#so many got parallels w other characters i like

[sho-haizono]

YAYYY MISHA THEME!!!

MISHA 💖💓🩷❤️💕💖💓🩷💖❤️💖💓💓💖🩷💓

[un-pearable]

scrambling to finish holiday presents for my family but all my brain can think about is a 4+1 fic about skylor and the ninja bc we finished s11 last night and instead of being frustrated about that i binged thousands of words of fic and started brainstorming my own and spiraled out from there…. head empty noodle girl ily

[dragonmuse]

Keep It In The Box : An Essay on OFMD Season 2 and the Failure to Heal

(here in is my season two reaction. It contains many many spoilers. It's also about 3k words long so you know what you're getting into.)

“See, I have a system for dealing with all the terrible things I've seen. There's a box in my mind, and I put the things in the box..” -Frenchie, Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death

…..and then he never opens it. Chekov’s locked box has no key in season two.

On first watch, it seemed clear to me that Frenchie’s declaration was a narrative plant. Clearly the whole season would be about that box of pain and trauma being opened, sorted through and at least the beginning of healing. The show had developed a reputation after season one of being kind and focused on queer narratives of healing from childhood. Ed and Stede’s parallels in their childhood traumas were frequently on display through season one and were repeated in flashback throughout season two. Jim’s season one arc about becoming someone who doesn’t think just of revenge and can now forge meaningful connections was profound, beautiful and often funny. Izzy is an antagonist because he doesn’t want Ed to move on or stop acting like the trauma-response version of himself. The antagonist wants to stop healing. The point is to grow, to change, to learn how to love. It’s one of the things that made season one work for me at the time, despite reservations about pacing and tone.

So naturally season two should follow suit. It’s a kind show! About healing and falling in love!

For the first several episodes, the remaining crew on the Revenge go through a gauntlet of trauma, forced to do and receive violence at Ed’s whims as he careens from self-destructive behavior to self-destructive behavior. This is the wounding setup. It was dark, but it seemed like it would have a payoff and at first it did.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful moments of the season comes in one of the small respites in those early episodes as Jim recounts Pinnochio to Fang to soothe him through his grief. That was the show that I expected. The kindness of that moment struck me very deeply. It gave me some understanding of Archie too, who seems to fall for Jim right at that moment.

That scene is the show season one promised. Season two led with packing Frenchie’s box full to bursting. Here is the fight to the death between lovers, there is a first mate who is mutilated and rotting in the very walls (the rot of the Revenge itself), and there is the storm of Ed’s rage and pain that threatens to consume all of them.

So surely these remaining episodes would concentrate on finding the humor in healing from those moments. That is the setup. Frenchie has a box. The box must eventually open.

Except time and again, all the characters who suffered are told that the only way to deal with what they’ve been through is to stick it in the box and never open it again.

Pete tells Lucius that he’s unable to move on and needs to let it go. Izzy has a story about a shark. Ed’s apology to the crew which doesn’t even contain the words ‘I’m sorry’ is just…accepted. I kept waiting and waiting for a meaningful apology to the people Ed had hurt the worst with his actions, but it seems all we get is Fang saying ‘eh, no problem, I got to hit you back so I feel better’.

The playful theme of ‘pirates are just violent sometimes’ from season one becomes a grinding horror machine in season two when every atrocity visited on someone is forgiven because the narrative needs it to be. Ed and Stede spend more time making amends with each other over the bloodless night on the beach than either of them spend trying to repent for their actions towards anyone else.

And let’s talk about Ed. Arguably this season pivots on his narrative, on his path to healing and growth. A path that starts at a very low point. His moment in the gravy basket, deciding he wants to live because there are still things to live for is so great! So one might assume that what would follow would be him pursuing those things, making amends, making connections. He and Stede have a wonderful moment, talking about being whim prone and how they’ll work to avoid that, build a relationship by going slower.

Yet, at no point do either of them stop following whims. They never heal or learn from what’s happened to them. They both keep running from thing to thing, particularly Ed. It’s a whim to sleep with Stede, it’s a whim to run off to fish, and the finale gives us just more of their whims. Ed drops fishing as fast as he picked it up. He finds those leathers in the ocean, murdering the symbolism of leaving them behind. Even the inn is a whim, one of those things Ed decided he’d be good at without evidence. And Stede joins him in that without a single on screen conversation about it ahead of the moment.

Ed needs to heal himself and to do that he needs to confront what he’s done and do the work to heal the wound. Instead, he doesn’t meaningfully apologize to anyone, besides Stede and Fang. Despite Izzy’s dying words (we’ll get to that), not only do we never see the crew caring about Ed, working to make him family in the same way they do with Fang and even Izzy, he also doesn’t choose to stay with them. So what is the point? Where is the healing? Or does even Ed, beloved main character, have to live with it all stuffed in a box?

He ends the season in the leathers he threw away, in a relationship that’s barely stabilized, going to live in a house which we are told by the narrative (in that they are very very clearly paralleling Anne and Mary with Ed and Stede or why do we even get that whole Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? episode) will only end in them setting fire to each other to stay warm.

But Vee, I hear you cry, it’s a ROM-COM. This is all meant to be ha-ha funny and you are taking it so seriously!

Cool beans. Then why the hell isn’t it funny? Healing is often filled with comedy because people deal with pain with humor. You can heal and laugh at the same time. The finale especially is almost entirely devoid of laughs, almost entirely devoid of joy until the last minute for that matter. The episode that should show off with a flourish how far everyone’s come, mostly serves to show that no one has grown.

Okay that’s Ed. I want to talk about Lucius next. Our former audience surrogate (that’s taken away in season two when he doesn’t get enough screen time to perform that role and no one takes his place) really goes through the wringer. He experiences many many terrible things, including sexual assault (which is made into a grimace-laugh line that doesn’t take away from it’s seriousness because oh hey, that can be done as it turns out). He’s nervous, he’s smoking, it’s clear he’s suffering.

There’s a beautiful moment where Pete tells him ‘hey, I was also in pain. I grieved’ and that’s great. It’s good that Pete sets a boundary about Lucius not obsessing over the past to the point of occluding their future.

We even get our comedic moment where Lucius pushes Ed off the boat (still not apology, but I’d lost hope for that by then) and that doesn’t help enough. So Izzy comes in with a shark and the advice that you just have to move on.

Just…you know. Play pretend. Forget.

Shove it in a box. Ed didn’t take my leg, a shark did. Ed didn’t kill you, a shark did. Live with the person that tried to murder you because it’s your fault you dangled your leg over the side of a boat. That is the show’s message. I thought on first watch, that surely this would also come back up and be explained that you can’t live that way, that that is no way to heal. That it would become clear that this was no way through. You cannot make everything into sharks.

Lucius can move forward and still carry pain. He can still want a meaningful apology and still want to talk to his lover about what he’s dealing with while moving forward toward a brighter future.

And what of the flirtatious promise of relationships and connections being the way to heal? Look to Oluwande and Jim, whose heartfelt romance from season one was relegated to the bins of history in favor of a narrative that made him a brother Jim once had sex with. They could have had Archie AND Oluwande, who in turn could also have Zheng, but that never seems to be an option. With a single short conversation, they are broken up with, despite a brief tease at the birthday that they still ‘dance’ together, it never actually manifests. Jim and Archie never talk about what they went through. It’s swept under the rug as fast as knives are lowered.

Lucius also no longer flirts with other people, the solution to his pain is to propose and get married (but not too married, lest we forget that they’re two men, they don’t even get to be husbands or even the more respectful mates, no. They’re mateys.) This season proposes that the only happy endings are monogamous ones, where no one talks about anything painful that went before.

To ensure that message, beyond assuring the success of Oluwande and Zheng’s relationship, Jim and Archie almost entirely disappear from the narrative. Sorry you guys were given layers of trauma and no growth and not even much to do this season, we need to make sure that everyone remembers Oluwande is the break in Zheng’s day so when he says that to her five minutes later we know exactly what he’s referencing. No time for Archie to learn what an apology is or for Jim to get one line in with Oluwande that isn’t affirming their newfound broship. Must do more flashbacks to things we just did two episodes ago!

The show even dangles the conversation of the Revenge being a safe space. Why would any of them ever feel safe when the man who tortured them is allowed to walk among them and they are expected to forgive and forget? What’s safe about that? The ship is never made safe for any of them, but that’s never addressed.

And Zheng! Amazing, hysterically funny Zheng! She loses her ships, her entire way of life, the kingdom she built for herself and then…she doesn’t even get to captain the Revenge. We don’t know what becomes of her fleet, of her plans, her ambitions. Don’t worry about it, she has a romantic partner and isn’t that what every lady wants in the end?

(But Vee, I hear you cry again, there will be a season three! Maybe it will be All About Zheng! To which I say: then why did they present us with the most series finale feeling episode ever? If there’s more, I have no idea where it’s going. BUT VEE: BUTTONS AS SEAGULL ON THE GR- Fine. It’s time.)

Let’s talk about Izzy Hands.

Izzy manages more healing than anyone else this season. He reaches his lowest point, suicidal in the bowels of a ship that’s become a prison (very much in contrast to Ed’s suicidal low). The person he loves most in the world has shredded him physically and emotionally (and if you’re in the camp that thinks Izzy deserves the abuse that Ed gave to him, I would really like you to sit quietly with yourself and ask why you think there is ever anything anyone can do to deserve that treatment). He’s low, he shoots Ed to protect everyone, and then seems to plan to drink himself to death, mourning his losses.

