#we're in the future years and somehow we're still arguing about who's human

[nightmare-chaser]

Theres something fucking wild about those like, heartfelt monuments found in nft bro spaces, and i dont mean the cringey "look at how cool we are" shrines, no, i mean the ones with pictures of their dead baby girl and an obituary. Because like, that's living thinking people there, yknow? Like, we joke all the time about how people in those spheres, republican and nft bro and conservative and shit, we joke all the time that they dont care about anyone, but they do! And in their own little cynical temples, you still find shrines to the very dearest to their hearts, right next to all the profane, like it belongs there

And like, im a people too, i am a person just like them, but my beliefs are opposite to them, theirs are killing us and ours are for survival, but we're all just people besides that

How do people end up with such different and opposing views? If we can both eat cherries in summer and mourn our goodbyes and cry at movies, then how do we end up with such differing opinions such that it demand one of us to die? How can they demand us to die? How can't they see we're brothers?

What happens to a person to make them so fundamentally unable to see their own accross the dividing wall

[pianostarinwonderland]

maybe skully isnt dead 🤯 [half copium half srs]

listen. ik ive been on copium for a while. ik we all are, ive seen twitter, tumblr, and everyone’s tags on my posts when they reblog

BUT PLS HEAR ME OUT. IM SO SERIOUS RN WHEN I SAY: if u wanna be technical about it, if u wanna stretch it out somehow, you can argue that the game never outright states that skully is dead, only that the skully we met was from hundreds of years ago.

“but mamsir pianostarinwonderland, how in the fuck can that be???? we HEARD that invisible kiss” LET ME COOKKKKKK 🔥🔥🔥 I SWEAR EVERYONE, I AM COOKING U JUST HAVE TO HEAR ME OUUUUUUUUUUUUUT— knocked out

Ok serious time, let me mansplain to you all the possibility of Skully being alive

Establishing first of all, Twst has kept Skully's nature vague

Simply put: we don't know if Skully is human. In his live 2D, Skully's ears are completely covered. Even in his illustration, we can barely see his ears. It's an interesting design choice. However, in his chibi (which wasn't revealed until Episode 5), we can see his ears aren't shaped like a fae, but are round like that of a human.

However, it's pretty hard to think he's human either, when we consider his "moshi, ne moshi" greeting in Episode 1 and its connection to the supernatural. Voiced, to be noted. Exactly what kind of creature he could be is currently unknown, but because this part was voiced, it's something we need to pay attention to at the very least.

In regards to his mortality, the only clue we're really given is Skully himself saying that he may never meet us except through Halloween, which implies a lifespan similar to a human or something similar. But Skully doesn't know how far into the future that the cast is from. Heck, does he even know of his nature?

Now, addressing that invisible kiss...

I feel like this is the main thing that told all of us that Skully is long gone. Heck, if you catch me in my right mind, I might just tell you that yeah, that should be enough proof that Skully is dead! Little signs from the dead such can manifest in similar ways to what Jamil and Leona sensed: hearing a kiss and feeling a kiss on your hand.

(unfortunately i'm not in my right mind so you're getting my dumb reasons why i'm arguing for otherwise)

However, if Skully is gone, I find it interesting that this is the way they decide to show it. We already know from the very first Halloween event that ghosts can manifest all year round in Night Raven College due to the high concentration of magical power in the area. Outside of that, they cannot be seen. If they really wanted to confirm with the audience that Skully is a ghost, they could have had him appear as such at the end, when they all returned to Night Raven College.

But they chose a scenario where people can draw a lot of conclusions from it: Is their senses getting fucked over as they wake up? Are they still reeling from the magic of the book? (though rationally, we know that Leona is not one to be easily stunned, so the first question is at the very least easy to dismiss)

I've also seen some people theorize that he's using invisibility magic during the invisible kiss scene. And well, while I find that funny, it makes me wonder if he could be some other kind of spirit that's not dead. Like an undead of some sort, which the residents of Halloween Town are. Heck, Azul's card line about Skully talks about how he seems to fit right at home with the Halloween Town residents. Again, we don't know Skully's true nature, but the possibility of him being a species that can turn invisible is interesting.

Moving on, we have what Dire Crowley stated about Skully

At the end of the event, Crowley tells us that he found Skully’s portrait while rummaging through the storage and shows it to us and the 11 boys who went inside the book

What he tells us is that Skully J. Graves is a NRC graduate from hundreds of years ago, before Crowley was Headmage. Note that he only was appointed for the position 100 years ago; the Skully we met is at least from around 200 years ago. During his NRC years, Skully got to share Halloween to NRC. It was a hit, and when he graduated, he spread Halloween all over the world in his travels.

I'd like to take a little detour first to discuss something that's been weighing on my mind: Some people have thought that Crowley is lying to us when he speaks about Skully and his achievements, but... I don't see why he would lie. For one, there is a decent chance that Crowley might not have gotten to see Skully. Even if he did, it's even more unsure if he was involved in Skully's affairs.

However, there's one main reason why I do think that Skully got to live a fulfilling life instead of facing an overblot that killed him or some other tragedy. I'd like to dedicate a longer post to this matter, but to make it concise, I think through Skully, Twst is starting to establish something new regarding their history. I think that historical teachings, folktales and stories, and rumors that are well-known tend to be lies or twisted truths. Whereas those that are obscure and not known are actually what occurred. Skully is called the King of Halloween who's done so much to spread the holiday to the world, yet not even NRC students, who should be the first to know considering that Skully is an alumna, know of him. Although there may be other reasons why that's the case, I like to think that at the very least, Skully's obscurity indicates that he did live the life he wanted and succeeded in working for a future that generations after him can enjoy.

Anyway, that actually isn't the main point of this section of the post, but I kind of want to air that out first. The main point is that Crowley only really said that Skully is a former NRC student from hundreds of years ago who traveled around the world to spread Halloween. But he never told us where he was buried or whether he saw his ghost roaming NRC. He never said anything about Skully being dead.

He probably said the hundreds of years ago bit, carrying the assumption that of course, Skully may have passed away. But we have to remember that we have long-living species in Twisted Wonderland. Fae that were students 200 years ago are very likely to be alive now. Crowley himself is a long-living creature, having been Headmage for 100 years. I think with that in mind, it's important for him to emphasize that Skully's gone if he really is. But he never mentioned it. Therefore, there is a good chance that Skully might just be somewhere else. That or Crowley just doesn't give a fuck where his alumni go, and I might be thinking too deeply about the absence of certain words. Honestly, that's a pretty good chance too.

