#yana has said he’s the protagonist!!

[plague-of-insomnia]

I don’t know why this is such a difficult concept for the fandom to grasp.

[goetiae]

Interactions and interconnections between Ciel and Sebastian become truly fascinating when one analyzes these two as eternally connected in an everlasting cycle of effect they have on one another. It becomes increasingly obvious how they are meant to be the focal points of each other's lives because of the growth each go through while being affected by one another. It's incomparable to any other case of character development within the manga.

Ciel begins as someone nearly predisposed to evil, as per Yana's commentary about his father being the reason Ciel is such an "evil" child. He grows even more corrupted within that evilness once he is exposed to Sebastian, a creature of the dark who resolves matters through violence and knows no compassion to human lives.

Sebastian begins as someone who treats mortals around him with a lot of distaste as he is convinced humans are selfish, greedy beings that would step over each other to get what they want. Although, he is not unaware of the metamorphosis that he is about to go through after meeting his peculiar Master.

Having been betrayed by other humans in a multitude of ways, Ciel does not possess the best view on humanity. Sebastian, too, has witnessed the greed and neediness of mortals who he worked with, and thus now finds most humans despicable. Throughout the story, these views are challenged, starting with Ciel's.

Ciel, initially established as withdrawn and apathetic, changes with every new person he meets. His breakdown in the end of the Circus Arc exposes Sebastian to the degree of his trauma, showing him that Ciel believes it's better to be dead than to lead the life he had to endure. His treatment of Sieglinde, who is as much a helpless victim of circumstance as Ciel was, shows a very complicated idea of care that Ciel possesses: he threatens Sieglinde's life and offers her to pick between death and escape, so she can make a good choice and avoid his fate. Ciel is not yet capable of true, vulnerable, open care for others, but he's slowly melting his ice walls away.

Soma and Agni seem to display genuine care for Ciel's wellbeing despite not being obligated to show said care in any way, to which Ciel reacts with avoidance and further establishment of very strict boundaries. Often, we see him being rude to his newly found friends, without a particular reasoning to be so. When Agni dies, what seems to be true intentions of Ciel's avoidant personality seem to come forth: he pushed them away before they could get entangled within his business and, like many others in his life, pay for it. Ciel's care seems a tad more prominent within his treatment of the servants: the story slowly uncovers that he offers them gifts and assistance through Sebastian, such as allowing them to learn how to read or buying them clothes. One could say that Finnian's repeatedly changing clothing is for the convenience of the artist, but it's fair to propose that it was drawn on purpose, too.

Ciel's silent care for the wellbeing of others, especially those in similar circumstances to him and overall disadvantaged children, goes hand in hand with his ingrained violence and harshness. It is possible that it is a traumatic response after everything he has been through. However, we know from Yana's own words that Ciel's upbringing by Sebastian made him a more sadistic individual. What is most fascinating about this is that Sebastian seemed to have gone through an opposite transformation.

Sebastian's gradual exposure to human emotion is undeniable in the manga. As a protagonist of the series who starts off unconvinced that humanity can be good, he encounters consistent examples of the opposite. Agni becomes the most influential person in his life: he gains Sebastian's respect, shows him an example of selfless behavior unseen in mortals the demon interacted with, and proceeds to show him kindness through calling him a friend. After such a formative companionship, Sebastian, now with the weight of new experience, watches Ciel deny incoming human care, having learned from the cruel, heartless butler of his.

Throughout the story, Sebastian witnesses many people that challenge his view on humanity: he encounters mortals that are not the selfish, greedy creatures he is used to. Then, he slowly starts to see Ciel through a caring lens, too. He will never be his father, nor treat him as one, but he discovers empathy within himself that slowly makes its way into his treatment of his Lord. Offering more physical contact outside of necessary, having unnecessarily high concern for Ciel's wellbeing over minor injuries, and Sebastian's growing protectiveness all show that he views him with increased sympathy, as a traumatized boy rather than just a contractee. It is worth mentioning that Ciel, while cared for, does not stop being Sebastian's meal - it is possible that the more Sebastian cares for him, the more prominent the predator-prey nature of their relationship becomes. A caring beast and an adored victim are such an utterly unique combination of character types.

To draw this to a conclusion, Ciel and Sebastian develop in ways that neither seem to be initially ready for: Ciel obtains care for others whereas Sebastian gains care for Ciel. At the same time, Ciel becomes further corrupted by Sebastian and grows deeper into his maladaptive ways of handling his trauma; the latter playing only a partial role in his gradual increase of sadistic tendencies. Sebastian, in his turn, has his worldview challenged because he discovers he cares for his food, for once. He also irreversibly affects Ciel's perception of reality as he practically raised him without being paternal to him. He was the closest to a social example for the young Lord. Now, Sebastian has acquired emotions but hasn't lost the desire to ultimately consume Ciel; he affected Ciel through the formative years of their relationship, but now came to a point where he actually cares about his food, much unlike his initial demeanor displayed. Ciel, in his turn, has grown to care for those close to him, yet he lacks the social skills and emotional intelligence needed to handle such intricate emotions, which only furthers the damage done by his trauma - all because he was raised by a now slightly empathetic demon.

We are yet to see how the two are to handle the newly blooming emotions they discovered. It's undeniable that Ciel grew to care about Sebastian, too. And with that, it would be fair to state, lastly, that their intricate mutual effect on each other is fascinating to witness.

[borealiszero]

sooo out of all the characters in cursed, would you say you have a favourite? i’m intrigued, also feel free to just talk about the lore if u want to!! (love all of the character designs btw, theyre really cool 👍)

Thank you so much for sending this ask!!!!! It's actually hard to say which one is my favourite but like all the time i keep coming back is Sam Chevannes!!!

Long rambling under the cut

In this world, it's a post massive colonial era plus supernatural stuff but the supernatural are banned from being spoken about because the Christian said that's not what Jesus said in the bible (they fuckin lied). One of the supernaturals are crafters, they are normal human that has honed the skill of their ancestors that it became an ability unique to them (its teacheable but we'll get to that later).

So Sam Chevannes is one of the Crafters, his are Nullifier, which means he can null other people's craft. The problem is, he is suffering from RCD (rebounded craft disorder) means that he can nullify everything including himself, which became a terminal illnes for him, forcing him to be lobg time hospital patient for the majority of his childhood. After getting it under control via a special made ward, he worked at Maciat, and organisation that worked for the supernaturals. He's in the intelligence division, due to his craft and the fact that he's very good at gathering intelligence and being invincible (he swear he didn't do this on purpose).

In my storyline, he's the best friend of the protagonist, Pyrrha Halloran. He's very loyal to her, to the point of willing to betray Maciat for her without hesitation. He's also loves kids very much, and has adopted one (it's more of Yana adopting him actually). He also was tasked with neutralising an agent of the antagonist, Mercury, but he didn't kill mercury because he promised mercury's mom to find him. He's very?? idk what to say but he has this filter on himself that he doesn't deserve anything bc he was a burden due to his illness. He was actually surprised when people love him back lmao. He's also has this very casual attitude about his dying situation so he made jokes about it a lot.

One of my favourite aspect of him that he knows he has limited emotional quote and he strives to accomodate everyone that he met according to their need. Like when mercury was illegally placed at his house he tried his best to navigate through this traumatized, freshly out of a cult assassin's needs. He's also very loving!! His love spilled out of his ribcage and he cannot hold back that he is very much love his beloveds and cannot stop showing it. Like that one moment when pyrrha said that he deserved better friends than her he refuted and said that he said that being her friend is one of the best thing ever happened to him and he hoped that he died as her friend. He also has somewhat straight to the point attitude that can either came off the most amazing roast ever heard or the cringiest thing mankind can say. Also i like that he's very on board with beating up nazis and ableist just bc he can and his coworkers have to stop him physically, even if they're the one being insulated.

His fatal flaw is that he is very loyal. He will jump into the abyss to save people he loved, and he had done so. While Pyrrha sacrifice herself for the lesser evil, sam sacrifice himself for the better future of his beloveds. He will face the horror again and again for them. This frustrated Pyrrha bc unlike pyrrha, sam can permanently die. And he's the one getting mad that pyrrha is hurt even though it will heal quickly (the hypocrisy of these two 🙄).

