#so sad that we didn't get more character exploration for him he had so much potential

[breadnoise]

stardiamond

[anonymouscheeses]

Even more and more of obvious shit I point out because I want an excuse to rant while not interacting with actual people in real life who also like this show because I'm masking 😍💜💜

BARELY STARTED AND BRO. YOU JUST LET HER DO THAT TO YOU, ME PERSONALLY-

HE'S PETTING KEE-KEE I LOVE HIM SMM

HER HOOVES. I LOVE IT. NOT LIKE THAT, IM JUST A FURRY-

*grabs pen*

ANGRY CHARLIE FOR THE WIN. I LOVE WHEN THE HAPPY CHARACTER GETS ANGSTY (Cough. Luz. Cough).

The people writing fanfics where she gets FURIOUS. Omg. That was something I read. I LOVE MY FELLOW FANFIC WRITERS BUT OH MY- YALL REALLY HAD CHARLIE M A D.

"Uh-"

I love his reaction lmao look at his goofy face.

HER BOW BECAME HORNS (my "redesign" is now 100% worse)

SAD VAGGIE. THE BOW. DROOPY.

Oh and the angel dust fellow back there 🤯

I LOVE ROSIE SO MUCH HUH

Tall.

No explanation needed. <3

PLEASE HELP???

CUTIE PATOOTIE. I LOVE HER SM UGGHHH

CHARLIE HATES OLD PEOPLE COMFIRMED YAY 😍😍💅💅

Hot

That's it.

IN SYNC. I LOVE THIS SONG AND THE ENTIRE SCENE. WHY IS IT RANKED SO LOW WITH SOME OF YALL?? Okay well-

I thought this song was gonna be a Charlie and Vaggie duet- tbh I still preferred that BUT I LOVE CARMILLA SO I KINDA DONT CARE.

BUT I WAS ROBBED OF AN ACTUAL FULL CHAGGIE DUET (REPRISE DOESNT COUNT) IF H*SKERDUST GETS A FULL ONE WHY CAN'T CHAGGIE? *SOB* uhh anyway-

Is that. Like. How she thinks actually 😰

I know there's been a lot of the lack of Vaggie's self-worth, which I wish was explored into more. I just think the Vaggie(3rd) episode just wasn't needed at all if it didn't even have an impact. Don't get me started on that episode, it was rushed, too early to have character arcs already, and overall not needed or even should have existed periodt.

I hope they explore it next season because GOD this woman needs TO LOVE HERSELF. OR ATLEAST CARE ABOUT HERSELF LIKE????

SWEET MAMA PLEASE. TAKE ME IN YOUR WINGS AAAAAAAAA

Charlie, sharing is caring <3

Out of all the people I thought Charlie would vent to I didn't think it would be ROSIE. It's a nice surprise tho I love her <3

bisexuality.

That's it.

HE'S DANCING. ALASTOR IS DANCING. THEY ARE SLAYING BESTIES. THE MAN IS DANCING. HELP.

Season 2 is going to be Charlie in her villain era and Alastor's reputation era 😍

I LOVE VAGGIE'S FACE. PRECIOUS BABY UGHH... THEN THE WINGS REPLACE THE BOW AND DROOP UGGHH I HOPE IN SEASON 2 WE SEE MORE OF HER WINGS. OR CUT HER HAIR SHORT SO WE CAN HAVE IT ALL THE TIME. Also so Husk and Vaggie can bond over both having wings. Sorry I love their potential friendship so much. AND LUCIFER AND VAGGIE TOO!! BOTH BEING FALLEN ANGELS OMG. UGH THE POTENTIAL OF VAGGIE'S RELATIONSHIPS WITH NOT JUST CHARLIE ARE SO GOOD AND I HAVE BEEN ROBBED OF SEEING HER AS AN ACTUALLY MORE FLESHED OUT CHARACTER. I AM SCREAMING AAAAAAAA.

I can't say how much I love them. It's too much. I cant- yay the teaser image before the show came out <3 they are so fucking adorable. UGH SOME1 END ME

Charlie loves the wings hehehe. Vaggie looks nervous about it. It's probably a reminder to her about when she used to be an exterminator. The healing from everything will take a long time but hopefully Charlie will be there for her the entire time. And vice versa

Ayo- 😰

CHARLIE. T H E PRECIOUS BABY.

Uh next one tomorrow cuz yeah 🤯

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

“You’re scared…. and broken…” With, literally any of the Glamrocks after Ruin(preferably Eclipse and Monty)-

"N-NO!! STOP IT!! BAD GATOR!! BAD GATOR!!!!"

Hearing the terrified shrieks of a certain daycare animatronic, you were quick to rush into the garage, stumbling upon a rather frightening scene:

Eclipse, who reverted back to Sun, was on the floor as Monty's teeth were latched onto his leg, violently tugging on it in an attempt to shred what little remained of the tattered striped material. The gator snarled all the while, shaking his head around while the former kicked and screamed.

It didn't take long for you to figure out how to separate the two, grabbing a metal pipe and tapping it loudly against the wall to get Monty's attention on you for a second.

"Montgomery Gator. Let him go NOW!!"

Upon hearing his name, he let go of Sun and stared at you, shrinking away as you approached. With a huff, you tossed the pipe towards the furthest part of the area. "Go fetch."

As he crawled away, that gave you a chance to examine Sun for any serious damage. You kneeled down, frowning as the traumatized animatronic was whimpering at the current state of his other leg--arguably the only "good" leg he had remaining.

'Jesus..I can't leave these two alone for even a second..'

"Are you okay?" You asked worriedly. "Is your leg still functional?"

"Yes, but alas....p-pretty patterns are all ruined now..." He bemoaned. "No stars..no stripes...all gone. No more..."

"Sun, I promise I'll get this sewn up for you. But listen...I warned you not to go anywhere near Monty." You set a gentle hand on his knee. "Why did you go near him?"

"I....we just wanted to say hi! I-I didn't think he'd hurt me! He used to be so nice! S-Sure I might have called his music too loud, but he didn't seem offended by it!!"

"What he did to you wasn't anything personal." You shook your head, sighing. "He's not himself. He's gone...completely feral now. Do you know what that means?"

He was still for a moment, before shaking his head.

"It means he's not gonna know who you are. You all have been stuck there for so long that...he's acting on animal instincts now. He barely even knows me anymore."

"..so..you mean....he thinks he's actually a gator?"

"Exactly." You nodded. "And until I can figure out how to restore his original personality, we'll have to treat him as such."

Sun remained silent, his gaze wandering back to Monty. He was gnawing on the pipe. It wasn't much, but it stopped him chewing on anything else in the garage, such as the important Fazbear Ent. equipment you stole from the plex.

It's not like anybody was going to use it anyways.

"It's not fair to him...o-or me. Why did this have to happen to us?"

"..I don't know. I wish I knew why, Sun." All you could do was shake your head, feeling sad that you couldn't simply repair them both like nothing even happened.

Like they weren't left to rot in that mall for years.

Your exploration of it was still fresh in your mind.

While you couldn't track down Chica, Roxy, or Freddy...you were able to at least find Eclipse and Monty, convincing them to come home with you as it was a lot safer.

Eclipse was more than willing despite being worried about when the children will return to the daycare, whereas Monty just started following you randomly, always being at your heels like a protective guard dog.

He was your favorite out of the Glamrocks, so maybe part of him remembers that--hence he never attacked you.

Unfortunately you had no idea how he would behave around Eclipse, considering you just rebooted him after Sun and Moon were fighting for control nonstop. The two were in obvious pain with the lights being broken in the daycare, so you were lucky to have a fazwrench on you at the time.

But the strangest thing during your time working for the pizzaplex was that you never knew Eclipse even existed as a character. The company never talked about him, and not a single advertisement (old or new) mentioned him anywhere.

There was only ever Sun and Moon.

Regardless, you were glad to officially meet him and see his balanced personality--with Moon's calmness and Sun's optimism

Unfortunately Monty had some fit of aggression when he tried talking to him, sending him into a panic so bad that it made him switch back into Sun. Now you weren't sure how to bring Eclipse back to the forefront without doing another reboot...as that apparently caused Moon great pain.

The gator, as feral as he was, seemed guilty for what he did as he stayed huddled in the nearest corner of your garage. You could clearly see that he didn't mean to attack Eclipse; he just couldn't control himself.

"[Y/n]...a-are we monsters? Is that why nobody comes to see us anymore?"

Those heartbreaking questions almost made tears spring to your eyes, before you turned back to Sun, taking his hands into yours. "No. Neither of you are monsters. You're scared...and broken. But I'll try my hardest to put you back together. You, too, Monty."

"Grrahhh..?" He perked up at his name, dropping the pipe and crawling over to you when you beckoned him closer.

