#don't write/record that way

[thelaurenshippen]

Hi there! I started relistening to the bright sessions (as one does) and had a random question come up. When did you know that Mark/Sam wasn't going to be endgame (romantically)? I know in s4 they both fall apart separately and together, but even in Safehouse pt 2 (my absolute beloved) they argue about their coping mechanisms. Did you know then that they weren't going to end up together? How did you come to that conclusion?

hey!! this is a great question - I definitely did start the show thinking they were endgame and that's mostly what I was thinking at the time of safehouse too, despite their issues. I think it was really in writing Season 4 actually, when I realized that I was no longer telling a story about two people in love working through their issues, but was instead telling a story about two people who were in love but realized they shouldn't be together in that way. I started to feel those tension points in Season 3 (I would say the safehouse episodes were a true attempt for them to learn to work through their issues), but it wasn't until planning S4 that I really made the decision.

there are a lot of things that led to this that I'll try to articulate, because the honest, simplest answer as to why the plans changed was "because it felt like they should". but if I were think back and pinpoint a few reasons for that...

there was never supposed to be a love triangle. Mark was always bisexual but he and Damien were never supposed to develop feelings for one another. but the first time we got Andrew and Charlie into a room and read through their first episode together it was like "oh, OH-kay" (which, sidebar: clearly I was writing something between them subtextually because it wasn't like Andrew and Charlie were strangers to each other - I'd watched them act ALL sorts of scenes together in acting class but the romantic chemistry popped OUT with Mark/Damien. pretty much from the second motel episode on, I was writing leaning into that dynamic). that threw a lot of spanners into the works because while I never had plans to put Mark and Damien together, I hadn't anticipated Mark grappling with feelings for someone else.

similarly, I'd underestimated just how flawed Sam was. Sam is not a bad person, but she sometimes doesn't really know how to be a person who cares about other people. when you add that to the dynamics of Damien and Joan kind of, like, hovering over Mark in various unproductive ways (for Damien, it's destructive and invasive; for Joan, she's just a too-involved older sister sometimes), Sam becomes another person who is kind of, like...controlling Mark, or trying to, because she loves him and doesn't know how to (I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm just regurgitating actual lines I wrote lol). this is not to say that her flaws make her unable to be in a relationship (Mark is also deeply flawed!) but just that their flaws clashed against each other in ways I hadn't planned.

finally: Joan and found family. in my mind, there was something grand and romantic about Sam meeting Dr. Bright so that she could be led to Mark - like they were somehow always fated to meet. in actuality, it's not that at all - instead, the bond that Sam and Joan have is just as important as the one she has with Mark, albeit different. I don't believe in soulmates personally, but I've always liked the idea that you have people out there. soulmates in a more general sense - people you click with, have a connection with. it can be romantic, familial, friendship, work or creative partnerships, whatever. I think the Bryant siblings and Sam have that. I think Sam and Mark are meant for each other but in a non-exclusive way and in a...maybe not non-romantic way, but a way that doesn't have romance at the forefront. they love each other deeply and they fit, but a romantic partnership might not be the best way forward for them. and Joan and Sam are the whole heart of the show to me in some senses. as I was writing the finale, I very intentionally ended with the two of them - both because the final appearance of every character is in order of when they first appeared, but in reverse and also because the show starts with both of them in dark, destructive places and while there's broken trust between them throughout, they ultimately help each other get better. I thought Sam's story was about finding love and it was, but that love looked differently than I had planned.

okay, god, this has gotten waaaaaay too long and rambly. I hope this answers your question? one of my favorite things/the thing I miss most about making a show like TBS is being able to shift things based on chemistry/what the actors bring/etc. so often now, I'm writing entire seasons of things and then handing them off to production, in which anything can happen! the flexibility of recording episode by episode in TBS is something I took full advantage of.

thanks for listening and relistening!!

[cubbyhole-for-flea-bee]

Once the theatre monkey discovers angsty broadway musicals its all over y'all

or: I got a new personal project I'm workin' on! I'm at the first pass on the animatic rn! I forgot that 'generate matte' is a thing you can do in SB Pro for a whole hour!! I'm suffering!!!

[imakemywings]

"Solas needs someone to sell him another option," says Varric and then proceeds to offer no alternative options

[hedban]

"UUGGGH, it's so hoooot…" Nora complains from where she is draped over by the bench. The summer sun is high in the sky, Nora and Swann are taking shelter in the shadows, but that doesn't ease the heat enough to feel comfortable.

