#Is this a spoiler? I think it is but at the same time it isn't because we all knew this shit was going to happen.

[apatheticsunday]

I literally love this idea. But specifically the version where Danny targets the Batfam and they're like?? wtf is happening??? And Jason opens his door to this random kid with a dufflebag of Bat paraphernalia, demanding cash.

Like, imagine that Danny ends up in Gotham - maybe he was disowned after being revealed as Phantom or Gotham is an entirely different realm that he got body-slammed into by accident; either way, he's there and he actually likes it. It's still a brutal, violent dystopian city full of criminals, but there's a general understanding that you mind your business. Which means that if Danny goes invisible in front of two masked robbers, they just mumble about "damned metas" and find another victim. I mean, Gotham literally has Poison Ivy, Clayface, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, and Man-Bat. You're telling me a little invisibility, intangibility, and floating is going to genuinely shock most Gothamites? Please. Give them some credit.

And the best part? Gotham has vigilantes. A lot of them. He got the quick rundown from a couple other kids, but there's Batman, Nightwing, Red Robin, Robin, Oracle, Orphan, Spoiler, and Signal, and apparently more who crop up from time to time. There's more than enough vigilantes to keep an eye on Lady Gotham, so Danny is happy to enjoy his own destitute situation without worrying about hero-ing on the side. He's can kind of manage with the Martha Wayne Foundation shelter and a couple ten-fingered discounted items. He's... managing.

When Danny hears about The Application, he thinks it's a joke. Most of the street kids think it is. Until Tara stumbles back into Crime Alley with a shell-shocked expression, a huge plastic bag of BatBurger takeout clutched in one hand and a folded piece of paper in the other.

It's the job application. Tara pins it back up on the Martha Wayne Foundation community board for the next kid to try - it gets folded, crumpled, stained, and torn so much that it almost looks like a 100 year old dollar bill. The writing is barely even legible at this point. Danny stares at it tacked up to the board, taken and returned, so many times that he memorizes the thick Sharpie smear and scrawling handwriting. It couldn't be that easy, could it? Would it be worth possibly being revealed as a "Meta"? And the Wayne family aren't even bad people, can he truly steal from them?? In the end, what makes Danny's decision is thinking about spending the rest of his adolescence in Crime Alley, barely scraping by. If there's even a chance that he doesn't have to, he'll take it.

So, Jason Todd is obviously Danny's first target. He's seen the guy in Crime Alley enough times to tail him with ease. Except... Jason disappears into... the known hideout of infamous Crime Lord, the Red Hood? Uh-oh. Maybe chalk it up to being new in Gotham or not really knowing the whole "Brucie and Dickie Wayne" routine, but Danny catches on almost immediately. If Jason is Red Hood and Bruce Wayne has a bajillion kids who happen to have the exact same physique as the bajillion Bat-vigilantes, then... he's gotta steal from the Bat Cult?? Oh, shit. (Also, the idea of Bruce's own son encouraging kids to steal from him is hilarious, Danny's so down for it now that he knows it's not malicious.)

The thing is that the Wayne family is literally famous. Any time they go out into public, there are people taking pictures of them (such as the viral meme of a sleep-deprived Tim Drake clutching three opened cans of Monster, Redbull, and Celcius. Or Dick Grayson cramming an entire Taco Bell burrito into his mouth at a gala. He'd ordered Doordash to Lex Luthor's mansion). But you know who isn't in the public eye? The Batfam. So, Danny makes a decision that can kind of be considered dumb, and decides to pickpocket Gotham's Bat Cult Vigilantes.

Jason Todd slings his custom-made leather jacket over his motorcycle and turns his back for two seconds. Then he turns around and-??? His fucking jacket's gone?? It was the one with like eight secret pockets, too, damnit!!

Tim Drake is suddenly missing a Robin Batarang?? It's the beginning of his patrol and he hasn't even used his utility belt yet, how did he lose one already? (Yes, he does inventory every time he goes out, he was trained by the literal Batman.)

Dick Grayson drops his escrima sticks while fighting and just... can't find it after? He could've sworn he saw it roll by this trash can, though? He doesn't think much of it, honestly, he's got a ton of spares since it happens pretty often. At least it wasn't one of the electric escrima sticks.

Damian Wayne is next. He's kind of like a feral dog while on patrol, eager to violently lunge towards criminals and moving so erratically that Danny can't really find a great time to nick him. It's a lot easier to just steal one of Damian's daggers from where it's lodged into a criminal's shoulder. Robin is too busy terrifying the rest of Two-Face's gang to care about a tiny red dagger, anyways.

Bruce Wayne is the last victim. Danny tried to nick him one time while out in public. He couldn't help it, Bruce walked straight into Martha Wayne Foundation to speak with the managerial board and Danny happened to be there; it was all too easy to steal the man's delicate gold wristwatch. There's a strict no-cameras rule in the shelter, made to protect the identities of those in need regardless of who they may be outside of the shelter. Everybody knows the Martha Wayne Foundation is a neutral ground. So, there's no fear of a wayward camera catching his ghostly visage when Danny makes Bruce's watch intangible for a mere moment. Except when he squints at the underside, there's a faded engraved "to my dear Martha, from Thomas" in cursive script.

Bruce's wristwatch is returned with its owner none the wiser. (Bruce knows. Even if he hadn't felt his mother's watch slip through his wrist, he would've known anyway since Danny accidentally phased it back on upside down.)

So, it turns out, Batman is the last victim. Danny feels sick at the thought of possibly taking something worth something to the man like back at Martha Wayne Foundation, so he steals a single grape-flavored candy from Batman's utility belt. (Batman pretends not to notice.)

Cue Danny knocking on Red Hood's door in the middle of the night with a plastic bag of miscellaneous Bat Cult Items. He's also wearing Red Hood's leather jacket. It's comically huge on the kid, but Danny loves it - loves how warm it is and now much he can sneak into all the hidden pockets. Plus, finders keepers and all.

Red Hood:... what the fuck.

Danny: That'll be 25k.

Red Hood, begrudgingly admitting that he may be a little like Bruce after all: ...okay.

Man, I love Jason-adopts-Danny fics!!!

Pickpocket for Hire

Dpxdc Prompt #61

It started off as a joke.

No really, it was something that Jason felt the Bats would laugh about, while also helping out some street kids along the way.

He put out a job for the kids of Crime Alley, anyone who could pickpocket the entire Wayne family would get all necessities paid for them by Red Hood until they turned 18.

Most kids that saw the challenge would think it was a joke.

Most kids that believed it was real would think it wasn't even worth trying.

Most kids that tried would be caught immediately, and subsequently get a meal paid for by their Wayne of choice and suddenly have some doors opened for them, because Jason knew his family and knew they had a soft spot for kids.

Except the one thing he didn't account for was Danny Fenton, who most certainly was not most kids.

