#also. the theory is briefly mentioned somewhere in that one post i made with a bunch of speculation abt him

[daz4i]

dude if my incredibly niche theory of potential symbolism behind ratio's statues ends up being confirmed somehow... i will ascend

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 6 Tsumihoroboshi pt. 29

Could you imagine how massively large these posts would be if I spent the money to upload more pictures per post? How unwieldy and unreadable?

Like with Meakashi, Tsumihoroboshi includes a post-game TIP. Unlike Meakashi this one is relevant to the large narrative and isn’t just the summation of the episode or character information for a character who hadn’t existed in the narrative at that point.

What I like about this so far is the ambiguity of when it could be set. There’s nothing really to confirm one way or the other if this is post Tatarigoroshi, or after Rena had taken her class hostage. It’s a fine piece of misdirection.

I seem to recall reading somewhere along the way that there basically already was a concrete quarry in Hinamizawa. I don’t remember if it was in any of the other chapters, or if this was a set up for one of the console arcs, or the manga. I don’t think it matters in relation to this because clearly the concrete swamp is a newer construction to cover up the mysterious goings-on in Hinamizawa. I assure you we’ll find out more about this in Minagoroshi. That said, I don’t really know how concrete works, I know that it hardens over time, and it’s a vaguely liquid substance when its being set, but I don’t think that it’s basically Jello where you just dump a load of it into a liquid and stir. Hell, maybe that’s exactly it, but then again, I’m not sure, my knowledge of construction is limited at best.

I can completely buy the idea that conspiracy nuts on the internet just adopted and love the idea of File No. 34. Early 2000s, little baby internet just awash with a wide assortment of brand new conspiracy theories you’d never heard of? It’d be more surprising if people didn’t buy into the alien conspiracy, especially since it comes paired with a lovely demonic, supernatural element? That’s like all of Coast to Coast AMs Christmases came all at the same time.

Reading this again does make me wonder about the culprit’s motive overall. But I feel that’s a discussion that should probably be saved for Minagoroshi. Also the world of copyright is weird, you can basically describe the entirety of a movie, but the second you mention the name you’re in legal trouble.

I’m choosing to interpret this as there was no additional damage that could be attributed to the volcanic gases. Because if you just leave cars and buildings unattended for twenty years there will be natural wear and tear. Why yes, I do feel like a big man for picking a fight with a translation over a couple of weird phrases.

See, up until the specific mention of Rika dying the same day Rena had taken the school hostage I was firmly convinced this was taking place in the timeline of Tatarigoroshi. Which I suppose in hindsight is probably stupid on my part since it mentions specifically Rena having the scrapbooks and all that. At the time, when reading it it made sense to me, but the revelation that Rika died shortly after the hostage situation took me by surprise.

I knew about the Sarin gas terrorism attack because it was mentioned very briefly in Saw 2. And then I had heard about some Japanese horror film that was about that incident. I don’t remember the name of it, but then again that movie came out nearly twenty years ago or so. Also I don’t know how to explain it that despite the text of the visual novel agreeing with earlier theories of mine that the Great Hinamizawa Disaster was a perpetrated by a cultist, my brain at the time was just dwelling on the notion of the alien explanation. That’s my fault, and I truly wish I had a better explanation for why my brain interpreted it the way that it did.

I don’t know if I agree with the notion that Rena did this to expose the conspiracy. I guess she did, but during the fight with Keiichi she mentions that she doesn’t necessarily believe in the conspiracy any more. Also there isn’t any documents from the trial to gauge one way or the other about whether she actually still believes in the aliens/mind control parasite any more. For all we know, she got over the whole thing and just accepted her actions as a matter of course.

[aakaneeee]

content: till (ALNST) × reader

tw: post round 7 events (based on theories I THINK make sense), reader is part of the resistance, slow, SLOW burn, fluff, VERY SELF INDULGENT, kind of bad and ooc😭

CHAPTER 1 | part 1

your eyes landed on the one saved from the ominous round 7, the one supposed to have competed with Luka, the oh-so-well known for his morally questionable ways of winning and dubious practices. a grey haired boy with suspiciously vibrant teal eyes (you thought it was funny, as his name was Till), and really, a dead expression, only changed by the slight light that appeared when he looked at the also pretty new colleague of yours, Mizi. "And Hyuna?" you asked, looking at the pink-haired girl. "She insisted that she has bussines to finish, even though wounded." she sighed, seemingly disappointed at the reckless behaviour. you nodded in acknowledgement, as your attention shifted to the boy next to her again. "nice to meet you." you said, adding your name, trying to sound as friendly as possible, afterall he seemed like he needed it. he reciprocated curtly, and I look confused at Mizi, who once described him as "wild, but kind nonetheless". she shrugged with a gaze that said "he's was like that when I took him out, too." "weeell! make yourself at home, I suppose?" you continue, before explaining how stuff went. he awkwardly went and sat down, looking somewhere distant. just as him, you went to do your own work, which unfortunately was waiting impatiently for Hyuna to hopefully come back, to ask about how it went. A bit nerve-wracking, since Mizi mentioned her being wounded, and she seemed just as worried. you couldn't help your gaze from drifting towards the hopeless-looking new member of the resistance. trought dark lashes and half-lidded eyes, you watched him do absolutely nothing (later that day, you were shocked and honestly, embarassed, at how long you admired someone simply barely breathing.) Something about his way of being seemed enticing in a way, it made you want to know more about him. You brushed it off simply: you always wanted to know about the new ones who join. But the new ones were usually happy to be free.. but he seemed like he couldn't care less. (You told yourself that so you wouldn't formulate it into "he looked like he would have rathered to die in the competition".)

once, for a second, perhaps feeling stared at, he turned his gaze towards you. His lifeless pupils looked into yours, before looking away again. You couldn't help but feel intrigued, while also noticing something tugging at your heartstrings.

out of respect (or shame) you decided to stop staring and got up from where you were sitting, yawning briefly. trying to make yourself helpful (and failing miserably), you walk around the 'base'. apparently once in a lifetime no one needed any kind of help, probably all waiting for hyunas return.

once more, your gaze drifted. should I try to get to know him better? no. better wait for him to get accommodated, you thought with a bit of hesitance.

| part 2

you silently clicked away trought different programs, looking around, searching for something, anything, about Hyuna's whereabouts. the technology was.. according to the era, but unfortunately, the resistance couldn't access the best of it without the aliens (probably) finding out. you swore you could feel a pair of eyes on you, and when you looked up from your screen, it seemed to be Till. "Interested in what you see?" you ask, a little proud that someone appreciated what you did. ".." "..I was staring into space."

oh.

"oh!" you look.. embarassed and you should be. "Im- Im sorry! I thought someone um.. felt like it was cool, what I was doing.. but really, you were in ALIEN STAGE, so I'm sure you saw technology even cooler than this!-" you babble and babble on, almost incoherently fast, before realizing, you're making a fool of yourself. and you stop (a little too late).

"Its.. fine. They did have technology. I wasn't allowed to use it."

"only you werent allowed to?.."

"there were definitely some.. less collared than me."

I decided not to ask, because there seemed to be something dark in his gaze when he said that.

"well.. if you're interested in what in doing and.. not staring into space.." he grimaced at your very awful 'pun'. "..you can always watch!"

he slowly gets up from where he sat ever since he was brought to the 'base'. "can you make music with this?"

"Hmm, i think so! I never tried, really.. Hyuna does most of the singing around here." you chuckle. "but it's possible for sure!" you begun explaining how all of the different programs worked, how you sometimes hacked systems, how the whole crew knew about little entrances or moments of inattention, speaking about everything without a chronological order. He listened silently (to your surprise, as your mind drifted to the way Mizi described him again).

who exactly is this person that everyone thought was "feral"?

[silverlinedeyes]

Gwyn is a Lightsinger Part I: ACOSF Proper

Before I start, a bit of a caveat: this post is based on the theory that Gwyn is a lightsinger. I have made several previous posts about this, which you can read here, here, and here (among others) if you haven’t already. I fully recognize that this is just a theory, and I might be totally wrong! And I also recognize that some of these interpretations are crack theories, and might not be correct interpretations of the text. Indeed, many of these passages have innocuous explanations too. But I’m interpreting these scenes under the guise of Gwyn being a lightsinger. If she’s not a lightsinger, then of course these interpretations are wrong.

Another caveat: I don’t think Gwyn will be evil. I could see her being a lightsinger going several different ways. For example, I could see Azriel training her to use her powers, which will allow us to learn organically about his powers. I can also see a world in which Koschei is manipulating or controlling Gwyn to get to Azriel. But in this scenario, I fully believe that Gwyn will break the spell or stop it before it’s too late, and redeem herself.

But ultimately, I do think there is a lot of evidence that suggests Gwyn is a lightsinger, so I at this point think there’s a good chance of it being true, and it will clearly be important to the plot of the next book in some way. This post is about analyzing that evidence. I’m not going to get into any theories here about how I think Gwyn being a lightsinger might come into play in future books, or if Gwyn is even aware of her powers.

Also, this post is long!! Sorry!! But it analyzes every piece of evidence I have found in ACOSF proper that suggests gwyn might be a lightsinger, or that I think might be related to her lightsinger powers.

Anyways, if the Gwyn lightsinger theory isn’t your thing, just scroll past.

💡Before we get into the passages that I think might be hinting at or related to Gwyn being a lightsinger, let’s briefly discuss what a lightsinger is.

When Cassian and Nesta are going to the bog of Oorid, Cassian describes two creatures who live there to Nesta: kelpies and lightsingers. Of course, we meet a kelpie in Oorid, but we do not meet a lightsinger. This is important. SJM is not like GRRM in her worldbuilding. Typically she does not mention things in the world unless they are going to be important or come back up. So the fact that we learn about lightsingers is a really big hint that we’re going to meet one at some point.

And here’s what Cassian says about lightsingers:

“There are lightsingers: lovely, ethereal beings who will lure you, appearing as friendly faces when you are lost. Only when you’re in their arms will you see their true faces, and they aren’t fair at all. The horror of it is the last thing you see before they drown you in the bog. But they kill for sport, not food.”

So we know that lightsingers appear lovely and as friendly faces when someone is lost; they lure you; they have a true face that isn’t fair at all; and they kill for sport not food.

Also, just as background and context for what I’m going to discuss, here is the definition of “lure”:

So to “lure” means to tempt someone into doing something or going somewhere, and it’s synonyms include “entice,” “seduce,” “bewitch,” “ensnare,” “captivate,” and “draw.” As I think you’ll see, SJM uses some of these words to describe Gwyn’s song. And I think it’s also interesting that a lot of the synonyms of “lure” have a magical element or a bewitching element.

I think it’s important to note that Cassian appears to be speaking of the legends of lightsingers, and it’s possible that not all of this is true about all lightsingers. And it also is very possible there is more to lightsingers that Cassian doesn’t know.

I also want to briefly talk about the name “lightsinger.” As Cassian describes them, lightsingers sound a lot like sirens, which appeared as beautiful women to sailors and lured them with their songs before killing them. But SJM didn’t call them sirens. She called them lightsingers. LIGHTsingers. This suggests to be that a lightsinger’s power is likely connected to singing and light, or maybe lightsingers can call to and manipulate the light like shadowsingers can shadows.

With that in mind, let’s look at the hints in the text about Gwyn.

💡We first meet Gwyn when she appears to Nesta in the library. Nesta is at quite a low at this point. She has convinced herself she is a monster; she is barely speaking with Cassian; and she is refusing to eat what the house provides her. She seems quite lost. And at this moment, Gwyn appears. When Nesta first sees her, this is part of what she describes:

High Fae, and yet … Nesta couldn’t explain the way she sensed that there was something else mixed into her. Some secret beneath the pretty face.

Nesta senses something different within Gwyn, that she’s something other than a high fae. I think that this “something else” is that Gwyn is a lightsinger. And the “secret beneath her pretty face” is hinting at Gwyn’s secret heritage and also the face that Gwyn might have an actual secret beneath her pretty face—a lightsinger form.

💡Nesta and Gwyn have a conversation, and at one point Nesta observes:

The priestess drew up to her full height, which was slightly taller than average for Fae females. A crackling sort of energy buzzed around her, and Nesta’s power grumbled in answer.

Nesta notes that Gwyn is taller than average, maybe because of her lightsinger heritage?

And then Nesta describes that a “crackling sort of energy buzzed around [Gwyn], and Nesta’s power grumbled in answer.” This line clearly hints that Gwyn has some sort of power, and the use of the world “crackling” brings lightning and electricity and fire to mind, all things which are related to light. And the fact that Nesta’s power grumbles in answer suggests that it recognizes the power in Gwyn, and maybe sees her as a threat. I certainly think this means that Gwyn is quite powerful for Nesta’s power to react like that.

💡While Gwyn and Nesta are speaking, two priestesses appear to be watching from the floor above.

Gwyn tracked the focus of her attention. “That’s Roslin and Deirdre.” “How can you tell?” With their hoods on, they appeared nearly identical save for their hands. “Their scents,” Gwyn said simply, and turned to the books she’d left on the cart.

This is a crack theory, but how in the hell can Gwyn smell the priestesses a floor above enough to identify them? I think Gwyn might have better smell than average high fae because of her lightsinger blood.

💡When they’re done talking, Nesta says that Gwyn disappears, and she notes:

Quiet settled around her, as if Gwyn had been a summer storm that blew in and evaporated within a moment. Sighing, Nesta gathered the books Gwyn had left on the cart.

I just thought this imagery was interesting. Lightsingers appear when you’re lost. And how Nesta describes Gwyn here, as if she was a summer storm that just blew in and evaporated, suggests to me that Gwyn just appeared and disappeared at will. It’s almost like Nesta wonders if Gwyn was a dream. And maybe she did just appear when Nesta was lost and needed her, and then she disappeared when their conversation was done.

💡In a later scene, the scene when Gwyn tells Nesta that she can’t find a book for Merrill, Nesta is in the library when Gwyn appears again:

Nesta pivoted to discover Gwyn striding swiftly toward her, arms laden with books and coppery hair shimmering in the dim light.

Gwyn’s hair might be shimmering here because of the light, but I also wonder if her hair is shimmering because Gwyn is using her powers here, and that she lures Nesta into helping find the book for Merrill:

Nesta didn’t know why she did it. Why she waited until no one was around before she said into the hushed air of the library, “Can you do me a favor?”

This language is very passive—“Nesta didn’t know why she did it.” This made me wonder if Nesta actually doesn’t know why she did it, because she was lured into doing it by Gwyn. This language also seems similar to the language in the last few paragraphs of the bonus chapter, when Azriel found himself at the library, and “for whatever reason...he could see [the image of Gwyn].”

💡After Nesta takes the book to Merrill, she goes to find Gwyn:

Across the hushed, cavernous space, it was easy to hear Gwyn’s soft singing as she flitted from table to table, looking at the piles of discarded books. Trying desperately to find the missing tome. The words of Gwyn’s merry song were in a language Nesta didn’t know, but for a heartbeat, Nesta allowed herself to listen—to savor the pure, sweet voice that rose and fell with sinuous ease. Gwyn’s hair seemed to glow brighter with her song, skin radiating a beckoning light. Drawing any listener in. But Merrill’s warning clanged through the beauty of Gwyn’s voice, and Nesta cleared her throat. Gwyn whirled toward her, glow fading even as her freckled face lit with surprise. “Hello again,” she said.

This is the first scene we get that has overt lightsinger hints. As Gwyn sings, her hair “glows brighter” and her skin “radiat[es] a beckoning light.” Gwyn glows when she sings. And that light beckons, “drawing any listener in.”

As we know from above, “draw” is a synonym of “lure.” And here are the definitions of “beckon”:

So “beckon” means to encourage someone to come near, or to summon them. Like Gwyn is calling to Nesta to come near, or enticing her. And “lure” is one of its synonyms, of course harkening back to cassian’s original description of lightsingers.

Then, when Gwyn stops singing, her glow fades. So the glowing is connected to her singing.

💡We have another scene where Gwyn sings when Nesta goes to the library one day after she learns about the Dread Trove:

“What do you know of the Dread Trove?” “The what?” Gwyn turned from the desk where Nesta had found the priestess singing softly to herself, situated just outside Merrill’s shut office door. “The Dread Trove,” Nesta said, wincing at her sore body’s protestations as she took a seat on the edge of Gwyn’s desk. “Three ancient artifacts …”

...

She didn’t mention Queen Briallyn, or Koschei, or the Cauldron. Only that the Trove must be found quickly. And that Gwyn should not mention it to anyone. Nesta supposed that in doing so, she directly disobeyed Rhys’s order for silence, but … to hell with him. When she was done, Gwyn was wide-eyed, her face so pale that her freckles stood out in stark relief. “And you must find it?”

