#keys to the demon prison

[sees-writes]

I love that Dale and Warren Burgess full on took their role as older cousins to Kendra and Seth so seriously, becoming as protective of them as older siblings would. I mean:

“‘Maybe you should just feed me to him (Olloch),’ Seth said.

‘Don’t talk nonsense,’ Grandma said…

‘He’ll have to eat me to get to you.’ Dale said. ‘Whether you like it or not.’”

This is Book 2 RotES

“The knife at her side had Kendra’s full attention. She realized that the wrong words or action might get her stabbed.

…

Warren stopped into view, hands in his shopping cart, eyes on Civia. Kendra had never seen him look quite so serious.

…

“Warren stopped. ‘I don’t care who you are,’ he said. ‘You harm Kendra and I’ll break your neck.’”

This is Book 5 KthDP

-

Dale was fully ready to fist fight a whole ass demon to protect Seth. Warren told the LAST Eternal that he did not give a shit and would end her to protect Kendra. I just love how ride or die these to are, pure Burgess blood right there.

[teenageread]

Review: Keys to the Demon Prison

Synopsis:

After centuries of plotting, the Sphinx—leader of the Society of the Evening Star—is after the final artifacts needed to open the great demon prison, Zzyxx. If the legendary prison is opened, a tide of evil is certain to usurp control of the world.

In an effort to intercept the final artifacts, Kendra, Seth and the Knights of the Dawn race to strange and exotic preserves across the globe. The stakes have never been higher. The risks have never been more deadly.

In this explosive series finale, allegiances will be confirmed and secrets revealed as the forces of light and darkness collide in a desperate, climactic battle to control the keys to the demon prison.

Plot:

Seth and Kendra had a mission to save everyone they loved, they needed to stop the Sphinx, a once-thought ally, who was actually the leader of their rival group known as the Society of the Evening Star. The Sphinx wanted to use the artifacts to open up the demon prison because he believed he could control the demons, which those at Fablehaven knew was impossible. Kendra and Seth had an extra reason to hate the Sphinx, as he was responsible for the kidnapping of their parents, who were blind to the world of Fablehaven. Starting off with a mission to collect the final artifact, the Knights of the Dawn ran into trouble as the Sphinx was hot on their tail. Kendra and Seth found themselves separated as Seth was captured by the Society, Kendra managed to escape with a few friends. In prison is where Seth met Bracken, a unicorn in their human form, who promised to help Seth escape and follow the Knights in stopping the Society. Kendra and friends were tasked with getting Warren back and rescuing those the Sphinx have taken from them. Along the way, Kendra and Seth meet new friends, reconnect with old friends, and be betrayed by those they trusted. As the Knights of Dawn head to face off with the Society of the Evening Star, Kendra, and Seth must work together, alongside their friends, to save the world as they know it, protect those they love, and hopefully restore Fablehaven, and their home, in time. 

Thoughts: 

Brandon Mull wraps up the Fablehaven series with this banger of a novel. The longest yet, Mull continues to write from a third-person perspective as they follow Kendra and Seth around on their various missions, leading up to the final battle where everyone is together and all remaining questions are answered. With fast pace writing, this novel being the longest of the series, really flies through your hand as you are itching to figure out Kendra’s storyline, or Seth’s, and waiting for our sibling pair to be reunited to take on the bad guys' head on. Kendra is always an amazing character, and Mull really brings her out of her shell in this novel, making her normal thoughtfulness and hidden bravery seem on full display. For our romantics, having Kendra develop these deeper feelings towards the special people in her life, allows us to see Kendra growing up, as her crushes develop into something more, and gives you a glimpse into the emotional side of what is going on in Kendra’s life. Seth, on the other hand, is still a child, and where his bravery counts for some things, his stupidity is holding him back. A large theme Mull has been working on within Seth is having Seth not make rash and reckless decisions. For the first three novels, it seems that the entire plot revolved around Seth messing up and the Fablehaven crew having to fix that. With this being the last novel, I figured Mull would retire this plot device and give us a mature Seth as he has with Kendra. But nope, the plot device was recycled, and now the gangs are working together to stop a monster Seth created. Great job Seth! Still, Mull made Seth into a hero, giving him death-defying mission after mission, where Seth’s bravery and righteousness saved the day. With this being the final novel in the Fablehaven series, Mull really went all out with the battles, missions, and a conclusion that was worth waiting for. Despite keeping Kendra and Seth separated for the majority of the novel, our sibling duo are in their prime with this one. With a satisfying ending, I know Mull is not done with the world of Fablehaven, or with Seth and Kendra, and I am excited to see what they do next with them!

Read more reviews: Goodreads

Buy the book: Amazon

[zzyzxtourguide]

On theme with my username:

And on our right we’ll see a young boy absolutely demolishing several demons with a legendary sword

[imminent-danger-came]

Hi. I'm wondering about one thing.🤔

Are you remember I asked you if there was a possibility that the Lady bone demon was a pawn of our mysterious guest? And you said it might be a possibility. So...

So I think Mayor was created by this mystery guy. To keep an eye on the Lady bone demon. Bah! I think he even made sure she would dance to the rhythm of our mystery person's plan.

Because how is it that there were glaring differences between Mayor and Wukong when it came to body possession? Because look. Sun wukong kept fighting with lady bone demon because of course he wanted freedom. And the mayor what? Didn't he want to either? It may also be that the mayor fought at first, but eventually gave up. It might be like this. I'm not saying there's no such option.

