#i believe they'd pretty much left him to die at that point

[mrderbird]

i want more angsty tortured griffith fics but i also want more gross tortured griffith fics. you know that mf probably would've had worms in his face or some shit

[massiveladycat]

i will never get over people laughing at octavian's death personally,,, he was SHOT INTO THE AIR!!! thats so painful. all the burns and the impact, plus being flung from a cannon and probably slamming into gaia (literal earth goddess) plus festus (gigantic metal dragon, i bet that HURT) and leo (pretty sure leo was burning)

he was a kid and he was annoying to some people and he was usually antagonized but he didnt deserve to die OR go out in that way. the gods are a thousand times worse than octavian, and apollo told him that he'd be a savior of new rome, but people still justify them. not to mind there are much worse people in the PJO universe (gabe, LUKE)

octavian ily they could never make me hate you EVER. idc what you say he could have been redeemed. did he do bad things? yes. but he was so deeply influenced and the day meeting with leo and the others, in which i remind you octavian literally was watching new rome get blown up (no wonder he was livid, his home was on FIRE).

like come on. octavian is a complex character and people aren't willing to admit that he could've been better and he was just a literal teenager in the sake of hating him because everyone else/pjo characters hate him.

he is such a tragic character imo because he grew up in new rome and all he wanted to do was protect it (and he was highly ambitious and aiming for praetor, i won't deny the fact that he was selfish but that is a quality that can be REDEEMED) and sure the way he went about it was messed up but most of his actions (except killing that one centurion) were justifiable

btw im not saying octavian's like an angel or anything im pretty sure i remember him "killing" a 5th cohort centurion once but then she was revived which . . . what was the point of that?? was it just to like make us hate him more?? huh??? and then was it even ever talked about again?? also yeah he blackmailed hazel thats not good also judging from the wikipedia it only said frank suspected octavian because.. he didn't have his spear?? what?? reminder that there is proof that a lot of pjo characters are unreliable narrators and for all we know octavian could've screwed up somehow and left his spear somewhere (just saying i'd do that too ngl)

also "I am the savior of Rome! I was promised!" i didnt know why but that quote DESTROYED me but now i know that it was because he genuinely believed he was doing the best for new rome and he'd finally have someone's praise and they'd praise him like they praised percy and reyna. pretty sure his mental state was not very good in that scene either and nico and will just let him shoot himself out of an onager on accident. also are we just going to gloss over the fact apollo told him that and encouraged him he was doing the right thing?? of COURSE octavian trusted apollo on that and believed it was the truth; apollo was his ancestor and someone he worshipped as an augur and trusted in for omens and prophecies and allat

yeah. octavian's an asshole. but he was a kid and he couldve been redeemed. then again i am a huge octavian apologist and im not saying you have to have the same opinions as i do also i will not be responding to any asks in my inbox im 2 tired to deal with that!! anyways dont go and insult people or me if you think the opposite thats fine !! i was just bored and found this in my drafts so whats the harm of posting it because im not going to get sent threats over this right,,, right??????

[yuseirra]

If the way I view him is correct,

Kamiki actually wants to exchange his life for Ai and die in her place and have her be reunited with their children. He loves them all.

The reason he's been doing whatever he's been doing is not just for Ai, it's for the twins too. He doesn't really care about his OWN happiness. He just wants Ai to live and live alongside with their children and he'd be okay with him being out of the picture like how it always were, that's what I think.

If you examine the lyrics for Mephisto (which I concluded is written from his point of view) the speaker does not care about their life. They want to bring their lover back, but they don't even dream of being together with them, (giving their life away for someone means THEY'D die instead and that's... really far from staying together or being reunited with said person) and this actually is fitting to the narrative because he believed Ai never loved him back. He just assumed everything would be better if he dies instead of her. He thinks Ai's life holds much more value than his own (and maybe that's why he tries to make his life "bear more weight" because his life cannot compensate for hers just yet.)

Why be so desperate to bring back someone, if they can't enjoy the reunion? Well, 1. he's ridden with guilt and he believes Ai died because of him so he wants to fix that, 2. he also thought she wouldn't want to see him(if you devalue yourself that much, you tend to overlook the obvious-the fact that Ai actually called him to visit her and the kids- and believe they would hate you) 3. She left their babies behind...

If Kamiki has some fatherly feelings as he claims, (I keep saying this but this is true. Ai wanted to raise her kids with him and those visions she had, I feel they would be pretty accurate of how he could have been. He treats his children with tenderness when he comes to meet them and is actually pretty attentive to their wants. The reason he didn't get close to them was probably because he was really unsure of himself/self-hatred/thought Ai wouldn't want him near their kids/He's going to die anyway if he goes through with his plans)He'd want the twins to have their mother back.

So... I doubt that he wants to hurt Ruby or Aqua. It's honestly really far from what Ai would want too, and he WANTS TO DO SOMETHING FOR AI. He can't be that delusional that she'd want to live in exchange for Ruby's life or whatever.

If this line of thought I have about him turns out to be true, He's going to be immensely hurt if his children believes he's capable of using them or killing them for his own good, because they're also people he's willing to give his life for, as well as he'd be for Ai.

This guy has no reason not to love the kids Ai's left behind. In fact, I think he'd be proud of them. I bet they gave him some happiness, as he watched them on TV and made their debut as celebrities. I think he was really proud of Ruby when she's said she's going to surpass Ai, and he sent bouquets to Akane after learning she was Aqua's girlfriend from the TV shoots with the intent of, "take care of my son well"... If you think of it. Kamiki also performed in the Lala Lai theatrical company and met Ai there... He could have felt it as a nice coincidence that Aqua met his girlfriend the same way he did. That's something I'D feel pretty melancholic about, I'm sure he felt that way.

This guy loves his kids. They are what Ai and he have together. He refers to them as "our children", so he associates the twins with Ai AND himself and that cannot be anything negative since he LOVES her from the bottom of his heart. I'm sure must have been caring about them all along from afar.

He's in this to make their little family return to it being "perfect" the way it was (and his view of it DIDN'T include him, being the depressed and miserable state of mind he is, which is WHY he was so surprised when he saw Ai say she WANTED him to be with her as she raised their kids, he HAD NO CLUE SHE WISHED HIM WITH HER.) and he doesn't mind dying in the process. That's how I see him for the time being.

He would have been a good dad. Ai is right. I take Ai's interpretations of him as the most accurate ones when it comes to this character, she's the one who saw through him and claimed "they're the same" and decided to have children with him and said as far as "wanting to live forever" with the man. And as a "father", I feel like he'd be able to sacrifice himself for his children's welfare as well as being able to do the same for Ai. He has many reasons to be desperate about bringing Ai back. He didn't even want to live alongside her!!!! Then what would that mean? He wants to give his children their mother back, the mother that he feels responsible for having taken away from them from the mistakes he's made!!

So, that's my theory for today :)

it's really sad when you think about it?? he's doing a lot for Ai but he never even thinks he deserved to live with her, to have his own happiness. That's why Ai wants to save him. He never values himself too high and is too ready to throw himself away.

[chaiandsage]

I was thinking about Trust Life (when am I not, I am insane and obsessed, I swear) and how it would fit into the larger canon of the life series as a whole, and two major things have always stuck out to me.

1) Limited Life, what with Jimmy being a Bad Boy and not saying I love you back to Scott (bc bad boys only love their moms) and how Scott would react to that through the lense of a post Trust Life game - I imagine him going back to visit Tango at TIES and just acting over the top about it like "How dare he not say he loves me back! Evil! Jail! Jail for Jimmy for ten thousand years!"

2) What healing happened between Scott and Impuse between the end of Trust Life and the start of the Secret Life games, because Scott was so ride or die for Impuse that season, Gem and the Scotts were all so close, but like, he and Impulse had MATCHING SKINS. And I mean, I know that it's difficult to say because Secret Life was only coming out around the time you finished TL and so it wasn't exactly something to factor in while it was being planned/written, but as established I am crazy and so I'm going to be fitting the TL lense over every life series that happens for the rest of forever and it's just funny trying to fit it together.

