#they're ALL doing subtle foreshadowing again like that's what i'm talking about i'd be so cooked

[leonawriter]

It's Called "The Knowing I" For A Reason.

Okay so I went from Limbus to a cutscene playlist of Lobotomy Corporation to a long play (skipping most of the fighting) of Ruina, and back to Limbus again, and now I'm all caught up on everything, except... I'm going back to LobCorp to read through a non-video Let's Play, and boy oh boy this is gonna be interesting, because some of the things I'm seeing tie into the next post I'd been wanting to make.

That is- The Very Fact That "the Founder, A"/"Ayin from before the loops" and "the Manager you play as, X/A" are the same person, and that this is foreshadowed very, very early in the game.

This should be obvious, really, but apparently a lot of people like to think that they aren't the same person, for one reason or another. Maybe he's a clone who isn't really Ayin. Maybe he's someone you can self-insert yourself into. I haven't looked into all options people have come up with.

Unfortunately, none of those are really... plausible.

Let's start with the foreshadowing I mentioned.

Now, this comes right on Day 7, the last day of the very first week X has here at his "new job." Angela has been talking about how amazing the Founder of the company, A, is, and also how hard to understand he is. Right at the end she leaves off with this apparent non-sequitur of turning things on X when she's been talking about A up until now.

I mean, it could easily be said that she truly is just turning the question onto the person she's currently with. "I couldn't understand this person, but I wonder if I'll understand you?"

But knowing what we do, and the way that she and others refer to X later on, it's most likely that she has trouble sometimes separating the two, because... they're not different people.

Which actually reminds me.

"Manager X," in-game, has nothing to identify him as looking different from A/Ayin. Literally nothing. There is no canonical sheet of paper with an X written on it attached to his forehead. I bring this up because in 99% of fanarts I see of him, he has that piece of paper to denote "this is X! not A! not Ayin!" and yet... for him, there's nothing of the sort.

There's nothing to count as a visual reminder for Angela, either, aside from the knowledge that he has no memory, and is looking at her with that trusting (or distrustful) and clueless look on his face.

I say this because although I questioned what he'd look like at this point (whether it's any different or the same as how he looks on Day 50), the devs seemed to have answered that in an interview some time ago.

This answer points out that "A [stays young]" as he is "well contained within a time machine (TT2 Protocol) so he doesn't age with every loop."

So, effectively, he looks exactly the same.

Talking of the TT2 Protocol and other tech... those two things - the time machine looping things back to the starting point (much like how the Warp trains are able to reset everything in a train back to how it was when they first set off) and the regeneration bullets/ampules (which are K-Corp technology that we see in Limbus) also reset people back to their "default" state, which are known to be able to bring someone back from the brink of death.

Both of these put together neatly sidestep the issue of "but we're shown that Ayin/A died at some point during the loops! that means he has to be someone else-" wrong. As long as there was the ability to use either of these things, they could keep him alive. And they have both. And he has Angela to keep a close watch over him. And from what we see in Ruina, the Scenario of Light seemed to reset the moment it was deemed a "failure" anyway.

Anyway. With those very important things out of the way:

Yesod, stating "Manager, you are the head of this corporation. You are supposed to set an example for others, but that outfit would warrant at least 10 points in our department."

"Head of this corporation" could be Yesod referring to X as the "manager of this branch," or... it's another subtle nod to how those around X know that he's actually A, and he's the only one in the dark as yet.

To be noted, however, is how the original game has been retconned in the sense that in games set since then, it's made clear that no one sees the Manager, only hears from him over the tannoy. Scenes such as this where Yesod clearly states that this is an in-person meeting don't even make sense, considering how the Perception Filter they had to put in place (because Ayin's mind kept breaking) only works through screens, or at least has very clear limitations, and can (as happens in the game) malfunction.

I can clearly remember the reason why the Manager needs the Perception Filter is also said somewhere (possibly in those same interviews I read on my phone) because of the psychological stress of seeing everything as it is. Which. We see that there are people with full-body prosthetics in the City in Limbus; as early as Canto 2 in fact, and that person looked incredibly similar to the Sephirot.

