#also the parallels between them drive me insane

[somehow-a-human]

Moonlight Serenade & Good Omens &... Lost...?

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY.

First off: I am a certified former band kid. I've been playing the trumpet for 17 years. I did marching band in high school & college, I served pep band march madness basketball realness, I'm a bona fide concert hall bitch, and I considered becoming a professional musician.

Because of this, the music of good omens is something I have been ACTIVELY avoiding! The risks of hyperfixating and spiraling into it are HIGH!!! I spent so much of my life deeply entrenched in music, all genres, all time periods & It's hard not to have a proclivity toward it. But I also expect it to be a huge topic and a deep hole to inevitably fall into.

But could I hold out forever? no. and something finally pushed me over the edge. Wait for it..... Lost. Yep. The fucking TV show Lost. WAIT WAIT, don't leave! STAY WITH ME!

Why Lost? And what does it have to do with Moonlight Serenade and WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH GOOD OMENS?! Well my lovelies continue under the cut with me and keep an open mind...

Okay so... Lost. Yes, the insane 2004 mystery plane crash island adventure drama. It's a wild ride, and a masterpiece and a little bit crazy, but overall pretty damn good. I've been on a rewatch spree and wouldn't you know it... parallels between lost and Good Omens kept popping up in my brain!! I mean they are both detailed intricate mysteries so it makes a tad bit of sense but there was one little detail that *might* be a *clue* so I figured I'd make a post cause why not? I promise you don't need to know anything about Lost to follow this!!

First off, what are some of the recurring themes of Lost the TV show you might ask?

Life & Death

Timelines & Time Travel

Literary Allusions (Catch-22, The Bible, A Tale of Two Cities)

Prophecies & Premonitions

Symbolism of Black & White

Yeah okay, that tracks, but look there are 121 episodes of Lost and 12 episodes (so far) of Good Omens so there's bound to be some overlap for these two ineffable mysteries.

You'll be thinking about now, "BUT WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MOONLIGHT SERENADE?!" I'm getting there, shhh, lemme pet your hair gently and keep giving you background information to build it up shhhh...

If you've never seen Lost there is a very good chance you're mighty confused at this moment, so let me reassure you, you don't need to know anything about it to understand the connections I'm going to make. A brief synopsis is: Oceanic flight 815 crashes on an island. The plane crash survivors quickly discover the island is more than it seems to be and holds many secrets and mysteries. A lot of people die, most of them are murdered, it's giving Lord of the Flies. That's honestly all you need to know.

Time Travel & Alternate Timelines

Time travel is cannon in Lost. It's super confusing and I'm not even going to try to explain any of it here. It's honestly just not worth it. If you'd like to try and read about it, the abridged version is here, but I don't think the details are important. Just know it's real and confirmed and exists.

Okay so, In Lost season 2, episode 13 "The Long Con" two of the plane crash survivors are trying to find a signal on a radio they've found. While scrubbing they come across a signal playing Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller. One character mentions it must be from somewhere nearby, but the other counters that this type of radio can pick up signals from anywhere in the world. There is a beat and then another character jokingly adds "Or any time. Just kidding, dude."

It's later confirmed that the Lost characters in 2004 are indeed picking up a radio signal from 1940 that is playing Moonlight Serenade, a product of time travel.

Congratulations, you've made it to the point where I'm going to bring Good Omens into the mix. In season 2, episode 4 "The Hitchhiker" we open seeing Aziraphale driving back from Edinburgh late at night/early morning. Uncomfortable with the darkness and silence he asks the Bentley to "play something that's got a bit of swing? I'm in the mood for something modern."

The Bentley obliges the angel, as she always will, and we are shown a shot of the radio specifically lighting up, so we know she's tapped into the radio to play this for Azi.

But hold on. Aziraphale asked for "modern"? Moonlight Serenade is most certainly not modern. It was recorded in 1939! I'd say in 2023 it's anything but modern, maybe not in Aziraphale's long lived opinion, but certainly in the Bentley's opinion, given she's only a 97 year old car.

I think you can see now what I'm saying here. I think the Bentley picked up a radio signal from 1940, maybe 1941? Episode 4 is of course our 1941 blitz magic show bullet catch flashback extravaganza, so... it makes sense. I know we like to headcanon Crowley and Aziraphale listened to A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square in the bookshop in 1941 after the bullet catch, but what if they heard Moonlight Serenade on a radio instead?

What does it mean?

I think it could be a *clue*. A reference to this small moment from Lost and a nod to the first hint of the canonization of time travel in that series. We know Crowley can control time to some extent and we can see some evidence of time discontinuities and possibly time weirdness in season 2 so is it a hint that timeline funkiness IS happening? Do I want to get into the fact that the main character in The Hitchhiker, the Twilight Zone episode this episode is named after, is actually dead? No I don't, not now anyway.

SO! There it is... weird little connection that I couldn't get out of my brain. It just seemed a bit too... ineffable.

As always this is all for fun and all for fans! Don't ask Neil about these things, they're for us to have fun with. And something else that I don't think some people on here understand about meta-analysis; the goal of it is not to be correct. Refuting peoples posts, theories, analysis, and headcanons because you personally don't agree with them doesn't achieve anything. Meta-analysis is an exercise in critical thinking and creative writing. You could write meta about how Spongebob is a critique of the loss of christian values in modern society and you wouldn't be right or wrong, you'd just certainly be a person who wrote that for sure though. Just, be kind to each other, share ideas, you're allowed to disagree with someone's ideas or have different ones of your own but don't be cruel in saying so, don't call someone stupid, that's just silly.