ㄟ( ▔, ▔ )ㄏ

Oooor it is that he was specifically created to be easily possessed. You never know when your supposedly loyal companion will suddenly stab you in the back because he was ordered to kill you because you would thwart his plan.

And those white eyes! Did no one notice that suddenly their general had eyes like that? Or maybe… maybe he had it like that from the very beginning? 😏

If it weren't like that. I don't know. (ヘ･_･)ヘ┳━┳

Why didn't he free his lady? Damn. He literally had the key to freeing her and instead he gave it to MK.

Why doesn't anyone mention him in season 4? Or why they didn't show what happened to him in season 3?

So, I think the Mayor was 100%, completely loyal to LBD!

I think he was someone who shared LBD's ideals, and that they grew close during LBD's time as an Ivory Lady. He came to see the flaws with the emperor he served, and chose to follow someone he thought had the world's best interest in mind, selecting her as "his lady". He wanted to help LBD and destiny create a world "no longer plagued by pain".

The difference between Wukong and the Mayor is that the Mayor was possessed willingly:

Emperor: "You! Sieze this traitor, now!" Lady Bone Demon: "You'll find your Chief of War takes his directive from me now." Emperor: "You- you've been planing this from the beginning haven't you! To work your way to the top, to overthrow me! And you *turning to the mayor*, you helped her! Traitors! Deceivers!" Lady Bone Demon: "I did not deceive you. When I came into your service, my intent was to aid in perfecting this world."

(3x13 Time to Be Warriors)

-

My interpretation has always been that like LBD, the Mayor worked as the Chief of War to help make the world "more perfect", or "a better place". When that wasn't the case, he had the same revelation that Azure did working under the Jade Emperor, then deciding to follow a different person of high status, aka the Lady Bone Demon (like Azure then chose to follow the Monkey King).

So quite simply, the Mayor didn't need to be controlled because he was already willing to do whatever his Lady asked of him.

When it comes to "why didn't he free his Lady if he had the key", I think part of it was that he was helping to set plans into motion. LBD was a believer in patience, and that destiny would fulfill itself "soon enough" (though she becomes distinctly impatient by the end). He didn't need to take action immediately—the pieces had to come together first.

LBD needed to collect very powerful items to create her mech, one of which was from the celestial realm itself. LBD never worked directly, always using some pawn to do it for her. She used Spider Queen and her henchmen, she used DBK, she used MK, she used Macaque, she used SWK—it's a long list. So, it's not surprising that she didn't just have the Mayor come and free her (assuming the Mayor even knew where she was before DBK found her), and it's not surprising that she didn't just bust out of her prison guns a-blazing. She worked in far subtler ways.

I've also totally wondered what happened to the Mayor post EYD! The answer to that is either it's not important, or it's not important yet—who knows, maybe he's in prison with Yellowtusk!

But other than that, I think the Mayor was just a guy who was loyal to the end.

[thethiefinwhite]

"Are these pancakes only for the doomed?"

- Art Request (I'm sorry if the quote isn't quite right, it's been awhile since I've read Fablehaven 😅)

Thanks for my first request, Vellatra! And not to worry! I knew which part you were talking about! :)

"Coulter strolled into the room. 'Uh-oh, Stan is fixing pancakes! Must be time for another death-defying mission!'

'Way to ease the tension,' Warren muttered.

'Can I have some?' Coulter asked. 'Or are they only for the condemned?'

'No pessimistic geezers allowed,' Warren declared."

[yudzukii]

This is your personal war.

Against your own inner demons.

The great fear in your heart.

Your own prison, to which you unbeknownst to yourself got the key.

I can stand by your side.

I can lend you my hand.

I can be there and support you.

But I can't fight your war for you.

[merrinla]

I've been asked several times recently if there's confirmation in the files that the first room in the Fade Ossuary is related to Rook. Yes, there is. But actually, it's also mentioned in the game. That's what Spite is talking about.

To get past the locks you have to get past the guards. The first room has a lock, but no guard, which surprises Rook. And Spite explains why.

Rook: Nobody's here. Spite: Of course not. Rook can't be here. Rook: Me? Why not? Spite: You open doors. You don't close them.

Lucanis can't imagine Rook as his guard. Rook is the reason he's free. And if he imagines Rook as the key, which they are, then for him it means releasing a demon.

Symbolically, the first room is Lucanis' cell. The place where he and Rook first met.

Compared to the real Ossuary, there is a table with playing cards and fewer ice crystals. Alas gambling Rook is a hidden detail. Not everyone will know about this. If you romance Emmrich, you'll hear that he's afraid to play cards with Rook. If you romance Lucanis, Rook will say they can play cards with Spite while he sleeps. Elek in Minrathous calls Rook a killer in wicked grace. Maybe it's mentioned somewhere else, dunno. So I think the cards are also hinting at Rook.

As for the files, in the Ossuary the entrance to Lucanis' cell named Lucanis Cell Door.

But in his mental prison, this entrance has a different name. Door to Rook.

[360iris]

Feeling as though Rook is secondary to Neve? You shouldn’t, not really at least because Rook is irreplaceable for the same reasons people are holding animosity towards Neve.

‘Neve gets him without doing any of the hard work.’ Rook is the only person alive who could even be able to. That’s the whole point.

Saving Minrathous results in the Inner Demons quest never happening.

Meaning an unhealed Lucanis never makes peace with Spite.

Meaning he goes on to enter a relationship with a woman (to no fault of her own) who could never, and would never, force him to face his fears and give him the unyielding encouragement needed to live without compartmentalizing every important thing to ever happen to him.

