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eyndr-stories · 2 years ago

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Did It Hurt When You Fell? (FNAF SB fanfic)

Suggested by ShiraCheshire over on Ao3, (@shirajellyfish here on Tumblr, hi I hope its ok to tag you lol) a very detailed repair scene! We dive paws first into the noggin of our favorite blorbo :) And there's a few nifty little tidbits about repair rats as well!

This chapter is a standalone in-universe scenario for I Think I Smell A Rat, no previous reading required! All you need to know is you're a lil repair rat who lives in the walls of the plex and you're pals with Sun and Moon.

This chapter contains: - Major blorbo damage (no one dies tho) - Mortal peril with a sense of urgency (i promise no one dies lmao) - Gore question mark?? Robot gore? - General feelings of anxiety and urgency - Some good ol' hurt / comfort - Happy ending

Ao3 link here

Let me know if i should add anything else! I believe that's all, enjoy!

WAIT one more thing actually lmao if you happen to like this sort of deep dive into how Sun & Moon work, go read ShiraCheshire's fic 'I See You Sundrop!' Its really really good and has lots of nifty little tidbits like this about all the bots :D

Ok now I'm done lmao enjoy!

You were already on your way to the daycare when a new repair task appeared on your list. You got a ping for it, since it was in your area and you were in work mode instead of rest mode, used for when you were on your way back to the nest for a recharge.

This repair would have you leaving the walls, though you'd be up in the rafters above the daycare. You didn't mind the rafters, they were actually very similar to the walls to your pathfinding, long narrow paths with dim lighting. The empty air around the beams looked the same to you as the sturdy concrete walls did, just empty void your program didn’t need to worry about defining. Its just that the 'walls' here were a little more dangerous to touch.

The exit port was a little slow to register you coming near. You reached up and cleared the dust from the sensor with a paw before stepping through. Wasting no time, you scurried along the beam towards the mechanism in need of repair, some sort of wire reel that could roll along the underside of the beams. You wanted to make this repair quickly so you could hang out with your pals Sun and Moon like you did every night when the tasks were done and you weren't busy.

You glanced over the edge of the beam you were scampering along, wondering if you could spot your tall friend and maybe even get his attention, let him know you'd be down to hang out in a jiffy. The lights were off, you noted, which meant Moon would be out.

Usually Moon would be slinking around, reorganizing toys or leaving little pranks for Sun. You couldn't see any motion.

You reached the wire reel and stopped to carefully lower your tail over the edge of the beam. You flashed the light at the end of your tail a few times, not speaking with Morse code like usual, but just trying to grab Moon's attention, wherever he was. You peered over the edge, but you still couldn't spot him.

You were about to give up and focus on your task when a light caught your eye. You set your paws carefully on the edge of the beam and angled your head straight down.

Directly below the wire, two dull red lights glowed back up at you. You recognized the lights of Moon's eyes, but you almost didn't recognize what they were attached to.

For a moment you could only stare as you processed the sight of Moon's horribly damaged frame. Both halves of it. Then you were moving, as fast as your four little legs would carry you, back across the beam and towards the wall port.

Moon had looked… really bad. There were pieces of him scattered all around, and it looked like he'd been torn apart at the chest. He hadn't been moving at all… but his eye lights had turned on after you'd flashed your tail light; he must be awake and aware enough to have tried to get your attention. This provided enough comfort to last you the insufferably long path down through the walls to the floor of the daycare.

Bursting through the wall port, you at last dashed across the familiar padded floor towards Moon. The sight of the damage up close nearly caused your footing to stutter, your processors working overtime as a thousand things ran through your head. Most of them something along the lines of 'OH NO' and 'HOW DID THIS HAPPEN' and 'AHHHHH'.

You flashed your tail frantically as you neared. Slowly, Moon's face plate tilted towards you just enough for his optics to focus on you. Two sun rays poked out of his head. His eye lights were off now. You bumped into Moon's nightcap as you got up close to his chest, quickly looking over the damage and pulling up any files you could find in the database for Sun and Moon's blueprints to compare.

There was a hiss of static, and then an uncomfortably loud crackle. Then you could hear a warbly voice to your left, coming from a box slightly bigger than you, hanging halfway out of Moon's chest.

"Little rat."

You lifted your tail high enough for Moon to see. "Condition stable?" The damage was absolutely horrible, but it didn't look like anything was about to explode or anything. Still, you had to be sure.

