#and there are even more parallels if we consider the future events

[zhoras-bitch]

I love how Nia and Blades MC parallel each other in a lot of ways. Both orphaned at a young age, both dreaming of seeing the world but unable to do so. There is even this dialogue in the very first diamond scene of the book where if you pick 'The world can be beautiful' dialogue option, MC gushes about the Whitetower, the Flotilla and the Cliffs of Colaris:

But if you choose the other option, then it's Nia says pretty much the same thing:

And vying into the personal headcanon territory a bit, both are used to putting other's needs before their own (Nia as the priestess and MC as the older sibling). They are truly kindred spirits.

[aspoonofsugar]

CEM = Another Journey to the Philosopher Stone?

So, a quick RWBY thought! Thanks to @hamliet's wonderful meta, we know RWBY is an alchemical story, which metaphorically illustrates how to create the philosopher stone. This stone symbolically brings life, which means that:

RWBY will save the world (the macrochosm)

Ruby (and the others) will self-actualize and grow up (the microchosm)

The journey to the stone is a process made of 4 phases + 1 quick moment:

NIgredo or the Black Phase

The Rainbow phase - the quick moment

Albedo or the White Phase

Citrinitas or the Yellow Phase

Rubedo or the Red Phase

RWBY plays with these phases, as it associates each one of the protagonists to them:

Blake is the Nigredo

Weiss is the Albedo

Yang is the Citrinitas

Ruby is the Rubedo

Jaune Arc and his team are the Rainbow Phase

All the phases together make the stone (RWBY = ruby = the stone). So, our main team is a metaphor for the journey towards the Self (the stone), as they are all growing up together. Team JNPR too ties into this, as another metaphor for alchemy's final product is a tree (JNPR = Juniper + Pine = pine). So, our 8 protagonists are all part of this trasformative process, which will lead them to grow up and save the world.

Still, there is another team, which might tie into this:

Cinder, Emerald and Mercury might be tied to the process of creating the philosopher stone themselves. In which way?

First of all, let's consider volume 9 for a second. Our Little Red Riding Hood faces three different parts of herself in the form of three weapons:

Penny's sword is green, like the prima materia. It represents the child-self and Ruby's past self. It is Ruby's initial form that she is leaving behind.

Alyx's knife is gray, like mercury. It represents this metal, as mercury is associated with both poison (Alyx poisons Jaune) and medicine (Alyx heals Jaune). Similarly, Jinxy asks for the knife both your saddest and your happiest memories. It represents Ruby's present self and the transformation she is undegoing.

Crescent Rose is red, like the philosopher stone. It also represents Ruby's final self. She is still growing up (Crescent), but will eventually become her own person (a Rose).

In short, these three weapons are linked to three different substances that are key in the alchemical process: the prima materia (green), mercury (gray) and the philosopher stone itself (red).

Well, interestingly these three substances share CEM's colors:

Emerald is green like the prima materia. She is also the first one to start a redemption journey and to make positive progress in her arc.

Mercury is gray and is obviously linked to the metal mercury. He is set up for redemption and his arc should be symbolically important for the story as a whole.

Cinder is red and she is obviously going through her own personal journey of self-actualization (even if it will probably be a tragic one). She is meant to be Ruby's foil and parallel, after all. So, she is the cinder, which becomes the stone. She will probably be the last one of CEM to get her redemption.

Now, this could be a coincidence, but it is fun to theorize about it! What is more, another way to describe the philosophical process is this:

The prima materia is separated in sulphur and mercury

Sulphur and mercury come together again through a chemical wedding

They give birth to the stone

Right now we have Emerald being separated from Mercury:

Their separation will probably lead to a chemical wedding between them, where they unite again. At this point, they will probably face Cinder together and help her in her arc. After all, they are her slippers!

So, CEM might just be the third team, which will self-actualize and help saving the world!

Speaking of which I wonder if Somewhat's short story in RWBY Beyond foreshadows the ending of Cinder's arc. The story is a short fairy tale, which tells Somewhat's Adventures in the Ever After. It is clearly foreshadowing of future events, as it teases Ruby and the others going back to the Ever After. That said, it also clearly works as foreshadowing in a metaphorical sense. Especially since it is Ruby herself who narrates the story.

So, Somewhat (aka Ruby) is asked to fix what's wrong in the Ever After (aka Remnant). As they try to do so, they meet several characters:

-They visit the genial gems, who are now taking care of themselves. This mirrors Ruby's own arc. She tried to spread herself too little for the sake of others. Still, she is now able to prioritize herself when she needs it. (microchosm)

-They visit the market place, where everyone has come together after the Jabberwockys' attack. This mirrors Remnant's situation. After Atlas (and Vale)'s destruction, humanity will come together against Salem. (macrochosm)

-They visit the Red Prince, who is now alone after having sent everyone else away. Somewhat and the Prince play a game, as they chat. Somewhat tells the Prince it is not fair his purpose is to win:

Somewhat: "That doesn't seem very fair. What if my purpose was to win too?" The Red Prince: "Such is the way of our life" Somewhat: "What if it doesn't have to be?"

They add they could change their purpose and teach others how to win:

Somewhat: "Who knows? Maybe you could teach others to win."

In the end, Somewhat wins, but the Prince thanks them and says he has learnt a lot. It is also implied the Prince will ascend and become something new. The narration ends by saying "there was one less wrong thing in the Ever After".

-Somewhat goes to the Abandoned Acre and here is where the story ends with a surprising creature popping in front of our hero. (This part may allude to a final confrontation with Salem or with the Gods)

Now, I believe the game between Somewhat and the Red Prince foreshadows Ruby and Cinder's final confrontation. Sure, you can read the Prince as Salem too, if you want to, but I personally think Cinder makes more sense.

First of all, the Red Prince and Ruby's game in volume 9 mirrors RWBY's story up until Atlas. Atlas itself has a strong chess-motif, whose whole purpose is to show everyone thinks Salem is the chessmaster, but it is actually Cinder playing. To be precise Cinder wants to be a player, but she can't stop being Salem's most precious pawn aka the Queen. This fits with the Red Prince. He is both a regressed Red King and the one playing. Similarly, Cinder is the Black/Red Queen, who wants to play her own game.

Secondly, the Red Prince gets corrupted because of Alyx's betrayal. After this, he meets Ruby, but projects his own hurt on her and lashes out. Similarly, Cinder was hurt by Rhodes and is projecting this betrayal on the whole world. She is especially fixating on Ruby, whose eyes negate Cinder's newfound power.

Thirdly, the Red Prince's purpose is to win. In short, he is obsessed by victory. The same goes for Cinder, who thinks she needs to be more powerful than everyone else to have value. This leads her to enter into conflicts with others, whereas she should build bonds.

Finally, Somewhat tells the Prince they should find a new purpose. The idea of destiny or purpose is linked to the theme of "Choice" since volume 3. Cinder is meant to fully bloom into the Maiden of Choice. So, it makes sense for her to finally find her own purpose. Moreover, Somewhat saying the Prince can teach others how to win might foreshadow Cinder's important for RWBY's final victory.

Salem: You are the key to our victory.

Cinder is the one who will decide who wins and who loses.

I also think Cinder will be the Red Death aka the final death needed in an alchemical story to solve the conflict. The Red Prince ascending might foreshadow this.

These are just some thoughts on how volume 9 might have foreshadowed the rest of the story in different ways!

[genericpuff]

Do you have any big plans for Rekindled this year? Like specific moments/events/developments? Also, would you ever consider going back to a weekly upload schedule?

welllll as for stuff that's like, in the immediate near future, we're gonna be tackling a VERY famous scene in LO that I have some fun ideas for that will hopefully make it feel familiar but with its own twists for y'all to enjoy. Considering the current roadmap the story is on and what's been established over the past few "days" within the story, I'm sure y'all will figure out pretty quick which scene I'm talking about ;333

But in the long-term over the course of this year... I don't wanna speak too soon, but I think this is the year that we're finally gonna enter the biggest turning point of the story, so big that it literally diverts LR's plot away from the blueprint of LO and we end up in truly new territory. Granted, there are still some elements of the original LO present after that point, but what we do with those elements is entirely different. I think it's gonna parallel well, because while LO's S2 era took a massive turn away from everything it had been building up towards throughout S1, LR's "second season" will be taking a massive turn towards those setups and outcomes that were clearly abandoned (or just not thought of entirely, even the stuff that was like... plainly obvious to anyone who was paying attention lmao).

I'm hoping that after we've reached that point, the path that LR walks will feel way more satisfying for the readers like myself who felt that everything beyond S2 of LO was a complete misfire and lost potential. Again, it will hopefully feel familiar to those who remember that era of LO - but still refreshing and interesting to really drive home how this is meant to be an interpretative rewrite of what could have happened if LO hadn't gotten distracted and had actually stuck with its original plotlines and themes. I think the biggest one of those themes that was present in LO but never fully realized will be everything concerning "Persephone" herself, the Act of Wrath, and everything that led up to her moving to Olympus.

It is a little nerve-wracking, because it'll be at that turning point where I truly have to carry this story's progression for real and can't use LO quite as much to guide me through the dark, but I'm also excited because it's where I finally get to loosen a lot of the limitations that were set from the foundation of LO and really go wild with everything that I had been hoping LO would be. It's when I'll really get to write some proper payoffs to the things that I've been building up to from the foundation of the original comic as my starting point. It's where things are really gonna start to feel truly "new", at least in my opinion!

As for what that massive "turning point" is... I'm not gonna say specifically what happens, but you will absolutely know it when you'll see it. Obviously there are already a lot of differences between LR and LO in terms of the plot threads and how everything is being progressed, but this one turning point in particular is a huge one that fundamentally opposes one of the biggest flaws of LO that would define its downhill decline in its storytelling for the rest of its publication.

But for now, until we get there, I'll leave the rest up to your imagination ;3

---

As for the update schedule, I would honestly love to be able to return to the weekly schedule again, but currently my work-life balance is just not gonna allow for it :'0 For those unaware, when I'm not making Rekindled, I'm also working my day job as a contracted tattoo artist which comes with its own load of responsibilities and obligations, many of which are what I need to fulfill in order to do things like pay my rent and, y'know, not die LOL In terms of the work-life balance, even when I'm not working on Rekindled, there's still a lot of work taking up my life LMAO (including a second retail job that I've been doing a seasonal position for, though it's wrapping up at the end of the month~)

While I love making Rekindled and spend as much time as I can each week working on it (and I wish it could be like, the only thing I had to worry about LOL) it is still just a fanfiction project that I create for free, and so it just can't be at the top of my priority list, at least not without sacrifices from those other obligations - but those other obligations are, again, what I need to do in order to not only survive, but to ensure that I can afford to keep making Rekindled, even if it's at a slower pace than I would like.

That said, Rekindled is still a very high priority for me! It's just a matter of balance, and changing to a bi-weekly schedule was part of maintaining that balance. It was either that, or stick to weekly and make the episodes shorter, but I ultimately settled on the former option because it allowed for a healthier work-life balance (which is still not even super healthy but I'm working on it lmao) and because the rhythm of my writing wouldn't have worked as well in shorter doses, especially not with many of the plotlines we've been tackling as of late. It can be a drag to wait every two weeks, but it means I can bring y'all episodes that are fully realized to their full potential, rather than hacking them up into tinier portions that might not read as well and would require a drawing schedule that wouldn't fit well with my current circumstances.

All in all, while I do wish I could be back to making episodes on that weekly schedule, it's really only because I would love to bring you all more of the story more often, because there's a lot that I'm really excited to show you all! But the bi-weekly schedule is currently more viable for both myself, Banshriek, and the comic as a whole, because it means we get the time we really need to make every episode feel special with every update <3

[becauseimanicequeen]

The Timelines in 4 Minutes

Since the Olympics are finally over, and I have three episodes of 4 Minutes to go on, I thought I would spend some time trying to figure out the timelines.

I'm someone who figures out what I want to say by writing it out, so this post will most likely be me "thinking out loud" and drawing conclusions as I go, and then, at the end, I'll have a clearer view of the timelines (hopefully).

(This is most likely going to be one long-ass post, so beware.)

Let's start with some initial notes before I dive into the fun stuff.

The contents of this post may be influenced by some of my theories (pre-premiere theories, episode 1, episode 2, episode 3), and I might come up with new ones as I write this post (they will be highlighted in purple so possible readers of this mammoth post can choose to ignore them if they want, lol), but my focus is primarily on the timelines themselves and, perhaps, on the passing of time throughout the episodes as well.

As I start this post, I believe there are 3 timelines (which are subject to change as I continue to write):

The present timeline, which is what starts off both the 1st and the 2nd episodes (these are events from the future from our current vantage point).

The 4-minute timeline, which is where Great changes things (I've previously called this the OOBE timeline, since I believe Great is having an out-of-body experience and is "reliving" his past).

Then there's a possible third timeline (I've previously thought it might've been the real past, which showed us events that actually happened in the past paralleled with the 4-minute timeline) but I'm most unsure about this one, so I'll just call it the 3rd timeline until my thoughts are more clear about it.

Now... Where the hell do I start?

Time

It might be a good idea to start with the clues that there are different timelines at play and then dive deeper into the episodes to figure out what's happening.

Besides the obvious clues that Great is sent back in time when he has his moments of the 4-minute phenomenon (4MP), there are other clues that different timelines are at play.

The first clue shows up in the Korn and Tonkla scene from the 1st episode and all the way through to the scene where Korn drops Great off at his place after their family dinner.

This is where I'll be crazy about the details (but I'm a hundred percent sure they matter, especially since this whole show is about time), but if we look at Korn's watch when he arrives at Tonkla's place, it says 7:15-ish pm.

Later, when Tonkla wants a second round, it says 8:55 pm.

Then they get interrupted because Korn's dad wants him home for dinner. They have their family dinner, and then, when Korn drops Great off at his condo after dinner, Korn's watch says 7:15-ish while the clock on Great's phone says 07:13.