Lastly, we have the scene where Jack Skellington gets shot down but survives it

Here's where it gets a bit more into speculation, but you're going to have to hear me out.

In the movie, Jack Skellington gets shot down by the military for impersonating Santa Claus. When the Halloween Townspeople watched it, they all despaired, and the mayor started declaring to all that Jack has been blown to smithereens and proclaimed him dead.

But that's not what happened: we find Jack landing on an angel's statue, alive and definitely not blown to smithereens.

And considering that Skully is still very much twisted from Jack Skellington... do you think the writers are pulling a similar move? Making us think that he's dead, just as the townspeople thought he was dead, only for us to learn eventually that he's alive.

This of course depends on what happens eventually in the sequel. From the way things are proceeding, what happened in the Lost in the Book with TNBC is events prior to the movie, and we could very well have the sequel be set during the movie events. (If you ask me, I kind of doubt that actually. I feel like Skellington got inspired by Skully's love for Halloween, enough to stay true to his identity as the Pumpkin King, which would mean the movie wouldn't happen the way we know it. So if anything, I feel like TNBC 2 would focus less on the actual movie and more on the side games where Oogie takes over Halloween Town and even kidnaps Santa and other people, but I admit, that's a stretch, especially considering that we will get Santa giving Halloween Town a taste of Christmas)

Of course, this post is really just to let some of my copium out. Rn, it's still safe to assume that yea, Skully's dead. And though I am coping hard for Skully to be alive, with the way Twst treats the dead, it's not exactly a bad thing. Ghosts continue to stay in NRC like they're living people. They honor the dead, and let the dead live among them. And even if he is in the afterlife and not stuck in the mortal plane, I have faith that Skully did live a fulfilling life that may have been forgotten but clearly changed the world. :'D

[nebulousfishgills]

Emily, Paris Paloma's "labour," and The Cacophany: An Analysis

Okay, so "labour" has been on Emily's original playlist for a long time, and I don't really think that's all that much of a surprise. I tend to liken it to Emily's inner monologue while she's trapped inside Hawkins Lab acting as a glorified babysitter to a dozen and a half children with super powers.

The ironic thing about this is that along with "labour" being a general feminist anthem, it's used very often in the context of Alicent Hightower, aka Olivia Cooke, aka Emily's face claim. That scenario uses a very literal interpretation of the themes presented, patriarchy, feminism, and womens' roles in a man's world. You could argue in circles about Alicent's treatment in the show, especially as the second season starts rolling out, but that's a very sticky conversation I'm not trying to hash out right now.

I, however, tend to slightly twist the lyrics so they're used in a more literal meaning with a slightly different context, the physical act of doing labor and the mistakes that led up to her current position. It's less about the patriarchy and more about the ways Emily has been used and abused over the years...

And then came the Cacophany variant that came out a few months ago.

When listening to that variant of the song that's virtually identical lyrically and thematically, somehow I was able to not only reapply this to Emily, but in a whole separate context...

Which made me realize that I'm actually more clever than I expected and that the story of Emily's so-labeled "Second Life" very much mirrors her original story, but with a few key differences.

So, let's break down the original version of "labour" as a baseline:

Naturally the POV character singing is Emily herself, that's a very easy thing to square away. There's only a couple of specific "characters" mentioned in the song, the POV character's husband, and this hypothetical daughter of theirs. The interesting thing is that there's no character we can easily match up to Henry, but there doesn't really need to be. Emily's very much speaking about herself in the song, but she could just as easily be including Henry within her grievances since they're shared plights.

It's extremely easy to rework the husband figure in the song into basically any male authority figure (which theoretically is the original point of the song; the husband is a representation of the patriarchy itself), so that's Doctor Brenner. The one keeping Emily stuck in this situation and who has total say over her and what she can or can't do.

Lastly, the daughter is Eleven. Again, it's not yet confirmed if it's biological thus far, but as usual I'm operating under the assumption that she is. The idea still works if it's simply a daughter figure rather than a full daughter, but we're operating under my domain of this universe, so it's a literal daughter.

Breaking the lyrics down, we can piece by piece figure out an entire story:

"this was an escape plan (this was an escape plan) / Carefully timed it, so let me go..."

Emily did not enter Hawkins Lab intending to become a human experiment, let alone be trapped for nearly two decades. She went there originally as a twelve year old child trying to run away from the storm, but also just running from being a street rat with nowhere to go and no future. But now that she knows the consequence of hiding in the wrong place, she just wants to be let out and escape.

Emotional torture from the head of your high table / Who fetches the water from the rocky mountain spring? / And walk back down again to feel your words and their sharp sting / And I'm getting fucking tired

Now, emotional torture also compounds with the literal, physical torture she and Henry undergo at Brenner's orders, tazers and solitary confinement being among the frequent offenders. Spring water isn't a literal task in Hawkins Lab, but in a broader context it represents whatever menial tasks they're told to do. Cleaning, babysitting, watching cameras, what have you, all just to do it over again the next day at risk of punishment.

If our love died, would that be the worst thing / For somebody I thought was my saviour / You sure make me do a whole lot of labour

There isn't really any love on either side of this, but Brenner kind of installs himself as a pseudo father figure for the experiments, i.e. them calling him Papa. And Emily, when she first came there, didn't know that's what was gonna happen. She thought he was offering her a genuine place to say, acting as a "savior" that turned out to be an abuser that pushes her, hurts her, makes her undergo grueling tests and experiments or acting as unpaid, overworked staff in the lab.

And the silence haunts our bed chamber

"Our" bed chamber referring to her and Henry's rooms in the lab. Yes, granted, sometimes they sneak around and spend nights with each other, but that's a very rare occurrance. Most nights they go to bed alone, in silence, and longing to be with each other because they're forbidden from carrying out a relationship.

Apologies from my tongue, and never yours... / ...I know you're a smart man (I know you're a smart man)...

When I imagine the animatic in my head (because, let's be real, we all do this), this line comes after a punishment Emily suffered for trying to resist, likely another tazing. Punished for violating Brenner's rules that he's never called out for because of this reign of terror, and yeah, he is a smart man, he's a doctor, that line's a given.

