#meta tag;

[keikakudori]

I'm very interested in how Aizen would have reacted right after his loss to Ichigo to questions from Central 46 or other people (yk rangiku, izuru, shunsui maybe) who would like to talk to him about Gin Ichimaru, asking him why he killed his follower. Will he be honest at least in the fact that he knows that Gin betrayed him? How will he feel hearing their questions?

Well, the short answer to this is fairly simple: Aizen wouldn't be saying shit to anyone, especially not if they're asking him about Gin and what happened during Deicide. It's not their place to know anything about that.

The longer answer is much, much more complicated. Time for a read more. This answer's going to be fairly extensive.

Aizen is, and always has been, an extremely private individual. He's allowed very few people to get close to him and no one's gotten as close to him as Ichimaru Gin has managed to do. Kaname and Momo put Aizen on a pedestal, with Kaname going so far as to all but worship him whilst Momo truly believed he was nothing more than her gentle, kindhearted captain. The point here is that neither of them truly saw Aizen as a person; they only projected onto him their ideal image of him. Kaname venerated Aizen like unto a god and Momo's emotions over Aizen were colored by her affection and love over his kindness and warmth. Even his Espada idolized him, even though Aizen already warned them not to trust him; he very clearly stated that that wasn't anything that he remained interested in. It's actually quite intriguing that, for a man who wanted to fill the vacant throne in the heavens, he actually never has enjoyed being worshiped like a genuine god. There's something that could be said about that.

None of them actually beheld Aizen properly and the Espada followed him out of fear, respect of his strength, or because they genuinely did believe in him.

Gin, on the other hand? Gin actually perceived Aizen, saw him, right from the first time that they met. @godkilller and I have built a very massive dynamic for them, and we're ever discovering new facets of how they are, how they feel, and how they behave with one another. So when I say that Gin saw Aizen, it has to come with the caveat that for the first time in over a century, Aizen found himself not only seen but perceived on a level no one else had given him since he'd been a young boy. All it took was that first meeting on that night when Aizen watched him kill the old man Third Seat and the resultant way that inspired Aizen to take Gin underneath his wing.

And, above anything else, it has to be remembered that Aizen's character has always been one defined by loneliness. He was around others, but Aizen never truly belonged with others. Did he ever really feel accepted into the Division? No, not entirely, and a major factor of that was Shinji who kept him at arm's length, especially emotionally, but remained willing to fuck his lieutenant after some years had passed. Meanwhile, Aizen was, at that time, deeply in love with him. And we all saw how that went; eventually, Aizen's anger and growing hate for him burst the dam and Aizen decided to commit murder for a number of reasons.

But before that happened, Gin showed up in his life and genuinely changed the trajectory that Aizen was on. In a very real way, Gin saved Aizen from himself and the path he was heading down. He managed to pull Aizen from that brink of total despair and despondency. There is no way I can possibly overstate how important Gin became to Aizen, but it can be seen in canon; Aizen's behavior in the Blood War after Deicide is far, far different from how he had been prior to that point after he revealed his ambitions to all of Soul Society. He's withdrawn. He doesn't want to engage in conversation. He's downright apathetic to everything going on and, for that matter, he's become something of a death seeker.

And it's so very obvious when you think about the biggest factor of why that is: Gin isn't there to engage with him, or to make sure that Aizen doesn't hold onto that malaise for an extended period of time. Aizen is very literally full of depression and given his behavior in the final act, there's no way you can convince me that he isn't trying to get himself killed.

The point of stating all of this is because I always have to find ways to convey and emphasize just how profound Aizen's attachment to Gin became; even platonic, it's a genuinely massive loss for Aizen. Throw emotions into that mix and it becomes much, much more painful.

But even without the emotions or anything romantic thrown in, it's still clear that Gin appealed to Aizen in several ways. There was, of course, Gin's raw potential, even at such a young age which excited Aizen to no end, but there's also the fact that he challenged Aizen and was unpredictable to a greater extent than anyone else ever has been. Even Urahara Kisuke couldn't make Aizen guess what he'd do the way Gin can and Kisuke is, as we all know, a very prepared man for any fight. But he's still predictable to Aizen who can come up with countermoves if he really wished to.

Gin, though? Gin kept him guessing and that was a genuinely large part of why he became so important, and that isn't even touching on the fact that Gin was able to become a viable death-threat. That alone captivated Aizen's attention, due to the fact that not only did Gin manage to consistently be unpredictable to him, but he also managed to force Aizen to acknowledge that out of everyone he knew, Gin remained a genuine source of providing even faint flickers of fear and kept Aizen on his toes.

There's also the fact that Gin never idolized Aizen, never put him on any sort of pedestal, and never once tried to be obsequious towards him. In fact, Gin's been downright bratty and sharp-tongued towards Aizen in many ways and instead of being an irritating factor? It was only once again a reason why Aizen found his relationship with Gin to be so appealing to him. Gin's willingness to challenge him, call him out on his actions and behavior and words, and carrying a genuine threat of being able to not only actually harm Aizen but to possibly kill him?

How could Aizen have resisted that kind of appeal?

The fact that Gin was able to perceive him and see through those careful illusions of himself he'd built up in the public eye was absolutely one of the strongest factors for why Aizen took Gin under his wing and soon trusted him above even Kaname was absolutely one of those facets of their relationship that is always important to remember, too. It was that, more than anything, which really made Aizen decide that he wanted to keep Gin close - but the other factors are equally important. Aizen had no one to challenge him for years and given that no doubt brought a profound ennui to his life, Gin was an open breath of fresh air.

I did say the longer answer would be more complicated, didn't I?

Aizen's dealings with the Central 46 are always going to be the same; contemptuous needling or a lack of a response at all. I'm pretty sure if he hadn't been restrained the way he was on the day of his trial in that kangaroo court, he probably would've killed all the replacements to the original slaughter that he, Gin, and Kaname undertook when they were setting their plans into motion. He would never answer their questions, at all, even if they didn't pertain to Gin. He just generally holds that body of bureaucrats in constant disdain. The most they'd get out of him is his mouthing off which is what led to that sentence of 20, 000 years. He has no reason nor desire to ever be polite to those individuals and I imagine that won't ever change. He knows the secrets of the Seireitei and he knows how much those old men will prefer to focus on his actual crimes rather than ever ask him about what happened with Gin as it is. If they ever did ask a question about that, it'd probably be only in passing. The result would be the same, however; Aizen just would not answer them and never plans on doing so. He might, however, be thinking of how nice it'd be to drop a full-chant Kurohitsugi on them all.

