#its way more in character for me to imply the work i write is alive and a danger to me

[tired-demonspawn]

chapter 12 is now live! out? it was never alive i dont think... unless it was.... i should start keeping a knife under my pillow.....

anyway chapter 12! hope nothing too interesting happens :D

[bulbabutt]

okay. lets bite the bullet and talk about 2012. lets talk about child abuse, familial abuse, generational abuse, toxic family units, whatever you wanna call it. lets talk about it and whether it exists in this show. i actually encourage you to read this no matter what your take is, just to hear it out. let me be FUCKING clear: i love this show, but i get scared to talk about it seriously. everyone on every side is defensive all the time but i love every turtles show to no end.

this post is going to go over so well and not controversially at all.

precursor: every splinter is some level of shitty dad. he always has been. the fucking bare bones of the character is that he raised his children to kill the man who killed his own father. thats inherently fucked up. every splinter has some level of fucked up about him. maybe hes inattentive, or neglectful, or strict, or secretive, maybe hes just not very good at dealing with his kids. splinter is supposed to be far from perfect. thats what makes him splinter. maybe he grows over the course of a series, maybe he doesnt. maybe hes supposed to be shitty his whole life, maybe hes not. thats just splinter. each is adapted differently depending on the story being told.

and 2012 has a very interesting tone to its story.

lets start at the beginning, back in japan. this is season 3, was this story what they intended when they started writing the show back in season 1? probably not, theres probably things they would have written differently had they known this was where splinter's story started. thats kind of the way tv works, you add the details later. but for our sake of analyzing the character of splinter as a whole, it seems best to start here as if its all intentional.

hamato yoshi is a member of the hamato clan. theyre a very traditional old ninja clan in the modern world, they have old feuds and theyre trying to keep their culture alive. they're literally the last of a clan of ninjas like this, having (supposedly) defeated the foot clan (their generational enemies) back when yoshi was a baby. hes set out to lead next, and its very important to him. and yet hes married to a woman who works in the city, a modern woman who doesnt live the life he does. she even moved to be with him. i feel the need to compare this to how men in the real world who want traditional wives never go for women who are willing to be their housewives, always try to break down the independent ones. splinter seems unconcerned with how his wife wants to live. with how she wants their daughter to be raised.

im not necessarily saying this is how this comes off in the show, but i find it interesting to think about. this is absolutely the most rounded version of tang shen as a character (thus far) it stops her being just a name on a page "hamato yoshi's love and the object of his enemies affections who died" and turns her into a woman who has a stake in the story. gives her more agency.

its very interesting that this show implies an actual relationship between tang shen and oroku saki, albeit a one-sided one that didnt work out, but they do seem to have parted on equal ground. the pair of them discuss yoshi's inattentive duties as a husband and father, that he's too obsessed with the tradition and lineage of his clan. honestly, if this woman just took her baby and left no one would blame her! he has his priorities set, and it leaves no room for her and their newborn baby. if she ran away with saki at this point, the story would make just as much sense.

but then disaster strikes, saki learns the truth about his family, that he was actually a child of the foot clan (honestly i wish we saw this play out instead of jumping ahead in the story but thats not what this post is about) and he kills he and yoshi's father. revenge for him having killed his. cycles of abuse and revenge that never end. the pair of them were raised in this society that values lineage like this, that would kill for it. its no wonder they both grew up this way.

anyway, tang shen is killed by a blow meant for yoshi, and saki takes their child and raises her. based on splinter's lack of desire to be a father so far in the story, its honestly not one you can blame him for. its fucked up, but it makes sense. saki does to miwa exactly what his father did to him. cycles of abuse and revenge.

yoshi loses everything, and moves to america. he's turned into splinter the mutant rat, and gains four turtle sons.

so as established, he's not exactly grown up with a stable family life. he obviously, while human, wasnt acting as a stable father for the child he intended to have. so how good is he at this?

ive talked before about how the 2003 show treats the turtles as kind of one whole unit. they don't have individual relationship arcs, they dont have overarching storylines where they grow apart or closer, they're always in each other's corner.

2012 makes this more dynamic. here we see that 15 years seeing no one but each other, growing under this splinter has come with its own quirks. these brothers dont understand each other that well. they get jealous of each others treatment, some are left out, some are misunderstood. raph resents leo, none of them appreciate what donnie does, mikey bothers everyone else for attention, etc. it creates a really good starting place for this show.

(the issue i have with this show is more that they never really open or close any of these beats, at least not in ways that last. but boy does it make for some good dramatic scenes)

we see over the course of this first season that splinter treats his children just as he was, as little ninjas more so than sons. he raises them to follow his traditions, the ones tang shen never cared for. but this is all he knows how to be! you cant really blame him.

most people bring up mikey as the quintessential example when they talk about this, i dont want to do that cuz i know you've all heard it. while i think his father does disrespect him and i think it is paid forward and his brothers do too, i'd rather talk about raph for a change.

in one episode, raph loses his temper. to teach him a lesson, splinter makes his brothers pelt him in training while insulting him any way they can, and tells him to just... not lose his temper. this is a terrible lesson in general. instead of trying to coax out why he might be angry, it just plays up that if he loses his temper bad things happen.

splinter in this episode basically encourages bullying. this comes up a lot when it comes to raph. to compare, in 2003 when raph loses his temper, hes told to blow off steam which he does. his brothers don't blame him for having emotional outbursts, they know thats just how he is so they know how he needs to cope with it. he's given the physical space to let it out.

im not saying this show needs to be like that show, im just saying thats a version of this story where the outcome is better for raph as a whole. since this outcome is not as good for him emotionally, you can tell why he's still got these emotional issues. splinter never helps him more than that. thats more why this raph differs from that one, if that makes sense. one has his family in his corner more than the other.

speaking of. raph has a pet turtle. this turtle is the only one he can talk to about how he feels. why might that be? it's the only thing hes kind and gentle to, and he refuses to let his brothers make him feel weak for being kind to it. where did he learn to be ashamed of being kind and gentle? thats a learned behaviour. in a house full of other men... yeah, that would happen. but whos values start that?

when this turtle gets some mutagen spilled on it, it tries to get revenge on his family. there is such a resentment going on here, its extremely juicy. the show chalks this up to "post mutation insanity", but its just as easy to think that everything raph has experienced has made him seem angry and resentful and perhaps scared to his pet, and that former pet wants raph to himself so they can be free. the frustrated venting of a child complaining about how no one understands him in such a big way turns slash into a vengeful monster, cuz thats all he's ever heard. it makes sense, he went from a little turtle to a fully cognizant adult aged being in an instant. emotionally no one would handle that well, and definitely not someone whos only ever heard the worst about people.

he comes around later. notably by being on his own, away from the hamatos.

again, im not saying the show is writing this intentionally, but i think tonally its in the zone where you could see this analysis as being canon. that these little pieces of narrative fit the worldview of a toxic family unit that isnt dealing with its problems in a healthy way.

there's other small aspects. leo slaps mikey early on, having seen it on his favourite show be used as a way of getting someone to calm down. mikey questions this behaviour, leo seems to feel bad about it when questioned. if we know that that behaviour was bad, what other things might he emulate in a similar way?

there's things like donnie's predatory behaviour towards april. in a world where all they ever knew was splinter's stories of the outside world (and perhaps television from decades earlier), hearing splinter's story of his love for tang shen, his rivalry with his own brother over her, you could actually see why he would behave the way he does, why he claims her the way he does. not as an excuse, but as a reason he learned the behaviour. and there's multiple opportunities for his father to tell him off. he never does. why would he? he knows no better.

this splinter, unlike every other, is not old or disabled. he doesnt require a cane (at the start, but also was never a good cane) and its interesting that despite being like... a 40 year old man in the peak of his life he does not accompany his sons on missions. he sits around doing nothing and disproves of his sons heroic actions. april literally calls him out for this at one point. the show is actually telling us some of this man's behaviour is wrong.

one of the more upsetting things that happens in this household is a lot of physical hitting. "theyre training" you might say. understandable. but when you see a lot of hitting come from the father in this show, played for a laugh, when you see splinter play the "drunk master" bit it makes you think. is that okay? isnt that a bit much?

the end of the muckman episode is a freeze frame of splinter (after having knocked out all of his sons to punish them for leaving while grounded) turning his anger on april and her running away. idk thats just not funny to me. this is a bit of the dating of the show, 2012 was a time where character's in shows were meaner, less affectionate, more bullying in nature. that was the sense of humour at the time. that isnt me making a judgment, it's just kind of the era. a pre steven universe world, if that makes sense. so many of the jokes that end in a hit aren't funny in 2024. especially not when they come from a parent.

when this splinter speaks about his kids to their brothers he often ends up insulting them. "you should be like mikey, he never overthinks because he doesn't think", this would be a big reason the boys speak about each other the way they do to their faces. puts forward a bit more of that bullying thing i mentioned earlier. if their own father talks about them like this, of course their brothers do too. so of course they join in and give payback.

again. splinter wasnt raised in a normal family. he was raised in a ninja commune with a bunch of murderers. he wasn't great with his wife and baby daughter. its not surprising that he's bad at this.

so, ive just said a bunch of things about what's wrong with this household as a whole. i think ive explained why the family unit behaves the way it does: generational teachings of feuds and traditional values. i dont think this makes the show bad! i, in fact, wish there was more of it. i think theres so much low hanging fruit that the show kind of wants to play with, but cant fully bring itself to.

specific example: during the space arc on a planet thats driving all the characters emotions against each other we get this amazing scene where raph screams at leo for being splinter's favourite. leo responds by hugging him. its really well done!

however its never brought up again, never actually getting into the nitty gritty of why raph feels like that is exactly what i think makes this show resonate with so many people

its dark! it pulls at your heart strings! it makes people feel seen! we go in mikey's head at one point and see such splintered (lol) personalities in his head. he has a huge anger problem (much like raph) in there. he retreats into imagination land when stressed. the show kind of toys with "these kids are fucked up!" but never lets those character moments go anywhere. i love how fucked up this family is. its so complex, it feels real. at least real to me. i wish it went that little step further and let the characters talk about these things a little more.

