#cause team 7 doesnt have that much history that much shared experiences

[olivegardenhunter]

one thing that I find really really interesting is that in practically every scene where it's just jiraiya and tsunade alone, kishimoto very deliberately draws at least a panel of the two of them being completely silent in each other's companies, even refusing to look at each other.

when jiraiya got drinks with tsunade in og

when he got drinks with her before he left. notice that neither of them are making any eye contact, refusing to look at each other.

the iconic bench scene ofc

why this is important to me is cause I think it's an excellent way on kishi's part to show the dynamic and history between the two of them (and the sannin as a whole too). ((note this isn't a jiratsu post))

the few scenes we get of the two of them talking alone, you always get the impression that there's a secondary, entirely silent conversation going on in the background that only the two of them even know about. a conversation about all the things they cannot say. and he conveys that so well in these deliberate panels. you can SEE in their expressions, in the things that they do say when they choose to break the silence. there's so much between them, so much they yearn to say. and the weight of all of that, the depth of those feelings and emotions, is ultimately what makes them not say anything at all.

because you've known each other since you were SIX years old, you fought WARS together, this is a person you'd put your life on the line for without a second of hesitation. yet. there is a 20 year gap. you haven't spoken with each other for as long as you grew up together too. they've lived an entire lifetime together, but then an entire equally as long lifetime apart. they're the same person they've always been but yet... you can't really recognise the person in front of you. they both can see that they've become shells of the people they used to be. you both have gone through so much, and you know the the other person knows this. you know it so intimately, what things you can say, what things you can't. youre being so careful yet you both know there's this pretense going on.

there's so much left, yet so little. after all of that, what is there even left to be said? what CAN be said? they're already so intimately aware of what the other is thinking, there's nothing new, yet somehow, there's this gap. there's this emptiness that both know they can't really do anything about.

in the end, the sannin are a tragic trio. and kishi does an excellent job of showing this through their stories and histories, sure. but he does an even better job at showing it through their small interactions together. the way they always end up talking about the past, the attempt to bring up happier times (like tsunade trying to reminisce about their genin days as team hiruzen), yet how they ALWAYS come back to ultimately how they fell apart, and the world kept spinning, and all they can do is try to make sure the future doesn't make the same mistakes they did.

what can you even say to someone like that? it must've been so freeing, to have someone that understands them to such an extent. that would know them more than anyone else in the world ever could imagine. and yet. so suffocating. because they're a reminder. a reminder of what you used to be, a reminder of what could've been, a reminder of how everything went wrong, every single mistake you ever made. and so despite the person in front of you being the only person in the world that likely knows exactly how you're feeling, what you're going through, all your experiences, they're also somehow the last person you can ever speak to about any of it. because it becomes like a trap almost. they're constantly reminded of their pasts when they look at each other. how can you ever begin to move on with someone like that right in front of you?

once upon a time, they were the hope of konoha. they were the young shinobi, meant to bring in a new era of peace, meant to be the change. and they wholeheartedly believed this too. and then, to make it to 50, after everything they went through, and realising they were no better off than the generation before them. that everything they ever stood for, ever fought for, were all practically in vain. and how suddenly the people meant to be the change for the future can only hope to make sure there is still even a chance for change for the next generation.

really, what else are they meant to do around each other than continue their little dance or chess game and let the unspoken remain unspoken?

[ts-akhmim]

Episode 6 | “His best Amanda Kimmel "Go girl, give us nothing!" impersonation” - Liam

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ryrU-tXQbMyAa2Sl_GFiJb61i6qUNY-x/view?usp=sharing

