#analysis thread

[venxomi]

Hanako as a representation of abuse

This is an extensive post of how abuse afflicted Yugi Amane and even Hanako's behavior well into afterlife. Of course, emotional abuse is directly related to physical abuse, so I'll be talking about them together for the most part.

1. Behavioural Signs in Yugi Amane

We don't know why or who is behind this, and I won't particularly talk about it since it's not the focus anyway. We know his abuse started somewhere during his first year and was repeated until his suicide, july of his 2nd year. According to Tsuchigomori, he was badly injured every single day, so that's at least around a year worth of constant physical abuse.

However, it's important to note that it's very likely that before the physical abuse, emotional abuse was already consistently taking place, with multiple signs- He's isolated, experiences social withdrawal and has no friends, skips classes & school activities and has poor academic performance that contrasts his actual capabilities.

His emotional development is poor; He has difficulties expressing and understanding his own feelings, very likely a factor in the degradation of his and Tsukasa's relationship where Tsukasa can't understand Amane and Amane can't understand Tsukasa either due to lack of proper communication, and something that carries well over into the afterlife as Hanako.

The physical abuse worsened his already messed up mental state, and everything ultimately drove him into depression. He engages in behavior that puts his own safety in jeopardy (Like when he was way too close to falling over the window, both of his feet were at the very edge of the window frame), and while his love towards space stayed the same, he was overtaken by feelings of helplessness.

Even a rock could travel from the Moon to Earth, which gave him hope. It's important to highlight the word "even". He claims that if 'even' a rock can go this far, so can he, suggesting very low self-esteem. It's an object that carried him through many hardships because of this hope, but everything got so bad said hope just made him feel worse. At some point he started experiencing active suicidal ideation, marked by him giving away his treasured possession to Tsuchigomori in order to rid himself of this "hope", and declaring that he decided he wouldn't "go anywhere", a clear metaphor for deciding he would give up on his future and take his own life. He decided he cannot go anywhere near farther than a rock.

2. Behavioural signs in Hanako

As we mostly see his ghost self, we have a clearer vision of Hanako than we have of Amane. We can easily see his horribly low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness. When we catch a glimpse of his perspective, we see how distorted his sense of self is.

He repeatedly claims that he isn't worth anything and that his existence itself is a punishment, and so refuses to disappear, considering that it would only be a release from the torment he deserves.

He hates himself down to his core, although this is a combined result of both depression via his experienced abuse and his PTSD of the murder-suicide. As Amane, he was capable of saying that it's fine if he's tormented this terribly, that even if there's no reason for it, he forgives it, massively contrasting Hanako who is incapable of forgiving himself, claiming that even if he had a super special reason for Tsukasa's murder, there's not a single justification that would warrant forgiveness. He's capable of forgiving anything that anyone does to him no matter how horrible, but not of forgiving himself.

As such, verbal abuse directed at him is taken positively by him, such as when Akane states that "reformed villains", refering to Hanako, make him sick, continuing to talk about how he can never take back what he did, essentially degrading him. He was given very harsh words that visibly hurt him, even implying that it triggered his PTSD for a moment, yet he could only claim that Akane is the type of person he likes most, as he was essentially validating and feeding into Hanako's already deeply negative view of himself.

This is also supported by his time in the Picture Perfect arc via his belief that he's undeserving of anything better for himself. Hanako said it himself in 71 that he wished he could've lived a normal life with Nene and Kou, and the Picture World reflected exactly that.

It's a world that was shaped exactly like he wanted, and that's exactly why he hated it. He knew what his reality was, and furthermore, he knows of his crimes and how he was the one who destroyed his own future, and so thinks he's undeserving of it.

He refuses to look at the stars for too long, because that reminds him of the hopes and dreams he gave up on in reality- He has no right to dare pick them up again, further highlighted by him refusing to go on the moon in the End of a Dream. His wish wasn't granted while alive, and now can't be granted after death.

In his helplessness, he is unable to reach for better circumstances for himself. After all, he's quick to adapt to whatever bad thing comes his way. "It's just how the world works", and he has to accept it.

However, we know how that doesn't apply to the people he cares about. He may have given up on everything, but he is unable to give up on the people he loves. No matter how much he suffers, no matter what he has to do, he wants the people he loves to find happiness.

