#ALSO HOPE IM NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT SAW THIS PARALLEL

[lunarin64art]

That feeling when he can't stand to see you that way, no matter what you do, no matter what you say😩😭💔

[danswideslit]

slime video analysed thru horror with a queer pov

kay it gets its own post because im stil aaa bout it

This is just what I remember/was able to brush up on, since I studied this in 2019, so if anything is outdated I apologise, feel free to correct me, I love to learn!!

also I realized it has all become a lil rambly as I couldn’t contain my excitement soz

So this is my essay on the parallels of queerness in the horror genre and how DanAndPhilCRAFTS - Slime (2024) could be analysed in this light, especially given the creators’ personal history with the topic.

Among the classic tropes of the horror genre, is the topic of losing ones innocence.

Most emphasised is the loss of ones virginity, as a synonym for the innocence, although the innocence as such has many forms. As mentioned in Scream (1996), you may not survive if you have sex, if you drink/do drugs, or if you claim to “be right back” or in other ways investigate to satisfy your own curiosity.

The parallels to the christian church and societal norms are already obvious. If you deviate from the path of purity, it will lead to death and suffering. The only way to survive the night, is to stay pure. Do not be tempted by mere curiosities, for they will be the death of you, essentially.

In the same light, Baphomet is most often portrayed with characteristics from both the male and female human anatomy, and can be used as a metaphor for the inherent evil of gender expressions beyond the societal norm.

In the same light, monsters in various movies are often shown with a deviance in gender and/or sexuality. This role of ‘sexual outsider’ has, for years, been a symbolism that queer people have connected with. The has only further skewed the ‘stay pure’ narrative, as it brings on an ambience of kill or be killed. An either/or of sorts. But it has also made monsters and villains walk the line between sexy and terrifying, which naturally leads people to be enticed. We are sexual creatures afterall.

Often the monsters have an aura of masculine energy, as they make people cower, and the stereotypical jocks abandon their hardcore exterior. This, on one hand birthed the “the boyfriend is the killer” trope, but it also gave way for diving into morality, how many crimes can a villain get away with, as long as the character resonates with the audience.

This is demonstrated in Jennifers Body (2009) which was, at first, marketed to the male audience, making the monster Jennifer an attractive young woman, essentially getting the film marked as “Twilight for boys” by film critic Robert Ebert.

The ratings, however, were lackluster and claimed the movie was neither funny nor scary and thus was unsuccessful. Jennifer wasn’t “as hot as you’d hope she’d be” and essentially the “lesbians-for-the-male-gaze” marketing to boys 17+ failed. 

However, many women and young girls between 17-25 saw the character of Jennifer as empowering and resonated with the film. My theory is that the men did not like being the victim, being killed my something that they are supposed to be worse than. But the women saw a strength in the conflict between what is essentially two sides of the same existence - on one hand the rage of the injustice and gender inequality, and on the other hand Needy, who follows every character trope connected to the “last girl standing.” Except even she is tainted in the end, killing Jennifer and losing her innocence. (more talk about innocence, murder/virginity bla bla bla, okay but this essay aint about that)

All this plays a role in how the queerness of DanAndPhilCRAFTS - slime (2024) can be interpreted. Throughout all four installments of the narrative, Dan is seen being guided by Phil and scolded when he doesn’t do it right. Phil seems not at all surprised when Dans glitter face turns satanic, and by the third video, Phil hands the control over as he gives himself away.

Essentially, the indoctrination of Dans role in Phils devotion is cult-like. Cults are often hidden behind a facade of “found family” before the true behind-the-scenes terror is revealed. Dan is evidently comfortable in letting a more experienced person guide the way, despite his own hesitance. He knows that he cant do this halfway.

also the idea of Phil rising from the dead, during Easter… Jesus Christ, where would we even begin (lol)

But beyond that symbolism, It is the hesitance in Dans nature that seems to point to the “purity being tainted” horror trope. Phils devotion to Him is evident, but Dan seems more so to be devoted to Phil. A follower. Believing whatever Phil believes to be true. A Billy and Stu, Scream situation, if you will. The subtext of two lovers and the blurred lines of love and death, which has been analysed and discussed a whole while by smarter people than me. 

Dans hesitance to follow Phil guiding him to the other (queer) side. The penetrative stab and the menacing disarray of emotions on Dans face afterwards. This was anything but a selfish act, but he gave into the curiosity, he is not the last survivor, he has joined Him. This ritual was giving into love, without trying to contain, rationalise, or diminish any part of it. 

(Kind of how like dan, selfproclaimidly, would still be a ‘Daniel in denial’ if Phil hadn’t come into his life, because Phil ‘led him astray’ but he’s very okay with it and he has embraced it, and he’s happier giving in instead of fighting it?? Too far??)

[dekusleftsock]

Sigh… the newest chapter.

Very beautiful, very wonderful. It’s gorgeous looking, so much time and meaning put behind every single panel.

These two panels have been the most interesting to me though.

The first, where the last tear falls away, and the second, where the first leaves flow freely through the spread.

And don’t you worry, I saw that parallel immediately.

“And save people by winning.”

Still, I can’t help but feel as though these panels are still SO DIFFERENT from then!

First of all, the light in Izuku’s eye, the one that really makes the admiration and love pop in this image—it’s missing. Completely.

And, in the second one, where the tears have fallen and the leaves have come, that one is still shaded in darkness. Izuku still has no light.

So yes, has Izuku calmed down? Absolutely, but it still has this underlying melancholic atmosphere. Everyone else has a sense of success, everyone else is THANKFUL that Katsuki has saved allmight from the brink of death, he has won by saving someone—but don’t we all remember Bakugou Katsuki Rising?

You know, the chapters where everyone thought Izuku was just SO heroic and SO amazing, except for Katsuki who knew that something was very very wrong.

And this time it isn’t Izuku almost dying for everyone’s safety, it’s Katsuki—can Izuku’s heart really handle that right now? Right after he just got up?

Can Izuku control himself under all this weight?

(Ofc I gotta throw in the girls, they’re the representatives of love for this series for christs sake)

Izuku is selfish, we all know this now, so where will this selfishness take him?

Because I know for damn sure that, if I have Izuku’s character right, if I have Hori’s themes down…

Idk I just wanna see him lose control. Right in front of Katsuki. Because my god this boy can mask his queerness when he wants to.

Because what happened to THIS?

Where’s that melodramatic passion?

Why is he not allowed to see it Izuku?

So I can see two ways this can go:

Izuku, at some point while Katsuki is awake and alive, loses his shit at Katsuki getting hurt or a comment that targets Katsuki. The way he WANTS to lose his shit.

Izuku attempts to sacrifice himself much like Himiko did for Ochako, solidifying their parallels even more. (Himiko is not dead and I don’t mean that in the “oh I’m delulu!” way. Y’all it just doesn’t make sense you guys realize that right. The same way it didn’t make sense to kill Katsuki. LIKE COME ON)

Personally, while I COULD see Izuku doing that, because he would do anything for Katsuki, I don’t think he’s gonna have the option to. Not only that, but I think that the first option is far more interesting for ALLLLLL the reasons above.

Izuku is known for being sacrificial, it would be far more interesting to have Katsuki have to assure him and calm him down in some way (it’s also the queer connection. I find this extremely important. We need a scene for bkdk like we had for the spirited away scene for tgck). Not only that but Izuku very much needs to have that moment where the story creates that wall that directly tells him he needs to change. It needs to challenge him, emotionally. And not in the panic, big fight way, but in the “Katsuki has to see the things Izuku still performs for him” way.

Katsuki needs to see how Izuku feels, because Izuku isn’t good at telling him that.

AND HE STILL HASNT

HOW LONG WILL YOU DRAG THIS SLOW BURN HORI IM SO.

Anyway, my main point is that Izuku WONT be able to control himself anymore. Just one more thing, one more comment said in just the right way, and it’s over.

