé's eventual crush is almost certainly going to be on Domi, Jeanne, or Vanitas, and out of those three, Vanitas is the only option that wouldn't get in the way of what I think/hope is Domi's narrative arc. In order for her to accept that she's been misunderstanding Noé and properly start building self worth, she can't end up dating him, and Noé can't have feelings for Jeanne. That leaves VaNoé as the best and only option for Dominique.

[bluebunnyears-08]

Another Nine Analysis: This Time on His Character Design

I honestly don't know what to say, I've got this guy on the brain lately. I've done an analysis of his name and the possible symbolism, and I've done an analysis of why he's so liked, and I might continue to do analysis on him because he's just that interesting.

This time however I want to focus on his character design. Aside from being my favorite character design in the series, I think it reflects Nine himself and holds some possible foreshadowing as well.

(Aw I never noticed this, his tails are all puffed up!)

First, let's focus on the color scheme.

A heavy tone of dark colors is found all over his design of black, silver, grey, pale blue, and yellow lines, the only bright color being the pale orange of his fur and the white on his gloves and muzzle.

The dark colors emphasize a sense of intimidation and mystery to him. The black on his shoes, glove, and shorts can leave viewers in suspense and unsure about him. The grey on his shirt does the same as well.

While the blue and yellow help offset the darker colors I also think there were reasons it was these two colors. The blue might reflect the hidden sadness and loneliness he has, and the yellow could reflect his universal bond with Sonic. (the yellow ribbon of friendship)

I like how his gloves are different. One is fully white with silver undertones, while the other is mostly black; it adds to his moral ambiguity. Both a little bit of good and a little bit of bad. Perfectly neutral.

Another thing I want to point out that others haven't noticed is how pale and dull his fur is compared to Prime! Tails, and the other Tails as well, are not as vibrant as the others. Kinda interesting.

There's also a darker tip and his ears are longer as well, which I think reflects his role as the most mature Tails.

His eyes are a more greyish blue than the baby blues Tails had.

His tails, the organic ones are less fluffy and limper. Which makes sense since he probably uses his metal tails more.

Finally his metal tails, the silver and grey tails he uses. He keeps them out all the time, seeing everything and everyone as a danger, he uses them to cover up his tails, showing he's still insecure about them so he hides them. To him they're a sense of safety and protection, to others they're deadly weapons of destruction.

I also like how his shirt covers his chest fur, covers his heart. He closed off from everyone and hides his emotions so it makes sense. I also find the way his hair (bangs I guess) sticks up forming a curious hairstyle (though I can't find any information about hairstyles like that, nor can I see if it's a symbol for something). (and again, his ears have darkened tips while the hair doesn't, another reflection of ambiguity)

I also like how his muzzle fur droops compared to the other Tails, looks like a grumpy cat XD. Very fitting for grumpy Tails.

Another thing is his belt, I couldn't see it clearly but I do know that there's a kind of button or buckle that controls the tails when pressed, and it's a pale blue with what looks like a swirly shape on it.

Nine's outfit is very bleak and dark. While it is an "emo" attire, it also gives off a sense of mourning or deep loneliness/sadness. Which I think is very fitting. This Tails was always alone, and when he made weapons to fight back against his abusers, he wasn't joyful or cocky. All of that was beaten out of him. Instead, he was serious and jaded. Nine has a great feeling of mourning in his character, which again I think is genius of how reflective it is in his character design.

It is mournful because this was a character we were already so invested in, and because of how cold and broken Nine is, having been abused and beaten to the point of numbness and distrust of everything/everyone around him. Whoever designed him knew that, that's why this design was chosen.

And why it's genius. Not just because it resonates with the audience, but also because it reflects the tragedy of this character.

[elazrielbook]

Colour Symbolism of Elriel in the ACOTAR books!

i'll talk about colour first but scroll down for the light and dark parallels of the characters!

so azriels siphons are cobalt blue specifically. his power creates a cobalt blue aura around him too.

now elains colour is pink. elain wears it alot, its associated with her flowers, and it suits her steotypically feminine personality. but she wore a cobalt dress at her first meeting with azriel. not common for her as we usually see her in pinks and purples.

also!! gwyns colour is teal, from her eyes to the priestess stones. they're both described as teal. the priestesses stones nor gwyns eyes are ever said to be anywhere close to the colour of azriels siphons. because ik people like to claim that they're similar colours🥴

along with her colour being pink, lets talk about the acowar cover. its got truth teller on the cover, obviously eluding to one of the biggest moments in the book, elain getting the dagger from azriel and killing hybern with it. the cover has the dagger surrounded by shadows (that also look like roses to some) but even if you don't think its roses, its his dagger and his shadows on a pink cover.

and before you start saying the cover colours have no meaning, i highly doubt they have deep crazy meaning, but shes hardly choosing fully random colours. acotar was red(roses was in the name so thats easy). acomaf was that green/blue teal colour(the night court traditional clothes were described in this colour). acowar was pink(see above). acofas was regular blue('frost' winter, cold vibes). acosf was orange(flames are associated with nesta several times, including the title of her book lol).

i personally think elains book(which is quite obviously next lets not play dumb) will be a pale pink because thats clearly the colour she's associated with most. pinks been dine before but it would be a totally different shade than acowar. same as acomaf/acofas. the only colour of the rainbow left is yellow and i just don't see sjm doing it as i don't think that would be pleasing to look at lol. although elain is described so many times as golden and sunlight, so it does kinda make sense. but hey ya never know.

and look you might think those colours mean nothing and thats fine, but when you pair it with facts like ; each couple got a scene in the colouring book...the acowar cover scene (az giving elain truthteller) was in the colouring book, elucien wasn't. their scene is literally the cover of a book, and the fact that elain and azriel have had more build up moments that nessian got before acosf. how can you ignore that?

light and dark

now many many characters are described as light including mor,helion,elain,gwyn,feyre etc. azriel of course is described as darkness.

but but but, the only one whos light is directly contrasted to azriels darkness is elain.

azriel quite literally means "angel of death" and throughout the story he is consistently compared to death, darkness and shadow.

elain on the other hand literally translates to sunlight. throughout the series she is consistently compared to the sun, the dawn, day, and light/golden light.

gwyns name means holy,white,blessed. in the books, the times where she is described as light is when she sings she quite literally glows. and although this is a brilliant example of light, she is never described as such without the context if that glow while she sings. more importantly its never mentioned in direct contrast with azriels darkness, not even in the bonus chapter.

feyre literally says this when looking at azriel and elain:

"Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark,"

i just think it foreshadows them so well.