My personal theories on A's memories returning are currently standing at - with a little help from Limbus characters theorising about memory loss - that Ayin had pre-programmed the amnesia. Specifically, that he'd put his memories into something, and coded this thing that they would only unlock at specific moments, such as a Sephirah about to have a meltdown, or a certain day, or something happening, rather than the random chance that everything could come back at once and overload him.

Ayin clearly knew a lot about psychology. He clearly knew his own psychology, in order to plan the entire script based on how he would (hopefully) react to things, and he knew the minds of his coworkers, since he knew how they'd react to everything, too.

Something to ensure that he didn't overload only makes sense, especially with how, when there are flashbacks, we see "A's" views on them talking to "us."

Which brings us neatly to... "the flashbacks, A, and the Keter all use "I... we..." to refer to themselves and the player as one person." In other words, basically just... they're mirrors of the person they're talking to. In Persona terms? Shadow selves. Of course they're going to use "we" and "our" to refer to themselves and the player Manager!

Abel even directly refers to the player facing the Keter as "facing [himself]."

Here, Abel is also stating "That old, strange letter, that had the same name for sender and recipient." Sure, one could argue that just because it has the same name, doesn't mean it's the same person who picks it up - to which we can come back to Angela stating earlier (from that perspective) how the Manager she is talking to seems to be a different person to the one who started it all, and perhaps the one who started it has died.

This... is not to be taken literally.

And also ties in with the fact that when the Keter are talking to the Manager, they ask questions that they themselves could not find the answer to, or found the wrong answers to. This includes the Ayin on Day 50, by the way, since he's still talking to himself with "we" and "us," not "me," by the way. That's not the player character Manager speaking.

All of which means that there's been character development going on through the loops that we're not fully aware of because we're only seeing the current (final) loop, with only the memories filtered through by A[yin] given to the Player Manager X/A to show us what has happened in the past.

Which neatly reminds me of something Angela states on Day 5, again:

In short: "A" had told her "many a time" that "Each successful experiment makes you a better person." As she puts it herself, "The greatness of this company was founded on multitudes of trials and hardships."

So, basically, that the person we're playing as, known at the start of the game as "X," who later realises that he is actually "A," must have done a whole lot of growing over the course of the loops.

It's easily theorised (and in some cases outright stated in the materials) that the reason many loops fail is because the Manager isn't able to keep up with managing the facility (just as the player might not be good at the game) or because abnormalities breached one way or another (hello, supplemental information on [CENSORED]!), or because... on a less pleasant note... either the perception filter broke and the Manager's mind broke with it for non-abnormality reasons, or in remembering, and dealing with the Sephirah meltdowns, the Manager quite simply cannot handle the level of guilt and regret that he is faced with, and gives up one way or another. It is canon that one of those ways is to commit suicide.

There sure is some dark irony to how people might want to call Ayin a monster and an awful, irredeemable person for the things that we're shown in the memories, but... just from that one memory, we can see that Ayin himself is well aware of this, and would quite readily agree with you, actually. It's only by him not going through with the desire to end his life - and by finding, along with Netzach, the "Fearlessness to Continue Living" - that the game can be completed.

I was going to say that it's "not relevant to the original point of the post, but actually... the fact that X/A feels the same regret and guilt that leads him to the same conclusions IS very relevant, and leads me to the next point.

Which is that the Sephirot would NOT be able to find a satisfactory ending to their meltdowns with anyone other than the one person who inflicted that trauma on them to begin with.

Imagine, for a moment, that you have been hurt by someone. That person seemed to not understand what they had done wrong, and never apologised for it.

Now, you are being faced by someone who is... different. You can hear it in their voice. You know that it isn't the same person, but they're trying to apologise on behalf of that person who did hurt you. In spite of you having no proof that the person who hurt you even sent the apology along, let alone means it.

Question: would you accept the apology?

Honestly, I personally would not.

I do not think that the Sephirot would either.

The Sephirot are very explicitly furious with Ayin for how he treated them all, and rightfully so.

Importantly, the Seiphirah who is melting down cannot see into A's head, any more than we can see into the minds of our friends or enemies. They can't see the flashbacks, or the memories that hit the amnesiac X/A. They only remember their own pain.

Personally, I also believe that even if it was someone else gaining Ayin's memories here, that would not be enough for the Sephirah. They would still see it as "Okay, but you're interpreting what you're seeing with your own bias. You're changing the terms. You are not the one who did this, understanding what he did wrong."

