#yes that is relevant but only to the second 'how did we get here' part

[raynewolferune]

Meta Jazz, the Arkham Intern Therapist Pt 2.1

Note: The writing bug bit me while wading through the comments and replies so you guys get more! 😁 Special thanks to @the-scarecrow-of-aus & @starlightcat04 for helping spark this continuation!

Also, so you're not confused, this part is from Kon's POV and backtracks to before the Bane incident to explain how Kon started going undercover in Arkham. Pt 2.2 has the Bane incident from Kon's POV.

~*~*~

When Kon got the call from Tim asking if he'd be willing to do a favor for him, he hadn't expected it to be an undercover assignment in the infamous Arkham Asylum itself.

"You want me to do what?" He asked staring at Tim in disbelief once he reached the Nest to debrief.

"Go undercover as a new guard in Arkham." Tim repeated with a deadpan expression looking over his shoulder at Kon from his computer chair. Holy fuck, his eyebags were bad. 

"Have you slept in the past week, Tim?" Kon asked, taking in his best friend's appearance.

Tim frowned at the question. 

"I don't see how that's relevant but yes." He answered, heartbeat unchanging. Which didn't really mean anything since it was Tim but Kon decided he'd believe him. 

For now. 

Kon sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, I'll do it." He said. "Can you tell me why we need someone undercover at least?" 

Tim eyes widened, startled by the question like he was surprised Kon didn't know yet even though Tim hadn't told him yet. Okay, deep breaths, calm down, Tim clearly hasn't slept in at least two days. Kon coached himself as his temper flared up at the evidence that Tim wasn't taking care of himself again. All the Supers agreed: sometimes you just wish you could beat some sense into the Bats and make them take care of themselves like normal human beings.

"Ah. Right." Tim said, turning back to the computer and pulling up some files as he explained. "Two thing have occured within roughly fifteen days of each other that together are rather suspicious. First, Dr. Thomas Rylie, Jonathan Crane's undergraduate roommate and classmate throughout undergrad and grad school, was hired to work as one of the new in house psychiatrists at Arkham Asylum. They also got their doctorates from the same school during the same time frame and both focused on the impact fear has on the brain. Dr. Rylie's focus was on fear conditioning and Dr. Crane's focus was on fear responses." Well, that sounds suspicious. 

"Second, Gotham University lost their minds and began an undergraduate and graduate internship program partnering with Arkham Asylum." 

Kon went cold. They did what?

Pictures of the Asylum, University, and three people -presumably Scarecrow, Dr. Rylie, and a young woman- filled the computer screen now. 

"The internship program has only one applicant so far and she'd already started working at the Arkham. Her name is Jasmine Fenton and her background is...sparse, to say the least." Tim turned in his chair to face Kon.

"I'm too recognizable in Gotham and among the rogues to successfully go undercover in Arkham so I've set you up with an apartment and ID as 'Kyle Jennings.' You're scheduled to start work at Arkham as a new guard tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Kon said with a nod. "What do you need confirmed? What are the primary objectives?" He prodded Tim again since his friend's sleep deprived brain seemed to think that was enough information for debriefing. It wasn't. Definitely not. A lot was implied but it wouldn't be the first time Tim had completely different intentions than what Kon had understood from his briefing. Sleep deprived Tim frequently assumed others could read his mind or something. Sleep deprived Tim was wrong.

"We need to determine if Dr. Rylie is here working for Scarecrow as part of some new scheme. We need to determine if Jasmine Fenton is complicit. We need to know if Gotham U is also in on it. And we need to find out what exactly Scarecrow is the planning." Tim stated automatically as he ticked each one off on his fingers.

"Got it. Guess I'll head over to my new apartment then and start prepping for tomorrow." Kon said, heading towards the exit. Tim hummed in agreement waving a hand in his direction as he left. That dumbass was probably already absorbed in the next case. Kon sighed, hopefully Tim would at least pass out sometime later tonight.

~*~*~

Kon's first day at Arkham wasn't anything special. He didn't see Jasmine, Dr. Rylie, or Scarecrow. He didn't see any rogues or doctors at all. It was just a really Gotham kind of orientation. 

"This is where we keep a cache of stun grenades, long-range scope rifles, tranquilizer rounds, and rubber bullets." His new supervisor and guide through orientation, Alex Fhizer, said as he showed Kon how to access, inventory, lock, and re-conceal the cache. "Everytime you pass by a cache on patrol, you will check the inventory again and sign off on it with the date and time. If anything is different from the previous inventory entry, you will immediately radio the tower and the island will be put on lockdown." Greyish Hazel eyes peered out of a weathered face staring Kon down. "You will never neglect to inventory a cache while on patrol. You will never neglect to report an inventory discrepancy. The first time you do you will be fired immediately and you can count yourself damn lucky if that's all that happens to you." 

Fhizer was intense, man.

"Yes, Sir." Kon answered. Fhizer's hard look lasted another long moment before the older man gave a firm nod and continued showing Kon the ropes.

~*~*~

The second day was no where near as chill as the first. Hell, his brain was already starting to warp, there hadn't been anything chill about that orientation.

Kon started his second day by boarding the Arkham transport bus with the rest of the staff and early morning visitors to the island. That was where he saw Jasmine Fenton in the flesh for the first time. 

She has got to be part Amazonian, was his first thought upon seeing her. She was around 6ft tall with a thick mane of red hair tightly braided reaching all the way down to her waist. Jasmine was wearing teal stud earrings, a silver bangle type bracelet on her left wrist, a white blouse, black slacks, and black flats. She carried a small, clear purse that only held a small notepad, pen, house key, chapstick, and a thin teal wallet that presumably contained her IDs, debit cards, and a small amount of cash. Damn, she was tall.

Kon's concentration was broken by the quiet sound of metal crunching slightly beneath his fingers. He immediately loosened his grip on the hand rail, checking for damage with a wince. He breathed a soft sigh of relief when he saw the damage was almost entirely unnoticeable to the naked eye. He'd have to mind his strength more closely. Kon was too used to the farm and facilities that were all reinforced to handle casual use from people with super strength. 

Tim's notes indicated Arkham wasn't reinforced for super strength anywhere. Not even along the outer walls. The facility had opted to use suppression collars on their meta inmates instead since they were cheaper and easier to repair and replace according to the official reports. However, Tim's notes had also mentioned that Arkham had reinforced the outer walls to account for super strength at one point. They'd poured nearly every dime the facility could spare into the project for months until the Joker himself had taken it personally. The madman had absolutely obliterated the reinforced outer walls until no part of them remained standing. Given Joker had destroyed the walls without having any meta powers at all and his history of viciously attacking -damn near mauling- anyone that tried to put him in a straight jacket, Kon didn't really blame Arkham for stopping while they were ahead.

Kon looked up as the bus jolted to a stop. The other passengers filing off around him. He watched as Jasmine Fenton was met by Dr. Rylie in front of the bus as he waited to disembark. 

"Ms. Jasmine!" Dr. Rylie greeted her enthusiastically with a broad open grin and beaming eyes. He reached towards her with both arms, hands open and she reached back. Their right hands clasped as their left hands landed on the other's upper arms as the two greeted one another openly. Kon wasn't very familiar with intern-mentor relationships nor what would be considered normal or professional for them, but it looked like a rather affectionate greeting for them having been strangers two weeks ago. That was strange, wasn't it? Was Tim right to be worried about them?

"Ms. Jasmine is the first and only applicant for Dr. Rylie, Director Keener, and Dean Byle's hairbrained idea to hire more doctors for this place." One of the older guards that had been standing just behind him on the bus explained having apparently noticed Kon watching the pair.

"They just seemed rather affectionate for Gotham." Kon shrugged dismissively as he turned to look over his shoulder at his new colleague. The shorter man laughed.

"A bit, yeah." He agreed. "I think Dr. Rylie is just desperate for this program to work out." He continued as they finally managed to get off the bus. Dr. Rylie and Ms. Fenton were gone now. "Pretty much everyone's been treating her like a princess." 

"That doesn't seem fair to everyone else." Kon commented, dropping back a bit to let the older man lead the way to the guards room for morning debriefing and to get their assignments. He'd already memorized the layouts but 'Kyle Jennings' shouldn't have yet.

"Who cares about fair as long as it works?" The guard answered. "If treating her like a princess scores more interns for the program in the long run, and if one intern every year ends up interested in sticking around, I'll be happy to cater to every single one of them." He confessed, stopping in the middle of the hall to turn and face Kon directly. Kon glimpsed the name Ryans as the silver name badge flashed the briefly reflecting the overhead lights. "You non-gothamites just don't get it. We're desperate for whatever help we can get." 

"That's why I applied here." Kon lied. "Going to school across the bay, I heard a lot about what went down over here while I was in college. I want to help." 

Ryans gave a short solemn nod then turned and led the rest of the way to the break room. 

~*~*~

Day four undercover was when Kon officially met Jasmine Fenton. 

Everything had been going well so far with his undercover assignment. He'd settled in to the role of Kyle Jennings, been getting along well with his new coworkers including Ryans and Fhizer, and hadn't yet managed to screw up inventorying the caches during the outer patrol loops. That being said, Kon was having other issues.

The worst part of being an unstable Kryptonian clone was that his strength tended to fluctuate. It normally wasn't much of an issue when he was surrounded by reinforced everything in his daily life but here at Arkham it was becoming a problem. Case in point, Kon thought to himself with an exhausted groan as his freshly made coffee mug shattered in his hand.

"Oh come on." He sighed snatching a handful of paper towels from the counter and bending to wipe up the coffee and ceramic shards on the floor. At least he was the only one in the room when it shattered. The door clicked softly behind him and Kon jumped twisting to look. 

Jasmine Fenton stood behind him having just closed the door to the break room after entering.

"What happened here?" She asked, sounding bewildered with slightly wide eyes as she took in the mess on the floor. Thank God. She didn't see it.

"Guess I was a bit more tired than I thought." He said with a forced laugh in order to hide his nerves. "Slipped right through my fingers."

She nodded, accepting his words at face value. 

"I've done that more than a few times close to finals." She admitted. "You guys have 10 hour shifts, right? You must be exhausted. When's your next day off?"

"The day after tomorrow." Kon said. "This is day 3 for me since orientation doesn't count."

"You get 2 days off followed by an on-call day, right?" She asked.

"Right," Kon agreed. "AKA 2 days of freedom and a day chained to the Bowery." He joked.

"Absolutely terrible, they may as well put an ankle monitor on you." She cracked back grinning. Kon snickered. The door opened again.

"I see you found another non-gothamite here." Dr. Rylie said striding into the break room with a wide grin.

"Sounds like that makes three of us." Kon agreed. Outside of Joker, he had never seen a gothamite grin that wide in his life.

"Dr. Thomas Rylie, a pleasure to meet you." Dr. Rylie introduced himself holding out his hand to shake. Kon shook his hand as gently as possible, mindful his strength was on the fritz.

"Kyle Jennings, nice to meet you. I just started as a guard earlier this week." He said then held his hand out to shake Jasmine's.

"Jasmine Fenton, I'm an intern therapist. This is my second week here." She greeted with a warm smile shaking Kon's hand. She didn't say anything about being glad to meet him, Kon noted. It wasn't exactly strange behavior but something made him take note of it anyway. Like by not saying it she was saying she hadn't decided whether meeting him was a good or bad thing yet. Dr. Rylie didn't seem to notice anything off with the interaction though as he went about making his own coffee. The three of them made idle small talk as they made their own coffees. Once his new cup was ready, Kon bid them both goodbye and went on his way. While they were his main objective, lingering too long this early into their aquantiantship would probably be strange.

He had several other small friendly interactions with both of them over the next few days. Taking the time for greetings, small talk, and sharing small bits of casual background info from Kyle Jennings's past to encourage them both to open up to him. He also broke a clipboard, two more coffee cups, several pens, and a doorknob during that time as his strength continued to fluctuate. The doorknob had been particularly embarrassing. He had gone to open the door for Jasmine when he saw her with her arms full of files and somehow managed to twist it in such a way that the screws holding it in place sheered off and the knob came off in his hand. Collins, his partner for building patrol that day, burst out laughing hysterically as Kon stared at the doorknob in horror.

"No worries, man." Collins said, clapping Kon on the shoulder still snickering. "Someone else probably broke it and put it back so they wouldn't get scolded or something."

"Yeah," Kon said with a nervous laugh. "That must be what happened."

Jasmine's eyes flicked between the two of them then she grinned.

"And here I thought you just really hated that door." She teased Kon. He felt his face heat up as Collins laughed at him again.

"It is an ugly door." Collins agreed enthusiastically smirking.

"Terribly ugly. Hideous even," Jasmine said with a smile.

"Possibly even traumatizing to behold," Collins continued to smirk.

"You've got me. I have a deep rooted traumatic fear of metal taupe doors." Kon deadpanned ears burning. Jasmine snickered as Kon got the door open for her and they went their separate ways.

~*~*~

"What have you found so far?" Tim asked. Kon did not have the words to express how much he didn't want to be at the Nest at 3am on his first day off from undercover work. If it was anyone other than Tim he wouldn't have even answered the phone.

"Literally nothing," Kon said dryly. "I am still the newest of newbies at Arkham. I practically spent the whole week being babysat by senior guardsmen." He sighed, reminding himself that it wasn't Tim's fault that he was a little insomniac goblin and that Kon really did love his friend and would be sad if he hurt Tim's feelings. Eventually. When he woke up again in the morning. "I did start befriending them both though. It's slow going since we're in different areas but nearly being the only non-gothamites there seems to be helping me make some headway at least." 

There was one other non-gothamite on staff, a medical nurse named Sharon Earley. She was in her mid-thirties and the most sour and unpleasant person Kon had had the displeasure of meeting so far on Arkham's staff. Not that Kon could blame her for that. Not when she had several large ragged scars spanning from her chin and down both of her arms from when Zsazz had gotten hold of her alone after dark her second year at Arkham. It was a damn miracle she'd survived him. Kon didn't know how she managed it but he wouldn't try to find out either. Ryans had taken him aside right before he first met Nurse Earley and warned him not to stare or ask about any of it and then explained the bare basics of what happened to her after they'd left. 

Tim probably had a file with every detail of that night as well as information about Sharon Earley's life both before and after that night somewhere on his computer. The thought made Kon nauseous. 

"Good, good," Tim said absently as he updated the mission file on his computer. The keys clicked so rapidly that Kon again reconsidered whether or not his best friend had super speed. "Better to keep them from suspecting than to rush in anyway." 

"Exactly." 

Tim continued asking questions about every little detail he could think of concerning Dr. Rylie, Jasmine Fenton, and the rogues currently in Arkham.

"They don't let me near those guys yet. I'm too new." Kon said when Tim asked if Scarecrow looked to be plotting more than usual.

"They don't?" Tim sounded surprised, going so far as to stop typing so he could turn and stare at Kon. The clone was amused to note something about his statement had managed to wake Tim up enough to be visibly shocked instead blank-faced with exhaustion.

"Of course not," Kon answered trying to keep the amusement from his voice as much as possible. "As many times as your rogues have broken out they're leary of letting new hires near them in case they're goons in disguise." 

Tim sank back into his chair looking like Kon had uprooted his whole world by proving the Earth really was flat via actual science.

"That's impossible." Tim said sounding faint. "Everytime there's a mass breakout, we always hear that some of the guards helped them escape. How?..." He trailed off, eyes darting rapidly like he was tracking lines of an invisible conspiracy board in the air in front of him. Kon shrugged, uncomfortable with this new information.

"Scuttlebutt is that the people helping them escape are visitors. The guards get blamed because the goons visit wearing clothes similar to the guard uniform from a distance. All blue polo shirts and black pants look similar at a distance." Kon explained. "It also doesn't help that the guards can't really do much to stop the escape attempts since they only have stun grenades, tranquilizer darts, batons, low voltage tazers, and rubber bullets to fight back with. So as long as enough people are involved in the escape attempt at least some of them will make it out even if the guards manage to to tranquilize several of them." 

