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arimiaromage · 1 year

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Mana's "Death" Theory

Full spoilers for DGM up to chapter 244, brief mention of 245. Here's a crack theory I haven't seen around, despite new evidence.

Mana died and Allen brought him back as an akuma. Except Mana is also the Earl, both as his vessel and the doppelganger of the original/previous Earl. And the current Earl!Mana is changing emotionally, as if he still has memories from being Mana submerged deep under being the "Earl", despite his memories being wiped by Innocence in chapter 242.

I don't think it's a huge stretch to say that Mana, in some form, is still alive. Not only is he a pivotal character but given how much Earl!Mana currently has shifted his goals to want to be with Nea (something the actual Earl should not want), I wouldn't be surprised if we see Mana return in some way eventually.

Okay, but let's get back to Allen turning him into an akuma, cause that totally happened, right?

We also (much later) have the Earl remember something similar to this...

Let's note some things here, if this scene happened just as Allen & the Earl remember it:

Mana died in some way

Allen was able to bury him and buy a tombstone

Despite being 6 feet under, the Earl was able to appear to Allen

Allen called for Mana, bringing his soul into an akuma shell

Mana curses Allen- both an actual curse upon him and general yelling at him for doing such a thing

Allen invokes his innocence and destroys Mana

Earl leaves

Only Allen and the Earl / Mana were present for this (Cross appears afterwards, it's unknown if he witnessed it)

...With everything we know now, this sequence of events is kind of ridiculous, right??

For one, Mana died. We don't know how tough he is as a human, but the Mana that Allen knew was already the Earl for some time. It's safe to say he still had his Noah abilities that awakened around Nea's death.

Being a Noah isn't something you can just turn off for good- even if you don't look like a Noah, you are still a Noah.

As Wisely says- "Noah are Noah. You cannot escape."

Earl!Mana can get shot in the face several times and laugh it off but amnesiac Mana can just die off screen? Okay, sure...

I'm gonna skip over the idea that a broke orphan was able to properly bury and get a tombstone for someone. We'll let that pass since there's more damning stuff here.

In Allen's memory, the Earl was essentially in 2 places at once. He was both 6 feet under, in the grave, and standing behind him, by the tombstone. Of course, Allen didn't know they were the same person, but still- how is he there twice?

Well, he already has been in the same place twice... Or has he?

At the circus, the Earl that appears is a shell. It doesn't say anything, it can only command akuma. Cross specifically refers to it as something akin to a shell or a husk.

But the Earl that Allen meets is not an empty husk. It speaks to him, it encourages him to call on Mana like the Earl does to every grieving person.

Let's say that the Earl that Allen met was Earl!Mana, who, after dying, turned into the Earl and... escaped... somehow... idk maybe they buried an empty coffin or he just dug his way up.

If the Earl can essentially possess a dead body, why didn't he posses Nea when he died? Mana returned to his senses as Nea was dying- he had awakened as a Noah but he was himself for a brief time. If Mana had somehow overpowered the Earl to reclaim his senses, then why didn't the Earl try to possess Nea once he died?

There's a few more things I could nitpick, like how out of character akuma!Mana acts, but I think you get the point. Even if we accept that some things will have changed in the vision over the past almost 2 decades since Hoshino illustrated the scene of Mana's "death", there's still a lot of discrepancies...

So let's assume the Earl can't possess a dead body. That the Earl needs Mana or Nea to be willing to let him take over, at least somewhat. There's still one major part we haven't picked at yet.

Allen and Mana were the only ones there that day.

We've seen how, ah, hand selected Allen's recounting of his past can be. I don't think it's unfair to call him an unreliable narrator- that's not a bad thing, a most of why he glosses over or changes some details is because of his traumatic history.

We've also seen how easily the Earl can rewrite his own memories to accommodate "facts"- when the 14th is first mentioned, the Earl hated him. When the 14th is shown to be alive, the Earl can't live without him. When Mana fully awakened as the Earl, he couldn't be "Mana" anymore- the Earl was a 7000 year old sorcerer, not a 17 year old human, so Mana and Nea never existed in his mind.

And what better way to alter their memories than the antagonist roaming around following them who has been known to fully alter people's memories??

Apocryphos can alter memories. He knew where Allen and Mana were and was actively following them. He's been shown to be aggressive towards Allen and Mana and doesn't care about their memories- he erased Mana's memories of Nea already.

But what did Apocryphos erase?

OKAY HERE WE ARE FINALLY CRACK THEORY TIME. BUCKLE UP

The Earl can't possess Mana or Nea just whenever. We saw this most prominently at the circus. But there's one thing that Cross said to the Earl that stuck with me.

"You may have been summoned by Mana's grief, but it's not like he's fallen into despair."

"So long as Mana remains unwilling..."

In an earlier scene at the circus, Mana thinks something along the same lines:

The Earl is summoned when people grieve. But for Mana and Nea, their grieving is a gateway for the Earl to take over them.

If they are willing and they are grieving, the Earl can possess them.

So how did Mana become the Earl again?

Theory: Mana did not die, but Allen did.

Specifically, Mana didn't die, but Allen either died or became extremely injured to where Mana thought he died. I've seen some people speculate as to Allen being dead/an akuma or such, but I'd like to posit this newer evidence.

I imagine the scene could have played out something like this:

Allen and Mana travel to that town and get separated briefly. Something happens to Allen- either he dies or becomes badly injured. Mana finds him. Mana is overcome with so much grief he inadvertently summons the Earl. Mana's memories have been erased so he doesn't know to fear the Earl, and willingly lets him take over. The Earl curses Allen and leaves when his Innocence invokes on its own and attacks him. Allen later wakes up, healed from possibly being a Noah, his Innocence reviving him again, a passerby patching him up, something. Cross finds him.

This sequence of events could provide answers for:

Why did Mana curse Allen? It was Earl!Mana, not Mana

How did Mana, a Noah, die? He didn't

How did Allen summon Mana into the akuma shell when his body was already there? He didn't

Why did Apocryphos go out of his way to erase Mana's memories at the circus rather than kill him? So Mana wouldn't fear the Earl and would be more likely to return to him

I feel the weakest part of this is Allen somehow reviving/being healed, but we've seen his Innocence revive him before so I feel it's not that much of a stretch that something would heal him, especially compared to the amount of leaps in logic the current sequence of events has.

To reiterate my evidence:

Not once but TWICE it has been explicitly shown in the past 10ish chapters that when Mana grieves, the Earl shows up, and is even further elaborated that the Earl cannot possess Mana without his consent.

Several parts of the "Allen turned Mana into an akuma" scene don't make sense with what we know now, even giving Hoshino some leniency that she changed some stuff over the past 2 decades

Apocryphos was following Allen and Mana. He can not only change memories but he's already done so at least once with Mana

What killed Mana, a Noah????

The sequence of events I've laid out is just an idea of how things could have played out- I doubt it'll be exactly what we see in the story. However, I do believe that Allen's memories have been altered or at least the way he's presented the akuma scene is not how it actually happened.

so yeah that's my crack theory on why my favorite character surely can't be dead ♥ if you read all of this wow, have a happy Allen & Mana for your time

#dgm #dgrayman #allen walker #mana walker #mana d campbell #have my incoherent rambling about why my baby girl can't be dead

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cosmicjoke · 5 months

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Hi! I’m really curious about your opinion on this take https://www.tumblr.com/virgobingo/734694522304512000/ppl-cant-accept-gojos-negative-traits-and-id

especially on the ‘finding pleasure in fighting (with Sukuna)’ part. Because him “admitting” that he wanted to fight just because he got a kick out of it kind of nuked Gojo’s entire character. His goal was to create better world for jujutsu sorcerers. He did everything he could to ensure that his students had better lives than what he had been given. Him saying that he fought only because he got kick out of it made it look like he didn’t care about anything else. It was insulting to Gojo’s character. And it is not people not being able to accept his negative traits, it’s bad writing. Idk maybe I’m reading the whole thing wrong because I’m still half asleep, lol, but I’d really like to hear your opinion. Have a nice day!

Yeah, I don't agree with that at all. Where, exactly, has Gojo ever particularly shown this supposed self-interest that primarily motivates him?

I suppose they're talking about what he says to Geto when they're teenagers, his proclamation that he doesn't want to hear about Geto's moral reasons for fighting, and makes a disgusted face at the prospect of fighting for those weaker than themselves.