But, as for those others...

I don't think Rangiku or Izuru would technically be allowed to speak to Aizen, given what I've read between the lines of what was being done to him leading up to his trial, but if they were? The answer wouldn't change at all.

Aizen is, as I said before, an extremely private man. He wouldn't even be able to begin processing his own emotions over such a profound loss, let alone be able to answer the questions that others posed to him; not very easily, I should say. So if Rangiku and Izuru came to him to ask those questions, Aizen would probably use all manner of ambiguity, bending of the truth, and generally talking circles around them until he managed to make them leave him be -- that is, if he even answered them at all at that point in time when he's beginning to process what happened, or at least to begin realizing that what occurred was his own fault.

He knows, of course, that Gin had an attachment to both Rangiku and Izuru; Rangiku was his Academy classmate and someone who obviously holds Gin in high regard and Izuru was his lieutenant and with him since the day that Aizen decided the most competent of the recruits would become second-in-command to Gin, which is a factor I think some people forget about. But also, Aizen thought of Izuru as the most competent out of all the potential lieutenants that he was considering for Gin and Kaname and therefore picked out Izuru for him. Kind of like a present, you could say. A very weird present, but a present nonetheless, because he wanted Gin to have the advantage there.

So, if they were allowed to see him, they wouldn't get very far with him. If Aizen doesn't want to answer a question, he is quite good at simply closing his mouth and staring the person in question down. I think that'd be how he'd handle it if Izuru and Rangiku were trying to get answers out of him. To him, what passed between himself and Gin is theirs and he isn't willing or interested to let anyone on the outside of that dynamic behold the nuances and complexities therein, especially if he and Gin were involved with one another. It's, quite simply, not their place to know and it isn't information that will be useful to them.

Out of all of the three people listed, I think only Shunsui would be able to get any kind of response that might remotely come close to being an answer to such questions, if you tilted your head upside down and squinted. But only remotely as Aizen wouldn't give him very much information either and anything that he possibly would say would only be surface level at best, nothing that can be confirmed easily or, alternatively, the information would be only what everyone already knew. I do think that Shunsui and Ukitake would be the first (and, perhaps, only) people who'd recognize it if Aizen and Gin wound up in a relationship together and I also think that Shunsui would be able to know that there wouldn't be any good answers, even if Aizen and Gin weren't involved. But it wouldn't stop him from asking until Aizen decided enough was enough and simply chose to remain close-mouthed and make it clear that he was done.

Pertaining to the emotional aspect? Oh, he wouldn't be enjoying any of those experiences. Aizen came out of Deicide wounded by what had happened, deeply so. Their asking questions of him when his emotions are already a tumult within him, trying to find out any information on why he did what he did, wouldn't be something that he'd show. But if capable, he'd absolutely do his best to shut them down and shut them out. Asking questions that pry into the privacy of a man emotionally devastated won't do any good and instead of getting angry with them and shouting? Aizen's much more likely to just, simply, shut down and do nothing, say nothing, until they leave, especially since those questions would be pertaining to Gin. It's an awful mess and Aizen really isn't a man who's good at handling his emotions in a good fashion.

So, in sum, I don't think that he'd ever give anyone a comprehensive answer, if he even answered any questions about Gin in the first place. It's a subject that's both too personal and too painful for him to ever speak on to anyone else and it'll remain that way for years, even decades, perhaps even centuries. He's a mess, especially once everything really starts to sink in for him, and there's nowhere for him to turn for support or help, especially not when he's locked up in Muken.

[mycroftrh]

Far worse, in my opinion, than the famous “he wouldn’t fucking say that” is “he WOULD fucking say that, as part of his facade, but you seem to think he would mean it genuinely”

[gammija]

nothing personal but this kind of comment rlly exemplifies to me a disconnect between canon and popular fanon jmart characterization because they almost literally had this conversation in canon - except, their lines are swapped!

jon, for all his scared grouchiness, is a secret romantic, while martin, for all his forced optimism, is at his core a pragmatist

[kenobihater]

tragedy enjoyers when a character perpetuates the cycle of violence they themselves were a victim of

[tofixtheshadows]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how Kabru deprives himself.

Kabru as a character is intertwined with the idea that sometimes we have to sacrifice the needs of the few for the good of the many. He ultimately subverts this first by sabotaging the Canaries and then by letting Laios go, but in practice he's already been living a life of self-sacrifice.

Saving people, and learning the secrets of the dungeons to seal them, are what's important. Not his own comforts. Not his own desires. He forces them down until he doesn't know they're there, until one of them has to come spilling out during the confession in chapter 76.

Specifically, I think it's very significant, in a story about food and all that it entails, that Kabru is rarely shown eating. He's the deuteragonist of Dungeon Meshi, the cooking manga, but while meals are the anchoring points of Laios's journey, given loving focus, for Kabru, they're ... not.

I'm sure he eats during dungeon expeditions, in the routine way that adventurers must when they sit down to camp. But on the surface, you get the idea that Kabru spends most of his time doing his self-assigned dungeon-related tasks: meeting with people, studying them, putting together that evidence board, researching the dungeon, god knows what else. Feeding himself is secondary.

He's introduced during a meal, eating at a restaurant, just to set up the contrast between his party and Laios's. And it's the last normal meal we see him eating until the communal ending feast (if you consider Falin's dragon parts normal).

First, we get this:

Kabru's response here is such a non-answer, it strongly implies to me that he wasn't thinking about it until Rin brought it up. That he might not even be feeling the hunger signals that he logically knew he should.

They sit down to eat, but Kabru is never drawn reaching for food or eating it like the rest of his party. He only drinks.

It's possible this means nothing, that we can just assume he's putting food in his mouth off-panel, but again, this entire manga is about food. Cooking it, eating it, appreciating it, taking pleasure in it, grounding yourself in the necessary routine of it and affirming your right to live by consuming it. It's given such a huge focus.

We don't see him eat again until the harpy egg.

What a significant question for the protagonist to ask his foil in this story about eating! Aren't you hungry? Aren't you, Kabru?

He was revived only minutes ago after a violent encounter. And then he chokes down food that causes him further harm by triggering him, all because he's so determined to stay in Laios's good graces.

In his flashback, we see Milsiril trying to spoon-feed young Kabru cake that we know he doesn't like. He doesn't want to eat: he wants to be training.

