#nothing! absolutely nothing!! there is no extra context there is no secret information that suddenly makes this okay!!

[gottagobuycheese]

head against wall head against wall head against wall

[melodiesofblueroses]

Could you do nishimiya, yuu and kouta who finds out that they have an s/o who is secretly a heir to a royal family? Thank you :)

Hey hey anon! I hope this was something along the lines of what you wanted~ Thank you sm for your request and hope you enjoy 💕

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𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: Kouta Hasegawa x gn!reader, Yuu Mizuno x gn!reader, Ryo Nishimiya x gn!reader

𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦: Fluff

»»————————-　♡　————————-««

☆ Kouta Hasegawa

this man is the definition of shell-shocked. seriously, you could practically see the way his brain froze as kouta processed the information. he had to ask you over and over again to make sure that his ears weren’t deceiving him

i mean, kouta always knew that there was something special about you. how could someone be so loving and caring and full of warmth !! you were indeed someone he held close to his heart

and the fact that you were royalty! it now all made sense (no it didn’t)

he’s definitely full of admiration, not that he wasn’t before, but this time it’s pretty hard not to notice it. the fact that his lovely s/o was someone of importance this entire time certainly made him somewhat giddy

but kouta also grew more nervous around you

you were still the same person that he fell in love with and deeply cared for - that hasn’t changed - but the fact that he now knew that you were royalty made kouta see you in a bit of a different light

he’s now a lot more cautious around you, careful as to not accidentally say anything out of line (he rarely did so anyway, but he seemed to be extra careful)

to him, you were a formal figure that deserved immense respect given your royal status, even if to you, it meant absolutely nothing

i can see kouta start to doubt himself and question if he was a good enough s/o for someone of high honor such as yourself

this was one of the doubts he’s always had about himself, but with this revelation, it really just worsens, and kouta begins to wonder why you chose someone plain and boring like him

honestly, you’d have to tell him that nothing has changed about you at all, so he had no need of being extra cautious or formal around you. after all, you didn’t like being treated like royalty or put on a pedestal simply because of your heritage. you liked being seen and treated as an average human being

and you’d reassure him that he was the perfect match for you, saying that there was no one else you’d choose. you didn’t need royalty and all that stuff; they were just titles that held no meaning after all. you simply wanted someone to love from the bottom of your heart, and that happened to be kouta

it’s certainly reassuring for him to hear that he was more than enough coming from someone he loves and trusts. if that was what you said, then it had to be the truth

and if you do decide to take the throne, kouta would be right there as your prince no matter what

»»————-　♡　————-««

♡ Yuu Mizuno

definitely gets excited and perhaps a tad bit loud when you mention that you were a royal heir (you had to shush him and swear that he’d keep quiet)

yuu couldn’t believe that he’d been with a royal heir this entire time. it came as a shock since he certainly never expected himself to meet someone of high status. if he had to describe it, it felt a bit magical in a way

he’s not one to treat you any differently because of it, however

yuu fell in love with you for your personality, looks, little mannerisms, etc. not because of your status. sure, he did find it cool how you were a royal heir and all, but there was no reason to treat you any differently

seeing how yuu didn’t change the way he looked at you after the revelation surely was something you adored about him as well

it was nice to see that he still treated you the same way and didn’t put you on a pedestal just because of your royal status. it made you forget that you were even an heir at times because of how so casually yuu took it

though he definitely does start to tease you and call you sweet pet names such as “my majesty” or joke about if your highness needed anything. basically anything to reference the fact that you were a royal heir

from the outside, they were nothing more than cute pet names that yuu loved to call you, but given the context, at times, you couldn’t help but get all flustered and taken aback each time yuu says them

or sometimes, i can see yuu tease you and say “ah, just as expected from our beloved heir” each time you said something rather clever, acting as if he was your very own supervisor

he definitely does it just to fluster you. the look on your face each time he brought it up was too cute

but yuu is also quite intrigued by the entire prospect that you were going to take the throne

he asks you about it a lot, if you were willing to talk about it, since yuu is so interested in the entire process and how it all happened. he loved to hear you talk about your family and how life was like. the fact that you lived an entirely different life was interesting, and yuu wanted to know more about it and you

though when he teases and asks if you were thinking of having a partner to rule by your side, he’s the one that flushes and gets speechless when you say that you were thinking about him. admittedly, however, yuu is quite happy

“aww, you shouldn’t say something like that so carelessly y/n~”

it was hard to believe that given the pink that dusted his cheeks

»»————-　♡　————-««

✿ Ryo Nishimiya

certainly thinks you were messing with him at first

his s/o was a royal heir? that seemed to have come out of nowhere. besides, there was no way that someone like ryo would even meet a person of high prestige and status

but when he sees how serious you were about it, saying that it was the truth, well, ryo practically freezes as he tried to process what you just said

you were a secret royal heir!! this sounded like something out of those romance shows that were a guilty pleasure of his. it felt like his life just suddenly became much more interesting

i can see ryo get more clingy and quite protective afterwards. he already loved your company and always seemed to be by your side, but once you told him that you were royalty, it only increases

he’s practically like your very own guard, making sure that no one is bothering you or getting too close for comfort. admittedly, ryo has always been like this before, but now that he knew that you were royalty, he’s even more protective

you definitely do appreciate the sentiment, but you do have to tell ryo to tone it down a bit

i do think that ryo tends to overthink about pretty much everything, so i can see him warning you to stay alert in case anyone found out you were the heir and tries to do something to you

ryo cared a lot about you, even if he never outright admitted it, and he really didn’t want anything to happen to you. it was adorable, you had to admit, to see how worried he was over it

you’d have to reassure him that no one else knew since it was a secret, so you were going to be fine; though you don’t miss the opportunity to tease him and call him your own knight

(ryo does get red and tries to deny it, but admittedly, he didn’t seem to entirely hate that title)

i think he’d make the mistake of putting you on a pedestal just because of how much he admired you, and the fact that you were royalty only heightened that. ryo really did find it to be so cool that his very own s/o was someone of great importance

when you notice it, you do have to confront ryo about it and say that he didn’t have to treat you any differently. you’ve always had royal status, just that now he knew, and you loved ryo no matter what

it is a bit of a reality check for ryo once he realizes that you were right, and he is quite embarrassed, but he couldn’t help it. he just loved his s/o so much and found you to be so cool

well, it was certainly adorable how much ryo adored you, so you couldn’t help but smile and accept him when he apologizes, knowing that he meant no harm

and you can't help but tease him afterwards and ask if he'd like to rule with you when you inherit the throne, not able to hide your giggle when you saw how red and speechless he turned

well, you took that as a 'yes'

[wings-of-a-storm]

Phew, I am half way through unraveling my thoughts on Lucas’ and Eliott’s big afternoon together. As the flirting gets more blatant, my posts get longer -- I don’t make the rules.

