#like idk the entire thing doesn't really serve much purpose

[problemswithbooks]

I think the reason those two scenes are viewed differently is simply the world in which HoTD takes place.

The thing about the world of Westeros is that it extremely patriarchal. That is something that the show beats us over the head with--that even these seemingly powerful women have a fraction of what the men in similar positions have. That sexism and misogyny effect even the women who are at the top.

So what does that mean for those of the working class--the peasant women that do mundane jobs for those at the height of power? It means they have zero power at all, especially against a prince.

The reason a lot of people didn't see Alicent the same as Shiv is because Dyana has no power while the victim in Succession does, even if it's not nearly as much as sher should have. Dyana could have screamed that Aegon was a rapist for everyone to hear and it wouldn't have changed anything. It's unlikely she'd be believed and even if she was it's not as if Aegon would be held responsible.

Alicent didn't need to even see Dyana at all. The fact she went out of her way to give her money, and allowed her to leave service is actually rather kind given Dyana has no ability to get justice and probably didn't have the means to leave her job if she no longer wanted to be around the man that raped her.

The thing is Aegon was never in any danger of having his reputation ruined in a way that actually hurt him. Even if everyone knew he raped a maid, it wouldn't have had any meaningful impact. The Greens still would have declared him King and it wouldn't really be a deciding factor in whether a Lord supported him over Rhaenyra or not because the biggest factor there is what they get out of it, how they view succession laws, and whether they see there oaths as worth breaking or even broken should they side with Aegon. Him raping a peasant wouldn't matter--a lot of them are also probably guilty of the same act and don't view it as wrong.

This isn't the case in Succession. It takes place in our modern world. Rape victims still have far to little power and often aren't believed, especially when it's someone powerful. But public opinion does matter more and even though I sadly doubt how much the case would have truly impacted the Roy family in the long run given the rich rarely suffer real setbacks even for the most horrific things (like poisoning the entire planet) it still would have cost their company in the short term and made it harder to make money, and reduced their ability to negotiate good terms during mergers, especially when they're already in a tough spot already. Shiv's manipulation to silence the woman is more genuinely evil because she is doing to gain something.

That's just not the case with Alicent and Dyana. Alicent could have shrugged her shoulders and done nothing and that's probably the response many women would have had in her position. As it is, Alicent really did the best she could. It's not as if she could have meaningfully punished Aegon in a way that mattered anyway. Some say she could have sent him to the Wall, but I highly doubt that. If he'd raped a high up noble woman, perhaps, but even then as one of the princes it's doubtful.

I mean, if Joffery as a prince can have a peasant boy executed and a non-involved animal killed because he gets a little roughed up and claims he was attacked, even though a noble girl refutes his claim, is Dyana going to be able to do anything against Aegon? A prince is just to far above her, and compounded by misogyny no one will believe her or care anyway. If they had framed the scene with Alicent as her being as bad as Shiv it just wouldn't make sense because Alicent has no reason to silence the woman in the first place.

you guys know how that scene in succession 2x09 “DC” where Shiv intimidates and manipulates the sexual assault victim until she backs out of testifying about her experience is the same as that scene in hotd 1x08 “The Lord of the Tides” where Alicent intimidates and shames the sexual assault victim out of speaking up about her experience?

the biggest difference between these two scenes is actually the self-awareness of the narratives themselves. succession knows what it’s doing with this scene. hotd comes across confused and tone deaf because it’s bending over backwards trying to maintain an image of Alicent as a faultless victim, unlike succession which allows Shiv some moral flexibility, which ironically makes her more sympathetic than Alicent imo, because it manages to avoid that extra level of hypocrisy that the hotd scene piles onto Alicent and the narrative as a whole.

[aihoshiino]

chapter 164 thoughts

This post discusses suicide and suicidal ideation in the context of Oshi no Ko.

Chapters Until The Story Ends Without The 143 Kiss Being Addressed Or Acknowledged: 2

Bizarrely, I feel like I don't have a ton to say about this chapter. Not because stuff doesn't happen in it but because… fuck, man. What do I even say. I can't quite 100% shake my suspicion that Akasaka has some asspull up his sleeve and that Aqua might come back in style form, even if altered to the point that he isn't the Aqua we know anymore, but this chapter is clearly set up for us to think he's dead and for us to see other character's reactions to this news, so I'll talk about the text with that assumption in mind. This one will probably be kind of all over the place so bear with me ig

That being said… this is all kind of dumb as fuck, huh

Like. There's just so many insane contrivances with this setup that it's impossible for me to take it seriously. Putting aside that there's no way on planet earth Aqua's plan should have fooled anybody, why in God's name are his family and friends finding out about this from a news broadcast and not, like… Being contacted by the police?? Or at least hearing about it beforehand??

I also really don't like that we're setting up to have a whole chapter focusing on Ruby's response to all this while Aqua's Literal Mother and all his friends get like. Two panels to be shocked at the news. If the series ends without giving them all the space to grieve I think I will be legitimately really pissed off lmao

The presence of 15 Year Lie in this chapter also makes me agonizingly aware that we know basically nothing about it to this day, even though the contents of the movie are what this final arc revolves around. Aqua's plan relies on Kamiki's crimes as exposed by the movie being heinous enough that Kamiki would kill Aqua to silence them but…

WHAT FUCKING CRIMES???

The Kamiki we saw in the movie was only ever portrayed as a victim in the scenes we see. Unless the story is trying to imply that Kamiki is somehow responsible for Uehara and Airi's deaths or that 15YL makes him directly responsible for Gorou's death or - literally I have no idea what this could be referring to.

I dunno, man. It's hard for me to really want to buckle down and analyse this because so much of it feels entirely contrary to the story that came before. I've always insisted that the one thing that we could guarantee was that Aqua and Ruby would survive the series and be happy because so much emotional weight is put on Ai's wish for Aqua and Ruby to grow into adults and be happy, and it really seemed like we were building up to an ending of Aqua deciding for himself that he wants to finally live for himself, so this sudden swerve into Aqua being told by God "actually your purpose in life is to nobly commit suicide for your sister" is uh, jarring to say the least.

Part of the issue with this is that I think Akasaka doesn't think of Aqua's sacrifice as being a suicide, narratively speaking, even though Akane literally acknowledges it as such. But the thing is, Aqua's "sacrifice" is emergent from all the same things as his suicidal ideation - his belief that his life is intrinsically less valuable than everyone else's and his continued guilt and self loathing as a result of his trauma. Aqua literally says to Ruby's face in 143 that he feels guilty just for being alive and it's literally never addressed again.

So it's very difficult not to read this ending as the story approving of Aqua killing himself, but only if it's for the right reasons. Not only is that an insanely irresponsible message to put into a story as widespread and visible as OnK is right now, it's also just fucking ghoulish.

