#same path they're all on the same path!!!

[champion-of-love]

i know that the eah books frame apple, briar and blondie as the 'main' royal trio and ashlynn is sometimes the plus one. then the webisodes sort of switches blondie and ashlynn's positions which i think makes it so much better.

here's my reasoning. boling it down to the basics, apple and blondie's future stories are both short tragedies followed by a long happy ever after. apple gets three trials from the evil queen and essentially gets poisoned for a week and her survival is ensured through all of it. blondie's story with the bears takes less time than that. heck, blondie barely suffers through it. the bears go more tragedy than her.

but briar and ashlynn's stories are much more darker and tragic than those two combined. briar falls asleep for a hundred years. when she wakes up, all her family, her siblings, her friends and everyone she's ever known are gone are long gone. she's displaced from her own time and saddled with a prince she has never met before. ashlynn's going to lose her mother and then her father and then has to suffer through years of abuse from her stepfamily and she just has to bear it. she's going to have lose to lose contact with her friends and break up with her boyfriend and go through all of it alone with just birds and mice to talk to. they both have to make it through so much hardship before they get their happily ever after.

(their ever afters aren't even 100% happy. when ashlynn gets her ever after, she'll eventually go through the last part of her cinderella story and knows that she won't live long enough to see her child reach adulthood. briar knows her child will be cursed too and she'll have to accept the fact that there's going to be that event where her child will fall asleep for a hundred years. they won't be dead, but it's close to a parent burying their own child. since snow whites aren't related to the evil queens in the world of ever after, only apple gets a perfectly happy ending to her story)

the webisodes deciding to surround apple with ashlynn and briar makes apple look so much more naive with her way of thinking. the extreme contrast with her path to her happily ever after compared to her 'bffs' portrays apple as someone who doesnt' think about other people's stories and just focuses on her own. the lack of compassion from apple (and other royals) towards ashlynn and briar is even enough to make ashlynn and briar rebel. apple's blinding excitement toward her future clashes extremely with ashlynn and briar's anxious dread towards theirs.

surrounding apple with briar and blondie just doesn't give the same effect.

in contrast to the royal side where you have raven, maddie and cedar. maddie and cedar are happy with their stories and like where they end up. raven doesn't. rightly so because her fate isn't a happy one. but maddie and cedar feel so much love for their friend that they're willing to throw away their destinies, their potential happiness in the hope of being able to help her. they're willing to risk their happily ever afters so raven won't ever have to suffer.

what an interesting comparison between two groups when one is descirbed to be 'good' and the other as 'bad' when it's definitely the other way around.

the webisodes may be just marketing for the dolls but they do make some incredibly fantastic writing choices.

[terukotime]

thinking about Ace and Eden again and how i really don't want either of them to be the culprit lol. i just feel like either one being the blackened would be a waste of their potential. i know in Danganronpa that's bound to happen with some characters, but Ace and Eden both have traits and arcs that could run through the whole series, or at the very least, to the next chapter. while a big part of any killing game story is losing characters quickly and having their arcs and growth cut short (we've already seen as much with Arei, rest in peace queen), Eden and Ace have a lot of prominence in the Trust vs. Distrust theme of drdt, on either side respectively. and they both have a lot of potential for their views to change. i can totally see Eden's optimism finally starting to crack, and she begins to lose hope in trusting others and thinking they're good-intentioned, especially since she was put in virtually the same place that Teruko was in in the last trial, with everyone distrusting her and thinking she's the culprit. though Ace hasn't had much of a catalyst to alter his beliefs yet, there's still hope for his views to change. he's a lot like how Teruko began to behave after the first trial, thinking he can't trust or rely on anybody and pushing everyone away as much as possible.

[giant-ass analysis under the cut. i didn't expect myself to go on such a huge rant, but i realized i have quite a lot of thoughts on the matter lmao. there are probably a lot of hot takes in here and i know there will be people who won't agree with me, so take this all with a grain of salt, pls & thx]

while Ace's role in the trials is mostly confined to causing conflict and being a comedic relief, he's expressed being committed to investigating the scene of Arei's death. while sure, if Ace is the culprit, his desire to investigate could very well be a ruse. but for the sake of his potential, it'd be far more interesting if him being innocent results in him going on to investigate more thoroughly and contribute substantially to the trials. Arei did have potential for a full redemption arc, but her death doesn't feel narratively unfulfilled. its tragedy not only allows the audience to further sympathize with Arei and see just how nuanced she was, but it's also meaningful to the members of the cast, and will serve as a point of motivation for them, whether that be to maintain hope in escaping or giving into despair.

