#I avoided Spoilers as much as I could so nothing is revealed actually

[of-solitude-past-and-present]

Warnings: branding (of reader), as well as typical yandere themes like abduction, mentioned murder, mentioned violence, and threats.

There are also slight spoilers for the main quest (Idk how the quests are organized yet HAKDHD I didn't pay attention. But I'm at the point where I have to get to union lvl 21 to continue the main quest, so no spoilers for those quests).

ALSO HI LADIES here's your yearly fanfic. The drabbles are in chronological order. Its nearly 2.9k words total. Goodbye now.

Scar is a busy man who, by the nature of his work, can't settle down in any one place for too long.

It's what is keeping you sane, honestly. You only have a certain dramatic, scarred, card-wielding bastard on your couch (or, as is becoming more frequent, next to you when you wake up) for a few days every once in a while. His visits are irregular and unpredictable, just like he is. 

That doesn't make it much better, though. He seems to take pride in being a pest. Scar loves attention, and unfortunately, he's not above being annoying to get it. From monologues about the great Lament to asking you about tragedies that seem random, until he openly admits to being the culprit so he can tell the story, there's little he won't do to keep your eyes on him. None of it is anything that would be helpful to the authorities, of course, but there's not much to avoid talking about there. The Fractsidus has always made their ideals quite clear, after all.

One of the first things you do when you find him, relaxing in your living room like he owns it, is threaten to tell the higher-ups about him.

"Alright, then. Go right ahead!" With a seemingly carefree smile, he crosses his legs on your couch, feet on the table and all, and gestures towards the front door.

You narrow your eyes at him and back away, not tearing them away for a second. He snorts and gives you a small, sarcastic little wave and an ingenuine closed-eye smile.

Your back hits the door behind you, so you're forced to turn around to undo the deadbolt. Right as you do, though, a strange, bright red blanket of cards spreads up from beneath your feet, encasing you in a dome. You blink, and you're under a red sky on a desolate, floatibg island. Whirling all around you is a maelstrom of decimated buildings and pillars.

You whirl on your feet, and your eyes land on him, standing only a few feet away from you with one hand on his hip. A muted sense of anxiety thrums uneasily in the back of your mind. Your eyes meet his, one red and the other a dull gray, and you think you finally understand how a deer in headlights feels.

"Are you going to kill me?" Your voice is eerily steady and calm, belying the anxiety and adrenaline rushing through your veins. It sounds alien to your ears.

He outright laughs in your face and leans in close. "What reason would I have to lie?" he asked. "If I did want to kill you, I'd just tell you. There's nothing you could do to stop me." He places a hand on your head and ruffles your hair, undeterred by your instinctual flinch.

"Remember this. With the new Lament growing ever closer, nobody has the resources or time to spare to keep a simple civilian, like you, safe from someone like me." Scar's tone lowers towards the end with a dark promise, and his smile sharpens into a smirk.

He turns on one heel and walks away. With a snap of his fingers, the chaotic scenery melts away to reveal your simple living room once again. "Consider that a warning. Even if you did tell anyone, do you think they could do anything that would help you?" He looks over his shoulder at you, his dim, empty eyes flashing dangerously.

"Think about the price they would have to pay for your own desperation."

Night has long since fallen, but you're still out and about. It's not that you have anything left to do, it's just... when you go home, you're going to have to see Scar again. If you have to listen to another of his monologues, you might actually try to kill him. It's not because you're a little scared of him. Of course not.

(Your eyes still dart around nervously, jumping at any flash of red you see.)

You check your phone for the time, only to find it's just past midnight. Everything is closed, and you're really not sure what to do now. Maybe you should just suck it up and go home. The thought has you slumping your shoulders with a defeated sigh.

A hand clamps down on your mouth, and another strong arm wraps around your waist, pulling you against a firm chest. In a panic, you kick and flail and try your best to scream, but it's all futile. They drag you into the alleyway behind you anyway.

"Relax! It's just me," Scar purred, the hints of a laugh tinging his voice. His breath fans against your ear. "I've just noticed... You've been spending so much time out and about, it's like you’ve forgotten about me. Consider my feelings hurt."

Scar pulls the both of you into one of his all-too-familiar crimson portals. You try to pipe up with some snide comments or annoyed curses, but his hand only presses more firmly against your mouth.

"Ah-ah-ah." He moves his hand into your sight from your waist just to wag a claw-tipped finger at you before he places it back, securing you against him again.

It's only a few seconds before a wall in your bedroom comes into view and the red light of the portal behind you disappears. All of a sudden Scar falls backwards, pulling you helplessly along with him. You make an embarrassing, surprised little squeak on the way down, reflexively clinging to him until you both land on the bed behind you.

He lets out an amused little chuckle and rolls over, putting you both on your sides with his chest pressed against your back. He buries his face in your throat with a sigh and finally frees your mouth so he can hold you close like a plushie.

"I know what you were trying to do," he murmurs into your ear, a threatening undertone to his voice.

Your breath catches in your throat before you can stop it. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just busy."

His lips dance across your skin, and you can feel his smile against your throat. "You don't think I'm gullible, do you?"

Well, dammit. So much for that. You try to look at him to gauge his reaction, but his arms only tighten around you. His face is hidden in your neck anyway, so it's a lost cause.

"I'm... sorry?"

"As long as you don't try it again, dollface."

For a few months, maybe a year (depending on the timing and your temperament) Scar doesn't think he'll need to kidnap you. You're somewhere safe, in a place where he can come find you whenever he pleases. Why bother? Besides, it's nice watching you go about your day.

Unfortunately, he slowly comes around more and more over time, making this outcome inevitable. There are two primary factors. The prophecy is the first; his free time dwindles more and more as it nears its fulfillment, and the idea of having you available at any given moment becomes a more alluring prospect day by day. Alternatively, you're too desperate to get rid of him, and he decides it would be easier to isolate you, away from any "pesky helpers," as he would put it.

Scar tosses the idea around in his mind for a few days before he makes his final decision. He won't even keep it a secret from you, either; he tells you this casually in the spur of the moment, in a bid for your attention. Maybe you seem disinterested, too busy paying attention to something else. Maybe you've realized his "weakness," as you might call it, and tried to give him the silent treatment. Either way, what you do can push him towards a decision a little early. He usually takes great care to reign in his impulses, but with you, he doesn't have to. An ordinary citizen like yourself would have quite a bit of difficulty getting away from him, after all. He finds your helplessness freeing, to a degree.

"I've been thinking lately," Scar trails off, clearly fishing for your response.

"You can do that?" It's out of your mouth before you can think to stop it. You almost regret giving him what he wants, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. At the very least, you can focus on the dishes you're washing instead of sparing him a glance.

He snorts, but otherwise doesn't acknowledge your comment. "I think it's about time we take our relationship to the next level. Don't you?"

Your head snaps in his direction. "The hell does that mean?" you demand. Your face twists in a mixture of confusion and slowly dawning horror, an expression the bastard revels in. His toothy grin widens, and with a flick of his wrist, he produces a card out of thin air to idly spin and flip between his fingers.

"It's been really nice spending time with you here, you know? But unfortunately, duty calls, and I can't always spare the time to come visit." Scar sighs dramatically with an exaggerated frown, resting both arms on the back of your couch. "It's such a shame. I'm sure you miss me, don't you?"

You uneasily turn back to the dishes, putting another on the drying rack and picking up a new one. "Not really. Don't you have any friends to talk to?"

"And there's the other point!" You refuse to look at him, but you can hear his footsteps as he leisurely saunters to the kitchen. You try to focus on scrubbing off a particularly stubborn patch of grease on your pan. "You can be so hard to deal with sometimes! It makes me wonder if all the effort I go through to keep you happy is worth it."

You furrow your brows, a frown tugging at your lips. The moment you move to speak, a red-tipped finger comes from behind to press against your lips in a shushing motion. "Now, now, dear. No need to tell me it isn't true." His face leans into view from over your shoulder with a smile. "Besides, I'm sure you'll be just as excited for this as I am."

"Excited for wh-"

Scar cuts you off without words, making the world spin as he turns you around to face him. Your pan falls with a clatter, and suddenly you're faced away from the window above the sink and looking up into his face, split by an ear-to-ear grin. His pupils are blown wide with excitement, lit up by a manic glint in his usually dull irises.

"You're coming with me. You have three days to write out your will and say goodbye to the people you care about," he spoke, his voice rough at the edges and trembling with suppressed amusement. His hands rest on the edge of the counter on each side of you, caging you in. "Try to run away or tell anyone, and I'll kill them all. Obey, and they can live."

Scar leans in so close that his nose brushes yours, with a stare so intense you would have thought his eyes were glowing. "We have a lot of things we can do with their bodies. Would you like to see what a Tacet Discord born of human flesh looks like?"

You can't tear your eyes away from his intense, bright stare for even a second. With slow, trembling movements, you shake your head.

"Now that's what I wanted to see." Scar leans in, pressing a kiss to your lips, only pulling away after a long moment. "Not so hard, was it? I'm sure you'll be alright, there's no need to be scared!" He brightens up in a flash, any trace of his previous threats gone. He licks his lips as he turns away from you.

"All that being said, I'm sure something similar will happen to your family in the true Lament, so it doesn't matter. But if it makes you happy, I don't mind leaving them be in the meantime." Scar looks up at nothing in particular, summoning another card to toy with idly. His spare hand rests behind his back.

"Isn't it boring how the world is stagnating?" Scar starts up again. "Chaos, as orchestrated by the great Threnodians, can create a form of equality impossible to achieve with our current status quo..." His voice turns fuzzy in your mind as you tune his droning out. Three days? Where is he taking you? What about your life?

You take a shaky breath, bringing a hand up to tug at your hair. Wasn't there anything you could do? All his talk of controlling one's own destiny flashes in your mind, mocking you. Would you ever see your family again?

You only realize that Scar has noticed your breakdown when he places a hand on your shoulder and pulls you close. "Aww, don't cry," he murmurs, wiping away tears you didn't even realize were falling with a thumb. "It's not so bad, I promise." His lips stretch into a facsimile of a comforting smile, and he strokes your hair in an attempt at comfort. He pulls your face into his shoulder, periodically shushing you.

You stay like that for a few minutes, and when he deems you suitably stable, he moves to lean on you with one arm on your shoulder, the other outstretched before the both of you in a grand gesture. "Don't worry, just imagine it. Wouldn't it be lovely, being safe and sound by my side in my new world?"

"Not at all. Are you sure you don't hate me?" You mumble, your voice rough and tired.

He rolls his eyes. "Darling, I could never. Oh well, I'm sure you'll come around." Scar shrugs it off. Suddenly, he snaps his fingers, and his eyes flash, as though he had remembered something important. "Oh, by the way, the rest of today is the first of the three days. Would you like to get a head start?"

Fuck.

One day, Scar returns from one of his excursions with a plan in mind. Without a word, he sits you down in the makeshift infirmary of his Fractsidus hideout of choice for the week. For once, he refuses to answer any of your questions, instead opting to gather a few medical supplies from around the room. When he's satisfied with the collection—bandages, ointment, and a bottle of painkillers—he sets them down on the table next to you.

"Did you get hurt out there or something?" You cross your arms and lean back in the uncomfortable metal chair. "Don't expect me to bandage you up." If that growing smile is anything to go by, he knows you're just trying to cover up your sense of unease, but he doesn't call you out on it.

"You wound me. But to answer your question, not quite."

The hair on the back of your neck stands on end. What could he have planned?

Scar isn't going to let you theorize for too long, it seems. He kneels in front of you, one of his signature ram skull cards held flat against the palm of his hand. He ignores you as you flinch away, tensing up, eyes darting between him and his hand.

"What are you doing?" you hiss. Scar chuckles in lieu of a response. His hand drifts up to the side of your throat, pressing his palm—and the smooth side of the card within it—firmly to the skin of your throat. As if reading your mind, his opposite hand lands on your opposite shoulder, keeping you in place before you can try anything.

With a wink, a sharp-toothed grin, and a faint flash of red from beneath his hand, he sears the card's image into your skin with a flash of white-hot pain. The rest is a blur. All you can remember are your cries as he presses your face into his shoulder, stroking your hair as he shushes you.

Now you sit on the couch, with a cup of (instant, but still) hot chocolate in hand and soft bandages around your throat. Scar crosses one leg over the other and slings an arm around your shoulder, pulling you in close.

"Why?" you ask simply, with not even enough energy left to look at him.

He hums in mock thought, making a show out of considering his words. "Well, there's really not much to it," he shrugs with one of his characteristic smiles. "I was just thinking of something more... permanent, today."

[jvnluvr]

blue lock boys when you surprise them ! pt 1. ♡

ft. sae & kaiser x f!reader

(neo-egoist arc spoilers!! be warned)

author’s note: my last blue lock post got a lot of love and it made me more motivated, so thank you everyone! might do a part too where the roles are swapped, or with more characters. lmk by asking if you have any other requests. enjoy more bllk content, my lovely readers. <3

itoshi sae:

sae is gone a lot. you knew from the moment you got into a relationship with him that this would be the reality of your relationship. you loved him though, so even if you missed him tremendously, he would always come back home into your arms. there wasn’t much more you could ask for.

sae had gone to brazil for three games. it was a week stay, but it felt so insufferably long. maybe 3-4 days in, you were sick of being home after work not having anyone to go to or not having anything to do. so what did you do? obviously book a ticket to brazil yourself! to avoid suspicion, you told sae that you might not respond to his texts because you were going out with your friends and end up staying over at their place. (all your friends were busy that week.) but he didn’t catch anything!

you fell asleep on the flight, waking up to your landing. your heart was racing as you walked off into the airport. you’ve never really done something this grand before. surprising your boyfriend right before his game? god, you never expected to even set foot in another country for a while. all you could do was quickly rush to get a taxi, (you learned basic portuguese for this) and off you were to the stadium where his last game was being hosted.

quickly playing the driving, you ran inside. even if shidou was annoying, you thanked him for not revealing your plan to sae and helping you enter the stadium freely. “your boyfriend is a lucky one, yeah?” you could only nod in nervousness. why were you scared to see him? what if he just told you to go back home, what if he didn’t want any distractions, what if-? “c’mon he’s about to get on field, go!” shidou pushed you near the place his team was getting ready.

“hey [name]! sae didn’t tell us you were gonna’ be here.” one of his teammates grinned at you. you saw sae slowly turn around when he heard your name, an annoyed look plastered on his faces, thinking his teammates were tricking him for a stupid laugh. that was until he actually saw you, that his eyes widened.

“uh,, surprise sae?” he kind of just stood there for a second, not even being able to process the fact that you were physically standing in front of him. you only were able to feel dejected for a mere second, assuming he wasn’t happy to see you, that was until you were suddenly enveloped into a warm hug. and for a second, it felt as if you were the only two in the blazing stadium. “stupid, why are you here?” he whispered in your ear, not letting you go. despite his chosen words, his voice was filled with nothing but softness.

