#there were a lot of fan theories but I didn't want to claim those

[stormblessed95]

So I just had some thoughts about the minimoni exchange that I really needed to share - their relationship is so cute. There was one thing that I'm confused about and I wanted to know if it was just me lol, and that's the narrative Jimin was telling about how Muse came about. That Pdogg asked him what his thoughts are, and Jimin said he's been feeling a lot of apathy lately (I'm paraphrasing here cause I can't remember the words!).

Then he went straight into talking about how the album is about having a crush, but he said he can't remember the last time he had a crush. And he had to have help from a younger producer to talk about what a crush was like. He didn't really go into why he wrote an album about having a crush when he said he can't remember the last time, just that he's been feeling not much excitement lately. He even explained this albums emotions as "vague." If I could go into depth about it, my interpretation (could be completely wrong) is that it's an explanation of coming to terms with his sexuality, that the expectation that he fall in love with women but no matter how many relationships with women he's had he just can't find the one. Until JK comes along....

Sorry my thoughts are all over the place 😂😂. I just wanted to know if someone also found it confusing or it's just my ADHD brain!

Hello my love! I'm probably going to use your ask to talk about Muse as a whole I think. Hope that's okay ❤️ I'll make other posts for the songs individually if I have more I want to say in depth about specific songs.... Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and theories too! I love them!

My thoughts and feelings about Muse as a whole below the photo 💜 disclaimer that these are just my thoughts and opinions. I am in no way claiming this as fact or truth and unless I'm quoting something, these are all my own words. Everyone is entitled to agree or disagree as they see fit.

This will be a longer post.... So strap in I guess!

SO! To start, Pdogg shared with us that Jimins album/SMGB was in part inspired by the Beatles conceptual album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." He said, and I quote:

"It was inspired by a conceptual album like the Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.' And I tried to incorporate the excitement I felt when thinking of Muse into the songs. The flow of emotions is directly reflected in the track order, so it will be more fun if you focus on that."

Intro: Rebirth and Interlude: Showtime is what gives that connection and crossover from FACE, with its sound and chorus use, into the new concept and album I believe. Which Jimin has explicitly stated that Muse is not connected with FACE really at all. But that does give its connection and crossover from those first 2 songs. So you could EASILY listen to them back to back and find it flows smoothly from one sound into another!

Face is clearly about introspection, facing oneself, that vulnerability and overcoming that pain. It's about freeing yourself. Muse seems to be conceptually about finally feeling free enough to pursue that prospect of love and being open to those feelings. It was brought up by Minseong Kim, his performance director, in VMagazine that (I'm paraphrasing) they basically were focusing more on his masculine side and expressions for Who and in Muse. While in Face, Jimin showcased more of his vulnerabilities and his more feminine side and expressions. Specifically seeking out that contrast. Full interview here:

Now I don't know about you ... But it's giving gender. And I love that. It's not something new for Jimin, he leans into that contrast within himself alot. It's really giving gender fluidity. And I think that's on purpose. Jimin doesn't do things by accident. He thinks through everything and Jimin is in charge at the end for his projects. And considering how OFTEN this concept of *both*, of feminine and masculine, comes up in Jimins personal projects/stages, it's clearly something important to him that he wants to be highlighted.

Jimin absolutely had full control over the stories he wanted to tell in each song, even Who, where he didn't have full writing credits. He explained the thoughts, feelings and ideas he was wanting to express. We saw him in the behind scenes of things having direct input on his songs, the MV, and creating his own choreo. The Talent 😍 we were specifically told that Jimin "directly explained to them what he wanted to convey and the direction he wanted to take for this album and each song. This allowed us to put together tracks that are more musically diverse, but still feel right for him." Quote comes from an interview article from the Clash here

Similarly shared in another article, Pdogg said "We made it with Jon Bellion in New York. I remember Jimin personally explaining to him what story he wanted to tell, and he was really embarrassed/shy. I met Jimmy Fallon by chance in the studio next door. We played the song for him for the first time after we finished working on it. In fact After finishing work on the 'FACE' album, we went straight into the production of 'MUSE' and I thought, 'He's working this hard before his military enlistment?' Thanks to Jimin's hard work, you'll be able to see his musical journey, which has grown even more." From here

Okay, now that we got all those interview snippets out of the way from Jimins team.... We can get into more of Jimins words and my own thoughts/theories here too.... 😏🥰 But we like to work theories off facts, so we gotta get our base line!

Jimin finished recording his album in June of 2023.

Jimin stated in MMM that the first 5 songs in his album were basically the emotions related to having a crush and confessing your feelings. That would be:

Intro: Rebirth

Interlude: Showtime

SGMB

Slow Dance

Be Mine

And then the 6th track, Who, he takes it all back and is like no, that's not really true. Where he also lets us know that there really isn't a connection to FACE in the grand scheme of things.

To start with the title too.... Who are the Muses? The Greek Goddesses of artistic inspiration. Jimin has been drawing from Greek Mythology a lot recently, with Apollo and Artemis featuring in his photofolio too. Now while the basics premise of a Muse is and can be very romantic in nature, it isn't always. Jimins album Muse is inherently full of romantic songs, but I also think it's clear from his talk on MMM that this album is not JUST about looking for your run of the mill, romantic relationship and love.... But being in search of your passion, your heart and your desires. It's the expression of yearning. Yearning for love, for life, for his music, his work, his Identity as a person and an artist, to feel excited over something and look forward to something. He specially says to RM during MMM that he isn't sure if he will ever be satisfied with himself as an artist or find a version of himself that he is fully satisfied with (I'm paraphrasing). It's the idea that this search for his Muse (that satisfaction in himself and as an artist) is ongoing and probably will FOREVER be ongoing. Hence why in the end of the Who MV, after all that back and forth with so many people.... He is still alone. That search is still happening. Hence also why this desperate search of who his heart is waiting for is at the end of the album, not opening it up. He still hasn't found her, the Muses. His satisfaction. The yearning that is driving him forward to grow and learn and adapt and dig deeper into his art, is still there.

Jimin has a lot of control over his projects. His albums, songs, and performances. As he should. But it's important for everyone to remember that this album starts and finishes with JIMIN. And what he wants to say and express, this is his art, his emotions and his ideas, regardless of if he has help writing lyrics or not. To bring this back to my last paragraph above.... Passion as an artist is something plenty of people can relate to, but not everyone. Romance on the other hand is something *almost* everyone CAN relate to. And bringing those feelings of yearning and desire for passion and excitement and translating that into feelings of crushes, first love, romantic connect. Brings that full circle and is the outward Expression he chose to help represent the emotions and feelings he was trying to express through this album. I think it's also important to note that while Jimin expressed his desire for excitement and passion and how he is still looking for that.... He made sure to make it clear that he is happy and content with where he is at and who he is currently. These things can coexist!

Who in general could have some takes and theories about sexuality and what not, like anon said, I've definitely seen a variety of theories out there. I do think Jimin has long since come to terms with his sexuality though, but that doesn't mean that the inspiration from that couldn't still be drawn on. I can talk about that more in a post I make specifically only for Who. Soooo many things could be said for Who! Lol and if you've read this far, look forward to my post for Who and thank you for making it through my ramblings!!

[verosikastrikerstellaexcuser]

Prior Anon again.

Viv admitted that she didn't have any real plan for HB and that she changed Stolas' character in one of those Live Q & A panels.

The whole not having a plan for HB was in I believe 2 tweets, where she didn't know how long she planned for HB to go on and that she only had some rough outlines.

Put that all together and with how Stolas really seems so different compared to S1 to S2, among other things....yeah it's all just winging it.

There was nothing ever to suggest in S1 it was arranged, in fact as the song implies it really wasn't. The only thing people latch onto in that it was 'arranged' is when Stolas is trying to explain to Via the situation.

....But this is not realizing that these were all incomplete statements and even if they were? That doesn't nessecarily mean it was an arranged marriage, because you know....parents can fall out of love, parents can later on realize that they never really loved eachother etc.

Which you know, fits with what S1 was seeming to hint at in dialogue and song within EP 2?

Or they just assume because they are Royals so they MUST be arranged marriage...which again isn't an argument.

Just because they are Royals, doesn't mean it has to be arranged. Was it a thing? Yeah it was, but we aren't in this show, in this setting....given any reason that it's a thing. Them being Royalty isn't enough evidence. It was usually due to land, money or what have you, status and so forth. A mutual benefit of sorts between Families.

....But Stolas already has everything, he has the house, he has the servants, he has the power both figuratively and literally, he has the money. Nothing in S1(other than....her phone) is Stella's, she doesn't have claim to anything or have anything property wise. Stella doesn't even have any innate powers from what we see, if anything S1 comes across as making Stella not giving anything of value to him.

In fact given the implication of Stolas being extremely old in S1, this means he's an immortal which we know is still true, he's still an immortal. He has all the time in forever to gain his own land, to gain his own money and status. He's not going to die from old age.

The only thing of value between them is Octavia, but she's not an indication of an Arranged Marriage in S1 either, it's just as likely that they could have had her without all that nonsense. Which again fits with...

"I used to think that I was bold. I used to think love would be fun."

and

"I want that CHEATING PRICK DEAD!"

Why call him a cheating prick Stella? You weren't hurt by anything right? Why'd you use these specific words Stella, hrmm? You don't like him right, why does this whole thing piss you off if you like to torment him?

Why did Bryce say "She has a lot of pain inside of her" (Insta Reel with him and co-star, but unfortunately deleted)

Why did Georgina like a tweet saying she was heartbroken and doesn't think clearly?

Baffling really, when S2 tells us the complete opposite of...all this stuff.

They don't lean into the Arranged Marriage thing until S2 rolls around, which thus starts making S1 look a little weird as a whole as the episodes go on.

S1 at least from where I'm sitting, was written in such a way that...many fan theories cropped up and honestly that's where I feel things took a wrong turn.

I feel as if Viv, took a lot of the more popular fan theories and just made them Canon, so writing wouldn't have to be such a chore. So she's using fans to basically write things for her show, that she can't be bothered to actually write out other avenues to the story. She'll just pick something that is popular or something she likes and that's that.

So then fans could say "AH HA! SEE WHAT DID I TELL YOU!"

Or

"IT WAS SO OBVIOUS!"

So their headcanons/fan theories can be fine, but others can't if they don't conform to what many others are saying?

Now I'm not saying writers can't take things from fans and made stuff Canon, but doing so constantly? Or writing in such a way, where you could then just 'farm' for ideas later on?

It just seems then like there isn't real creativity there. Especially when taking such ideas in the first place, but then it kinda ruins what story was already being told.

Anyway this is getting very long winded, so apologies.

No genuinely I appreciate the long windedness, I really do, because these are all valid points.