Idk. Even if Aqua lived here, I just really dislike this idea of his whole life's purpose being Narratively Affirmed as being to uplift Ruby at his own expense. Aqua is very much like Ai in that he's a person who has spent basically all of both his lives in service to other people, unable to pursue the things that he wants and that make him genuinely fulfilled - an ending that parallels Ai, where he is denied this to the extent that it kills him, is not a bad idea on paper but the execution here makes it fall apart. Like, if the framing was that Aqua and Kamiki were both unable to move on from the past to the point that it kills them, I'd vibe with that or something like it. But as is, this shit is just baffling.

It doesn't help that Aqua's death is just completely unmoored from anything the series has been setting up all this time. I've seen people defending this as being what Aqua's revenge was building up to, but this very explicitly isn't about Aqua's revenge. It's about "protecting Ruby's future", but the idea that Kamiki was a threat to Ruby specifically is something that was introduced all of four chapters ago. Even then, it's deeply undercooked. Like, what it is about Kamiki that makes him SUCH a threat to Ruby that Aqua has no choice but to take the nuclear option and kill them both? Why is this the one and only way to stop him? We don't know - we basically know nothing about Kamiki besides "he's Ai's crazy ex" which is such a massive letdown for an antagonist who's been built up for this long.

Speaking of Ai…. where the fuck is she!!!

I know this is predictable background noise from the Ai Wife Guy, but it really is baffling to me that she's such a nonfactor when the climax happening right now is her son confronting the man who killed her. At best, we get mild lipservice as to her existence but the series is so all-in on this "protecting Ruby's future" framing that Ai's absence here feels jarring. It's not just that Ai should be relevant because I like her (but I DO and she SHOULD) but because it makes for a bizarrely deflated finale. Instead of the tragedy we've been building up to avenging for over 140 chapters, Aqua's death comes as the result of a plan he came up with on the spot to deal with an ill-defined threat that only came into existence 4-6 chapters ago.

It just doesn't really feel satisfying, especially when the series has been so wishy washy when it comes to focusing on Aqua and Ruby's relationship. If the series was going to make that connection The central axis on which this climax revolves, then it needed more fleshing out than it got, regardless of if the series went the AquRuby route or not.

Two chapters left………..

[restinslices]

If Bi-Han Was A Sub

Let it be known I'm a Virgin. I'm Bisexual and Bi-myself. I get no bitches. Absolutely zero play. So take everything I say with a grain of salt.  No pronouns used. Mentions of sex from behind but that could be a dick or a strap on. Whatever fits your fantasy. And obviously MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. SCHOOL IS IN SESSION. READ A BOOK.

I know the chances of Bi-Han being a sub are pretty low. I get that. I understand why people write him as a Dom… but if he wasn't-

I don't think he would come out and say this is what he wanted. Most likely it just kinda happened? You guys just kept having sex and you noticed he let you take the reins, and you just kept seeing how much you could get away with. 

When you do eventually bring this up he's like "what are you talking about? I'm not a fucking sub". Sir- 

I feel like you'd keep the same position and role, but it wouldn't actually have a label. It'd take awhile for him to actually say he takes the submissive role. 

I also don't think he'd make initiating sex a big deal. Some people try really hard to seduce their partner and I can see him just coming up to you and saying "I want you". 

Having this big man under you and listening to everything you say though? Heavenly. 

That's a fucking lie. Why? He's stubborn and disobedient 

Kuai Liang gives ready to serve, this MF gives off ready to get on your nerves 

What's wild is that he does this shit on purpose. 

This the same guy who keeps reminding Tomas he's an orphan. Trust me, this bitch is petty. Unnecessarily so. 

I feel like he'd do shit to piss you off because A) he's petty. B) he likes seeing you pissed off. And C) he's into punishments. 

We can all tell this man is not fragile. So roughhousing is definitely encouraged and appreciated. Realistically, there's a good chance he's stronger than you and could just flip shit if he wanted, but he doesn't. Honestly though, in my head that would add to the fun for both of you. The fact he could physically stop all this, but chooses not to. 

This concept would especially get milked if he was being punished. 

He would start mouthing off and you'd be like "if you hate this so much, why not stop me? You're strong enough to". He'd have no real response because he had no legitimate reason. 

"You know what I think? I think the Grandmaster is just like every other man; a slut who needs to be put in his place". 

However, if there is something he doesn't like, he has no problem with telling you. You wouldn't have to worry about secretly hurting him or making him feel like shit because he'd let you know immediately if you were taking it too far. Obviously you'd apologize, and he'd just tell you to make sure it didn't happen again. 

Things I'd think he'd be into is impact play, rough sex, dirty talk, restraints, temp play, overstimulation, masochism, and probably some more shit I can't think of. I feel like his kink list is like when someone pulls out a small scroll, then it turns out that bitch is long and hits the floor. I feel like he'd also enjoy humiliation to an extent. He doesn't want to be embarrassed in public, but if you made him beat off in front of a mirror while you watched, he wouldn't be against it. 

Idk why but he really gives me "hit me harder vibes". You'll think you're hitting him hard but then he'd ask you to hit him harder. 

"Harder" probably explains his entire vibe. He pisses you off to make your life harder. He wants you to hit him harder. Be harder on him when he breaks a rule. Fuck him harder. Just be harder. He's not easily breakable. He can handle it. 

I just really feel like he enjoys rough sex from behind. Probably finds that shit relaxing. 

I feel like the punishment he'd absolutely hate would be orgasm denial. One night is already tough but when you won't let him cum for an extended amount of time? Torture. 

He gives off the vibes of someone who wants constant sex, so cutting him off would be hard. I feel like this is the only rule he for sure wouldn't break because he knows you'd just reset the amount of days he can't cum for. 

Aftercare with him would probably be difficult because he wouldn't say what he needed. He's good at telling you when he's uncomfortable with something, but isn't good at saying exactly what he wants when you're done. He's just not used to being pampered and thinks asking you to do things like cuddle with him is embarrassing. 

It's obviously not though, so you make sure to take care of him. 

He appreciates it, even if he won't say he does. 

He makes sure to care for you as well. He's an asshole but he's not that big of an asshole. If you're warm from all the moving, he'd cool you down. He'd probably try to get up to run you a bath and you're like "sit the fuck down". 

Probably enjoys silence afterwards. I don't mean he doesn't wanna hear you or he wants to pretend you don't exist. He just enjoys feeling your presence there and the sound of whatever is outside. 

An afterthought I just had. Bi-Han grunts, Kuai Liang moans loudly, Tomas probably whines. 

