Mairimashita Iruma Kun Spoilers - Tumblr Posts

Ok, so I have few ideas about Kalego's evil cycle based on the knowledge we have about his mana dogs. It's clear his evil cycle is very violent. While I am sure that it was worse than normal due to a multitude of stressers that exemplified the problem, his whole house was fucked up. His curtains, his bed, his floor, couches. My man is going to need either a repaining spell or just replace everything. So yeah, its clear its exteremly bad

Since you loose control of yourself during it, I imagine it gets harder to control Cerberus thus letting them roam freely. But, espeically in this instance, they feel caged. They are trapped in a fairly small space with no place to roam and full of their master's rage with no outlet. We already know that without strong control and careful handling, the dogs will turn at the slightest provocation. Even at Kalego himself when they were first bonded to him. They bit and clawed at him mercilessly

So, it's possible that because his willpower is low during evil cylce plus having no target to take their fustrations out on, they try to take it out on Kalego. I'm sure Kalego could still fight without his mana dogs, but we have seen its his primary weapon. So it would be a fight for dominance, not mentioning that Kalego would be full of rage and frustration as well. It would be a back and forth anger fest but nothing really being fixed, unless the actual fighting becomes a sort of catharsis activity? but I think it would just anger him more because on top of the stress that led him to having an evil cycle in the first place, now Cerberus is acting up and he has to deal with that. Thus why it becomes SO destructive.

It could also be that the dogs become extra protective of their master causing it to bark and attack at anything percieved as a threat. An evil cycle, while the demon is at its strongest, is also when they are at their most vulnerable. Think about it, sure you can use strong attacks and even have new abilities (ie, Sabro's weapon ability) but it takes a lot out of them, phsyically, magically, and mentally. Your powers skyrocket but your control decreases by a fairly large margin (Azz almost attacking the Dorodoro brothers). The dogs could see it as their mission to protect Kalego at all costs.

They have beem bonded together for so long that maybe they won't turn on him specifically but anything around them. Going down this thought, maybe it's less of a protective thing and moreso that they have too much pent up energy and decide to trash the place. I mean, as someone who currently has a puppy in the house and a grown dog, trust me they will mess with shit just out of pure frustration. (Though my grown up doggie only does it sometines, he's well trained, my lovely boy.) Back on track, maybe it's as simple as they are out, have nothing to do, and just chew everything up. But since this is Iruma-kun, i don't know if that'll be the case. I want it to be "oh, silly puppies" but i think there's a strong possibility of it being the "we are going to fuck you up now master" route. But them fighting Kalego does make for a fun if messed up story lore.

Hopefully we will get insight into it later in the series and also witness it!

Derkila, Alikred, and the ring theory

Ok, so I had a whole post planned about a different theory about sullivan but as I reviewed the information I realized that i was being silly and it didn't make since. BUT i did come up with a new idea from it so ill share that here

So we know that more than likely, Derkila is probably Alikred right? I'm not going to go over that, the names and chapter 307 says it all. What I'm curious about is why Ali gets more powerful with every rank up. Because no one else, from what we've seen, becomes more powerful when they rank up. Ranking up is moreso a status symbol of your hard work and dedication. It's not something you just easily earn, it's something you work towards. You don't raise in rank and gain more power or knowledge, you gained that because you worked towards it.

So why does Ali-san say he gained more abilities and magic potential once Iruma became rank 5? My theory is because of how powerful Delkila was before he somehow became the ring, it caused his magical strength to be scattered throughout each rank. He would have been rank 10, maybe even beyond the comprehension of the current ranking. That could just be an exaggeration, but we do know that apparently his abilities have never been matched since.

Could this spell/curse placed on him caused a cap on his abilities and only someone capable or worthy attain his full power? As a way of testing the owner's resolve? Like, sure ok you could achieve power beyond the average demon, even stronger than the strongest demon, but you must strive towards that. And we have seen iruma growing towards that, Ali-san even commented on how he's getting better and better at weilding magic.

Maybe the owl saw the potential in Iruma to attain (and be trusted!!) with this power. Because I don't think this strength would just be given out willy nilly. It would need to be someone who could handle that responsibility. There's a reality where iruma wasn't given the ring. I mean sure, there's the prophecy but no one said it had to be iruma. What if iruma had been less caring, less understanding? Less worthy of the magical potential of the ring?

