#she doesn't like situations in which she can't control how she responds or what happens when she does

[mars-ipan]

overcoming anxiety (through practicing the things that scare you) is so interesting. i used to be horrified of taking up space or alerting other people of my presence. now i'm compelled to tell strangers i like their outfits or hair or earrings- on bad days i tell maybe a quarter of them. do i still overthink it? absolutely. but i call attention to myself to tell someone else my opinion. and with the way they tend to smile and tell me "thank you!" i'm pretty sure it's taken to heart.

i used to be horrified of making phone calls as well. this is one i'm still getting over- i just Don't Like Doing It. i used to have a phone call routine that i still joke about- realize i need to call someone, cry, avoid it for a few days, suck it up, write a script, memorize the script, cry again, final script read, make the call with the script in front of me. and i would be Exhausted by the end of it. i don't cry when i need to call people anymore. i'm even needing scripts less and less- i've found out that people actually won't kill me if i talk a little too fast or stumble on my words. i doubt i'll ever like making phone calls- i especially hate robots (i'm afraid they'll mishear me and direct me wrong or a person will suddenly show up and i won't be prepared)- but i can make them now.

i get overwhelmed really easy. just a thing that happens to me. my brain is really really good at taking one task and breaking it up into thousands of little tasks and it feels like i'm drowning. if i try to make it fewer larger tasks then it starts to feel insurmountable. i was completely lost on how to deal with this (other than avoid until you get that panic attack and can do work in the post-catharsis calm until 6:00 AM) until one night when my dad (who i often meet late at night due to overlapping mental illness symptoms) asked me how to eat an elephant. i looked at him, confused, and he said "one bite at a time." that was way more effective than any other analogy i've seen has been. "light at the end of a tunnel"- i don't feel like i'm moving forward, i feel like i'm scaling a wall. "steps on a trail"- i can see my destination, but it feels impossible to move forward. but eating an elephant? that sums it up perfectly. this huge task which seems impossible at a glance. but it must be done. so you eat the elephant, a bite at a time. every time i'm overwhelmed i repeat that phrase to myself. it hasn't made any major changes yet, but it keeps me calm enough to start before i hit the panic attack, which i'll take.

i was such a perfectionist growing up- i actually thought it was a good thing (school always taught me to strive for perfection). but it made me scared to try new things- if i wasn't immediately good at them, then it clearly wasn't for me. i'm still not great at starting new hobbies, but i try a lot of new things within the hobbies i already have. i test out different ways of making art, i try new puzzle games i don't understand, etc. and the feeling of steady improvement reminds me that i don't need to be good right away. some of the most satisfying moments don't come from immediately being good- they come from achieving that skill over time. i'd like to try to learn to sew soon.

idk it's interesting. i rewire my own brain's fear response by doing the Horrifying Thing enough times for me to understand that no i will not die. and while i'm doing it it feels like nothing is changing. i get so stressed every time- it can actually take a lot out of me (turns out fight-or-flight burns a lot of energy). but i look back at then vs. now and i realize how far i've come, and i can't help but think "huh. neat"

[iamsuckateverythingtobehonest]

Between The Wall

Pairing: Sagau!Aether x Reader

Summary: Aether finds solace in the voice, he once hated and now loves.

!Warning!: First Time Writing, might be bad!

Part 1/3

Aether's first memory after he woke up from his long slumber is hearing a voice talking. It was distant but felt close to his ear but he saw no one near the vicinity.

He pushed himself up from the ground, patting his hair to clean off the remaining sand that stuck on his clothes.

'Where is this? How long I have been sleeping?'

Aether's eyes enlarged when he looked up to look around.

The world... He looking at is incomplete like it was just building itself. The sky had sun but it was dark, the birds that were flying in the sky moved without flapping their wings. The ocean and the sand he steps on, doesn't make a sound.

Aether started walking trailing along the shore, his frown evident. He doesn't know what to think about his situation at all, his first thought is to search for his sister who has been taken away fromm him but now he doesn't know what to do when he doesn't understand what kind of world he is in the first place.

Once again the voice he heard came up again, they sound frustrated but unfortunately, Aether couldn't understand the language they spoke, he couldn't decipher any of it even from the language he learned from another world he visited.

None of it fit.

Abruptly, Aether is frozen in place, his step is halted like some force holding him in place. He struggles through it, but his body doesn't respond to him, only his eyes can move to feel which wide as far as he can be.

Aether felt fears through his veins and fate, 'Lumine...' Aether's last thought before a bright light consumed him.

Aether opened his eyes with a jolt, breathing heavily, he turned his head when he felt movement only to meet with his beloved sister's eyes.

"L-Lumine..." Aether uttered, he quickly embraced her which surprised the other.

"Aether? What's wrong?" She said, worriedly.

"I have a long dream that you and me-"

Aether doesn't manage to say the rest of his words when everything happens so fast. He froze in place when fighting midair to escape before his sister was taken again.

Again they were separated.

Accompany with a voice that screams with him before his world becomes dark and consumes the bright light again.

"Lumine!"

Aether woke up again on the same beach but it was complete. The sun that bright, the bird flapping its wings, the sound of the ocean, and the sand he stepped on.

It's different, the voice too no longer there, and for a few months he is there.

He then meets paimon whom he saves from drowning, and not long after that excited voice enters his eardrums, this time the voice is clear like the flow of river.

Aether's eyes widened involuntarily which Paimon comments on, confused.

"No, it's nothing," he shook his head but then he heard a squeal, he still didn't understand the language but his cheeks went a bit red when he heard his name between the squealing.

But the moment is gone when Aether's body starts to move by itself around the beach, slashing at the bushes, running after golden crabs and Lizard, and jumping every step take took.

He almost died by drowning when the body suddenly moved to swim in the ocean and by the end of it, there was is treasure chest behind the rock.

The whole time Aether's face is full of terror, he even loses the capability to speak, he can't even ask for help from Paimon.

Suddenly he regained his body control and there was a light glow around his body. His body felt a little bit stronger and his stamina increase after the effect was gone.

He hears a gasp from Paimon, "An artifact blessing!"

"Artifact blessing?" Aether asked quietly, hugging himself, still feeling spooked by what just happened.

Paimon's nodded, "Uh-huh! You are so lucky even as an Outlander! You don't even have a vision but you got a blessing from the creator itself!"

"Creator? Do you mean Archon?"

"No! Archon is different from than Creator, The Creator is the one who created the world we live in right now, one of the people that even Celestia respect and believe in!" Paimon said, waving her hand around to prove her point.

"You will see!"

Paimon brought Aerher to the status of seven, the Anemo God. "Look up, if you see the clock the Anemo Archon wore, it belongs to the creator!" Paimon started.

"Each Statue has at least one or two things they hold of Creator belonging on their statues which to show they were favor by them!"

Aether looks at the statues, his face looks firm, and has a lot of thoughts in his head.

"What if...you can hear the so-called Creator's voice? They even can control your body anytime they please...what would the person be then...?"

Paimom blinked with a frown evident on her face, "That...would be...dangerous,"

"Huh?"

"I-I mean! Everyone herein Teyvat even the Archon loves the Creator if they know someone who can hear their beloved Creator and even can be controlled by them..." Paimon trailed off as she crossed her arms in troubled faces, "The person certainly would be a target."

"...I see," Aether nodded, "you still don't answer my question, Paimon."

"Well, that just means, the person is the Creator's vessel, and The Creator is fond of them to even let them hear their voices." Paimon said, "Also having a Creator by your side certainly will bring a lot of fortune, power, and a bright future to your side right?"

[wednesdayorwhatever]

Okay, so, let's talk about Larissa Weems's scream at the Rave'N, shall we? Because I think it reveals so much about her personality.

When I watched that scene of the paint dripping down from the ceiling for the first time I was so surprised by Weems's reaction!

Because at the beginning of the show, we get to know Weems as this person that seems to be put together and controlled. She seems like someone who is calm and clear-headed and collected at all times.

For example how she never responds to Wednesday's provocations and always seems to be able to handle her:

And also her overall demeanor. In the first episodes she mostly seems relaxed and always calm and nice and you would somehow expect her to be able to handle stressful situations.

But then the incident at the Rave'N happens.

And because of the way she was portrayed up to this point I would have thought that she would stay clear-headed and that she would immediately try to calm down the students and find a way to control the situation.

Instead - she explodes! She screams at the top of her lungs and seems to be even more out of control than most of the students:

Before that scene, she is always put together and controlled and then something like this happens, which is, to be fair, inconvenient but it's... not the end of the world and she has a complete breakdown and screams at the top of her lungs! She breaks down and doesn't seem to find a way to calm herself down again.

I think this reaction gives this A-personality vibe when you're trying to hold it all together and everything has to be perfect and nothing can go wrong (she literally says to Thornhill "we can't afford a single misstep tonight") and then something unfortunate happens and all the stress and the pressure that you were trying to suppress just breaks out and you're having a mental breakdown. In my opinion, only a person that is under a lot of stress and a lot of pressure can have a breakdown like this because of a situation that is, again, unfortunate but not the end of the world.

It's just interesting that she has these two sides: When everything goes smoothly she seems to be nice and relaxed and friendly but as soon as some minor inconvenience happens it immediately becomes obvious how tense she actually is under that smiling facade. At the Rave'N she can't keep it together even though it would be her job as the headmistress to stay calm and as a viewer you would expect her to be clear-headed in a situation like that. It's what makes her so interesting and intriguing to me. The fact that there is so much going on under the surface. There seems to be a complex and maybe even difficult personality underneath. A personality full of contradictions and surprises. And that's what makes her so interesting (among so many other things).