"Yes. Not for long though."

After moving your attention back to Moon's face plate, you saw why. Moon's one remaining hand was situated under his head, almost like he was trying to act chill, like he was just laying around lazily. However, as you spotted a few wires poking out between his fingers, you realized that he was actually holding himself together with his hand.

"Things got knocked loose on impact. Back plating was previously damaged- toddler ripped off the panel earlier today. We had an appointment with the technician first thing in the morning, but I'll run out of power before then," Moon explained. "When I run out of power I'll automatically adjust to my default pose. To put it plainly, my brains will fall out."

"I will fix it," you immediately offered, already moving around what was left of Moon's chest towards his head.

"No." Moon's voice box hissed and popped as he tried to raise the volume.

You paused and stared at him. "No??"

Moon lowered his volume. His voice still warbled, but his voice box seemed to be more agreeable now. "Just get my charging cord. I don't need you poking around in my head."

You stared at Moon for a long moment. "You want me to carry your cord all the way down here."

Moon huffed. Usually he'd make an animated movement when he pretended to breathe, but now he was entirely still. "Get one of the glamrocks to do it."

"Do you have enough power left to last until I can find someone and bring them here?"

"…" Moon paused, running a calculation. He huffed again. "…Can't you summon your rat friends to help you lift it?"

You flashed your tail light at Moon rapidly, trying to get your desperation across. "It might not fit through every path in the walls. Or even the wall ports. Moon, just let me help! It's just loose things, right? That shouldn't be a problem at all."

Moon hesitated. He lay there and thought while you grew increasingly more anxious by the second.

"I don't know…" Moon mumbled quietly. "You could drag a pillow over here to set my head against so nothing spills out."

"Moon." You stomped a foot. You had half a mind to kick the severed hand sitting just behind you out of frustration. "If that even works, you'd rather loose power and trust a tech to repair you??"

"The tech would get the machine in parts and service to repair me."

"They'd still have to get you there! They might not realize they need to be careful with your head!" you argued.

"Would you want me sticking my grubby little paws in your brain??" Moon questioned. "Everything I am, all of me and Sun, is in here!"

You fought to be patient. You could understand where Moon was coming from, but you knew he was on a time limit. The stress of the situation was getting to you, and your processors had been working very hard for a few minutes now. "I trust you and Sun with all of me every time I climb into your hands. Also, my paws are not grubby." You held up your paws, then offered them out to Moon. "I know this is difficult… but I promise I'll be careful. I care about you and Sun, and I really want to help."

Moon took a moment to process what you'd said. "…I didn't even realize…" He looked between you and the severed mechanical hand behind you. Finally, a sigh hissed out of his voice box. "You promise you'll be careful?"

"Yes, of course," you assured.

Moon deliberated for another agonizing moment.

"…Okay. Alright. Get your totally not grubby paws over here."

As you scurried toward Moon's face plate, he very slowly angled his head to the side centimeter by centimeter, keeping his hand firmly over the back of it. The rim of his face plate scraped quietly against the padded floor. One of the two protruding sun rays caught for half a second on the padding, and Moon paused to adjust before continuing. Once he'd turned his face plate over entirely, leaving the backside of it facing upright, he gently lifted his hand, going even slower than he had turning his head.

You climbed up onto the back casing. The entirety of Sun and Moon was on display before you. Everything that mattered, anyways.

You focused, taking yourself off the network for a moment so you wouldn't be interrupted or distracted. You scanned through pages of downloaded technical manuals and blueprints and notes from the most recent fixes and procedures Sun and Moon had undergone. Once you had a decent idea what Moon's head was supposed to look like, you started looking for anything that was wrong. You spied several loose things, as Moon had said. A few wires were a little frayed and would need to be replaced soon, but that wasn't essential.

Closest to you at the back of the head was a long black box, a complex music box you had a single schematic of, each key able to be struck independently for complex and improvised songs. This had been knocked loose from its frame and was resting precariously on a few thin wires, pulling them taught. These wires you could see went from one of the main circuit boards at the heart of everything out to Moon's eyes. You carefully set your paws on the side of the box and slowly pushed, creating a comforting amount of slack in the wires. You didn't set it back into place just yet- it was in your way, and you needed to safely extract it to get at a few more loose things.

