#like the meaning theme etc is that they can be their complete selves with one and other

[tinseltownie]

Thinking about how Landoscar is the only ship name I can think off that uses BOTH their whole names and doesn’t compromise either name this Christmas

[horse-girl-anthy]

The City and the Self: Or, the Uses of Lesbianism

someone in my server recently asked why Ikuhara seems so hung up on lesbians. I gave a short answer which in hindsight doesn't satisfy me. even this post won't touch on everything, there's plenty more that could be said, but here's a stab at a more complete answer, drawing from RGU specifically, though I think these points generalize to YKA as well.

a long time ago--around 2017, I believe--I posted in the RGU tag, asking about differences between how the western and Japanese fanbases see the show. the answer I got surprised me: I was told a popular fan theory held that Utena and Anthy were the same person. this is confirmed in the interview Ikuhara did with Mari Kotani:

Kotani: How did you think about relationships between two women, like the relationships between Utena and Anthy, Juri Arisugawa and Shiori Takatsuki, and so on? Sometimes it is thought of as one girl and her alter ego. Ikuhara: Yes, that's true of course.

at the time, this didn't make sense to me. now, though I don't take the "alter ego" concept literally, I certainly see where these theorists were coming from.

the very first impression the audience gets of the show, the opening seconds of the theme song, depict Utena and Anthy as mirror images of one another. I can't find the post now, but I once saw someone do a face swap of Utena and Anthy... and there was almost no difference in the final result aside from their eye color. yes, the show has somewhat same-y character designs (pointy chins, noses, etc.), and yes, Utena and Anthy are differentiated by coloring and height. however, there are differences in the facial features of the other characters, including other female characters like Juri and Nanami, meaning that you wouldn't get the same result from face swapping them that you do from face swapping Utena and Anthy.

visually, the show is trying to tell you something: Utena and Anthy are counterparts; not "the same person," in that there are clear contrasts between them, but perhaps different aspects of a single self. to put it another way, they cannot be separated from one another; what happens to one of them will affect the other, and how they relate to each other tells you a lot about how they relate to themselves.

RGU is not the first story to have this premise. I just watched Ingmar Bergman's Persona, which uses two women to tell the story of one woman, and that came out all the way back in 1966. I think that it's possible to do this kind of story with characters of different genders--however, it's most often done with homosexual/homosocial pairings because two people of the same gender are seen as better mirrors to one another.

when I initially gave my response as to why Ikuhara writes a lot of lesbians, I cited the influence of shoujo manga. however, I didn't detail how homosexuality was featured in those manga.

Ikuhara once said that the core theme of shoujo is "self-revelation." he wanted to capture that in RGU, and it seems to have come across. consider Takemiya Keiko's reading of RGU as "A story about independence, about finding oneself. It feels like a story about a girl defining 'what is myself?'"

this journey of self-discovery must involve encounter with the other. part of romance is other-longing, the desire to meet the unknown; love requires a separate entity which is not merely an extension of the self (this is why I don't believe that Utena and Anthy actually are "the same person"). through encountering the other, one can find one's own self, and further, through this encounter, the selves which meet can be transformed.

while plenty of 20th century shoujo did center heterosexual couples, I believe that homosexual and homosocial relations were so prevalent because they facilitated this romance more effectively. on a visual level, a homosexual pairing can create a clearer parallel, as discussed above. for a more thematic angle, RGU's lead writer Enokido has mused that homosexuality removes the issue of "genetic advantage" from the equation; since there is not a clear "survival and reproduction" benefit to homosexuality, it is easier to see it as "pure love." along the same lines, Ikuhara has said that "as soon as you see the destination point of producing children, sex becomes a social system." that's not to say that homosexual couples exist independently from social systems. the point is that writers who wish to pursue the idea of "self-discovery through the other" may wish to do so in the context where the norms of heterosexuality are not an issue, as they could muddy the water.

as an example, take Kaze to Ki no Uta, an influence on RGU. Gilbert and Serge, the lead couple, are very different people. often in conflict, their love ends tragically. that is precisely the power of the story: Serge, who is left alone after Gilbert's death, will live the rest of his life feeling incomplete, unwhole, because he has lost the "other self" by which he came to be defined. in Ikuhara's words, "It’s a story about that which forms the core of an artist - a starvation that can never be satiated."

when done properly, this kind of romance can be very moving, because it is not only a "love story" but also a story about the self and its relationship to the other. and even more potent are stories which are both about "finding one's other self" and about "the city":

Ikuhara: Out of your works, I particularly like the stories about cities... Stories of cities and “one’s other self” are enchanting aren’t they. There are a lot of shoujo mangaka who write about one’s other self, but there aren’t really any who write about cities. I think a story is weak if it only talks about relatives and neighbours and never about cities. In contrast, I think your stories which are simultaneously about cities really bring out their era. I think that allows you to mark out a line for the story of the other self. Takemiya: Personally, I feel at a basic level that stories without a sense of daily life aren’t very interesting. If one thinks of each person as a single cell, then the city becomes the “body”, and one cannot create a world without both. Based on where they live, some people become more modern or more provincial - the environment really plays a role. For me, it is a necessary component.

I agree with this exchange: the best stories about "one's other self" aren't solely about love between two people, but instead love between two people placed in a particular social context. it is that social context which gives the relationship flavor.

this brings us to the other reason that lesbianism (and homosexuality more broadly) is used in Ikuhara's works. not only does it allow him to tell stories about "one's other self," but also to tell stories about social systems. homosexuality is "deviant" within the social system that is set up to produce children in the nuclear family; thus, homosexual couples will face resistence and prejudice. as Ikuhara discussed in this interview, he is not necessarily trying to capture "the lesbian experience" in his works, but rather using lesbianism as an allegory for the sense of being a minority; a person outcast for standing out from the crowd. homosexuality thus allows for a marriage between the themes of "the self" and "the city" which are central to the telling of a great romance.

bringing it full circle, let's take a look at how this plays out in Utena and Anthy's dynamic, specifically the climax of the first arc. in the build up to it, Utena has been insisting that Anthy behave like a "normal girl," and believes she's succeeding in this venture. however, her illusions are crushed when Touga defeats her in the duel called Conviction. Anthy, now his bride, tells Utena that she likes being the Rose Bride and doesn't mind being alone.

Utena's reaction to this is interesting. suddenly, she is obsessed with being a "normal girl" herself, deftly signaling that all along, she was projecting her own conceptions onto Anthy. though she comes to realize this, Utena ultimately decides to duel again; in the episode 11 preview, she says, "Himemiya, wait! I have to try to get the real you and the real me back!" their selves are linked, tied; Utena cannot be herself without Anthy. what's more, the "false self" that Utena presents is linked to Anthy's "false self"--for, despite her words, it is quite difficult to believe that she "enjoys" being the Rose Bride, any more than Utena "enjoys" wearing girl's clothes. after Utena wins the duel called Self, she and Anthy meet again, paralleling the end of the first episode, but when Anthy tries to impart the rules of the rose crest, Utena tells her, "never mind all that, let's just go home." the two share a moment of authenticity, their "false selves" blown away like petals in the wind. they've drawn closer to each other and to who they truly are, while simultaneously gaining a level of independence from the system which seeks to define them by their gender. the rest of the show will play out in the same manner.

----

side note: I don't think that Ikuhara is more fixated on lesbianism than he is on male homosexuality; however, I'm not sure if he's focused on "mirroring" between homosexual males the same way he has between females, despite the fact that his cited inspiration for the way he wrote relationships between girls in RGU is yaoi.

[thedevillionaire]

If I may be greedy, 3, 4, 6, 9 (yes I am 👀ing Cerb) & 11 for Cerberus and Kia?

Greedy is totally fine! This is a nice bunch, too. :D

3) What song describes your OC?

Cerberus has two main "theme songs": Dance With Fire by Operus, and The Cage by Attrition. He's had more than one Underworldian song written about him, too, though I don't have actual music for those, just lyrics, due to me being a craptacular singer. Only one of these is currently anywhere online: Green Fire

For Kia, Love An Adventure by Pseudo Echo.

4) What song describes your OC and their partner/love interest?

As a couple, they have a few, actually, but the main two are A Touch of Evil by Judas Priest, and Body and Soul by the Sisters of Mercy.❤️

6) If your OC is in a fantasy setting, what profession would they be in the modern day?

Cut time!

This is really tricky for Cerberus, actually, and the only thing I'm confident of is that he'd be his own boss. Possibly the world's hottest occult bookstore owner/operator lol. But I can also see him not working a "regular" sort of job at all, and being the kind of super-successful investor that can live off passive income and do whatever he wants in his (significant) spare time, and that may not be a whole lot different - although with a "mortal plane" skew, of course - to what he does now.

lol maybe he'd be a cult leader. 🤣 He was mortally pyrokinetic, after all. Kia had all sorts of odd jobs when she was mortal. She's been a masseuse, a supermarket checkout chick, a fashion consultant/assistant, a pole dancer, a telemarketer, a typist... She'd probably settle into something customer-service focused that didn't require a degree/formal qualifications.

9) How does your OC handle their physical health? Do they take care of themselves?

Cerberus is excellent at this...until he gets sick. 😂😂 He's very physically fit, in great shape, looks after his physical needs overall extremely well. Eats well, exercises, is very hygiene-conscious. He's kind of a workaholic and should almost certainly take more time off for just relaxation, but that's about as lax as he gets about his general physical wellbeing. And he doesn't often get sick at all. BUT. Partly due to infrequency/unfamiliarity with getting ill, partly just that he's always so resentful that it even happened, how fucking dare this happen, and he's just...patently terrible at accepting his fate about it. 😅 So when the Healing meds don't instantly and completely cure things, he's prone to completely disregarding everything he's told to do, because it's already proved pointless again, as usual, so why not try [insert probably bad idea here] instead. Kia's made things way better for him in this regard, and he's the best of all possible selves with her around, but still. He's a notoriously dreadful patient and he deserves every bit of that reputation lol.

Kia is also very fit, although less hygiene-conscious, and also far more likely to socialise in large groups, etc. She gets sick a regular amount, and is much better at looking after herself when it happens, too. She gets a bit cranky about it at times, sure, but she's pretty accepting of it as just a part of life, and just...deals. Not to say she doesn't enjoy a good spoiling when she's unwell. Cerberus, for all his failings at being a good patient, actually makes a wonderful caretaker.

11) What was your inspiration for your OC?

Cerberus was supposed to be a one-off serve-a-purpose temporary creation and problem-solver. I made too many OCs in early Underworld times and thought if I just had...like half of them killed off in one fell swoop, sort of thing, I could get back on track, haha. Anyway, so, he was meant to just come in, do damage, fuck off.

He...did not do that. 🤷‍♀️ I mean, he absolutely did do what I, um, brought him in for. He just also decided to stick around and take over the place afterwards.

IDEK. I'm just a dumb scribe lol. And I genuinely do not remember what/who inspired Kia, but she was also an unexpected "success story". She was an Incept, brought into the Underworld's Vampirism Caste by another OC pretty much nobody's met here - Vesuvius - and just...went about being Kia. And here we are. 🫠

[daevstroders]

ok so i cant find the post that triggered this but it was something about complaining about the wave of cannibalism/dog/tangerine imagery in modern poetry on tumblr and how 'not everyone can relate to that'

while that may be true, and this theme of imagery is popular now to the point of oversaturation (which i actually just kind of think is poetry in and of itself (metaphors about consuming turning into overconsumption? i love it)) i also think its unfair and shows a lack of understanding to society and to the meaning of the metaphors themselves.

(an analysis of sorts under cut)

in a generation of consumption, where we are no longer regarding media casually but consuming it constantly (tiktok, shows no longer having spaced out emissions, never having to wait for a dopamine fix really etc) is it not incredibly in keeping with the times that we would then turn to a metaphor of complete consumption as love? we love our media, we spend our days consuming it, therefore that being translated into cannibalism for the ones you love, consuming them with the same gusto, isn't as far a reach as it is made out to be. also the idea of all of us, the bad parts, the parts we keep hidden, being devoured as lovingly as the parts we share, speaks to a generation of anxious children who have been trained to perfect a persona that is palatable to a wide audience (see, generation of social media)

following that, the fruit metaphor, which i will admit, can be annoying - the constant tangerines, i get it, its overdone (but again see beginning of the post, poetry in and of itself) but the act of peeling away your layers, your facade that is so intrinsic to todays society of social media where your face on the screen is generally not the same face you wear on a sunday morning, to show your mushy insides, dividing them up and sharing them with the ones you love is inherently relatable. a culture of separated parts of self, the idea that there is a person you are online, at work, with certain friends and a different person with others etc, personas that have been watered down, the idea of giving them over to be consumed with the seeds still in, juice on the edge of too sweet, is cathartic. we dont feel we have the luxury to be our authentic selves for the most part, so the tangerine metaphor is an easy way to both express these ideas, and understand them.

and finally, the dog motif, which i think is the most nuanced of these metaphors - the idea that we are either a man or a dog, that we are the hand that feeds or the hand that takes, gives us a place to explore our humanity and what it means to be human- is all that a man is good for is to give? is all that a dog is good for is to take? (i could go on but this is getting to be too long now) calls back to a lot of older imagery, not to far a step from imagery of waves, the pull of the tide - who is the moon, who is the ocean? is it a steady rise and fall, or is it a raging storm? vs is it a symbiotic relationship, or do we bite the hand that feeds? is the hand that feeds also the hand that hurts? i believe there is so many different ideas to explore within this metaphor, and it is again an easy to digest way of presenting ideas, just like the waves once were.

also i just think the whole criticism really calls back to an age of keeping poetry inaccessible and exclusive. like, these young kids who probably dont have any experience of poetry outside of what is taught in school, are exploring in their own way, finding something easily accessible and easily understood, and are using it as a stepping stone to engage with poetry. this is great!! they may start off with richard silken, nina lacour, maggie nelson, but may go on to engaging with maya angelou, naomi shihab nye, paul tran, and even have a better appreciation for the old canon (eliot, cummings, keats, etc). we had this with rupi kaur guys!!! we need to encourage them to explore, not shun them for it!!

anyway tldr, cannibalism/fruit/dogs are incredibly relatable topics and poetry is for everyone. <3

[suzakushimon]

Thoughts on Jing Liu quest?

AHAHAHAHA (negative connotation)

u came to the right person anon, i have a lot to say...

