Anyways i also think that Chuuya SHOULD NOT be the Port Mafia boss to be totally honest witchu. If his entire experience with the Sheep, and the way he cracked under pressure as the interim leader during cannibalism, and like, THE BEAST EPILOGUE, had anything to say it's that Chuuya's not fit to be the leader of an organization such as that.

Bc Chuuya's good at adapting, he's good at spur of the moment decisions. He's good with battle tactics. We see his actual leadership abilities shine when he's commanding the mafia troops to protect the city during the guild arc. In cannibalism, his plan to rush the ADA with a full frontal attack was a SOLID idea. But he loses his advantage as soon as he hesitates and opens the table for negotiation instead.

BECAUSE Chuuya's not good at playing the long game like Mori or Dazai. He's reactionary and it's his nature to get overwhelmed by his emotions. He takes on too much responsibility but loses focus due to personal reasons. That what happens in 15 where he blows off the Sheep to go on a life changing field trip with Dazai. That's why he was taken out of the picture so easily to go on a life changing field trip with Ranpo in Cannibalism. (Damn maybe this is why he's on a life changing field trip with Fyodor as a vampire currently).

Essentially even though Asagiri has been really tying Chuuya's character with the themes of leadership, we've mostly been shown why he wouldn't be a good fit. Either this plot point will trend towards Chuuya actually learning how to be a good leader OR he won't end up as one. IN ANY CASE what we know abt Chuuya makes me really think that being the Port Mafia's boss is a terrible idea. He's not fit for the role and frankly, I think he'd hate it.

Did anyone else think that the dragon fight in Dead Apple mirrors the final fight in Storm Bringer. Bc I JUST noticed and I hate it.

In Dead Apple, Dazai gets caught in the crossfire and is floating around in the giant singularity that's threatening to destroy Yokohama and everyone thinks he's dead except Chuuya who's got the unshakable belief that Dazai is still alive because a Roach like him cannot die, and straight up throws his life down for that slightest chance.

And in Storm Bringer its CHUUYA who's mostly likely dead and floating around inside the giant singularity monster that's threatening to destroy Yokohama and Dazai thinks Chuuya is likely dead but he's easily goaded into taking action by Mori because if he lets himself die right now like he wants to, that means he effectively double suicided with Chuuya and that is the Worst Possible Outcome(tm) so OF COURSE he has to go save him.

And there's also the fact that both scenes feature Chuuya fighting an enormous Kaijuu beast single handedly and slaying heavily while doing it.

I would actually kind of like the “becomes a doctor and takes over Leslie’s clinic” story…for Damian.

NOT because I think it would be ~ethical~ or idk whatever-the-fuck.

I just really love the concept of Damian having this “I HAVE A BIG IMPORTANT DESTINY” backstory/lineage/bloodline …

…SON OF THE BAT, and all that jazz…

But when he connects with Gotham and the people in it—because Batman should be connected to the people he’s protecting—Damian realizes that he doesn’t actually WANT “his” destiny.

And it’s not about rejecting Batman or his father or his mother or anything like that, but instead about taking what he’s learned and what they’ve given him and shaping it to fit himself.

Today I saw this ask:

and I want say it without being mean, in absolutely happy tone, because yes thank you I'm overjoed we have this discussion moving: yes!!! Yes you are, you misundestood not only Aziraphale’s, but also Crowley’s character, and that makes them both bland!

The whole point of Good Omens is about shades of grey, remember? We had it stated sever times in canon. It doesen’t mean «pure good Crowley makes pure evil Aziraphale better person». It means that they both are absolutely not perfect, and it’s what makes then human, and it what makes them actually better, because perfection leads to uniformity and they are so so unique!

Crowley’s not jumping to saving every soul he see. Even from the start! Before the beginning? He loves his stars, not concerned for some monkeys that would look at them! (which is absolutely normal! Why he should care?). Adam and Eve? He’s nervous because he wasn’t expecting such harsh punishment for some dumb apple, he thinks it’s unfair, he's willing to discuss it with Aziraphale — which doesen’t want to discuss anything, but he also can’t stand to see humans suffering when he can do something. He’s the one that selflessly and not thinking about how it will hit him back jumps to help! Great Flood? They both stands there, just watching, and yes, Crowley argues that it’s unfair again, but Aziraphale’s not there with «oh it’s actually fine :)» smile as some people insist — he’s worried too and, and things he quote sounds awfully as something heavens would say to the one angel that immediatly asked «but surely we can’t kill everyone??». He’s quoting it because he have nothing else to say, not for Crowley, not for himself. And they both can only watch. Christ? Again, they’re not jumping to save, they watch.

