#analysis essay

[linnielemon]

Draupadi and Anthy - A Brief Analysis/Braindump

I don’t know how much Be-Papas researched into Hindu mythos, so this might not have any credence at all. HOWEVER, I’ve been having this thought for a while and was wondering what Utena Tumblr would think?

So, episode 3 and its connection to Draupadi’s humiliation in the Mahabharata. For context, Draupadi is the wife of all five of the Pandava brothers (long story) and she, in very Rose Bride fashion, is treated like an object and is lost in a bet to the king Duryodhana. In the text, she is deemed a “whore” for having five husbands (first of all, not even her fault, second of all, sound familiar? She’s little more than a status symbol to all of them as well..) and the king orders her to be humiliated by stripping her. She prays to the lord Krishna to save her, and he makes her dupatta (the scarf/shawl in some Indian clothing) endless to the point it makes it impossible to disrobe her of it.

Anthy also gets humiliated out of animosity by a figure jealous of her romantic interest (Nanami to Utena —> king to husbands? Kind of.. Nanami also exerts a lot of power and has a lot of followers in this situation), also by stripping, as apparently the worst thing that could happen to a woman is having her purity stripped away. And Utena saves her by creating a dress out a tablecloth, which oddly resembles a shawl/dupatta? Maybe I’m making connections out of nothing.

Interesting that Utena is being portrayed as a godlike figure in that case. Not to mention that Krishna is an AVATAR of an actual god, similar to how Utena is like a second coming of Dios in a way? Perpetuating the ideals of a god? And DIOS IN SPANISH MEANS GOD? Am I making sense? Or am I word vomiting?

The five husbands are relevant in a way that… remember how the student council has five duelists (interchanging both Utena and Nanami.. maybe Utena can be paralleled to Arjuna) who all use Anthy for their own desires, even non romantic or sexual in nature? And how she’s basically in a blunt rotation with all of them? Draupadi is basically in a blunt rotation with all of her husbands since she’s stuck being married to all of them. Waiting for a god (A PRINCELY IDEAL!! AN IDEALISTIC VERSION OF A GOOD MAN!!) who may or may not come and save them? AHHH

I hope this made sense.. my bindi post had me brainrotted about Anthy’s parallels to Indian and Hindu culture.. if you have any questions feel free to ask away! And PLEASEE add your thoughts if you have any <3

^ painting by gayatri mavuru

[romanticizing-writing]

Three days ago, I stumbled upon this Smiling Critters AU by @notglue-9 which was named "Mourning and Mending." Thus far, it has actively consumed my mind. I intend on writing an analysis essay on why I love it so much after I have released the first chapter of my "Gravity Falls in the Making" fic. However, I still want to talk about it at the moment, so I'll be rambling about the AU a little bit in this post. This will essentially be a short analysis.

First and foremost, though, I must provide some context. The AU revolves around all of the Smiling Critters' — Dogday and Catnap's specifically — lives in the afterlife following the events of Poppy Playtime: Chapter Three. Catnap desires to make amends with all of them and repent for his previous sins, voluntarily starting his own redemption arc of sorts. One by one, he slowly gains the trust and forgiveness of all of the SC members — Dogday being the last and hardest one to convince into giving him another chance (for undeniably understandable reasons). As they all move on, their pendants begin to heal and fix themselves up. In this AU, the state of the medallions reflects the mental state of the wearers. The worse the mental health of a character is, the more cracked and broken the accessory will be.

Now, the reason behind why I have fallen in love with this AU is due to just how nuanced the writing is for the characters and how it does villain-redemption-afterlife AU right. Since the goal for these types of AUs is to have the villain become viewed better in the eyes of those they wronged, people will typically twist the story to make it so the villain was actually innocent all along and simply controlled controlled against their will. This way, any resentment the victims were harboring becomes invalid, making the 'redemption' clean and easy to accomplish, since it's made to appear like one was never needed in the first place. This can be seen in several fandoms (particularly the Gacha versions of them) like Undertale, FNaF, and Little Nightmares. You see, Frisk/William/Six never harmed anyone — they/he/she were/was possessed and manipulated by Chara/Glitchtrap/Shadow Six. Excuses like these are created solely for the purpose of justifying them. It would've been so easy for the creator, Not Glue, to take the same path with Catnap, yet they didn't. While "Mourning and Mending" does indeed utilize creativity liberty and the fact that it's an AU to its advantage in painting Catnap in a more sympathetic light, it never dismisses the trauma he caused the other Critters and instead forces him to be held accountable for it. I personally find that honorable and it leads to a much more interesting story.