SO much of azriels character revolves around darkness. the shadows are literally part of him. his dark past makes him think less of himself. the dark things he's been through but also the dark things he's done. and yet his softest and most gentle moments are all towards elain. the times where he seems the most content is woth her.

and so much of elains character revolves around light. she's always out in the sun, her personality is light and calm and gentle. and yet she does not balk from azriels darkness. she's also hiding something in acosf showing that she has her own type of darkness. (but don't start w the evil elain theories i'll get bored of shutting yall down lol)

so do with this what you will. i just feel like its so pointless to have all those light and dark parallels for it to not mean anything. like if they both got with other people, those parallels will still be there so people are forever going to think they belong together.

psa: this is not a safe space to hate on azriel, gwyn or elain. talk about the ships and characters kindly

[unknowconcreteflower-art-blog-me]

Character Study Angel Dust and Valentino Relationship

This will be a post will be a look on Vizepop’s newest music video for Hazbin Hotel “addict as well as a deep dive of Angel Dust and Valentino Relationship!

Alright full disclosure Hazbin Hotel is an adult cartoon meant for a mature audience and the subject matter is very dark despite it’s cheery outlook so  if you’re very sensitive to this type of subject or under age please think before you watch the video and also this post will contain dark subject matter on abuse as well. Okay with all that out of the way please enjoy it’s review time!

First of all this music video is incredible but what’s even more amazing is the character building for Angel Dust and for Valentino. It shows how toxic and abusive Val is to Angel but it showcase his friendship with Cherri. At the start of the dance Angel's face is not just looking towards the audience, he's clearly looking at someone specifically, in the audience making. Especially with that hair flip he does. He’s doing this for someone one... and then we get a fantastic cut away to Valentino and it is bone chilling.

He’s doing this for Val he wants to be special to him; the way Val’s sun glasses frame Angel silhouette shows how he’s trapped because wants to be loved by him. It should also be noted during this part of the song “I think I deserve some praise...” Also alludes how starved for affection Angel Dust is and wants that praise from Val specifically. But this is how Val keeps Angel Dust under his control in a sense of that he’ll receive it if he’s “good” and does what he says. We get more symbolism of this when Valentino blows smoke towards Angel Dust. And it’s in the shape of a heart that’s being blown towards Angel and is wrapped around him. 

In a sense he’s kind of blowing Angel a kiss...

Not only that but the fact that it’s smoke also shows how fickle Val’s love is for Angel Dust is. It can disappear and go away at any moment, and that’s why Angel so desperate and tries so hard to obtain it. And the way the smoke wraps around Angel shows Val’s love it’s more like a chain and leash. Though it makes us wonder “why does he love Val”, and how did he end up working for him. Though we actually get an answer during his song Angel Dust when starts he sings about his past and how he got to hell.

 This scene in the when Angel Dust sings “Despite having overdose and ending up coma-toasted...” giving backstory on how Angel dust died. From Vivziepop (and the Hazbin Hotel wiki) we know he has comes from a Mafia family and has a bad relationship with most of his family members (who are in hell). Which may have been the reason why he started doing drugs (so he had a rough life). Initial he looks distraught and saddened about mentioning but it’s only when the smoke wraps around him and point his towards Val he smiles continues to “...I don’t give a damn~”  locks eyes on to Val which cuts away to Val wickedly smiling being very pleased. 

What this sequence tells us is Angel while being very sad about his past he doesn’t care about it now because he has Val; he made him forgot about his sorrows!  Right there is where we have our answer, he views as his savior. It implies that Valentino maybe the one that found Angel Dust and “saved him” but in reality to take advantage of him in a weakened state. That’s why Val has an evil grin when he hears Angel sing that, he knows this and as long as he has that card to play he’ll always have a reason to have Angel stay. Which is a real thing an actually abuser does; they use things they’ve done for you as a trump card when there is an argument or guilt trip you into staying with them or forgiving them. Maybe the reason he has stayed with Val for so long...

Why does he seem unimpressed...

I don’t want to go over every piece of lyrics but he basically goes on singing he gives up on the idea of trying to be good and sober accepting that this is his the rest of his life. Ready and very willing live his live like this as he is now to gestures out to Valentino “your playing with now til the end of the night” as he looks confused to this (I’ll get to why I pointed this out). Willing to live on this “heaven and hell high” going on to sing “ he’s addicted to the madness...”and then it then flashes to him in a crying being comforted by Cherri in his room. I believe this is a flash forward after the show when Angel went home. It is clear he’s sad but also angry at himself... Not only that but Valentino may have done something awful to him... 