maybe you have a different experience, and thats fine! but i wouldnt brush off people like me who look at 2012 and say "these dynamics make me uncomfortable". to excuse it by saying "my family is like that and we're fine" sometimes i just wanna say... <:/ are you? have you talked about that? and if that's your read on it is that its fine, thats great. but some people notice patterns and those patterns can make them uncomfortable. i hope ive explained the patterns here.

i think thats why the fandom is as big as it is. this show would lead to the most amazing deep introspective fan-works youve ever seen, it lays the pieces out so perfectly for you to draw your own conclusions about why they are this way. you cant really blame people for talking about it as if its got a way higher rating than it does. it feels like it does.

i should say, i dont even know if i blame the show on its own for leaving those pieces laying there, it was on nickelodeon. i sense studio meddling in the tone. i mean, given that the show wanted to end with the big mutant apocalypse storyline, and yet the network wanted to end it with the big 87 crossover..... yeah i think its safe to say nick would rather they keep it light.

which is funny, because i think the most controversial thing i can say is i personally love the finale arc as the mutant apocalypse. it so encapsulates my favorite part of this show. to end this show in the darkest timeline and say "even though these characters are so far removed from who they used to be and even though the entire world is over they still have each other in the end" and i find that so perfect.

so. i understand that this is always a touchy topic. i know people want to brush it off as "people say the 12 brothers are abusive to mikey but mikey is fine", and i think thats a really skewed version of it from both sides. first of all. mikey is not fine, look in that boys head. look how he copes. he's not. but also, mikey is not the only victim. they all are. these turtles are victims of their upbringing, victims of generational war. of men who didnt know how to be good fathers in the first place. and thats good writing! it feels deep! it connects!

for more context: any fucked up way you can think of karai being raised by shredder? its probably the same way here. splinter and shredder were raised the same way.

i guess i think about this a lot, cuz i always see things like "oh, rise fans write crossovers where the rise boys love each other and have to teach the 12 boys how to be nice cuz they dont like 2012!" and i just think to myself:

guys. do you understand why a person might do that? why would someone (likely a teenager) want 2012 mikey to be treated nicely by a kinder more openly affectionate version of his own family? do i need to spell that out for you? why do we connect with media at all, why do we write our own stories about it?

if you genuinely dont. i mean, im glad for you. but sometimes you wanna imagine a world in which your own family is more openly affectionate with you. where they hug and tell you theyre proud and love you and you never have to question it, never have to look elsewhere for that kind of approval. its less that they're idolizing rise, and more that they're looking at the two families and saying "this one is emotionally mature and in touch with their feelings more than that one. how would that play out?"

doctor feelings ass response.

look, im not saying everyone understands 2012, that everyone likes or needs to like it. im just trying to say that i think these fucked up parts of 2012 are all around my favourite parts of the show. its an inspiring story about this fucked up little family that has no one but each other, and they're not great about it. they try, but they don't always get it right. i just wish the show would have talked about that part more. but i think that since it doesnt people get to fill in those blanks themselves, and they do it so beautifully. and i really wish people on the internet would be more kind to one another when they wanted to discuss these darker themes they find in it.

these are the reasons i love this show. i think its so very interesting that splinter dies this fucked up father figure who never really apologized for his behaviour. i like that raph needs to be held to stop punching his brothers. that leo doesnt have a good grip on what it is to be a leader, that he tries bad ways of doing it. i like that no one copes well! i like that their relationships are so complex! this show is messy! its good! i wish it was more messy!

and id love if we could be more honest about these things and how they make us feel instead of just brushing each other off as "likes the show" or "doesnt like the show". the things that make me uncomfortable are why i love this show and i'm pretty sure i'm not alone there.

[alwayssassydreamer]

One Hell Of A Team

Song Prompt Challenge

A/N: i normally don't write for this handsome man but a friend of mine talked me into it saying that this song would fit him, so sorry if this is ooc.

There is so much you could be Endless possibilities Shake my hand, don't be naïve Now you can trust me I see potential in your future, we can agree I have credentials that you don't If you wanna feel alive We can set the world alight There is so much you could be If only you'd join me We'd make one hell of a team You are wicked like a torturous dream Like a sweet calamity

Warnings: Crocodile being manipulative, and Reader doesn't mind a little chaos, implied sexual tension?

Characters: Crocodile x GnReader

The desert winds howled around you, whipping the sand into small clouds that stung your skin as you stood on the edge of the Baroque Works headquarters. The vast, barren wasteland stretched endlessly in front of you, its heat radiating off the cracked earth below.

You were used to this isolation, this constant feeling of emptiness that echoed throughout your life. But today was different—today, Crocodile had caught your attention.

His presence was like a dark storm waiting to break, and the way he had been watching you from the shadows, his piercing eyes locked on you, sent a strange thrill through your veins.

Crocodile had always been known for his cold, calculating nature. Yet, there was something about him that both intimidated and intrigued you. Perhaps it was the power he wielded, or maybe it was the dark allure of a man who stood alone, far above everyone else in the criminal underworld.

"You've caught my eye," he said, his voice deep and smooth as he stepped forward, the sound of his boots crunching against the sand.

You tilted your head slightly, watching him with a mix of curiosity and wariness. "And what exactly do you want from me, Crocodile?"

He smirked, that infamous smirk that had sent many trembling in fear. "If you wanna feel alive, we can set the world alight. There's so much you could be, if only you'd join me. We'd make one hell of a team."

His words hung in the air, heavy with promise and danger. You could feel the weight of them, but they also stirred something deep inside you. You weren't sure if it was the thrill of the unknown or the magnetic pull of his power, but the idea of aligning yourself with Crocodile was oddly tempting.

"You're wicked, like a torturous dream," he continued, his voice dropping to a low, almost seductive tone. "Like a sweet calamity. You'd fit perfectly into my plans. After all, you are like me—alone, hungry for more, and willing to do whatever it takes."

Your eyes locked onto his, and for the first time in a long while, you felt that sense of purpose stirring inside you, something more than just surviving.

"There is so much you could be," he murmured, stepping closer, his voice smooth and hypnotic. "Endless possibilities... all within your reach. Power, wealth, chaos. Everything you desire, just a handshake away."

You held his gaze, unfazed. The offer was tempting, but you weren't naive.

"And what makes you think I’d want to join you?" you challenged, raising an eyebrow, refusing to show any fear.

Crocodile's lips curled into a grin, his gaze piercing through you. "Because you know, deep down, you don’t want to be alone anymore. You don’t want to be just another wanderer in this world. You want power, freedom... and chaos. I can give that to you. Shake my hand, don’t be naïve. This is your chance."

He extended his hand, the dark promise of the world at your fingertips, and you could feel the air grow thick with the tension between you. His words wrapped around your thoughts like a web, and as much as you wanted to resist, you couldn’t help but be drawn in.

"Now you can trust me," he added, his voice calm, but there was an undeniable edge to it. "I see potential in your future, we can agree. You’re not as naïve as the rest. I have credentials you don’t... I’ve built an empire from the ground up."

The weight of his words was undeniable. Crocodile was no ordinary man—he had power, influence, and a vision far greater than most could even comprehend. But you weren’t a fool.

"You're offering a lot," you said, stepping closer, your gaze unwavering. "But what makes you think I need you?"

He smirked again, that cold, calculating look in his eyes. "Because you want more. More than what this world has to offer on its own. You know as well as I do that true power doesn’t come from simply existing. It comes from those who dare to take it."

You reached out, shaking his hand firmly, the tension between you crackling like electricity. "Fine," you said, your voice steady, a fire beginning to burn in your chest.

Without a warning his grip on your hand tightened and he pulled you into him.

He leaned closer, his lips brushing against your ear as his voice dropped to a dark, seductive whisper. "And when the world falls beneath our feet, I'll make sure you know just how sweet it is... to have everything you’ve ever wanted."

[thepaladincosplays]

I'm Retiring.

Yeah, no. No funny openings, no witty banter, not even an easy way to explain the title other than: Yea. I'm retiring... kind of. More below.

As you guys know I've been writing for the Callyieverse and Tales of Mewni for quite some time. It's almost been 7 years. Seven. Years. As Callyie once put it, I'm literally one of the founders of the Callyieverse. I ain't the creator herself but I respect to her for inspirin' me all those years back to get back into writing fanfiction and all that. Having said that:

I'm no longer going to be writing anything Callyieverse or Tales of Mewni related. I'm just burnt out of it, truth be told, this has been one of my biggest hyperfixations for a long time and even though I never finished quite a few storylines, I just can't really bring myself to continue writing for it. Burn out's real and, honey, call me Icarus bc I've been flying by the sun these last few years.

What does this mean moving forward?

Well, simply put, the following:

All my current, on-going projects are cancelled.

Most likely any commissions, art or fic, will be all you see of my characters unless someone else writes them.

This blog'll remain active since it's my main but just be aware that any fanfics ya see will be other fandom related

I won't be taking commissions any longer.

I'd also like to share with everyone how the following storylines would've gone.

Protecting the Peace

First off, holy hell there would have been so much new lore pushed into Mewni. With the Southern Vale being a completely closed off area there was going to be a lot more "return to formula" type creatures and more of the original show's feel.

Also, it would've revealed that the Goliaths weren't actually nearly as extinct as I've said they were these last few years. An enclave of Goliaths, taking one of the old cities and rebranding it "New Janek City," would have been one of the final obstacles in Visas' journey.

How would it have ended? Well...

