#really just drives the point home

[effervescent-fool]

"looking forward to seeing you soon" bro does NOT sound like hes looking forward 😭

[agnes-come-back-challenge]

I love that everyone in TMA is just. Unremarkable. Jon isnt a heroic character; he's self-loathing and depressed and he exhibits the same self-pity as I do when I'm self-loathing and depressed. He doesn't stand out for his strength of will or quick-thinking or virtue. He's a good person but he stops trying to stay human when it gets uncomfortable. He's everything that a regular person is when theyre trapped in a horrible situation and it's ugly and insufferable and Real.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

chat if i may speak

[daneesoro]

When Zech trusts you well enough that 'you should know better' is used a compliment-ish

[demeterdefence]

objectively speaking the issues with lore olympus were so much bigger than just bad writing or wonky art. lore olympus was a promising but ultimately shallow fanfic, and honestly, no shame in that, we’ve all written stories and tropes that serve as wish fulfillment, more power to the cringe.

it’s that this series got so much money and time spent on it that it did not deserve - and that it really paved the way for other shallow and whitewashed series to become prominent. webtoons has only gotten more predatory towards its creators over the years, and that was helped in part by the success of lore olympus. which wasn’t even spared the same fate! for all the crap we rightfully put on rachel, there is no denying that webtoons squeezed that golden goose until it burst, and the quality suffered as a result.

clickbait sells, and lore was ultimately a flashy clickbait that just kept getting milked. the problem is that made it easier to stomp down on other creators and artists, and it made it easier to profit off of exploited mythology and culture. it’s a bummer ending that just adds on.

[sulky-cabbage]

I'm convinced Kashimo is supposed to be the representative of gojo's inner feelings and thoughts.

For a number of reasons..

Reason number 1:

The similar appearance.

The fact that making two characters look similar is a very common way for mangakas to indicate that these characters have the same values and the same way of thinking or even a similar role (or a character arc).

An example that comes to mind is Bakugo and Kudo from my hero academy:

This happens A LOT in anime & manga and I'm pretty sure that gege wanted us to think of Gojo whenever we see Kashimo.

Interesting colors Gege👀

With blue eyes, and the the kanji for purple cloud in his surname

He even has the frog face

TWINS

Reason number 2:

I think Kashimo is basically Gojo but with more freedom, he can be feral whenever he wants and he even kills people.

And that's why he always ends up expressing what we know Gojo is thinking but isn't speaking out loud.

And once you see it you can't unsee it.

Here are some examples:

Gojo appears to be having such a great time, that Yuji wonders if he's thinking of Megumi at all. and Kashimo Starts acting as though he's relieving Satoru of the guilt of enjoying himself in this situation???

(This panel is actually what opened my third eye and made me theorize that maybe Kashimo is meant to tell us what Satoru isn't saying)

And I wasn't disappointed with the next chapters...

He's the only one that gets Satoru here.

Also there's this interesting thing here:

"Kashimo vs Sukuna!! Facing off in their true forms!!"

I find it interesting that Sukuna only turned into his true form after he killed Satoru...

It's like he only came forth after Satoru's "true" form (Kashimo) came out idk idk.

And the fact that he used the weapon Yorozu gave him on Kashimo. Hmmm

Reason number 3:

Gege always draws a connection between them.

Satoru's fight and Kashimo's are treated as one..

After Satoru died; the Kashimo fight starts immediately, and he gets killed in two chapters.

He gets to talk about love and loneliness with Sukuna after he died (we didn't get that with gojo it went to Kashimo)

The fight of the strongest is over.

We cut to Kenjaku's fight.

Gege literally made a character whose only goal was to fight Sukuna then he killed him in a single chapter.

That tells me gege only made him for that conversation about love 🤷‍♀️

The conclusion:

(This is what made me make this post in the first place 🤭)

If we accept that Kashimo is the representative of Gojo's inner self then...

We can safely assume that Gojo would've thought the following regarding Sukuna's true form:

(He's Using a special kind of visual prowess too...)

Think about it...

What Kashimo was saying about people being like dirt to him was kind of bad.