at least, that's how it's set up to be. i feel that if either Eden or Ace are the culprit, Arei's death loses a good deal of its weight and meaning. especially if the culprit is Eden; even if she had "well-intentioned" motivations for killing her (as well-intentioned as murder motivations can be, anyway), Arei's breakdown, desire to change, and tragically short path to redemption is rendered pointless. her want to be a good person will have affected virtually no one. her death will have only held significance to David, as most of the cast didn't care for Arei or hated her, much like Ace.

while Culprit Ace won't render Arei's death *as* meaningless as Culprit Eden, it sure would make Ace's own death feel pretty meaningless. he'd be dying in a trial where he fully believes everyone is cruel, everyone hates him, and no one cares about him at all. his shift in his belief can't really be considered much of an arc or even a regression; he just descends further into his hatred and paranoia until he dies doing exactly what the killing game expects of him. Ace, a character who has prioritized his self-preservation all throughout the series, will have thrown that away for...what? revenge against Nico? would he really place his hatred for them over his fear and will to live? Ace is impulsive and narrow-minded, but he's not without *some* sense. if Ace were to be the culprit of this chapter, what would he have contributed to the story? what would his existence have meant? what would he have provided that the story can't progress without? he'd have zero growth, zero stakes, and zero relevance to the ongoing plot, aside from unrevealed backstory (most of which will likely go unsaid in the main story if he were to die now). do i think Ace is going to play a significant role in the overarching story? no. not as much as characters like Xander and David, anyway. but he still has so much to offer as either a survivor or later victim/culprit, as we'll have spent more time with him, gotten a better understanding of him, and possibly be able to sympathize with him, like we do with Arei.

and here's another thing i've been thinking about, too: all the deceased so far have a point of significance to the story. Xander has a connection to the larger-scale mystery surrounding the killing game and a complex relationship with David. he continues to be relevant in the story even after his death and will likely always be.

Min is not only a cautionary tale to the rest of the cast, but her story follows a very cohesive path:

she's a girl committed to her academics and has been led to believe it's the only thing about her that matters ->

while not a social butterfly, she still enjoys spending time with others and making the most of the situation she's in ->

she forms a bond with Teruko, someone who has shown to value both her intelligence and her personality ->

she finds Teruko being murdered by Xander, and instead of being a bystander, she takes action to save her friend ->

she realizes that what she did has jeopardized her own life, a life that she does not center around herself. her family depends on her having a successful future, a future she has been groomed to achieve since she was little and has made several sacrifices for ->

though Teruko is her friend, Min prioritizes her self-preservation. there are too many things that are objectively more important to her than the life of a girl she's known for a couple days ->

still, she cannot shake her guilt and chooses to remain at Teruko's side throughout the investigation ->

she's desperate to maintain her lie, even if it means framing the friend she tried to save and getting everyone else killed. she fights and fights until she can no longer ->

she loses everything. her life, her future, the trust of her friends, the trust and bond she had with Teruko. Min always had good intentions. but even good-intentioned people can do terrible things.

Min's story throughout Chapter 1 alone is very digestible and easy to follow. even without knowing the greater contexts of her life, like her family's financial situation or her groomed future of being a Hope's Peak student, her motives and actions make complete sense. you don't come away from it feeling like she acted out of character or that her death was hasty or sloppily written. her death has a lot of meaning and impact on the other characters.

and that alone makes Culprit Eden or Culprit Ace unsatisfying. Culprit Eden would not only undermine Arei's death and potentially lead her into character derailment, it'd also just be Min's story regurgitated in a much less compelling manner. Teruko has already had her trust broken, and while it seems like she's slowly starting to see the value in relying on others again in the Chapter 2 trial, what good would Eden's death do for her? even if it causes Teruko to regress, what will change? wouldn't Teruko go back to being the way she was acting at the start of the chapter, undoing whatever growth was already beginning to happen? will she be unaffected by Eden's death, or at least act like it? will it somehow strengthen her desire to trust and rely on others again? (it won't.) Eden's role as the chapter 2 culprit really won't do much good for the story, regardless of what her reasons are. everything we've learned about Eden and Arei, both together and individually, will be irrelevant. the significance of Arei wanting to be Eden's friend unconditionally, something that we learn is so significant for her because of her secret, will turn out to actually be pointless because Eden will have killed the one person who expressed they'd be her friend her regardless of who she is.

