Forgot to post it here. Abandoned WIP (abandoned because I forgot to put those wood panels along the bottom of the wall, and now the windows are too low... and it would be annoying to have to change the windows...)

Doodles I made during the live listen of the newest episode. It's 3am now. Oops

Been brainrotting lately and now I present to you what I think is an underused story beat for Yuu. What if “Yuu” isn’t even the prefect’s real name?

Considering that Yuu’s first experience in Twisted Wonderland is waking up in a coffin, wandering around an obviously foreign place, and being questioned by a suspicious man in a crow mask surrounded by people in black hooded robes… I just think most people would not give their real name in such a sketchy situation.

Fast forward to when Yuu is more comfortable with the cast and there is both comedy and angst potential here. On one hand, the reactions to the deception could be pretty funny. (Cue a “woe is me” from Crowley. Of course he can’t find a way home for you when he doesn’t have your real name!) On the other, this could be a great way of exploring the prefect having a crisis. Yuu already lost so much in being taken to Twisted Wonderland, and now in a way even the prefect’s name has been taken.

What do you think?

waking up in a coffin, wandering around an obviously foreign place, and being questioned by a suspicious man in a crow mask surrounded by people in black hooded robes…

Annon, annon, annon, when you put it like that it sounds like Yuu woke up in the middle of a cult ritual of some sort. Which I suppose if you were an edgy Night Raven student idia you might argue that the enrollment ceremony totally is as an excuse not to go

But to be more serious, I have seen a few memes about this concept and I like it a lot σ(￣、￣=) It's a fun character concept, it's not everyday you get a chance to re-invent yourself completely.

That being said, just based off of the few dialogue options Yuu has at the start, I think Yuu is implied to believe that they are dreaming:

Which honestly doesn't make this idea any less valid. If you're dreaming about waking up in the middle of some weird necromancer's rite, why not give him a fake name? It's not meant to be serious anyway. Just go with the flow and hope things don't get too weird (and get offended when your dream doesn't give you magic powers) until it's too late and you realize everyone thinks your name really is that bad joke you made.

If you want to get darker, maybe Yuu really did think they died. A black carriage pulling a coffin really only goes to a funeral, and death has been depicted as an unmanned coach with black horses. Maybe Yuu is only just coming to grips with the fact that they really are alive when they see Riddle overblot and he hurts them. Maybe they now are sitting next to two people who have started to think about them as a friend, a really close one. Maybe they think Yuu is really brave because they charged headlong into danger without a second thought, and won, twice now. Maybe Yuu cries themselves to sleep that night because in a way... you died so yuu could live.

As for reactions, Crowley and the other staff members I think would be the most dramatic, followed by Adeuce and Grim. Jack I can see accepting your reasons and not thinking too hard about it, maybe even respecting your survival instincts, while Epel... well he says he's mad but mostly he's just concerned. He knows what it feels like to have two dueling parts of yourself and trying to find the middle ground. Ortho would be excited, you have a secret identity just like a magical girl/super sentai/anime idol/superhero take your pick really. He certainly doesn't mind getting to know you all over again.

Sebek screams at you for being a threat to Wakasama but it's clear to everyone who actually knows him that he's really just worried about the amount of stress you put on yourself. He would hate for you to have the same issues with self loathing he does. And Malleus? Well he lied to you about who he was because he was worried you would be afraid, even though you didn't know he existed. It would be very petty for him to hold a grudge against you for doing the same.

In general I think this would be something the others would have an easier time understanding as opposed to Yuu's sense of alienation or loneliness at not having magic. Identity issues are common themes in fiction, so I could see them actually seeing it as a problem as opposed to an abstract problem like no government papers (since these kids with one obvious exception don't do taxes.) But it would make for a great way to explore the prefect having a crisis just as you say, in a way it's the perfect example for every problem they might have with being in Twisted Wonderland.

afternoon nap in fuyao mountain

Every day. Every damn day I question why THIS is the way they established MK's Monkey Demon Form/Identity. He's flickering, shards are coming off of him (shattered sense of identity), he seems to be in pain, and he radiates so much power. Overall it gives the impression that he's fighting this form off, trying to maintain his humanity/the current status quo.