No matter how much he tried to tell himself he isn't supposed to care, he desperately wants them to live the fulfilling lives he didn't have. And if he is the one that gives them the salvation they need, he finds the indulgence to want a small part of him to live through them, the indulgence to hate himself just a little bit less.

He actively attempts to hide his past from other people, being content with them only knowing basic information about it (that he's a murderer), mainly because he doesn't want to appear vulnerable or know how much of a horrible person (according to himself) he actually is.

When it comes to people he has a good relationship with like Nene, he's actually afraid of them finding out, and even months after promising he would tell Nene everything, he's still reluctant to do so due to overall difficulty with opening up- exposure to characters or topics that relate to his past more often than not results in reactions varying from heavy emotional distress, expressing aggression, anger, guilt and/or shame, to reliving traumatic events. Avoidance seems to be his main method of coping.

Hanako suffers from emotional dysregulation. He not only has high difficulties processing and expressing his feelings, but has difficulty picking up on others' emotions as well. For half a century he had been socially and emotionally neglected while also being incapable of ever maturing past the age of 13, much less healing from his past experiences. They rather worsened due to a supernatural lifestyle. When he first met Nene, he wasn't behaving appropriately at all due to this and their relationship went through many difficulties due to his lack of boundaries and poor emotional intelligence, and him communicating his true feelings is always a rare occasion.

Not only did he not take into account other people's feelings ("Yashiro will hate it, but it's ok, she'll move on someday and live her life", not taking into account and understanding others being possibly spiteful over his actions and direct their hate towards innocent parties), he doesn't even take into account his own ("Why? Good question. Why am I doing it?" and "Even though I was prepared to never see you again, I'm so happy to have you back. Weird, right? There must be something wrong with me"). However, due to Nene's influence, he seems to be a little more upfront with his feelings lately.

He's also incredibly self-reliant. Both events of Picture Perfect and the Severance were a result of Hanako doing everything by himself without consulting anyone. He decided by himself that he's the only one that should dirty his hands as he was already a sinner, that it's easier to dump everything on the one that's already guilty of similar crimes, because he didn't have any other solution in sight. It's important to note that he took the *entire* blame for the Severance- Even if all he did was feign ignorance to no. 6's actions.

Him being grounded in the miserable reality he finds himself in is both a strength (as he is quick to adapt to his conditions) and a major weakness- He'll only be able to see the most practical, yet unfortunate approaches.

In the Clock Keepers arc, he wanted to trust Kou when he said he would save Nene, but his attempt quickly turned to failure when he was not seeing any tries, let alone results. He was even upset at Kou when he considered that if he wanted the job done he should have just done it himself, knowing that his methods aren't ones someone would approve of. Methods that he doesn't approve of himself, but carried them out anyway in his despair.

In fact, Hanako did not break free from the shackles of abuse. He is a child that has been placed in a position of leadership filled with various responsibilities for fifty years. He is committed to his duties as a mystery after being promised salvation by 'God', believing that his sins would be forgiven, but he's essentially just being used.

He is, in present time, still repeatedly emotionally abused, manipulated and exploited to fulfill others' agenda. After all, control is at the heart of abuse, and his vulnerabilities will continue to just get taken advantage of as long as he's only capable of masking and avoiding them. However, Nene's influence upon him seems to make him capable of slightly improving himself, even if it's just very small steps at a time.

[verdantwyrm]

The ID Card Rant

I'm going to immediately fire this off with

NO. CURLY DID NOT STEAL ANYA'S ID. THE PLACEMENT OF HER ID IN CURLY'S LOCKER IS FOR ACHIEVEMENT PURPOSES AND REFERENCES TOWARDS THE CHARACTERS FROM JIMMY'S PERSPECTIVE.

Okay, are we done now? I don't know how this came to be, but the only time curly can access the locker AND the cockpit in any way is when you do Jimmy's psych evaluation. The other time you can access only the cockpit is when you are going to Anya about the gun, and then when you're trying to stop the ship from crashing. All the ID cards are something that only Jimmy can find, as they only appear in chapters where he is the POV.

