#and I managed

[noramsblog]

Yeehaw! (Flirtatiously)

[yuseirra]

Final Analysis: "Oshi no Ko" is indeed a story that reinterprets mythology (the story progresses with both surface-level and deep-level narratives running in parallel).

Just why didn’t they explain this beforehand?

I REALLY hope this is my last time bringing up this subject! I'm doing this for myself mostly, because I want to understand things and form a proper closure! If you disagree, I understand! But I'd like to say I really am fully believing the idea after having given this series a proper close read and examined the work with care. I did my best.

In my opinion, the only way to explain this work and understand why its narrative unfolded the way it did is truly just that—it’s based on mythology.

But the creators didn’t fully elaborate on or explain this, so is it fair that readers are left to figure this out on their own over months, scouring articles or even research papers? And even then, because they didn’t definitively establish this, I’ve now reached the conclusion that there is no other way to explain this work than by interpreting it as mythology. The story doesn’t just reinterpret mythology; it reaches a level where the ending is essentially swallowed by the myth itself. And yet, it feels like no one around me—aside from me—is thinking this way. It’s incredibly frustrating, suffocating, isolating... My head honestly hurt so much because I wasn’t even sure if my interpretation was correct.

Still, since the work itself is so chaotic and spiraled into complete disarray near the end, I felt the need to solidify what kind of story it actually is. After all, we need to at least understand what this story is about to form any kind of judgment. If things remain unresolved like this, the story remains incomprehensible and unbearably unsettling, so I felt I had to tie up the loose ends myself.

I considered myself a relatively diligent reader who followed the story closely, but there were so many events happening in the narrative, and yet the reasons behind them—the explanations for why things unfolded that way—remained utterly unclear and confusing. (This is why I often criticize the story as incomplete or poorly written.) I don’t think I lack reading comprehension or the ability to grasp context. Usually, I can figure out what a story is trying to convey. But with this work, it’s simply impossible to explain unless you bring in mythology. On the other hand, if you do bring mythology into the equation, then it becomes explainable.

That’s why, even if one wouldn’t be able to fully understand the story, there'd be the need to examine those elements to make some sense of it. From the moment the narrative introduced gods, missions, and similar motifs, it became clear that those elements weren’t insignificant. After all, the protagonists themselves reincarnated to fulfill their missions from the gods. But even this concept of “mission” wasn’t clearly defined in the story—it was left ambiguous, merely hinted at. Readers are forced to figure out what it might be on their own, but the story doesn’t even provide proper clues. This lack of clarity and consideration for the audience is why the manga feels so unkind and perplexing.

This manga, in short, simultaneously unfolds with two narratives: a surface-level narrative (表層叙事) and a deep-level narrative (深層叙事). This will get long, so I'll put everything else under the read more.

The surface-level narrative is the storyline we see directly in the manga. It can be summarized as Aqua’s journey for revenge.

The deep-level narrative isn’t intricately crafted or detailed—it’s simply mythology. The deep-level narrative of this manga is a reinterpretation of Japanese mythology. However, it’s only faintly alluded to and isn’t treated as a significant element. But by the time we reach the conclusion, understanding this deep-level narrative becomes necessary to explain and make sense of the events in the surface-level narrative. Despite this, the creators didn’t even acknowledge the existence of such a layer, leaving readers confused and unable to understand.

And yet, even if readers were to figure all of this out, it likely wouldn’t fundamentally change the evaluation of the work. Perhaps that’s why the creators chose to leave it as is.

Unless you're anyone with even a moderate understanding of Japanese mythology, it's impossible to figure out, “What is this? What kind of story was this?” But if that’s the only way to understand it, then it’s the creators who failed, isn’t it? I happened to have a faint understanding, so I thought, “Could it be this?” and started looking into it. As I became more interested, the things I discovered fit together, allowing me to interpret the story. But ultimately, the material that should have been fully shown and explained within the work itself wasn’t properly addressed. That’s the problem here.

Using the interpretation I pieced together, everything can align perfectly. The hints are subtly present in the work, and when you connect them, you can explain what kind of story this is. But the problem is, the balance shifts in a strange way.

Can this balance really be considered “well-handled,” or does it feel more like, “The narratives we thought were important turned out to be irrelevant, and this is what it actually was”? Seeing the resolution, I’m leaning toward the latter.

