#(the answer is foreshadowing but its fun to think)

[alatariel-galadriel]

interesting that Blue thinks that Welk's bodywash would be titled "blunt force trauma" when she first met him. We sure there's no psychic in this girl?

[sunny-knight]

I know this isn’t canon in undertale or this au, but just imagining Papyrus knowing about resets to an extent because part of him was split across time and space, and he just hides that from everyone so he can be “everyone’s good old innocent Papyrus with 0 problems” is such a fun idea to me.

I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ON THIS THOUGH- BECAUSE WHAT IF IT WAS CANON???

Excuse me while I use this to make an analysis of Papyrus’ character- i didn’t choose this life. This happened to me.

PAPYRUS AND RESETS.

The main question I ask on the debate of if Papyrus is aware of resets or not, is…if Papyrus, as we know him…doesn’t know about resets…Then would learning about that…change ANYTHING about the way he is now?

The most obvious trait of Papyrus is that he’s INCREDIBLY optimistic. He’s one to go in with his head held high, and keep it raised for basically his entire life. Everything he does is incredibly light hearted, and this leads to a lot of accidental flanderization and misremembering of his character. But to get more into that, I wanna address how Papyrus and Sans contrast and are foils to one another. They are complete polar opposites…and yet… SO alike. In their little bits they do in the Snowdin Forest puzzles, Sans doesn’t take anything seriously, while Papyrus takes EVERYTHING seriously, but in the end it’s all light hearted. I know some of that comes from just the games general tone, but I like to think some of it is part of their genuine character.

Analyzing characters in Undertale can sometimes be a tad frustrating in that way, since its hard to tell which jokes have meaning and which jokes are just jokes.

But back to my original point, Papyrus sometimes gets very mad, sometimes very confused, but seems to either flip on a switch with anger, or just roll with confusion, as seen with Papyrus being “mad” at Sans, or confused at what Undyne is saying on certain phone calls. He’s just naturally a very happy person.

Thats where the common trope of Papyrus lying about everything and actually being a completely different person from whats shown in the game comes in. I think thats inherently a tad silly, since “I lied.” is a bit of a lazy twist. THATS NOT TO SAY HES NOT DEFINITELY GOT SOME WEIRD SUSPICIOUS THINGS ABOUT HIM Its just to throw all of his actions in the game out the window in favor of “he was acting” “he was lying” is not how I like to analyze him (but if you do, more power to ya :D) (Some also argue that Sans is just like that, but I disagree since in the geno route when its properly revealed just how much he knows about resets, it completely makes sense and is more like an answer to a question we had for the longest time. WHAT does he know?? cause he clearly knows something. Additionally, in that fight, Sans doesn’t at all come across as a completely different person, its more like we’re getting to know him better. See a side that he’s buried for the longest time since he never thought it would come to this. Or at least hopes to god it wouldn’t)

Papyrus’ optimism/pacifism both comes across as naive, and extremely admirable. It takes different forms in different settings and perspectives, Flowey dismisses it as stupid, but thats because he’s Flowey- Sans genuinely admires it for several reasons which ill get into later! And Undyne…uhh…honestly i cant tell how she feels about that, just that she cares an awful lot about him and thinks itll get him killed one day (*cries vehemently*)

But my main point here is in the usual game/pacifist route, its very clearly established that Papyrus has a heart of gold and sometimes that can get exploited on how he is the one constant moving factor to help the route actually happen in helping Flowey set everything up. It’s lowkey giving foreshadowing on how he may be the knight in deltarune because of- OKAY OKAY- PUT DOWN THE GUN

Getting exploited is one of the downsides we see in the pacifist route, but in the geno, we get a VERY clear look into how far he is willing to take his faith in others. His willingness to see good in people is tested, and its established he doesn’t have a single distrustful bone in his body, always believing in people to change. It’s never “too late”. Even after you kill him too

This is HOW Papyrus would know about resets comes in

The King Papyrus ending is a moment in the game that I have many opinions on that disagree with a LOT with a big portion of the fandom (at least last time I checked)

Papyrus not being told about his friend's death, leads to 2 big assumptions about his GENERAL CHARACTER THAT I DISAGREE WITH. Sans lies to Papyrus on a daily basis, and Papyrus doesnt understand what death is. These are things that work in to fit every day life, and are proven by happening WHEN ALL OF HIS FRIENDS ARE DEAD 😭

I feel these are more a result of Papyrus’ unwavering trust, which can be certainly admired in a lot of ways, but of course, used, too. Even if people agree with me on that unwavering trust part, people still use that as ammunition for Sans lying to him being an often occurrence. But- Sans… right now- is being put in a REALLY bad spot. Telling his brother to his face that all his friends are dead isn't something I think anyone wants to do. So, him lying to Papyrus isn’t exactly proof that he thinks little of him in any way, it's more his desire to protect a person he loves from knowing a horrible truth, and having the opportunity to do so on a silver fukn platter. But even then it feels like Papyrus still knows…he’d just rather accept whatever Sans tells him. Thats Papyrus’ ONE AND ONLY FLAW

Papyrus also seems like he naturally thinks very black and white? and by black and white I mean only white.

The common consensus on his character is he only SEES good, but just like the assumption of how things work in daily life being attached to how these characters act when someone comes down and kills all their loved ones, I think thats working on a very surface level character-moral-compass. Its not that he only sees the good, its that he believes in the good no matter what. There may be bad, but good can and will, prevail

Papyrus sees and knows that people have the ABILITY to lie, he just also believes they are telling the truth when they say something like “I promise this is 100% true” because he still trusts everyone, and trusts himself to handle whatever happens as a result.

Papyrus sees that the world may never truly have an ending, but he believes that things will turn out eventually.

Papyrus is not stupid, he’s optimistic.

and also autistic

[annymation]

Reimagining the characters in Wish

(Part 3- Star/Aster)

ITS THE MOMENT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!

HERE COMES THE BOYYYYY!!!

Ahem… so yeah welcome to part 3

If you haven’t seen them yet, here’s the links for part 1 and part 2 where I talk about how I’d rewrite Asha and the villains respectively.

Star may be the most challenging character to reimagine since… All I have is the personality displayed on the Star we DID get, a song we all collectively headcanon as Asha x Star love song (At All Cost Demo), and my imagination… In a way that just makes things more fun too.

Now remember there’s no definitive version of this character, he never came true so there’s limitless ways we can interpret him.

Some may imagine him mute, some may imagine him as a wacky character like the genie, others may imagine him more soft spoken like the blue fairy, some may imagine him as Asha’s love interest while others may prefer them as just friends, or even have him look like her grandfather, there are no wrong answers.

So here’s how I imagine him to be like:

The Star 💫

What’s a Wishing Star?

- Before we start talking about our star boy, I think it’s important we establish what a wishing star even is, so let’s begin.

-Star is an entity from another plane of existence, a wishing star, a being whose only purpose is to listen to the wishes from mortals that can see him and other wishing stars through their night skies. They listen to the wishes from mortals and provide some guidance in subtle ways.

- A wishing star is born, or rather, gains consciousness, once someone looks to them and makes a wish from the bottom of their hearts, once the star receives their first ever wish they are no longer just a celestial body of gas, they become a new wishing star, they gain a purpose, and develop their minds just like how a human would.

- As the years pass the star becomes more wise, more equipped to help the person who wished upon them for the first time.

- For a wishing star to grow up it may take a while, that’s why most people wish upon bigger ones who are already fully developed and clever enough to know exactly how to help.

- It’s not a wishing star’s job to GRANT a wish immediately, in fact, they’re incapable of doing that, their magic can only go as far as the hope and perseverance that resides in their wishmaker’s heart.

- Things that the mortal would consider just luck could actually be the works of a wishing star putting them in the right path.

- If the person loses hope in their dream then there isn’t anything the star can do, but if they remain determined then the star can help them go far.

- So a wishing star job is to just… stay in the sky, look down upon their wishmakers, give some subtle magic intervention here and there…

-That is, when they’re wished upon at all, otherwise they just stay there doing nothing.

- However… In some rare occasions, wishing stars can do a lot more than just give a subtle magic intervention from the distance. Sometimes, when someone truly well intentioned makes a wish with all their heart… The wishing star gets the power to do some extraordinary things.

Personality

- Star, or Aster as I’ll be calling him in this rewrite, which is a non-binary name meaning “star”. I’ll be referring to them with (He/they) pronouns.

- Aster is a very young and inexperienced wishing star, in fact, counting with Asha’s wish, Star only got TWO wishes in their whole life. And he’s still working on granting that first wish he ever got 18 years ago.

(Haha I’m sure that’s not foreshadowing for something really sad)

- Because of that he’s often treated by the other stars as sort of a younger sibling or a little kid.

- I think I should just get this info out now: Aster is NOT the north star, that big, bright and iconic star we know from the Disney movies, nope, Aster is actually a small itty bitty little star that you can barely see, that kind of star you probably wouldn’t pick to wish upon, most choose the brightests and bigger ones.

- So who’s that big, bright and iconic star? Well, in the beginning of our story… That star doesn’t exist, like, it’s literally absent from the sky… After all, we're seeing that star's origin story :)

- We’ll get to that when we get to that, back to Aster tho.

- Aster is a lot different from the other wishing stars, while they’re these benevolent and wise entities, Aster is more of a naive and curious teen who’s fascinated with the world below them.

- No one wishes upon him EVER so he gets a lot of free time to just watch humans do human things and animals do animal things, and he loves it.

(He’s like Ariel and Quasimodo lmao)

- When he gets to earth he’s very excited to help Asha, showing appreciation for her wishing upon him through a lot of physical contact, often hugging her and holding her hand without him even noticing. (Asha at first is confused but she gets used to this behavior pretty quick)

- Although Aster is naive and overly excited they’re no fool, he can be very clever and creative when it’s necessary.

- He’s also not a fish out of water like Ariel when he’s on earth, they understands human customs and how things work, since he watched everything from the sky… Although nevertheless they’re delighted to see everything up close.

- He may be smart, but at first, they don’t really know how to guide Asha in the right path to make her wish come true, after all he’s a very inexperienced wishing star, and freeing a kingdom from an evil sorcerer king and queen is no easy task.

- But regardless he doesn’t let his own insecurities get to him, and remains optimistic they’ll figure it out, together.

His personality is reminiscent to Disney guys such as: Quasimodo, Peter Pan, Prince Philip (yes really, rewatch Sleeping Beauty, that boy has a lot of personality), Alladin and Hercules.

Main Traits:

- Optimistic and kind

- Naïve

- Protective

- Curious

- Energetic

- Secretly very insecure

Powers

I think it’s important to establish his abilities before we get to his backstory and all that jazz.

What he CAN’T do

Just like how Movie Asha did in her job interview, let’s get his weaknesses out of the way first.

- Sooo… don’t get mad but… Star won’t be a shapeshifter in my version. I don’t want him to feel too much like Maui or the genie. So he’ll stay in the shape of a princely looking boy the whole way through.

- He can’t teleport, would make things too easy, also there’s a plot reason I’ll explain later.

- Can’t materialize real things out of thin air, only things made of star dust so they don’t really have any utility other than to create fun visuals during music numbers or when he’s explaining stuff.

- Can’t hurt anyone, this one is VERY IMPORTANT for plot reasons I’ll talk about later on.

- Can’t make a wish come true with the snap of his fingers, he’s a star, not a genie.

Weakness: Dark Magic, hopelessness and Asha getting hurt.

What he CAN do

- Stretch and re-shape his body. He may not turn into animals but his body can regenerate and squash and stretch around (haha get it? Like the animation term), like he’s made of star dust. Have this piece of concept art as an example:

- He can Fly and make other people and objects fly too

- Unlock doors, may seem random now but I’ll explain in a minute.