(Great already has issues with time, which I believe is the effect of him having a cardiac arrest at 11:00 in the present, but the time anomaly in this particular sequence is different than Great seeing 11:00 and counting when he's alone.)

This whole sequence is meant to be the same day Great hit Manee with his car. All of them (even the dad and Great's mom) are wearing the same clothes they wore when introduced throughout that very same day. Yet, the times on the visible watches and clocks tell us something strange is going on.

(Could this just be me overanalyzing the watches and clocks? Sure. But the interesting thing is that the time is still consistent in the sequence with Korn and Tonkla. It would make sense that they talk, then fuck, and then lie there butt ass naked and cuddling for a total of 1 h 40 min. And, again, considering this show is about time, I trust that the creators have been meticulous about those details, even if it means changing the time on the watches and clocks for every new take if needed.)

Considering what I wrote above, I might start calling the 3rd timeline Tonkla's timeline, because I feel like it revolves around him.

Either way, I will focus on the 4-minute timeline and the third one in particular because I don't see a possible 4th one right now (I might by the end of this post, though, lol).

The question is, then, how we can determine which scenes belong to which timelines. I will get to that further below, because first...

Let’s look at some more details I’ve noticed.

Blurry Edges

One of those details is the dreamy, blurry edges (I'm sure there's a technical term for this, but I have no idea what that might be, I'm just guessing that they're adding it in post-production, but don't quote me on that). Much of the show has a dreamy feel overall, but I'm talking about the blurry edges in particular.

I've noticed blurry edges in the following scenes:

When Great feels iffy in the elevator (ep 1)

I'm pretty sure there's some of it happening in the scene when Tyme is treating Manee, both in the ER and in the OR during the surgery (ep 1)

At the family dinner when Great's mom tells him he should go see Manee at the hospital (ep 1)

When Great feels iffy at the hospital before his second 4MP (ep 1)

When Great is sitting in Title's car talking about where View is (ep 2)

I'm not sure about this one since it's hard to tell because it's dark, but it might be used in the scene where Title beats the shit out of Dome (ep 2)

When Great brings Dome into the hospital (ep 2)

When Korn is having a meeting with Fasai and her dad (ep 2)

When Great feels iffy and has his fourth 4MP at the basketball court (ep 3)

When Win reads through Tonkla's brother's social media posts and comments, which is a memory of him doing it (ep 3)

And I'm pretty sure we're getting more of this since there were scenes in the trailer that had those blurry edges as well, for example:

The pattern I'm seeing with these scenes (if we exclude the first scene in the elevator, Korn's meeting with Fasai, and Win's memories, the latter might've had blurry edges just because it was his memory, btw) is that each scene has something to do with Great's 4MP, before the rewind and/or after the rewind.

(Perhaps the reason for the blurry edges showing up in Korn's scene is because he's the possible third character that's having an OOBE. And if this theory is true, there's a possibility that there's yet another timeline/reality/perspective present that entwines with both Tonkla's and Great's timelines.)

There are also the tilting camera shots (mostly showing up in scenes with Great), which I might get into next week as I continue to build on this post.

But, what does all this with the blurry edges mean?

I have no fucking clue.

Perhaps it's just meant to show that things aren't what they seem. Perhaps it's meant to show which characters are experiencing OOBEs (Great, Tyme, and possibly Korn)? Perhaps it's meant to show moments that are affected by Great changing them through his 4MP? Again, I have no fucking clue, yet (but it might start to get clearer as we get more episodes).

So, moving on...

Different Realities/Parallel Worlds/POVs?

There is another aspect to this whole timelines discussion I'm having with myself that I want to bring up. And that's the clues I've found that support the possibility of different realities/parallel worlds/different point-of-views. I'm not sure what to call them, yet.

So, let's dive into the moments I'm referring to and try and figure it out.

The second time Great experiences his 4MP, he goes to the ER's front desk and we're shown the nurse's actual desk where there's a clock that we're supposed to focus on because it's telling us that time will do weird shit again.

The moment Great has been sent back in time (after being in Manee's room), he's standing in the same position, looking down at the clock on the desk, and realizes it's happened again (just like when he hit Manee). However, this time, the things on the desk are different.

The time on the clock is the same, but the mirror is in a different position, 75 has turned to 74 (I'm not sure what these numbers mean), 77F has turned to 76F (which I'm guessing are Fahrenheit degrees), and the pink, blue, and yellow papers are lying on top of the folder the second time around.

If Great was sent back in time to the exact moment he was in before he went to Manee's room, the things on the desk would've been in the same place, right? So, he might not even have been sent back to the reality he was in before this 4MP happened.

Another clue is the sunrise and the sunset artworks on the wall at the hospital. We often see them by the entryway:

Then, in the 2nd episode, it looks like at least the right one is hanging outside Manee's room (which we've seen isn't anywhere near the front desk since Great had to walk around a bend to get to her room in the first episode).

Could they have more than one of those artworks in the hospital? Sure. So, take this with a grain of salt.

(Btw, I find those artworks so fascinating because sunrises are usually cooler (more blueish) while sunsets are usually warmer (more red/orangeish). But from our perspective, looking at them straight on, the warmer artwork has the sun setting in the west while the cooler artwork has the sun rising in the east. And, since the eye in left-to-right reading cultures often automatically goes from left to right, it's interesting that the sunset comes first and then the sunrise. Perhaps it's to show that the world is turned upside down now that Great is having these weird experiences. Or perhaps it's to show that the time between the sunset and sunrise will be important for Great and Tyme since Great watches Tyme pass those artworks (from sunset to sunrise) the first time he has visions of them having sex. But, I digress...)

Another set of clues is in the scene with Great and Tyme sitting on the bleachers by the basketball court and Great has another 4MP in the third episode.

The first time we see this wide shot, there are 5 people (excluding Great and Tyme):

4 of them are wearing white shirts (one with a darker cardigan), and they sit on Great's side. One wears a blue shirt and sits on Tyme's side. This is where Great asks Tyme why he didn't call before coming to the University.

As they continue to talk (and the camera shot is closer to them), you can see the top of the head of a girl walking towards the bleachers. There's also another person walking by, waving, but he's walking right past them rather than towards the bleachers.

Then, as Great thanks Tyme for the Thai tea and gets up to leave, we get this wide shot. The only difference here is that the girl who walked towards the bleachers is now sitting next to her friend. That seems logical, right?

But, then Great has his rewind, and he comes back to the moment where Tyme reminds Great to get his wound treated. Great tells Tyme about his precognition and Tyme tells Great that he will consult with one of his doctor friends. Then, as Tyme stands up to leave, we get this wide shot:

The two girls at the bottom left are in the same position but the girls two steps above and to the far left are different, the boy and the girl next to them are new, and the boy with the white shirt to the right is the same boy that sat on Great's side previously.

Coincidence?

Well... After Tyme tells Great that he can call him Tyme rather than Doctor, and Great says that they should grab something to eat after he gets his wound treated, we get this shot:

Now we're back to the original two girls to the left, there are new boys wearing black on the bottom left, and the boy in blue is back again. That's a lot of moving around in such a short time.

The only things that stay consistent in all of the shots are the bags (except for one of them) and bottles.

So, what's going on? Is this another one of those things that happened at the hospital where Great was sent back to a reality where things were different from the reality he was in before the 4MP?

Is the show giving us different perspectives? For example, Great's perspective before his 4MP, Tyme's perspective when he says he'll talk to Den, and Great's perspective again when Tyme has left? That could work for the hospital example as well since it was from Great’s perspective before the 4MP but turned into Tyme’s after the 4MP as he asked the nurse at the front desk who the guy that bumped into him was.

Or is the show just underlining how strange everything is during the 4-minute timeline (and Great's possible OOBE)?

Well, the latter might not be it because clues like this don't just show up when Great is around.

In the first episode when Korn comes to Tonkla's place, Tonkla's laptop shows he has something blue and yellow on his screen:

Then the screen is black as if it's been turned off:

Later, when it cuts to them lying naked on the sofa, it's just white:

Also, notice how the small spotlight behind the desk is positioned differently and pointing in another direction on the desk than in the first image above.

Could it be that Tonkla simply used the laptop and moved the lamp between them having sex and lying there? Sure. Again, if we look at Korn's watch from the beginning of this whole sequence (7:15-ish pm) to when Tonkla wants a second round (8:55 pm), we know he had 1 h 40 min to rearrange things and do stuff on that laptop.

But, you know, unless the house is on fire, who would move from that spot on top their sugar daddy who is lying there deliciously naked? And especially to do some stuff on a laptop? Fuck technology (the not-so-good kind of fuck) and fuck your sugar daddy instead (the deliciously bad kind of fuck). We all know Tonkla wants to. But, I digress...

Take this detail with a grain of salt if you want to (or a whole fistful). For me, though, this shows that there's a possibility that changes and inconsistencies like this aren't just happening around Great. And (to my crazy mind, at least), that it might be two timelines showing up throughout this particular sequence between Korn and Tonkla.

24 Hour vs AM/PM Clock Settings

And on the topic of inconsistencies... Another thing I want to point out is the inconsistencies with the digital clocks when it comes to them being 24-hour clocks or set to the am/pm thing.

The hospital seems to have a 24-hour setting in some cases:

But not in others:

This could be in the morning, of course, and the darkness outside Manee's window might just be because of the thunder/lightning storm (but I still think it's night rather than morning).

And then we also have Great (who, to be fair, has a special relationship to time in this show), who sees 11:00/11:02 both in the morning and at night:

And the am/pm thing is on his phone when Korn drops him off:

Even though his phone seems to have the 24-hour setting:

More than once:

But, again, Great clearly has issues with time and clocks/watches. So, this might just be a way to show how confusing it is to him.

But, what if it isn't? What if it's an indication that several realities are entwining? (Okay, I feel like I'm going with the term "realities" when it comes to this.)

My Timelines So Far

So, what are my conclusions after watching the first 3 episodes?

At this point, I think there are 3 timelines:

The present timeline.

The 4-minute timeline.

The real past/Tonkla's timeline (which is meant to show us the real past events that happened, most of it from Tonkla's perspective).

Having Tonkla's timeline be the real past is possible considering the inconsistencies in time during the Korn and Tonkla scene and then the Korn and Great scene in the 1st episode.

And before someone says this doesn't make sense because of all the missed calls Korn has (if anyone is still reading this, lol)... Well, that's because Korn exists in both timelines and the scene when he looks at the missed calls in that bathroom in the 3rd episode:

Could be the 4-minute timeline rather than Tonkla's timeline (the real past). That could make sense because all we've seen of Tonkla since Korn told him off over the phone is him waiting by his phone for Korn to call.

We never saw Tonkla call Korn again after being told off.

On the flip side, if Korn is in the real past when he looks at those missed calls in episode 3, it would make sense that when he wants to call Tonkla while he's waiting for Great at the bar (in the 4-minute timeline), the icons on the top right of his phone are different from the phone he looked at in the bathroom:

(Am I getting too crazy about this? Yes. Do I care? No, because it's fun.)

Could he be using different phones? Yes. Could those icons change depending on where he is and what settings he's using? Sure (I'm not familiar with Samsung phones so I have no idea what most of those icons mean). But it could also mean that we're seeing Korn in different timelines in these two scenes, which makes it possible for Tonkla's timeline to show us the real past.

(I personally prefer the option that the scene with Korn looking at the missed calls is from Tonkla's timeline (the real past) while Korn almost calling Tonkla in the bar, and then smiling at his phone as he's going to the bathroom, is from the 4-minute timeline where Tonkla's brother (who I believe is Dome) hasn't been killed.)

Also, I think showing us the real past is a smart way to show us what leads up to Tonkla beating the shit out of someone.

(I believe that scene is from the real timeline, and whoever he's beating with that rock, might have an effect on the things that are happening right now. I'm not sure what kind of effect, though. Perhaps it's a possible third person experiencing an OOBE and "living" in the 4-minute timeline. Perhaps Great is going through this OOBE to prevent that murder from happening after he wakes up (if he ever does). I'm not sure at this point.)

So, that's where I'm at with the timelines after 3 episodes.

And, when it comes to the inconsistencies in certain scenes, the easy answer is that they are just meant to show that this whole 4-minute timeline is an inconsistent mess of (what I believe to be) Great's OOBE.

But, I would personally find it more interesting if these inconsistencies (like all the people around Great and Tyme changing in that scene at the basketball court) are evidence that there is more than one character experiencing an OOBE and that the inconsistencies shown are there because the characters have different perspectives of the events happening.

Now, I had planned to make a flowchart of the scenes in each episode divided into the three different timelines I've written about above. But, I want to get this post out before the 4th episode drops tomorrow, and I just don't have time to make the flowchart before that (or enough images left in this post to fit something like a flowchart in it before I hit the pesky limit). So I'll wait with that chart until next week instead (when I'll continue to build on this post in a reblog).

Waiting to create and post the flowchart until after the new episode tomorrow also gives me another episode to nerd out about. It's a win-win for me.

[aemiron-main]

Brenner is 000- He Sure Is! (Matthew Modine Tell Us What You Know)

So, I was staring at the lab tvs (for art reference of all things), and I noticed that Captain Brenner is listed as “Subject 000” on the TV screens:

And I immediately thought of what Matthew Modine said about how he thinks that Brenner (specifically in-show Brenner) could be 000:

And now I’m staring at that vs a.) this post I made where I talk about the weird overlap between Captain Brenner, Don Melvald and Richard Brenner and b.) another post I’ve been working on regarding Captain Brenner and the bizarre overlap he has with Richard Brenner, the Doppelgorgon, Vecna, the MF, Vecna Vision Brenner, and one particular version of Massacre Henward.

And the whole “you have to be your dad,” thing from TFS re: overlap between in-show Brenner and Captain Brenner (especially with Welcome to Marwen being confirmed inspiration for ST & being referenced in TFS & both in-show Brenner *and* Captain Brenner having direct parallels to Captain Mark Hogancamp, who wasn’t ever actually a WW2 Captain at all, but instead, had this whole fake world where he believed he was.)