Tim still looked like Kon was blowing his mind. It was such a rare experience that Kon had to continue.

"Plus the tranquilizer darts and the rubber bullets have to be fired from different hardware." Kon told him. "Which sucks because you have to carry twice the amount of weight while chasing after the escapees which slows you down and it takes longer to swap between them."

There was something similar to mystified horror spreading across his friend's face now.

"Speaking if swapping between them, they have different ranges too." Kon continued gleefully. Half because it was fun wrecking Tim's worldview and half to actually impart the information. "Batons are short-range. Tranquilializer darts and stun grenades are mid-range. Rubber bullet riffles are long-range."

"If that's all it is, WE can fund then better gear to control the inmates." Tim interrupted turning back to the computer and swiftly typing out a list of things to send Arkham. Kon shook his head.

"That won't work." He disagreed gently. "They aren't failing because of the gear itself."

Tim turned back around to face him, confused. This was not going to be a fun conversation, Kon swallowed hard and forced himself to continue.

"The problem is that if you fire the rubber bullet riffles from mid or short range you could seriously injury or even kill the patient. If they get past mid-range, you'll miss them completely using tranquilizer darts or stun grenades. If you try to use either of those at short-range it'll be bad for you whether it's because they'll get hold of you before the tranquilizer knocks them out or because you'll stun yourself too."

Comprehension and trepidation began to dawn on Tim's face. He deflated in his chair, sinking lower and lower as he stared off into nowhere.

"You also can't hit them with more than one tranquilizer dart in a four hour window because you could accidently kill them that way. That also means even though you have a baton, you typically can't do enough damage to them to keept them from escaping because that might potentially kill them." Kon said completely solemn now as he relayed the information. "Because regardless of the reputation Arkham has or what the patients have done, it is still a hospital and they are still patients." 

Tim was staring directly at Kon now. Mouth open, face slack, eyes wide with a kind of numbed shock. Kon held his gaze.

"Yeah," Kon said after a moment. "Yeah, that's how I reacted too." He looked down, picking at his nails for a moment before forcing himself to stop and meet Tim's gaze again. "Phizer, my new 'boss', made sure to drill that into my head during orientation. 'Arkham's guards exist first and foremost to protect the patients. Arkham isn't supposed to be a prison. It's a medical facility. The patients are confined to the premises because their affliction has made them dangerous and they have to stay so that we can keep them and others safe from further harm. We are here to keep the patients and staff from hurting each other, themselves, or being hurt by people outside of Arkham's walls.' Not gonna lie, man." Kon said quirking a bitter grin as his did. "Hearing that kind of fucked me up a bit."

Tim sucked in a huge heaving breath then slowly let it out before he responded.

"I can't say I ever thought about it like that." He admitted in a soft strained voice. "Can't say I ever wanted to either." There was a bitter tinge to his words.

"Yeah, neither did I." Kon answered, shoulders slumping a bit. "Was there anything else you wanted to ask me? I kind of want to head back and sleep a bit."

Tim shook his head slowly.

"No, I think we're good at the moment." He said looking twice as exhausted and drained now as he did when Kon first got there. Kon nodded.

"Good night then. I'll see you later, man." He said, pushing off the wall he'd been leaning against and heading for the door.

"Be safe, Kon." Tim answered softly turning back to his computer.

[essence-inked]

Alright fuck it, maybe my two cents on this will be helpful to someone.

Content warning: this is about the Neil Gaiman thing.

I'm a victim of sexual harassment and assault, and I feel like my experiences would help explain my thoughts. And also, this is mostly stream-of-consciousness, so I guess y'all are getting some personal backstory on this one regardless, because I don't have the emotional bandwidth to polish this.

The first time, when I was harassed, I came forward. The guy who'd harassed me (and from what I learned later, I was damn lucky I happened to have the confidence to keep saying no despite repeated attempts at coercion) had assaulted other people, and this ended with his victims banding together to try to bring him to justice. We had an overwhelming pile of evidence, but the administration of our college kept dragging their feet, ignored their own policies, and eventually, after a grueling fight for justice that lasted long enough for him to assault another person who joined us, he finally got suspended. Conveniently, this was right when he was graduating and it wouldn't matter anyways, but we figured that at least we wouldn't have to deal with him at graduation - that is, until the school let him walk, and he used his chance to give a speech to misrepresent what had happened. I say all this to point out that the people with the power to actually convict someone of assault are often negligent, and as much as I want to say that I'll just wait and see what the investigation turns up, just because nothing comes of this doesn't mean it didn't happen.

BUT - and this is equally as important - that also doesn't mean it did. To my understanding, "always believe victims" means "don't presume someone is lying just because you think the person they're accusing isn't capable of causing harm." It means believing victims could be telling the truth when they come forward about trusted authority figures, or loved ones, or someone who's otherwise seemed perfectly nice. It means believing that assault CAN happen. This is where my second story comes in. A couple years ago, I was assaulted by a friend. I was too shaken to come forward, and scared enough that I just wanted to move on from the whole thing. A couple months later, though, I decided to tell a mutual friend what had happened, because I was worried if I didn't, she'd have the same thing happen to her. The important bit is that she didn't dismiss me just because this was a friend we were talking about, and she sat and listened and believed that they could be capable of hurting me. The point I’m trying to make here is that it is possible for someone to seem perfectly nice and not be, and doubly so with celebrities whose public persona is the only part of them we see. And when victims come forward, it’s not about necessarily accepting their claim as fact - it’s about understanding that you shouldn’t dismiss them on the grounds that the person they’re accusing would never do that, because you could be wrong.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that you can't just wrap everything up with an easy conclusion. Anyone can lie - Neil Gaiman can lie, the two women who accused him of assault can lie, and hell, all three of them can lie to some degree at the same time. Is it eyebrow-raising that the source of the accusations is anti-BDSM (topically relevant since a lot of this centers around kinky sex, and whether Gaiman actually got consent to be that rough), and also affiliated with TERFs (who aren't exactly fans of Gaiman these days)? Yes. Would it be fucked up to just dismiss the claims because of that? Also yes. Then there's the bit where it's more likely for people to make false accusations against celebrities, but also, celebrities live in the weird ego-boosting microcosm that would make someone more prone to be a shitty person.

The bottom line is that we don't know anything for sure, and that is something we are going to have to live with and factor into how we make our decisions. Personally, I think I'll be able to appreciate collaborative stuff like Good Omens just on the basis that it's also Pratchett's work, and some of Gaiman's books hold a special place in my heart regardless of any personal feelings about him. But also, that may be subject to change, so who knows? Right now, I'm going to take a step back, and probably poke my head back in after a few months once the dust has settled and there's a bit more to go on (but as said, a lack of an official guilty verdict doesn't necessarily mean a definitive lack of assault, and we probably won’t get a clear answer here).

I'm seeing a lot of people either say that Gaiman for sure did commit assault, or for sure did not commit assault, and not back up either statement with any solid evidence, and quite frankly I think that's stupid and irresponsible. Uncertainty happens sometimes, and it sucks, and pretending like you can reach a definitive conclusion will not actually make the situation better. Instead, you just have to do the best you can with the information that you have, and try to make the most reasonable choices you can.

Edit: just to be clear, I'm not trying to express any particular stance on Gaiman himself - the most I've got there is it sounds like when I do delve down the rabbit hole more later on, I'll probably be disappointed in him. What I care about is that I'm seeing people reaffirm their stances with claims that someone quite literally couldn't lie (both in reference to Gaiman and the women who came forward), or citing the podcast's TERF affiliations as proof that nothing happened, or saying that Gaiman just gave off bad vibes, and that's proof he did do it. And like. That sort of rhetoric is what people point to when they want to discredit victims. That sort of rhetoric is how you wind up stumbling into having a bad take at some point and not being able to think critically about it. I'm more concerned about poking my head in here and seeing an absolute dumpster fire of shitty logic in every single stance than I am about whether or not an author whose stuff I've liked turns out to be a horrible person.

Also, re: the commenter who said he admitted coersion, that'd be super useful to know, but every source I've found in my short "okay what the fuck is going on" search says he's going full denial, so I'm gonna need a quote on that one. And to that end, that's exactly why I'm holding off on going down the rabbit hole, because I want to wait til there's a bit more coverage so I can get the story in one fell swoop rather than piecemeal. And also to that end, y'all are more than welcome to toss sources on here for me to check out at a later date, or for anyone else who might want them.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 408: Orphaned Cryptid to Billionaire Supervillain

Previously on BnHA: HE WAS BORN AN ARROGANT BABY.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi decides he’s going to cover the rest of the AFO/OFA saga in the span of just seven pages, the majority of which are mostly just filled with lovingly detailed closeups of AFO and Kudou’s eyes. Back in the present day, Kid For One takes a couple of seconds to trample the last of the “Kacchan is OFA II or is related to OFA II” theories into the dust, and is then all “fuck it, I’ll just take him out with one last spectacularly grotesque supermove.” Kacchan is all “lol you fucking dipshit”, and he says it with such confidence that it truly makes me believe he can defeat AFO’s “ALL THE QUIRKS EVER!!” attack with his piddly little exploding bloodsweat quirk. AND IT WILL BE A SIGHT TO SEE.

interesting!

Yoichi’s name btw is written with the kanji 与 which means “bestow” or “give”, and 一 which means “one.” so basically “one who gives”, which is fitting as the creator of OFA, but also fits in with this new context of being the first “possession” bestowed upon AFO

oh yes and also AFO I guess has just torn his brother to shreds or something too. idk. I’m going to be honest with you guys, this panel has such a surreal vibe that I just sat here blinking stupidly at it and wasn’t even shocked or anything. like what. is he dreaming this?? or did he really just make a “STOP! IN THE NAAAAME OF LOVE” gesture and in doing so remove half of his brother’s jaw

ewww

idk what’s wrong with me today guys. AFO just disintegrated Yoichi, and Kudou and and OFA Tres (who apparently still doesn’t have a name???? freaking Kudou got named before you??) are literally RIGHT THERE and presumably horrified, and all I can think about is how fucking gross it is that they’re all hanging out in a fucking sewer

oh shit y’all it’s about to go down

he can’t kill Kudou right off the bat can he? does Kudou even know he has OFA yet? are we going to see him transfer it to OFA III? I’m so fucking excited omg

LOL WHAT

“weirdly matte” omg. so apparently he’s like All Might, where the “he’s just drawn differently” thing is something people actually acknowledge in-story. “yeah he actually has no pupils. that’s a real thing. technically that should mean he can’t see since pupils are what let light into your eyes, but don’t worry about that part. just know that his eyes canonically look weird to the story people as well, and everyone is creeped out by it, not just you”

yeah he’s actually blind

so he literally can’t see outside himself. way to lay those metaphors on thick, Horikoshi

(ETA: this is my “just in case my impeccably dry wit doesn’t translate well across the internet” ETA to assure everyone I know he’s not actually blind lol.)

now we’re cutting to some random city where AFO is broodingly staring at Yoichi’s severed hand because he’s perfected the art of always doing incredibly unsettling things

I cannot believe the fucking hands thing has an actual origin story. of course it does. this man has never done a single hinged thing in his life. it’s all unhinged or bust. am I talking about AFO or Horikoshi? YOU DECIDE

he’s sitting at a table with a bottle of wine holding his dead brother’s embalmed severed limb and thinking about fucking quirk shit

so your transformation from Orphaned Cryptid to Billionaire Supervillain happened almost completely offscreen huh. I’m kinda disappointed, ngl. I could have read a few more chapters about that. maybe a spinoff miniseries

WAIT WHAT

are you serious. we finally get a panel that’s INCREDIBLY RELEVANT to pretty much ALL OF MY BNHA THEORIES, only for that same panel to contradict itself ONE SPEECH BUBBLE LATER?? so what is the truth???

omg omg omg

so many fucking questions, omg. what the hell does “through research” even mean. how did he confirm Yoichi’s quirklessness, and why did he later change his mind? how the fuck can Yoichi have a quirk factor and yet not have an actual quirk. “it was just so weak it didn’t count or something I guess” okay??? how much of this is unreliable narrator vs. the word of god? how is it we’re getting so many answers and yet all I have is more fucking questions you guys

BRUE?CE?CEE??!

bruce

Kudou is so goddamned hot. I hope you washed the hell out of that arm wound after getting it all covered in sewage you stupid sexy man

I can’t get over Three’s name. “idk if anyone noticed, but it’s kind of a subtle homage to another very famous superhero” Horikoshi your nap wasn’t long enough, please go home

also love how Bruce is talking shit about OFA being a puny loser quirk for wimps. how the fuck do they even know what’s going on, anyway? was there a tutorial???

oh you just had a feeling huh??? that it was “something like this”, huh??? how is it that I, who knows all about OFA because I’m from the future and have read 408 chapters of this nonsense, am somehow still less in the know than this handsome clown who doesn’t know shit but just “had a feeling”

(ETA: while editing this post I noted that Bruce is sitting in front of a computer in what seems to be some sort of medical lab, so maybe they ran some tests or something? except that only makes me more confused, because it implies they didn’t actually figure out OFA’s workings via convenient plot instincts. so then how the fuck did they figure out the transfer process?? questions)

meanwhile AFO is sitting in the panel next to him whining about how someone stole Yoichi’s quirk. excuse you. he did not steal it. it was in fact a gift

these flashbacks are all jumbled up and it’s unexpectedly fun to read, but also really chaotic

I guess he’s talking to Kudou on the right and AFO on the left

so many intense closeups of eyes in this chapter oh my goodness

Horikoshi even drew the individual goddamn eyelashes. this looks like the margins of someone’s notebook from when they were really bored in middle school

oh my god the information overload!!!

so much for AFO actually feeling emotions lol. or is he just lying to himself about why he cried. that delicious ambiguity

so we don’t even get a flashback explaining how the transfer actually happened?? to either Kudou OR my beloved Bruce?? goddamn you Horikoshi. omg I would seriously kill for more of this. make a movie about it. I want the OFA origin story prequel movie damn it

I like how AFO just sits there on a throne holding court with a single tiki torch beside him for aesthetic reasons

I can’t quite figure out how he killed Banjou and I’m not sure I really want to know. it looks very violent

friendly reminder that Shinomori is Sir Not Appearing In This Flashback because he’s the only OFA user who died of natural causes! good for you Shinomori. En probably wishes he was more like you

poor En

was Nana just taking a stroll or something one day and stumbled across this epic fight with the evilest man on the planet vs some kid in a trenchcoat, and then the poor kid got bisected and he looked at her and he was all “please eat my hair” and she was just like “ok”?

OH WOW

what a transition omg

LOLLLLLLLL

you know, part of me always wondered how All Might was so certain he’d killed AFO that he apparently never bothered to confirm it. but looking at this panel now, I can understand

fjjfdzjgf

he’s sweating so much. like “okay yeah he punched the top of his face off, this is pretty bad but I’LL DO MY BEST”

BACK TO THE PRESENT DAY AWW SHUCKS

so let’s recap. over on Kacchan’s side we have “GOTTA USE THE PAIN TO WIN!!!” haha ouch. and then over here on KFO’s side we have. whatever the fuck we just experienced over these past two chapters. so basically it’s a battle between the two most deranged characters in the entire series. glorious sweet chaos

DSFJKSLDKGJL he’s now trying to figure out how the fuck they look so much alike and whether they’re actually related

“no, that can’t be it. so then maybe... this kid grows up and then somehow travels back in time...?!” HE’S JUST LIKE US FR

so now he’s saying it’s because Kacchan didn’t have character development yet the last time, but now that he does his eyes are all Full Of Determination just like Kudou’s and so we’ve basically come full circle!

transcended WHAT? :O :D :D omg I’m kidding you guys please don’t hurt me

lol

actually the more we learn about Kudou the less I personally see the resemblance now lol. because Kudou seems so calm and collected, but Kacchan is just... [gestures to literally everything about Kacchan]

so AFO’s trying to strategize, but he can’t warp Kacchan away because the only available targets are too close and he’s still got that SUPERSPEED, BOYO so it wouldn’t make a difference. lol but if you kept doing it repeatedly it might be kind of funny though

and he can’t keep fighting him either because he’s getting his ass whooped and it’s speeding up his de-aging or whatever. well you could just give up then I guess. your call, AFO

oh was that your plan?

spoiler alert for me lol. but it’s not exactly shocking or anything since he’s dying, guess he wants to abandon ship

(ETA: just FYI for anyone reading this who’s not familiar with my dumbassery, I have currently only read chapters 1 through 374 at this point in time, before skipping ahead to 403 because Kacchan came back and I lost all willpower. I am working on catching up with the rest!)

oh so now you did come up with a strategy?

lmao what the FUCK

how much of this is going to be clearer to me once I finish the chapters that I missed, and how much of it is just plain old “nope this is all brand new zero-context BnHA bullshit” lol. this looks like every single quirk AFO ever absorbed combined into one gigantic horrifying blob that forced Horikoshi to take an extra week just to draw it

oh my god!?