I know I should be writing Liar pt 2, and I am. Unfortunately the voices have taken over so this came out first. Might make another part, maybe a short Drabble. Idk. I do know that I will make one of these for Kuai Liang and Tomas.

[cherphadetseuk]

so I don't know if it's just me, or if FirstKhao are just that good at acting with such chemistry that even the script doesn't work how it should but... Ray went out there comparing this

with this

and he thought HE was second-stringing? I mean, it's pretty obvious from his reaction to the SandBoeing kiss that he lost right then and there BEFORE he even got to kiss Sand. I mean, yes I get it. First of all, he doesn't see his kiss with Sand from an outside perspective and he's already low on self-esteem (which I can relate to, not gonna lie so again, I get it)

Interesting enough. Boeing had the same expression.

HOWEVER idk if it's just me, but everyone and their mother can see that the SandRay kiss was so much more than the SandBoeing kiss. The way they already go for it is so different to the hands on the neck to the change of positions and just everything. So why on earth did Ray think he was second-stringing and losing this "competition". I mean yes, Sand didn't answer the question when Ray asked him if he still loved Boeing but I guess if I was in Sand's shoes I'd be feeling all sorts of things if my ex is suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Ray told him to kiss Boeing to find out if he still loves him and he also got a kiss in return for the same reason so again, everyone and their mother can tell that Sand kissing Ray was a million times more meaningful than the one he had with Boeing. The angry kiss between Ray and Boeing had more chemistry.

THIS had more chemistry! (I know off-topic but I don't care)

(not gonna lie, the way Sand manhandled Top here was kinda hot)

(now I wanna see him do this with Ray) But anyway, I'm getting off-topic but I just thought it was interesting that Ray is really that low on self-esteem to think right away that he's second-stringing. I get why Sand was angry and I also get why Ray was angry and they had the fight. Ray is just scared. I get it. He finally found ONE person on this entire planet who is good to him (which is already sad in its own way) and now even that is going to shambles in his thought process. Well, at least Sand went to him to talk it out and apologise because let's be real, without throwing shade (I am throwing shade), Sand is the only one who goes to apologise right after he did or said something he feels like apologising for. He also did it in the cutest way possible. I am biased, I'm not gonna deny that but yeah. Just my 2 cents here. This post serves no purpose in the end I guess. I got side-tracked lol. I'm still processing that last episode and the fact that it's over. Edit: I would like to add that I'm aware of Ray's insecurities and I'm in no way posting this as a negative thing. I just thought it was interesting given my reaction I had when he said that. I wanted to crawl into my computer and slap some sense into him and tell him to not lose the best thing that has happened to him.

[dmbakura]

Would you say AA has this sense of thinking he /needs/ to be like Cazador, because that's "what works" and what's "safe"? Like this is who he has to be, and nothing else is viable? That's how I interpreted AA's masking (especially during his sex scene, it seems very insincere and more like what he thinks he needs to be than what he wants) and I can't really make it work with Neil's statements honestly.

I also think he's very much capable of cruelty but the way AA acts is something else entirely to me because it's so goofily a Stereotypical Cartoon Villain Big Bad Sexy Vampire which doesn't really come across as honest in the way, let's say, Gortash's antics seem honest from what we know of the character. Maybe I'm misinterpreting what masking means, idk. I'm definitely not saying it's not honest that he wants to do all that power-hungry shit and that he's secretly a pure tortured soul because that's a lame ass reading that contradicts canon but everything about how he carries himself is so uncanny and all those underlying themes of being really fucking afraid and unable to face what happened/running away from it don't lead me to believe he's living an authentic life, more like he's trapped inside himself.

I don't really see how this contradicts anything Neil said. He never says AA is Astarion's most authentic self at all, or even that he's healthy and confident, only that he stops masking with theatrical deflections.

You also have to account for the supernatural element here too. In dnd lore, most true vampires basically succumb to personality rot and become paranoid and obsessive scheming freaks. I know the 'vampire ascendant' is a new thing and bg3 plays with the lore a bit more but considering this is alluded to by Astarion AND Cazador and heavily reflected in AAs behavior, I'm willing to believe that the vampire ascendant is literally just that but on steroids. Hence the cartoonish behavior lol

Astarion's a complex character. A lot of his arc is a question about how trauma can shape a person and what remains (if anything) after they've gone through something inconceivable, and if they can move past it and reclaim an identity for themself. I don't think it's a coincidence that his background is mostly vague and we don't actually know the kind of person he was before he was turned (unlike *those* fans, I also don't believe 'corrupt magistrate' means he was 'always destined to be evil' or some nonsense like that.) So much of his character is informed by the choices made in the game and how the experiences shape his worldview. He's by far the most dynamic character in the game and people want there to be a simple answer to his character (whether that be 'he's a poor uwu baby who did nothing wrong' or 'he's always been irredeemably evil and is incapable of change') when the reality is there just isn't one.

All this to say, same as what I've been saying from the beginning, both endings for him serve a purpose. They're two sides of the same coin for his character. They are both true to Astarion and his development and they're meant to contrast in ways that make you think deeper about him and his story. They absolutely cannot be taken in a vacuum and I am just so annoyed with people not engaging with the story on this level and wanting there to be simple moral platitudes to everything because they're uncomfortable with complexity.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

So we all have issues with the character designs of the show. But what are some designs or design choices that especially irk you? For example, I hate how Frosta wears a heavy coat 24/7, or how I just hate Mermista’s design for a multitude of reasons.

ooo boy. yeah, there's a lot i dislike about the character designs.

adora wearing her horde uniform even after joining the alliance. they really couldn't give her a different attire? especially since being in the horde has been a traumatic experience that she was trying to reject and move on from. nate said that “the uniform gave her purpose” but the point of her arc should have been about her finding her own purpose, instead of still somehow being loyal to the horde. in my opinion, they should have given her an outfit change in s4, after she stands up to catra and cuts the last tie she had with the horde. also, i think i mentioned this before but i feel like they should have added something to her character design to make the distinction that she's not from etheria. i know this is what she looks like in OG she-ra too but if they could redesign the other characters, why make adora look almost the same as the OG? why not try something new? it would have been interesting if she had something unusual in her appearance that indicated she was a first one.

perfuma's entire design. idk why but her hair especially just looks off to me. the hairline looks weird and the way her hair is slicked back but suddenly has a lot of volume to the back. i feel like they could have given her some bangs or a different parting. her robe/cape thing also just looks incredibly impractical, i'm surprised it doesn't get caught on things, especially when she's fighting.

mermista is supposed to be a mermaid, yet we only see like two instances of her with a tail, one of which is her just sulking in a bathtub. they should have included her mermaid form a lot more, considering that's an important part of who she is.

bow. just bow in general. i like the crop top, it's cute. but the weird armor thing on one of his shoulders confuses me. what purpose does it serve? and his hair looks like a wig. it just looks unnatural, they could have put in a bit more work to make it look like actual hair. also he deserved an outfit change, he's supposed to be one of the main characters, yet he's treated worse than the princesses. and that's saying something.

the funny thing is that there were a lot of side characters in this show who had better character designs than the main characters. a bunch of the characters at the princess prom looked really interesting, huntara looked really cool, and the star siblings probably had some of my favourite character designs ever. idk why they didn't put that much effort into our main characters.