Anyways, that is all. Just weird thoughts with me.

Omg. Okay, so I too have considered this and first of all, for the record, I'm pretty sure I did come up with the outline and story idea for the fic long before LL and SL came out. I did try my best to alter things as new stuff happened, like for example, most of the interactions between Scott, Tango, and Jimmy after Trust Life (the game) were going to take place in Rivendell rather than a mix between Chromia, Tumble Town, and the Citadel--but I'm getting off track here. My point is that while LL does still take place after TL, if a bit later than it did in cannon, whatever happens during that game is still up for interpretation. Like that whole "Say it back" interaction between Scott and Jimmy could have still happened, or it could not have because the offshoot events of TL made things happen differently later. It's completely up to you what you would like to believe happened.

That being said, assuming that interaction did still take place between Jimmy and Scott, that whole "jail for then thousand years" bit is hilarious, but my take on it would be more like: Maybe Scott takes it for the joke that it is at first, but later, it slowly starts to eat at him the more he thinks about it. Same with Jimmy. Like in the moment he probably assumed that Scott would understand that he was doing it for a bit (which he did) but then starts to question if Scott really did understand that--and oh god, it's such a small thing to worry over and Scott seemed perfectly fine when he left but what if he really did take him seriously?? Maybe the worry keeps Jimmy up one night and he snaps, deciding to run over to Scott's base at (insert crazy late hour here) in the morning, knock on his door, grab him into a hug the moment he answers, and ramble about how sorry he is and that he was only joking and how he really, truly does love him and Tango more than anything in the world, and "please don't be sad, I will always love you I promise"-- And Scott just reassures him that he understood he didn't mean it (even though it did bother him a little, but he decides he'll just mention that later). Maybe they message Tango to come over and they all just fall asleep together that night only for Martyn to wake up and find them sleeping soundly in a tangled pile, thinking to himself 'How the heck did Scott's bfs break into our base am I really that heavy of a sleeper?' In conclusion, they're all idiots in love.

Scott and Impulse... yeah, that's a tough one. I would imagine that they'd heal eventually and start being friends again, but as you said, the speed and intensity at which that happens in SL would not make much sense when applied to the TL universe. And it wouldn't make sense for someone to pressure them into being on a team together since not doing THAT again was suppose to be Grian's entire takeaway after TL. So with all that in mind, here's the best take on this I can come up with:

Tango is very understanding about Scott's dislike for Impulse. He still hangs out with him, but constantly lets his boyfriend know that he is under no obligation to hang out with them or befriend Impulse just because he's someone close to him. Scott is fine with this at first, but later, he starts to view it as a challenge. He thinks back to what Cleo said to him during TL, how back then, she suggested that he try to get along with Jimmy since even though they'd broken up at the time, they weren't leaving each other's lives completely any time soon. He thinks the same applies to Impulse and how if he and Tango's friendship was able to make it through the mess that was Trust Life, then Impulse probably isn't going anywhere either.

Impulse still feels genuinely sorry and regretful for everything he did and said to Scott. He's spent some time before SL making up with Jimmy, but has made little headway with Scott. Scott doesn't outright hate him anymore but they're still far from friends. Impulse continues to feel guilty for his actions all the way till SL and he spends the beginning of that game quietly approaching Scott and trying to make conversation with him. Scott doesn't push him away, but he is still hesitant to stick around him. Nevertheless, Impulse continues to help him out occasionally during that first day, leaves little things for him like iron or food, asks him if he needs anything or if he could get him something, maybe shoves him out of the way and takes an unexpected headbutt from a stray mountain goat for him at one point... But sometime later, Impulse gets his secret task that says he needs to "make cherrywood his entire personality." He sees that Scott and Gem have decided to build their bases in the only cherrywood biome on the server, so now he's gone and made things even more awkward by being forced to do the same through his task. He continues to hang around them in the same biome while being entirely unable to explain that he's not trying to be weird, he's just doing it for his task and Scott just happened to want to set up his base in the one biome he really needed to be surrounded by for the day. So ensues some very awkward tension that carries on throughout the day where Scott feels as though it would be too harsh of him to outright ask Impulse to leave while Impulse continues to panic internally and Gem tries her best as a mutual friend of them to lighten the atmosphere a little and defuse the tension. Surprisingly, it works and the three of them end up having a little fun.

At the end of the day, when Impulse is FINALLY able to reveal his task, Scott is the first one to burst out laughing at how ridiculous it is--"THAT was why you wanted to build in that biome? Ha! Oh my god-!"--Any lingering discomfort between them is effectively broken and Scott decides that he's alright having Impulse stick around the same biome as he and Gem for the rest of the game. He wouldn't just force the guy to build an entirely new base somewhere else, would he? That would just be overly petty. They continue to talk throughout the game, grow a little closer, Gem continues to mediate between the two of them and tries to get them to see the good in each other. Maybe she has a few one-on-one conversations with each of them about this when they're alone and the timing calls for it. Meanwhile Jimmy and Tango (Tango especially) start to wonder how the heck these two are so okay with each other now. Scott tells them about it later. But yeah, that's about the best I can do for how wild their situation is. Would love to hear some of your ideas if you have any or ever come up with some!

[ails-of-ardor-au]

Oh that previous anon gave me a idea

Since leaders who break their vow are seen as selfish and "fading" due to their sickness and the fear of it passing to kits, would some extreme believers try to take out the kits of the leader then?

Like with Oakstar, and his kits. They'd probably be in danger, or even seen with suspension. Some thinking the kits should be abandoned or sent away, as it's too risky to have them stay. If Pinekit became Pinestar like canon, the fears would probably be even worse, and there would be many cats against him ruling.

Extremists of the code trying to target a leader’s forbidden kits… That’s SUCH an interesting concept and one that fits very well into the dramatic and drastic ways of the Clans…

I don’t think that outright murder would be permitted, even if the kits were born of “bad” means… The Clans operate pretty heavily under the ideals of legacy, so while they understand that the sins of their leader parent are not their own, they are still the result of them, and thus, responsible.

These kits would probably be pretty ostracized from their Clan. The medics would heavily monitor them, and any time they would get sick, it would be seen as a very bad omen. If the other parent of a leader’s kits were to die, the kits would automatically be viewed as heavily cursed, and likely brought to the Twolegplace and left there — which is an insanely scary concept for a Clan cat.

Oakstar, just before his passing, publicly claimed Pinestar and Poppydawn as his kits. Shortly after this announcement, Poppydawn dies (possibly giving birth, which is an added stressor for ThunderClan). The Clan looked at Pinestar as a blight, a curse… So he worked as hard as he could to change their views on him, to the point where he was rewarded with deputyship — something he probably never was aiming for, or even wanted. Then Doestar dies. Pinestar becomes her successor. He was struck with fading especially quickly, which was another bad omen piled on top of him, just because of how much stress he was constantly under… He tried to speak with those before him as much as he could, to seek out their advice and wisdom for the good of ThunderClan, which only worsened his condition… He was a wraith by the time he decided that Clan life was just too much, and that he needed to leave.

(He gets a lot of help and medicine once he finds his housefolk <3)

[forkroid]

So I just finished Kamen Rider OOO, and I have so many thoughts and feelings and I honestly cannot believe they actually ended it the way they did.

I know some of my friends are still watching it so I'm putting the rest under the cut

I was waiting for there to be another 10min of show where they'd follow up on the, like, "desire is a powerful thing that can bring evolutionary change never before seen" and the whole thing about Hina figuring out how to save Eiji, Shingo, AND Ankh to come up with SOME way to fix Ankh's broken medal.

Like it seemed like there were a lot of moments pointing to that- some miraculous change or big!!!! Thing!!!! that Kougami seemed to hint at through the whole show. But then the credits started rolling, and then when the credits had like a "look what everyone is up to now" thing going in the background I thought maybe they were gonna get to it there- and I guess they kind of did sorrrrta with Eiji looking at the medal pieces and being like "someday I'll find a way..." with Ankh's??? Ghost????? Following him around, and just kind of left it open ended, but I guess I kind of expected something a little more on the nose considering all the lead up?

