#negator basket

[tokiro07]

I’ve said a few times in the past that Undead Unluck was basically if Fruits Basket was a action shonen instead of a slice of life shoujo. Whether if that comparison still holds weight or not, do you think you could give some of the Fruits Basket cast some negation abilities if it’s possible please?

Not all of them of course, just the ones that you feel you can have the easiest time figuring out with. Thank you for taking the time to read this regardless.

Only a small portion of characters actually have something that resembles a power aside from the transformation abilities, so where there isn't a power, I'm going to take inspiration from their personalities, actions or character arcs

Tohru, Unaffected- negates the effects of other Negator abilities that target her

Kyo, Unhuman- negates his own humanity, turning him into a monster; because of his own interpretation of the monster as his true self, he is able to seal it away with his prayer beads, believing them to work as a sort of glamour; though he won't turn into his monster form with the seal, he can still turn into a cat when not in control of his emotions

Yuki, Unaffiliated - negates emotional connections with others; while others may want to form a connection with him, the act of trying to do so will be met with a feeling of emotional distance, as if there is some kind of mental wall preventing the connection from being made; turns into a rat with Artifact Ratatouille

Hatsuharu, Unrestrained - negates his own self-restraint, causing him to act without inhibition; because of his interpretation, this manifests as a split personality rather than a constant state of wonton violence and debauchery; turns into a cow with Artifact Raging Bull [Note: I considered Cowboy Bebop]

Kisa, Untell - negates her ability to communicate with others, resulting in her inability to speak; turns into a tiger with Artifact Life of Pi

Momiji, Unfamiliar- negates Momiji's "family;" the closer a family member is to Momiji, the more distant they will feel, manifesting in his own parents being completely unaware of his existence; the Sohma family is widespread enough that Momiji identifies them more as his community than his family, allowing them to be aware of him; turns into a rabbit with Artifact Watership Down

Hatori, Unremember - negates a target's memories; turns into a sea dragon with Artifact How to Train Your Dragon

Ayame, Unashamed - negates any sense of shame within Ayame, allowing him to act in any way that he pleases without guilt or fear of repercussions; similar to Hatsuharu's Unrestrained, but where Unrestrained forces one to act on impulse and without thought, Unashamed allows one to commit to their actions with absolute conviction; turns into a snake with Artifact Snake Eyes

Rin, Untrusting - negates her ability to trust others; this manifests as immediate disbelief in what others say or claim they will do; can be viewed as an internal-targeting version of Yuki's Unafilliated; turns into a horse with Artifact Secretariat

Hiro, Unkind - negates his own ability to be kind, causing him to be rude or mean to people; because of his youth and lack of understanding of what it means to be truly unkind, Hiro manages not to act explicitly cruel, though maturity runs the risk of corrupting his personality through his interpretation; turns into a sheep with Artifact Shaun the Sheep

Ritsu, Uncalm - negates feelings of calm in Ritsu, causing him to feel constant anxiety, fear and panic; turns into a monkey with Artifact Planet of the Apes

Kureno, Unbound - negates Kureno's bonds; because of his circumstances, this refers specifically to his loyalty to Akito, making him capable of disobeying Akito; turns into a bird with Artifact Chicken Run

Shigure, Undoubt - negates feelings of doubt towards Shigure in others, making them easier to manipulate; Rin's Untrusting makes her immune to this ability; turns into a dog with Artifact Shaggy Dog

Kagura, Unmatched - negates her ability to be matched in combat by increasing her physical strength beyond normal levels; turns into a boar with Artifact Pig in the Big City

Akito, Unquestion - negates any feelings of defiance or disloyalty that a target may have toward Akito under the condition that they are viewed as beneath Akito; in this case, as Akito is the head of the Sohma Family, this applies to all members of the Sohma Family

Hana, Unhidden - negates the ability of others to hide things from Hana, which by her interpretation manifests as the ability to read the waves emanating from a target

[teyums]

neteyam with a pregnant mate ; headcanons

a/n: he’s so husband agahshdjfj

NETEYAM is the kind of mate to immediately notice when you’re beginning to grow tired of standing on sore feet while he’s having a conversation with the other warriors. It’s so easy for him to tell, just from a change in the weight of the breaths you draw into your lungs and the few experimental shifts you make from one hip to the other, trying to see which position brings you the most relief. Out of the corner of his eye, he’ll watch as you go to cradle the underside of your rounded belly with a supportive forearm and sigh as quietly as possible, and without hesitation he’ll lower himself to one knee, and use a gentle hand on your lower back to guide you to sit sideways on his thigh, a makeshift way for you to rest your tired joints while you wait. You’re much too weary to protest, and more than grateful as a relieved sigh immediately pulls from your lips from the ability to relax. There’s never a break in the conversation he’s having whilst he does this, as it’s such an instinctive thing for him to do as a soon to be father and an attentive mate. Tending to you is never a disruption for him.

NETEYAM is the kind of mate who returns from a hunt after hours of strenuous labor, and instead of focusing on the plate of food that sits hot and steaming right in front of him, he’s more worried about whether you’ve eaten instead. His fatigue manifests itself in the way his shoulders slouch, and he hasn’t even removed his gear before he’s asking you how your day has gone, perhaps to distract you from how obvious it is that he’s babying his left arm which could only mean that he skipped his visit to Tsahik’s tent in order to come straight home to you. You’ll fix his plate the way you know he likes, only for him to coax you into his lap and inquire if you and the baby, or his ‘little girl’ (who, mind you, he has yet to find out the gender of, he just has a feeling) have eaten yet as he rubs a gentle caress over your swollen abdomen. And when you tell him no, you haven’t eaten today, that you were busy tidying things up and so focused on making sure his dinner was ready on time that you must have forgotten, his pretty features churn into a display of such discontentment you’re not even sure of what he’ll say next. He clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth, that simply won’t do, he’s decided as he picks up a seared piece of the tapirus you just prepared, and prompts you to open your mouth for it with a pointed stare. He’s not interested in hearing any negation from you, and just as your lips part to give him one, he pops it into your mouth and sits back, pleased at how your reaction to the taste of your own cooking compliments just how good at it you are.

NETEYAM is the kind of mate who refuses to let you carry anything the moment he receives the news you’re with child. Willingly disregarding his duties for just a moment whenever he witnesses you pacing by, he sees you with a basket of freshly folded towels on your hip, and he just can’t help himself as he swiftly plucks it from your grasp. You ensure him that it’s light as feathers, that you’re more than capable of continuing to enact your duties throughout the clan regardless of the life beginning to grow inside you. And he knows you are, it’s just that you shouldn’t have to, and while sometimes you may feel a bit smothered by his overbearing need to care for you, it’s all the more endearing how even with all the weight set on his shoulders, he’s beyond dedicated to balance just a little bit more for you.

NETEYAM is the kind of mate who insists on spending quality time with you before bed, constantly finding different ways to bond with you aside from the usual. From pressing his ear to your belly as he sings lullabies to get the little feet in your belly to stop kicking, or having conversations with your unborn child who he swears can actually hear him (she could, and definitely recognized his voice the moment he’d gotten her to stop crying after you gave birth a few months later), to massaging whatever part of you aches or twinges even if his joints are screaming for the same attention. Eventually, you’ll manage to convince him to switch spots with you, having him lay flat on his stomach as you straddle his back just for him knock out and produce one of the loudest snores you’ve ever heard from him the moment you’d dug the heels of your hands into the tense muscles of his shoulder blades.

likes, comments, and reblogs are very appreciated 💗

[donkeys-waffles]

Also, also...

This has been a recent brainworm of mine and I'm tired of it so I'm passing the baton onto you, you're so welcome.

Every time AFO dies, it's the same reaction. If you hate DFO you use it as an excuse to negate the theory, if you love DFO you have mixed opinions (mostly disappointment,) but what's consistent is that everyone always thinks it's the end, there's a majority of people that I've seen not question it.

I'm so envious of these people because it's like AFO never gave them trust issues.

This man is a cockroach, not a wolf, or even a dragon like you'd think. That bitch is cockroach. And here's a list of his deaths to prove it.

First fight with All Might, he legally died but was resurrected. This man's entire skull was crushed and still came back.

Fight with Bakugou where he blinked out of existence with rewind.

And now his vestige dies with Tomura in his fight with Izuku.

THREE DEATHS... Three times has he died, and two of those times he was revived in some way. This is also a man who fears death, who has PTSD from his fight with All Might, who made himself immortal to escape death. This man doesn't normally appear places himself, he doesn't do his own dirty work, when it comes to fights, often. He always does it at a distance. He's terrified of death, despite his strength. That alone makes him having clones, (not even just one,) very logical. It's almost out of character of him to NOT have clones. When he makes multiple plans, as seen in Kamino, he always has multiple avenues to his goals. He's known for his backup plans, like with Tomura, he also had Dabi and other kids from the orphanage. He's determined and calculating, he'd not likely to use such a risky avenue to achieve what he wants, not without a solid backup plan. And his vestige in Tomura isn't a solid enough backup plan to fall back on. A lot can go wrong there, as we've seen. He died before he even got close to him, and Tomura's hatred was too strong to take control over.

