#i'm still unsure how i feel about the whole twins theory

[hxhhasmysoul]

So do you think Sukuna doesn’t feel alone or do you think he just thinks no one will ever be able to fill that void? I kinda got mixed messages with his whole monologue. It seems he resents people who adore him yet he also says that he answers people’s live in battle. He says that if that’s not what love is then what else could it be? He then says love is trash/worthless. I kinda get the impression he doesn’t think he’s capable of having a connection with someone. What makes it weirder is before the Gojo fight, he remembers Yorozu’s words about teaching him about love. I also suspect this ties into his hatred for Yuji. Sorry for long ask lmao. I just find your perspective interesting.

My take on Sukuna has for a while been that he's full of shit. To some extent. And it's a little hard to have a proper take not knowing his back story. What Gege has given us so far isn't that much so everything I write below is like extremely speculative.

The unwanted child and twins theory

Sukuna was an unwanted child because of what he looked like at birth - the word 忌み子 implies that because it's an old word with these specific connotations. He is probably the conjoined twin which absorbed most of his sibling in the womb but was born with 4 eyes, 4 arms, an extra mouth and the strange bark like skin on his face. Japan has never been good on this kind of stuff. I'm not going to break out my uni books for this but something to check out is the concept of purity and how it influenced philosophy, religion and life in Japan. One of the simplest examples here is that the word kirei (きれい) that many people associate with the meaning "beautiful" has also the meaning "clean" and "pure". The thing that's pure is beautiful. And it does go the creepy way you think, beauty of the unblemished, of the "normal" too. And Sukuna's body would really not be in line with that concept.

Pair it up with the fact that in Japan twins were considered bad luck and he gets abandoned after birth. Not sure why not murdered, killing newborns was also a thing, the whole Jizo cult is related to that, though Jizo specifically, I think is more recent than Heian... don't take it for granted, as I said, I'm not rereading the uni texts.

Maybe his parents weren't able to kill him because of his cursed energy, maybe they were afraid he'd come back as a vengeful spirit.

But despite what a lot of the Gojou girlies scream on social media, Sukuna doesn't whine about it. The way he mentions it makes it seem he doesn't care about it at this point. (Whether he used to care, we don't know yet). And he uses it to dismiss the premise of Kashimo's question. The way I see it, Sukuna says it doesn't matter, he doesn't know his origins so he will never know the answer to this question. He still is the strongest.

He survived without the love of his parents at his weakest. That's probably why he resents the weak because like all dipshits who accomplish something, he thinks: if I could, what is your excuse?

Though we can't say with any certainty that he survived on his own. We don't know whether Kenjaku or Tengen, didn't collect him to experiment on him. We don't know when he met Uraume.

If the theory seeing Sukuna's origins in a the Ryoumen Sukuna urban legend is correct, then it's not unlikely Kenjaku found Sukuna and had fun with him. (Also please keep in mind that while this story is referred to as an urban legend and might be fully or partially made up, the level of violence against people with unusual bodies it includes is kinda on brand for the time period. So like read with that in mind.)

Also it might mean that Sukuna's twin wasn't completely dead yet, wasn't as fully absorbed as his current body would suggest. It's not impossible that Kenjaku removed some of the twin and helped Sukuna achieve a usable body, maybe told him to absorb the twin and their soul to become full, like in the case of Maki and Mai. But maybe Kenjaku still kept some of the twin's body and that soul. In this case Sukuna referring to Yuuji as being from back then could refer to that and feed into the Yuuji was created from Sukuna's twin. Existing partially as a cursed object, and having this strong connection to Sukuna could be what enhances Yuuji's soul powers. And also would make him uniquely predisposed to cage Sukuna.

This also would feed into the theories as to why Sukuna acts the way he does towards Kenjaku. Why he's kinda cold towards them but goes along with their plots. If Kenjaku was indeed the person to take him in when he couldn't really fend for himself, and helped make his body more usable, then there's a huge debt there. And the concept of debt is another huge cultural thing in Japan.

This would also explain why Sukuna is skeptical about love, because Kenajku's parenting is well Kenjaku's parenting. He could've been their prized experiment but so is Yuuji.

While I personally don't love the Yuuji is Sukuna's twin, I don't find it unfounded.

I'm not particularly excited for it coming true because I'd love for Yuuji to be a separate person from Sukuna. Someone who's weak and unrelated to him but who can still cage him.

But with what we know about Maki and Mai, and with the unwanted child thing, Yuuji could be his twin. It would explain why he had no cursed energy, because when Sukuna absorbed and killed him, he would've lost it. If Sukuna absorbed his twin after birth and not before, if they consciously lived together for a while that has implications too.