If that was truly how Gojo views people then I bet he was feeling guilty about it, no wonder he didn't say that shit to anyone.

He told Geto he views them as a flower. Satoru I love you T_T

(Gojo relating more to curses than humans walk with me) that's why he gets freaky with them.

But Viewing humans as nothing, and on top of that admiring the king of curses??? and calling him Perfection??? Beautiful even???

Nah.. Nanami was right this mf Satoru is a jujutsu pervert😭😭

Like.....

This is the conversation they were having after they saw him fight...

Gege Why are you bringing it up now indeed

Hmmmmmmmm

👀👀👀👀

[frankiebirds]

so. this scene has been talked about a lot:

I think this scene is a really interesting example of the criminal minds writers giving tiny pieces of character backstories that are never elaborated upon, (or, more broadly, forgetting early established character details) because unlike a lot of examples where lines are said and immediately forgotten about, I do think this revelation informs a lot of Hotch's character. I'm not necessarily saying that the writers always had it in mind when writing Hotch that he experienced childhood abuse, but I do feel like you can see the ways in which he was affected. I don't know—this made more sense in my head, but it feels a little less forgotten about and a little less thrown in than some other examples. I think a big difference between this scene and some later ones is that:

The trauma happened pre-series

and

It was established in the first season.

criminal minds isn't great at letting their characters be affected by their in-series trauma for more than a few episodes (and then maybe it'll come up once or twice down the line because the writers remembered it happened) and a lot of later instances* of characters being revealed to have some major pre-series trauma suffer because the impact it would have reasonably had on them isn't consistent with earlier portrayals and sometimes even contradicts established information.

not that it can't be interesting to look at those earlier portrayals of their characters with the backstory that is added later. again, this all made more sense in my head: essentially, the reason i think this feels different to me is that the writers knew when they started writing hotch that he was abused as a child, while other characters who have traumatic backstories revealed have those backstories added much later, and so the writers have a not-great choice between showing the effects their trauma had on them when there was no sign of it earlier, or moving on with their character as if none of it ever happened.

*i'd like to quickly establish that i'm not talking about morgan here. that was also a pretty early reveal and feels consistent enough with early characterization that i wouldn't be shocked if the idea was first floated while season one was being written

[orcelito]

I've been working on Finally finishing Naruto Shippuden (after being a Naruto fan for nearly 15 years), & I just finished episode 420. And I have some THOUGHTS about the "Naruto is the reincarnation of Ashura" thing. This started as just me rambling for my normal liveblog posting, but I had a LOT of thoughts about this actually, so I am presenting them to u all Now.

So. Naruto meeting the Sage of Six Paths! Cool!!! I'm finally learning about Naruto being the reincarnation of Ashura, which... honestly is not a choice that I like very much. Narratively speaking, I mean. The Point of Naruto's journey was that he was the underdog, the bottom of his class, the orphan that everyone hated and made fun of. Through hard work and perseverance, he managed to drag himself from being a complete social outcast to someone generally really loved and respected. That's compelling!!! It means a lot!!!

But then the show is like. "Oh...actually, he's the son of the fourth hokage. And Also, he's the reincarnation of the son of the literal creator of ninshuu aka the precursor of modern ninjutsu." I mind him being Minato's son less as a narrative choice (for reasons I will get into shortly), but making him Ashura's reincarnation?? I've got Several things that bug me about that.

So First, for him being Minato's son. It's not like that's ever Actually given him any sort of status (since most people don't know), & Minato was also kind of just a random guy?? Just incredibly skilled, enough so to become the 4th hokage. And then there's also Kushina, descended from a very successful and very Feared clan that ended up almost entirely killed bc of that fear. Naruto being an Uzumaki means great power, huge chakra reserves (not even including the extra chakra he gets from Kurama), & some innate skills (that Naruto mostly didn't inherit, but one can play pretend sometimes). BUT ALSO, they were almost entirely killed off. He's a survivor of his clan's genocide that happened well before he was even born, and he doesn't even REALIZE it yet. So even though being Minato's son means he's the son of a very influential person, it doesn't give him the same leverage as being a Senju or Uchiha would. And the clan he Does belong to bc of Kushina does not give him status either, bc they're almost all fuckin Dead. And we know that Minato is a Namikaze, but as for what that actually *means*.... it's basically nonexistent. There is no mention of a Namikaze clan. Minato was just a prodigy in his own right.

