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thankskenpenders · 4 months ago

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Thoughts on two specific areas of the writing in Sonic X Shadow Generations

The best new 3D Sonic game in over a decade (or even two, depending on who you ask) dropped late last year. And I didn't write anything about it! Sometimes life happens. Well, I've finally sat down to finish Shadow Generations, and by now everyone has already been singing its praises for three months. This is the rare instance where the entire Sonic fandom, and even mainstream reviewers, are in agreement on something. The level design is the best it's been in a long, long time and the cool factor is off the charts, embracing Sonic's peak cringe era in an incredibly confident way. It's great. If you're even reading this post, you probably don't need me to tell you that. So I won't!

No, what I'm really interested in here is the writing. Because this is me we're talking about. But I actually don't want to talk about the main narrative of Shadow Generations, which is really solid little story about Black Doom trying to mold Shadow into his perfect soldier. No, I'd like to zero in on two other aspects of the writing here: the revisions made to Sonic Generations, and Gerald Robotnik's unlockable journal.

The updated Sonic Generations script

The new package mostly presents Sonic Generations how you remember it. There are some tweaks, but it's not a major overhaul. Graphically, I don't think the game has been touched much, if at all. I certainly can't notice any difference without a side-by-side comparison, despite playing it on a PS5. The most notable update is that the game's script has been rewritten by Ian Flynn.

Naturally, this caught my attention. Generations always had a nothingburger story, so with Ian rewriting Pontac and Graff's lame dialogue there was nowhere to go but up. (I don't like to pin the blame for those games' stories entirely on them, as a ton of it was dictated to them by Sonic Team, but, well, I don't think they're very good dialogue writers.) But it's less a complete rewrite and more like Ian was brought on as a script doctor for some minor touch ups here and there. Many lines of dialogue are completely identical to how they were originally written in 2011, and many others only have slight wording changes. Ian was clearly not allowed to request additional scenes or extend the ones that already existed. He has to match the original beat for beat so that they can reuse 99% of the cutscene animations. Don't expect it to be a whole new experience compared to the original.

Still, I think the new script is an improvement, albeit a minor one. Various things have been tweaked to maintain characterization consistency. Cream calls Sonic "Mr. Sonic" instead of just "Sonic." Instead of calling Sonic "buddy," Rouge uses the pet name "Blue," like she tends to do in things like the IDW comics. Espio doesn't have to remind you in the dialogue that he's a ninja, and he no longer has a line making it sound like he has some kind of soul reading power. I also like that Modern Sonic now actually has responses to what his friends say when he rescues them, rather than being silent like Classic Sonic. They won't blow you away, but they make Sonic feel a little more engaged with everything.

In general, the altered dialogue just seems tighter to me, and some of the more childish or trite wording of Pontac and Graff's script has been altered. Here, let's actually make a direct comparison, just because this stuff is interesting to me as a writer. Here's a couple lines from after the Egg Dragoon fight late in the game, in the original script:

Modern Eggman: Ooooh... I can't believe this! I was supposed to beat you this time. Modern Sonic: Aw, I'm sorry! I didn't get that memo. I beat you every time! [Turns to Classic Sonic] No, seriously, we beat this guy every time. It's like it's our job or something!

This is a simple exchange. Eggman is mad that he lost. Sonic is unflappably confident because he always beats Eggman, and he explains this to his younger self. But the wording here isn't particularly good. Eggman's simple and direct wording makes him come off like a little kid who's mad because his older brother beat him at Mario Kart, rather than a mad scientist who just had his plans foiled. It's making light of the situation.

And I've never liked Sonic saying "It's like it's our job or something!" That doesn't feel like a thing Sonic would say, it feels like a thing an outside observer would say about Sonic. This is a frequent problem with so-called "MCU dialogue," where quips meant to echo the commentary of a casual, somewhat disinterested audience are inserted into the story itself so that the writers can be like "See? We get it. We're genre-savvy, too!" It also just reminds me of bad Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric lines like "Rings! It's like they're made for me!"

And then here's Ian's rewrite:

Modern Eggman: I recalibrated everything! This was supposed to be my time! Modern Sonic: Oh, please, keep dreamin', Egg-head. I beat you every time. [Turns to Classic Sonic] No, seriously, we beat him every time. Our score card's flawless.

Eggman's still mad about his defeat, but the line "I recalibrated everything!" makes it more specific. He put all this work into the engineering side of his latest scheme and got tunnel vision, thinking if he got his creations just right there'd be no way he could lose. "This was supposed to be my time!" also turns it into a time travel pun, which is a bonus. He's still pitching a fit over losing, but it feels more like Eggman pitching a fit, rather than sounding childish.

And then instead of saying that beating Eggman is "like his job or something," Sonic says he's got a flawless score card against Eggman. He doesn't take Eggman seriously as a threat—at least, not to his face. He acts like it's all a game. But he conveys this in a way that feels truer to the character, rather than feeling like the words of a real world observer poking fun at the tropes of the Sonic series.

Is this amazing, A+ dialogue that blows me away? No. Again, it's not a completely different scene from the one we already had. Ian had to fit the beats of what was already there. He couldn't go all out and write an all new story confirming his longstanding headcanon that the Time Eater is a remnant of Solaris or whatever. But the wording here makes the existing story land a little better and feel truer to the characters in subtle ways.

But to me, the main change is that the Sonics and Tailses seem to have a more solid understanding of what's going on with the timeline and the Time Eater, compared to how idiotic they sometimes seemed in the original game. Which is good! No more standing outside Green Hill and wondering why it seems so familiar. Thank god. As part of this, yes, there are a few more references to past games in the dialogue, like Sonic briefly being confused about the fact that they're time traveling without the Time Stones, or South Island and Westside Island being acknowledged as the normal locations of Green Hill and Chemical Plant. Yes, ha ha, insert joke about how Ian loves references here. Look, it's Sonic fucking Generations. It's a game built entirely out of nostalgic references. Just own it! And, again, in this instance Sonic and Tails come off as less stupid when they make it clear that they do, in fact, remember their adventures from presumably less than a year ago in-universe.

Eggman, too, seems to have a better understanding of the powers he's toying with. Where in the original vesion his focus was simply on going back in time to undo his previous defeats and he seemed kind of oblivious to how much the Time Eater was actually fucking up the universe, here Eggman says he wants to use the Time Eater to give himself complete control over the entire timeline. Eggman also makes way fewer references to his own failures and shortcomings. Of course he won't admit that Sonic has defeated him time and time again. To him, he's never truly lost—Sonic just keeps delaying the inevitable total victory for the Eggman Empire.

So, yes. The new Sonic Generations script is better. It won't blow anyone away, but it's better than it was. It's been elevated from "kinda lame" to "fine." No, if you really wanna see Ian flex his ability to breathe new life into old Sonic stories, look no further than...

Gerald Robotnik's Journal

Hoo boy.

The story of what happened aboard the ARK has always been... a bit confusing, to say the least. Fans with encyclopedic knowledge of the script for every route of Shadow '05 may disagree, but it's the truth. We've had all the pieces to understand the story for a long time now, but that info was given to us out of order by a pair of unreliable narrators—Gerald, who became a vengeful lunatic shortly before his death, and Shadow, who was subjected to multiple rounds of amnesia and altered memories. Some of the ambiguity left by Sonic Adventure 2 was cleared up in Shadow '05, but that game also retconned in a bunch of new elements to Shadow's backstory (aliens!) that lead to further confusion. Not to mention the fact that that game had multiple routes and only revealed the truth about Shadow if you sat on the ultimate final boss battle for WAY longer than the fight would normally last. Or the fact that Sonic X made its own tweaks in its telling of the story. Or the fact that none of these things ever had the best English translations. I can't blame anyone who hasn't played those games in two decades for not remembering the truth about these characters and getting some details mixed up.

What we needed was something to piece together all of the info we have into one coherent backstory, told in chronological order. And thanks to Shadow Generations, we have that, in the form of an official journal tying together what we knew from Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow '05, and Sonic Battle into the tragic tale of Gerald's rise and fall.

Ian Flynn was the perfect man for the job here as the guy who started his career by tidying up the mess that was the first 159 issues if Archie Sonic. This is what he excels at: taking disparate bits of weird Sonic lore from multiple different sources, boiling them down to their most interesting elements, and connecting it together in a way that will make the audience see the dramatic potential he's always known was there. Rather than feeling like a cynical exercise in franchise building, going back and explaining things that never needed explaining so that people can add more bullet points to the wiki, he puts a new spin on things that retroactively enriches those past stories. The story here means something to the characters involved and gives us a better understanding of them as people, rather than as plot devices to motivate Shadow.

(And, of course, Ian didn't do this journal alone. He wrote the story, but I also have to give a huge shout out to Evan Stanley, who made the final product. All of her handwritten journal entries, sketches, and "photos" included throughout. The physical damage done to the journal over the course of 50 tumultuous years, passing from Gerald to Eggman to a certain special someone at GUN. The way Gerald's handwriting gets less and less legible as his mental state declines. So much love was put into what could have been a mere text dump in a menu, and it really elevates it to the next level. Congrats on officially getting hired by Sega, Evan, you've sure as hell earned it!)

The main idea the journal conveys is that Gerald was under a lot of pressure from a lot of different parties—GUN, the President, his colleagues aboard the ARK, Black Doom, even his own family—and boy did it get to him. The known incidents aboard the ARK mentioned in previous games are put together here to form a story where everything slowly spirals out of control as Gerald keeps compromising his morals to further his research, thinking he'll eventually find some way out of all this because he's a genius. I won't recap that whole story here (if you haven't already played the game and read the journal entries, I would highly recommend at least reading it on the Sonic wiki), but I'd like to highlight my favorite elements of the story, as Ian tells it here.

1) The Eclipse Cannon

Here's something that never quite made sense in Sonic Adventure 2: why does the ARK have a laser that can blow up the Earth built into it? It was supposed to be a peaceful research colony. Sure, Gerald went crazy and swore revenge on the Earth, but, like... when did he have an opportunity to go back up to the ARK and modify it? Did he have someone else do it? How? The ARK was raided by GUN and shut down! And then they arrested him, held him in prison for an unclear period of time, and executed him by firing squad when he was no longer useful! It doesn't add up. Shadow 'the Hedgehog '05 would give its own answer by introducing the Black Arms and saying that the Eclipse Cannon was always supposed to be a secret trump card against the Black Comet. But, like... we know that's kind of a bullshit answer, right? You don't need enough power to blow up a whole planet just to destroy a comet.

Well, the new journal retains what we already knew, but it paints a much more complete picture.

See, long before Gerald ever made a Faustian bargain with Black Doom, he had already made one with an even greater evil: the military. GUN gave Gerald much of the funding for the ARK, Gerald's personal utopian research station in space, but it didn't take long for GUN to start pressuring him to design them weapons. Gerald tried to get GUN off his back by personally contacting the President of the United Federation, and the President gave him an alternative: how about, instead, you just use your genius brain to figure out the secret to immortality for us, so our soldiers can be immortal? Gerald was initially sickened by the notion and found it completely absurd, like chasing a shadow... but given no other option, the sarcastically named Project Shadow soon began in earnest. (Maria would later put a more positive spin on the name after Shadow's awakening, pointing out that a Shadow can show us the direction of the light, like she says in the game itself.)

Of course, this search for the ultimate life form didn't go very well, and without any results on that front GUN kept hounding him for weapons. Gerald would throw them a bone here and there to get them off his back. His research on Chaos resulted in the Artifical Chaos prototypes, which he worried would be used for warfare but could at least theoretically be used for search and rescue missions in floods, in his mind. But that wasn't enough. So he gave them Chaos Drives to power their mechs. And that still wasn't enough. He's got Emerl. He'll give them Emerl. They're not impressed by Emerl. They'll shut the whole ARK down if Gerald doesn't give them something big.

Fine! GUN wants something big? Gerald builds a huge fucking laser cannon into the ARK. However, as a middle finger to GUN, Gerald makes it so powerful that it would destroy the Earth if it was ever fired at any target on its surface. In other words, GUN now has their ultimate weapon of mass destruction, fulfilling his contract, but they can never actually use it. Oh, the delicious irony. (And also Shadow will blow up the Black Comet with it in 50 years yada yada yada.) Is this perhaps extremely shortsighted and naive of Gerald, to believe that such a weapon would never actually be used just because of the risk? Of course. But hey, that's Gerald for you. And I love this as an answer.

(Also, this, uh, kinda echoes something from real life! Remember the bit in Oppenheimer where he says all nuclear war will become unthinkable, and Edward Teller responds "until somebody builds a bigger bomb"? Yeah, Teller went on to conceptualize a superweapon codenamed Project Sundial that would have been able to kill all life on the planet, as the ultimate deterrent for war. This was never made for obvious reasons, but hey, there's a basis for this sort of thinking outside of heightened sci-fi! There's a whole Kurzgesagt video about this if you're interested.)

2) The Biolizard

The Biolizard is, of course, brought up as the initial failed prototype of the ultimate life form, from before Gerald met Black Doom. We don't really learn all that much about it that we didn't already know, but I just love the way it's framed in the story.

As you can see above, we actually get to see a picture of Maria holding up the cute little salamander that would end up mutating into the Biolizard through Gerald's experiments. (Researchers want to figure out how to replicate salamanders' regenerative abilities for humans in real life, too, so this was a natural starting point for the project.) And then, after it grows to a monstrous size and goes out of control, Gerald has to lock it away in an unused sector of the ARK. He needs to keep the poor thing alive for his research into harnessing Chaos Energy, building life support systems directly into it, but he doesn't have the heart to tell Maria what happened. So it just becomes this first dark secret weighing on his conscience. The Biolizard becomes Gerald's Tell-Tale Heart beating beneath the floorboards of the ARK. I love that.

3) Lost Impact was the breaking point for the ARK

Remember the level Lost Impact in Shadow '05? The flashback level on the hero path where Shadow is running around fighting Artificial Chaos enemies on the ARK 50 years ago? Yeah, that wasn't just a random incident. That was important, as we now know due to its placement on the timeline.

See, Emerl's rampage aboard the ARK that was chronicled in Sonic Battle and Dark Beginnings set off a domino effect. Emerl riled up the Artificial Chaos, causing Gerald to lose control of them. They became violent, and so Shadow had to stop them, as depicted in Lost Impact. The thing is, that incident sent an SOS signal to GUN telling them that shit was going down on the ARK. Gerald didsn't fully understand the trouble he was in and assumed that he'd simply be reprimanded by the higher ups, or maybe face legal action. But, well... the next time he heard from GUN, armed troopers were raiding the ARK.

So Lost Impact was the straw that broke the camel's back. I just really like that detail.

4) Maria

And, of course, there's Maria herself. Maria has often been more of a symbol than a character, this perfect embodiment of everything that's good and pure in this world who gets killed to motivate Shadow and Gerald's revenge plots. But I really like the wrinkles this journal adds to her and Gerald's story, and their relationship. This is the most fleshed out they've ever felt.

For one, the journal leans into the idea of Maria's intellectual potential. The rest of the Robotnik family is all geniuses, after all, and she was proving to be a really bright kid. She excelled in her studies on the ARK, and she even helped design Shadow's jet skates and inhibitor rings. When Maria died, the world didn't just lose a symbolic personification of purity. She genuinely could have been a hugely influential scientist who did so much good for the world. That's what Gerald wanted for her. But we'll never know, because GUN killed her.

Speaking of her family, their presence isn't just mentioned for the sake of fleshing out the Robotnik family tree. It's mentioned that as Gerald struggled to find a cure for Maria's illness through his genetic research, he faced mounting pressure from his family. They didn't want Maria to be up on the ARK forever. They wanted Gerald to hurry up and find a damn cure, or otherwise just send her back home to Earth so she could be with her family again. She'd been up on the ARK for so long that Gerald's coworkers started thinking that she had been born up there. Eventually she gains a baby sister on Earth who she's never met. A rift forms between Gerald's two sons, and he's unable to really deal with it because he's so consumed by his work. There's this sense that the family is falling apart, and that everyone is dreading the possibility that Gerald will never find a cure and that Maria will just spend her final years up in space and die far away from her family, because Gerald just couldn't let go. If that happens, it'll break the whole family. But he can't stop now. So he just keeps working. Curing Maria is the only way to win his family back, in his eyes. It can't all be for nothing.