Nesta comes upon Gwyn when she is singing, and she immediately proceeds to tell Gwyn about the Dread Trove after Rhys expressly told Nesta she couldn’t tell anyone about it. While there’s no mention of Gwyn glowing here, I can’t help but wonder if Gwyn lured Nesta into telling her about the Trove here. And that’s why Nesta disobeyed Rhys’s order without hesitation.

💡Gwyn eventually explains her heritage to Nesta (or what Gwyn believes is her heritage). But this description appears to have several hints that Gwyn might be a lightsinger.

“My grandmother was a river-nymph who seduced a High Fae male from the Autumn Court. So I’m a quarter nymph, but it’s enough for this.” Gwyn gestured to her large eyes—blue so clear it could have been the shallow sea—and her lithe body. “My bones are slightly more pliant than ordinary High Fae’s, but who cares about that?”

Gwyn tells Nesta that her grandmother was a river nymph who seduced a High Fae from Autumn. But is it possible that Gwyn’s grandmother was actually a lightsinger, and that she lured Gwyn’s grandfather rather than just seduced him? I do think it’s not a coincidence that one of the synonyms of “lure” is “seduce.” So lightsingers likely can seduce others.

Then there are Gwyn’s eyes. It’s interesting because the water wraiths we’ve met do not have teal eyes, but black eyes. Could Gwyn’s eyes also be a part of her lightsinger heritage?

And finally, Gwyn utters this seemingly random fact about her pliable bones. While this seems random, I think her bones might be more pliant so that she can shift into her siren or lightsinger form.

💡Then we have Chapter 52, when Nesta attends the singing service. This scene is full of hints that suggest Gwyn is a lightsinger:

Nesta could only gape at the lovely melody, the voices from the front of the cavern leading it, lifting higher than the others. Gwyn sang, chin high, a faint glow seeming to radiate from her. The music was pure, ancient, by turns whispering and bold, one moment like a tendril of mist, the next like a gilded ray of light. It finished, and Merrill spoke about the Mother and the Cauldron and the land and sun and water. She spoke of blessings and dreams and hope. Of mercy and love and growth. Nesta half-heard it, waiting for the sound, the perfect, beautiful sound, to begin again. Gwyn seemed to be shimmering with pride and contentedness.

Again, more light and glowing as Gwyn sings. A glow radiates from Gwyn when she sings, and she shimmers with pride and contentedness.

Gwyn’s voice soared like a bird through the cavern as she started the third song with a solo, and Nesta closed her eyes, leaning into the music, shutting out one sense in order to luxuriate in the sound of her friend. Something beckoned in Gwyn’s song, in a way the others’ hadn’t. Like Gwyn was calling only to her, her voice full of sunshine and joy and unshakable determination. Nesta had never heard a voice like Gwyn’s—by turns trained and wild, as if there was so much sound fighting to break free of Gwyn that she couldn’t quite contain it all. As if the sound needed to be loose in the world.

And again, Gwyn’s song is described as luring. Something “beckoned” in her song, like Gwyn was “calling only to Nesta.” Again with the use of “beckoning,” a synonym of “lure”.

Gwyn’s voice rose again, holding such a high note it was like a ray of pure light, piercing and summoning. Two other voices rolled in to join, pulsing around that repeated high note, the harp still strumming, voices whispering and flowing, lulling Nesta down, down, down into a pure, ancient place where no outside world existed, no time, nothing but the music in her bones, the stones at her feet, her side, overhead. The music took form behind Nesta’s eyes as the priestesses sang lyrics in languages so old, no one voiced them anymore. She saw what the song spoke of: mossy earth and golden sun, clear rivers and the deep shadows of an ancient forest. The harp strummed, and mountains rolled ahead, as if a veil had been cleared with the stroke of those strings, and she was flying toward it—toward a massive, mist-veiled mountain, the land barren save for moss and stones and a gray, stormy sea around it. The mountain itself held two peaks at its very top, and the stones jutting from its sides were carved in strange, ancient symbols, as old as the song itself.

And more light and luring language. Gwyn’s voice is like a ray of “pure light” piercing and “summoning.” And in this part of the scene, Nesta does appear to be lured by the song. It “lulls” her down deep into an ancient place where Nesta sees a vision.

And the choice of the word “summoning” here is an interesting one. Here are the definitions of “summon”:

Summon means “to call an image to mind”. And here, Nesta is seeing images. So it appears that Gwyn has summoned these images in Nesta’s mind, and caused her to have this vision.

And “lull” means:

I think SJM is using the term “lull” a little more broadly here than these definitions suggest, though. I think lull here means more like “send”, so like how “lull” means to send to sleep, but with a bewitching or entrancing aspect, here Gwyn and her music is sending or entrancing Nesta down into her mind to have this vision.

Nesta’s body melted away, her bones and the stones of the cavern a distant memory as she flowed into the mountain, beheld towering, carved gates, and passed through them into a darkness so complete it was primordial; darkness that was full of living things, terrible things. A path led into the dark, and she followed it, past doors with no handles, sealed forever. She felt horrors lurk behind those doors, one horror greater than the others—a being of mist and hatred—but the song led her past them all, invisible and unmarked. This place was utterly lethal. A place of suffering and rage and death. Her very soul quaked to wander its halls. And even though she had passed by the door keeping her safe from that one being more horrible than all the rest … she knew it watched her. She refused to look back, to acknowledge it. So Nesta drifted down and down, the harp and the voices pulsing and guiding, until she stopped before a rock.

That vision continues above, and Nesta notes that she is “guided” in the vision by the harp and the voices. Again, a suggestion that the song is controlling this vision and Nesta’s journey in it.

There, in the center of the chamber, sat a small, golden harp. Cold leached through Nesta, clarifying her thoughts enough to realize where she stood. That the music of the priestesses had lulled her into a trance, that her own bones and the stone of the mountain surrounding her had been her scrying tools, and she had drifted to this place … The Harp gleamed in the darkness, as if it possessed its own sun within the metal and strings. Play me, it seemed to whisper. Let me sing again. Join your voice with mine. Her hand reached toward the strings. Yes. The Harp sighed, a low purr rolling off it as Nesta’s hand neared. We shall open doors and pathways; we shall move through space and eons together. Our music will free us of earthly rules and borders. Yes. She’d play the Harp, and there would be nothing but music until the stars died out. Play. I have so long wished to play, it said, and she could have sworn she heard a smile within the sound. What might my song unlock in here? A cold, humorless laugh skittered along Nesta’s bones. It sang again, Play, play— The song halted, and the vision shattered.

This passage confirms again that the music has “lulled” Nesta into having this vision. And when the song stops, the vision shatters with it.

I don’t really know how you can read Chapter 52 and not come away convinced that Gwyn is a lightsinger, and that she lured Nesta into having a vision of the harp. It is the strongest evidence of the lightsinger theory, and I’m not sure what other explanation of Gwyn’s powers, or of what happens in Chapter 52, that there might be.

💡And finally, there is one last scene that I think hints at Gwyn being a lightsinger in ACOSF. It takes place during the blood rite, when Emerie and Nesta are asking Gwyn how she survived:

“How’d you avoid the creatures climbing up to eat you?” Emerie asked Gwyn, who was wedged between her and Nesta. “They were pulling Illyrians off the branches like apples.” “Maybe because I don’t smell like an Illyrian,” Gwyn said, frowning at her clothes. “Despite these.” She nodded to Nesta. “You don’t, either. If we’re lucky, our scents will mask Emerie’s.”

What if the creatures climbing the trees avoided Gwyn because she smells like a lightsinger, a creature that the creatures in the trees would fear? Ultimately, I just think that part of the reason Gwyn was able to survive the blood rite for two days until Nesta and Emerie found her is because she’s a lightsinger.

[animecreator3000]

About the Boueibu iceberg

@delphoxqueen asked me to explain about my list for the iceberg so here it is. I might update this from time to time with links and stuff if I stumble across the original posts. This is all from what I know so feel free to add new info. Also, spoiler warning for RobiHachi and the Boueibu manga and novels. (This is like a masterpost it’s very long)

1. There’s a theory in tumblr about which decade the series is set in, using data like the friday the 13th calendar in s2 ep11. In HK we got a second number for when the next monthly Pretty Boy Contest was happening and using the one from Love it was theorized that around a decade had passed since then, which ended up being true.

2. The stage play had a few original songs and characters exclusive to it so unless you watched the full performance, you probably weren’t able to witness all of them. One of the characters is called “Robato Deniro”, as romanized in the stage play booklet I own.

3. The nurse and the cafeteria staff from the s1 mobile game appear in the background in around the first half of s2 ep3.

4. S2 had an unfinished manga that was only available online and was never released on physical format; it was centered around the defense club and sometimes the conquest club and Beppu brothers. All that’s left from what I know are the scans linked on magicalgirlsandcerulean’s blog.

5. This isn’t that obscure because it’s talked about in the anime, but I’m mentioning it because I think many people dropped it before the ova, where right at the beginning it is revealed that the alien that resucitated Mr. Tawarayama twice was, as described by Io, a “mulberry-colored naked mole rat-looking thing”, and was nicknamed “Moley-san” by Yumoto. At least in the anime, we had never heard before of who this was and it never appeared on screen nor was mentioned again.

6. In HK ep8, Karurusu promises the knights to grant a wish if they show him how earthlings spend summer. Kyoutarou reveals at the end of the episode that he wished that summer lasted one more day so he could spend it doing nothing, which prompts Ichiro to theorize that it’s the 32nd of august, and the next day is the second 1st of september.

7. The stage play was was held from march 10th to 13rd, of which the latter is Ryuu’s birthday. There’s an additional recording of a small celebration with cake focused on Ryuu and Io.

8. Atsushi mentions his older sister in the flashback at the beginning of s1 ep4, but she never appears or is mentioned again.

9. There’s a few posts on tumblr theorizing about what happened to the Hakone parents since Yumoto only says in s2 ep3 that according to Gora, “they are busy with their hot springs tour”. En mentions that it’s a bit suspicious, but it’s all the information we have from the anime. Posts talk about the parents perhaps passing away from an accident or an illness, thus the reason why Gora was so worried about Yumoto’s cold in s1 ep10, but from another post I think it’s implied in the second novel that they actually left their home when Yumoto was still a toddler.

10. It’s no secret that the surnames of the characters are all real onsens in Japan that even the seiyuus have visited, but apparently the Arima onsen has two different kinds of water, “kinsen (gold hot spring)” and “ginsen (silver hot spring)”, with different properties each, and the Kusatsu onsen water also has certain properties, both that were used to build the characters. Additionally, Ryuu’s favorite food are Sato Nishiki cherries, which are grown in the same prefecture, Yamagata, as his onsen, Zaou.

11. The press club lose relevance after s1, with only Kinosaki and Tazawa reappearing briefly in s2 ep2 to interview the Beppu twins after they arrive at the school. Tazawa doesn’t even have lines. Hireashi is mentioned by Zundar in ep11.

12. What the heck

13. Exclusively in the manga we see that Arima met Kinshiro and Atsushi when they were little and they were good friends, but when they met again as adults, Kinshiro seemingly didn’t remember Arima. Atsushi, however, stated that Kinshiro’s talent is remembering people’s faces and names, so Arima wonders if he’s just trying to distance himself from him. He also explains to Akoya that he follows Kinshiro and obeys him because as a child, he was fascinated by his radiant smile. This is never talked about in the anime.

14. Like the previous point, the anime never shows Akoya being bullied, at most just a slight dislike of his full name, but the manga shows that he was made fun of for it and how he actually hates his surname, to the point of introducing himself formally to the president and vicepresident of the student council as “Holy Angel Akoya”.

15, 16, 17, 19. Batonama lives were the livestreams done through the franchise by the defense club seiyuus on youtube and niconico. They’re all on youtube, without any kind of translation.

Love-ko is a girl with a shell bikini drawn on a piece of cardboard that was used as a girlfriend in the Batonama Love! lives, acted by the seiyuus themselves.

RobiHachi has one episode full of official Boueibu artwork and a parody of the series too, a Love-ko doll appears, and Wombat appears as well, named “The Don”. It received an english dub, so for a bit, people were excited that Wombat was going to speak in english too. Also, various mechas appear in both Boueibu and RobiHachi.

18. The director of Fairy Ranmaru (Masakazu Hishida if I’m not wrong) revealed in an interview that he was inspired by Boueibu and aimed to make a show like that.

20, 21. The website super-groupies.com has results for defense and conquest club lingerie sets, dc and VEPPer tote bags, the Beppus’ scarf rings, dc bath sets and the pumps magicalgirlsandcerulean mentioned. I’ve found the s1 Loveracelets and Caerula Adamas’ ring on different sites, the True Loveracelets on TheChara’s twitter and the Happybraces (apparently called “Hapibure”) on broccoli.co.jp but I’m not sure where exactly they were all announced and sold, so I’ll just drop that.

22, 33. Boueibu was originally pretty much a copy of Sailor Moon, I think they were all going to be called “Lackluster Moon” and that stuff and be literally Sailor Moon genderbent. They were all different from color palettes to physical features (except Yumoto’s), and Ryuu was a shota, even smaller than Yumoto. Their names were also very reminiscent of the five Sailor Senshis’. Even if they made it more original, the show is still clearly inspired by Sailor Moon (just look at Caerula Adamas lol) and Pretty Cure. It has also referenced, very blatantly, animes like Doraemon, Detective Conan, Aikatsu and even Vocaloid, when Kyoutarou tries to guess what Karurusu is saying with ““Just Google It, Asshole”?” in ep1.

23. Wombat’s real name and the name of his planet sound like gibberish to the earthlings and ends up being named after the Earth animal, but Zundar, Dadacha, Karurusu and Furanui all have original names. And I think Hireashi means “goldfish”?

24. If you google “zundar technology”, it’s actually a company in Shanghai, China. Aren’t Wombat and Zundar always talking about “advanced alien technology”?

25. Zundar and Dadacha are siblings, so are Karurusu and Furanui, and so are their father King Kamopapa and their uncle minister Wao, but neither are the same species and, except the first two, not even the same color. But they are supposedly related because they share birthmarks or something like that...

26. Everyone who’s in this fandom knows about the pixel blur and voice pitch censor from s1, but I’ve added it anyway because it’s so rare for mahou shoujo and shounen animes to explain why the heroes aren’t recognized when transformed.

27. A good while of s2 ep11 is spent discussing Zundar’s ex-wife and his problems to give child support. Naturally, he gets mad at this.

28. “Money doesn’t betray” (s1 ep6) and “The despair hidden behind your smile that comes from not being understood” (s3 ep11) are sentences that came out of nowhere and implied that the people they were said by (Io) or about (Taiju) respectively had some kind of angst going on but were never explained at all. They’re famous for just that.

29. The Beppu twins’ house in Andromeda shown in flashbacks had strange green circles that apparently are from another anime I don’t know but honestly I didn’t get it very well... It was revealed on a tweet from Takamatsu.

30. Alien language mostly appeared in s2 due to the many flashbacks of Aki and Haru in Andromeda, but in Boueibu s1, it appears on the Zundar Needle before it is shot on the human. It appears a lot through RobiHachi as well, due to being a story about travelling through space. There might be an alphabetical chart somewhere, but I can’t assure it exists, I might even have dreamed it.

31. Hikaru Midorikawa as the melon monster, Kousuke Toriumi as the bishounen monster, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as the kotatsu and panda monsters and Takuya Eguchi as the remote controller monster in s1 and 2, before going on to voice the main cast in HK. Keisuke Koumoto voiced Hatchi Kita in RobiHachi as well as Akihiko in Boueibu, and the characters look similar.

A new addition is that so far Boueibu is the only anime I’ve seen where children weren’t voiced by female seiyuus, but by actual children. Personally, it’s charming and makes it so much more realistic, specifically since no women appear in the franchise at all either (not counting Protag-chan in the game).

32. Speaking of seiyuus, Can I Destroy The Earth? had a dub shown in ep11/12 (?) that made Gora the villain that wanted Earth to stay the same and not progress, against the monsters that supposedly wanted to bring good things to earthlings. Aki and Haru quickly dismissed this dub as fake. (I made a mistake in the title in the previous post btw)

34. As seen in the glossary in the Boueibu Mook (I think, but might not be the mook), Caerula Adamas’ speeches are based on an old japanese detergent commercial that went “Gold, silver, pearl, gift”.

35. In the manga there’s a short parody of the first chapter of Sailor Moon with “Pretty Boy Guardian Gakuran Akoya”. The conquest club manga was released before the anime, so I remember reading somewhere that a fake website appeared for the Gakuran Akoya manga, before turning into the conquest club manga website in the day of its release.

36. Cgi was used a few times in the anime: s2 ep10 for a short sequence of the defense club on a rollercoaster and the carousel monster, ep11 for a cenital shot of the Battle Lovers singing, and HK ep12 for the Honyalaland soldiers and the Wao mecha.