Ace simply hasn't done enough in the story to establish his deeper character. with Xander, Min, and Arei, we already got glimpses into their core beliefs, their true selves, their moral standings. if those aspects of a character are only revealed after they're confirmed to be the culprit, then honestly...that's just bad writing. i don't like saying that, but i firmly believe it. not only do we hardly know anything about Ace's backstory, we just don't know a whole lot about him other than surface-level things the show outright tells us: he's fearful and paranoid, he doesn't like being a jockey, he's hotheaded and unsociable, he developed an eating disorder due to the strict requirements of his talent, he's hardly ever had any friends, he doesn't think anyone cares about him. and while a lot of inferences can be made from that information, it's still very speculative, and even a bonus episode after his execution wouldn't be able to cover enough of his backstory and personal life for it to feel justified narratively. you simply can't kill him off without letting us see another side of his character and have it better the story.

if either of them do, unfortunately, turn out to be the true culprit of the case...i will be very disappointed. i won't drop drdt or criticize drdtdev for their decisions, but i will still personally believe it to be a bad choice. nevertheless, it's not my story, and i will continue to support and enjoy the show regardless. i have a lot of faith in drdtdev's skills as a storyteller, but no story can be completely perfect. Ace or Eden being the true culprit won't destroy the show as a whole, and i'm not trying to imply that it's a fundamentally bad choice, i just think it'd be very difficult to pull off and have it feel natural, organic, and satisfying for the ongoing story. i will neither be optimistic nor pessimistic about what happens in the next coming episodes, i will simply wait and see. i just wanted to get all my thoughts out here, and hopefully i didn’t come across as aggressive or snobbish or anything. this is a free to watch series, after all, and i enjoy and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into it and made it possible.

[rey-jake-therapist]

SPOILERS EPISODE 7

I'm so, so, SO scared of what Sauron will make Celebrimbor endure to make him say where the Nine are. We know he will stop at nothing to get this information. And Celebrimbor will resist because he knows that Sauron is sure he's following the right path (deceiving himself, in his own words), and thus impossible to reason with. So he will resist, but somehow Sauron will realize that he didn't hide the rings somewhere but trusted someone with them. But how much torture will he inflict to Celebrimbor before he comes to this conclusion and chases the person who ran away with the rings? I dread to think of the pain this man will endure before Sauron understands he's beating the wrong bush 🙁

Will he be surprised to see Galadriel's the one who carries the rings? Does he even know she's here? I was surprised that there wasn't any indication about that in episode 7. I didn't expect him to do anything to free her from Adar (I predicted a while ago that she would be a bait for Elrond, not Sauron), but it was a tad disappointing to see no acknowledgement of her presence. Maybe it's meant to surprise him, after all.

And Mirdania.... She was really just a plot device, wasn't she? 😅Their last interaction was interesting, to say the least. Twice, we saw Sauron touch Mirdania; the first time it was pretty obvious that it was because she reminded him of Galadriel, I'm much less sure about the second time.... It was probably just manipulation. But during their last interaction, she touched his arm and he remained frozen, annoyed even by this unsolicited gesture. This shows alone how much in control of everything and everyone Sauron wants to be. He had no affection for this girl, so he didn't want her to touch him. He even pushed the cynism to the point of promising herr she would be "rewarded" for the good job she had done, knowing perfectly that he would soon get rid of her.

The way he sacrificed her really showed how dispensable Mirdania (and everybody else) was, to him. And let's not forget the timing!! Galadriel's nearby and will soon meet him for an epic fight. Does he know she's here, it's unsure but it screams "my ex is back in town, it was fun but girl you have to go" 😅

Charlie Vickers said that to Sauron, people were just little bugs. I guess he holds a few people, such as Celebrimbor and Galadriel, to higher standards, because he can play these will power games he likes so much with them. They make the game interesting because they're strong minded and will fight back (even if it pisses him off when they do!). All the others are just insects he can crush without a second thought.

This dialogue about Morgoth was very enlightening, to understand how Sauron's mind work, and why he's the way he is now. I loved that the show didn't ask us to sympathize for him; as Celebrimbor pointed out, he chose to submit him (and "countless of others") to the same suffering he was himself subjected to. We saw first hand in season 1 how he could have decided to change his ways, the opportunity Galadriel gave him to take another path, but decided repeat the old patterns instead.

For the audience, it will be heartbreaking to see him slowly but surely sinking deeper into the darkness, because despite all his evil deeds, we can't help but liking him (well at least I can't! 😩), and we know the goal he pursues isn't bad in itself.... It's his methods, and his insistance in wanting to control absolutely everything and everyone that ruins any good intention he could have regarding Middle-Earth....