Then with Mithrun, we see him eating the least-monstery monster food he can get his hands on, for the sake of survival- walking mushroom, barometz, an egg. The barometz is his first chance to make something like an a real meal, and he actually seems excited about it because he wants to replicate a lamb dish his mother used to make him!

...but he doesn't get to enjoy it like he wanted to.

Then, when all the Canaries are eating field rations ... Kabru still isn't shown eating. He's only shown giving food to Mithrun.

And of course the next time he eats is the bavarois, which for his sake is at least plant based ... but he still has to use a coping mechanism to get through it.

I don't think Kabru does this all on purpose. I think Kui does this all on purpose. Kabru's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be understood as informing his character just as much as Laios's autism informs his. It's another way that Kabru and Laios act as foils: where Laios takes pleasure in meals and approaches food with the excitement of discovery, Kabru's experiences with eating are tainted by his trauma. Laios indulges; Kabru denies himself. Laios is shown enjoying food, Kabru is shown struggling with it.

And I can very easily imagine a reason why Kabru might have a subconscious aversion towards eating.

Meals are the privilege of the living.

[hexhomos]

stealing this from @godsplatter but. Jayce & Viktor's dream butterfly. their dream.

THEIR RED STRING OF FATE THE ANOMALY OF THEIR LOVEEEEE

[descendant-of-truth]

Shipping is fun and all but I swear every single time someone makes a comment, whether as a joke or in a legitimate analysis, about there being "no other explanation" for a pair's interactions, I lose just a bit more of my sanity

Like, no, you guys don't get it. Romance is not about the Amount of devotion, it's about the COLOR. the FLAVOR of it all. a character can be just as devoted to their platonic friend as they are to their romantic partner, and they don't love either of them more, just differently.

But because the majority of people still have it stuck in their minds that romance exists on the highest tier of love, I'm stuck seeing endless takes that boil down to "these two care about each other too much for it to NOT be romantic" as if that's the core determining factor to how literally any of this works

In conclusion: stop telling me that I don't understand the story if I don't interpret the leads as romantic, I am TIRED

[galedekarios]

while i did a gifset to showcase an armour set, i was also intrigued by just how different the animation is for the wizard class vs gale's unique animation:

wizard class animation

gale's unique animation

it's amazing to see not only just how quickly gale performs the somatic component of the spell, but also his efficiency of movement compared to the standard wizard animation.

there's a world of difference here, the difference between a wizard vs a prodigy, an archwizard and chosen.

[das-a-kirby-blog]

kirby test print

[tealvenetianmask]

Blitz is going to be the death of me.

Right before the crystal, when he thinks that Stolas is really breaking up with him, he straight up begs.

"Stolas, please, I need this book. Please."

Uh huh the book . . .

"I need this book, Stolas. I will do anything.

Looking down (maybe telling himself, "I knew this was coming eventually") and then looking up, trying not to cry.

Despite . . . his everything here, I'm pretty scared that half the audience will think this is really about the book, and I'm not ready for the bad takes yet.

[bloominglegumes]

i love normal guys doomed by the narrative

[keikakudori]

what are aizen’s thoughts on love?

For his thoughts on love, Aizen's thoughts can best be described as complicated. That is, to put it lightly and to describe them in a single word. Of course, where Aizen is concerned, a single word is typically wholly inadequate.

In another vein, his thoughts on love could be that love is dangerous for him. If we're talking about strictly canon, then it's true that everyone that Aizen cares about becomes lost to him, be it through death or through his own actions. Of course, when speaking strictly canon, it's also true that one could cay that Aizen barely cares about anyone when that is not true in the least. We do see Aizen care about others, but how deep that caring actually goes or how genuine it is remains what you truly have to question when all's said and done. He doesn't care about very many people.

And when you look at the fact that the list of people he cares about isn't very long? It becomes even more tragic, honestly. The only people that he's depicted as being close to in canon are Kaname, Gin, and Shinji. That's it. That's all the people on the list, and obviously Aizen is far closer to Gin and Kaname than he is to Shinji.

So yes — Aizen's thoughts on love are that it's probably better if he doesn't love anyone. It's probably better if he doesn't let anyone love him, either. That way lies pain and a sensation of a near inevitable sort of loss. After all, if he doesn't let anyone close, then he won't hurt anyone else, even inadvertently. It's something that helps to compound the sense of loneliness and isolation that he experiences around most people.

Though he will not say so outright, Aizen did kill his own mother. It wasn't intentional. It wasn't something that he wanted. Yet he still did that. He learned it in the Academy when he and his then-classmates were learning about the necessity of controlling their reiatsu around others and training with the basic precepts of that ability. Aizen has always been a very intelligent individual, and he put the information together swiftly. He understood that her death had been his fault because of himself and his own power. It might've been that moment when he began to realize he'd not find someone else to share his views.

Yeah. Lovely, ain't it?

Outside of canon, the amount of people that Aizen cares about only has one or two other names on it; a few of the Espada, Celeste ( @fenixias ), Hiyori ( @viciousvizard ) and that really isn't much of an amount. Of course, given events in canon, the Espada that survive are left to understand he's betrayed and discarded them - such as Aizen's actions with Hallibel - and he has destroyed his relationship with Shinji and Hiyori with his Hollowification experiments.

Then there's the fact that Aizen kept the promise that Kaname asked of him and killed him as a result of that promise.

As for Gin? No. He never wanted Gin dead.

Aizen's first experience with romantic love remains his own experience of how to grow bitter and rotten thanks to how Shinji handled him and their relationship, if it could even be called a relationship. In a very specific way, he was treated almost like a mistress. He was hidden away from others. He was neglected. He was very literally kept a guilty secret with their relationship being kept under total lock and key by Shinji and his own way of treating his lieutenant, which was to say not very well. The nights were rare when Shinji would not immediately push Aizen out of bed after they'd been intimate or left on his own and they were left to sleep together until the morning light and Aizen cherished those nights deeply. But they were few and far between, happening rarely and therefore the resentment was left to build up slowly in Aizen.

He doesn't hate Shinji, not the way he used to but he does feel a certain resentment and bitterness towards him along with love. He does still love Shinji - and is still in love with him in a small way - but it's become something coarse and thorny. So it is that his first real experience with love became something twisted and, unfortunately, left a profound impact on him as a person. The impact is something that still echoes down the years and we see some of it in how Aizen treats Momo, with that seeming closeness but ultimate indifference. Shinji left Aizen damaged but not incapable of love or caring.