But my favorite detail regarding Maria is this one paragraph:

Maria is growing into a lovely young woman. It breaks my heart that someone as bright and energetic as her is diminished by disease. There are no visible effects, and I've caught my fellow researchers muttering to each other, doubting her illness. It is infuriating. I find all my reason and restraint vanishes when she's slighted.

This is SUCH a great addition to the story! It's always been true that Maria doesn't really seem all that ill, just looking at her in cutscenes. With this one little comment, Ian flips that issue on its head and turns it into a story about invisible disability. She doesn't act like she's in chronic pain, so she must not be, everyone thinks. And this really, really gets to Gerald, as does the pressure from his family. He's dedicating his whole LIFE to saving her, and they think she's faking it?! It's such a small addition, never referenced elsewhere in the journal, but it adds so much flavor to the story, as does the implied family drama. It grounds Gerald and Maria and makes them feel more like real human beings, rather than being pure archetypes. It's just enough info to let my imagination run wild filling in the blanks.

You also get the feeling that Maria being such a walking ray of sunshine was the only real source of joy Gerald had left in his life before Shadow was awakened, and the only thing keeping him from snapping under pressure sooner. All this stuff just keeps piling on, everything's spiraling out of control, but at least Maria is keeping her chin up, right? It makes so much sense that losing her would make him go off the deep end when it's framed like this.

It's just... man, I never thought I'd care so much about Gerald and Maria. But that's the Ian Flynn touch. After years of less than stellar Sonic writing that seemed to be embarrassed of itself, I'm so happy to have new games coming out that fully embrace the history of the series like this, making its world feel so rich and real instead of just serving as an excuse for a string of platforming levels. I don't even like Shadow '05, but I'll be damned if Ian and the rest of Sonic Team didn't make something amazing by "yes, and"-ing Shadow's cringe past here. Sonic has truly reached levels of "we're so back" never thought possible.

#tkp post #other media

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sunflowerwizard · 10 months ago

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I've seen enough people mischaracterizing Early Access Wyll, so here's the best breakdown of his original character I can give.

I'll start this off by plainly summarizing Wyll's EA backstory, some of his core personality traits, then do a bit of analysis.

BACKSTORY

EA Wyll mentions being "born and bred in the upper city" into nobility. It's unspecified what exact level of influence his family occupied.

In datamined voice lines from EA (take with a grain of salt) Wyll refers to being from House Eltan specifically. Eltan was the Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate in the first Baldur's Gate Game, and the founder of the Flaming Fist. Forgotten Realms lore states that the Eltans are no longer in charge of the Fist and have somewhat diminished in power, but again. We don't know to exactly what level.

This also means that this iteration of Wyll was not Ulder Ravengard's son. While he still spoke about his father in EA, the descriptions and characterizations do not line up with Ulder at all. Additionally, he comments about "knowing of" Ravengard during the burning inn sequence, but otherwise makes no connection.

The most damning evidence of all that Wyll being a Ravengard was not originally intended, is Wyll wanting to be like his father and thus "going thieving in the wrong shadows".

Wyll gets caught stealing, presumably as a teenager, and his father uses latent connections within the Flaming Fist to get Wyll sent there. Effectively the fantasy equivalent of sending your unruly kid to boot camp.

Wyll mentions that he didn't adjust well to life as part of the Flaming Fist, was not a very good fighter, and was generally not well liked. The goblin at the windmill calling Wyll "Captain Failure" implies he might have been given higher status despite not earning it.

The way Wyll feels about goblins is a big change between EA and full release, and is explained as part of his backstory.

We didn't get the finer details, but we can assume Wyll in his time with the Fist bore witness to a group of goblins razing a village. Horrified and enraged, he tried fighting a goblin, was overwhelmed, and had his eye torn out.

This is when Mizora showed up and offered him a pact. Considering he was left for dead and probably going to bleed out, it's pretty understandable why he took the deal.

Mizora is not nearly as present in Early Access as she is in the current game. Karlach was not involved in Wyll's story at all, there's no devil transformation.

It's also more heavily insinuated there's a sexually coercive element of Wyll and Mizora's relationship, with him speaking to how every time he wanted to leave her, she found some way to pull him back.

Additionally, Wyll wants out of that contract. Unlike full release where Mizora is randomly captured in Act 2, she starts off kidnapped, and insists she'll let Wyll go if he frees her

It kind of ended up being a plot cul de sac, but Torturer Spike was the goblin that took Wyll's eye--which was a quest item you could pickpocket/loot off his body. Wyll had commentary on it and everything.

TL;DR: -Born to a noble family with Flaming Fist connections -Caught Stealing and sent to work for the Fist as punishment -Tried to fight back during a goblin attack and was gravely injured -Mizora offers a pact -Uses his pact to become a traveling monster hunter, presumably to make up for his past failure to protect people. Antagonistic towards goblins in particular -Ultimately wants out of the pact, but Mizora won't let him go -Wyll and Mizora get abducted by Mind Flayers -Mizora agrees to let Wyll go if he frees her from the cultists

PERSONALITY

This is a bit less concrete than changed story beats, but I can say this: a lot of Wyll's core traits stayed intact between EA and full release. He's still willing to put his life on the line for the Tiefling refugees, with a whole cut line about how the kids he's training deserve to have a carefree childhood. He wants to do good in the world, probably because he spent so much time in his youth feeling like a fuck up.

There's also a much clearer divide between "Wyll" and "The Blade of Frontiers". Notably, in EA he didn't introduce himself by name. Not even a "my friends call me Wyll" quip at Shadowheart like he has currently. During his old romance scene, he has a line about being used to being the hero, and not used to needing one. He's a symbol. An emblem of something bigger than himself. The fact he's so self-aggrandizing as The Blade makes it apparent he's not confident in himself as "just Wyll"

He's also decidedly more forward and flirty in EA, with no reservations about courtship. In fact, the main obstacle to your budding relationship is Mizora herself. Wyll's trauma from her treatment interrupts your first night together. Whether you have sex or just snuggle, Wyll has a line about how he doesn't want to start a relationship until he can "give himself completely" after being freed from his pact.

THOUGHTS & COMPARISONS

I'm also not entirely sure if I'd say EA Wyll is substantially angrier than current Wyll, so much as he had more opportunities to be angry during Early Access. I can understand why the goblin stuff was cut, because it did dip into "Let's make the one black guy fantasy racist" trope. However, it did very much feel like the narrative was pointing in bright, flashing colors that this is a trait Wyll would have to grapple with, learn, and grow from. The fact EA Wyll's most glaring character flaw was scrapped and didn't get much of a replacement in full release makes his story feel less realized.

While I appreciate the overtly sexual element of Wyll and Mizora's relationship was removed, I feel like the final version is somehow even more creepy. During Early Access she existed in the background as a vague villain you only experience via Wyll. And if you do his romance scene and see the way he panics at the mere memory of her, you get the impression of oh shit. This broad is bad news and I've gotta get my boy out of there. The same principle behind not showing the big scary monster too early in the horror movie. Once you've seen it, you can't let your mind fill in the blanks. Mizora went from this intimidating figure whose motives you couldn't fully ascertain, to a mean girl that thinks she's smarter than everyone else but is really just the bumbling lackey of a bigger fish. Who pulls Wyll around with an actual metaphysical leash like a dog. And you're meant to find this sexy.

My final point, and I've said this before: current Wyll's personality seemed more suited to being a scion of house Eltan, while EA Wyll seemed more suited to being Ulder Ravengard's dissapointment son. Current Wyll speaks and carries him like someone raised in nobility despite only being elevated to such status as a teenager. Perhaps this is cynical and maybe even a bit of a conspiracy theory, but I genuinely think he's only Ravengard's son to save on time and assets. Why give Wyll a whole unique family with its own story when we can just tie him in to the "rescue the grand duke" plot, regardless of how much sense it makes!

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #BG3 Wyll #Wyll Ravengard #if any EA players want to add things I might've missed let me know #I'm so tired of people saying EA Wyll was like mean or didn't really care about the Tiefling refugees or something #his core personality did not change that much!! the main difference is that he lashed out due to anger and trauma more!!#I love every iteration of Wyll but his current iteration is introducing themes and then going nowhere with it #twilitalks

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judesmoonbeauty · 2 months ago

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Once More, An Evil From Which You Can't Return SE - Part 1: Elbert Greetia

᯽Please note: I am only translating Elbie's end for this part one event. Meaning it's Elbert's chapter, the Ending and Epilogue. The "second" Chapter is solely Alfon's Chapter and has no bearing on the story. And sorry if it sounds a bit stiff, it's been a while since I’ve translated Elbie.

This is a fan translation only. Please expect grammatical errors and translation inaccuracies. This is a full translation. Creative liberties are taken for characterization and smoother translation process. Cybird owns everything. Re-blogs are appreciated, but please do not post my translation elsewhere. Thank you for your support! ☾.

(Huh?….Where am I?)

When I woke up, I wasn't in my room at Crown Castle, but lying on a bed in a strange room.

(I remember that last night Alfons and Lord Elbert invited me to drink some delicious alcohol...)

The sweet apple-flavored liquor was easy to drink and scrumptious.

I had only intended to drink a little, but they urged me to drink more, and before I knew it, I had passed out.

(Someone brought me here while I was sleeping…..?)

Amidst my confusion in an unfamiliar place, there was a knock on the door to my room, so I opened it.

Elbert: …..You woke up. Good morning.

(Good thing I’m in a place where I know people…!)

Kate: Pardon me, Lord Elbert. I don't remember coming to this mansion...where am I?

Kate: Perhaps, I’ve lost my memory again…?

It was only yesterday…..that I experienced amnesia when I woke up.

So, I ask timidly, worried that I've forgotten something today too.

Elbert: Al and I brought you to the mansion while you were drunk and passed out, so it's no wonder you don't remember.

Apparently, this is a mansion owned by Lord Elbert.

Kate: I see…….I'm glad I didn’t get drunk and storm into someone else's house or anything.

(But why was I brought here?)

(If I was drunk, they could’ve just returned me to my room at Crown Castle….)

(Well, whatever the reason….It’s probably the best not to overstay here.)

Kate: I can't cause you any more trouble, so I'll be returning to Crown right away.

Kate: Thank you for all of your help…… -?

As I was leaving the room, Lord Elbert grabbed my arm.

Elbert: …..Roger explained that if you change your environment, it may help recover your memories.

Kate: Is that why you invited me to your mansion, Lord Elbert?

Elbert: …..Yes. I’d like you to live here for the time being.

Kate: Lord Elbert, why do you want my memories to return?

Elbert: ……

Kate: Oh... I'm sorry. It was rude of me to ask such a strange question...!

Kate: I also want my past memories to come back.

Kate: It’s just, I’m a bit confused as to why you’re treating me so kindly, Lord Elbert…!

As if to ease my tension while I tried to explain, Elbert gently smiled.

Elbert: It’s fine. ….I understand.

Elbert: ….You may have forgotten, but I do have a reason.

Elbert: Kate, the reason why I want to recover your memories….. is because…

Perhaps it’s because Elbert is standing with the sunlight at his back…

….But a shadow suddenly fell across his face, making his expression look heavy.

Elbert: And now…..I have to protect you.

Kate: Protect…?

Elbert: No, I’m sorry…..Please forget about it.

The questions were growing, but the atmosphere wasn’t conducive to digging deeper, and Elbert’s grip on my arm didn’t weaken.

Kate: I understand. I think I’ll stay her for a while.

Elbert: ….I’m glad. You can think of this as your home….So, spend your time at ease.

Thus began my life at Elbert’s estate.

To keep my spirits up, Elbert takes me by the hand and shows me things everyday.

Today, Elbert took me to the mansion’s garden.

The sun was rising in the direction he was pointing, and as I squinted my eyes at the brighteness -

Kate: Oh…! What a cute little bird!

There were seeds in a wooden box in the garden, and several birds were visting to peck at them.

Kate: Lord Elbert, do you always feed seeds to birds at your mansion like this?

Elbert: No…..I tried it after you came to the mansion. I thought that looking at cute animals would soothe you…..

Kate: Thank you, Lord Elbert. Hehe….the little birds look happy too.

Elbert: It’s only been a few days since I started leaving the bird seed, but…..Day by day, more and more little ones come.

Kate: Maybe the birds are spreading word about the nice garden with delicious food.

Elbert: ……Perhaps you’re right.

Elbert: Kate. Does this mansion…..feel comfortable to you?

Kate: Yes, very much.

Elbert: ….Could you, stay here forever?

I hesitate to answer.

From Elbert’s expression and tone of voice, I sensed an incredible weight in the word “forever.”

Kate: Um….

Elbert: …..I see.

As I stammered, Elbert just smiled sorrowfully.

Kate: Do you want me to stay at the mansion to protect me?

Elbert: …..Yes.

Kate: Um….Can you tell me? What is it you’re trying to protect me from, Lord Elbert….

I wanted to know what was making Elbert’s expression cloud.

To know and remove the cause….I wanted Elbert to smile.

Elbert: That’s -

Just as Elbert was about to speak,

Alfons: Lord Elbie.

Alfons appeared and called Elbert’s name.

It was like he was trying to prevent Elbert from answering.

[Event Master List] [Elbert End]

If you wish to be added (and 18+ YO), or removed from my translations tag list, please let me know!

Tag List: @sh0jun @theimaginativelyreticent @sapphire-323 @velisle @nateko @greatwitchsongsinger @injudescoat @aeyumicore @complexivelovely @yuoi-the-magnificent @husbandosandladders @nawlink @cosmowgyral @lunaaka @rosalyne08 @8the-perfect-lie8 @voydsoul @goustmilk @kraiyne @midnightsrunaway

#ikevil translations #ikevil #ikemen villains #cybird translations #elbert greetia #ikevil elbert #elbert greetia translations

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iron-strangers · 1 year ago

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Dream a Little Dream of Me

Description: It's all true, Jedi can read minds. You've been trained to keep people's thoughts about you for so long. It went well until the day you caught Din's fantasy involving you.

Pairing: The Mandalorian (Din Djarin) x Female Jedi!Reader

Series: Expanding Clan Mudhorn

Tags: Established Relationships, Mand’alor Din Djarin, A Sprinkle of Family Fluff, Sexual Fantasy, Vaginal Sex, Oral Sex (f receiving), Unprotected p-in-v, Creampie, Breeding Kink, Lactation Kink

CW: Reader has AFAB characterization, uses she/her pronouns, is able-bodied, has depicted body changes related to pregnancy and breastfeeding, and hair that can be pulled during sex. No Use of Y/N. Consent Issues: Reader peaks into Din's fantasy. NSFW MINORS DNI

Length: 2.7k

According to urban legends, jedi can read minds. That's true, well, to an extent.

Jedi can read unshielded minds. A Jedi’s mental shield helps to prevent their minds so they’re not easily read, but also to prevent them from accidentally reading a non-force sensitive’s mind. This knowledge helped you survive being chased around the galaxy during the Empire’s reign. Imps are weak-minded and you could easily get any information you needed by reading their mind.

As you grew older, some thoughts people had about you turned sexual. Some got you blushing, like the one from a spacer who fantasized about sweet-talking you into having a quickie in the back of the cantina, some others were just plain disturbing and had you slamming a mental shield as quick as you can before fleeing the parameter with your blaster clutched in your hand.

During the old Jedi-Mandalorian war era, Mando'ade have found a way to keep the jetiise out of their head. Beskar helmets are effective for as long as you can remember, but apparently, there's a loophole. Beskar can't block a jedi who's already soul-bonded to a Mandalorian. There might not be any data about this, but let's be real, there's barely any noted soul bonds between a jedi and Mandalorian throughout history.

This explains the weird sync you and Din have. People have mentioned how you complete each other, that you have almost the same opinions on things, how you two always make the same decisions, both politically and on the battlefield. Some might even suggest that you and him finish each other's sentences. It's a cliché, written in teenager’s holonovels. So you're used to laughing it off, deflecting that you probably just spent too much time together, that between leading and parenting, agreeing on the same thing is just what spouses do. The Armorer called you ‘two halves of one warrior’ at your wedding ceremony. It should’ve ring an alarm in your mind, but in your defense, you were too busy getting swooned off your feet.