I’m saving your dashes with a cut though! :)

ELIOTT’S APARTMENT

So already one obvious question comes to mind: does Eliott live alone instead of with family? Because that room they were in screams bachelor pad. Plus there was no bed there, so no way is that tiny, cluttered room shared with anyone else as an actual living room. Not with Eliott’s drawings and belongings scattered everywhere. So if Eliott is living alone, I wonder how this will or won’t affect the setting of later plot.

BEER FOR TWO

Eliott saying he has some beer to lend Lucas and then coming out with a ‘suitcase’ of the stuff is pretty funny. I’m not sure if it is supposed to show us that Eliott likes to socialise a lot with friends, or that he might use it as a coping mechanism when his you-know-what gets overwhelming, or whether it is just to show us the difference in age/experience between them – that Eliott can afford loads of beer and is independent already to have such a cache of it stored up (he must surely live away from his parents!), or that he generally lives the life of a university student more than a highschooler (but I’m not French so what do I know?).

What I love though is that Elliot came into the room with two extra beers to visually lure Lucas into staying longer. He could have just asked Lucas if he wanted a beer and then gone off to get a bottle upon hearing his answer, but our sneaky Racoon wanted to make sure Lucas would really stay. How can you say no to someone already holding up beer (especially when they are already doing you a favour)? Plus having the item right in front of you is so hard to resist and so, I dunno, action-oriented (I’m sure there are studies on it). Smooth work there, Eliott. True lit student?

ELIOTT’S SPIRIT ANIMAL: THE RACOON

I love how open Eliott is with Lucas about his drawings; that he actually told Lucas that the racoon was meant to be a portrayal of himself. That is very personal information, right there.

BUT THE RACOON LOOKS SO SAD. DON’T DO THIS TO US, ELIOTT!

From the get-go, Eliott has been so open with Lucas and keeps offering bits of himself up even though Lucas doesn’t often reciprocate. Is this to make his secrets all the more painful? Because you get fooled into thinking Eliott is just this warm, open person who is upfront about everything? (Am I being too coy, Skam France? What I meant to ask was: is Eliott’s consistent openness a way to make the end of the episode that much more painful for Lucas? Because he was not expecting that sort of omission from Eliott? Ouch France. Very ouch.)

Anyway back to Eliott’s love of raccoons. How cute is it when Eliott got a little defensive when Lucas shortened ‘racoon’ to ‘rat’ and Eliott was like: IT IS A RACCOON! SHOW SOME RESPECT, BOY! Okay maybe it wasn’t so cute -- Lucas insulting the raccoon is like insulting Eliott and a representation he holds dear in his heart, and for a second, he seemed to take it to heart.

In Skam Italia, we had a deceptively brilliant spirit animal chosen for Niccolò and his state of mind (the giraffe whose heart fell in love before its head caught up), and now we have Eliott’s raccoon.

The most obvious connection Eliott has with racoons is from his own words: they wear a mask. Eliott points out this characteristic to Lucas in typical youthful exuberance, as if it is Zorro or something. But in reality, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt pretty sad hearing him say it despite his adorable smile – it feels like he is already masking (pun definitely intended) why he is drawn to the idea hiding your full identity.

It is pretty interesting how Eliott’s internal turmoil is already being foreshadowed, actually. In previous versions, we’ve seen the pictures his counterparts have drawn and stuck on their walls. We’ve tried to study them to figure out what our Evens were trying to creatively express about themselves as they drew them. But the drawings have never been overtly explained to us by their actual owner before! The mask reference is unmistakable and a real little gem of an insight into how Eliott views himself in the world.

Aside from feeling like he has to wear a mask, I wonder what other elements of the Racoon will come into the storyline later…

‘HOW WOULD YOU DRAW ME?’

Oh my god, Lucas. Just oh my god. No matter how many times I rewatch this clip, my jaw drops at how bold Lucas is. Like have you no shame, child?!

A) Asking Eliott how he would draw him is basically Lucas saying: LOOK AT ME. STUDY ME. TURN ALL YOUR ATTENTION ONTO ME. LET THERE BE A MOMENT IN THE WORLD WHERE ALL YOU DO IS THINK ABOUT ME.

B) I know we’ve all been joking about ‘Draw me like one of your French girls’ but it does feel that intimate. Drawing a portrait, whether it is a spirit animal or not, is an intimate affair. Not necessarily Jack Dawson’s naked ladies-of-the-night kind of intimate, but still exposing on some level. Lucas was basically all: I want to get intimate with you. Challenge accepted or not?

B) The context of their conversation was about spirit animals, about Eliott knowing himself so well, he can see his own characteristics in a specific animal. But how the hell is Eliott supposed to know Lucas well enough to nominate an animal or even have a basic concept of Lucas so early in their acquaintance? They have spoken twice. Lucas asking Eliott how he’d draw him assumes that he is important enough in Eliott’s sphere for Eliott to actually know him the way he’d know a close friend. And since Eliott doesn’t know him that way, it is almost like a challenge to get to know him that way.

C) It is such a huge assumption that Eliott would have the time to even verbally craft a drawing of Lucas. That, my friends, is a transaction. Lucas just robbed Eliott of a suitcase of beer and now he’s demanding something else from him? I know he didn’t ask for an actual drawing, but even just coming up with a theoretical one takes time and thought. The boldness, Lucas, the boldness.

It was all such shameless flirting. Can you imagine Isak or Martino being bold enough to be all: draw a picture of me, babe, and add me to your collection. It was like Lucas skipped testing the waters and just went straight for it.

But somewhere along the way, Lucas must have felt confident enough to go there. Was it because he had seen how open-minded Eliott was in Polaris? Or because he was picking up on their own vibe together? Whatever it was, he was comfortable enough around Eliott to truly flirt. Our baby gay is actually flirting with another boy! But it makes the betrayal at the end of their afternoon so painfullll. I am sensing a pattern here, Skam France: ouch!

And the flirting worked. Because Eliott saw what Lucas was doing and fought fire with fire: damn right he took the opportunity to study Lucas’ face, to openly gaze at him for as long as he wanted and really take him in. (And Lucas ‘bold gay’ Lallemant didn’t even drop his gaze!) I love how Eliott even tilts his head back and steps back for a proper look, like challenge accepted, Lucas Lallemant.

But, incredibly, the quality of his gaze seems to shift, as if we can actually see his artist mindset clicking into place while he appreciates the angles of Lucas’ features and enjoys them.

It felt like such an intimate moment.

Of course what happens next, my friends, is the moment when Eliott drops one of the biggest lies of his life: “I don’t know how I’d draw you.”