And then another beautiful moment! The crew move past their own pain to help him. They work together for the first time and it’s to give Izzy mobility back. He treasures it. He cries over it. He uses that kindness extended to him to reach a new understanding of Stede and help him succeed, doing the work to make real amends. He sings in drag, he’s vulnerable and beautiful, celebrating the side of himself that he must’ve loathed in the first season. He’s an elder queer man, coming into himself.

He never gets an apology though. (‘Sorry about your leg’ without eye contact is not an apology. There is no responsibility taking, no acknowledgement of the weeks of torture that came with it.) Izzy also never really has an honest conversation with anyone about what it means that the man he loves punished him so severely for the crime of trying to protect the crew (yes, lest we forget, Izzy lost his leg because he was trying to keep Ed from re-traumatizing the crew and himself).

Izzy does all this work, but even he’s not allowed to take it out of the box. It’s a shark, not Ed. Ed is just ‘complicated’ (the language of abuse here is so upsetting and I think not even intentional).

And then he dies. His last act? To apologize to the man who tortured him and shot at him. To have done all this work, to take on all the blame. And then die.

In a rom com.

This show ends in a profoundly unfunny moment of telling the audience: this is the one character that did the work, that made amends, that tried his hardest to accept the parts of himself that he had a hard time embracing and formerly embittered him. He’s fully accepted his queerness and turned it into beautiful music. He’s disabled, and he worked hard to accept that. The man he loves will never love him back, so he worked hard to make Stede able to meet Ed on an even playing field. The Giving Tree gave up its limbs and its trunk, and it’s not even allowed to be a stump to sit on.

Kill the queer elder, who has managed to figure out how to live and in his own way how to heal. Kill him before he manages to teach anyone else how to meaningfully move forward (he almost gets it with Lucius, almost, but it’s meant to be rule of three, you know. Cigarette..shark…and then…and then fuck it, Lucius doesn’t even get to say a word at his funeral).

The message of this season again and again is that there is no healing, just moving forward. Like a shark. Like a bird that never lands.

That is not a kind show.

Season two is not a kind season.

It splinters people up and jams them back together without purpose or reason. It tells everyone who experiences pain that they should shove it in a box and not deal with it. No one who really needs one gets an apology of any sincerity. No one puts in the work to gain forgiveness. (Ed wearing a onesie is not The Work. Ed fixing a door is not The Work. Ed broke people that the show wants us to care about. Ed never does the work of making those amends. He fires off a Notes app apology at best. After all, it’s what he told himself via Hornigold in the gravy basket: you move on or you blow your brains out! Good thing he took his own advice and therefore had to change nothing to get his just rewards.

I would’ve taken just fifteen minutes of Ed trying to actually make amends. It could’ve been hilarious! Imagine awkward Ed trying to dance around what he’s doing with Jim and the two of them having a knife throwing competition about it. Or him and Frenchie attempting to make music together, writing a song about the raids they went on! It’s not just the crew robbed of their healing because of this, it’s Ed himself. He never meaningfully changes or makes amends. How is he any different at the end of the finale then he is standing on the edge of that cliff with Hornigold? He hasn’t moved on, he hasn’t healed. He tried one thing (fishing) that doesn’t fucking work and then he runs right back.

No one leaves this season better than they went into it. They’ve lost an elder queer, they’ve lost their joyous and queer polyamory, they’ve lost a chance for meaningful reconciliation with Ed and Ed lost any chance of looking like he gave shit if they did. Stede grows enough to accept the crew’s beliefs as important and then leaves them behind without a care.

Izzy gets a beautiful speech about piracy being larger than yourself. Ed and Stede, within twenty minutes of that speech, leave piracy. They are incapable of giving themselves to something bigger, apparently. They haven’t learned to be a part of a community. They haven’t healed from their childhood trauma or their fresher wounds. They are still just following their own whims.

Zheng’s life work is in tatters, but it’s fine, she has love. Oluwande and Jim aren’t together, but it's fine because they both have dedicated monogamous partners. Lucius was deeply scarred by what happened, never recovers much of his first season personality, but hey he got-well it’s not married exactly- but you know good enough!

Frenchie, who has a box forever locked in his head, is captain. Because the key to success is to lock it all in a box and never open it. What a message. What a show. Conceal, don’t feel. Smile because it’s a happy ending. Don’t mourn the dead, don’t try to tell people what happened to you (they will literally run away or cry too hard to listen and really you’re just bumming them out), and any meaningful change you make is only rewarded with death.

Frenchie is now a pirate captain with a box in his head full of trauma that’s never been opened, leading a crew with more wounds than scars. Wonder how that could turn out? Wonder how many years before he might want to retire and then happen to run across a gentleman pirate. As if no one learned anything at all.

[alphaketoglutaricacid]

shuro notes

upon rereading some of dungeon meshi, I got a better grasp on his role in the story and why hes in the main supporting cast along w kabru (main protag of the suporting cast), namari, and mithrun (main antag of the supp cast) . Contrary to most of the characters disliking eating monsters, he seems to dislike eating, period. In his first appearance he refuses to eat maizurus cooking (with maybe some mermaid eggs sprinkled in..?). His refusal to eat ties into his extreme passivity. He seems to dislike how his father does what he pleases with no regard to how it affects others, and his fear of doing the same seems to play a huge role in how he lets other ppl walk all over him. He ignores his own desires, including his own hunger, because consuming means taking another life. To live means something else has to die, so to desire is to want to take from others. To try to live up to the image of an impassive leader he tries to not participate in this process at all! But bc hes a human being he has to eat, so instead of never taking from others, he starves.

With Falin, I think he realizes there is a way forward where he could be himself and face the ugly realities of what it means to want. To be unabashedly yourself while not hurting everyone in your life. His love comes from a deep place of admiration! I think part of the reason why he's so dead set on saving her is bc he wants to be her equal—she saved him from his nightmares without a second thought, and part of it is to repay her kindness and to be able to reciprocate it. I think he foils nicely w marcille bc he proposes to her (asks her to choose her future) while marcille doesnt want her to move on from the time they were both children. I think this plays a huge part in why marcille hates him, bc its a reminder of how the time will pass and also he aims to take falin away from her. Interestingly, she also became fairly distant and withdrawn after falin left and they both formed their relationship w her bc dirt and bugs r cool. They both are the party members in Laios squad that fly off the handle the most. Socioeconomically, they both seem to be in the least dire straits and kinda prissy abt things as a result. On re-read something else clicked into place.

After his fight w laios that starts w legit grievances and devolves into him hitting all of laios’ insecurities like a game of whack-a-mole, shuro says he’s returning to his home country and after that he would never see any of these ppl again. Even before falin got eaten, he knew he was going to have to leave the party but couldnt bring himself to tell them. The way the convo goes, it seems part of the reason why he proposed to her so suddenly is bc he wants to take a part of his time on the island back home with him—i.e. that hes not ready to say goodbye. That the prospect was taken from him so suddenly is why this is the first thing hes asked for or wanted for himself. Interesting parallels to how marcille is not ready to live the rest of her 1000 year life without her friends now, and how falins death is a catalyst that brings her fear to the surface—that for both of them, theyll live the rest of their lives never seeing the ppl they love from this island again. I think part of the reason he is so nasty to laios in particular is bc his entire worldview falls apart at laios' actions

Both desire wise and literally, Shuro is starving. And like a starving person getting his first meal in a long time, I think he gets a little greedy—when he gives Laios the bell, he says if the party somehow makes it past thistle, to ring it so they can all escape to the East--where he's headed. Likewise marcilles solution is to bring everyone with her to the 1000 year lifespan. Thats surprisingly childish of both of them! Also not a solution to the problem that suits anyone but themselves. Theres so many solutions to this. He could write. He could call. He could communicate view morse code using that bell instead of attempting to blink in morse code to communicate to laios how he doesnt want to be here. Falin voice: I’ll go visit you, okay? He could set foot on the island again. Honestly. This is so embarrassing for him.

But I think it gets at a core theme of the work. Marcille, Laios, and Shuro all say their greatest desire is to save Falin, but once u get down to it, theyre pretty basic-to not be left alone, to be w monsters who u feel a kinship with, to not have to leave. Namari says she left bc of money but later on goes u must never let go of your fear. Kabru says he wants to get to know laios to prevent utaya from happening again but its much simpler-he wants to be his friend. Our base desires are petty, but they are what keep us going day to day, just like how every living being has to hunger and eat to achieve the goals they set out for.

Lets talk abt his relationship w his retainers.

Hein- theyre childhood friends that have drifted apart in adulthood. By the familiar way she talks about him when hes not around, I think she wants to be close to him again. I think the distance between them is probably intentionally imposed by Shuro bc hes afraid theyll turn out like maizuru and his father. She thinks hes unreliable in a way i think u can only rlly get when u know someone for that long. I wonder if some of that I thought wed always end up together and I want him to like me even tho I dont like him back is wanting that closeness in friendship again

Maizuru- Good god whats happening here. she loves him but also treats him like a child even tho hes a 26 year old man. I think its got fun connections to how kabrus adoptive mom treats him like a child, how marcilles not ready to see falin n herself as adults, thistles relationship w degal. Now these are all relationships where differences in lifespan come into play, but w maizuru n shuro i think u see something real banal in why these elves cant let the ppl in their lives go. She coddles him bc she loves him and tells him at the end he doesn't have to eat the dragon if he doesn't want to, but he rebukes her and says he has to eat it to accept his own failures. So like he doesn't need to be coddled he needs ppl in his life to challenge him so he can grow. And at the end he realizes it tastes good--that even tho his journey had so much conflict and in the end he failed to save falin he made friends! He grew as a person! He starts reaching out to his retainers again! He got to harrass the elf cops and give them migraines! Ties a lot into laios speech to marcille that if falin didnt die they wouldn't have met all these ppl and gotten to eat all this food.