“cause i missed you, sae. you’re always gone, and even if i was prepared, it hurts not being with you.” you replied back. god no, you weren’t going to cry right before he went on the field. “don’t cry princess, i’m right here.” you were trying so hard to hold it in, but you couldn’t help it, he was with you, after what felt like an eternity. “thank you for surprising me, you’re the best thing i could ask for.” he kissed your forehead, still whispering so his teammates couldn’t hear the sweet nothings he reserved for you.

michael kaiser:

the ace of bastard münchen loved you very dearly. kaiser loved selectively, but the moment he laid eyes on you, he was smitten. truly, he tried to make as much time as humanly possible to spend with you but when blue lock joined the top teams, his brain had been haywire because of isagi. all he could think of was how to improve, how to crush him.

so naturally; with his brain occupied and all, he gradually started spending more and more time away from home to practice. sure, he still texted you sometimes and all, but you felt more lonely before than ever, since you were so used to kaiser being there to smother you in his love and adoration.

so when today finally came, the day where they would go up against barcha fc, it was him to finally prove he was a better player than isagi. he left super early that morning. he didn’t expect you to even try and leave the house because you studied from home, and he was going to be gone practically the whole day. to be honest, you really did want to go and surprise him at the game, but you couldn’t afford to skip class today. so you had to come up with something else grand to surprise kaiser.

so you went out after class, an hour before he was supposed to come home. you bought heart-shaped balloons, confetti, a cake, and any other decorations that you could drape onto the walls in your shared house. just before you were about to go back, you got a *ping!* from your phone.

ml michael: baby we won!!!! i’ll be home in a bit <3

you: congrats ! i’m waiting <3

you knew after that you had to rush home and get ready. gratefully your house wasn’t too far from the store. so you quickly unloaded everything from your car and put everything up in the living room, near the entrance of your house. “i hope he likes it, and isn’t too tired to just ignore everything..” you let out a slight sigh before continuing to finish up putting up the decorations.

you heard a loud engine outside and you would have been surprised if it was anyone besides kaiser. you quickly ran to shut off the lights before hiding behind the couch that faced the wall. the sound of the keys jingling as the door opened made your heart race as you held your hand over your mouth, not wanting him to even hear your breathing. “my dearest love, i’m home- huh? why are the lights off?” you couldn’t help but internally giggle at his insanely slow reaction time.

“[name], are we playing hide and seek or something? you know i’ll find you.” at that, you unintentionally rolled your eyes at his confidence. there’s no way he would expect you to be behind this couch, not to mention he hasn’t even turned the lights on- “found you.” you yelped as kaiser picked you up from behind, sitting you on his lap on the side of the couch.

“now, does my pretty girl wanna tell me why she was hiding behind the couch?” he kissed your cheek, and he swore he could see them turn red in the darkness. your entire plan? ruined. this really wasn’t the way you wanted to surprise him. “just wanted to surprise you, y‘know? you didn’t even turn on the lights silly.” kaiser gave you a confused look but nonetheless got up to turn them on. “surprise! and of course good job on winning your game today.” you smiled at him, but he just stared at you with the biggest heart in his eyes.

“you’re the cutest thing ever.” he lifted you up again and you wrapped your legs around him. “there’s a cake too, we should eat it.” you mentioned, totally forgetting that you set it out on the table. “i love you, liebe.” he couldn’t stop kissing you after that surprise.

[jess-the-vampire]

Guys, I Think The Leaks Are Fakes Made By The Owl House Crew

yes yes i know, right now that might be a WILD ass claim to make but i want those who are reading this to hear me out and read this whole post, because I've been chatting with friends since these leaks happened and i think there’s reason to suspect we might be getting punked here.

And i say this fully accepting there is a chance i could be entirely wrong about this and they could be real, but I think there’s some reason to doubt the episode actually was leaked to the internet.

Now to get those who need it up to speed, the first of the three specials for toh s3 “Thanks to Them” is airing this Saturday on the 15th, it’s a big 45 minute episode that takes place on earth in Luz’s town of Gravesfield. There was a comic con panel about it a few days ago were some fans got to see some sneak peaks, it was all over the internet and everything.

But the day after, some images floated around, 6 of them mainly, claiming to be spoilers from this episode and everyone went WILD with anger, rightfully so, this huge ass episode got leaked to the internet and spoiled for everyone? Man what a way to ruin a week huh?

Well i thought the same for awhile too, but i’ve had some time to cool down and talk to others and guys....something isn’t right about this whole situation.

Below i’m gonna explain why this whole situation feels REALLY off and why I think there might be a chance that not only did the episode NOT leak, but the leaks were fabricated by the crew itself.

And just to be safe, i will do so without showing said leaks, nor will i tell you exactly what’s in them.

Those who saw them will understand, but for those lucky enough to avoid them, i’ll give you an idea of what about them makes me and others suspect something isn’t right.

Now i’ve had episode leaks before in fandoms, it’s nothing new, they can happen to any fanbase due to issues with scheduling, or mishandling, or episodes being put up online and some people get to it fast.

So the idea of this happening isn’t odd.

However, i raise you this, because i found this to be REALLY Strange.

How come it’s only these 6 images?

Remember when ST and EE were shown privately to the TOH discord by crew members as a treat before they aired? Remember how afterwards there was a ton of images about lumity blushing and amity’s parents?

We were told the ENTIRE EPISODE was not only LEAKED, but put ONLINE. 

And yet all i and anyone else have seen are these images and people claiming they’re real, and nothing else.

There were gifs, clips, dozens of frames from willow’s dad’s holding hop pop books to the “That’s rough buddy”. There was so much about these episodes the moment the internet found them.

So let me get this straight? Those episodes the moment the fandom gets them get dozens of gifs, clips, drives to watch them, screenshots, memes, and fanart.....meanwhile this HUGE 45 MINUTE EPISODE has nothing but these specific 6 images?

I’ve never seen anything besides these images floating around when it comes to the the claim the episode was put out, there are no clips, no audio, no gifs, no dialogue being mentioned, nothing.

Is that not strange? 

Don’t you guys think if the entire episode was leaked we’d see more then these specific images? Don’t you think we’d see MORE then these shots?

 Like this is a big episode, and there is nothing else worth spoiling? Nothing about the wittebanes? lumity? Huntlow? any other big reveals? You’d think if the episode was revealed those would be leaked too right? 

Isn’t it so odd that these are the only leaks out there? if there’s video, why doesn’t it seem to be posted anywhere? Heck, where is the video that shows off what’s happening in the leaks with the biggest spoilers?

it’s also strange how this got “Leaked” over a week before the episode comes out, because how in the heck would someone get access to the full episode THAT early? When episodes usually leak, if they aren’t shown privately, it’s either the day before or because of a scheduling error. 

So that also seems odd.

There’s also this to consider, the content of the images themselves.

I won’t go into detail obviously, but you know what i found so off-putting? That the images in question proved a specific theory, proved a few theories and predictions people were floating around the fanbase...theories that aren’t something that’s strongly supported by any current evidence or even liked by quite a few people.

The last images are so....out of nowhere too. They’re sequential enough that they could tell a story of what happened without context and some of them are DEFINTENLY SHOCKING.

But the first two, they have nothing to do with the context of those last 4, so why did they get leaked? they reveal nothing, they’re also things we get to see in the promos that just were released.

Except, if you consider they were “Leaked” to make these leaks seem more real.

Don’t you think it’s odd two of the leaks are things that ended up in the promo that showed up later that day? i mean, what are the CHANCES? 

But if you were on the crew, and you wanted the fans to buy into the leaks, you WOULD pair up the fakes with real ass images the fans would see later that day wouldn’t you?

It’s so oddly deliberate.

You would also make leaks that would support big theories and have shock value so people were bound to spread them more. Which is EXACTLY what these ones are.

And if you’re on the crew, you know what the characters are wearing, so even easier to make them look real, because no matter what clips are shown in any disney promos or commercials they will appear to line up with the leaks.

There’s also other off stuff, like how one image is VERY oddly cropped compared to the others, or some character inconsistencies, some even seemingly off model.

“But the 6 minutes in HD are a thing-”

yeah and if someone wanted to fool the fanbase into thinking these leaks were real they WOULD release the 6 minutes alongside it to claim the episode had to be out.

The thing is, the 6 minutes have already been leaked to the fanbase from the nycc panel to the entire fanbase the moment it ended, it’s not as if putting the hd version out there will spoil anything because everyone already basically saw it.

And again, if the episode is OUT, why is that the ONLY footage that appears to have been posted anywhere? The footage we the fans already know about and saw?

And i wanna send off the rest of the suspicious details about these leaks by talking about the crew.

The crew, has been DEAD SILENT about these leaks, they have not said a word about these specific ones, not even to warn fans about them or how upset they are or anything. 

So....

Which is not what they usually do, they have warned fans before, so why not warn us about these supposed BIG leaks about a big episode?

And ok, maybe they don’t wanna make a fuss about them, fair enough, but there’s something else.

Rebecca Rose, who works on this show, liked this tweet just recently.

Now for those who don’t know, Alex Hirsh (Voice of King and Hooty) is the creator of Gravity Falls, another Disney Cartoon. That cartoon is infamous for it’s mysteries and secrets, and Alex, actually made a fake leak about a major spoiler to troll the entire fanbase.

He made this tweet after it successfully tricked the fans.

Now not only does he work on this show too, but you wanna know where these “Leaks” started out? 4chan and reddit.

Same place his did.

What are the chances?

What are the chances a crew members likes this old tweet about his stunt NOW of all times? When the episode has supposedly been leaked?

Now would it suck to assume the entire fanbase got fooled into thinking the episode was leaked and all the posts made about shaming the leakers were completely for nothing?

Oh yeah.

For the crew to pull this stunt and make us all look like doofuses would be insane.

But i think there’s reason to find this whole situation off and i hope this post makes you all reconsider some details you might not of considered before. Maybe we were leaked, maybe this is all a huge coincidence.

But if you ask me.

This is all too fishy for my liking.

[plantsjustwannahavefun]

As someone who has kind of convinced themselves Izzy is gonna die at the end of S2, could you share your reasons why you think he won't? I'm sure a lot of us who think he's doomed could use some ideas as to otherwise. And who do you think is being buried in that grave scene in the Behind the scenes video? I'd love to hear your thoughts!!!

Hey, first of all, this is the first ask I’ve ever got, so thanks ☺️

Okay, so, there’s been so many posts recently with much more elaborate and better-argued takes than mine, and I can’t really take credit for anything I’m going to say here because none of these thoughts are original, really… but anyway.

I was surprised how quickly and strongly people seemed to have latched onto the “Izzy’s gonna die” train based on, as far as I'm concerned, nothing more than a couple of vague BTS bits and a general sense of foreboding caused by previous experience with stories like these.

First of all, the BTS pictures and videos. Namely the bit where Izzy seems to be lying down and the one with the grave. It’s a massive stretch at best. I think Izzy’s likely to get injured at some point, but this could literally be anything, we can’t even see what’s going on. This could be a fuckery. At one point Ed is holding out his hand stained with blood, but we don’t even know whose blood it is. Same for the grave. Izzy isn’t the only crew member missing from the ring of people standing around it. We know there’s going to be a big battle in E08, so it's not surprising someone would die, but there’s simply no proof and not at all likely it would be Izzy.

Also, think about it. Izzy’s a sailor. Sailors typically get burried at sea. The only other place I could imagine him wanting to be buried at is next to his family in England, but that might just not be feasible, so he’d most likely get burried at sea. The way I see it, he’d much rather rest on the ocean floor than some random beach in the Republic of Pirates, a place he claimed to hate in S01.

Another thing: the creators of the show know how rabid this fanbase is. They knew we were going to painstakingly pick apart and overanalyse every single frame of every morsel of promotional content we could get our hands on. So far they’ve gone to great lengths to avoid major spoilers. They even changed Ed’s line in the trailer where he said “and, more importantly, no more Izzy” (replaced it with “no more Stede”) in order not to reveal the plotline of Ed shooting Izzy, even though that line was pretty vague and could have been up to interpretation. So how likely is it that they would reveal a major character’s death in several frames of BTS material? Just not very likely at all, I’d say.

Then I’ve seen a few people argue that the writers want to get rid of Con because doing the CGI for the unicorn leg is too expensive and inconvenient. I’m calling bullshit on that one too. Admittedly, I don’t know much about CGI, but Con literally just has to wear a green sock over his boot or something like that, and it’s not that hard to frame it in a way that makes his leg less visible. So far we’ve had a lot of shots with him just sitting there, or where he was filmed from the waist up. I imagine it wasn’t easy for Con to mimic moving like he was missing a leg, but he nailed it perfectly, and he seemed to have an easier time walking around in episodes 6 and 7 compared to ep 5, so he won’t have to keep up the severe limping to the same extent. At this point Izzy is the third major character after Stede an Ed. There’s no way they’d get rid of him just because of a minor cinematographic inconvenience like that.

And then there’s the fact that nobody actually dies in this show except for the villains. David Jenkins took the “bury your gays” trope and turned it into “make your gays unkillable”. This is literally the show that gave us recreational gut stabbing. There’s only a couple of exceptions, but they were all very minor characters or, well, a bird… I really liked Ivan, but he was easily the least important character out of all the crew members, and probably the only reason his death was offscreen was because the actor quit after S01. There’s no indication that Con wants to quit, it’s obvious he’s having the time of his life with this role, so it’s very unlikely he would sacrifice it for some other project.

What OFMD does love, on the other hand, is characters appearing to die, only to end up surviving against all odds. That’s, like, its signature trait by now. None of us really believed Lucius was going to die, even though logically it was extremely unlikely he wouldn't just drown immediately. They didn’t even bother to explain it properly, that’s how little this show cares for realism. And we love that about it. Izzy himself has already had not one, not two, but THREE instances like that: the dream sequence scene, getting shot in the leg, then surviving his suicide attempt. If he happened to actually die for real now, that would just be bad storytelling.

Speaking of storytelling… That’s really the main reason I don’t believe Izzy’s going to die. I know a lot of people are hung up on the whole “his narrative arc is complete and he has served his purpose as a character” thing, and in any other show that might be true, but not this one. OFMD isn’t just a show, it’s a love letter to the queer community. Izzy is now a representation of a queer person discovering himself and being accepted into the found family. He figuratively embodies the spirit of the Revenge. The physical unicorn figurine was destroyed, but the crew managed to use something “broken” and give it a new life. If the show did this only to kill Izzy off right afterwards, that would feel like a slap in the face. It wouldn't complete his character arc, it would undo it. It would be way worse than another show killing off some character that simply happened to be gay. It would feel like killing a character off specifically because they finally found some happiness in being gay, right after reaching the peak of their personal development as a queer character. It would feel deliberately mean rather than merely thoughtless.