That confrontation is the one that I’m waiting for. Because Izuku still isn’t happy, this chapter isn’t happy—it’s laced with insecurity, despair, heartache, and a deep sense of loss.

And it’s hopeful! Very very hopeful, because that’s what mha IS, but you can’t read this chapter and tell me that Izuku right now is happy, in love, over the fact that it’s Katsuki who has to save allmight.

[daftpatience]

heurhgh. thinkin abt the prince and the sea witch AU because i am an ocean boy and and and theres so much to thinkabout with this one!!!! i love aus that tap into classic fairytales becasue theres so much to work with!!! connections to make and parallels to draw

context and thoughts under tha cut cus this au sorta escaped me at first and there's very little stuff about it in english

the original au came from a leaflet that was bundled with volume 8 on toranoana:

rough translation explains that mermaid princess hinaichi rescued prince ronaldo, and sea witch draluc offers to give her legs to meet him again (and if he doesn't like her she'll turn into seafoam) which she declines. (literally what she says is "no need!" and the big words to the side of her say "no regrets" which is hilarious.) thats the end of the story and ronaldo is left alone. also, john is a sea turtle that lives in a clam.

im lifting my own headcanons and such from the original little mermaid story (not so much the didney one) where the prince doesn't see the mermaid and instead falls in love with this woman who comes to help him from a nearby temple (who he doesn't realize is actually the princess he's betrothed to later.) in this au that's draluc who was observing from a distance. (i just drew a half sunken agora and im calling that a temple. watever. its refd from one of the old arts and i think its pretty)

i like the idea that ronaldo exaggerates his own memory of spotting draluc that day due to the distance making details difficult paired with the fact that he was probably a little delirious. the idea that he doesn't immediately put together that draluc is the person he saw is kinda fun 2 me, and of course he'd make up some beautiful girl in his head. of course he would.

im messing with some ideas about draluc deciding to meddle with ronaldo instead - does he offer to turn him into a merman to look for his made up maiden? or does draluc come to land for his own reasons? maybe they visit each other at the temple every day and bring each other little things and talk and stuff. itd be cute if they butted heads but still went to see each other every day anyways.

a popular thing in the au is draluc being captured - maybe ronaldo, desparate to find his love and only knowing she was some sort of fish, does something stupid like setting up nets and traps. hahah. maybe he catches draluc and takes him to his castle to learn about merfolk and such. iunno. whatever the case i hope they fall in love in the process and also bicker a lot like their usual schtick

ive got a little sad idea that borrows from some 30 years later au stuff where draluc is worried about ronaldo's lifespan (this is also in the orig little mermaid where mermaids live longer than humans by hundreds of years) but also can't turn human to match ronaldo because it's too painful for him to walk on legs (since one of the au rules is that he must always be weak and the orig little mermaid made it clear that legs hurted real bad)

also also i very big headcanon draluc the sea witch has a sunken castle that looks a lot like ponyo's dad's house on the inside. fulla potions and stuff. wouldnt that be cute! maybe hes got an interest in human life/a collection of old things kinda like didney little mermaid - since canon draluc is so well adjusted to modern human stuff like games and livestreams and whatnot. in this au i think he'd be a lot more stubborn and reluctant to admit it, though, cus i also like the idea that his grandpa went the route of loving a human and going to land and maybe he doesn't want to end up like that? but it might be fate just cus draluc and ronaldo parallel D and helsing so well.

also i still want hinaichi to be in it but her rejection of the plot is so funny and good, i don't want to shove her in without thinking of a good way for it to make sense. she's good friends with draluc and likes his cooking...can you cook underwater??? maybe magically?? maybe draluc takes up cooking on land and brings hinaichi things he makes??? maybe then she gets interested in humans and wants to come to land to try all the cooking theyve got. iunno.

i usually keep this sort of note taking and doodling to myself but this fandom needs all the stimulation it can get. hiii hellooo :]

[triflesandparsnips]

I'm not seeing enough deep-dive nonsense about the new Good Omens season 2 poster drop on my dash, and by god that means I must be the one to deliver it.

For those who haven't seen it yet, behold:

...there's a lot in here to go a wee bit feral over, if one was so inclined, and lord knows I love an inclination.

The Obvious Stuff

1. There Was Only One Bed Chair

This is the bulk of the commentary I've seen, and tbh, it's pretty great. "I am bored/busy and ignoring you but also what is personal space, never heard of her, we will not be taking questions at this time."

Notably, however, this is the second time we've seen them back to back-- the majority of the poster art we saw for the first season had them side by side. In both cases they're in a position to face some third thing together-- the difference, perhaps, is that side by side might imply equality of situation, while back to back implies implicit trust that the other won't stab you there.

2. The bookshop

Aw, look at them. Look at it. What a glorious little mess. This is them in London. Arizaphale looks pleased with the situation; Crowley looks bored af but he's also squished up on that one dang chair, so there's a "cat sitting next to you because parallel play and mirroring are the Best Interactions" feel to it.

3. Tea and wine

Arizaphale's got a teacup, Crowley's got a wine glass, this is very Them and indicative of their Vibes. Tbh, I think this is just a nice bit of design work, but it's worth calling out.

4. The outside street

The shop across the way is using a Gothic and reads "GIVE ME" before being cut off. No clue what it means, but it probably means something.

5. The tagline

The previous tagline we got was "Something's going down in the Up" (with that grey feather falling between their black and white wings)-- this tagline reads "Everyday it's a-getting closer."

Easiest interpretation is, oho, we're getting closer to the second season, and gosh there will be some Plot in it. And sure, yes, it works for that too, huzzah. But leaving aside the "it" and what that may mean-- "a-getting" is a fascinating word choice. It evokes similar constructions like, say, the somewhat obscure "Sumer is icumen in" (a song about the changing of the seasons and also encouraging a cuckoo to go lay some eggs in other birds nests if u no wat im sayin eyyyyy)-- and the significantly less obscure protest song "The Times They Are A-Changin'", whose ending stanza is:

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin'

And the first one now

Will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'

Gosh.

Now the Real Fun Starts

This poster is a composite image (as so many ads are), composed of different bits and pieces to form a whole impression -- based on fun stuff like relative pixelation and whatnot, you can often tell what portions of an image were there to start with, and what were specifically added in after the fact. How packed this poster is in tiny details -- which is exactly where I would hide fun hints to things -- is generally a cue for me to take a closer look, and I have been, I think, rewarded.

1. The books with legible titles

Zoom in on Aziraphale's book-- he's reading Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. The "two cities" in play are Paris and London, and the book is set before and during the French Revolution.

It's the story of a man who had been previously imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years, and then was released to go live with his daughter -- who he has never met, what with the whole "imprisoned" thing -- in London.

The opening paragraph is:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

The pile of books in the foreground have two visible titles: the topmost one is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (a "novel of manners" that's considered a heavy-hitting romantic classic, and also yes the leads are both prideful and prejudiced and it takes an entire book for them to clear that up) and Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (a young adult coming-of-age adventure story about a kid who finds himself on an adventure with a bunch of pirates to discover buried treasure).

Of note: A Tale of Two Cities, Pride and Prejudice, and Treasure Island also all have note tabs sticking out of them, and are the only books that have them. This is reminiscent of how Arizaphale studied and referenced Agnes Nutter's prophecies.

Some of the books beneath the window technically have titles, but they appear to be about as pixelated as the rest of that section, and so I suspect they're just part of the scenery.

Similarly, most of the books on the background shelves are like that as well, except:

Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (A satirical novel set in World War II; Wikipedia briefly explains that "the novel examines the absurdity of war and military life through the experiences of Yossarian and his cohorts, who attempt to maintain their sanity while fulfilling their service requirements so that they may return home." The book also coined the phrase "catch-22," which is a situation someone can't escape because of paradoxical rules-- in the case of the book, you can't ask to be evaluated for insanity so that you can be exempt from flying dangerous missions, because "anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy.")