Visas, everyone that came down to help her (Petal, Nia, Sunshine, Luci, Higgs, Pearl, Sarasim, and Hava (whose disappearance would've also been explained), and Elza would've discovered that (a) Visas and Elza were actually sisters after Haku and Eboshi had a fling together a few years before Haku met Higgs; (b) Visas was becoming more Precursor than Mewman bc of Precursor genetics and that change was being accelerated by Precursor magic; and (c) there were Gods watching over Mewni this whole time. Yeah. There would've been an explanation that they were amongst the first gods in creation but they didn't vibe with the feel of many dimensions until they reached Mewni, in its infancy, wherein they staked their claim and ruled over this new land. However, by the time Mewmans started taking over everything they'd long been forgotten to the point of being myths of myths, but the ancient Precursors kept the belief in them alive in the Vale when they established the first Magic Empire. Despite their disconnect from Mewni and Mewmanity, the Gods would not have been happy with the fact Astro was king. Not because he's a Titan (they scoffed at the idea of Gods despising Titans, seeing themselves as "above petty ideologies") but literally because Mewni was established as a Matriarchy and they imply they had a hand in tipping the scales in the Mewmans' favor (via the MHC) in exchange for Mewmans modelling themselves after the Gods.

Visas and co. return back to the Sanctuary wherein Visas declares that, by divine right, she's the Empress of the Vale and the first thing she's doing is going home, taking her sister with her, and beginning to live her life for herself for once.

Tony and Stacie Q

Now I know this'll come as a shock, but... T and Q would've ended up with a happily ever after. The next big fic I was working on was a dinner date where Tony was going to meet her parents, but, like I said, burn out's a bitch and I just never got around to finishing it.

Ashur, Nenet, the Hydra

Ash trying to overcome his greatest inner turmoil would've been... a long thing coming. He'd have a lot of insecurities to work through and even having slip ups like him getting into a fight with Lars over Nenet. Eventually, his Hydra side and him would've realized that neither could exist without the other and Ash would've fully embraced that side of him, effectively getting rid of it and finally living his life the way he wants to.

Tales of Mewni: Ragnarok

Loki and Cordelia would've ended up together... kind of? And the story would've ended with the fabled battle between the Aesir and Jotnar with Loki finding out his dead wife's soul was being made to fight for Odin. That would not have ended well for anyone involved. Loki also would demonstrate his immense magic power, to stop the fighting, by holding the weather still across all Nine Realms and even Avalon itself. All to remind everyone who exactly he is, why he's declaring the battle over, and sending the Jotnar back to their respective realms.

And... that's all.

I wanna thank quite a few people in no particular order, but first I'd like to thank @princesscallyie for taking a chance at reading The New Kids when I first brought it to her attention back in January of 2018 and for creating this next gen verse as a whole. I'd also like to thank @kururu418 for being there along my side helping me figure out ways to make things work for the Tales of Mewni side of things. @laylaylamode, I love the Stacies and the way you encouraged me even in my lowest moments with writing for the verse. @onelastfic, thank you for being such an amazing friend and confidant, as well as someone who I could always share and work on ideas with.

And to all my friends whom I talk to the most @princekaiofstars @aj-thegreatest @omnitheleader @yah-gurl-ari @des-the-girl @froppy-butterflyfan2000 @cooltmoney95, I cannot thank you guys enough for your support.

[katsu-curry835]

Why Bisexual Jon Snow Could Work /srs

Jon Snow is bisexual and here's why.

Aight, I'm aware the queer rep in asoiaf is pretty eh for the most part. Sweets is cool, and Loras and Renly have a nice implied relationship but Dany and Cersei having gay sex scenes felt way more fetishized than actually meaningful representation, especially since neither character considers a romance with a woman. Because of this, I'm gonna say that while I think this could be a valid direction to take the story, I'm like 50% sure that GRRM won't write it. Then again, it's been so long between books that times have literally changed and FnB seemed to have a ton of queer relationships so who knows.

Ok, ok, so I've laundered my argument; we all know why we're really here. Jon Snow could be bisexual and that could be really important for the story. Why?

First and most obvious is that it's another parallel with Dany. Jon and Dany have had storylines that directly mirror each other, especially in books 3 and 5. Dany is confirmed bisexual by the narrative, since she has regular sex with her handmaiden Irri, although because of her position of power over her, she tries to limit them. And, as already mentioned, she never gets to be romantically attracted to a woman. Maybe that's coming in future novels, who knows, but all that to say Dany and Jon mirroring each other on the bi front is not inconceivable, especially when you consider that there is already evidence for Jon being bi.

I'm sure most of you deep into this discourse(?) have probably predicted that I'm going to talk about Satin. And if this story does go in the 'Irri' direction, Satin is definitely the candidate for Jon's male love interest. He's a former prostitute from Oldtown, which mirrors another of Dany's handmaids (Doreah I think) and he's Jon's steward, like Irri is to Dany. Other characters also seem to think that Satin has kinda slept his way up the ranks to being Jon's steward, confirming at least that this idea is in GRRM's head. I wanna take a look at a few scenes and see how they could imply a future relationship between Jon and Satin. Take a look at this fight scene between Jaime and Brienne (I promise this is relevant.)

"'Give me the sword, Kingslayer.'

'Oh I will.' He sprang to his feet and drove at her, the longsword alive in his hands. Brienne jumped back, parrying, but he followed, pressing the attack. No sooner did she turn one cut than the next was upon her. The swords kissed and sprang apart and kissed again. Jaime's blood was singing...

...The dance went on. He pinned her against an oak, cursed as she slipped away, followed her through a shallow brook half choked with fallen leaves. Steel rang, steel sang, steel screamed and sparked and scraped, and the woman was grunting like a sow at every crash, yet somehow he could not reach her."

To me this scene has always read as implicitly foreshadowing Brienne and Jaime's future romance. Words like "kissed" or "grunted" or "pinned her against a tree" feel implicitly romantic/sexual, even the way the scene is described as a "dance." Jaime even says at a later point "Might I have this dance my lady" to mock her. Of course there is plenty more in the story as a whole that foreshadows Brienne and Jaime having a relationship, but I use this as an example because I want to point out how GRRM sometimes writes a fight scene as romantic and sexual foreshadowing, or at least that can be how some scenes are interpreted. Now I want to look at the scene where Jon trains Satin.

"It's too heavy," the Oldtown boy complained.

"It's as heavy as it needs to be to stop a sword," Jon said. "Now get it up." He stepped forward, slashing. Satin jerked the shield up in time to catch the sword on its rim, and swung his own blade at Jon's ribs. "Good," Jon said, when he felt the impact on his own shield. "That was good. But you need to put your body into it. Get your weight behind the steel and you'll do more damage than with arm strength alone. Come, try it again, drive at me, but keep the shield up or I'll ring your head like a bell . . ."

This scene reads similarly to me. Words like "jerked," "rim," "get it up," even the one word sentence "Come," can read as sexual foreshadowing in a similar way to Jaime and Brienne if you are given context that Jon and Satin do end up together. In particular, "ring your head like a bell" reminds me of a scene where Gendry gets approached by a girl but rejects her advances.

"I'm named Bella," the girl told Gendry. "For the battle. I bet I could ring your bell, too. You want to?"

I would be remised if I didn't mention that Jon calls Satin pretty three times in the chapter where he's supposed to be engaged in a battle with the wildlings. Like yeah, that's a bit weird, why are you thinking about that now Jon. Or I could mention the fact that he described Satin’s voice swearing his words as being like song and that he could smell the fresh sweet oils Satin rubbed into his beard. Jon… buddy you got something you wanna say? I’m joking of course: you don't have to be queer to recognize another man's beauty. What I think puts this into perspective is if you compare this to how he describes Val, someone who it's generally agreed upon that he takes an interest in.

Here's a quote where Jon describes Satin:

"The boy claimed to be eighteen, older than Jon, but he was green as summer grass for all that. Satin, they called him, even in the wool and mail and boiled leather of the Night's Watch; the name he'd gotten in the brothel where he'd been born and raised. He was pretty as a girl with his dark eyes, soft skin, and raven's ringlets. Half a year at Castle Black had toughened up his hands, however, and Noye said he was passable with a crossbow."

Now here's Val:

"Val stood on the tower roof, gazing up at the Wall. Stannis kept her closely penned in rooms above his own, but he did allow her to walk the battlements for exercise. She looks lonely, Jon thought. Lonely, and lovely. Ygritte had been pretty in her own way, with her red hair kissed by fire, but it was her smile that made her face come alive. Val did not need to smile; she would have turned men's heads in any court in the wide world."

I mean, the fact that "pretty" is a word used to describe both Ygritte and Satin is a connection that I shouldn't need to point out the significance of, but I digress. If you actually compare these quotes, both look like neutral descriptions of someone's appearance in isolation, however in context, you have to ask why the author shows you this stuff. Why does Jon comment on how good looking both of these characters are so often? It doesn't seem like there would be any other purpose to these, again, repeated descriptions of both Val and Satin other than to highlight that the fact that Jon finds both of them attractive is important.

Again, none of this proves anything outright. I mention this because this is the sort of thing where if you reread the books with this lens, suddenly more things start to jump out at you, and it can read like obvious foreshadowing you missed. Like when Catelyn sees her reflection in some armor and comments on how "drowned" she looks. It doesn't mean too much on a first read, but when you know what happens to her, it's some clever foreshadowing.

Another big reason I think Jon getting with Satin might be important is that you can see it as a pivotal part of Jon's character arc, specifically Jon's sexual awakening storyline. When Jon first has sex with Ygritte, she's the one who initiates the interaction. In fact she has been doing that the whole time he's had her hostage, teasing him with advances and mocking him for his inexperience. In the famous cave scene, Jon's thoughts are how he wants to bang her, but also about how it would be in conflict with his vows. That's the main reason he never has sex with her until she incites it on her own; it's not because he doesn't want to. It's because he thinks it would violate the words he swore at the weirwood.

So Ygritte begins this part of his arc, and Jon discovers that he likes having sex, how original. But he still feels reservations about it, during the act and afterwards. After all, his people resent him for being able to openly take a woman to bed with him, while they have to go to Mole's Town to dig if they want to get any action at all.