The parts involving Aqua and the two heroines (Kana and Akane) are the surface narrative. Most readers, while reading this manga, probably thought that this was the important part and rooted for this aspect of the story. Aqua lived as a doctor, was reincarnated as the child of his favorite idol, and entered the entertainment industry seeking revenge after that idol’s death. Along the way, he formed bonds represented by the two heroines, and through these relationships, he experienced change. Most would think, “This is the main plot of Oshi no Ko,” and the story indeed presents it that way.

But when you reach the ending, this narrative doesn’t hold as much weight as expected, and that’s bewildering, isn’t it?

The weight of the story shifts to the deeper narrative rooted in Japanese mythology, that's why.

It's characters like Ruby, Ai, Kamiki, and Tsukuyomi who are deeply intertwined with this deeper narrative.

Ruby was supposed to fulfill the role of a dual protagonist and occasionally received key episodes. But for some reason, it always felt like Aqua was the true protagonist. Looking at it now, I think it’s because Aqua and Ruby had different roles as “protagonists” within the story.

If Aqua was a character involved in the “human side” of the narrative (which made him seem incredibly significant, leading us to follow his journey as if he were the main protagonist, with his story appearing to form the core plot), Ruby was more deeply connected to the “divine side.” (She was loved by the gods, received their help, became entangled with the crow, and even at the end, it was said the gods sent her. She called herself Amaterasu and prayed to the gods. While Aqua had some involvement in this aspect, his role was more about supporting Ruby, making her far more significant in this context.)

But this “divine side” ultimately took all the narrative weight. Ruby survives, and everything Aqua achieved through the story is discarded in the end.

The storylines involving Kana and Akane? If you consider the ending, they were peripheral and not truly necessary. While their parts were enjoyable, and one might have hoped for an ending where Aqua survives and builds a future with those friends, those relationships don’t significantly affect the plot or the conclusion. Whether Aqua met them or not, the crux of Aqua’s story was about confronting the presumed murderer of Ai (his father), seeking revenge, and eventually killing Kamiki, who posed a threat to Ruby’s future. Aqua then sacrifices himself for this cause. That’s how it unfolded. Unfortunately, neither Kana nor Akane played a major role in influencing or changing this outcome. Strictly speaking, their presence wasn’t necessary for the story. Which I feel pretty sad about, but it's true. Aqua could have straightforwardly found his father and killed him, and that would have been the end of it. This is what makes it feel so hollow.

And this is why I concluded that the divine narrative overshadowed everything else. Aqua’s personal growth and relationships in the story were all consumed by this.

It does seem likely that the author decided on the ending first and then built the story to fit that framework.

The story became what it is because they decided to “follow the framework of mythology.” That’s why so much of what Aqua did all along ultimately felt pointless. The mythology’s ending was already predetermined.

This story opens by saying it’s fiction. Isn’t mythology the quintessential example of fiction? If that’s the case, the creators should have at least made it clear that this was their intent. That would have been understandable. But this work doesn’t even do that, nor does it adequately present the knowledge required to grasp the mythology. Instead, it forces readers to put in extraordinary effort outside of the work itself to do it (I’m not even Japanese, so this wasn’t easy for me).

You can still read the story without knowing these things, but fully understanding “What was this story really about?” becomes impossible. That’s a problem. Without resolving that, the story remains incomplete. It feels unfinished.

So, what conclusion have I drawn about the deeper narrative of this manga?

Ruby is Amaterasu. Her mission is to become a radiant being (as shown in the final chapter).

Aqua was born to protect Ruby. That is his mission (as stated by himself).

It was hinted from the very beginning that these two were born with missions. The concept of reincarnation itself is presented as highly unique, and Tsukuyomi, the god appearing in the story, repeatedly suggests pondering the meaning of their souls inhabiting their bodies and their purpose. From all this, it seems correct to say they are beings with predetermined missions.

However, Aqua only realizes his mission is what he's stated at the very end, moments before his death. Up until that point, he clearly lived with a different goal in mind. His stated objectives throughout the story were: avenging Ai by finding and killing the person who caused her death (his biological father) or making him suffer unbearably.

But can that goal naturally shift to protecting Ruby? Can killing Kamiki really lead to that outcome?