Iain Banks's The Crow Road (and a first edition, perhaps? I haven't read it, but apparently it's a Scottish family drama about a perfect murder against the backdrop of the 1990s Gulf War. Its opening line is "It was the day my grandmother exploded." The phrase "the crow road" is a euphemism, in the book, for death.)

Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim (Sparknotes says it's "the story of a man named Marlow's struggle to tell and to understand the life story of a man named Jim" -- a young man who goes to sea, makes a terrible and cowardly decision while following his leaders, and then spends the rest of his life haunted by it.)

There's at least one extra, partially obscured title:

It appears to read "THE BODY ------ and ------", which makes me wonder if it's an anthology of murder mystery short stories.

Leaving aside the uncertain book, commonalities between many of these books include:

soldiers, war, and the horrors/absurdities thereof

doubles and parallels

death and murder

a young/inexperienced protagonist thrown in with more experienced/weirder folk

fragmented and out of order narratives, sometimes having to be pieced together from multiple viewpoints

...pirates

2. The strange but noticeable inserts

There are several images that have been inserted into the poster that -- unlike the teacup and wine glass mentioned above -- don't seem to make a lot of contextual sense and are therefore, perhaps, extra information. These include:

a. the three lizard boys

b. the broken smartphone

c. the matchbox with the quote on the side

d. the camera

e. this statuette that seems suspicious

f. this record and scroll that seem out of place

g. the clockface with the missing hand (which may be just for the Aesthetic, but whatever, I'm including it)

What do they mean? No clue. I suspect it will become apparent as we get trailers and/or the actual show.

In Conclusion

Uh.

Look. Design teams can do all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons. All of this could mean absolutely nothing.

But.

Using my magical powers of bullshit deduction, I might look at all this, and that grey feather falling from the earlier poster, and say... well... the war's still ongoing, yeah? So maybe... maybe there needs to be a new angel keeping an eye on things on Earth. Or an eye specifically on Aziraphale and Crowley.

And that would look SUSPICIOUS, right? So this is an angel who's maybe... a little bit Fallen. For the sake of the Mission. Like, they've agreed to sin just a lil bit, just enough to justify being thrown out of Heaven, and they're not actively in Hell because they're, oh, just stopping off, or maybe just going really slowly, or maybe they were sent back up from Hell because they were still "too good" and all that Pureness of Spirit was stinking up the place--

Whatever. Point is, they're on Earth, they're very confused, it sure would be nice if these very Established metaphysical elders could give them a few hints about how to get on. We'd then get to enjoy a Guide to Living a Totally Normal Human Life given by these two disaster dorks, plus whatever nonsense is derived from, idk, various extraneous plot shenanigans, probably involving a Murder and maybe a MacGuffin Maltese Falcon.

And most importantly: this new angel? Wow no they couldn't possibly be a spy because again WOW, what kind of angel would deliberately Fall? Wouldn't that require doing the wrong thing to do a right thing? ...okay maybe, but can it really be wrong if it was done by command? ...well, wait, it surely must be wrong because otherwise the mechanism wouldn't have worked-- but then, wait, which thing was the wrong thing--

And Aziraphale and Crowley would watch this bouncing volley of cognitive dissonance with great interest, also possibly while holding hands.

[starfanatic]

Crafting the most controversial ranking of the olympians (including Hestia and Hades)

DISCLAIMER: THIS POST WAS INSPIRED BY @wanderingmind867

APOLLO: He's just fucking AWESOME???!!! What can I say? He's such a easy to like god when you don't let the stupid retellings poison you. He's the god of writing and music (both topics that I love) and just SO much more. I can't even grasp how much the greeks fucking loved this guy and so do I. In a more fanon-y way, in my head he's the best possible protagonist out of all the olympians for a story. There's so much nuance with him, and I just love psychoanalyzing him. I also think his relationships with other gods and every mortals is so INVESTING and intense if you think about it in the right way. Also I love blondes. Blondes are hot.

ARES: The more people hate him, the more I defend him. He gets so much undeserved bullshit, he should've been the Hades of our modern generation, he deserves it way more imo. He's a great father, a great lover, and he dances! DANCES! He's probably the god with the most misinformation besides maybe Hades. Ares kind of gives me the underdog affect? Yes he's this big huge god, but he loses FAR too much to be considered the "bully" like the myths advertise. And I get that it's supposed to be a message "brain over brawn" but quite frankly I could care less. Ares is treated bad by his parents, he just deserves so much more I love this guy. I love paralleling him with other gods too like Athena or Apollo or Zeus. He's just so fun to write.

APHRODITE: I feel the exact same way for her as I feel for Ares. I used to hate her SO MUCH, until I realized how misled I was. APHRODITE IS FUN. The only thing is that I'd defend her wrongs because I don't give a shit. "Aphrodite was petty" IDC!!!! I hate how authors (Rick.) write her. She's SO much more then what she's reduced too. She's SO powerful. I think the only reason she's not equal to Ares because I don't know a lot of her myths. She's serving cunt ALWAYS.

POSEIDON: Poseidon being so high is probably a disservice to society. BUT HES SO COOL AND SO POWERFUL????!!! Yes he does shitty stuff I'm not gonna pretend he doesn't, but seeing him in stories is just so entertaining. I typically like reading fanfics with him during the titanomachy or just fanfics where he's being a great uncle (so... super not accurate but it's entertaining). Ngl I giggled when he asked Apollo to fight him during the trojan war and Apollo said "nah im good". Poseidon is a BEAST in the fight with cool ass powers and a BEAST in bed (um.. when it's consentual... fuck I hate greek mythology sometimes). STORMBRINGER (i hope that's Poseidon and not Zeus???) GOD OF THE SEAS

HERMES: Hermes is kind of low, but NOT BECAUSE I DONT LOVE HIM. I tend to like gods who are a bit... violent if it wasn't obvious by the top 4? And even though I know Hermes can be violent I never see him BE violent. He just seems too perfect for me? Name one flaw he has that the other gods don't also have. HOWEVER he's so fun to read about, I don't like Percy Jackson but when I saw Hermes in the tv show I jumped out of my seat. I really like him with Apollo though, it brings a level of complexity that I LOVE.

zeus... I can explain. OKAY SO, I LOVE COMPLEX CHARACTER RIGHT AND GUESS WHO IS A VERY NUANCED GOD IN MYTHOLOGY??? ZEUS! I specifically like him from the titanomachy, because I like to think he was just... different when he was younger. Kind of like one of the typical heroes until the power he has changes him over time. I wish someone wrote a retelling because I'd love to see Zeus and Rhea or Zeus and Cronos interactions during the war. Disclaimer, I'm aware he does shitty shit but so does everyone on this list besides like Hestia and...that's it.

DIONYSUS: His low ranking is more to do with the lack of knowledge but also I'm not too interested in the domains he involves himself with. Never went to a party, never did drugs, never drunk alcohol, etc. HOWEVER I love when Dionysus is completely unhinged. God of MADNESS GUYS!!! ITS IMPORTANT! I love the myths where he's genuinely just being scary as fuck, I love how powerful but underestimated he is.

HERA: She deserves better. If I was her I'd do worse, but like... not to innocent children and women. That's all.

ATHENA: I don't find her that interesting. She just kind of reminds me of that one girl in the class who reminds the teacher they have homework. I am aware that I AM biased though, my top 4 gods consisted of 2 gods that are at odds with her. I just don't like how biased the myths were in her favor, it kind of makes her boring. If Ares or Athena lost equally I wouldn't mind her, but she wins every single time. Even when she loses, Zeus doesn't care and let's her get away with it anyway. Athena, for me, absolutely requires other gods to add complexity to her character.

DEMETER: I like her out of spite because I don't like Hades x Persephone shippers from modern retellings. In particular I don't like the Hades x Persephone shippers that hate on Demeter as if they know anything about her. She's only low because I like a lot of other gods better and I just feel like I'd never be able to write anything with her as a main character because I've never "psychoanalyzed" her like I did the other gods.