But the thing is, is that Gojo's actions belie his words. I just pointed this out, about how he drains himself protecting and looking after Riko, to the point that Toji was able to get the drop on him, something that would have been impossible if Gojo really believed what he said to Geto about not giving a fuck about weaker people than himself. Or the way he does his best to protect the people in the train station, again, to the point of driving himself to exhaustion. The way he genuinely wants to create a better world for his students, etc... I'm not saying Gojo doesn't enjoy fighting. He clearly does. But the way Gege framed it, with Nanami essentially accusing him of ONLY fighting for his own pleasure, and Gojo not denying the accusation, makes it seem like Gojo really was just a selfish asshole the entire time, and all his previous acts of selflessness and compassion were just... for show. That's literally what Nanami says, and I guess Gege just wants us to accept it now. It's like he's saying 'this is who Gojo was, and all the previous groundwork I laid for his character was just BS'. Well, given what BS Gojo's fight with Sukana was, and how it was based entirely on, not misdirection, but flat out lies, with the actual narrative and the character's themselves lying to the audience for nothing more than shock value, with one inconsequential cliffhanger after another, I'm not exactly surprised. It IS bad writing, I don't care what anyone says. It's lazy and for Gojo particularly, it's a retcon of his character, which I can only assume was done as a means of punishing his fans.

It's not that people can't accept that Gojo has some "negative traits". It's that his entire character was reduced to being a dickbag who only fights for his own enjoyment, and all his previous claims to the contrary were just lies he told everyone to look good. It's also the fact that his fight with Sukana dragged on for three months and literally went nowhere. It didn't affect the plot. It didn't affect any other character. It didn't change anything, or lead anywhere. The pacing was horrific, and again, kept employing the use of cliffhangers which, ultimately, were ALL red herrings used to keep the fight going, and for nothing gained or changed, with no real consequences wrought. The audience waited three YEARS for this fight to happen, and when it finally did, it was completely meaningless. We didn't even get to see how Gojo's death impacted his students. He was just dead, and the fighting continued. His demise doesn't seem to have really upset anyone, or had any affect on their mental or emotional state in any, real way. Nor has his death impacted the world in any, perceivable way, this, despite previous statement about how Gojo's birth literally altered reality and spawned an influx of more powerful curses, he himself was so unprecedented in his power. He dies, and... nothing happens. Literally nothing. How is that good writing?

Just from a technical standpoint, JJK has had absolutely atrocious writing for YEARS. Pages and pages of mind numbing exposition, convoluted, nonsensical explanations of cursed techniques and introductions of one and done characters, illogical and inexplicable power-ups for certain characters, off-screened deaths for major characters, on and on and on, and in between, not a lick of actual character development or emotional catharsis or resolution for ANY of them. It's fucking awful. I don't care what anyone says, again. It's terrible.

So even if you don't think it was character assassination to dismiss all of Gojo's previous claims about wanting to give his students a better world and to protect their youth, claims backed up by his actions, to instead make Gojo into just a selfish dick at the very end of his existence in the manga, there's plenty of other stuff to criticize JJK for, and more than legitimate reasons for pointing out the bad writing.

#Jujutsu Kaisen #Gojo Satoru #jjk

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measureyourlifeincake · 8 months

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Malevolent E9 (not specifically about that ep but yknow. i havent listened past it so if anything i say is contradicted by anything in later eps, that's why): Been thinking about how Malevolent's story is so defined by the constraints of its creation and the problem-solving used to get around that (I mean, I suppose the same can be said to some degree for nearly any piece of art, but it really jumps out for me here).

The first and most obvious example is Arthur's blindness, with John "acting as his eyes" by describing their surroundings for him (and the audience)—it's (to me at least) clearly contrived as a way to get around the "This Gun In My Right Hand Is Loaded" problem, but it also is kind of the main conceit of the plot, and immediately defines John and Arthur's relationship—Arthur has to rely upon John from the jump, even though he has no real proof of his intentions or trustworthiness. "I have your eyes," John says, a threat as much as it is a fact. All John has to do to harm Arthur is stop talking and watch him blunder around without his help (which he does do eventually, but the threat hanging over his head is, at least initially, enough to convince Arthur to cooperate with him). It's an interesting tool for the audience to understand what is going on at any given point of the story, but also, it has real actual consequences in the story that reverberate through the narrative.

(putting the rest under the cut bc this got Long)

There's also the fact that John and Arthur are constantly recapping what has happened and laying out what all their options and potential consequences of said options are going forward. To me, this (as well as the above) feels like the author's main goal is to make sure the audience is clear on Exactly what is going on At All Times. The episodes only come out once a month, after all, and it could be hard to remember what happened in the last episode if you haven't revisited it since then (also I am just now realizing that this is sort of paralleled with Arthur's month-long coma). There's also the thing about how apparently Patreon supporters can influence where the story goes, and I'm not entirely sure how that works, but it gives Guthrie another incentive to make sure the audience has all the possible options laid out for them.

But, while I do think this is done mainly for the audience's benefit, it does also tell us a lot about Arthur and John's characters/relationship. It says that, despite any differences of opinion or questions of trust they may have—they do view whatever they have together (which I have been told... changes over time, but for right now I'm just talking about their relationship up until where I've listened) as an actual partnership—they want to make sure they are on the same page, or at least understand what the other is thinking. They may disagree on the correct course of action, but Arthur pretty much always tells John what he's doing instead of trying to get one over on him. Also, since they do try to reason out everything they do, and Arthur keeps charging into risky situations ass-first anyway, it tells us that Arthur sees himself as a very intelligent and rational man, when really he just seems to be very good at justifying whatever stupid decisions he might make in the pursuit of Knowledge.

And then there's uh. Women. (I sorta mentioned this in a different post but I can't stop turning it around in my brain)

So it seems that Harlan Guthrie a) has decided to not hire any voice actors and just voice every character himself, and b) doesn't seem to believe himself capable of convincingly voicing a female character (or just doesn't want to. idk).

This doesn't mean that there aren't any women or girls in Malevolent—on the contrary, the podcast is full of them. They are all either old crones or daughters—crazy old women and wraiths and babies and missing girls and missing girls and dead missing girls. They cry, they wheeze, they laugh, they write letters to close friends (but of course, their friends are not there to read the letters), but they can never speak for themselves, in their own voices. They must be dead, or wordless, or both.

They haunt the narrative, and haunt the narrative, and haunt the narrative. They are metaphysically incapable of doing anything else. They can save Arthur's life, help guide his way, but they can never have a simple conversation with him. Obviously Arthur had to be in a coma for just long enough that Amanda/Sarah died before he could talk to her. It couldn't ever have gone any other way—the world doesn't work like that.

And then there's Arthur's daughter. She's dead. It hasn't been explicitly stated yet at the point I'm at (she's mentioned for the first time at the end of E9), but it's pretty obvious. Not only did he mention her name first when he was literally dying, but just. Of course she is. There's no chance she isn't, that maybe Arthur thinks she's dead but really something else has happened to her—all daughters are dead. That's just how it works. (except for that one baby, I suppose. The baby is interesting—I notice they explicitly refer to her as female when I don't think they had a way to know that*. She just Is a girl, she has to be. She needs protecting, therefore she is a Daughter, plain and simple).

And learning that Arthur has (had) a daughter has caused me to look at the rest of the girls in this podcast differently (and is honestly a big reason why I wanted to write this post in the first place.) Those missing-turned-dead girls, the baby, all those young girls haunting the narrative—they're all his daughter, naturally. (not literally but y'know, meta-narratively or whatever) They're not just haunting the narrative, but haunting him specifically.

Anyway, girls haunting horror stories and fridged women and whatever other tropes that keep women from fully participating in stories are nothing new, obviously (and I imagine that Guthrie is very intentional when he invokes those tropes—this whole thing is a big ol' nod to Lovecraft, there's no way this guy is doing horror tropes by accident), but the fact that it seems to be like that mostly because Guthrie just Didn't Want to Hire An Actor makes it way more interesting to me.

I'm sure most (if not all) of this has been discussed in the fandom already, but I haven't read any meta or anything yet and I just wanted to get my thoughts down. Honestly, part of why I made this post is that I feel like I can clearly see what Guthrie was going for in how he built this story (/is building this story) and how it works within the world of the characters, but I'm still trying to puzzle out how I personally feel about the choices he made. (ex: do I appreciate how clear he makes things for the listener or do i feel like my hand is being held to much and i'm not being trusted to understand what's going on? if the latter, is it integrated into the story well enough for me to forgive it?) Writing this has... not actually helped much. I'll let you know if I figure it out.