Full on speculation bordering on fanfiction ahead. It might be why Sukuna chastises Yuuji for wanting to live despite being weak, for clinging to life. If he absorbed his twin post birth, and if he did that consciously, his twin was his first kill. It might have not been easy, not pretty and he might have not done it as cold and detached as he wished to. Or as he now wishes he had been. If Yuuji is his twin there may have been a similar conflict between Sukuna and him, as existed between Mai and Maki. Yuuji being the one more content with their suffering and Sukuna rejecting it, but also Yuuji being his emotional support, the one holding all his misery.

Absorbing his twin would've also likely been his first act of cannibalism. It's honestly a little funny that we haven't seen Sukuna consume anyone so far. But Yuuji has been eating human remains left and right. He now seems to be eating his own skin. It has been speculated that absorbing cursed techniques through eating people is Sukuna's og cursed technique. But if the twins theory is true, it's not entirely impossible that absorbing techniques through cannibalism was his twin's ability.

Sukuna's fanclub

Whatever happened, Sukuna got no love as a kid. If he was Kenjaku's ward then he only got appreciation if he exceeded Kenjaku's expectations.

So either he got this strong because he was rejected and had to survive and had no one to socialise him. Or he was socialised by Kenjaku who always wanted more of him and who also has zero concern for others.

So for him to get appreciation later in life, once he gets power and influence and titles, it must feel hollow. It must feel fake and like trash. It feels like people wanting things from him and offering nothing in return. Because none of them, Yorozu, Gojou, Kashimo, offer him anything he wants. They want to teach him love selfishly, their love is there to fulfill their needs. What his needs may be? None of them care to ask.

If that's what people around him consider love then there's no appeal in it for him. At most they can provide him with some entertainment and Sukuna loves fighting.

He really seems to enjoy battles, he will tease and indulge his opponents as long as it entertains him. He also seems to love cursed energy and jujutsu and he's always analysing what's going on. Little creepy nerd. He also seems to enjoy mentoring but not so much giving therapy XD

Sukuna and Yuuji

Sukuna's issue with Yuuji is all the more interesting because in theory Yuuji should be interesting to him. Yuuji has skills and is an extremely fast learner. He develops much faster than Megumi and reaches surprising understanding of cursed energy and the soul in a very short time.

But Sukuna seems to be annoyed by Yuuji. He pettily bullies Yuuji, disrespects him. Never acknowledges Yuuji's progress. Yuuji's weakness irks him in a very special way. Probably because Yuuji has control over him. But also because he can't break Yuuji, can't get him to cower or adore him. Yuuji doesn't follow any pattern Sukuna expects.

Yuuji also doesn't have the aspirations to become the strongest. Just strong enough. And he wants his strength not as much for himself but for others. Which really separates him from Sukuna's fanclub and most other jujutsu sorcerers.

If the twins theory is true, being with Yuuji also brought Sukuna back. He might vaguely remember what it used to be like to share all his time with someone. Maybe with his twin it was the other way round. Sukuna was in control of the body and the twin mostly lived in the inner domain? Maybe something like this used to be Sukuna's biggest fear?

Also if they were twins, Yuuji caging Sukuna would really affect his sense of self. He had perfected his jujutsu, studied cursed energy and fighting. Only to be held back by the weaker twin he though he'd got rid of.

Of course all this hinges on how much he remembers and how well. Some of the resentment might've been subconscious, of course. He seem to understand who Yuuji is only after he leaves Yuuji's body. Maybe he needed that distance? Maybe he needed to see again where Yuuji ends and he begins to understand who they really are?

Sukuna and Uraume

Having said that, I think Sukuna is perfectly capable of forming relationships with others. He has one with Uraume. They vibe together really well. They are happy to be around one another. Uraume is his servant but Sukuna jokes around with them. He also shows them respect and consideration. It's obvious he knows enough about Uraume to know how they feel and he addresses those feelings directly with praise or reassurance.

Gege said in the fanbook that Sukuna doesn't mind Uraume and likes their cooking skills. Which is probably true and probably how it started. But by now there is some sort of close relationship between them. It may not be romantic or sexual, like Gege seems to believe (as fandom that decision is truly up to us), but there is some kind of love, maybe platonic love of friends.

Because the issue is also quite semantic in nature. What do you define as love. I personally am wary to call the selfish adoration Sukuna's fanclub had for him as love. For me personally love has to go both ways and have an element of mutual mindfulness, it cannot be declared by one side and somehow become binding for the other.

That's why I think Sukuna is kinda full of shit. He might not believe himself capable of forming relationships. Or he might deem that pointless. But he's actually capable of it and he seems to enjoy the one relationship he has. Maybe the key to that acceptance is him believeing that there's nothing more there than Uraume being his servant?

[woodenfawn]

Thoughts on Rem and Ram <3

One of the first ever hints we get to how different they actually are is their little twin-talk routine. Along with the discussion of their "competency" as maids, and the Red Oni/Blue Oni story. And I think it's a really cool little detail!