Kaname and Hiyori he loves as friends. It's simple. In a very real way, they're among the only friends he's ever had.

His mother he still loves with the simplicity of a child; Naoko's presence in his life is still very much there, even if he lost her when he was still barely more than a toddler. That love lingers and is unlikely to ever vanish. But the fact that he lost her during what is known as the formative years for a child also left a significant impact upon him as a person. It instilled a feeling of I'm too much; I'm suffocating; I'm too much to be around. I hurt people I care about. deep into him and his soul and that pain has been something which has shaped so much of how he views himself and his own power with resentment.

Mind you, this isn't conscious thought on his part. It's the kind of view that takes outside help to clarify or an external force to bring it into focus.

To add yet more complexity, Aizen's view of love is also that it's dangerous. This one is a more conscious line of thought, if not something that is active in his head. The knowledge of how love is dangerous ties into his emotions for and towards Gin. Aizen is aware - well aware in fact - that Gin has every ability and readiness to kill him. He's highly aware of that fact. He's also aware that if he were to ever confess his emotions towards him, that would provide the younger man with power untold over Aizen. In truth, Gin's rejection could be enough to shatter Aizen outright. Equally, Aizen does not try to show this emotion. He realized it long, long ago on a night when Gin told a stupid joke over one of their latest victims, a joke which had Aizen laughing, and then he realized. So he buried it almost immediately.

And while Aizen may not speak his feelings or even let it close to conscious thought? He does show it in his actions with Gin. He shows it in how he smiles at him indulgently when Gin's being chaotic. Sharing his food with the younger man is significant because they both come from the same sort of background in the Rukongai. He allows Gin to steal his yukata and his kiseru on a regular basis. He shows it in how he'll corner Gin in order to get medicine down his throat (and how many times he dragged him to the Fourth when Gin was really sick), accepting that he'll be fought the entire time. He shows it by sharing himself with Gin.

It is, in fact, love which spurns Aizen onwards in the canon divergent verses to display so much.

Aizen may still be in love with Hirako Shinji in a way, but that love is vastly eclipsed by what he feels for Gin. In the red!verse, this love he carries is enough to have Aizen ready to lay siege to Silbern practically on his own; the monster is there for what is his. In the f!verse, the love Aizen carries for Gin is what finally helps him to achieve Bankai for the first time in his life. In the zombie!verse, that love has become rage and Leviathan has shown itself at last to try and take Gin away from Gigi.

I know some people may not understand this kind of emotional extremism from Aizen, but he's been trapped in Muken for two years. That's two years of total isolation and sensory deprivation. He might be over-correcting, or even overcompensating. But it's equally true that Aizen does feel emotional extremes at times which is why I don't think the fact that his thoughts on love would be something that is easily clarified. He thinks it's messy. He thinks it can be ridiculous. He thinks that he's better than that foolishness. And yet he's very much a man who does feel love and is capable of loving others. He loves Gin so much that he'll break the world rather than lose him again.

tl;dr? Aizen's thoughts on love boil down to "shit's messy no thank you" whilst absolutely being in love and devoted to Gin.

[dalishious]

The Sanitized Lore of Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Tevinter is the heart of slavery in Thedas. This lore has been established in every game, novel, comic, and other extended material in the Dragon Age franchise to date that so much as mentions the nation. But in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, when we are finally able to actually visit this location for the first time… this rampant slavery we’ve heard so much about is nowhere to be found. It’s talked about here and there; Neve mentions The Viper has a history of freeing slaves, as does Rook themselves if they choose the Shadow Dragon faction as their origin, for example. But walking down the streets of Minrathous, you’d never know. Because Dragon Age: The Veilguard, for all its enjoyment otherwise, has one glaring issue: It’s too clean.

The world of Thedas is full of injustices. Humans persecute elves, fear qunari, and belittle dwarves. Mages of any race are treated like caged animals in most places. The nobility is corrupt. Although, Dragon Age has not always handled these injustices well, mind you. Many, many times I’ve found myself frustrated with moments that just feel like a Racism Simulator. But what makes it worth it, is when you can actually do something about it. These injustices are things that a good-aligned character strives to fight back against, maybe even for very personal reasons. Part of the power-fantasy for many minorities is that this fight feels tangible. I cannot arrange the assassination of a corrupt politician in real life, but I sure can get Celene Valmont stabbed to death in Dragon Age: Inquisition, for example. Additionally, these fictional injustices can be used to make statements on real life parallels, like any source of media. For example, no, the Chant of Light is not real, but acting as a stand-in for Catholicism, through a media analysis lens we can explore what the Chant of Light communicates on a figurative level.

When starting Dragon Age: The Veilguard and selecting to play as an elf – this should be unsurprising to anyone who is familiar with my bias towards them – I was fully prepared to enter the streets of Minrathous and immediately get called “knife-ear” or “rabbit”. But this did not happen. I thought perhaps it was just a prologue thing, but returning to Minrathous once again, there was not a single shred of disapproval from any NPC I encountered that wasn’t a generic enemy to fight. And even the generic enemies, the Tevinter Nationalist cult of the Venatori, didn’t seem to care at all that I was a lineage they deemed inferior before now. This is a stark difference from entering the Winter Palace in Dragon Age: Inquisition and immediately getting hit with court disapproval and insults. Are we now to believe that Tevinter has somehow solved its astronomical racism and classism problems in the ten years since the past game? Or perhaps are we to believe all the characters who have demonstrated Tevinter’s systemic discriminatory views were just lying or outliers? Because it makes absolutely no sense at all for this horribly corrupt nation to not have a shred of reactivity to an elven or qunari Rook prancing around. But here were are, and not a single NPC even recognizes my character’s lineage. And because this is so different from every single past game, it feels weird.

As an elf, you have the option to make a comment about how “too many humans look down on us” in one scene early in the game. You can also talk to Bellara and Davrin, the elven companions, about concerns that people won’t trust elves after finding out about the big bad Ancient Evanuris… but this is presented as if elves don’t already face persecution. It’s all so limited in scope that it could be all too easily missed if you are not paying very close attention, and coming into the game with pre-existing lore knowledge.

All this made it easy to first assume that the developers simply over-corrected an attempt to address the Racism Simulator moments. And if that was the case, than I would at least give credit to effort; they did not find the right balance, but they at least tried. However, the sudden lack of discrimination against different lineages in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is not the only sanitized example of lore present.