[confoundedluna]

Here's just my analysis of every trophy from the UD remake, how they've changed, what's been removed, just my general thoughts on them because I'm super hyped for more information lmao

Trophies that are entirely unchanged - same requirements, same name, same level (platinum, gold, silver or bronze)

A Symphony of Horror - The platinum, technically different requirements I guess because of the new trophies under it, but its status as the platinum and everything else about it is the same so I'm counting it here

This Is THE End - Gold, they all die trophy

They All Live - Gold, they all live trophy

You Opened Their Eyes - Gold, Mystery Man clueline trophy

The Fateful Descent - Gold, 1952 clueline trophy

The Tale of The Two Sisters - Gold, Twins clueline trophy

You Let The Wrong One In! - Bronze, Chris or Ash opened the trapdoor in the mines

Trophies that are the same except their level has changed

The Skilful Wolf Man - Gold to silver, saving Wolfie trophy

The Psycho Path - Silver to bronze, attacking the Psycho as Sam or Ashley (vase or scissors, possibly the bat too in Sam's chase though I'm not sure on that)

Trophies that are the same but their name changed

Night of the Totem Hunter - Gold, is now called An Omen?, technically different since the Hunger totems were added, but it's the same idea of finding all of them so I'm counting it here

Trophies that changed name and level

Scream Too! - Silver to bronze, is now called Saw That Coming, Mike cuts off his fingers with the machete

Ashley Snaps - Silver to bronze, is now called Nightmare on Ash Street, technically changed in that the description is tonally very different and moves to the more sympathetic view of that situation over the original's description, which is very interesting in and of itself, but it's the same thing requirement wise so I'm counting it

Trophies that have been removed for the remake

The Quicker Man - Gold, all the boys survive, makes sense as you can easily get this at the same time as the They All Live trophy

Four Daughters Of Darkness - Gold, all the girls survive, same thing as the above trophy, though I'm more bummed about this one because I really like the name and referring to the girls with it

Don't Scare Jessica To Death - Silver, Jess survives the night, this has been kind of replaced by a couple of other trophies which I'll get to in a bit, I liked that she was the only one with a sole survivor trophy so again kinda bummed by its removal but oh well

Instant Inferno - Silver, Sam immediately runs to the switch, this one I imagine is because it's right at the end of chapter 10 and annoying to replay the whole thing for since you can't do a all live or all die run and get this, plus it's a little out of Sam's character in most people's opinions, which kinda aligns with the change to Ashley Snaps i think

Fatal Grudge - Bronze, Chris shoots Ash, I think this one again goes with the tonal change made to Ashley Snaps, and also means that following that path gets you one trophy as opposed to two

The Exorcism of Emily and Let eM In - Both bronze, grouping these together because they're the same situation, it's very interesting to me they got rid of these two in favour for something else (which I'll again talk about further down)

New trophies added for the remake

It's Shining - Silver, collect all the new interactables, this one I'm excited for, I'm really intrigued to see what they added in, one other trophy kinda spoils that since i believe the item it mentioned isn't in the game already unless I'm forgetting seeing it?

We Need to Talk About Josh - Silver, achieved the best ending for Josh, this one has a lot of people excited based on the wording that he'll get a new ending where he can survive and make it off the mountain, and though my logical brain says that it's just gonna be for getting the journal and the ending where he turns, my Josh-loving brain would love to see a different ending for him!

The Cabin in the Blackwoods - Silver, completed a full playthrough, your bog-standard completion trophy, but I'm glad this and one other are the only ones and it isn't a chapter-by-chapter basis like some people were worried the trophies would be

Talk to eM - Silver, Emily slapped Ashley after the truth was revealed, I can only imagine this is replacing the other two because of what an iconic moment in the game it became within the fandom, and I appreciate that acknowledgement ngl, plus it's more incentive for players to keep Em alive in the basement as opposed to shooting her because they hate her, which I always like to see

When a Psycho Calls - Silver, Sam successfully escapes the Psycho, this one is like a 'yeah, this should have always been in the game' kind of addition to the trophy list, totally get this one being here, I like to see it

Blackwood Country - Silver, the group respected the wildlife of the mountain, I also like this one because it plays into the story and the background of the mountain, my guess is it's a series of not shooting the squirrel, not hitting the bird in the snowball fight, possibly choosing to comfort the dying deer that Mike and Jess find, not hitting the herd with the axe as Matt, and possibly not hitting Wolfie, though since his survival is its own trophy, he might not count

Fatal Destination - Silver, tried changing the past despite Dr Hill's warnings, this one is intriguing but I imagine it's solely for restarting and either replaying the full game, or just the prologue, since he already has a unique dialogue for starting the game again from the beginning (which, if someone has a clip of, please link it! I cannot find it!)

Only Others Left Alive - Silver, Matt and Jess only survive, I like this one giving some acknowledgement to the two that get pretty neglected by the game, it's part of the replacement for Jess's sole survivor one and gives Matt some respect too!