Its wild she put that hag curse on him. Poor kid cant even take a shit in peace. Actually the fact that he couldnt even have that time for himself n grew up constantly feeling watched explains a lot. I think the fact his father nonchalently burnt it and then roasted mochi over it without giving him any explaination made him think oh this is just what everyone goes through and im the weird one for being frightened. And it takes him 20 years to find out that no, its not normal to be haunted by a ghost that chases you with a knife. Pretty apt metaphor for how rules have defined his life without him fully understanding why they're in place. I'll give it a crack tho--it seems like the time period his homelands based on the sengoku period bc its a period of heavy civil war where ppl below upsurped the ppl above them. The strict hierarchy is probably an attempt to exercise social control in an extremely precarious situation.

Also side note: kinda impressive he can do magic when he was six. Probs a combination of maizuru being a talented teacher and his own skill. The fire cast… close but no cigar. Also interesting is how the magic he casts seems more elf-y in nature vs maizurus gnomic spirit magic. I wonder if hes his partys black mage- the occupation his party is pointedly missing vs the toudens missing their white mage and kabrus party being well rounded at all points. If so thats hilarious that when the toudens lost their previous mage and everyone was panicking he was like well… im just not gonna say anything #OnBrand. I do wonder if the bell he gives laios is his own magic tho.

Also shuros mother is mad at maizuru for being shuros dads mistress but gives her her children to raise…. Lets unpack this contradiction. Incidentally my tin foil hat theory is Shuros a bastard child. maizuru n his dad have been fucking since 4ever -> one of these children is not legitiment -> probs the one w a strange distance from the rest -> whys shuro succeeding his dad so up in the air when his competitions a 14 and an 8 year old. It's not important tho.

izutsumi + inutade: the fact that he doesnt speak up is his defining moment of moral cowardice. Its tied to his passivity! Hes scared of saying or doing the wrong thing bc hes afraid of hurting others, and he does basically attempt to torch his relationship w laios like it was contaminated w anthrax. Like the first time he tries to be active it went horribly, but his involvement moves the plot forward enormously—with him kabru would not have run into Laios, izutsumi would probably not have been able to run away, he raises the stakes of the journey by indicating they probs cant return to the surface so they have to keep going. And even tho its messy, ugly, and embarassing, he can still pick up the pieces afterwards. Nothing he does is as harmful as his passivity on inutade and izutsumis situations which unequivically, he knows is wrong.

Also w all the references to buying people, I looked it up bc i was like.... like slavery...? it seems to be a reference to retainership as a social caste where people buy your services and as a result you owe the estate your service. You get paid and you have rights, but it seems like you are bound to your station, but depending on the time period japan is supposed to reference, some ppl took on these positions for the sake of social advancement. Regardless, it seems the caste system is also less rigid than stated and ppl can move amongst the positions. There doesn't seem to be an exact cultural equivelent to this, but I think the closest concept is like, being a vassal. I was like if this is slavery this narrative portrays izutsumis time w the nakamotos too ambivenlently and hien going don't you feel any gratefulness for them taking you in makes no sense. But I still think theres something pretty rotten going on here.

Allegedly, as a ninja, you ascend the ranks based on your skill. And yet izutsumi and inutade are at the bottom, and hien, the person that was born into this role, is at the top! Izutsumi and Inutade aren't even considered human in the island of wa--this distinction is given to tall-men only. Theyre both from positions where I feel like the other characters are like they should be grateful they got from one horrible situation to this one thats a system based on merit and skill, but like out of everyone, theyre in the least position of power to say no, to even appreciate what other options there are for them in the world. Like its deeply coercive and wrong. Whats up w shuros father collecting ppl like theyre trophies man. So we can see a system allegedy based on merit is not one at all. Also I feel theres undertones of japanese imperialism with izutsumi being from the equivelent of central asia and having a soul of a child stuffed into her like some kinda of science experiment. Maizurus constantly trying to "civilize" her by teaching her ettiquite such as using your chopsticks. Like the rhetoric of the elves ape pretty directly to imperialistic sentiments, it would not surprise me if theres intentional commentary about japanese imperialism in how izutsumis treated bc japans kinda known in the east for their imperialism... theyve just done it so many times like my parents were like we left our families, our culture, everything we knew behind to go to america.... but we kept our death grudge against japan tho!! #lmfao. Honestly fair. anyways i think theres intentional parallels between how izutsumi is treated as both as a child and a feral animal by maizuru and how the elves treate other races as children that need toys taken away from them. But also how fundementaly, maizurus unsuited to take care of izutsumi bc the tools she has are not suited to izutsumis needs! She has no understanding of izutsumis life. Her hag curse turns from a highly questionable child rearing tactic on shuro to outright a slave collar on izutsumi. Teaching shuro ettiquate and being able to fight gives him the tools to survive in the postion he was born in but is erasing the culture izutsumi grew up in and has been taken away from before she even knew what it meant. Bc she was treated like a circus freak she never got to choose for herself! Tho providing the basic comforts to shuro is a privilage, it's not to izutsumi bc shes never been able to choose what she wants in life. It's why shes set up as shuros narrative foil like so:

This is his pensive look btw its a consistant tic that he lookes like hes glaring when hes deep in thought. Maizurus is both these people's strange mother figure who feeds them in liu of their actual mother. She smothers shuro in love and doesn't let him face actual challenges in life while she intensely disciplines izutsumi. Shuro reacts to this by aquiessing and never making demands of his own while izutsumi constantly refuses to conform. This is probably why he doens't get her.

In the early points of the story, shuro either says leave izutsumi for dead or leave her so she can pursue her freedom. The ambiguity is intentional, because i think in this part of the story we are not supposed to have a good read on him. But it's also because because of his passivity he doesn't do shit for her! So he loses out on having any type of relationship w her even tho they were tormented by the same curse. But crucially he may have learned from this w inutade, who he explicitly aknowledges how her situation is fucked up and her worship of his father is due to an insane power imbalance even tho he has no clue how to talk to her about this. And at the very end of the manga, he gets into an eating contest with her at her prodding as equals. So maybe there's hope he can do better. But I think its important that his relationship w izutsumi is non-existent as a consequence of his passivity despite the things they have in common bc theres no excuse for it. Thier relationship probs deserves its own post.

benichidori - very funny amongst all these complicated relationships these two just straight up dont know each other n r too shy to do so. Is what I was going to say but then I realized benichidori has taken shuros place as hiens closet friend and I wonder if theres any jealousy abt that. But also she shares a lot of traits w shuro and isnt that just interesting:

but even more interesting is her comic:

this is beat for beat shuros conflict w laios.

We only care about one thing: the crushing opinion of everyone in the universe.

I didnt get this on my first read even tho laios was like hes smart but he is incredibly sharp. Hes good at making useful deductions when things dont add up. It rlly reminds u hes trained in espionage.

He keeps kabru on his toes! interesting for such a smooth talker.

He gets kabru to open up about his motivations here and how it affected him and kabru actually shares some of his own feelings on the manner when usually hes holding ppl at arms length. I think him getting a chance to recite this helps prep him to talk to the caneries where notably, hes a lot more clinical about it.

Its nice all three of these ppl can challenge each other and support each other. I think it would be funny if kabru hits em up in the future like do u wanna start some shit for old times sake

able to tell chilchuck was not a child

is afraid of marcille which tbh fantastic call

Everyone else horrified marcille just killed a man but he's like yeah #tracks.

Other things that reminded me hes basically a fixer:

Spends his screentime evading the elf cops.

Refuses to talk to the canaries even under threat of being interegated for 50 years despite threatening laios party multiple times that hes gonna tell on them. instead spends his time going tbh i've never known anything in my life. I'm stupid like that :pensive emoji:

Incredible bit of manipulation on his part-he pretends to be thinking out loud to cast doubt on the canaries judgement to appeal to the ppl in the dungeon that are not motivated by the goodness of their hearts. Reminds me of namaris relatively selfish reasons for leaving the party--needing to get paid, which is a need she was ignoring for far too long and also laios was also not paying proper attn too when namaris in dire straits, and how she says she left the party after the dragon bc she remembered to never forget your fear. That selfishness must also drive you forward. Then he uses that doubt to twist the situation to say all their information could be false so maaaybe the situation is not as dire as they claim and they have other motives (social control). And he pretends hes talking to the caneries but this is directed to everyone else. He and namari pretend to pick a fight so the leader's distracted and everyone else uses this opening to scatter, which causes enough chaos that it breaks the control the elves have. Which is wild bc shuro knows the dungeon is dangerous bc kabru told him about utaya. He also knows laios party can be dangerous w the amount of collateral they cause w the dragon. He puts a lot of ppl in danger that do not need to be even though multiple times he worries about people getting hurt. At his core, tho, I think he wants to see laios and his party again and that selfish desire trumps everything else in this moment. Namari and shuro are so ride or die TBH.