The only way for this to work is for X to slowly understand through management and memories that he IS A, that he is not just the Founder who Angela talks about but also the person who hurt the Sephirot in those memories, and to put everything together in order to speak to them in a way that will not just mollify them but ensure that they know that he's now capable of that understanding, and that he has changed, and that he wants to improve with them.

In fact, we see as much in Library of Ruina, when the Patron Librarians are able to mention their experiences with him.

This is just Netzach's; I'd love to include other references like this, but it'd require another watch through their scenes and a lot more time than I can dedicate to it as I'm writing this post.

But, basically, that's the gist right there - a nostalgic voice.

Even if the voice has changed, even if the tone is different and there are different emotions behind it, the person behind the voice is the same.

The Manager is X is A is Ayin. Perhaps the Keter are all different refractions of the same person, but they are of the same person. Perhaps they disagree on things - but who doesn't disagree with the version of themself that chose differently? Who was cringe in the past, or did something awful, or gave up at one point?

Who wouldn't disagree with a version of themself who decided, last night, to get roaring drunk and leave their present self with a godawful hangover?

Or, in this case, who'd be happy with their past self deciding what they were going to do from the start, and not giving them much leeway once they've got to the end, and they're changed as a person?

All in all, the game's core drive is to ask the question of how much a person can change, and how much it takes for someone who originally can't answer the Keter's questions to reach the end and fully be able to move forward.

If you put someone else into that role (because you don't like who they were, even if you like who they are now), the entire theme of the story falls apart.

[danggirlronpa]

i like your interesting take on tsumugi as a protagonist. i don't hear tsumugi a lot in terms of meta reasons and appreciation and i'd like to hear your though about tsumugi being a main protagonist please. :)

I'd LOVE to. Protagonist Tsumugi is something I really do think fondly of and often wish for.

Firstly, I think Tsumugi is really the only mastermind who you feasibly could play in a perspective of without making them forget they're the mastermind (a la Izuru). So much of V3 is either pre-planned or run by others on Team Danganronpa that her actual involvement as a mastermind is essentially nil - she's just doing damage control. It would be very easy to foreshadow the reveal without outright revealing that she's involved, the same way as with Kaede in the first trial.

Tsumugi is also the V3 character who has the most vested interest in keeping the trials going and making sure they get solved, because if the trial ends there, then there's no show. I could absolutely see Tsumugi's protagonist interventions ("No, that's wrong!") as being subtle interventions to make sure that the group is on the right track, but justified in her not quite knowing the answers because she isn't an ace detective, she's just a cosplayer with a mic in her ear to tell her when she needs to get everyone back on track.

I also think that playing as Tsumugi would play into V3's greater theme of culpability and the control of the audience. By playing as the mastermind, you are directing the killing game. Within the fiction, you, the player, are personally responsible for what happens here. Again, Kaede plays into this in a lot of ways as well (I think a version of the game where you still play as Kaede at first would serve this AU best), but the slow burn of it all makes the realization that much more horrifying, in the same way as the realization that everyone is Remnants at the end of SDR2. Kiibo as protagonist could also accomplish this, since you'd be more connected to the in-universe audience, but I think Tsumugi would provide an interesting take unique to her where the player is really taking on the role of Team Danganronpa itself.

There's an overarching theme that Tsumugi fits into with previous protagonists, too; Komaru had no connection to the mastermind, Makoto was friends with the mastermind once, Kaede and Hajime were accomplices to the mastermind once, and Tsumugi is the mastermind/accomplice to the masterminds. You get the final entry into this sort of sliding scale of connection to the villain, which in current DR is kind of dangling open-ended.

And she's also the only character in V3 who really plays into Danganronpa's overarching theme of the imposter complex ("plain, plain, plain")! I think it'd be so cool to have a take on the I'm Just Some Guy nature of DR's protagonists that is actually very talented, but still has this low self esteem because of the way they think about their talent. They tried to do this with Shuichi a little bit, but imo it wasn't very effective, because it never really came up; Shuichi's arc wasn't about learning that he is actually a good detective, it was about overcoming trauma. A Tsumugi arc where she learns that her talent is valuable, that she can have an impact on the things and people she cares about - especially when we, as the audience, think she's talking about supporting the other players, but in reality she's talking about supporting the killing game? Oh. Ooooooooh. I love that shit.