Carnival of Solitude - Bronze, shake the snow globe, this is the item I mentioned earlier that I cannot remember seeing in the original game? If it was there then my bad, but if it wasn't, I hope it's something either with like a cute picture of the Washingtons in it, or with a deer or butterfly in it and we find it in Hannah's room or something like that

Just Breathe - Bronze, Matt or Em successfully defended themselves with the flare gun, another one where you think 'yeah, this should have been in the game already', both are pretty hard shots to make iirc and deserve more acknowledgment outside of the butterfly effect they're part of

Our Host - Bronze, the Psycho's identity was revealed, this will ether be a general story progression trophy unlocked automatically when it happens, or may have something to do with finding everything in his workshop should Sam escape, though that's less likely

I Know What You Did Last Year - Bronze, completed the Prologue, the other general playthrough trophy, I like this one due to the rework and the expanded scenes that we'll get to see

Lodge Fever - Bronze, Matt and Em started separate confrontations in the lodge, this is I imagine for starting a fight with Mike as Matt but backing down before it reaches boiling point, so that Emily can come in and start her fight with Jess, so I'm intrigued by their choice to add this, though it could hint at the preorder DLC being added into the full game? maybe?

One Hour Selfie - Bronze, take a bad selfie with Jessica, this is a missable encounter on the cabin walk that I think can impact their relationship? it's got some funny dialogue and it's a cute little silly trophy so I like that they've put in something like that

Drag Me Through Hell - Bronze, Mike saved Jess without failing a QTE, the other half of the change to Jess's sole survivor trophy, this one is interesting as she can still die after, but can also live if you do miss a QTE - this is the most like. playing the game related trophy, if that makes sense? it's the most related to the actual controls of the game, and I wonder if you have to have certain settings or difficulty enabled to be able to achieve it or not

An American Survivor in Canada - Bronze, Mike successfully escapes the Sanatorium in Chapter 9, some people are theorising that Mike could have a new death now, which would be sick because his plot armour is atrocious, but again, I'm pretty sure this is just about him making it out of the building on his own, and Sam not needing to be in there to help him blow it up

Patient Sematary - Bronze, Mike picked up the odd figurine, another interactable spoiler, I've gone through all the clues and can't see anything like a figurine, so I'm really intrigued about this!

And that's everything! I've added a few of my thoughts throughout, I guess let me know what y'all think and if you have any other inputs? I just thought the changes and additions and removals were all super interesting, and I love getting to analyse and see if anything we don't know can be figured out from this stuff! And if anyone else has already done something like this then oh well lmao, this is my version

[glagger-true]

Not really an analysis post like I promised yet, but I really just wanna ramble about how much I like that Dave both shares a struggle with and integrates an aspect of whichever love interest he chooses.

Both Dave and Sal deal with the survivor's guilt of losing a loved one and it's effects. So Dave becomes introspective and patient like Sal as they grow close to both support Sal and cope with it himself.

Both Dave and Orlando have parents who failed them. In opposite ways. And Dave becomes stubborn and attentive about protecting the feelings who he loves like Orlando does to understand that he can move past that shadow and help Orlando do the same.

Both Dave and Dean have a trauma that makes them feel like they need to overcompensate all the time. And act in harmful ways a result. Dave gets confident and mature like Dean as they grow closer and more honest with the other to tackle that issue together better.

Both Dave and Hoss struggle with being open about their feelings and trusting people with their struggles. So Dave is taught better self-care and how to be more perceptive about himself and others through Hoss to learn how care for himself better and deal with his feelings. As well as inspire Hoss to open himself up more.

Both Dave and Tyson deal with self-loathing and emotional disconnection. Which makes their usually positive bond toxic for both oftenly. Dave becomes more assertive and direct like Tyson as their relationship gets more intimate and that helps both him and Tyson acknowledge and accept their feelings. Helping them become healthier partners.

Both Dave and Roswell deal terribly with the idea of losing their loved ones. Feeling responsible for any harm that befalls them. It's by learning from Roswell's perspective about life and death, as well as accepting to love him knowing his death is unavoidable, that Dave learns how to cope with loss better. Giving himself and Roswell the opportunity to focus on and value themselves and their feelings first for once rather than thinking just about everyone else's.

Funnily enough, most of these are likely all unintentional. But I still think it's cool that they're there anyways because it shows one my favorites traits about Dave. Which is how full of potential for learning and growth he is.

He might be the same person in all routes, but the paths he can take as he develops and grows with his loved ones are limitless and unique.

I just think he's neat.