"That doesn't necessarily mean it was an arranged marriage, because you know....parents can fall out of love, parents can later on realize that they never really loved each other etc. Which you know, fits with what S1 was seeming to hint at in dialogue and song within EP 2?" You're right. This is one of those retcons where I took them at their word but you're right - the arranged marriage is a retcon. And that makes sense, because I always thought the way it operated was just bizarre. Why do royal Goetia women have 0 power/property rights and are things to be shoved into arranged marriages to make heirs when the rest of hell's society does not seem to work that way at all? It seems to mostly just be about power as in physical abilities, combined with wealth. There are plenty of female overlords and Beel's female, and the sins have massive power, being above overlords and goetias. When they revealed that the house was all Stolas' and that Stella owns nothing it always felt just extremely bizzare given the rest of the show and its women? It seems to operate mostly like an Earth society in 2024, aka women have rights even if misogynist attitudes are still a thing. Why would the Goetia women have less rights than all other women in hell and why are they still able to force arranged marriages on each other? I'm not saying that couldn't maybe be interesting, like the monarchy had exceptions written into law for themselves, but I would have liked to see that properly actually established. I'm so sick of this show's inconsistent lore and things not being shown properly. Stuff like the different rings each ruled by a different sin, those concepts are really fun and powerful. But they're so messily executed and no proper rules are really ever established, making it feel clunky and confusing. Lmao guess they wouldn't bother though since that would make it harder to go back on things all the time since they really do appear to be just winging it as they go and sweeping any "mistakes" that are no longer convenient under the rug.

Its ridiculous to me that they had no plan going into this show. I mean seriously, what a fucking joke? NOTHING? How can Viv say "Stolitz is the heart of this show" This shows heart is whatever is convenient that writing week and whatever fans gush over the most, don't lie. Unmake it the heart, because deciding thats what this shows about on the fly has been an absolute disaster, dear God. You are right about leaning too much into fan theories and appeasing fans etc... thats part of how we got into the Stolitz mess, because people liked it so much. But leaning into solely what FANDOM likes, given that fandom regularly ships anything and everything (which isn't bad however the point of fandom is to be creative not to make a coherent show) it leads to characters lore etc becoming muddied as dozens of people input different ideas that don't work coherently with each other and other plans you as the creator have etc. Imo creators should avoid theory content and stick to supporting fanartists, song makers etc only, and minimally too. In general I feel like staying a healthy distance away from fandom is best, especially as your show is ongoing, for a multitude of reasons tbh but that would be veering off topic.

Anyway, thanks for making me realize all this, seriously. Most other retcons I spotted, but this is one I didn't spot for being what it is.

[king-paimon]

Houseki no Kuni Chapter 103 Thoughts: Can't Stop the Inevitable But It'll Be OK (Maybe...)

Hello hello hello. Long time no see, Houseki no Kuni fandom! How have you all been? It's been a while. That hiatus Ms. Haruko Ichikawa took much longer than expected. That's fine by me because I've been pretty busy these past few months. Mostly the usual stuff; had some major ups and downs for me and those who I care about, annoying work/life events, though I had the wonderful opportunity to branch out and meet people who could help me with my career, found some new stuff to obsess over, etc. I honestly forgot about Houseki no Kuni for a little while until I saw the announcement about the latest chapter.

And now here we are.

This chapter was very dialogue heavy, though fairly straightforward. It seems to confirm some of the thoughts and theories other fans and myself had made back in chapter 102, though I left me asking a few new questions. They aren't big questions, but I just can't help but wonder...

This will definitely be one of my shorter posts because I don't have any big analytical thoughts here, just with lots of pictures from the chapter, so I'll make sure to add the spoiler tag. As always, please feel free to share your own thoughts in this post and sorry in advance for any mistakes or ramblings. Might add more later, but I can't promise anything.

Anyways, here we go!

It'll Be OK: Liberation Of Internalized Suffering

The interaction in this chapter was interesting. Like I stated above, this chapter confirms that Phos is scared of corrupting the new rock species or being the catalyst that would cause humanity to come back. They don't want to be the source of suffering again, even if it meant destroying the very last remaining piece of their original self. They were ready to do whatever it took to prevent that from happening, even by having the entity who hated humanity do the deed.

But what surprised me a little in this chapter was Eyeball. For one, even though he could have fulfilled Phos's request, he didn't. He claims that there's only a trace of humanity on Phos's remaining piece, but states that it'd go away over time, therefore there's no reason to destroy it, even though Phos initially wanted that. I'll get back to this part later.

The other thing that surprised me was how Eyeball was able to placate Phos's current mindset, at least for a little bit, and he do it in an interesting way. Eyeball basically told Phos "Hey, your fear might come true... but it'll be okay. If if comes to that, I'll figure something out. And you shouldn't worry too much about it even if it happens because all things will come to an end one day, including us, and things will start over again in some way. There's no point in stressing about that future, so don't worry about it."

In some ways, I kind of see this as Eyeball liberating Phos by taking some of their burdens onto himself by him stating that he'd be the one to figure out what to do if humanity did come back, not Phos, all the while dispelling Phos's other concerns by stating that Phos shouldn't waste their time worrying about what could happen. Phos's fears might come true... but so what? That's just how things go. Somethings are just out of your control and change is inevitable. Yes, it's stressful to worry about but that's just how it is. That's the strange beauty of it all, at least that's how I see it.

And I don't know about you, but I just really liked Eyeball's monologue through these pages.

In the end, I think this interaction helped Phos by the fact that despite their fears, they chose to tell the pebbles about what the Professor said and humanity. Because even though Phos understands that humanity is capable of doing horrible things, thanks to their own experience as a sufferer and perpetrator, they also understand that there are parts of humanity that is capable of creating wonderful things. I'm glad that Phos is the one who wants to take this task. Despite everything, Phos is taking it upon themselves to be the one to teach these aspects to the pebbles so they can have the freedom to figure out how they can learn and evolve from this point onwards. It may lead to a better version of "humanity" or it could lead to something very similar. Who knows? But at least Phos is (hopefully) giving them what they need to figure themselves out.

What will come from this interaction is anyone's guess and I'm hoping we will soon see within the next, and hopefully last, couple of chapters.

The Last Piece Of The Past: Why Keep it?

One of the things that this chapter left me questioning was the final piece of the original Phosphophyllite. Not only is this the last remainder of Phos, but it may be the very last piece of the last human descendants; not just for the gems, but for the admirabilis and the lunarians. If what Eyeball said about the Lunarians intentionally leaving a piece of Phos's untarnished self behind is true, my question.. is why? Why did they leave this behind in Phos?

Was this for Phos's benefit somehow? Is it supposed to remind them of their origins or who they represented they obtained their final deity form? Or is the piece supposed to serve as some sort of artifact that could be beneficial for future organisms that would form over the course of time?

At this point, I have no clue. If anyone has any theories, please feel free to add them or post them!

Until Next Time! (Hopefully sooner than 4 months...)

That's honestly all that I have at this point in time for this post. I may come back to it and add more, but I can't promise anything. I don't know how my future posts for the hopefully last chapters will go, but I'll be honest... I can't wait to see it end. I enjoyed this story and I'm still looking forward to see what happens next, but I'm ready to it end.

For those of you who like these rambles, thank you so much! I still love seeing everyone's thoughts and I can't wait to see what people think of this chapter.

Hopefully this will be the last hiatus Ms. Ichikawa will have and we'll be facing the true final stretch of this story.

Or maybe we'll face another hiatus after another couple of chapters.

We'll see.

See you later!

[wh0re-in-the0ry]

Types of animals I think the Chuckle/Sorry Boys would be

Note: I don't want to be too obvious, so Schlatt isn't a ram and Phil isn't a crow.

Schlatt-

Schlatt is a bear not the San Fransico kind specifically a grizzly bear. I mean it is pretty obvious when you think about it. Grizzlys are fucking huge, they avoid human interaction whenever possible, they mate maybe once every four years, and they enjoy taking long naps (hibernation). If that isn't Schlatt, I don't know what is.

Ted Nivison-

Ted is a pitbull/labrador mix. These types of dogs are kinda smart, energetic, very playful according to google. Also speaking from experience, these types of dogs are a tad bit silly, a wee bit funny, maybe even goofy if I do say so myself. Just looking at these two and my brain just think they are one in the same.

Slimecicle-

Slimecicle is an octopus. It's mainly because if I didn't know what either of them were and someone was to describe them to me, I would not believe them. I would also like to mention their ability to change appearances in a whim. Octopi have the ability to camouflage as many know, and Charlie's face becomes near unrecognizable without his glasses, also this might just be a me thing, but I feel like his face slightly changes in every photo he's in and it kinda scares me.

Tommy and Wilbur-

Tommy and Wilbur are ferrets. They are long creatures with a lot of energy and are very social animals. Those traits just fit really nicely with them, especially Tommy. The reason I made them both the same animal is 1) I am a sucker for the crime boys and 2) when getting a pet ferret, its highly recommended to get a second one for companionship so having only one ferret on the list wouldn't be right.

Also mildly hot take: I don't think Tommy is a racoon, idk why the fandom collectively agreed he was one. To be fair idk why I think he isn't one besides "the vibes don't fit" but I have a personal theory that the internet had a hyper fixation on racoons and Tommy at the same time, mashed them together, and it just stuck.

Ranboo-

I had the hardest time with Ranboo. A part of me wants to say a cat but specifically the cat in the All My Fellas meme because they are both so silly, but that kind of feels like cheating. After some thinking I settled for something. This one is a little shallow because its purely based on aesthetics but the jellyfish from Finding Nemo (which according to Reddit are the Sanderia malayensis). There's something about it's vibrant shade of pink and floaty-ness that suit R800 in my opinion. They are just neat to look at and pretty cool.

Philza-

Remember how I said Ranboo was the hardest to figure out? Well I lied. Crows are such a key part of Phil's brand, I would even argue that crows are more integral to Phil's brand then Rammie is to Schlatt's brand. I know that's a big claim, but Rammie is its own thing, is it iconic, yes but it can easily be separated from Schlatt. But with Phil it becomes much harder, C!Phil is always depicted as a bird/crow hybrid, in the majority of fanworks he's given crow features, his chat are crows. No matter how hard we try we can't escape the crows.

So, the next best thing was to replace the crow with an animal similar to it. And no, it won't be a raven or another bird because that feels like cheating.

I think rats can replace Phil's crows. Both are very smart animals that are very playful and are also quite social. Rats can symbolize death and plague similar to crows which is in line for the angel of death. They can also be stylized/drawn all cute for marketable plushies. Then there's the fact that rat features are easy to spot and draw, fanartist can easily slap on a couple ears, a tail, and those buck teeth rats have and there we have it: Ratza. Also for the Dadza/found family fans: rats are known to have big families and live in packs. Honestly in another tine line, I can see Ratza working just as well, if not better than Crowza.

. If y'all have any hypotheticals/ideas you guys want me to explore I am open to suggestions :]

-S

.

[warlordgab]

Analysis of shipping: One Piece anti-romance arguments

Years before Oda was asked to write Strong World, years before the Summit War saga, even years before many of us joined the fandom, a significant portion of fans shared an anti-romance sentiment.