I guess maybe that just could have simply been referring to the final OOOs "power up" or whatever? But honestly that wasn't mind-blowingly powerful since Maki managed to deflect that one massive blow with relative ease, and it was using Ankh's medals that actually gave him the power to finish the job.

So I guess I was sort of expecting some extra "miracle" to happen or something? Maybe I was just hoping for some deus ex machina thing to save the day and have everyone live happily ever after or something. But at the same time I'm not actually that upset about the ending, because it was kind of the logical conclusion - Ankh couldn't stay in Shingo's body, that was never going to happen, so what excuse could they give for him to have a body of his own? It's not like the medals grant wishes. Maybe there could have been some mad science or something building off the work of those ancient alchemists or whatever, but that would have really been pulled from nowhere. I was almost hoping they would, like, idk have shared custody of Eiji's body?? Since there was so much weird stuff happening with Eiji's body?? Kind of like a Revice situation??

But I also like everyone to have a good, happy ending. I wanted Ankh to have better. I wanted him to actually consciously appreciate the life he had after he finally realized he had it. Not just retrospectively, not just "I am able to die because you helped me live" in the last 2~3 episodes. I wanted him to have a future of experiences he could actually enjoy in the moment. But just because that's how I wanted it to go doesn't mean that was how it should have ended either.

Honestly, Ankh's character development felt so delayed to me that I was concerned they weren't going to get to it, yet somehow the scene with him and Eiji fighting in the water didn't feel like an afterthought, it was really satisfying and dramatic. I can't be mad cause they really hooked me in and tugged on all my heartstrings, and it was pretty emotional when Ankh decided to basically sacrifice himself fighting rather than focus on his own self preservation.

It was a good ending I think, even if I'm admittedly a sucker for "and then everyone lived" endings over "the consequences are real and the deaths are permanent and that's what makes his actions meaningful" endings.

[worldismyne]

For the shipping bingo game: Soul/Maka, Black Star/Maka, Kid/Maka. Heheheh.

Oooo full Maka sweep.

SoMa first

I am very much a fan of Maka having a crush on Soul and Soul trying to matrix his way into staying friends and not hurting her feelings lol.

I saw Stein say they seem to resonate, but don't and took that to heart.

I don't think it would work long term because Soul is very passive/cut off and Maka's insecure about their relationship from day 1. Very teen sweet hearts that break up after they stop sharing classes coded to me.

Still, I think the fandom has used the ship as a jumping off point to make great stuff. But I firmly believed fanon Maka/Soul > canon Maka/Soul.

Next Kid x Maka

On paper and politically, I think this would work. Especially post time skip. There's a reason I had them briefly arranged/engadged in my first fic. I think they could be good together.

I just hardcore ship them with other characters too much to make them endgame. Bonus points for Kid being an eldirch being that only appears human and ages/grows differently while Maka stays human. Love me some immortal watching their human loved ones die angst.

MaStar

Listen, my fic is breeching novel length, so I'm abt to go off.

But I will leave above the cut that this niche part of the fandom deciding his government name is Blake is a huge pet peeve of mine. Like, him choosing to identify as Star Clan with the name he was given and still holding his head high and demanding people recognize him on his terms is like, really important to his character. And 4kids-ing his name kept me away from a lot of the best written fics.

*inhales*

So I initially had this as a fringe one-sided ship in my first fic. I just kinda left them there on the chessboard and didn't think much of it.

Then after editing my old fic years later I wanted to do a sequel and that story beat was the only thing I had left open ended and when I thought abt it...

Maka and Black Star have such serious abandonment issues and workaholic tendancies, I can only see them getting together with someone after years of sniffing them out from afar.

So I did my lil one-shot of what I thought everyone would be up to after 20 years of 'peace' and realized as adults they'd be perfect for each other, since being the best at what they do is one of the most important things to them. Their general life goals lined up.

And I've been obessed with banging out this concept ever since.

Do I think they would have worked during the timeframe SE took place? Hell no. That would have been a flaming friendship ruining disaster.

Like post time skip he seemed a lil protective of her in canon, plus they constantly compare themselves to each other in the manga. But the manga left off with Black Star being a teen parent and Maka stuck spinning her wheels post time skip, still unable to shake this fear of failure. It seemed like a good way to tie off those plot threads (meanwhile Soul and Kid seemed to have pretty finished off arcs by the end). Been really enjoying having these two be equally stubborn about wanting them to work without ever saying it directly, and doing mental gymnastics to avoid acknowledging they're dating.

Both canons have Maka punching a god and fighting it head on, you can't tell me that power obsessed goober wouldn't find that hot.

Side note - I noticed while rereading Soul Eater miester/weapon romantic pairs/trouples were common, but in all iterations I don't recall seeing any meister/meister or weapon/weapon romantic pairs. So that's been an interesting concept to play around with too.

I fully acknowledge that this will always be a rare-pair. Though I value the 10-12 people consistently reading my fic abt them. I see y'all. I thank y'all!

[terrence-silver]

Beloved surprising Terry with honey cake and apple cookies she baked herself for the new year's dinner. She's a bit nervous because she's not Jewish herself and she's not even sure if she can participate in the celebration but she just looked up the recipes online because she wanted to do something nice for him.

---

It was strange, perhaps, to be with a man who was frequently the subject of tabloids.

Newspapers.

Business insiders and the LA Times reporting on his bankruptcy.

On rumors lined together like a string of pearls, creating a torniquet. Dynatox under fire. Mass sackings. An international conglomerate sliced in half, into countless branches and his personal revenues and failures making headlines on the daily. Sport scandals. Cobra Kai and local Tournament losses. The stock market tanking in lieu of the backlash in the aftermath of so many skeletons in the closet. Talks of bribery. Corruption. It was the September of 1992, --- the beginning of a new decade and the latter part of the year Or the 1st of Tishrei, 5753, and it seemed that even for the Holidays, the media onslaught wouldn't cease. Especially when he downsized, deliberately moving his address from the coveted slopes of his Beverly Hills Ennis mansion overlooking the city, somewhere more compact and amenable. To Malibu. The 80's ended and Terry said, with you distinctly remembering his exact words that all the fun ended with it. Things would change. People would change with it. They'd have to. And things did change, you felt so in your bones as the black limousine waited outside along with the chauffeur and you rushed in from the mansion being secured and locked behind you with not a single piece of luggage on you. Terry made sure everything you needed was already transported by his men. All you carried into the parked vehicle with you as you scooted next to him on the leather backseat was a warm plate covered with a napkin as the last bit of cookery the workers didn't load in previously, catching your breath as you closed the door behind you shut.

Taking one last look at your colossal Mayan temple of a house.

There was no Margaret. No Milos. No Snake. No Dennis.

The stony courtyard stood empty.

-"What's this?"-

Terry pointed his nose at the China in your lap. You weren't moving to the surface of Mars. He made that clear multiple times. Everything you ever needed he'd replace and buy again by the tenfold. He'd make things anew. Better. -"The last thing I cooked in our old home. A sort of goodbye."- You explain as the limousine moved forward and the secured iron gate and its walls started moving with it, disappearing behind you and into the dusky streets of Glendower Avenue. -"Sentimental."- Terry chuckled, peppering the ash of his cigar into a nearby crystal ashtray. He told you he'd quit soon. It was falling out of fashion, he explained. It was like he had a third eye capable of predicting these things. If you don't change, he said, you die. You remove the napkin covering the plate, revealing what you were busy tinkering with this last day here. You were pretty certain the manor still had the scent of sweets lingering in the air when you left. The idea of that made you feel a certain way, even though Terry told you, with as much firmness as you remember him having, that one day, he'll avenge himself and everything he was giving up now. Weirdest thing was, you entirely believed him. -"Apple cake and honey. You know? For Rosh Hashanah."- You explain carefully, finding his eyes stilling in the darkness of the car until he wasn't blinking anymore, perfectly calm as the chauffeur in the front turned left. -"For you. Before we settle into our new place and celebrate properly."- You add once he says nothing, observing you and your offerings, cigar in hand, suited up, insisting he leave this place in grand style. You gulp, feeling a bit nervous, fidgeting where you sat. His expression perfectly cool. You talked about religion before. First time you decided to do something like this for him.