And it would make the very first scene of S2 kind of meaningless, too. That dream sequence specifically showed us what was not going to happen. Izzy wasn’t going to stand between Stede and Ed anymore. Izzy and Stede weren’t going to be enemies anymore. Ed wasn’t going to melt into Stede’s arms and immediately forget all that’s happened. And Izzy isn’t going to die. Simple as that.

[pttucker]

Aaaand we're done! \o/

Well... "done" in one sense of the word since I just did a very quick search and apparently there's like another 140 chapters of side stories and counting. Possibly post-epilogue stuff??? Didn't look too closely since I don't want too many spoilers if I can avoid it. I already saw one vague spoiler relating to 49% Dokja's side story. 😢😢😢

Though at least now with the main novel+epilogues finished all of the mysteries have been wrapped up (as far as I can remember).

I guess I'm still curious about the Library, but even if that's never touched upon in any side story chapters, I think I kinda get it with my theories and how he broke up into many, many different Dokjas and/or was two different Oldest Dreams?

Oh, and the stuff with Dokja & 1863's Sooyoung's blurry faces, I would have liked to have seen that resolved. There were mentions of Dokja slowly getting less blurry that were kinda glossed over but nothing concrete ever popped up for why his face was blurry or if/when it fully stopped being blurry? Unless I just missed some subtle thing?? Like I guess the epilogue did mention that Sooyoung had fun writing in stuff about him being the Ugly King but I don't think she made him ugly, that was just her memories of him?? Either way, poor Dokja. 😭

idk maybe I'm the only one obsessed with things like that. (I literally eventually started a separate section in my ORV Scrivener notes just for all the times Dokja's looks are mentioned in any way.) So maybe it just wasn't deemed important to "resolve"? Or, again, it was but I totally missed it.

Or maybe there's still something about the Library and his looks (and other mysteries I may not be currently remembering) in the additional 140+ chapters out there?

Unfortunately, English translations of Chapters 552+ don't all seem to be in one place, or at least I wasn't able to quickly find them in my first search. I'll keep looking, though. Might just have to cobble together the chapters one by one from various sources. If anyone happens to know where I could possibly find them...

Though I'm honestly not certain if I want to immediately jump into them or if I want to give it a moment to breathe. I actually am a little bit disappointed that I jumped right into the 40+ chapter epilogues right after finishing the main story since I feel like it stole some of the impact from him finding his two separate ■■.

Even if I was really happy to see how they continued living on in the system-less world and how Dokja felt after losing all of his companions to be Oldest Dream. Seriously you never get to see those sort of things after the "happy" ending.

And I did love seeing how it all tied back together with Sooyoung being the author and ORV itself being Dokja's story (which Sooyoung also wrote!) which in turn is our story and getting to see Secretive Plotter and the 999ths again and poor Joonghyuk just not knowing what to do with himself after losing his purpose as a protagonist and him and Sooyoung wanting to save their precious Dokja more than anything and both of them coming to understand Dokja better and so on and so forth.

But if nothing else, I do really want to finally read some fanfiction and otherwise engage with fandom now that the big mysteries are solved. And if I can make one final prediction it's going to be that the top fanfic is some kind of modern, no powers gamer AU or something. Because that's just how these fandoms seem to go. 😂

Anyway, I think it should be obvious from my many, many ORV posts but I really enjoyed the novel! I am very happy that so many things were so well foreshadowed, so much was so carefully planned, so many loose ends were tied up in a very satisfying manner, etc. It's very impressive for such a long, looooong story. I mean, just the fact that you could get inklings that something was up with Secretive Plotter before we even hit Chapter 100 yet not have the reveal come until much later is impressive just on its own.

I guess if I had one complaint it'd be that I didn't quite vibe with the whole "multiple walls to open the Final Wall" thing. Like, I totally was into the idea of Dokja's Fourth Wall being the largest fragment, and I actually thought that Jang Hayoung's wall was pretty clever since it's all about commenting/texting others when Jan Hayoung was created due to Dokja's comments.

But I'm not quite so into the Wall of Samsara and Wall That Divides Good and Evil. Like, I do get how they relate to the story, what with Dokja literally reincarnating into multiple worlds himself and the fact that a lot of Dokja's main theme was that he didn't nicely fit into a box of good or evil. I mean, his literal Modifiers are Demon King of Salvation and Watcher of Light and Darkness. Not to mention, Dokja went through a ton of the novel saying that just because they were evil in one turn doesn't mean they're evil in the next and vice versa, as well as the fact that the had companions on both sides of the spectrum.

So I'm not saying that they just came out of nowhere, but personally I find something to be a little off with them when compared to the other two walls? idk these are just my initial thoughts and I might feel completely different once I re-read the novel and can better appreciate things.

Which, speaking of, I'm debating with myself if I want to do the truly ridiculous thing and start this entire novel over right from the beginning in true Dokja fashion or if I want to be good and maybe give some other universe some love. I was looking at The World After The Fall but...uh...

Not to say that things with tiny fandoms aren't also good!!!

But it does make me kinda side-eye it a little and wonder if I shouldn't just read Solo Leveling...

...or read whatever side stories I can find, aaaaaalllllll the fanfic, and then read ORV all over again. 😂

We'll see.

FYI when I do start reacting to the side stories I think I'll use the tag "orv side story" if anyone wants to block it preemptively to avoid spoilers.

[jemmo]

his man 3 ep 9 + 10

consider me gagged. literally gagged. i tried so hard to avoid spoilers all day and im so glad i did bc wow ep 10 alone had changed so much for me. like i had to grab my laptop to write this so i could type fast enough to keep up with my thoughts. anyway.

and let me start off with what im a little less invested in, which is the youngjoon and myeongkyun situation. i was busy on holidays for a couple of weeks when this was picking up so didn't write about my thoughts, but it was safe to say i was more on youngjoon's side, not a staunch hater of myeongkyun but bc i liked youngjoon a lot at the start and also feel for the frustration of someone giving vague answers when you're trying to talk something else bc man ive been there. but with this conversation, it puts myeongkyun's behaviour in such a different light thats easier for me to understand and empathise with. like... if you were invested in a relationship that ended vaguely but you always kept some amount of hope alive all this time, only to be met with percieved coldness and harshness when you see that person again, i see why you'd tense up, which explains why he always seemed somewhat uncomfortable in the house. and i also understand why he seemed to 'pester' youngjoon, bc he's either conciously or uncounciously defaulting back to the dynamic and level of friendliness they had before. for youngjoon, he easily ended a relationship he thought neither party was too interested in, only to still be contacted by that person and then have that person pester you in the house. like that seems like someone who is trying to get at an ex. for myeongkyun, this is all a much longer process of him coming to terms with the fact that yes, he was more invested in this relationship and yes, he maintained some level of feelings and hope they'd come back together, and seeing him having to face the fact that he was the only one thinking that and whatever he was holding on to never mattered... ngl i cried a bit. the fact is him and youngjoon just are different when it comes to dating, youngjoon is very hot from the go, but if he feels nothing in return he backs off with nothing lost, whereas myeongkyun takes a lot longer to develop, realise and then admit his feelings, and so you can easily see how these two people would misunderstand each other. and i also wanna say how interesting i find myeongkyun's presentation and journey on the show. he came in with this big impact both bc of him being presented as this handsome and confident guy and bc he had a history with youngjoon. together, its easy to jump to the conclusion that myeongkyun was the one who did something to youngjoon or was in the wrong, when that wasn't actually the case at all. it also makes me wonder what kind of myeongkyun we wouldve gotten if youngjoon wasnt also there. would we have gotten this confident hottie? bc i think, bc youngjoon was there and all of this history was brought up (history of a first relationship by the way!! no wonder it got to him so much), making him face it revealed a much softer and more sensitive side of him that mightve taken longer had this not all happened, which in a twisted way im glad of bc it means he can now get closer with other people, and im interested to see how he will shift now, if we'll be able to see this goofy side of him but a lot more carefree. anyway, all of this is to say i ended up liking myeongkyun more than i thought bc suprise suprise, people are a lot more complicated than they first appear. and honestly... i might like him more than youngjoon now, but dont tell me from 3 weeks ago that.

and now to the juicier stuff. this whole love triangle that is apparently turning square. i really dont know how to put my thoughts into words bc im somehow both sad and happy?? i guess i wanna say there's people im happy for and people im sad for. first of all im sad for hwi, but also really glad this conversation at the end of ep 10 was had. we've seen too many examples on this show of people not knowing how to give up on pursuing people, and even more examples of people that are poor at communicating where their interest lies and letting people down when its needed, so this made me happy. after how overwhelmed he was in earlier eps, im glad seongmin is feeling some clarity, even if i disagree but we'll get to that and i guess its his feelings that matter, and im glad he communicated clearly where he's at. but man did my heart break for hwi during that chat. there's that youthful passion and naivety to his feelings for seongmin that just feels horrid and cruel to squash, but also necessary, and i will very much second seongmin and seungjin's sentiment that he can date other people and should know that seongmin is not the only person in the world for him. in this season, it seems people have so quickly and easily found their one person they want to commit to and easily formed couples, but that doesnt mean they're right, nor does it mean that's the only person for them, and the show seems to be encouraging them away from this too. hwi was just so enamoured by seongmin, it feels like he found someone that he thought was absolutely perfect, and so letting go of that feels impossible. but for me too, i did love them together, it was so sweet and cute at the start, but things can and do change and when they do, we all need to realise it doesn't lessen anything that happened. for those couple of days, everything they felt was genuine and they were happy and that can still be remembered fondly while mourning the fact that you won't have that same happiness with that person again.

and i also wanna say im kind of sad for jaeseung. i said just that i was happy about this clarity seongmin has now, but for jaeseung, i feel sad that he just seems so on edge all the time, like how people can be on the edge of getting angry all the time, except for him it feels like he'll spiral into his worst thoughts at the simplest things. like when hwi would talk about jaeseung, yes he'd be mad and jealous, but until the end of this ep, it didn't feel that deep, like he'd joke about getting mad but i wouldn't feel that much tension. and yes while hwi did get more frustrated in these eps, for a lot longer jaeseung has been so tightly strung and will so easily get mad just when he sees hwi and seongmin together. and im like... yes ok get jealous whatever, but you can't actually get that mad when he's equally entitled to spend time with the person he likes and try to win him over. and if its bc he really does like seongmin that much then im sorry but i don't think jealously to that much of a level is sweet. you aren't a thing yet, so just take a minute and breathe bc at the end of the day, seongmin and hwi will feel and behave however you want and thats out of your hands. and i know on some level its bc he's jealous of the fact that hwi is able to express his feelings so openly and blatantly while jaesung cant, like that is what he always focuses his frustration on as if hwi doing that is bad when actually its just completely within his right and jaeseung is equally allowed to express his feelings. plus i hate to say it but i just dont feel seongmin and jaeseung's chemistry yet. if i see it later on then im more than happy to change my mind but their date was so bland and matter of fact, they don't share any interests, and since that date there's been nothing that's made me vibe with them as a couple. it feels convenient instead of something that started with feelings but hey, if genuine feelings do develop i will stand corrected, but all i say is just bc something seems like it should be right, doesnt mean it actually is.

and my final piece of happiness will of course be for seungjin bc as much as im sad about hwi losing seongmin... hwi and seungjin has so much potential to be the perfect friends to lovers to put bridgerton s3 to shame. i just think theyre fantastic together, they get on so easily and match each other's vibe so well and i'd be so happy if something developed, but i dont want to get too excited bc hwi has been so focused on seongmin that i don't know if or how his interests for others will develop now.

but all in all i liked these eps, ep 10 especially, and im very interested to see how this new love square will resolve (remember, polyamory exists too)

[doppel-dean-er]

while working on the new chapter of picture perfect I'm mulling over a detail that would reference one of my other works and I think i'm going to get rid of it because it doesn't make any sense. still want to preserve it though, so here's the cut section. it's in reference to that Jeff/Rich fic I made like a year ago where Rich is a serial killer, and after writing this I realized it wouldn't make any sense for them to find what they did in the way that they did (avoiding spoilers at all cost lmao). here it is though!! it's like a director's cut but i'm just meta for myself

(they just stole a car, and are using it to get to canada.)

The car, used, was not completely cleaned of the previous owner’s belongings. There was nothing too incriminating, a bit of trash, an iPhone charger – and to the intrigue of both of them, A blank CD with ‘for Stephanie’ written in sharpie, with tiny shaky hearts around it. Once they had gathered as much gasoline as they could fit into the car, Abed climbed into the driver’s seat and Troy into the passenger. He turned the disc over his his hand.

“I think the last time someone made a mix-tape was the year 2000,” Abed said, slotting his thumb into the middle of the disc and taking it. He spun it around.

“You know your way around analog tech, huh?” Troy inquired, more a statement than a question.

Abed stopped spinning the disc. “This is digital.”

“But it’s –” Troy let his protest die before he could voice it. “What?”

“CDs are digital,” Abed stated. “Right?”

“Noooo,” Troy affirmed in disbelief – he crossed his arms and furrowed his brows. “They can’t be. You have to connect them to something to work.”

“well, I –” Abed frowned in thought. “Are cars analog?”

The conversation was too much for him. The concept of analog and digital no longer made sense. Were they analog? Is AI the digital version of the analog human? Troy gripped his temples. “that’s wrinkling my brain, dawg. I’m gonna pop,” Troy mumbled.

Abed, yielding, put the CD into the player. Rather, he shoved it onto multiple parts before finding the actual opening for it. Abed started to drive, as the speakers crackled to life – not with music, but with a shaky intake of breath. Troy, intrigued, turned up the volume.

A teenage boy’s voice came through, nervous and cracking: “Stephanie, this is for you, girl. I love you.” A song began, a familiar one, but not one Troy could put a name to.

Abed made a sound with an emotion Troy could not place, somewhere between surprise and morbid delight. “This is an interesting choice for a first song,” he said. Troy hummed – a question. Abed looked back and forth between him and the road, smug. “I mean, I hope that they just have a mutual love for Pina Coladas, and not that they cheated on each other. Unless they were into that.”

The first line hit Troy like a truck: ‘I was tired of my lady.’ “Must’ve been a melody person,” Troy reasoned, though without doubt unsure in himself.

“I hope so, if not I feel bad for Stephanie.” Abed tapped on the wheel to the beat of the music.

(and after another conversation that is being KEPT, it is revealed that this is the ONLY song on this CD.)

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

Furina, and Genshin Stans' Inability to Handle Criticism

*SPOILERS*

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The introduction of Focalors as a character in 4.0, did what it should. She was a very polarizing character and had people forming very specific opinions that would be damn near impossible to change.