aj went home??!?!?! hello!? JAKE SURVIVED SO THERE IS A GOD

Who feels like shit? Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. And now I remember why I feuded with Jakey... he literally did what ever he wanted. Which is very inconvenient for the rest of us. I know he put my name down. Granted 3 minutes ago I was sure it was Dan but after briefly snapping at him I put it together. Dan, 7:21 PM Seriously I’m not mad about it ahha I can see how my words were taken. And then I definitely said this afternoon we hadn’t talked and that was why I thought you would be the vote on my end Yeah you were a target before AJ started throwing my name out. I own up to that 100% So now it's time to play voting detective... yaayyyyyyyyyyyy (em llik) This entire vote started off with Jakey and Dan. Dan claims that he didn't bring my name up, but it would be an ass pull for Jakey to come to me with Dan wanting me dead immediately after the immunity challenge and then suddenly manifest it. Jakey immediately comes to me and I immediately come to the Dumb Betches (tm). I want Dan out but it's just not realistic as the other side isn't as comfortable playing with a pure beauty team. Next day we form the Thots R Us alliance and Jakey and Scott plead their case for AJ to leave and we, like idiots, go for it. Dan continues to campaign for me. Devon gets into the mix at some point and tells Dan that AJ is voting for him. Dan changes his vote. Now according to Augusto around this point, Jakey mentioned the possibility of having an extra vote before completely shutting it down. Claiming it to be "unnecessary". I think this sparked the idea to tell AJ about the vote under the guise of "golly gee I don't wanna vote for Dan because honor and stuff so I'm voting for you". I assume it's around then he wrote my name down. Like a bitch. Sorry I'm trying to be less hateful and aggressive but man it's harrdddddddd. My guess is that he wanted a beauty out no matter what and figured he'd have better luck convincing the others to vote for me in a situation where an idol is played. He probably also wanted me and Dan to turn further against each other. Unfortunately for him, I spent all of my impulse control that day on not chewing Dan's head off and I snapped immediately afterwords and so some things were cleared up. It has to be Jakey not just because of all the things lining up and not just because it is in his character but I genuinely can't imagine anyone else doing so. - AJ and Amir are loyal hoes. Plus if one of them did something that absurd, it wouldn't exactly benefit them. It puts strain between our relationships with the other players and honestly I don't know why they'd waste a vote on me when if an idol is played they risk losing a beauty majority. - Devon doesn't seem like he would make any waves and seems to have taken a liking to me. Granted I'm less sure about him then the others but he did put most of the work in convincing Dan not to put my name down. Plus he doesn't seem to have anticipated AJ having an idol. - Scott, to do something like this would have been risky. I'm his primary connection to the beauty alliance, if AJ were to play an idol he would have risked losing an asset. - I truly think Dan isn't lying to me because he genuinely believed if he didn't vote for AJ he'd be fucked. He wasn't comfortable with where the votes lied, to throw a vote towards me would have been pretty dumb and insanely reckless. Jakey is the only person I can think of who would go out so out of his way for something like this. Chaos is more or less his calling card. Plus it would be in his best interest to keep around someone in his majority alliance and get rid of a beauty. And he probably thought that I was a better option considering past history or whatever. :/ So now we have to sacrifice Jakey to the survivor gods not because he wrote my name down but because I can't trust him to keep his shit together and vote with us. We were going to target Dan next and he probably won't be chill with that. He probably would prefer to aim for Devon or One of the beauties. And that well, wouldn't be in my best interest either. In the mean time, I'm just going to sit still and look pretty. 

Ok, I need to make a quick apology. Talking to Autumn and Duncan has been the highlight of my game thus far. Autumn went to the same undergrad as me and Duncan is one of the most genuine guys I've ever met. I feel terrible for ever being doubtful of being on the same tribe as them. Because now I really think I have two more people that I feel I can trust and move with further, which (in the words of the perfect Mrs. Kim Spradlin) means I have options, and I think this can guarantee a spot for me at merge and a really good group to make some moves with that isn't as obvious to people. If we were to go to tribal, I think my target would be Connor which should be an easy vote given his general lack of activity on the tribe thus far, but I'm also not against the prospect of blindsiding Ali as I think there's a chance he has that Apis idol and I'm certain he has a few tricks up his sleeves.

okay soooo i have two LONG video confessionals uploading from the last two days but wow stuff is happening... so first off, the nuThoth tribe voted off... AJ?! which is so unexpected, that shakes up the game completely, like now it means the game is changed... it means the brawn four on this tribe sticking together is a really bad idea, and it just... everything has changed. i'm so so glad jake has survived, which keeps one good ally in on nuThoth. I'm still scared of Augusto/Amir/Kendall/Scott, but hopefully one will go if they go to tribal again? idek but yeah a lot of this will be repeated in my video, but god is a woman. and her name is autumn, i called with autumn for TWO HOURS yesterday and it was a transcendent experience, i literally love her so much. and it was such a good conversation, like i 100% overshared but it was great to kinda link up... i talked to her about adam (more on him later), she filled me in on the brain hot goss and she is of course someone i want to stick with. on this tribe, the two i feel best about are tj and autumn - tj i was SO mean to at the start but i actually get really good energy from him now? i really want to solidify something with him, i definitely want to stick wit him. jordan i think trusts me a lot but for some reason i continue to have anxiety about him (but he is a good shield in a merge situation). i for some reason get really good vibes from connor? i think i would love to talk to him more (will pm him today) - i think connor gives off good vibes and particularly since adam's conspiracy of a beauty illuminati is over i think i could trust him a lot? we haven't spoken much but he has really good ally potential imo. adam is a tricky one. for some reason i do NOT trust him. he is in EVERYONES pms peddling this same narrative and is just doing a lot? i think he is a real slippery player, and i feel like he is a fish who if we release into the ocean of a merge tribe we will never get back? i have such anxiety about him making it far so i'd love for him to go as soon as possible. its tough tho because now that a beauty majority voted off a beauty, i feel like the brawn four on this tribe need to do similar? so maybe i need to vote off liam? its just annoying because i trust liam, and i'd LOVE to get adam out but i dont see the numbers to pull that off. so i feel like we have to vote liam to give ourselves wiggle room as brawn players, but from there idk... because i want adam GONE grrrrrrrrrr its frustrating. hopefully we win this challenge, and the other tribe has another chance to get rid of someone... like the less decisions i have to make the better at this point i take it back jordan is so sweet, he is like a teddy bear... its just whether he is a care bear or lotso from toy story