If we had a daughter, I'd watch and could not save her / The emotional torture, from the head of your high table / She'd do what you taught her, she'd meet the same cruel fate

This is about Eleven, obviously. El is under the same influence as Emily and Henry are, under Brenner's thumb and forced to follow his rules lest she risk punishment. And, clearly El's also been abused in similar ways, although probably not nearly the same amount as Henry and Emily have.

All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid / Nymph then a virgin, nurse then a servant / Just an appendage, live to attend him / So that he never lifts a finger

This, to me, is "wake up, eat, work, sleep, reproduce, and die" in a different font, Emily's supposed to have all these tasks and responsibilities forced on her, in fact this list is almost entirely literal.

Therapist - A listening ear for the children

Mother - A caretaker for the children / mothering Eleven

Maid - Cleaning storage rooms, mopping up blood and other bodily fluids, she does maid's work when not watching the children

Nymph - She's not exactly expected to be a beautiful creature all the time (that's just a bonus Henry gets to enjoy), but if you retranslate it to being pushed with her powers to be a more powerful being with her abilities, that tracks

Virgin - Bluntly, she's not supposed to be fucking around

Nurse - Adds to that caretaker aspect, she's probably bandaged dozens of cuts and was told to learn CPR and other life sustaining protocols

Servant - Same as the maid section

And the rest is about just existing at Brenner's whim. He never gets his hands dirty, a lot of the time he makes other orderlies punish her and Henry or hands off menial tasks to them.

24∕7, baby machine / So he can live out his picket fence dreams / It's not an act of love if you make her / You make me do too much labour

24/7 Baby Machine is simultaneously the most interesting line here and also the one you have to twist canon around the most to make work. Canonically, Emily's physically unable to get pregnant, she's not the literal baby machine. Eleven is her single spawn and Terry Ives was the one who carried her.

But it's not that far outside of the realm of possibility that Brenner didn't at least think about it. In fact, canonically he was thinking about it, "breeding her like some prize winning race horse" as Doctor Owens said. Brenner naturally didn't follow through with this, but the only reason was because he didn't wanna deal with the ramifications of dealing with spawns of Emily and Henry specifically. They themselves are the issue because they're both so fucked up and would fight the whole way.

But, hypothetically, let's say he didn't decide against it. It's not outside the realm of possibility that Brenner would have had his precious Number 001 breed with the less powerful but no less important Number 004 to create more children with powers to experiment on. The alternate universe where Emily becomes a baby machine and incubator for superpowered babies is not a distant one.

At this point, the lyrics repeat and get louder and louder, overlapping and growing more chaotic until the song ends, but the way I see it, it's Emily and Henry finally snapping under the strain and doing the Massacre. Emily officially lost her mind in that moment and it never fully fixed itself. There's a reason why Carrie White is a huge inspiration for her character, so much so that it's even mentioned during the Massacre scene as I wrote it. Emily snapped and her psyche never fully healed.

It's all very susinct, "labour" is a perfect theme for Emily's later years in Hawkins Lab as an orderly, almost to the letter.

So how was I able to just as cleanly match the Cacophany variant to Emily's arc in Diplopia/Necrosis? It turns out that there is *heavy* parallelism between her two stories that I didn't exactly plan on when I wrote it, but it completely checks out in my mind.

The important thing to keep in mind is both the context I imagine this in and where Emily herself is at in this point in time.

My playlists for Emily are organized in a rough chronological order. In my Emily playlist for her Twilight stories, "LABOUR - the cacophany" is sandwhiched near songs like "Dream Girl Evil" by Florence + The Machine and, as dumb as it sounds, the Busted song from Phineas and Ferb. These are songs I use to represent chapter 15 of Necrosis, the chapter where Emily puts on the courtroom prosecutor pants and formally accuses Aro of murdering his sister.

At this exact point in time, Emily herself has been growing as a character, this is one of the highest peaks of her arc. She chooses the interest of the collective and greater good rather than just letting chaos continue.

What the major difference between Emily and "labour" vs Emily and "the cacophany" is in the names. Emily is speaking about herself, ultimately, in "labour" (with Henry, of course, but there's only one singer). In "the cacophany," she's speaking for the collective. At this point in time, Emily is at a point in time where she's not facing the world by herself, she has this whole entire found family that backs her up, and that she can back up in return.

I can pinpoint the exact lines of dialogue "the cacophany" reminds me of:

"You're so desperate to hang onto your power that you use fear and manipulation of others to keep yourself leading this coven that you don't deserve to direct. You're a weak leader who uses enforcers to give off the illusion of level-headed-ness, using us and our strength to give the illusion of your own. You guarded this secret because you knew that it would be your undoing. And you threaten or take out those who might spill it."

Naturally we have to re-map who represents what part of the song, and, by extension, set up Emily's narrative parallels between her and her story companions.

Emily is still Emily, that's a given. She's a transplant from one story to the other. She's the one singing the song (at least for the most part), this is her being the one to call out bullshit.

Har dee har har, let's all for once ignore the obvious and don't everybody let out your shocked gasps all at once. Henry and Caius fill the role of Emily's partner in crime that happens to operate under the same thumb she does (more on that in a second). Their shared facial structures are entirely coincidental, please direct any and all questions to my lawyers.

The hypothetical daughter that Eleven represented in the original song has equal opportunity to represent either of the daughter figures Emily finds herself with in the Volturi. Mele, her sired newborn that she taught about vampirism and helped care for, and/or Jane... her telepathic blonde (sometimes) daughter figure named Jane.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who has pointed this out, I feel like a freak as it is.

But, both Jane and Mele are these daughter figures that also fall under this commanding thumb of influence that Emily's actively trying to resist both on her behalf, but also for them.

Now, I think Emily's biggest mistake was misunderstanding who her "new Eddie" was. This is separate from the song, but the thing is that for a long time Emily assumed or probably hoped that her new "best friend" figure was meant to be Aro. The hyperactive one who got on her nerves but ultimately she saw as one of her biggest allies...

That's not the case at all. The "role" of Eddie has expanded to basically the rest of the coven. Emily's not restricted to just one friend anymore, that pool now gets to be filled by the Guard and the others who make up the "core" of the coven. If we really want to get specific with it, I'd say that Eddie's role as "Emily's Best Friend" is best filled by Heidi and, even moreso I'd argue, Sulpicia

(Sulpicia, baby, I'm so sorry you were delegated to uncredited background extra and didn't have more screenshots avaliable)

They're the ones Emily's able to be vulnerable with outside of her partner. Emily didn't have any whatsoever intimate relationship with Eddie, but that's not the role he's meant to fill anyways, even if Emily was being exploratory at that point in time. She's exploring her feminine attractions with Heidi (and maybe Sulpicia but that has yet to break into full canon), but Heidi and Sulpicia also are her people she can just... be with. Emily annoys Eddie and he annoys her, but he's the one who lets her "be her freak" and paints shirts with her while teaching her how to play Dungeons and Dragons. The "human" experiences she indulges in.