I do generally think that they should have done a lot more with Tsumugi's character. And, in fairness to them, there are reasons for Tsumugi being just a quiet background character without much impact - it's the big startling counterpoint that she's secretly the mastermind, compared to the more traditional tropes of the rest of the game; Tsumugi's reveal is what really blows the game wide open and makes you rethink the entire story thus far. I just personally think that there are ways they could've done it more effectively, to really give it that oomph.

[hangmanbradshaw]

Okay first off- YOURE AMAZING! Your hashtag made me sad because you’re not semi good- you’re one of the greatest writers I ever read - full stop. Not just in this fandom, not just on A03, IN GENERAL! (And I read 50+ books a year like the nerd I am lol)

Second: what advice can you give to writers struggling to find that creativity and that drive? I know you’ve always been a fan of outlining but what else gets a plot and foreshadowing like you’re an expert at all?

EWAFEWAIFEJWAI OH MY GOD You can't just say that??? That's so sweet omg <3 <3 you are way too kind to me.

ooh I love talking writing. Honored you'd want my advice. Hmm so I think I'd say here's my writing advice (coming from someone who is most definitely not a pro but this is my opinion):

write your passion. whatever it is you love, write about that. The love bleeds through the story, makes you want to write, etc.

outlines are so important, but I am a huge proponent of breathable outlines. Give yourself structure, but room to breathe and be creative. Hugely helpful in an outline is to go to the future chaps and make notes about things to bring up again so it builds right and comes full circle/is closed.

figure out the theme, what you want to say, what the heart of the story and characters is and what they learn by the end and use the hints to build on this. Every single scene, building block, etc is an opportunity to be intentional about this and form a complete story. Also everything can add to it without straight up saying it. The setting (the sun rises. it's a new day after a character lets something go, etc.) (in iwtby- Jake's dad leaves him to mend the fence on his own. symbolic as he is left to do that in their relationship as well. bradley sits by him as he does this. which he has done in more ways than one. asks why they're there. it's just overflowing with multiple meanings beyond the literal.) (also play with double meanings ugh they're the best)

less is more? subtle hints are the best, let it build to build tension.

write the story YOU want to tell. what speaks to your heart. what world exists in your mind. Do it for the pure love of it. And when crafting the plot/world, just think about a reader's perspective and what would be cool to see. It helps come up with cool structure ideas (i.e. starting with after bradley and jake met in iwtby with hints and at the very end circling back in bradley pov full circle. or dlp- big reveal? next chap switch pov and backtrack. the reader thinks they know what's going on, but it's limited pov and then you have those OH WOW moments. Write in ways that are ambiguous or *seem* to be something because again...you're in a biased perspective. And then you slowly reveal the full picture to the reader and the character.) (Or playing with then the reader knows something but the character doesn't. like in dlp I jump back to bradley pov and WE understand now but he still fully doesn't and as a reader you wanna scream at him.) (also keeps someone on their toes and the story from being stagnant, and you know I LOVE that things mean more or take on a different meaning when re-reading then and it's so cool)

When I'm stuck, I take a break or I sit back, close my eyes, and just let my mind follow the story for a bit like a movie in my head

there is NO boundary to it! Let your imagination run as wild as you want, throw the rules out the window. Any world can be believable if you build it right and connect the audience to the characters. Santa land? Sure! Can believe it if Jake believes it. Spooky island with def some paranormal stuff going on? as long as it makes sense, absolutely. There's no rules.

Okay! That was a lot so sorry if you didn't want all that, but I love writing and story crafting so so so much and I'm always so happy to talk about it or give advice if you want it :) write what's in your heart and it'll be amazing.