Most everyone enjoyed the fact that she wasn't kissing the Traveler's ass, wasn't flirting with the Traveler from the jump, and was dramatic. However, that did not mean that many of them came away liking her as a character. It wasn't translated as 'simply bratty' or 'adorable tantrums' to many of us.

People are capable of liking the fact that she was written differently even if we didn't like her personality.

Personally, I still don't like Keqing even after everything that's happened so far. I find her attitude to be very annoying, and her stances on many things piss me off, but it's also nice for her to not be up the Traveler's ass when they come around. It gives every scene a nice air to experience.

Furina's story ending up incredibly tragic does not mean people have to suddenly pander to her.

At most, she was disliked by many for appearing to be lazy and not actually doing anything useful for her people the whole time. And Arlecchino had a right as a citizen of Fontaine, to call her out for her inaction and chosen lifestyle. Just because it was revealed that Furina was playing her part in order to fool Fate and the Heavenly Principles, does not mean Arlecchino is in the wrong for what she said(attempting assassination is another matter entirely).

Furina still called Paimon an object and tried to ignore her living, breathing sentience just so she could try to get the Traveler on trial for a fake accusation. Even if that law actually exists(per Neuvillette's voice lines) Paimon is not an object. Those of us with common sense recognized how fucked up that was, and how bullshit it was to try something like that just to... prevent the Traveler from wandering around and getting involved in stuff.

Y'all realize the Traveler would have ended up in the Fortress of Meropide for a crime they did not commit, right?

No one held a gun to Furina's head to make her do that. She could have completely avoided the Traveler entirely, but instead SHE CHOSE to make that their first meeting. The Traveler and Paimon base their impressions on her off of that meeting. And even after months in Fontaine, she did not prove to be much better at anything else.

In the end, Focalors' plan proved Furina wasn't being useless. She was actually doing her part as faithfully as possible, but that's all it really did. The accusations of her not caring and being lazy were wrong. She cared a lot and she worked very hard to exhaustion(both mental and physical).

But Furina spent 500 years treating people a certain way, and that has results. Those not from Fontaine are not as blinded by the glamor of her behavior and don't see it as acceptable. And guess what? Her introduction to the Traveler involved racism and dehumanizing the Traveler's companion(even if Paimon isn't human, she's sentient and living and humanoid) for the sake of a farcical court trial.

Then, she made false accusations against Lyney not long after. And the investigation by anyone but the Traveler was truly lackluster with barely any effort put in. To make things worse, she couldn't find any proof for her claims, so she just threw a group of orphans under the bus because... for some reason the Fatui has to be the ones to take in Fontainian children so they're not living on the streets.

It's not a good look.

Furina has suffered and has done her part to save her people, but she's also done some fucked up things and hasn't apologized for them.

You can't clamor for Arlecchino to apologize for what she said, or for Paimon to apologize for pestering her over and over to help out that theater troupe, and then sit there quiet over her behavior that had NOTHING to do with her cover as a 'god'. She could have easily kept up that cover while demanding for the case to be investigated better(NO ONE thought to look into the possessions of the troupe members before the Traveler asked? NO ONE thoughts to look in ALL the boxes while down int he basement?).

Many people got to learn that Furina is not a shitty Archon. She protected the people in the only way she knew was possible. She held that secret and was willing to take it to the grave.

She's also made some mistakes and never apologized.

The Traveler and Paimon not really knowing who the real Furina is or what her personal values are, doesn't mean they're being callous to her. Paimon saying she had no idea Furina would feel a certain way over something that happened, isn't her being mean. It's her literally not knowing and saying it in surprise.

The Traveler and Paimon thinking of Furina first after hearing that someone needs an expert in drama and theater, isn't them being mean. She's literally a celebrity known for performing on stage and is the only actress they were aware of in Fontaine. Common sense, people, learn to use it.

At most, the constant pushing was the actual bad part, and even then, this is Paimon... who needs things said 2 or 3 times in different ways before she(and by extension the playerbase) understands what's going on. That's just her character to repeat things just to get the clear picture. She's been doing it since the start of the game, and we all hate it. This isn't new.

Adding on... Neuvillette literally also did the same shit when he heard Furina was involved in a theater troupe's last performance. He tried to urge her to take to the stage once again and was quite insistent over it as well. He even used his own emotional ties to her to try and get her to change her mind. Yeah, he's hot and cool, but if Neuvillette doing the pestering is perfectly okay, then it was never the pestering and 'guilt-tripping' y'all had a problem with. It was just the people it was coming from.

Apparently, if it comes from a stranger that you aren't friends with, it's evil and horrible and despicable, but if someone you've known for 500 years keeps bringing up how they wish you'd change your mind on doing the thing you said you won't do anymore, all because they enjoyed watching you do it, then it's alright and just friends looking out for friends.

Furina is complex and more compelling as a character now, but she's still got a long way to go and all the time in the world to get there.

[prismatoxic]

Thoughts upon finishing dungeon meshi? I didn't expect to fall in love with this series and about to reread it all over again cause I know there's tons of details I missed on the first time around

many thoughts... head full...

i was spoiled for a lot of the stuff in the end because that's what happens when you jump headlong into a fandom without finishing the media, but there were some things that took me by surprise, which i was grateful for. i was shielding my partner from spoilers the whole time as well, because they actively upset him and i didn't want any of the stuff i knew to ruin the reveal for him. outside of one thing (laios becoming king), he actually avoided it all!

but, like, on the whole? fuck, man. there aren't many medias i hold in such high regard.

i loved every single character in the entire story. yes, even the ones who sucked; they sucked in compelling and well-written ways. i fell hard for kabru and mithrun, and love them so much, which surprised me. like, i could write essays about kabru, i fucking love the guy. don't let the chilaios posting fool you. but i also fucking adore namari and shuro, who seemed so insignificant in the very beginning. i loved every break we got to see them, or the canaries, or kabru's party.

and our main cast... izutsumi exceeded expectations in every possible way and i can't get enough of her. senshi's backstory was heartbreaking and added a depth to him i hadn't anticipated at all. falin, despite being fridged for the majority of the story, was such an important part of it all that she permeates every inch of the tale, and her survival by the end is an emotionally momentous occasion--and she's so incredible in the moments we get to spend with her!! marcille is so richly complex and amazing to watch, whether she's struggling or dominating the scene, and her love for those close to her is beautiful; we all know she loves falin, but the depths of her affection for the others, especially laios, was amazing.

and, like, you know how i feel about chilchuck and laios. but i will say laios's arc by the end of the manga blew me the fuck away. the things he had to sacrifice to save those he loved... the way he was revealed to hate humanity, yet we know he's always kind? that the people he loves most are humans? the way he did, in the end, accept his role as king, to guide and protect people?

laios doesn't get fixed by the narrative. much like falin, he merely changes, and whether it's for the better or not isn't always clear. but his friends love him, and he's respected, even though the oddities that have been pointed out about him the entire time have gone nowhere. and i think that's fucking incredible.

ryoko kui is a master at showing and not telling. from the small actions characters perform that are never brought up in the text to the things you can trace back through the story as having always been implied, the story remains deep and compelling all the way through, building an entire world and the lives of its characters up as it goes. there was not an inch of this work that wasn't given thought and care.

i loved dungeon meshi from start to finish. nothing i've been into in the past long, long while has been so consistently well done. i'm excited to see what trigger does with it, and what else ryoko kui might do post-canon, and perhaps most of all, where the fandom takes it. it's been such a blast to engage with and i'm so glad i gave it a chance.

[missnight0wl]

Let’s talk about Elton Elderberry – and why he’s a total bitch

First of all, I want to thank @thedoodlecat because a lot of the ideas I’ll discuss were formed during our conversations. So, credit where credit's due!

Secondly, I want to make it clear from the start that it’s not quite a theory, meaning: I personally don’t believe Jam City might take the story in this direction. However, I believe that a lot of it might be a leftover of what’s the story supposed to be. And yes, it can also be explained by the writers having no idea what they’re doing, but on the other hand, it ties in with many interesting details from the past, mostly from Y5. And I still believe that year was super important for the narrative.

Now, without further ado, let’s move on to Elton. Spoilers up to Y7Ch56.

Ok, so the first thing that really bothers me about Elton Elderberry is that he was well aware of the Crown of Mneme, how dangerous it can be, and he had to at least suspect that it might be in the Sunken Vault – and for all those years, he did absolutely fucking nothing.

And it’s quite problematic because there’s no way he just… didn’t know about MC and the Cursed Vaults. At the beginning of Y3, MC told us that pretty much everyone could learn about it from the Daily Prophet. And we know that the Ministry was especially aware of it. Even if we ignore Moody’s involvement starting from Y6, first with Rakepick and then with Peregrine, we also had the Ministry sending Tofty to spy on MC during our O.W.L.s because of the Cursed Vaults. And honestly, I just don’t buy the explanation that Elton somehow… just didn’t hear about it. So, like, what the hell?

Now, I can hear you saying: “Oh, but of course Elton didn’t do anything because he wasn’t a character yet and Jam City probably just created him now!”. And you know what? That’s a totally valid remark and quite probable explanation. Still, I kept thinking about it anyway, and I quickly noticed another problem with Elton: how we actually learnt that he was directly involved in Ryusaki’s death. I mean, look at those scenes:

And then after our visit to the Archives:

(I just have to point out that he’s fucking grinning here…)

… and then:

Do you see the problem here??

Imagine this. You meet Steve. Steve tells you about the mother who died in a car accident with her two children. Sadly, she was the one who caused the accident because she was under the influence. Later you learn on your own that the said mother was a model parent, always there for her children despite having two jobs, actually sober during the accident, rarely drunk at all, and in fact, it was Steve who caused the crash. When confronted, Steve admits to everything and says he feels terrible about it and it haunts him every day. Would you believe Steve that he’s so sorry? BECAUSE I DEFINITELY WOULDN’T. In fact, I’d do everything to stay away from Steve.

Now, again, I’m aware that it might be simply JC’s incompetence in making a connection between the Crown of Mneme and Dai Ryusaki – even though it could’ve been easily done without Elton actively portraying Ryusaki as a bad guy. For example:

Elton: I advise you to avoid the Crown at all costs. MC: I wonder if it has anything to do with the Dark Scroll… Elton: You don’t mean Dai Ryusaki’s Dark Scroll, do you? MC: That dark wizard? Yes, I do. Why? Do you know anything about it too? Elton: *not answering right away and looking very ashamed instead, showing already that he doesn’t want to reveal the truth because of his loyalty to the Ministry, but also showing his guilt*

And yes, I know it wouldn’t be the first time JC didn’t see the simplest solutions in their writing. But as I was thinking about it more, I realised that if we assume that Elton indeed knew about MC and the Cursed Vaults all that time and did nothing on purpose, it’s both surprising and fascinating how many things start to add up. In this scenario, Elton would also want to portray Ryusaki as a bad guy. I know it doesn’t fully work currently because, in the end, it was Elton who let us go to the Archives, but I guess it’s possible that originally, we were supposed to learn the truth about Ryusaki in some different way. And either way, I have to point out that there’s something very off in this part of the story no matter what. I mean, let me ask you one question:

Why exactly Dai Ryusaki was killed?

Because if you think about it, it was never really explained… properly. Like, we keep using words like “miscommunication” or “misunderstanding”.

But… how the fuck can you kill somebody because of misunderstanding? I guess we’re supposed to interpret it as: “The International Confederation of Wizards thought Dai wanted to use his invention to do bad things while he was actually trying to destroy his invention once he realised it’s dangerous”. However, this interpretation doesn’t really make sense. Why? Look at Ryusaki’s notes we found in the Archives.

Ryusaki seems absolutely certain that once he destroys what he was about to destroy, it’s done. He accepted that his work would be no more after that. And that makes me believe that nobody else (or almost nobody) knew about his work. Because otherwise, he’d have to realise that someone might try to replicate his work, right? Or even force him to simply repeat it? Yet he’s not worried about it. And the thing is that Ryusaki was a very intelligent, reasonable, and conscious man. So… how the hell the International Confederation of Wizards knew anything to misinterpret Ryusaki’s intentions?

Well, what if there was someone other than Ryusaki who knew about his work after all? But Dai completely trusted that person, so that’s why he was so sure the whole thing would remain secret? What if that person happened to work at the British Ministry of Magic? What if this person was…

Elton “The Bitch” Elderberry?

Ok, so I know that everything I said so far is a big assumption, but I swear it does make sense, so please, bear with me. And I’ll actually start by summarising what I believe how it all began and then I’ll elaborate on each element because it’s gonna be easier for me that way.

So, I believe that Dai Ryusaki and Elton Elderberry were once good friends. They were both quite talented wizards, and while they had different goals in life, they realised at some point that the treasure from the Cursed Vaults might help them achieve that. Together, they created a group that we know as R. Unfortunately for Elton, Dai realised eventually that both his own invention and the Cursed Vaults themselves are dangerous, so he decided to quit. Elton didn’t like it, and he was afraid that Dai would try to stop him as well, so he decided to be proactive about it. Using his position as a Hit Wizard at the Ministry, he sold Dai out, claiming he’s a dangerous dark wizard. Elton kept R alive ever since, and he was waiting for MC to be born because MC is necessary to open the final Cursed Vault.

Of course, I assume that the original plans for the final Cursed Vault were different than what we saw in Y6. Also, from that point, I’ll keep calling Elton “Brelton” because:

BITCH + R + ELTON = BRELTON

… and I just think this distinction might be useful because, as I said, I don’t think it might still be true, yet it seems that Elton Elderberry will stay in the story anyway. Ok, but let’s talk about some details.

Dai’s and Brelton’s goals

As for Dai’s goal, it’s pretty straightforward. It’s basically said directly in the game: he wanted to help people with traumatic memories. What would be Brelton’s goal then? Well, let me remind you one note from R we found in Y5:

The interesting thing about it is that for the longest time, it was the only case where it was mentioned that R had any interest in immortality. As soon as the Dark Scroll was introduced, we only talked about R wanting knowledge. I even talked with my friend about how weird it is that the writers totally abandoned the immortality aspect (Bee, I’m not tagging you because I don’t want you to feel obliged to read this long-ass post, but if you’re reading it anyway: Hi! I’m talking about you!). In fact, I’m pretty sure that the word “immortality” wasn’t even used in the main story after that note from R – until our conversation with Elton in Y7Ch49:

And you know what? I don’t think it’s just a coincidence. Because it’s not even true! Every time we talked about Ryusaki’s potion, it was about mind-enhancing potion.

So… what if it’s the leftover of the original plans for Elton’s character? What if it’s Brelton who was all about immortality? And now, JC just looked at the notes made by Matt London and his team and simply put the immortality potion in there without thinking if it made sense. I realise it feels like another stretch, but I have to point out that Elton’s old age is a little sus – and they stress all the time how old he is. I mean, wizards do live longer than Muggles, but most of them don’t live over 300 years. (There’s actually the HP wiki page about it.)