This perspective was so widespread that it seemed as if the One Piece community in general was convinced no pairing would ever become canon. Sure, there were some exceptions: 

Some people dispalyed indifference toward the anti-romance trend, but also towards the emotional narrative of the story. So, they would likely support shallow premises anyway

Others shipped characters by relying on inter-series comparisons that no longer hold up nowadays. (it didn't take long for perceptive individuals to find out how unlikely those "theories" truly were)

Some of these people were editors on other wiki sites, that pointed out how filler provided shipping fuel for stuff that never gets actual development in the manga. And yet, the same editors also promoted a non-existent "sexual tension" as many shallow shippers would, but I digress.

Still, since that era, a lot of arguments had been made for this position regarding romantic love; some were forgotten, and some stuck but in pretty unexpected ways.

So, here we’re going to consider those arguments, how bad they aged, and what possibly led to the anti-romance idea losing its initially strong foothold in the fandom.

The anti-romance idea through time

Firts, let us consider that one of the most important elements that helped the anti-romance idea to grow was how Oda talked about the subject. When the mangaka was asked about if someone from strawhats (except Sanji) was in love, he replied in a SBS they were all "in love with adventure."

While that was a pretty creative answer, it seems some readers weren't satisfied with Oda’s reply. But, it wasn’t like fans couldn’t agree that the statement was technically a correct.

Not to mention that fans back then didn’t have the Hancock character westerners simp so hard for. Instead, they had Alvida as the first woman calling dibs on Luffy...

... But, this was easy to dismiss given how they never became allies or friends.

Still, that doesn’t mean the anti-romance idea didn’t have its weak spots. In fact, Oda gave us an interesting “insight” on one scene, that LuNa fans loved, in the SBS Volume 32:

This was long before Summit War saga. It's interesting how the only girl that managed to make Luffy a “little horny" was Nami.

It’s true that the Oda’s answer would later change to what basically amounts to “bad influence,” when he was confroted with the fact Hancock’s beauty couldn’t get the same response from Luffy. But, the fact, still remains that it was Luffy’s response, unless people want to argue Luffy’s companions have a greater influence on his libido than Hancock’s beauty ever could. Doesn’t sound so good when you think about it, does it?

Of course, a lot of perceptive readers and even some anti-shippers know that being as “horny” as a “healthy boy” is not something inherently romantic. So, even if this moment left a crack on the anti-romance argument by displaying Luffy’s “healthy” reponse to Nami’s sex appeal, that still wasn’t enough to debunk it.

Needless to say, some anti-shippers may claim being “horny” is a must for a relationship to grow, but that myopic perspective completely disregards how emotional connections can develop by sharing meaningful moments instead of lusting after a potential partner. 

Moving on, Oda’s vagueness back then just encouraged readers to keep discussing the subject of potential romance by relying on the manga material they had so far. Still, the anti-romance crowd would shortly get another argument, when Oda stated the following:

“One Piece is basically a shonen manga, manga for boys, so romance isn’t depcited“

Ironically, this is where the another crack in the anti-romance idea starts to show. As many chapters later, we got something subtle about Usopp and Kaya at the end of the Ennies Lobby arc.

But, the fact the story focused more on its plot, themes, and other characters, probably made it easier for everyone to miss how this relationship could contradict the 'no romance depcited' argument.

Later, the fandom got introduced to Boa Hancock. While Alvida’s interest in Luffy got scratched as “not romantic enough,” Hancock’s infatuation for the hero couldn’t be ignored due to how over-the-top it was. But, it still wasn’t enough, why?

Because the relationship between Luffy and Hancock never develops into something deep or truly impactful, as Hancock’s crush remains as one-sided as it can get.

Luffy’s rejection to Hancock’s proposal just made it a lot easier for the anti-romance argument to stay strong despite the few cracks it had at that time.

Specially, when you factor context. Luffy’s reply was framed as a negative response to Hancock’s promotion of herself as a potential wife. Add Luffy’s personality to this setup, and no matter how you try to put it, he sunk that ship before it had a chance to sail.

Debunking the “no romance” myth?

So far, we’ve seen things that could a best put a dent on the anti-romance argument. But, what actually destroyed this myth?

We have to flashforward to the Dressrosa arc. Two pairings with tragic backstories were introduced: Kyros and Scarlett & Señor Pink and Russian

Kyros' relationship Scarlett story serves as part of the compelling drama of his background. And we can tell how Pink’s relationship with Russian made his character and current state and struggle emotionally impactful.

This obviously destroyed the argument of “no romance in One Piece” and contradicts Oda’s own “romance isn’t depcited”

It became easy to see that romantic love was not only playing a part in the story, but it was doing so in a way that didn’t negatively impact the author’s work. Instead, Oda used romantic love to enhance both character and story.

And this wasn’t going to be the last time, as One Piece Film: Gold gaves us something we’re about to consider in the following section, as Tesoro and Stella were depicted as lovers.

However, the greatest blow to this argument was delivered by something that not many people saw coming: SanPu's tragic love story

We already know that Pudding’s initial affection was just an act to fool Sanji and carry out Big Mom’s plot against the Vinsmoke family. But, as soon as she has her first genuine moment with Sanji, she develops actual feelings for him as the chef shattered the image she had of her own self for years. 

Needless to say, due to their respective crews being enemies, this relationship couldn’t become official, as Pudding gives Sanji a pretty romantic farewell... before removing it from his memory.

Here, romantic love plays a important role in the emotional narrative of the final scenes.

I could mention Kinemon and O-Tsuru, as well as Oden and Toki, but I think that would be overkill at this point.

Still, while the “no romance” myth got destroyed, the anti-shippers didn’t give up, those who saw how this approach became ineffective in promoting anti-romance just made their arguments undergo a microevolution. And this is where we get to the final stage:

“They’re in love... with adventure”

Given that the statment of “romance isn’t depcited” became completely useless, one would think that’s the end. But, instead of trying to encompass the entirety of One Piece, the idea came back to its origin.

All strawhats are “in love with adventure,” so accordig to self-aware anti-shippers, there will be no romantic relationships between members of the strawhat crew, because adventure is their only “love.” But, as the philosopher George Santayana once said: 

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”

And even the old version of this argument started to shows some cracks at the Zou arc:

Nami was both happy and eager to receive Luffy and the rest, and as pointed out by perceptive readers, she could've ran to someone else, like Zoro, something some westerners in high positions clearly wanted, but I digress.

Instead, she went straight to Luffy and only then she let out how she felt about their current predicament with Sanji...

...people try to downplay it by saying the moment was all about the chef. But, the thing is, not only she could’ve ran to someone else's arms, she ran straight to Luffy, but also poured her heart out only when she was with him.

This scene was truly remarkable as it was not only impactful, but also consistent with previous developments between Luffy and Nami as seen in Oda's works.

As we already already analyzed multiple times in this blog, this matches the trend of Nami seeking (and finding) hope, comfort, and strength in Luffy.

While this isn't something explicitly romantic, this consistent bonding could likely lead to a potential growth and an eventual relationship upgrade if the author keeps working on it.

After Dressrosa damaged the credibility of their arguments, and the possibility of more development from characters so important to the story, anti-shippers had seen better days. But, that wasn’t the only thing that left another crack on the last anti-romance argument.

Let’s talk about One Piece Film: Gold

At this point, a lot of LuNa fans, and many people who read my post already how Oda changed the climax of One Piece Film: Gold, and his work speaks for itself...

...as explained in the special Volume 777, Tesoro was in a romantic relationship with a slave: Stella. Their romance ended up in tragedy when he failed to save her from getting bought by a noble.

If we see the climax of the movie, as well as Oda’s draft of the scene, we can see that the intent was for Luffy’s situation with Tesoro holding Nami in his grasp to mirror Tesoro’s own tragedy back when he lost Stella. And thus Oda drew a parallel between Luffy/Nami, and a romantic pair: Tesoro/Stella.

However, many people would find such things too subtle or simply insufficient. But, even if we ignore emotional narrative and trends, the real weak spot in this “no romance in the crew” argument, is the basis itself: “They’re in love with adventure”

This isn’t only a clever response, and a way to avoid the subjet. It is a reminder of what One Piece is at its very core. 

You probably don’t hear this one pretty often, but One Piece story is “romance.” In fact, here are some definitions that show how that statement is far more accurate than more people would imagine:

Romance:

“A mysterious or fascinating quality or appeal, as of something adventurous, heroic, or strangely beautiful”

“A long fictitious tale of heroes and extraordinary or mysterious events, usually set in a distant time or place”

“A narrative in verse or prose, written in a vernacular language in the Middle Ages, dealing with strange and exciting adventures of chivalrous heroes”

– thefreedictionary.com, 2016

“A prose narrative treating imaginary characters involved in events remote in time or place and usually heroic, adventurous, or mysterious”

–  Merriam Webster, 2016

Romantic:

“Marked by the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious, or idealized”

“Having an inclination for romance: responsive to the appeal of what is idealized, heroic, or adventurous”

–  Merriam Webster, 2016

Remember what’s the title of the first chapter of the manga? “Romance Dawn.”

The claim of the strawhats being in love with adventure fits the definition of “romance” in the framework of the series. But, does this concept exclude romantic love?

No, this narrative style can easily include romantic love if the author wishes to. In fact, as far as we seen, One Piece featured this kind of relationships multple times in the story.

So, trying to uphold this anti-romance phylosophy is ultimately pointless as the only argument left is not enough anymore, and the story already debunks most, if not all of the arguments.

Shippers take the anti-romance approach?

While anti-shippers don’t have a solid ground to stand on, some of their arguments are still used nowadays. Ironically, they’re used by shippers in an attempt to discredit rival pairings

This why the “no romance in the crew” lives on. More often than not, shallow shippers don’t even try to quote the author, instead they repeat what they hear or read in YouTube or Reddit. 

This applies to many newcomers that lack the time and patience to stomach a long-running series, as well as people who let their bias for certain characters dicatate their view on the story, something akin to the mindset that feeds the endless squabble of Zoro Vs. Sanji.

Still. the point is that the anti-romance arguments are now the greatest assets for pretty loud individuals to wage shipping wars out of ignorance and hate.

However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any active anti-shippers using these arguments. It’s just that LuNa seem to be their favorite target

But, that leads to the question: Why LuNa? Why are pairings like LuHan, SaNa or ZoNa seemingly getting ignored by anti-shippers for the most part?

Well, you guys probably realize I haven’t mentioned Sanji at all in the “Debunking” section. That’s wasn’t something incidental

By the time, the community rebuffed the idea of romantic love in the series, Sanji with all his corny flirting and pervy gags never made a dent in the anti-romance arguments because most people knew back then that being horny is not something romantic. Even when Hancock appeared, fans knew a well-written pairing could only happen if the feelings between the characters become mutual.

So, what makes Luna the favorite target of these people? What makes the pairing stand out to anti-shippers?