37. The toothbrush incident in s1 ep7. (It’s definitely well-known but it’s so weird lol)

38. “We hope we can see each other again someday!” Something along those lines was the last text to appear in the last episode of HK, implying a s2. We all know how that went.

[elytrafemme]

HELLO

i’m writing this so late but hi i’m responding to your response on our previous ask. yippie! i am enthralled to be talking system things because i like don’t talk much with anyone who i know of who is a system. other than you! wowzerz.

(i am forever and always in the mood to talk system things just because i literally cannot through my entire day where i’m larping as a fully functional and well rounded member of society)

oh yea hi this is puzzle and also worthy (who cocons all the freaking time like oml. anyway he is technically doing most of the writing but i (puzzle) am working to come up with the response. ect ect. idk there might be a note about a specific alters experience but tbh i’m trying not to take too long)

for starters i think i get what your saying about the foreground and background. all though its probably different in theory for us. like uh. there’s the foreground where there are those who are active. that’s where there’s trains of thought and emotions and generally the presence of whoever. plus the like big conscious voice and occasionally a second or third one. not often thou, most of the time cocon means there’s like just emotions/concepts being handed over to whoever is mostly* in front along with their own like subconscious train of thought.

*like whoever has more control of the body i guess

but like anyone who isn’t in this foreground area is off somewhere else. i just call it “warm brain” because yea it’s warm. i guess

plus there’s also like 3 different ways i look at my headspace and it’s changes overtime. honestly at the moment i feel like it’s a rough kinda lounge or something. but there was a consistent view of my brain beating like a stage and having a long fancy dinner table before i even thought of being plural so idk!

to touch briefly on information, i think your posts actually helped me a lot! okay slight embarrassing confession but your system posting actually made me get like anxious. like not really anxious but it perplexed me more than anything. it actually prompted me to do more system research to try and get by brain less anxious on the topic. then eventually i found somewhere that having unexplained anxiety when thinking about systems could be a system thing. idk probably not but by then i had kinda fully realized i was plural and gotten over that anxiety. 

but your posts on your experiences helped kickstart like my final sort of questioning period i had. and it made the concept of systems more like fermented in my brain or sox it’s interesting i guess

and as far as amnesia goes we’re still figuring that out because there’s some massive memory issues going on. and tbh everyone i know is just like “yea okay whatever your just bad with remembering things” but the specifics of my issues kinda aligned with system stuff. like vague blurry memories with no emotions attached. like not just trauma related memories just normal memories that are like that

and yea that’s pretty interesting i think

okay and touching on the fashion related thing, there’s a gal in my brain (Jupiter aka juniper) who has an upmost respect/admiration of dahlia (from your system specifically) and idk where it came from. tbh she doesn’t come round often and none of us know anything about ace attorney. but it will see a mention of dahlia and be like “oh me gee” whenever it’s around. oh yea and this is related to fashion somehow idk my brain made this connection and now it’s written <3

i also wish you luck with keeping track of things ect ect! it’s such a difficult thing, especially for me on busy days everyone can get blurry fast and sometimes there’s a moment where like someone is trying to make a full switch in the middle of class and it’s like a battle in the brain for staying in the moment. thank goodness most classes i can come back to my form after and cat nap for half an hour after and hope whoever wants to show up uses that time.

and okay last note because oh boy have i just talked!!!! realizing i’m like a system has been so weird. but like part of my life feels like it’s been slotted together. and being recognized as plural and being treated as our own individuals has been very gratifying. there’s also stressors but we will figure out how to explain things to the therapist/irls eventually. 

and also lots of LOVE!!!! for you my friend. i am joyful as all hell to talk about this stuff even though i kinda just talked about me and such. okay i’ll end with a question :]

do different alters/headmates effect you appearance in any ways? oh and uhh have you ever dreamed something vaguely related to your plurality or an alter.

personally i had a crisis after dreaming i was a trans man (and feeling some euphoria from it) after being agender for ages and then later realized that there was a trans man in my system

so have a good day!!!! thank you for like indulging me in system talk i am !!!! jumping up and down ya know

-@evilpuzzlingpapercrown

HI BELOVED!

no same it's so hard not telling my IRLs bc even though they hardly know specifics to things, at least a few of them know some of the more broader mental health stuff i have (like a few know i hallucinate, just nothing about what those are). but none of them rly knowing about this is kind of like. so many things i say make way more sense if you know JEKFHSHJKDFS

no idea who is fronting atm but a belated HI WORTHY & PUZZLE!

OHHHH I SEE! that's fascinating :O yeah I feel like my inner world will get more sorted out once i know who all else is here, because when it's basically just four people (including me) that are distinct in the headspace, and all but one of them frequently front, it's kind of hard to tell where they go. and like if they aren't fronting or in the co con soup (or at least close to it if need be) then idk where the fuck they go. but that's so fucking interesting ty for sharing that :O ...

honestly i feel like it's the mcytblr tradition to have one blogger post about systemhood and their mutuals go "hang on a sec..." and then it fractals from there. because like from you to me to my friends etc etc etc you can see the pipeline of people learning they're systems from one another its so interesting to me

oh huh that is super interesting. honestly so much of our memory difficulties are because i am so tired all the time that i get like, mental fog, and then very few totally repressed memories, but like. God systems are so funky with that

question for you if you see this but do you also like... ever feel the process of a memory actively getting repressed? there have been a few times where i being a tenacious bastard trying to recover a trauma memory and i actively feel someone take away parts of it until i can't remember anything about it. it's kind of terrifying but also just a safety precaution i know. do u all also do this?

it's honestly kind of a relief to talk with people that don't know a ton about ace attorney b/c, while we love it and all of our friends that also love ace attorney are like very cool about things, Dahlia's source character is a pretty polarizing one. so I think she's glad that some people don't really know the Dahlia from ace attorney, and just know ours!

also omg if Jupiter ever wants to chat with Dahlia she is totally free to send a message or something! Dahlia does love fashion it's one of the things that brings her out to front so maybe that's where the associaton comes from? but that's really sweet :] for what it's worth, from what I can tell, Dahlia likes your whole system quite a lot from the interactions we've had! she finds you guys rather safe, so you get the Dahlia Hawthorne seal of approval (a big deal)

GOD YEAH IT'S SO FUCKING HARD... the cat nap strategy is actually so based i'm glad that that seems to sort of work for you guys!!! it's so fucking difficult fr. we are handshaking our way through that misery

i totally get that. i think the stressors are like; i mean there's a lot of responsibility to it, y'know? not only just telling people but like, just adapting to sharing a body with so many other people. it's stressful! but i'm glad u can feel that satisfaction from realizing you're a system, too, because it's honestly just. so nice :]

SO MUCH LOVE FOR U FOREVER!!!!! <333 /P

oh damn that trans man dream sounds like such a mindfuck my goodness. glad u figured that out FHDHFHHB im picturing u waking up like. Hey What The Fuck Was That

for us, we don't dream a ton about other alter things, which is a kind of boring answer but we like really don't :( our dreams are very much like me-centric, i'm usually the one fronting by the time we sleep

as for appearance, yes! that's how we figure out who's fronting if it's hard to tell! one big way we found out Dahlia was here is b/c Dahlia wrinkles her nose a lot and has this different look in her eye in general to when I (Mare) front, so that's how we knew it was different. Nightshade puts a lot of tension in her jaw and generally looks kind of older? in a way? we had another front once that hasn't done it since and they looked very differnet, like our jaw was more angular than it is. i don't know shit's confusing but tldr yeah appearance is big for us

jumps up and down beside you :]

[michaels-blackhat]

thoughts on evil Forrest 😈

We are going to start out by apologizing. This is very very late. I’m sure when you sent this ask, you meant it to be in the same joking tone that I approach all of my other propaganda posts. Sadly, this is actually going to be a deep dive into a few Evil Forrest related things, including the moment I feel they changed directions, the perfect wasted build-up, and the implications of the change/how it then negatively impacted the story. As I’m sure you already know, by being on my blog at all, I don’t think the story was good to begin with, so we are going to focus on the weird hoops they made themselves jump through to make that story still work. Additionally, I am only going to mention once, right now, how much of a waste it was to not have Forrest ‘fall for his mark’ and complete one of my absolute favorite tropes. Honestly, I think “because I want it” is a completely valid reason to like Evil Forrest. But, the question was “Thoughts on Evil Forrest” and these thoughts have been developing for over a year and a half. So, I apologize in advance.

The majority of this is under a cut, with highlights in the abstract. If no one wants to read this, I understand completely. Go ahead, skip it.

Note: it pains me greatly to not actually have full sources for this essay. Just know that in my heart I am using proper APA citations, I just absolutely do not feel like digging through tweets to find sources to properly cite.

Abstract:

Previous research indicates that Roswell New Mexico has a history of repeating excuses to explain mid-season changes to plots. This essay explores how those excuses are not only loads of crap, but how they hinder the show’s ability to tell a coherent story, misuse the multiple-plot structure to enhance the themes being explored, and lead to decisions that mean the show continuously goes over budget. This also means that characters are not used to their full potential and has led to what some fans consider to be “out of character” behaviors. While these behaviors are not universally agreed on, evidence can be shown that these behaviors directly contradict emotionally important character arc/plot points in the show.

The author of this paper acknowledges that the show took some strides to mend this problem. However, once again no consensus could be found on whether Forrest was a low-level member of Deep Sky and thus just allowed to fuck off on a bus, or his job was recruitment because he did a piss poor job of making Alex not join.

The concept of Evil Forrest has been with the fandom as early as New York Comic Con (NYCC) in 2019, when it was revealed that Alex had a new “blue-haired love interest”. Speculation abounded within the fandom, with some people, including the author, going “yeah, he’s evil” while others rejoiced in the concept of Alex having a loving partner. Speculation increased as fans discussed Tyler Blackburn’s seeming disinterest in his new love interest, prompting some once again to scream “EVIL” at the top of their lungs to anyone who would listen. Very little was revealed, beyond the fact that the new character would show up somewhere around episode 3 of the second season.

Episode 2.04 aired with some commenting on how he barely interacted with Alex- prompting more evil speculation- and others excited to see the characters interact more. The character appears again in 2.06, where he invites Alex to dubious spoken word poetry (which Alex attends); 2.08, where they have a paintball date and go to The Wild Pony; 2.10, where the two are seen writing together briefly at the beginning of the episode; and 2.13, where Alex performs his song at open mic night, tells Forrest his relationship with the person in the song was long over, and they kiss. Forrest was not revealed to be evil during season 2.

Amidst the season airing, Word of God via Twitter post announced that yes, Forrest had originally been planned as a villain, though not the main villain, but it was changed as filming progressed.

The Word of God Twitter post revealed that Forrest had originally been planned as a villain, but they decided that they could not make their “blue-haired gay man” a villain. This mirrors a similar situation and excuse used the previous season, where the character of Jenna Cameron was originally planned to work with Jesse Manes against the aliens, before it was changed because they just “loved Riley [the actress] too much”. Both of these examples occurred while already filming and reflect on a larger problem with the show. Though not the topic of this essay, it is important to note that both characters are white, both in the show and by virtue of being played by white actors. The fact that they couldn’t be villains for one reason or another is not a courtesy extended to the male villains who are all the most visibly brown, and thus ‘other’, members of the cast.

This also highlights the fact that, via Twitter, it has been revealed two other times that occurrences that were reported in season 1 also occurred in season 2. During the airing of episode 1.02, it was revealed that the single best build-up of tension in the show- when Alex walks to the Airstream not saying a word to Michael after a dramatic declaration- happened because one actor was sick at the time and they had to go back and film the kisses later. At the point of airing for episode 2.08, it was revealed that one of the actors were sick and unable to film a kissing scene. Allegedly, this caused the writers to retool the entire scene and deviate from the plan to make that subplot about Coming Out. The execution of this subplot will be explored later in this essay.

The last occurrence revealed via Twitter also revealed larger issues within the show: lack of planning and poor budgeting. During the airing of season 1, Tyler Blackburn was needed for an extra episode beyond his contracted 10. A full explanation was never given, but speculation about poor planning and to fill in because Heather Hemmens had to miss one of her 10 episodes due to scheduling conflicts for another project. During the airing of season 2, yet another tweet came out saying they made a mistake and Tyler would once again be in an additional episode. No explanations beyond “a mistake” were given, though once again speculation occurred. It is the opinion of the author that this was due to changing plot points over halfway through writing, while episodes were already in production. It has been speculated by some that these changes occurred during the writing of 2.08, which was being finished/pre-production was occurring roughly around the time of NYCC 2019.

Previous Literature:

A brief look at different theories of plots and subplots

Many people have written on the subject of plotting, for novels and screen alike. The author is more familiar with film writing than tv, but a lot of the concepts carry over. Largely, the B- and C- (and D- and E-… etc) plots should reinforce the theme of the A-plot. This can be through the use of a negative example, where the antithesis of the theme is explored to reinforce the theme presented by the A plot, or through other examples of the theme, generally on a small scale.

A movie example of this would be Hidden Figures (2016), where the A-plot explores how race and gender impact the main character (Katherine Johnson) in her new job. The B-plots explore the other characters navigating the same concepts in different settings and ways- learning a new skill as to not become obsolete and breaking boundaries there (Dorothy Vaugn) and being the first black woman to complete a specific degree program and the fight it took to get there (Mary Jackson). A TV example that utilizes this concept of plot and theme is the 911 shows. Each of the rescues in a given episode will directly relate to the overall theme of the episode and the overall plot for the focus character. This example is extremely blunt. It does not use any tools to hide the connection, to the point you can often guess the outcome for that A-plot fairly quickly.

This is not the only way to explore themes within visual media. Moonlight (2016) looks at three timestamps in the life of Chiron. Each timestamp has a plot even if they feel more like individual scenes or moments rather than plots as some are more used to in films. Each time stamp deals with rejection, isolation, connection, and acceptance in different ways. So while there is no clear A-, B-, or C-Plot, each time stamp works as their own A-Plot to explore the themes in a variety of ways, particularly by starting out in a place of rejection and moving to acceptance or a place of connection to isolation.

Please note that there are many ways to write multiple plots, there are just two examples.

While there are flaws within season 1 of RNM, overall the themes stayed consistent throughout the season, mainly the theme of alienation. The theme threads through the Alien’s isolation/alienation from humanity which is particularly seen through Michael’s unwillingness to participate and Isobel’s over participation. There is Rosa’s isolation from others, how her friendship with “Isobel” ended up compounding her existing alienation from her support system due to her mental illness and coping mechanisms. We see how Max and Liz couldn’t make connections. This theme presented itself over and over in season 1. While this essay is not an exploration of the breakdown of themes in season 2, it should be noted that there were some threads that followed throughout the season. The theme of mothers/motherhood was woven throughout season 2, with some elements more effective than others. Please contact the author for additional thoughts on Helena Ortecho and revenge plots.

One of the largest problems within season 2 was the sheer number of plots jammed into the season. These plot threads often ended up hindering the effectiveness of the themes and made the coherence of the season suffer. Additionally, a lot of them were convoluted and difficult to follow.

Thesis:

Essentially, season 2 was a mess. To look at it holistically is almost an exercise in futility. Either you grow angry about the dropped plots and premises, you hand wave them off, or you fill them in for yourself. Instead, this essay proposes to look at individual elements to explain why Forrest should have stayed evil.

We first meet Forrest in 2.04 when he is introduced on the Long Family Farm, which we later learn was the location where our past alien protagonists had their final standoff. He’s introduced. He’s largely just there. The audience learns he has more of a history with Michael. In 2.06, we meet him again with his dog Buffy (note: poor Buffy has not been seen again and we miss a chunky queen). There’s mild flirting, Alex is invited to an open mic night, which he attends. For the purpose of this essay, the author’s thoughts on the poetry will not be expressed. Readers can take a guess.

It is after this point that the author speculates the Decision was made. This choice to make Forrest not evil- paired with the aforementioned ‘can’t kiss, someone’s sick’- impacted the plot. We have Alex have a scene with his father- which the author believes could have been pushed to a different episode- and then have Alex go on a date and then not kiss Forrest at the end of the night. Here, the audience sees Forrest hit Alex in the leg, allegedly not knowing he had lost his leg despite ‘looking him up’, which parallels the shot to the leg that happens to Charlie. Besides wasting this ABSOLUTELY TEXTBOOK SET UP WTF, it also takes Alex away from the main plot and then forces a new plot for him. Up to this point, Alex’s plot was discovering more about the crash and his family’s involvement. Turning Alex’s date from a setup for evil Forrest to a Coming Out story adds yet another plot thread to a packed season. It is also the author’s thought that this is where the convoluted kidnapping plot comes in. With Forrest already in 2.10 for a moment, a plot where Alex is evil has Forrest attack him for Deep Sky rather than Jesse abduct him for a piece of alien glass Alex was going to give him anyway and then for Flint to abduct Alex from Jesse. It’s messy. In a bad way. Evil Forrest would have been a cleaner set up: no taking back a piece of alien glass Alex gave to Michael in a touching moment. No double abduction. Instead, there is only Forrest, who Alex trusts, breaking that trust to take him as leverage over Michael.