If he has a character arc, it would be about how he has to face that he is loved, a burden that they willingly carry because it's him!! Who wouldn't carry the burden of people they love!!! Just like how he loves them, they also love him back!!!! Get loved idiot

Random fact about sam: whe he was five, he once was convinced that he was a cat and thus began to emulate cats behaviour like meowing, scratching, hissing, pawing stuff, eating and drinking like cats. His uncle doesn't know what to do. It lasted until he found out that cats cant eat chocolate then said to his uncle that he is birn a human again and never spoke of it again. He still does it sometimes, hissing and meowing.

[roxannepolice]

Ever since POTD aired I have been raging in my tags, casually reblogging wonderful gifs and fanarts, and staying away from discussions by not using any main tags, but. I'm starting to feel like that 52 Hz whale. Or Beatles' fool on the hill. And I can't tell if it's hearing impairment on my part or if the old guy playing the lyre is not really touching the strings. I can only hope anyone who might get upset filters their tags and won't go under the cut, but I genuinely need to share this with anyone.

Can someone tell me what the Doctor being forced to regenerate into the Master actually did? What it means, outside of welp, I guess text said it is so so it so and it's bad because the text said it's bad? Apart from the Doctor being... less un-present in the story than when a little girl turned them into a picture, but wtv, I get what happened here, Thirteen is in the netherworld of regeneration, and for now no embodied consciousness of the Doctor exists, while the Master's does. But that's in no way different from the Doctor just being dead? Stuff achieved by a self-made flood in alternative timeline in Turn Left? Tho I guess then the Master stays trapped as Yana at the end of the universe, incidentally Saxon is not mentioned in the episode and, well there's a reason TL is so good.

I mean, the one, definite thing that's supposed to stay throughout all of the regenerations, the thing that makes the character the same bloody character and not simply the same show with a protagonist of the same name are MEMORIES. Like this approach to identity or not, that's what's spelled out by Five:

And incidentally when Roberts!Master absorbs Eight's lives he also explicitly gets the Doctor's memories.

So, the logical conclusion is, the Master absorbed the Doctor's memories when she was forced to regenerate into him, right? That's what it means that he's the Doctor now, isn't it?

Well, no. He doesn't know who Fugutive Doctor is.

Something he should know if he now has the Doctor's memories. Nitpick? A handful of lines? Maybe. Except the plot's resolution depends on this handful of lines, you'd expect thought to be put into them. I guess the argument can be made that he's in post-regenerative stress? The Doctors sometimes had memory problems after regenerating? But that's kind of a stretch considering the confidence of both Yaz and the Doctor's disembodied memories that the Master won't know who Fugitive is. Watsonianly I guess this stretch could be made, but doylistly it's glaring that no thoughts were made.

And look, if it was just the case that the Master is an idiot? That the idea that one time lord can be regenerated into another was simply as wrong as that Rassilon will let them ascend into eternal choruses of harmony of the spheres? OK! I'd take it! Realisations are made, things are felt, reactions happen, a story is told. But in POTD no-one questions whether the Master is now the Doctor on the grounds of identity, memories, immortal soul, Dasein or whatever you choose to call it, only on... companions knowing the Master is not the Doctor. I guess in School Reunion Ten spent some time not being the Doctor when Sarah Jane hasn't spontaneously realised he's the person? And still was the Doctor as John Smith because Martha knew about the chameleon arch?

There could be some discussion about refected self as/vs. identity but this isn't what the text seems to be saying or what anyone got from it? And I know I'm ranting stuff out, but I genuinely want to discuss this! Am I missing something here, just what is there for the reader to sympathize with? I mean, it's sad, and Dhawan's teary lil' eyes are heartbreaking, but I really don't get what actually happened there?...

Which is something that frustrates me, personally. Again, I really don't want to start any haterants, it is no hill I'm ready to die on, in fact it's fairly possible I'll slide down it as soon as I post this, but I also really want to discuss this with someone...

'Cause right now I guess I have to admit this situation indeed makes me sympathize with the Master as the only person that seems aware of plot implications of a major development that noone else acknowledges. And I admit: it sucks.

[bobbyinthegarden]

2023 Reading Challenge

Fantasy: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

Mild spoilers ahead 

Starting off my 2023 reading challenge with a book I’ve been meaning to read for years: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin. I’ll be totally transparent here and say that fantasy is not a genre I typically tend to gravitate towards, and so I’m not as well read in the genre as I maybe should be. However, I sense that this may be changing because I absolutely adored this book with my whole heart and devoured it in only two days – I quite literally couldn’t put it down!

A Wizard of Earthsea was first published in 1968 and is the first book in a series of six (which I am absolutely also going to read as well as soon as I can get my hands on them!). The book follows its young protagonist, a wizard named Ged (or Sparrowhawk), as he embarks on his wizard training, and later faces off against forces beyond his understanding. The fantasy world in which Ged lives is called Earthsea, and it has no major land masses, like ours, but instead has many hundreds of islands, and so its people have a universal dependence on sea travel. Magic, in Earthsea, is not hidden, but is openly acknowledged and understood by the people, though most people are not able to practice it. The magic works on the True Name idea, in which everything that exists has a true name (that sometimes even they don’t know) and if you can learn a thing’s true name you gain power over it, and so a lot of the training process for young wizards is memorizing many, many of the true names of different things, so that they can exercise power them. Obviously, as a concept, this isn’t something that is unique to this book, but I absolutely loved the way the way that it is implemented within the story and the worldbuilding, as something that is a fundamental building block of both the culture of Earthsea as a whole, and the specific plot of the book.

I really love Ged as a character, how flawed he is and how much his character learns about himself over the course of the story is really wonderful. The plot itself is a pretty typical Campbellesque Heroes Journey, but his arc is intensely psychological, beginning the book mostly good natured but full of arrogance and pride at his superior magical abilities, something he is forced to confront when his ego leads him to displays of immense power that he doesn’t yet understand, that causes him and others significant pain, this awful mistake humbles him, forcing him to recognise the darkness that exists within him and ultimately make things right.

One thing that is also worth mentioning about this book is race. Almost all of the characters are people of colour, including Ged, who described as having ‘copper skin’. Ursula K. LeGuin’s father was an anthropologist who did extensive research into Native American cultures, particularly the Yana people, and this seems to have been a major inspiration for Ged and many of the other characters, including Ged’s close friend Vetch, similarly being described as having ‘dark skin’. LeGuin herself said on the subject:

My color scheme was conscious and deliberate from the start. I didn’t see why everybody in science fiction had to be a honky named Bob or Joe or Bill. I didn’t see why everybody in heroic fantasy had to be white (and why all the leading women had “violet eyes”). It didn’t even make sense. Whites are a minority on Earth now—why wouldn’t they still be either a minority, or just swallowed up in the larger colored gene pool, in the future? […] I think it is possible that some readers never even notice what color the people in the story are. Don’t notice, don’t care. Whites of course have the privilege of not caring, of being “colorblind.” Nobody else does. I have heard, not often, but very memorably, from readers of color who told me that the Earthsea books were the only books in the genre that they felt included in—and how much this meant to them, particularly as adolescents, when they’d ound nothing to read in fantasy and science fiction except the adventures of white people in white worlds. Those letters have been a tremendous reward and true joy to me. So far no reader of color has told me I ought to butt out, or that I got the ethnicity wrong. When they do, I’ll listen. As an anthropologist’s daughter, I am intensely conscious of the risk of cultural or ethnic imperialism—a white writer speaking for nonwhite people, co-opting their voice, an act of extreme arrogance. In a totally invented fantasy world, or in a far-future science fiction setting, in the rainbow world we can imagine, this risk is mitigated. That’s the beauty of science fiction and fantasy—freedom of invention.

I encourage you all to read the entire article that this quote is from, here is a link

However, one downside of the book that I will mention, is that there are elements of misogyny within the work that does seem a little jarring (the whole “weak as women’s magic” thing in particular), especially from a writer like Ursula K. LeGuin, whose work is usually hailed as extremely feminist (just check out her book The Left Hand of Darkness, and you’ll see what I mean). LeGuin herself has acknowledged that this is a shortcoming of the book and I’m told that the later books in the series are much more feminist than the first one, so I’m exciting to see how my opinions will change when I’m able to read the other books in the series.