i cant remember what my last confessional said so im just gonna start with last tribal: aj got voted out ........ of all the false beautys it had to be him the ONE who actually was nice to me and was the whistleblower on that main alliance? when i said it'd ironically beautiful to me to see one of the beautys voted out he was NOT any of the ones i was talking about then we get our next immunity and oh would you look at that... THREE people have to sit out meaning there's gonna surely be another chat with 5 people in it to say lets vote adam out AGAIN.......as soon as i saw this challenge my ptsd immediately was triggered and i was trying SO hard to sound like i wanted to be in one of the things even if i wouldnt have been good at it just so i could rest easy but it didnt really work out, in fact the highlight of the challenge was actually me and duncan and our contribution of sitting on the sidelines looking pretty while they all flopped but bless their hearts at least they tried, so now we're going back to tribal, and again i didnt compete in immunity which apparenly is cause for a target now so ... im HOPING that doesnt happen again, and if it does then i probably deserve to go home! i was kinda just.... not in the mood to talk to anyone much of yesterday or even today just because um.... i didnt want to dfakdfs mostly due to that dumb bitch DeDe Pressión just making me wanna do nothing but lay in bed and torture myself by watching more real survivor but i woke up today in a better mood, the moods they come and they go, much like me i love being elusive so hopefully people just dont think im like such dumb bitch who doesnt wanna talk or whatever, because believe it or not the gorls can be so hateful over you not being able to recite their whole life story back to them at the final triabl! they ripped me to shred my first season because i couldnt tell them so and so had a purple sheep back on the farm in late october 2007 like gorl plea .... so yeah ive been trying to talk to more people today to compensate, not sure where it will go, it did reassure me a bit that liam messaged me like RIGHT after the challenge and began already saying stuff about connor like ooh gorl michael_jackson_i_love_this_song.gif, but i just need to be careful because i dont want to seem like im the one controlling the vote, because odds are im gonna get made to look a fool and ill go home, or be left in the dark, but im gonna try to have slightly more faith in these people and hope they're buying what im selling, because it's pretty good stuff, i just want to feel like im the most expensive iphone in the store you know, like i want to be able to say im building relationships nonetheless and will make people come running to ME with information but who knows. I'm either playing decently and in a good spot right now, or im a fucking delusional schizophrenic so im hoping tribal reveals something like that one way or another. at least if i get voted off i can stop letting this game stress me the HELL out in the middle of a fucking pandemic

When AJ leaves and you can trust your new alliance with the beauties and Jakey https://media.tenor.com/images/b4c2f5c658c1d3ade7e506ee7ffe3c5e/tenor.gif When you win your first tribal immunity challenge of the season https://i.imgur.com/8xzlbRW.gif When you don’t have to see Alyssa and Jess at tribal https://media.giphy.com/media/6nuiJjOOQBBn2/giphy.gif My tribe when I get to go to bed early because I don’t have to stay up stressing about tribal https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/58c16a15208b4945c3920cf0/master/w_1600%2Cc_limit/nicole-kidman-seal-clap.gif

Second tribal of the game for me and I am feeling good once again. i see myself in a position where I dont think i am being targeted and I really just have room to grow and form my social relationships. I feel bad for connor cause I think he will be going home barring anything crazy happening. He was someone I wanted to work with going into this game, but ill be honest his social game is just abysmal he needs to talk to people more. I originally thought he was just not talking to me cause he assumed we were good but apparently everone feels like they cant have a convo with him. Its way too early for me to do something crazy and deviate so I think hes gonna be blindsided tonight. Maybe I want to lock down a final 2 with TJ soon im starting to trust him more and more and hopefully he feels the same way. Im pretty confident that were gonna merge at 12 because thats the first time my legacy advantage is coming into play but im not sharing that information, that power is as locked to the chest as can be I will not tell a soul all game about it, thats how you become a fan favourite game changer sierra dawn thomas and I will not be her, married to joe anglim what a thought. Im off focus, either way Ive talked a lot about feeling very rocky in this game so far and feeling like I havent found my footing, but Im getting a foundation built now and once I get going, theirs no stopping me.

Is it seriously only Day 14..? Ugh, this game drags on for so, so long. Tonight is gonna be deja vu of Kvaloya in which I once again send home Connor, hopefully unanimously again. I respond to his fucking messages, and he's doing his best Amanda Kimmel "go girl, give us nothing!" impersonation right now. It's ANNOYING. I can't work with someone who does this!

oh duncan. oh duncan duncan duncan. every single time we play together you underestimate me as a player and it is infuriating? so this time you don't want an alliance with me? that's fine... but don't think i wont find out. i'm literally my blood is boiling that he thinks he can get away with this... grr. but also i love autumn for telling me, it shows me i can trust her and we are gonna go the distance. anyway so i do think connor is going to leave tonight and me freaking out will only make it me instead... so i will go with it. but now im waiting to see what jordan and tj say... and to see if they tell me. i dont think tj will tell me, but i do think jordan BETTER. i'm defending him to autumn, so he owes me plus he says we are a duo so he better JKASLDFAF. so now? i feel like i need to trust adam and stop being so nervous to trust him... he is on the bottom with me and we need to flip this upside DOWN. if me/adam link up, that will be good... because im not down to be stuck on the bottom for more than a vote... being on the bottom is how to go home and that's not my thing

So now that the vote is looming, I think that we have it fully on Connor now. Duncan and I came up with the fake vote of Adam which Connor seemed to take? Although he's asking questions that seem fishy, so let's just hope he buys it. And Duncan and I made an alliance of me, him, Jordan, and Autumn which is perfect to have going into merge. I still need to figure out how best to integrate the two so that they can know Jakey is going to work with us but not enough so that they don't know that me/Jakey/Jordan also have an alliance together. But this is awesome going into the next round, and I'm just praying that we don't see an idol played, because that would be DISASTER!

