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don't you love it in a videogame when the moon hatches

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jjk 258

I think this is sukuna's last stand. when domain expansions were first introduced it was established that they take large amounts of cursed energy and so are used at the end of a fight to finish things. Sukuna is already at low cursed energy, can't regenerate, and keeps getting debuffed by yuji's punches, this is probably Sukuna's last big attack and he's really scraping it together 99 seconds before the whole thing falls apart, it's incomplete and taking a weird form.

hmm is sukuna missing his bottom right eye? also he's using his bottom right hand again

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About the comet panel, I think it's working to mix the literal and the metaphorical. I vaguely remember reading about this concept before in dharmic religions that each soul/fragment itself is like a universe, both the inter-connectivity and cyclical nature of it all, infinite possibility. the shinning dust of the universe in the beginning of the manga is the same we see at the end even if it isn't the physical same matter. Eventually everything will crumble to dust and be remade endlessly as another part of the universe. That's what Pitapat's song is about, and that's that Phosphophyllite chipping away is about.

I'll probably edit this later but 108 continues the messages and themes of 107, there's not tricks or subversions. I found the manga from the anime adaptation so it has been a long wonderful journey. I'm glad to be here.

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Do you think Team 7 would've been much better without the unnecessary love triangle?

Ehh stupid middle school crushes are fine it's mostly a disappointment Sakura's entire character is defined by her crush on Sasuke, if she'd gotten over it by Shippuden it would have been fine.

It's not even really a love triangle. Team 7 in the og: Sakura has a crush on Sasuke. Naruto has a crush on Sakura but mostly is desperate for attention. Naruto also wants Sasuke's acknowledgement and specifically Sasuke's. Sasuke just doesn't want to be there in general but feels a growing bond (friendship/rivalry with Naruto), see vote1 and Sasuke rejecting Itachi's path (kill vest friend yo get mamgekyo). And then in Shippuden, I don't think Sasuke remembers that Sakura exists, and he continues to have complicated feeling about Naruto. Naruto got over his Sakura crush and also has complicated and intense feelings about Sasuke. He spends like… half? of the manga chasing Sasuke and going nuts about him, gets on his knees and begs for his life, takes a beating because he won't tell Sasuke's location even though he doesn't know where Sasuke is either, has a panic attack at the thought of Sasuke getting attacked, proposes a lovers suicide pact, whatever vote2 was.

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It's sukuna's innate domain cold like a graveyard or hot like a living body. or, like, room temp. I'm inclined to think it is warm

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what if big hero 6 existed in the same universe as english phoenix wright. The great nation of japanifornia

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sukuna is a milk cow. Moo

sukuna has 4 pecs so he must have 4 nipples, just like a cow. (that's not the only thing doubled)

sukuna is cow coded. Both Malevolent Shrine and his innate domain, the manifestations of his soul are covered in cow skulls. In general Sukuna has these themes of cooking, slaughter, and meat, all of which are associated with the beef industry.

and of course he lactates. he milky like that

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Saber's my favorite character so I should redo his...

I was thinking… what if the guys in Echoes were dressed more like the girls in recent FE games… *cough* Fates *cough* (ZR, open backs, boob windows and all)

I’ll do more… eventually

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jjk 257 thoughts

Given how many brothers Yuji seems to attract I'm a bit disappointed Sukuna didn't join the brother club. I mean #1 Todo delulu sequence was a quirky bit, but then Choso made #2 and 2 is a pattern, would have been so funny if Sukuna was #3.

Kenjaku likely wasn't able to just grab Sukuna's twin's soul. He essentially had to wait and roll rng until Jin's soul reincarnated. So his choices for vessel was Jin with the same soul as Sukuna but a body Kenjaku had no control over, and Yuji made from Jin who Kenjaku would have complete control over creating. Because Sukuna ate his twin in the womb it's implied fetuses have souls. So unless Kenjaku killed Jin and shoved Jin's soul into child Yuji, Yuji doesn't share a soul with Sukuna. And in hindsight, if Yuji had a piece of Sukuna's soul, Sukuna probably would have tried to eat Yuji. Thematically this lessens the parallel between Sukuna and Yuji, making Yuji more independent as a character. My prediction is then that the Yuji-Sukuna parallel has been developed throughout the series, will be broken and subverted in the final arc.