Sitting above some very vital chips was the spool system that controlled Sun's triangle rays. The rays were each situated between two rollers on a track, the rollers connected via a thin line, and that line connecting with a line that fed into the spools. When a spool drew a line in, it would pinch the rollers together and cause the ray to slide into the head. The rays were layered slightly to allow overlap. The spool system was complex enough to allow any individual ray to be drawn in at a time, or several or all at once. The rays and their roller were all situated in a special panel between the front face plate and the back covering, and this panel was able to rotate a few degrees both directions, giving Sun's rays that swaying bouncing animation.

Two of the lines had snapped and were tangled haphazardly around the chips below the spools, threatening to pull something loose if anything moved the wrong way and pulled the strings even a little. You reached your paws in and very gently began to untangle the lines. You didn't have any replacement line, and you didn't think your electrical tape you kept stored in your chest compartment would be of much use, so you removed all of the line entirely, figuring it would be best to just let a tech replace the line later. You severed the excess line with your teeth, then called up and stored the line away for later disposal, which happened to look like you were eating it. Any excess electrical bits you replaced always went to a little compartment conveniently where a regular rat's stomach would be, the compartment's opening being your mouth, for convenience. And so the line was gobbled up, and you moved on to the next issue.

"How's it going back there, little rat?" You heard Moon's voice box call from back outside.

You considered how to reply for a moment. Your tail wouldn't reach all the way around the back of Moon's head to his face, and his optics were currently busy with the floor anyways. You eyed the triangular sun ray you were currently leaning on. Each ray had a line of tiny sensors along their edges, so they could signal the spools to pull them in if something got too close to a ray. Since this particular ray was already inside the head, tripping a sensor wouldn't do much of anything besides tell Moon that something was near it.

You pat a paw over the sensor in quick little taps, some longer than others. You tapped out a little Morse code message to Moon this way.

"Going well. Making good progress. Nothing looks too bad, you were right, just loose things."

"Good. Okay. Hurry it up, will you?"

As if you weren't going as fast as you could already while still being careful. You paused as you considered that Moon was likely feeling very anxious right now. He was laying in shambles, trusting you completely to fix him and Sun. All he could do was lay there and hope you would not only finish before he shut down, but also not make anything worse.

You tapped out another quick message. "Almost done. Everything will be okay."

You heard no response from Moon as you quickly moved on. Processors lined the space around the outside edge, mostly hidden by orange triangles. These were hot to the touch, but you were being extremely careful. Closer to the center were neat little rows of computer chips and circuit boards. Two of these had come loose, but thankfully no wires had been pulled out. You righted these with little issue.

Lastly were the loose wires dangling out of the back of Moon's head. You’d been worried that these were some of the wires that connected up in a tight bundle to the apparatus that connected Moon’s neck to his head. The wire reader box was complex, allowing the entire face plate to spin without tangling or pulling at any of the wires in his neck. Hooking wires back up to it would be an ordeal.

Luckily, you quickly realized that the wires that were loose were not especially vital. These wires connected up to the smell receptor at the very front of Moon’s head. You couldn't reach that without taking out the spool system and adjusting a few circuit boards, but luckily you could see from here that everything was still connected properly on the smell receptor's end.

You were decent at soldering. Not as good as some other rats, but you usually did a good enough job. Better than most humans, anyways. Once you'd gotten the wires into place, soldering them back into where they'd been tugged loose was easy. Your teeth extended as they heated up. They were your iron, and your solder was stored in short lengths in your arm, where you could pull some out from a finger. You had the wires back in place in no time.

After pushing the music box in place at last with a satisfying snap and doing one last little check of everything, you were satisfied to see your work here was done. Everything righted, nothing loose, nothing in danger. You would prefer to put a cover over the back of Moon's head, but you knew he'd lost the panel earlier. You climbed out and hopped down, giving Moon's arm a pat so he knew you weren't still on or in his head.

Carefully, Moon lifted his head, slowly turning his face back upwards.

"Done? Everything went well?" Moon asked.

"That's right," you blinked at him. You scurried over to his hat and pulled it over into grabbing range. "I know you don't have a panel to cover the back, so your cap will have to do for now."

Moon took the cap, gripping it tightly in his fist. He brushed his thumb over it for a moment, studying the cap carefully. He looked back down at you.

"…Thank you."

You lifted your chin. "You're welcome."

Moon pulled his night cap on, taking a moment to get it properly in place with one hand. You glanced around at the mess again, now with a little less urgency.

"What happened here, anyways??" you questioned.