Anyway, that was my short ramble and/or analysis on my most recent AU hyperfixation. I'll most likely copy and paste the two body paragraphs for my full analysis essay when I end up writing it. I just wanted to gush about it right now.

If anyone's curious or intrigued in the AU, here's a playlist I created of all of the animatics, animations, and comic dubs I found on YouTube for it. I would highly reccomend checking it out, even if you're not invested in the lore of Poppy Playtime. I mean, I'm not, yet I have become obsessed about it.

Thank you so much for reading this!

[pyro-squid]

First Rant/Analysis/Essay, bear with me (Trigger Happy Havoc Spoilers Below)

Woah a Danganronpa rant in 2026? Crazy work. I don't know how I skipped this phase when I was younger, but that goddamn Kyoko meme peer pressured me and now its my new favorite thing. I've only been into Danganronpa for a month, and I've only played Trigger Happy Havoc, but I wanna rant about something. Leon & Sayaka are so fucking interesting to me as far as characters go. Everyone knows about the first trial, Sayaka tried to murder Leon and Leon retaliated by killing her in self defense (Albeit taken too far, hence Celeste's comment she made; "You had plenty of time to think about what you were doing, yet you still decided to kill her.") But I mean, even down to their character design its clear they're made to contrast & compliment each other.

Those who are deeper in knowledge know that Sayaka & Leon were the first characters created for the game, originally called Distrust. Their original designs were obviously different, blonde Leon lives in my nightmares….

But their final designs tell a story in my eyes.

Look at Sayaka. She is very soft in design, I mean that in she uses rounder shapes. You can also assume because of her idol outfit she's very girly, lots and lots of pink and frills and ribbons. Not to mention, she's a POP star. Keep that in mind, she preforms and obviously enjoys pop music. She's shoved in our faces a little, but she's a kind person who seems well meaning and was just driven to a breaking point. Thats how I see her anyways, I understand people who think she's a snake, I even playfully call her a hoe lmfao.

Leon on the other hand is very rough and edgy, something I ADORE about his design personally. The faces in Danganronpa are all pretty much the same so face shape can't be discussed, but his hair and piercings make him like sharper, his clothing is very masculine with a punk aesthetic. He is the Ultimate Baseball Star which is a very 'boy' sport, although those who remember know he actually HATES baseball and wanted to be a musician. Specifically, a PUNK star. If you remember his FTE's, he's also a pretty chill and sweet person. Albeit, he is a little shallow, since he only stayed in baseball for female attention AND made a comment about the girl at the hair salon having, and I quote; "An okay face but a smoking hot body" But I don't see this as a devastating character flaw, its just him being a teenage/young adult boy. (I'm not saying, oh boys will be boys. It's still not right, but it's fitting for his age. I'd assume had he got the chance, he'd learn when he got older.)

Also, Orange and Blue are complimentary colors, so along with the 'very masculine seeming boy' and 'very feminine seeming girl' qualities, the soft shapes versus the sharp shapes, they have their color palletes that contrast each other. Also pop music and punk music are very different last time I checked, but its a cool similarity that both of them have a passion for music. And even their birthdays contrast each other. Leon's being in the middle of winter (January 3rd), and Sayaka's being in the middle of summer. (July 7th)

Leon & Sayaka are both strangely human in how they handled the killing game. Both of them were scared out of their minds and were the first ones to snap, although Sayaka caused more of a domino effect in Leon being forced to kill her. Even that entire situation I love to think about. Sayaka isn't a perfect angel, she did things that she's not proud of to be in the position she was, if I were her, I would snap too. Seeing something awful happen to the people I worked so hard to be on stage with, I'd attempt to take a life too. But the thing that people miss is that its clear that neither of them wanted to kill each other. This is proven in the fact that the whole scuffle was very messy and unplanned. The stark opposite of Celeste's trial is how I like to see it.