[honeycreammilkshake]

If that leak is real Gege may really want a sequel that has Sukuna but NOT yuji lmao, sorry Gege, I LOVE Sukuna but Sukuna without Yuji doesn't sound good, he is a good character but the rest of the cast is.....I still don't get why it was so hard to understand the huge appeal Sukuna/Yuji duo had.

Same with Yuji without Sukuna, standard safe ending with a trio safe ending, sorry I don't like those anymore

100% with you, anon. even if you don't ship sukuita, you can't deny sukuna and yuuji had one of the most fascinating relationships between a protagonist and an antagonist.

they both hate each other so deeply, but everything between them has always been much more personal than when they're fighting others. and sukuna definitely gives yuuji special treatment. he uses kozou almost exclusively for yuuji (and the one time i believe he doesn't, he's still referring to megumi as the "other" brat) to the point where it's almost like a pet name.

and what is so interesting about this is that sukuna so dismissively calls megumi "brat," in a way that i feel is trying to disassociate yuuji from the word.

there's a reason why i think of this as the sukuita divorce era and that is mostly because of how sukuna keeps claiming to not need yuuji any more, always trying to sideline yuuji in favor of others, but he also can't seem to stop obsessing over yuuji and making everything about the guy he supposedly finds boring and worthless. sukuna goes out of his way to praise/compliment others during their fights, so that everyone but yuuji (who he only ever admires in his private thoughts) seems to get some kind of in-depth commentary on their abilities, while sukuna merely insults yuuji (rather weakly, too). it's even funnier when sukuna unironically can't stop making everything about the brat even when yuuji isn't there, because when sukuna's fighting maki he still manages to frame his admiration of her skill in a way that insults yuuji, despite the fact the boy isn't even there so why does it have any relevance at all??

not only that, but sukuna loves to torment yuuji, dragging his cruel taunting out in a way he doesn't do with others. he deliberately changes back to let yuuji see the devastation of shibuya, because sukuna understands how much the needless death of strangers and innocents impacts yuuji.

and he also makes a big deal of how little he thinks of yuuji, how unthreatening and boring the brat supposedly is to him shortly after possessing megumi's body.

what's really interesting here is how, despite a chance to kill yuuji, sukuna still doesn't. in fact, he's had multiple chances to get rid of yuuji but still he keeps the brat around. maybe he finds yuuji a more worthwhile opponent after all. maybe he even wants yuuji to remain alive till the end of it all, if only to see the brat suffer through the breaking of all his ideals.

there's also the matter of how sukuna can't keep his hands off of yuuji, almost as if he misses the closeness he had when yuuji was his vessel. it's far more intimate and physical than it needs to be.

this panel in particular really showcases sukuna's overall feelings toward yuuji. he's cradling the back of yuuji's neck, almost tenderly, as he pounds his fists relentlessly on the side of yuuji's head.

yuuji drives sukuna to such violent reactions because sukuna's on the defensive with him. they both get under each other's skin and ignite a hate far more consuming than others bring out in them.

and the way yuuji also fights sukuna is so unnecessarily up-close and physical as well.

the raw emotion of yuuji beating into sukuna, his crazy side really showing in how rough and unmerciful he is right now.

sukuna draws out the worst in yuuji just as much as sukuna arguably drew out the best in him, too. if it wasn't for swallowing that cursed finger and becoming the vessel of the king of curses, yuuji wouldn't have started down this path of working so hard to save other people's lives. as he himself said, he'd never before considered putting his own strength and talents to use helping others, and never before had he considered he might be the only person capable of doing so, but seeing how sukuna caused so much devastation and death drove yuuji into becoming a fighting force for good.

and just like sukuna brings out so many overwhelmingly strong feelings in yuuji, the boy does the same to him as well. sukuna is at turns extremely aggravated and enraged because of yuuji, and surprisingly pleased because of him as well.

sukuna can keep talking big about how uninteresting and inferior yuuji is yet the moment yuuji comes into view, sukuna is all psyched up for their fight....

he even looks excited and pleased to fight with yuuji again even though he claims to have no interest in the brat .... not fooling anyone sukuna ( -. -)

sukuna also can't seem to stand yuuji looking down on him with "pity" which sparks a much more violent reaction than he had with other people when they suggested sukuna was lonely and unfulfilled with his life, or even tried to "force" sukuna into thinking like them.

i think my biggest disappointment with this series overall is how gege chose to focus so much less on these two and their dynamic. i hated it when yuuji kept getting relegated to the sides over and over, and i also didn't like it when sukuna kept having rather pointless fights with everyone but yuuji.

the fact that yuuji suddenly wanted to offer sukuna mercy and even connect with him despite hating and despising his very being before was also such an unexpected twist that i would have loved gege to expand on and give a little more context and feeling behind.

i think, with a relationship as fascinating and complex as theirs, focusing more on it would have only made jjk even greater. but sadly, gege chose not to do that. and i feel like that why a lot of the recent chapters have been rather disappointing.

thank you so much for your ask, anon! sorry for the rant i came back with.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

If this was her plan to gain sympathy then she's stupider than I thought she was.