Edit: i forgot eso and kechizu and fetuses 4-9. Yuji truly is the brother magnet

They both ate their fetus brothers. Huh.

This also means Sukuna's probably doomed by the narrative. Shame. As Yuji can now kill him to reunite Sukuna with his other half.

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I too was initially disappointed that we didn't get that confirmed lesbian representation because it is so lacking in manga. I mean there's that whole old trope (which is gladly being phased out now) where two school girls act incredibly romantic towards each other like homoeroticism off the charts only for them to "grow out of it" or treated as a normal phase of female adolescence.

Masumi ultimately reinforces the main themes of the manga. That's really the whole point of the last chapter, to provide the audience a lens to process Ao no Flag. Each person's life is their own to live, every person's happiness looks different and what outsiders think of a person's choices don't matter. Taichi even comments of the recurring Fish Guts franchise that the character's decisions didn't make sense to him but from an outside perspective his choices wouldn't make any sense either. The same is true of Masumi, her choices don't make sense to us outsiders because we don't know her life. It is unknown how long after the epilogue is, it's at least several years but it could have been 10 years it could have been 15. We the audience only got to see the characters partially for 1 year who are we to judge, we don't know what happened, and there's no doubt every continued to grow as people. Ao no Flag covers the cast when they are teenagers, and then we get a glimpse of them as adults. What is undeniable is that Masumi is happy in her life and with her husband, finally after spending all of Ao no Flag being the most tortured of the cast over her sexuality, she's finally happy with herself.

One of those manga that I consider deserves an anime adaptation is Ao No Flag/Blue Flag. It’s short but above all I like how it touches on issues related to sexual orientation. Touma and Taichi’s story is tender but above it’s builds little by little, in the same way that the relationship between Taichi and Futaba is also beautiful and it doesn’t feel that she is the beard or  the middle of Taichi and Toma love.

Taichi learns and changes with Futaba and they push each other to improve, Taichi with Futaba learns to get out of his comfort zone, which had been one of the reasons why he and Touma had drifted apart, Taichi stops hanging out with Touma because he believes that they are in different social circles in high school, even when Touma tried to get closer but there is only so much he can do. His friendship with Futaba and subsequent love relationship doesn't feel bad because it’s built in a way that develops a relationship between two people who begin to enjoy each other's company, but above all who are there to support each other in overcoming their fears, even if in the end they end up with different people.

However, I feel that the end of the manga feels rushed in presenting you with certain events, both Touma and Taichi's relationship, and Masumi's revelation as bisexual. I would like to focus on Masumi more than any other character because honestly a cliché part of my heart was hoping that Futaba and her would end up together, especially because of the level of devotion that Masumi had towards her. Also in the end when  I saw her  married to a man, it left a bad taste in my mouth because she had settled for the easier life that represented hiding her sexuality. Of course, this doesn’t really happen, from the few words we see from Masumi's husband we can understand that he’s aware that Masumi likes both men and women and it doesn’t make him jealous or insecure because he trusts Masumi and her choice to be with him. In my blog there is a post (not mine) talking about this topic. At the beginning I also saw Masumi's marriage as her deciding to stay in the closet, especially because throughout the story the way she describes her feelings for Futaba and how she had tried to go out with boys but without feeling right. All this leads us to think that Masumi is a lesbian, which is why I would have liked one chapter before the ending with a broader development of her sexuality. Although, I want to say this I consider that knowing her bisexuality feels rushed but I don't feel that it’s wrong or queerbating because I can find myself in Masumi, I don't feel that it’s wrong to show that we’re still not completely clear about our sexuality while we’re teens, as a bisexual woman I remember going through a process to accept that I liked men and women. It was a big "I can't be a lesbian because I like guys" but it was also "I'm not straight because I like women too”, getting to a point where both thoughts coexisted and didn’t repel each other took me a while, especially because at the time I didn’t know the word bisexuality. I think that despite everything, Masumi is a good character to feel identified in the discovery of her sexuality because I can understand how her crush with Futaba canceled the possibility of perhaps feeling something romantic or even sexual towards others,  it makes sense that her feelings for Futaba occupy a space that perhaps didn’t allow her to fully explore other relationships to fully understand other aspects of her. That's why I think that once her crush with Futaba ended and had the opportunity to meet other people, she was able to discover herself.