My view on this is that the story is heading in a sex-positive direction with respect to Jon. There’s plenty of theming about this “why is it a sin if it feels so good” etc etc. The books are full to the brim of people feeling needlessly guilty about having casual sex, Jon especially. Where I think this is headed, therefore, is probably something like a wildling understanding of sex; Jon has to view sex as Ygritte did, because that was always the healthiest way for him to go about it. Except this time, to complete his arc, he is going to need to take the initiative himself and embrace his desires like Ygritte did. Her teasing him for not doing this was trying to get him to come out of his shell. It would feel strange to me if this went nowhere. Jon needs a future romantic/sexual partner so that he can feel no qualms with taking the initiative with them. How he learns to do that is up to George but suffice it to say, however uncertain I maybe that this partner will be Satin, a future romance is in the cards for Lord Snow.

So Jon's in a bit of a bind here from a meta perspective. If we want him to complete his sexual awakening storyline, he's going to have to take the initiative himself with a partner without feeling any inhibitions. But he can't do that if he's still a brother of the Night's Watch because of the aforementioned conflict with his vows. But he's not going to stop being a crow, his vows are important to him. So how do we reconcile the fact that Jon's character arc about his sexuality needs to be resolved, but he also needs to keep to his words? Simple: make his next partner male so it doesn't violate anything.

I've actually thought this could work as a plot point for anyone either in the Night's Watch or the Kingsguard. One of these men surely has to consider at some point the obvious loophole of "so I can't bed a woman, but what about a man?" and how that affects their honor or whatever. It just slots kinda nicely into Jon's storyline here. Another reason it really works is that Jon is looking to socially progress the Night’s Watch: unity with the wildlings, defending Satin from homophobia etc. Him realising the obvious flaw of the vows for not considering that men can be romantically involved through his own experiences as a bi guy can help him begin to dismantle the outdated nature of the customs. He’s framed as this sort of reformer, and being a queer bastard (who is also probably the lost heir to the Targaryen dynasty) makes this thematically poignant. He’s an outcast, but also a king.

Of course, he’s always been an outcast, being queer would just help add to that. And this is just one way of writing this arc; I’m not married to this take on this basis alone.

I can so imagine a scene where Jon is having sex with Satin and the lit hearth is positioned behind Satin's head from Jon's POV and it looks like Satin's been 'kissed by fire.' Also, Jon considering how Ygritte would feel about him doing this and coming to that conclusion that she would be proud seems like a great way to end a chapter about the two hooking up because Jon's arc would be basically resolved.

This final part is something that I feel should not be left merely implied: Jon being canonically bisexual would be great representation. This is one of the most beloved and famous heroes in all of fantasy, hell, in all of modern fiction. Making him queer would be a really important step forward for queer rep that should not be underestimated. Verity Ritchie (VerilyBitchie on yt) did an excellent video essay on bisexuality in reality tv, a point from which I'm going to paraphrase: it's really hard to effectively depict bisexuals because any confirmed relationship with another character would look like they 'picked a side.' But in order to continually show someone's openness to sexual attraction to two or more genders, you risk going to far the other way, falling into the bisexual sex demon stereotype. This is a really difficult needle to thread, and is why we have characters like Nick Nelson constantly having to remind us that they're bi, rather than having us just assume they could be. Put simply, we need better bi representation, especially with men and Jon Snow is excellent casting for the role. His relationship to Ygritte is constantly referenced throughout the narration as something he treasures and misses, so there would be no doubt that he was not 'gay the whole time.' But, if the Satin story goes ahead, there can be no doubt he's not queer either. Literature is a great place to put bi characters, I think, since an internal monologue can remind you of past relationships with other characters of different genders and how they mean something to the character in question, but never undermining the integrity of the current relationship.

Me personally, I'd be buzzing for Jon Snow to be confirmed as bi. Really interested to see people's thoughts on this.

[chaifootsteps]

Brandon Rogers said that it can be scary as a fan to not know where all the characters will end up by the end. But the fact it’s all planned out and that they as writers know everyone’s “resting place”, makes it a bit less scary and more comforting. (I think he said “all the characters are where they need to be” and implied what they actually need is different than what they thought they needed.) he said knowing their fate is less stressful.

But not to me really? I’d be a lot more comforted if I felt like the stories could still evolve and change at least partially based on the feedback from the audience. I guess that’s the thing with animation taking so long, the story is set in stone and we can only watch and react too late. Viv is completely in her own head when she’s writing this stolitz stuff, and nobody close is brave enough to tell her straight that this is abusive, it isn’t romantic whatsoever just because people ship it. At some point we have to admit the point of shipping is playing with dolls in an idealised way we prefer, it doesn’t reflect the reality of the actual story and the dynamic of characters.

As it is, the statement above comes off as them harshly doubling down on whatever they have planned. And it’s starting to get to me a little that whenever they ‘talk’ to the fandom, it feels like they’re only talking to just stolitz shippers as if they’re the whole fandom, when they actually aren’t. And I mean really, not one person saw what went down with Circus and said “Viv, I know the kiddy shipping fanart is cute, but please don’t undo years of work and the story of an entire season, by retconning the writing around the whole series” Like she did when she ditched the pilot for making stolas look too mean, despite the heart and soul put into its art, and how fun and uplifting it was not because of but despite stolas.

She wrote s2 when LooLoo land was airing, I feel like she should have waited a bit to see the responses and how it comes across on screen. And maybe pay better attention to Stella. Especially with the ash-tray blitz scenes and the infamous chain scene. That’s why I feel like The Circus is nothing like the actual ongoing canonical story, it’s just a grandiose piece of stolitz fanart. Please medrano, don’t do that again.

The fact that it's Brandon Rogers saying this, and that he said the characters end up where they need to be, gives me a hairline amount of hope. Not much though, since it's obvious Viv's running the show and her idea of "where the characters need to be" is fellating each other and leaving the logistics of whether it all makes sense for her fandom to slap headcanons on.

It's true though, and I'll never understand this crew's obsession with spoiling as much of their plots as possible. I don't want to know that it all ends up okay, I want to bite my nails wondering whether these characters will make it to the final credits alive or not.

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Hi Slug! If you've listened to the full songs in the new EP, have your opinions of the trailers changed? Also, the new dramas are HEAVY, so if you've listened to them, I'm curious to know what you thought of them. As always, thanks for the translations!

I like listening to Hypmic music on shuffle during workouts, so I've most of the new songs in full by now. I don't think my opinions have changed majorly. I really enjoy Black and White, and Move Your Body Till You Die is a phenomenal work of art.

As for the drama tracks... truth be told, I haven't even listened to the one that came out in April, so I'll read through some TLs now and record thoughts below the cut:

No One Lives Forever, translation courtesy of shinseimcd on Twitter

"Anti-Party of Words faction" Huh, like a government faction? I'm surprised the PoW allows other political parties or at the very least open dissenters. There was talk in some chapters of the manga of them punishing protesters, not to mention the way they crushed the TDD rebellion in its primacy. Either way, interesting, and I hope we learn more about this as time goes on.

Ichijiku and Nemu baking together is really cute lol

I love the way Ichijiku's whole personality shifts around Otome. Gap moe (????)

It's a cool tidbit that Nemu tends to prefer plainer outfits, as that tracks with how she dresses in TDD. Also, Nemu and Ichijiku shopping together is kind of bittersweet, since Ichijiku is clearly using Nemu as a replacement figure for her deceased sister...

Ichijiku secretly wanting to fall on the cute side of the cute/elegant spectrum is a pretty classic trope but a fun detail that's been hinted at already, since we've seen that she keeps a bow collection.

??? Rei's lab is on Battleship Island? Ohhhhhhhhh this is why Twitter was blowing up with controversy right after this track released... The IRL Battleship Island was home to forced labor of Korean and Chinese citizens during the twentieth-century push of Japanese imperialism which was later, iirc, denied in part or totally by the Japanese government to immense international backlash. Using this as a setpiece for Hypmic is oddly provocative, and I can't think why the writers would want to do that. On a much lighter note, this is also a headscratcher to me because isn't this a UNESCO World Heritage Site? The whole point of that is conservation, and I don't think building a clone lab counts as conservation... Unless they're implying the clone lab was built prior to the 1950s? Hm. Let's not go down this rabbit hole.

"I would like all of the True Hypnosis Mics. As well as all the Amemura clones." Oh? Are there more still alive? I thought Honobono ordered the death of the last remaining three... Well, that scraps a piece of writing I was working on LOL

"Your biometric data is required to access the mic storage facility" So how did the PoW get in?

Her? Heart stop beating? Oh for fuck's sake, is Rei's wife also in a coma? How many fucking characters are in a coma in this series... Whichever mfer invents a device that restores people from comas with no significant brain damage will make a fortune in this universe

"And I won't try anything funny." I do not believe this for one instant

Hmm, the framing of Otome planning this and the way she brushed past talk of countermeasures for the anti-PoW faction implies that Rei is heading this faction.

Oh, so they couldn't get past the biometric locks after all, I see.

I strongly dislike the idea of thirty clones for thirty mics and the nonchalance in which Rei goes, "Yeah, I'll ship them off to Chuuouku" like they're a parcel and not human beings, but that's my personal bone to pick w/ this character and setting.

I was intrigued by the notion of the PoW holding caucuses, implying there's some sort of democratic process in terms of choosing their own party members or positions, but the JPN audio doesn't specify that exactly.

"We no longer require the cooperation of Jakurai Jinguji." I know that this took like four years in real time, but in terms of the Hypmic universe... I mean, Jakurai didn't even do anything for them, did he? He went through all that moral dilemma for nothing, as far as I can tell. (I get that it sets up the reconciliation with Ramuda, but that's it? Seriously?) That's disappointing to roll it back so quickly.