If we accept this, it means Aqua’s “mission” as hinted throughout the story was ultimately connected to Kamiki.

The mission to kill or capture Kamiki was always there; it’s just a matter of how it was rationalized.

Aqua’s purpose shifted from avenging Ai to protecting Ruby. The actions required to fulfill these purposes, however, remained the same.

Aqua often says things like, “I’ll go to hell” or “I don’t deserve happiness.” I strongly feel that this sentiment stems from the nature of his mission—to capture or eliminate someone.

Recall how, when Aqua believed his father was already dead, his expression softened, the black star in his eye disappeared, and he seemed at peace. It was because he felt freed from the burden of his mission. But as soon as he discovered that his father was alive, he became ensnared by it again.

Aqua’s mission was likely to take down Kamiki, or to accomplish something related to him. And perhaps, in carrying out this mission, Aqua knew he would have to die.

That’s why Tsukuyomi warned him not to form emotional attachments to others.

Now, let’s ask: why is taking down Kamiki such a monumental task, one deemed significant enough for the gods to assign as a mission? Why must it become the life’s purpose of our protagonist, requiring him to sacrifice everything he has?

The reason is that Kamiki is no ordinary human.

If he were to be just human, they could simply have him arrested. Just file a report and be done with it. So why does Aqua have to die for this?

It feels as though that’s not an option. Somehow, things just can’t work out that way, right? And the events surrounding that character are deeply unsettling. It's unnatural. I'm not even sure if it's controllable.

It’s ambiguous whether Kamiki causes destruction intentionally or whether it spirals out of his control. His seemingly small actions lead to catastrophically disproportionate consequences. Furthermore, there’s no evidence left behind. The incidents surrounding him, in my view, aren’t something that can be carried out or resolved within the realm of human capabilities.

Kamiki’s involvement is so significant that the gods decided it warranted reincarnating two individuals and assigning them a mission.

When you piece together the identities of the gods mentioned in the story, you’ll uncover what Kamiki truly is.

If we analyze it closely, there are two distinct groups of myths woven into the story.

First, there’s the mythology surrounding the death of the creator gods Izanagi and Izanami. Their children, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, are explicitly referenced.

Second, we have myths related to the Sun Goddess and the descent of the Heavenly Grandchild, involving Amaterasu and Ame-no-Uzume. These deities are directly mentioned by name in the plot.

In the myths about the creator gods, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo are triplets. If Aqua corresponds to Susanoo, the god of storms and the sea, we can identify thematic parallels. In the myth, after Izanami’s death, Izanagi descends to the underworld to retrieve her but fails. When he returns to the surface, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi are born from his eyes, and Susanoo from his nose. While Tsukuyomi is the one that is related to the eyes in the original myth, along with Amaterasu, Aqua seems to have inherited the star-related motif instead.

This influence from mythology is evident. Susanoo is said to have cried for his mother, leading to a conflict with his father, reflecting Aqua’s own struggles with his father and his longing for his mother figure, Ai. The star motif in the twins' eyes could also stem from this myth.

Additionally, the creator god myth includes the father’s failed attempt to resurrect the mother—a narrative that echoes the dynamic between Ai and Kamiki.

The Sun Goddess and Heavenly Descent myth introduces Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess of entertainment and dance. In myth, she uses her bold and honest nature to coax Amaterasu out of the cave where she has hidden, frightened by Susanoo. This parallels Ruby’s transformation from Sarina, who was inspired by Ai’s performance, to becoming a radiant idol herself. If Ai corresponds to a deity in this myth, she would align with Ame-no-Uzume.

Ame-no-Uzume plays another crucial role: she escorts Amaterasu’s grandson to Earth and encounters Sarutahiko, a deity of light and the Earth who guarded the passage to Earth. His body is said to sparkle brightly with light. Sarutahiko initially opposed Amaterasu’s grandson’s descent because it would diminish his authority. However, he fell in love with Ame-no-Uzume, who seduced him. They became a couple, and while there’s no explicit mention of their marriage, they lived together on Earth, had children, and were revered as a couple. Their descendants were known for performing "Kagura," sacred dances.

The shrine the characters visited in Oshi no Ko, the Aratate Shrine in Miyazaki, is dedicated to commemorating their meeting. Aqua references Ame-no-Uzume by name, saying he knows her well. However, the shrine doesn’t honor her alone but enshrines her and her partner Sarutahiko together.