Sayaka's only thought was just, "If I kill him, I can leave." ANOTHER thing is, she didn't know that if she got caught, she'd be killed. And if she got away with it, the others would be killed. That information was deliberately withheld by Monokuma until after Sayaka was dead. When she attacked Leon, and after he broke her wrist he had the same thought. "I have a chance to kill her. If I kill her, I can leave." Granted, a few people like to say he was also thinking of the others when he decided to kill her. Although she'd have a broken wrist, she'd still probably try and kill someone later AND since she'd have the information that he attacked her and could control the context, she could have ensured NOBODY would trust Leon during the rest of the game. So his only option was to kill her if you think about it.

Lots of people in the fandom like to debate about who was right and who was wrong, who the real victim is and I think its neither of them. I view them as 2 prey animals, no one's the wolf. Both of them were scared, and they handled their situation in ways I think any sane person reading this would. If you wouldn't, good for you. Neither of them wanted to kill, but they were forced into it. Lots of people say that Leon had the most human reaction to being discovered as the Blackened which I agree with, but I don't see people talk about how Sayaka had the most human reaction to being put in that situation in the first place. Even Byakuya said the only thing I agree with that came out of his mouth that wasn't a case fact; "It was neither Leon or Sayaka's fault. The real killer is HIM." And pointing at Monokuma.

Anyway, I really like these two and I think given the circumstances, they responded the only way they knew how. I think if they had been given more time, they would have become good friends. I don't know how many people know this, but Sayaka & Leon were killed first because they were base characters and the devs were sick of them. Which is REALLY funny but its also kinda sad since I think they both had potential, especially Leon but thats because of my favoritism towards him as my honorary 4th favorite character. I would have liked to see a Mondo-Taka or Hina-Sakura situation where they bonded overtime but one of them, probably Sayaka, killed someone or was killed and the other was kinda catatonic afterwards. I don't know, I just really like both of them. All of this is combined with the fact that in almost all the official side art I see that has the THH cast, they're together/next to each other. Could be the whole murder reason, but I like to think its cause they were good friends before the amnesia thing. Thank you for coming to my ted talk, have a cookie, you earned it for reading my insanity :) 🍪

[merwgue]

(This is neither a pro nor anti post. It's just me analysing what's written about cassians' personality and fears OBJECTIVELY and trying to understand why he acts a certain way. do with that what you will, if this reaches you amd you dont like it, cope.)

So, my dad and I had a very serious discussion about ACOSF, you know, the important things in life. And we got stuck on Cassian because, honestly, that guy is just…weird. You can’t just throw around terms like “weapons master” and “commander” and then act like a brooding teenager who's constantly seeking approval. And then I wondered—what did make Cassian turn out like this? Is there a support group somewhere for fae males who struggle with validation issues? I’m starting to think there should be.

Don’t get me wrong, I love sarcastically hating on Cassian—especially when I joke about hoping Elain’s prophecy comes true and makes things a little more interesting. But when I pause the snark for a second, I can’t help but think it’s kind of sad, really. Cassian’s situation is actually tragic if you break it down.

Cassian, in many ways, is a victim of his own insecurities and the society he’s grown up in. He’s constantly trying to fit in but never quite gets there. He’s always trying to please someone, especially Rhysand. There’s this deep-rooted need for validation—probably stemming from his childhood as a bastard in Illyria—where he was treated like an outsider. Psychologically, this is a textbook case of someone with low self-esteem. He’s never really believed he deserved to be in the position he’s in, and it shows in the way he talks about himself, constantly referring to himself as a “brute” or a “bastard-born warrior.” That’s classic negative self-talk right there, and if you don’t accept yourself, it’s impossible to truly accept others.

Cassian doesn’t just want to belong. He wants to be seen as more than the brute he calls himself. He’s constantly aware of this divide between who he thinks he is (a muscle-bound, lowborn warrior) and who he wants to be (someone Rhysand can rely on and the mate Nesta can respect). And this is where it gets interesting because this isn’t just insecurity. Cassian is caught in an identity crisis—he’s trapped in the psychology of cognitive dissonance.

Let’s break this down. Cognitive dissonance is when someone holds conflicting beliefs or attitudes, and it leads to mental discomfort. In Cassian’s case, it’s the belief that he’s just a brute, a soldier, a low-born bastard—juxtaposed against the role he’s trying to play: a respected commander in Rhysand’s court and Nesta’s equal. He knows he doesn’t quite fit into this polished world, but instead of working through these feelings of inadequacy and dealing with his imposter syndrome, he clings to this role while tearing himself apart internally.

