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I assumed that Flint's Treasure Island death was just a rumor is Black Sails-verse, just because tonally it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And Jack Rackham's whole ending monologue is about how stories diverge from fact over time, which allows for wiggle room between the show and book.

Listen the heartbreaking thing is that Treasure Island is James Flint’s greatest fear. He says in the absolutely iconic Freedom in the Dark speech that I am still not over

“We will have been for nothing. Defined by their histories distorted to fit into their narrative until all that is left of us are the monsters in the stories they tell their children.”

And that is what happens. That is what Treasure Island is: the definitive pirate story, in which Captain Flint is nothing more but a monster. A novel that almost every child reads….Flint literally becomes a monster in the stories they tell their children. A man who tried to change things, to destroy the myth of the inevitability of empire, to remake the new world…becomes a monster in that empire’s stories. 

Well great, anon, now I’m crying. 

I mean, the entirety of Black Sails is about stories. The irony is that the reason James is so effective as Flint is precisely because of the myth he himself creates around Flint - and yet in that myth, he is the monster. He has to be, that’s the only way that myth retains power. That label plagues him, as John Silver points out to him (John Silver, conveniently, is “not int he least bothered by whatever labels anyone decides to afix to you.” This doesn’t change - his “I don’t care” in response to Flint’s speech in 4x10 is literally the same sentiment). Part of what makes the war/rebellion so effective is the story of Long John Silver that Billy comes up with. Jack is absolutely obsessed with the reputation he’ll have and the stories they’ll tell about him - seriously, it’s a running gag, and when he goes to Philadelphia he realizes just how much those stories get twisted. 

The thing is, queer people have always struggled to tell their own stories, from their perspective. Stories in which they’re not monsters or predators, in which they aren’t insane or diseased or wrong or perverted. Stories in which they don’t die. Stories of their lives as they are. I could come up with dozens of examples. The way that queer people are told “don’t shove it in our faces” while the media is covered with heterosexuality. The way that an entire generation of queer people was lost to the AIDS crisis because the government completely ignored it - and their lives and their stories and their experiences create a glaring gap. The way that Forster’s novel about two gay men who get a happy ending, Maurice, couldn’t be published until after his death, in the 1970s, even though it was written in 1914. The way that the queer character always dies, or the queer couple never gets a happy ending in the media, with very few exceptions. The way that queerness is coded as monstrous in horror cinema. I mean, I could go on for a while here. 

Flint, in his “Freedom in the Dark” speech, is talking about exactly that. He is a queer man who is fighting for (among other things, including, yes, revenge fueled by rage) the right to be who he is without shame, who implores John Silver to not go down in history as a monster - and John Silver, who is, as far as I can tell, a straight man, looks him in the eyes and says “I don’t care.” Another queer story is erased, told in such a way as to profit those in power. 

In a way, then, since Black Sails is the prequel to Treasure Island, I suppose John Silver’s choice was predictable (though hindsight is 20/20).  Treasure Island is the story that we’re left with about what happened, and the finale tells us how that story came about. 

So yes, Treasure Island is absolutely fake news and untrue and not what actually happened, but on a kind of meta-level, that very fact is still super important, because the story that gets left behind, even if it’s not actual fact, is important. You could say the whole story of Black Sails is the tragedy of queer stories being erased, of Black Sails being transformed into Treasure Island by those who wield power. And those stories have power - even if they’re not true, they affect things. They change things. James Flint knows this, and that is why he is so scared of going down as a monster in their stories. 

The thing about fanfiction after writing original fiction for so long is that it feels like taking weighted clothes off. If I wanted a cool plot twist or a reveal or a mystery I had to set up all the expectations myself. I had to set up the red herrings, the clues, the boundaries of what was reasonable.

In fanfiction I drop a name from canon I never referenced before and it will carry the weight that a hundred pages of set up would carry in original fiction.

Do you have any fucking idea how intoxicating that is.

Alright, I'm going to give a very unpopular opinion cuz I've been having a lot of thoughts.