Without Rook completing that quest— Lucanis remains chained down by his debilitating fear of disappointing Caterina, the shame of being made into an abomination against his will, the guilt of being the one who got off easier than Neve and the pain and anger Illario’s betrayal brought onto him.

“Thoughts live here. Ideas. Feelings.” Disappointment. Shame. Guilt. Betrayal. All of which Lucanis felt were too big, too messy to face.

Solavellan is Rookanis’ foil. Except Rook is if Lavellan had succeeded in persuading Solas to face his regrets.

And what was the crux of the replacement Fade prison Solas crafted for the Evanuris? It was a prison built on regret, and the only way to leave would be to face them. Which Ghilan’nan and Elgar’nan would never be able to do.

Spite says “Lucanis is here. Behind locked doors. I can’t break through.” But Rook can.

In his mind’s eye, Lucanis makes Caterina, Harding, Neve and Illario his jailers of negative emotions in a prison of his own creation.

And in all that inner turmoil, his idea of Illario says, “Rook, you’re too good to be here.”

Rook isn’t one of his jailers, not because they don’t matter enough compared to the others, but because Lucanis’ thoughts, ideas and feelings for Rook are too good.

Rook opens doors, they’re not a jailer who throws away the key. In Lucanis and Spite’s eyes, Rook is the key. They are a liberator, a hero, the only one he’ll listen to.

Love, understanding, the unwavering promise of companionship (platonic or romantic) despite the risk to themselves sets Lucanis free.

I’ve seen people who are disappointed in his storyline complain that it feels as though ‘Rook strong arms him into a committed relationship’ that he somehow ‘feels obligated to indulge’ and engage in as a result of saving Treviso. I believe these claims just end up ignoring the really good diamonds in the rough we’re given in terms of Rookanis relationship development.

A romanced!Lucanis gives way to lines like “I don’t know what Rook sees in me. I’m happy to just be around them.”

And paralleling scenes like when Caterina chastises a kneeling Illario with “A Dellamorte never kneels.” Only for Lucanis to later walk over to a post-Fade trapped Rook and literally kneel at their feet like they’re the only deity he cares to worship like this is Take Me To Church by Hozier.

And what is Rookanis as a ship, if not Rook teaching him it’s okay to assert himself, which leads to Lucanis reclaiming his humanity through an act of love? Just saying. Given time, and love, he turns into a Gomez Addams sort of romantic figure.

If Rook were associated as any feeling to Lucanis then they’d be love. Affection. A state of understanding. Purpose? Freedom?

Better yet, Rook could be determination. After all, Rook’s defining characteristic is that they ‘just can’t seem to quit’— in the face of the man they care about saying ‘give up on me, i’m damaged goods’ why wouldn’t they win him over in the end?

[vampirecorleone]

"During an interview Doug Bradley described hell as a prison; the Cenobites are the prison guards, Pinhead is the prison warden, the puzzle box is the key to the prison cell, and the demons are the escaped inmates." Horror Character Appreciation - Doug Bradley as Pinhead in the Hellraiser series (1987) dir. Clive Barker

[lostintransist]

Hell's Spawn | It Means Fuck Off

I wasn't planning on posting this yet but I need some feel good chemicals going in my brain before I give my professor the award for being the single most unhelpful teacher I have ever had in my entire life. Mans is actively making my life harder and not easier.

AO3

CW: Mommy issues, lots of negative self talk, general staring at women's bodies even though they just want to be left alone.

Trading shifts, what a simple way to alter the course of one’s life. Something akin to missing a train or a flight delay causing you to miss a connection, some exterior force course correcting you to where you need to be.

Leaning on one elbow on the stainless steel counter studying your text book you can feel your brain melting in your skull. Being a fourth-year medical student had taught you that while one could get a fever hot enough to “cook” the brain in the skull it wouldn’t occur from studying for too long. The voice of your mother itched in the back of your mind, telling you to give up and move on, you’ll never be more than a whore.

That had always been her favorite insult to hurl at you. Puberty hit you like a truck from a number of your favorite animes, transporting you into a woman-like body over the course of one summer. You still had the stretch marks.

Your mother hated it and hated you. She would never say that though. The high-powered pick-me lawyer could never let it be known that the only love she had in her soul had to be provided by the attention of a man. Psych 101 had been an enlightening class. You had nearly decided to go for a psychiatric residency before the chemistry classes debased that idea in your head.

When residency was over and you were settled somewhere you had decided to find a therapist to help you unpack all the shit that your mother had endowed you with. Her snide comments, wool-encased bricks lobbed at you from her high tower where she held both the power and the autonomy to keep you a prisoner, pelted you even now despite the years and distance between you.

The only escape you had found had been concurrent and AP classes in high school and a scholarship to finish your bachelor’s degree in one year directly out of high school and across the country. You worked your ass off for a few years to be old enough to never need her money again and passed the MCAT on the first try. The local medical school had accepted you at twenty-six, an old maid in that first class filled with nineteen and twenty-year-olds. That is how you had landed at a late-night cafe as a barista. You took as little student loans as possible and that meant working late and rising early for classes.

Coming full circle, you had traded shifts with the owner. Lucky bitch had five of the hottest boyfriends who were also boyfriends you had everseen and the bitch was ace. All that luck wasted on someone who didn’t ride their boyfriends until they whimpered night after night after night. God, you needed to get laid.