[aristocrating]

Check Please Hot Take! There's not enough information on-page to determine whether Kent still loves/is obsessed with Jack or just wants to manipulate him into getting what he wants for his own gain (winning). Relatedly, the fact that Kent steamrolls Jack and doesn't listen to him, and moves straight to trying to make out with him, supports Jack's assertion to Bitty that their relationship was "just physical."

Yeah I agree that Kent is undercooked and underwritten as all hell, so I get why the situation could be read as ambiguous. (For me, what puts it more in one direction than the other is the fact that the narrative frames Kent as very emotionally invested in the situation. In LVA @ PVD there is that big establishing shot of Kent stumbling over his words when he gets asked about Jack, before he catches himself, and then also the flashback shot to him crying at Epikegster interpolated with Jack saying "it's all in the past" to the interviewer.)

But ultimately, the framing to me makes such a strong case for reading Kent as emotionally hung up of some kind. I think it's also interesting to read him as trying to manipulate Jack into joining the Aces because he cares about winning so much, because then that still means he's kind of obsessed with Jack, even if it's not romantically. Idk I think every reading of Kent, even to the most bad faith ones claiming he's a villain or a bad person or whatever, imply to me that he just can't get over Jack. Why would he show up and corner Jack at Epikegster at all if he wasn't? Doesn't really matter to me whether it's romantically, platonically, sexually, professionally. It's still good drama and I think it gives insight into how he ticks.

The second part of your ask is interesting because you bring up how he goes straight to making out with Jack, which to me is very much evidence that Kent is obsessed with Jack, even if it's just physical. So it's entirely possible (even if I personally think Jack is a very unreliable character, given how he tends to deal with his emotions) that to Jack the whole thing was just physical but Kent still got hung up. Even if just about the hockey they played. I think Kent's entire existence is kind of the evidence that something more significant happened between him and Jack, though. What's the point of introducing a new counterplayer into the narrative and drop all these hints about that "did they, didn't they" if the plan was for it to just dissipate into nothingness. If Jack is right and nothing happened, why even have Kent show up at all?

They were a pretty big deal, after all.

So yes, I agree there's a lot we don't know and we'll never know for certain what exactly his deal was ultimately supposed to be, but at the same time there are a lot of things we can triangulate, like that he definitely showed up at the Kegster for a reason, and that he definitely was supposed to serve some bigger purpose in the narrative. And that's why people are so obsessed with him, right? The mystery of it all. It's fun to speculate!

But yeah, who can say, truly. I don't know if I can give this a rating because I'm too biased in my own opinion of what I think of Kent, but I give it many many ghosts haunting the narrative.

👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻

[bizarrejalix]

am curious, do elaborate on your feelings of the red butler arc if you feel like it, please.

Okay what I was thinking about was this: my first encounter with the story was the anime (rip me) and then I read the manga, so as I was rereading the red butler arc now it was notable to me how Grell is really not... A character in it. I was posting all of the little tiny Grells (cute) and really, it's because that's all we see of her. She has maybe five lines before the reveal and then she never shuts up. And I realised (after my disappointment) that that's the point. Grell is not only a background character in the manga, she's a background person in the main character's lives. It's so effective to have not only Ciel fail to take notice of her because she's masquerading as a servant, but the entire narrative as well. In the anime however, she's a character with comedic (depending on your taste 😒) gimmicks and lines out the wazoo and it's too much... It cheapens the reveal- it's always the one you least suspect. In the manga she's clearly present the whole time, so it's not like "and the culprit is... this random stranger!". But to know anything about her or to take any notice of her at all defeats the clear purpose of her early character (and, importantly to me, disrespects her acting skills). And she's not even that incompetent in the manga- because she's not anything at all! The anime made the strange choice to have her act involve the most extreme comedic incompetence (not knocking her acting skills, fantastic choice queen) and extreme comedic stupidity. Idk it just strikes me as a stupid choice for the anime. The manga, to be fair, faffed around a lot less and so perhaps it simply didn't have space for such things, or perhaps it was just purposeful in its storytelling. It's not as though the anime needed an extra source for comedy because like the manga it had plenty. It simply serves to.. kind of cheapen the reveal. Grell's true self is flamboyant and outrageous and impossible to miss, so when Grell's persona is... Also flamboyant and outrageous and hard to miss- just in different ways- instead of perfectly unassuming and 100% under the radar, then it doesn't work.

Tldr: anime Grell too stupid to live, god bless her, and I think that the anime should have had her be smart and stealthy like manga Grell to make the reveal of her true self and the solution to the mystery more effective.

Then again maybe the solution to the mystery is just 50% anticlimax and I'm reading into it too much lol what do you think

[johanna-swann]

Did anybody else find this episode a little... Idk, underwhelming? Too simple? Because of course there were parts I liked and enjoyed very much, but I also felt like a lot of it fell flat. Maybe it's just that we already new a lot going in and that it was veeeery predictable, but still. In parts, it felt almost like a character study.

The first couple of minutes were pretty fun. With the bachelor party, Chim not wanting a bachelor party and Buck and Eddie going "well screw what he wants, we're having a party!". I didn't mind that this part was relatively short either, it just served as a little fun moment and as an introduction to the main conflict of the episode.

[On a side note: I feel like they're leaning heavily into Buck being an awkward mess this season. He has always been impulsive and doesn't always think before he speaks, but the second-hand embarrassment levels are off the charts this season. Might be just a me thing though, idk.]

Anyway. Once they realise that Chimney is missing, the reason behind his disappearance is cleared up quickly. It's not particularly mysterious or dramatic or complicated (he has a fever and got disoriented) and then nothing much happens anymore?

We see the other characters looking for him, but aside from a very small scene were Maddie worries she put to much pressure on this wedding there's not much emotion here? They're all very pragmatic about it, it feels like just another day on the job.

Meanwhile Chimney has some more hallucinations while wandering about. Tbh, I hate that they brought Doug back. What was the purpose behind this? He's been dead for five years, Maddie has been in therapy about it and Chimney dealt with his feelings about Maddie's first marriage last season before he proposed. Just. Why?

The actual wedding at the end also only takes up about 6 minutes. This part, again, is kinda sweet. Very much predictable though.