"Well, maybe we can get some ice cream! As a treat," Swann says, trying to cheer Nora up. But it doesn't work as intended.

"You know Autumn isn't working today, and no way I want to get some from the Yooper Scooper when she's not there." Swann couldn't truly blame her as she prefers it when Autumn managing it, too. But she wasn't ready to give up yet!

"Then what about the convenience store? Or maybe we can take a dip in the lake? That would surely cool us down, right?" Swann looks patiently at Nora from where she is sitting at the bench, with Nora's legs over Swann's lap.

"Hmm, the lake could work, then I could see you in that cute swimsuit again," Nora looks at Swann with a flirtatious look that leaves her feeling all warm inside that has nothing to do with the sun.

"O-oh! So, you like… my swimsuit?" Swann uncertainly asks, feeling the blush coming fast onto her face.

"Duh! Of course I do! I could eat you right up, when I see you in it," the look on Nora's face hasn't left yet, and she is now rising up from the bench, scooting closer to Swann, getting especially close to her face. "You look gorgeous it it, y'know?"

"Y-you think so? Th-thanks… It makes me happy, to hear you say that," she was now struggling to keep eye contact, looking down at her hands to ease her nervousness from Nora's intense stare.

Sensing her nervousness, Nora backs away, smiling from managing to fluster Swann so, thinking how cute she is. "So, a trip to Fawn's Rest, all by ourselves? What will the others think?" The smirk hasn't left her face.

"Uh, what? Um, I guess they might want to come along," Swann tries to ignore the butterflies in her stomach after Nora's line.

"C'mon, let's have this day for just us." Even though Nora loves when everyone is together, she also loves being alone with Swann, it awakens feelings in her she has never experienced before. "So, will you wear the swimsuit? For me?" She gazes gently at Swann, taking in every little detail, every little freckle and the light in her eyes that reminds her of starlight.

"Of course!" Swann answers with a flustered smile, but the joy in her eyes is undeniable.

Nora rises from the bench, and reaches out to take Swann's hand, which she gladly accepts. "Oh, and yeah, we can probably stop by the store before we head out. Hey, what ice cream flavor do you like? I'm thinking you like strawberry."

[funforahermit]

I'll be honest with you, I listened to Steve Wrigley's podcast episode with Rhys just now and I thought it was really great.

I know Steve's not exactly the fandom's favourite person, and in fact I agree with most of the reasons why, I just maybe don't lean into the "therefore he's clearly a toxic person" vibes too much I guess?

There's one thing I want to talk about though, which is why I'm here - In their conversation, they touch on the topic of mocking/making fun of people as part of comedy, and whether or not it's okay to do it, and they kinda land on the conclusion that it shouldn't be taken too seriously. And I get what they mean. However...

I believe it's important to consider that ridicule is also a very effective instrument of oppression. I know because it worked on me, big time. I grew up laughing at so many groups, and individual people too, that the media told me were complete idiots, and I'm only now finding out that their ridiculousness was just made up of half-truths and twisted facts specifically because someone wanted their credibility destroyed to make themselves look better. It's comedy abused as dangerous propaganda, and it fucking works. Once we start laughing at someone, we don't listen to them any more. Just think about the woman who sued McDonalds or whatever it was because "her coffee was hot", for example. I believed it. I laughed. I made my own jokes about it, for years on end. I didn't think twice about why she might have been right to do it. We weren't told the facts, we were just told a comedy version of it, with the good side and the bad side clearly assigned, and we bought it. So this is why I'm extremely wary of it now. And I get really uncomfortable when comedians think they can mock anything and anyone they want, because in the process they could - even accidentally - take away precious credibility from someone who actually needs and deserves it.

I almost want to tell all this to Steve, make him aware of this angle, maybe make him think a little bit more about who he really wants to mock. I think he's big on not taking any sides, but then maybe leave politics alone altogether, it's just too important :/

Anyway, I'm evidently not good at articulating what I mean, let alone in a concise not-rambly way, so I won't.

[keyboard-worrier]

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage's Tape 2 (the concluding chapter) comes out on the 15th! It's also 15% off on Steam right now, so a good time to jump in. I really loved Tape 1's nostalgic 90s vibes and slowburn story (though it's mostly setup so far). If Tape 2 sticks the landing it'll be one of my fave Life Is Strange-likes.