Moon sighed. "…Was gonna prank Sun. I hooked myself up to the wire and had it bring me all the way up. Was gonna turn the lights on and give him a harmless spook to wake up to us dangling up high in the air. Wire reel broke right as I got all the way up. Hook came right off the reel, still attached to me so I couldn't retract the ring it was hooked to. Heavy hook turned me back down, and I landed on my back. Like a spike in a log, the hook and the ring shot through my chest, split me right in half."

"Wow. That's… horrible." Now that you were looking for it, you could see the hook in question buried in the mess of scrap in Moon's chest. "The wire reel just broke??"

Moon hummed. "Not many human techs around to do maintenance checks. The ones that come in during the day just fix what's broken and that’s it. Been a real long time since anyone’s taken a look at the wire, and Sun and I barely use it these days."

"I see…" You made a mental note to discuss adding maintenance checkups where possible to general task lists, for any rats out of tasks and looking for things to do.

"This is what I get for pulling pranks, I guess." Moon sighed. The fingers of his still connected hand tapped idly on the padded flooring. "It'll probably take the machine all day to fix me. They'll have to close the daycare for the day."

"I'm sorry. If I could get you down there now, I would. I could try fixing up what I can in your torso so maybe the repairs won't take as long?"

"No, that's alright. With that stuff, the machine might have to undo your work anyways connecting me back up." Moon paused. "You've done enough for me tonight anyways."

"I wish I was big enough to carry you like you carry me."

Moon huffed a laugh. "Giant repair rat. That sure would be something."

You stayed with Moon until he lost power a few minutes later. He quietly thanked you one last time before shutting down, shifting into his default pose. You stuck around the rest of the night, just in case, sitting vigilant over him and the daycare until morning came.

Your own battery was running pretty low by the time a human technician came to investigate the major damage alerts. You stayed near the security desk, watching the tech carefully maneuver Moon and all his parts onto a long rolling platform. They scowled at the tears in the padded flooring before grabbing hold of the platform's handles and pushing Moon off towards parts and service.

Once you were sure Moon was in good hands, you trudged off towards your charging nest. You got back on the network just long enough to mention your maintenance checkup idea before powering down to charge.

When you woke, the other rats had already accepted the proposal and worked out a zone based schedule. You had a few tasks waiting for you, but you ignored them for now. You made your way down through the walls to parts and service.

It had only been a few hours, but you wanted to check up on Sun and Moon, make sure the repairs were coming along okay. You were relieved when you arrived to see a tech typing dutifully away at the computer here while the enormous cylindrical repair machine hummed away, arms swinging this way and that as it put your friends back together again. It looked like everything was going well.

It seemed you'd have your friends back in working order in no time. Satisfied and assured, you stepped back into the walls. You would see Sun and Moon again tonight, but for now, you had work to do.

#eyndr tells a story #fnaf sb #fnaf sb fanfic #fnaf au i think i smell a rat #i think i smell a rat #fnaf y/n #moondrop #fnaf dca #fnaf daycare attendant #fnaf moon #oneshot #i hope the ending isnt too meh? i finished this last night and was so excited to post #now im thinking hmm maybe i could had them meet up again at the end after repairs are done?#man i knew i shoulda sat on it for a day or two but im way too impatient lmao #its probably fine #i do this every time i post something :P 'oh but what if i did this or added this'#just let it be Eyndr!!! ok i really gotta go eat something no more tag rambling for me lmao bye

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todayisafridaynight · 2 years ago

Note

Firstly, thanks so much for your patience with my ramblings haha, it's always an absolute pleasure to read your responses even if I get more unhinged with each one of mine! Of course, I'll continue to do my best with the wiki! (Actually, I think it's because of you that I noticed Daigo's age(s) were a year off haha, so thank you for that as well.)

I think you hit the nail on the head, and I adore how his relationships were executed in Y7 as well! I was initially a little bit apprehensive when trailers for 7 were coming out since RGGJo (and Mine, of course) were my favorite antagonists, and Jo is by far the character who's changed the most between games, but I can safely say both… Joes… are right up there for me.

I think a strong early subversion/conversion/something is that RGGJo really does just go and shoot up a rival office for attacking Arakawa (even though Arakawa was fine?). With Y7Jo, even though he's covering for Masato, the fact that's still the story Ichi gets told and he doesn't question it sort of speaks to Y7Jo having a similarly "protective" streak even if it's not actually what happened in that instance. That's also demonstrated in The Eye Scene as you mention later.