IT WASNT THAT GREAT..... at first i spent a whole night convincing myself it was a reasonable way for the story to go but they did dan heng WAY too dirty. idk why luofu writing is so SHIT but if the current scandal is true and an employee rly has been messing w the story just to mess w the female fans, it explains a lot 💀

there were parts i liked: the art + the fight scene was a banger + how jingliu points out dan heng fights exactly like dan feng. it emphasizes how, whether he likes it or not, there are some things dh has inherited from df and he cant escape that. his appearance, his spear, his bracer, the ribbon, his vidyadhara powers, etc etc... if it wasnt for df, dh wouldnt be who he is today-- thats the truth, and its something dh can grow to accept.

but holy FUCK. the way they handled everything else. dan heng's memories. jingliu's introduction and her motives. blade's characterization. THE PLOTHOLES. just....ITS KINDA ALL WRONG!!!!!

IN MY OPINION. dan heng's whole POINT is that he doesnt remember his past life/his "past". he considers those memories as "not his", and asserts himself as his own individual person without them. its IMPORTANT he doesnt remember anything + that he doesnt NEED to bc this way he contrasts march 7th and the trailblazer, who also dont have their past memories-- but those 2 WANT to remember, are actively trying to, and they DO consider their past memories/past life as part of "themselves". whereas dan heng runs from his past and tries to find his "true self" without it, march and trailblazer run towards theirs, trying to catch glimpses of their "true selves" through it.

SO THERE'S LITERALLY NO REASON HE HAS TO REMEMBER DAN FENG'S PAST. it completely messes up his character arc/the message his character is trying to send!! they backpedaled so hard on their stance towards dan heng... first it was "only u can determine who u are, no one else; the expectations others hold for u dont matter" and now its "u are him no matter what u do, these sins are yours". like WHAT???? jingliu's quest just made more people equate dan heng with dan feng when the story is SUPPOSED to emphasize that they r DIFFERENT PEOPLE💀💀💀💀

dan heng did decide to face dan feng's sins, but he's NOT a part of the quintet. he's a WHOLE NEW PERSON. so why was he invited as a part of the quintet, but bailu wasn't?? its like theyre saying bailu is a whole new person, but dan heng is still dan feng, WHICH GOES AGAINST HIS CHARACTER THEMES(i am silenced and forced to sit down) anyways imo if bailu didn't have to attend the worlds worst high school reunion, dan heng shouldn't have had to attend either!!!! THIS AINT HIS PROBLEM. DAN HENG GET BEHIND ME!!!!!!!!!

his convo with blade at the end was so ooc it killed me. like, a little walk with his past life's old friend, and suddenly he's willing to forgive blade's literal years of stalking and attacking him??? now hes willing to play along with the vengeance he spent his whole life insisting was directed at the wrong person???????? i only chose that option bc the one on top sounded so wimpy/out of place it also felt ooc to me 💀 he wouldnt show weakness to blade, but there's no way he'd be that accepting either. maybe 3 years later and x patches in, but not NOW...

and jingliu. ooooh girlie. JINGLIU. THEY DID HER SOOOO FUCKING DIRTY. she's a new character. casuals/people who dont dig through lore don't know anything abt her except that shes jingyuans teacher. so why is her INTRODUCTION a fucking CONCLUSION TO HER CHARACTER ARC???? shes already DONE wandering and finding an answer in her heart. shes already DONE deciding whether or not to keep running or face her past. now shes mourning for a PERSON WE DONT EVEN KNOW. we watch her get closure for her dead girlfriend. BUT SO WHAT??? WE DONT EVEN KNOW EITHER OF THEM!!! SEEING HER GET CLOSURE MEANS NOTHING TO US. ITS JUST AWKWARD. why was her INTRO her fucking CHARACTER ARC'S CONCLUSION!!!!!!! they should've made her quest like luocha's, where all we did was speculate and her real motives remained a mystery. then we couldve been spared from this shitfest!!!!

the difference in quality between belobog story and luofu story is insane!!!! like, just compare luka's quest to jinglius....hello??? its crazy how unsympathetic they made her. it was literally "tell not show" instead of "show not tell".

anyways im just upset at dan heng's treatment. like, this character has a clear message/direction they were going for, but jinglius quest kind of stomps all over it, and her quest was supposed to introduce her but her introduction flopped hard. she was so much cooler when we saw her during yanqings quest and she was half insane. its awkward to mourn for someone we dont even know and its awkward to watch someone we dont know mourn. and, ngl, it rly felt like they only added dan heng in there bc they want more ppl to care abt the quintet. that whole quest couldve been through jingliu's pov where the reunion only happened between blade, jingliu, and jingyuan, so why wasn't it??? as opposed to those three, dan heng already moved on from the past. it was awkward for dan heng and for the audience💀

tldr i had high expectations bc i thought hoyo cared abt the quintet but not only did it flop it also dragged dan heng's characterization through the mud

[blackvahana]

I don't think I can downplay the fucked up way that Grey sees things though lmfao

Like when you live in multiple bodies and multiple selves and are Awake to the point that you're conscious in fate and aspects and energies and... also things and parts of your body that don't exist, and awake in the coding in the world and the

Lev Just because my keyboard background is a sky and mountain that doesn't mean you get to send messages through it

Anyway. No wonder Black's so obsessively "I don't care it's elevator music in here". It really isn't, but Black's guarded about his mind. His mind is. complicated. A thousand doors. Also a thousand bodies, also a thousand things he's awake in... but the constant theme is dreaming. Anyway. Anyway is a him word and him habit so take that as you will

I don't see even a fraction of what they see, and yet still... every moment is writing, every movement is written in the Records. Whoops. Phone autocapitalised that. Every single breath taken has every single ounce of it recorded into points of data which document what something is and why it is and how it is and so on, and the translation of all points over every moment of time is recorded and the speed of change is recorded - except to be fair, it's not recorded. Speed of change and such are referenced, those are "kept" somewhere else. There's no point writing a thousand "changed by x/yps" "changed by x/yps" every single time, the way things change over time is recorded elsewhere and just referenced by the change because it's constant. It's why you can do mathematical equations, or... more so think of the individuality as recorded moment to moment, and then the things you can do maths with (predicting heat loss in an object by understanding it's make-up and density and temperatures of air and object, predicting acceleration by understanding forces of weight and friction and so on, etc) are... probably related to the other records. Laws and constants and rules and such are much more efficient ways of storing information in the brain of God, and the brain, loving Poles, tries to balance both pure efficiency (which, if enacted without a counter, would keep god Singular) and pure complexity (probably would shatter god into complete nothingness)

It's... Here's the thing. I don't really care about talking about Grey, we've an endlessly complicated relationship, but he's a good example for this probably because he's part of why I experience this. He's known for having inhuman understandings of boundaries and whatnot but... of course. That's because you and I are both experiences of matter. You and I on this plane are atoms, his realm. You and I are both nothing but coding written in reality referencing laws and information and manifesting it - the sky is atomic - we are all the hallucinated story to gods words. Words are arbitrarily kept apart. Spaces are just as much the same thing as letters when you look at writing as code. Hes here to do a job and his job is being transcendental laws (I don't care about masking him for .5 seconds, there's a lot of reasons he's associated with laws and this is a major one), and laws affect everyone, not necessarily equally. Gravity anchors wedding day attendees as they sit in their seat and snaps the neck and bones of someone who fell off a cliff. Oh. Cool. The bit that sounds like an electric storm in this song begins.

Either way. It gets extremely hard to enjoy a game you've coded, or have otherwise dissected the code of - and I don't mean something that can be countered with "oh but plenty of dataminers love the game still, it gives you a new appreciation and more information on it". No, I mean dissecting, studying, experiencing, becoming, and then acting as the information of how flashing lights affect your brain, about how each pixel moves and the simulated reality is illusory and... so on. These, the old men, are the ones that walked their bodies back so far they spaghettified their brains in order to peer at god, though they don't talk about that because that was a moment they knew they'd gone too far. Whoops. Either way..... When you perceive god you don't come back from it - when you go to space you see earth as a unified ball. When you walk outside reality, knowing code, having been code, which is why they were drawn to doing it in the first place - they've been infinitely called to know themselves and to become their knowledge and ascend beyond their own limits - ah. Yeah.

Anyway. I want to look at rocks in Ananyavarda

[creativeprojectemmamilligan]

Research

Notes on an Essay about self portraits in contemporary art by Holly Marie Armishaw

- This essay looks into the reasoning behind artists creating self portraits and how authentic they can truly be taking consciousness into consideration.

- The first part of the essay explores ‘control’ within self portraits. By making self portraits artists are saving money in multiple ways, as they can be produced with a range of materials meaning they can choose affordable substrates. This is also a cheaper method as artists are exploring their own selves so they don’t have to pay a model and they can take as long as they need to complete the work.

- By creating self portraits artists are more likely to connect with their work as there is a direct link to the model and the artwork meaning that passionate gestures etc are easier to produce as its something they are invested in.

- Consciousness is also discussed throughout the essay as many artists will want to produce a realistic piece, but many of them will not achieve this as they have the opportunity to adjust and modify aspects, they might not want to show others. Even if the artist wanted to use a random process in selecting materials or applying techniques, the decision of carrying out a random process is in itself a conscious decision to try make a subconscious artwork. She states, ‘Art is the reflective result of consciousness,’ meaning that he doesn’t think art can ever be a subconscious process.

- Identity and expression through self portraiture involves reflection and decision making. By chasing a time or location to portray themselves, the artists create works that pinpoint themselves in a time in history or a contextual art period. By depicting themselves, artists become figures rather than just the creators.

- Considering portraits from a contemporary stance, identity is a poignant theme used by artists in the art industry and it has an endless number of unanswered questions that artists continue to explore. Many of these questions cannot be answered at all because of the subconscious mind being o complex but also because of the individuality of experience.

- Semiotics is a largely explored theory within contemporary art and through self portraiture, artists use their consciousness to put their signifiers into a physical form.

- ‘We are trapped within ourselves as our identity lies not in any one physical feature or set of characteristics, but the conscious entity behind these.’

- ‘Ultimately any conscious representation of the self, disguised or not, can be classified as a self portrait.’

- Within contemporary art, portraiture has developed from what it once was, it would be rare to find a traditional oil painting as there is so much more freedom with materials and self expression. Performance art is a fairly recent development within art that is a unique way of expressing oneself. Photographs of performance art are also considered portraits as they display the artist doing something they’re passionate about.

- ‘Photography’s real nature is often exploited by elaborate fictions that are created within the photograph, thereby critiquing is a shallow stigma of photography being a mere recording device.’

[n1kolaiz]

The Six Realms

Okay, so I was pretty close to giving up on writing analyses but I'm back LMFAO plus I see we're close to 100 followers and I just want to thank you guys for being so very supportive <3

Alright, I'm not sure if anyone's ever written about this, but if an analysis like this exists, please do let me know because I'm kind of curious as to what other people think about this, too!

Remember that time Fukuchi spoke about bringing "about the five signs of an angel's death"?

I read a little bit more about it, and as a minor content warning: this analysis will focus on a few religious aspects (Buddhism + Hinduism). So if I get any of the facts wrong, firstly: I do not mean any disrespect to either religion, and secondly: please do correct me if I interpret anything in the wrong way.

Spoilers for BSD chapter 90 onwards + BEAST!AU under the cut!

So I'll start by talking about the Decay of Angels. As we all know, the members include Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Sigma, and Bram Stoker, and their leader, Fukuchi Ochi. After Fyodor's arrest, the Decay of Angels came into light with Nikolai murdering four government officials in a week. These murders symbolise the Buddhist cycle of existence, or otherwise known as samsara: the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

"We are the Decay of Angels—hiding here as terrorists, a 'murder association', five people who will announce the demise of the celestial world."

Nikolai Gogol, chapter 57

Samsara is described to be a concept beyond human understanding. According to Hinduism, samsara is the physical world where every being has its soul trapped into a physical vessel. The Hindus believe that everything has a soul, and due to a soul's attachment to desire, it is forced into a deathless cycle of being born, dying, and reincarnating into a different body. In Buddhism, the ultimate way to break free from this cycle is by obtaining nirvana.

Nirvana is a Sanskrit word for the goal of the Buddhist path: enlightenment or awakening. In Pali, the language of some of the earliest Buddhist texts, the word is nibbana; in both languages it means "extinction" (like a lamp or flame) or "cessation." It refers to the extinction of greed, ill will, and delusion in the mind, the three poisons that perpetuate suffering. Nirvana is what the Buddha achieved on the night of his enlightenment: he became completely free from the three poisons. Everything he taught for the rest of his life was aimed at helping others to arrive at that same freedom.

- TRICYCLE'S definition of nirvana

As Fukuchi mentions in the panel above, there are six different realms of existence. These realms represent every possible state of existence, but one cannot live in a specific realm forever. Depending on whether or not one's past actions were morally good or bad, an individual is born into one of these realms. Basically, the controlling factor of which realm a person is born into is dependent on their respective karma. The realms are separated into two categories: the hellish ones and the heavenly ones.

The Deva Realm: where beings are rewarded for the good deeds they have done. This realm is void of anything unpleasant. It is basically paradise— empty of unfulfilled desires, any form of suffering, and fears of every kind. Religious individuals, however, do not seek to be born into this realm since its attitude is more or less carefree.

The Asura Realm: where demigods are admitted. Asuras are driven by greed and envy, and may come in conflict with human beings since they are quite similar. They are powerful beings, but quarrel with each other quite a bit, making this realm quite undesirable to be reborn into.

The Animal Realm: where beings are given the form of an animal (you probably guessed that lol). Individuals here don't actually have good karma to take pride in, but rather, they are born into this realm to work off their bad karma (by being slaughtered, hunted, or forced to work, etc). Being born into this realm forces one to atone for their past sins by living out their life as an animal.

The Hell Realm: where one is punished for their evil actions. The most merciless of realms, where one pays for their transgressions through pure suffering, methods of which include: dismemberment, starvation, and psychological/physical torture. However, once a person's term is fulfilled in this realm, they are presumably promised to be reborn into a higher state.

The Preta Realm: similar to the hell realm, in which beings pay for their past sins (specifically: greed and stinginess) by having to survive through hunger and thirst. This realm is also known as the 'ghost realm,' because some pretas are psychologically tortured by being forced to live in places their past selves have lived in. They are invisible to human beings living at that time, which pushes them to face the depths of despair and loneliness. Your typical horror movie, really.

The Human Realm: the only realm where one's actions determine their future. The status (social ranking, physical wellbeing, and so on) of a human being in this realm is determined by their past actions, but due to the fact that a person has their own conscience to differentiate good morals from bad, the actions they commit in this realm have the power to determine which realm they are sent to next.

