Headcanons About Things That Only I Know Exists

-

Well while the nature of all their magic stays the same, without the events of book 7 Ace’s UM wouldn’t have even been discovered in the first place.

But if we suppose he does accidentally discover it (maybe during an argument gone south with another mage or something) I don’t think it would be all that strong or reliable.

Without the stable income nor the mindset needed to seek out education Ace wouldn’t have been able to improve upon it or even practice much.

And in the event, he does use it the magic is a last resort, applied without flare or wonder. Because this version of Ace is intimately familiar with the concept of impermanence. He is used compromises and mediocrity. And he believes the same goes with his magic.

It doesn’t have to be great; it just has to be enough. Enough to get him out of a pickle, enough to turn the tide, enough to distract.

Because of all those reasons this version of Ace’s UM would be "Jack of All Trades".

A skill that lets him borrow only a fraction of another person’s magic, but in return lets him keep multiple borrowed spells as backup in the form of a card for a longer period of time.

(“Jack of all trades, master of none” isn’t that just so funny for the person he’s become. He’s too much for anybody to stand, yet too little to be anything at all.)

-

In the case of Deuce, his unique magic would have been neglected even if he did manage to discover it. Not only caused by the circumstances of his life and work, but also his issues with himself.

This version of Deuce never got the quality that NRC provided and his work as Riddle's assistant leads to him prioritizing magic for the medical field. Those factors in tandem leading to a natural degradation of skills not deemed "useful".

But this version of Deuce can't see that. What he sees is just another symptom of his own incompetence. One in a long chain of failures in trying to live up to the expectations of those around him (and ultimately himself.)

A fault he thinks is unfixable, and in a situation as demanding as his it might as well be. So, all he can do is bear with what he has now and try to make that enough, no matter how it harms him.

Therefore, his UM is called "Eye for An Eye".

Similar to his canonical signature spell it allows him to counter spells with magic of the same strength, but his version of it is incomplete.

While the strength remains the same, other aspects like accuracy, speed, and stability become more unpredictable the stronger the spell is, often resulting in other targets (Deuce included) being affected as well.

("Eye for An Eye" what a crass name. What better to be a remnant of his own failure he cannot outrun. A past he keeps trying to "get back at" for what it did to him. Yet, like all revenges, only leaves him tired and hurts those around him.)

-

Jack's signature spell, however, is a more difficult matter as he already had it before the events of the story. But it would see less and less use the older he gets.

We've all seen the comments, the jokes -even if they are unserious- about how cringy Jack's UM can be. Even if Jack doesn't see it that way others like his coworkers definitely will. They will see his magic and call it overly flashy and cumbersome. That, in combination with the restrictions that adult life brings, will make it so that he won't be able or willing to upkeep it.

To this version of Jack who has grown to be just another adult, another part of the system. Another cog that's just floating along without complaint, forced into a mold of what "maturity" is supposed to be, his unique magic is just another embarrassing symbol of his immature nature he can't shake off.

Something minimized into a party trick at best and a guilty pleasure at worse.

And so, he simply calls his UM "Unleash".

It allows him to transform himself into a wolf... partially. He can pick what parts and how many parts of his body to alter, but the more he selects the harder is it for him to hold his form and the less time he can do it for.

If he wants to turn fully it requires him to focus completely and even if he is successful, the magic only lasts for a few minutes at best.

("Unleash"... what a stupid name. It reeks like something out of a teen metal album. It grates like cheesy superhero shows that always have a happy ending. He should get rid of it. Yet, he can't. Because what does a dog want more than anything than to be unleashed and free?)

-

Epel, similarly, is an interesting case. His spell is not particularly aggressive nor is it truly useful for the daily life he is leads in most cases. However, the person he becomes still leads it to be used in one very specific way.

Being one of Vil's carriers would mean he would rely on rudimentary magic more: flight to move around quicker, levitation to move objects, so on and so forth. In other words, magic for the express purpose of making the process of filming and shooting more efficient. So, while Epel's UM can be used as a barrier its inaccuracy and effect of forcing people to sleep makes it unfit for work.

Not only that Epel's lack of proper training and opportunity in this universe would make it even weaker, even less accurate if he ever tried to aim anywhere, but at his own feet.