Like, I think that story is fairly clearly something he and Arakawa discussed. Masato got in contact with Jo first, and the mess Ichi tries to clear up when he comes in the morning after is indicative of a very long, stressful conversation between two people. Given Masato absolutely should not be smoking, process of elimination would suggest it's Jo. And it's a story they would've aimed to make as believable as possible, so the fact it is believable (Ichi being a bit gullible notwithstanding) says something to me.

For two characters who hardly even speak to each other onscreen (criminal btw), there's a lot to dig into when it comes to Arakawa and Sawashiro's relationship. That aside, I'm super excited to see you analyse Jo's psyche, and I can't wait to read it! I've been reading Japanese psychology texts myself and noticing a number of concepts that apply to Mine, but may apply to the Arakawas as well. There's a great deal I want to share once I get my thoughts in order.

I totally agree Mine's influence on RGGJo was the strongest of the three! I mean, y'know, that's why I acquired brainworms for RGGJo/Mine specifically. (Still 1000% going to commission you by the way when I've got my refs together + am not in danger of being unable to afford Gaiden and 8 lol). Sort of like with Masato and Daigo, I think characters who are clearly based on each other work quite well together even if it's seen as crack. You can come up with pretty compelling ideas trying to rationalize those similarities from a Watsonian perspective.

The devotion is absolutely the strongest point (having the exact same relationship tag for Arakawa and Daigo respectively + similar wording for it in the 15th anniversary book is a nice touch), but for me it's also what's done with it in terms of presentation. For both Mine and RGGJo you're supposed to believe they're actively working against Daigo and Arakawa's interests for most of the story.

And they probably kind of are, but they're convinced the pros outweigh the cons (as with the resort gambit, which you're remembering correctly!) Though it may not have the same effect nowadays for various reasons (spoilers, plot points becoming predictable on account of other games, etc), the devotion was originally supposed to be a twist.

There are other things, of course; they're both the "treasurers" of their respective organizations, they're both third-in-command of the Tojo and Omi, they're both talented people who possess overwhelming strength and influence and are regarded as geniuses (despite scenes to the contrary). If I wanted to reach design-wise, they've got mirrored ahoges, and Mine's "Legend" costume is probably based on characters like RGGJo and Nishiki. Their first cards were even officially stated to have synergy on account of their very similar skillset.

You end up noticing a lot of things like that if you're clinically insane like I am, but the one thing that's really stuck with me is that the render used for RGGJo's office is specifically a new render the Hakuho Clan office. It's missing the stuff that's supposed to be missing, the stuff Kanda broke, but only that. Mine's art collection, which is very personal to him as is also revealed in RGGO, is preserved in full.

There are a number of newly-rendered locations in RGGO and they could've just done that, or they could've picked any location that's not (imo) one of the most iconic, but I don't know why they didn't. And I don't know whether it was just convenience, whether it's simply meant to be reflective of them having similar tastes without being the same office, or whether it's just honest to God the same office. I mean, it's not like there's any reason to acknowledge it in-game.

But I think, in a weird way, that this is one of the things that carried over to Y7Jo alongside the devotion and The Eye Scene. A lot of people don't notice because there's so much going on in Y7's finale, but the Arakawa Family office the finale takes place in is specifically Y7Jo's office. And if you examine the Hakuho Clan office and the Arakawa Family office as spaces Mine and Y7Jo have created for themselves, there are very few aesthetic similarities other than being pretty tasteful two-storey offices, but both are, in their own ways, designed for companionship.

There is the obvious fully-stocked bar and main seating area in both, but that's sort of whatever, that's entertainment and hospitality. What really catches my eye, at least on the first floor, is that every piece of gym equipment in Mine's office comes in pairs; similarly, there's the pair of armchairs that are just by themselves behind Y7Jo's desk.

The second floor of Mine's office basically consists of only a TV, a table, and a set of couches, but I think the second floor of of 7Jo's is the more telling of the two. You walk upstairs from this very snazzy, richly decorated first floor (btw, like Mine's gym equipment and art, I would like to think the fact it's decked from top to bottom with books isn't just for show) to a second floor that consists of… absolutely nothing.

Nothing except another pair of armchairs, echoing those on the first floor, facing out into this gorgeous (RGGJou would--and has--said "romantic") view of Kamurocho. Maybe it's just to have this dramatic, spacious arena for the very last fight, but I just think that visual is potentially such a strong bit of storytelling via set dressing.