I think that Eiko (from Makoto's Confidant) is overhated, and while not the most likable of people, she is realistically written. She doesn't do well in school, she doesn't have a good home life, and she doesn't seem to have a lot of friends either (she's kind of similar to Mishima almost although from what I remember he never struggled academically). Eiko's lonely, and she doesn't feel valued as a person at her core, which is why she attaches herself to her boyfriend who's very, very bad for her: he makes her feel like somebody.

And that's why she's so defensive when Makoto tells her he's bad news and tells her that she just doesn't understand: she has low self esteem and because of that she'd rather feel like she's worth somebody to someone even if they're toxic than be alone. That's what not being whole and not loving yourself will do: you develop codependent relationships with folks who are not good for you (or even ARE good for you but you rely on their companionship waaaaay too much).

Literally almost every person that I have encountered who dislikes Eiko will say "Oh she's so stupid she should've listened to Makoto." And she should've listened to Makoto, yes, because Makoto was right about Tsukasa being a bad person. But not listening to her doesn't make her stupid. Eiko was in an emotionally manipulative relationship because somebody took advantage of her low self image and once an emotional connection was formed it wasn't easy to break it off. It's very easy to say from an outside view that it's obvious that someone should leave a toxic relationship, but it's not as easy as just up and cutting that bond off, even when you know that it's unhealthy. Eiko wanted a long lasting relationship (and iirc she actually even knows deep down that Tsukasa is bad news but she doesn't want to admit it because she's that desperate for somebody to care about her) and put herself in dangerous situations in order to get it.

The thing that bothers me the most is when people find humor in Makoto hitting her and say that she deserves it. I could understand saying "it was a last resort", but to say that violence is deserved towards someone who's being emotionally manipulated doesn't sit right with me. Makoto hit her because she was angry and frustrated and that is never okay; which is why Makoto then makes amends with her later because she admits that she often acts impulsively and out of emotion (which is immature but she is working on it) and it is a fault of hers. And it's immensely frustrating that a lot of folks think Eiko getting hurt is funny and even warranted, just because she's stupid.

I am not saying that you have to like her or that you're wrong for disliking her, or that if you dislike her it is solely because you do not understand her, so please don't misunderstand. What I am trying to say is I feel like a lot of people DO misunderstand the nuance in her character (and that's not their fault because P5's writing is not always 10/10 let's be real) and because of that they reduce her to "stupid and annoying" when it is not that simple, is all. Eiko is a young woman struggling to find her worth. She's a victim, just like a lot of the cast, and getting through to her isn't pretty or fun because the affects of emotional manipulation are not pretty. (Same with Mishima and his codependency. He's been physically abused by people in authority and verbally mistreated by his peers)

Abuse victims do not recover overnight and they will not always listen right away even when they know that their friends love them and want what is best. It takes time to unlearn codependency. It takes time to unlearn self hatred. It takes time to learn to love yourself and associate with others who genuinely love you too. It takes time to set healthy boundaries if you didn't have them set and let people mistreat you. It's a process and it can be frustrating and I think the fandom as a whole could be more gentle in regards to characters who admittedly are not as appealing character wise but are still hurting and struggling like basically everybody else in the game. That's what P5 is about: rebelling against corruption but also helping and sympathizing with the people who are victims to it.

If you read all of this, thanks for giving me your time. I appreciate it. I like Eiko and I am glad that in the end she was able to try to get back on her feet and I wanted to write about it. Sorry if this is incoherent, I just wrote as things came to me. Anyway, take care of yourselves, and have a good day.

maruki analysis (??) thingy i made bc i’m horribly sick & have nothing else to do

he has a strange..selfless selfishness to him where like. he genuinely Does want to help ppl but his reality is something only he wants. even tho he frames it as better for humanity he’s the one who wants to live in a world where ppl can simply just forget their pasts, he’s the one who wants to live in blissful ignorance. he’s constantly running from his past but in doing so he only ends up hurting himself & those around him

even when akira does accept his reality he’s still miserable. he could’ve easily used his powers to live the life he wanted to w/ rumi but no, instead he chooses to make a world where he flat out doesn’t exist. rumi, akira, nobody remembers him, everyone else gets to live happily meanwhile he’s left to carry the world of his shoulders. i feel he just..doesn’t think he deserves to be happy

we don’t know anything about his backstories but honestly, i think he was depressed & had bad self worth issues even before everything. he cares very little for himself like as shown in his diary entry where he refers to himself as a “lowly researcher” and wonders if he’s even good enough for rumi, when he throws himself away to adam kadmon, & again where even in his perfect world there’s nothing for him

all in all, maruki is just an extremely sad person who’s only coping mechanism is running away