Earlier I pointed out he was gesturing to Valentino because he’s willing to give Val everything because Angel actually love Val during it... and that’s what angers him (Val doesn’t want to be an item with Angel). And during those moments flashing of with Cherri it shows that he’s going to regret that choice,  foreshadowing somethings going to happen leading up to this... Angel’s not addicted to his life style and I think deep down he doesn’t want it in reality he’s saying he’s addicted to Valentino. And he knows very well he’s not treating him right and he’s bad for him. That’s the scary thing about being in an abusive relationship despite being poorly treated you and wanting to leave you can’t. You can’t help but remember the good moments where they show you affection that makes you think its worth saying. And this next scene I think happened before Angel went home with Val (I assume that he’s the one driving Angel Dust home in this scene). This scene just show how much of a scumbag Val and how he really sees Angel.  

What he’s really cares about is the money that Angel Dust makes not Angel himself, he’s clearly an after thought not even giving him a second glance. Angel is obviously upset at waiting in the wing for Val to pay attention to him. The two girls making out (yes they’re important) Angel can’t even look at them and makes sure he’s looking the other way... Because Angel was hoping that Val would show him some love too but no the first thing he does is check how much he made. And he put in so much effort in the show just for Val and impress him too. You’d assume he’d thank and praise him the amazing show he put on and that performance was especially for Valentino. Though the way he’s just calmly containing his disappointment and anger shows that this is not the first time he’s done this to him just leaving him on the back burner. Just in a sighing slouch and in his head he’s probably thinking “what the hell was I to expect” or “why the hell am I not surprised... “

“Oh Angel didn’t see you there...”

And only when Val finishes counting all the money does he pull in Angel for a kiss, this pretty much saying “Oh Angel, you made me so much money I can reward you now...” making his love very conditional. And the way he snaps his neck up “oh sorry didn’t see you there...” as if he just remembered him now. He doesn’t love Angel he only loves that money that he brings in. I have think that Angel Dust only tries to be “the best” in porn studios so that he can stay on Val’s radar. But I think at this point in the relationship Angel just experience so much of the abuse and neglect from Val he just expects it. He is just unimpressed and he just drained from all of this. Which tells us two things one Angel Dust may have been under Vals thumb for years and Angel is at his wits end. The expression on Angel Dust face is practically saying “Oh you notice me now” when Val finally starts paying attention to him and Angel just wants to be special to him. And clearly wants to be something more to him than one of his hoes... he’s coming to the realization that may not never get that. He’s just a toy to him something that he can play with and toss out.

This scene just makes me so sad... when Val forces Angel into the kiss seconds before (if you look carefully) you can see Angel he really was leaning in for the kiss and closing his eyes so he can enjoy it. Showing apart of him really loved Valentino and he wanted this so badly; for his love & affection this just breaks my heart. Val managed to manipulate him to the point that where he thinks he truly loves him. The reason why Val wants to kiss Angel Dust because he thinks one kiss is all he needs to make Angel stay with him. You can see the gears slowly turning in his head, he’s catching on... aware of his mistreatment...this kiss is damage control. But you can see in Angel Dust’s eye he’s questioning “is it worth it...” now Angel starting to get the full picture, even if Val wants him he doesn’t care for him and tries to stop Val before he gets sucked in again. He’s had enough and this maybe the first time Angel rejected his advancements, that’s why Valentino is angry in a sense “you’ve never disobeyed me before”, and when an abuser loses control that’s when they start getting physically violent; this maybe the tipping point of when the abuse started to escalate. And we don’t know what happened after it just flashes them going to the Porn Studio. 

Which cuts to him throwing fit... after something happens and it’s so heartbreaking cause he clearly blames himself.  And just sinks down on to the floor and cries into his hands. We don’t know hat happened but we get our answer... near the end of the song we have Angel Dust at the Hazbin Hotel to now. Where he smoking just like Val he smokes a heart but it’s a broken one and it saying he’s addicted to the sorrow. Meaning he has given up on the idea of Valentino really loving him with him singing  “...when the buzz ends by tomorrow” and he’s singing about the love he had for Valentino is gone it was good for a while he had it  but now he has to deal with the price of being “addicted to that drug...or getting involved with Val in this case.”

Now he deal “with the poison in his vain” talking about the trauma he received from Valentino... That night he raped Angel Dust in the studio I had a screen shot of the shot of him with Valentino but I though it would be too dark. And he’s clearly dealing with aftermath of the pain and trauma of the relationship and dealing with the scars of it. Which is why there’s a flash of seeing Val in the mirror for a second. But “he’s dependent on Valentino” and has nothing but fear for him now; blames himself and his naivety believing that Val would love him. Before Val’s love was Angel’s drug, it made him feel happy and forget his troubles but eventually that high went down. Loving Valentino ended up hurting and damaging him even more.. and has a new pain that’s hurting him. It’s sad because this is what victims do sometimes they blame themselves. Angel did nothing wrong the poor guy he was manipulated and he’s to the point where Val had made him trapped now. 

Which shows the real reason why he wants to stay in the hotel so he won’t have to be so dependent of Val. Slowly but surely try to get better because in the Hazbin Hotel he still working for Val but it living in the hotel. Though the way he pushes of Charlie he’s clearly trying to hide the pain he suffer especially with how he cares himself. Pretending to be carefree and cheerful which makes it so painful to watch him force himself to be happy. I just love Angel Dust so much he’s just so precious! 

PLEASE SAVE HIM ALREADY!

Okay hope you all enjoy the post

[dimonds456]

Gem Steven’s gem is flipped upside-down. (Theory/Speculation time!)

SPOILERS FOR @spudinacup’s SU AU “Gone Wrong”!

Also WARNING: long post!

So recently, someone pointed out that Steven has a scar on his torso going across his gem’s location, which I found interesting in and of itself. Makes sense, since he wasn’t able to heal it since he DIED and his gem was shoved out of his body before it got the chance to heal him. That slash mark is there now. Wow, neat! Nice detai-

Wait.

Hold on a sec.