Emily complains to Sulpicia in Diplopia about dress shopping and Heidi's the one who teaches her about the "feminine" experiences Emily rejected as a human. Eddie and Heidi/Sulpicia are the best friends and close confidants who help Emily learn to be herself and indulge in experiences she was barred from, be it on her own or because of her conditions.

(This does make me want a one shot where Emily teaches the coven how to play D&D because that would be fucking nuts, but that's a separate conversation)

But that doesn't have much to do with "the cacophany" in and of itself, that's another parallel that's just tangentially related. No, because we're still missing our male authority figure.

Emily's mistake was assuming that Aro was supposed to be her Eddie, when the reality is that he's her new Doctor Brenner.

The one who only sees her value as an asset, for her power. The one who keeps the whole operation under his thumb so he can maintain control. The "smart man" who "weaponizes false incompetence... dominance under a guise," The one who lured her in and aided in the "escape" from her previous situation...

Because let's be completely honest, Emily did stay for Caius, but Aro is really really good at keeping a handhold on things he sees as valuable. Her loyalty to Caius was primary, Aro ensured through this front of brotherly affection that she would help carry out the coven's (and by extension, his) will. I can't say for sure what role Chelsea played in this, but by the end, Emily's allegiance was with Caius and the coven, not necessarily to Aro.

I'd even argue that that applies to everyone in the coven at a certain point.

Not to mention, at a more literal level, Aro and Brenner are the ones who use others to present the illusion of their own control:

"You're so desperate to hang onto your power that you use fear and manipulation of others to keep yourself leading this coven that you don't deserve to direct. You're a weak leader who uses enforcers to give off the illusion of level-headed-ness, using us and our strength to give the illusion of your own." - Emily about Aro in Necrosis

"You're a supporting character needing validation from children because it's the closest thing you can get to the real thing. You're normal. Being in close proximity to special people doesn't make you special. Controlling greatness doesn't make you great. It just shows everyone that you're a parasite." - Henry to Brenner in Stranger Things VR

Those two quotes basically state the exact same thing in different fonts.

I'm not entirely sure where that leaves me when batting around the question I often bat around in my head, which is whether or not Emily made the right choice in staying. I think they were both playing subtle chess matches against each other for most of the time, except Aro believed Emily to be a pawn he could control instead of the queen who has more movement across the board. Slowly but surely wrestling people away from Aro that he saw as pawns that she made into more powerful pieces.

It's a weird metaphor and doesn't entirely follow the exact rules of chess unless I'm misunderstanding Promoting, the act of getting the pawn to the other side to give it more power. Emily turned those Aro saw as pawns into knights, rooks, and bishops, getting control away from him and showing them that they could be more than what he saw them as.

That's kind of how I see the crecendoing chorus of "the cacophany," the entire coven with Emily's assistance and leadership speaking up against the system that had kept them controlled for years. Aro never gets his hands dirty, he sends his guard to do the dirty work. As the song progresses, I saw more and more voices get added to the animatic in my head, much like how it went in the fic. Emily starts, Caius keeps her spirits up, Sulpicia joins in, the ghosts of those who became victims in the schemes for maintaining power (Didyme and Athenodora), and then the rest of them.

"And the silence haunts our bedchamber" even works because due to Aro's bullshit, Emily and Caius couldn't spend time alone. That's one of the main reasons why Emily snaps and finally decides enough is enough. It's much like how she and Henry weren't allowed to go to bed together because or Brenner's dumb rules, which was a contributing factor to them finally snapping.

I wish I was a better artist so I could draw out both animatics in my head because I feel like that would make these explanations make so much more sense. But, give the songs a listen with these contexts and maybe you'll be able to see what I'm trying to describe.

I've been meaning to write this out for a while and it's entirely possible I forgot a few details, but there you go.

[taiblogcomics]

Everyone Deals With Jerks

Hey there, disquieting wetness. Welp, we got more Countdown today. That should be obvious! We're not even far enough in to be quippy in the preamble! Let's just get this over with~

Here's the cover:

You know, at least this cover is pretty cool. I'll certainly give it that. Very symbolic! A giant hand (that of the Monitor) clutching the Earth in its grasp, symbolising the power he holds over it. Already a cool-ass image! And then you've got the heroes painfully chained to it, just as they are to their duty. And that we'll be introduced to Donna Troy and Kyle Rayner this issue! My one question, though: where did the chains come from? Like, they're tiny compared to the Monitor's hand. Is making very tiny glowing chains part of his powerset? What is his powerset, while we're at it~?

So this weekly multiverse-spanning maxi-series event starts with the murder of Duela Dent, AKA Joker's Daughter. Jason Todd was witness to the Monitor committing the deed, but he doesn't know the significance of that. Mary Marvel is friendless and powerless, and looking to cure both. The Rogues are planning a big crime and doing drugs, which is probably already a crime. Karate Kid has amnesia. And Jimmy Olsen goes to Arkham to interview the Joker, who has no real connection to Duela. Finding out it was a waste of time, Jimmy goes to leave, failing his perception check for Killer Croc getting loose just behind him.

Thankfully we open immediately to Arkham Asylum. If you're going to end the last issue on a cliffhanger, you better have the courtesy to immediately pick up that cliffhanger next time. But yeah, even though last issue ended with Croc right behind Jimmy, this one spends a whole page of Jimmy walking away, holding a phone conversation with Lois, putting up some dramatic irony about how of course he's safe, do you know whose Pal he is? All while Croc rushes up behind him and attacks. But Jimmy somehow isn't murdered. Instead, he takes a two-page spread to stretch out of the way like rubber!

Jimmy elasti-kicks Croc away, then shrinks back to human proportions. Croc has no idea how Jimmy did that, but before he can attack again, the Arkham guards finally catch up and shock Croc full of 1.21 gigawatts to knock him out. They somehow didn't see Jimmy do the stretchy thing, so they're like "Wow, super cool how you stood your ground against Croc, how did you know he wouldn't gut you?" And Jimmy can only muse that he thought Croc had. Well, Jimmy, I'm sure that's nothing to worry about and will make complete sense in the long run.