Is it because their consistent bonding is the perfect setup for a relationship upgrade? Is it because their moments are far more meaningful and impactful from a narrative standpoint? Or is it because the alternatives to LuNa lack the potential to grow? I’m not sure about it

Still, those who had seen all of this, know better. At this point, anti-romance arguments mean little to nothing in the story. And Oda will keep writing characters and human relationships regardless of what fans do or say.

So, instead of going around making noise about how “there shouldn’t be a romantic relationship in the crew” or trying to start senseless war between fandoms, we should enjoy the ride and see what Oda has in store for us in the final saga.

[acourtofthought]

It genuinely made me laugh out loud! “Shadows disappearing is confirmed good by HOFAS!” I was confused at first thinking when tf did that happen.. and then had a chuckle when I realized they were talking about Ruhn.

I typically stay out of the subreddit, and have their tags blocked on here, but I was curious to see what theories or hints they gathered from HOFAS. Seems like the bulk of it is:

- ruhnlidia “parallel” confirms mate language for e/riel from the bonus (or something like that, I’ve forgotten which precise passage they warped).

- stone mother song is about elain (vast stretch, seems punitive to focus on the song and not everything else that happened in that scene). And is so fucking interesting because that’s a bonus chapter and they’re still claiming BC aren’t canon/down voting when you point out they are. Can’t seem to make up their minds !

- today show article & interview about fans expecting the story to be Az & Elain, and SJM saying there’s a lot to explore in a rejected bond. The first is whatever imo, and the second they seem convinced is about them but I’m more convinced it’ll be Eris & Mor. Admittedly, Helion & LoA is another possibility more likely than e/riel, but their story breaks my heart already and I desperately want them to have HEA

Are there any other arguments you’ve seen/heard of? I’m curious what you think of these three as well!

🧼💖

The Stone Mother argument being about E/riel is just bonkers to me. First off, we have no idea if the song itself is actually based off Native American legend or whether SJM just liked the name. But to take a Paiute legend and claim it about a white women's love story is very cringe to me. I agree with you, I think the rejected bond is going to be Eris and Mor and the effects of an unaccepted bond will be Helion and the LoA. I could see them eventually getting together but for the last however many centuries, they do seem to be an example of a "rejected" bond. And you're right, they have selected very specific lines from the interviews and articles while ignoring the rest. First SJM said she only asks herself those same questions when writing. Is there choice? Is it destiny? What if it's wrong? But she's already written that into the series, where the characters wonder how it happens, is there choice, etc. And every time, the characters have said that it doesn't matter because at the end of the day they still chose one another. Bryce confirms that it didn't matter where her bond with Hunt came from or who it was determined by because it's what she wanted. Nesta struggled with the mating bond because it meant giving up her humanity but in the end she decided she wanted Cassian as her mate. They take that to mean SJM is proving to the reader that she's definitely going to write a rejected bond for two main characters when all she's saying is she makes sure to have the characters ask themselves the important questions so in the end they know without a doubt it's what they wanted and not just something decided by fate. But they ignore SJM saying that characters end up with who they need to be with for the most growth. How her MMC cheer on the FMC and encourage her. These things clearly go against the E/riel narrative but they conveniently leave those quotes out of their arguments. The one big argument I heard going around during the release was how the Cauldron was corrupted therefore Elucien's bond is. So basically.....an event that happened 15,000 years ago and in all that time the ONLY corrupted bond to come out of it was Elucien's? That's quite convenient, don't you think? There is also zero proof that the Cauldron or the Daglan were responsible for mating bonds. So yeah, I imagine all these theories will end up in the graveyard of E/riel theories along with Bread and Roses meaning that E/riel are living together and pregnant in CC3.

[rainbowsky]

GQ and XZ have bad history??? They boycotted him why??

Hi Anon,

This is a fandom - mostly 🍤 - conspiracy theory that doesn't hold a lot of weight. I'm not going to get into the weeds on it except to say that a lot of the claims are false or misrepresented, especially the ones about Rocco Liu.

The post that is said to have come from Rocco is one from 2019 where he allegedly says he's getting sick of seeing GG's face everywhere and basically rolls his eyes and says stars like that are here today, gone tomorrow. (However, the account/post no longer exists, so it's impossible to verify whether it was real, whether it was him or not, etc.)

And the post itself is pretty harmless. Yeah, it's speaking negatively about GG, but it's the sort of thing people say online about celebrities every single day.

There are 2 or 3 other posts that are claimed to be from Rocco, but which fans are actually mistaking. They appear to have come from the previous editor-in-chief, and mostly swirled around 2/27. And the whole 'boycott' claim is just totally unsubstantiated.

(Edit: More on this later in the post)

2/27 didn't bring out the best in a lot of people, and it was horrible for GG but I think it's best to look at it rationally and have a sense of perspective. Every day every one of us casually says terrible things about one celebrity or another. Especially when we are hearing horrible things about a person and their influence on culture.

For example, I absolutely can't stand Lady Gaga. While some of her songs are OK, I mostly find her fake and hugely overrated. Which as a gay man is practically a crime in most people's eyes. 😅

Sometimes we go on to revise our opinions and sometimes we don't. Sometimes we grow to respect a star more over time, other times we grow to gradually dislike them more.

What's at the forefront of our minds one week will be forgotten the next. Most of those who we've had a negative opinion of in the past we probably couldn't name even a few months later. This is just how culture works, especially in the age of the internet.

All of this is totally normal. One of the prices of fame is being under the scrutiny of millions of people. Some will love you, some will be indifferent, and some will hate you.

I doubt very much GG carries a grudge about a social media post from 4 years ago (an eternity in the entertainment business), whether it was from Rocco or not. DD certainly doesn't seem to. They've heard infinitely worse and moved on from it. Fans should too.

I think if we are going to have such ruthless purity tests about everyone who has ever said anything negative about GG and DD then we would have to also accept people holding every single thing GG and DD have said/done in the past against them, no matter how many years ago it happened.

As fans, I'm not sure that's a path we should want to go down. Both GG and DD have come under fire for things they said/did when they were younger, and antis love to dig through old posts and clips of them trying to find evidence they're horrible people.

Like I said before, this is mostly a solo theory that toxic solos like to obsess over. They make it their mission to viciously slander and attack anyone who they feel is a threat to GG, or so much as says anything less than totally fawning about him. They've actually gotten GG into hot water over that kind of behavior multiple times in the past, and I doubt they'll ever stop.

Keep in mind that it's in their interests to spin narratives of DD getting cozy with 'a sworn enemy' of GG. So these breathless tales of GQ and Rocco Liu being GG antis have an ulterior motive. They're a (very thinly) veiled attack on DD and on BXG.

EDIT: and I should add that this anti theory is also used by DD solos to attack GG, claiming that GQ hate GG because of all of the various shortcomings DD solos think GG has, and that the hatred is totally justified, etc. They use the fact that DD has had some high profile GQ moments as proof that DD is a bigger star, that he's more in demand, blah blah blah. It's same shit, different pile. Antis are antis, and will say anything to try to malign and destroy others, regardless of how false and horrible it is.

The best thing we can do is block and ignore (and report when appropriate). Swimming in toxic waste will mutate you into a toxic person over time. Save yourself, stay in your own lane and just enjoy GG and DD.

Edit: Because fans are continuing to push this conspiracy theory, I dug back into the topic and wrote about it more here.

[monsterfucker-lisa-swallows]

this is going to be a very uncomfortable and potentially triggering conversation so i suggest you scroll past if you have a lot of empathy because this isn't fun at all

also wanna preface this by saying i'm not interested in spreading conspiracy theories or "truther" claims because i feel that's incredibly disrespectful and potentially harmful to the people that need the most help. any allusions to unverified rumors will be presented as uncorroborated, not as fact (only bringing them up because i know that's the kind of rumor floating around and i don't want to seem like i'm participating somehow in dismissing concerns). because we simply don't know. and it's not our business.

i've had this bad feeling about amanda bynes for the past decade. it's the same pattern we've seen with child stars over and over again. the drugs, the mental breakdown, the conservatorship. but i pushed those nagging thoughts away. i didn't have the bandwidth at the time because i was living in an abusive household when her most public battles were happening. i didn't have the time or the emotional understanding to put towards what was happening to her even as i felt it mirrored what i was going through or what my mom was going through. then i found out about dan schneider a few years ago. i didn't really engage with the rumor and speculation about him - i was in my early 20s when this all broke and i didn't know most of the shows he'd been involved with except by the fact that my younger siblings watched them. i'd been an amanda bynes fan - hugely into the amanda show and what i like about you. my siblings watched drake and josh, icarly, and victorious. i didn't have the emotional bandwidth at the time to look into what people were saying. i knew it would upset me if i learned too much. but i couldn't stop thinking about amanda.

i heard about quiet on set from news websites. i saw the headlines about drake bell. it shook me to my core. the things i was reading were horrific and immediately put me in mind of what my sister went through as a teenage survivor of repeated sexual abuse by a man who was trusted with our care. she'd had a huge crush on drake when we were growing up. i wonder if she's heard about this.

this immediately made me think about amanda again. this time i couldn't push the thought away. i guess i'm finally ready to process the way this whole situation has felt to me.

the way people talk about amanda reminds me of how people in the 50s talked about judy garland. child star with incredible talent, far beyond her years, with incredible charm and personality and the whole world at her fingertips. everyone loved working with her. until she became erratic and had a mental breakdown fueled by drugs. (you could even argue there were parallels because both women were frequently typecast as the wholesome girl next door and not really allowed to break out of that infantilizing box.) and no one could ever think why. why does this happen.

i've come to believe that mental illness always has a cause. brain chemistry fucked up by trauma, whether that's long-term stress or a singular event or repeated traumas stacking on top of each other. the mind can't cope. i really, truly believe something horrific happened to amanda bynes. and i know people will say, well, maybe it wasn't dan schneider. she was doing fine for years after she stopped working with him. i want to make one thing very clear. trauma doesn't always manifest symptoms immediately. not everyone comes out of a trauma looking shell shocked. i know from my experience because i didn't have my breakdown until a year after my abuser was exposed and i'm still feeling the consequences to my psyche to this day. and i think it must be difficult for child stars to process this trauma. the pattern i've seen is the child star endures something terrible, gets incredible fame and begins taking on more and more pressure, then when this isn't enough to make them happy they turn to drugs. you think because they got out that it would all just go away? no. they were raised to play characters so they played those characters. there was incredible pressure to just play those characters because that's what the fans want. having struggles isn't part of the brand. it had to be especially rough on nick stars because there wasn't much separation between them and the characters they played. it was the amanda show. drake and josh used their real first names. the separation between who they were and who the character was was probably a very blurred line.

