#well thats assuming the numbers have any plot significance

[vinxle]

clocks are set by 12 system, so it would be 2:08pm in am/pm time.

if i had to make a guess, maybe chapter 208 is where they plan to end tbhk?? or something significant to mitsuba's character arc will happen that chapter?

i find it unlikely though, i feel like tbhk is coming to a close soon, but if we get up to chapter 208 i think it will be a very important chapter for mitsuba.

Seeing Sousuke's room genuinely makes me so sad. His desk looks like it's remained untouched after his death. As if it's waiting for him to return and finish his school work.

[itsclydebitches]

I just read your crosshair post and I agree with everything you said BUT…

Let me put on my own tin foil hat for a sec and talk about….

The burn mark thats supposed to cover the chip removal scar. Doesn’t it seem to be in a slightly odd position? Every other clone has it straight above the angle of their jaw/before the ear. I get that the burn was “placed” on that side of his head by writers for suspense and so it wouldn’t be apparent that his chip is out(thus showing Hunter checking it). But is the message here “oh he has this burn that’s close enough”? Also the scene where he was getting blasted by that engine could have easily scarred his face or at least affect the area closer to his face. I expected it to be over the temple too. But no it’s only that spot. (Now I know people will say “it’s Disney cartoon” so the scarring is minimal due to that)

Then it just kinda surprised me to hear brad Rau go “oh yeah, chip is definitely out, have you seen the side of that guys’d head? Lol” Followed by Jen’s “the eagle-eyes fans would notice all along”. Because now I feel like a clown for thinking I WAS being eagle-eyed and NOTICED that it was in the wrong place to really hide the chip scar. And if I’m correct to assume she meant that it was after Bracca that makes crosshair’s line “a long time ago” even weirder since there is no way Bracca happened that long ago.

And what was the point in showing Hunter checking the burn mark? We don’t really see his reaction. We don’t ever see him commenting on it later. It seemed like a big deal to him given how shocked he looked and how insistent he was on knowing when exactly was it removed. (“Does it matter?” “YES!”). And then he suddenly doesn’t care and never brought it up again. Even when they got to a relatively safe location or back to their ship.

I don’t think it’s a good sign that we have to rely on an interview to be sure about such an important plot point. I would be disappointed if this matter won’t be addressed at least in some way next season.

We’re all just passing the tin hat back and forth at this point. This is fine and we're handling the hiatus beautifully lol

But YES to all of that. Every detail here has two (or more) possible readings attached to it, which makes it impossible to figure out what we’re meant to be prioritizing. So, to summarize:

Yeah, despite my own claim that the burn scar is “exactly” where the chip scar would be, there is a slight difference. Is that a significant difference then, or just down to the animators not mapping Crosshair's design down to the inch?

Is the burn mark (almost) precisely where the chip would be to show that there’s a chance it’s still there (you can’t see the surgery scar), or to show that enough damage happened there to make the chip’s removal inevitable?

Yet "enough damage happened there to make the chip's removal inevitable" is a pretty big assumption that the show never set up. So are we meant to view the untold number of clones who suffered other head injuries throughout TCW as evidence that the chip must still be there—after all, they weren’t de-chipped due to head trauma, burns, etc.—or are we supposed to ignore that because #Disney cartoon, not everything is gonna have such long-term consistency?

Is the placement of the burn deliberate and the lack of any other facial scaring suspicious, or (again) is that just because #Disney cartoon doesn’t want to disfigure his whole face?

Is the scene where Crosshair has his chip enhanced another clue—the chip appears to be a bit higher up than others’ in his scan—or just an animation inconsistency?

Was enhancing the chip important, or just used for the drama of that particular scene?

Does Hunter think that the burn is somehow evidence of the chip’s removal, or is he just taking Crosshair at his word?

Is Crosshair’s lack of clarification meant to read as him being evil—he doesn’t care what was the Empire and what was him—or another hint that something else is going on?

Finally, most fans agree that, if the chip is out, it had to have happened after Bracca so… yeah, how is that “a long time ago”? Is that line meant to imply that Crosshair has been misled (perhaps with the Empire lying to him, claiming his chip was removed before the season even began), or are we supposed to believe that a significant amount of time has truly passed (making TBB’s lack of a rescue even worse in my eyes…) Even other evidence we might point to is pretty useless. “Well, it could be a long time because there was enough time for him to heal from those burns.” But is that because time actually passed, or did the Empire us SW’s super science fiction magic to heal him up quick? Idk the canonical time it normally takes burns like that to heal with bacta and I doubt that's consistent across the lore either. But regardless, the SF aspect means that a healed face isn't good evidence for a lot of time passing, like it might be in another genre. For all we know, Crosshair was healed in a few days.

So yeah, what in the world are we meant to make of all this? It’s too ambiguous, too confusing, and each answer—chip or no chip—comes with apparent contradictions. None of that reflects the certainty seen in the interviews. In order to reward “eagle-eyed” viewers, you need to be on top of all those details, both in terms of the writing and the animation. Yet it doesn't appear like the writers were. With all of this combined with the confusion I mentioned in another post regarding side-character clones overcoming their chips with ease… I don’t think this is a good sign either. I love TBB and had a blast watching it, but this particular aspect feels like it could unravel into a tangled, contradictory mess very quickly. The sort of situation where many in the fandom will accept the plot and argue strongly that here, Crosshair's canonical chip situation is supported by X, Y, and Z. Whereas others will point out that yeah, that’s true, but it’s also not supported by A, B, and C. Even if we’re willing to ignore those moments of confusion and disjointedness, it’s a big letdown to feel like you’re following along with what the show’s hinting at… only for the show to turn around and go, “Lol nah. None of that was important.” Shows with twists and reveals—which TBB very much is at this point—are built on the fandom’s investment in the details. If you don’t treat those details carefully, the fandom will quickly begin to resent the expectation that you be invested in the mystery... but not so invested that you "read into things."

Intense flashbacks to the later seasons of Sherlock.

BUT right now for me the larger issue is that even if we don't care about these details, the rest of TBB absolutely should. The fact that Hunter doesn't question what's up with the burn, Tech isn't interested in trying a scan, Wrecker's experience under the chip has no impact on how he approaches this, Omega seems to accept that this is the "real" Crosshair, and Echo doesn't push to rescue him like they did for Gregor... all of that is at the emotional heart of the show and arguably more important than getting a perfect resolution to these chip questions. Obviously I'd prefer to get both, but if we can only have one, I'd prioritize tackling the group's reaction to these events, rather than trying to smooth over every potential inconsistency revolving around the chip. Ultimately, I'm more interested in the show explaining why four brothers and a sister didn't fight for Crosshair when, as far as they knew up until he said otherwise, he was a prisoner of the Empire just like everyone else they helped was.