[hemi-demi]

Jon and Martin doing just a little birdwatching

-

Hey all! I'm still chipping away at the main fic, but wrote a short little thing that I thought might be fun to share here as a bonus! And some bonus art as well, because I really like drawing birds, lol.

Short fic below the cut! Rated G, just a bit of fluff.

Takes place sometime between chapters 4 and 5 of Oathbreaker, but it's spoiler free, so no worries if you haven't read it.

--

“Hey, Jon? What are you-”

Martin had already been speaking quite softly when they tapped Jon on the shoulder. Not quietly enough, as it turns out, as the thought is abruptly cut short by a slender finger pressed against his lips. 

A sudden rush of adrenaline surges through him, and he draws back his cloak, preparing to take the sword from his hip before Jon's tail wraps around his wrist, silently asking him to stop.

Martin tries to speak again, but Jon just shushes him with no real concern as to how rude it comes off, then points up to a nearby tree. 

Tilting his head up, Martin spots a bird. Not a particularly stunning one as looks would go; it's feathers a soft brown with an even paler belly, almost indistinguishable from the bark on which it's perched. 

But its song is far more distinct; a collection of chirps, clicks, and warbles that come in rapid succession and seemingly no rhyme or reason. It's a song he's heard before, but certainly not often, and Jon seems utterly entranced by the creature.

“Didn't take you for a birdwatcher.” Martin half whispers, once Jon allows him to, at least.

“Nightingale,” Jon replies, jumping ahead a few steps in conversation, their eyes scanning the trees for more of the little tawny things before turning back to the bird just above their heads, “don’t see a lot of them in this part of the continent.”

“Yeah, haven't seen one in ages…bit early for them, isn't it?”

“Yes…” Without looking away, Jon settles against the bark of the tree. “Apparently they practice their song in the winter months. Bit of choir practice before the big show.”

“Sorry, ‘show’?”

“Their mating season,” Jon clarifies, drawing their coat a little tighter as a cool breeze rolls last, “Sometime around late spring, I believe.”

“Ah,” Martin stifles a chuckle, “so the little guy is rehearsing his pick-up lines. Wonder if he's nervous.”

The bird's song comes to an abrupt stop, raising its wings up high before flitting off into another branch a few trees away. Jon's eyes follow the motion, and then the bird shoots up through the empty branches above and disappears into the sky. Its song plays out one last time, carried on the wind as it finds another spot for its practice, well out of sight.

“Certainly seems to be…” Jon replies. They almost sound – sad for the little thing. Or maybe they're just sad it left, their head hanging low, shuffling their feet without concern for the sound of crunching leaves now that the bird has left. “Can't say I blame him. Although memorising a song sounds far easier than most courting rituals.”

“Yeah…” Martin notices a bit of debris from the tree stuck to Jon's coat, reaching out to brush off the bits caught against the wool. “Just sing a little tune until someone fancies you. Would be nice if it were that simple. I think I’d much prefer that.”

That earns Martin an odd look, that same calculating gaze once fixed onto the bird now turned squarely in his direction for what feels like far too long. Long enough for Martin to wish he could fly off like that nervous nightingale before Jon can identify the source of the creeping blush that blooms across his cheeks.

Then Jon blinks, bowing their head again before stepping back towards the trail. “Right, so…camp, yes? I ah – saw a spot we could set up just this way.”

Before Martin can ask, Jon has already paced halfway down the path, and he's forced to jog behind to catch up.

Didn't take long for them to set up camp. Jon made quick work of things, nervously bouncing around the site and setting up tents, laying out bedrolls. Hardly sitting still for even a moment. 

Martin would have said something, maybe taken some of the work off their hands, but they seemed far too focused on their tasks. 

And if he did, Jon might have stopped humming whatever song they had stuck in their head, and that would be a shame. He always rather liked birdwatching.

[locke-esque-monster]

If you are losing your mind at the possibilities of the Misha Collins on The Boys S5 news (I think the JPad appearance was already in discussions previously), and you haven't seen The Boys I think there's some context non-viewers need to know. Whether it be before they start watching the show as a whole, or if they plan to speculate or watch clips when S5 airs.

I cannot under-stress how this is this is the most deranged show I have ever seen.

To that point (and these are just some spoiler-y highlights):

I don't say "most deranged show I've ever seen on tv", not just because it's on Amazon. This show could never air on cable tv, unless it was edited beyond recognition.

Sure, it'll throw you one-off insane sight gags, like Butcher brandishing a baby with laser vision to laser their attackers to death. It also will go for long-run arcs you'd never see on network tv, like the Aquaman-type's multiple season, bestiality-arc, which isn't relegated to just one type of sea life.

Speaking of sea life - PETA was outraged by this show a few years back when one character was shown eating a living octopus on camera. This show has about an average of 1 violent crime to sea life per season.

I'm not actually sure any of our heroes have made it through an entire episode without being covered in blood at some point. If they have, then they have probably experienced or stumbled into some uncomfortable sexual experience.

This show has basically no qualms showing the amount of kinky shit people with unique powers, near-indestructible bodies, and almost no moral qualms will get up to.

I strongly recommend against drinking milk at any point while you watch this show. You will probably regret it.

You think live bees and real glass from SPN are bad? This show had an episode take place predominantly at an orgy. It was filmed while Covid was going strong, so people kept thinking they were grabbing hand sanitizer, and they actually had squirted lube on their hands because there was so many bottles of both everywhere.

To be clear, the orgy itself served mostly the purpose of a comics callback, and happened mainly in the background while our main characters acted. It was also inexplicably the emotional crux of the season.

Jensen Ackles will do some of the best nuanced acting with micro expressions you've seen talking about his toxic relationship with his father. This will be preceded by an episode where he's found jerking off while insisting he needs more lube to fuck the elderly women masturbating on the bed behind him.

Kripke will not hesitate to make allusions to SPN in the worst way. One of the first scenes our heroes talk with Ackles's character, he's classic Dean, eating takeout in a hotel room, and sure, he's drinking some liquor. But at the same time, he's making racist/sexist comments and crushing up pills with a giant hunting knife so he can snort them.

Kripke tends to be particularly cruel to former SPN actors - On the spin-off show Gen V, one of them had his dick exploded. And on this most recent season of The Boys, he had the actor who played Chuck/God, use his superpowers to pleasure himself naked onscreen and then his character was murdered multiple times over. They made at least two references to his SPN role too, from walking in on him saying "my god" in French, to saying he was up in heaven pleasuring himself now.

I could keep going and going with examples and probably never run out. But here's my point.

This is one of the best satires I've ever seen. It's sharp and outrageously funny, and so timely. But it's also the best show I can never recommend to anyone if I'm not sure they're a little bit of a terrible person, too.

So yes, we might get sort sort of AU Destiel onscreen. We'll almost certainly get more SPN references than we ever wanted.

But if you think for one second that Kripke isn't also going to put Jared and/or Misha in the most uncomfortable scenes that you can imagine (or more likely, the ones you can't), think again.