At first the attendant was panic-striken, almost hyperventilating even. But then he saw him abruptly stop beside you and was confused for a moment.

You smiled sadly and patted Monty's head, feeling what little remained of his red hair. "It's amazing that your mohawk is still attached to you, pal."

He chuckled at that, before looking to Sun and huffing. Although he couldn't speak anymore, the guilt was clear in his body language, something that was quickly understood by the solar animatronic.

"Awh, it's okay, buddy. We can still be friends!" He giggled, mimicking your gesture and patting Monty's head, albeit with great caution.

Fortunately, he didn't bite his hand off this time.

All you could do was continue smiling, being a watchful observer of your two (technically four) favorite characters who you were relieved to have rescued.

'Looks like there's hope for them yet.'

[gh0stbeeee]

Rise of the Guardians/The Guardians of Childhood is low-key my Roman Empire.

Like, specifically in the movie verse, there's just... so much that was never elaborated on. It's one of the unfortunate side effects of being kid's media, things get dumbed down for no reason.

Like, Jack Frost in general as a character. He died. DIED. He DROWNED in a pond saving his sister and??? Nothing. The entire moment when he remembered became "Oh I'm the fun guy that had a family and saved my sister!" AND DIED. Very important part that is completely glossed over other than the idea of sacrifice. Like, the other guardians were "chosen," did they not die too? Did Jack lose his memories because he died, but the others were chosen while alive, chose to leave their lives and remembered?

And just, what were his early years? For a very long time, at least a decade, he probably thought he was totally invisible, that he could never have a true conversation with another person, because I doubt that he stumbled upon another spirit/legend for a while.

Like, that would have driven him INSANE. There's no way he wouldn't be super socially awkward from the isolation, much less just totally mentally well. Are spirit's brains built different? They'd have to be, but I don't think they should be able to withstand that level. Like what was the mim thinking??? Seriously just abandoned a TEENAGER he resurrected with no memory or possibility of support, that's wrong.

And on that note, let me reiterate that Jack died. In front of his little sister. Who had to go back home and tell her family what happened. Did he have a father too? More siblings? Friends and family? They had a funeral no doubt, mourned him. Because he died.

The worst part? He was right there. The whole time. Jack came back to that pond and settlement for hundreds of years, even when it became Burgress. He probably watched his funeral not knowing what was going on, saw his family mourn him without knowing it was for him. He was there when they died, not knowing who they were to him. Did he realize later on? I can only imagine the devastation.

The worst part is Manny probably had to take his memories, because Jack would have been DEPRESSED. He would've tried everything to make them believe, and they probably never would. His parents would probably never see him again, they were adults. His sister was plausible, but she's still mortal. She would have died, Jack would have seen his little sister grow old and die while he stayed eternally young. He might've not ever recovered from that, mim taking his memories distanced him from the pain for when he remembered 300 years later.

But he also could have moved on, grown and loved her descendants and honored her. The mim took that choice away, and that's pretty fucked up.

Then yeah, 300 years of pretty much no acknowledgement. Going into live blind with no guidance or memories, trying to figure yourself out but being ignored by the once who brought you here. Jack would realistically be a little nutty, because wow. It's shown the even other spirits didn't really talk to him, he made them acknowledge him by playing pranks and pissing them off till they confronted him. Maybe it's in spirit's nature to be recluses, but it's not in Jack's. He wanted attention and to be seen, but no one wanted to or could give it to him.

That's why Jamie seeing him for the first time always makes me tear up. This is the first time for HUNDREDS of years that a human has acknowledged him, not an out of touch spirit, but a regular person Jack can connect with, that chose to see him, to believe. That's beautiful, and special.

There's just so many layers to this story that we never got to see, and I'm forever sad DreamWorks abandoned the franchise.

(If anyone has any good fics that explore topics like this, especially Jack's family, please share)

[namisweatheria]

I really miss the romance dawn trio where it's Zoro and Nami on either side of Luffy. The monster trio is great and everything but it does make me sad how Sanji took Nami's place. I miss the times when Zoro and Nami would threaten someone simultaneously, weapons drawn in sync. It felt so good in a gender way.

I've only just started thinking about this but I'd love to create things for an AU where Sanji just never gets that strong, and Nami powers up alongside Zoro and Luffy instead. I think it could be good for both Nami and Sanji's characters in different ways.

I think Sanji's whole thing about being made to feel subhuman for not being strong enough could be explored in such an interesting and even more powerful way if he really never got that strong. If he didn't ever have to be the warrior, if just being a cook like he always wanted to be was enough. Of course all the Strawhats contribute to the fights, but if he had more of a supportive role like Chopper that could be so interesting when it comes time to explore his insecurities. Going from 'the standards you were being held to are completely unreasonable and there's nothing wrong with being human' to 'you don't have to be strong at all, it's okay to just be you' could be soooo good. HE WOULD SUFFER SO MUCH MORE. But I think he'd end in an even healthier place. The journey could be so interesting.

AS FOR NAMI!!! She could be more like Zoro, fighting with the words of someone she lost in her mind. Bellemere told her to never lose to anyone, that girls have to strong too. It could be such a good what-if parallel to Kuina. If Kuina had a supportive adult encouraging her that she can be strong too, if her father hadn't been sexist, she could have gone just as far as Zoro does. The proof that her gender never made her inferior fighting right alongside him. God it'd be soooo satisfying and it'd make the message so much stronger. Also, Nami's slow development of becoming braver could be in the forefront. She'd have to fight herself so much harder to constantly be on the front lines. Plus, the comedy of an incredibly powerful person being a scaredycat is too good.

Which of course brings up, what happens to the scaredycat duo? I think the answer is related to what happens to Sanji's advice to Usopp in Water Seven. I think just because AU Sanji isn't strong, that doesn't mean he becomes any more fearful or less likely to put himself in harms way. Instead of the background gag of Nami and Usopp cowering together, it could change to Usopp constantly having to brave the battlefield to drag Sanji back out of it. I think they'd fight a lot, but very differently from Zoro and Sanji's fighting. Usopp gets mad because he doesn't want Sanji to get hurt, and it's hard to be truly hostile to someone with those kind of intentions.

Remember when Usopp reassured Chopper that 'it's okay to run away, just do what you can do'? And some of the others kinda made fun of him, like, 'That's your motto eh Usopp?'. He was telling Chopper what he wanted to hear, but much later we find he didn't really believe it, not when it's for himself. He also told Chopper it's okay when Merry's mast broke under his watch, "because we can replace the mast, but we can't replace you!" I think AU Usopp would be saying this kind of thing to Sanji all the time. They'd be very close. So when Usopp's insecurity gets the better of him in Water Seven, it's a huge betrayal for Sanji specifically. How could he say those things to him if all this time, he didn't really mean them? If it's not true for Usopp, where does that put Sanji?

It could go a lot of other ways too, though. Maybe their close relationship based on not being the strongest and being okay with it together would enable Sanji to talk Usopp down from leaving. Or, bad version, Sanji could take it just as personally as Usopp does, since Usopp is to him what Merry is to Usopp, and they both leave. God, they'd all be so heartbroken. Lots to think about...

As for Nami, I think she'd be a lot closer with Zoro. They'd be bickering all the time, but it would have that trust that Zoro and Luffy have underneath it. That if one of them needs a break, the other is there to pick up the slack. This is already their dynamic in a different way, both acting as secondary leaders, keeping things from getting too out of control. To me the best example of that is Whiskey Peak, when they're the only two who weren't fooled. I think it would help both of them retain their silliness if they were always on equal footing, fighting side-by-side. Some of my favorite East Blue moments are the couple of times they played jokes on the others together, and I think we'd see a lot more of that. When you trust the person next to you to be perfectly in-step with you, it's a lot easier to have fun even in dangerous situations.

I think especially Zoro needs help keeping his goofy side, and for Nami it'll help her get over her fears to have her reliable best friend right there egging her on. I just think they'd have a lot of fun!

Nami & Usopp, Zoro & Sanji, they're both fun dynamics, but I'd love to switch it up. There's just so much possibility to explore...

[not-5-rats]

This is gonna sound awful but I kinda hope somebody dies in Episode 9 (Gator Boys), ((this is focused more on Bodie, Timmy, Marco and Bug dying though))

IK IK, 'how could you say that!?!?' 'that would be heartbreaking :((((' THATS THE POINT!!!! THINK ABT IT! Think about how sad it would be, each of them for their own reasons

☆---------------☆

Bodie, Timmy, Lora and Rolden have a reason in common, they've all recently been reunited with their family in some way (even if Lora wasn't super pleased to see Timmy-). Sure Timmy and Bodie had found family, they had each other, but something about knowing some of their family was alive must have been such a sweet feelings (despite the circumstances). Now imagine if as soon as they got that family back it was taken away again. You finally found your family, some of which you thought were dead, you were getting to reknow those you lost, finally feeling like you have people you belong with..then you die. You loose it all.