However, this version of Epel is obstinate and confrontational. The way he was treated by others lead him to treat them in what he thinks is the same way, with a willful ignorance of everything he doesn't like. To put himself to sleep just to block them out.

So, his signature spell ends up being "Glass Tomb".

His spell allows him to put himself into a glass barrier at the cost of being slowly put to sleep the longer he has it up. The strength of the barrier is determined by his own will power.

("Glass Tomb" how ironic despite everything the one whose dead is you. A miserable existence just to prove a point. An uncomfortable, lonely cage that he chooses to never leave. Better to stick to the anger you know than the unknown you don't.)

-

Ortho, technically, doesn't have a unique magic. The ability he does have is an extension of his nature as a technomantic soul. As a result, what it can and can't do is an expression of what Ortho believes he can and can't do.

Therefore, his UM (as I am calling it for the sake of simplicity) is one of the most well developed and versatile of the cast, but it still is limited in one very important way.

This version of Ortho, on a technical level, is vastly superior as a humanoid. He has been upgraded time and time again, tweaked and polished by the best engineer of their generation routinely. Yet, that is precisely the reason he is restricted.

Ortho can only change though the hands of someone else. Someone who loves him dearly, yes, but someone who can't truly understand him for him. He does not have the autonomy to choose who he wants to be. In the eyes of all he is only the extension of his brother. A belief he has internalized.

So, his signature spell is now called "River of Data".

It allows him to use radio waves to transfer his consciousness to any form of technology and even follow its path of electricity to other devices. However, he can't alter any of it. He can only see what the coding is.

("River of Data" so fitting for someone so lost to the currents of fate, so pliant to wherever the streams take him. Someone who wants nothing more than to leave yet doesn't.)

-

Sebek's signature spell is another case of a spell discovered before the events of the story but, compared to the rest of the first years, he does have the incentive and the resources to develop it. What that development means, however, is different story.

Sebek is already someone that holds himself to a high standard. Not getting into NRC and the expectations that come with knighthood only heightens that to its extreme. He would use all that he was given, give all that he was just to prove himself worthy.

But despite how hard he tries that standard of "worthiness" was never something he could ever achieve simply because the world around him, the court of Briar Valley, and even himself have judged him lesser because of his humanity. Which creates just another reason for him to be stricter with himself.

This Sebek can only see one version of himself that is worthy. He can only strive to be one thing. He can only imagine power in one way. The combination of those factors creating a spell that is exceptional, but extremely limited

Therefore, his UM would be called "Lightning Armor"

As the name suggests, it allows him to turn his body into lightning. In this state, any damage he sustains will be null as the lightning will always return to his original body shape. However, for those same reasons, he cannot manipulate the lightning in any way either; moving, lowering the voltage, jumping across surfaces.

("Lightning Armor" what a pathetic name. A knight who can do nothing but hide behind a flashy title and a half-made purpose no one needed him to fill, too cowardly to even face himself, stuck in a prison of his own making.)

-

Yuu hadn’t been able to stop picking at their fingers even as Deuce’s equally as jittery hands forced them to stop. Ace’s own agitated palms never leaving the deck of cards creaking in his grip.

“I can’t just leave it! He looks like he’s about to burst a blood vessel from thinking too hard!” He hissed in Yuu’s general direction.

“Unless you find some way to tire him out enough to stop spiraling, I suggest you take your own advice and pipe down.” An annoyed ear flicked from another corner as Ace yanked his head around with annoyance.

"Oh I'll give him something that will tire him out real good! Hey, Sebek-"

"Don't. We don't know who could be lookin' if you two end up fightin'." The reminder causes everyone to wince. Eyes flicking cautiously towards the half covered window. Curfew was already an hour or two ago, but you could never know with night raven, especially not now.

Defeated, Ace sat down again with a huff. Hands aggressively shuffling the worn deck. Silence once again the loudest sound in the room, amplified by the whirl of fans and the thumps of anxious limbs on wood.

Yuu sucked in a breath. Such a normal sound suddenly jarring in the absence of the regular chatter their sleepovers usually entailed. They rubbed the sore spot between their eyes.

