#and i was theorizing beforehand about what would happen in the play

[hecksupremechips]

It’s been ages since I dusted off my love for Starkid but nothing will ever infuriate me as much as the song from Black Friday thats like “what Tim wants Tim will get” didn’t get a fucked up reprise where Tom is holding someone at gunpoint in order to make Tim’s wishes come true and prove himself as a father

[shadowy-suitcase-herring-neck]

"The infection doesn't try and kill the host" I like this quite a lot from what you said in one of your answers, because , at least for me, Nightmare is Patient Zero as far as we know in the 'The Darkening AU' and like you said, his corruption changed the Infection from it's original purpose! That means that there was another purpose but because of Night it changed all together. My question here is, what was the original purpose of the Infection at first? If someone or something else infected Night, how did it happen? And what happened to that being? Is it still out there? If we speculate both Infections are different from each other (if there is even two, I'm just theorizing by this point cus I'm loving this AU!), would they attack each other since they no longer would be the same? And what happened to Night?? In another answer it was said Cross has been seeing his old Gang but not Night lately....do Infected can move from different AUs? How does that work? Is it an instinct to open portals( for those that can I mean) or are they just stuck in said AUs they got infected? Aaaaah so many questions! I'm sorry that I'm just rambling at this point, I just love this kind of apocalyptic scenarios you know??

sorry it took so long to answer this. I took several days to read and reread bc it makes me happy every time i do. EEEEEEeee Long asks are my favorite <3 (I have been barely containing giddy joy whenever i read this) I may not be able to give the most in depth answers bc spoilers but i will try my best :) I liked the Idea about a sort of apocolypse infection that didn't seem too try and kill those infected bc I thought it would be interesting. But also bc Strangely enough the Corruption is the entire reason Nightmare survived the Apple incident. It didn't kill him but it certainly changed him. And it changed the infection. I cannot say the original purpose of the Infection (Before it really was the infection.) Or exactly how Night got it but i can say this: it was never supposed to be spread. Ya'll will see what happened to Night soon. Hopefully. School is hard The infected can seem to travel between au's if they had the ability beforehand. But any sort of magic attacks and shortcuts don't seem to be possible for them or they just don't remember how. How did you think the gang got to underswap in the first place? apocolypse scenarios are such fun to play around with storywise orhcwtnuwtrnhwri People enjoying the things i do just makes me so happy <3

[yumedoca]

Why did Lum love Ataru in the first place and how her love grew into the real thing as time went on? - An Analysis 🧐 (Long Post)

Hai there, hope you’re having a great day! Today on ‘Yuca Analyzes Silly Things (For No Reason)’,  we’ll be talking about the question that is the most asked in UY, both in universe and the fandom as well. “Why did Lum love Ataru in the first place and what made it into the real thing?” Note: All of the facts and evidence and such are taken from the manga because: a) it’s the canon source, b) the og anime changes a lot in relation to character to the point it isn’t consistent and c) the remake is an adaptation of selected chapters from the manga, as in it’s not the complete story. Also most of this analysis are just theories put together using canonical facts, as in what I say is speculation and not 100% confirmed (considering the manga ended like 3 decades ago, we’ll probably never get a confirmation).

With all of that aside, let’s begin!

First, We’ll divide the analysis into parts to make it easier to understand and explain:

Marriage Proposal

Evading First Love

The Beginning of True Love

The Eventual Reason

Conclusion

Marriage Proposal Lum’s first impression of Ataru wasn’t all that big, he was a human who she was supposed to play tag with but she looked down on him because she can fly and was sure that he wouldn’t be able catch her. Cue ‘Day 8’, In an attempt to catch Lum so he could grab her horns, he accidentally groped her breast and when Lum slapped him in anger, he fell down but since he was holding onto her tightly, her bra came off (as in the bra coming off was not Ataru’s fault, it was actually Lum’s which happened due to circumstances).

Later on she goes to visit him and tries to get it back, but since Ataru believes that things were finally going his way, refuses. This causes Lum to get mad it him and spite him, so the question is why would she accept his ‘marriage proposal’ later on? It took time to figure out an answer to this but I was finally able to put together an answer which makes sense: Revenge, as in for the trouble he put her through by refusing to give back her bra and flashing her to the neighborhood, she ruins the relationship between him and his girlfriend. Pretty bitchy behavior? yes, but it fits Lum’s character back then.

Look at her evil little grin…

Sure, there’s also the alternative that she just gave up to him and agreed thinking he actually wanted to marry her, but it doesn’t fit Lum’s character to give up to someone who she was frustrated with a couple seconds ago, it just doesn’t make sense story wise, which is why I’ll disregard it. Moving on, since Lum isn’t there and that Ataru and Shinobu’s relationship has been mended in the next chapter, we can think that the misunderstanding was resolved sometime between chapter 1 and 2… But Lum appears once again in chapter 3 and announces that she’ll be living with Ataru (as a part of a deal obviously) and even breaks out a tantrum when he refuses, so you may ask, why did she come back to him if her revenge idea was already resolved beforehand and why is she so eager and stubborn to be with him? The answer for that is simple and it is all because of…

Yup, him.

Evading First Love For now we’re going back to Lum’s past, back when she dated and broke up with Rei and theorize the aftermath of that. In the chapter(s, since it’s a two parter) ‘Heartbreak Crossin’’, we are shown a flashback to when Lum and Rei broke up:

We can’t really tell how old they are since it was never stated, but considering that Lum’s drawn a bit shorter and smaller (and her outfit), we can guess that this happened a few years back. Now every time Rei appears, he is seen going after Lum (that or eating) and since it’s because he wants to get back with her we can assume this started when they broke up. This means that Rei’s been, well, stalking Lum for a couple years and she’s clearly getting tired of it. I also have to mention the fact there seems to be no high school in space since Benten just hangs and rides around on her bike and Oyuki is her planet’s ruler (Lum and Ran go to school because they’re on Earth). It seems as if Junior High is where their education ends and then they do what they want or what their supposed to do and since we see that Lum was with her dad in the first chapter invading, it is likely that after graduation she decided to become an invader with her dad, but then she retired cuz she got ‘married’. She probably made the decision to work with her dad so she doesn’t want Rei to come after her anymore, however invading planets take a couple of days (10 days) and she’ll be back on her planet again and will have to put up with Rei all over again. And during one of the invasions is when she played with Ataru and answered his proposal, and like I said earlier she went back home later on. I think, after she went home, she realized that a permanent way to end the Rei issue is to get a boyfriend, and stay on another planet so he won’t be able to bother her all the time and then she remembered Ataru and that it how she eventually lives with him now.

The Beginning of True Love From there on, Lum stayed with Ataru so she could be free of Rei, if we believe this to be the actual reason then Rei’s introductory chapter makes a lot of sense. She kept trying to provide assistance to Ataru (except it hilariously backfires most of the time and causes him trouble instead) so he would accept her and tries to rid of Shinobu (and other woman) so she would have more chances with him. But eventually, in the chapter ‘How I’ve Waited For You’, Lum contemplates when she was faced with the question on whether she truly loves Ataru or not, and we her finally have her admit that she really does love her darling after all.

Now, we have to note that Ataru hasn’t shown his more positive side at all, by this point. So, why this feeling of love? Two reasons: a) It’s because she enjoys being with him. Since, Ataru is very unlucky, he tends to naturally attract all sorts of weirdness towards him causing him to end up in strange situations and we all know that weird means fun and Lum is someone who actively enjoys taking part in fun, rather than just sitting around and watching (That’s what Ran does when she’s on dates with Rei, isn’t it?). And of course, b) Overtime, she’s grown to care for him. Lum has bonded with Ataru through their experiences and since she lives with him she spends a lot of time with him. ‘The more time you spend with someone,the closer you get to them’, this isn’t a theory, it’s fact and I’m pretty sure you yourself can confirm it. Of course, by the end of the chapter, Lum got a hint that Ataru has started to accept her as well. And because of various instances such as ‘Since Your Parting’, ‘Deranged Marriage’, ‘Valentine’s Disillusion’, etc. where Ataru shows his affection has caused her own affections to grow cuz ‘If you learn that someone loves you more than you think they do, Your love for them grows as well’ (another basic fact!).