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What's interesting is that the lack of physical difference between sexes is heavily contrasted by strong gender roles. As you stated above dwarf women rarely traveled openly. Tolkien was much more detailed about the elves. I can't remember all the sources for these but at one point he talked about how for elves women were more likely to be healers and men warriors as it had something to do with womens' association with life. (I didn't pay attention to this part). "Laws and Customs of the Eldar" maybe? Then there's how in narrative Women often find power through traditional femininity. Lúthien being the main example here as being like one of the only female main characters and in the published Silmarillion she bests Melkor through her skills in weaving. There's also the Galadriel revisions how in earlier drafts she partook in the rebellion of the Noldor and was counted among the Exiled and was affiliated with Fingolfin and crossed the Helcaraxë. However later drafts tried to preserve her "purity" by not having her participate in the Rebellion, her finding her own way to Middle Earth, and not being counted as a Noldor Exile. This adherence to gender roles was likely a product of Tolkien's own life since the gender roles in the Legendarium fall in line with British (and broadly Western) gender roles. Tolkien also spent his entire life in male dominated (often hostile to women) environments like early 20th century Oxford and philology academic circles.

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pluto 2

ch39: "you would know wouldn't you" is darius talking to geischt or to the us teddy bear super computer. There's several panels of a surveillance camera so it could be both. The field of flowers both darius and robo pluto were trying to draw it.

40: pluto the tulip that survived when all other wilted to dust. is the manga implying this tulip cannibalized the others and thats why its prohibited from being planted in the ground?

Abra dead and revived with robotics? Or abra dead dead and thats an imposter. Wait nothing ever grew where the pluto tulip was ever again?

Ahh sahad is pluto or more accurately was made into pluto the whole stronger body thing

47. Did they just kill off the main character. Chad move

48. Damn. 3 robots struggling to keep track of the names. Wow the un + us really did burn persia to the ground. Ok so abra was developing giant war robot bora. Tenma shoved the personas of 6 billion ppl into a goji and it went comatose. Idk how much the 2 collaborated here. Abra dies in bombing but digitized a part of his brain. Tenma uploads it to to goji and the strong emotions awaken them learning hatred, rage, sorrow so now goji's going by the name abra and is consumed with revenge. They then shove sahad's ai into bora creating pluto and instilling in them a revenge quest. I don't know what was up with pluto's body hopping. And now tenma is uploading geischt's data onto atom. I don't get why they donct have atom's mind data to use

Epsilon's totally dead

51. Who are the 2 sorrows? Still weird uran and teddy bear arent considered part of the greatest ais

55. Back to atom. Reread a section and dr tenma's repairs fixed him physically but like goji he's stuck in infinite simulation. Geischt's last emotion was strong hatred. But the moment before new atom opened their eyes is when epsilon was killed and they and pluto rained the world with sorrow. I dont know what up with that thracia crack but something up

56. Us thracia really the big bad here

Turning indigenous ppl into a tourist attraction. Yeah.

58. Why does that elevator not have guard rails. Oh woops did i get goji confused with someone else? Ok so goji is the persian scientist who made the incomplete giant bora that roboabra is telepathically controlling. Ok yeah he was goji tenna's greatest ai and scientist goji never existed. Huh i thought the cockroaches were controlled by abra /pluto were they thracia this whole time??

59. Hmm did atom and geischt hivemind? "Robots dont lie" his says as he blatantly lies

60. Oh split personality i qas giving robo abra more credit than he actually deserved

61. The author is blowing up yosemite and causing volcanic winter. Thats so good (plot wise). Well we finally have teddy bear's agenda: robots take over the world.