(side note, but I think people just don’t get how important it is. We live in awful times, there’s so much war and death around, and you can do only an itty bitty things to help but it’s not enough, and it can crush you if you’re alone. I would’ve end in hospital or in prison two years ago if there wasn’t a friend that shared all this with me. And they had each other. That's the bond that stronger than any romantic love)

Next three flashback are not about helping anyone (although let’s remember that Arragemet wasn’t some noble plan, it was about two lazy cowokers finding a way to do less work and hang out more! it’s important too! they’re lazy and selfish and want to live in forever vacation, which is mood). Then our favorite Bastillie scene — now they both watch the executioner being dragged to be killed. No one of them did something to stop it, although they could’ve, you know, just leave him there naked or something. Because nah, sometimes they both just don't care (and I want to point it too: kindness, when you do it correctly, shouldn't be only to nice people you like. Sometime you help a nasty person. Or your abusive ex-boss. But also sometime you're there for the date and you don't want to be kind to some dumb human that's so happy to kill others)

Edinburg? Yep. Crowley loves Elspbeth immediatly, because she’s doing something naughty, she’s cheeky and she makes Aziraphale fret. So he helps her… to dig the body. Which is fine, again, he finds it all amusing and he’s not concerned for this girl safety or livehood. He’s in good mood and he wants to party and maybe theoretically discuss God’s cruelty with his angel. But Aziraphale sees the nice poor girl that made choices that can cost her ethernity in afterlife, and he tries to help! And look, he's not saying she just should drop everything and pray, he's actually trying to brainshtorm what she can do insted of evil naughty thins! As living human that needs to eat! Like, he’s there asking absolutely normal questions for someone who didn’t get accustomed to industrialisation and early stage capitalism yet (he’s slow, ok, although I’m mad because remember that this dialog was in book? and it was a thousand years earlier? and it was a Crowley who took a whole year to understant that it’s unfair while Aziraphale knew this and was like, well, it’s party line, what are you expected? why they shifted context so much). In the world where no one was killed Crowley would help her with body and go back to drinking or something, lefting her to dig another body next evening and live like this forever. But Aziraphale’s the one that wants to change that!! Go through episode, read the lines, look at their faces without being attached to fanon Jesus-like Crowley and you’ll see the one being that knows that the system is fucked and doing nothing to change it and the other not understanding system wholly but being willing to bend the rules and eventually risk his life to help — and I want to point it hard — NOT innocent human! She’s a street rat, she’s a grave robber (and Crowley understands why it’s bad more than Aziraphale, until the «it’s different when it’s someone you know» moment, but still he was in favor of digging bodies), she’s not deserving of help by heaven’s standarts, and still Aziraphale’s willing to risk falling, again, for her and her human lover! (THAT'S foreshadowing much, huh? HUH?) And that’s when Crowley understands: oh, shit, it’s not funny for him! It’s not just a lesson on morality! He’s really really can get punished if he do something stupid now!

Remember that second point of season was «stop messing with humans please»? That’s where it’s started, arguably.

So, like, yes, Crowley obliviously wasn’t planning to save Elpsbeth in any way until Aziraphale was willig to do it first. And why you need it to be different? We already know that Crowley’s nice deep inside. He doesn’t do anything bad there, even. It’s not a slander to his character. There’s billions of humans he — or Aziraphale — doesn’t help every day. Crowley accustomed to this, that’s the point. But then Aziraphale’s doing something risky (again, that’s his whole deal: sword, this scene, ditching his platoon and diving on earth, the nimb bomb — all done [or almost done] in defiance of heavens and for the humanity, all by his own, without Crowley’s influence! You don’t need to take this from him and stuff good qualities into Crowley until he’s absolutely flattens, Aziraphale doing something good is not stealing goodness from Crowley!).

Also remember 1941? The ones where Aziraphale wants to take down the nazi spies while Crowley smuggles alcohol? It’s the same pattern! Crowley don’t want to be mistaken for nazi (so he changes his shirt), but he’s not involved in any anti-nazi work (we talks about canon there, you can have headcanons, I sure do). It’s Aziraphale who jumps on chance to do good, again, and Crowley, again, deals with nazi only when they are the treat to Aziraphale. WHICH IS FINE. It doesen’t makes him bad. It shows that he loves his comfortable life and a little of mischieve, while Aziraphale loves his comfortable life and a little of doing good. It’s important that in this scene there’s no visible, like, innocent kid being harmed right now — I’m sure Crowley would’ve go out of his way to help then. But Aziraphale get’s tangled with some spies and suppliers, they doing nazi work indirectly — you need to think strategically to understand why you should help there, which Aziraphale clearly does. It also shows that he willing to work on changing things and not passively wait (or sleep) untill bad times go away, when he gets a chance to do it without miracles (as we saw in Edinburg minisode, he’s afraid that too many miracles or too big miracle used to help wrong people will put him in trouble). Which arguably foreshadows final fifteen again, but it's not the point of this post.

I can go next scene by scene but whatever, I’ll just remind you that’s while stopping the apocalypce was Crowley's idea, he:

— wasn’t concerned for the humans, at least at the start — he was mostly concerned for his earthly life, as much as Aziraphale, which includes humans, but not in oh-I-want-to-save-them way. Which is good! All first season is about how being a little bit egoistical and thinks about yourself can motivate you to change the world because it's YOUR world too!