And then that ^ vs another post I’ve been working on regarding the references to crossing between worlds in TFS & how while I don’t think TFS is “real,” in the typical “hey this is normal and real and canon,” sense, I do think that live theatre & constantly having actors cross from the audience onto the stage is an odd choice for something that’s entirely fake. “TFS isn’t real/is likely some sort of NINA situation,” and “TFS isn’t entirely separate from in-show and there’s some weird crossover stuff going on there,” can coexist, especially in the context of my beliefs re: “I (obviously) don’t think nina is Real TM/the real events of 1979, but I DO think that nina has weird crossovers into reality/affects reality & has a ton of word for word parallels to wolverine travelling into the past to change the future in xmen: days of future past, and that TFS’ crossing between worlds stuff falls into that category of ‘not Real TM but also not entirely separated from reality’.”

After all, when Henry says “It’s not real, I’m normal, I’m Henry Creel,” we all sort of laugh and go “right, buddy. You’re Not normal, and you’re likely Not even Henry, considering all of your Edward coding-“ but why stop there? Why do we (myself included, obviously) question/“disagree with” those two parts of the phrase, but not with the first part?

And I’m saying this ^ as someone who’s been on the “TFS isn’t ‘real’” train from the very start- and who is still on that train, which I’ll explain (at least a little bit) in a moment, because I obviously still don’t think it’s fully real/I think it’s just as real as nina is- but the thing is, I think that nina is more real than it seems.

After all, what better way to get someone to do something (something like killing, even) than to have them believe that it’s not real and that therefore, there’s no actual consequences?

After all, if Brenner wanted El to believe that nina was real, in order for her to “fully re-experience,” her past or whatever, then why the hell did he tell her at the very start that it’s “a memory”? Why shatter that illusion of realism at the start? Why talk to her through the speakers? Shouldn’t he want her to fully believe that it’s real?

Unless, of course, it’s not just a simulation/just a memory, and DOES have actual consequences in the real-world, and therefore, El wouldn’t be willing to attack Henward and open the gate in the process (something Brenner was very eager about/was his desired result), because she’s the type of person who would want to change that fate for him/I don’t think she would have done it if she knew that it wasn’t just a memory, ESPECIALLY if it’s something that didnt actually happen in 1979/only happened Because of what present-day El did in nina, and therefore, wasnt something that she ever did IRL/in a situation where she believed that what was happening was real.

And also, why say that you two are going to “journey into the past” together? That’s the sort of thing/the idea of Brenner somehow also crossing into nina (in some way) that has me staring at whatever weird crossover is going on between in-show Richard and Captain Brenner.

And isn’t it odd that Virginia’s the one who pushes the “it’s not real,” stuff on Henry, and then is also the person that Henry kills (with the Mindflayer’s involvement of course)? It lowkey feels a little bit like there’s a connection there re: “Henry, at least on some level, doesn’t think this is real/his grasp on what is vs isn’t real is slipping, and therefore is more likely to do things like kill Virginia (the person who is specifically associated with the ‘it’s not real’ stuff) than he would be otherwise.”

But I’m just rambling incoherently and getting ahead of myself, since of that is a topic for another time and for another post.

Anyway! Just some thoughts!

[m-s-justice]

once again posting meta. I wanna munch on the cycle. have lunch with me. TL;DR I think the Cycle is fundamentally flawed and fails as a narrative tool.

so like. is it necessary? I know that sounds stupid but let me yap. So, to rephrase "is it necessary?" to a more specific "what does it do for the narrative?" it pays off origins (and DE, to some extent) like obviously it's a loop we saw their statues. and we have hindsight. but what does it actually do?

Read More because this is LOOOOOOOONG I'm not exaggerating ↓

Time loops are stagnancy. Cycles usually entail a sort of inevitability that's born out of either immutable fate or one's own actions. In very interesting stories, it's usually both. It's usually a device that forcefully makes the character that's looping Go Through Stuff. Sometimes it's recognizing the fault in your actions, giving the character a new zest for life, sometimes it's a "man wouldn't it be fucked up if you were in a loop" but most of the time it's metaphorical for something!

what purpose does the Cycle serve? what is the Cycle saying or doing or representing?

fuuuuck if I know!

Let's see what actions put the bo3 cast into the loop!

They drink the blood of the mobsters to avoid getting wiped from existence by Monty. Richtofen planned this specifically, so to some extent the loop is intentional.

but like. why is that necessary? why is that the mechanism by which they preserve themselves? why would Monty ever consider wiping them if he's omniscient (to a degree) and knows it's a time loop because by definition them being in the past has Already Happened. But let's go a step further. Why Loop At All?

it complicates more than it preserves because the circumstances of the loop are not perfect. They Change things that cannot be undone by Monty simply moving them back through time and space to set up their future - past journey.

Do the kids in the house cease to exist once revelations is over? And "dimensional fracture" can only really be done once since they are entire universes with histories even if they diverge, they retroactively have always existed. The "shattering" cannot be a sort of "shatter-verse" where the off shoot parallel dimensions exist only as shards and reflections of the Original Timeline, because the universes existed before that as infinite worlds seeded with different potential via the Summoning Key by the uh I forgot it's name so I'll Elden Ring it up and call it the One Great from which all things originate. So the dimensional fractures were created the very first time Ultimis Richtofen was killed and then retroactively Always Existed and will thus continue to until... Nikolai Agarthans on his Device until he Elaborate Murder-Suicide

So like ok tangent over about that but what I'm getting at here is that the sequence of events that happen are Continuous and Circuitous. They have Already Happened, are currently Happening, and will Happen in the Future. Sofia getting sent to Revelations and dying with Maxis happens. But why would she reappear again if in the past, she's already been sent away by your past selves? Is she part of the loop? I wouldn't think so because she's not Primis. Why does Samantha cry out for help if she already knows she's never leaving the House because Revelations has happened billions of times and will happen billions more? and if Samantha is "reset" so to speak, that makes no fucking sense. Her Entry into the House is entirely unrelated to the Loop. She's put there by Ultimis Maxis and stays there until Revelations//AO. Her time there is strictly linear from her perspective. but if that's the case, why does everything get reset? I doubt it's Monty doing that because... that's not really what he does?

Monty is an interesting critter. He is essentially God, particularly the Christian one as the text itself alludes to. All powerful, omniscient, yet abides by the concept of "free will" and so he's marked by passive action. Nudges, influences, little hidden messages sneaked in to give you a clue, his presence implied on maps by a red scarf as opposed to the Shadow Man who boldly and bodily appears whenever he's able to. As seen with Primis, any direct action he takes must be subtle. unnoticeable. Hence why he loops them, so that it "works out perfectly". He wouldn't just upturn all of the fractures because wouldn't that impede on the people's inside of them? their "free will"? their existences are just as real as their originators. Monty wouldn't interfere with it by virtue of his own self imposed limitations.

but like ok whatever shut up justice and get to the point. Is the loop necessary?

I don't think so. It muddies the plot. And I'm fine with time loops as a concept, I am a Homestuck fan, but this one feels... sloppy. The small ones that happen, like Richtofen giving blood to his past self, that feels fine because it's a perfect loop. His own future seeds his past and vice versa. Nothing else is affected, other than the consequences of the loop that are his friends now knowing looping is possible and that he's now in possession of the blood.

But ok ok so what? it's a bit of a sloppy narrative but that's the point. the Loop sucks. that's why bo4 is about breaking it. because ending the loop is the other half of the narrative. Looping is a set piece, a set up, an instrument meant to push the narrative, breaking it, or just escaping it, is the narrative payoff, the completion of the arc.

so how does the loop break? A random guy that our crew has never once talked to nor even know exists manages to break his own, very literally rewriting fate.

Wow that is fucking ass. And not just because of the retcon of MotD, which I am very depressed about, but narratively speaking? for our protagonists? it sucks. they didn't do it, the breaking of the loop just happens to them. Richtofen doesn't sacrifice himself and cements, at least this version of himself, as the selfless, "nicest one", but because he's forced to do it by fate. It's not his choice, he was backed into a corner. it's either die one time and everyone else escapes or everyone dies infinitely. easy option.

but even from a Watsonian perspective, it fails. BotD is a "trap" to kill Richtofen? Well, in the LITERAL SAME MAP another Richtofen shows up and replaces him. Like... why is that even allowed? Why would the Warden or the Shadow Man just allow popsicle Richtofen to stay there? if you wanted to kill him, then just turn off the pod. that makes it so he, inevitably, dies there since all past Richtofens will eventually become that Future Richtofen via Revelations which is now no longer a viable path, then you kill the sole current one via the dark mechanism. boom. Edward dead, just like you wanted.

it's just so shit. It doesn't push the themes, it doesn't make any sense for people who interact with the loop, and breaking it was via the most contrived asspull imaginable that doesn't even have the guts to give the consequences of the map any weight.

I love this story and it's characters but I will never pretend that it's a masterpiece, or even well written. Does anyone want to share what Primis was doing while Richtofen was looping for years? Does anyone want to talk about why Monty is evil and somehow corrupted by the Dark Aether despite never interacting with it? Or how Samantha's Aether powers persisted in BO4 despite being "purified" by Monty and being allowed into the New Universe because of said purity? or why Richtofen had to collect his child self's soul, but it was apparently okay to collect the adult versions of Ultimis even though we know both Dempsey and that version of Takeo were experimented on by 115 and were thereby equally "tainted"? Why was Victis looping in Die Rise?

yet again I stand alone, gazing through my bleak window, painted in drops of falling rain. "No one understands", I murmur. I am left with the silence with my musings with the only response being that of the singing water playing a melody on the glass.

[midnight1nk]

If you were to ask me:

Out of all the Puzzlevision episodes we had so far, which is your favorite?

My answer will always be “Once Upon An SMG4”. I mean, who wouldn't want a silly fairytale parody? With the chaotic nature of the show, it just made sense to me. You know what also made sense? Having SMG3 play the princess role, considering he is qualified to be a Disney Princess.

if you think about it, the whole Star Trio could be Disney Princesses…

As a glitchybombs shipper, Mr Puzzles basically gave a fairytale AU for us to work with. And indeed, we could’ve had a 'true love’s kiss' moment. While all of these are good reasons, it's not the main reason why I love it.

I love it because it's a parallel/twisted version of “It's Gotta Be Perfect”.

Every story, no matter how outlandish it seems, is grounded in reality.

Think of any fairytale you know of from the top of your head. Pretty easy, right?

But do you have a solid reason as to why the Evil Queen from Snow White is really evil? Or why Goldilocks was alone in the woods and decided to trespass on private property? Or why didn't the Godmother come sooner to save Cinderella from her abusive family?

Perhaps you can find answers in the depths of the internet and historical literature, but otherwise, it's up for speculation. That's because fairytales are for the sake of entertainment. Therefore, the characters and/or their personalities are reduced to simple roles: good guy, bad guy, etc. Toss in a subtle message about human morality and you got a nice little tale where the good guys win and the bad guys get what they deserve.

For “Once Upon An SMG4”, there's much more than what meets the eye. Follow me as I overanalyze this episode to events that happened in the “It's Gotta Be Perfect” arc, and discuss how they could be alluding to future character interactions, WOTFI 2024, and beyond...

ONCE UPON A Ṕ̷̱E̴̺̽R̵̖̎̕F̵̢̗̈́̀E̴̞̍C̴͈̽T̶͓̘̈́ SMG4

THE NARRATOR

The episode starts off with the first actual character of the story: the narrator. Now, we have no idea who that is.

There isn’t a name on who voiced him in the credits, and it can be easily assumed that it was just some random guy, like the one from the Puzzlevision Movie. But I think it might just be Mr Puzzles. He is the showrunner after all. He could've manipulated the script or be the narrator himself. Either way, he is the one in control, forcing the viewer to see the story through his lens (...or screen I guess).

Anyway, the narrator introduces one of the two main characters of the story:

SMG4

The narrator goes on to describe him as “an ugly, wicked witch who's selfish and cruel…” before Witch!4 proceeds to break his back for doing his evil laugh.

Remember how I said that complex characters were reduced to simpler roles? Four was one of them. In IGBP, Four felt inadequate as a content creator and just wanted to make his audience happy. He had insecurities before the arc, hidden in the back of his mind, but it was because of ‘SMG4... Are You Ok?’ episode that those insecurities have now come to light. As told in IGBP, his videos were a sort of “measure” of his worth. It wasn’t only that his videos weren’t good enough, it was that he wasn’t good enough. Therefore, he felt like he failed in making people happy. That would be his fault.

That was why he was desperate to create the best video ever. Unfortunately, when you are laser-focused on something, the world around you becomes a blur. Four isolated himself from the crew (We’ll get back to this, see: ‘Four’s Villain Song’). He didn’t sleep, didn’t even eat. He didn’t try to take care of himself because, as some of us relate, he thought that ‘if I worked on this a bit more, just another second more, maybe it’ll be perfect and I can finally finish it’, having his necessities as an afterthought or even ”reward”. It drove him to his breaking point in the ‘SMG4: MAR10 Day’ episode. It wasn't his intention to shut everyone out nor was it to hurt anyone. But, because he wasn’t in the right headspace, he lashed out at his friends.

As Mr Puzzles’ script stated, Four acted “selfish and cruel”, all for the perfect video. Mr Puzzles already perceived SMG4 in a negative light by calling the show “the stupidest” thing he’d ever seen. This was merely ‘evidence’ for Mr Puzzles to say, “See? This is why you shouldn’t be rooting for SMG4. He is a villain and he got what he deserved”. Four is a villain, that was all Mr Puzzles perceived him as, here in ‘Once Upon an SMG4’ (See: ‘You Look Peak, Brother”, for more). For his character, it makes a lot of sense. Mr Puzzles didn’t have friends growing up so he didn’t understand how Four’s insecurities were really affecting him.