Selfishly I hope it does well so Don't Nod can keep making these kinds of games, now that the Deck Nine version of Life is Strange has apparently gone to shit.

[jaguarys]

It continues to kill me every day to think about the character that Rin could've been. She had so much to her. In being the normal one. In being the caring one. In being a Jinchūriki. In sacrificing herself. It should have been about her, and yet in the end she's just Obito's incel-y revenge manic pixie dream girl (extra trauma edition)

[cuteniarose]

Personally I find it absolutely hilarious that when it comes to LoK villains, my opinion of them can be summed up more or less like this:

Vaatu? The skrunkliest skrunkly!! I adore him, he deserved so much better. Wasted potential to the max, even the creators contradict themselves when it comes to him. Spirits can’t be evil, and yet a spirit is the ultimate evil?? Raava and Vaatu represent Ying and Yang, a.k.a the natural balance of all things, and yet it’s okay for Vaatu to be destroyed and/or locked away for an immeasurable amount of time??? Okay, sure Bryke, sure. I can name at least two people (@katkastrofa and @shadelorde) who would handle that story arc much, much better with a grand total budget of 0

The Red Lotus? THE ULTIMATE BLORBOS!!! Took up residence in my head almost 6 years ago and have refused to leave ever since. Every fandom related thing I indulge in is at least somewhat related to them. Actually had a point but the creators realised they couldn't show the bad guys having a point so suddenly we go from wanting to make the world a better place for the lower classes to genocide and torturing a teenager. Because that's what anarchism is, duh. And also they will all die horrific on-screen deaths at the end which may or may not have traumatised 12yo Nia so much they cannot even think of the Book 3 finale without having a panic attack. Can I sue Bryke for emotional damages??

Kuvira? My poor little meow meow who I will defend from the world. Yet another victim of Bryke realising stabilizing the Earth Kingdom and taking back colonized land was in fact a noble and righteous goal, and we can't have that, so let's make her a totalitarian dictator trying to create an ethnostate, commiting ecoterrorism and sending people to fucking concentration camps. Because that makes all the bloody sense. I would straight up fight every last Beifong for her and not because she's hot, I'm aroace I don't care what she looks like, but because if I was told that I'm part of a family only for then to be excluded from the family portrait and called a stray dog that nobody wanted I too would rip a hole in space and time

Amon and Tarrlok? Well..... they sure do exist ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[thebad-lydrawn-sanses]

Creator: Mm, art block. What to do...?

Creator: What do you think, wackus bonkus?

"Wackus Bonkus" (Hand): make angst

Creator: ohh, you naughty wackus bonkus

[things-stronger-than-fear]

can we talk about the katniss/lucy gray parallels (or lack thereof) for a sec?

they're superficially the same, because of the things we talk about all the time: they're both female victors from 12. there are things that come with that culture and background -- the mockingjay, the plants, the songs. those similarities aren't so much between them as people, as individuals -- they're born of coming from the same culture. the most significant thing they share is their resilience; their spirit of resistance and rebellion. their defiance.

but really, all those things they share, only serve to demonstrate just how different they are as individuals (because personality is different from upbringing or values).

we parallel their sarcastic bows, but they're so so different. lucy gray is a performer mockingly curtseying and saying "kiss my ass", where katniss is a hunter who doesn't have time for this society bullcrap.

they both sing the hanging tree, but as i've ranted about, their renditions show how different they are: lucy gray, again, a performer with a spirit unbroken, loud and charming and sassing right to the capitol's face, daring them to defy her, daring them to look away. katniss, again, a hunter, quiet but unyielding, sparking rebellion under the capitol's nose.

they both won their games, but in such different ways. lucy gray charmed the snakes (both literal and in the form of one coriolanus snow), while katniss threw down with weaponry.

lucy gray said look at me, care about me. katniss said fight for me, fight with me.

and so what we see is that they are not at all the same person, but that's what's so important. because it's not just one person or one type of person that puts their foot down and rebels. we don't need a specific kind of Chosen One to light the spark -- anyone can.