62. Tenma might have made the greatest ai but ochanomizu made the most emotional robot

After 65 chapters we finally have the reveal that uh... criminal dude killed geischts kid and thats why ge lost it and murderer him.

In atom we see the possibility to overcome hatred or to feel hatred but choose not to destroy. There's strong themes of creation vs destruction here. "Nothing will be born from hatred" and creation being tied to plants with bora originally being a forestation robot reprogrammed into a world ending bomb, and sahad originally trying to un-dessert persia and fill it with flowers. Hoji is overwhelmed by hatred and does nothing but destroy. Thracia uses says the forestation robots are weapons if mass destruction as rational to destroy persia.

Of course there's the "what makes a human" question repeatedly discussed. A human is imperfect so a perfect robot is imperfect it hates, it kills, it lies. There's many times where robots are difficult to tell from humans like geischt, uran, atom, and goji (so much he thought he was human.

Really good story overall, i do love plot. This series is some of the best I've seen at narrative tension which I suppose is expected from a thriller author.

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i really should go and finish si somnium files or octopath traveler 2 or ffxiv but oooh i wanna play persona 5 Royal. another massive game that's going to take me 200 hours because I'm slow. Or i could continue my 1650 (or whatever the number was) hour playthrough of fe3h

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"why not join me instead?" akechi's "invitation" in conf 7

People come and go on whether this question of Akechi's is genuine or not. Opinions run the gamut from "I hate him for trying to take you away from your friends" to "Akechi wants Joker to be his accomplice".

Myself, I don't think Akechi means this as a serious question, for a number of reasons. I think this question is rhetorical.

Quick summary:

Conf 7 illustrates the similarity between Joker and Akechi, and that they're both committed to the showdown between them;

Rather than being an invitation, Akechi's question again illustrates that parallel—that neither of them will give up the things that matter to them to join the other, as Joker has asked him to do;

"I'll think about it" does not count towards the third awakening—and I can prove it. Rather, Akechi can't conceive that Joker would ever abandon his friends, and uses it as an outrageous example of something Joker would never do;

Joker's loyalty not only to his principles but to his friends is something Akechi values so much that he won't let Joker sacrifice it;

Akechi is not so much offering Joker a way out in conf 7 (there is no way out) as he's confirming for his own sake that Joker is still in the game. Is this still a battle between rivals, or is it an execution?

Let's take a look.

what is akechi really asking?

[long post is long]

Look at this line. Look at the question he's posing:

Akechi いっそ君がこっちに来るってのは?⋯今の仲間を捨ててさ。 isso kimi ga kocchi ni kuru tte no wa?... ima no nakama o sutete sa Why not join me instead...? All you'd have to do is abandon the teammates you have now.

It's very easy to focus on the first half of this question and miss the second. But that second half is the important part, the sting in the tail. The Japanese is a great example of wa building suspense: "Instead, what if you come over to my side, (AND THEN WHAT, AKECHI???????)"

The sentence is left hanging, with the weight of it unspoken (since wa emphasises what comes after it); Akechi is obviously not done speaking. And indeed, when he continues, it's a doozy:

"though, of course, you'd have to dump the friends you have now." (Yes, I think "friends" is often a much better translation of nakama than "teammates", fight me; it's even often translated as "friend" in P5 itself, or indeed, awkwardly, as "teammates and friends".)

Akechi is using the same verb, suteru, that you use for tossing something in the trash; the parallel meaning, "ending a relationship", exists in Japanese too.

Ryuji, Morgana, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, everything you've all gone through together and everything you've been—Akechi is suggesting you toss them aside like garbage. For him.

Now, I think part of Akechi would very much like Joker to do that. But he also knows better than to expect it. Because he knows Joker so much better than that.

Akechi has seen firsthand how loyal Joker is to his friends—remember on 1/2 how he says he investigated them all? He's seen some of the things Joker will do for them. He expects that blind faith to lead Joker to his death, much as Yaldabaoth does. But he also respects it.