"During the Division Rap Battle, the people of our nation will be focused on the tournament, giving us the opportunity to use the True Hypnosis Mics to mind hack the Anti-Party of Words faction who stand in our way, ultimately pulling them over to our side." Otome always has the most batshit plans. God bless. A consequence of her needing to drive the plot forward is that she'll say some of the truly silliest things I've ever heard. What a complete misappropriation of government funds lol. Also... is this stating there are only 30 dissidents (????), or can the True Hypmics brainwash more than one person at a time?

"Once that is complete, we will move on to other countries. And when we have taken over the world, then, in the true sense of the word, peace through the power of words will be achieved." LMAO? I'm sorry, this isn't very considerate of me, but in my initial impressions of this, I am well and truly gobsmacked. What in the actual fuck. How many clones will die for this? How much money will it cost? How does she think she stands any chance at governing so many people across such an area, even with a downsized population after WWIII? Homie... Never change, Hypmic, you are the wildest.

I can't believe Ichijiku is so whipped she's willing to go along with an absolutely nonsensical plan for world domination. Ma'am, Otome is not going to fuck you, and even if she is, it's not worth it! Ma'am!!! I'm sorry, I'm being petty and not giving this a lot of in-depth thought but LORD this is a trip on first read.

A FUCKING CLONE UPRISING AT THE HANDS OF REI? HAHAHAHAHA.

"World domination, huh, what a joke." Man after my own heart.

I'm actually quite interested in how this "mics are disabled forever" thing works. I guess the mics have a kill switch in them? I vaguely recall someone saying that in the manga years and years ago... Oh yeah, it was Ramuda in TDD 12. Huh, interesting if that was intentional foreshadowing (I'm not sure if I want to be that charitable). At any rate, can't everyone in the room just get new mics? Or does it affect their speakers and such too? I'm curious how that works, like if you build an affinity with a certain mic or some nonsense.

"looks like we won't be having any Division Rap Battles from here on out." Ah, and this is why the other half of Twitter was up in arms like "No more DRB??? End of Hypmic??" I guess.

The Block Party tracks are quite long, and since it's getting rather late for me, I'm going to leave off here for the moment. I'd like to continue this at my next available opportunity... WHAT a ride. Not sure when that will be, but I will add to this with a reblog when I can. And I know it's been months since this track came out, but I would love to hear other people's thoughts. I wasn't around much when it first launched, so I missed most of the commentary on it.

[ohmeadows]

Been having thoughts on that scene with Tingyun from patch 1.2, and some of the fandom’s dooming over it. Obviously, spoilers. But no leaks.

The ambiguous “is she dead? is she alive?” is interesting to me from a narrative standpoint, it’s fun to not know for me, but I feel like people are writing off Tingyun too easily: I’ve seen some people dismiss her being alive with “she’s a random fox girl with no combat prowess”. Here’s some arguments I have for why she might actually be alive. (Barring 1.x patches proving me wrong! Yay conclusions to character arcs!)

First of all, we know that the one who died in front of us was not Tingyun. It’s stated several times, and for argument’s sake, let’s take it at face value for what they say: that was not Tingyun. The body was “borrowed”. We further know that Phantylia was not always in possession of Tingyun’s body, suggesting at some point in her life (perhaps very recently, perhaps years ago) this borrowing began.

Working with these assumptions of of truth, I’d argue there are some factors that could point to Tingyun being alive.

The first thing we know about her, and what is shown in her personal stories dating back decades, is that she is an amicassador (amicable + ambassador), and holds a potential and powerful diplomatic sway as well as silver tongue. I think this alone suggests if she got herself in a dire position, she could have been in possession of information vital enough to be a valuable trade. Everyone needs information, even the Antimatter Legion. Maybe this trade of information has left her disinclined to come back to the Xianzhou as well.

Further, Tingyun has a very vested interest in the future of the Xianzhou, as expressed in her personal stories as well as Yukong pinning her hopes on her. Tingyun aims to achieve this through trade, something Yukong encourages, seeing no future in the Xianzhou fleet continuing chasing wars. Trading information, perhaps trading her body, if the gain was big or vital enough? I could see that happening. Panthylia is able to mimic Tingyun so precisely that it’s also an interesting factor to consider — perhaps Tingyun was consistently feeding information to her, either by choice or force.

It’s still unclear if real Tingyun was on the Luofu or not while all of this went down, and searching for a person on the Luofu is hard enough, consider the vastness of the universe — what diplomatic mission might this have happened during? How many years back? Tingyun’s personal stories imply she might sometimes be gone for years at a time.

(Her name is interesting in context, 停云, or “Lingering Clouds”, referencing a poem, but 停 carrying the meaning of “halt, stop” as well, implying stopping the clouds. There are a lot of cloud motifs associated with the Luofu in particular.)

A final option could be that yes, she has gone “”evil”” and aligned with the Antimatter Legion or perhaps the Yaoshi. That’s fun in its own ways, though I personally lean more towards her amicassador and heading up a trade guild as potential ways for her to survive in dire situations others might fail to navigate.

So. Even if she does end up dead, knock on wood, if nothing else, there’s some fodder for AU thoughts. We might get more clarity whenever the safe in her shop is opened and we get to read the letter she leaves there in case she never returns. (Probably the strongest hint for a death flag, but… Also a hint towards her having something more going on than what we see on the surface.)

End of the day, Tingyun is an important crux of the Xianzhou's future: war, or peace? Continue with the dual-edged deal they have made with Lan against the Yaoshi, or find another path entirely? A lot of important characters hint towards a general exhaustion with warmongering and the cost it has taken on them. Tingyun surviving could be an important future. Tingyun dying could be a galvanizing moment for Yukong. Whichever way it falls, it's bound to have important rippling effects beyond "boring weak fox girl".

[vaporclan]

you know, as someone who has been following this comic for a long long time (almost from the start. and is likely one of the worst offenders when it came to spam liking since i used likes to keep track of where i was. for that i apologize, but i digress.) and as someone who is very interested in psychology, the inner workings of the mind, what compels people to behave the way they do, etc., you have truly gone above and beyond here.

you are clearly so passionate about your characters, all of them (even if sootsky is somewhat of an exception, i still feel as though he means something to you as a character because you wrote for him and he developed at your hand) no matter how misguided, stubborn/uncooperative, and/or fueled by unsettled conflicts, unprocessed trauma mental turmoil they are; because you understand them.

they aren't just characters to you; they're like your "children" for lack of a better comparison. they're entirely three-dimensional to you and, although I'm not implying by any means that you don't see them as fictional, you breathed so much life into them that i truly do think that they have become something so special and alive. their world truly is that: a whole other World, with every individual living their own lives with their own thoughts, feelings, and motives, and while you obviously control what happens and make changes/add lore as you see fit, i truly do believe that these characters are telling their own stories through you.

i'm not sure if i'm being coherent/clear here as i am a highly abstract thinker and oftentimes overexplain things in an attempt to make it more understandable when it actually has the opposite effect and makes my thoughts more confusing/hard to understand. if i said anything that is incorrect, inaccurate, or pushing any of your boundaries, i deeply apologize. i just wanted to take the time and write out my thoughts to you in an attempt to say that i am so very impressed with the depth of this comic about cats with an origin from a game with randomly-generated events. again, it is so clear that you have put immense thought into each and every character, and your passion for this project is both admirable and very clear to any of your audience who are taking the time to analyze and read unbiased. and, even if some people aren't exactly doing that, there is no one who can deny the amount of effort you have put into this comic and how much you have accomplished in so little time.

you don't have to answer this ask or anything, so please don't feel obligated to. i don't require a response; it just feels nice to finally express my thoughts about this comic to you and it feels like the appropriate time to do so with the finale finally here and a new start coming soon.

i hope you have a wonderful day/night and that however long or short this next arc of the comic may be (and any other potential arcs/spinoffs), it brings you so much joy and pride. it certainly has given me a very complex and interesting story that i both enjoy and find incredibly thought-provoking/very relevant to my interests and studies. keep on doing what you're doing so long as it makes you feel good!

-crookedanchors / warriorwhiskers 💛

THIS IS SUCH A NICE ASK ur so right btw

I tend to put myself in my characters shoes and feel what they feel and I write how they're thinking and feeling from the heart

Some characters are inspired in places by real people I've known / their mindset and even me myself (but most characters arent)

Its crazy to me that I've managed to do all this tbh I've never created complex characters like this before this comic

This has all been very experimental for me

[honeycreammilkshake]

hello again honey please don't rush to answer if you're busy ♡

With the last chapter of jjk coming up I've kinda been trying to avoid thinking too much about it because I'm expecting to be disappointed but sadly I'm still thinking about it. Have you seen the dream theory? I read it and some things, like Yuji's domain being connected to Kenjakus powers make sense to me, same to how we're following megumi around as if he's the mc and hes the only one "awake" even though I don't think if this was Yuji's work he'd do it for Megumis sake as that post implied. I'm actually very frustrated with how even at the end we don't focus at all on Yuji, Megumi gets closure for his dad, gojo, his sister, even hana, but we don't know anything about what Yuji is feeling???? Nothing about his family is addressed, he doesn't say anything about Sukuna, nothing about his guilt, nothing about "living a life I won't regret" is he regretting anything?? Is he happy?? Let alone how unsatisfying and anticlimactic Sukuna's "death" was, every character that died has gotten a flashback, a moment to self reflect, some sort of peace in the end but we got nothing from him same exact way we're not getting anything with Yuji its insane to me. I'd rather this all be a dream conjured up by Yuji but as some people say it's a cope because genuinely this is the worst Yuji has been treated as a character and if the last chapter is wasted on introducing some new mc for jujutsu kaisen 2 then I don't even know what to say. But also the dream theory doesn't fully hold up imo, there's some things that are too specific or complicated for Yuji to have come up with if it was his domain. What are your thoughts? Any other theories? Atp I just want this manga to be over so I can focus on writing something for these two characters that their author seems to hate writing so much even though the whole story falls apart and feels so bad when we're not focusing on them because they're the damn main characters 😭

hi, jenjen!! it's great to hear from you and i'll do my best to answer this ask in full.

i've also been thinking about the last chapter still and i've had some more ideas about it. i read the dream theory and though a lot of it makes sense, i'm personally hoping that this chapter was in fact telling us that takaba is behind the "cursed fiancee" subplot because, as another user pointed out to me, it seems like something he would do. if that's the case, maybe kenjaku really is alive and we can finally get some meaningful conversation and focus on yuuji's strange family situation and maybe even learn how he felt about sukuna's death.

