#im not in any way saying it's a good thing. i'm not in any way implying that they're NOT tryna kill us | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

uriekukistan · 3 hours

Text

JJK 261 ANALYSIS: What happened, how, why Yuuta made the choice he did, and a discussion of tragedy & major themes of JJK

MAJOR spoilers below the cut so please read at your risk.

i wanted to dissect what happened a bit, and address a few points i saw floating around since the leaks dropped. of course, these are all my interpretations, so feel free to disagree, i just had a lot of thoughts floating around that i wanted to put out for discussion.

I. Gojo was never coming back

first of all, i don't know how you guys expected him to survive bisection. i said this earlier in the day as my justification for why i didn't think gojo was coming back, prior to leaks, and i don't think i can say it any better now.

and this is just my interpretation of reverse curse technique, but if anything, yuuta in this chapter supports my theory. in the scene where he's on shoko's table and arata nitta says that he's used rct to keep the wounds from getting worse, but it might be too late for yuuta to recover. in that case, gojo wasn't coming back from being sliced in half. it's just not possible.

additionally, and this is another thing that i've said for a long time. he says right in episode 6 (i forgot the chapter) that his dream is to reset the jujutsu world raise up a generation of strong students that work together. that is why he became a teacher. this very clearly comes from his relationship with suguru, and it's one of gojo's clearest motivations from the beginning.

the problem is, in order to achieve this, he has to die. so long as satoru gojo is alive, he will have to carry the burden of being the strongest alone. his students won't have to work together, because gojo will just take care of everything. this is already in the works, with how many people have come together to stand against sukuna. if gojo lived and defeated sukuna on his own, this wouldn't have happened, and bringing him back would, again, reduce the need for his students work together.

unfortunately, gojo has been doomed by the narrative from the start, and his primary goal as a character basically requires his death to be realized in its entirety.

II. They're not heroes, they're jujutsu sorcerers.

yeah, i'm stealing megumi's line because it's true. he literally said it twice for a reason, and then yuuta said a repackaged version of it in this chapter ("we're about to fight history's strongest jujutsu sorcerer. if we can win by throwing away our humanity, we shouldn't even be arguing about this").

trust, all the characters are well aware of the ethical issues with taking gojo's body after he's dead, both with what it means for gojo, and with what it means for yuuta. but this isn't a story about heroism, this isn't a story about the power of friendship. if it was, yuuji would have saved junpei all the way back at the beginning of the series. it was pretty clear from the start that this wasn't going to be the typical shounen manga like that.

in fact, expecting it to be is unrealistic. it's unrealistic in real life too, if i'm being so honest. everyone wants to think they'd take the moral high road in this type of situation, but the reality is, when you're fighting tooth and nail against an opponent that is fighting dirty, you have to fight dirty too if you want to win, and i think that's what yuuta is trying to point out in this chapter.

this happens in real life wars which im not gonna get into examples because i dont want to start that kind of discourse, but like...it's so great to be idealistic and hope that virtue will triumph simply because it is virtuous, but i think if you take a look around, you'll realize it's true that good people do not get what they deserve simply because they're good (that's so megumi of me to say...). or if you think of it like a board game, if a player is cheating, it is infinitely harder to win without cheating yourself.

maybe this is a bit pessimistic of me to say, but you will not win a dirty fight without getting dirty yourself, and i think it's pretty clear that sukuna fights dirty.

additionally, it's shitty to see gojo be weaponized, and i understand that, but it plays into the themes about strength in jjk, which i will get into.

III. This was not an "ass pull."

i don't really have much to say to this. did you think yuuta wouldn't take kenjaku's technique? plus, kenjaku being eaten by rika is probably the only surefire way to ensure that they're dead and won't just hop to another body. i've already said why gojo wouldn't come back, but it makes sense that if yuuta were to copy kenjaku's technique, who else would he body hop into, if not gojo? there's already narrative evidence to support this action, from the guidelines of yuuta's technique, kenjaku's technique, and gojo's technique, to the character of yuuta okkotsu, which i want to do an analysis in a separate post for him, so i won't get into that right now.

idk...to me, all the threads connect, plus i felt like yuuta's return was foreshadowed pretty heavily in 259 & 260, with the mention of yuuta's plan that yuuji couldn't know, and then on the last page of 260, the comparison of sukuna and yuuta, so for me, i always thought that it was not actually gojo, but yuuta at the end of 260.

IV. Themes of JJK: The burden of being "the strongest," or even just strong

even many jjk fans see gojo as "the strongest," and nothing more, doing exactly what the narrative sets up as one of the chief problems of jjk. a lot of gojo's actions are spurred on by the burden he feels from being the strongest modern sorcerer. his entire character is built around this problem of the responsibility and burden that falls on someone who's considered to be "the best" at anything.

in fact, this is also a driving point for geto too, and the conflicts geto and gojo come into with each other, as well as geto's inevitable fall from grace. it all comes from this issue that's at the core of jujutsu society. gojo recognizes that, and, as i mentioned, that is why he became a teacher. so that no young sorcerers will feel the burden of being the strongest alone.

the problem is this is easier said than done. after gojo dies, this burden gets passed down to yuuta, and he feels that immense pressure, which is why he decides to do what he does. he says "haven’t we been pushing the burden of being a monster onto gojo-sensei alone? if gojo-sensei is gone, then who else will be the monster? If no one intends to become one, then I will!" and i think this really powerful evidence of the pressure and burden of being the strongest, and i think the word monster is really important here. the burden pushes people to be something they're not, a shadow of their true self.

it distorts morality, like with geto. it isolates people, like with gojo. it forces people to go to unspeakable lengths to uphold their burden, like with yuuta. it leads people with immense power to doubt themselves, like with megumi. it leads people to feel like a cog in the machine, not a human, like with yuuji.

this is sooo so important and a key theme of jjk, and this chapter in particular, and the driving force behind yuuta's actions.