This boy who's never had a friend, who's convinced himself the whole idea is stupid, is still drawn to the loyalty he sees in Joker. Even as he's preparing his own ultimate betrayal, Akechi recognises Joker's commitment to others. He understands treachery is bad, even though he himself is a traitor—just as he understands that murder is bad, and that doesn't stop him, either.

This question of whether or not Joker will betray his friends (and Akechi specifically) comes back on 2/2, of course—and in force.

so why does he ask

Akechi is not proposing that the two of them run off together. He's not asking to see what Joker will say. He doesn't impulsively make the invitation, and then run away when Joker says yes. He is, in fact, not even asking. He poses the idea of Joker abandoning all his friends as a counterexample. It's supposed to be something Joker would never consider, something he will find morally repugnant.

Which is why, if Joker says yes, Akechi is shocked, and essentially tells Joker not to make such stupid spur-of-the-moment decisions. Akechi is making a rhetorical point about what Joker is asking of him.

Remember Joker's statement that leads into Akechi's question:

Yeah. Joker either suggests that Akechi should give up everything he's doing and everything he believes in (even as Akechi confabulates about what those things really are), or he suggests, with the top option, that he's already done it.

And in return, Akechi says that Joker should join him... and throw away his friends and everything he's working for and everything he believes in, of course.

It's the second response to his question, where Joker turns him down flat, that makes it most obvious that this was what Akechi meant:

Joker それは無理だ sore wa muri da I'm not doing that. No way in hell. Akechi だろうね。 darou ne I thought as much. Akechi 分かるだろ、誰だって今の立場を簡単に捨てられやしないんだよ wakaru daro, dare datte ima no tachiba o kantan ni suterare yashinai n da yo I'm sure you understand. We all have our parts to play, and we can't simply leave those behind.

See what he's saying? ima no tachiba o kantan ni suterare yashinai—"we absolutely must not lightly set aside the positions we hold now".

Incidentally, yes, that's that same verb suteru that he used before, for casting aside or throwing away. Akechi is drawing a parallel between Joker's friends and his own goals—between the things each of them holds most dear, which neither of them will sacrifice, even to save the other. (Assuming you think Akechi would even be down to save Joker—but I do think conf 7 suggests that at this point, he might not be opposed to the possibility. It's just that it doesn't exist.)

the phone call

This parallel returns in the phone call afterwards, if you again tell him that you're rivals:

It's a little hard to tell from the localisation what Akechi is getting at, so let's take a close look:

Akechi 僕らにはお互い譲れないものがあって、そのためにも負けられない。 bokura ni wa otagai yuzurenai mono ga atte, sono tame ni mo makerarenai [lit. for both of us, these are things we cannot compromise on, and because of those things we cannot suffer losing.] Neither of us can afford to lose, because we fight in service of our principles. It's the same for both of us. Neither of us can afford to lose, because of these principles we won't concede. Akechi ⋯だからこそ、もしも君が自分を曲げたりしたら絶対に赦さないよ。 ... dakara koso, moshi mo kimi ga jibun o megetari shitara zettai ni yurusanai yo [lit. that's exactly why, if you were to warp yourself [that way], I would absolutely never let such a sin (t/n: note the kanji) pass.] And that is precisely why... I cannot allow you to change. ... And that's precisely why, if you betrayed yourself that way... I couldn't allow it. Akechi だって、僕が負けたくないのは『君』なんだから。 datte, boku ga maketakunai no wa "kimi" nan da kara [lit. it's you as you are now who I do not want to lose to.] As you are now, as you think now... I cannot allow you to win over me. The person you are now, with those principles, and that determination—that's the one I won't ever allow to beat me.

Here's my attempt at a translation again, so you can see it all together:

Akechi: It's the same for both of us. Neither of us can afford to lose, because of these things we won't concede. Akechi: ...And that's precisely why, if you betrayed yourself that way... I couldn't allow it. Akechi: The person you are now, with those principles, and that determination—that's the one I won't ever allow to beat me.