- Bring plants to life, and make them grow bigger, and I mean like “make a flower the size of a house” bigger.

- Make animals talk, but the animals only keep talking IF they so desire, if that’s not something they wish for then the magic fades away with time.

- Tho he naturally understands animals and any other living thing in their own languages.

- He can feel other people’s wishes, not all the time tho, he has to make a conscious effort to see what’s that person’s deepest desire.

- His body is warm like a small sun, so he can give warm hugs… that’s a power, yes.

- Aster may not teleport, but they can move really REALLY fast

- Uncorrupt wish bubbles, I mentioned in part 2 that Magnifico twisted most the people's wishes, those wishes that are changed are called “Corrupted wishes”, Aster can change those wishes back to what they originally were.

- Create dreams, is that too much like the sandman from rise of the guardians?… Im still keeping it.

-Get inside drawings, This is just for a scene I imagine Aster shrinking and walking around inside Asha's sketch book, I think that's cute.

- Make a human disguise, I'll elaborate more on this when we get to talk about his design.

- He can grant wishes “but Anny you just said earlier he can’t—“ yes yes I know… he just grants them in his own unique way.

What gives him strength: Hopes and dreams

(Undertale reference? More likely than you think)

A wishing star purpose is to serve as a guide, that provides some magic intervention so that the wishmaker has the means to get to their goal.

As such, the stronger Asha’s hope, perseverance and passions are, the stronger and more limitless Star’s magic becomes. Like his magic abilities are charged up by Asha’s beliefs, the more she wants something, the more he can do for her.

Now, let’s talk about how Aster and other wishing stars that come to earth function, and to do that, we gotta go waaaaay back to another wish granting character in the Disney catalog.

The Blue Fairy- What can we learn from her?

- We all know the blue fairy from Pinocchio, she is in a way the closest thing we have in the Disney canon that resembles the concept of Star, so I’m considering them as both the same kind of entity, they’re both wishing stars.

(not the same character tho, and I’ll get to that soon don’t you worry)

- You would think a character we see so little about doesn’t provide a lot of context, but she actually gives us a pretty good idea about what wishing stars can and can’t do.

- First thing she says when arriving is:

“Good Geppetto, you have given so much happiness to others. You deserve to have your wish come true.”

- From that, we can interpret that wishing stars only assume a human form and help those who are truly pure of heart and have spread kindness to others. Like Asha.

- Geppetto wished for Pinocchio to be a real boy, a human boy, but the blue fairy couldn’t grant that wish, because the only one who could make himself a real boy was Pinocchio himself.

“To make Geppetto’s wish come true will be enterely up to you. Prove yourself brave, truthful and unselfish, and someday you will be a real boy"

- So, am I saying that Aster will just fly up to Asha and say “it’s all up to you to save your people… GOOD LUCK! 😊” sparkle some magic on her and leave?

- Well no although that would be funny, he’s not gonna do that, in fact, Aster will act way differently compared to the Blue Fairy.

- Although Aster can’t immediately make the people of Rosas “Have something more than this” he will do everything in his power to help Asha with anything she needs, and stay by her side the whole way through… Not at all what the Blue Fairy did.

- Lets say the Blue Fairy did exactly what a wishing star is supposed to do.

-She didn’t let herself be seen by anyone except Pinocchio and Jimminy Cricket, she only gave Pinocchio a few instructions and then left it all up to him, and even then when she went a bit beyond that to inform him that Geppetto was inside a whale she did so by sending a note… Almost like she couldn’t go back again to tell him personally… Interesting huh?

(I know the reason is because the animators would lose their minds if they had to draw that sparkly effect on her dress a third time but let’s pretend there’s more to it okay?)

- So we have her being the best role model of a wishing star… and then we have Aster...

-Doesn’t even know where to begin with helping Asha, chooses to stay on earth more than a day instead of just giving cryptic advice and leaving, was seen by multiple people aside from just Asha and Valentino, and worse of all, falls in love with his wish maker… yeah dude broke several rule… And the other stars ain’t happy about that.

- You could say the scale of Geppetto’s wish and Asha’s wish are way different, one just wants a son and the other wants to defeat two evil monarchs.

-But the stars don’t see it that way, to them every wish should be treated equally and it’s not their purpose to mingle with humans and change the course of their history.

- So you see, while the Blue Fairy could go back to the sky and then reappear anywhere she wanted… Aster won’t have that privilege.

-If he goes back to the sky he’s not coming back down, because the other stars won’t allow it, not after he broke their rules.

- Aster knows all that, because he can hear them talking to him, warning him to stop and go back to the sky… Aster keeps that information a secret from Asha for as long as they can…

- He knows after he’s done helping Asha they’ll never see each other again, but that’s fine, he’s willing to break every rule to help her…

- Oh also there’s a scene in Pinocchio where the Blue Fairy opens a lock to free Pinocchio from a cage… that’s why I said Aster can unlock doors… okay moving on to our boy backstory.

Backstory

Yup, Aster has a backstory. And it all started in one fateful night:

An elderly man was taking a walk, carrying his granddaughter in his arms, she was just a few weeks old, but he couldn’t wait to show her how beautiful the stars looked that night.

He sat with her on a thick tree branch, and even though she couldn’t understand him, he was so happy telling her the names of each constellation.

In that moment, it seemed like everything was perfect.

But then that moment ended… He heard screams, and smelled smoke.

The elderly man ran back to his home, only to find it completely engulfed in a fire.

His granddaughter was now crying in his arms as he watched some neighbors trying to put down the fire, but to no avail.

His son and daughter-in-law were in there, he lost them both in an instant, the pain he felt in that moment was immeasurable.

In that moment of sorrow all he could do was look up, between the thick smoke he saw it… a small star.

With all his heart, Sabino wished upon it

“I wish my dear granddaughter, Asha, never feel such pain and sadness as I’m feeling in this moment”

A new wishing star was born.

Those words were the first thing Aster ever heard, it took a few years for him to even know what they meant, but as Asha and him grew older, he started to understand them.

He tried his best to make Asha as happy as she could be with the little that he was allowed to do.

Sometimes giving her inspiration for her drawings, other times sending her nice dreams after a bad day.

But he felt like he was failing her, no matter what he did, Asha would still go through sad times… Specially after her grandfather passed away.

Aster treasured every happy moment that he saw Asha experience, her making new friends, getting better with her drawings, dancing during wish ceremonies. Aster would shine brighter every time she was happy.

Point is: They were connected the whole time, and Aster already knew Asha even way before she wished upon him.

To be clear he wouldn’t just stay up there looking at Asha all day, he was also interested on everything else on earth in general.

But then, we have Asha’s 18th birthday, the day she had to give away her wish.

Aster knew what was really going on in Rosas, about what happened to most of the people’s wishes, and although that also saddened the other stars they all agreed they couldn't intervene unless someone from Rosas wished for their help.

So you can imagine how happy Aster was when Asha wished upon HIM, of all the stars, she looked at him and asked for his help! What are the chances?

If you could listen to them, you’d hear all the stars collectively whisper “oh…this might not end well…” as Aster flies down to earth going "YYYYYPIIIEEEEEEE!!!"

A Star Who Wishes To Be Human

- I’ve made it very clear that Aster is different from the other stars, for the reason that he’s so young and so fascinated with life on earth.

- But there’s more than that, see, I mentioned before Aster can’t hurt anyone, and that’s not because he’s some holier-than-thou pacifist, it’s because his magic literally CAN’T hurt living beings.

- Because his magic is made of ✨hopes✨ and ✨kindness✨ and ✨everything nice✨, so even if they literally make a sword with his star dust, all it’ll do is give Magnifico some tickles.

- And Aster hates that.

- He wishes he could be more useful to Asha… wait, “wishes”?

- That’s silly, a star is not supposed to “wish” for anything, to have wants, that’s a human thing... And yet here he is wanting to protect Asha in any way possible.

- This drive to protect Asha runs even deeper than just the wish he received from her grandfather or the wish she made, Aster feels as if it's a wish that comes within him.

- Aster would question why they feels this way, is it love? Can’t be that right? A star can’t fall in love…

- The same way a star can’t taste food, or smell the flowers, or feel temperature…

- But Aster wishes they could, Aster wishes he knew what food tasted like, what was the smell of the flowers and the morning dew, but most of all… Aster wished he could feel Asha’s warmth, the same way she feels when they embraced.

- This would be Aster internal conflict for most of the movie. They’d realize that they can’t be with Asha forever, but Aster wanted to at least confess his feelings before they went to enact their plan to defeat the king and queen, that’s when we’d get “At All Cost”.

- Soooo a bit of a spoiler to this rewrite, I’m basically telling a story all out of order at this point, but here goes, Aster does become human by the end, after the king and queen are defeated, the stars realize that punishing Aster for breaking their rules wouldn’t be fair after he did so much good, and also because some of them can’t stand him so they decide “hey, let’s leave him there” and just ask him to return his magic back to the sky.

- Once Aster accepts, his magic would be turned into a brand new star, that shines brighter than all the others, because it carries all the magic that Aster accumulated by helping Asha and all of Rosas. And thus we’d get an origin story for THE wishing star.

Design

Aster has brown skin, sparkly freckles and blond hair that shines and moves almost like a candle.

He dresses up as a prince, with the classic cape we see in classic princes like in Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

They choose that form because he recalls that Asha used to read a lot about princes that would help princesses in need, so he thinks it's fitting to at least looks like one to help Asha

"But I'm not a princess"

"I know, you're just pretty like one!"

A itty bitty detail I didn't mention until now: Aster would be hand drawn animated, while everything else would be 3D, and his animation would change as the movie progressed.

By change I mean he'd start in a very sketchy looking animation, like it's being drawn very frantically to reflect how excited he is to help Asha, but as the movie progresses he'd be drawn with more detail and with more fluid movements.

This would serve to both represent his character development, showing him becoming more mature and learning what it means to be human, and also a reference to how Disney's animation evolved over the years.

He can make a human disguise, as I mentioned earlier, but that would require him to keep his magic hidden somewhere, in this case, a round stone that holds his cape together on his chest.

Once his magic was all kept inside this stone he'd turn into a 3D animated character, however his movements wouldn't feel... quite right, like he'd be animated in a different frame-rate compared to everyone else, so you could tell he was struggling to make himself move like a human, and people would be able to tell there was something off about him.

In the end when he turned into a human for real he'd become 3D animated with the right frame-rate, and his hair would no longer be blonde, but rather brown, like his eyebrows (Tangled reference? yup)

Final Thoughts

This was DEFINITELY the hardest one to translate my thoughts into words! My gosh this took so long to write.

Don't know if you could tell but I'm very passionate about this scrapped idea of a human looking star falling in love with our protagonist, and no it's not just for the ✨aesthetic✨.

I don't think it's wise to throw a romance when writing a story just because you feel like it, a romance needs to progress both the story and the characters involved, think of it like how Naveen learned with Tiana the importance of working hard, while in turn showing her that life can also be fun. They complete each other, and I want the same for Asha and Aster.

Asha needs to learn that she shouldn't feel guilty for wishing more for herself, she worries too much about others and what others may think of her that she forgets her own self worth, and Aster shows her that she not only can wish for things for herself, but she can also accomplish anything she sets her mind to. From becoming an amazing artist that can give movement to her drawings to the leader of a rebellion against two evil monarchs, she can do it all.