the way i've called adam shady for days and days and now i trust him one of the most? wow a growth arc. i'm still heated about duncan. he is SOO likable and charismatic, and is someone who is genuinely always just fun to play with? so him being in this gamebot really dry state is so frustrating because ik if he just relaxed and let his natural personality out he would snap?! he is just so fixated on doing well this season that he is getting in his own way (at least imo, but this is coming from mr im not in an alliance so im bitter KJSAFD). so anyway now that duncan is not a viable ally anymore, i need to solidify the other connections... and i think adam and autumn are the move. adam is clearly just desperate for allies and while he is over-eager, i think he is earnest so ill stop being paranoid about him. autumn is just a queen and a goddess so im gonna stick with her too... liam is lovely too... i just want duncan OUTTTTTTTTTTT he will not get away with this, i am the meddling kid(s) who will ruin his plans... will duncan go to the end as the gamebot leader... well... https://gph.is/2dmg9hV

also can i just say i love tj?! like i sent duncan very similar messages about feeling like i've been out of it, and the difference in their responses is remarkable: tj: I think everyone understands that you haven't been 100% the last few days, so I doubt anyone is going to fault you for that. And everyone knows that it's a game, real life does come first. like... sweet, supportive without being patronising? validating duncan: and i don't think things have really kicked off over here yet, i think its going to be an "easy vote" but we'll see what happens duncan.... immediately to game, almost his own conversation... i'm... over it?

well we have tribal in just a few hours, and tonight it's gonna be pretty clear cut in the sense that, ill finally have answers because um it's either gonna be me or connor ive been doing my best to lead this smear campaign against him, only because he made the wrong move by coming for me first and continuing to lie to my face about it so at this point i wish i felt bad but i dont. I could be completely delusional but I do think it's working because people have come to ME first and said they want to vote connor, because of both what i was saying and because he just hasnt been talking to many people besides right after the challenge so like... people can see how transparent that is pls also because MULTIPLE people have approached me first today telling me he plans on voting me out so unless they're specializing in some hardcore reverse psychology...i think i have a shot at it being 7-1 connor but once again i literally could be being made out to be a whole ass goof and not even know. or even worst have got all the numbers on my side but then get idol'ed out fdhaskj both very likely scenarios because things never seem this easy in this game ive been trying my best to get to know people and i feel like im slowly connecting more with some of them, so i guess tonight at tribal will be a test on those relationships because all the people ive been talking to will either, believe me, trust me, and wanna play with me, or theyre gonna listen to connor and vote me out, and honestly if they vote me out over him then i completely deserve to go home because clearly im doing something wrong my biggest fear is im hoping i havent come off too strong trying to play by painting this narrative of the old hathor's and connor being so against me, because while yes obviously i want connor gone for my own reasons, the trick is i dont want people to think im leading a charge against him (even tho i absolutely am) because i dont want that kinda target on me but truly who the fuck knows, i could very well go home but idk. this game is like walking into a serial killer convention and trying to stay alive, that's how i feel like im putting my faith in the hands of killers, it's making a bitch shook so i guess we'll see but in a perfect world..... connor will leave....which may look bad because of old tribe lines, but im really trying to wor any magic i have to where me being the only beauty on this tribe would be beneficial for me to hopefully be sought after by any brawns or brains, but if you ask me old tribe lines are about to be nonexistent. even though there will be 4 brawns next round, ive been trying to connect to some of them in the hopes that theyll ditch any old alliance they have to work with me but only time will tell so um yeah keep me in your thoughts and prayers pls

Not gonna lie, I haven't done much of anything this round but I don't mind it! Sometimes I just wanna be a lazy bitch yknow? But yeah, Thoth FINALLY beat its 0 challenge wins curse and we won immunity which I am thankful for given tribal would've been extremely messy? With the Kendall vote last round (which I think was Jakey or Jakey telling Dan to do so), who knows what would've been the outcome! Yay for safety <3

hiiiii no video because i no longer want to do them. let the record show that i was the 1st to say adam's name, if he goes, i did that. if i go, i did that.  

i didn't make a confessional this round and tribal is about to start! im going to expect connor to go but this would be a shitty last confessional if i go home tonight. I'm hoping to establish trust within this new tribe. Wish me luck! XOXO Gossip Girl. also my dog just ate the cake i left on the counter >.> thats why im late.

I can't give y'all a real confessional right now cause Cagayan has me screaming but I believe Connor is going home 7-1 and I gave the green light to an alliance I plan on turning on whew so see y'all soon

So basically, tribal happened, beauties lost a number unanimously, theres pros and cons to this. Pros: ppl think the idol left, beauty is less threatening, we show loyalty to more people and build relationships. Bad: someone lied. that kendall throw away vote was to ensure a beauty went home in case aj played an idol, and everyone claims it wasnt them, so someone on this tribe has a case of the LIE-ABETES. * anyway, here is Shit I learned today aka dirt on ppl: 🎃Devon - told me that dan was afraid of an all beauties thing 🎃Jakey - told me dan Ali him and Jordan were a majority - told me Ali has the idol - told me Ali is a rat who warned lovelis - called Adam annoying and ugly - said he wants Devon out next - thinks Devon voted kendall 🎃 scott - told me Devon screwed him over and got himself voted out on brains - told me autumn and Duncan are a duo 🎃 Dan - told jakey that he thinks the brains tribe voted kendall to divide beauty and brawn 🎃 kendall - hidden secret alliance with Jakey - hates dan 🎃 augusto - super close with Devon - wants to blindside Jakey - thinks Jakey is the kendall vote 