Rem always speaks first. "Nee-sama, Nee-sama," referencing Ram as Nee-sama is a title that implies respect above everything else. Of course you can tell they love each other so very much but Rem is emphasizing how her older sister is the "superior one", which, I'm pretty sure, is why Subaru says that Ram gets special treatment. It is also interesting, though, that Rem is the one who speaks first in the routine- despite being the more insecure of the two. Ram is definitely more confident in her ability to mess with people and make rude comments, so why does Rem go first?

When Ram speaks, she simply calls Rem by her name, instead of Onee-chan or Nee-chan, and I'm curious about it. You'd think they'd have matching titles for each other, the Nee-sama and Nee-chan or something, but no, they very specifically do not. Even in a conversation pattern where they're playing into the "identical twin dynamic". I wonder if Ram is using this to remind Rem that she's her own person? Like, of course Ram loves her sister- and it's not a sign of disrespect. But she seems to have chosen to address her by name rather than by their relationship, and given how much she wants Rem to be remembered and loved by others, it might be a way to make sure they remember her as an individual. Interesting, given what happens to Rem.

I do think that this was Ram's indirect way of pushing Rem to be more confident in herself. She's always been able to tell how insecure she was, but I don't think she ever knew what to do about it, because the source of their problems came from the circumstances of their birth. Given how may years it'd been from the burning of their clan to arc 2, it surprised me a little to hear that Rem had held onto her inferiority complex and guilt for that long, when Ram cared about her wellbeing so much. I think if they'd had enough long talks about it, it could have healed (at least mostly) over time. I think it leaves the idea that either Ram was unsure of how to address it, or Rem refused to talk about it at all. Probably both.

I do also have my "Rem has OCD/OCD traits" theory because of how she. You know. Decides she needs to spend the entire rest of her life filling Ram's shoes and protecting her to atone for *one thought* she had in an extremely traumatic event. There's also the whole business with her being attached to the idea of living/dying for people she cares about as her ultimate proof of love, and her excessive willingness to hurt or kill *potential* threats to Keep Her People Safe. That's not to equate any disorder to a potential to hurt others! The world of Re:Zero frowns on murder in many cases, but it is far more willing to accept it as a response to threats- it can easily be forgiven with a good justification. The reason I bring this up is because Rem is very willing to act on her own to use Extreme Measures because she is *so certain she's right, and she HAS to do this to ease burdens on her loved ones.

!!!ARC 7/8 SPOILERS!!!

For these reasons, I find it very interesting that Rem was brought back into the story without her memory. We get to see a more unfiltered version of her. She still feels guilt extremely easily and holds onto certain ideas with a little too much strength, but she doesn't put up acts for people and she hasn't Attached Herself to someone. With no memory of Ram or Subaru, she has learned to think for herself and be more independent. It's mentioned that her personality is more similar to Ram's than it seemed to be before. I know many people are annoyed with how she's lost her memories because they want Their Rem back, but I honestly think this is a really interesting and worthwhile study of her character. I almost wonder if she actually would be happier if she never got her name and memories back, if she could live without her traumas, even if she is fully aware that she's missing a large part of herself.

Personally, I want to see her grow as she is, and develop her relationships and mindset and way of life from here, and *then* face her memories again. Her learning to love herself and have self worth and then facing the her that couldn't... that would be really cool, I think. I want to see her and Ram develop a new sisterly relationship and I want to see how it compares and contrasts with the one they had before. I love their dynamic, and I love how Tappei Nagatsuki is treating the reunion of the sisters. I am very interested, too, to see how things play out with Spica, given this is the closest kind of Capital P Protectiveness we've seen from her, in a similar way to how she cared for Ram and Subaru pre-gluttony.

She's definitely got a strong theme of Memory and Sleep as concepts, and I've been wondering if her name was intentional. Along with Ram being the hornless oni. Ram.

The fact that Ram may have spent this long trying to make sure everybody remembered Rem's name, just for her to be forgotten by *everybody*... man .

[millenari]

🎁💙💛🧠 for ur ask game

🎁 If you could give any of the ensemble cats a song, who would it be? What would it be about?

You would think I answered these questions to myself as I wrote them, but I Did Not Do That so i had to think about this one.

FIRST immediate reaction: MUNKUSTRAP! I think a song where the tribe surprises him by singing about how much he cares about everyone and how they all love him would be very cute. But I don't really think it would... I don't know, serve the story, I guess? That kind of thing seems like the type of song to happen at/after a climax and Cats has a lot going on at that point. Also I like that the two main magical cats USUALLY (glares at bway revival) are the only ones who dont sing their own songs at all.

Also I feel like such a song would be terribly similar to old d which might not be desirable. Plus, you know... munk's the narrator. The MC. it seems almost wrong for him to have his own song, as much as he deserves to have his Moment.