And the thing is that from the story point of view, it wasn’t even necessary to make Elton this old. Sure, it adds some flavour with the reveal that he was actually there when Dai was killed, but on the other hand, he mentions every now and then that his memory is not the best anymore etc. So, wouldn’t it be better if MC met Elton's son or grandson, for example? Personally, I think it would, and that’s why I’m gonna assume for the rest of this analysis that R was always about “enlightenment and immortality”, and that Dai Ryusaki represented the first element while Elton Elderberry the second one.

Why they needed the Cursed Vaults?

Ok, so now that we know what they wanted in general, let’s try to figure out why they went after the Cursed Vaults – and as I mentioned already, I assume that the original treasure was actually… well, a thing. I admit that I wasn’t able to figure out what exactly it could’ve been, but I have some ideas about what properties the Treasure could have, based on Dai’s and Brelton’s goals.

This time, let’s start with Brelton because it’s a bit easier. Basically, I believe that Brelton managed to invent something that grants semi-immortality, but it’s not the perfect invention. Sure, he’s still alive and his mind is not in the worst condition, but still. So, I think that he believes that the Treasure could improve his invention by granting actual immortality and/or eternal youth.

It’s a bit more complicated with Dai because we have to consider multiple elements. First of all, we have the mind-enhancing potion. The recipe for it was hidden on the Dark Scroll which was confirmed by the notes found by MC in the Archives. But earlier, MC also mentioned “a device”, and then they read: “I can’t bear to destroy my life’s work, but I know that I must. The scroll has already been hidden”. So… what exactly was he about to destroy? If we want to stick to the legend told by Corey, it might’ve been about the already-prepared potion. He might’ve also been referring to his research in general and his notes or something. But then we have the Crown of Mneme… And that’s quite interesting because we actually know that it’s something he found in Greece – which, by the way, confirms that the Crown was not something placed in the Cursed Vaults originally (I’ll return to it in a moment).

Either way, to simplify it a little bit, I’m gonna assume that Dai’s invention was about the Crown and the potion - and that together was considered his “device”. What about the Treasure then? I see a couple of options.

Perhaps the Treasure would give more control over the Crown or allow to exchange of thoughts both ways. I mean, what we saw in the game looked like the wearer could only send their thoughts, but if Dai wanted to treat patients with traumatic memories, he probably wanted to extract those memories.

Perhaps the Treasure could permanently remove/destroy traumatic memories. Because I don’t think you can actually do it with Obliviate, for example. I might be wrong, but I feel that there is always a small chance that the memory would come back or simply leave some mark behind it.

How the Crown of Mneme ended in the Sunken Vault?

So… If Dai was so certain that his invention was gone and to be forgotten, and on top of that I claim that he didn’t want to have anything to do with the Cursed Vaults, then how the hell the Crown of Mneme ended in the Sunken Vault? Well, I guess I won’t surprise anyone at this point by saying that it was Brelton who was behind it. And the best thing is that we actually know that R was in the Sunken Vault in the past – and that’s thanks to the note found in the Weird Sisters TLSQ:

So, this is what I propose. Brelton got the Crown of Mneme before Dai’s death somehow. I don’t think that Dai would just give it to him because I assume they already fell apart at that point. Or perhaps Brelton lied to Dai and offered that he’d destroy the Crown? Either way, he probably wasn’t planning to destroy it (as it might be useful for him), and he continued his search for the Cursed Vaults. Unfortunately for him, once he got to the Sunken Vault, he realised he couldn’t do anything without the key. And now, the key might be the Gillyweed/Coral Key Rakepick took from us in Y4, or maybe it’s about the siblings – or it’s both (like in my version of the story). Anyway, the Treasure was unachievable, so Brelton used this opportunity to hide the Crown of Mneme and just left.

Ryusaki and the creation of the Cabal

Ok, but why I assume that Dai Ryusaki even knew about the Cursed Vaults, to begin with? I just explained how it was probably Brelton who put the Crown in the Sunken Vault, and we don’t really have anything to prove that Dai needed the Treasure to improve his invention. Well, yeah. But we have something else. Something that I find very exciting. See, during our first trip to Knockturn Alley, we visited also Flourish and Blotts where we found a Black Quill containing this message:

And for the longest time, I was just… absolutely stumped by it. I couldn’t come up with any decent theory as to who left that note. But now, I do strongly believe that it was left by Dai Ryusaki. Brelton was too greedy to get his immortality and too afraid of his own mortality to leave the Cursed Vaults and refused to listen to his friend that it’s too dangerous. The note also talks about “them”, so maybe R had some more members at that point already (but only Dai and Elton knew everything). And you know what makes it even more fascinating? We found this Black Quill in the book by Maerwynn Montfort who’s a totally original author mentioned only in this specific scene in HPHM. Interestingly, Maerwynn is a feminine name that is of Welsh origin that means “joy”. And coincidently, Dai is a Welsh masculine given name (which means “beloved”), a hypocorism of Dafydd or David, as well as a masculine Japanese given name. Like…

Are you kidding me??

I mean, ok, sure. It might be just a coincidence. But you have to admit that it’s a pretty damn odd coincidence. Maybe Maerwynn was someone from Dai’s Welsh part of the family or just a friend whom he met there? Or maybe it’s just a pseudonym or something. But either way, it might be hinting at some (“Welsh”) connection. And that’s why they were exchanging secret information!

Still, that’s not even all I finally realised about the note. Because I also believe that it confirms that the Cabal from Jacob’s notebook is a different group than R – and I think that it was Dai Ryusaki who started that group.

Ok, so I explained the whole idea in this post. It’s one of my shorter analyses so I recommend checking it out. But to put it even shorter, my problem with the note from Y5Ch15 was always that Jacob was confused about why the Cabal wanted to kill him.

But R was very open about threatening Jacob and especially his family, so… it shouldn’t be surprising at all. He might’ve been confused if he was doing everything R told him to do – but then it doesn’t make sense that R would want to kill Jacob and MC. I mean, after Duncan’s death, they clearly told him to continue his search.

So, I always interpreted the Cabal as a separate group who wanted to protect the Cursed Vaults by killing the siblings because the siblings are necessary to get to the Treasure. And if we join it with the note from Flourish and Blotts, it totally adds up. Dai realised that the Cursed Vaults were dangerous and wanted to stop R. Brelton wouldn’t listen, so Dai wanted to destroy the vault portrait which, assumingly, would make it impossible to get to the Portrait Vault. On top of that, he started the group that was supposed to make sure that nobody would ever get hurt by the Vaults by killing the siblings (who can get the Treasure). It was about the creation of the Cabal this whole time!

Brelton as the true leader of R

In general, I have to say that Brelton being the true leader of R just makes more sense. In this scenario, it’d also mean that Peregrine is just… a current face of the organisation. A puppet. And yes, I keep saying that I don’t believe that Perry was always planned to be a part of the story, so why do I even mention him? Well, to be completely honest, I’m willing to accept that Perry was planned along with Dai and Brelton’s story – just not as MC’s father. Because it makes sense that Brelton would want to keep his position at the Ministry, and if so, he’d probably need someone to (occasionally) represent R. And that could be Peregrine. In fact, we saw some moments when the leader of R was treated weirdly ambiguous. The first case is our conversation with Rakepick in Azkaban. And yes, I know that we didn’t know about Peregrine then yet, so it kind of makes sense to leave it more ambiguous, but I want to point out a specific thing Rakepick said.

Honestly, I was always confused by it because “the one behind it all” sounds like someone who also created R, at least in my opinion. On the other hand, we had hints in the past that R is a rather older organisation. Not to mention that Perry claimed that he joined R, meaning that R was R before the current leader joined them. Of course, it is possible that Perry lies. It is also possible that the title of R is simply given to each leader. But… I don’t know. Rakepick’s words sound to me like she is talking about only one person. However, if that one person is actually Brelton, it makes sense that he’s both the current true leader and the one responsible for creating the organisation.

My other issue is with Olivia’s memories. Because Rakepick is very clearly talking to someone from R in those scenes, but for whatever reason we never learn who it was.

So, what if it was actually supposed to be Brelton? And speaking of that, ever since we learnt that Olivia was working at the Ministry, I thought it was pretty suspicious, and I fully expected that R was controlling that. And what a coincidence that Elton became Olivia’s mentor for all those years…

Hell, it’d even make more sense why Verucca is so damn worried about Perry being cursed by Ryusaki’s amulet. Because if Brellton indeed betrayed Dai, then it could mean that it’s Brelton who’s the real target of that whole revenge plan. The curse might be simply generalising it because, well, it’s just a spirit that’s basically the essence of Ryusaki’s anger. But if Verucca knows about everything as a high-ranking member of R, then yeah, she’d try to stop Perry from hurting their dear leader Brelton.

And… that’s it!

Once again, like I said, I do not expect the game to confirm any of the things I discussed above. But that being said, I feel very confident about pretty much everything I said. And even though it took me months to finally write it all down, I have to say that putting it together was really fun and exciting. Who knows, maybe it’s the last time I feel like that about HPHM theory, at least when it comes to relatively new content. But even if so, I’m kind of glad that I got some semi-closure to the things that were bothering me.

[timeskip]

Okay so I finished Remember11 (I think) !!! Lots of thoughts under the cut.

tl;dr I liked the game and had fun with it, but I don't think I can say I loved it. I have a lot of problems with aspects of it but I think the mysteries WERE overall very solid and I had fun figuring things out!!

Earlier, while looking stuff up online (trying to avoid spoilers, naturally) I read that there was supposed to be a third route or something but it didn't pan out and the game is thus left in its incomplete state? It seems to be assumed to be common knowledge based on how people talked about it, but I didn't know a single thing about it when I started the game. In a way, I'm glad I heard that, because... yeah, it IS incomplete. "Truth is not revealed. It continues in an infinity loop!"... which is what the game straight up tells us, even though there's nothing afterward.

I don't dislike the incompleteness, honestly. I have a lot of questions, but most of it I can fill in. Thanks for that, Apoptosis chapter. I guess that's the reason it's so easy to fail and have to restart with no option but to do the Apoptosis bad ending... (No I don't know the official ending name, it doesn't matter to me that much honestly)

I do WISH we knew more about Enomoto and the transfers and the "Satoru" (Enomoto?) from Apoptosis who uses "watashi" instead of "ore", and why they put Satoru's memories into the body that would become Satoru's, but I mean... if it didn't work out, it didn't work out.

In the case of Mayuzumi, I had been predicting already that Satoru wasn't in his original body, and they didn't show his face ever in flashbacks with her, so the reveal that she STILL didn't know him was FUN for me!!! Yippee!!! I was right!!!!!!!

The other incomplete thing is Inubushi, which,, ugh. Eugh. Not a fan of that. I will say it scared me For Real when they suddenly had a moving CG of Inubushi being Evil holding the baby (I thought she was about to kill the baby onscreen...) but I have a distaste for her for a lot of reasons, and I wish the writers actually cared about her. As much as Hotori (the real one) was an interesting concept, Inubushi is a flat stereotype, manipulative for no reason, given no grace by the writing, and also I was uncomfortable when she spit in Satoru's mouth. (<- The hard candy scene, if you've played the game)

The baby twist is... fine. It was amusing, and I could figure it out by myself, which I liked, but it feels like an almost lazy solution? It's clever, but the baby killing someone and the other one rolling in blood to create the situation for Kokoro and Satoru to see the murder scene is just...! A lot to think about...!! And not in a good way!!!

I think that's my problem with the game in general. I LIKED the game, and its solutions to the mysteries, and often even the way it was structured. But at the same time, the game did things in a way that seemed like it intentionally wanted to confuse the player and overcomplicate things. Part of this IS just because of the swaps themselves throwing the characters into different situations, but then you have characters acting in kinda random ways just to make things complicated.

I DID like the "there's a third person transferring" thing though, and the slow realization that there's gaps in both Satoru and Kokoro's swaps where they don't experience things. The "Kokoro only ever looks at Satoru's alarm clock so she gets the time wrong" thing was cute, I liked that. Very convenient, but it's so... startlingly realistic, it's sweet.

I also loved Yuni's part in the game. As an Akane fan you should know I'm a sucker for "this character has to repeat the past, to create a miracle where things can go correctly" :') Yuni is great. I wish his characterization wasn't one of the bigger ones hit by the "this character does something random and confusing!!!" when he KNOWS what's going on, but he did give some really good mystery to it all, I loved finding out more about him, and his relationship with Kokoro was great. I wish the game had been more Yuni focused!! <- 5 years after R11 came out, Akane Kurashiki would be created from Uchikoshi's mind. It's weird to realize it, but... I think Yuni IS in a lot of ways the proto-Akane. Or maybe Kokoro is the proto-Akane, in some ways? Akane is the Yuni+Kokoro fusion we all needed.

And that's the real reason I played the game. I wanted to experience something Uchikoshi made pre-999. It wasn't as good as 999, I don't think I've super attached to any R11 characters except the protags+Yuni, and I don't even know how far that attachment goes past "I enjoyed the game a lot, and they're kind of funny too" lol. I don't think Uchikoshi sticks the landing with his characters EVERY time, but it's definitely an upward trend in his later games given how much I adore some of his later characters, which is good!

As for the mystery, I think I prefer the way Uchikoshi's future mysteries are laid out a bit more, but I completely understand why people love Remember11's mystery. It's intense, and very fun, and I loved going on Uchikoshi/Nakazawa's wild ride!! Since Nakazawa was the director here, I'm sure a lot of it was HIS in a way I can't see since I'm not familiar with his stuff. But he really did create something neat with this mystery.

One last note on Uchikoshi: I wonder if he was thinking about R11 while writing AINI? With the dual protags, things being hidden from the player, the obscured timeframes, etc, it reminded me a lot of AINI.

I guess that's about all I have to say!! I'll probably remember that I forgot stuff later, but man. This is already long as fuck and rambly.

I enjoyed the infinity loop of it all, the way they had to stop the future from happening!!! It was interesting to try to piece things together when the info we got was so split up between the chapters, and Satoru's chapter letting me put together the pieces as I went was great!!! I think while it's an imperfect, often inconsistent, incomplete game, I think there's a lot of good about it!!!

[rddykilowatt]

ramble ramble ramble ramble zeno beloved ramble ramble ramble ramble

I’m gonna dump akayona thoughts here ‘cause I love this series lots and they make me very happy to ramble about! (warning for spoilers if you’re unaware of anything about zeno or his backstory)

I don’t see a lot of people analyzing or digging at the things that I do, usually they’re more centered around widely known details and fan favorites and such.