☆---------------☆

Now let's focus on Bodie for a minute. Bodie, the first character we met in this series, the one that knew we were a Hunter yet risked his life to aid us, allowed us into his home, took care of us...oh where would we be without Bodie? If he died, the despair that would cause. He's a carer, the only thing he wants to do is help. Even when it would be beneficial to leave someone behind, he reufses. Such a kind soul, killed because he wanted to help those that mattered to him. It would be devastating, and the guilt that followed oh my.

Timmy spent so much of his time with Bodie, the two saw each other most days! Now they wouldn't spend another minute together. No more fishing, no more hanging out in the tree house, no more talking whilst Bodie made gumbo. They would never spend time together ever again. He would feel guilty because he was the one that got captured, he was the reason Bodie was there to begin with! If he had been more careful none of this would have happened...Bodie would still be here.

Obviously Rolden would also have some guilt, he'd feel bad for adding to the workload. Since they found him and felt they had to free him too, that would have made it harder for them to get out which could have caused Bodies death. Add that to the fact he just lost his brother for a second time and we can see Rolden would be having a pretty shit time.

☆---------------☆

We'll get back to Marco/Bug and their guilt later :3 for now let's discuss Timmy. Such a bright, adventurous youth, his whole life ahead of him. So much for him to do, he has so much potential, so much he could achieve...he could have done so much. Now he's gone. He won't achieve anything now. He had finally found out the truth, found out what he was, why he was different...but turns out it didn't matter. He didn't live long enough to fully appreciate this information.

Lore and Roldan would be crushed, they had worked so hard to get him out of here the first time then he was dragged back and killed. Tbh they would probably partially blame Bug for what happened, for their sons death, they were part of the reason he was brought back here, they undid all their hard work, all that work to keep their son safe undone by some Hunter...but as I said we'll talk about Bugs guilt later

The guilt wouldn't only affect Bug though think how Bodie would feel. He and Timmy had known each other for so long, they had such a brotherly bond (even if it turns out they were uncle & nephew), they were family...and family is meant to protect one another, yet Bodie failed to do that. He had tried to, but he failed nonetheless. He had lost his family...sure he had Rolden and Marco, but given the fact he was just reunited with Rolden and that Marco was away so much, Timmy was the closest family member he had. Now he was gone, forever.

☆---------------☆

(If someone else died/ his guilt)

Marco, a traveller, an explorer, a venturer. He already felt guilt, before all this mess, he already felt guilty for being away so much. He was never there, Bodie and Timmy barely ever saw him. He tried to visit them whenever he could, but there was so much he had to do, so many places he had to be. Yet even though be was barely around they still cared about him, they still saw him as family, just family they never really saw...and now they will never see him again.

He would feel awful, knowing that he should have spent more time with them when he could, he shoulde have done more then and he should have done more now. More to get them out of here, more to stop them from ending up here in the first place, more to stop them from dying. He could have done more, he should have done more. Now they were dead and be couldn't do anything to save them

(Now if he was dead)

He never stayed still, Marco was always going somewhere. Where he went? Half of the time nobody but Marco knew. He simply wasn't at the swamps. Now he would never visit the swamps again, he wouldn't go anywhere anymore. He was finally going to stay in one place...that place just happened to be 6ft underground.

Timmy couldn't believe what had happened, he couldn't believe that his carelessness had ended up causing his friends death. Sure they didnt see each other much, but he still meant alot to him, they were family! And now Marco was dead because Timmy was captured, he was captured and Marco felt a need to help get him (& everyone else) out. If he had just been more careful! If he had seen the trap, Marco would still be alive.

Timmy wasn't the only one that blamed himself, Bodie shared his grief. He worried about Marco when he was away, he never knew where he went to or when he would be back, he never knew if he was safe. He worried because he cared, he may not be around much but he still mattered, he was still family. Now he's dead. Bodie would feel guilty, mostly for the same reasons listed for if Timmy died. He was meant to protect people, to help those who needed it. But he hadn't helped, he failed to help his friend when he really needed him. Now he had to face the consequences of his 'negligence'.

☆---------------☆

(if someone else died/ their guilt)

No matter who dies, it's Bugs fault. The boys wouldn't have been there if Bug had stayed away to begin with and Rolden/ Lora are only involved in this because Bug had failed to stop the Hunters from taking Timmy. Even if they died it was their own fault, they had made a plan and that plan failed. They messed up. So no matter what happened, it was Bugs fault.

I don't think they could live with themself if they were the reason for any of the boys dying, especially Bodie. He had taken care of them, they were planning on hunting him down and he still helped them. Bodie originally planned om going to save Timmy on his own, but Bug insisted on tagging along...now he was dead, why couldn't they just back off, they had caused enough damage then, they've caused so much more damage now. Timmy and Marco, even if they didn't know of their past, welcomed a human into their lives. They didn't try to hurt then or shove them away even though it would have been fair to do so. They accepted Bug and now they were dead...how could Bug let this happen

To put it simply...if one of the boys didn't make it out of the arena, Bug would probably choose not to make it out alive either.

[hamliet]

Less of a question but I was never an avid manga reader till 2019 and mha was the first manga I kept track of weekly, and I read Tokyo ghoul after it ended, and seeing everyone be dissatisfied with how Tokyo ghoul ended after keeping up weekly is something I’m reminded of after seeing the latest chapter of mha. So this is what it feels like to witness 6 years of a character you hold in high regard be undermined(to put it lightly). I’m rather sad, but I can’t help but feel fondness for shigaraki even if the way he ended wasn’t satisfying, how do u feel about how mha has gone?

Yeah it does feel very reminiscent of Tokyo Ghoul in that they just went "ah yes, killing the right people is actually how we solve world issues." Which I find morally reprehensible, but also genuinely bad writing because the story as a whole doesn't support this message.

@linkspooky explained in her meta yesterday why Deku has completely failed as a character, and why the manga has failed thematically as a story. I'm just gonna say I completely agree with Link.

To be fair, I'm not sure Shigaraki is dead dead, but either way, it's bad writing and it doesn't conclude his arc with any sort of satisfactory element. Like, why would Shigaraki see Deku as different than anyone else who tried to punch him? That's nonsensical and written from the POV of an audience, not from Shigaraki's POV. It's like in Star Wars when Rey calls herself "Rey Skywalker" when she knew Luke for 3 days and none of the people she was actually close to (Leia, Han, Ben) were Skywalkers. That's writing for the audience, with their perspective, ignoring the logic of your story. It defies believability because the character does not have that perspective. It's "forced" because the audience can see the hand of the author.

If Shigaraki is dead dead... Not gonna Star Wars this one again, but since I also hated the ending of The Rise of Skywalker, I must make a comparison. The idea that Deku may have saved Shigaraki's heart but couldn't save his body (which to be honest, nothing in the actual chapter supports, but if he stays dead might be the argument) is still bad writing. Why? Because to Shigaraki didn't even make the decision himself. He didn't sacrifice anything. How can his heart be saved if he had nothing to do with it? Saving an object is easy as pie. Saving a person is different, and that's what the whole story has been about. Like, in TROS, Kylo Ren gave his life for Rey! Was it stupid? Yes! But at least his "saved heart" did something. Shigaraki's saved heart did what exactly?

So then, is the message that Deku failed? Then why isn't it framed as a failure? Why was BNHA never set up to be a grimdark tragedy? If he failed, then shouldn't he have a miserable ending? Unless it's "heroes always become bad guys and life is unfair," but then shouldn't Deku be framed critically?

Basically, Horikoshi can't come back writing-wise from this in BNHA, and it's sad to see.

Horikoshi's biggest flaw throughout the entire story was that he kept flip-flopping on what he wanted to say, and made the characters more about his trying to please every single fan than about being, well, characters to explore important questions he has that are worthwhile. And you can do this while still having a "cool" factor!

Instead the characters tell us one thing while cocooning Deku in the sweet bliss that no one ever has on this earth--being 100% right all the time. And it's sad, because BNHA had so much potential as a story to challenge its audience and entertain too.

I thought even if it flopped in some aspects it'd at least get this right. It's disappointing.

Anyways every day that goes by I want to send Isayama and his editors flowers for actually writing a thematically coherent ending, even if some aspects were dropped or messy along the way.

[iamnmbr3]

I hate it when people say Ginny "deserved better" when it comes to the way she was written and portrayed in canon. I'm sorry but no she didn't deserve better. She was a barely there Mary Sue character who existed primarily to be the future wife of Harry and link to him joining the Weasley family. She was also supposed to be this very powerful witch but again it never paid off. She didn't amount to anything. She turned out to be a big nothing burger of a character.