Now we cut over to the Monitors, who are busy doing the thing they're most famous for in this series. Yes, surprisingly murdering Duela Dent is somehow not the most famous idiotic action these celestial crum-bums are responsible for (though she is the topic of the current meeting). No, what they're most famous for in this series is sitting on their asses and arguing with each other. If you've seen Linkara's reviews, you already know the words. Everyone say it with me: "We should do something!" "Should we do something?"

Let's put that aside. Instead, we go back up to the JLA satellite HQ, where Karate Kid is being held. He seems to have come to his senses. Our old friend Roy Harper is standing guard, and this is when Roy was still Red Arrow. Neither Cry for Justice nor his stupid trucker hat have happened yet, and I miss this Roy. Roy's like "What sucks so much in the future that you're back here", and ha ha, just you wait, Roy. Here in 2024, loads of us would love to go back to 2007, so imagine how bad it is in a thousand years. Heck, Roy, you were dead after Heroes in Crisis, you didn't even live to see the pandemic!

Over on the very specific location of "the eastern seaboard", there's a fat guy in a silk robe wiring some funds by phone on his private yacht. As soon as he's done transferring the cash, he tosses his phone aside and then tosses himself overboard. That's when you get the reveal of the Rogues, Pied Piper having used his hypnotic music to manipulate the guy into doing that. Well, no complaints, I guess. They are villains, and that guy was a rich CEO. Hell, frankly I'd side with the supervillains before I'd side with a billionaire~

So this little stunt was essentially an initiation test for Trickster and Piper to get them into the upcoming scheme. Piper transfers the money to Mirror Master's account and he confirms it. Piper then leans over, presses one button on the laptop and it sends the money out of his account. Mirror Master's furious, but Piper says "Now we're even for killing my parents", and Mirrors goes with it. Wow, held the conflict for almost four panels. He then walks off to confirm their position in the upcoming heist with Captain Cold.

Piper then secretly reveals he hypnotised the CEO guy to be immune to getting tired swimming to shore. So he's probably going to die of exhaustion either way. Trickster (who contributed nothing) then bullies Piper into giving him the money to keep it quiet that he spared the CEO. Piper agrees, and we see a Homeless Children charity suddenly realise they gained then lost a $100,000,000 donation in the span of a few seconds. Maybe it was a glitch? So we've established that Piper is a secret good person working with assholes, and Trickster is an asshole leeching off other assholes. Great!

So do you remember last issue how Madame Xanadu told Mary Marvel to stay away from Gotham City for her own good? Well, Mary Marvel is in Gotham, and she's running from some thugs. Who could have predicted this outcome~? A literal psychic~? She ducks into a mosque to evade them, and is briefly startled by its familiar-looking architecture. As she's trying to escape the asshats, who drop a racist term just so you know they suck, they suddenly get picked off violently by someone else in the building. Someone who doesn't like either intruders or racists. The comic ends with the reveal that it's Black Adam, who may hate being disturbed, but is intrigued to run into Mary Marvel…

Well, I guess first thing, I want to retract my kudos to the cover for being good, because not only did it feature characters who aren't in the comic, it still hasn't introduced Donna or Kyle to the cast. Some folks complain when the cover has spoilers on it for things that happen in that particular issue. This one has spoilers on the cover for things that haven't even happened yet! Truly well done. Other than that, yeah. The running theme of this issue is that everyone is an asshole. Except Jimmy, Piper, and Mary Marvel (and her day will come, trust me). Like, this issue isn't infuriating or anything. But we're three issues in and there's nobody to root for. A recurring theme for the rest of the series, as you'll see!

[youuuimeanmee]

Eren Meta From 139

Many people believe chapter 139 butchered Eren's character because of this scene.

Because out of nowhere, Eren's motivation is to reach Mikasa's choice to satisfy Ymir's wish; thus, everything he said from the beginning about his motivation is all lies or meaningless.

No. And I'm no writing this to justify or condemn him. This post is more for myself, because I'm trying to understand his character.

Now let's see at his words. "All of it, was to arrive at that result. That's why I moved forward." What does he mean by it? Which actions?

This.

All the events, starting from ch 123-139, are going according to Ymir's wish.

Right after Eren told her to decide for herself.

She wants to end the world, at least 80% of it. She wants to push Eren's friends to stop him, even if they have to betray their nation. The Battle of Heaven and Earth, all of the clusterfucks in chapter 135-138 happens because it's Ymir's will to push Mikasa to make a choice. She chooses to end the titan curse after she gets to see what she wants.

Ymir did all of this, she watched all the events that unfold because Eren released her.

Then, what about Eren's will?

This is why I'm okay with the idea of Eren following Ymir; Eren doesn't have a reason to reject Ymir's wish because he got what he wants. He got the future he saw on the medal ceremony, the eradication of titans. He got the "freedom" to flatten the earth, and if his gamble paid off, he'd get his friends' safety; because they will become the world's savior after they stop him. It's a win-win situation, thus, putting him in a position where he becomes Ymir's ally and stands by her side.

The reason why Ymir chose Mikasa is not clear, but Eren had a hunch and it's something he could relate to; another reason for him to not object to Ymir's wish. It has something to do with that day when Mikasa practically confessed her love for him, the day where he could use the Founder's power for the first time. I leave this scene up to your interpretation.

What about Eren's will from before 123? What did he try so hard to achieve?

This scenery. Aside from the eradication of titans.

Here's the thing. Doesn't matter if fate favors you or not, you have to work hard to get what you want. To work hard, you need to know the reason. I take Isayama's artistic choice that the future memories he saw are fragments without context; he doesn't know why it happens the way it would. So, even if he saw the scenery, even if he saw the eradication of titans, why he has to go to hell first? Why he has to go through all of the suffering? Why he has to keep moving forward? He doesn't have to; but the world, destiny or whatever keeps feeding him reasons to move forward, until he reached a conclusion that the titan world is fucked up system and has been going for far too long. For Eren, this needs to end, and he wants to reach that scenery no matter what.

