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purplecritter · 26 days ago

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Dragon Age: Vows and Vengeance (Ep. 7)

Official episode transcript here

My notes while I was listening under the cut… Spoilers ahead!

I am always so uncomfortable with these types of “surgery” scenes. Could never be a combat medic

So they plan to pack the wound with a “poultice of mud, moss, and herbs”... DAO Warden drinking health poultices is cringing right now :’)

The dramatic thunders are paid actors

Ngl “Blood of the Black Rot” sounds like Blight. Taint if you will. Plus there’s no cure, and darkspawn blood isn’t like oil but it does look quite viscous idk

Okay merchant Ramiro (adds to the notebook of “characters to look out for in Veilguard)

Aww I like Lillemar

I did not anticipate Emmrich having company other than Manfred so this Rolet is a surprise idk why

Okay Emmrich is OPTIMISTIC we love a man that trusts in nature (Nature will absolutely destroy those horses sorry dude)

Mkayyy so a fortnight = two weeks, to get from Antiva past the whole Free Marcher to (near) Hunter Fell (between Nevarra, Tevinter and Orlais basically). Good to know!

The way Emmrich talks is satisfying? Does that make sense? Pleasant voice!

Oooh I wonder if Manfred is a literal spirit of Curiosity or if that was more of a figure of speech. [Spoilers for Tevinter Nights] In “Down Among the Dead Men” Audric is a spirit of curiosity but I don’t recall any other case where we closely interacted with one of this kind, it’d be neat if Manfred was one even silent as he is!

Earthquake mention 🎉

Emmrich what do you mean “by jove”?! Who is Jove here💀

“I don't mean to sound dire, but best you search your heart for something to believe in” okay foreshadowing I see you

Manfred disliking being given nicknames was not on my bingo card but I like it. Number 1 nemesis of Varric’s as soon as they meet

I don’t know why Rolet was with Emmrich and at this point I’m too late to ask

“Things have gotten strange in the lower crypts ever since the incident in the Silent Plains [...] There was quite an explosion in a cave a few weeks back. Its effects have reverberated throughout the area, compromising bits of the Veil” 👀

why do the lineages always have to be patriarchal

Yeah not there’s no way this “Pascal De La Forsa” guy isn’t a vampire or something. His vibes are rancid, as they say

“Almost sounds like the Fade out there, no?” better hope Nadia can learn the Warden’s way of closing Fade rifts by waving their weapon around because I have a feeling it’s not going to stay “almost” for much longer

“Oh no, personally, no. Just the tales I've heard. I imagine it's similar. I'm really just thinking out loud.” this was Solas every time you asked him about things he shouldn’t have known lmao

OOf the sister is even less subtle about not being human

“Perhaps a little spirit is just what you need” uh huh I see what you did there

“Spirit fire of midnight suns, through my spire of ill and ire, the wretched blood he blessed, not mired” ← Emmric’s incantation to heal Drayden

“Cetus bile” blegh. Anyways Cetus is (drum roll please) a sea dragon! Wonder if they’ll get a spotlight in Veilguard 👀

Demon to Nadia: “Now I see why he wants you” cool cocol cool so either Elio got a reputation since getting possessed or he’s not talking about Elio here?

^ Maeror apparently.

“O-NAY, AH-TAY. O-NAY, AH-TAY. SCAH-TOE, TOW-BRAY” ← chanted by demon to open Fade rift

NAAAH THE RING WAS WITH THE TEMPLAR DEMON!! Nadiaaa get awayyy

Yeah much as I hoped in the first couple episodes that Elio could be saved. I don’t think that’s likely at all anymore lol

#dragon age #dragon age vows and vengeance #da:v&v #vows and vengeance #vows and vengeance: the demon that came knocking #dragon age spoilers #nadia carcosa #drayden kiel #emmrich volkarin #manfred #manfred dragon age #rolet dragon age #pascal de la forsa #spinella de la forsa #elio andante

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scenetocause · 1 year ago

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Twenty Questions for Fic Writers 💫

i got tagged by @verycoolwearsleather and now i have to pretend i have a writing process haha

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

it says 52 but there's actually a lot more due to orphaning/anon-ing things.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

345,519 but again i'm not sure how much tha's counting

3. What fandoms do you write for?

gross f1 twinks

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

just telling it like it is (lando/maxv)

pretty sure this is just cus it's the oldest fic i have since the account reboot because it absolutely does not merit being anywhere near the top 10 lol it's just a 5+1 about other mando being obvious (it's anon'd cus i got bored of a load of my fics and didn't want them as part of the emptyhalf canon anymore)

every colour illuminates (george/lando)

for something i started writing offhand cus some of my friends were saying there should be more trans men in f1 fic, this one sure grew legs. i'm still insanely moved by the comments it gets and the way it seemed to resonate with people. i'm not sure i can really convey how dumb i actually am in a way that'd make people believe me but i really did just write this on vibes and it's one of the things i can say i'm genuinely glad i did. idk, it's just queer porn really but maybe we need more of that.

(i) just wanna get a little bit closer (mando)

you know i don't even think this is close to my best mando fic (personal choice is no plans of staying on) so there's no accounting for taste and you absolutely should practice death of the author or whatever. anyway, it's mando cohabitation era boundary breakdown stuff where they fuck and then go on a date about it.

shoreline i see when i'm off course (loscar, mando)

people rly are thirsty for a/b/o huh. how'd this little fic get into the top five so quickly?

the usual, upside down (alex/george/lando)

literally THEE most head empty omegaverse threesome fic in history y'all are horny as fuck. it literally only got written bc george did some dumb insta post where he called lando and alex his mates and also then was walking around looking horny af in the black fireproofs and mask when he stood in for lewis. there is NO nutritional content here even by the fast food standards of emptyhalf fic.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i uh. i should. i would like to but my brain is quite severely broken. i do read them all and i bookmark a lot in open tabs to come back to and reply to because they mean a lot but then i have 6000 tabs open and no executive function.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

we don't do that here. i guess maybe if you dig into the far distant past then it was probably i'm not just a fuck up, i'm the fuck up you love which is 18k words of jev not really getting over daniel that ends on a sort of optimistically blasted-open note.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

most of them are happy but probably actually pick me up, no headlights where george and max end up with their weird little family worked out and the kids are doing well, y'know

8. Do you get hate on fics?

no i don't think enough people read them to beef me lol

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

hahahaha oh yea. i like to think i write something along the lines of realistic queer sex, with the way that means it's mostly kind of funny and sometimes awakward and isn't elegant or arch or even particularly romantic except that you're getting to do it with the person you do it with. writing lando and oscar being straight with each other, even if it's in a cringe fail way, made me realise i really do not write straight people and i feel a bit like one of those painfully hetero actors who does a gay kissing scene and talks about how they had to get themselves in the mindset by watching the l word or whatever haha. what do straight people do? who are they?