The reason why i started thinking this is because i started to question why exactly iruma gains wings whenever he taps into advanced magic. We have seen it at least two times, maybe three. The first time was when he used pandaroola during the battler party, the second time was when he achieved his bow, and maybe during the harvest festival using Clara's stored energy. Each time was when he tapped into magic far more powerful that his current level would allow for.

For instance, we know pandaroola esentially counts as a level 10 spell. That's why it could break Kiriro's barrier. With the bow, he tapped into advanced magic to create a bow that resonates strongly with his spririt esentially, created from deep desires (which was only possible with Ali-san's help). And during the Harvest festival, he basically got super charged with magic, beyond the amount the ring typically holds at that point in time, which caused wings to burst out (Iruma's? or was it just the plants? hard to tell) and a vision of Derkila. basically, the ring has a basic cap on the magic abilities, that's why not just any spell or usage triggers the wings. but super charged spells or ones that supersedes the limits? could be a good reason to make this happen

My theory is that when he taps into strong magic, he is tapping into the full strength of delkira's powers thus allowing (or maybe even requiring) a human to be more demonic. Maybe this power can only be weilded by a demon? or maybe the demonic power is so strong it forces iruma to become partially a demon (or maybe just gain demon features) when the spell is used. Which makes me think that iruma isn't somehow a reincarnation or half demon or something like some theories mention. Of course, they could come out with the steel chair and make that so but for now this is my theory

As for the Sullivan stuff, i genuinely don't think he has any idea about Derkila. I do wonder what he thinks happened to him however. He believes he will come back, that much is clear. But he doesn't have the air of someone who believes he died and will come back. I think he fully believes he is just in hiding or cast a spell so people could find him (which, maybe is true? we still don't know the story of the ring). I think if he had any idea of Iruma's possible connection to Derkila through the ring, his reaction would be a LOT different. According to Sullivan, the ring is just your average glutinous feeder ring, esentially a battery. (This part has been edited for clarity because I worded this section weirdly): He more than likely knows/has a good guess that certain actions will lead to others. So he knows the "Ring of Solomon" (which is more than likely Iruma's ring) plays a role in the future. But I don't believe he knows the full picture, the Derlika connection. Or at least, not that he may be inside the ring. He plays the role of "wow what a lucky chance that my cool grandson can use magic and learn to protect himself," while more than likely there's more to it, just not the full story.

idk if any of this makes sense but it's an idea i've been cooking up because it simply makes no sense why he gains more power from what we know of leveling up. and im super curious why iruma obtains wings with super powerful spells

CLOWN CLARA CLOWN CLARA THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! SHE LOOKS SO CUTEEEEEEE. It’s the way I’ve been wanting to make a clown outfit for a while now and then she comes along 👀. Maybe a cosplay is in the future.

LOL if you didn’t notice by my annoying amount of reposts I’m back to posting hehe. I have big boy posts to share with y’all BUT since I didn’t post last week due to the strike here is my reaction to Beem:

BEEM IS NONBINARY!! ANOTHER NONBINARY ICON HAS BEEN BORNT BY NISHI!!! They are SO COOL!! Like hello??? They are precious, they mean everything to me 😭. The way they are so into art and horror makes me so happy to see them I’m the story. AND more Zeze!! When I saw him I was like “oh fuck no, it’s going to get weird,” hahaha. But it makes sense, his brother (if i remember correctly) is an author so it only makes sense for him to come into this arch. I do love him a lot, he’s very much like Ronove where I was like, god he’s so annoying, I do not like him. And? His dumbass grew on me. I’m excited to see his brand of a chaos in action again. (Also pleaseee I must see Zeze and Ronove talk with each other at some point in this story. They either are best friends or hate each other hahaha)