[delucadarlingwriting]

Vampire Divorce Court - Nicotine is Not a Substitute for a Balanced Diet

I meant to post this last night and blanked. Now I'm furiously trying to push it out before I got to a CPR course that might ACTUALLY be legitimate this time!!!!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Word Count: 1,290

Book 1, Outside the detective’s apartment, Late night

It doesn’t matter how many cigarettes Barbie smokes, she never manages to kill the hunger gnawing at her insides. It’s both curse and miracle that the very thought of blood makes her too faint to act on any of the base impulses that consume her when it’s been too long since she last fed.

Even if it doesn’t stop her hunger, it does dull the burning need of it enough to help her think clearly. She takes her next drag slow, not wanting to rush through it. Nat had informed her that all of Unit Bravo was staying in Detective Kingston’s apartment as part of her protection. Nothing had been arranged for Barbie prior to her arrival. No one explicitly told her to stay out, but no one really has to either.

The detective is a bright young woman, clearly far too young to be in the sort of position she is now, but rising to the challenge well. She seems more resolved to stop Murphy than she is terrified of him at least. The little they managed to talk casually between discussing the case, Barbie had found Detective Kingston to be interesting, sweet, and determined. Spending more time with her would be a treat. Looking up, Barbie sees the detective moving around inside the apartment, the lights going out one by one. Sticking around to socialize wouldn’t do Barbie much good when she’ll. just be sleeping anyway.

Barbie had considered going back to the facility during her down time, but it’s far enough away to be untenable. If any developments happen, she wants to be close by to know about it.

Besides, night time gives her a special sort of clarity, as well as the excuse to work alone. As soon as she finishes her smoke, she’s going to go back to the various locations Kira had taken her to today to take more notes. Having the eyes of Unit Bravo on her, even at a distance, kept throwing her off the first time. She needs to be able to observe things unburdened.

Speaking of burdens, the hairs on the back of her neck raise, and she turns to see Commanding Agent Adam du Mortain staring at her. He looks exactly the same as he did the last time she spoke to him, right down to the pucker between his eyebrows and the frown carved into his face.

“What?” she asks, exhausted already. Adam steps closer, bulky, strong, and wearing his vampirism with a kind of confidence that Barbie suspects she never will.

“What you did today was foolish and will not happen again,” he barks. Barbie scoffs.

“What could I possibly have done to already set you off?” Barbie asks, flicking ash off the end of her cigarette. Adam steps closer, far too in her space in fact, so that she can smell him and hear his rushing pulse. Oh, he’s actually angry. Barbie takes a long drag off her cigarette.

“When is the last time you fed?” Adam demands.

Ah. Of course. Barbie resists blowing smoke in his face, turning her head instead.

“Recently enough that this will do the job to curb my hunger,” she says. Adam step close enough that she staggers back to avoid even the possibility of him touching her.

“That is not good enough. You cannot be alone with the detective when you’re on the verge of falling into blood lust.” He looks her over, each part of her that his gaze touches burning. She recoils away, further into the shadows even if it won’t stop him from seeing her.

“It’s been good enough so far,” Barbie snaps. “I wouldn’t be here if I thought or anyone at the Agency thought I couldn’t control myself. My appearance alone should make that clear.”

She isn’t trying to hide the bitterness in her tone, but she doubts she would have been able to even if she was. While she knows her mind is her greatest asset, she’s always valued her appearance as well. Her good looks have faded just as certainly as her humanity though, leaving her a dry, hollow husk of a person. She has to put lipstick and foundation on before going anywhere outside the Agency unless she wants people to stop her and offer to call an ambulance based on her pallor alone.

Adam looks gobsmacked, which would be satisfying in any other circumstance.

“You’re always like this?” he asks, gesturing to her.

“That should not surprise you in the least,” Barbie replies, pulling her coat more securely around herself, turning to look out at the gorgeous night sky. Stars are lovely and quiet.

It takes several moments, but Adam does eventually find a response. He chooses to give it in a tone that holds no anger, but Barbie doesn’t love the pity any more.

“You’ll have to move past this at some point,” he says, not for the first time. Barbie gives a hollow laugh.

“Well, seeing as I now have all the time in the world to do so, I’ll be doing it at my own pace,” she says sharply. Adam shakes his head.

“You’ll find this existence unbearably long until you make peace with it,” he says, then turns and marches away.

Each step echoes in her skull. She presses the heel of her palm against her forehead, closing her eyes. Why did she ever agree to come here? Sure, her supervisors had all heavily encouraged her to come, but she could have begged off. If she had, she would be back in the Marseilles facility, deep in the archives, working away on her latest project. Instead she’s far from home and surrounded by horrible reminders of a time she’d rather forget.