So here we go:

Ever since Zeno wiggled his silly way into the group (the dragons, yoon, hak and yona) he completely threw away all of his self preservation. And you can say “well ofc, he’s there to protect yona” but I think you’d be wrong for simplifying it that way. He's such a complex character. Out of all of them he is the one that stands to be the least affected by Yona’s presence same with the presence of the other dragons. He simply decided to approach them on his own accord, they didn’t approach him. This guy has had to kill and run to protect him from others and from himself for millennia.

He’s completely lost his purpose in life by the time we meet him in the series, having lost so much and constantly being at odds with the concept of time. But he found that purpose again in protecting the hhb, which is where I bring this back to the previous statement that he completely threw away all his self preservation, or rather he actually gained some.

During the Xing arc the dragons end up being imprisoned, and Zeno willingly offers himself up to Mizari to have his arm cut off as means to get away easy, but they all outwardly express their disdain toward this. Jae-ha being the one to intervene and avoid Zeno being subjected to such treatment.

Though I think it should be said that he could’ve easily sacrificed himself for them here, it's just his arm right? But he let's Jae-ha intervene and sway the topic away from him. Despite the fact that he could at any moment throughout the series (after his power has been revealed) when there’s a battle or confrontation, power his way through fights and run away or get help at the drop of the hat but guess what? He doesn’t do that, he stopped doing that for the sake of the others. He instead he chooses to stick by the side of his companions even if he could just as easily tear himself apart or be torn apart in order to help them escape.

A good example is this scene in the current arc:

Even with the artifact from Hiryuu castle in their presence that causes there powers to amp up and everything, Zeno sits tight, literally. He sits there tied up tight with the others. I bring this scene up as an example because like I previously stated he could just tear himself apart here, now more than ever to help them escape. But he doesn't.

(Whether this is due to his wisdom beyond years or because he doesn't want to upset the other dragons is up in the air for sure but we're gonna say it's cause he doesn't wanna upset the others for the sake of this post)

I feel like it should be explained further, it’s been brought up multiple times throughout the series where Zeno’s partook, especially in anxiety inducing parts, the others don’t like to see Zeno hurt even if he heals, even if he’s used to the pain. They don’t like it, they’ve been very upfront about how much they hate it, how much it scares them to see him injured in ways that would kill any mortal being, in ways it would kill any of them. Seeing him bleed is the worst experience for them. And I think Zeno makes the conscious choice to no longer completely tear himself apart just to escape in order to save them because he doesn’t want to scare them more than they already are in the situations they get involved in. As well as when it wouldn’t be necessary to do so, when they work together just as well to escape without unnecessarily blood being shed.

Zeno is honestly an enigma of a character, he says a lot but simultaneously says nothing. Which makes me love him even more.

What I’m saying here is all me reading between lines and using my own brain to come up with something that would make sense rather than it being a verbal statement or thought being stated in the series. There’s no real textual evidence that outright states that Zeno has made any of the choices I’ve stated, it’s just my own thoughts surrounding him.

At the end of it all here, I personally believe this is one of the best ways his character could be written, especially as the only one remaining from the original dragons. He gives things away to the group and the readers but only with bits and pieces. The rest is speculation or a matter of putting things together. In my opinion he keeps us hooked into the series, he’s the one character still present that carry’s so much weight and wisdom with him. He’s the one character in the hhb that understands the pain that each separate individual has faced that even they amongst themselves can’t understand.

They’ve all learned how cruel the world can be, how painful being alive is in their own ways but in my opinion Zeno is the only one that understands their individual experiences infinitely. For crying out loud he knows things that the characters around him don’t even know and that we the readers don’t as well. He’s seen and lived through more life than them all combined, but he still holds onto his humanity albeit rather stubbornly. He still continues to learn and grow and above all else he sees that everyone is human and that there can be/is still good in the world even with all the bad.

Yona maybe be in the title of the series, but Zeno is still just as much of a main character as she is.

[apocketfullofstones]

The Mandalorian s3 e4 Review

I don't know how, but the show got even worse. I made a list of everything I had a problem with while watching the newest episode and put it all together into a cohesive essay for you guys. (This is a long one btw)

Spoiler Alert!!!

So chapter 20 was basically filler, but can I just point out exactly how stupid the plot of the episode is.

First, when Paz's kid initially gets taken by big bird we are told that the Mandalorians were already fully aware of the creature that was flying around (because they mentioned that others had been taken) but, even knowing that they were vulnerable to attack, they didn't bother setting up sentries or keeping a keen eye on the kids? Or how about just finding a safer spot to train since that beach has been attacked on two separate occasions now, both incidents having plenty of close brushes with death. But, no. They just stand around and let their precious little foundlings be carried off by a danger that should have been brutally executed after the very first attack. No wonder they're almost extinct, they're so fucking stupid.

Then, Bo-Katan says she followed the creature back to it's nest and then she just... came back to the covert? Like, why didn't she take care of it then, while she was there? But whatever, what do I know.

She and the Armorer round up a team and the way that they go about planning the attack irks me. The reason why they didn't just assume that the kid was already dead and just plan the entire excursion around getting rid of the pest now that they knew where it's dwelling was is beyond me. I find that, if they would've changed the stupidly optimistic rescue mission to a revenge plot, it would've been much more believable and interesting because then we'd get to see what they do to anyone or anything who hurts their foundlings.

And then, if they really wanted to, the writers could introduce the fact that the kid is still alive as a kind of surprise or something instead of his survival just being expected. Besides, having the Mandalorians just assume that the kid is still alive is dumb and unrealistic because the writing had already set up the episode with the narrative that the creature kills every Mandalorian it gets it's claws into.

So then the team takes Bo-Katan's ship and get as close to the base of the mountain as they can before walking the rest of the way in order to avoid losing the element of surprise. They get there by nightfall and then they actually SET UP CAMP. I am honestly floored. They chose to wait a whole 12 hours (at the very least) before going into the nest, and now it's just insane that any of the Mandalorians could possibly think -after over 20 fucking hours- that the kid is still alive.

Din sees a heat signature in the nest, but conveniently doesn't mention that the blob is way too big to be the kid -since the three chicks revealed to be in the nest are fucking huge and that would translate to their heat signature size- and Paz recklessly climbs in while yelling for the boy. Wow. We went from Din and his people being established as thriving, tactical badasses in the first two seasons to all Mandalorians becoming useless, floundering idiots.

The writers really went and ruined an entire fucking race in just one 30 minute episode. Now that's impressive.

The babies freak out and the creature shows up again and spits up the kid which it had apparently swallowed (okay, how the hell did this kid survive being in its stomach for god knows how long? And how is he even conscious?). Meaning that the creature had flown back to its nest, did nothing?, swallowed the kid whole at one point and left again, then conveniently came back right as the Mandalorians get there. What? That timeline makes absolutely zero sense.

Then a chase happens and Din ends up saving the child and killing the creature by proxy when he sends it careening into the water and it gets eaten. But when they return, somehow Bo-Katan is the one to get all the glory? Even though her plan went to shit beacuse they got impatient and sloppy and they were forced to improvise? What? How? I get that the show is trying to set her up as a character that the audience should root for, but does it have to come at the expense of downplaying what other characters have done?

Din obviously made the heroic save, there were other witnesses among the team (and it was right there on the screen) so why didn't anyone set the facts straight? And besides, anyone who's done even an ounce of research on Bo-Katan knows that she's a trash human being with questionable intentions at best. So no, I will not be rooting for your shitty ass character with no redeemable qualities.

Also, I was actally surprised to find that I was genuinely disappointed in Din and his questionable parenting this episode because he was so shitty to Grogu. He actually forced Grogu (yes forced since it wasn't like Grogu could speak up for himself and refuse) into a fight -despite how small and inexperienced he is- with a kid like six times his size (that also outweighed him by a good 70 lbs). Thankfully, they only dueled using paintballs but wtf Din, the kid's so tiny that a small projectile hitting him in the chest winded him.

And Din was so neglectful. We see it when, after the foundling was snatched up, he immediately left the beach to go after the creature instead of going to Grogu to make sure the kid didn't get trampled in chaos (you don't understand, he's just so fucking small) or just in case there was more than one in the area (cause he didn't know much about the creature at that point). It's been established in previous seasons that Grogu's wellbeing is Din's number one priority, so much so that he'd break his creed and remove his helmet in front of -not only strangers- but the enemy as well, without any hesitation. So you understand why I was frustrated when it seemed like Din's initial instinct was to go after Paz's kid without even bothering to secure Grogu's safety first.

Then when Bo-Katan returns with the location of the creature's nest he goes with the team in order to retrieve the kid, leaving Grogu with a bunch of strangers that have - up to this point- basically just shown how incompetent they are. Like, in the opening of the episode, various Mandalorians and foundlings were just shooting their guns into the breeze as "training" when they should've been aiming at targets.

But the main problem I have with this season is the lack of an overarching plot. There is absolutely no established drive for why the characters are doing what they do. Like, at first I assumed that the entire season would be dedicated to Din going to Mandalore, the finale closing out with an impactful, emotional moment as he goes to the desolate planet to bathe in the living waters and maybe even say the adoption rights to officially name Grogu as his son. But no, he already redeems himself in like episode 2. Well then is Bo-Katan going to be an omnious enemy lurking in the background of the story? A looming threat that she could, at any moment, challenge him to a duel for the darksaber since they left off on such bad terms? Nope, wrong again. Then it has to be about Din accepting the role of Mand'alor and deciding to use the fact that he wields the artifact that gives him the right to rule in order to round up what's left of his people in a quest to re-inhabit Mandalore, build their numbers back up to their former glory, and preserve their culture? Of course not.

Then what the hell are we doing? If you don't immediately establish a clear directive for the story, then the audience has nothing to get invested in and nobody to root for. Oh, Din rejoined his convert, cool. But I wanna know why we should care. What does it do for Din? Are there any repercussions? What is he risking? What does he gain by re-attaining the favor of his covert? And all of this isn't even touched on, what could've been a very meaningful moment is instead brushed off as yet another side quest and completed by the second episode.

We don't get to see Din struggle. We don't see the emotional aftermath of him being essentially cast out from the covert (the only family he's ever known other than Grogu) or watch him slowly realize that being a Mandalorian is more than just keeping his face covered or even confront the fact that the "old ways" that his covert practice are archaic and dehumanizing. There's absolutely no character development, so there's no reward when Din completes his mission, leaving the whole "redemption" arc (if you can even call it that) feeling hollow and lifeless.

[pochapal]

So I am a little bit worried that perhaps people in your askbox are letting themselves get a little too incautious.

Like ok. It’s the most minorest of minor things, but: I do not think you should have been told the words “Anti-Mystery vs Anti-Fantasy.” I think that should be classified as a spoiler.

Don’t mistake me as making this bigger than it is, Iim sure that nothing at all will actually end up being effected by this. Really I’m only bringing it up so I have an example to point to. That being said-

It was genuinely impressive that you picked up so early on a part of the story that won’t be explicitly named/discussed till episode 3. But I hope you agree with me here: when you get something right, people should not show up in your askbox to tell you that you did so. “Detective or Romantic’ is something the author calls ‘anti-fantasy/anti-romantic’, it shows up in episode 3” is something would be perfectly fine for you to have learned once you got to episode 3.

So I guess this is a polite request addressed to everybody, which I hope they at least consider: just…..for the purposes of this interacting with the very entertaining liveblog pretend like all parts of Umineko that haven’t been reached yet have not been written and do not exist. Your piece of fandom trivia, author comment, whatever, you will probably end up having more fun sharing it at a point where you don’t have to cut it free from and discuss it in the absence of every bit of its content.

luckily in this case i did clue onto the "anti-mystery/anti-fantasy" framework pretty early on so other than the name itself i don't think i've really spoiled on anything concept-wise that i hadn't already pretty much figured out but i can see how if this is a Core Theme that doesn't get solidified in the text until several episodes from now that throwing that kind of information around does come with a certain amount of risk.

but that said yeah. i get that everyone is having fun but once again keep it in mind that any information shared with me should not reveal anything more than what i've already speculated unless it well and truly has no bearing on the way i approach/will approach certain parts of the story (in this case something like the "ryukishi07 used to be a social worker which is why this story is interested in exploring nuanced abusive family dynamics" trivia is fine but information that specifically has to do with stuff that has either not been confirmed/hasn't happened yet is best to avoid). a good example of how to behave with it is how everyone left me to wrestle with the non-mystery of the missing rose until i reread for myself the truth even though anyone could have easily spoiled the fun by saying "you already have the solution to the rose mystery. check back in chapter 5".

so far i do think everyone interacting with the liveblog has been good outside of that incident a few weeks back where a post broke containment and i had to disable notifications (but that wasn't really anyone's fault). just yeah. try not to get ahead of yourselves in the excitement!

[thebadjoe]

BAD JOE'S DRDT CH.2 CRIME SOLVING THEORY PART 3

Yo! It's me, that one DRDT theorist! And now, it's time for me to reveal even more clues I figured out about this chapter that I believe makes the most sense. So uh... sit tight, I got quite a bunch to say. Like the previous two parts of my theory (click here for part 1 and click here for part 2), this is potentially HEAVY danganronpa despair time spoilers (if I end up being right especially), especially towards the latest episode to date being episode 11, so BEWARE. And to avoid a small incident like last time I made a theory post, I feel obligated to mention that I RECOMMEND YOU TO READ BOTH PARTS OF MY THEORY BEFORE READING THIS ONE TO AVOID ANY CONFUSION, THANK YOU!

Let's do it!

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Step #1 : What Ace saw and heard, is it all true?

As you know, Ace claims he knows what David's secret is, which ends up being : "You exist to manipulate others. Everyone else exists to be taken advantage of." Of course, we later learn that it's indeed David's secret for many reasons, which gives ample credibility to Ace's testimony.

Let me give you a small recap of what happened according to Ace. Yesterday evening, he was working out in the fitness room until he heard David and Arei's voices coming from the relaxation room. which caught his attention.

He decides to approach that room stealthily, listening to the conversation. Arei knows what David's secret is because she managed to get a peek of Whit's secret he was holding without him noticing (which ended up being David's). Arei keeps arguing while David is practically left speechless, then Arei says something like : "David! Say something!"

And that's where the flashback ends. Ace claims he didn't hear anything else after that.

That last part in itself is very odd, but I'll get back to it later. Let me show you the issues that may cause troubles with my theory.

According to his flashback, you get to see him in the fitness room, but there's one specific detail that makes a hole in my theory. That's right! The missing fan to the right, indicating that this is happening on DAY 3, during the evening.

Woot! I'm glad it's breaking your theory! But why is it an issue?

Because according to my theory, Arei should be already dead on DAY 3. She was murdered on the night of DAY 2. Therefore, it's definitly a huge contradiction from the looks of it.