Okay, so now that I've got that out of the way, let's shift our focus to the Book. Very little is known about the Book, but the basic fundamentals of how it works is that whatever is written in the book will come into existence only if its contents follow the rules of karma. In addition to that, only a few sentences can be written into a single page of the Book, and it must follow the current narrative of the story.

If I'm not wrong, the first time the Book was mentioned was by Fitzgerald, who wanted it to resurrect his deceased daughter in hopes of restoring his wife's mental health. The next time the Book is brought up is when Fyodor's intentions to possess it are divulged; his goal was to decimate the global population of ability-users. And now, the current arc has the Book as its central focus, with a single page in Fukuchi's possession.

[ BEAST!AU spoilers ]

The Book acts as the central point of multiverses, with each character's lives differing from universe to universe.

Dazai committing suicide in this alternate universe stands in sharp contrast with how he decided to start up a new life in the main universe.

Oda staying alive to act as a mentor to Akutagawa in the ADA differs from how Oda uses his death to prompt Dazai to "be on the side that saves people."

And of course, the way Atsushi and Akutagawa have their positions switched in the two universes depicts how different their lives would be if they were given the chance to be mentored by different people— these are just a few examples of how the Book houses an endless amount of possibilities.

[ end of BEAST!AU spoilers ]

Hypothetically speaking, this kind of reminds me of the differing realms I mentioned before, where suffering is promised in some realms, and better things are granted in the rest, depending on one's karma, or the deeds they've done in their past lives. In this scenario, perhaps one's past life can be understood as one's current life in a different universe. That's just a personal opinion though. Take it as you will.

side note: Keep in mind that the person who is more or less impervious to the Book's effect is Dazai, with his nullification ability. I wouldn't want to propose any theories in this aspect (I don't believe I'm fully fact-checked ;_;), but I could use Dazai as a raw example of how your choices affect your future. If Dazai had decided to stay in the Port Mafia after Oda's death, or if he even decided to go through with his suicidal fixations, life would've been different for him in the root universe (obviously, ryley) I mean, you could basically understand that from how he ended up in the BEAST au, but imagine if he really did slip up in his decision-making in any of the universes.

Many analysts have proposed that he went MIA (early in his life) from the main universe for a while to figure out how the BEAST universe worked, whilst having the Book to his advantage. Perhaps his actions were guided? I'm not saying he's all-knowing, but he's sure as hell smart. I'm not sure if Kafka was trying to highlight the concept of karma when it comes to Dazai, but if he is, then I suppose you could say that Dazai is pretty much unaffected by the rules of karma, existing as the centerpiece of all the multiverses. No Longer Human is the namesake of his ability, but the book talks about disqualification from societal norms and generally, the world. I was talking about it with a friend, and they reminded me that Yozo (the main protagonist) was pretty strong in his views against society. Like he didn't speak out of total defeat, he spoke out of defense. If there was anything Dazai actually lost to, it was his guilt— "Living itself is a source of sin."

Then again, that's my personal interpretation since everyone has their unique perspective of his writings. In terms of the actual adaptation, you could translate the word 'disqualification' to 'insusceptibilty' when if it came to the Book's effects on Dazai? This side note is becoming really long lmao anyways I'll link a few theories which afflicted me with brainrot down below.

Another thing before I wrap up, the name 'Decay of Angels' stemmed from Yukio Mishima's book entitled 'The Decay of An Angel.' This is the final novel to the author's tetralogy: 'The Sea of Fertility.' The main protagonist, Honda, meets a person he believes to be a reincarnation of his friend, Kiyoaki, who takes the form of a young teenage boy named Tōru. The last novel of this series enhances Mishima's dominant themes of the series as a whole:

the decay of courtly tradition in Japan

the essence and value of Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics

Mishima’s apocalyptic vision of the modern era

Again, this could be referred to what Fukuchi goes on to say:

Some people view the concept of samsara optimistically, justifying it by saying that perhaps each individual is given a second (third, fourth, fifth, who knows) chance to refine their actions in order to be birthed into a better realm, with their karma being the independent variable.

On the other hand, other people, specifically the Hindus, view the cycle of existence as some sort of plague. To them, the flow of life and being forced to endure the suffering of mere existence in any form was somewhat frowned down upon. Some Hindus viewed samsara as a trap. Besides, having one's soul being limited to a physical body for the rest of eternity was not very appealing, especially since where they ended up at depended on the karmic value their past actions surmounted.

Even so, particular types of Buddhists don't seek nirvana, but instead, like the Hindus, they make an effort to be good people of society, building up their good deeds to increase the likelihood of being reborn into one of the better realms.

As mentioned before, the Deva Realm was the home of angels, the most carefree, gratified beings to exist. Fukuchi describes these angels as the people who don't get their hands dirty, the people who act as the puppeteers of society: politicians.

In terms of parallels, angels were the most fortunate and powerful, but they didn't have anyone ruling over them. A lack of supervision would lead to the abuse of power, which is what I believe Fukuchi was referring to. Deeming himself the Decay of Angels, he sought to prove himself as the 'sign of death that falls on the nation's greed.'

A few fun facts (okay, not really) about Yukio Mishima: he committed seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment) on the day he held a speech to voice out his unpopular political beliefs to the public. Mishima deeply treasured traditions and opposed the modern mindset the nation was advancing forward to adapt eventually. In his last book, The Decay of an Angel, he spoke about the five signs which complete the death of an angel:

Here are the five greater signs: the once-immaculate robes are soiled, the flowers in the flowery crown fade and fall, sweat pours from the armpits, a fetid stench envelops the body, the angel is no longer happy in its proper place.

The Decay of an Angel, p.53

The reviews about this series I've read so far describe Mishima's works to be quite complex; his writings demanded a lot of time to deconstruct and understand. They were highly symbolic, and he was pretty obsessed with death and the 'spiritual barrenness of the modern world.' I think you could attach a few strings from here to the mindsets of the DOA members. Of course, this parallel is completely abstract, but I'll go on rambling anyway:

He should have armed them with the foreknowledge that would keep them from flinging themselves after their destinies, take away their wings, keep them from soaring, make them march in step with the crowd. The world does not approve of flying. Wings are dangerous weapons. They invite self-destruction before they can be used. If he had brought Isao to terms with the fools, then he could have pretended that he knew nothing of wings.

The Decay of an Angel, p.113

I suppose you could resonate Nikolai with that excerpt. As much as Fukuchi takes the lead in this whole murder association, I'd like to believe that each member of the DOA plays an equally interesting part in whatever movement they're trying to execute. Fyodor feels it is his god-sent purpose to cleanse the world of its sins, his motto being, "Let the hand of God guide you." Sigma doesn't know where he belongs, since his origination comes from a page in the Book, and is fueled by the desperation to find a reason to live. Bram holds one of the most powerful abilities which is counted to be one of the "Top Ten Calamities to Destroy the World."

What I mean to say is that the DOA members are incredibly powerful, and they're not your ordinary antagonists (or I'm just biased). It's not just overthrowing authorities, mass genocide, and world domination— you could say that each individual is trying to utilize their purposes to their fullest expenditures, and the way they're trying to assert their plan into action is a little more passive-aggressive (framing the Agency, having a convo with a suicidal dude in jail, etc). They're the gray area between evil and good. As they framed the good guys for their own crimes, they're trying to conquer the bad guys for exploiting the innocent as they please.

This post would definitely age well if all hell breaks loose in the current arc (as if it didn't) and Kafka doesn't give us a happy ending.

That's all I have to say for now I guess! Thank you for reading, and once again, if anyone else something they wanna share, feel free to do so <3

sources (tryna follow Q's example ^_^) :

the six realms

samsara

the decay of angels

beast!au

the book

the sea of fertility

yukio mishima

theory: dazai’s emotional/mental state in beast!au

q’s theory: dazai being the protector of the book

theory: beast!dazai and the book

[wickedpact]

A ranking of all the TTT stories in order of how much I liked them.

(Oh god this is so long)

1 My Mother's Axe

BABY ANDYYYYYYYYYYYY. Honestly this one had the trifecta of developing a character's motivations, developing a character's backstory, & developing their personality. The story starting out with Andy teaching Nile to use the axe was so charming and fun, and you could feel that chemistry they had in Opening Fire, the way they teased and bickered with each other so naturally. I loved the wedge between them on the subject of the axe, how Nile was perhaps a little too young to understand Andy's feelings about whether or not its the 'same' axe. I also love how the axe is obviously the symbol of the franchise and hugely important, but you never get a sense of exactly how important it is to Andy until you read the story.

I love the entire Ship of Theseus theme, and how it feels so natural that for Andy she has to get attached to the idea of things rather than the things themselves because she'll always outlive the things themselves-- the axe is symbolically her mom's axe, even if physically it isn't. And I love how she clearly clings to that concept so tightly. "This is the labrys she held in her hands...." IT GETS ME.

And the fact that this sense of BELONGING, of FAMILY, of CULTURE is so important to Andy that she clings to it (figuratively and literally) with both hands. And of course it's important to her, she spent so long alone that the woman doesn't even remember her birth name. That axe (or the idea of that axe) is all she has left of her mother and that family/culture she was born into.

PLUS on that note I love how Andy doesn't remember if her mom was her actual biological mother, but it doesn't matter to her. This woman was her mother in all the ways that counted. And how her mom BETRAYED AND KILLED Andy but Andy loved her so much that she avenged her and carried her axe for thousands of years. THOUSANDS OF YEARS!!!!!!

I also loved how the story transcends the timeline of the whole franchise and seeing Andy through the years. Loved seeing her with the varying squads and with varying axes. Also baby Andy was so cute. It was cool seeing her so young. like holy fuck. Andromache The Scythian, Immortal Warrior (but smol). Love that.

Also I think this one is one of the few ttt stories that doesn't suffer from length problems.

tldr: goddammit greg you've done it again.

2 Zanzibar and Other Harbors

Zanzibar my beloved. I've said before, but it's downright comedic how little regard there was for Joe and Nicky's character designs in this story. The same person who does the colors for the regular comic did the colors for this one too, and you can tell, every panel of this story was Beautiful.

Ik there was A Lot of criticism of this one (lmao @ how the fandom had no idea what was to come) but I thought a lot of The Discourse was a bit dramatic. I did think Nicky came off as a little oblivious to Joe's feelings in this story, but I've said before, I honestly think that was a 'tone not translating' thing. It felt like Nicky was nagging Joe for [checks notes] saving innocent people, but Joe was so amused by Nicky's complaints I really do think it was supposed to come off as teasing.

Plus I know the 'Joe running off into danger and Nicky reluctantly following' dynamic wasn't popular (I'm a pretty meh on it meself) but I did love how Joe's impulsiveness (if you want to call it that) was interpreted as heroism and not hot-hotheadedness. All of the examples Nicky and Joe talked about included Joe explicitly saving people. (and it also took A Lot for the nazi to actually provoke Joe).

I also feel like their characterization here was closest to the movie canon-- the bit where they hear the woman scream and Joe goes running in to save her while Nicky swoops in on Joe's heels to comfort her while Joe and the nazi were fighting reminds me of the train car scene. Joe had suggested First that they go find Nile because she needed to be protected, and Nicky later added that Nile probably also needed emotional support. Similar reactions.

But it was So Good, the themes of queer community and the enduring nature of queer culture are Not themes you see in media that often and it was such a delight how it was done. Also it's one of the few more modern TTT stories that has a completely valid excuse for taking place when it did. Chef's kiss.

3 Passchendaele

I love the Duality between seeing baby Andy and then seeing Mama Andy in the very next issue. This story doesn't have a ton of meat to it, but the entire concept of Andy adopting a war orphan straight off the battlefield PLUCKS MY TENDER LITTLE HEARTSTRINGS, and I think it's especially poignant for comic!Andy. I think most people wouldn't think twice about movie!Andy doing something like that but comic Andy is so hardened and almost cruel sometimes, and seeing that even for her the world hasn't beaten all of the compassion from her yet is SO!!!!!!! this woman contains MULTITUDES okay, she's violent and angry and tired and Done but she's also so kind and compassionate and THE STRENGTH OF HER!!!!! Also the idea of her and Yitzhak co-raising a kid together is so damn cute. It was #mysterious pre-Yitzhak-story but now it's cute. holy fuck. It's cute.

& the headbonk panel of her and Zeus lives in my heart. anyways.

4 Many Happy Returns

I Know people weren't thrilled about Booker being in this one, but I've developed a pet-peeve about that: this story was *not* booker-centric. Booker only exists in this story to the extent required to explain the importance of the gesture Nile makes towards him. If there was a story about Booker making some grand gesture of kindness to Nile no one would be saying it was Nile-centric. bc it wouldn't be! Booker exists in this story to explore Nile's kindness, its not about him. I saw that a couple times and it bothered me. anyways.

AAAAAAAAAA I loved this one, the art was beautiful, I loved how Andy Nile and Booker were drawn (like their comic selves but.. more looking like actual people). I loved Andy and Nile's Bants, how Andy wanted to jump right in and Do Violence but Nile was basically telling her to hold her horses.

I feel like I'm just repeating the post I made on this story a few days ago, but I LOVED how Nile's plan revolves not around violence or Cool Mercenary Skills but on Nile's own life skills (as she canonly did a lot of minimum wage job-hopping before the marines in comics canon). Her plan used her skills, not the skills of an immortal warrior, and HER SKILLS were in fact more useful for the situation! lov to see Nile's resourcefulness and planning skills.

AND HOW NILE WAS PROBABLY WATCHING BOOKER??? it's so Much bc 1.) nile knew booker A SINGLE DAY and yet he made such an impression on her emotionally that she had to keep an eye on him and 2.) she said in the movie she wanted Booker to get off free with an apology. Yes she's a member of the team but that doesn't mean she's necessarily going to follow orders like a good little soldier. I also love how she convinced Andy to go along with it. her HEART, her KINDNESS, her THOUGHTFULNESS, UGH.

5 The Bear

Honestly I have like no negative things to say about this one other than a.) character design issues which is less about the story itself and is more of a 'tog comic in general' criticism and b.) too short, but it was supposed to be a tease, so.

But I loved Yitzhak, I wasn't expecting to really like him at all but like I said in my other post, he tickled me. I love characters who are Kind™, especially if they have little reason to be so given their backgrounds. Chef's kiss. Lov him.