— was actually working toward apocalypse and looking forward to it, until Antichrist came and he suddenly get that it will happen, like, for real (that’s literally said by word of God, remember?)

— and also, Aziraphale wasn’t opposed to idea of stopping apocalypse, he was sure that there’s no way to stop it and all that they can do is to hope that heavens will win (at least there’s no torture in heavens!… probably)

Like, it wasn’t Crowley explaining to Aziraphale that «apocalypse bad, heavens bad», it was him TEMPTING Aziraphale to give in to urge to stop apocalypse because he loves his earthly life as much as Crowley!!

Anyway, my point is — fandom loves black and white thinking. One should always be right, let’s make another one always wrong. One should always be heroic, let’s make other one villian or damsel in distress. That’s not how it work in real life, that’s not how it work in Good Omens, and Good Omens actually would’ve be really bland if it was the case. Aziraphale changes Crowley as much as he changes Aziraphale, but as everything Aziraphale do, it’s much more subtle. And they both get changed by humanity! (remember, again, the doctor from Edinburg? He sure was an eye-opener for them both)

Another thing, I think, is that people doesen’t want to step into Aziraphale’s shoes. Why would you do it, when there’s Crowley, who’s always right? It’s much more pleasant to be right, and Aziraphale’s always so unsure and his growth is not linear and sometimes he’s even says bad things! Nah, easier to not think from his perspective at all, and easier to not symphatise with him, just patronize at best, to make Crowley a better person for being willing to teach him too (which honestly makes azicrowley looks a little creepy, but you do you, just not in front of my salad please). So people that projects into Crowley, already the ones that unwilling to be not right or not good or not the most hurt party in every fight (again, it's understandble! but really narrows your perspective), gets really uncomfortable if you points that their characterisation of Crowley is not always in line with canon, because a) that makes him wrong or not-perfect sometimes and b) it makes THEM wrong or not-perfect sometimes.

Again, it’s not me picking a fight, and it’s fine if you have another interpretations of anything we saw on screen or any different headcanons. But try to look at what I said not from the point of hostility and character slander but from the point of love, because I LOVE them so much and I love them BECAUSE they both are painted in shades of gray! You don't need to mold Crowley into absolutely different character to love him! Imperfection is fine and good!

the magnus archives fandom loves to clown on how Jon trusts not-Sasha a lot more than any of his other assistants during season two, but I think this ignores why it makes sense that Jon is acting the way he is around Not-Sasha.

We know that the not-them only miss people who are casual aquaintances or not terribly good friends in their trickery.

I would argue that Jon's healthiest relationship in season one at all is actually with Sasha. Jon has no friends outside his work. Georgie is his one friend, and they aren't really in contact. of the interactions Jon has with any of his staff, the warmest and friendliest are probably with Sasha during season one. Jon tells us that Sasha is the most reliable and level-headed person on his team. He relies on her competence--later in the series we learn that she was qualified for the archivist position, but Jon seems to recognize her skills and abilities while working with her.

During the second season he seems almost surprised when Sasha isn't able to get information or complete work--we know this is because this is Not-Sasha, but Jon doesn't know that.

He believes what Sasha says because of all his team, he trusted her the most implicitly. They communicated the most clearly.

I think during season one Sasha is the one of his colleagues he would be most likely to describe as a friend. the stranger took advantage of that.

Yesterday Road, Today Road, Tomorrow Road...

Perhaps it's just another manifestation of my overthinking, but it seems to me that the three paths in Long John's Bush might have been written as a metaphor for Emily's life. Each path seemed to be somehow linked to a person who was important to Emily.

The paths were named by Emily and her friends, because: "The To-day Road is by the brook and we call it that because it is lovely now. The Yesterday Road is out in the stumps where Lofty John cut some trees down and we call it that because it used to be lovely. The To-morrow Road is just a tiny path in the maple clearing and we call it that because it is going to be lovely some day, when the maples grow bigger." (Emily of New Moon).

TO-MORROW'S ROAD (EMILY'S AMBITIONS AND DREAMS. TEDDY KENT):

The metaphor of Tomorrow Road was most clearly outlined. On the one hand, of course, it symbolized Emily's passion for writing and her ascent to the Alpine Path of glory and fame. As for the character with whom Tomorrow Road was most closely associated, it was Teddy Kent.

First of all, To-morrow Road never changed its name, even though by the time Emily reached her early teenage years, the maples grew big. In Emily Climbs, Tomorrow Road became the place of Teddy and Emily's meetings, where they shared their dreams and hopes for the future: "Then Teddy came for me and we walked together up the field and through the To-morrow Road. It is really a To-day Road now, for the trees along it are above our heads, but we still call it the To-morrow Road—partly out of habit and partly because we talk so much on it of our to-morrows and what we hope to do in them. Somehow, Teddy is the only person I like to talk to about my to-morrows and my ambitions. There is no one else." (Emily Climbs).