However, a certain purple meme guardian did connect with Four. Speaking of which, the narrator introduces the second main character of the story:

SMG3

The narrator describes Three as “a beautiful princess pure of heart” and that he had “unparalleled beauty, embodying every romantic dream”. Insert Princess!3 having his Disney Princess Moment (TM).

If Mr Puzzles perceives Four being evil, does that mean he perceives Three as the opposite?

Well, sort of. From a storytelling perspective, for every bad guy, there is a good guy. Narrative foils, at times, are parallel to one another. They share similarities in terms of personality or appearance or just wanting the same goal. What better foil to have than Three, Four’s meme guardian partner and former villain.

What about beauty?

Three has repeatedly proclaimed how he's The Rizzler (TM) and how he is far more attractive than Four. In ‘SMG4: We Don’t Talk About What Happened in the Elevator’ episode, Four admitted that Three does have rizz, just as Three admits that he doesn’t hate Four (See: 'Fairest Fight 2024', for more).

Back to Princess!3, he sang how all he wants is money …and-a-sugarda--. While 'wanting to get rich' makes sense for Three’s character, it also doesn’t. Bare with me on this one:

In ‘SMG4: Trash Friends’, it was revealed that Three feels insecure about how he is perceived as Four’s cheap copy. Years ago, he tried being himself in memewarts and afterward. He failed to be recognized, unable to have friends, always being overshadowed by Four. So, in the YouTube Arc, he was obsessed with trying to become like Four. It wasn’t until he took over the channel that he got to experience what it truly felt like to be Four, before he eventually got sent to the Internet Graveyard and there began a whole new journey for him. He’s okay with his character development. In ‘SMG4: You Used To Be Cool’, he realizes that he doesn’t need to prove to anyone who he is, being satisfied with the life he now has.

What does it have to do with money?

Looking back at ‘SMG4: Trash Friends’ and the Meme Factory Arc, we saw that Three’s Coffee & Bombs wasn’t doing so well. It isn’t confirmed if this was of Mr Puzzles’ doing, but regardless, it does bring back some ugly memories for him. For once, he is enjoying the life he built and is currently trying to prove that he is not a mere copy of Four. But he might lose it, just as it happened with Snitch Productions.

He doesn’t want to go back to the life he had before. It isn’t just the café, it’s the possibility that he might lose his friends. Even if he doesn't want to admit it, he is part of the crew, and that is a lot more to lose. So, he has to “rescue” his café financially, to show that he “deserves” to have friends, that he “deserves” this life. Yes, he went through great risks to help his friends when they were in need, especially Four in IGBP. But he still wants to prove it.

(I’ll talk about it more about Three’s character on a later post.)

So, Mr Puzzles wasn’t all wrong; Three was “pure of heart” in a sense, he just has trouble showing his true emotions and being vulnerable again. After all, the first person he was vulnerable to was Terrence and we all know how that went.

And what about Eggdog?

Three literally came out of a flash drive so he doesn't have a biological family (or preprogrammed...because of the cosmology lore?). During the classic era, no one really treated him nicely. So, for Eggdog and additionally Terrence, he treated them with absolute devotion. Always reminding them that they are special, that they're loved. That they are never alone.

The difference was that Three was careful of Eggdog's whereabouts, while Terrence was always with him and minding his own business, including the Revelations movie. Three will always love Terrence, and to prove how good a parent he truly was, Terrence said a final "I love you" to Three.

He wasn't going to make the same mistake with Eggdog. Whenever Eggdog gets hurt, Three comes rushing to his side to ensure he is okay. Three keeps a close eye on him but when it comes to the bug mission, Three would have Eggdog stay at home or have a backup plan if Eggdog does come along. He just can't lose another loved one.

“YOU LOOK PEAK, BROTHER.”

Let’s cut ahead to when Witch!4 was giving compliments to a version of “him” inside the TV. Admittedly, this is just a bit.

HOWEVER, I overanalyze stuff soooooo…...

Remember how I said that Mr Puzzles sees Four in a negative light?

In IGBP, there was the hallway scene with Three, Meggy, and Mario discovering the paintings being replaced with messages. As Three states, these messages were his thoughts, how Four painted himself in a negative light. Four made sure to hide his low self-esteem well from his friends but it always lingered in the shadows.

Mario wasn't wrong: the person who "wrote" them was indeed a good person.

Mr Puzzles, however, showed the opposite. That Four set himself up on a pedestal, as someone who sees himself as righteous. A narcissist. And how? By being the “TV, TV on the Wall” and pretending to be Witch!4 on the screen giving compliments to the actual Witch!4 how perfect he is.

YOU’RE INVITED!

This is more of a parallel than anything. In the story, Princess!3 gets “invited” to King Bob’s Ballin’ Ball, the invite literally being launched to him by Witch!4.

In the IGBP arc, Three got invited to do a collab with Mr Yeast through his stream in ‘SMG4... Are You Ok?’ episode. While Four may have not been the one who brought in Mr Yeast for him, it was because of Four’s crew that made Three went through a new path in his life from the end of the Youtube Arc, being Lord of the Internet Graveyard, and becoming a streamer which got him the collab. So, indirectly, Four brought Mr Yeast to Three.

A (FAILING) PLAN

Fast forward through the story, Princess!3 strolls around the ball, Witch!4 instructs Prince Luigi to give Princess!3 the apple to make him "the ugliest princess" and Witch!4 would become the fairest of them all. As expected, it failed miserably, and Witch!4 had to improvise and come up with a new plan.

In IGBP, Four also had a plan when he was starting to create the perfect video, stocking his room with enough food for him to last. He made multiple attempts to create the video, feeling unsatisfied with every version he made.

MR. LUIGI

OMG, Mr L? Nah, I’m just kidding.

In all seriousness, though, I did find it fascinating that Prince Luigi basically turned Mr Yeast, the catalyst of IGBP. Hmmm….

THE TALLEST TOWER

By Witch!4’s instructions, Mr Luigi kidnaps Princess!3 and puts him in the tallest tower.

In IGBP, there is a scene where the rescuing trio finds SMG4’s classic design before it awakens and traps Three with him, making Meggy and Mario find Four to rescue them both. Curiously, the final showdown with Possessed!4 and Monster!3 waiting for them took place in the tallest tower of Peach’s castle.

A DOLLAR (…AND A BLOCK OF “CHEESE”)

In Mr Yeast fashion, he proposes a challenge that whoever save the princess gets a dollar, before he gets pushed off the tower by Princess!3. Realizing that he might need help, Princess!3 was able to get Mario to save him, promising that one dollar and an additional block of "cheese". In all technicality, Mario was completing the challenge.

In the IGBP arc, Mario completed a challenge created by Mr Yeast, making spaghetti while in a crashing plane. And, would you look at that? Food was involved too!

FOUR'S VILLAIN SONG

Told you we would come back to it! Better than what Disney’s Wish could ever do, Witch!4 sings how great being a villain was and how you just can’t go wrong with a great villain song. An absolute classic.

I do want to point out the first few lines of Four’s musical number:

I’ve gotta be honest with you, There’s many reasons I like being the villain, from just chillin’ to killin’ to tyrannically instilling fear, unto unwilling peasants who crossed my path…

Again, this shouldn’t be taken that seriously, but knowing how Mr Puzzles perceives him to be, this meant a lot more. Four, being the ‘villain’ of IGBP, was “tyrannically instilling fear” unto his friends who ‘prevented’ him from creating the perfect video. This, for the most part, was how Mr Puzzles saw it since IGBP was a horror parody. In reality, the crew was worried for him, not scared of him. Sure, there were moments when they were confused about Four’s extreme behavior but they were more worried about his wellbeing. Mr Puzzles didn’t know what that was like, to have someone worried for another’s wellbeing.

BOOPKINS

Yes, even Boopkins gets a spot on here! In the story, when Mario brought Sir Boopkins to save Princess!3, Princess!3 immediately regrets his life choices. Boopkins, on the other hand, doesn’t listen to what Princess!3’s yelled to Mario and attempts to save him… miserably.

It directly mirrors in IGBP, how Boopkins tried to defeat the keyboard demon with the ‘power of friendship and love’.

Love wins! Love always wins!

[It's Gotta Be Perfect]

He isn't wrong, a lot of the arcs were resolved because of love between friends, family, and partners. The good guys indeed win, but not without sacrifice. They kept their promise, but not without loss.

IGBP was no different. While ‘love always wins’ is true, Boopkins went about it the wrong way, thinking the demon itself would have a change of heart. Three was the one who somehow did it correctly and was able to save Four at the end.

Wow. Love does win, huh?

FAIREST OF THEM ALL

After Sir Boopkins’ failed attempt, Witch!4 comes in, riding a dragon, saying to Princess!3:

“Ha ha! You will never be saved, princess, and I shall be fairest of them all!”

[Once Upon An SMG4]

Do remember that scene?

Good.

Now imagine that moment in IGBP when Four had to choose to save Three or the flash drive that contained the video they made:

You will never be saved, Three, and I will have the perfect video!

…Ain’t that wild?

Then, it begs the question: Did Mr Puzzles want Three to die? Actually, no, he wanted Four dead. Remember back in the movie when the tentacles of the keyboard demon dragged Four back into the desk. Four knew he couldn’t leave so Four begged Three to leave him there and accepted that the whole incident was his fault. And it did seem like the end for him.

Plot twist: Three snapped him (or I guess slapped him) out of it and stayed alongside Four so he could help finish the video. It was because of Three that Four was finally freed from the cursed keyboard and it was because of Three admitting that they are friends that Four made his final decision. If Three wasn’t there, Four would’ve become a monster like Peach did or Four would have to sacrifice Three because he was traumatized to the point that he needs the video.

Perhaps it didn’t go how Mr Puzzles intended it to be but hey, it was entertainment, so he had let it slide for now.

FAIREST FIGHT 2024

Back to the story, Mario proposes that Witch!4 and Princess!3 should have a contest to see who really is the fairest. And so began the Fairest Fight 2024, consisting of three (3) challenges for three (3) judges to see who earns the title of the “fairest of them all”. Let’s begin with the first challenge:

ATTRACTING NOBLE HEROES CHALLENGE

Princess!3 was able to convince one hero with the weak promise of friendship while Witch!4 offering a lifetime sub to his OF, beating Princess!3 this round.

It parallels how it was in the outside world where Three, still trying his best, makes attempts to be popular while Four, already being incredibly popular, can easily attract his audience with his memes. But it also shows how Four is willing to dedicate a lot of his time and effort to making people happy while Three is still cautious about how open he should be to other people.

KISSING A FROG CHALLENGE

Okay, obviously, it's supposed to be a ‘princess and the frog’ reference. Just a bit, but it could mean something more. First off, to get this out of the way, I find it interesting that when Witch!4 tried to kiss a frog, the frog turned into Kermit and practically made him lose the challenge (Three didn’t either btw). It mirrored how in IGBP, Four kept using Kermit clips to make this perfect video, refusing to use any other material which eventually caused him to go insane.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the deep analysis part of this challenge:

As IGBP has taught us, relationships are complicated and complex. It takes time and dedication to stay but it also needs balance. As emotions are involved, it can be hard for others to completely understand the situation but, as Three has done, it’s possible to try.

We already made a connection of this episode being a twist of IGBP, so this could be applied here, how Four and Three approach a supposed relationship, in two ways:

(1) The frogs represent the new people that will enter each of their lives

When Four gets involved romantically and/or platonically with someone new who we call Person A, he can be a bit forward towards this person, but he is willing to commit to it. Person A however would either (1) end the relationship or (2) die. This leaves Four shocked.

When Three gets involved romantically and/or platonically with someone new (Person B), he is willing to risk it all. Usually, he is cautious about what he does but Person B somehow convinced him that they are the exception. Person B, like the poisonous frog, would either (1) use emotional manipulation to hurt 3 to a certain end or (2) be the cause of his death.

(2) The frogs represent each other — the Axol X Melony Theory(???)

That’s right, SMG34 shippers, it’s our time now. While SMG34 ship has been incredibly well-known in the fandom and the people behind the SMG4 show, we know it’s not going to become canon, mostly due to homophobia from certain fans, and the ship isn't meant to be treated seriously. But there are also too many moments that allude to the idea that they can be canon. Even reactors are starting to notice, a few lowkey “ship” them (which is honestly insane). In ‘SMG4: Plane Trip’ episode, Swag and Four had a bit of a bonding moment. Swag mentioned Sonic, his wife, as family. Four mentions how he feels the same (about being in a romantic relationship) and “having someone back home [himself]”, there he is presented with a locket. Again, this could all be a joke with well-known crack ships (memes, Dasani, computer, etc). Strangely though, the punchline never came.

They didn’t have time to put it in.

No, because all it takes is a few seconds to shift to Four’s POV and show THE DAMN PHOTO. BUT THEY DIDN’T!

*proceeds to scream into a pillow*

…Uh, anyway, some reactors suspected the person in the locket was Three. If reactors had the mere thought about Three and Four being together, then you know something really is up between those two. Sure, fandom talk. But like, if someone who you didn’t expect at all says that they might be gay, then the signals they give off must be really loud.

If the slightest chance this ship is ever going to be canon, then the Frog Challenge would be the slickest foreshadowing they had ever done, and yet brings up a whole lot of dread for the SMG34 shippers. At the end of WOTFI 2023, Three drew himself and Four enjoying a cup of coffee together, which seems oddly similar to Melony’s drawing of her and Axol (and vice-versa with Axol’s Confession Page).

If the theory is going to come true and the Kissing A Frog Challenge is going to allude to something, then it could mean two things:

(1) Either Four or Three would be with someone else, leaving the other heartbroken and therefore, their crush on them “died”

(2) Four or Three would confess to the other their feelings, but it would be too late and the other would be destined to die

Oh boy, ok. Let’s take a moment here to take a breather off the screen and pray for the shippers that the Axol X Melony Theory would not come true, regardless if the ship is ever going to be canon.