He never shares any of this when not prompted. Except notably at the end he interrupts when ppl think laios might be dead. Which as an aside I think its interesting his biggest contribution to saving falin is not thru his fighting prowess, but through the simple fact he reached out to laios. His compassions his greatest strength. Laios frestrautes him and kabru, and they both punch him and complain that theyll never understand him, but I think they dont have to. Love requires compromise—it requires eating things you really dont want to, you clash and you hurt each other, but what matters most is that you keep reaching out to one another, that you keep on trying to understand each other. Living requires you to hurt and be hurt, to give and take.

Once again stuck in the middle of an insane and ancient beef

low key funny that he remembered the last time he was here and he was like u know what.... ill just sit this one out....

If my son told me he spent the last week pissing off the elf cops, Id be like yeah thats what the nakamotos are all about TBH

Theres pretty juicy stuff abt how laios is interested in shuro because hes exotic like a monster and his own relationship with being othered by ppl and the fact that shuro is constantly referred to as a foreighner even to ppl hes known and has risked his life for for two years + how to laios monsterhood is a type of freedom while being othered is a type of dehumanization for shuro + how hes trying to show some kind of solidarity to shuro but hes microagressing him thru his attemps + how laios just is being explicitly saying the racist beliefs everyone else implicitly holds just like how mithrun says other races are inferior races which horrifies the rest of the elves but its honestly what they believe but I'm tired and need to think abt it a bit more.

Why do shuro and his party from an island primarily composed of humans and other ppl sometimes not classified as humans but have similair lifespan bc of sociopolitical reasons imitate so many interracial dynamics despite being of the same race? It's to show how marcilles wrong about how the inequality between races exists bc of lifespan differences. Her own fears due to fantastical reasons of being a half-elf and unable to relate any of her insecurities to other ppl are not exclusive to her! Tall-men - Tall-men relationships run along the same lines and have the same conflicts. All the things she fears are things that make her human, that other people have also felt.

in conclusion:

think abt the messiest person u know. Its a man

jk its marcille #feminism

[staridust]

Sunny Day Jack ★ Stari’s Versions

—

★ DO NOT USE/REPOST WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. NO MINORS.

—

Apologies for the tumblr inactivity, space crew! I’m much more active over on Twitter!

Here’s a simple lineup of Jack designs that I’ll be personally using for myself! I love when artists take a character and add their own personal twists on them, so I’ve done the same to my favorite technicolor clown.

I’ve also seen a few people be interested in two other designs that I’ve done, so I’ve added them to the lineup as well for others to use or to see their full outfits!

—

Here’s a explanation of each design element if you all are interested in that:

Sunnyverse Jack(Left):

Sunnyverse!Jack is my personal interpretation, artistic recolor, and story with him. He is basically a spin-off of the Sunny Time Town AU by JambeeBot.

I wanted his jacket to reflect looking up at a vibrant summer sky, with clouds, rainbow pockets, swirls, and stickers to add to the childlike wonder. His different color suspenders replaces the stripes on his shirt, which is now a sun on the collar!

I’ve personally always liked the idea of Jack’s hair cascading into purple tips, it’s been referenced in many other drawings of mine. Considering Papa Rise also has purple-ish hair, I think it fits!

This design went through a couple sketch phases and some reworks with the most recent showcase being the birthday drawing of Artemis, where this design can be seen in now outdated-concept!

Alternate Outfit (Middle):

Over a year ago, I made a drawing about Jack and bowties, spreading my bowtie propaganda…. And I still am HAHA. Listen, Jack with a bowtie is so cute, So I’m bringing that design back as well as a full ref!

I’d like to say that this is his work or side outfit, but this is not the teacher AU. I did not create that AU, so don’t refer to this design as the teacher AU!

Even though I don’t consider Jack as a rodeo clown, I gave him clown cowboy boots to reference [Redacted] and his southern residence somewhere.

Rainbow Factory Jack(Right):

RainbowFactory!Jack or RF!Jack is an AU I made last year as well, and finally got around to giving you all a full standing ref for him!

He got more attention than I thought, I know a couple of you like delusional men. I get it.

For his hair, aside from the primary highlights, I also changed the coloring to be a bit more muddled and darker on the teal spectrum, as I like to do that when I draw Jack in a not so-friendly manner. His hair is also more spiked, compared to the others who have more of a fluffy round curl.

His coat is very simple, red and yellow stripes down to a cloud border, and the inside of the coat shows a giant sun on the underside. He also has different color rainbow splotches in different places on him!

His eyes can vary in size or be consistent, and the colors of them can change or spiral too! Usually though, the right eye is lighter than the other. His colors are more saturated and darker than the other designs.

Cotton Candy Cupid Jack:

Finally, the last design I have in the lineup is Cupid!Jack!

This is the first custom design I’ve made of Jack. Shared in this post, this was meant to be the Valentine’s Day design I had for him! Though this drawings is extremely old and outdated now for both my MC and art, I decided to carry it on to a proper Cupid AU design for everyone!

He was originally labeled as Cotton Candy Jack in a wip post that keeps getting shared around from time to time, but I’m unsure if I should keep that name for this lover boy now! There was a community cotton candy Jack trend a month or two ago, so maybe I should change the name? What do you all think?

Design wise he parallels the classic Incubus Jack, which I believe was originally a Halloween costume. His design shares similarities on purpose, being the extended body paint gradient and the sheer fabric overlay on the pants.

Almost like an angel/devil duo, Cupid Jack is more pastel, softer/brighter primary hues, has fluffy wings! My goal was to have them be similar enough side by side, but also different enough to tell that they are different themes/holidays.

He has a motif of hearts, ribbons, and sun swirls. His hair gradient is also the most vibrant one, going from cyan to a vibrant pink at the tips.

He has sandals because I thought it fit the whole Cupid vibe, but drawing his dogs out every-time might actually be the end of me.

—

While I will use these personal redesigns, I want to make it clearly stated and obvious that Jack is not my original character, nor are these redesigns an attempt to change his character or completely detach him from his media. There are simply my fun artistic portrayals of him, as I admire his original design, media, and game as well.

The Rainbow Factory and Cupid AUs are technically my AUs. Ship art, written stories, headcanons, etc. of RF or Cupid Jack are completely okay to create! I just ask that you tag me so that I can see what you all do with him!

However, I ask that if Sunnyverse Jack is used, please ask for permission before using his custom design, as it is my own design of him that I use personally.

…and also, I wanna see more MV Jacks! Artists! Show me how you would draw him in your trademark! I love creative expression!

[riveracheron]

hey guys have my wild magnus protocol theory that stemmed from me just overanalyzing the little bits of content we have

i think lena is a homunculus.

(spoilers for the pilot and jonny + alex’s post pilot discussion under the cut)

basically this stems from. a lot of places w small amounts of information so some of this might be stretches. But

1. a lot of marketing around protocol mentions the theme of “what does it mean to be a person?” which. leads me to believe there’s gonna be a plot around a protag being Not Human but has the heart or whatever the fuck. standard pinnochio or wizard of oz story. sure youre not human but ur a person bc of xyz free will or whatever

2. lena’s behavior in the pilot is So odd and almost inhuman in its extremely dull corporate jargon way. she literally uses things like “you can file a complaint” or “here at the oiar we….” (advertiser shit) , in genuine conversation. she doesn’t leave the building, either and has a Generic office party.

im genuinely thinking bureaucracy and the weird eldritch stuff of the oiar is Literally all she knows, not that shes being manipulative and evil in the trailer like elias; she doesn’t or maybe cannot question the whole. asking sam about the eldritch trauma thing, something something cant understand human emotions and why that might be troubling.

also “people like chocolate cake.” that sounds weird and something someone with only base knowledge of humanity would say.

she’s described as “an odd one” by jonny and that we will “get her soon”. im under the full belief that shes the non-human character of the bunch thatll yknow. have the Real Boy plot

3. homunculus specifically comes from all the alchemy shit around protocol, and homunculi are some of the most famous alchemical creations in popular culture, and i think she’s not. an entity creation. lenas too much of an important character to just be like. tied to An Entity, as a main character extremely tied to the OIAR, that entity would have to be the basis of like the entire plot of protocol; which i doubt theyd do.

the eye is so important to archives because the themes of archives was the consequences of knowledge- the entire plot was engineered around the Eye as the Main Character Entity and the Eye was written to be that in turn, sorta similarly to how Griffindor is the Main Character House (TM) of HP with its themes of bravery. i doooont think the oiar is tied to the stranger or flesh or any other simulacrum creating entities.

all that to say i think lena is a different kind of artificial human, one that’s manmade rather than entity made yknow?

we get glances of the people above her in status, theres mentions of an ephemeral “he” in the pilot, so. heres what i think

the He in question is an alchemist whose in charge of the OIAR (and maybe other branches but lets focus w the oiar). He created Lena the homunculus to be the middle manager of the branch in his stead; “programming” her to be as dull and corporate as possible to keep the employees in line or whatever. something something shes got a plot wrestling with that and her inherent lack of persondom

EDIT: totally forgot this part

adding that the first statement’s plot was about an abomination of corpses given a humanlike shape and coming back wrong which is. exactly what frankenstein’s monster is, and frankenstein’s monster is considered a homunculus.

with the anglerfish’s importance to season 3 of archives i definitely think the Arthur monster will come up again in some form, but maybe instead of Actually being In Podcast maybe its a parallel to the main characters’ story in the same way that many s4 statements were used to give us more information on how jon is working through it all. the zombie statement when he just wakes up comes to mind especially. maybe it’s a hint and echo of what a Character in podcast (lena) is

[lazy--lillies]

Ok so my Piper post was written on my phone and I didn't phrase it properly but I do want to talk abt her and Helen of Sparta's parallels bc- ohhhh boy.