To-morrow Road was a place that marked the milestones for both Teddy and Emily (Teddy especially). Here he told Emily that his mother decided to allow him to attend Shrewsbury High School; here he told her that he had received an art scholarship and was going to the college in Montreal. Here he proposed. Here she was waiting for him with Dean's letter.

It seemed to me that Teddy and Emily's relationship was all about the future. Thorough Emily Climbs they seemed to think that they couldn't be each other's "today", because they both had their own separate dreams ("to-morrows") to conquer before they would be free to set on their rainbow quest together. (Side note: Montgomery skillfully mentioned that To-morrow Road was in fact - already To-day Road).

By the end of Emily Climbs, as their romance started to blossom, Emily's initial reaction was fear. Early on, she realised that she served a jealous goddess. We didn't get a glimpse into Teddy's feelings, but it was obvious from the start how ambitious and passionate he had been for his art. Perhaps it was something more than just a fear of Emily's refusal that drove him to silence when he had meant to ask her to wait for him? The scene itself happened on To-morrow Road (another symbol that it wasn't their time yet, perhaps?). During this scene, they both experienced a clash of two extremely strong passions: on the one hand, the desire to improve their art and fulfill their ambitions and dreams, and on the other - an awakening love. Teddy, before leaving for Montreal told Emily that there were two things in life that he had wanted "tremendously", but never told her that having her as his wife was one of these things.

I wonder if Juliet and Douglas Starr's tragic story might have forced Teddy's silence. Douglas Starr had once been young and ambitious too, but wouldn't have been accepted by Murrays because of his poverty. The result of this love was tragic; Juliet's elopement broke her family's heart and both she and Douglas died early, leaving Emily all alone. Perhaps Teddy felt that he might have been tolerated as Emily's friend, but not as her suitor. Since he seemed to doubt in his own success (especially since his chosen profession rarely resulted in a fortune), he might have been more likely to keep silent.

One quote of this scene between Teddy and Emily has always intrigued me:

"We walked along the To-morrow Road—[...]—until we reached the fence of the pond-pasture and stood there under the grey-green gloom of the firs. I felt suddenly very happy and in those few minutes part of me planted a garden and laid out beautiful closets and bought a dozen solid silver teaspoons and arranged my attic and hemstitched a double damask table-cloth—and the other part of me just waited." (Emily Climbs).

Because... was it possible that she had seen herself from the future? This was the exact spot where Teddy reconciled with Emily by the end of Emily's Quest. Where he had finally confessed his love [1]. But, most importantly, this was also a spot of the very last scene of the trilogy: Emily, waiting for Teddy to tell him that Dean had gave them a Disappointed House as a wedding gift [2]. There was a certain symbolism in Teddy coming to her - the exact opposite of To-morrow Road's scene that took place in Emily's Climbs, where it was Emily who went away, leaving him alone: "Teddy was looking at the dim gold of Blair Water and scowling. Again I had a feeling that night air was not good for me. I shivered, said a few polite commonplaces, and left him there scowling." (Emily Climbs).

In a way, their story came into full circle. They both achieved success and overcame their own biggest faults (pride, insecurities, selfishness, vanity). Unlike their seventeen year old selves, they got to know what loneliness meant - they found out that their ambitions were not enough to fulfill their heart's desires.

By the end of trilogy, Emily and Teddy still had their own "Alpine Paths" to climb, but from this time, they would have each other's help and support. They also had the dreams of future they share: of home, fireplace, toast and bacon and marmalade.

YESTERDAY ROAD. THE PAST AND FAMILY TRADITIONS. LOST DREAMS. JULIET MURRAY, DOUGLAS STARR, DEAN PRIEST.

Yesterday Road symbolized the past, for it used to be lovely once. Perhaps it might have been a place where Douglas and Juliet used to meet (their own "To-day Road"). For each member of the Murray family, Yesterday Road might have had a different meaning. For Elizabeth, it could have symbolized either her youth, either a period when Juliet was a child; for Laura - her former love for Dr. Burnley; for Jimmy - his lost potential; for Juliet - her childhood, family, first love.

For Emily, Yesterday Road symbolized family traditions (the chapter in which Cousin Jimmy told her family stories was titled "The Book Of Yesterday") as well as her parents' love story. All that shaped her as a woman and a writer, but also nearly became an obstacle to fulfilling her dreams. Due to Juliet's elopement, Aunt Elizabeth almost kept Emily from receiving an education. The whole family tried to marry Emily off to cousin Andrew, so that Juliet's story wouldn't repeat itself. During Emily's later years, Yesterday Road might have symbolized Emily's lost hopes and dreams.

The person who directly referred to Yesterday Road was Dean Priest: "I shall carry pictures of you wherever I go, Star," Dean was saying [...] "pacing up and down in this old garden—wandering in the Yesterday Road—looking out to sea." (Emily's Quest).

In the second part of the trilogy, Dean Priest directly admitted that he was aware that Emily's future would not be his future: 'I hate to hear of your to-morrows—they cannot be my tomorrows.' (Emily Climbs).