V. Themes in JJK: Loneliness and Isolation

this one has, in my opinion, a bigger role in the story overall than just in this chapter.

as i mentioned before, gojo is lonely. the only person who could understand him was geto, and he turned away from him, and then died. he seems like a silly guy or whatever, but it's just a mask.

but geto also felt alone and isolated, and that's why he turned away. between gojo and geto, neither of them were able to put share the burden of carrying their strength alone, and it's what kept them apart and made their relationship so tragic.

arguably, and though he would never admit it, sukuna is also lonely, though it's buried deep within him and something he will likely never acknowledge, despite it, and his lack of understanding of love (arguably a symptom of his loneliness), are major reasons for the way he acts.

yuuta, though supported by maki, inumaki, and panda in a way that the previously mentioned characters are not, is still isolated. he alone carries the burden of his strength. he was also alone his whole life after rika died, and then again when he was shipped off to africa, away from his friends (yeah he had miguel, maybe i'm missing something, but i dont see them having that type of relationship.

not only that, but yuuta recognizes gojo's loneliness, and reaches out to tell him not to try to stand by himself once again, and gojo admits that's something he can't do, the reason being his relationship with geto.

even further, yuuji and megumi, the parallel to satosugu, are both deeply lonely, except for when they have each other. i mentioned in this analysis that the reason megumi can't just get up and keep going is because he's alone and has been for over a month. i want to get into this more in my next point.

VI. Where I think (hope) this leads for JJK

a satisfying ending for jjk, in my opinion, would be the resolution to this loneliness and burden of strength issue that has been present throughout the narrative. something like yuuji being able to save megumi and them being able to correct what went wrong with satosugu in their own relationship.

personally would like to see satosugu reach the ending they should have had through the itafushi parallels - let them save each other! but i do know gege said only one of them (the trio + gojo) will die, or only one will live....that was years ago maybe he changed his mind :D

we all want to see yuuji take down sukuna himself, but i think it would be a great resolution to see everyone take down sukuna as a team. no one person is alone, no one person has the burden of the strongest. i know i said this wasn't a "power of friendship" manga, and i stand by that, but i think this would be the perfect ending. yuuta throws his humanity away to do what he did in 261 because he felt like it was the only choice and it was something he alone could do, but yuuji represents unwavering humanity (literally his name), and i think to preserve that, they all need to share that burden. let them realize they need each other.

this is what gojo died for, and this is what he lived for. this is why he became a teacher in the first place- to raise a generation that can be strong together, that can support one another.

VII. "It's poorly written torture porn!" "There's no point if there's no happy ending!" etc

i said this in a separate post but tragedies have existed in literature since the 6th century BCE, 2600 years ago. many of the most popular stories throughout history have been tragedies, for example, orpheus & eurydice, romeo & juliet, even things like the fault in our stars and the titanic movie. here's a quick explanation of what it means for a story to be a tragedy (yeah it's from wikipedia but they want me to pay to access the original source and im not doing that for a jjk analysis)

one of things i like most about this definition is the use of the word "catharsis," which is to say that the expression of strong emotions is a way of bringing about renewal and relief. in literature, it's used to say that with the arousal and following release of negative emotions relieves suppressed emotions for the viewer. im not gonna get too personal with it, but i know i've experienced this with jjk.

additionally all of the aforementioned tragedies, they have a message, no matter how sad they are. orpheus & eurydice inspires perseverance and faith in the gods. even something like titanic has messages about everlasting love that overcomes all boundaries. jjk has its message too, and it's long underway. we just have to wait for it to reach its conclusion.

it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture when we only get one chapter a week, and the fact that the pain is so dragged out is a bit tiring, i'll admit. but that doesn't mean it's bad. having negative emotions stirred by a story doesn't mean bad writing. i mean, i would hope you feel sad. i would hope you feel angry. i would be concerned if you didn't. but given that jjk is a tragedy, that just indicates good writing. especially these last two chapters, i've felt moved in a way nothing else has done for me in a long time.

as always, these are just my thoughts!!! im happy to hear from anyone what they think :D

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #gojo satoru #sukuna #yuuta okkotsu #jjk leaks #jjk spoilers #jjk 261

38 notes · View notes

scekrex · 24 hours

Note

Hi! I just wanted to say I've been obsessed with your work as of late, especially all of your Adam works. And since your taking requests I was wondering if you'll be interested in doing this?

Bottom!Sinner!Adam x Top!Overlord!Male Reader

okay, so Reader is one the oldest residents of Hell maybe even older than Zestial. He has a reputation that precedes him. A myth/warning that parents tell their children to watch out for. But not many actually know him, just of him. He can be cruel/ruthless, but also merciful. Basically he's Hell's equivalent to Hades, lol.