It turns out that this phone conversation, that was originally quite mystical-sounding and hard to follow (what were you trying to say, Akechi?) is quite straightforward. It ties into to his original question. "Will I join you, Joker? Well, what if you join me instead? Just throw away all your little friends for my sake? Of course you won't—because we're the same. Both of us have things we can't give up, no matter what—and if you tried to do that, I wouldn't let you, because I value you as you are...."

This parallel between the two of them is what conf 7 is about, from the text message that opens it to the phone call that concludes it:

It's the same thing again: neither of you can afford to lose, because you're fighting for your principles. The billiard table is the stage for this wider discussion.

The billiard scene, of course, is interesting for another reason—Akechi is giving Joker a chance to back out; he's testing his commitment, and perhaps hinting that he never intended to be quite where he is, either. He states at the outset that he's being indirect, that what he's saying is a metaphor—and then closes that metaphor with a very direct question: "Do you still intend to play this game?"

Akechi それでも君は、このゲームを降りる気はないの? sore demo kimi wa, kono geemu o oriru ki wa nai no? Even then... do you still intend to play this game? But despite all of that, you still won't fold, will you?

The Japanese is even more specific: Akechi asks Joker if he intends to fold—not whether he still wants to play, but whether he means to give up entirely! "This can't be what you expected, so how about it? Will you just give up? Does this mean as much to you as it does to me? Is this a game we both choose to play, or are you just a victim?"

How much of this is Akechi blowing smoke up his own ass?—casting the fact that he's about to murder the boy in front of him in a glowing, romantic light? Pretty much all of it, I'd say. He's dreamed of having a rival, someone to compete with who challenges him, but what he's got is quite a bit more than that.

Again, the rival imagery is what allows Akechi not only to accept this close relationship, but to frame it as a life-or-death contest that only one of them can win. It confirms to him that what Lavenza describes as "a truly unfair game" is actually fair. It's about making Joker's murder seem as much Joker's fault as his own.

but what happens if you say yes?

Despite all of this, you can choose to have Joker consider Akechi's "offer"—to discard Ryuji, Morgana, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba and Haru like trash, and assist Akechi instead. It's tempting, I know.

I don't personally get the impression that Akechi likes this response, for a number of reasons. None of the three responses to his offer score confidant points, but there's something else in play: only one of these responses unlocks his third awakening.

See the F code highlighted in yellow? Only one of these three responses has it. "You're my rival" counts towards the third awakening. Rejecting him, with "I'm not doing that", does not—but more to the point, offering to be with him, with "I'll think about it", also does not!

The issue is confused because a number of us have taken option 1 (or indeed option 2, like me) and still got the third awakening on 2/2. It seems like you need some of the flagged responses, not all of them. But it remains the case that "I'll think about it" does not make Akechi more likely to have his third awakening.

What happens if you take this option?

Joker 考えておく kangaete oku I'll think about it. Akechi へえ、考えてはくれるんだ? hee, kangaete wa kureru n da? Oh? So you'll think about it, at least? What? You mean you'll consider it? Akechi ⋯でも、そ��いうその場限りの情はやめた方がいい。 ...demo, sou iu sono ba kagiri no jou wa yameta hou ga ii ...But I'd advise you don't say these things without their due consideration. ... Still, it would be better if you didn't trust such fleeting sentiments. Akechi 出来もしない約束はするものじゃないよ。 deki mo shinai yakusoku wa suru mono ja nai yo You shouldn't make promises that you can't keep, anyway. Don't be the sort who promises the earth and walks away.

A few grammar points:

んだ n da on a question demands an explanation; Akechi's question could almost be rendered "Why on earth would you need/want to think about it?"

そういうその場限りの情 sou iu sono ba kagiri no jou—"sentiments that only matter here and now". Essentially, "sentiments that won't last"—or that are makeshift or ad hoc; Joker is making a stupid spur-of-the-moment decision.

yes, 出来もしない約束 deki mo shinai yakusoku translates idiomatically as "promising the earth". The point is not that Joker should not promise; the point is that he shouldn't be the sort of person who promises so much—and then doesn't follow through.