Well, she had given up on truly forgetting a long time ago. It’s her own fault that she has to remember any of this at all.

Heavy footsteps approach once more, and as frayed and hungry as she is, Barbie turns and snaps, “Oh for fucks’ sake, Adam, what now?”

Only it isn’t Adam standing in front of her. It’s Mason.

Her heart strangles in her throat, her every muscle seizing up. She hasn’t seen him in…so long. He looks the same. His hair is a little longer, his eyes a little more tired, but he even has the same jacket still. She drinks him in like he’s the only way to slake her thirst.

But then he starts looking at her too.

Panic flooding her, Barbie jerks herself around and shouts, “Don’t!”

There’s a beat, and then she hears her ex-husband’s voice for the first time in almost 50 years.

“Don’t what, Barbara?” Mason asks, a tremor in his voice. “What the fuck could you possibly accuse me of now?”

She shakes her head and says, “Don’t look at me.”

Another beat. Bewildered, Mason asks, “Why the fuck not?”

No words are forthcoming, there are too many reasons. She doesn’t want to ruin his mental image of her. She wants him to see her human, healthy, beautiful. She doesn’t want him to remember what it was like when she left. She doesn’t want to look in his eyes and see hurt or anger or disgust.

He scoffs. “Wow. Fucking fine.”

He leaves. The side door of the apartment building slams so hard she jumps.

Holding back tears, Barbie throws her cigarette down and crushes it with the toe of her high heel. She lets out a shaking breath and walks away, heading to where her car is still parked outside the police station. Of all the scenarios she’s imagined of her and Mason reuniting, this isn’t at all what she expected.

It wasn’t nearly as bad.

Next

[thefirstknife]

Hi Bel,

I keep seeing comments about people complaining about the quality of destiny’s writing and story in the last few weeks. I haven’t really engaged with destiny since season of defiance, what’s currently gotten everyone so riled up? I thought that people were enjoying Season of the Deep/Witch in terms of narrative, why is Season of the Wish causing people to deride the destiny writing staff again?

I don't know!

Deep and Witch have been absolute bangers in every aspect to me. I've been enjoying all interactions and lore tabs we've received. A lot of them are stuff that we've never had before, a lot of reunions and closures, a lot of development and interactions between characters who you wouldn't really think would have much in common.

Sloane's return and healing from what she's been through has been fantastic, Drifter opening up with her to help her because he also got help from others was fantastic, Sloane reuniting with Aisha and Shayura brought me to tears (Shayura's descent into madness was triggered by immense trauma of Sloane staying on Titan and Titan disappearing), everything with Sloane and Zavala...

Witch was just incredible in every single way; the focus on Eris, the amount of Eris and Ikora content!!!!! Everything about Xivu and Savathun and their interactions together!! Eris finally fulfilling her goal she promised Savathun YEARS ago, getting that closure.

Wish so far has been equally great to me. All the new stuff about Ahamkara is amazing, finally giving us proof for long-standing speculation about Ahamkara and how they aren't universally evil creatures and expanding on them as a species. I love all interactions we've had so far; finally we have Petra back, Mara's singleminded focus on figuring out how to defeat the Witness and her continuous work to improve as a person, ALL SJUR MENTIONS!!!!! I won't talk about the "leak" because we have no context for it so I will wait for the full story to be revealed before I can pass judgment; something that I think should be a lesson to learn from this entire year. Maybe wait for the story to finish before judging the story.

Literally everything this past year that involves Osiris, but especially this season now that he's back in his element with the Vex. And of course every little detail we get of him and Saint. Osiris honestly shaped this year for me with everything that he's done to uncover the biggest mysteries. I think a big reason is that a lot of people just don't like Osiris, which I consider a massive skill issue.

Other than that, I don't know what are the issues people have besides just not being interested in any of these storylines and attributing it to a nebulous "bad writing" claim. I also genuinely believe that way too many people get wrapped up too much in fandom, imagine storylines they want to see and then get disappointed when the actual story doesn't go there. Almost like people forget that this isn't their story and these aren't their characters. A lot of it is also fandom completely warping characters into not what they actually are and then feeling like the canon story is the one that's wrong.

Whatever is the reason, I guess everyone is entitled to their perspective of the story and everyone is free to explore the story in different ways through fanfics and AUs and whatever. I do that too!