Love you all, do something kind for yourself today <3

ps. The moment I see Michael Sheen with blonde hair come January I'm gonna bark like a dog, that's all. Thanks.

[walmart-miku]

I think we should get more Kyouka and Yosano content. I wanna see them interact. Like there's a lot of Kyouka and Kouyou stuff because of the parallels between them, but have we considered Kyouka and Yosano?

Both Kyouka and Yosano are children who have been exploited by Mori. Both dealt in death, one causing and one preventing. Both had their abilities used against their will. Both got away from Mori and were saved by the ADA.

After Kyouka joins the ADA Yosano would just look at Kyouka and see herself, 13 years old, fresh out of the institution she was in after the war and relearning how to live in the light. I think that Yosano would take Kyouka under her wing. I think Yosano would know how to deal with the demons that plague Kyouka better than anyone in the ADA (Atsushi would probably try his best when Kyouka wakes up at night from a nightmare but I don't think he would know how to help her properly simply because he too is traumatized and never learned how to deal with it. Also because Atsushi is also a child)

But yeah, I think that Yosano would look at Kyouka and go "This is my child now"

[myname-isnia]

Me, thinking about my OCs, like I always do: Oh, isn’t it ironic how so much of Suiren’s character and personality is built around the fact she’s so similar to her mother and how her relationship with that fact changes, and she will end up falling for an earthbender who excels/specialises in a subbending form

Also me, five minutes later, physically sitting up in bed: AND MIDORI ENDED UP FALLING FOR A NONBENDER TURNED AIRBENDER JUST LIKE HER AUNTIE HOLY SHIT-

[cowgirleddiediaz]

what do you think is the sweetest and most well written part of Buck and Tommy's relationship? When they kissed in the first episode they had any kind of meaningful interaction or when Tommy ditched Buck on the curb after their first date and Buck somehow ended up feeling like the asshole about it. If that's a sweet and well written relationship Eddie and Marisol are When Harry Met Sally.

Oh no! They kissed after one episode! How could I forget the only way to write a good on screen romance is to spend at least half a season having them dance around their feelings with enough space for the holy ghost?

And yeah tommy left buck (a grown man in his 30s btw) outside the restaurant, because rather than just not mention they were on a date, buck made up a very weird and uncomfortable lie. bffr that's a "yeah sorry, I just got a text my grandma died," level red flag. I'd have clocked out at the ally comment, and tommy managed to turn that around into flirting!

But anyway thanks for the opportunity to list some sweet bucktommy details so far:

just buck's entire face when he talks to/about tommy, that man is smitten! ((x) if you need visual proof). he has the world's biggest crush on his boyfriend and i want him to be insufferable about it!

tommy's little "so that was okay?" after their kiss kills me every time, it's gentle but also confident and forward (which i think compliments buck's personality very well)

I mean tommy felt so bad about being the cause of problems between buck and eddie, he went to buck's house in person to apologise.

speaking of gentle. Evan. I need, need someone to pick tim minear's brain about the decision to have tommy consistently call him evan, the implications are driving me insane.

the way their relationship is tied up with, imo, one of the most interesting coming out arcs i've seen on tv in years. bi buck is very special to me and like it or not tommy is a part of that.

I love the detail of buck getting tommy's order wrong, they could've easily gone the "omg, you got my order right the first time, we're meant to be!" route, but imo there's something refreshing about showing love as this thing you have to work to build vs something that magically happens to you.

and the invisible string/full circle symbolism potential is insane. The fact chimney saved tommy's life, the parallel of tommy needing to leave the 118 to find himself which in turn left a spot in the exact place buck needed to do the same. The way buck is the reason that chimney meets maddie and then years later chim (potentially) returns the favour. They've stumbled into a writing goldmine here and i think they'd be fools to waste it.

look i'll readily admit i've no clue where they might be taking bucktommy, tbh i don't think tim minear knows, but they've sure as hell crammed a lot of potential into those 2 + a bit episodes. That's what people are responding to.

[novlr]

could you maybe do something on characters becoming serial killers? I’m was originally going to have some sort of characters going insane thing, but I think that the whole “insane people killing” is a little stupid and borderline dangerous (saying that insane people kill all the time) so could you give me some pointers?

How to Write a Serial Killer: A Quick Guide for Writers

Crafting a convincing serial killer requires a lot of research, imagination, and an understanding of the genre. Let’s dive into some quick tips to help you create a serial killer who is gripping, unique, and emotionally complex.

Develop their backstory

The key to crafting a convincing serial killer is in understanding their past to shape their present. Explore their backstory in detail — were they subjected to abuse or neglect? Did they endure a life-altering traumatic event that set them on this dark path? Developing a compelling backstory is essential, not only to justify their actions but also to cultivate a degree of empathy, allowing readers to connect with the character on a deeper level.

Give them unique motivations

Serial killers act based on what drives them; they commit their crimes for a reason. This reason could be a need for control, a hunger for power, or a wish to spread chaos. By connecting their reason for doing things with their unique personality traits and backstory, you can create a well-rounded and consistent character.

Include misdirection and plot twists

To maintain suspense, make use of narrative devices like red herrings designed to divert your reader's attention. The clever use of these diversions can delay the unmasking of the killer, increasing tension and anticipation. Additionally, unexpected plot twists that abruptly shift your story's trajectory can not only alter your reader's perception but can also reconfigure their theories keeping readers on their toes.