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i was gonna say no but then i remembered i wrote logan and oscar going ghosthunting and being kinda pass-agg horny about it because. idk? logan gave me ryan bergara vibes.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

i think someone reposted some of mine awhile ago and it got dealt with before i really knew anything about it idk

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i don't know tbh. someone made a podfic of one of my fics a way back.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yeah i used to do that quite a lot but now. i am a lone wolf. (too perverse for other people's minds)

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

jenson/lewis but society has never been ready for this

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i don't. i don't wanna let doubt enter into it but my daniel goes to fe fic is up against a number of the dark souls boss level demons in my own brain 😔

16. What are your writing strengths?

uh. i uh. i can write on my phone? i have a relaxed attitude to whether what i write is any good at all? i don't actually think i really have any.

people quite often say i have a lot of emotional intelligence in my fics which is very funny to me because i am a deeply unemotionally intelligent person so idk how that's happened really.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

look we could be here all day.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i guess it has never bothered me so long as the reader could be reasonably expected to work out the meaning from the context.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

cardcaptor sakura (i was 14)

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

hmmm. in terms of thinking it's like, good or whatever it's probably don't say no or you'll have to go, the fucked up valtteri/george mutual seat envy/horror of being compared to lewis hamilton thing. or really, it's an old spy au fic called ten seconds before sunrise that i deleted ages ago so: sorry about that.

but favourite is probably some dumb mando shit or i have extreme recency bias so maybe logan and oscar go ghosthunting or whatever. oh wait, no, it's genders maxy the how-to-find-your-identity-post-racing-in-your-pussy treatise that was born of crack but ended up. no, it's still crack. anyway, classic emptyhalf shit tbh.

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lannisterdaddyissues · 1 year ago

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jdslkfjsadl someone came into my inbox just to complain about ilsa dying and i'm like idk how to tell you just you can be sad about a character dying without it being Problematic Fridging. she was literally the Plot of RN, she was a major force in FO, so idk she doesn't strike me as "woman who only exists to die to motivate a man" EEEEEEEH yells into hands

answering under the cut!! @ my tc mutuals who didn't like the movie, please don't read, you won't agree with this LOL

OMG SORRY I NEVER ANSWERED THIS I FORGOT IT WAS IN MY INBOX but yeah i also don't feel like ilsa's death was fridging i mean?? she was the main focus of the last two movies, we KNOW how important she was. fridging is a term i generally only apply to women who have no narrative importance and are easily replaceable, and we know ilsa wasn't one of those characters. also her death scene was very meaningful and i thought the way she died was so on-brand for what kind of a person she was- she didn't die to give ethan more brunette woman-related trauma, she was dying for a cause she believed in!

and for another thing i feel like a lot of people who are angry about ilsa dying are just being critical because it's not a standalone film. if ilsa had died halfway through fallout i don't think there would be any criticism about it because they'd be watching the whole movie at once and we'd know she's fine by the end of it, but because it's only part one people are being super impatient :/ like mcq is always saying to just wait and see whenever we ask him questions about his films and i think we really do need to just wait and see! maybe it'll turn out she's fine! we should be optimistic about what's still coming instead of dropping the entire franchise over what's only half a movie

and that's not even to bring up how delusional i am about ilsa still being alive, i've read some very well thought-out posts about it but this isn't the place to talk about it

#ask #reply #callmearcturus #mutual #mi7 spoilers #m:i spoilers #mi7

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starmaniamania · 2 years ago

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Is Starmania hopeless?

I was thinking today about what the overall message of Starmania is. Obviously it's pretty dark and pessimistic overall (the far-right back in power, urban disenfranchisement pushing people to violence, lack of meaning in workers' lives, the excesses of stardom leading to suicide, etc.) and when I saw the 2022 production (my first) it left me stunned with the angst of it all, considering all I knew about it where a few tunes, some of which seemed fairly upbeat.

Everyone makes a big deal of how dark it is, and how logical it is to have asked Thomas Jolly because he's a tragedian at heart.

But since then I've learnt about the previous, slightly different versions of the story and I have come to realize that -- I think -- the 2022 production might actually be the most optimistic.

[Cut for length & spoilers]

Obviously, overall the main themes of the story are the same. However, there are a few elements that I think make 2022 a more hopeful one:

Johnny and Cristal's love story is obviously real. There is very little ambiguity as to whether she was ever kept against her will; in fact Johnny seems pretty protective of her right from the start of "Banlieue Nord" and their relationship develops extremely quickly and consensually within the space of one song. (As opposed to the 93 version where as far as I can tell they go from "Cristal tied spread-eagled up in the air with a gimp mask on" to "fucking" in about 20 seconds.)

Ziggy & Marie-Jeanne: one of the things that struck me about the original (78) as I could piece it from the live album is that Ziggy turns out to be a real asshole. As Marie-Jeanne sings it: "the last time I saw him, I said hi to him on the street and he didn't even acknowledge me." In 1988 they soften the blow of his leaving MJ with the "Duo d'adieu" ("nos planètes se séparent") which serves as a kind of acknowledgement/apology, which is already much better. In 2022 they take it one step further: Ziggy secretely overhears MJ sing about her unrequited love for him. Idk if this is the first production which makes it explicit, but I feel like it makes his motivation for leaving much less shitty -- you could argue that he takes his distance from her for her sake, and that the "à quoi ça sert de vivre si on vit sans amour" which I think is sung by both of them has the double meaning of MJ's "you're my only friend/I love you and now you're leaving me" and Ziggy's "I could never love you the way you want me to and I need to help you move on."