I think some people miss the fact that the Phantom Thieves are playing right into Yaldabaoth's hands when they change people's hearts. They're basically proving that people need someone else to act for them and that people aren't willing to solve their own problems. Just look at how they end up sending their targets back into the depths of Mementos.

Don't get me wrong, the Thieves are doing good by freeing people from Yaldy's control and from their selfish distorted desires (which are just another form of control), but they are also showing that people are unwilling to free themselves from Yaldy's control on their own. When people don't free themselves, they only end up being imprisoned even further by society. That's why all the morally redeemable characters in the game change their own hearts, and that's why the Bad Ending is Akira deciding to keep society just as it is under Yaldy's control, with the Phantom Thieves as heroes who continue to change the hearts of individuals, but society as a whole is kept stagnant for eternity.

This is also why the public's support for the Thieves is so important in the final battle. Without their support, the Thieves couldn't have defeated Yaldy, because the public needed to show that they wanted their hearts changed, that they didn't want to be controlled after all. They all needed to show a will of rebellion against their oppressor or the Phantom Thieves would have just become the same thing Yaldabaoth was doing by removing their free will. Prior to fighting Yaldy the PT don't respect the agency of their targets, and they solve other people's problems without thinking about how that might affect the person they're saving. By defeating Yaldabaoth, they let go of that power and give control back to the individuals of society so they can start to change their own lives again. The public shouldn't and can't rely on Yaldabaoth to solve their problems, and they shouldn't and can't rely on the Phantom Thieves to solve their problems either.

And again, don't get me wrong, Persona 5 says that it is good and even necessary to get help from others, but if you really want to improve your life you need to act for yourself. If society is going to improve people need to take destiny into their own hands. Persona 5 is about finding hope even in the darkest circumstances by forging connections with other people and refusing to let society crush you under its heel. But the key to this all is that you must choose to fight against the cruelties of society, even if it seems impossible. Hope for change can be seen by finding belonging with others and working together to change society for the better. In the words of Morgana:

"Even if you feel that only darkness lies ahead...as long as you hold hands together...see it through as one...the world will never end!"

i would LOVE to hear your opinion on maruki's therapy bc i see a lot of ppl saying he sucked as a therapist and i've never seen one so i can't really say anything with certainty...... but idk, i want joker to have at least an okay therapist just because it's a nice touch. also i think it's more satisfying narratively when maruki is someone joker can lean on for support and get attached to, but then has to oppose because shitty actualization. idk. pathetic wet man makes me go brrrrrr

Welcome to the autism zone.

So a lot of my thoughts on maruki’s therapy comes from my own experiences with a therapist in the past (I’m trying to get a new one right now) but. A lot of what Maruki’s ‘confidant perks’ and what they’re called suggest he’s giving Joker treatment for anxiety and depression, which makes a lot of sense given the way he acts in public outside of the joker persona, and the situation he’s in at Shujin (being bullied, for lack of a better term because it’s 5 am and I just woke up, and ostracised due to Kamoshida spilling his criminal record).

Practices like mindfulness and wakefulness sound like bullshit when you first have to start them, mostly because of the names, but the practices themselves are grounding techniques, being able to be present in your body, aware of your surroundings, and not letting yourself spiral via panic or depression and stuff. Detox is a term for drug addiction and alcoholism rehab, they’re not exactly practices we know Joker needs help with, but they’re most likely preventative measures, so that he doesn’t go Down those paths BECAUSE of his situation, which honestly makes sense, depression, anxiety, bullying from peers and the rest of it, including his criminal record and the way Japan treats students with criminal records, it makes sense that Joker could have easily gone down those routes if he didn’t have his friends and the metaverse to blow off steam and have an outlet for his emotions that he isn’t allowed to have in his day to day life. Flow is also a form of therapy treatment for handling depression, and mostly focus’ on capturing moments of positive mental states and allowing yourself to be completely focused and involved in Enjoyable activities that make you happy.