Draw parallels with your protagonist

Creating a unique perspective by establishing similarities between your serial killer and your protagonist can add multifaceted layers to your story. This might involve drawing connections in their backgrounds, aligning their motivations, or uncovering shared personal struggles. These parallels not only make the plot more engaging but also heighten the intensity of the conflict between the two characters.

Use foreshadowing

Foreshadowing serves as a powerful tool in constructing suspense and subtly hinting at future events in your story — carefully place clues that can suggest the identity of the killer or indicate their next victim. But remember to maintain an air of mystery by not unveiling too much prematurely. The goal is to keep readers engrossed, continually making and remaking their guesses about the unfolding plot.

Include an emotional subplot

Adding an emotional subplot in your narrative significantly enhances the relatability of your serial killer. This could range from them harbouring deep-seated love for someone, to grappling with a fear that surpasses the dread of getting caught. These contrasting aspects of their otherwise sinister nature serve to give the characters greater depth and dimension, thus enriching their complexity.

Did you know we have a Spotify account with lots of great playlists for writers? Here's one to inspire your next serial killer novel!

[ace-and-ranty]

The thematic through lines between Spinning Silver and The Scholomance drive me absolutely insane. It is so fascinating, seeing themes resurface across an author's body of work.

You've got paying for things with honest hard work (mana, Magreta's hand-sewing), VS paying them with exploitation and other people's lives (malia, Chernobog's magic clothing). You've got mothers who set up their children as bet as possible (Gwen, Silvija) VS mothers who sold them for their own gains (Ophelia, Minartius' mother). You've got monsters of endless hunger (Mawmouths, Chernoborg). You've got all our righteously angry girlies (El, Miryem, Irina). And you've got people coming together as a circle (all the circle castings in the Scholomance, the Staryk King's capture)

It's also interesting of course to see where themes don't repeat. The Scholomance has a huge focus on collective action that's not very present in Spinning Silver. And Spinning Silver has a lot to say about personal dignity, about the "thousand tiny deaths" of seeing yourself ground down by abuse, which the Scholomance doesn't say much about. But just. GOD. The parallels.

[grimalkinmessor]

The parallels between Tsubomi and Reigen drive me so fucking insane you have no idea like—that shit had to be at least SOMEWHAT intentional even if not in a specifically romantic way.

For one, Tsubomi and Reigen are two of the only few people that call Shigeo "Mob" consistently. (Yes Tome also calls him Mob eventually but she starts out calling him Kageyama-kun and likely picks up "Mob-kun" from Inukawa or Reigen later on). We don't know how Reigen started calling Shigeo "Mob", though we can assume that Tsubomi was likely part of the group of kids that originally misread Shigeo's name as Mobbu to begin with so she's less of a mystery on that front. Maybe Reigen saw it written on his backpack or his shirt tag and started calling him that too, or maybe Mob even just told him that that's what everyone else called him and was what he prefered to be called at the time. Either way, it's a little odd that Reigen's one of the only people who use that nickname when we don't really get a reason why beyond "it can also be read like this", especially since Reigen is a grown man with (presumably) full literacy of kanji and would know how to read it.

Then there's the other obvious parallel that's made in the show; how Tsubomi and Reigen treat Mob. How they see his powers. They're not special, they're just a part of him. Nothing to be scared of—even though they kind of,,,,are lmao. The fact that Tsubomi continues to sit in the park even though a literal hurricane is approaching because she thought Mob sounded upset on the phone happens at the same time Reigen goes sprinting full-tilt into said hurricane because Mob is in trouble always stands out to me. It's less obvious than Mob's own words: "She never treated me any differently because of my powers" "Master never treated me any differently..."—but it's still a pretty blatant parallel to me.

Not to mention that both Reigen and Tsubomi's personalities are actually very similar as well! They're both described as people that hide behind a mask, a facade, while still being brutally stubborn. If Tsubomi doesn't want to do something, she's not gonna do it. While Reigen is more laid back because he's used to getting his hands dirty for work (money), he's still very stubborn himself when he doesn't wanna do something. He'll find a way to wriggle out of it and talk circles around you if you let him. Dimple even says that Tsubomi is the type of person who can't be swayed by words or peer pressure. She and Reigen were actually, again, two of the only people brainwashed through airborne Vibes™ instead of through food like everyone else. The biggest difference between them on this is that while Reigen lies fairly blatantly, Tsubomi seems to only lie through omission. Tsubomi is more of an introvert too, compared to Reigen's extrovert (though you could argue that both of them are good with people, with the only difference being that Reigen enjoys being the center of attention while Tsubomi presumably does not).

Plus they're both pretty goofy too once you think about it lmao. They're both prideful and hate to be humiliated, but they also care a lot about their public image and how people perceive them. Every time the scene with Tsubomi and her friends outside cleaning up leaves comes up, her expressions and panic always remind me of Reigen. And then there's Mob, calm and unjudgemental, willing to help her with no questions asked. Mitigating her humiliation, just like he does for Reigen :)

Another thing that always strikes me is how Mezato says, "If you can accept her for who she really is..." followed by Reigen's echo during his confession: "This is who I really am". Mezato essentially tells Mob that Tsubomi isn't who she seems on the outside and that if he wants to be accepted by her, he needs to also be ready to accept her as well. Which, we don't get to see much of Tsubomi's life outside of Mob—wow just like Reigen—so we don't ever really know who she is beyond that outer mask, but we see her slowly opening up to Mob later, as a friend. But the fact that Reigen's own confession mirrors Mezato's words to Mob about him accepting Tsubomi always makes me vibrate in place a little like,,,Confession Arc my beloved 🙏