i wonder how long this documentary has been in production. tracking down these people and petitioning courts had to have taken ages. amanda was supposed to be at 90s con last year but cancelled due to illness and had another psychotic episode. 90s con itself may have been a trigger for her, but if someone had reached out to her or if she'd heard about this production...i could see that triggering her and making her relive the horror she went through. there are so many unsubstantiated rumors floating around. i can't speak to whether she was high on adderall during that interview when she was 12 (she could've just been a hyper child but they could've been pulling a judy garland on her and i don't trust these people plus she's said she got hooked on adderall when she was a teenager for weight loss but she may not feel comfortable disclosing if the studio has her under NDA). i can't verify if that side twitter actually belonged to amanda. it could be some sicko thought it was funny to accuse her boss of knocking her up and forcing her to get an abortion at 13 or accusing her father of various things.

but i get why she wouldn't speak up because people won't believe her no matter what she says. i went through something and people in my hometown still debate whether i'm crazy or lying for attention. my family did everything they could to put me under control and get me diagnosed as paranoid or delusional so they wouldn't face justice. (really don't get me started on how the mental healthcare system is used by abusers to cover up their sins.) i wouldn't put it past her parents to do that, especially considering amanda had a bad relationship with them as a teenager which sent her further into that groomer's clutches. she doesn't owe us anything because it'll start a firestorm that could retrigger her as people debate if she's delusional or scrutinize her past mistakes to determine if she's a perfect enough victim to deserve sympathy.

which brings me to drake bell. i knew he was the victim before i watched the doc but it still gave me chills when he sat down in that chair. like it felt like the air drained from the room. it was so obvious that what he went through has affected him so deeply and that he had no one to turn to. my abuser had so much community support, so many people making us out to be lying opportunistic bitches. i can't imagine having to carry that secret. i wonder if the people around him can pinpoint it in retrospect when he started being different. i want the other kids on set to know that it's not their fault they didn't know and that they had a bad opinion of him at some point. my sister and i were pitted against each other by the man who assaulted her and it's only with context later that i can see what was going on. i have no doubt that schneider employed these tactics so no one would feel comfortable disclosing what happened to them.

i admit that i cried watching the drake bell episode. that had to be incredibly difficult for him to open up about it after all these years and i hope he can get some closure and that someone starts a support group for these former nick stars.

and to drake bell himself. you were a child. you had no idea what grooming looks like. most grown people don't seem to know what grooming looks like based on how they talk about these issues. you are not at fault for what that man did to you or not knowing how to handle it. you didn't do anything to encourage this and you're not at fault.

and to his father. i appreciate that you did what you could to try to protect him. my mother had a similar experience trying to protect us from my abuser but everyone assumed she was psychotic and had her put away. try not to blame yourself when you were the lone voice of reason and everyone else insisted you were in the wrong. i do have fault to throw on amanda bynes' parents to some degree depending on what part of all this is true, but i can't find fault with drake bell's father who did try when he saw something wrong.

and i'm sorry but dan being super nice to drake afterwards seems like an attempt to make himself look better and get another hit show. i don't believe for a second that dan didn't know anything or that he had any motives beyond making his own star rise. he wanted to churn out product, and couldn't have that product if drake bell was visibly distraught.

i want to know how many people have known it was drake for 20 years and said nothing. how many people were in peck's side of the courtroom and yet still had the audacity to think this child was at fault in some way. that's vile and utterly unforgivable.

i just want to end this by saying to leave these people alone. don't harass anyone who hasn't spoken up because they may not be in a headspace where it's healthy of them to say anything. they don't owe us any explanation of why.

[mimikoolover]

The "Feeling free" convo was my favourite part of the trailer. Honestly so far it looks like the show is exactly what I expected. Them bringing cameras, and som staff ofc, on semi spontaneous trips where they could just enjoy fun activities and each other's company before enlistment. A little escape in between their busy schedules. And they look so happy😭 That's the best part. All we could ever ask for is to see them this happy <3 Of course it's not a private trip, because they did choose to share this with us and make it into a show, it's two birds one stone. But anyone calling it just a work trip is so far off. You can tell how much this meant to them personally, and how excited they are about sharing footage with army. I might be going into delulu territory here but... I also kinda think them being so excited to gift this to us is partly because they feel very loved and validated when fans are supportive and excited over seeing them together and appreciating their special bond. I'm sure no matter how they define their relationship is it's nice to see. I don't know how much they see of fans reactions to stuff, especially not now while serving, but in the past too, it honestly seems like they love their jikook loving fans a lot. I hope they see all the love and as little negativity as possible.

also solos and shippers bending over backwards to pit them against each other, claim they're being forced into things, they're not actually close, all that bullshit, would honestly be hilarious if it wasn't so sad. like.... stay pressed stay miserable while they're out here sharing their happy vibes with those who get it like the unbothered kings they are byeee

gonna take your ask as a chance to kinda go into what I didn't end up saying in a long post if you don't mind lol

I agree with everything you said but I wanna take it a step further...it was a 'work' trip in that they knew this was going to be streamed on one of the biggest entertainment streaming platforms owned by one of the biggest companies on earth (disney). but their work is not the same as an office job or a retail job, they are artists and sharing their life, emotions, experiences through their art in multiple mediums is what they do. for example GCF in Tokyo was technically 'work' because jk ended up posting the video on a 'work' platform but clearly they were not doing what anyone considers as work in Japan. I think their trips for are you sure are similar in nature, just with the added factor of them knowing that it will go on disney+.

what I think we don't talk about enough is the context around these trips and 2023. jikook were not seeing each other as much as they're used to, that much is for sure. prior to 2023 they not only worked together but spent loads of time together outside of work which was their choice. then chapter 2 begun and jimin was working on his solo album(s) which meant that jikook were not spending the same amount of time together. take romance out of the equation and even then not seeing your best friend you're using to seeing everyday for 10 years must have been hard, especially as they don't exactly have a 'normal' life so I would argue as friends they are closer than usually friends are. we also have to take into account that while working on their solo material, they were working with many people, many new people as well, and jungkook was basically surrounded by people who were not korean and that must have been tough. like if you go spend a day in another country where you have to interact with people in another language for a whole day that's exhaustingggg af. that's why I'm glad they could do their trips between actual work. it must have been a big relief that they can spend time together again and do fun stuff which they wanted to before enlisting anyway.

I think they appreciate their bond being appreciated by us for sure. I have a (semi) delulu theory that when jimin used to post jungkook photos on twitter all the time it was because it bothered him when people would say that they're not close. when jungkook talked about doing something that we will really look forward to which we now know was their travel show, I think he meant it 100%. he only considers fans to be people who enjoy seeing jikook together and who support the content they make together.

2023 to me was very much about bts doing what they themselves want to do more than what the company wants them to do and I think it has to do with them signing new contracts, getting more say in what goes on within the company etc. in the soop friendcation is a good example. from a business point of view, was that a good move? I would argue not. tae filming with his friends who have nothing to do with bts is arguably not the greatest money-generator idea (I assume the wooga squad got paid too). it was clearly something tae wanted to do himself that the company agreed to. and that's what's funny because he could've done it with jk if he wanted (same as taekook could've enlisted together if they wanted to) and the company would've been all over that idea because of $$$ in their eyes. I always said it makes no sense that the company doesn't capitalise on jikook's chemistry and how they can work together so well and they love to do it as well. I still don't know why they didn't but it's probably to do with the aversion towards subunits within bts that comes from somewhere ??? but in 2023, when they were all doing what they wanted, we got jungkook going on lives being more himself than ever before, asking for jimin, reacting to jimin content, mentioning jimin and chatting with him when jimin was in chat, all of that, and then we got jikook travelling to 3 different places to film basically their holidays together. and yes taekook hung out too but that's not a big shock to anyone honestly. I think the private discussion is funny because it's so naive of people to think that jikook never saw each other in 2023. they most likely did but that was in private😂so obviously we don't know about it😭

when certain fandom actors call are you sure a work trip they do it because they want the underlying assumption that work means not genuine to come across and it's funny cause they want to act like because it was being filmed it wasn't something jikook did because they wanted to, when it was. they were having fun ffs not sitting in the same office writing emails all day long. they genuinely wanted to spend time together and they did.

the problem for these people is that the travel show is not a taekook show, let's be really bloody honest here. any shippers, not just taekook, would DIE to have a show like this from their ship, just like how they'd die to have their ship enlist together. jikook do stuff I've not seen any other 'ship' do and that's why people are so mad. as usual they want for their ship what jikook have together.

I'm not saying are you sure is going to be making some kinda statement because I doubt that but just the fact that they wanted to do this together says a lot. btw I'm half expecting for them to start on the 'they wouldn't have done this travel show and let their holidays be filmed if they were dating' agenda just like how they're now saying that couples don't enlist together even though they were wishing for years that taekook will enlist together lol

[bzhitstruth]

My thoughts about DD's hat

This hat caused a lot of noise, and this is understandable - DD focused attention on it and posted a million photos and videos with this hat wherever he could. Just today the video appeared on five platforms - Weibo, Douyin, Instagram, YouTube and BiliBili. Of course, everyone understands that it has special meaning for him. The same thing happened once with the panther logo, which DD also placed everywhere. Such activity has been unusual for him lately; the hat has broken all records.

I just want to speculate on this topic because there are some things that seem dubious to me, contrary to popular opinion.

The turtles assume that GG gave DD the hat, brought it from Singapore, there is a hat shop downstairs of the hotel where he lived, and he bought it there.

I have an unpopular opinion about this. I think the hat is really connected to GG, perhaps it was the gift from him. But I think that the hat is not from this store. On Weibo I found the screenshot of a fan’s correspondence with the store on Instagram. I'm not sure if this is a genuine screenshot or not, but if it is genuine, then the theory about buying the hat from this store is incorrect:

I looked at this store's Instagram account and it seems they really don't have any hats like that. Their hats are in a certain style and are made in a certain way, but DD's hat is different, it differs in weave, and the shape of the ribbon, and style. This becomes clear if you look through the many hat models from this store. I do not exclude the possibility that I am mistaken, and that the screenshot may turn out to be fake.

But I'm quite sure that this hat has special value for DD, because he constantly tries to show it. Yesterday and today, solos tried to “wash” this hat, claiming that DD allegedly bought it himself. They even found DD's photos from 2017 wearing a similar hat and tried to claim that it was the same hat, but it was a different hat, that could be seen with the naked eye.

And today, shortly after this attempt at "washing", DD bombarded us on various platforms with many videos of this hat, and in this video there is the interesting detail: the only time DD touches the hat and lifts it occurs at 23rd second. I won’t guess whether this is a coincidence or not.

There are several signs that this hat has a special meaning for DD:

1. DD posts an unusually large amount of materials with this hat. He's showing off. I had a similar feeling recently with Leica - “look carefully from all sides at what I have, how wonderful it is!”. And during the event, DD was in a good mood and smiled a lot; in my subjective opinion, he looked like a birthday boy.

2. The origin of this hat is still unknown; no brand has yet claimed the right to it. It seems strange that DD would wear an accessory of an unknown brand to the important event, especially since this accessory has become the center of attention.

3. If GG has nothing to do with this hat, then it is difficult to explain the appearance of his vlog at such a strange time, unfavorable for GG, because many people's attention was focused on the GQ event.