And I'm just sitting here waiting for his current negative character arc to go down FURTHER

i find it really funny that one of the few unchangingly enduring character traits of the doctor is that they Do Not Want To Be President But People Keep Making Them President

the tale of the ronin and the bride really changed the entire premise and promise of the show. because mizu really could've been happy. she WAS! she was happy. she fell in love and found peace and she was about to accept all of herself and openly be all of herself but then it was robbed from her.

and not to push my taimizu agenda again (sorry) but for taigen to behave the same way mikio did from the inevitable gender reveal would be so redundant in my opinion. it would be different if mikio didn't exist and that whole storyline didn't exist, but it does. so taigen won't need to play that role of "guy falls in love with mizu, only to find out mizu is a woman* who's insanely good at fighting, and then lashes out at her and destroys their relationship" anymore. someone already did that before him.

like! i was thinking about how taigen's reaction might mirror that of avigdor in yentl, which is the movie that inspired the love triangle in BES. so if you haven't watched yentl, basically it's about a woman named yentl who crossdresses as a man so she can study and go to school. at the school she befriends avigdor, who is just as passionate about her studies as she is and they basically become best friends who bond over their debates of rabbinic literature. yentl falls in love with him, and it's implied that avigdor also starts feeling that way for yentl, despite believing her to be a man. at the end of the story, yentl reveals herself to avigdor, and he lashes out at her for having "tainted" everything and for having made him a "sinner." he gets angry, there's an argument as he demands to know why she did it and why she is exposing herself now, and yentl ends up breaking down crying, confessing that she loves him. avigdor holds her and comforts her, confessing his mutual feelings towards her, and they kiss. and then they talk about running away together and eloping, but in avigdor's plans, yentl would have to be his wife and thus would no longer be able to do what she loves (study). so they end up parting ways and yentl leaves aboard a ship to find her own freedom.

so anyway, the parallels of yentl=mizu and avigdor=taigen are clear, but to me, it would be rather redundant if taigen were to try to force mizu into this role of a docile wife again. because that's what mikio tried to do! and mizu had done it, and was about to do it again. for a year she lived as a submissive wife and even began to enjoy it. and after sparring with mikio and him rejecting her masculine side, she put on her bridal robes and her makeup in hopes to apologise.

so whatever taigen's reaction will be, i think will definitely be a parallel to mikio's, but i think will end up contrasting it in the end (see: my taigen and mikio are narrative foils post)

i mean, definitely there will be conflict and drama though, about that there is no doubt. especially cuz we all know taigen is a huge drama queen, there's no way he WON'T make a big deal out of it—and this would be the case even IF he grows enough to be able to deal with all his conflicting feelings internally instead of lashing out. regardless, he won't be so accepting immediately, but i don't think he will outright betray her and be an antagonist again.

idk idk. i'm just having lots of thoughts about this now.

Is Six Ears an Aspect of Sun Wukong?

I've seen some people claim that Six Ears is not an aspect of Sun Wukong's mind. They either ignore the references to "one mind" and "two Minds" (and the Buddhist philosophy behind them), or they just say it's allegory and nothing more. Well, there are actually internal story details from chapter 58 that support the close connection between the Monkey King and his doppelganger.

1) The Bodhisattva Guanyin and her “eyes of wisdom” (huiyan, 慧眼) can’t tell them apart:

The various deities and the Bodhisattva stared at the two for a long time, but none could tell them apart (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 106). 眾諸天與菩薩都看良久，莫想能認。 [And later:] Pressing his palms together, our Buddha said, “Guanyin, the Honored One, can you tell which is the true Pilgrim and which is the false one?” “They came to your disciple’s humble region the other day,” replied the Bodhisattva, “but I truly could not distinguish between them …” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 114). 我佛合掌道：「觀音尊者，你看那兩個行者，誰是真假？」菩薩道：「前日在弟子荒境，委不能辨 …

2) The tight-fillet spell works on both Monkeys:

Asking Moksa and Goodly Wealth [a.k.a. Red Boy] to approach her, the Bodhisattva whispered to them this instruction: “Each of you take hold of one of them firmly, and let me start reciting in secret the Tight-Fillet Spell. The one whose head hurts is the real monkey; the one who has no pain is specious.” Indeed, the two disciples took hold of the two Pilgrims as the Bodhisattva recited in silence the magic words. At once the two of them gripped their heads and rolled on the ground, both screaming, “Don’t recite! Don’t recite!” The Bodhisattva stopped her recital … (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 106). 菩薩喚木叉與善財上前，悄悄吩咐：「你一個幫住一個，等我暗念緊箍兒咒，看那個害疼的便是真，不疼的便是假。」他二人果各幫一個。菩薩暗念真言，兩個一齊喊疼，都抱著頭，地下打滾，只叫：「莫念，莫念。」菩薩不念 …

(If someone disagrees with this one, they need to show where it says Six Ears is faking the pain.)