6 Bonsai Shokunin

I know this one was a little controversial bc of the outsider POV but whenever I see people upset about that they never point out that the Outsider Guy (the samurai) existed as a reflection on Noriko. His ideas are explained in the text to develop hers. The whole story follows how she gave mercy to a scared young man and in response he murdered Noriko, repeatedly! Who gave him the right to inflict such pain and suffering on the world? In his opinion, the lack of response from the gods was his permission. And for Noriko-- over and over again she dies and suffers because she gave mercy, which lines up with her ideas in FM about how it's their fate to rule mortals and if they don't align with that plan/fate/whatever then they suffer. It shows some background to those ideas and how they developed in her mind outside of Ocean Madness™. Additionally, his idea of 'the Gods have done nothing to strike me down so it's fine if I do these things' kind of explains how Noriko may justify her own morally corrupt actions-- she's died so many times and it's never stuck. Maybe if she did die any of those times, or while she was in the water, maybe that would've been a sign she was doing something right, or at least doing something normal. But she hasn't died. Fate isn't done with Noriko yet. And maybe there's a reason for that. In her mind, it's just not a very pleasant reason, is all.

There were things I was kind of meh about tho. I did kind of wish we saw something of Noriko and the team, or smth explaining the way she was before her dip in the pool-- personality, likes dislikes, etc. but it wasn't bad or anything. It was super vague tho, I had to read it a few times before I got what it was going for. Liked the art. Liked the bonsai metaphor. And of course I Respect the decision to use the 1300s (1200s? I don't remember off the top of my head) rather than using the last 200 years.

7 Strong Medicine

Honestly looking back, this one made me kind of sad because both this one and Bonsai Shokunin explored character's ideas on Fate and The Divine and how that intersects with immortality and I totally thought that theme would be continued, especially with Love Letters. But Then It Wasn't™.

Admittedly.... I had to re-read this one to remember most of it. I liked Booker's ideas on God, 'The conductor of the symphony just may not be very good at his trade' but the plot itself was kind of forgettable. Some fuckin cowboys try to kill a doctor (their second) because he couldn't save their sickly brother. Book tries to stop them, gets killed, and then comes back and kills them all before they get the doctor. Alright. I liked the artstyle because the characters were ugly in a similar way that leandro's are, but way more bearable.

I love the Irony of Booker concluding that there is no such thing as fate or destiny and nothing has meaning, AS HE UNKNOWINGLY SAVES MERRICK'S GRANDFATHER FROM BEING KILLED. Booker getting fucked over by life/god/destiny yet again. It also kind of explains about where the fuck hell Merrick's interest in immortal mercenaries even came from.

I originally had this one a lot higher and then I thought about it and moved it down like two spots.

8 Never Gets Old

I liked seeing Booker interact with his kid. And we got a name for the kid! Philippe was a little bitch though, he was a little obnoxious. I liked how Booker was so thrilled to experience a restaurant with his kid (and since we know he was there before, it can be assumed he went with all of his kids and yet he was so charmed each time). It fits with his line to Nicky in the moon landing story about how you don't appreciate beautiful things 'unless you have someone to share them with'. It was charming to see Booker interact with his kid, and to see him so happy. Also lmao @ Booker's big fat Ye Olde Crush on Andy.

However at the same time it was like.. of all the things to write about,,, I guess? Booker's Night Out...... alright. Especially since Book had so many stories.

I don't know, it was alright. The old man killing him really came out of nowhere, (but the 'Salut, asshole!' panel was funny tho).

9 How To Make a Ghost Town

I've hit a point where talking about these stories has gotten less fun. I liked this one but I felt like Achilles getting lynched was not really necessary for a story that was already tragic (a story that already involved Achilles doing a lot of suffering at the hand of bigots). When we first got the blurb for this story I thought it would be about Andy returning to the squad and making friends with Booker after losing Achilles and them butting heads on the idea of family and when to cut off ties. So a little bit of my underwhelmedness about this one might be just my expectations being different.

Honestly I was pretty interested in Andy and Achilles' relationship and I would've liked to see more of them-- like, what was their dynamic like? What did they love about each other?

But anyways Andy leaving and Achilles getting killed anyways feels so pointlessly tragic (which I suppose is the point..... I don't like tragedies) she left to save him and yet people killed him anyway. Meh.

I did love the bits about Andy wanting to have a domestic life (Andy and her multitudes again) and the little detail about how she buried her axe near the road but he buried his guns under his bed-- he was an escaped slave, he never had the luxury of assuredness like Andy did. It was a sad story.

10 Lacus Solitudinis

'You put this one above love letters crim??? how could you???' easy, lmao.

There was stuff in this one I liked. But to talk about stuff I didn't like: (I'll keep it brief, I know ragging on this story has been done time and time again)

UH, setting aside the 6 year cold shoulder between Joe and Nicky, I thought their chosen method of conflict resolution was... bad at best. Nicky's inability to talk about his feelings was also annoying, especially since the entire point of this story is a fight Joe and Nicky had, and yet we don't get both sides to the story, which is...... important? That fact is especially annoying bc in the absence of Nicky explaining his side of the story, it's absolutely a possible (and admittedly probably unintentional) interpretation of the text that we do get that Joe routinely resolves conflict between him and Nicky by simply cutting Nicky out of his life entirely until Nicky just. caves? Even if it takes years?

WHICH i could get into that interpretation and how fucked up i find it. but im not going to. out of restraint.

I don't know, I think there are a lot of interesting ways to go about this conflict but 'Nicky wants to kill a guy and Joe refuses to acknowledge his existence until he stops because he thinks Nicky is too much of a Good Boy to get his hands dirty like that' ('I wont watch as the world turns his (...) compassion into something ugly'. ) wasn't.. how I would've done it. (I mean you know Joe doesn't give a shit about what Nicky is doing in a moral way, because Joe doesn't even care or mention that Booker is killing those cops too. Joe only cares because he doesn't like the idea of Nicky changing in a way he finds undesirable.)

admittedly I've said before, I do like the emphasis Joe's reaction puts on Nicky's kindness. Joe has a complete inability to cope with Nicky simply Not Being Kind. It speaks to the steadiness of Nicky's compassion all those years. but still that fact doesn't make it the conflict feel worth it

hm. I said I would be brief and I wasn't.

oh well. basically I thought there was interesting conflict potential there but it wasn't done the way I would've liked, and the way it was done leaves a lot of disturbing (and again probably unintended) interpretations to lie.

What I did like? Andy and Joe having that pessimist/optimist dynamic. Joe nerding out about science. Andy not being impressed by The Achievements Of Man. I loved Booker needling at Nicky about his outdated slang and also trying to give him Older Brother advice practically in the same breath. I loved Booker giving The Worst relationship advice ever and Nicky being like 'I Will Not Do That, Ever, Thanks.' the family vibes were so good. The Joenicky vibes left a lot to be desired tho.

11 Love Letters

I talked about my problems with Nicky in this story (and Lacus Solitudinis). I don't know, the story isn't bad but I do hold a little bit of a grudge towards it because its very existence begs the existence of a solo Joe story and we didn't get one. If we never got this story, then we could happily count Lacus Solitudinis and Zanzibar as The Joenicky Stories™ and move on with our lives. sigh.

I remember when we first got the blurb for this story I was really curious about why Nicky specifically + the setting, and the answer kind of feels like 'the author had an idea for a story like this and saw ttt as a good enough place to utilize that idea'. Plus I was really underwhelmed by the Romantic Sentiment in the letter. If you look at it line-by-line, the majority of the letter is actually Nicky talking about how lonely and disturbed he is, rather than actual,, yknow,,, Romantic Sentiment. I mean, compare the van speech and this letter and this letter is just kind of meh in comparison. I liked nicky calling joe wise! and I liked the brief sun/moon metaphor! and otherwise it was eh. It didn't even have cute squad banter, which is why Lacus Solitudinis is above this one.

12 An Old Soul

Nun orgy. Nun orgy?????? Nun orgy.......

The whole story felt like a setup to have a nun orgy. Why did Booker have abs? Why did they do that to Andy's nose? ?????? the art was good at least.

nun orgy.

[amimons]

Miraculous Sweet-ember (Sept. 18th)

September 18th: Frightningale, Syren, Zombizou, & Frozer

Frightningale put Adrien and Marinette into a situation they both didn’t want to be stuck in; cosplaying as their super hero personas. This was for a Clara Nightingal music for her latest song dedicated to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Adrien was forced to take on the role since Gabriel was the costume designer and Marinette was thrown into it after Clara saw her act very ‘Ladybug-ey’ which she denied the role of course until it was given to Chloe. 

The anticipation of what was going to happened when Marinette and Adrien walked out of the fitting rooms was pretty intense. Of course I didn’t suspect them to get their identities exposed but the build up to the moment before they placed their masks on their face created a lot of suspense. On top of the fact that Marinette and Adrien who are actually partners are standing face to face in their maskless costumes both trying to seem less like their superhero selves was a lot of fun. This episode also focused in on their teamwork being relied on synchronizing with each other. Not only do we see them being able to effortlessly match each others movements we also see how similar they act before the akuma even was a threat. In the dressing room they both took the same course of action of reluctantly putting on the costume and hiding the masks in the towels.    

Syren is the first time our heroes use power ups. To be more specific its the one that grants them the ability to breath/fight underwater. It’s also has a critical moment for Adrien who is starting to feel out of the loop due to Ladybug’s secretary with Master Fu. It was Master Fu wish for Chat Noir to remain oblivious to his involvement with the miraculous for the time being and Ladybug had to respect that even though it pained her to keep information hidden from her partner. Even though Chat Noir has been very patience with Ladybug’s secrets everyone has a breaking point including Adrien. When he threatened to quit to Plagg he stated that he felt no one would care if he quit and no one care that he was gone. His lost of self value is most likely influence from his home life and the lack of receiving positive attention from his father. 

Adrien has a lot of patience and likes to give people the benefit of the doubt. He trusts and loves Ladybug but when the secrets keep piling up the more he starts to feel excluded from the partnership. I’m glad we saw Adrien reach a breaking point, it something that doesn’t happen a lot but when it does it caused by emotional distress. And Ladybug can sense that expressing this to Master Fu because she cares a lot about his feelings. When Marinette figures out the missing ingredient for the underwater potion she encourages Fu to let Chat Noir in on whats been going on. We finally have Master Fu properly introducing himself to Adrien for the first time, a long anticipated moment. With any relationships there is bound to be turmoil, but the most important this is communicating with one another to overcome that. Lack of communication can start to hinder things. Seeing the duo complications and how they work through them is something I see as significant and I’m glad we get to see it.  

Zombizou is the akumatized form of the student’s favorite teacher,  Miss Bustier. The thing is the akuma wasn’t meant for her...instead the akuma was meant for Marinette. After Chloe ruin’s Marinette’s present for Miss. Bustier, she confronts Chloe in the front of the class. Miss Bustier tries to defuse the situation by thanking both of them for their contributions and went outside to talk to Marinette. This is the first time Hawkmoth tried to Akumatized Marinette but it will not be the last. 

The show is building up to the moment where Marinette gets akumatized. This is something I’m very excited to see. Marinette puts justice very high and wants to hold people accountable for their actions. When there is a serve injustice directed towards herself or others she is quick to temper. And this time Hawkmoth had enough to be able to manipulate Marinette’s emotions to his benefit. All this can be seen as foreshadowing to Marinette’s future akumatization and pretty much was confirmed in the episode Ladybug that when the time Marinette is finally akumatized it will be along the lines of justice. This is a plot point I’m very invested in and cannot wait to see it fleshed out.  

Frozer was the Adrienette double date episode...just not what we were picturing for an Adrienette double date episode. At the beginning of the episode we are presented with Chat’s fantasy of revealing himself and his heart to Ladybug. Declaring his hopes of running away to a private island where they can just live happily together. The fantasy is popped when Ladybug reminds Chat that her heart belongs to someone else. Feeling dishearten about his unrequited love towards Ladybug, Adrien goes to Marinette for her opinion on Kagami. Long story short she ropes herself in to joining her crush in an awkward double date. When Adrien implied to Marinette that he likes Kagami more than a friend, she begin to question if her and Adrien were actually meant to be. 

Well after the events of the day wrap up to a close our two heroes hearts still haven’t changed. Marinette feeling a quick pulse of courage, runs after Adrien. Adrien stops and place and Marinette finally confesses her feelings for Adrien and- well she actually doesn’t. Mirroring the beginning of the episode, it was only a fantasy of what Marinette wanted to say to Adrien and what she hoped to hear. I’m not going to lie, Marinette had me in the first half. I was completely caught off guard from her (false) confession. For a brief second, I actually thought Marinette finally confessed her feelings and I was shocked. But that illusion was unraveled as soon as fantasy Adrien opened his mouth. I liked being caught off guard and being fooled into thinking Marinette finally did it...that she finally confessed to Adrien. And oh my gosh when Marinette actually told Adrien they should do this again and he looked at her with hopeful eyes and asked “you mean just the two of us?”  If only Marinette said yes to that... 

About Sweet-ember:

For the month of September I wanted to spread some positivity and praise Miraculous Ladybug on the things I’ve appreciated/enjoyed from the show.

Everyday I’m going to select one particular moment, event, theme, etc. from an episode of Miraculous and shared what I liked from that episode. Each post will discuss 2-3 episodes (from season 1-3; 78 episodes in total).

Whether its something big or small there is something positive that I can take away from every single episode of Miraculous.

Please feel free to add a moment from these particular episodes that you loved to this post as well!

Salt towards the show, characters, ships will not be tolerated!

Sweet-ember posts

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

[peterstanslizzie]

Reacting To: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Season 2 Episode 1)

Episode Title: Paw of the Jaguar

Spoiler Warning: Kindly proceed if you’ve already seen the episode or are able to tolerate spoilers.

1. Naturally, Season 2 picks up where things left off at the end of the first season; Kipo manages to avoid being captured by Scarlemagne by reining in (or still trying to) the Mega Flamingo that grabbed her. Wolf says that the flamingo is their best bet and so, she, Kipo, Dave, Benson and Mandu hop on it in the hopes of it leading them to Scarlemagne and Lio Oak, Kipo’s dad. 

2. Back at Scarlemagne’s Court, we find the captured denizens/humans including Lio and Hoag, whom are all apparently separated from the kids of the burrow for some reason. Hoag is blaming Kipo for their kidnapping, which I have to be honest; He is right. She did unknowingly lead Scarlemagne to Site B. One of the mind-controlled mutes starts spraying the Puppet Pheromones on the humans, which includes Hoag. But Scarlemagne/Hugo doesn’t want Lio to get sprayed with the pheromones. 

3. I have a prediction. I bet Lio and Scarlemagne used to be friends or co-workers and I’m pretty sure they had something to do with Kipo being part mute. 