The Eventual Reason So as time went on, not only has Lum begun to see that Ataru does care for her, but she’s also seen his softer and nicer sides: The side which cries because she’s gone, The side of him which keeps a diary (“It takes a sensitive guy to keep a diary!”), The side of him which fights his entire class to protect a little caterpillar, the side of him which goes on a date with a girl to cure her of a curse, etc. and the more of those sides she sees, the more she’s in love. The final page from the chapter ‘Last Date’ is enough to see that Lum really loves and admires the man beneath all those flaws…

…More specifically, this panel of silent love:

Conclusion In the end Lum’s reasons for loving Ataru has changed overtime: At first it was an act of spite, then it was to escape her ex, then it was because she’s bonded with him and because she enjoys his presence and finally it’s because she loves the Darling underneath the mask… It’s nice to see love grow from something so fake to something so real and the writing really helps, so big props to Takahashi- sensei. Thanks for taking time to read this analysis and I hope I was able to make things clear about Lum. I love her and she’s probably my favorite female character of all time so hopefully this post does justice to her. I also apologize if I’ve overlooked anything or made any mistakes. If you have any doubts or questions about this analysis feel free to send an ask and if you want me to do an analysis about other characters, feel free to send an ask for that as well. I have previously done an analysis on Ataru’s love for Lum and how that grew overtime, so please check it out if you haven’t. It’s a lot smaller (since it’s not as complicated as this one) and isn’t as detailed (it doesn’t use images either), but it still conveys the point otherwise. I have also done two other analysis, one on Lum’s character and other one on Ataru’s character, so check those out if you haven’t as well. And finally, likes are appreciated and reblogs are even more appreciated (seriously, please reblog this so more people can see this post, I’m usually not this kind of person, but I spent a lot of time on this so I want it to feel worth it, ok?). Hope you have a great day ahead.

[hodgepodgequack]

Emio Demo 2: Electric Boogaloo

So it’s been more than 24 hours since I beat the second part of the demo (I hate that we have to wait 5 days for the next part man) and I have some thoughts.

First of all, I called it when I said that Kuze knows Utsugi from 18 years ago (I was wrong about her being the sibling of one of the female victims though). Instead her connection is through the disappearance of her brother Makoto (haha Danganronpa reference) and Utsugi was in charge of that. Must be tough to see the person who was supposed to bring her brother home (and failed) after a murder that reminds her of the og incident.

So let’s talk about Makoto first. According to the game, Junko had not come home for some reason so he went out to look for her. Junko comes back (clearly shaken) and Makoto is nowhere to be found. I wonder if she came home late because the OG killer was targeting her and M someone managed to find her in time, but something bad happens to him. What happens: Killer kills Makoto and for some reason threatens Junko to not be a snitch otherwise he would come after her. (Also possible he abducts him for some reason and tells J to not tell or she will never see him again)

why this stops the murders completely I don’t know, but it is possible the killer thought he might have been getting caught soon and that’s why he stopped. But if that was the case he could have silenced her permanently right then and there. Unless she sees the act occur, killer knows she’s there but doesn’t see her and makes a bluffing threat saying I know who you are and if you snitch it will bite you in the ass. Hence she survives and comes home scared.

Who did it: Now in order to keep someone silent you need to bribe (or as mentioned beforehand threaten) said person or make them believe that no matter what no one will believe them. Maybe the culprit is a cop. And Utsugi works with the police. Maybe J can’t bring herself to trust anyone in the force (again another reason why he joins because if you want the job done right, you have to do it yourself). And that would explain why she’s standoffish towards U because she still doesn’t trust him.

Another Observation: the game mentions it’s a possibility that Makoto was the original culprit (because the murders didn’t stop until he disappears). He was old enough to pull it off. But that means something would have to have happened to him. Did he run away and leave a note that only J saw? Or did she see him messing with bodies and he asks her to hide his body because he can’t live with the guilt anymore now that she saw him and he offs himself.

Game is also adamant that the mystery man who went missing after the first girls death may know something (was he an accomplice I don’t know) there’s not much info I can theorize about him right now.

Kamis age is still not revealed to us in this chapter. Very very sus. I wonder if he is Makoto and he just has amnesia. Him and J could both be adopted or step siblings. Only problem with this is that J should recognize him.

Additionally the game mentions Kami can’t have a gun because he is a terrible shot. I wonder if at some point you have to pick between him and J to raid a place and the gun makes a huge difference. Hell I wonder if knowing said info can influence the game (because it is completely optional dialogue)

Speaking of potential game mechanics: phones. During some point of my gameplay I used to phone to call everybody that was in my contacts. While playing through Ayumis section, she gets a call from the protagonist (whether or not this is scripted I don’t know) and she doesn’t pick up. There’s also an option at some point if you call the office to leave a voicemail (which I didn’t take, I’m curious to see if anyone else did). I wonder it this is going to be a serious mechanic that at some point you need to call XYZ at this time or something bad is going to happen to them, or if it’s a way for the game to gauge the players playstyle (just like they did in the Girl who Stands Behind).

Now I’m not done talking about the demo part 2, but I’m going to leave this post here for now because it’s getting long and I want to dedicate more time to Kamada and the Taxi Driver is separate posts. See you in a bit.

[chowmoon2]

My weird,random and somewhat self indulgent Headcannons relating to Mr.Star

Yep! It’s been a while since I dedicated a whole post to our favorite Star so let’s change that! My insane headcannons about this obscure character can be found under the cut cause this might get a bit long

(He is such a sobbing wet cat,my blorbo <3)

To start,he is apart of a super ultra rare sentient Star species that is sorta eldritch in a way,like,even the Ancients don’t fully know what they are

They have tremendous power inside of them but since they are relatively peaceful beings,they don’t really use that power

Like shown with Mr. Star ingame,Star pieces can be broken off of them and are extremely valuable,the Ancients used some of those Star Pieces to make artifacts like the Triple Star! (Which I also headcannon to be a weapon one of the Heroes of Yore used)

Unfortunately,Star Pieces can drive most who come in contact with it crazy due to amount of power it has so making does Star related artifacts was risky and is also why in Super Star Stacker,the opponents (like Parasol Waddle Dee,Knuckle Joe,etc) were so aggressive and keen on keeping the star piece

And then there are Warp Stars which I headcannon to not be a creation of the ancients but instead somesort of variation of Mr. Star species,it’s a bit hard to explain :p

Anyways,Mr. Star is older than he looks,the Star was nearly a century old during the events of Super Star Stacker! though,by his species standards,that’s a young age (the average life span is around 3000 and some can even live longer!)

During his journey to get all of his star pieces,he especially got along with Kine the most but Kirby was still his closest friend in general (he is friends with all of the animal buddies though)

After saying goodbye to Kirby and co,Mr. Star just couldn’t stop thinking about them,he desperately wanted to go back but couldn’t because not only that somebody could blast his Star pieces from him again but also that he was near his metamorphosis phase (more on that in a bit!)

Luckily,he had company in the form of Gryll and their companions,Salt,Pepper and Sugar,I like to think that Mr. Star wasn’t present when Gryll challenged Kirby so the witch was surprised when the star journeyed with the puffball beforehand especially since Gryll has been intrigued by his species for a long time

They hang out a lot mostly playing Star Stacker,Mr. Star slowly start to improve on his skills and even manages to beat Gryll in their last game of Star Stacker before his metamorphosis!

Speaking of which,metamorphosis is something that happens which turns a star into fully grown star,it happens around their 100’s

When a star is ready for their metamorphosis,they will feel extremely fatigued and sleepy,the Star then go to a spot with a lot of stardust and fall into a very deep sleep

Then the stardust among other things like matter will be pulled towards the star which forms somesort of circular cocoon that is as bright and hot as the sun so it is suggested not to got near a star who is in their metamorphosis phase

It is theorized that they use chaos during their metamorphosis but that is not confirmed,it is certain that they use Dream Matter during the process

This phase could at least a few years and at most around 15 years,during this time,the star begins to dream,replaying their most favorite memories and even making new memories

For Mr. Star,his favorite memories are the ones with Kirby and friends so he constantly dreamed of experiencing the events of Super Star Stacker on repeat like it was the first time,he even dreamed new memories about spending more time with Kirby and the animal friends!

After the metamorphosis is completed,the now fully grown star would be lot brighter,would have claws on their nubs and most importantly,they would have wings,no one knows what the purpose but they look cool!

Though,as a consequence of dreaming new memories during metamorphosis,the line between what’s real and what’s not would be blurred for the star at first but luckily for Mr. Star,Gryll was there to help him

Then at long last,Mr. Star gets to reunite with Kirby and gets to live in Popstar with fun filled days that he used to dream of that is now a reality!

Plus,he is practicing on his powers for any future threats since the fully grown state is where a star could really use their tremendous power to their full potential

In short,Mr. Star is having a good time :D

Also,I feel like he (alongside his species) have a connection to the star doors,in fact,I like to headcannon that a ancient made the golden goal door based on a fully grown star! I think it’s a fun connection

In the end,Idk why I have a strong hyperfixation on this character but I need Mr. Star to comeback in a Kirby game even if it’s just a small cameo,please-

[partywithoutsmiling]

how do the rest of the rock trolls feel about all of this beastification? do they start questioning their queen plans or still follow her blindly?

The thing with the Rock Trolls, they don't really question Barb's plans for world domination- they are long aged out from the time where Pop was a threat and so they can't see the hypocrisy in their actions;

Just like in real world, they choose and pick from history what they deem useful to them, so conveniently forgetting they are being no better than Pop of the past is just the tip of the iceberg.

Barb's rule over the Tribe is shaky, yes- but that's mainly because she is young, there was no official ceremony where she took over, and it is most likely that Thrash has been doing his best to cover up his failing health as to not be seem as weak. So all the Rock Trolls know is that from one moment to another, Thrash was unable to lead them anymore and Barb took over; who, while fairly tall, is a bit wispy in stature and probably didn't win any popularity contest beforehand (The loss of her ear most likely through some moshpit shenanigans turning violent); it seems fairly suspicious, and those who were not fan of her, could theorize that she did something to Thrash to speed up her coming into power.