During the year that he and Emily had been engaged, Emily rarely thought about the future, and felt anxious about it: "Always to be afraid of to-morrow? Content—even happy with to-day—but always afraid of tomorrow. Was this to be her life? And why that fear of to-morrow?" (Emily's Quest). In the rare moments that Emily thought of her future, she saw Teddy, instead of Dean in those visions. "She saw herself there in the future—flitting through the little rooms—laughing under the firs—sitting hand in hand with Teddy at the fireplace—Emily came to herself with a shock. With Dean, of course, with Dean. A mere trick of the memory." (Emily's Quest).

Perhaps Emily didn't understand what Dean subconsciously realized: that he would never be able to fulfill Emily's future: "to let myself dream something that couldn't come true—that I knew ought not to come true—" (Emily's Quest). During the year they spent together, he allowed himself to dream, but was left with nothing more than memories and ashes. And so, for Dean a Yesterday Road symbolized the one golden year of his engagement; the only glimpse into real happiness he had ever had. Emily became his yesterday. It is interesting how he worded his letter, containing his wedding gift: "And some day I will come to see you in it. I claim my old corner in your house of friendship now and then." (Emily's Quest). Again, he doesn't refer to her future, but her past ("my old corner").

TODAY'S ROAD: CHILDHOOD. FRIENDSHIP. ILSE BURNLEY.

Today's Road symbolized Emily's happy childhood and her friendships. It is the one path that never seems to be stained with bitterness or regrets. As for a character that simply screams "TODAY" - it is obviously Ilse Burnley, who never seemed to care about the past or think of the future:

"As far as Ilse was concerned it seemed as if no quarrel had ever taken place. “Why, that was yesterday,” she said in amazement, when Emily, rather distantly, referred to it. Yesterday and to-day were two entirely different things in Ilse’s philosophy." (Emily of New Moon).

"Ilse was growing, too, blossoming out into strange beauty and brilliance, knowing no law but her own pleasure, recognizing no authority but her own whim." (Emily of New Moon).

"Ilse had always been a merry, irresponsible creature." (Emily's Quest). "All her life she had done exactly as she wanted to do whenever the whim took her. No sense of responsibility whatever." (Emily's Quest).

Besides, Ilse seemed to be the contant "today" of Emily's childhood and youth. She couldn't be Emily's "to-morrow", though, for both girls would have to carve their own separate futures, build their own homes in which the other one would be a cherished guest: "we'll visit each other, you and I—and compare our children—call your first girl Ilse, won't you, friend of my heart—" (Emily's Quest). Emily didn't seem to mind visiting the house Ilse was going to build with her imaginary husband; but she did mind being a guest at Teddy's house, few years later when Ilse repeats her invitation: "When Teddy and I come back and set up house in Montreal you must spend every winter with us, darling. New Moon is a dear place in summer, but in winter you must be absolutely buried alive." Emily made no promises. She did not see herself as a guest in Teddy's home." (Emily's Quest).

That's perhaps the difference: Ilse would be a vital part of Emily's future and vice versa, but it would be their husbands who'd be a part of their to-morrows. Even when Ilse got married to Perry and the three friends reunited, Emily's life wasn't complete. Perhaps it couldn't be, because Ilse - dear as she was - couldn't fill a certain longing in Emily's heart and soul - the voice that needed Teddy's love and presence.

Headcanons for the Long John's paths:

Juliet and Douglas used to walk through Yesterday Road. He asked her to marry him there. Before she eloped, Juliet had a good cry there. She was thinking of her half-sibling and her father - she loved them fiercely, despite everything.

Teddy and Emily said their wedding vows in Long John's Bush, under the firs where they used to meet and where they reunited. (Both Aunts were absolutely mortified by this idea). Or, if it wasn't an official ceremony, at least they had repeated the vows there. (Let's be real, Emily would definitely repeat her vows after the ceremony, changing "Frederick" into "Teddy").

The future generations liked playing on To-day Road.

The names of the paths were never changed, even if the paths themselves did.

The children of four friends invented their own names for the paths, though.

The quotes [1]-[3]:

[1] "Suddenly I heard Teddy's signal whistle in the old orchard. [...] We walked along the To-morrow Road—it has grown so beautiful that one wonders if any to-morrow can make it more beautiful—until we reached the fence of the pond-pasture and stood there under the grey-green gloom of the firs. [...] I'm going to work hard—I'm going to get everything possible out of those two years,' Teddy said at last,[...] '"And when I come back—' he repeated—stopped again. "'Yes?' I said. I don't deny to this my journal that I said it a trifle expectantly. "'I'll make the name of Frederick Kent mean something in Canada!' said Teddy." (Emily Climbs).

[2] "It came clearly and suddenly on the air of a June evening. An old, old call—two higher notes and one long and soft and low. [...] It came again. And Emily knew that Teddy was there, waiting for her in Lofty John's bush—calling to her across the years. She went down slowly—out—across the garden. Of course Teddy was there—under the firs. [..] He put out his hands and drew her to him, with no conventional greeting." (Emily's Quest).