Which honestly leads me to believe that the ID Cards aren't even real, and are just visual flavouring and storytelling from Jimmy's perspective. (Shocking)

And the argument that Anya's ID is in "Curly's" locker is even stupider because there's nothing to declare that locker as Curly's. Is it because it's behind his chair? Because in that case, that means Jimmy owns the fax machine and printer... (￢_￢;)

What the ID's represent is Jimmy's guilt and the suffering he's caused onto the others.

Anya's card is entirely spotless, unharmed, not even scratched or dirty; a reflection to how Jimmy outright refuses and genuinely believes that anything he's done has hurt her in any way, or that he's caused her any pain.

Daisuke's and Swansea's cards are very obviously damaged, but are still very readable and eligible to a certain degree. They're the least damaged; reflecting the point that Jimmy is aware that he's hurt them or that they suffered at all is very minimal.

Jimmy's own card is also very damaged, but still readable and eligible. This could be about his own self-destructive habits and how they affect him ultimately in the end, even if he benefited from it.

Curly's card is the most damaged, it's also the only one with blood on it. It's the one he feels the most guilt for, the one who suffered the most, but Jimmy is still in denial to an extent that he was the cause of it, but is aware of it.

Curly did not steal Anya's ID's because they're only relevant through Jimmy's POV. Stop repeating this dumb "theory" that Curly stole Anya's ID to "prevent her from reporting to Pony Express" when we know damn fucking well if she even could with or without her ID, they wouldn't even listen or do anything at all.

Curly Did Not Steal Anya's ID.

[carelessflower]

Tmi gang and the perfumes they would use

your local tmi brained has come back with another analysis. this thread considered multi facets into picking a specific sense for each character, from their personality, occupation to their financial background. and feel free to add in any perfume you think also fit these characters 💖

Alec

Starting off with our beloved consul. After marrying into wealth and slowly moving away from the battlefield and into the office, Alec develops a penchant for light, comforting scents, thinking white floral, peony, and smell of freshly washed fine cashmere sweater. Note the sandalwood, through the influence of his husband

Magnus

The ever-elusive high warlock of Brooklyn. Gorgeous, exquisite taste. Say you can’t afford him and everyone knows it. Magnus loves a rich gourmand with bits of kick, much like his chaotic personality. He's a party boy at heart, but that family side sure brings out the sweetness

Clary

Clary is like the turning point between spring and summer. Windy enough for a lazy picnic. Floral but not too sweet. She needs something fresh, to roll out of bed every morning for shadowhunter training, art class, and then the occasional demon-hunting date night

Jace

The golden boy your parents warn you about. Is that the beast or the fallen angel? Can be seen either shirtless or sticking by his armies of worn leather jackets, Jace has no qualms about attracting eyes everywhere he goes. He would smell like he instigates a fight in some sleazy crowded bar, and win

Izzy

Classic. Feminine. Seductive. The fantasy of every man's dream. Vanilla, almond, and tropical fruits, it is as delicious as it get. But beware behind the sweetness, her sharp whip and sharper heels, ready to crush anyone and everyone getting in her way. And it would be an honor

Simon

He doesn’t know much about perfume but got this as a prank and refuses to stop using it unironically. He also thinks its' citrus and salt help with the sweat after training and band practice. He’s lucky Izzy happens to like his natural musky scent beneath all the spray

+ (2) BONUS

Alternative pick for Alec

Still his favorite white floral, but there's more push for fresh and fruity

Alternative pick for Magnus

A million different smells at once, smokey and sexy

tag list: @magnus-the-maqnificent @literallytypogod @hoezier-than-thou @sociallyineptbibliophile @queenlilith43

@khaleesiofalicante @wandererbyheart @raziyekroos @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @alexandergideonslightwood @andrwminward

@noah-herondale-lightwood @elettralightwood @dustandducks @deliciousdetectivestranger @delightfullyterrible

@letsgofortacos

@kita-no @thelightofthebane @secrettryst @goldendreams3 @cityofdownwardspirals

@stupidfuckindinosaur

@i-have-not-slept @rinadragomir @potato-jem @kasper-tag @cam-ryt

@banesapothecary

[opbackgrounds]

This idea is so, so important to the series in general, and Brook in particular. There are times in One Piece where people die for noble causes, and others where people act knowing that there's a good chance that they could die, but knowingly choosing death over life is never portrayed in a positive light.