Who in their right mind, who's supposed to be extremely intelligent put all your eggs in one basket considering his fears, considering his 200-year-old goals.

I think it's very plausible for him to have a clone, and this bitch has died and came back WAY too many times for me to host a funeral.

[intogenshin]

The Roles of Atheist and Priest: Balance of Faith between Alhaitham and Cyno

The profoundest eternal questions are met only with a boundless and eternal silence

This line in Alhaitham’s teaser is a reference to a poem by Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore in the collection titled Stray Birds.

Tagore’s work is deeply religious in nature (heh) as it is largely influenced by the creation myths of the Rig Veda.

The recurring theme of nature, present throughout the entirety of Stray Birds, expresses and explores the relationship between man and spirituality in the tradition of Indian literature:

(...) when Tagore writes of nature —of birds, trees, a singular blade of grass, a sunset, sunrise, a boat ride, a fading view of water— while all of these external objects belonging to the natural world may make Tagore appear much like western Romantic poets, such as Wordsworth or Yeats, Tagore’s mission is actually quite different. In Tagore, what is expressed is a thoughtful relationship of poet to sacred text, of poet to the mythical or cosmological origins of the world. In Tagore, love of nature equates at one level to love of God; for, in recognizing the worth of the natural world, one is giving assent to the fact that there is a God who created it. (...) in Stray Birds Tagore writes: “To-night there is a stir among the palm leaves, as well as in the sea Full Moon, like the heart throb of the world From what unknown sky hast thou carried in thy silence the aching secret of love?” The lines echo the concept from the creation hymns wherein the sacred text posits that no one knows how creation came to be because no one witnessed it except for the creator God itself, and who can truly know this God but to seek him? As if this were not enough, also in Stray Birds, we read Tagore’s development of this concept as he writes: ”God comes to me in the dusk of my evening with the flowers from my past kept fresh in his basket” This is the mind of a religious poet at work, not a Romantic poet.

—Love of Creation and Mysticism in Tagore’s Gitanjali and Stray Birds, by Paula Hayes

Silence is another major element of Tagore’s exploration of nature as the connection with god, which represents divine wisdom through introspection:

This power of silence is attributed to its heavenly origins. Silence is the voice of God, as well as the place where everyone finds and worships his god: ”God’s silence ripens man’s thoughts into speech” In another poem, this eternal silence of Heaven is juxtaposed with the eternal quest of earthly creatures, a process that affirms the superiority of the former as the ultimate province of trust, beyond the doctrines and divisions created by the mind with their ensuing doubt and uncertainty: ”What language is thine, O sea?” ”The language of eternal question” ”What language is thy answer, O sky?” ”The language of eternal silence” (...) Silence, therefore, is not merely a recurrent theme in the poems of Tagore, nor is it a distinct element that can be extracted from the rest of the poem. It is organically interwoven with other elements, establishing the unity of the poem, its coherence and its uniqueness as well.

—Language of eternal silence, by Muhhammad Hesham

In the poem referenced in Alhaitham’s teaser, the “eternal question” represents man’s quest to find meaning through spirituality, while the “eternal silence” represents introspection and a connection with the wisdom of God.

The role of eternal question fits a character like Alhaitham perfectly: one who seeks wisdom for personal fulfillment, but it is also one that questions this eternal silence —the word of god. One who raises questions against belief, not for the sake of negation, but understanding. An ethical atheist, if you will.

Alhaitham’s ideological worldview of individualism is inspired by the work of Max Stirner, originator of egoist anarchy. Stirner is highly critical of religion, but he also looks down on atheists of his time for replacing the god of western religion with morality and humanism. For him, true freedom can only be achieved through individualism.

Whether then the one God or the three in one. whether the Lutheran God or the être suprême or not God at all, but “Man,” may represent the highest essence, that makes no difference at all for him who denies the highest essence itself, for in his eyes those servants of a highest essence are one and all — pious people, the most raging atheist not less than the most faith-filled Christian.

—The Ego and Its Own, by Max Stirner

Stirner doesn’t seem concerned with denying the existence of god, but rather with the origin and care of his own desires, centering himself instead of “man” as a collective or an idea. He does not act for the good of anyone but himself (or that’s his ideal, at least).

Here’s where Haitham deviates from Stirner’s egoism. He’s not concerned with archons and he does favor individual comfort over Kaveh’s altruism, and he’s not afraid nor ashamed of trespassing conventional rules or institutional laws to get what he wants, but he does recognize the importance of order in society.

Sumeru is the nation ruled by the god of wisdom, so wisdom and knowledge can be understood as the fruit of worship for the archon. Akademiya rules are, much like in religion, a moral code that shapes the ideal believer and punishes those who break the order upheld under these rules. Funny enough, the Akademiya’s original Chinese name is (according to the wiki) Sumeru Institute of Religious Decree —the religious context is lost on the English translation.

Understanding the Akademiya as an allegorical religious institution, Cyno serves as a guardian of the principles and moral code of this church. His historical predecessor is none other than priest Kasala, after all, who was a faithful follower of the Scarlet King (that he calls his “eternal lord”) and later aided Rukkhadevata.

Cyno’s priest-like figure is a fair counterpart to Alhaitham’s atheist: when the ethical atheist raises questions, it is the duty of the priest to answer on behalf of the divine.

The eternal question, an introspective search for answers and meaning; the eternal silence, the wisdom of divine scripture.

Alhaitham and Cyno are the only characters in Sumeru having an association with the theme of silence, especially Cyno. Alhaitham through Tagore’s poem and the description in his default outfit in which a member of the Temple of Silence warns the listener not to bother him if he’s wearing his headphones; and Cyno through direct references in his lore as well as his official affiliation to the Temple.

Much like in Tagore’s poem, the exchange of question and silence is not a hostile one, but rather a conversation, a means for growth for both sides. In dialectics, an argument is held for the same reasons: when offering a thesis, it must be reasonably defended against an equally reasonable contradiction.

Putting these two characters who fulfill these specific roles with religious undertones in a storyline where they work together to overthrow a government, then I simply am reminded of Enjolras and Grantaire from Les Miserables.

YOU SEE they’re part of the revolutionary group that fights in the barricades.

Enjolras is completely driven by ideology, every aspect of his life revolves around his ideals of revolution and freedom to the point that he just isn’t approachable by his colleagues. He’s more a walking ideal than human. While Grantaire is a skeptic who refuses to believe in anything (that is, except Enjolras) (they’re canonically super gay, the author went out of his way to compare them to a bunch of gay Greek historical and mythical couples so go figure).

Grantaire is rather a self indulgent nihilist, but Stirner’s vibes of cynical egoism are there (just described through the eyes of someone who does favor altruism instead lmao):

All those words: rights of the people, rights of man, the social contract, the French Revolution, the Republic, democracy, humanity, civilization, religion, progress, came very near to signifying nothing whatsoever to Grantaire. He smiled at them. Scepticisn, that caries of the intelligence, had not left him a whole single idea. He lived with irony. This was his axiom: “There is but one certainty, my full glass.” He sneered at all devotion in all parties, the father as well as the brother.

Grantaire believes in nothing, which is why he’s in love with the personification of ideal and belief.

A skeptic who adheres to a believer is as simple as the law of complementary colors. That which we lack attracts us. No one loves the light like the blind man. (...) Grantaire, in whom writhed doubt, loved to watch faith soar in Enjolras. He had need of Enjolras. That chaste, healthy, firm, upright, hard candid nature charmed him, without his being clearly aware of it, and without the idea of explaining it to himself having occurred to him. He admired his opposite by instinct.

Their contrast is mainly ideological, with Grantaire barely participating in the revolutionary acts of the group, but (although lesmis seems to be heavily shaped by religious narratives, especially Valjean’s main storyline) the way Enjolras is described very much fits Cyno’s own commitment to his duty as the General Mahamatra:

Enjolras was a charming young man, who was capable of being terrible. He was angelically handsome. He was a savage Antinous. One would have said, to see the pensive thoughtfulness of his glance, that he had already, in some previous state of existence, traversed the revolutionary apocalypse. He possessed the tradition of it as though he had been a witness. He was acquainted with all the minute details of the great affair. A pontifical and warlike nature, a singular thing in a youth. He was an officiating priest and a man of war; from the immediate point of view, a soldier of the democracy; above the contemporary movement, the priest of the ideal

Enjolras role as a revolutionary is heavily colored by religious and military undertones.

For most of the story Grantaire is rejected by Enjolras, often scorned by his lack of commitment and his lifestyle. It is at the last moment when Enjolras is cornered by a fire squad after the barricade fails that Grantaire declares himself a Republican and volunteers to die with him. Enjolras ideals have not succeeded in his quest for liberation, but Grantaire offers him a last hope in leaving his skepticism to believe in those ideals. If a skeptic was capable of believing, then surely it was not in vain and many others would carry Enjolras beliefs beyond his tragical death. And in taking his hand Enjolras basically accepts his feelings because les mis is of course a yaoi

Grantaire had risen. The immense gleam of the whole combat which he had missed, and in which he had had no part, appeared in the brilliant glance of the transfigured drunken man. He repeated: "Long live the Republic!" crossed the room with a firm stride and placed himself in front of the guns beside Enjolras. "Finish both of us at one blow," said he. And turning gently to Enjolras, he said to him: "Do you permit it?" Enjolras pressed his hand with a smile. This smile was not ended when the report resounded. Enjolras, pierced by eight bullets, remained leaning against the wall, as though the balls had nailed him there. Only, his head was bowed. Grantaire fell at his feet, as though struck by a thunderbolt.