I don't know man, there's just so much there, it makes my head spin. I could go on and on about it but I better cut myself off because if I don't I'll start crawling on the walls going feral about it because what, what was the point of this if not to make it clear that the relationship between Mob and Reigen is supposed to parallel his relationship with Tsubomi like what do you MEAN—

[tomwambsgans]

also driving me nuts is the fact that despite the minimal presence of greg in this episode, this marked such a turning point for tomgreg. i don't think tom has EVER been so vulnerable with greg onscreen without proceeding to do something insane to counteract it. and even if logan hadn't died there would still be the matter of greg very clearly wanting to be with tom instead of at connor's wedding, and him being clearly jealous of tom's other "gregs"....

it makes more and more sense to me by the minute that this should be the season of Logan Is Dead, What Now? because when tom is no longer protected, greg isn't either, so the bond between them is put to the test. and fuck, the very first thing that tom does is be frank and honest and emotional with him. he tells greg that he's scared. he's upfront that his Protector is gone. he doesn't hesitate to give greg the information that, if he would choose to leave, would make him do it immediately.

ntm basically 2 scenes later, with a relationship that pretty overtly already parallels tom and greg anyway... we've got connor asking willa if she's only with him for the money. he seems to fully expect that it's the case. and she tells him that while it's a bonus, she is happy, and in front of about 10 people tops she still marries him. and i think that's the fucking thesis here.

[soverane]

have you seen the arlecchino ult leak posted just now and how do we feel abt arlenora now

[genshin leaks ahead!]

[sobs, falls at your feet, weeping, wailing, curls into a ball] hi meadows!!! <3 i was having a field day... i didn't know what to expect with her leaks but the parallels with signora as well as signora's own theme in her boss battle phase 1 ost leak was not on my 2024 bingo card but here we are...! omfg i am devastated in the best possible way... i'm gonna try to collect my thoughts here...

arlecchino's constellation, "ignis purgatorius"

it means "cleansing" or "purifying fire", and this is interesting bc signora (then rosalyne) "sacrificed her [physical, mortal] body to become the embodiment of liquid fire herself." i'm not sure what being the "embodiment of liquid fire" really entails for signora but the crimson witch of flames and the pale flame (specifically the flower, "stainless bloom") artifact sets tell us that rosalyne was a living being who still looked human, but whose essence is made up of "liquid fire." that, and her newfound purpose is to aid the tsaritsa in "cleansing" the world of its darkness and corruption. (the shivada jade gemstone description is my tsarlyne roman empire but that's a ship for another day <3) idk why arlecchino's constellation is so conceptually similar to signora's whole "liquid fire," "cleanse the world in silent ice" schtick, but it is giving me brain rot, so, yes.

arlecchino's boss form

her splash art complements signora's so much it's driving us all insane!!!!! i saw a video leak of her boss gameplay and it seems her 'wings' (?) resemble spider legs more actually! she uses them to walk, among other things. i wonder where this is going! but ok, sure! bug yuri <3 spider x moth yuri <3

arlecchino's boss battle phase 1 ost

of all the leaked content it's her ost that did it for me. towards the end of the track (2:19-2:30) WE HEAR SIGNORA'S THEME. I KNOW HER THEME BY HEART CHRYSALIS SUSPIRII AND SALTATIO FAVILLAE ARE FOREVER IMPRINTED IN MY BRAIN. I KNOW HER THEME WHEN I HEAR IT. so why!?!? what is her theme doing in arlecchino's phase 1 ost, and what does this mean! T_T what was the reason!!!! why would they do this to me!!!!! i'm not ok!!! if there's one thing i know about genshin's music team and lore team it's that the smallest details are not put there without intention, so i'm curious about the inspiration for arlecchino's ost and why it includes elements of signora's theme. the boss battle ost's of childe and scaramouche don't have signora's theme at all, so what makes arlecchino's different?

for those less familiar with signora's theme (there is a fatui theme, which is recurrent throughout all their ost's, and then you have each harbinger's individual themes unique to them only.), you can hear it in chrysalis suspirii between 2:08-2:32 (imo the saddest, most beautifully haunting, most romantic version of it) and in saltatio favillae between 1:16-2:24 (imo the most dramatic, phantom-of-the-opera-esque version of it). there's just... so much grief and tragedy in her theme that i've never heard in the other harbingers'. elogia cinerosa also shares this leitmotif between 2:11-2:43, and it's this version of signora's theme that's heard in arlecchino's phase 1 ost.

someone on twitter made a very cool music analysis of this if anyone's interested!

anyway arlenora isn't beating the moth to flame allegations, they're not beating the secret affair allegations, nor the doomed lovers allegations.

now how do we feel about the fact that arlecchino has an agreement with the tsaritsa that lets her use the hydro gnosis for her own interests before surrendering it to the tsaritsa, and how do we feel about arlecchino possibly using the hydro gnosis to resurrect signora :D

[mtdthoughts]

Reiko's Son (Migi & Dali Analysis)

This post contains heavy *spoilers* from Episode 11 of the Migi & Dali anime (equivalently, Ch. 39 - 40 of the manga), so please keep this in mind.

Here's a preposterous idea, but hear me out: Dali is Reiko's son.

I don't mean this in any literal or familial sense, since Metry is Dali's mother and since Reiko chose Eiji to be her son. But, it is noticeable that although Dali is the spitting image of Metry, his personality is nothing like hers, and is in fact closer to Reiko's.