While the movie portrayed the Rock Trolls in Barb's inner circle as fairly benign and chill, they could be her closest loyalists- trolls she trusts. But who is to say there doesnt exist the other half, that is constantly questioning her moves and motives.

The Rock World Tour managed to unite both halves, for the brief period where the invasion went well, with Barb getting one String after another; the feelings for the final concert were at all time high, since it was essentially a celebration of their overwhelming victory over lesser, unimportant genres. Barb playing the Power Chord was supposed to be the Grand Finale- no Rock Troll, Barb included, were thinking about brainwashing; they thought that was just inherent Pop music nature, which is what made it so dangerous.

They just though that playing all Strings under one genre will show the other trolls that Rock music is inherently superious and harmonious, and them changing physically to follow it would mean that Barb was right.

But then the Beastification happened- and the transformation was violent, as I said before. The other Tribes might have been blind to Barb's true reaction to it, but her naysayers certainly werent- only now, in addition to her opposition finding footing into questioning her capabilities again, now her own loyalist faction is also wary of her.

Rock Trolls could use their music as unstopable force, their musical instruments essentially weapons, but ironically none of them anticipated that that's what Barb was doing with their String (the other Strings ignored). Before, their String were always used to enhance concert experience, or used in naming ceremony of the new Heir to the Throne. When they were waiting on Barb to play the Power Chord, they all expected her to actually play it- not use it as a force/weapon.

So not only she showed herself to be incredibly ruthless (and cruel)- she essentially commited bit of a blasphemous action too?

So yes, tldr; Barb's action alienated pretty much every little support she had to some extent, and this will eventually force her to pull back manpower from searching for Branch and Poppy; she will be forced to do damage control back in Volcano City, probably do actual tour through the Rock Troll territories to raise morale and solidify her rule. But even then, the whisper of unrest would be rising, and Poppy and Branch (and others) might find they will have unexpected allies.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Encourage me at your own risk 😈

Obviously, as you said in your ask, there is a lot of book!Daniel/Armand/Marius interrelated content.

How do you think Daniel’s AMC age at the start of S1 is gonna change much of the final trilogy’s plot?

:))

I think... they will use Daniel's age to their advantage, in the sense that some of that has already happened (as well). Others have theorized about this as well, but... what if Daniel actually went mad, and Marius intervened, took him away, and wiped his memories?

It would certainly change the dynamics, yes, but it also would bring a possible introduction and reconciliation ("truth and reconciliation" are what Louis is aiming for after all according to his own words) to Marius in a way that would pave the way for the last trilogy a bit more directly...

Because whatever they have going on with the Devil's Minion in modern Dubai (and I do think that might play out over all the seasons) - the shifting back and forth relationship-wise will need to have been done beforehand here as well. It would not serve the show and the "war" they're setting up in the modern part of the show if they kept that mess, especially since the said mess is only like a few sentences in the books.

As Amel's awakening will likely be combined with Akasha's (and the arc therefore extended, I could see them believing they'd "won" and this win being turned around then with the Amel reveal for example) we will have situations where too much shifting in the relationships will only distract. Especially since the strengths of those relationships will then be needed to battle said "enemy". (Which fits imho with what Jacob said re the focus.)

I think Daniel will take over some of David's parts, if not all, though if he will replace him... not sure. I would think they need the interconnections with the Talamasca for their Talamasca show, but... *gesticulates towards Mayfair Witches*. Either way, both Louis and Daniel will have much greater roles in the show, will be much more heavily involved with their respective partners than in the books (or as it may seem in the books).

Daniel's age provides them (the writers) with a clean slate so to speak. Yes, we already have some ages, some details, like where he worked, and the books he wrote. They carefully set that up already. And he obviously subconsciously remembered some things as well, if the set design of his apartment is any indication.

But they now have decades to play around with - breaks in marriages, travels, global events. The possibilities to interweave parts of the tale with Daniel are almost endless, I cannot begin to speculate there (actually I can, but there would be no end to it *laughs*, it's literally almost endlessly possible to push stuff into his "life").

They've given themselves incredible opportunities with this twist. The Devil's Minion arc is now not just a few years, but decades. Also, who says that Daniel's mind was wiped only once (for example).

And... in regards to the final trilogy... I think it will be concluded with the events of Blood Communion, the dance obviously foreshadowing that already. My gut feeling is they'll skip the actual aliens (the parents), and keep Rhoshamandes and his "threat". I also think they will skip the spirits and ghosts, and Memnoch... or only touch on that in past sense, because it's too metaphysical and can easily drift off into cheesy. And while they're happy being campy... this show is also grating and brutally direct in other aspects. So... Atlantis? Probably not. Which makes me think that Rhoshamandes could be the "brute" in Madagascar, maybe, though for Louis to use that word something with him had to have happened already, and I'm not sure if the characterization fits. And that has to be prior to Amel whispering in Rhoshamande's ear so to speak. (Though Rhoshamandes' house from Blood Communion could be in Madagascar, maybe?)

Now, I think the Devil's Minion arc will be concluded before the events of Blood Communion.

Armand's speech in that book will play a big part I bet, and I could easily see it altered. And... well. I could easily see Daniel being the one to help Fareed with solutions for example. Or him being one of the "hostages". (Though that does not have anything to do with his age then).

Either way, I think Daniel is much wiser now and I really, really hope he will not get a new body, but that they will use his age, and experience within the plots, as said. That he will be the one to help them connect the dots. Or... that the dots connect through him, would probably be the better phrasing^^.

For example I do think he encountered Lestat before, or at least his voice. But there really is no telling how many others he found before, is there :))

What if he did a report on that island and castle of Rhoshamande's? Or traced certain events over the globe. Et cetera.

So... I do think they will "use" his age and the decades it gives them to their advantage. How it changes the last books' plots depends heavily on how they do those books. But I think Daniel will play a central part.

[kingdomtual]

guys ok

I discovered something while giffing ascension which is like. not weird? but also could play into a theory I had

so guy beating the massive drum which signals the arrival of the army of folks attacking Dann

I was giffing and passed this scene and realized...hold up. That man is...the girl’s bodyguard

the outfit, when you pause it, has the same uhhh..embellishments...kinda like little studs on the shoulder. He has his hair up exactly the same, he has the headband

I took a couple screenshots but because he’s in motion it’s still kinda hard to tell exactly, however

We don’t see anyone else in the mv dressed like this. 

The outfit is exactly the same, and I’d honestly say it’s the same person even without a close view of his face.

And what does any of this mean? LOL

Uh, probably nothing. Except to me, it means a lot. Because, to me, I have the theory about the bodyguard starting this war against Dann, because of his jealousy (maybe other reasons, too) and him beating the drum that signals the start of the war? Yeah, that seems significant.

Mind you, this moment is literally seconds long, so that’s why I never managed to catch him being the one beating the drum, and it’s not showcased in Promise. 

Now, the only thing is...I theorized Dann would have killed this bodyguard after the slaying of the girl. Because the bodyguard is just as shaken as Dann, and obviously isn’t quick to get away. But it doesn’t seem like the drum beating starts until after, so...either the bodyguard does get away and manages to signal the army because he’s still willing to go through with this, OR it happens beforehand and the army is on the way even as the assassination attempt happens.

Either way...you should have seen my face when I was like, ‘WAIT A SECOND. THAT’S HIM.’ and maybe it’s not, idk LOL ya’ll tell me, but I’m pretty positive it is, and that really does confirm my theory, at least to me, that he really did start his revolution against Dann.

Nice <3 I’m taking that as a win.

EDIT: ALSO. ADDITIONALLY. This is the ONLY moment where we see the bodyguard in Ascension, aside from that very ending part where he’s with the girl. We see plenty of his motives throughout Promise, but to see him signaling the army in Ascension...whew. That’s hugely interesting to me. 

Watch me comb through every second of every mv from now on LOL ugh I love finding things like this well after the fact. <3

[cyndavilachase]

I’m Looking Forward Now 💖Thank you and good bye

So, it’s been a little over a week since Steven Universe Future ended… 

I’ve been hesitant to write this, honestly, but I’m tired of holding myself back from properly expressing myself in fear of appearing overly invested in the media I consume, even in private. Writing helps me organize my thoughts and feelings, and I feel like these thoughts in particular may resonate with many, so I want to share them. I want to talk about what Steven Universe has done for me personally, both as an artist, and as a person.

I’ve been around since the day the first episode of the original series aired. I actually remember when Steven Universe was just a logo on Wikipedia’s “List of Upcoming Cartoon Network Shows” list, back when I was a freshman in high school. It piqued my interest, but when commercials finally dropped for it, I thought it was going to be bad because of the way marketing handled introducing Steven as a likeable character. There was still something about it that made me want to give it a chance though, so I went online and watched the pilot before the first episode's release. I was hooked immediately. I knew I was going to love it, and I did. I fell so absolutely in love with Steven as a character, and the world that he and the gems lived in. I became obsessed. I was always so excited for new episodes to come out. Little did I know what else it would do for me as I went through my adolescence alongside it.