It still seemed so impossible what happened. So outlandish and ridiculous no one wanted to even talk about it.

One moment everything was fine. The next everything when to shit.

One moment Ace was goofing around in history like he always does. Eyebrow raising dramatically as he said-

-I mean, come on, really?” He jabbed. “One of the most notorious criminals in history and the best catchphrase he can come up with is full house?”

“Hey, I think it’s intimidating!”

“You and no one else Juicey,” He wave dismissively, ignoring Deuce’s squawk of indignation as he continued. “Seriously, think about it!”

His hands flapping sloppily to pantomime pulling a deck out of the air. “Who in their right minds would look at someone saying “I summon you full house” and be scared-”

Suddenly, He freezes. The teasing in his tone immediately dashed as he feels card stock between his fingers. A bright red joker slipping from his grip.

“What the hell-

-The next their entire friend group was now scum of the earth because they were -allegedly- reincarnated fucking war criminals.

One moment, their motley crew was just another oddity on campus who could go about their day with worrying about the-

-staring. I can’t stand the staring.” Deuce grimaced, poking at his measly lunch tray.

“Bear with it.” Jack whispered back, trying to focus on the square of table in front of him even as the hushed gossip made his face twist.

“I know. I know. But sevens damn. I didn’t expect the news to spread this fast.” He replied frantically.

They couldn’t even breathe, not when the tension clung to skin like blot. Every eye pinning itself to their corner of the cafeteria like rusty pins. Only three of them looked anything remotely normal, but even then they looked close to cracking.

“Please. We’re lucky it’s only this much.” Epel huffed. “If Trein didn’t step in in time it would have been even worse.”

Ace winced again, looking away towards the wall. Ortho pat him gently on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much Ace-San” He tried to reassure. “Trein-sensei has done his best to make sure no one can verify the claim and I’ve cleared any footage I could find.”

“Based on my calculations a rumor of this kind and legitimacy will start to fall out of relevancy in a month if conditions remain the same.” The humanoid added half cheerfully.

The if continues to hang in the air.

-The next they couldn’t even sleep in their own dorms without worrying. The pile of foreign blankets and pillows stacked up in the corner a bitter reminder.

One moment, there was the slightest bit of hope that maybe, just maybe everything was going to be alright. That their efforts of being nice and polite despite all the bullshit this goddamn school had throw at them across several weeks had paid off. That being locked out and scorned by their own dormmates was not for fucking nothing.

Please. Please. Please. What do you-

-mean next week!” He slammed his fist into the desk.

“Trappola please calm down. I know it sounds unreasonable, but-”

“Of course it’s fucking unreasonable! You’re sending us to be murdered by the rose court!” He jabbed manically. “In a week! A week!”

“I- I don’t even-”

Ace grabbed at his face. Folding himself into his hands as humourless laughter erupted in the frozen room. Horror and anger seethed beneath stricken faces as that damned Crow tried to continue.

“Your sentences have not been decided! It is just a preliminary trial! Please just cooperate-”

“Even so, that is more than irrational headmage! There is barely any evidence for us to be trialed in the first place!” Sebek hissed. “And to tell us now is even more irresponsible!”

“Yeah! What the hell is a week gonna do!”

“What the fuck Crowley!”

“I- I need to call my mom.”

“What the fuck.”

“What am I supposed to say!”

“What the FUCK.”

“You incompetent WASTE OF-”

“I GET IT.”

“I get it.” He says, so deceptively calm.

“Nothing you have said is false.” A hand pressing beneath his mask.

“But there is nothing we can do to stop them.” He sighs. The sound is heavy, so achingly- achingly human, sagging against the chair.

“Please. Understand.”

There is nothing else to be said.

No one could sleep the following night, nor the next. And now here they were. Trapped, with nothing to do but wait for that next moment.

And Yuu is… so so tired of waiting.

They looked around the room once again, taking in the disarray and hopelessness that has settled over the entire group like a miasma. Hesitantly, they sucked in a deep breath

They had to do something. Even despite their own fears and hesitation there must be something.

And breathed out before clapping their hands together.

“Everyone!” Eyes snap towards them as Yuu patted the ground. “We need to talk.”