Is his gem... flipped upside-down? Well, it’s been like this for a while, maybe it’s just a creative choi-

...oh.

This is VERY intentional.

So I did some digging, and found much more symbolism and possible foreshadowing, and now I want to throw out my theory about Gem Steven here, including his potential arc and character development. I’ll try to keep everything brief while still blowing your minds, and I’ll try to get across what my jumbled mind has come up with.

Spud please notice me.

I will not be uploading photos to go with everything I say (go reread the comic after this and verify for yourself what all I’ve said), but I’ll show visuals when they’re necessary. I do not claim ANY of this art as mine (I wish my art was this good ;u; ), all of it belongs to Spudinacup and their SU AU, which has all kinds of hidden symbolism, foreshadowing, and visual cues we haven’t picked up on yet, as I’ve just learned while researching this theory. This ain’t your run-of-the-mill AU, everything in here is intentional. Scott Spud doesn’t do coincidences. So I’ll point out that stuff in screenshots.

Okay let’s go.

SO! To begin with, let’s talk about why his gem may have flipped, and to realize that, we have to know when. We don’t see the gem much, but we do see it constantly through Chapter 1, where it is normal. The pentagon is pointed upward. However, in Chapter 2, this is where we see it flipped upside down. When did that happen? We didn’t see it. I believe it happened in that first scene in the bathroom, right after we left. The butterflies were swarming angrily, and Steven was very lost in thought.

Notice whenever those butterflies appear. They seem to show up every time he thinks about who he is. Is he still Steven, or is he someone else now? Steven is dead. Everyone is mourning him, trying to heal him, but Gem is still here. So if Steven is dead, but Gem is still alive, that must mean he isn’t Steven then, right? But then that undoes everything we learned in “Change Your Mind.” He IS Steven. He’s always been Steven. But that’s when they were together...

...And so the butterflies swarm.

Notice how the first one shows up when he looks at himself in the mirror. When you look in a mirror, you should see yourself, right? But who IS he? In the show, butterflies represent thoughts and ideas, mostly dark ones, disturbing ones, or ones you don’t want to think about. Well, he already spent WAY too long proving who he was, so now to do it again sucks.

But he isn’t Steven anymore. He’s on the couch being mourned. But he’s already proved he IS Steven before, and it’s this uncertainty that is making his mind swirl. I believe this is why he flipped his gem. Just upside-down, so it’s a small thing no one will notice, while he tries to figure it out. In doing so, he’s separated himself from “Steven”, as they’re not one and the same anymore, and the flipped gem shows this. He’s someone else right now. Maybe. He’s not sure.

So what do we call you for right now? Steven. He already proved he was Steven, so until he’s proved otherwise, Steven it is. Now he just has to figure out what exactly that name means and wether or not he still fits that quota.

Flipped gem/Pink Diamond imagery is EVERYWHERE, mostly hidden in drastic shadows or in panels. It’s things you don’t notice at first, until they’re staring you in the face. See if you can spot them from the 3 screenshots below.

There’s probably more hidden throughout the comic, these are just the ones I’ve found that I feel confident enough to show as hard evidence.

So, what does it all mean? We’ll talk about the screenshots in order, left to right.

First, the Diamond is hidden as the panel in the center. In it, Human Steven lies upside down while the gem-panel is technically upside right. This can be interpreted in a few ways, but what that means to me is that something isn’t right here. If you flip Steven back around so he’s upside right, the gem is now upside down. Notice Gem Steven looking towards his human half on the bottom panel there, clutching his shirt over his gem. It’s a motion we’ve seen Steven do a TON throughout the show, anytime he’s thinking about Rose/Pink, who he is, or complicated gem stuff as a whole. Because early on, his identity was always shrouded in shadow. THAT is Steven, on the couch, without his gem. So for Gem Steven to call himself Steven is inaccurate, but also not at the same time. It’s all swarming in his head, and thus, the gem is flipped.

Next, he’s just broken the rejuvenator. This was probably the hardest to spot of the three, but if you look at the panel where Bismuth asks “feel better?” you will see, in the background, a white line cut through the soft pink hues. Look closer. It’s the outline of the gem, but it’s flipped correctly this time. This is because Bismuth seems to be the only person NOT saying Steven is dead, and treating his gem half one and the same. Is she unnerved? Yeah, but who WOULDN’T be? This is still Steven we’re talking about, as emotionally blocked as he is. He’s aware of why everyone is being weird around him, so to see Bismuth trying her best to treat him with familiarity instead of a completely different, new, dangerous stranger is really calming and helps to calm the storm a bit.

Notice the gem is flipped correctly. This is because he feels like Steven right now. Bismuth has been constant confirmation that he is still Steven, no matter the circumstances. Notice how his eyes dialate back to a larger size. They do that a lot in the comic, articulating his emotions without changing the rest of his face. It’s a clever detail to keep track of. His eyes grow more relaxed, dialating bigger when she pats his shoulder, asking if he feels better after destroying the weapon that killed him. It’s a huge relief for him to hear. So, the gem is correct.

Finally, we see Bismuth telling Greg that his son is dead, which is very contradictory to what Bis was saying earlier (in Steven’s eyes). Where is the gem on that frame? Look at Steven’s shadow. There it is, facets and all. To us, the gem is correct, but think about it this way: if Steven were actually replaced with the gem in that frame, what would it look like, Pink’s or White’s? That’s right. The point is coming from his feet, meaning it would look more like White’s, meaning it is back to being flipped upside down. Again, Bismuth just said Steven is dead, meaning he’s back to questioning his whole entire identity. So it’s back to being flipped upside-down.

It seems that the orientation of the symbolic gems hidden throughout panels show quite clearly where his head is at in terms of who he is. If it’s upside down, he’s separating himself from the cold meatball on the couch, whereas when it’s normal/upside right, he is associating himself WITH the cold meatball on the couch.