Idk. I do think she deserves better, though I definitely get where you're coming from. Ginny as a character really annoys me from book 6 on. Book 6 and 7 Ginny feels like a shallow and annoying Mary Sue and also is just kinda mean and I hate that she never gets called on her bad behavior. As soon as I feel like a story is trying to shove a character down my throat and insist that I love them and that they are flawless, I kinda feel turned off by the character and I want to hate them out of spite. Ginny's pettiness and stuff like her being pretty awful to Fleur and getting angry at Harry for even saying something nice about Fleur even though he has no romantic interest in her just really rubs me the wrong way. Especially bc these flaws are ignored and even glorified by the story. Plus there's not much there with her character.

She feels like this kinda wish fulfillment empty vessel. And I hate that she gets touted as this perfect girl for Harry when their romance feels so empty and her character feels so un-compelling - which is honestly pretty unusual because generally the characters in HP are really interesting, even the ones we only hear a little about.

Now that said, I still do actually feel that she deserves better. What do I mean by that? Well, first of all, in-universe she ends up with someone who frankly, doesn't pay much attention to her. Harry barely knows anything about Ginny and never makes her his priority. Even in the epilogue it feels like he barely even consulted her on naming their children. He never really views her as an equal or respects her opinion. And she seems to feel pressured to act a certain way to please him. Like not crying in front of him because it might bother him, but apparently having been extremely upset after their breakup according to Ron etc. I don't think they are really compatible or have a deep or substantive relationship and I think that's sad and she (or anyone in that situation) deserves better.

Also from a more Doylist POV she deserved better because her character had so much potential. I actually loved Ginny in book 5. She has a lot of growth but also still feels connected to who she was in the first 4 books. She doesn't need to be amazing and perfect at everything. She's human and real. She catches a snitch by luck because it was slow and her competitor looked away at the wrong moment - and she has the humility to notice and admit this. And it doesn't matter. Harry's professional-level good at Quidditch. She's good at other things. Also Harry and Ginny actually have a deeper and more trusting relationship in that book than in book 6, but I digress. She doesn't need to suddenly be an amazing seeker and an amazing chaser and be #NotLikeOtherGirls and super into Quidditch (even tho she wasn't in book 4) to be likable but book 6 makes her all these things and it just takes away from the real and human and flawed and empathetic and actually funny Ginny we have in book 5.

Also her whole backstory from book 2 was really promising. She and Harry could've bonded over both having had Voldemort inside their heads. She could've provided critical insights about Tom Riddle since she spent a year essentially being pen pals with him. She could've had an epic arc where in book 7 she took on a more central role in the fight and ultimately got to face her childhood monster and destroy a Horcrux. Also there was just a lot to explore with her dealing with the trauma from book 2. She could've done so much. But nope. She just gets reduced to Love Interest TM. So yeah we had this really great character who was just coming into her own in book 5 and had all this amazing potential and then gets absolutely torpedoed by JKR bc she doesn't know how to write romance. And I do think that's a shame.

Now I ship drarry and I think that's always going to be the most interesting and well set up relationship for Harry to be in. But I think Harry and Ginny getting together the way they did is realistic but I think they would then realize they aren't really a good match - they don't know each other and both are more attracted to the idea of each other than anything else. I think them realizing this and working through it would be something interesting to explore in an 8th year fic.

[dyaz-stories]

Hey there! Just wanna know, what the heck happened in the JJK manga? Is it already over? Did the characters FINALLY mourn Gojo?! I gave up trying to read the manga after 236, so I just decided to randomly hear from others. But anyways, what happened??

Hey there! BOY AM I HAPPY TO DISCUSS THAT.

(I'm sorry I have so many thoughts and you've given me an excuse to ramble so this is going to be long)

There are two chapters left in the manga, it will end on September 30th. The chapter that just came out, chapter 269, was, however, really bad imo and a terrible use of time considering how little time Gege has left. I get that he had to wrap up quick, but in my personal opinion, it's inexplicable that he'd dedicate a whole chapter to what we just saw.

(More under the cut with spoilers for chapter 269)

Okay, so, the characters spend half the chapter arguing about how they could have done a better job fighting Sukuna, even though at this point, the losses are minimal. Most of the characters who were possibly dead are fine and dandy actually (Yuta, Higuruma, Todo, Kusakabe). Choso is still dead, but he gets a little line about how that's sad (and his death scene was really good and effective, so I'm not that mad about it, even if he's a character I really loved).

It kinda feels like Gege is justifying the way the fight went, which is a bit weird. In story, I think this could make sense if it was fueled by grief and loss and more of a "this person could have been saved! and this person didn't have to die!", but it feels kind of matter of fact tbh, with Maki being pretty much the only one displaying emotions. Even she seems to be arguing about efficiency, not really about saving human lives? Other characters' responses aren't much better. Yuuji in particular looks like he's super numb to everything, which again, yes, that's a trauma response, but it doesn't make for interesting storytelling and it's not going to be explored further, so... what's the point.

Also think that Yuta desecrating Gojo's corpse isn't explored enough. He did something horrifying that turned to not be that useful — going with the manga's message that the end doesn't justify the means — and he seems fine. I guess Maki yelling at him could be explained by the fact that she was strongly against this action, but it's never made explicit, which is a shame. (think it's more implied it's because he endangered himself and she has feelings for him)

The other half of the chapter is spent on a plot point that I don't think had been developed before that, about the new shadow style. This feels like the last arc Gege wanted to have and Sukuna's fight went on for too long so he had to scrap it. The point is essentially that the head of the new shadow style school is trying to become the head of Jujutsu Society as a whole now that the clans have collapsed. There was a binding vow that made it so the head of the school could steal years from people who had learned the style and add it to their lifespan. Anyway, Mei Mei steps in and makes it so the style can become more widely used.

(If you're bored reading that, yeah, so was I)

It's not useless exactly — it definitely goes towards the manga's message of ending the cycle and starting off with a clean slate, so that's a win — but it feels super rushed. It didn't have to be rushed, could have been a decent arc, it just isn't, and again, I don't think that's a great use of pages this late in the story.

Last but not least, Gojo. Gojo gets two mentions in this chapter.

The second one is in passing, when Hakari defends Yuta's usefulness.

And the first one, oooh boy the first one,

is about how this was all Gojo's fault from the get-go anyway 😃

And again, some nuance here. Kusakabe specifically says that the kids have nothing to apologize for — which I agree with. His point is that it was Gojo's responsibility to kill Yuuji. Essentially, the idea is that he was the adult, and in not doing that, he's responsible for the kids having to live with all the consequences of his actions.

Which aaaaah I'm losing it here! Yuuji was a victim of Kenjaku's machinations from the get-go, so would it have been right to kill him? Isn't this just a trolley problem — kill Yuuji and save innocent people's lives? But then, Yuuji, Sukuna and Kenjaku's actions led to the end of jujutsu society as we know it, more or less directly, which could lead to a better future, so was he actually right, in a purely consequentialist approach?

I don't think any of that is particularly interesting to discuss at this point tbh. I feel like that had already been dealt with. I'm just deeply confused as to why we're dealing with this when there were three chapters left before this one instead of focusing on closing the curtain on beloved characters, Gojo in particular.

Anyway! Bad chapter imo. Boring. Bad use of the characters and their relationships with one another. Really questionable use of time. Gojo was not mourned and in fact it's almost like he's never existed or never mattered to anyone. No Shoko here, not a hint of sadness from Yuta either, which I had hoped for.

I'm still looking forward to the last two chapters, and I hope they'll leave more room for the characters to, you know, have feelings.

[lazysublimeengineer]

Probably one of my last posts about the Blue Lock movie and Nagireo/Reonagi in general because half of the fandom had watched this movie in the past and already shared their thoughts on this matter.

Pros about this movie is that it explored more of Nagi and Reo's thoughts about each other and how it validated some of the viewer's thoughts that due to their personality differences and temperament, it easily led to their miscommunication most of the time. I like that we were shown that Nagi isn't really a cold and lazy bastard in this movie. He cares for Reo in his own way. But most of the time he doesn't verbalized his thoughts and he shows it mostly through his actions rather than his words. A lot of people had stated that he wasn't that much invested in his partnership with Reo and I have to disagree with that. He cares about Reo a lot. Reo is the first person who has shown genuine interest in a slacker like him. Although Nagi is a passive character most of the time, he has an attitude that he won't be doing anything that he doesn't worth his time or doesn't his get his personal interest. He was going along with Reo's whims and wishes even though they're a hassle to him because being with Reo isn't a hassle after all. He doesn't like seeing Reo upset or sad as evident in their match against Team Z when Reo's face was in despair because of the possibility of losing against them so he made an effort to think and made an action for himself independent of Reo's strategy and judgment in the field.