4. Before taking off, our heroes are spotted by Troy, Asher and Dahlia and they are wondering what’s up with Kipo’s arm to which she tells them she’s part mute. Troy wants to tag along to help out but Kipo says that it’s too dangerous and suggests that Wolf and Benson take them to the Timbercats while she and Dave go after Scarlemagne. Despite some push-back from Wolf, her plan is more or less agreed upon. I think not bringing Wolf along isn’t a very good idea since she’s the best fighter. Also, he has an entire army; What makes her think that only her and Dave could take them on?

5. As she makes her way over to Scarlemagne’s Court, she is making sure to leave some remnants of Dave’s exoskeleton to allow the others to know where they’re going. Suddenly, the mind-controlled Mega Monkey attacks them. Kipo tries to calm it down by singing the iconic song, ‘What We Have Is You’ again but it doesn’t seem to be working as well as before. Maybe she needs to play the guitar lol.

6. The Mega Monkey grabs Kipo and she tries singing to it one more time and thankfully, she manages to calm it down but for only a few seconds before the pheromone-infused collar it’s wearing starts to activate. Luckily, Kipo swiftly uses her huge cat arm to destroy it, freeing Mega Monkey from Scarlemagne’s control. Aww, I’m so glad because I can’t bear to see it being controlled any longer. 

7. Kipo seems to understand what the Mega Monkey is saying because it tells her that it wants to come along with Kipo to stop Scarlemagne. Kipo does the right thing and convinces it to stay put because she doesn’t want it to get mind-controlled again. I agree with Dave; This moment was so cute and touching but I’m sure we will see Mega Monkey again. Plus, Kipo gave it her bracelet/wristband as a symbol of friendship. That’s so sweet. 

8. Kipo tells Dave that the Mega Monkey is “special”. I’m now actually wondering if it’s somebody Kipo knows or has met before. Maybe it’s her mom, Song? But didn’t she die when Kipo was a baby or something? Hmm...

9. Meanwhile, I don’t really know what Wolf and Benson are trying to do with Troy, Asher and Dahlia. They want the three of them to learn how to wrangle Pierre in order to gain the respect of the Timbercats. They cover Asher and Dahlia’s faces with maple syrup to lure in Pierre, which catches its attention and it charges right at them. Troy tries to defend them but Benson pushes him out of the way and we get this moment:

10. STOP THE PRESS! Did y’all see this? They blushed! Not just one of them but both of them! OMG! This is lowkey confirmation that Troy is gay too. Well, we all suspected it but c’mon this blush pretty much confirms it. Plus, the little pessimist within me is fearful of one-sided crushes. But luckily, we didn’t get any of that; YASSS! 

11. Anyways, back to the story hehe. Pierre starts licking Asher and Dahlia’s maple-syrup covered faces, which makes Benson and Wolf think that they’re doing a good job. Anyways, I love how Wolf doesn’t know how to fist-bump. I guess it’s because she was raised by wolves lol. 

12. It’s already night time and Kipo and Dave have finally reached Scarlemagne’s Court but it’s strangely empty. We then quickly shift over to a shot of Scarlemagne and his army flying over (or is it to?) Ratland. 

13. Oh, great. More lessons on how to impress the Timbercats in order to let Asher, Dahlia and Troy stay with them; Is this really necessary? Don’t they have better things to do during a time of crisis? This time, they want them to learn how to properly chop wood. They do a decent job with it but Dahlia (I think?) unexpectedly goes ham on the wood and according to Asher, it’s because it has been a long day for her. 

14. Kipo eventually spots her dad inside a prison cell that is guarded by two of the primate mutes and she rushes in to attack. One of them sprays the pheromones on her but it doesn’t seem to do a thing. I wonder why? She then beats them and frees her dad. 

15. More Troy and Benson moments! We basically see them talking some more and Benson comes up with an idea to have them give flapjacks to the Timbercats. He also says that he has the best recipe in the world to which Troy asks if it includes flour, milk and eggs and Benson replies yes. Don’t they know that those are the basics? LOL. 

16. But please, go ahead and be your cute gay selves while you guys flirt and bond over flapjacks. And it’s pretty clear that Wolf, Asher and Dahlia can sense their chemistry. 

17. We shift things over to Ratland and all of its patrons are freaking out whilst rushing to exit the theme park since Scarlemagne has arrived, without an entrance ticket for that matter. Scarlemagne reveals to Amy and Brad (two of Ratland’s personnel) that he plans to take over Las Vistas and rename it as Aurum. He envisions Aurum to be a city where mutes will reign supreme over humans. He then proceeds to order his army to dismantle Ratland, which upsets Amy and Brad. Aww, I feel so bad for them!

18. Benson, Wolf, Mandu as well as their new friends arrive at the Timbercats’ forest and they try to return Pierre back to Yumyan. Yumyan notices that Pierre is acting differently because he seems to be attached to Asher. Benson and Wolf try to convince Yumyan and the rest of the Timbercats to let them stay with them by telling them their story about losing their home and etc. And guess what? It’s working because Yumyan is in tears as he is overcome with emotion knowing how brave they’re being despite the hardships. Umm, okay???  And so, they manage to quickly win over all of them. Well, it’s mostly because they’re friends of Kipo but a win is still a win lol. 

19. As Wolf and Benson are getting ready to go back to help out Kipo and Dave, Troy walks over to Benson to thank him. They then talk about what they plan to do once they hopefully reunite again; They’re basically setting up a date! And oh, before leaving, Troy gives him one of these:

20. Oh. My. God. A kiss, a gay kiss on the cheek! And it’s only the first episode? I’m screaming! I love these two; I ship these two! YASSS! I hope they meet up again soon because I need more Troyson moments. And Benson is obviously so happy about what just happened. Same here, Benson. Same here. 

21. Now back to Kipo, Dave and Lio. Lio reveals to Kipo that he and Song had infused Kipo’s DNA with a mutagen in order for her to become a Mega Jaguar herself. And that is why Scarlemagne’s pheromones didn’t work on her because they only work on primates. What a revelation lol. I was kinda right; I knew that Lio had something to do with his daughter’s transformation. But why would he and Song want to experiment on their own daughter, even if it’s to save the world or whatever? That’s kind of....I don’t know, off? 

22. Just as I was half-expecting for Kipo to get mad at her dad, she reacts in the complete opposite way and is excited about becoming a Mega Jaguar and wants it to happen now to get everyone to safety. 

23. I have questions lol. If she becomes a Mega Jaguar, will it be permanent and she can she ever turn back to her normal human form? Or maybe switch between the two forms? Lio says that she needs to train with the Chevre Sisters (who we’ve never heard till now) in order to control her transformation or else she’ll never come back. What does that mean when he says “never come back”? Like is she supposed to learn how to switch between her human form and her Jaguar form?

24. They notice that the flamingo that flew them there is being taken away by the primate mutes and Kipo foolishly rushes to attack them to retrieve the Mega Flamingo. She is stopped by Lio but it’s too late because one of them manages to grab hold of Lio whilst trying to escape with the help of Dave who has now transformed into his flying hero mode. Kipo tries to fight back to rescue her father but there’s too many of them. Lio urges Dave to fly Kipo out to safety and the scene cuts off. 

25. Back at Ratland, Amy and Brad are devastated at the destruction of Ratland by Scarlemagne and his army. He then grabs hold of two humans and sprays them with his pheromones. Here, we also find out more about Scarlemagne’s evil intentions, which is similar to how Planet of the Apes is and that is to overcome their oppression by humans for thousands of years and basically topple over them. 

26. Please don’t kill the rats, please don’t. Scarlemagne wants to make an example out of Brad and Amy as he threatens to launch a bottle of explosive nectar at them. He advises them to run but unfortunately, the scene then cuts off. Oh how I hope they survived!

27. Back in the woods, Benson, Wolf and Mandu bump into Kipo and Dave. Kipo then tells them what happened and she totally regrets not thinking things through, which led to her unsuccessful rescue attempt of her dad. She feels like her instincts have betrayed her. Wolf and Benson try to console her by telling her all the good things she did in the past to which there’s a lot of them. 

28. That immediately makes Kipo feel a lot better and we then get a nice group hug between all of them. But the love-fest ended quickly because they hear a loud rumbling in the background, which of course, as we know, it’s coming from Ratland. Again, I hope Amy and Brad are alright. Scarlemagne and his primate mute and human army are seeing flying away from the area, taking some of the wreckage from there. 

29. We then see in the distance, a group of cloaked individuals looking at the result of the explosion. I wonder if they are mutes or humans? I can’t tell. One of them does appear to have a beak and two of them have really long ears. Although, their legs looks very human-like. Maybe they’re part-mutes like Kipo? But what we do know is that they’re against Scarlemagne, which is good news. 

30. Thinking back, I suspect that they’re the Chevre Sisters, Lio was talking about to Kipo. And it would make perfect sense if they’re part-mutes too because they’re supposedly going help Kipo to learn how to control her transformation.

31.  Well y’all. That is the end of my review of episode 1 of Season 2 of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. This episode absolutely exceeded my expectations; It was filled with so much excitement, action and of course, love. Stay tuned tomorrow for my review of episode 2. Thanks for reading! Till then, bye!

[we-pay-for-everything]

Top 5 BTS Lead/Title Tracks - Pt. I

Alright peeps, I’m finally gonna do it. Dear followers, look away now because I know you guys don’t give a fuck about BTS. Sorry.

1. Black Swan 

To me, Black Swan is the best BTS song. Every single “yeah yeah yeah”, “boom boom boom”, “jump jump jump”, “killin’ me now”, “film it now”  is irreplaceable. Whenever I hear the song, those are the lyrics that make my body ache, like it remembers my pain even if my brain doesn’t - it’s really cathartic.

Pain is universal and you don’t have to speak Korean or know the lyrics to feel this song with your whole being, to know that “boom boom boom” reminds you of a heartbeat. In each “yeah yeah yeah” there is pain and defiance, and the sound reverberates through your body. Pain makes your chest feel tight and your body ache, and the beautiful choreo that accompanies the lyrics expresses that pain, fear and defiance so well - the members grab their necks, hold their arms in front of their bodies in a protective stance, beat their chests, etc. 

The lyrics to Black Swan are beautiful and descriptive (RM at his finest), and the vocal arrangement matches them. The vocalists sound indistinguishable from each other, like they’re in complete agreement, coming together as one to voice their pain. Their voices sound muffled, as if they’re singing to us from the bottom of the ocean. The vocal line goes really hard in Black Swan. The song doesn’t seem technically difficult but it’s all about emotion. The melody of Black Swan is simple but very, very pretty, and the strings sound sensitive, wound up and ready to snap at any time - just like the singers. Also, the beauty of Jimin’s dancing in the MV, and the MV itself, elevate the song. 

Black Swan is a masterpiece (an actual masterpiece, I’m not being dramatic) in my eyes. It’s a perfect fusion of music, dance and performance. 

2. IDOL

IDOL may not be the best song ever, but I can’t get enough of it. I love the choreo, the members’ grit when singing/rapping, the energy and power of the song. IDOL makes me feel powerful every time I listen to it, but it’s not “fake empowerment”. Imo, the song which fits the “love yourself” theme the best is IDOL. The actual “answer” to “love yourself” is in IDOL. 

Something I did in therapy to better my self-confidence was to list things I liked about myself, as JK does (”I love myself, I love my fans and my dance and my what”). I also had to confront my negative thoughts and provide alternatives to them, which BTS sort of do in the song. I think BTS lead by example in IDOL.

In LY: Tear BTS mourn a loss of identity, caused by fame and their desire to be or look perfect. They mention in their docu-series that they haven’t changed, but people say they have, and they’ve lost some friends because of it. I think BTS address this topic in IDOL, when JK and V sing about the many selves within them and how they’d rather go at them (”runnin’ man, runnin’ man”) than worry about what others think. (Also, I think BTS fear they’ve changed for the worst so that bit of the song comes across as defensive.) BTS is hurt by fans and friends turning their backs on them because they got so big, but they believe everyone changes and you shouldn’t feel bad for it. The new you still has bits of the old you, even if others can’t see it. You can’t live in the past; you should always try to improve, grow and discover new sides to you. In short, you should love every part of you - past, present or future.

BTS also celebrate their culture and acknowledge the “worst” criticism aimed at them: that they’re “idols”. They dismiss such criticism without bragging. They simply say they can’t be categorized. Idol, artist - they are who they are. 

The best thing about IDOL though, is Jimin’s iconic “You can’t stop me loving myself”. Saying “I love myself” or “I’m worth loving” means nothing. There is no right way to love yourself. But there is a right attitude. In order to love yourself you have to be aggressive, persistent. Jimin doesn’t smile or wink when he yells out the words; he shows you the words mean nothing, his determination does. Jimin wants to love himself, so he will. 

There’s no trick to loving yourself, only hard work. The only thing you can do is try, everyday, to defeat your negative thoughts and remind yourself you’re worth loving. In the end, IDOL gives us the best answer in LY: Answer. There is no answer, only our will. 

Continued in Pt. II and Pt. III.

[linkspooky]

The Characters of Nisiosin (1)

Trickster - Kumagawa 

Nisioisin is a prolific writer famous for the many distinct characters he creates, and writes with a unique sort of empathy that lets them be their weird and crazy selves without judgement. Okay, with plenty of judgment. This is the start of a new series I’ve been working on which analyzes some of the common themes that appears in Nisioisin’s works with more depth, as Nisioisin is the type who reuses, and recontextualizes old ideas a lot. 

The first thing we’re going to be taking a look at is Nisioisin’s take on the Trickster type character with Kumagawa. I’ll be doing Deishuu Kaiki, and Ii (Boku) to follow up. 

 A. Defining the Trickster. 

Before we determine what a Trickster is we have to define what an Archetype is when it comes to character writing. 

In theory, Jungian archetypes refer to unclear underlying forms or the archetypes-as-such from which emerge images and motifs such as the mother, the child, the trickster, and the flood among others. History, culture and personal context shape these manifest representations thereby giving them their specific content. These images and motifs are more precisely called archetypal images.

In other words they are ideas and images that reoccur in stories all around the world. For example a character like Loki has several things in common with the christian idea of satan even though they come from two different mythologies, both subvert the ‘father-figure’ king of their respective heavens, and both are responsible for kickstarting the chain of events that lead to the apocalypse scenario in both religions. 

Archetypes are characters that follow certain pre-determined patterns we all recognize. Luke Skywalker is what most people would recognize as the hero of the story, Obi-Wan Kenobi is the mentor, just by thinking of ‘hero’ and ‘mentor’ you already have a pre-conceived idea of how the character is going to act in the story. This is a good guideline for analyzing the similiarities between the characters Nisioisin uses in his works. 

The Trickster, Jung says, is an aspect of the shadow archetype, at least in its negative traits (see "On the Psychology of the Trickster-Figure".  Examples of the trickster are Satan, Loki, etc.)