SECOND REACTION: the psychic twins! It's kind of funny to me how they're both plot relevant (sniffing out old deut, helping jemima) but the specifics of what their deal is is never specified. All we really know about them is that they're 'psychic', whatever that specifically is intended to mean. I'm imagining a kind of moody mysterious number, like the older version of M&R.

Actually given that thought it would kind of be cute if the criminal twins sang it. the psychic twins start up like 'we have abilities that any cat would have--' and jerrie and teazer jump in like 'THESE BITCHES READ MINDS' and they then go back and forth, leaving the audience unsure if the psychic twins are downplaying their abilities or the criminal twins are over exaggerating them, and a lot of their mysteriousness still holds fast after the song is over.

THIRD REACTION: you know those hcs that George from 98 is actually a dog who thinks he's a cat? Tbh I think a song about a silly dog who believes he's a cat would fit well in TS Eliot's book, not just the play, and it could be a fun silly number. every time one of the kittens starts to say 'but he's really a dog right?' or anything to that effect they get SHUUUUUSHED by the whole ensemble before they can say 'the d word'

💙 What's your favorite platonical ship?

I HAVE A LOT but I do love misto & munk. Misto being munk's little helper when he's a younger version of himself (and his Other Second In Command when he's older) are so cute. and you so rarely see a version of cats where the two don't seem to have a notable relationship.

💛 What's your favorite familial ship?

Misto and Victoria being siblings crept up on me. When I first got into Cats I kinda shipped them, but nowadays they're my little ballet cat sibs. They wuv each other.

🧠 Share a headcanon/theory about the show that you like!

The Jellicle Choice is heavily influenced by age. You're pretty much never going to see a young Jellicle Choice, but all the young characters sing about themselves on the ball anyways, just bc they like taking the opportunity to brag while they have an audience. (note that there are pretty much no younger-cat songs that happen while Deuteronomy is present, and Munk's personal Jelly Choice is Jenny, who's also older).

(Deuteronomy deliberately shows up to the ball a little late every year to give the Youths some time to wear each other out and have fun.)

[inlocusmads]

Even more predictions for Crimes of Passion 2

Check out the first one here

[SPOILER ALERT FOR BOOK 1]

Okay so I might've gone a little crazy here. This is based on the leaks we've gotten so far with Trystan's siblings' dossiers and the post about Trystan's family among various other theories. Here we go.

On the Thorne family:

So Vasili means "kingly/noble", Lydea (a version of Lydia) means "noble and beautiful", Sebastyan means "honourable" (usually used to describe kings and queens and just emperors in general), Astrid meaning "strength" Marguerite meaning "pearl", Emika meaning "charm" and Kasper meaning "bringer of treasure", Patryk meaning "nobleman" - all very royalty names, with allusions to grand treasures, the qualities of a good ruler and so on and so forth. Meanwhile you've got Trystan Thorne here with a name that means "sorrowful".

Now clearly there's a distinct divide between Trystan and the rest of the family. If I'm going to pull off some predictions here, based on the dossier leaks as well, Emika and Kasper are going to be the red herrings.

They're going to lead you on into believing that they're the ones who have done shady stuff. It doesn't help that Kasper is a jewel thief, according to the dossier and is known to conspire with his twin, Emika and they're both very close to each other. Emika has also been portrayed as a fashion icon and I can see them and Mags either getting along or not at all.

It reminds me of Olivia from TRR. We see her as this mysterious figure from Lythikos. I believe Kasper and Emika would be hurdles at first and I believe they might take an interest in MC because of the Calloway Museum incident and they might try to work together at the very end.

At least that's what my prediction is because PB has this thing where they downplay the antagonist's involvement (i.e taking Eleanor St Claire from a couple of sparse scenes and putting her into this villain jacket). I also feel like Kasper and Emika would play into the "meddling twins" archetype. Mysterious, alluding but goofy at the end.

Then you have Lydea who's literally my favourite. They can run me over with a truck and I'd still go, "Yas queen!". They single-handedly played actual politics and brought down crime rates and basically did their father's job.

I've also noticed this pattern where the Thorne children get roped into this lifestyle of royalty quite quickly. I'd like to think that's where Trystan's childhood trauma (if that's the right word) would've stemmed from. Mags arranged a boat search when she was sixteen. Lydea joined the Royal Guard when they were 13.

I feel like the dossier Luke compiled of Trystan would be a little incomplete, because most of their childhood is left in the dark.

Back to Lydea. I'd like to think they might be a little threat, especially since they are "the right hand to Queen Viktoria", who is Trystan's mother and it is likely they have a strenuous relationship with their mother, considering they talk about how all the negative press from the case might affect their publicity and how Queen Viktoria wouldn't like that.

So maybe a person to watch out for? I don't know. I still am kind of sold on Lydea's Lena Rys arc? The whole thing where even Lydea is kept in the dark and Viktoria is secretly pulling the strings.