The ending!! I haven't seen every production (still haven't seen the 93 one completely and I don't know the Quebec ones at all) but -- and correct my if I'm wrong:

1979: Cristal is pushed off the Naziland tower sometime before Janvier's victory. Janvier is elected, then Johnny tries & fails to take him down, is killed in a firefight and his soul rises up like Jesus lol (which I guess is the "optimistic" bit?) Meanwhile on Earth, JANVIER WINS.

1988: Cristal is shot (?) by Janvier's goons and dies alone. Johnny is captured and basically thrown to the ground in front of her body. Janvier is elected, Johnny is imprisoned. JANVIER CLEARLY WINS.

1993: Cristal is shot by the police (?), Johnny sings "SOS d'un terrien en détresse over her body as the bombs in the background seem stuck on 00:02 and then... nothing.... happens? The end? JANVIER WINS I guess?

2022: Janvier is elected, Stella sings about "the moral of the story" & throws herself off the tower in disgust at having enabled Janvier. As Johnny & Cristal are sneaking around the towers with a bomb, Sadia shoots Cristal, who dies in Johnny's arms. He sings the SOS over her body -- knowingly -- until the bomb detonates, taking the whole tower down. MJ sings "Stone" from within the cloud of smoke and is finally engulfed by it -- disappearing either literally (dying with the rest) or metaphorically (leaving her life behind) depending on how you want to look at it. JANVIER IS DEAD!!

So, you see, sure in that last version ~~everyone is dead so it's not like we're throwing a victory party, but at the very least Janvier is ALSO dead! Johnny & Cristal did reach their goal, which was to take down the Nazi President even if it meant going down with him (cf "Quand on a plus rien à perdre"), so their lives/deaths are not in vain, and there is at least the hope that when the smoke dissipates there's a slightly different, better world awaiting the survivors -- even if none of them are our core cast of characters. Everyone died, but the more I think about it, the less depressed I am about it, and the more I feel like it's actually got the most hopeful message of the lot (if you exclude the kooky 70s 'life is but a dream and aliens are real' fever dream :p)

#starmania canon #starmania 2022 #starmania 1979 #meta #spoilers #thomas jolly #starmania 1988 #starmania 1993

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psychewritesbs · 2 years ago

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even though I do not mind the weekly or bi weekly chapter releases and enjoy them, I kind of wish I would wake up one day and the final chapter of jjk would be here lol

I mean this as like the time left with the series is fast forwarded. I don't like rushing in any context, but I feel like I want to know the ending before I fall out of love with the series. I've enjoyed what gege has given in the story so far, but there is plenty of choices I would say I do not agree with imo. He seems like he has a vision of how things need to go, but getting there seems to have some issues. I also kind of hate it when authors say they want to end the story especially when it feels like it will be rushed, and is JJK's case it's sometimes hard to enjoy the story after its been said bc I'm just wondering if we're spending too much time on one thing before we need to move to the next point, but I'll still try to see the story's good and the bad and enjoy what I can. I'm going to reread the culling game arc soon, but I feel like those first fights were about gaining allies, but I can say I wasn't expecting it to go like that if that was the intention. I don't mind kenjaku having secret plans bc it's obvious when it comes to them, but I feel as though that plan overshadowed the point of the cg?? I thought there would be more focus of to kill or not, etc and I see that the most for megumi and yuji (they had my fav colony battles), and I get it somewhat with yuta, but I dont see it too importantly with hakari or maki. I'm going to reread the arc regardless because I can always be confused or a bit slower in catching on so forgive me if my insight is lackluster. I liked the running themes during yuki vs kenjaku, but her "death" felt very unnecessary because she seemed really important in achieving a curse free world and idk about you but that seems like an important goal imo and yeah someone else could lead that charge but what was wrong with yuki doing that? I don't know, but I can only hope the remaining part of the story alongside its ending is something not only we can gain some satisfaction with, but the author too can look back and say, "hey it was pretty good at least"

Gege doesn't seem to drop the ball too much with Yuji or at least megumi too, and I'm not too worried since they're my characters of interest currently, but I want to reread this story and actually believe it when I say I thought all the cast was good and I believe the writing can be better or can get worse (idk) but time will tell it all. I'm a recurring anon, so I'm sorry if the apologies are constant and sound like emails at the end 😅

Dear Recurring Anon,

HOLA! Thanks for being my recurring anon and reaching out again!

Ok but listen... I’ve been sitting on your ask for a while thinking of what I wanted to say and how to say it. I’ve probably started 3 different drafts for my response. So thanks for your patience!

Truth of the matter is that when I read your words, what it comes down to is that, even though you don’t like the recent direction the manga has taken, Jujutsu Kaisen still holds an important place in your heart.

So I think the most important question to keep in mind is that, in a story like JJK where the strongest sorcerers have the most overwhelming sense of self... where does your sense of self stand in all of this?

What do you want to take with you from JJK?

The stuff you didn’t like because it didn’t live up to your expectations?

Or the stuff you loved even though JJK was incredibly flawed?

Of course there’s more word vomit under the cut lol... you know how I roll.

I’ll start by asking you to forgive me if I’m wrong and you just really needed a container where your thoughts on the current state of JJK would be honored and acknowledged. The truth is that I totally get where you’re coming from.

I do.

I hear you.

It’s just that it’s in my perhaps annoying nature to be stupidly optimistic even when I am being a realist. There’s always a silver lining to everything if you are willing to make the effort to find it.

So, yes, I agree, and I’m also going to challenge you to find a way to continue loving JJK if that’s what you want for yourself.

That said... lets get on with the bitching lol.

Problems with JJK, problems everywhere!

Your concern regarding the pacing in the story is something that I share with you. Most especially the concern that, moving forward, Gege is going to cut corners. I’d also say that at this point this “concern” is factually canon lol.

I also agree so much with the sentiment of “is he taking too much time on this when he should be addressing this other plot point?” And I think nothing captures that dilemma quite like the Culling Game arc does--ESPECIALLY with the way he handled the chosoyuki ordeal.