Nagi acting and saying mean things to Reo during the second selection like "you're a pain in the ass" is a knee jerk reaction. He was hurt by Reo's constant reaction of being displeased and angry over his actions of choosing Isagi's team rather than staying with him because he thought Reo would understand what he was doing and how it would benefit both of them in the long run. He doesn't mean those things. When a person is hurt they tend to say or do things recklessly and would often regret after and that's why he's apologizing to Reo in his head (I REALLY PREFER HIM TO SAY SORRY TO REO VERBALLY BUT THAT'S FOR ANOTHER STORY). Nagi cares about Reo. A lot. He's just shit at verbalizing it to him. But he's shown it in his nonverbal cues and being a practical person in situations that calls for it.

Now for Reo it's an interesting matter. Because in the movie we were shown his more genuine and vulnerable side. The fandom always thought that he was a spoiled, possessive brat. But he was more than that. WHEN REO CARES FOR A PERSON. HE CARES. A LOT. IT'S INTENSE. IT'S ALL OR NOTHING. HE WILL GIVE IT ALL. NAGI IS HIS FIRST GENUINE FRIEND (IF YOU'RE A NAGIREO SHIPPER THEN YOU CAN INTERPRET THIS AS HIS S.O. OR WHATEVER). He believes in Nagi's talent and skill. He was the first person who saw his genuine potential and immediately shut down Ego's words against Nagi before entering the program. He caters to Nagi's needs most of the time. To the point that he coddles and spoils him (nothing wrong with that but it backfired on Reo during Blue Lock because that isn't what Nagi needs to be awakened at that moment). When Reo was hurt and was lashing out at Nagi it was a normal reaction of a person who was genuinely hurt by their actions. Because Nagi's decision was out of the blue. Plus the fact that Nagi made him promise of to stick to each other til the end, then THAT HAPPENS, REO WOULD FEEL BETRAYED ABOUT IT. I wouldn't invalidate his emotions and thoughts about that moment because that's his genuine reaction to that situation and Reo didn't even had a public nervous breakdown. It's just him moping around during the second selection but he still made an effort to be the tactician and strategizer in every match that they went into when he teamed up with Chigiri and Kunigami during the second selection. So, people need to calm the fuck down about accusing Reo of overreacting because he is not. It's a part of his character that makes him well rounded and more human. And that makes him more intriguing and interesting.

Now for the cons of the movie.

It will work as a side anime tbh.

There I said it.

As a Blue Lock fan, I was impressed by the first half of the movie then it was a let down in the last half because the scenes were too compressed and it was more of a fast forward of scenes that we already saw in the season 1 of the anime.

They should've made the U20 arc a movie honestly. It would work more as a movie rather than a second season of the anime.

[bibibbon]

MHA chapter 420 rant

New chapter new rant it's become somewhat of a thing at this point 😭

So hori's out here deflating any stakes or tension as always. I personally hated what happend last chapter with Izuku losing both his arms but I did wish for hori to continue on the path he chose instead of completely reversing it with some bs in this chapter. Heck I don't understand how Eri even had enough energy to heal his arms considering it was stated chapters before that she couldn't and shouldn't help Izuku it wasn't her fight and neither should she be forced to watch what's going on but here we are.

Heroes are hypocrites when it comes to Eri and she deserves better. Oh Eri the ever so lasting plot device. As someone that likes Eri's character and wished for her trauma and what she went through to be explored this is just bs and shows that the heroes are incompetent hypocrites at their jobs for allowing Eri to mutilate herself (the same thing overhaul did to himself) so she can be useful to these people who she views as her saviours?!?!?! Let's not even tall about the fact that ECTOPLASM stated that he helped her with that and allowed her to do that like?!?!? You're an adult who is supposed to be supervising the child and you almost failed to stop her from running away into the battlefield but allowed her to do that to herself. Let's also talk about how aizawa horribly failed as a guardian like its clearly stated in the chapter that she did want she did because she was inspired by aizawa and how he cut his leg off so she mimicked him so she can be helpful?!?! Aizawa isn't angry, worried or disappointed but shocked and that's it nothing else he doesn't even reprimand her like seriously 😑.

Present mic and kurogiri deserves better. We still don't know where present mic is but he deserves better than this I still hate how his feelings aren't acknowledged in this bs and he is just there pushed to the side as support. Kurogiri is a mix at this point they seem to realise that oh oboro is dead he ain't coming back but kurogiri is acting on memories that haven't died and to be honest Iam sick of hori drawing the same memory panel over and over we should just get new content show us them play fighting or doing something that friends do idk 🤷‍♀️

Wasted potential aizawa at this point. I lasted made a post about aizawas wasted potential but dam does it really show and basically at this point hori reduced all the characters involved in the kurogiri situation to just that and it's sad like we could of had more and we should of. Aizawa was doomed from the start as he was hori's mouthpiece which sucks

Iam not a fan of everyone coming in to fight AFO. I already hate the fact that AFO is back but having everyone who hasn't had a big moment or can still fight yet come into the fight is horrible. Iam ok with having a few characters come in but having some endgame avengers type of thing is horrible especially because class 1A and izuku aren't shown to have a strong bond a lot of the time it's one of the reasons why the vigilante arc fails and why a lot of other moments concerning class 1A and izuku fail.

Iam a fan of the civilians trying to help however they can but no inko?!?!!?!!. I loved that we got the page of civilians genuinely wanting to help Izuku and offering their shirts to stop the bleeding also even though we don't get much from the all might guy I genuinely loved the development he has gone through. Sadly, I was expecting to see inko in this chapter and considering we had a whole page dedicated to the civilians it's sad that we didn't get any update on inko as she was probably there watching what happend to her son

Eri's dream. I loved that Eri's dream is something way outside of heroics and it's something that doesn't involve her quirk at all. It makes me remember of izuku holding her hand and telling her that he supports her dream. I wonder if Eri and jirou hang out often or anything considering that jirou is Eri's inspiration or if present mic also inspired Eri. it's sad that Eri's character is never truly explored considering what happend to her this chapter and the double standards that are with both heroes and villains.

ALSO MONOMA YOU DESERVE BETTER YALL TELLING ME THAT DENKI ALREADY QUIRK EXHAUSTED IS OUT HERE FIGHTING BUT MONOMA CANT FOR SOME REASON IS VILE

[mamadarama]

Just curious on your opinion here do you have any thoughts on the way Madara is being written? Recently I came to the realization that enstars writers aren't all that great,, and I notice that Madara at least in my opinion has had very little development and progression as a character but I'm genuinely hoping I'm wrong but I don't see much difference. And I do hope I'm wrong cuz I definitely haven't read every single story ever in Enstars and it could just really be Madara's character but it feels like he hasn't budged an inch and when DF rolled around it seems like he's gonna progress only for the writers to make him wanna split up literal months after (SS) and it was fine the first time since we explored that part of his character but right after that we got the Spring event and he's?? Back on his bullshit as if whatever happened during Secret Service didn't have much impact. And I do understand his character and all but I often wonder how much of that is just his character (immovable mountain with deep roots that will take years of continuous effort to move) or just the writers half assing because they can't think of a more compelling narrative for double face other than Madara wanting a breakup. It's especially sad to me with Last Mission because as much as I can understand DF being temporary and meant to end, it feels like nothing has changed in Madara during !! Era. I'm hoping that new gen Madara can change that since he's already featured in the new shuffle and scout story, and it does look like he's changing the vibes a little. Idk what are your thoughts and genuinely no hate here I love Madara and I'd love to hear your opinion :)

i think the writers do a pretty good job with the story actually !! i ended up spending a few hours writing like 3 pages of stuff so this one gets a readmore ^^;

theres a tldr at the end though if you dont wanna hear me talk in circles like some kind of maniac (understandable i dont either)

at this point madaras story is a tragedy and hes not really supposed to be a satisfying character . youre supposed to be some degree of frustrated with him like all the other characters are. the story isnt over yet though and maybe he will get a satisfying happy ending someday , but this is all buildup. having madara go through negative character development while the rest of the 3rd years have significant positive character development puts emphasis on one of the main points of his character: you cant help someone who doesnt want to be helped . shu wanted to become more empathetic. eichi wanted to unlearn his bitterness. kaoru wanted to leave his playboy reputation behind. izumi wanted to learn to control his emotions . madara has two sides to him that refuse to coexist— anger and misery. the angry side of him has given up on himself and leans into his perceived role as a villain because he believes alienating his friends is the only way to save them and for once be the hero. the miserable side of him is the sad and "selfish" part that keeps him returning to his friends again and again despite believing hes a bad influence on them, because he still seeks acknowledgment and praise from others and doesnt want to believe its too late for him. he bounces between these like a metronome . (maybe thats another layer of reasoning behind double faces name, idk) so, he doesnt know if he wants to be helped. he thinks he doesnt deserve it. pulling someone out of a ditch that deep requires some legwork on their part too, and if they wont put in that legwork, well... then there's nothing you can do. madara isnt quite a rooted mountain that takes a long time to move... hes more like an injured tiger pacing in its pit , so fixated on looking for a way out that it wont look up and see the entire top is open where its keepers are waiting to take it out and treat its wounds . now suppose this tiger is sentient enough to worry it might hurt someone on impulse when the disinfectant stings its wounds. additionally, lets say the tigers wounds came from falling and cutting itself on something in its habitat while making a risky jump , and it believes it deserves to be hurt for such a stupid misjudgment. so even when it notices the top of the pit is open, it will continue pacing pretending like it didnt. thats where madara is at right now .