As for Kamiki, the parallels he has with Sarutahiko are undeniable. It's no joke, I keep finding new things that I find they share in common every time I look up the god.

= Kamiki is the deity Sarutahiko Okami, the husband of the goddess of entertainment (Ai). This has to be it. Every time I read this work, I keep coming to this same conclusion. There’s even foreshadowing to back it up.

Sarutahiko is said to have the power to fulfill the wishes of others, a power that only manifests when he is with his wife.

Most importantly, Sarutahiko is a guide, leading people toward a brighter future, into goodness. Under normal circumstances, this is a benevolent role.

However, something has clearly gone awry. This "flaw" is explicitly referenced in the lyrics of the songs featured in the story.

The source of this "flaw" is rooted in Kamiki’s past, which the story has partially revealed. And as stated by the songs, the "lack of Ai"'s what's been intensifying, amplifying, or the major cause of him unable to be helped out of that state.

While much about Kamiki remains ambiguous, if he is that deity who can "twist the future," all attempts to rationalize his character become unnecessary.

Imagine such a deity descending into madness. Aqua’s mission to stop him suddenly makes sense.

It becomes a divinely mandated duty—worth sacrificing one’s life for—because this is a calamity beyond human intervention.

Notably, this deity is said to meet his end by drowning, a detail consistent with the story’s thematic elements.

So ultimately, the narrative of Oshi no Ko can be understood as a fusion of various myths centered on Amaterasu (Ruby).

The myths include:

The story of Amaterasu’s parents and the failed resurrection of the deceased (echoing Ai and Kamiki).

Amaterasu’s emergence from the cave (paralleling Ame-no-Uzume’s connection with Ai and Ruby).

The Heavenly Descent myth, where Ame-no-Uzume meets and seduces Sarutahiko (amalgamated with the creator god myth, having Aqua, the Susanoo, the sea deity who;s in bad terms with his father, playing a role in Sarutahiko-Kamiki’s demise).

Thus, Ruby suddenly emerges as the central figure of this intricate tapestry of myths.

To elaborate a bit further, Sarutahiko was also a native sun god, meaning he likely served the role of the sun deity before Amaterasu.

Therefore, if he wasn’t in good condition, the gods might have sent Amaterasu, the new sun god, to replace him. This is a plausible interpretation.

As for Ai… Kamiki is her divine husband, isn’t he?

Kamiki is originally a guiding god who leads everything in a positive direction. Ai might have unconsciously known that the situation would improve if he were set back on the right path. That’s likely why she entrusted their children with the task of helping her with guiding him back if he's gone lost.

Sarutahiko and Ame-no-Uzume are known to be an incredibly harmonious couple, they are very loving together.

It seems to me that the author of this story really loves mythology. Considering that this is a narrative about the entertainment industry, it feels inevitable that the story of these deities—protectors of the entertainment world—would be incorporated. Their tale is actually rather charming and heartwarming. A goddess descended from the heavens and, upon seeing the radiant god of the land, fell for him. She persuaded him to guide her, and they instantly hit it off. The two eventually became a couple and jointly protected the entertainment industry. After that, Ame-no-Uzume took charge of love and romance, while Sarutahiko became the god who guides everything toward good outcomes.

As for their inherent abilities: Ame-no-Uzume was associated with entertainment (dance and song) and was also the goddess of dawn, while Sarutahiko was a great deity of light, the land, and the sun.

When they became a couple, they gained additional abilities. Ame-no-Uzume, worshipped alongside her husband at shrines, began granting blessings related to love, marriage, and romance. Sarutahiko, after guiding Ame-no-Uzume and Amaterasu, gained the ability to lead others' futures in a positive direction—a power to guide others' fates.

Don’t these characteristics align with the abilities Ai and Kamiki would have if they were deities?

Their abilities also correspond to those granted by the white and black star eyes: eyes that convey love, and eyes that influence and sway others.

Ai and Kamiki correspond to Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto and Sarutahiko-no-Ōkami, respectively. By nature, they would have been a deeply loving couple.