The shadow is an archetype that consists of the sex and life instincts. The shadow exists as part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings.

If the Hero is what everyone thinks a good guy is, then the Shadow is playfully the opposite of they. They are what everyone thinks a good guy isn’t. They represent the repressed aspect of our minds, and exist to call into question the common order. 

The trickster, obviously, deceives, often playfully, sometimes painfully.     The Fool is a shadow figure distressed by some unconscious lack of power, often driven by greed or an inordinate desire for fame (all archetypes), who projects his or her inadequacies against scapegoats as described above.  The Fool is not always negative, of course.  A relatively benevolent form of the fool is the Clown, who is more aware of his or her trickster aspect, perhaps, than is the fool.  [Source.]

The trickster is what the hero is not. They are the shadow the hero casts. While the hero’s domain is the light, the trickster often works in the dark, behind the scenes sneaking around in the shadows. The hero is often straightforward, the shadow deceives and obfuscates. The hero is conventional and the trickster unconventional. 

In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human, or anthropomorphisation), which exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge, and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules and conventional behaviour.  he trickster crosses and often breaks both physical and societal rules. Tricksters "...violate principles of social and natural order, playfully disrupting normal life and then re-establishing it on a new basis."

[SOURCE.]

To simplify there are four rules I am going to set as reoccuring in Nisioisin’s use of the Trickster Archetype: 

Introduced as a Villain

Subverts Expectations

Lying, Liar who Lies

Inherent themes of Nihilism

1. Introduced as a Villain

Appearances can be deceiving. It is the trickster’s goal to deceive your expectations, and in that they subvert the natural order. In most stories the hero is good and the villain is bad. Straightforward so far, yes? Nothing is straightforward when a trickster is involved. Kumagawa Misogi is someone who is introduced and built up as the ultimate enemy of Kurokami Medaka. A girl with a noble goal of trying to make everyone happy. Therefore anyone who opposes her would have to be ignoble, right?

Kurokami Medaka brings out the best in people, and Kumagawa Misogi brings out the worst. That is the simple, black and white comparison that we’re given between the two of them at the start of the manga. 

Kumagawa is so inhuman when we first meet him that for the first 52 chapters of the manga, when other characters refer to him and as he’s built up as an antagonist his face is always obscured. He’s not even seen as human in the eyes of others.

However, this simple idea is subverted by the manga itself. Medaka and Kumagawa are compared not as opposites but rather as complemtnary forces who not only have several things in common with one another, but also play into each other. 

Kumagawa is someone who can uniquely understand Medaka’s point of view in a way other people cannot. He’s not someone who opposes Medaka, but rather someone set up to oppose her. Kumagawa is not only aware to some extent that Medaka is the hero of the story, but he’s chosen to make himself the villain. 

2. Subverts Expectations

The entire point of Kumagawa’s arc is that even the absolute scariest types of people the minus, aren’t true villains of the story, even when they don’t want to be sympathized with, even when they don’t want to be saved, they are deep downs still people. 

Kumagawa’s arc intentionally sets up the idea that some characters are natural villains who don’t want to be saved, only to subvert that idea in the end. Tricksters are subversive, they exist to flip standard notions of good and evil, black and white ideas on their head. They are transversive, once they have played their role in the story it is impossible to think of things the same way again. 

Kumagawa is a character who exists to subvert what we call traditionally binary opposites. That is ideas that we think oppose each other. Winners and losers, strength and weakness, talented and untalented, all of these ideas tie strongly into Kumagawa’s character.

Ajimu brings up Kumagawa’s bitterness towards the status quo. The people who are happy are the ones who are currently in power. They are the ones who are able to work hard, they are the ones who are able to have friends, they are the ones who always win in the end. 

Kumagawa’s original goal is to flip those ideas on their head. To show that even people who are outside the power structure, outsiders like him, are able to have friends, to work hard, and to win. 

By doing this he subverts the natural order and turns it around. This is what comes to a head in his fight with Medaka. Usually it would be the winner is the strongest, but the idea is flipped in that fight it’s proven the one who loses more and climbs their way back up is the strongest one.

There is strength in weakness and weakness in strength and these ideas never play in the straightforward ways we think they will. That’s why Kumagawa who identifies as weaker than anyone else, is able to easily subvert the balance of power tip it in his favor and overcome strong people. 

3. Lying, Liar who Lies

Basically Kumagawa lies as compulsively.. He says everything in [brackets like this] and it's like always speaking and using airquotes after everything you say. It makes everything he says sound completely insincere. It’s also a pun for ‘To Show Off’ meaning he exaggerates everything he says in order to look cool. 

Kumagawa will just blantantly lie at times for no reason other than to lie. One of his habits is to claim things aren't his fault when they obviously are. His introduction is screwing everyone to a wall, and then standing there covered in their blood go [I'm not the one who did this, it's not my fault.] His introduction is him rattling off lies mainly to confuse people and make himself impossible to read. 

The key word is once again these expectations. The trickster uses lies as a mean of controlling the expectations of others, playing around with them and he gains some measure of power over this. A trickster is often not very traditionally powerful and has to rely on his wits to get by. 

Kumagawa's life is pure chaos and basically everything ever will go wrong for him, so he tells lies to have some kind of illusion of control over that chaos. People who see life as a story do so to give themselves agency, to trick themsleves into believing they’re the ones telling that story. 

Kumagawa pretending that the world is a manga, gives him the illusion that he can read, and anticipate the world like he would a weekly shonen jump manga. When in reality the world is what it’s always been, complete chaos. Kumagawa tells himself that lie to obfuscate himself because he finds safety in those lies, in no one knowing who he truly is. 

He finds his identity in those lies, which is why he intentionally plays the role of the villain when he could be a hero. Kumagawa will lie about his identity, first to be a bad victim, to be an ugly victim, he pretends these things have value because it's all he has. He only has negative experience of the world and the trauma he’s asquired so far and that’s what he finds familiarity in. Kumagawa finds identity in being the world's biggest loser. 

4. Themes of Nihilism

Kumagawa is a character who directly confronts Medaka’s assertion that she was ‘born for a reason’, by asserting the opposite. That there’s no goal in life, no point to being alive, and therefore humans are born for no reason. 

While that seems like a wholly negative statement at first, the point of Nihilism is to question established ideas and power structures. It’s to dismantle what we are told matters, and what we are told has meaning and instead come to understand our own meaning. 

If Medaka is an existence desperately trying to give meaning to life, then Kumagawa is trying to reject the assertion that life has meaning. It’s understandable why. The values that are said to hold true for everybody else have never once held true for Kumagawa. If you work hard you’ll win. Bad people are the only ones that suffer. If you ask for help you’ll get saved. Kumagawa has witnessed all those things he is told should be true about the world proven as falsehoods, and because of that his response is one of rebellion against the order. 

Nihilism is a step on the way to existentialism. 

In the most basic terms possible it's like. Rejection of societal meanings and values that you are told about -> Rejecting everything which leads to moral nihilism (nothing has meaning boo hoo) -> Realization that if everything is just made up value you can make up your own, and that you're not freed from society's obligations and can pursue what you want (sunglasses nihilism, party time).

Kumagawa as a character is firmly in the middle step. He’s a character who rejects everything, because he finds his identity in his rebellion against traditionally held notions. 

Kumagawa is a character trying to reject what everyone else tells him is meaningful, and instead trying to create his own meaning. He’s trying to find the positives in a life that’s literally nothing but suffering. That’s the point of his whole complex about minuses, that people who have everything go wrong for them still have a reason to smile. 

 Basically Kumagawa's philosophy becomes, if I can endure all of this and still keep on laughing and smiling, then you can too. Even living the worst life possible where you can't accmplish a single thing, and can't amount to anything, you can still find something to laugh and smile about.

It’s a philosophy unique to him, and one that he could only come to by challenging the established norm. Not only does Kumagawa’s nihilism help the minuses, but he also ends up helping Medaka herself as she’s the one who has to let go of the ‘reason that she was born’.

Just like Kumagawa, Medaka has to go and seek out her own reason. As in the end the two of them as a pair, hero and villain, are not opposites but rather two sides of the same coin. They are complentary forces that contain parts of each other. 

They are both ultimately, whether trickster or hero, very human characters. The roles in the story they play only serve to flesh out their humanity. Which is another theme in Nisioisin’s writing, but we’ll continue that in the next posts. 

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

How would the Quidditch characters work in a dating quest?

(Courtesy of an Ask by @dalekofchaos) 

First of all, thank you for your patience. I know I took forever to finish this one, but as someone who’s become quite invested in these four little misfits, I wanted to get it exactly right. There are two ways to go about this. One is to back and attempt to write the Quidditch characters into past dating quests like the Celestial Ball. The other is to start from scrap and design a completely new quest concept. I am going to do the latter. Perhaps someday, I shall write versions of other quests, but I’d want to start from the Celestial Ball, and I’m pretty sure I only have access to Valentines Day and the Festival Quest data-mines. Let’s get started. I’m calling this TLSQ ‘A Wonderful World Journey” for reasons that will become clear soon enough. Due to reasons of conflict in Season 2, I’m gonna say this would need to drop in Season 3 or 4. I’m also going to say that the pre-existing dating quests are going to be ignored for this - Quidditch is a different timeline, so as far as I’m concerned, this is the first date MC will be on. At least, the first one that matters. So, how does it start?

It starts with Orion gathering his team (plus Murphy) for a pre-Practice discussion like he often does. This time, it’s about Quidditch as a concept, and the players’ commitment to the game versus their commitment to their team. MC is given a choice - do they play because they like Quidditch, because of the friends they have on the team, or some other reason, like glory? But this is interrupted when Face Paint Kid shows up to tell everyone that he’s pretty sure he saw Ethan Parkin on campus, and that he was talking to Erika Rath’s team! Skye and Rath have buried the hatchet, so Skye is mostly curious about what her Dad is doing here and how he even knows Rath. MC resolves to ask her after practice. 

MC and Rath meet up in the Great Hall. There can be a Turkey Sandwich mini-game here. Rath admits that Ethan Parkin is on campus, but declines to explain why. Telling MC that it’s supposed to be a secret, and that Skye and the others will find out soon enough. Here, MC and Rath can have a more in depth conversation about feelings and such, and MC can have a dialogue choice to respect Rath keeping this to herself, or not respect it. But the conversation ultimately veers, again, into the concept of loyalty to the game, versus loyalty to your team. MC bringing up what Orion said. Rath proposes the question of whether or not MC can truly like and trust her then, if they’re not on the same team. Going to try and avoid using the word “friend” in this quest for obvious reasons.

After this conversation, Murphy meets up with MC back at the grounds, to tell them that Ethan Parkin has indeed been seen on campus by several witnesses, and has also been seen conversing with the other two Quidditch teams, meaning that MC’s team is the only one he has yet to visit. Both Murphy and MC speculate on why this is, and MC can be given the chance to choose between a few guesses. Murphy then asks MC to help him spy on Ethan, to find out what’s going on. Here, we can have further development of Murphy’s motives - what I’m trying to push is the idea that all four of these characters are dedicated to Quidditch for different reasons, and I also feel like Murphy is the kind of person who can’t resist a mystery. That could be his reason for being dedicated to Quidditch - the excitement of not knowing the answer, and trying to discover it beforehand. 

MC then tracks Ethan Parkin to the training grounds, and spies on him talking to Madam Hooch about some big event that’s coming up. The spying itself can be a task, and if Talbott’s quest has been completed, then the option to spy using one’s Animagus form can be available here. However, all of this is interrupted when Skye shows up to confront her Dad. Post-Season 2, she’s more mature and their relationship is stronger, but she’s still (somewhat justifiably) upset that he hasn’t come to see her at all, and is visiting other teams. In keeping with tradition between these two, it’s all a misunderstanding. Ethan sent Skye a letter ahead of time, and thought she already knew. He promises to make it up to her, and tells her to gather her team. After Ethan and Hooch leave, MC comes out of hiding to comfort Skye, and the theme of why people play Quidditch can be further explored with Skye talking to MC about her Dad. Skye can also admit that she almost never checks her letters because she gets so much fan-mail, and MC can express whether or not they think she has any fault in all this. 

It’s time for the big announcement. Ethan Parkin gathers all four Quidditch teams on the Pitch to announce the truth. He has a spare ticket to the next round of the World Cup that’s approaching fast - it won’t be in Britain because of canon, but you’ll soon see that isn’t going to stop me. Ethan himself cannot attend because of plot reasons, but he wants the tickets to go to the person most dedicated to Quidditch - hence a little competition. It won’t be an actual game, because that would exclude folks like Murphy, but it would be some kind of audition by heart. Basically, Ethan is going to hold a big party and talk to everyone who’s present, and figure out for himself who would deserve it/enjoy it the most. You might be asking why he doesn’t just give the ticket to Skye, and that will be explored, but the short answer is that she’s most likely attended World Cups before, so it’s not as big a deal for her. 

After the announcement, MC, Sky, Murphy, Orion, and Rath all linger in a kind of semi-circle and talk about their motivations. Murphy wants the experience of getting to see a World Cup game - it will be the ultimate challenge to analyze and deduce the plays before they happen. Rath wants to see Professional Quidditch players up close and learn from their talents to better her own skill as a Beater. Skye is getting all starry-eyed and nostalgic, since she probably hasn’t been to a Cup since she was a little girl. For her, this will be like going back home. Orion is strangely quiet about his motivations. But he encourages the others in his usual mystic way. After everyone parts ways, MC hangs back to ask Orion about his goals. Orion admits that he has no intention of vying for this ticket - because Quidditch isn’t a challenge or a project or a way of life for him. It’s simply the place that he settled and found his family - the Cup would not interest him. MC can convince him to try anyway, but whether or not he does will depend on a choice that’s coming up. 

MC meets up with Penny and Andre in the Courtyard, who have just been gossiping about the huge party that’s being hosted by the Ethan Parkin. Penny is excited at the chance to meet him again, and Andre wants to throw his own hat in the ring to win the ticket. But, sorry Andre, that’s not going to happen. You’ve got your own dating quests. What is going to happen is that Penny will excitedly ask MC about if they’re going to bring anyone to the party, surprising MC. When they express confusion, both Penny and Andre agree that a party like this is a perfect opportunity to have a date. Face Paint Kid, who was listening in, also agrees. If we want, we can also throw in a line about him going stag, to clarify that he’s not an option - sorry FPK fans. This can prompt Penny to ask MC if they fancy any of their Quidditch friends. The answers can be something like “Yes, I fancy one of them.” and, “I’ve never thought about it before,” and even “Actually, I fancy more than one.” But at the end of the day, one will still need to make the choice. At Penny and Andre’s prompting, and Andre’s promise to make MC an awesome outfit for the party, MC now begins to consider who they would invite. 