SO.... All that is to say that while appending Naruto's orphan story with a "well, Actually, his parents were very powerful and well respected" does discount it a little bit, it's still not Especially unique in terms of what other people in their world may experience (there are other descendants of current and/or former kage + Many other powerful clans running around) OR in the benefits that it gives him (essentially nothing, outside of his physical strength and the inheritance of Kurama himself)(which inheriting Kurama did grant him access to IMMENSE power, but it also was the source of So Much of his suffering growing up, so I think it balances out).

The "reincarnation of Ashura, son of the Sage of Six Paths" thing tho... that one really kinda does. At that point, Naruto is no longer just the orphaned son of two respected shinobi & the current jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi (something special, but not entirely original, given that there are Other jinchuuriki who are descendants of powerful shinobi). He is now something that NO ONE ELSE ALIVE can be. It is saying that He, above Everyone Else, is special in this way. Outside of Sasuke lol, but I'll touch on that in a moment.

It just feels kinda cheap. It's cool I guess, but at this point it feels like we've completely lost the Plucky Orphan who works hard to overcome his circumstances plot. It's saying that he was Always one of a kind, he was Always destined to become Someone Special (or that he was, in fact, special the whole time). It removes the importance of his hard work in the equation. It makes it so that this is no longer something he earned for himself, but rather something that was a Given, since he is, of course, Ashura's reincarnation.

Cheap. It's cheap. And I don't like it.

Then we get into Sasuke being the reincarnation of Indra. Which I haven't gotten to that yet in the show, but I know from seeing it around. I do enjoy the sun and moon aesthetic between Naruto and Sasuke (so SO much, in fact), but. Making Sasuke the reincarnation of the Other son of the Sage of Six Paths is... frustrating? In several ways. There is of course the fact that Naruto and Sasuke have such extremely gay vibes (and Always Have), so making them the reincarnations of brothers so late in the story feels like an insult to anyone who reads their relationship in that way. Which to be fair, we do see Naruto mention at a few points that he thinks of Sasuke like a brother, but it's only a few points + feels like a kind of narrative cop-out. Sasuke himself said he doesn't think of Naruto in that way (though that could also be his self-denial speaking & it could change. Haven't gotten that far yet.), & I think there are much better choices for Naruto's "brother" figure (primarily Iruka, but people like Killer Bee and any of the other konoha 12 would be fitting too). Personally, it feels like Naruto was trying to put a name to his very strong feelings for Sasuke, & since he doesn't realize being gay is an option (since Kishimoto is clearly homophobic & made this ninja society to reflect that), he settled on Brother. But Sasuke is like "what the fuck? No, my only brother is Itachi." Instead, Sasuke has called Naruto his best friend. Which also doesn't fully encompass their relationship, but it's still closer than Brother.

So here we are, Kishimoto saying around 555 episodes into the plot (only 80 more to go) that they're actually the reincarnations of brothers. And not just any brothers. THE sons of the Sage of Six Paths. Incredibly influential, incredibly powerful, two sides of the same coin and very historically significant figures. Sasuke always had the "descended from an elite, yet disgraced clan" thing going for him, so in my opinion it doesn't hold the same kind of insult to his story that it does for Naruto. But it still feels like an insult to THEIR story.

Naruto and Sasuke were just two orphan boys. Their moms were best friends, but they didn't know that. They died when they were too young. But Naruto and Sasuke still gravitated towards one another. Understood each other like no one else. And got on each other's nerves like no one else. But that irritation stemmed from their genuine admiration of each other. They wanted to be able to beat each other. They became Rivals. And it was on their own terms. No one else pushed them together. Outside of them ending up on the same team, their entire relationship was fueled by their recognition of one another, Jealousy of one another, and the simple enjoyment of being around one another. They were the ones to decide the importance of their relationship. Sasuke recognizing Naruto as his closest friend & thus thinking he was the one he had to cut off to achieve power, and Naruto recognizing Sasuke as his first peer that acknowledged him, a precious bond he finally made, and thus someone he had to cling to FIERCELY. That was all them.