Because all of these therapy treatments that we get named from his confidant perks are Real therapy treatments that both Work and are widely used to treat specific mental health problems (Depression, Anxiety and Self-worth) we get both an insight into how Joker is actually feeling about things outside of what he shows and how useful these techniques are in his actual day to day life, because he’s using them to handle stressful situations in the metaverse.

There’s also the fact that Before everything, and AFTER everything, Joker doesn’t seem to hold much animosity towards Maruki, yes Akechi does and he’s Totally allowed to hate him, but neither Yoshizawa or Joker do, when Yoshizawa is more than justified in being angry and frustrated with him. And it might just be due to the abysmal lack of characterisation Yoshizawa gets, but mostly she seems like she too, like Joker, WANTS to help him, because we know that Maruki himself struggles with Self-worth problems, delusions of grandeur, a messiah complex (in both definitions of the term) anxiety and depression (along with a few other spicier things I don’t feel like mentioning because I’d need to bring up the psa’s on how demonised disorders need to be treated with respect since no one can do that on the internet). But there doesn’t seem to Be animosity between the three of them. Mostly just worry about someone they both cared about, and trusted.

There’s also the fact that, Jokers interactions with Maruki do not End After you help him with his research, we’re just cut off from the interaction at that point, because Joker in canon is explaining to Sae other more important things, he probably doesn’t feel the need to tell her the confidential therapy treatment he’s receiving at school. Their interaction continues, we get a fade to black, so it’s obvious he is getting actual therapy treatment, but Maruki has probably picked up on Jokers earth shattering savior complex and is easing him into the idea of therapeutic treatment by having him assist in his research, so Joker is more inclined to accept the help, since it’s a Transaction to Joker. If Maruki had more time to be Jokers therapist, and I assume he would have at some point Offered to continue his work as Jokers therapist after his tenure at Shujin ending, he would have eventually been able to work on that with Joker, and weaned him off Needing to help people all the time, and viewing social interactions as a transactional thing.

Anyways, yeah, I don’t think Maruki is a bad therapist outside of the horrors, I think people just don’t think about it because it isn’t spoon fed to them in a social link interaction, which is where the assumption that he’s Only using Joker as a sounding board comes from. But what would I know I just did media studies and have a special interest in analysing media, SHRUG

Im curious what are the maruki misinterpretations that the fandom can have do you dislike the most? Your maruki takes and analysations are great i’d love to see more of your thoughts on him :D

Thank you!! I love the wet man councillor and I spend a lot of time thinking about him, it’s a problem

And hmm there’s a few, a lot of them is the idea he’s doing stuff maliciously, which he isn’t, and like it doesn’t take a genius to go “yeah he’s not evil” he’s just sad and hurt and kinda dumb about his own emotions and I think literally anyone given the chance to control reality would be unable to handle it and stop themselves from shaping the world as they personally see fit, humans are complicated and no one is free from their own biases and ideas about what a perfect world would look like.

I’ve already gone on my rant about the whole bad therapist/ joker acts as his therapist thing so we don’t need a repeat of that here.

People using his as an instigator in stuff because they Need a Bad Guy tm for their fic and because Maruki is the Palace Ruler Joker and Akechi go up against together they default to Him and they just severely fuck up his character or misunderstand how he acts, a lot of the time making him an active antagonist or someone who genuinely hates the PT for dismantling his false reality, when Maruki really isn’t like that at all, his themes are literally called Gentle Madman and Out of Kindness, like Fucking come on man.

Those are just a few but I know if I look in my discord dms with my friends I’ll find more, because I don’t think I ever shut up, a large portion is just Misunderstanding his character, purposefully misunderstanding his character, or people not doing a little research into things I guess. The grey morals are allowed for other characters in the series but not Maruki I guess

Some people say Dragon Age: The Veilguard is "out of series" and "they ruined it" and "blah-blah dragon age is dead blah-blah".