It became apparent one day when you met him in a small bakery, just a few minutes away from the Keldabe Palace, when he wasn’t supposed to be done until much later in the day. You’ve been craving Keshian Spice Rolls all day and you figured it was a great day to take the kids out, enjoy the sun and a little sweet treats, then surprise your hard-working riduur with a box of pastries back in the palace. Imagine your surprise when you stepped into a bakery and saw him already queuing.

“Rid’ika!” He called, waving to you from the line. You skipped over the lines, smiling and nodding to everyone as you made your way to your riduur. Din took Grogu from you so you can lift Aranar, who’s busy charming everyone off with his toothy grin, up.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, holding his offered hand. “You have to meet the Prince of Bespin in half an hour.”

“I know, but I heard they are baking Keshian Spice Rolls. So I went to buy you some.” Din shrugged, not once caring about the Prince having to wait for him to get back from spoiling his riduur. “And what about you? I thought you have a bes'kad class for the verd’ike this afternoon.”

“The class won’t start for another two hours and I really want a spice roll.”

You heard people behind you aww-ing and you buried your face into his shoulder, humming when you feel cool beskar against your blushing cheek. Din smiled behind his helmet, paying for three spice rolls to go, never once he let your hand go. You got back to the palace with twenty minutes to spare and herded the ad’ike to the Mand’alor’s office.

“Knock when you need him and don’t come in before I answer.” You rushed into the room when you spotted Kryze marching to stop you.

“You two better not be having se-”

“Young ears, Kryze! Manda, we’re just gonna eat Spice Rolls!” You held the pastry packages up for her to see, holding your laughter when you saw her scowling.

“Spice rolls better not be a code for something else, Djarin! You have a meeting in twenty minutes!”

Din closed the door on her face and you locked it with the force for good measure before dissolving into giggles. Din lifted his helmet up and immediately pressed a longing kiss to your lips. The kiss was uncoordinated since the two of you couldn’t stop grinning. The kiss, and the pastries were heavenly, Grogu and Aranar shared a piece, for your peace of mind. After all, it was you who had to wrangle two sugar-high toddlers in the training yard as you teach advanced sword techniques to a group of heavily armed teenagers who happened to be Mandalore's newly sworn warriors.

The impending knock finally came and you shared another sugary sweet kisses with your riduur before you put his helmet back on and sent him away to his duty. The door was barely closed when you were hit with realization.

Fuck, you thought. We’re soul-bonded.

Overall, there are worse people to be soul-bonded with. Having one with your own riduur is not a bad thing at all. Having one with your riduur without any source to soul-bond knowledge, however, is another piece of work. Putting a mental shield up against your own riduur feels wrong but you do it anyway, respecting his privacy to his own mind.

Until today.

Today, you feel a gentle nudge at your brick wall of a mental shield, laced with Din's warm force presence. You could've brushed him off and shielded yourself better, but you thought to yourself that a small peak wouldn't be bad.

You're wrong. Oh, you're so wrong because it's bad. Your hand directly flies towards your mouth and you try to stifle a moan as a yawn.

In his fantasy, Din had you bent over the meeting table and he's pounding into you. He has his hand on the small of your back, pressing you down to the table. You're completely naked against the table, pinned beneath the beskar of his armor. You can hear the filthy sound of his cock ramming into your sopping cunt. Din grabs a fistful of your hair, making you cry his name out loud, losing yourself to the stretch and the hard thrusts of Din's cock.

“Oh fuck-” you grit your teeth, clenching your fist on your thigh. You sit there, stunned, breathless, unable to stop watching.

“Can you feel how good this pussy stretches around me, rid’ika?” Din grunts, holding you so close to his hips while his fingers reach down, rubbing your swollen clit. “Such a good girl, do you wanna cum, mesh'la? Wanna soak my cock and make me give you another ik’aad?”

Maker, yes! You thought, trying your damn hardest not to whine while the version of you in his mind is whimpering and begging him to make you cum. Din leans to your ear, telling you to come. You’re shuddering in his arm, moaning his name in a punched out noise with a telltale sign of orgasm, and you snap yourself out of his imagination.

You put your strongest mental shield up and you lean to the plush seat, blinking and looking around the room as you settle yourself back to reality. Din is sitting on the head of the table, looking over his own datapad as he watches a member of his council talk about Mandalore’s quarterly budget report. If you didn’t know better, you’d think your riduur is actively listening to the report instead of daydreaming about fucking you over this very table.

You tread carefully when you're back home. You put Aranar and Grogu to sleep late, making sure they are a little bit more tired than usual so they sleep soundly later tonight. Once the kids are out like lights, you take the baby monitor with you and change into one of Din’s loose shirts.

You find him still seated on the dining table, tapping things into his datapad. You smirk to yourself, walking towards him and leaning over the dining table to take your own datapad that you could easily reach if you make an extra trip to the end of the table. Din can't stop staring, making no move to help you, instead he stands up from the chair and moves to cup the swell of your ass, just like how he imagined before.

“Careful, rid’ika, you don't know what kinda game you're playing here.”

You whine when his hand moves underneath the shirt, trailing up your thigh, sending shivers up your spine. He whispers praises to your ear, biting down your jaw and your neck.

“Fuck, look at you, mesh'la, you're expecting this, huh?” He lifts the shirt up, revealing nothing underneath other than your glistening cunt. “I haven't even done anything, rid'ika, and this pretty pussy's already all wet for me.”

You moan softly when his fingers find your clit, rubbing on it as you shudder in his arms. Din sinks two fingers into your wet heat and he groans when he feels how wet you are. He thumbs on your clit as he keeps pumping in and out of your cunt, spreading your arousal all over his fingers and your inner thighs until you shake beneath him, then he pulls off of you.

“No, cyare please, I'm so close- Ah!” You cry as his fingers leave you, only to moan loudly when he kneels behind you and he slaps your soaked pussy.

“Needy girl,” he teases, slapping your clit again, ignoring your cries. He parts your folds with his tongue until his smart mouth finds your clit and he starts sucking on the sensitive nub. You grip the edge of the table tightly as you grind against his face, smearing your arousal all over his lower face. Din tuts, holding your hips in place, chuckling when he sees your hole clenches around nothing.

“You know what you get for being such a good girl, cyar’ika?” Din asks, his fingers are back on your clit, rubbing the bundle of nerve in a tight circle as you buck violently against his fingers. “Good girl gets to come on my face.”

His lips are back on you, kissing, lapping, and sucking until you're a whimpering mess. You let out a high pitched whine and you come on his mouth, flooding him with your arousal as he keeps on sucking on your lips as you ride your orgasm.

Din grabs your chin towards him and he kisses you hard, his lips are glistening with the mixture of your cum and his spit and you can taste yourself on the tip of his tongue. Din pulls off of you and he turns you around, lifting you up to the edge of the table. He lays you down and he parts your legs with a steady hand on your inner thigh, keeping them apart so he can admire his hard work, your drenched cunt glistening with your sweet come. Din groans then he spits on your cunt, adding to the mess before smearing everything around with the thick head of his cock. He's painfully hard, his foreskin is pulled all the way back, revealing the flared tip, steadily leaking precum all over you. He lines himself up with your entrance and fucks all the way into you in one push. You watch as his thick cock stretches your hole, feeling yourself clinging to his girth, fluttering around him as you struggle to take his size. Both of you moan when he finally buries himself deep inside you, still holding tight to each other.

“Maker, been thinking about this sweet pussy all day.”

Oh, I know. You thought. “Yeah? Did you think about fucking me, ner riduur? Thought about how my pussy clenches around your cock? Did you think about filling me up with your cum until I'm swollen with your adi'ka?” You taunt him, circling your legs on his hips to keep him buried deep inside of you.

“Fuck!” Din swears, hissing while he steadily leaks precum all over your wet heat, leaning his head to yours and rutting deep against your sweet spot. “You're playing with fire, rid'ika. Can't just say things like that.”

“But I want you to,” you beg, moaning wantonly when he starts pumping in and out of you. “Want you to keep fucking me until I'm so full and swollen with your baby.”

Din growls, pounding deep into you with punishing pace. He's watching you, watching your cunt swallowing his cock, watching your face grow slack with pleasure. You slip your hands under the shirt, covering your breast and squeezing them, making your milk leak until there's a wet patch over the shirt.

“Filthy girl,” Din grunts, pawing on the piece of clothing. “Lift it up baby, let me see.”

You lift the shirt up, revealing your breasts for him, shiny from both milk and sweat. Beads of your milk trickling from your nipples, leaking steadily as he fucks into you. He slips one engorged nipple to his mouth, sucking until he can taste you on his tongue while his fingers play with the abandoned one, rubbing and squeezing, spraying him with milk.

“Everything about you is just so sweet, rid'ika, my perfect girl.” He praises. He licks your nipple clean before switching to the other side, pressing open mouthed kisses before bringing the sensitive buds to his mouth and sucking on it, drinking you until he's full while his hand loves on the other one. His cock never stops pounding into you, bringing you closer and closer with each snaps of his hips.

He folds your legs into a mating press, tucking your knees against your chest and his cock is so deep inside you. So deep he reaches your cervix, kissing your womb with his tip. You clench hard around his length, your wall seizes violently around him, milking him irresistibly as he keeps hitting the spot that makes you see stars, begging him to please, never stop. You're wailing as your whole body shakes, tipping your head back and moaning Din's name so loud he has to cover your mouth with his palm, worried the filthy noises of the snap of his balls slapping your ass, your loud moans, and the squelching sound of your wet pussy might wake the sleeping kids up.

With a shaky shudder, you come down from your high, whining as Din keeps fucking you, chasing his own orgasm. After a few brutal thrust, your riduur groans loudly, shouting punched out moans as he peaks. His cock twitches in your soaked, messy cunt, filling you with his hot cum, flooding your insides and claiming you his. He kisses your lips, muffling both your moans, only parting to plant another kiss to your temple while he pumps you full of his cum, murmuring sweet, loving praises and filthy promises to you.

“That's a good girl, rid'ika. Take it, baby, gonna get you all round and pregnant. That's what you want, right? Want to give me another? Want to be bred all over again?”

Din keeps rutting with you until you both shake from overstimulation and he gently pulls out of you. He admires your blissed, fucked out face, trailing soft kisses down your jaw and your neck, sucking his marks all over your body. You tip his jaw up and catch his lips in another kiss, laced with a content smile, before breaking away to whisper sweet I love yous to each other.

Din gathers you in his arms, carrying you to the bedroom and lowering you gently into your shared bed. He leaves for the fresher, fetching a damp rag to clean you up before slipping into his side of bed beside you. He pulls you close, kissing your lips lovingly and rearranges the covers, tucking you into his arms.

“You're my dream girl, you know that right?”

“I tried,” you smile contently, caressing the scruff of his jaw softly.

“You don't have to,” Din mutters, humming when you snuggle closer to him, pressing your heartbeat over his. “You're perfect just the way you are.”

You exchange more kisses, lazily making out in bed until sleep takes over, safely nestled in each other's arms.

About a few weeks later, you start to feel the tiniest flutter in the force.

#expanding clan mudhorn #din djarin x reader #din djarin x female reader #din djarin x you #din djarin fanfiction #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian fanfiction #the mandalorian #din djarin #the mandalorian smut #din djarin smut #din djarin imagine #pedro boys #pedro pascal fic #star wars #star wars fanfiction

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sailortongue · 2 years ago

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Wingteam

pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

wc: ~1.5k

summary: the team decides that Spencer is in need of a date and they're going to be the ones to help him. But there's just one problem that the team doesn't know about: Spencer already has a girlfriend

a/n: this is my first time writing for criminal minds so they're probably all out of character but pls bear with me. binged the first four seasons in a month and i'm completely hooked on the show and spencer so hopefully i'll write more and improve characterization. any feedback would be super appreciated!

------

Spencer Reid was a rather private person, preferring to keep his private life just that: private. But it was getting progressively harder to explain why he didn't want to participate in group outings to the local bars. Truth be told, all he wanted was to get home to you and cuddle on the couch. Not that his teammates knew you even existed. It wasn't that he was ashamed of you! No, never. How could he ever be ashamed of the most wonderful thing in his life? No, it was because he knew he'd never hear the end of the teasing, especially from Morgan. And so he had decided that he would keep you all to himself, after discussing with you, of course. You had no issue with him not disclosing your relationship with his coworkers. However, it was this secrecy that led him to this horribly uncomfortable moment.

“You don't get to weasel out this time, pretty boy. You're coming with us even if I have to manhandle you there,” said Morgan. “And you're not leaving that bar without a girl on your arm,” he added, finger pointed at Reid in an accusatory manner.

It took all of Spencer’s willpower to not outwardly grimace. Like hell he was going to leave with any girl that wasn't you. “I’m not looking for a relationship right now,” he declined. It wasn't exactly a lie; he was already in a relationship, afterall.

“Oh, c’mon, Spence, don't you want to settle down one day?” chimed in Emily. “I bet you'd be an amazing husband.” She redirected her attention, “We just have to find the future Mrs. Reid, right Morgan?”

Morgan smirked, “Sounds like a plan.”

“No. There is no plan. Stop scheming. I told you, I’m not looking for a relationship. And even if I was, I don't think I’d need a team of FBI agents to help me get a date,” Spencer tried to discourage his friends, but to no avail. In fact, it just seemed to egg them on.

“Reid, I’ve never seen you go out with anyone. We’re getting you laid tonight and there's nothing you can do about it.”

“Never seen me go out with anyone? Should I be inviting you along to my dates?”

The sarcasm wasn't lost on Morgan, who rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.” He turned to look at Garcia, “Hey, babygirl, you wanna help us land Reid a date?” The grin that Morgan had whilst asking was soon mirrored by the technical analyst in question.

“Do you even have to ask, sugar?”

A quick glance around the bullpen at his gathered teammates told him that no one was going to help him get out of this. Spencer’s expression changed to one of panic, but not for the reason that his friends assumed, i.e. that he had no experience with girls and was just nervous. Much to his chagrin, Hotch made a different deduction, and whilst everyone else was discussing their plan for later that night, he leaned down to Reid, “Why don't you just tell them you have a girlfriend already?”

Spencer, who was nowhere near as skilled as Hotch at hiding his emotions, had shock written all over his face. He opened his mouth to question how Hotch knew that, not even bothering to deny it. But Hotch answered before Spencer could even ask the question. “I’m a profiler. To be honest, I'm surprised the rest of the team hasn’t figured it out. Rossi has a suspicion, though.” And with that, Hotch stood back up to his full height and resumed conversation with the team, asking what time they had decided to meet.

I’m so screwed thought Spencer.

--------

“I’m so screwed,” Spencer announced to you as soon as he walked into your shared apartment, dropping his satchel in the entryway. You looked up from the book you were currently reading, “What happened? Are you okay?” You closed your book and set it on the coffee table, giving your perfect boyfriend your full attention. He sighed and joined you where you were reclined on the couch, lying down and placing his head on your tummy, wrapping his arms around you in the process. You smiled down at him gently and brought your hand up to play with his curls, eliciting a satisfied groan from him. “What's eating you, Spence?”

He tilted his head up before answering, “I have to meet the team at a bar later tonight.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion, not seeing what the issue could possibly be. “Ok? Why is that a problem?”

He adjusted himself to be propped up on his elbows on either side of you. “It’s a problem because they've all decided that I'm in need of a girlfriend,” he huffed. Despite your best efforts, you couldn't contain your laughter at Spencer’s obvious distress over the situation. You truly meant no offense, but he was just so gosh darn cute.

“Spencer, sweetheart, why don't you just tell them?”

“Honestly, at this point I just want to see how long it takes them to figure it out without me outright telling them. We're not supposed to profile each other, but it becomes second nature due to the job, so they're bound to pick up on it eventually. Hotch already knows, and he said that Rossi is suspicious. The others haven't caught on yet, but now Morgan wants to be my wingman for the night. How am I supposed to play this off?”

You thought about it for a second before an idea came to mind, a sly grin sliding across the features Spencer loved oh so much. “You're going to do exactly what Morgan wants.”