Despite that, this book was a truly great start to this reading challenge, I’m really looking forward to reading both the other books in the series, and some of the other books that I have in mind for the different genres!

[madreesatelvanni]

Apologies for the delay, dear readers. I'd have written sooner, alas, Aratron and I have been making our preparations for our tri-annual trip to Necrom. The visit itself is a formality, mind you. Yet, in our preparations, one of Aratron's experiments escaped its cage and we had to spend a few days chasing the stinky little vvardvark down.

Do not ever introduce intellect fortification potions into a vvardvark's diet if you wish to keep it as a pet.

But perhaps it was for the best; during our rests between chases I could take my time and relax with The Locked Room. Seeing as we are dealing here with a work of fiction rather than a political treatise, we shall be shifting our focus away from rhetoric. Instead, we'll be looking towards characterization, as well as setup and payoff. Once again, we shall be analyzing only a handful of passages, to keep things brief.

Our first stop is to analyze the first three passages of the book.

"Yana was precisely the kind of student her mentor Arthcamu despised: the professional amateur. He enjoyed all the criminal types who were his usual pupils at the stronghold, [...] They were always interested in simple solutions, the easy way, but people like Yana were always looking for exceptions, possibilities, exotica. For pragmatists like Arthcamu, it was intensely vexing.

"The Redguard maiden would spend hours in front of a lock, prodding at it with her wires and picks, flirting with the key pins and driver pins, exploring the hull with a sort of casual fascination that no delinquent possesses. Long after her fellow students had opened their test locks and moved on, Yana was still playing with hers. The fact that she always opened it eventually, no matter how advanced a lock it was, irked Arthcamu even further.

"'You are making things much too difficult,' he would roar, boxing her ears. 'Speed is of the essence, not merely technical know-how. I swear that if I put the key to the lock right in front of you, you'd still never get around to opening it.'"

The opening here gives us a strong choice of words to mull over regarding characterization. Yana is immediately singled out from Arthcamu's typical stock, labled as a "professional amateur", and always seeking "exceptions, possibilities, exotica". In short, Lyttumly paints the picture that Yana is taking these classes for the love of lockpicking as an art. She has no intention of breaking and entering into anything.

Further, Lyttumly makes some very specific word choices in regards to Yana's age. While he never gives an exact age for either Yana, Arthcamu, nor any of the other students, he introduces Yana as a "maiden", and from then on is always referring to her as a "girl". Our protagonist is not an adult, either she is a child or she is a teenager. Regardless of which, she is always "flirting" with her tools with a "casual fascination", and always opens her locks eventually, "irk[ing]" her teacher. Not only, then, is Yana painted with a playfulness, but she is shown to be a prodigy. Yana is very good at what she does.

Yet, Arthcamu nonetheless is frustrated with her. His focus is wholeheartedly on the time spent on a lock. Thus, his ire. I have little to say about the third paragraph on its own here. Though, I will say, think of what else Lyttumly may have said instead of "roar". "Yell"? "Scream"? Neither convey what "roar" does. To roar is primal. To roar is to express a deep rage from within. Arthcamu is at his wit's end here.

On to setup & payoff, we'll take a look at the fifth paragraph of part two. After Arthcamu traps Yana in a cage with a slumbering vampire, Yana gains the inspiration to trick Arthcamu into the same cage under the guise of testing her "unpickable lock," further sweetening the deal by telling him that she'd leave the class soon after.

"'I need to leave now,' called Yana from the other side of the door. [...] It's getting dark, and even though you aren't able to unlock the door, the vampire might be less proud about using the key to escape. Remember when you said 'If I put the key to the lock right in front of you, you'd still never get around to opening it'?'"

The payoff is subtle and easy to miss; Arthcamu certainly did. But Yana here is giving Arthcamu a hint as to the key's whereabouts. It's only when Arthcamu fails to open the lock and the vampire attacks him that he takes notice of the key around its neck.

It's important to take note of the cyclical nature of this narrative. Arthcamu berates Yana for taking her time, decides to trap her in a deadly time trial. In revenge, Yana devises an unpickable lock, traps Arthcamu in the same trial. When brute force fails, Arthcamu makes an attempt at Yana's casual style of lockpicking, and still fails. The narrative loops around itself in such a satisfying manner.

While not all narratives need be so cyclical, always bear in mind the importance of setup and payoff. On that note, Aratron and I have taken to calling the vvardvark "Yana", in honor of the character. The little creature's escape artistry has become somewhat endearing, and Aratron hopes to study Yana's capabilities.

[mysaldate]

I can't find the post anymore but there is something that has been bugging me about the recent "Jack is the wolves from the Jungle Book" post.

Now, full disclaimer, I think it's a great theory and you're free to believe whatever you want, but there are a few things that go against this being the only inspiration for Jack that you may be forgetting or possibly might not know about. I will try to keep this neat and organized but I got hit hard by insomnia last night so I'm sorry if it's a bit all over the place.

To start with, the wolves in Jungle Book are not the villains of the story. They are a neutral side at worst, yet Jack still has dark magic. I know this is a weak point but it's still worth thinking about, especially considering the hunter from Snow White gets to be twisted into a character with light magic and treated as an ally to the protagonist even though he did plan on violently murdering her.

This next point is something I can no longer prove and most people won't know about but bear with me here. Back in the day before twst even had a release date or voice actors, the official website was sharing the character designs and profiles. Up until they got to Ignihyde, each character profile had a part called "Twisted From:" much like the dorms do. For most characters, one or two inspirations were listed. Riddle was Queen of Hearts, Trey was both a card soldier and the mad hatter etc. Jack's entry, however, said "???" Now, you can take this multiple ways – either he has no base and Yana is just doing whatever feels right at the moment, or he has many various inspirations and it would be a hassle to list them all. Obviously, given Yana's track-record, making stuff up as she goes is not her style.

But there's still more. In the Twisted Archives interview, Yana stated that she wanted to include as many movies that were either commercially successful or had cultural impact, not in the west, but specifically in Japan, but Disney made her cut down a lot on the project. One of these movies with an impact is an old-school Disney live-action adaptation of Jack London's books, called Call of the Wild which is a story about a pack of wolves living in Alaska. Both Jack's name and his homeland made a lot of JP fans think that Jack might actually be based on these wolves. And while they are not the villains, Jack London's wolf stories rarely have an actual villain and rather focus on the harsh and often violent lives these animals lead in the wild.

Finally, there is the note of Jack befriending and racing a deer which a lot of people pointed out feels like a Frozen reference.

In conclusion, it is more likely that Jack is a merge of many different Disney wolves over the years, possibly caused by Yana having to cut her planned characters down to about 1/6 of the original cast (there was supposed to be almost 20 dorms with 4-5 members each). Thank you for reading!

[pinkpruneclodwolf]

Okay so this has been a brainrot of mine since I've been introduced to the concept of OB!Yuu AU. I might have posted it alr--the concept of it at least on my other blog--but like I need help to flesh out details and stuff.

Essentially Yuu Overblots I won't spoil the details but the OB is the house and its residents/keepers. The keepers are Yuu but like in different stages of their life/portray Yuu in their most crucial points in their life Ig (I'm honestly still debating at some parts but the ones I'm sure about are Yuu around when they're five or four and there's the one who's the pre-canon ver of the current yuu). Each keeper holds power over specific parts of the house--I'm not sure where to put the actual Yuu but I'm thinking somewhere in the attic or basement but who knows.

The OB is more or less a defense mechanism for Yuu to hide away after the stress of it all. Trying to brute force your way results in hurting the actual Yuu. Basically demolishing the house is a sure way to kill them--since the house is their mind and the residents are their heart.

But like what do you think? I alr have the plot for the fic and the first years are the main protagonists (kid Yuu is a way for me to explore and develop Sebek bc if Yana won't then I guess i'll have to do god's work then ig kjdghjdf) but like details details, I need help please.

Do you think the house is like Casita in Encanto where it reacts to dif people being there— say for example, Adeuce step in and the house tries to guide them into solving Yuu's OB.

Is it a manifestation of their home and each room is a family member or sibling, or like you said Yuu's most crucial moments in life (does this include future!Yuu? Where they try to help in the subtlest way possible.)