So first of all, her being sent to boarding school. Now, this was a bad writing decision for Rick to make with his one Native character, but other people have talked abt why that was problematic so I'm just going to get this point out of the way bc unfortunately it's part of the plot and there's no undoing that. This could've been such a good initial parallel between the two. Helen of Sparta, forever known as Helen of Troy because of a marriage caused by a spell of Aphrodite. There was so much he could've done with Piper feeling out of place, and her wondering about the woman who used to own her knife. He gave her all this extensive knowledge of Greek mythology and then never let her put it to practical use. Bullshit! Piper being forced away from her home due to the designs of the gods (one god in particular - but I'll get to that in a minute) should've come into play from minute one.

Two: her beauty. Now, Piper is shown as the strongest and most "Aphrodite-esque" of her children. Her eyes change colours like her mom's (another bad writing choice, but I'm going by canon so just work w me here guys), her charmspeak abilities, and just the general role she takes up in the Aphrodite cabin with all her siblings. Hell, she's constantly being asked by random gods to be their bride and/or queen because she's just that beautiful. Unfortunately, because of the general writing of her character, this natural beauty comes off as being pick-me instead of an inherited trait from her mother. I genuinely hate the way Rick wrote her beauty because it could have been utilised so much better. If we're continuing with her Helen parallels, she should have made men drop when they saw her. Don't make her a bullied girl who doesn't know her beauty, there are already plenty of characters who were like that in the series. Instead she could still have been bullied by girls who were jealous of her, but have people know that she's beautiful. Have her know that she's beautiful, and let her be uncomfortable with that! Have it make boys have to look twice to make sure she's real, have girls jaws drop when they see her. Percy and Jason get all these godly comparisons with their looks, why not Piper? Have people genuinely think she's an immortal when they first see her because she's so gorgeous. Make her be mistaken for Aphrodite! If you want to really spice things up, add that to her mommy issues! There were so many options with her inherited traits from her mom, and instead they were just used to excuse the weird lusting after her that the men in the narrative and the narrative itself does with her, which is disgusting considering she's only 15.

Also, Sparta being such a famous place for it's war tactics. It being Helen's birth place. Aphrodite being a war goddess. One of Piper's main wishes being to be seen for more than her beauty, but for her strength in battle. Helen, who is only famous for her beauty, originating from a place famous only for it's lust for war. The way that we wish to be perceived versus the way we will eventually be known. Piper trying so hard to run away from Helen's fate and yet being unable to escape it. That fate mirroring the current perception of her mother. Her mother knowing this and being the key if Piper wishes to break the cycle. I could go on abt this but this post is already so long so I think you guys get the point.

Three: her relationship with Jason. So I didn't really explain this in the og post, but her being a lesbian from the start is kind of just necessary for this plot to work in my mind. She got retconned into being gay which pisses me off, but I won't say she wasn't queer coded in the og HOO series because she definitely was, even if I hate the way it was made canon.

This one is definitely going to be my longest point. From the start, her being paired up with Jason should have been done by her mother. I get that the whole "seeing where potential for romance is" thing was happening, but their relationship ended up failing anyway and the way it fails just makes the whole point kind of fall flat. Instead, it would have made more sense for Aphrodite to have included these memories for her daughter. She loves interfering in romance, and her using Piper's relationship with Jason as a way to get Piper's romantic life out of the way (separate thing of Aphrodite caring abt seemingly everyone but her own kids' romantic lives, but that's a different post) then that could've made this parallel so strong! It's what made me make the og post, and what makes this idea drive me so insane. Helen being already married and Paris being forced to fall in love with her, abducting her from her home and then marrying her would've been the perfect parallel to Piper's story. She has memories of Jason implanted in her brain, and for the whole of The Lost Hero we see her trying to figure out what's real or not, but that's so difficult to do in her situation. She's constantly on the verge of death after she finds out her memories are false, and if it's not her then it's Leo or Jason being in danger. This should've become an arc for Piper and Jason, and imo HOO should've ended with their amicable breakup. Make her slowly realise over the course of the series that she's a lesbian, and her feelings were manufactured by her mother (and reinforced by comphet). This honestly even works with Jason's death. Parallel him and Paris' death, have Piper then have a relationship with a girl after being "freed" from the relationship she was forced into by her mother. And, most importantly, USE this parallel! Have Jason die in his OWN SERIES, and have that cause actual character conflict!

Helen and Paris were torn apart by the war. Helen was from Sparta, she was taken from her marriage and betrothed to another. It's what cause the war, and what lead to her lover's death. Piper was the daughter of the oldest Greek goddess, while Jason was the son of the most important figure for Romans. HAVE THAT MEAN SOMETHING! Their relationship should have had WAY more tension when the camps were fighting, and it should have brought up the question of how much they cared about each other at all. It was alluded to, but Piper's doubts about Jason's allegiance never had any real world consequence. And if she did doubt him, only for him to die for his friends? Oh the tragedy it could have caused. Jason's role as praetor was also never expanded on. There should have been consequences for a praetor, the highest rank of a Roman legionnaire, to be dating a Greek, their sworn enemy. It should have caused conflict, it should have made the Romans feel betrayed by their former leader, it should have been one of the driving forces behind Octavian's dismissal of Jason's return. Piper should have been in the centre, looking at her knife only to wonder how much of this she could control. How could she save anyone when everything ruining her life seemed out of control?

Was Piper's life ever truly hers, or was she living out a tragedy that had been played out a million times before?

But, yk, that would require understanding that lesbians can have complicated relationships with their sexuality and go out with men without it undermining their own sexuality, and an understanding of female characters that goes beyond dating someone or eternal virign. Sigh.....

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

just out of curiosity – why do you like sukugo??

i've just never seen any of the accounts i follow/my mutuals celebrate this pairing so i'm really curious!

:))))))))) i smiled so wide getting this ask anon. PLS DON’T BE ALARMED just take my hand and let me tell you abt two deeply violent homoerotic men….

okay so when it comes to sukugo i just. ADORE their dynamic and relationship. it’s one of my favorites in the entire manga and i truly think akutami COOKED with it . not only the shinjuku fight itself (which is, ofc, what sold me on the ship) but also the foreshadowing beforehand!!! like sukuna telling gojo that he’ll be the first one he kills…. the two of them making the same kind of pose in their respective volume covers (vol. 4 & 14….. another parallel which is even more devastating when you remember that the number four is associated with death in japan)….. both of them being referred to as ”the strongest.”

i actually didn’t pick up on a lot of it until we got to shinjuku!! but i just think akutami teased at their importance to each other so well and so early on.

WITH THAT BEING SAID . their dynamic. their parallels. yes. they’re both the strongest and the most isolated and those two things are synonymous. it ties into one of the most central themes of jjk that equates absolute strenght to absolute solitude — it’s a kind of curse. a curse and a blessing. and they both have it.

the main difference is that gojo knows what it’s like to be understood and loved — but sukuna doesn’t. so he can’t feel lonely. he’s never known what it’s like to not be alone. but gojo has!!! gojo has felt love and felt what it’s like to be understood, and when geto died a part of him died too. he’ll always be lonely. he’s the loneliest character in the series. and when he looks at sukuna he sees the exact same isolation that’s plagued him since the moment he was born. so what does he do about it?

he tries to teach sukuna about love.

^ and THAT’S . the most delicious dynamic ever. i take no criticism. i’ll die on the hill that this concept and their dynamic is one of the absolute highlights of jjk. it’s so GOOD. it’s so insanely good. gojo wants to teach sukuna about love/cure him from his solitude by killing him. and vice versa. it’s inherently violent and inherently tender and it makes me INSANE. to me that’s the greatest appeal of sukugo!!!! violence as tenderness is a trope very near and dear to my heart (and also VERY frequently associated w queer subtext in media…. just putting that out there……) and they do it so good. they have a blast killing each other.

also i just NEED to say how much i love the ”teach you about love” line. it’s one of my favorites in the manga and akutami utilizes it so well!! he repeats it over and over as foreshadowing and to build up the sukugo dynamic. the final reveal that gojo is ”the one who will teach [sukuna] about love” made me weep (even though it was so obvious)…. it’s just so deeply. idk. it just says so much about gojo as a character :(( the fact that he wanted to teach sukuna about love. i’ve seen some people who think that part is ooc but i disagree completely!! gojo has never concerned himself w the morals of others. not really. toji kills riko but gojo still has a respect for him and allows him to say his final words. he never hated geto despite his crimes. he supports yuji fully no matter how many people die because of him. etcetc. same with all his students.

gojo looks at sukuna and sees someone who is just as alone as he is. so deeply, deeply alone. him wanting to change that is not ooc in the slighest because that’s quite literally what drives gojo as a character:

he’s just such a genuinely good person at his core. and it coexists with the way he sometimes disregards morality. this is a hot take but i genuinely think gojo’s character blossomed fully in his battle with sukuna….. i don’t see him as ooc in it at all. he genuinely wanted to reach sukuna!! he knew he was the only one who could even hope to do so. and he tried his best.

and, i would argue that he succeeded.