L.I.A.R. My mind legit screams that every time I see him take that swig of beer.

Seriously, did you notice Eliott’s foot trying to push the folder full of Lucas’ drawings under the couch? Okay I am joking but those sketches of him must surely exist somewhere. If just glimpsing Lucas on his first day of school inspired Eliott to take another look at Polaris (as seen by the dates on his instagram account), he surely would have doodled Lucas and some of the things he had seen him do with his friends. That sip of beer seemed so much like guilt and thinking fast to cover himself. He lowered his head and everything. Guilllllllty. (Either guilt because he had already drawn Lucas, or guilt because he just got a flash in his mind of the perfect sketch and it was too personal for sharing.)

What I love though is how serious Eliott suddenly sounded when he said: “I’ll have to think about it.” Like even though they had both been half-joking about the whole drawing thing, Eliott really does want to try drawing a portrait of Lucas in whatever form and he is so flustered about that desire when confronted with Lucas’ seemingly omniscient gaze.

And then Lucas does that eyebrow wiggle and Eliott goes from barely-holding-on flustered to send-help flustered. He not only broke the super charged eye contact with Lucas, but had to physically turn his head away to hide his face from him!

Not only that but he suddenly brings up smoking weed out of nowhere -- it had absolutely nothing to do with anything they had been talking about! I imagine it is because smoking weed is Eliott’s go-to method to calm down and he really needed to in that moment so it just came out of his mouth.

And, well, luckily for Eliott, Lucas is a snake that has no qualms about offering up his friends’ weed for further bonding time. ;)

As other people have already mentioned though, it is such a fascinating change that there is such mutual woo-ing going on; that Eliott is charming and Lucas sees it and raises it and ends up knocking Eliott out. It happened with the piano obviously, but this clip is where it really begins.

[diyunho]

The Joker x Reader -”Venom” Part 2

The Joker broke into a top secret lab to steal vials with an experimental pathogen and what he found in there was actually Venom. From that moment on life has been more complicated, but thankfully chaos is The King of Gotham’s trademark style.

Part 1: http://diyunho(dot)tumblr.com/post/179365800921/the-joker-x-reader-venom

-- You and The Joker are spending the day at the beach with Venom. The symbiote is frying in the scorching sun while the couple found refuge beneath the huge umbrella.

“Aren’t you hot?” you address the alien and he turns on his side, enjoying the outdoors.

“No. On my planet we have 10 suns like this one so I’m cold.”

“Wow, that’s amazing! Did you hear that?” you enthusiastically elbow J. He’s currently dozing off with his head on your tummy because he wants to feel the baby kicking. I mean, you're one month pregnant and there’s really nothing going on yet but The King of Gotham dismissed the obvious.

“Huh?” The Joker opens one eye, unhappy to be woken up.

“On Venom’s planet they have 10 suns!” you repeat, super passionate on the subject.

“Fascinating,” J growls under his breath. “Aren’t they on the verge of extinction if they only have 10 young males in their world?”

“What?!” you frown, not understanding what he means.

“You said they have 10 sons,” J gets annoyed since it’s not clicking for you.

How does he always misinterprets everything?!

“No, not 10 sons as in kids, 10 suns as in celestial bodies!” you flare your arms around, pointing at the shiny globe in the sky.

“Stop wiggling around, the baby might move and I’ll miss it!” J gets pissed and holds you tighter.

“The baby won’t move. There’s barely anything in here!” you poke your tummy. “We don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl, too early to tell.”

Venom yawns and extends one of his arms to touch your tummy for a few moments, carefully listening.

“The little human is going to be like you, Y/N.”

You gasp and The Joker lifts his head up, suddenly alert.

“You mean a girl?!” your boyfriend’s mouth opens in amazement.

The alien licks some sand because he loves the taste, then nods in agreement.

“Yes. Mmmmm…crunchy…” Venom shoves more sand in his face, savoring the exquisite flavor.

“We’re gonna have a girl!” you scream and kiss The Joker, while he’s still stunned. “We should start decorating the nursery! Let’s go on a heist tonight!”

“Great idea, Pumpkin!” he agrees, already having a place in mind.

-- Yeah…it didn’t happen. Y/N and J had a huge fight and she left to spend the night at the hideout near the Bridge of Angels. She’s actually contemplating spending the rest of her life there…

If only!

You took a hot shower and just began reading a book, not that you can concentrate on the words dancing in front of your eyes.

You jump when the sound of broken glass interrupts your quiet night. Something else is being smashed, then another object. You creep out from behind the wall to take a peak in the main warehouse only to see Venom on a rampage, shattering a bunch of your favorite art pieces.

“What the hell are you doing?!” you barge in as the alien prepares to wreck a valuable Ming Dynasty ceremonial vase, gifted to you by the Joker two months ago. “That’s part of my collection!” you yell at him and Venom brings you up to date:

“This is how we woo females on my planet: we destroy everything they like!” and without further comment: Bam! your beloved vase is history. Literally.  

You are so outraged you forgot to breathe.

“If you touch one more thing I’ll never talk to you again!!”

The symbiote doesn’t have any doubts about his courtship skills, but hearing your serious threat makes him have second thoughts: 

“It didn’t work…” Venom whispers to The King of Gotham.

“Did he put you up to this?” you sulk and prepare to let out an outpour of indignation.

“No. I told him what my kind does to get the attention of a female and he said it’s a great idea, plus that we should also blow up your car after we’re done here to seal the deal.”

“Excuse me?!��� you get on your toes in order to be closer to Venom’s face.

Uh-oh, you seem super mad.

“You’re on your own,” the alien immediately disappears, leaving his host completely exposed to an angry Y/N.

“Goddamn traitor,” The Joker shrieks through his clenched jaw.

You and J glare at each other with contempt, ready to fight again.

“Why are you here?” you pout and as usually, your boyfriend blames another:

“Venom dragged me out of The Penthouse in the middle of the night against my will! I didn’t want to see you!”

“We missed you and he couldn’t sleep,” the alien’s voice spits out.

“Shut up!” J growls and Venom has more information:

“He was afraid you’re not coming back and panicked. So we decided to come for you.”

“These are aberrations,” the feisty Joker casually scratches his thigh, accidentally pulling down on his gold boxers that happen to be your favorite. The elastic fabric nicely hugs all his perfect curves, not that you noticed such a trivial detail.

“What are you doing?” Venom hisses in his host’s ear.

“Zip it! This is how we woo women on this planet!” The Clown prince of Crime grumbles as your eyes check him out.

-- “Go home…” you kick his shin, your defense lowered due to the skimpy attire he’s wearing.

“He says you are his home,” Venom reads The Joker’s mind and decides to share.

“I didn’t say such nonsense!” J straightens his back, proudly disclosing his perspective on the matter.