Meanwhile, Aster needs to learn that what Asha's grandfather wished upon him is an impossible task, for Asha to always be happy, that's impossible, because sadness is a part of life, its a part of being human, and that's what he learns, what it means to be human, to fail, get up and try again. As a wishing star Aster always knew that humans had to fail a bunch of times before having their wishes granted but he could never imagine how hard that actually was, and Asha's perseverance even with all odds against her is what makes him love her even more.

I talked a lot about why Aster loves Asha, so I should probably mention what Asha sees in him too. Asha get's a lot of laughs from Aster's innocent reactions to natural things on earth, like how dazzled he is seeing the sun rise for the first time, how he just stops and starts chatting with animals and plants like a damn disney princess, or how he randomly starts rambling about how some constellations don't look at all like the animals they're named after "Like, seriously, why did they name that one a lynx? That's obviously a snake hehehe"

But most importantly she loves how caring he is, how he's supportive and passionate about her interests just as much as she is, and how he makes her feel safe, and in turn she wants to protect him too.

I'm honestly debating with myself how I want Aster to go about the information he has known Asha all his life, like, I imagine he'd probably want to hide the fact because he didn't want to talk about the sad tragedy that led to her grandfather wishing upon him, yes Asha knows about the fire but he doesn't want to remind her and make her sad, because remember, at first he doesn't understand that sadness is just part of life.

But then like, would he pretend to not know her? Or would he be like a ghibli character and just nonchalantly say "Oh yeah, I’ve always known you" and never elaborate on that until the story demands it?

… Great, now I just had the idea of Aster functioning like Haku from Spirited Away, like they don't remember where he knows Asha from because he forgot what their previous wish was now that he’s granting a new one, let's say stars can only remember one wish at a time, then as he gets to know her better he starts to remember what his first wish was, and things start to make more sense.

I don’t know, like that’s cute but might be a bit too complicated, y’all tell me, I’m throwing ideas and seeing what makes sense, this whole thing is me asking for feedback after all.

Honestly I think the idea of Aster knowing Asha the whole time works because it not only gives a better explanation to why a star came down from the sky to help her, but also gives more sense to the lyrics “you still amaze me after all this time” in At All Cost.

Welp, I think that's all I got, thank you so much for following along with this series, and don't worry I'm not over yet, there are a few characters to talk about before I start sharing the actual script of this rewrite.

Thank You For Reading!

[funishment-time]

Seems like you have finished so i just need to say this:

DR0 is so fucking good.

Just, at EVERYTHING its trying to do, it hits it. And thats something that cannot be said about most of the other media in this franchise (not saying one is better over the other btw, thats a separate thing)

Like, it does its job of being THH's prequel. It goes into more depth with Kyoko and her father's relationship, it gives more insight into the destroyed classroom and what happened, it explains the massive plothole(?) of how exactly Junko was able to steal class 78's memories, it gives a better look at how exactly Junko was able to take over HPA. It gives so much context and answers to things the first game didn’t have the time to properly explore.

It does its job of setting up for SDR2's twist (as you are supposed to read it BEFORE the second game btw (it also released in 2011, a little under a year before SDR2)). It sets up the HPA is corrupt, that the staff dont care about its talentless students. It gives us the info that Kamukura and Junko are working together, and thats WHY the founder's portrait is in the funhouse. It also preps us for the twist, and why it feels so out of left-field in the game if you didn’t have the context of DR0 before. (I could make the argument that thats why both hajime and izuru share design elements with yasuke, because of the whole him pretending to be izuru thang but thats mostly speculation on my part lol)

But, most importantly, it gives us more depth into JUNKO. Something we lost in order for the first game's twist to happen. Ryoko is such a fun character, my lil goober, and such an interesting aspect to Junko that people either do not know about or think is solely Yasuke's creation (it is not, thats very clear in the novel). To think, that the girl that burnt the world down, was deep down a silly lil redhead with a weird crush on her childhood bestfriend is literally the best way Kodaka could’ve took her character. Its so funny but so fucking tragic, to fall in love with this protagonist and realize she was doomed from the start.

anyway sorry for the ramble, i love Ryoko and Yasuke and their story so much

NO RAMBLE AWAY THANK YOU FOR SHARING. i loved DR0 and honestly i may reread it again very soon because i miss Ryoko and want to spend more Quality Time with her.

i have so many thoughts about DR0 so here's a few scattered ones as i slowly wake up this morning:

DR2 has SO MANY MORE DR0 references than i realized

i would have taken an adaptation of this over DR3 tbh. like hands down

i feel bad for everyone involved in this event. even Kamishiro. yes, really

i also, personally, see Ryoko as not at all separate from Junko. to me she is representative of Junko's soul and past, and when she fades away it's not so much Ryoko disappearing as a person but Junko symbolically chucking away anything that gets in the way of her worldview. she is not Yasuke's creation i agree

(i headcanon, as i've said, that Ryoko is basically how Junko was as a kid, just a little less bratty. i also tend to think that Ryoko Otonashi is Junko's real name or close to it)

(and i did tear up when Ryoko "crumbles." i like to think that Ryoko and Junko, for a moment, both existed at once there. both were sad she had to go.)

Ryoko being so sweet and bubbly and not wanting to actually kill anyone causing her trouble is such a HUGE. HUGE. HUGE. signpost to Danganronpa's themes.

and Junko musing that she may lose, i like to think, comes from the fact that she knows she's wrong somewhere. deep down, even Junko...who is shown to be self-hating...is just a little goober who loves Home Alone and thinks she can below up Kyoko Kirigiri with her mind.

Ryoko being weirded out by Makoto??? forget the intense foreshadowing in that scene. Ryoko picking up on his energy??? he's pure without the use of neuro-tech???? incredible

the chapter where Junko is kicking the shit out of Matsuda's corpse should be required reading for all DR fans. it humanizes her so much. my headcanon that she is constantly in the throes of this wild psychic pleasure-pain and is like, spiritually suffering, seems to be more or less supported here

the last chapter where Junko and Mukuro are talking also provides a TON of subtle clues as to their relationship. it totally comes off like Junko STILL being so bitter that big sis Muki ran off to the military and left her all alone for a few years ha

so there's my ramble in return !! what a fantastic yarn. so tragic. so good

[acourtofthought]

can you genuinely say at this point in time, Elain wants lucien? I'm not asking for theories or headcanons. I am asking if you genuinely think that Elain in any way is secretly pining over Lucien, and what textual evidence supports that.

People have argued about her mentioning his name, but I don't think that has to do with romantic feelings for him, moreso basic respect for another. People have talked about a "half-step" which I must've missed bc I do not even remember that - but i don't think a "half step" necessarily conveys anything romantic.

I'm trying to form an opinion in this ship war, but its hard when I see a ton of misinformation from every side. The elriels have their own faults, but they can point to text now that shows Elain wants Azriel.

Can Eluciens do the same? I'm not trying to start a fight, I really just want to know what portion of each ship is backed by the current books vs. how much is just people theorizing they are end game and what they want to happen. And if the Elucien ship is purely just "SJM will always pair fated mates together" that's also fine and valid imo, I just want to know if there's anything in the books you can point to that shows Elain wants Lucien at this moment in time. I don't want to argue about hypotheticals and foreshadowing and what a rose symbolizes. I want cold hard words on the page.

Please note: I know just because it might not be there YET doesn't mean it's not going to happen. I want to evaluate the current standing of these books and the rationality of each argument. But to do that, I need people to be honest about what's there and what's not. I'm asking you because you run one of the more...logical shipwar blogs. But if you don't want to answer this - I also understand why.

At this point in time I don't think that canon supports Elain wanting anyone and that includes both Az and Lucien.

The only person Elain ever confessed having feelings for is Graysen. Real feelings. The "my heart belongs to you" kind of feelings.

Elain specifically said she did not want a male or a mate and those are categories Lucien and Az fall under, despite the almost kiss with Az in SF. It's been proven that a FMC in a SJM book can hook-up with a guy but not want a relationship with him (Feyre / Isaac, Nesta with fae who were not Cassian, Mor / Cassian, Mor / Helion) so Elain's actions in the Az bonus don't prove Elain wants him for more than a night of fun. In fact, the text in canon has her agreeing to "just a taste and that would be it". That's not a confession of long term commitment nor was there any to be found in any other interaction she's had with Az. Even crushes don't mean you're wanting forever with someone. Not to mention she was not written as looking towards either Az or Lucien in the 5 months after Solstice so absolutely no canon supports that she wants to hook-up with Az anymore. Elain's past actions from months ago (including those with Az) can't really be used as proof of canon of now, otherwise we should all be claiming she's still in love with Graysen since she never specifically stated she no longer has feelings for him. Nobody says that though, we use the canon of her no longer breaking down over Graysen to show she's moved past wanting to be with him and currently the canon suggests she's also moved past whatever she was about to do with Az on Solstice since there are zero signs to argue otherwise. There is also zero evidence of Az still wanting to be with Elain in any way now that we're 5 months beyond Solstice. 7 if you count HOFAS.

Right now I think the only thing canon truly supports is that Elain is showing no romantic interest in anyone, male or human. 5 months is a long time. Feyre left Tamlin then was mated to Rhys within 5 months and Elain was not mentioned as shedding a tear for Graysen in that same length of time, not mentioned as looking Az's way in that time, not having a reaction (good or bad) to Lucien in that time.

So to your question, canon does not support Elain wanting Lucien but it doesn't support her currently wanting Az. Canon also never supported her wanting to start a relationship with Az, canon doesn't support her wanting a mating bond with Az, canon doesn't support her having any desire to go forward with a forbidden love with Az.

Does that mean it's what she's actually feeling for Lucien or even Az? We can't say for sure because we don't have her POV but if we're truly basing this discussion off canon alone than Elain doesn't currently seem interested in anyone. It's not fair for e/riels to claim she still wants Az 5 months later as they have no evidence supporting it. It's only their headcanon that she does. Not to mention it's their headcanon she wanted to have a relationship with Az in the first place. They have zero evidence to show she'd be willing to seriously date him.

But as far as what I genuinely think (your phrasing)? I think Elain is struggling with the pull she feels towards Lucien and it scares her.

I don't think all Elucien's assume Sarah will pair Elucien together simply because they're mates. There are many layers behind what we feel.

I do think Elucien's use logic based on Sarah's writing and that logic tells us that characters don't simply ignore a mating bond. In canon, the bond creates a tug to the other that can never be truly forgotten. Based on that canon we hypothesis that there is a lot going on under the surface which is why she's hidden Elain's thoughts from us. She's the only main side character from the original cast who has never been given a POV and there's got to be a reason for that. Sarah was willing to share her almost kiss with Az but never her actual thoughts for Lucien who she suddenly began ignoring in ACOFAS after the events of ACOWAR and that seems a bit purposeful doesn't it? How a kiss isn't a secret but what she feels about the bond she says she doesn't want is?

While we've got no proof showing she wants Lucien, we were given so many examples of the author making an effort to show their compatibility. We were given a bunch of crumbs as to where Elain's future journey could take her and many crumbs placing Lucien in those same places. The author wrote Lucien (not Az) meeting Elain's father. We were given a bunch of scenarios where we're left wondering WHY Elain behaved a certain way towards Lucien especially after she defended him to Graysen, after she took a step as if she'd stop him from searching for Vassa, after she did follow he and Feyre instead of staying behind at her father's grave, after they were left together to wash up after the war, after she invited him to come back to Velaris but only after all that she began completely ignoring him for unexplained reasons. Based on Sarah's writing that pull and push typically means a character is struggling with her pull / desire for the other person and things aren't so one dimensional as "she doesn't like him!" If she didn't like him then why take a step as if to stop him? Why follow him instead of staying with her father's grave? Why peer up at him? Why invite him to Velaris?