Notice he’s been grabbing at his gem a lot recently, too, all things he does while in turmoil over who- or WHAT- he is. He cannot heal right now. He can’t use his powers. Some powers are new and unfamiliar (see the more recent pages where Lapis struck out with water and he blocked with those hexagonal shields/walls). “Steven HEALS people.” He can’t, so who is he?

This is something he’ll need to have an answer to by the time the comic is done, and this is a mission for Gem Steven and Gem Steven alone. If his human half were alive (and content without his gem), he’d probably call himself “Steven” no questions asked, since he GOT his answer already, two years ago. But Gem can’t do that, not when everyone keeps drawing all these lines between the two. He needs to learn what being “Steven” means, and know that he is a part of a greater whole, but on his own, he is STILL Steven. Everyone else needs to realize this, too, and stop separating the two. It’s gonna be rough, since it may feel like replacing what they lost, but is it really? It’s going to be a tough road to trek, and I don’t know what anyone’s answer is gonna be (that’s the big mystery here, after all), but I’m here for it.

Remember, all of this has been speculation on what may happen based on facts and clues Spud has presented us with. I’m not claiming to know how Gem Steven’s arc will end, but I am throwing my hat into the ring on where I THINK it will go. Either way, the foreshadowing, symbolism, and unspoken characterizations here have been excellent, and I’m looking forward to seeing everything play out. Spud, your mind is incredible, and whatever you’ve got planned over there, I’m confident the answer will be satisfactory.

I’ll shut up now. Thank you for reading this huge meta post, and go read Spud’s comic. You can find it at @suaugonewrong or on Spud’s Tumblr, which was linked above. If you think I’m wrong or have a counter argument, bring it. Let’s talk, cause this is genuinely interesting and fun to dissect. I wanna talk about it OwO

Thank you. You may now continue scrolling.

[adecila]

I liked your Daenerys/Daario reblog. I wanted to ask you this since I know you are also kind to Daario and like him like me. Why do jonerys fans always use the house with the red door quote for Jon or think she wants that with Jon when it’s always been about Daario? She’s thinking of Daario doing those things with and to her. Why do they steal that from Daario?

I assume you're talking about this gif set.

You got it wrong. The house with the red door is not about Daario specifically. It is a symbol for Dany's biggest desire: a home. She just wants to go home and to belong (don't we all?). The house with the red door is ultimately a personification of that longing, because that's what she remembers most vividly about the closest place she ever considered as "home".

The symbol is introduced as early as her wedding night with Drogo, in AGoT. It's been years I've read the books, so bear with me, but I'm pretty certain the house with the red door is mentioned in every book.

So no, it is not something tied to Daario directly, or something that is seen as a symbol of their relationship, it's not about Daario.

The quote in the gif set comes from a dream Dany has:

“In her dream they had been man and wife, simple folk who lived a simple life in a tall stone house with a red door.”

Yes, the person who she's dreaming of in this case is Daario. But you're forgetting the context. Dany is in a political marriage with Hizdahr zo Loraq and with no clear way of getting "home" any soon.

I don't think that Jonerys fans pretend that the quote was directly about Jon (they haven’t even met yet!) or try to "steal" it (or at least I haven't seen jonerys fans doing that). You're missing the point of the quote. Jonerys fans use it because in the end it shows Dany's core yearning for a home.

Her dream is about wishing escaping the dread of the current reality and finally having a place to call home...a dream that's only achievable if she wasn't who she was (the key is the SIMPLE life and the anonymity of being simple folk). Of course the dream has Daario starring in the role of her husband, because she's in love with him (or at the very least is crushing hard on him ha) and obviously those feelings are reflected in her subconscious. Speaking of her subconscious, something to note is also one of her previous dreams in ACoK, one that's heavily foreshadowing Jon (for more bits check out this post):

"Lying abed in her narrow bunk, she found herself wondering how it would be to have a man squeezed in beside her in place of her handmaid, and the thought was more exciting than it should have been. Sometimes she would close her eyes and dream of him, but it was never Jorah Mormont she dreamed of; her lover was always younger and more comely, though his face remained a shifting shadow."

Don't get me wrong, jonerys are it for me. I don't see myself as a Dany/Daario shipper (have you read my fics, Daario always gets the short end of the deal), but he's never particularly bothered me for being in Dany's life. I see him as an important element to her emotional growth, and I can appreciate the role he plays in Dany's journey and the way he makes her feel. Ultimately he's the first relationship she wasn't forced into. He's the first man she actually got to choose herself and be with out of her own accord. But they're clearly not meant to be endgame because of their roles. It's all about the bigger picture here.

So while Dany dreams of being married to Daario, it's not really about him, but about what he represents: a potential home. At the end of the day, on some level even Dany knows that their relationship is doomed (at least imo) that's why she wishes they were simple folk.

I hope this cleared it up a bit. I'm not the best to ask this type of questions 🙈🥲 because I think I'm not good at writing metas. I'm sure someone else around here has already written a much better sourced meta about Dany, the house with the red door and Jon, or about Dany and Daario's relationship in general (feel free to reblog and add your links to those metas if you found them btw!).

[cjloogy]

HANA-BI – はなび

Those damn shades, pretty cool.