As the show progressed, it was evident that what I wanted out of a western animated childrens’ cartoon was finally coming into fruition: this show was becoming serialized. There was continuity, there was plot, there was character development-- it was getting deep. It was pushing the groundwork that Adventure Time laid out even further (thank you, Adventure Time).  

I will give credit where credit is due: earlier western childrens’ cartoons I grew up with like Hey Arnold, and Rugrats, among others, also touched on heavy topics, but Steven Universe was able to take similar ideas (and even more complex ones, concerning mental health and relationships) and expand on them outside of contained episodes and/or short arcs. These themes, which were a part of the show’s overarching story, spanned across its entirety. Continuity was rampant. 

What did this mean? It meant kids cartoons didn’t have to be silly and fun all the time and characters weren’t just actors playing a part in 11-minute skits. Steven and the gems would remember things that happened to them, and it affected them and how they would function and play a part in their story. This was a huge deal to me as a teenager. I always wanted the cartoons I grew up with featuring kid characters to feel more. In my own work, I often felt discouraged when combining a fun, cutesy western art style with themes as dark or layered as anime would cover. I always thought it had to be one or the other because an audience wouldn’t take a combination of the two seriously enough, based on discussions I had with classmates, friends, and online analysis I read at the time. Steven Universe proved to me otherwise. This show was opening the door for future cartoons exploring in-depth, adult concepts. I felt so seen as a kid, and was inspired to stick with what I love doing.

I was actually very worried about the show’s survival. It was in fact immensely underrated and the fandom was miniscule. Then in 2014, JailBreak dropped, and it’s popularity exploded. Part of it was because of the complex plot and the themes it was covering like I mentioned, but also because of its representation. 

I remember when fandom theorized that Garnet was a fusion due to grand, tragic reasons. Turns out, she’s simply a metaphor for a very loving w|w relationship. This was huge. I cannot stress how important it is that we continue to normalize healthy canon queer relationships in childens’ media, and Steven Universe finally was the first to do that proper. Introducing these themes offers the chance for a kid to sit there and ask themselves, “Why is this demonized by so many people?” I asked myself exactly that. Ruby and Sapphire were my cartoon LGBT rep. They were the first LGBT couple I ever ecstatically drew fanart of. I was dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia at the time, and they showed me that I was allowed to love women and feel normal about it. The process of overcoming this was a long one, but they played a part in my very first steps into becoming comfortable with my sexuality. I could go on and on about it’s representation in general-- how it breaks the mold when it comes to showcasing a diverse set of characters in design, in casting, and in breaking gender roles. It’s focus on love and empathy. Steven himself is a big boy, but he's the protagonist, and the show never once makes fun of his weight, or any other bigger characters for that matter. It wasn’t hard to see why the fandom had grown so large.

Fandom was always a joy for me. It was a hobby I picked up when I was in middle school, like many of us here did. I would always cater my experience to fun, and fun only. I only started getting more deeply involved in SU’s fandom when I had just turned into an adult. During the summer of 2016, between my first and second year of college, I drew for the show almost every day non-stop when the Summer of Steven event was going on and posted them online. This was a form of practice for me in order to become not just more comfortable with experimenting with my art, but also to meet new artists, make new friends, and learn to interact with strangers without fear. I dealt with a ton of anxiety when I was in high school. When I was a senior applying to art school for animation, I decided I was going to overcome that anxiety. I made plans to take baby steps to improve myself over the course of my 4 years of college. Joining the fandom, while unforeseen, was definitely a part of that process. I started feeling more confident in sharing my ideas, even if they were fan-made. I fell in love with storyboarding after that summer, when I took my first storyboarding class, and genuinely felt like I was actually getting somewhere with all of this. I remember finally coming to a point in my classes where I could pitch and not feel hopelessly insecure about it. I was opening up more to my friends and peers. 

But this process, unfortunately, came to a screeching halt. 

My life completely, utterly crumbled under me in the Fall of 2017 due to a series of blows in my personal life that happened in the span of just a couple weeks. My mental health and sense of identity were completely destroyed. All of that confidence I had worked for-- completely ruined. I was alone. I nearly died. My stay at college was extended to 4 and half years, instead of the 4 I had intended. I lost my love for animation-- making it, and watching it. I could no longer watch Steven Universe with the same love I had for it beforehand. It’s a terrible thing, trying to give your attention to something you don’t love anymore, and wanting so desperately to love again. I dropped so many things I loved in my life, including the fandom.

Healing was a long and complicated road. I continued to watch the show all the way up until Change Your Mind aired in the beginning of 2019, and while I still felt empty, that was definitely a turning point for me with it’s encapsulation of self-love. I was hoping James Baxter would get to work on Steven Universe since he guest-animated on Adventure Time, and it was incredible seeing that wish actually come true. The movie came out and while I enjoyed it and thought highly of it, I was still having issues letting myself genuinely love things again, old and new. It was especially difficult because cartoons were my solace as a kid, when things got rough at home. I remember feeling sad because the show ended, and not getting the chance to love it again like I used to while it was still going.

By the time Steven Universe Future was announced, I was finally coming around. I was genuinely starting to feel excitement for art and animation again. I wasn’t expecting there to be a whole new epilogue series, but happily ever after, there we were! Prickly Pear aired, and the implications it left in terms of where the story was going did it. I was finally ready to let myself take the dive back into fandom in January of this year. My art blew up, something I wasn’t expecting considering my 2-year hiatus. Following this, I was invited into a discord server containing some of the biggest writers, artists, editors, and analysts in the fandom. I had no idea there were so many talented people in the fandom, some already with degrees, some getting their degrees-- creating stuff for it on the side just for fun. The amount of passion and productivity level here is insane, and so is the amount of discussion that has come out of it.

I didn’t realize it at first, but it was actually helping me gain back the courage to share ideas. I lost my confidence in pitching while I was taking the time to heal, and graduating meant there would no longer be a classroom setting I could practice in. This group helped immensely. 

I have made so many friends through this wonderful series, and I have so many fond memories talking to like-minded creatives, getting feedback and a myriad of sources for inspiration, as well as all of the memes and jokes and weekly theorizations that came about as we all waited on the edges of our seats for episodes to air. I needed this so badly, I needed to get back in touch with my roots, when I would go absolutely hog-wild over a cartoon I loved with people who loved it as much I did. Future has been a blessing for me in this way. I graduated feeling like I was back at square-one, but now I feel like I’m on my way again.

It’s 2020 and while I’m doing great right now, I am honestly still recovering from the total exhaustion that followed after graduating a few months ago, and finally leaving the campus where my life fell apart behind. Needless to say, watching Future was like looking into a mirror. Watching one of my favorite characters of all time-- one that grew up with me-- go through so many of the same things I went through not too long ago was absolutely insane to watch unfold. It’s such an important thing too, to show a character go through the process of breaking down over trauma and all the nasty things that come with it, and to have them go on the road to healing. Steven got that therapy. He wasn’t blamed. The gems were called out. The finale was everything I could have ever hoped for. The catharsis I experienced watching it was out of this world.

As I continue my own healing journey, I will always look up to the storyboard artists, revisionists, and designers that I have been following over these past 7 years, as well as the new ones introduced in Future. It's been such a joy watching these artists release their promo art for episodes, talk about their experiences working on the show, and post the work they've done for it alongside episodes airing.

Thank you Rebecca Sugar, the Crewniverse, and the fans, for making this such a truly wonderful and unique experience. Thank you for reminding me that I am, and always will be, an artist, a cartoonist, and a fan. Thank you, my followers, for the overwhelmingly positive response to my artwork. I have had so much fun interacting and discussing the show with you all again over these past few months. Steven Universe and it’s fandom will always have a special place in my heart, and it will always be a classic that I will return to for comfort and inspiration for decades to come. I am sad that the cartoon renaissance is over, but so many doors have been opened thanks to this show. I am so, so excited to see what this show will inspire in the future, and I hope one day I get the opportunity to be a part of that. 

Goodbye Steven, thank you for everything. I wish you healing, and I wish Rebecca and the team a well-deserved rest. ♥️

-Cynthia D.

[gunpowderdtim]

Talk to me about narratomancy? Just whatever you want to talk about it I'm deathly interested

!!!! Today today i had so many Thoughts. To many. It almost rivals March 2020 thoughts

So

My current running names for the four pillars of Narratomancy are as follows:

Universal Story

Narrative Role Filling/Casting Call

Story Echoes

Narrative Flow/Narrative Imperative

Each of these refer to VERY different things within the concept of Narratomancy. I will do my best to describe them. I have coined every term here but narratomancy, to which I believe the honor falls to @lucky-sevens

Keep in mind this is 50% theory, 20% headcanon, 30% canon, and that you do not have to agree with me.