And here’s the kicker: validation-seeking behavior runs deep with Cassian. Everything he does, from his attempts to train Illyrians to the way he handles himself in the Inner Circle, is driven by his need to prove his worth. And this need for external validation is so strong that it blinds him to the toxic dynamics he’s enabling. He can’t protect Nesta from Rhysand because he’s spent his entire life trying to earn Rhysand’s approval. So when push comes to shove, Cassian defaults to the behaviors that have kept him in the Inner Circle’s good graces—being Rhysand’s loyal brute, a yes-man who ignores the fact that the power dynamics around him are actually pretty messed up.

Now, we’ve got to address the elephant in the room. I get it—Cassian should absolutely be defending Nesta from Rhysand’s controlling behavior. And while I totally agree with that sentiment, let’s really think about why he doesn’t. The simple answer? He can’t. Why? Because Cassian has spent centuries bending over backward to gain Rhysand’s validation. Cassian’s sense of self-worth is so tangled up in Rhysand’s approval that he doesn’t want to jeopardize that hard-earned status by going against him. It’s the classic case of dependency theory—Cassian’s entire self-concept is tied to this external source of validation. If he loses that, what’s left?

This isn’t just about power dynamics; it’s also about Cassian’s own emotional immaturity and insecurity. Cassian desperately wants to be seen as worthy—worthy of being High Fae, worthy of being part of the Inner Circle, worthy of being Nesta’s mate. But deep down, he’s terrified that he’s not. This makes his character less of the confident warrior we’re supposed to root for and more of a man who is constantly trying to prove something, even to people who already care about him. He’s perpetually stuck in a cycle of self-doubt, seeking external validation instead of working on internal healing.

So even if we suspend disbelief for a moment and say that Nessian could work as a couple, it’s just not the right time. Nesta has her own emotional baggage, and Cassian has to get over his own issues of insecurity and unworthiness. Both of them need to heal individually before they can even think about being healthy partners for each other. Cassian needs to stop trying to please everyone—especially Rhysand—and start working on his own self-acceptance. Until he does that, any relationship he’s in, whether it’s with Nesta or anyone else, is going to be built on shaky ground.

In conclusion, while it’s fun to joke about Cassian’s flaws, when you dig deeper, you see that his issues run much deeper than just being a brute with muscles. His insecurities, his constant need for validation, and his inability to stand up for the people he loves are all signs that he’s not ready for a healthy relationship. If anything, Cassian’s story should have been less about romance and more about the journey to self-acceptance, which, let’s be real, is a long time coming for him. To love someone, you need to love yourself first.

[wntryngs]

Why I think "Be Nice To Me" is THE Stucky song

I wrote this because I saw a Captain America edit with this song and thought “wow. This kinda gay”

This is me basically analyzing every lyric of the song and relating them to Stucky. Lol

DNR if you can't handle spoilers.

CA- Captain America

First movie- CA: The First Avenger

Second movie- CA: The Winter Soldier

Third movie- CA:Civil War

TFATWS- The Falcon And The Winter Soldier

Steve- Steve Rogers, Captain America

Bucky- James Barnes, The Winter Soldier

The Captain America Edit

A playlist I made for them cuz I’m extra

(I wrote this in under two hours; Apologies in advance if you think it’s messy.)

I got boulders on my shoulders 

Collar bones begin to crack

—Boulders on my shoulders symbolize pressure. This applies to both Steve, who feels the weight of being Captain America, and Bucky, who feels the pressure of being Russia's lethal weapon. Steve was pressured into choosing between saving his best friend or playing by the rules as Captain America. Or in other words, he must choose between his duties as a hero, or his personal loyalties. Meanwhile, Bucky carries the burden of the actions he was forced to do as The Winter Soldier. The relentless torment and psychological effects from his past pressure him further. This pressure impacts his identity and his efforts to forget who he was and what he did.

(TLDR; Steve and Bucky face lots of pressure from their personas as Captain America and The Winter Soldier, while also dealing with personal pressures they have as normal human beings.)

There is very little left of me and it's never coming back 

There are certain things you ask of me

There are certain things I lack 

—The line "very little left of me", relates to Bucky's struggle with his fragmented identity. His memories are wiped and he is still, having trouble remembering all of them. "There are certain things you ask of me" refers to Steve begging Bucky to remember him even though he can't. The line can also be related to Steve's question in the first CA movie, which is "Are you ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?”.