HESTIA: *shrug* I don't know her that well, and she doesn't seem to really have any myths to jump off from. The lack of myths and personality puts her low on the list. Though I do love how sweet she is.

HEPHAESTUS: ...he bores me. He doesn't offer anything to me whatsoever. I don't necessarily feel bad for him for the Aphrodite situation either, and I hate when a lot of people who like Hephaestus ignore VERY IMPORTANT details on the myths to serve their purpose. The majority of it is just plain boredom, but I hate how everyone villainized Aphrodite and Ares.

HADES: ...sigh. He's a bit of a unfair one. I'm not someone who can seperate the god from the people who like the god. A lot of Hades fans tend to just piss me off based off the most obvious misinformation in the entire world. I HATE how they try to hate on the other Olympians as if Hades is somehow better then him? He has no myths that doesn't make him better, we just don't have a lot of him. I don't find him necessarily interesting, and I desperately wish for the retellings for him to end. It's not really fair because it's less the god and more the "fans" but whatever it is what it is.

[scheodingers-muppet]

reputation (stranger things version) let’s go

…Ready For It? - jancy. the whole “i’ve known i wanted you since we first met” kinda vibe really fits them i think. “some boys are trying too hard, he don’t try at all though. younger than my ex’s but he acts like such a man” sorry steve. “knew i was a robber first time that he saw me. stealing hearts and running off” nancy is really the only character we see *multiple* people crushing on. steve and jonathan, of course, but also dustin, fred, arguably robin.

End Game - steddie. “you and me, we got big reputations” king steve and the freak, two sides of some big reputations. “i got some big enemies” being hated by the school and town and the literal upside down. “in rumors, i’m knee deep” “i’ve made mistakes…but something was born on the forth of july” steve’s huge character arch we see in season 3, over the summer.

I Did Something Bad - nancy. shes realms the only one i can see for this one. the confidence and bad-ass of it really only fits her

Don’t Blame Me - steve. why? because i said so. i fully believe he loves VERY deeply. why? because. i said so.

Delicate - steddie, from eddie’s pov. “my reputations never been worse so, you must like me for me” literal manhunt for him and steve’s making googoo eyes at him. “dark jeans and your nikes” is so steve coded. “i know that it’s delicate” not only is eddie wanted for murder, but also, steve’s reputation would be very delicate; even been friends with eddie could make him a target

Look What You Made Me Do: el. “the role you made me play of the fool” and being used in vecna’s plan. “i got smarter, i got harder in the nick of time” “i don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me” her trust has ben broken so many times and shes had to fight tooth and nail for the trust in her now “the old taylor can’t come to the phone right now. why? oh, because she’s dead” paralleled to el coming back at the end of season 2 completely changed

So It Goes… - jancy, from nancy’s pov. “we breakdown a little, but when you get me alone, it’s so simple” “you know i’m not a bad girl but, i’ll do bad things with you”

Gorgeous: ronance, from nancy’s pov. “i got a boyfriend, he’s older than us.” “you’re so cool, it makes me hate you so much.” and “i’m furious at you for making me feel this way” with how nancy didn’t like her at first. “ocean blue eyes, looking in mine” tldr; nancy’s gay awakening is robin

Getaway Car: jancy. “i wanted to leave him. i needed a reason” and “he poisoned the well, i was lying to myself” about steve. “we were flying but we never got far” and “think about the place where you first met me” with the relationship starting to crumble. “we were jet set bonnie and clyde until i switched to the other side” i like to imagine this as her going to robin but that’s just me.

King Of My Heart: steddieeeeee. okay listen. i love when fics make references to king steve and steve likes the name. i adore royal imagery with them. “we rule the kingdom inside my room” “king of my heart, body and soul” i LOVEEE eddie calling him king steve again, but as like, “you’re the king of my heart” “you’re love is a secret im hoping, dreaming to keep”

Dancing With Our Hands Tied: byler. “i loved you in secret…how were you to know?” “deep blue but you painted me golden” when blue meets yellow in the west. “i loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us” i think mike might be starting to realize his feelings for will while he’s gone, loving him even though he’s scared the distance will hurt them. “dancing like it was the first time”

Dress: ronance. why? idk it just fits. nancy and robin get close, become friends and nancy realizes her feelings for her. i can also see elmax if you remove the sexual elements of the song.

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: steve to tommy and carol. “it was so nice throwing big parties” “it was so nice being friends again…but you stabbed me in the back while shaking my hand” tommy leaving him for billy. i just need to see steve lose his shit, honestly.

Call It What You Want: steddie. idk what you want from me, its so steve talking about eddie before they’re official. “my castle crumbled over night…they took the crown but it’s alright” losing “king” title. “nobody’s heard from me in months” falling down the social rankings and living a more “quiet” life (ie no parties and such) “my baby’s fly like a jet stream high above the whole scene” both eddie looking down on social hierarchy and also eddie perched on his chair during campaigns, being literally above the whole scene. “all the jokers dressing up as kings” billy taking his role. “you don’t need to save me, but would you run away with me?” steve maybe talking to eddie about how he can “pay him back” for saving his life or something cute like that.

New Year’s Day: stobin. this song has always kinda been platonic to me. but it’s so them. the devotion of always being there, no matter what or why. “please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh i would recognize anywhere” I MEANNNNN

[windypuddle]

WHO ARE THE GAY ENSTARS MEN ?! THE ONE WITH THE BLUE HAIR ?? THEIR ROMANCE WAS WORLD SHATTERING? ! I AM DESPERATE AND DEHYDRATED WHO ARE THEY

alright. i know you asked me this because im the Enstars Person you know so while i am not the expert on this i will try my best to answer! also drink water bestie

ok so im assuming you are talking about wataei because of the ship wars thing. and theyre the only ones i can think of that ive seen described like that recently.

alright so theres a common joke that eichi (blond one) started the war (massive social and school politics effort to reform the idol system in yumenosaki academy) because he had a crush on wataru (blue hair one). this is not true eichi started the war because he loves idols and wanted to make a fairer system for them.

this reform effort actually happened in two stages: the war was the first stage, where eichi made the five eccentrics the scapegoats for all the vices of the school, which worked because they were so good at being idols everyone saw them as otherworldly and not one of the rest of the human students. eichi, with his power as both student council president and Local Hella Rich Guy, orchestrated a battle of the bands system where he and his unit, fine (usually in this period referred to by fans as ex-fine) defeated each of the five eccentrics and brought supposedly equal chances for the students at the school. the main part of this rhetoric relied on framing the eccentrics as godlike beings, and fine as just regular humans, to show the student body that with hard work, even regular people can rise to great heights.

part of this whole situation was wataru. Wataru was one of the original members of the five eccentrics, and eichi greatly admired him and his skills. a secondary motivation, for eichi specifically, was to raise himself to the same level as wataru so they could communicate as equals. so like yeah he had a crush on the guy but that wasn't his main motivation.

wataru is a fascinating character. he has layers (like an onion) and he is always acting and rarely shows his "true self" and often talks about narratives and such in a very meta perspective (eichi talks this way a lot too, which is why theres so many monologues in enstars, but eichi views himself as just some guy while wataru views himself as the ultimate actor). wataru was also the last of the eccentrics to be defeated by fine. natsume, the youngest of the eccentrics, caught onto the fact that wataru was acting according to the "script" of the war (because he agreed with eichis ideas of reforming yumenosaki), so natsume wrote his own script where the eccentrics won. unfortunately, wataru discarded the idea, essentially For The Sake Of The Narrative. (natsume ended up burning the script, which is an interesting parallel to tsumugi burning the records of the deeds ex-fine did during the war, but thats another matter.) so wataru lost, as he was Supposed To, and eichi and ex-fine won the war for yumenosaki.