*Okay I went back to the transcript, and it seems they start using she/her pronouns for the baby as soon as the old woman gives her to them. I assumed that the baby was wearing clothes or swaddled in a blanket the whole time, but I don't think this is ever explicitly stated, so it's possible it could've been clear once John was able to get a close enough look at her. Still, this is very much glossed over. Which, granted, it would be weird if they took a moment in the text to like, look at the baby's genitals, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#i had to stop myself several times from implying that i know exactly what the writer was trying to do with any of this #bc while it does feel really clear to me i dont actually have any word of god on this #and its all just my interpretation of what i *think* he was going for #so i could be wrong #(i do think im right though)#(or at least mostly right)#(there could easily be some nuance i'm missing)#malevolent #malevolent liveblog #malevolent meta

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schrodingers-hoarding-problem · 1 year

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Jae's Asian Drama Masterlist

a list of all the asian shows I've ever watched (competed, we don't talk about the ones I've been meaning to finish for the past two years), not including any animation

all of them have some form of romance because at my heart I am a slut for a good romance, colored ones are those that changed my brain chemistry

Korean:

Romance is a Bonus Book (my first ever Kdrama and the first one I saw on this list, will always hold a special place in my heart)

Hotel Del Luna (iu my beloved, it did make me very sad at some points, but the dynamic between the main characters so so so good, jealous jang manwol is the best thing)

Light On Me

The Tasty Florida

To My Star

You Make Me Dance

Mr. Heart

Color Rush

Doom at Your Service (I say this is my favorite Kdrama, but honestly it has some really heavy competition. I am not above saying im a little bit attracted to whenever doom fucks someone up ok)

Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart

Kiss Goblin

Where Your Eyes Linger

Run On (its just so sweet y'all, one of the most refreshing shows I've ever seen in my life, the characters feel so real and the relationships are amazing)

Semantic Error (this is where the heavy competition is, both the movie and series versions are insanely good, I just can't recommend it enough)

Tinted With You

A-Teen (currently rewatching it with my best friend, is the essential hs Kdrama, explores so many of the problems that teens face without minimizing them, really embraces that lonely/scary feeling of being in such a turbulent time in your life)

Roommates of Poongduck 304

Business Proposal (the romcom of all time, if you are someone who enjoys a good trope or a well done cliche this is the place for you, it will make you laugh so hard and feel so much)

Our Dating Sim (aljslkasjfkd so so cute, very much Semantic Error vibes and I love that, loved the dynamic and characters so much)

The Eighth Sense (yes give me the good mental health representation, women friends, and cute relationships)

Dream (movie, watched it just for IU tbh)

Thai:

Love in the Air

Kinnporsche (this gave me indescribable brainworms but I could never explain it)

The Eclipse (the series really benefited from how comfortable first&khaotung are with each other, honestly they are friendship goals, but the show itself really tackles some great issues in the schooling system and how they relate to oppression overall)

Until We Meet Again

Between Us (yeah Tumblr really won with this one, I saw one too many winteam posts and had no choice, I do love a relationship driven show and the way the show pulled in discussions about trauma and family struggles was wonderful, I have never seen more of a middle child than win)

Bad Buddy (what can I say, once again the actors have insane chemistry and their comfort with each other really shows on screen, also nanon really is just a powerhouse actor, its sort of a modern Romeo and Juliet but has the most open & honest communication in any media I've ever seen)

Cutie Pie

Cutie Pie 2 You

My School President (may have changed me as a person? I don't even know how to describe how important this show has become to me)

Bed Friend (loved the characters, idk if it gave me worms yet tho)

Only Friends (at my heart i am a sucker for anything First & Khao are in)

Japanese:

Takara-kun & Amagi-kun

My Love Mix-up! (Keita Hatsukoi)

My Beautiful Man (Utsukushii Kare)

My Beautiful Man 2

Taiwanese:

Be Loved in House: I Do

HIStory 3: Trapped

Because of You 2020

Chinese:

The Untamed (I don't even know how to explain the brainworms this show and the novel it's based on has given me, but we do love a fun period piece)

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bluelockednyx · 4 months

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" or for Isagi to stop looking at Rin's thighs whichever is easier" I- 🤣. ( this was so noticeable in that leg extension machine scene he had no reason to go and check up on him, stop him from overworking and prompt him to take rest but he DID)

I thought I was crazy for thinking that abt that one Rin panel but I'm glad I'm not the only one, since Kaisagi is rising in popularity esp w/ Hiori's comments abt the in-universe social media. Idk whether to lament over the lack of rinsagi or absolutely LOSE it over Isagi's reaction. Like it wasn't the kind of cute denial that Raichi was saying it was, bro was so OFFENDED. I can't.

Then again, it makes sense since public has seen more of Kaiser-Isagi than with Rin. I wonder what Isagi's reaxn would be if it had been Rin's name that had come like that 👀. Definitely not visceral disgust to this level.

Besides, recent chapters had carved a place for kainess in my heart and I feel like those 2 should cuddle and go to therapy. ( Any thoughts on recent chapters, that choking scene was disturbing...).

Do u think the light novels and profiles are not written by Kaneshiro? Bcz while they weren’t bad at all( they were quite great) there was this missing spark in them. Like with Isagi, they made him out to be able to see mosquitos across a room and note the temp change in the air as a BABY?? I-??????. I am very confused.

And in a profile, he has 200 level or smth eyesight?? Normal is 150 so.., idk maybe I am just being extremely dumb.

But to me, manga Isagi was so loveable and inspiring bcz he was a normal person who was willing to break and challenge himself to reach his goal, forging a will that was strong enough to withstand all the pressure. Not superpowers.

And in his profile, his type is someone who smiles a lot and it fits bachira but to me it sounds like another way to fit in to what people expect of him. There was a meta on Isagi and anger expression floating around in tumblr. And it says how Isagi loved Noa's style bcz of how brutal it was and through football he was able to exert anger in a socially acceptable way instead of being the peace maker and going along with Ichinan style football and just agreeing with Tada's decisions and blue lock is a release frm that. And like you said, isagi isn't as driven abt bachira as he is about him. Narratively too, that is a good thing, allowing bachira to make new connections and new bonds in Spain instead of being fixated with Isagi. And frankly, I don’t think it's healthy for Bachira to get with the first person to be his friend. Let him experience life first.

Well then, I am so excited for Pxg VS BM. The potential match ups, Kaiser most def knows Sae so some interesting conflict w/ Rin if he mentions that like Luna did. The Isagirin matchup, I'm just so excited. Also ,"# Stop looking at Rin's thighs challenge."

P.S. - I wrote a Rinsagi fic, so plz check it out.

How can I read your fic if you didn't send a link lol

Kaneshiro-sensei literally addressed the Kai//sagi shippers in the chapter: nope, not happening, no way, via Isagi himself. He may subvert this later on, but as far as I can tell, given the story's trajectory + Isagi's own character arc, it won't happen. Kaiser will most likely be coming back as a rival/enemy in the U20 World Cup arc too. There simply is no motivation for Isagi to ally with him at all.

Rin's spotlight and turn is coming up, so again, I'm not worried about the current lack of Isagi and Rin moments. It is supposed to be THE highlight of the NEL arc for good reason. And yeah, I doubt Isagi would be as offended if fans had been saying that about him and Rin. On the down low he really is fond of and respects Rin, whereas he despises Kaiser for just about everything besides his skill in soccer.

Truthfully, I've grown a little bored of the recent chapters. Not so much that they aren't good chapters, but more that there's a lack of variety to the characters. IMO Kaneshiro-sensei has hit a bit of a wall on character cast and variety - Ness' backstory is a touch too commonly seen for me to really get into, and feels lacking in effort, though tbf Ness is at best a tertiary character in-series who's there to prop up Kaiser's story.

No real thoughts yet on the choking scene. Currently it's only a sign of Kaiser's desperation to me. The throne he thought he had secured might well be about to collapse from underneath him due to Isagi's growing skill. Seeing how he'll match up against Rin is also interesting, seeing how Rin is actually very much self-sufficient as a striker, while Kaiser thus far seems quite dependent on Ness. I also believe that the PXG match will bring Kaiser into direct confrontation with Loki, who is posited as thus far the best U20 striker we've seen, given how he's a master for the PXG team, rather than simply a fellow player. Fingers crossed that Loki smokes all of them, including Noa, if he comes out to play too.

No, the light novel most likely isn't written by Kaneshiro-sensei, given what I know of the industry. The bulk of it is likely by Moegi Momo-sensei; with credit given to Kaneshiro-sensei because he's the OG creator of the Blue Lock series. That said, there's a good chance that Kaneshiro-sensei provided Moegi-sensei with story ideas and rough character backgrounds who then developed it into proper stories for novelization.

The character profiles are more likely to be done by Kaneshiro-sensei himself, though I am going to point out that it's published as 'supervised by', rather than 'written by'.