madara broke up double face partly out of self sabotage, and partly out of a twisted attempt to "save" kohaku from him. kohaku and madara are an interesting contrast because their characters are set up in a very similar way. the difference between them is that kohaku doesnt hate himself even close to as much as madara does, and as a result he IS getting better. kohaku believes hes always going to be part of the underbelly of society doing dirty work and hes resolved to that like madara is, but he doesnt believe that means he has to do it alone . he acknowledges that hes not alone, he has the rest of alkakurei, the sweets club, jun, his sisters and tsukasa.... and madara. the first part of beating loneliness is recognizing youre not alone. madara thinks no one understands him (which in itself is its own kind of loneliness) and that if his friends understood "what he really is", they wouldnt love him. so in a way their presence eases one kind of loneliness and reinforces another. in his mind the only person who understands him is himself and therefore the only one who can save people from himself is also him.

theres a scene in last mission where madara says his reason for disbanding double face is something along the lines of wanting kohaku to live where he can feel the sun on him , and kohaku asks "what about my feelings?" . that pretty much sums up madaras entire thought process and why he isnt making any positive progress .

tldr; madara does have character development between es! and es!! , but its not positive. to have such a stubborn self loathing character make positive progress without a slow burn of warring with themself and dragging their feet would soften those traits. they want him to stand out and make you to go "ohh ok so this guy is MISERABLE miserable" .

so anyways i dont think its lazy writing its just character loyalty. but the fact that you noticed all that means youre reading him the way hes intended to be read. so congratulations!! you now understand what its like to be kohaku oukawa :) if he does get positive character development i hope its really slow though cuz if its too fast it would feel kinda abrupt. it needs to feel like hes fighting the writers for it to truly be madara

[spotlightlowlife]

Make Charlie and Lucifer PROUD rulers of the PRIDE RING

Charlie is a princess, so Lucifer is pretty much a king, so why not establish this?

There is nothing that tells us that this guy even runs this particular region of the entire realm he created.

Where is his palace?

His grande entrance was walking into the hotel his daughter owns that we haven't even explored.

Who bought Princess Charlie her own hotel?

Where is the boasting? Any ostentatious showcases of high status that would be normal for even well intentioned rich people? Being rich, flash and used to a lot of freedom can easily create someone who doesn't know best but is adamant that they do, no matter how silly they end up looking and how frustrating they can be, even when meaning well.

Hell is Lucifer's territory that he created and gives exterminator angels, who are nobodies, free reign of whilst he has a key to the door and seat at the house in heaven.

Lucifer hates the sinners so his lack of leadership and agreement to their genocides are spiteful acts - so let him be proud of his hateful ways, especially if it won't matter.

Charlie's issues with daddy, what we l got sold, was simply not giving her what she wanted the very moment she wanted it, that's what their episode boiled down to because honestly, what did her flashback have to do with anything? She's a grown woman who remembers a loving, fun and interesting person who made time for her but her mother would spoil that? Her dad is the only one of two people she can emotionally blackmail with 'if you loved me....' to get her own way, yet she's no emotional blackmailer, she's 'nice', the writing direction and her lack of doing wrong or anything in particular leads us this way.

Let Charlie be a manipulator who flutters her eyelashes and puts on a sad face to sway others, it's not like they haven't already made her more infantile. Why not commit more to her being a bit of a brat?

Lucifer and Charlie's different stance on the sinners was very short lived. Charlie got what she asked for and wasn't setting out to change daddy's mind, so much so that his involvement in all this wasn't even acknowledged. She's supposed to pitch to different people who are in different places and win them over, daddy would have been a good start to atleast try with, we could have seen how she tackles a lost cause of an ally.

We didn't see how she got her 'team' on board, but we did learn early on that she bribed Angeldust, we go on to learn that Husk and Nifty are tied in with Alastor who chooses to work with Charlie but has some ulterior motive, Cherrybomb who we get for a minute is Angel's friend and Vaggie had just been thrown away and picked up by Charlie.

We literally had two outsider characters engage with the hotel and barely with Charlie. Sir Pentious who stuck around but has since checked out and moved on to bigger and better things, all thanks to Charlie's enemy (who ironically succeeded at doing her dream job) and Mimzy who bought us valuable information and could bring us a lot more, but she's not welcome anymore, Charlie wasn't the one to banish her, she didn't see her worth at all, nor that of the unknown sinners Alastor wiped out.

Where is her outreach?

Community exists and others are thriving.

Why isn't this singing, dancing, out of touch clown out in the community like anyone else selling their cause?

Why isn't she upselling the business and all it has to offer on the regular like she supposedly did before we met her?

She can still be 'nice', showy and stubborn, all traits of being PRIDEFUL.

[lizzyscribbles]

Today's MHA ramble is either gonna be great or ineligible and there will be no in-between. I'm on my computer instead of my phone today so I can type so much faster, but, I am slightly dehydrated and out of it because I just spent like eight hours outside in the sun for a renaissance fair so maybe I'll just pass out half way through, who knows.

Lizzy's MHA thought/ramble of the night: MHA and why I think it does the "power of friendship" trope the correct way (IE: Not cringy/weird).

Now, I honestly think trying to wrap up the intricacies of the end of MHA in just "the power of friendship!!" is doing the series a huge disservice, but in its simplest form, that kind of is what happens. To be honest, I'm such a sucker for this trope. I love it when we get to see all the people the MC (Izuku in this case) has made an impact on over the course of the series and they all come together to back the main character, that is thee shit and I will eat it up.

However, the thing I love about MHA's approach to this is something we see explored a lot through the series: the idea that you don't have to go at it alone. Like, I feel like the ending has so much more of an impact because instead of them all the other characters standing behind him and going "Yay!! You can do it!! Good job!!" No, instead they run beside him and say "rest, we'll clear you a path. We know we can't do this for you, but at least let us do this".

Because that's what a friend is. That's what friendship is. It's realizing that not only is a friend someone you want to protect, but it's someone who protects you.

It gives me chills Every. Damn. Time.

It's through that we get to see the impact Izuku has made on everyone in the series. I joke with people that even when Izuku has nothing to do with something that's happening, he has something to do with it, and that really comes to a head in the final chapters. In a sort of ironic way, it's what ends up defeating All for One, because it's literally the only thing he never managed to get. Deku says as much while they're fighting, that deep down All for One really is just a lonely man. He had power, people to do his bidding and hang on his every word, but the top of the world is a very isolating place to be because there's no one who can look you in the eye. Followers and friends are two different things, a friend is an equal, a follower is a pawn.

I think it's why All for One was so attached to his younger brother Yoichi, because deep down, he knew All for One in ways that no one ever could. It was the closest to a genuine loving relationship he ever got.

Honestly, it's part of why All Might failed the first time around too. He had a few friends, sure, but in the end he was surrounded by mostly fans. People who adored and appreciated him, but did so from behind a barricade. All Might pretty much worked alone - and Deku definitely couldn't have made the progress he made without the trail All Might blazed - but Deku had the one thing All Might never did: People who fought alongside him even when he didn't want them to.

And, honestly? I can't blame All Might for avoiding it. After all, Deku almost does this same thing. They both wanted to protect people so badly they don't want to accept help. They see themselves as the only person who's allowed to make sacrifices because they're so scared they'll loose someone. It's part of the reason I find such comfort in Izuku as a character, because he never wants to see anyone else hurt because of him.

However, because Deku reached out first in the beginning, because he made friends and took care of them whenever he could, because treated them as equals, they said "too bad so sad, you get our help whether you like it or not, because that's what you'd do for us". It's the beauty of those final episodes of season six and why I love them so much, because 1-A had no reason to go after Deku other than they were worried about him. They didn't take no for an answer, because sometimes it's a friend's job to take you by the hand and scream in your face to "TAKE A NAP!!! EAT SOME FOOD!! YOU'RE WEARING YOURSELF DOWN AND YOU NEED A BREAK!!! SIT DOWN AND LET US CARRY YOU FOR A WHILE!!!"

It's exactly like Ochaco says, they don't want to be protected. They're not fragile victims to be looked after. They didn't get blindly wrapped up in this mess, they dove in head first because they cared about Izuku and wanted to stand at his side.

And therein lies the difference.

All for One had followers.

All Might had fans.

