I Noticed Some Parallels, And Decided To Spend Hours And Way More Effort Than Necessary Turning Them

Thinkin' about things.

How Sarah probably kept Ray's note as a trophy of sorts just like the embroidery from the second light novel/chapter 181.2 (coincidentally, both given to her by Krone in an act of betrayal).

How somehow amidst everything that was going on in the turnover of power when Isabella became Grandma, she stumbled across the note (defaulting to her being tasked with cleaning out any of Sarah's personal effects since by the time you reach such a position the demons assume you've fully bought into the system and have nothing worrisome to hide).

How potentially one of the Sisters held onto the note and one day in the human world remembered she still had it.

How that Sister might have approached Ray to return the note that he never imagined he'd see again and explain why she had it.

Leo likes to talk, it’s part of being the face man & his role as a strategist that can manipulate situations to be in his favour but because he likes to talk there are certain words that can act as tells for his behaviour 

“Spill the beans Leo! Every time you say ‘indubitably’ I know you’re up to something”

In Bug Busters we learn that Leo says ‘indubitably’ when he’s trying to hide something but Leo also has another word that’s indicative to his true mood.

Ninjocity.

There are two prominent times where Leo uses the word Ninjocity.

Donnie: I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up, he’s crushing us!

Leo: Really? ‘Cause I thought my overall ninjocity was totally working

Raph: So what if I say he- that word a lot. It’s a good word. We need to be that word.

Leo: Relax Raph. We’ve got this hero thing wired. I mean, our ninjocity is off the charts

The two times Leo uses the word Ninjocity is in Many Unhappy Returns when he’s fighting the Shredder & at the start of the Movie.

Leo likes to make jokes when he’s stressed he admits to it in the very first episode saying it’s ‘how he copes’ & people have discussed that the reason Leo is making so many jokes at the start of the movie might be because he’s stressed about the idea of having just been made leader & is trying to make Raph take the role back. 

Leo using the word ‘ninjocity’ at the start of the movie is just proof of how stressed he was at the idea of being leader because the only other time he ever really uses that word is when his family is fighting a beast-like Shredder for the first time.

When people think of Leo in the episode Many Unhappy Returns they mostly think about how he was able to outmanoeuvre Big Mamma & how he knew his families strengths so well he was able to state exactly how they were able to hold off the Shredder while he & Splinter were at the Battle Nexus, but Leo’s attitude at the start of Many Unhappy Returns is perhaps the closest he’s ever acted in the show to how he acts at the start of the movie.

Meaning that at the start of Many Unhappy Returns his humour is cranked up to 11 & it appears like he isn’t taking anything seriously.

Leo: Thanks for doing the dirty work for us big up Shreddy!

Splinter: Not now Blue!

Leo: What? I thought a nickname might give us a nice repport.

Leo: One & Oh baby!

Leo: Going to need to make a two & Oh T-Shirt after this!

Leo: Oh Cheater! Don’t think we’re letting you keep those!

Raph: This is serious stuff Leo! Would you shore up our right flank already!

Leo: What? Mid-battle banter’s my thing like how your’s is saying words like flank

Leo likes to make quips in battle but the only times, he makes joke after joke, are the start of the movie & the start of the episode Many Unhappy Return or to put in other words the time he was trying to get out of being leader & the time his family was fighting Shredder for the first time.

People seem to think Leo had every thing under control the entirety Many Unhappy Returns because of how expertly he outmanoeuvred Big Mamma but he was only able to think of a plan involving Big Mamma /after/ Splinter suggested going to her. Before that he spends the start of the episode making joke after joke but whenever his families attention is off him

He’s terrified.

The fact that Leo’s actions at the start of the movie & the start of the episode Many Unhappy Returns are comparable means that the idea of being leader was as terrifying to Leo as fighting a beast-like Shredder.

And this is further evidenced by them being the only two real times Leo uses the word ‘ninjocity’, if Leo is stressed & scared he’s making joke after joke, appearing to not take anything seriously & the word ‘ninjocity’ makes an appearance in his vocabulary.

Leo likes to talk to try & distract others from his true feelings & intentions but he has tells.

If he says ‘indubitably’, he’s trying to hide something. If he says ‘ninjocity’ he’s stressed out & scared & is one bad event away from a panic attack.

it’s them!

HIIIIII GUYS

Heh….yeah I’m so cool !!

I love how Mushi-shi (the anime) depicts chronic illness through the paranormal and abstract. Ginko is literally a medicine man, and his clientele are closer to suffering an affliction than experiencing a haunting. He doesn't "exorcise the demons through prayer;" he treats the condition the person is suffering from, which often involves removing the mushi, but sometimes they need to be lived with, and sometimes even a successful treatment can leave lasting damage from the time the mushi resided in the person's body. It's the best depiction of chronic illness I've seen portrayed through an abstract lense. I'm not even learning anything about myself or my life by watching it; I just understand and appreciate each case the show portrays. Part of what sets it apart is that Mushi-shi is very good at depicting the emotional toll of chronic illness without moralizing it. Sometimes chronically ill people die of depression from their conditions, sometimes after you're cured you miss or take joy in certain elements of the disease, having a friend play with you in quarantine is invaluable for your spirit but comes at the deadly risk of contagion. I'm only 4 episodes in but it's really resonating with me. Teenage chronically ill me definitely couldn't handle this show, but 25 year old me loves it.

Lady Maria. She hides the real secret.

“But courage need not be remembered… For it is never forgotten.”

Have I told y’all about my husband’s Fork Theory?  If I did already, pretend I didn’t, I’m an old.

So the Spoon Theory is a fundamental metaphor used often in the chronic pain/chronic illness communities to explain to non-spoonies why life is harder for them. It’s super useful and we use that all the time. But it has a corollary.  You know the phrase, “Stick a fork in me, I’m done,” right? Well, Fork Theory is that one has a Fork Limit, that is, you can probably cope okay with one fork stuck in you, maybe two or three, but at some point you will lose your shit if one more fork happens.  A fork could range from being hungry or having to pee to getting a new bill or a new diagnosis of illness. There are lots of different sizes of forks, and volume vs. quantity means that the fork limit is not absolute. I might be able to deal with 20 tiny little escargot fork annoyances, such as a hangnail or slightly suboptimal pants, but not even one “you poked my trigger on purpose because you think it’s fun to see me melt down” pitchfork.

This is super relevant for neurodivergent folk. Like, you might be able to deal with your feet being cold or a tag, but not both. Hubby describes the situation as “It may seem weird that I just get up and leave the conversation to go to the bathroom, but you just dumped a new financial burden on me and I already had to pee, and going to the bathroom is the fork I can get rid of the fastest.”

Shhh it’s okay he’s baby

astonishing how good it can feel to get some chores done sometimes. you’ll be sitting there like damn i am some type of horrid little smeagol like creature who should be crushed to death. but then you do some laundry and you’re like wrow. im actually gods most fuckable soldier.