Does the house take after NRC and there are an abundance of residents/keepers and there's essentially a level or code they have to follow yo progress into another level think of it as Riddle levels pertains to painting over something/covering something up.

Leona's being desperation and trying to break free from a sea of people/residents pushing them back. Azul's being deal making or truth or dare where its one step forward two steps back?

Kid Yuu being the key could also play a key component by being the one to bring the boys into the house and desperately trying to help them navigate but each time they progress Kid Yuu kinda gets held hostage by preteen!yuu, teen!yuu, and even future!yuu to an extent.

The house could represent Yuu's psyche while under the influence of the OB, like it starts of outwardly normal but as soon as you step in you're immediately carted off somewhere—

CHENYA COULD PLAY A ROLE IN DIRECTING THE BOYS!!! THINK ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

Ooh, Sebek being a reluctant caretaker to Kid!Yuu is some good food right there. A feast if you will. Because head probably startle them just by being so loud and scrutinizing, but he learns to quiet down when they come across a room/sequence where sound is very important (something, something auditory and how it affects the mind).

The keepers could also take the form of the boys (idk who you'll choose as the main cast beside Sebek and Kid!Yuu) bc of how they influenced Yuu, good or bad. Basically them battling themselves and having to find a way to exploit their weaknesses while also becoming stronger as a result��you could throw in a headcanon or two about how UM's/twsts magic system works as well.

I def believe Keeper!Grim could take the form of OB!Grim as a manifestation of Yuu's fear of leaving and having Grim destroy the school as a result, causing Grim to confront whether or not he should let Yuu go.

I don't know where the heart of the house could be bc living room straight up sounds insane when you consider how the house shifts about (if it does) or if the house is like those mirror portals that transfer the boys into different sections each time they complete a sequence.

OVERALL MEGA BRAINED AND I VANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR HEADXANON

[twsttheory]

⚠️Chapter 5 spoilers⚠️ Chapter Recaps and Predictions for Future Dormitory Chapters.

Pardon me for being a little slow but I have just realized a trend? Aside from the fact that Twisted Wonderland seems to be a very “Screw society” game, the take-away of every Twisted Wonderland arc reflects the morals the of their respective Disney classic, except the villains are the ones experiencing it. 

Heartslabyul: 

Just like Alice in Wonderland, the first plot of the first Chapter centres around the idea that rules are not always meant to be followed. However, as I have mentioned in a previous post, many have theorized that the story of Alice in Wonderland is the journey of a child towards adulthood, during which they begin to realize their individual personalities. The Queen of Heart’s tyranny thus represents societal rules and expectations. In the first chapter, this is not illustrated by Riddle’s strictness. Instead, it is illustrated by the expectations and rules that Riddle’s mother has imposed on him. Riddle will then learn that not everything his mother said is correct, and will grow to have his own opinions. We even see him screwing up the mont-blanc. His mistake is very... um... him though. 

Savanaclaw:

Following the Heartslabyul arc is the Savanaclaw arc. Again, the plot is similar to that of The Lion King. Both Leona and Scar are the second-born, and the fact that their brothers have a son makes it impossible for them to become kings. This has lead to Leona’s somewhat inferiority complex. The lazy lion proceeds to come up with a plan to overthrow the more powerful Malleus in the Magift competition, but fails because of the Heartslabyul gang. No matter what he does, not everything goes according to plan. This is where “Hakuna Matata” becomes important. In the Lion King, it is taught to Simba, the protagonist, but in Twisted Wonderland, it has become a lesson that Leona has learnt. Life is not fair, but instead of choosing to dwell on that concept and suffer, you could choose to be happy instead. Despite not being able to become King, Leona is still very intelligent and very much capable, earning the respect of his dorm members and many more people. 

Octavinelle:

Fish arc covers the topic of bullying, which many of us have experienced. In this chapter, Azul strives to become more powerful as a result of bullying, and has thus grown to become a very talented mage. His collection of contracts is similar to both Ariel’s collection of human objects and Ursula’s collections of those who failed to pay their debt. All these collections are but material collections, and in Azul’s eyes, his collection is a measure of his worth, as seen from when he declares that he will be useless if Leona were to destroy the contracts. What both Ariel and Azul were missing was as a matter of fact not their material collection. Instead, it was love for Ariel, and friendship for Azul. Jade and Floyd gave him friendship, which he did not have as a victim of bullying, and I’m pretty sure that he realizes that both their presences are more valuable than mere material contracts. I am also certain that Jade and Floyd think so too, although they say otherwise. 

Scarabia:

Scarabia arc’s overblot goes to Jamil, you poor boy. Because of his position as the Asim family’s servant, he believes that as long as he is in the presence of Kalim, he will never be able to be who he really is. Aladdin also thinks that he cannot be with Jasmine if he isn’t royalty. However, we all know that Jamil has more to offer as an individual. He is intelligent and powerful, and will remain intelligent and powerful despite his position as a servant. Aladdin is loved by Jasmine despite being a non-royal. Scarabia’s chapter centres around the idea that an individual’s potential and worth is not defined or limited by their status or position, as Jamil has surely proven to us. 

Pomefiore:

The recent Pomefiore arc is also very relatable and nothing less than outstanding, highlighting the importance of “beauty” in more than one way. This chapter straight up tells us that ballet is not restricted to girls, and it has already earned my respect. What’s more outstanding is its emphasis of effort. Vil is shown to be frustrated because of being in Neige’s shadow. GIVE HIM THE LICENSE TO BE FRUSTRATED HE WORKED SO HARD! Despite his hard work, he is less popular than the cheery and pretty Neige. In the VDC, Neige’s cover of a children song grabbed more attention than the song he poured his sweat, blood and tears over. No one cares about the effort behind the scenes, and all the praise goes to the final product. In Snow White, the Evil Queen will never be the most beautiful, because she is ugly inside. This could apply to this chapter. Despite being more successful, Neige, unless stated otherwise, lacks the diligence and hard work that Vil has put into his craft.

Ignihyde:

All right folks this is where the predictions starts. The recurring theme of this game is conflict against society. From this, I will predict that Idia and Hercules will share a common theme. People call them monsters. Hercules is called a monster because of his inhuman strength, while Idia’s case will most likely be because of Ortho. Idia is undoubtedly a genius engineer, and since Ortho is a cyborg, there are chances that he was once a human but died, and is turned into a cyborg by his brother. Idia creating him from scratch is not likely because he already mentioned a “previous Ortho”. Because of this, Idia is feared by many people as well. However, if this theory were to be correct, it would mean that the story will follow the moral in Hercules that underlines the importance of staying true to oneself and that people will love you for who you are. Hercules definitely stayed true to himself, and in the end, instead of being labelled a monster, he became loved by many. I’m sure that it will be the same way with Idia, although I am not sure about the situation that will help incite this. 

From how he encouraged Riddle to break away from his mother’s rules in the first chapter,, it is highly possible that Ace would play a role in helping Idia express his mad scientist vibes. If Ace does not help Idia, he will probably still play a big role alongside Ortho, as they are both younger siblings. From ghost marriage, we can also see Ortho’s ability to call Ace out on his bullshit. Ace is a child full of lies, and his true personality may also not be what he displays every day. With Ortho’s advance “Your body sayin you lyin boy” technology, I think that we could finally see a change in our dumb ginger boy’s personality, as well as gain some juicy insight into the Trappola household. Epel is also a plausible factor, seeing that he has embraced his cute and wild side in Chapter 5. However, if the story were to follow the same pattern as in Chapter 3 with Jack and Octavinelle, Epel will most likely only help the main character, and Vil would help with the dorm leader in question. But we’ll see about that.

Diasomnia

Sleeping beauty is a story where love is a powerful force. In the dorm that is very family orientated, there is no doubt that love will be a common theme in this story arc. However, just like Pomefiore, the first year also has to play an important role in the story. Sebek, unlike waka sama, is probably mortal. Another theme in sleeping beauty is that growing up presents all sorts of existential crisis. I am pretty certain that Sebek’s existential crisis would come in the form of fey vs human. Power vs mortality. How will Malleus overblot then? Following the pattern, it would likely be because of a problem that contrasts to their first year. As Sebek gets to know the idiot combo, he will gain more friends, and Malleus might find his most loyal guard taken away from him, or it may come in the form of Sebek or Silver, or both, objecting him in some way. If both happen to be proven wrong, it is still likely that he will overblot because of something that involves his loneliness or lack of understanding of mortality. It could even be caused by seeing Sebek and Silver grow up, and suddenly be hit with the realization that they both may one day leave his side or pass away, and that the main character, who does not fear him at all, will also one day return to their world or die, leaving him behind once again. 