[lovelesswiki]

Post-Moonless predictions— Septimal Moons’ endgame (10/10)

previous part<–[end]

for the last week or so, i’ve been talking about a large theory i’ve been writing. since finishing it, i’ve decided to publish it in parts, since it’s actually about 10 different theories all on one subject. since it’s all written out, i’ll try to be publishing one part of this per day.

essentially, this is a set of theories about what i believe will have to happen in order to properly lead up to a climax–the one we’ve been building up to for years and years now. so, these are what i theorize will happen after the first moonless vs beloved battle, broken up into ten different parts. each theory is explained and theres images for each one.

table of contents (bolded is the post you’re looking at):

moonless and beloved will rematch (1)

soubi will fall into a deep depression and possibly become suicidal (2)

ritsuka will arrive at seven voices, SM’s activity will be revealed (3)

SM will reveal that there was a mole in their organization (4)

kio will be the one to take ritsuka to goura (5)

ritsuka will find things out about soubi and the aoyagi family (6)

SM’s true purpose will be revealed. ritsuka will have to make a decision about good vs evil (7)

seventh SM member will be revealed (8)

nagisa will find out what really happened to sanae (9)

ritsuka will be asked to join SM to fill the aoyagi seat (10)

Theory: ritsuka will be asked to join the septimal moon council and will be faced with the choice of either leaving his childhood behind or letting the council fall apart without him. he will not make this choice by the time of the rematch.

this is the last point im making here, because everything else anything after this will be preparation for the rematch. there’s no other exposition to be had, and the story needs to lead to a climax (or at least, one of many) after this. the mysteries and loose ends need to be tied up and put to rest because anything after this has to be new information or focus on new relationship dynamics (ie seimei and ritsuka wherein ritsuka views seimei as ‘evil’, soubi and ritsuka wherein soubi is actively suicidal)

something that’s pretty heavily ignored in loveless is the fact that SM has been after ritsuka since the beginning. it actually wasn’t ritsuka who started going after them first. SM sent teams after ritsuka and didnt seem to know that he’d have soubi with him, hence why they sent breathless, a very low-level team that was not equipped in the slightest to go up against soubi and ended up getting crushed by him–twice.

in total, four teams were sent. breathless, who were battled twice, sleepless, male zero, and female zero, all increasing in difficulty. fearless was sent by seimei and nisei and beyond that, all the battles that follow are a direct result of the incident at seven voices. SM specifically sent four teams, though.

–and what’s more is that septimal moon sent those teams to retrieve ritsuka. not to kill him.

the logical conclusion is that SM wants something from ritsuka. the stipulation with the teams seems to be that if ritsuka’s team loses, then they ‘capture’ him and return him to SM, rather than killing him, sending him away, or leaving him alone. this is confirmed later on, when in wisdom resurrection, ritsuka is asked to come to goura. this is even further expanded upon when they get to goura and ritsu and the others seem to want something to do with ritsuka and how nagisa talks with seven about how ritsuka has finally arrived. this is all interrupted, though, of course, by ritsuka’s older brother barging in on the party and making everything go to shit and effectively putting off whatever it was that SM had to do with ritsuka by gorging out the eyes of a member, ‘kidnapping’ another, kidnapping soubi’s best friend, wrecking school buildings, hurting students, and stealing 30% of the data that SM had. obviously, SM had to do damage control after this instead of conducting a meeting with ritsuka about things.

in one of my previous points, i talked about how there doesnt seem to be an age limit when it comes to SM, as mikado is 14 and seimei was 17, and both seem to have been on the council for a few years. who’s to say that a 12 year-old couldn’t be on the council? it actually seems plausible to me, considering the facts.

the fact of the matter is that aoyagi is an open seat currently. even if hes not dead, seimei has been completely removed from the council.

septimal moon is an organization. a council. they vote on things. they need seven members on the board to run correctly, or else one of the sectors/branches isn’t getting run by someone. right now, theres a seat that no one has. and that seat belongs to the aoyagi family, who happens to have a son who has never sat on the council before, is alive, and is a sacrifice. he fits the requirements, and SM has been trying to meet with him since the beginning of the manga.

what im trying to say here is that the most logical course of action for septimal moon is to ask ritsuka to take the open seat on the council.

theres nothing else SM can do. seimei has a death warrant and is the cause of every single problem the council is having right now and the person who had the seat before him is either dead or retired, and i doubt you can have the seat back if you meet either of those two conditions. SM needs that first seat filled, and maybe part of their dysfunction as a group is that they dont have a full council and are missing a seventh member. regardless, theyve been trying to fill this seat for a while now, and now, in the timeline ive set up for these predictions, ritsuka is back in goura and there’s no better time to ask him to take the seat than now, when he knows about the history of the board and the purpose of the council and what the responsibilities would be.

the very last thing that needs to happen before the climax of the story (or the first of many) of ritsuka confronting his brother and soubi, is ritsuka being asked to replace his brother.