I really enjoyed viewing this one, and I think it’s the actual viewing experience that’s key here, rather than the narrative itself which felt mostly peripheral. What was really keeping my attention throughout the film was the atmosphere that was being established, very melancholic and almost surreal at times, certainly in its depiction of violence with the amount of blood getting thrown around. Some of the violence does feel a little absurd, like the amount of blood a guy spits up after a single kick to the face with no other visible bruising or scarring from it, or the jarring cuts from a lunge with chopsticks to the guy being stabbed with them in his eye. While I think it was a bit heavy handed, I’m thinking now that it may have been an intentional effect meant to really draw attention to the moments of violence and death, and these moments felt like they were mirrored by the splash of red paint on Horibe’s suicide painting, showing what all these moments of violence were building up towards. The violence stands in stark contrast to the moments of care and tenderness. Nishi is a main who is haunted by his past, but still feels no greater desire than to see his sick wife happy in her final days. The ways scenes are depicted show his mentality and resolve perfectly, minimal dialogue and obscurity, and all of the motivations are shown through actions rather than words.

As for the ending, I think this was the least ambiguous part of the film, and it’s obvious what actually happened here: Nishi and his wife end their own lives on their own terms. It’s heavily symbolized by Horibe’s last painting at the end of the film, which on one hand shows his abandonment of the desire to kill himself with the splashing of the red paint, while also showing what Nishi and Miyuki are about to do. There’s no point in Nishi continuing his struggles since his wife is already on death’s door, and the Yakuza are set on tracking him down while the police have him pinned for the robbery he committed. He was able to enjoy one last trip with the woman he loves, and the last thing he’s going to do is kill 2 people that still clearly care for his well being and have done nothing to wrong him or the people he cares for. It’s a somber ending, but ultimately one that left me at peace knowing that him and his wife could both see the end together in mutual happiness. I have to admit, the 2 lines from Miyuki really hit me like a truck, and my eyes got a bit misty in it all. I also want to mention that I think it’s pretty clever that a man who was painting surrealist art has his final painting of the film directly foreshadow the reality of the ending.

The film itself had a distinct rhythm that helped everything flow together, and this was all punctuated with a fantastic score, making what could have been otherwise dull scenes really mesmerizing for myself. A couple of things I read up on that I thought made this film much more personal for the director was that the pointillist paintings that Horibe made were made by Kitano himself in reality, in particular while he was recovering from a motorcycle accident that left his face partially paralyzed, and that Kitano’s own daughter shows up in the film as the girl flying the kite at the end.

All in all, this film was really solid, not quite at the top of my list compared to some of the others I’ve seen up until now, but there are aspects here that certainly make me want to dive into the rest of Kitano’s filmography.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 08 first part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary goodness)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Rabbits

The Jiang kids have some quality time with the rabbits. Initially Jiang Cheng says it’s wrong for gentlemen to hold rabbits, which is definitely in no way related to gay-rabbit-god symbolism, but changes his mind when he discovers how fun men rabbits are to cuddle. 

Jiang Yanli says, in a moment with zero foreshadowing, that if they take one rabbit away from the others, it will miss its family and be lonely. Also if a rabbit were to watch from the rooftop while a mean enemy rabbit poured wine on the corpses of its parents, that would be extra upsetting. For a rabbit. So let’s leave all the rabbits where they are. Check. 

Speaking of cute fluffy creatures that are upset, we see this distressed look on Wei Wuxian’s face kinda often when he’s talking with Jiang Cheng.  

There are some sibilng relationships where you will always do anything to help each other because you survived a shitty childhood together, but as adults you find you don’t actually share values, and that your interactions are kinda toxic -- for both of you. This seems like one of those. 

Even though he’s younger, Jiang Cheng is in the role of the elder sibling who is being abused by the parents, and is handing the abuse on down the line to the “younger” sibling, in the form of constant criticism and casual hittings. Wei Wuxian isn’t actually younger, but he is lower ranked because he’s not a blood relation, and he gets plenty of parental abuse as well. It’s...not a healthy family. 

(more after the cut!) 

Lan Wangji has been lurking nearby during this conversation, and after the Jiangs leave, he looks at the rabbits and says farewell.  He clearly means farewell to Wei Wuxian, or else he has a really unhealthy level of yearning being directed toward the rabbits. At least, for a vegetarian.

Uninvited Gusu Guest

Lan Xichen is meditating, and because the Director of Photography loves us, we get a bunch of nice closeups of his exquisite face. He hears a noise thing and tells Wen Chao to come in, which results in a dire bird scream and Wen Chao’s muddy feet intruding on his day. Why did Wen Chao bring the bird with him? He’s trying to be sneaky, right? So...ok whatever.

Wen Chao acts like a dirtbag and menacingly reminds Lan Xichen that his didi just hit the road all by himself. Lan Xichen gets so upset he curls his fingers slightly. His beautiful, beautiful fingers.

Is it slapping time yet?

Road Tripping

Fortunately for the Lan brothers, Lan Wangji isn’t going to be alone for long. Wei Wuxian is determined to follow him, and where friend-maker Wei Wuxian goes, an assortment of other helpful cultivators will soon follow. 

Wei Wuxian leaves a note to say “I’m running away from home with the hot boy I met in summer school” and signs it with a smiley face, the dork. Jiang Cheng is angry, as usual; Yanli has confidence in Wei Wuxian, as usual, and Jiang Fengmian is autocratic and doesn’t explain what he’s thinking, as usual. JF is aware of the Yin Iron, however, so he may understand that WWX will be useful in protecting it on the road.  

Lan Wangji has changed his hair, upgraded his crown, and put on the most absurdly beautiful outfit of the entire show to go on a solo road trip totally without any hot infuriating boys. 

Quick, Lan Wangji, catch this callback to that time you rejected my advances back in Gusu! This time Lan Wangji catches the offered fruit and keeps it, presumably to consume furtively when he wakes in the dead of night, restless with unslaked thirst for Wei Ying. Or, you know, to have with his lunch while they’re riding on the boat. 

This is a level of synchronized walking-with-shoulder-contact that would make the Guardian boys proud. Lan Wangji is all touchy feely now that he’s out from under the eyes at Cloud Recesses. 