She had told you when you agreed to switch though that a group would be coming in to use the private room around midnight. She had warned you not to be alarmed but they would all be covered head to toe and would pay with cash. What she had failed to mention is that all four men who would appear at midnight, like wraiths wrapped in darkness, is that they were fucking jacked. They were ripped. To be frank you weren’t sure how any of them put shirts on or how the fabric didn’t rip like they were Bruce Banner turning green. Every one of them wore a surgical mask.

They all stepped to the counter, menacing vibes a miasma that eddied around them. Several patrons were scattered about the space, in quiet conversation or the clacking of keyboard keys, offering the illusion of safety. Aiming a well-trained smile any customer-facing worker would recognize at the men you greeted them.

“Hi welcome in, what can I get started for you?”

The tallest, broadest one, scanned the menu before glancing down. The demons in your mind began howling when instead of landing on your face his gaze landed firmly on the shadows of your cleavage peaking above the edge of your shirt. You had forgotten you had agreed to this shift until it was too late to change into the high-necked band tees you normally wore. The soundtrack of self-hate had always been easier to ignore if you could avoid drawing attention to your body.

“Four large black coffees, sugar and cream on the side.”

No please, no thank you. Fine, whatever wouldn’t be the last person tonight even that wouldn’t treat you with the same respect a wandering cat would receive.

“And you want all of those hot?” You tap away at the screen as you wait for his answer.

“Yes.” His voice should be much lower than it is, but it is still pleasant on the ear. The curl of his tongue around the words tells you English was not learned at his mother’s breast.

“Okay, your price is pulling up, this system slows down after midnight.” You roll your eyes at it, “If you give me a moment I can get that ready for you and let you into the room you have reserved.” You catch sight of the one with blue eyes that burn trailing those selfsame irises down one collarbone, to the bunching of skin, and then trailing back up to the other side.

The sniping words, whore, bitch, no good wench, nothing more than pussy, tits, and a mouth, fly through your mind, debris in the storm picking up speed. Grown and a world away her words still cut at you like glass.

Four hot coffees are settled on the counter as you count out change and return it to a leather-gloved hand. Did he have to buy specialty gloves to ensure that they fit?

The third man shifted his head toward you from behind his sunglasses before turning back to observe the room. A smudge of black hair peeked from below his hat.

Carrying the key along with several packets of sugar in your apron pocket and the carafe of creamer you can feel the fourth man’s eyes digging into your spine directly above your bra strap. No skin had been visible on him since the moment they entered the shop. That level of dedication impressed something in you.

You would have stayed impressed except the man couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Unlocking the door you stepped aside and let the men trail in, careful to keep your back to the wall by the premise of holding the door open with your foot. Once everyone found a seat you set the creamer on the table and turned to leave.

The completely covered one caught your wrist, fiddling with the ties of your bracelet. A friend had given it to you last Christmas when your mother had tried to reach out to ‘mend fences’. Turns out she was getting married again and her fiance wanted to meet the prodigal daughter.

The dainty silver beads pressed into your flesh as he dragged a thumb over them.

“What’s all this about? From a lover?”

The accent on his words tickles your senses. Then the understanding of his question settles home.

Customer service mode leaves your face and body, the bitch your mother always claimed you to be coming out.

“It reads fuck off,” you wrench your hand from his grip and slam the door shut behind you. When you settle back in the kitchen you fire off a text to your boss.

<Heads up, ended up snapping at one of your special customers.

Next, you fire off a message to Quinn, seeing if he could come in a half hour early so you didn’t have to close alone if the layered lechers stayed until closing.

Quinn confirmed he could be in early.

The parade from the conference room occurred as Quinn was arriving, leaving him to hold the door open for them as they passed. Closing duties went faster with Quinn collecting all the dishes for cleaning and you were home and in bed, books prepped for class in the morning on the table.

You woke a few hours later to a reply from your boss.

>Whatever you did they probably deserved it. You know I will back you 100%. But John says they seemed to like you better for snapping.

If you didn’t have to rush to avoid being late for your eleven am class you would have rolled your eyes. They liked being snapped at, that you were mean to them? Yeah, right.

Hell Masterlist | Masterlist

@demothers-empty-blog @beloveds-embrace (boo I hope you like your surprise.)

[sugar-grigri]

Denji no longer has access to his heart

The golden rule in Chainsaw Man is to focus on the title, since it's the key to reading the story.

Rain, Brothel, Removal seem to be three absurdly unrelated elements, and Fujimoto likes to put it that way, because the challenge for the reader is to find a way of reading that links them together.

This chapter is funny as well as disturbing, deeply sad, and in itself this collection of sensations just makes you uncomfortable, since the tone is always reversed, and the protagonist himself refuses to allow his situation to be a comic spring.

Fujimoto confirms an interpretation that is fundamental to understanding Denji: his character thinks only in terms of short-term objectives, incapable of projecting himself, just as he responds only to the satisfaction of needs without being able to verbalize and think about his unhappiness in a more abstract way.

Denji, for example, isn't thinking about whether sex is actually a solution to his problems, no, it's more concrete than that: he's thinking about whether he's masturbated recently.

Another piece of evidence is the rain. I've always thought that when it rains in Fujimoto's works, it's proof that no lies are being told.

Whether in Look Back with a silent victory, the school moment with Reze and Denji.

But that's not what we're interested in here, because there's no doubt that Denji is sincere, or at least the rain only shows us that he's sincerely desperate.

There's a subtlety....

Denji complains that he only thinks with his dick, but there's another, more philosophical and certainly less funny idea behind this: Denji only thinks through his body.

