#i think about the original tweets so much btw

[nitw]

in honor of two of the greatest tweets of all time

[zuzu-draws]

So after the spoilers for Chap 257 dropped, I saw some tweets clarifying the meaning of the Kanji Sukuna used in the chapter when referring to his mother, and the overall reveals in the chapter got me thinking.

I’m making this post as a way of gathering my thoughts, personal speculations and where I think all of this connects to Sukuna’s character and the information Gege has given us over the years. Nothing I say is by any means new information, but like I said, I’m just collecting my thoughts here. By the way, just a warning, this post contains SPOILERS for the JJK Manga! If you don’t like that, please don’t read this!

Something I’ve noticed is that the theme of “Hunger” and symbolism of “Cooking/Food” is heavily referenced with Sukuna throughout the Manga. Gege in a previous Fanbook has disclosed Sukuna’s favorite Hobby to be “Eating”.

This theme is again very much ingrained within Sukuna’s cursed techniques and even his Domain Expansion, the “Malevolent Shrine”. With his two main techniques being “Dismantle” and “Cleave” are cutting-type attacks. He is also able to use a Flame-Arrow, and Fire is essential for making Food. The Shrine in his Domain Expansion literally has mouths on all sides, looking eager to chew down anything in-front of them!

This symbolism also heavily influences Sukuna’s own manner of speech, and the way he speaks to other characters in the series as well. With his post-fight chat with Jogo before his death, Sukuna mentions Jogo lacking the “Hunger” to take control of his desires, preventing him from reaching the heights of Gojo Satoru. Before the Start of their fight in Shinjuku, Sukuna called Gojo a “Nameless Fish on top of his cutting board”, and that he was going to start by “Peeling off the scales”(refering to Gojo’s infinity). There’s also further symbolism that supports this by analyzing the Kanji and meaning of Sukuna’s “Malevolent Shrine” but I’m not very educated on that so I won’t be opening that point here.

What all of this points to is that Eating and Food……is extremely important to Sukuna, to the point that it literally affects him in manners innumerable.

Eating is an instinct, a necessity for the survival of every single living being.

And In the face of extreme Hunger and starvation, even those with the strongest will could lose their Humanity and revert to the basic animalistic side of their existence. (The Heian Period also had a Famine, although I believe the timing to be a bit off, but do with this info as you see fit)

In JJK Chapter 257, it is revealed to us that Sukuna and his Twin were most likely starving in the womb of their starving mother.

On the brink of starvation, Sukuna had to consume his “other self”(his twin), so that he could survive.

Btw, this tweet and this thread gives additional characterisation to Sukuna:

Link to the original thread: Link.

More context (and reactions :P):

Link to original thread: Here

This reveals to us that indeed, Sukuna was born a twin. And as we all know, “Twins” are seen with extreme scrutiny in Jujutsu Society, they’re not well liked. This too in a period where Cursed Spirits and Jujutsu Sorcery was at its peak, it is not far-fetched to assume that his Mother may not have been treated very well by the people in her surroundings, especially as she bore twins.

When Kashimo asks if Sukuna was born the Strongest or if he made himself the Strongest, this is the response Sukuna gave to him:

When you think about it, how do you think the people around them would have reacted when the woman: who was supposed to birth two twins, gave birth to a single child instead? and that child had consumed his other twin in the womb itself?

No doubt people would’ve been horrified, disgusted and even revulsed. With the woman and her newborn child.

This would’ve led to their further ostracisation in the already very close-minded society. Unable to fend for herself and her newborn child, it must’ve been difficult for Sukuna’s mother to survive. I feel like somewhere along the line, Sukuna was left alone to fend for himself at an extremely young age. To protect himself from both Curses and Society alike.

This is why I believe Sukuna knows what true starvation, weakness and hunger feels like. Both in the emotional and literal sense. He was left without another person caring about him or his well-being, in a cut-throat period where it was “Fight or be killed”.

Powerful curses roamed all across Japan, nowhere was safe. Simply be strong, or you'll die. There's no room for weakness. And initially, a kid!Sukuna was weak, as anyone would be in the beginning when they're just starting out in this world. (and maybe, he didn't have much to eat, leading to long periods of starvation? :') )

I believe it is this debilitating hunger, and feeling of weakness that eventually led to Sukuna’s current Hedonistic mindset.

He’s essentially traumatised by it, and believes that it was his own weakness that led him to experience this sheer starvation. That he deserved to feel this way because he was weak then. Perhaps, the people around him were right, that as long as they have the power and strength to overcome anything, they’re free to do as they please; And there is nothing anyone else could do about it.

I feel like the irony here is that Sukuna himself, must’ve been a “weakling” before eventually rising the ranks to become History’s Strongest Sorcerer. This is also why he values Strength so much.

Ultimately, Sukuna has decided that there was nothing more important than being strong enough to fulfill your own desires. And “eating” is one of his most important desires. It’s his favourite thing to do, the one he derives the most pleasure out of. And like an animal, whose main focus is to consume, consume and consume. He too, simply consumes.

Most morals likely have no meaning to him. He doesn’t care who he hurts, what he does, as long as he’s able to get what he wants. And this isn’t limited to eating.

This is why people referring to Sukuna as a “Natural Disaster” is so befitting of him. Because Natural Disasters also don’t care about what or who they’re destroying, they just come and go, wreaking havoc appropriate for their nature and magnitude.

I believe Sukuna himself has said lines similar in nature, when talking to Kashimo:

Now I’m not sure how Sukuna perceives or even experiences this “Love”, because I think he has a rather very warped idea of it. I do think that this definition of love is similar to the one that Gojo also understands, but I don’t think he knows what “love” truly is. I’m not sure how I could comment on this, but I do think that Sukuna’s emotionally starved, whether he realises that or not.

Because, like Kashimo himself asked Sukuna “What is the point of dividing your soul into 20 different parts and then traversing across time if you’re satisfied with this?” we do not know the answer to that yet.

But many people have speculated that “Black Box” panels in JJK manga represent a curse (either self-inflicted or put by someone) on the speaker. Like, take a look over here where Sukuna reiterates the same dialogue, except it looks like he’s trying to reassure himself:

This once again shows that Sukuna has only ever strived for himself, in the same hedonistic fashion, to a very very extreme degree. It is possible that he's been lacking something, and he himself does not realise that he’s lacking it. Maybe it was this subconscious feeling, that led to Sukuna agreeing to Kenjaku’s plan of dividing his soul into 20 different parts, and to traverse across time as a Cursed Object.

Sukuna’s an incredibly complex character, and I’m excited to see where this goes. Gege has put extra care in the way he characterizes and depicts Sukuna, and again, I’m really sad that a lot of that characterization gets lost in translation. Still, I’m going to try my best to understand and get the most accurate feel of his character as I possibly can.

If you made it this far, Thank you for reading! And if you would like, please do leave a comment in the tags or replies because I would love to read what other people think of this and just Sukuna in general. I do not see a lot of people doing critical analysis of him, and a lot of his actions are seemingly swept under the rug. I don’t like that, so hopefully this contributes to people focusing more on Sukuna and his character. (/^v^)/ <3

[sorbetisfruity]

I feel like Neige’s ideal type is a literal princess/prince.

Like he sees you in the forest and you’re sleeping or dozing off and animals and insects are just surrounding you. And they’re not hurting you, they’re admiring you.

And he’s immediately like, “I want them.”

Btw, can y’all tell that I love Neige??? And Vil?? Sorry I write about them sm, but GAGSGVS I love them!!!!

Also this definitely ties into my little imagine I did a week or so ago about Vil being super mad if he ever found out you were close with Neige. This is how you two originally met!!!!

ᶻ𝗓 ���✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓𐰁✰

You sigh as you step foot in the forest, feeling the wind blow through your hair.

You hear birds chirping and fluttering in the trees, and squirrels and rabbits skittering about.

Finally you get to hear something other than a boring lecture or Crowley.

Why are you here, you ask?

After some much needed begging from you (and your friends and teachers) Crowley is letting you have a week long break from school.

And thank the great seven for that, because god do you need it.

I mean, with 4 overblots back to back, and practically being the school therapist and Crowley’s lovely assistant…?

Yeah you’re definitely a little stressed. And you definitely deserve a break.

A break from school and everyone else.