We've been in this place before with a Sarah book. "Why did the character do that only to do an abrupt 180?" We saw it with Nesta, who was willing to die with Cassian in ACOWAR only to do the most 180's of all 180's by giving her virginity to someone else in the novella. To telling Cassian she wanted nothing to do with him though we knew she did. So Elucien's are only waiting to see how the author deals with Elain and her inner thoughts of Lucien. We don't think Elain's setup is going to be any less complex than Nesta's was. We believe the author is going to tell a story that is deep and meaningful. And while Elain's current setup doesn't prove this to us just yet, it is canon that Sarah has given that exact treatment to every single one of her mated pairs, whether the FMC was struggling with what she felt or the MMC (as we saw with Rowan and his bond with Aelin), so it would be silly for us to think Elain would be the only one who isn't given that same complexity.

While the textual evidence does not necessarily prove Elain has feelings for Lucien, I think it's valid for Elucien's to use textual evidence of Sarah's past writing patterns to predict the direction she's taking them.

I have no problem admitting that current canon doesn't prove Elain wants Lucien but I've never seen a e/riel admit that current canon, by the end of SF, also doesn't prove Elain wants Az. That canon never proved she wanted a relationship with him at all. Canon doesn't even prove she called his scars beautiful considering Feyre said she wasn't sure if she was referring to his Siphons yet they still hold on to that one.

Canon proves Elain loved Graysen though he was an asshole, canon proves that she was willing to hook up with Az with no proof of anything more, and canon proves that she shares a mating bond with Lucien that she'll never be able to completely forget ("it will be a bond that will trail her for the rest of her existence") though she's currently trying her best which results in weirdness for everyone. That is all the canon proves.

From a romance standpoint, only one of those storylines typically has staying power.

[pastafossa]

hi pasta ! i’ve been a long time fan of you and your work, your writing is by far my favorite so far for matt that you’ve reignited me to write fanfics again ! i think you’re incredibly talented and so smart in your way of designing a story so vividly it just sparked my desire to to create again after my 30th reread of TRT. it is totally okay if you choose not to answer these but i have a couple of questions for writers? i have written fanfics before but they never came out to my liking (i never published them😅) so i’m looking to improve it and better my understanding of creating content that i like and am proud of!

the questions !! :

what are some things and tricks to writing lively, real dialogue? i find when i write sometimes my characters seem dull and cardboard like. i want it to flow naturally god dammit !

how do you go about characterization and staying true to it as your character develop and evolve? and to riff off of this question what is some additional research you would do to get the nature of your chosen character (ex, matt) right?

what are ways to better your writing? for example highlighting a characters complex emotions, describing the scenery around, detailed fight scenes and car chases, etc, etc. and not just them but silly grammatical errors and simple vocab. (i’m trilingual so it get a bit fuzzy remember all the rules of every language 😭) your foreshadowing game is just chefs kiss cuz you would sit on something and brush past it but it’ll make its comeback 20 chaps later, HOW??

and lastly, what is your advice to planning a long story? what are some steps you take to je respect the timeline of a show or a movie and how do you fit your OC into it? as well as making the OC’s backstory fit in. speaking of backstory and lore, i find it so hard to fit in believable, human lore to my OC and not make it super childish. i think you did such an interesting job with project beagle, the antagonist, the body swapping, the symbolism, etc, that it just feel so canon to me.

well thats all i have to ask, i hope it’s not too much, you really are such an awesome artist and i admire your work as a writer so much! thank you for sharing your stories on here/ao3. ❤️

Oh my gosh, this is so sweet! I'm absolutely gd honored you love TRT this much, I'm so, so happy it could help make you want to write fic again! 😭😭😭 Seriously, one of the things that just makes me absolutely delighted is when something I've made could lead to more things being made in turn, cause I don't just love Matt and Daredevil and TRT, I love stories in general! The world needs more of them, so this is FUCKING AWESOME. And I'm happy to answer these questions as best I can!

I'm also going to put this behind a see-more tag cause it's long LOL.

Token Matt gif just for fun. LET'S GET STARTED.

Natural, lively dialogue: Ooooh this is a fun question I haven't gotten asked before I don't think. I won't lie, part of it absolutely the immersion with all the shows, movies, and books I take in. But there's another element I was taught in creative writing classes - the idea that sometimes you should read as a writer. That is: read while asking yourself, 'how did they do that? Why? How did they foreshadow this?' Etc. You can do the same thing with characters speaking and with people. Listen to how these characters speak, how similar people speak, and try to get a feel for how they talk. I'll use contractions as an example. Most people use contractions, for example (at least in the US), in natural flowing dialogue. It's shorter, it's more casual, whereas they might speak more formally (less contractions) in a professional setting like a courtroom or when they're really angry and speaking somewhat threateningly. They also might not use contractions for other reasons - in TRT Ciro tends to use fewer contractions when speaking English, both because he's a classy guy and because English isn't his native language (he learned it more formally). I also try to treat each character as having their own natural accent (which can also show a bit of their personality). Matt rambles when he's nervous, but his dialogue gets sharp and choppy when he's furious (Devil wants to act, not talk). Foggy loves metaphors and has a lot of swings up and down in tone for emphasis (Grew up a theatre kid). When Jane in TRT is feeling particularly cold, she starts dropping unnecessary words from her sentences so they're shorter (more efficient + trained to give immediate answers without flourish). Sometimes it can also help to listen to the dialogue you write or have it go through a text-to-speech program so you can hear if it sounds stilted, but I've found the ability to detect stilted dialogue is just something you have to practice!

Keeping true to the character while letting them evolve: this is ALSO A FUN QUESTION. Especially because something I was taught is that, generally speaking (always exceptions): a stagnant character is a boring character. They need to struggle with who they are, and grow or devolve as a person. They need to learn. I knew I wanted that to happen in TRT, so yeah, a big question was how I could show characters growing while also keeping them the characters we know and love. And for me it was about figuring out what the basic building blocks of those characters were, and making sure they were always present, because an apple pie should always, in theory, come out of the oven an apple pie, even if it's been changed some by baking. Things like Matt's struggle with his faith, the way he's sorta incapable of finding a middle ground between Devil and Matt Murdock, his refusal to ignore injustice, his trauma and fear of abandonment, his love of the Kitchen, his anger issues and the ensuing impulsivity, these are all building blocks for him. These do not change. What changes is how they manifest, and what he does with them. Matt learns he can trust Jane with his trauma and fear of abandonment. She helps calm his anger. The building blocks are all still there. Some of them just get arranged a little differently as he grows. Same with Jane and how she has grown. She's always going to have Hound Mode floating around in the back of her head. Security will always be her biggest concern, her motivator. She's always going to be the one who prefers to think and plan. She'll always feel a little weird about personal identity, and be able to flip through lies and false faces with the best of them. But she'll handle all of that differently as she grows alongside Matt. The plot is baking them, changing those pies in the oven, but their base ingredients are something I'm super careful to keep consistent. That I think is one of my secrets since this has been going on 8 years now!

Additional research for characterization: I am always, always, always going to recommend good psychology research (I loved this shit in college, especially developmental psychology, and fortunately there's a TON that's easily accessible online and doesn't require any classes). For Matt, that would be psychological things like... what does repeated abandonment do to a person when they're a kid? How does abandonment and parental loss shape their attachment styles and relationships later in life (hint: it's not great)? We know he has untreated depression, so what's going on in his brain considering he's pushing all that down? What would the day-to-day struggle being exposed to all that crime and pain do (research into things like the mental health of paramedics and social workers, etc)? Dissect these characters like little bugs, put them on your table, and try to figure out why someone would do what they do. Be curious, basically!

How To Improve In General: I LOVE THAT YOU BROUGHT UP MY FORESHADOWING FIRST OFF, I'LL ANSWER THAT IN THE NEXT BIT FOR PLANNING BUT. For me this is a couple things. The biggest one is reading, reading, reading. Read professional stuff in addition to fanfic. Read in your chosen genre. Read writers you want to write like! Read writers who are writing what you want to learn! And when you do, ask yourself how they did what you want to do. I have one book series that's my absolute favorite, I've read it over and over and over again. And it's very likely that someone who's read that book series and TRT would be able to spot the influence that book series has had on Jane's character voice, how I write action scenes, morally grey characters, etc. So that's where some of it comes from! For things like detailed emotions and sensations, my favorite book is The Emotion Thesaurus! I've found I don't need it as much now because I've gotten the hang of it, but it's still good to have there as a refresher. And for things like grammar and simple vocab, not only will reading help, but I'd also open the door to any fandom friends who might beta read for you! I've been writing fic since I was... hrrgh, quite young. And I'm super grateful for the betas over the years that would go over my fic and leave notes - notes not just on what they had changed but why: why they changed this punctuation, why they broke up this sentence, why they capitalized this or lower-cased that. That helped a ton! But yeah, when in doubt, grab an author you love and open it up and go, '...Ok, so how did you do this???' Also holy hell, you're triilingual so you already get a TON of kudos here on learning how multiple languages work, YOU GOT THIS.

Planning a long story: now's the part where I make people groan but the biggest advice is to outline, I know a ton of us heard it in school and ignored it because pfft but THE OUTLINE REALLY IS IMPORTANT. This is how I was able to foreshadow things ages in advance - I knew what was coming in the future so I was able to leave breadcrumbs earlier on. This also meant I was able to figure out how certain dominoes would tip (like when TRT's original plotlines would change something in canon) or when there were gaps in Daredevil's timeline that I could neatly settle into. Knowing the entirety of the story and having it all laid out also meant it was easier to change things or work to make sure TRT fit into the Daredevil/Marvel Universe like a puzzle piece. That was one of the steps for me both when it came to respecting the timeline (not that you need to! That was a personal choice for me) and with making sure the lore all fit in. I love the Marvel universe, have since I was a kid, so I was able to tap some of their fun recurring tropes and themes (Evil scientists, secret government projects, Mutants/Enhanced characters in hiding) and instead of trying to make it new, I tried to do my own spin on it instead because I know this sort of thing already exists there, and threw in some of the other general genre tropes I enjoy (love me some symbolic otherworlds and psychic connections). I think for an OC like this, that's sort of the key. Their backstories will fit because they're built on power structures and building blocks that already exist. It's just about finding a little section that hasn't been told yet. That's where this type of OC flourishes: in these little gaps between walls and load-bearing pillars, a story and character you wouldn't find all that unusual if they popped up as a side character in canon, all to explore some part of the world that hasn't really been fleshed out yet. AND if desired, I think there's something to be said for matching just how grounded/fantastical your show/movie is. Daredevil is very, very grounded. People get hurt. They die. These aren't Avengers-level Gods who can take a lightning strike. So I respected that with Jane, who gets hurt... fairly often, tbh. I also leaned into, yet again, a story gap in that while a lot of the people running around with the Devil (Frank, Elektra, Stick, Jess and Luke, etc) are GOOD at fighting, Jane's specialty is NOT fighting, generally, even if she's pretty damn good with a gun and quick with her knife. Her specialty is getting away, so it gives us new things to explore in terms of threats and fight scenes!

I hope all of this helps! Everyone gets better with practice, so don't be afraid to put your stuff out there! God knows I've got old fanfic floating around the internet, and a lot of my early stuff wasn't anywhere near what TRT is. But I also couldn't have gotten to TRT without writing it, posting it, and learning from it. <3

[hollowed-theory-hall]

How well JK execute mystery in her books?

I'd say pretty well overall. Like, each HP book has its own slowly building mystery thread, and then you have mysteries that are over the course of the whole series. In general, I think she's pretty good at slowly building up a mystery and leaving a ton of foreshadowing behind for a second reading.