this means a lot of things for ritsuka.

first, up until now, ritsuka’s been a bit different from other sacrifices we’ve seen, but not in the same way that seimei is ‘different’ from other sacrifices. biologically and powers-wise, ritsuka seems to be the same as any other sacrifice. however, there is one caveat: ritsuka is very clearly rooted in the ‘normal’ world. he goes to normal school, partakes in normal activities, and has normal friends. up until now, hes been a total stranger to the fighter-sacrifice world. for the entirety of his life that he can remember (a whole 3 or so years), ritsuka has lived a fairly normal life (aside from the horrible abuse at home) without magical violent people in it. because of this, so far he has not functioned well in the fighter-sacrifice world and does not seem to share the same societal expectations and ideals that most people in that world do.

soubi, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. soubi knows nothing other than the fighter-sacrifice world and for as long as he can remember, aside from his foggy memory of his parents, has partook only in that world. it’s his entire life, and his entire identity. soubi has lived a life where people have always been hostile and violent towards him and hes always had to be the same for them (the source, i suspect, of soubi’s notoriously short temper). because of this, so far he has not functioned well in the normal world and does not seem to share the same societal expectations and ideals that the majority of people do. he is completely inept outside of the fighter-sacrifice world and occasionally seems frustrated or depressed that he’s not like other people and can’t be like other people. this will come into play at the end.

making this decision would mean that ritsuka has to step out of the normal world. he can still function in it a bit, but not like he used to. the council would become his life, and he would become extremely important to the fighter-sacrifice world and have a lot of responsibility on his hands. he would have to trade his identity of being a regular elementary school/middle school child in for being a government council seat holder. he would no longer be allowed to live the life he currently leads.

going along with that is the second problem: ritsuka would have to grow up.

as i stated above, ritsuka would be forced to give up his identity as a child and take on enormous responsibility. he’s a mature kid, sure, but this goes beyond that. ritsuka would have to completely trash his childhood and go right into adulthood and go to a place where he is treated like an adult all the time without having time to gradually grow up and get used to it. he’d have to do it all at once, and he’s have to learn very quickly, and he’d be throwing a huge part of his childhood away.

i want to bring this back to soubi again, because soubi didn’t have a childhood, either, and it was because he was forced to grow up fast to take on the responsibility to be a tool to be used by someone else for their own purposes. soubi did not have a childhood. his childhood ended the day his parents died.

im sure you can probably see by now where im taking this.

this is a huge decision to make, and i dont expect ritsuka to leave goura having made it. i expect him to want to seek counsel from someone who’s had a lot of experience with SM, but is not part of the counsel, as well as having been in the world their entire life. someone ritsuka actually trusts and someone hes able to actually get advice from.

hes going to try to seek advice from soubi.

this is assuming soubi is still alive at this point, which might be a 50-50 chance. if he is, soubi is going to urge against it as much as he allows himself, too. soubi wants out of this world. he’s discussed retiring. he’s discovered a family. he has people he enjoys being around. and ritsuka becoming part of SM would cause him to be wrapped right back up into everything he wanted to get away from.

and his reasons arent all selfish, either. he sees ritsuka’s everyday life. he can probably figure out that ritsuka needs a childhood and he would be miserable if he left his place in the normal world. so he’s going to urge ritsuka not to do it.

then ritsuka will be left with a choice that is his to make.

the way it is now, SM is dysfunctional enough that it’s bound to quickly fall apart. theres a chance–a good one–that regaining a seventh council member would mend the broken enough to make things work again. things could get back into working order again and the fighter-sacrifice world would remain as is.

as is, ritsuka’s normal life is good, aside from his mother. he has friends. he has a chosen family. he does well in school. hes happy.

so either ritsuka can choose to let SM fall apart, or he can choose to give up his happiness.

[2018chicagoteentour]

Heading home...

This was my first time going to Chicago and it has been amazing. Even though it was only for a couple of days, I feel like we got to see and experience so much. Participating in the community service was fun because we all got to work together with people we didn’t know and make the community look better. I appreciate you, Dr. Mike, for providing a way to get that much needed knowledge into our heads. You either share what you have learned, or you get someone else to share what they have learned or you take us to a museum where we can get it for ourselves. We don’t have any excuse for not learning anything on Dr. Mike’s service learning tours. -Bridgett

The Chicago Trip was an great experience for me. I got to experience an awesome city life and see all of the people, restaurants, and the stores. This Chicago trip was my first time in Chicago. I was nervous at first to go but after this trip my feelings had changed a lot. I don't see a dangerous filled city anymore I see a beautiful city that is in need in help. Also I would love to come back one day. -Marcus

Although I have traveled to many places before, this was the first time I have been to Chicago. It really changed my perspective of how I look at Chicago and other places that have a bad rep. I want to thank everyone who put his trip together. I met some new people and I feel that trips like this help connections throughout life. Doing things like this help better my college transcript and help me do great things in life. -Joshua

This trip overall was a very amazing experience. I’ve always been told you have to give blessing to recieve them, and to recieve them isn’t even the important part. Always do the right thing and give back to those who are not as fortunate at you. God doesnt want Chicago to have a bad image, and neither should we. The difference starts with us. Thank you again for this opportunity. -Dylan