Universal Story

Universal Story refers to the story of the universe, not stories in the universe, the story of the universe. In other words, the story of ‘Dr. Carmilla & The Mechanisms’

This section of Narratomancy is a tad more meta than the others, as it does in some form rely on real-world events to define it, as well as having little to no in story inpact on anything. Maki created the mechanisms universe, clear and simple. She founded the band, and hashed out the earliest lore. Dr. Carmilla is the main character of the universe, not of all the stories, but of the universe. Essentially, Universal Story refers to the fact that Doc C is the main character of the universe, and that the mechanisms are her side characters, in the story of the universe. I have taken to viewing it as doc carmilla stuff is the story of the universe, and the mechanisms is a spin off of that. Both are just as canon, but not specifically canon to eachother. Regardless, the universes story is Carmilla, from starting on Terra, to Aurora, through Loreli, into creating The Mechansims, all of that. All of that is the story of The Universe. The Mechanisms backstories are included in this, of course, because they are part of Carmilla's tale, not the other way around. Through this, I conclude that The Mechanisms are a spin off, focusing on the mechs rather than Carmilla. After all, The Mechansisms are a vessel for telling stories, for fleshing out the universe.

Narrative Role Filling/Casting Call

This refers to the mechs penchant for falling into narrative roles similar to troupes that they represent, or basically acting as a crutch for a story to continue. In OUATIS, Jonny acts as The Prince figure in sleeping beauty. He saves Briar. In being The Prince, he allows Snow's forces to attack cole, and win the war. Without that whole escapade, its likely the war would have stretched on years longer, and not have ended as it did.

Or, Ashes as Hades. What do mythological Hades and Ashes have in common? Hades was eaten by his father, Kronos, because there was a prophesy that told Kronos that his children would usurp him as king of the titans. Ashes figured out Mickey was the snitch, Mickey realized beforehand and lead Ashes into a trap. Killing them because he knew that they could ruin him. Basically, a parental figure betrays the child figure due to them knowing the child could ruin/destroy their position of power. As well as, if Ashes were not Hades, the Suits would not have met, and because of that the story of Ulysses Dies At Dawn would not have happened.

Continuing, while I am not nearly as much of an Arthurian legend person as I am a greek mythology person, some quick google searches revealed a similar similarity between Merlin and Brian. Basically, Merlin and the lady of the lake. She was basically his apprentice/a lady he was in love with? She basically betrayed and killed him after learning all out magic from him. Brian brought a priest back to life, only to have the priest betray and kill him. The tying together point here is clearly the "someone you helped betrays and kills you." That or, the fact they are both magical. Beyond this, If Brian were not on Fort Galfridian, Galahad would never have sought out the grail, and the entire plot would not have occurred.

In The Bifrost Incident, the Mechanisms do not take narrative roles in the way they did in prior albums. But this does not exclude them from being vital points in the story, after all, if Ivy were not present Lyf would not have been able to recover the data on the Black Box)

In all of these situations, (barring Jonny as The Prince) the Mechanisms have had some sort of connection point in the Roles they assume, as well as in their roles, changing the story so that it can continue to the ending presented in the albums.

Story Echoes

Story echoes are, to be blatant, simply canon. No argument, no theorizing, just canon. Refers to the fact that in the mechanism's universe stories 'echo' or basically repeat. In Kofi's fiction for HNOC, its shown rather blatantly that there are more Arthurs in this universe than just the one in hnoc.

In those burning instants, he’d feel the weight of it all, and know it was true. The golden age that never came; the city that stood at the dawn of a world instead of in its dying embers. And beyond – to a myriad of Camelots and a thousand thousand Arthurs, unfathomable worlds apart, each different, each fighting the same hopeless battle.

I know there are other examples of this, but they do escape me right now.

Lastly,

Narrative Flow/Narrative Imperative

This one is also directly canon. On the mechanisms blog, this post defines it rather well.

In the ask, the asker asks "...Do you heal injuries at an abnormal rate, or can you not be injured?"

In the reply, it is stated.

It depends on the narrative imperative - sometimes a Mechanism might die for a while, and only come back later when it becomes more fun, other times they’ll just heal/ignore wounds as they take them. It’s not something they can control, but tends to follow a rough logic of whatever works best for the story.

This is just canon, no arguing or stating otherwise. A mechanisms ability to heal depends entirely on what's best for the story.

Other examples in canon where this comes into play would be as follows:

GPTVTMK. In gptvtmk, Jonny's severed head is there. Is talks. It moves. In one of the fictions, it's stated Jonny cannot separate his heart from his body. Therefore, these are contradictory. Under normal circumstances, this would be a plothole. It is not here. Under narratomancy, Jonny was capable of being a severed head due to the fact that that would be best for the story.

OUATIS. Jonny walks through rounds and rounds of bullets.

HNOC. This example is a bit different from the rest, as it is not about a Mechanism. Galahad does something pretty fucking impossible.

And so Galahad stood and walked into the corridor. The guns trained on the preacher and opened fire. 

Say what you want about faith, but it can have powerful effects on those that have it. It can keep you from faltering as the bullets start to slam into you. It can keep you walking as your legs are shot to bloody stumps. It can keep you laughing as your lungs are filled with shrapnel and lead. It can keep you smiling as half your face is blown away. It can keep a man like Galahad standing tall until the guns clicked dry.

It is my belief that this is another example of narrative imperative. Under normal rules, Galahad could never have done this. But his faith, his beleif, kept him going. And that was good for the story.

So. That wraps up my narratomancy ramble for today. hope yall enjoyed.

*EDIT: Nastya does say it's nanobots. My opinion is: it's both. The nanobots are narrative driven <3

[raamitsu]

⚠️ tokyo revengers chapter 216 spoilers ⚠️

well i'm just going to do some revisions lol. everyone might have read the chapter already + some theories going on around the same time. there will be a little bit of spoilers for chapter 217 so read it at your own risk.

so i'm gonna start with the big reveal of senju's actual gender, a woman... a badass woman 😌

beforehand, in chapter 215, senju told takemichi to wait for her @ harajuku at 3pm. then, in chapter 216 they went to do some shopping spree together. she had takeomi's black card and told her to do something ladylike.

so who's takeomi ? before this, he was known as one of the living legends along with wakasa and keizo. he's the vice president of the first generation of a gang called black dragon.

then, it was revealed by senju to be her big brother. their family name was akashi, and senju revealed her real name instead of her professional name that she used when she's in brahman. she wasn't just hiding her gender identity but faking her name as well...

what's more shocking is that sanzu, the tokyo manji kai's ex-vice captain of 5th division who currently joined kantou manji, was also senju's big brother. furthermore, sanzu's real name was revealed to be haruchiyo akashi. apparently sanzu was just a fake name as well.

fun fact: there were a few theories about the relation between sanzu and senju when senju was introduced for the first time in tr verse. people thought they're siblings only by the same eyelashes and it ended up being canon by the author LOL

this means after the sano's, we have another family issue to keep up with 🤣

akashi family: the mysterious three siblings.

the members: takeomi, haruchiyo, and senju.

next, this panel where senju talked about how sanzu didn't even interested about them. the way senju talked about him, it seemed like he got something that make people curious: why would he did that?

one reliable source said that sanzu was the second kisaki, well... you know what it is. the way he lied to mucho about being the only child in his family, knowing very well he had another two siblings, not even when he faked his own name too, this proved that he's a manipulative and dangerous person.

when he was killing mucho, he said something about "fooling them all along." that just showed how mysterious he could be. if you think about it, there were no stories about him before and in the tenjiku arc. right after the arc ends, his little backstory was introduced in chapter 206. it was the beginning of his plot. no wonder senju called themselves the mysterious three siblings...

so they're actually were having this kind of conversation while the two enjoyed their day together going around places. when senju was about to go home, she showed an interest to hang out and eat ice cream with takemichi in another time. then, takemichi giggled with the way senju put the popsicle stick in her mouth like a pacifier and asked her to throw it to him. suddenly, out of nowhere, a new vision appeared: senju's death.

probably most of you have read the theory:

the popsicle stick was familiarly shaped like a katana, looked at it with a glance and we saw it ; which only brought us back to chapter 206 where sanzu was using a katana to kill off mucho. that was one hell of a foreshadow! people theorized that sanzu probably is the one who kills senju.

sanzu aka haruchiyo akashi with his katana.

i can say that the future that takemichi foresaw will possibly happen if he doesn't do something to change it. another one to support this theory, when senju was visiting a store with the "suicide" signboard above. (i forgot the name of the person who made this theory but it's all thanks to them we got another lead!)

noticed the jacket? it's quite similar to the one mucho wore when he played chess with sanzu in the same chapter where he also got killed 💀👀

i was wondering, if these theories ain't correct then idk what else anymore. wakui cannot just give us something so easy to notice and predict then *BOOM* plot twist 😭

in the end of chapter, takemichi was shocked with what he just forsaw. well, me too.

btw, i read some spoilers for ch217 from the same source that :

takemichi's friend, yamagishi will be involved in the next chapter to explain about the backstory of sanzu and his scar. (this dude also knows too much, aren't he?)

there is something going wrong with the akashi siblings (too obvious) especially sanzu.

another obvious speculation is that sanzu could be involved with senju's death.

i have some questions :

— if only "sanzu kills senju" theory is true, i'm wondering why and what makes him so motivated to kill her sister? is it only because he is so dedicated to protect his king, mikey, that he doesn't give a damn about others?