Emphasizing this: I generally don't care about light novels, character profiles etc. in terms of my interpretation of the story. To me, what appears in the manga is the only canon there is. Everything else that's official are canon-adjacent and supplementary; fun to read and get an idea of how the characters' personalities and relationships are off-page, but otherwise unimportant unless explicitly referenced in-story. Whatever is not depicted in the manga proper is free real estate.

As for Isagi in the light novel. Well.

He reads as autistic, from that apparent hypersensitivity + his hyperfocused interest in football, and as I've mentioned before: Isagi is also written very much as a tabula rasa, a blank slate of sorts, for target readers to be able to slip themselves into. I think that the emphasis is on Isagi having very clear vision, his personal advantage, amongst the rest of the cast, but again, to me, the light novel is not as important as what we see depicted in the manga proper.

No comments on Isagi's type in the profile, and how it could be Bachira. They're decently written together, and I understand why people would ship them, but they are also just kind of 'meh' for me. Kaneshiro-sensei may intend to write them as a pair, but they are a pretty run-of-the-mill standard MC + best friend ship, with the highlight being Bachira's personal growth via his relationship with Isagi. There are more satisfying ships for me in Blue Lock, and better romances in other animanga series, and while I am fond of shipping, I'm not reading Blue Lock for the shipping. It's just a nice bonus that I find Isagirin's relationship so damn interesting that I've stayed invested.

I haven't read that meta, but that's an interesting interpretation of Isagi's character. Blue Lock is somewhat of a meta commentary on the failures of the general Japanese culture's need to conform to societal pressures and not 'rock the boat', and how it has led to an under performance in football. Isagi as a whole has also been growing more assertive and more confrontational with others, though Kaiser's the only one whom he views with solid enmity.

In the light novel, Isagi's idolization of Noa stemmed from how Noa bypassed the opposing team one after the other, and then from how Noa would rather 'lose a game by a hat trick than win one with an assist'. And doesn't that sound quite like a certain someone, lmao.

Cheers to having PXG match to look forward to next year after the hols!!

#niki answers asks #drop the fic link!!#also I want to see Karasu so badly #and i would not be opposed to seeing barcha vs pxg match #bachira has his own relationship with rin independent of isagi too!! he lost to rin in the second selection too!!

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fitzrove · 1 year

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Anastasia rewrite

Today at work I listened to In the Dark of the Night, a song I first became obsessed with at like age 12, roughly 85 times on repeat. I have become enlightened. Spoilers for the Anastasia stage show!

this is very stupid on purpose

Ok so you know how the plot of the Anastasia musical doesn't actually make a lot of sense (I'm specifically thinking of the final confrontation between Gleb and Anya - his change of heart happens so suddenly and isn't explored properly), and despite the creatives' stated goal of making the story more realistic, it... really isn't? If the original had Rasputin being literally cartoon evil (he is a cartoon villain), communism is the cartoon evil in the show. I say we put back in more of the other kind of cartoon evil... I say we bring back Rasputin.

So, okay. Let's leave Act 1 for the most part literally as is. Journey to the Past is ending, thundering applause. BUT! Instead of the curtain... cut back to Gleb, who just made a vow to find Anastasia. But Paris is a big city... it'll be tough to find her there, what if he doesn't even get admitted to the upper-class clubs because of his awkward fashion sense? So, he's been consulting some occult books... even though the new regime has no time for fairytales, he has one in his hands right now, and the best way to fight a fairytale is with a dark counterpart.

[THE ENTRANCE TO A CAVE, night. GLEB is doing some kind of occult ritual idk maybe the lighting and projections people can make this look good and not silly. He seems deep in concentration until A RUSTLING SOUND makes him flinch. He draws out his gun and points it, but there's no-one there, only his own shadow. He warily begins to lower the gun, but then THE RUSTLE happens again. Out of the corner of his eye, movement. He FIRES! The bullet hits the stone wall and bounces off with a pathetic crackly click; the gunshot echoes within the empty space. His heart drums in his ears. And then, slowly but surely, something creeps into the circle of candlelight...

RASPUTIN [raspily]

Ha ha ha! It's been a while since I've had visitors.

RASPUTIN is not a cartoon character so we can't literally have his body parts falling off... but since this is (presumably) a Broadway musical, he can be a hottie. Maybe the cloak he's wearing is so ragged that we see a bit of chest idk.

GLEB

You're supposed to be dead.

RASPUTIN [hissing]

Many people who should be dead are still alive... and many people who would be better off alive have died.

GLEB flinches away from RASPUTIN's putrid breath as he leans closer to whisper his lines.

GLEB

That's why I've come. I know you have a grudge with the Romanovs.

RASPUTIN

What use is a grudge like that for me now... I rot, they rot. I can be content with that.

GLEB

There are rumors afoot. Rumors that my comrades and I find very concerning. They say that one of them may be still alive - the princess Anastasia.

RASPUTIN

The girl?!

THUNDER STRIKES, and a millisecond after that, lightning erupts, flashing over the entire stage and audience. RASPUTIN seethes; we can see that this has made him reconsider his entire worldview.

GLEB

Will you help me finish what was started, comrade?

RASPUTIN

I am comrade to no-one! I am... THE GREAT RASPUTIN!

[A dark and booming, lushly orchestral version of IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT begins to play. The lyrics remain unaltered save for one line - "tie my dash and a dash of cologne for that smell" becomes "I shall help you but first I must settle a score". During the song, RASPUTIN makes stuff blow up etc (we need the lighting ppl to do this). For the most of the song he is backed up by an invisible ghostly choir: the lines that the super deep-voiced bug has in the original ("find her / doom her") are given to GLEB, who's actively trying to hide that he's vaguely uncomfortable with the supernatural happenings around him. However, this changes with...]

RASPUTIN

COME, MY MINIONS! RISE FOR YOUR MASTER!

[Slowly, as theatre smoke pours in, ZOMBIE ROMANOVS and OTHER PEOPLE EXECUTED BY THE BOLSHEVIKS enter. RASPUTIN has reanimated them and is puppeteering them like some sort of freaky camp necromancer. GLEB, for a moment, is surrounded by the faces of people he thought he'd never see again - not outside of his frequent yet vivid nightmares - and has to brace himself.]

RASPUTIN

LET YOUR EVIL SHINE!

ENSEMBLE

IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT, IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT!

RASPUTIN

FIND HER NOW, YES, GO EVER FASTER

ENSEMBLE

IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT, IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT, IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT!

RASPUTIN

SHE'LL BE MINE!!!!!

[During the last line, GLEB casts a quick, wary look at RASPUTIN - RASPUTIN is too lost in his evil glee to notice. After the line - BLACKOUT. End Act 1.]

The thing about Anastasia is that it's a pretty short musical, running just a bit over two hours without the intermission. So we could totally keep every number in act 2 but just add a bunch of Gleb and Rasputin scenes. Obviously they're going to have an awkward time travelling to Paris together... they DEFINITELY won't be admitted into the Neva Club because Rasputin's fashion sense is even worse than Gleb's, but they do some occult magic and finally manage to come face to face with Anya. And in the confrontation, it's actually Anya and Gleb teaming off to fight off Rasputin and his army of evil zombies... Maybe the other characters get a swing at it too, I think maybe the zombies should try to take over all of Paris to add some drama? Rasputin definitely gets a hammy author vehicle line like YOU WANTED THE PAST TO RETURN... HERE IT IS!!!!

In the end Rasputin is defeated and Gleb, having learned not to make deals with the devil, agrees to leave Anya alone and never speak of this ordeal to anyone. I think this makes his character motivations make a bit more sense, as bonding with Anya by fighting Rasputin and the evil zombies would provide a more thorough reason for him to go back on his convictions and have such a sudden change of heart

And then every scene after the confrontation (is that called the "Still" reprise?) can play out exactly as they do in the original XD

#i think this idea is really good #musicals #theatre #anastasia the musical #history #rasputin #<333 #anastasia

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jeongjaebae · 1 year

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fic summary 2k22

ayeee so it's that time of year again!! i know i haven't posted much in 2022 (like... just a handful of fics oops) but i still hit a decent word count and made significant progress on long fic wips!

so yeahhh here's my 2022 fic summary which is... basically a chance to introduce my wips LOL

Total word count written: 89,033

Total word count published: 33,243

Fandoms written: tbz and svt

1. Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or what you predicted?

a bit less!! it's about half as much as i wrote last year (which was a whooping 150k word count LMAO), but this range is already more than the average for me in any given year so it's not too bad. in terms of what i POSTED though... i have no excuse for that 😅 most of my word count is from wips/ideas so i didn't have any finished content to post

2. What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?

last january i definitely didn't know i would write for svt!! i kind of had a feeling that deobiblr was already dying at the time, and that's around when i started watching going seventeen to get into them... but yeah didn't know i'd slip so deep into the carat life (blaming you, kim mingyu 😒)

3. What’s your own favourite story of the year?

it's a time loop au wip that i've written about 19k so far!! where our mc is stuck in a loop trying to change their fate of unrequited love by meeting [boy group member] first before his current gf does. so mc tries to alter events and change the course of fate all while trying to figure out a way to leave the loop

4. Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

uhHHhhH the time loop au i suppose is a risk in itself... bc like... plotting it has been a complete pain when you're trying to consider multiple reruns of the same timeline. every detail has to be in the right place so that when the mc's actions change, we can directly see how that affects the events in the timeline

also writing domestic fluff like i did in best boy... can't say i enjoyed it but it was a good challenge!!