Kacchan hovering there bravely facing all this is giving me Gandalf “you shall not pass” vibes and I’m LIVING FOR IT

so either AFO is going to kill Kacchan for the second time right here and now, or he’s going to fail and turn back into a squishy evil baby fdslfjkls

love how All Might is all “DODGE IT YOUNG BAKUGOU!” thanks for the warning, champ. doing his part

more exploding bloodsweat closeups. are these just going to be a mainstay of Kacchan fights from now on

“are you stupid?”, when faced with [gestures to the entirety of the previous page], is possibly the best line ever uttered by anyone in the series. even better than the polite “coming through” uttered only seconds before it

ah man. you love to see it. he literally doesn’t even care. HE ALREADY DIED ONCE TODAY, AND IT CLUED HIM IN TO THE FACT THAT HE’S A MAIN CHARACTER AND ACTUALLY IMMUNE TO DEATH. sorry AFO it’s curtains for you. CURTAINS

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Justice for Barty Crouch Jr: Part 2/2

(Part 1)

So, what was Barty's plan? Why did he care about Harry? And what about what he said under Veratiserum?

What I'm going to do is go through the final scenes in the GoF relevant to Barty's characterization and then write down all the conclusions together. For more of the evidence that led me to this point, see Part 1.

After The Third Task

Barty (as Moody) takes Harry away to his office the moment he returns with the cup. And there are quite a few interesting things to note in this scene...

“In here, Harry . . . in here, and sit down. . . . You’ll be all right now . . . drink this. . . .” Harry heard a key scrape in a lock and felt a cup being pushed into his hands. “Drink it . . . you’ll feel better . . . come on, now, Harry, I need to know exactly what happened. . . .” Moody helped tip the stuff down Harry’s throat; he coughed, a peppery taste burning his throat. Moody’s office came into sharper focus, and so did Moody himself. . . . He looked as white as Fudge had looked, and both eyes were fixed unblinkingly upon Harry’s face. “Voldemort’s back, Harry? You’re sure he’s back? How did he do it?” “He took stuff from his father’s grave, and from Wormtail, and me,” said Harry. His head felt clearer; his scar wasn’t hurting so badly; he could now see Moody’s face distinctly, even though the office was dark. He could still hear screaming and shouting from the distant Quidditch field. “What did the Dark Lord take from you?” said Moody. “Blood,” said Harry, raising his arm. His sleeve was ripped where Wormtail’s dagger had torn it. Moody let out his breath in a long, low hiss. “And the Death Eaters? They returned?” “Yes,” said Harry. “Loads of them . . .” “How did he treat them?” Moody asked quietly. “Did he forgive them?” But Harry had suddenly remembered. He should have told Dumbledore, he should have said it straightaway — “There’s a Death Eater at Hogwarts! There’s a Death Eater here — they put my name in the Goblet of Fire, they made sure I got through to the end —” Harry tried to get up, but Moody pushed him back down. “I know who the Death Eater is,” he said quietly.

(Goblet of Fire, pages 673-674)

Now, this scene is after Voldemort came back. Barty is about to tell Harry he's the death Eater who put his name in the goblet. I already covered how he didn't actually act like Moody throughout the book, and I don't expect him to start now once the charade is over. So, in this scene, we have Barty at his most honest. Just him and Harry.

and what is the first thing he does?

Give Harry a Pepperup Potion.

The peppery, burning taste Harry describes along with the calming effect after he drank it fit the description of the Peperup Potion. It's a healing and warming potion meant for the common cold, but would generally make the drinker feel better. What's interesting here, is that the first thing Barty does is give Harry a healing potion, why? he's about to reveal himself; all he needs is for Harry to tell him if Voldemort is back or not, he doesn't need Harry calm for that, not really. He still goes out of his way to help Harry, even once he really doesn't have to.

The second bolded part is Harry's description of Moody. He is pale and terrified. Why is he scared? Harry already told him Voldemort returned, isn't that what he wanted?

Well, I don't think so. I think that the fear he sees on Barty/Moody, that is a fear of Voldemort. He fears Voldemort's return just like Fudge (well, maybe not just like, but you get the gist). Barty proceeds to assert Voldemort is indeed back. And he's scared by Harry's answer that yes, he is.

He then asks about the Death Eaters, and some of it is still his envy, but part of it now, is fear. He knows another war is coming and he's scared. He doesn't actually want the death and torture. The only death he actually wanted was his own father's, not anyone else's. Not even Harry's.

I think Barty is similar to Regulus in that respect.

He joined the Death Eaters willingly, for his own personal reasons (spiting his father, rebelling against him, but also trying to get his father's attention), and then realized what he got into and had no way out. And even worse, he ended up in Azkaban for it, for Death Eater crimes, he personally didn't commit.

I mean, why would Barty hiss in sympathetic pain at seeing Harry's injury moments before he tells him he's a Death Eater? The only explanation is that it's real. That it isn't an act. That he does sympathize with Harry's pain and doesn't want this 14-year-old hurt.

Look at how he says he knows who the Death Eater is. It almost looks like regret and shame. Because it might very well be just that.

And what does he do then, after he tells Harry? You'd expect a loyal Death Eater to take him straight to Voldemort, maybe kill him himself. But that's not what Barty does. Barty starts monologing:

“You didn’t . . . it — it can’t be you. . . .” “Who put your name in the Goblet of Fire, under the name of a different school? I did. Who frightened off every person I thought might try to hurt you or prevent you from winning the tournament? I did. Who nudged Hagrid into showing you the dragons? I did. Who helped you see the only way you could beat the dragon? I did.” Moody’s magical eye had now left the door. It was fixed upon Harry. His lopsided mouth leered more widely than ever.

(Goblet of Fire, page 676)

Barty explains to Harry everything that he did. Every part of the ploy he was so obvious about it's a wonder Dumbledore didn't call him out. But why? What's the point in telling Harry if he's about to die?

I wondered this and I noticed the sentence I bolded. His magical eye was looking at the door.

So what? he was watching to see if he had time to kill Harry. He couldn't kill him if he got caught.

The thing is, I think it's the opposite. I think Barty planned to get caught. I mean, why else would he spend so long monologing? He's buying time.

Moody’s wand was still pointing directly at Harry’s heart. Over his shoulder, foggy shapes were moving in the Foe-Glass on the wall.

...

The foggy shapes in the Foe-Glass were sharpening, had become more distinct. Harry could see the outlines of three people over Moody’s shoulder, moving closer and closer. But Moody wasn’t watching them. His magical eye was upon Harry.

(Goblet of Fire, pages 677-678)

Moody's eye is magical, if the Foe-Glass saw the professors coming, Barty saw them too when he looked at the door. And yes, he's pointing his wand at Harry, but he isn't actually doing anything. Just pointing it and buying time, like he's waiting for Dumbledore to arrive and stop him.

The same way he bought time this whole year. I think the reason the plan took the whole year to execute was mostly this. Barty had plenty of opportunities to get Harry to Voldemort, but he didn't. No, instead he helped him through all the tasks while doing a really bad job of acting like Moody. I think he took so long because he wanted to be caught. He hoped someone would catch him and stop Voldemort from returning — Dumbledore mostly.

After all, we see Barty is scared of Voldemort's return, not joyous.

Veratiserum

So, now we need to talk about the scene where he was questioned under Veratiserum. Veratiserum is a truth serum that forces the drinker to only speak the truth.

A note about the evidence received with the use of the Veratiserum: The potion can't be legally used for testimony since some wizards can resist it. It is considered: "unfair and unreliable to use at a trial". This is the same as lie detectors (like a polygraph test) being generally not admissible as evidence in court here in the real world.

As such, anything Barty says under the influence of Veratiserum comes with the caveat of it potentially being a lie. Considering he did learn to resist the Imperius Curse marginally and thought Harry to resist it as well, it is possible he can resist Veratiserum as well. We even see hints, that he potentially does resist it.

Crouch’s son opened his eyes. His face was slack, his gaze unfocused. Dumbledore knelt before him, so that their faces were level. “Can you hear me?” Dumbledore asked quietly. The man’s eyelids flickered. “Yes,” he muttered.

(Goblet of Fire, page 683)

Here we have the description of how someone should look under the effects of Veratiserum. The drinker would have a blank face and expression, gaze not focused on anything. They are emotionless and hazy. Remember that description for later.

“And what did your father do with you, when he had got you home?” said Dumbledore quietly. “Staged my mother’s death. A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. The house-elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master . . . of returning to his service.” “How did your father subdue you?” said Dumbledore. “The Imperius Curse,” Crouch said. “I was under my father’s control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the house-elf. She was my keeper and caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior.”

(Goblet of Fire, pages 684-685)

This is Barty's explanation of how his father controlled him with the Imperius. But I want to point out one odd part here. The part I outlined is odd because Barty hesitates. there are three dots indicating a pause like he is considering his words, something that shouldn't be possible under Veratiserum. And notice what he talks about when it happens. He talks about Voldemort.

I am uncertain why he would choose to lie about that... I assume it's out of fear. Knowing the way Voldemort tracked down and killed Karkaroff when he turned traitor, I assume Barty knew his fate would be the same if he betrayed Voldemort. After a whole year of trying to get Dumbledore to notice he wasn't acting like his friend, Moody, and failing, I don't think he trusted Dumbledore's ability to protect him from Voldemort.

This is also why he didn't just openly tell Dumbledore what was going on. He was scared of a fate much worse than what the ministry would throw at him if he was found by Voldemort to be a traitor. But also, if he turned traitor, nothing would stop Voldemort from sending someone else to finish Barty's mission, someone who'd actually want to do it. By pretending to be loyal, Barty is ensuring he can buy Harry time. Time, Dumbledore isn't using.

“Now it was just Father and I, alone in the house. And then . . . and then . . .” Crouch’s head rolled on his neck, and an insane grin spread across his face. “My master came for me. “He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant Wormtail. My master had found out that I was still alive. He had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant — perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door.” The smile spread wider over Crouch’s face, as though recalling the sweetest memory of his life. Winky’s petrified brown eyes were visible through her fingers. She seemed too appalled to speak.

(Goblet of Fire, pages 687-688)

Again, before talking about Voldemort, he thinks of his words. He stutters and pauses his speech. He changes his expression, he's grinning. Veratiserum should keep the drinker's faces slack and emotionless. To me, this indicates something suspicious, not Barty's insanity.

Especially when considering his behavior throughout the books that indicates he's trying to sabotage Voldemort's resurrection.

“And what did Lord Voldemort ask you to do?” said Dumbledore. “He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master. But first —” “You needed Alastor Moody,” said Dumbledore

(Goblet of Fire, page 688)

Again, his speech is odd for Veratiserum. He speaks with convection and emotion, repeating his statements, his language is more flowery and not short and truthful, all things I wouldn't expect from someone dosed with Veratiserum.

Also, risk everything? What did Barty have to risk? He was a prisoner under the Imperius Curse in his father's basement. He had nowhere worse he could go.

He was desperate to leave the hell that was his life for 12 years, he'll tell Voldemort anything he wanted to hear. And, well, it's not like he could say no to Voldemort, could he?

“For a week I waited for my father to arrive at Hogwarts. At last, one evening, the map showed my father entering the grounds. I pulled on my Invisibility Cloak and went down to meet him. He was walking around the edge of the forest. Then Potter came, and Krum. I waited. I could not hurt Potter; my master needed him. Potter ran to get Dumbledore. I Stunned Krum. I killed my father.”

...

“You killed your father,” Dumbledore said, in the same soft voice. “What did you do with the body?” “Carried it into the forest. Covered it with the Invisibility Cloak. I had the map with me. I watched Potter run into the castle. He met Snape. Dumbledore joined them. I watched Potter bringing Dumbledore out of the castle. I walked back out of the forest, doubled around behind them, went to meet them. I told Dumbledore Snape had told me where to come. “Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to my father’s body. Watched the map. When everyone was gone, I Transfigured my father’s body. He became a bone . . . I buried it, while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid’s cabin.”

(Goblet of Fire, pages 690-691)

I have two main notes about this part. The first is about not hurting Harry because Voldemort needs him. That explanation is bullshit. Barty said he stunned Krum, nothing stopped him from stunning Harry, it wouldn't have actually harmed him. A single, not very powerful stunner would've been nothing. I wouldn't really consider it harmful. Barty just didn't stun Hary because he didn't want to.

The second is when he speaks about how he hid his father's body. The reason I bolded it, is because it shows Barty is reasonable (to a degree) and intelligent. He is magically talented enough and smart enough to come up with a great plan to get away with his father's murder. It shows that all the odd inconsistencies, his choice not to act like Moody, to help Harry when he doesn't have to, to not stun Harry with a stupid senseless excuse, monologing to give Dumbledore time to catch him — it was all deliberate.

He's too intelligent for it not to be deliberate. And here too, we see that pause again. Like he was considering whether to reveal where his father was buried or not. He decided to reveal it because they could dig up the bone and check his testimony, and he needed them to believe him. So he had to be mostly truthful, just cover up some of the minor details, like what he thought about Voldemort.

I believe, that when he chose to get caught, he knew he was likely to die. But a quick death is probably better than the treatment of a traitor Death Eater.

Conclusions

Barty Crouch Jr didn't torture the Longbottoms.

He joined the Death Eaters to spite his father. He realized he was not cut out for it, but it was too late, he was already marked.

He was then sent to Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. He was then broken out only for his father to keep him imprisoned. Both weighed on his psyche heavily.

In the Quidditch World Cup, Hermione theorizes the person who cast the Dark Mark tried to scare the attackers away — she was probably right and that was Barty's intention.

He didn't go searching for Voldemort, Voldemort came for him, not giving him a choice but to comply.

So he went to Hogwarts, but he went far beyond necessary to protect Harry and encourage him. Along with giving him advice that Harry continues living by even after learning Barty's true identity. Showing Barty did truly care for Harry, at least to some degree.

His plan, during the year, had two layers: The first was to ruin his father's reputation (the reputation his father cared about more than his son). The second is to drag Voldemort's mission for him as long as possible with the hope of alerting Dumbledore without alerting Voldemort. All this while helping Harry along the way as much as he could without revealing to Voldemort he is a traitor.

Barty was terrified of Voldemort's return and actively worked against it, if in a limited way.

When what he feared (Voldemort's return) did come to pass, he bought as much time as he could, at the cost of his own life, so Harry and he could get the word out.

[austenwazright]

Yeah we don't know a lot but here's what we do know:

Sarcean and Anharion were into each other for a long time

Sarcean was an important member of the Sun Court

When in the parade he makes a snark commentary about how the Sun Court wins may be celebrated in the light but are all won in the dark (shady

Sarcean and the Lady had a one night stand

Sarcean and Visander also had a one night stand

The first time that Sarcean and the Lady met she's talking about the Dark General in third person but like let's be honest for a second here how many pale hot white guys with long dark heir in dark armour do you think there were walking around the Sun Palace?? Bet you she was playing dumb

When Sarcean was called back to the palace by the Lady there was mentions of a mob, I myself am very pro mob

In that same scene when she accuses him he says something like "is that what you were told?", well if that line doesn't make you believe that there's more to it I don't know what will

He wanted to be trapped and he's loyal to those who help him, but apparently his plan to getting out was being helped, bet he made it thinking anharion would be the one to do it

There's a collar that in theory takes alway anharion/james free will, even tho we were in his mind when it went on and it didn't go completely blank we have to assume it does something, what does it do??