I also think with RGGJo being split into Y7Jo and Masato, some of the Mine influence kind of ended up with Masato too, specifically as Aoki. At least insofar as all the catastrophizing about not truly being cared-for despite evidence to the contrary, and I kind of felt like the moment where he shoots at and narrowly misses Ichi's head, then throws his gun away for a good ol' fistfight was Something.

Completely agree on your assessment of the link to Nishiki as well! There's the surface level design similarities with young RGGJo back when he had long hair and accessorized less, but yeah, no notes. I definitely think Y7Arakawa's line applies perfectly to the dynamic they were going for, too.

I thought the implication was that Masato wouldn't have survived at all in RGGO on account of Arakawa being unable to open the locker, but it's super interesting to think about how things might've turned out otherwise! A Masato who's Just A Guy and treated sort of like RGGO Mitsu's offscreen wife and kid is such a concept.

I really do hope there's a continuation to the story; as it stands, it literally ends with Jo in a coma lol. But I'm grateful RGGO is still accessible and actively updated, in comparison to the previous mobile titles, which also had original stories that are all gone now.

Jo was actually in a very recent event, even. The event spent its whole runtime talking about how cats are sensitive to smell, and evidently, according to the ending, Jo is incredibly sensitive to smell himself. I'm not sure which Jo it was even supposed to be since he was offscreen, but uh, catboy confirmed? Nyawashiro…? It's fun trivia.

Mentioning Arakawa's "sons" line in such close proximity to talking about Tsutsumi reminds me! There was this Y7 interview with all three actors (that has since been privated and that I kick myself every day for archiving) where Nakai and Tsutsumi were talking about how they usually play father and son.

So there's this very, very long history of them co-starring (as I'm sure you're aware lol), like from way back when Tsutsumi's voice was actually higher. And I think the casting choices absolutely are informed by the history and context there, both as individuals and as co-stars, both in terms of filmography as you say and not.

One particular anecdote that just Gets Me is that this was Tsutsumi's first time voice-acting, and he honestly wasn't even sure he'd take the role, but he accepted once he heard Nakai was on board. And he went on to actually enjoy it so much he read the rest of the (gargantuan) script, far beyond his own dialogue, and ended up forgetting the lines to the play he was doing at the time.

He also went on to voice-act a second time in The Deer King, where he plays… another iintimidating man with a violent reputation and a "soft"/deeper side (who is of course a reluctant father), actually. I actually have seen most of his other roles, and Jo really is almost one-of-a-kind. Though it's hard to find any one character he's "like," I can absolutely see what you mean with regard to Oda Nobunaga and Kanda.

I think that actually really works with regard to audiences having an idea of what to expect from his character and to an extent from Y7 if you look Jo as more of a culmination of Tsutsumi's career up to that point. In addition to what you've mentioned already, I also detect a lot of Koda (Good Luck!!) and Ogata (SP)'s themes with regret and making amends and vengeance in particular.

There's a little bit of Appare (Kagerou Touge) and Shibata (Keiho) too, I think, in terms of presenting yourself as worse than you actually are. And I think Tsutsumi's own struggles with mental health lend a lot of gravitas to characters like Ishigami (Suspect X) and Jo, who you can't really argue Isn't Depressed, especially at present.

And of course, y'know, he's played yakuza (to great effect), he's played dads (to great effect; btw, I would say the worst fathers/father figures he's played are probably in Fable II and My Blood & Bones in a Flowing Galaxy, Jo somehow doesn't even compare lol). Also, pretty much every Tsutsumi character either ends up dead or in jail, being a villain in an RGG game notwithstanding. There are often very strong critiques of police and politics present in his work as well, Y7 being no exception.

It's similar with Nakai, maybe to an even greater extent than with Tsutsumi, since Y7 borrows more heavily from his works and his personal life aligns surprisingly well with Arakawa's. They're both actors who are sons of actors, lost their fathers at a young age, were raised by abusive mothers, and ended up with a sort of unlikely father figure in adulthood. So I think it's sweet that Nakai ended up enjoying Arakawa as much as Tsutsumi did Jo. It's kind of funny being more or less typecast as a dad without actually having any children (unlike Tsutsumi), though.