Okay okay, SO let’s talk about the latest chapter of Iruma kun because the lore is JUICY. Spoilers for chapter 358. This also leaves me with even more questions while answering some I had before. So I actually had a post planned where I was going to ask why Delkira received a special and sublime classroom to begin with. I wondered if maybe he was a previous demon king’s son and maybe that was why he was already revered. But NOPE it seems not likely. It’s still possible, I just got the vibe was that he was miraculous in his achievements and power. So it kind of answers that question but we still have no info on his family, the king’s classroom, or how he was able to achieve so much. On the other hand we got some VERY VERY interesting lore on Mephisto-pheles. It also explains why he gave this task to Iruma since he obviously sees the potential for him to surpass Delkira in the future. He wants Iruma to know what it takes to be in power, somewhat as an advisor role like he has been for previous kings. By assisting a king you can understand how to rule. And by building up a country, you can know what it takes to lead a country. I already guessed that since he was already interested in Iruma. But this just adds an extra layer to why he is as fascinated by him as he is. GOD NISHI IS SO GOOD AT WRITING LORE. I ASPIRE to write something with as much depth and intricacies as this manga. She is my inspiration truly 🙏🏽

Like, look at Mephisto’s face here compared to after he met Iruma. Different face but same vibe.

Now, going back to Delkira one, we get to see more of his personality and he’s so much like Iruma!!!!! No wonder everyone and their fucking mom keeps being like, “damn why tf do I see Delkira in him.” Neither strive for power for power’s sake, instead they strive for power because they see it as a step forward in their goal and desires. They both want to find their own path rather than it just being given to them. It really shocked me at first that Delkira turned Mephisto down but it actually makes so much sense why everyone is enamored by him. That is the most undemon like thing he could have done, he had the perfect opportunity to gain all the power in the world in a quick and easy way. Any other demon would have killed for that chance. They are so fucking alike and it makes me want to rage. I love it so much, I love that we are getting to see more of him as time goes on. Him and Iruma even have the same smile! Like come on.

He even has similar jesters to Iruma!!!! This flashback is making me rethink my theories about him and his connection to Iruma. Ughhhh, I’m so fucking happy about this. Also, this nothing to do with anything but look at Delkira’s cunty lil outfit. This sheer shirt? Rolled up uniform jacket he has popped open. These tight pants with a weird belt design? I would be Delkira’s number one supporter is all I’m saying. He’s babygirl just like Iruma. Maybe that’s the requirement to be the next powerful demon king, you have to serve mother fucking CUNT if you want to rule. Anyway, I think there was more I wanted to say but I got distracted with my rant lol. I just love this lore so much, I love how Nishi handles lore drops (especially with characters) and seeing more of Delkira because I am so fascinated with him and must know more.

Okay, I’ve been collecting my thoughts on the many-ears demon race and their subservient stance in the Netherworld. And I think this is a perfect time to make a post since chapter 361 just came out and we are getting the main conflict of the arch: conservative older generation vs progressive younger generation. Plus also the fact that the forming country and school still isn’t stable and all that. Spoilers for chapter 361!

So it’s becoming more and more clear that the main conflict will be changing the minds of the older more fearful generation of the many-ears race. Which makes perfect sense, a newer kid comes into this area with ideas of making them equals (something they have never been in their race’s history from what we know) and with the help of one of their own, starts influencing the minds of their children. Obviously the elders would be scared and want to shut this down. It looks like the many-ears can’t remember or see a past or future where they didn’t have this class system in place and the idea of it shifting could very much lead to pain and suffering. It kind of reminds me of the civil rights movement in America, like sure it lead to the many laws that protect marginalized people today, but it came at the cost of many injuries/deaths, fights, and years of activism. The road isn’t an easy one and similarly to the movement, many people didn’t see a point. There’s a few mindsets that you can fall into for this, either you don’t believe change is possible or you do believe it is possible but ultimately would not be worth pursuing because of the consequences. It seems like most fall into the “it’s not possible” with maybe some believing that even if it could change, why change something that has works for generations. The elder in particular seems to believe the second one, that maybe life could be better for them but refuses to change anything on a chance.

It’s understandable why they wouldn’t want change to happen, especially at the expense of their children. But at the same time, younger generations are typically the ones who are less willing to stick to the status quo (queue high school musical) and engage in activism. That’s why student activism is so prevalent, you become aware of new cultures, ideas, and history and are less willing to settle with what’s “worked.” Think about the recent college activism for Palestine or the student walkouts in Florida against the “don’t say gay” bill. A few examples of a much larger trend. However, as you get older you are less willing to see things change, you become compliant and many ways, complicit. Things that seemed like there wasn’t an issue or shouldn’t be an issue are now being questioned and that forces you to question your whole system. And many don’t want to confront that.