To make matters worse, we also have another part of the flashback proving this.

The second phrase : "Nico got super pissy and tried to turn Ace into cat food." This implies that Arei was there when she heard all the commotion about the attempted murder on Ace. (Lunchtime on DAY 3). Which once again potentially disproves my suggested time on murder and also my disguise theory.

I also double checked, it is not a reference from DAY 2, when nico snapped after so much bullying from Ace and said : "I'll kill you!". Well... it could be, but Arei was nowhere to be seen in the dining room at the time and there's nothing suggesting otherwise.

Then this is it! Your theory is now broken in thousand pieces. There's no way your theory works anymore!

...are you sure about that?

Is it actually wise to believe everything Ace said regarding this topic?

So what now? Are you suggesting that everything he said was a lie?

Never claimed he lied, well... not intentionally anyways. Let me explain. Earlier, I mentioned that there was an issue with his testimony, let me show you.

He says that right after the flashback ends with Arei saying : "David! Say something!"

Now, tell me how that would be the last thing he heard? Why would the conversation ends with this line? That makes no sense!

On top of that, if there was indeed more to the conversation which there most likely is, there's no way Ace didn't hear it. Otherwise, it would imply that Ace's hiding it.

But why would Ace hide the end of the conversation? Once again, that makes no sense. The point of his testimony is to pin David as the ultimate manipulator. So it's for the best to reveal the whole conversation then.

It's not like he lied and made up the conversation eitheir because let's remember... we have the confirmation that Whit has David's secret, which matches up with the conversation between Arei and David according to the flashback.

I don't understand!!! Why is there so many inconsistencies?!!

It is pretty peculiar, isn't it? What does this all mean? Surely, there's an explanation for all of this, right? Well... what if I were to tell you that there is a logical explanation to this?

Let me bring up two moments that are highly likely to be facts : Ace not hearing anything else from Arei and David in practically the middle of the conversation and Ace being knocked unconscious with turpentine before the night of attempted murder (DAY 2).

If you combine the two, you get a new possibility : The time Ace listened to the conversation in secret is not on DAY 3. It was actually on the evening of DAY 2. The reason why Ace didn't hear anything else in the middle of the conversation is because that's the exact time he's been knocked unconscious, which matches up the events of DAY 2 better than DAY 3.

That's logical?! No! That's preposterous!!! There's so many-

Holes in my logic such as the missing fan, what arei said regarding nico, he's not that dumb to the point where he would mistake the day he heard the conversation and so on?

There's a way to explain these issues. Ever since the attempted murder, it's probably possible that he's not in top shape mentally wise. I mean... think about it. It's been confirmed that he has a eating disorder, it's most likely confirmed that he's been knocked unconscious with the turpentine and he's been nearly killed.

He has a pretty concerning neck wound and lost a certain amount of blood. It's possible that one of these facts if not all of them may have given Ace certain side effects... such as being confused.

It's possible that he mistook the day because of that.

Alright, then explain what we saw in those flashbacks.

This is a sneaky trick played by the creator yet again. This flashback is practically Ace's POV, but if combine this and the fact that he might've not been feeling amazing mental wise (aka feeling confused), we get a new possibility : At this point in time, Ace's an unreliable narrator.

A what now?

An unreliable narrator. "The unreliable narrator is either deliberately deceptive or unintentionally misguided, forcing the reader to question their credibility as a storyteller." (Quote taken in an article from MasterClass)

In other words, while most of it may seem credible as it matches up David's secret and a few other events, since it's most likely possible that this flashback happened on the evening of DAY 2, it means that the missing fan and Arei's dialogue about Nico trying to kill Ace is an illusion created by the narrator of this flashback : Ace.

This is all just speculation! You have no proof that he's not telling the whole truth, be it intentionally or not!

No, that's wrong!

There is proof that heavily implies that Ace is not telling the whole truth, all thanks to a certain individual : David Chiem!

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Step #2 : What David told us, is it all a lie?

Before I dwelve into the mind of this pessimistic, yet very interesting character, I'd like to give a moment to show my appreciation in regards to this amazing reveal in episode 11.

It's not just this quote, of course. But like, the reveal and the whole chain of events was just quite a treat. I've watched it live on youtube, I disabled the chat beforehand for my own sanity, but according to some friendly sources, the chat was going crazy in that moment and honestly, I can't blame them.

It got so crazy, people made a lot of those small edit vids of David with some random song playing in the background and everytime I tried to looked through DRDT stuff on youtube, it felt like someone uploaded a new David edit video every hour or so.

People were going bonkers over this dude. I think it even managed to become trending on twitter at some point?

It was amazing to watch, to say the least. So for that, I'm gonna say to the creator of DRDT : Well done! That was a very well made reveal that made this episode all the more enjoyable to watch.

And now, let's go back to my theory talk!

Here's the proof I have in regards to Ace's shaky testimony.

Despite his whole lying, manipulative persona, I believe that this quote is the truth. It adds up anyways because if we think back on the trial of chapter 1, most of them were just nonstop accusing Teruko of being the culprit mostly because of the knife being in Teruko's hands.

So the way it's phrased heavily implies that Ace is not a completly reliable witness, which would fit perfectly well with my logic so far.

In any case, knowing that it's futile to keep arguing on that matter, David gives up and makes a confession.

Ha! He actually talked with her on the evening of Day 3! You just got yourself caught into another hole that shatters your theory!

Oh, quite the contrary! That line is actually very good for my theory. Pay close attention to the wording. He met with Arei last night in the relaxation room. This can be interpreted in a different way, which I'll get to in a moment.

What's also important here is that he never reveals what was the conversation between him and Arei. He simply says something among those lines : "I've forgotten! Who cares? She's dead, lol!"

Obviously, that's a lie. He's definitly hiding something, but what exactly? Let me show you some of the facts and ideas I theorized : It's highly likely that what Ace witnessed happened on the evening of DAY 2, David actually met with Arei on the evening of DAY 3, David claims he never saw Ace on that floor on the evening of DAY 3, Arei is supposed to be dead already by DAY 3.

With these elements, you get the following possibility : David met with Arei last night in the relaxation room, but it doesn't mean that he met her alive. That was the precise moment he discovered Arei's corpse. He was the first person to find the corpse of Arei and it was in the relaxation room.

Hold on, doesn't that create even more holes in your theory according to the two posts?

...You're right, it does. There's even a major one at that, which I'll explain later.

Initially, I theorized that David was the first person to find the body, which was supposed to happened at a slightly earlier time, sometime before David met Teruko, Whit and Charles in the kitchen. Reason being that Whit suggested David to spend time in the relaxation room, which he would've used that opportunity to come up an idea and use those fishes to make people think the murder happened at a different time.

That section is practically rejected now since according to the possibility that I revealed, he found her corpse after the trio meeting in the kitchen, not before.

So the weird change of mood he had when David met them in the kitchen, it wasn't because he found the body. It was actually because of the discussion Arei and David had in the evening of DAY 2, since she knows David's secret, after all.

In any case, David most likely still placed those fishes in the playground sometime after finding the corpse because of his character and also because he's the only one who could've done it. I have proof for this.

What does Nico have to do with any of this?

The fishes were dead on DAY 4. Nico fed these fishes on the evening night of DAY 3 and that was anytime before the room closes at 10:00pm.

However, since the relaxation becomes locked at 10:00pm until 8:00am and that the fishes were dead on the next day, someone entered that room after Nico did.

The only suitable suspect for this is David. It's already been proven that he visited the relaxation room at the evening/night of DAY 3 and Nico also points out that they saw David use the elevator.

The fishes couldn't have been placed at the morning of DAY 4 since the room in question only opens at 8:00am, but everyone alive were currently at the movie screening room at the time.

But hold on! If they visited the relaxation room before David, then they should've definitly noticed Arei's body.

Not necessarily. The corpse could've simply be hidden somewhere in that room. David was probably more perceptive when he checked out the room as compared to Nico, who was probably too preoccupied with taking care of the fishes and eating their dinner.

But that's impossible! Someone claimed that there's no place to be hidden in the relaxation room!

Sure, but remind me... who said that there was no place to hide again?

That's right! It was Eden!

Since she's the culprit in my theory, she could've easily lied about the existence of a hiding spot in the relaxation room. Eden found a spot to hide Arei's body.

Hold on a second... something's just not right at all with the timing. That seems rather impossible!

As much as I'd like to counter that argument, it's actually true. This... is the major issue I was referring to earlier. If the body was indeed hidden in that room, it practically makes my suggested time of murder impossible. Let me explain.

According to my theory, Eden tried to murder both Ace and Arei. In order to do so, to explain how there was tape around the bars of the carousel, Arei has to be murdered after Ace's attempted murder as this is the only logical conclusion.

However, that's where it becomes problematic. The time Teruko and Eden found Ace's nearly dead body in the fitness room was sometime after 10:00pm, which the relexation room should've been already locked by then.

We know the time of that discovery because before Teruko decided to grab the rest of her uniforms, monoTV made an announcement that it was 10:00pm.

My suggested time of death on Arei (late night of DAY 3) is actually impossible because there would be no way to hide the body in the relaxation room afterwards.

Well... why not just murder her that night, leave her in the playground, but come back next morning to hide her in the relaxation room?

Well, that would just be incredibly odd but more importantly, there is a piece of evidence I recently discovered that completly shatters this possibility and creates even more problems.

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Step #3 : That evidence, is it truly problematic?

A ball of clothes... that's your problematic evidence?

Yup, it is. But don't worry, it's also problematic for practically most of the theories out there and I'll give you guys a good explanation as to why this ball of clothes is a lot more important than it seems.

Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't caught on to that much earlier. It seemed so obvious, yet it only clicked to me the meaning behind this recently.

Initially, I thought that the ball of clothes was used to cover the jugs of water for the seasaw murder mechanism (explained in my first post) for a better accuracy, but I was actually wrong about that. It was used for a much better purpose. The culprit used those clothes to cover Arei's body in the relaxation room.

Another ridiculous idea! What would be the point of doing that?

Try to recall what monoTV said back in episode 2.

This is the reason why that room becomes locked at nighttime. It's to turn on an automated system that waters the plants without anyone else disrupting it.

What's also important from this scene is that this system waters them with an enriched formula. I've made some research and you know this starch that Teruko mentioned in episode 8? This could definitly be part of said formula.

How so?

I swear to you guys, if you look up various topic for starch used in plants, watering plants with starch, and so on, you'll find a lot of interesting results. Starch is actually very beneficial in plant growth.

So with that in mind, if the culprit hid the body in the relaxation room, then the corpse would've been possibly covered in starch. So they needed something to cover the body. Hence, the clothes from the dress up room could've definitly be used for that purpose.

And with that, it becomes practically guaranteed that this bundle of clothes were placed in the relaxation room before someone put them back in the dress up room.

Sadly for me, because of that, it's also guaranteed that she couldn't have been murdered on the night of DAY 2.

Then that means your theory doesn't work anymore.

Not just mine, it also messes with most of the other theories. Think about it, most of them claim eitheir one of these : Arei is murdered on the evening of DAY 3 or Arei is murdered at the morning of DAY 4, between 7:30am and 8:00am. Thanks to this ball of clothes' actual use, it just becomes impossible.

Let's go through each one of them. If she was murdered on the evening of DAY 3, the culprit would need to hide and cover the body in the relaxation room which is just physically impossible. The ball of clothes was found in the dress-up room in the morning of DAY 4. Literally no one alive had access to the relaxation room since they were all present in the movie screening room at 8:00 am.

If she was murdered on DAY 4, at 7:30 am, then you wouldn't be able to explain how there was starch on these clothes. There's no way these clothes was put in the relaxation room beforehand for no reason, it just wouldn't make sense.

So yeah... all of us were wrong about the actual time of death this whole time.

What about you? Do you have any way to explain this contradiction?

I do... but first, I need to make some important statements.

Arei was not murdered on the night of DAY 2. The culprit did not hide the corpse on the night of DAY 2. Arei was alive on DAY 2, from morning to nighttime.

What are you doing? Aren't you just tearing apart your theory?!

No, I'm not breaking it, I'm fixing it. Here we go : The culprit hid the body on the evening of DAY 2 and the body remained hidden in the relaxation room during the night of DAY 2.

What the hell are you saying?! You're just contradicting yourself!

Nope, I'm not. Let me clarify : The culprit hid the body that was still alive, but unconscious. Arei was locked away in the relaxation room during the night of DAY 2.

Wh-WHAAAATT?!! That makes absolutely no sense!

Not true. In fact, because of that reasoning, it would explain a lot of things. It would explain properly why there was an attempted murder on Ace, why Arei was killed later on, why a good amount of evidence was still laid around the playground, why we didn't get to witness a specific time of the day this chapter, etc.

If she was kept locked inside the relaxation room alive during the night of DAY 2, then when did she get murdered?

There's only one possible time that would be possible without drawing any suspicions. Arei was murdered in the morning of DAY 3, shortly after the relaxation room was unlocked (8:00 am).

That's ridiculous! There's no way you can prove that!

I can prove it... with the lack of proof!

Teruko overslept in the morning of DAY 3, so there's no way to tell what the heck happened that morning because she was asleep the whole morning. This is the lack of proof that I'm referring to.

But if you think about it, that's a very convenient way to hide the real time of murder : have a time skip of sorts while also giving a reasonable excuse as to why we skipped that time. This is yet again another sneaky trick that the creator pulled right under our nose.

I was somewhat close with my theory the previous two posts, but thanks to these discoveries, I feel very confident in my revised theory. I believe I know what actually happened and you'll see that it makes more sense than what I previously had.

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Step #4 : The murder, what actually happened?

Let's start with the motive, why not? On my first post, I proposed the idea that the reason why Eden wanted to commit murder is to get rid of the bullying. That motive gets sort of shut down because of episode 10, during Eden's flashback. We learn that they're friends and that Arei is willing to do anything to help her out.

Then, I proposed the idea that it still had something to do with the bullying, somewhat, but it's mostly because she's seriously intent on winning this killing game which can be fairly explained by how much efforts she put in to make herself look the least suspicious.

It's kind of a fair reason, except that if we think about it, anyone who wanted to get away with murder would've put a lot of efforts into it. Not seen through a lot of chapters, but it can happen. Therefore, it's probably not enough of a reason why she decided to kill people. I have a new interesting idea for Eden's motive, but I need to clear something up real quick.

Remember in my first post, when I said that the secret motives had nothing to do with the murder mystery? That it was all a distraction to keep us away from the truth? I was wrong. The motive for murder definitly has something to do with the secret motives. The culprit was afraid of their secret being exposed.

Huh? That seems wrong. Eden's secret was revealed during the trial, so that kind of motive to kill seem pretty pointless for Eden as the culprit.

Well, that's because you're not seeing it from the right perspective. This is not the secret that I'm referring to.