up until now eichi and wataru have been distant, only interacting occasionally (including one conversation where wataru has stuff to say about acting, or whatever. its all very meta of them). but after this, eichi is hospitalized, and rips out his IVs and such and refuses to let any of the nurses treat him. Wataru climbs in through the window of his hospital room to find him like this, and essentially asks him: What Now? they start talking about the results of the war, and the future, and they essentially write a script for how yumenosaki can change further for the better: this is Stage Two, trickstar's revolution. only when they plotted it they didnt know it would be trickstar, or the extent to which they would change things. because eichi, in the war, made himself and ex-fine powerful enough to defeat the eccentrics, which gave the students hope; but he did this through the power of being rich and also student council president, and other things like tsumugi's connections to basically everyone in the school. so he ended up having the school in basically a tyrannical rule, but that still wasn't the best environment to encourage idols to grow. so eichi and wataru wrote out a plan for an idol group to overthrow eichi himself, and bring about full change.

basically wataru and eichi combined have orchestrated the majority of the narrative of both the war era and the ! era stories. also they both know each other so intimately on a psychological level. youve probably heard people talk about wataei proposal and that is referring to the last story of the ! era game, where wataru and eichi met on the roof of yumenosaki one night and had a deep conversation-- i dont know all the details because i havent read it in full, but wataru offers eichi one of his theater masks and eichi recognizes the gesture as wataru offering him all of himself, to be wholly known and understood. eichi accepts the mask and yeah you get the point theyre so in love its ridiculous

[lunart-06]

im full of hinaegi thoughts and i really need to share them rn ..

FIRST, people don't talk nearly enough about the natural connection hajime and makoto have with each other, like in the 6th trial, where junko puts that fake makoto here, the others seem to be weirded out by makoto but they don't really know what, and even then they still refer to him by makoto, like sonia saying "makoto? what has happened to you?" but hajime literally says "I knew it.." and "Just as i thought.. There's something wrong with you!" he never says like, this guy is crazy, or that they shouldnt trust him, he clearly says a lot of times that there IS something wrong with him! at some point he even stops refering to junko's 'makoto' by name, it's funny, he only talked to the real makoto for some seconds before the class trial, but he still chose to believe that makoto over the fake one junko literally put in front of them, and it's because of that he discovered his contradictions.

there's also how they both bond a lot in some side events about both being really "common" and i honestly think they would serve as big comfort to one another, i believe even tho hajime would often feel like makoto is way better than him, he would also try to believe how makoto comforts him and says that he is capable of everything. and makoto, i believe he would really look up to hajime without a single ounce of shame now that he saw the real hajime and how much he has grown, but at the same time he would try to be a nice inspiration for hajime after everything that happened in the neo world.

NOW DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THEIR ULTIMATE HOPE PARALLELS, makoto getting his title for defeating junko enoshima, for being himself, for being so so optimistic in a broken world and in the middle of so much chaos, he was a simple dude that became the ultimate hope for being himself, makoto naegi. while hajime got his ultimate hope title when he became izuru, when he stopped being himself.

ALSO, OFFICIAL ARTS, WHY THEY SO DAMN CLOSE ALL THE TIME 🙄 and that wheres just the two of them, YOU CANT TELL ME HAJIME IS NOT PETTING MAKOTO'S HEAD . LOOK AT RHAT

also, hajime in the 6th class trial saying "To prove whether that Makoto Naegi is real or not.... I'm gonna shove *that* in his face!" wdym by that hajime?

SORRY FOR THE LONG ASK HINAEGI SOLDIERS

WAAHDHSH I LOVE THIS SM I am eating so good rn.

The part where he recognised instantly that there's something wrong with the fake Makoto instantly made me kicks my feet. I think despite Hajime's skepticalism on the real Makoto he talked to before the last trial, he just instantly knew how Makoto is from then, Makoto's way of speech is just so.. normal and he just radiates that harmless, safe aura. No matter how skilled Junko is in acting she can't really completely copy the real Makoto.

And the "common" part is so true!!! It's cause both used to be ordinary people, that they feel more comfortable despite not knowing eachother as much from before. Again, one missed and one regreted of the lost of normalcy they have before. Perhaps together, Hajime could finally appriciated and grateful of the normal life he could have had, while Makoto can still have the normalcy in his life (aside from komaru) despite the condition and his responsibility, not all was lost.

And the official art!!!! I have them in my grasp irl, that 512 pages DR1.2 reload book where half of them filled with DR1 and 2 official arts, I have them in my grasp, the way they look at eachother head in hands, they were so very close and when I first opened it I wonder if they have that in the book and there they are!!! I was so estatic!!!

[monarchamos]

I was watching cannibalism stageplay and found that it pointed out smth very interesting!!! Atsushi's relationship with his orphanage director/headmaster actually resembles Akutagawa's relationship with Dazai

Both Dazai and the orphanage director/headmaster deeply abused and traumatized their students, but it is revealed that both of them did so in concern for their students' survival.

Dazai treated Akutagawa harshly so he would have the strength to live, and even thrive, in the mafia. The orphanage director/headmaster treated Atsushi harshly so that atsushi could keep living with himself when things eventually came crashing down around him (such as when the tiger went feral).

They are also both revealed to have had a rough—arguably even rougher than their students' in some aspects—life, and as such wanted to protect their students from the same pain and agony... though toughening them up through even more agony, enough so that they could persevere and survive through real awful situations later on

honestly i never even thought about this parallel before the stageplay, so this was super duper cool

(more stuff analysis about dazai under the cut!!!)

what's even more interesting is that dazai seems to acknowledge this parallel, and it's through this that we gain further insight on how he views akutagawa. It's clear that he knows full well that what he had done to akutagawa was unforgiveable, and does not expect forgiveness.

however, it's still evident that dazai cares for Akutagawa (again, still does not at all justify what he did to him, but definitely helps put things in perspective). If he hadn't, why would Dazai have put him through all that training and suffering to toughen him up, when he could have just as easily thrown him to the wolves and left him to die as a meaningless grunt in the mafia?

Dazai saw a young child, only 2 years younger than him, with a similar lack of a will to live in his eyes. He didn't need to take him into the mafia, but he did. he saw that kid with nothing else to keep him pushing through life, and sought to give him a similar home and salvation that the mafia brought him. Perhaps even better, perhaps give him the hope that dazai had wished the mafia have given him (as it is revealed in stormbringer that he had already gotten tired of the mafia after a year despite saying that he might find a reason to live bc of it in 15).

but for akutagawa to be able to find a home in the mafia (which, its clear that he does later on, such as when he was trying to bring kyouka back to the mafia) dazai had to make sure that he could survive through the bad, hence the... well, y'know. we've all memed on that one gif of dazai beating the shit out of aku. i think. i dunno maybe im just fucked up.

dazai isnt a dick to akutagawa bc he was an edgy teenager or just for shits and giggles. and he didn't push akutagawa to the fullest because he didn't comprehend how strong he actually was, pushing on a notion of weakness onto him.

dazai knows that akutagawa is strong. we know he knows. Hell, Chuuya (and atsushi too but idk if im remembering the guild aftermath scene right) knows.

So did Dazai's method of putting aku through hell to make him develop a "loathesome anger to help him survive" work? yeah. does it resemble what atsushi went through at the hands of his orphanage director/headmaster? yeah.

however, the similarities in their way of teaching doesn't end there. Dazai's method of training akutagawa resulted in an extremely low self-esteem, the kind that depends on another's approval. While atsushi doesn't necessarily depend on the approval of others, he does have a very low self esteem and rather depends on helping others to prove that he's worthy of living.

This unfortunate side effect of Dazai's and the orphanage director/headmaster's teaching method is likely unintentional, as both probably only focused on the intended outcome of strengthening akutagawa/atsushi.

so anyway idk how to end this so yeah. tldr cannibalism stageplay pointed out the parallel between atsushi's relationship with his orphanage director/headmaster vs akutagawa's relationship with dazai. as such, it helps give really interesting insight on why dazai treated aku that way.