I'm actually very frustrated with how even at the end we don't focus at all on Yuji, Megumi gets closure for his dad, gojo, his sister, even hana, but we don't know anything about what Yuji is feeling???? Nothing about his family is addressed, he doesn't say anything about Sukuna, nothing about his guilt, nothing about "living a life I won't regret" is he regretting anything?? Is he happy??

i really feel you on this one, jenjen. not only is gege still (deliberately) putting more focus on literally almost everyone other than yuuji, but there's still no explanation about yuuji's family or how he's feeling after all this.

i have this delusional wish theory that the reason why we haven't gotten yuuji and his thoughts alone yet is because there's still a chance that he's hiding that sukuna is actually alive. i still find it really suspicious that yuuji hasn't been focused on ever since that final scene of him with sukuna, and while i think this is mostly because of gege's inability to maintain yuuji's mc status, i also question if yuuji really might have saved sukuna regardless.

i think he does regret the way his last moment with sukuna went. it's clear to me that his expression was one of disappointment and even despair that sukuna chose to die over come back to yuuji and live with him. but since we haven't gotten to see his feelings on it, and because yuuji still hasn't openly talked about sukuna's death with the others, i'm thinking it's because there's more we're not seeing yet here.

his happiness seems a little bit forced and not entirely honest, so i have to say i don't really think he's "living without regret" right now, but whether or not we'll finally get a confirmation on his true feelings is up to whatever comes with the last chapter.

Let alone how unsatisfying and anticlimactic Sukuna's "death" was, every character that died has gotten a flashback, a moment to self reflect, some sort of peace in the end but we got nothing from him same exact way we're not getting anything with Yuji its insane to me.

i can't lie, i've been seething about that, too. though i accept most of that final interaction between them and find it was completely in character, i still don't like how rushed it was. though i have some hope that sukuna did in fact have a moment of self-reflection because i do believe in the original japanese he referred to himself as a "curse" with quotation marks, which is the closest he's gotten to saying he's not fully inhuman. since yuuji has been treating sukuna more like a real person than anyone else in the last few chapters, i'd like to think it did touch sukuna in a way, which is why he not only called yuuji by his full name but also called himself a curse despite the fact that he technically isn't.

it's kind of like admitting he lost to both yuuji and his ideals because he has no other ground to stand on but remaining to the monster till the very end. and i feel like yuuji's disappointment with this decision is because he knows sukuna is still shutting out any possibility of fulfillment just because it doesn't suit his "nature."

I'd rather this all be a dream conjured up by Yuji but as some people say it's a cope because genuinely this is the worst Yuji has been treated as a character and if the last chapter is wasted on introducing some new mc for jujutsu kaisen 2 then I don't even know what to say. But also the dream theory doesn't fully hold up imo, there's some things that are too specific or complicated for Yuji to have come up with if it was his domain.

my worst fear is also that this last chapter is simply a way to introduce someone new who will take up the sequel series, and i'd be disappointed in that infinitely more than i was when gege kept inserting so much yuuta worship and focus into everything.

though i also feel like the dream theory did explain why yuuji isn't being focused on, i personally feel a bit unsettled by it because not only does it not quite line up yuuji's abilities or all of the plot given to us so far, but it also makes yuuji's story so much more tragic and, depending on how far back this "dream" started, it could have also potentially erased that last interaction between sukuna and yuuji. perhaps this is because i didn't read it fully enough, but i don't believe that the dream theory explains when exactly yuuji's fantasy might have started.

i personally think it would be more interesting if takaba was behind this latest development, since it seems comical and harmless enough to be his style. if that's true then it might also indicate that kenjaku is alive and wants to speak to yuuji, would could help provide a little more closure about yuuji's family and his feelings. meanwhile the dream ending would only be more tragic and potentially ruin any positive ending for yuuji, who i feel deserves something happier more than anyone.

but this is just my personal belief/theory.

Atp I just want this manga to be over so I can focus on writing something for these two characters that their author seems to hate writing so much even though the whole story falls apart and feels so bad when we're not focusing on them because they're the damn main characters

as for this, i also want to everything to be over so i can just go back to the parts that i did like or come up with my own headcanons for fun. (if you do end up writing, i'd love to read it please!)

i think my biggest problem with the current chapters of jjk is that they have been so rushed (mostly not gege's fault) and that the sukuna/yuuji interaction we've been getting has been so sidelined or out of focus that it doesn't really explore what is really going on between each character. we hear so little of yuuji's thoughts or reasons for suddenly wanting to extend mercy to sukuna when before he hated sukuna with all his heart and thought that "these guys will always be curses." i have so many theories about it but i feel like i've been ranting enough lately, but i just can't accept that those interactions meant nothing deeper to either of them than most fans are making it out to be.

i really hope the last chapter doesn't disappoint either of us again. tysm for the ask and take care <3

[callmearcturus]

I find the idea of Benji having like 20 exgirlfriends, boyfriends, and personfriends; while Ethan has dated like 3 people in his entire life, to be hilarious, and now I'm going to integrate it into my headcanons for both of them.

I MEAN I tend to think that before the Prague Job, Ethan was an ethical slut, and it's implied he's having a threesome with Jack and Sarah. (I mean, I literally do not know how else to interpret that line, I have put on my Straight Person Goggles and that line does not make sense unless they are all three dating.) He's flirty and openly teases people.

Then the Prague Job goes fuckways, and Ethan's entire demeanor feels like a very sharp object that neither he nor anyone else knows how to handle. He def fucked Max in the back of that car (I feel like this is even implied by her later dialogue). But its not friendly and fun anymore, it's sharp and dangerous and almost his barricade Ethan is using for his own protection.

AND THEN THERE IS CLAIRE. Claire is trying her best to manipulate the shit out of Ethan, to keep his attention on her and her 'mourning' of Jim rather than the fact Jim is alive and both of them are toying with Ethan.

That extended sequence where Ethan and Jim are talking about "what happened in Prague" intercut with Ethan figuring out what actually happened in Prague-- there's a moment when Ethan pegs Claire as having killed some of the team, but he changes his mind and casts Jim in the role instead because... he doesn't want Claire to be part of this.

TAKE ALL THAT and marry it to the fact that Claire keeps initiating touch with Ethan, tries to get him to comfort her-- that scene with her sleeping on the floor and taking his hand to kiss it is tremendously fucked up.

(I once listened to a podcast that mentioned claire was kind of ethan's love interest and like WOW no. nope. that's not what's happening even a little.)

oh my god i'm rambling but WHAT I AM SAYING is that Ethan has immense trauma that is fueled by sexual manipulation and it honestly feels like it. Twink Ethan as an ethical slut had fun and didn't have to worry about this shit and was all about fair play. Then he has a brief stint as a bad boy that goes badly because robert towne can't write a movie. Then the next we see him he's GETTING MARRIED and leaving the game.

This post is already too long so lets continue. MI3 is fascinating because it's the one I hate the most but Julia and Ethan are tremendous, and the work put into humanizing him is amazing. He's enjoying playing as a doting husband (and 'playing' is inaccurate, he's not lying) and it actively trying to carve himself out of the IMF while multiple people (INCLUDING HIS BEST FRIEND LUTHER) undermine him.

But he still tries, and he leaves, and he's out.

And it all goes to shit. Which is this tremendous tragedy of Ethan Hunt frankly. He put in the work and-- you know the phrase "he's got skin in the game"? Well Ethan had a lot of skin in the game and he let it flay him on his way out just for a chance to actually be out.

GP Ethan is a wildly changed man, but in a way that honestly makes perfect sense to me. The trajectory of his character by design or by accident is an easily tracked arc. (I think McQuarrie gets me on this, or I get him, either or.)

After GP, there is simultaneously an emotional honesty to Ethan... but there's a physical distance. He's older, he's wiser, he's tired, and he's not dragging Benji or Ilsa into a pharmacy closet to have sex. That's not him anymore. But also, there is more raw emotion to everything he does. He feels like he's always on the back foot.

(He comes across as incredibly asexual to me honestly.)

Compared Twink Ethan flirting his way through MI1 to Fallout Ethan getting kissed by the White Widow and having ZERO reaction.

/clutches Ethan to my chest. i love this tired old man.

MEANWHILE: Benji is hot and has a hot bossy streak and has amazing fashion sense. He can get it, he just can't keep it because when Ethan has a job, so does Benji, sooooo yep. lmao.

[trippin-over-my-fandoms]

So since I predicted that Sloane and Luther would get together from the day she was announced as well as a couple of scenes- I feel obligated to share w y'all my batshit crazy idea of what I thought might happen in season 4 and like now that we have TWO trailers why I think it might happen. In other words-

Me being delulu about tua s4 and y'all gotta deal w it

So my initial thought was that in this new timeline they are themselves slotted into lives they don't initially remember, that the longer they dwell in the timeline the more they remember and some come to accept. Up until the inevitable happens and the world is at risk again for whatever reason. However, saving the world means giving up these perfect lives for accepting their shitty dysfunctional reality to save each other. Because the more they stay and accept the more they lose of previous timelines.

I was gonna write a fanfic but then my resident evil obsession started and if y'all have read any of my fanfic y'all know my history with long-fics.

Why do I now think this could actually be the case you ask?

At the end of season 3 Luther takes off after our girl Sloane with Klaus following but everyone else is just so calm. Soooo which leads us to

Trailer 1

Viktor might own or work in a bar. Which the fact that he seems to be somewhat settled for sure tells us that some time has possibly passed between season 3 and 4

The sign says "home for wayward boys" implying that Allison may not have been in the group and maybe neither Viktor before the transition. I'm also wondering if now that his wife is back maybe in this new timeline they both fostered/adopted our main characters.