I'm still unsure as to what Duchess Eveline's place is in the kingdom. It is clear Drakovia, being a traditional monarchy, possibly believes in polygamy (not to be confused with polyamory which is different) where a king can take multiple wives, perhaps to strengthen political alliances or even just have a couple of children.

We know that Marguerite is Trystan's half sister, so even Sebastyan and Vasili would be their half siblings. I believe Duchess Eveline might be another pawn in the game or she could equally have chances of being the central antagonist.

Clearly Maksim favours Trystan over others and it is even discussed briefly in Book 1. And from the family tree, if Trystan weren't there, the crown would go to Vasili, Eveline's child. Or it could also go to Lydea, Viktoria's child, who's shown to be the Queen's right hand person. It is clear there's a lot of political dynamics at play here.

Anyone could've wanted Juliana dead and both these sides of the schism hold strong contenders for the antagonist position. Duchess Eveline, I believe, would've wanted a more traditional Drakovia - perhaps when they were at their glory days, before the rebellion. Viktoria's side, simply because Lydea brought Drakovia to the 21st century, would want a new future, new bold vision for Drakovia as a champion in all the arts, sciences and military fields. Ultimately the new ruler after Maksim will change the future of the country and they're all after Trystan's position.

It is clear that Trystan did go to search for a partner in the nobility at the age of 18, according to their dossier and they were known for leading a "reckless lifestyle" which makes sense why Trystan is now a very influential pawn in the game. Something might've happened that would've made Trystan's parents and the government call them back home (towards the end of the first book). It was clear they dealt with the problem by dumping Trystan far away from home under exile, but it could be possible that old wounds are coming back to haunt them.

Trystan never really asked for this lifestyle, as shown in how sparingly they talk about their crown prince/princess title and only ever resorting to talking about Drakovian culture or Juliana or what their interests were. It is clear they didn't really want this, which makes them a perfect neutral ground for both sides to manipulate.

I'd kill for an Evil!Trystan arc and it is upto MC to race against the clock and figure out the real truth, as Trystan gets pulled into all sorts of rhetorics, gaslit into thinking they tied the topsail while others made them feel guilty - argh, it has so much potential and it also highlights how toxic family relations can lead to terrible things.

I also wish we had a Detectives Score system tied to how many allies we can sort through and how many people we can choose to trust. I really wish CoP 2 was truly choices-driven and there's this choice that goes, "Trystan will follow your advice and choose whatever path you tell them to" and that would be neat as frick, because then we'd get to explore how corrupted the Thorne family truly is and see how many people are actually being kept in the dark, with Trystan being one among them.

On the possibility of MC's father's murder being tied to the Thorne family:

It is clear they've got to be related. Trystan even says so at the end. These cold cases don't go away and they're willing to forge a stronger, permanent partnership to resolve all of that when they have the time.

I have two possible theories about this, since it came out of nowhere. Now, MC has always been ambitious about finding their father's killer. It's been recurrent that they're channelling all of that angst into their present cases and it has been nearly 10+ years since that happened. The same with the Juliana case as well.

I have a feeling that Trystan might know something about this. They've grown up in a household where noble kings brushed shoulders with dangerous criminals, sometimes even being the criminals themselves. It isn't uncommon that the mob might be tied to Drakovia, considering Bird, a Drakovian drug dealer, had his roots in New York, selling Glitter.

You also had that belladi salesperson. It is clear that Drakovia has some of its culture out there in the States and maybe in other places too, despite them painting it to be this mysterious country who are reluctant in teaching their culture to foreigners. Who's to say Kasper and Emika aren't tied to some underground crime ring?

Trystan might know something about this and they're probably a little convinced with that theory, enough to implore MC into doing this partnership with them. Or it is just an utter coincidence and that, in their eight years' time here, Trystan probably genuinely knew nothing about it and they just wanted to make a thing out of this "new opportunity" after Sonja's case.

If at all, Trystan had a vague idea about Jimmy Rose, I'd like to think they would inform MC about it in Book 2. Otherwise, it would open up the possibility for a fantastic angsty scene with MC going "fuck you man, I trusted you!". (Maybe I really am a glutton for angst.)

Now there are of course, a lot of theories as to why and how Jimmy was killed but it is shown that he was a noble police officer who wouldn't rest until everyone got their justice and the victims and survivors were paid back for their trouble. It might be a speculation, but he might have stumbled into something big.

Drakovia obviously isn't like a huge cultural phenomenon like say, the UK is for instance. Trystan could walk into random shops and just go about New York and only some would recognise them. But imagine finding out a thread of scandalous information tied to one of the most powerful, mysterious monarchies in the world. Imagine stumbling onto something insanely huge that Drakovia might have to send in reinforcements to kill; perhaps contact their local assassins and dirty cops to finish the job for them.