4. DD knew full well that the hat would cause a stir, if only because it initially reminded everyone of Luffy's hat. DD simply cannot help but understand this, and yet he made and continues to place a sharp emphasis on this hat.

5. DD didn't part with the hat all evening, both of his outfits were with it, although the second suit no longer involved boating, but DD designated it as a yuppie gentleman costume, and the hat was also in theme. There is not a single photo or video where he is without hat (except those where his head is not visible).

We have a certain chain of events: 1. GG goes to Singapore. 2. There is the hat shop at GG's hotel. 3. Two days after GG’s arrival, DD appears wearing the hat similar to those sold in the hotel store. 4. GG posts the Singapore vlog in the middle of showing off DD's hat. 5. In GG’s vlog there are shots of the hotel; it seems that the hat store is located not far from that place.

There may be a wrong link in this chain of events - the hat is not from this store.

My version of events: DD had been preparing for the event for a long time, and his costumes were thought out in advance, including the hat. The GQ program involved boating, and the boater hat was very appropriate. I don't think DD decided to wear this hat at the last minute because GG returned from Singapore on December 4th and DD flew to Shanghai on the 6th. Most likely, such a hat was already part of DD’s costume, the look was thought out in advance by the stylist (probably by DD too). Perhaps GG saw this hat in Singapore and decided to bring it to DD, and DD put it on instead of the one that was supposed to be in advance. This is why GG's Singapore vlog suddenly appears at an unusual time, in the middle of the event, when DD is posting materials. In any case, I think that there is some kind of connection between the hat and Singapore. Perhaps it is the already mentioned by many people Nanyang style, which is a Singaporean style and includes such hats, and then the connection with Singapore becomes more obvious.

I'm not sure of anything, this hat literally messed with my head, and the case is not solved for me yet. One thing I can say is that this hat clearly has some kind of secret, and it hasn't happened without GG's participation. I hope that someday we will learn the secret of this hat, perhaps new circumstances will become clear. This often happens in the world of GGDD - explanations for many things come gradually, sometimes even after years. Let's wait and see. 💚❤️.

Everything that is written here is fiction, CPN, fake.

[freefromthecocoon]

It's funny that it's worth shaking up your theory and you become the same as the one you're so tired of. You're the same. you don't have information, sources. only judgments. and each of you considers yourself absolutely right. so I don't even know where the healthier atmosphere is if she blocked you and you're still watching what she writes to her inner circle

and yes, I watched season 1. And no, I'm not stalking Norman. and even more so, I will not pursue Melissa. I pointed out Zabel, Norman and anyone else who involved in season 1 and made decisions, but you went straight to Norman proving who you think can be responsible for everything. you say that there are hints, references, callbacks to caryl canon and then you say that you are ready that it will only be only friendship. so...if the person you are defending is honest, at least once, will not play with the feelings of the fans and will take responsibility, and will not be offended by the truth, then maybe those who are disappointed in him will trust him more

The fact that Melissa is involved in her character's arc is wonderful. Did Norman and Zabel discuss about Daryls character? because phew they made him dirty. Oh, or the real fans of the show can't be so upset about what happened to their favorite character?

Anway, you can trust whoever you want to trust, even if they didn't do their job very well. That's your business. Leave it to others to draw their own conclusions. You're playing nice, positive guys. Be like that

Thank you for the ask Anon!

I have never claimed to have sources in the media or with AMC or anywhere official. My sources are Norman, Melissa and Zabel from what I have seen on screen be it through the show or through interviews. The other sources are fans who attended the premiere who have made posts here and on Twitter who have said we have so much to look forward to. I choose to believe all of them and if you choose to remain doubtful, that is your prerogative.

All I will say about how I am reading what "she" writes is that people send me screenshots. I have ignored a lot of it as I was hopeful that this weekend would have improved her morale, but sadly I was mistaken. The fandom almost died over the past two years on this hellsite. I feel like a lot of people were afraid to post their positive feelings here for fear of being not deemed a worthy fan of Melissa, Carol or Caryl. But I am thrilled to see more and more people speaking out positively about our hopes of everything to come.

I absolutely agree with what you said about everyone drawing their own conclusions. I think everyone should watch the show with their own eyes and make their own critiques. I am excited to watch Melissa and Norman tell the story of each of their characters and Caryl's story together. I hope you have a lovely evening. Caryl on everybody!

[ride-thedragon]

The Avoidance of Context, Media Literacy, and sometimes logical thinking when it comes to Daemon and Nettles (and whatever relationship they had).

So this post is in reaction to a lot of things I've personally seen across different platforms when it comes to the established Context of the relationship between Daemon and Nettles.

A note to say is that a lot of this context paints a picture that they were lovers. It's not my preferred theory, but I rather this than the entire idea that we should downplay their relationship because at least this doesn't discredit their agency in the story.

Now, to start, there are three separate ways in which the fans discredit their relationship that I've seen

"The wrong context"

"That's morally wrong"

"Not for these characters"

Now I'll explain them further but it is important to realise that these ideas overlap with each other usually to come to a strange conclusion. From dismissing the impact Nettles had on Daemon to trivializing the sources all at the expense of not allowing these characters to exist in the story.

1. The Wrong Context.

This one comes up most often with the things they did together.

They ate together, from morning to night, slept in adjoining bed chambers, made her gifts, taught her the courtesies of court, bathing with her, 'both of them as naked as their Namedays', shaping her back and washing her hair.

I see too many people say that these things happen in the wrong context.

When it comes to the baths, they had to take the baths together like Jaime and Brienne in Harrenhall, or that they wanted to save the time the maids spend on their baths.

If this was the case, Daemon had no reason to touch her, and the maids wouldn't need to gossip because it would be expected that they did these things together, naked.

Instead, it turns into gossip, suggesting that that's not what is supposed to happen. They are going out of their way to be near each other in this capacity. Also, the maids would scrub her back or wash her hair. That's what they do. That's their role in that. Daemon instead takes over and does it instead.

Lord Mooton is entirely too proud not to find a separate bath for them if it was an inconvenience or hire extra maids to see that it would be done, but that's not what happens.

It is an established custom in their world that maids bath the women.

They supped together he taught her common courtesy.

This one is used to show that she needed help in those baths, but one thing we should recognize is that she's 16 and there are maids around. She's done this for sixteen years by herself allegedly, according to Mushroom, and again, the maids help with baths.

But when it comes to the common courtesy of Westeros, why would Nettles, a street urchin raised on Driftmark, need to know about it before this before she claims a dragon.

It clearly wasn't useful information and there was no expectation for her to learn it, so she didn't learn it. Now, when they return, she will have to start to assimilate into court life, so with all the time they have together, Daemon starts to teach her these things.

It's worth noting that it's how to dress and sit, and comb her hair appropriately. She knows how to do all these things beforehand, just not to the standard that is expected from a lady.

He also just isn't spending time away from her, but we'll circle back to this later.

Now on to the gifts.

A lot of people say that these gifts were just practical things she had to get akin to what he gave to the gold cloaks, but I disagree witht hat reading

Daemon equipped them with these thing because of his ego. He wanted them to show the power he had. So that they may wear these things, especially their Gold Cloaks with pride, and that they would be uniformed.

The closer parallel to draw with him and Nettles would be what he gave Rhaenyra. This isn't me drawing false equivalents either.

The way they spend their time together, the things he has made for her, the way they are found talking softly to each other and the fact that they spend a lot of their time flying to no end in Maidenpool, parallels his relationship to Rhaenyra.

Lastly, the adjoining rooms.

Typically, this wouldn't happen. They would have rooms near the other, or if we were to go off status, Daemon would have a bigger room on one side of the castle, and Nettles would have a smaller room still better than one the servants have but not fit for a prince. They instead have a room connected to the other, something worth noting as to how close Daemon keeps her at all times.

The wrong context also plays into this idea many people have when they talk about Nettles specifically.

For starters, she's an adult who grew up alone in Spice town and Hull. She's a very capable and smart girl seen in the way she tames Sheepstealer. She is also fearless and seemingly emotionally competent (grieving Jace and the war she just went through, crying while leaving Daemon) and literate (it isn't written that she wasn't and Daemon doesn't teach her).

She manages all these things while being alone for her entire life. So, the infantalization of her characters is clearly just an out of context reading. She isn't Brienne or Arya or Sansa, or even Jeyne Poole. She is by herself and has to understand the way the world works from very young to survive in it.

So, to parallel her with these girls purely because of her age denies who her character is explained to be.

All this to say, the reading of their relationship is a lot more equal than you would expect.

For one, she is, again, an adult when they first meet and a pretty interesting one at that.

But more importantly, in Maidenpool, they are both guests, and any of the inequalities they would typically have in King's Landing or any other place are avoided by Daemon. They share close quarters and do everything together. Whatever she needs, he makes sure she gets it. Whether intentional or not, Daemon's actions make them as close to equals as they can be in Maidenpool.

"When the girl asked what was in the letter, he said, 'A Queen's words, a Whore's work." Then he drew his sword and asked if Lord Mooton's men were waiting to take them captive."

That's not what the decree said. Mind you.

It said that Nettles had to be killed in her sleep and that Daemon was to return to Rhaenyra. A clearly different emotion captures Daemon and Nettles asks him what's wrong.

Had it been any other person, they couldn't ask that because, again, that's not her station. She has holds to nothing and more than that, Daemon would've killed them at Rhaenyra's words, whether he believed it was her or not, if for nothing to prove his loyalty.

The other time is just before this when Lord Mooton is discussing it with the men. "The Prince is more than fond of this brown child, and his Dragon is close at hand. A wise lord would kill them both, lest the prince burn Maidenpool in his wroth."

Now, when we read the more than fond line, that's a lot of evidence to suggest they were sexual and / or romantic. I kid you not. I did a whole Rhaelaena post as to why and where that phrase is used to describe those types of relationships.

But more importantly, the brother of Lord Mooton says that a wise lord would kill them both. Killing a Targaryen prince, the consort to the ruler of the seven realms along with the street urchin would be easier than following the Queen's commands at this point with their relationship.

Because of who Daemon is and the way he treats her, as an equal in Maidenpool, it creates a dynamic where it would be easier to kill them both and disobey the Queen that dealing with him in the wake of her death. That means they can't simply kill her.

That quote also implies what all this has been about, the fact that his relationship with her is weird. It's weird for him to treat her this way, from the baths to the gifts to the question of her life being a bigger conversation than just kill the treasonous bastard who spells bind Daemon to her side. Because of Daemon and his proximity and closeness to her, her life is a question worth asking past guest right.

2. That's morally wrong.

This comes into play because Daemon is almost 50, and Nettles again is 16. So, at the risk of sounding like a weirdo, because of context and the world we are in, it's not that serious.

Again, if this storyline took place in King's Landing or Dragonstone, it would be a lot worse. They would be existing and operating within the systems of Westeros. Where she is next to nothing sans being a dragonrider, and he is the prince consort of Westeros. They would have to operate in that dynamic, and it becomes a lot less sweet and a lot more power imbalance.