Sarceans power is in theory control and death, and he used it the meanest way possible, or so we're told, but the Light did win and the winner always gets to write hystory so we don't actually know what's true and what isn't

He did kill everyone in the Sun Court but Visander and the Lady, even tho we don't know hes motive (I'm assuming he has one) it's still kinda drastic don't you think?

He can make weapons and use the mark but we never saw him wielding the shadows (he may be able, but also he may not be

Will has no acess to his power but he gets things done cause he's smart and charismatic, even tho they paint the dark king as someone who could only gets things done when controlling people I bet part of his powers came from those qualities as well, we've seen Will using the mark, it drains him, he couldn't possibly control everyone all the time

Sinclair presents the mark as a ceremony, as a reward, when it would be easier to just brand people by force what maybe tells us that it has to be willing

Anharion was the one to say "I will always find you" maybe the obsession goes both ways???? Besides james remember the feel of him and, as far as he let us know, it's not like bad

Now its just an hypothesis but sarcean may only be able to use his powers through objects (and yes I'm putting the reborns and the returners as objects to make a point sue me), that's the reason of the mark, and the cup, and the collar. I mean why make a fucking cup that turns people to shadow if you could just do it yk (here comes in the acceptance again, people have to be willing to drink), and like maybe, just maybe, the collar also allows james/anharion to use his magic (as in sarcean's) in a more weaponized way??? As in he can use it without draining himself, kinda borrowing it

We also know sarcean's fine as fuck, so far that has been very relevant to the plot since he fucked basically anyone of the old world we know by name

Something I keep forgetting is Will is Sarcean but hey Sarcean is also Will, and even tho we don't know a lot about the former we just spent two books in Will's head, that being said maybe Sarcean killed the whole Sun Court as some king of vengeance for someone he loved/was loyal too, that's like a super Will move

I'm gonna put this in bold letters here so no one forgets: SARCEAN IS WILL, WE'RE READING ABOUT THE SAME PERSON

"I cannot come when I'm called to fight so I'll birth a child"- or however that one goes it's been a while and I don't recor the exact words hahaha- why can't she come??? Like she can't or does she just doesn't want to?? I mean she's clearly able to send someone, she can make the returners, why not return herself??? I'm thinking that it's bad, maybe you lose part of yourself? I mean Visander didn't seen to loose anything (besides the obvious mental blow and all) so WHYYY can't she return??? The only reasonable explanation is that there's a bigger catch then we imagine

Sarcean canonicaly did no wrong, yeah, that's a big thing we know now!!!!! I just need context I just need all the context and I need it rn

More will be added

[chuckeroo777]

Dungeon Meshi Volume 4 Part 2

A wholesome image. Mickbell, who do you think you're fooling?

Marcille: "Eww! I don't want to eat monsters!

Also Marcille: "Dragon meat is basically the same as goat meat, right?"

You idiots didn't think my specialty was explosions, did you?

👏Ride👏Or👏Die!👏

God, I love them. Marcille may complain a lot, but they really are two peas in a pod. They are such besties.

Sounds about right.

Chilchuck is not impressed.

You know it, you love it, it's this panel.

I like how the anime did it, but this particular shot is really chilling.

On the one hand, the fact that she reflects the dragon's wounds here is concerning, but judging from the fact that the very next panel is her recognizing her brother, and the fact that she recognizes Marcille and Chilchuck unprompted, I think it's safe to say that Falin is the dominant personality, regardless of how much dragon is in there. It's only when the mage suppresses Falin that the dragon's fury emerges, and even then, she displays plenty of non-dragon behavior in later chapters.

They are such good friends. /s

Such very good friends. /s

Adorable lesbians aside, Marcille doesn't have a great mindset about this. She is doing a lot to trample Falin's autonomy, brushing off her concerns, insisting everything is okay, and generally being a bit smothering. As much as I love these two, I can't blame Falin for wanting to go on a big solo trip post-canon to find herself. Really, Marcille's over-controlling nature is a big part of her character arc.

Falin is not amused.

I was gonna ask why he can't use the third token, since it seems explicitly to be a backup for the missing second, but knowing Laios, he probably gave it to Falin. He doesn't really know anyone above ground.

This is such a dumb joke. I love it.

An important panel.

Ah, so it isn't meant to be pizza. It's just cheesy bread.

Oh god, there's two of them!

I'm sure this Touden propensity for near-cannibalism won't be relevant later.

That feel when you learn your SO is really into that thing you hate, but you know it won't lessen your feelings for them.

Aw shucks, we're one sleeping bag short. Guess we have no choice.

THEY ARE SUCH GOOD FRIENDS!!!!

This is so sad. He's totally right, but he never would have wanted this to basically be his final words to her.

Who's this weirdo? And what did she do with Thistle?

I don't get it? The second joke wasn't funny either, but at least I understood it.

Canaries are a bit of a running theme, aren't they.

At least someone agrees with Laios.

Ah yes, the standard S.I. unit for measuring mana. Lemons.

Oops, ran out of images. One more post!

[polufabrikat-na-vilke]

Thoughts about Diavolo and Doppio

Introducion

All that ton of text exists because I didn't believe it was DID since my first time watching and reading Golden Wind. Literally from the first time seeing their actions and interactions, I thought it looked more like some sort of supernatural thing than that condition, to which I only found more confirmation as I watched. I still want to call the following examples thin, since there is a very high probability that Araki was simply going way too wild with all this mystical mysterious secrecy of the antagonist, and everything that I will give may turn out to be just the fattest wicked technique for exaggerating this, but I want to express my thoughts nonetheless. Plus, I think it might be a narrative trick after all, so I may turn out to be right in the end of the day.

Point

So, let's get it straight: the theory is that there's no DID in that story, Diavolo is not an alter-ego, but something else and probably not a human at all. And now to the specifics.

Let's start from afar: his (to make it easier to read, I'm talking about Diavolo in a generally accepted way) mother, in her words, became pregnant from an unknown man who died 2 years before his birth, and, moreover, she has been sitting in isolation from the outside world for 2 years, in a specifically women's prison without any men at all. AND, MOREOVER, the anime adaptation shows that the fetus develops in just a few hours (I’ll say a few more words about the validity of David's version later). Well, it’s impossible, well, it’s a huge nonsense, even if we consider from a seemingly scientific point of view of this universe, with which Araki tried to explain, for example, the change in physical parameters when switching egos. Here's mystical supernatural shit number 1.

Further. This particular point is relevant only for anime adaptation. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any data on how much Araki took part in its creation, I confess, but I have the right to assume that if it was approved by him and released the way we see it, it is quite a canon by which we can argue. It came out after the manga and this is quite possibly a more correct representation of events from the point of view of canon details. In the same scene, after birth, the baby's eye color momentarily changes from hazel to red, then back. This move, I want to note, is often used to show a character’s possession, usually with supernatural forces or the like. Yes, it is also used to refer to a "second personality" or some hidden nature of a character, but newborns do not have DID, it is a disorder that develops after severe repeating trauma. Mystical supernatural shit number 2.

We smoothly move on to the extreme turbidity and ambiguity of DID, and I’m not even going to talk about body changes when switching. So, DID develops, as, by the way, even in the original source is noted, as a result of a deep shock or trauma. A person dissociates from the traumatic experience, which, if severe and repetative to the point when their mind can't really survive it, results in violation of an identity integrity. It does not develop immediately and is noticeable to others, while commonly not being noticable to a person expiriensing it. And what do we see on this topic there? Nothing, only Doppio shows symptoms of dissociation, and only in situations where something threatens to expose the boss’s identity (or in other situations related to him, that’s the only way), which is strange, because I can’t even imagine such a trauma can be (i.e., it becomes a chicken-and-egg paradox: the trauma, in theory, should be related to the boss, to alter, but without the trauma there should be no boss, no alter). Other trauma is either not shown, which is a serious omission from the script, because this is no longer a mystery, but a hole, or it simply does not exist, because in the village, as far as can be seen, the attitude towards him was near normal, and his foster father is caring and loving, and has a trusting relationship with him (judging by the phrase casually thrown by the drivers from a flashback with his youth, where they warn him not to complain about an accident on the road to the priest, which seems to refer to the fact that this has already happened at least once before, and as if he would hardly have gone to him to complain if he did not trust him). Mystical supernatural shit number 3.

The same muddy and unclear story with his mother under the floor. Why is she there? For what is she there? How did she survive there? But who would know. In my opinion, it looks like some kind of some ritual-related bullshit, or at least a sacrifice to something, but I don’t undertake to make any special statements or comments here, I’m just noting and thinking. Mystical supernatural shit number 4.

Let's get to non-flashback events. POSSIBLY Diavolo is able to influence Doppio's consciousness (which does not happen in the opposite direction). This is indicated by the latter’s holy faith in the fact that he is talking to his boss on real work phones, well, that’s how he sees them, as well as the clouding and memory lapses that suddenly occur after the end of the call, which is strange, but still convenient for Diavolo, what a goddamn lucky coincidence, huh? I don't think alters are able to perform such tricks. Mystical supernatural shit number 5.

In the SCR arc, characters mutually switch bodies with closest persons. What's going on with Diavolo in that situation? He, like a self-respecting individual soul newly revealed to the audience (!), not like everyone else, not like a sucker, "attached" to someone else’s soul (it was kind of similar with Doppio before), and for time secretly sit happily in one body for two. And now, this is no longer a person suffering from DID (that is, a soul with, in our case, an ego split in two (that's PSYCHE thing)), but a whole separate being, moreover, also capable of ruling his soul as he pleases. Mystical supernatural shit number 6.

We will need some of the things from the previous point now. At the end of the arc of Ciocolatta and Secco, Diavolo not only immediately knows from somewhere that Bruno can only see souls, but he also, in order to make Doppio look like Trish for him, lends him a fucking piece of his (let me remind you, separate, like we have already found out) soul. A piece of his soul, God damn it! He (again) not only knows some unreal information about souls, he, as already said, is able to manipulate at least his own. Mystical supernatural shit number 7.

His eyes (iris and pupil), already extremely unique in themselves, are the eyes of his entity, but not his body. When he takes control of someone's body it is visible, when Bruno is in his body it is visible. Worth a mention. Mystical supernatural asshole number 8.

The last, probably the most interesting mystical, but not so supernatural screw-up lies in a small detail: when the souls of the characters in the final battle return back to their bodies, we are shown all of them, except for Diavolo's (well, more precisely they showed King Crimson as it, but this doesn't count (otherwise Diavolo is KC, lol)). Coincidence? I don't think so. More likely it was done on purpose, and this is not even attributed to the supposedly yet another creation of an aura of mysticism around his personality - at this point we seem to already know very well what he looks like... Or we don't, actually?

Conclusion

That's all, actually. The bottom line is the same: Diavolo is something supernatural, I don’t presume to say what he is exactly. This is probably all the fairly significant evidence (meaning those that are less than half conjecture) that I had. There were a lot of strange things in JoJo, inspired by some things from the real world, and then blown up to the point of "incredibility," but here they tried to tie it into some kind of pseudoscientific nonsense that I didn’t believe in. In any case, this is not the first "spirit" in this universe (it’s worth remembering Anubis), so this theory, I think, is more than valid.

So thank you for reading, it's open for discussion, since we'll never know the truth for sure (DID was the assumption of the characters of Vento Aureo, and they called it "assumption" themselves (I want to believe with all my soul Araki fooled everyone, being an unreliable narrator so Diavolo will be even more of an enigma)).

[sweetlittletangerine]

Why Queenie Exists or something

Hey there! So I don’t really know how to put together this theory in a cohesive way and I made this for fun, so keep that in mind if I jump around a bit.

But I’ve had this theory for a long time now, and the fact Kinger is one of the two characters getting major focus in the next ep has just hyped me up even more. (Guess who my favorite is you’ll never guess it.)

So… as a not-so-normal Kinger fan, there’s a certain someone else who’s been rattling around in my brain for a while too.

Yes. She.

My theory is about why she even exists in the first place from a narrative standpoint. I have many other theories but this one feels like one of my most concrete ones (imo ofc), So I thought I’d share it before ep 3 comes out, even if it won’t come out for a while. I mean, it’s very possible this is the ep we learn about her since I don’t think she’s gonna be very relevant for any other character’s stories outside of Kinger.

ANYWHO time to get to the theory itself.

So let’s start off with one question. (Well it’s two, but same deal.) Why does Kinger get a look-a-like? Why not the others? Hell, Gangle exists and she has the whole ‘comedy tragedy mask’ thing going on.

Well it’s simple, he’s been there the longest. I personally don’t believe he’s the first player to join the game, but he’s been there the longest out of our main cast (Of humans). So naturally, that brings up another question… how did he last so long?

This is where Queenie comes into play. She’s important in understanding why Kinger hasn’t abstracted yet, which would tell us, the viewers, how a person can prolong their abstraction.

So for starters, I 100% believe without a doubt the reason these two look so similar is because they entered the circus at the same time. This means they started off with the same level of “girl where tf am I” When they arrived.

Second, when you compare and contrast their appearances, you realize that their differences… don’t actually affect how their bodies function. (Assuming the bottom half of Queenie is like Kinger.) So, they also came into the game with the same body when it comes to how they work. They had to adjust to the same new features in the same environment.

So when you combine these two factors, they were basically given the same tools to work with to survive (for as long as they can).

But the most important part of this… is their personalities. I love the theory that the chess pieces they became are tied to their personalities, with people connecting how Kinger’s personality relates to the role of the king in chess. (For those that don’t know, the king is the weakest piece and the queen is the strongest.) People have used this as a base to figure out who Queenie could’ve been. But if this is true then that wouldn’t be all. When you think about the role and power of each piece, you realize they’re opposites. So the bottom line here is that they’re very different people.

This impacts how they process and adapt to their new environment. And this is why Queenie abstracted and Kinger hasn’t. Some people truly are more adaptable than others in the circus. Queenie couldn’t handle the place as well as Kinger, making her lose her mind and abstract first.

Hell, we can already see something about Kinger’s personality that could’ve helped him out. I think the fandom (including myself) overestimated how much of a scaredy cat he is. The more I think about it, the more I realize that he’s not afraid of the adventures. He’s afraid of the circus itself, which is probably tied to his trauma.

(I’m aware it’s only been two episodes, but the only time we’ve seen him panic during an adventure is when an abstracted Kaufmo entered the Gloink Queen’s nest, suddenly making the adventure way more dangerous.)

You could argue he’s so chill on them because of experience, learning that at the end of the day if someone gets hurt or lost, Caine can snap his fingers and bring them back to normal. There’s pain, but no serious harm.

However, maybe he learned this a lot sooner than we think, back when he was adapting to his digital life. He internalized the fact that he’s not going anywhere sooner/better than Queenie, and was able to ‘go with the flow’ better than her. Who knows, maybe Queenie avoided going on adventures, (wink wink nudge nudge to a character Kinger is oddly fond of in the group), which gave her more time to think about her situation and mental state. The adventures are a surprisingly effective distraction from all of that.

If the story itself is supposed to focus on why the characters are the way they are, then it’s going to focus on the characters as individuals. And considering the fact Kinger and Zooble’s characters are heavily tied to their identities, that’s probably going to be one of the main themes of ep 3. So it makes sense that the reason Kinger lasted longer is tied to who he is and how he copes with the world around him (both now and back then.) This would, by extension, explore the fact that Queenie was her own person too, and now that that person is gone. The abstracted characters were all people, people who lost themselves as they went mad, leading to their inevitable abstractions.