Either way, haino in sumeru aq did succeed in overthrowing Azar and lived to tell the tale. But, well, they didn’t need this exchange. Alhaitham understands the value of rules, of Cyno’s duty, as they cooperate with each other.

so anyway yea enjoltaire haino, atheist and priest, gay ideological opposites of faith working together to overthrow the government u get it

further readings:

On the Couple of Silence by hibarifish

Alhaitham and Egoist Anarchism by lotusparadisaea

Love of Creation and Mysticism in Tagore’s Gitanjali and Stray Birds by Paula Hayes

Language of eternal silence by Muhhammad Hesham

[runabout-river]

Thoughts on JJK chapter 264 (spoilers)

You know sometimes you just want to strangle Gege for hype endings of the last chapter that are going to be nullified in the next. It gets frustrating so close to a (possible) end of the fight but this time you can excuse it somewhat because the explanation and character feats make sense 😬

Angel's current JL even though it is maximum output is weaker than before because with one arm less her CE can't be channeled 100% from her body to her cursed tool. In other words, Sukuna can brace himself against it scale up to kill Angel

Remarkably, Sukuna calls Angel by her name and we haven't even seen what she looked like. Heian flashback??

Just like against Mahito, Todo simply gets back up after his CT dies. What a champ. Sukuna gets a BF though that isn't immediately negated by Yuji's soul punch

Angel and Todo are seemingly out, Yuta is still lying on the ground somewhere until his CT burnout ends but we still have the weaker good guys standing around and Maki is also there

Sukuna is not beating the Cute™ allegations

It's interesting that JL is active for this long and Yuji, who's drenched in Sukuna's CE is also affected by it but that doesn't hinder him at all

Yuji does get a punch in but it doesn't disrupt Sukuna's recovery of his CE output. This could be because Yuji just left Angel's attack which hindered him in using dismantle.

Yuji isn't beating the Cute™ allegations either with the lines and scissors of his technique. I can already hear the sound effect the anime will add to it. Snip snip

So Sukuna gets his arms back and looks like he's about to overpower Yuji once more. But you know what I thought while reading the chapter? That Sukuna had an awful lot of inner thoughts.

Sukuna never get this much thought bubbles and he's confident of his success to boot? Something is going to go sideways for him, definitely.

And look, we get a flashback about the first time we saw a DE with blindfold Gojo. But it's not like Sukuna needs that flashback, he knows more than anyone how they're made. So... why did this particular image appear in his mind?

Because Yuji

I've seen explanations of Yuji's handsign. I'll link or reblog them later.

The biggest problem for Sukuna is now the Sure hit but he knows Hollow Wicker Basket and has all his arms back so the fight should continue as it started but....

It's so nostalgic seeing Itadori Sukuna 😤

This probably answers the question we had when Sukuna took over Megumi's body. How does his soul look like now? Like Megumi? Or still like Yuji?

Yuji it is.

The setup here is also reminiscent of Gojo's airport scene with Sukuna now in Gojo's place

But is this Yuji's domain or is it one of those fake memories like Todo and Choso had??

As a reminder, not only does Yuji induce strange dream sequences into others but so does Sukuna. We've seen it with Jogo and Kashimo. What we haven't seen is if Sukuna is actually aware of them happening. He might very well be like Yuji with no idea that sth happened.

The difference with Yuji's and Sukuna's induced dreams are that with Yuji they're uninvolved sequences that still speak to the receivers' (Todo/Choso) hearts. For Sukuna they're a last talk with the receiver being fully conscious and able to speak their minds however they wish.

This looks like Sukuna will be fully conscious... But Yuji won't?

It's not like Yuji isn't affected by these dreams though. After Todo's he said that he was in strange place during the Hanami fight where he also called Todo his brazaa. Those fake memories probably affected Yuji subconsciously as well.

So, my guess is that this last scene where Sukuna and Yuji are probably going to have some heavy talking happen to them, is a dream. The real fight might actually be happening simultaneously while they... don't really resolve their character conflict that has been build up since the beginning of the manga. But they might build on top of it.

My second guess for the end of the this arc with how this is set up now, is that Sukuna will get backstabbed by Kenjaku. He will most likely involuntarily become part of the merger which will mean that this fight (and the talk) won't have a proper winner. That part will become Megumi's arc then.

[creamiesstoryconer]

Yandere Harpy x Reader Taster

Yander Harpy x Reader Taster 

Word count: 666

Length of time to read: 5-8 minutes

This is a taster for a OC x Reader story I am working on, it currently has about 4 chapters planned and I am hoping to release every other day :) This is a taster I am posting for the first chapter enjoy 

TW:Mention of blood

Nature's natural lace, web, clinging onto the remains of the early morning dew. The clear pearls that drape themselves over finely pulled strings that are nestled in the sea of blue and green. Catching glimmers of sun as it breaks through the dense canopy, its golden light a welcoming glow to the undergrowth.

Fine petals of muted blues, reaching for its limited life line of light. Moments of silence such as now, rare within the small thicket. The gentle pushing of the wind picking up stray leaves, dancing with the yellowing trinkets in the air to be carried into the distance. 

Under your foot, grass that once stood tall crunches, its brothers in arms gently grazing your ankle. Early morning air crisp as always, nips at one's shoulders and nose, beckoning the solemnly sweet wind to join it in its conquest of stealing the heat from any warm body.

Knuckles tightly grasped around brown wicker, a basket neatly woven by hand. Packed sunngly with vibrant colours, forged from the long negated trail. 

Damp penetrates your nose, the untones of pine. Forcing the almost suffocating scent to almost have a refreshing taste upon your tongue. 

Onward,deeper into nature's land of peace, the hum of the village morning grows mute. Replaced with the rustling of leaves calling for you. Singing of birds just from sight, soothing and lulling.

Just a little deeper down the overgrown path you know so well, a routine experience every spring. To bring an offering, to wish for peace to the Earth, to keep a titration you grew bored of. The ways of the old and their tales are nothing but fables for children to be afraid of. 

Feet grew stiff at the edge of the opening, the woods breaking its dense canopy of greens to allow for the flooding of gold. Warm upon the skin, stark contrast to the morning wind, the honey coloured light swallows the clearing in its entirety. 

═══════════════════════════════════════════

A blur and a impact, 

The coarse texture of dried bark entangled in once soft locks of hair. Throbbing, building a deafening silence is what over stimulates the nerves. Soothing warmth trickling down your neck, tracing itself past your crook. Allowing for a bud of red to flow and root itself onto once pristine white clothing. Now defiled with browns and quickly darkening crimsons. 

The rising of your chest like hard labour, air having been stolen from your lungs. Hoarse gasps replace a steady rhythm that was once there. Drying your mouth as a once cared for body folds in upon itself. 

Ringing in your ears causes one's head to spin. To not focus is to not be able to see. 

Blurs of greens, a blue perhaps the sky. Golden shines for a moment. Then the sight of flesh. 

Flesh unclothed, blotches of maroon identifiable upon the sun kissed skin. 

══════════════════════════════════════════

A guttural scream escapes your lips, ripping through your vocal cords, straining already fatigued muscle. 

Cheeks, red as puffed eyes strained to stay open, salty water - your own tears-  sullying your face. Teeth bared as saliva bubbles and leaks from the corner of your mouth. 

Fingers tangled within a sickenly soft plumage of feathers. Almost comforting to touch under dirt stuffed nails.

Air that was once almost refreshing to the lungs now reeks of desperation and fear. Tawng of metallic lingering, your own blood that was long dried and flaking. A dried river of rusty colour liquid fashioned from your own wound, wrapping around your neck like a macabre necklace. 

It’s animalistic eyes boaring into you, pupils blown to unnatural size. Tilting its head, forcing itself to envelope your sight. It’s chest rumbling, trilling… studying.

══════════════════════════════════════════

I am in desperate need for a proofreader (￣ ￣|||)

sorry this is another super short post but chapter one will be up tomorrow with about 2,000 words none of which are here this is just some extra content that i reworded and shortened so all new content tomorrow ;)

all feedback is welcome!

[lilyginnyblackv2]

My Queer Fruits Basket Headcanons

Image: An image of the bisexual flag with images of Haru, Ayame, and Mine in the middle of the flag. On the top part of the flag there is white text that states their names (Haru, Ayame, Mine) and on the bottom half of the flag is large white text that states: Bisexual.

Thoughts: I feel it's very common to view Haru as bisexual in the fandom for very obvious reasons. For Ayame and Mine they give me chaotic bisexual vibes, but I can totally understand if some people view Ayame as Pansexual. That's an another queer interpretation of Ayame that I can totally understand. I also know that some people view a few other characters in Furuba as bisexual, and I can see and understand some of those as well. But these three are the main ones for me (and there is only so many characters I can fit onto one flag, lmao).