Indeed, it is hard to discount Reiko's role as a "parent" (as twisted as it may be) since she saw Metry as an extension of herself and coerced her into an affair with Akira that resulted in the triplets. Thus, Dali can be seen as Reiko's son in a figurative sense, where he inherited some of her traits from this twisted parenthood.

The fact there are three triplets (Migi, Dali, Eiji) to three parents (Metry, Reiko, Akira) suggests a correspondence between parent and child. We can easily form associations between Metry and Migi and between Akira and Eiji. After all, Migi is the spitting image of Metry even down to the direction of their hair, and has her goofy and loving personality. Meanwhile, Eiji not only looks like his father Akira, but is also a model student seeking to become a doctor like him, and both can be surprisingly oblivious. This leaves us with one pair, Dali and Reiko, who are both arguably the most complex and interesting characters of their respective trios.

It pains me slightly to compare my favorite character in the story to the psychopathic and downright demonic Reiko, but there’s too much evidence for me to say otherwise, and the parallels that can be drawn bring a deeper meaning to the story.

Here are all the links I’ve thought of:

A superficial observation, but their hair is in the same direction. Furthermore, Dali chooses long black hair when disguised as Sali, perhaps looking like a younger Reiko. Also, both are noted by others as very attractive.

Eiji's central figure in his life is his mother Reiko, and it is curious that he falls in love with Sali.

Both are (dangerously) intelligent, controlling, and manipulative characters that operate in the shadows and often conceal their true feelings and motives. It's almost as if their intelligence was a curse.

Just as Reiko keeps up her appearance as the perfect woman, mother, and neighbor, Dali keeps up his appearance as the perfect boy, son, friend, student, and even brother. It is likely that both characters have hidden insecurities, as their natural talents have caused others to regard them highly, causing them to have high expectations on themselves.

Both are very meticulous, as Dali has a habit of drawing schematics for his plans, while Reiko surveils Origon Village and keeps a diorama of the village along with the residents’ data.

Both are strangely proficient in hypnosis.

Reiko is surprisingly quick, stealthy, and proficient with weapons. If there’s anyone capable of rivalling the twins’ dexterity, it’s her.

Both have obsessions that they are willing to go to great lengths for and may resort to cutthroat measures (sometimes literally). Ironically, these obsessions are the sources of their unhappiness and drive them closer to insanity.

Dali began to descend into insanity when he cast away Migi for revenge while Reiko saw the kind and loving Metry as a devil when she thought that Metry was trying to steal her perfect life. They both have deluded themselves into self-justification, though Dali broke out of this after realizing how important Migi was to him when he almost killed him.

Dali almost became a killer (good thing he only used a pumpkin), while Reiko is an actual cold-blooded killer.

The imagery of Reiko saying that Metry was a part of her shows that she inserted herself as a second mother of this pregnancy. Perhaps this is a metaphor for conceiving Dali, an identical older brother to Migi in a similar way that Reiko was an older sister to Metry.

The Migi-Dali and Metry-Reiko relationships parallel each other: a) Migi looks up to Dali as his cool and reliable older brother, and Metry looks up to Reiko as a perfect older sister, as Dali and Reiko are (generally) the more competent ones in their respective pairs. b) At the start of the story, Migi tried to be like Dali by imitating him, and Metry wanted to be a perfect woman like Reiko. c) Dali enjoyed Migi's company, as did Reiko with Metry before she learned of her own infertility. d) Dali betrays Migi with the Sali ruse for the sake of revenge, and Reiko betrays Metry for the sake of perfection by forcing her to have an affair with Akira and then stealing Eiji from her. e) Migi runs away from Dali just as Metry runs away from Reiko. f) Migi almost dies after getting caught up in Dali’s revenge while Metry actually dies trying to take back Eiji from Reiko.

Hopefully, this is enough evidence for the theory, but what’s the purpose of it? I have a few ideas:

Parallels can be presented between Migi and Dali's story and Metry and Reiko's story, including how they ended. Metry died and Reiko succumbed to evil (and later died) to maintain her image of perfection, while Migi and Dali were able to escape a similar fate because of their strong brotherly love.

Reiko’s mental illness and the fact that she is the main antagonist show us the type of person Dali could have become and highlight the importance of Dali’s internal conflict in battling his inner demons. Chapters 31 and 32 of the manga (or Episode 8 of the anime) shows Dali’s descent into madness and his ruthlessness. If anything had happened differently in the story, Dali could have become just like Reiko.

Conversely, Metry and Reiko's story could have ended differently if Reiko was able to find help and accept Metry and the twins as part of her family. I believe that she could have found real happiness and overcome her obsession for perfection. Instead, she rejected them and even attempted to murder them, and ultimately paid with her own life for her decisions. Migi and Dali's story highlights the tragedy of Metry and Reiko, as it shows us that if their love was powerful enough, Metry and Reiko could have found a way to make their complicated situation work.

It would be interesting if Dali ever thought about this connection. He’s a contemplative boy, so perhaps this did cross his mind at some point, which could somewhat explain his actions towards the end of the story.

It's quite ironic that Reiko almost killed Dali, the triplet who most resembled her, and that Dali was the catalyst for the series of events that led to her downfall and death. It’s a good thing that Reiko decided not to steal Dali from Metry, otherwise who knows how he might have turned out.

