I find it heartbreaking how Ishmael tries to distance himself from Queequeg dying: Queequeg calls someone to his deathbed to hold his hand and to express his final wishes to, he tells someone "to go to his bag and bring out his little god, Yojo," Ishmael says what "you" can see if you look at Queequeg instead of what he saw himself and dissolves himself among "every one" who is sad and "some" who are delighted when Queequeg rallies—until he's truly well and strong, and then Ishmael calls him "my Queequeg" again like he has in the past and like he did at the start of the chapter.

It's interesting to think about all the mark bearers/companions in Death Mark going up against the NG companions in a battle royale type Persona Arena style crossover.

For example: Who would win in fight and would hit it off and become friends/rivals? There's some match-ups that are pretty close in terms of personality/interest. Consider ...

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Shou vs Amanome -- I feel like they would hate each other and want to rip each others throats out. Shou is too (secretly) kind-hearted to stand up against a Yakuza's son with unlimited connections and a sadistic streak. Mashita vs Ooe -- Cop on cop violence. I think they would grate on each other's nerves at first glance (considering Mashita's tarnished past), but gain a mutual respect for one another. If they went toe to toe, I have a feeling Ooe would win, but it would be a very, very close fight. 🤏 Together as a team, they would be virtually unstoppable.

Natsume vs Saya -- I think they would have a lovely time chatting about spirits over tea either at the Kujou mansion or at the Black Rabbit Bar. Saya tells the aspiring horror author tales about her spirit work and while Natsume's concerned for the woman's safety and the danger of it all, she is also on the edge of her seat listening. Their meetings fuel the writer's muse for new horror novels.

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Then there's pairs that are likely not to stimulate much

Hiroo vs Ban -- Even with thier respective first-hand encounters with spirits, I don't see these two getting along, let alone being interested in each other's work. Ban is too fueled by guts and passion and instinct. Hiroo focuses more on fact, letting other others take charge, providing tips and moral support, but with Ban all she can do is criticize.

Christie vs Rosé -- They're both well mannered career women used to the spotlight. I think they would tolerate each other, attempt small talk, but I have a feeling Christie wouldn't like Rose's flashy style and would make many off-handed remarks about it. The reporter is a much more modest woman with societal norms views and I think she would try to get the magician to tone things down. Rosé is not about to let her cramp her style, preferring her life as it is. Maybe, if they can manage some middle ground and put aside their differences, they might be come really good friends later on down the line.

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If there's a match-up you'd like to me to cover/discuss or want to contribute your own thoughts, feel free to leave a comment! There's too many options for me to cover everyone, but I could manage doing a few crowd faves/suggestions.

the way that one line from the new epilogue in an astarion romance is going to HAUNT me

just. what a profoundly intense thing to confess to someone.

like, just these six months of newfound happiness with you exerts a force on his heart equal and in direct opposition to two centuries of endless torment, the gnawing hunger and exploitation. this flashbulb-bright fraction of his long life holds the same gravity to him as years upon years of darkness and suffering.

in all likelihood, he hasn’t even known his lover for as long as his worst memory lasted, that year sealed away to go mad from starvation and sensory deprivation, yet he still tells them this brief time has been so fundamentally and powerfully important that the weight of even that unimaginable hell is vanishingly small compared to this present he has now and the future ahead of them both.

how am i supposed to act normal about this.

It is okay to need pain medication to function with your chronic pain. It is okay. I promise. I know everywhere you turn pain medication is demonized. I know that it is scary to talk about. It is okay to be grateful that you have access to pain medication. Pain meds have greatly improved my quality of life and I wouldn't be able to live my life outside of my bed without them. And that's okay!!!

Blions first kill

What if acotar antagonists got the same level of justification as our 'heroes' from the Night Court did?

Sol

*tries to organize my thoughts*

*remembers i'm not in school and therefore beholden to neither heaven nor hell nor any man's grading system*

*joyously shredding & tossing all my carefully arranged 3x5 mental notecards into the air like so much beige confetti. raising my arms in victory, cheering raucously until i accidentally inhale bits of homemade confetti*

(*coughing up itty bits of paper like a cat evicting a hairball with a firm understanding of tenants' rights*) wait wat happens next

haunting the narrative -> haunted by the narrative -> haunting the narrative -> haunted by

(person that has never seen saw but has read yugioh voice) yeah? so he traps people in evil puzzle rooms? sounds a lot like a guy i know

tianjiu (food 4 me specifically)

You know, i've been thinking about the way Batman keeps danger and weapons so close to his body, so tight to himself, practically tied around his neck, that joker often has no way left but to grab for him if he wants something Batman has. Batman does not want to be left out of Joker's plans, his story, he wants in on Joker's narrative by any means he can make it happen. It's such particular "you take me with you wherever you are, it's your punishment, just as it's my punishment to take you with me wherever i am" statement. Batman actively leaves no choice for Joker but to get very very close to him and claim him as part of his win or his loss. I mean,

he didn't have to. he could've put the key in one of his waist pouches, push it into the back of his left boot, he could've tied it around his bicep, i dont care— he could've done whateverthefuck with it. But he had to put it around his neck, and intentionally invite Joker to "come and get it". Something something classic cliche of the way lovers' bond is signified by a necklace-adjacent item and the way they interact with it; hold unto it, toss it, tie it around their necks, giving it back, not giving it back, necklaces as items of reverance and revenge. Something something a tie around neck being a sign of being claimed and owned,

SCOURGE SUNDAY 010/???

classic

Me: "Can I please use all this energy to draw on an actual project"

My brain: "You will draw the same character over and over and you will like it."

Me: "Okay."

“Lance is rude. Lance is a dick.”

Okay well you try being constantly asked by media in a crowded, echoing space if you’re having problems with your confidence after you’ve shown improvement that has been ignored. You try being kind to people only to have the kindness thrown back in your face and vitriol said behind your back. You try facing back handed commentary and snide remarks about your future. Day in and day out, you try having article after article slandering your name being put out simply because people hate that you have money in a sport where that is the norm.

I’d be fed the fuck up too. Lance shouldn’t have to play nice for these people to treat him with the bare minimum respect. He deserves his seat, and I’m sick of it always being questioned if he does.

do you ever just remember how one of the most effective things parvis said to get silence to lose faith in saria was essentially "do you really think she would ever choose YOU over everything?" and silence with her low self esteem really didn't believe saria would.

Then in the end saria really did choose them over everything, left her defense director job and her whole life up to that point behind for the sake of silence and ifrit. and silence still doesnt even know. do you ever think about that and lose your mind a little bit.