But I would definitely ask people to be normal with how they engage in criticism, especially in the current state of affairs. Writers are developers; they experience a ton of harassment and negativity from the community and also from inside the company. And they are online: they can see what we're saying. It's been documented that community commentary has been used to harass writers:

Imprint this into your brain and never forget what these people had to go through. Let's not forget also the way people treated Seth Dickinson on social media when he was active with Destiny fans. "Fans" were actively arguing with him about his own work (telling him that HE is wrong) and were utterly disgusting towards him when he tried explaining what he wrote. His works are now hailed as the best writing in Destiny and people want him back. If I were him, I wouldn't want to come back ngl, not with how he was treated and not with how fans are still treating writers (and hey, Seth wrote LF Collector's Edition! So he was back, technically, this year!). Let's not forget that a lot of writers are members of various marginalised groups. And I'd definitely not want to go back with zero support from leadership.

Which is also an important aspect for all developers, including writers: sometimes they have orders they may not like, but can't argue against. They do the best they can with what they're given, the time they have and directions they receive. And with that in mind, I am enjoying everything we've gotten this year, obviously with some specific complaints about things I didn't particularly enjoy (like the universally mid reception of Defiance; I've spoken about my gripes with it before, a big one being the shafting of Suraya who should've at least been mentioned in a lore tab).

I can tell that there is passion in their work, even if maybe they would prefer to do more with it, but can't. Maybe even if they want to take different routes, but can't. But from what we got, I can feel that they care about this world and these characters. I can tell that someone lovingly wrote about Sloane and her friendships with two grieving women. I can tell that they deeply cared about Sloane's friendship with Zavala and that they loved showing us Saint and Drifter caring about a fellow trauma survivor.

I can tell that the writers are immensely careful and loving towards Eris; everything she went through was crafted with love and passion from both writers and her VA. Eris' story is such a fundamental aspect of Destiny and I can tell that this was important to the writing team and that they gave her everything they could to do justice to her character and her arc and her healing and her release from the cycle she was trapped in for so long.

I can tell that there are writers who care a lot about Osiris and Saint and their relationship. I can tell that someone cared a lot about expanding on Ahamkara and giving them more personalities. I can tell that someone cared DEEPLY about Sjur and Mara and that her repeated mentions are the passionate work of writers who want us to remember her.

I could go on. And I know that not everyone sees it this way, which is fine; we all have different ways of perceiving stories. I enjoy discussing things we in the fandom disagree on and I enjoy hearing different perspectives! Unfortunately, this has recently become rarer and rarer. And for the love of god, please try and treat writers with some respect, especially now, especially those who are still working and doing their best with the shitty situation they're in. None of the cries of "poor devs" ring true to me unless the same is given to writers, instead of treating them like punching bags.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Recent-ish things ~

[guiltylovestar]

I don't think getting disbarred counts as retirement but okay

[haru-chi]

Can we talk about Reiko for a bit ...

(I wanted to write this one because I wanna see how far this theory of mine going to develop in the future)

I don't know how to start with this one or from where exactly, but I'll try to make it organized as much as possible despite the chaos in my mind ><

I saw alot of people's theories about Reiko's husband or that some believe that he's Yorishima or other different theories about her, but I had very different theory about her or maybe her story in general. ...

- Her connection to the exorcist world

I guess it's already a given that her husband might've been an exorcist which in result would also explain how she knew about some spells .. but the connection doesn't seem to end there I fear.

the first time Natsume went to an exorcist gathering someone recognized him as Reiko, was that a human or a Youkai ?? but I believe it might be a human more than a youkai. since...

when Nanase first heard his name, she asked about Reiko so that prove exorcists do know of her somehow, she said she knew of her from the youkai, but is that really true ??

I mean one of the reasons Seiji was interested in Natsume was because of Reiko, in the manga (we don't talk about the anime ver here cuz it's too different ugh) when Seiji start threating Natsume, it was because he wanted info about Reiko that badly but what kind of info ??