I touched on it a tiny bit before but that's a really insightful take on RGGJo's splintering, as well! And you're most welcome. I've always found it fascinating just how closely their backgrounds tie in to who they end up being. I completely agree having his dad around did a lot for Arakawa in terms of having the confidence to stick to his guns.

But yeah, you know, it's just tragic. I think it's also one of the less talked-about ways abuse can perpetuate itself. Because Jo treating Ichi the way his father may have treated him is sort of the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the topic, but Jo's learned avoidance also goes on to make Arakawa a scapegoat for Aoki's abuse.

I'm always a fan of your takes and insights, so I don't mind the wait: thank you so much for writing as much as you have, it's really wonderful being able to discuss Jo and RGGO v. Y7 as a whole! (I have to be embarrassed about the Daigo's-Age bit though: I'm glad I was able to help point it out, but I remember being so sassy and rude in the post where I mentioned it 😭)

It's great that despite their differences, both Jo's are still incredibly enjoyable; the roles each Jo fulfills, although different, are still executed in ways that keep the character in a close beat with each other, but of course effectively fill out their new purposes in new interesting ways!

As a bit of an aside, I've always been curious and nosy about the full details about New Years Day, 2001 and what happened after that. Anything I can say about the night tiptoes more into theory territory than anything solid, but if we're to go off the notion Masato really did head straight home afterwards, then it is fair to assume Jo had to have met with Arakawa that same night not long after the call in order for Arakawa to be ready to talk to Ichi the same morning (it must have been the biggest shock afterwards for Masato to hear he's gotta run to America if the three of them didn't talk about it together- which I'm assuming is what happened since, as you said, Masato shouldn't be anywhere near cigarettes, and the ash tray is definitely indicative of a stressful discussion). BUT Jo's preexisting devotion to Arakawa (plus the nod to/rework of RGGJo actually attacking a rival gang) nonetheless definitely helped in making their story digestible to the people they had to tell.

The fact Jo and Arakawa interact so little on screen really is unfortunate, even if it's understandable as to why. At the very least, I'm grateful there's so many bits of context clues through the game/s that can at least offer a peak into their dynamic! Segwaying away from that though, I can't lie I was already thinking of some bullet points regarding Jo's brain as I was falling asleep, so it's definitely something I want to put to paper when I get to: I'm glad to hear I have your interest on it when I write it! In that same vein, I'd be more than happy as well to hear about these notes you've seen that can apply not only to Mine, but to the Arakawa family. As you note later on, Mine and Aoki share similar philosophies, so I'd love to see your full take on that if you get to it!

About Mine though, it was really hard for me not to joke about the two being similar whenever the chance arose: I mean, two men who lose their fathers (admittedly, Jo chose to leave his dad but Dad Lost is still a bullet point on the venn diagram... that now I actually feel like taking the time to make later...) turn out to become their respective clan's most trusted asset (and handler of assets) who are volatile when it comes to the ones they care about (I don't have to clarify Mine, but as for Jo, aside from The Eye Scene and even the book wording, he definitely overreacts to Ichi having Masato's money. Of course, part of his anger could be due to his belief in the honor of being a yakuza, but I wouldn't say it's a reach to also assume that the idea of Ichi pestering Masato- if not assuming the worst for whatever reason from Ichiban of all people- might have irked him) and ironically act out in ways that would go against what the ones they care about want (more so strictly about RGGJo, of course)- it's hard not to see the notes borrowed from Mine to make Jo. In that, I do really enjoy their devotions being twists; even if that twist might not work nowadays as efficiently, I'll still enjoy it for what it's able to provide and how it can deepen a character.

To continue on to visual similarities, I actually did notice RGGJo's office being the same as Mine's (I stopped reading for a bit just to make a mini thread about it on my private Twitter)! Whether it was intentional or a simple reuse of assets, it's a great nod to Mine's influence on his character.

As for Y7Jo's office in comparison to Mine's- if I may accidentally go on a bit of an analytical rant- it's a little funny how different they are despite being tangential in wanting a space for companionship (like you mentioned for Jo's case, it might have been for dramatic purposes, but it wouldn't hurt to try and examine the room at face value for a second).