The beginning, we were winning

Now we're just making a fact

—"We were winning" relates to Steve and Bucky's adventure in the first CA movie where they were still winning against their opponents and had each other.

What's it matter anymore?

You believe the lies I tell

There's no meaning to words

But we still sing these songs well

—Despite the betrayals, missteps, and moments of deception, they manage to forgive one another. Steve and Bucky’s whole relationship is built on trust and loyalty that they forged with their bittersweet experiences together. From having each other’s backs in the battlefield, to defending the other from their own teammates (AKA my fave CA movie, CA: Civil War :]).

And we all left it alone

I'm sure it will work itself out fine

They are playing with your numbers

And we are running out of time

—If they didn't meddle in the war, they wouldn't be in the mess they're in. "We are running out of time" can mean two things. One: when they were on the run from the government AND the Avengers (context: Steve became a fugitive in order to protect Bucky. [this fr the same man who left him for a girl...]),they didn't have time to reconnect or reminisce with each other. Their lives were consumed by the necessity of survival. Two: When Bucky blipped right after Steve had just gotten him back, and then when Bucky returned, Steve left again (voluntarily!) for a life that wasn't his, with another version of a woman he used to love (note: version, as in he went to another universe/timeline). After everything they've been through, they never really had the chance to be alone. Their lives were focused on war after war, fight after fight, but no matter what, they never left each other's side.

(TLDR; They never had the time to talk and be with each other because they are always too busy running for their lives and saving one another.)

You're a killer and I'm your best friend

I think it's unfair, your situation

—"killer"= Bucky, best friend= Steve. It was no secret to anyone who's watching that Steve felt guilty and blamed himself for what happened to Bucky.  Despite Bucky's actions being beyond his control, Steve struggles with the weight of Bucky’s suffering and the role he believes he played in it. He views Bucky not as the killer he was forced to become but as the friend he grew up with. Steve’s biased belief in Bucky is that he is and will always be innocent, no matter what. This is why he would protect Bucky until the end, even if it means being considered a war criminal.

You say I'm changing,

Sorry I didn't know I had to stay the same

Can we talk about this later?

Your voice is driving me insane

—the first two lines refer to the second CA movie, where Steve saw Bucky for the first time again after his apparent death. At that time, Bucky was still The Winter Soldier and didn't recognize Steve, which is why he had "changed" and "didn't stay the same." The last two lines refer to the third CA movie when Steve finally captures Bucky, hoping to get answers and help prove his innocence. However, Bucky was still on the run, and the Winter Soldier programming was still affecting him. He was dealing with trauma as well, making it hard for him to talk.

(TLDR; Bucky is going insane cuz of stress and Steve's pleas are just making things worse.)

I try to write you poems, but the words they don't make sense

The hand tries to grip the pencil, but the fingers are too tense

—This line is Steve talking, if you replace "poems" with drawings. There's a specific scene from the second CA movie where Steve is trying to sketch a building but he can't focus because he keeps thinking of Bucky. There's even a zoom-in on his hand where you can see him gripping his pencil too hard.

I try to show emotion, but my eyes won't seem to wet

I'd love to tell you stories, but I can't remember how they went

—This line is Bucky talking. After being a killing machine for more than a decade, his memories are still fragmented and his emotions are suppressed. In their fight scene in the second CA movie, Steve keeps asking Bucky to remember him. Steve even says their famous line, "I'm with you, till the end of the line." while Bucky is actively trying to kill him. This manages to unlock a memory for Bucky. In the third CA movie, when Steve begs Bucky to remember what happened while he was The Winter Soldier, Bucky still cannot remember. No matter how much Bucky tries and wants to help, he simply cannot with his memories missing.

(TLDR; first line is Bucky in the second CA movie. The second line is Bucky in the third CA movie.)