Your goal today was to not talk to any of your friends. You love them but god, they can be a bit…obnoxious sometimes.

As you walk and think to yourself, you come across a clearing in the woods.

The clearing is covered in plush, green grass. Flowers of all colors grow around it, making it look like a bed meant for a fairy. The sun hits the clearing as well, making the grass just warm enough for a nap.

It looks like a scene from a fairytale!!

..a little nap wouldn’t hurt, right?

….

…right.

You stretch as you step over the flowers, not wanting to break or hurt them. And as you lay down onto the grass, you sigh contently.

This patch of grass was more comfortable than your actual bed back at Ramshackle!!

You close your eyes, listening to the buzzing of the bees around you as you fall asleep…

And as you snoozed away, animals gathered around you, looking at you as if you were some foreign being.

A butterfly lands softly on the tip of your nose, as a couple more cuddle up into your hair.

A rabbit nudges your hand, before cuddling up into your arm.

A doe lays at your feet, and a couple of cardinals and blue jays perch upon a branch by your head, chirping curiously.

You were surrounded and loved by animals and insects of all kinds, yet you didn’t stir from your slumber.

But suddenly, a twig broke, releasing a loud crack throughout the once silent forest.

The animals and insects turned their heads and came face to face with a boy in white.

The boy was young looking, short and had black hair. His skin was fair and well, to put it simply, he was absolutely gorgeous.

With big brown eyes and a round face, he looked as innocent and as sweet as can be.

“Why, hello there birdies!” He spoke softly, yet excitedly as the birds tweeted happily and landed on his out stretched hand.

“How are you guys doing today?”

The birds chirped in response, turning their heads towards you. Who, somehow, was still asleep despite the amount of animals around you.

“Oh..? And who..who is this?” The boy in white spoke softly once again, kneeling down and moving some hair out of your face.

He blushed softly, realizing that one, you’re sleeping, and two?

…you are absolutely ethereal..

“Who are you?..you look oh so..familiar?” You look like someone he’d see in a dream. A dream where he met a beautiful princess/prince and practically married them on the spot.

He touched your face with his hand. He touched you softly and delicately, as if you were made of porcelain.

Your skin was soft and flushed, a result of Vils skincare routine and the sun brushing against your face like a warm blanket as you slept.

Who were you?…

You stirred in your sleep, eyes slowly opening.

And as you began to wake up, the boy in white jumped up and ran the other direction!! Which startled a couple of the animals around you.

The first thing you noticed when you woke up is that your eyes were covered. And as you came more and more to your senses, you realized a butterfly was sitting upon your nose!!

“Well, good afternoon to you as well Mr. Butterfly.” You hummed, smiling as the butterfly flapped its blue wings happily.

“Here, I’m sure these flowers will be more comfortable than my nose.”

You picked up the butterfly gently and set it on a white flower next to you, giggling as it flew off the flower and instead found comfort on your head.

“Fine, fine. You may lay on me. But I really do think the flowers would be….more..”

You paused, looking around and seeing the surplus of animals surrounding you.

“Uh…when did I inherit a petting zoo?” You giggled to yourself, petting the rabbit softly.

The rabbit thumped the ground with its back paw happily as you pet it, leaning into your touch.

You stared up at the sky, realizing how late it was. Your nap was supposed to be pretty short, but it seemed it ended up a couple hours long.

You sighed, standing up and stretching. Paying no mind to the butterfly’s that flew out of your hair and onto the flowers surrounding you.

“It was nice to meet y’all, but I’ve gotta head back.” You spoke, scratching the doe behind the ear, “as soft as this grass was, I don’t think sleeping outside in the dark would be safe for me.”

You waved goodbye to your newly found animal friends, smiling softly as you began to make the walk back to Ramshackle.

But.

“Oof!” “Woah!”

You bumped into someone, landing on top of them.

“I’m so-” You started, before realizing how close you two were.

One wrong move and you two would definitely…

Ki…

No!!!!

Don’t think about that, this is a stranger!

You frantically scrambled off of the person, standing up and brushing yourself off before apologizing profusely.

As the person stood up, you realized it was a guy.

He was dressed in white, shorter than you, and, to put it simply? He was beautiful.

He probably rivaled Vil!!

(Never tell Vil that.)

He had black hair, a round face, and brown puppy dog eyes.

Overall? Total cutie.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going..” You broke the stare you two were holding, hands waving frantically.

“Oh please, it was all my fault!! Don’t worry. I’m fine. Are you okay?” He asked, his face twisted in concern.

“Of course I’m okay!! I landed on top of you, after all.” Oh My Goddddd why would you say that?!?!

“You probably took most of the hit.” You awkwardly laughed out.

“So, what’s your name? And are you sure you’re okay?” You questioned, breaking the silence.

You didn’t know who he was?

Neige wasn’t one to be egotistical, but he knew he was quite well known around Twisted Wonderland.

If anything he was expecting you to ask for an autograph or something.

But this? Someone who didn’t know him?

Now this was exciting.

And as he heard you talk more, he realized something.

He KNEW you.

No, no, not from a dream.

From the news!! From the papers! From Magicam!!!

You’re-

“*ahem*? Hey dude, you okay? Maybe you did fall a lot harder than we thought…I can take you to the nurse if you’d like!” You interrupted his train of thought, waving a hand in front of his face.

“Oh!!! No, no, I don’t need a nurse. It’s nothing. Just got lost in thought.” Neige giggled out, grabbing one of your hands.

“I’m Neige, Neige Leblanche! Who are you?”

“I’m-”

You’re Y/N L/N, you’re from NRA, and you’re the hero who’s been stopping overblot after overblot since the school year began.

He knows you. And he’s been wanting to meet you the moment he heard about you from Che’nya.

Neige stared at your eyes, getting lost in them as you spoke about yourself.

But he quickly snapped out of it when you asked him a rather interesting question.

“So, do you go to school here? I’ve never seen you around…if you were in a dorm? It’d definitely be Pomefiore. You’re way too pretty to NOT be in there!” You said, making his pale face turn pink.

The prettiest person he’s ever met just called HIM pretty!?!

Now he really thinks he’s dreaming…

“But you’re dressed in white. Kids at NRA don’t tend to wear white. Except for Kalim and me occasionally. And that’s only when Rook and Vil have some little outfits they wanna shove me in!” You joked, giggling to yourself.

“Oh no, I don’t go here! I go to RSA!” He spoke softly, ignoring the fact you knew Vil as he moved closer to you.

“That definitely fits you better,” you laughed again, “you look too nice and act too nice to be in NRA.”

“I could say the same thing about you too, you know.” He said almost immediately, the words slipping out of his mouth as smooth as butter.

Your face flushed, looking at him in surprise before looking away.

“I’d say you look even nicer than I do, Y/N.”

Your face darkened even more, not even daring to look him in the eyes.

Suddenly, you were hyperaware of everything.

Especially how soft his hand was on yours.

How long has he been holding your hand?

It’s so…tense.

Are you always this weird around pretty people?

“Anyways, it’s getting late. And pretty people need their beauty sleep, right? I think it’s time you head home, Y/N.” Neige smiled brightly up at you, moving into the next topic with ease as if he didn’t just fluster you to no end.

“But first!! Give me your number, or at least your Magicam. I wanna talk to you more!! You’re so interesting!”

You’ve told the poor boy practically nothing about yourself other than your name, yet he’s head over heels and ready to try and win you over.

You agreed, wanting to talk to him more too.

After all, there’s no harm in talking to a literal Prince Charming, is there?

“I’ll see you later, Neige. Goodnight, and sweet dreams.” You spoke tiredly, yawning as you began to walk away.

“Goodnight to you as well Y/N!! I’ll text you in the morning! Sleep well!!”

And as you walked back to Ramshackle, Neige couldn’t help but giggle in glee as he stared at your number and Magicam.

(You gave him both. You couldn’t resist his puppy dog eyes:(((( )

He can’t believe he met his princess/prince, it was just like a fairytale he’d read when he was younger.

Now, he just needs to make you fall for him!!

But how?

ᶻ𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁✰ᶻ 𝗓𐰁✰

I always end up making people unintentionally obsessive/possessive:(((

But luckily, I think it fits Neige.

Bro NEEDS his happy ending and he needs it NOW.