And that in all reality, as much as we speculate, it's likely none of us are ready for what we're actually going to get onscreen.

[di-42]

So, I was criminally tight on time in January and really couldn’t read much at all, but fear not: as a demon friend of ours once said, I’m back. True, most of the moots on my corner of Tumblr would have already read most of these fics and poems, but if I can earn one of these wonderful works even just one more reader, that’s my job done. As always, I'm begging you, please don’t judge a fic you haven’t read by the number of kudos. And, as always, I’ll tag the tumblr usernames I know; if you are an author and want your fic taken off this list, please let me know and I’ll remove it. The rest of you, I hope you enjoy these stories and poems as much as I did.

These are the things I loved about

Winter’s Wondrous Fictions

WIPs:

That Isn't Supposed To Happen by @addledmongoose, rated T, chapters 19/22.

Aaahhh, give me Addled’s stories every day for the rest of my life, please and thank you. This is a reverse omens AU. You don't really care for reverse omens, I hear you say? Yep, neither did I, and yet here I am, daydreaming about Azira the demon and Crowley (short for Crowliel) the angel as much as I daydream about our canon Aziraphale and Crowley. This is not something new that happens to me with this great author’s stories, by the way. When writing my own fics, I have to stop and think if I'm referring to something that actually happened in canon or something that happened in Addled’s stories, they're that good. But back to this fic, Azira is just so perfect as a demon, it feels like he was born to be one. Their banter, dynamics, subtle humour and characterisation are, as always, spot on and, oh! The pining! The pining is just so, so good. Oh, and did I mention plot and mystery? I'm loving this story way more than I thought I could love a reverse omens AU, and am sad it's going to be over soon. 

Scorn And The Saint-Maker by beardo @e-rated-beardo, rated E, chapters 33/?

This story is a mystery within a mystery. I've only recently started it and am still catching up, but I am hooked. Human university lecturers AU, or is it? (That's not a spoiler if you read the summary). The plot is compelling, the narration and humour delightful, and the prose at times so touching. And, goodness me, it’s hot (all the explicit scenes are skippable). I feel like I’ve stepped into one of those universes that I would never want to leave. There is also some beautiful art by the author that I sadly can appreciate very seldom as it doesn't upload when I'm not on wi-fi, but hopefully you'll be able to enjoy it!

Wavelengths & Frequencies by @shadesofecclescakes and imposterssyndrome @maaikeatthefullmoon rated E, chapters 18/?

This story is such a warm, cozy, comfort blanket. Human enemies-to-lovers where Aziraphale and Crowley work as DJ for the same media corporation. They have a history, but, while we know they do from the beginning, we don't know what it is. Great story, great humour, great characterisation, great fuzzies.

Complete Stories: 

You're The Bad Guys by Nebz_AlphaCentauri @alphacentaurinebula rated E, 91k.

Fantastic human, cold war AU. Aziraphale is an MI6 agent, Crowley a KGB agent and they're both tasked to steal scientific plans by their respective sides. It's Armageddon all over again, but with hot scenes. I loved it. 

The Last Angel by @bellisima-writes, rated E, 162k.

I don't think there is anything about this epic story that I haven't said before. The author builds an incredible plot and you wonder excitedly where this is all going. You can't stop reading because you want to know what happens and because the prose is so beautiful. Like I've said several times before, this is the most Good Omens-y fic I've read. Let yourself be captured and join Bellisima for this wonderful ride!

The Greater Tadfield Friends Of Music Autumn Concert by CopperBeech @copperplatebeech, rated E, 27k.

I love how this story communicates all sorts of feelings through a fast, concise, no-nonsense  style. Crowley moves to Tadfield and joins the local orchestra. The rest is fiction. 

As always, I'm particularly partial to The Them and Warlock making appearances. And I LOVE Zingarelli!

One Shots:

Aziraphale Gets A Clue by Serenity Stargazer, rated T, 3k.

It's Christmas. Aziraphale is in heaven as Supreme Archangel and Crowley wants to get his attention. He succeeds.

A Nice And Accurate Teen Magazine Quiz by @fellshish, rated T, 2.7k.

Fellshish strikes again with this adorable and extremely funny piece in which Crowley takes credit for teen magazines in hell. Then he browses one of the magazines and takes the soulmate quiz. Then Crowley will be Crowley. I'm sure everyone this side of Tumblr has already read it, but if for some reason you haven't yet you're in for a treat!

Poems: 

PJs, Optional by FuzzyGoblin and koala2all, rated E.

This hilarious poem is made up of a series of limericks all relating to pyjamas that might or might not be worn by our favourite angel and demon. It manages to be funny, sweet and hot, all in the space of 50 lines. I love it!

(Un)Holy Palmers by @on1occasionfork, rated G.

An incredibly beautiful and moving poem about what is like to express love for one another while hiding it from the powers that be. 

Do That Again (And Again) by AlwaysBeMyBaby @alwaysbemybae and OneDapperCat, rated G.

A beautiful through the ages poem about all the ineffable kisses that could have been.

The Demon And The Angel by Hopeless_old_romantic_67, rated G.

Gorgeous poem inspired by The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. Little warning, it is sad. But so beautiful and deep. 

A Most Peculiar Spa by AlwaysBeMyBaby and OneDapperCat, rated G.

Lovely and funny poem in which Aziraphale tells Crowley about his latest bubble bath! Be sure to read the notes!

@goodomensafterdark

December 24's list here.

[ooftheartist]

Just wanted to ask; how would the autobots/Terrans and maltos react to seeing bee alive in ur dead bot walking au?

Idk in earthspark I've always liked bee having a parent figure, most times op or Megatron, so I imagine they'll be really upset realizing bee was alive the whole time and didn't contact them at all

(also is this breakbee?)

Really love your au btw, it seem like an awesome story

Ofc!

*Slight upcoming fic spoilers*

The first Bot to find out Bee was alive was Optimus. Upon seeing him he froze, his processor racing, trying to make it make sense. Bee was quick to turn and run, acting purely on instinct. Optimus's attempt to call out to him would be for nothing and so would the chase that followed. Escape, canvasing, hiding, these are all things Bee excels at as a scout. He wouldn't be found again so easily.

Optimus, among all the others, would be shocked. Confused and upset but unbelievably relieved. Almost in disbelief that it could be true, thinking it was to good to be so. Why would Bee run from them? Why would he hide from them if he was alive all this time? All questions they had, all questions they wouldn't get answered.

Optimus, Elita One and Arcee, The Maltos and The Terrans stuck with their thoughts, no trail to follow. They had become too consumed in the "How" and "Why" to move forward, to make a plan.

...But not Megatron. While he held all the same questions, unlike the others stopped in their tracks he was determined to locate the scout and get the answers. Determined to bring him home. Megatron isn't good with comfort and...feelings, but he does know how to take action. He knew Bumblebee wouldn't be easy to find, Bee had caused him enough trouble in the war to know that for a fact. Given some time, the others would join him in his search to bring their scout home.