[girltakovic]

saw skinamarink ... not super enthused tbh but here's my review (spoilers under the cut)

first of all the child actors did a great job. they're not really ever fully on screen but you can definitely tell that the characters are scared, which is a lot harder than it looks when the audience can't see your face

the cinematography is cool, i liked that you can't really tell what's going on outside of the field of view, it really ramps up the horror

the last three jumpscares (if you've seen the film you know exactly which one's im talking about) are very effective, the buildup is very tense (the guy behind me in the theatre said 'absolutely fucking not' right before the bit with the phone) and the payoff is good

that said the rest of the jumpscares in the earlier parts of the film are less effective, they're kind of just loud noises for no reason which obv doesn't make for great payoff

you'll never hear me say this about any other film but i wish it was visually darker. and that there was less film grain. it was very obvious that it wasn't shot on film and that the grain came from a filter applied in post, and it was so grainy that it seemed like the camera was moving a lot of the time even when it wasn't

i guess that's part of the goal tho, i guess for disorientation's sake it worked but it was a little tiring at the end

the foley is bad. i'm sorry but it is. the sound they used for the kids walking doesn't sound like socks on carpet, it mostly just reminded me of the sound corduroy pants make when you walk? idk it kinda took me out of it

the rest of the audio mixing was also not so good. the dialogue was very muddy (again i suspect that's intentional but still it makes for a bit of a frustrating watch) but the sound fx were super loud, especially the jumpscares which again kinda took me out of it

the narrative was admittedly very sparse but it was very easy to follow. by like the 20 minute mark you know exactly what's going on and who's doing what (and to whom) so i appreciated that, because i went into it afraid that it was going to be deliberately opaque in terms of story but it wasn't

ok spoilers. you've been warned

the metaphor at play here is. not subtle and like i said that's great for clarity's sake, but it is very sad. this is not a feel good film, but the fact that the child abuse allegory is so prominent does make the last scare very sad, especially given the rewind/fast forward/repeat mechanic that's going on in the scene

i thought the fact that kaylee got her eyes and mouth "taken away" was handled well for the type of scare that it was, that had the potential to get very hammy but i thought it worked well in context

this is just Jaime's Theory Corner but imo that bit seemed to imply that the mom was taking away (or at least trying to take away) kaylee's ability to witness and talk about the abuse that kevin is facing, so i thought the whole "kaylee didn't do as she was told (i.e. stay quiet), so i took her mouth away" thing was effective

i thought the barbie jumpscare just didn't work. it would've been more effective imo if the jumpscare came from the barbie falling to the floor and making a loud thud (maybe even to foreshadow a body hitting the floor. idk) instead of just SCREECH for no real reason

i guess that might be part of the child abuse thing tho. since we're supposed to be seeing this through the kids' eyes i guess the confusing nature of the jumpscares could be meant to signify the fact that they don't know why their mom is doing this, it's just loud and disorienting and scary

also i didn't get the "572 days" intertitle at the end. what's that about

overall it's just kind of a bummer of a film honestly. it's very well done both technically and artistically, but it's just kinda sad. personally i like horror that you can walk away from feeling like it all paid off, but this just didn't feel like it had that release for me

i'd give it a 6/10 overall, if you're dying to watch it just pirate it or wait till it comes out on shudder on feb 1.

[waitingforwinterwinds]

Game of Thrones - 20 EDDARD IV (pages 184-196)

Ned arrives at King's Landing, and after a meeting with the people actually running the country, he joins his wife on the misinformation highway.

-

The chamber was richly furnished. Myrish carpets covered the floor instead of rushes, and in one corner a hundred fabulous beasts cavorted in bright paint on a carved screen from the Summer Isles.

I feel like it says something about how little sleep I've been getting, that my first mental reaction to this was "Pokemon. I hope a production crew is brave enough to have a pokemon screen on this set some day. I don't care if parody I need it!"

Also probably says something about my fandom preferences.

"Though much better dressed," Littlefinger quipped. "Lord Renly spends more on his clothing than half the ladies at court." ... "There are worse crimes," Renly said with a laugh. "The way you dress, for one."

BUUUURN! Prince Renly Baratheon said Petyr Baelish commits fashion crimes* pass it on! ... do you think this is 'subtle' foreshadowing that Renly's gay?

GRRM: quick brain, what's a well-known gay man trait to let the audience know Renly's gay? 'well-dressed fashionista' of course! That's it!

*Not to be confused with his financial crimes, but we'll get to that later.

His maester's collar was no simple metal choker such as Luwin wore, but two dozen heavy chains wound together into a ponderous metal necklace that covered him from throat to breast. The links forged were of every metal known to man: black iron and red gold, bright copper and dull lead, steel and tin and pale silver, brass and bronze and platinum. Garnets and amethysts and black pearls adorned the metalwork, and her and there and emerald or ruby.