Like we got pages upon pages of all of these characters and exposition and dialogue and like... wait, what was the point of the Culling Game again?

Why has no one died yet?!

Why is Yuta kissing a cockroach and why are Kashi-chan and Kin-chan trying to see who has the biggest ego (pun intended)?

Like I swear for weeks I've been like “ok it’s going down!!!! yeah here comes the angst and the deaths aaaaaaand ok never mind then.... maybe next chapter? ok.... next chapter? ok next chapter for sure. no? next chapter?”

FOR WEEKS! It’s all recorded in my chapter liveblogs lol.

Truth is, to me, the Culling Game is a weird arc because I am still trying to understand its significance within the larger Jujutsu scheme of things.

Perhaps he bit more than he could chew with the Culling Game? And as a writer myself I find this kind of relatable. I’m actually seeing what is happening with JJK and taking note of how having too many themes and plot lines can ultimately be detrimental to a story if you can’t, or are unable to execute them all to a satisfying conclusion.

So to your point about re-reading the Culling Game arc... let’s hope that Gege manages to bring it all full circle. But as things stand right now, we’re in the middle of whatever Gege has in mind so it’s hard to see the forest for the trees.

What I’ll say is that I have enjoyed parts of it with reckless abandon...

Literal picture of me reading through the absolutely ridiculous battle between Kashi-chan and Kin-chan:

I also think that, at best, we have gotten in-depth character studies (because Gege is harping on the idea about the sense of self being at the core of power in JJK) and needed exposition.

For example, even though Naoya coming back was soooooo cringe to me, I can still see the purpose it served in the narrative. Did I enjoy the journey? Not really. Same for Maki’s development.

The thing is that even if I agree with you on everything I just mentioned... I can’t unsee the story written between the lines even if the execution of the panels falls short, because I am always reading at a meta level.

I am passionate about story telling and how stories move humans, so to me, now that I’ve seen and acknowledge these flaws in the work, reading JJK is less about what’s on the panels, and more about the story he is trying to tell on a meta level through the panels.

My chosoyuki meta is a great example of me recognizing the story being told between the lines. And once I went down all of the rabbit holes I went down, even though I agree wholeheartedly that the execution fell short, the story told in the symbols was amazing to me. It honestly made me wish that Gege would have had the patience, time, energy, and space to birth that side story into the world the way it deserved to be told.

To me, I want Gege to be able to ground his vision onto the page, but if he is not able to, I’m still there for the “story” told between the lines because there’s so few mangaka whose imagination has captivated me.

In the end, as you say, it does feel like Gege is struggling to ground his vision into the page. And it kind of does suck because we, as an audience, have to work that much harder to understand the story he is trying to tell.

But the story being told is still there... so now it’s up to you to decide what you want to focus on: the flop, the bad execution, the failed attempt, JJK not living up to your expectations, or Gege, the flawed human behind the manga, trying and showing up.

What is good enough for you? That’s something for you to decide.

I’m not saying to ignore the execution.

I’m saying to remember that this is Gege’s first manga and that JJK is not what it started as--but not because it’s gotten worse, but rather because JJK is now more like Gege than it has ever been... because in a story like JJK where the strongest sorcerers have the strongest sense of self... yadda yadda yadda.

Trust the process: life is a journey, not a destination

I think your concern that you want to experience the ending makes a lot of sense and feels very relatable even at this point in my life.

But the truth is...

Foregoing the journey in favor of the destination is a recipe for perpetual dissatisfaction. Look at what happened to Denji after he finally got to touch boobs!

Ok yeah, there’s a lot more to it than that in this particular case but the concept still applies.

It also applies to JJK. Again, right now we can’t see the forest for the trees because Gege is executing a complex arc.

The timeline is confusing af, and I think it’s because he may be trying to pull a similar literary trick to what happened in Westworld’s season 1 and 2 where the timeline is scrambled out of order to purposely confuse and mislead the audience.

Perhaps the timeline is out of order for another grand purpose. Perhaps he just thought it would be fun and wanted to try to execute a fun literary trick.

But we won’t know until he delivers--and delivering is a process, not a destination.

And you know what... if you still get to the end and realize that you didn’t like JJK and the latter part of the story ruined your love for JJK, well...

It’s personal

Dude like... I respect that people LOVE Chainsaw Man, and I also think Chainsaw Man is ridiculously overhyped. I’ve seen countless of videos with people hyping it as the all end be all of manga and that Fujimoto is a genius and...

just.

don’t.

get.

it.

I am just not a fan of Fujimoto’s brand of navel-gazing existentialism. It feels so anti-climatic to me.

Does that mean that CSM objectively sucks and is bad?! No. It’s personal.

Similarly, I overhype the hell out of CLAMP manga, and I am also aware that people might read CLAMP manga and not like it.

Even so, to me, the four women behind CLAMP are genius story-tellers.

Shameless Subaru and CLAMP plug because this is one of my favorite Tokyo Babylon panels.

It comes back to personal taste, right?

For me, I love JJK despite the flaws because I still love the story being told between the lines, I find Gege’s brand of ironic humor funny, and I like how the story has progressed.

Say goodbye to mainstream, Gege’s work might become a cult classic moving forward

Now... I bring up Fujimoto and CLAMP to illustrate the idea that there are people who are going to be dedicated fans of a mangaka and their work, people who enjoy and appreciate their work but don’t necessarily love it, people who are in it for the hype, and people who don’t like their work.

CLAMP’s Cardcaptor Sakura is mainstream hype. Tokyo Babylon and Clover are what you read when you’re a hardcore fan.

Fujimoto’s CSM is mainstream hype. Fire dude punch something something and Goodbye Eri is what you read when you’re a hardcore fan.

Watanabe’s Cowboy Bebop is mainstream hype. Zankyou no Terror and Carole and Tuesday are what you watch when you’re a hardcore fan.

Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen is mainstream hype.

Gege followed the Battle Shonen recipe, added his own twists, and created an accidental mega hit. In fact, oddly enough, JJK has always been known as a story that defies expectations and uses tropes in new and unexpected ways.