Implications:

Now, Alex has two plots (Tripp & Coming Out). The Coming Out plot is largely ineffective, as they are only relevant to scenes with Forrest and have the undercurrent of there only being a certain acceptable way to be out. This could have been used for Alex to discover his comfort levels, mirroring Isobel’s self discovery, but there was not enough screen time for that. Additionally, Isobel’s coming out story was about her allowing herself the freedom to explore. Alex’s story was about the freedom to… act like this dude wanted him to. Alex’s internalized homophobia played out often in the series but it was also informed by the violence he experienced at Jesse’s hands and the literal hate crime he and his high school boyfriend experienced. With that in mind, the “kissing to piss off bigots” line comes off poorly. This is a character who experienced what a pissed off bigot could do- reluctance to kiss in public is not the same as not being out. There is more to be said on this topic, but as it is not actually the focus of the essay, it will be put on hold. To surmise: Alex’s coming out is attempted to be framed as being himself, but it is actually the conformity to someone else’s ideals. It does not work as an antithetical to Isobel’s story, as the framing indicates that the conformity/right was to be out contradicts Isobel’s theme.

Further Research:

MAKE FORREST EVIL YOU COWARDS

Author Acknowledgements:

The author of this paper acknowledges that the show took some strides to mend this problem. However, once again no consensus could be found on whether Forrest was a low-level member of Deep Sky and thus just allowed to fuck off on a bus, or his job was recruitement because he did a piss poor job of making Alex not join.

[wesimpforxiao]

Inception: Chapter 4

"Tch!"  Your forearm blocked a particularly heavy strike from Childe.  It was sure to be bruised tomorrow, but the pain was so freeing.  Maybe you should be attacking the Fatui more often if fighting made you feel THIS good.

"Don't tell me you're tired already," Childe smirked.  "I haven't even gotten to see you use your vision yet!"

The lanterns lighting the city below vaguely illuminated the mountainside in which the two of you were fighting.  It was the perfect view of both city and sea.  Childe was interested in seeing the fantastic firework show, but the way things were going right now, he was more interested in testing your limits.

"Enough about that already," you growled and thrust your elbow into his side.  The small 'oomph' that he exhaled made you a little too happy.  He's wanted a fight with you ever since he came back that day, and even more so since you reunited.  Who were you to refuse him now?  Sure, you've refused in the past, but the anger and bitterness that came flooding back while you were at the festival needed  relief.  Ajax needed to know how much he hurt you all those years ago, whether you directly told him or not.  

Childe, oblivious to the reason behind your sudden willingness to fight, was more than delighted to fight you.  You must've been pretty desperate to change the subject of your phobia if you chose fighting as the alternative!  That didn't stop him from feeling a little bad for pushing the subject, but the thrill of battle soon overcame the guilt and a new fascination overwhelmed his senses.

He was right.  You are like him, even if it's just when you're angry.  He can hone that: train you into becoming a warrior to be reckoned with.  Childe held no intentions to convince you to join the Fatui, but instead prevent your potential from being wasted.  He'd give you the opportunity to grow from amateur to expert.  If you managed to surprise him in this moment, only archons would know exactly what he thought of you.

The harbinger steadied himself and threw his forearm out in time to block your swing, then countered with one of his own to your gut.  It wasn't often that he trained in hand-to-hand combat, but that didn't make him any less deadly.  He had to pull his punches to prevent from hurting you--though if we're being honest, he completely forgot to do that after the first couple minutes.  It's not like you minded anyway. Childe was also slightly impressed at your strength; your looks were definitely deceiving and it worked to your advantage.  He had underestimated you.

No wonder his men were complaining about the vigilante so much.

He caught your roundhouse kick aimed for his head and threw you off balance.  The grass didn't soften your landing.  The sole of his boot sat square in the middle of your chest as he towered over you.  "Not bad," he praised with a raising of his lips.  "I can see why you chose antagonizing the Fatui as a hobby."  Something flashed in your eyes, but Childe wasn't sure what it was.

Your fist slammed into the side of his knee, knocking him off of you.  As he fell you grabbed his arm so he'd land on his back.  You were the one on top of him now with your knees pinning his shoulders into the grass.  "Do you even remember?"  

Childe blinked, and the bloodlust and thrill that was in his eyes was gone.  Remember?  What are--  You were struggling with something dark; your hands pulled the grass out from besides his head, eyes wavering with the slightest bit of hope swirling in the depths of pain.  Seeing your expression, Childe parted his lips to speak.  "Reed--?"

"Heh, forget it," you sniffed, swiping the bottom of your nose with your thumb and sitting up straighter as you vacantly analyzed the blood that now painted your finger.

BOOM! C-r-a-c-k-l-e....!

The Mingxiao lantern exploded somewhere behind you.  The lights from the explosives cast a prolonged glow that illuminated Childe beneath you, but you were still staring at your hand.  It was hard not to think about that night with your father.  What could you have done to change the outcome?  What could have helped you reach Ajax when he returned a different child?  Based on your fight just now, he's never stopped looking for something to take his anger out on; a cruel contrast to the friendly toy seller demeanor.  Meanwhile, Childe: What would've happened if you had fallen into the Abyss with him?  

The lights were beautiful from Childe's point of view, but not for the common reason; they were blocked out save for the ones peeking out from behind your shoulders and head.  You were backlit with bright colors--reds, blues, greens, yellows and oranges.  Each cast a soft glow to your silhouette.  The thoughtful look on your face while you refused to look his way was enticing, what with the sweat that slowly rolled down your temple and the forming bruises splattering across your arms.  And the bloody nose he gave you--the blood that slowly trickled its way down to your upper lip--sent a pleasurable chill down his spine.  You were a breathtaking mess of art.

He briefly wondered if you thought the same of him, but you never glanced down even after the lights of the lantern had faded.

...................

A few miles westward, at the base of Mount Tianheng. Ten minutes before the release of the Mingxiao lantern.

"Alright boys," a dark figure emerged from the shadows of the mountain and scanned the crowd of twenty-plus men all dressed in black robes.  The gruff voice that erupted from the man was enough to silence the hushed whispers between comrades in arms.  "Our scouts confirm the whereabouts of the target in the Northland Bank.  Security is minimal as expected.  Our primary objective is to retrieve those documents.  Understood?"

Silent nods all around.  Not one uttered a word, their obedience absolute.  This was the man that compensated them fairly compared to Her Majesty the Tsaritsa.  Injustices laid out against them by their superiors in the Liyue division of the Fatui will be paid in due time. Now that there were enough committed to the cause, the master's plan will be put into action.

"The Fatui will fall," he bellowed.

"The Fatui will fall! The Fatui will fall! The Fatui will fall!"  The servicemen dispersed as quickly as they heeded his words, shouts of determination fading into murmurs then silence.

"Charlie," the leader gestured towards his right-hand man.  "A word."

"Yes, sir?"  The brunette's wolf-like ears perked up at the voice of his master.  It wasn't unusual that he was given a separate mission during times like this, so he prepared himself with a jaw clenched in anticipation.

"Though I doubt any of them would be caught in this operation by either party, I am not risking you for...obvious reasons.  I have a separate matter to discuss with you."  Eyes like a snake's watched Charlie with both thoughtfulness and pride.  Charlie was by far the most trustworthy, being one of the few recruits that were in this group the longest.  He's succeeded all expectations, to say the least.  "You've mentioned before about a rogue citizen attacking the Liyue Fatui?"

"Yes, sir."

"Any new information on them?"

"Well," Charlie shifted his weight to his other foot and pulled at the collar of his jacket.  "According to one of the agents, it's a she.  The lack of evidence she leaves during expeditions indicate she's had some time to plot her attacks and escape routes...she's more of a threat to them than those who are joining our ranks--at least on the agent-level.  Master Childe seems rather unconcerned with her."

"I see.  Well, if you're up for a greater challenge, find her.  And when you do, recruit her.  With her skillset, the destruction of the Liyue Division will happen a lot faster."

"Yes, sir."  This challenge wouldn't be easy.  It was unusual for there to be someone like him in the ranks of the Fatui, but perhaps this could be an advantage for finding this vigilante that's been the talk of the Fatui for so long.

....................

Childe had parted ways with you a few minutes ago and decided to check in with the bank before bed.  The city streets were still bustling with partiers and night owls, so he took the shortcut through neighboring alleyways to avoid the foot traffic.  

He still couldn't figure out why you went quiet after sparring.  Wasn't sure if he missed something--a cue, a word, a phrase...what was it?  And why was it bugging him so much?  His chest was tight and palms sweaty, his heart was even racing a bit.  It was unusual for him to be so on-edge.  His worries were rudely interrupted when he reached the stairs that led up to the bank.  

Millelith.

"Why aren't you helping us?! We told you everything we know! We need those documents back!"  Nadia was practically screaming at one of the authorities.  "I told you, those documents are im--" Spotting Childe, she let out a sigh of relief.  "Oh thank Her Majesty--We've been robbed, Master Childe."

"Robbed?"

"Mm, yes.  The safe was broken into, but not a single mora was taken.  The reception desk is in disarray, as is Andrei's office...papers are strewn about this way and that, and the documents Andrei was holding for you are missing."

"...I see."

"And these...these imbeciles aren't helping!  They're saying there's nothing to do but make a report!"

"I understand the situation.  I'll be taking it from here.  Please return to your post, Nadia."

She turned on her heel.  "Yes sir!"

Childe faced the Millelith again now that it was just him and them remaining.  "Any leads?"

"N-No, sir." The taller one, who was seemingly the one in charge of the investigation, held a stern expression as he stared eye-to-eye with the harbinger.  "No witnesses.  Whoever pulled this off did so with help.  The theory is at least five people were involved."

"Five?"  Childe couldn't help but scoff at such a ridiculous idea.  "And there were no witnesses at all? That's not possible."

"Sir--"

"No! You don't understand.  That's impossible.  Our security is too tight for even one person to slip through.  There had to be someone.  Are you sure you crosschecked those who are on duty?"

The guard just shrugged.  He wasn't even interested in hearing what Childe had to say!  Even the other guards that were accompanying him appeared bored and even annoyed that they had to deal with the Fatui.

Seeing this, the harbinger pulled at his hair.  Steady now, he reminded himself, Don't lose your temper here.  "If I may, I'd like to speak with your leading supervisor."

"You're lookin' at him," the lead guard answered with an arrogant smirk that pissed Childe off even more.

"Tch--Whoever's in charge of you."

"Sorry, but he's off-duty at the moment.  You can speak with him at the civil affairs tomorrow evening."

"Right."  Childe grit his teeth and took an extra deep breath to calm himself.  Of course, it didn't work.  Damn them!  If I could have it my way, they'd be lying in a pool of their own blood right here and now for their audacity to ignore a crime against us--We fund them, for crying out loud! Perhaps I should send for the Tsaritsa's wisdom-- If it weren't for Lady Signora keeping him in the dark in regards to Morax's gnosis, he wouldn't feel like a dog on a tight leash right now.  The great weapon of war forced to heel for the sake of the cryo archon's image.  Childe made his way for Andrei's office with clenched fists.

Sure enough, it was trashed.  Every document, every book, every folder lay strewn about or trampled on.  Nadia and another agent were busy sorting through and placing each in their respective places; Andrei was out near the docks so it would be awhile before anyone managed to get ahold of him...

Childe knelt at the safe under the desk that sat before the set of double-paned windows.  It was empty.  Every single letter from the Tsaritsa was inside; each detailing next and future steps for the Fatui and Northland Bank; classified documents that updated him of the politics occurring in the Motherland; evidence of...certain matters that would no doubt give the Qixing enough power to ban the presence of Fatui in Liyue.  All of it was gone.

Who'd go to such sophisticated lengths to get their hands on these?  The Qixing abide by the law, so they wouldn't do something so unorthodox.  The Millelith were definitely biased and held grudges against him, so they're not entirely ruled out...What was the suspects' goal?  A smear campaign?  If it is, they got it.  

If he hadn't been away from the office, surely they wouldn't have been so bold as to pull off a bank heist.  But one good thing came out of this:  You definitely weren't involved since you were with him.  Wait...whoever did this must've been watching him.  You could be involved if you had help, but you've never mentioned anyone helping you.  So you and this situation were completely unrelated.  That had to be the case.

Regardless, his every move is being watched.  The only question that remains is, by who?

[fictionfixations]

Generation Loss Discussion [Sort of.]

Just remembered about a post I made on Reddit about Generation Loss and Game Theory's theory on that, and it.. kinda matches up with what I do here and I'm kinda trying to add all the stuff I did before to here [which its pretty easy to tell which is older than others, depending on how much info i actually give lol]

REMEMBER! THIS IS CROSS-POSTED, ORIGINALLY FROM REDDIT.

Not labeled as Findings because people have probably already found it, and also discussed it (it was brought to my attention from a comment on MatPat's video by IAmAPieceOf C L A Y). This is me discussing it a little bit while also discussing my take on what it means. Take what I say with a grain of salt because I'm probably wrong.

I'm obviously not the first to find it, but so towards the end where there's just the red generation loss message, in the right bottom corner it briefly shows a message

"Everything has a purpose Just not the purpose you think"

you might have to pause to see it or slow down the video, but I also had something to say about it so I didn't show the image here. It admittedly doesn't have much to do with the actual theory and doesn't necessarily tie into it, but it was something that hadn't actually been mentioned nor I don't think shown in the video when it was showing the actual video from Generation Loss so people might've missed it.

Obviously it's kinda like some reverse psychology where you think the purpose is something but then it might not be that so you think of the opposite but it also might NOT be the purpose thought to be so that's pretty vague of course (and probably adding in seeds of doubt somewhere). But I think it kinda works as a reminder of how everything has a purpose, therefore there isn't anything that can be thrown away.

Maybe there's a reason as to why that one person in the photo MatPat talked about where everyone was blacked out and there was one specific person that was in red instead, but we also don't know who it is. I doubt that it had to actually do with who was there though like MatPat had suggested, and sure maybe they worked for Generation Loss, but I think it might've been more of someone who had to do with Generation Loss. That doesn't mean that I'm throwing away the idea that MatPat had thought, but more of that it might be someone who works for Generation Loss but I'm thinking more on how it probably has something to do with Generation Loss but possibly not directly.

Or, it might be someone who had some sort of importance. The red shows that the tape had been tampered, assumedly by Generation Loss, and with the tape photo that was I think on the twitter that MatPat showed with the Generation Loss symbol and the red streaks along the side that I believe to add into the idea that it had been tampered, which I'm pretty sure MatPat had gone over already.

I think it could've also been someone who had been doubting the truth that Generation Loss was feeding them, or maybe someone that played a bigger role and therefore put in red so people in the future could not learn the truth that they're trying to hide. That, or the red could be the supposed 'normal' one who believes in the truth Generation Loss fed them while the rest are just everyone who didn't exactly, or maybe just didn't find an interest in it.

It could be that Generation Loss had been 'converting' people to follow their misinformation.

Either way, they had conformed to the truth that Generation Loss had painted assumedly, or at least some, otherwise it wouldn't have gotten as big as it had where it was tying into a new curriculum where children would just be taught facts and such and not being taught how to problem solve and etc. Yes, what I am saying is obviously similar to the theory MatPat did, and yes I'm honestly just grasping at straws here, but this is my thoughts over it.

There's probably more, but it just bothered me a little how there was one specific person in a red box while everyone else was in a box of black, not to mention it seeming like Generation Loss' color overall being red. It also seems like the red was used when they tampered the tape itself, but there was also I think another classroom photo but the students weren't boxed out in black or red but the Generation Loss' symbol was still in red and somewhere in the image.

I think the first image's batches of students had something more to do with it than the ones that weren't blacked out, but it could also very well be that either one of the two could be the first time that Generation Loss tried it's new curriculum and tampering with the truth. Do I know how that works with why some students were in black while others in red, and others not blacked out at all? Nope. Also it's really interesting how Generation Loss assumedly uses red to block and cover things while the people in the first photo had been blacked out. In black, not red like the one person which obviously showed that they could've done it for them all, but hadn't. So I think that's really important. And what if someone else tampered with it besides Generation Loss? Or maybe they were just blacked out for privacy reasons but then that doesn't make sense with the others, but the one not blacked out was also just the back of heads which couldn't really show much. It is interesting though.