— why mikey is so damn important to him? they aren't family to begin with, and they're not even a close relative.

— other than being manipulative, is sanzu could possibly delusional too ?

— the whereabouts of hanma is still unknown and right now i have another person in mind who could possibly be another time leaper. so i wonder if it's true that there is another time leaper or is there something different that might be very complicated to deal with?

— something or someone kinda bugs me a lot even though they don't get a lot of plots.

that's all for today! looking forward to chapter 217 today 😆

[bloodstainsontengensfloor]

The Star Plasma Vessel:

When I first read Gojo’s past arc, Riko Amanai and the whole dynamic created between all of the characters and how fast a strong bond can grow, really interested me.

⚠️Spoiler warning ofc ⚠️

But... I was so confused over the Star Plasma Vessel. I was so confused and thought I missed something because I didn’t even know who Master Tengen was. And the site I was reading the manga didn’t have chapter 72, but after re reading it... the Star Plasma Vessel and Master Tengen are... still suspicious as hell.

So Let’s talk about it!

Who is Master Tengen?

In the Nara Period (710-794) Tengen spread Japanese Buddhism and ‘preached what would become the foundation for Jujutsu sorcerers(JJK.wiki)’. They were first mentioned in chapter 53 by fake Geto. 

At this point, the only information about Master Tengen was that of their jujutsu. Jogo asks Fake Geto who’s stronger; Tengen or Gojo? Fake Geto simply states that “it’s immortality not anti-aging” and that Master Tengen doesn’t interfere unless it involves the barrier. He also makes this comparison with a tree? However, I’m not sure if the tree metaphor is comparing Tengen and Gojo or describing/comparing Tengen’s technique. 

During Gojo’s Past Arc, we find out more about the specifics of their jujutsu and how powerful and important they are. Tengen’s jujutsu is immortality but it doesn’t stop the aging process. The cursed technique tries to switch bodies roughly every 500 years. If Tengen doesn’t get a vessel, then they will ‘evolve’ or ascend to a higher state where they have no will. If in this higher state, they could become a threat to humanity. If they do get a vessel, then they rewrite the body’s genetic information. 

On top of all that, Master Tengen’s ability strengthens the barriers that protect the jujutsu world and keep the amount of curses limited to Japan. The Jujutsu world wouldn’t be working the way it has for so long if not for these barriers. It isn’t specified whatsoever what Tengen would do that would make them a threat to humanity, but my guess is that it would have something to do with allowing curses to run free and unrestricted. 

In the reccent chapters, Fake!Geto used a remote activation technique that Yuki orginially mistakes as an attack on the barrier. He’s disrupting the balance that’s for sure, but I believe that  he could have broken the barrier. He had the option and probably the power, but he didn’t. This implies that Tengen is a force that even our antagonists fear or don’t wish to get involve. They said that they were  stabilized even after Riko Amanai died, but... considering Ep. 18 where Principal Yaga goes ‘I’m going to see Tengen” after the Curses break onto school grounds implies that maybe he is weaker. Gojo even talks about how in the end, Tengen’s barrier hides rather than protects and that it’s weak once infiltrated, which raises a lot of questions. And maybe Tengen plays a part in this whole scheme because of  the talk of how much chaos the world would be thrown into had the barrier been broken by Yuki and Fake!Geto’s questionable response. 

Who is Riko Amanai?

Riko Amanai was the Star Plasma Vessel in 2006. It is implied that she was pretty wealthy, and when she was younger, her parent’s died in a car crash, but she survived. Between the years of her parents’ death and her death, she was cared for by Misato Kuroi, a non combatant  jujutsu sorcerer who can fight curses, well educated in the curse world, but might not be able to use cursed energy/techniques. It is unknown with who Misato is affiliated with and if Amanai became aware of her status as the Star Plasma Vessel at an early age. 

 When first introduced, she is very willing and seemingly okay with the merger. When Gojo expresses his surprise over Amanai’s reaction to her attempted assassination attempt and the whole concept of the merger, she simply proclaims “Master Tengen is me and I am Master Tengen!”. She then goes on a rant about how the merger and death are different things and how after the Merger, her will and spirit will live on. However, this statement was contradicted earlier, when Yaga describes the Merger as an ‘eraser’. Later, Geto even talks about how after the Merger, Amanai will just be forced to be beneath the school and has to get rid of all mortal connections. It just happens to be that, she has no relations besides Kuroi... suspicious.... 

  Riko is spunky and fiesty. During her rant, Gojo and Geto comment on how she probably has no friends based on how she talks. She is clumsy, and honestly just... funny. I keep on hoping someone in the main timeline says something similar to the “Liar, you look a liar... and whats with those bangs” line  in reference to Fake!Geto. Getting back at hand, Riko is also brave. When Kuroi gets kidnapped, she insists on coming with Geto and Gojo despite having no fighting or curse capability. When nervous or in an emotional confrontation, she has a habit of scrunching up part of her skirt in her fists. 

 Despite putting up an image of content with the Merger, Riko is a normal teenage girl. Moments before her death, Riko’s inner monologue focuses on how she was always told she was ‘special’ and ‘different’, and how despite everything that happened, she always survived. Now, being told that you are special and different at a young age is something that affects people heavily. Weather  it is being told that you are a ‘gifted’ kid or that you are just ‘different’ can lead to a lot of self separation from others. One might see themselves as better than others because of these skills or believe that someone else like them can’t exist and struggle when meeting someone similar or in a similar situation. Before her appearance in the story, it is implied that she had good relationships with her friends, classmates, and Kuroi, but didn’t really value them as much as she should due to this idea of being special or having a destiny. (Damn, a Gojo parallel maybe hmm)  This led her to be really lonely and she believed that she would be okay with the merger because she thought that the loneliness and sadness would disappear. In the last three days of her life, Riko got to spend time with her friends at schools  (the last she saw of them was them teasing her for her ‘hot cousin’ Gojo), spending time with Kuroi, and developing a strong bond with Gojo and Geto. She realizes that the sadness and loneliness could and would leave as long as she had strong bonds with others. 

“I want to be with everyone more! I want to go to more places, see more things with everyone... More!!” 

  After Riko comes to terms with what she really wants, she dies at the hands of Toji Fushiguro/Zenin. Her death sets an entire series of misfortunes and rifts between the Strongest Duo and she serves her part as... well the plot tool she  doubles as. 

A Choice:

 Before her death, Riko is given a choice. Geto gives her instructions on where to go for the merger, before saying “Or you can turn back and return home with Kuroi.”. He gives her a choice. A choice to go through with the merger and ensure stability despite no one truly knowing what is happening, or a choice to live a life of her choice. We find out that Yaga gave hints that there is something wrong with the Merger due to the way that he described  it as an ‘erasure’ and how he isn’t one to ‘beat around the bush’. 

 We find out that Gojo and Geto decided beforehand that if the Vessel wasn’t willing to go through with the merger, they wouldn’t do it and that they, the strongest duo, would fight Master Tengen. Gojo and Geto were the strongest and Geto says that no matter what she chooses, they will protect her future. 

 Riko decides to go home, wherever that may be, instead of the merger, but of course, dies. 

 As established before, this whole concept is suspicious. Yaga knew there was something wrong with this. Gojo and Geto both knew there was something wrong with this.

 In chapter 138, Yuki goes “it’s about time I confront Tengen.” This opens a box with even more questions. What does she mean by this? Why is it ‘about time’ and how casual is it for sorcerers to talk to Tengen? As mentioned before, Yaga is apparently in communication with Tengen when he needs to be. And Yuki is the one who told Geto that Tengen was stabilized after the failed merger and that the vessel was probably reborn...

Conclusion: 

 I honestly hope more than predict that we get to meet Riko Amanai reborn or the next SPV.  Tengen is a name that is getting thrown around recently so there is no way that he is just.. not going to be relevant in the coming chapters. 

  I know a lot of people have found comparisons to Buddhism and the Jujutsu world, and I am not that well educated in this area, I do know that rebirth plays a big role in it. Rebirth is viewed as a negative cycle one should want to escape from called “Samsara”. I personally headcanon/theorize that the Star Plasma Vessel and the soul of Riko Amanai, is one that gets reborn constantly and is stuck in a cycle where they experience a lonely and sad  life before getting a taste of a full and happy one right before the merger. In terms of the 500 year thing, the Star Plasma vessel would have first been born( created?) during sometime in the in between of the Heian Period (794-1184) and the Muromachi Period (1392-1573). The Heian Period is implied to be the Golden Age of Curses and when Sukuna was in full power despite being known in history as a peaceful time for Japan, so I definitely believe that there is some connection if my math is correct (which it probably isn’t. I hate math). 