Spencer blanched, immediately objecting to your words. How could you even suggest that?

“Hold on, I’m not done. I’m not sending the love of my life out to flirt with anyone that isn't me. So what we’re gonna do is….

--------

“Oh, what's this? Did pretty boy find a pretty girl?” teased Derek. His friend practically looked like those wolves from vintage cartoons with hearts for eyes and tongue rolling out of their mouths. His question caught the attention of the rest of the table, all of whom saw Spencer with his eyes trained on a lovely young woman sitting at the bar.

“You should go talk to her!” encouraged Penelope.

“Oh, she's so pretty!” exclaimed JJ. “I agree with Pen, you should definitely go talk to her!”

Hotch watched as the rest of the team, all at least a few drinks in, hyped Spencer up with intoxicated enthusiasm. He had a barely-there smile on his face, watching the events unfold. He watched as Spencer’s face got redder and redder with the attention. As entertaining as this was for the others, it was infinitely more entertaining for Hotch, since he was certain that the woman at the bar was Spencer’s secret girlfriend.

Finally, Spencer gave in to his friends’ demands and approached the bar, seating himself beside the woman. Beside you. Knowing his friends were watching, he had to pretend as if he was meeting you for the first time.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he offered.

You glanced at him coyly before accepting his offer. At some point, the two of you fell into the usual rhythm of conversation you always had, speaking to each other in a way that betrayed how close you really were.

Back at the table, Rossi leaned over to Hotch and gestured for Hotch to lean in as well. “That's the kid’s girlfriend, isn't it?” he whispered. Hotch pulled back with an amused expression and gave the slightest nod, confirming Rossi’s question. Meanwhile, Morgan was placing a bet with Garcia about how long it would take for Reid to leave with you. Morgan was confident that it would be within the next thirty minutes, stating that Reid, who wasn't the most socially adept but was having such a lively conversation, must have really hit it off with you. They watched as Reid spoke to you, all smiles and wild hand gesticulations. And then there was you, the pretty woman who, unbeknownst to the team (minus Hotch and Rossi), was already irrevocably in love with their resident genius long before they took it upon themselves to be a whole wingteam. The radiant smile you wore matched the one Spencer had as you responded to him just as enthusiastically as he had been speaking.

Unfortunately for Garcia, Morgan won their bet. The two of them watched as Reid leaned in to whisper something in your ear. When he pulled away, there was a prominent blush on your face that the minimal amount of alcohol you had couldn't possibly be responsible for. You nodded at him, and he stood from his stool, offering his hand for you to take, which you did as you followed him to the exit.

“My man!” called Morgan from across the bar, raising his beer in Spencer’s direction. Hotch and Rossi chuckled, exchanging glances and shaking their heads. The rest would figure it out eventually. It might be when they receive a wedding invitation, but eventually nonetheless.

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid

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cosmereplay · 5 months ago

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If you are having strong negative emotions about Wind and Truth after you finish it, and you're having a hard time expressing why, consider: maybe you are sad about the stuff around the book.

Let me explain, because this happened to me over the last week.

Sanderson's books are known to be emotionally pretty rough, and it's hard to read my favourite characters going through it. The ending is the end of an arc, not the whole story, so many things are left open-ended. On top of that, the characters grow and change, so the characters I have grown to love are different now! AUGH CHANGE!!

On top of that, for me personally I have relied a lot on the Stormlight fandom to help me laugh and distract from my shitty life, so to go through a month minimum where people are avoiding social media for spoilers purposes, or not posting, or have info that they can't share yet, is isolating and frustrating. Even though it's not anyone's fault, it's just change! (More change. Fuck)

Change brings its own grief. Many people will be moving on to other fandoms after this, or thinking about characters in different ways than I might want to. I might have to rebuild my community a little as people develop different obsessions or ideas. It's normal, and it's okay to be sad about it!

Anyway so after I finished reading the book I had a real depressive low for a bit. It's commonly known as post-vacation blues, the time after the thing you looked forward to, when you have to go back to regular life. That just by itself is a well known cause of temporary sadness/depression. No wonder I was having trouble getting out of bed 😅

There can be a temptation, especially for those of us who like to project our feelings onto characters, to take umbrage at this or that characterization, or pick the book apart to find things to be upset about. But if the critique is based off projecting emotions, then it won't be a solid argument and you'll probably end up having a bad time in a conversation with someone who is enjoying the literary critique.

I just started coming out of it today and realized hey, maybe the book isn't bad. Maybe I was just sad, for all these reasons. It'll still take months for me to digest it but that's just me, I'm a slow learner for literary stuff. At least now (after a couple good mopes) I can start thinking about my true opinions not clouded by grief.

So I thought I'd pass it on in case others might relate! If you don't relate that's fine. (ie This is a mental health post, this is not the place to tell me what you didn't like about the book, that's not what this post is about.)

#wind and truth #hope i made sense

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kotaka-kun · 3 months ago

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a (relatively short) Matt/Foggy fic rec list

@goneatlas this one's for u :-)

I have over 90 daredevil fics bookmarked at the moment, so this is by no means an exhaustive list of my favorite fics -- these are just a handful of the ones that just live rent free in my head, five plus years out from my dd/mattfoggy hyperfixation.

The Constellation of Touch by what_alchemy

19,272 words | rated E

Months after Fisk is put away, nothing's right between the partners at Nelson and Murdock. But Christmas is here, and Matt is still expected at the Nelson house.

I don't know how many times I've reread this fic over the years. It's practically canon to me at this point. The way Matt explains his senses to Foggy, and how deeply Foggy comes to understand why Matt does what he does... I love the writing and the characterization and literally everything about it. This fic truly changed my brain chemistry.

Rumble My Bones by what_alchemy

9,342 words | rated E

“Guess we’re still learning stuff about each other, huh?”

From queer gender-swapped Foggy, to the misunderstandings trope, I love everything about this fic. This fic is another one that I love the language of (I think I need to go back and read more of what_alchemy's fics bc hot damn), to the point where I think of this fic every time I see the moon in the daytime.

Pardon Me While I Burst Into Flames by poisonivory

9,627 words | rated E

He moves his mouth a few times, soundlessly - a sure sign that he's working out what to say and doesn't think Foggy will like it. "I, uh, I...remember how I told you I was a demon?" "That's pretty memorable," Foggy says, because, well. "I…may have neglected to tell you what kind of demon I am," Matt says. There are different kinds of demons? Matt's expression is nothing shy of abject terror, so Foggy makes a heroic effort and keeps his voice very calm. "What kind of demon are you, Matt?" Matt gulps audibly. "An incubus."

I really liked how this fic directly incorporated Matt being an incubus to his being Daredevil. Also the fact that this is in fact the kind of healing factor that Matthew Michael Murdock needs if he's going to be getting into fights with ninjas and shit.

Under the Hide of Me by poisonivory

25,213 words | rated E

When a case turns dangerous, Matt appoints himself Foggy's personal bodyguard. Foggy's not complaining - but he would like to know why Daredevil won't stop flirting with him. Not that he's complaining about that, either.

The idea of Matt compartmentalizing his interactions with Foggy when he's in the mask vs out of it is such a fun concept, and this fic is probably my favorite iteration of that. Because Matt having to be so careful about everything he does when he's "just Matt" would make him that much bolder as Daredevil, doing things he normally wouldn't do, couldn't do.

We Just Lost the Beat by knight_tracer, lady_ragnell

19,334 words | rated T

Matt hears a lot in the city at night, sirens and crime--and the late-night radio show Foggy With a Chance, which sometimes runs a Daredevil Watch if he's been particularly active, but which mostly plays music. He probably shouldn't call in and request a song, but he does it anyway.

I love AUs where Matt and Foggy didn't meet in school, but find their way to each other anyway, and the thought of Foggy still being a source of comfort and safety for Matt makes me so so soft... Not to mention the secret identities, the being neighbors, the m u s i c god I love this fic

and alas,,, I have too many favorites written by returnsandreturns so I picked my top 3 for now

The Very Special Adventures of Mikey Murcock

30,924 words | rated E (mostly)

Once upon a time, in that fuzzy space between undergrad and interning and Landman and Zack - Matt Murdock became a porn star. These are his stories.

Okay, so this one is technically not just a fic, and is in fact a series, but it's such a fun premise and I think about it often.

i'll treat you right (be mine tonight)

2,916 words | rated E

This guy’s too pretty to be picking Foggy up. If he didn’t need the money, Foggy wouldn’t take the risk that he’s a Ted Bundy type and he might end up chopped into pieces before the night’s over. Making rent this month might be worth the chance of his legacy being unnamed brutally murdered prostitute.

I know there are a good number of prostitute!Foggy fics, I just like this one a lot. It's cute and fun and Matt's a little older too, which is always fun.

waited my whole life for just one thing

4,912 words | rated E

“Oh my god,” Foggy says, faintly. “Matt, how old are you?” “Eighteen,” Matt says. “How old are you?” Eighteen. The third thought that Foggy had after an apparently teenage Matt was sitting in normal Matt’s apartment, after two emphatic what the fucks, was how he didn’t realize that Matt looked like a ridiculously hot twink at that age when he didn’t have all the scars and scruffy facial hair and jacked muscles to compare it to. There’s something about that mouth when Matt’s clean-shaven that’s just—obscene. He’s going straight to hell.

What can I say, I'm a sucker for time travel fics and age difference ships and crackfic and this is all three.

k bye

#kotaka talks #daredevil #mattfoggy #kotaka fic recs

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bnhaobservation · 24 days ago

Text

How much to me does AFO’s writing not make sense?

This was created due to an ask I received which is basically the title of the post. Originally I just meant to answer the ask but as this got too long I decided to make a post just for it. I hope it’s okay.

It feels bad to say so but the problem with AFO (and Yoichi) is that their writing mostly doesn’t make sense, it feels as if the author continues ask for suspension of disbelief, retcon himself or tell us things he doesn’t show in the story. All this for the purpose of a plot that wasn’t planned in advance but that he just seems to improvise and to create supposedly saint/martyr Yoichi and an evil monster AFO that he’ll pointlessly destroy at the last minute to claim he’s not a monster but a lonely man.

In case someone missed the hint this is going to be a very critical post, so if you don’t feel like reading further the back button is your best friend.

Now... I’ll list all that doesn’t work for me.

Mind you, if it were fewer things I would have probably been fine with retcons, suspension of disbelief, things told and not shown and so on because in a manga you are often supposed to give the author a bit of all of the above. Maybe, if I tried HARD, I could make sense of some of the following things.

I’m also not checking the Japanese text to see if something is unclear due to mistranslation and, as this post is LONG, I won’t dig into details too much. Plus, AFO isn’t what I usually focus about so I might have missed something that, eventually, the text explained somewhere.

My problem with AFO is it’s just TOO MUCH that feels like not making sense that I lose interest in him. It breaks my suspension of disbelief, it makes me think it’s not worth the effort because… it’s random Quirk magic and retcons and what else and everything goes and I should repeat the MST3K Mantra (some details in the story don’t need to make sense because they ultimately don’t matter) but here we aren’t talking of ‘some details’, we’re talking of world-building and a main antagonist backstory and a main antagonist action and characterization. As I said, it’s just TOO MUCH.

Now, before we start let me explain what I mean about ‘random Quirk magic’.

Quirks don’t exist so, of course, it’s up to Horikoshi to make them up and also make up the rules for how they work and so far so good. Only, through the story, not only he makes up some really unbelievable Quirks that defy the rules of the world and therefore challenge our suspension of disbelief (Iida runs fast because HE HAS ENJINES IN HIS LEGS? Mechanical parts? What the fire Quirk users burn to make fire? Without fuel a fire won’t burn!), but he also makes up the rules at random, retconning them or adding them in a way that suit the plot to solve a problem he created previously or to surprise the audience. It’s the problem of Recovery Girl’s Quirk which first heals Midoriya in a second without a care for how he’s low on stamina or how his bones needs to be set and without leaving scars behind and then it gets all those new rules because the author doesn’t want healing to come so cheap. It’s the case of OFA who gives Midoriya access to the Quirks of the previous owners but didn’t do so for All Might. It’s the case of Shinsou’s Quirk which couldn’t make people talk but then it could (because Shinsou trained). It’s the case of Shigaraki’s Quirk that normally turns people to dust but somehow didn’t manage to affect his family’s hands. It’s the case of Eri whose horn inflates and deflates when the plot says so and works even if there’s no owner telling it to heal. And it’s the case of so many other instances.

The fact that new rules are added, usually AFTER a problem arises, makes impossible predict where the story will go because rules are changed along the way so that Quirks can do things they previously couldn’t do… but this ends up feeling often a plot contrivance more than an exciting surprise, it feels unnatural, it breaks the suspension of disbelief and ends up destroying the sakes of the story. In short it’s not that the author can’t add new rules… it’s just it causes more damage than good to the plot. It’s not a problem that regards just AFO (you might notice how he’s absent in the examples I mentioned above), this is a story problem but, as AFO is a victim of this as well, I thought worth to explain it.

I want to be clear, ‘Random Quirk magic’ doesn’t have to make sense because Quirks are fictional so we already know it’s going to feel absurd and that something we’ve to accept as basis of the story and therefore we should suspend our disbelief… the problem is that when things go too overboard even suspending our disbelief on something we already knew from the start was fictional becomes hard.

This isn’t a surreal manga where everything goes, we need to feel the story has some realistic basis even in its fictional elements, that it respects some laws… and the story doesn’t and that’s a flaw in writing, one that some readers might be willing to give a pass to due to the rule of cool and that others might not. It’s very personal.

AS FAR AS I’M INVOLVED, in many circumstances Horikoshi manages to break my suspension of disbelief because it goes too overboard. For others it might be fine. Just keep this in mind when you’ll hear me talk about ‘random Quirk magic’.

So let’s start by splitting it in parts.

PART 1: THE WORLDBUILDING

So right from the start we were told:

the first person who manifested a Quirk was the Luminescent baby born in China

that a person would normally manifest their Quirk if not at birth like the Luminescent baby, at least by the age of 4.

that in the early days of the paranormal they figured out that if someone is without a joint in the pinky toe, he’s someone with a Quirk

Lastly, the Quirk one would get is either inherited by one of their parents or a combination of both. [Chap. 1]

Why this choice?

The Luminescent baby is a good choice to make immediately obvious someone is born different without, at the same time, going overboard with how different that new baby is (I mean, he’s just luminescent, which is clearly not normal but not scary, yet he doesn’t have a fish head so that his look would scare people).

The age of 4 limit is to explain why Midoriya’s mother worried about him not having developed a Quirk while Midoriya is at preschool.

The toe thing is to make definitive the fact Midoriya is Quirkless.

The inheritance makes logical sense and will become important in the Todoroki plotline but I’m not sure if Horikoshi had planned the Todoroki plotline yet at this point. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe he has only planned Shouto (prototype Shouto was different from what we got).

ALL THIS WILL BE DISMANTLED/IGNORED IN FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS COURTESY OF THE SHIGARAKI TWINS.

The Luminescent Baby isn’t the first person with a Quirk, two years before his birth the Shigaraki twins’ mother, in Japan, manifested a Quirk. One year before the Luminescent Baby the Shigaraki twins were born and AFO immediately manifested his Quirk. [Chap. 407]

Why this change? AFO had to steal his mother’s Quirk so she needed to have one and he needed to be born first so he could complain the glowing baby was nothing special for just having been the first to be recorded.

Logically this should imply that other people started manifesting a Quirk when the Shigaraki Twins’ mother did and that they somehow were all so tame they didn’t make it to the news (which is less believable, really, I mean, among the people shown first showing Quirks there’s one whose body got on fire! but whatever).

Quirks don’t need to manifest by the time one reaches 4 years for things to be normal. After the Luminescent Baby was born they started to manifest in people going through puberty, not after birth, not before 4 years, something Quirk expert Garaki seemed to be unaware of even though he basically lived through those times. [Chap. 407]

Too bad the Shigaraki Twins’ mother didn’t seem that young but much older, but let’s assume it was due to the life she was doing.