[3] "How very—dear—of Dean. And I am so glad—he is not hurt any longer." She was standing where the To-morrow Road opened out on the Blair Water valley. Behind her she heard Teddy's eager footsteps coming to her." (Emily's Quest).

Thinking about canto 6 and ghosts...

Or,how the afterlife works in the city. In wuthering heights,heathcliff wants to be haunted by catherine, even mr lockwood ends up dreaming about her, and i wondered how limbus might adapt this, if at all.

At first i thought she might appear as an hallucination,golden bough shenaningans,drugs,hologram projections,theres all types of justifications on how this might happen.

But then i thought,dont we actually kinda see ghosts in limbus? Namely in canto 4 we see dongbaek talking to yi sang about the mirror during the end of the dungeon.It doesnt seem to be a flashback since she had white hair in that scene,so it seems she spoke to yi sang after her death? And canto 5,when ishmael uses her ego,we see a flash of queequeg appearing in that moment. Of course those 2 instances might be just metaphors or something, but looking back at the beggining of the game,we see how dante revives the sinners,and that involves opening a door and dragging the sinners out of it. Considering the literary inspirations,that door might be a literal entrance to hell. But this begs the question: does that mean afterlife exists in the city, are souls and ghosts an actual thing?

And then theres carmen, who spend so much time as a brain in a jar but now its completly dilluted into humanity's collective uncouncious, is she a ghost?

So anyways. Im worried for heathcliff

Okay I've still not solidified my full thoughts on Providence into a post (and at this point I might not ever oops) but there is something I wanted to talk about in terms of translation.

I watched Providence dubbed in English, and I know this is a sacreligious thing to say in the fandom, but I'm actually quite fond of the English dub in general. It was the first way that I watched season 1 back in 2014 and I've watched quite a few commentaries and interviews where the English voice actors seem quite engaged with the material (which is more than I can say for other anime commentaries I've listened to), so I was insanely pleased when I heard the original English voices in theatres, after many iterations in the franchise not getting dubbed in English at all since 2016. It felt quite nostalgic in a way.

That being said, I know the main reason why most fans don't like the dub (besides thinking Akane's voice is annoying I guess) is the translation taking away the importance and nuances of certain scenes in the series. I think I got a real taste of that finally.

After the trailer dropped for Providence, us Shinkanes got quite fixated on a certain interaction between Akane and Kougami in the trailer. Here is the most direct translation that was being circulated :

Akane: "Will you come with me?"

Kougami: "Even if you told me not to, I would."

So you can see why we were getting excited. Though out of context, this interaction hinted that there would be some probably dangerous mission that Akane had to go on, and Kougami was asked to come along. What's highlighted is also the personal aspect of the interaction. The use of "me" and "you" by both of them points to the fact that they will be there specifically for the other person. It makes the exchange much more intimate, regardless of what they're actually talking about.

Now the official English dub on the other hand...

I didn't take official notes in the theatre, but the exchange went something like this:

Akane: "Do you wanna tag along?"

Kougami: "Is anyone gonna stop me?"

It took me a few moments in the theatre to even register that THAT was the exchange that we were so excited for. It was almost unrecongizable. All references to their personal connections to the stakes in the mission, the intimacy, had been eradicated.

Can anyone who watched the Japanese w/EST version let me know if the official sub translation was different than what we were led to believe in the trailer? Or am I being delusional and it was never as deep as I thought? I'm just bummed at the choices the dub made.

E has a pretty poignant, new post about their personal relationship with stats

My cousin is happy that he has more kudos on his fics than I’ve on mine in the same fandom

Re: Metrics

Sometimes I think about how Barty Crouch sent his son to jail and I wonder about Rowling's choice, as an author, to write a world in which Barty Crouch was even allowed to be in charge at his own son's trial and didn't need to exempt himself due to the obvious conflict of interest and that this just wasn't even questioned.

HEY BONERS...i really lost my grip for like, several weeks, and put together this truly heinous, flagrantly too long, not entirely navigable or sensible google document in which i have extensively quoted and annotated Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, As Yet Unsent, and the Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex.

it was meant entirely for me, to prepare my brain for Nona, but i thought it would be silly to do all this work and not share it with anyone. so if it sounds like a thing you’d be into, check it out, and maybe leave comments in the doc while you’re there if you want!

Asagiri likes to base his characters off of the protagonists of the literary works by the authors they're respectively inspired by. Ex. Fitzgerald shares Gatsby's charisma, wealth, dubious business ventures, and overwhelming desperation to create the ideal life for his loved ones. In Anne of Green Gables, kindhearted orphan protagonist Anne has a combative relationship with her primary love interest Gilbert, and her stubbornness and pride leads her to frequently beating him up and giving him the cold shoulder. This is most likely the source of our kindhearted orphan protagonist, Atsushi's, relationship with his primary love interest, the stubborn and prideful Lucy.

Another aspect of the way Asagiri writes characters is Dazai. He is undoubtedly Asagiri's favoritest boy, so there's a sizable chunk of the cast that is actually constructed to be a foil to Dazai.