SEGWAY TIMEEEEEEEEE LET’S GO. okay so let’s talk abt one of my favorite panels in the jjk manga, the panel that solidified sukugo as one of my favorite pairings Of All Time:

(two diff translations bc i love them both :3)

THIS. wow. wow. wow. i could talk abt this panel alone for hours and hours but i’ll try to be coherent……

there’s just? so much meaning to be found here??? for both of them????? not only is it a fundamental moment for gojo — being praised and acknowledged and accepted as himself rather than the strongest — but it’s also proof that gojo did reach sukuna!!! he’ll remember him forever. sukuna will never fully be entirely isolated because even millenia into the future he’ll still remember gojo. gojo nestled his way into sukuna’s heart.

and that’s just . so romantic isn’t it???? so beautiful???????? this is the culmination of gojo’s efforts; the most genuine expression we’ve ever seen on sukuna’s face. he actually looks happy.

i cried seeing that panel btw 😭😭 not a joke!! i was already crying when i started chapter 236 bc i knew how it’d end but this panel (+ the one w geto cheering gojo on in his cult leader fit) made me SOB. not exaggerating. i’ve never cried so much reading a manga… T_T

so!!!! yeah. i just love sukugo. their dynamic is so interesting and beautiful and i can never get enough of it. sometimes i love it more than stsg… don’t tell geto that though……..

[khgne]

I'm seeing a lot of arguments and opinions about these latest bnha chapters, asking fans why they thought Tenko would be saved and how it's consistent writting.

Needless to say these have been controversial chapters and I need to sarcastically rant my opinions about it.

You're right, why would we think Tenko would be saved just because Izuku wanted to save him. And shared that with Ochaco who also wanted to save "her villain". If we've been shown tenko was a parallel to Yoichi and a victim of AFO, and his entire worldview was based on AFOs abuse. If this manga was showing us the humanity behind villains and openly questioned if killing them was the best or fair outcome as we saw with Twice.

But you're so right, why would the fans think that Tenko would survive when every other version of "Tenko" from Horis previous works - of which this character was based on - was saved and given a second chance? After revealing that decay is half of overhaul and showing multiple characters having a quirk awakening this arc. Why would fans think that despite all the Mt. Fuji and Butterfly (death/rebirth) symbolism? Forget "win to save, save to win", "a perfect victory!", "changing fates and wishing energy!". Forget "his friends are waiting for him" or "I want to save that little boy!". Forget "OFA IS A POWER MEANT FOR SAVING, NOT KILLING. ALL MIGHT TAUGHT ME THAT". Let's ignore Toshinoris words: "The citizens...heroes...villains...I need to light the way for all of them."

"But Tenko didn't want to be saved!",, and his entire anger against society revolving around the fact that nobody saved or helped him when he needed as a child, is proof of that. Yes, he was angry that Bakugo received immediate help and he questioned why he didn't, and yessss AFO gave him the decay quirk on purpose so that neither he can reach out to others, or others can reach out to him (in a manga that uses hands as motifs and metaphors) without getting destroyed and also adding to the idea that Tenko was born evil; but like, he kept fighting the heroes so of course he didn't want to be saved, duh.

Also, Izuku challenging the vestiges ideals and opinions of killing Tenko for multiple arcs now?? His argument that despite OFA being created to stop AFO, it could be given a new meaning?? Yoichi agreeing with Izuku and saying how happy he was that Toshi and Izuku held OFA?? That was just for fun! No meaning in those scenes!

Sero was so right going on about tragedies not being necessary, only for the story to end exactly in a tragedy. And of course that villains should pay for their crimes and killing them is better than letting them rot in jail, that's exactly why so far, every villain Izuku encountered has been killed! Oh wait no, they...actually got arrested.. mm okay.. But it's not like they could ever atone for their actions, it's crazy giving them a second chance!.... so let's ignore Nagant, Stain, or Gentle and La Brava.

And yes, of course the heroes have learned that villains are people too, and are victims that deserve a helping hand after so many arcs showing and telling us that from a bunch of characters, which is why their decisions and the way they handled a lot of villains!....didn't change at all.

Kurogiri was killed/shoved aside like an inconvenience to the heroes while pleading AFO for Tenko to be returned; and Tenko was killed for being loyal to his friends and wanting to destroy the status quo so the LoV and others could live better. All of these done with no hesitation or internal conflict from Izuku, so as you can see, very different from Hawks vs Twice. Ochaco got to connect and talk Toga out of it, and Shoto got to talk and come up with a plan to stop his brother, and both (plus Enji) begged their villain to stop because they didn't want them to die; so it makes perfect sense why Izuku, the compassionate mc that wants to save everyone, would do the exact opposite.

This kid went in there with no plan at all and it shows! (I guess he really forgot what Nighteye told him about his arrogant thinking). Because ever since the vestige world, Izuku gave up on Tenko and decides the best thing to do is to kill him. No trying to call out for Tenko and reach him, no reaction to AFOs trump card, no internal conflict with deciding to kill Tenko, no trying to explain to Tenko in the vestige world that his friends are trying to help the LoV too, no introspection on Tenkos words of wanting to be a hero to the villains, no guilt as he gives the final punch, no hesitation in shoving aside the one other person that also wanted to save Tenko (and wasn't attacking, only talking) so he could punch him again, and no communication with his fellow heroes to explain the situation of AFO taking control of Tenko again or the fact that Tenkos life and worldview are all bc of AFO. And I call that,, being completely in character for Izuku don't you think?

And of course Hori couldn't help himself and also try that with Toshinori. So that's why we have the one character that always hides behind a fake smile say that maybe if Tenko wasn't crying anymore it's because he was saved. (Out of sight, out of mind, just like what the civillians did when Tenko was a child looking for help) Toshinori, the symbol of peace who sacrifices himself constantly to save others, who felt guilty for failing Tenko, who wanted to save him since Kamino, who was emotional over Izuku wanting to save him as well, who was distressed to see Stain "the hero killer" die, who struggles with the will to live beyond his hero persona, is now emotionless and parroting the idea that "killing can be a way of saving" about Nanas last relative and fellow victim of AFOs, and I think that makes absolute sense. Let's have the same man whose teaching methods consisted of beating and traumatizing Toshinori as a kid, be right! (And listen, I'm one of the few ppl that absolutely love Gran, but that man has always been wrong about this).

And yes, the themes set up of:

- villains (and heroes) are human and more than their role that hero society forces on them;

- Izuku (and others) want to break the cycle of abuse and how villains are perceived and treated by society;

- Izuku wants to be a hero that gives a helping hand and saves everyone and Tenko wants to be a hero to the villains (both of them want the same thing at its core just in different ways);

- save to win, win to save; changing fate; etc.

- giving second chances to ppl to atone their wrongs regardless if they're villains or heroes because they don't have to let it define them (Aoyama, Nagant, Gentle and La Brava, Endeavor, Bakugo, Hawks, etc.);

Definitely work with the decision of death is the only way to save villains.

So yeah, you're so right that anyone that thinks these recent chapters went against the themes, is stupid and wrong. And it's us that see 'saving' at a very surface level right?

But really now, these latest chapters have been a disappointment and left me wondering what even happened for the story to suddenly go against everything it has been setting up so far.

Some of the criticisms are an overreaction, but most are valid and there's merit in discussing them.

Izuku flip-flopping between in-character and out-of-character; Killing Tenko and claim his heart has been saved despite giving him no closure regarding his abuse, quirk, or origin; The weird decision to mention and not show the off screen moment that develops Nanas character and her relationship with Tenko; Izukus lack of emotion and introspection about his decision;

Why have Izuku defy and disagree with the adults that told him to kill Tenko, to suddenly have him kill Tenko? Why have Izuku want to give a new meaning to OFA and break the cycle of abuse by "smashing that lid", if in the end OFA remains as only something to destroy AFO, and he behaves the same way every hero before him has. Why criticize hero society for the way it creates villains, and show them as victims that can be given a second chance to help and atone, only to say that after all, killing them is how you save them because they can't be helped. Why make izuku the compassionate kid that wants to understand villains and is willing to offer them a helping hand, if in the end he kills the same "crying child" he wanted to save for multiple arcs, because he was loyal to his friends and ideals.

If Tenko died still believing AFOs words that he was made to destroy, then did he really get full autonomy from AFO? Is he really free from his abuser if he still believes every word he was told?

[ilikepjo24]

OMG FINALLY someone talks about Octavian If u don't mind me inputting this, but it's mentioned in The Hidden Oracle by Apollo that Octavian was duped by Gaea,, plus there's super strong parallels between Nero/Nero's Adopted Demigod Children and Octavian (that nobody addresses) and if that aligns with the absolute W takes you've been chugging out I think I won't tear my hair out over him tonight

Octavian was, in my opinion, the funniest dude character in Heroes of Olympus. He sounded like a demonic toddler mixed with your middle school weird nerd 🤣 This fandom should definitely take advantage of that comedic potential. Plus, he has no backstory, which gives us endless creative freedom. Why wouldn't I talk about him?