What do you mean?! This is clearly Eden's secret! It fits her perfectly! You can't really say that one of these other shown secrets is hers.

It's true that the secret "Ever since you kissed her, you were afraid your sexuality would ruin your friendships." fits Eden the best and I also believe that this her actual shown secret. So the other secrets aren't really hers eitheir (sort of). But you know... why are so keen on believing that they only have one "bad" secret?

Humans generally have a bunch of secrets that they're hiding, be it good or bad. We also have to keep in mind that in the early days of chapter 2, not a lot of people knew what their own secrets were. So if you combine these ideas together, you get the following possibility :

Eden had a secret much worse than the one shown this chapter. The reason why that secret was not chosen however is because it was practically identical to someone else's secret and the host/mastermind probably wanted to keep the secrets diverse. So they chose the person who would have the worst consequences if their secret was revealed while the other person would have a different secret shown instead. Eden's worst secret is the same as David's secret.

It'd make sense because if we think about it, everything she did from the murder schemes to her grand plan of using the letter found in a trash can to make herself the most innocent individual in that trial among a few other small things, Eden's quite the manipulative gal, isn't she? To add up to it, since it's insanely likely the Arei's body was hidden in the relaxation room, it means that Eden is a very good liar as well since neitheir Teruko nor Whit found it suspicious back in episode 7.

So what if that was her worst secret? It's not the secret that was shown for her in the trial, so she had no reason to kill whatsoever.

No, that's wrong. Put yourself in the shoes of the culprit. MonoTV tells everyone that their secret will be revealed in four days. At that moment, Eden most likely thought that her secret would be something like what David had : Lying and very manipulative. Considering the very kind persona that she's trying to portray, it would definitly take a turn for the worse if that was her actual shown secret and that it gets revealed to everyone.

David was in the same boat, after all. He did everything he could to make sure his secret would never get exposed or else, he would suffer a great amount of consequences... just like so!

Guess what David tried to do to make sure his secret wouldn't get revealed? He actively tried to make a murder happen by suggesting everyone to share their secrets. He knew that was the safest bet to get a terrible deadly outcome happening and it almost worked.

Then back to Eden. What would be the next best thing (if not the best) to get her secret hidden from the public? Commit murder, of course!

Also, to add irony and despair into this theory, if monoTV didn't screw it up and mixed up the secrets, Eden would've never really bother to commit murder since she would be able to learn that her shown secret is not the worst one. It's truly shocking, isn't it?

Alright, fine. You explained a possible motive for Eden. But you have yet to explain literally everything about how the crime was carried out!

Ah, right! The howdunnit! I've got quite some explaining to do, don't I? Let's start from the beginning. Starting with the topic that hasn't really changed in any of my theories since most of it is pretty much factual : the attempted murder on Ace.

When I made my first theory, I initially linked them both together has targets chosen because they were bullies, which would've matched my first motive idea, but that's not the case. Nonetheless, I was able to link both crimes as something done by the same culprit for a few reasons (mentioned in the first post).

We also know that Ace's been knocked unconscious by the turpentine and then the culprit set up this weird murder mechanism in the fitness room which caused neck wounds from the wires.

But then, Nico came into that room because of the bloodlust they had. They were planning on killing Ace as well, so they were looking for him, then found him in the fitness room, but they did something in that room that saved Ace's life, unintentionally or not.

Then the culprit moves on and proceeds to kill Arei the same night... but we already know by now that this is not the case. We know that her unconscious body was kept hidden and locked in the relaxation room, but why?

Well, if you combine these previous facts, you get this very interesting possibility : Eden's original murder scheme is that she wanted to murder Ace and no one else. The reason Arei was kept alive, but unconscious and locked inside the relaxation room is that she would've been an easy prime suspect for that murder with no way of getting out during the night. Someone would've seen her through the elevator next morning.

Why would she choose these two for that scheme?

It's actually pretty simple. Ace is currently the easiest target for a murder considering how weak he appears to be compared to anyone else. As for Arei, she became friends with Eden, so it can be very easy for the Eden to lure her into a trap.

If the plan would work perfectly, wouldn't Arei tell everyone that Eden knocked her out?

Not if she snuck up on her. All Eden needs to do is to lure Arei with the letter by sending her to the playground, then she can sneak up on her. I've already proven on the first part that Eden is capable of being sneaky.

Then wouldn't she mention the letter and accuse Eden afterwards?

Yes, but remember what we went through in episode 10. Eden convinced everyone that this is not her doing. She would've done the same story if the plan succeeded, so that's not really an issue here.

Well, I suppose it doesn't matter since the murder attempt failed. There's no way you can explain how and why Arei was murdered instead.

Heh. Sure I can.

Obviously, we know for a fact that the murder attempt failed because of Nico, but that messed up a lot more things that just the murder itself. Arei playing the role of the main suspect becomes null and void and the odds of pulling off another murder the same night or the next day becomes very low. This is not looking for Eden because if she can't commit a murder before the deadline, her "secret" would be revealed.

Here's the possibility that I'm proposing! Because of that murder attempt failure, it would become a lot harder to pull off another murder like that on top of Arei becoming distrusting of Eden once she gets out of that room and people might find out that Eden is not as kind as she seems. To make sure that nothing bad happens for her while also accomplishing her goal, she has no choice but to kill Arei.

There's just no way! She can't possibly commit murder the morning of DAY 3 without anyone finding out.

No, that's not true. As long as she pulls out her plan very fast and efficiently, she might be able to come back to the main floor without anyone suspecting anything. Eitheir way, we have absolutely no knowledge as to what everyone's actions were from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm on DAY 3.

Eden sets up her new murder mechanism in the playground during the night of DAY 2 after the failed murder chain of events. Then on DAY 3 at 8:00 am, as soon as the relaxation room becomes unlocked, Eden makes sure that Arei is still unconscious, drags her into the playground to kill her. Then, she drags the body back into the relaxation room, hiding her back in the same spot. She leaves any remaining evidence laying around the playground and throws whatever she could easily and quickly grab into the trash can because she didn't want to risk having someone running into her this early in the morning.

I found a contradiction! If she actually wanted to make sure that her secret would be safe, wouldn't she also try to make the body very easy to find instead?

Not quite. Let's not forget that Eden's also trying to get away with murder. And for that to happen, she needed to establish an alibi.

Actually, hold on just a second. Let's rewind a bit. Murdering Arei was kind of an improvised plan, right? So how would she be able to take the roll of tape as Ace wakes up to reveal that he's not actually dead. There's no way someone would be quick enough to think of an elaborate plan in the span of a second and take the roll of tape.

That's... actually a very good point. Sadly for you, I already have the answer for this : Eden knew that Ace wasn't dead from the moment she entered the fitness room with Teruko, found Ace's body and Nico just standing there. She knew because the BDA didn't ring.

Now you're just contradicting yourself! Even if Ace was actually dead, the BDA would've never happened. Eden would've been the culprit in that scenario after all.

No, that's wrong! If Ace was actually dead, the BDA would've happened because of a specific rule.

Rule number 10. "The Body Discovery Announcement will play when three or more people who did not witness the murder discover the body."

That was the main reason why she created such an elaborate murder mechanism in the fitness room (I still don't know how that murder mechanism in that room works yet sadly, but I'm working hard on figuring this one out). That way, she could've killed Ace without witnessing the murder itself, which would've made her look even less suspicious if she would discover that body with 2 other people if Ace turned out dead.

But in reality, the murder scheme failed and because there was three of them in here, she could easily deduce that her plan did not work. As for Teruko, there was no way she could suspect anything since it was actually a lot more natural to think that there would be no BDA. She believed that it was Nico who did it, after all.

So Eden had about a minute or two to think of a backup plan and realised that she really needed that roll of tape.

Couldn't she have predicted that Nico would've tried to murder Ace? Wasn't it risky to choose Ace as the victim?

Eden couldn't have predicted this outcome. She was not present in the dining room during lunchtime of DAY 2. She couldn't have known that Nico turned murderer mode for like a second.

What about the panicky comment Eden made before they entered the playground and triggered the BDA? If we follow your logic, Eden should've known that someone else discovered the body first since it was no longer hidden in the relaxation room.

That's a very good point. In my previous posts, I theorized that she let the body in the playground this whole time, but she was still afraid that maybe no one actually found the body since then. So if the BDA didn't play when Teruko, herself and Whit entered the playground, her whole plan would've been ruined.

This time around, it's different. We know that David found the body in the relaxation room sometime in the evening of DAY 3 and Eden quickly realised it as well by not finding the hidden body on DAY 4.

So right now, it seems like an odd, but problematic contradiction, but by thinking outside the box, there's a solution to this. We just have to consider that she was actually panicking, but find another viable reason why that was the case. There is actually one picture, one quote that answers it all.

It may seem like an unfortunate and very inappropriate joke at the time, but that line right here is exactly what gave Eden a moment of panic. Let me explain.

Aside from the obvious fact that they found Arei's body on the swingset hanging on a rope, Eden could easily interpret it as a telltale sign that the person who discovered the body first was Whit.

If we go back to my first post, the way I explained the murder mechanism, by the time the culprit releases the carousel, the jugs of water would drop which would then kill Arei, but it would also break the rope in two because of the impact and because of how the rope was arranged.

Because Eden was in a hurry to hide back the body, she only had enough time to bring one half of the rope to hide it alongside the body. Maybe she quickly placed it around her neck to make it look like she was hanged or strangled.

As ironic as it may seem, because of that silly comment Whit made, Eden immediatly assumed that Whit was the person who discovered the body first which would've been very bad for her if that was the case since they would be missing another person to trigger the BDA. That's why she panicked.

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And with that, I believe I've properly explained my whole revised theory, which makes a lot more sense now, don't you think?

This crime solving theory makes full use of all the rooms on that floor, which I feel like it's meant to be solved that way. It also makes use of a lot of hints and clues we've been given in both chapters.

That was a lot to write, so it's possible I may have missed a small detail or two, so if there's something that needs to be pointed out, just let me know and I'll probably edit my post.

Also, if you guys would like, I could make another post that would give a big recap of everything that happened according to my theory posts, which should make it easier to read and understand. It'd be kind of like a closing argument, but without the artistic talent. Just words, words and words.

Anyways, thank you so much everyone who read all my theories from beginning to the end, whether you believe in my culprit theory or not. I truly appreciate you all for taking the time to enjoy the wild ride. I had fun working on that.

But no worries, I'm not quite done with making DRDT posts yet. There's still a couple theories I'd like to tackle. Mostly possible character backgrounds and actual idendity like I mentioned in a previous post.

Alright, take care everyone!

[presentday--presenttime]

Annihilation (2018)

This will be a review with spoilers, the movie is good, go watch it.

Its been a bit since I watched the movie, so some of my memories might be off.

Overall I think I was impressed. The idea of an alien "thing" crashing & slowly radiating has been done several times, but this interpretation is possibly my favorite.

It does get a bit goofy with its refraction talk, and a few other things that don't really make sense, but nothing was too crazy.

I also felt it was a bit all over the place in its symbols, it's refraction, cancer, evolution, memory loss, and mimicry. But that feeling was overall short lived, and I was always quickly immersed back into the world.

I felt the cast was a bit cookie cutter, and it being all women felt a tiny bit forced. But, it helped avoid any dumb romance subplot, or unnecessary sexual tension stuff that people would often add if there was men & women. But it was very much each person was a character I'd seen in other movies & they were all quite distinct from eachother. Very much felt like a cast for a movie instead of a collection of people.

Once we get into the "shimmer" proper, we have one time skip, and that's the only one afaik. I think they could have done a lot more with that, but I think they just wanted to avoid explaining a few things & then get on with the movie. Overall the movie was very much split into distinct "scenes" in this way, I understand why it's this way but I think it would have been better to stick to one or two ideas, instead of giving each character death its own "gimmick".

Between the initial time skip & finding the building with the video tape, is mostly just introducing the setting imo. Not much was done with this time, but I can see it feeling rushed without it.

Now, when we watch the movies, things start to ramp up. There are more creatures, and the spectacular scene of the "moving guts" & accompanying body.

I really liked the visual of the body in the pool, it sold the idea of rapid mutation in a body horror way very well. and obviously the scene where they cut him open is great also (if a bit nonsense)

It's not really explained why the previous team stayed in that building for so long, or why they eventually left. Not a big deal, but something I was wondering.

The next bits are a bit hazy, so I'll be jumping to the more important scenes.

The bear, was again great. The setup for them being tied up felt pretty forced, similar to the initial time skip, and the voice mimicking was also a bit nonsense. But a really spooky effect, and done well. The whole "don't tell them about my husband" thing was maybe my biggest pet peeve, cause you know exactly why it's in the story, and it never really made sense anyways.

the flower girl was probably my least favorite death, I kind of wish she was more lucid and less "ooh I'm so strange and mysterious". Like if she could rationally explain that the change to her body & mind isn't something she wants to continue living with, and she decides to "submit" to the shimmer, that would have been so much better than "look at me vaguepost and then walk away ooooOOooH". Overall wasn't really a fan of the whole flower section. Again, if they had done the "the flowers got human structure DNA stuff" as a major point, instead of a one-off, I think that would be really cool.

We get to the crystal beach, for some reason there are a bunch of bones & skeletons outside the lighthouse? I think it's implied that they are most of the previous team, but like why & how?

whatever, we get inside to the climax. the reveal that the husband is a fake! at the time I didn't really feel misled by the protag's initial interview answers, but ya. Either way, very cool twist, kind of goes back to the start of entering the shimmer, with the timeskips & mental decline.

Finally we climb in the hole, and meet the alien. I am sooo glad this wasn't a "ooh it's shiny particles, and some vague pretty 'thing'". We got an actual answer. AND it's an interesting one! there's a ton of questions to be asked about the alien, and I like how smart the protagonist is about it's behavior. It may not even be aware of it's actions, or that it's copying anything. How does the copied husband's brain work? really cool, love it conceptually.

I do think it's very separated from the effects of the shimmer, and don't really believe it's responsible for "changing" anything. It's a mimic, the shimmer is space pollution; or something like that.

The end end, is up there with my favorite endings. Him being honest, open about who he is, non-malicious. Him deciding on his own to hug her, is that because it's a human response? does he actually want to console her? The unhuman stare, I don't really know what it's supposed to mean but it invokes a lot of emotions. Again sooooo many questions about this 'person', and his future.

Overall, I think this movie took on a hard task, and did a very good job. It gave interesting answers, and didn't really fall short anywhere along the way. There were certainly spots where it was a bit less spectacular, but nowhere bad enough to leave a taste in your mouth.

I think this will be a classic. I do wish I had any chance of reading the trilogy (future quadrilogy?) books that the movie is based on.

spoilers #movie review #horror film #annihilation