Why'd I mention that? It's because That is a precursor to who I actually wanted talk about, FYODOR! Fyodor Dostoevsky was created to be the ULTIMATE foil to Dazai, his very anthesis. The reason being Crime and Punishment.

C&P follows Raskolnikov, a down on his luck and VERY unstable resident of St Petersburg. Fyodor from BSD is definitely based on him.

Raskolnikov has an ubermensch complex. He sees himself as the dealer of divine justice, a servant of God. Sound familiar?

Raskolnikov believes the pain and suffering in his city being caused by the corrupt pawnbroker. Fyodor thinks that all the sin in the world of bsd is caused by ability user. They both draw a false conclusion. Perceiving the evil in the world is rooted in something that's only a small contributing factor.

They both take. DRASTIC action. Raskolnikov commits murder. Fyodor.... starts an international terrorist organization i guess.

Crime and Punishment is divided into two very distinct parts: The crime - the Murder Raskolnikov commits, and the Punishment, everything he has to deal with afterwords.

Raskolnikov is also! suicidal. it's a notable part of C&P. He frequently thinks about ending things, and wants to drown himself in the river, but then ends up disgusted by the notion when he witnesses someone else attempt.

Basically Raskolnikov is suicidal. Yozo from No Longer Human is suicidal. These are the characters that Fyodor and Dazai are based off, and it can't be a coincidence

Important to note that Both Raskolnikov AND Yozo end up living to an old age by the end of their respective novels.

Dazai and Fyodor are REALLY similar, but their differences are very very striking. Dazai likes people, when he dies he wants it to be a suicide that doesn't inconvenience anyone, he doesn't believe he belongs with humanity. Fyodor believes himself as a man on God's mission, we've only ever seen his ability kill ordinary people, AND he wants all ability users to not exist anymore. But, doesn't killing all ability users include himself?

Basically, I have a theory that Fyodor's ultimate goal with the Book is really an elaborate suicide plan. Because Fyodor doesn't have a GOD complex, he has an UBERMENSCH complex, he sees himself not as the ruler of humans but a CHAMPION of humanity. He's using his belief that ability users are the Root of All Evil as grounds to eliminate them all and himself. He thinks he's taking one for the team. Not only does he want to die, he wants to drag the world down WITH him.

But BSD is about people finding a purpose in life, key word: LIFE! Dazai WILL NOT die because he hasn't found what he's looking for. Fyodor's plan WILL fail. After that what's in store? He'll have to face his punishment, right?

might be getting the timeline wrong but maybe 16!chuuya wouldnt like 22!chuuya because 16!chuuya wasnt vv loyal to the mafia at first (unless that was at 15, not 16)l, sry i Cannot Remember) but 22!chuuya is very loyal and everything. also maybe chuuya also didnt like the idea of being an executive, like the responsibility, aka one step down from leadership (were we ever told when chuuya became an exec? if so, i Cannot Remember once again)

well it goes from 16yo not really wanting to being in the mafia -> 22 having accepted the mafia is his home now. From what we've seen from him at 22 he's really grown INTO that position. He acts lot more cocky and smug, more confident etc. He's more materialistic, fancy clothes fancy wine in a way that 16 chuuya wasn't. I think i was specifically mentioned in SB that chuuya was wearing expensive clothes and living in an expensive apartment complex, but his place is plain and empty and his clothes are just the standard mafia uniform (like higuchi's or all the other nameless grunts).

From what we know from the Drama CDs he encourages Akutagawa to take a rest and take care of himself. This is a sentiement he doesnt apply to himself back in SB. He ALSO seems to be oblivious or in denial abt Dazai's training of Akutagawa and tries to justify Dazai's reasoning. We know he goes with Mori's plans without questioning anything, we know he's perfectly down to kill Q bc of his team dying. We see that he still care abt and acts friendly (in chuuya standards lol) with all his fellow mafiosos.

We know that he doesn't seem to like that Dazai is being more virtuous now. I think this is a situation of him once again expressing self insecurity in the veins of "we were both monsters. But Dazai's a good person now, so what the hell does that make me?"

Here's what i think: despite being an incredibly selfless person, chuuya is still really selfish. He's always had his immense power but noww he has money AND status, so he might as well have fun with that. Even if by the end it goes against his base principals. Even if this wasnt really the way he wanted his life to turn out. AND i think he's not willing to change yet because that will ruin this fragile state of stability he's gotten. Change is painful and he'd rather not do pain, thanks.

also! Chuuya had to be promoted to executive AFTER Dazai had left. In the SB epilogue he's gone to meet his bio-parents with Higuchi and Akutagawa. This information from the past would have only been given to him AFTER the executive promotion, and considering Higuchi joined after Dazai was already gone, THAT's where i think that point falls in the timeline

You know…thinking about this ask and the headcanon about AK!Jason having chronic pain and mobility issues…

Something that I really wish more media (not just comics) got about disabilities is that there are a lot more options than just “disabled, can’t do (x) ever again.”