“You were thinking it,” the symbiote blurs out. “And he really missed you.”

“I was only gone for three hours,” you pout and The Joker scolds the alien:

“Stay put and shut your trap!”

Y/N is contemplating her existential choices while The Joker crosses his arms on his chest, mentioning the main hardship:

“I’m cold!”

“Maybe you should have worn more clothes than a pair of tight boxers,” you unconsciously bite on your lip.

“It’s none of your business how I decide to dress myself,” J blows a rebellious strand of green hair off his face, indifferently resting his arms on his hips now, this way you can see the tattoos in all their glory.

Not to mention the soft skin you certainly don’t care about.

You’re still hesitating so it needs to be reinforced:

“I said I’m cold!”

A second look at those boxers and you pout more.

“Come to bed then…” you drag your feet on the concrete and the boyfriend follows with a huge smirk.

“I can’t believe you did something right!” Venom is sincerely amazed at the Joker’s strategy.

“Give me five!” J extends his hand in the air and the alien hisses:

“Five what?”

“Ugh, you’re killing me!”

“No, I’m not. Our DNAs are a match. I’m not harmful to you; quite the opposite.”

“Seriously now!” J gets annoyed because sometimes Venom doesn’t get the meaning of Earth’s entire vocabulary.

“I’m always serious,” the symbiote doesn’t get this one either.

J is short on patience and doesn’t have time to explain the meaning of words in different contexts so he teases:

“If you’re always serious, come out and have a serious talk with Y/N.”

“No way,” the alien refuses. “My survival instincts advise of the opposite. On my planet we don’t mess with enraged members of the opposite sex: they’re very dangerous.”

“Pfft, you guys are sissies, you don’t know how to handle them,” J expresses his conviction on a subject he has no clue about.

“But you don’t know how to handle Y/N, you mess up all the time. Aren’t you a sissy too?” the symbiote innocently concludes.

The Joker is absolutely, indubitably and unquestionably shocked at the remark.

“How dare you?! I’m The Joker and…”

“We are Venom!” the alien argues.

“No, we are Joker!”

“Venom!”

“Joker!”

“Not again!” the annoyed girlfriend crawls on her side of the bed, fed up with her shitty night.

-- You keep your distance and J pulls you on top of him without any extra effort.

“Warm me up!” he slides his fingers in your pajama shorts, gropes your butt and keeps his hands there. “First you’re gonna warm me up because it improves my dexterity, then we’re gonna full around and then I’ll listen to the baby,” a new schedule is laid out.

“There’s nothing to listen to, our daughter is just a small bean,” you grouchily mutter. “And I don’t want to full around, I’m upset.”

“Then get off me, Y/N!” The Joker smells your hair, holding you tighter.

“No…” you adjust your body on top of his, squirming around since it’s nice to feel him close.

“I bet in 10 minutes you’ll rip my boxers to pieces; I know you want me, you’re just playing hard to get.”

You sniffle and bury your face in his neck; such a strange coincidence he’s wearing your favorite cologne.

“Mark my words: 10 minutes!” The Joker’s prediction resonates in your exhausted brain.

In about 7 minutes you’re both out, tired after the eventful evening; Venom finally emerges, testing the waters.

You’re snoring with your mouth opened, also drooling a little bit and one dark tentacle gently pushes up your chin.

Snoring intensifies.

“Such beautiful sounds coming out of her,” Venom admires the noise and curls around the King and Queen of Gotham. “Nice humans,” he licks your foreheads, pleased the cringe worthy octanes flowing out of Y/N are getting louder and louder.

-- “We have company!” you warn your boyfriend and Venom is more than excited: he took over for tonight’s robbery at the baby store, this way everything runs smoother. Batsy’s cape is floating on the top of the opposite building and the alien opens one of the huge windows, waving at the masked vigilante.

The Batman’s body is transformed into Venom’s favorite relative, the creature expanding until it reaches over.

“This is my cousin Poison,” the symbiote presents him to a totally smitten Y/N.

“Oh… my…. God… so cute!” you squeal and Venom adds:

“It’s a burden that cursed the entire family.”

“I like your girlfriend,” Poison wraps himself around your waist and you giggle, ticklish at his touch. “We’re still single,” he gestures towards Bruce Wayne. “He ordered a new pair of tights so I guess we’ll be busy for a while.”

Venom lets The Joker out because he wants to get his nemesis’s attention:

“Hey, hey!!” J flares his arms around. “Hey, loser!!! How are the stretchy pants fitting, huh?” he maliciously snickers and Batsy gets worked up at the innuendos.

“What did you say, Clown??!!”

“STREEETCHY PAAAANNTTTSSS!” The Joker has no problem yelling back the insult.

“I had enough of his crap!! Let’s get him!!” Batman commands his alien without success:

“I’m not engaging in any type of combat with cousin Venom!”

“We’re going to beat that jerk to a pulp!” J fumes as his symbiote yanks him away from the imminent altercation:

“No, I’m not fighting cousin Poison! I told you we like each other!”

-- Jeez, such a mess: The Joker was furious at the missed opportunity, not to count your disappointment that the first encounter with Venom’s cousin was abruptly ended over some stupid stretchy pants.

Things calmed down in the household after you started talking about baby names again, all three parties involved finally agreeing on the first name: Emma.

But the last name… that’s a different story.

“Emma Von Joker sounds very royal,” J scoffs and arrogantly ignores your displeased attitude.

“Emma Von Venom is better!” the alien clings to you, softly petting your knees in order to get your approval.

“Von Joker!”

“Von Venom!”

You wish there was a way you could beam them both into outer space because they’re driving you nuts. 

Thankfully, you might have a solution to end the useless conflict:

“What if we use that couple name you came up with last week?”

“JoVen?” The Joker gets pumped up since it was his idea.

“Emma Von JoVen,” the symbiote debates, then exposes all his 89 teeth in what you might call a smile. “It sounds good.”

“Hmmm…. has a certain ring to it,” J takes the bait.

“What if we skip the “Von” and we just go straight to Emma JoVen?” you manipulate the conversation in order to get what you want. You caress Venom’s big head and seductively wink at your boyfriend, puckering your lips in the process.

The Joker is so eager to get laid after falling asleep last night he’s not fussing for once:

“Alright, we can do that.”

“OK,” the alien is fast to agree, happy he has your affection again.

Despite everything, Venom and his host are pretty lucky to have a woman they don’t know how to handle.

Not bad for two sissies.

 Also read: Masterlist

http://diyunho(dot)tumblr(dot)com/post/153664676321/joker-x-reader-masterlist

[whetstonefires]

d gray man liveblog part 4! (part 1)(part 2)(part 3)

No but seriously, Cyril Camelot is the English Foreign Minister and just staged an assassination attempt on himself for an excuse to declare war on the people he just spent a while negotiating an agreement with.