As the cause that gave birth to Quirks is unexplained we can’t even say if those people were born with a Quirk and people didn’t notice because they didn’t manifest it, or going through puberty caused them to mutate.

Why the change? Because when people starts hunting people with Quirks the Shigaraki twins are still children (and if) and Horikoshi didn’t want to show the good people of Japan chasing after kids just because they’ve paranormal abilities... and also because the Shigaraki twins’ mom needed to have a Quirk that appear all of sudden.

The lack of joint in the pick toe? Unimportant in the story. AFO won’t check if his sibling doesn’t have it to see if he has a Quirk or not, at least not AFTER he gave him a Quirk thinking he had none. Considering AFO is mega powerful by the time he gives Yoichi a Quirk, he might have just asked a doctor if Yoichi was Quirkless, especially since Quirks could manifest later in life but no. Yoichi never showed signs he had a Quirk so he must not have it, let’s give him another. Who cares if it might fry his brain should he actually have a Quirk? [Chap. 59]

Quirk inherited from the parents? AFO and Yoichi’s Quirks were clearly not inherited by their mother and I’ve hard time thinking they were inherited by their father as their Quirks seems to be unique. [Chap. 407]

Really, giving the mom a Quirk that’s completely different from them is a bad idea. They should have been born with a Quirk by Quirkless parents and this should have been it... or their mom should have had the same Quirk.

We don’t need for the Shigaraki twins’ Quirks to be a mutation right at the start of things.

(Credits when it’s due, Inko too doesn’t grow confused when her son manifest a Quirk completely different from her or her husband but, I guess, we can make the argument that the joy for her son having a Quirk overwhelmed her so that she might have thought it was a mutation but didn’t care and we know that Quirk wasn’t one her son was born with... but well, no one seems to really pay attention to how odd Midoriya’s Quirk is.)

To sum it up, the Shigaraki Twins have destroyed the world building established in chap. 1. Of course Chap. 1 could have misleading, it completely hid that things weren’t all sunshine and rainbows from the start or better said due to Quirks there was chaos but didn’t clearly explain there were manhunts and discrimination for people with Quirks, it seemed only to imply that Villains emerged.

However it’s not that the text can’t be vague to the point of misleading when it makes sense for it to be (hiding the dark past of Quirk society made sense, same as having Garaki claiming Quirk owners are a new step of human evolution only to discover that in the past they speculate those with Quirk were a sub-branch of humans because now the population normally has a Quirk and they want to see themselves as the better product), it’s when it just rewrites itself at random because plot exigencies changes that things start to be harder to swallow.

Going on.

PART 2: THE KIDS WHILE IN THEIR MOTHER’S WOMB

The text rambles about how AFO stole nutrients from Yoichi when they were sharing their mother’s womb so Yoichi is weak.

Actually the fact that one twin ‘steal’ nutrients from the other is true in real life but... IT’S BAD FOR BOTH TWINS.

It’s the twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) which happens by chance (and so it’s not something AFO decided) and occurs when identical twins share a placenta and blood vessels, but the blood flow between them is not equal so one gets less nutriments than he should and the others gets too many.

About 90% of twins diagnosed with an advanced stage of TTTS very early in pregnancy are at risk of passing away before birth.

In about 85% to 90% of TTTS pregnancies that receive treatment, at least one twin survives.

In about 50% to 65% of TTTS pregnancies that receive treatment, both twins survive.

The Shigaraki twins’ mom received no treatment and she didn’t give birth in a hospital, nor the twins were well cared for after birth. The twins should have both died.

I get Horikoshi never cared about medical accuracy and I get sometimes twins with TTTS both survive but the odds are against him and Yoichi and but I think since Horikoshi doesn’t care about medical accuracy, he would make his life simpler by just not including medical conditions.

BTW Identical twins are two babies who share the same DNA because they develop from a single fertilized egg. They are also known as monozygotic twins. Since the Quirk factor is a genetic thing, this means Yoichi and AFO should have the same Quirk.

Now, generally, in the donor twin (the one that gets less blood aka Yoichi), the consequences might affect the respiratory, urinary, circulatory and gastrointestinal systems (he’s at risk for organ failure) as well as give him brain damage and give him a slower growth. He’ll also suffer malnourishment.

There is however no reason due to which the Quirk factor should be affected by it due to lack of nutrition during its formation to the point it didn’t properly form while all the rest will form just fine. I won’t nag on this too much as Quirk factors are fictional things created by Horikoshi himself so if he says Quirks don’t properly form if they get affected for mysterious reasons well, that’s his canon.

(If you’re curious about AFO, the consequences he should get would affect his circulatory system, specifically his heart, to the point it can lead to heart failure, and damage his brain as well.)

PART 3: BABY AFO AND BABY YOICHI

So, the narrative tries hard to paint AFO as kind of a monster baby and the visual plays along with it (he looks definitely scary). We’re told AFO sucked his mother’s life-force and stole the nutrients from his twin in the womb. Once born he stole his mother’s Quirk and used it to cling to his mother’s corpse as they’re taken away from the current, grabbing Yoichi’s arm as well and taking him away with him. The text claims he was imbued with hubris and disrespect for the others from the moment he was born, viewed all within his reach as his own possession and viewed with utter disgust whose who wouldn’t provide him with anything or would turn away when he cried and screamed.

Now...

About pregnancy: it’s worth to mention it can be an exhausting thing so, we don’t need AFO to deliberately steal his mother’s life-force because he’s an evil child. Being pregnant would have been enough to weakened her and combined with her poor lifestyle it would have killed her. But let’s present it as AFO being an evil baby.

About newborns/babies’ psychology: AFO believing he’s at the center of the universe and not caring for others is basically how babies work. They’re egocentric. They cry and demand their caretaker to take care of all their needs as soon as they feel them. They don’t care if their caretaker is tired, busy or sleeping, they view their needs as priorities. They need to be taught, usually at preschool, that the world isn’t their own and that they can’t hit a classmate to have the toy he has. If the story wanted to say AFO never learnt to share at kindergarten because he didn’t to attend to it, it would have been fine, but if the story tries to pass AFO for an evil baby because, from the start, he didn’t know how to share, how to have empathy... well, the story is ignorant about how babies work. The old movie “Look Who's Talking” does a better job portraying an infant and how it’s normal for him to keep his mother awake all the night because he wants to eat than BNHA does handling infant AFO.

About newborns/babies’ bodies: A baby can hold his head up at around 3 months of age. This means if newborn AFO has tried piercing his mother’s body with his mother’s Quirk, he wasn’t yet strong enough to hold himself still, so instead than piercing his mom he would have ended pushing himself away instead than piercing her. A baby’s grip instead is strong enough if he grips something, this could allow the baby to pull themselves up, so in theory he could have held Yoichi. However baby AFO wasn’t fed and we don’t know for how long they rode their mother’s body while the water moved it and, while a baby can stay awake up to 3 hours, generally it’s recommended they won’t stay awake for more than 1, 1 hour and a half. Honestly, unless it was a rather short trip, I doubt AFO would have managed to hold Yoichi for long, but this will become relevant in a following point. It’s also worth to mention newborns can’t walk or crawl. Most babies start crawling between 7 and 10 months old so AFO couldn’t climb atop his mother and the idea he ended up on it by coincidence feels forced.

About newborns/babies’ intentionality: most of what newborn do is instinctive, involuntary, experimental. We’re however shown AFO as a genius baby or one that’s incredibly mature. I’ll let it slide the whole ‘stealing Quirk’ because even if AFO has a Quirk that needs the intention to steal other Quirks, it could have been unintentional and I’ll focus on how, in order to save himself he managed to climb up on his mother’s body, immediately know how to use a Quirk that wasn’t even his own (and that his mother, the legitimate owner didn’t know how to use) to hold tight to his mother’s body, grab Yoichi without using his Quirk so as not to hurt him because he didn’t want to lose him. As said before newborns tend to have involuntary movements but here it’s all voluntary and planned.

About memory of the time in which one were a newborn: normal people can remember as far as to when they were 3/4 at best, Yoichi remembers his brother holding him as they were on top of their mother’s body. How, is unsaid.

About newborns’ need to be feed: A newborn is fed almost every hour to begin with, to move quickly on being fed each 2 hours. It’s true they can even manage surviving for up to 6 days without feeding... but who’s going to feed them and especially Yoichi who’s weak and needs to be feed even more? The next we’ll see AFO and Yoichi they’re still alone and on their own. Even assuming AFO continued to manage to keep his actions intentional he shouldn’t be able to crawl. How in the world he’s going to retrieve the milk he and his brother need to survive? Yes, theoretically we can imagine they were picked up by someone, feed and then discharged for unknown reasons year after, when they could provide for themselves but in the story there’s no mention of this.

About infections: rats can carry diseases that can be passed to humans, including leptospirosis, hantavirus, and rat-bite fever that can be spread through direct or indirect contact with rodents. Low birth weight neonates are more vulnerable to infections so it’s a miracle Yoichi didn’t catch one by the rats who came close to them... or by just being laid on the dirty ground.

About the twins’ mom and the umbilical cord: if the twins’ mom didn’t know she was pregnant, how did she cut the umbilical cord as she doesn’t seem to have with herself scissors and ends up dying of childbirth? The cord is tough and you need something sharp to cut it, never mentioning it needs to be clamped before being cut otherwise it would put the baby in danger of bleeding out.

I get I’m nitpicking things in AFO’s backstory but Horikoshi created for AFO a backstory that challenges my suspension of disbelief too much and that’s mostly not needed.

AFO (and Yoichi) didn’t need to be born by a prostitute that didn’t even know she was pregnant, would give birth near a river and die, with AFO stealing her Quirk just before rats were to attack them but they would miraculously be swept away by the suddenly flooding river and use their mother’s body like a surf board and then they magically survived by themselves.

It was enough for them to be normal orphans in an orphanage that were chased away from it or escaped after people became aware they had Quirks. This overly dramatic story feels too unreal to me, it breaks my suspension of disbelief

PART 4: THE NARRATION

As AFO’s backstory starts the text is very much oriented in not letting me get sad for AFO and this is part of the problem.

It feels weird how the Shigaraki twins are given a dramatic (and unrealistic) backstory but... the text doesn’t seem to be interested in making us feel sympathy despite the horror they faced, the text is focused on painting AFO as a demonic baby, born to become the future demon lord.

In short it didn’t matter if he had a sad backstory or not, he was born evil and he was going to be an evil adult where Yoichi was born good and was going to be good. There was no hope for him.

Now this sort of story has a dangerous side effect.

If we establish that nature is all that matter to decide the fate of a person, that someone born good like Yoichi would only grow up to be good even in the worst conditions while there was no hope for AFO from the start, then nurture loses its importance.

By this logic it doesn’t matter if Enji abused his family or not, Shouto would have grown up to become a Hero regardless and Touya would have grown up to become a Villain regardless.

Now… while very little is done to change society at the end of the story, the whole Quirk counseling program that supposedly changes how kids are nurtured, seems to be in the story to tell us nurture is important too and that it can make the difference in a person.

Midoriya telling AFO he wasn’t a demon lord but just a lonely person might also imply the text might not be an impartial narrator, that the text is lying (who’s the narrator by the way? In the story we often had as narrator Midoriya and the anime gave the role of the other narrator to Present Mic but what about here? Is it AFO himself?) but this is a story read also by young readers so giving it a lying third person narrator makes the story pointlessly complicate and the fact that Midoriya, who knows ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about AFO and couldn’t figure out Tomura out until he saw his past, would instead understand AFO just because the latter obsesses over Yoichi feel unbelievable.

So more than a thing that doesn’t make sense this is a thing that’s very poorly constructed.

PART 5: CHILDHOOD

The two babies continue to grow and somehow feed themselves and keep themselves clean and warm on their own and even dress up and become children... and AFO is a murderous creepy kid, who kills people who are against people with Quirk and out to murder them but they are letting him be despite thinking he had a Quirk. Because if they had to murder or at least seriously main/beat people with Quirks, said people have to be adults, they draw the line at kids.

Again... it doesn’t make a lot of sense they’re out there aiming to hurt/kill people with Quirks but would let a child with a Quirk be, and even feel bad because they’re leaving him behind.

Even if we want to assume some might draw the line at hurting kids, accepting they’ve a hive mind and would all agree not to hurt them feels hard to swallow. Honestly it seems more that Horikoshi didn’t have them attack AFO so they would look ‘innocent’ when he murders them in cold blood, if we can forget they were out for blood of Quirk people so again, AFO is a evil child.

He’s also an evil child as he apparently has nothing to gain by killing those people who are Quirkless so he can’t even steal their Quirks, here the text seems to imply he’s doing it solely because he sees them with disgust because they don’t help him who’s filled with hubris and disrespect for others from when he was born and so he killed those ‘poor’ guys who were out to kill/beat guys with Quirks. I would have understood it more if Horikoshi were to show him then stealing their money but no, we see nothing of the sort, if he gained something from killing them is up to the readers’ speculation, the message seems to be he’s doing it because

Also, he got himself a cape to dress himself up and seems naked below so as to pull out those stabbing things from his whole body comfortably.

I won’t comment on the fighting style as we see only a panel and it might not give me the right impression of how things are going.

The next time we see AFO beating 6 adults, he might be stealing their Quirk and he... is wrapped in a robe and don’t wear shoes even though Yoichi does.

And I don’t get why dressing him so weirdly especially since he’ll become the guy who dress up all fashionable.

By the way Yoichi seems unable to walk as he seems to crawl. As an adult he could walk and even run but let’s let this slide, the problem is another.

I do get AFO wants to keep Yoichi but if Yoichi can’t walk he’s a liability and there’s no reason why AFO should drag him along when he goes in his murdering rampages or whatever he’s doing there (hopefully stealing Quirks because that’s more useful than murder people because they disgust him).

By the way, good, noble Yoichi, seeing his brother hurt people... hurts him by tossing a tin can to him and only later tells him to stop hurting people.

I would have expected Yoichi to get in between AFO and the people AFO hurt because he’s against hurting in general, but no, Yoichi isn’t for nonviolence, he is like the Heroes, he’s fully in favor of hurting who hurts (yeah, he can’t do much damage but still, he tries).

It’s worth to note Yoichi has normal clothes a sign that no, AFO didn’t have to wrap a cloth around himself because he couldn’t find clothes. Somehow he just felt like not dressing like a normal person which doesn’t make a lot of sense.

On an odd note the Shigaraki twins apparently take residence in the abandoned Shūeisha Jimbocho Building in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. I get that’s a fun reference and it makes easier for them to find manga to read but I would have found more logic for them to take up residence in an abandoned hotel, or in an abandoned house/apartment, with beds and bathroom and a place to cook food than in a publishing company building. Since they only needed to read ONE manga for the story to work, they could have found it elsewhere.

Meanwhile genius Yoichi self teach himself to read by watching manga... and it doesn’t work like that. While kids can learn to read on their own, they actually need someone to give them instructions on which sound each graphic sign is. If not they can’t magically guess.

It would also be good to know when AFO named Yoichi, since he did so aware of what such kanji meant because he also self taught himself how to read.

Really, the Shigaraki twins needed a caretaker and all this unreal stuff wasn’t needed.

The Shigaraki twins could be just orphans in an orphanage or kids in a poor house, or kids whose parents were killed like Destro’s mother when they’re old enough to know how to read. The lack of a caretaker in their early years makes their story absurd.

By the way, note how AFO comes back covered in blood and Yoichi doesn’t even flinch as he’s busy reading the manga. Shouldn’t he care about the people AFO killed? Nope, this is siblings bonding time but... it’s not that great. Yoichi isn’t someone who gives care to AFO, if anything Yoichi tries to discipline him for murdering people in front of him and thinks deep down his brother cares for him but doesn’t manage to provide/show care for AFO.

The text tells us Yoichi hadn’t given up on his brother, that he thinks his brother’s grip had been gentle, but if his not giving up on his brother is just playing the role of failed morality pet/talking cricket and letting AFO sit near him... well, it’s not much.

If AFO needed salvation back then, before he worsened even more, Yoichi wasn’t there to provide it for him. Garaki was shown giving AFO more care and love than Yoichi.