In Dragon Age: Origins, Zevran Arainai is a companion who is from the Antivan Crows; a group of assassins. He discusses in detail how the Crows buy children and raise them into murder machines through all kinds of torture. The World of Thedas books also describe how the Antivan Crows work, echoing what Zevran says and expanding that of the recruitment, only a select handful of those taken by the Crows even survive. When you start Dragon Age: The Veilguard as an Antivan Crow, you immediately unlock a re-used codex entry from the past, “The Crows and Queen Madrigal”, that says the following:

“His guild has a reputation to uphold. They are ruthless, efficient, and discreet. How would they maintain such notoriety if agents routinely revealed the names of employers with something as "banal" as torture.”

Ruthless, efficient, and discreet. Torture is banal. This is what the Crows were before Dragon Age: The Veilguard decided to take them in a very different direction. The Antivan Crows in this latest game are painted as freedom fighters against the Antaam occupation of Treviso. Teia calls the Crows “patriots”. And while I can certainly believe that the Crows would have enough motivation to fight back against the Antaam, given that it is in direct opposition to their own goals, I cannot understand why they are suddenly suggested to be morally good. They are assassins. They treat their people like tools and murder for money. Even as recent as the Tevinter Nights story Eight Little Talons, it is addressed that the Antivan Crows are in it for the coin and power, with characters like Teia being outliers for wanting to change that. It makes the use of the older codex all the more confusing, as it sets the Antivan Crows up as something they are no longer portrayed as.

I personally think it would have been really interesting to explore a morally corrupt faction in comparison to say, the Shadow Dragons. Perhaps even as a protagonist, address things like the enslavement of “recruits” to make the faction at least somewhat better. (They are still assassins, after all.) Instead, we’re just supposed to ignore everything unsavory about them, I suppose…

We could discuss even further examples. Like how the Lords of Fortune pillage ruins but it’s okay, because they never sell artifacts of cultural importance, supposedly. Or how the only problem with the Templar Order in Tevinter is just the “bad apples” that work with Venatori. I could go on, but I don’t think I have to.

It is because of all this sanitization, that I cannot believe this was simply over-correction on a developmental part. Especially when there is still racism in the game, in other forms. The impression I’m left with feels far deeper than that; it feels corporate. As if a computer ran through the game’s script and got rid of anything with “too much” political substance. The strongest statements are hidden in codex entries, and I almost suspect they had to be snuck in.

Between a Racism Simulator and just ignoring anything bad whatsoever, I believe a balance is achievable; that sweet spot that actually has something to say about what it is presenting. I know it is achievable, because there are a few bright spots of this that I’ve encountered in Dragon Age: The Veilguard too. For example, some of the codex entries like I mentioned, and almost all the content with the Grey Wardens thus far. It is a shame there is not more content on this level.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is overall still a fun game, in my opinion. But it’s hard to argue that it isn’t missing the grit of its predecessors. The sharp edges have been smoothed. The claws have been removed. The house has been baby-proofed. And for what purpose?

-----

Want to support me writing more essays like this? Become a Patron!

[thepersonperson]

Why the hell is JJK 270 called Dream's End?

JJK 270 being titled Dream’s End is so fudging ominous. That’s some Umineko type beat. I’m not sure if I should even judge this chapter as presented because of this. In fact, I'm holding off on posting the other analysis I had for today since I no longer am certain of what JJK 268–270 are.

There's two lines of thought I have:

1) Gege suffering from burnout and bad working conditions plus rushing has caused the writing to decline.

2) Gege still has a hidden ace saved for the final chapter and the weird writing is deliberate.

I'm going to humor Option 2, but only because the title of this chapter is called Dream's End.

(The most 'hear me out' discussion under the cut. Using TCB scans and leaks. Click images for captions/citations.)

[Small Update: Follow-up Discussion on why everyone feels OOC.]

Preface

"Without love it cannot be seen."

This is a phrase and philosophy I have borrowed from Umineko since I've started these JJK yapfests. It essentially boils down to 'discard your negative biases and try to examine things in good faith.'

JJK 268 & 269 have fudging tested that for me. I've been giving Gege and the characters a pretty hard time with the caveat of knowing how exploitative the manga industry is. I initially rejected the idea that these chapters were to be taken at anything other than face-value because of this. In fact, I cited the JJK 268 chapter title of Finale as a reason I've accepted things as is.

And with that same logic, I'm now doing the opposite... So hear me out! I've got some pretty good reasons to be doing this.

What's wrong with JJK 268–270?

There's a lot of things in these chapters that are fundamentally inconsistent with what's been established in throughout the manga. If we use Option 1 to explain these contradictions, these are last second retcons because Gege forgor.

Option 2? We're about to have the rug pulled the hell out from under us because the last 3 chapters have been delusions.

What first tipped me off to something possibly being wrong on purpose was the fate of the incarnated culling game players in JJK 270. Not too long ago it was established that the souls of non-sorcerers in vessels were unsavable.

The souls are suppressed in a way that distorts them permanently or their consciousness is outright destroyed. They were gambling on Megumi's survival due to him being a sorcerer and Sukuna's incarnation method being unique. 99% of them will die and those who survive will likely be vegetables, so why is there a sudden gamble on their survival in JJK 270?

It's such a neat and fine bow to tie this mess up that goes directly against existing lore. It's so ideal that it has me suspicious.

Brain damage from sorcery on non-sorcerers has been established as extremely taxing. I think about Gojo's Unlimited Void (UV) the most when it comes to this. Non-sorcerers were hit by it for 0.2 seconds and required medical intervention for 2 months to fully heal from it. Sukuna, the absolute strongest, tanked some of it and it affected him for the rest of the battle. ...And then we have Megumi who was under it for about 6 minutes and seems to have very little problems from it.

This is bizarre. Someone who underwent the month long bath and UV without Reverse Curse Technique (RCT) should be struggling to even stand after waking up. Sukuna had RCT and the Gojo brain damage still took him out. This screams of inconsistent writing unless...this is a deliberate hint that something is amiss.

I want to draw attention to the panel Megumi's UV damage is addressed. Just about everyone has been seemingly waiting around in the same spot for him to wake up. It's a bit weird given that sorcerers don't usually do that. They usually get a move on asap. And after the destruction of Shinjuku and the Culling Game Players still running about, why would they take a breather to discuss their plans that worked?