So, I know that the metals the chains are made from all represent a mastery in a field of study (iirc Luwin has one link of Valyrian Steel to indicate he studied the deeper magics or something?) but what do the stone represent? Just that Pycell is a fancy bitch now, one of the rich elite and no mere scholar serving at his post?

And I do want to go back to the word choices for describing this signal of occupation, because you'll notice the multiple words used to describe it: collar, choker, chains, necklace a progression from something that indicates service or servitude, to something that indicates (and is in reality) decoration. Rolling that back around to Ned's prior chapter where he only said 'chain.'

When at last he reached the bottom, a narrow, muddy trail along the water's edge, Littlefinger was lazing against a rock and eat an apple.

In order to look like even more of an asshole. ...wait, is that still a meme?

Oh, and there's the brothel.

He was dressed in brown rough-spun, and the soft flesh under his chin wobbled as he ran.

... Hey, do you think, if I started a drinking game for this read through, the only thing that would save my life would be that I'm only reading a chapter a day?

(This is a joke I don't drink alcohol. I could do soda shots though. Every time an article of clothing is 'rough-spun,' every time a moment happens that D&D made worse by adding sex and/or violence)

"You would be the last man I would willingly include in any party, Lord Baelish." "You wound me deeply," Littlefinger placed a hand over his heart.

Not deeply enough. Also, they're talking about it being Tyrion's dagger again. I feel like it would have been super easy to verify this, but they just didn't.

"- I have found you more than a friend. I have found a brother I'd thought I'd lost."

Petyr Baelish, internally after being 'Brother Zoned': Time to make like a Targaryen.

[princess-of-the-corner]

I have a question I hope you don't mind me asking, since Gabriel Agreste is coming out tomorrow and we'll likely get something regarding the sentimonster theory, I was wondering how would you write the whole sentimonster Adrien thing?

Like I know you said it won't be in your fics if it does turn out to be Canon but I'm just curious how you would write it. once again you don't have to answer this and it's completely understandable if you don't

So this is kinda complicated because, to do it right, I'd have to rewrite things from scratch.

Senti!Adrien should be foreshadowed much earlier, and have less plot holes.

We need more direct info on how Sentimonsters work and if they're sapient. Give us a way to tell if things like the Sentibug incident are supposed to be "okay she was nice but is ultimately just a Magic Construct", or if we should be going "holy shit Nathalie fucking killed a girl!!!!". Sure they're sentient but are they Sapient? Maybe even complicated ones like Sentibug aren't, but if you make a Sentimonster to "act as Human as possible" and it lives for years it could begin to gain sapience.

Because seriously. The Peacock being able to casually create fully sapient life is bullshit. Maybe I'm just too into fma but creating life should not be that goddamn easy no matter what method you use!!!

I think a way to help with highlighting the difference could be utilizing the fact that there are two AI characters! Highlighting how Aeon and Markov are, in fact, people rather than programs despite coming from programming could be good here! Instead, we have them using Markov to explain equivalent exchange of "by making him a real person, you'd take personhood away from someone else". So just. Lean into it more. Yes, Markov is a real person from an artificial source! That's possible! And interesting! And liken this to Sentimonsters later!

Now here's where plotholes and potential foreshadowing can come in!

Adrien being able to disobey what Gabriel says! Have Adrien do more rules lawyering here! Like full on Fae Bullshit of twisting Gabriel's words and "wel technically-" arguments. He's never directly disobeying, not really. Right? (And yes this could still be subtle because people in strict or outright abusive households do these kind of mental gymnastics to be able to do what they want and try to talk their way out of trouble, even if they also know it won't work and they're basically doing a "ask for forgivenss instead of permission" thing").

I thini /maybe/ you could keep Gorizilla, despite the plot hole here, if you use that rules lawyering. Gabriel, knowing Adrien is a Sentimonster, asks Adrien directly about Chat Noir. Adrien bends the wording to be all "well I'm not(for now)". With Gabriel knowing that Adrien is slippery like that and deciding to find out a sneakier way.

Episodes like Chat Blanc and Ephemeral would have to be different entirely because if Adrien is a Sentimonster then Gabriel doesn't need to Akumatize him to get him to obey! He could still do so as Akumatization would give him new powers and all. But Adrien shouldn't be able to resist at all through BOTH BEING A SENTIMONSTER AND AKUMATIZATION.