So what happened? Why are people not liking Gege’s current execution?

To me, there’s something about how JJK is written that has changed, and it has nothing to do with Gege’s ability to write, and everything to do with his sense of self, who he has become in the process of writing JJK, and what he wants to express through his work.

In other words, JJK is more like Gege than it has ever been. Some people are going to like that, and some are not.

Truth is that Gege is one of the VERY few mangaka who can write beautiful, multidimensional, engaging and extremely human characters who are true to their nature and aspirations.

He also writes on a very meta level and you don’t see that very often... like at all.

All this to say that I think this is why you see such vastly different reactions in fandom right now.

Some people still think he’s a fantastic writer and that he’s writing a unique work that has transcended generic Shonen tropes (like yours truly), and some people think that the way JJK is right now is generic Shonen. I don’t understand this last take but...

Who is right?

Who holds THE ultimate truth?

It doesn’t really matter because it’s personal.

All I know is that I am going to keep up with anything Gege publishes moving forward because I like the story he is telling through JJK.

Above all, I’m curious to see what other stories want to be born through him into this world.

Now, I HIGHLY recommend you listen to this 20 minute Ted talk by Elizabeth Gilbert to understand what I mean when I say that Gege is giving birth to stories. Her talk is a mind-opening take on what happens to your sense of self when you accidentally write a mega hit, and how that in turn affects your creative process.

I don’t know that this is how Gege sees his work as a mangaka, but I have to wonder about the possibility that Gege, someone who has very clearly studied the psychology of Carl Jung, sees JJK as an exercise in creative imagination, and/or as a story he’s been handed from the collective unconscious.

His job as a mangaka is to show up and write, to play, to express himself creatively.

That means that sometimes what he writes is going to be magnificent in the eyes of others, and sometimes it’s going to fall short of everybody’s expectations.

And that’s what it comes down to...

Expectations

I see a lot of people complain about JJK failing to live up to their expectations without acknowledging that their expectations are simply that, expectations.

There’s nothing wrong with having expectations per se, and it is also important to realize when expectations are defining what we think is and isn’t good enough.

And let’s not forget that you too probably don’t live up to other’s expectations. Does that mean that your effort too isn’t good enough? Gosh now I sound like Lacus.

Again... who holds the ultimate truth?

In the end, Gege is the one telling the Jujutsu Kaisen story.

I also cannot emphasize enough that Gege is also a mangaka in the very early stages of his writing career.

I don’t buy that his writing was better in the beginning of JJK.

Quite the opposite, I see his writing AND art in the beginning of JJK as having followed a recipe: the three man team, found family, the strong mentor figure, etc... all the tropes are there executed in fresh and unexpected ways.

But that was 5 years ago. Again... in a story like JJK where the strongest sorcerers have the strongest sense of self... what does that mean for Gege?

That said, Gege isn’t following the same recipe anymore, he’s coming up with his own recipe and he’s learning how to write his own recipe.

This is not to make excuses for him, it’s just something to think about because most people aren’t born naturally talented at anything that requires mastery, and writing is a craft that requires mastery through execution.

As a quick side note, if you read Tokyo Babylon and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP, the 10+ year gap between both manga shows a marked improvement in the writing. AND EVEN THEN CLAMP MANAGED TO FUCK UP THE TSUBASA PLOT!

In other words, Gege has to fail to get better.

Now add to that the pressure of a weekly publishing schedule that dampens the creative process with tight deadlines, and then on top of that having to draw the whole thing. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Gosh, if I had to guess, I would have to say Gege is ready for an extended vacation.

But, as you say, I also just want for him to be satisfied with his story.

As for us being satisfied with his story... well, it depends on what we choose to focus on.

Will you focus on how he failed at executing his vision?

Will you focus on the beautiful story he told between the lines?

Or will you focus on how how he managed to tell a beautiful story despite failing at the execution?

Can you hold the tension of opposites?

Ok SO SORRY this took me so long to get back to you my dear recurring anon. I just had so many thoughts because, like I said before, I agree with you, and I also wanted to challenge you to see things a little differently without being patronizing.

In the end, you want to continue to love JJK, right?

So love JJK!

Acknowledge its flaws and be at peace with them for the sake of that love. Nothing is perfect.

Anyways, I love that we can be in conversation about this and that you have come to me to share your thoughts on jjk.

Merci beaucoup.

#for anyone who thinks the writing in jjk sucks right now #and is worried about it #god I love jujutsu kaisen #ask the mental gymnastics anime girl

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jellybeanium124 · 6 months ago

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reverse unpopular opinion: calico jack

wait so I'm confused because I like him does this mean I have to pick something I don't like about him? or since the popular opinion is hating him I should just gush about him? idk I'm gonna do both and also present something just sort of neutrally for comment.

I don't have a problem with jack being turned into a stock evil villain in fics. I did that (in september 2022 which might as well be a lifetime ago) so I can't completely condemn it. but I do wish people tried a little harder with their jacks and didn't just remove his entire personality to replace it with Villain. I don't like it when people do this with izzy either but that's way less common.

I love jack because he is so interesting as is!! as this bundle of traumatized toxic issues who's deceptively good at being manipulative despite the fact that he's a total dumbass who's constantly drunk. where is the sass? the bitchiness? the doing-it-for-a-paycheck-also-to-save-my-ex motivation? people have the right to interpret characters in the most boring possible way, but I prefer to look for the most interesting possibility canon presents us with.

what I hate more is insisting on this interpretation in meta. I firmly believe that what you write in fic does not necessarily need to line up with your serious takes on canon. for example, I wrote a fic where izzy and ed knew each other by age 12 for the sake of a premise that wouldn't work otherwise, when my Serious Opinion on how long they've known each other is about 10 years. someone could write Evil Nothingburger Jack in a fic but have different serious opinions on him. I just don't like people insisting that he's an Evil Nothingburger for real, or that ed there's no possible way ed would ever want to have sex with him.

ok my favorite thing about jack... hmmm well he is really pretty but that's a bit shallow lol. I'd probably have to say the contrast, context, and flavor that he gives to ed and ed's past. like we knew ed's childhood was traumatic, and that piracy is like... traumatizing and rough, but jack lets us get more snippets into ed's youth and learned that even after killing his father he couldn't escape a household ruled by an abusive, evil tyrant. and jack and ed went through a lot of the same trauma, but turned out very different. they both clearly internalized a lot about who they should be as men and how they should act, but jack developed a much more toxic mindset with a much more rigid code for behavior, while ed remained much more kind, open, and optimistic.