Seriously, I wish I could relive the moment I saw that scene for the first time. I absolutely LOVED her reaction because it was so forceful and surprising and unhinged. I remember that my jaw literally dropped. The way she stands there and is smiling and then the paint starts dripping down on her and her facade crumbles and then breaks down completely and she can't hold it back - I love it. It is powerful. There is something about women expressing emotions this strongly that I just find mesmerizing.

[tenebraevesper]

Analyzer - Félix & Emotion, Part 2 (Miraculous Ladybug)

Welcome to Part 2 of my Félix and Emotion Analyzer! Last time we left off, Félix had just transformed into Argos and poofed Gabriel out of existence!

Told ya I'd dance on that bastard's grave.

Anyways, Part 2 will cover what happens during Episode 18: Emotion, as well as its resolution, with Part 3 covering everything that happens afterwards.

Let's start!

Right after Gabriel got Thanos-snapped by Argos, he proceeds to snap other people attending the party out of existence, clearly having a lot of fun with this.

This guy... has issues.

This includes Kagami's mother (Yatta!), which pisses Kagami off. Apparently, she does not know just how awful her mother is, yet, with Argos telling her how she's finally free. Argos then grabs Marinette and leaps out of the building, leaving Kagami in tears.

Marinette is, understandably, pissed off, and demands that Argos tells her what he had done with Adrien, and Argos responds how he'd never hurt Adrien (ruining his reputation is apparently a-okay, but given all the things Adrien did to piss me off personally, yeah, it was deserved). Argos then proceeds to dump Marinette unceremoniously into a dumpster, which did get a chuckle out of me.

After he made sure that Marinette was safe, Argos then proceeds to frigging walk around the city, singing and dancing as he snaps more people out of existence.

Okay, who's idea was this?! Honestly, the first time I saw this, I was like... What? Like, I legit had no idea how to react to this.

It's so goofy and out of place, but at the same time, I can't blame him for having the time of his life. He's definitely a theatre kid.

Ladybug then appears, with Argos telling her how they're waiting for Cat Noir and then he can get their Miraculous. Ladybug's conclusion is that he works for Monarch, which... well, it makes sense in her mind. She finally points out how he's the reason they lost all the Miraculous to Monarch.

Argos responds that she's correct, except he works for no one. He attacks her, proceeding to explain how he used them to get the Peacock Miraculous and now he needs the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous to make his wish.

Ladybug questions his motivation, with Argos explaining:

Argos: When I merge your Miraculous together, I'll make a wish to create a better world! A free world — where no one will be under anyone's control anymore, where no one will be excluded like I was! A world without people like you to decide what's right or wrong! Who gets powers and who doesn't! Ladybug: There would be a terrible price to pay... (Argos stops for a moment.) Argos: There's no price too high for me. I have nothing to lose.

Honestly, this kid is desperate if he's willing to go that far, but we'll get to why in a moment. Also, this line of dialogue is... frustrating to say the least after seeing the Season 5 Finale.

Ladybug: You're no better than Monarch if you use the same methods he does! I'll NEVER give you my Miraculous!! Argos: Then, I'll do without it! If you don't let me recreate the world, I'll use my own power to transform it! I'll just snap my fingers until there's no one left!

Yeah, Maribug, Félix would be no better than Gabriel for making the wish, and you would never allow something like that to happen.

Somehow, an abused teenager is still more irredeemable than a terrorist. The Miraculous Ladybug Writing, ladies and gentlemen!

Not to mention, Argos still has more braincells than Monarch (who would lose every episode despite having almost all of the Miraculous and Maribug and Adrichat still fail to take away the Miraculous from him despite having him cornered) and decides to use Red Moon to delete everyone from his new Minecraft server.

Argos has Maribug literally cornered, and honestly, this is a really tense situation. If she does anything, he'll just snap his fingers and she's gone. Maribug proceeds to use Lucky Charm... and gets absolutely nothing. Now, that's a shocker.

Argos proceeds to call a checkmate, and Maribug agrees. Here's the deal, Argos cannot be defeated the usual way. He's in control here, and only he can decide what he will do next. He demands Maribug's Miraculous, but she refuses. Argos threatens that all of humanity will disappear if she doesn't do it, but she responds how he's the only one who can decide this.

Frustrated, Argos proceeds to snap her out of existence.

We then see Argos walking around the empty city (well, more empty than usual), and it's rather eerie. Still, he smiles, clearly happy with his decision. That is, until he's confronted by Kagami, who is pissed off at him for making everyone she loved disappear. Argos' answer to it is "Not everyone." and he makes Adrien appear. Ah, so that's where he was.

When questioned about what happened, Argos tells Adrien how he created a better world for him, a world where he's free. We then get a flashback of how this whole plan got started.

Argos: Oh, little amok, can you feel my anger? Bring life to my creation, dear amok. And let my emotions come to life! (holds up a copy of Adrien's camouflaged Cat Miraculous which is where the amok transfers into, and a small, red moon appears.) Hello, Red Moon. I'm Argos. Together, we're going to save Adrien from my uncle's grasp so that he can finally be free!

So, Argos used his anger to create an amok that would help him save Adrien from his uncle's grasp, so he can finally be free. It is a noble intention, but the execution went south. The question remains, why would Argos do that? It'll be answered in a moment, but next, we see Argos spying on Marinette and Adrien's date, and once Adrien runs off, Argos calls him and snaps him out of existence, taking over his identity to sneak into the Diamond Dance.

The reason he had been in hiding was because he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to set both of them free.

Argos: To set us all free! And offer us a new world where no one can tell us what we can or can't do! And voilà! We're free! And we're together! Aren't you incredibly happy?!

Pay attention to this bit, I will go over in the conclusion.

Kagami and Adrien are, surprise, surprise, not happy, and Kagami attacks him, while Adrien calls him crazy, demanding he brings all the people back. Argos responds how this is what Adrien wanted, to be free.

Argos: What's there not to like? What's the problem? (continues to evade Kagami's attacks and goes above the roof of a car) I thought you wanted to be freed from your parents? Look, isn't this great? Just the three of us! We have everything we need to be happy!!

Adrien and Kagami are just frustrated with him, with Kagami on the verge of tears and Adrien wonders how he can be without his friends, his father (*eye-roll*) and the girl he loves. Argos tells him how he isn't that evil, since he got Marinette stashed away in a dumpster, only to learn that she isn't there. Argos then tries to snap her back, but since he snapped her away as Ladybug, Marinette won't appear.

Argos: You really think I'm that evil? (goes to open the trash bin where he hid Marinette...) Ta-da! (...only to find it empty; Adrien and Kagami peek inside, too) Huh? That's weird. (snaps his fingers in hopes of bringing back Marinette) Huh?! I don't understand! (backs away from the trash bin) She should come back! (continues to snap his fingers) Something's wrong! I can usually bring back whoever I want, but it's like she's nowhere! Like she's completely gone! I'm sorry, Adrien!

Argos starts panicking, trying to return Marinette, but it doesn't work. Just, just look at this breakdown:

Adrien tells him how he isn't even in control of his own power (you would know all about that, huh, Mr. Cataclysm), with Argos bringing everyone back, telling Adrien how he never wanted to hurt the two

Maribug is back, de-transforming and reuniting with Adrien and Kagami. Argos just watches them, clearly remorseful, and then leaves to talk to Red Moon.

Argos: My friend, I've made a terrible mistake. I shouldn't have created you out of so much anger. Your power is terrible. What would've happened if I lost control? Can you forgive me? (drops to his knees) My friend, my sister. I release you from existence. (snaps Red Moon out of existence as he bursts into tears)

We see that Argos is absolutely devastated to release Red Moon from her existence, even calling her his sister, and breaks down in tears. Honestly, I genuinely felt sorry for him here.

Back at London, Argos has a conversation with Amelie, which shows that she knew exactly what he was up to:

Amelie: You were right: I did everything you told me to and Gabriel didn't do or say anything to help me. He despises me. He's a monster! They're all monsters! Argos: Hold my feather. (He de-transforms into Félix and goes to hug Amelie) Félix: Not all of them. (smiles)

Want to bet that that person is Marinette?

So, this was Emotion. What did we learn? *rubs hands* Hoo, boy, what did we learn...

I still stand behind my statement that Félix is the best character in Miraculous Ladybug, and this episode proves it. Emotion gives Félix a lot of depth, showing that, for all his cunning and ability to outsmart any opponent, he's still just a teenager who wants to make this world better for himself and the people he cares about. His mind is completely focused on survival, and he took the Peacock Miraculous because that was what he needed to survive.

He basically takes upon himself to shoulder a burden on his own, to do what he believes is the best for Adrien, and Kagami, as he doesn't trust anyone else. He thinks that everyone besides the people he cares about are controlling bastards, similar to Gabriel - complete monsters, as he calls them. He spared Marinette, because she had shown that she cares about Adrien.

Despite having taken the Genocide Route, Félix is not heartless. I see him more as a misguided teenager who believes he knows what he's doing. He was so incredibly happy that everyone who could hurt him, Adrien or Kagami was gone, and I'm certain this reaction comes from a very traumatic moment from his life. When he learns that what he wants and what those he cares about is different, he pauses to think about it. Hell, the moment he believed that he couldn't bring back Marinette and was afraid that he lost control of his powers, he returned everyone at once, apologizing to Kagami and Adrien for what he had done.