TRY NOT TO GET KIDNAPPED CHALLENGE

Stepping away from the Kissing Frog Challenge, we hop into this challenge, where the two avoid getting themselves kidnapped by Shrek. Princess!3 came up with the idea to use Witch!4 as a sort of trade, pointing out Witch!4’s features as selling points (with Princess!3 puking at the end there). According to Witch!4, they were "the worst selling points" he ever heard and it still worked. Princess!3 beat the challenge and placed the two of them in a complete tie.

Say it with me now: it’s just a bit.

And yet again I say: hear me out…

It shows that Three accepts Four’s flaws. Sure, there might be things that Three might find annoying about Four but he doesn’t hate Four. Especially, after IGBP, they connected more than ever. When they are in desperate need, they find each other. When one feels down or upset, the other notices. It makes sense, considering that they’re cosmically linked. But somehow, thanks to IGBP, they became close and already saw parts of each other's worst side. Four already accepts that Three is a former villain but Three of all people also accepts Four for who he is.

THE WINNER

The points have been tallied and judges make their decision, declaring Princess!3 as the official winner. Along with the title of being the “fairest”, he gets a wish. Twist of the episode: Three breaks the fourth wall and wishes to escape Mr Puzzles’ control. Then, Godmother Puzzles swoops in and restores the natural order of his script. Again, it’s plain and simple: Three is begging the audience to help them find an escape from this nightmare.

…well…

Notice how the one who broke the tie between the two was Mr Luigi, giving the last point to Princess!3, just as how Mr Yeast preferred to collab with Three instead of Four.

Remember how I said being the fairest is the equivalent of being perfect from that line told by Witch!4? This scene isn’t telling us that Three is perfect, but rather Four is imperfect. For the audience, we know that no one is perfect and that is okay. To quote from the animated show, Arcane:

"In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good."

[Arcane, S1 EP9]

From Mr Puzzles’ perspective and his ideology of being perfect, imperfection sounds like a bad thing.

The part where Princess!3 won was the same way how Three “won” in IGBP. Princess!3 won by getting what he wanted since the beginning of the story: money. Three, being the protagonist of IGBP, the 'good guy', won by beating the demonic keyboard and saving his partner.

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

And that is “Once Upon An SMG4”, a twisted version of “It’s Gotta Be Perfect”. One that Mr Puzzles would have preferred. But it’s not over yet, my dear fellows, as every story has a sequel.

“And SMG4, who knew you could play an antagonist so well! High marks from me.”

[SMG4: Puzzlevision Movie]

A new arc is approaching leading up to WOTFI 2024 and if the 'SMG4: Inside Out' episode has anything to go by, IGBP really affected Four. Perhaps we don't get to see it through his behavior but he still remembers it. (hmm, how curious that Once Upon an SMG4 gets an appearance here...🤔) According to Inside Out 2 movie, orange symbolizes anxiety, meaning that Four is terrified that he might cause another IGBP incident. Naturally, problems can't easily be resolved and at times, they relapse.

In the actual plot of the episode, Four drank that carton of "special brain juice" with Mr Puzzles' face plastered on it. This is a major problem:

(1) Because of Anger taking control of Four's emotions, Four destroyed the carton, getting rid of the only evidence there was for anyone else to make the connection that Mr Puzzles is up to something.

(2) He was alone when he did this. Remember: Three placed a hidden camera in Four's room when he decorated it. It has been confirmed in the actual merch with Three stating in his notebook that "it was a mistake" putting it there. We don't exactly know why he did it, but it can be assumed that he just wanted to keep tabs on Four to make sure another IGBP incident doesn't happen. If he couldn't use the camera, he would stop by to check up on him, making fake excuses on why he came. Except when Four took the carton, it was in the kitchen and Three wasn't able to come over to the castle.

At the end of the episode, we can assume that Mr Puzzles has taken control of Four's mind and used him to his advantage. With WOTFI 2024 coming up and new arcs beyond that, it will be up to the crew to rescue Four once again and stop Mr Puzzles from taking creative control of their real lives...

That is another post for me to work on but in the meantime, that’s just a theory…

AN SMG4 THEORY

🎶Thanks for dropping by🎶

[hanafubukki]

Considering how the event ended, there’s a few implications future story wise huh?

We’ll definitely be seeing the fourth year students and possibly graduates (ace’s brother? Sebek’s siblings?) in main story or future events.

Skully being dead. (He’s haunting the narrative 😆) implies he could be one of the students of ramshackle dorm/maybe founder. Meaning we might find out more about the dorm in the future/book 8 focus will be ramshackle and grim ob.

History being hidden/not many knowing parallels briar valley history and how history was altered with Lilia’s involvement too.

Something something about the past affecting the future. Actions from the past makes way for a future through those we meet and how it changes us.

But also, the ghosts 👀🤔 how even in death, (loved ones haunt the narrative jkjk) you’re watched over by those who love you. Ex: KOD, Meleanor, raverne, Leia, etc.

-> so does this mean we might get a reunion for malleus and silver and maybe lilia (though technically silver had it with KOD but shhhh)

[little-estrellita]

Inlove with the headcanon that Winx Club has dabbled in time travel BEFORE later seasons.

Spoilers up ahead. For ALL seasons.

Back in season one, we find out the truth about Bloom. Well, pieces of it, at least. But, this is about the theory that Daphne not only sent her through a portal to earth... BUT also centuries into the future. It lives rent-free in my mind. Like, of course she did?

The witches already were on a genocide run, a portal to earth would be easy for them. Especially considering that in season 3, it's revealed that they CREATED a whole person. A creature that could make decisions even with them locked away and their powers restrained.

And OF COURSE Daphne, one of the nine beloved nymphs, would have just enough energy to manipulate time and space during her final hours. I like to think that, beyond being killed, its the reason she is in her ghostly form when we meet her. A punishment for messing with time. NOT what they try to pull in season 5 with the whole CURSE situation.

It also explains why NONE of the centuries old adults had red flags flying when Bloom started to get too interested in Domino. Why Palladium didnt have anything to say when he found the dead planet on his database for her test. It would explain why Fairygonda and the rest of the members of the Company of Light are OLD after "16 years". When they were young when they joined. Griffin was young when she backstabbed Valtor. All while Bloom's parents remain young, despite creating the group years back.

Being trapped in ice would explain why they stayed the same. It also makes Domino's downfall even more tragic. For those who escaped before the witches took over. For those who had friends, family,.. loved ones on the planet. They could be dead now. They could have spent the past few centuries mourning and accepting the deaths. Those people will wake up from their frozen states to see that the people they love...have grown older. They had missed years of living.. I wonder if they, like Valtor, were fully conscious during that time.

It explains why everyone seemingly forgot about Domino. The three witches were treated as if they were a distance past. WHY no one suspected Bloom to be the lost princess.. because she should have appeared years ago.. perhaps 16 years after the fall. It's too late now. Domino is frozen over with no sign of life. No hope. No matter what anyone tried, it was dead and buried. Or at least, should have been. It gives reason as to why Fairygonda had to talk to higher-ups to be completely sure. Why no one saw the Trix's suspicious behavior as trying to summon ancient evil. Like a volcano, when it doesn't cause trouble for so long, people seem to forget what it can do. Why they let it slide for this long... why they didn't instantly went to check up on Valtor. For..he must also be long dead..

Which brings me to season.. 7. Time traveling. The butterfly effect motifs.. They wanted to revive Daphne so badly and yet have forgotten she existed here. This season could have been everyone realizing that Daphne had used this type of magic before. None of that Sirenix none sense they tried to pull back in season 5. Daphne could have had a stone and revealed it when Roxy got her's stolen. She could have been their guide and warning them constantly on what messing with time could do. Showing Roxy's and Bloom's bond paralleling Bloom's and Daphne's. Bloom, too, had an older sister who guided her through a magical realm she had no idea existed till she was 16... Why Bloom pressed on and on about being that figure for Roxy back in season 4.

Time travel could have explained so much about all these events and why it's a suprise they are only now resurfacing. The Trix set it forth. But it was the return of the dragon when Stella took Bloom back to the magic dimension.. that set it all off. The rise in magic energy over all. Bloom graduating causes the dragon fire to be more powerful. She's a full-fledged fairy with full control over it. It could be why, walking past the portrait of the wizards of the black circle... they awakened and went on the hunt. They saw what she did. She revived an entire planet. Who's to say she wouldn't return magic to earth?

[jesuis-assez]

Which holiday or special event would you most like to see celebrated on an episode of The Rookie, and how do you imagine Chenford would celebrate it?

Here we go:

Their wedding (special event)

Birthday

New Years Eve

Wedding - They did an episode [their 100th] for Nolan and Bailey surrounding this They eluded to and dare I say foreshadowed the possibility of this happening for Tim and Lucy. So it'd be really amazing for that to transpire.

I crossed out that last part in the second gif, 'cause I don't even want to entertain that thought. There is no IF about it. Otherwise, I'm happy to live in delulu land and pretend it happens… in my head.

Since they clearly did see a future there, while together. Enough to talk about kids, grandchildren etc. It stopped being even a question, after they started dating each other. So, I mean?? They were that certain.

Also there's that theme of them dancing at weddings. From Tim saying to Rachel "I don't do weddings." -> to dancing with Lucy at every wedding he's been to thereafter, with the added exception of him asking her to save him a dance. And then flash- forward dancing with her at their own wedding. Can you see the vision? 🤣

Perhaps they could do something special with Lucy's moon ring. It already holds such a sentimental value for both of them. I wonder if Lucy thinks of it as their ring rather than just hers? Considering the events of Day of Death.

Perhaps Tim proposes to her with a new ring, but it's the same moonstone. He has it remade for her. I think that be something special. OR.. she loses it? And Tim is the one that finds it AGAIN and brings it back to her. Only this time he proposes to her with it? During that proposal, he mentions how this ring led him to her once and he can't imagine spending the rest of his life without her (a little parallel to his speech in 6x10)

MAYBE they have Angela help him with the proposal and he does it at the station, where they first met. He proposes in the briefing room, IN THE SAME ROOM HE FIRST SAW HER, ON THE SAME DAY HE MET HER. That's romantic AF 🤣 and we know he is that with her whether he's intending to be or not.

[ I would write all of this in a fic or something, but I'm not sure if anyone would want to read it 🤣 My one motivation would be to emotionally destroy you all... affectionately ofc :) But also.. I don't think I have the emotional capacity needed to even attempt to plan and write a whole a** fic right now. ]

I'd imagine they'd celebrate their wedding with something that's more them (as most couples do anyway) Do I know what that looks like? No. If I were to write it, would I know by then? Yes. But, for right now.. I have spent a long time on this question, as I do with all asks. *slowly nods* Besides, I talk a lot of shit about writing for them, but I've never done it. So, it'd be nice to finally write a piece 😂

Birthday - I don't think Tim cares for his birthday. (But either Tim or Lucy, preferably Lucy... This time It'll be a much happier birthday. Instead of all that *erm* chaos that occurred. Y'know, like Mad dog jumping off a roof and everything horrible after. Like, fuck... 😦 VERY unhappy birthday 🤣

Tim makes Lucy breakfast in bed 🤪But first he lets her sleep in for a little bit. (We know he does this for her) They each have thoughtful ways of being there for the other. Sweet gestures they do for each other.

And then he'll wake her softly with a forehead kiss (because I need another one) Or she'd wake to the smell of pancakes and she'll find either a single rose resting on an envelope or a bouquet of Lucy's favourite flowers waiting for her.

I really think he'd go all out for her. Like... a whole day's worth. He'd take a 'personal day'. As for his birthday gift to her? Goodness... He's really good at gifting, as we know. After all, he took notes from her 🤭 He really notices.

He really listens and pays attention to her, he's that in tuned with her. And THAT in love with her. He wouldn't fuss over his own birthday, but if it's Lucy's? He's going to make it special for her.

I have an idea of what he would say in the birthday card, something on the lines of:

" If I could give you one gift, it would be for you to see yourself through my eyes. You are the most beautiful, extraordinary, kind-hearted, strong person I have met. I am so grateful for your presence in my life and to know you. I know without a doubt in mind, that you will achieve anything in your path. And I will be there with you every step of the way, as I always have and always will. With every smile, word and touch, you are the best thing that came into my life. I love you with all my heart and that love only grows stronger in your presence. Happy birthday, sweetheart. "

I don't know. Something like that. Hopefully they'd be in a much better place than where they were at in 6x08, that he can sign off the card with his name.

I think Lucy would like for Tim to also see himself through her eyes, as well 🤔Tim believes in Lucy more than she believes in herself and despite how low Tim may think of himself, Lucy mutually thinks the world of him.

New Years Eve - Oooh... What about a parallel to them sitting on her couch? Like when they first kissed in her apartment, only they're sitting down instead? They talk about how far they've come and they bring up their undercover mission, how they had to pretend to be a couple. They talk about what they would love to happen in the new year. Then they toast to new beginnings, possible advancement in Lucy's career etc.

Thaaankk yoouuuuu for this ask. I ♥ it. I spent a whole hour typing it out + more time happily making gifs to support by babbling 🤣😉

[pilferingapples]

OK my random question for you to think over is— If you could schedule some bonding time between Jean Valjean and any one of Les Amis, which Ami would you choose? Who would he click with/who would help him out the most/who would be the best most helpful Buddy for him to have ??? Or would you need to pick multiple Amis?

(This may or may not be related to a future fic idea I have planned. I have asked myself this question but currently do not know the answer, so I am curious about your thoughts! You always have great Les Amis takes)

OK before I get into this, I want to be clear that I think Cosette does an AMAZING job with Valjean's emotional Everything, but (a) she's a kid (b) she's HIS kid (c) no one person, no matter how close or important, can ever supply all of another person's emotional needs, even if they're a lot less traumatized than Valjean to start (d) a major problem with Valjean is Social Isolation, which only people Besides Cosette can alleviate (e) that is just the start of the issues that Cosette can't and should never have to handle alone! So no consideration of adding Other Friends to Valjean's life should be taken as an insult from me to Cosette (and I know you wouldn't , but people get weird). Cosette is a star.