Although it might just be nothing, 'everything has a purpose', so I was just kinda thinking over the smaller details. That I think is all my thoughts really over this. Feel free to share your own thoughts and point out if I got anything wrong or remembered details wrong. I'm not really one for theorizing and picking apart details anyway so I'm a beginner at this sorta stuff haha.

After note: This was written based off of what I remembered from the video then [aka I never reread what I write, nor had I checked to see if the images I was referring to were in the correct order or looked like I thought they did lmao]

[captaincravatthecapricious]

Painful Use of Powers

Tim and Jon are having a friendly discussion that is rather rudely interrupted when Jon accidentally Beholds something. They powers of the eye have faded after the world is back to normal, and it makes Jon very ill.

Cw panic (not detailed), vomiting (he vomits static so like.... not anything gross just weird), food mention, baby shark

This prompt is from the bingo on my tumblr, feel free to send a prompt, a character, and let me know if you want a drawing or a fic!  The starred ones I already have prompts for, the crossed out ones are ones I have already posted.  Bingo by @celosiaa​!

“It’s… been pretty strange.  About half the people I talk to remember everything about… well, you know.  And the other half don’t seem to remember anything at all.  Just remember before… and then remember after.  I have to wonder if it’s a trauma response thing or ….some weird eldritch thing.  But… not actually that curious, if you know what I mean?”  Tim is sitting on the couch next to Jon.  Once upon a time, they maybe would have been flush with each other.  But it had been a long time since they were that comfortable together.  Jon hopes that one day he will feel safe enough to lean on Tim again.  

Jon half swallows a partial laugh.  Not a particularly humorous one, just a huff of air, really.  “I’m curious… of course I am.  I just… try to avoid thinking about it.  Curiosity is a little dangerous for me…  Which is irritating because being a teacher is about Learning as well as teaching.  And apparently it is down to me to try to revive these children from the fatigue of rote memorization without an independent will to learn!”  

“Ha!  You inspiring people to learn!  Are you sure you don’t just give them that glare of yours and tell them when the homework is due after babbling to them for an hour about whatever.  Bet they don’t get a question in edgewise!”

Jon gives Tim that very glare.  And Tim laughs properly.  Which fills Jon’s chest with hope.  He shouldn’t hang on the every positive response he gets from Tim… but he does.  

“Actually I read something funny the other day!  I was on twitter and I found a threat that had a theory that one of those stupid kids songs brought about the Eyepocolypse!  One of those ones that you sing over and over again until every adult that ever met you just wants to clobber you…. I think it was the baby shark one…  Whatever the fuck that is.”

Static fills Jon’s mouth.  Buzzing through the air.  And he Knows the song.  The words.  The many many many versions.  

B̠̼̙͙̘͚̺̓̋̿͑̓͘͟͞ả̶͎̜̙̩̖̋̈́̆̂̚ͅḇ͕͓̘͖̦̫̥͂̊͂̀͂̇̇̂̚͜͢y̟̬̳̱̦̘͖̗͑͑͛̀̚͝͞͞ s̘̠̪̠͎̻̯̰̏͂̒̍̒̏͞ͅẖ̴̢͕̙͕̟̤̯͆̊͂͐̆͜ą̛̙̞͇̹̪̖͕͈͆̽͗̇͋̍͘͘͜r̡̛͍̹̳͉͕̱̝͔̾̒͛͊͐̾̿̕͠ͅķ̯̼̀̉͒͆̌̈͜͢͡ d̷̪͙͓͔̞̗͂̋̀͆͆̕͜͞ơ̵̲̩̦͐͋̊̔̉̑͢͢͠ͅ d̜̳̜̺̣͓̟̿̽̔̽̑͜ͅo̸̙͈͇̠̣͐̿̾̂̏̇̚̚ͅ d̸͍̞̹̫̤̀̑͒́̒͊̔ǫ͚̮̳͇̤̰̦̖̀̋̋͂͌̋͑͢͡ d̲̜̹̤̘̝͖͗̀͑̆̽͢ǫ̴̛̤̤̗̝̯͒͆̂̿̀̐͝ͅ ḍ̶͈͇͖͔̫̯̥̄̃͋̄͌̀̇̑͛͋͟ö̢̖̥̯̹͙̱̓̀͋͗͟͡ d͔̬͚̤̩̯͛̽̏̈͘o̪̼̬̯̮̼͌̈̎̐́̕ b̷̢͙̮̱̹͓̎͑͂̊̋̋͛̊͋̇a̗̩͍̩̲̾̇̄͐̾b̮͇̖̣̭̫͎̂̽̅̾́̄͠ỷ̷͚̘͕̫̲̩̠̮̬͒͆̾̃̅͑̓̄ s̲̳̖̼̩̙̓̿͆̉͛̃͒͝͠͡h̴̡̺̯̮̼̙̜̋̓̋͐̿͢ͅa̴̳̩̲͓̱̞͊͊̓̑̄͢ͅṟ̷̨̛̬͎͕̮̖̣̜̎̌̂̎͢k̟͍̱͍͛̅̉̏̑͑͌͡ͅ d̸̥͓̻̗̩̮͖̓͛̀͒̈̉̀̕͞o̹̭͓͎̤̝͆͂͆̈́͗d̵̙͕̼̖͔̬͚͕̞͂͑̒̀͢͞͝͞o͖͕͉̘̠̹͑̂̂̽̌̋͜ḑ̢̟̙̝͋̈̾͌̆͐͋͂̓̌͜ơ̛͖͎͖̱̳̘̓̽̒̔͌͐̔͒͢ḑ̵͍̱͙̘̙̇́̃͡͞o̴̧͓̼͔̜̣̲̻̔́̓͒͗͂́͜ͅd̨͓͈͎͚͕̳̝̩̿͋̂̔́̔̈̇̓͜ȍ̷͕͙̝͎̙̼̣̃̍̏͘̕͟͞d̴̩̩͖̙̘͕͓̼̯̊̿́̾͋̄͘̚͞ŏ̞̤͉̱̝̯̔̄̅͊̑͟ w̴̰̥̱̲̦̤̘̠̑̅̉̓̀͢ę̶̛̬̗̗͓͍̟̏̀̓͗͑͢ṇ̙̟̳̅͑̾͆̈́̀͋͢͞t̵̠̯̫̙̘̺̳͋̋̍͒͂̍̌̐̋ f̸̻̭̫͚̮͐̑̉̄̍̓̂͝ȯ̢̨͔͍̥̲̌̅̋̂͋r̢͔̥͈͎̭͔̼̹̀̿̀̂̊̈́̊͜͠ ả̢̡̛͉̙͓͎̩̈̈̑̇̒͢ͅ ş̺̦͍̣̬͔̭̲̅̓͑̿͗̍ͅw̺̺͉͙̩͚̻̣̜̪̿̍̽͒̎̀̚͝í̢̺̥̩͖̹̣͖͚̈́̿̐̏͜m̶̜̯̺͙̯͒̔̈́̍͞͡͠ d̶̢̨̡̛͓̖̥̱̩̹͊͒̔̽̈̎̽̚ò̤̤̪͎͔̺̽̍̋̅̆̔͠d̳͎̥̟̺̰̰̘̿̌̐́̄̌ơ͔̣̝̱̪̟̪̑̒̿̑͆̂̓̍̃d̢͎͖͖̭͓̭́̌̇̊̇̀͗͛ơ̴͖͓̤̝̘̯͓̐̊̓̾̕͜d̷̤̺̫̙̠̜̬̈̆͐̽̚͟ő͕͚͖̳͙̭̞̜̓̊͊͘͘d̴͈̲̰̬̘́̈́̓̚͠ȍ̶̠͙̜͖͉̱̥̄́͛͌̌̈͟d̳̜̮͓̀̓͒̈̌̅͌͢o̺͕̙̺͔̫̍̾̾̍͊

.

The knowledge floods his senses.  Too many words.  Too many songs.  And he can’t stop it until he has experiences every annoying children’s song and rhyme and poem at once and he can’t take any of it in and he can’t thinkcantthinkcantthinkcantthinktoomanywordstoomanytoomany 

sharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharksharkDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDoDo

The static crackles in the air, and Jon’s vision goes dark.  

Jon wakes up and throws up.  Or would, if his insides hadn’t turned to static.  As it stands, static floods his mouth and echos around the bin that has been shoved hastily in front of his face.  

He thinks vaguely this must be an unpleasant experience for whoever is guiding him upright and holding back his hair.  

Even so, it is miserable for him.  

This is one of the least pleasant experiences of his life.  Which is saying something.  

It hurts.  It feels like he is being turned inside out and his head sawed in two.  

Once his body is done, his eyes are leaking static is well and he slumps further, head still in the bin, breathing hard.  He groans, pitifully.  

He allows himself a minute.  A minute to try to process the information overload that sent him into this state.  To try to feel more real and less like a manifestation of buzzing energy.  

He can’t drag his eyes open.  He doesn’t even want to try.  

Then he remembers Tim.  

Tim who is almost certainly the one rubbing his back.  

Tim who just witnessed Jon Behold something.  

Tim who thinks Jon has this under control.  

Jon is supposed to have this under control.  

But does he?  Does he really?  Because this Does happen.  Not too often anymore, but it does.  Jon can’t always.  

Sometimes a weak compulsion threads through his words.  Sometimes he something slips through into his subconscious.  And sometimes, the floodgates open like they just did, and Jon’s body is not equipped to deal with that now, if it ever even was.  (Which it wasn’t.  He remembers lying on his office floor… sick and shivering for hours before Basira found him at his desk, having finally found the strength to stand, plagued by a raging headache.)  

Tim wasn’t supposed to see that he is still like this… this… monstrousness that hasn’t gone away.  It hasn’t.  Just a bit weaker.  Still out of control and he should have this under control by now!  It’s been years!  

And he can’t think anymore because it hurts too much, and even the gentle hand on his back is too much like hitting.  Like scratching.  And he knows it is just oversensitive skin and he knows that touch is fine and grounding and good, but his brain can’t tell the difference anymore.  Not after years of hurt have been visibly pressed into his skin.  And not when merely existing is rending his head in two.  

He is breathing hard with a solid band of panic crushing his lungs.  And he’s gagging around more static.  And static is streaming down his face and he can’t let Tim see him like this.  he can’t.  He can’t!  He doesn’t want to lose Tim again.  He can’t do it again!  Not when things are so close to good that it hurts.  

He tries to get up.  To hide, but it sends him retching again.  

Tim is alarmed.  Not about Jon’s use of powers.  He’s… something close to okay with that.  Well… not Okay okay with it.  But it’s still… just Jon.  It doesn’t happen often.  And Martin warned him Long before allowing them near one another, the second conversation they had after Tim ran into him in the grocery store and had to go through the awkward business of ‘yes I’m alive, sorry I didn’t say anything, also here’s Sasha who you thought was dead.  What do you mean you almost got yourself killed because you were left with nothing to live for?’  That had been…. a conversation to remember.  

In any case, Tim knows that Jon isn’t entirely human.  Mostly human, at this point.  But… not entirely.  Sometimes things like this happen, although Martin hadn’t said anything about….. all the static.  Something about ink?  Something about some minor compulsion.  And that Jon is… not cagey about it… but skittish.  That he still expects to be punished for this thing that he clearly can’t entirely control.  He knows that Jon occasionally Knows things on purpose and gives himself migraines.  Much to Martin’s worry.  But accidentally Beholding… well it looks worse than a migraine to Tim.  This looks painful, and like it’s quickly devolving into a panic attack.  

Which… Tim has a sinking feeling is because he is there.  This would be…. the third one he’s caused.  At least that he knows of.  

There was the time that Jon was under the weather and compelled him by mistake.  There was the time when he’d finally gotten comfortable around Jon again and had started joking and something in the tone of his voice or the volume had sent Jon into a messy spiral.  And now this.  He’s been so careful.  He wants his friend back.  And they were finally getting somewhere with easy visits without Martin moderating.  Finally.  

And now Jon is sick and hurting and  afraid and Tim is probably just making it worse.  

Jon flinches away from his hands with a whimper, and his theory is strengthened.  

He stops.  Timothy Stoker takes consent very seriously.  “Do you want me to let you go?  Can you sit on your own?”  

Jon whines again, forehead resting on the edge of the bin.  Dreadfully pale and face crackling with a static that Tim guesses to be sweat or tears… possibly both.  

He would absolutely let go of Jon if he was sure he could safely do so, but… Jon looks as if he might just topple over as it is.  Best not to disturb him too much.  And if he looks uncomfortable with the arrangement, then Tim will try to fix it.  However he can.  

Until then, he ought to call Martin.  But he can’t get up without dislodging an unsteady Jon.  And Jon doesn’t look up for sitting in on a conversation.  

He sends a text instead.  

There’s been an incident.  We’re okay, but if you could come back here soon… Please come back soon.  

Jon cries.  And so does Tim.  Softly.  Briefly.  So many steps they have taken together, and there is still a journey before them.  

Martin’s home.  Jon would cry with relief if he wasn’t already crying.  Finally real tears instead of trails of static.  Every time he’s tried to move has made him sick.  He eventually gives up and leans against Tim.  Shivering slightly.  He wishes he could get some painkillers, but…. he can’t even sit up.  Not even far enough to let Tim get up.  

He did find it in himself to weakly sign for Tim to wrap an arm around him.  

It’s grounding.  And solid.  And warm.  And real.  

But now Martin is here.  Speaking in low tones to Tim.  Hands on his face.  Jon leaning into Martin’s warmth.  Martin wiping his damp face with a warm flannel.  

“Hey, sweetheart.  Jon, what happened?”  Martin.

Jon doesn’t want to open his mouth.  Insides still unhappy static.  He signs, “Baby Shark.”

Tim chokes on a laugh.  

It jostles Jon, which causes him to groan.  But… but.  A laugh is good.  It isn’t derisive.  It’s… just warm.  And very Tim, as he once was when they were together.  As he is, now.  

Tim stays for dinner.  It’s takeout.  And while Jon is still queasy, he manages a little bit of soup before falling asleep.  Still leaning on Tim, Martin cradling his legs.  

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Eugene/Beth Entanglement, Part 2: S5-S8

Here’s the next installment of the Eugene and Beth similarities. Once more, @wdway​ dug most of this stuff up, so credits and kudos to her!

READ PART 1 HERE

5x05: Self-Help

I want to mention 5x05 briefly, as I neglected to that in part 1. We’ve long seen the short bus crashing as a parallel to Beth. They literally use dialogue about “killing” the bus at one point. Eugene said he put crushed glass in the fuel line.

Because of Rick’s broken windows theory, broken glass = the downfall of society in some way. Lack of fuel = not being able to get home. Because the cars won’t work. And they often then resort to bikes for travel. Bikes = how the harvest gets home, or just going to home to family. So you can see how all these symbols work together.

Furthermore, after the bus crashes, they exit the back door of the bus. (Something we also saw in 4x09 after the prison fell. Maggie went looking for Glenn in the yellow bus, and they let all the walkers out through the back door.) @wdway and @frangipanilove​ have been working on this since the Leah episode, because we see Daryl using the back door to her cabin in weird ways there, too. We believe escaping through the back door = an unexpected means of survival. Kind of a play on the  phrase “back door deal.” It’s not something obvious or expected. It can also be secret/unseen.

Anyway, we see the same license plate from coda on the white bus, and they live and escape via “back door” means, just as we believe Beth did.

Then they go to a bookstore. That’s a whole other theory as well. We saw the Librarians in S6 and Carol and Morgan went to a library. Books are always major clues for us. So this is another TD symbol.

So, I think you get the idea. That storyline in 5x05 leads directly to Eugene being hurt by Abraham, which I discussed last week is another parallel to Beth in Coda.

We also saw Eugene and Abraham meet in this episode, via flashback. In that scene, we see that they are in Texas (I’ll talk about that more later in the week). We see a BBQ sign (pig reference) train tracks signs, a star (cuz Texas), a water tower, and Eugene dressed in black and white.

Now, I’ve come to believe that the black and white them foreshadows the CRM war. But the point is that we’ve seen it heavily around Daryl and Beth, so it just shows that all these characters will be involved in that war.

Eugene at the Sanctuary (S7/S8)

First, let’s appreciate that for a time, Eugene was tasked with creating a single bullet by Rosita. Total Beth vibes. Plus, we saw some interesting parallels at the bullet factory with Abraham, not the least of which was him wanting to become stronger and kill walkers himself.

In 7x08 (chalk full of TD symbolism), Eugene was taken prisoner by Negan and spent the next season and a half at the Sanctuary.

There were SO many symbols around him while there, it got to be downright ridiculous.