3) Both the Jade Emperor and the imp-reflecting mirror can’t tell them apart:

Issuing a decree at once to summon Devariija Li, the Pagoda-Bearer, the Jade Emperor commanded: “Let us look at those two fellows through the imp-reflecting mirror, so that the false may perish and the true endure.” The devaraja took out the mirror immediately and asked the Jade Emperor to watch with the various celestial deities. What appeared in the mirror were two reflections of Sun Wukong: there was not the slightest difference between their golden fillets, their clothing, and even their hair. Since the Jade Emperor found it impossible to distinguish them, he ordered them chased out of the hall (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 107-108). 玉帝即傳旨宣托塔李天王，教：「把照妖鏡來照這廝誰真誰假，教他假滅真存。」天王即取鏡照住，請玉帝同眾神觀看。鏡中乃是兩個孫悟空的影子，金箍、衣服，毫髮不差。玉帝亦辨不出，趕出殿外。

4) Only omniscient beings like Investigative Hearing (Ksitigargbha's mount) and the Buddha can tell the two apart:

[T]he Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha said, “Wait a moment! Wait a moment! Let me ask Investigative Hearing to listen for you.” That Investigative Hearing, you see, happens to be a beast that usually lies beneath the desk of Ksitigarbha. When he crouches on the ground, he can in an instant perceive the true and the false, the virtuous and the wicked among all short-haired creatures, scaly creatures, hairy creatures, winged creatures, and crawling creatures, and among all the celestial immortals, the earthly immortals, the divine immortals, the human immortals, and the spirit immortals resident in all the cave Heavens and blessed lands in the various shrines, rivers, and mountains of the Four Great Continents. In obedience, therefore, to the command of Ksitigarbha, the beast prostrated himself in the courtyard of the Hall of Darkness, and in a little while, he raised his head to say to his master, “I have the name of the fiend …” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 112) …地藏王菩薩道：「且住，且住。等我著諦聽與你聽個真假。」原來那諦聽是地藏菩薩經案下伏的一個獸名。他若伏在地下，一霎時，將四大部洲山川社稷，洞天福地之間，蠃蟲、鱗蟲、毛蟲、羽蟲、昆蟲、天仙、地仙、神仙、人仙、鬼仙，可以照鑒善惡，察聽賢愚。那獸奉地藏鈞旨，就於森羅庭院之中，俯伏在地。須臾，擡起頭來，對地藏道：「怪名雖有…」。 [...] Smiling, Tathagata said, “Though all of you [Guanyin] possess vast dharma power and are able to observe the events of the whole universe, you cannot know all the things therein, nor do you have the knowledge of all the species” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 114). 如來笑道：「汝等法力廣大，只能普閱周天之事，不能遍識周天之物，亦不能廣會周天之種類也。」 […] [After the Buddha explains the ten categories of life and the four types of celestial primates (see the introduction here), he says:] As I see the matter, that specious Wukong must be a six-eared macaque … (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 115). 我觀假悟空乃六耳獼猴也 …

In short, the twin monkeys are so hard to tell apart simply because they are representations of the true and illusionary minds (refer back to the article) within the same person.

So what does this say about Shadowpeach? I know LMK is a separate entity from the novel, but applying canon to this ship would make it more self-love, right? I'm sure those with creatively perverted minds know what I'm taking about.

ok so question about the mirror au is the backstory with Wukong and macaque still the same, so is the only difference is that there personalitys are swapped

The ideas on them within this AU kinda fell on personality quirks I noticed while watching: What if Mac was much more " ride or die": A person who takes brotherhood and comradery much more seriously? What if Wukong holds back a whole lot more information; doesn't really feel guilty for what he's done, and maintains that he's only interested in causing a little bit of chaos?

:)

thanks for ruining the game, dick

I see today that Meryl Streep and her husband of 40+ years have been separated for 6 years and have been pretending to be together all this time.

I saw about that, Anon. "Hollywood" being "Hollywood"!

If the Specter is as I believe him to be, that is to say, Carlo's true self before he died, then look how much taller he was and how much longer his hair was. The Infantilization theory ( ❀ & ❀ ) just stands so true for me.

Special thank you to @/flidgetjerome for bringing it up, because it just all seems to point in that very direction, and it makes everything so much more darker

Out of the three of them, only the least humanoid one is allowed to curse.

I want to become stronger sooner to help Master wipe out the miasma from the Immortal Realm to free the people from oppression.

LMAO HI DANIEL

Note: related to this and this