He also has upped his troll game, actually smirking after he says “boring” to Wei Wuxian’s declaration of I’m-gonna-come-along-you-can’t-stop-me. 

He also...doesn’t seem angry? Like, he is still seriously on edge, but it feels like he left the boiling rage at home.  Lan Xichen is right; having a friend IS good for Lan Wangji. And for whatever reason, Lan Wangji is ready, now, to accept Wei Wuxian’s friendship.

We Rate Birds

Wen Chao has the weirdest fucking pet. This bird has a resentful energy problem, obvs, but it also seems to be invisible except for resentful energy, but it leaves random feathers behind at places, and then when Wei Wuxian kills it, it’s a regular bird corpse with a little smoke. “Imbued with Yin Iron energy” seems to be the explanation. But Nie Huaisang said they see a lot of these in their neck of the woods. Did he mean “just a regular bird” and didn’t notice the billowing black visual FX? Either way I want to see a nest full of baby dire Yin birds, I bet they’re hideous cute. 

Wen Qing has a new outfit and an elegant fiery golden crown. There’s probably some plot stuff happening here. Wen blah blah Yin Iron blah blah. She’s so pretty. I love her ears and her cool double hair parting. The girls’ hairlines are always nice and soft, presumably because they get to wear their own front hair instead of a lacefront like the boys are glued to stuck with. 

I Call it Bondage

After the fun they had in the ice cave, it’s only fair that Wei Wuxian gets to have a turn tying up Lan Wangji. 

One of the fun things in clipping The Untamed is that the show’s editors generally didn't drop any frames when they intercut the various scenes, meaning that some longer shots can be spliced back together by removing the other camera portions, as with these two string-pulling bits.

Lan Wangji totally lets Wei Wuxian put a leash on him, quickly declaring it boring and taking control of it, pulling Wei Wuxian along behind him. 

Incidentally, at this stage about half of Wei Wuxian’s talisman’s are blue. After he loses his core, they are 100% red, but nobody notices that. Well, maybe Nie Huaisang does because he notices a LOT, but nobody says anything. 

After they play around in the field for a bit, Lan Wangji’s magic bag of plot advancement goes off, sending them to Flower Town. 

He’s Leaving Home Bye Bye

Meanwhile, at Lotus Pier, we get a nice view of the rooftops. I’d hate to be the guy whose job it is to hang up bells and tassels at any of these places. 

Jiang Cheng sneaks out to go join his brother’s road trip. He gets caught, because his idea of sneaking is to walk out the front door in broad daylight and leave the door open behind him. 

Jiang Yanli tells him to go ahead, though and he scampers off to have...the last carefree fun of his entire life, actually. Sigh. 

Flower Town

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji go to Tanzhou and immediately run into Nie Huaisang, because sure, why not. China’s not very big.

Lan Wangji’s startle response

Wei Wuxian’s startle response

Nie-Xiong and Wei-Xiong are delighted to see each other, once Wei Wuxian explains that Lan Wangji isn’t there to bust them. 

While Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang squee over each other, Lan Wangji ...tries to deal with that. His reaction is probably a mix of jealousy and social anxiety. This town has got to be overwhelming for him after the order and quiet of Cloud Recesses; he even admits--aloud!--that it’s too crowded for him at one point. Add in his boyfriend’s travel partner’s number one enabler, and it’s not a comfortable situation.

Oh great now they’re going to want me to get high and make out with them, ugh

However, with Lan Wangji in the mix, the Nie-Wei dynamic shifts away from mischief making, and they very quickly become a friend trio sharing a serious purpose. When Wei Wuxian, in his second life, refers to NHS as “that old friend of ours” when talking to LWJ, he’s not wrong. Nie Huaisang and Lan Wangji become friends during this trip, and arguably remain friends, within the limits of Nie Huaisang’s revenge remit. 

From one point of view, Nie Huaisang is grown-up Lan Wangji’s very best friend (not counting his eventual husband). Everyone in the cultivation world knows what Lan Wangji’s heart desires most, after Nightless City, and Nie Huaisang gives it to him. By, uh, manipulating a crazy guy into ritual suicide. Hey, no gift is perfect.

Continued in Next Post! Soon!

[mittensmorgul]

Hi Mittens! Happy holidays! I love your meta and I had a question: I've seen you make a couple posts about Miracle lately, and while I'm definitely angry at canon replacing Cas with a dog, I was kind of taken aback at some of your comments about Dean and dogs (specifically how much you seem to hate that combination; I've never felt strongly about it one way or the other). Do you have a tag or post about your feelings on Dean and dogs? Or could you explain in a little more detail, please?

Hi hi!

Dean... has never been associated positively with dogs on this show-- up to and including that scene in Scoobynatural where he does the SCOOBYDOOBYDOOOOO! and Cas rolls his eyes and tells him flat out he’s not a talking dog. I mean, even in one of Sam’s heaven memories, he’s effectively replaced Dean with a dog... so while Dean was being implied-harshly-punished by John for “losing” Sam, Sam had been having the time of his life with a dog instead... Sorry, I’ve got a lot of resentment for dog symbolism in the show...

Cas has also been associated with dogs in a lot of... let’s go with derogatory comments, and since this dog in the finale was SPECIFICALLY a replacement for Cas in Dean’s life... I find it particularly insulting, you know?

5.14: We get dog comments about Cas and Dean both in this ep. Famine refers to Cas as Dean’s dog... “You sicced your dog on me, I threw him a steak.” And we see Cas crouched on the ground eating meat. Earlier in this ep, Sam teased Dean about his lack of any “appetite” for anything with the comment, “when a dog doesn't eat-- That's when you know something's really wrong.“

7.21: after being banished, he reappears at a dog track, where the dogs were unhappy. so... Cas was basically just another unhappy dog in this part of the story.