Given what we learn later on about his past, there is no doubt Félix's mindset is the consequence of his upbringing, and his desire for freedom had warped him mentally and emotionally, to the point he saw no other way out but to snap everyone out of existence. He doesn't even trust Maribug nor Adrichat to help him, and I think I can pinpoint where this distrust comes from - watching the Sentimonsters in Season 4 Finale being sent into the sun by Ladybug and her hero team.

Yeah, without shying around, the truth is that Félix is a Sentimonster himself, and so are Adrien and Kagami. His focus on the Agreste Rings and the Peacock Miraculous, as well as him watching tearfully other Sentimonsters being annihilated makes it clear that not only does he understand what he is, but also that his life can easily be ended by a snap of fingers... as Gabriel had threatened him before.

That's why he didn't care about snapping away everyone but Kagami and Adrien. He knew they weren't humans, but Sentimonsters under the control of their parents. Knowing how both of them desired freedom, he decided to fulfill his own and their wishes, only for it to backfire.

I see Félix as a very tragic character, who did have the best intentions, but went wrong about them. He had no issue betraying Maribug in Season 4 because he didn't give a damn about the population of Paris, or the rest of the world for that matter. Would anyone care about him if he was snapped out of existence? Most likely, only his mother.

Furthermore, he understands that, even if there are monsters among humanity, there is someone he believes would care about him, but that's for later.

So, in conclusion, Emotion is Peak!Félix. Of course, there are a few observations I made, the main being why Félix doesn't tell someone, anyone, that Monarch is Gabriel Agreste, but to my surprise, we got that answered in another episode.

Links:

#Analyzer - Félix & Emotion, Part 1 (Miraculous Ladybug)

#Analyzer - Félix & Emotion, Part 3 (Miraculous Ladybug)

#Up Ladybug (Masterlist)

[rontra]

I just realized- we don't know if Raven has a bond/portal to Summer, but if she does and if Summer is maybe alive..how do you think that would work? Any ideas on that? I'm genuinely interested

i've been sitting on this ask for a bit because my fungus wasn't in full bloom but like, fuck it, one week till the finale, let's get all the mushrooms on the table before we see whatever 9.10 has to say about summer HDHBFG <- PREPARING TO GET OWNED

the first thing you need to know is i have immense rosebird disease so everything hereafter is colored by that. i just think they're neat and i also love having remnant's #1 and #2 absent mothers in the same room

^so this is less "predictive analysis" and more "what i think would be cute for women to do". we're in the realm of transformative analysis. i don't necessarily "believe it is true/will happen", i'm just taking you to my infected playground to play outside...<3

ALSO IT'S LONG AS HELL 🤷‍♂️

but, okay, so, Kindred Link and Summer Rose. this whole Q is basically a flowchart to me. Step One:

Is Kindred Link voluntary?

there's a lot about raven's semblance we don't know, including how exactly said links are formed. however, we know very well from her twin brother that semblances can be an independent engine that fires according to its own rules, whether you want it to or not; it isn't impossible that kindred link is completely involuntary.

yang says (citing tai's explanation) that raven "marks" people, which is a wording that implies some amount of agency. but is that true?

okay um. this is purely headcanon. i admit. but i like it. so. it seems to me that raven's life would be very different if she could choose her kindred link loadout at will. we know raven and qrow were treated very differently by the tribe, and i think their semblances play a huge part in that. obviously raven's is not neutral: her semblance would be invaluable to her bandit family if they could control it, and i can imagine a great deal of energy was spent trying to cajole raven into forging links there. (family—only coming around when they need something.) raven has a whole host of issues stemming from the way she was raised, and i can't help but feel like her suspicion towards kindness is stemming from a history of people only treating her well because they want something from her, and the inevitable tension when she isn't able to simply give it. and i think with all that, if a young raven could be forced to forge links her situation would be different? so it makes sense to me that you can't just make kindred link Go.

that was a whole tangent solely for a headcanon but i did tell you this whole post is like that. i think you can't intentionally form these links, and you can't intentionally sever them either; after all, raven still has her links to the people who hurt her most.

like okay..., isn't it compelling to imagine raven branwen learning to care about these people, getting soul-bonded by her semblance to her chosen family, and still not being able to sever them even after being injured so severely by these people because her heart and soul can't let go of their attachment. tell me that doesn't make you swoon,

if her semblance is voluntarily controlled, i think it lessens the impact of the links she does have, so i'm choosing to rule it as involuntary. when raven forms a genuine attachment it's strong enough for her soul to respond. in the beginning, this was a bond she only shared with qrow, who was hated by their family: so she could go to him in an instant if she had to. in present time, we know she also has a link to tai, and yang, and had one to vernal (F) but apparently no one else in the tribe (telling).

there's no comment on summer's status here, but we've ruled kindred link as involuntary, so the next question on our flowchart is:

Were Summer and Raven close?

this is maybe the most tantalizing bit of the STRQ Puzzle to me because it's a wholly unknown component. tai and qrow both talk about summer and raven, and raven talks about both of them—but raven seems to make a concerted effort to not take summer's name into her mouth if she can help it. even when she's indulging in her favorite pastime (sniping at people) she doesn't have any bullets with summer's name on them. the closest we get is the "you sound just like your mother", which is definitely said in (DEROGATORY) tone, but is also pretty...mild compared to how she talks about the rest of the inner circle.

obviously this doesn't make the answer an automatic "yes": just as it's possible raven has a reason that compels her not to badmouth summer, it's also possible that their relationship was not substantial enough for raven to care about summer or her opinions. which WOULD BE a funny twist but it's also not a lot of meat to sink our teeth into (lol) because it would make the answer firmly No, Raven does not have a kindred link to Summer: an end to our flowchart!

but this post is.......not over......i'm not letting it be over...!!

personally i think STRQ is more fun if you split the twins up (because they would absolutely TRY to ensure they were partnered at any cost so we can't have that) which would make summer's partner one of the twins. i think it makes more sense (and more of that inevitable STRQ-breaking tension lol) if her partner is raven; summer was appointed the leader of her team and raven is a genuinely competent leader, you know this song and dance, yada yada raven is the weiss of her team (but has the leadership skills to back it up) etc etc

so, okay, that's her Partner, they have their ups and downs and various team-building exercises until both twins are ready to go Full Golden Heroism. like we know it isn't just qrow and that both of them get pulled away from their original goal to become wholeheartedly ozpilled; raven is cited as being just as All In with The Good Fight(TM) as her chosen family. in that scenario she and her heroic little partner could be plenty close just fine; i think all of strq became raven's chosen family, including summer rose...and it's just her soul responding ❤🤍

so yeah fuck it let's say Yes, Raven has a kindred link to Summer, now we have to keep going;

How does Kindred Link work?

oh boy.

by this question, i mean the following: how does raven experience kindred link, and how does it interact with her other senses? kindred link allows raven to open a portal to the other person and go to them whenever, from wherever, but there is more to it than that.

ONE: Kindred Link must, through some means, convey to raven WHEN she's needed. in volume 2, yang is in mortal danger inside a moving, enclosed, underground train car: there is no possible means to see inside, so raven's usual trick (bird spycraft) can't apply. even so, raven knows yang is in danger, exactly when she needs to know it. necessarily Kindred Link has somehow alerted her that her soulbond is in danger, and she would receive this information for any of her links. we don't know how dire the situation needs to be for this to happen, but we know it kicks in at LEAST for "immediate mortal danger". (because we have no insight into this, it is possible that raven's 6th sense pipes up far earlier for far less threat and she simply chooses to hang back.)

TWO: Kindred Link must, through some means, impart real-time awareness of what is happening on the other end of the link. simply put, when using her semblance, raven receives information about the other end of her link before the portal opens. at bare minimum, she knows where her person is in relation to other things in the space, and what the area generally looks like; she needs this information in order to place portals the way she does. raven's portals are always placed with purpose and a clear awareness of what's going on. this is how she's able to pull off an array of failwoman tricks, like her "placing the portal as far away from tai as she can get away with while crying and screaming" from the end of v5 (contrasted with her very funny move of lining her portal up so that it points cinder directly at ruby or her precise maneuvers during aforementioned train scene<3) these are different purposeful moves that all imply a fairly detailed level of knowledge—of a place raven can't see!

we don't know how raven experiences her 6th sense and what it's like from her side; likewise, we don't know if (2) here is "always on", or if it's only when actively trying to place a portal that she gets a quick download of the information she needs.

HOWEVER, these two things both being true makes it very likely to me that a Third Thing is probably also true: she would feel it if one of her links was severed, and only one force we know of can sever a link raven isn't ready to let go of. Whether Summer Rose is alive or dead, Raven would know.

oh my god...could you imagine?.... 😩

Is Summer alive?

yes. next question.

Why does no one else know, if Raven knows?