You're a flashlight in a dark room or the loneliest black out

You were all we had left after it all was filtered out

—The first line is Bucky talking about Steve. Bucky has always felt that Steve was the guiding light in his life, pulling him out of the darkest moments. In the series TFATWS, Bucky says "And if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me." Here, "he" refers to Steve. Bucky thinks he doesn't deserve forgiveness, yet Steve tirelessly tries to prove to him that he does, again and again.The second line is Steve talking about Bucky. Steve feels that he owes his life to Bucky after the countless times Bucky took care of him. In the second CA movie, Steve said, "Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky." Before Steve became Captain America, when he was just a scrawny guy, Bucky worked countless jobs to make ends meet. When Steve was always sick, Bucky would nurse him. Even while they were fighting in the second CA movie, Bucky dragged Steve out of the water to prevent him from dying. Bucky was still being controlled by Hydra at this time, yet he managed to snap out of it for a moment and recognized Steve (this was right after Steve said IWYTTEOTL). Steve and Bucky are two sides of the same coin. They balance each other out. Without the other, they wouldn't be where they are. Without their dynamic, the CA movies wouldn't be half as good as they are. 

(TLDR; Bucky sees Steve as hislight, someone who believes in his redemption despite Bucky's doubts, while Steve feels indebted to Bucky for always being there, even before he became Captain America. They balance each other.)

I'm turning you on in a dark room right before we both pass out

I'll turn you on when I need you, but the batteries ran out

—For the first line, as I said above, they relied on one another even in their darkest times. The second line on the other hand, is Bucky after the blip. He needed Steve to help and guide him in adjusting to this new world he was thrown into. Sadly, "the batteries ran out" means Steve is gone. Despite everything they went through together, Steve left Bucky to face things alone. (F.U STEVE ROGERS)

You're a werewolf and I'm a full moon

And all your very worst enemies will be gone soon

I think you're changing

Don't worry, you don't have to stay the same

Can we talk about this later?

Your voice is driving me insane

—In conclusion, cuz I'm tired and too lazy to continue this anymore— The Front Bottoms made this song for Steve and Bucky :D 

[scarlet-cookie]

It’s so funny being a tumblr user and taking literature class at the same time (just started this school year). I’ve never written a proper analysis essay before so my first one I just wrote it as if I was writing a tumblr post lmao. I do look back at some of my tumblr posts and think “hm if I polish them up a little they really can be lit exam analysis essays”. I wish we would get an assignment where we can write about any piece of media we want, I’d be unspooling a ten meter long scroll of bendy, ORV, LOTM and poppy playtime paragraphs.

[anon-a-jay]

Why I Think the Rose (and the Entire Stained Glass Intro) from Beauty and the Beast is Unnecessary

For context, I just watched Beauty and the Beast (very good movie btw, nice 8/10 romance film), but I had some issues with it. These issues are mostly pretty nitpicky, but one of the big ones is how unnecessary the rose is.

For how much I see that rose in all the promotional material, how it's synonymous with Beauty and The Beast as a film, that rose, as well as most of the intro backstory, are completely irrelevant to the plot of Beauty and the Beast. The time limit, for example, doesn't give any actual urgency to Belle and the Beast's love. There are slight mentions of the rose starting to wilt, but the rose is nowhere near prominent enough to convince the audience Belle needs to immediately fall in love with the Beast.

As for the intro, my main issue is that NO ONE EVER TELLS BELLE ABOUT THE CURSE. Sure she figures out the castle's enchanted, but she never actually tells Belle about what happened! I thought that Chip would tell her something near the climax, but nope. Nothing. It's never mentioned in the slightest, and while that is good for most of the story, makes sure there isn't any pressure on Belle to fall in love with the Beast, I think she should have been told SOMETHING at least.

Most importantly though, it doesn't matter if Belle found out about the curse at the climax, because it wouldn't change anything about what she does! Which then begs the question, why the hell do we even need the intro! The Rose!

We don't, and I'll show how nothing is lost by cutting out the intro backstory and the rose. We start the movie at Belle going to the village, movie goes the same up until Belle sneaking to the West Wing. Here, Belle is caught messing with the Beast's human portrait, the Beast gets mad like he did at the rose, Belle runs away, movie continues as normal only without a rose, add in some more direct dialogue when Belle goes to save her dad about why Belle and the Beast needed to fall in love, notably , have the Beast say something like "I was cursed to be a beast, but your love saved me" after the big kiss, happy ending for all.