This was where we first associated pickles with him (Pickle Theories). And clearly I need to do a whole forecasting post for his time at the Sanctuary (in time, my friends) but I’ve believed for a LONG time that pickles = resurrection because of the St. Nicholas story (see Pickle theories). So to me, this clearly makes him a proxy to Beth. So it’s super interesting that he’s hanging out with Negan here. And I do think the Saviors were often used as proxies for the future CRM.

Eugene’s room at the Sanctuary also had a ridiculous number of symbols in it. From the blue coolers on top of the green cabinets to the dartboard on the wall. Eugene listening to the song Easy Street nodding his head to the singer that sounded remarkably like Emily/Beth.

A refrigerator with lots of eggs on the inside of the door (I'm sure the writers chuckled over that one). Beer, water, green and red apples.

I could go on and on about the background symbols, but I won’t. Let’s get more into his arc at the Sanctuary.

First is the fact that he’s with a “bad” group, though not necessarily of his own free will. Yes, he ends up helping them because he thinks it will help TF, but he’s taken from Rosita and the rest of TF and held somewhere he isn’t allowed to leave. That screams Beth to me.

While trying to impress Negan’s wives, he puts together some chemistry experiments for them, and when he sets them off, the 1812 Overture plays.

Not only is that music, its music about a famous war. I’ve recently talked about how they’re using the American Revolutionary War as a template for the CRM war, right? I believe this is similar. Perhaps the template of this particular war will inform Eugene’s specific arc. I haven’t researched that overly much, yet. But either way, I think this ties him to Beth because it’s music and it’s a war template.

We also had the situation where he created a musical device, made it fly, and wanted to use it to lead walkers away from the Sanctuary. 

Those are all hugely related to Beth symbolism. Something that sings, obviously. Birds, helicopters, and planes are all huge symbolism for her. Things that fly. And of course then there’s the Pied Piper/Lead the Walkers Away symbolism. We believe a horde of walkers was responsible for Beth getting left behind. And let’s not forget that Glenn’s death fake out (which he survived) happened during S6 and Operation Lead the Walkers Away. Just saying.

When Daryl and Rosita went to rescue Eugene, we had a scene where he literally rose from the ashes. He actually hid there to get away from them, lol. But this was resurrection/phoenix symbolism at its finest. 

In terms of Eugene’s arc, it meant he would redeem himself to TF and turn the tide of the war. Which he did by making sure all the Saviors’ guns would jam and backfire. But it also ties him to Beth.

And of course, after that time away of imprisonment, he does make it safely back to TF.

I said this in Part 1 but I want to reiterate that his being much stronger after the time jump, and actually engaging in a romance (with Stephanie) only after that time jump, is also a parallel to Beth.

Okay, I’m gonna call it there for the day. I have at least two, if not three, more parts to this. Stay tuned.

[diamondcitydarlin]

I am just...honestly fascinated by this sudden ‘change of heart’ with Guillermo tho in regards to being a familiar and becoming a vampire, there’s a lot going on there and a lot to unpack, and I’m hoping somewhere in the depths of what is about to be a long, directionless rant I’ll find the clarity I haven’t seemed to quite grasp yet. 

ALSO I’M SORRY THIS IS A LOOONG ASS POST BUT I DIDN’T WANT TO PUT IT UNDER A READ MORE AND SUBJECT INNOCENTS TO MY BLOG LOL, BUT I’VE TAGGED ACCORDINGLY 

So, I already made a post about ‘Collaboration’ and some of the interesting subtext we get within that episode. Mainly, that this episode is an interesting one for Guillermo because he finally gets what appears to be and should be (at least at first) the opportunity he’s always been waiting for. To this point, across seasons, Guillermo has driven home that his one and only aspiration in life, the reason he tolerates an endless, shitty position, is because he hopes to become a vampire. He’s wanted it since he was a kid. IF HE CAN’T BECOME A VAMPIRE, WHAT HAS THIS ALL BEEN ABOUT?? 

If it was as simple as just wanting to become a vampire by any means necessary, leaving Nandor for this golden opportunity should have been as easy as taking off an ill-fitting pair of shoes...but it wasn’t that, was it? When Nandor pretended to shuck him off as if it didn’t matter, Guillermo got angry and sad in equal measure and only really brightened again when Nandor came back and promised to do better by him. Not necessarily set down a concrete timeline for the ‘becoming a vampire’ thing though, but Guillermo didn’t seem to care about that all that much anyway. Interesting. 

Now we’re able to see a version of things in which Guillermo is being treated better as a familiar, but rather than this development improving his mood he seems all the more aware of the fact now that...maybe he doesn’t even want to be a vampire anymore. Maybe he’s wasting his time here. Maybe he needs to swim towards open waters, so to speak. 

Very similar to Nandor, Guillermo, I think, is not really aware or fully accepting of the inner workings of his own mind. He strikes me as a character that does a lot in the way of burying the truths of himself so far down, he even convinces himself that part of who he is doesn’t really exist- even when it does, and drives a lot of his actions. The show plays to this by only ‘showing’ us concretely how much Guillermo wants us to know, with only small hints and nods to other things going on. That fits and rings true to the norm for a mockumentary style of filming/writing, in that the audience has to rely on a lot of subtle cues from the subjects to figure out what’s ‘really going on’ with a character or plot line; the ‘camera’ in a mockumentary style piece is as much of a visceral, present character as anyone else in the cast and is treated accordingly (but then, like 99.99999% of human beings have seen the entirety of The Office and Parks and Rec, so yall know this already) 

I think part of the way to figuring this all out is to ask why Guillermo wanted to be a vampire in the first place. His answer to this would probably be something along the lines of ‘because they’re cool’ which, you know, valid. That would be a fitting and satisfying answer if, say, I had given it because there was a time when I was about 4-6 years old that I, too, decided I would grow up to be a vampire. Because it was ‘cool’ and aspiring to anything else seemed boring. Again, valid. For someone who has dedicated pretty much ALL of his adult life to apprenticing into vampirism based on a childhood dream that never died? THAT begs a bit more of an in depth reason, I think, to which for now we can only guess. 

I’ll try to make an educated one based on what I believe is going on here, that Guillermo himself is either not aware of or not ready to share with the cameras: I believe his drive to want to become a vampire, given it was based in childhood flights of fancy (and probably some Guillermo-self insert/Armand fanfics, let’s be hONEST) was rooted in a need to feel respected and powerful, at the heart of things. When we first meet Guillermo, and for much of season 1, we see that he’s quiet, subservient, meek, and we learn briefly about how he was bullied in school. I think Guillermo was raised to be this way and use silence/subservience as his only defense mechanism, which may also go a long way to explaining why he’s so reserved. For 10 years, I think it was enough for him to tell himself that everything would be better for him once he became a vampire, he’d have all the things he never had as a human. Respect. Appreciation. Power. Control over his own life.

That said, things have changed quite a bit for Guillermo since season one. While learning that he had Van Helsing blood came as an unpleasant shock, embracing and exploring that side of himself proved that he’s actually kind of a bad ass even without being a vampire. He only ever wielded this power to protect Nandor and others so far, but it is a power nonetheless, this agility and strength that is too great for even VAMPIRES to successfully fight back against. He’s also a smart cookie that knows how to manipulate a situation, something that he’s been using a lot this season too. So, power, then. He has it already. Respect he received from his vampire-hunting group. 

But that still leaves appreciation and, dare I say it, maybe even affection/love. I think there’s a part of Guillermo that wants to feel like he’s accepted and cared for, but even when it’s offered (by groups like his vampire hunting clan, or Celeste’s vampire community lol) he seems to shy away from it going too far, like it’s just too much or ill-fitting coming from people he barely knows. Given that he’s a private, introvert type this makes sense. 

One thing has remained consistent for Guillermo though, across both seasons and episodes, and that’s his seemingly unwavering concern and affection for Nandor. Even in this last ep when he’s unashamedly shucking off duties that don’t fit his job description and maintaining those professional boundaries like a BOSS, he still snaps to and gets to work the moment Nandor is kidnapped. Laszlo’s gone? Meh, who cares, not his jurisdiction. Nandor’s gone!?? Fuck it, he’s getting the keys. A ‘vampire’ offers him the opportunity of a lifetime to become a vampire quickly and live within an accepting community of likeminded people and Nandor told him ‘go for it’? He’s upset that Nandor didn’t fight harder to keep him. 

So now he’s back and Nandor’s making a consistent effort not to abuse Guillermo’s position. This seemed the ideal resolution at the end of ‘Collaboration’, but after a couple of weeks it becomes clear that it wasn’t. For some reason. Guillermo’s no longer satisfied and thinks maybe it’s time to do more with his life. 

I’ll try to sum up the points I’ve made so far into a concise version of where I think Guillermo’s at right now, at least subconsciously; mostly all the things he hoped that turning into a vampire would grant him, have already been granted. He’s learned that he’s strong, smart, capable as is, more than he or anyone else had ever given him credit for. I think it makes sense that his burning need to become a vampire has begun to ebb into a quarter-life crisis of questioning who he really is and what he really wants, because the dream he nursed for so long has turned out to be pretty shallow and maybe not even necessary. He realizes there’s more he could be doing than working tirelessly to an end goal that no longer seems so sweet. 

But that leaves the ‘affection’ and ‘acceptance’ elements dangling in space, held up by his own affection for Nandor that has yet to be really defined. It’s pretty clear that Guillermo is nursing it hard, but what is the nature of it? Even as his sense of loyal devotion to a cause has started to fade, even as his view of Nandor as this unflappable role model has begun to disappear too bc he’s starting to see Nandor for who he really is (a himbo idiot that he can outwit, outmatch without even trying hard) this raw affection still remains. It’s still important that Nandor fights for him. It’s still important that Nandor is safe and protected.  

And, as with the rest of these things I mentioned, I don’t think Guillermo is even really aware of how much he cares about Nandor, how much it drives his actions and thinking, how important that relationship is to him. It’s easier to just sort of...ignore that and pretend it isn’t a factor, that’s Guillermo’s modus operandi when it comes to complicated feelings. 

I think back to that line from season 1, wherein Guillermo’s kind of musing wistfully about how different his life might have been if he’d stayed at Panera Bread/in a stable job with pay and benefits, but then handwaves that all away with ‘The heart wants what it wants’. By this point in the show he was already kind of drifting away from the goal of becoming a vampire (whether he realized it or not). 

The heart wants what it wants indeed, Guillermo, but maybe it’s not really ‘becoming a vampire’. Maybe it’s something else entirely that keeps you tied to this house, this thankless ‘job’. 

At this point, I really cannot say for 100% certain what I think will happen next with Guillermo. This show has proven solid at pulling out unexpected plot twists I wouldn’t have seen coming, but then, I also have been pretty good at predicting where they’re gonna go with things. Like 7/10 lmao. My two theories right now are: 

He’ll become a vampire in the series finale- unwillingly, maybe by accident. This one I think is plausible because it’s a bit of a kick in the pants. It’s the outcome he’s wanted for SO LONG but has just realized maybe it’s not all he can do or wants to do. I could see a situation where, idk, maybe Guillermo expresses to Nandor his thoughts lately about moving on from this and, in an act of stupid desperation, Nandor thinks maybe if he changes him that’ll keep him in his life, so he does it while Guillermo’s asleep and then surprises him when he wakes up...only to find out maybe that wasn’t actually what he wanted anymore, but UH OH what’s done is done. This could provide a lot of tension in the next season, I think. But as it’s a bit of a ‘shocking’ twist type route to go, I can’t be certain this is what they’ll do. Kind of a toss up. 

Guillermo leaves to pursue something else, which the camera crew will follow and document. This is the ‘sensible’/’safe’ route that most scripted shows would take, I think, in this situation...but again, I’m not certain about this one either because Shadows is known for throwing us for a loop and this seems a liiiittle predictable. It’s also very similar to what JUST happened in episode 8 and, were I writing the show, I’d worry it would come across as redundant. Like, maybe we already did this angle and should explore other options to keep the audience on their toes. Also, as much as they love putting Harvey with new casts of characters for episodic stories, I’m not sure they’d transplant him from the main cast for an extended period of time because he’s part of what makes that dynamic run so well. But then, the synopsis of the finale does say that vampires have to ‘survive without Guillermo’ while preparing for an event, so this may happen in some small, episodic measure again.   

Anyway, to wrap this up into a conclusion, I don’t think I’m wrong in predicting that Nandor/Guillermo’s relationship has been set up in such a way as to keep us guessing, sort of a Sam/Diane, will-they-won’t-they type thing that will remain a constant throughout whatever happens next, but will require both characters growing independent of each other in their own respective subplots. At this point, it has always remained consistent that Nandor and Guillermo prioritize each other even when it doesn’t make sense, but I don’t think either of them are ready to realize, accept, and sort through the layers of what they feel for each other. The master/servant dynamic makes that difficult, I’d imagine, so I think inevitably we’ll see the show start to pull them away from that. All I’m saying is, if whatever is going on between them wasn’t VERY complicated it would’ve been resolved as whatever it is a long time ago. Nah, there’s some deep, repressed shit they’re ignoring collectively for whatever reason, and usually that points to something that will, at some point, become romantic. Either way, to understand Guillermo is to keep a close eye on how his dynamic with Nandor grows and changes and I’m, as ever, VERY eager to see how it does. 

[lemystical-puffle]

*kicks down door*

It’s my tumblr and I get to choose my content

So here we go

Assigning the Kagerou Project Songs to each group from Project Sekai

(VBS gets 1 less from everyone else because they have Yobanashi Deceive already)

(Songs are in no order)

Lost Time Memory: The style of songs I’ve been seeing in Leo is this kind of indie rock, songs with a lot of instrumentals and guitar, along with being on a more darker side. I feel like Lost Time Memory perfectly fits this description and wouldn’t be surprised if it gets assigned to them in the future.

Headphone Actor: Like LTM, this song fits the aesthetic of indie rock to a T, but I feel like the lyrics fit as well. With the song being about running towards a goal, discovering feelings, and: well honestly I don’t have anything else I just feel like the style fits and I like the song leave me alone

Toumei Answer: Another one I can’t really explain, it’s just a gut feeling. There’s not much I can put here, I just... I don’t know man I just feel like this song goes here

Summertime Record: I love summertime record, way to much, and I love the voices of Leo/Need sooo.... (Jkjk this isn’t biasy I swear. Plus my favorite is wXs but no one asked), yet again, I feel like it’s the vibes here that makes me put this song here. Just the idea that the ending being with the beginning, if that makes since, I just... I goes here.

(There was going to be only 4 for each but I feel like I should give Fireworks at the Summers End an honorable mention here)

Kiseragi Attention:wow look at that the idol characters song goes in the idol group, who would have guessed. Well you know what, it fits. A group of girls who quit being idols, a song about a girl who’s an idol and hates the attention, It just feels perfect. Not to mention the vibes are fantastic

Yuukei Yesterday: listen, out of context, this song is nothing more than a cute song about a Tsundere wanting to tell her crush she likes him. And I feel like the up-beat vibes fit in with MORE MORE JUMP perfectly :) Also I mean- Airi-

Imagination Forest: I was debating putting in this song, with it being so plot heavy and since project Sekai shortens the songs, it may feel weird, especially since the song itself has very different vibes than the other MORE MORE JUMP songs, but I feel like if cut right, then it could be seen as a simple cute story song. Now I don’t think this would be a song to get a PV or be an Event Song, but more one of those songs that just appear in the shop that you vibe to occasionally.

Lost Day Hour: or as I call it, “summertime record but I don’t want to cry as hard.” I feel like this song is one of those where it sounds so chirpy and the music doesn’t fit the lyrics, and I feel like that works so well with MORE MORE JUMP, so uh yeah it’s here now. Shut up I never said this was going to be a good list.

Outer Science: I know, shocking. Okay okay sorry, I know a lot of people have said this before, but I mean come on. Outer Science in VBS, please. Let them scream the womb. Though my one thing is I don’t know who would sing it. I can’t imagine any VS other than IA singing this song, but I don’t want it to feel to similar to Yobanashi Deceive. Maybe a girls solo? Maybe a group song? I don’t know but I know it needs in.

Kagerou Days: Yes VBS gets both iconic songs I’m sorry but where else could a song about death go??/j I feel like VBS has the right vocal range to do this song justice, maybe make it into a duet for both Hibiya and Hiyori, though I don’t know if this is the type of song to get a MV or not, because while it technically has an official one, the fan made one is more well known and the official one could distract the player with the fast text.

Children Record: I have 3 main reasons. 1) VBS is a mixed gender group and so the lyrics “boys and girls.” Don’t feel as weird. 2) A rock-ish song about a group of people with powers with an aesthetic of street art and graffiti??? 3) Daze isn’t an option so this is my second best choice. (I would totally make them do Daze, they could do Daze so well and I would kill for it, hOwEvEr I don’t know how much it counts because it was originally sung by MARiA and the IA version is only a cover.