Image: The image of the AroAce flag with Kazuma Sohma in the center of it. White text with Kazuma Sohma is across the top part of the flag and white text with Aromantic Asexual is across the bottom part of the flag.

Thoughts: In one of the little messages that Takaya-sensei wrote on the side of one of the chapters (which was translated and included in the old TokyoPop manga volumes), she mentioned how Kazuma tried dating a woman once. It didn't work out and he is dedicated to Kyo and his family. Plus, maybe its just projection (since I am aroace), but Kazuma just gives off big aroace vibes to me. He doesn't seem to care about romance in the slightest, and just seems to be very happy and content with being a parent and caring for his Kyo (his son) and the other Sohma children (also, eventually, his grandchildren and Tohru).

Image: The pansexual flag with an image of Momiji (post glow-up) in the center of the flag. "Pansexual" is written across the bottom of the flag in large, white text, and "Momiji Sohma" is written across the top of the flag in large, black text.

Thoughts: There are no really thoughts here. There's nothing that really hints or even vaguely implies a pansexual reading of Momiji, it's just more how I feel like this is a sexual orientation that works for Momiji as a character. I can just easily see this for him, is what I am saying, lol.

Image: The image of Kyo and Tohru from the Kyoto Trip, where Kyo takes Tohru's hand is overlayed the demisexual flag. Kyo x Tohru is written in large, black text at the top of the flag, and Demisexual is written in large, black text at the bottom of the flag.

Thoughts: Honestly, I can see both Kyo and Tohru being demiromantic as well. This may be a hot take, but I feel pretty much all Shonen Jump Battle Shonen protags are on the aspec spectrum in some way. A lot of the time, people are just like "they're dense protagonists" but an aspec reading of them really explains so much, imo. Kyo is basically a Battle Shonen protag stuck in a shoujo, so that's why I feel this way about Kyo. Tohru is very similar in a way though too. Kyo does show to be a bit more aware of sexual things in general, more so than Tohru anyway, but both are very "dense" in regards to things like this, and both of them really require a bond to form before we see them thinking about romantic and sexual things in regards to their relationship. Of course, there is a trauma element involved with all of this as well, but I don't think that negates an aspec reading of the Kyoru relationship.

Image: The gay flag with an image of Hajime and Mutsuki from Fruits Basket Another sharing Valentine's Day sweets with each other. Next to their image is the term "Gay" written in large, black text. At the top of the flag is white text that reads: "Hajime x Mutsuki" and at the bottom of the page is white text that reads: "Fruits Basket Another."

Thoughts: Among fans who have read all of Fruits Basket Another, this pairing is actually fairly common and "popular." I've written posts before about the queer and romantic undertones to their interactions and the above image that I used, from the textless omake at the end of Vol. 4 of Fruits Basket Another, is basically a soft confirmation (in my eyes) that the two are a canon romantic pairing.

Image: Images of Mutsuki, Ayame, Momiji, and Ritsu are all overlaid on the genderqueer flag. There is large, black text in the middle of the flag that reads: "Genderqueer" and the character names for Mutsuki and Ayame are at the top of the flag, while the character names for Momiji and Ritsu are at the bottom of the flag. They are all written in large white text.

Thoughts: There are definitely more specific queer headcanons that you can have for all of these characters and their gender presentation, but I'm choosing genderqueer for my own headcanon because I feel it is a more simplified, umbrella-like term that can fit all of them. If you are a fan of Fruits Basket, then I feel the inclusion of Momiji, Ritsu, and Ayame are all very self-explanatory. But, I know not as many people are as familiar with Fruits Basket Another and Mutsuki, so the main reason Mutsuki is here is because of these moments from Another:

Basically, Mutsuki absolutely loves Ayame and is similar to Ayame in the sense that he is comfortable (and likes/enjoys) wearing dresses and engaging in more outwardly feminine appearances. He's nothing like Yuki in this regard and very happily states that Ayame went out of his way to make the dress (costume) that he wore for Sports Day.

These are all just my personal queer headcanons for some Fruits Basket characters and pairings. This was sort of spurred on by the recent artwork that Takaya-sensei did of Ayame for this new year (2025 - The Year of the Snake). In this new artwork, Ayame is extremely feminine looking and his queerness as a character really shines through, so it caused me to think about this headcanons again and just write this up.

Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions on those and have a great night, everyone! :D

[literaticat]

A while ago I was in a social setting with an editor who said that they "had to" acquire a romantasy to "fill a gap in my list" even though they felt meh about the genre, because their imprint was pressuring them to take on books with more commercial potential. Is this a common thing? It seems contradictory with what editors and agents are always saying about having to fall in love with a book to work on it. I feel bad for that author, ngl.

Editors do have to work on books that are successful if they want to continue to be gainfully employed. It is fairly common that an editor would have certain kinds of "quotas" they might be looking to fill, based on what they have acquired in the past and the makeup of their list and the imprint's list as a whole.

Like let's say that an editor has mostly acquired Picture Books, but their imprint doesn't have any Big Fantasy MG scheduled for 2027 -- that's a hole in the list, and sure, their boss might say something like "you should look for a Big Fantasy MG!"

Just as, if an agent has A LOT of one kind of book on their list, it stands to reason that they would want to diversify and be actively trying to get DIFFERENT kinds of books signed up! You can't have all your eggs in one basket, right?

(It's a little less likely that an agent would feel OUTSIDE pressure to do that -- most agents kind of can create whatever list they want -- but I'm sure it would have crossed their OWN mind even without a boss saying so, it just feels like common sense).

So if this editor's own taste is more "literary" or "esoteric", and they have acquired lots of those books already, it could well be that their boss encouraged them to look for a more highly commercial book. That doesn't mean they hate that book, or they ONLY acquired it because they were told they had to, or anything like that -- just that it kinda goes against the grain of what they ordinarily might look for.

(That's actually GOOD for them -- hey, I used to say I ONLY wanted to work on YA books, and now I do all kinds of books -- growth is a good thing! We find things we love in unexpected places!)

It sounds like that wasn't great phrasing on the editor's part, and I'm guessing they'd be mortified if they realized that what they probably intended to be just a nothingy kind of small talk or a lightly sardonic kind of comment about the market generally came across as publicly complaining about a specific book or author on their list.

Like, I have definitely said something like: "Too bad I don't like ROMANTASY instead of all these weird little-kid books, I guess I'll never be RICH!" -- which I intend to be a semi-self-deprecating and also semi-market-deprecating joke, not an insult to any romantasy author OR to my "weird" authors! But I could see, if the person I was talking to didn't know that, that it could sound mean-spirited or something.

I dunno, basically, TL;DR, sure, editors sometimes are encouraged to pursue projects that are not their "normal" things in order to fulfill the broader goals of their imprint, but that isn't a bad thing, and it doesn't negate the "falling in love" part. They still do have to feel like they will be able to read this book over and over, and believe that it will be successful, and all that good stuff!

[captmickey]

Even More Confessionals, a Three Adventurers fanfic

Yes I did make a sequel fic to this. Yes I am aware it was a vent fic. You think that'll stop me?

---

His ribs hurt.

Graham sat on the bed at the inn and constantly touched the sore spots. It wasn’t like Guybrush to lash out the way he did, and he knew that there had to have been some reason (not necessarily a good one) for the way he behaved, but that didn’t negate just how much of a pain it was to try and take a deep breath.

Then again, he thought, maybe he shouldn’t be constantly poking at the various bat shaped bruises.

After he had sent Link to go after Guybrush, the Hylian came back looking properly wiped. It wasn’t entirely fair of Graham to send the one particular hero that barely speaks to do the talking, but seeing how his shoulders were somewhat sagged had him sigh in (painful) relief that he did the right choice. So when he asked where Guybrush was, Link looked behind him and explained that he’ll catch up back at the inn.

And back at the inn he was short two companions.

Graham looked at the window, trying to catch a glimpse of either of them when he heard faint voices from the door, quickly turning his attention there.

“And I’m telling you, it’s fine.” Link sighed. “Just stop thinking.”

“You’re asking a lot out of me with that one.” Guybrush’s voice muttered.

“As was ‘please stop beating up Graham, he’s not your enemy’ when you proceeded to beat him up.”

“You’re not gonna let that one go, are you.”

“You have the pit, I have this.” Link opened the door, his expression shifting from deadpanned to warm when he looked at Graham. “We’re back.”

“Welcome back.” Graham greeted, trying to sit up but winced slightly as he moved himself from the bed to them. “Need a hand?”’

“Nah, you don’t need to worry about that. You sit.” Link reassured him. “Guybrush has it handled.”

“He does?” Graham asked and looked, seeing Guybrush standing just behind Link, his eyes looking literally everywhere but at himself. 

Link closed the door, locking it even to make sure no ‘fans’ or ‘spectators’ barged in on the off chance that one of them was going to raise their voice. Guybrush, still adamant to look away, placed the basket of ingredients and potions to the side, fidgeting slightly with the ring on his finger.