BUT! What's a Hades without his Persephone?

Adam came back as a Sinner and instead of going to the Hotel(that would most definitely destroy his pride) he went to navigate becoming a Sinner himself, since this is kinda a opportunity for him, he can be himself without worrying about Heavens judgmental eyes on him all the time.

My headcanon about him is that he loves gardening, so he made his own Flower Shop in Hell with all the random/different flowers all around. Because I'll be damned if he doesn't at least have any powers that connects himself to the Earth/Nature, he's literally made from it, with some fucking dirt and pixie dust, lol

So Reader is hosting a small ball/banquet in a few weeks for the everybodies whose an anybody(rich and wealthy/the Sins/the Overlords) and he order some servants to make flower orders for the upcoming event, and who did they pick? None other than Adam's Flower Shop(that is not it's official name).

Readers hears his servants talk about the owner with soft and warm voices, which he admitted made him curious. So he made an excuse, and made his way to the shop himself. Once he met the owner he was already taken with his beauty(already whipped, lol). As well as Adam, he never met anyone that was taller than him. He never met anyone that so Domineering and he liked it, liked it a lot. He had Adam arranged a bouquet that would be ready in time for the ball/banquet.

On a wim, the Reader asked Adam out on a date for the next day, which he agreed to. After a few dates transpired, until it was the day before the ball/banquet. And Adam made the first move😳, until Reader took control of the situation, which had Adam a begging, moaning mess, asking for His Hades to go faster, while the Reader is praising His Persephone for being so good.

Sorry if this is so long😅

Never. I repeat never apologize for giving me such a beautiful, detailed prompt ever again. I ate it up and turned into whatever the fuck this is. I'm sorry this took me so long but I wanted to do justice to the long prompt you wrote. I hope ya like it

Tell me lover, tell me where have you been

pairing: Adam x male!reader

warnings: language, low-key slow burn

note: not beta read bc fuck you

The time had come sooner than you had expected it to, the ball that was traditionally hosted every two hundred years was your responsibility this year and you were quite grateful for that - you could only imagine the chaos a host such as the VEEs would have brought. It was not that you disliked them, they just had their own ways of doing things and those said ways felt disrespectful in many ways. So it was your pleasure to show them how a traditional ball such as this would be hosted so that they could take notes and inspiration - not that they were actually going to acknowledge the work you were putting into organizing this. They would probably even complain about the lack of something. But that was not your problem right now.

Your problem right now were the eager little imps running through your mansion in order to prepare it for the upcoming ball, that was unnecessary in your eyes, given that there was still so much time between today and the ball, but whatever that helped your little servants to sleep at night. If they were thinking of it as necessary, you were okay with it.

“Cree,” you called out for your personal assistant as you walked through the halls of your mansion, looking for your favorite Imp. Cree was taller than the other Imps that worked for you, if only by a little, for a male Imp his horns were surprisingly small and instead of black, they were white. Cree however, was an absolute sweetheart, despite his grumpy face. The Imp came running the moment he had heard you calling out for him, eager to fulfill whatever task you were about to give him, “How can I help you, Sir?” You smiled softly at the small creature - his head was just reaching the lower part of your hip bone - that was due to Cree being small and you being taller than the average resident of Hell. You kneeled next to the helpful Imp to decrease the height difference and talk to him in a more respectful way. “Thank you, my little friend,” you greeted the creature, “I need you to task Vere and Kian with organizing the most hellish looking flowers they can find.” The little Imp was about to run off to do as he was told, before he was able to do so you gently held him back to add, “Please do not only consider the ones we already know, I do not care whom the flowers are sold by, all that is important is for them to fit the theme.” Cree nodded firmly and once you let go of his arm, he was gone, informing Vere and Kian - two other Imps that were working for you.

“Oh and the way the aura changes when you enter his little store - he’s a normal sinner but the way he managed to do that feels magical,” you heard Vere speaking as the little Imp walked down the hallway, you had never heard him speaking with such a dreamy voice - that might have been because Vere was one to complain about everything, not always was it supposed to be taken serious, but the little Imp sure liked to complain about everything and everyone. So him talking so warm heartedly about the store made you peek up in curiosity. “Oh and the owner himself? Let me tell you, Cree, you will never meet a person quite like him,” Kian added to Vere’s dreamy sounding description of the place and its owner. That caused you to be even more interested in the topic. “Is that supposed to be a good-” Cree started to question but was quickly interrupted by an eagerly explaining Kian, “It fucking is - he is…” The Imp had trouble finding the correct word to describe the person he had met, because how were you supposed to describe the brunette without playing it down? “Divine,” Vere hummed, sounding like he had just met God himself and he had told the little Imp all about the beauties of life.

You were not able to hold back any longer, not when your usually judgmental staff was talking so positively about the person they had just met.

So you got up from your seat in your office, took a quick look at the receipt Cree had given to you before he had gone back to doing the tasks he had yet to fulfill. A mental note was all it took before you rushed out of your office, grabbed your coat on the way out and yelled a loud, “I’m out doing business, don’t expect me home any time soon,” through the hallways. The Imps turned around in confusion - especially Cree, who knew that you had nothing scheduled for today. But before your personal assistant was able to hold you back the door fell shut loudly, informing the entire manor that you had just left. The Imp sighed in frustration as he turned back around to face the other two Imps, “Looks like we have to reschedule some things with Sir gone.”