3 things: raven's severance from the ozluminati, her injured feelings, and potentially summer rose herself.

raven may still be in touch with qrow, but it's clear that receiving information from her is a privilege. she hoards and guards knowledge like a magpie, but she's also a spy: raven sharing what she knows is a show of trust or even loyalty and does not come easy. it doesn't come at all if you aren't her direct collaborator or someone she has specific self-determined reasons to share information with. to be blunt, receiving raven's intel is not a privilege her family has anymore, except for when she has a specific reason to talk to qrow. in general, the privilege has been thoroughly revoked, because:

the last time raven attempted to share information with her team, they rejected her. when raven's world turned too scary and she learned A Few Too Many Things about the realities of remnant and the unwinnable war—when she turned to her family for support—her family either did not understand what she was saying or chose not to believe her. she did not receive support in this critical moment, from the people she most loved and most needed; their rejection was a betrayal so fundamentally damaging to their bond that raven severed from them for good.

if raven was sitting on something as unfathomably charged as "summer rose is alive (and/or with salem(?????))", why would she spill? summer's family have already shattered her trust and she has no incentive to share information with them, because they don't deserve that privilege (<- this is obviously raven's hurt feelings turning thorny to protect herself).

this is already sufficient for me, particularly if their bond was close enough for raven to have Her Own feelings about summer being alive to untangle; she has known about this and protected the secret for a decade and a half, so it's possible she has her own reasons specifically for "protecting" this secret.

maybe the reason she doesn't involve summer in her insult volleys isn't because she has nothing bad to say; rather, it may be a part of her spy strats to avoid addressing summer too directly in any way, because she knows the secret. why invite conversation about her?

of course, the third potential factor: summer rose herself. we don't know what happened after summer left. but it's POSSIBLE that raven has met with her, later than anyone else; it's even possible that the "we can face her together" speech reminded raven of something that happened after summer left home. we don't know the extent of raven's knowledge of what summer has been up to, but it's possible that they've talked, either before summer met salem or after.

(if after, the rosebird box is wide open, because a salempilled summer is simultaneously raven's worst nightmare and a balm to her numerous cuts and bruises: imagine what it would do to her to hear you were right, we should have believed you.)

i am really obsessed with the concept of this weird mix of disloyalty to oz/tai/qrow/etc (who have been excluded from the List Of People Who Deserve It) and loyalty to summer (even if it's only out of Old Respect For My Partner (The Only One Who's Had The Sense To Defect) and they had no further interactions).

it's possible raven knows far FAR more than she lets on, depending on how much information kindred link has fed her about summer's whereabouts / if theyve met. crwby has a golden opportunity to do something very funny in the next episode (dragging raven into her mess)

it's possible raven never investigated further, too. that she knows summer is alive but hasn't gone to check it out, either because she doesn't want to know what's happened to her or she's convinced herself she's better off not getting involved.

but... oh.... i do think women should kiss...

(checks the flowchart) so i think we're at "Raven is keeping her secret on purpose for bisexual reasons"?

[askanautistic]

What am I? Scotch mist?

People ignore me all the time, and I'm pretty sure it's because I'm autistic. Not that it's an intentional decision they're making to ignore me because I'm autistic, but that something about the way I communicate/behave (something about my 'vibe') seems to put me out of sync and make it so that I almost seem not to exist as much as other people.

I rarely speak, but when I do I often find that people will just talk over me. I can be mid-story and the very people who are supposed to be listening to me will just start to talk to each other about something else as if I'm not even there.

I can say something and IMMEDIATELY afterwards someone will repeat it, sometimes word for word, and it's like I'm invisible - people either don't hear me at all, or somehow absorb what I'm saying but don't actually hear ME if that makes sense?

It's quite demoralising, really - I often feel that what I think and say has no worth, or, to be more accurate, like I have no worth (because what I'm saying clearly is interesting enough and clever enough that someone else will repeat it and people will respond favourably... just not when it's me that says it). And I think it's because, as an autistic person, I don't have the charisma, the tone of voice and the volume that gets me noticed (or that registers with other people). It's almost like I'm a ghost in the room, feeding through ideas to the living (allistics) but going unacknowledged as the source of the ideas. 

I've found that this often makes me feel quite panicked. People are so ready to interrupt me (even if they are being attentive, it's like I'm not speaking at the right speed for them, or they're getting bored, or trying to guess what I'm about to say) that I feel like I have to rush and often can't word things as I'd like to because I am trying to hard to just get out what I want to say. And because I dislike speaking anyway and it doesn't come naturally to me in most situations, I often just don't speak. What's the point of putting in the massive effort when no one is going to listen to me anyway?

And sometimes the repetition will be immediate (someone will immediately repeat what I've said as if I never said it, and other people will respond to them as if it's the first time they're hearing it, too, or someone will tell me something that I literally just told them). Other times it can be something I've repeatedly said, then someone learns the same info from a different source and acts like it's the first time they've ever heard it (and wow, what smart advice, what a great idea, what a fascinating fact they've only just learned!!!).

And, to be clear, it's not because they're ND and tuning out due to attention difficulties, or interrupting due to lack the impulse control. The way people seem to react to me is *different* to how they react to *other people*, which is how I know that it's something to do with me and how I am, more than to do with them. They listen to each other, they acknowledge each other, it's me that seems slightly out of sync with them to the point that they cannot or will not pay me the same attention they pay everyone else. It's very strange and unpleasant.

I was once at Deaf pub with my girlfriend. We were with a few of my girlfriend's colleagues (so people I'd never met before). She told me to tell one of them a funny story about something that had happened to me, and so I was signing to them (but assuming that they wouldn't find it as interesting or funny as my girlfriend seemed to think), and suddenly heard laughter and realised that an entire crowd of people (mostly strangers) had gathered around me and were paying attention to me. I was so surprised because I'm so used to people not really listening to me. But they were all clearly interested and enjoying my story, and it actually gave me a massive buzz to be honest, to feel like I actually mattered and was worth paying attention to.

And that's the thing - I don't need to be the centre of attention, and I often am happy to be in the background. But sometimes it's nice to feel like I/my ideas/my thoughts, feelings, opinions... actually matter.

[ryuseiired]

Hello!! I meant to respond to your reply but I forgor -- thus, I'm here to ask about any Mahiru thoughts/theories/opinions you have 👀🌻 (only if you want, I'd just love to hear!)

OHHH you have no idea how happy i am to talk about mahiru... she is so dear to my heart. as evidenced by the last time someone asked me about her and i accidentally wrote a 1900 word response. going to try and make my answer to this ask a little shorter lol.

i think there's just something really compelling to me about the fact that like. whatever it is that happens with her boyfriend feels so much more like an interpersonal problem that went horribly wrong than like a murder case. obviously the characters with more traditional and direct murders can be and are interesting as well but there's just that special flavor of tragedy to the instances where characters never intended for their "victim" to die. especially mahiru, who sincerely loved her boyfriend and seems to have not even wanted to inflict Any sort of harm nor to have been aware that she was doing so.

i really really like and resonate with how she deals with the realization that she in fact Did hurt her boyfriend though. it's just so nuanced and realistic, you know? she blames herself for her emotions and desires and her inability to get it right, and she doesn't want to hurt anyone again... but she also can't stand the idea that she'd have to be alone and unloved for the rest of her life in order not to hurt anyone, either. which i think is a dichotomy mahiru seems really familiar with: she doesn't really want to get upset with her boyfriend or hurt him or anything like that; it's just that she also desperately wants more attention and love and commitment than what she's getting (and ends up giving in to that desire and demanding it seemingly to his detriment, judging by all that "calling you in the middle of the night" she mentions in this is how to be in love with you, or the "if you don't hug me our hearts will drift apart").

which is... a really realistic struggle, you know? wanting something from someone that they for whatever reason can't give you. on one level i think she does need to work on how to actually be okay by herself, and to find healthier outlets to cope with it. on one level her behavior is destructive and harmful to others. but on another level, she's not wrong for having a high desire for attention and reassurance, either. and it seems like she doesn't really know how to deal with those emotions. or with her emotions in general, actually... she gets carried away with happiness when things are good, and sinks into despair when they're bad, and doesn't know how to handle it or find a middle ground.

it's just a really nuanced situation without a clear right or wrong, and that level of difficulty in coping with/controlling your emotions is really hard to handle even without a situation where you end up becoming implicated in your boyfriend's death... i feel for her a lot :( poor girl just needs therapy and a better support system in her life. and actually circling back then to my tags on your fic... i think in another world, that mahiru with her uncontrollable emotions and ideals of love as her meaning to live could absolutely find some sort of kinship and seeing herself in kotoko, who similarly seems to struggle with her anger towards injustice spiraling out of her control and with her vigilante work being connected to a sense of purpose for her.

unfortunately, as is... i think the opportunity's been a bit lost with mahiru's canon guilty vote and what happened between them. mahiru forgives her, yeah, but... i just don't think it'd be great for her to pursue a connection with someone who nearly killed her.

that's what alternate universes are for though, right? ;)

[captainhunnicutt]

I hate the episode “Hanky Panky.” Hate it. And not because my boy is at his absolute worst (relatively speaking, he gets worse later in the series and I love him for it - I will die on this hill). I hate it because it’s done in such a way that screams “the viewer is stupid and we need to hold their hand through it.”

The episode literally starts out reminding us of how committed BJ is, and how much of a "family man," he is. Incase we had forgotten - because otherwise this plotline would fall even flatter than it does.

It immediately puts you on alert. "Uh oh. BJ is gonna do something stupid, isn't he?" And you immediately realize it's with Carrie - WHO WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE - and now you're just waiting and hoping BJ doesn't fuck up.

Maybe if we had seen some sort of introduction to Carrie an episode or two before, "Hanky Panky" would achieve what it's after. Shock. The realization that BJ isn't this perfect golden boy who won't be impacted being thousands of miles away in a war zone. But we don't. We meet her 1 minute and 26 seconds prior to the conversation with BJ and Hawkeye. That's it.

I joke a lot about the lightning of this episode, but for real it's just so infuriating as an intelligent and capable viewer. I'll couple it with the close up shots because they ultimately go hand in hand.