MC will next visit the Changing Rooms, only to find their four friends all rehearsing what they’re going to say and do at the party to make sure Ethan notices them and thinks of them as the choice for the ticket. (Side note: I think it can be a show of how far everyone has come that Rath is just here, hanging out as well, and no one bats an eye.) Face Paint Kid can appear again and tell MC that this is the perfect chance. Go over and offer to help be a sounding board to one of their friends, and in the process, ask them out! This is where we get that classic screen of the four Quidditch characters with exclamation points over their heads. MC makes the choice, and chooses which ending they get. They talk to their choice, help them figure out how best to present them-selves, which also includes talking about what they would wear, and one energy-collecting task later, MC asks their interest. No tricks here, all four characters gladly accept, though they behave differently about it. Rath is more subdued, Orion is more mystical, Murphy offers calculations, Skye definitely says, “Smashing!” Etc. 

Andre then sends MC one of those little owls, and the player will have to wait a few hours to unlock this next event, but it makes sense in-universe. Andre is finishing up the outfits, and he needed to clear everyone out because this event will also take place in the changing rooms. I don’t have too many ideas for what the outfits would look like, but I want there to be three or four, perhaps one that is slightly inspired by each character. Not to the point of being that noticeable, but if you look close. Like, one of the outfits could be a trench-coat. One could have a tie. One could involve MC putting a highlight in their hair. But they’d definitely all have their own unique spin so that any outfit could coincide with any date. During this scene, Andre also drops a question that MC has been too busy to even consider - what happens if they win? Why do they play Quidditch? It can be a choice, whether they’d prefer to win them-self, or if they want their date to win. 

Party time! I know the Quidditch Pitch has already been a setting for a Dating Quest, so this party could really occur anywhere. The Courtyard, the Great Hall, etc. But in my head, it’s happening on the Pitch. During this opening scene, MC can interact and trade banter with the other three characters who were not chosen, before finding their date and exchanging more playful, flirty banter. They can wander around and mingle, spending energy to do so, before MC’s date gets stage fright when Ethan is approaching. This can vary from person to person. Exclusive dialogue for Skye since he’s her Dad, more reserved dialogue for Orion because he’s still uncertain about winning, Rath’s social anxiety acting up, Murphy fretting that Ethan won’t see him as a “real” Quidditch player. At the last second, it will occur to MC’s date that MC hasn’t said anything about whether or not they want to win the World Cup ticket. Ethan arrives and MC’s date hesitates. MC can have a dialogue choice here between encouraging their date to speak up or filling in the silence them-self. Either way, Ethan moves on, and MC’s date apologizes for having been so self-focused. 

The time has come for the winner to be declared! Gonna tell you right now, the winner of World Cup ticket is determined entirely by the choice MC made during the outfit scene with Andre. It’s very simple - if they said they wanted to win, they will. If they said they would rather their date win, then their date is going to win. But no matter who wins, the scene plays out in similar beats. If MC wins, they express that they’re giving their ticket to their date instead of keeping it. Likewise, if MC’s date wins, they instead insist upon giving the ticket to MC. That’s when Ethan drops the plot twist that I’m sure you all knew was coming. There are actually two tickets, and with how moved everyone was by the selfless gesture, he’s giving the tickets to MC and their date. Much excitement, much celebration. Happy faces. It’s wholesome. But it’s not the end. 

There’s no way in hell I wasn’t going to put the World Cup in after all that teasing. Look, we’ve seen with the Burrow and the Portrait Vault that they can include one-time only locations that aren’t anywhere on the HPHM map as we know it. The same thing can occur here. Ethan calls MC and their Date over to the Training Grounds where he and Madam Hooch have a timed Portkey waiting, probably a Quaffle or something. Hell, for added fun, it can vary - be a Quaffle for Orion and Skye, be a Bludger for Rath, and a Golden Snitch for Murphy - though in the latter two cases, it obviously wouldn’t be “active.” There can be exclusive dialogue if MC has already used Portkeys, and if we really want to, we can have an easter egg line about “Portkey games.” Ethan gives MC and their date the tickets, and reassures them that the Portkey will reactivate after the match is over. So the whole question of “wouldn’t they be stranded?” is handwaved. MC and their Date touch the portkey, and ZAP! 

It’s game time. They arrive in the top box, and some generic wizard sprites usher them in to help them find their seats - having known ahead of time from Ethan that they were coming. Probably speak in an accent because this is definitely a different country. MC and their Date can see the sights, enjoying themselves and trading sweet banter as they await the game to start. And here’s one final surprise - the Player them-self is allowed to play in the World Cup. It’s just a re-skin of ordinary Quidditch games with a new background and new character sprites, that wouldn’t be too difficult to program. To be clear, they’re not controlling MC for this sequence, but the professional players. MC and their date are watching the match. It doesn’t matter if the player wins or loses though, since no matter what Britain isn’t playing in this match. But after it’s over, MC and their date cheer. We can return one final time to the theme of figuring out why everyone plays Quidditch, and the four characters can all express that, no matter their reason, they like having MC by their side as they follow a Quidditch career. We can return to Rath’s doubt that MC would be close to her since they’re on separate teams. Murphy’s fear that he wouldn’t be seen as a “true” Quidditch player. Orion’s uncertainty about his own place in Quidditch. Skye’s reevaluation of the environment she’s grown up in. All of these topics can make a return, depending on who was chosen. There can also be some exploration of MC’s bond with the character. Murphy can appreciate that they listen to him with his hyper-fixations. Rath can chuckle at the memory of how hard they tried to reach out to her. Orion can dwell on how they’ve always been kindred spirits, maybe reference the Quidditch-robe gift scene. Skye can allude to how much MC means to her, even after all of their ups and downs. 

For a final cut-scene, I dunno. I just kind of imagine fire-works going off, as MC and their date cuddle up in the top box. Maybe a forehead or top-of-the-head kiss can happen here. Maybe some hand-holding. Can go a few ways, as long as it’s sweet and wholesome. Rath might have a unique animation simply because of her different sprite. Either way, that’s how the scene fades out. We don’t see them make the return journey, because we don’t need to. That’s already been hand-waved. As a final reward, I like to imagine that the portkey, now inactive, is added to MC’s dormitory. 

Oh man, this was so much fun. Thank you for sending me this, and thank you for waiting on me to get it done!

[bigskydreaming]

So I’m writing a short story in my Changelings ‘verse for a galaxy brain commission that was simply “Boyd gets a boyfriend.” Nothing wrong there. But it does mean I feel like I finally gotta nail down the full intricacies of Boyd’s magic, which is unnecessarily....extra, due to the existence of the Curse of the Specialist Snowflake that afflicts me. 

Like, I couldn’t just give him one physical change and one magic like most other Changelings, nooooooo, he’s gotta be the Zodiac Kid and have twelve completely different changes and magics, one for each sign and he changes throughout the year in accordance to the changing of the signs. Why’d I do it that way? Cuz I gotta, obviously. Hahahaha, shut up, me.

I mean, there was a point to it originally, like, his sister Alicia’s Change and magic is that she’s surrounded by ghostly versions of a bunch of her alternate universe selves at any given moment, and she can communicate with them and call upon their skills and is sometimes called Sibyl around town, so like, the common thread/theme of her and Boyd’s magic is like, an infinity of self, but also, by “there was a point to it originally” I also just mean I couldn’t settle on and pick what I wanted Boyd’s magic to be so I was like here’s a fun thing I could do, make up a reason for him to have even MORE options.

.....I feel like, potentially, this self-created problem I’m having could have been avoided somehow, but gosh, fuck if I can see how.

So most of Boyd’s magic is hammered down....

In his Sagittarius phase, he’s physically a centaur whose lower half looks like a night sky studded through with starfields and moving constellations, and his magic from November 23rd to December 21st is uncanny intuition, a kind of off-the-top-of-his-head divination. He just instinctively knows the answers to questions when he’s in his Sagittarius phase, the more specific the question the more accurate his answer. He doesn’t have context, he doesn’t KNOW how he knows the things that he knows, he just knows them. 

You ask him if you’ll meet someone who could very plausibly be the love of your life within the next week, and if he says yes, its absolutely, one hundred percent true and accurate.....but if you ask him then how can I find them, he might say well first thing you gotta do is get out of my face and stop bugging me, and then walk down the street and turn left.....and that too, would be absolutely true and accurately point you in the direction that answers your question but like, that’s all he’s got and you’re missing a few steps at that point. So. Its not an exact science or anything. 

There’s definitely tricks to maximizing the intel you get out of him when he feels like being hit up for intel and doesn’t just string you along to be a total troll. Which he is. Hence why he also spends most of December filling in all of Alicia’s large stockpile of crosswords and sudokus, as he just instinctively and whimsically knows what to fill in even if he doesn’t actually have a clue WHY the Mesozoic Era is the answer to 49 Down. Alicia maintains this is cheating. He maintains he doesn’t care, and answers 64 across with “Johannesburg.” Fuck if he knows why.

In his Capricorn phase, he sublets his apartment in Bordertown and takes a month lease on a place underwater in Sub Francisco.....as for this period he’s more of a classical merman, but also if a classical merman has goat horns. But like, whose to say they don’t? Have you ever met one? Thought so. His magic during this period is horns of plenty.....he touches something to one of his horns, and comes away holding two of that item. So it basically only works on things that can be hand-held, but other than that it could be food, physical items, medicine, etc.

In his Aquarius phase, he’s physically the same as he was when a normal mainstream human....except that his skin has a faintly translucent quality as if that of water, with faint stars spiraling in distant patterns in the depths of his slightly watery form. He’s not invisible or actually translucent, like you can’t see through him or even see his organs or anything....rather, its more like most of the time he just looks like normal, human Boyd, albeit wearing a lot of glitter for some reason....but then he turns and catches the light just so, and for a moment you can see how the light is shining THROUGH him similar to the way it shines through the surface of a body of water. His magic in this phase is based on Ganymede, the cup-bearer of the gods.....water he touches becomes imbued with healing properties. 

Like, he unscrews an ordinary bottle of Evian and reaches in with the tip of his finger, and whammo, you’ve got a healing potion whose magic will last until the last of the water is gone, even if its not used until after his Aquarius phase. Once he’s imbued a source of water with his magic, its a healing potion from then on out, which makes his shop a useful place to find healing magic year-round.....or at least until he runs out. You come into his shop even in late July, if he’s still got some healing potions lying around they’re as good as ever....but if he’s already out of stock, you’re out of luck until next year’s Aquarius phase rolls around, and you gotta go look elsewhere on Mercy Row for a healer in the meanwhile.

In his Pisces phase, he goes back to his Sub Francisco apartment as his physical Change here is that of a centaur-triton....kinda the classic ithyocentaur, but also he’s got kinda webbed-like wings spanning from his back.....its a whole thing. But a good look. His magic in this phase is ‘the perfect pair’....he cups his hands and forms a magical, elemental construct in the shape of a koi fish that’ll swim off in the direction of the perfect complement to something or someone. Like a personal, magical compass guiding him or whomever he makes one for to like, the magnetic north that exists somewhere as the perfect counterpart to an already present south pole. Whatever, this makes no sense and is super confusing, I get that. But it makes perfect sense and is not confusing in my head. Still just working on translating from point Head to point Paper without the concept getting lost in the translation.

In his Aries phase, he’s his ‘normal’ mainstream-appearing base form....but also he’s got golden wings and ram horns. And his magic is that he breathes fire. But its magic fire, and it doesn’t burn things it touches, it turns them to gold. Its a whole Golden Fleece thing mixed with a King Midas thing.

In his Taurus phase.....idk yet. I mean, bull horns seems a pretty obvious go-to motif, but haven’t decided for his magic yet. Mostly because @sunwukxng is a Taurus and he takes things like this juuuuuuuust personal enough that I know if I don’t come up with something good here he’ll decide its a mortal insult towards all Tauri and thus him as well, and he’ll declare a blood feud against me that shall last five hundred years. And he’s already got like, six of those in progress, so....trying to avoid racking up anymore.

In his Gemini phase, he splits into two selves, his physical self and astral self, so he’s basically followed everywhere by both his shadow and a spirit version of himself he can astral project elsewhere. And when his astral self goes through something, kinda like how there’s that idea that when a ghost passes through someone they feel a chill or as if they almost left their body for a second.....his astral self can kinda like....yoink other peoples’ astral selves out of their physical forms temporarily. Yoink is of course the highly technical, scientific term for the phenomenon. Obviously.

In his Cancer phase.....idk yet. Look, its hard to be classy and deep concept-y about crabs, okay? I’m sorry Cancers, but even in the original myths about the constellation the gods were like yeah, this crab constellation was a mistake, we just felt bad about Artemis kicking that one all the way up into the heavens after it pinched Orion, the only himbo she ever almost made a boytoy out of. A lot of other Zodiacs featured animals that had the common perception of being viewed as pushing the sun across the sky, so there’s maybe something there in that direction....idk yet.

In his Leo phase, Boyd mostly appears as his ‘normal’ base mainstream-human looking self....except he’s big in a way that is not exactly Giant Big (and there are a good couple dozen giant-sized Changelings living in Bordertown, so like, he isn’t officially anywhere near that) but he is possessed of a height and size that are nevertheless best described as Ridiculous. Like he’s bigger than the Strange Angel, but not as big as Teddy the Sun-snake. That means nothing to anyone but me. Whatever. Moving on. Anyway, in his Leo phase he also has a fiery red mane kinda....that’s threaded through with silver stars in the Leo constellation shape. His magic in this phase is his ‘roar of command’....basically, he can imbue anything he says with the force of his will, and thus like.....make inanimate objects do what he tells them. He’s like “Open sesame” and a locked door is like you got it, boss.

In his Virgo phase.....I am not entirely sure what he looks like yet. I’m pretty sure its mostly his mainstream-looking ‘base self’ but like.....with an unnatural charisma, but also something a little less generic than that. Needs a specific hook still, beyond just “I’m ridick pretty.” Like, he’s Sinqua Walls. He’s always ridick pretty. Its a thing. But his magic in this phase is like.....an aura of inspiration. He just sorta puts out a vibe that inspires people around him in various ways that are unique to the individual. 

He’s also way shorter than he used to be even before his Change hit, or like, shorter than he is in any of his other phases. Like, we’re talking five and a half feet max. Is there any reason for this whatsoever beyond me being amused at the juxtaposition of him going from his Biggest and Most Ridiculous Phase immediately to his Smallest and Most Ridiculous Phase? No. No there is not. Fear the deep profundity of my creative process, for it is deep and it tis profound.