The conflict will probably then be resolved by the understanding that despite all this, he has friends. Lilia, Sebek, Silver, the main character, and perhaps even Ace and Deuce, and Idia and Ortho for good measure, are people precious to him, and it is important for him to treasure the time that he has with them.

That’s all for today! These are probably not accurate, and I’m sure that Yana Toboso is at least 10 dimensions away from me when playing chess, but it is fun to compare the storyline with their respective classic film. Either ways, only time will tell how the story progresses. So I’ll keep an eye out for any previews! Thank you for reading!

[chibimyumi]

Hello chibi! I've been following your blog for a few months, I adore your work and all of the research you do for your posts!

I wanted to ask, is there any instance in the manga where someone refers to Sebastian as "Sebastian Michaelis"? I mean, does any character, including Sebas, ever use the surname?

Has Yana ever said anything about where the surname comes from in-universe? (I know that irl it's a reference to a real person, but has she said anything about where Sebas got "Michaelis" from or if he just invented it?)

Aaaaa sorry this is super long, I hope you can understand!! Best of luck and lots of love!

Dear Anon,

Thank you very much for your compliment!

Off the top of my head (and double checking of moments I remember), I also have a hard time coming up with an instance where Sebas introduces himself by his full (temporary) name. (Sorry, I realise that even though my memory for Kuro is fairly good, it is still not perfect... but I also don’t really have time time to reread 175 chapters just to check one trivia. Anyone who does have a more complete picture, please do share!)

The only one I remember is when he introduces himself as ProfMika (ミカせん(MikaSen), the Nickname the JP fandom has for him (≽ω≼)). But then Sebas is never referred to by his first name in the arc, except by his master in private.

There are no other instances I happen to remember or to have stumbled across where Sebas’ full name is being used.

As explained in this post, Yana doesn’t really attach importance to names, so it also surprises me very little that in 10+ years, so few names have been dropped. I mean...what other series has THREE main characters without their real names known after a decade??? Yana cares about names so little a lot of characters aren’t even introduced to other characters on page. So yeah, anyone waiting for the revelation of O!Ciel, Sebas' or UT's true name, don't hold your breath. I judge the chance of never ever learning their true names higher.

Chapter 15-16 for example, are the ones wherein Agni and Soma newly meet Sebas and O!Ciel. Without the main duo having introduced themselves to the strangers, the next chapter Agni already showed that he learned of their names, calling the master "Lord Ciel", and referring to the butler as "Mr. Sebastian."

It is possible that the self-introduction did happen, we just didn't see it. (Yes, I checked).

For Sebas though, it is actually really logical that his name or full name is hardly used. He is a servant, and servants were supposed to be little more than tools and furniture, after all.

In chapter 88 when our protagonists first meet Sieglinde, she asks for the boy's name. Ciel replied, but Sebastian didn't say anything, because it was not his place to talk. What proper servant would introduce himself unasked for, in the same spotlights as his master?

And indeed it wasn't until later that Sieglinde asked Ciel, that the boy dropped his butler's first name. In West-European culture I believe, people's surnames are not commonly mentioned unless it is specifically to distinguish someone's identity, or because the name hold some weight. A mere servant though? Nah.

As for a potential explanation for the name "Michaelis", well, we are fairly certain Yana was inspired by the historical Sébastien Michaëlis, but when I try to search Yana's twitter, there are no results to be found. I think at the time Yana didn't really expect her tiny, silly, one-shot manga to come from the ground, so she just went for something quick and edgy.

I am not sure whether you are open to roleplay interpretations, but my favourite Sebas roleplayer @akumadeshitsumon wrote:

If the man himself were still around to observe, I sincerely hope that he would be bothered by my actions while wearing his name. (source)

This roleplayer suggested in the post that Sebas as a demon chose the name "Michaelis" to spite Michaëlis for his classification of demons. I also assume the real Sebas would have found a 17th century inquisitor's work about demons highly offensive.

[hanbereviews]

Savanaclaw Main Story Review

Welcome to the second twisted wonderland story review, or should I say analysis? A little bit of both! Today we will be focusing on Chapter 2 of the main story AKA Savanaclaw. This will once again focus on the character moments, as I believe Savanaclaw was one of the weaker stories in terms of plot. If you’re interested in why, you can read my final thoughts after this whole review! Of course warning for spoilers.

Jack Howl 

The 1st year that I affectionately refer to as Yana Toboso’s werewolf OC. Jack is actually a character the writing team has concocted from their own brains rather than being based off any of the animals in the Lion King. That doesn’t mean he’s any lesser for that! 

Jack is actually the biggest model when it comes to Savanaclaw’s values and perhaps the only one who strictly upholds them even when his dorm is facing difficulties. His character is actually something familiar you see in joseimuke games, the student who values strength above cunning. Typically this means that said student ends up just a little stupid, and Jack doesn’t lack in this department either. But no one ever said the first years were appealing because they’re the smartest of the bunch. 

He is somewhat of a sub antagonist, cryptic about his intentions and even triggering a fight with the protagonist, as well as Ace and Deuce. But as the story progresses you begin to see that he’s one of the few genuine people who mean no harm at NRC. Jack is presented as someone who while being a little bit of a dunce at times, is extremely bright and does not compromise his morals for any reason. 

One could view him as a bit of the “ideal,” when positioned against Leona and Ruggie, who don’t hesitate to employ underhanded tactics in the story. He’s honest, open about his emotions, and a reliable person. Unfortunately, being a first year means he doesn’t have much in the way of personal backstory, the most we know about him being that the dorm head of Pomefiore has a soft spot for him due to them previously being neighbors. 

Ruggie Bucchi 

A liar, a cheat, a conniving bastard Ruggie Bucchi is. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t doing all of those things without a reason. Ruggie is arguably the most complex in Savanaclaw, due to his weasly nature. He is the main perpetrator behind the “incidents,” taking place that cause key members to be taken out of commission before the magift tournament starts. But before getting into why he would do such a thing, let’s take a look at his past. 

Ruggie was a street kid that grew up in the slums of his town. This meant he couldn’t get by in life unless he played dirty and greedily. Despite attending NRC, that is the only way of life he knows. Even though he is in a much more comfortable position, the game goes so far as to describe him as a glutton. Obviously Ruggie just can’t kick his survival instincts, and it even shows with how he utilizes his magic. 

Ruggie’s unique magic, “laugh with me” plays a central part to the story and brings together the character I described above. While not particularly severe, he does put several people in the infirmary with it. People that for all intents and purposes have done nothing to him personally, all because Leona ordered him to. It was rather clear that Ruggie had ample time to say no as well, so why exactly would he engage in something he doesn’t necessarily have a stake in? 

It’s because Leona ordered him to do it, and Ruggie cares about Leona. That’s it. The lynchpin holding Ruggie’s character together is that Leona and Ruggie care about each other to a startling degree. To the point that Ruggie is willing to do things that are quite obviously morally wrong because they have a strong bond. If you catch yourself thinking otherwise, I’d like to touch on a small tidbit regarding Ruggie’s uniform. It’s actually a hand me down from Leona, one which he could’ve easily rejected. If Ruggie didn’t like and respect him in some capacity, why would he wear Leona’s old uniform? Exactly. 

Leona Kingscholar 

The main antagonist of this whole story. It’s the sleepy, tired, yawning, tired, and most of all sleepy, Leona! If you didn’t catch all the adjectives I used, one of Leona’s main traits is that he likes to sleep. And while one may think he’d be more proactive in the story, he actually spends a lot of it sleeping. While passed off as something quirky at first, each episode begins to reveal more and more that it’s a symptom of the problem with Savanaclaw, and with Leona personally. 