And if you scroll a bit on my blog you'll see that picking up stray aggressive, mean characters and defending them like my life depends on it is sort of my thing, so it was only a matter of time until Octavian caught my eye.

Unfortunately, I have not read the Trials of Apollo yet. I got the first book of that series during the winter holidays, and I haven't started it yet 😅 but I've seen a couple of spoilers, so I'd really want Octavian to have survived Heroes of Olympus and be in the Trials of Apollo. One of the reasons being that I didn't want him to die at all, but other than that, Apollo getting kicked out of Olympus and living amongst mortals and needing their help? Octavian would eat that up, I'm telling you.

He'd follow Apollo on his journeys and that would give him sooo much time for character development. Plus, being essentially "kicked out" of Camp Jupiter to be send to a quest with a god you user to be obsessed with but then sort of manipulated you could be written as a punishment due to Octavia's actions and could help trigger a redemption arc.

And all the prophets having issues with their powers because Apollo is not amongst the gods anymore? As an augur, that would affect Octavian as well. He may have had flashes of the future or all that other overwhelming suffering stuff we see other prophets have, and Lester would help him with that, while they also help other prophets.

Octavian surviving the Heroes of Olympus and being in the Trials of Apollo would be ground for character development, bonding dynamics, a backstory, a redemption arc, a healing arc, maybe a power up? 👀👀 There were SO many opportunities and it's a waste that Riordan threw that away.

[furiroad]

Furiosa spoilers under the cut 🚗

It's actually staggering how much that movie did not need to exist. Gonna bullet point some thoughts

My sarcastic lol @ the lightning fast sisters cameo at the end where they're all played by completely different people. the quick flash of Cheedo's eyes bc they managed to get Courtney Eaton back for three seconds didn't appease me

I guess it technically passes the bechdel test bc right at the start Furiosa says "be still" to Valkyrie but iirc that's the only pass moment. I know not passing the bechdel test doesn't mean the movie is automatically bad I just think it's interesting considering it's following Fury Road

"she talks to her mother" I don't think they ever said her mum's name out loud

You know how mad max fury road could have a silent version w no dialogue + isolated soundtrack and it worked because you could tell what's going on anyway? This movie has the opposite problem. Way too much talking. They over-explain everything

The best bit was the prolonged torture scene at the end where Hemsworth explains Furiosa's entire character arc and the message of the movie out loud to her and also us

Even his teddy had an arm missing, replaced with a barbie arm. Thanks. We get it

Her arm made robot noises

Actually threw MY arms up in disgust when she went back for that boy she supposedly had a romance with despite the film never bothering to actually show/explain that. I'm calling it a romance because the actors did. I guess it was supposed to be a Capable/Nux parallel but it didn't work for me and not just because I'm a dyke and a hater OK, if you're gonna do a ROMANCE, DO A ROMANCE. don't leave me sitting there wondering why Furiosa is risking it all for some guy she's had ONE conversation with, especially after he offers to get her away from the Citadel and back to where she came from, WHICH IS HER ENTIRE MOTIVE EVER SINCE SHE WAS TAKEN

I DON'T GET IT

Them trying to emulate Max and Furiosa's instinctive, perfect we have to trust each other moment by having Jack and Furiosa... look at each other Meaningfully fifty times while they were supposed to be driving cars? Don't make me laugh! You will never be them!!

Max being there for a second wasn't cute! I rolled my eyes

Same at "remember me?" MAKE UP YOUR OWN STUFF

So many things happened because they needed to happen (plot demanded it) and didn't make any sense in context. My favourite was when Furiosa rode her motorcycle up a dune to get away after cutting off her arm and the biker gang couldn't follow her up there for some reason

So much Christian imagery... threw me off tbh

Considering it's Furiosa's movie it sure isn't about her + she doesn't speak at all for almost the first half

This movie was way too long

I called it about the peach seed

I called it that she cut her own arm off

George Miller read some of my blog but not all of it

You know how The People Eater rubbed his nipple that one time and it was delightfully weird and gross and got a good reaction? Well in this movie he's constantly rubbing it, the whole time. Really lessens the impact of the nipple rub

As you can see this movie has made me insane

Like this is not really about the nipple rub but do you get what I'm saying here

Furiosa spends most of the movie hiding her hair (because as we all know, having long hair immediately identifies you as a woman) and then when her head covering gets knocked off and her hair is revealed (omg she's a girl) she leaves it like that and becomes an Imperator. On what planet

The history man frames the entire movie for some reason. Do they show Miss Giddy? Take a wild guess

One of the coolest parts of fury road was that a gang of bikers ended up being hardcore wasteland grannies w guns and loose morals in response to people fucking around for far too long without finding out. Did this movie have anything like that for me? Take a wild guess for a second time

The car fight scenes weren't even that great. Couldn't remember hearing any good music under them (brother in arms truly lightning in a bottle) and they went on for too long which feels wild to say about suped up car battles in the australian wasteland: 2 but oh well. This is how I feel. Fury Road was so good at carefully measuring out high octane action and then downtime and careful, quiet character introspection and this movie had no idea what it was doing either way

Honestly I don't hate it but I feel like it was a waste of time and it doesn't need to exist at all. A real nothing experience. Am I going to see this movie ten times in cinemas? No I am not even going to see it twice in cinemas

I don't know what I was expecting.

oh my god also they played clips of Fury Road over the credits as if to say "remember how fucking good this is in comparison to the dumb shit you just watched"

[daylightaftertherain]

s3 thoughts in no specific order bc I'm trying to not start crying rn

- TYE INTIMACY WE'VE GOTTEN BETQEEN THEM AND THE LITTLE HUGS AND TOUCHES AND KISSES

despite everything that's still happening I'm so grateful for all of that because they've come so far from kissing in a dark hallway and at the very least they got to be a normal couple for little moments

- sara and her arc with her dad and I'm so glad we got more on their relationship but the way it fell apart was so heartbreaking??? and it did feel like it was coming but GOD did I feel for both of them

- erik!! and finally bc we as a fandom have known he was not perfect and he wasn't the best person, but for wille to realize that and because of something he went through as well was just so fucling painful, but I think really really needed, and I think it's one of my favorite arcs jist based off first watch

- felice addressing all the little microaggressions and sifderneces and struggles she goes through was SO important and I'm glad this season finally started talking about how kids outside of the status quo even in hillerska feel, and they did her character much better justice this time around

- august and nils were actually one of the most interesting parts of s3 and I liked how they handled their past with the initiation but also just august's character. he's still flawed as all fuck and a massive asshole but I did empathize w him, and him and boris's convo was rlly necessary to his character

- idk I feel like all of wilmon's conversations and attempts at communication have been very choppy and unfinished, and I'm really really hoping they do get a chance to have a sit down and talk things through, because there still so much they haven't figured out with each other

- omar and edvin's acting was on POINT thus season I genuinely am so emotional over how they portrayed the heartbreak and confusion their characters went through ;;;;;

- linda finally getting some fleshing out and we see a fuller picture of the eriksson's dynamic, and simon finally relying on them more and expressing some of his frustrations with always being the strong one like oh my god

- kristina and wille's final fight was probably one of the most interesting and heartbreaking, but I'm glad it happened and there were many points that wille needed to make. I'm praying they figure themselves out in episode 6 and talk things through. I do feel for kristina though and the parallel between her and wille dealing with how to deal with erik's presence is so heartbreaking

- some discussions about the monarchy and the system! honestly there was no way to develop that plotline fully given it's the last season and they still only have six episodes, but I am grateful for what we got

-for now just waiting for episode 6 (PLEASE let it be longer) and for everything to tie up before my final thoughts

[washa]

D.A.M.N crew headcannons (complete with some memes bc who doesn't love those)

Freelancer used to work part time at a bookstore. They're a huge fan of romance novels. So is Damien, he'll never admit that though.

Has a stash of academic rivals to lovers under his bed in a box. (YES I STAND BY THE FACT DAMIEN IS ACADEMIC RIVALS TO LOVERS FANBOY)

Huxley grew up on like farm property and has a pet duck and golden (or some other big ass dog like a great dane or smth)

Lasko uses his air elemental power thingy to blow dry his hair. Once time Co worker walked in and got a face full of water droplets.

De(a)mons don't technically need to walk in the elegy, so they'll just float around. This led to Caelum having this cotton candy looking cloud he just floats around on. It leaves a trail of glitter everywhere it goes.

This leaves like Freelancer sweeping their their floors when Caelum comes around.

Also Caelum can walk, so sometimes he like parks the fucking cloud jumps off it and just stumbles around like a toddler. 

Co worker is fucking amazing at parallel parking. Like sometimes other D.A.M.N teachers see them parking and think "oh shit they're not gonna make it" and THEY DO PERFECTLY EVERY TIME.

Damien played tennis back in high school, It just fits.

Damien is long sighted but wears contacts cause glasses are "too much of a hassle". Lasko is both short and long sighted has circle lenses and silver frames. Coworker got him those cool looking chains and he loves them so much (its reminds him of his dnd character ^^)

Huxley loves Damien with his glasses on. He really REALLY loves it when Damien's face gets all flushed when he presses a kiss to where Dames frame meets the bridge of his nose.<3

Freelancer, Damien and Lasko are coffee drinkers. Huxley and Co worker are tea drinkers. (Caelum drink hot cocoa or milkshakes, depends on the weather.)