There also needs to be a reason why neither Peacock User can tell that Chat Noir is a Sentimonster. Supposedly they can only sense the Amok but.... That needs to be more clear. The only time it was brought up was Feast, but I explained why that was confusing.

Also, if Adrien is a Sentimonster and the whole "maintaining a Sentimonster on a broken Peacock Miraculous" thing is why Emilie is in a coma.... I feel like that should be addressed. Mainly, I could see Gabriel blaming Adrien for this. But that doesn't seem to be a factor at all.

And ultimately. In the end. After things are revealed and all that. I don't want this to be a way to handwave Gabriel being a shitty parent as part of the Sentimonster thing. All blame is put on him for being a dick, not stuff about Sentimonsters.

[makiema]

SnK 118 and Armin's role in the future

I know I'm a lot late in addressing this but when the chapter first released I had my exams and didn't really have a lot of time in hand to write a meta. Anyway, now that I'm free, I'd like to spitball some ideas about this particular panel which raised a lot of questions in the fandom.

What was the significance of Isayama including this moment from Chapter 90 and what exactly was he foreshadowing? Well here's my stance on this :

• Events of Chapter 90 : Let's revisit Chapter 90 and take a look at Armin and Eren's reactions and their eventual interaction when they reach the ocean.

•Armin :

Contrasted to everyone else just having fun, we find Armin staring hard at something. When he sets foot in the water, he is shown looking at something intently - a conch shell. Now, it may as well be coincidence and I'm just being pedantic but, the conch shell is symbolic of other things. The conch shell stands for control, harmony and overall coordination among living things in Hinduism and Buddhism. Apparently, deities holding the conch or being sculpted in a manner that emphasizes the concentric rings found in a conch, symbolize their hold on civilization which maintains stability and peace. Thus, a conch stands for order and implies proper functioning of civilization.

Armin is a character well known for being rational, logical and most importantly for being the one who is always looking for a truce. He wants to "talk", he is more than capable of making the most inhumane decisions but he's always wanting to "talk" things out first. He's the one always seeking a diplomatic solution. Him coming across the conch doesn't seem to be a mere coincidence. Also, not to forget that Armin is the narrator of the show. It is possible that he will be the one to restore order in the chaotic world of SnK once again. He may be one of the key figures in ending the war, working for peace and order in it's aftermath and then he narrates the story to the future generation.

Anyway, going back to Armin and the conch, we see the scene getting plenty attention even in the anime. They cut out Hanji holding a slime but they assigned a lot of time to Armin holding the conch. It may after all have more significance than is visible on the surface.

• Eren : When Eren reaches the ocean, we see him depressed unlike the others. The whole mood is melancholy because of Eren's overruling depression. He has just seen his father's memories, the cruelty of the world has been shoved into his brain and the disturbing images keep resurfacing. We see that happening when he attempts to cheer up Armin. Eren cannot be happy again, he cannot be freed from those memories unless he does away with the cruelty- that much is clear to him. That's why we see him saying - " If we kill them all, does that mean we'll be free?"

The ocean,or preferably sea, is more than often used in literature to epitomise hardships in life and the unfathomable human emotions that make it so complex. Here, the sea represents chaos, uneasiness and sadness for Eren. The people who think of him and his race as enemies reside on the other side of these unfathomable waters. Eren is at a loss and he fails to fathom their barbaric ways. There's no understanding between him and his foes (there cannot be any). He sees them as an impediment to freedom and feels impelled to kill them.

• Eren and Armin : We see how Eren and Armin find it rather hard to communicate. Or better put, they're not thinking along the same lines. It is not really possible as Armin has no clue about the cumulative weight that has fallen on Eren. He cannot grasp the strain of it all. There's clear lack of any meaningful interaction between the two of them. Eren is not interested in sharing Armin's enthusiasm upon seeing the ocean of his dreams. His voice is awfully impassive. What particularly catches my attention is how Armin is holding onto the conch shell and calling out to Eren to look at it but he remains unbothered. He just points at the horizon and talks about the enemy. Their thoughts are totally different and there is little to no connection.