Leona’s main drive for the underhanded tactics he had Ruggie perform as well as his sleepy behavior is that he doesn’t view putting in effort as something worth doing. For why, it requires dipping into his backstory. 

Leona is just the heir to the throne in his home country, but he’s the “second inferior” son. His brother is actually the one who's next in line, and thus Leona’s efforts were never exactly recognized. It’s pretty clear that Leona fell into a deep depression that carried over into NRC because of this. It’s evident just by his age, he’s 20 years old and has yet to graduate despite being around 2 years older than the third years. Why should he bother to graduate if no one expects anything of him? Yet despite that, Leona still yearns to be on top and be recognized in some fashion. Clashing with his lethargic behavior, so what exactly does he do to deal with his contradictory feelings in this story? Well, besides going to bed. 

He has Ruggie do things for him! Remember, the entire premise of this story is that Savanaclaw was a dorm that focused on physical strength and thus displayed that via the Magift tournaments. However, Diasomnia, more specifically Malleus has continuously beat them and thus caused them to finish second place every single time. Leona’s desire to win as well as his innate resentment for people who are naturally talented and praised causes him to employ slimy tactics to fix this. Yet he has the unmitigated gall to have his vice dorm head do things for him instead of having the balls to do it himself. 

So with that in mind, you must really think that Ruggie’s care for Leona is one-sided, but this idea actually leads into his overblot. Leona DOES care about Ruggie, to such a high degree that one of the main reasons for his overblot was not just that his plan was foiled. It was the fact Ruggie was disappointed in him. Remember until now Ruggie has gone along with everything Leona’s said and done, respecting him immensely despite the fact he hasn’t exactly been a model dorm head. Yet when Leona is ready to give up and one of the few people he truly cares about begins to lose trust in him, he snaps. 

Final Thoughts

While Savanaclaw’s story had a wealth of character details and really let us know what the dorm was all about. It did struggle very heavily in letting us know if anything particularly changed in their characterization, as well as the plot kind of not being as complex as Heartslaybuls. A few chapters felt like padding to keep us from solving the main conflict too fast, and the lack of characters meant that a lot of interactions were once again self contained. 

This makes Savanaclaw a very strong character story, but a very weak plot based one. But obviously with so many dorms, there are going to be some plots that are hit or miss. So it doesn’t exactly take away from how genuinely enjoyable Savanaclaw’s chapter was.

[plague-of-insomnia]

Is Sebastian “Evil”?

Recently, I saw a post by @puppyfan9000 about Sebastian, commenting on whether or not he is evil, suggesting he’s more like a lion, who preys on animals for survival and not because they’re “evil.”

I guess I had not fully appreciated how many people apparently view Sebastian through the lens of Christian demonology and dogma and thus view him as evil, some apparently going as far to say he’s the villain of the series. (Yana has said he’s the protagonist, actually, but go off, I guess.)

While I can’t ofc know what Yana had in mind with Sebastian when she created him, I do feel like the manga does a good job of pointing out that demons are not innately good or evil, and the truly “evil” ones are humans themselves.

(This is gonna be a bit long so I’ll go ahead and tuck the rest under a read more.)

Shinto Kami & Three Natures

One of the cores of Shinto belief is the kami, sometimes translated as “god,” though I think “deity” is better since the former often has an association with “good” in the western mindset.

The thing about kami is they aren’t good or evil; they exist outside those human parameters. They’re more like a force of nature than what we in the west might view as demonic or godly.

And each kami has 3 natures, or mitama:

aramitama - rough and wild

nigimitama - gentle and life supporting

sakimitama - nurturing

[SS from Handbook of Japanese Mythology by Michael Ashkenazi]

Think of these three as different colored liquids all contained within a vessel. Each kami has a diff amount of each, with one or more of these natures dominating in different situations and at different times.

Connected to this, the line between a “god” or “kami” and a “demon” (so many words you can use here, including akuma, or even yokai) is fluid in Shinto belief.

A kami can “fall” and “devolve” into a baser yokai or “demon” if they become impure (purity is a big part of Shinto belief and ritual), and/or if their aramitama nature becomes more dominant.

Even so, these beings aren’t considered “evil” in the same sense that a Christian views Satan as “evil.”

Just as the destruction caused by a hurricane can’t be called “evil,” the behavior of a kami or other spirit likewise is neither good nor evil. It simply is.

Yana has described him as “without shame or moral sense” but I think this is a bit misleading in translation (though the original Japanese is lost so I can’t say for sure what she said exactly). I think what she means isn’t “he’s evil” but that “he exists outside the framework of human morality.”

Humans Vs Demons in the Manga

I feel like to call Sebastian evil is to miss the fundamental message of the manga: that humans (and formerly human creatures like shinigami) are far more demonic than demons.

Ciel says that almost verbatim, depending on the translation (and if you’re talking about the manga vs the anime) at the end of the circus arc, and Seb replies that is something that sets humans and demons apart.

Sebastian doesn’t kill for the sake of killing. He only kills on command/when necessary to execute (ha) Ciel’s orders/goals. More than once he’s expressed either his distaste at Ciel’s desires, and while Ciel calls him a beast, he takes offense to that.

From Sebastian’s perspective, humans are interesting because they are more complex than demons, who seem to be driven largely by their hunger and not much else.

Recall that Sebastian hesitated to burn down Kelvin’s manor with all the children inside, and it confuses him enough he even questions Ciel about it later. Likewise, while he does kill everyone involved in the Green Witch arc, that was far less about his being “evil,” and more about his doing the job that Ciel ordered him to do while giving him a chance to get his own “revenge” for nearly losing his meal due to the effects of the gas.

I think the closest thing to “evil” Sebastian gets in the manga is when he first makes the contract with Ciel and tries to trick him by making him believe his brother is alive, since he can’t actually resurrect the dead. But I feel it’s telling that is “day one” Sebastian and he has certainly grown and changed since then.

The Ripper Arc: The First Evil

The first true arc is the ripper arc, and I think it’s important because it shows us early that while Sebastian is a literal hellspawn, it wasn’t a demon involved in the serial murders but rather a human—Madam Red—and someone who was once human—Grelle.

Grelle then kills Red in cold blood because she’s become “boring,” which, as far as we know, Grelle never regretted or felt remorse over.

I’m not quite sure if I would even call Grelle evil, but the point is clear: humans, and former humans, are more demonic than demons.

We see it again and again, with the cult, with Kelvin, with the German military in the GWA, with Undertaker and the Aurora society— perhaps it is telling that Sebastian is the only known demon in canon (no, season 2 of the anime is not canon), because it really forces us to see that even the worst of Sebastian’s actions pales in comparison to the depravity of human beings.

If we do wanna look at non-canon, the first season of the anime featured an Angel, a being that is normally associated with being “good,” who becomes so twisted and obsessed with “purity” that they let their aramitama nature take hold and commit great evil in their quest for purification. Even so much as to try and ally with a demon and offer Sebastian any souls he wishes in exchange for Ciel.

So once more we see a non-demon character being the evil one— and Pluto, who is technically a demon, isn’t “evil.” He only “becomes evil” when Ash/Angela break his mind and force him to attack the city.

Ignoring Ciel’s Commands

Finally, I think it’s important to point out that despite promising to always fulfill Ciel’s orders, there have been several times in the manga that he has disobeyed in order to protect Ciel.

One example happens in the circus arc. Ciel’s asthma flares from the harsh conditions at the circus, but he’s determined to go out regardless. But they’re stopped by Agni and Soma.

Agni then gives Sebastian a harsh lecture that makes him realize that simply always following Ciel’s orders isn’t enough if doing so puts his life at risk. So he goes against Ciel’s wishes and not only makes him rest, but let’s him sleep as long as he needs to.

Later, during the Weston arc, when confronted by Undertaker again, Sebastian ignores Ciel’s orders to try and catch him because he learned from his experiences on the Campania and doesn’t want to risk putting Ciel in danger again.

If Sebastian were truly such an evil being, an embodiment of sin, then why would he care about Ciel’s health? Yes, he’s cultivating his soul for optimum yumminess, but harvesting him a bit early wouldn’t really affect him that badly.

Though Sebastian says that he’s doing it because of the terms of their contract or because he’s “taken great pains” to cultivate Ciel’s soul and doesn’t want him stolen, I don’t think that is entirely the truth. While he ofc doesn’t want to lose his meal, I think it’s more than that.