So uh, I guess that’s all for now. Posting things online scares me so idk if I’ll post more things like this, but I might. If you read through this whole thing, then thanks!

Back into the pit I go

[minecraftbookshelf]

Marriage of State AU Character Designs: The Mad King of Mezalea

Joel actually has three major looks through the course of the AU; Prince of Mezalea, Trophy Husband, and King Joel, with the subcategories of "armor" for each.

They all have the same base design of "human", differing by (apparent) age and general sense of style.

Some Joel Skins to start us off and provide the base we're working off of, and also the Mezalean banner because color pallet

And also, because it is actually relevant, (bear with me here) some samples of Mezalean architecture.

The Matral Palace and the Villager area.

Based off of Joel's final skin, the vibe is kind of "Victorian military dress uniform" however there is something very, very important to take into consideration from a worldbuilding perspective.

The Mesa is a warm weather biome. Its a colorful desert. Which means high temperatures during the day and cold at night. So tight-fitting, thick fabrics in a Victorian style would be incredibly impractical.

So we turn to the second possible source for fashion inspiration: The architecture, which gives mostly Byzantine vibes.

So what would Byzantine clothing look like, especially for nobility?

First off, taking into account that the Byzantine Empire lasted for approximately a thousand years and, naturally, underwent some dramatic changes in clothing style during that time, we'll pick a specific vibe out of the options. I settled on a bit of a mix between Early Byzantine (think the Theodora Mosaic shown below) and Middle Byzantine (see the mosaic of Emperor Constantine IX below)

And here are just some screenshots from my pintrest board for Mezalea and Mezalean!Joel, because if I put all these on here separately I'll hit the image limit too soon.

(General disclaimer: yes, Pintrest has an art theft problem, yes Pintrest is much harder to effectively use now due to the pervasiveness of ads on everything, no I don't use it for like, formal things. It remains one of the best ways to collect visual references and figuring out The Vibes)

(Yes, we get to go full Material Gworl vibes for the Mezalean King, as is only right and proper.)

General characteristics I'm adopting here for Mezalean clothing:

Brocade (and bejeweled) kaftan/kaftan-esque outer layer. This is a formal wear thing, and is absolutely a "showing off the wealth" power move.

Lots of Big Chunky Colorful Jewelry

I don't know what it's actual name is, but that general style of having jeweled tassel-like things hanging from the front sides of the crown/headdress.

Light-weight and loose fitting under-layers.

And of course, bright colors.

Prince Joel: Before he became part of the main cast in an epic fantasy adventure spanning several hundreds of years and an entire continent (and the adjacent ocean) Joel was the youngest of three princes with two older brothers who were both married and had kids.

Which is to say, it did not look like he would ever be the king.

His role in the kingdom was very much that of an ambassador to and direct connection to their people. He spent a lot of time working on fishing boats and in the mines and quarries. While he did receive a standard royal education on things like diplomacy and combat, international interactions were not his focus at all, much more involved in the day to day operations of his own home. (And yes, that is a very vital aspect of the idea of "royalty" in general, supposedly, and that being a particular point of Joel's upbringing will make more sense when I get around to writing and posting the post about how royalty functions in the Empires. tldr; its related to the whole thing where Pixlriffs accidentally redefined "war")

Basically, Prince Joel = the first skin, the simple green one. He's wearing more lightweight, practical clothes that allow him to engage in physically demanding dirty work without costing a fortune every day. He still dresses up for formal events, but he doesn't even attend all of those and he is far from a daily sight in court.

Trophy Husband: For a couple hundred years, Joel didn't live in Mezalea. Instead, he was one half of the chronological first arranged marriage in the "au in which all the marriages are arranged" situation. And this one was the one that most resembles the set-up of a generic "period" bodice-ripper novel (though that is not how it played out ultimately, for the parties involved, despite the romance that does happen.)

Basically, this is his War Prize Era. In which Lizzie won a husband in combat and then didn't really know what to do with him.

During this time period, Joel mostly wore ocean styled clothing, though during formal occasions he would wear a notable amount of Mezalean accessories, that were part and parcel of the treaty with him. (I'm trying so hard not to derail this into just a breakdown of the events of the Joel & Lizzie arc of the au im trying so hard)

He did tend to mix Oceanic and Mezalean clothing, due in part to Oceanic clothing being primarily designed for underwater wear, while he lived above the surface, finding the balance of practicality and appearances demanded by the political nature of his existence at the time. (Also a personal comfort thing as Mezalean clothing tended to afford more skin coverage and also had shoes) Once he and Lizzie were more comfortable both in the world and with each other he had more opportunities for personalization and tended towards Mezalean styles in oceanic colors. He did develop a significant appreciation for the Oceanic idea of skin-tight under-layers for water travel.

King Joel: He did end up back in Mezalea as king, which is when we hit the style closest to the second skin, which mostly for this is really an indicator of color scheme. Formally, he is now wearing the full Kaftan and Jewelry look, day to day its more of "colorful, simple, and lightweight" because he still is very active in the day to day commerce of his empire. He does usually wear significantly more jewelry than he did as a prince, he grew a taste for it during his trophy husband era XD. The details of his day-to-day wear are also fancier. finer fabrics, more embroidery, brocade hems, etc.

Most of his earrings are gifts from Lizzie, some in Oceanic colors, some in Mezalean, but all with little chips of prismarine to remind him of her even when she can't be there.

Armor: Joel's armor preferences are simple netherite plate. He also does have a ceremonial trident, as a member of the Oceanic royal family. His is gold-plated.

-

art

Lizzie || Jimmy ||

AU Masterpost

[drconstellation]

More Half-and-Half-A-Miracle Thoughts

Part 3: The Third Archangel

Updated 10 Nov 2023

Part 1: Miracle Power Ranking is here Part 2: The Dark side of Aziraphale is here.

Before I try to put the full picture of the mighty miracle together, there is one other Archangel I want to talk about first, because yeah, if the "little" miracle had an Archangel x an Archangel x (ex-)Archangel in the equation, all working in synergy, that's some pretty serious potential power right there.

S2 has given us much to discuss about Crowley and his past. We know he is different in that he has an imagination. We know he is the only ethereal entity, angelic or demonic, who can stop time, which is no mean feat. I have a list of at least nine, possibly thirteen clues (it keeps growing! 21 clues And yes, I'm counting,) that he was once a

senior Archangel, one of the seraphim, before his Fall (but not which one in particular, for sure, alas. We can debate that later, its not important here. Really. Don't @ me about it, I'm not going to engage in this post.) They (updated link to a new discussion: the idea of Crowley previously being a very powerful angel) have all been mentioned already, none of them are new. This implies there is a huge amount of potential power that Crowley could pull upon to put into the miracle performed on Gabriel. So he is our obvious ex-Archangel in the equation.

And we already have Gabriel, in the middle.

Which just leaves us with Aziraphale, and his green-paneled waistcoat...

I've led you all on thinking he's somehow connected to Hell? Or been associating too long with Crowley? No. (Or maybe, yes? To hanging around a demon, I mean.) On one hand it does show us he is not like the other angels. On the other, it tells us something else altogether.

For all that I've been recently rabbiting on about dark horses pointing mainly to Crowley and Saraqael, we have perhaps been deftly misdirected from the biggest dark horse of all: Aziraphale as our 'missing" seraphim, Archangel Raphael, incognito.

Now, I'm certainly not the first person to suggest this at all. There have been multiple metas about it, even way back from S1. I agree with them, fwiw.

Why am I saying this now? I think this recent post about Aziraphale being present at Sodom and Gomorrah sealed it for me, especially since I had made a recent note about Raphael being the one to be assigned to escort Lot from Gomorrah. And for all that I've just discussed how dark Aziraphale can be, he is still clearly affected by what he witnessed that night, so long, long ago.

"Oh Lord, heal this bike."

Green is also the color primarily associated with Raphael, the healer. I've seen a few other colors mentioned as well (in fact, the more you search, the more confusing it gets) but mostly the color you'll see mentioned is green. And its the color Aziraphale conceals on the back side of his waistcoat. Plus he did heal Anathema (and her velocipede) back in S1 after they collided with the Bentley.

Finally, in the Islamic tradition, Raphael is known as Israfil, and he is essential to announcing the Day of Judgement, with a trumpet constantly poised at his lips, ready to blown when God so orders.

Guess who just got taken back to Heaven to start the Second Coming?

Edit: Since I first posted this, some additional information has come along to add to this. I finally bumped into a post about the wonderful golden collars in the Job minisode (It's so, so important to put at least one or two relevant tags for meta-writers like me to help find your posts readers! Then you can shit-talk in the tags all you like.) and that lead me to a webpage on basic angel symbology and the major angels, which helped to firm up a few things I'd been wondering about. One observation is angels usually go about bare-footed, but Raphael wears sandals when on Earth, as he is chief of the guarding angels, and is the guardian of the young, and watches over pilgrims and travelers. And who was wearing golden sandals during the Job minisode?

Doing some guarding of the young as well...

And Raphael is assigned to the direction of the East.

Now we have three Archangels, three seraphim, no less, side by side.

That's a mighty shitload of potential miracle power, whichever way you want to look at it. No wonder the ol' Metatrash got a bit nervous about what happened and decided to take a personal hand in things.

If your sitting there going "'Hang on, op, hang on just a darned minute - Aziraphale hasn't even been promoted to Supreme Archangel yet and Crowley could just be a Dominion, you don't know, and Gabriel's a drooling idiot, how could he contribute to it - " Just stop. Take a breath. Go back to Part 1 where I discuss the problems with our knowledge about miracle powers and their potential. Their potential. And its frustrating that in the end we just don't have enough knowledge to be certain.

So take this as my personal head-canon. I may not have really answered why the miracle was so strong. But as I said at the start, I don't think we can. Too many factors involved, too many unknowns. Too much hidden.

Bring on S3, I say!

[vidavalor]

'Thy cocoa doth grow cold'... Agnes Nutter's prophecies are still in play in S2?!

Agnes Nutter could see visions of the world through the end times, correct? Maybe even longer but her book of prophecies was written to cover through the end of the world. In all likelihood, she wrote an entire second book for Anathema to burn, knowing already that she would but giving her descendent that bit of free will to set her free, right? The second book is irrelevant-- it was written to be destroyed and really contained no legitimate prophecies. The only relevant book of Agnes' prophecies-- which lead up to the end times-- is her first book, yes? So, if we are back in the end times again, surely Agnes foresaw that, too, and does that mean her last prophecies-- the curiously undated ones lol-- might actually be relevant again, with different meaning this time? Are they all in play all over again?

This is relevant to S2 and S3 because when Adam reset reality at the end of S1, he made it so that what had happened definitely did *matter* and that the prophecies Agnes wrote were definitely about what had all just happened... but, well... if Armageddon 2.0 is coming up and Agnes wrote prophecies that lead to the end of the world... shouldn't it be then that Agnes' first book actually contains all the prophecies relevant to the end of the world *again*... like, the same prophecies apply this time around, too, just maybe with different context? And then you realize that they actually, um, do, in S2...

The first prophecy related to the end times nearing that related to Aziraphale is the one he reads when he first has Agnes' book, right? Paraphrased, it tells him to 'read' and to 'look, for [his] cocoa doth grow cold', right?

Gabriel's "I was getting cold, then I got this neato blanket", which he says while drinking hot cocoa out of the same mug Aziraphale was in S1. But it gets better lol...

...when Muriel arrives a little later, Aziraphale offers her a cupperty, his standard drink for guests in the bookshop as he's an English-presenting being, yes? Why didn't he offer Gabriel one? Well, Gabriel's reaction when Aziraphale offered him tea in the sushi restaurant in S1:

So, Aziraphale, not really understanding yet what was going on with Gabriel as he'd only just arrived, thought it best to try out some hot cocoa instead, right? But the best part about this is that if this scene in S1 hadn't happened, the prophecy wouldn't hold. Aziraphale would have given Gabriel tea-- and then Gabriel wouldn't have been the hot cocoa who was getting cold.

So in keeping with the idea that Agnes' prophecies are still in play in S2 (and with tossing in a bit of Team Agnes & God or Agnes = God or whatever variety of that you like), what of the 'read' part of the hot cocoa doth grow cold prophecy? In S1, it was to literally read her book of prophecies and see how accurate they were because they were describing Aziraphale's actions in that very moment, right? To make him understand that they should be followed. So what is the 'read' where it pertains to S2's once-chilly cocoa, Gabriel?

How about the moment that Gabriel (whose name means "messenger", btw) suddenly remembers for the first time and what comes out of his mouth is what God said to Job... and *we hear God* speaking alongside him? As if speaking *through* him? And only we do, just as only us heard her narration in S1? And what does that do? It causes Crowley to recall that it's what God said to Job and to ask Aziraphale if he remembers and he says yes he does and pulls out *the story to read*, while he remembers for us the events of it. It's God via Agnes via Gabriel saying "the Job minisode is VERY IMPORTANT TO THE STORY HERE" and wanting to make sure that Crowley and Aziraphale remember it during what's to come.

So then what of the other Agnes prophecy relating to Aziraphale? Her very last one, the one that ended her book of prophecies relating to the end times? In S1, this prophecy drops on Aziraphale in the moment *after* they've stopped Armageddon, right? The last prophecy seems to be one designed to save Crowley and Aziraphale and it does. But looked at against S2's plot and there's a whole other angle to it...

The prophecy tells Aziraphale that "when all is said and done"-- so, when a war is averted, which was the Armageddon of S1 and the almost-war he caused with Hell and Heaven in S2/the whole Battle of the Bookshop thing was over-- that Aziraphale must "choose ye faces wisely for soon, ye will be playing with fyre," right? In S1, this was the body swap plot. The prophecy foretold that Aziraphale would be threatened by a fire that could harm him-- hellfire-- and that he must 'choose his faces wisely' to avoid it. Realizing the danger, Crowley and Aziraphale switch bodies-- wear one another's faces-- to avoid Aziraphale dying by hellfire. What's weird about the prophecy is that it doesn't also state that Crowley is threatened by holy water. They work out that he will be and he was and they did the right thing with the body swap but a prophecy about threats to both Crowley & Aziraphale is written in such a way that only the threat to Aziraphale is specified, right? But... doesn't that make a lot of sense if the same prophecy is part of S2?

Not a body swap this time. Though, one face did swap out his usual appearance *for* a body... Choose ye faces wisely...

I mean... The Metatron is quite literally *a face* lol... so 'choose ye faces wisely', Aziraphale-- Crowley or The Metatron...

...for soon enough, ye be playin' with fyre.

See? He called it himself back in S1.

[verdemoun]

That bit with the gang getting Swanson's bible is. Giving me a thought. The gang gathering small/symbolic items for gang members that are not yet there or never will be.

Mary-beth's books are probably a large portion. Arthur's journal is not recovered, but someone decided to commission someone to make a similar one (they're really easy to make actually!!! Would recommend, it's very calming). I can see someone seeing a kids toys section in some store and seeing a collection of horses. A small group of them lies in the Matthews' house - it's probably tended to by Kieran, he remembered the horses, every single one. I can see someone coming over like "hey you have the horse collection here and i saw a figurine that resembled my horse after 1899 can i-" "yes"

Abigail is #1 sentimental person. The Beecher's Hope blueprints that were mentioned before. Jack's literally everything. I feel like she'd see a similar horse toy to the one he had in 1899 and buy it either for her daughter or just for display.

Hats!!! There's plenty of people that still make them, I imagine someone would like a replica of theirs if it can't be retrieved. At least two copies of Arthur's hat and John's each. Arthur and John, and John and Jack. I feel like yes, John and Jack have a bad relationship, but John wants his hat for purely sentimental reasons and Jack wants it in a way like "I did what I was supposed to, I avenged my family, and I want it as proof that I did good". He may be emotionally stuck up and closed off as fuck but it matters to him.