Like, take for example, Barbara Gordon. Personally (and this is 100% personal), I’m actually totally okay with her being able to walk again. I’m even okay with her Batgirl-ing again.

HOWEVER! I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE THE “CURE” TREATED LIKE A MOBILITY AID.

For example—sure, maybe Barbara can go out Batgirl-ing a couple of nights a week…but she needs time to recover and after those nights she uses the wheelchair during the day.

OR! She tends to forego her wheelchair during the day BUT because of that she’s drained for nights and so she uses her wheelchair and sticks with Oracle.

OR! Sometimes she just uses her wheelchair because it feels right for the time and she doesn’t want to second-guess her instincts when it comes to her own health!

Just…it doesn’t have to be “all or nothing”!

And like, to keep talking about the Batfamily, that goes for every hero! Sure, PEAK HUMAN CONDITION when they’re in their suits…but there’s nothing in the rulebook that says they have to be in that zone literally all the time!

And, not to be a buzzkill, but we know the effects of long-term high impact trauma to human bodies and it’s…not great! Not saying that you’d have to go full realism, but you could show some consequences of the work they do!

One of the moments that stuck with me from The Dark Knight Rises was when Bruce Wayne had to wear a knee-brace because of his Batman exploits.

And, sure, the movie almost immediately undid his disability (because of course it did ಠ_ಠ) but it was nice to see a superhero with, like…an actual human body? That was dealing with the effects of time and consequences and the inherent imperfection of a human body?

But like…computer-based characters wearing braces to treat/prevent wrist strain! Bruce Wayne using an orthopedic cane during the day to take some strain off of his body and to make sure he’s in peak condition for his night work!

Characters doing physical therapy exercises as an everyday thing because that’s how they can do their night work!

And, especially since there are so many friggin heroes in Gotham—characters having bad days/nights and needing downtime!

Anyway, hopefully this made some kind of sense. I guess I’m just frustrated with the narrow-minded concept that disabilities are either 1) something you’re born with, or 2) something that can only happen from one DRAMATIC EVENT!!!

And also, I guess, with the concept that doing classic superheroics is incompatible with being disabled—which, IMO, is just an easy way to get out of showing heroes with disabilities.

I’ve always been more of a prequel era person than an original movie era person. Mostly because of the Jedi. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Rebels (Kanan and Hera are probably my only real Star Wars ship) and I loved Luke and the original gang (funnily enough, I liked the twins despite Anakin, which might not entirely make sense). And of course I loved Leia. She was strong and sassy but she was responsible and she worked hard and had a lot of aspects of her (from Bail and Breha no doubt) that I admired. I just never thought about her that much because my mind generally stayed with the Jedi Order.

But watching her in Obi-Wan Kenobi as a child? How she stands up for herself, how she volunteers to help even as a kid, how she interacts with Obi-Wan and just. Loves him for him? It’s made me love her way more. I wasn’t entirely surprised she named her kid after him, even before this (although; at the time, I was only familiar (although a bit vaguely) with Legends kids, Jacen, Jaina, etc.) for a number of different reasons but this, with her and Obi-Wan really cements why she did.

Leia is watching this man rise up from his lowest point, after the brutal betrayal of people he loved, after the near entire genocide of him people. She is watching him build up his hope and faith - even though they had taken a dip - and she is watching parts of him come back. Parts of the General, leading, advising and helping people in battle, fighting alongside them and defending them (and her). Parts of the Negotiator and leader, telling the adults that he trusts her (showing his faith in her). Parts of the Master and the Councilor, with his words and teachings. Parts of the Jedi, using his compassion and willingness to help others. Defending her with a very real and physical symbolization of his lightsaber lighting up the dark.

Especially at ten years old, I can imagine even this short few days has a huge, huge impact. We know Leia is extremely intuitive and can read people very well. So we know she is seeing this. She is noticing this. And that is huge for her. So when she is at her lowest, when she loses those closest to her, when she too is the survivor of genocide, she undoubtedly thinks back to this. Or, at least, to those feelings she remembers. She picks up aspects and parts of her parents as she moves along, as well as the man that had such an impact on her. She picks up the leadership, the senator and the drive of her father, Bail. She picks up the Queen, the perseverance and the loyalty from her mother, Breha. And she picks up the General, the faith, the survival, the hood and trust in others from the man she saw rise up from the worst, Ben.

I’m sure she was impacted by others, of course, but these three people have had such in influence in her early life like no one else and I think it really gives insight into her character. Because she picks up parts of these people, keeping them with her within herself. Leia doesn’t always show a lot of grief but I think part of that is because she keeps part of the people she loves within her. With her actions, motives and personality. And I think that really says a lot about her.

I had a good friend once tell me that in relationships, a lot of problems can be solved in bed. I'm not saying Porsche and Kinn don't have something to talk about after that bathroom scene but it's a good example of two people overwhelmed with emotion banging their way towards a resolution. It's pretty realistic, to be honest.