The rain, the amputation, the brothel - they're all proof that Denji only thinks with his senses.

Denji thought the brothel was the solution to his distress, it's when it started raining that he collapsed, as if the change in weather had evoked his own emotional change. Yoru's solution is amputation, another physical sensation and solution.

Amputation is a solution all the more symbolic because it's antithetical to what Denji is: a demon man capable of regeneration.

To amputate is in itself not to regenerate, and not to regenerate is in itself to be more human.

What distinguishes us from animals (although science relativizes this) is the way we think about our own emotions, something Denji is incapable of doing, or at least has great difficulty in doing.

This doesn't mean he can't verbalize it at all, but when he evokes, he evokes a sensation, a dish (a shitty hamburger, a steak, a ton of sex).

Even when he wants to be loved, Denji formulates it in the form of wanting his heart, almost organically.

No one wants Denji's heart because it's gone

And it makes sense, because Pochita has reassembled his entire body, except for Denji's heart, which has literally been left in that garbage can.

That's why, when Pochita lets Denji access his feelings, the place is symbolized by a garbage can.

When Denji asks Pochita to wake up to find Nayuta, Pochita asks him where his legs are, because Denji's only function is to be a body.

And now everything makes sense again

When Denji spoke his dream to Pochita, being Chainsaw Man, I think there was a certain feeling in every reader: what exactly does it change?

What if it changes nothing? It's normal for Denji not to be able to project himself in the long term, as he should symbolically listen to his heart.

Denji's inability to have a dream, a goal for the future, is symbolized by him and Pochita as children.

It doesn't mean that Pochita is an antagonist (although that could be cool), but that Denji and Pochita are prisoners of their own situations.

Denji doesn't have access to his heart, but Pochita is contractually bound to what Denji wants.

This is also why, when Denji reproaches himself, it's his child self who's addressing him, because the only way to reproach himself, to feel guilty, is symbolized by his old self, the Denji that Pochita may have known. Just as Denji doesn't have access to his heart, Pochita has difficulty gaining access to the person Denji has become, all of which only leads to stagnation.

Denji as a child is also the symbol of a scumbag, the remnant of a lost heart, always dressed in poor, dirty clothes, a past that Denji seeks to escape, but a past that is the only time Pochita has been able to get to know Denji.

I know it's a pretty crazy line, but it's precisely because Denji is Chainsaw Man - a being both fused and disconnected - that he thinks with his dick lol

Saving Chainsaw Man by killing Chainsaw Man has never been a truer statement

Chainsaw Man is Denji's prison but also his only hope

A cage

[yunsound]

Some drama from Ne Zha 2 and Ao Bing Zhuan (Tale of Ao Bing)

For those of us that watched Ne Zha 2 or Ne Zha 1, I'm sure Ao Bing was one of our favourite characters: he's polite, cute and strong. In 2021, after the success of Ne Zha 1, they released a side webcomic about Ao Bing titled Ao Bing Zhuan (or the Tale of Ao Bing) focusing on Ao Bing's backstory.

It didn't get very much attention: in fact, it kind of flopped, even with the huge amount of Ne Zha 1 fans. This can be attributed to a number of reasons.

The hype for Ne Zha 1 sort of died down during and post-Covid.

Ao Bing Zhuan wasn't advertised very well

Other reasons that I don't know

However, with the huge success of Ne Zha 2 in China, Ao Bing Zhuan started getting a LOT of attention recently. I'll summarise some key stuff from Ao Bing Zhuan without spoiling too much of it. It is a paid webcomic, by the way.

Confirmed canon (in movieverse/mythology):

Ao Bing has two older brothers (canonical in both the movies and the myth, since he's the third prince of the East China Sea). His father, Ao Guang (canon) hid his egg for a thousand years so he wouldn't be killed by the Heavenly Court. Since Ao Bing was born after the dragons were imprisoned under the sea, he doesn't have the chains on him, and can move freely, unlike every other dragon.

Not confirmed canon (ABZ original):

Ao Bing Zhuan gives the backstory of his family. His two older brothers and mother are not canonically confirmed in the movieverse, but ABZ gives them identities.

His mother, in ABZ, is 应龙, or Ying Long. In the myths, Ying Long is the only dragon with wings (even though all Chinese dragons cal fly) and is a dragon deity. Ying Long is male in classic Chinese mythology, and is a supremely powerful rain deity whose descendants/distant relatives are the dragon tribe we know in most myths. In ABZ, Ying Long is female, and was imprisoned for reasons I won't spoil after giving birth to her children with Ao Guang.

Ao Bing's older brothers in ABZ are called Ao Jia and Ao Yi after the Chinese phrase 甲乙丙丁 Jia Yi Bing Ding, which isn't an idiom, just a way of describing order (Jia is first, Yi is second, Bing is third, Ding is fourth). So Ao Jia is like Big Ao, Ao Yi is like Second Ao, etc etc.

ABZ was hugely popular for almost a month after Ne Zha 2 dropped. Now here's where the drama begins.

Back in 2019, before ABZ ever released, fans of Ne Zha 1 began shipping Ao Guang and the Heavenly Emperor (Haotian Emperor). For an explanation on who Haotian Emperor is, please see my post linked here. In 2019, to keep in mind, neither Ao Guang nor the Haotian Emperor's human forms were revealed, and the Haotian Emperor was only mentioned in passing when Ao Guang laments the past glories of his dragon clan.