In his Libra phase....I’m not sure yet what his physical change is, but I do know his skin has a scaled texture, and I know those aren’t the scales normally associated with Libra but there’s a point to it, its just......missing some ingredients still to totally make sense. But he also tends to wear a blindfold a lot of the time during his Libra phase because I know his magic here has to do with viewing things in terms of overlapping possibilities and potentialities, like, he looks at things and sees not just the way they ARE but also a whole bunch of different ways they COULD be, and his magic enables him to kinda tweak things from the way they are more towards one of those other possibilities, in a sense that’s all about ‘balancing’ things.

However, the sensory stimuli of all those potentialities 24/7 is honestly overwhelming and gives him serious migraines, so he mostly tries to rest his eyes behind some kind of blindfold most of the time and just take it off to focus on specific things in order to utilize his magic, and only a little at a time. This is probably the most technically ‘powerful’ of his magics in terms of both versatility and scope, but it takes a toll and he really tries to pace himself during his Libra phase or it just gets to be too much, really fast.

And then lastly, in his Scorpio phase, he’s got a whole scorpion tail and barbed stingers along the outsides of his arms.....but rather than lean into the whole ‘eww Scorpios are duplicitous and manipulative’ and also ‘eww scorpions,’ his magic here calls back to how scorpions are actually protective guardians in a lot of mythologies and folklore, and there’s also plenty of Zodiac lore about the idea of the Scorpio sign being all about uncovering truths at any cost, etc. So his magic here is another ‘liquid/mutable’ type and takes the form of venom from his stingers that’s almost like drops of amber.....and that have various properties aimed at uncovering truths and exposing lies and falsehoods. Like, elixirs made during his Scorpio phase are another highly sought ware at his shop, because depending on the venom concentration he places in each, they have different properties. Like, he’s got vials where just a drop placed in your drink or on your food will reveal if its been drugged or poisoned, or vials of elixirs that basically act as magical truth serum.....and then other vials where like, you splash a little of it on something you suspect to be an illusion or a magical disguise of some kind, and it’ll dispel the false magic and reveal what’s truly there. 

“What happens if like, I splash it in the face of someone I think is wearing an illusion disguise and it turns out they’re not and that’s really just what they look like?” A customer asks.

Boyd shrugs. “Then they’ll just be wet. And probably a little pissed, I imagine. That’ll be $49.95 please.”

“I thought you said it was $29.95!”

“That was before the Asked Stupid Questions tax was applied,” Boyd smiles placidly. “Will that be cash or credit?”

 Okay. So. Typing that all out cleared up some of that for me but not quite as much as I was hoping as Cancer and Taurus apparently still persist in Vexing me.

Hmmmm.

[dailytafsirofquran]

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: Surah Al-Baqarah Ayah 23-24

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

23. And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur'an) to Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a Surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful.

24. But if you do it not, and you can never do it, then fear the Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.

The Message of Messenger of Allah is True

Allah says;

And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur'an) to Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a Surah of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful.

Allah begins to prove the truth of Prophethood after He stated that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him.

Allah said to the disbelievers, (And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur'an) to Our servant) meaning, Muhammad, (then produce a Surah) meaning, similar to what he brought to you.

Hence, if you claim that what he was sent with did not come from Allah, then produce something similar to what he has brought to you, using the help of anyone you wish instead of Allah. However, you will not be able to succeed in this quest.

Ibn Abbas said that, (your witnesses), means "Aids.''

Also, As-Suddi reported that Abu Malik said the Ayah means, "Your partners, meaning, some other people to help you in that. Meaning then go and seek the help of your deities to support and aid you.''

Also, Mujahid said that, (and call your witnesses) means, "People, meaning, wise and eloquent men who will provide the testimony that you seek.''

The Challenge

Allah challenged the disbelievers in various parts of the Qur'an.

For instance, Allah said in Surah Al-Qasas, Say (to them, O Muhammad): "Then bring a Book from Allah, which is a better guide than these two (the Tawrah (Torah) and the Qur'an), that I may follow it, if you are truthful''. (28:49)

Also, Allah said in Surah Al-Isra, Say: "If mankind and the Jinn were together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.'' (17:88)

Allah said in Surah Hud, Or they say, "He (Prophet Muhammad) forged it (the Qur'an).''

Say: "Bring you then ten forged Surahs like it, and call whomsoever you can, other than Allah (to your help), if you speak the truth!'' (11:13) and in Surah Yunus, And this Qur'an is not such as could ever be produced by other than Allah (Lord of the heavens and the earth), but it is a confirmation of (the revelation) which was before it (i.e. the Tawrah, and the Injil), and a full explanation of the Book (i.e. Laws decreed for mankind) _ wherein there is no doubt _ from the Lord of all that exists.

Or do they say: "He (Muhammad) has forged it!''

Say: "Bring then a Surah like it, and call upon whomsoever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful!'' (10:37-38)

All of these Ayat were revealed in Makkah.

Allah also challenged the disbelievers in the Ayat that were revealed in Al-Madinah.

In this Ayah, Allah said, (And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in Rayb) meaning, doubt. (Concerning that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur'an) to Our servant) meaning, Muhammad, (then produce a Surah (chapter) the like thereof) meaning, similar to the Qur'an.

This is the Tafsir of Mujahid, Qatadah, Ibn Jarir At-Tabari, Az-Zamakhshari and Ar-Razi.

Ar-Razi said that this is the Tafsir of Umar, Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan Al-Basri and the majority of the scholars. And he gave preference to this view and mentioned the fact that Allah has challenged the disbelievers as individuals and as groups, whether literate or illiterate, thus making the challenge truly complete. This type of challenge is more daring than simply challenging the disbelievers who might not be literate or knowledgeable. This is why Allah said, Bring you then ten forged Surahs like it) (11:13)

and,

They could not produce the like thereof. (17:88)

Therefore, this is a general challenge to the Arab disbelievers, the most eloquent among all nations. Allah challenged the Arab disbelievers both in Makkah and Madinah several times, especially since they had tremendous hatred and enmity for the Prophet and his religion. Yet, they were unable to succeed in answering the challenge, and this is why Allah said, But if you do it not, and you can never do it, indicating that they will never be able to answer the challenge. This is another miracle, in that, Allah clearly stated without doubt that the Qur'an will never be opposed or challenged by anything similar to it, for eternity. This is a true statement that has not been changed until the present and shall never change.

How can anyone be able to produce something like the Qur'an, when the Qur'an is the Word of Allah Who created everything!

How can the words of the created ever be similar to the Words of the Creator!

Examples of the Miracle of the Qur'an

Whoever reads through the Qur'an will realize that it contains various levels of superiority through both the apparent and hidden meanings that it mentions.

Allah said,

Alif Lam Ra. (This is) a Book, the verses whereof are perfect (in every sphere of knowledge, etc.), and then explained in detail from One (Allah), Who is Wise and well-acquainted (with all things). (11:1)

So the expressions in the Qur'an are perfect and its meanings are explained. Further, every word and meaning in the Qur'an is eloquent and cannot be surpassed. The Qur'an also mentioned the stories of the people of the past; and these accounts and stories occurred exactly as the Qur'an stated. Also, the Qur'an commanded every type of righteousness and forbade every type of evil, just as Allah stated, And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. (6:115)

meaning, true in the stories it narrates and just in its Laws.

The Qur'an is true, just and full of guidance. It does not contain exaggerations, lies or falsehood, unlike Arabic and other types of poems that contained lies. These poems, conform with the popular statement, "The most eloquent speech is the one that contains the most lies!''

Sometimes, one would find a long poem that mainly contains descriptions of women, horses or alcohol. Or, the poem might contain praise or the description of a certain person, horse, camel, war, incident, fear, lion, or other types of items and objects. Such praise or descriptions do not bring any benefit, except shed light on the poet's ability to clearly and eloquently describe such items. Yet, one will only be able to find one or two sentences in many long poems that elaborate on the main theme of the poem, while the rest of the poem contains insignificant descriptions and repetitions. As for the Qur'an, it is entirely eloquent in the most perfect manner, as those who have knowledge in such matters and understand Arabic methods of speech and expressions concur.

When one reads through the stories in the Qur'an, he will find them fruitful, whether they were in extended or short forms, repeated or not. The more these stories are repeated, the more fruitful and beautiful they become. The Qur'an does not become old when one repeats reciting it, nor do the scholars ever get

bored with it. When the Qur'an mentions the subject of warning and promises, it presents truths that would make solid, firm mountains shake, so what about the comprehending, understanding hearts! When the Qur'an promises, it opens the hearts and the ears, making them eager to attain the abode of peace - Paradise - and to be the neighbors of the Throne of the Most Beneficent.

For instance, on the subject of promises and encouragement, the Qur'an said,

No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do. (32:17)

and,

(There will be) therein all that inner selves could desire, and all that eyes could delight in and you will abide therein forever. (43:71)

On the subject of warning and discouragement; Do you then feel secure that He will not cause a side of the land to swallow you up! (17:68)

and,

Do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allah), will not cause the earth to sink with you, and then it should quake!

Or do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allah), will not send against you a violent whirlwind!

Then you shall know how (terrible) has been My warning. (67:16-17)

On the subject of threats, the Qur'an said, So We punished each (of them) for his sins. (29:40)

Also, on the subject of soft advice, the Qur'an said,

Tell Me, (even) if We do let them enjoy for years. And afterwards comes to them that (punishment) which they had been promised. All that with which they used to enjoy shall not avail them. (26:205-207).

There are many other examples of the eloquence, beauty, and benefits of the Qur'an.

When the Qur'an is discussing Laws, commandments and prohibitions, it commands every type of righteous, good, pleasing and beneficial act. It also forbids every type of evil, disliked and amoral act.

Ibn Mas`ud and other scholars of the Salaf said, "When you hear what Allah said in the Qur'an, such as, O you who believe! then listen with full attention, for it either contains a type of righteousness that Allah is enjoining, or an evil that He is forbidding.''

For instance, Allah said, He (Muhammad) commands them for Al-Ma`ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained); and forbids them from Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful At-Tayyibat (i.e. all good and lawful things), and prohibits them as unlawful Al-Khaba'ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful things), he releases them from their heavy burdens and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. (7:157)

When the Ayat mention Resurrection and the horrors that will occur on that Day, and Paradise and the Fire and the joys and safe refuge that Allah prepared for His loyal friends, or torment and Hell for His enemies, these Ayat contain glad tidings or warnings. The Ayat then call to perform good deeds and avoid evil deeds, making the life of this world less favorable and the Hereafter more favorable. They also establish the correct methods and guide to Allah's straight path and just legislation, all the while ridding the hearts of the evil of the cursed devil.

The Qur'an is the Greatest Miracle given to the Prophet

The Two Sahihs record that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said,

Every Prophet was given a miracle, the type of which brings mankind to faith. What I was given is a revelation that Allah sent down to me. Yet, I hope that I will have the most following on the Day of Resurrection.

This is the wording narrated by Muslim.

The Prophet stated that among the Prophets he was given a revelation, meaning, he was especially entrusted with the miraculous Qur'an that challenged mankind to produce something similar to it. As for the rest of the divinely revealed Books, they were not miraculous according to many scholars. Allah knows best.

The Prophet was also aided with innumerable signs and indications that testify to the truth of his Prophethood and what he was sent with, all thanks and praise is due to Allah.

Meaning of `Stones

Allah said,

Then fear the Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.

`Fuel' is wood or similar substances, used to start and feed a fire.

Similarly, Allah said, And as for the Qasitun (disbelievers who deviated from the right path), they shall be firewood for Hell. (72:15)

and,

Certainly you (disbelievers) and that which you are worshipping now besides Allah, are (but) fuel for Hell! (Surely) you enter it. Had these (idols) been alihah (gods), they would not have entered there (Hell), and all of them will abide therein. (21:98-99)

The stones mentioned here are the giant, rotten, black, sulfuric stones that become the hottest when heated, may Allah save us from this evil end.

It was also reported that the stones mentioned here are the idols and rivals that were worshipped instead of Allah, just as Allah said,

Certainly you (disbelievers) and that which you are worshipping now besides Allah, are (but) fuel for Hell! (21:28)

Allah's statement, (prepared for the disbelievers), It appears most obvious that it refers to the Fire that is fueled by men and stones, and it also may refer to the stones themselves. There is no contradiction between these two views, because they are dependent upon each other.

`Prepared' means, it is `kept' and will surely touch those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger.

Ibn Ishaq narrated that Muhammad said that Ikrimah or Sa`id bin Jubayr said that Ibn Abbas said, (prepared for the disbelievers), "For those who embrace the disbelief that you (disbelievers) have embraced.''

Jahannam (Hellfire) exists now

Many of the Imams of the Sunnah used this Ayah to prove that the Fire exists now. This is because Allah said, (prepared) meaning, prepared and kept.

There are many Hadiths on this subject. For instance, the Prophet said, Paradise and the Fire had an argument..

Also, the Prophet said,

The Fire sought the permission of her Lord. She said, 'O my Lord! Some parts of me consumed the other parts.'

And Allah allowed her two periods to exhale, one in winter and one in summer.

Also, there is a Hadith recorded from Ibn Mas`ud that the Companions heard the sound of a falling object. When they asked about it, the Messenger of Allah said, This is a stone that was thrown from the top of Jahannam seventy years ago, but only now reached its bottom.

This Hadith is in Sahih Muslim.

There are many Hadiths that are Mutawatir (narrated by many different chains of narrations) on this subject, such as the Hadiths about the eclipse prayer, the night of Isra etc.

Allah's statements, (Then produce a Surah of the like thereof) (2:23), and, (A Surah like it) (10:38), this includes the short and long Surahs of the Qur'an.

Therefore, the challenge to creation stands with regards to both the long and short Surahs, and there is no disagreement that I know of on this fact between the scholars of old and new.

Before he became Muslim, Amr bin Al-`As met Musaylimah the Liar who asked him, "What has recently been revealed to your fellow (meaning Muhammad) in Makkah?''

Amr said, "A short, yet eloquent Surah.''

He asked, "What is it?''

He said, By Al-`Asr (the time). Verily, man is in loss, (103:1-2)

Musaylimah thought for a while and said, "A similar Surah was also revealed to me.''

Amr asked, "What is it?''

He said, "O Wabr, O Wabr (i.e. a wild cat), you are but two ears and a chest, and the rest of you is unworthy and thin.''

Amr said, "By Allah! You know that I know that you are lying.''