Another point to make is that Daemon knew both Laena and Rhaenyra from conception. If you want to do further, he knew them when they were separate cells from their mothers and fathers.

So I don't think you care about him coupling up with an adult. I think you don't like that it comes at the cost of his relationship with Rhaenyra and are miscontextualising their dynamic because of it.

Morality has also come into play when I say Daemon's best / morally good decision comes at the expense of everyone, but Nettles.

Him sending her away and his immediate choice to go fight Aemond and Vhagar by himself are simultaneously his best and most selfish choice back to back.

Not letting Nettles fight and risk her life for a person who wants her dead and letting her go away from the political landscape of Westeros is the kindest thing he does for someone he isn't related to.

However, his decision to go fight Vhagar comes at the cost of his children's safety, Rhaenyra's safety, stability and life, and the allegiance of House Mooton. It comes at the cost of him being in their life, and he knows it. But in his own words, when Aemond says, "You have lived too long nuncle." He says,

"On that much we agree."

I also want to acknowledge that if Daemon and Nettles had cornered him, they couldn't chit chat.

On to another aspect contaminated with a wrongful play of morality.

To the people who deny that they were close and important to each other at this time, how do you come to this conclusion.

Because from what the text describes, they are the only person the other can relate to in Maidenpool. There are no other Dragonriders, no one else hunting a mass murderer day after day, assuming that everything they hop on their dragons it would be their last.

Who else would take the time out of their day to teach Nettles these little courtesies or dress her accordingly? Who else would they be able to bond with away from their family and peers respectively?

With the monotony of their day, who could they talk to about without it being an issue after a while, who else would understand?

Another thing is that Nettles lost Jace and her home after the Battle of the Gullet. She killed innocent people and was clearly affected by one or all of these things. Do you not think Daemon, who just lost 4 of his children, would be comforting and understanding and that she could be the same towards him? Especially at a time when Rhaenyra just can't be.

There is a basis for their relationship.

3. Not for these characters.

This is a term for the generalization of Nettles and her reactions in the story.

Why would Nettles risk herself and betray Rhaenyra?

She isn't risking much. What place does she have when she returns? She can't betray someone who doesn't hold up their part of the agreement. Ulf and Hugh betray her, Nettles isn't given the opportunity to do the same.

Another thing is the part where she's characterized as being fearless and clearly has a basis to think Daemon wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Daemon wouldn't betray Rhaenyra.

Let's be serious for a second, and I'll give you a different interpretation for both book and show Daemon.

Book: He's actively stepping outside of their marriage with Mysaria. He returns to a wife who's isolated herself in her grief and sends him away with an interesting person. He gets close to her in the same way he did with Rhaenyra, and their relationship escalated because they have human emotions.

Show: Daemon reacts very badly when grieving, like Rhaenyra. So he's away and loses two more kids and returns to a wife who's just trying her best and can't juggle him alongside ruling a kingdom with a lot of things wrong. She sends him away with this person, and again, he gets close to her because of it.

Then, when her life is put in danger, he prioritizes her and sends her away. He could return to Rhaenyra's side but decides he's tired and doesn't want to. So instead, he goes on his suicide mission and at least takes Aemond out with him.

It also was established previously that taking on Vhagar alone was a suicide mission when Lord Mooton asked if it would be better for them to fly separately.

Is it a betrayal if he doesn't want to live?

Yes, absolutely, it's an incredibly selfish decision he comes to without care of regard for his family. But that's not on Nettles or their relationship. She wasn't in the story for two weeks when he could have changed his mind and didn't.

When it comes to the time they have, he isn't spending any of it away from her. There isn't a recorded conversation with him throughout the entire time more important than him at her side. Literally, the conversation we get is him saying they can't fight Vhagar by themselves so they can't split up.

Keep in mind that this is during a war. Every action they make from eating, to sleeping, bathing, and flying are all spent by each other's side day after day.

Overall, it's within the context that these things happen at notably tumultuous times for both of them that this relationship occurs. It's at a time when they are apart from anyone else who can relate to them.

I would like to note that they would more than likely still be close if they didn't go to Maidenpool. It would just have a lot more implications for their relationship and their power imbalance.

He dies for Rhaenyra.

I don't know why this is the hill many people choose to die on, but nothing he does indicated this.

He holds a maester to a sword when Nettles is put in danger by Rhaenyra’s decree.

He actively ignores Rhaenyra’s decree.

He lets Nettles go, betraying Rhaenyra.

At any point in time after letting Nettles go, he could have gone back to Rhaenyra and doesn't.

Instead of saying that's he's proving himself or that he's putting an end to Aemond for the realm, he says he's lived too long, acknowledging the suicide mission he's on.

Nothing he does in that moment is something he acknowledges doing for Rhaenyra or her Reign. He goes out of his way to defy her last words he hears.

Taking Aemond out is a good thing, but it's certainly not her priority at that point, and again, it comes at the cost of the thing she needs at that moment. Him at her side. The battle above the God's eye could be rescheduled for a later date, I assure you.

With all this said, I hope we apply nuance to this discussion instead of isolating these character fron who they are said to be. It's strange having to defend these characters because people refuse to contextualise them in the narrative we are given.

Something else to bring up is Rhaenyra when it comes to all of this.

She actively decides not to give Nettles anything and when she is presented with the possibility that Nettles may be sleeping with Daemon. Rather than saying, that's treason, kill her and tell Daemon to return.

She discredits Nettles and her relationship to Sheepstealer. She denies Daemon's consensual part in this and actively chooses to say that it's with spells she accomplished, binding herself to her dragon and sleeping with Daemon.

Then she goes on to calling her a low creature, clearly racially charged language when it comes to the only woman of colour in the story.

It's an incredible display of the historical demonization of Bipoc women and emancipation of white men from their autonomy when it comes to such exotic women.

I've come across a number of people who do not view media with media literacy. They can point to which scene in the show may reference a medieval portrait, but when it comes to understanding the parallel, the American author may be drawing between Rhaenyra and Nettles and BIPOC women specifically Black and Indigenous women in the United States and White Women, and the way they would rather blame young colored girls than hold their white husband's accountable is strange. Especially when in both cases they can't blame their husbands.

So I'll leave some articles about it.

https://bjornblomquist.medium.com/the-epidemic-of-violence-against-indigenous-women-5905f195f95e

Now I'll say it is not an exact parallel. However, the fact that the parallel can be drawn with that basis shouldn't be overlooked.

It isn't supposed to be frames as a sexually exploitative relationship. It's specifically Rhaenyra’s words that conjure the image and parallel.

I also want to address the incoming sexist comments I'll receive from this.

This doesn't happen because Rhaenyra isn't a good wife . It doesn't happen because Nettles is some manic pixie worth changing for.

We actually don't entirely know why it happens. But it does, and trying to contextualise it with the characters we are given and see operating in the narrative at this time isn't me condemning one and praising the other.

Rhaenyra, despite being really racist and classist, doesn't deserve what Daemon does to her.

And Nettles, being such an amazing character, deserved a lot more than what she got from Rhaenyra.

To say it's sexist that Daemon's behavior changes for the better because of Nettles does not allow for the analysis of these characters past buzz words, and is completely reductive to the points made.

To close this off, I've taken this fictional world entirely too seriously, but I would rather do that than avoid the blatant reduction and manipulation of this character for the benefit of Daemyra shippers who are upset because of war and the changes that may encourage woth their favorite characters.

This doesn't discredit your ship. Nettles doesn't change anything that happened between Daemon and Rhaenyra, like their lives together and children, for instance.

Blame Daemon for his betrayal, don't blame Nettles for doing what most people would do in her situation by making the best of it and simply leaving when she should.

[sparklingmusicofstars]

Black Butler : Theory about Ciel Phantomhive's twin real name

Hi everyone, as a black butler's fan, I wanted to write a theory about what all the fans wonder : what's Ciel Phantomhive twin's true name ?

PS : In the texte, I will call him "the twin"

Ever since we found out that there was not one but two Phantomhive children, everyone has wanted to know the name of the character we've been following since the beginning of the story, if not 'Ciel Phantomhive'.

Most of us began to suspect that there were twins in the circus arc, in Baron Kelvin's flashbacks to his meeting with Vincent and "his" son.

At the right ; the twin

But from Ciel's twin point of view

The two are clearly visible.

I don't understand why Vincent always mentions "his" child and not "his children".

From chap 32 ; He mentions that it was "Ciel" who was ill, whereas it was his twin. Maybe he just got them mixed up. After all, the twin himself mentioned that they looked so much alike that even their parents confused them.

I wonder if Baron Kelvin knew there were two of them... He mentioned three people, and I doubt he was talking about Claus, since he was mostly fascinated by the Phantomhives. And without wanting to offend anyone, I wouldn't rank the beauty of Claus on the same level as the Phantomhives. So I think he knew.

To be honest, it's almost as if no-one apart from those very close to Vincent knew he had twins.

In addition, there seem to be almost no photos of the two twins together. Pet seemed to have the only one, he even mentioned, in the same chapter, that it was the first time he saw them together in the same place. (the twins were still 7 years old !) Plus Pet seems to know Vincent well so I guess they've known each other for a long time. And of course, for the sake of the plot, no one says the twin's name. Usually they are together so people say "both of you" or "you two"

Yet Vincent does not seem to hide it, the servants and the inhabitants of their county were all aware. Vincent even makes them go out together in their domain. What's more, they didn't have the same personnality at all. So if you know them, you can't confuse them anymore.

This moment made me hate Elizabeth's mother a lot, she calls Ciel's twin "his spare" and not him as a person, so I feel like she cares more about the bloodline of the Phantomhives than Ciel's twin, as she claims. Which reinforced Ciel's twin's inferiority complex.

From chap 132: Then came the time when they visited the pastor; Vincent said it was his wife who had named his children.

The pastor replies that the two children have unusual names, for England anyway. So "Ciel" and ...

Vincent responds effectively that he was scolded for not having given them more traditional names but that they are perhaps more suited to a not so distant future. Vincent is such a mysterious person...

We will now move on to the subject that interests you: the name of the twin.

To make this theory I have long looked for clues in the manga, as well as for certain Japanese cultures. I also investigated the tastes and personality of Yana Toboso a little. (don't ask me about it). According to the arc of Sirius, the longest because it is not yet finished, the nickname of the real Ciel is "Sirius the blue star" I personally think that the name of the twin is French, like his brother, if I decompose; "Sirius" the blood group, "the star" (?) and "blue" a bit the color that symbolizes them and can also be their favorite color. I think there is a clue. We have "star" left, I don't think that's his name so I would put something like "Astre".

At one point, the real Ciel mentioned to Polaris that he was no longer Lord Sirius but his little brother. I have long wondered if there was a hidden meaning behind those words besides what he really meant.

I finally finished it !!!!!! I hope you liked it.

PS: None of them are my translations so the credits don't belong to me. You can read the chapters in mangafox.com.