At first, there is nothing as the rest of the first years looked around awkwardly. The uncomfortable unease that simmered in the background boiling back now that they had to actually… acknowledge the problem. No one wanted to think about it, let alone talk.

Still, Yuu continues to gesture towards the floor next to them. Hand drumming against the floor with enough persistence to wear them down bit by bit. Slowly, with resignation, the rest of the first years sat down.

“What is there to talk about?” Ace huffed as he settled on the floor, counting on his fingers.

“The card happened. Everyone hates us. Crowley happened. Everyone hates us even more! Bada bing bada boom cased closed.” He flourished his hands with faux enthusiasm.

Vague sounds of agreement go around the room.

“Well can we at least try?” Yuu pleaded with exasperation. “Like uh- try start at the beginning or something- Who... were the seven exactly?”

“Pfft, please, we're not 4. I doubt anyone hasn't heard of the seven scourges-” Yuu raised an eyebrow making Ace chock on his own spit.

"Ah- right. Forgot about the uh other world thing." He cough into his fist alongside several other members of the group. "Sorry."

"Well uhhh..." He trailed off, trying to remember what he thought he knew only to come up blank. "Sebek?"

The boy in question looked up with a startle "Wha- Why me?!"

"Come on man help a brother out! You're the one whose been glued to that book!"

"Ugh... fine. If you insist." The half-fae huffed before reaching for the novel in question.

"In the simplest terms, the seven evils were a band of criminals that originated in the Rose Queendom who terrorized much of Twisted Wonderland before the time of the great Seven." He started, flipping over to the map for them to see.

"It is said that the leader of the group -the Renegade- just appeared one day and was caught trying to insight chaos in the then ruling queen's court," He pointed to a spot on the heavily annotated page, right at the middle of the Queendom. "but before they could be sentence the criminal had already escaped with the help of the Trickster, Monster and Serf."

“As revenge for being captured, the Renegade left a truly terrifying path of destruction in their wake. Not just in the Rose Queendom, but across the Land of Dawning and parts of the Shaftlands as well.” He moved his finger, trailing the path of destruction on the page with a grimace, from one end of the world to the other in one fell swoop. "This is why the group had so many titles. All given to them by the many they tormented."

"Wait, this was before the Sevens right? How did they even cross the ocean?" Yuu interjected in confusion.

"While it was much harder to travel across the sea before the popularization of portals and other forms of transport, it wasn't impossible." Ortho jumped in. "It is theorized that, with the help of the Poisoner and Brute as accomplices, the Renegade managed to find ways on passenger ships that delivered trade and people across the continents."

“Although always through brutal means. Giving the band ample time to cause havoc compared to the Rose Queendom who needed to go through official methods.” Sebek crossed his arm bleakly.

“It took a full year for the entire band was captured. By then the damage was so severe that the entire group were labeled war criminals even though only one to two members operated at any given time.”

“Jeez, what they even do for it to be that bad?” Grim muttered quietly, finally piping up from where he was curled on Yuu’s lap. He didn’t intend for anyone to answer, but Ortho leaned in anyways.

“Well, from my research, the seven criminals committed many acts of atrocities that in included: murder, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture, attacks against civilian populations or non-combatants, use of chemical weaponry, and pillaging.”

“…”

“Christ.”

“Precisely for those reasons, upon the recapture of the Renegade, the entire band was executed almost immediately.” He snapped the book shut.

"However, in those final moments it was revealed that somehow in the time it took to captured their leader the other members managed to alter the programming of the Queendom’s Azure Knight! Making it expend all its energy to cast a spell that did something to the souls of the criminals."

"According to the accounts of multiple mages present, their mana signatures didn't dissipate, it just disappeared. To where? No one knew." He sighed deeply before continuing.

"The panic that ensued from the idea that the entire band could still be out there pushed the then queen to create a treaty alongside several other nations in the event the seven evils rose again..."

"..."

"...What else?" Yuu asked after a moment of silence.

Sebek looked back at Yuu in confusion as he put away the book. "There is nothing else."

"Wait really? Nothing else?" Their face scrunched as they tilted their head. "7 of the most notorious criminals ever recorded and that's all we know about them?"