5. Do you have any fanfic goals for the new year?

post the damn hyunjae e2l already 💀 (takes one to know one)

From my past year of writing, what was…

My best story of this year:

the time loop au ahahaha but if we're talking posted fic then the whole truth!! it has a bit of everything: decent flow and sentence structures, some important themes, tiny bit of humour, and gotta love f2l ju

My most popular story of this year:

the whole truth!! i reread this kind of recently and think it really is my best in terms of flow and sentence structure. also i really haven't posted anything else so.... yeah 😶

Most fun story to write:

hmm besides my two biggest wips i'd say it's this jogging au i wrote back in april!! where mc gets roped into a jogging date with [cute dating app boy] despite hating all kinds of exercise. it's definitely the typical jeongjaebae style of humour, secondhand embarrassment, and fluff. very fun to write and has me laughing every time i reread it LMAO

Story with the single sexiest moment:

probably the whole truth, the scene where they're making out in juyeon's room LMAO. srry i have no other contributions this year. BUT!!! my e2l wip has the full and extended scene from want so that's something to look forward to 👀

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story:

best boy. maybe it's not terrible but idk i haven't touched it since writing it bc i hate it 🤡 domestic fluff is... not my cup of tea. i suppose it was a good writing challenge tho. maaaaybe i'll write it one day but... needs a bit more practice

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:

hmm maybe 1 plus 1? writing it made me obsessed with the (og) guy in it and he shot way up my bias list. and like. i'm still in that phase rn LOL

Hardest story to write:

oh boy it's deffs the time loop au. still stuck on the plot tbh? there's just so much planning and then... the thought of it reaching 50k or something... makes me tired OTL. it's exciting to think about but at the same time, there are way too many details i still have to write. it's a bit of a struggle

Biggest surprise:

surprise surprise who knew i would be writing for svt?!? and the one piece of angst that i wrote: all that we are

Most unintentionally telling story:

let's go with the whole truth. i loved some of the concepts and moral lessons in there, like how we're not made to be someone else's object of desire. why should we exist to be beautiful to others? and the other part about how love is deeper than what an app can tell us.

Favourite opening lines:

ehh nothing i particularly like but here we go

[better than the movies]

the most relatable sentence

If your life was a movie, at this moment, you’d be that introvert at a party.

[jogging date wip]

ahh.... relatable once again. the opening here sets the tone perfectly

"Yeah, of course. A jogging date sounds perfect." That was the moment you knew you fucked up.

Favourite closing lines:

nothing will beat this is how we fall but here are some that i like

[takes one to know one]

this actually isn't at the veryyy end of my wip rn but will probably change it and make it the actual ending later bc it's so fitting!! potential spoiler i guess but not really bc we all knew what was coming right?

When he pulls back and you see the fondness in his eyes, you realize that maybe the two of you aren't so different. He may have been an asshole, but you'd pretty much been one too. You were insanely competitive but only so that you could match up to his level. And even though it took a while for you to understand your feelings for him, now you know that he's felt the same way all along. Indeed, the two of you are more similar than you think. But then again, it takes one to know one.

[the whole truth]

they went through so much and this wrapped it up nicely. the silence especially is a powerful symbol here

When Juyeon takes the final step and crosses into your range this time, the silence is something you’ve never been happier to hear.

Favourite lines from anywhere:

[the whole truth]

important life lessons 101. if someone doesn't like you that's their problem not yours LOL. why should it be your job to be likeable?

"It’s not embarrassing to not be loved back. Painful, yes, but not something to be ashamed of. You weren’t put on this world just to become someone else’s object of desire, okay?"

[time loop au wip]

not quite closing lines but could kind of be similar to that

The two of you don't talk about, but it's all too evident anyway. It's evident when you lean into him as the night gets colder, head against the crook of his shoulder, and then in the way he shifts so that his lips meet yours. It's evident in the way he kisses you, with the sweetest of a first kiss, the bitterness of a last kiss, and the constancy of making the same choice in every loop, every timeline, every lifetime.

Scenes from anywhere you would have choose to have illustrated:

for the sake of referencing posted fics, i would say the ending of redo where they're on the bench under the mistletoe!

(in terms of wips: time loop au where y/n and [redacted] are watching fireworks from homecoming week!!)

New year’s resolutions:

finish and post that damn hyunjae e2l already OTL. and like... probably finish the time loop au if possible

Word Count Totals

Total finished, posted fic: 33,243

Longest posted fic: the whole truth ~14.2k

Longest wip: hyunjae e2l is sitting at 25k still... and time loop au at 19k... 🥲

Total number of words written: 89,033

#personal #sherri.txt #fic summary 2022

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luffythinker · 4 months

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been in a Naruto mood lately trying to make a AU where Naruto is a Uchiha and Sasuke is a Uzumaki

how do you think that would go?

Sasuke being given the ninetails and Naruto having to go through his whole family and clan being murdered by his brother?

of course i want Shikamaru/Naruto involved and i feel like they would have this relationship where Shikamaru like i want to love you but you make it hard cause you make morally wrong life choices that is to say if this shaped Naruto in such a way to be the case

Sakura being swapped with Tenten and Tenten being a haruno so she gets to train with Tsunade like she wanted to

I want Sakura with scrolls

How do you think this would go? not swaping everyone just those three or 4 i guess. OH OH we could put Hinata in Neji's place and Neiji in Hinata's place too while we're at it. trying not to make anymore changes cause i wanna keep the story almost the same

Im just kinda asking if you think Naruto would try to get revenge because Itachi told him to we also could go the route of saying lets swap Minato and Itachi so Naruto's dad is his brother and Itachi is Sasuke's father but that's kinda weird to me but also kinda interesting? we can put that on the back burners but if you have something to say about it let me know what you think of these concepts when you can

WOAH OKAY lets get into it

This involves some morals and ethics discourse so bear with me here

I do think this is hard to predict, but, I would like to believe that although the context and your surroundings make a person, it's not all that there is. I think everyone has a core and Naruto, for example, is good and kind at his core (imo). So even if he went through all the traumatic events and had all the money the Uchihas/Sasuke had, I think he would still turn out to be somewhat good. I don't think he would seek revenge, but he would seek Itachi for an explanation, his goal would not be to kill him, but to understand him. This could lead to a different future, where if Itachi was met with compassion/understanding he would not just view himself as a potential sacrifice. But we can only speculate that since Itachi in and of itself is already a very complex character.

As for Sasuke, I can't exactly pinpoint his core in a word, but I do think he just seems like he would hold onto suffering more. So if he had Kurama, and he suffered the pushback from Konoha, he would still want to prove himself (like Naruto did), but he would also want to seek retribution. I think he would be much more likely to realize that Hiruzen (3rd Hokage) was a piece of shit who did not keep his words to Minato and Kushina. He would also want to make changes in society (my boy is a revolutionary cmon). Assuming he and Naruto are still friends and he eventually finds out the conditions that led to the Uchiha massacre and Itachi to act that way, when he becomes Hokage he would abolish the Anbu and make sure that certain injustices doesn't occur anymore.

All this to say, i think they would keep what makes each of them unique, even if the circumstances are different, and this would lead to their reactions to be different too.

Don't even get me started with Hinata and Neji omg, i could go on for days talking about the fuck ass hyuga clan, the whole servitude thing makes me so mad. But as much as i would like to I just don't see Hinata being as angry and vocal about it like Neji, although, i can see Neji even being from the primary branch of the family still being mad. Talking about cores again, i just think it's in himself to hate this form of separation and injustice. But since he would one day be the heir of the clan he could have enough power to abolish it sooooo [I'm so sorry this is probably not what you were hoping to get but i get heated just thinking about this]

and about switching minato with itachi, yeahh idk how to feel about that cause that would be a little bit weird but i guess it could work too? it's just i don't see minato committing mass murder

#naruto #sasuke #hinata hyuga #neji hyuga #sakura #im so sorry baby i didn't even talk about her and tenten #but i ike the change i think it could work well #rei replies

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signofthestriking · 1 year

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They are in love your honor!!!