Seiji also said the same as Nanase that he heard about her from the youkai and that it's natural to want to know more about someone this powerful since they're rare ...

that can be normal if Reiko is alive, but she isn't .. would you go as far as threating a little boy to get some info about someone who's already died ?? unless what you want is something that she left behind so you're desperate to get this info to the point you're threating like that perhaps ??

now you'll think, " oh so they heard about the book of friends from the youkai?!!!"

but nope, I don't believe it's from the youkai such rumors spread, why do I think so, you ask ??

in the same chapter, Madara stated even if Seiji heard about the book of friends, then that's likely from human than youkai since the youkai by instinct won't mention such a thing which hold their own life in it especially not to exorcists.

maybe it's as a myth or uncertain rumors, when and how did it start I don't know but I think the exorcist world DID hear one thing or two about Reiko and the book of friends.

in the same chapter of when Natsume first went to the exorcist gathering, Natsume realized that the book of friends must be kept a secret from those people, I tend to think of such things as having indirect meaning since Midorikawa-sensei craft her stories carefully so I took this as indirect sign that they already knew of it one way or another which led to what I'm gonna bring up next.

Now that I established that the exorcist world do know of Reiko one way or another be it as a myth or more we're yet to actually see or confirm

PS : it's normal for Natori to never have heard about Reiko or the book unlike Seiji or the others since Natori wasn't always there or grow up in this world and he's hated on top of all.

-Next is about Reiko's death

now to the next question, how did Reiko died ?? do we actually know the details ?? was it an accident ? sickness ? or killed ?? all we know is that she died at a young age leaving her daughter behind.

when Nanase showered Natsume with all those questions about Reiko and her way of death, Natsume stated that he only heard she was found died under a tree one day, nothing else is known. I smell a crime here :)

now if Reiko was indeed killed by someone, was it a human or a youkai ??

personally, as far as of now, and as far as what I stated before, I'd go to say it's a human who killed her and an exorcist at that too.

I don't think I need to state why she was killed; the aim was the book of friends :)

another reason why I believe it was an exorcist is ...

Madara stated the first time Natsume went against exorcist that he can't protect him against such humans 100%. I mean Madara for sure knows what actually happened to Reiko be it her life or her death, but he chose to stay silent about it, so if he was there but failed to protect her then he said this line out from experience.

also, an exorcist is the one who sealed him in his cat form, so what if this happened when he tried to protect Reiko from her attacker ?? but he got sealed while Reiko got killed.

and what if that time when Madara went berserk after seeing Natsume get hurt by an exorcist's arrow was very triggering to him because it happened before ??

thus, I kinda feel so far all of this point out to Reiko being killed by an exorcist more than by youkai ...

something else I think of is, where was her husband ?? her husband mostly an exorcist, right ? now what if he's the reason all this tragedy occurred, that he's the reason Reiko got into the exorcist world, that be it by him or someone around him the existence of the book of friends became known which endangered them all.

what if he tried to protect his family so that's why he was never there when Reiko had his daughter, or maybe simply he died in the line or work since it isn't a normal line of work ?

now where does that leave Yorishima in all of this ?? he clearly knows Reiko and the book of friends, if such myth or rumors going on in the exorcist circles then you can't convince me that the "walking dictionary" never heard of such a thing, he's also older than he looks so he might've witness it all. actually, what if that's the very reason he cut ties with the exorcist world ??

at first, I was like he might be the one who sealed Madara or Reiko's killer and out of guilt decided to live in isolation but Madara has no reaction when they met the first time so that was the end of that idea before it starts xDD

does he know Natsume's grandfather ? was he related to what happened to Reiko ?? many ideas go through my mind, but I don't know so far too little info for me. but that's one of the reasons why I'm against him being Natsume's grandfather and why I think the role he plays is different :)

(actually what if he's Natsume's uncle than grandfather?)

hmmm, that sum up what I have about Reiko overall, I feel I forgot to mention something but more or less that's all I hope, there's a missing link which I'm searching for (mainly Natsume's grandfather, Reiko's husband but yeaaah) but for now that's what's been living in my mind. I do have other few adjustments to the theory but will keep it to myself until I see which way it rolls with future info's.

just imagine what if Reiko's killer was a Matoba or even a Natori the paper master's family, or will it be a family we never heard of before. plus, whom to say his grandfather wasn't from a family we already know too if he's an exorcist :)

when will Midorikawa-sensei give us new info about his grandfather, been hungry for more since I know the next info gonna be a big one for sure T^T

anyway, I'll end this post with this panel and leave it at that.

[seenthisepisode]

i did something that was absolutely legal but it feels completely illegal and i am so stressed i have a migraine