"Unfortunately, that is the case Yuu-san." Ortho replied sadly as Sebek nodded the same. "History records that came before the Seven are hard to preserve and what did survive focused more on the damage they left rather than the criminals themselves."

"Not to mention the effect that linguistic drift and oral recordkeeping has had on accuracy of these stories." The half-fae tacked on. "We still have no idea what the actual names of the criminals were, nor their relationship to one another. The only thing that survived is their legacy as symbols of villainy."

"...Til now." Epel remined causing everyone to wince.

"The first confirmed case of reincarnation and it just had to us." Ace groaned into his hands "It's exactly our luck."

"How are they so sure?" Deuce mumbled as he looked at his hands. "I- I don't feel like anyone else. I don't think I could ever do what they did... Right?"

"Of course not."

"To compare you to them is disrespectful."

"If ya say that again I'll hit ya!" Epel threatened before, slowly, he droops again. "But it doesn't really matter what we think does it."

“They’re gonna think whatever they fuckin’ want and we’re just gonna have ta deal with it.” He mutters with anger.

“How is this even legal?!” Ace hissed. “How in the Sevens can they just drag us off without even telling our parents! No- Scratch that. How the fuck is this thing still active.”

“It’s older than dirt! Most of the places that signed it in the first place have died 8 times over!” He throws his hands up in exasperation. "How is it still alive?!"

"It's written using magic. It doesn't matter how many times a nation changes hands, if it still believes itself to be the same country." Jack ran a tired hand through his hair. "Unless the Queendom itself disappeared there's no way it could be lost."

"Wait, magic laws?" Yuu whipped their head over to Jack.

"Think of it like one of Azul's contract." He explained. “The holder of the contract enforces a specific set of terms and conditions on those who sign it in return for a service.”

“In this case, the Queendom is promising they’ll take care of the seven if they ever reemerge in other nations, only under the conditions that those nations allow them free rein over said criminals.” He continued seriously.

“But of course -like that slimy octopus- the Queendom is only required to go by the word of the law and not the spirit of it, so here we are.” Ace muttered angrily into his palm.

The group paused a bit as they chewed over the words, remembering less than pleasant memories of the on campus mafia with a shudder.

“If we could just rip up that stupid treaty like we did with Azul this would be so much easier.” He sighed.

“If you genuinely believe that I question your intelligence more than usual human.” Sebek raised his brow with disgust. “Not only is doing so highly illegal, it would be insane to think that the Queendom doesn’t have duplicates stashed away. It’s one of the most important texts of the nation historically and legally!”

“Jeez. Calm your pedantic ass down I was just spitballing!” Ace raises his hands defensively. “What I was trying to say was that if there was another option I would take it okay!”

“Is there another option in the first place?” Deuce looked unconvincingly at Ace.

“Maybe! I don’t know!” Ace shot back. “Like if magic laws are just a bigger and dumber version of contracts shouldn’t they follow the same rules?”

“…Technically, yes.” Ortho tried tentatively. “If you manage to destroy the physical form of a contract, the soul it’s bound to, or the magic itself it would disappear, but all those options would require an astronomical amount of magic equivalent to that of some of the top mages in the world…”

Everyone turned to look at Sebek.

“W- what!” He snaps with a panic.

“Ya know. That lord o' yours.” Epel points out.

"Fools! Malleus-sama would never! Not only is it idiotic, dangerous, and highly illegal, I doubt be would even-" He freezes, the heat in his voice dying as he looks away. "...bother."

The group grimaces before Yuu looked towards Ortho to change the topic.

"Ortho can you access the treaty?" They ask with an edge of desperation. "Even if it's still active, it's old enough that we can find some leeway to work with right?"

"Unfortunately not Yuu-san," He shook his head. "Most of the clauses have been update for the modern court system. The closest I could find is the modern use of term "bring to justice" allows us a right to counsel, but that's it."

"Then what can we say to defend ourselves legally." They bite their thumb nervously as they looked to the others.

"Maybe we can say that we don't remember jack shit." Epel sighed. "It's close enough to amnesia."

Both Ace and Deuce winced.

"Yeah, no. Do you know how brutal Rose court is?" Ace pressed. "I once saw a guy on the new who got lost on private property while shitfaced drunk and he still got a whole year in prison."