If Trystan and MC were threatened with death from a very traumatised grandma, who also deserves jail time after figuring out about a secret cult that carved people's hearts into diamonds, imagine the sheer level of threat a country in Europe known for their torture chambers and executions would pose.

Or maybe the Hand of Mahra is the mob. I don't know. It is clear that both the actual cult and the imitation cult had their fair share of powerful people who could also kill. Eleanor was the last surviving member of the cult but it would be risky even for her to simply have counted on Tony to kill the victims. It is clear that Eleanor built this from the ground up and it must've taken her years to find Tony and brainwash him into doing her job. It is also unclear as to how they even met.

Either way, it isn't Eleanor's first rodeo. Things could've been happening way before Eleanor could've even met Tony and she is powerful. She's got a political son-in-law, she's got so many ties to people and maybe, just maybe, she's got some royal connections too.

I want to preface the next couple of points by saying I'm not a religion expert. I don't know what Drakovia believes in or if they even believe in a set of religious beliefs. I'm making the general assumption that they have Slavic roots, being situated in the Baltic mountains and would maybe draw some of their own culture from Eastern European roots. Anyway, let's go:

The Hand of Mahra is based on Mahra, the Celtic goddess, who shares some similar characteristics to a character from Irish mythology known as Morrigan, who also has three faces or forms and is called "the great queen".

The only triple-headed deity I found in Slavic mythology, specifically tied to Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is the deity of Triglav which translates to "three-headed". This is what they had to say- The three heads of this Slavic deity represent the sky, the earth, and the underworld. Ancient Slavs believed Triglav’s heads meant he ruled the three kingdoms of this Earth, which were the present life (earth), the future that awaits us (the sky), and the underworld (the kingdom of the dead or the past).

This sort of is reminiscent of the Mother, the Maiden and the Crone. The Crone being the past, with her wisdom and knowledge. The Mother being the present - all protecting and serving and the young Maiden standing in for the future as a symbol of hope.

Now is this all a massive plot to prove that the Hand might be a fraction of Drakovia's shall we say, interests, since Bird gets Drakovian Nightshade and makes Glitter and has sold it to them. Is Drakovia actively involved in cults? According to Emika's dossier, it appears they started this "community" over social media which was termed as a 'cult' in this ambiguous, unhelpful way.

Does that imply that Emika and many others have shown an interest in these affairs? It would make sense too, because it is likely Trystan would've got upto a lot of hijinks in his time in New York and they would've made the Press many times (the caller on the phone at the end of the bonus scene talks to the hooded person about how "they had to bring Trystan back home because they couldn't rely on gossip rags to keep track of them") and that, they only chose to bring them back home only after they made the Press about Sonja's murder?

It just seems interesting. For a reckless royal that they desperately wanted to control, they did let Trystan go off the hook many times but only chose to show an interest in them when the opportunity popped up.

It is likely we'd see a cultist sort of theme going on throughout the story because if PB pulled off a Foreign Affairs (advertising it as a political thriller but serving teenage angst instead) or a TRR Sigrid Plot Line instead, it would just change the direction of the whole story. It wouldn't make much sense for MC to jump ship and go solve crimes to a royal degree, rather they'd hone their craft and specialise in these kinds of things, such as a massive organisation, espionage sort of thing

. I definitely smell a cultist, mythological theme going on throughout the story or at least, a large enough group of people to imply that there's a cultic connotation.

It is also likely that Jimmy would've stumbled onto something like this too. The Hand of Mahra went back years and years ago into the past. Way back in the 60s and 70s. Even in the 90s, when it is likely Eleanor could've picked it up after her parents passed.

The whole thing with the baseball game also seems like a random string of events. Jimmy was stabbed at the parking lot, near Box 32. It definitely didn't seem like it was planned because it isn't your typical abandoned warehouse story or this kidnapping thing. It felt too much like a crime of passion, which by definition is a "crime committed due to a sudden strong impulse rather than a premeditated crime".

Whoever the perpetrator was, they never planned on killing Jimmy, rather they could've been provoked. Killing Jimmy was *a* plan, but maybe they wanted to negotiate. Maybe Jimmy Rose knew something about it and they were elated that he was a man who held a position of power in the NYPD and they were thinking of making him an ally and when he could've refused, they might have stabbed him.

And maybe Eleanor and the Drakovians knew about it too. Maybe they wanted Jimmy gone, if he couldn't have been an ally. And maybe that's why Eleanor didn't butter up MC or Trystan, despite her knowing that she could easily manipulate them like she did with Tony and make them become her followers. She could've done that.

She could've done that in the past. She probably tried the same diplomatic approach with Sonja, Bethany and Reese and when they refused to cooperate, she had Tony kill them. Sonja did stumble onto this massive secret. She knew about the old cult and she knew too much and soon enough, she became a threat.