Obviously people choose to be anonymous when they're the whistleblowers but why is one anonymous when she/he come out to defend their darling boss? This HR article actually helped to confirm her monstrous behavior in the UK instead of helping her get good PR. How are most of those defending her are ex staffs? If she's such a wonderful employer, they wouldn't have left correct? And using the same person who wrote that "5 anonymous friends" article too. She really thought no one will sleuth around? She gave a new lease of life to an issue that was actually dying out.

How the heck is she THIS thick OMG 🤦🏻‍♀️

It's self-preservation for future job prospects.

Look, the Sussexes are AWFUL to work for. The recent leaks makes that very clear. And the pay/benefits are probably abominable too because Meghan strikes me as having the kind of "it's a pleasure to work for me" ego. But the reason why people - and some talented people at that - work for the Sussexes is because the Sussexes are famous, have name recognition, and were expected to be huge moverse and shakers in the international philanthropy world. All someone has to do is work for a year, leave on good(ish) terms, and it's a prestigious reference on their resume.

(It's the same with the BRF and the White House - the pay is crap, the hours are crap, there are some lovely bosses and there are some shite bosses, but at the end of the day, to say you worked at the White House or Buckingham Palace, it's a really powerful tool and nearly guarantees you a job practically anywhere else in the world.)

So why do ex-staff wax poetic on the Sussexes' behavior?

First, because a future employer will google them and if their name pops up trashing the Sussexes, they're not getting hired.

Second, because a future employer could call Archewell for a reference and if the Sussexes had a grudge against the ex-staffer for things they said to a reporter, the Sussexes aren't giving a good reference.

Third, because Hollywood and international philanthropy are small worlds and it's practically inevitable that their paths are going to cross again, whether it's at industry events or on projects/programs. So you keep it polite and respectful when your name and face is attached to anything you say so that you can preserve your professional reputation and not do anything that would harm your employer's prospects for work. Because at the end of the day, you just truly do not know when you're going to be in the same room with them again and what you'll be needing from them.

It's also just common sense. Unless the job was truly so horrendous and nightmarish or you're just so over and done with it, you're not burning bridges. You don't know if you'll need that job or that reference or those people in the future.

[the-s1lly-corner]

If it's alright, could I request a Toby, Slenderman, Eyeless Jack, and Jane the Killer x reader (separately), where the reader has no self preservation? Not in a sad way, but more in a "cheerfully confident that they can handle it" kinda way.

Either way, I hope you have a good day!

Crps x overly confident!reader w/ no survival instinct

Points

JANE REQUEST SPOTTED!! Feels like hardly anyone asks for her!!

Side note I could NOT find a good gif LMAO

Characters: Ticci Toby, Eyeless Jack, Slenderman, Jane the Killer

Notes: reader is GN, reader is not suicidal in any way they just think they're built different, reader is written as a human

CWs: injury and blood mentions, canon typical violence and death

SLENDERMAN

hes seen humans die to less, hes not going to let you follow that path... why would have to do any of this when hes right here to do the dirty work for you without complaint? he simply doesnt get it

but still, if he knows you will survive he will let you go- as foolish as he may think you are for throwing yourself into a fight or disaster- he will never fully understand humans so surely you must have a reason for this? stops this when it just leads to you getting hurt over and over, it slowly becomes clear that youre doing it because youre cocky. you truly do think you'd come out the other side unscathed

you dont even get the chance to throw yourself into a fight against a someone wielding a weapon- theyre torn down before you can get too close, leaving behind a mess of gore on the ground. your attitude may have rubbed off on him, he hardly ever displays such strength and violence- but if this is what needs to be done to show that you dont need to fight anymore then so be it

TICCI TOBY

honestly? he might just join you in whatever danger youre about to throw yourself in- he himself doesnt have much survival instinct, though a lot of that hinges off of his inability to feel pain. he minimizes the damage done to his body most of the time

and... that kind of bleeds into how he acts when youre reckless, afterall hes never had to be careful about himself- and you seem to hold the same belief to your own body... its going to take a real nasty injury to snap him out of that and make him realize that youre not invincible- even if the lesson doesnt sink in for you

you still sometimes make light hearted bets on things when stuff gets intense- "oh i bet i can take him-" "oh i can do this with one hand tied behind my back-" and so on and so fourth

youre both a little.... foolish...