Hell’s streets were surprisingly empty, a thing you rarely got to experience due to the pride ring’s overpopulation, but it was nice to not walk through thousands of sinners. The flower shop Vere and Kian had picked was close - closer than most shops in general were. Probably the reason why they had chosen it, they hated walking through hell’s crowded streets just as much as you did so you could not blame them, especially because the pride ring suffered from extreme overpopulation.

The building wasn’t much to look at from the outside, it looked like every other average building in hell - maybe they had been talking about something else? Had they grabbed food on their way home? You didn’t know, yet you decided to give it a chance and so you opened the door to the little flower shop and the moment you set foot in it, you felt something shift. The aura felt lighter, easier to carry, the air smelled beautiful - not too overwhelmingly sweet and not like too much, it smelled almost divine. The colors the walls were painted in were so different from Hell’s usual colors, they were bright. A beautiful lilac caused the room to appear bigger than it was. The floor was made out of solid wood - or it was made to look that way, you were unable to tell. The shelves were painted in a shade of blue you would describe as skyblue - yes the sky down in Hell was red and nothing but red - but through the portals to Heaven which you had seen once or twice during the early exterminations, you knew the sky up above was blue - this exact shade of blue.

“You gonna stare at that shit all day? If you do I'll fucking charge your ass for it. You look like you can fucking afford it,” a annoyed voice mumbled from behind you. In a swift yet elegant motion you turned around to look at the person that was speaking to you only to spot the most holy creature you had ever seen with your very own eyes. The man behind the counter was resting his head on his hand, watching you with eyes that seemed more curious than annoyed, his entire body language told you that the tall man seemed to hold a lot of curiosity for you in general. You chuckled softly, before you shook your head, “As much as I would adore to spend longer in this divine feeling place with a person as good-looking as you - I am afraid I have plans that I am sadly unable to cancel.”

The tall brunette straightened his back and raised an eyebrow at your words - had you just complimented him for his looks? That had not happened since- since he had been reborn as a sinner. But his cocky tongue never failed him and so he responded, “Mr. Busy got shit to do that’s more important than talking to the fucking Adam? Yeah, I fucking doubt it bitch.” That caused you to frown, the first man was not supposed to be a sinner so if this man was speaking the truth - which you highly doubted - then he must have been a terrible person. Not that you were any better, you were just as much a sinner as he was. Yes, you were more experienced and more powerful, but in the end you and him were both rotten to the core. “Charming, quite charming, Adam,” you hummed in amusement. And while the brunette must have thought his reaction to your words wasn’t noticed by you, you had seen how his eyes had left yours for a split second. “But as much as I would love to tell you that I came for you, I did not,” you explained, trying to lead the conversation to a more business speaking one, though you had to admit the brunette in front of you was quite adorable.

Adam however made it quite hard to talk business, not that you truly minded. Yes, your schedule would get messed up, but you had already thrown that out of the window the second you had spontaneously left to see the flower store you were currently in. “Ay, you migh’ve not come for me yet but I sure can change that if your sexyness wants to accompany me in the fucking back,” a confident grin was on his lips as he ran his hand through his hair, pushing the soft, fluffy mess out of his face. You saw something twitch and flicker behind the broad man - a tail. Truly interesting. “As tempting as your sweet invitation is, I have to decline. Business sadly can’t wait - at least not today,” for a moment you thought this through, then you decided to simply see where this would lead you. “How about tomorrow though? I could pick you up and we could have lunch together - how does that sound handsome?”

Adam turned his head to face the ground, he seemed to be genuinely thinking about it, something you appreciated dearly. Then his eyes met yours again and he nodded before he responded, “Sure, can’t see why the fuck not.” He shrugged lazily before he pointed at you with his index finger and quickly added, “But food’s on you.” To that you nodded - it only made sense to you that lunch would be on you considering that you had been the one inviting him, not the other way around.

“Now talk business hotstuff, even though I’d rather have ya talking dirty to me.”

The first date had gone so well that the both of you started to see each other regularly - that meant almost every other day. Something your Imps did not like all that much. Seeing someone in a romantic way took up a lot of time - time you technically did not have given the upcoming ball. But you, Adam and the Imps had managed to get everything done in time.

And that was why you and Adam were at his place. The first man had taken the day off to enjoy it with you - something you had asked of him and that had seemed quite important to you when you had requested him to do so. And given that the brunette liked it better when you two spent time together, there had been no second thought, no hesitation.

“You’re quiet,” Adam addressed the most obvious thing as you mindlessly played with his hair. The both of you were sitting on the first man’s bed, your back against the headboard and his back against your chest, his ass was seated between your legs and he seemed to really enjoy having you that close to him.

A quiet hum fell from your lips in response before you exhaled loudly, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” Adam leaned forwards a little so he was able to turn his head in order to look at you. Where this conversation would lead he did not know and at that moment he wasn’t sure if he wanted to figure out where it would lead him to. Would you quit seeing him? Had you finally decided that you had enough of his bitchy attitude and would leave him too?