He needed that, you felt.

After everything.

-"Are you upset? You seem upset."-

-"For the most talked about man in the country, huh? Perfect."-

His mouth melts upward slowly, into a smile, until his teeth are on full display.

-"For the most talked about man in the country, yes."-

You repeat with a chuckle of your own, relieved, offering him a dessert from your plated entree. He sets down his cigar, affixing his cufflinks, taking one and bringing it up to his nostrils, inhaling the scent. His gaze meeting yours, hooded, from under his brows. His eyes were smiling too. -"I won, you know. I always win."- Terry practically purrs. You adjust yourself in your seat, finally finding a comfortable place, shaking your head, slightly confused. He dips the slice of apple into the tiny, honey filled glass container, never separating his stare from you. You follow suit, taking a slice yourself. -"What do you mean?"- You ask, scooting closer. -"They indicted me five times this year. That's four times more than last year."- He's all emotive and energy, even as he chews with distinction to the point where it was hard to pinpoint if Terry felt beleaguered by the fact, or entirely proud. Knowing him, you'd guess proud. -"Then there's Dynatox."- He adds, his mirth fading into something more serious until he becomes distant for but a moment. You knew how much that company meant to him. -"Cobra Kai. John."- He includes, holding your eyes with a peculiar sort of fierceness. The fallout with John too. If anything, you knew that part possibly hurt him more than what was going on with Dynatox. -"But, here you are, huh --- all cookies and cream for me on the Day of Repentance."- You lower your head, oddly humbled and bashful. The honey symbolized and alluded to a sweet beginning of a New Year and you hoped for just that, for you --- for him. You just wanted things to be alright again, nearly gasping when you felt his finger under your chin, lifting your face up to look at him, Griffith Park bypassing you through the tinted windows. It was the end of an era; the least you could do is commemorate it, even if it was on the backseat of a limo.

-"Terry..."-

You whisper, flattered, watching him reach for the minibar, producing a bottle.

A pair of glasses. Pouring you and him a glass of white wine each.

Handing you yours, grinning from ear to ear.

-"Baby, that smells like winning to me."-

He declares, throwing his arm around you, clinking glasses.

Dipping another slice of apple cake into honey.

[voodoo-writer]

Thoughts about Mayday.

I'd very much like to think Mayday didn't kill his Jedi, and maybe he didn't. But I don't think he was sent to that frozen planet because of this. I think by the time we get to this point in the story, the Empire was essentially done with the clones. We see them imposing forced retirement on some clones at the beginning of the episode. We also see that Crosshair is still not in command of anyone anymore and is also being sent to this frozen planet to do grunt work. The Empire had no use for the clones by this time, except in the Dark Trooper program, which is still being brought to fruition by Hemlock. I think sending Mayday and his clone squad out there was a way to use them for work nobody wanted, in the hopes they'd die off (as they did). When they were done, whoever was left would probably have been forced into retirement as well.

Also, if Mayday hadn't killed his Jedi, his squad would have killed him - that was a part of the chip programming. And if, for some reason, his squad didn't kill him, the Empire would have. They didn't want clones who were independent thinkers, or who would disobey orders. The whole point of the chip was to make them more willing to follow orders without question. Anyone who displayed a resistance to that was eliminated.

I will say I think there were far more defective clones than just TBB. I think clones like Howzer and Gregor, and even Rex to an extent, were defective to a certain degree so that their chips didn't function properly. Rex was able to fight off the programming for a few moments, long enough to give Ahsoka a clue. Gregor had been through the ringer - it's possible the explosion he went through damaged the chip or he wasn't quite right to begin with. And we don't know what happened with Howzer in regard to any Jedi, but he was noticeably uncomfortable from the very beginning with how things were going on Ryloth. I would also like to point out that he is shown as being taller than the average clone on several occasions - I'm pretty sure he was defective. And I think there were probably more. I'm guessing, if they were actually defective, it was in a way the Kaminoans wouldn't think would have any effect on the clones as soldiers. Otherwise, they would have been destroyed.

Anyway, thank you for attending my TED talk. ><

Seriously, though, thank you for posting your theory. I love seeing how others think outside the box with regard to these beloved boys!

You know, I should probably be really embarrassed cause this been in my inbox for like more than a month but I had 0 energy to answer that. Sorry, mate 😊! And thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, I am really flattered!

I believe Bad Batch for both 2 seasons has been trying to say that chips and order 66 does not work the way we previously thought. I mean, they did follow the order to kill jedi, without any questions asked. But we see later that clones start questioning the nature of the orders they receive. And we can’t say that it is because they are a higher rank – Chuchi visits 79’s and there are only regs and they question stuff. They have questions, beliefs. If Slip was following chip’s program, he should not have said anything to Chuchi about Rampart, should not have helped her anyway. Any clone should have just stayed silent, but they did not.

Howzer talked his squad out of shooting Bad Batch and him in like a minute. And his squad were/are also regs. Maybe the chip has the strongest effect only on kill-the-jedi orders, but we can’t know for sure.

We can’t say that all of the GAR is defective, can we? I feel like the chip did it purpose of eliminating the jedi and then its effect started to wear off – the further we are from order 66 in timeline the more we see clones come back to their previous selves or at least try to.

I think Mayday could have talked out his squad out of shooting their Jedi though he definitely had less chances of success cause the order was only issued, not after a period of time like in Howzer’s case.

I hope S3 bring us more answers about chips (and clones of course).

[mishkakagehishka]

i was gonna do this a while back, but then uni absolutely OBLITERATED my ass so i forgor. anyway. zombie voicelines separated into "who hasn't and who has been bitten by that point" and then the "hasn't" separated into who i believe wouldn't survive a zombie apocalypse and who i believe would + some details. with my sources being "me and the fact that i had a TWD phase"

As of the voicelines Bitten (lol losers):

Jun

Mika

Niki

Kaoru

Natsume

Not bitten (and would they survive in my esteemed opinion):

Wataru (I believe he could live solo and survive long enough, but his penchant for drama? The theatrics? He's dying, but he's dying happily and he will be remembered)

Tori (No. I don't believe rich kids are capable of surviving zombie apocalypses)

Yuzuru (He survives just fine tbh, even if he keeps Tori by his side (and he will), he'll manage)

Hokuto (tried to use garlic against zombies. No.)

Subaru (Split, I think he'd get killed by opportunistic humans, though)

Makoto (Mm. Nah. He probably gets bitten)

Mao (Probably dies from an infection he didn't have the tools to treat)

Chiaki (Has the most difficult time, but probably dies because he's just too terrified of going outside, either he gets cornered, killed by bandits, or dies from illness/malnutrition)

Kanata (I believe in him)

Tetora (Has too much "I need to prove myself" energy, not the most survival-esque quality)

Midori (... He lives a good while, but probably gets bitten later down the road)

Shinobu (I believe in him)

Hiiro (There is no doubt in my mind that Hiiro has the skills and intelligence needed to survive a zombie apocalypse. He pulls all his friends along with him and manages to build their own little community. While everyone else is still scavenging from abandoned homes, these bitches have a whole farm on their hands)

Aira (On his own? No. But Hiiro won't let him die)

Mayoi (He would, I know he'd be fine)

Tatsumi (fucked leg, he wouldn't make it far on his own, but, similarly to Aira, Hiiro would drag him along)

Nagisa (Unsure. He strikes me as someone who'd do fine enough, but might get taken advantage of and left for dead)

Hiyori (I don't believe rich kids could survive a zombie apocalypse pt2)

Shu (lol. lmao even)

Hinata (Yeah, I think the twins would actually do just fine on their own...