[schreibfederlaerm]

some theories/observations before the omitb finale comes out next week:

we still don't know who was calling ben even though it's literally the last thing we see him doing before the murder and the reason he left the apartment (to be murdered) in the first place

maybe the killer called him to get him alone? (donna did not push ben and you can fight me on that) or maybe it wasn't premeditated at all and ben fell on accident

the possible parallel between ben and zoe is driving me insane btw

even more insanity inducing is the possibility of theo being a foil to tobert - one causing the fall on accident, one on purpose, both having a special Connection with mabel

another fun thing about tobert: the line "well, lucky for me, this one's taking you a little bit longer [to solve]"

tobert was also not at the party, which means he could have been the one behind the call

another possible caller could be ben's mom - someone else pointed out how ben said he had to support his brother and mother at age 8, i don't think we know why he didn't mention his dad or why he had to support them in the first place

also, is it common for elevators to be repaired with all the doors open on every floor?? it could be nothing but i wouldn't be surprised if the reason the elevator was broken in that way turns out to be related to the murder

[angry-geno-is-score]

Okay I’ve been stewing on a response to your dunnernlars rant, because I love them so so much and have Many Thoughts.

One of the biggest reasons they’re so compelling to me personally is that there is so much canon content for them! They’re clearly SO obsessed with each other. They WANT to be d partners, and beyond that they genuinely enjoy and seek out each others company, sitting together, eating together, etc etc. Their interviews where they can’t help but mention each other make me insane. And they really elevate each other’s play because they complement each other in so many ways. Dunn is offensively focused, whereas Lars is defensively responsible. Dunn has focused more on defense and stamina since pairing with Lars, while Lars takes WAY more shots than he used to.

But an aspect to their relationship that I haven’t really seen explored much yet is that Lars has never won the Stanley Cup, while Vince won it in his second season in the nhl. And this difference between them seems to have been a huge driving factor in how they feel about their careers and the game.

After having won it, it seems like Vince almost felt lost after, like he didn’t have the same drive oe love for hockey like he did before. He had an okay career in St. Louis following that victory, but he wasn’t anywhere near first dpairing level of play. And then the Blues didn’t protect him and the Kraken selected him in the expansion draft, bringing him and Lars together. Again, he was decent but not amazing for most of our first season, but something changed after the trade deadline, when he started getting paired with Lars. He looked a heck of a lot better, and the two of them were shockingly successful together for the end of the season.

And they clearly recognized it too. At the start of the second season with the kraken. Vince talked about how meaningful it was to play with Lars and how he worked hard over the summer to improve his strength and conditioning so he could keep up with Lars in that top dpair role. And beyond that, he also talked about how he worked to fix his attitude about hockey that summer before coming back to play with Lars.

Lars is still hungry for that trophy, that ultimate victory, because he hasn’t had a chance to win it yet. And something about playing together helped Vince find that spark and affected his mental/emotional state to remind him how much he loves playing and how much he still has to strive for in his career.

Basically they make me ill and I can’t stop thinking about them all the time lol. Thanks for reading my rant back 😂

YES. We as a fandom are SO blessed with lots of content. You're absolutely right; it's one of the best parts. I love how you brought up their personalities/struggles coming into the team, since the Kraken are so special that way--we're a mishmash of players from other teams, all of them coming in with previous experiences and victories and failures. Honestly, I adore the parallels/differences of Vince coming to Seattle having achieved the ultimate victory but feeling aimless and Adam coming to Seattle having suffered grief and heartbreak before and looking for a new start where he can pursue his career dreams, and them both finding comfort and a chance to grow in each other. Feels kind of like a fairytale that they were paired together. ;)

[annihilatius]

I've thinking about Minerva's Den again and, even though we all love it, it's great, some people even think its better than Bioshock 2 (agree to disagree), I feel like it could have been substantially improved if it was its own game. It works for what it is, yeah, but so many of its shortcomings come from the fact that it's limited to only being a 3 hour long DLC side story to Bioshock 2. With its limited time it tries to give equal focus to the Porters as well as Reed Wahl, and, yes, Charles Porter and Pearl Porter are spectacular, we love them... But that's all you can really say about the new characters. The story of Charles Porter coming to terms with his wife's death is undeniably amazing and by far the best part of the game... But that's all people talk about when they praise Minerva's Den. There's an elephant in the room. What about the character that causes Porter to be turned into a Big Daddy in the first place? What about the character that causes the entire game to happen? What about Reed Wahl?

He does *work* for what he is. But that's all there is to it. He just works, he's not significantly good or bad at it. The reason why nobody cares about him compared to Bioshocks other main villains, even people who love Minerva's Den, is because he may be a good villian for what time he has, he's not interesting as a character for what time he has. Andrew Ryan, Frank Fontaine, and Sofia Lamb were all so insanely real and deliciously evil that they left things to the imagination to wonder how someone could be like that. Reed Wahl doesn't leave anything to think about once you're done playing, you understand why he did what he did (from a reason standpoint not a sympathetic standpoint), it makes sense, but he has no complex backstory that shapes his beliefs, personality and/or why he does what he does like the big three do. And the fact that he's expected to compete with them is the definition of a cruel and unusual punishment. That's just unfair. You might argue, "Minerva's Den doesn't focus on its villian, it focuses more on the relationship between Charles and Pearl Porter, so it's okay that's its villian isn't comparatively as good as the other main villains of the franchise" and besides the fact that it just doesn't, Wahl gets a lot of attention.. Reed Wahl is still the main villian of his game! Reed Wahl is one of the two new main characters added! He's constantly monologuing to you throughout it, his presence is always there! Once again, he is the entire reason why the game happens at all! He *should* matter! So why does he feel less like an actual villian and more like an obstacle in his own game??