“I know we have only been seeing each other for a few weeks, I know we have yet so much to talk about and to confess, but I’d love to have you at my place tomorrow. I want you to accompany me at the ball,” you began, as you looked down at the other male with hope in your eyes. Though if he were to decline, you would live, you’d like it better if he were to agree. “Sure,” Adam said, visibly relaxing at the fact that you were neither quitting to see him nor leaving him in any form or way. “As my date, my partner even,” you finished, ignoring the brunette’s little interruption. Those words however caused the first man to turn around between your legs to properly face you. “Does that mean I get to fucking kiss you in front of all those fucking important and filthy rich people?” his eyes shone so pretty as he asked that question as if that would be the biggest achievement in all of his afterlife - and maybe it was.

You chuckled at the man, grinning lazily, “Even better. You get to kiss me whenever you desire.” And without another word the first man was onto you. His hands pressed against your shoulders and therefore kept you pinned against the headboard as his lips finally met yours - oh how long you had to wait for that to happen. His lips felt smooth and soft against yours and Adam was quick to prove that he was a magnificent kisser.

The kiss did not stay soft for very long though, you both made it obvious that you craved the other, that you two were longing for skin on skin contact. You wanted and desired each other and it was not only lust speaking, it was also love. The purest form of love you had ever felt. AdamÄs hands roamed from your shoulders over your chest and all the way down to your hips. Once his hands reached their destination he gave your hips a light squeeze before pulling them up a little to press his pelvis against yours.

A groan fell from your lips and met the lustful hiss of Adam - that was when you decided it was time for a switch. You liked seeing Adam so confident, so dominant, you truly did. But a thing you had learned over the past couple of weeks was that you liked the first man even better when he was all flustered - submissive even. So you skillfully caught his wrists in one of your hands, raised them above his head and leaned forwards. That action of you resulted in Adam falling backwards, landing onto the soft mattress with a surprised gasp. You found yourself on top of him, sitting on his hips to keep him from twisting the positions again as you pinned his hands firmly against the mattress above his head. A whine escaped Adam as he tried to thrust his hips upwards and was met with friction he had not been expecting.

“Oh fuck,” the first man mumbled when his lust clouded eyes met your burning ones. “Already on it, handsome,” you growled eagerly.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel adam #adam x male reader #male reader #adam x y/n #adam x reader #adam x you

28 notes · View notes

dr-spectre · 2 days

Text

Talking about Side Order and... Marina. (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!)

You know, i really enjoyed Side Order, like it wasn't perfect or anything but i had such a blast with it and if they continue to expand on it we could have something REALLY amazing. My reaction to the GOD DAMN TUTORIAL BOSS GOT ME HYPERVENTILATING! IM NOT JOKING! IT WAS SO EXCITING AND SHOCKING!!! THE FINAL BOSS WAS INCREDIBLE TOO! I was singing along to Spectrum Obligato and WHEN THEY BROUGHT IN THE STUFF FROM THE LIVE CONCERT VERSION OF EBB AND FLOW MY JAW DROPPED!!!

However i gotta admit, the story could have been better, what was the deal with the Octoling engineers Marina was talking about? That goes completely nowhere and i thought it was gonna build to something with the repeat playthroughs of the final boss.

And of course, the biggest missed opportunity in my opinion, Marina Agitando.

Now look, i wanna say right off the bat, the design is excellent, it was so smart to bring back her Order outfit and make her into a giant abomination that moves in such a weird way that makes you feel uncomfortable. When i saw her for the very first time when you enter the room, i stood there for at least a solid minute in complete disbelief and shock seeing a giant Marina in some octopus tentacle heart thingy that beats and pumps with the music. The song that plays too "Unconscience" is such a BANGER and honestly it rivals Octo Callie's Bomb Rush Blush remix in my opinion.

The build up for this was pretty good too, seeing Marina say "help me" before she was knocked unconscious and then possessed by Overlorder BROKE ME! I was like "OH NO! ITS HAPPENING AGAIN! NOT MARINA!!" The build up to the 10th floor was so anxiety inducing because you know in the back of your mind that Marina is gonna fight you but you don't know what it's gonna look like, if you were there since Splatoon 2 and have watched Pearl and Marina since the beginning then this build up is even more anxiety inducing and its pretty damn good. And once you free Marina she feels so sorry about what happened and helps you out to put things right, heck she goes through a small character arc of embracing chaos.... but... i have to say...

It is unfortunately not executed that well or with any depth in my opinion because they repeated the whole thing of "oh no a character we know is evil because of (quote on quote) mind control!!!! oh noooo!!" Which is a tired trope in this series that needs to stop or else I'm gonna get REALLYYYYYY pissed off.

I've done enough ranting about Callie's villain arc and how that has been misinterpreted and stuff, but for Marina, i really wish they didn't do the whole "oh no a character is evil because of an evil character oh nooo!! we gotta save them!!" thing again and i wish Marina was more of a villain with a sad motivation for her actions. As much as its cute to see Pearl and Marina act all flirty with each other in Side Order, it kinda ruins the mysterious and dark tone of the story that was teased from the trailers and the tutorial in my opinion. Everything is also explained so quickly early on which really sucks. I really wish Marina was actually conscious throughout her time as Marina Agitando and most of it should have been her fault. She does blame herself for creating Overlorder but it's kinda brushed aside quickly and Marina ends up being totally fine and free of guilt. There isn't enough depth to it which is so lame and a missed opportunity.