There’s no 4. They have Yobanashi Deceive

Otsukimi Recital: I was struggling with wXs, with both the group and Kagerou Project having such different vibes that it was hard to figure out what would go here, but I feel like this song is one that definitely belongs. While yes, it’s an idol song, it has the right about of cheerful vibes, those of wanting to make people happy, that I feel like it fits right in with the bright wonderland group.

Konoha’s State of the World: Okay listen, I know this song is really hecking dark, but you know what? wXs has some dark songs, so they can have some Konoha No Sekaijijou thank you very much. I feel like this could be a a Tenma, Rui and KAITO song, simply because I can’t see any of the girls singing this song.

Shonen Brave: Listen, a song about a scared boy who finds courage in helping a scared girl, thats what this song is (leaving out the whole eye powers and dying and medusa bits), and I feel like this could be a Rui and Nene song, since Rui had made the Nenerobo since she couldn’t talk to people, and the song is about finding courage, but then again I’m not all to familiar with the story so I could be wrong.

Imaginary Reload, Shissou World, or My Funny Weekend: I feel like either one of these songs has potential to be a wXs song, but I don’t really have any reasoning behind it, hense why there are 2 songs here but nothing else. Oops 

Jinzou Enemy: This song just screams 25-ji to me. The dark yet somehow hopeful lyrics, the dark aesthetic, I feel like this is the second most fitting song for this group (we’ll get to the first in a bit), and I also feel like this song is criminally underrated, so having it be reborn and covered would just be amazing in its own right. 

Additional Memory: Now the most fitting song for 25-ji is Additional Memory and I will not be taking criticism. The lyrics of Additional Memory talk about being trapped in some unknown world, being lost angry confused, and living with regrets. I am sorry but if that doesn’t just scream 25-ji then uh well I don’t know the story so don’t tell me and ruin my fun. I feel like the Daze and their Sekai have a lit of similarities in just vibes alone, so having a song that takes place in the daze feels just given. Please let them sing Additional Memory.

Ayano’s Theory of Happiness: Okay okay, I know this sounds weird. A song about sisterhood where only one character is a sibling and their relationship doesn’t mirror Ayano’s and her siblings at all, but here me out. I feel like them singing about these kinds of connections, songs about self sacrifice, regret and dreams, I just feel like it fits. I really have nothing else to say here.

I know I already used Lost Time Memory but you know what screw it I’m using it twice because I absolutely can. I feel like if Shintaro were to go in any group, he would be put right into 25-ji despite being a male and I think his song deserves to be mentioned here. I really don’t have much to say, other than Kanade is also a Hikikomori so she should get center.

Not really a 5, just briefly mentioning Marry’s fictional world here because I feel like I absolutely should.

Afterwords: This is 100 percent not a “songs that should be in project sekai” post. As you could see, a lot of the songs I had mentioned were based on vibes alone and don’t really fit. This post was simply me sorting Kagepro songs into Project Sekai because I thought it would be fun, and needed somewhere to put these thoughts I’ve been having. In conclusion, let 25-ji Night Chord de sing Additional Memory.

[lamortexiii]

Cryptic Mystic: In the End

To bounce off of the previous blog posting, I thought it would be fun to just hop right on into the topic of what happens after we die. After all, we just finished talking about souls and a bit of astral projection last time. From transcending to another place/dimension to reincarnation, there truly is a lot to cover when you start diving into the many beliefs and ideas that surround death and mortality/immortality. But what differentiates the scientific facts from myths and stories of olden days? For those who believe in one defined means to an end for us all, how do you know for a fact that what you believe is true? Have you ever questioned what is life after death? Hell, is there a life after death? Or maybe… it’s something else… something so obscure that our tiny human brains are nowhere near possessing the capabilities to understand it. In the end, readers can decide for themselves what is more likely to be true, or maybe… the answer to this cryptic question has been right in front of us all along? Maybe it is a combination of what we know but do not yet understand. Let’s talk shop, shall we?

Death. Happy for some, a time of joy and celebration for others, but likely a time of sadness and grief for most. Some welcome death with open arms, while yet others fear their mortality. The numerous speculations on what happens after we die is overwhelming. There are far too many ideas and beliefs that people hold in this regard. I’ll briefly cover a few of the more popular beliefs as to not make this blog super lengthy - because, ya know, your attention span and whatnot. 

Scientifically, there are two types of death: clinical death and brain death. Clinical death is characterized by major organ failure (e.g. heart, liver, kidneys, etc.) until the body is completely rendered of functioning and the individual is officially pronounced dead. In brain death, solely the brain stops functioning, but the other organs within the body continue to work within their normal capacities. Creepy fun fact for you: the heart can beat for up to 30 minutes on its own after all brain cells have died. Once the heart stops it’s adios amigo. The remaining major organs that were barely hanging on have now lost blood flow, and life has ended. More creepy death fun facts: the gastrointestinal tract can live on its own for up to 3 days, and the complete decomposition of a body takes roughly 30 years! Crazy science stuff. 

Now let’s take a look at some common beliefs and speculations of what happens when/after we die. Again, I want to remind you, readers, that in my eyes there is no right or wrong answer here. I am a firm believer in everyone having their own beliefs and respect all of them regardless of how obscure some naysayers may think that they are. I enjoy hearing stories from followers that help to further broaden my thought processes. If you ever have an interesting story or want to chime in with your thoughts please feel free to leave a comment here or shoot on over to Instagram and we can rap about it. 

The belief that we transcend to another realm/dimension has been around for thousands of years and has been studied for decades. There is a lot to uncover here between recent scientific discoveries and human belief. Many people believe that many other dimensions exist, however, scientific exploration hasn’t fully found the golden answer to if and what these other dimensions may contain if they do indeed exist. We know that Earth has at least three dimensions: space—length, width, and depth—and one dimension of time. Modern physics posits that there is at least a fourth dimension of space, but that we can’t experience it. Maybe we can? Maybe we do but just haven’t put a label on it? Maybe the odd phenomena that happen across the world that people describe as being ghosts, aliens, and other paranormal activities are actually from the next dimension or another. There has been speculation that extraterrestrials come from another dimension through a portal that is already here on Earth rather than from the sky (outer space). 

Give me an R! Give me an E! Hell, this word is too long and I’m not going to put you through reading a silly cheer for 5 minutes. Reincarnation - yet another commonly held belief of what happens when we die. For those of you who may have never heard of reincarnation, here is the quick and dirty version of the definition. Reincarnation posits that when we die our spirit/soul/whatever you want to call it, moves on to a new host. This host could be a human baby that is born the very second that you die OR you could possibly find yourself reincarnated as an animal, tree, flower, or any other living thing that you can find on Earth. Interesting concept indeed.

My favorite belief, that we go to Heaven or somewhere similar, is one that is believed by millions of people across the world. Wouldn’t it be nice to die and go to another world/place where nothing can do you harm, and just live out the rest of your existence in peace? Well, if you can believe it then it may just happen that way - or maybe not. I am fairly certain I have mentioned this in previous blogs, but religion can be thought of as a coping mechanism for that which we do not know or understand; the human way of putting a label on something to make ourselves feel better or like we are a part of something divine and much greater than us. Which, in all actuality, we very well may be a part of something divine and much greater than us, however, it is my personal opinion that we honestly have no fucking clue about the extent to which that is. 

Now, this next one I threw in here because I personally found it to be interesting. In 2017 I was having a conversation with a friend about mystical things such as portals, extraterrestrials, etc. My friend informed me of a research video on YouTube about a company called CERN. He described this Swiss company as having built a circular-shaped machine that when you throw something into its core it disappears. However, other items have come through this machine and into the room from… wherever the other side is? Basically, these people have created a portal and no one knows about it. You’re welcome for the information. Within this research video, the guy who was describing all of this stuff went on to talk about how China had gifted the statue that sits in front of the CERN building. This particular statue is reported to represent the end of time and hell on Earth. There is a whole mythical background story about this statue - you need to check it out. The irony between the statue and this machine they made is uncanny. It made my jaw drop. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I haven’t been able to find the YouTube video again, so I am not sure if it got taken down because the guy exposed something that was supposed to be secret, or maybe I just suck at YouTube searches. Either way, I encourage you to do some digging on this one, because this type of information could potentially support the whole soul/spirit transcending into another realm/dimension belief. I am not a physicist, so I could be explaining this all wrong. You’ll just have to check out their website for yourself and see what it’s all about. → home.cern

There is also the belief that when we die nothing happens. We are dead and it is the end of who we once were. This belief is often held by Atheists and some Satanists if we’re using labels. However, many people believe this who aren’t subscribed to a religion or don’t want to necessarily put a label on who they are/what they believe. This is the grim reality of our existence. Maybe it all means… nothing… Now isn’t that depressing. 

Then there are near-death experiences, which brings a whole different perspective into the mix. People all over the world have encountered near-death experiences. Many report shockingly similar experiences and stories. Some say they see a white light and follow it to a place of peace. I have heard people say that while they were legally deceased they found themself in a field of flowers or floating within the cosmos. A common theme found within these individuals is that once they have had their near-death experience, they aren’t afraid of death anymore - they welcome it with open arms. One woman on a documentary that I watched even went as far as to say that she didn’t want to come back from where she was and was disappointed when she was revived. These experiences could possibly support the theory of transcending to other dimensions or that there is a “heaven.” I can’t explain it, but I still find the information interesting to ponder upon. 

Our mortality is evident, but what really happens when we die? These are just a short collection of ideas and beliefs that have been around for ages, however, there are many more to consider I’m sure. What do you think? Or should I say: what do you want to believe? Ultimately it’s your choice. Whatever brings you peace, serves you well, and is the right answer for you is what I advise you to turn to. This flesh and blood will decay for each of us one day - it’s inevitable. It is for this very reason why I say live life to the fullest. Regret nothing. Do what best serves you. Do what makes you happy. Take chances. Above all else - be the best version of yourself that makes you happy.

Cryptic Mystic Blog by PsychVVitch

www.LaMorteXiii.com

[cpd5021]

The Thing That Works...

Hailey and Jay take on a case that affects them both, bringing up things from their past. This will be a two-shot (probably). Let me know what you think!

       Jay sighed down at his phone when, for the second time, his call to Hailey went unanswered. It wasn’t like her to not pick up, especially a call from him, but then again it was supposed to be their day off. The team had spent the last two weeks working a grueling case so Voight had shown them mercy and given the two detectives the day off. It all sounded good in theory until Kevin and Vanessa had caught a case, resulting in the whole unit being called in. Vanessa had called him, apologizing when his gruffly voice told her she had woke him, and gave him a quick rundown of the case. She mentioned texting Hailey, but that she hadn’t gotten a reply yet and Jay told her not to worry, that he would get a hold of her. That was twenty minutes ago and now Jay sat in his truck, parked outside of her condo, staring at a blank screen. Maybe she was still asleep. He sighed again and shut his truck off, jumping out and making his way to her door. A mix of confusion and entertainment crossed his face when, as he approached her front door, he could hear music blaring inside. He chuckled to himself, not really pegging Hailey as a 90′s classic kind of gal. Jay knocked and when he realized she’d never hear him over the music, he hesitantly rang the doorbell. He listened as the music was turned down and could see movement behind the frosted window of her door. Suddenly, she was in front of him. A range of emotions flashed across her face, going from surprise, to a huge smile, and then what looked like mild embarrassment. Jay inhaled sharply as he took in the sight of his partner before him. Before he could stop himself, his eyes traveled down her body, which was glistening with sweat. He hadn’t really seen her in anything other than her usual jeans and a T-shirt or sweater, unless you count that one time she was quarantined in a hospital gown. But her currant attire had her body on full display. His eyes quickly roamed from her chest, covered in nothing but a tight black sports bra, down her sculpted abs and to her toned legs showing out of her small athletic shorts. His eyes met hers finally, his eyebrows raised in appreciation, his lower lip clenched between his teeth. He swallowed hard as he felt his face burn bright red, realizing that not only had he just totally checked his partner out but that he had done so in such an obvious way that there was no way he could back track it. He gave her a sheepish grin as he took in her face, a pink blush spreading across her cheeks that he hoped was from whatever she had been doing and not his blatant staring.

“Did we catch a case?” Hailey asked finally, clearing her throat to get his attention. 

“Huh? Uh, yea...unfortunately.” He tried to play it cool but his voice came out huskier than he intended. 

“Okay...” She trailed off slowly. “I’ll be ready in just a minute, I just need to grab a quick shower after working out.” She hesitated in the doorway for a moment before stepping aside and motioning for him to come in. Jay ducked his head down sheepishly as he entered her home, suddenly the air around him felt thick and he was struggling to focus with the new tension between them. “You can hang on the couch..or in the kitchen...I’ll be right back.” Hailey stammered the words out before turning to dart up the stairs. He risked a glance at her retreating figure and the sight of her toned behind did nothing to help his case. With another sigh, he rubbed his face and walked towards her kitchen. He sat down on her bar stool, taking in the space around him. He had been here many times before, but this was the first time he really took it in, trying to distract himself from the other thoughts floating around his head. The room was neat and tidy, save for a few empty beer bottles perched by her sink. The decor was light and simple, a contrast to her as a person, anything but simple. He jumped slightly when he heard her jogging back down the stairs and joining him in the kitchen. Now she stood before him, wearing her usual jeans and a cream colored sweater, her wet hair draping around her face and he found himself swallowing hard again. If she noticed his look this time, she chose to ignore it, instead walked around him to head towards her coffee maker on the counter. 

“Want a cup?” She asked, back turned to him as she pulled a travel mug out of the cupboard. He found himself lost for words as the smell of her shampoo assaulted his nose when she had walked by. He always knew she smelled good, but that was the first time he had caught a whiff fresh out of the shower. He shook his head briefly as his mind started to wander again. Blinking a few times he realized she had turned to face him, waiting for an answer. 

“Hmm, uh...yea...sure...please.” He stammered out his words, giving her a sheepish grin. Get a grip Halstead, he thought to himself. 

     Somehow, he managed to make it through the last few minutes and they were finally in his truck. He filled her in on the little he knew of their case as they drove to the precinct and found himself happy for the distraction. He couldn’t get the smell of her shampoo out of his mind, so it was either new or he just hadn’t been paying attention previously. Either way, it was his new favorite scent. They joined the others in the bullpen, Hailey giving Vanessa a quick smile as they were the last ones to arrive, Jay watched as the two exchanged an odd look, almost like a silent conversation between the two women, but his attention was quickly pulled away by Kevin starting to go over the case. 

“Alright so, V and I were called in by patrol this morning. They were sent to a house for possible shots fired. When they made entry, they found mom and two kids shot dead. There’s a third kid, the youngest, who is in surgery at Med right now but it doesn’t look good. The husband/father is in the wind.” Kevin finished, pointing to a photo on the board showing a man in his thirties, dark hair cut close to his scalp and a scar on his left cheek. 

“With all due respect, this sounds like a case for Homicide. Why’d we take it?” Hailey asked, taking a sip of her coffee. 

“Because,” Voights gravelly voice came from his spot in his office doorway. “They were shot with a military grade assault rifle and the husband was dishonorably discharged six months ago.”

“Neighbors told patrol the couple was always fighting and he has PTSD from his time in.” Adam piped up from his desk where he was going through the traffic cameras from that area. Jay clenched his jaw then, fighting back his own military memories and his struggle with PTSD. He noticed Voight eyeing him from across the room, but diverted his eyes to find Hailey’s. Not surprisingly, she took was assessing the shift in his mood, knowing almost the full extent of what he had gone through. 

“So right now, husband is our number one suspect. And we have no idea where he is.” Kim said, filling the sudden awkward silence. 

“We’ll head to Med, see if we can get an update on the boy. Keep us posted.” Hailey stood from her desk and headed down the stairs, Jay close behind. Once settled in his truck, she turned to face him, her eyes trying to meet his while he actively tried to ignore her. 

“Jay? You good?” Hailey pushed and he knew he wouldn’t be able to get away from this. 

“Yea, I’m okay Hailey.” Jay started the truck and sped them out of the lot. 

“You’re lying.” It wasn’t a question, but a firm statement. 

“No, I....look a few years ago this case would have really got to me. And it definitely crossed my mind up there. But I’m good, promise.” Jay turned to give her a reassuring smile and he could tell it calmed her nerves. He wasn’t lying either and was finding himself all the more grateful that she had pushed him into therapy all those years ago. 

   At the hospital, they met with Will, who also eyed Jay at the mention of the ex-military husband. He told them the boy was out of surgery but that he was still in critical condition and it wasn’t looking promising. It would be a few hours before they would be able to talk to him, if he even woke up. Next, they decided to head back to the house and see if they could dig up anything that had been missed earlier. As they entered the home, patrol still perched outside, they slowly walked around the living room. Hailey picked up a picture frame, showcasing the supposedly happy family. Mom, dad, two sons and a daughter. Hailey couldn’t help but see her own family in the picture and wondered what was really going on behind their closed doors. 