In the case for the many-ears, they have survived off of honing their hearing skill to careers that would best benefit from having superb hearing. However, what about many-ears who don’t have incredible hearing like Nova or you simply don’t want the jobs you are trained for like the children in chapter 360. What happens if someone wants to be a florist like the Monmo-chan that doesn’t require good hearing to succeed? If you base your value on your hearing alone, does someone who doesn’t want to base their worth on that lesser in their society? Are they seen as misguided, helpless, or even traitor to your race? It seems chapter 361 confirms that fear. If you don’t have great hearing, you do not have value or worth. And sure, we can argue that he was just saying that to get him to quit teaching the students, but no matter what, his statements were ableist. There’s no other way to slice it. He literally told Nova he has no value in their society because he doesn’t have the many-ears hearing skill. He may be able to hear like most other demons, but in reference to the many-ears, he has a disability that makes him “worthless” in their eyes.

I think another thing I find interesting is that they believe (probably based on a fact(s) of some kind) that they are weak. Weak in body and weak in magic. First, weak in body is something that we can, for the most part, can agree about because of their stature. They are very small compared to most demons and this easily makes them prey to many other demons. But why do they believe that not training your strength and combat isn’t at least worth pursing? Same for magic. Right now we haven’t seen much evidence this is true since we have only seen Nova sucessfully do magic, but let’s say this is true. Does learning some easy or basic spells not seem worth it? On some part the lack physical and magical prowess seems to be innate in the many-ears, but I believe a larger issue is them internalizing this perceived weakness and deciding it’s not worth learning to better themselves. We know that there does exist spells that doesn’t require much magic from Momonoki’s flashback when she was a newbie teacher. Demons come in many shapes and sizes, including magic. This wouldn’t be a new issue that there exists a demon who has small magic reserves (like Kirio for instance). There has to be more spells that exist that you can use if you fall into this category. And just because someone is smaller doesn’t mean that can’t learn how to fight or train athletically. Sure you may not be as strong as other demons, but you can always learn how to use a weapon. At the very least, learning the theory could protect them if nothing else.

At this point, it seems like the many-ears are just shooting themselves in the foot because they’d rather not even try to learn another skill that could benefit them in the future. Sure the jack of all trades may be the master of none, but as the end of the saying goes, it’s still better than the master of one. This really feels like home schooling verses public school debate too. Like sure, the school that the love trio made isn’t perfect by any means, but it provides them with a more well rounded education that doesn’t just focus on the one. The elder talks about how mastering magic isn’t guaranteed, but couldn’t we say the same with their hearing? Just because others have succeeded doesn’t mean the children are bound to accomplish greatness just because of their hearing. You can’t ever know that.

Children are full of potential and as a teacher you are supposed to give them a plethora of chances to do new things and learn new skills. By stifling them, you essentially are saying they don’t have any other potential to grow. And as a future teacher, it really makes me mad to see that their parents don’t also see their children’s potential. Not to mention that even if you are good at something, it doesn’t mean you are destined to be happy. In fact, I think many of the skills we have are better left as hobbies or something you do for fun. Making a career out of every little skill you’ve honed makes it just that, a job. And maybe not a fun one. They are just repeating a cycle that makes everyone miserable but “works” not for their children’s benefit but for their own because well, at least they are “safe.” Idk, I’d rather be happy but that’s just me.

This is also not to say that the many-ears’ issues are all created by them, clearly other demons are also to blame for this problem. A broken system doesn’t just sprout from no where, it is created by years of oppression and oppressive thinking. What demon wouldn’t take advantage of a race that seems powerless without the strength of the powerful? It creates a back and forth systemic issue that works in theory but is broken if you even think about it for two seconds. The many-ears cannot base their entire worth on their hearing, it just causes unaddressed pain and self worth problems. And not to mention, while it may be working out for them now, it isn’t sustainable. What if at some point demons decide they no longer want to rely on the many ears and start training others for the jobs they are known for? What if a disease or virus spreads that attaches their hearing? What if a large majority of them get hurt or injured, damaging their ears? Not to mention, on a small scale everyone can be disabled in their life time. If you become disabled with your hearing, you wouldn’t be able to fall back on anything. Because you based your entire existence on being able to hear well.