This was never a hugely popular ship as much as Oubing (Ne Zha x Ao Bing) was, and everyone shipping it acknowledged that it was half a crack ship and half just a brainchild made up of only headcanons (sort of like the Marauders ships in Harry Potter). Its dynamic, though, is hugely popular in Asian BL media: powerful seme who's a jerk to the uke, the uke says fuck you and leaves, then the seme regrets it- 追妻火葬场 (wife-chasing fiery disaster)

The general dynamic of 地笼 (Dilong, Ao Guang x Haotian Emperor's ship name) was that when Ao Guang was young, he met the Haotian Emperor, and the two began a romantic and sexual relationship. Ao Guang, being young, fell in love with the Emperor and spent a lot of time and energy exorcising demons for him.

However, for varying reasons, the Emperor betrayed him and cast him down into the underwater prison. Ao Guang thus resents him, and the Emperor, after seeing how much he's suffered, feels bad.

Dilong is an old ship as far as the Ne Zha fandom is concerned: it existed well before ABZ, and since ABZ wasn't popular, there was never any conflict between ABZ fans who shipped Ying Long and Ao Guang vs Dilong fans.

Ever since Ne Zha 2 went big, however, ABZ became big as well, and Dilong fans and Guangying (Ao Bing x Ying Long) fans began to fight each other. Guangying fans began attacking Dilong fans for ignoring canon and making up a ship that wasn't even implied, and Dilong fans attacked Guangying fans for being nosy.

This sort of battle went on for about two weeks. About three days ago, Dilong fans began finding out some things about ABZ that didn't look so great for ABZ.

First off, is ABZ even canon? It was always regarded as canon for its fans. The official movie's account endorsed it, and it was labeled as "Official Fanwork", which is a bit of an oxymoron. The author themself replied to a question asking if Jiaozi the director of Ne Zha 1 and 2 gave them the script by saying "Jiaozi's team gave me the general idea and I do the drawing", leading people to believe ABZ was canon.

Most Dilong fans are very spiteful towards ABZ because Guangying fans tend to do something called keyao (which means to specifically attack a ship in the comments of a video or work endorsing it, or to mention a ship when it's not mentioned in a video or work. It's seen as very bad fandom etiquette in China and Asia).

Recently, since there's been ship wars, Dilong fans found several things about ABZ that are a little sus.

ABZ's author is an Ao Guang yume.

What's a yume? A Japanese term for "Dream" which in fandom refers to a person who ships themself with a character. Usually being a yume is very widely accepted in Chinese fandoms, but to be a yume for a character and then also produce official content is not accepted seeing as it's disrespectful to other fans. This is different for fanwork, as yume fanwork is accepted.

2. ABZ contains very little Ao Bing content.

About half of ABZ's chapters do not include Ao Bing, and instead focus on Ao Bing's two older brothers. The author has expressed that they initially wanted the work to be titled The Tale of the Dragon's Sons, which is more fitting, but thought that name was too chuunibyou, so they changed it to The Tale of Ao Bing, or Ao Bing Zhuan (ABZ). Even ABZ fans have expressed discontent with the lack of Ao Bing content in ABZ, which is meant to be centered around Ao Bing.

3. ABZ's plot conflicts with the plot of the Ne Zha movies

One of the plot points in ABZ is that Ao Bing's weapons, the two round hammers that look like lollipops, were weapons Ying Long left to him. However, in the Ne Zha movies, the weapons break multiple times and are reformed by Ao Bing, and the official account's character synopsis state that Ao Bing created the weapons himself. Additionally, in ABZ, Ao Bing's older brother Ao Yi is able to enter and exit the prison underwater, even though it was explicitly stated in Ne Zha 1 and 2 that not a single dragon can leave (except for Ao Bing, who has never had the chains on him).

Ao Yi also tells Ao Bing that he's going to attempt to separate the Lingzhu (Spiritual Pearl) from his body because he's afraid the pressure will be too much for him, which is impossible in canon.

In the movies, Ao Bing has been isolated his whole life- he's only ever interacted with his father Ao Guang, his master Shen Gongbao, and his aunt and uncles. However, in ABZ, he constantly fought with the abyssal monsters, and even tried to make friends with one of them (and was taught a lesson as to why that's a bad idea).

In Ne Zha 1, Shen Gongbao explicitly says Ao Bing's dragon horns can't be covered up, but in ABZ, a random person can cast a spell on him to cover up the horns.

3. ABZ's characters are very OOC

Ao Yi, Ao Jia and Ying Long have not been mentioned in other official works, but in Ne Zha 1 and 2 it has been established that Ao Bing and Ao Guang have a very good relationship with each other and care about each other very much. However, in ABZ, Ao Guang explicitly tells Ao Bing to his face that he is very disappointed in him, and is generally very strict and uncaring towards him.

Additionally, Ao Bing is very strong in the Ne Zha movies (he's canonically a little stronger than Ne Zha since Ne Zha wears a seal to suppress his powers), but in ABZ he's pretty weak, even though Shen Gongbao, Ao Guang and even Master Wuliang praise him as a prodigy from birth.

4. Ying Long is a badly-written character

Ying Long in mythology is a male supreme deity the likes of which Ao Guang and Ao Bing cannot be compared to. This is not the main gripe against the ABZ Ying Long: it's that she's portrayed as a caring mother, but after she gave birth to her children she abandoned them.