But that's not what started bothering me about that panel after reading JJK 270. It's that characters who aren't in the room, start appearing without warning. Look who is behind Maki and to the left. It's Kusakabe. And to her and Yuta's right? Inumaki. So why is it that Hakari, Kiara, and Ino are in Kusakabe's place while Todo spawns where Inumaki is? (And Yuta is facing the wrong direction too.)

That's pretty fudging weird right? You can chalk it up to Gege forgor but it doesn't stop there. Higuruma enters the discussion in a way that causes Yuji to pause.

Why is Yuji surprised to see him? (And where the fudge did he come from?) Shouldn't he know of his survival by now? And why is he in a cast? Higuruma had learned RCT and fully restored his arms before leaving the battlefield. If he's conscious, then he should be able to heal himself fully no problems.

And that got me thinking... Why is Yuji still missing his fingers?

It was established that he kept his fingers unhealed to help with Yuta's plan. This means that if he won, he has no need to keep them missing. Yuji has fully regenerated missing chunks of his face, including his eye, and stomach. He has RCT just like Higuruma. But it doesn't end there either. Yuji's number of fingers on his left hand keeps changing.

4 fingers, 3 fingers, dubious amount of fingers, 5 fingers. Once again, you can chalk it up to Gege forgor, but JJK 270 came out and the same problem started happening with Megumi's scars.

The same mistake is made within the same set of panels and very big page. That's weird.

ONCE AGAIN, you can chalk it up to Gege forgor, but when these errors occur, like with Yuta mistakenly having his ring on in JJK 251, Gege will note the mistake outright. Gege has made no such comments for Yuji's fingers or the scars. This many “errors” in row when Gege has otherwise been careful with these features could indicate it really is on purpose. (Kind of like Sukuna's everchanging mask. The thing was just moving around and pulsing. That was deliberate not inconsistency.)

What does this mean?

I think it means what we are seeing isn't reality. After all, the most common way to tell if you're dreaming is being unable to count the number of fingers on your hands. Another way to tell is the distortion of faces.

Readers have noticed that something is wrong. The weird timeskips, the lack of lasting consequences, design inconsistencies, characters behaving like similes of themselves, death and pain being glossed over like it's nothing. It all feels so off. But it's still close enough to the original to be somewhat believable. ...Is that not what it's like to dream and not know you are dreaming?

Why is it that the chapter titled Dream's End ends with the hunt for a curse user whose ability is to distort the perception of reality?

Dreams and Delusions in JJK

We already know Gege weaves Buddhist symbolism and ideas heavily into JJK. I'm not an expert in Buddhism at all, so there's a lot of it that goes over my head. I decided to look into if dreams are significant in Buddhism and boy howdy are they. Quoted directly from the source:

"Dreams can be a message from a Bodhisattva, an ancestor, or a god, The intent of the dream may be to test the dreamer’s resolve: is he non-retreating (avaivartika) from Bodhi (enlightenment) even when sleeping? The purpose of the dream visit may be to communicate information vital to the dreamer’s well-being. The Buddha himself had five dreams of catastrophes, falling stars and worlds in collision just before his enlightenment. The dreams were sent to him not by a benevolent Dharma-protector, but by an malevolent sorcerer, intent on disrupting the Buddha’s samadhi and preventing his awakening."

In summary, (correct me if I'm wrong) dreams appear to be seen as another state of being just as valuable and impermanent as reality.

There's also this other bit I'll quote directly.

"The most common use of dreams in the literature of the Mahayana, or “Northern School” of Buddhism in China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam is to see dreams as a simile for sunyata, (emptiness) the hollow core at the heart of all component dharmas (things). For example, in the well-known Vajra (Diamond) Sutra, the Buddha taught that:

“All conditioned dharmas, are like a dream, like an illusion, like a bubble, like a shadow, like a dewdrop, like a lightening flash; you should contemplate them thus.”"

That's starting to sound like what Yuji's Domain does, right? He projects memories that did happen and mixes them with delusions and dreams. Sukuna and Megumi both experience this in full.

It's incredibly suspicious that it hasn't been named yet. Yuji is the son of Kenjaku who has a domain based on the Womb Sutra/Realm...which is paired with the aforementioned Diamond Realm to encompass the entire Dharma. It's very likely this is what Yuji's domain is—a realm of dreams and reality combined as one.

Unreality Runs in the Family

When Sasaki Setsuko "wakes up" as the Culling Games begin, Kenjaku explains her situation with this:

What follows is a sequence that cannot be described as a dream. It seems to be a blend of reality and hallucinations. But that's not anything strange, Sukuna does it too with Kashimo in reverse.

As you can see, both the positions of the characters and even the backgrounds change suddenly from reality to ??? and from sequence to sequence. It's all incredibly dream like.

Another strange thing about this space is Kenjaku creating it as a part of an escape route Binding Vow. You know, the kind Sukuna uses for Malevolent Shrine.

What I want to draw attention to here is this reality-dream state somewhat requires consent (in the loosest possible definition) to appear. The person entering this state has to desire it themself. We see this with Jogo and Gojo who are mutually interested in having a relationship of somekind with Sukuna. (Same with Kashimo.)

(It's also very hard to tell if they are dead or still in the process of dying during this.)

This is where the delusions Yuji projects differ. They are forced onto others when he is near death or severely injured, seemingly as a defense mechanism.

And would you look at that...the syntax is identical for Todo and Choso's Brother Yuji Delusions. "At that moment, a memory was born inside X's brain...of a past event that never happened." It's kind of like how Yuji replaces Gojo in Megumi's memory to reach him. It's also very strange that Sukuna, Choso, and Jogo go "What is this?" to this in-between space.

My point here is that Yuji having access to this space has been hinted at since the start of this manga and that it was inherited it by blood. (Totally Not Kenjaku showing up with Takaba Mr. Reality Warping CT in JJK 270 supports my case too I think.)

What does this mean for JJK 268–270?

The battle ended in JJK 268. Of that I'm certain. What I no longer know is if anyone survived.

A common complaint about Sukuna's death is his lack of an afterlife scene. Everything ended so abruptly. And then Megumi wakes up.

It's so jarring in out of place. ...But that's how all scenes involving the space between dreams and reality begin. Sasaki Setsuko "wakes up" once and then again. Most of us have experienced those kind of dreams right? (They made a whole movie about it called Inception which is based on the movie Paprika.)

There's one other thing I need to draw attention to. Yuji's Domain shattered after Sukuna cast Domain Expansion (DE).

When a sorcerer withdraws their domain voluntarily, it does not shatter. Gojo has demonstrated this for us in quite clearly.