That soft lighting in Post-Op is the thing I hate the most about this episode - particularly the soft lighting behind BJ. It's a totally different angle than we're used to seeing of people talking in Post-Op and it just screams "Viewer!! Look!!! BJ looks attractive and charming and approachable!! Remember this!!!" And Carrie (I love her by the way), looks angelic and perfect and like some damsel in distress.

Then the scene in Carrie's tent. The lighting and shots start out just fine. Absolutely normal - and then right when they start to pull away from the hug the coloring and lighting does a blatant shift. It even goes as far as the cliche fade to black to allude to they idea of them sleeping together. VIEWER!! YOUR GOLDEN BOY, THE FAMILY MAN, MADE A BIG OOPSIE!!!

And then finally, the talk outside of Post-Op? Goodness. Obviously we're supposed to sympathize with Beej here. He's lit more behind, his hair has an angelic glow, we're looking at him head on - Carrie is barely lit behind, and the camera angle is looking down at her the entire time. The message becomes clear: "BJ fucked up but it's okay because it's BJ and you'll forgive him and move on, viewer. We just wanted to show you he's not so perfect!!!"

And unfortunately the writers were right. We all completely disregard how shitty BJ is about the entire situation. We all completely ignore that he gets "an enormous attack of the guilts" that he blatantly ignores her and is a "bear," to her whenever around. We all completely pretend like he doesn't admit OUT LOUD that he's worried he can't control himself because she's "right here, and you're so attractive and so close." "And so vulnerable." "Yes."

Yeah, we all pretend it doesn't happen. We all move on, myself included, and love him anyway and so the writers got what they wanted. But it's the epitome of lazy because we all forget about it so quickly. It doesn't impact anything or anyone. The only time it's even hinted at again is in "War Co-Respondent" - which does such a better job at showcasing BJ's mental struggle in regards to being unfaithful (Note: Thank you Mike for that. I have my own thoughts on where that episode comes from but that's neither here nor there, I guess). If it wasn't such a lazily written episode, we'd talk about it more. But we don't. It's a throw away episode for a lot of us, because we never actually get to see BJ wrestle with it outside of that one scene in the Swamp with Hawk. That's it.

If it had been done right, that was their chance to really start to dig into BJ's morals and ethics on more than a surface level - and how those are challenged because he's not in the confines of his safety net of marriage and family in the states - and how those things coupled with being there against his will forces him to look at is it the idea of wanting to be committed that's appealing, or the actual act.

In conclusion, I hate "Hanky Panky" and I would've loved to have seen Carrie lay into him and call him out on his shit for a solid five minutes.

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

Hi Jalebii, Hope you're doing well firstly lots of loves and warm hugs. I've been fangirling behind your podcast and blogs, they're just so fun to read listen.

I actually have 2 questions that I wanted to ask

1) Why didn't Anrav tell Khushi why he married her immediately after getting married? Was it because it was too hard for him to admit that he knew about her and Shyam in front of her? Do you think if it wasn't for suicide attempt of Khushi he would have even told her anything?

2) Do you think makers should have shown Anjali ending up with a good man like how many other fans wanted? Also what are your thoughts on Anjali going for therapy after divorce? Should they've shown it on screen?

Hope to read your answers soon ❤

And BTW when's the new episode of podcast coming?

Hellloooo Anon!

For #1 - This is interesting cause I thought a lot. I think there are two things going on. First, on a logical standpoint, just what happened when he confronted Shyam and told him that he knows the truth (whatever version it is, Arnav didn't know that it was half truth) - Arnav lost all leverage over Shyam. And in his eyes Khushi is, equally, a villain then telling her the reason would make him lose all of his leverage on her as well and Arnav cannot afford that. Her not knowing serves him more and gives him further control of the situation and its outcomes. And there's also that fear, what if he sees Khushi's real face? Will he be able to bear it? (this is a very small part, it largely is to control whatever bit of the situation he can and thus keeping your villains in the dark is the best way to deal with it - he already lost hand with Shyam, he cannot afford that with Khushi).

To be honest I have NO idea how, when, why Arnav would tell the truth to Khushi. Some plots were laid that Khushi is getting an idea that Arnav is responding to a misunderstanding but they scrapped that. Then Shyam would exploit the misunderstanding he fully knows between the couple and they scrapped that too so boy went soap hunting. So I actually don't know AT ALL how this would've been dealt with from the OG POV. I have my theories which are in the back burner for fanfics, lol.

For #2 - Only if it's Aman. And I genuinely say it out of interest for a good plot. Because it would nicely deal with Arnav's intrusion in Anjali's life and very well pit his cynicism against Khushi's optimism. And it would deal with a lot of their underlying issues. Why does Arnav have a problem with Aman - a man he otherwise trusts a 100%? Why is his interruption in Di's life alright, but Khushi's isn't? It would really evolve their characters. But otherwise - I am absolutely HAPPY that they left Anjali single. Cause you see shows nowadays can't keep a woman single at all. If she's a widow there's a new male character. If she's divorced, a better man is going around. Okay, I love the destigmatization of second romances but God... let a woman live as an independent person and they really let Anjali live. She had her moments of genuine pain, of that trauma flaring up in between her sadness, but she really lived for herself and I'd take that any day over a romantic plot for her. And regarding therapy, it would've been a good plot if they tied it into Arnav-Khushi.

Like with Anjali going to therapy, she would want Khushi to seek it as well who would get agitated at that because she doesn't think she needs therapy and well... she does. And that opens a Pandora's box that she had deeply stuffed away.

And the new episode of the podcast is up!!!

Do give it a watch and let me know!

Love,

Jalebi

[attackfish]

Evil Ursa AU where she is all on board with slaughtering everyone who blocks Ozai seat on the throne, acting as his hand in the shadows? I'm pretty sure such a personality and Ozai's would clash, but there's the slim possibility they'd like one another (while also enabling each other's worst tendencies).

I have a long standing policy against evil Ursa prompts or prompts where Ursa favored Azula, etc. because I have this persistent problem where I get periodic bouts of people who do not like my reading of canon and characterization, asking me for prompts that they are hoping will somehow force me to write the characterization they agree with. This never ends well, and on more than one occasion, the asker has responded to me turning them down by going and talking about how horrible I am by name. I really don't understand this, because like, if you don't like the way I write characters, why are you asking me to write those characters?

I know that this ask is not in that vein, because I've interacted with @weepingrebelshark-reactivated enough to know that's not how they act. So I actually want to talk a little bit about why I don't think this type of AU works. This has much less to do with Ursa's characterization than with Ozai's. The asker themselves mentions that even evil, Ursa's personality could clash with Ozai's. I don't think they're wrong, but that's not the way I would put it. Ozai is not a particularly complex character, but he is deftly characterized to be a certain kind of terrible person that are not in fact that rare in the real world. He's not just "evil", he's an insecure sack of shit, who takes his fears and self-doubt out on everyone around him, and seeks status to prove to himself and to everyone around him that he isn't worthless. This characterization comes out much less in his official actions as firelord than it does in his interactions with his family.

We have heavily implied in the show that his father abused him, that he favored Iroh over Ozai and was cruel and dismissive of his younger son in profound ways, that left Ozai resentful, and also covering up a deep well of insecurity. Ozai's relationship with his wife and children is equally revealing. Azula's words with regards to her uncle make it very clear that Ozai talks smack about his brother around her all the time, while Ursa and Zuko's reactions show that he does not do this around them. I'm writing an essay that goes more in depth about what this means for Azula, but for now, suffice it to say that this is a sign that Ozai is using her as a surrogate companion in ways she is definitely not old enough to handle. When this happens, it's because a parent doesn't have another companion. It's because they either have no ability to find an adult companion to talk to, or because they are afraid to, so they use a child who is under their control, and who can't reject them.

Ozai is not seeking companionship from his wife. Part of this is because he bitterly resents her, for reasons that have very little to do with her, and much more to do with the situation of how they got married, which is to say, his father deciding to use them both in a breeding project. Likewise, it was not Iroh who was given a backcountry actress from a family of disgraced nobodies for a bride. It was Ozai. I find it hard to believe that Ozai wouldn't see this as a snub, as his father forcing him to marry a low status woman. This has nothing to do with who Ursa is as a person, and even if she were Ozai's ideal wife, she would have to work against this massive preexisting disadvantage.

But what is Ozai's ideal wife? The fact that he seeks out Azula as a surrogate companion also means he isn't seeking out intimate friends. Azula, as a child, is someone he can control, and who doesn't know enough about the world to see through his self-aggrandizing. Ozai resents and fears his father, resents and scorns his brother, resents and is cruel toward his wife, resents and dismisses his son, and uses his daughter as a companion he can control, as a supply of affirmation and even adoration. This paints a picture of a man who cannot have a relationship with an equal, who must either be under someone's power, or have them under his, and any relationship he has with anyone in his power is going to be somehow deeply abusive. He wouldn't be be receptive to a co-conspirator. He doesn't want someone who shares his agenda. The best wife, as far as he's concerned, is one who looks up to him, is in awe of him, buys into the self-serving lies he tells himself, and parrots them back to him. Anything else, including a woman who takes an active interest in scheming to put him in power, is too much of a challenge to his self image. She could see through him to the pathetic weakling his father convinced him he secretly is.

But even if Ursa were perfectly in awe of and submissive to him, he would eventually lash out at her, and take his anger and fear out on her, because there is no way for anyone to perfectly manage his fears and insecurities for him. When coming up with ideas, it's really easy to put things in terms of, what if XYZ character were evil, instead of good, and then we have to step back and think about what it actually means to be evil and good, and how to make a realistic character who does bad things, or wants to achieve destructive ends, before we can even consider how that changes how everybody acts around them. But in this case, none of that matters. Any kind of change to Ursa's personality and actions is almost beside the point. The dynamics of Ozai's nuclear family are entirely shaped by his power and his fears.