Marina is flawed, she makes mistakes and acts emotional and angry sometimes. We have seen a side of Marina where she snaps at Pearl when she loses Splatfests and has shown signs that she still hasn't recovered from her time before she met Pearl.

She picked team Order because she was genuinely scared that her new life would fall apart and she doesn't wanna lose the people (especially Pearl) that she's met and grown to love. Marina is also heavily theorized to be on the autism spectrum and as someone who is autistic, i can see myself in Marina, they could have really explored Marina's psyche and mental health in Side Order but they just... didn't. Instead she's put to sleep and controlled by her ai child and all of the focus is put on stopping it like a traditional "oh no we gotta stop an evil ai!! oh noo!!" story... ugh... I mean Smollusk is cute i guess but there's not a ton to them and they come off as yet another "evil ai that wants order and control!! roarrr!!!"

From reading the most recent interview on Side Order and seeing the concept art, they said that they wanted to tell a story about Marina losing herself to a machine that she created. Could you imagine how tragic it would have been to learn more about Marina and how she's so wrapped up in anxiety that she decides to make this replica of Inkopolis Square and make the Memverse? Maybe at first she makes it to help Sanitized Octolings just like in the dlc, but then maybe due to overwork and burnout (which Pearl mentions in the tutorial by the way), her emotions and anxiety become so strong that she becomes consumed by it, this obsession of order and trying to achieve happiness takes over her and then she gets the idea to spread this order to the real world, where her friends can be "happy" and "safe." Maybe Overlorder is still there but they just whisper to Marina, manipulate and point her in the right direction to continue to her mission of order instead of just fucking knocking her out and using her as a meat puppet for 5 minutes.

Could you imagine how much better the build up would have been to not see Marina until you get to the 30th floor for the first time and you got to unlock her diary entries beforehand? Seeing her thought process and her slow descent into becoming an antagonist. I'm not sure how they would have changed the permanent upgrades but they could have thought of something man. I get that they wanted to subvert expectations but, i think they should have gone WAY further with Marina Agitando.

I was waiting for Pearl and Marina to have their "Tidal Rush" moment where it's this emotional battle between the two, could you imagine how DEVISTATING a remix of Ebb and Flow would have been if it had gotten that "Tidal Rush" type of remix? Pearl singing her parts in this chaotic and emotional way, on the brink of tears trying to get Marina back and calm her down, and Marina trying to fight back against her words, not wanting to believe her because she's so wrapped up trying to make them both happy in her way. She's so caught up in order that she has forgotten what Pearl wants, that Pearl wants to be with her and go against any obstacle that stands in their way together. God i would have cried seeing that I'm not gonna lie. Maybe once Marina starts to think rationally, she breaks free from the machine and then leaps into Pearl's arms, and then we have to go back up the 30 floors to fight Overlorder and we slowly see Marina learn to embrace chaos throughout the floors instead of it just being at the final boss.

I really do feel like Splatoon has this issue of trying to appeal way too hard to kids and being really scared to dive into the flaws of these characters. They are so avoidant of being more serious and they hide it away in optional collectables and obscure posts on social media that creates misinformation and stories that feel way too undeveloped. They just say "oh this character has been brainwashed!!" which is such a lazy and bullshit trope they slap on these characters to avoid getting into their flaws for some stupid reason. (Hell that word has lost all meaning to me now to be honest. Like no, Callie wasn't "brainwashed" per say, hypnosis is not brainwashing or mind control I've said that a trillion times in other blog posts but whatever. Agent 3 was knocked out and had no clue on what was happening. They weren't "brainwashed" they were used as a puppet from a fucking goopy telephone for five minutes while they were asleep. Maybe its poor translation i don't know.)

I know that Splatoon is made for all ages and primarily for children but, i find that to be a stupid excuse for bad storytelling, a good story with depth that's explored and set up properly can be applied to all kinds of age groups not just adults. And the adults that say that shit too, why do you think like that? Why do you wish to dismiss that sort of thing in media? So what if it's made for kids? Adults write these stories and plant themes and arcs into them. Why do you think people cried over the Rosalina storybook in Mario Galaxy and think its the best part of that game? You don't want that kind of stuff in games because "they are made for kids"? Why do you think there are so many adults in the Splatoon community hmm?

I am so worried for Deep Cut in the next game because i really don't want this to happen again, i want an actual proper villain arc for either Frye or Shiver. No hypnosis, no brainwashing, no mind control. Just a pure fucking villain arc caused by the flaws of the characters and without the involvement of a third party. Please, i wanna see growth in these characters that is explored way more clearly and better. Or maybe don't do a villain arc again and just have Deep Cut be fully happy with each other and develop their relationship more with lore and backstory. PLEASE!

Anyways ramble over, thank you for reading!

#splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #splatoon marina #marina ida #pearl houzuki #pearl splatoon #side order #smollusk #long post #fanfic #fan concept #callie splatoon #marie splatoon #shiver splatoon #frye onaga

21 notes · View notes

ashoss · 3 days

Note

Hii!! This is waterunderthebridge12, I just stumbled across your art of The Robin Declaration and it made my entire week <3333. I love Duke so much and I'm so glad there are others who love him too!!! I would love if you dropped your Duke-centric fic recs, I've only read a few good ones (that aren't just him being an outsider) so any recs are appreciated!

oh my god! hii! im so glad u liked the silly little doodle lol i would love to do an actual drawing for either The Robin Generation or the Robin Declaration !! they were such fun reads and i absolutely adored the way you portrayed all of them <33

unfortunately i dont really have a lot of duke-centric fics but i have a couple!