Yuta ... they'd have eachother's support and work fine as a team, yet they would never betray one another. The fact that they would overly rely on one another might kill them in the end, esp if one ends up dying, but otherwise, they could live to see society be rebuilt)

Rinne (similarly to Hiiro, I wanna say he'd do more than fine given his intellect and skills, HOWEVER. in his line he did make a bet that he could go through a whole horde of them without getting hurt. Risk taker. It could kill an otherwise perfect zombie apocalypse buddy)

HiMERU (He could do fine, but he might stick to being solo. Which means he might also just end up dead because of something as minor as a sprained ankle)

Kohaku (I believe in him)

Rei (Listen. I wanna say Rei could, but. I don't think he would. He'd last a few years, but that's it)

Koga (Nah)

Adonis (I believe in him)

Tomoya (I feel like he'd survive a good few months, probably far longer than expected. Actually, maybe a few years, but if he's in a capable group)

Nazuna (Probably dies of an infection)

Hajime (If anyone has the guts and spunk for it, it'd be Hajime.)

Keito (He might make it a few months, and then dies to an unlucky bite)

Kuro (Absolutely)

Souma (Yeah, honestly, he'd be fine)

Tsukasa (Rich kid etc etc)

Leo (He could, but he gets in way too many close calls)

Izumi (Definitely not)

Ritsu (Nah)

Arashi (I wanna say I believe in her, but :/ maybe if she's in a good group, she won't make it solo, though)

Tsumugi (I give him two weeks, tops)

Sora (I'd say he can do it)

Madara (Yeah, he's pretty Machiavellian, which works in a zombie apocalypse)

I have no idea, brother:

Eichi

Ibara

Mitsuru

[strangedreamings]

E6 still. "He is well." I can't decide if Charlotte is naïve or just optimistic.

Agatha vs Augusta, round number whatever. Just go to Charlotte directly, Agatha. The china they're using is striking. Augusta is desperate for relevancy. Unless she has power over people -- Agatha, George, Charlotte -- then she knows she's got absolutely nothing. No leverage, nothing to continue her power. Being just The King's Mother would be a pretty title but in the end, it's empty without power of her own, and that's what she's afraid of.

Would it be so bad to just make Augusta wait forever?

"I am your queen." FUCKING FINALLY!

"This is on you now." Oh fuck off, Augusta. I mean, yeah, she's right, but doesn't have to be a bitter bitch about it.

"Did you never marry?" Charlotte, the fact that you have to ask this after knowing this man for DECADES says a lot about you, none of it good.

Young Agatha, you are a horrid liar but Charlotte isn't perceptive enough to realize it. Just tell her. You don't need to go through Augusta to get the king to make the earldom inheritable. (I'm still mad about Shonda getting the title wrong, it's an earldom, dammit.) Oh lord, Agatha. You were willing to draw for Charlotte every sexual position you know in graphic detail but you won't tell her exactly how much childbirth hurts? It's amazing their relationship survives that.

Oh lord, we're back to Older Violet and Older Agatha. They're in public, I'm praying they don't cause a scene. God, this subplot is never-ending. Agatha and Adolphus? Is she lying or did that happen off-screen? I'm leaning towards lying. Presumably, both Lord Ledger and Adolphus are dead by this point, so I guess it doesn't really matter who Agatha says she had a relationship with. Oh, I guess she really was with Adolphus.

"out of mourning" Yeah, Shonda greatly reduced the traditional mourning period to move the plot along -- Agatha should have been officially mourning her husband (wearing only black and not socializing) for two years. Honestly, Bridgertonverse is an imitation of Georgian Era life, some parts better than others.

I can understand why they'd want the father to wait outside (childbirth death rates were HIGH and the last thing the doctor needs is a freaked-out husband getting in the way) but he really should be in there with her.

"Do you like being Archbishop of Canterbury? Would you like to remain Archbishop of Canterbury? Do you believe you can remain Archbishop by defying the Head of the Church of England?" Good for George for pulling that rank (he probably doesn't get the chance very often).

This doctor would've let Charlotte and baby Georgie die if everything had been left up to him, fuck him.

Augusta, you're a grandmother now, at least put on a fake smile for the new father and your grandbaby.

[yuseirra]

Mhm, I try hard to sync up with the characters I draw to portray them better, I have to not just think of it in a logical standpoint but actually feel something similar to what they would to do it.

When it comes to a series that has songs, those tend to really help!

I've been staring at Hikaru for three months now (but to be honest, he's just particles. There aren't any whole pieces of the puzzle. I believe I really made do with everything I could piece together and it's been pretty fun, he's.. a character left to the author in the end though I guess.) what I consider to be a piece a bit.. solid and whole enough would be.. the songs, really. He's so confusing.

So in order to make sense of him again and reinterpret him so that i can work with him again, I went back and listened to Fatal again yesterday, right? (I take these very seriously!! I'm a good student!)

I jotted those feelings Fatal left me this time. Feelings are fleeting~ it can become different every time! Let's see if what I make of it might be explored later!! I see people are certain that he's dead, but I actually don't think he is because???? It's just super lazy writing and it's not just unfair to him but to Ai. WHAT ABOUT AI OMG. SHE WANTED TO SAVE HIM. That's why I drew them in the first place??? Because that was brought up as another end goal as a plot point. That's how I see it. He looks very much he'd rot away and die but it's so dumb if he does right now. Then I can officially call this a dumb story because why make Ai say that?? No, so it has to be touched better than Aqua just downright dunking him into the sea when the guy keeps saying "I didn't do anything."<he really DID not acknowledge having done anything yet and Aqua did not bring any clear proof!!! There should have been some if we want to see the man fall to his demise. But we don't SEE ANY even while he's being dragged off by those black thingies, it's puzzling. Just him imagining him smiling together with Ai till the very end while also making one very crazy statement. What should I make of this.

I digressed, Here's my raw feelings I felt upon Fatal this time~~wonder if you could relate with me? :)

***

Wow… but it's really amazing…

If what I'm feeling right now is correct, what Fatal is expressing is such an overwhelming emotion…

It's incredibly sad.

How can someone endure such feelings? Honestly, it's better to just die than live with this. Kamiki should have really died, but for some reason, they couldn't, and they just kept on living, saying, "I can't die yet," while doing something. And that's how they went insane.

This is truly an emotion that one cannot live with. It's so tormenting. But I feel like they've been deliberately carrying this emotion for over ten years because if they let it dull, they believed it'd be the same as letting Ai dull out in his heart.

It's like a part of my body falling off… no, it feels like my very center has completely fallen away, and I can feel that.

How can someone have such a strong heart towards another person? But I think I would feel the same way if a precious person of mine passes…

The song expresses that.

Even if what they've done could be unforgivable, this is such a sorrowful emotion, and if it really is what that character felt... I think it actually is.

Suddenly, it comes rushing up, and it's so painful.

Really… losing someone is such a hard thing. It hurts. And what this song is talking about isn't even real. What will I do later? As I live, this is an emotion I inevitably have to experience, and it's suffocating…

This person really couldn't live at all. They love and miss someone so much. What I think how they'd be and feeling they feel are really worlds apart. And I can't even say I'm totally syncing up to the type of feeling someone in that situation may feel and yet, this is so hurtful. Wow, this is such a massively strong feeling.

Haha, when I listen to the song continuously, it does dull out and I just dance along to the beat, but when I tilt my head and reconsider, I see that it's a song filled with those emotions.

I'm so upset. If they had just been a crazy person from the beginning, I wouldn't feel this way. It's really too much. Why did they have to make it this painful and ruin everything of him…? The emotions are so specific and realistic that from the moment I understand the contours of this, my heart hurts. I realized it as soon as I heard it.

That said, while I write my own story, I often create and roll around with the theme of loss, but I still it's too cruel of the writers here to to drive a character to the point where almost nothing is left of their original form. Can it really be like this in reality? Can someone really break this much on their own? In my understanding, if they were that good a person, they wouldn't have naturally turned into this. So it's so strange… I hope there's a point to this and I see it, I hope my hunches are right regarding this aspect.