In general, not a single surprising thing happened in this episode (aside from Doug). We knew Chim would disappear. We knew the wedding wouldn't go down as planned and that it was probably gonna end in a smaller impromptu ceremony. We knew Buck would come out to the rest of the team, but that it wouldn't be a big deal. We knew that Madney still would get married this episode. We knew there was going to be a happy ending.

So yeah. There is an entire half hour in the middle of the episode where barely anything happens. We don't see the other main characters' feelings about their missing friend. There's not B- or C-plot drama with the Buckley parents or Chimney's father or anything. It's really just Chimney stumbling about and the others looking for him.

Which, as I mentioned, made this episode feel like a character study on Chimney. Even Maddie didn't have much to do this episode. I think maybe a lot of the emotional impact got lost in editing, they had to cut like 30 minutes of screentime off of 7x06?

TL;DR: Despite some rather heartwarming scenes, the plot felt very thin for an episode that was promoted as this huge mid-season event, the wedding we've been waiting for, especially because we waited 3 weeks for it instead of just 1.

Now, before I just send out all these sceptical, negative thoughts, here some things I really liked:

The Lees were such an important part of this episode. They are Chimney's family, he grew up with them, they're home. The importance of found family has been dying down a little bit during the recent seasons (Eddie trying to be better with his parents, the Buckley parents showing up more, even Chim's father is somewhat forgiven his shortcomings). But the Lees rightfully got their screentime here.

I do like that they establish how Chim's little adventure had nothing to do with the bachelor party. It's not that Buck and Eddie irresponsibly lost the groom, it's completely unrelated.

The coming out was also a little underwhelming, but then again this was Madney's episode and who knows, maybe they'll follow up on this at a later point.

Bobby officiating the wedding with their entire family huddled into that one hospital room was really sweet.

Chimney triaging that emergency was so cool. That's just who Chimney is at his core, even when he's hallucinating and thinks it's 2004.

[bitchfitch]

Idk. since Erasyl and his tattoos are on my mind again. I'm just. rotating the first few weeks he's home after breaking things off with Maelgwn.

Like. Amir, Erasyl's twin brother, is used to seeing him vacant eyed and completely shut down during winter. He's used to the first weeks of spring being rough and manic as Erasyl bounces from feeling like he's already dead to believing he's unkillable.

Hes used to watching his brother's tattoo's fade from twisting vasculature pale brambles to vibrant green and lush with new life and light.

But that spring just never comes that year. Sure the rest of the land thrives with march sunlight and snow melt washing rich soils down into the valley. But Erasyl remains dormant. His vines stay twisted and thorny, barren and barely visible against his skin.

Spring gives to summer. There's light again, Some bits of Erasyl come through here and there, but still hes not the warm and calm summer fields Amir remembers him being.

They get a letter from Maelgwn's pack. Amir sees the first flush of green and budding of blooms as Erasyl snatches it from him. It's impersonal. It's the same formality notice of the pack crossing peacefully through their lands that they'd gotten every year before. It's not even in Maelgwn's handwriting.

All that life disappears again in an instant.

Erasyl doesn't talk about Maelgwn. Or what happened in their time together. He says it's too painful to think about now that he's home. Too humiliating.

Amir never asked.

They don't talk about it that night. Not really. Erasyl just cries against his twins chest about being stupid and weak. Of course Maelgwn didn't write him. Why would he? Erasyl served his purpose, but his job was done now. He was used and discarded and it was rotting him at his very roots.

When the tears stop, when the night is starting to turn light with sunrise, Erasyl admits his greatest shame. He thought Maelgwn loved him. He knew he loved Maelgwn. how could he be so stupid?

Amir just holds him through it. Holds him into the morning until a panicked servant knocks at Erasyl's door to alert him to the fact no one can find Amir. Amir goes to put out whatever fire got started the instant people thought their king had gone missing.

Erasyl doesn't leave his room that day.

He had purpose before Maelgwn. He was going to be king. His Entire life was spent growing towards that eventuality. He sacrificed it all to save his people. He had thought Maelgwn would have killed him within minutes of them meeting. Maelgwn gave him new purpose. Showed him new facets of life and the world far beyond the castle walls. And then took it all away as soon as their deal was done.

He doesn't know what to do with himself.

What 'friends' he had before turn their nose up at him now. They call him soiled and ruined for having been in Maelgwn's embrace. He was going to be king. Now he was just a monster's unwanted bed thing.

he doesn't leave his room the next day either.

Amir has never seen his tattoos that faint. Only in the right light can he catch even the smallest glimpse of them on Erasyl's skin. They have no leaves or thorns. They don't curl defensively. they hang limp and bare like they'd been poisoned.

After too long Amir admits defeat. Fall is coming, and he fears what will become of Erasyl once winter follows it. He writes a letter that disgusts him to no end to pen. He hands it to a runner and tells him to announce that it is from Erasyl when he arrives at the camp. That's the boy's best chance at not getting maimed in that den of beasts.

.

The boy returns on the beast king's shoulders. Carried more as a sign the monstrosity came in good will than out of any kindness to him. The boy is very excited about it when he's let down to return to whatever other duties he might have.

.

Maelgwn doesn't say a word to Amir. Too much ill will lingers between them. He just marches through lavish halls with all the confidence of a hound following it's nose.

.

Amir doesn't know what the conversation his twin and enemy entails. But he knows he's made the right choice when Erasyl emerges at long last with tentative flowers blooming along his arms. Still faint and sparse, but something new is being allowed to take root.

Amir just has to hope that whatever comes of this, it won't be the end of his brother.

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 2x13 Armageddon Game thoughts (rewatching, so possible future spoilers)

Julian does seem to like monologuing XD

Miles giving Julian all the credit and Julian being so reluctant to accept it - my heart, I cannot!

"I suppose another day won't kill me" ...but it almost will! Foreshadowing!

Miles saving Julian when he had been well-hidden and Julian very much wasn't!

These officials are very good at lying, I'll give them that

Callback to Miles' defence of rations earlier in the season XD

Oh, he's ever the doctor and I love how consistently that shows

And I love it how Miles' experience is coming out with him knowing that the best thing is not to move

Aw, Julian biting his lip after offering to help: knowing he's an augment, this can definitely be seen as him deciding to put a more unusual skill he shouldn't have out there, possibly rising exposure, for it be dismissed

I'm glad we're shown how upset and shaken the crew are at the news of death. Their faces in Sisko's office are just... <3

This whole conversation Julian and Miles are having about women isn't quite banter, but it would be if they were friends. I really don't know if Julian is winding Miles up on purpose to get his mind off the situation, knowing what he's doing, or if he is just an idiot.