10.22: Rowena compares Cas to a “dog who thinks he’s people” for being an angel who rejected heaven and chose his family with the Winchesters.

10.23-11.03: Cas is literally under a spell referred to as “Attack Dog,” which he fights against but is slowly turning him into a killing machine. He seeks help from Heaven, but they only want to use him, to torture information out of him and then kill him once they get what they want. It’s implied he even kills a dog in 11.01.

11.06: when Cas is in the bunker still suffering from trauma related to the attack dog spell, lying in bed and watching tv, he changes the channel to a news story about a dog riding a skateboard, and the newscaster uses Rowena’s line from 10.22: “Aw, that dog thinks it’s people!”

12.19: Lucifer refers to Cas as the Winchesters’ “purse dog,” and s12 is littered with dog references, especially between Lucifer and Crowley (which started back in s11 when Lucifer was using Cas’s vessel and treating Crowley like a dog... there’s a lot of negative baggage attached to dogs on this show)

13.16: Scooby is obviously the one dog Dean’s okay with, having positive childhood associations with him. But when comparing themselves to the scooby gang, Sam says they don’t have a talking dog, and Dean replies that Cas is sort of like a talking dog... which is interesting because at the end of the episode Cas tells Dean he’s NOT a talking dog. And this, in a scene that was directly foreshadowing Dean becoming Michael’s suit...again, more negative baggage for both of them.

The Dean vs Dogs imagery really kicks in when Dean’s soul is destined for Hell in s3, though.

3.10: In his rant to his dream self, Dream!Dean accuses Dean of being as “mindless and obedient as an attack dog,” just a few lines before he gives the “daddy’s blunt little instrument” line that Cas reminded us of in 15.18. So I do think this is something that the writers couldn’t possibly have been unaware of in invoking that specific line and the specific baggage attached to it.

3.11, one of the MANY deaths Dean suffers is from a seemingly nice dog he tries to pet in a friendly manner. The nice golden retriever mauls him to death, like the hellhounds are due to do to him in just a few short episodes... 

3.16: literally torn apart by hellhounds... don’t know how else to make it clear that Dean Is Not A Fan of this.

4.06: suffering from Ghost Sickness, and being magically forced to experience heightened levels of fear, he runs from a lil Yorkie with a bow in its hair, pausing only long enough to warn another person on the street to run before it kills them. We are invited to see how his biggest fear-- of Lilith, of being tortured in Hell, and having been dragged there by hellhounds-- is literally tied to his feelings toward actual dogs, including nonthreatening little lap dogs.

6.01: When Dean falls under the djinn’s spell, he hallucinates an unseen monster, presumably something akin to a hellhound, but when he thinks he’s caught the monster, it’s the neighbor’s Yorkie. Just like in 4.05, Dogs, Hellhounds, and Things Dean Fears In His Soul are all tangled up together.

6.08: aka that one episode I forget exists until it comes back around on the loop (actually I don’t forget it exists anymore, I’ve seen the show too many times at this point, but meh...). But it does plant this fear, that any dog anywhere might not really be a dog. The “sleeper cell” skinwalker packs in cities all over the world? Yeah, not a happy thought for someone who really doesn’t like dogs. Or at the very least has a low-key fear of them.

7.15: I would qualify this one as just “symbolism,” but since this episode is full of anvils, it feels legit to mention that the spell Jeffrey uses to summon his demon back to him involves using Dean’s blood and a dog’s heart. Not really a dean/fear thing, but Dean AS a dog-- and a sacrificed dog at that.

8.01: When Dean gets back from Purgatory, he gets in the Impala and smells dog. Bringing on the famous rule that he’s quite angry about Sam having clearly violated even when he wasn’t on the same plane of existence at the time-- No dogs in the car. He’s still clearly not a fan. Early s8 becomes a long string of “Sam hit a dog” comments, too.

8.15: for all this episode’s grossness, it does remind us over and over again that Dean really does not like dogs. Even flat out having Dean say he likes dogs, and the woman who literally is a dog familiar tells him that no, he doesn’t.

9.05: Dean... is basically a dog. He bonds with the Colonel a bit, even identifies with the dog while he’s under the spell, but all that good will that built up between them effectively shatters again with the ominous last words he gets before the spell wears off and the knowledge that dogs were not created to be man’s best friend, but had some other-- and in this context seemingly sinister-- purpose.

And then we have every other ep that deals with Hellhounds, Dean’s failure to kill one leading to Sam taking on the trials instead of him, tied up in their mutual discussion of what they see as their respective futures-- Sam wants to live, and he wants Dean to live, too, instead of Dean constantly running toward death and self-sacrifice. So like, these themes are all tied up together, and makes all the dog stuff incredibly not fun when it comes to Dean specifically.

So when Dean does lose Cas-- and everyone else on the planet-- the dog being the ONE living being they’ve found, Dean picking her up and putting her in “Cas’s place” in the car, only to have Chuck snap her away like she was a manipulative trick the entire time? Not even really real, just one more thing to give Dean a tiny bit of hope only to maliciously snatch it away again?

And then for the SINGLE thing Dean asked for from Chuck being to bring Cas back?

And then he doesn’t get Cas back, but apparently kidnaps this random dog instead?

It’s just... indescribably weird to me, and so entirely out of character and insulting to Cas on top of it all. Like this was the only happiness Dean was allowed after saving the universe. No found extended family, no life outside of Sam and hunting, no dream of retiring and finding a beach to sink his toes in the sand for a little while. He just gets a dog, which he canonically doesn’t like and has a lot of issues with for entirely understandable reasons. So like.. .how is this cute or happy or nice?