I need to actually explain the plot of this story, so if you're into oc-driven stories feel free to read below-

Ignore the fact that there's only 2 of em shown for now, the 3rd one is gonna take some buildup

The setting: A version of U7 that was made as a replacement for canon's, after the inevitable destruction of canon U7. There's a lot of drama in space involving the collapse of an empire, the Saiyan rebellion that caused the collapse, and 3 different groups fighting each other in the aftermath. Earth is left out of all this because most people view it as innocuous and not worth their attention.

TLDR: I didn't want to worry about writing canon characters/events so I just made my own version of U7 to play with.

The premise: Maize and Konnie meet in real life for the first time, after being long-distance friends for 3 years. They meet up in order to find the Dragon Balls scattered across Earth, and to have an adventure along the way. Their ultimate goal is to use the wish to learn more about Saiyans, as the two know little about their alien heritage and want to learn more. However, they aren't the only ones after the wish, and there's a lot more to their Saiyan blood than they think...

TLDR: Two idiots try to figure out why they have monkey tails, while beating up a mercenary gang along the way

The musketeers: Maize Onigiri and Konnie Sai, a pair of Saiyan girls who barely know what Saiyans are!

Konnie's dad, Okkoro, has told her that she's half Saiyan. But he refuses to talk about much more than that, beyond telling Konnie not to look at the moon for too long. In fact, he's reluctant to train her fully, afraid that she'll get dragged into "something dangerous".

Konnie thinks that's kinda fucking stupid and wants to find out more, with or without her dad's help. Other than being part Saiyan, Konnie leads a normal human life.

Konnie's mom, Serenity, is a royal scientist who also disagrees with Okkoro's stubborn secrecy. Although she can't make her husband talk about it, she can certainly make Konnie a Dragon Radar.

Maize is a pure-blood, stranded on Earth after the death of her father Auber. Another alien, a Namekian named Limax, took her in and trained her. While Limax despises Saiyans, he isn't going to leave a child to fend for themselves.

While he isn't exactly the best parent, Maize genuinely cares for Limax, despite his insistence that he isn't her true dad. In fact, Limax wants Maize to avenge the death of her Saiyan father. Maize doesn't really get why, but since it's Limax telling her to do it, she still trains to one day seek revenge. Limax does genuinely care about Maize, even if he doesn’t want to, and perhaps for the wrong reasons.

In all honesty though she doesn't really understand what's so good about vengeance. Maize doesn't understand a lot of things. For example, she doesn't understand why Limax disappeared when she was about 14.

Maize and Konnie met online, after Maize stumbled onto the Internet by some miracle.

Idk what else to put here so here's some spoiler-ish tidbits

Currently working on a 1st draft of the story.

The 3rd "musketeer" is a three-eyed mercenary named Prism Lockwood, who starts off as an antagonist.

Given that I’m putting this in a separate iteration of U7, I’ve changed certain details and thrown in a lot of headcanons. For example, instead of a Lookout, there’s a series of underground caves that the Guardian resides in. Instead of climbing a tower, you train by surviving the caves.

Seriously tho I’ve made an entire rework of the gods/demons just for this storyline pls send help /s

DB and DBZ’s events are vaguely referenced as being the previous iteration of U7, however GT and Super’s events are not. Mainly because of certain extensions I’ve made to canon that clash with GT/Super.

A lot of Okkoro's hesitancy surrounding Konnie is tied to what’s happening in space, as he’s experienced a lot of the conflict first-hand and wants his daughter to stay out of it. And this story eventually does go into all the space drama.

In this U7, the lower-class Saiyans staged a rebellion against the elites and the Acrosian emperor they worked for. The rebellion was a partial success, causing the collapse of the Acrosian empire but also causing the near-destruction of their home planet.

The following conflict in space surrounds a bandit clan made of surviving Saiyans, a gang of disillusioned Namekians who hunt Saiyans and Acrosians alike, and a shady cult with questionable practices.

Okay that’s all I have for now byeeeeeee

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oswald-privileges · 3 years

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ALL RIGHT BUT YOU ASKED FOR IT

Power of Three as a series is just. full of weaknesses, most of which come down to poor continuity and structure. I'm not gonna try and fix ALL of those, bc that'd be laborious as hell, but I will pick out things that I feel are the most egregious as case studies.

What Po3 does have, tho, is an absolutely shining strength in the concept of its three main characters. After twelve books of Blandly Heroic Protagonist Syndrome, Jayfeather is an absolute godsend. He's angry! He's rude! He's unhappy! He's not nice. I Love Him And He's My Son. Lionblaze has his invincible pride (hah) and emergent bloodlust, and Hollyleaf has her moral absolutism and certainty. These are good starting points for characters. Sadly, the lack of continuity undermines what could have been three really good character arcs.

So! I present to you:

HOW TO MAKE "WARRIORS: THE POWER OF THREE" NOT COMPLETELY SUCK ACCORDING TO MY PERSONAL TASTE; A NON-EXHAUSTIVE, NON-CONSECUTIVE LIST BY ME

ONE

- Have there be a persistant, overarching series threat. Sol is a character with amazing villain potential who does literally nothing except hang around, and do exactly 2 Bad Things completely off-screen. This Is Not Good.

- Instead, have him be present from the second book onwards- initially introduced as a friendly but enigmatic outsider who is slowly revealed across the series to be a complete black hole of a personality, a social parasite quietly rearranging whatever community he's a part of to just-so-happen to benefit him as much as humanly possible. His "preach individualism not starclan" methods are not so much values as one strategy out of many. (to those who know me- yes i have a type. no i will not apologise.)

- Maybe his ultimate goal is to dissolve and centralise the clans or something so that he can live out his life as a political puppetmaster in all the cat-luxury he likes. idk it's hard to imagine overall stakes for this rewrite BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL DOESN'T HAVE ANY

TWO

- For gods sake you don't have a series based on the premise of "the main characters develop super powers" and then only have the second power confirmed by the end of the fourth book. I understand the first book mostly focusing on Jayfeather- his powers are obvious from the start, he's got the strongest personality of the three, he gets access to most of the prophecy plot stuff because of them. But you NEED to have the other two show an interest in something concrete happening to them beyond that, and you need to at least hint towards the other two having something unique to them even if nobody clocks it yet.

- Have Jayfeather tell his siblings about the prophecy by the end of book two at the latest. The amount of time he spends noodling around not sharing it with them is inexcusable. It's not that it's out of character for him to hang onto a secret for a bit, it's just that there's no point and it slows everything down. It would be equally in character for him to go to his siblings and be like "look, i'm SPECIAL. well you as well but ALSO ME". Boy starts off as desperate for recognition, what can I say

THREE

- Have Jayfeather discover that StarClan don't withhold signs or information on purpose for the sake of "building courage and faith" or whatever nonsense. Seeing and communicating the future is metaphysically very difficult, so interpreting signs and messages is a genuine skill, or even an art. The cats of StarClan, however, really are just ghosts, much more similar to living cats than the currently living believe. This is the impotus for Jayfeather's discarding of his reverence for StarClan, which remains consistent throughout the series.

- Have Hollyleaf and Jayfeather both still change their cat careers in the first book, but put place more attention on the fact that they basically switched jobs. Have a scene where they end up yelling at each other, because can't the other see how lucky they have it? The tension breaks when they realise they've both lost something important to them- Jayfeather his chance to prove he's as capable as a sighted cat, and Hollyleaf her path to helping her clan in the way she thinks is best. They commiserate together, and reluctantly promise to do the best they can with their lots, so they don't waste the path the other wishes they'd taken. This closeness is eroded over the series as they disagree more and more on the subject of StarClan and its role in their moral choices and obligations.

FOUR

- Speaking of Hollyleaf! I nearly threw my phone across the room when the first Omen of the Stars book claimed that Hollyleaf "worked so hard to discover her power to help her clan". Where, Ms Erins??? I would have LOVED to have seen that!! Hollyleaf expresses absolutely no concern over the details of what power she has/will develop, and only has a couple of scenes even touching on her ambitions to help her clan. She has some vague ideas about becoming leader and like one scene where she gets to do some leadery things, but that never gets followed up on. What does happen is that the whole "warrior code" thing becomes more and more a part of her personality (for no clear reason) until she snaps.

- Hollyleaf going off the deep end is something I wanted so badly to get into and be moved by, because I could see where it comes from! Her moral certainty is fascinating, especially since it's based in something as abstract as the warrior code- which, when you think about it, isn't really... anything. There's no concrete set of rules that make it up, no traditional wording or cat philosophers, not even any fables. It's a handful of agreed-upon, common sense rules- don't cross boundaries, don't take prey that isn't yours, respect your ancestors, and don't murder. That's it!