See how little removing the intro affects the plot. The only significant change I had to make was turning the rose into the Beast's old portrait, which I feel are similarly emotionally significant to the beast that you could swap them and have a similar reaction. Other than that, no major changes are done to the story, while adding in an interesting perspective/tonal change to the movie. Cutting out the intro helps place the audience in a similar position to everyone who meets the Beast, thinking he's a horrible monster and wondering what he's gonna do. This makes the Beast's change more significant, as we start to better understand and sympathize with the beast along with Belle. We ultimately get to a very similar emotional place by the climax of the movie as we do in the original, and then get hit hard by the mob going to storm the castle, as we understand where they were coming from but know better now. This angle, while not necessarily better, it would make the Beast a much harder sell to general audiences than some people already feel he is, but it would be pretty interesting and compelling, at least to me. By keeping the actual explanation vague, just that he was cursed into the form of a beast and only true mutual love can cure, and most importantly keeping the full reveal (hints can placed throughout the movie) till Belle leaves, we get a more mysterious tone for most of the movie, cut out unnecessary information that doesn't serve the story, while still maintaining the romance that is central to the story.

[exstasyplague]

My analysis/view on SatoSugu ☆

Some disclaimers: I am a fanfic author and I do personally ship the two yet I will try to keep my thoughts as objective as possible for the sake of this post. I will include my perosnal points of view as well but 'll keep them separated from the "canon facts." Contains manga spoilers.

Are they gay?

This is a funny question yet it's the best way to start in my opinion. Short answer: they don't fit inside a label. I think the best word to describe their bond is intimate. Emotionally, it's at a place in the middle of love and appreciation and I don't think this balance is constant, sometimes it might have leaned more to one side, sometimes more to another. From an emotional point of view, they could very well be in a platonic situation.

The physical aspect is not a detrimental side for either of them in regards to one another. What makes their connection so special is the fact that it happened before Gojo Satoru became officially the strongest, before he was burdened with so many things. However, he was never free. The beginning of his very existence caused a deep disturbance within the Jujutsu world. For Satoru there was never a childhood, there was never a normal life, only a path of emptiness.

Gege is good at making his characters. Especially the villains/ good guys parallels. Just how Yuji came to the realization that he is Mahito and Mahito is him, the same parallel is drawn between Gojo and Sukuna, only Sukuna is what Gojo would've been without Geto. Both the strongest sorcerers, the difference is that Satoru got surrounded by love and his mentality evolved from "the weak ones are pathetic, I don't want to look after them" to "I will push everybody up along with me through teaching and have pupils even stronger than me, allies."

Back in highschool, Gojo was young and somewhat arrogant. His power was like a blanket for him; despite not understanding Geto's philosophical things and not agreeing with them, Gojo also, unintentionally, gave a meaning to the things happening to him "I am the strongest."

Even in the current ongoing fight (Sukuna vs Goatjo), the panels sometimes speak about love, but not in the way we would normally think; it's about the feelings of the strongest, different from the perception of average folks like us. Nurture vs Destruction.

Gojo had the power of being evil without any repercussions. Being the strongest, nothing could hurt him. He always showed his compassion towards Riko through small gestures, such as staying more at the beach, teasing her etc. Him wanting to go on a killing rampage under the pretext of 'not feeling anything' was Gojo's way of showing his disgust at the fact that hundreds of people were celebrating the death of an innocent girl. Being the strongest didn't matter. She was dead.His conviction shattered. However, he had so much trust in Geto's morality and mentality that he followed his advice. That is the kind of person he was for him. Even in Jjk 0, Suguru said that he didn't think Satoru would have any trust left for him— he did.

The only one who could understand him, speak with him, treat him like a human. His one and only. Gojo liked the fact that they were the strongest together because he also had someone to lean on.

In the manga, Naoya, the head of a powerful branch of the Zen'in clan talks about Toji. He said that as a child, he expected him to be a miserable man since he had 0 cursed energy yet when he saw how powerful and proud he was he got scared of him. He mentions that the only one being able to understand Toji was Gojo.

Only... Gojo is stronger. Toji couldn't understand him, he called him a monster. He got drowned in petty feelings characteristic to what Sukuna would call weakness and got himself killed.

Gege also mentioned in an interview that he wanted to give his characters abilities similar to Bankai (Gege legit started making manga because of Bleach, what a God) Bankai is a reflection of the soul in Bleach projected onto the swords of the Shinigami. Same with Domain Expansions in JJK. Gojo's literally repels everybody around him, it's called Infinite Void and it shows the way in which he looks at the world and views himself. Untouchable. Out of reach. An overflow of information.