As someone who views One Piece through the lens of Romantic literature, this is really important because historically the Romantics, er, well, romanticized suicide and death and the historic last stand. It's doubly interesting to me as a Japanese story, with Japan having its own long, complicated history with the concept of honorable death.

One Piece directly challenges both of these ideas, with life and living being romanticized instead, even if that means you have to get on your knees and beg for it like Brook does with Ryuma later on.

And it's a tightrope that story has to balance. Nami willingly lived under to boot of the man who killed her mother for years, but there came a time when enough was enough, and both she and the village had to stand up and fight for her freedom. She carried that lesson to her fight with Enel, even though she was hopelessly outmatched and would have been reduced to a greasy smear if Luffy hadn't shown up to save her. Within the context of the story both instances were portrayed positively, with Oda indicating through his writing that she had made the correct decision.

But that's not what's happening here. This is Luffy being willing to run away at Sabaody because he knew the Pacificas were too strong. This is Usopp lambasting the samurai at Wano for rushing toward their deaths rather than living to fight another day.

It's Brook knowing he made a promise to a friend, and doing everything in his power to keep it, even if it meant looking like a sniveling coward groveling at the feet of his own shadow.

[saltyspacenoid]

FINALLY. I am starting to post my threads here... It took me so much time to put this together, so I'd appreciate every share :3 I hope you people of Gundam tumblr will like this if you see it for the first time!!

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Hey, so a while back, I saw an AMAZING thread from LOTR fans about Frodo cursing Gollum and placing a gea on him and so damning Gollum to inevitably fall into Mount Doom and take the Ring with him—and how this is a recurring theme in the Legendarium where curses and oaths have real power and are not to be messed with. And while again the thread was AWESOME, it also made me think of something.

So we all know how Boromir tries to take the Ring from Frodo in Fellowship of the Ring, and then when Frodo fights back, Boromir screams that he’ll kill them all and curses him and all halflings to darkness. Given how we’ve established that curses have serious power and all of them come to pass—is Boromir laying a curse on Frodo? Because you could argue that it worked on Frodo but all the other hobbits seem to not be damned to darkness (I would argue the Scouring of the Shire doesn’t even count because the hobbits were able to rebuild). So what’s going on? Is it that Boromir didn’t really mean it? Did the curse only fall on Frodo?

[banefort]

larys torturing aegon 'for his own good' in a sadistic phantom thread-like way to exercise complete dominance over his health and recovery, but also as a means to perversely unpick his stitches and remake him in his own image. much to think about

[lynxacratic]

😭😭😭

[beneathsilverstars]

anyway the lore in my mind palace is that siffrin has a big meaningless crush on odile - they get flustered by how much they like her, but it's not something they'd think about as a romantic potential, it's just normal social nerves and clingy impulses but sweeter.

and then post-canon loop is like . i need to crawl inside someone and die like a bug, but it can't be siffrin bc he'd get all emo about it and it can't be isabeau bc absolutely not and it can't be mira bc i can't do that to her. but luckily that leaves one person. who i've always rly liked but siffrin would never consider an option. and she also won't cry all over me. odile can i sleep on the floor in your bedroom and bring you trinkets like a cat brings home dead birds

[verdantwyrm]

Some Official Trailer details I like

From Here

First the release date trailer

Jimmy in the void

"I see it so clearly. Through the crack in the wall. Behind God's back. Hell colored. Electric and Constant. We're already here."

The release date also being the code for the axe, 2609. The numbers also appear in the order the characters die, Anya, Daisuke, Swansea and then Jimmy, with Curly being the slash.

The ending "advertisement" has excerpts from the game.

The Demo Trailer

"In the back of my mind, It's always there. But I can't help but wonder… what was my part in all of this?"

It's also worth noting that you can make out Jimmy's silhouette in the last frame

The Official Trailer

Honestly, not much to go from here, just things I liked from the trailers.