Oh yeah did I mention Reginald's moon wife is alive? His whole thing with the children was his alien (literally) way to save her. Now she's alive.

Allison is with claire so she also possibly has her life back.

Ben is getting out of jail and like it could be a "time has passed between seasons" thing or something happens in one of the episodes where he winds up locked up.

Diego is at a kid's party and either has his own kid or a niece or something. it's not claire and the family behind him is not his umbrella fam.

MY BOY IS SO SMALL ITS GONNA BE SO WEIRD SEEING HIM "NORMAL" THIS SEASON also he looks kinda sad. trailer two debunks what I initially thought of his reveal in this trailer because I thought oh haha what if it's a Halloween costume but like we'll get to my season 2 crazies hang in there.

Klaus is upside down in an interior (proven by the radiator) so he is either stuck, meditating, in a trance, or it's Sloane holding him there. I also kinda wonder if he's going through a clean streak or something OCD like with his addictions from the whole blue gloves thing. tbh i saw those in the promo and thought it was blue screen and his hands were gonna be effed up lol.

ben shouts "lets go kill this bitch" and allison corrects "this is a rescue mission" sooooooo is reginal and or his wife the bitch in question? and like sloane is the only one missing from our group so maybe she's the one being rescued? or maybe one of the new characters (like gene and jean).

which brings me to a theory I'll get to after my trailer break down and before the second breakdown.

side bar but the xmen stile jet is great lol

the subway is 100% a metaphor for the timelines AND that house diego and luther are at is the one from season two where they see reggie and grace at that party

the mind thingies in the blue room are so fucked up and i cant tell if thats sloane or wife hargreeves or a grace return in the bg but im wondering if it connects them to other timelines? Im wondering if the woman is sloane bc abigail has such curly hair but it does remind me of grace so idk.

upside down umbrella is insane okay

starting to think the jet might be flashbacks

A SPACE SUIT HAND REACHES INTO A RED FORCE SOMETHING FOR ANOTHER HAND AND SLOANE MAYBE????

fuck organization if you have read this far welcome to my brain- anyway- theory is that her place got swapped for abigail hargreeves' on the moon and now our beloved moon boy has to save her from that place. so symbolic.

now i was half put down a few shots later when we see victor emit a similar color power later but trailer 2 kinda backs some stuff up.

so trailer 2

opens with ben alone and confused and vicktor calls ben at the phone booth leading me to 100% believe they have split up again and have to find each other. very nostalgic of season 1 and 2

"there's something happening to you and it's only gonna get worse" so this is either about just ben OR its about all of them. either way ben did look confused so his eldritch horrors are either hulking out or he's losing memory chunks like my theory suggests. but it might revolve around ben bc vicktor specifically says "you" in the next time about the world ending.

(wondering if luther nervous farted in the car lmao)

Gene and Jean are possibly conspiracy theorists or agents posing as them but its interesting they are bringing attention to the altered timelines.

okay yeah world ending revolves around ben im tired okay and not proofing this you're stuck with my ramblings

the white violin is for sure abi hargreeves no doubt it doesn't look like sloane and plus the violin viktor got was bc reggie gave it to him that he got from his wife before she died okay. fanfic rn where viktor is the chosen child fanfic rn where abi loves all the kids fanfic rn where shes alive but shes just as much of a dick and we could have an epic trans story for viktor and expectations and yeah anyway-

whoever said it was jenny in trailer two i wanna kiss u on the lips ur prolly right and i love you for it

"ben died because we failed as a team" "and-" "and what" FOLLOWED BY LUTHERS CONFUSED FACE LEADS ME TO ONE OF TWO THINGS AND YOU ALREADY KNOW ONE OF THEM memory loss my beloved or something shocking occurs to him or like he seems something idk

more blue room stuff and uh maybe its not mind stuff maybe its power stimulation like what if they dont have their powers but ben does idk.

who TF is klaus digging up

OH GUYS NO I THINK LUTHER IS A MALE DANCER THATS WHAT THE SPACE SUIT IS IDK WTF IS THIS SHOW I LOVE IT

anyway they keep showing that one scene and like idk im delulu about sloane im so tired and i am not ready for this show to end in 8 days im sobbing y'all

[loonela]

I'm currently behind on typing up my current progress on Mirror Souls so I decided to write an alt POV! Life's been really shitty lol and I gotta take it out on fictional characters.

I took issue with Itadori's willingness to go along with the prank on Kugisaki and Fushiguro. That's the only point in S1 I wish didn't happen because it felt OOC. So like any good writer in denial, I'm changing it. Plus, daemons change A Lot! I want to bring out the emotional intelligence Itadori shows from the start. He does what he feels is right, and he's perceptive of when people aren't being truthful to him. He just needs his experience and wisdom to catch up. His teacher, in comparison, hides behind walls higher than China's. How does it feel to be perceived past those walls? How does Gojo navigate the tendency for daemons to reveal more than what is wanted? They're questions that Gojo can't even answer himself despite me being nice and giving him better mental health than canon.

So, I've been writing the alt POV of Gojo facing Itadori's death in the Curse Womb arc. I don't think it'll be in his POV, and I may never end up posting this in full, but I like sharing snippets and I like yapping about my writing. This is just after Itadori dies and the other first years return to Jujutsu Tech.

Some references of note:

Getou is still alive. SaShiSu my beloved.

Yonezawa Kiho (OC), is an upperclassmen of Gojo Gojo was stated to be overseas rescuing a grade 1 sorcerer, implied to be dead. Kiho is that sorcerer. She's touted as the next Kusakabe in New Shadow Style, focusing on polearms.

Gojo and Hakushin have a pretty mangled bond. It's not broken, but heavy damage was done at some point.

Shoko typically heals daemons either by forming a bridge or Shinobu directly heals them. If the damage isn't severe, Shinobu usually heals.

My interpretation of Six Eyes has them as metaphorical, but Gojo can send individual Eyes out on specific areas. They also have a presence that can be detected if he's not careful. Normally, he keeps an Eye on Shoko for both of their sake.

Shoko's RCT is vastly expanded on. She can read positive energy feedback, and her energy levels are hard to see because she's constantly converting cursed -> positive. There's more too.

Sorcerers can "share" energy with each other in some cases.

Hakushin paces between Satoru's legs, agitation working its way through both of them until he's almost choking in their cursed energy. Their shared energy toes the boundary of tolerable and suffocating even without failure choking him. Itadori Yuuji, dead because of hasty measures taken. Because someone targeted Kiho and he has to keep her alive both for his own selfish reasons and because she is good and kind and a force of change where Satoru can't reach. Because a mission to send three first years into a curse womb is completely within the moral lines that the higher ups are willing to jump like a fucking skip rope, because they dislike Satoru and the easiest way to him now is either Shoko or his students. Because he isn't enough, never has been, and never will be

"I'll tell Shoko you're thinking that way," his soul presses into him more, and Satoru stiffens in response, withdrawing Six Eyes into himself. "We both know it's the higher ups that want these children dead that have sole responsibility for this." Right.

"They targeted Megumi and Kugisaki too, right?" another voice chimes in. Hakushin stoops to greet Shinobu, even as the other daemon avoids the touch and just returns with a head bob. "I healed Kugisaki's daemon first, she will be here soon. Don't want to accidentally surge by touching you, sorry Hakushin." 

"Will she need my energy?" It's pure habit that has Satoru asking the question, the most careful extension of Hakushin's energy that he's ever felt weaving over to Shoko just down the hall. For all that Six Eyes gifted him and him alone, not his soul, he's never been able to sense Shoko's true energy, just like he can't sense her mother and grandmother's. He's forced to ping her the same way she does him, just much more clumsily.

"She should be okay, but you know us. Just like we know you." Shinobu turns his eyes on Satoru especially, and he thanks the blindfold for hiding his vulnerabilities. "Come down to earth, you two." 

"Already here, Shinobu. No need to worry."

The door flies open, the click of heels following. "We do anyways."

[mochilorddrakeinferno]

Greetings, I hope that you are well: I'm very interested in your Dimentio/Merloo theory. It is a great theory, and I think it works quite well as I believe it ties in quite a few loose ends and serves a wonderful further contrast between Dimentio and Bleck's characters, though there are a few points I would like to enquire about towards the theory:

Does the theory pose that Merloo IS the son of the Master Magician if Dimentio is Merloo, if that's the case, wasn't the son not heard from again after the accident? The usage of "some say" presents the survival of the son is ambigiuous so...Wouldn't the people know that Merloo is the magician's son if he is presented as important enough to get a stain-glass window?

Is the prognositicus directly stated to be difficult to decipher? I understand that the Light prognosticus would be difficult to transcribe as it was activley written. But who actually wrote the dark prognosticus? And when was it actually made? "But no person after obtaining this amazing book ever found happiness". The fact that obtain is used here possibly suggests to me that anyone who had the book in their possession never found happiness and to me that implies that there isn't an "old language" barrier needed to be crossed for the Dark Prognosticus to be read. The Light prognosticus was written by the ancients to counter the prexistimng Dark Prognosticus, so to me it makes sense that the Light Prognosticus would need to be deciphered to understand, but not the Dark. I may be missing something though. 

This would imply to me that Dimentio still could have stolen the Prognosticus when the count wasn't looking, even if he wasn't Merloo, and still would have been able to read it. 

(I wouldn't be surprised though if the writer (Co writer Merloo) who wrote the light prognosticus by using the Dark Prognosticus this measure likely DID go insane having to read the Dark Prognosticus and transcribe it in his language thoughm, the hypnotic - And that does make me ask why Merlumina didn't go insane if she ALSO contributed to the writing of the dark prognosticus but this is a bit off topic-)

If none of the ancients in the bridge between Flipside/Flopside are alive anymore, only their descendants, is there direct evidence of the lifespans that could dictate that could Merloo still be alive? You make the point of "the public had have had no way to know of the Pixl Queen until the uprising of 1,000 years later". Please can you explain the evidence of this towards the ancients being able to live at least 1,000 years? I probably missed something when going over Carson's dialogue- You also mentioned that the apprentice had lived for at least 1,000 years. Is there direct proof of this within the game?