Sarutahiko, in particular, was convinced by his wife’s words, let go of many things, and agreed to marry her. This indicates that he was likely a devoted husband. Furthermore, he is such a powerful deity that he’s referred to with the honorary title Ōkami, placing him among only seven supreme gods, including Amaterasu.

After his wife’s death, he seems to have gone mad and caused disasters. There’s no way this god would have wanted his wife to die. I think he didn’t realize at first that he had the ability to twist others’ futures. Hints of this can be found in the lyrics of the first ending and the second opening of the series—lines like "I’ve forgotten who I am" and "creative fall" are highly suggestive. Also, in the first opening, which focuses on Ai, she’s referred to as the reincarnation of a star. This suggests that Ai is literally a "star"—in other words, a kind of deity.

The white and black star eyes possess power and exert influence over those who have them. Kamiki, who was gathering white stars, was essentially searching for Ai. He was looking for his wife.

Now, let’s summarize the deeper narrative of this story:

Ai and Kamiki are not ordinary humans but are reincarnations of gods—specifically Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto and Sarutahiko-no-Ōkami.

They were somehow born as humans, met, and became a couple, but the darkness of the entertainment industry drove them apart. At this time, Kamiki was in a very poor state.

Kamiki, as the god of light, could not restore his light. The key to recovery, based on clues from the story’s ending, appears to be "love." This is also essential for Ai as a deity. Both characters lived longing for love because it is central to their function as gods.

Kamiki, a guiding god, became fixed in a state where his eyes were black stars instead of white ones, leading him to unintentionally twist others’ futures negatively. This likely wasn’t intentional at first.

The gods gave their children a mission. While the children were originally not supposed to be born, Tsukuyomi (the god of fate) intervened to place suitable souls into their bodies. In other words, the bodies are the children of reincarnated gods, while their souls were specifically chosen by the gods. This is what Tsukuyomi means by "you should realize why your souls are within those body"

Among the children, Ruby is Amaterasu (confirmed), and Aqua is likely Susanoo (suspected). Tsukuyomi watches over them (Izanagi’s triplets).

Ruby’s mission is to shine, while Aqua’s mission is to protect Ruby as she fulfills her role/get his dad.

Amaterasu, as the sun god, overlaps with Sarutahiko’s domain. In one myth, Amaterasu replaces Sarutahiko, after which he drowns. If Ruby is Amaterasu, she may have been sent to replace Kamiki, who was no longer functioning properly.

Ai dies. Aqua becomes convinced that avenging her is his mission. Kamiki is somehow involved in Ai’s death, and he blames himself for it. Whether it was his intention remains unclear as of the story’s conclusion.

Kamiki wanders in search of Ai and her love. Based on the lyrics and narratives in the story, he initially wanted to bring Ai back to life. Realizing this was impossible, he seemed to shift his goal to becoming like Ai or getting closer to her. At the same time, his self-hatred intensified, leaving him indifferent to his own survival. Yet, he couldn’t give up on Ai and continued pursuing related endeavors.

Kamiki, realizing that his children are seeking him, guides Ruby and Aqua to find him through his powers as a guiding god (lyrics of Mephisto). Ruby’s rapid career rise, seemingly aided by divine intervention, is likely due to his influence. He is also the one granting wishes, as seen when he asks Ruby what she wants to become or wishes for.

Tsukuyomi observes the situation and prompts the twins—especially Aqua—to approach Kamiki. From the gods’ perspective, Kamiki is dangerous and must be replaced and removed. Ruby, as Amaterasu, is capable of both replacing him and fulfilling Ai’s role. Aqua is pushed to protect Ruby’s fate and eliminate Kamiki through extreme measures.

Ultimately, Aqua sacrifices everything, including his own future, to achieve this goal. Kamiki, as a guiding god, cannot influence someone with no future, making Aqua’s choice effective. In the process, Aqua realizes that his mission was to help Ruby shine as Amaterasu.

Ruby, as Amaterasu, fulfills her mission and shines brilliantly. She continues to live, carrying out the role assigned to her by the gods.

This is probably how peculiar elements like gods, reincarnation, missions, wishes, stars, etc., have been underlying this story all along.

And if you look closely, these are the decisive elements that have driven the narrative. Without these, there would be no reason for the ending to unfold this way, and interpreting the progression in this light feels more natural.