"It doesn't matter what your physical condition was, if you did it you would still be judged the same." Deuce continued grimly. "The best you can hope for is a reduction, but in the best case scenario that's still decades in jail for us."

"Unless we can somehow prove ourselves innocent we're as good as gone." Jack added. "And we're more likely to meet the King of Halloween before then..."

“So…” Yuu looked around desperately as tried to swallow the stone in their throat. “Is there really nothing we can do?”

No one says anything for a long while, slowly, slowly, slipping back into the oppressive hopeless silence. Ace shuffles his cards. Yuu picks at their hands. Peeling away the chipped skin, bit by bit by bit by-

"Yuu..." A paw on their thigh stops them.

"Does that..." Grim looks up at them from where he was curled. His voice small and his ears cupped back. "Does that mean you're all really leaving?"

"No! Of course not Grim." Yuu hurriedly cradles the direbeast against their chest. "We're just- We-"

"We..." Their voice wavers as they try to grit their teeth weakly. "I'm sorry Grim."

A loud slam jolts everyone out of their stupor as eyes whiz over to the source of the sound.

"Ace what the hell!?"

"I can't deal with this shit anymore!" He yelled "Why are we just sitting around moping! We're about to die for seven’s sake! We have to do something!"

"Do what!? What can we possibly do? We-" Ace cuts them off frantically.

"What can we do? We run! That's what!"

"Huh?!"

"What other choice do we have!" He presses urgently as he looks to the rest of them. "No matter what we do we're doomed either way! Why not choose the option that gives us even the slightest chance of finding something?"

He looks around again as he bites his lip waiting for them to say anything. Still, the rest of the group stays frozen. A thousand and one objections and fears swirls in their minds and on the tips of their tongues like lead.

"I..." Sebek speaks first. "I agree with Trappola."

"Really?" Ace turns in surprise.

"Yes, I- Wait, why are you surprised!?"

"I don't know man! You always find my ideas stupid."

"Because they are idiotic! And so is this one! Never before have I seen a plan so slapdashed, so incompetent and so reckless!" He pause for a moment. "...However, it is the best plan we have."

"Master Lilia…" He looks down for a moment before he tries to steels himself. “The most important lesson he has taught me is that you have prioritised survival first, no matter what. Even if it's hopeless at the very least we have to try. Everything else can come after."

"Yeah! I'm don't want to lose my hench human!" Grim yowled as he leaped onto Yuu's shoulder. "No way!"

"...Yeah." Deuce said quietly before he repeated. "Yeah! We can't give up before we even did anything."

"I ain’t givin’ up yet!" Epel balled his hand even as it shook at the edges. “Not yet.”

"There is no way of calculating the odds of surviving this string of events in comparison to the overblots, but we’ll never know if we don’t see for ourselves. " Ortho added on as he steadied himself.

Jack took a long, deep breath before he replied. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we might as well. There’s no other choice anyways."

Yuu looked around the room to the faces in front of them so full of hesitation and fear, yet still resolve.

"Then it's settled." Yuu said grimly. "We're getting out of here."

-

What I liked:

My god these kids are so stinkin cute I’m going to cry

This movie spends a lot of its effort into making the gang into a friend group that actually likes each other

They are so affectionate with each other that the emotional scenes land harder as well

The animation and art are superb as always

The design of the sea people and their society is also very clever combining both aspects of coral and deep see creatures together

a few scenes are very well executed with the acting, lighting, and sound design coming together beautifully to express the tension of the scenes

this movie is also surprisingly not afraid of getting super dark; like we genuinely assume that Jaian and Suneo actually died and the threat of literal execution is treated with the gravity it deserves

the theme the story tries to tackle is also very unique, the clash between what is “logical” and what is “right” that drives the characters to change is one I’m not sure Doraemon has tackled before

Also I’m happy that this movie had the guts to give Shizuka a more expressions even the quote on quote ugly ones

Shizuka rarely gets the chance to express her emotions as sharply as the boys do so I like that she gets to actually cry, and be expressive and take initiative in this movie

Things I didn’t like:

the pacing of many parts felt very rushed, many of the aspects of the story would have benefited from having more time to marinate and develop like Eru’s development, Buggy’s past, and the conflict as a whole