( Though ngl, my Julian/Miles addled mind is reading this as Julian totally overcompensating to cover up his massive crush on Miles by going on about women.)

Doctor Julian is best Julian

KEIKO MY BELOVED I wish you didn't have to feel this way

I am SO curious what is in Julian's diary. I suppose even in a diary - especially presumably one on a PADD - he wouldn't even hint at his augmentations, given the risk of discovery.

"I suppose I should send them to his parents..." - No, you reallly shouldn't.

I love how proud Jadzia is whenever Quark is thoughtful. That expression definitely feels like she's showing off to Kira: "See, Ferengi are actually good too!"

Also I'm noticing far more snippets of Jadzia and Kira just hanging out and supporting each other and being friends <3 Not sure why I didn't see this ship before but it has my entire heart now.

Keiko persuading them the footage is suspicious is all so much funnier knowing she's wrong about the coffee. Although WHAT a good job she was!

Huh, initially Miles was describing the components to Julian (dark blue coil beside the green cylinder), but now he's moved fto calling them by name (subprocessor, RFoscillators). Either Julian has faked learning quickly otr let on how much he knows about electronics.

Julian really doesn't want to listen to Miles' thinking he'll die - but even less to Miles talking about Keiko...

Oh, I've just remembered why they tried to kill them!

"The T'Lani and Kellerun have finally made peace" - and boy, what a way to ensuring it survives, iirc....

Julian's complete bafflement at the lengths they were willing to go. He cannot understand killing innocent people at all!

"I'm sorry I didn't get us home, Chief." And he probably feels responsible, too, seeing that he ended up being the one to make the radio and contact the T'Lani.

"You did your best. It's been an honour serving with you." MY HEART.

Oooh, not home and dry yet, a space race!

I can't believe they'd risk a BIGGER war against the Federation to protect their peace?! They're not thinking this through very thoroughly, are they.

Idk why, but this fight scene has very TOS energy to me

Clever clever clever! Took me a second to figure out after the runabout exploded, but I got there before the T'Lani did so I'm pleased with that :P

Oh, Julian's so genuine and sweet, he just wants to be friends and have Miles like him

I can understand your time alone with him being hell seeing as you were dying, but you're definitely overexaggerating how bad Julian was, Miles

That reveal is still a favourite. What a twist XD

O'BRIEN: You know, I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee right now. KEIKO: Miles, you never drink coffee in the afternoon. O'BRIEN: Sure I do. KEIKO: You do?

I really love this episode. What a banger.

[disfrutalakia]

Hi it's evillous AU anon again!! Now i've got time and it's not 11pm so I'm going to try and dump all my thoughts on it in your askbox >:D I started conceptualizing this while the election arc was still ongoing and something i've learned is that it's really difficult to make a complicated au of a story with characters that are constantly developing. several times i've assigned characters to one role only for the literal next day have a new plotline start that makes them fit a different role so much better and then i have to change everything around again. So this is 100% going to be outdated in like a week tops lmao. I've also taken a lot of liberties with things like who reincarnates into who and what order some events happen in, so it doesn't 100% fit the structure of either story. For reference i leaned toward making the relationships line up more with the QSMP storyline rather than evillous canon and its still heavily a WIP so things are going to be changed around a lot probably even while im writing this ask. I put a lot of thought into how the original sin arc would go in this au and there's a lot of details to it so to shorten it just a little bit i'll just explain that the federation serves as an overarching force/government/scientists thing throughout the entire story. they're conducting an experiment on the islanders where they're stuck in a cycle of reincarnation for 1000 years and their lives are going to be extensively documented to see what changes about them and how their society develops. The seven sins are something dropped into the world by the codes in order to mess with said experiment rather than being created by one person's soul like in the original story because tbh i hated that. I put ElQ in the role of Irina and Bad in the role of Elluka. I think they fit really well because I can then interpret The Song I Heard Somewhere as ElQ vowing revenge on Bad for assassinating him (in canon, at least. for AU purposes he kills all the other election candidates and wins) and Bad REALLY fits the role of the morally grey immortal whos creation is marked by a catastrophic event that destroys a whole civilization and they carry the guilt of that for their entire lives. As for the sinners themselves I haven't entirely figured them out yet? but for a couple of them i've got really detailed thoughts. For reference I also made it so each of them can reincarnate as many times as needed even if they've contracted with a sin before because I didn't want to remove characters from the story entirely. so: - Lust: I have no idea who i'm even going to begin to put into this role but the most likely candidate would be Pierre i think because of the whole bed thing? - Gluttony: I had Cellbit as this because of the whole cannibalism history thing he's got but other than that I hadn't really thought about it too much. I am sad to report however that the more BBH talks about eating living beings and inedible things he may fit better. it'd also be funny for the immortal assigned the task of gathering the sins to be the demon of gluttony itself. - Pride: tbh this one is pretty difficult to assign a role to because of how specific the original arc is and how it technically involves two characters. It's not something I could've put many characters in without really mischaracterizing them and I was thinking my best bet was probably Forever but then the happy pills happened and there's no way i could've not made him sloth. So my most recent idea was to change the pride story almost entirely and put Pac in the role? But more in the sense of 'two criminals are always fucking things up for the federation get a bit too cocky and have a warrant out for their arrest, Mike getting Pac to flee and as the feds are able to get at least one of them they're like "eh fuck it watching as your platonic soulmate dies is good enough torment for the other one."' but also idk. (1/2)

Ohhhh anon so sorry I forgot to check my inbox to reply to this BUT NOW I'M HERE AND AGH THIS SOUNDS AWESOME

First of all, I love Bad as Elluka (also i'm listening to survival ma, really sets the vibes I think) and also he is such a perfect choice for the demon of gluttony, like he would die by eating himself like Conchita (also who would be Carlos I wonder? Have no clue but someone gotta sing the best Kaito song ever made, drug of gold I love you so much)

And hum lust is a difficult one to pin down, especially cause like there is not many people I can see going the Duke Venomania route and having a fucking harem? Trying to remember who I saw being attacked by the lust mob more than once in the server and I think it was Bad (he really is Elluka hum, constantly finding sins left and right)

I think that Forever could fit well on pride actually, he is not like Rilliane was of course, but he is prideful in a way. Waiting to be the best president he can and not really accepting that sometimes his ways could be wrong.

[huachengapologist]

It looks like some of my rituals are changing. I suppose it's not all that surprising -- OCD symptoms CAN change, and I'm a very, very good example of that -- but still it's like… can't the change just be getting rid of them altogether? Like, does it really need to be just the same rituals done a little differently? Or new rituals? Things I've barely thought about until now, only for me to at some times be unable to think of anything else?