The emotions are so strong… haha, My condition wasn't that great today...While listening, I thought, "Oh; this is intense." and had to just lie down. It's really cruel!! The types of things this says about a character.

The song is so powerful and fast and exciting, great to do workout with, but this song is so painful. I guess this isn't the only song that's like this though. there are so many songs like this out there, haha...

But really, I get it. When someone dies, you really do feel like something is severed and falls away. It feels like this song is displaying one aspect of it.

The P3R DLC opening also deals with loss, but that one is much more subdued… calm and empty.

Fatal has very intense emotions, while P3R DLC's opening has a self of helplessness and is suffering differently. It's like watching empty streets with fallen leaves and feeling some grief. If it's disappearing, it gives the impression of wanting to melt away and scatter.

This one feels actively heart-wrenching, like digging into your own insides with your hands and feeling that it's falling away. More actively, "I can't live anymore, it's too much. It's hard. I want to die. I want to see you." That's how it feels.

That alone makes my heart feel bad and hurt. If they've made the character like this, then I hope they shed more light on it. It's so pitiful as it is… he's hurting so much, and no one pays attention to it. Even if he's a villain(is he???) how can someone be this lonely and empty. He needs Ai, just a hug would have helped him. That really could have been all he needed. It's what the song is talking about, just a voice, just her seeing him, just her soothing him with her hand,

losing a person forever can be this hard...oh, this is really heartbreaking. He did not deserve it when that happened. He wasn't like this before she passed... he should not have turned out to be this way but the feelings, are very...hurtful and I can see the loss was enormous. I wonder if it's a good thing to have found someone one could love this much, it USUALLY is, but I feel it's been warped so bad; why did this happen. They do have to show it to us because I'm curious, and I think...he does need to be shown his perspective on things before he goes? I think it's something worth being pointed out since I feel like he isn't your usual senseless madman.

[momentomori24]

Welp, I just finished the second ending where we went through door 3 and everyone got freaking murdered. And Junpei not only had to witness everyone around him dropping like flies and literally have Akane die in his arms, he also was stabbed in the back and left to drown so close to the escape submarine he could've used to leave. Like, I'm pretty sure it was nothing personal... but goddamn.

I'm too shockef to add anything of substance but at least this confirms that there's someone else on the boat with us, I think. Maybe it really is Zero like Clover thought. And MAYBE my little theory about Zero being in the coffin and him escaping was probably-kinda correct.

Speaking of Clover, while I still believe she might do something, this ending probably debunks that she did this. Only probably, though, with how suspicious she was last ending. If there's multiple killers for each ending, I'm like 99% she'll be one of them. There's also June, who appeared to have lived the longest out of the 3 others she was with and was also in a completely different room and Santa, who's death we didn't confirm dead by checking his pulse and has had some foreshadowing that he'd get his hands dirty at some point (although I don't think he would do this plus the same goes for Ace and I doubt he'd do this either).

Regardless, my second question is how the hell the culprit killed everyone so quickly and so quietly. Ace, Santa and Clover were all in one spot. You'd think that they'd be more apart because they'd probably start running if someone was stabbed, right? And Ace is a big guy. Surely he'd take longer to kill, right? And he was at the bottom of the stairs, so he was most probably the first to go. Unless they either killed them all at once (which, what ever became of the gun we found last ending here?) or they used some clockwork strategy, I have no idea how they did this. Same with Seven and Lotus-- how did they die without Junpei hearing or noticing anything? Even a gun would've alerted him immediately, so it couldn't have been used.

Anyway, my brain is mush and my mind blown. Holy cow, this ending was so, so, so much worse than the other one. I think it's going to be someone else entirely --probably Zero--but if anyone in our group will turn out a killer or traitor or go apeshit my bets are still on Clover and June. And no, it's not because of my red haired crazies/first person we meet betrays us trauma. Definitely not.

[cookinguptales]

Wasting time before my flight thinking about Nandor and his wife timeline... Which has confused me for months...

I guess there are a couple questions here, really, and they're all complicated by the fact that Nandor appears to be an unreliable narrator. By this I mean that some of what he said about his wives in early seasons, like them all being female, was retconned -- so it's hard to know which of his statements to take as canon.

Like... we know that he sired a lot of children, and we know that he didn't cheat on his wives. So presumably all children would be either sired with his wives or pre-marriage. Nandor seems older and his children seemed to be of an age where he could try to visit them (only for them to run away from him) so I think we can reasonably assume that he was married to his wives for quite a while.

With all this in mind, let's think about his revived wives. My instinct here is that they were taken before Nandor knocked them up. That or they have the mothering instincts of your average gerbil, because none of them seemed particularly perturbed by the absence of their children. That would also imply that they were taken from a period long before he was turned into a vampire.

I think we can already assume that they didn't know he was a vampire and some of them never had the chance to figure that out (as evidenced by one of his wives asking if he liked to eat lamb, which vampires cannot eat) which already implies that they were taken pre-transformation, but yeah. I think the children thing implies that it was a long time before.

So... when, then? I think the key here is that Nandor said he was married one time to 37 people. He said that he was married to 37 women in that statement, admittedly, so it's difficult to know if what the rest of what he said there is still canon, but... Let's just assume that what he's said is canon until proven otherwise. It's the only way I'll stay sane when contemplating timelines.

I think that the option that makes the most sense is that the Djinn took them from right around the time the painting was made. That would be why they all look pretty much how they looked in that painting, why they're all there together, etc. And, if that painting was made shortly after the wedding, it would explain why they don't seem to have children (yet) and why many of them don't seem to know Nandor all that well.

That could also tie into my next thing, though -- Nandor's absences. When Zahra was talking about how he'd been gone for months, my first instinct was to think that she was talking about how he'd become a vampire and disappeared. But that flies directly in the face of his own recounting, which was that they'd left him because they were scared of him. And while most of what he said is unreliable (and honestly, his POV is always a little unreliable) that seemed to be uh. Kind of a key trauma moment for him. So I'm inclined to believe that it's true.

I think that Zahra was probably just referring to him being away on campaign for a lot longer than he promised, which might be why he seems to know them all so poorly. It kind of feels like he was never home. He just had sex and left. lmao.

But... then we have Marwa's parents... which really throw a wrench in things... What Marwa's mother said at the wedding has me so perplexed. She seemed to know how Marwa's life was going to end. When exactly was this woman taken from in her own life? A drastically different time than the wives were...?

None of the other revived characters seemed to have memories past where they were taken from so... what? Did Marwa's parents learn her eventual fate from Nandor after they were revived? This feels unlikely considering he couldn't even remember his wives individually. I doubt he'd remember (if he even knew to start with) what happened to Marwa after his transformation.

Did Marwa die really young? Like before the point where her parents were taken from but not too long after when she was taken from? That's... really fucking tragic, if it's the case. Especially because that means that her parents got to reconnect with their dead daughter for like a day and a half. It might explain why her mother was so overprotective, though.

Or maybe it was just an assumption? Like her parents are undeaded, they find out he's this undying vampire and that she did die, and they just assume that she's going to be forever alone though none of them can really verify that...? This feels like the best outcome to me, because it means that she could be wrong and the original Marwa might've had a long, full life of academia and remarriage after her dumbass husband went MIA.

The only other option I can think of is that they found some historical record of Marwa's life and found out that way, which feels... Less likely to me? There could be a record (though probably not a detailed one) if she really made all those scientific advancements, but idk who would have been around to help them figure all that out. It's not an easy thing to research even if you know how, and the only two members of the household who know how to use Google (Guillermo and Colin Robinson) were otherwise occupied.

(Does Marwa know how to use Google?? Has she been on the internet up in the attic??? Did she learn her own fate??? Has she been mainlining coursera???)

Anyway, if Marwa's mother is right about how her daughter's original life went, that again seems to fly in the face of what Nandor said about his time post-transformation. Again, she said that Nandor abandoned Marwa rather than the other way around. Which would be a weird way to talk about him being transformed into a monster whom she fled.