An experience it was being my first time going on this trip, let alone Chicago. We  first arrived to help the south side community of Chicago and their church was very welcoming. The community services were a test of grit and perseverance, the college tours were blankets of knowledge. I felt welcomed by the new people I have been able to experience this trip with. -Linda

I have been fortunate enough to have gone to Chicago before, but I was at the age of 6 or 7 years old so I don’t remember majority of the details about my experience. Over these past few days I have had the opportunity to volunteer and give back to a community that possibly was suffering. Also, I was given the opportunity to gain more information about the colleges and universities in Chicago and Tennessee and to gain information about the city of Chicago and its history. I feel as if we the people were to come together as a community and do more activities like this we could impact the world for the greater. Most of us know the representation Chicago has been given over the years and I believe that this weekend we have seen Chicago for it’s true nature. I will definitely help out more in the city of Atlanta once I get home. Thanks again for the experience I appreciate it and I have enjoyed it. -Dean

Truly a remarkable experience WeCCAAN18 - Chicago. Three days of service-learning, civic engagement and purposeful discussion. This installment, like all others provides such a one in a life time experience for all involved. There’s a clear difference in the growth of the group from Day 1 to Day 3. This year’s installment to Chicago has its ups and downs but the sacrifice for a greater purpose makes it all worth it. Being a recent graduate of Morehouse College, I understand the importance of developing today’s generation into leaders and at the end of this program I can affirm that every single student and adult has gain something that will change the direction of their life. The impact on the students that Dr. Weaver has craftily design this experience to be is profound. I truly can’t put into words how much this year’s trip to Chicago (and all the places we visited and people I came in contact with) has impacted me, it’s just something you have to experience for yourself. Thanks for everything you do Dr. Weaver. -Diego

I loved this WeCCAAN service learning tour, I have never been to Chicago before and I was interested in going to see it in comparison to how it is shown on tv.  Chicago is beautiful, busy, and fast! One thing I learned is that the people here love their state, and try to show you what the real Chicago is and it's definitely not what I expected. The community service showed me how caring Chicago people are, volunteering with the church hand in hand with the church members was the highlight of this trip for me. Finally, spending time with these young teens is incredible, every year I get to learn from them. Thank you Dr. Mike for all your hard work to make this possible. -Rania

This trip to Chicago has truly been an eye-opening experience. I had never been to the city of Chicago and so many of the preconceived notions I had about the city were dispelled as we progressed through our journey. Learning about Mayor Harold Washington’s inspiring career and many accomplishments was definitely one of the chief highlights of the trip. Stories like his inspire me to go further and do more in the world. I also throughly enjoyed visiting the very diverse set of colleges and universities. Most of my serious college searching experience was completed in the state of South Carolina and so it’s always good to see out-of-state institutions as I search for graduate schools. However, my favorite part of the trip by far was spending time volunteering with the Progressive Beulah Pentecostal Church. Working to improve communities, at home and abroad, is one of my most intense passions and so having the opportunity to work with such a phenomenal group on such a worthwhile cause really filled my heart. Volunteering, sight-seeing, eating and fellowshipping with all the adults and teens on the trip was an experience I won’t soon forget. Everything did not go as planned but we adapted and carried on. I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone that came together to make this trip happen and all who were able to share in this experience with me. -Daniel A

Chicago was more than I expect! First time visiting the city. The community work was great, rewarding and appreciated by the people! The history was rich, educational and inspiring. The WECCAAN Family is always great! Thanks to Dr. Mike and all the donors. The experience of a life time! And I look forward to the next year. It also inspires me to look for more when I do my family vacation! It’s more than a trip for fun. -Daniel

Overall these past couple days I had a good time. It was a very informative trip. At the same time it was very fun. Although it was a business trip I had fun doing the work, and helping the community. I met lots of new people and made strong bonds. Lastly, I would like to give a big thanks to Dr. Mike for providing me with opportunity and hope to do this again next year. -Bascia

When I go on these trips, I like to take in the architecture of the buildings and the surroundings. I like to compare it the surroundings of my community in Aiken. I thoroughly enjoy seeing the returning teens and witnessing their growth. My favorite part of each trip is the introductory and concluding messages from the attendants. It’s amazing how you can see the growth in such a short period of time. -TeShania

First time experiencing Chicago and very grateful that it was a mission of love and education. It provided a moment of growth for me and my family resulting in an indelible imprint. This experience is a seed that will impact countless lives as each of us takes it and finds even more ways to pay it forward. Truly an experience of a lifetime. -Rubin

I just wanna say I enjoyed the trip and I learned a lot from our culture and giving back to the community. -Iterrius

As my first time on a WeCCAAN mission, and just as important, my first time in Chicago, I had an incredible experience. Despite the rainy days, the unavoidable delays here and there, it was quite fulfilling, perhaps more fulfilling because of the bumps here and there. It also teaches our young people how to adapt and overcome. We all learned, really put in the sweat and physical labor to provide service for a community, and we were all exposed to new settings and perspectives. It was simply a great time that I am thankful, double thankful, for our donors to make possible. Overall, we need to continue to be aware that our gracious host, Dr. Mike does this of his own free time, time he could spend with his family. Something to reflect on, and to keep us inspired to continue our mission of community service. -Warren