Ultimately, I think this is why it needs to be Nova or Nova in the future that needs to rule the many-ears because he’s living proof that your hearing not only doesn’t define you, but also that the system is built off ableist ideals. Nova should be seen as less valuable because he was born without excellent hearing, especially when he clearly loves and cares for his people. Change is built off the backs of not those in power but by those who’s been suppressed, who want to see change for themselves and for others like them. I hope Nova can see his own value even if his people don’t right now

What do you think about all this mess in chapter 365? The existence of hierarchy in the society of demons was not something new, but for me it was somewhere in the background, that is, we know that demons have a ranks system but there were social elevators in it. I am asking you because I am a fan of your analysis of the mairuma universe and I am sincerely interested in hearing your opinion.

Good question!! I actually LOVE the direction the story took for the Scala test because it felt like it was going a little too well ya know? I was excited when they turned to farming because as soon as we learned about the carrots I was like, oh they should start a farm that’s the next idea. But I was like, hmm it feels too easy now doesn’t it. And then BAM fascist. But anyway, this is a great question to talk about since I previously made a post about how one of the overarching theme in the story is fascism and fighting against it through education.

The reason why I love this direction for the story is that up until now, all of the subtle hints towards more seediness and corruption has been in the background. It makes sense narratively speaking that we wouldn’t get hit with it too strongly because we like the main character are slowly learning about the world. Iruma is growing up in a relatively safe environment with him mostly being at his house, school, or a safe area like the shopping district (with some obvious exceptions to this). Iruma, having grown up in the human world, has no reason to assume or believe that there is serious systematic problems going on. Instead, he is slowly becoming exposed to this as he gets older and out into more situations where he can no longer not see it.

The signs have all been there from the start with the ranking system being the first exposure. Especially with the introduction of Kirio. The simple fact that you can get better meals if you are a higher rank in a school lunch speaks volumes to how low ranked demons are treated. Especially since we later see this stays true outside of school with Ameri and Iruma going to a segregated high rank only restaurant. And we see instances of bullying/intolerance when it comes to how students treat each other. The notable moments I remember is how the Azz fan girls treated Iruma at first when they thought he was a low rank compared to when they learned he had a higher one than they originally thought. Or the student’s comments to Kirio since he was a low rank. Or how the girls at the party treated the low rank demon girl.

We also have had the vile police system introduced to us during the Walter Park incident and when we first learned about Narnia. Prisons and the whole system is already fucked up and corrupt in the human world but it’s definitely worse in the demon world. The fact that the prisoners have to constantly give their mana up to the park not to mention the fact that it’s located underneath the park to begin with always felt gross to me. And when we first learn about Narnia, the cards start to come together. Narnia is said to treat any injustice, anything at all, on the same level. And he is shown to be cruel and ruthless in the face of what he considers crime. So if you committed tax fraud, you would probably be considered on the same level of a murderer and treated just the same. How are those even on the same level? But Narnia doesn’t care, he sees it as an opportunity to “maintain order” within the netherworld and uses that as justification for his actions. In the end, he doesn’t care about the demons he’s supposed to protect, rather he cares more about maintaining the strict hierarchy.

Add to that the fascist organization we have in the story that wants to control the netherworld to reshape it into their image. The introduction of Baal and learning about the organization kind of kicked started where the story will lead into. This has always been a story of fighting off bigotry and oppression, but it’s very subtly disguised behind what seems like a typical villain takeover plot. Because it’s subtle, we as the audience only start noticing when the themes become prevalent with the evidence stacking up higher and higher. And with the introduction of Azami, we can no longer not see what the story is trying to convey to the audience.

It’s crafted in a way to keep you unaware until we see Narnia being a full on fascist with his fascist cop buddy Azami. And the reason why it’s so effective is because the themes have always been there, just in the background. If we had all of a sudden had Azami or Narnia doing his little “maintaining order” speech without the small build up, it wouldn’t have fully hit as hard. But now that we have the Many-Ears race, a race literally known for being suppressed and subservient to higher ranks, we now see the cards fall into place. Some people wondered if the Many-Ears have done this to themselves, suppressing themselves when there was no need. But now it’s become clear that no matter how the Many-Ears came to live in this way, it’s clear that it’s not an issue of them doing this to themselves. Not fully at least. They are being used by those in power to keep them submissive to those they benefit the most. And the Many-Ears, believing they have no way of changing the system of powers, internalized and conformed to this idea as well. Being trapped in this mindset benefits the majority rule and keeps the “balance” in order. However, now they can see a better way for themselves. Now, they truly believe they have value and worth outside of being a worker for a strong ranked demon. Thus toppling over the hierarchy established.