Right now in the story, vessels... are really important. According to Fake Geto, he released what is like a thousand Itadori Yujis, so I think that bringing back the star Plasma vessel would fit really well. However, they would roughly be around 12 years of age in 2018, meaning that they might not even be able to do the merger because I think the vessel has to be sixteen and older and have a full moon.

(Edit: added 4/1/21: Also, it might not be Riko reborn, but just another Star Plasma Vessel. Like Yuki says that either they had another vessel at hand, or another one was already born. So like... the new SPV might be the age of our main characters or possibly even one of the characters we already know!)

I also think it will be really interesting to see how it would play off with the fact that Gojo/Geto are no longer involved in the story. Gojo is sealed and the real Geto is dead. When thinking about how the SPV would be in the story, I imagined a picture of a younger girl in a uniform and with a braid holding the sealed Gojo and staring up at the fake Geto. I’m not over what happened to Riko Amanai if you haven’t noticed and I feel like she deserves to have this other chance. I also think it’ll set up the eventual meeting or confrontaion with Master Tengen which I’m personally dying to see.

So what do you think? I don’t really have any solid predictions other than that the SPV reborn will make an appearance, but what about you? Do you guys think Tengen will play a big part? Do you think Tengen may end up becoming a big threat or a good ally? Do you guys want to see Itadori and the SPV interact? Or am I just over analyzing this?

Thanks for reading!

[mallo-person]

EHEH Kirby time

Anyways I was watching the 2nd trailer to do some guessing/theorizing and possibly translating stuff (yeah a lot of stuff eheh) and I saw that this area seemed like the "menu" in the 2018 Kirby Game.

From left to right

Theater, Abitiy's, Online Arena/Battle Mode(?), and the Minigame area.

Now I have a big feeling that this is going to be the main hub area, unlike the modern games and more like the older games (giving that KDL2/KDL3 vibes from what I know). So the big thing is I'm guessing this is going to be where go off to after the first few waddle dee's/levels and when you open the game after that.

Of course, this is just what I picked up from one clip in that trailer for I have a few more guesses/ideas for what this game may hold (or when things get unlocked).

Now on for the co-op shown in that exact trailer.

Now due to how the Waddle Dee's are the goal for each level shown so far, it is pretty believable in my eyes that Bandana Waddle Dee would be unlocked after at least the first level in the game.

But probably for most of you reading this, you would think that wouldn't be the case because of how RTDL did it and how it is supposed to be a children's game.

You would be correct!

But you would have to admit that it does seem plausible from how the game's goal is set for each level, it would seem like co-op may not be able to be used until after the first level of the game.

Also by what I mean by the first level of the game, I am thinking the first level will be a tutorial-like level like Kirby Star Allies. Just a simple walk in the park to get a hold of how the mechanics work and maybe save the first Waddle Dee of the game.

Now the next part that was shown in the reveal trailer.

Now I haven't seen anyone talk about this before, but in the scene where Elfin was revealed, I have a guess on what the storyline could be for them to be here.

Okay so Kirby was just walking and suddenly Elfin just flew by, the puffball waves at them and they wave back before some rumble effect/noise happened, they go look to see what it was before what happens next in the revel trailer.

Now from what I believe what may happen is that this is the first time in-game where you see this character before becoming allies with them due to how they weren't shown in the trailer beforehand and only them being seen in a hard-to-see spot in that revel trailer.

Now I know that may be because the dev's haven't done all the animation for them or something when that reveal was shown but it is a good guess in my opinion for what may happen in the story for this game.

Also, I have a feeling that Elfin would be able to help you in this boss fight (maybe give healing items or something of that sort) due to how they were out of harm's way when the boss showed up. But that may not happen from how this game is one for children, so it's supposed to be easy, but there is a high chance that they would be at least in the background or slightly useful for that boss fight in my eyes.

But anyways, This is all I got for now! So if you want you can just wait for more of my rambles of this game I most likely can't play eheh!

[the-fandom-is-now-my-life]

This thing's existence is to be blamed on @anonymouscake you gave me too much inspiration to write this

After the exams were taken and returned to williams to grade them, all the eyes were in him

"That would be our class for today, we have a few minutes but start packing" William started stacking the exams. After not seeing any of the students start moving or packing he couldn't help but wonder if they truly remembered their bet "you can start packing, we will see again after holidays"

"Teacher! You promised" one of the students chimed in

" Yeah! You owe us a story. To think our teacher wouldn't honor his word" other student agreed

" You truly remembered, didn't you? I still have to grade this. So unless you want to be late to your next class I will see you after Christmas" nobody moved " well?"

" Your class is our last" those words made him stop

" No, you have modern literature with mister johnson" williams returned to stacking the exams " did you finish, mister Adams?"

" Professor johnson had an emergency last moment and couldn't find a replacement in time"

" You are awfully insistent" he sighed softly " if you wait for 5 minutes I can grade your exams"

Everyone stayed in place and William started grading, after a few minutes of silence William stood up

" The results of your exams are…" Williams didn't calculate that his bribery would make such a big effect "outstanding. If I knew a story was all I needed to make you study I would have started a long time ago "

Cheers resonated in the classroom. All their efforts didn't go to the trash.

" Average 96.5" he didn't truly want to tell so much about his love life, but a man doesn't back away from a fair bet" well, what story do you want to hear now?"

The room got filled by silence and now the true question arises, what story? Maybe their wedding, or their first kiss. But at the end they decided on their engagement.

" Our engagement? It officially started around 7 years after our meeting, I was 21"

" So you married at 21? Your marriage must be pretty old by now" said a voice in the back

" Mister stone, if I might know, how old do you think I am?" No one dared to breathe, less say anything " I am waiting mister stone"

" Your latmiearly thirwenties?"

" I am not going to bite" followed by a laugh " 24 years old. That is my age. Now where were we?"

" Who are you writing that letter to?" The now young girl of 19 wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling against it

" Your father"

" Why? Do you want to have a business meeting with him"

" You could say so"

" If so I could have said him directly, my dad quite likes you. It will be faster"

" Still, it would sit bitter in my mouth to not do this as it is customary to"

" Is it really a serious meeting isn't it?"

" Nothing bad happened, don't worry about it" William patted her head, laughing softly.

" Stop treating me like a child! We only are 2 years apart!" The girl protested. Now sitting on a chair behind his desk

" Yet still you behave as a kid" William teased without stopping writing

"Hey!"

Before they could keep quarreling louis entered the room

" Here is the tea"

" Thank you louis!"

" Thanks brother. If I could ask you to do a little favor could you send this to the mail?"

"Yes, of course"

" I really appreciate it. Now, should we have tea?"

"Eeeh! Professor moriarty sent his engagement letter without telling his wife?!" A student cut William

" maybe they talked about this beforehand? And this was some kind of surprise? Maybe her father is strict about who will marry his daughter?" Another student theorized

" I think it is a good theory" another agreed

" If you wanted to hypothesize about my life you might as well not have asked"

" Sorry professor"

" For context, YN, My wife, was going to get married to another noble-" William tried to explain but was cut again

" So you were jealous! I didn't peg you as that kind of man"

" I-" William Inhaled before deciding to not say the total truth, in fact the noble had a record of all his wives dying weeks after marriage. But ignorance was bliss " yes, I was jealous" he indeed had a little attraction towards you, but brushed it off more often than not.

Mister YS gave him a meeting. The door seemed to be heavier than usual,as if it was tempting him to go away, but he already set his mind on it.

He steps into the room, the lights on even if the aura of the room was far to gloomy for it to match

" William, son, do you know what you sending this letter mean?" your father sat straight in his chair, as if he was really to catch his prey

" I am pretty sure I know what it means" leaving his case by his sit he sat down " I want to get engaged with YN"

Taking a huff of his cigarette your father continued " you are a bright young man I'm sure you catched on to general merryland wish to marry my daughter. What is your counter for that"

" The general merryland has had 10 wives in a period of 1 and a half years. All of their deaths of mysterious circumstances. I fear her marriage with the general may cause her assesination"

" Kid, as much as I might love my daughter the general won't take a 'I think you might kill my daughter' for an answer". He is an influential man, he can't risk to anger him"

" But he might take an "apologies, my daughter is already engaged, we were yet to announce it"

" The general is a man who is well known and has reasonable wealths and reputation, if you blamed him for murder it would make us lose face, and is well settled too. You on the other hand, just settled and started working as a professor of university, what can guarantee my daughter to live well with you? Give me ten reasons to let you get engaged"

" I knew you were going to say something like that, I bought my finances book with me,you may judge if it's enough or not" even if he was playing innocent he knew the wealth he managed to hoard was a bit too nice for his age " plus, wasn't the general going through a bankrupt? His family business hasn't been talked about a lot lately" planting the seeds of doubt is an important part of his plan, if not the most.

" One reason down. nine left."

"So you tried to get him to let you get engaged for three hours, I can see how he let you, if my future in-law tried that I would give in too" a few students agreed

" It was tedious and long, I will have to admit. But it was worth it" admitted William.

" Then, how did you break the news?"

" I originally wanted to do it with the two of us alone. But it wasn't possible…"

After getting her father's blessing, now the only thing left to do was to wait for YN to go come to the state and break the news privately.