[horsechestnut]

I would love details on the Reverse Robin AU idea, I always adore those. (Though I often feel they miss an opportunity by not having Duke be first. Then again I sort of have a "Either its the first four Robins being reversed, or its all of them and thus Duke is first" system. A lot depends on what swerves the story best.) Sorry for the off topic ramble and no pressure to share, but yeah it'd be cool.

One thing I am notably curious about is how you'd handle the pre death relationship between Bruce & Stephanie. Cos so much of their canon one is filtered through his grief over Jason and projection onto her which led to his awful treatment of her, which led to her desperation to please him. Without that death things would probably be a lot more chill.

Still, I could see a similar death happening if Bruce got to up his own ass with trying to play master mind and it all blowing up in his face (Which I insist would have happened with his crime control plan regardless of Stephanie.)

No apology necessary! I love off topic rambles and am prone to doing them myself (see how long this explanation ended up for reference lol).

Here's a link to a sort of fan-fic/sort of explanation I wrote earlier (Though I think you already found it). I would love to flesh it out into a full fic, but I'm not sure that will ever actually happen.

As for Steph and Bruce specifically though, I think there's still tension between them, but it comes from a different place. Spoiler is a rouge agent, a teenager with no training, no oversight, and a personal score to settle, and Bruce isn't really prepared to handle that. Damian came to him pre-trained and if Tim comes second (which I think he should since he's both before and after Steph in canon) he was doing it because he believed it was the right thing to do. Without Jason Bruce has never had to deal with anyone who's completely untrained before, and without Dick he's never had to deal with a personal grudge as motivation (except his own, and he's really not prepared to get into that), so the combination of them in Steph seems far to dangerous to have in the field. Besides, it sets a bad precedent, he can't just let any teenager start running around fighting crime or he'll have a We Are Robin situation on his hands, and he already has a Robin. I don't think it's really personal for him, it just makes logical sense for everyone if she would stop, but for some reason she won't, even after Cluemaster is dead. (She also reminds him a little to much of himself at that age, but he's not going to think about that).

On Steph's end I think things are a little more complicated. I think the indifference would both drive her insane and give her this sort of false hope. No matter what she does it never seems to be enough, but the parts of her Bruce seems to dislike are all related to Spoiler, not Stephanie, which means she can change them! But there are parts of Steph that are baked into Spoiler, which carry over to Robin in turn that she can't get rid of no matter how hard she tries. Plus there are just enough similarities between the way Batman talks to her and the way Arthur did that sometimes it activates her fight instinct when logically she knows she should just listen to him. And unfortunately Bruce doesn't respond well to being snapped at, but he also never seems to hold it against her for more than a day. So Steph just keeps running in this circle and never knows where she stands with Bruce, and in some ways it's better and in some ways it's worse, because at least with her dad she knew where she stood and could stop trying.

I don't like that answer, trust me I wish I could say things between them would be better, but personally I don't think so. Bruce might be nicer about the way he says it, but I think he'd still want Steph to stop and Steph would still think if she tries hard enough he'll realize he was wrong.

Sorry, that got away from me, but anyway, I think the concept of including Duke is interesting! I just don't really know enough about him to know how it would play out or have thoughts on how We Are Robin could happen without Robin.

[clonehub]

Andor rewatch!

Andor doing such a good job setting up the environment. It's kinda funny tho that this bar place has such kicking music and it's so empty.

I said this before but the facial coding of this scene was apparent from the jump, and white men's insecurity around brown men when it comes to sex and what they believe they have a right to is a theme they maintain all the way til the end of this arc. These cops are both white men who want a white womans attention. The white woman goes for Cassian, which triggers their aggression and need to rectify the situation by exerting their dominance over him--hence why they chase him down and try to rob him.

"company town" is an interesting set up for an environment because it implies (to me) a level of control and surveillance over the entire area that all the participants are aware of even if they can't do anything about it. So these sentry guards having to be watched adds a layer of frustration to the lack of attention they get: they believe they have an audience, watching them fail. They're guards but they don't have control. It's control control control.

Looking at the background while Cassian talks to this woman, it seems the lead cop doesn't accept the advances of another woman that approaches them--she may be Black, but I can't be sure with the lighting. If she IS in fact Black/a woman of color, that only adds another layer to intersection of race and sexuality we see playing out in the....first four minutes of the series. Even the positioning of these cops as a permanent fixture of the background of their conversation cements that.

I wonder if this woman's response would have changed if Cassian had lied and said he was a significant other. I get the sense that (as many sex workers do) she would have lied back and said she didn't know anything about his sister. At least she kicks him out.

"scrawno". Their harassment also includes body shaming! One of the other cops calls him "little thing", which plays into the infantilizion of men of color as well. Cassian being viewed as both a threat and not is par for the course for white supremacy.

"employees are required to show ID upon request" Just like a typical cop to question the exist/presence of someone they don't like at the state level.

"what if he swum over?" I remember feeling like I'd been punched in this chest when I first heard this--this is the first solid confirmation of the racism metaphor/theme in this entirely interaction, and Cassian's looking into the camera is something I understand to be a fourth wall break as well as the point of no return emotionally in this scene. This isn't just Cassian Andor showing the viewer he's tired of being degraded; this is a Latino man looking at the audience as he faces yet more racist harassment for his ethnicity.

Cassian not moving is also a smart move. Cops are notorious for firing at the slightest breeze.

Dead from a freak accident. This is the first of several incidences in Andor where people actually respond to death as a jarring, scary thing--something that I feel doesn't happen often in star wars. I was shocked when I saw how they reacted to this man's death--the panic, the shouting, the "he's faking", the tears.

The lead cop now tries to convince Cassian to lower his guard and go into a police department with him--all the whole reinforcing the fact that Cassian is an outsider. "You didn't understand him", he says. "Come to the department with me, and I'll explain to my colleagues how you, the outsider that insulted us, are innocently at fault for the death of an employee of this corporate town. Trust the word of someone who just tried to rob you."

Cassian's cold killing of this cop is so.....so storytelling. I remember people being upset, but one has to ask why he was meant to believe that man at all.

[sonicphobia0601]

Honesty time: I have spent a long time thinking that hiding my autism was okay because my mother told me so. I have been masking ever since I was five years old. She told me that the things I liked are creepy and weird, which lead to me to just not talk about the stuff I like. I kinda get that with Poppy Playtime and FNAF to a degree, but she also called Sonic and BARNABY both creepy and weird. She also told me that stimming was bad. But research proved wrong. I am learning that when I don't stim, I get very angry outbursts that happen on occasion. I wasn't allowed to have a Goth phase or even find new interests. I started making my Barnaby cosplay and she responded with an indignant, "Why do you want to dress as something creepy and abstract?" Then she called out the time I stimmed on Huggy Wuggy (a Poppy Playtime character who I suspect is on the spectrum but that is a conversation for a different post). And she also brought up, "Why don't you have your cat as a phone background?" I use my phone as a means to stim publicly and discreetly. I have many pictures of my cat and my boyfriend on my phone.

I have discovered that I have been quite unhappy with myself because I was trying to fit a mold that my mother made for me that was just plain unreasonable. And my big wake up call is actually from Billie Bust Up. I played Fantoccio's demo on my YouTube channel and I found myself getting jealous of Fantoccio. And later, admittedly, I got jealous of Barnaby as well. I asked myself, "Why am I jealous of them? They're both autistic, doing what they love, stimming without feeling like they're going to be punished harshly-" and that was when it hit me. I was jealous of them because they found a way to authentically be themselves. So I tried the face pat stim Fantoccio has. And I did it in front of my mother to try to calm myself down, which was a big mistake. She said that I was "hitting myself" even though I wasn't. (Unrelated note, I listened to "A Million Gruesome Ways to Die" again and realized that Barnaby was comfortable with himself because he was stimming. Adorable and awesome attention to detail).

She also tried to push me into being asexual. I also had an experience with my brother last night where I was stimming without realizing it completely. He told me to stop. I did. Then I put my hand where he couldn't see it, and he told me again that I shouldn't be stimming. I realized that I am trapped in a manipulative household. I can't do anything about it because I'm under conservatorship... I'm beginning to realize that I am not in a good situation. I love my mom but her ideas are unfortunately dated (mainly, stimming should not be encouraged but instead stopped). She has also threatened to put me in a group home (another sign of manipulation since I don't want to be in one). She acts like I can't live independently. She gave me one shot at independence and decided that it wasn't good enough after an incident that left me leaving my old college (I don't want to talk about it). I'm not even allowed to drink Monster energy drinks. Or even to like what I like. I feel controlled from my interests to my clothes.

I have given no reason not to be trusted. So why doesn't she trust me?

I need to change something.

If any of the Billie Bust Up devs read this, I have to say that your game changed my life and gave me a much needed wake up call. I know now that stimming is just self regulatory behaviors and that it's okay to stim. I just need to figure out how to balance when to stim and when to mask.

Thank you.

[sakis-sweets]

Whenever I see people saying "Ayano should dump Taro's ass and go with Budo, he's SO MUCH BETTER than him!", I ask: ...why are you so desperate to see Budo go through what Jokichi was subjected to? Do you secretly hate him or are you just masochists? Ayano is not a good match for ANYONE.

ooh this is gonna be long

Yes you have a good point! Ayano isn't a good match for anyone and it doesn't make sense to suggest that she should be with Taro or that she should dump Taro and go for someone "better" because whoever she ends up with is doomed to live in captivity among other unpleasant things. So why would people say this?