[egg-emperor]

It's so insane to me that there was ever even a suggestion that Eggman would stop being a villain after Frontiers. Like no sane person would ever come to that conclusion after playing that game, there is literally zero material to even suggest that. And yet it was just crazy take after crazy take, people saying "time skip" this and "Eggman will be softened by Sage's presence" that and it's like bitch where? I don't even know what to attribute it too beyond the usual, these people just hate Sonic

I knooow, I still feel like a dumbass myself for not properly getting it for a while just because of what a mass majority of the fandom was saying based on leaks and jumping to the wildest conclusions. With so many stating it like absolute fact, I didn't even consider it not being the case and it killed all my interest and hype, ruined my first experience with the game, and made me not even bother to pay attention and analyze to make sense of it the first playthrough. But to my defense I literally wasn't mentally okay for a multitude of reasons that year then that destroyed the last straw of my sanity and rational thinking at the time so lol

But hey I've learned to avoid and ignore the entire fandom's opinions until I've experienced it myself and actually thought about it carefully and analyzed it properly to make sure they never have a say or influence in my perception of it ever again and things have gotten so much better! And yeah it was crazy how eye opening a few explanations and a second playthrough of the game was for me, when I actually paid attention and didn't believe that all the desires and wishful thinking that the fandom projected onto it were genuinely true. There were no hints to Eggman's character massively changing and being ruined whatsoever.

How the tables have turned that I'm now obsessed with and thinking about and analyzing it constantly and want to help people understand it. I now wish more people would realize how great Eggman's portrayal in it was but not for all the reasons those that claim to like it are saying because those reasons don't actually exist. XD It's so much better when you realize that the game is actually what I want out of Eggman (for him to just be who he's always been) and to no longer entertain people's made up ideas about it over the facts by acting like it's true because it's not. There's so much fun to be had and things to like for what it really is.

It was instead just a really cool exploration of his already existing characteristics that he's always had and how they affect and play a part in writing him in situations he's never been in before, further developing those aspects further without changing a single thing about him at all. Proving he can be deep, complex, and require some real thought and analysis to understand despite his simplicity as a character in terms of personality and motives. It actually just proves you don't need to change anything about him to explore interesting themes and that he has tons of potential the way he is. It's actually great how there's so much to analyze and think about.

A whole lot of the fan speculation and theories about this game directly contradict the actual events of the game, actions of the characters, and even the writer commentary. And with each piece of official media that has been releasing since, it's been proving it more and more in various blatantly obvious and undeniable ways. And in Eggman's case I realize I shouldn't have even been surprised since most of the people that were so adamant that he was changing drastically into someone else literally don't like him being evil and a villain and admitted that, so there is absolutely truth to that. They let personal bias and desires affect how they saw it.

I'm really happy that in the end the game canon really just further solidified his already existing characteristics and explored the scope of them in a fun new way and only proved that they can stand the test of all new experiences he has lol. It really just showcased all the things I love about him in a different way besides his usual active villainy and then went right back to that after it was done in all official media since and it has me looking forward to the future of his character with many more interesting things to analyze and think about and classic entertaining villainy to enjoy 🥰💜

[trashquisitor-shirozora]

Oh my god the Mandalorian s3 decisions being a push to make Bo Katan more marketable for women makes so much sense.

I’ve been watching the flames of season 3 for afar wondering what possibly possessed them to sideline the wildly popular duo of Din and Grogu in favor of this Bo Katan stuff, aside from the obvious future content advertisement… it’s because it’s popular with women…

Like it’s a known pattern that corporations hate when something they’ve created aimed at men is disproportionately popular with women because they strive to keep a very distinct line between Boy things and Girl things. Anything Star Wars is for men, except the acceptable Girl Things like Leia and Padme and Asoka. But then the Mandalorian became wildly popular with women and they can’t just cancel a cash cow like the Mandalorian without milking everything they can from it so they’re like “well let’s bring in Bo Katan she’s for the Women now start making the toys”

I am so late to this but that meant time to simmer and seethe over Disney's decisions before and lately, and things I've read over the years about how corporations market to their target audiences, and how little things have changed.

I saw rumors and theories that KKKennedy (y'all sorry I keep calling her that but iykyk) meddled a LOT with The Mandalorian and Jon even threatened to quit, but at the end of the day the Mouse House has the final say and we're stuck with their decisions. I really don't know how the final numbers will look, how it'll affect their merch sales, and what it means for the future seasons of The Mandalorian. Maybe the hard pivot to redeem Bo-Katan for the bajillionth time will be the new cash cow or the canary in the coal mine (for The Mandalorian; I'm sure Ahsoka will be a hit no matter what). Maybe they gambled right or they've lost too many viewers who wanted Din and Grogu to be the heart and soul and center of this particular show. It's called The Mandalorian after all. If they want to claim that it could be any Mandalorian who's The Mandalorian of these season, then maybe Season 2 should've followed a different Mandalorian and established this before scamming us with Season 3. They were already trying that with TBOBF before having Din and Grogu steal the show.

But now that I've seen those rumors and theories, I could not fucking stop thinking about what happened when the ST was rolling out and when Rogue 1 and Solo came out. I could not stop thinking about the casting choices for Rey, Jyn, and Qi'ra, could not stop thinking about how white and brunette they were. I could not stop thinking about KKKennedy and others talking about how they wanted to bring more female fans to Star Wars, acting like Star Wars was exclusively a male space, which, what a fucking insult. I could not forget pictures of her wearing "The Force is Female" shirts and pushing this message so fucking hard that it would keep showing up in critical reviews of TLJ/TROS/ST as proof that Disney didn't know what it was doing.

Rey, Jyn, and Qi'ra were lucky to not have the kind of long history that Bo-Katan already had in the gffa by the time she made her live-action debut. It didn't take much to google her involvement in TCW and Rebels, and see what she'd done. I've seen commenters say she redeemed herself in Rebels by rallying the Mandalorians but are you sure about that? Are we still having trouble with writing redemption arcs after the fucking horrible one Disney put Kylo Ren through to the detriment of every other character not named Rey?

I wouldn't have minded Bo-Katan having greater involvement in Season 3 if she didn't basically take charge of not just the COTW but also the entire show. Watch out for the new merch of her with the Darksaber now. Probably the most we'll get out of Din is whatever happens to him in the season finale because Disney gotta make more money, amirite? Grogu got a new accessory so that Disney can sell new versions of him, so why not Din?

I truly envy the poeple who are having a good time or don't need to have these thoughts constantly in their heads while watching. I didn't have a good time and I can never turn those thoughts off. I don't have the luxury so I'm never shutting up about this.

ftr I unfollowed Okiro after the billionth time he called Din, Grogu, and Bo-Katan "Clan of Three". what the fuck had she done to earn equal footing?

[bythepen98]

[Long || Pinned]

I typically draw whatever interests me depending on the day, but I probably should've made a list first to make it clear what those interests are.

Note: I'm very fic reliant. I could like a show but what REALLY gets me into them is the fan content bc they tend to flesh things out more, in a way that I can understand, and make me appreciate characters/events that were not properly explored in canon. Idk if that's gonna be an issue but I'm sure there are elitist people out there who only claim canon content while bashing everyone else for enjoying fan theories and aus.

🚫Oh and some proship warning, I guess? (I've seen other artists include it so..) Excluding my notps, I'd read any story with ships I probably didn't know existed so long as: I already like one or two of the characters in the ship, the thought of them together makes me curious instead of repulsed, and if the story itself looked too interesting for me to ignore.🚫

Shows/Series I'd make or already made FA for:

MHA

Haven't caught up to the manga yet but loosely following the anime. Read quite a bit of lengthy Deku centric fics, and that + what I've gotten so far from the show are what fuels my headcanon aus when I draw them.

Naruto

Tbh I only watched the og kids Naruto when I was young and any shippuden knowledge I have is a mix of posts from other fans, Google, and fics. Already said this before in an older post but I read a lot of time travel/fix its so I just assume that when similar events are included in more than 2 timetravel fics (if it's still set in naruto's timeline and not like, minato's or pre konoha), then that's probably what happened in canon. I also just Google any shippuden powers or characters I'm not familiar with, which is quite a lot but it works for me.

ATLA

Finished it years ago. Memories are vague but posts from other fans and canon adjacent fics help me remember.

HP

Finished the books years ago, probably before or around the same time as ATLA. Only properly watched 5/8 of the movies. Heavily read a lot of fics. Memories of the og content is vague and sometimes I'm not sure if what I know is canon or just widely loved fanon (like the Black library).

SVSS

A MESS.....I loved it. I love the fancontent more though ngl.

Mob Psycho

Haven't seen season 3 yet but I highly enjoyed the previous seasons. I actually first watched Mob and MHA around the same time so I have a soft spot for them.

Demon Slayer

Enjoyed it. Gotta finish season 2 first

JJk

Loved season 1. Planning to watch the movie soon.

FMA

Finished it. GOAT anime.

Basically I just want to draw all my fav shonen boys (eventually). My fav action manhwa boys too. Dk when it'll happen so we'll have to see.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎♡▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

🩷 Ships

Deku ships, though my main ones are:

Bakugo x Deku

Todoroki x Deku

Shinsou x Deku

Shigaraki x Deku

Dabi x Hawks

Todoroki x Bakugo

Kaminari x Jirou

Shinsou x Kaminari

Toga x Ochaco

Unironically, dfo x Inko

Naruto ships

Shikamaru x Naruto

Kakashi x Naruto

Gaara x Naruto

Naruto x Hinata

Sasuke x Naruto

Sakura ships

Sasuke x Sakura

Kakashi x Sakura

....let's just include the important uchiha characters x Sakura

Shikamaru x Sakura

Sasori x Sakura

Ino x Sakura

Kakashi x Obito

Shikamaru x Temari

Sai x Ino

Lee x Gaara

Jiraiya x Oro

Minato x Kushina

Hashirama x Madara

Tobirama x Madara

Zuko x Katara

Sokka x Zuko

Zuko x Mai

Harry Ships

Tom x Harry

Harry x Draco

*insert slytherin here* x Harry

Weasley twins x Harry

Harry x Luna

Harry x Hermione

Hermione Ships

Draco x Hermione

Tom x Hermione

*Insert slytherin here* x Hermione

Weasley twins x Hermione

Harry x Hermione

Unironically, Viktor x Ron, Ron x Pansy, *insert Slytherin here* x Ron

Harry x Pansy

Blaise x Ginny

Ginny x Luna

James x Regulus

James x Snape

Snape x Lily

🚫remember me liking time travel aus? Make of that what you will//Marauders Era🚫

Luo Binghe x Shen Yuan

Luo Bingge x Shen Jiu

Mobei Jun x Shang Qinghua

Teru x Mob

Demon Slayer canon ships

Tanjiro x Inosuke

ot3

Sukuna x Megumi

Maki x Nobara

FMA canon ships

....these are the ones I could think of off the top of my head. Will just make edits in the future if I want to add more.