The end goal is Midoriya tells him he’s a lonely man, but his obsession with Yoichi isn’t really well developed. He just randomly decided Yoichi AND JUST YOICHI is his. AFO will never collect other people the way he does with his brother. Shigaraki, Garaki, his relation with them is more of an utilitarian nature.

(Honestly from the way Horikoshi depicted him, it seems nothing could have saved AFO, I’m complaining because we get told Yoichi can’t give up on him but doesn’t do anything to SHOW IT).

On the other side BNHA often messes up what now fans call ‘talk no jutsu’. The name comes from the Naruto fandom, I didn’t watch Naruto so I don’t know how it played its talks but I watched enough manga/anime (never mentioning I’ve a knowledge of how things work in real life and in books) to know when a talk can be inspiring to change, in real life and in a story.

BNHA tends to have Heroes talk about justice and morals to Villains who COULDN’T CARE LESS about such things. If you want to move and push to change a person, you’ve to stuck the right cords in them, talk to them about what THEY CARE ABOUT AND HOW CHANGE CAN HELP THEM TO GET IT.

If Yoichi’s hope is that by telling AFO enough times that what he’s doing is bad will push him to change well, Yoichi is dumb. Yoichi should have shown him another way to get what AFO wanted, a world that would take care of him.

But this is a story problem as other characters make this mistake and the story doesn’t address it, so I can’t really blame this one on Yoichi.

PART 6: ADULT YEARS BEFORE YOICHI’S DEATH

Chap. 59 tells us AFO brought people together and grew to control the whole Japan, manipulating people into committing wicked acts. One would expect considering the power AFO has he became the new emperor of Japan so he could fully control it but no, it’ll turn out he became a crime lord when it would have been more logic for him to use his power to go and become emperor of Japan in a time in which the government was in chaos due to the meta, there were no Heroes and all that stood against him was a small vigilante group.

And if he really had to be a crime lord I would have expected him to be a crime lord with such important ties in the government, the state would basically be a puppet under him so as to facilitate his wish to have a world that would exist for his sake. This way Heroes and Hero schools wouldn’t have existed and Vigilantes would have been hunted as criminals. He’s a guy who has ‘friends’ in other countries, one would expect him to get the importance of controlling the government to get off with everything he does but no, the government does as he pleases even though he has plenty of people bowing to him.

All Might claims that those AFO bestowed upon new Quirk would end up becoming puppets, unable to bear the new Quirks. It makes no sense that AFO would do this to his followers, as they would become mostly useless and this is not really manipulation this is making people brain dead.

Besides the story should decide what it wants to do with Quirk when they get passed to others.

Shigaraki is just mentally fine with decay and so is Aoyama, Lady Nagant is just mentally fine with multiple Quirks, Spinner isn’t but Central Hospital ‘saves him’, the possessors of OFA died early because they too weren’t fine with OFA.

What’s the rule?

If you get more than 2 Quirks you lose your mind?

With 2 you only face early death?

If you’ll only get one, even if it’s not your own, you’ll be fine provided your body is compatible with it?

Then why not to give his allies only 2 Quirks? Why frying their brain? Are brainless servants so much better than willing servants with a brain?

AFO should have known giving people a Quirk could have downsides, because he risked frying Yoichi’s brain by giving him a Quirk, so he should have been sure this wouldn’t damage him.

By the way All Might say Yoichi opposed to AFO but all Yoichi does is saying he won’t cooperate with him, not that he would have been of any use and again play the role of failed morality pet.

I get in Japan ‘Gaman’ (我慢) which means “enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity” and is a Japanese term of Zen Buddhist origin is considered a heroic virtue but I’m not Japanese and Yoichi really is shown doing way too little for me to be impressed.

AFO giving him a Quirk that’s basically a power stocking Quirk makes no sense unless he didn’t realize that Yoichi could use it to stock enough power it could hold up against him... had Yoichi done something to collect such power instead than starve himself... I guess Yoichi saw this as a form of resistance too... an useless one.

Yoichi decides not to eat as a form of resisting to his brother that... will only kill him. At this point he could have just committed suicide to make his point. Okay, so maybe he was hoping AFO would magically change. Surely he couldn’t think just telling him ‘no, this is bad’ would affect AFO, could he? Anyway starving himself still feels dumb.

PART 7: WHAT LEADS TO YOICHI’S DEATH

Kudo and his men, who have weak Quirks, somehow manage to barge in AFO’s stronghold and into what’s basically a safe holding Yoichi (Horikoshi doesn’t explain how and more often than not he does so when he too doesn’t know how this happened). Apparently they wanted to kill him but then Kudo decides to save him.

How did they do it and why?

Why would they risk their lives to get to Yoichi and murder him only to make angry AFO? How would Yoichi’s death damage AFO? And how they managed to accomplish such feat since supposedly AFO is already overly powerful? By the way aren’t we also in the middle of chaos between people with Quirk and people without? Shouldn’t this make things even harder?

But whatever, they manage to escape with Yoichi and to hide for two months before AFO tracks them.

Instead than planning a careful operation to retrieve Yoichi, mister smart guy aka AFO goes there alone and causes everyone to escape but, conveniently, Yoichi is the one who’s slowest at doing so. Also conveniently, Kudo is near him, dragging him. Bruce is also slow to escape so he can witness the scene.

AFO is upset Yoichi runs away from him with Kudo and instead than murdering Kudo or using some whip Quirk to retrieve Yoichi as he knew from the start Yoichi didn’t want to be with him and he had to keep him closed in a safe due to this so he should be prepared to Yoichi not wanting to go back, he is SO SURPRISED YOICHI ESCAPES HE MURDERS YOICHI. To regret it a moment later.

PART 8: THE MESS WITH QUIRKS

AFO will retrieve Yoichi’s hand and somehow... checks it for Yoichi’s Quirk. Maybe he wanted the Quirk he gave Yoichi back but sure it’s convenient he does because it turns out he discovers Yoichi has no more the Quirk he gave him.

Instead than assuming there’s another person who, like him, can steal Quirks (again, he should have inherited his Quirk by his father, I doubt it but LOGICALLY this is how it should have gone), we get him rambling about how, according to further examinations he discovered Yoichi had a Quirk HE COULDN’T DETECT (HOW DID HE REALIZE? Did he check Yoichi’s disemboweled foot to see if he lacked a joint in the toe? Or did he realize sooner and still granted him a Quirk risking to fry his brain? We’ll never know.)

Note that AFO was completely capable to steal Hawks mangled Quirk factor but he couldn’t even detect Yoichi’s and therefore couldn’t steal his Quirk.

By the way I also would like to know WHY AFO claims he wondered if he stole Yoichi’s Quirk by mistake. With the Quirks in his mindscape taking the shape of their owners and he and Yoichi somehow remembering what happened short after their birth, never mentioning always him being able to use stolen Quirk a short time after his own birth, he should have known if he stole Yoichi’s Quirk or not.

Anyway Yoichi’s Quirk now was passed to Kudo because Yoichi’s blood was splattered on him and he somehow ingested it... or did it got inside him through the blood splattered on his eyes? We’ll never know but AGAIN surely it was convenient.

Now, let’s go back a little to chap 59 which say that in order to inherit OFA one has to ingest the DNA of the previous owner but also the previous owner should want to pass it.

Is the story telling me Yoichi willed to pass to Kudo a Quirk he didn’t know he had? Or that, even though he refused to use the Quirk AFO stole and gave him, he wanted to give it to Kudo because if he uses a stolen Quirk is bad but if Kudo does it is fine?

I’ll give it a pass to Kudo noticing his body felt off (due to him receiving Yoichi’s Quirk) because All Might said after some hours from receiving his Quirk Midoriya would feel something too so okay, this might fit with the lore.

But now we’re told that the second Quirk Kudo has is a small, seemingly useless one.

This is a problem because All Might said that Yoichi’s Quirk fused with the perfectly normal accumulation Quirk his brother gave him so it shouldn’t be small and useless because it is now fused with a perfectly normal Quirk which yes, might not have accumulated much but is of a normal size combined with one of a smaller one. AFO suggested ‘it was absorbed’ so Yoichi tiny, unformed Quirk, absorbed a normal one and remained tiny and unformed and hey, okay, it’s ‘random Quirk magic’ but it’s one that TO ME, feels too overboard.

And anyway… which sort of machine Kudo, Bruce and Co have which could see it? Quirks are just a new thing in their world and yet they can detect a small Quirk factor? One AFO couldn’t detect? And why would they have created such a machine? Or do they have some sort of machine that analyzes DNA so accurately it can detect Quirk factors? No idea.

PART 9: CREEPY EYES

Maybe it’s meant to be symbolic but... AFO’s eyes can’t reflect anything, the test claiming it’s like they were clouded by thin membranes. And the text doesn’t mention it but they are drawn with no pupils... which would basically make him basically blind. But no, he sees. Guess he went to Italy dressed like a little girl, claiming his name was Gemma in order to meet Padre Pio who, for some reasons, granted him a miracle.

Whatever.

All this is creepy and could be symbolic, it could hint at how he can’t see others reflected in himself (aka he can’t connect to them), but... it has no purpose. It’s just there for the creepy factor.

PART 10: WHAT GOES ON UNTIL ALL MIGHT DEFEATS AFO

AFO kills Kudo but, since he’s in denial, he claims even though he was crying his own were crocodile tears… because he’s so evil. I do wonder if he’s meant to be the narrator of his own past and wants to paint himself as evil as possible. Whatever.

Apparently Kudo felt he was about to die so he passed AFO to Bruce before being murdered and Bruce will pass it to Hikage before being murdered because someone here has a foretelling Quirk. I get that Hikage’s danger sense might have helped but still… it’s convenient how the OFA users all manage to pass their Quirk before AFO could put a stop to them.

Meanwhile AFO, instead than taking Japan’s throne, seems to establish a crime syndicate/cult, despite the world being in too much disarray to stop him and him having already an overwhelming power.

Really, this guy went to China to kill the Luminescent Baby and steal his Quirk, what’s stopping him from killing everyone in the govern?

He murders Nana’s husband but somehow doesn’t kill Kotarou.

Why?

If he wanted to hurt Nana to the point he found out she had a family and targeted it, why not finish the job also killing or at least hunting Kotarou?

Nana thinks she can hide Kotarou’s existence (which AFO should already know if he investigated over her and discovered she had a husband) by erasing him from her family register… even though Kotarou continues to have the same surname and name, they don’t even change how’s written.

Okay, it can work, there are other Shimuras in Japan so if she sent him to Hokkaido claiming he’s a orphan maybe JUST MAYBE AFO won’t track him (you wish, he’ll do it).

AFO doesn’t bother to track Kotarou down immediately though and Nana decides to pass her Quirk to All Might because he wants to be a Hero, even though she continues to be a Hero in active duty and fight AFO and without OFA she should go back on solely having a floating Quirk (let’s me not get started on the ember thing that’s clearly again ‘random Quirk magic’ that feels to overboard as the idea that you pass your Quirk and yet you still retain it to me feels too overboard again and too much of a plot contrivance).

Even though he has played this dance 6 times already, AFO, for mysterious reasons, doesn’t figure out she has passed her Quirk to All Might and, instead than stopping All Might from escaping, focuses on killing her. Then, when it turns out she doesn’t have anymore OFA for again mysterious reasons he doesn’t hunt All Might even though he’s in U.A. high which shouldn’t have been that impenetrable fortress back then. He doesn’t even hunt him when All Might goes in the USA even if All Might was hardly keeping himself hidden and AFO will claim he has friends on the other side and AGAIN, he went to China to kill the glowing baby and he’s desperate to have OFA and therefore Yoichi back. And this makes no sense.

PART 11: ALL MIGHT IS BACK

This part is complicate because it covers many years during which AFO does plenty of things that make no sense so I try to go at it chronologically.

All Might comes back around 33 years before giving OFA to Midoriya, after 5 years spent in the States in which AFO ignored him for mysterious reasons.

AFO is still not ruling Japan despite now having no OFA owner trying to stop him (which doesn’t make sense), but All Might somehow single handedly put an end to plenty of Villain activities, likely many of them related to him, showing he’s clearly more competent and powerful than his predecessors who ended killed off way too early and couldn’t really change the world.

That or AFO very logically hunted the previous OFA owners so they didn’t get much free reign while for unclear reasons, he let All Might free to act (which doesn’t make sense).

Around 7 years after All Might has come back, Enji ends U.A. high and AFO should likely start to notice his longing for power and… does nothing but keep an eye on him, which fine, it can be. I’m pointing it out because I want you to get an idea of his activities… or lack of them and of how times pass by.

Around 6 years after this, possibly early, and therefore around 13 years after All Might is back, AFO tracks down Kotarou and persuade him to have another kid. Meanwhile with Garaki he opens orphanages and grooms kids and copies their Quirk and thanks to all this they find Chisaki Kai and his Overhaul Quirk. They’ll copy it once and break away half of it turning it into the decay Quirk. At an unclear time Chisaki will leave the orphanage without them making a second full copy of his Quirk to give to AFO, WHO COULD HAVE USED IT TO HEAL HIMSELF SHOULD HE GET HURT (which yeah, doesn’t make sense). Why they let Chisaki go (and NO, despite what the fandom says, Chisaki didn’t escape because Touya set the orphanage on fire, Horikoshi himself in the volume version said the fire wasn’t worth worrying about and, anyway, the timeline doesn’t match) is never said. He could have made a fine Nomu or at least an underling but no, he’s let go (so it again doesn’t make sense).

Around 7 years after, Touya’s Quirk starts burning him. It’s a tragedy for Enji and AFO, who was keeping an eye on him could have just taken this chance to offer him a cure or something while under disguise and only later reveal he was behind it but… no, he let the Todoroki family be and content himself to watch which yeah, doesn’t make sense since he’ll claim he was keeping an eye on Enji’s longing for power and wanted to reap from it and this would have been the perfect moment. Maybe that’s because he’s busy stealing Tenko’s Quirk and then… he goes back on watching the Shimura family so no, he would have had time to tamper with the Todoroki too.

Around 5 years after, AFO gives Tenko half of Chisaki’s Quirk and then waits until Tenko decays his whole family and roams in the streets aloe for a while before retrieving him (and yes, decay activating at random is another ‘random Quirk magic’ thing, along with the fact that somehow Tenko’s family’s hands don’t get decayed) and starting to groom him. Meanwhile Shouto had the time to be born, Touya had the time to attack him and AFO still isn’t doing anything with Enji’s longing for power even though this also would be a very good moment to act.

One year after, AFO and Garaki really wish to get their hands on Eraser Head’s Quirk so they wait for him to be asleep at home and jump on him… no, they don’t do this, they wait for him to leave home and jump on him… no, they don’t even do this, they wait for him to face a Villain and when his friend dies and he survives they content themselves with getting their hands on Oboro Shirakumo’s corpse. And don’t even try again to get Aizawa. AFO doesn’t even go to shake his hand with an excuse in order to steal his Quirk. No. They don’t want erasure anymore. The sudden disinterest as well as the lack of more potentially successful approaches to steal Erasure don’t make sense. Anyway Garaki and AFO are busy turning Oboro into the Nomu Kurogiri, which has a working brain but is completely subservient. Despite Kurogiri’s amazing powerful Quirk, they use him as a babysitter for Tenko, now named Tomura, who’s being groomed into killing people so as to become AFO’s heir even though they continue the orphanage project should Tomura fail. The whereabouts of all those orphans are unknown except for one who’ll get adopted by Garaki (Tsubasa) and then will be turned into a Nomu when he was a teen. They ignore the Todoroki kids because I guess AFO is having too much fun just watching Enji’s longing for power to try to put it to some use. I take AFO is secretly a peeping Tom that gets turned on not by peeping at people engaging in sexual activities but by peeping on a man’s longing for power. No, okay, it makes no sense.

Two years after, Garaki is the doctor who tells Midoriya (who is 4) he is Quirkless. They immediately offer the mother a way to fix this like they had done with the Aoyama and… ops, nope. And it makes no sense as they couldn’t know Midoriya was going to be the main character and they could have spared us of this by having a doctor that wasn’t Garaki tell Midoriya he’s Quirkless. But no, let’s involve Garaki for… nothing.