Why? In what way does this benefit the Noahs?

(...why is the name of the country censored, I feel like hoshino-san just didn’t want to try to come up with a plausible European country for England to go to war with in 18-mumblety.)

I mean Bookman says tragedy breeds akuma in his analysis, but they took Japan while it was so emphatically not at war that it had zero foreign relations at all; war is clearly not necessary for the Earl’s bargains to go through apace.

Cyril kind of looks like he just does this shit for fun.

...”the evil man who made the world his enemy” is a fascinating choice of words, Tykki Mik, I really wonder very hard about you.

And you’re right, when he’s not wearing his balloon costume, and talking normally, and buying flowers from little girls, he looks normal! Weird how that works.

Question: is that umbrella he declined so he could walk in the rain Lero? Does Lero have to share the Earl with other umbrellas outside of official monster business, or disguise himself as a normal bumpershoot when out in public? Is that servant another disguised akuma, or a normal person who has no idea?

...it’s probably an akuma.

YAY KRORY WAKE UP!

why so many chain. it’s not like he lost track of who his enemies were in that last fight, even when he was made of blood. rude to chain.

aw he cry. he cry! ;_; he cry for his friends!

this is the kind of sad boy i like. he can be annoying but not in, you know, a murdery way.

holy shit creepy ghost girl?! i...logically must have read this part before but i don’t remember it, damn i was bingeing like a mad thing.

where...where did the poison come from. why is Krory’s arm sticking out like that. what is going on.

Why Are The Order So Bad.

aaaaand cut to the kind of random hijinks that seem intended to lift the mood but tbh they’re kind of too grim in their own right.

lmao alternately this is an excuse to draw kanda and lavi as chibis and Allen with long hair.

If it’s not because of structural damage, why are they moving to a new base? No one’s said anything about the new headquarters being any more secure against frickin’ teleportation. Maybe the Pope just wants the Order distracted with moving chores?

(I like referring to the higher-ups at the Vatican as the Pope; I realize we have no actual evidence the actual Pope even knows any of this is happening, but if hoshino is gonna be having people shout that other people are ‘property of the Pope’ i’m gonna use the word Pope as often as I can get away with because

1) it makes the whole thing more ridiculous b) it emphasizes the European Gothic Via Japan vibe going on here which is at least 20% of the entertainment value and thirdly, ‘Pope’ is fun to say.)

Oh, right, Allen’s ongoing identity crisis! (it only gets worse from here, kid)

The bosses were logically correct to make Cross Marian do his ‘report to Vatican and be responsible’ part before giving him the pay-off of ‘allowed to talk to Allen’ because otherwise he’d just fuck off but damn it’s hard on the kid, being left hanging.

I absolutely do not believe for one second this business with Mana’s past and secret motives was planned before the series started, but that’s honestly for the best; it’s more wrenching when we didn’t have any more reason than Allen to suspect something was off.

...i like when nice clowns adopt people tho... :o(

not telling the brass or their stooge about your creepy extra reflection was a Good Call.

yes link really truly allen is a good kid who is not plotting evil shit. sheesh.

more Potion Accident gags, i’m sorry, i can’t keep up with your taste in mood whiplash and i never liked most slapstick anyway. the bunny ears are. strange.

...never mind who made the ‘talk like a cat’ potion, who packed that box Miranda spilled; that is such an absurd chaotic collection of items organize your shit people. eesh.

Lmao everyone’s #1 creepy ghost theory is, Komui Playing A Dumb Prank.

...okay, Allen’s reaction as the Matron gnaws on his arm, and the fact that everyone’s first assumption is that Allen has annoyed this very sensible woman to the point that she is communicating via teeth, manages to be funny but noooooo, why would you, not Awesome Shoes Lady after she made it through the Level 4 Akuma attack unscathed, come onnnnnn.

okay, uhhh...contagious vampirism zombie thing...lmao everyone gets worried about matron when she bites Miranda, everyone is super embarrassed when Miranda bites Noise, this is just some impressive Not Realizing Shit’s Fucked guys.

okay, zombie horde of various survivors of all the recent massacres.

uh, if this weren’t being dropped at a time of total emotional exhaustion, it would work better. it’s already working better the second time around for the fact that i took a break after the last arc.

considering it comes out monthly and we had a Noah interlude, it probably worked in the original context just fine, but daaaaaamn did this storyline piss me off the first time, all i even remember about it is the rage.

:D Lenalee rescued Tiny Kanda. Who for some reason can interpret her ‘nyah’ sounds.

...how is a stimulant drug contagious via biting.

i remember the first time i read this i naturally assumed the biting disease was derived from Krory. that still would have made more sense.

robot eats notebook, lol...bickering...”my pride won’t allow me to become a zombie” yes allen excellent logic you weirdo.

okay i’m done checking back in when slightly less stupid shit starts happening....

okay never mind the robot’s fireworks blew Allen through a wall, where Krory was suffering in chains, and then the blanket spontaneously combusted, and then there was somebody with an axe...

...and then Allen wakes up and is informed he was knocked out and concludes Krory’s situation was a dream oh come on.

krory is at the door! but being creepy! the robot refuses to open the door out of self-preservation! allen seduces the robot into risking its life!

...

‘this is nostalgic’ with the hero face on i can’t.

okay, so it was Krory, who apparently swallowed the entire bottle of poison, lid included? for some reason?

oh great there’s a parasitic zombie ghost thing riding Reever and sticking its face out his stomach. horror! nope, now played for laughs.

aaaand suddenly veering back into pathos. bonus info about evil human experiments!

...aaaaaand touching bonding moment for the Lees. Aww.

Not only is Komui protective and self-sacrificing, when he isn’t being psychopathic, he has absolved Lenalee of his having sacrificed his entire life to watch over her after she was kidnapped into this.

then a stupid gag! and the ghost does a creepy jealous possession thing! and meanwhile everything is on fire.

et cetera, mood whiplash back and forth at least once every other page...komui starts reciting from memory the names of every single person killed in the Order’s human experiments...

...i don’t think the names are intended as an additional gag, but most of them are fairly odd and many downright improbable, though none truly syllable-mashing outrageous. I’m rather fond of Asia Smet and Oona Boelyn.

a page and a half of heart-rending pathos, and then the robot falls off the ceiling with a huge syringe of ‘vaccine’ it synthesized from Krory’s blood because he was the first infected by the...stimulant...egad, that’s not how any of that works.

and then, and then...anyway then everyone was zombies and the boss from China came in off-panel and fixed everything, as you do.

i truly hate you hoshino katsura, all the more for the fact that i genuinely loved about 15% of that parade of neck-wrenching bullshit.

anyway! that’s all over and done with, we are now on a boat being cute, because allen is using the stolen teleportation Ark that only he can drive to open a door between the old Castle headquarters and this...uh...cave? that they’re moving into.