WHEN EARTH FINDS STARS. by orpheusaki

duke & jason, pre-WAR and signal

15.8k words, 4 chapters (unfinished)

"Let it be known that I completely detest the implications of what this situation is mirroring," Red Hood grumbles to himself and it's the longest string of words Duke has heard from any so-called Gotham vigilante, let alone the one who's known for shooting more than he is talking. "The fuck?" Duke mutters, because if he's already going to die, he might as well try and make sense of it. "I'm not going to care about whatever sob story you have," is what Red Hood replies with instead of explaining, "Where are your parents?" "Gone," is all Duke says, because it's really none of this guy's business. It's also the truth. Somehow, Red Hood sounds even more anguished about this information than Duke is, "Ah shit." (Duke steals the tires off Red Hood's bike and somehow gains a family.)

YOU HEAR ITS SONG FROM THE MORNING BIRDS. (series) by orpheusaki

duke & bruce, duke & batfam

9k words, 3 words (unfinished)

A series of Duke Thomas centric works, mostly featuring his growing relationship with his new kind-of-dad-boss-friend, Bruce Wayne.

Keep Your Head, Your Backbone, and Your Heart by MrMich

duke & tim, alfred, bruce

54k words, 6 chapters

The last thing that Duke expected on what was supposed to be just a regular patrol was being suddenly thrown five years into the past, coming face to face with a darker, more violent Batman than the one he knew, a broken family, and a Tim who was a foot shorter than Duke, and not even Robin yet.

A silent shadow flitted past him, just barely visible on the cave walls. He went rigid, tracking the shadow in the corner of his vision. And then he dropped to the floor, just in time, as a familiar black gloved fist passed overhead. He just barely missed being hit by the punishing blow that would have landed right on his temple for a sure concussion if he hadn’t dodged. “Batman?” Duke yelled. He somersaulted forward, just barely avoiding another strike. “B, what are you doing?!” “Who are you,” came the growled response. A shiver crawled down Duke’s spine at the grim hostility in Batman’s voice that promised violence, and something tightened in the back of his throat.

Family-- by incorrectbatfam

duke & batfam

3.3k words, 1 chapter

“Your assignment over the weekend is to write a poem about your family.”

Strange Bedfellows by snackbaskets

duke & steph & jason

2.7k words, 1 chapter

Little known fact about bats: they're AWFUL at sleeping alone. At least, the ones in the Manor seem to be, if the half-conscious kind-of-maybe siblings using Duke as a body pillow are any indication. When did he sign up for this?

Ghosts Of The Past by PlatitudinalTeen

duke & martha, thomas, duke & bruce

7.2k words, 1 chapter

Shortly after moving into Wayne manor, Duke discovers he can commune with the dead when his grandparents, Thomas and Martha Wayne begin to accidentally haunt him. ------- "No powers?" Duke repeated, even more confused as he tried to recall everything he had ever heard about Ghosts. "So, you can't possess anyone or make the lights flicker? What about telekinesis and all the other scary stuff from the books and movies?" "Those things can only be achieved by malicious spirits, dear," Martha told him. "We may be ghosts, but we aren't vengeful." They had made peace with their deaths, and even if they were still tied to the manor, it was exactly where they wanted to be. Thomas chuckled. "Yes, that's more of our son's department," he quipped, using his fingers to mimic Batman's ears. "Vengeance is a young man's game, really."

Starshine by zodarii_dae

duke & bruce, reverse robins

3.6k words, 1 chapter

Duke Thomas is a Gothamite, through and through. There’s not a lot he knows for certain, but he knows that the bagels are great, that Bruce Wayne is stupid rich, and that Batman will always protect him. That’s just how it is. So when Batman promises to bring him to his family, he believes him. Neither of them expected it to happen quite the way it did, but it all works out for the best. Or How Duke loses his parents, gains a new family, and becomes a vigilante- in that order, with some stuff in between.

necessary reminders by Quillium

duke & batfam

5.2k words, 1 chapter

Duke, as Signal becomes known and as Duke becomes part of the Wayne family.

*ao3 acc needed

hope you enjoy !!!

#there is a severe lack of duke content and it makes me really sad #duke thomas #fic recs #long post #ashbox

21 notes · View notes

sxmmer-cherry · 14 hours

Text

hello, everyone! honestly, doing this is a bit hard since even though it has happened often, i never really got used to saying goodbyes. but here's to a better future- im leaving tumblr.

i'd say what makes this hard is that i made a lot of friends, acquaintances, and even met a few people i love, along the way. it's a bit selfish to be so abrupt, but i have to do this; if for nobody, then my sake. to all my followers, im sorry to disappoint you guys, i couldn't be as regular and inventive as i could have been, but i guess it's time to move on now! i'm very grateful to the people who have been around for me, helping me, giving me advice, and letting me know i wasn't alone. so, here's to my mutuals, because i love you guys:

@meimeimeirin you're always at the top of my mutuals list, mei! ofc, because you were the first friend i made around here, and because you simply always shine out. don't mistake my flowery language for lies, because i do not lie, but i have never met any so gracious or elegant as you. do you understand the extent of it for me to able to say it through a pixelated screen? your name always makes me smile!