Also: I am in all of this assuming a setting/ series of events leading to Acquaintance that does right by both parties ; importantly, that means Valjean is sure, somehow, that none of these men are romantically interested in or romantically interesting to Cosette. Maybe it's post- marriage, maybe it's an AU, maybe Whatever. Valjean's not doing his Lion With a Dog routine about it.

OK THAT SAID, let's Consider:

Enjolras: if they met outside a barricade, I can see them getting along very well! Unfortunately, that's because without pressing political action or conversation be thrown at them, I can imagine them both just sitting quietly and reading or being lost in their thoughts for as long as they're hanging out. Even GIVEN a political topic, like..Valjean is not gonna argue with anything Enjolras says and Enjolras is already gonna say it and they are just...gonna continue to Agree and then go back to Quiet Reading Time. Parallel Play For The Cats. Valjean will think Enjolras is a pleasant young man, Enjolras will think Valjean is a restful older gentleman, they will go to the library at the same time every Wednesday and nod hello and read in chairs near each other and never talk. Probably exactly the kind of interaction Valjean wants, and not at all what he needs to get out of his routine.

Combeferre: a very strong option!! assuming they've gotten talking about Nearly Anything, Combeferre can find the Fun Conversational Trivia in any subject. I bet Valjean would LOVE to hear about how steam engines work and the latest discoveries about bees or rubber or tinctures of opium. Valjean might be willing to tell him Cool Gardening and Metallurgy Knowledge and Combeferre would LISTEN. Combeferre is sharp and cutting about Interests and Ideas, but shows no signs of being someone who wants to get more emotional or personal with people than they're already setting up. This could be a great Hobby Buddy friendship and that's something Valjean really needs! Potential Issues: if they DO run into the sort of conversation where they're debating ideas, Combeferre does not seem to have an Easy Mode. IDK how much Valjean would be willing to enter Debate Thunderdome about politics or social issues; I worry greatly that he would shut down in Automatic Defense System Mode. But if they can work around that, Combeferre could be so good for getting him interested in the outside world!

Prouvaire: Much as above for Combeferre, except Prouvaire is already something of a gardener, DOES have a Gentle mode for debates, AND is goth, which would surely speak to Valjean's " some alive people like to be in coffins too" soul. Also lbr we know Prouvaire is on the 420 Crew in any era and it might do Valjean some real good to get baked once in a while. Strong potential here.

Feuilly: HE'S LIKE THE SON VALJEAN MIGHT HAVE KNOWN, or the grandson really-- as I recall, we've done the math and figured out that Feuilly really might be in the right age range to be one of Valjean's nibling's kids. I don't know how much Valjean has ever considered international politics but I bet he would deeply resonate with the plight of refugees and the displaced, which after all is a lot of the real issue. And maybe from there they can even get into how this is all systemic and Valjean might start to understand how he's not Uniquely Horrible if these injustices happen to so many people!!! A Little !!! Possibly!! Either way,they can get earnest and emotional over just wanting everyone else to have a better deal than they got. Go Team Lower Class Orphans Too Good For This World !

Courfeyrac: listen Courfeyrac's a delight and all but..he's just very bourgeois student. He is. Even assuming we're in the best situation where he and Valjean are talking politics and social issues enough for Valjean to NOT just mentally write him off as Standard Student Guy, I suspect Courfeyrac's many charms are just the wrong ones here. I'm not saying they can't get along, I think Courfeyrac can probably get alone with nearly anyone,but this is gonna be one of the harder options for any real connection.

Bahorel: you know I was all ready to go on a big ramble about how this could go multiple ways until I remembered the ONE THING, THE ONLY THING that gets Valjean to really open up and talk about his past is watching a younger man make horrible life choices that could get him arrested, never mind about trying to get Valjean to open up, Valjean is gonna trauma-dump on Bahorel so hard in the first fifteen minutes of them actually hanging out. And unlike Montparnasse, Bahorel pays attention and gives a damn about other people, and he is SO ready to get into how the legal system is pure evil and screws everyone over. Hating the legal system is a major component of his personality! I had honestly not really realized it until making this post but wow this will, eventually, be So Good for Valjean's mental health. (I am perhaps being a little silly here but I do think, on consideration, that Bahorel's over the top Everything would be on balance kinda reassuring for Valjean; plus there IS the goth factor XD Bonus points if it's a Better Post-Barricades setting where Bahorel's taken in Gavroche and they can bond over Unexpected Child Acquisition)

Legle: For Legle, see Courfeyrac, I'm afraid. You KNOW I love Bossuet so very much but he speaks 90 percent in too-smart-by-half puns and references and his entire social presentation depends on knowing how to parlay a bourgeois social skillset into Endless Crash Space. He's super weird and an incredibly good guy For Real but I don't know if Valjean would put enough effort in to realize that! Like with Courfeyrac, I feel like this would just be a Polite Acquaintaceship. Open to being convinced otherwise though!

Joly: ..ok I know Joly is also Student Guy as heck, but he's also direct and enthusiastic and overtly sweet in a way that Courfeyrac and Legle aren't. I can see Valjean enjoying his company somewhat the way he enjoys Cosette's actually-- here's someone who will be cheerful and chattery about things that he, Valjean, does not really know or care about. I still don't know if they'd connect on any deeper level but I could buy Valjean actively noticing and enjoying Joly's company.

Grantaire: HAAAAAHahahahhahaAAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAH *runs out of breath* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAAAAAA hahahaha nooooo. No. Nooooooooo. Grantaire talking to Valjean would go about like Grantaire talking to Javert in the I Mis Miniseries. Grantaire will talk! You cannot stop him unless you are named Enjolras! Valjean will nooooot care.

...Writing this up has made me reflect on what I think Valjean really needs out of a potential friend and it's - someone to do the talking - shared interests, or new interests they can be enthusiastic about while he nods ahead - a willingness/ ability to get HIM to talk at least sometimes ?? maybe?? - shared goth vibes or at least the ability to understand that sometimes u__u you just gotta be in a coffin now u__u - ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY overt disdain for The Rules this is why Fauchelevent was SO good for him but I think he also needs someone who is not in life debt to him! he needs to know he can socialize with Kind New People and Not Explode!!

....and this is a long post so I'm gonna save more Valjean rant :D I am pretty sure you and I will discuss later anyway!! Thank you for the random question!

[frankingsteinery]

for my 100th post (!) i thought i would, at long last, make a catch-all analysis on victor and elizabeth’s relationship, their marriage, and why specifically it was incestuous. throughout i may mention my interpretations of caroline’s past and her pseudo-incestuous relationship with alphonse, which you can read here. it’s not necessary to understand this post, but you’ll miss some of the nuance of the relationships between the frankensteins without it

in the 1818 version of the novel, elizabeth is the paternal first cousin of victor. she is, like caroline, similarly upper-class but falls into misfortune when her mother dies and she is left under the care of her father. these parallels become important later. after elizabeth’s mother dies, her father writes to alphonse “….requesting [Alphonse] to take charge of the infant Elizabeth” and that it was his wish “…that [Alphonse] should consider her as [his] own daughter, and educate her thus” (1818). that is, it was explicitly intended for elizabeth to be reared as a daughter to the frankensteins (and thus victor’s sister). 

in the 1831 edition, caroline specifically has an interest in elizabeth because she sees herself and her own situation in her, a background that mirrors her own. i’ll directly quote a post of mine instead of reiterating the same point. essentially: from the beginning caroline deliberately sets up parallels between herself and elizabeth. she wants a daughter, and adopts elizabeth specifically because elizabeth reminds her of herself, but grander: like she was, elizabeth is also a beggar and an orphan and homeless, but her story is more tragic, she is more beautiful, her debt to her caretakers more extreme, and her romantic relationship will go on to be more explicitly incestuous. through elizabeth and victor, caroline will perpetuate her own abuse. the difference is, unlike her own, this is a situation caroline can control.

from the beginning, at six years old, victor and elizabeth are raised with the expectation that they are going to be wed when they are older. as an adult, elizabeth reflects “that our union had been the favourite plan of [their] parents ever since our infancy” and that “we were told this when young, and taught to look forward to it as an event that would certainly take place” (1831). this is because of caroline’s “desire to bind as closely as possible the ties of domestic love” (1818), and so she is raised as victor’s “more than sister” (1831). they are encouraged to play at the role of mother and father/husband and wife together via raising and educating their younger siblings, particularly ernest. ernest is described as being victor’s “principal pupil” and, during his illness in infancy, elizabeth and victor were “his constant nurses” despite caroline, alphonse and maids/servants/caretakers being available

simultaneously, caroline grooms elizabeth into being a mini-me, calling her her “favorite” and encouraging her to embody the same values as her. caroline does all she can to have elizabeth be what is, essentially, a second version of her, while all the while dictating a marriage to her son

this becomes even more significant, when, on her deathbed, caroline reinforces her wish for victor and elizabeth to marry: “My children... my firmest hopes of future happiness were placed on the prospect of your union. This expectation will now be the consolation of your father. Elizabeth, my love you must supply my place” (1831). by attempting to replace herself with elizabeth via telling her to “supply her place” (of mother/wife) to the rest of the family, caroline is not only dictating a marriage between brother and sister but now mother and son, as elizabeth shifts from a sister-figure to victor into a maternal substitute, and simultaneously is his bride-to-be. as a result the roles of mother, sister and wife become conflated in victor’s mind—to some degree, there is no one without the other.

there’s deeper things at play here too, namely that it creates victor’s later emotional obligation in honoring his mother’s dying wish to go through with the marriage (furthered because it is the “consolation” of his father… alphonse also says something to this effect after victor gets out of prison), but i have enough to say on how victor is relied on as a pillar of emotional support by all of his family that it warrants its own post

this subconscious shift between the role of sister figure to mother figure is further emphasized when, during his dream at ingolstadt after the creation of the creature, elizabeth morphs into caroline in victors arms: “I slept, indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth…Delighted and surprised, I embraced her; but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms” (1831). that is, she literally changes from sister into mother. this is also the only kiss in the entire book, and the only instance victor and elizabeth display any affection for each other that is explicitly non-platonic (and elizabeth’s affections towards victor generally feel more motherly then amorous, particularly in contrast to the romance of felix and safie), and during it, she turns into victor’s mother and decays in his arms.

but why make the creature in the first place? well, as the common misconception goes, it wasn’t about reanimation (which was only mentioned once in a throwaway line) it was about creating new life. what victor wound up doing what was not reversing death, but what was, essentially, an alternate method of childbirth. this is a significant detail when considered in the context of victor and elizabeth’s relationship: victor’s goal was to create life, and he, at great lengths, intentionally circumvented women (elizabeth) in this process. why? so that he could dodge an act of incest—marrying elizabeth and providing the frankenstein heirs and carrying on the family legacy, which is what his family expected him to do.

there’s evidence to suggest elizabeth views victor as a brother. elizabeth indirectly acknowledges this relationship during justine’s trial, when she stands up for her defense: "I am," said she, "the cousin of the unhappy child who was murdered, or rather his sister, for I was educated by, and have lived with his parents ever since and even long before, his birth…” (1831). here, elizabeth calls herself the cousin of william (which is notably what she refers to victor as, both when they are literally cousins and when they have no blood relation—either way, a familial term) and then corrects herself, that she is actually william’s sister. her reasoning for this? she was raised and educated by the frankensteins alongside him ever since she was young. if you follow this logic, by extension she also considers herself ernest’s—and more relevantly—victor’s sister.

there is an egregious amount of subtext that suggests victor also views elizabeth as a sibling as well. before victor leaves for his vacation with henry, alphonse tells him that he has “always looked forward to [victor’s] marriage with [his] cousin as the tie of our domestic comfort” because they were “attached to each other from earliest infancy” and “entirely suited to one another in dispositions and tastes.” however, he acknowledges that because of this, victor may, perhaps, “regard [elizabeth] as his sister, without any wish that she might become your wife. Nay, you may have met with another whom you may love; and, considering yourself bound in honour to your cousin, this struggle may occasion the poignant misery which you appear to feel” to which victor replies: “My dear father, re-assure yourself. I love my cousin tenderly and sincerely. I never saw any woman who excited, as Elizabeth does, my warmest admiration and affection. My future hopes and prospects are entirely bound up in the expectation of our union” (1831). that is, he answers, no, he has not met any other woman he would rather marry, yet skirts around the former half of alphonse’s question and doesn’t acknowledge whether or not he views her as a sister or not.

this occurs again after victor is released from prison in ireland when, elizabeth, in a letter, does eventually ask him if he wants to back down from the marriage (this same letter features elizabeth literally hitting the nail on the head when asking if victor was going through with the marriage because he felt honor-bound to their parents). however, she poses this by asking: “But as brother and sister often entertain a lively affection towards each other, without desiring a more intimate union, may not such also be our case?...Do you not love another?” to which victor honestly answers no, he has not met any other woman. however, it’s not addressed whether he’s in love with elizabeth herself, nor does he address whether or not their affection towards each other is akin to that of siblings–again he entirely ignores it.

when victor and alphonse return to geneva after his release from prison, alphonse proposes victor’s immediate marriage to elizabeth, to which victor remains silent. alphonse then confronts victor once more: “Have you, then, some other attachment?” victor responds: “None on earth. I love Elizabeth, and look forward to our union with delight. Let the day therefore be fixed; and on it I will consecrate myself, in life or death, to the happiness of my cousin" (1831). yet the “hopes and prospects” that victor saw bound in their marriage earlier was, in fact, his own death–which was “no evil to [him]...and I therefore, with a contented and even cheerful countenance, agreed with my father, that if my cousin would consent, the ceremony should take place in ten days, and thus put, as I imagined, the seal to my fate” (1831). victor sees going through with a marriage to elizabeth as suicide, and embraces this.

they are both mutually hesitant and describe feelings of dread and melancholy on their wedding day itself. at the very least this indicates a lack of romantic interest in each other. after the ceremony, when they row out on the boat together, victor has a thought that is perhaps the most blatant example of his romantic disinterest in elizabeth: “Then gazing on the beloved face of Elizabeth, on her graceful form and languid eyes, instead of feeling the exultation of a—lover—a husband—a sudden gush of tears blinded my sight, & as I turned away to hide the involuntary emotion fast drops fell in the wave below. Reason again awoke, and shaking off all unmanly—or more properly all natural thoughts of mischance, I smiled” (Frankenstein 1823). victor also makes it clear to the narrator (walton) that they did not consummate their marriage before elizabeth’s death, which suggests there was hesitance or disgust around the concept. 

this is a neat little aside and more circumstantial evidence then anything else, but it is pretty well known that mary shelley's works tend to be somewhat autobiographical, and that her characters are influenced by people in her own life. this is most obvious in the last man, but its also present to a lesser extent in frankenstein, wherein victor's character is inspired by (among others) percy shelley. percy wrote under the pseudonym victor, which is believed to be where victor's name may have come from—and elizabeth was the name of percy shelley's sister.