The overall jankiness of the story makes its good moments less powerful -for example to make the ruler of Mu bow before a person is a powerful symbol that could convey the power of change but because they made him do it twice and so easily that action just lost its impact on me

There is also a lot of tonal dissonance in this movie, like the gag with the hammer while Suneo and Jaian were literally dying, and other incidents like it make the mood of the story confusing in some ways

the story also included a lot of detail that I feel were underutilized or just unnecessary

For example I feel like the “machine that scans your brain and decides if you are evil or not and throws you in prison no matter how actually guilty you are” would have worked so well as a metaphor for a prejudiced society that judges people based on appearance so I’m pretty bummed that that plot point never gets expanded on

Additional I feel the environmental message of the movie is a bit sloppy tacked on, almost like an afterthought, along side the human/sea people conflict

In my mind either the movie should have cut that part out for the sake of streamlining the plot or they should have weaved it in better into how humans harm the world to show why the sea people might harbor so much mistrust of humans

The plot itself also has weird plot holes everywhere, it almost feels like the writers had to cut down on scenes for one reason or another and that caused the story to be a lot more disjointed

The ship and money never gets explained, why the nuclear weapons were only disabled now of all times, the weird fabric thing that fell out of Nobita’s shirt when he got shot doing absolutely nothing, etc…

also while I love the gang to death Nobita and Doraemon were frustratingly stupid this time around

I feel like the confrontation with Poseidon could have been done so much better because why did they just try to shoot it???? Twice????

Also how in the hell did Buggy actually destroy the ai core, it jus seemed weirdly fast and instantaneous to me

Overall this movie was pretty decent to me in that it’s a pretty fun watch but still I’m deeply frustrated by what it could have been

If I could re-write this movie I would keep a lot of the same core aspects just expanded different

I would change a few details like maybe the rulers of Mu have been using their mind scanning tech to imprison those who could potentially pose a threat to the safety of society even if they haven’t done anything wrong in an effort to protect themselves and their citizens.

Maybe I’ll throw in some jokes about how Buggy is a cheaper model because it has no safety precautions and can self destruct. And expand on why Buggy doesn’t act when things go wrong because that is the “logical protocol” is complacency. And expand on the moment Buggy spends with the Gang.

Along side it I would make Eru and Buggy spend time together as well as parallels in a sort of way due to how they are breaking free of them systems of what is “logical” compared to what is “right”. Because in the og movie it seemed pretty out of place to me for Eru to talk about Buggy’s sacrifice when they barely interacted with each other.

And instead of the rulers of Mu just immediately agreeing to go with Eru’s plan they dismiss him, saying “it’s too risky” or “we shouldn’t trust humans” and “our technology has proven to us that humans are untrustworthy”

Because of that Eru has defy orders and break the gang out himself because he knows complacency will get them all killed and he knows now that the gang are good people who do not conform to what society dictates as “evil” and he shouldn’t either

Now there’s three groups going against each other. The Poseidon Ai trying to destroy the world, the government trying to find and dismantle the formerly dormant nukes hidden all over the region even though it’s a futile task, and the Gang and Eru trying to stop the problem at its roots.

Now this creates a parallel between Mu and Poseidon, both being parties stuck in their own ways, believing themselves to be right, and trying to maintain that image even if it means destroying everything around them. The key difference is why they would do something like that and how willing they are to change for the better.

While Poseidon can’t face the truth right in front of its face, willing to destroy the world for no reason other that spite and following its literal coding with no deviation, Mu has people to protect, their hearts -however misguided- can be changed for the better if they make the choice to accept change. Change that comes in the form of the Gang when Mu finally decides to help them by drawing away the enemy forces and listening to Eru.

The final confrontation happens differently (I don’t know how because I am very bad at fight choreography but it has to different, Doraemon and Nobita cannot be this idiotic for the love of all that’s good) but what remains the same is that when all hope seems lost Buggy sacrifices itself illogical to save those who it calls friends, using its foreshadowed self destruct feature to destroy Poseidon. Once again reaffirming that doing what is right is sometimes not doing what is logical.