Deku had friends.

Followers will only do as they're told. Fans will only cheer on. But friends? You can't tell them to do shit, they do what they want, and if they want to help you then they will. Friends go the extra mile. Friends run beside you when no one else can. Friends clear the path for you so you can deliver that final big ass punch.

That's the magic of this trope, and you can see it so clearly here because it's realistic. And by that I mean Izuku doesn't get a magical burst of energy because everyone was cheering his name from the sidelines. It came from them actually doing shit to give him a chance. It came from Aizawa bandaging his wounds, it came from Iida grabbing his hand and half-dragging him across the battle field, it came from Eri giving a little bit of her quirk, it came from Bakugo showing up at the last second to blast the crap out of someone, it came from the countless attacks launched by the rest of the heroes to give him a chance to get back on his feet.

You know what they say, actions speak louder than words, and that's the magic of this kind of storytelling. We don't need to be told they care through chants or claps, they just show us.

That's the true "power of friendship". People who don't just stand beside you, but sometimes run in front of you so you don't trip over that stump in the path.

That's friendship. That's love. And I think that's incredibly beautiful.

...these posts get longer every time. Maybe I need to stick to my phone so my thumbs get tired faster. 😂 This is what happens when I'm allowed to cook late at night. If you made it to the end, thank you and I salute you.

[unclassedguy]

I don't think I really enjoyed the latest chapter, and honestly from the way things are looking I'm probably not going to enjoy Jujutsu Kaisen's ending either....

I obviously like the characters, I like Yuji, I like Nobara, Megumi is alright.....I get wanting them to be happy. A lot of the stuff I draw in fact involves putting characters I like into silly situations as though they aren't in constant suffering in the source material (I'm immune to being serious 💔).

However, I feel like I'm not really vibing with this 'the trio is alright and they'll all be happy together' ending it seems Gege is setting up. I think part of it stems from the way Nobara and Megumi have been handled these past chapters. There was so much hype for Nobara's comeback.....I get it, she's a badass and fun character who's time in the story was cut awfully short.....I really do understand why so many people would want her back, but I just don't really like how close to the ending her return was and also the fact that up until that point it seemed pretty heavily implied that she had died. Not only that but her 'death' was such an important moment for Yuji and part of what made Shibuya and Yuji's story so tragic and Mahito so reprehensible as a villain. Nobara coming back so suddenly without even proper time dedicated to her (as in actual hints that she was alive and more chapters to explore the dynamics of her return and her contributions to the battle beyond one move) to make it feel even a smidgen satisfying just didn't sit right with me. The first thing I thought of upon seeing the chapter of her return was that it felt like fanservice. It felt like the type of thing a fan of the story would write for the 'hype' and not a choice that made sense. It was the same thing as Yuta returning in Gojo's body. People like Gojo, and having a chapter make it seem like he was coming back of course got the fans' attention. But in the end the story could've still worked well, maybe even better, without Yuta-jo's addition to the fight. It was unessecary.

Then we have Megumi who's been through so much for a good chunk of the story now. His body was taken over and used to hurt people he cares about, most of all his sister who is pretty much the center of his world, the person he loves the most. He'd given up, he'd sunk to the lowest depths submerged in Sukuna's evil. I feel like he sprung back pretty quickly......I don't think I'm as iffy about Megumi's return as I am with Nobara's considering Megumi actually at least got some pretty good and decent scenes with Yuji getting through to him and now also a talk with Sukuna.....but I dunno, I still don't know if I enjoyed how it was handled, particularly the fact that he just kind of comes back with no consequences after all the shit Sukuna's put his body through. I mean, he has a couple of scars sure but is that really all you'd expect after the world class beating he just got?????

Then we have Sukuna, reduced to glob of flesh. I don't mind Sukuna getting a pathetic death. After all he's done I think he deserved getting flung off his high horse and trampled on the ground. It still felt really abrupt though and like it didn't get enough time considering he's been such a big pain for months now and is one of the major antagonists. He's just suddenly gone and it felt anticlimactic and unsatisfying. I would've also liked to see at least a bit of what he was like in the Heain era.....

Hakari and Uraume too 😭. We really got none of their fight and when Sukuna is gone Uraume just....evaporates???? It honestly felt like Gege was just trying to get them out of the way so the series can end already and not an actual conclusion to their character. I wish they could've gotten more depth beyond being just Sukuna's loyal servant.

Them there's of course all the things Gege still hasn't touched such as Jin being Sukuna's twin, Kenjaku being Yuji's mom, the merger etc. Those things I guess I'm not as sad about because I'd already come to terms with the fact that Gege isn't going to get into them, at least not to the extent I would've wanted. It still sucks though.

Maybe I'm just a hater, maybe I don't understand what Gege was trying to do, maybe it's just a matter of preference. I think Gege probably tried his best with jjk using what he had and I don't think it'd be right to hate on him. And even if I am kind of dissapointed in where this story is going I don't blame anyone for liking it.

I may just not like 'happily ever after' endings or something. Not to say Jujutsu Kaisen is some super uplifting story even if the main trio has survived. There's still characters who have died and stayed dead, but it's still definitely a happier ending than what I expected.

At the end of the day, I like stories that put their characters through the wringer. I like stories that destroy everything their protagonist has ever had and turn their world upside down and accept no half-assed reparations to the damage they've caused. I like stories that fuck up everyone involved but still let at least one of them be smiling by the end, even if they're alone, because life is still worth living. Honestly, I would've preferred Yuji move on by himself than for a happy ending to be squeezed out of jjk's remains in a way that didn't feel satisfying. Though maybe I wouldn't be so sour about an ending where the trio gets to live together if we had just had more time to make it feel right. To make it feel emotionally impactful and like it wasn't just hype. I'd take a bittersweet but well-done ending over a half-assed good ending and a well-done good ending over a bittersweet ending....y'know?

Well, that's just my opinion.

[honeycreammilkshake]

hello there honey i really enjoyed your analysis on sukuna and yujis relationship they're so overlooked by the vast majority of the fandom despite being the mcs and it makes me happy some of us appreciate their dynamic i might be unsatisfied with geges overall handling of the story and how it took so long to really focus on these two but he wrote them very compelling despite everything. it makes me frustrated because it could've been even more of a punch if we didn't focus so much on everything else and i adore some characters but it came at the expense of not doing enough with his mcs which even if some people don't want them to be its still yuji and sukuna.

anyhow a small little detail i wanted to point out about 265 is yuji up to that point had been treating and referring to sukuna as a curse, but while in his domain while they're fishing he baits him by saying "cant the strongest sorcerer do this?" and its baiting him obvs and hitting at his ego but he still referred to him as a sorcerer and he's the only one to do so to my knowledge everyone else including himself refers to him as the king of curses, something that he was seen as by everyone since the heian era, a curse, and that he still believes he is right to 268. i really wanted gege to expand on why yuji sympathies with him, we can deduce why and it he clearly does but i wanted to see his exact thoughts what changed, maybe he found out by gojo about his family when he talked to him and realized sukuna was his relative? i mean there's more reasons why he sympathized with him clearly as you very well pointed out in your post but still this is why im dissatisfied with the writing they could've explained it better.

what are your thoughts? i hope we get to focus on yuji at least in the next chapters or im going to lose it. do you have any hope that sukuna ended up accepting yujis offer? i think the scene ended abruptly... i want them back together its so frustrating and while it fits and i can see gege leaving it like that it just doesn't feel right to me

hi, jenjen!! (do you mind if i call you that?)

thank you so much for reading that mess of a post. i had a lot of sukuita feels and just spilled my thoughts in one entire go. it's sad that they're so overlooked because they're unironically the best thing about jjk. like yeah there's a lot of cool characters in jjk but sukuna is literally a god of chaos and devastation that somehow got stuck in the body of an unhinged teenager who would sacrifice his own life for strangers.

they're two different extremes trapped within the same body, but as the story goes on we see they're a lot more similar than they first appear. like yin and yang, the two extremes that often oppose each other but are also inseparably complimentary to each other. there is soooooo much to explore with that dynamic, and i'm forever heartbroken we didn't get to have more focus on these two because they are honestly amazing.

anyhow a small little detail i wanted to point out about 265 is yuji up to that point had been treating and referring to sukuna as a curse, but while in his domain while they're fishing he baits him by saying "cant the strongest sorcerer do this?" and its baiting him obvs and hitting at his ego but he still referred to him as a sorcerer and he's the only one to do so to my knowledge everyone else including himself refers to him as the king of curses, something that he was seen as by everyone since the heian era, a curse, and that he still believes he is right to 268.

your point about that one scene in 265 is so goooood <3

as you said, up until that point yuuji had only been referring to sukuna as a curse, even though that's not technically true. but to yuuji, sukuna is more of a curse than some curses are. this is part of my theory that yuuji is the only one that sees right through sukuna. almost everyone else admires sukuna or only sees him as something to test their strength against.