(This next part is less of me criticizing him and me just being cringey) Something I feel like also amplifies how weak he is as a character is that him and Porter have little to no relationship with each other beyond "they were colleagues once until shit turned sour". Like.. That's really it? In a story that puts so much emphasis on the loss of someone you love when their death was for someone else's war and someone you trust betraying you and nearly ruining your life for something pointless in the long run, there could have been so many interesting parallels to make between those two themes! Imagine how much more impactful Wahl's betrayal would have been if him and Porter were way closer. The earth shattering betrayal Porter would have felt, having horrible trust issues after the unpredictable tragedy that happened to Pearl, Wahl knowing it, and then he does that to him anyway over something so trivial in comparison to their friendship! Obviously you might have to give him a better motivation for why he does it if he did actually care about Porter beforehand, but you get what I'm saying. Maybe it could have been tied to his sudden ADAM addiction driving him to insanity (as well as the disagreeing on The Thinkers purpose but I don't think that would be enough for him to want his best friend incarcerated) somehow? It's said that his ADAM abuse made him hallucinate that The Thinker could actually predict anything, maybe it also made him think what he was doing was okay and even good? But for whatever reason why, I want there to be less emphasis on why he does it, but instead on just the fact that he does it at all.

There could have been a dynamic between them outside of their conflict with them being opposites because they disagreed on what The Thinker should be used for before that happened, maybe their differences are what made them gravitate towards each other in the first place, and their differences are what tore them apart? But I'm getting sidetracked and this is long enough already. I feel like Minerva's Den could have said so much more than what it was limited to, whether or not it wanted to. I've been thinking about how to word this for a while and I just wanted to get it out there somehow, so sorry if it's badly put together. There's so much unused potential in this character that sadly just wasn't brought justice, especially in comparison with his competition, and I'm TIRED of pretending there isn't....

[murdleandmarot]

platoria or demelurina for the ship bingo? ^_^

ILL DO THEM BOTH 4 U :DDD HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Platoria!! 🤍🎀🌹🩰

Good lord do they drive me fucking insane. Plato is a gorgeous gorgeous deer boy cat with eyeliner and pretty hair for days and Vicci is the jellicle moon the stars the universe the baby ballerina of all timeee. The original ‘she’s everything. He’s just Ken.’ Daphne and Fred. Mrs. Piggy and Kermit. I promise I’m not trying to be pretentious or anything but these two are like if Romeo and Juliet wasn’t tragedy. If they were doomed and there wasn’t an age gap. Platoria is that. To me. And also holyyyy shit they’re both gorgeoussss. Truly the best to ever do it. No notes. 10/10.

Deme and Bomba are under the cut :)

Demelurina!! ♥️🧡💋🍷

RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THEY MAKE ME CRAZY!!!!!! Not in the same way as Platoria but like….different. Their personalities are so different but they love each other so much….i love it when they go crazy during Macavity or completely body the harmonies in Grizabella the Glamour cat. Gillian Lynne has a vision, and I see and understand and want to eat the vision. Their shared trauma with Macavity makes their dynamic really interesting, because Demeter was clearly the one more hurt by the whole ordeal, so the way they parallel and contrast each other during the song is ACTUALLY insane. When I sing Macavity for fun, there’s always a very noticeable difference between the tones, and the way the two of them ebb and flow with their voices. Actual ear candy. Stunning.

Revivals need to get SO MUCH MORE INTENSE AND INTIMATE WITH THE CHOREO. I’d never thought I’d say that about fictional characters, but PLEASE let them interact more. This is a DUET!!!! LET THEM TOUCH EACH OTHER AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE OTHER ON THE STAGE!!!!

Anyhow I love them so so much and they’re beautiful and great. Bomba baby, Demeter honey, I love you both <33333

[platinumgigi]

oh, hey, while i'm talking about Lunter, here's something that i just realized on one of my several rewatches of Thanks to Them that keeps me up at night:

For their Halloween costumes, Luz is dressed as Azura from the Good Witch Azura series, and for Hunter, he's dressed as Chief Engineer O'Bailey from the Cosmic Frontier series.

(It's also super cute that they both based their costumes off of characters from book series' that they like, I just realized that they have that in common.)

But onto my main point:

Earlier in the episode, they present Hunter as intending on going out into the average, everyday human world dressed in that costume, because after reading Cosmic Frontier, it's basically the only concept of "human male fashion" that he knows. Of course it's neither up-to-date nor remotely realistic, but they emphasize that this is what Hunter considers a good human disguise.

So. When you take that into consideration.

Luz and Hunter's Halloween costumes.

ARE A WITCH AND A HUMAN.

I swear to GOD if this show never intended on Luz and Hunter ever being romantically involved then WHY do they keep paralleling Caleb and Evelyn. Like it's so soulmates/destiny/reincarnated lovers that I cannot STAND IT anymore. 😭😭

And it especially gets me too that during the Haunted Hayride, we're constantly given Luz and Hunter's reactions to the story of the Brothers Wittebane.

While yeah, sure, I know they're the only ones who actually know anything about the story and has any sort of importance to them at the time, but when they keep showing us Luz and Hunter between the reveal of Evelyn and how she "enticed" Caleb into joining her in the Boiling Isles? And with a depiction of Flapjack no less?? When Luz was the one who brought Flapjack and Hunter together in Hunting Palismen???

Like, view these two's relationship however you want, you're totally valid. But goddammit there is subtext here and it is driving me insane.