Two years after, Touya goes on Sekoto Peak and waits for his father, Enji doesn’t reach him and for unknown reasons Touya’s Quirk turn on and Touya burns himself but manages to toss himself in a stream. AFO WHO HAS ALWAYS KEPT AN EYE ON ENJI’S LONGING FOR POWER, DESPITE NOT BEING INVOLVED IN TOUYA SETTING HIMSELF ON FIRE, happens to pass by (or he was stalking Touya or he has set a fire alarm on Sekoto Peak) and retrieve a still living Touya before Enji comes, bring him to Garaki and they put him in coma as they try to rebuild him. Because somehow they never managed to get a single healing Quirk despite Garaki working in plenty of hospitals that should attract people with healing Quirks. As for Enji… he let him be. Who cares for his longing for power? I’ve also a post already about how it doesn’t make sense that AFO wasn’t involved in Touya burning himself and his intervention ends up to be so random it’s disappointing so I won’t dig on this too much.

The year after, he grant Aoyama (who is 6) a Quirk. I guess the Aoyamas being rich made their son a most interesting recipient than Midoriya at whom he didn’t offer a Quirk even though Garaki knew he was Quirkless. He then tells them he could explode them if they disobey him but no, it’ll turn out he couldn’t and there’s no reason why he couldn’t since he showed the Aoyamas he could do it by using another person and we know he could do it as he did so with Lady Nagant. There’s also to say the Aoyamas though will be left mostly quiet until their son is 15. I don’t want to say this is senseless, AFO could have been ‘helping’ people so as to collect their help later… it’s just that, combined with how he didn’t grant a Quirk to Midoriya it becomes random bordering on senseless. He couldn’t know he would need a kid to infiltrate in U.A. high because All might would be teaching there unless he were to be able to see the future. The Aoyamas might be rich but not to the point they’re of use. So… it’s not senseless but it’s bad.

Two years after, Touya wakes up from coma. AFO isn’t around (but he’ll talk with Touya through the black screen of a computer) but Touya is in one of Garaki’s orphanages because they had kept up the habit of grooming kids who… I don’t know, they couldn’t have been all turned into Nomu as, at the start, they didn’t even have them, they’re apparently not serving AFO either as they don’t show up ever again (except for Number 6 in Vigilantes) nor they could have killed them all off as it would have been suspicious so… I don’t know what happened to those kids. Considering they let Touya escape so he could go back home and report to his Number 2 Hero father they had kidnapped him and have all the police jump on the orphanage, I’ve no idea what they do with the other kids. After Chisaki, Touya is the second kid who leaves the orphanage with no consequences but while Chisaki had no one and it was unlikely he would report them, Touya was the son of the Number 2 and they very much tried to kidnap him. That’s enough to trigger a police raid. It’s only due to luck that Touya won’t report them. By the way despite all his interest for Enji’s longing for power AFO will continue to ignore him even if now he has let Touya go. So yeah, all this doesn’t make sense. Also, around this time period ( it was few years after they took Tenko in but before he fought All Might) AFO tells Machia to go into hiding because he had a feeling he might end up being defeated by All Might. Because now he sees the future. No, really, if he felt All Might could beat him why not to keep Machia, HIS BODYGUARD, with himself as back up?

The year after All Might FINALLY murders him. Maybe All Might too had enough of AFO’s senseless behavior. Too bad Garaki retrieves AFO’s body and resurrect him. I get people might not have been very focused in guarding a corpse so it’s not senseless he managed to do it but still… it seems too convenient. By the way AFO’s brain is resurrected in a perfectly fine state. Somehow though Garaki, the man who can create Nomu, can’t give him plastic surgery and a pair of eyes and while Oboro/Kurogiri can walk on his own just fine AFO needs a mask to survive. Because it makes so much Darth Vader he just couldn’t pass it.

At this point, and only at this point, Tomura needs to become AFO’s next body, as his current one is ruined. AFO didn’t need a heir before and the whole ‘he needs anger to steal OFA so he needs Tomura anger since he can’t come up with anger on his own’ felt again like ‘random Quirk magic’, something the author made up to excuse how AFO decided to groom Tenko before really needing a new body.

Also, even though Machia should be in hiding supposedly he’s instead around searching Quirks for AFO in a very obvious manner which should have pushed the Heroes to hunt for Machia but no, no one notices except Ashido and Kirishima but they’re not Heroes so they don’t count.

I’ll skip what happens during “Vigilantes” as Furuhashi is a different author and, even if Horikoshi supervised the whole thing, I’ll also give him a pass on how mistakes could have taken place (I considered only the whole Oboro thing because it’s also mentioned in BNHA).

Six years after having been killed, AFO sends Tomura to attack U.A. high as All Might is teaching there. Note he let him be for 6 years even though All Might had been wounded too. But now that All Might has involved Midoriya without AFO knowing it feels the perfect time to attack him. I’ll catch this chance to point out that Tomura wasn’t trained at all to lead men and AFO wanted him to learn through a process of trial and error which yes, it’s dumb. What if Tomura had died there or had been arrested? Yes, AFO could brag about All Might killing Nana’s grandson or jailing him and pick up a spare kid from the orphanage as his next body but, if Tomura needs to be his next body, he doesn’t need to learn how to lead an army nor to get himself in danger, he only needs to get very pissed off at All Might. AFO should get himself busy strengthening his body (so that Garaki can operate him) and encouraging him to hate All Might, not to put him up in danger. After all he has wasted an awful lot of time on Tomura, why not putting it to good use? To continue… what about the other kids? Why not to put them too against All Might? Why not to give them to Tomura as underlings? Many of them aren’t even turned into Nomu as we see that the first Nomu’s DNA came from an adult, not from a kid.

No, AFO let Tomura free to do as he pleases without even trying to direct his actions a bit.

I guess that the idea is he’ll create chaos and will also make a name for AFO’s new body so that AFO will reap what Tomura sow. I won’t really comment on how Tomura’s plans aren’t great because the characters in the story handle them as if they are. The police is totally creeped out by him, the league is famous and people want to join it, Chisaki will want to use the League’s name, Re-Destro sees the League as a problem… it’s just Machia and Garaki who sees them as a nothing, a kid palling around with the dregs of society.

I won’t count this as senseless but it sure isn’t great.

Touya joins the League, Garaki and AFO recognize him and… do nothing. They don’t warn Tomura, AFO does nothing to take advantage of Enji’s longing for power now that he has Touya back, I’ll jump forward but AFO won’t even say he has Touya to Enji when he’ll face him in Kamino. No, he’ll reveal Tomura’s identity to All Might but will keep his mouth shut with Enji despite keeping an eye on his longing for power. Was AFO’s involvement with Touya planned already? Did Horikoshi want to save the info for later, so he could have a second big reveal scene like the one he had in which AFO told All Might Tomura’s identity? Possibly since this is what we get, it’s just it’s execute worse because, as I said, while AFO’s involvement with Tomura was consistent, his involvement with Touya felt random.

And so we get to the ‘Forest training camp’ arc and the ‘Hideout raid’ arc.

The League attacks the camp because they want to send a signal to society as well as steal Bakugou, which Tomura somehow wants to persuade to join them even though Bakugou is clearly unwilling.

During the attack they lend Tomura a Nomu which is then entrusted to Dabi. Yaoyorozu places a transmitter on it. When the League is whisked away by Kurogiri the Nomu is brought into the Nomu factory/Garaki’s spare lab/whatever. Although people blame Touya, he had no chance to check the Nomu for devices… and they probably did as we will be told the warehouse in which he was, was a decoy. So AFO deliberately had the Heroes find it, deliberately he didn’t warn Tomura that the Heroes were on him, deliberately showed up to deal with the Heroes and save Tomura and have a fight with All Might.

I’ll say… it’s not a bad plan. His surprise attack works and could have done even more damage if it wasn’t for Best Jeanist, sending the Nomu at the hideout could have also done more damage if it weren’t because Enji is strong (he’s the one disposing of the most of the Nomus), the League is freed without much damage, if he had retreated with the League using Kurogiri’s Quirk or his own Quirk he could have just came out victor.

I won’t hold it against him the fact he wanted to kill All Might as, even though he was outnumbered, he seemed to be stronger. I mean, beating All Might would have been a big victory. Honestly, even if he lost, this part was good.

It’s chronologically late in his life but it’s meaningful it’s EARLY in the story. AFO, at the start of the story, was making sense. Yeah, he could have used more Nomu and Gigantomachia to insure his victory but arrogance is a fitting flaw for him and, as I said, it did seem like he could make it.

Then he gets jailed straight in Tartarus instead than in one of the jails in which, in Japan, they put people who didn’t undergo a trial. It’s clear since he killed people and he’s not even attempting to deny it, he’ll be sentenced to death. Japan is slow at executing people so it theoretically makes sense he’s not immediately killed off (yeah, many in the fandom think there’s no death sentence in BNHA but it actually there is as we were told Moonfish was an escaped convict on death row).

To be honest, since Horikoshi worsened a lot the conditions of prisons and since AFO is what it is, it would make more sense if they had just executed him and be done with him put since the plot will need him to stay alive, I do get why Horikoshi decided to take advantage of how Japan is slow at carrying on its death sentences.

What doesn’t make sense, but this isn’t an AFO problem but a Tartarus problem, is how he’s kept constantly tied on a chair (because, contrary to what many in the fandom think in the story there are no Quirk cancelling means beyond Chisaki’s bullets and Eraser Head’s Quirk). This isn’t just torture, this is unhealthy as hell… but again Horikoshi doesn’t care about medical accuracy so it does nothing to AFO.

All Might goes to talk with him, claiming with such body AFO could have lived forever instead he wasted everything manipulating, exploiting and toying with people. The problem with All Might’s words is that AFO gained such body EXACTLY because he manipulated, exploited and toyed with people, if he hadn’t he would have probably died of starvation as a baby or, even better, drowned because he wouldn’t have stolen his mother’s Quirk.

Yeah, he got the lifeforce Quirk by a willing Garaki, but Garaki wouldn’t have been willing if AFO hadn’t been who he was.

AFO then claims he chose a successor because All Might stole everything from him. Too bad All Might too should have been able to sniff the lie. All Might, as said before, ruined AFO’s body (killed him) 6 years before, AFO got Tomura way before that and if All Might had checked the fate of Shimura Kotarou he should have known… All Might though seems to believe him, which means he didn’t check and it makes no sense he didn’t check as AFO could have lied when he told him Tomura is Nana’s grandson.

AFO though manages to talk in a way that shows he understands how people work and can manipulate them while, at the same time, managing to look scary.

He won’t get to do much until he somehow also awakens in Tomura’s body because… ‘random Quirk magic’… and now he’s obsessed with retrieving OFA. This is more or less the narrative point in the story in which he stops making sense.

The sudden obsession for OFA, the ‘random Quirk magic’ that allows a copy of him to possess Tomura, the way he does it in such a way that gains him Tomura’s hate and pushes Tomura to fight against him when before Tomura cared for him, the fact when questioned by Shuichi about why they’re leaving behind their comrades he gives an answer that immediately betrays he’s not Tomura and that doesn’t win him any favor in Shuichi’s book where before he was good at manipulating people, all this clashes with the previous AFO.

AFO doesn’t win the loyalty of the league, they remain with him because they’ve no better option, he goes freeing people who aren’t loyal to him from jail but fails to free Kurogiri (because Horikoshi retcons him as not being anymore in Tartarus as he was shown there moments before AFO’s attack) and doesn’t bother freeing his allies from prisons that are clearly less guarded than Tartarus, and the other prisons he attacks.

He doesn’t even bother freeing Kurogiri, whom he needs and for whom he’ll send Shuichi to free him ON THE DAY OF THE BIG ATTACK WHEN THE HEROES WERE ON GUARD or Machia, whom he also need and for whom he’ll also send people to free him ON THE DAY OF THE BIG ATTACK WHEN THE HEROES WERE ON GUARD and that will cause him to lose’s loyalty (which honestly, feels forced because Machia decides to stop being loyal to him when AFO sends people to free him), and this doesn’t make a lot of sense.

We continue with him setting some convicts to hunt Midoriya among which Lady Nagant, to whom he gives a Quirk that conveniently doesn’t damage her brain, and set on her an explosive that turn on should she betray him because he doesn’t trust her… and she confirms he was right in not trusting her because she betrays him… yet he’ll be surprised later on when she’ll get in his way again WHICH DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.

And then we go on with a list of things that don’t make sense but, at this point, I don’t really care anymore.

The moles he places in U.A. high, who remain unused for a way too long time, it seems as if AFO is saving them for when U.A. evacuation procedure will start?

The fact he first seemed fully AFO as he possesses Tomura but when he fights Star and Stripes his identity is unclear because… ‘random Quirk magic’ at play.

How AFO didn’t reinforce his mask so that it wouldn’t break easily even though it’s his most glaring weakness and Horikoshi said they could use Detnerat’s technology.

How AFO didn’t blast Hawks, Tokoyami and Jiro away as he did with the Heroes in Kamino, knocking down even Jeanist who got seriously hurt, but let them gain time until Enji was up and fighting again.

How the Quirks inside him start rebelling to him for a new dose of ‘random Quirk magic’ that previously not even New order accomplished because now they’re sentient and observing the battle and are encouraged by Jiro and Tokoyami’s attempts at resisting him.

How it turns out he doesn’t have hyper regeneration Quirk or a copy of Overhaul’s Quirk (yes, I know, Garaki isn’t there anymore to give them to him but he should have had them FROM BEFORE) so if he gets hurt he doesn’t have a Quirk that can heal him.

How he knows Jin’s dying wish even though he hardly knew Jin.

How he knew Nagant was murdering Heroes for the Hero commission even though they surely didn’t let anyone know about such thing.

How he didn’t manage to say something to gain back Machia’s trust despite being this super good manipulator.

How he steals fierce wings from Hawks instead than just killing him, even if he calls Hawks’ Quirk garbage and the whole thing seems so damaged he can’t use it.

How he goes back on being able to feel anger again.

How his whole body starts to glow (a sign he got the glowing baby’s Quirk but one that doesn’t make sense now as why should he turn on the glowing Quirk?) [Chap. 400]

How when he couldn’t find Stain at Tartarus, he felt Stain might turn against him (because even though he couldn’t get news from outside and was kept in solitary confinement he had to know Stain wasn’t executed or moved in another place like Kurogiri was… oh, wait, did he know Kurogiri was moved? Because apparently not even Horikoshi knew it as moments before the attack he was shown at Tartarus…) so he collected a Quirk specifically against Stain, ‘bloodlet’… as if he could just shop for a Quirk that could work against Stain. I mean, it’s not like such Quirk was common and the idea that AFO conveniently stumbled upon it is yes possible but feels so unlikely it’s unbelievable.

How he supposedly has a Quirk, ‘antigen swap’ that he kept because in this way he wouldn’t let traces of himself. He calls it one of the secrets of his long rule. As if he’d even been discreet.

How Tomura could somehow rather easily refuse to allow AFO’s Quirk activation to teleport him.

How AFO realizes only then how Bakugou resembles Kudou and not before when Tomura targeted him or when they kidnapped him.

And there’s probably more I missed because I do hate the last battle and this list is long enough.

Overall it’a pity because AFO got completely ruined in the final part of the story when before he was cool and scary… a least those are my two cents over him.

Thank you to everyone who managed to read this now and sorry if I missed something or messed up something.

#boku no hero academia #mha meta #bnha meta #bnha spoilers #bnha critical #All for One #Shigaraki Yoichi #Yagi Toshinori #Todoroki Enji #Todoroki Touya #Shigaraki Tomura #Akaguro Chizome

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stsg420 · 11 months ago

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stsg420’s fanfic recs!!! (on-going)

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SMUTTY CONTENT WILL LOOK LIKE THIS

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STSG

Knife-Edged Butterfly -> I rated this: 20/10

• suguru is a sexy girl-dad stripper. satoru is a “retired” assassin/special agent who loves chicken wings & annoying nanami (crazy!!!!) mahito is a deranged bitch trying to kill everyone. but holy fucking shit???? this was so amazing and the fluff was probably the most well-written and comforting fluff I've ever encountered on the internet. I can’t even explain how articulate and amazing the writing and characterizations in this fic are. This is my #1.