...oh hey Shadow Of Allen (XIV) is now sporting wings remarkably like the ones Krory had during his drugged vampire zombie freak-out. i bet that means nothing whatsoever.

man whenever Leverrierererererer turns up i hallucinate ominous music. smug assholish ominous music. slimier sounding than the Imperial March, you know?

that’s not just my biases, hoshino-san lights the panels very effectively to create that effect. egad, he’s going to be in command??? is that why the move, because it was easier to undermine komui’s authority if he was removed from his entrenched power base?

...we just covered last chapter that that castle was a leverrier family fortress originally tho. huh.

excessively creepy secret Pope police involved in isolating and depowering Allen.

also lol that is very Japanese-style religious magic going on, that is not what a Catholic ritual binding would look like at all. not that they have as much settled precedent, their demon-fighting standards run much more toward ‘make it go away.’

aw shit komui’s right there and he can’t do shit, best he can get is a promise that ‘if Allen is a good child’ he won’t die.

flashback! aw man allen the first lesson mana ever taught you was to make peace with the dead and let them lie. should’ve listened.

...man allen was a grouchy brat. i wonder what color his hair was, before it went white. haha apparently he acquired his adoptive dad by running away from the circus with him.

pfffffft little allen hated clowns, that achieves the level of actual irony...welp, suicide joke.

aw shit mana was too burned out on grief to cry for his dog but allen could, for the doggie that licked his hand once. imma cry now.

whoa actual conversation with Cross Marian! under the supervision of papal ninjas (known as Crow) within a magic cage of paper. and wow! an actual answer to a question! unprecedented!

...it isn’t labeled which of these kids was Mana and which was (the most recent incarnation of??) the Fourteenth but imma hazard a guess that the one with hair that matches little Allen’s is not Mana.

oh also Adam Puddinghead killed the 14th, i don’t think we officially knew that until now? or maybe it came up when he blew up Edo i don’t recall.

oh my god i was definitely bingeing too hard last time; by the time Cross Marian started referring to the 14th in the second person to Allen my capacity to be astonished or distressed was burned right the fuck out. i was just like ‘yeah yeah figured get on with it.’

it’s actually a pretty dramatic scene, but it’s weird to be getting this shit in straightforward exposition after all this absence of any information at all.

wait “the human implanted with” ... “the host for his revival” ... i can’t tell if Cross Marian is referring to whatever the normal noah transfer process is or some way 14 found of circumventing that.

ohhhhhh man this title page has tiny clown Allen and it is the cutest shit ever.

did i ever tell you guys one time when my mom was two and a half, she had her stage debut as the cutest little pigtailed clown? and she ran onstage toward her daddy just like they’d practiced and the whole audience burst into delighted laughter.

and Tiny!Mom turned to look at them in appalled horror, and u-turned right back around and ran offstage again.

no one had successfully communicated to her she was going to be laughed at by a bunch of strangers. possibly they didn’t expect a toddler to mind.

oh sure Cross Marian, tell the kid the horrifying truth about himself and his dad in the most overdramatic way possible, in front of witnesses, and then when he dissociates in horror just beat the shit out of him until he resets.

the amount of playing abuse for laughs in this series is one of the many emotional strains that led me to drop it the first time.

it’s honestly a contest sometimes who i currently hate most, Marian, you or Labradorito or the Earl. Ech.

‘no idea’ tch. but if you’re saying he implanted his memories into Allen before he died, then...the Earl caught up with the 14th really recently, then?! How long were he and Mana on the run? I totally forgot these details, wow. i suspect some of them will turn out to be false.

...why the fuck are you saying it like this? bastard.

wow CM you almost look spooked by the fact that allen cares more about the possibility that his dad never actually loved him than the prospect of having his mind eaten.

maybe he’d care more about the mind-eating if the 14th was the Earl’s ally instead of planning to use allen as a weapon to kill him? allen is already using himself as a weapon to kill the Earl.

oop, way to get him back on target! “what if i told you you’ll kill the people you care about?”

aaaand cut.

that was like ten chapters’ worth of blather, i need to get more efficient.

[jhwdrawsthings]

The Last Jedi Teaser Poster Anyalsis

Worth a Thousand Words

An Analysis of The Last Jedi Teaser Poster

Having just returned home from Star Wars Celebration: Orlando, I am filled with emotions, excitement and anticipation for the next installment of the Skywalker family saga. I was fortunately enough sit in the The Last Jedi panel, after 20 hours of sitting on a concrete floor, and an additional 10 hours before hand, queueing outside. However, that panel was worth every second of the wait time. And while most people will say the long anticipated teaser trailer stole the show, as an artist and illustrator, for me, the star of the show was the teaser poster, that was also revealed.

My jaw literally dropped as I stood in stunned silence as the crowd cheered around me. In fact, my line buddy, a member of the 501st by the name of Matt, repeatedly asked if I was okay as stood agape at the poster, amazed in it’s brilliant design as well as very clear and intentional use of visual story telling. I was flabbergasted at the bold choices made by Lucasfilm in this teaser poster, and I do believe that this is more of an indicator of the film’s story, rather than the trailer. This poster tells us, the viewer, everything we need to know about the direction of the upcoming movie, as well as helps dispel the rumors that The Last Jedi will be nothing more than a carbon clone of The Empire Strikes Back.

Before I go into detail I just want to say that it’s no secret that I ship reylo, however, for the purposes of this discussion, I am setting aside my implicit biases and talking about the facts stated in this poster, rather than fan speculation and conjecture.

First and foremost, what stood out to me is the simplicity in the poster’s design. We see only three characters, Rey, Luke and Kylo Ren. After doing extensive research, I found that this is the ONLY poster with just three characters. All previous Star Wars posters depict the main ensemble of cast members, as far back as 1979’s A New Hope. Never before has a Star Wars poster depicted only three members of the cast, and it is a clear statement that these three characters are the most important in relation to the story. There is also a not so subtle nod to Luke Skywalker in the original promotional theatrical poster for A New Hope. Both Rey and Luke are positioned in almost the same spacial area, in the same pose, with an ignited light saber raised up. For Luke, this symbolized his acceptance of his heroic journey, and the inherent power he possessed. For Rey, however, the meaning is vastly different. The sequel trilogy is very much about passing the torch from the old generation to the new, and unlike in The Force Awakens, Rey is present and accepting of that power, physically and metaphorically, in The Last Jedi, the second installment, rather than the first. Rey is our new hero, now heroine, embarking on her own heroine’s journey.