yuuji is the only one who actually hates sukuna. yuuji even wants to destroy him because he knows sukuna is a murdering, cannibalizing force of death and devastation. and sukuna hates yuuji because the brat represents everything that goes against sukuna's cursed and selfish nature.

they both stand for everything the other hates, yet it's so interesting that they somehow understand each other better than anyone else does. (more on that later >.<)

what i really love about this scene is yuuji's teasing nature. he's not being mocking or sarcastic. he's both stroking sukuna's ego and, with light playfulness, is giving him a kind of recognition (as a sorcerer, not a curse) that nobody else has. you were completely right with that, jenjen.

and it's just so sudden that it happens. actually, everything about this chapter was so sudden and unexpected.

the fact that sukuna is willfully going along with all of this when he would strike down and destroy people for daring to even order him about (like nanako and mimiko). yet he indulges yuuji over and over again.

yuuji is literally telling sukuna what to do, but sukuna doesn't even reprimand him. actually, he pays attention to yuuji. (also i love how everything is always so "special case" and "different" with them like that don't even know how they arrived in yuuji's little mind palace and sukuna looks freaked out about it but he still listens to yuuji, he still does whatever yuuji asks him to... that's truly amazing.)

this scene in particular was really interesting to me. as you pointed out earlier yuuji only ever referred to sukuna as a curse and treated him like one, too. during his conversation with mahito, yuuji says that his purpose in all this is to just kill curses, sukuna especially, as that's the end goal of everything yuuji did.

yet here yuuji is, decidedly not killing sukuna and instead giving the king of courses his entire life story. yuuji's being the most open and vulnerable about himself than he's ever been, and it's all for the infamous king of curses who cares only for himself, the enemy yuuji hates and wants to see destroyed.

yet the way sukuna remains uncharacteristically quieter through all of it, looking like he's honestly reflecting or considering what yuuji just said, and how he gives this meaningful pause after yuuji describes how empty the town he was raised in became. yuuji says he expected it to be that way and sukuna looks almost thoughtful about that.

something similar happens a little bit later on when yuuji's talking about how there's a smaller amount of insects now than when he was younger.

what i noticed about both of these moments is that yuuji is talking about changes that happened for him. changes in the place he was raised and changes in the life he used to see more of that he doesn't now.

sukuna isn't affected by change. he's the strongest, he does whatever pleases him and doesn't care about anyone but himself. but yuuji cares about these little things, these changes that affect him, these small details that stay in his memory. that's such a contrast to sukuna's mindset, which is that every human tastes fleeting. and here yuuji is, sharing his memories about these tiny things with sukuna, these "tastes" that have stuck with him. because it's little details like yuuji losing his slime toy or drinking sweet milk tea when it snows that makes him who he is as a person. but does sukuna have any kind of memories like these? anything that connects him to being human like yuuji? maybe that is why yuuji is showing sukuna all these everyday normal things. he knows sukuna doesn't have memories like this, so maybe showing him yuuji's own might trigger something in him, something deep down. he wanted sukuna to open up with him too, maybe.

all of this is such a strong contrast to how other sorcerers and curses treat sukuna. they only approach him with the intent to try to overpower him or maybe to try to gain his favor. yuuji isn't doing anything like that. he isn't bargaining or making violent demands. there's no fighting. it's the most tender they have been with each other so far. (sukuna not killing yuuji the moment that brat asked him to do anything is sukuna being tender imo... he would have crushed anyone else for daring to do such a thing.)

it's just... it's so fascinating how yuuji hated sukuna for being so inhuman before, but now he's suddenly treating sukuna like he is human. he's acknowledging that sukuna was human even if the king of curses doesn't want to be seen as that anymore. and it's beautifully complex and should have been explored far deeper.

i really wanted gege to expand on why yuji sympathies with him, we can deduce why and it he clearly does but i wanted to see his exact thoughts what changed, maybe he found out by gojo about his family when he talked to him and realized sukuna was his relative? i mean there's more reasons why he sympathized with him clearly as you very well pointed out in your post but still this is why im dissatisfied with the writing they could've explained it better.

i am right with you on this one, too. chapter 265 was almost like a dream for me. jjk is hardly romantic at all. even a lot of other action manga includes at least a little romantic subplot... yet the most romantic scenes we get in this series are these date-like interactions between sukuna and yuuji, who supposedly hate each other, yet i guess they're out there doing archery together??

(sukuna getting another perfect archery shot just to impress his demanding little boyfriend <3 i love how serious he looks here, too, he's really playing up that coolness factor)

you also made another great point about how yuuji suddenly took a lot more emotional interest in sukuna now than he did before. i wonder if that conversation yuuji had before gojo died was about sukuna being related to yuuji? maybe part of him lit up on the inside because he actually has family, even if it's the murderous demon god that wants to destroy him and everything that he loves? or maybe he felt some kind of closeness while sukuna was inside of him that he misses now?

i really wish that we got more scenes like this with these two. i want to understand yuuji's thought process for trying to reason with sukuna and to maybe even get him to open up, too.

it's sad that gege took so long to focus on these two again. there were so many more interactions we could have had, so many more meaningful insights into both of their characters.

but this chapter did a lot all in one take.

i said earlier that sukuna and yuuji understand each other really well, and i believe that's true because not only are they the only ones who spent so much time being soul-crushingly close to one another, they also get under each other's skin far more than anyone else does. sukuna loves to torment yuuji because he knows just how caring and compassionate yuuji is. he rubs it in that he killed thousands of people during the shibuya arc and that he possessed the body of yuuji's friend. but yuuji also knows just how to rile up sukuna and he fights sukuna hard, he never gives up, and i think sukuna secretly admires that about yuuji.

and this chapter showed us how they understand each other yet again.

this conversation, to me, shows two very important things. one is that, despite already feeling it's a lost cause, yuuji still tries to convince sukuna to accept the mercy he's showing him, to understand yuuji's perspective as well. but sukuna's response to this is more layered than it first seems, in my opinions.

as we've seen, sukuna uses a lot of backhanded insults and contradicting statements with yuuji. he simultaneously calls the brat weak and uninteresting, but is disappointed when yuuji lost against choso (sukuna was paying a suspicious amount of interest during that fight scene for someone who considers yuuji to be so worthless) and looks reluctantly impressed or even surprised at yuuji's abilities.

yet when anyone else gives sukuna a hard time or challenge, sukuna shows them respect or even gives them praise. he does no such thing with yuuji, at all. in fact, all he does is mock and discredit yuuji, so sometimes the actual words he uses is a roundabout way he's actually acknowledging yuuji getting under his skin. and i think his words here, "i'm astounded at how spineless you are," can be taken as a form of that reluctant and contradicting acknowledgment.

even if sukuna doesn't accept what yuuji is saying, i think he knows yuuji is being sincere. he has to feel like he's guarded against it though, so he easily dismisses yuuji, and that's why my second important thing from this conversation is how yuuji still doesn't give up.

sukuna knows yuuji can kill him. he's getting back up into a corner now. but instead of going in for any kind of demands, yuuji is giving sukuna mercy. a second chance. a choice.

even though he knows sukuna refuses to see things yuuji's away, to accept yuuji's ideals of valuing life, he still offers a chance at mercy for sukuna.

sukuna, who has deliberately proved over and over again that he doesn't deserve mercy or empathy, and yuuji understands this. he accepts that sukuna is unsympathetic and a monster.

even when sukuna is dying, yuuji shows him that mercifulness once more. he's far more gentle and compassionate to him than sukuna deserves.

the fact that he still wants to live with sukuna. either a longing for family or the closeness they once shared when yuuji was his vessel or both. he genuinely cares about sukuna. and i think sukuna knows that.

so that's why it's another insult to undermine yuuji's efforts and empathy when sukuna says this offer is yuuji just "acting the fool" when i think he knows truly that yuuji wouldn't be so unserious about such a big thing.

but one thing that hit me hard is how sukuna calls the brat by his full name this time. something he has never done before. just like yuuji called him a sorcerer that one time too. it's like sukuna's admitting deep down he was touched, but he just can't accept yuuji's mercy. that would kill his persona, his reputation as the king of curses. it would make him more human. and he refuses to be anything but inhuman.

the original japanese had quotes around "curse" and that was important for a reason. sukuna wanted to be seen only as a curse would be seen.

as gojo said. love is the greatest curse of all. and sukuna is the king of curses. so it's very fitting indeed that sukuna died in the hands of perhaps the one person who ever really saw him, or understood him, or loved him.

thank you for your ask btw, jenjenpup. i really loved reading your thoughts on this. thanks for bearing with me on all my rabid rants about these two. i hope i answered your ask well enough.

so glad to have you in the sukuita cult, too <3