No, he protects Ciel because he wants to. He keeps him safe and out of harm because he chooses to. And demon or not, I don’t think someone like Agni could call an evil being his friend.

[lol-jackles]

Out of all the "stories" that came out the spn cast and crew's mouth, what do you rank as the top 5 (or 10 if you feel up for it) most amusing and entertaining fibs, lies, excuses, brush-offs, etc. that you've observed in these last 15-ish years?

Off the top of my head I’ll give you my top 3:

3. Jerry Wanek said he was very suprised by how good Jared was in “When the Levee Breaks”  because (paraphrasing)  he would take Jensen’s acting over Jared’s 10 to 1 but Jared has a competitiveness that is hard to beat.  

Me: Everybody is entitled to their opinion but what I loved about Jerry’s comment was we got to see the usually comatose Jared girls turn into a category 4 Hurricane and Jerry had to defend himself on social media and admit that Jared is a good actor and backtracked that if it weren’t for Jared he wouldn’t have a job with the show because, you know, Sam is the lead protagonist of Supernatural.  No Sam and there’s no Supernatural.  

Three years later for an episode written by Singer’s hack wife, Jerry directed Jensen’s most uncomfortable sex scene since his epileptic chair sex performance in Devour.   Jerry was punished enough for his earlier faux paus that Jared girls put away their Wanek voodoo dolls. 

2. Robert Singer and Jensen blaming fangirls for why there’s no romance on the show.  

Me: And meanwhile Sera Gamble talked about the letters she gets from fangirls saying they want to see Sam get the girl and get laid.  Sarah Baker was very well liked by fans and Jared thought they would bring her character back as a recurring.  Truth is the show is not built for romance, mostly because they found out the formula works best when focus on the brother angst of Sam and Dean (thats why they killed off John Winchester), and partly because the writers just suck at writing romance.  

As fans, you all don’t have the power to hire or fire actors on the show.  Robert Singer is the producer, he’s the one with the real hiring/firing power but he regularly throw fans under the bus because he won’t man up.

1. My most favorite fibs, lies, excuses, brush-offs, etc, is ……. *drum roll*  ……*long time followers should know this one……….

YANA!

I honestly don’t know which was better:

the clusterfuck of trainwreck YANA campaign written by SPN writers whom thought a stalking Misha in a hoodie was a swell idea to promote mental health, 

or the unstealthy series of promoting events leading up to the YANA debut, 

or Jared countering those yahoos with his own stealthy cold war measures.

.

[philosophicalparadox]

Let’s talk about Angela - oh, I mean Jane.

Yeah...Jane... weird name there Yana. 

And when I mean weird, I mean weird. Because the name Jane was not actually very common in those times; even as a nick-name, usually for either Virginia (a rare name outside the US in the 1870′s/80′s assuming “Jane” is supposed to be an adult of around 20-30) or for Janette, which was a name you didn’t hear much of in any country during those times, since it evolved from Jane, which was unto itself a rare name, with fewer than 2k people in the 1880′s being born with that name, according to Ancestry. 

I mean, that is exactly why Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of Tarzan of the Apes, used Jane to name the female protagonist. At the time of its publication in 1912, Jane was still fairly unpopular as a standing name, though Virginia was gaining popularity; still, it wasn’t until the swing of the american 20′s that Jane was ever really popular in the US, and it didn’t gain popularity in England until a decade or so later. 

That’s not to say that it doesn’t add up, I mean, Ciel isn’t exactly a common name either; but that is exactly what makes me suspicious. Yana has a habit of giving important characters stand-out names; in light of how commonplace it is today, Jane doesn’t initially seem like one of those names - however, things are never as they seem with Toboso-sensei. 

Which leads me to my next point - as many have noticed, “Jane” bears quite the resemblance to Angela from the original Anime. (Which for the record, Angela was not a popular name at that time either, though Blanc, and its variant Blanche, was.)

And since nothing is ever what it seems with our authoress, I don’t suspect that that is coincidental. And neither do any of you, it would seem. 

And who can blame you? I certainly don’t. Just look at the skulky look she gives Mae-Rin. 

She knows something is up. Plus, there’s that old addage- if something is too good to be true, it usually is. 

I can, in fact, find some record online of household maids being treated luxuriously by the Lady’s of a house, but a Lord? By decorum, a Lord is not supposed to bestow such things upon his maids - if anything it’s the job of the Butler to spoil the servants, especially the maids, if he so chooses, since he is usually the one responsible for managing the comings/goings of the servants. (Of all the inaccuracies in Yana’s universe, that is surprisingly not one of them. The head butler really was responsible for hiring/firing lower servants if the Lord, or Lady, in the absence of a Lord, didn’t do it for him). 

So why does Ange-- I mean, Jane, mention her Lord Heathcliffe? And why does Angela - JANE - take them upstairs, to their room immediately? Normally new hires are led around to meet the staff, if no one else then the head butler of the household - which was considered the height of one’s noble expenses I might add. Being a Butler back then was a wealthy job, with wealthy pay. And like every other expensive thing, it was considered a symbol of how rich you were if you could afford one. Thus, it would be very strange for a Lord of even low standing, like a Baron, not to possess one.

But what other conclusion could you draw, but that they didn’t meet a butler - or at least not the head butler - because none existed? I mean, that would be the perfect opportunity plot-wise...

But besides that, I somehow doubt that such an integration would go without conflict, if for no other reason than A) there’s a suspicious lack of men in that house, even if the maids only supposedly number 20, and B) Sebastian is very used to doing everything himself. Which would put him at odds with nearly 40 servants, doing his job for him. 

Sebastian is many things, but he isn’t lazy. Efficient, yes. Lazy? No. He’s a busy butler, and he seems to like it that way. That said, I’m not really sure I want to know what horrors a jobless and bored demon would be in a household made up predominantly of women. 

I shudder at the thought. And I am sure Jane does, too. 

( I don’t own the pictures! So please, Tumblr, let me have them!) 

[grelleswife]

Top five anime’s?

It’s quite challenging to restrict myself to just five, but I shall do my best!1. Death NoteThis was my “starter series,” without which I might never have ventured into the wonderful realm of anime and manga. I am fascinated by detective stories, moral ambiguity, and Faustian pacts, so it is little wonder that I took an instant liking to Death Note. Even after multiple viewings, the psychological cat-and-mouse games between L and Light still rivet me. The brilliant, inscrutable, unconventionally attractive, probably autistic and oddly endearing sleuth L currently ranks as one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. Although Death Note has its fair share of plot holes, messy writing (particularly in the second half), and unabashedly sexist portrayals of women, its depiction of complex ethical dilemmas and the battle between two formidable intellects make it worth a watch or five. I recommend the English dub; Alessandro Juliani’s L is pitch-perfect.

2. Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)It may be a mainstream anime, but this is one of those rare shows that doesn’t merely live up to the hype but rather exceeds it. In brief, the anime depicts a bleak, violent world in which the remnants of humanity must live ensconced within the protection of massive walls in order to avoid being devoured by giants known as titans that mysteriously appeared several generations ago. When the outermost wall is breached, protagonist Eren Yeager can only watch in horror as his mother is eaten alive by one of these monsters, a tragedy that fills the fiery young boy’s heart with a thirst for vengeance against all titans. However, what could have proven to be a stale shonen story became a work of immense depth and power in the hands of mangaka Hajime Isayama, and these attributes translated beautifully to the anime. In addition to gorgeous animation and an electrifying soundtrack, this show also stands out for its character development. Almost all characters of narrative import are vibrantly human, with painful backstories and plausible, nuanced growth as the series progresses. Attack on Titan’s graphic depictions of violence and pathos-laden storyline are not for the faint of heart, but it is a must-see for any anime fan. Again, I prefer the English dub, mainly because of Levi’s and Hange’s voice actors.3. Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler)Specifically, the first half of season 1, Book of Circus, Book of Murder, and Book of Atlantic.I refuse to dignify the non-canon dumpster fire that was season 2.Don’t let the lascivious fujoshis scare you away; despite its unsavory reputation, the portions of the anime that adhere to Yana Toboso’s gorgeous manga are excellent. Though a mere child, Earl Ciel Phantomhive bears a heavy burden as the Queen’s Watchdog, responsible for keeping Victorian England’s sinister underworld in check. Luckily, he has the aid of his ever-faithful butler, Sebastian Michaelis…who just so happens to be a demon with whom the young nobleman has contracted in order to find and exact vengeance upon the unknown perpetrators who murdered the boy’s family and sold him to a diabolical cult. The series is called Black Butler with good reason– there are many dark and disturbing elements to the story, from the bloodcurdling child abuse depicted in Book of Circus to gory fight scenes with zombies in Book of Atlantic. However, the compelling characters, fire OPs and endings, and (in the more recent adaptations) beautiful animation keep me coming back for more. The complex nature of Sebastian’s relationship with Ciel, which simultaneously encompasses and transcends the dynamics between parent and child, servant and master, and predator and prey, is a glorious trainwreck from which you can’t tear your eyes away. Yet again, I have a preference for the English dub here– J Michael Tatum’s Sebastian is the stuff of legend, Brina Palenica’s Ciel is spot-on, and Daniel Frederick’s Grell Sutcliff restores my soul (to my ear, his voice acting beautifully suits a transgender woman who has not yet been able to fully transition). That being said, I’ve also taken a shine to the Japanese sub; Daisuke Ono’s voice has a gentle yet subtly sinister quality that suits this devil wrapped in silk quite well.4. Watamote (No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys Fault I’m Not Popular!)This slice of life anime chronicles the hilarious yet heartbreaking misadventures of Tomoko Kuroki, an otaku who desperately attempts to curry favor with her high school peers in spite of debilitating depression and anxiety. Watamote is one of those shows that makes you hurt while you laugh as you watch Tomoko, time and time again, prove to be her own worst enemy as her blunders cause all her schemes to backfire. To an uncomfortable extent, I saw quite a bit of my high school self in her. If you struggled with loneliness, social isolation, and/or mental illness as a teen, I would highly recommend this show. It doesn’t exactly have a happy ending, but it’s strangely addictive. Plus, Tomoko’s Japanese voice actor is precious, and the OP is epic.5. Bungou Stray DogsMix a wide array of supernatural gifts, a plethora of literary references, and a vast cast of aesthetically pleasing characters, and what do you get? BSD! Chock-full of meaningful messages on overcoming past traumas, fighting against the inertia of despair, cultivating a sense of self-worth, and redemption, this anime does full service to Asagiri’s ongoing manga. From the zany suicide enthusiast Dazai Osamu to the weretiger/cinnamon roll Atsushi Nakajima, you’re bound to fall in love with at least one of the members of the Armed Detective Agency as they use their magical powers to fight against forces of crime and corruption that threaten their city. Excellent soundtrack, lovely animation, and characterization that progressively deepens, especially during the second season. I’ve only seen this subbed and thoroughly enjoyed it!Thanks so much for the ask!

[bizarre-dollhouse]

Real Ciel is Kind of the Perfect Villain for a Horror Story...

Even though I have issues with chapter 141 (particularly the *haha I was there the whole time* awkwardness), I cannot for the life of me stop thinking about the panels with Real Ciel.

I mean:

I wanna break down RC in this chapter, because my favourite parts of Kuro are when it turns into a legitimate horror story, and this chapter was kind of excellent in my opinion.

Real Ciel has only been in a handful of chapters in his villainous state, so I can’t say that he’s the best horror villain or anything. I can say that I think, as a concept, he’s the perfect antagonist for this story. Or any horror story.

More under the “keep reading.”

1. Body Horror

(I’ll be referring to the panels posted above when I’m writing this post)

When people hear the word “horror,” the first thing that comes to mind is usually “body horror” (gore, deformity, corruption of the flesh, etc.). I don’t think there’s any real gore in this chapter, but the first panel is...really unsettling. You can see his ribs and the dead stare that he has. The fact that he’s filled with tubes (presumably for oxygen) and submerged in some unknown chemical make him look even more sick and weak and gross and sad slkdfjalgkj.

I especially like the decision to keep his eyes half open and lifeless; it makes it ambiguous as to how well he’s perceiving his surroundings (ie how much discomfort and/or pain he feels). It’s creepy.

The second panel also has an element of body horror. His eyes, mouth, and hands make it look like he’s in both physical AND psychological pain. It’s both body horror=empathy (”Oh my god that must be so painful”) and body horror=fear (”He looks like a monster!”). Holy shit do I love that panel. Fuck. What a good panel.

All of this is even better because he looks like “Ciel.” AKA the protagonist that we’ve been following for 141 chapters. IDK for me it makes it creepier because one of the things that consistently gets to me is the idea of well composed characters being corrupted and/or losing that composure (the circus arc and the green witch arc are by far the most disturbing parts of Kuro for me because of this...as well as episode 9 of season 2, which almost made me throw up when I watched it as a teenager). My point is that watching someone who looks like OCiel be so physically damaged and psychologically fucked makes it worse.

2. (Perceived) Power/Psychological Horror

The only people who are willing to talk down to Sebastian are:

-the reapers, because they’re also supernatural beings

-Frances and Nina, because they don’t know he’s an all powerful hell-born abomination and think he’s just...a weird guy.

RCiel is the most condescending motherfucker. It’s like he’s so blind to the fact that he could lose even though he very much knows what Seb is and has already been fucking annihilated by him, just not his body. This confidence could come from the fact that he’s already dead or he sees himself as genuinely superior to everyone.

He’s also condescending to OCiel, just in a different way. “You are weak. Don’t go outside, you might get sick. I will protect and defend you. I forgive you for being “naughty.” I am very creepy and controlling. I am the superior strong one. You are a baby. You are pathetic. I have a psychological hold over you.”

So yeah, Real Ciel’s confidence is kind of unnerving. It adds a bonus element of psychological horror: he’s not 100% psychotic (yet), but he reminds me of Annie from the early chapters of Misery (a character who is revealed to be psychotic and is also the most terrifying villain fucking ever. Misery made me feel so fucking sick to my stomach and gave me heart palpitations. I am revealing way to much about myself but I want to drive the point home that RCiel is a scary motherfucker).

3. Ethereal Beauty

The fourth panel posted above is just...fucking phenomenal. It has that element of body horror since it looks like RCiel’s corpse is melting and then morphs into the cereus bloom. More accurately, it’s like he’s being born from the bloom; much like the Phoenix metaphor. This post (link) points out the symbolism of preserving youth and beauty through the cereus bloom, and I’d also like to point out that the bloom is made from other experiments and that adds to transcendent nature of RCiel (like, “the others could not truly escape death, but I am the perfect, complete one”). 

This panel sans text could easily be a painting in a gallery (but maybe that’s just my aesthetic preferences speaking idk). It’s beautiful and shows a type of birth and a type of transcendence, but Kuro’s audience knows that it’s more like a fall from grace disguised as something beautiful. The borderline grotesque appearance of his body adds more to the disturbing element of the panel. 

It’s like the concept behind Griffith from Berserk and Ryo from Devilman; figures that appear heavenly but have a very dark purpose in their stories. It’s...cool? I don’t really know how to describe it better, but I guess the key word is “corruption.” (Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t one of the meanings of Ciel’s name “from heaven?”)

4. Sympathy

RCiel died when he was 10 years old. He was then, against his will, brought back to life as a soulless corpse. For the moment, it seems like he doesn’t mind being this way, but that concept as a whole is still tragic. I especially like the theory that, while Undertaker was able to age up his body, he wasn’t able to move past the mental development of a 10 year old. 

I kind of (strongly) dislike the RCMT because that idea really blunts the tragedy. That being said, I think it’s possible that RCiel was somehow fooled into aiding the culprits, which would actually make it more tragic. More on this story as it develops, I guess. 

A villain like Kelvin was terrifying and psychotic, but not really sympathetic. Madam Red had a backstory with emotional weight, but she wasn’t especially scary. Both of those (I think) are good antagonists, but RCiel potentially embodies the best of both worlds. I like it.

So yeah, anyways: Yana Toboso keeps ruining my life because like a year and a half ago I had completely lost interest in the series, but the damn recent developments starting from last June keep gripping me.

Here’s hoping chapter 142 is another good one.