And yes!! This is BreakBee :3 Though once the fic releases even if you don't ship them it's still readable! While there is BreakBee It won't be the main focus of the story.

Bonus Doodle I did a while back because I've been so busy with work ;w;

[kenzan-brainrot-mp4]

talk more about the white whale/whale symbolism in general whatever thoughts you have on the whale stuff i want to hear it 👂

GRAHHHHH YEAH (This one got. Long (again lol) So be prepared (series-wide spoilers but I feel like that's a given atp))

First of all I just wanna say that I love how rgg drags the player along around the final chapter title. With how upfront the other chapter titles are in what they're referring to, you might end up wondering why they chose White Whale for the final chapter title once you see the title card (or at least I did). Of course, this could just be referring to the treasure that everyone's been looking for, but with how nonchalantly they react to the fact that the treasure isn't actually there, it doesn't seem to completely fit the bill.

But then you beat the game (and by this I mean beat the final boss) and lo and behold, there's an Actual white whale, and so you think "Oh! Duh, the chapter's called White Whale because there's a literal white whale and it pretty much just finished off the final boss!" But that still doesn't make that much sense. Why name the final chapter (arguably the most important one) after some whale that appears in the last like 15 minutes of the game? Like, take the final chapter name of (Kiryu) Gaiden, it's literally the name of the game (The Man Who Erased His Name) so it's gotta be something more significant than that, right? (But then of course take into the account that by this point the player is still convinced that nothing really in pyih is too deep/serious, so maybe it could just be something as simple as that).

Then you get to the credits, and they reveal that the "elixir"/the ambergris is found in the stomachs of whales. Damn, that's pretty crazy/cool, but once again, nobody that was actively seeking the treasure (Rodriguez, Jason/Noah, Spade Tucker, etc you know the drill) seems to hung up on the fact that they didn't find it, and they didn't even encounter the whale, so they wouldn't get that same sense that they just missed it either, again, it's not a big deal really, so why make that the final chapter title?

Of course, we all know what this builds up to: the big reveal, the fact that Majima, who we've been following along with this entire game, was looking for that elixir this entire time, was the only one to actually encounter a whale in the game, and then there's the insane line drop from Saejima.

"Kiryu Kazuma. You never could give up on that one."

Ironically, the final chapter title has nothing to do with that whale you saw earlier at all, rather it's a summary of what Majima's motivations/actions for this game, and the past. Almost every game, has meant for him. It's what Saejima spells out for us at the end of the game, but said in even fewer words.

An all-consuming obsession that only leads to your destruction. An impossibility, something that you can destroy yourself over but never achieve/obtain. This is what the white whale means, metaphorically. And it is this, exactly, that Kiryu is to Majima.

Kiryu is larger than life itself, to just about everyone. He's a legend, he's the one Majima has had his sights on since the very beginning, the legend he chases after game after game and also what he destroys himself over game after game.

(see:

Yakuza 1 -> Majima just straight up taking a full-on stab wound for Kiryu. Like, buddy, I literally saw one of my favorite characters die that way in another game, there was No guarantee you were surviving that.

Yakuza 2 -> Majima fights off an army of yakuza for Kiryu. That man was beat to total Shit (which is Not something that happens often) and we all saw it

Yakuza 3 -> Majima re-enters the Tojo Clan for Kiryu even though he is (extremely likely) aware that it is already entering its steady decline that we see throughout the rest of the series up until its dissolution. And while he's willing to do it for Kiryu, we can't exactly say that he's happy about the situation as a whole.

Yakuza 5 -> Majima's willingness to die for Haruka, specifically stated because "She means more to Kiryu-chan than life itself." Like, of course he wouldn't just let Haruka get killed, but to choose to mention Kiryu as part of his reasoning in that moment? Christ

While I (surprisingly) can't say anything particularly self-destructive happened in (Kiryu) Gaiden and Infinite Wealth, you could argue that Majima trying to more and more directly tell Kiryu not to leave ("No need to rush outta here yet... Alright?" -> "Don't leave! Don't you dare leave, Kiryu-chan!"), knowing that it's likely pointless, knowing Kiryu, is not doing himself any favors.

Pirate Yakuza -> *gestures at the entire game*

Also his reaction to encountering that giant squid ("Sure is a helluva way to die. I think I'm into it!"). Like, okay. I don't want to try and read too much into it because it was very likely just a one off line. But I'm still gonna side-eye it.

Honestly now that I think about it, if Majima Had died fighting that giant squid (that is such a way to begin a sentence thank you rgg), you could argue that that would've been his nail in the coffin for the white whale metaphor. If he had, it would've meant that his obsession for Kiryu is what got him dragged down into the literal depths of the ocean, and even if it wouldn't be Kiryu physically dragging Majima down like the white whale to Ahab, this is a situation that is completely, entirely, fueled by Majima's obsession towards him (Majima had no real interest in the nuclear waste cleanup project, after all, Kiryu was his one motivation this entire time), and it would've drowned him.

Guess that means he got real lucky with the last part, but we all know he sure as hell isn't beating the allegations.)

All this and yet Majima seems to fail to reaching Kiryu time and time again.

Majima does not obtain the Heart of the Dragon, found in the intestines of the literal whale. He does not obtain eternal life for Kiryu. And he (arguably, though the final scene of him walking to Kiryu's hospital room could oppose this) does not resolve the indefinite limbo that has been sitting between them throughout the entire series. What he gets at the end of the game is the acknowledgement (through Saejima, everybody thank him) that he has been obsessing over this, and perhaps the realization that Kiryu was, in fact, this white whale that he would never truly reach ("Well, still just a dream in the end.") Of course this is something he already knows/has acknowledged deep down, and it's a feeling that is hinted at in some of his dialogue in scattered moments, but this is the first time he ever says it in such an outright manner.

I guess in a way, you could say that Pirate Yakuza is a story about the newfound success of all the people Majima helped and supported in achieving their dreams, and the continued failure of Majima in pursuing his own (Kiryu), and him needing to acknowledge/accept that. And the post-credits begs the question of what he decides to do with the aftermath and what he has left. (An oversimplification definitely but still. augh. Augh)

Naming the final chapter White Whale was yet another crazy move on rgg's part. Its so unassuming, seemingly straightforward yet also seemingly insignificant, but once the realization dawns on you it slaps you right in the face, just like everything else about this game does. It's yet another instance of how rgg managed to pull its big reveal so well, with all the small details, all the reframing, all pointing back to the same topic that it had spent the entire rest of the game dancing around.