@dottoresil i just love you, darling. you have been nothing but kind to me, and i always appreciate your presence and interaction. you're some of the first people who witnessed my growth in writing, and ill forever be glad to that i became your friend!

@beloved-blaiddyd and of course, everyone's favorite gallagher lover! brynn, if i were to be honest, then you easily slid into my list of my favourite people just the first time we met, yk? you just had this charm about you, a beauty i could never come to deny! the way you express yourself, your writing itself, and your kindness, they are all what made you so brilliant in my eyes! i don't think i could ever properly express myself through words, because what i feel for you is love, yet i always see you as a best friend i had from childhood, who would understand me even when nobody else does.

@floraldresvi vivi, with you, i always find myself appreciating fate. remember that one fic that brought us together? i find it funny how you only ever wrote one thing on that blog, and yet of all the thousands of works on this site, i still found yours. a good twist, of course. i don't feel like i appreciate you enough, but you deserve the world. ill be a bit sad i never got to appreciate some sunvi lore, but at least i had the chance to give some input in it! im just so glad we could be friends, and im sorry for the misunderstandings that arose between us. i can only hope that when you think of me, you only have a reason to smile.

@mochinon-yah mochi!! what should I say about you darling, i was just so ready to make you my younger sibling but unfortunately i have to go so ig that's not happening anymore smh. jokes aside, you're a very positive person! i genuinely smile everytime we interact, and you have a very optimistic aura field around you that just makes me forget that i had any problems! please don't ever let anyone change this about you!

@leftdestiny-posts shiro what do i say about you... you're such darling, so kind, so lovely, so appreciative. ill forever feel bad that i couldn't complete your request even when you gave so many kind words, so many efforts into me. im also sorry that i read your lore but never came to your inbox to make conspiracy theories about dott. but i love your sense of ingenuity, and i hope genuinely that this world treats you as kindly as you treat others.

@navxry you know, navina, we never really speak to each other, but i really love you. i see your posts, and i laugh so hard on the funny ones! you're an absolute darling who i am so glad to always have around! best of luck to you for your role playing blogs, their aesthetics are immaculate and i love your skill in this field!

@naraven ven :D you're a darling, sweetheart! im a bit disappointed that i have to leave almost as soon as we became friends, but just know that i appreciate you a lot. you're a kind sweetheart, and i love that about you! congrats to you on your feats on your blog as well, i hope the match up event opens up a pathway of more friends and fun for you!

@xianyoon @unknownlololol @ainescribe @cherieiu all of you are people i interact rarely with, but still appreciate the time we have together. to the three of you, i love your positivity ad extroverted nature! that's what made us friends, after all.

to all of you guys, may life treat you well. may you be returned the happiness you have given me thrice-fold. it's sad to leave, but just as autumn follows spring, so must the good chapters of our life end to give way to progress.

if anyone of you is curious, then no, i won't be deleting any of my blogs, not even my old writing one. these are just good memories i want to keep, should it ever sting. i will come back at some point, but it's too indefinite and too long for me to be able to say anything with firmness. regardless, i won't return by the end of this year, this much i know.

i will stick around for a day or two, so if anyone wants to say something, they can, ill read it and respond to it! if anyone wants to leave any message for me during my hiatus, then they can do that in my inbox, i will find it very heartwarming when i return. still, i won't say that i will.

love and light, and my well wishes will always be with you!

18 notes · View notes

inkskinned · 10 months

Text

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.

#every time someones like ''AI will replace u" im like. u will have to fucking KILL ME #there is no replacement here bc i am not filling a position. i am just writing #and the writing is what i need to be doing #writeblr #this probably doesn't make sense bc its sooo frustrating i rarely speak it the way i want to #edited for the typo wrote it and then was late to a meeting lol #i love u people who mention my typos genuinely bc i don't always catch them!!!! :) it is doing me a genuine favor!!!#my friend says i should tell you ''thank you beta editors'' but i don't know what that means #i made her promise it isn't a wolf fanfiction thing. so if it IS a wolf thing she is DEAD to me (just kidding i love her)#hey PS PS PS ??? if ur reading this thinking what it's saying is ''i am financially capable of losing this'' ur reading it wrong #i write for free. i always have. i have worked 5-7 jobs at once to make ends meet.#i did not grow up with access or money. i did not grow up with connections or like some kind of excuse #i grew up and worked my fucking ASS OFF. and i STILL!!! wrote!!! on the side!!! because i didn't know how not to!!!#i do not write for money!!!! i write because i fuckken NEED TO #i could be in the fucking desert i could be in the fuckken tundra i could be in total darkness #and i would still be writing pretentious angsty poetry about it #im not in any way saying it's a good thing. i'm not in any way implying that they're NOT tryna kill us #i'm saying. you could take away our jobs and we could go hungry and we could suffer #and from that suffering (if i know us) we'd still fuckin make art.#i would LOVE to be able to make money doing this! i never have been able to. but i don't NEED to. i will find a way to make my life work #even if it means being miserable #but i will not give up this thing. for the whole world.

18K notes · View notes