[teruthecreator]

(tw for racism, pedophilia, transphobia, child impregnation mention)

yeah idk why y'all read this

i was originally going to just post this and have some tags with my reasonings, but i realized that opens me up to too much bullshit from people who may think i'm being unnecessarily mean or whatever. so i'm going to explain exactly why the screenshots above are something i hold issue with.

firstly, and i just want to get this out of the way, this post is not intended to be a hit piece against the creator. i've seen how she reacts to any mild-mannered or slightly joking criticism, so i know this post is probably going to not land well. but it isn't my intention to make her mad or anything--she's writing a piece of content for the internet, which means she is just as open to criticism as any other poster. and what i intend to go into in this post is criticism. i'm allowed to do this, as that is the nature of the internet. people are allowed to critique whatever they please, and if you don't want critique then you shouldn't post. simple as!

i am also making no attempts to posit myself as better than the creator. i'm not doing this for clout or moral superiority or any of that dumb shit. i simply want to discuss something that's been bothering me for a bit, while simultaneously warning people who haven't read this yet (who may be sensitive to the issues above) to steer clear. if things like casual racism or transphobia aren't properly tagged, then readers who are affected by such things run a risk reading this! same goes with people who are triggered by lewd content involving minors. i wanna make sure people are getting a more critical scope of this work than what has been hoisted up by others.

okay, now that i've gotten that out of the way, i'm going to get into my points.

firstly, the subtle and not-so-subtle racism throughout this fic, especially in relation to serizawa. i'm white, so there is only so much i can speak on without trampling over the words of other fans of color, but some of this feels so blatant it's odd it hasn't been noted earlier. it's important to note before i go into it that serizawa is specifically written as half-black half-japanese for this fic, in case the screenshots don't make it abundantly clear. but there are just too many moments of casual racism in this fic. i'm not talking about the plot point of serizawa being bullied as a kid for being mixed; i'm not mixed, so i can't speak on the accuracy there but it is well-known that black people face a lot of racism in japan. i'm talking about how it seems everyone else has these racist moments that aren't acknowledged by serizawa or the narration as being bad.

reigen hypothesizing over serizawa's exact ethnic background is just strange. yes he's a fairly observant guy (he has to be, with his job), but there is no canonical evidence to suggest he would immediately jump to theorizing whether serizawa is american or not. and the way it's posed in that first quote--"he has darker skin and the kind of hair texture that would likely indicate African ancestry"--is not great. that's an extremely inappropriate way to bring up someone's race. i don't think most people would stare at someone and be like "hmmm well your nose shape and hair texture would suggest you're of this race". it's racial essentialization that is only slightly covered up by the excuse of "oh he tweets in english". there are some other smaller moments of questionable wording, like calling serizawa's afro "sloppy" when it isnt (which btw there's another issue with the creator only referring to an afro as a "fro". it's a hairstyle; you're allowed to use the actual name of it). even if reigen cuts his hair in canon, he never states it's because serizawa's afro looks sloppy. (also there's something to be said about the casual racism baked into making your employee cut his natural hairstyle for a job, as that is a very real issue many black people face when wearing their natural hair or even protective styles in the workplace.)

i'm especially bothered by toichiro's very casual racist remarks. toichiro in this fic is a general bother of mine (most of which can be boiled down to "he would not fucking say that"), but the way she chooses to characterize him in relation to serizawa feels gross. calling a black man a slave should be a very obvious red flag, but also saying serizawa (again, as a black man) has a "brutal masculine appeal" is also extremely stereotypical and racist. and really there is just no need for it; toichiro's actions in canon prove how shitty of a guy he is without the need for him to be racist (along with other things i'll get to in a bit). as my girlfriend put it: he doesn't need to be a member of the fucking kkk to show he's a bad guy.

there's also, again, the very casual racist remark of calling serizawa a "dog". i don't care if that isn't the intent; when you are writing a character of color you need to be aware of your wording, even in insults (unless she intended to make tsuchiya racist, which i don't think she did).

secondly, the eugenics/child pregnancy bit. it is surreal to even have to write this, but i seriously do not understand the purpose of either of these bits in the story. they are so minor yet so jarring you can't help but wonder why they're there. once again, i do not think you need to have toichiro doing esper eugenics just to prove he is an evil guy. he has nuance, and by making him casually reference child pregnancy (like that isn't an INSANE thing to say) reduces that nuance to nothing. that's the only reason i could see why that bit was included: to make toichiro look worse. but, even still, the author is running the risk of potentially triggering victims of csa or people who don't want to see that by not properly tagging the mention of it (or, at the very least, warning readers in the intro notes). the only other explanation for it would maybe be shock factor??? but that's a pretty shitty thing to use for shock factor, if i'm honest. also the fact that the esper eugenics was referenced again in a more recent chapter just has me very disturbed and confused. there isn't a canonical explanation for why we see less espers who are women than espers who are men, but that doesn't mean we need to jump to fucking Eugenics. it's weird!

thirdly (and this is probably one of my biggest problems and the main reason i wanted to make this post), the weirdly lewd/sexual language shou uses constantly, along with referring to reigen as a pedo or a creep at several points. frankly, i think it's pretty fucking gross for someone in their near-40's to be writing a 12-year-old talking so casually about sex like that's normal. which, i'm sorry, but it's not. yes, teens know about sex and like to joke about lewd shit. but a 12-year-old is not about to make references to a grown man's virginity. 12-year-olds draw dicks on their desk bc they think it's funny. 12-year-olds say the word "buttfuck" because it has the words "butt" and "fuck" in it, and those are the two funniest words on earth to a kid that age. i literally do not understand the purpose of having shou be so lewd all the time. for one, it doesn't make sense for his character. shou is shown time and time again to be extremely mature for his age, but that maturity extends to shit like assembling a counter-terrorism unit and extending a hand to his father to allow him to try again. and even then he's still just as naive as any other kid his age! the omake where he's telling his guys to go to the "far right corner" based on ritsu’s advice proves that he still has plenty of blindspots that are indicative of his age. leaning into this raunchy, lewd version of shou is just weird. and, again, i think it is made a bit weirder given the author's age!!! not ageshaming or whatever--i'm 23 and i write fanfic, clearly i cannot judge there--but it is just extremely inappropriate in my opinion. also having shou be more versed in sextalk than serizawa is odd too and speaks to a larger issue of serizawa's infantilzation throughout this fic, but that's something i can get into in another post if people want an explanation.

also, the way she constantly calls reigen a creep and even has him being accused of being a pedophile during the twitter cancellation is extremely inappropriate when, again, there is NO CANONICAL BASIS FOR THIS! everyone just calls him a fraud and a scammer during separation arc; there is never a reference to reigen being seen as a pedophile in that arc. and, yes, while there are versions of mob psycho where reigen is very clearly written as a creep (looking very specifically at the netflix adaptation), that doesn't mean it's good. honestly, the creep mentions all just feel like really poor jokes that do not land in the slightest.

finally, the transphobia (aka WHY IS SHIMAZAKI A CHASER). i literally do not know what else to say other than: why? why is this a thing? why is he a chaser? what is the purpose of this? is it a joke? i feel like it's supposed to be, but seeing as the author is cis i don't think that's a joke she should really be making. it not only comes out of left field, but it's just kind of a weird thing to ascribe to a character for no reason. not to mention, it's uncomfortable! trans women deal with enough creepy antics from cis men in real life--why must they be accosted by this guy too? it's just weird and uncomfortable.

i wanna round out this post by saying, once again, that i'm not trying to attack anyone with this post. but i do hope people come away from this with a new perspective on this work, and maybe think twice before recommending it uncritically to someone. to the author specifically, i hope you can read my post without rage or indignance blinding you. i might be a little blunt or rude in parts, but it's only because i'm passionate and i don't mince my words when it comes to things i'm passionate about. to the readers, understand i am not judging you for reading this fic without noticing these things. your own life experiences will give you certain blindspots and there's nothing wrong with that. i have plenty of blindspots of my own! it's what makes us human.

there is more i could say, but this post is long enough. i ask that if you come to me in my inbox or in dms about this that you treat me with respect, as i will do that for you. writing something like this took a lot out of me, as i'm usually not so open about my opinion on shit like this.

have a good day :-)

[connect-dots7]

S5 Prediction: Will & MIKE'S 7 Confession (letter) + Garage Light Kiss Theory (Alternate/Revised Theory!)