When Poseidon is destroyed and the Gang returns to Mu is when the rulers finally bow before them and thank them for their sacrifice and speaks their hope for a better future between sea-people and humans. Where everyone is commemorated by Eru during his speech for helping him see the truth and pushing him to change, all 6 of them including Buggy.

He doesn’t do it often and he doesn’t do it when he’s with other people. But if he gets left alone for too long or he feels stressed about something that he feels no one else can help with he will talk to himself.

This originates from his fear and memories of being alone or being lost, which is translated into an anxiety around long periods of silence.

Pretending to have a conversation basically tricks his brain into being hopeful that someone else is there with him. The same effect applies to a lesser extent when listening to music, but only the songs with lyrics. And he can’t listen to same song on repeat too many times or it will eventually become background noise and ineffective.

He’s not conscious of the why of his behavior but if you ask him he’ll just tell you it helps him think and he does get embarrassed if people catch him doing it

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Shizuka avoids being in the same confined space or standing too close to strangers and whenever she enters a room she will instinctively look for all the nearest exits.

She’s also awkward around physical contact she did not initiate or from people she doesn’t trust. She’s especially not keen when people put their hands on her shoulders or close to her head.

It manifests as a mental itching sensation around the touched area and especially her throat or wrist. Which is why she has the habit of rubbing her neck or arms when talking to new people. And whenever she talks to clients for work she often chooses public places like cafes during the day or places she knows well.

In general she avoids situations where she has to alone with a person she doesn’t know or trust.

This stems from the numerous times she’s been held captive or been threatened by another person. She’s very aware that’s she’s doing this and tries to minimize it as much as possible because despite her discomfort. She does want to seek professional help eventually, but she doesn’t have the time or resources to do so yet.

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Suneo overexplains himself a lot when he’s anxious and he has a tendency to lie more when he does.

It’s almost uncontrollable and the lies he tells often cause more problems for him than not. It happens a lot when he's talking to someone intimidating or to people he feels uncomfortable around, especially when they start to question him on something. It doesn't matter how insignificant the question was, or how completely sure he knows the answer, he will still panic.

He panics the most when the topic questions his validity or competency.

He often has to go through conversations multiple times beforehand and all the scenarios that can happen to make sure he doesn't veer off into unscripted territory. When that method fails and he ends up lying to a person he keeps a notebook on him to keep the story straight and try to stop the situation from getting worse.

Like the rest of the gang, he is anxious about his ability to keep himself and others safe after everything they've went through, this manifest as an instinctual over reliance on his speech when he feels he has no other option. He is very much aware of this behavior and tries (unsuccessfully) to stifle it the best he can, but he blames it more on himself than outside factors.

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Jaian exercises to a worrying extent.

If he can't think or feels overwhelmed or feels any other sort of unwanted emotions his instinct is to exercise until he feels better or just exhausted enough to take his mind off it. During these bouts he often forgets to take care of himself or even make sure he's not straining himself in the long term.

His go to is weightlifting, but if that is not available, he'll settle for anything else that has a rhythm like jogging or swinging a bat over and over. If he can't exercise at all he will fidget, taping his foot or fingers in that same rhythm.

In a way the mindless task and strain on the body keeps his restless limbs preoccupied and keeps him not having to think. But because of that he sometimes loses touch with the outside world when he exercises, and it can take several calls for him to respond.

He shares the same anxiety, he is worried about his ability to protect himself and especially the people around him, which results in a feeling of helplessness even when there's no actual threat. All that restless energy is redirected into physical training instead.

He is aware of his want to be stronger, he just doesn't understand why.

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Doraemon has to check in on everyone at least twice a week and he always verges on overbearing whenever he does.

Unlike the others this habit only manifested itself fully once everyone left for university and they no longer had the chance to see each other every day. He always calls on a schedule and askes generally the same questions about their well beings every time out of necessity because he will still feel anxious otherwise.

Even if he's tired or stressed or just plain forgot about someone because he's so busy there will always be some part of him that feels uncomfortable until he hears or sees from them again. Then the cycle will start again with Doraemon becoming more and more anxious before he calls again.

He prefers to see their face at the very least whenever he calls and he visits as often as he can. If there is something wrong with them when he calls he has the tendency to drop everything to go to them.