He was nervous.

Noting the suffocating tension in the room, Link clapped his hands. 

“So I did my fair share of talking that I’m going to now properly shut up while you two hash things out. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get this medicine thing going… shouldn’t be too complicated.” Link picked up the basket. “Have fun.”

Graham and Guybrush made a slight face before Link disappeared into the next room and left the two alone with the pirate still fiddling with his ring and Graham absentmindedly rubbing his ribs. Neither of them knew who would or should speak first, constantly opening and closing their mouths as though maybe, hopefully, the right words would slip right out. But when that didn’t happen and that unbearable silence continued, it was Guybrush who let out a tired sigh and lowered his head briefly before looking up at Graham, his wedding ring still being used to fidget with.

“I’m sorry.”

Graham stared stunned, it was definitely not like Guybrush to get straight to the point. But even more shocking, it wasn’t like himself to stay quiet while someone apologized.

“I… shouldn’t have done what I did, and I know I’ve acted like… like…”

“A total jerk?” Graham blurted out, managing to just barely catch himself from properly cursing the pirate out.

Guybrush paused, scoffed, and nodded, still fidgeting with his ring.

“Yeah… though I’d probably use more, uh, colorful words.” 

“I already did that for you!” Link shouted from the otherside.

He nodded once more. “Yeah, yeah he did…”

“Great, then I don’t need to.” Graham shifted his weight. “Because I have a few words that would make even Amaya blush.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t fault you for using them at me.” Guybrush said, his voice sounding slightly choked.

“I could, but I won’t.” Graham pressed.

But oh how he wanted to say it, he thought.

“Because it’ll honestly be counter-productive and more to that…” Graham briefly looked away, putting the right words together, “more to that… what would be the point?”

“Because I hurt you?” Guybrush sounded confused.

“So the proper thing to do instead of talking is to double down what made you mad? Guybrush, did you seriously think I didn’t hear what everyone else was saying?” Graham’s brows furrowed. “I obviously did, and the only reason I didn’t do anything was because if I didn’t block, you’d probably would’ve swung that bat at my head.”

Guybrush opened his mouth to counter but Graham shook his head and cut him off.

“Actually, probably not. You still had pretty good precision when blinded. So the head hitting is definitely not true.” Graham took a breath and winced slightly. “Kind of… kind of impressive, actually.”

“Um… was that a compliment?”

A pause and Graham shrug.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Oh. Thanks?” Guybrush hesitantly took the compliment before he took another breath, clearly trying to keep his cool. “Look, I know there’s no justifying what I did. There isn’t. And I already blew up at Link–”

“He sure did!”

Guybrush scoffed. “But what I’m trying to say– what I WANT to say, is that I unabashedly stepped out of line, and I completely lost it and it wasn’t right or fair that you took the brunt of it. And I can say that the only reason I did was… was because you were the favored one, and I got tired of being… not. And it stemmed even before you but that whole thing just– ugh, it tipped and boiled over and it’s stupidly childish now that I say it outloud.”

He paused and his fidgeting slowed down as he gripped the ring tightly, focusing his stare at the golden band instead of the archer’s sharp stare. “I wouldn’t fault you if you, y’know, wanted me at a distance. Probably the least I can do.”

“No way.”

Guybrush looked up, startled.

“Huh?”

“You heard me. No way.” Graham reiterated, emphasizing each word. “If I did that, I’m just pressing that whole image, and then what good would that do for either of us?”

“I mean, you don’t… have to be nice– ow!” Guybrush rubbed his forehead, not realizing Graham took a step closer to properly flick him on his forehead.

“I care, but I’m entitled to be angry, Guybrush. As are you. And yeah, you know what, I was and am actually extremely mad, but I’d be more upset if we stopped being friends because I let a fleeting emotion get in the way. And I might be mad for a while, but I promise I’ll be fine later. Like I know you will.” Graham paused and took a breath, pushing down that bubble in his chest. 

“The point I’m trying to make is that I’m hurt because you think I didn’t care. That you swung at me the way you did and then proceeded to storm off without so much as letting me in. I care because you’re my friend, and even if you weren’t, I’d still care. I’ll let you be mad just as I ask that you let me. Alright?”

Guybrush stared, taking in his words and nodded. 

“Alright.” He conceded. “Um… is there a way I can make it up to you? Not… sure how, though.”

“One hit.”

“Huh?”

Graham leaned back and had one finger pointed. “I get to have one hit on you, you can’t block.”

“The flick to the forehead didn’t count?”

“Hardly!” Graham scoffed.

Guybrush looked around the room once more and sighed. “Okay. Sure. When?”

“Now.”

“Now?!” 

When Graham nodded his head, Guybrush stopped, took a breath and pursed his lips. 

“Fine. Alright.” He closed his eyes and braced himself. “So… on a count or–”

C R A C K

“MOTHER F––!”

“ZARDS!”

“What in Hylia–?!” Link rushed out with a bottle in hand, catching sight of two men groaning in absolute pain.

Guybrush, who had his hands covering his face, was keeled over and lashing out a string of profanities that made the Hylian blush a little and Graham, on the opposite side, curled up cradling both his wounded ribs and officially bruised hand. Neither of them looked to have broken anything, but the bruises was going to be deep and painful.

Link slouched, staring at the two in a deadpanned disbelief.

“Graham, did you punch Guybrush?” He asked.

“Retribution… zards that hurt…” Graham groaned.

“Mm-hmm, ribs be damned. Guybrush, did you consent to that?”

“Least I can do… ow…”

“Annnnd you forgot Graham has a mean right hook being an archer. Wonderful. Good job, the both of you. Feeling better?”

They both groaned, but even Link knew that it was their own, very twisted, way of saying yes. He eyed the bottle and then the two of them and sighed.

“I’ll make more salve.”

[kosije]

Can I request a Hirugami Sachiro fluff wherein the reader accidentally/unintentionally confesses her feelings >^<

I rlly love your writing!! I dont see much hirugami posts so id rlly appreciate it if you wrote this!

a/n: so so so sorry for my absence ^^; thank you for your support and im happy you enjoy my writing! Lightly edited, feel free to lmk any mistakes :)

Spring just might be your favorite season. The cool wind, flower blossoms, and calm days at the park with your best friend, Sachirou, and his pup make it hard for other seasons to compete.

“I’m gonna take her for another lap around, wanna come?” he asks, beckoning the playful Maltese puppy, who’s the same shade as his hair with two taps on his thighs. The only word you can think of to describe him is perfect. The bright blue cloudless sky and green flower-dotted grass seem like they’re only as radiant as the man standing in them in front of you. His smile is dazzling and his white tee tight and khakis show off his physique.

You say you're still short of breath, hoping he couldn’t tell that you were gawking at him.

he nods, turning his focus to the Maltese and grabbing her leash.

Only once he’s out of sight do you smoothen out your floral dress and take a swig of the ice-cold lemonade he had packed in the basket holding the rest of your snacks. It’s one thing to find your best friend attractive. It was a fact that he was gorgeous. Whether it was you two walking through the halls, attending his volleyball games, or going to the park for a picnic, Sachirou always seemed to draw the attention of everyone around him. And just a light brush to his curly hair would have any girl falling for him. But in love?

You can tell you’re pushing it. Even if your diary has his name written on every page with hearts around it, you know he’s not yours. You’re his friend, and friends are only meant to be friendly.

So how come when you see the two run back a few minutes later, your heart skips a beat and you let yourself pretend the two- or three of you are on a date? After hours pass of talking, running, drawing, singing, dancing, and eating, you both decide to wine down at his apartment.

“I just feel that she’d be much better with the side character. I mean, they have way more chemistry.” You say in between snacking on a random bag of chips you grabbed from the basket.

“You’re better than me. If she ends up with the bad boy as a cliche, I might shit myself,” He says, laughing when you scrunch your nose to him and let out an airy laugh. You think you see his cheeks go pink, but before you can ask about it, his dog jumps between you two.

“Hey! Down girl!” He says leaning back to avoid being hit by her tail while you hide your chip bag and move to cuddle her, giggling over how Sachirou shouldn’t be so mean to her.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d believe she’ll to steal you away from me. Am I not cute enough?” He coos with a fake pout. Even if he is teasing, you can still feel your heartbeat spike.

“How could anything be cuter than you, Sachi?” You say subconsciously, still playing with his dog. It’s only after a couple beats of silence that you realize that was definitely not said in your head, and you feel a wave of embarrassment.

“I don’t know why I said that...” You mumble, not daring to look up and see his reaction. No matter how many excuses you tried to think of, none of them negated how obviously unfriendly you meant that.

“Listen I’m so-“

“Do you mean that?” His voice is soft, and against all of your reservations, your head turns up to face him. His lips are slightly parted, and his cheeks are flush.

You can’t find it in yourself to lie to him when he looks at you like that. So against the butterflies threatening to escape along with the chips, you breathlessly say yes.

His dog jumps from your lap, running off to somewhere you can’t bring yourself to focus on because his body is getting impossibly too yours. To the point where your fingertips are ghosting each other.