I can understand (a bit) because if you really love something it may be hard to accept changes sometimes.

Yet I wonder, can these people see something besides art design or color accents? Yes, we're not in a dark grim cave anymore but, guess what, darkness among other things is meant to hide unperfected detalisation because game engines weren't so good back at a time. Color isn't everything - the narrative is.

Dragon Age: Origins is about Sacrifice. You sacrifice your life to a better cause and that decision goes hand by hand with you through the game.

Dragon Age II is about Powerlessness. You can't do anything to improve the world or save everyone. You just keep trying again and again while everything is falling apart.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is about Loss. While the world is losing the reliance and hope as the Church crumbles and Breach grows, Inquisitor loses their live and name (in some ways personality when becoming just a symbol) trying to restore the order. And then - a grand finale - Inquisitor's left with nothing losing everything.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is about Regret. And I have no doubt about Bioware' capability to break me down again.

Come on, don't you know who you are dealing with? You'll end up in tears. They will make you suffer, they will devastate you, they will tear apart piece of your soul again. In the end you'll be regretting decisions you made and think what would have been if you choose differently.

On that very merry note I wish you all to enjoy a nice peaceful life for the next few months because time is running and soon we'll be suffer again.

I do not have patience for "Gale wasn't groomed, and if you think he was you are just throwing around tiktok pseudopsychology buzzwords and refusing to acknowledge that Gale's story is about his ambition and hubris" discourse. That's an auto-block for me.

I'm happy to have a reasonable discussion as to whether or not what Gale experienced with Mystra was grooming in a sexual predator sense or merely a horribly unbalanced power dynamic between goddess and acolyte, but he was undeniably groomed for his role as Chosen in the "selected from a young age and trained for a particular position" sense. Elminster noticed his abilities and began training him when he was 8 years old. That's canon. He says as much his epilogue letter to Gale if Gale ascends. Everything in his life up until he got snatched up and tadpoled confirmed to him that he is only loveable if he is valuable or impressive, and that everything can be taken from him in an instant if he isn't constantly successful. A huge part of Gale's arc if you're romancing him and talk him down from ascending is him beginning to understand that he can be loved for who he is as a person regardless of his achievements and ambitions. Yes, he is arrogant. Yes, he is Icarian. But it's incredibly obtuse to ignore what information the game gives us about how his influences and mentors shaped him into who he is.

Ok I know I normally don’t make posts like this, but I’ve seen a lot of people talk about Harry’s relationship with Dora and how strange it is that he grieved their relationship for so long.  And like I get it, but your kind of missing the point?  Of the game?  Sure, he loved her, but it’s more than just... he was a really big wife guy or something.  To Harry, Dora was a symbol of the new age, something he had built his entire identity around.  When Dora left him, it was the moment that he realized the best of his days were gone and he’d lost everything.  

And that’s kind of the core of his character.  The whole game actually.  The new age was young and bright and people thought it would last forever, but the flame burnt out and left very little behind.  Harry is someone chasing down a past he can’t remember.  He wants more than anything to be young and cool again and it’s his central motivation.  It’s why he tries so hard to get the approval of the ravers.  It’s why he obsesses over Kim for his cool factor.  It’s why he steals the jackets from the wannabe skulls.  It’s why the way he dresses is an important mechanic of the game and why he seeks out clothes with a 'cool' factor to them.  It’s why he tries so hard to win Her back, because maybe if she’s there he’ll have his old life back and everything will be fixed.

And again, this reflects back on one of the main themes of promises left unfulfilled.  Of enthusiastic energy that burns out with time and reality.  Martinaise was promised revitalization.  Fortress Accident and the other denizens of the cursed financial district were promised success.  The revolution promised a new era.  Harry was promised a marriage.  The RCM promised order and security.  Dolores Dei promised great progress.  Etc. Etc.  All fail or die before they can.  And the game doesn’t portray this as hopeless.  There’s beauty in the cycle.  New beginnings that fall to ruin and then new beginnings that arrive from the ashes.  After death, life, after life death again.