Philosopher's Stone has a really well-structured mystery. It's planted in the reader's mind at Gringotts when Hagrid takes the package. Then Gringotts is broken into, there's the out-of-bounds Third Floor Corridor, and something is killing the unicorns. Like, it's very well structured and has a satisfying conclusion that fits all the buildup.

Chamber of Secrets has one of the better mysteries in the series, I think. Like, in how it's written and structured. We start this one not slowly, but with a bang by Dobby telling Harry there's a nefarious plot. This already gets the ball rolling and the reader questioning. Add to that we see Lucius at Diagon Alley, we later see Ginny acting odd, Myrtle is there since very early in the book, and Harry's Parseltongue from the beginning of PS comes back into play. The foreshadowing and buildup are all there and the tension slowly builds up as Harry (and you) learn more. Then you meet Tom and fall for him a little like Harry does which makes the reveal (which is obvious in hindsight) all the more heart-reaching. I really like the mystery in CoS.

Prisoner of Azkaban takes a page out of CoS and starts with the bang of "Sirius Black escaped Azkaban and he's trying to kill Harry". Unfortunately, unlike in CoS, the mystery doesn't really breathe over the course of the book. Sure, you have the "what's up with Lupin" thread, but throughout the book, Harry isn't really interested in that mystery. It's all about his parents and Sirius Black. There is no question regarding Sirius' guilt throughout this book until the very end and the question of what he wants isn't raised either because Harry believes he is out to kill him. So, I'd say PoA isn't really a mystery the way the first two are since the answers we got don't fit the questions we asked.

Goblet of Fire is, like its name, fire. This is my favorite book, and the mystery plot is serving in this one. Moody acts strange throughout the whole book, someone puts Harry's name in the goblet, Moody is drinking from a flask, and Snape has some potion ingredients used for Polyjuice in CoS stolen from him. And then you have the memory of the trial scene of Barty and Ceouch Sr walking around too. All the buildup to the reveal is great and super fun to point out on a second readthrough. The answers are super satisfying as well and are so worth the buildup. Like, the ending of this book hits. There's a reason this one is my favorite.

Order of the Phoenix is a bit of a weaker entry. Not for the same reasons as PoA though. OotP does ask the questions: "What's the weapon Voldemort is after?", "What are the Order guarding?", and "What is this hallway Harry keeps dreaming about?" And all these questions get a satisfying answer. My problem is in the buildup. The buildup in this book of Harry's connection to Voldemort is more relevant to the overarching mystery regarding Harry being a Horcrux, not to the internal mystery of OotP. So, OotP's mystery lacks in the slow progression throughout the book itself, but you don't feel it cause it has so many other great things going on in it.

Half-Blood Prince is similar to OotP. Like, it has two mystery threads, really and both of them don't really get a slow, gradual buildup towards that answers (even if the answers are good). Like, the mystery of who the prince is doesn't really get much foreshadowing, and even on a second read you barely get hints toward the prince being Snape. Same for what's Draco up to, honestly. Like, as the reader you kinda know what's going on with him, so it's just Harry trying to figure out what you kinda already know. Like, it doesn't have the gradual build from the earlier books of the mystery being unraveled slowly until the final moment of the reveal. Like OotP, HBP has a lot else going for it so you don't notice it much.

Deathly Hallows, has so many little mysteries inside it so it feels unfocused because it's trying to do too much. Becouse of that, I think some of the mysteries are better than others. It's the culmination of the mystery of Harry and Voldemort's connection, which I think was very well structured over the course of the whole series. Dumbledore's past and master plan and who Dumbledore really was, was a fun theme/mystery that I think was done well. I would've liked it better if Harry didn't name his kid Albus if only to leave this mystery open-ended a little, you know? so the reader could think for themselves what they think about Dumbledore without shoehorning in that Harry thinks he's good. The mystery of Deathly Hallows, which is the titular mystery of this book, could've been built better. It's lacking some buildup during the book (and before it if we're being honest) and I would've liked learning more about the Hallows than what we got. Like, it feels like a mystery that didn't get all the answers it should've gotten. Like in OotP and HBP, there is so much else going on, that the weaker internal book mystery would've been basically unnoticeable if the book was more well-structured and had better pacing.

These are my opinions as there is some subjectivity in this sort of question.

[cokoweee]

OH wow! Two updates in 24 hours! Okay I really wanted to dig into this, because there were so many things on just the writing and dialogue and I LOVE it!

These two panels were fun, because there is something soft in Kendra’s face. Nostalgia, affection…also the wet beads of water coming off her hair, since she climbed out of the bath….but I’ll continue this rant later…

This is interesting….We have seen Donnie borderline catatonic so this could be Draxum’s latent parental instincts not wanting to push Donnie just yet. (Or worried that Kendra might be a trigger?)

Though funny that this was what pushed Casey to reach out….I included a snippet from Replica…but…lol both you and Kat having Casey very particular about her male family members helping her out, is understandable

Heh…that’s rich, considering you are gonna have your own lizard children Kendra…not that you know that, I guess… Still this feels like a “tempting fate” line/foreshadowing. Mostly, because Casey insisted that the father is human. (I think?) But likely a jab at how Kendra calls her “Beast” all the time.

Ohhh…what is this trinket?! <_<

This is the face of someone who is either gonna pretend to be a toy or a child if Kendra gets pulled over XD

Okay this brings me back to my thoughts after the first image…Kendra likely had been thinking about stuff since her initial talk while fixing Yuichi’s arm the first time. However the “event” and Raph’s chat with her possibly had her start really mulling over it. We know Kendra has been struggling with her identity in the way of not belonging. She accepted she was an outcast…and possibly still considers herself an outcast. However with everything she has been doing: the training, modifying the jetpack, upgrading Yuichi’s arm…it certainly is setting this precedence. If Kendra doesn’t fit in this group’s mold by default, she is gonna make some changes so she does.

The past Kendra would never adjust to accommodate others. She is unapologetically herself. So why is she going through the trouble to make little changes…why does she want to properly ask Donnie if she can stay with him? Because when you love someone, you accommodate them. And not in the way, that you should change yourself for someone. However if there are traits that are holding you back, and it benefits you both in the long run, sometimes little changes are necessary. Kendra is changing, because she wants this. She may not know how her dynamic will change, but she wants it to get better.

And…I forget how I planned to wrap this up, but…. It is an organic way to bring happily ever after that much closer, and in a way that doesn’t compromise Kendra’s identity. Again, your writing and dialogue are amazing, and the way you pair it with your drawings makes some great storytelling.

Oof writing is such a struggle but considering I do hours of acting out dialogue both irl and in my head certainly do help. NOW TO ANSWER SOME OF THESE LIL SNIPPETS U SEPERATED but under a cut cause this is a bit long lol

Draxum is a weird dude to write for me but for me he’s another that lost almost his whole fam. He doesn’t wanna risk losing the last one that’s there even if they aren’t how they once were.

CASEY NOT WANTING DRAXUM ALL UP IN HER 🍰 IS A REAL! ITS LIKE UR GRANDPA/DAD/UNCLE SAYING THEYLL DO IT FOR YOU

That lil TrInkEt will be helpful later :D (I think. Please I haven’t fully thought this plan through)

You point out that she never would accommodate for someone else and yuh you’re right. Bitch would make others accommodate to her. This tho

“Because when you love someone, you accommodate them”

Idk how to word this, it’s pretty difficult to conjure up in my head words for this. For her it’s. She can’t see those feelings. Define them. It’s a case of extra caring without knowing why and it’s irritating. Like a fly u can’t kill. Or a butterfly. Pretty and you don’t want it to leave but also don’t want that big bitch flying all up in your face

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Ok crock pot anon here one more time (I definitely sent you a third one last night and completely forgot to say it was me, I was so damn excited, apologies). Now that I can rewatch on Hulu today, I can…. watch this scene 8x in a row! Lol. So- perfect barbacoa in 8 hours, eh? 8 hours = 8 seasons? Except Buck is saying heyyyy no, it can be done a little early! "Recipes are just a guideline" and "to Helena Diaz, they're gospel" I am side-eyeing you SO HARD. "First family dinner in the new house. It better be fork tender." "Slow cooker is never wrong!" I am lOsInG mY aCtUaL mInD. And, AND. Helena doesn't even eat any, which, first of all, why, it's probably amazing, but second, she grabs quick, easy takeout, the easy way out!!! The relationship metaphors!!!! Doing things the quick easy way versus slow cooking a relationship (romantic or parent-child), dkjfksdja;s

Hey crock pot anon

I always love seeing you've popped back into my inbox - I assumed the flailing kermit was you - which is why I added the same gif to my last reply keep being excited - I'm loving it and I am also very excited about it 😎

rewatching to pick up all the goodies we missed is always so much fun isn't it - I've been at the Cricket all day - rewatching on my laptop as the game was going on - thats how I ended up down a chess spiral, but anyway yes yes yes to the 8 hours = 8 seasons - and I just answered another ask about the 11 minutes to go of the 8 hours - so 11 minutes before the end of season 8. I've also got another couple of asks that have come into my inbox as I was writing this reply talking about fractions and how that therefore means episode 14 or 15 depending on which way you round the numbers, so perhaps we'll be lucky and that will be the moment of Buddie canon!

The Helena v Buck of recipes is endlessly fascinating to me - Helena stuck in heteronormativity while Buck has started experimenting with recipes and making them his own - his 3 tries to get the lasagne right and his baking experiments - in the same way he is now exploring his sexuality. Hell, if you think about it he tried twice/ three times with tommy - depending on what one counts as a 'try' and if it was the third time that it was right or if it took 3 attempts and the fourth one was the right one - either way on both fronts - it implies that the next time he's going to get it right - as in with Eddie!

the first family dinner in the new house it better be fork tender really is making me feel a bit feral - the potential foreshadowing of a first family dinner in a new Buckley- Diaz family home and it being a dinner full of tenderness 🥹🫠🥰 I will be a puddle!

the 'Slow cooker is never wrong' line literally made me gasp and cackle - slow burns are never wrong - they are always the best love stories - this slow burn rollercoaster we've been on for the last 84 years is not wrong - we buddies are not wrong - just like that slow cooker! I love it here 🥰🤡🌈

Helena only eating the take out - not even trying what Eddie had lovingly made - and the face she pulled when she lifted the lid on the slow cooker - she did not like it and wasn't impressed - its making me think we might be getting a homophobic Helena to some degree in our future - you know just to add to her other really great qualities!!!

and yes yes yes to your last line 'Doing things the quick easy way versus slow cooking a relationship (romantic or parent-child)' - that is the crux of it isnt it - slow burns take time but they are infinitely better (nutritionally and taste wise) than a takeout meal alternative - slow burns are made with love and will leave you feeling content and satisfied, while the easy take out option contains little to no love and will leave you feeling either over full and uncomfortable or disappointed and hungry 5 minutes later!

all roads (crock pots, colour theory, chess, ballroom dancing, couches etc) lead to Buddie canon and I feel insane about it! feel free to spiral in my inbox about crockpots (or anything else) whenever you like 💜💜💜

[raconteur-wanpi]

One Piece 1142

Review time!

Starting with the cover story again, Yamato seems to OHKO Who's Who. Lol. Lmao, even. Well, he might get back up later, but I hope he stays down. It's funnier if, after all that set-up, One Hit is all it took.

Anyway, after a "big snake" is seen attacking the school, we get a better look at the teachers! I really like all of their designs, I'll always welcome another ensemble group of wacky characters. Seems the school is named after its principal. Funnily enough his name can be translated as "Fangs" or "Tusks"!