"Fun" fact -- when I first started to think I might have OCD, I expressed it to someone I thought would understand. It's been over two or three decades, but I BELIEVE it was a staff member at whatever group home I was in at the time?

In any case, that staff member told me it was impossible for my rituals to be symptoms of OCD because they didn't serve a purpose. There was no REASON for them, and people with OCD HAD to have reasons, because that's what the obsessive part meant!

To use a more recently relevant example -- The Boys. CW for spoilers maybe?

But… MM. Mother's Milk. He is a great example of what the people who told me I COULDN'T possibly have OCD considered someone who was ALLOWED to be seen as having OCD -- because he had a reason.

MM admits at one point that he does his rituals because his brain has convinced him that if he doesn't, Soldier Boy will come back and kill whatever family he hasn't already murdered. This fits the idea of OCD that the people who called me a liar believed was necessary -- yes, he did weird shit, but that was because he was OBSESSED with the death of his family! He was OCD because he FELT like if he didn't do his rituals, something bad would happen!

But OCD is so much more complicated than that. And while I very much have easily understood reasons for some rituals, most of my rituals are based entirely on subtle things that other people have no idea about, and don't have some easy, understandable reason why I might feel the need to do them.

Honestly? Sometimes I kinda feel like maybe I should make a TikTok where I'm obvious about my rituals and what they mean, because I feel like right now, most of it is just seen as examples of how I'm eccentric. While I do have numeric OCD urges, most of them are tied to patterns.

I want to rant so much more about this but I'm running out of steam, which is one of the reasons I've been considering trying to record it -- but a lot of my bullshit is either silent or internalized, and I'm worrried that will make people believe I'm either lying or looking too far into things. IDK…. maybe a "Day in the Life" is necessary? Except that also feels incredibl narcissisitic….

….god, I wish I was neurotypical

[kazumahashimoto]

waiting for the kitchen to be free i'm gonna wall of text about burst s7 and how it could have been better

i think for starters ditching bel and that crew would have been the best decision. i mean in general deciding to stick with bel as a protag is so. weird? like we've been protag hopping every season since 3 so why suddenly decide to make a second season for BEL of all characters. my best guess is that they didn't want to fully commit to having a girl as the MAIN protagonist but quite frankly the season would have been better for it! bel as a character is not really one that was given much opportunity to Grow, and i mean that from day 1 of s6 all the way to the end of s7. he's a silly character that's meant to never get too down on himself, and that's Fine, but they never Take that anywhere. he has a few moments of vulnerability but he springs back up same as before every time. it doesn't help that all of the antagonists they've thrown at him have kind of been flops, but he should still be able to have his own growth outside of that. but he doesn't. so forming a whole nother season surrounding HIM is a bizarre choice. honestly feel like bringing aiger back would have served this purpose better if they really wanted to have familiar faces to go with pri. definitely think they should have just let her have her own new cast though.

but speaking of familiar faces, one thing i think s7 totally failed at was the cameos. besides ken of course. i think ken was a FANTASTIC choice for pri's character, allowing her to dig into the way she feels about quadra and the mask more, but i wish they'd gone further into this idea!! xander, as much as i love him, really doesn't have a narrative to pursue? like that's never really been his function, and that's clear as day when you get to him and the most he does is reminisce on old times and then fight bel for his grandpa. i think zac would have been a much better person to insert here! zac shows another side of the idea of identity. where for ken, there isn't really a place where ken stops and keru and besu begin, that's not entirely the case for zac! Zac The Sunrise is different from Zachary Kaneguro. zac is his persona, his idol identity, and while he definitely put himself into that role, ultimately that's not all of who he is. i think it's a similar case for pri, where she Does feel like quadra is a part of who she is, quadra does also represent an elevation of her regular self, a performance. and i think zac would be an excellent vessel to show that through!! we don't see zac out of his idol mode much, and i think he could learn something from the experience too.

now, kit Fucking lopez is kind of a bizarre choice. even weirder than xander. idk who was out there begging to see Kit Lopez again, but we sure got him. i think this section would be better filled by shu. not a spectacular cameo to have since shu's already otherwise in the season, but i think it makes the most thematic sense. shu also has experience with masks, though his was a negative one. i'm pretty sure pax even says the reason he created pri's mask in the first place was Because of how much stronger shu got as red eye, so why was he not more involved with pri!!!!! pri's feelings towards the mask are not exclusively positive ones, and i think she could explore those feelings further by talking with shu. she likes the performance and the showiness she gets to have while wearing the mask, but she doesn't like what the mask was ultimately made for, and she doesn't like how pax tries to control her with it. not unlike how shu was!

unfortunately i don't think they were really thinking about the narrative importance of any of the cameos outside of ken and just wanted to put some old faces on the screen (so why kit lopez and not. anybody else?!??!?!?!?? anyway.) WHICH SUCKS. and pri not being allowed the full spotlight led to such an unsatisfying ending for her character, and made pax an even bigger flop villain than he already was. and bel didn't even really do anything. or change. he's just kind of there to steal her thunder and piss her off sometimes. flop season. i could fix you.

[hukkelberg]

last major thought is our main master of whisperers in asoiaf varys playing chess to serve his end goal of reinstating targaryen rule w (most likely fake) aegon, former prince rhaegar's son who miraculously survived somehow (rest assured any "mistake" varys makes in series resulting in the baratheon-lannister family being fucked was def on purpose), and pen supporting dany bc she sees the writing on the wall wrt the current state of westeros, the state of her family (esp if they were fucked over by the baratheon-lannisters), potentially the position the bridgertons are in, and even the apocalyptic threat rapidly approaching if you want to include the white walkers element by having pen as a prophetic character. part of asoiaf that the show doesn't focus on as much is how dany giving birth to her dragons brings magic back into the world (it had been slowly dissipating w the death of the last dragon pre-series) which is why a lot of the mains begin developing previously dormant magical abilities. the shapeshifting is already at least tangentially related to magic so pen having prophetic dreams (esp as a character known for seeing things other ppl don't) would be fitting. pen would also be able to vouch for the bridgertons if she were serving under dany considering their connection to the baratheon-lannisters would leave them in iffy territory w a targaryen ruler. idk how much you care about the magical aspect so ignore the rest of this if you don't lol. the other main magical aspect that could easily be included and would help w gathering info would be pen being a warg/skinchanger. they can temporarily assume control of animals' (and potentially another person's, if they're powerful) minds which allows them to see through their eyes and control their actions. in other words pen could literally be a fly on the wall, v useful. this may also prove influential in terms of the dragon riders' connections w their dragons in asoiaf but it hasn't really been explored yet bc dany, as an exile, has received no formal education on dragons and so has been forced to just wing it/figure it out for herself the whole time. that's part of why tyrion, who knows the most about dragons, is seeking her out in the 5th book - he knows he could be useful and he's in a dire position considering the crown is hunting him down and he was sold into slavery. this also has pen vibes imo. anyway shutting up now and ty for indulging me - bridgerton makes me sad sometimes bc pen is my girl and ik on a different show she would be having a great time committing war crimes </3 (3/3)

ooh the position of the bridgertons -- do you think edmund died in the war? cuz i can't imagine him getting that involved in the rhaegar lyanna business, but perhaps they involved him. the reach is very strategic. there must be a lot of politicking he was involved in--i always got the sense he was much more integrated into society than anthony, who barely participates and only out of pride and duty.