[carelessflower]

Tmi gang and their bags

I might or not make this solely to push my secret agenda

Alec

Alec loves how big bags can carry so much paperwork, and weapons (he’s working late cause he’s the consul). Magnus practically jumped at the chance to replace Alec's tattered old duffle bag with things more durable and better quality. Also, Alec gets a customized birkin, cause he said others are ugly

Magnus

Putting aesthetic over functionality, Magnus doesn’t even bring bags most of the time, just poofing things up from the air with his magic. And other times the ones he chose would be so tiny, whose experimenting design or material render them unable to carry more than an immaculate vibe

Clary

Clary would get simple tote bags and paint/put her charms, decorations, and beads on them, making them extremely pretty and unique. Also, she lowkey stumble in some thrift store in NYC for cool artsy bohemian vintage pieces

Jace

The only bag Jace believes is the weapon bag he tried to sneak babies out for demon hunting. Else, it's Jace, his jacket, condom, and the 100th weapon he carries against the world

Izzy

She's always up to the latest it girl bags. her siblings wonder where she got all of them considering their parents were never around much. Also, those bags can’t carry more than lipstick sometimes, but who cares? Cause how many letters are in Isabelle? She ate

Simon

Even his bag is very your-nerdy-next-door-neighbor-crush-who-of-course-is-in-a-band type. Simple canvas bag that when the mood strikes, Simon decorates them with pins and stickers. He also has a prized leather satchel, courtesy of Izzy

tag list: @magnus-the-maqnificent @literallytypogod @hoezier-than-thou @sociallyineptbibliophile @queenlilith43

@khaleesiofalicante @wandererbyheart @raziyekroos @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @alexandergideonslightwood @andrwminward

@noah-herondale-lightwood @elettralightwood @dustandducks @deliciousdetectivestranger @delightfullyterrible

@letsgofortacos

@kita-no @thelightofthebane @secrettryst @goldendreams3 @cityofdownwardspirals

@stupidfuckindinosaur

@i-have-not-slept @rinadragomir @potato-jem @kasper-tag @cam-ryt

@banesapothecary

[saltyspacenoid]

[THREAD - Lalah, Only humans become Newtypes]

The second thread I post here (you can use the first tag "salty analysis thread" to find the other)

[xlillyle]

Why in my humble opinion the episode brings the Mersault arc to a satisfying end regarding Fyodor, Dazai, Chuuya and the message it has

So, there's a lot of energy buzzing around in the fandom with the latest episode and I felt like some things have not been pointed out enough, therefore I'm gonna share my thoughts on the parts of Mersault. This is a thread that focuses on the conclusion of the Mersault arc as presented in the most recent episode of the anime in season 5 and I will elaborate on what I think the message of the Mersault arc is, what Fyodor's role in this arc is, I will comment on why I think he was defeated and why it fits the message and I will also go into more detail of how Chuuya and Dazai play into all of this and what I think happened in Mersault.

I'd like to start with these panels from the manga, chapter 77:

Together with this one from chapter 105:

I think these panels convey the core message of the Mersault arc very well and its goal: Everyone is just human, no matter how smart. And humans are capable of amazing things and even moreso if they come together. This is the greatest difference between Fyodor and Dazai who have been countless of times painted and stated as each other's equals - yes, they are intellectually of a level most can only dream of, only rivaled by Ranpo, but unlike Fyodor, Dazai has learnt to trust humans and understands their bonds to each other.

Fyodor doesn't.

It's a message that is heavily implied and then outright stated by Dazai in the last episode:

The reason why Fyodor fails is that he doesn't trust in people and because he doesn't understand humans in that regard - he thinks that he is above this concept, thinks he can manipulate them and that they're just pawns. It's shown in the way he talks about Sigma, it's shown in the fact that he chose to use Chuuya who is Dazai's partner against Dazai to dangle him in front of Dazai and it's shown when he mocks Dazai for not being "able" to use a "gravity manipulator" and drops the famous line of them having a "shallow bond".

Fyodor is arrogant and very confident in his own abilities, including the one to control those around him. That's what makes him slacking though, he can't comprehend that a plan that relies on a bond and trust would be able to deceive and defeat him and the closer he gets to his goal, the less he cares. That's why he allows Dazai this last speech in 109 too, he doesn't think anything can defeat him. Dazai is at his wit's end, Fyodor is the winner. There's no way that Dazai has a backup plan, Fyodor is a genius and he already thought of everything that could possibly be, so there's no way, right?