[craqueluring]

Hi!!! <33333 Love your blog as someone who sometimes has difficulty grasping metaphors in hannibal because they all talk so weirdly and english is not my first language and sometimes im genuinely dumb </33 anyway i wanted to ask you what do you think was going inside hannibals when he took mason verger to will’s house, abondoning will even though he was unconcious in enemy grounds, and fed his dogs mason’s face?? Like what is he thinking “hi honey welcome home hope you like my surprise you wanted to punish him right tee hee <3” and will just gets turned on by this? LIKE WHATS GOING ON?😭😭😭😭😭 its one of my fav scenes and i dont even get… like the meaning of it, or their motivations, or what it worked as a metaphor? Like if could you maybe share your opinions on that scene or maybe an analysis would be nice? want to hear your thoughs 🥰 thank you so muchh hope u have a nice day!!

(there is a tldr at the end of this!)

okay first of all thank you for all your kind words they absolutely made my day <3333333 i so appreciate people asking me for my thoughts on specific scenes like u dont even know. and LOL yes that scene is really weird and when i first saw this i had to talk it through with my friend bc i was like…. yeah wait what WAS he thinking? LMAO but here is my best answer:

this whole episode is basically will taunting hannibal (telling mason hannibal wants to kill him, putting a "snare around [his] neck", asking hannibal if hannibal can tell what will's intention are, telling hannibal he did this because he was "curious what would happen," etc). i could even go so far as to say hes giving hannibal a taste of his own medicine. i find the decision to make a hannibal lecter-esque scene of will preparing his homemade dog food (which ive always assumed was randall tier's remains) directly before he gets picked up by mason a curious parallel, maybe even making a point that will is starting to act like hannibal? or just foreshadowing that will's dogs are gonna be fed some weird shit later lol, or both.

anyways, the scene of mason being high on whatever hannibal gave him, and cutting his face off and feeding it to the dogs before getting his neck broken, is directly taken from the actual book. i think theres a few different things that are significant about hannibal deciding to do this specifically in will's house, though:

first is theatricality, obviously. hannibal loves shock value. 

second, it could be a symbol of hannibal's unending and pervasive presence in will's life and mind — this is the first time we've seen will and hannibal in will's own home at the same time. hannibal’s presence in will’s life extends to will’s home. i think the only other time we see them together in will's home is when hannibal saves will from the verger estate, and will rejects hannibal.

third, alana has always said that will's dogs represent the best of will. by hannibal making mason feed his face to will's dogs, this could be like hannibal "tainting" the best parts of will. soaking into every corner of his mind, his life, his soul. also to my point, hannibal says that he "broadened [will's dogs] palates, as [he] broadened [will's]." — there is no corner of will's life that hannibal doesn't touch. 

however, just as that scene could be representative of hannibal having a very large amount of power over will's life, the rest of the episode could be representative of will having just as much power over hannibal. hannibal was quite literally helpless in that straitjacket, a direct result of will's actions (unless hannibal is a magician too and knows how to escape one… which i honestly wouldn't be surprised by). and only escaped because will cut him free. similar to how will was helpless in prison, and only got out because hannibal let him go. will can be a puppet master just like hannibal. they are in equilibrium, to a point. before, will was always on the short end, being manipulated by hannibal, being in prison, etc, but in this half of the season we see them (almost) being equals. as hannibals says earlier in the episode, they understand each others minds, and so hannibal has "the capacity to deceive [will], just as [will] has the capacity to deceive [hannibal]."

as for their motivations:

multiple times in this episode, hannibal is trying to gauge how willing will would be to kill with hannibal. "would you join me at the table?" when talking about eating mason verger, and killing him being a "savage pleasure [they] can share." each time, will avoids the obvious propositions. hannibal taking mason to will's house could also be him trying to gauge how will would react when they are in the same room with a potential victim (if will would share the 'savage pleasure' with him?). at this point, i dont think that had ever happened before. will killed randall tier alone, lied about killing freddie alone, shot hobbs alone. they've never been together in this situation. and aren’t in this situation again until the dragon fight. hannibal probably brought mason to will's house knowing this would happen, and so he could really gauge how will feels about killing together, or at least in hannibal's presence.

not to mention will obviously wants mason dead. will likes doing bad things to bad people because it makes him feel good. thats why he makes that face in 2x07 when he has a gun to hannibal's head in hannibal's kitchen, and why he makes that same face when he has a knife to hannibal's throat earlier in this episode. i could maybe go so far as to call him a sadist. he likes having that feeling of power, as he tells abigail in 1x12. 

i think this is why he looks "turned on" (lol) as you said. he enjoys seeing bad people in vulnerable positions, especially when he holds the power. i think hannibal knows this, too. maybe this was some kind of gift from hannibal? maybe he didn't want to kill mason without will present; giving will the chance to kill the man he knows will hates so much. but also because hannibal, of course, was curious what will would do.

but now will is curious what hannibal will do as well, so he tells hannibal to "do what [he] thinks is best for [mason]," and hannibal obliges easily. he doesn't choose murder or mercy for mason, though, and breaks his neck and leaves him alive in that terrible state. will looks… pleased? by this, i think. (again, sadist). he and hannibal smile at each other as hannibal walks to mason to break his neck. hannibal seems pleased as well at will's reaction and the outcome of the situation.

as i said before, they are, in a way, equals for the first time in this part of the season (which is also symbolized by them being happy little cannibals together at the end of 2x10). this episode is partly them getting to fuck with each other and will reciprocating the fuckery that hannibal was disproportionately doing to will before this point, to be crass. will is, as alana says in 2x06 "playing a game, and he's not scared. not anymore." hannibal bringing mason to will’s house was part of the game they’re playing with each other.

TLDR: hannibal taking mason to will's house could be for theatricality, a symbol of hannibal's presence in will's life (even invading his home), and tainting the "best parts of will" (his dogs). as for hannibal's more personal motivations, hannibal is gauging how will would act while they are in the same room with a potential victim (first time this ever happens, and last until dolarhyde), and possibly be a gift from hannibal because he knows will wants mason dead? as for will's feelings in this moment, he was definitely feeling good because a "bad thing" was being done to a "bad person" and he likes being in that position of power. will putting hannibal in the position (straitjacket in the verger estate) where will has that power over hannibal is will fucking with hannibal, and yet again lets himself get so close to killing hannibal, because he enjoys the feeling. hannibal reciprocates this fuckery by bringing mason to will's house. they are both orchestrating these situations because they are both curious about what will happen, and they are doing this as equals.

edit: not the first time theyve been together with a potential victim, i forgot about clark ingram, but it is the first time theyve been together with a potential victim which ended up harmed/dead by either of their hands! unless im forgetting someone else lol

[evilcokito]

Coco!!!!

How are you!???

Did you eat smth? Drink smh?

I had a random ass thought Urm- I’m not sure if you’re still taking asks about the au, so please do ignore this if you aren’t!

Sam’s sisters in the bleach au-

EVERYTHING PERFECT CERU!!! Hope you are very well too!

What feeds and hydrates me is imagining the TWST characters in the opening 13. Don't worry about the hiatus!!! Im still answer asks and couldn't resist drawing this in my free time this Au carrying my soul, dragging me to hell...how warm. Thank you for the ask!

The Bleach au Asks are always open *EPIC CLAVAR LA ESPADA SOUNDTRACK* and ask in general, only that during hiatus it takes me a while longer to respond.

Even... I still watch Bleach on Saturdays... Captain Sam whispers "Bankai" to me. Bankai-me everything you want. So baby can you feel like number one 🎶 🎶 🎵

The Sam Sis in The Bleach Au!