Like there seems to be a s4 reading here that the wives and their families just see Nandor as having abandoned them post-transformation, but that seems to contradict fairly important canon so like. *squints lmao*

I suppose there's always the option that many of his wives were also turned into vampires after they fled from him. Al Qolnidar is apparently rotten with them now. I'm really... not sure how that would work with the undead/re-dead/re-alive situation, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. They'd technically be dead as vampires, and we know that souls can be split that way between ghost and vampire. The Djinn might've brought back the ghost-spirit and left the vampire version where it was. Some of them still might be living peaceably in Al Qolnidar, for all we know, though it seems like Nandor should have mentioned that when talking about his trip there.

(And like... we're sure that the Djinn brought 37 people back, right...? Nandor specified that he wanted his dead wives to be revived, but if one or more are still alive... idk man.)

*rubs temples* Okay.

My gut feeling here is this. Nandor was turned into a vampire after being married to his wives for ten or twenty years. He had children of various ages by this point. His wives and children fled from him when he was turned. They all then had varied lives without him. Some may or may not have become vampires eventually. Hundreds of years later, the Djinn brought back the versions of them that existed around when the painting that he was shown was made. (This brings up a lot of questions about the nature of what he brought back, but that's another post.) They do not know that Nandor is a vampire, though some figure it out. Nandor chooses Marwa. He brings back her parents, who assume, based on what they are learning now, that he abandoned their daughter to die alone, but who knows if that's true. Eventually, Marwa's parents are redeaded and Marwa... fuck if I know what Marwa is now. :')

But... well, that's my best guess. There's also a possibility that everything Nandor said about them in s1 was retconned, including them all being female and potentially the group wedding and their mass exodus, and after being turned, he just... left. And they never realized he was a vampire. I think the only way to reconcile that with what he said before is him just... totally rewriting history in his head so he's less of a deadbeat. Which is possible, but feels unlikely. He seems fairly fucked up by his family leaving him, which would be kind of weird if he manufactured those memories. But I guess not outside the realm of possibility.

In conclusion... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[astral-from-afar]

Please confirm my memory of the culling arc in JJK because I don't have time to reread it but I wanna test my knowledge lol

gimme an accuracy score out of 100 after reading my shitty summary lol

Okay so before it starts first Yuji and the others meet Tengen to dicuss a game plan and I believe Yuki + Choso stayed behind with Tengen while Yuji, Yuta, and Megumi would go to the underground fighting place to gather players? And Maki would go to get weapons where she would eventually do that massacre.

Anywho after that Megumi and Yuji and Panda fight Kirara and get her and Hakari on their side to play the culling game. Okay so I think there were two colonies??? Shibuya and Sendai I think. In the Sendai one i think Kenjaku led non-sorcerers out of the colony through their dreams or something.

Okay and then I believe Yuji and Megumi split up. Yuji first dealt with the helicopter-hair people and met up with a middle school classmate or something where he would get led to Higuruma, the "Im gonna expose ur crimes" guy.

While that goes on Megumi fights the girl with a stabby hair and a rich guy i forgot. Im pretty sure i have my chronological events wrong but whatever.

Uhh i think after that one of them racked up their points and made a new rule in the game? Idk.

Yuta dealt with like a huge cockroach and a partially invisible lady and another guy i forgot i think?? After that megumi (or yuji i forgot which) fought the receipt dude and yuji gained a new weird ally while fighting against someone.

I believe after that was the Kashimo (was that his name; the lightnjng dude?) vs Hakari

Hakari won and got Kashimo on his side as part of a deal to let him fight sukuna.

i couldve sworn rules were added but idk

OH and there was a mangaka guy that hakari fought before kashimo

And thats up to volume 21 i think

anyways whats my score^^

I've been re-reading the manga (bc brainrot) so I can gladly try explaining it paragraph by paragraph and giving a final grade.

Paragraph 1: Yeah you pretty much got that all. Choso and Yuki stayed with big toe Tengen, Maki left for weapons and came back with the blood of her entire clan and Yuuji, Megumi and Yuta all went to be game participants but Yuuta left on his own.

Paragraph 2: Yep, Megumi and Yuuji both went to the fight club in order to get help from the third-years, Kirara and Hakari. Megumi's original plan was that Yuuji would start winning fights and grab the attention of Hakari so he can meet with him to discuss what's going on outside (y'know with the whole Gojo in a box thing). But Yuuji has to fight Panda who was already part of the fight club. Panda lets Yuuji win and Yuuji gets sent to Hakari, but Kirara smells something fishy and finds Megumi and Panda. They both have to fight and convince Kirara that they aren't opps from the higher ups at Juju Tech. Meanwhile, Hakari and Yuuji chat but Yuuji is obviously saying the script that Megumi taught him.

Hakari has the whole 'fever' thing so he senses that Yuuji isn't actually passionate and is just 'a cog in the system'. This brings them to the fight outside where Kirara has been convinced by Megumi and Panda but Hakari refuses to work with soulless ppl. This leads Yuuji to ask Hakari to hit him. So he does but chad Itadori takes them. Hakari senses a little fire in Yuuji so he agrees to join the party. Also he thinks Megumi is a good asset as Megumi was technically the heir of the zenin clan so Hakari thinks that it would be good for his fight club. Little does he know that Maki had exterminated her clan the day before. I'd give this paragraph 75%.

Oh yeah, Kenjaku was taking people out of the Sendai colony in their dreams. He also thanks one of Yuuji''s old friends and paranormal club member for looking after him. This was because the big sorcerers were there and Sendai technically has the biggest body count so you'd probably have to evacuate most people since they'd die and be rendered useless to Kenjaku's plan. In summary, there are 10 colonies and we've seen 3: Tokyo colony no.1, Tokyo colony no.2 and Sendai.

The plan the group made was: Yuuji and Megumi go and hunt for Higuruma the lawyer guy since he had over 100 points. Hakari and would go to find Kashimo (the lightning guy) since he was the one who racked up those points and already made a new rule ,to see every players profile with the amount of points they have. And Panda was to find Angel and negotiate with her.What the 4 need to do is to convince these players to help add more rules so they can fight back against Kenjaku. And I guess Kirara stays behind which is sad since I liked her technique.

Paragraph 3 + 4: Although Megumi and Yuuji both left the colony together, they were sent to different areas of Tokyo colony no.1 by Kogane. I assume this is because it'd be pretty useless if everyone went to just one colony and started killing each other, making the cursed energy only useful in one colony rather than equally between the ten so they just randomise where you end up. Yuuji has to deal with the spawn camping helicopter duo and pretty much defeats them. There he meets an old classmate who knew of Yuuji since Yuuji saved him once and agrees to take him to Higuruma. Megumi also lands in Tokyo colony no.1 but saves the spiky hair girl who wants him to be her knight in shining armour. She also agrees to take Megumi to Higuruma. But here's the thing, both of them say different locations which means one of them are lying.

Turns out Yuuji finds Higuruma bathing with his clothes on whilst Megumi met the rich guy (reggie star) and has to fight him. The fight with Yuuji goes first and we see more backstory on Higuruma (personally one of my favourite arcs) and Yuuji manages to convince him to use his points to add a new rule, to be able to transfer points among players. You were semi-right by saying Yuuji tries to get Higuruma to be an ally but he refuses saying that he'd feel even more guilty .Megumi has to fight a boat load of people but gains an ally, Takaba the comedian (you might have seen panels of his sheer dumbasssery). They win and Megumi who is on the brink of exhaustion, collapses in alleyway and is saved by Angel.

Paragraph 6: You're right that it is Yuta's arc and he is in Sendai colony (remember when I said it's the most bloodiest colony). Some background would be that there are 3 old-time sorcerers who have been reincarnated + a cockroach cursed spirit that could have been caught by either Suguru Geto or Kenjaku and are now in a stalemate for power. This has mostly been respected until Yuta comes in and kills one of the members (his name is Druv). This immediately makes them all shift their focus on Yuta as he tries to help evacuate more non-sorcerer people to safety. Unfortunately for him, since there were so many people it attracted the cockroach guy and they have to duke it out. He then kisses the cockroach and sends positive cursed energy at his head, therefore killing him.