Again, this confidant is all about Akechi's expectations for Joker. It's about the weird belief he has in him, like the belief he has in Shido—that Joker has principles and friends and will stand by them, that those things are important and matter, even if they're diametrically opposed to Akechi's principles and the things he wants.

The fact that they foil each other in this way is a large part of what makes Joker such a worthy opponent for Akechi. So if Joker turns around and says, sure, Akechi, I'll dump all my friends so we can make out?

Akechi does not like that. He thinks better of him!—he loses respect if Joker offers this. Even if that little line about "promising the earth" suggests that, actually, yeah, he would quite like for the two of them to run away together—if only they lived in a world where it was possible.

what about "you're my rival"?

I've discussed this line before, but let's go into it for completeness.

Joker 明智は好敵手だ akechi wa koutekishu da You're my rival. Nah, you're my worthy opponent.

Do you see that Joker names Akechi there? He doesn't just say, "we're worthy opponents", or even "you're my worthy opponent", koutekishu da yo.

No, he picks Akechi out by name, and then tells him exactly what they are to each other. Because wa builds suspense. Akechi wa... (what?! what is he?!) koutekishu da. "I can't run away with you, because I need you to be this to me instead".

And this is the line with the F-code. This is the line that, if you choose it, will build towards Akechi's third awakening—which is centred on his trust in Joker, on the fact that Joker is worthy of that trust.

And how does Akechi respond?

He's astonished. He did not expect this at all, look:

On the left, the top screenshot where he's waiting for your answer; in the centre, the moment of shock, where he's pulled away and dropped his hand and his eyes are wide; on the right, a comparative overlay just to demonstrate that he pulled back.

smiles that aren't smiles

I have a half-assed theory that you can tell when Akechi is really smiling—because the model will smile with him. If you watch, for instance, Ryuji, the model's expressions match the sprite's almost exactly. But if you watch Akechi? Nah, not so much.

Here's an example. Akechi appears to smile quite often through conf 7—but if you glance away from the sprite and textbox to the model, the model is pokerfaced. Five smile sprites on the optimal route through conf 7, and not one of them—not even "you truly are fascinating"—matches the model:

But when you pick "You're my rival"? Suddenly the model's face springs to life:

It's obvious from everything else that this moment is of deep significance to Akechi. But this little detail with the smiles suggests we can confirm it.

and what does he say?

It doesn't take long for him to pull himself together:

Akechi 同意だね、僕らにはなれ合いより対等な関係こそふさわしい。 doui da ne, bokura ni wa nareai yori taitouna kankei koso fusawashii I agree. I think a relationship of equals suits us better than being co-conspirators, anyway...

This is another one that I find unclear in the localisation, so let's have at it.

nareai suggests an illicit or unduly-close union. It suggests "being in bed together" in the business sense—cosying up, colluding, conspiring. It suggests they're working together when they shouldn't be. Jisho uses the screamingly-outdated term "common-law marriage" (what we call "living together") as an example. Essentially, it suggests they're too close—or even co-dependent, in a way that corrupts them both.

In short? Akechi's "co-conspirators", nareai, means "accomplices"—what we might call "murder boyfriends".

taitouna kankei—literally, "an equal relationship"—is a set phrase, and we know what it means. It suggests a relationship where nobody is being cheated; where everyone gets out what they put in. Where the two of them compete on equal terms.

That's a very Akechi way to look at relationships. But it's also a relationship where nobody is in charge; nobody is dominant, and everyone has self-respect. Nobody is chasing after anyone or sacrificing unduly, as either would be if they joined the other. Everyone can be who they are and say what they want. Everyone can say no.

It's the sort of relationship Akechi very notably does not have with Shido. Is it the sort of relationship he has with Joker, when the two of them are hiding so much from each other and lying so much, and there's so much, like, murder going on? Nah. But as an aspiration, as a suggestion of the sort of relationship Akechi would like them to have, alongside everything else he's told us about how he sees the two of them—as similar, as equals and opposites, as bound by their principles, as destined to fight—it's almost touching.

and what does joker think?