Letters!!! I'm not sure how preserving letters is in the US, but for us, plenty of private mail has been protected and is displayed in museums, or kept in museums storage. Lenny may not get his father back but I feel like he'd want the letter back. Either that, or a replica. He'd remember the letter well enough to commission a replica. Abigail and John's letter which he wrote in Beecher's hope, in the epilogue, asking her and Jack to come back? More like begging not asking but shh <33.

Another category; objects that aren't the same ones but they're similar so they're good enough. A harmonica for Sadie. Again, Lenny, and a pocket watch. They no longer have so much relevance, really, but they're proof of things they survived in their first life. It's home, in a sense.

Yes I'm just rambling. But i really feel like they'd like to hold onto some parts of their last life <3

THE SYMBOLISM

Kieran is accidentally the one to hold onto the gang most symbolically. Despite not being able to read, he owns both one of Swanson's bibles but has a hardback copy of every book Mary-Beth ever published that he displays proudly on a shelf in his room.

His number one prize possession is an early edition of The Lady of the Manor which not only was Mary-Beth's first novel but also an autographed edition. He can run his finger over the page and feel the indentation left by a pen Mary-Beth held when she signed the book.

His second prized possession is a Breyer model Arthur painted to look like Branwen. Kieran collects Breyer and Schleich horse models in general because he is a dork who loves horses despite not having the space required to own one in modern era. He politely pesters Arthur to paint the models to look more like the gang's horses when he finds the perfect model that captures their horses' build/personality and does offer it as a gift when someone timewarps. Most of the post-1899 gangs first interactions with Kieran is him scurrying off and carefully presenting a figure identical to their 1899 horse.

He even gives Micah a Baylock, which Micah will never admit to crying over in private.

Abigail collecting anything that reminds her of Beecher's Hope to show the gang how nice their post-gang lives together were no matter how short. Near identical lamps to casually flex yes my John cared for us so much we had electricity in our humble ranch house and these look just like our lamps in 1911.

Because the gang timewarp with everything on their persons, there is a duplication glitch where both Jack and John have John's hat. Jack timewarping after his execution and John's first immediate thought is the realization Jack is still wearing His hat, the hat he was shot in, because Jack took it off his corpse before buying him and claimed it as his own.

Arthur also being forced in a way to let go of Lyle Morgan's hat. He gets a new hat made for himself at a silly rodeo him and Charles went to on a date that is very similar but identical enough to bring up the bad memories of his father. Finally having what is solely His hat.

Also not US but from what I understand Americans similar to us Aussies have a funny way of important documents that might prove government-allowed historic atrocities getting lost in fires so significantly less letters preserved. But Arthur's Journal is actually found as part of a museum exhibit because it was confiscated from Jack prior to his execution.

Arthur cringing as he reads a little exhibition plaque explaining even Arthur Morgan, a notorious outlaw and murderer, showed a child-like soft side in his drawings of animals and journal entries about how much he cared for the VDL gang like a family.

Also realizing John kept his journal and has his own attempts at drawings in it, that are significantly less artistic. And realizing it was enough of a part of John's life for Jack to also carry it, despite every single page being used prior to Jack inheriting it.

In response to begging, this means Abigail and Jack seeing John's broken heart entry about 'She went and left me... She weren't wrong, I'd leave me if I could' 'I miss Abigail... FOR ALWAYS'.

Lenny using AI to have a voice as similar to his father's as he can find reading his letter, which he does know word for word, to him - for when remembering what it was like imagining his father's voice reading it isn't enough.

Sadie still had the harmonica that Arthur found her on her when she died, which means she not only has the very harmonica Arthur found her in timewarp, but a reason to play it in being reunited with her precious husband.

[zalisok]

TUA Rant #3: Characters

Spoilers ahead!

Okay, I really want to talk about the characters this season. I feel like I'm not doing the best job at summarizing their characters here, but I hope this will suffice for the time being.

Luther: Luther was just a himbo the whole season. Kind of happy-go-lucky in an unnerving way. I thought it was because he was dealing with the loss of Sloane and the trauma of going through three apocalypses and having his worldview turned around in a short period of time but no, there didn't seem to be a reason for it. (Or if there was, I missed it). I wish the show would touch upon him losing Sloane more (not only Sloane would have loved this, Sloane would have loved that) and his traumas in the past seasons (the thing with Allison? Being murdered by his dad?) Although he didn't have much going on for him, I did like how the show showcased his protectiveness and his trust in his family. I also liked his dynamic with Diego.

Diego: I feel like the writers did Diego dirty here. They turned him into a dad who makes dad jokes (and also was the brunt of the joke a few times. I don't understand the fat nonsense going on.) I feel like his character is much more than that: yes, he has anger issues and is incredibly impulsive, but he is 100% a family man. Look at his relationship with Grace. The way his concern for his family manifests as anger throughout the seasons. Look at his relationship with Stan in Season 3. I was going to say that fighting Five while the others were fighting the Cleanse was OOC for Diego but now that I think about it, it's not completely OOC. (reasoning: he was fighting Cha Cha to avenge Eudora in 1x10 while his family were trying to subdue Viktor, and his obsession with JFK in season 2. We've also seen him fight family members before (aka Luther) and there might be more that I can't remember). Anyways, the show really undermined Diego and Lila's relationship from Season 2 and 3. Diego is so much more than what was portrayed this season, and it's really unjust to him when he truly cared so much for Liia (despite the communication issues) and he just forgave her so quickly (even though she betrayed him) because they were all dying. He deserved better.

Allison: Allison was so badass this season. Her relationship with Klaus and Claire is one of the parts I like the most in this season. We do get to see the motherly bond she has with Claire. It's only ever been touched upon gently in Seasons 1-3. We never get to see her interact with Claire (except that one time she read her a bedtime story) and it's nice to see Allison's maternal side when it's always been such an integral part of her character since Season 1. Although her storyline didn't add much to the story she did have some great moments, along with Klaus. Nonetheless, I still wish her actions in S3 could have been touched upon more, especially towards Luther.

Klaus: As I said, his relationship with Allison and Claire in this season is awesome. I don't like how he seemed to do a 180 because his powers came back--from being so adamant on staying sober and being a good role model for Claire and being so afraid of dying to falling back into his old ways and being incredibly self-destructive. It was so sudden (he had just told the family off, and then BOOM, he's stealing from Allison's home?) and, to me, it wasn't immediately clear why he was suddenly acting that way. I don't like how everything that happened to him was so traumatic but didn't add any relevance to the plot. I feel like it was only there for the shock factor and for emotional impact--and like I said before it only works because we love Klaus, but what's the use of adding this in? A huge part of Klaus's character is his addiction problems and self-destructive tendencies, and we see him actually get better in the first part of the season (in some twisted extreme way). But it was all undone in the second half of the season and he died that way. Upsetting.

Five: I don't think I can express how badly they mischaracterized him in the last few episodes. For the first part he seemed okay, albeit a bit quieter and less aggressive/assertive than he usually is. But then episode 5 happened and oh boy was it a complete 180.

I feel like the Five/Lila thing would make more sense (I'm not saying it's acceptable.) if there were more buildup. But there wasn't. Which makes it worse. To make it make sense we need to see how desperate and lonely they were, and it has to be EXTREME because these two characters are incredibly headstrong and capable assassins and absolutely do NOT seem like the type of people to just give in. Especially Five. That guy literally spent 45 years in an apocalypse and always held out hope for his family. The only way I can rationalize this is that it was because Five was just done with everything--we see some of that in Season 3. I get that his more subdued demeanor in the first half of the season might have been setting the audience up for this but it absolutely was not enough.

The journal was a "???" moment for me. You're telling me Five wouldn't jump at the chance to fix things when the answer is right in from of him? You could say that "oh maybe Five is the type of guy that becomes a fool when he falls in love" because we've never seen him in love before (even if you count Delores, which, to me, is just a coping mechanism for him--he still absolutely had his wits about him and used her as a way to stay on track and achieve his goals), you DON'T INTRODUCE SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE SECOND LAST EPISODE.

And the subway arc didn't end up doing anything at all? (except for the stupid love triangle) Five and Lila tried to go back in time to save their family but accomplished. Absolutely. Nothing.

Ben: I feel like his character retained most of the characteristics from the previous season for the first few episodes, which is nice, in a way. (I still want to know more about Ben being a crypto bro--side note: what was that scene in the subway from Season 3 all about? Ben reading books on how to scam people via cryptocurrency? jkjk). His character also did quite a 180 when he started to feel a connection with Jennifer--but it makes sense now that I think about it, given how we know from Season 3 how badly the Jennifer Incident affected him (side note: didn't Ben already know who Jennifer was in Season 3?) The storyline between Ben and Jennifer, to me, was interesting and honestly one of the better paced storylines, but honestly I have so many questions about the Cleanse and Jennifer that I wasn't completely satisfied. The vulnerability he showed in this season was nice to watch and his last scene truly was quite heartbreaking.

Viktor: I actually quite like Viktor's arc this season, and some of his scenes were my favourite parts of the season. The changes in his character came on a bit sudden: his anger towards Reggie (and his anger in general--I understand that anger and resentment has always been part of his character, but we didn't see much of that in season 2 or 3, and the only thing we know about him in the five year gap is that 1) he's a bartender 2) he's fucked every woman in nova scotia), him not going to family gatherings to him understanding that he had to be with his family and help them--it was underdeveloped and I wish we could have seen more of that process. Nonetheless, the way he stood up for himself and actually expressed his resentment this season was cathartic, (although a bit misplaced because this timeline's Reginald is NOT the same Reginald, but Viktor really needed to get that out) and he, along with Ben were the ones that were actually driving the plot here. I liked his growth and I wish his relationship with Reginald was explored a bit more, it was fun to watch and there's so much to unpack between both of them.

Lila:

I feel like she was reduced to "mother" this season. Her storyline just consisted of marital issues, parenting issues and love triangles. There was the part in the first (and second?) episode where she was part of the CIA but that was never brought up again. She was literally trained by the Handler. She was part of the Commission. She's capable of so much more, not only assassin-wise but also power-wise. What were those laser eyes really for? Why did she only use her mimicking powers in the last episode?

Another gripe I have about Lila-- her parents. Losing her parents was really traumatic for her. Especially when the person who killed her parents was Five. But we don't see any of that touched upon in Season 4, even when her parents existed in that timeline and she had SEVEN YEARS with Five. I think they both needed to air things out to give them both closure.

One thing that I find weird is that all the female main characters always, always have a storyline of them being a parental figure in some way. Allison throughout the series, pre-transition Viktor in season 2, Lila in seasons 3-4. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just something I noticed. It is worth nothing that not every female character has to be a parental figure.

Also, not everything has to be romantic. Platonic relationships can also be fun to watch and impactful. And even with romantic stuff, TUA has this consistent problem with introducing a love interest for one season and it having absolutely no significance in the next. Like Eudora and Diego. Ray and Allison. Luther and Sloane, to some extent. I understand that in most cases it's because the Umbrellas are jumping through time and space and their loved ones can't go with them, but if you're going to write a romantic subplot, at least acknowledge it a bit more for continuity reasons.

There's probably more that I can say but that's all for now.

[carionto]

"So Basically... You Work For Cthulhu?"

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6

Trisha was the first to break the strange silence after Iorvan had finished explaining in the most vague terms possible what his purpose here was.

"That is a very crude and inaccurate oversimplification, but yes." with a hint of irritation in his voice, he agreed to her assessment. "The High Priest is all knowing on matters that matter, yet every now and then a "nothing", as beings of such magnitude view mortals like us, will happen upon the right combination of irrelevant information to form new true knowledge."

"Like the million monkey typewriters writing Shakespeare!" Trisha energetically interjected. "So why not just scry or whatever they do every brain and pluck out all the good info?" she questioned.

"As I said, we are "nothings" to them, and though their capabilities are beyond our understanding, they are not without limits, and observing billions of human minds is just incomprehensible static, I imagine." Iorvan looked directly at Trisha, "How much effort would you say it would take to comprehend your thoughts alone, Trisha?"

"Good point, I don't bother doing that half the time myself." she replied eagerly without a second thought.

Chief Engineer Tameki, very clearly confused, finally gathered herself enough, "Wait, please. So why are you here? What does any of that even mean?"

"C'mon ira, keep up, it's not that complicated." Trisha seemed to be more surprised by everyone else's apparent confusion than everyone else was by how she wasn't.

"Us going through a tear in space-time made the universe glitch out. You know, the quantum entanglement thing breaking when it shouldn't and some mumbo-jumbo about our spiritual selves being in two places at once or something. Oh yeah, souls are a thing, but only sorta? Did I get that right, Prof? To Cthulhu it looked like we duplicated our ethereal form and that should not be a thing that anyone can do, so they took notice and sent you here to investigate."

"In the simplest and most inaccurate terms, but correct." Iorvan, now more composed after accepting that Trisha's brain functioned imperfectly enough to somehow comprehend his altered understanding of the true nature of the world. Well, changed by as much knowledge as the High Priest deemed essential to impart onto him.

He continued, adjusting his own explanation to match the intellectual level of the subjects. "Such an unprecedented occurrence will not go unnoticed by the rest of the Old Ones, and the consequences for this event originating directly from the High Priest's physical domain are unpredictable, hence the unprecedented intervention you see before you in my form."

He continued, "In the simplest acceptable terms possible - the actions you took to arrive here must be reversed. I was granted all relevant knowledge about the hybrid warp engine, however, the local domain here is inaccessible and information must be retrieved manually. What is the status of it and all related matters?" Iorvan addressed the question with an icy stare towards everyone on the bridge.

Ira, with a slight look of worry, answered: "It didn't come with us when we warped. Because of the instantaneous nature of the transportation, it couldn't send any data about itself during or after the warp."

At this, the unofficial head IT guy, Valencio, chimed in, "Well, it's not impossible that whatever energy discharge that did happen couldn't have sent some signal to the nearest connected devices. The warp cut every quantum connection, but some of them were connected with a hardline, right?"

"That is true, the Dusk was printed at a military shipyard," Haespar Kraus, having found something sensible to cling to, was finally able to feel useful. "Short range redundancies like that are always integrated, even with unconventional designs like the hybrid warp engine. We'll just need to retrieve them and look at their final logs-"

"D O S O !"

The bridge, which had begun to regain a bit of life, was stunned silent by Iorvan suddenly echoing this command in a voice that came not just from his mouth, but also the walls, the floor, ceiling, and even right behind everyone's heads.

While Trisha, once again, composed herself first, even she was unnerved by the ominous aura Iorvan was exuding.

"A-alright, Prof. No need to be all evil occult on us. You're human too, or were at least. You know pressure like that isn't the most productive, yeah? So, like, chill. Please?"

His dagger-like stare towards her did not diminish, but his presence on the bridge did become less intense.

"Find the answer. Deliver it to me in one year. My own visit to this foreign domain will not go unnoticed, but the High Priest accepted this price. The knowledge you obtain, however, MUST be worthwhile. It is, after all, a trivial matter for any Old One to simply erase all "nothings" that have made themselves known in a... negative light."

With those final words, the form of Professor Iorvan evaporated into a mist.

"Back to 27..." came Emily's voice after a moment of sobering silence.

"So, uhh..." Trisha felt the need to fill the air with something productive, "basically, if we don't figure out what exactly happens during a warp, everyone back home is gonna die. Umm... let's go get those data thingies?" with uncertainty, she looked at everyone on the bridge.

Haespar, wanting to keep his image of the sensible cool headed one, picked up the baton Trisha had almost dropped, "Yes, well, that is something we were going to do eventually anyway, it's just been bumped up the list. Ira, Valencio - will you need anything not currently here for a full warp simulation once we get whatever may exist in those terminals?" he regained his actual composure as he faked the first few sentences, and was now in his serious mode.

"There's not enough computing power hooked together with the quantum computers being all blank, and we'll need either one fully powered reactor running on overload for half a day, or get a second one back up." Valencio counted each though on his fingers, an old habit.