1. They don't know the game's concept very well, especially evidenced by the fact that they think Ayano is in control of whoever it is that she's obsessed with. She isn't. Stands to reason that if they don't know that, they ALSO don't know that being Ayano's lover is definitely not a good thing.

2. They forgot to mention that they're talking about their AU/rewrite in which Ayano isn't a bad person. Like it's very clear that some people like to pretend that Yandere Simulator's problematic characters aren't problematic. What if the bullies weren't bullies? What if the delinquents weren't delinquents? What if Ayano is just a slightly more cunning than average schoolgirl experiencing her first crush? That makes the game more enjoyable to them so that's the lens through which they perceive it, and when they talk about it, that's what they mean.

3. They know exactly what they're talking about and they're curious about how Budo might respond to being put into such a situation. Wanting to see bad things happen to a character doesn't necessarily mean hating them. There are characters in Danganronpa that I think should die, but I don't hate them as much as I hate Vlad from Magicka. FUCK that conniving little "nyeh nyeh I'm not a vampire!" bastard. Point being, they may not hate Budo, but they might think that it would be more interesting to see Budo in that position than Taro.

So which is it? Honestly... I hope the first one, because it's the best compromise between non-offensive and actually realistic. I don't think it's the third solely because the focus is on what kind of guy Ayano deserves to be with, not on who would make a better Magic Senpai. The second one is just... guys, you know Yandere Simulator is gonna be an M Rated game, right? Bad people do bad things. Ayano isn't a good person, even if you play pacifist, because her aim is to take away another person's agency over their life. I've talked about this before with Info-chan but it applies to e v e r y problematic aspect of the game. But I can't really blame anyone who says that Ayano deserves Budo over Taro just out of ignorance. Realistically it's probably a mix of the first and second options tho.

[greywindys]

The lady at the end is a demon summoned by Murdoc. She looks young and beautiful to him but to everyone else, she's much older. That would explain why 2D and Noodle look so disturbed when Murdoc kisses her at the end. Notice as well how she leaves a watery trail behind her...

This leads me onto Silver Lake.

In the live chat, Murdoc said how it has a 'weird energy' to it and 'rumblings underfoot'. He then goes on to say that he's going to anoint himself in The Last Cult swimming pool. This is where that demon lady came from! It all adds up! Murdoc had a vision after the moved to Silver Lake and was tricked into making this cult to release a demon who now has control over him. She's bewitched him and turned him into her pawn. Murdoc would NEVER settle down with someone, he doesn't do romance so it would be very out of character for him to fall in love with a random woman. Other people speculate that she could be a Succubus which I think holds a lot of weight. Murdoc is enamored by her because she's got him under this trance. He can't see her for what she truly is like everyone else can.

It could be that Stuart, along with Russel and Noodle, has to save Murdoc from this servitude before the Succubus makes him do any more rituals.

Of course, this is just a theory and we'll know more in time but what do you think? :)

Hey, thanks for sending all of this! Sorry it took me a little while to respond. This weekend got away from me, and I haven't had the time to sit down to write thoughtful responses.

I think a lot depends on how much they want to commit to an actual, real plot, and how long they intend that plot to be. The general assumption we tend to have is that whatever is introduced in the first video will be the "story line" they follow for the rest of the album cycle. But for all we know, they could resolved this by the next video. Additional plot points they quickly moved on from or resolved in my recent memory include: the events of "Aries," whatever was going on with the pink phantom, the portals...probably more if I thought about it.

That all being said, what you put together makes a lot of sense, and I think it would be really neat if it happened that way! I like the idea that the rest of the band starts off by kind of just humoring Murdoc's little cult project, like they're as aware and tired of his repetitive shit-stirring shtick as I am lmao (very coincidentally meta jdkdfjd), only to realize he's actually getting manipulated by something outside of their control. It would be a nice departure from their formula, and also very believable that something like that could happen to Murdoc. I personally think he's very susceptible to manipulation in situations like you described, despite being somewhat clever himself.

[psychewritesbs]

A huge factor into why I'm interested in megumi is quite literally seeing him grow with his ct, and seeing him accomplishing his domain, etc is very satisfying, but I think it's pretty much inevitable that sukuna will cast the completed chimera shadow domain (don't like that idea at all), and yeah, we don't know this for a fact and I'm very much jumping the gun, but the silver lining I see is sukuna once again acting as a unintentional or intentional mentor for megumi yk. I'm like 96.4% sure megumi is not dead (could be wrong idk anymore 😭).

I sound very much as though I don't care for character arcs, and solely care for power feats, but I promise I do care for the character development!! I regularly read and watch all sorts of series from different demographics, but im just specific with jjk for this ask. I just enjoy the ways in which authors can create power systems within its own world and seeing how characters respond to those rules, etc.

I'm wondering if gege will revisit the concept of being a good/bad person through megumi/yuji and if hana will play a role in that. I like how hana and megumi share the same "putting someone on a pedestal" thing and wonder if we'll see their relationship develop too (of she survives ofc haha 😢). Hana doesn't know megumi whatsoever, but I think she has more of an obsession with him than just a crush, and I do think her very rough childhood played into that, but only gege knows where this is going, so I guess we'll see hehe. They were both in a sense tricked by that someone (tsumiki, etc). Also, I don't know if it's intentional on gege's part, but is there a reason megumi was not able to deduce that tsumiki wasn't the same or is their dynamic truly a bit stunted where they don't know each other as well. I thought megumi would apologize too like he said, but I can't tell if it's intentional and it will lead to something more, or gege just wants to move the plot and won't explore those things anymore. Tsumiki did really feel as just a plot device, but I still hoped she wouldn't as I wanted to know her feelings on the situation and about her brother and her mom, etc, but I don't know how she would have survived now... but hope is always there I guess! No problem with that. I guess I say this bc I'm interested in knowing how megumi will overcome this need to ignore his own goodness to uplift those worthy individuals (tsumiki and yuji) and I always thought that seeing tsumiki as an actual person capable of good and bad would have challenged him, so I'm curious if that's still what we'll be exploring with megumi or if it doesn't matter anymore and he just died like a fool.

This is definitely the fight obsessed part of me, but ever since we knew that no ten shadows user in history has tamed mahoraga, the thought of megumi being the first is always on my mind, but I may have to settle for mahoraga being tamed by sukuna even if just for a short while. I'm jumping the gun again, but on a happier note 😊 I've been having a ball seeing sukuna mess around again with the mcs 😭 he's so fun to watch, so I'm not completely negative just conflicted lol.

I love the "save me/you" concept that we've seen in yuji and megumi, so I think yuji will play a role in saving him so to speak or playing a big role in megumi saving himself. OR since gege is using the titles to parallel the first few chapters of the series, we may get megumi dying in front of yuji after taking some control back and waha its sad again !! (Don't know how to feel about this theory either) It's fun thinking of ways this could go and gege has clearly thought of these moments in the story as he's clearly expressed what sukuna would do to megumi. I wonder what that interviewer thought when he heard gege speak lmao and if what happened in 212 and beyond is what he told him a while ago 🤔

What do believe to be a fulfilling character arc for megumi? I don't mind him dying or living, but not in this very moment hehe 😃

Sorry for the big ask again, but thanks again for reading!!

HOLA!

Oh my! Thanks for reaching out and sharing your #thoughts with me! I love all the #thoughts. There was so much juiciness to brainrot about!

My own #thoughts in response to your #thoughts under the cut!

A huge factor into why I'm interested in megumi is quite literally seeing him grow with his ct, and seeing him accomplishing his domain, etc is very satisfying,

Ugh! I KNOW! Satisfying is exactly the right word for it.

Honestly, Megumi is beautifully written.

I think it's pretty much inevitable that sukuna will cast the completed chimera shadow domain (don't like that idea at all), and yeah, we don't know this for a fact and I'm very much jumping the gun, but the silver lining I see is sukuna once again acting as a unintentional or intentional mentor for megumi yk

Yeah I have to agree with you on this. Something interesting is happening because Sukuna is clearly better able to use or make the most out of Megumi's Cursed Technique.

What I am not sure is whether this is due to Megumi's mentality still limiting what he can do or whether this is Sukuna simply being more powerful.

Thoughts?

Like in my head, Megumi should be able to accomplish the same, he just doesn't know that he doesn't know that he can do it. That said, Sukuna has been a catalyst for realizations like that in the past, so as you say, Megumi might grow because of Sukuna.

Which is also kind of interesting because Sukuna is equally impressed by Megumi...

Also... about Megumi's domain... gosh... yeah I must admit I am not a fan of Megumi not being the one who maximizes his own potential.

I have mixed thoughts on what exactly Sukuna is and isn't because of the whole mind = body = soul relationship and how he's just body-hopping and overriding other people's mind's information to merge with the soul and body.

So in a sense this is still Megumi but it isn't Megumi? Because in the end, this is Megumi's body and soul.

Regardless... I'm sure Sukuna will do something big with Megumi's domain and I do hope that, as you say, Megumi will learn from Sukuna because of it.

"I'm like 96.4% sure megumi is not dead"

That deserved to be made a title because of how specific you are about it lol. Don't hesitate to send in your theories. I'm collecting "the mental gymnastics Megumi fans will do to convince themselves he's still alive".

I do hope you're right tho and will light some prayer candles just to make sure your theory manifests.