OH. MY. GOD. GUYS! I think I just figured it out for real this time. I connected the two dots before...but i missed the third and final dot. BUCKLE UP B*TCHES.

We all know about my "full-circle garage light flicker theory" where Mike and Will can affect s1 ep1 through the upside-down in s5, and when they kiss the garage light flickers in season 1. Well, in my old theory I said "Will parallels his younger self and says the truth", but NOW I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO BE MIKE.

This comes down to the letter. I used to think Mike's letter would just be a case of dramatic irony, to inform the audience of Mike's true feelings. I thought maybe the letter was about Mike rebuilding castle Byers after s3 (which i still think he did btw). But I just read this post from doriandrifting (READ IT), and now I think he wrote the letter about the D&D campaign. Like an IDIOT, I forgot about the date in the tweet! And then I really thought about it and...this changes EVERYTHING. Prepare yourselves. (it's 4:00 AM rn but I DON'T CARE) i'm gonna copy and paste the beginning of my old theory, sorry. you can skip ahead to “it’s parallel time” :)

To start off, I think that Mike and Will are going to end up in the upside-down together in S5. The upside down and Will are connected narratively, seeing as it’s literally frozen on the night he went missing.

Obviously there is going to be a reason for that. To bring his story full-circle, it’s pretty much inevitable that in the final season, Will is going to end up back in the upside-down. Just like it’s inevitable that this time Mike will be there with him. Which is why at the end of season 4, they both sit on an upside down couch together.

The next part of this theory has to do with Will having powers. It’s why Will is paralleled to Vecna, Eleven, and Bastian from NeverEnding Story, and could open a portal in s1. It also fits with his overall character arc (becoming a hero after being a victim). I won’t make this post a mile long by going through all the evidence (links to some proof here, here , here and here and in the long version of my theory.) But for now, trust me when I say it’s probably going to be revealed that Will can manipulate electricity/time/the upside-down in S5. 

Remember, El was originally supposed to die after season one, which makes the notion of Will having powers extremely likely.

Okay? Okay. So here’s the theory:

Mike and Will are in the upside-down, which is stuck on the day Will went missing in 1983. While in the upside-down, Mike and Will end up at the Wheeler House.

Time is frozen on Nov 6, which is the first episode of season 1. I think that somehow, Mike and Will are going to be able to affect the other side in season 1 (specifically Nov 6), through the upside-down in season 5.

How though? We know that (as of now) time still flows normally on the other side, unlike the upside-down. However, that could change. Like, what if time were to start moving again in the upside-down? This could happen because of Will's subconscious mind. It’s also safe to say that s5 will include some wacky time shenanigans, which could explain how this is possible. (s5 time-travel proof here, here, here, and here) But even just on the surface level, why the hell else would the show’s villain thematically be obsessed with the progression of time, be accompanied by the sound of a clock chime, and create visions of grandfather clock? Why else would Hopper’s s3 letter talk about “turning back the clock”? Why else would there be so many Back to The Future references? Why else would the Duffers talk so much about "going back to season one", or the story coming "full-circle" in season five?

There are multiple electricity shortages in s1. What if some of these moments, like when Ted fiddles with the TV in the background of season 1, were actually caused by Will (or El) in season 5? The screen looks suspiciously like how the TV screen looked when Eleven mind jumped in s2 and s3. Now for the good part:

IT’S PARALLEL TIME!

In the upside-down, Mike and Will are going to stand in the same spot at the same time as their younger selves on the other side.

The concept of Lies is a HUGE recurring theme and motif in Stranger Things. One of the very first bits of characterization we learn about Will, is that he doesn’t lie to Mike. Even though it was just a white lie and Even though he could have got away with it. Even though it meant he lost, “Friends don’t LIE.” Will waited until the other boys left before telling Mike the Truth.

I think that Mike is going to mirror Will, and confess the truth to him. From the very start, we are shown that Mike and Will have an honest and different bond than rest of the party. Which is why in season five, MIKE is going to remember this, and be able to lie.

(I, I can remember (I remember) Standing, by the wall (by the wall)- Bowie

Season 5 MIKE is going to parallel season 1 WILL, and THEY ARE BOTH going to admit the TRUTH to each-other at the same exact time (across time)! (7+7=14) winning roll!

Season 5, UPSIDE-DOWN:

for example:

Mike: “you lied about the painting being from El”

(the TRUTH about why Will made THE PAINTING for Mike is addressed--LOVE!)

Will: "You’re being stupid! It's not my fault you couldn't say you love her!"

WILL parallels MIKE during the SEASON THREE GARAGE SCENE:

Mike: "It is" (TRUTH)

MIKE parallels WILL during the SEASON ONE GARAGE SCENE:

Mike gives Will his letter (The TRUTH about why Mike made the 10 hour D&D CAMPAIGN is addressed--LOVE!)

(TRUTH=7) An UPSIDE-DOWN 7 is a capital L. The song which plays when Mike and Eleven kiss at the end of s3 (when Mike realizes he's gay) is "The First I love You". The "L" is NOT capitalized, because it’s not the TRUTH. In his letter, the "L" IS capitalized!

so at the same time (across time)...

MIKE: TRUTH=7, WILL: TRUTH=7 (7+7=14, the winning roll in D&D!)

THE THIRD AND FINAL GARAGE SCENE: (writing comes in 3's)

THEY KISS

Between them, metaphorical electricity  FLARES (and potentially Will’s literal powers), as his brain short-circuits. As they kiss, “Heroes” by David Bowie plays, and the lyrics “the guns, shot above our heads, (over our heads)” narrates as electricity shoots above their heads. (Either bc of the kiss or confession) The camera pans up to the garage light over their heads, which flickers.

the audience can feel the electricity between Mike and Will. Just like how Dustin could feel the electricity between Lucas and Max.

"i could feel it." "What?" "The electricity." (are “friends” electric?)

at the same time...

Season 1, OTHER SIDE:

Will: "It was a 7, the demogorgan, it got me.” (TRUTH=7)

Will sounded disappointed about losing, but Mike DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING. He doesn't say how he "really feels". He just stands there and watches Will leave. Mike notices the garage light flicker above him. This is a metaphor for the electricity which just passed between them. Love=Electricity, and Mike just noticed it, which is why the scene directly following this one is him going inside to write a letter of what he wanted to say, which he signs "-Love, Mike."

This would act as dramatic irony because at the same exact time in the upside-down, Mike JUST SAID what he really wanted to say in this moment BY GIVING WILL HIS LETTER and/or confessing. Unbeknownst to him, his future self just confessed, and the flicker is actually when they kiss in the upside down.

This reveal would be meaningful, because Mike wrote the ten hour DnD campaign but doesn't give Will the letter saying why (Love), and Will makes the painting but he lies about why (Love). In the upside-down, the TRUTH about both of these gestures is revealed.

In this moment, Mike's future self says what HE was too ashamed too in season one. Mike never got the chance to give Will his letter before the "demogorgan" got him.

"Anyway, I think you’ll still beat the campaign. Sorry I couldn’t get it done before my mom made everyone leave, but you mean so much to me, and it’s been so much fun to make it for you. Hope this is enough motivation to last until we can finish it next weekend. -Love, Mike"

THE UPSIDE-DOWN, SEASON 5:

As they kiss, “Heroes” by David Bowie continues...

in season one, Mike is still ashamed of his love for Will. Which is why the scene cuts off with the line “shame”.

This time when the song plays, it will be different though. This time, the full verse will play as they kiss.

“and we kiss as though nothing could fall and the shame… was on the OTHER SIDE.”

Mike and Will are in the upside-down, and at the same time their ashamed younger selves were literally on the other side. When they finally kiss as if nothing could fall, they leave their shame on the other side (in the the past).

Or alternatively

Mike and Will are alone together in the upside-down, and the rest of society is on the other side. Because of this, they are able to finally kiss as if nothing could fall, and forget about how they would be shamed for it on the other side.

(based on the rest of the lyrics, they probably think they are going to die when this happens btw)

Click Here: for new video of my flicker kiss theory! (now including Mike's Letter)

Click Here: for the original video of my theory!

Click Here: The long version of my original post. (It goes off on more tangents, includes more proof, and goes over some mini theories that could (possibly) tie into this one!