But here we are. They're a reincarnated set. The sun and the moon, but Officially. One could say soulmates in a way, in a non-romantic kind of context (considering the first iteration was a pair of brothers). While this is cool from a story standpoint, it really takes some significance away from their relationship to me. It makes it less of something they chose for themselves and more of a given. Pretty much just like Naruto being Ashura's reincarnation cheapens his own story, it cheapens their relationship too.

I dont want a story about two boys who were destined to be important to each other!!!! I want a story about two orphans who just happened to become important to one another thru a series of coincidences and personal choices. In that way, their relationship gains greater gravity bc it's born from their own hearts Alone. It's Naruto moving mountains for the sake of this boy he loves, and it's Sasuke finally coming back around bc of the force of Naruto's dedication. It means so much more than the implication that they were always meant to be a pair. So I really don't like this narrative choice.

[everypanelofizuku]

Chapter 83 - Loss

[kirasworldofwords]

Do you reckon that there are deepfakes of Lewis?

-🏍🪓

Could very well be the case, yeah. I don't know, it's hard to tell, really. Because as the name suggests, deep fakes are deeply faked images to the point where it's damn near - if not completely - impossible to tell if the image in question is real or just a sick fabrication. In today's day and age, paired with the sheer endless power AI seems to bring along, just about anything and everything is possible, I fear.

[dawnthefluffyduck]

New game interest unlocked

(crow in bottom right belongs to @patchwork-crow-writes)

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Hi snap how are you 2day ^_^

yknow anon im really having A Day today that is for sure

[diiwata]

haymitch...? abernathy...?

[veatomis]

The problem i have with veilguard's main quests is that they feel like they're in the wrong kind of game. The scope of the destruction after youre done is SO big but its just. barely acknowledged (maybe because youre part of a very small and supposedly secretive team) Like the annihilation of weisshaupt, the final destruction of minrathous, the big archdemon with the eclipse, the two dragons in treviso/minrathous... They all feel like the kind of things we should've seen in a "end of the world" game like inquisition instead of veilguard + we have all of this destruction and yet we only really get to see how it affects the factions directly. I just think the game's overall plot would've worked better if the consequences of veilguard's quests and inquisition's traded places. The world is literally being torn apart by this evil ancient magister and thats why thedas needs the inquisition/inquisitor/herald of andraste to give the rest of the world hope. The evanuris keep making plans but because the veilguard is so secretive and its working with all of these factions known for not being entirely open about their missions/knowledge with the public theyre able to foil their plans before any real damage is done.

[thatfriendlyanon]

no longer tiny joys tuesday but it's been a pretty rocky week so far so some things from today that have given me some encouragement:

washed my hair (<- always makes me feel less gross)

was productive (and it wasn't as much of a mental battle to focus/be productive like it was yesterday)! particularly in writing a lot of my journal spreads (something i've been behind on and takes a lot of effort for me to do), i did it while listening through a new playlist & drinking coffee & i enjoyed the whole process & am way more caught up

finished a drawing i started last night

read two more chapters of my book; i'm nearing the end and it's still so good ;;

spent some time (being productive) at a cafe with my brother :)

^ he & i watched another episode of hilda once we got home, while i ate a pb&j sandwich, and he's enjoying it and i'd forgotten how much of a comfort show it is for me :))

drove to/from the cafe And to/from the grocery store and! felt considerably less stressed about it than i have my previous driving trips!! also my brother is a very patient & great driving teacher & i am very grateful for him

spent the evening writing/editing poetry & making Processing journal spreads (which i haven't done in a Very Long Time [since...july??] it is. so so good for my brain.) & listening to new truth-music (anchor hymns <3) & feeling a bit more of God's comfort/compassion/grace than i have in awhile <3

[llycaons]

I love planning trips