When a domain is broken by force, it will shatter and shards will scatter. When a domain is withdrawn, no shards are left behind. Yuta uses these facts as a part of his plan. In JJK 252, it's revealed by Kusakabe that Yuta shatters his own domain on purpose to trick Sukuna into thinking he won.

What this means is that some kind of violent action needs to be taken to shatter a domain. Yuji's domain is massive and his attacks only targeted Sukuna. What could've shattered his domain all at once? He's not had the time to practice shattering parts of it like Yuta.

Gojo has shown us what a uniform domain shattering looks like—it happens when Malevolent Shrine activates. (Please note that the sfx used for Sukuna breaking Gojo's domain is カシャア. It's the same one used for Yuji's domain shattering.)

I'm proposing that we've been in unreality since the end of JJK 266. Sukuna and Yuji are both severely injured, on the verge of death, and have a connection with each other. These are all conditions that trigger the space between dreams and reality.

And I must remind you that Yuji first triggers this event with Todo after a severe head injury. Right before Sukuna casts his domain, they do this to each other.

Everything that has come after has been perfect for Yuji to a unbelievable degree. Everyone whose death was uncertain is alive and the living are getting exactly what they wanted. The effort behind it and the logistics are all missing. And yes a rushed ending can explain that, but that too can be part of the ruse.

Another massive complaint is that mourning has not occurred. Not for Gojo or Choso despite how much Yuji cherished them. It's like they're being willfully forgotten by the cast despite being crucial to their success in Shinjuku. It feels out of character, especially since Yuji is of the few that showed concern for them no matter what.

But if this is a delusion on the brink of death designed to bring happiness, why would Yuji think of the dead? He's always been so avoidant with it. When his grandpa is dying and trying to talk about his parents, Yuji tells him to shut up. When Nanami dies, he thinks of him then and then never again directly leading up to his talk with Sukuna. When Megumi tries to discuss Nobara's fate, Yuji ends the conversation as quickly as possible.

The only people in this world are the ones who may or may not be dead. He saw Yuta in Gojo's corpse. The only way that can happen is if Gojo is dead. Yuji has no choice but to believe it. Choso burned away before his eyes. Yuji has no choice but to believe it. He went through some of Megumi's memories and saw Tsumiki's corpse. Yuji has no choice but to believe it.

And since Tsumiki is the only person Yuji wasn't close with, she's the only death that has been outright acknowledged. But not for too long! That would make Megumi sad.

Another complaint is that Sukuna really didn't kill anyone in the final battle outside of those two and Kashimo. The dudebros call it Disney Kaisen. But the fairytale-like idea that everyone is ok? Todo was the one who put that idea in Yuji's head.

And Yuji has always been one to fall to story-like logic when things look like they're finally wrapping up.

"And then everything will be just fine." (Yuji before the worst possible outcome for both him and Megumi happens.)

This is similar to the line Gakuganji uses in JJK 270. "Everything is fine." This line is the whole reason I sat down and wrote this all out without stopping. I know Gakuganji. He'd never say that. This man has been in a state of worry over Jujutsu Society since his first appearance. He doesn't even fully believe in Gojo's cause as someone who values tradition. He's a stickler for details and will do everything in his power to ensure stability. For him to toss Sukuna and Tengen's remains in a shrine and call it a day? Who is that? He's changed but not that much.

And so I compared the raws.

It is very much the same 大丈夫 (Daijoubu). These are Yuji's words.

What I'm proposing is that JJK 267–270 are Yuji's delusions of the happiest possible ending. It's a picture perfect little end where all the trauma and death has no effect on the living and people move on like nothing happened. I don't know if this means he's dead or if Megumi's dead or if they're all dead. But what I'm seeing now? I don't think it's real.

Reexamining JJK 269

CW: Brief discussion of suicide.

Even if this turns out to be a part of the smokescreen, I'm always going to hate JJK 269. But I do want to give it some grace under the assumption this chapter titled Examination (which can also be translated as Reflection) is about Yuji's guilt. Both him and Megumi's tbh. I think their feelings for each other and their situations are driving these delusions. That's one thing about this space that's real—the feelings behind them.

Yuji has a lot of guilt surrounding his existence after ingesting Sukuna, Megumi does too. Straight up Yuji has been seeking death over it since JJK 9.

He struggles to forgive himself for being the centerpiece to violence he had little to no control over. The only thing that upsets him more than that is knowing that his death will break Megumi's heart. He doesn't want Megumi to feel any guilt for it whatsoever.

The kicker is, Megumi already knows Yuji is planning to die. And he wants to do everything to rid him of that guilt. Up until they connect inside of Yuji's domain, they were unaware they shared the same goal for each other.

And that's what JJK 269 is. It's a very cold and harsh breakdown that allows them to forgive themselves. Blame is passed around and ultimately pinned on a combination of Gojo and Kenjaku. (It's really weird Sukuna isn't blamed either, but that's not the point of this for now.)

Kusakabe's comment is especially harsh. Telling Yuji point blank he should've died and that both sides on the issue were valid? He may have believed that to an extent, but he made a point of not telling it to his face. Why have a whole chapter discussing how kind he is only to turn around and do this?

If this is all a delusion, a manifestation of Yuji's guilt and trying to absolve himself of it for Megumi's sake, that makes sense. This version of Kusakabe is what Yuji feels guilt over the most—Everyone's lives being better if he died.

In the same breath Kusakabe tells them to solely blame the adults. It's very reminiscent of Nanami telling Yuji that being a child is not a sin.

It should also be noted that every single time Megumi tries to apologize for being possessed, he's stopped. Maki tears into Yuta without checking in on him, but she asks if Megumi is ok and tells him to not blame himself. JJK 270 is full of this too. He tries to apologize to Tsumiki at her grave and Shoko tells him not to sweat it. He tries to apologize to Hana and she hits on him instead.

This delusion is crafted out of love. It allows Megumi to live in a world where he can move on from the guilt surrounding his possession and saving Yuji. It's all Yuji has ever wanted for him. And now that Yuji knows Megumi wants him to forgive himself, he has no choice but to do that too.

It's a perfect ending for Megumi that's too good to be true.

It must be a dream...

There's another thing I can't reconcile about JJK 269 unless it's a delusion—Todo's explanation for Yuta's plan. It's another one of those glaring contradictions.

In JJK 269 Todo claims Boogie Woogie can't target Maki. But in JJK 259? Todo makes plans with Mei Mei knowing that it works with her.