I feel like Drakovia would have this pattern of squashing up the witnesses. Heck, they coached a confession out of Trystan and gaslit them into believing they killed Sonja. If they did that to their own heir/heiress to the Throne, who's to say they wouldn't enforce the same to a random cop in New York?

It is also strange that Trystan got exiled to New York. Granted yes, the Homeland Accord does provide Drakovia an advantage since they clearly do a lot of business with the US and it would seem comfortable to send Trystan to one of the biggest cities in America, considering they have a lot of connections there but it also doesn't make sense because the mysterious caller from the bonus chapter "still relies on gossip rags" to get their information about Trystan?

Or maybe Trystan is that uncooperative. In the very first chapter in Book 1, Trystan upon meeting MC, goes - "Who sent you? Vincenzo? Marius? My mother?" and it only adds to the suspicion that Viktoria Thorne might be the mysterious caller and the central antagonist to the story, but that's besides the point.

It is clear that Trystan does show a considerable amount of resistance to assassins and spies, which makes sense why Drakovia would've stopped sending more of them. It is also likely they might have tried something with Mags but because she finds even the smallest of sluice ways to get out of Drakovia and come to New York to check upon her brother, they wouldn't have had much luck with her either.

Either way, the whole "Why New York?" question would likely be answered. Maybe they really did see Jimmy Rose as a massive, massive threat and maybe they sort of put Trystan there, as this strategic move to sort of lure whoever is related to Jimmy in any way to stumble upon this.

Maybe they aren't quite done with him either, so this is all just a personal case now. It would make more sense too because MC can't catch a break, they don't have a lot of closure, it's terrible for them and they keep taking care of others not knowing when it is time to put themselves first. It would be interesting if the reason was a personal issue because it would add more relevance to what it means to commit "a crime of passion".

I know it is too thin of a pie to slice because Jimmy is dead and MC doesn't know so even if there's a chance that Drakovia is involved, they wouldn't care much for it. They'd probably care for the fact that Trystan is spending so much time with a detective and that might alter their perspective about things. It is clear they also have some worries over "the detective sniffing around here" and it is likely they would've already done a background check on MC.

The one thing I'm sort of banking on, is the whole red herring plot. When we were first introduced to the Imitation Hand of Mahra, we saw people with the same mask as that of the killer. It is likely there are many hooded figures from the bonus scene and that they're all being told different things.

Even the Thorne children would've been fed all the wrong information, or maybe only parts of a whole and that, nobody knows what the other knows. It is upto MC to fit the puzzle pieces together and somehow see the bigger picture and that seems to be the likeliest theory that might happen.

On the identity of the Hooded Figure:

We know that the hooded figure is tied to the Drakovian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and maybe there are more of these hooded figures spread throughout each branch of the government. Considering Trystan is technically 'a foreign diplomat' kept under exile, it is clear that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be seeing over their well, affairs.

Maybe there's a possibility of seeing all sorts of these hooded figures everywhere else. I already suspect Lydea, even though they're cool as fuck, mostly because they are Viktoria's right hand person and I'm still subscribing to the theory that Viktoria might be one of the central antagonists.

Anyway that's it. That's all for now. I'll see you with even more theories! Bye.

[mewatchingstuff]

Some random initial thoughts about episodes 4 and 5 of PLL OS:

Minnie "Mouse"

- I immediately assumed she would be pulling a 'Hard Candy' with the dude, but apparently she's running some type of therapy scenario for people who have missing children?

- The general agreed upon theory on Mouse backstory is that she went missing for awhile and these new episodes keep going in that direction.

Tabby

- it feels like Tabby is starting to release her anger more and that's pretty enjoyable to see. I wanted her to full on beat the shit out of Greg and/or Tyler, but breaking Tyler's nose was good too.

- The Wes and Chip stuff. I don't know what the deal is for Wes other than him wanting to be involved with Tabby. Like what's his overall point in the show? Tabby already has trauma and tells Wes off, so what's his purpose for still being alive on the show? Idk. Chip, I really feel like he's the one who assaulted Tabby. He gives off the same vibe as Beaver from Veronica Mars.

-Tabby and her many movie references but the Chucky quote/mention while Imogen was having her emotional breakdown about her and mom and everything just took the cake. LOL! Tabby got to chill way out with the references.

Marjorie/Noa's Mom

- I hope actually does dispose of her. Not just for being a jumpy, blame passing bitch in the past but for being one in the present as well. The fuck is wrong with her? She jumped with the quickness to say the pills the Sheriff found weren't hers. Marjorie is so quick to allow Noa to take additional blame if it means she doesn't get caught. I can't even be mad that A made Noa snitch. Marjorie deserved it.

Imogen

- I like that she's still investigating because some of the other girls kinda forgot or just wanted to put A behind them because they went two weeks with no new messages from him. Completely nuts for them to consider it as an option to forget about it. Also for Imogen this is the only way she can process her mom's death and her own unsure future.