I don't think I played the game at all I just talked about my favorite lil cowboy but thank you for the ask 💖💖💖 I do love his stupid face

#calico jack rackham

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taegularities · 8 months ago

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Day 6

STUPID STUPID STUPID BOY

(seriously I love him so much they way he is little annoying but a fluff ball of suppressed emotions 🤧)

My favourite characters has to be yoongi and eun they are such Goldiess smooches for them 💋💋and yoongi's plaster 🙋🏻‍♀️ I wanna volenteer too lemme draw lot of cute yellow dick Minions.

I am just lovin it' they way you write how you put each and every character's perspective and analogue I didn't know I would love some details in ffs this much it was never that serious but the it's expression of radical optimism for me now

whenever you refers to oc's hair as "mane" I always imagine her hairs to start to glowing like Tinkerbell whenever she is at her confront or with jk like babe yeps that's right there some angle type a shit..... pet name is even more hypnotizing 🫠(I DON'T LIKE IT HOW YOU ARE MAKING me LIKE EVERYTHING THAT I DON'T LIKE) first stupid lover boy and now pet names I can't with you I hate you but I will always love you for this fluffiest brain wrecking agenda you have going on and now just to keep us in constant chokehold for

seriously though our boy needs a therepy I would say everyone needs in big letters THEREPY

Because this suspense is killing me (I DITCH MY FRIEND'S BASH JUST) to RUMBLE SHIT TO YOU FIRST BEFORE READING cmi-blue OFFFF feels like I love this sensitive side of him more kinda wanna see him crying more I'm mean he just gorgeous so why not ��🏻‍♀️

just aww moment for they way you make their whole confession thing in cmi-blurred I never thought I would enjoy so much someone's full on confession like yes babies talk it all out the satisfaction it's so hard to talk it out BUT THEY DID IT I'M SCREAMING THROWING UP ON THE SIDE

The whole time in my head jk in cmi-blurred was like @kookiechimm character's it's prefect fitting for that chapter through out the drive and confession time yeps that's tiny kook energy

FINALLY the boy is opening up I can finally killing myself but before that yes I will recreate those two paintings too lemme finish this whole thing and my toxic semester we are on journey to become the next beat up best Picasso baby 🫡 and I love you byeee take care and on my way to slap some people

- 🦴🔫

omg i know a few more days have passed butttt HAVE YOU READ ONNNN, HOW DID YOU LIKE IT LMAO and this is a fun review, too!!! 🥹 "a fluff ball of suppressed emotions" is sooo right :') i'm glad you love him as much as i do. and yoongi and eun, yesss, i adore them!! they'll become a bit more prominent soon, i think, but it's always nice when ppl praise eun especially, she's very important to me hehehe

i think i'm kind of a crazy optimist, so that fits well lol. it means a lot that you'd talk about my expressions like that.. i try my best, so it's always so cool when That Best is appreciated. oc issss an angel for real!! our very own tinkerbell.. i can't wait to show more sides of her bc she's all i wanna be. pet names are truly a hit or miss hahaha but i think they've become part of them and they can't go without them anymore 🥰

HE WILL CRY LOL he will cry a lot of times more, and so will oc 🤣 idk how far you've gotten, but there'll be plenty more tears ahead. thank you so so much for reading, enjoying and being so sweet about it 🥺 i will keep trying to wreck brains :D and looking forward to those paintings like are you kiddingggg!! ty and ilyyy <3

#i miss them :') they need to come back #notes for rid 🌹#🦴🔫 anon #fic: colour me in

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hospitalterrorizer · 1 year ago

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diary16

9/20-21/2023

wouldn't you believe it, i have a smile on my face right now.

i'm so really for real happy right now for some reason, or for a few reasons, but i'm really happy. one reason why is today was errand day and i kept it together and it wasn't so bad and maybe they won't be that bad ever again. i don't want to jinx it but i feel very optimistic i guess. second reason why is i did 3 songs today, i thought i'd only do 2, and like yesterday i created more presets that can move between songs and will really help out in figuring out these songs. more cool guitar synth sounds, i'm really happy about them, i'm excited to put them in songs and eventually write with them. some actually kind of expand what i can do i think. or what i wanna do, at least. third reason i guess is the song i'm listening to.

youtube

their hair is so giant it's kind of hilarious. it's such a pretty song, and really sweet too. the 'funny it's me' part is seriously incredible to me. it's interesting, the daughter of the woman on the left posts under a lot of their songs, it's crazy how the past still lingers like that. i guess not, it's always super obvious ultimately, it's just shocking. the other day i was thinking about jukeboxes, and how we barely experienced them as like, anything beyond something that plays music, meaning, they used to be or could be annoyances, quotidian to the point of drawing ire and so on, and that's just beyond us, it's not shocking to know, but it's an experience we're not going to have and we're also not going to be caught up in the pushing and pulling of living amongst that technology and all the ways the bourgeois manage that annoyance by inventing ways to silence jukeboxes (the thought was spurred by how they had silent vinyl in the machines you could put money in to play). obviously we have many similar situations, technology is designed to be at least 10-20% annoying always (don't ask about my numbers) because if it agitates and there's a way to alleviate that, then you've invented an industry out of your invention, sorta. this is all like, 101 type stuff, it doesn't really need to be repeated, everybody knows, i know it, obvs.

so i'm up to 16 songs done, 9 more to go, i'm thinking with some of the new plugins today one thing i'll do on my final pass of all these, or in the returns what i'll do is an evolution of my saturator return track idea, where i use the saturn 2 and do some subtle tube distortion in the mids, to get kind of what my mic setup was doing to all the sound, and try to reign that in, so i can have the positive qualities of that in the mix. if all the guitars sound better, and that happens, and they still sound good, i feel like that might be kind of 'sick' or 'dope' or something. idk why i'm saying that, i guess to entertain myself a little.