Aya

One day Sam appeared with her in front of Idia and said: my sister can be useful to you, please take care of her. As always, Sam disappeared without explanation, so Aya works in Squad 12 as a low-ranking Shinigami. She does not resist curiosity, experiments, research. In parallel, like Squad 2 is from her family, she also has that quality of stealth. In general Aya is pleasant and talkative, she says things that others do not understand at 100%. But there's something in her eyes... that scares the entire squad. A slight smile, attentive eyes. Something thinks, something plans, something is going the way she wants. Did Aya get the information she wants? Could it be that you are a laboratory rat?. Idia asked Sam many times how Aya suddenly appeared one day. There are no answers, except a white kimono. Aya's Zanpakuto is a red-handled katana. When the Shikai releases there is a nauseating smell. Everything turns red, black and white. It's as if everything hurts much more, as if someone touched the naked flesh, devoid of skin. Shadows have no skin, no meat, no matter.The shadows have nothing inside... but you...

Sandra

Nothing is known about Sandra right now. She seems to be somewhere else, taking care of other things. COFCOF 0 squad COFCOF- In the past, she was a captain like her brother of squad 2. Curiously, those shinigamis who were in charge of her cannot believe that she was so soft having such a... strong appearance and presence. Sandra also left the head of her family to her brother. No one saw Sandra's Bankai, but her Zanpakuto is related to snakes and poison.

Luna

Luna is part of the Onmitsukidō and was in "Detention Unit" of Squad 2. Among her missions was to take care of "The Nest of Maggots" (The Prison). Since released her shikai, she is in the "Punishment Force": where they search, pursue and eliminate any being that seems suspicious. Actually, Luna hates being in Squad 2... she hates the uniform. "Sam! I hate this uniform! It doesn't let others see a beauty like me!" She leads a double life. On the one hand she is that soft, calm and pretty girl. Luna is the captain's sister, who takes care of her family and has fun flirting with men. On the other she is the commander of the "Punishment Force". Luna's Zanpakuto is related to the Shadow Dogs. With them she can search and track any person or target. Likewise, she can attack and defend herself through them. Hardly lift a finger or fight, her helpful wild beasts will take care of everything.

Marisa

Marisa spends her time traveling to the human world... and sometimes, hardly... she does her shinigami job. She also performs missions in Squad 2 serving as a messenger. She is extremely good at Shumpo and Shunko, in addition to possessing excellent hand-to-hand fighting and acrobatic skills. Sandra taught Marisa, and Marisa taught Sam. In this, Marisa did not hesitate to teach him everything she knows. "A waste of talent and effort" other Shinigami call her. She simply trains because she finds it fun. Her Zanpakuto was never seen in Shikai, she only fights in hand-to-hand combat.

[akatsukitrash]

Madara/Tobirama parallel part 1

Another day, another naruto meta bc im obsessed :

Madara and Hashirama are not true parallels to each other. Madara and Tobirama are. 

Now I’m not cheapening Madara and Hashirama’s friendship (or romance, based on interpretation). They indeed loved each other very much, trusted each other (or at least Madara trusted Hashirama), and did agree that peace was a necessity. However, personality-wise, they differed a lot, even as children. Hashirama is the Naruto to Madara’s Sasuke, but Madara is (in Tobirama’s eyes at least) his Gaara, his Obito, his Nagato. Two sides of the same coin.

Let’s take a look at the 4th great war, when the Hokages are ressuscitated and learn about the IT. 

This is what Hashirama thinks of it :

Then Madara takes the time to explain himself to Tobirama, perhaps attempting to strengthen his own resolve, or perhaps to have someone of a similar mind agree and feel less alone and misunderstood (I could write a whole novel about Madara’s loneliness). And that’s what happens. Tobirama agrees to Madara’s views. He shares them. He, too, is disgusted that sacrifice is needed for peace. He, too, doesn’t think Hashirama’s village will bring peace (i’ll develop that in another post). He thinks the IT IS a good idea.

He’s not agreeing here with Madara just to distract him. He can still distract him by arguing, and the thoughts that follow clearly prove that he isn’t deceiving Madara when he says he is right. He simply refuses to let Madara be the one who brings peace (through IT), bc he doesn’t trust Madara. It’s both pettiness (perhaps bc he blames him for “stealing” his brother) and fear. He is terrified of Madara, and not just because of his power. Why would a man who was Izuna’s equal (Izuna, who was also hailed as being close to Madara in power), and who has the god of shinobi as a brother, be afraid? He showed no fear when he saw Jinchuuriki Obito, who by Hashirama’s own words is more powerful than him.

Tobirama fears Madara because he sees himself in him. He is a ticking bomb, as likely to fall to despair and resort to extreme measures as Madara, and only his insane rules and his repression of his emotions and his over reliance on his brother’s moral compass keep him from becoming him. In that sense, he is hypocritical when he calls the Uchiha unpredictable. 

Furthermore, isn’t the IT, in essence, similar to Edo Tensei? A jutsu that transcends time and death, in the hope of bringing loved ones gone too soon back to Madara/Tobirama? Tobirama, by creating the Edo Tensei, showed that his thought process was the same as Madara. He refused to accept reality. Not only that, but it’s implied in canon that Madara intimately knew Edo Tensei when it was being invented. Those two men sat together, at some point, despite the hate between them, and discussed the jutsu. Agreed on it, perhaps. But it didn’t work, and Tobirama shelved it (*cough* as quickly as Madara shelved Konoha *cough*). 

Their core values are the same, and they are both deeply pessimistic about the world around them. Personality-wise, they’re extremely similar. Loud, ambitious, paranoid, distrustful, goofy, caring, misunderstood geniuses. Both won’t back down from their goals, no matter what. Even physically, they share some similarities, with their spiky hair and red eyes and delicate, pointy faces. I said it before and I’ll say it again : it is tragic that the war made these two enemies, because the potential for them to be great friends was right there.

Anyway, the Tobi = Tobirama theory we had going back in the days is very much possible in fanfic. Akatsuki!Tobirama was one bad day away from being canon and I won’t change my mind.

[seonghwacore]

im about to go apeshit about the house burning scene and its possible symbolism, it punched my gut a lil too strong. dont wanna call this a theory, more like a review. but here's what i find. long ass shit btw.

what are they looking at?

i remember its mingi's scene first before yunho but that mingi's looking up and yunho's looking down, despite the lack of logic behind the torn down house and their respective set being burned altogether. i honestly thought the torn down house was the symbol of their "safe space" when they were beaten and broken by life, cus you know house is often associated with safety. but before it's burned it's already in a shabby state and was looking indecent, fragile.

meaning that the stigmatized "safe space" was probably not that "safe". being on their own and hiding their pain or anger alone might seem to be the best choice but was doing more harm than repair. so when yunho burned it, (i assume this cus he was looking at mingi in thAt scene, as if affirming.)

and in the lyrics itself theres yunho's line about "wanting to be the pouring light" and wanting to lean his head and rest his heart and hoping that mingi would look at him with a happy face. it just all fit in the pics. yunho looking down at him with a rather helpless look but mingi's slightly... hopeful to me?? curious?? as "the light" poured on him, his best friend.

yunho's like "i burn this house for us, for you. because you cant seem to find the beauty in your life and let this loneliness gnaw you instead. and i want you to know that youre also my pillar so, why dont we rely on each other instead of eating our own struggle? let's enjoy the present [time] together."

then mingi realizes yunho values him and embraces his flaws. in the uncertain time of youth when everything feels unforgiving, his best friend knows his struggle and tries to shed some light on him despite being flawed himself. notice that yunho's beaten as well, scarred and jagged, angry and sad. basically what this wants to say is to be the light to others l, you don't have to be a saint. just a willingness to walk, run, or sit together with them in all weathers.

while the first interpretation is written because i saw a visual parallel(?) between mingi's one and yunho's, this one might be more canon. they're looking either at the fire or their new selves outside burning the house, meaning their new selves are getting rid of their past doubts and struggle and choose to move forward. and there's a relief in their pained faces, as if they're finally being put to rest. like, "finally."

and then there's yunho asking for a validation from mingi? since he burned his "safe" haven cause he thought it's the only right thing to do? but also, was he feeling apologetic?

but mingi's unshaken, rather cold about the burning house. there's also a hint of longing due to a familiar place being taken away from him. maybe it's the best decision. and at the end, he only exchanged a look at yunho, like "now what?"