Fascism feeds on a strict hierarchy where everyone knows their place. One cannot have fascism without it being built off the backs of those oppressed. And Narnia, being a fascist prick, has one dangerous weapon: power. He is a high rank, works within the demon border patrol, and now has become a 13 crown, one of the most powerful positions in all of the netherworld. He is almost untouchable at this current moment unless you are a fellow 13 crown (and we still don’t know how possible infighting works). The Many-Ears have no way of stopping someone like this and are basically forced to either fall into line or become seriously hurt. And even if they do fall into line, there’s no saying Azami won’t hurt them anyway. That’s the thing with cops, they can decide what goes with very little consequences (can you tell my feelings on cops?). Narnia knows, he uses this as a tool for oppression. If he has leverage, he will use it without a second thought to further his mission of control.

But here’s where education falls into the equation. The Many-Ears are no longer among the uneducated. Before, the oppressive power used their lack of knowledge to support the hierarchy. How will it work out for them if they no longer as unaware as they previously were? Once knowledge is spread, it’s hard to put a lid on it. You can’t go into their brains and erase what they know to be true. And now they are no longer fighting alone. This isn’t an us verse them battle. Fascism wants you to believe you are alone. It wants you to believe you are powerless. It wants you to believe that you are the only one that wants change. Why? Because there’s power in people, in community. No matter what happens in the next few chapters, they have people that care and want to see change too. And luckily for the Many-Ears, they have powerful allies too. One person alone can make change but a community of people can make an even greater change. And that is the reason why I love this story so much 🫶🏽

Sorry for how long this post was, I just saw this question and I’ve been dying to talk about this since the chapter dropped because I LOVE the themes of this story so much. And I love the anti cop mentality of both the main line story and the mafia story 🤭

Yeah, I don’t think they know who he is. I think after Delkira he cast away the title entirely believing no one would ever be able to outclass him anyway (and also being depressed that his life’s purpose was stripped from him). And since his identity was a secret anyway, no one would have reason to believe this random high ranking demon was him. Not to mention he changes ages too. As to how he became a crown, that’s tough to say. Did he sense that the Netherworld was changing and he wanted to get in on it? Did he hear a rumor about the trickster plan? Maybe he just wanted to change things up (after all it could get boring being immortal)? And if any of these options are true, did he just magic himself in order or…? Maybe he has been up to shit since then and just caught their attention as a potential candidate?

Either way, now Azami knows his full name AND title and uhhhh, that’s definitely not good for Iruma. They thought it was bad if another crown supported him? Now this is THE Kingmaker showing support. We can only presume he’s going to tell Narnia about who he truly is and I’m not excited for that! (I mean, I am cause this is good drama and plot but I’m scared for my baby boy.)

now that i think about it, everyone calls Mephistopheles "Mephisto", unlike demon king Dokfel who called him his longer name, as well as how he introduced himself as such only when revealing himself as kingmaker to Iruma and Delkira so like...maybe nobody else knows who the hell he even really is, especially since he hasn't shown up since before Delkira became king. If he wasn't well known even then, since Delkira didn't seem to recognize him, then maybe even the Three Greats don't know his true identity. Although they clearly sent an invite to him for a reason (although maybe some other magic is at play there?) and he supposedly appears in the memoirs of past demon kings, there's been little sign of anyone kissing up to him because of his kingmaker identity (i'm still of the opinion Iruma won't care about it though and will accept him as is)

All that's to say, maybe Narnia (and Baal, probably) don't know who he is, and thus only think of Iruma as (spoilers for 367) dangerously gathering high ranking demons around him. Which means that if Amy Azami reports that's not just the case, things could get soooo much worse. Kinda doubt they know somehow since they'd probably do everything to stop Mephisto from overseeing the exam in the first place if so, which probably means shit is really gonna hit the fan soon. I mean, would they have cared so much if it was a different crown overseeing it?

Anyway, it takes a helluva lot of mental gymnastics to think, ah yes, this boy is gathering high ranking, powerful demons around him which is why i should definitely attack him. this will have no consequences whatsoever.

🥹

growing collection of panels that make me insane