This is the man who saw how unforgiving the outside world is. The fact that a little girl got eaten by dogs just because she's an Eldia is proof that a subject of Ymir can never gain freedom, can never gain the privilege of human rights the way a normal human does. (I suggest you to read Gross' monologue from ch 87). The man saw how the world keeps pushing Paradis to be the source of evil without listening to what the other parties have to say. The man is manipulated to euthanize his own people as if Eldia doesn't deserve to be born. He saw the fucked up history of titans from 2000 years ago. He was so disappointed the world is not like in Armin's book, it's not like his ideal world. So he wants to wipe it away. He wants to bury the history and the civilization that created it, deep to the ground. He wants to destroy every last one of those animals, that's on this earth; titans or humans alike. He wants to leave the surface a blank plain. This is his ideal world, his freedom.

Eren said it himself. Even if he didn't know that his friends would stop him; even if it's not Ymir's will, he'd still trample the earth. To me, the reason why Eren commit genocide, the reason he said to Armin is no different than the reason he said to Zeke.

It's just the way he is ever since he was born.

A freedom seeker.

The wording is different with the receiver. With Zeke, it's different, because he's trying to make a point that this is who he is. But with Armin? He is going to die, with his best friend as his judge. He knew exactly why he wanted it: because he is free, ever since he was born. But somehow he couldn't say it outright with confidence. Maybe he's afraid to be judged as a monster by the person closest to him, or maybe he started to question his definition of freedom. Because to me, his eyes look like wonders.

Now. What is freedom? Many people believe that any acts out of violence is not freedom. But to Eren, that is freedom, his freedom. There's a meta that perfectly explains Eren's version of freedom, up until he did the rumbling. This is my highlight from that meta:

So freedom is the power of the individual to do as one wants. When you do something, you are imposing your internal desires onto the external world. If freedom is thus the power to impose your individual Will onto the outside world, then whoever has more power has more freedom.

This concept was highlighted when he told his friends in Paths that he's free to destroy the world and they're free to defend it; meaning that they're bound to clash, and they have to fight.

Freedom is not good. Nor is it bad. It is a force beyond good and evil, and that is precisely why it is terrifying. This, I believe, is why so many baulk at the idea that such a ruthless manipulator could be the avatar of freedom in this story. What I have always loved about SNK is how it delves ever deeper into its themes as the story goes on and discovers such fundamental paradoxes that your understanding of the idea is changed forever. If this is the horrifying face of freedom, perhaps we should not be free.

I don't know how much Isayama's involvement in this, but Grisha's commentary from the Lost Girls captures this concept perfectly.

For Eren, that "great power" is his own concept of freedom: A world without oppression. Doing what you want to do. He's free to protect his homeland by whatever necessary, whatever cost, and leave the rest of the world as an open plain.

Usually, the more we're obsessed with something, the more we stray from our humanity. After witnessing firsthand the vision-he-so-called-freedom, he doesn't know how to feel. He gets what he wants, but he's not happy at all, only the hollow scenery remains.

Eren realized how messed up he is, even before he did this. He tried to reach out to Mikasa that night after he saved Ramzi, to save his humanity left. It's one of the reasons why he asked her, "what is he to her?" Surely if he was loved –even after he killed those men when he saved her that day– would mean he's still human, right? And by running away with her, he could live in peace, maybe he could free himself from his obsession. But he's doing it so half-heartedly, that when everyone interrupted them, he just... let it go. He didn't bother to sneak with her or anything. He couldn't let go of the future he saw, he's losing himself to his desire/inner demon, to his obsession of freedom. Or maybe he's winning over his pathetic self so he could focus on what he needs to do? One could interpret this scene as Eren trying to break free from his obsession for "freedom." One could interpret this scene as Eren trying to break free from the shackles of his conscience. It's up to you.

Eren's outburst over Mikasa in this chapter is his pent-up feeling over her. It is, but after I write this meta, maybe it's more than that. It's because she's the proof of his humanity left. Many, many times, Mikasa is there to stop him from ruining himself. Mikasa's love creates a subconscious understanding that she will always be there for him. That's a part of her that he loves, and by feeling love, it means his humanity still exists. If Mikasa chooses to move on with another man, it means she will forget all the times they had together, she will forget the most human side of him. The only person who loves him as who he is, his home, would be lost. He would be lost. That idea scares him, even though he knows he doesn't deserve her love after everything he has done.

One more thing; another reason why Eren doesn't mind to be stopped, aside from Ymir's wish will get him what he wants –as I already explained. People argue that the conflict won't end until Paradis or the rest of the world remains; thus, Eren's half-hearted genocide is meaningless. No. No matter how angry he is that he wants to eradicate everything, he has enough maturity to understand, even back from the Battle of Trost, that humanity is far from united even if they're faced against a threat beyond human understanding. During the after-party night before the Battle of Shiganshina, he accepts that great power comes from joining ourselves together. We all need to find our own roles. Humans are created differently, because of times like this. By sparing the rest of the world, it keeps both Paradis and the world from collapsing. By keeping the diversity of people, someday it will open a path for peace because it's a part of human nature to try to understand each other; he learned it from the SC. Eren believes Armin could take him there, after he died. Maybe he forgot all of that because he's too caught up in his hate and anger up until 122, the same way he forgot back in the days.

Even if it's not explicitly explained in this chapter, I'd like to think that Eren got plenty of time to reflect on this matter when he did the Rumbling, to fill the emptiness he felt after he reached what he wants wanted.

Eren wins in the end, but at what cost? This chapter is calling out his tyrannical mindset, and it's great to see him realized his error, even if it's too late for him to go back.

Maybe this is what Isayama decided to focus on the last chapter, even if it's rushed. Maybe he (or his editor, idk) wanted the ending to focus on the protagonist's story about humans vs titans. The way Eren is so determined to wipe it out from this world, no matter how messed up his method, no matter how much he suffers, it doesn't matter if it's predestined or not. Because "freedom" is what he seeks ever since he was born. Because Eldia, every person deserves to be born in this world. Yes, every person, including everyone he killed. He knew the gravity of his action and choose to accept his death. Maybe it's the reason why Isayama doesn't delve into the aftermath of genocide further.

He wants the ending to be about Eren Yeager, The Attack Titan's journey about Attack. On. Titan.