—supporting analysis

this might be the picture of what mingi felt like going through his youth. the running scenes take 3 parts of the mv: the beginning, the middle, the end. this one's in the middle when mingi realizes yunho isnt following him. sometimes, in your youth days, you'll be aware of your friend's existence and their personal life.

mingi might think that yunho's with him all the time but what if he also has his own life and goal? what if mingi is the only one feeling like he has a friend when yunho is probably not that really deep into this? what if this friendship is just a made up scenario in his head to cope?

we can also see the reference of how youth feels like to both mingi and yunho as performers (maybe). the dome-like structure with windows maybe symbolizes fans, media, and other people who can only perceive them through the glass. and only yungi who are full fleshed, can touch each other and are very real to each other.

then the glass shatters were pointing towards them. their audiences who only see their persona, might use that "glass" to hurt and judge them. to be idols at a young age, they feel like walking on a thin ice from the exposure.

ALTERNATIVELY. those glass pieces were the result of mingi breaking the mirror. so, the sharp pieces are actually flying outwards. this might also symbolize the possibility if yungi break their persona and just be themselves for the sake of freedom, they might make mistakes and hurt other people. see how the glasses being frozen and we couldnt quite tell to which direction its moving, like, im no einstein.

little irl insert. this scene hits too close to home cus i have a best friend who's chained to her sufferings too til now and all i could do is watch her through the window, the way yungi did. we both had the same childhood trauma ig but i was "freed" earlier than her and my eyes have seen through a lot of layers and angles.

and sometimes, i insist that her only way out is to "burn the house". burn the past and lets move forward, im running next to, just slightly behind you.

[80s-reject]

hihi omg im so happy i found someone that also watches kumovi bc its like my favorie show ever now i dont need to annoy my friends anymore RAH i js hope this isnt a situation where you like it in a chill way and i like it in a deranged way 😔 basically i was super obsessed with na granici first and also wanted to watch kumovi but i saw that its pretty long and didnt have time for the commitment but then they removed na granici for some reason so i started watching and holy shitt i love it so much ive spent like approximately 2 hours on the wikipedia page and the theme song was in my top 10 on spotify wrapped this year i know it by heart heehee...i actually saw vedran mlikota in real life back in summer but nobody believed me when i said it was him and like a month after i told my grandpa and he said yeah that was him. and i LOST MY SHIT!?!?;$  UM ANYWAYS *almost everyone* in the gotovac fam is my favorite i loove janko and lara theyre so sibling goals and lara is the funniest ever and ofc aljoša THE BETTER BROTHER :3 vesna is kinda annoying to me idk... i dont like her HOWEVER i love her character she was written really well,, my fav side characters are milica and marko their friendship is everything to me im glad theyre not really romantical towards each other :heart_hands: best friends for real..,,.,

HELLO I AM ALSO DERANGED FOR KUMOVI I ALWAYS ANNOY MY FRIENDS WITH IT i actually started watching during the 2nd season so whenever a character from s1 one appears i have to ask my mom who it is because she's watched both season i actually dont know why i started watching it i just sat down with my mom one night and i havent stopped watching it since I ALWAYS ANALYSE THE EPISODE WITH MY MOM AFTER WATCHTING IT janko is a good boyfriend but he is a literal copy of vesna it's actually scary how they managed to create parallels between them AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON ALJOSA. hes legitimately sooo hot and arguably the better brother. i like šima but (spoilers?) she's gen getting on my nerves lately stipan is only trying to help her but she's not used to having a father so she's all like >:( nE mOžEš mI gOvOrIt šTo dA rAdIm!1! and stipan is such a great character but he's a horrible father and great grandfather he would literally make sure his kids don't succeed in life if he doesn't like what they're doing (spoilers?) i agree abt that with milica and marko šank but his mother is literally the worst she's so insane she's literally trying to pull them apart and i'm p sure zvone is going through a mid-life (not sure if that counts as mid) crisis MARTIN IS SUCH A SWEET FATHER (jel novatv bh uopce dosla do toga??? valjda je matija jos trudna idk)

[jenoutof10]

I saw your post and I hope it's not too much to ask but could you explain some of the references?

hai anon!! gege akutami really loves his buddhism references and it shows in multiple ways in the jujutsu kaisen series, be it by just slamming the references into names or through the story telling and parallels in the story, i wont be covering all of em since yk theres way too much to cover. but here some ive compiled in one sitting:

(also excuse bad punctuation and formatting or whatever, as i said im doing this in one sitting and rushing ALOT)

i wanna talk abt gojo since im kinda obsessed w him lately due to the new season, so lets start w him.

gojo is pictured as a bodhisattva:

besides his first name literally meaning enlightenment, we know that in the hidden inventory arc, after getting his ass handed to him by toji, he is 'reborn' (yk, when he brought himself back from near death w RCT). he reached enlightenment and found + understood the core of jujutsu which led his rebirth as the TRUE strongest (like when the buddha reached enlightenment by understanding the core of dhamma and it marks the change from his previous life as siddhartha gautama to the buddha).

and as we all know, in the scene where he awakens, he utters the words "throughout heaven and earth, i alone am the honored one" 天上天下唯我独尊; which the buddha famously said while pointing to the heavens and the earth, after being birthed. (gojo does point both hands tht way, but finger wise he only points to the earth, not the heavens idk)

now i say he's more like a bodhisattva and not a buddha because of a certain detail, while the buddha became the enlightened one and ascended to nirvana (meaning he's free from the cycle of rebirth) he's more like a bodhisattva in which he does indeed become enlightened, just that instead of freeing himself from the cycle of rebirth, he chooses to spread his knowledge and continues teaching (the way becomes a teacher in order to raise new jujutsu sorcerers)

if anyone were to be the buddha it would be tengen, master tengen founded the jujutsu community, teaches sorcerers about jujutsu and is regarded as a deity (by some).

despite being a highly respected individual, tengen is not a much of a fighter, she's more of a teacher and is respected for their high knowledge on jujutsu

master tengen is also immortal, yet not able to exist in the outside world, instead tengen exists inside of the barriers they created (to mantain their self awareness and not yk go insane and destroy the world), which acts as a different realm. this might be a reference to how the Buddha is somewhat immortal yet not really, he lives on in his teachings (dhamma) and his students.

if tengen is the buddha, that would make kenjaku Devadatta, siddharta gautama's cousin and (self proclaimed) buddha's archenemy. i could say more but thats a story for another day.

buddhism references in the power system of jujutsu:

one of them is the etymology behind mahito's cursed technique, Idle Transfiguration - 無為転変 (Mui Tenpen)

the Mui means something along the lines of unchanging/absolute, yet it's also translated into idleness.

— on reddit someone said 無為転変 means to mutate the idleness of human affairs/to mutate the natural order, but idrk take what u will with this

in buddhism, there's a phrase called 有為転変(Ui Tenpen) which means impermanence / change, so his cursed technique is basically the opposite of the natural order

his domain expansion's name (self embodiment of perfection) has a certain buddhist ring to it i feel lol, besides that, the form of his domain might also be a reference to the thousand-armed thousand-eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva.

besides mahito, jogo and dagon's domain also have certain references in their naming (jogo's iron mountain refers to Mount Meru, which is often mentioned in buddhism and hinduism. the word 'Skandha' in dagon's basically means the factors that cause attachment)

the hand signs the characters do when casting a domain expansion are mudras; hand seals used in buddhism and hinduism(? i think), you'd often see them on statues/arcas, they're usually used during prayers (i think the most well know and the most used one is anjali mudra). for more you can check tempenensis's post, i love their posts alot LOL

there's also the whole thing about mahoraga (+ the other 10 shadows shikigamis), sukuna, toji, etc. but that would take too long and im writing this all in one go before i go to a family dinner so…

ANYWAYS i think thats all i'll talk about today, i might add more some other time but im gonna go eat dinner now bye