Shameless self promo: Follow my account for more! In the future, I plan on making more predictions about the role of memories in season 5, Birthday-gate, Will's subconscious mind shaping the upside-down, and water symbolism. I also have a tik-tok and twitter account under the same name, so go follow me over there!

[profictionoverhaul]

Fictional characters sexualities do not, and I emphasize this, matter.

(When it comes to fanon.)

"But if you change their sexuality in fanon, then you are erasing canon!" You know how making a character who is straight into a fanon gay guy doesn't 'erase' his straightness from the canon? Yeah, it's like that, but vice versa. It's literally THAT easy, because fanon and canon don't intersect.

Also, let's talk about how some people are more concerned about stupid fictional shit then real life problems, in example:

Caring more about a stupid fictional man's sexuality, a man who was confirmed gay in a tweet (which could've easily been reconned by now btw) AND who was created by a company where sexual harassment towards women was happening for years under the table, including incidents involving stolen fucking breastmilk and other gross shit like that??

Oh but yeah, some person shipping a female OC with Solider 76, one of the OG sexymen™ of the game that women went crazy over on Tumblr for years (till that great purge, rip) being made to like a woman OC (an original character! Literally not canon!) is the real problem. I don't even think the artist said he was straight, he could easily be bisexual in the art, but oh nooooooo, people see a m/f pairing and assume straightness??? (It's all kinda "misogyny is okay if I don't like the woman" vibes ngl)

This whole thing just boggles my mind, imagine unironically talking like the people in the screenshot above. It's so petty, silly, and stupid.

Less caring about people changing (barely even canon) sexualities, more caring about Blizzard being a hotspot for the sexual harassment of women, thanks.

Adding as a smaller note, but I clarified "in fanon" here because what fans create isnt comparable to canon. No matter how much fans claim a character is "so gay!" or "so lesbian!" or even "so straight!", that won't cause them to become that sexuality canonically. A canon gay guy can be claimed as straight by people, but he'll still be gay in canon. A canon cis girl can be claimed as trans by people, but she will still be cis in canon. Canon ≠ fanon. When did modern fandom lose that distinction...?

Can modern fandomgoers not separate canon and fanon anymore??? I really don't get it. Am I just old?

[onemillionfurries]

not for nothing, but around 2021 the CEO of the studio behind palworld was tweeting about ai generated pokemon designs, and how he “can almost not tell the difference,” referencing that exact article, actually. I do not think every single design was ai generated or that any ai references were used from start to finish with no human touch, but the CEO is very openly interested in ai technology and its applications in game development! I don’t think its a stretch to guess it may have been used somewhere in the pipeline. and as someone who also messed around with fakemon generators when the tech was still a bit novel, some of the designs do have that ai stink to them, even from around that time.

yeah i chose that article specifically bc i knew that the CEO had referenced it in a tweet. I WANTED to get into it in the post, but it was also 9am and I hadn't gotten a wink of sheep that night (... bc i was up all night playing palworld WHOOPS--) (im writing this off a 2 hour nap so pls forgive me if it's incomprehensible)

I remember the whole "palworld used ai to gen its monsters" narrative literally started because someone qrt'd someone pointing out that CEO's tweet and extrapolated that because the CEO spoke positively on AI generated pokemon, then the game MUST have AI generated monster designs which... wasn't what the original tweet was saying at all. but unfortunately nuance and reason is like poison to twitter so the speculation spiraled from there. (not like tumblr is much better. but I at least have the space to explain myself here, however poorly that may be :P)

And like, the unfortunate thing is that nearly /every/ CEO is interested in AI. their whole job is to make money, not art. some are just louder about it than others. with the insane crunch that the pokemon developers go through, I wouldn't be surprised if AI is also used in those games somewhere in the pipeline, whether that's in the past or a future release.

Let's also not forget when the pokemon company international was interested in hiring simeone with knowledge in NFT/web3 technology. if we're automatically assuming that open interest in something means that it's implemented, or that it will be at some point, then we better get to boycotting pokemon now!

I wanna be clear that I'm not defending the use of AI art in game development. it may very well be that AI /was/ used somewhere in the Palworld pipeline. I just don't want people to be asserting something as true with little to no actual evidence. ever since I got "called out" by an ex-friend of mine for some heinous shit that i quite literally never did, I've been a lot more diligent in figuring out if something people are freaking out about on social media IS actually true, or if it was a mountain made out of a molehill, as it tends to be 99% of the time.

(btw I'm curious as to what pals you think have that AI stink to them? im generally trying to avoid spoilers for later game pals bc i wanna discover them on my own, but if you wanna send a list or something that I can look up when im further in the game I'd be interested.)

[p-receh]

Hi! What are your thoughts on season 2 of bbbglxy so far?

Great question!

Currently, I'm writing about Boboiboy's appreciation post but your question instantly made me, "Wait, should I review the second season or wait until all arcs are animated?"

But then I figured if I waited until next year, I already forgot about your question. So I answered now.

edit: this is a rewritten one cause my previous answer malfunctioned. my apologies, anon.

Tbf, I wanted to wait for all arcs animated then read the comic, but I reaaaallly curious and adore the art style so much. Usually, Monsta releases comics as an extension after tv/movie aired. However, due to the pandemic, they release the comic first. Even they initially went all comic and no animation. Glad they managed to release per arc in season 2. Eventually, I continued to read about it after watching 3 episodes of Sori.

Okay on to the story!

It's well known that the Comic version was more ruthless than tv/movie ones. There's one tweet mentioned compare this scene below(it's also one of the reasons why I want to read the comics ver.)

So it's not surprising that Season 2 comic book went on the same route. That's also one of my shopping lists when I visit to Malaysia(the shipping cost is higher in Indonesia btw :/)

ehem.

This session will be from my perspective. So this paragraph onwards is purely my opinion.

So my take on this season is ... I am so glad they delve deeper than I thought. AND ended beautifully back their original roots: become the earth's protector once again! (and take care of Tok Aba but I'm not ready for that :'( )

If Season 1 is about the responsibility of being the heroes of galaxy, therefore, Season 2 is about the cost and risk of them.

I love the Kokotiam gang's character journey throughout the arc. Holy shit the conflict on each planet was wild for sure! the intensity, the humor, and the revelation are well-balanced. All the new characters are memorable enough that I can see why people were angry when Sori cut most of them from the early issues. (Manifesting they wouldn't do that for Windara's arc :) )

I'd say I am satisfied with all the action and story of Kokotiam gang's arc!

For elementals, I WILL rant more about this in the next topic. Holy-my head is full of theories and shit, I want to explode myself.

...

If I choose some takeaways from this season, It's the fusion part. Don't get me wrong, I love the design, the animation, and their attacks, and is the last option when Boboiboy couldn't use his 3rd tier (my personal favorites are Glacier and Supra). I've mentioned it briefly in my previous post.

But when they add personal traits? hooo boy, I...got issues with that.

I don't want them getting too dominant when there are already seven elementals with distinct personalities and upgrades(and their fanbases) other than Boboiboy's original trait. And now there's 5 fusion elementals???

But then, it is what it is... I can't blame them. Their original concept of the Galaxy series was weirder than this but I hope this fusion comes with more cost to Boboiboy's mental health(bro, he's a freaking human being, not superman >:/). His amnesia got worse and I don't think fusion will making him better ^^)'

So there's that. Hope i can answer your question, anon!

[mrs-gauche]

You know, with the reveal of the official title now, don't you think that this line from the 2020 Behind the Scenes video just got a whole lot more interesting? 👀

"They call me the Dread Wolf, what will they call you when this is over?"

I've sadly seen people interpret this line as him proclaiming his title like some cliché villain going "Look at me. I am the mighty Dread Wolf. Who are YOU to oppose me?".

But what he's basically saying is "I tried to save my people, now look how I'm remembered as the greatest monster in their mythology". As far as we know, Solas was very much the hero of his own story, a mirror to the Inquisitor. So assuming that this line is a response to the new protagonist, now he's asking them "So if that's what happened to me, how will history remember you - the "hero" - when this is over?" (and what does that say for the actions of the new protagonist then? 👀).