He then starts fighting with Uro (the semi-invisible lady) but then Ishigoori (cannon hair guy) drops in to make this a three-way duel. Whilst the player cockroach is dead, the cursed spirit isn't so it kind of breaks the whole domain expansion thing the three were doing. This led Uro to shift her focus to the cockroach which Yuta took advantage of and got her from behind, but Ishigoori was the one to do the final hit on her with his granite blast. Now it is a 1 v 1 with Yuta and Ishigoori. Yuta wins this by recovering his technique, and using Uro's technique to shift Ishigoori's attack to the sky which goes back down to hit him directly. Uro and Ishigoori aren't dead but have to give all their points to Yuta, this is mostly thanks to Yuuji's new rule that transfers points among players. After that event Yuta has 200 points. This is in my top 3 personal favourite arcs which is the only reason I can remember most of it.

Paragraph 7: I'm gonna skim over this because I cannot FOR THE LIFE OF ME explain the Kashimo vs Hakari fight. So in basic Astra terms, Hakari first meets manga guy Charles Bernard where they go on a ferris wheel trip and Charles asks Hakari to make him hate him like a battle shonen, so Charles can have a reason to fight. They fight it out and Hakari wins by the power of his technique that I can't understand. We then shift to Panda where he's trying to find Angel but accidentally gets found by Kashimo. They duke it out but Kashimo wins but Panda is still alive. Cue Hakari dropping in and starting the fight epic fight between the two. Hakari wins the fight and agrees to to let Kashimo fight Sukuna which I am excited to see. The two come back to Charles and is met by Momo who tells them that they don't need to do rule #3 yet since Mei Mei's little brother can talk through colonies and Maki can enter and leave at will due to her 0 cursed energy. This leads to the next colony: Sakurajima.

And that's basically it for vol.19 to vol.21 of jjk. I think the culling game arc is way better reading all at once rather thank weekly because you get caught up in the smaller details and forget to look at the big picture. I'd say you have pretty good knowledge on vol.19 except Megumi's fight with Reggie which does have some importance later on in the story. You have decent knowledge on the Sendai colony arc but I think you'd need to look at vol.21 itself. I know there are videos that explain the colony battles I'd recommend Diavalo's ones on youtube which are about 1h long but are easy to listen to.

Overall score: 70/100 or B+

Good job Ren :)

[flames-memory]

**__Thursday__**

BC asked Rita to see about removing the pictures from the BLP servers. It's good news, even if it means Rita and Jay are now aware of them. Hopefully, this little problem is almost.. gone.

I went with BC to her apartment. I tried to show her just how much she means to me, that there are some things I love enough to put my mouth on.. heh. She showed me something I had never done.. and made me feel like I had never felt.. again.

*sigh*

I'm writing this after.. all the next part. *sobs*

I fell asleep, and she left me a delicious noodle dish to wake up to.. It was delicious.

**__Friday__**

When I got up later, I dressed up for the Godzilla party, in a white and red dress, because BC thought I'd look pretty in one. I met up with her and Eliza at a coffee shop. It was sweet and nice and we chatted, and Eliza told me about her notebook, with good and bad points in it. She's adorable.

We left the coffee shop in good spirits, and headed to the Kyabakura club. Max got there a little after us, and it was the nicest night.

I cuddled with Max, and BC, ate sushi and pancakes and pineapple, and found out a little more about Max. I should give him more of my attention, he's worth it. He's a lot more like me than I think.. I think. heh.

and then.. Flannery showed up.

That meant some drama, the club threatening to toss her out and BC getting very upset. I gather there was someone named Ana, who must have signed a contract with Flannery, and Flannery did something Kass-like to her. I assume. I haven't been given any details beyond "avoid Flannery, she's a predator", really.

Then BC got a text and went out to smoke. Things get a little confusing here..

We were heading to Billy's after. I stepped out of the portal into Pocket D.

BC was lying on the floor facedown, in a pool of blood. Nothing ever hurt so bad in my life. Not the blow torch. Not the tattoo. Nothing. I remember looking for a moment for Max, but he wasn't there.. he had already gone to Billy's, not seeing BC there.

Everything went grey and cold and I felt dizzy and strange, but I got close enough to know.. she wasn't dead.. but she was hurt.

They said she hurt herself. I tried to summon my healing, my pain control, but any control was shattered. How could I be saved and brought to life, only to die only a week later?

**I'd said it myself.

If tomorrow never came, my week was a worthy life.

Fuck.**

Now.. I don't even remember who those people were. I have a card. Mookie? Muckie? FFS.

We managed to get her healed, physically. I collapsed at one point, just fully fucking overcome after all this.. but finally, I was able to take some of her pain, and they got her fixed... sort of.I went to check on Max and the guys.. they'd been shoved out in place of medical people, the right choice of course.

BC was talking to Eliza, who was saying she was going to go.. so I took a moment to fo talk to Max. I told BC not to leave me..

*pfft*

She didn't leave. She's still there, with those people.

When I got pulled back.. something had been decided, I don't know who by. They said they could fix her, help her.. whatever....

I went and found her mask, and brought it back to her. I'm not sure if I brought herself back to her, or if the mask is part of the broken part of her, and I'm only making it worse.. fuck. She seemed.. maybe ok.

I know I love her.

I know I want to see her happy.

I assumed that it would be Eliza she would want there first. Eliza knew what to say. She knew what to do. They have memories and history and I don't know if I understand exactly what I am to her.. and I may have let her down, because I didn't believe it.

Eliza left BC there. Left with Rachel. I don't know what that means. That she trusts them to fix BC? That she couldn't do anything, so she left? Honestly.. no matter what she says, I believe BC loves me, but I think I saw myself as something lesser.. a glorified side piece, and I'm terrified that my lack of.. is it self esteem? What if I messed up because I thought she'd rather have Eliza, and she ended up with no one.

I guess I wouldn't blame her for wanting to see me again.

I didn't want to leave, but scary sunglasses kinda didn't imply I had an option. Or maybe I was upset, and I decided that was what they wanted. Maybe BC doesn't want me there.

I don't want her to look at the pictures, maybe she doesn't want me to see this.

Now I gotta sit here alone, while BC is alone? Getting Uber-Analyed by a Super Shrink? I don't even KNOW. How am I supposed to be ok with any of this? How am I supposed to know what to do here? I know what I want.. but I can't have it.

They had her bat, and the music box was still there. I reminded BC that if she had it, I was with her. I hope it was enough...

Oh. The Text.

Allurra texted BC that Raz is a predator that harmed 4 women. and her? including her?WTF,

First Nat gets "abducted" and Alurra is all "Oh, no, what happened, lemme text people!" and then Flannery is all "WTF, Allurra TOLD me to take Nat," and now this.

Are they spinning BC up? Trying to break her? Are they really all predators? I mean.. probably, but still. I don't know these people well enough, despite having been in the wings this whole time. Raz snubbed me early on, so I never really paid much attention to him. He did once randomly give me a speech once about NOT being a predator, but I guess that's Sign Number One OF a predator, cuz I've only gotten them from people who turned out to be creepy.

So what the fuck now.I joined Max, and we are Climate Control. I don't trust anyone else anymore.

Those people didn't talk to me beyond what was needed to help BC, really. They did give me access to go back, though. So.. we will see. I trust her.. I trust BC. Whatever is happening to her, this is about her, not me. I just want her to be ok.. so badly.

Don't make me leave Max alone. He might not be madly, to-the-death in love with me, but I know he would be sad. Maybe I'm being dramatic, and I HATE that I know exactly what I'm saying, and how shitty it is. I don't even know if I mean it. I think I do.

I can live with knowing I might not get to be with BC forever. I just never expected it could end so soon. I don't want it to be over yet. It's not fair.

Max isn't a consolation prize. He is my rock, as stupid as that sounds.