[punkscowardschampions]

Junior & Nancy

Gay nerds

Junior: Nance, how on earth are you tackling this art project? To say I'm discombobulated is an understatement that isn't getting me an A any time soon! Nancy: 😕 sums it up in a way. Obviously I can fall back on the twin thing but is that too safe? 😩 But we couldn't be more different Junior: 😖 Like, I love how vague and open to our own interpretation it is...but also I fucking hate how vague and open to our own interpretation it is! 😢😂 No one would blame you; least of all me, 'cos I was tempted- being the sore thumb I am when counting our ten- and I've not even got the twin angle everyone is so about in all areas of art tbh Junior: If nothing else, Buster is a willing participant in a photo op always? Junior: Ooh, you could get something matchy match from your childhood photos (I know they exist) and splice it with portraits of you now...Think that elevates it Nancy: You've put your finger on it. Nancy: But I don't think you're so right about the lack of blame 🤔 even with the boy/girl straight/gay redhead/brunette angle it still feels ??? Nancy: Basic 😒 Junior: I get you Junior: Meant to become the next Magritte in just 4 weeks, like !!! Junior: Well, I've heard at least 4 girls from class saying they're going to do a heavily made-up portrait next to a #nofilter #naturalbeauty one so Junior: We'll do better than that by default but I'd like to come up with something vaguely original still Junior: Miss' sanity relies on us lowkey, no pressure 😷😜 Nancy: I had that passing thought let it go though 😜 Nancy: You could text her Nancy: 😕 yes pressure Nancy: What to do? Junior: I like to keep it in professional hours Junior: for her sake, she gets a bit amorous when she's had a glass o vino after work Nancy: 😮 she does? Nancy: can I bribe my way to top of the class by raiding the cellar Junior: That was my second suggestion 😏 Junior: Take one for the team please 🙏 Nancy: but she's straight STRAIGHT Nancy: couldn't be enough Nancy: back to the mindmap Junior: Damn straights 😒 Junior: if all else fails, we can put this grade next to our last Junior: break the fourth wall, v meta Nancy: our school gets the one bohemian who is Nancy: put her next to the sterotypical art teacher Junior: did you mean my mother? 🤔 Junior: her, the engineer, hilarious 😂 Junior: Mum'd be up for it, you may borrow her Nancy: I might yet Nancy: when's this due again? Junior: we've still got 3 weeks, don't worry Junior: just trying to get it over and done with here Nancy: I should Nancy: The Tempest essay is due soon Junior: Don't remind me, even the gayness can't make it enjoyable, like many a teen show 🤷 Junior: Could combine? Somehow? Umm Junior: The supernatural characters and the humans...why yes, I am clutching at straws Junior: This term is killing me Nancy: If I'd get away with handing in some shots instead of an essay I would Nancy: not happening Nancy: 😩 Nancy: What ideas have you had? For the juxtaposition...forget the tempest Nancy: burn that Junior: If only, 1000 words=1 photograph, no contest really Junior: again, if only Will had 💀 Junior: The idea I can't get out of my head, even though it has been done to death so is BEYOND basic, is mashing up a classical art piece with something modern and pop culture...to say something about me (eww!) Junior: Tbf, they usually use Renaissance or very very famous art pieces so I could win points by using some relevant surrealism/ going beyond calling Mona Lisa #flawless Junior: Its all I've got Nancy: I think it's good Nancy: Let's both run with overused concepts and make them not basic in our way Nancy: act like we planned it Nancy: nobody has to know we had no other ideas Junior: Absolutely 😎 Junior: Total confidence is key, comes so natural to the both of us, like Junior: I think worrying about being 'original' is the true hack thing to do here anyway 💅 Nancy joined the chat 13 hours ago Nancy: 😖 yes Nancy: stealing that all Nancy: now if you could keep it going and give me some thoughts on shakespeare to plagiarize 😜 Junior: If I could, I would but even SparkNotes isn't helping me Junior: shall we peruse the best film/stage adaptations? maybe tomorrow night if you're free Nancy: I've seen the 2010 version a few times for obvious reasons Nancy: but yeah the others not so much Nancy: we need to do something that isn't me asking my mum for help Junior: Oh, babe 😂 that's the real tragedy here, you doing that to yourself Junior: maybe I'll borrow her and she can do mine for me Junior: still down for a movie night obviously Nancy: 🙉 Nancy: Lead female character Nancy: Shakespeare should've Nancy: Please do take her Nancy: mum swap 😂 Junior: As much as Bill LOVED any excuse for a drag show darling... stick with the evil queens and witches 😘 Junior: Let's do this, full family swap! Let them drive you insane for a bit whilst I live the life 😬 Nancy: Switch that around both my parents are so type A Nancy: Plus you've got all the brothers and sisters to dodge behind Nancy: Buster takes more heat off than most but he's still just one boy Junior: well, mine would refuse to be bound to a type, just as annoying I promise Junior: Its true I can mostly fade into obscurity with all their shenanigans, yet it still somehow isn't the case, just 12 nosy people in your business instead of the usual 2, with a disinterested brother flexing off in the background Nancy: 🙈 Nancy: I'm not having kids Nancy: Don't care if the future wife is frantic Junior: It is an issue that divides all of us tbh Junior: I don't think I'd mind one, to put all my efforts into Junior: but unlikely Junior: unless I co-parent from the sidelines with your wife Nancy: weirder scenarios have come about Nancy: I'd prefer a kitten Junior: steal one when you come over Junior: Ma'd probably notice but really, do we need so many? Nancy: Gran's such a dog person can I get through the door Junior: True, true Junior: Always living on such extremes this fam Junior: I don't know 😏 Nancy: look at me and my brother ultimate homo and hetero Nancy: embarrassing Junior: 😂 Junior: I'd love to suggest he doth protest too much but lbr Nancy: dad's never been prouder 😂 no teen pregnancies for his little girl Nancy: shakespeare would write that Junior: Who are we putting our money on to go first Nancy: that's harder than it sounds Junior: Rio is obvious choice but I sometimes think Grace might go insane and come along and take the claim Junior: *Shudders* Nancy: change the subject I beg you Nancy: I'd rather hear about your attempts to avoid your secret admirer who's a girl and hopelessly 💘 Junior: well, I would rather pretend that was not a thing 😬 Junior: as your brother once eloquently put it, when he was very pissed, 'i could clean up and get untold amounts of pussy' Junior: and that's that on that Junior: considering getting a face transplant 'cos my off-putting demeanour is not doing enough 😒 what problems to have, eh? the privilege of it all! 