Is there much direct symbolism between Merloo and Dimentio? As you touched on in the Lore wiki, the visual ties and pallete are very weak, and symbolism across the type characters in that respect doesn't seem to viable. Even though the painting has Dimentio's colours, the painting also has other colours in the background that aren't affiliated with him. Had Merloo any symbol of a diamond, or any design connection of the sort, I think the connection maybe be a little bit stronger?-

"Oh, and some say the son of the magician miraculously recovered from the accident. If so, the bloodline of the magician could endure... Did they find happiness? Or otherwise..." Was this line different in the Japanese verssion to refer specifically to the son finding happiness? Doesn't this alter the meaning of the line quite a bit? 

I think that the theory is a unique and interesting approach to Dimentio's characater and makes him seem far more interesting, and honestly I'd love to see it being official lore for the character, though, when comparing how the rest of the game presents its lore, the theory seems a bit...farfetched, even with the abundance of evidence provided. 

When looking at how lore is generally presented in the game, the lore seems a bit...Scattered..outside of Count Bleck and Timpani's as well as some of the direct lore you can find in locations like King Crocaus's castle detailing the stories of his family tree and the glass window section of Flipside's main Co-founders/contributors. The rest of the lore practically comes exclusivley from Carson and is relativey... Easy to put together, so to speak. 

I have no doubt that the writers wanted to tie in Dimentio with the Magician son part of the theory, as the term "magician" has been used to describe his character and I certainly agree that Merloo is connected to his character a least in some way as he also uses dimensional magic and has the key word "magician" to determine him and as there are no descendants of Merloo present, but that lack of really any noteworthy visual connection and the way the other lore is generally presented  is one of the few reasons why I think him actually being Merloo might not have been the intention despite how good the theory is?

Apologies for the ask and I hope that you have a nice day!

Glad you asked, and happy to answer! This will be a very long one. So long in fact that it broke the character limit again, so it's Google Doc link time again. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eLguKB4Guepv55BkRF0i3U98_2ObJ3SVWAHETEDjptQ/edit Enjoy!

[purpleandstarlight]

I am planning and somewhat writing a BBC Merlin rewrite where:

-Merlin and Arthur are both women. Merlin is a lesbian and Arthur (here named Arthelia) is bi. Merthur endgame even though it's slow burn af.

-Artheria is very much raised in a "manly" way bc Uther wanted a son but got a daughter and with his wife dead and no intention to remarry that's what he went with. She grew up having to prove herself to the men in her life (The knights, Uther himself) and WILL skin alive anyone who tries to say men are stronger than her just because she's a woman, but internalized misogyny exists because of how Uther raised her + the companies she keeps being usually men. She goes very "I'm not like other girls" at times, but she has character development for that too dw.

-Morgana is good cause I loved early serie Morgana. She's also a huge lesbian and spends some time being in love with Gwen (i ship them) but seeing as i LOVE SingleButHappy!Morgana and Lancelot and Gwen are cute together, Gwen is straight so they aren't endgame. Morgana doesn't stay unhappy for too long tho, and they stay very close best friends!!

-A lot of the early-serie flirting between the four main characters doesn't exist here. Morgana and Artheria are only siblings coded and there isn't anyone implying otherwise in court either. Merlin sees Gwen like a sister and so does she. Morgana and Merlin befriend eachother instantly when Merlin goes to deliver the sleeping potion, and bond over hating Artheria (and later on in the story also over being lesbians and having magic), but they never see eachother in a romantic way, even if Merlin does notice how attractive Morgana is very early on. Since we're on the topic, Artheria never crushes on Gwen either, because i don't really see much chemistry between them in canon tbh.

-Gwaine is bi. Flirting is a bit of a way to befriend others for him (and if he scores in the mean time, he's not complaining) plus Merlin is really nice and pretty, so he flirts with her once and immediately notices she's uncomfortable with it so he apologises and says he will stop, but the conversation leads to him coming out to her as being both into men and women, so she happily tells him she's gay too, and now that Merlin knows he knows and that he has no intention of having anything other than friendship, Merlin lets him flirt with her as their inside joke. It's funny to them. It's less funny to Arthelia who doesn't know Merlin's into women and therefore becomes jealous of any man trying anything with her lmao. Also even when Arthelia and Gwain become friends, he never flirts with her, even as a joke. That's just the relationship they have, no hate from Gwaine.

- I haven't really rewatched the serie in ages. Only funny moment compilations and crack videos. I am listening to a Merlin rewatch podcast thought, so I will just use the way they recap the episodes as my basis for each episode rewrite, and just write them my own way like i immagine them with my version of the characters.

-Arthelia and Merlin do share one (1) kiss kinda early on but they don't enter a relationship for a long time. Its based on that one time Gwen had to kiss Arthur to break a love spell? Expect it says "A kiss from a soulmate" Instead of "A kiss of your one true love" because a one shot i haven't read yet had this change and i felt like it was a good way to change the plot and give more romantic development even early on without putting them in a relationship in this series rewrite! Because the idea this gave me is:

Arthelia is about to do something stupid bc of the love spell, and Merlin is still trying to make her reason, but in vain. In a rush of panic to save her, her mind goes "Wait i could be a soulmate. We are destined and two sides of the same coin and blahblahblah!! It doesn't have to be romantic!" So she kisses her fully expecting it not to work but it does. Merlin is (pretends to be) unbothered by the kiss bc "It wasn't romantic!! It's just that we have a connected destiny!!!" and Arthelia doesn't remember the kiss clearly bc the memories of the time she was under the spell are hazy, but she does gain them back in her sleep sometimes. Especially the kiss - she keeps dreaming it, but just doesn't know if she should believe it and doesn't ask Merlin abt it.

-In the future, once Merlin and Morgana come out as sorceress to Arthelia, she works to make magic legal and then puts them in the position of Court Sorceress. They share the position so they can cut the work in half and Merlin can keep helping Gaius (+ When Arthelia goes out of the castle, Merlin can follow her to keep her safe without them worrying about leaving the castle without a Court Sorceress).

-Mordred is good. Merlin still is quite distrustful of him when they meet again once he's grown up because of what the dragon said, but she trusted Morgana not to do anything bad despite the dragon's words in the past, and Arthelia herself decides to trust him once Merlin warns her of what the dragon said, so she tries to be more chill and then finally warms up to him a bit more with time, though their interactions are still a bit awkward sometimes and Merlin never 100% leaves the matter completely out of her head.

[always-a-joyful-note]

Thinking some fandom thoughts and then about ORV's portrayal of an author-character-reader relationship with the story and realising how....lacking at times the whole death of the author perspective on media can be.

(Turned out to be long and rambly so I put it under a cut. If you like death of the author, probably not for your worldview? Also, beware major ORV spoilers if you care about that)

Like, perhaps I'm misinterpreting something here, but in ORV, we had these three characters plus an entire system that gave us a look into the relationship between author/reader/character. And focusing on the Han Sooyoung, Kim Dokja, and Yoo Joonghyuk dynamic, I realise that none of them really died. Pushing asides Joonghyuk and Dokja for the moment (as I am talking about death of the author), we have Han Sooyoung whose consciousness faded after finishing Ways of Survival.

However, I don't know if we can really call that death of the author, really. Because Sooyoung's whole purpose in writing ORV, her authorial intention, was to save Kim Dokja's life...which she DID. And even after the story left her hands, her intentions were imprinted into the story itself. Yes, Dokja realised that the system was lenient to him because of (spoiler alert) his status as the OD. But at the same time, I think that Han Sooyoung's authorial intent to keep Dokja alive with WoS can also be taken as a factor in the system's leniency towards our reader.

And just jumping from that back to my original point, while death of the author IS fun and can be awesome for reinterpreting stories that the author may have intended as problematic (to our modern standards, at least), to separate the actual story itself from its creator seems just....a tad disrespectful to the author.

Or maybe disrespectful isn't the right word. Like, say, even if said author is objectively the worst of humans, there remains the fact that the story in essence has part of them embedded into it. It doesn't make sense, at least to me, to only give "morally okay" writers the allowance of people who put a part of themselves in their works. Any writer, even those who are writing for money imo, can't help but put part of their own selves into their story...and to separate the story from the author just because we hate the author or hate their beliefs seems a bit counter-productive. You can't just say, after all, that this author's vulnerability in their writing is okay because it's Correct but this other guy's vulnerability should be ignored because it's chalk full of Problematic Content.

But again, that's not to justify authors you dislike or the deeply wrong messages implied in their works. Especially those that could easily be shooed away by employing death of the author. But I think I'd consider fanfic or analyses that ignore authorial intent and their message to be something...new entirely? (Best way I can say it is something something death of an author employed to help the reader create their own narrative inspired by someone else's story rather than it being used to ignore author intent and claim our interpretation is what canon actually meant).

I think there's a saying in music as well as writing that you could play the same exact score or write the same story, it's just that things will come out different depending on the player or writer. (That's not a perfect comparison because the player/musician who WROTE the score could be considered a reader/author relationship...the point is more that the same thing will look different in the hands of different people. And that just as the reader will interpret something in their own way when reading/re-reading (another ORV reference), the author also has placed in their own interpretation and intent in that own work...which should at worst be respected because they DID make that content (and then we proceed to brutally revise it to make something we like better xD) or at best be taken as "word of god" for lack of a better term)

Not sure if any of this makes sense, and I definitely don't have any factual evidence to back up this opinion, but it was just something I was thinking of.

TL:dR? Death of the author is FUN and actually pretty cool but I think the things coming out of it are new(ish) things/works entirely, and og author's beliefs/intentions are important to consider for that text they wrote in of itself.