“How do you feel about me, really?” He asks his face now close enough that you can feel the shakey breath he lets out after the question. His eyes are steady on yours, but only for a beat does it flicker to your lips and you try your best to swallow the lump down your throat.

“I......What I feel for you is stronger than friendship. It has been stronger than that for a while now,” you confess, leaning into him with a rush of courage. “Is that... okay?”

“Is that okay?!” He squeaks, his voice cracking before tackling you down on his couch in a hug that almost knocks the wind out of you.

“Can’t... breathe,” you gasp, making him spring up and apologize profusely.

“A simple ‘yes’ would’ve been good,” you say, not being able to hide the elated grin pulling at your lips.

“It’s more than ‘okay’, stupid. Oh my gosh, do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this? Being in love with your best friend is a bigger cliche than that movie we were watching.”

If the hug didn’t make your heart skip a beat, his confessing he’s felt the same way as you make your heart feel like it’ll stop right here.

“Tell me about it.” You say, watching his breath hitch before moving his hand to your cheek, pulling you closer to him by his feather-light touch moving to your chin.

Wordlessly, his lips catch yours, and you feel your head spin. His kiss is soft and intoxicating, but so passionate you’re left gripping on his shirt. You both pull back for hair, and his eyes glint like he’s looking at the stars.

“I love you.” The words are easy and flow effortlessly from your lips like they’ve been said countless times before.

“I love you too.” He says, with that same smile that’s always lit everything around him up.

Softly, he pulls you into his chest, reviling in the realization that all of his feelings have led up to (what was) his wildest dreams coming true.

And when you hear his heart hammering against his chest as he presses his lips softly on your forehead, only then is it obvious that there is no better season than spring.

[aspoonofsugar]

The Third Wolf

Jabberwalker: YES! READY! STARVING! TAKING!

So, this volume is just LRRH masked as Alice in Wonderland, as you can discover by reading this. Still, there is something missing from my previous post. Or at least, I came up with a theory, which imo complements it well.

In short, Ruby's story this volume centers around 3 Wolves:

Neo

She stalks Ruby around, tortures her and manipulates her into killing herself. She waits for her in a cottage (a pink palace) in the woods and hides behind her illusions, which exhibit mismatched eyes (the Wolf's eyes giving him away).

Even when it comes to her main allusion, Neo being a Wolf fits. Trivia is just the Roman name for Hecate and what's Hecate's sacred animal? The Dog:

Neo is associated to the Jabberwalkers (dark and wolf-like creatures) in the Ever After (the Underworld). In short, the Jabberwalkers are her dogs (wolfs) and she herself is a wolf (dog-like creature).

The Curious Cat

Do I need to explain? (I did in the previous meta anyway :P) They meet LRRH in the woods, trick her while she is wandering around with a basket full of flowers (WBY) and lead her around to make sure she gets completely lost.

Finally, when Ruby reaches the cottage in the woods, they surprise her and try to eat her. Only to end up swallowing up an older woman and the owner of the house. Even when it comes to them possessing Neo, the design calls back to the Big Bad Wolf of the story:

Both the eyes and the mouth are different than Neo's usual ones. Just like the Wolf in the fairy tale is described having peculiar eyes and a peculiar mouth. These 2 attributes are even tied to the Cat completely negating who Neo is. After all, Ice Cream girl is defined by:

her mismatched eyes, which her parents forced her to hide

her muteness, which her parents and teachers forced her to compensate with devices

Right now, Neo has lost both. Her mismatched eyes are hidden by the Cat's ones and her mouth speaks.

Ruby's inner Darkness

The Wolf in LRRH is symbolic of the Jungian Shadow aka everything a person represses. The thing with the Shadow is that the most you try to ignore it, the more dangerous and stronger it becomes. Ruby has been living as the embodyment of life, which means she has been neglecting to tend to her own shadows. To her own feelings. To her own pain.

The result is her spiraling and being engulfed by Darkness. Still, this Darkness has not yet a real representation within the story, which brings us to:

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree And stood awhile in thought.

Interesting, the original poem mentions a fight between the hero and the monster by the Tumtum tree :P

What does the Jabberwalker represent, though? This creature is the only one, who can kill the Afterans. Why? I think because they thematically represent a loss of self:

The Tree is going to transform Afterans according to what they are and to what they want to become. This can lead to progression, like the Paper Pleasers or to regression, like the Red King, who turns into a Prince. Still, what happens if the creature just... can't figure themself out? What does happen if they choose to give up on any new possible identity?

In this case, they would choose to become nobody. They would decide to give in to anonimity, which is the opposite of self-individualization. Anonimity is a trait of Grimms, which are empty and try to fill themselves by praying on human negativity. In short, anonimity can be seen as a declination of Destruction. So, what if when Afterans can't figure themselves out... they end up becoming a Jabberwalker? Or what if the Jabberwalker is a body that collects all the souls who could not properly ascend, neither to regress nor to progress? A body with no proper identity, which can only jabber very basic and instinctive concepts, with no real meaning behind them?

After all, they very clearly allude to zombies, as RWBY even start calling them Walkers. And what are zombies if not people who lost their sense of self? And what do zombies do if not to spread an infection, which in this case is Destruction? Death?

The Tree is the path to self-actualization, so a person symbolically dies when they lose their sense of self completely. When they don't wanna become anything else. Only in this case, they really disappear and become nothing. Only in this case their existance is negated and amounts to nothing.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if this is what awaits Ruby as she is now. She doesn't wanna change. She wants to disappear. It is possible, then, she will risk to be swallowed by the Jabberwalker. It is possible she might become the Jabberwalker herself. A mindless Wolf. Still, obvious foreshadowing is obvious:

The moment Ruby is about to get killed by Neo's Jabberwalker, her whole team comes to her rescue. This is clearly what is going to happen here, as well.

At the same time, I think what should help Ruby conquers this is also something else:

Penny's death has been eating at Ruby throughout the whole volume. It is the news of her loss, which starts Ruby's spiral and her friend keeps appearing everywhere in the Ever After and Ruby's mind. So, obviously she needs to come to terms with this. Ruby needs catharsis and right now I think @hamliet theory is right: only Jaune can give it to Ruby.

Right now, Ruby thinks Penny died by negating herself, by choosing to be nothing out of a death wish. Still, this isn't true. Penny died as herself. It is tragic, but she still managed to affirm her own personhood. She chooses friendship and trust over duty and control. Penny dies, but she doesn't become a "Jabberwalker". She isn't undone into nothing, but on the contrary she "ascends" into gold. Ruby needs to realize this. She needs to realize the kind of person Penny was. And she needs to realize what she herself is doing now is the opposite of how Penny lived and died.

I think such a realization might give Ruby catharsis and inspire her to move on. In general, it would work very well thematically on multiple levels and for multiple characters:

It means Penny symbolically saves Ruby, which would be just a beautiful conclusion to their bond. Ruby is the one who recognizes Penny's personhood first, so it makes sense for Penny to indirectly do the same for Ruby. She inspires her into becoming an idealistic adult.

It means symbolically Ruby's child self saves her. It is that purest and most idealistic part of herself that comes through for Ruby when she needs it.

It gives catharsis to Jaune, as well. It turns out what he was hiding out of pain and shame is the key to save Ruby.

It foreshadows what Jaune will probably have to do in the finale aka conveying to Cinder Pyrrha's teaching about destiny. He can start practicing with Ruby.

It completes the parallel between Jaune/Pyrrha and Ruby/Penny nicely. In volume 5 Jaune's suicidal charge is interrupted when he realizes this is not what Pyrrha did. Here Ruby should realize what she is doing is not what Penny did.

In general, it just works very well with the theme of grief explored this volume. Right now, Ruby has been going through the 5 stages of grief twice, in a neverending spiral:

Episode 1 > negation > Penny's death is hidden and Ruby refuses to talk about it

Episode 2 > bargaining > Ruby needs to bargain for Penny's sword and eventually she bargains the sword to meet the Red King and talks about her feelings for Penny by doing so

Episode 3 > anger > Ruby gets angry at the Red Prince and shouts at him in frustration

Episode 4 > depression > Ruby is undone by Herb's hallucinations

Episode 5 > acceptance > Ruby meets the Blacksmith and is confronted by Penny and Summer's ghosts, but fails to reach true acceptance

So she starts the cycle again

Episode 5 > bargaining > Ruby bargains Summer's emblem to help her friends and mentions "a mother's promise"

Episode 6 > negation > Ruby doesn't even see Summer Rose's reflection in the gallery of mirrors

Episode 7 > anger > Ruby lashes out at others

Episode 8 > depression > Ruby is overwhelmed by her pain and attempts suicide

I think episode 9 and 10 should be acceptance, true acceptance this time. I also think it would be cool if we have a call back to volume 6.

When Ruby uses her silver eyes there, the last 2 people she sees are Penny and then Summer:

Penny leads Ruby to Summer. I think here should be the same one way or the other. Acceptance over Penny should help Ruby face her feelings for Summer. After all, the majority of the narration in the trailer is still missing, which means we should get it in these final 2 episodes. Basically, Summer is coming, one way or the other.