Coanda Effect -> I rated this: 11/10

• formula one au. I’m sure y’all have seen it everywhere. there’s a reason for that. this fic right here has the potential to be my favorite stsg fic EVER written. the writing. the depth. the character progression. the intertwining plots. the relationships. the drama. oh my fucking god. I could go onnnnn and onnnn. there’s not too much smut but it’s perfect. absolutely perfect. go binge read RIGHT NOW ITS ALMOST FINISHED!!!!

There you are -> I rated this: 9.9/10

• set during the 10 years after geto defects. they meet up, because of course they do. they fuck each other and love each other and leave each other like always. it’s sad and hot and angry and bitter and so so so canon. the diction and writing style perfectly encapsulates their relationship. nurse!geto makes an appearance :)))))) do not read if you’re having a particularly sad stsg night (speaking from experience)

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GETO

Washing hair and the quiet acceptance of being loved -> I rated this: 10/10

• this fic right here. the ultimate comfort geto fic (until mine is released🫡). I’m telling you this makes everything feel better. just 1k+ words of the fmc taking care of geto. because he is a princess and the loml and deserves nothing but the best care and treatment.

Ausländer -> I rated this: 9.9/10

• outlaw!geto, officer!gojo, and a badass fmc. she literally builds/runs her own town. this is a geto/fmc fic but there is unresolved tension with stsg. let me tell you, this is a work of ART. a MASTERPIECE. I wish I could get this tattooed on my brain. the fmc is soooo well written and has amazing depth. this is some delicious wild wild west type shit. lots of guns and saloons and chases on horses!!!! fucking incredible. I strongly urge you to read this.

Spin the Bottle -> I rated this: 9.8/10

• y’all already know. college au where suguru is your best friend, has the fattest crush on you & needs just a litttttlee bit of liquid courage to cross the line. it’s fantastic. it’s scrumptious. it’s indulging. it’s cover girl. I reread this twice a month. not joking. this is college suguru to his core and you can’t change my mind.

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raayllum · 4 months ago

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The 'Dark'!Callum Inversion scenes Meta

Because it was Everything to me from a characterization standpoint, extremely interesting and satisfying, and I just have all the feelings, so let's talk about it!

First off, symbolism set up!

Before the scene in the forest begins, we're treated to reflection motif with Callum seeing a corrupted version of himself in the water of the Moonshadow assassin lotus pond, which was previously a place associated with shame, loss, and failure (3x03); as well as love and goodbyes (3x03, 6x09). The first batch is what Callum is feeling, with the second batch being what will influence his future choices in the coming episodes.

We also get Callum talking about how he (inadvertently) freed Aaravos, then dons his symbol of freedom (wings) in order to get away. Then Callum brings out a far more complicated symbol for himself: the cube.

A few things right off the bat:

The cube since S4 has explicitly represented Callum's inner turmoil and connection to Aaravos, and we see that come out further here in both areas.

Just as Karim looks to direction from the Sun ("What would you have me do? Where would you have me go?" in 5x04) and his sister ("And what would you have me do?" in 7x03), Callum quasi-looks to the cube for direction.

However, the runes being emphasized (upside down star for Aaravos, the Ocean rune) foreshadow that the choice of what do do next is already made, as the Ocean rune was also emphasized in his original dark magic dreams in 2x08, and foreshadowed his choice to do dark magic again in 5x08. We'll return to the rune emphasis again later.

I also want to talk about dark!Callum (DC)'s appearance as opposed to the form he takes in 2x08. The cloak is back, which in 2x08 was their main distinguishing feature. Now, 7x06's is joined with corruption around the eyes (which was present in Callum's 6x03 nightmare) and the white streak, which is new. 7x06 DC therefore seems both less menacing than full corruption leering grin DC (earlier in the pond; 2x08's true form) and simultaneously more honest. He's not covering up his appearance at all, is presenting more of a middle man of what Callum could become, and yet is still deeply loathed.

The rune emphasis continues even once we get DC shows up, with the Ocean rune continuing to be highlighted, as Callum unlocked the Ocean arcanum due to realizing/accepting his lack of control on "To love is simply to know this: the tides are true as the ocean is deep [...] The Ocean arcanum is accepting that there are depths you can't see, parts of yourself you can't understand..." It was inextricably linked due to him realizing he would go that far with dark magic again, even if he hated it.

Then we get into what is probably my second favourite line in the whole scene, which is, "You didn't create me with dark magic, Callum. I have always been a part of you." Although DC is demonstrated through dark magic indicators, it is not exclusive to dark magic use. This too is reflected in what Callum says about the ocean arcanum, explaining, "The ocean arcanum is about accepting there are depths you can't see, parts of yourself you can't understand, and things you can't control".

This aspect of everyone having both dark and light inside them (as Aaravos lays out in 7x04) is reflected in 7x06 "Inversion" as well through the metaphor of the half-moon. Not only is there dark and light within all the main cast that they have to confront this season (Ez and Rayla, for example, both accept and understand the circumstances under which they'd murder someone) but it also comes back to the half-moon as well: "Consider the half moon. Light only falls on half its face right now, but that doesn't mean the other half isn't there" (2x02).

So this dark side—this willingness to go this far and in this way—is a fundamental part of who Callum is and who he's always been ("But not everything [has changed]: I would do anything for you"). Again, we love it here.

Then, the scene starts stacking metaphor upon metaphor / symbol upon symbol. First, we had DC, evidenced through dark magic corruption and a darker doppelgänger self; then we had the Ocean rune to invoke the last time Callum did dark magic, and why; finally, we have DC bring the two together into one of the other main symbols of the series: fate vs freewill through the idea of writing your own story.

"So how's your book?"

Previously, Callum had though that choosing who he wanted to be was exclusive to being a dark mage. He could choose to exert and maintain his agency OR choose to give into a pre-written destiny ("your destiny is already written, all you have to do now is accept it"). This was only enhanced by his struggle in earlier arc 2 seasons, as the dichotomy between "you can be a dark mage or a powerless human" become reconciled to "you are a powerless human because you are a dark mage," manifested in Aaravos stripping him of his power through possession/control because of his dark magic use.

This is similar to Callum's more optimistic but simplified view in 5x08 that "so long as we protect each other, so long as we love each other, you can never control us." By the end of the episode he's realized that's not true, and by the end of season 7 he likewise realizes his previous view of dark magic and himself is also not true.

Like Viren, Callum is realizing that it's not so much a choice between agency or dark magic in his life, so much as it is taking responsibility and acknowledging that he's Choosing to do dark magic for something he thinks is worth it ("Every step forward is a choice" / "That's the destiny I choose"). A character just giving up dark magic is not enough to make them a 'good' person (hi Kpp'Ar) or truly change their path (6x04 Claudia) without recognizing that dark magic itself wasn't necessarily the problem, but what it brought out in them and how they coped with it (Viren blaming Soren for his own actions, etc). Simply put, there is no 'or'. There is only 'and'.

The true heart is a gift of childhood. For a few wonder-filled years, we each have innocent eyes to experience the world’s beauty in a simple way. Terrestrius, you were lucky and held that innocent wonder longer than most. I have seen generations of humans and elves accept the darkness that lurks in all of us beside the light. There is no black and white, only shades of gray. We must all carry complexity. But please believe me there is beauty in this burden. Your heart will be a little heavier, but now there will be no more half-truths, Terrestrius.

[Side note: if you're interested more in the idea of knowledge as a burden in TDP, please check out this meta.]

As indicated by Aaravos' speech, this process of reconciling dichotomies into singular dualities is part of growing up and accepting that things are complicated shades of grey, just as Ezran had to learn in his 4x03 speech: "To give them that, we have to hold pain and love in our hearts at the same time," with reconciling dualities permeating much of arc 2, particularly season four.

So what does this process look like for Callum emotionally, with this scene in the woods? Well, there's a few different stages.

The first involves ideas of trust, which TDP comes back to time and time again. Whereas before DC kept himself very separate from Callum in 2x08 outside of a couple of lines, here he refers to them more routinely as one entity / person, emphasizing:

which Callum reflects even before we get there, even if he backtracks:

Furthermore, we return to the concept of parts of ourselves, not only in terms of fragmentation and brokenness, but also in terms of reality. DC states that he has always been a part of Callum, and the Ocean arcanum's "parts of yourself you can't understand" furthers this as previously noted, but so does Lujanne's statement from 2x02:

Real trust is accepting the dark parts we will never know.

But more on 7x09 in a bit. For now, part of how DC attempts to get through to Callum is in line with him being a more honest presentation of Callum than his prior manifestation in 2x08, and that begins with acknowledging Callum's feelings, but also the facts:

I get it. You hate me. But we know the truth too. Only I can save them all.

Now there will be no more half-truths. Dark and light brought together in understanding and acceptance, even if it is painful and complicated. DC posits, then, that Callum is someone who can and will "sacrifice [his] sense of right and wrong" and do dark magic again. This would, in addition, mean sacrificing his own life and his life with Rayla, as the plan involves being killed so Aaravos cannot use him further. (It does not, noticeably, involve sacrificing Rayla herself; in fact, it's rather the opposite, but again, more on that in a bit.)

Callum's capacity and willingness to do so is called out openly by DC, who reminds Callum of another truth and of his own doubt:

Taking the coin feels especially noteworthy since, when Callum did so, everything was seemingly fine. He'd cleansed himself of dark magic use and therefore possession, and believed/'knew' that the prison pearl was safely at the Starscraper, hundreds of miles away from him or anyone who would ever seemingly get to it. Yet he took the coin anyway, because to quote one of my friends, "Callum will see something and go man that's fucked up and file it away for later," and boy, he sure will. This tendency to preventively 'take', particularly for objects of perceived/potential power, also goes back even earlier: he doesn't just chain Claudia, but also steals her primal stone (1x03, 2x02: "You stole her primal stone"); in 4x07, he is unable to let go of / attempt to destroy the cube ("if you're so sure, why did you save it?"); and rather than having the self-awareness I'd assumed off screen to burn all of Viren's dark magic books, he read all of them instead (5x08).

So Callum plans for contingencies, yet has reservations about the plan DC—himself—is making. Fair enough. It would cause him to do "sacrifice his own sense of right and wrong," i.e. something that he considers vile and dangerous, and morally reprehensible. It'd mean dying and sacrificing his life. Does he bring any of these up as to why he doesn't want to, or can't, follow through on the plan?

No, because the singular reason he gives is this:

I can't. Don't you get it? Rayla loves me. She believes in me. This version of myself.

"You hate me" versus "Rayla loves me."

He doesn't say that it's wrong (2x08; which seems to be something he's relinquished partially by 6x03 anyway) and he doesn't even say that it'd kill him. The sole objection he gives is that Rayla would stop loving him, and implicitly that he'd be letting her down. I don't think I have to say why this is a little bit crazy and codependent, but I do love it, and it tracks with what Callum has said in the past, ie. 4x07's "I'm not afraid that he'll hurt me. I'm afraid that he'll use me to do awful things or hurt people I care about." A big part of 5x08 and the Ocean arcanum was realizing if it's a choice between doing awful things or his loved ones being hurt, he'll choose to do the awful thing, and 7x06 here takes that one step further: is doing an awful thing worth it to save your loved one, even if they hate you for it? (The answer to him is yes, but again: we're getting there.)

At this time, Callum still has hope that there's another way through that lets him defeat Aaravos and still have Rayla's love — I mean, not die, stating, "There has to be another way. Another way without you."

The immediate episode starts poking holes in this through Aaravos' conversation with Ezran: "It is the nature of children to think that the world must be one way or another." Callum has created a binary of "use dark magic to defeat Aaravos but sacrifice myself / Rayla's love" OR "defeat Aaravos without dark magic and keep Rayla's love". One option, or another. He's going to find out that that binary isn't true, but again, not quite there yet. For now I want to detour briefly into 7x07, specifically:

AARAVOS: There is great affinity between your brother and I. Callum sees the world as I do, understands the need for compromise [corruption]. Very soon, your brother will embrace dark magic to save those he loves. EZRAN: Oh? I suppose you've seen that written in the stars. AARAVOS: No, no. I've seen it written in his eyes. EZRAN: You're lying. Callum would never do that. AARAVOS: I never lie, Ezran. In your heart, you know this already. Callum will walk down that dark road.

So Aaravos knows, episodes in advance, what Callum is capable of and what he's willing to do. So does Ezran. So does Callum. And so, eventually, does Rayla.

But why is he willing to do this? Unsurprisingly, it's time to talk about my favourite part of the scene, or what I'm going to call

The Narrowing

Now, there's no denying that part of Callum's motivation here is to save the world. This has always been true; Callum loves the world. He cares about the greater good, and he's been willing to sacrifice himself for it before (3x01). Him being willing to use dark magic to save everyone, including Rayla and Ezran, is not news; it's inordinately in character. We've yet to see one of their lives be pitted against the greater good, wherein I think his choices would change, but Callum being willing to sacrifice himself / a life together in order to keep Rayla alive? That was always my prediction going into S7 that he'd do dark magic again and do it no matter the personal cost (losing the relationship, losing his life, etc) so long as it kept her and/or Ezran alive. And here we are.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about the specific narrowing we see, as DC proposes the same plan and according rationale behind it three times in 7x06, but it gets more specific each time (+ specific rune placements to boot):

"Them all," to a greater emphasis on Ezran and Rayla, to just Rayla.

Now, part of this is to reflect Callum's objections, which as we've gone over were exclusively centred on not wanting to lose Rayla's love (which Callum probably associates having her love as synonymous with him being alive, but Ezran did it first with her being alive in 4x01, so. yeah). That's what he wants to maintain, that's what he cares about. But DC points out that Rayla loving him, and him wanting that, should be secondary to keeping her alive. It's not about his wants. It's not about him.

It's about her.

After seasons of Callum's "I would do anything for you," we finally verbally get the second piece:

VIREN: But if it's love, then nothing else matters. Do what you must. (6x06)

While other characters discuss Callum's motivations in other ways—Runaan says "He will do whatever it takes to protect this world" as the man who's prepared to take him out to do the same, and as fits within Runaan's worldview like a perfect puzzle piece—most of that is publicly around other characters who share that worldview. Callum says "I have to, or everyone will die" and Aaravos' "So the hero dies for the greater good" in the final battle, where everyone—Rayla included—can hear (remember, privately, with Ezran how Aaravos framed the matter instead). Callum and Aaravos have an incentive and need for Rayla to accept and understand this—Callum wants her to take him out, and knows this'd be more effective than "I'm doing it for you" or she'd flat out refuse (6x03, 6x05); she needs to be Callum's 'false' safety net for Callum to be willing to corrupt himself again, on Aaravos' end—nor does it make it untrue. That is what Callum is doing something vile and dangerous for, and it's worth sacrificing his life and Rayla's love for him if it means saving everyone, including her. If it doesn't, or didn't, well, that remains to be seen...

But we all know what I'm saying for future events. Where we leave off story wise now is a Callum who willingly re-corrupted himself to save her and the greater good, a Callum who fully knows and accepts that in many ways he has sacrificed his sense of right and wrong in order to do so, and is aware that now and in the future he will "do anything, however dangerous, however vile" to protect the people he loves. The nice thing is that he also knows that rather than the false dichotomy set up before, sacrificing Rayla's love for him in order to save her life, is not something he has to be concerned about any longer, because she still loves him, and always will.

He became the person he hated, the person he was terrified to be (he carried out the exact same plan DC posited for the exact same reasons as posited) but not in the manner he expected, because he's still a person that Rayla loves. That's why the white streak is different. He can trust himself in this way, and knows that she can too.

She loves, accepts, and trusts this part of him, all of him. The thing he was most worried to lose is what he didn't have to lose at all, and I think that's pretty beautiful.

In conclusion, the scene in the forest was everything, the white streak and bridge scene in the finale was everything, we love a little snake boi and his prime enabler, TDP is kissing me on the mouth characterization wise always, god bless; thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

#tdp callum #tdp meta #the dragon prince #tdp #analysis series #analysis #s7 spoilers #s7 #callum #tdp spoilers #7x06 #snake boi callum #and his prime enabler #predictions achieved #characterization #the key of aaravos #7x09 #multi #arc 2

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