Either Todo lied...or Yuji never fully knew the plan and that Boogie Woogie could target Maki. Otherwise she would be dead. Her surviving Sukuna's flames would be impossible.

I've already talked about how Yuji believing those who may or may not be dead are alive is Todo's doing. He's always been the one to save Yuji from his breakdowns. But let's talk about his speech in Shibuya.

"Looking for meaning or logic in death...can at times defile the memories of those we've lost!"

Everyone who has read these past 3 chapters has really felt the defiling of Gojo's memory. And it was all in service to a strange logic that helped them cope with all this death. Acknowledging how massive Gojo's sacrifice was would riddle both Yuji and Megumi with immense guilt, so it's best to ignore it for Megumi's sake. (And perhaps that's why Yuji replaces Gojo in that memory.)

"What have you been entrusted with? You don't need to answer right now. However... Until you find your answer, never stop moving."

In a way, JJK 269 is an answer to the question Todo proposed. Yuji was entrusted with saving Megumi. Saving Megumi requires Megumi and Yuji forgiving themselves. And Yuji won't stop moving until it's done. All these time jumps and rushed developments are Yuji moving Megumi forward. He's getting that happy ending even if it's to the detriment of everything else.

What about Sukuna?

When Sukuna respects his opponents and they have a connection, he gives others these dreams before they pass. He's been very impressed by Megumi since JJK 9. It's not out of the ballpark for him to allow Megumi to die satisfied in the way Gojo did. Yuji also seems to understand that Sukuna was manipulated by others just as much as he was. I think that's why Sukuna is spared of the blame for the most part.

I don't think Sukuna won. He's probably dead. But he did warn Yuji not to underestimate him. I think the worst absolute last fudge you to Yuji he could give is this happy ending dream before ripping it all away as he dies.

In Conclusion...

I'm not sure that we're going to get that happy ending. Reggie Star warned us not too long ago.

"...it all comes down to a sorcerer's lies."

Reggie is a lot like Sukuna here, outwitted by modern sorcerers and dying to someone he loathes. Sukuna is good at tricking people. He let Gojo think he won before tearing it all away. Yuta did the exact same thing to him. Or did he?

"Can you do me a favor? After all, you've killed me. Let fate toy with you, become a clown, then die."

If the last 3 chapters are delusions...Megumi will be playing the part of a clown.

Gege said the manga would end with either 1/4 or 3/4 of Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, and Gojo surviving. This of course, could be changed throughout its development, but Gege said the manga is ending in its original vision. There's a real chance that it's only Yuji or Nobara surviving.

Remember, Gege is a troll first and foremost. Somehow Gojo was revived, but in the worst way possible (Yujo). Somehow Gojo did tell Megumi about Toji, but in the worst way possible (dead man's final letter).

Gege also said this about the final chapter:

"I am working hard to create a final chapter that will (hopefully) satisfy as many people as possible who have supported Jujutsu Kaisen. So everyone, please bear with me!"

I can't think of a better way to appease everyone than by making the last 3 chapters nothing more than dream.

[shellem15]

Can I just say, I really appreciate how Critical Role plays the Devil trope straight. There's been this phenomena in a lot of modern media (I'm not going to mention specifics but I'm sure a few examples pop up in people's minds) where Hell and the Devil aren't scary or malevolent forces. Hell is portrayed as being basically the same as our world just "edgier", and the Devil is a pretty decent guy actually. Heaven are secretly the real bad guys!

But Critical Role doesn't do that. In Exandria, Asmodeus *feels* like the Devil. He's malevolent and manipulative and terrifyingly powerful and he hates you, personally. We never see that type of portrayal anymore! And it's amazing! And he still manages to be sympathetic and tragic without losing his edge!

And the "Good Gods" are portrayed as flawed without being secretly evil or something! Like, actual nuance? In my Heaven/Hell dichotomy? What!?

It's just such a breath of fresh air after so many "The Devil was right, actually" stories. So props to Matt and Brennan and the cast.

[biboomerangboi]

Hua Cheng essentially cockblocking himself for possibly all of eternity will literally never not be the funniest thing MXTX ever wrote.

Xie Lian was pretty much completely in love with him the second he saw those lanterns (and completely oblivious about it) and then we get the wonderful first kiss underwater moment and Xie Lian is basically drawing hearts around Hua Cheng every time he sees him. While like quietly dying cause he literally has no idea what to do with it. Like at this point he doesn’t even really understand that he is head over heels totally gone for this man.

Until Hua Cheng is like I have a beloved I just haven’t won them over yet. Which he thinks is perfectly reasonable because his self esteem is the worst and he doesn’t understand how he could have won Xie Lian over yet. (He’s only on step 22 of his Marrying Dianxia 3000 step Master Plan ((that he debates throwing out on a regular basis because he doesn’t deserve to even dream about wanting Xie Lian)). So course he’s like yeah I have this wonderful noble beautiful beloved I just haven’t won them over yet wink wink nudge nudge.

But Xie Lian is like oh of course obviously I don’t deserve nice things and fuck I actually wanted him so badly I’m actually in love with him and now I will resign myself to never being happy for his sake. (Their combined self esteem is truly a so low it’s a hole in the ground which is hilarious because they think the other person is to good for them and unattainable forever because they literally have the same neurosis.) So he starts boxing up his feelings forever constantly wanting Hua Cheng and feeling guilty about it and literally dying inside because he wants Hua Cheng like he’s never wanted anyone.

Like essentially books 3 and 5 only happen because Hua Cheng has now cursed them both by saying he has a beloved because Xie Lian believes he isn’t wanted and therefore any nice thing Hua Cheng does is just him being nice and not Hua Cheng pulling out steps 23-34 of his plan thinking he still hasn’t won Xie Lian over. (He has he so has but he shot himself in the foot so badly it’s painful to read).

Like thank the Gods Hua Cheng is so unhinged and created the cave of 10000 Gods cause Xie Lian would literally be at his own wedding to Hua Cheng still convinced he wanted someone else and this was in fact a thing they were doing to solve a case together otherwise.

Like he needed something that unhinged to put 2 and 2 together otherwise he never would have caught on he’s Hua Cheng’s beloved. Meanwhile Hua cheng is like 🥺 he’s going to think I’m a weirdo now and I’m only on step 50 of the plan 🥺 like the two of them wouldn’t have been fucking nasty 2 books ago if he just kept his mouth shut and didn’t cockblock himself so violently.