Mersault always was about showing what humans are capable of and what they can achieve and that trusting in your allies, in your bonds with the people you love, makes you more capable and achieve higher goals. And it's exactly what happened.

Dazai states that he doesn't have control over all things, that he had a lot of uncertain cards. But he trusted in his allies and it pays off. He wins not because he has it all figured out from the start and a backup plan for the backup plan of the backup plan, he did his part of the plan and adjusted to the scene and left the rest in full trust with his allies.

This pilot stabbing Fyodor worked because Dazai trusted in the agency and Ranpo and them taking over control the vampires in time. And the rest of the Mersault story before all this?

That brings me to my next point, actually. We learn in the episode that it was all a SKK scheme:

Now, some people were unsatisfied that a plan that simple couldn't fool Fyodor, but I think that is exactly the point of it. Chuuya is a great actor (in Stormbringer he fools with grief and shock Albatross in thinking he saved the in two halves separated Doc for example) and the simplicity of this plan is what makes it so good against Fyodor - why would he assume that the great Dazai, his intellectual equal, another genius, would go through with such a plan?

And it's even better because it isn't actually Dazai's! Now, I have seen a lot of people talking about this and I admit that I assumed the opposite originally as well, that this was all Dazai's scheme, but thanks to a moot I took a closer look on the storytelling and I realized something:

Dazai describes here the moment he realized that Chuuya is on his side in my opinion. This wasn't a "Dazai orchestrated the whole thing and sent Chuuya a text to haul his ass over to Mersault" because it doesn't fit with the storyline. Especially the speech in chapter 101 stands out here - a lot of people are making jokes about how weird and gay of a plan the speech is, but I actually think, based on the situation and the voice acting from Mamoru Miyano, that this goodbye speech is a genuine one.

The speech in 101 seems very genuine down to the point of his fake goodbye in the end, meanwhile the tone of a similar speech in 109 has completely shifted.

And what happened between 101 and 109? Exactly. The elevator.

So, what I'm thinking is this: Dazai saw that Fyodor had Chuuya under control and he knows his partner, he can't quite believe that Chuuya would get himself captured, it's gotta be a plan, right? Soukoku isn't actually the brains-and-brawn duo even though everyone thinks that, but Dazai knows how capable and smart Chuuya is. He hid Arahabaki from him and figured out Rimbaud after all.

But still, there is this bit of doubt nurtured by fear - he trusts Chuuya, but what if this isn't his Chuuya? So his goodbye speech is both:

An attempt to snap Chuuya out of it, an attempt to communicate with him, the hope that carries him because this is his partner, right? Stupid Chuuya that always fights and always clings to life and knows to appreciate it a lot more than Dazai.

But also a genuine goodbye, just... in case. Because he could never forgive himself if he doesn't say goodbye to Chuuya, JUST IN CASE. He trusts and believes in Chuuya, but he can't not say goodbye to him, just in case that Fyodor really got Chuuya.

And then the elevator scene happens and Dazai realizes: He only has one way of surviving, but he will not drag Sigma into this, not if he can help it. And he made a promise to him, after all. So, Dazai pushes Sigma out, makes sure that Sigma is alive like he promised. Then he keeps falling.

The only one that can save him now is Chuuya and Dazai decides to trust him. If this is his Chuuya, Chuuya will save him. Because that is what they do: Soukoku come to each other's call, they trust each other with their life and in return get that life saved by the other.

And if this isn't his Chuuya? Well, then Dazai died for the sake of the agency and he probably thinks that this is a good way to die, too.

But he doesn't die. He gets saved by Chuuya of course, how could he have ever considered something else? Chuuya came to his help and he has a plan. So, now all Dazai has to do is play along, just like in old times.

I wanna talk about this specific part of 109 too - I saw people arguing that the fact that Chuuya has been acting all the time made the scenes less impactful for the plot or their bond, but I actually would argue the opposite. Like I just laid out, in my opinion he only learnt just before this that Chuuya is on his side. That means, they don't have an actual plan that they discussed before, but they're good, they're Soukoku - we have seen in Dead Apple during the Dragonhead's Conflict and in the Dragon fight 6 years later what they are capable of without much communication.