BAD WOLF, GOOD WOLF

Ruby risking to become/to be swallowed by the Jabberwalker would work also for another reason:

Turning Ruby into nothingness, forcing the light out of her to reduce her to a mindless puppet is probably what Salem wants to do. So, Ruby going through this same struggle now will give her the strength to face Salem and her Grimms Experiments when the time comes.

I think this whole volume has a meta-theme to it, which is how stories and fictions help people process trauma and grief. Both in healthy and unhealthy ways. I will write more about it when the season ends. As for now, let's say it is not by chance Ruby is going through her spiral in a fairy tale world, where she conveniently can't die. Imagine if Ruby had drunk poisoned tea on Remnant. She would have died for real. "Luckily" she only sips tree tea, which will be no fatal to her. The metaphorical meaning is clear, right? Ruby is symbolically rereading a fairy tale of he childhood. One her mom used to read ot her. She is rediscovering it from a more mature and darker perspective. She is processing through it all her pain, trauma and grief. Still, she will come out stronger from this. So stronger she will manage to face the challenges of the real world and to survive to them.

So, how is this transformation gonna manifest? Obviously Ruby is gonna come out as herself, once again. Still, if her inner transformation has to be shown, I would like for it to happen through Little:

Mouse Leader: And on this day, we were not the prey, but the hunters!

The Mice Hunters tried to warn us and RWBY since the beginning. Beware of CATS! Still, they also claimed the prey is gonna be the hunter ;)

Now, this can become true in many different ways without Little having to change. Still, I like the idea of Little changing to metaphorically show Ruby's evolution. But if this is gonna happen, then which kind of form should they take?

Little is Ruby's child self, but also an animal-shaped companion. Basically, they represent an inner beast. It is just that at the beginning of the volume Ruby's inner beast is too immature because she is refusing to integrate with her shadow.

So, a more refined version of Little should maintain Little and Ruby's idealism, but also be wiser and show that Ruby has started to integrated with her repressed self. What better form than a Little Wolf, then?

After all:

The Hunter > The Huntress

Little Red Riding Hood > Ruby Rose

The Wolf? > Little

Ruby is unbalanced because she has refused her inner wolf all this time, so what better use can she make of it if not to change it into strength that protects her child self. To use all that repressed energy to refine herself, instead than negating who she is?

And on a light-hearted note... what is better than a wolf to hunt a Curious Cat?

(By the way, this can work well even in the case Neo stays in the Ever After with Juniper and Little. Juniper could be the March Hare to her Mad Hatter and Little might be the Dog to her Hecate) > thanks to @lintuwaterfall for suggesting this

[canonedhours]

Re #80 & #90. Truly in awe by that anon's deduction skills. Let's keep using that logic. I mean, do we even have any proof anyone is anything other than white? Perhaps Zheng, since she's called the queen of China by name (although even that is flimsy, since historically she hadn't even been born, maybe she's an impostor). But Spanish Jackie is obviously of white Spanish descent, as her name indicates (she says she isn't, but maybe she's lying, can we take that as evidence?), and Frenchie is obviously a frenchman, also white (I mean, he did say he was "in service", rather than slavery). Oh, maybe Roach could be considered poc, since he gets called a racial slur by one of the navy men in 1x09. Is that the kind of evidence you need?

Ed is played by a Māori actor, both as an adult and as a child, and so is his mother. Using the "historical accuracy" argument is ludicrous for ofmd, which uses the Historical Record as toilet paper. The fact that he isn't white is in fact a pretty relevant factor to even understanding a big chunk of his narrative ("we're not those kinds of people", and being pigeonholed into the scary, performatively aggressive Blackbeard role, because he felt like it was his only choice for so long. Or even when it comes to fandom takes, like the people refusing to see that his violence is directed towards his long-time abuser, after being pushed to his breaking point, and how incredibly racist it really is to perpetuate the trend of painting poc as the aggressors when they finally break and lash out against the white people who have been consistently abusing them).

Two of Taika's ta moko pieces did in fact get covered up for the show, as is understandable because they have deep personal significance for him, and this in no way negates the fact that Ed is maori. You could also look at a few of his tattoos that didn't get covered up, like his marae or the te reo names of his daughters, or the birds on his clavicle and his shoulder, which are autoctonous to aotearoa. So many of the details in his gravy basket are references to his aotearoa heritage as well.

Anon, you really could use that energy you're putting into defending your racist headcanons into doing some self-reflection about your biases and educating yourself, because saying "there's no evidence Ed isn't white" is truly the most Racist take I've heard in my two years in this fandom.

92

89 (which I assume they meant)

90

[drstonetrivia]

Chapter 232 Trivia (Part 2)

(Previous part)

Spot the difference!

Chelsea can apparently rival the villager ladies in terms of strength, hauling a basket larger than she is full of rocks!

I wonder if Soyuz also polishes his head like that…

Chrome saying he wants to marry Ruri after they finish some mystery project: fair enough, means he wants to be able to focus on his wife. Chrome saying he wants to marry Ruri after they finish a time machine, which Gen says "could take millennia"...

I found Tsukasa's words here odd, since to an extent it implies that no one will be greedy or seek out power over others ever again. Given the importance of the revived scientists now, you have to wonder if the new world is a technocracy, which was exactly what Xeno wanted.

So I don't think SAL 9000's house has suddenly grown twentyfold since this looks like it's on one of the other sides of Roppongi Hills, but that doesn't make it any less incredibly huge. Why is it so big!?

With the small heels, this Senku-twin seems to also be of a similar height to actual Senku since she's slightly shorter than Gen.

Extremely simplified, what the scientists are saying is that the Medusas float by negating their mass, and petrification is the reverse effect where extra mass is given instead.

The problem? It would be against everything we currently know about physics, potentially destroying everything since atoms wouldn't act as atoms anymore. I can't speculate on whether or not this would work if it happened, because fundamentally things aren't acting as expected.

You'll also notice that the changing mass/Higgs field explanation won't answer anything about the petrification's healing properties, but I suppose this is a science-fiction story, emphasis on the fiction!

There's a biohazard symbol on the door where Senku is working, which means there's something causing a risk to human/environmental health. Since Senku isn't wearing any special PPE and the time machine doesn't work, I can only assume the risk is from the Medusa being in there!

I also think it's neat that the biohazard symbol and the Medusa are both trefoils.

This is obviously a reference to chapter 1, specifically the first two pages. The dialog is almost the same and Senku's working on a similar device.

How far they've come!

Despite being in modern clothes (and shoes!) again, Senku's is still wearing Suika's cloak 🥺

Not sure about the safety of wearing a cloak like that in a lab environment though…

I wonder if Yuzuriha made the cake toppers! They look similar to the dolls she made of herself, Taiju, and Senku.

We don't have confirmation either way, but I wonder if this project was what Senku proposed in the previous chapter to the rest of Whyman. It makes sense because time travel follows on from being able to float as the devices do, as well as from the Medusa's comment this chapter.

(If you're confused about how time travel and floating are related, it's because of E=mc². Extremely simplified again, if the Medusas can float by reducing their mass to 0, then the E=mc² equation applies differently—

—allowing objects with 0 mass to behave like light, and travel at that speed. (E=mc² is not the full equation, notice how there's no velocity component!) Once you're traveling at the speed of light… Who knows what'll happen. No one's done it before! Maybe it'll be time travel!)

Can't have a time machine without referencing the time machine from "The Time Machine" (1960) based on the book "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells.

Since the beginning, Senku's goal has been about saving all 7 billion people. Given the number of broken statues, Senku was unlikely to be able to save everyone from the start. But with time travel, he may be able to do it, and save countless petrification devices in the process.

You're probably wondering how that's even possible when there's thousands of people who were born in stone world who would be erased from existence if the last 3,700 years didn't happen, and my answer to that is: Senku will find a way to save everyone.

(I'm also of the opinion that the time machine is meant to represent intent rather than be literal: it shows the KoS is still trying to push the boundaries of science, that Senku's desire to save everyone isn't over yet, and also time travel is usually the ultimate sci-fi goal.)

This picture of Rei doesn't make the events of the Reboot canon, Rei is only here to represent Xeno's idea of transmitting advanced technological data into the past rather than a whole person.

A quick summary of the things listed in this roadmap:

Higgs field controller: this is what the Medusas use to float/petrify, thus it's hypertech.

Helium: used for superconductors/particle accelerators since liquid helium is very good at cooling.

Superconductor & magnet: as labelled, has 0 electrical resistance. A current through a SC wire can persist indefinitely without a power source. Therefore you can have a super powerful magnet without needing to add more electricity.

Cyclotron: particle accelerator, think CERN.

Particle beam: in this case, think of the cathode ray tubes (CRT screens) on steroids.

Ion getter pump: a type of vacuum pump, for making ultra-high vacuums.

Semiconductor: used to make computer chips, much better than parametrons.

CW generator: converts low-voltage AC to high DC voltage.

Maraging steel: strong, tough steel that stretches rather than snaps.

Light-speed cyclotron motor: gives you 0 mass and allows you to reach light-speed, I assume.

(There's a few bits I skipped but I think they're fairly self-explanatory.)