Majima recounting his story of how he went to Hawaii -> Majima recounts his story to Kiryu in the exact same way at the very end

The treasure everyone's been looking for/known about + Majima, the one guy who didn't have knowledge about any of this legend stuff prior? -> Wrong, he was after the treasure from the very start (before the amnesia at least). For Kiryu

Majima originally being on course for Hawaii so he could help with the nuclear waste cleanup even though he'd be bored as hell? -> Nah. For Kiryu (Ohhhhh you know what this is reminding me of some screenshots I took from near the beginning of the game)

(I'm sure this meant nothing of course. Lol. Lmao)

Majima's dream during pirate yakuza being to fulfill Other People's dreams -> Haha. Well, I think you get the point by now

Kiryu, Kiryu, Kiryu. It all goes back to Kiryu, every single time, without fail, in an obsessive loop that Majima has been dragging himself around over for Years. He is the white whale, seemingly untouchable, the constant object of Majima's attention and devotion in so many forms, his consistent weak point, that only seems to dig at him deeper as the games go on.

Like I said before, while the white whale metaphor is undeniable, and essentially spells doom for Majima, it's not over for him yet. Because, hey, he didn't drown at sea, or die on the beach. He was saved, and he's survived enough to retell that tale and reflect on it all with Saejima in the post-credits, brief as that reflection was. I mentioned before how he really only said one line of any actual substance during that specific part of the exchange, but the significance of it says so much.

"Well, still just a dream in the end"

As much as it hurts to here Majima address the hopelessness of it all, to hear him say something like that after Saejima basically just laid out his sheer devotion and refusal to give up on his dream for everyone to see, I think the bittersweetness is. Good, actually. Captain Ahab never gave up on that pursuit on the white whale, and it destroyed him; that whale dragged him down until he finally drowned, and it feels like all Majima has been doing over Kiryu since Yakuza 3 is drowning himself in him.

Don't get me wrong, I (for now at least) do not take that line as a complete admittance of defeat, or Majima finally giving up on Kiryu, on that dream he could never let go of. (Like I've been saying, it's an acknowledgement, not exactly a declaration.) I do not think it means he is just letting go, full-stop.

But I do hope it means he can stop himself from self-destructing completely. I hope it means that he can slow down with the wild chase, (and that he and Kiryu can just. Sit down and talk like fucking normal people. Which i guess they are doing in the post-credits, supposedly) and I hope it means that he won't drown completely, especially in the case of the worst possible scenario.

[vii0so]

[BSD 121] Theory/Analysis

This chapter was full of things for me to over-analyse and theorise about. As always, expect spoilers, sidetracking and theories that sound farfetched.

Topics:

The (Fake) Page

Fyodor's Fixation on Dazai

The Book and Atsushi's Hallucinations

Rampo

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The (Fake) Page

To start, no...that's not the page.

As I mentioned in my last chapter post [BSD 120.5], this had been a plan from the start by Fyodor, for Atsushi to not question where the page is, by showing an ordinary page and letting him assume it's the page.

Plus, Atsushi was having a mental breakdown due to the situation at the time and couldn't think clearly but do you really think an actual page from the book - a godly item - would tear that easily? No way. It's known as indestructible for a reason.

Fyodor's plan was to break Atsushi mentally. That's what he wanted to see. Atsushi in despair.

Fyodor shows he has the page (tricking Atsushi), says it can bring his friends back (giving Atsushi hope), then tears it up right in front of him (Making Atsushi feel despair and hopelessness, breaking him).

Just look at his thoughts! He lost hope, fell to despair. If he doesn't fight, he'll die, and yet he sees no reason to continue.

Maybe Fyodor needs Atsushi to want to die before he kills him. Maybe as the 'bookmark', that's some sort of activation key for something to do with the book.

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Fyodor's Fixation on Dazai

Originally, I wasn't going to talk about this but here I am.

Fyodor decides to talk about Dazai right after mentioning the back of the page. In this he also mentions the prison, furthering my theory (Section: "The page isn't with Fyodor") that the real page is with Sigma back at the prison.

That was a bit off topic but needed mentioning, since Fyodor chooses to talk about Dazai right after mentioning the page (Yes, I'm saying it twice. Important things must be repeated).

Fyodor has no reason to mention Dazai in this way to Atsushi. If my theory that Fyodor needed Atsushi to fall into despair (...gosh, the more I say that word the more I think of Danganronpa), break him, is correct, then he has no reason to talk like this.

I would understand if Fyodor only talked about or mentioned how he beat Dazai, as Atsushi who views Dazai as all knowing would despair thinking "If Dazai couldn't beat him how can I even try?" (actually...did he already think this in one of the chapters and I forgot?) but Fyodor goes beyond that and mentions enjoying his time with Dazai.

Now, It could be just as they show; Fyodor making Atsushi believe that because of Dazai he will give Atsushi the page as stated with:

But he didn't need to do it like this.

Atsushi probably didn't even mentally register anything Fyodor said other than getting the page. So there really wasn't any reason to say all the Dazai stuff. Just mentioning giving Atsushi the page would have gotten the same reaction.

Dazai is a key figure in Atsushi's life and therefore suspecting emotional manipulation in this case (especially after finding out Atsushi - the tiger - is the book's emotional hearth - the bookmark.)

其は 「根源辺縁体」の　寵愛深き この世の楔

note: ...I spent quite a while stuck on translating this and it's not even part of Chapter 121 (it's 119) so I give up (for now).

I've left the Japanese behind in case I come back to this or in case someone else wants to tackle it (plus I spent way too long getting each kanji with my basic hiragana knowledge and BSD raws that didn't show the hiragana clearly for me to search for the kanji without guessing.)

= ✧ =

Anyway, the current translation ("emotional hearth"), would indicate that Atsushi's emotions play a big role in what happens. Therefore it's a given that Fyodor would emotionally manipulate him to activate some sort of trigger that'll help his plans.

But let's not suspect manipulation for a moment.

Why talk about Dazai?

Well, Dazai is important, "in what way?" I'm not sure, and Fyodor mentioning him right after the page shows that he is a key figure (connected to the book in some way).

Fyodor needs Dazai. Or at least...a version of him.

...I don't know what I'm saying either.

Dazai is 100% involved with the book in some way and Fyodor is aware of this fact.

Dazai is also one of the only people in Fyodor's life that understands him and can have an actual conversation with him. Fyodor has lived a long time. Once you live that long everything is predictable.

I'm sure some of the people reading this must have watched a movie or read a story at some point and thought "the ____ was obvious" wether it was the ending, villain, or something else. This happens because we have seen other media with the same things and therefore can predict what happens.

Now imagine you find a movie, book, game, etc. that isn't like anything you've seen before. It's got the same foundations and yet...you can't predict it. You can guess what will happen but you will never truly know (wow, a lot like me with BSD...I'm getting off topic).

That's how Fyodor feels. Seeing the same old cliche for 2k+ years, nothing new at all.

...Until he meets Dazai.

Dazai is the movie that's nothing like the others. A mysterious person he couldn't predict. Someone similar to himself.

So imagine you find a movie DVD that is the key to a door but also a movie that you've been looking for a long time (something new, unpredictable). You'd be interested, right? That's Fyodor's obsession with Dazai.

It's like being in a time loop and having someone remember with you. (is that even a good example? probably not...)