-I know she has a lot going on but I'm surprised she didn't question why one of her moms former school mates denied having any knowledge of Angela or the og 5, but snitched to Sidney about the investigation later. Like that should have been a major red flag for her. But at least she found one source willing to help.

- so Imogen most likely did get assaulted and became pregnant because of it. Apparently it happened the same night as Tabby's assault. That's fucking rough

- I don't think the girls thought out the whole "Imogen can take over th house payments!" plan. I know they didn't think it out. No way that one Halloween party in their small ass town will allow Imogen to make monthly mortgage payments.

A

- okay, so it's very telling that A doesn't break locks to get into the house but instead uses the keys. Very telling. Telling what? No clue.

-So going back to one of my previous posts, it does appear A is a renegade killer based on his last victim. He's not sticking to a planned target or group of targets. But his killings aren't random either.

Faran

- I'm nervous about her plot because they got her looking crazy for this Karen = Kelly stuff. But I do like how the writers predicted that is the direction the fanbase would go with the twins. It's a total red herring.

-How many times is she going to be knocked out of this damn ballet? She lost the Odille part twice already! Girl, just go to Pittsburgh with your mom and get into a good dance school.

- More Tabby/Faran scenes are needed. I very much enjoyed their interactions. Faran's taunt to Kyle and Greg after Tabby punched Kyle was hilarious. I love her so much.

Kelly

- The Kelly stuff is all 'Single, White Female' about Karen. She wants to take her place and A's involvement gave her the opportunity.

- This finally proves, for me, that Kelly and A aren't working together. Kelly doesn't seem responsible for Karen's death. It's clear that she is willing to take Karen's place as the main twin now.

[lunapwrites]

ask game: 13, 14, 21!

sooooo tempted to ask 18 but I shan’t be rude LOL

6 if you can be bothered to look it up (just so i can go give it some love)

Hiya!! I'm still gonna answer, I am pretty reasonable about it haha.

SO.

13: favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

Well if you listen to my Spotify Wrapped, it's Cocteau Twins' album Garlands, specifically "Shallow Than Halo." I apparently drilled that song into my head a whopping 129 times while I was writing a particular, erm... scene. In LTL. It also slaps so I'm not mad about it lol. If we're talking about what has most inspired my work, Pearl Jam's Ten has been THE work. literally spawned the entire series. But if we're talking about which album decided to just yank my heart out and stomp on it and say THIS IS THE MOOD YOU'RE WRITING IN NOW PEASANT then that honor goes to Ruin by The Amazing Devil, which has only been out for a month. Specifically the song "The Old Witch Sleep and the Good Man Grace." It came out while I was writing Chapter 16 of LTL and how very dare they. Seriously though I recommend it.

14: a fic you didn't expect to write

That honor goes SOLELY to three knocks upon the door. I... kicked open the door on a whole new ship and genre for myself and I legitimately feel like I knocked that one out of the park. If you had asked me at the beginning of the year if I was going to write something like that I'd have been like "hmm, intriguing idea, but no." And yet here we bloody well are lmao.

18: (because I will answer this) current number of WIPs

A non-extreme number! At present, I have Louder Than Love which is my main fic, and I could sort of wrap the sequels/prequel up into that bubble as well. But it's part of what I am aiming to make into a tetralogy. We'll see how it pans out! As far as things I'm actively writing now, I've got my academic war AU, Applied Theory, which I'm working on another chapter for. I've got a deaged Remus fic that I've been poking at when I can spare braincells (the working title for which is put that thing back where it came from or so help me) and then I just signed up for a prompt from the Remus Lupin Fest which is I think going to nest in very nicely with LTL and be a fun(?) companion piece, or alternate-reality version or something. Idk, most everything I write takes place in that universe lol. So yeah, just those 4, and one of them isn't even properly started. :P

21 I answered in another ask, so refer to that one XD

6: Least Popular Fic This Year

So, I am going to immediately disqualify anything in my Out of Orbit series, since that's effectively my trash bin -- please don't perceive them. Otherwise, I am unsure how to parse this exactly, BUT I can say that probably my least popular fics seem to be the drabble sets, with very few exceptions. But the saddest one is Song of the Shepherd's Dog - grand total of 13 kudos since I finished posting it on 2/19. :deadinside: It's 5 horror drabbles about Remus Lupin, pretty much all surrounding his Lycanthropy in one way or another. There's some Dean and Peter POV in there too. It was a cool writing exercise.

Satellites (series) and Lost Dogs also haven't gotten as much play as I'd have liked to have seen -- especially Lost Dogs, which has barely seen any movement since I posted it a year ago. It won the competition, and then no one touched it again (which is where I feel three knocks upon the door is headed, sadly.)

Anyway, that's it! Thanks so much for the ask!! <3