- So, combining the above points, I think Hollyleaf not being one of the Three should stay, but both the audience and the characters are given good reason to believe she is. By around the third volume, make it so that Hollyleaf has found that her power is to get cats to "Do The Right Thing"- i.e. what she wants them to do. She sneaks off often to see Sol, who teachs her how to use this power. Her siblings are concerned about this new power, having already gotten a glimpse at what Sol can do, but she's confident that she can only use this power for good. Volume-specific plot happens, Sol manipulates her into causing him to win, she is shocked and horrified, and vows to stick ridgedly to what she knows is right i.e. The Warrior Code

- However, the more fervently she tries to stick to this abstract idea, the less it gives her results, the more her power seems to be failing. Believing that StarClan is taking her power away from her, she becomes caught up in a faith-guilt spiral that puts her in the position to snap at the end of the series. By that point it's clear to her siblings that Hollyleaf has no power- she was just very, very good at persuading people to do what she wanted.

FIVE

- Lionblaze is a girl now because I Said So. This Cat Is Trans And There's Nothing You Can Do About It.

- Her relationship with Heathertail stays the same- childhood sweethearts who are torn apart as they begin to understand the nature of the societal divides that exist between them.

- This can be used to contextualise the whole "half clan/outsider blood" thing as a cultural contradiction. In reality, inter- and outer- clan relationships aren't at all rare. They can't be, otherwise the whole society would be inbred out of existence in like five generations. But if at least one society of humans can spend a good 200 years pretending Sex Is Bad And Sinful Actually then cats can have persistant cat-racism in the face of all logic. Heathertail clocks this contradiction, Lionblaze doesn't.

- Her relationship-to-power arc doesn't need changing all that much either, other than starting much sooner and being more consistent. At first, she's completely overjoyed by her power, since unlike her siblings, it lines up so well with her ambition- become the finest warrior any of the clans have to offer. As the berserker rage aspect becomes more prevelent, she becomes more and more disturbed by the fact that she isn't disturbed by what she can do, and that she doesn't want the escalation of her power to stop.

- Tigerstar still does his thing, but Brambleclaw knows about it. He recognises the signs from when his father used to visit him, and tries to train Lionblaze in his own way. She ends up caught between wanting to be a good warrior, and testing the limits of her power.

SIX

- Jayfeather can stay basically the same because he's my perfect little angy boy and nothing needs to change. His arcs can be strengthened by having a more robust relationship with Yellowfang where they try to out-bitch each other, and coming to terms with his internalised ablism. Maybe he has a chat with Mothwing about faith a couple of times. Him furiously lashing out at being offered help transitions into an acceptence and understanding of his abilities more naturally. He never stops being A Grumpy Old Man.

- All fucking past-lives unexplained time travel goes in the BIN. Doesn't fucking happen. You can have that lore dump sprinkled across the books, or come from going deep into the tunnels and having a surreal meeting. Make it properly eldritch-level scary, shake Jayfeather's confidence in the idea of them being just a bunch of ghosts.

SEVEN

- Have the way Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight present very clearly as parents to the Three be explicitly, textually unusual. One of the things I liked so much about the first series was an almost total lack of emphasis on who was mated with who, and who was related or not. It felt very real to how feral cat colonies form, where raising kittens is a communal job. This gets completely dropped the moment series 2 starts and now the cats have monogamy.

- This emphasis on the family unit and fostering close relationships between parents and kittens is deliberate on the part of both Leafpool and Squirrelflight. Their aim is to cover for Leafpool so she doesn't lose her role as medicine cat- something she already gave up Crowfeather for before she was pregnant.

- In that little bit of backstory, have a robust reason for both Leafpool and Squirrelflight to leave the camp while Leafpool is pregnant and giving birth, possibly one that ties into the present day story in some minor way. I don't know how, it would just make that element of the story a lot more ground than "we left, the kits were born, then we came back and everyone was cool with it"

- When it comes to the "I am Not your mother" reveal, Jayfeather and Lionblaze are confused and hurt that they were lied to, but come to the reasonable conclusion that well, since they were raised mostly by Squirrelflight, saw Leafpool often, and are loved by both, they don't hate her. Lionblaze has something of a crisis over being half-clan, possibly initiating an attempted reunion with Heathertail. Jayfeather is more concerned with how other cats will think it makes him lesser, something he's still sensitive too.

- Hollyleaf, meanwhile, completely fucking snaps at the way her mother Violated Part Of The Code. It's a completely irrational reaction, but expected because she's been growing more and more reliant on The Code for the whole series, and less and less stable in her attempts to aid her clan and train to be its new leader.

- Squirrelflight is the one to murder Ashfur. This is easy to work out while reading- she's literally the only one of the four with a motive who isn't a perspective character. The mystery is less around finding out who did it, and more about why she did it (it's very ambiguous as to whether it was an accident or not). The main tension comes from who finds out when.

- Lionblaze is shocked, awed by how far she'd go to protect the three of them, and reassures her she did the right thing (as a way to salve her own uncertainty over her own longing for violence). Jayfeather makes it all about himself because he's Jayfeather- upset that he didn't know immediately, instead of, you know, figuring it out in a few hours because he can basically read minds. They try their best to hide it from Hollyleaf, who is already rattling around the final volume as a full-on antagonist, but are unsuccessful. This almost costs them something incredibly important- possibly Squirrelflight's life.

EIGHT

- the whole plot with the Tribe Of Rushing Water is a MASSIVE can of worms that could be removed from the series without issue. As it is:

- Characterize the Tribe as uncertain of how to fight other cats, because yes, they haven't had to do this before. DON'T characterise them as pathetic, doing whatever their leader says without thinking, and with ancestors who have Given Up

- Have some of the Tribe be really good at the violence. Worryingly good. Have others be sickened by what they're being asked to do.

- Have some of the clan cats reflect on what they've done. Hollyleaf would be all for introducing this society to jesus The Code, but even she might be horrified at being thanked by a tribe cat who can't wait to get out there and win themselves glory, only to be killed a few hours later

- The Tribe begin a new tradition of marking the walls in the mud they use as camoflage in order to commemorate their battles, and memorialise the fallen. One of the characters reflects on the fact that in a generation or two, the Tribe will feel like it's always been this way. How many of their own traditions- those that feel almost like natural law- started out the same way?

- Have Sol as the leader of the invaders, or maybe having insinuated himself into the tribe as a "mediator" and doing his charismatic cult leader thing.

NINE

- Cinderheart isn't a reincarnation of Cinderpelt. She's just named after her bc Cinderpelt saved her mother from a badger. this is because I think the reincanation thing is stupid and I can't think of a way to make it good.

TEN

- No more using tails as hand gestures like covering people's mouths. Never. None of it. It's expunged from existence.

Disclaimer: I haven't read Omen of the Stars yet, so I can't account for anything that might happen in that series that's grounded in Po3. I'm like... two thirds of the way through the first volume. I'm Not Impressed.

#Warrior Cats #warriors #The Power of Three #Jayfeather #Hollyleaf #Lionblaze #long post

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melloian · 3 years

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My wild au idea...

so i got a new art program. so i imagine this fake au idea.. so imma share it lmao. remember this is an imagination (and am still working on reboot au) and not some au or something. Alright let’s just get this cringe over went Remember this guy?

remember this kid?

now imagine them as an main character...yup..

Alright time to explain ig The boy and sandboy fused in body because of hawkmoth's glitch. The boy first witnessed this when he got scared of something else. He slowly turned blue. He screamed and cried loud because of course he didn't know what was happening, eventually turning into sandboy and terrorizing the city again. He then realizes everytime he gets scared he turns into sandboy. He proceeds to think the movie gave him strange powers (and not hawkmoth..well not in this fake au of course). Since he knows sandboy is evil, he came up idea to trick sandboy into doing something good. His plan was to put himself in danger on purpose (by an villain) in order to make sandboy think the villain is trying to attack him. The boy is only doing this in order for sandboy to no longer attack paris. Now to explain hawkmoth's situation, hawkmoth accidentally cracked the miraculous when he fall down (in a high tower awhile fighting the other day). He didn't know he did until he saw nooroo acting strange. But he didn't care so he proceeds to do it which led to the glitch. It affected his heart causing to become weak. However he doesn't care, he says himself that he would continue to use the butterfly miraculous, even if it costs his life at the end (he really just want his wife back so bad smh.) Gabriel gets the same symptoms as his wife which worries adrien.

Back to the boi himself.

in this imagination/fake au He just a friendly, energetic kid who like to play. He pretty much known as well-behaved kid. He sometimes curious about things.