The thing is, "Dread Wolf" is not just the game's title now, but a literal title that was "bestowed" on him by his enemies to spread lies and stop the people from joining him. And over the ages, it became a mistranslated one at that. (And btw, whether it's intentional or not, don't you kinda love the irony in that everyone is now making these jokes like "After eight years BioWare has boldly confirmed DA4 is about Solas" or how a lot of people are now concerned that the game will be all about him, when - in the lore - this title was literally false propaganda? 😂).

"I was Solas first. Fen'Harel came later. An insult I took as a badge of pride. The Dread Wolf inspired hope in my friends and fear in my enemies… Not unlike “Inquisitor”, I suppose. You also know the burden of a title that all but replaces your name.”

But that's precisely the point. Solas loathes this title, yet he still chose to use and embrace it and let it fuel his pride and his determination even *after* he, presumably, called himself Pride. The very counterpart of Wisdom in DA and a name that, we can assume, is likely not his first name, if the spirit origin theory turns out to be true.

What does the title "Dreadwolf" truly entail (besides the goddamn anagram thing lol), if the matter of getting Solas to remember his "true name" is actually going to play a big part in the next game?

"We will save our friend from himself... if we can."

If there's any way to stop him other than actually killing him, maybe it won't be Solas himself we have to fight, but figuratively destroy the title that stands for everything that has lead to his tragedy, his pride - his greatest flaw and "the burden of a title that all but replaces your name". And maybe this will be the way to have him remember his true name, his original purpose and in doing so, not only "save our friend from himself", but the world as a whole?

(.........Also, this “April Fools joke” tweet from Alix Wilton Regan (one of the Inquisitor’s VAs) won’t leave my friggin mind and I’m just - )

So what if this wasn’t actually a flippin joke and, with all of this in mind now, what could it meeean??? 😂 I mean, “Dread Wolf” IS just a title.. sooo technically, it can be passed on to anyone or even a whole group of people, right? So.. if Solas does get his true name back, why not just pass the title over then, so that he doesn’t have to bear it anymore. 😂

Whatever it is, it’s getting more and more obvious to me that there’s a deeper meaning and reason behind this title than just “Solas is the Big Bad” and I can’t wait to find out!

[forcebookish]

the more i think about how top is treated and how his trauma is completely overlooked the more upset i get. the way they handled the top/boston thing is just kind of gross im sorry. top was literally coerced and assaulted (more than once btw) and no one cares!!!! and they could've done SO MUCH MORE with that storyline. top admitting and realizing what happened to him and mew understanding after his initial anger. that would've been such good character development for both them as a couple and individuals and maybe im giving the viewers too make credit here given their track record but it also would've helped them understand them (especially top) better as well. but instead we get this atom storyline which is just awful and mew's bootleg revenge 2.0. and don't even get me started on how his insomnia is barely touched on. all the other characters even fucking boston get scenes where we are meant to feel bad for them but not top. god maybe im overreacting idk but im just so upset rn.

totally with you, anon. however, i do think that top gets a lot of scenes where the audience is supposed to feel bad for him, tbh those are most of his scenes lol, it's just that the audience is refusing to see it. other than that, yeah it's fucked up how the drama has kind of just... dropped a lot of the stuff that's happened to him. like i defended p'den yesterday when it came to how top was written, but i almost want to take it back now. now i'm thinking maybe i misunderstood the original tweet and if it was really criticizing him or how he's been treated by the narrative. top is a well-rounded, interesting character who has gone through so much and the characters and storyline just keeps kicking him when he's down. i keep thinking that they're building to something, but they just keep leaving stuff out. it's like they've forgotten important beats of his storyline and traded it in for cheap drama. top's gone through fucking harrowing shit and it feels like only his fans give a fuck.

top is assaulted by boston, NO ONE talks about it - he doesn't even BRING IT UP when talking about why he slept with boston. mew clearly regretted burning the drawing (and this is explicitly stated in the book), but that goes nowhere. mew hasn't apologized once for the way that he's treated top since the breakup and doesn't seem to care about his feelings AT ALL he's so preoccupied with his own hurt. everything that top has done for mew hasn't been acknowledged at all. and yet he's the one called selfish? what the fuck?

they better do something new with boeing, because i am TIRED, anon. i'm just as upset as you💔

[crystallinestars]

"Bullying into submission" is unfortunately an excellent way to put it 😔 People really need to learn that while feeling the need to vent is more than okay (just look at how much I've complained so far lol), making posts / snide comments with the sole aim of creating Drama or Discourse or straight up jumping into someone's space to berate them for quietly enjoying themselves in a way you don't approve of is truly the best recipe if your goal in life is to be miserable 24/7, on top of being a huge dick move.

I was also thinking about what other anons have brought up (how they feel straight up alienated by popular hcs always being one 'extreme' or another with no in-between) and I feel like these discussions (including the ones on social constructs, loved your input about that btw) are all linked by a common factor: some people try to draw hard lines in the sand in order to neatly categorize stuff in easily identifiable boxes or tropes. Sometimes what we could call "the norm" seems so ingrained in people's minds that it does not even occur to them to try and question this status quo, and so a lot of nuance is either lost or not even explored to begin with. At least that's how I see it, I still need to think about this some more.

I'd say that these "hard lines" aren't only drawn between all we've mentioned, but between communities too. I'm going to say this kinda clumsily but like, why are we treating anyone who isn't "just gay / lesbian / straight" as if they were an enemy and/or a threat? Is it some kind of insecurity that can only be soothed by constant validation? Why is it that when someone dares to make something slightly different, we're bringing out the pitchforks?

This hostility (and just the fact that these discussions / this Discourse seems very cyclical) kind of reminds of a tweet I saw a while ago. I unearthed it for the occasion lol:

"People love to pretend it’s so weird that others get upset when you claim something they like is bad lol.

Slandering something that another person appreciates is akin to insulting/questioning their intelligence, especially when it comes to a piece of work."

The original post was about slandering works as a whole, but I think it can also apply to more specific aspects, like enjoying something in particular in a given work. Why are we pretending it's weird that people get upset when you keep telling them (explicitly or implicitly) that their fun is lame at best? I know people love to say "that's just how the internet is, Get Used To It" but honestly? It's such an empty excuse and it makes me want to bang my head on a wall, because why couldn't we just all keep our manners to begin with??

I feel like I'm answering everything in a weird order lol but about Welt, that's pretty much what I had heard about him! I've been thinking that I should at least look into Hi3 a bit, just to see the links between the games and Mihoyo's overall evolution 🤔 And I didn't know about that lore book! I don't even know if I'm surprised about this reaction but I do know that fandoms sometimes confuse the hell out of me because I've seen just as much Guizhong enjoyers as I've seen people shipping Zhongli with Childe??

I'm just going to say it bluntly: people should REALLY pick a struggle and/or another hill to die on, because having a meltdown for something like that is just embarrassing. It does prove your point about the shipping lenses tho, because I can't think about another reason why a LORE BOOK would have made them feel so threatened 💀 I had seen the tantrums about Dottore (apparently he's too evil??) and Raiden (she's not evil enough??) but this?? MAN.

Kind of makes me think that people are lowkey hypocritical with their need to have canon confirmations, because they love to brag about THEIR pairings but as soon as the possibility appears that the devs MIGHT offer some kind of confirmation on one they don't like, even if it's one as 'marginal', for lack of a better word, as this one, they break out in hives. And the Thoma and Ayaka situation is just another proof that 1) YOU SHOULD NEVER FULLY TRUST LEAKS and 2) the bar we talked about keeps getting lower in hell.

And YES! I also felt like there were a lot of things about Alhaitham that were there to tell the players that while it's true he comes off as odd, eccentric, blunt, etc., he's rather kind all things considered! He's letting Kaveh stay in his house even if they don't particularly get along, he sticks to his moral code, he recognized Dehya's capabilities, he helps Tighnari with Collei's education, and so on. He seems to be the type of person that won't go out of their way to be palatable to others, but he also never goes out of his way to hurt anyone? And what's more, if you're willing to hear him out and truly pay attention to what he says, you'll realize that he's actually quite helpful? In a way that he's giving advice and letting people come to their own conclusions? At least that's what I can think about off the top of my head, so it's kind of hysterical to me that he gets reduced to "That Asshole Feeble Scholar".