"Good. Emily will head that, everyone else will have to postpone your previous tasks." Haespar declared. "Ira? Ira!" Haespar approached her with worry. "With Knoslark being a grumpy baby, and Sergeant Zhao still in a coma, by rank, you're the de-facto leader. It's a lot to take in, but what are we going to do. Cthulhu is real. Magic is real. Souls are real. New information, sure. World upending even, but that doesn't change what reality is right now for us. So, please, don't break down on me. It's just one thing at a time, just like any other problem we've dealt with before."

Ira Tameki took a deep breath. Then another. After a moment, she looked over everyone on the bridge.

"Right, you heard Haespar, but I have one correction - I'll be heading the reactor repair and re-ignition. Emily, you take everyone you need and retrieve those terminals and any other digital and electronic devices close to where the warp engine was, even damaged ones. Extract everything.

Valencio, start working on the simulation code, you'll have all the computing and raw power needed, I'll make sure of that." she saw the uncertainty and nervousness on some of the junior crew members' faces.

"It's going to be a long year, but we already did the impossible once - we broke physics and traveled thirteen billion light years in zero zeptoseconds. Let's figure out how and get ourselves back home."

[the-shadowsingers-whore]

a court of wards and shadow

chapter ten

series overview

summary: aelis and azriel continue their mission to retrieve the book of wards from helion's private office but run into some unexpected obstacles

length: 3.5k

warnings: (18+ mdni) angst, violence, attempted assault, mentions of trauma, once again no actual smut but they continue to be low key horny for each other

disclaimer: this fic in no way represents any of sarah j. maas' work or ideas, it is for purely fictional/personal entertainment purposes

masterlist /// next chapter >>

author's note: omfg i'm so sorry it took me literally 6 months to post another part of this. i promise i haven't forgotten about it, i've just been really struggling with motivation (plus i know that i'm the only one who cares about this fic so i keep procrastinating). anywho, i hope you like this chapter!

the day begins much like the one prior, with only a grunt or short sentence every now and again the only proof that azriel knows i’m here. it feels like deja vu and after only an hour, i’m already too frustrated to stay quiet.

“really? this again? how many times are we going to do this?”

i watch as azriel stops, his shoulders tensing before he turns to address me. “what do you mean?”

“this. you being upset or moody about something but refusing to say anything about it so you just stay silent and keep to yourself until i call you out and we inevitably have some big, deep conversation about it.”

“i have no idea what you are talking about.” he responds dryly, his face one of practiced neutrality. 

“oh? really? well you did it before we left and then again after we left and i thought we had sorted everything out yesterday afternoon when we talked and then we……but then you did it again last night. everything was fine but then you got weird all of a sudden! you refused to look at me and then you barely spoke for the rest of the evening! i brushed it off after the long day we had but you are doing the same gods damned thing again today. so just tell me already before i lose my mind imagining things all day!”

“those stupid fucking thugs.” azriel grumbles, before turning back to continue down the path.

“what?” i say in confusion as i follow him.

“i said, those stupid fucking thugs,” he replies, raising his voice while picking up the pace.

“no, i heard you, but i’m confused as to how they are even remotely relevant to anything i just said.” i’m almost jogging to keep up with him at this point and he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down or giving me a straight answer for his behavior.

“it’s their fault.”

“you can’t honestly expect me to believe that. what they did has absolutely nothing to do with you ignoring me for hours for no reason!” my frustration is growing and i’m starting to run out of breath as i try and keep up with him.

“it has everything to do with it!” his voice booms through the forest when he stops abruptly and whirls around to face me. he moves so quickly i have to catch myself from slamming into his chest.

“they are the ones who dumped your bag out, soaking all of your things.” his voice is back to its regular volume, but i can still sense the anger simmering underneath the surface. i can practically see the frustration pouring off of him.

“if your clothing wasn’t ruined, you wouldn’t have had to borrow my shirt.” he’s upset i wore his shirt?! he’s the one who suggested it in the first place. and, i can imagine, was not going to let me refuse. 

“i’m sor--”

“i thought it would have been fine,” he cuts me off before i can get more than a single word out. “but then i saw you in that shirt. my fucking shirt…..” he trails off for a second, shaking his head. “it took me a moment, yes, but i was able to reign myself back in. i’m not a total animal.” 

oh. oh. 

warmth builds in my stomach as i realize what he’s saying. he liked what i looked like in his shirt. azriel, spymaster of the night court, one of the most powerful people i have ever met, liked what i, a little nobody faerie looked like while wearing his shirt. i fight the urge to smile at the thought.             

“i figured if i just made sure i only looked at your face, if i never looked at those damnable legs of yours, i would be fine. but, then you had to hang your clothes up to dry. all your clothes.” my eyebrows scrunch in confusion for a moment at the emphasis he placed, but when it hits me my eyes widen and my cheeks flush with embarrassment. “the thoughts that crossed my mind when i realized that you were wearing my shirt, and only my shirt….the mother damn me. 

“and so i tried to ignore you as best as i could. if i didn’t look at you, then i wouldn’t think about what you were, or were not wearing and i wouldn’t think of all the terrible, filthy things i wanted to do to you.” the warmth in my belly grows as i realize how desperately i want to know what those things were.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

“but then we had to sleep in the same bed. i barely slept, knowing you were right there all night, wearing only that shirt. cauldron, i was no better than those men who attacked you in the forest. no, i was worse. i know what you’ve been through, i know how much, you have endured. yet, here i was, mind spinning endlessly with vile thoughts. if you only knew what was going through my head when i woke up next to you this morning and was ---” he pauses, scoffing at himself.                                                                                                                                                                                    

“so that’s why i’ve been quiet all morning. and i’m sorry for ignoring you, but i will not apologize for trying to be decent to you after everything you have been through.” the firmness in his voice shows me how terribly he feels about his thoughts. 

i am secretly pleased that someone like me could have such an effect on someone like him. however, i simply nod slightly in response, understanding his desire to be honorable.

i want to say so many things, ask him so many questions, but one look at his face tells me he is drowning in guilt and shame. so instead i simply say, “well regardless of whether or not you will believe me, i forgive you even though there is nothing that needs to be forgiven. so from now on you should at least speak to me every once in a while. walking for hours in absolute silence is so painfully boring.” 

and mother curse me, i can’t help myself as i step closer and place a hand against his chest as i add, 

“and there’s a big difference between those bastards from yesterday and you. i never wanted to know any of the wicked thoughts running through their heads.” with that i throw him a wry smirk before stepping around his body to continue down the path, in shock at my own actions and words.

* * *

the rest of our journey passed quickly in a comfortable silence. there was still so much i wanted to say to azriel, so many things to confess, but now was certainly not the time.

as we drew closer to the day court a knot of nerves started to build in my stomach. and not just due to the impending task ahead we are about to face.

“are you okay?” azriel asks, somehow picking up on the anxiety i have tried so hard to hide over the last few miles.

“mmmhmmm,” i hum, trying my best to imbue confidence in the sound.

i can tell by the look on az’s face that he’s not convinced, but he continues on, somehow knowing i won’t reveal anything else even if he pushes further.

when we reach the base of the palace itself, everything passes in a blur: me leading azriel through a hidden servants entrance, him letting his shadows snake up and down the hallways to check for fae, us winding our way through the labyrinth of halls i know like the back of my hand. eventually we reach the servants’ door right outside helion’s private office.

“i guess this is where i head off alone,” i say, trying to keep my tone light and playful even though anxiety is wracking my every nerve.

“i guess so,” azriel responds, his face a picture of statute resolve. “i wish it was me rather than you who had to go in there,” he murmurs, his mask of indifference slipping for a moment to show a hint of fear and concern.

“it’s okay. i’ll be okay.” i push as much confidence in my voice as i can muster, offering him a half smile before slipping out the servants’ door and through the one into helion’s office, a wisp of a shadow trailing me.

the moment i enter the room i start scanning the bookshelves for the book that amren described to us before we left. my nerves grow as i pass shelf after shelf without finding the book we need, my fear of being caught growing with every second i spend here.

when i reach the last shelf in the library, i move to helion’s desk, rifling through the drawers as fast as i can. the third drawer catches as i try to slam it shut in my haste and i stop to study it for a moment, noticing that a section of the woodwork seems to gleam slightly. i lean closer and notice that the glowing scrollwork seems to be just slightly out of place from the ones around it. i reach forward and grasp it gently, twisting it ever so slightly. much to my surprise the carving slips then clicks into place and a fourth drawer not previously there pops out beneath the one i was investigating.

i quickly pull out the drawer and find a book that matches amren’s description perfectly. this has to be it. i gently remove the tome before sliding the drawer back in.

carefully tucking the book into my bag, i quickly scan the room to ensure i left no trace before slipping back out of the room and down the hall. i breathe a sigh of relief when i make it through the entrance to the servants' halls, but it gets stuck in my throat when i round the first corner and immediately slam into someone. 

the fae shoves me back, cursing under their breath. "watch where you’re going you little...... wait….. aelis?" my heart stops, ice shooting through my veins at the familiar voice. i try and duck my head, but i know it's too late. 

"it is you." camden chuckles darkly. he steps closer and i try to retreat, but my feet are frozen in place. fear begins to pound in my head like a drum, drowning out all rational thoughts as he closes the remaining distance between us. 

"now this is quite the surprise, i thought you were gone for good." he starts to slowly circle, taunting me with every step. "i must say, i was very disappointed to learn you had left. and without so much as a goodbye." he drags a finger along the side of my neck and i shudder at the contact, my skin crawling beneath his touch.

"and yet here you are. back for more." his finger slides down my shoulder, hooking into the collar of my tunic and dragging it down to expose more of my skin. “and looking better than ever. you just couldn't stay away, could you?" he mouth just barely brushes my flesh before my instincts finally catch up and i drive my elbow back into his gut. 

i stumble forward as he releases me, cursing loudly through gritted teeth. "now that's not a very nice way to greet me," he spits before lunging forward to grab my arm again. i try to remember my training, but panic overrides all rational thought. before i can counter he swings my body around and i stifle a cry as my shoulder slams into the wall with a sickening thud. 

"i was going to be nice and show you just how much i missed you, but it seems that i may have to teach you a lesson instead." 

he pins me against the wall, my newly injured shoulder screaming from the pressure. despite the pain,  i try to struggle against his hold, but he slaps me across the face so hard my head whips to the side and smacks into the wall.

the pain from the strike is hot and blinding and all consuming. i stop fighting, my body shutting down on instinct, knowing any fight will only bring more pain. one of his hands starts tugging at my belt and i screw my eyes shut, trying to numb all my senses, to put myself as far away mentally as i can. i feel the buckle come loose and the belt slides free of my pants.

and then all of a sudden his weight is no longer pressed against me. 

my eyes fly open to find azriel suddenly standing next to me, his fiery glare focused on camden who is now on the floor down the hall. 

camden pushes himself to standing, slowly brushing off his clothing. his gaze darts from azriel to me and then back to azriel as his mouth starts to draw up in a taunting smirk. 

"well now isn't this an interesting development? you ran away and found yourself some night court scum to play with. i guess it's lucky for you those brutes don’t mind damaged goods."

i look at the floor and shrink further into myself, shame flushing my cheeks at his words. 

"i suggest you don’t say another word." azriel’s low voice comes out calm and even, but even a fool would hear the warning lacing his tone. 

but camden doesn’t seem to care. he just continues on with that stupid, cocky grin pasted on his face. "i suppose i can't blame you for keeping her around though, you are a bastard after all. and she does have one of the best cunts i've ever been in."

before i can even blink camden is against the wall, azriels forearm pressing into his upper chest and his dagger poised an inch away from his throat. 

"since you can't seem to take a suggestion, let me make something very clear. you will not speak about aelis that way. in fact, you will not speak about her in any way." azriel’s voice is that of death itself and goosebumps break out along my skin as he speaks. "the only reason you will be leaving here alive is because i don’t have the time to scrub your blood from the walls.

“so instead, i want you to listen very closely. if you ever touch her, or tell anyone you saw either of us here, or so much as think about her existence ever again, i will personally hunt you down and separate you from your favorite plaything. permanently." he leans in closer, sliding his dagger down from camden’s neck to between his legs, digging his blade in ever so slightly. i remain frozen, staring at the stark fear that washes over camden’s face.

"and i will make sure to take my time." the last words come out in a threatening whisper and i watch as camden’s body shudders when the dagger presses further into his sensitive flesh. 

"understood?" camden nods quickly in response, eyes wide with terror. 

azriel releases him, taking a step back and allowing camden to take a breath before using the hilt of his dagger to smack him in the temple, knocking him unconscious. his body has barely crumpled to the floor before azriel is spinning around towards me, eyes flooded with worry as he quickly assesses me. 

"are you alright, did he hurt you?"

my hand instinctively moves to the scar on my abdomen and i shake my head lightly, my breath coming out ragged and my body starting to tremble as the adrenaline works its way through my system. 

azriel steps closer and reaches towards me, stopping himself just before he touches me when he notices me flinch slightly. i know he would never do me harm, but my body betrays me, shrinking into itself in the wake of what just happened. 

"aelis," he murmurs softly. "everything's okay. you're safe now. i would never let him hurt you. i--" his back straightens, head whipping towards the entrance to the servants' halls as the shadows around him start to flit about more frantically. 

he turns back to me, his expression revealing nothing. "aelis, i know you're probably still scared. and overwhelmed. but we need to go now. okay?" his voice is calm and reassuring, not holding an ounce of panic or urgency even though i know that whatever he just heard can't be good. 

i force myself to nod, pushing all thoughts and emotions deep down and focusing only on getting out of here. i extend my hand to him and he grasps it gently, the warmth of his palm steadying me. he starts leading me quickly through the winding halls, his shadows wrapping thickly around us, shielding us slightly from view. 

i follow azriel like a child, thinking of nothing but putting one foot in front of the other. before i know it we are slipping through a hidden side door and azriel is winnowing us away, his shadows squeezing me tightly. 

after a moment, they clear and i find us standing in the woods just outside of what looks like a small village. 

i immediately whip around to face him, fear racing through me for an entirely new reason. “you winnowed!” 

“we needed to get out of there quickly and you looked in no shape to do that. i didn’t want to risk you getting hurt further.” i nod tightly in response, embarrassed and angry at myself for jeopardizing our entire mission because i couldn’t get my panic under control.

“hey, it’s okay,” he says gently, reading my expression. “it’s not your fault. i should have known better than to bring you back there, i should have found another way to--”

“no, it’s my fault. i said i was ready, that i could do this. i thought i was ready…..” i murmur, my eyes trained on the floor as shame threatens to consume me. 

“aelis-” 

“all that training.” i cut him off before he can offer up whatever weak excuse he crafted to make me feel better. “all that training for months and months and for what? for me to immediately panic and shut down instead of using it to fight back? i’m sorry you all have been wasting your time on me, i should have known better than to think i could be like any of you.” i laugh bitterly.

“aelis, stop.” his words are soft, but commanding and when i chance a look up at him i find nothing but compassion written across his face. no disappointment. no pity. just a gentleness that makes my heart ache in a way i didn’t know it could.

“stop apologizing, stop blaming yourself, stop saying you aren’t good enough. just stop.” he reaches forward and gently grasps my hands with his. “the only reason we are here and have the one thing that might help us protect our court is because of you. so quit worrying about what happened back there and just think about that.” 

“but--”

“but nothing. it’s okay. it’s more than okay actually, it’s normal. you just have to keep training. and training. and training. and then one day if you happen to find yourself in a situation like that again and your brain shuts down--which it probably will because no amount of practice can make your mind unlearn years of abuse--then your body will take over. it will just be muscle memory. and you will be fighting back without even realizing. it just takes time.” 

“i just feel bad that you’re constantly having to rescue me,” i chide, trying to lighten the tone after taking a moment to absorb his words, knowing he’s right. 