5. Ying Long is the author's self-insert OC

This one actually surprised me since all the previous complaints seemed kind of dumb. Prior to the release of ABZ, the author posted an art of their female dragon self-insert OC. They mentioned that "you can think of her as me, and you can think of me as her." This OC has the exact same face, hair and clothing as the ABZ Ying Long. TBH, Ying Long and the OC look literally the exact same. A self-insert OC being the love interest of the author's yume partner is obviously not a good look for any webcomic that claims to be the official spinoff of such a widely-beloved movie series.

The author of ABZ used to be a production assistant on Ne Zha 1, but quit for unknown reasons.

6. The biggest thing: the author plagiarised Dilong art despite creating the Guangying ship

The author's Weibo account was found and they sent many hateful comments under Dilong posts saying how disgusted they were by the ship. Dilong was very commonly attacked back then, but the author also commented that they even bought a Dilong doujinshi even though they hate Dilong because they thought Ao Guang and Ao Bing were drawn attractively.

Back in 2019, there was a viral genderbend Dilong art (remember, this was back when Ao Guang's human form was unknown) that depicted Ao Guang in a specific pose and with specific colouring. This is the exact same coloring, pose and clothing that Ying Long wears.

Additionally, since the Heavenly Emperor (Haotian)'s appearance is unknown, there was another viral Dilong art that depicted him as having teal hair and horns. This is the exact coloring and design of the character Ao Yi in ABZ.

A third viral Dilong art (from before Ao Bing's brother's names were confirmed to be Ao Jia and Ao Yi in ABZ) depicted a family of five with the Emperor, Ao Guang, Ao Bing, and two older brothers also called Ao Jia and Ao Yi. Since Jia Yi Bing Ding is a phrase, this isn't an exact confirmation of plagiarism, but the designs of Ao Jia and Ao Yi are probably 95% similar to the designs in the Dilong fanart.

In essence, Ao Bing Zhuan (ABZ) is like, 75% "cancelled" or whatever. I'm not going to lie, I never felt a desire to read it since I really dislike the artstyle and I'm not a fan of Ying Long's characterization. I agree with most of the complaints about the story and the art: it's never acceptable in fandom to criticise fan artists over the so-called "quality" of their work, but if you're going to claim your webcomic is canon material, then at least make the art good. It's very obvious the art is done in a half-assed manner, and the storyline is... IDK, it's not good.

I'd never heard of Dilong before the ABZ drama- I'm a little confused as to how that ship ever happened, but whatever. This drama is mostly inconsequential and stupid fan wars, but I'm not gonna lie, ABZ is probably one of the worst-executed spinoff webcomics I've ever seen in any fandom ever. ABZ also isn't even confirmed to be canon despite what the author and fans say- it's not on the list of Ne Zha spinoff canon works (there's another spinoff comic that IS listed as official) and it was labeled "Official Fanwork".

Just another example of how crazy shippers can get, I guess. I kind of feel bad for Dilong shippers, even though half the "allegations" against ABZ seem dumb. TBH, I don't think most of this is worth "cancelling" a webcomic over, I just don't think people should think of ABZ as canon (it probably isn't) and I wouldn't recommend paying to read it if you're looking for Ao Bing backstory.

It's probably considered the same as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Ignorable. Lmao. Whereas Dilong is like the Marauders ships: almost 100% headcanons, but beloved.

There is an OFFICIAL (this one is 100% official, it's on the Ne Zha website) spinoff comic that includes some of Ao Bing's childhood years. 三界往事 Sanjie Wangshi (Stories in Three Realms) is 100% canon, the official accounts are selling it, it's a picture book and includes a letter from Jiaozi in it. It has extra art and scenes.

[zamadness]

--- --- --- --- ---

GenZ! AuDHD! Reader : Having autism and ADHD is like having a huge library in your head but reference numbers and librarians

--- --- --- --- ---

GenZ! AuDHD! Reader : The neurodivergent experience is talking about your brain as if it’s a separate entity from yourself.

Lucifer : Oh my golly! I feel the same!

[Lucifer has ADHD and I stand by it]

--- --- --- --- ---

- When GenZ! Reader was alive -

GenZ! Reader : [searching frantically through my pockets] sh*t, I’ve lost my keys. Lemme borrow yours?

Prison Guard : No

GenZ! Reader : Danm it, man. Come on!

--- --- --- --- ---

GenZ! Reader : Radio Demon, I must confess my sins…

Alastor : [in nun costume] What’s the tea, my child? *aggressively sips tea*

--- --- --- --- ---

[raptorladylover6969]

JWCT S3 SPOILERS (It’s Raptor Lady yap time.)

The Handler Dying The Way She Did Is Perfect, And Why.

So, I’ve been thinking about her death. A lot. (No surprise there). And I’ve rewatched her death scene like a thousand times, and in all honesty, I can’t imagine a better way to go out for her.

The whole concept that even Brooklynn brought up about her running away with the raptors, never to be seen again, as much as I hate to say it, it wouldn’t work. Not in this society, nor in this universe.

She has nowhere to go. She can’t live in the middle of nowhere with her raptors, because she’d never be able to keep up with them. They need the freedom, the space, the need to be wild, but clearly as we’ve seen, she physically and mentally can’t bring herself to be apart from them at all. She can’t live around civilization because the raptors wouldn’t be able to keep up with her. She’d have to constantly look out for her raptors but no matter where they go, where they turn. They’ll never truly be safe, or free.

She’ll end up being found. She has ties with BioSyn, and French Intelligence knows about the Atrociraptors and how Soyona was trying to sell them. She’ll end up arrested and her raptors would be taken away, or in a worst case scenario, killed. And she’d be left in prison full of grief, sadness, anger, frustration, and ultimately end up taking her own life.