This ask is getting long again (and messy) but I still want to add that I've seen your discussions about Nilou, Candace and Kokomi with Kaveh and it might be biased and/or controversial of me to say this but honestly? I think people, no matter their identities, just don't like women / don't even acknowledge how much they dislike women. As you said, same-sex pairings (and i'd say BL pairings in particular) are that much more popular and I'm getting pretty sure that it's in part due to the fact people don't pay attention to the female characters because they might be assuming they'll be boring. I've seen so many people bashing Kokomi, especially her story quest, yet they praise characters like Itto to high heavens? I know that it's 'to each their own' but sometimes I do feel like people don't give some (female) characters much of a chance to begin with.

At least to me it's pretty funny to see the difference between how you and the others have talked about your ideas for ships, and how the fandom talk about haikaveh lmao.

Kavelou shippers: I think they could bring out the best in each other, they could bond over their shared love for the arts and share ideas for their respective fields of expertise!

Loud Haikaveh shippers: omg they're roommates lol, when do you think Alhaitham will impregnate his 'c a n o n' malewife?? Why are kavelou idiots such snowflakes, 'conflict' is essential to make a pairing worth it and we're allowed to enjoy some fictional toxicity

Also, a bit of a side note, but it hasn't escaped me that people love to say that "toxic pairings are valid" for their BL preferences, but Acheron and Black Swan get exactly 1 deadly dance video and suddenly it's the most disturbing thing they've ever seen??

Anyway, I've seen you mention at least twice that you're thinking about making either a different blog or creating a discord server for all these rants you receive, and I think it's a lovely idea! I'm pretty sure I have an account on discord that I haven't touched in years so it has probably been deleted by now 😭 If there's anyone else interested in it would be a great alternative for you to separate your writing from the rants :)

Once again, I hope you're having a wonderful day or evening!

🪻

There is a lot to unpack here, but I will try my best to respond to everything. I'm sorry in advance if I don't touch on every point.

Regarding your "hard lines" comments. It's true that people draw boundaries between what they find acceptable and not, and while this would ordinarily be a good thing, here it's more to do with controversial topics like race, sexuality, gender, etc... and I can't help but wonder if the reason for such behavior is due to politics.

Most of this behavior is present in the western and english-speaking parts of the internet where American politics reign supreme. From what I have heard and seen, the progressive side deems everything that is considered the majority (heterosexuality, white skin, male gender, etc) as the opposite of what they stand for, therefore it must be conservative, which is bad. There's a lot more at play here than just progressive vs conservative, but I am not well-versed in politics, so I won't speak on it too much. Plus, this is all just a theory. But as I've said before, the West loves to drag politics into every aspect of their lives, fandoms included.

The quote you found is actually spot-on. Acting surprised when you insult something people enjoy or relate to is surprised pikachu behavior. Though I suspect these people aren't actually surprised, but are just trolling the people they offended, and are gleeful they managed to get under the skin of those whose views they dislike.

I think the lore book tantrum is another example of people wanting their characters to be "shiny toys", as you put it. Having an indication for a NL relationship between playable characters is a no-no for gacha games. It offends a lot of groups of people. For example, those that want to pair Zhongli with Childe, or self-ship with him, and the same applies for the Guizhong side (even though we had no idea what she looked like at the time). For some reason, there's not as much negative reaction if the ship being teased is same-sex though. Might be because it offends less groups, but it's still a baffling phenomenon for me.

Which brings me to the point about female characters.

I agree with you that female characters get hated on. In the anime and manga spheres, have seen a lot of comments about female characters from various fandoms, and the main complain with them was that they are not as fleshed out as their male counterparts. Female characters lack complex writing and character development, and get reduced to plot devices or love interests for the MC. Even in media made by women for women featuring female protagonists, some of these protagonists are pushovers that rely on male characters to save them. There is a desire for women to be equal to men in media, but it's not common to see.

It doesn't help that in Genshin, the first three chapters had bad writing, especially for female characters. Though not all, majority were were one-note characters with not much complexity or plot behind their actions, unlike male characters. This has improved significantly since Sumeru's debut, but I doubt it's enough to change the minds of some people.

So to make my point; female characters get hate for being boring. I also feel like women are the ones who hate on female characters the most? I have seen both fujoshi and yumejoshi communities hate on female characters for being the love interest of their favorite male character and getting in the way of their ships.

I am hesitant to delve into the topic of why some fujoshi hate female characters since it's not something I completely understand. I did a bit of research into why they prefer BL over NL, and while the gripe about female characters being boring was a main factor, there was also a lot of misogyny. I'm sure there are some other reasons aside from these as to why women hate female characters, but this topic is too complex for me to navigate just yet.

I will defend Kokomi with my life 😤 She got a lot of hate even back in her beta, and her story quest came under fire, as well. I thought her story quest was decent, though maybe my judgement is clouded because I love her so much. Regardless, her character is awesome and I relate to her a lot, so Kokomi slander will not be tolerated 😤

Regarding the difference between haikaveh and other Kaveh ships, I can only think that one is a fetishization of a gay relationships, while the other is a genuine appreciation for the dynamic between characters.

I actually saw only positive comments under the Acheron and Black Swan dance video. Yeah, there were jokes it was toxic, but I didn't see anyone complain about it, though I believe you when you say some people found it problematic. BL gets a lot of special treatment, I would say. Everything that's deemed bad/boring in GL and NL pairings is often painted as being better/good if it's BL. I've only seen a couple of "omg toxic yaoi ❤️" posts, and while those were jokes, it's shocking how much people love to pair enemies together. I see a lot of depictions of abuse in BL, and the shippers love it, so I suppose it's not that surprising? I find it concerning, though.

Anyways, thank you for your well-wishes, and have a great day as well!

[dailytwsttweets]

hiii, sorry if this makes you uncomfy but seeing your constant addition of things like “please let me know if this is ooc” or not posting your personal opinions because you don’t want to be called illiterate makes me feel so bad, tbh. like i said, i hope this doesn’t make you uncomfy. i don’t know you personally, so lmk if i’m pushing boundaries. i totally get wanting to stay true to the original media, but it’s honestly so sad to see how scared you are of mischaracterizing them in general, especially when you’re making silly little twitter posts. it’s all lighthearted and harmless. it doesn’t change the original media, nor does it change other people's experiences of it either. besides, everyone interprets characters and stories differently. which is exactly why headcanons work so well. they’re not meant to be canonical or critically accurate. and sometimes people use headcanons as a way to uniquely connect with fiction—with their personal experiences and real-life issues. fandom spaces thrive on having a wide range of opinions. even if it’s the dumbest take you’ve ever seen, it’s still their personal opinion. nothing has to adhere strictly to the actual material. i’ve seen a lot of toxic fan bases, so if you ever had someone make you feel like you weren’t allowed to share your own ideas/gatekeep, i’m so sorry. cause it sucks. i vividly remember having a friend who liked a lot of the stuff i did, and anytime i shared something as simple as a hypothetical, she would shut it down so fast and call me illiterate. like she was so aggressive about media accuracy, but the whole point of enjoying media is to have fun. there’s no need to constrict yourself to the point where you’re scared someone will call your work ooc. just know that it’s okay to prioritize having fun over being completely canonically accurate

Hiii! I know you don’t have any malice with this ask btw, and I apologize if the disclaimer for anything being ooc makes you sad or anything like that ^_^

But ugh yeah, toxic fan bases…eugh

This does not make me uncomfortable at all btw! In fact I was gonna rant about this like weeks ago but I kept it in my drafts but basically, one of the reasons I get so scared of being ooc sometimes especially with headcanons is because I used to have a friend who always yapped in my ear about inaccuracies in headcanons that people made, which some I agreed with like the ones infantilizing a character, but most of the time it’d be stuff I thought about a character and talking about how said relationship was unlikely cause so and so or this or that and that’s probably one reason why I get scared of being ooc in my tweets and headcanons. Another reason being is sometimes I’m looking for genuine criticism cause I can’t handle feeling like it’s ooc (but that’s probably something I’ll mention another day) or I just wanna see what people think

The thing about me not wanting to post my own opinions sometimes is cause sometimes (most of the time) I have no rebuttal or I just don’t wanna get like told in my inbox that I’m being rude or unreasonable such as my Floyd rant where I got called the “ship police” for mentioning Floyd’s relationship with Yuu and how it is in canon and in fanon (canon is just him picking on Yuu such as calling them “shrimpy/shrimp-chan” which is all there is to it, and fanon is just godawful) and it being the third time I mentioned it, so they accused me of acting like Florid is more canon (which I never said it was. I just find Floyd and Riddle’s relationship to be completely mischaracterized and I also find it of utmost importance to him as well so that’s why I mentioned it in my rant). Of course, I’m always looking for corrections in case I say anything wrong or incorrect, but if it’s just an opinion I put my research into then…ehh

I’m sorry if these seems vent-ish, but I genuinely thank you for your concern :). Thank you so much, and please have a nice day/night/afternoon ^_^!