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The Book and Atsushi's Hallucinations

Honestly, at first I was like "Huh???", then I told myself, "Atsushi figured it out so we as the readers must be able to as well", and so I read it a couple more times and thought "The only thing that makes sense is that it's the book", any other possibility I came up with sounded too farfetched and might as well get turned into an au fanfic instead of a canon theory, so...It's the book.

Now, before I get into why, here's a random fact about myself:

I usually avoid reading other people's theories so that I can have fun theorising (having a mental breakdown/j) on my own without my theories being influenced by others.

That being said, I saw a post of someone being confused about the ending of the chapter and I was curious to see if anybody else thought it was the book like me in the post's comments.

To my surprise, a lot of people thought it was the tiger instead.

So let's start with: "Why is it not the tiger?"

This line is all the proof we need: "You're the tiger aren't you?"

It wouldn't be my style if I didn't try over analysing the raws...so I did!

I tried translating the original Japanese myself and basically got the same result with minor differences, so the [Nine of Cups] translation (shown on the left) is as accurate as it gets.

Since I didn't find anything particularly interesting while translating, here's some random Japanese that appears in the panel:

Anyway, yeah, there's no reason in my mind why it would be the tiger. There's just no way. There's no reason for it to be.

Why would the tiger say this? Why would the tiger not appear as itself? Why would Atsushi be so surprised if it was?

Also, Atsushi is the bookmark, the emotional hearth of the book, why wouldn't the book speak to him?

There's just no way it's the tiger.

Now, that we have that out of the way, let's continue:

The floor during Atsushi's "hallucinations" is usually just the ground/floor itself or a blank space (usually totally black or white).

But this time, the entire white area turns colour (from white to black), enabling us to see that there had been lines there all along.

The lines are most likely a reference to the japanese writing paper:

Genkouyoushi [ 原稿用紙 ] - manuscript paper

There have been references made before. Here are some examples:

A & C : Official Art ✧ B : Volume 18 cover ✧ D : TDIPUD LN Cover

Even though this time the distinct space between square rows isn't present and makes this look more like average grid paper I personally still believe it's a reference to genkouyoushi.

Since Atsushi is the emotional hearth, his emotions matter...a lot.

So let me give you a situation before the next part:

The lights suddenly go out in a factory, signifying that there's no power (electricity).

This factory relies heavily on electricity to function and therefore for emergencies has a backup power generator.

Once the power went out, the backup power generator kicked in, meaning nothing stopped for too long and work continued.

Now imagine:

Atsushi is the electricity in this case.

The Dazai "hallucinations" are the backup power generator.

And the factory is the book / the story we read (BSD)

When Atsushi loses all hope, without any chance at all of recovering, that will be the end of the book as well (Or at least it'll trigger something to do with the book).

Since that can't happen if the world is to continue, there is a fail-safe measure (the backup power generator) that activates when Atsushi feels particularly low (really low) or is in need of guidance away from self-destruction.

So, the book speaks in the image of Dazai - who Atsushi holds in high regard (though I'm fairly sure there's more to the book choosing "Dazai" than this) - as a way to "return the electricity to the factory".

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Rampo

Why is Rampo not mentioned here?

Seriously, what plan are Dazai and Rampo scheming against Fyodor?

He must be safe and working in the background...right?

─────────────✧

██████████ Completed!

I know I said I'd post this "soon"

...and suddenly "soon" turned into almost a month.

85% was written within a week of the chapter's release. But my brain didn't let me think after I tried deciphering Japanese (Kanji and general translation) for this (the translation part I gave up on) and suddenly I couldn't type anymore. I tried coming back to it but I still couldn't type much so I left it for a while.

Suddenly I realised I still hadn't finished it and the new chapter was releasing in a few hours! So I said to myself "leave it incomplete like the last time, or speed write a whole bunch of stuff and just post it".

...I typed faster than I thought I could.

So here it is, actually completed (a round of applause for me! :D)

I hope what I wrote makes sense, some parts may be off-topic(?) as I was in a rush and can't re-read what I wrote right now.

See you all in a few hours when I read the new chapter (or tomorrow if I choose to sleep after reading the chapter instead of immediately starting to type my theory/analysis post like I usually do)

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TLDR:

No, the "page" torn is not the real page. It was only used as an act to make Atsushi lose hope.

Yes, Fyodor is obsessed with Dazai in the way that we find an unpredictable movie without cliches refreshing.

Fyodor's manipulating Atsushi emotionally as a way to activate something to do with the book.

The Dazai "hallucinations" are the "book" and are a fail-safe measure (think more closely to: backup power generator) so that Atsushi - whose emotions affect the world - does not fall completely to despair (which is what Fyodor wants)

Rampo is not mentioned in the people who still need saving/are still alive but he's most likely planning in the background.

[fandaniel]

@campanellacat hello bo @isabelopaque hello katie. welcome to my lecture about a guy from a mmorpg that i really love that most fans of said mmorpg do not like. this will be multiple paragraphs because IS NOTHING EVER SIMPLE!!!!!! ffxiv spoilers. all that.

to cover some basic set up, fandaniel is a fragmented soul of a man named hermes who lived thousannnnddds of years ago and hermes is humanoid but not Human. he is apart of a ancient race of giant creatures that possessed great magical ability and could shift forms easily. all animals and creation was made by this race, but there was a system in place where every creation would go through approvals and testing before just being set out into the world.

heres the thing. hermes was the overseer of all this testing, he was a very kind man who struggled with the peoples understanding of what was 'living'. often times if any creature presented any problem, a wing damaged, aggression, you name it, they were meant to be killed. people saw creatures they made as creations, if it did not benefit them, better their collective society, it was to be thrown out. as well in this society, there was a lot of social taboos, mostly around being a individual. everyone dressed the same, to express discomfort out of term was socially not. great. for their world is to be perfect.

hermes with this issue of life and what is or isn't living and if there is anything better out there, made meteia, a secondary magic that was highly responsive to emotions. the meteia is a hivemind of birds that can travel into space, read peoples emotions and minds instead of using words. their job is to explore the universe, find any life, how they life, and report back. he let one meteia live with him, he gave her free will to leave, feeling bad about keeping her pinned to earth. her name is meteion! she reports the findings of the other meteias :3

things are fine, he makes meteia in secret (scared of people finding out he is Questioning the world around him), and he keeps on testing creatures on a big sky island with a bunch of other researchers. but then his teacher who took a higher role in government wants to pass on, in their race, death is a choice made by people who think their job is completed, for their soul to be recycled into something new. this idea of Wanting death really fucks with hermes and he tries to deny the role, if he took it, his friend would die. peacefully, but he felt there was so much more in his life he could do.

also, the role is called fandaniel. if you worked in government in this society, you were called the role you are instead of your name. why its called fandaniel?? i dont know. just a reference to final fantasy xii and as far as i know has no connection to xiv.