If she ended up escaping the Carnotaurus after it had killed Ghost, she’d still go down the same path. She, like every other Jurassic World/Park character who lived through tragedy, would go down a mental health rollercoaster. And knowing her, and now broken she already is, she’d go down and down and down to the point where she’s hit rock bottom.

This life was never meant for her. We’ve seen this quite clearly. She’s too animal to be human but too human to be animal. Too empathetic but also too apathetic; too non-linear, and unpredictable for this society. chaos theory if you will.

The shackles of human society were constantly holding her and the raptors down. She could never fully blossom, or express herself in the way she wanted too. This world, this society, it’s too linear for her. Too unnatural.

Which is why I’m glad she met her end to that Carnotaurus.

Her dying at the hands of an animal, a dinosaur, something that matches her nature, it’s a perfect way for her to meet her end; offering herself to the Carnotaurus. Eat or be eaten, just now nature intended since the beginning of life.

She was never meant to be human, and was always seen as such; being non-human. The way Davi described her: "This person, if you could even call them that…"

She's never been seen as a human being, and never will be. She was treated the same way as the dinosaurs were. Something without thought nor feeling, because that's how she was perceived as to normal people. Soyona sees her as this, the Camp Fam, partially Brooklynn, Davi, and the rest of society. Which is why she resonates more with dinosaurs, because her unpredictability matches theirs. They see her as one. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then by god, is it a DUCK.

We never predicted that she’d raise her hand to that Carnotaurus, it comes off as OOC for her, but that’s just the thing; she’s never OOC because we don’t know her character, and never will, because she’s too UNPREDICTABLE. We can never fully solve equation or read the graph. Why? Because it’s NON-LINEAR. (#ILoveJurassicParkBookIanMalcolm)

That Carnotaurus did not only eat her, it saved her. Freed her. Demon was the key to her finally being free from the shackles of humanity. This whole season we constantly saw her struggle, fight, and try to protect the ones she loved, and she did just that. Ghost may be dead, but she too is free. The other raptors may be alive, but they are now free from any sort of control. The fall of her whistle from Demon’s mouth, being the only thing left intact, that was the symbolism of the raptors being freed from their tasks, what they were born to do. They got away free from the shackles of what people wanted them to be, just like The Handler, and just like Ghost.

Soyona met her demise to the system, French Intelligence found her and now she’ll rot in prison as a nobody. The Handler doesn’t need to live to “win”, she won by being eaten. She’s finally free from the grief, the stress, the control, the burdens that humankind has forced onto her.

She won this battle, and went out gloriously. She protected her young from the big large hungry predator, and in the end, was eaten. And now her legacy will live on with the remaining raptors.

Just how life really intended.

“Morituri Te Salutant” — “We who are about to die solute you.”

[renthony]

🏳️‍🌈preferably the watchable kind bc energy is so so low nowagays

(Drop a 🏳️‍🌈 in my inbox and I’ll respond with a queer media recommendation!)

Wendell & Wild is a 2022 stop-motion animated Netflix film directed by Henry Selick and written by Henry Selick, Jordan Peele, and Clay McLeod Chapman. It follows main character Kat Elliot (voiced by Lyric Ross), a punk 13-year-old Black girl who can see demons and gets sent to a Catholic girls' boarding school after her parents die in a car accident.

It's a very political movie with lots to say about about systemic marginalization and the prison-industrial complex, but beyond that, it's a damn good story about a traumatized teenage girl coping with grief. And zombies and demons and an undead priest voiced by the ever-amazing James Hong. Also, Key and Peele voice the titular demons, and it's awesome.

Kat allies with another student at the school, a Mexica trans boy named Raúl Cocolotl (voiced by Sam Zelaya). Raúl transitioned before the film begins, but is allowed to remain a student at the girls' school instead of being sent away to an unfamiliar place. We get to see his mother stand up for him and support him unconditionally, and it's wonderful.

If I have any complaint about the movie at all, it's that there's a lot of story crammed into a fairly short runtime. I wish it was, like, half an hour longer. But it's also stop motion animation that was produced during the first waves of covid, so I imagine they had to keep things pretty tight in order to get it made.

Here's the trailer:

[holychopshopgalaxy]

It’s crazy to me how in so many “analyses” of the freedom in the dark speech that the final line “once someone has illuminated it” is always left out considering how key it is to actually understanding that statement. He’s not saying “dark good, light bad”. He’s saying you can find extraordinary things in the shadows if one can muster the courage to shine a light on them and explore outside the fences. Obviously flint is speaking ideologically here but on a fundamental level he’s speaking of his sexual awakening with Thomas being the one to “illuminate” it, much like how Max did the same for Anne (Max saying “we should bring it into the light” before their first kiss isn’t a coincidence either). Flint doesn’t want himself, or any other unjust outcasts of civilization’s twisted sense of morality, to be chained in the darkness and demonized. That’s kind of what the whole revolution is about. It’s also part of what made news of Thomas’ death so devastating for him and Miranda (“Thomas died in a cold dark place”), and what makes the 4x10 reunion simultaneously cathartic and quietly tragic. Flint finally gets his wish of kissing him in the warmth of broad daylight without a care who sees, but a secluded prison that “doesn’t exist” to the rest of the world is the only place he can do that due to the unshakeable chokehold that colonial oppression and morality had during that time period. Like this doesn’t take much inference to figure out it’s literally stated in words in the dialogue