[see-arcane]

I just finished all three parts of Harker chapter 8 and I figured I'd copy and paste my live reactions this time:

Part 1

Nice addition of the commentary by the Weird Sisters, and also the clever way Dracula spoke about them so that he was technically telling the truth, but being interpreted very differently by Jonathan.

NOOO the moth!!!

Loved the ending segment, so interesting that Dracula lost his personhood for a bit – it lines up with what Van Helsing says in the book, of course, about him still being in the process of regaining all his mental faculties, but I’d never really considered what that would’ve looked like in the early years.

Part 2

NO NOT THE BOOK

Dracula you fucking bastard, your death will be too swift

White stag cameo! Just you wait, Jonathan. You have no idea yet what you’re going to become.

Really enjoy the format of ending with the memory of a bride each part, I figured that was what was happening in Part 1. I’m glad we get to see more of them back when they were human.

Part 3

Loved the whole sequence with the curtains and shadows, that was really creepy! I genuinely half wondered if he was going to get caught, despite knowing that this story is novel-compliant.

New moth friend! Interesting that it seems to be helping Jonathan. Perhaps that’s exactly why Dracula seems to dislike the moths so strongly. (And now I’m curious if we’ll be seeing a third at some point or if my theories are going in the wrong direction.)

Dracula remains incredibly creepy, as usual. It’s really interesting to imagine what’s going on in his head during these days. How deep is his interest in Jonathan at the moment, and what is he currently imagining for the future?

EWW

Well I guess that sort of answers the interest question, my god

And of course the third bride’s memory starts with a mention of a scarf to parallel Jonathan’s shirt, very nice

Oh and she was given a crucifix, augh – though it clearly didn’t end up saving her.

“But the risk of men was greater than the risk of the monsters they invented.” If only you knew… if only…

This ending felt the saddest of all, god

All three of them… they were all just people.

(Hope you don't mind receiving these rambles as opposed to a cohesive paragraph this time, hehe - there was just so much to comment on, even when leaving so much out!)

- The moth 😔

- Playing with Dracula at both ends of his personhood spectrum was really fun in this bit. Present Dracula knows how to play word games and be intricate with how he toys with his targets, but Past Dracula? That’s a whole other monster; one still trying to recall how to pretend he’s a man by performing it around his first caught quarry.

- (Condolences to the first Bride)

- The book 😔

- YES WHITE STAG OMEN SPOTTED! Stoker’s sandbox is mine and I am playing with my animal lore in it :)

- Come onnn, it wouldn’t take too long for the Sisters to start getting Weird while the Count is away. What’s a little playtime with their guest? Let’s play tag… 👁️👁️

- The moth 2!! Perhaps a surprise bug that will help us later :)

- The scarf 😔

- …and the shirt. Yeah. For Jonathan and the Brides, they don’t have the luxury of discreet implication and time skips here. I am the third person magnifying glass and I am showing exactly what missing events added up to the versions of them we see post-Dracula horrors. This is just where it starts.

[drconstellation]

"Not Even At Gunpoint!"

Future Echoes of the Past #3

I didn't plan this meta. Well, maybe...just a tiny, weeny bit...I had been keeping a parallel in mind for a while...but not in this context. But it was kind of one of these moments:

Lets start at the beginning.

@beebopboom has been exploring the three magic tricks that appear in the S2 opening sequence recently, and speculating how the third one might appear in S3, and I've been exploring the paintball fight scene at Tadfield Manor in S1E2 and how that relates to the Great War in Heaven that formed Hell, and the events around the Fall. The two topics intersect, as you have echoes of the Bullet Catch magic trick from the 1941 minisode in S2E4 appearing not once but at least twice at Tadfield Manor.

But...then I realised, there's more than one pointed gun. Way more.

I'd always liked this throwback line from Crowley in S2E1, when Nina asks him if he is a bookseller as well:

Who would want to be a bookseller when this could happen to you?

Shadwell, turning up at the book shop in S1E4, disturbs Aziraphale contacting Heaven through the portal (a modified Solomon's magic circle) under the oculus, and breaks in to confront him. The historical implications of Aziraphale's lines here are that before homosexuality was decriminalized in the UK meeting places for such people were often disguised as respectable looking book shops. Which makes Nina's question in S2E1 and Crowley's denial to her all the more...loaded? Ah, well, you can't fool Nina, now, can you?

Anyway, mah point is...Shadwell literally has Aziraphale at gunpoint, er, fingerpoint here. Loaded fingerpoint.

But then, this isn't the first time Aziraphale has had a gun pointed at him. He had one pointed at him in the church in 1941 by the Nazi agent double-crossing Greta. His biggest fear, as always, isn't actually "dying," or standing in front of the guns, its the paperwork that he knows will go with getting a new body from the Ineffable Bureaucracy.

Crowley turns up to rescue him, because he "didn't want to see [him] embarrassed." With a bit of equivocation between the two of them, all the time while at gunpoint from Greta, they team up to save each other.

This was even before we got to the Bullet Catch - his "show stopper!"

Back to Tadfield Manor.

As they enter, Crowley is lined up in the crosshairs.

Er, wait a minute...

Only Crowley is shown this way here, not Aziraphale. He's a target. I'm starting to ask what point in time this is referring to - the present or the past? Both. Yeah, why not both! The work I did in this previous meta in this series showed that Crowley was considered a target for early removal by the other demons-to-be prior to the Fall.

Then they are both shot.

I pointed out Aziraphale gets shot by blue paint, representing Heaven, but its a colour we don't see used again by any one in the fighting to come. But what I didn't talk about was WHERE he got hit - in the back. That's synonymous with treachery. Heaven has stabbed Aziraphale in the back, so to speak. wow. Nice - not.

And Crowley? He gets hit in the heart - just like the Norman/Lucifer parallel on the Yellow Team does a short while later during his "fall" scene - with the red paint, betrayed by the Red Team who represent the management in Heaven.

Seems the Ineffable Bureaucracy wanted both them out of the way during the Great War...it get more and more interesting each time I look closer at it...

So was Aziraphale ever in the crosshairs? Yep.

And, as @vavoom-sorted-art points out, this is a time Aziraphale chooses to pick a weapon, and to fight. He didn't want the simple, safe deception trick with the ropes - he wanted a weapon. He really is much more the warrior than Crowley. Aziraphale, I think your nature as a principality is showing!

Firing that gun made Crowley sick to his stomach, and so did this metaphorical loaded gun - the Book of Life.

As soon as he found out from Beelzebub it was a real possibility of being played he went back to protect Aziraphale. Crowley hates fighting - watch how often he will try shut it down as quickly as possible or try to escape it when he can. To him everyone has free will, and the person picking the fight with the other is imposing their will on them. That's 'not on' in his books.

Aziraphale, on the other hand, is still reacting with his ingrained Heavenly instincts - that he should follow his morals because they are 'right,' and more sophisticated weapons add weight to the moral argument. He thinks. Maybe. (Yeah, keep working on that doubt, angel.)

Az: Impressive hardware. I've looked at this gun, its not a proper one at all. It just shoots paintballs. Cr: Don't your lot disapprove of guns? Az: Unless they're in the right hands. Then they give weight to a moral argument. I think. Cr: [laughing] A moral argument? Really? *tosses gun away* C'mon. [Heads into the Manor.] [later, after Crowley changes the paintball guns to real guns...] Az: But there are people out there shooting at each other! Cr: Well -  Lends weight to their moral argument. Everyone has free will, including the right to murder. Just think of it as a microcosm of the universe.

I'll think I'll end this here and leave you with a small montage of the aftermath of all this gun play - everything going up in flames and smoke.

Bring on S3!

If you didn't follow the links in the meta, and want to read the first two in this series, they are here:

#1: The Great War of Tadfield Manor

#2: The Newton/Crowley Mirror-Parallel in S1

[suchine-toki]

(The last one I swear) Top 10 Gintaka moments

Arranged chronologically because it was too difficult to choose. Spoilers ahead.

1. Boke and tsukkomi

We get another glimpse into their relationship during the Shouka Sonjuku days through a memory of Zura. Gintoki appears annoyed about only fighting against Takasugi, though the latter reveals he is ahead 57-56, which means that in a short period they had already fought more than 100 times. This implies that, as the years went by, their duels became a little less frequent. But what is really interesting and adorable here is the way Takasugi acts as Gintoki's tsukkomi and playfully scolds him (ch. 563).

2. Kick the can

At Kurokono Tasuke's suggestion, they decide to play basketball kick the can. Although it is later revealed that Gintoki and Takasugi intended to counterattack the enemy the whole time, they were clearly engrossed in the game, as evidenced by the fact that they put small bushes on their heads to camouflage. This seems to be a tactic they learned from their teacher, considering Zura did it as well. Despite everything, he notices that Gintoki and Takasugi seem more enthusiastic about competing against each other to see who is the first to launch a surprise attack on the can rather than the actual war (ch. 453).

3. Naivety and embarrassment

Around a campfire, Gintoki discusses the course of the war with Sakamoto and Zura and whether they would eventually become imperial forces if their side won. Aside from this being the only occasion where Gintoki thought about a future for himself beyond rescuing Shouyo, Takasugi mocks the idea as naive. This scene appears to be after the one where they made their promise, because Takasugi is aware that Gintoki doesn't fight for the country or for fame, but for their teacher. Thus, with great confidence, he asserts that they know what they are doing and that is enough. However, the way he says it irritates Gintoki, who then proceeds to tease him about the name of the Kiheitai, followed by some insinuations that Sakamoto quickly picks up on and joins in (ch. 633).

4. Him or me

After the events with the Ikeda family, it is revealed that Takasugi and Nobu Nobu are behind the scenes. The latter notices Takasugi's hostility towards him, so he reassures him that he never intended to go after what he calls his prey, Gintoki. Upon hearing this, Takasugi quickly changes his demeanor to a more relaxed and confident one, asserting that he would not be able to take any of their heads. Before leaving, he threatens him that if he changes his mind, either Gintoki or he himself will finish him off. This is not only another occasion where Takasugi becomes upset when others talk about Gintoki in front of him, but it also shows how, even at this point and before their confrontation, he still felt some camaraderie and understanding towards Gintoki (ch. 468).

5. Lingering feelings

Gintoki didn't only become emotional in his final fight against Takasugi when he had to attack his possessed body. In their first real confrontation, there is a direct parallel between Gintoki's face before being forced to kill Shouyo and his face before cutting Takasugi. They had already been fighting for a while, but this shows that at this moment Gintoki was already on the verge of tears. He didn't want to do it, but if someone was going to stop Takasugi, it had to be him. Arguably, this is the first time it is shown how much Gintoki still loves and cares for Takasugi even after all this time and everything that has happened (ch. 519).

6. Only me

Takasugi asks Shinpachi not to let anyone else take Gintoki's head because only he can do it, which adds to other occasions where one speaks possessively about the other. But this time it is because there are still unresolved matters between them, so Takasugi asks, in his own way, that he survives, just as Gintoki asked him 10 years ago when they made their promise during the war (ch. 575).

7. Believe in him

When Hijikata interrogates Gintoki, he fills in the gaps regarding what happened with the Tendoushuu and how all the information points to Takasugi conspiring with the enemy. Despite this, Gintoki tries to defend him, highlighting the fact that Takasugi helped them two years ago and has no reason to ally with the Tendoushuu, to which Hijikata insists that Takasugi is the type to prioritize goals over the means to achieve them. Still, Gintoki refuses to speak and betray Takasugi in any way, prompting Hijikata to question his loyalty and if the reason he insists on protecting Takasugi is because he still believes in him while being interrupted by Robozaki (ch. 674).

8. Underwater fight

When Gintoki is at his limit, surrounded by a group of assassins, a boat with explosives arrives to save him, which is revealed to have been sent by Takasugi. Gintoki doesn't miss the opportunity to tease him, calling him "mastermind" or "Hikusugi-kun," a wordplay referring to his height, and teases him about his lingering affection for the Kiheitai, the latter provoking an offensive response from him. They bicker some more before they are attacked and thrown into the water, where they fight against their enemies while also fighting each other (ch. 677).

9. Shitty brat & crazy hoodlum

This is one of the most peaceful scenes that occurs between them since they reunited. Here they are not fighting each other or anyone else, but simply talking while walking, another glimpse of how their relationship used to be. They clearly look comfortable next to each other, smiling and joking, showing how happy they are to be together, although neither of them would admit it (ch. 683).

10. Go back

On multiple occasions during the final arc, Takasugi tried to convince Gintoki, both gently and harshly, to return to the Yorozuya and his loved ones in Edo. This shows how selfless his love for Gintoki was, that even if his heart was divided because he wanted to be by his side, at the same time what Takasugi most desired was for Gintoki to be happy, with the tragedy that he wasn't really aware that he was part of Gintoki's happiness (chs. 673, 677, 683, 690, 699, 703).

