So much this. Arthur and John’s relationship is unique and cannot be summed up in standard terms. Canonically they’re friends, but the boundaries are blurred. I will never be able to live in my friends’ mind and literally see through their eyes, nor will I likely be the one to introduce them to jealousy or joy. I think that conversation said more about Arthur—namely the guilt he feels about Yellow and the conflicting emotions over John’s behavior.
Also if you’re a shipper (I am, with reservations) it was confirmed years ago by the author that John and Arthur will not be in that type of relationship. Feel your feelings, but don’t expect the series to go in that direction. Harlan has said it’s explicitly platonic.
There's a lot of 'is John really a child' discourse going on, so here's my two cents. John is an immortal eldrich being used to power and unused to emotion. He has been experiencing human emotion for... probably less han a year now. It's big and new, and he hasn't figured out yet how to manage it. In THAT sense - no other sense - John is comparable to a child.
Does that put Arthur in the position of a parent? In a way, but this isn't a normal relationship is it? Nothing about these two is remotely normal. You could just as well argue that Arthur is the child. He's dependent on John, and John is much, much older. You could argue lots of things, because the relationship is so unique.
Drawing a comparison does not mean 'right, this is now solidly a parent-child relationship, all shipping possibilities are off the table.' It's just a comparison. And making a statement about John's emotional experience needn't be taken as a swipe at shippers.
If only 😭
Nobara Kugisaki not taking any of Itadori's bs
Bonus:
Me and the badbitch I pulled by being absolutely insane
you're killing him arthur
I've been wracking my brain trying to find out who exactly Detective Noel might be and I think I have a vague hand wavy idea.
I know people want it to be Parker, Kayne, or even the KIY but I think Arthur would have recognized Parker's voice even if John struggled to recognize him, Kayne was pointed out to have never known about the lighter, and the King seems like a long shot, but not altogether impossible. However!
Way back in season 1 we learned that the book that had once held John was actually addressed to Roland Cummings, a retired private investigator who owned 13 Mosby Avenue (Arthur and Parker's office) and as of now is MIA after the police found the body of his wife in the freezer and the neighbors suspected he fled to Canada (Part Two: The Missing Girl). He's also the father of Amanda Cummings, one of the missing girls who was later killed by the King (because of Arthur, whoops). Now, his office was leased out to Elijah Strong and his partner, Teddy Caine before being taken over by Arthur and Parker. Elijah had committed suicide in prison and we later find out that the Butcher was the one who actually killed him. As of right now we have no definitive answer as to what became of Teddy Caine.
Arthur's engraved lighter came from the desk of their office.
My reach is that Detective Noel is either Roland Cummings or (less so) Teddy Cain. I'm leaning more towards Cummings simply because he had seemed the most knowledgeable about The Horrors™️ and was in fact sort of the catalyst to the entire series being the original receiver for John's book. And it's also possible he and Arthur never really met. It would also make sense as to why he's working under a different name because he would still be under suspicion after what happened with his family near Arkham. Teddy Caine I'm less sure about because all we know is that he worked at the office for a time and had a run-in with the Butcher.
Detective Noel could also literally be none of these people or someone else entirely and I'm just thinking too hard. But ooh the possibilities! They make me [stick figure gore]
🌱
Me to my potted plant: No exactly the odds were completely stacks against them but over and over when it came down to it they chose to forgive. John took so much from arthur, and arthur by his nature is not a particularly compassionate person once someone has crossed him and they did some truly horrible things to one another but they chose each other! And they chose to trust even when they knew better
My plant: 🌱
Me: god I KNOW dont even get me started on Stopping by Winter Woods on a Snowy evening
thoughts on ep 37:
babygirl petulant child
'You are behaving like a petulant child right now' - Arthur's favourite insult for some reason
Re-listening to some Juno Steele season 1 episodes so I can recover from the season 1 ending and continue the story. But I’m still way too mad bro HOW COULD YOU DO THAT JUNO. YOU COULDN’T EVEN THROW HIS LIL NOTE OUT THE WINDOW WITHOUT ALMOST DYING. YOU PATHETIC MAN. I SPIT WHEN I SAY YOUR NAME I CURSE YOU WITH A FELL VOICE ON THE WIND AND I HOPE YOU ARE HAUNTED BY THE IMAGE OF NUREYEV’S NEW LOVER FOR THE DURATION OF SEASON 2!!!11AKSJFH;HAHDJH
Thank you for reading. No spoilers please (maybe I’m still rooting for them)
Last batch of doodles before I return to hell (finals)
Someone needs to update the kayne pet name audio track we got a few good ones this ep.
I didn’t know Mx. Wellman could terrify me so much with Shanks’ voice, then make me completely flip on that character. Four seasons in and I’m constantly surprised.