He likes making new friends.

However he can get scared easily leading him to get nightmares. (he also easily cry too.)

He doesn't like mean people. (in this "fake" au, his age is 6) Sandboy himself

Sandboy here acts completely different here.. i mean he stills says "tHe SaNdBoY jUsT cHECkEd In. NoW nIghTmArEs CaN bEgIn" but only when using his powers. but he still different Sandboy is much more rude and more of an brat but still confident. He makes fun of people especially the villains he targets (he makes them furious on purpose). He's not scared of nothing, even if he saw lovecraftian horror or something, he wouldn't flinch. If he doesn't get his way, he will attempt fake cry so the person can feel sorry for him. (if that doesn't work he just will instantly use his power) Even though he rude and a brat, he can sometimes be helpful and nice. (he still acts like a child too.) Abilities: It would be epically lame if sandboy still have the same 1 power (rip chat noir). (and fook the sandman myth) He gains more abilities as time goes on and more fighting he does. Default power (just for reminder): He able to zap people and make their nightmares reality Gained powers list (in order): He will later be able to put people to sleep which would gave them nightmares Similar power to wishmaker expect its not childhood dreams. It just wishes in general, he able to grant them but he can either twist it for evil or grant the wish properly. He able to imprison people inside their own dream. he can now summon things out of his own dream or make it reality (can be past or present). he can bring people fears to life too (is not the same as nightmares just for clarification) Telekinesis He can go to sleep and can enter astral form. He can enter people's dream and warps it if he wants too or just watch. (he also have oneiricpotence awhile in dream) He can create an alternative dream universe and teleport people in it (he have oneiricpotence here too).

stronk kid Weakness: i made this so i wouldn't make him an absolute god machine All his powers works best at night. If use it in day, it would fail or it would work but it will go absolutely wrong. The only powers that don't suffer this is telekinesis and wish power. (sleeping power would work in afternoon and night) He can't keep using dream warper, alt dream, or dream imprisonment or else he becomes sick. (and when he's sick, his powers don't work properly{ he also gets dizzy})

He can't be astral for a long time, he will eventually snap back to his body. he still as fragile as an child.

Notes: He summons his pillow instead of being with him already.

Never of them wanted to be heroes in the first place.

Sandboy's hair only glows when its dark. Sandboy would change back to boy when all negative feelings are gone. For Nathalie in this au aswell, she pretty much don't want hawkmoth keep using his miraculous before he ends up in a coma. Eventually, Gabriel gets too sick and Nathalie takes his place. Nathalie attempts to fix both peacock and butterfly miraculous to continue his goal. She becomes Penumbra.

However, before she became penumbra, she was also effected with the glitch from Gabriel causing her to have catalyst stay in her aswell. Unlike the boy, she still have her own personality as catalyst and can use her power without transforming. idk why but its probably to make her dangerous. But Gabriel finally knew how the kid could transform to sandboy (he was wondering how he was transforming to his akumanzation form he given him) before he passed out (after he was defeated as scarlet moth.) So when gabriel got too sick, her goal was to find out more about that boy. Recurring characters

Even though chat noir and ladybug is still in the story, but they wouldn't have much focus.

Unlike in the original, ladybug or chat noir doesn't know sandboy's true identity but still thinks he a running akumanzation. however they don't attack him because he helping with the other villains. They confused if he an enemy or ally tho {why not both}. (they do thank him for defeating certain villains) They still have same personality and attitude. Other shit ig: This fake au takes place in season 2. The ep sandboy is no longer near heroes day ep, it would just be swapped with collector. Sandboy becomes less rude and bratty later on. Most fights would take place at night Sandboy had to learn hand to hand combat to be useful without using his night powers. There is no romance involved what so ever. Even though Nathalie fixes the butterfly miraculous, it wouldn't fix the glitch that happens to both her and the boy. She have to find something else in order to do that. Season 4 is were Gabriel's sickness gets worse and Nathalie takes his place. The boy would have 2 friends with him but its not manon or chris. The boy would be given a name. The boy would later find out how to change to sandboy without having to make himself scared. Remember this an fake au and this all came from my imagination/head. It just an idea. anyways see ya imma continue my own au now.

#marinette dupain cheng #nathalie sancoeur #sandboy #gabriel agreste #adrien agreste #ml au idea #mayura #miraculous ladybug au #miraculous hawkmoth #chat noir #off topic #shadow moth #scarlet lady au but im blue daba dee daba die #somebody looked at this post the last tag is inaccurate now ;-;

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khaotickae · 3 years

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WE THE NORTH WEEK 2K21 - DAY 006

↬ innovation = haley ↫

i picked this early on and then i thought i wasn't thinking about this right and then i realized i was and so i came back to this. i did not fit all of @charlieweasleyy's characters on here because i could barely fit the four. have you ever noticed how muscians suck in the image department, no? just me? okay then. moving on

*barney stintson voice* have you met haley? i'm sure you have because she's everywhere and she's friendly and lovely and honestly one of the best people (even tho she got me in a lot of trouble this week). i thought about putting haley for relevance a time or two while i was struggling with that prompt BUT i feel like she paves the way which lead me back to keeping her characters in this position. buckle up bc this is going to get long again.

lets get this party started (haley can correct me on anything i say that's not accurate)

James was one of my first favourite characters on the site, which everyone knows because you've heard me gush about him every appreciate week in june since i joined and prob at any given moment elsewhere. and i love what haley is doing with him, the story that she's telling with him, the way he's changing and the way he's seeing the world is evolving and its not because of the fact that he's married to prudence. but its because of the way the world sees and treats him, some times its got me cheering while reading and other times i feel incredibly sad about it. he's not the only black character on the site but he's the most involved in the social issues (i could be wrong and if i am, apologies) and i am excited to be joining haley with that. everyone got their characters involved in BLM last year, but since that moment i've heard haley talk about how she wants to keep doing things like that with james. i've wanted an activist character for a while now (i get that itch specifically around june yearly because of a show i watch every june) and i felt like james' estrange cousin was my best opportunity.

Then there is Hakim, who admitted i wasn't as aware of (as well as i could have been) until i made his sister Pari. and haley came at me with all these thoughts and head canons of the family and everything that she'd thought about with hakim which, i played myself because i love this character so much more now and all he does is hurt me. she popped into a group chat of the siblings and proposed a ramadan thread idea and then another but followed it up with like 1298742190 other links so that we could be informed while we were writing it. those links came in during the span it took me to find a single article. and it helped me flesh out pari a bit more and figure out how i wanted to shape her as a mix of tradition beliefs and non traditional. i just love this family and he's one of my favourite characters to read.

Mitch is a character i know i would struggle with, that rang true more so when we were not a site in canada. (idk if you've all seen my little breakdown about the *voices in your head* concept but sometimes separating me from characters isn't always easy. ) but she does it with such grace and respect, mitch could be seen as just a one dimensional character because we all seem to just write off conservatives. not to mention haley made a cop during the current climate. while i think that is valid at times, political stance doesn't always equal personality or mean that a person embodies everything of that political party (maybe its a privilege of living in canada where our conservatives are progressive idk dont @ me, let me gush in peace) and i think that's well represented in mitch. he has his beliefs, he has put his foot in his mouth and he married someone that can call him out when needed. but he's such a good person despite in his faults or in spite of them. the way haley approaches him is lovely. i can't wait to see the growth with mitch over the next few years, some of what i know, others which i don't which is always exciting to see unfold.

Sierra, i've loved them for a while like love love loved them and i could not think of ways to get plots with them that would span more than a thread and i was frustrated. one day we will get a ship (i tried with sierra but alas the stars did not align but that's okay) having them become part of tez's little crew has been one of my favourite things, i love the dynamic between them. but i did have a brief moment in 2040 where i had a friends to lovers sort of ship with sadie who was trans and haley didn't even think about it, like it was just a natural decision for her. which is the way it should be. so i was not at all surprised when sierra became non binary in like six hours of the news breaking and how haley just went about that whole process in a day. and i haven't been able to stop thinking about it and how its got me thinking about something similar.

a lot of things i've seen in haley's writing has inspired me to be more like haley. to take more chances. i wish i could think like her so i think my goal for year six is going to be simple. i'm going to approach it with:

WWHD?

what would haley do, and then act accordingly. but i think she's always going to be at the forefront of innovative ideas on the site and i love to see it. even more, i'm glad i get to be part of it at times. that was a lot, thanks for coming to my "all about haley" talk.

#wtnrp #wtnweek #wtnweek21 #p haley #[ james mcknight featured ]#[ hakim kouri featured ]#[ mitchell lovell featured ]#[ sierra soto-sanchez featured ]

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