Even if Bleach is a pretty stereotypical Shonen creation (don't get me wrong, I love it but the plot is pretty basic) when the protag. Ichigo was fighting against the main big powerful villain, Aizen, he said that he could feel Aizen's sword wavering with loneliness. This very concept applies to the powerful peaks of Jujutsu Kaisen. The path of power is lonely. Kenjaku himself said that Gojo is truly in his element when he is fighting on his own, the ones around him can become a liability really quickly. This of course, when it's about fights where he has to put in some efforts. That's why nobody is interfering with his Sukuna duel.

Satoru started being truly alone after Suguru left.

Another waver of his conviction. But this time, not only about not being strong enough. He didn't do enough. Ever since Gojo unlocked his techniques and became powerful, he wasn't allowed to be human anymore. He had to do mission after mission, take over the missions unfinished by others, he was expected to do everything and be the saviour of the Jujutsu World. With Suguru, he was human. Yet, just as Suguru said 'it was a busy summer'. No more space for one another.

Geto was also strong. A special grade. He too became lonely.

For Sugru, having a meaning was fundamental. His cursed technique was a constant reminder of how awful non-sorceres are. He would eat their malice, who tasted like a cloth wiped in puke and shit and whereas he understood Satoru, nobody understood him. He himself said that nobody has any idea just how bad curses taste.

When Itadori was eating Sukuna's fingers in the beginning, he would choke, cough complain a lot. Geto had over 2000 curses. He had exorcised and ingested again and again and again. The only humanity around him was Satoru, his best friend. And that got taken away by the Jujutsu world and he remained alone with his own despair. He went on his own path, feeling useless and misunderstood, still viewing Satoru as a friend but also as a term of comparison. He got left without meaning and so he forged himself a new one. He became really similar to Sukuna, with no regard for the ones beneath him, the monkeys. But also, ironically enough, Suguru stopped being the strongest. He viewed himself as weak. He doomed himself. He wanted to feel necessary— he was desperate. He thought he was saving the Jujutsu world.

They were probably meant for tragedy. And that's the sad part. Satoru would've outgrown him regardless but maybe Suguru wouldn't have chosen such a radical path. Toji's existence, an anomaly, broke the flow of their fate. (approx quote from manga) That's why he is more relevant to the story than people believe. Sure, he is sexy as fuck but Toji is literally the beginning and the end of an era, he is everything.

Gojo's second waver pushed him to become a teacher. He had grown and chose a smart path, preserving the youths, the future; no more mass murder. Suguru remained stagnant with his hatred and eventually died. For him, I'd say his life stoped the moment Riko died. His potential as a sorcerer came to a plateau. Everything came to an end so it was only a matter of time before his body died as well.

Back on Gojo's humanity. The funny thing is that this point was proven by the readers of the manga themselves, lol. When Satoru got sealed, he got shat on hardcore. Like, you can't imagine. Reddit and Discord servers were eating his ass up worse than they do now with Sukuna for using Mahoraga. Gojo got blamed for Nanami and Kugisaki (rip my angels, still praying for Nobara), he got blamed for Sukuna taking over Megumi and probably he blames himself too— what "mistake" did he make? Showing humanity when being met with the corpse of his best friend, his only catalyst, his only balance, the only one to ever make him feel normal and give him his Blue Spring, the most beautiful moments of his life. And Kenjaku knew that Suguru's corpse was the only thing to make Satoru waver. In the manga it's clearly stated that despite more than one minute having passed in his mind, physically he stood still for 6 seconds. Even his most regretfull, sorrowful crisis lasted him an inhumane amount of time.

And Gojo too, was the only thing that caused the remaints of Suguru's soul to attempt strangling Kenjaku. (which he admits has never happened before. and suguru is dead— gojo literally triggered the residues of his soul). That's what I mean by intimate.

Even if the concept of soul is often spoken about, their souls are connected. That's how much they mean for eachother.

Perosnally I find this relationship to be perfectly beautiful as it is, without any flaunt of erotica needed, kudos to Gege. I still enjoy writing angst and smut based on their dynamic tho XD. And I don't agree with the ones calling them straight and being so eager to deny them or resume this deep connection to just friends. Like sure, they are not gay-gay but they are... linked. More than friends, more than family. Gege themself said so when speaking about them. I think it's a very clear statement.

If you like the way I think and view characters, check my fics, lol. Much love <33 exstasyplague on A03.