Also I think I saw a translation where Ange is specifically labeled as a teacher of the "official language", a.k.a "Koyogo", the language Oda said the World Government forced everyone in the world to learn as a Lingua Franca. Interesting!

The kids claim the giant snake is "Jörmungandr", so interestingly we have a lot of Norse Mythology references again. Kiba and Saul take good care of it easily, it's fun to see some powerhouses do their silly big shounen action finishing moves.

For some reason my instincts tell me a giant serpent getting hit by a big hammer is some sort of foreshadowing. No idea why, just a gut feeling. Hammers seem to be important this arc.

While these mysterious monsters attack, the children also seem to be falling asleep and start sleepwalking Pied Piper style. They seem to be following Gunko's arrow!

It is however still a mystery whether the power that put them to sleep, and the power the summoned the monsters (we'll talk about that later, don't you worry) are the same or not.

It is soon revealed that these monsters are a manifestation of the children's greatest fears and/or nightmares! That's an incredible power. This is one of those powers that can be utilized very well for character studies, and as I've already said, I can't wait to see the Strawhats nightmares/fears manifested hehehehe. Also I love how Nika is one of these Nightmares, that's very fun. Also yes, you can see that kid's mom in the bottom left.

Not to get my hopes up again, but I am hoping that having a "fear" based power for one of our antagonists, is gonna be a good chance for Usopp Thematic Relevance. He's the guy that grapples with fear every day. Is he going to be the one who will struggle with this power the most? Or the exact opposite, precisely because he's the only Strawhat used to dealing with fear on a daily basis? Who knows, trying not to jinx it with my optimism..... C'mon Oda... Usopp arc... please.....

Anyway, I guess the Nightmare Theming is why I wonder if the kids falling asleep and the Monsters showing up is the result of the same power of not: it could be a situation where they're separate: one power puts the kids to sleep/hypnotizes them, and another power manifests their fears.

But if this is the doing of one Gods Knight only, then this could be a power of Nightmares; making it one and the same. The children are put to sleep, and their nightmares manifest in reality while they do that, like fuel.

Thing is, after we see that, Killingham is given a "good job" and he himself immediately falls asleep, which seems to be his ongoing gag so far. Which begs the question, if this is all his doing (outside of the arrow), then.... is that his devil fruit? Does he really have the Kirin fruit? Can Kirin on One Piece do that? Or does he have like, the Nightmare Fruit or something, and the Kirin thing is like.... something else? Does Imu's powers come into this? No clue whatsoever. We're gonna have to wait.

Also do note Summers sitting in his armchair. Very funny. It came with him so he might as well use it.

And interestingly enough, when asked what she fears the most, Gunko answers: Nika.

Cannot wait to see how this whole deal unfolds.

Now moving to Loki! God he is huge, Hajrudin barely reaches his knees.

I am very very interested in his "if you care about keeping Elbaph safe" line. He is most likely making a threat; if you want to keep it same from me.

But could it be a double entendre. Perhaps he means that he has information that could save Elbaph from the World Government, a sort of "we don't have time, free me so we can stop them".

Maybe it's the former, maybe it's the latter, maybe it's both. It's probably the former, though.

Aaaand here it is. He strikes his Ragnir hammer on the bark of the tree, lightning comes down, and it lights on fire. This panel goes hard. The lighting and the line of action... mwah.

I've already seen debate on what this means for Loki's powers. I've seen people say this confirms the hammer has the devil fruit and not him. Others claim it's a testament to his power, and that it is HIS devil fruit, and that's he's strong enough to use a weakened version of it, even with one Sea Stone shackle. And I've seen people say there's no devil fruit displayed here yet, simply the power and friction of the hammer is able to light the fire like a flint.

Honestly, I have no clue which one is the correct answer! But I am oh so excited to find out.

Very interesting chapter, the arc is finally kicking in and chaos is unfolding!

[simpingforcys]

OH, I ASKED THIS ONCE BEFORE, BUT I WILL ASK AGAIN, what's your favorite thing about turbo/king candy

I'm answering this in the late ass time of night but it's the perfect time let's gooo

I. Love. Everything. About. This. Man. I love him so so much. His style, his laugh, his voice, UGH HIS VOICE, movements, goofyness silly, racing, the JOY he takes in everything he does, his SILLY GOOFYNESS AAAAA, the way his crown always stays on his head no matter what, the BOUNCYness of his body at the smallest movement like a jelly, his adorable self, his UNHINGED SELF, the hint of growl in his voice talking about his possession of the game, his effortless and overall LOVE for racing, his eyes constricting/become smaller when he's absolutely pissed tf off, the authority persona he can pull off even in his short ass 3"0 self still so imposing (pant pant), the little patting he does to sour bill like pls my king do to me pls, the manipulative lil SHIT, but he's an entertaining manipulative lil shit, the way he so effortlessly lies through his teeth and makes it believable, the way he can make others do what he wants on just words alone without the need of force cuz he KNOWS physically he can't do SHIT and I fucking LOVE silver tongue characters HHHHHHHHH, speaking of- that tongue THO?? boy what that DO, that lisp I find so so hot just hhhh sir how dare you, I love the sparkles that always just follow him, on his clothes, his kart, his throne, just ALL of him, the way he just HAS FUN with everything he does (not even MENTIONING THE CYBUG EVERYTHING), the added helmet and gloves when he's racing that even Turbo didn't use??? the bow tie twirl it does when he's surprised, he MUST have coded that in, and oh- KNOWING HOW TO FKING CODE, whether someone told him or he learned on his own, being able to manipulative an entire world for YOU, creating a new model/body for himself, like it's TERRIFYING to know your entire existence and even YOUR OWN MIND can be manipulated from a couple of cables just below you and he fully took advantage of that, I love everything of his design, the purple sparkling coat, the candy wrapper bow tie, the heart designed hand cuffs, candy cane neck collar, the POOFY pants<3333, the crown with the balls that look like Ferrero Rocher chocolates, the chocolate dipped design, his jellybean nose<333 my second favorite candy, the purple eye shadow he looks so hot with and add to his for some reason constant bedroom eyes look, the rosy blushy cheeks that perk up when he smiles and giggles, the bushy eyes rows that make him SO expressive with every emotion EVEN WHEN THEYRE OFF COLOR SO OFTEN IN HIS MERCH DEPENDING ON WHAT THEY FEEL LIKE THAT DAY, his smile lines that curve with every smile, how soft his face, skin and lips look and bet they would feel just LOOK, the way his lips sometimes go expressive on the 'ooh's sounds so cartoony but also make me wanna kiss him so much, how soft his hands look even with finger nails cuz of course gotta look chibi and cartoony in the new game, the way he MOVES around with the microphone, TOTAL show off man built for the spotlight, beautiful perfect host like imagine a GAME SHOW WITH HIM AS HOST?? the little hip sway when he closes the door of his kart, the way he dives into his collar when he dodges down so CUTELY, his silly name puns and candy phrases that even pass on to the magic kingdoms game, so on point,

the two tail coats behind him that HONESTLY WORK SO WELL with the later dual cerci tails in his cybug form like a foreshadow, the little button behind his jacket that looks like a Mario coin (and I haven't looked at a picture of him since I opened this ask, this is just by memory he's just Aaaaaaa), the whole white chocolate design aesthetic with his royal racer kart and honestly himself too with the inner shirt, the fact that his "fans" are POPCORN, LIKE THAT'S NOT A CANDY but they're still there even tho like yeah animal crackers aren't candy either BUT ITS SO FUNNY to think Turbo went "I need my own little 'crowd' to fit in with the other racers, uh uh, POPCORN, yeah that was popular in the 80s", the fact he let his jealousy, vain and possessiveness for control get to him to destroy an entire game, like I fully believe he would PHYSICALLY PERSONALLY unplug a game if he could, I just love him so so much, Alan Tudyk, you did amazing with him, I genuinely can not see anyone else that would of taken him and made him AS GOOD AND ICONIC as he did, I just love him so so much, I adore him, I need him, I adore him, and I know it's gone so far when I found myself saying "I would let the world burn for this man," if he told me he hated another game and wanted it gone, disappeared, killing his competition, I would do it for him, anything to have him with me still. I adore everything about him.

And I haven't even gotten to TURBO since he got 24 SECONDS OF 3D SCREEN TIME (YES I COUNTED AND TIMED).

what was the question? oh favorite thing?

I'm very big on voices. so. voice. voice

[unknownteapot]

In light of Courtney mentioning they would possibly want to direct a movie some day during the Q+A, what do you think a Smosh movie would look like with this current cast? Would it be similar to the original Smosh Movie? I'm imagining something similar to Smost the Sitcom Live, like a sitcom comedy maybe? Anyway you don’t have to answer, I’m just curious 🤗

anon, you are NOT ready i was BORN for this question and i'm about to type up a storm so strap in!! thank you for sending it in!!! me being a yapper + film student is not boding well for me rn...

i completely see what you mean about a sitcom/comedy type thing, their vibes during ssl were immaculate, but i also think if they *were* ever going to make a movie it'd be something vastly different from what they've done before just to keep it fresh and give people something never seen before. which is why..

i propose to you: a horror comedy about the cast getting stuck at the smosh office overnight (more below the cut)

hear me out HEAR ME OUT god im so passionate about this. this type of premise would avoid the cast having to play characters per se, they'd kind of just play 'themselves' so it's easier for the existing smosh fanbase to transition to this new movie format without it feeling gimicky/overproduced- the movie begins with just a typical end-of-video outro into the camera for smosh games (maybe only main cast and not freelance? bc full cast might be too many people for a movie idk) and then cuts out to the cast getting off the soundstage like hehe good shoot whatever whatever. but. wait a second. why is it past midnight?? quickly they're realising everyone's gone and its WAY late and they're locked in. all the clocks have stopped around the office. phones are all out of service (but show a weird little digital snake symbol as foreshadowing to something ;)

so now they're like uh-oh. what the fuck do we do. and promptly the cast splits into groups/pairs that all deal with this in their own way the movie would cut back and forth between. maybe amanda and angela deciding to steal alcohol from the kitchen and then snoop on people's desks?? finding out ian has a love locket of anthony in his drawer?? damien grows mushrooms under his desk??? olivia collect's people's candy wrappers?????? idk it could be ANYTHING which makes thsi SO FUNNY to me

BUT this is where the horror comes in, because suddenly people start going missing. and its not fun and games at all. the air feels weird, its like 3 am, everyone's losing their shit a little bit. they start regrouping to see who they can find "hey have you guys seen Angela?" "No, but Courtney just went missing too." "Guys I don't feel well.." AND LITTLE BY LITTLE. THEY START SEEING APPARITIONS. SMOSH CHARACTERS. WHO HAUNT THEM.

like i'm sorry. tell me it would NOT be hilarious for Mental Illness to come haunt the cast in an eerie ghost form??? Augustus??? insulting the cast (but hitting truths about them) making them think about their life decisions??? COURTNEY FREAKING MILLER???? JUST YELLING???? TELEPORTING AROUND THEM AND SCARING THE SHIT OUT OF THEM>?>>>>??? god the jumpscares they could do with this insane INSANE. BIZANKA???????????????? im

BUT NOT JUST SMOSH CHARACTERS- fnaf characters in their eerie ass suits, chica demanding Amanda why she held the door so hard that one time and didn't let her in meanwhile everyone is terrified and somewhat sobbing

so now its CHAOS, they're trying to stick together to avoid getting haunted, they're trying to find their missing friends, they're running around to the footsteps of animatronics, when suddenly they find a door to some storage closet open. they walk in.

there they are!!!! all their missing friends lying passed out on the floor and.. what's this strange hissing noise and why is it kinda foggy in there.. "Oh my god!" Amanda yells out in relief that none of this was real (or was it), "There's a gas leak at the smosh office!" And then promptly passes out. So do they all. THE END.

maybe a post-credits scene of ian and anthony coming into the office in the morning and finding a MESS and them all passed out like god. we gotta put baby gates in here or some shit. they keep messing stuff up!! OR BETTER. they dont know about the cast at first and look at each other with knowing smirks like "wanna go get high :)" and then they head towards where all their friends are passed out and we find out it was actually their secret 'gas leak' spot where they get high on the regular from the gas. ian pouting like "damnit. they found our secret spot :(" anthony shruggs like "oh well" and then they prance around the room trying to huff the gas like idiots and also pass out.

more insane ideas idk how to incorporate yet:

a comedic bit where Amanda bonds with Chica from fnaf and reads her tarot cards (amanda would SO be the person to chat her up after getting over her initial fear and be like 'hey, you just need love, honey. i get it, we've all been there') and its this insane horror yet adorable moment where these two world collide?? BONUS: if the rest of the cast hide in a corner and look at her like "how is she doing this???"