Mine's office is comparatively brighter and more apparently inviting, and it's not just due to the nighttime setting of Jo's office as his office's walls are painted black- but at the same time, the contrast almost feels intentional. Mine's apartment, even if spacious, has the social pieces close to each other, especially in relation to his personal desk. On the flip side, Jo's desk is considerably isolated away from the grand table in the side of the room. In these differences, I think it does lead to a great representation of their relationships with people and what they wanted out of life: with Mine, despite wanting people to be close to him and in his proximity, he's ultimately alone and by himself. On the contrary, Jo appears satisfied with- at least- only having Masato in his life, the second chair undoubtedly being honorary to Arakawa in a similar vein. He isn't too concerned with getting close to anyone else, thus no need for his table set to be so nearby. I could just be talking about nothing though- yet I think these differences is a great way to show how despite inspiration from Mine, they divide off into different characters still (honestly I might steal from this ask and make a separate post about this because now I've gotten myself invested in set design- it can go in the same post as my venn diagram I guess lmao).

Nevertheless, RGGJo and Mine borrowing from each other design wise is also another fun bit- it's as if Yokoyama's grabbing people by the shoulders and practically begging us to realize Jo's influenced by him (don't worry Mr. Yokoyama, I see you). Ergo, Y7Jo and Masato being split from RGGJo is such an interesting take of the two characters: it not only helps highlight Jo's traits it really also heightens Mine's extended influence on Masato (their inability to shoot people standing still is probably going to be a new favorite comparison I hadn't noticed before LMAO).

Moving on though, that lost interview with Nakai and Tsutsumi's going to haunt me now: I'd love to be able to see it, I love actor interviews, especially when the actors featured are already so familiar with each other! It's so sweet how connected the two are- it's what makes it a little more unfortunate that we didn't get to see Jo and Arakawa on screen together more. On that note though, I actually had a similar conclusion that Jo was a solid representation of Tsutsumi's career thus far: his ability to play deep and sentimental characters that have a rough exterior while also possessing some action to the role that he initially sought after in his career really encapsulates his ability as an actor! All in all, I'm glad that Nakai and Tsutsumi were able to have strong connections to their characters in Y7- and I can't really argue against Nakai's dad-typecast: there's just something about him that screams 'father' to me even if, ironically as you said, he isn't a father to any kids.

#long post #fave #snap chats #i have more notes down here hi LMAO #honestly i do wonder what Just A Guy masato wouldve been like.. tho tbf before The Murder masato /was/ kind of Just A Guy #an insecure guy with issues sure but i doubt he wouldve gone on to do anything criminal/abhorrent had it not been for That Night #ah but speaking of That Night and arakawa and jo having to talk about it if always wanted to go into that on my own time #i guess more appropriately put it as portray how i imagine that scene went down but thats somethin i can think of another time #and that reminds me ! absolutely no pressure about the commission btw take all the time you need !#im excited to get to it when you are ready though i wont lie but again it's no pressure! im not going anywhere :)#honestly ill be real somehow with all of the films and movies ive seen i didnt get to catch nakai and tsutsumi together on other projects #i know they starred in Musashi together but i didnt realize their co-starship went deeper!#trying to watch japanese medias so hard sometimes because while most of it i can find easy #trying to find movies like 47 Ronin in Debt was arduous and others like Fly Daddy Fly are just impossible 😷#oh well- that just means i have to be extra grateful for the films i have access to #speaking of tsutsumi's characters' mortalities tho ngl one of my favorite roles he plays is toru from Pure (1996)#and him Spoilers dying via metal pipes still guts me it makes me laugh more than it should ☠️☠️#then there's the 'fakeout' deaths from Meishi Game and Why Don't You Play In Hell #or. at least i /think/ the latter was a fake out.... im p sure hirata's just so delusional he's imagining everyones alive #unimportant tho Again im just prattling down here LMAO #one more thing i wanna ramble on is about how jo and arakawa handle aoki's abuse- and its going back into personal anecdotes oopsie #more specifically on how arakawa becomes the main subject of aoki's anger because jo is considerably more docile #at the very least it reminds me of whenever one of my sisters would be in trouble so they'd dodge home leaving my to get yelled at LMAO #rip RGGJo hes stuck in a coma PLEAAASE truly in nature with a tsutsumi character to just. Die ☠️#and lest i neglect catboy canon sawashiro please im howling. that just reminds me of the post bout the sad and old catboy #do i sound insane i think it was the one where theyre sitting at a bar and after drinking they just knock their glass off the table #anyway poor sensitive nose jo cant take him anywhere- allergies are probably going to act up or something lmao #but im running out of tags at this point. thank you for allowing me to talk so long- and im always happy to hear from you !

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