[mah-o-daryaa]

The Element of Change

So recently, I wrote a meta regarding the parallels between Aang and Kuruk, and while writing that meta (more specifically, I was writing the part about their respective heritages), I had a sudden realization: Water Tribe Avatars are meant to be the most powerful in the Avatar Cycle. Let me explain.

To understand the elements, we first have to understand their core values, and what they represent (I'm starting to sound like Uncle Iroh lol). For the element of water, there are two particular descriptions in animated media that I remember very well. The first is obviously from Avatar: The Last Airbender, specifically in the episode Bitter Work (Book 2: Episode 9); when Iroh is teaching Zuko lightning redirection, he first gives a brief lesson on the four elements:

"Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want."

"Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring."

"Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!"

"Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

For now, we will focus on Iroh's lesson on waterbending. He says that water is the element of change. This is true, since water has three distinct states: Solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (water vapor or steam). Waterbenders in the North and South Poles grow up adapting to their polar climate by bending the ice and snow, in addition to liquid water (we haven't seen anyone bend steam yet as of now, but waterbenders like Katara have been able to summon water from the atmosphere). Likewise, the Foggy Swamp Tribe adapts to their marshy habitat by learning plantbending; that is, to bend the water inside the plants. Hama invented bloodbending by adapting to the conditions of her dry prison cell, which lacked any liquid water for her to manipulate, and Katara was able to bend her own sweat to escape her and Toph's prison cell at the end of The Runaway (Book 3: Episode 7). If that's not resourceful, I have no clue what is.

Also, can someone please tell me how in the four nations did waterbenders learn to bend from the freaking Moon? I know that Tui and La's mortal bodies are koi fish, but that's still insanely OP to me. If that koizilla is the result of a 12-year-old Air Nomad Avatar merging with the Ocean Spirit, what would happen if a fully realized/adult Water Tribe Avatar merged with La?

The second description of water comes from one of my favorite shows that I used to watch: Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. In the episode Stiix and Stones (Season 5: Episode 47), Nya begins her own training to become the Water Ninja, and Master Wu teaches her the properties of water in detail:

"To become water, you must find its qualities within yourself. While earth is strong and air is fluid, water can be both, strong and fluid. Over time, it's strong enough to carve this rock. Or if I use my cup to stop its flow, it can adapt. It's flexible, shapeless. You put water in a cup, it becomes the cup. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Be water, Nya."

(The last three lines make a Bruce Lee reference, hehe.)

The above excerpt describes the qualities of water as a combination of the qualities of both earth and air by comparing water to both elements. Like earth, water can be strong and solid (ice), and like air, water can be gaseous, fluid and unpredictable (steam). However, most of the time, water exists in an intermediate liquid state: strong, yet fluid and adaptable; having a definite volume, but always changing shape.

"But Mone," you might begin to question. "What exactly does water have to do with the Avatar Cycle?" The answer is, I'm getting to it now.

To recap, the Avatar Cycle is the concept of the Avatar reincarnating in a cyclical order (fire, air, water, earth), and learning to master the elements in a similar order. Every Avatar is a reincarnation of the first Avatar, Wan. The identity of the Avatar is always changing (like the shape of water), but their duties stay the same (like its volume). As one might say, "Names change, but the streets stay the same." Or perhaps a human equivalent, "New person, same old mistakes." The same goes for the Avatar. For example, Avatar Yangchen reincarnates to Avatar Kuruk, meaning Kuruk is technically Yangchen, but he also has his own identity as the Avatar. Conversely, both Yangchen and Kuruk are technically Wan, too (and have the same duties as he did), but all three have their own distinct identities.

This could also be explained in terms of Raava, the spirit of light and order; she is the spirit that reincarnates with each Avatar. The Avatars of past and present may be from different cultures, have different personalities, and face different conflicts, but one constant is the bond with Raava. Raava's "container" may change with each cycle, but the Avatar's essence remains.

In addition, when the Avatar masters the four elements, he/she is also meant to understand and adopt the principles and philosophies of each of the four nations. As water is the element of change, and the people of the Water Tribes are naturally resourceful and adaptable, this means Water Tribe Avatars, like Kuruk and Korra, can easily adapt to different bending styles, and could thus naturally have a better understanding of the four nations.

This fluidity and adaptability of water are prominent clues to just how powerful a Water Tribe Avatar could potentially be. If you thought a regular waterbender was capable enough, wait until you see a fully realized Avatar hailing from either of the three Water Tribes. Kuruk's legacy as a waterbender, and thus his ability to adapt to any situation is exactly the reason why he was believed to a "go with the flow" type of person, the reason why he was a menace in hunting and on the battlefield, the reason why he excelled at almost anything he tried his hand at, the reason why he, more than any other Avatar in history, was able to adapt to, innovate, and combine the philosophies of the four nations together, into a single identity. Korra's legacy as a waterbender is the reason why she could control three of the four elements as a small child, the reason why she could endure mercury poisoning, which could have lead to instant death to anyone else, the reason why she was able to control the Avatar State immediately. Both Kuruk and Korra could and have demonstrated complete talent and mastery over the four elements, as well as the Avatar State.

This last detail can actually be explained with real-life physics. You ever realize just how quickly water can transform and vary from a gentle and peaceful stream to a violent tsunami? Me too, my dear mutuals.

(If only they had the chance to prove it. I guess they have to compensate their prowess and potential with terrible luck and reputations, both in-universe and in the fandom.)

Tl; dr: Waterbending is OP as hell. In fact, calling it OP would actually be the understatement of the century. Water Tribe Avatars are not weapons, they're the entire nuclear arsenal!