EYELESS JACK

painfully aware of human anatomy and what it can and cant take- that comes from being very interested in the topic as well as being able to look inside human bodies first hand

a lot of the time you cant even take a single step towards the danger, hes already got his hand on your shoulder and tugging you into the other direction... and in the case where its dangerous but not deadly? you can feel the look hes giving you under his mask... for someone with no eyes he can give a mean glare

you give him hypotheticals for threats that you can take on and hes just "absolutely not."... he will not spare your ego, your safety is far more important to him- youre the one good thing in his life and hes not going to let you get yourself killed

JANE THE KILLER

it takes her a moment to process what youve said and by then youre already running towards the threat- and shes bolting after you to either back you up or drag you away... preferably drag you away if its something that cannot be stopped or bested

what were you thinking? are you insane? what if you were killed? shes not going to hold anything back, she wants to understand why you would do something like that- especially unprepared... do you have a death wish?

not at all happy or pleased with your little habit of just. running into things head first... she doesnt think its commendable or brave, and shes going to let you know what she thinks as shes trying to stop your wounds from bleeding all over the place

you can tell shes trying to be nice- well, niceish- but her tone does slip out as she speaks

[winepresswrath]

After spending NiF listening to my girlfriend explain how Lin Shu should die, she is now spending Mr. Sunshine listening to me explain how Lady Ae-shin is femmephobic because she will not marry Hui-seong and have threesomes and/or a protracted emotional affair with Eugene.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

I'm not ready to shut up about Aveline and Carver--so, when you go see Aveline in Act 1, you can catch up with her a little bit and that's where this conversation can happen:

Aveline: "It's just one more change, though. The real end for me was Ostagar. What about you, Carver? You were there. Do you feel something similar?" Carver: No. Aveline: All right, then. Bit of a tit, your brother.

I wanted to see what she would say if Carver isn't in the party. Instead, she says this:

Aveline: Carver was there. I imagine he feels something similar. If he allows it.

......well, at least she didn't call him a tit?

[see-arcane]

Don't you just hate it when you track down a shady ethics-free Victorian laboratory to have a violent talk with the weirdos who threatened people you've made it your penitent life-mission to protect only to discover someone else has beaten you to the punch (and certain organs) and they just so happen to be your resurrected Creator who's been dead for almost a century and it's all So Awkward, ughhhhhh

( @severedfeetpics behold the Creatures!)

[tetrameryxx]

Everyone look at my video game dinosaurs

[theotherrichardpapen]

...because any moment may be our last. everything is more beautiful because we're doomed.

[sundayrobin]

going thru my screenshots from 2.3 while waiting for the update (because i stupidly didn't pre-install them) and this might be my favorite part of the tb mission.

himeko is telling us that at its core, humanity is rooted in storytelling and the nameless’s mission to travel across the galaxy embodies this spirit. their journey centers around exploring new worlds but the significance of their travels goes beyond mere exploration; it's about encountering diverse stories from different people and places. it's in the "miniscule". it's in the individual tales that contribute to a grander tapestry of human existence which they strive to remember and honor. it's in how the nameless creates a shared experience that they carry along with them to other planets they visit. it's how they're able to create connections that transcend the vast distance it probably takes for the astral express to traverse from one planet to another. exploration becomes merely the means to achieve their true goal: to forge connections via the star rail through stories they encounter. it's why i think it's very fitting that the trailblaze is considered the one closest to humanity. in a world that extends as vast as the cosmos, they choose to ground themselves in these stories, to remember them when no one else would. because it's these individual tales and the ongoing dialogue between them that creates a continuous, living narrative that binds living species across the galaxy together.

[wizardnuke]

thinks about the mighty nein. throws up blood

[tortoisesshells]

34. stars; for maggie and joe.

Maggie Evans hadn’t asked for much in life, and had let much of what she wanted pass her by: little trinkets she couldn’t afford, friends she had no time for, Joe Haskell, who’d never looked her way, until – Until he had. And then, crushingly, he hadn’t. If there were solace in knowing why Maggie was too far gone to feel it – seeing that thing’s teeth in his neck had made her throat own ache, and heart go light, as though she was scarcely tethered to life at all. Joe said he had to answer the door, after the knock came again – if she could only get him away from here, just as she had thought, those horrible weeks in the Old House, that if she could just run far enough away, she could be free of Barnabas – She took hold of his bedside lamp. Mouthing her silent apologies, thinking desperately of the moon and stars over a balmy sea, of some place in the world where no one had ever even heard of Collinsport – Maggie brought it down on Joe’s head with a dull thud.

send me a number and two (or more) characters, and get a five sentence drabble!