“oh, don’t feel bad, you make such a dashing damsel in distress.” he gives me a shy smile and a wink. i feel heat rise to my cheeks at the compliment and my mind scrambles to form a response, but he quickly changes the subject, saving me from myself. “now how about a warm meal and a night’s rest in a bed of your own before we start the trek back tomorrow? i didn’t winnow us very far from the palace, hoping that such a small use of power wouldn’t alert helion to anything he needed to investigate. which means we have quite the ways to go before we get beyond the extent of his wards.”

i smile softly in response and he leads me through the small village to a cozy inn where we wash off the dirt from the last few days and enjoy a hot meal before parting ways to rest in our own private rooms.

taglist: @lennaleen @mis-lil-red

©️ the-shadowsingers-whore - plagiarizing, reposting, and translating is not permitted

[airenyah]

TinnGun Aquarium Date: Where Did Tinn’s Sharks Suddenly Come From and How Are They Connected to Liking Gun?

So in episode 7 when TinnGun go on the aquarium date with Yo and his girl there is a bit of dialogue that really confused me back when the episode aired. And maybe it confused you too. So now I’m here to share some background information with you.

I’m talking about this specific line:

Back when the episode aired I just didn’t understand why Tinn was suddenly talking about sharks when he had just been referencing their date. Where did that thought suddenly come from? What’s the connection between those topics, how did Tinn get from their date to sharks and biting to liking Gun?

Well, you see, I wasn’t able to follow because I had completely forgotten about one key element here: ฉลามชอบงับคุณ (= “sharks like biting you”) is a song by Bonnadol ft. IIVY B and Tinn is directly quoting the first line of the chorus to Gun. Cue the ensuing jokes about sharks and liking and biting.

Now you might see this and think “Ohhh so it’s a song reference and that song suddenly popped into Tinn’s mind so that’s why he’s randomly changing the topic. Plus, the song talks about sharks and liking so that’s how Tinn made the mental jump from ‘sharks may bite you’ to ‘I like you’. Got it, thanks.” and, well... yes. That’s the short answer. However, there is more to discover in this scene and more word play going on in Thai.

So come with me on a deep dive into the dialogue of this scene and find out what exactly is happening here in Thai.

We’re gonna take a closer look at Ep7 [3/4] from 10:10 onwards till pretty much the end of the scene. The given English translation of the dialogue goes as follows:

Tinn: Sharks, they may bite you. But I like you, no bite. Gun: Are you flirting or what? Here. Let me tell you something. If you want to hit on someone, use your own line. (laughs) Sharks, they may bite you. (Tinn steals Gun’s snack) Tinn: Sharks, they like to bite. I do too, but only the one I like. Gun: Bite, my ass! (laughs and shakes his head) Tinn: Look at you now. I bet you like the one that bites you.

Before we go and take a closer look at what is hidden in the original Thai lines, let me give you a quick vocabulary lesson, though:

ครับ [kráp] – often also transliterated as krub. If you’re an experienced thdrama watcher you are likely familiar with this word. But if you’re new here: ครับ [kráp] is a particle that is added at the end of a sentence to make that sentence formal and polite. ครับ [kráp] is typically used by men, while women typically use ค่ะ [khâ] instead. (You’ll also hear this particle as an answer to or confirmation of a statement/request/order/etc., but this isn’t relevant for the scene we’re about to discuss.)

ชอบ [chôp] – to like. If you’re an experienced thdrama watcher you’ve also heard this one a lot. However, what you might not know is that this word can also be used to talk about a habit or about what someone/something tends to do. Earlier I translated the song title ฉลามชอบงับคุณ [chà-lăam chôp ngáp kun] as “sharks like biting you” but it could also mean something like “sharks tend to bite you”. (word for word the title makes shark(s) – like/tend to – bite{cute} – you{formal})

ผม [pŏm] – formal/polite first person pronoun for males (I)

คุณ [kun] – formal/polite second person pronoun (you)

งับ [ngáp] – cutesy word for “to bite”

Part 1: The Song

Now with that out of the way I want to take a look at the first line of the chorus from the song:

ฉลามน่ะชอบงับคุณ ส่วนผมน่ะชอบคุณงับ [chà-lăam nâ chôp ngáp kun • sùuan pŏm nâ chôp kun ngáp]

So this line is made up of two sentences:

ฉลามน่ะชอบงับคุณ [chà-lăam nâ chôp ngáp kun]: This is the first sentence and translates to “sharks tend to bite you” or “sharks like biting you” which is also the song’s title.

ส่วนผมน่ะชอบคุณงับ [sùuan pŏm nâ chôp kun ngáp]: This is the second sentence and translates to “as for me, I like you”.

So here we can immediately see how talking about sharks and biting leads to talking about liking someone and it’s through the repeated use of the word ชอบ [chôp] aka “to like”. First the singer talks about what sharks like (biting), then the singer talks about what he himself likes (“you”).

But there’s more!

Maybe you’ve already noticed that there is another word from our vocabulary lesson that is repeated in both sentences:

ฉลามน่ะชอบงับคุณ ส่วนผมน่ะชอบคุณงับ [chà-lăam nâ chôp ngáp kun • sùuan pŏm nâ chôp kun ngáp]

Yes, the word งับ [ngáp] gets repeated as well. Now you might be a little confused, because I just told you that this translates to the verb “bite” and I also just said that the second sentence translates to “as for me, I like you”. How does the biting fit into this sentence?

Well, so the thing is… Remember the very first word from our list? Remember ครับ [kráp]? Maybe you’ve also noticed that I put it on the vocabulary list, but then it doesn’t even show up in the song lyrics at all...

Except, it does! It just doesn’t look or sound like ครับ [kráp]. It sounds like งับ [ngáp], aka the word that I just pointed out that also gets repeated in both lines.

So, as you might have guessed by now งับ [ngáp] can either be a cute way of saying “to bite” or it can also be used as a cutesy word for the polite particle ครับ [kráp]. Tinn has already used งับ [ngáp] in this sense on Gun back in episode 2 when he was pretending to be Lion, like we can see here for example:

ลองไปที่นี่ดู แล้วพี่จะรู้เองงับ [long bpai tîi nîi duu • láeo pîi jà rúu eng ngáp] try–go–to–this–see • then–older sibling–will–know–self–[cutesy polite particle]

Now let’s go back to the second sentence of the song and take a look at the pronouns: ส่วนผมน่ะชอบคุณงับ [sùuan pŏm nâ chôp kun ngáp] (= “as for me, I like you”).

The singer here uses the polite first person pronoun ผม [pŏm] when he refers to himself and the polite second person pronoun คุณ [kun] when he says “you”. These are pretty formal pronouns that usually also come with a polite particle. So technically the sentence “I like you” with these formal pronouns should go ผมชอบคุณครับ [pŏm chôp kun kráp] – literally “I like you krub”. However, the singer wants to be cute, so he switches the polite particle ครับ [kráp] with the cutesy form งับ [ngáp] and sings “I like you ngáp” instead.

(On this note, some interesting tidbit: according to my Thai friend who I discussed this scene and song with, in his words, it’s mainly “lesbian tomboys” who use งับ [ngáp]. He said men might use it in writing but don’t really say it.)

Anyway, now that we know that the song lyrics make “Sharks like to ngáp you. As for me, I like you ngáp”, let’s see what they do with it in MSP.

Part 2: Tinn and Biting

The dialogue starts out with Tinn saying “Sharks, they may bite you. But I like you, no bite”. At least it does according to the English subtitles. What he really says in Thai is this:

ฉลามอะ ชอบงับคุณ ส่วนผมอะ ชอบคุณงับ [chà-lăam à • chôp ngáp kun • sùuan pŏm à • chôp kun ngáp] shark(s)–[particle] • like–bite–you {formal} • as for–I {formal}–[particle] • like–you {formal}–[cutesy polite particle]

Here is the line from the song in comparison:

ฉลามน่ะชอบงับคุณ ส่วนผมน่ะชอบคุณงับ [chà-lăam nâ chôp ngáp kun • sùuan pŏm nâ chôp kun ngáp] shark(s)–[particle]–like–bite–you {formal} • as for–I {formal}–[particle]–like–you {formal}–[cutesy polite particle]

As we can see, Tinn is pretty much directly quoting that line of song to Gun. So a more literal translation of what he’s saying here would be something along the lines of “Sharks like biting you. As for me, I like you”. Or rather, if we remember the word play with the word งับ [ngáp] = to bite and งับ [ngáp] = cute form of ครับ [kráp], what he’s saying is actually “Sharks like to ngáp you. As for me, I like you ngáp”.

This makes Gun laugh and he says “Are you flirting or what? Here. Let me tell you something. If you want to hit on someone, use your own line.”

Now that we know Tinn quoted a line of a song we also understand that Gun recognizes it as such and that when he says “use your own line” it’s actually him calling Tinn out for quoting a song instead of coming up with his own original pick-up line.

Gun then turns away and repeats the first part of the song lyrics to himself, still very amused: ฉลามชอบงับคุณ [chà-lăam chôp ngáp kun] (= “sharks like biting you”).

Tinn was just scolded for not being original in his flirting and what does he do? He “bites” Gun and then, according to the subtitles, says: “Sharks, they like to bite. I do too, but only the one I like.”

Now let’s once again look at what’s happening in Thai. What Tinn is saying here is this:

ฉลามอะ ชอบงับคุณ ส่วนผมอะ งับคนที่ชอบ [chà-lăam à • chôp ngáp kun • sùuan pŏm à • ngáp kon tîi chôp]

Let’s bring up the song lyrics again:

ฉลามน่ะชอบงับคุณ ส่วนผมน่ะชอบคุณงับ [chà-lăam nâ chôp ngáp kun • sùuan pŏm nâ chôp kun ngáp]

We can immediately see that Tinn is once again directly quoting almost the entire line of the lyrics to Gun. He repeats the whole “Sharks like biting you. As for me…” part, but then he unexpectedly changes the last part. This time around he doesn’t end the sentence with “I like you ngáp” (ชอบคุณงับ [chôp kun ngáp]) like the song does, instead he ends it with:

งับคนที่ชอบ [ngáp kon tîi chôp] bite–person/people–that–like

Since Thai doesn’t have plural forms, this can be translated as “I bite the person that I like” or “I bite the people I like”. So what’s happening here is that after being scolded for being unoriginal, Tinn then quotes the song again but decides to prove that he can indeed think of a line on his own by changing the second sentence from “as for me, I like you” to “as for me, I bite the person/people I like”.

What’s kinda interesting to me here is that the second sentence from the song talks about คุณ [kun] (= “you”) and Tinn in his own continuation talks about คน [kon] (= person/people). I find it interesting, because these two words sound very similar. In fact, when I tried to transcribe the Thai lines I actually wasn’t sure whether Tinn was saying คุณ [kun] or คน [kon] here. It sounded like งับคน [ngáp kon] (= bite person) to me, but I was a little unsure since the song itself talks about งับคุณ [ngáp kun] (= bite you). I played it to my Thai friend and he too had to listen to it a couple of times before deciding that it must be คน [kon] as that would make more sense.

Alright, moving on. So Tinn has just quoted the song again but with a changed ending: “Sharks like to bite you. As for me, I bite the person/people I like.” Gun doesn’t know how to response to this, so after a moment of consideration he comes up with a witty comeback: “Bite, my ass!”

(Fun fact: the expression he uses here that was translated as “my ass” in English is พ่อมึง [pâaw mueng] which literally translates to “your father”. If you’re a German speaker: it means Gun is essentially saying „Deine Mutter!!“ in response lmao. Brilliant comeback, really. Extremely witty. Good job, kiddo.)

Unfortunately for Gun, Tinn’s whole flirting tactic, as silly as it was, has in fact worked on him and he can’t help but laugh again in an “I can’t believe this is the man I have chosen to love” kind of way.

Now it’s Tinn’s turn to call Gun out for it: “Look at you now. I bet you like the one that bites you.” That’s how the subtitles put it. But one last time I wanna take a look at the original Thai lines.

Tinn says two sentences here and the second sentence is more relevant for the whole song reference/word play thing, but since you’ve made it all the way here I assume you like languages and would be interested in knowing the literal meaning of Tinn’s words where the subtitles go “Look at you now”, so I’ll just tell you that too while I’m at it.

So all in all Tinn says:

อาการแบบนี้อะ สงสัยชอบคนที่งับ [aa-gaan bàep níi à • sŏng-săi chôp kon tîi ngáp]

That first sentence (อาการแบบนี้อะ [aa-gaan bàep níi à]) is a little difficult to translate for me because I don’t really know what to do with the first word, but the แบบนี้ [bàep níi] part means “like this”. The first word is อาการ [aa-gaan] which can mean “symptom” or “condition”. According to thai2english.com other meanings also include “expression” or “manner”. All in all, what Tinn is essentially doing here is pointing out Gun’s reaction, so I think to make it sound more natural and not too weird in English we could maybe say something along the lines of “A reaction like this...” for this line.

As for the other thing Tinn says, it’s this:

สงสัยชอบคนที่งับ [sŏng-săi chôp kon tîi ngáp] suspect–like–person(s)–that–bite

As I said earlier, Thai doesn’t do plural forms. Nor does it do articles. And yet another thing that Thai often doesn’t do is pronouns, meaning pronouns are often left out of the sentence entirely. Such is the case here, so this sentence could mean one of the following:

I suspect you like a person that bites.

I suspect you like the person that bites.

I suspect you like the person that bites you.

I suspect you like people that bite.

I suspect you like people that bite you.

Now what’s fun about this line is once again the word play and the reference to Tinn’s line from earlier when he said “I bite the person/people I like”. Let’s do some more comparison.

So this is what Tinn says to Gun right after he steals the snack by “biting” Gun:

ส่วนผมอะ งับคนที่ชอบ [sùuan pŏm à • ngáp kon tîi chôp] as for–I {formal}–[particle] • bite–person(s)–that–like

And this is what he’s saying to Gun now:

สงสัยชอบคนที่งับ [sŏng-săi chôp kon tîi ngáp] suspect–like–person(s)–that–bite

The reason why this is fun is that Tinn switches the words งับ [ngáp] and ชอบ [chôp]. Where first he said งับคนที่ชอบ [ngáp kon tîi chôp] (lit. “bite–person(s)–that–like” = “[I] bite [the] person/people that [I] like”) he now says ชอบคนที่งับ [chôp kon tîi ngáp] (lit. “like–person(s)–that–bite” = “[You] like [the] person/people that bite [you]”).

Let’s look at it again side by side to really see how delightful that is:

งับคนที่ชอบ [ngáp kon tîi chôp] bite–person(s)–that–like

ชอบคนที่งับ [chôp kon tîi ngáp] like–person(s)–that–bite

What’s more, Tinn switching around the words is reminiscent of, if not a deliberate callback to the word switch from the original song lyrics that started it all:

ชอบงับคุณ [chôp ngáp kun] like–bite–you {formal}

ชอบคุณงับ [chôp kun ngáp] like–you {formal}–[cutesy polite particle]

Part 3: Summary

Since this was an overwhelming amount of information in one go I’ve put all the dialogue into a table so you can look at it again side by side:

As you can see, I’ve also included the official English subtitles for those who are curious. However, I wanna stress that this isn’t to imply “the eng subs suck and I did it better!!!1!11”. I’ve put my own “literal” translation into the table mainly because the word-for-word translation of the Thai lines can be pretty confusing and I wanted to put it into a more natural sounding English so that it would make more sense.

You’ll also notice that I’ve put some of the pronouns into square brackets. That is to signify that the Thai sentence doesn’t include any pronouns there, which is relevant mainly for Tinn’s very last line as the English sentence could work either with or without the second “you”.

As for the curly brackets in the Thai column, those indicate the level of formality or the connotation of a word, especially of the pronouns.

The red text marks every time when the song lyrics are being quoted.

In Conclusion

All in all, what is happening in this scene is that Tinn quotes a line of a silly little song that includes a silly little pun and then when Gun scolds him for being unoriginal Tinn goes and takes that silly little word play even further, turning it into his own thing. And the most delightful part about it is that it absolutely works on Gun, as much as he may hate to admit it.