But this is not only a way to show off their flawless communication and synchronization again, it also shows us something that we always knew but that is now plainly laid out: Dazai trusts Chuuya with his life. He trusts Chuuya to shoot, but not kill him.

Truly, you could say:

"The core characterization of Dazai and Chuuya's partnership is based on pure trust where both of them are capable of leaving each other's life on the other's hand without a second thought or doubt." - from the Dead Apple guide book

Chuuya acting from the very beginning as vampire and Dazai finding out along with a leap of faith and them proving once again the close bond they share is exactly the way this arc was supposed to go and the fact that it was predictable in that sense doesn't make it bad writing. In contrary. Asagiri set up and delivered the message of the arc extremely well, the arc had a clear red string following through all of it.

And this is why, in my opinion, this arc was actually written very well and why Fyodor's defeat is actually a good break for his character arc (because I don't believe he is dead, but this here is already way too long and many others have pointed plenty why he probably isn't dead) and why I really like the message of the Mersault arc.

[rainofthetwilight]

something something, arin is desperately trying to run back to his past, even if it meant to give up the present..while sora is trying so hard to run away from her past, trying to hold on to the present, but her past still catches up to her no matter what..something something...

arin would give up the present, as he denied that the ninja are his family when his mother asked him so, if it meant for him to run back to her and his father.

this whole season alludes to motion. everyone, everything is moving. but here in arin's fear, he's trying so hard to do that, to move and run back to his parents, to his past, but he couldn't, stuck in the same place as he was. which also fits in his whole arc of not progressing in his spinjitzu, still being in the same place as he was before. he didn't improve, he couldn't move, he's still, and stuck at where he started, he has no motion, and is constantly being reminded of that whether intentionally or unintentionally (unintentionally: lloyd and sora, intentionally: ras)

meanwhile with sora, in her fear, she was able to move. she was able to run back to her past,  despite trying so hard to move on from it, to turn away from it, to stay still and never come back to it. but it still pulls her back, no matter how hard she tries

and of course, this also goes to how she's currently progressing with her powers. she's improving, she's moving forward, she isn't still, she's much more powerful than she was before, she's learning, and most importantly, she has motion, and is reminded of it everytime, whether by herself or someone else, while also being praised for it

and the way these two arcs just very clearly contrast from eachother is so interesting. arin had always wanted to be a ninja, he wants to make his parents proud, but when he got the chance, he fails time and time again. meanwhile sora did not even think she'd be involved in any ninja adventures, yet here we are. she didn't even think she'd have powers, no less improve at controlling them, she didn't think she'd have all of this but still got it

one friend had neverending hope, had a dream so big, that his imagination became reality. yet, it looked like destiny didn't agree with it, making his hope falter and his dream shatter, his self esteem dangerously lowering as he started to doubt if he was ever good enough, and he started to doubt if everyone else believed in him too

the other was never focused on hope, or a dream, she accepted the life she lived as long as it meant she won't return to her past. destiny didn't disappoint her, but it contrasted with her opinions in ways that she didn't really agree with. but in the end, she managed to resolve her past and move on from it, as she started focusing more on the present and being happier than she's ever been, even if her past pulled her back at times. they're both best friends despite all these differences, but after what happened in the s2p1 finale, will they be for long?

[banefort]

It’s always surprising that Larycent only really exists on the fringes of the HOTD fanbase when it’s easily one of if not the most compelling and complicated relationships. The erotic overlap between love and violence, his near-primordial compulsion to service her and win her affection despite recognizing that she fears him in the same instinctual way that the fly fears the spider. Not to mention its capacity for discussions of class dynamics, ability/disability.

Matthew Needham’s explanation for the SA scene, that Larys seeks to wrest her bodily autonomy from her through making her own limbs part of the crime, deliberately targeting her traumatic sexual history and conscience-stricken disposition is such an interesting concept. He seeks to invoke a disconnect between her and her feet, symbolically and literally disabling her. In his eyes, the only way for them to truly identify with one another, or for her to love him, is for them to share in their bodily trauma together.

It conjures the image of a rabid animal willingly and devotedly infecting another.

[purplebass]

shades of magic & threads of power color palettes