A fun fact: both the first and last issues of Dr. STONE happened to be issue #14 in WSJ, which you may remember is a recurring number in the series since it can be read as "i-shi" meaning "stone".

In a similar vein, the Higgs boson (a particle related to the petrification devices' explanation) was discovered at CERN on July 4th 2012. Exactly five years later, the first volume of Dr. STONE was released in Japan.

There's a few questions left unanswered by the series, like "what did Gen tell Francois to say to Whyman in chapter 201?" and whether or not Senku's new friend took a name: Whyman? Medusa? Tamagotchi-kun? Senku Jr.? Byakuya?

End of trivia!

Don't forget that the series ending doesn't mean the fandom has to die! If you enjoyed the series, I recommend joining community servers, taking on projects like cosplays or building things, or writing your own ending!

If you're really cool, you'll help complete the wiki...

[archiveofidentityconstellations]

dick shows up for dinner or something idk and then Bruce leaves so now he’s stuck babysitting Steph and Tim who are adamant they don’t need a babysitter, shenanigans ensue

very short but may return to this fun idea 👀

-

“So how am I involved with this?” Dick asked, reconfiguring the bread basket so Alfred wouldn’t know that he had eaten a slice before dinner. 

“Alfred is still going to find out,” Tim began, but Stephanie interrupted.

“You can drive. Obviously.” 

“Obviously,” Dick agreed. He waited for further explanation. 

Which came, after much brow beating.

“We don’t need to explain our plans to you,” Stephanie said. “You just need to come when you need to come, leave when you need to leave, drive when you need to drive.”

“I’m going to need more than that,” Dick said.

“No, you can’t, because you respect Bruce as a man and won’t lie to him,” Stephanie replied. She gestured to herself and Tim. “We’re willing to lie.”

“I respect Bruce,” Tim negated.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. “No, you don’t. You respect him as a hero, not as a man.”

Tim opened his mouth, then closed it after thinking about it. 

[greatwyrmgold]

The Trial of Kaede Hanagata

(Spoilers for the Kemono Jihen manga up to chapter 58 or so follow.)

Kaede's trial in is kind of odd, because...I don't want to say what it's trying to do, but it feels like it's combining two potentially interesting philosophical questions in a way that invalidates both.

Dual Dilemmas

Kaede participated in an attempt to wipe the tanuki village of Yashima and its inhabitants off the map. By the end of that arc, though, both the mastermind of the attack and Yashima's chief are dead, and Kaede has been imprisoned in a magic wicker thingy that negates his powers.

On one hand, you have a classic ethical question that dates back at least to Aristotle: Do we judge those who do evil without understanding it as evil the same as we would someone who understands what they did? If not, do we judge them as better or worse?

And Kaede works pretty well for this. He has been characterized as being hedonistic, short-sighted, and above all, dim. He doesn't think about the consequences of his actions, his critical thinking skills would make it hard to recognize those skills if he did, and there are clearly a lot of things he doesn't know.

This aspect of Kaede was emphasized pretty clearly already, both through the arc where he attacked Yashima and in basically every prior appearance, but it's emphasized further in the trial. He doesn't understand what's going on, or why everyone is bummed about the old dude, or that his mastermind buddy also died.

(The buddy's name is Akagi, by the way.)

Also: The argument is directly addressed. Kabane makes an argument in Kaede's defense based around his lack of understanding, saying he can teach Kaede to be better, and Shiki responds with "Being ignorant doesn't excuse him of his crimes! He has to die!"

On the other hand, you have an even stronger conundrum: Is it right to spare a murderer's life, even if he shows no remorse for his sins? Is punishment alone enough reason to execute someone, to end a life?

And Kaede's case is a pretty ironclad case study for that question. Well, wicker-clad. Kaede would normally be dangerous, but he's trapped in a box...basket...thing made of plants whose poison negate the magic powers of people trapped inside. As long as Kaede's in the box, he can't shapeshift, escape, or set anything on fire.

(I know that being trapped in a small box made of poisonous plants sounds uncomfortable enough to bring up questions about how miserable you can make a prison before execution is more merciful, but later chapters show that Kaede is comfy in the box. The worst parts for him are that he can't eat anything that isn't right next to his head and having to pretend he's a normal dog when humans are around.) (He's fine. It's fine. He's fine.)

And Kaede doesn't show any remorse about the destruction he wrought with his own two hands. (Um, paws.) He's callous about the feelings of loss the tanuki are experiencing. Plus, Iyohime, the tanuki acting as judge, explicitly frames the trial as a matter of mercy versus vengeance. She doesn't see executing Kaede when he's no threat as "justice," and nobody really articulates a reason why it would be.

Problems

I see three problems with this setup. First, the trial takes place across about half a chapter, meaning that there isn't any time to resolve the juxtaposition of "vengeance or mercy" and "being ignorant doesn't excuse him of his crimes". And it really is just juxtaposition, rather than synthesis or even tension; the ideas just kinda lie there.

Second, the two ideas are incompatible in some key ways. For instance: Kaede might not recognize that trying to cook and eat tanuki children is evil, but he is aware enough to understand that tanuki are also people, and that being eaten isn't pleasant. The ways that Kaede is ignorant are inconsequential in the face of how remorseless he is.

At the same time, spending multiple pages questioning whether Kaede is competent to stand trial weakens the "vengeance or mercy" theme, and not just by wasting much of the trial's limited page-space. Asking whether Kaede should be considered guilty distracts from the question of how he should be treated if he is.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, Iyohime is nine, which brings a whole separate dimension to this: Whatever Kaede deserves, whatever might be just, is it ethical to make a small child complicit in someone's death?

NO! Fuck no! It's good that she was consulted, Kaede would be super dead otherwise, but that decision should never have been placed on her shoulders! She might be the beloved granddaughter of the late chief, and Yashima still has hereditary leadership like some aristocratic backwater, but she's not ready for the responsibility of leadership, especially not for executions! Even if the chief didn't have any living children (at the very least, Iyohime's dad is alive), someone else should have been appointed as acting chief!

Ultimately, this is what sways the tanuki. Not arguments about whether someone so ignorant can be considered responsible, not Iyohime flat-out calling the execution an act of vengeance, but the realization that they just asked a nine-year-old to order someone's death. That's not even subtext.

Not only are the two interesting ideas underdeveloped, not only do they conflict with each other, but they're ultimately rendered redundant by a third, much less interesting idea.

[overflowchute]

having a job vs working

so yada yada alienation of labor but basically when you do a work like old ass trades and shit like people do in video games as an idealized older way of working it's a way of life, it's your identity - a dude makes baskets or is a merchant or something. they work. but when you have a job you just kinda *gestures vaguely* doing some role as part of an organization and it doesn't feel like anything. you have a job you're employed but it's not like anything. it's just sort of a challenge you deal with unsatisfyingly on a regular basis that mostly exists as a time sink upon your soul.

all of this came from the fact that even though i am, in fact, employed, i feel like i'm unemployed at heart. what i mean by this is that what i do to make money and what defines anything about me or anything about what i want to do are only tangentially related, there's no real connection between my work answering phone calls at a certain government institution and anything i feel any personal interest in at all, this is what gives rise to the worksona - a sort of roleplayed set of activities and tasks that we are made to dance as a puppet for the approval of other people, also roleplaying their dancing puppet selves, so that we may be given the ability to live and possibly allow the true self to be an actual human in our spare time

we talk about how no one really loves their job and this is interesting to me because i think obviously there must be people who do, for reasons relating to the ideals of being able to feel like you're meaningfully having an effect on the lives of people around you and creating something you can be proud of. but the jobs where you can truly do that are basically vanishingly small and rare and now almost every job is not defined by the social network of (me as an offerer of a service and another as a receiver of a service) but by the role of (me as an interchangeable part welded into a giant machine, where personality and individuality actively runs against the goal of converting money into service into money again), this is the core of the ideal of how work does not actually exist as true labor anymore

that is to say, the labor still exists, the same things are being done, these jobs in some way relate to actual services and creation and activities and so on, and yet somehow the goal is for the majority of labor to be transformed from a human activity into an automatic assembly of mechanical parts. thus does the rise of automation once again lead to the problem of people fearing their deletion, thus too do we recreate a sort of spiritual despair of time wasted in a meaningless existence

i think especially in office jobs and bureaucracy, where you advance beyond the world of specialized skill-sets that you learn how to do and can sort of gamify, you reach this nightmarish prison where you're being kept around to be a human that does a vague variety of office and computer and file related things, or perhaps just one thing, but it doesn't FEEL like you're learning some skill, it's just vaguely understanding the annals of a contrived and stupid system where trying to figure out who does anything is a pain in the ass and your job is just to shunt various comments and paper around in the hope it eventually gets processed out into something someone wants - this in particular distances you from the idea that you've really developed a true "skill", rather than just sort of the ability to live in a corporate space without attracting undue negative attention

hence the total separation of the employed self and the unemployed self, the negation of one's tradeness, and the desperation of having to spend a great amount of every day and structure one's waking and sleeping hours week after week around the gnawing negation of selfhood that makes up approximately 1/7th of our daily life

the madness of it all...