I've made peace with Megumi not coming back but I'll still be disappointed if he doesn't which means I have not made peace with it at all.

Also... I am super curious about the other 3.6%...?

I sound very much as though I don't care for character arcs, and solely care for power feats, but I promise I do care for the character development!!... I just enjoy the ways in which authors can create power systems within its own world and seeing how characters respond to those rules, etc.

I'd say you get it. In JJK power = character development and psychological wholeness. It's a nice twist on the trope and Gege has done a good job with it.

In retrospect, I really do think the Culling Game arc has been about showing that relationship between power and the power system in JJK, how it relates to the sorcerer's personality, how the characters respond to those rules, and how they grow and get stronger as a result.

Like... don't get me wrong, I've been consuming Shonen for yeeeeears and while I appreciate Goku powering up because he was like...

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!"

I also really like how Gege pushes his characters to grow outside of long drawn out screaming.

I'm wondering if gege will revisit the concept of being a good/bad person through megumi/yuji and if hana will play a role in that.

Personally, I hope and think so.

How deeply he'll elaborate and/or how he executes is what is unsure. He might hide the struggle in the symbols.

Actually, as a symbol, Hana's Cursed Technique is a massive rabbit hole that gets at the core of good vs. evil. I'm working on writing this super nerdy meta about it. Stay tuned!

What I will say about Hana right now is that she sort of symbolizes light.

So it's an interesting symbol to bring in for a dynamic with a character like Megumi who represents the shadow.

If you think about it, dark is in need of light.

I'd say there's something there worth exploring.

I like how hana and megumi share the same "putting someone on a pedestal"... Hana doesn't know megumi whatsoever, but I think she has more of an obsession with him than just a crush, and I do think her very rough childhood played into that

Yes! Such a good point! I noticed the same thing about her. Going back to the idea of light, think of how light also make shadows all the more obvious and pronounced. So to me, from a psychological perspective, Hana's obsession is a sort of balance to her "light".

When you look at it like that, the Hana/Megumi parallels are interesting and I also wonder where Gege will go with them given Sukumi just betrayed Hana the way Yorozu betrayed Megumi.

is there a reason megumi was not able to deduce that tsumiki wasn't the same or is their dynamic truly a bit stunted where they don't know each other as well

Ah so, while I can see why people think this is the case, I personally don't interpret like this.

So for one, I do think that the relational dynamic is stunted and that it carries Pygmalion and the Princess and her Knight undertones. This involves how much Megumi idolizes Tsumiki as this epitome of goodness because it appears as though to Megumi, Tsumiki doesn't have a will of her own. Rather, she's an object upon whom he can project his emotional world and everything that is good about himself.

As an object that carries a projection of his emotional world, Tsumiki is also a Sleeping Beauty. Which can be taken as a metaphor for the status of Megumi's own emotional self--cursed to sleep for a hundred years.

Maybe I should expand upon this symbol in more detail. But for the sake of time what I'll say is that Sleeping Beauty is about awakening the feminine principle in order to achieve inner-balance between mind and heart/soul.

In JJK, Megumi's feminine principle has awakened, literalized by Tsumiki waking up, but the twist is that this carrier of Megumi's emotional world is now a cursed existence.

So it's almost like the Sleeping Beauty has turned against Megumi's immature perception of her. She has a will of her own and is not afraid to do as her sense of self is pleased.

I like that Gege has given us this twist to this dynamic because it gives us another look at Megumi's immature perception of the world and where he needs to grow.

JJK is a true tragedy in that its character's flaws are what ushers their ultimate downfall, and the way Gege is executing is very Jungian to boot.

Not sure if Megumi will grow from this experience because of that 3.6% possibility that he is dead, but the thing about the Princess and her Knight trope is that the Knight in question might eventually learn to see the real heart under the projections he casted upon her.

Twelve from Terror in Resonance is a favorite example of this trope's execution where, after dragging his Fair Lady into trouble, Twelve eventually sees her for who she is. In other words, the Sleeping Beauty comes to life in her own right and the Knight recognizes her true essence and achieves wholeness within himself.

So there's A LOT of possible character development in store for Megumi if he's 96.4% alive given all of the symbolism surrounding Jacob's Ladder and even Kon as the alchemical principle of antimony which unifies opposites.

All of this said, I've read quite a bit of discourse about how Megumi should have known this wasn't Tsumiki that I personally don't agree with.

First, I don't think that because Megumi idealized her that he didn't know her. I find that to be a massive leap of faith in logic because Yorozu was acting based on information she had about Megumi. In a sense, she always had the upper hand.

Again... Reggie cursed Megumi to die a fool.

What's more foolish than looking down on Remi for having failed to recognize Reggie was no longer who she thought he was, and then dying because of it?

So to me, its more of a question of Megumi failing to recognize this was not Tsumiki's soul / temperament.

There's a couple of characters that are favorites of mine who fool others because they walk a fine line between who they pretend to be and who they are at their core.

People can say and behave in one way, but temperament is an entirely different thing.

In Tokyo Babylon, Seishiro acts a certain way, and even though Subaru seems to be aware of it, he ignores his intuition about it because Subaru enjoyed Seishiro's temperament.

The way I see it, by the mere fact that they grew up together, Megumi is familiar with Tsumiki's idiosyncrasies and/or temperament. You know, the small things that make her Tsumiki.

Like what she might say in any given moment.

Or how she might behave in specific circumstances.

I personally see these panels as Megumi noticing that something was off but that he ignored his intuition because Yorozu is pretty much an optical illusion. Again, she is someone with access to Tsumiki's mind's information.

But that's how I see it at least.

If I'm honest, this all makes me wonder why Yorozu played coy. Why not just beat him to a pulp and enter the Culling Game? Was she enjoying humoring Megumi?

Or is this simply a plot hole for the sake of shock value?

ANYWAYS. I hope that I didn't go on an unrelated tangent as per usual. Moving on!

I thought megumi would apologize too like he said, but I can't tell if it's intentional and it will lead to something more, or gege just wants to move the plot and won't explore those things anymore.

Ah I feel the same way!

There's so many little details that feel like might be left unresolved. So far it looks like Gege is paying off on his promises so I wonder if he's going to deliver some angsty moment where Megumi apologizes because Sukuna killed her. Perhaps not that precisely but I wouldn't put it past the cursed cat.

I always thought that seeing tsumiki as an actual person capable of good and bad would have challenged him, so I'm curious if that's still what we'll be exploring with megumi or if it doesn't matter anymore and he just died like a fool.

Oh this is GOOD stuff. Not the part about Megumi dying like a fool but... y'know.

Again, "go back to sleep Tsumiki. I am busy protecting you."

Honestly, I am not sure what I like the most about how things unfolded... that Megumi's soul broke because Tsumiki might be dead, or that Megumi's soul broke because she has a will of her own when she never did before lol.

Again. I am eager to see how Gege executes on the trope.

on a happier note 😊 I've been having a ball seeing sukuna mess around again with the mcs 😭 he's so fun to watch

Yeessssss... sort of... not really... but still... yeeeeeeessss...

I love Sukuna and I love that every time Sukuna shows up he just has this overbearing and amazing sense of self that comes through the page in such a beautiful way.

I kind of just wish he want back to Yuji's body for that lol.

But ok, FINE! Go forth Sukumi! I'm looking forward to seeing what shenanigans he gets into this time.

Sort of... not really... ok maybe.

I love the "save me/you" concept that we've seen in yuji and megumi, so I think yuji will play a role in saving him so to speak or playing a big role in megumi saving himself. OR since gege is using the titles to parallel the first few chapters of the series, we may get megumi dying in front of yuji after taking some control back and waha its sad again !!

OMG YES!

Wait... jk, noooooooooooo!

This is interesting because Jacob's Ladder also gets at the core of the idea of the human heart. OMG what is Gege planning?!!!

CURSED CAT!

ok I personally think it's a bit too predictable for Megumi to do a reverse uno from chapter 9, but it is also very likely to happen. Sad indeed.

Gege did drop possible foreshadowing about Megumi's death, but it could also very well be a red herring.

The reference to Patrasche is very tragic. You can read about A Dog of Flanders in Wikipedia, which has a quick summary of the story and mentions a couple of anime adaptations of the story.

In a nutshell, A Dog of Flanders is about a boy (who happens to be an orphan like a certain someone) with a very tragic life and his very tragic death.

Anyways, thanks for sharing this theory. I loved the continuity that Gege brought in from chapter 9 but I never thought to explore the end of the arc.

What do believe to be a fulfilling character arc for megumi? I don't mind him dying or living, but not in this very moment hehe 😃

Shoot. I have no clue!!! I'm really focused on taking each chapter at a time and not getting my hopes up about Megumi coming back. This is my own personal way of not getting hurt heh. I just don't want to be disappointed because Gege is unpredictable af sometimes.

WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY I AM TOTALLY SPECULATING ON WHAT COULD HAPPEN.

So... I keep referring to Jacob's Ladder because as a symbol it represents the upward mobility of the soul. There's a clear theme of corruption and redemption of the self. So I feel like a fulfilling arc would be Megumi doing the whole union of opposites thing (remember the Sleeping Beauty references?) and re-awakening and overpowering Sukuna's sense of self.

After all, Gege already made it a point to make a distinction between how some people can be a vessels and others can be cages. I think it might be a theme of overcoming evil within oneself.

Thanks for reaching out again!!!

It's always good to brainrot and chat with others about JJK so thank you for sending in your thoughts. Keep them coming if you wish :)

Apologies on the delayed answer as well.