This was a very hands-on experience because I got to see and witness firsthand a lot that I wouldn’t have otherwise if I would have stayed in my current state. I thought the work we did around the three homes by church was an excellent example of how to work together in a team. Mr. James talking to us about knowing our facts made me realize that there were actually misconceptions about Chicago being the city with the highest crime/murder rate, when in fact St. Louis WAS the city with the highest rate. The library and museum visits were very educational because I never realized how much black history was tied into the history of Chicago. The trip to the beach helped me understand how much we impact the community. This was an inspiring experience because I got to see the chaperones learn and it was an excellent demonstration of how learning never stops. It was also very inspiring to see how many other volunteer groups were in Chicago at the time, and it gives me more motivation to come back and do more volunteer work on my own time. -Daniel M

I have never been to Chicago but it was an awesome trip. My thoughts of it were different before I came here because whenever I hear about Chicago it’s something always about African American people and I didn’t know that Caucasian people lived there but it was interesting. I wish we could’ve toured DePaul university because the campus seemed big. It looks fun because of their festivals and interactions the students have with the school. -Jordan

Whew, Chicago showed me a totally different side than what I have always seen on the news and in media. I had never been to Chicago before, and probably wouldn’t have thought about going any time soon if it had not been for this great opportunity with WeCCAAN. I never knew Chicago was so full of history, our history as African Americans. Everything was truly mind-blowing to me. I really enjoyed hearing the pastor’s background in person. I love doing community service and helping others when I can. People will really get to see the impact that we left in that neighborhood, and I feel great about that. I have learned a massive amount of helpful information on this service learning tour. WeCCAAN helps me to strengthen my communication and outreach skills as well as being able to work with people I do and don’t know to accomplish the same goal. I am truly glad I had the opportunity to come and I thank each and every donor for making this tour possible! -Kristen

This Chicago trip was a great one. I’m thankful I got the opportunity to take this trip and help out the city of Chicago. Seeing the city of Chicago was a great experience and i never thought it was that nice. The magnificent mile was a real eye opener for me because I never knew it existed. The African American library was a good history lesson for me. Showed me first hand how far we have a come. I really enjoyed the museum because it had a lot of art and I have a love for art so seeing the different types of art was very inspiring. Thank you Dr. Weaver and I hope next year will be just as good as this one. -Jayden

I would like to start off by thanking Dr.Weaver again. This was my first time going to Chicago and I was able to take away a lot of valuable information. This trip has impacted me a lot because it informed me on the history of my people and culture. Today being able to   just visit the colleges and read the history on them it enlightened me on more things in history. Hearing about the city from Mr. James Gallman Jr. the stereotype of the city was completely removed from me. I am awfully grateful that I was able to attend and I’m looking forward to coming again next year. -Roderick T

The Windy City has definitely been the highlight of my summer, this was my first time in Chicago and it was nothing like how I thought it would be. I love how we went to the not so nice area in Chicago first to make it better before we went to the nice area. The tours and the museum helped me understand how amazing Chicago is and even though every city is not perfect, Chicago is better than what others portray it to be. Even though the Tennessee portion of the trip was cut short, I still like how we got to visit colleges that could be options for us one day. Thank you so much for this opportunity! -Kaitny

These trips that I have been able to take part in over the past two years have really made a difference. I love being able to go and help, especially with people or communities who aren't as fortunate. This group also allow me to take part in something I wouldn't normally do. In a way these trips have changed my views on certain aspects of life, and really make me want to take part in more things like this. -Bobby

Going to lake view Chicago was very eye opening. I did not know that it was that segregated. It seemed when we walked down the streets eyes were following us everywhere. But I enjoyed it over all getting to help clean up as much as we could. Hope fully next time we will have more time. -Jaden

I had a great experience in Chicago. They always told me that Chicago was a bad area, but i will say its one of the greatest cities I’ve ever been to. I learned a lot on my history and where blacks went thru back then. I thank Dr.mike for making a way for us. Even tho we didn’t stay in a five star hotel, I appreciate Dr.mike for making a way for us to sleep. The community service was fun. I’m so grateful be to apart of this trip. THANKS MR.WEAVER

Well I’ve never been to Chicago before. It was a good learning experience I didn’t expect Chicago to be the way I saw it. I thought Chicago was gonna be bad , shooting and just violence everywhere but I was wrong. The city of Chicago is a great place to go I haven’t visited the south side but the up north is not a bad place. I just also want to say thank you doc. Mike for letting me be able to attend this program. -Zion

I personally have never been to Chicago. This entire trip impacted me positively in different ways. Having the opportunity to go and volunteer and make some kind of change is better than none at all and it truly excites me to know that we impacted someone’s life. I also enjoyed meeting new people and learning to see their views on certain situations because it made me more open minded. All together I am so thankful I had the chance to go on such an amazing trip and I look forward to joining in the years to come. -Destynei

Today was filled with mixed emotions. It was so inspiring to learn and laugh alongside all of the youth and adults over the past 4 days. It was quite the juxtaposition from when everyone first got on the bus and sat quietly compared to the bus ride home where the air was abuzz with jovial chatter. Everyone was talking to someone and laughing even though they came from different places and states. The closing remarks allowed everyone to express what they learned over the course of the tour and it was bitter sweet to say the least. Teens and adults agreed how transformative this trip was for them and how eager they where to come back next year. And in truth, I am too! -Giovan