also there is some time jumping stuff, timeline stuff in a 'this always happened this way' thing. but your character from the future goes to the past to learn what the fuck fandaniel (hermes) did to doom the world in the future sooo much. it is also generally odd because hermes is. as i will use a photo from the lore book.

hermes is very sweet, quiet, even a bit shy and clumsy at times. compared to fandaniel. (i forget if i took a picture of this but its about the words on the wiki)

after telling a few companions you find while trying to research hermes, you tell them basically i dont know What he did but he is probably going to destroy the world. so. they confront him and hes like huh?? and shortly after meteion starts getting a message from the other meteia. she starts panicking, running away, even trying to kill herself before she can report her message. but everyone tracks her down because what the fuck is your bird doing hermes 🫵 but then hermes runs off with her because theyre 10000% going to fucking kill her.

so you track him down where he ran with her, and the meteia start listing off their report. all life is dead, they felt every emotion of every creature dying out there, plague, famine, war, etc. the meteia tell him there is no meaning to life, there is only death in the end. and everyone outside of him is like hermes. we need to take your bird to be studied. and thus he freaks out, he chains up everyone, letting meteia free to try to kill the world. in his eyes, it was a test of humanity's will to life, just as he did to every creature, it was humanities turn to be tested. he erased everyones memories (including himself, important because he sees it as his right as a person to fight) besides two who got to run away before so.

seeing himself as a failure, not knowing the whole story, he believes genuinely that he killed meteion. its very clear he views her as some kind of daughter. he takes the role of fandaniel, feeling terrible about them coming there to give him that job and seeing him at his worst.

long story short, world gets reallyyyy fucked. the other person who isn't the player (who goes back to the future to give humanity a chance to fight back now knowing what it is attacking them) has to split the world into many, splitting most everyones soul into many smaller souls.

fast forward a few thousand years, hermes soul was one of the souls that was split up into many. he exists as a lead scientist of a highly advance society named the allagan empire. but the issue here is that his society has regressed, there was no motivation, people were cruel for fun, testing on each other and not advancing their empire. to find reason, to find that answer for why we live, he brings back the dead emperor of allag, who tells him there is nothing after life, there is no meaning. the empire fails no matter how hard-- now named amon-- tries to fix it.

one of the people who's soul didn't get split up and lose their memories confronts him, basically, if he assumes his souls role as fandaniel, then he can continue his work, be immortal. and well. he gets aaaall his memories back (including all the stuff with meteion and erasing his memories in the past) and it fucks him up badly to know he doomed the universe and he had no idea how to fix it! nihilism roots deeply. he sees his purpose, the purpose you set for him thousands of years ago, he is the bringer of the end of the world.

once all the other guys who would stand in his way get killed off, he sets his plan in motion. basically, strike as much fear and chaos as possible, make giant scary towers, kidnap people to harvest their emotional negativity, let meteia kill them all. he acts incredibly deranged, unreasonable, he is just like This.

but truly he can't lie to his own nature. there is small hints that he isnt All about this in how he interacts with others. he is a liar to himself. he sees himself in the past as not himself, but a man who ruined his life, doomed to repeat this cycle again and again if he doesn't erase everything. death is a gift in his eyes i believe. and he knows no one will agree with him, and god, he really doesn't want you to agree with him. show him hes wrong. fight back. he has so many chances to stop you but he just doesn't because he wants to know the outcome. a researcher and academic on every level.

and yeah he kills himself in the end but NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!! hes fine. i think the thing that tops this off is that the short story where hermes is unaware of meteion but cant find a answer he is Hopeful even.

plus when you meet him in the afterlife after he kills himself and you fight him again, he is coming to terms that he is just Wrong, he doesn't want you to ever agree with him, or even empathize with him views.

WHATEVER. I LIKE THIS FUCKING FREAK!!! LAYERED!!!!

[morganski-19]

What I don't want to happen with a Buck NDE in 8b

Minor spoilers for 9-1-1 8b under the cut

This is kinda old news, but Oliver's stunt double was on set for episode 12, which lead to the talk of a possible Buck NDE. The stunt double doesn't equal an NDE, but that is an interesting thought that many people have, and I have some thoughts about it.

Mainly, how this NDE would effect the Eddie storyline in El Paso.

I do not want Eddie to come back because Buck got hurt. I don't want that at all.

Do I want Eddie to be affected by Buck getting hurt and him not being there, yes. Do I want to see the spiral Eddie could have because of that, yes. Do I want him to maybe go and visit LA, or speed up the move-in date because of it, if it's done right, yes.

But Buck getting hurt should not be the sole reason that Eddie leaves El Paso to go back to LA, he needs to decide that for himself.

Why?

Because it would take all of the agency out of Eddie's decision. While Eddie and Buck's storylines are intrinsically linked to each other, they have to grow, change, and have their own plotlines as well. Eddie going back to El Paso is one of those. He needs to use the opportunity to fix things with Chris, and needs to do his own self-reflection on why moving to LA was the best decision for him.

Eddie needs to make the decision to move back to LA because it's the best decision for him and his son, to put distance between his parents, and for him to get out of an environment he hates and back to an environment he thrives. He needs to make this decision FOR himself BY himself.

If Eddie figures out about Buck's injury AFTER he makes the decision to move back, I think that would be ok. Because his decision was already made, now it can just speed up the process. But the decision has to be made first.

Now, for the Buck side of it.

He cannot get rewarded for getting hurt with Eddie coming back. He can't. That would be awful for his narrative, and only solidify what his fuck ass parents made him believe. They better not write that into the storyline, otherwise I will have choice words and some rocks to throw.

Buck needs to be chosen. Whether that be romantically or platonically, he needs to be chosen. Eddie needs to come back because it's his decision, and because he wanted to be there for Buck during his recovery. It needs to be explicitly stated that Eddie did not come back because Buck was hurt, for both his own and Buck's narrative.

That being said, if this is the route they're going, it sets up another Because Evan moment.

This season is really bringing back a lot of Buck's themes throughout the earlier seasons. Tommy broke up with him in a manner very similar to Abby, and now Eddie's leaving. They first name drop Abby and therefore bring back the abandonment issues that she caused, and then that is amplified by Eddie leaving. (which, if the way we saw them shoot that in the leak is how it will look in the final edit, is an exact recreation of Abby leaving)

By bringing up these old narratives, it brings up the need for another moment in which a character states that Buck is wrong.

What makes the "Because Evan" moment so special is that 1. the one and only time Eddie calls Buck by his first name 2. explicitly states that Eddie doesn't view Buck as expendable, which is something that was heavily dealt with in season 4.

His recklessness was and still is present, however, that mindset of being the person on the frontlines because he doesn't matter is significantly minimized.

That isn't the same for his abandonment issues. Especially with how heavily they are brought back up in this season.

With Bobby leaving the station, thereby leaving the 118 with chaos under Gerrard, Chris leaving, Eddie leaving, Maddie getting kidnapped, and Tommy bringing up the Abby trauma, it's the climax of this issue.