But why didn’t they properly explain this??? Are there many people who understand this story as such? I think there’s no other way to unify and explain everything in the story except for this interpretation, and yet, even I have never seen the story explicitly touch on this properly, so I’m confused myself. I honestly think the storytelling failed here.

I usually write posts like this all in one sitting, this time too, so I ended up completely drained... LOL. But if I can sit down and write all this at once without any outline, it means I’m not bad at writing, right...? haha..

The writers didn’t do their job properly. I haven’t been able to find any other way to interpret this. Over the past few months, I’ve been wondering what on earth is going on because the most basic elements are presented in such a vague and peculiar way that it’s hard to grasp. It was so frustrating.

This is it. This must be it. Writing it all down like this helps me move forward a bit.

I don’t know if there’s any other way to interpret it, but interpreting it this way makes everything fit perfectly—even down to the characters’ names.

Kamiki, that guy, is the god of light. Ai is "the love of the stars", in this manga, stars = gods, and the light of love (Ai) resides within the white star in the eyes.

That’s why Kamiki, after Ai’s death, went looking for her through gathering them. Even the lyrics of the songs align perfectly when interpreted this way—it all comes together cohesively.

Seeing their father go mad, and act this way - because he’s a god gone mad- the other gods used their children: one to replace the roles of their parents (the god of light + the god of love substituted through Amaterasu) and the other to capture and possibly kill the mad god and prevent him from causing further catastrophes.

That’s the core of this story.

But then, what were Akane and Kana? Why did they include those narratives if they didn’t influence the ending? It’s so frustrating and infuriating because, on the surface, it seemed like Aqua and his friends were the central focus of the story. Looking at the ending, though, they were treated as side plots—parts that could have been left out entirely.

Should we think of them as subplots? But then again, Aqua hurt those girls so much. It’s heartbreaking when you think about it. I wish he just stayed as a pal and hadn’t gotten entangled with them or played with their feelings. Why did he leave things ambiguous with them...

Hey, but Kamiki, at least, was sincere toward Ai. About his concept of love... sigh. He’s got a lot of issues, really, but despite all those issues, he genuinely wanted to give everything and devoted himself entirely to her. To me, it seems like he loved Ai so much that he went mad, and because his powers went awry, Ai ended up dying. So he roamed around, trying to retrieve her and bring her back to life to reverse it.

I don’t think he ever had malicious intent. I know, clearly, at this point, he’s completely insane and needs to face punishment still, but... his life was just total misery and the story doesn't explain anything about him so that he can be took as what he actually is in a fair sense.

This person… It’s not that I can’t analyze characters, and it’s not that I’m unable to read into their psychology, but I think this person really is kind. They act and speak kindly even when there’s absolutely no need to do so in a given situation. It’s not pretense—it’s genuinely their nature. That’s why I’ve been so unsure about how to perceive them. Why would the writers portray someone like this? Without delving into the deeper narrative layers, it’s impossible to grasp this character.

If Kamiki hadn’t ended up in this situation, he would’ve been an incredibly good person. Not just ordinarily good—exceptionally so. There’s not much evidence for this, there isn't much we see about him in the first place, but if they’ve shown him to this extent without directly portraying anything that proves against it, it actually makes sense in terms of narrative causality. It means the events unfolding the way they did are somehow justified even without explicit proof. That he's kind, but there's still something about him that can cause immense malice and destruction at the same time. From what I can see, he would’ve been one of the rarest and most genuinely good people, in the top few percent. That’s why I found it so baffling that he could commit such actions.

He’s likely a god,—a god who couldn’t handle the grief of losing his wife. He really is a god. Rather than a person being evil, he’s a god driven mad by his wife’s death. I wish Ai could come for him somehow... He should go to hell, he's committed so many unforgivable sins yeah? but on his way there, I hope she could at least see him off one last time. That is, if she didn’t lose all affection for him after witnessing his actions. I don't think she would have, but he'd still have to pay for his wrongs though. That's why I kept drawing comics with that kind of note.

It’s unclear whether he intended such extreme outcomes or whether his powers acted on their own. That ambiguity comes from the fact that there were definitely points where it seemed like he couldn’t control himself. He speaks so softly, and he’s kindhearted—but he’s no longer in his right mind, and it seems like everything other than Ai has completely disappeared from his view.