i'm really sort of dreading going back to the first 5 songs i did in this pass, but i'm sure it won't be as bad as i think, i mean dreading listening to them even. but we'll see. i'm excited to finish up this process and get to doing vocals again, and then even just writing some stuff. who knows if it's gonna be for this album or not. if it's like a 10 second long song though yeah it'll be on the album probably. i also did get some writing out today, not music, prose, in the laundromat, ideas i had in the shower, nothing super hefty but it feels like it belongs. funfunfun.

currently still thinking about getting (you know) softube plugins to see if their distortion stuff speaks to me anymore than any others.

i did find a new saturation thingy just now. i hope it's gooder (lol) than some of the other stuff.

when i said i wrote in the laudromat that was wrong, it was on the way there. i don't know why i remembered that wrong. in the laundromat i just listened to the plot to blow up the eiffel tower's first album and stared at the spinning water and clothes. it's crazy how everything that band did after was so much better. it's not bad but they kind of just spend a lot of time goofing around with the jazz stuff, but maybe it is just beyond me. i feel like if i asked someone who knew anything about jazz they'd agree with me though. just a hunch. maybe i will ask my friend huck about that.

also thinking hard about the songs i'm gonna have to begin doing, cuz they're all older ones that are way less 'guitar' heavy, and some even have different drums which means they will take longer.

feeling the itch to go digging on flickr for random photos for collage stuff. that's fun.

one final thing i guess cuz i'm feeling out of it now, today i saw a white goth woman with dreads, really fucked up stuff, cybergoths are still out there, you'll find them working in your local smiths or vons or whatever. kroger. whatever. isn't kroger terrifying as a prospect.

byebyebye

#Youtube

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epicfranb · 1 year ago

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warning: long rant/ramble under cut (i jump from topic to topic a lot)

I need to watch more Sausage vids so i can write him BUT lately I'm so tired from mcyt cuz it's basically the only thing i watch, i wanna read comics and watch shows again i miss it but i only hav minecraf on the brain :( my attention span is GONE (not that there was much in the first place but. I could easily binge an anime season or 2 in under a week. I can't watch a single episode a day idk why)

This is what I'm complaining about?? Really??? If i complained about the actual serious stuff that worries me you'd hear no end of it lol. It's kind of in the background, anyways looming over me (the anxiety) im kinda used to it but it shows itself in the little things that seem unrelated.. like that fact that i can't seem to do the things i actually wanna do anymore. It's called AVOIDING. im scared of failure, im scared of making myself upset, so i start avoiding it even if i like it and wanna do it. It's silly bc in this case it's literally about WATCHING COOL SHIT??? i don't wanna have another kagepro or winx club or naruto on my hands where im so unbelievably upset at the source material that o have this urge to complain about it ALL THE FUCKING TIME but i don't have it in me (maybe i have the skill, but not time and not motivation) to make rewrites for all of them that'd be fucking impossible, especially seeing as they're not exactly short stories or easy to write and structure and REwrite and REstructure n all that.. i have my own fics and stories to worry about BUT I'M NOT WRITING THEM EITHER honestly i thought graduating high school would make me better it made me worse actually. In some ways it made me better. Maybe it's just maturing (a little bit) but worse i mean that 1) I'm drawing way less 2) I'm not developing my original stories at all 3) i don't see comics anymore 4) i don't fucking go outside 5) i don't socialize 6) i rot at home all day IDK im trying not to say that i feel like a failure bc that's not exactly true?.. maybe i don't feel this way cuz im avoiding thoughts like this (im good at avoiding lol) and that's good. Cuz objectively I'm not a failure. I'm still creating, even tho slowly. I think I'm in my transitional point between like.. a worm that i was at school, just creating things with no real purpose, to bring a butterfly who creates more thoughtfully and is able to self express deliberately, because i know what i like and what i want to do now (moreso than i did before at least). Not a fan of an insect analogy but here ya go. Optimistic ending to my little rant at least.

Honestly i wanna do a series of complaining at stuff that i kind of hate-love. I have the most to say about kagepro probably, since i was into that for like 2 years, or maybe winx since I'm into it rn, and it has far more source material+ has a bigger world and now characters.. but i thought about it far less so far (i need to write down my thoughts more..) i really really want someone to talk with about it.. either winx or kagepro, idc. It would be funny to tell about kagepro to a person who doesn't know about it (it's still fresh in my mind... *shudders*) but when it comes to winx I'd rather talk to another fan honestly. So yeah.. rant over bye bye

#life updates #also i didn't proof read this so it might have stupid auto correct stuff..#bye bye

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hannibalismos-jaaneman · 3 years ago

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hi!! congrats on 200!! <33

🔬

tysm!! also, i'm SOO sorry for the late reply i just haven't been in the mood for analyses lately i'm such a douche i shouldn't even have put it on the ask if i couldn't deliver.

lmao i'm such an idiot the first thing i noticed is the unpredictable slant so i'll start off the whole thing with that. and that rebellious k lol so obvious from your persona, okay imma stop.

gestalt:

erratic slant- emotionally untethered, erratic in nature, unpredictable

big middle zone- socially active, extraverted, student

small first zone- not very imaginative, sticks to the ground

small third zone- not greedy or lustful about materialistic stuff

legible- doesn't face problems in communicating their thoughts to other people

free baseline- emotionally free (that's kinda two)

big handwriting- doesn't have a problem with being the center of attention, extraverted (that's two)

semi specifics-

some angles happening- likes to intellectualize emotions, needs examples to understand emotions (hey that's me)

disconnected letters- high intelligence

bunched up words- likes to keep people close, emotionally connected (untethered doesn't mean disconnected so this is a three)

specifics-

stabby s- coffee problem here (sometimes it's associated with substance ab*se but i don't think that's the case here because it isn't too stabby)

short, high, up going t bars- high self-esteem, sets high goals for themselves, optimistic but doesn't put a lot of work (gets stuff easy ik that's my brain too)

wide b bottom- gullible

rounded w's and v's- sensitive, sympathetic, poetic

spade m's and n's- intellectual, curious, eager to learn (that's two)

closed ovals- reserved

rebellious k as i said

rationality or as i discovered, american f- now if you're american then you're american otherwise you're a rational person (that's three)

stick figure l- intelligence, practicality (that's four and it's official)

conclusion- intelligent writer who's also nice, kind, sympathetic but doesn't get people emotions as well. free-spirited but doesn't have control over their emotions, extraverted and that' pretty much it. i really get some strong extj vibes from you idk i'm just guessing here lol.

again, thanks for waiting so long and i'm sorry for the late reply.