If they do it right, they could have a moment that has the same impact as the "Because Evan" scene.

If they do it right.

Will it happen with the possibilities of an NDE? I don't know. Do I think it is important to the Buck and Eddie narrative, yes. It all depends on how the Eddie in Texas storyline ends.

[youdontknowhowtodiequietly]

@aurisartblog (it won't let me tag you??? for some reason???) i saw you asking for elaboration in the comments but idk how long my response would be and i despise typing under comments (it's just so squished - don't ask) so here ya go!

TW! Spoilers for TGR (I will only be talking about things I picked up in this book because I did not annotate TSC), mentions of SA, because, of course there is, it's these two.

To start off with: Jean is so aggressively loyal.

BUT

His aggression and violence is controlled. Idk if you saw the post someone made about Andrew never being out of control, even when others think he is, and I 100% stand by that and it's the same thing with Jean. We all saw how controlled he has been with everything - the game, practices, when ppl piss him off in general - but when it comes time where that aggression is needed to protect his people, it comes out in a measured dose that doesn't intend to seriously harm, but to get someone to back down. Like how a dog will give you a nip, or a cat will swat at you, to get you to back off? Yeah, like that.

Which leads me onto the dog thing.

Now, we're all aware of how Andrew is referred to as Kevin's guard dog, or something of the likes, with the leash and other metaphors. Well, Jean's is not so outwardly named, but he does display dog-like behaviours - especially an obedient one, even if that obedience has been abused into him.

For example, on page 13/14 (Kindle): "As usual, Jean finished first and went to wait on the bench near Jeremy’s locker." Tell me that is not a dog waiting obediently for its "owner" (not saying at all that Jeremy owns him, he does not, but Kevin did not own Andrew, so...) And going back to the whole control thing? If Jeremy said "bite", Jean would. It is Jeremy (and Rhemann, and his contract, but mainly Jeremy and Jean's fear of disappointing him) that keeps Jean at bay (most of the time - technically with Bryson Jeremy didn't say "go" but he also didn't put up much of a protest. I'm sure if Jeremy had been more confident and less afraid of his brother, he could have stopped Jean. But also, sometimes a guard dog will bite even if it isn't told to if it's owner(s) are in danger, and Jeremy and Laila were).

Another quote, which kind of made me really think "hmm, this guy is kind of a parallel to Andrew!" is one quote on page 335: "It makes you more interesting" after Jeremy insults the Bobcats. And quote on page 226 "Stop looking at me like that." (though I didn't realise how Andrew-like it was until I started writing this) are both almost exact copies of what Andrew has said - I think Andrew says "Interesting" to Neil once in the first trilogy? But I haven't read the books in yonks.

Also, just, the poker faces (though Jean's is less "I'm bored" and more, "I could not care less about anything going on"), how they're both so accepting yet filled with rage at what has happened to them (e.g., page 350 "I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. Then why did he want to scream until his throat bled?").

The fact that they are both victims of rape, yet believe that they would never get a true prosecution for their abusers (I'm sure that's why Andrew never spoke out, not just because he was trying to move on, but he knows how low the rates are of rapists getting prosecuted for women, and he no doubt made the connection that it would be even less between two men, even if it was CSA), and Jean doesn't really express this but I'm sure it's a thought.

And I don't doubt Andrew struggled to come to terms with his sexuality after everything that happened to him, and though it isn't the same as what happened to Jean, his struggle with his own attraction is similar.

If we were to get a POV of Andrew, and I were to read TSC again, I would probably be able to make more comparisons.

I hope you enjoyed anyways, and feel free to add to this if you wanna (anyone, btw, not just the person I tagged and am replying to) and sorry if it's a little incoherent, most of my posts usually are lmao.

everyone talks about the parallels between jean and neil, the misplaced forever partners, but no one talks about the parallels between jean and andrew

[demaparbat-hp]

*pats Zuko's head* This bad boy can fit so many near-death experiences.

.

Read For the Spirits Chapter VIII here!

[littlebitofdnd]

Sandra-Lynn and Sklonda are having a "What Do We Do About Kristen" phone call as we speak

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

The fans: Ugh Sonic was just so preachy. I mean obviously he's supposed to be the good guy, so any uncomfortableness I feel here and any way I feel like Sonic's choices are framed as being why some other people have shitty lives is just bad writing because he is obviously supposed to be right always, but this characterization makes no sense. Isn't he right for the things he did?

Ian Flynn, using Kitsunami to say the (barely even at this point) quiet part even louder: Hey it's almost like ever since the Mr. Tinker event we've been purposely running with the critique of Sonic as being more selfish than he appears. Sonic is upholding a system of Eggman v Sonic that currently benefits him and shuts down talk of how to improve the current system because he likes his own personal enjoyment and he's attached enough to Eggman that he'd rather Eggman pretend to be a good person than be stuck in prison for life. He doesn't even quite practice what he preaches. We are trying to show that the current hero v villain system and Sonic's recklessness currently affects some people poorly and that Sonic isn't a perfect hero.

[thehermitsacedia]

Le sang coule à longs flots de sa poitrine ouverte ; En vain il a des mers fouillé la profondeur ; L'océan était vide et la plage déserte ; Pour toute nourriture il apporte son cœur. […] Et, regardant couler sa sanglante mamelle, Sur son festin de mort il s'affaisse et chancelle, Ivre de volupté, de tendresse et d'horreur.

The blood runs in slow waves from his open chest In vain has he plumbed the depths of the seas The Ocean is empty and the shore deserted To provide food for all he offers his heart. […] And, watching his bloody breast drop On his death-feast he sinks and staggers Drunk on pleasure, on tenderness and horror.

-Alfred de Musset, La Nuit de Mai

[torchstelechos]

There's something really heartbreaking about the misunderstandings between Mirabelle and Siffrin, because at the start of the game Siffrin teases Mirabelle but gets real anxious and worried about upsetting her multiple times and even gets worried about Bonnie throughout the game. This being to the point that they keep the good lines in the script, even if they could feasibly stop caring about it. Then, during act 5, Mirabelle hits Siffrin with the fact that he's mean when he's teasing her but she doesn't let it get to her because she knows they mean well. Do you think about this? The thought of Siffrin being so self conscious of his own faults to the point they made sure the loops always were kind until the last one only to get slapped in the face by your families comments and hand. Like I think about this a lot. Obviously they knew they were mean but they also did everything in their ability to not hurt their family only to be told that they had multiple times and it was only because of his families trust and love that his family didn't take it to heart. Like fuck, fuck, I think id fucking go crazy. I think I'd isolate myself if that happened to me. Oh my gods. It really makes some of his next decisions really bonkers to me, but in a good way because yeah! Yeah that makes sense. Anyway post game I think Siffrin would probably not tease or poke fun at anyone for a good while in fear of hurting their families feelings.

[t-u-i-t-c]

Taiya Hando in Bakuage Sentai BoonBoomger 01x48 Your Handle

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