Tim the IT guy actually turning out to be a hologram that haunts all the computers with snake graphics (from that one smoffice sketch 'it could happen to any one of us!') and actually gets his energy from sucking out ram from people's devices

Props and shit moving!!! just so much potential

INNOVATIVE FORMAT:

AND a great way to introduce horror elements could be through this whole 'found footage' thing- you know how in some movies you find like someone's security cam recording etc etc. they could SO integrate elements of that because the smoffice is primarily for content creation so there's LOTS of cameras everywhere

"Hey uh.. guys I think this camera's still rolling." And its us watching footage of that room through it MASTERFUL. or people recording tiktoks and we watch through their screen recording but we see stuff in the background moving before they do YEAH. the HORROR OF IT. god i love movies

okay for everyone's sanity i will now stop i was actually not expecting to type this much- anon who sent this ask, i owe you everything!! im now obsessed with this idea i wish this was real w o w

[therainscene]

i was just reading your theories and the time travel/never ending story one really gave me shivers. it works with the small scale of this story, whereas often time-based ideas in works of fiction involve sci fi or space travel where things are much more futuristic, like interstellar or arrival.

seeing as back to the future and a wrinkle in time are obviously referents, i am wondering what you think the narrative and artistic significance of a time loop storyline for the show would be? is it the duffers just paying homage to their fav exciting twists from cinema, or would this choice have another meaning other than being super cool? even shows like true detective explored the mystery of non-linear time, but none of these shows address the intrinsic paradox of a causal loop: namely, that it's impossible in a linear timeline (for e.g. the future person would have had to survive whatever the threat from the present is in order to live and be able to go back in time and save themself, etc). so stranger things would have to really hammer home its belief in non-linear time for this causal loop theory to work.

unless... their emphasis about time isn't going to be scientific at all, but about human emotion: aka perceived non-linear time? we have hints towards this in the show: most explicitly, el mentioning that time speeds up or slows down according to how you feel.

all the symbolism like henry's clocks and will's apparent week in the UD could reflect this, and i think this would also work well with all the experimentation themes: how el's sense of place and time differs compared to someone who hasnt lived in a lab, the way music changes your world, etc...

so basically what i'm asking is: do you think that the timey wimey stuff in the show is going to be revealed as perception-based, emotion-based, almost solipsistic from (possibly) will's pov? that time as an objective thing doesnt matter, because it's our experience of the world that we feel, and so 'real' and 'not real' don't matter because if something feels real to us, it IS real?

i personally would love this, because to me ST is a human drama not a sci-fi first and foremost, so i want the sci-fi aspects to reflect something about humanity, rather than be the main point of the story.

[Hi anon, thank you for your thoughtful ask! I'm really sorry it took me the better part of a year to get around to answering this; I wasn't ignoring you, the executive dysfunction just won this round.]

I would argue that time travel stories always reflect something about humanity, regardless of how focused on the sci-fi aspects they are.

Arrival's alien-induced visions of the future are about embracing the worst parts of life knowing that the best parts are worth it;

Terminator's self-creating time paradox is about the irresistible spark of hope in the face of insurmountable man-made horrors;

Interstellar's time dilation is about the love and sacrifice parents make to secure their children's futures.

Sci-fi is fundamentally about exploring humanity's relationship with the world around us -- how we manipulate it, how we survive it, how we help and hurt each other in the process -- and imo Stranger Things doesn't particularly depart from the conventions of the genre just because it's so character-focused.

So I don't think it would really make a difference whether its time shenanigans are "real" or just a trick of human perception -- so long as the Duffers can stick the landing, then it'll resonate with our emotional relationship to time and growing up either way.

But I also suspect you're right: the causal loop theory you liked was a fun idea but I don't think it reflects the show's foreshadowing all that well.

Like you said, El alluded to time travel being emotion-based--

--and Henry describes his frustration with time in terms of arbitrary human ways of structuring it.

Which is more likely: that there's some secret sci-fi time travel mechanic the show just hasn't revealed yet, or that Vecna's going to use the mind powers we already know he has to fuck with people's perceptions of time?

My honest opinion? ...I think it could be both.

For one thing, the Duffers are in the habit of hiding big reveals of what's really going on (e.g., Vecna's existence prior to S4); for another, The First Shadow revealed that Brenner's backstory has a lot in common with The Philadelphia Experiment, suggesting we might be in store for some sort of inter-dimensional timey-wimey mess created by the lab.

But equally, the perception-based foreshadowing is (1) blatant as hell; (2) a more promising avenue for explaining why the Upside Down is a copy of Hawkins frozen on the day Will lost his innocence; and (3) just generally a better fit for Henry and Will's connection.

Both at once sounds like the sort of thing ST would do: give a sci-fi plot to El, a psychological horror plot to Will, and have them dovetail satisfyingly at the end for a big emotional payoff.

[pompomchihuahua]

Hi!! I want to say I really love your analysis, and I was curious about your interpretation of one: it’s very obvious that Tanjirou affected Genya’s character deeply, but I’ve never seen someone go into how deeply he affected his character, from breaking Genya’s arm to being one of Genya’s closest friend. So on an analytical level, how do you Tanjirou played his role in Genya’s life? And do you think Tanjirou and Genya are supposed to mirror Masachika and Sanemi?

You're so so kind! Thank you so much! I do these analyses for fun so it's always so inspiring to see that people like them! And I suppose this is the part where I admit I am a bit biased here: Genya and Tanjirou's dynamic is one of my favorites in the show!

So, to start, let's go back to the very first meeting.

Tanjirou's very first impression of Genya, even before he punches Kanata, is that he is one of five (four that he can see) survivors out of potentially dozens who went in. He is dirty, demanding, and angry and willing to hit a child to get what he wants.

Tanjirou does what he thinks is best at the moment to intervene; he grabs Genya's arm and warns him in very plain words that if he does not let go he will break Genya's arm. Genya does not take his threat at face value and challenges him to do it, leading to, surprise! A broken arm.

What's interesting is, though clearly pissed, Genya does back down. Tanjirou's violence achieves its short-term goal. As for the effect it has on Genya. Well, the next time he sees Genya is at the end of the season.

My boy is feeling petty, going out of his way to bump Tanjirou in the hallway. This scene is mostly a nice bit of setting up the foreshadowing for Genya's ability with his new build and scent. Though I would like to pay special attention to Tanjirou noticing Genya's scent as I do have a theory there.

Now we get a better look into how Genya feels about Tanjirou in SSV proper, starting with the bath scene.

I'd just like to say, I don't blame Genya one bit for dunking Tanjirou in the bath. First, this boy breaks your arm and then he comes acting all buddy-buddy, yelling your personal business, and stripping naked in front of you? Calling you by your first name like your friends? Genya already wants nothing to do with Tanjirou and he definitely doesn't want to answer any of his questions, much less have him naked and in his personal space.

Genya is actually fairly tolerant of Tanjirou all things considered. It's implied Tanjirou broke into his room with a bowl of rice crackers, sat there, and told him the entire Kotetsu story from start to finish before Genya yelled at him to go away. At which point Genya points out that they can't be friends because Tanjirou broke his arm, showing Genya has no desire to interact with someone he views as just a source of pain.

When Tanjirou tells Genya it was his own fault, he, interestingly, doesn't deny it, implying that Genya does agree that he deserved it. So, Genya knows he brought that upon himself but he still doesn't want to be around Tanjirou, likely because he has a history with people that react with violence.

Instead of denying that he deserved it, he protests Tanjirou using his first name. Tanjirou tries once again to entice Genya into being his friend with rice crackers at which point Genya has had enough and tells him to get lost. This is when Tanjirou notices his teeth and the conversation shifts.

I do find Genya's avoidance here to be fascinating because, in my opinion, it's more evidence that he's ashamed of his ability. He tries to tell Tanjirou he's imagining things, but of course, Tanjirou being the little weirdo he is, has the tooth. He hits Genya's threshold of tolerance and gets kicked out.

The very next scene we have Tanjirou saying this: "You like him, too, Nezuko? ... I'd like to get closer to Genya."

Which brings me to my question. Why does Tanjirou like Genya?

He says it himself when he asks "I wonder why Genya's so mad all the time?" Genya is very angry, especially around Tanjirou and their first impression wasn't exactly a good one.

This brings me back to that theory I mentioned with Genya's scent. Now, this is pure speculation and headcanon, but, we know that kindness and gentleness can be heard and smelled in the demon slayer universe.

What if, the reason Tanjirou gets attached to Genya so quickly is because he can smell his underlying gentle nature?

At the end of the day, this is just a theory I had, it's never explicitly stated why Tanjirou takes such a deep interest in Genya.

We see Genya next in the heat of battle when he saves Tanjirou from being electrocuted and shoots the heads off of Sekido and Karaku. We have Genya having his moment with Aizetsu and then the next time we see him...

Tanjirou notes that he does look like a demon but never once does he outright call Genya a demon, even feeling secure enough to turn his back on him to go help Nezuko. This is most likely due to his scent once again. Genya probably doesn't smell exactly like a demon so Tanjirou can at least tell he's still human even if he looks "like that."

We have the infamous choking scene that shows the first shift in how Genya views Tanjirou. When Tanjirou supports Genya's goal of becoming a Hashira unconditionally. Genya thinks it's a ruse at first, but can't resist the genuine innocence in Tanjirou's eyes.

And then he follows through. Genya points out he has to be the one to behead the upper rank to get the Hashira position, so despite it being much easier for Tanjirou to just find the demon directly, he decides to give Genya the chance to do it instead and relays where to find the demon. He redirects everyone to help to support Genya in cutting off the fifth demon's head.

He saves Genya again the moment before his head is about to be caved in, telling him not to give in and promising that he'll protect him. When Genya sees Aizetsu coming for Tanjirou, it's in that moment where he accepts his role in the fight.

He's the one that's better suited to doing the protecting while Tanjirou goes on the offensive. This is the moment when Genya really accepts that Tanjirou wants only the best and that it's up to him to put his feelings aside for the greater good as well. From that point on, Genya becomes a much more cooperative player on the battlefield, actively warning and protecting Tanjirou whenever he gets the chance.

From helping save Mitsuri to directly prying the demon's arms off of Tanjirou's head. He actively looks to Tanjirou for direction. He tries to get down the cliff and help Nezuko during the sun-conquering scene.

And then of course, we have this moment of acceptance, where, despite Tanjirou having everything Genya could ever want, (family, power, etc) he's still happy for him.