“Hey check this out.” Jay’s voice drew her back to the present, she set the frame down before making her way over to him. He pointed at the wall which appeared to have been recently patched, one spots paint not matching the surrounding area. “What do you think happened here?”

“Someone punched a wall.” Hailey shrugged, trying to shake off childhood memories.

“Yea?” Jay asked, puzzled by her confident answer. 

“Perfect circle, this was a fist meeting drywall.” Hailey’s eyes were dark and he could tell she was somewhere far away. He debated questioning her on it, but decided it would be better to let it go for now. They searched the rest of the house but it came up clean, nothing indicating what might have caused the husband to attack or leave the family as a target for an outside attack. They walked back to the truck, feet dragging slightly at their empty-handedness from the house, when Jay’s phone rang. 

“Hey Will, what’s up?” He shot Hailey a look and picked up his pace towards the truck. She got the hint and jogged right behind him. “Okay, we’ll be right there.” Jay hung up the phone as he climbed into the drivers seat. 

    Once at Med, the duo quickly made their way to the nurses station, meeting Will for another update. He informed them that the boy, Jackson, was awake but still pretty out of it. He warned them not to push the boy and that they needed to be quick, they both gave Will an understanding nod before heading towards the room. Hailey swallowed hard at the sight of the small body laying in the hospital bed, tubes coming from every direction and beeping machines all around. Her eyes met his and she could see the terror within. Hailey walked over to the bedside, pulling up the chair and giving the boy a warm smile. Jay leaned back against the counter and let her take point. 

“Hey Jackson, my name is Hailey and this in my partner Jay.” She nodded in Jay’s direction and he gave the boy a small smile. “Do you mind if we ask you some questions?” 

“Who are you?” His impossibly small voice asked, glancing between the two.

“We’re police officers and we just want to talk to you about what happened.” Hailey was trying to tread carefully and not upset the boy. She knew from his file that he was only seven so she wanted to keep this conversation as light as possible.  

“Mommy’s dead.” His stated, brow furrowing. His blunt statement threw Hailey for a loop and she fought to quickly recover. 

“Yes.” She nodded, somewhat unsure of whether that was a question or not. 

“And my brother and sister.” The boy’s face remained eerily calm while he talked. 

“Yes.” Hailey nodded again, wanting to see where he would go with this. 

“Daddy’s gone. He was angry.” Jackson met her eyes then and in them she saw herself, as a child, uttering the same words. Daddy’s angry. She felt her eyes burn and blinked quickly to fight back the tears threatening to form. Jay picked up on her shift in mood but remained behind her, letting this play out. 

“Why was he angry?” Hailey asked softly, hating how thick her voice sounded right now. 

“He’s always angry.” Jackson shrugged, sending another wave of emotion through Hailey. 

“Do you know what happened to your mommy and your brother and sister?” Hailey pressed gently. 

“Daddy was angry.” His eyes gazed into the distance and Hailey could tell he was shutting down, still she tried to gather some more information. 

“Did your daddy hurt them, today?” Her words were a whisper. 

“Yes.” Jackson still looked away from her, his face emotionless. 

“How?” She wanted to ask for details, to ask if he had shot them, but she knew she couldn’t lead his answers and needed to get him to say it on his own. 

“With his gun. And then he left. He was angry.” The boy shrugged again, as if this conversation was the simplest thing in the world and she wasn’t setting here discussing a triple homicide with a seven year old. She swallowed hard again, throat tight with emotion. She had gotten what she needed from him and now they knew the father was their main suspect, which they had figured all along. 

“Okay Jackson, we’re going to let you get some sleep now. I’ll come back to visit you if you want.” Hailey stood then, glancing at Jay before giving the boy a warm smile. She turned and they started to make their way out of the room when his small voice sounded out once again. 

“Are you going to kill my daddy?” His question froze both of them in their tracks, neither sure how to answer him. Before either could verbalize a response, Jackson continued. “Because you can, he’s a bad man.” Hailey choked back tears and forced a smile on her face before turning to look at him. She wanted to say something to him, to say she knew how he felt, to explain that she had wished someone would hurt her father too and take away her pain. But this wasn’t the time or place for that, so instead she gave him a nod and left the room, Jay hot on her heals. Hailey didn’t stop her brisk walk until they were back at the truck. They climbed in, Jay’s eyes never leaving her face and he assessed where she was at mentally right now. He knew bits and pieces of her past and realized that this case would certainly be bringing some of those memories back to the forefront for her. He was trying to decide how to proceed when she beat him to it. 

“I’m fine Jay.” Her words were cool, lacking emotion. He could tell she didn’t want to go there right now and he respected that, hoping they could talk it out later. 

“Okay, we’ll head back and see what everyone else has.” He started the truck up and they headed towards the 21st. 

   Back at the precinct, the mood was somber while everyone sat around feeling somewhat defeated at their lack of leads on this case. Jay had gone over what Jackson had confessed, Adam had given some information on where the father might be hiding, but so far all the options had turned up dry. Kevin and Vanessa were still scouring over traffic camera’s when suddenly she stood from her desk, sending her chair flying backwards. 

“I got him!” She exclaimed, pointing excitedly towards her screen. They gathered around her quickly, Voight radioed for patrol to follow him and they scrambled to get geared up and into their vehicles. Luckily, their suspect had decided to spot for something to eat and was still parked outside the small diner just outside the city when they arrived. The team had convened a few blocks away so they could set up the plan, Voight barking out orders and everyone hurrying to get in place. They would wait for him to come out of the diner, not wanting to start something inside with potential victims. Vanessa was sent to walk down the street, acting the part of a regular pedestrian so she could get a peak inside. She radioed that he was about to leave and continued walking around the corner so he wouldn’t be suspicious of her. They watched as he walked out, quickly closing their ranks to surround him, but his military training kicked in and he saw them coming. The man spun around quickly, taking in their approach from all angles as each member marched closer, guns drawn. Jay took the lead, hoping he’d be able to connect with him due to their similar history. 

“Hey man, put your hands up. We’re not here to hurt you. We just want to help.” Jay’s voice was loud but had a calm tone to it as he stepped forward. 

“That’s what they all say!” The man bellowed, his head twisting frantically as they continued to close in. 

“You’re ex-military right? Me too.” Jay stretched both his arms up, gun still in hand but now pointing skyward. “We can talk this through, I can help you.”

“Help me?” The man laughed frantically. “You don’t know what I’ve done.” His voice broke then, his first real show of emotion. 

“Yes, I do.” Jay remained calm and collected despite the heated situation. 

“They’re gone! All of them! Because of me!” He yelled out, face reddened and eyes watering. 

“Not all of them. Jackson is alive, he’s at Med. I can take you there.” The lie fell from Jay’s lips effortlessly. He had no intention of taking this man anywhere near his son but if it would help diffuse the situation he would use it. At Jay’s words though, the man spun to face him, suddenly drawing his own gun and aiming it towards Jay. 

“Don’t lie to me!” He bellowed, taking a step towards Jay. Jay knew what he should do, the man could shoot him at any second and he needed to take him out. But he hesitated, thinking of his own PTSD and the time he had pointed a gun at Hailey, not recognizing her in the heat of the moment. He didn’t want to take him out like this, the guy definitely deserved to pay for what he had done but Jay had a hard time pulling the trigger on a fellow military Vet. 

“I’m not.” Jay stated, voice still calm. He could feel his team around him, all ready to take the shot and end this scenario. He was hoping it wouldn’t come to that, but he didn’t get the choice to continue talking him down as the man lurched forward towards Jay and in an instant, Jay leveled his gun and took the shot. He watched as the man dropped instantly and blood began to pool underneath him. Adam and Kevin ran over, kicking the gun out of his hand. He watched Kevin kneel down to check for a pulse but he didn’t need the confirmation. A shot to the center of his chest was fatal, almost instantly. Jay holstered his weapon and turned back to face Hailey, standing wide eyed and seemingly frozen in place behind him. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking or if she was even there with him right now, her face impossible to read. While the rest of his team got to work securing the scene, Jay made his way over to her. 

“Hailey?” His voice soft, not wanting to spook her. 

“He could have shot you.” Her voice trembled slightly and she blinked, bringing herself back into the moment. 

“But he didn’t.” Jay stepped closer, placing his hands on her shoulders. This wasn’t what they did, physical contact. It was somehting new. But in this moment he felt it’s what was needed, what she needed, to feel him and know that he was unharmed. They stood like that for a moment, her eyes searching his face, before they both seemed to realize their close proximity. Jay lifted his hands at the same time she took a step back, both giving the other a sheepish grin. 

“We should....go help them.” Hailey nodded towards their unit.

“Yea...” He agreed, rubbing his neck awkwardly. 

   They eventually cleared the scene, Jay spent over an hour talking to the IA officer who had come to investigate the shooting, but finally they were back at the precinct. Hailey was in front of her locker when Jay entered the locker room, she gave him a quick smile before finishing up what she was doing. 

“So much for a day off.” She joked lightheartedly but Jay knew better. He knew that this case had affected them both, in different ways, thanks to their respective past lives. He knew this would be a case where they ended up doing ‘their thing’ and he found himself thankful he had her to talk it through with. 

“So, my place or yours?” He asked, sitting to untie his work boots. She turned to give him a quizzical look. “Our thing that works, I definitely need it tonight and I’m pretty confident you do too.”

“Oh yeah?” She challenged his last statement with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yeah Hailey, I know enough now to know this got to you, at least a little bit.” She dipped her head then, unable to put up an argument because she knew he was right. 

“I’ll get the beer if you’ll get the pizza?” She asked, biting her lower lip playfully and scrunching her forehead up in excitement over the thought of her favorite pizza place. 

“Make it beer and tequila and we have a deal. I’ll even throw in some bread sticks.” He gave her a cheesy grin then, knowing she would be even more excited now. 

“Jay Halstead, you spoil me.” She smiled at him genuinely and then shut her locker door. She gave him another look, he still sat perched on the bench working on a knot in his laces. “Chop chop! I’m hungry!” She teased before walking out of the locker room. Despite his hellish day, Jay couldn’t help the smile plastered to his face as he walked out of the precinct, calling in their pizza order. 

[elencelebrindal]

What's your opinion on the four saints of unknown rank? And assuming one of the cloths is the Coma Berenices one like in the novel, which are the remaining three in your opinion?

Edited because I made a mistake and the total of the Cloths was 87 and not the correct 88. 

Under the cut, this post is very long (mostly because of huge lists I wrote down). Also, of course this is just my reasoning. There could be a way simpler interpretation of all of this, but I love in depth analysis and I applied it here as well. 

I actually have a big theory about it. Crazy and convoluted, but a good theory for how I look at things. Please don’t take it too seriously, the usual disclaimer. I’m just a fan that loves to delve too much into this stuff. Bear with me. 

There’s a lot of Cloths we don’t know about, even if we add all the existing series to the list.  There’s 72 Cloths, taking away the Gold ones, and we only know 62. If I counted correctly, this takes into consideration all the non-Gold Cloths of the entire franchise, though I might be wrong.

Andromeda

Apus

Aquila (Eagle)

Ara (Altar)

Auriga

Bootes

Caelum

Camelopardalis

Canes Venatici (Hound)

Canis Maior

Cassiopea

Centaurus

Cepheus

Cerberus - obsolete constellation

Cetus (Whale

Chamaeleon

Circinus (Compass)

Columba

Corona Borealis (Northern Crown)

Corvus (Crow)

Crater (Crateris)

Crux

Cygnus

Delphinus

Dorado

Draco (Dragon)

Equuleus

Grus (Crane)

Heracles

Horologium

Hydra

Hydrus

Lacerta (Lizard)

Leo Minor (Lionet)

Lepus

Lupus (Wolf)

Lynx

Lyra

Monoceros (Unicorn)

Musca

Norma

Ophiuchus

Orion

Pavo

Pegasus

Perseus

Phoenix

Piscis Austrinus

Puppis

Pyxis

Rangifer Tarandus (Reindeer) - obsolete

Reticulum

Sagitta

Scutum

Serpens

Sextans

Triangulum (Triangle)

Ursa Maior (Bear)

Ursa Minor 

Vela

Volans

Vulpecula

This gives us 26 remaining options, but there’s also a problem: two of the constellations in this list are obsolete constellations, aka constellations that don’t exist anymore. Obviously, the Corona Cloths don’t make the list, since they’re not Saints of Athena. So, the constellations we have left are not 26, but 28. Minus the Zodiac constellation, they are 16.

Canis Minor

Carina

Corona Australis

Eridanus

Fornax

Indus

Antlia

Mensa

Microscopium

Octans

Pictor

Sculptor

Telescopium

Trangulum Australe

Tucana

Coma Berenices (which is one of the unknown Cloths)

The anime has the Fornax Cloth, as does Saint Seiya Online; I didn’t count it in the previous list because I’m not sure if the Fornax Saint is actually a Saint (since in Italy he’s quite literally called “Knight of the Flame”, not of the fornax, and he has the name “Saint of the Flame” alongside “Ennetsu Saint”). 

The Eridanus Cloth appeared briefly in the anime, I put it on this list because there’s no named Saint linked to it. It’s not relevant to the point I’ll be making in a while, so it can stay in both lists.  The same goes for the Indus Cloth and the Tucana Cloth.

The Mensa Cloth appears only in Saint Seiya Online, so I decided to put it in this list instead of the previous one. 

The Sculptor Cloth was mentioned alongside the Caelum Cloth in the Taizen, so it’s actually a known Cloth, but since it has no named Saint I decided to put it here.

All the other ones never appeared in any iteration of the frachise (as far as I know). 

Out of these 16, there’s two of them that apparently aren’t existing Cloths, since two obsolete constellations took their place. Following this reasoning, it actually makes sense for at least those two to be unknown.  But what about the other two? What about Coma Berenices and the other one? Maybe Coma Berenice and one of these other constellation are not in the list. Maybe there’s two more obsolete constellation that are in their place. Maybe, 4 out of the 16 constellations up there, Coma Berenices included, are not linked to Athena, maybe 4 obsolete constellations are in their place. 2 of them are absolutely out of the picture, because of Cerberus and Reindeer, so it makes sense to complete the set and put 2 more obsolete constellations to substitute 2 “normal” ones.  Maybe those 3 constellation alongside Coma Berenices are the most modern ones of the bunch, aka Telescopium (telescope), Microscopium (microscope), and Antlia (air pump), which... in my opinion, don’t really belong. Other modern ones, like Fornax and Mensa, seem more appropriate for the “mythological” setting of Saint Seiya. But these three... well, to me, they seem way too weird, especially if you think that the Cloths were made way back in the old times.  If we follow what the series has already done, aka using obsolete constellations, it’s easy to take two more from the list and use them to replace two of the unknown ones. 

In fact, we do have one more obsolete constellation. We have Noctua, the Owl. As we all know, the Owl Cloth belongs to Partita. Sure, it became a Surplice, but it’s still there.  This does nothing but reinforce my theory.  This leaves us with only one obsolete constellation missing, so it’s perfectly believable that 4 of those 88 modern constellations are unknown Cloths that were replaces by 4 other ones. 

In short, we have Solarium and Cerberus in place of, let’s say as an example, Coma Berenices and Antlia, and two more to replace Telescopium and Microscopium.  You could point out the problem of: aren’t obsolete constellation “not in the sky” anymore because other ones have their place? Well, yes, but! Cerberus and Hercules share the same space, almost. One of the stars of Cerbeus, the main one in fact, is 109 Herculis, a star that belongs to the Hercules constellation. So, if this merge can happen in canon, I won’t consider it a problem in this case. 

This leads me to believe that the 4 unknown Cloths are Coma Berenices (already known), Antlia, Telescopium and Microscopium.  I’m not sure if we know when those 4 Cloths were made, so I won’t make any more guesses as to why those 3 modern ones are part of the group (aside from “they don’t seem to belong”), but this is my idea.  It took way too long for me to come up with this, probably a time I could have used in a more constructive way since there’s probably a way easier explanation somewhere, but I have fun doing this so... this is it. 

I do actually have the fourth obsolete constellation in my own headcanons, Antinoo (it specifically represents an Ancient Greek man, who was also adored as either a deity or a deified mortal). I just wanted to add this to conclude all this convoluted reasoning that has probably no reason to even exist. 

Basically, the four obsolete constellation and the respective (well, they can be rearranged as you want, there’s no problems in mixing them up as I stated before) unknown ones are:

Coma Berenices / Cerberus

Antlia / Antinoo

Microscopium / Noctua

Telescopium / Solarium

Sorry for the long wait, I hope this essay answered your question correctly!