#just... thoughts

It's as if he was like- "Here are the memories that will explain my life" and they happened to also chronicle his whole dang process. I mean, he even gave Harry that memory where he claims that he thought using Dark Magic was funny. His indoctrination was fking included and none of it paints him in a good light. And yet.

If those are the memories that spilled out of him on purpose- like his life literally flashing before his eyes- it absolutely stuns me that all the memories he immediately thought of AND the ones he vulnerably gave Harry (with no choice, mind you) were the ones that revealed that he was a kid indoctrinated into a cult, was actually into it, and still got out of his own accord (idc why, he got OUT).

And for some reason- even though he actually got out- I get the sense that from how badly he's shown in those memories, he's still angry at himself for getting into the Death Eaters in the first place. His process of getting out is pathetic and sad and ugly because that's what happened and somehow, he doesn't choose to show it any other way (he's dying ofc but still). It's even in character for him to just...show things as they are or how he thinks things just are (a flaw at times).

But that memory of Dumbledore implying that perhaps Snape should have been in Gryffindor stuck with him despite how damn ugly and selfish his act of leaving the Death Eaters looks. And it's almost like he never really knew how to deal with that implication even while dying.

I am not a fan of the name 'Albus Severus'. But...it's like Harry saw Snape's whole process when Snape himself couldn't or did and was unable to forgive himself for being indoctrinated in the first place. Harry, who spent his whole life hearing that once a wizard goes Dark, they don't care about anything or have no chance of coming back.

They somehow fail to see how people from outside her circle, which is a very small space to maneuver at that, treat her and see her. And why her response is the way it is.

This is a person who is extremely isolated due to what her sole mission is, she can't be honest and talk to pretty much anyone, aside from Siuan and Lan. She is afraid to talk to people because she knows how the politics of the Tower works and how everyone is either trying to extract information or can be an enemy. Half of those people either see her as too secretive or downright awkward, they either mock her behind her back or don't trust her. And she probably feels all that. Liandrin, one of the very few who actually know her, has unresolved feelings for her and is hostile and aggressive to her.

The kids don't trust her, people see her as a witch, and I guess that goes for most Aes Sedai, but most Aes Sedai either reside mostly in the Tower, Tar Valon, or a couple of other places where they are respected, or don't travel as much to get that attitude from random people. Moiraine has to deal with all that, half of the time simply because she is a woman and doesn't reveal her status, or she is seen as evil and hated.

Then she gets to hold terrifying secrets, and she gets through an event that her Sisters consider their worst fear, she can't or doesn't speak about that, she can't go and share it with someone who has been through the same, because no one has been through this for ages. She gets to live through it alone, and that rot within her for months... which probably evokes even more isolation and fear, resulting in her being even more alone and cold to everyone...

She goes to her sister, and her sister is rightfully angry with her, which makes her look even worse. She treats her on and off, Moiraine either doesn't speak or answers badly... Logain is an ass to her, as expected.

She is ashamed to tell Siuan, she never actually speaks it out loud and even freaks out a bit when Lan only mentions it. She never utters the words, in her mind, this probably seems like a nightmare that doesn't stop, because she is afraid to face reality.

And people are Oh, she is awful. She is evil... Like you are so mature and kind when something bad happens to you? As if all of a sudden you become amazingly wise and sweet, while you are in pain, confused and terrified. Superhumans... Hospitals are full of people who are in pain but are great at socialising and oh-so nice. We tend to become angry and bitter. And this is normal. Fear speaks. Anger too.

The only people who seem to understand are Verin and Adeleas. And that woman's perspective, that motherly attitude from Verin feels like something that almost makes you cry. And it's not the pity one needs, but understanding and being kind. There is a difference that most people tend to mix up. And when you are hurting or going through something, this attitude from people around you tends to be even more annoying. Verin sees her and understands. I doubt Siuan, as it was in E 7 does. There is... some sort of pity, and someone mentioned disgust. Which is the worst possible combination in such a case. When you crave acceptance and understanding, love and kindness, just a bit, to see that in someone so close to you, it doesn't feel good at all.

I noticed something in S1 E7 - when Moiraine sent Lan to go see his family, and Lan introduced Nynaeve to them, they greeted her and called her Aes Sedai. They thank her for keeping Lan safe. They don't know her but assume she is an Aes Sedai who travels with Lan. Maybe I am wrong but...it seems that these people don't know what Moiraine looks like. They don't know her, so they confuse her with Moiraine. She never went with Lan. And these people are sweet and nice, but she never gets to experience that.

Even in Fal Dara, where people know who she is, they greet Lan warmly, and she is mostly ignored. That stings. Then Lord Agelmar is treating her as an annoyance, with cold formality, almost dismissing her. And she is almost on the edge here to snap at him.

This goes on and on, and people are oh why is she like that?! Because they treat her like shit, that's why!

And at the end, show Moiraine is called "a cow" by some people. Nice. Soooo they get to dig into 14 books, find connections, and hidden clues, but don't understand what they see right in front of them?! You don't hear what is said? A hell of a way to understand people.

Even when she attempts to protect Lan and make him leave, to be away from her because she most likely will attract danger. This is not only obvious, but he says it again and again. She is still seen as the bitch who treats him shitty, just because. Talking about superficial thinking...

But how can this stupid man not see through her when he has known her for so long and so intimately?! Why is he acting so dumb? If you treat someone like crap for months, especially when that someone trusts you and has tremendous respect for you, observe what that does to their self-esteem. Keep dismissing them, ignore them, and act as if they are a liability. And then tell them something slightly ambiguous, almost transparent, and observe how they would take it. Actually, no need to go that far at all. We all have seen it, one way or another.