Now I know not many fans like Kylo Ren, and in fact they perceive him as a whiny emo cry baby, trying his best (and failing) to emulate Grandpa Vader, but his importance in the story cannot be overstated! He is the descendent of Darth Vader, and Leia Organa, and as much as most fans dislike him, that’s just simply a fact! The Star Wars trilogy movies are about the Skywalker family, and he is the new Skywalker of the trilogy. He is important to the cinematic universe as a whole, and characters from the The Force Awakens who easily had double the amount of screen time as him, such as Finn, were purposefully omitted from the poster in lieu of Kylo Ren. Regardless of how much fans like his character, he is going to play a very impactful role in the film to come. I know that he is not the most important character or the focal point of the poster, however, given the overly negative response he solicits from fans, I felt that it is important and necessary to make my position, and the poster’s narrative clear; even if you don’t like his character, Kylo Ren is a key player in the Skywalker family saga, and the cinematic universe as a whole.

When analyzing any piece of artwork, regardless of the the medium, the best jumping off point is the focal point. In The Last Jedi teaser poster, the viewer’s eye is immediately drawn to Rey, brought forth by the strong contrast of the blue halo of light emitting from her lightsaber. In terms of visual hierarchy and storytelling, she is the most important element to not only the poster, but in the movie it represents. Her position, in the lower center of the foreground suggests that she is the most grounded of the three characters, and thus the one that we, as the viewer, is meant to relate to the most. However, she is removed from both Luke and Kylo, positioned below them, which indicates that she was not a initially part of their conflict. And originally, she wasn’t. Rey was just a scavenger, abandoned by her parents on Jakku, struggling each day to survive. At that point, Rey didn’t know or care about the Force, Resistance or the First Order. Her primary goals and motivations were pure and simple, survival.

This coincides with the backstory indicated in not only The Force Awakens but also in Claudia Grey’s novel, Bloodline. There are no indication that either men knew who Rey was or her origins until she found BB-8 and became tangled in fight with the First Order. Luke and Kylo have a contentious and tumultuous past, filled with conflict and anger, as they stand on opposite sides of Rey’s light saber. This is a visual metaphor for the Force, and where Luke and Kylo represent the Light side, and Dark side respectively. Separating them is Rey, and the light of her saber. Although she is removed from their history, Rey has been flung into the foreground of the struggle between opposing sides of the Force. She is part of their present, and thus their future. In short, the resolution of Luke and Kylo’s conflict rests on Rey’s shoulders, both metaphorically and visually in the poster.

The struggle been Kylo Ren and Luke is an interesting and important to the story, but what is more important is what it represents! At its core, Star Wars is a fairy tail, and was intended to tell stories and teach children about the human condition and morality. Understanding every detail of Luke and Kylo’s past is less important as what their struggle represents. It is the timeless struggle of good vs. evil. If the timeline in Bloodline is to be trusted completely, and there are no extra twists and turns in the interum, Kylo Ren turned to the Dark side of the Force approximately six years prior, and has been unable to locate or confront Luke since his disappearance. What has changed in that time? Why will Kylo suddenly be able to locate his former master on Ahch-to? The answer is right in the poster, Rey!

This of course opens the doors to a whole new set of theories, such as a Force Bond, or Snoke obtains a copy of the map and so on. But there is practically no solid evidence to substantiate any of these claims, and at this point, they are pure conjecture.

I also find Rey’s placement in the middle quite interesting in the wider context of the history of the Force itself. One of the central themes Star Wars has always been finding balance. In the prequel trilogy we saw this through Anakin’s development from the heroic Jedi knight, to the Sith Lord, Darth Vader. And yes, Anakin is responsible for choosing his actions and must therefor accept the consequences of such actions, however, the biggest contributing factor to his descent into darkness was the Jedi Order and their absolute refusal to acquiesce to the basic human nature of love and attachment. In fact, one can argue that the Jedi Order is even more barbaric and cruel than the Sith. Companionship and attachment is one of the hallmarks of humanity, and by denying them, they are essentially denying being human. But the Jedi Order in both the prequel and and original trilogy was the personification of the Light side of the Force, while the Sith representing Darkness. Too much of either side’s influence causes the Force to spiral out of balance, and thus the galaxy is thrown into chaos again. This was demonstrated numerous times on both sides, such as Anakin’s betrayal, or the New Republic unknowingly creating the groundwork for the First Order.

In short, the brighter the light, the darker the shadow. Both light and dark must be present in order to achieve balance, and Rey’s placement, directly between the light and dark, makes her the fulcrum, or the point of equilibrium. In essence, it is Rey who is who is going to bring about that balance.

Another interesting observation I made was that all three characters, Luke, Rey and Kylo Ren are all colored in red. I cannot stress this enough, the psychology of color is important! Specific colors invoke particular and subconscious imagery and responses. Color theory and its use in marketing and illustration is a universal language. In fact, color tells just as much, if not more, of a story as the composition! There are two primary colors in the poster, red and blue. Red is the color of darkness, evil and passion. Blue on the other hand conveys serenity and tranquility. Why is Kylo’s lightsaber red? Not because he uses the Dark side of the Force, but because the color red has a strong visual impact and the human brain automatically associates red with darkness and power. It’s no coincidence that the color red is associated with the Sith, while blue is attributed to the Jedi! Everything you see on screen or in print was designed to create a specific response from the viewer and convey as much information as possible with no words.

Further more, in both The Force Awakens and the teaser trailer for The Last Jedi, it’s made quite clear that our heroes and villain are all experiencing a crisis of faith in the Force. Rey had her entire existence turned up on its head looking for guidance and training. Luke, it is suggested, fell into despair and solitude after the death of his acolytes because his teachings and philosophies failed to save his own nephew. Kylo, who just recently murdered his own father in hopes of committing himself entirely to the darkness, felt more weak and confused than ever before (this is said nearly word for work in The Force Awakens novelization). Because the color red is frequently associated with the dark side of the Force, and I find it quite compelling that all three figures are bathed in red. To me, this suggests that the trio are all going to be struggling with their inner demons, which often implies the temptation of the dark side. In fact, the only beacon of light and hope comes from Rey’s light saber. Some have argued that the light comes from Rey herself, but when you compare her upper body to her lower body, you can observe that just like the figures above her, Rey’s form is red, and the blue reflected in her face is emanating from the lightsaber, rather than Rey herself. This coincides with Rian Johnson’s choice to make the Episode VIII title font red, and maintains visual continuity. The most logical conclusion one can extrapolate is in The Last Jedi is going to delve into much deeper and darker overtones and story lines than it’s predecessors.