Akechi ⋯たとえこの先、何があろうともだ。 ...tatoe kono saki, nani ga arou tomo da ...No matter what else may change. ...No matter what might come next. Akechi それだけの事を言ったんだから、逃げないでよ? sore dake no koto o itta n da kara, nigenaide yo? In any case, what you just said carries great weight. Remember what you decided, and don't run from it. All right? [lit. don't run away just because of what [I/you] said, all right?]

I'm not sure about this. It feels like it should be referring back to Akechi's last line—"don't get cold feet and run away just because I alluded ominously to whatever's coming next, okay?". I guess it could be referring to Joker's commitment, with "You're my rival"? IDK, I'm out on this one, so I'm inclined to give the localisation the benefit of the doubt.

But it doesn't matter. Because the significance of what Joker does next doesn't change:

He nods. Akechi spends the whole confidant hinting that something ominous is coming, and that the two of them are heading to an inevitable confrontation, and Joker nods.

I don't think this is really consistent with interpretations where Joker is a meek little sheep in the interrogation room. Joker might not have chosen this, he might not have wanted it, he might have by far preferred to avoid it. He'd happily back out if Akechi would just drop the whole thing and agree to act sane. But he's committed to it. He agrees to fight.

Remember, conf 7 takes place after Joker hears the murder phone call. He knows what Akechi is. He knows what he's planning. He knows the stakes—and he agrees to play, to face Akechi down.

To quote @nardaviel, that's no sheep. That's a full-on "Phantom Thieves win again, motherfucker" smirk. Joker played Akechi's game, with everything he had—and he played to win.

[semi-imaginary-place]

Religion is the biggest predictor of US Presidential results now

"Race is often cited as the central cleavage in American politics, yet the single most powerful predictor of voting intention is religion. A model that knows nothing save for respondents’ religious affiliations can correctly identify their preferred candidate 62% of the time, compared with 59% for race. Of Mormons and evangelical voters, 73% say they support Mr Trump. This compares with just 13% of avowed atheists."

"if you are a lesbian Asian woman aged 25-34 from a city in California who is atheist and has a college degree, it’s over, you’re voting for Biden. It’s 99% certain, according to the data.

...

If you take me, for example — a straight white man from a city in Washington who is atheistic or agnostic with a college degree — and simply made me Catholic instead, I — or rather my voter-type — would instantly shift about 30 points more Republican. I’d go from 10%-20% likely to vote for Trump to 48% Trump, 52% Biden. I’d be a swing voter.

If you made me evangelical, I’d move 60 points to the right and be a solid Trump voter.

But if you kept me an atheist or agnostic and moved me from Seattle to a rural area in Washington like, say, Omak, I’d move only 8 points toward the Republicans. In other words, religion causes vastly more political sorting than does the urban-rural divide." (Danny Westneat)

I'm so sorry young atheist asian college educated lesbian women, it's over. 😔

Also Trump is attracting more young non-white voters so all the anecdotal evidence we'ee been seeing about tiktoker skewing right is true an increasing number of people under 25 are going Trump. Comparing 2020 to 2024 predictions more groups are getting Trumpier than they are switching to Biden. Biden better get his game together.

[semi-imaginary-place]

"Hello, I am from Gaza, due to the shortage of medicine in Gaza, my mother who is a type 1 diabetic and was supposed to undergo urgent eye surgery, has not been able to get insulin or any medical care for the past three months. . Some members of my family fled to the southernmost part of Gaza (Rafah) in tents. But my parents and sisters have nowhere else to stay. They are forced to stay in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which has been bombed since the beginning of Christmas. "I am on my knees asking for your donations. Please help me. where you can. Goal: $700"

I've gotten 3 of these identical like copy and paste the text asks from 3 different very new accounts. So not only are these people lying to scam people out of their money. They're taking away money that could have helped actual people in Gaza.

Be aware of scammers. Often new accounts with little information or posts with no outside presence using the same text. It's generally best to donate to reputable agencies but if you want to donate to individuals make sure they are real people.

[semi-imaginary-place]

i am the arbiter of truth