And then we have another pivotal moment for Genya; the confrontation with Sanemi. By this point, Tanjirou is fully rooting for Genya, even putting aside his dislike of Sanemi in wanting to see the brothers reconcile. When things get violent, Tanjirou dives between them, saving Genya.

He not only asserts that Sanemi has no right to interfere in Genya's life if he won't even claim him as his brother but has this to say about Genya: "Without Genya, we couldn't have defeated that upper rank!"

It's then that Genya's eyes widen with a realization: That to Tanjirou, he's worth something. Not just inherently as a person, but as a comrade.

The next time we see Genya is at the stone estate when Tanjirou is trying to push the boulder. Right away, you can tell this interaction is almost a 180 from the interactions Genya had with Tanjirou during the beginning of SSV.

Right away we hear that Tanjirou has been trying to get in contact with Genya after the incident (possibly adding Genya to his long list of pen pals?) and Genya explains he's been on lockdown (it's called being grounded, baby).

One of the first things Genya does is apologize and thank Tanjirou (which Tanjirou bashfully brushes off. He really doesn't get thanked for his actions enough). From there they have... a normal conversation. Genya lightly teases Himejima by making fun of him saying "namu namu" and his teaching being bad, he offers to lend Tanjirou one of his mirrors and teaches Tanjirou how to use repetitive motion. It goes from sunset to twilight, implying they sat there and talked for at least an hour.

For their goodbyes, Genya warns Tanjirou not to overdo it and then says that Tanjirou isn't the kind of guy to listen anyway, meaning he's already sussed Tanjirou out. I find his concern here to be sweet, as it shows that he really does regard Tanjirou as his friend at this point.

Genya even offers to help Tanjirou cook! While they're cooking, Genya asks what gets Tanjirou worked up and his almost immediate concern when Tanjirou looks even a little sad is so sweet to see. After which he expresses that if anyone can do it, he thinks Tanjirou can, showing he has an honest belief in his abilities.

After Tanjirou moves his boulder, he shares another meal with Genya (and Inosuke) where Tanjirou reassures Genya that Shinobu is likely concerned about his health, Tanjirou also takes his side in the little scuffle between Genya and Inosuke. This scene is important because it's where in canon he reveals that Sanemi had never hated Genya.

In the light novels we see that helping the brothers reconcile has fully become one of Tanjirou's main goals by this line: "Now Tanjirou was further away than ever from mediating a reconciliation between Genya and his brother."

Finally, we reach the Infinity Castle arc. Where Genya takes direct inspiration from Tanjirou to keep on fighting.

He thinks of Tanjirou, and looks to him for inspiration when he can't force himself to move, and it is in that moment, when he remembers how Tanjirou considered him a genuinely valuable ally, that he finds it.

When the crow delivers the news of Muichirou and Genya's deaths, Tanjirou weeps. He is one of the people seen pushing Tanjirou up when he becomes a demon and is one of the people he sees going to the afterlife.

Tanjirou played an incredibly crucial part to Genya's character arc, but Genya was also important to Tanjirou as well.

Tanjirou is Genya's first genuine friend and the first person to believe in Genya's capabilities as an equal. He humanizes Genya and helps bring back his gentle nature.

As for whether Genya and Tanjirou are meant to be a parallel to Sanemi and Masachika, in many ways, yes.

Masachika also served as Sanemi's first friend and was the one to humanize him. He saw Sanemi as a valuable ally back when he was just "some stupid kid" hunting demons without a Nichirin sword.

All in all, I absolutely adore the dynamic between Genya and Tanjirou, to the point where I will admit I do ship the two to an extent. However, I value their platonic bond just as much<3

Thank you so much for the ask again!

[greenerteacups]

Hey GT, glad to see you're back! I'm still halfway thru Lionheart (just read the world cup chapter, what a delight) and your notes got me wondering.

I'm sure you've probably answered this before but how do you manage to make the world feel so rich? I'm not that into the fandom so I don't know If there are some things fanon agreed upon or if it is your own musings about the magic world. Like Draco explaining to Hermione about portkeys or how many languages Krum speaks.

How do you decide what's important enough to get a mention? Where do you go when you need answers and Canon is not enough to provide it?

Thanks for the kind words, and for the question! It's a matter of personal taste, like anything. Some writers prefer an athletic, streamlined plot, with only as much worldbuilding as you absolutely need (how does Panem run a command economy of 4.5 million people primarily on fossil fuels when its coal district has a population of less than 10,000? fuck off! who cares! they're Y/A dystopias about a TV show where teens beat each other to death!). Some writers, on the other hand, won't bother to start the story until they know the pH of the soil in every region of the world they're writing about. I'm somewhere on the second half of the scale, in that I'll give details that aren't strictly necessary to the plot, just because I like to feel like I'm writing about a world where real, extraneous things can happen. Some details are foreshadowing; some details are Special Mouseketools that will Help Us Later; and sometimes, you just get to know a cool fact about portkeys.

I guess part of the fun of building out a world is getting to think about Everything, which is what my brain normally does. I have a pretty broad body of literature as a starting gate, so there's plenty of room to play. E.g., when I started writing Krum, I thought about how he's not super fluent in English in canon, and that naturally made me ask why, because he clearly has taken English, so either he only started lessons recently or it hasn't been a priority for him; and then I went "wait, what's his first language? Bulgarian, right? But Durmstrang isn't — hang on—" and then I pulled up an actual map of Europe, which led me to realize that he wouldn't likely be speaking his first language at Durmstrang, which means he already had to become bilingual just to start his wizarding education, and that explains part of why he doesn't have a ton of time/effort to spare for a third language, plus he'd probably have a translator available whenever he traveled with a team because he's a B.F.D. — etc., etc. And then you keep thinking about that until you remember that you're supposed to be writing a fic, and you scramble to get back to doing that. Only now, you have worldbuilding! Congrats.

To try for an even halfway useful answer to your question: worldbuilding becomes most important when it creates limitations, because limitations define your characters and give them chances to develop/reveal themselves. So the details of portkeys become important because they explain the limitations of magical travel, which is a big nebulous ??? in the original series, since the introduction of teleportation via Apparating means that all other forms of transportation become inefficient by comparison. It also means the limitations introduced by travel — that is, not all characters can be in all places at once — also go away, because anyone can be anywhere immediately. From a narrative perspective, this sucks massive horse ass. Hence: I dumped a shit ton of limitations on Apparation (i.e., (1) it requires a ton of energy, (2) it's really fucking hard, (3) it's really fucking dangerous, (4) it's more of both the farther away you're going, (5) it's more of both the more people you take with you, (6) you can't Apparate without a clear destination in mind which means (7) you need to have been there already, and so (8) some people prefer not to do it). Hence, I also put limitations on portkeys (i.e., they have to be set up well in advance, you need to identify out both destinations precisely beforehand, and the calculations are difficult to do). Those limitations, and the Watsonian explanations you create for them, are your worldbuilding. They're what make the world feel real, because they give it grit and character. They give you a more complete sense of what you can and cannot do.

The rest of it is taste and preference, really; it's what interests you, and what parts of the world you want to explore. That's going to be unique to every author, and that's the beauty of worldbuilding — it reflects the parts of the world that you like to think about.

[fairytaehl]

Do you have any thoughts on what happened at the end of ep 22 in LGIEF? What is the drama trying to tell us by having Miaomiao have a nightmare that links gaining 100% favorability with the end of the world? Why is the system glitching out? And Mu Sheng seems quite shifty. He's not meeting her eyes and avoiding the topic. During the first watch through, I thought this wasn't a dream. Mu Sheng had "awaken" and that's why his favorability spikes to 100%, which glitches out the system. The dream must end, and he doesn't want it to, so his favorability drops down. Ep 32 disproves that idea. He doesn't regain his memories and reach 100% until the final episode.

I would translate 误给 as mistakenly instead of falsely.

The change in the background music gives off an uneasy and ominous feeling when he says this.

---

Would have been so great to see this scene acted out instead of referenced to! Miaomiao has these two really fun drunk scenes in the novel. After ep 20, it's very noticeable that the show is stingy about showing moments where Miaomiao expresses her love and affection for Mu Sheng. Instead of they're both crazy about each other like in the novel, its mostly Mu Sheng looking at Miaomiao adoringly.

what an interesting question!!! to answer it i went back and rewatched that scene, moments of ep 32, 23, and 1.

if i am seeing it at face value; it could just be a nightmare that she has, which is mixed with her losing her memories as time is progressing. i agree that the music seems to portray an underlying meaning, but if we take it as a type of foreshadowing for what was to come. in that sense, mu sheng is merely trying to ease her mind since she seems worried, and hes simply happy to just be with her.

however, now that youve brought it to my attention… here is my wonky take: ziqi did awaken, but didn't want the story to end yet, and took himself back out. this is such a bullshit take but its fun to think about.

he couldve had his surgery, was in recovery and was in an in between state of waking up but went back to sleep (we dont get a timeline as to when LGIEF is released after his surgery to my knowledge, so whether hes having surgery the entire time miaomiao is "dreaming" is unclear, though i suppose it makes the most sense. still, he could be unconscious post-surgery while shes still dreaming. (and, if im to get real technical about it, overnight surgeries are standardly for emergencies, so i mentioned how he couldve transmigrated before her, and if we are to believe his surgery happened during the day and he was unconscious through the night, both these things could be possible (him transmigrating first, and him waking up momentarily))), and realized he was in the real world instead of his own dream. now, when i say this, consider it as that half-lucid feeling, where you are aware of the dream that youre having to become an active participant almost. id like to think that is how he couldve been while becoming aware in the CD world, meaning he was waking up in the real world, but couldnt wake up completely just yet due to recovery and/or not wanting to. again, this is all crap, i know, LOL.

so, miaomiaos nightmare would then be real. ziqi did reach 100% because when she said that she wasnt really lin yu, i think that did something to him, i mean, just the way he looks at her…

also, the pan to the candlelight, and maybe it was just for cinematic purposes, but after reviewing the eps i mentioned earlier, i dont have any connection to that if it meant anything.

the ziqi we see in the morning could then also be ziqi rather than mu sheng. he tells her to forget about it, and hugs her so gently, wanting to cherish these few moments with her, still unable to say how he feels. but, it also could be mu sheng, and i say this in a way where its mu sheng with the unsettling feeling that he should reassure her, and something is making him feel like hes missing something, hence why he acts how he does.

absolutely nonsensical theory. now that youve read it, ill use images to support it LOL.

the way he stares at her here always felt like someone realizing how in love they were, not just because he cares for her, or because shes messing with his head. it seems like real, genuine, "i love miaomiao" and the way he looks down in the last panel is a bit solemn? in terms of my theory, as if this was when ziqi was awakened in this world, knows that its miaomiao, but is sad that she doesnt know its him.

and then theres the candle. again, probably has no ties to anything, but still.

i think its telling how worried he looks. while you could absolutely say hes just a concerned boyfriend over his drunk girlfriend, he has more of a grip on her hand than she does his.

this felt like he was masking how he felt by joking. but as i said, too, it could be mu sheng back already, with that feeling of unease over what shes saying.

his face is just... weird. it has to mean something... did he see the statue too?

and it almost seems like he doesnt want her to get her memory back out of fear that she'll want to go back home, to the ziqi who is not as brave and cool as mu sheng, where he would struggle to be as impressive and fearless.

otherwise, YES, the show IS stingy about miaomiaos loves for him!!! i wish we got filler episodes of all of them and their relationships and building character and stuff. serious shame, bc it affects the dynamic and makes miaomiao, who already is less dimensional bc of the memory loss, now loses even that part of her.

so happy to discuss this stuff with you, im always open to it!