The positioning of Luke and Kylo in relation to each other is another aspect to this poster that I find intriguing. Luke and Kylo’s heads are above Rey; in this poster they are literally watching over her, and her choice to accept the Skywalker lightsaber. However, they are on opposing sides of the saber, as described above, representing the light and the dark. As a viewer, this design illustrates a sense of tension and conflict in both Luke and Kylo, but also in how they view Rey, and her choices. This image is clearly setting up the overtone that Rey has to struggle between choosing accepting either Luke or Kylo. In other words, it’s another iteration of the never ending struggle between the light and the dark.

Looking back in The Force Awakens for a moment, we remember that Kylo Ren extended the offer to teach Rey, “You need a teacher. I can show you the ways of the Force!” We all know the choice Rey makes at the end of the movie, but what about Luke? Will Luke even want to teach Rey after his previous failings at reviving the old Jedi Order? The following does begin to tread into the territory of conjecture and theorizing, however I do believe there is solid evidence to back up what I am about to speculate, or else I would have omitted it form this analysis. At The Last Jedi panel, Daisy Ridley, under the watchful eye and ear of Kathleen Kennedy, did reveal some very interesting information. We, as the audience were MEANT to know this information prior to viewing the poster, or else the CEO of Lucasfilm would never have permitted that information be divulged (like the Rogue One mishap at Celebration Europe 2016). Summarized, Daisy stated that Rey indeed does meet her hero, Luke Skywalker, and like in real life, how we  (Rey) envision our heroes does not always coincide with the reality of our heroes. This very clearly sets up the idea that Rey and Luke are going to have a less than harmonious relationship in The Last Jedi. This is also backed up by some previous leaks and spoilers from MakingStarWars.net, however until we know the veracity of those rumors, I do not treat them as fact, like I do the things said directly from the people at Lucasfilm. The statements from Daisy Ridley at the panel, however, were purposeful in sparking ideas and igniting the flame of this idea that Luke and Rey will not have a peaceful mentor/mentee relationship in the same light as Yoda and Luke’s relationship.

Mentorship has always been another key themes throughout the Star Wars saga, from Anakin’s tutelage under Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, to Luke studying with Yoda. There is every indication that those reoccurring themes will continue, but in a different fashion. It’s been made pretty clear that Rey is going to struggle with Luke’s training, and we already know of Kylo Ren’s unrelenting conflict within himself, stemming from the teachings of Supreme Leader Snoke. Snoke ordered Kylo to kill his own father, an act that he did follow through with, but the novelization has proven that that act made him more conflicted than ever before. Where it should have brought him strength, instead he found weakness and doubt.

And all of this ties back to Kylo Ren’s original offer to Rey to teach her. It is my belief, based on the evidence above, that Rey is going to struggle between the teachings of Kylo Ren and Luke. You may ask “how will Rey learn from Kylo? They aren’t on the same planet?” Well even that is partially answered in Episode VII, and confirmed in tweets made by Pablo Hidalgo. Pablo definitively said that Rey learned so much so quickly at Starkiller Base because she extracted the information from Kylo Ren’s mind during the infamous interrogation scene. So in a way, Kylo has already become her first mentor.

Both the Light and the Dark are justified in their beliefs and teachings. Adam Driver previously stated in an interview that Kylo Ren vehemently believes he is and was justified in his actions, and it’s quite clear that Luke fully intended to disappear into the galaxy as a frizzled old hermit. What will happen if Luke does not agree to initially train Rey? She has all of these newly awakens powers, and no way to control them. Just like Kylo stated, she really does need a teacher. But which teacher? The Light or the Dark? Or, at what this poster suggests, something in the middle!

By placing both of Rey’s mentors above her, two Force users who are much more skilled and honed than she is, it indicates that both mentors are going to be fighting within Rey’s psyche. Luke will be teaching her one method, while Kylo and his Dark side influence will be pulling Rey in the opposite direction. This is wiring and character growth done right! The setting and characters have been established in the first film of the sequel trilogy, while the second installment places challenges and obstacles in their path. Without those challenges, characters will not grow or develop. Even more evidence for this is Rian Johnson’s prior statements that the characters in The Last Jedi are going to be tested and pushed beyond their limits. What would challenge Rey more than knowing she is can identify and relate to the person she hates the most, Kylo Ren? That would force the characters into a position where they have no choice but to adapt and evolve into something that spans beyond the juxtaposition of the Light and Dark side of the Force.

In other words, Grey Jedi!

Most likely it won’t be in so many words, but the concept behind it will remain the same. A world of Force users that are not bound by the narrow dogmatic codes of the Jedi or Sith! And while I do find both of their ideologies absolutely fascinating an an integral part of the Star Wars canonical universe, by constricting Force sensitives to Jedi/Sith, Good/Evil, Light/Dark is extremely limiting and grossly inhibits the idea of character depth, subtlety, progression and nuance. Maz Kanata and Ahsoka Tano are prime examples of Force sensitive individuals in the Star Wars universe who are canon and are Force sensitive, but do not fall into the dichotomy of Jedi and Sith. There has never been a main hero character in the films (which are the primary story telling means in the entire franchise that reaches the most viewers and has the biggest impact on mainstream pop culture). Luke Skywalker was seen as universal good, the epitome of the Joseph Campbell’s hero, who embarks on heroic journey on behalf of goodness and justice. The passing of the torch from Luke to Rey indicates a paradigm shift in the understanding of the Force for not only the characters but the viewers and fans as well.

The light saber in the poster is another piece of evidence for this! There is no partition between red (Darkness) and blue (Light). Instead there is a gradient emanating from both ends of the lightsaber, further emphasizing that this story will not be so simply as “kill the monster, save the world” but instead of dimensionality and gradation. There is middle ground to be found in the Force between the Light and the Dark, and Rey is the key to unlocking it. Or as Rey quite simply puts it in the trailer “balance.”

                                                        ********

On a personal side note, I do believe this teaser poster does further add fuel to the Reylo fire, and it makes be believe even more fervently that Reylo will eventually become canon in some iteration, but I wanted to keep my personal biases and theories out of this analysis. If anyone enjoyed reading this and would like to read my views on The Last Jedi teaser trailer and how it relates to Reylo, I’d be more than happy to comply. But I wanted and needed to get this poster off my chest first. My mind has been boiling over, wanted to put these thoughts down in some sort of organized fashion because as someone who is fluent in the language of illustrations as a medium for visual story telling, this poster blew my mind. I stood just flabbergasted at how blatantly the story implications were, but when I asked people about their thoughts they all came to different conclusions. And yes, that is the point of this poster, to get people talking and theorizing about what it all means, however visual story telling generally complies with a set of rules that are universally, albeit often subconsciously, understood by the viewer.

 Whew! I wrote this entire analysis in a single sitting. I apologize if there are any immediate grammatical errors, but I proof read this a number of times, so I am pretty sure that it’s correct.  EDIT: Thank you to @sleemo who helped me fix the grammatical errors in this!