#folklore <3 #mutuals asks #graphology asks #graphology #my asks #asks #cole's second century in verses

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syubub · 4 years ago

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JIMIN SOULMATE READING

~Disclaimer: This is for entertainment purposes and should not be taken as fact~

Chim chim, my Libra son. Your time has come.

(Yes I am aware of the shit picture)

So let's start off with Jimins energy color! Its an amber orange with gold ish sparkles? Kinda like if you dipped a cheeto in gold dust?

This was the closest I could find to how it looked. Its really pretty!

Moving on. I get up to his platform and offer energy and blah blah but hes behind a little glass door thing. He doesn't open it so I'm like? Do I just leave? But then I kinda start to float through the glass? This shit makes me sound crazy and I am well aware thank you. Anyway, he touches my forehead and yeets me backwards off the platform.

Cool cool cool. It wasn't mean or anything btw, he was just kinda like oki, get to it.

The only "message" I got was just straight up, "Nevermind" thats his tattoo and idk what that has to do with anything at all lol.

Now for this person's card I got 10 of cups. This is a very well rounded, optimistic person who has worked hard to achieve the life they've always wanted. They are very fulfilled in life!

As for cards about this person's personality/ life I pulled 9 of swords, king of wands, high priestess and temperance. This person is always in search of balance in life and they are a natural born leader. They have a lot of hidden talents. This person has also been through a lot of past traumas/insecurities that are still manifesting in their life today. This person is trying to get better and is most likely in therapy (I'll get to this later too) this person is motivated and driven (I see them being a perfectionist) has a knowledgeable and strong persona.

As for possible zodiac signs I got air or earth and I pulled the empress so that to me says Taurus or Libra (or maybe those two together)

Onto the relationship. We have the sun, the lovers, seven of wands rev., the heirophant rev., death rev and ace if swords.

So this relationship is very warm. I mean no doubt they work well together and have a very seamless fit. They fit into eachothers lives like pieces of a puzzle for sure. I bet they are always very touchy around eachother. I get the feeling that his soulmate is equally as touchy and physical as he is. Probably a lot of cudles tbh. Theres a lot of love between the two.

Now, they might have an issue with being in the spotlight. Its kinda like they have a hard time dealing with being under scrutiny/ pressure. They both have things that they need to work on and they are both heavy perfectionists and having people nit pick everything that they do together really messes with them. Theres likely to be a period of "drama" and breakdowns in the relationship. Its no fault of their own though. I don't want to get too into it but its like..( possible trigger warning I guess) they both have not great relationships with food/ their bodies or they push themselves too hard as a form of self harm? And they deal with pressure in unhealthy ways sometimes. They are both getting better and doing better and are healthy but there is this caution almost that they still hold on to old, harmful coping mechanisms and IF things their relationship were to be public and people were watching everything they do 24/7 and criticizing their every move then theres a chance that they might fall back into bad habits? Or even say it was just his soulmate that kinda spirals then that might trigger him or vice versa? They have similar ish issues and all I can say is that its hard to recognize something toxic in someone else when you're plagued with the same issue. They also might not be good at communicating how they want to be loved? Like I get the sense that they have a hard time being like, "hey, it really upsets me when you do this and this is why. I know you mean well but it does xyz" ya, know? I think its hard because they don't want the other person to feel bad or like they don't appreciate the love that they receive.

HAPPIER STUFF NOW

We have warrior woman and answer the call. These cuties help eachother find their purpose. They are eachothers rock and they are both so supportive of eachother!

Moving on to messages that his soulmate has for Chim. We have open your heart, its dark and you can't see a thing (get your head out of your ass. Pronto) and get the fuck outside. Move your ass (your body is pissed at you) I think this can be interpreted as his soulmate being like, "hey. Its okay. The world is scary right now but you shouldn't lose faith in humanity. You're surrounded by people that love you and they are good people. Go take a walk and take care of yourself" some level 100 wholesome shit.

Now let's go to character cards. We have. Child: nature, mother and monk/nun rev. This person loves animals! Wouldn't be surprised if they volunteer at animal shelters and do a thawing that helps rescue animals. This person is also mom friend for sure. Always taking care of others and is everyones go to shoulder to cry on. This person also is a bit unintentionally judgy? Its not mean or anything but they have a savior complex almost? Its like they don't know what to do if they aren't needed. They also may unintentionally let some of their personal high standards seep onto other people.

Little cards are funny, feminine, dark hair, fashionable, loud and introvert.

We also have the cards from his soulmate to him, open, thinking of you, pure, negative and habit. (The last 2 were stuck together so I'm gonna say it means something about a negative habit that he has)

Now we on to the last card! We have beyond the mind, the heart beats. This card talks about listening to your heart and not ignoring its wishes. It talks about doing what you feel is right. Following that call and trusting yourself!

Last last card. I pulled one card just to get a sense of what might have contributed to his soulmates past trauma and I go the hermit. That gives me the sense that they have abandonment issues and it might be a big part of their perfectionism. So there's that.

Jiminie has a very sweet and kind soulmate and they work very well together. They help eachother to overcome and to love. The energy is so lovely even if part of the reading was serious? Really though, his soulmate is very kind and very much like him. I wish them both all of the happiness ever.

#bts tarot #bts #bts reactions #bts imagines #kim seokjin #jin #suga #yoongi #hoseok #jhope #namjoon #bts rm #bts jimin #jimin #jimin fanfic #taehyung #bts v #jungkook #bts astrology

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