It shouldn’t have come to this. If he remained the kind of person he should’ve been, this wouldn’t have happened. But we’re not just seeing a change in personality; this is a fundamental corruption of his very essence. It’s the kind of transformation that happens to someone who isn’t human, and there were clues all along suggesting this. That’s why interpreting it this way feels right.

When you view it through this lens, the entire story comes together. It explains why things have unfolded the way they have.

I need to go read some books. Honestly, while following this work, I seriously questioned myself: Am I the one who doesn’t get it? Is it my reading comprehension that’s lacking? I agonized over it because the plot was seemingly sailing smooth, but the ending threw me into complete confusion. I started wondering, Can I even read books properly? and felt a bit of existential dread.

But this works. This must be it.

It’s not about couples or pairings; ships, otps, I'm serious!!! It’s about how the story unfolds in a natural flow and leads to this kind of conclusion. From that perspective, this kind of organization was necessary.

Now, I really don't want to keep talking about this anymore. I don’t want to. I just want to organize my thoughts, understand, and conclude, Oh, this is what the story was about, and then move on to something else. I want to shake off this lingering discomfort. This work kept bugging me because it felt so unexplained and I could sense some sense of underlying layer just hanging but never discussed.

I was really anxious, but I’m confident this is it. Even if it isn’t, I don’t think the writers could have wrapped it up in a way that makes more sense than this. That’s how certain I am.

But seriously, how could they make me piece this all together through independent research on my own? This is just too much… it was so exhausting, truly.

[hauntingrabbits]

comic

[clonerightsagenda]

I think this is just a trend everywhere but I've been very frustrated this week by how much admin work is being outsourced to me as the patient/customer.

My orthodontist tells me I can make an appointment with the surgeon. I call the surgeon. They tell me I need a new referral. I call the orthodontist. They do a referral. I call the surgeon. Referral didn't come through. They tell me about their special unique system we have to use. I call the ortho again and walk them through the referral. I call the surgeon. They say the referral was missing some details so they have to do it again. I call the ortho.

The insurance company calls me about repair shops. I give them the name of the repair shop which I already gave them yesterday. They say they're not in their system but I can use them, but I have to call the repair shop to ask them to contact the insurance company. I call the repair shop and they say the insurance company is supposed to email them.

I feel like at a certain point these constant fetch quests become unreasonable?? Is it too much to expect these groups to communicate with each other instead of making me run back and forth between them???

[stealingpotatoes]

i love my cat but he is very fond of trickery

[tawnysoup]

Finally now that the comic is fully public on comicfury, I get to share it with all of you here, too <3

If you enjoyed, please consider supporting by buying a PDF of the comic on itch.io: https://tawnysoup.itch.io/home-in-the-woods

[swagvo1d]

[tizeline]

Okay so my brain got infected by Gravity Falls again oopsie daisy here are a bunch of random doodles

Dipper and Mabel would be 25 this year, right? Anyway I wanted to draw them grown up so woah look at that

Anway Ford totally uses two fingers to flip people off just because he can and you can't tell me otherwise

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

He should be at the Adventurer's Guild.

[great-and-small]

Apparently the local university’s undergraduate entomology course sends students to catch insect specimens at the same place I like to go birdwatching, which explains why I saw three enormous frat looking dudes with tiny bug nets and overheard one emphatically say “bro BRO I told you we already have enough lepidopterans”

[bubblesthecow]

Watching Star Wars in chronological order is so funny.

Obi-Wan Kenobi really took one look at R2D2 in the middle of the desert and said “No, Luke, I’ve never seen this fucking droid in my life. Looks like a real bitch though. Not that I’d know. This is my first time meeting the asshole.”

No one in that whole franchise was Gatekeep-Gasslight-Girlbossing quite like “Ben” Kenobi, regular human-man.

[indigonite]

Please…

[atalana]

the curse of adhd:

i will remember with absolute clarity, when the thought strikes me that i have a text to send someone, that this is the fourth time in three days i've attempted to send this specific text

i will forget, in the time it takes me to pick up my phone, that i picked it up intending to send a text

[toad-in-a-trenchcoat]

Temperance needs to pay child support.

Follow-up

[martyfive]

a sword to forge, a cross to carry, a lucky star to share

[fishtrouts]

First time Avoryx interacts with her hatchling directly :D