I was thinking about warging! idk how much you know about the chronicles of narnia, but narnia, the country, when ruled by the four pevensies, was primarily a country of talking animals surrounded by countries of people to the south and east (we don't exactly know what's to the west and the north is populated by giants, witches and an assortment of creatures). there's a really good fic series (the stone gryphon on ao3) about the pevensies in england after their return, but it builds a spy network (rat and crow) controlled by susan and edmund which is made up almost entirely of birds and spiders and flies and so on. very small, unnoticeable animals. the idea of a spider listening in on conversations is ludicrous to the rest of the countries in the world of narnia, despite them knowing it's a place filled with talking animals which possess a decent level of intelligence, which gives edmund and susan (and peter and lucy) a very good advantage over the rest. I don't know if that's possible here, as i imagine warging is very taxing on the body, but something like it would be very fun for pen

[ochasuyu]

i think the worst sub-plot conclusion by far though, was the kurogiri / shirakumo arc. it was built up pretty intensely & then just kinda. faded? as they had kurogiri save shigaraki, shirakumo save aizawa/mic, and then we didn't hear jack shit about him. the only clue as to what happened to him is ONe tiny panel of aizawa & mic at an altar, which is most likely his funeral? the entire thing was very confusing and poorly handled considering how much emotional emphasis they put on it

as far as midoriya's own ending goes, i think it narratively makes a lot of sense, and it gives some further context for previous panels (the conversation with mawata fuwa, for example, where she says aizawa-sensei is her hero & there's this one seemingly out-of-place panel of midoriya having some silent realization. again, lack of introspection, but whatever.). him becoming a teacher & raising the next generation of heroes is a good role for him, and him losing one for all has been being set up since they introduced the past users and we learn that literally just holding one for all shortens your lifespan. i wish that he'd found some loophole and been able to keep it (maybe via shigaraki becoming a vestige or something) because i think that it's cruel for this kid to go through so much shit in 1 year and come out of it quirkless again, but i understand the decision made there, & he becomes a hero again in the end anyway. i don't think it was the worst conclusion hori could've given midoriya, i just wish that there was more introspection on his part as far as how he's reacted to the war and stuff?

uhhh what else. ochako not confessing her feelings to midoriya / them not getting together? works VERY well narratively imo. i adore them as a ship but i think it would've been a disservice to ochako's character. her crush on midoriya served it's purpose — it gave her the motivation to improve significantly as a hero, it acted as a peace branch between her and toga, and she had the very powerful moment of deciding to put those feelings to the side. that is hard and i think that there's a lot of people shitting on her/midoriya for that when it doesn't really make sense. the narrative purpose behind that crush wasn't for midoriya to get the girl in the end, it was for ochako to grow, which is a fairly unique way of treating female mcs in anime tbh. and there's a lot of people shitting on midoriya for it that just very obviously have cucking kinks but that's besides the point

i've been posting more about specific characters and stuff but overall i think this about sums up how i think. idk.

my take on the end of mha

this was a rant i did on discord that i'm reposting here. it'll probably be too long so uhhh. reblogs i guess. :3

i think that a lot of what 430 suffers from is classic shonen jump problems, honestly. horikoshi developed such a rich cast of characters that 5 chapters after the end of the war was never going to be enough to give them all satisfying conclusions, which sucks but isn't really his fault given what little i know of serialization (people were saying that 5 chapters is already quite long for a sj epilogue, so like… yeah)

the final chapter holds up pretty well as to what i was expecting, honestly. a timeskip had to happen given that so many of the themes of mha revolve around the idea of societal change, and you can't show that in a week after the end of the war. i think that the conclusion that the students got largely makes sense — i wish that dabi's death had been a little bit more conclusive, but i thought that his wrap-up was pretty good; he spent the rest of his days after the war being watched over by his family, especially endeavor, so he succeeded in his goal of getting endeavor to watch him. shouto may not have saved him physically, but frankly that was never a possibility given how dabi treated his own body throughout the series. he certainly saved him mentally, and i think that's kinda present throughout the other main villain wrap-ups

i think that the ochako vs toga arc was the one that was best concluded; toga could've lived, but she made the decision to reverse the role she'd been playing and give up her own blood to the girl she loved so ochako could live, instead of taking the blood of someone else. it wasn't a decision that ochako made for her (like it was with dabi vs shouto & midoriya vs shigaraki), instead toga's death IS proof that ochako DID save her mentally, and toga viewed her own death as freedom in a way.

^^ and then post-timeskip, we see ochako having taken that sacrifice and turning it into something good, with her quirk counseling program. out of all the deaths, toga's made the most sense to me, especially given that it wasn't swept under the rug narratively. the actions that ochako is making as an adult prove that toga's death didn't go in vain, and that ochako has adopted toga's wish of making the world an easier place to live in.

then there's midoriya vs shigaraki, which. i understand the narrative decisions behind it, considering they'd been setting up the idea that sometimes you have to kill people to save them (gran torino said that verbatim to midoriya) for a WHILE, but it still felt unsatisfactory to me. the general premise was that while shigaraki tomura was too far gone to save, shimura tenko wasn't, and midoriya saved/freed him? it was all kinda jumbled to me, though. not to mention the fact that there was this whole realization that all for one kidnapped shiggy, forced an altered quirk onto him, and then raised him, but shigaraki never actually learned that iirc? it was weird & i think that while shigaraki dying isn't an issue in itself, the way that the story handled it was. midoriya's only real reflection on it is one wordless panel where we see shigaraki's ghost? which is also very open-ended as like. we don't know if that's midoriya's imagination, or if shigaraki became a vestige in one for all, or what?

i have a whole TIRADE of thoughts on how poorly midoriya was handled as his own character later on, especially considering he's supposed to be narrating the series. there's a decent few bits of dialogue that feel robotic, as if his character became more of a voice for horikoshi to tell things to the readers instead of a character within the story. i've had problems for a while with how little introspection we get from midoriya, honestly, and how much guesswork we have to do as to what he's thinking / feeling / whatever considering he's not only the main character but also LITERALLY NARRATING the story