Damien eats chips/popcorn w fucking chopsticks bc he hates the way the dust feels on his fingers.

Lasko stares at him everytime he sees it. like a judging "wtf" kinda stare 

Gavin is actually ass at video games, but board games? Bro will destroy your ass in a game of fucking operation, embarrass your whole damn bloodline when he play uno, dishonor your damn herritage when he plays monopoly.

Gavin can tie a cherry stem w his tongue. It got tied around his piercing once and Freelancer laughed their ass off at the sight of a cherry hanging by his tongue.

They took a photo and now that photo is Freelancers homescreen.

Gavin sometimes acts like a curious child when it comes to certain things. Like being a de(a)mon he doesn't know certain things abt human technology.

Example. He likes flushing the water in the toilet, he likes the way it swirls. He loves keyboards, he loves the sound they make when you press on the keys.

Damien was a "gifted kid" skipped a grade back in like year 5

Gavin hates when people waste food, He doesn't even need to eat it just irks him.

Lasko is the person who buys books but never reads them. He has so many stacks of unread books in his apartment

Freelancer had broke their tailbone right after developing their powers.

Caelum was assigned to them bc they were yes a humanborn and yada yada, but it was mainly bc they were miserable because of the pain.

Yes, Freelancer became Caelum's charge bc of a broken tailbone.

[nalyra-dreaming]

re: the scenes happening outside of Louis' knowledge, I think about this a lot! Another example's the shot of Lestat in s2e6 in front of the vanity mirror. Though it's possible that this (along w/ the scenes of the coven scheming, Estelle & Celeste visiting Roget etc) is Armand's memory, because ofc he was far more aware of these events than he's letting on! The rehearsal scene could be a glimpse into his memory too imho (albeit not one he's admitting to out loud!) or it's Louis' visualization of how he imagines it going down.

Even in s1 there were scenes that couldn't have been direct memories. The lamplighter guy getting killed in ep1 is presumably Louis' visualization based on educated guesswork, as is the shot of dumpster!stat grabbing the rat in ep7 - the latter wasn't described aloud to Daniel, we just saw the vision popping into Louis' head in the moment imho. The scene w/ Santiago in their apartment might've been the same; an impression Louis pieced together after the fact, not a true memory. It could even be a fake memory Armand placed in his head, bc as you said, stealing her diaries right then would be a dumb move & Claudia would've noticed. (Armand likely had many opportunities to discreetly peruse the diaries himself lol.)

Loumand's POVs blur into each other a bit in s2, this is probably a sign of Armand's control over the narrative. I'm sure most of what we see is Louis' memory and broadly true, but it's hard to know things aren't being altered (e.g. the ep6 cafe scene feels...wrong) or strategically removed.

Not sure about the ep5 telepathic convo, but either way I'm comforted Rolin was grilled about it beforehand. That indicates they have an explanation in mind & weren't just being careless!

Anyways I'll stop talking now, this one really ran away with me, sorry! I just find this such a fascinating topic.

No! All good, it is a very interesting and fascinating topic :)

I agree, there are a lot of scenes where the "tale" becomes very apparent, but the POV is muddied waters, so to say.

I think ultimately we will have to see how the shifts in the narrative play out from hereon - how will the cues we already got come into play in the upcoming seasons. I do think there are a lot already, and I do get why they wouldn't talk about them, nor lock themselves into a certain way of doing it all (the variety of cues Sam mentioned wrt the trial, for example).

It will be very interesting to see how the POVs.... hold up to "reality" as well, because there will be some rather interesting characters coming in now - and these characters shaped the view on other characters in turn.

I'm not quite ready to talk about it, but I think... there will be some interesting shifts and ... well, parallels coming in soon. We'll see.

But yes, very fascinating topic^^

And always on my mind when I rewatch, because there's just sooooooo many hints they put in.

[olasketches]

your thoughts on megumi being the one in million to not die after eating sukuna's finger?

I think it’s such a great twist. I love how megumi brought it up right at the beginning of the.. second chapter (was it?) I’ve recently reread the first 10 chapters and they actually reveal so many things about the plot and our characters. this makes me think that the ending of jjk is going to somehow tie back to the beginning.

also, the reveal of megumi being the one in million to not die after eating sukuna's finger plays perfectly into the “roles reversal” theme that’s been going on in the story. gege has been playing around with putting his character in situations where they have to reverse or keep reversing their roles/places w one another.

↑ megumi, yuuji and sukuna right at the beginning where megumi fights sukuna and tries to get him to heal yuuji.

-> todo and yuuji, where todos technique literally makes them switch places with each other.

-> nobara and yuuji, when they fought blood painting bros and shared THE MOST PERFECT sequence where they switched places.

-> mahito and yuuji, where one becomes the other one’s pray and then the roles reversing AGAIN.

-> and obviously, megumi and yuuji where it’s megumi who’s the vessel now.

-> another one I don’t see anyone mentioning but… yuuji and choso. yuuji’s body and mind becoming more curse like every day and choso becoming more and more like human and then reaching a day where he becomes one - “rebirth” of some sort.

and probably other examples but that’s the only ones I could think of the top of my head.

and megumi being the one in a million who can be sukuna’s vessel obviously parallels how yuuji was supposed to be the one in a million special case, which in a way it feels like megumi was supposed to be the protagonist… now bear with me, in yuujis head him being the only one who can consume sukuna’s finger without dying made him feel like the main guy, the protagonist of this story. however, that doesn’t mean yuuji is not the main character of this story cause HE IS always has been. it’s just that in his head THATS what made him special, that’s what made him the protagonist. and when megumi got possessed everything changed. now he’s the one who has to save megumi from what looks like a death sentence, something megumi’s been trying to do this whole time. the roles switched and in more ways than we initially thought.

[fangxin-guoshi]

Banana fish re-review ~

I did a rewatch of banana fish and oh my God I forgot how good this series was. Considering the original manga came out in the 80's in JAPAN, it was SO ahead of its time. One of the best depictions of gay characters I've ever seen in Japanese media, even by today's standards.

Some more silly thoughts:

Like yoshida just casually dropped a manga with an insanely progressive take on the bl genre by showing a complex queer interracial relationship with incredibly well-written characters. Honestly the fact that ash and eiji's relationship wasn't explicitly defined as romantic is a plus imo. Not being able to rely on obvious romantic gestures like kissing, hand-holding, romantic confessions, etc. actually forces the writer to develop their relationship without that crutch to lean on. That's why ash and eiji's relationship is so good, because it doesn't rely on surface-level romance to get across the fact that they love each other and instead use subtlety and little nuances in their interactions. It's obvious from the subtext and how much they're shown to care for each other.

Not to mention the great depiction of black characters (I know portraying black characters non-offensively is like, the bare minimum, but may I remind you this is the EIGHTIES in JAPAN, and there are so many CURRENT animes that have an issue with it).

I mean yea does it have its flaws? Sure. Ash's admittedly very lame "lynx" title that comes with many wildcat metaphors, eiji being a bit passive in the first half, sort of cringe portrayal of America, etc. but my God the way she handles the trauma and character dynamics is incredible.

Ok so I did have a uh... Not really a criticism but something that I noticed that got me thinking. I feel like some shows use dark subject matter as a bit of an easy way to evoke an emotional reaction from the audience. Sometimes authors give characters horrible backstories as a way to make the audience THINK the character is complex and interesting but in reality it's a bit of a lazy writing tactic. Low effort high reward kind of thing. Banana fish obviously does have brutal subject matter and ash is really put through the ringer, but I love that yoshida doesn't let that become the axis of his character. He has trauma that greatly impacts him, but he's also super developed on his own apart from that. When I think about Ash's character, I don't immediately think about the traumatic backstory parts. The balance between how significantly the trauma affects him vs making sure that's not the ONLY part of his character is extremely well-executed.

Scenes that stuck out to me (not including asheiji ones bc it goes without saying theyre all amazing)

- the interrogator playing Ash's tapes after being arrested ("later, movie star" was the most brutal line ever omg)

- max burning the photos of ash (underrated moment this was SO good),

- any and all interactions between sing and blanca (they're such an unlikely duo peak comedy right there)

- the convo between sing and yut lung in the last episode

- ash stabbing the guy in the dick with a fork

- callback to ^^^, ash stabbing the banana with a fork

- Ash's breakdown in front of dino (ep 19 I believe)

- the entirety of ash escaping from the "mental hospital" and then having to go rescue ibe and max lmaooo

- ash brutally murdering Abraham(?, the redhead guy) by blowing abt a thousand holes in him w a machine gun as payback for shorter

- ash shooting shorter

- running joke of max being Ash's dad

- everyone constantly manhandling yut lung by yanking on his hair (dude get a haircut)

- ash immediately going to shoot himself no hesitation after yut lung told him he wouldn't hurt eiji if he did so (technically asheiji but I'm keeping it since this was a yut lung and ash scene)

- "what does this picture look like?" "Your wife"

- eiji's cute stupid little outfit he wore when he went to go find shorter in Chinatown

I also have a confession:

I LOVE yut lung. Him being paralleled with ash, but instead of finding love he let hate consume him because he had no one unlike ash who had eiji was just devastating but in a good way.

So yea those are my messy thoughts after finishing it. I'd argue that it was probably one of the best pieces of queer media to exist at the time. In the world. And one of my personal favorite pieces of queer media ever.