Part (1) (2) (3) (4) (Bonus)

[frostfall-matches]

[ LOADING... ]

@tillichan : [ REPORT READY ]

✧ PROFILE - BLUE LOCK

— STORY

Your upbringing was quite comfortable. You came from a well-off family and grew up in Kyoto, and later on you were enrolled in Hakuho High since your parents wanted you to have a good education at a reputable school. While your parents often had high expectations and encouraged you to do your best, they thankfully were not overly demanding or controlling; you were largely able to pursue your interests and indulge in whatever hobbies you developed over the years.

You have been formally invited to join a special manager training program. This is a program designed to train individuals to properly manage players and teams in a competitive and professional football setting. The program will include evaluations to ensure that candidates have properly grasped the program’s goals and can prove their capability as a manager. You have been selected as a candidate due to your academic achievements as well as your abilities in other fields. If you are interested in this opportunity, please report to the following location, [ADDRESS], at [TIME] on [DATE]. We hope you will seriously consider this offer. Any further questions or concerns will be addressed on-site on the specified date. - Japan Football Union

The letter you received in the mail came as a surprise to you. It came out of nowhere, no event or advertisement, and it wasn’t like you applied to anything like it. You were a bit wary—while the Japan Football Union was well known, you couldn’t find any information about this program online—but you were still quite curious nonetheless. Your friend Reo explained that he and Nagi had gotten invites to some special training program for football… but not a manager program, and even they had limited information about the whole situation. But the letters came from the same place, and the address was the same. While you didn’t have a ton of experience with football, you’ve been helping out with the team at Hakuho so you knew some of the ins and outs of practice and games. Still, you never really imagined being a manager in a professional context and you were just helping out as an extracurricular.

In any case, you figured a change of pace might do you some good. Taking the chance that the letter was legit, you went out to the designated location on the indicated date (a different date than Reo and Nagi, you noted). When you arrived, there was a small handful of others that came to be part of the program as well, all with different backgrounds and skillsets. That was when the head of the program–an eccentric, lanky, black-haired man with rounded glasses–made his appearance to explain the manager program to everyone.

And so, along with the other aspiring candidates, you underwent training of your own during Phase One of the Blue Lock project parallel to the main Blue Lock program so you could become capable team managers. It was a lot of work, especially since you really had to start from the bottom and learn as much as you could about the rules and technicalities of the sport, on top of being taught how to properly oversee and promote a professional sports team. Even with your experience, there was so much to learn. There were times you felt like you bit off more than you could chew, but you were determined to see things through!

For much of Phase One of Blue Lock, you and the others cycled through the different teams and groups, everyone getting a turn with each team, meaning you got to meet all of the future-best-striker hopefuls. It was nice seeing your old friends again, but it was exciting meeting everyone else as well. Once Phase Two rolled around, you and the small handful of managers who were left got to pick one of the teams to personally oversee. You thankfully got your first pick, which was Manshine City—you really wanted to be close once more to Reo and Nagi.

— AFFILIATIONS

Blue Lock / Ego Jinpachi and Teieri Anri, Manshine City (Phase Two).

— EGO COLOR -> lavender

— MANAGER DUTIES

Keeping water, towels, and refreshing but healthy snacks on hand for everyone. -> You’re very much a sweet, caring, and motherly manager, and it definitely shows in the way that you take care of your team. During practice, you’re quick to hand over towels and beverages to your team when they take a break. You also make sure to keep healthy snacks on hand and you always bring options so everyone can have something they enjoy. (Extra snacks normally wouldn’t be allowed, but Ego allows it just because you tend to pick natural, balanced options and it’s not an everyday thing. Maybe it’ll even boost motivation).

Tending to injuries. -> Football can be a really rough sport, especially when players get overly competitive and aggressive. You hate seeing your team hurt and you’ve taken it upon yourself to learn first aid basics, and you have become the go-to person when they need any scrapes patched up or joints wrapped up in compression bandages. After you’ve made sure that they’re okay, you scold the players that have a tendency to be a little reckless and get themselves hurt more often than they should.

Tracking player progress and reviewing recent matches. -> A lot of your time as a manager involves closely watching your team’s matches (both live and through recordings), and you have a keen eye looking for areas of improvement and finding weak spots in the players’ teamwork and coverage. The more experience you get and the more you learn about football, the more you are able to help with planning training exercises and giving advice. Your extensive chess knowledge is very helpful in deciding the line-up for a game, as well.

YOUR MATCH IS…

✧ NAGI SEISHIRO

-> [ Prior to Blue Lock, the two of you only really saw each other in passing while at Hakuho High. ] Of course, you properly met him through Reo, who was a good friend of yours. Nagi kept to himself with the exception of Reo, and even then he preferred being alone when possible… He’s really not the social type. Your conversations with your apathetic classmate back then were minimal, but not unpleasant. He was distant, yes, but not unkind. In any case, it was nice to see familiar faces within Blue Lock, so you were equally happy seeing him and Reo whenever you got assigned to their team.

-> [ Not everyone has the patience to deal with someone like Nagi. ] You, however, have seemingly boundless patience when it comes to children and the childish—and you can’t help but see Nagi as endearing more often than not, anyway. Despite his laziness and apathy, he’s really quite cute and sweet in your eyes. Besides, once Nagi gets to know you better, he gets a bit clingy with you! He really likes how you’re always kind and sweet, even when he’s being a bit fussy. Others may see him as a bit of a brat, especially when compared to you, but Nagi really does appreciate how much patience you have for him (even if you can get a little bossy sometimes), and he tries to show that by spending time with you and paying much more attention to your conversations and interests.

-> [ Nagi’s growing crush on you isn’t very obvious. ] At least, not to most people. Reo might pick up on it, noticing that your mutual white-haired friend seems to be growing increasingly tolerant and even fond of your presence, but he doesn’t ultimately think much of it. Aside from gravitating towards you more often, Nagi starts growing a bit more touchy. Nothing major, but you’ll catch him leaning on you, resting his chin on the top of your head as he tries to look at whatever you’re reading (often a clipboard of tasks and notes). During any breaks where you two can briefly get out of Blue Lock, he might surprise you with random, small gifts (“I saw this and it reminded me of you, so… Here.”)

-> [ Nagi confesses to you early on in Phase Two. ] It’s one of those confessions that are so casual, so out of the blue that it catches you completely off guard, and his overall nonchalant and minimally expressive demeanor certainly doesn’t help this fact. It happens one evening after practice; Nagi’s hair is still wet from his shower and you just finished tidying up the training facilities with plans to review some data. More often than not, you and Nagi hang out for a while in the evenings, you reviewing data, games, or even reading manga while he plays on his phone. So the two of you start settling down in the guys’ shared room, Nagi sprawled across his bed and you on a plush chair, and as you’re getting comfy Nagi surprises you by saying:

“Hey… I really like you, by the way.”

-> [ With your influence, you might get him to cut down on his phone and game time, just a little. ] While Nagi might complain initially, he actually really likes doing activities such as going out on walks with you. It’s a change of pace from his norm of playing football then being glued to his phone, but he enjoys your company to the point where he’s willing to do things he might otherwise deem troublesome. (He’s also very curious about horseback riding since he knows you enjoy it but it’s something he has never done before, and it seems kind of cool).

-> [ Nagi finds you to be very cute, both in appearance and personality. ] You’re decently tall, but Nagi still towers over you! Definitely the type to compare his hand size to yours (and then lace your fingers together so you’re holding hands). He loves seeing your smile because it’s such a warm expression and your dimples are absolutely precious. You’ll often find him reaching out to poke at your cheeks and dimples. He also really adores when you lovingly tease him. Your outfits always look so comfy, too—perfect to laze around in. Perhaps he could convince you to settle down and take a nap with him?

-> [ The fact that you’re more of a homebody works out very well with him. ] Nagi just doesn’t have the drive to live a super hectic, busy life—he prefers when his free time is relaxing and peaceful (which is something he can achieve very easily by your side). If he is visiting you, it’s not uncommon to find him lazing around with your cat and/or dog. One of his favorite things to do when you’re both staying in for the day is reading manga with you! The two of you may or may not have different tastes, but it’s still really nice being able to settle in somewhere comfy and quietly read together. And, if you’re up for it, he’ll allow you to try some games on his phone or Switch—he actually thinks it’s pretty fun watching you learn how to play.

-> [ Dates with Nagi are on the calmer, more relaxing side. ] He’s not the type to want to go to super busy, crowded places… though if you two can find a quieter arcade, he would love to go with you! In fact, he might suddenly disappear on you if he spots one while you two are walking through town so he can peek his head in and check it out. Gardens, nature parks, and aquariums are solid date spots in his book, especially if you guys can find somewhere relaxing to take a break.

— ADDITIONAL HEADCANONS ->

-> You are Choki’s second parent. You and Nagi definitely adopt more plant children together, especially whenever you manage to get your own garden started.

-> Nagi will let you sit him down and put him through skin and hair care regimens. He thinks it feels really nice!

-> Nagi always ends up falling asleep while birdwatching with you.

-> Throughout his time in Blue Lock, Nagi makes quite a bit of emotional growth. He might make even more headway with you at his side, with your willingness to understand and connect with him.

— SHIP TROPES ->

-> mothering (you) x childish (him)

-> warm personality (you) x cold personality (him)

-> the calmest couple

✧ RELATIONSHIP WITH…

— MARC SNUFFY-> Your mentor figure and someone who ends up viewing you almost like a daughter. Managers have a unique role in the Blue Lock program, so while you do spend much of your time overseeing the Manchester City team and working alongside Chris Prince, you also get to learn a bit from other teams as well. Snuffy has a great eye for tactics and seems to organize his teams really well, so you wanted to learn a few things from him since Chris tends to be much more loose about his team structure. Not to mention, Snuffy has a very welcoming personality and is more than willing to give you advice.

Snuffy thinks you have a really good head on your shoulders! You’re responsible, kind, smart, always willing to learn and help others. He thinks you’re way too nice to a lot of these brats in Blue Lock, but also believes you’re a good influence on the ones that you interact with often. Over the course of the NEL matches he ends up doting on you much like a father would dote on a daughter.

— MIKAGE REO -> One of your closest friends. Reo has never had a friend be so attentive towards him, considering most of his acquaintances from high school just hang around because of his status and influence. You’re very genuine with him, and he finds it funny when you’re comfortable enough to tease him. He finds a lot of solace and comfort in you, especially when he feels abandoned by Nagi (and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t fall in love with you at some point, but he’s not really sure if that happened prior to Blue Lock or after). He honestly gets a little jealous whenever you spend too much time with Nagi, but tamps those feelings down once you and Nagi start dating. You’re both too important to him to risk losing either of you. He regularly invites you two out to hang out with him.

(Reo is a very close runner-up for your match, and you would likely do just as well with him as you would with Nagi! Reo’s emotions can fluctuate a lot when distressed, however, and he is prone to bouts of jealousy and dramatics… You would do your best to empathize with him and understand his troubles and reactions, of course, but this might overwhelm you too frequently for your liking. Additionally, the dynamic he has with his family doesn’t exactly bode for a simple and peaceful future, either, which can be quite stressful. Still, he’s someone you can have a lot of fun with, and you both can bring out the best in each other with enough time, patience, and healing.)

— HIORI YO -> Childhood friends! Both of you grew up in the same neighborhood in Kyoto, and still spend time together even after you went to different high schools (usually on weekends, since you had to temporarily relocate to Tokyo for school). You gave him an outlet other than football and video games, and you always listened without judgement whenever he wanted to express his worries or frustrations about the pressure his parents put on him. He is admittedly a little video game obsessed, and if left to his own devices he could easily become a shut-in, but there are days where you make him leave his room and take a break from the games. Honestly, he’s happy to get out and do something different (even if it’s just hanging out at your house) so long as it’s with you.

He was very much caught off-guard when he saw you at Blue Lock as a manager-in-training, but overjoyed to see you! It had been a while since the two of you last met up, and you two have a lot to catch up on, it seems! Despite the high stakes, Hiori seems to be more relaxed in Blue Lock since he’s away from his parents, which you’re happy to see.

— CHIGIRI HYOMA -> Despite his appearance, Chigiri is naturally very sassy and this ends up bringing out your teasing side quite easily once you get to know him a bit better. You feel comfortable teasing him because he isn’t overly reactive or sensitive, so he can take a joke and play up the banter with you without being too harsh. He is definitely your go-to person if you want to exchange skin or hair care tips, and you two regularly have little self-care sessions together. It really brightens up his days in the dreary, restrictive Blue Lock environment! Chigiri is a bit protective of you because he thinks you’re almost too nice and there are a lot of guys who can be jerks in Blue Lock, so he’s quick to stand up for you if he notices anyone being a little too rude or harsh towards you.

— ITOSHI RIN -> You’re the introvert that’s easy to get to know, but Rin is the introvert that one has to fight to get to know. Like with everyone else, Rin is initially very dismissive and cold towards you—but he doesn’t find you nearly as annoying as most of the other guys he has to deal with. While he isn’t very friendly towards you, you notice that he tries not to make as much work for you to do, especially when it comes to little things like tidying up the training rooms. He keeps to himself and sees himself as different from his peers, but you don’t seem to ever judge him harshly even when you start noticing his quirks… he can’t help but appreciate that, even if he doesn’t verbally express the sentiment.

— ISAGI YOICHI -> The way you dote on others makes him see you as an older sister figure (regardless of your actual age compared to him). You bring such a different energy than all the other guys he’s surrounded by, and he really looks forward to any interactions with you, even if they’re brief! Kindness and patience might be what most people focus on when they think of you, but Isagi latches onto your sharp intelligence, and definitely comes to you for advice on more than a few occasions.

— KURONA RANZE -> Kurona has a thing for hair, and he really likes yours! It was the first thing that really caught his eye on you. It’s so well taken care of, and he learns that it’s very fluffy and soft (thanks to the time you allowed him to touch your hair—he really wanted to braid it). Hair aside, he thinks you’re very sweet and warm, and he always feels at peace in your presence. Gives you the nickname “Dancer” once he finds out that you enjoy various types of dance, which also echoes the elegant, graceful way you often move in general.