😂 Nancy: maybe we should go under together Nancy: moral support and potential discount Nancy: if I get told I don't look gay one more time I'm returning my badge Junior: well, where is your crewcut and tank top, like? 🤔 Junior: out here confusing the masses like that, idk Nancy: 🙉 Nancy: Not an identical twin playing tricks either how dare I Junior: why can't you just get in your box and like it, god damn it Nance! Nancy: unrelated except about boxes but should I get some new kit for this project or am I just stalling Nancy: a memoir Junior: any excuse 😜 Junior: but yes, do it Junior: i'm using it as excuse to go 'round all the best art galleries in town again so Nancy: Can I tag along Nancy: they're so quiet it's everything Junior: Naturally Junior: We're art students, we've gotta act like it, I'll keep the pretentious commentary to a minimum if you keep the equally as pretentious 'grams down too 😘 Nancy: I'll try Nancy: The feed wants what it wants though Junior: Can't argue, just leave the real money outta the shot Junior: Gotta leave my fangirls wanting more, like 😂 Nancy: That I will promise Nancy: Not trying to be mobbed by straight girls Junior: You mean you resist the lesbian stereotype of LOVING that too?! Nancy: Somehow it's managed Junior: no mean feat, one of the few gays in the village Nancy: Don't clap it's too loud 😂 Junior: *Finger clicks like this a slam poetry night* Nancy: Thank you Nancy: [sends a selection of childhood pictures] how early years can I go before everyone's rolling their eyes Nancy: Thank you too mum for these. Why did you do this to us? 🙈 Junior: Awww what 👼 Junior: This is how I like to remember Buster, before it all went wrong... 😉 Nancy: 👶🥕 Nancy: The glory days Junior: Weren't they just? Junior: At least you didn't have an extra older sister to dress you up, that's worse...the photos I could bring out, good lord 🙄 Nancy: 😜 And I wasn't that sister. You've welcome Buster Nancy: 🍀 Junior: *Whispers* Can we agree he needs SOMEONE to give him a makeover tho Nancy: I volunteer you as tribute Nancy: I've tried Junior: Maybe next family gathering Junior: if he shows Nancy: Bide your time Nancy: birthday present failsafe idea Junior: the amount of birthday celebrations in this fam is unholy Junior: We have a better social life than I would ever wish for, ugh Nancy: don't make me think about it Nancy: I'm sharing and it's made no difference Junior: wouldn't want you to miss out on all that good good attention we all crave 😂 Nancy: 🙈 Junior: Speaking of attention, have you heard the latest gossip that has piqued our peers? Nancy: You tell me Nancy: I can't think of anything off the top of my head Junior: Mark Colm Junior: a massive gay? Junior: I can't make up my mind if they're just hysterical and he's just a bit camp Junior: or there's something in it Nancy: He's one of us Nancy: Definitely crushing on the headboy I've seen him looking Junior: Isn't everyone? Junior: Even the teachers, complete popularity contest got him that position Junior: Interesting, though... Nancy: Besides me in my minority of one Nancy: And Sian would never Junior: Sian Gaffney? She's never gay! Thought you didn't do straight girls, you're reaching there Nancy: 🙉 not her she's dating the oldest Keenan lad Jake? Blake? idk Nancy: She'd love to ride half our class anyway Junior: Ohh you mean Mrs Kelly, duh Junior: yeah she's one of the only decent teachers about, doesn't seem like she goes in for all that popularity politics Nancy: No she doesn't Junior: Seems like a good place to while away a lunchtime Nancy: don't tell everyone how fun it is there'll all wanna join me Nancy: not ready to say goodbye to my happy place Junior: I think your secret is safe from the masses, even if I suddenly got uncharacteristically chatty Junior: Even the ones that don't take the piss and are relatively decent human beings Junior: still rather go get a nandos or whatever it is they do Nancy: Yeah I'm an open book if anyone asks 😂 Nancy: I'll stick with the one stereotype I'm okay with embracing, my eager vegetarianism Nancy: No offence lads Junior: Its all kale and charitable acts with this one Junior: No ulterior motives at all 😏 Nancy: just a rich girl with more wealth than she can give away 😜 Nancy: nothing else to see here Junior: mhmm okay 👌 Junior: we'll pretend I don't know you better than that Nancy: Hey you don't know everything Junior: True Junior: are you in the mood for telling? Junior: 🤔 Nancy: Sometimes Nancy: Can't put it all in my art Junior: not if you don't want Miss to think you're trying to tell her something Junior: flattered but straight, like Nancy: She's not the one Nancy: She'll be flattered to hear Junior: Indeed Nancy: When there is someone it'd be nice to talk about it Nancy: Sometimes like I said Junior: Well, you know where I am Junior: When there is someone Nancy: But I wouldn't know where to start Nancy: I can't put words to it ?? Not the right ones Junior: That's not just you Junior: If I'm to understand all the songs and poetry professing they too have no words Junior: Can but try 🙂 Nancy: Helpful Nancy: What about you? Headboys to one side. Any crushes? Junior: No, no Junior: No point, is there Nancy: Doesn't mean there's a way to stop yourself Nancy: Wish I could just No at myself Junior: I don't know, I don't find it too hard Junior: but you're out so its different Junior: I wouldn't want to go out with anyone...even if Mark is a gay Junior: what would he want with me Nancy: You're a catch Nancy: Out or not he'd be punching above his weight to have you Junior: I don't think there's any point being with someone if you can't be open with it Junior: Being a dirty little secret isn't going to feel good for either party Nancy: For some people it feels worth it Nancy: Just to be with, or around them Junior: Perhaps Junior: Safe to say I don't feel that deeply for any lad here so yeah Junior: keeping on my shelf for now, like Nancy: There's a junxtaposition, us on our respective ledges Nancy: I can't remember what being happily single is like Nancy: Another lesbian stereotype for the list Junior: Don't, how depressing 😂 Junior: I am not about that angsty teen art life Junior: How do we get you a lady? Junior: Do we have to hit the clubs? Nancy: 🙈 Nancy: No no no Nancy: Give that up for a bad job and worse idea Nancy: I'm too picky Junior: You're speaking to me Junior: vowed a celibate here Junior: we can do this for you Nancy: We can't Nancy: Leave me in my rut Junior: Fine fine 😋 Nancy: I'll be in my dark room angsting 😂 Junior: Noted Junior: I'll drag you out for museums and Tempest film marathon tomorrow, yeah? Junior: 'Til then madame Nancy: Looking forward to it Nancy: Stay inspired 💚 Junior: Stay golden 💛