Everyone else who knows them will never think twice about what she meant when she said "We were never equal." Her tone is harsh, her face expresses what would be read as contempt or something similar. And after months of bad attitude and a reveal of how many things she hid from him, how else would he see it? The whole foundation of their relationship was undermined by her, meticulously, for months, bit by bit, blow by blow. Refusing to speak to him, refusing to give him her usual trust and respect. The message is clear - you are no longer important to me, you are no longer of use. For someone who claimed that she gave him everything, a meaning, a reason to live and to die for... That seems like a pretty big deal. And now all that is gone. How dare he react like a human being! Almost like when she informs him in The Great Hunt what would happen to him in case she dies. And in the books, she is this serene creature, with a soft voice, who never does anything cruel or slightly shitty, like reminding him in TDR "Walk faster or you know who I am going to call..." FFS, even I was "WHAT the fuck, woman?!" and the people around them were like Damn, whatever that was, Lan got angry... You think?!

Everything that happens on screen in Star Wars is being performed by the stupidest mother fuckers that end up in significant places.

Saw this tweet and it makes a good point. Sure Koichi's monologue explained they'll find out what happened to their loved ones but I really want to see how it would happen, y'know? They will go report to the police, news about this will be covered and they'll soon find out it's been Kira all along. But what if they mistaken him for Kosaku? Believing he's the killer or an accomplice to Kira.

But hey, that's just a theory. A film theory-

Oohhh interesting

See, a lot of how a lot of the Detective Prince is drawn from Akechi purposefully making himself pleasing to, and ingratiating himself toward, adults. That's a fact. A lot of his aspects there are straight up fabricated- like, for instance, his leaning toward sweets when the truth is that he doesn't care about the taste of what he eats much at all (aside from "too spicy" it seems).

But my thoughts were drawn more toward something else - how he is with Akira. And from there, the question of "what is genuine."

Here's an idea - with adults he didn't care about other than to impress them to gain their respect, he'd act a certain way, sure, but for Akira? We see that from the start, but most obviously from Rank 2, he isn't so much trying to ingratiate himself into Akira's good graces. In fact (and this is especially seen in the Japanese, from what I saw once), he's rather patronising and wants to put Akira in his place, which is in line with his earlier line of "if the Phantom Thieves faced a truly strong enemy, they'd run." He doesn't respect Akira a lot, and Akira only gives him reasons to at the end of Rank 2, with his keen observations.

But for the rest of the time, there's still a subtle sense of "Detective Prince" to him, right?

And that's where I started thinking, "what if some of how he acts with Akira is him putting on a mask of "if I weren't in this position, if my reasoning for hanging out with him was just this, how would I act?" - in other words, "in a world where we could just be friends."

Which, as I was writing the post, made ne think, "this is what Maruki gave him" because isn't it just? The thing is, though, that Akechi couldn't separate how he had grown up from who he came to be, and that's a big part of what drew him to Akira, as well as what kept coming through the cracks in his masks, and in the end, what made their bond fully rank up - the truth.

Maruki could give Akechi that bond without any of the pain, but it'd be flimsy, because just as much - or even more so than - any of the others, his bond wasn't built on a foundation that could last once you took the pain of his and Akira's respective pasts away.

Which accounts for the third semester, but- it also accounts for how I write him and see him, having a lot of those mannerisms and ways of putting himself across that aren't much different no matter which face he's wearing. The Detective Prince is a fabrication built to seem perfect, and perfect children and young adults only get angry in the right amount. In the third semester he's always angry because the situation calls for it, and he's got no chance to rest away from the danger and threat of dying the moment they're done. With Shido he focused on looking how Shido would want to see his assassin/hitman act.

Outside of all that? I'm thinking of the Akechi we see in unguarded moments, someone who's allowed to show frustration and anger without having his only outlet being the Metaverse. Someone who'd still have trouble letting people in, but who would have more genuine relationships given he'd be able to be honest in them. I think about how it's common for people who've lost their childhoods to any sort of abuse or neglect to regain it in some way, so him not just rambling about things to people he trusts not to make fun of him, but also using his money to indulge in his own interests that aren't to impress other people might also be a thing.

I vaguely remember seeing someone deride the idea that he'd take a year or so to himself, but I think he would need that time to get to know himself. Not just to figure out what he does and doesn't like, but also to accept the parts of him that either are just plain "Goro Akechi" that were integral parts of the Detective Prince mask that he may have seen as fake and false, as well as the things he only started doing because of it that are now a full part of who he is.

Maybe they take care of the coaches -- the Zebstrika and Rapidash that pull the coaches, too.

Josh and Hank have been there the longest. They remember when the princes were children, even babies. They supervised the boys when they came out to look at the Zebstrika and Rapidash, and let them play with the baby Blitzle and Ponyta -- carefully, of course.

The twins once got one of the cooks to teach them how to make cakes so that they could give something to Josh and Hank for their birthdays. After all, the two men let them play with the babies! And taught them how to ride!

The twins were, like, six when the cakes happened. Spent all day in the kitchens both times, of course under adult supervision, and still had flour all over their very nice clothes when they presented said cakes. Aprons can only cover so much. It was very cute.

They also remember when, abruptly, Ingo shut himself in his room, coincidentally around the same time that Emmet came down with some sort of nasty lethargy that had him bedridden for days.

Ingo never came back after that, and Emmet was never as energetic.