[skepticalarrie]

btw the original tweet Bad Bunny put on his show was made by a Harrie after his carpool karaoke aired because Bad Bunny sang as it was on it. It was a joke about how Bad Bunny could do AIW since he did for the Carpool but Harry couldn't do el apagon. I think the joke got lost in translation because Harry fans don't know what el apagon is and didn't understand the speech he gave before singing it either.

Hi, anon! Thank you so much, I took a little time earlier today to understand the full context and the meme behind that tweet. You’re absolutely right.

With that being said, I still stand behind what I said, and I don’t think it’s cute or funny. I’m obviously very biased in my opinion and I’m fully aware I’m acting very overly protective of Harry 🥲 But yeah, I don’t think these kinds of jokes really work in his favour at the moment. Why add his name to it? It’s not like they’re super close or best friends, so I think it falls flat for me and sounds kind of shitty, still. Next thing we know “Bad Bunny shades Harry Styles” it’s all over tabloids and people don’t give a single shit about the real context and reasons behind the joke and it keeps pushing people’s perceptions in the same direction it has been going for a while now, which is not good for Harry. So. IMO, it was very unnecessary…

[v-arbellanaris]

(not @ u btw) said with all the love in the world to leliana my bestie the loml but it irritates me so much that theres so little out there recognizing her flaws. theres people who dont like her who dont recognize her actual flaws at all & theres people who do like her who also dont recognize those character flaws. her biggest flaw imo is being willing to ignore & bend her morals for the people she loves which is such an interesting character flaw! it makes her more complex & gives her depth & its a good writing decision by sheryl chee & it so often just gets ignored by the fandom as a [very general] whole which is so augh. wheres stuff about her relationship with an amell/surana or mahariel or tabris & how that works for them when leliana is supporting this corrupt system! leliana is such a fascinating character to me & her background character journey between origins and inquisition is something that can be so personal

anyway all to say wheres that tweet thats like ‘i lose all my principles when i see a pretty woman’ & someone responds ‘well maybe you should have principles’ & op replies ‘ur right maybe i should’ bcs thats leliana and the warden

YESSS agreed!!! its so complicated and so INTERESTING and its definitely angst fodder for my warden (amell) and leliana. i love that all the angst of their romance happens after their meetcute (the fucking fifth blight) like the way they meet and everything is easy and then the reality of their situation (evadne, a blood mage apostate who becomes titled ferelden nobility vs leliana, the spymaster of the militant religious organisation trying to imprison mages like evadne) sinking its teeth into their relationship over the years, straining it to its very limit. it makes me a little bit insane to think of evadne and leliana tbh!!!!!

but on your other point, unfortunately i think this isnt a problem specific to leliana; i think/notice whenever people pick their favs in the fandom, there's a kind of... need for them to be morally above reproach? which is weird bc you can't throw a stone in thedas without hitting at least 3 war criminals, 2 of which are probably your party members if not your significant other/romance option? and there's this kind of "my blorbo merely suffers from bad writing and therefore has never done anything wrong ever (because i would NEVER pick a blorbo who is Morally Bad) but your blorbo is problematic (and therefore you are too because why would you like a Morally Bad character)" mentality that... isnt really useful or appealing to me.

MFDKSJFSDFJ PLSSSS that is literally leliana and the warden (and marjolaine tbh) its SO true. she's so relatable, but, respectfully, you could NOT catch me throwing away my morals like that but EMOTIONALLY like i get it. i get it

[fortheloveofexy]

Hi? You just deleted Twitter right? Cuz of some of the stupid things people where saying? Just wanna say I did that as well cuz it was all just too much for me personally, especially since the person that started it all is now half heartedly apologising and writing essays in every persons replys for it saying they hope to learn from the mistakes they did (take that as you will I guess idk what to think but I can’t do anything other than laugh tbh);

glad I found u here though cuz I really do enjoy your content and everything you say and just wanted to hop in here to say that; love u❤️ don’t worry and hope u have a good day

Hi anon - glad to see I'm not the only aftg twitter refugee fleeing to tumblr!

To cut long story short, yes that's why I left. Tldr it was just a shitstorm of miscommunication, wild assumptions and misinformation, and a lot of innocent bystanders got hurt in the process.

For the longer version - I (and several others) got accused of racism bc I blocked some people who I saw engaging in callout posts and dogpiling.

The original tweets were calling out fandom racism and racism in Nora's writing (which I agreed with btw! I actually never blocked the original poster bc I thought they made some good points), but then a bunch of ppl started jumping on the bandwagon and making their own tweets about it, and I have a personal policy (mainly for mental health reasons) of blocking/muting people when discourse seems to derail from being productive to just pure bullying. And this seemed to be very quickly headed in that direction.

So I blocked a few people who had jumped on the bandwagon. And apparently, that was enough to get me labeled as "racist", or at least as "suspicious". People got REALLY angry that I blocked them (which surprised me, frankly), so I made a tweet about how it's weird to assume why someone might block you.

This only made things worse, and then somebody actually publicly dropped names of everyone who blocked. Some of the names were of ppl who'd blocked weeks or even months before this whole mess, and some were just names of ppl who blocked for different reasons entirely.

On the whole, most of the people whose names were dropped were not actually involved in any way. Also please note that nobody actually disagreed with OP or even said anything racist. All that happened was that a few people blocked a few other people. That's literally it.

But in the end, that didn't matter. The misinformation spread like wildfire, the person who name dropped gave an apology (after outright admitting that they didn't know for sure why any of those ppl blocked them), and I deleted my account in disgust with it all.

[petitprincess1]

I don’t want to sound like an asshole, but Erin’s tweet is just people working. That’s it. People working. There’s nothing convincing me that “yes, that’s abuse”

And the people she mentions is not even Vivzie, she’s using her a a bait to attack other workers in the company. I’m not saying she’s lying about the workplace not being the best, but her originally saying that she didn’t want to drag Vivzie’s name to the mud when she made the post in June (which btw it was shortly after HB S2 was announced) but now even starting to try to sue her and bringing these conversations just TWO DAYS before HH’s third anniversary is hella fishy, specially when it was announced a surprise for the date.

I truly wanted to stay neutral in the Vivzie/Erin drama because, while I hoped for the “this is a misunderstanding” route (which I’m still convinced) I didn’t want to give myself an unpleasant surprise if it turned out it was true. But now after seeing she’s trying to sue her and as “proof” she shows conversations that don’t prove anything I’m, the word wouldn’t be not believing her, but seeing she’s inmature and kinda manipulative, because it always happens when Vivzie’s about to do something big and then she says she “doesn’t want to ruin her image” when she clearly does.

Also, why it took her so long to show the proof? In most allegations proven truth I’ve seen they showed the proof right away, they didn’t first make the accusations and then months later show the proof.

Sorry if I sound bitter, but literally I suffered with the Vivzie allegations so much, I began feeling I was a bad person for liking the show, and all the proof they have about Vivzie being a bad person is this? I think I’m siding with Vivzie until Erin can convince me there WAS abuse, not that there were flaws in a small indie company

Yeah, same here. I typically take a neutral approach to these dramas, but this time...I just can't. Seeing the "evidence" and the labeling she's giving it, I just can't support that. It inadvertently belittles any other real abusive claims that anyone may want to come forward with.

Again, no one is doubting the miscommunication, but that happens no matter the situation. However, making it seem like these guys are "bullying" her, while they're actually being pretty accommodating, is kinda weak.

Plus, her bringing others names into this when they don't want to talk about drama and have moved on? No. That pissed me off. Let's say, these people were traumatized. Without any noticeable consent, you're forcing those people to be retraumatized for the sake of YOUR battle because YOU don't have enough evidence to back yourself up. That is absolute bullshit.

I lost all sympathy after that. You do not drag others into something they want no part of. You're risking their own futures by being completely selfish.