" Brother? What are you doing?"

"Oh? Nothing louis, I'm just waiting for YN to arrive to have tea"

"Then I shall put the kettle on" Louis was about to leave but noticed the bouquet on the table" brother you bought her flowers?"

" Yes. You will understand soon enough"

" I am off to the kitchen"

The fragrance of the flowers William brought was quite strong, intoxicating if you must. If you asked albert he would say they smell disgustingly sweet

" William, I haven't seen you at lunch, where were you?"

" I was at a meeting, albert. It was of dire need to have it as soon as possible"

" Who did you have a meeting with?"

" YN father"

" Mister YS? Why was it? If I might know"

" You will know soon enough"

" Then, I'm off to check some papers, I will skip tea."

A few minutes went on for you to arrive, in that moment William had everything ready for it to go smoothly. Everyone was busy, albert with his paperwork and louis had already brought the water but still had some chores to do so he would let you two alone for a while

" Liam!" The girl came almost running to him and hugged his torso "You haven't invited me in a few weeks, were you mad at me"

" Not at all" he brushed some bangs that came out of their place " I had to sort a few things out"

" That makes me happy"

"Should we go and have tea"

" If you want to"

After some idle chatter and small chat he thought it was the right moment

" YN" he calls you while sitting up to kneel in front of you " I already got your father's blessing but the word that matters the most is yours, so what do you say, will you let me be your husband in a future" taking out the engagement ring

The sound of copper hitting the floor snapped you out of your bubble

"I-"

" Louis, I see you finished all the housework"

" I just wanted a minute for ourselves" the girl lamented before noticing albert holding a few papels behind louis " if three wasn't plenty. well, they were both going to know soon so I guess it doesn't matter that much" she stood up after taking the ring and putting it on the correspondent finger" I was going to give you this in your birthday, but I guess I could give this now" she said before handing a cigarette case with a few designs engraved. " Father told me to return early so I must get going. Let's talk again soon"

" So Teacher does mess up sometimes"

" I don't truly think it was his fault, how was he supposed to know they were there" argued a back row student

" You got what you wished for, now go to your houses it is late and your families must be waiting for you"

The whole classroom started to run towards the exit. While a chorus of " Merry Christmas teacher!" And " see you soon" flooded the room. even if he liked to teach sometimes it was exhausting.

[anisecandy]

I want to talk about Hisoka’s morals

And I know, that those two words really don’t look like they should belong in the same sentence, but I just find the way he operates and engages with other characters really, really interesting. Because for someone who is so hell bent on keeping image of wild card, Hisoka in fact plays by the rules to surprising degree.

Now, this isn’t going to be some big analysis, just a couple of my personal insights. Feel free to disagree, bring counter-points or elaborate if you too find it curious.

(For this I’m going to only reference anime, and manga events till the battle with Chrollo, because the way he acts seems to be changed significantly after it)

There seem to be a lot of fans that interpret Hisoka as somebody who kills people without a second thought, just because he feels like it, but I really don’t think that’s the case. Over the course of the whole anime, we never see him harm civils, unlike other antagonists, for example Phantom Troup. I would write it off as a result of him simply not interacting with civils enough so we could get such scene, but when during the Election Arc he sees Illumi do it, he actually calls him out for going overboard. He doesn’t stop him obviously, he doesn’t care that much, but I think it’s interesting that he cares at all.

Okay, so we know when Hisoka most likely wouldn’t kill, or at least doesn’t kill to our knowledge. Let’s now look at times when he does.

I think we can divide those cases in two categories – when it’s necessary means to gain something he wants (Troup trust, for example) and when he does it simply for pleasure. The first one couldn’t be less complicated. If he can attain his goal through killing, he doesn’t look for other possible resolutions, nor has any second thoughts. It also doesn’t matter if the goal he’s currently pursuing is something of great weight or very trivial. He has no problem to help Illumi with his assassinations, be it to pay a favor, or simply as a token of “friendship” (if you can call that the whatever they have going on). The second category, however, is where things are getting really weird for me.

Because all of those, weird as it seems, you could call “consensual” in a twisted way.

…I’ve lost you here, didn’t I.

Okay, but let’s look at all the times Hisoka kills for pleasure. During the Exam Arc he kills many people to “attain goal”, here to become a Hunter, but there are still numerous times when he does so out of a whim – when he decides to “play an examiner” is example with especially high death count. Why am I calling it “consensual”? Because all of those people were being told time and time again that by taking the exam they are placing their lives at stakes. ...Okay, but the exam is just one instant, right? What about other of his kills for just the heck of it? Apparently almost all of his wins in Heaven Arenas were results of killing his opponents, and those aren’t labeled with danger of death attention note? So those couldn’t possibly count, right? Well, I’m actually pretty sure they do too. Before fighting and eventually killing Kastro, he beforehand makes sure he’s fine with fight to death. The same happens when he challenges Chrollo, so we can rather safely theorize that similar thing happened during all the other fights.

And I really don’t know what to make of it.

But he evidently has some sort of messed up moral code he sticks to, and I think it adds interesting shade to the character, he would otherwise lack if he’d really was as chaotic as he wants to pass as.

[jelreth]

ok!! so.

frisk (you, the player), has a Determination SOUL, meaning their very being is determined. its them, it's their main,,, character trait, you could say.

because of that determination, frisk is able to save, like in video games. in game these saves are bright, yellow, star/diamond things that are most likely visible only to you/frisk. their are a few fan interpretations of saving I've seen. those arent important currently

loading is the act of returning to your last save point. you reload when you wanna go back and do something, you reload when you die, etc.

resetting is the act of reverting time all the way back to when you fell into the underground, in the ruins, and no one will remember the previous route. you go along the same story, you can choose whether you wanna kill or spare, n all that jazz.

so basically you can stop and start time if you so choose. it's a power that should only fall into the hands of a good person.

take a look at Flowey, who had the ability to do these things before Frisk fell, who's determination overrided whatever it is that let flowey do his time stuff.

now, it's been theorized that sans either 1.) knows about the resets but doesnt remember em, 2.) knows about the resets and remembers em, and 3.) (well, this one just popped in my head) remembers the resets, but chalks em up to nightmares/daydreams.

the third is the less likely option if I'm being honest. not only does it not seem like sans, it's got way less angst potential than the second.

the first one is an interesting one, and does make a little sense. there are many theories that sans used to be a scientist and worked for the previous royal scientist (who's very being was scattered across time and space), W.D. Gaster. I've heard (I have not played the game myself, sadly) that its mentioned/shown somewhere in the game that sans likes to read about space and quantum things. (I'm not sure that's canon). if these things are true, then we have a smart guy who has studied things like timelines (I believe so anyway). it would kind of make sense he knew about the resets, maybe he had a machine that tracked their timelines, I dunno.

(oh, and sans' shortcuts. pretty fuckin sure its teleportation. how can he teleport? no one else has. doesnt make much sense. there are theories on him surviving a fall into the core, others about him being a test subject/experiment.)

now for the second. the majority of the fandom's favorite.

let's say sans remembers and knows about the resets. do you know how awful that'd be? even with pacifist. say, the player/frisk keep doing pacifist over and over. without change. imagine that. being freed from your prison only to wake up back on your shitty mattress. being able to feel the sun on your face after a life of only seeing stone above you. itd be torture, huh?

then there's genocide. Frisk/the player/chara kills everyone. over, and over. leaving sans to watch. his family, his friends. slaughtered in front of his face repeatedly. that's gotta take a toll on your mental health.

keeping all this in mind, what would it be like if sans could reset?

how did he gain the ability?

somehow losing his soul like flowey (wouldnt he be dead?)? gaining enough determination (hed melt, like undyne or the amalgamates*)? fucking around with the broken machine he has in the back of his house (a good idea, but where would he get his parts?**)

*or, we could go with the experiment theory. there the idea he was injected with a small amount of liquid determination by Gaster. DT (determination) isnt good for monsters, though, as they melt. some melting together and forming amalgamates. how would he survive? I've see. something on him possibly also being injected with Justice and Patience (Justice is yellow, patience is light blue. these colors flash in sans' eye.) beforehand that gave him a boost to survive the DT. if this happened maybe the DT did still affect him and drop him down to his current 1 HP, 1 DF, and 1 ATTK.

**alphys. I'm pretty sure its proven in canon that sans and alphys are good friend. alphys is the royal scientist. she might have the parts necessary to repair a broken machine that deals with timelines. she has said herself, in game, that there are alternate timelines.

--

so uh.

yeah that was long-

sorry- /gen

that WAS long, holy shit! thats a lot to read ahdasjhasklj

so here’s what i gathered:

loading is going back to the last save point, resetting is restarting the game.

sans knows about the resets and likely knows about timeline shenanigans!

determination kills monsters (except undyne who used it in the genocide route to survive longer, right?) 

sans can probably remember all of the genocide routes, and theres angst potential there!

people who CAN reset: soulless monsters (flowey, unconfirmed others?) beings with determination (theorized) and humans, most of whom have at least a little bit of determination!