If the conch shell is indeed representing order, then we can say that Armin wants Eren to take a look at it but, Eren is thinking differently. He knows there cannot be any order as long as the world isn't even willing to see Eldians as humans. Eren has seen what happened to Faye because of Grisha's immaturity.

The price that Grisha had to pay for freedom was this- the horrifying death of Faye. The world is cruel. It isn't willing to give room for deliberation. For now, Eren needs to eliminate his enemies to move forward. That much is clear and we see that happening with the Attack on Liberio. Eren had to wage war because he had to protect his friends. He knew very well that if the whole world went ahead with the idea of eliminating Paradis, there wouldn't even be an opportunity to propose a truce. It would be over. Eren had to be an agent of chaos out of necessity. That's why in Chapter 90 we see him indifferent towards Armin as well as the conch Armin is asking him to take a look at.

• Back to 118 : There's similar lack of communication between Eren and his friends. He has done his absolute best in trying to cut them off. But, given how dire the situation is his friends must proceed to aid him. Armin, when trying to make sense of Eren's behaviour, recalls Eren's words and says "No way".

Most of us interpret that as Armin's realization that Eren is actually going to trample on the whole world and therefore, he doesn't want his friends to have any part in it. But, that's not gonna prevail. Eren is not about to abruptly wreck the whole world with his Rumbling. In the long run, it'll just make the world even more apprehensive of Eldians and they'll continue to be discriminated against. Nobody knows better than Eren that one cannot rule with fear and oppression. Also, he is the one who absolutely detests the idea of toying with human life as normalcy, no matter the situation. It's clear in this panel.

It is unlike Eren to cause destruction just to show superiority of a race; it violates his basic nature. Eren did account for civilian casualties in Liberio but that was inadvertent. If he hadn't intervened there, the whole of Paradis would have been wiped off because they were simply not ready to defend themselves. He had to buy time, he had to act before it was too late.

However, things are different now with Armin coming back into action. The miscommunication between him and Eren that has been an issue will be resolved by Armin. Maybe that's why he's holding the conch, which stands for order and harmony. Isayama's purpose in including the panel could be more than just highlighting Eren's words rather, it throws light on Armin as it is essentially him reviewing his past. He doesn't know what happened to Eren at Marley- how he became empathetic toward his sworn enemies- but he does know that Eren will not hesitate to kill them if they stand in his way of being free. However, Armin is not about to let the world plunge into outright chaos with the rumbling. To make a show that Eldians can actually flatten the whole world will make things worse than ever. He will come up with a better solution, a solution that won't put the future of Eldians at stake AGAIN. He must be the one to bridge the gap between Eldians and the world using his diplomatic skills. Armin is the only one capable of bringing an armistice. He still has a card to play.

Also, it's highly likely that the devil is the ultimate villain and Armin will have to come up with a plan to defeat him in the end. Of course, Eren has to be the ace of Armin's plan. That has always been and that's probably the reason why Isayama shows Armin thinking of Eren. Armin still has a greater role to perform and that will most probably be him advising Eren in his battle against the devil. The devil or in that case whoever is pulling the strings seems way too crafty for Eren to deal with on his own. So, Eren will definitely have to depend on Armin to come up with a fool proof strategy in the final battle to save humanity. This could have been foreshadowed as early as in the serum bowl where Eren tries to convince Levi by citing all of Armin's achievements. He implores that it's not Erwin or him but, Armin who's going to save the world.

Was he just bluffing to save his friend's life or did these words carry a subtle foreboding of the future? Let me also stress on Floch referring to Erwin as the devil out of nowhere in the same scene. We know, in the end, Armin survives and Erwin is made to rest. Is it mere coincidence that the one tagged to be the saviour prevails and the one referred to as the devil meets his end or is it another indication to the course the manga will take?

The last thing I want to talk about is Armin's dream. His dream is to see the whole world. It was never just about seeing the ocean. He wants to see the "lands made of ice", "snowy fields of sand", etc.

Who's more convenient to bring peace in the world than someone who actually wants to see all of it? If the world plunges into chaos again, Armin's dreams will never come true. If the world continues to shun the Eldians, then Armin can never fully see the world in all it's beauty. Therefore, he has to be the one to unite it. Armin will intercede into any plans of outright wiping out another race and make way for pacification. He'll be the one to do away with all the warfare and discrimination. That's his role in the future; after all there's no one more apt.