The Hollow Comes Out In Less Than A Day, So This Is My Last Plea. Please Change Mira’s Outfit. It LooKS

Literally my first post in the CB tag, so: hello, hi, nice to formally meet you all. I don't post but trust me I DO lurk in this tag. Doing this post so I can share my deteriorating thoughts but also so that in five weeks when I've forgotten everything I can see if I was right or not and whether I've earned a treat. Fair warning: I only know how to write essays. Big long theses. My bad. Whoops. All of this is PURE THEORIZING. I have no idea what truly happens, all information I gather is from the free episode(s) or what's posted here. I am simply taking shots in the dark for fun. Please don't yell at me. only saying this cause I normally post in communities where everyone has the same information but you all seem very nice so I'm not really worried about it :]

OKAY! SO! As a very normal human being with very normal interest in this silly comic, I scroll through the tag and see what you goobers post (because you're all very funny, talented, and entertaining) and I noticed that this week's fast pass episode has people in emotions. Very MUCH in emotions. I also noticed someone mention parallels to this week's free episode- which I spent way too long agonizing over but that's IRRELEVANT -and so my brain got to thinking. I could just satisfy my curiosity by using money but the way my anxiety will just beat me up for that is crazy. So, instead of that, I've decided that it's time to rabidly theorize about what happens for giggles. Basing my thoughts on the idea of this week's episodes having parallels, I have a few different thoughts.

All of my ideas are parallels of things that happened in the dungeon in the free episode since that has the most content to parallel and was the most prevalent part of the episode. With that in mind, here we go and apologies in advance.

Idea Number One: My first idea is that maybe there's a parallel to the scene where Buddy saves Chase from the creepy guard. Perhaps there's a similar situation to what happened in the free episode or- an idea I'm more partial to -within this book there's a person, place, or scene that reminds Buddy of Ex-Libris which causes him to have some sort of panic attack or a clearly afraid reaction. He's placed in a situation where he's reminded of something from EL that he is afraid of or has bad memories of. Something that Chase has to pull him away or calm him down from, but something that Chase has to save him from. Like how Buddy saved him this week.

Idea Number Two: This idea is based on the statement about ulterior motives and hiding things that Buddy made to Chase- who we all know is hiding something. In this idea, maybe Buddy finally finds out about Prunella and isn't pleased with Chase's lying to him and hiding things. They aren't besties but there's a thin line of trust between them that Chase potentially breaks by hiding Prunella. A person Buddy thought was honest and open suddenly hid something from him, so who's to say he's not hiding more? So, the actual IDEA is that maybe Buddy parallels the statement he makes, but this time in a more hurt tone or accusatory. Instead of apologizing and admitting "you can't have ulterior motives and you're pretty honest", he goes the opposite direction of "I was wrong, you're a liar and blah blah blah" (sorry didn't wanna write more lmao). Still, for a parallel, the statements would likely have to be similar in structure and in nature, and a line that has been living RENT-FREE in my head since this morning is: "I was too dumb to think you didn't have ulterior motives. Too dumb to see that you were hiding something." Or something to that effect. Paralleling that previous statement.

Idea Number Three: This idea I'm less sold on but screw it, throwing it in for giggles because I can and that's one more idea I have lying around. This one is based more on the situation between Chase and Buddy (Buddy being like "wow! thanks for not hiding things" to Chase "definitely hiding a whole ass child" Hollow). A simple switch of roles is what my third thought is. Chase takes Buddy's role of "Wow, so honest" and Buddy takes Chase's role of "Hiding things". The reason I don't like this one as much and I'm not as convinced is because for it to have as much emotion as the Fast Pass episode clearly had, there has to be some sort of emotional investment to whatever the thing was. And for there to be emotional investment, we would likely have to know what exactly Buddy would be hiding from Chase in this potential scenario. As of right now, we have nothing of the sort since getting that kind of information would require a Buddy POV episode which I don't think we're getting any time super soon? So, unless we suddenly find out things in the next four weeks, I doubt it's going to be something like this.

OKAY, I'M DONE NOW I SWEAR! I am so sorry for how long and unnecessary this post was (whoops) but I need to scream somewhere! I'll revisit this in five weeks I suppose to see if I'm right or not and if I've earned my little treat (reward yourselves for things man. self-love). I'll still be lurking, as always, but I guess I'll see y'all formally once again in like five weeks. Have a lovely day! :]

Watching camp cretaceous AND HOLY PEOPLE ACTUALLY DIE????

Trying not to think about how the central theme and throughline of Requiem is trust and how this whole arc is making me extremely unwell because I know everything is going to come crashing down in the next few weeks. I feel it in my bones and tinfoil hat.

Like, most of this arc has been about Buddy opening up and TRUSTING CHASE. The entirety of episode 53??? The thorns????? The rose??? The conversation between Deacon and Buddy right after??? You want me to believe that making Dracifer's intervention about TRUST ISSUES was a coincidence? That Buddy's (kind of) acknowledgement that he trusts Chase and the mention of trust issues wasn't supposed to make me think of that one conversation in Beach Boys? I mean, yeah, sure maybe. But since I'm awake before I want to be or should be and start finals soon, I've decided that it's not and this was meant to ruin me personally.

Like we've finally gotten to a point where Buddy feels comfortable with Chase. He feels bad for hurting him even a little bit (shout-out to when he was talking about how he has accidents a lot- specifically in reference to hurting Chase -and I know he was thinking about Beach Boys- like I am). And this chapter really drove that home. We're there. Which is why I know something AWFUL is going to happen. We've had it a little too good too long (as evidenced by the fast passers slowly withering away from whatever Still Waters is doing to them which is honestly frightening). As of right now, the only thing I can think of is Buddy finding out about Prunella- Chase and Deacon's big secret, something Buddy was so sure they (Chase, specifically) didn't have. They hid another key and keyholder from him. Not to mention a whole damn child. Seems like a breach of trust to me. And after all this? That would probably make Buddy a little hurt. More than just a little.

Am I hallucinating? Am I overthinking things and finding meaning where there is none. Perhaps. Mayhaps, even. But, what else am I supposed to do? Be normal about my interests? Behave like an upstanding member of society and pretend like I don't think about these idiots all the time? Please. If I simply prepare for the worst case scenario than the outcome can't hurt me. I will simply be invulnerable to the pain whenever I get to whatever hellish visions the fast passers are seeing.

Anyway, the bones are done cooking and I need a nap. Apologies for another rambling and if you see any grammar issues, no you did not and I definitely proofread this. Have a lovely day.

Imagine you are Akutagawa. You have just watched the person you most consider your equal die. The only one who has ever stood up against you, the only one to truly stand beside you, and someone you would let stand behind you.

And he is gone. Turned to light and dust in the air. And you could not save him for all your power and strength.

And only now do you see everything.

The hate.

The anger.

The respect.

The love.

Only now do you see and feel and remember all that Atsushi Nakajima was to you. And it doesn't even matter because he is gone. He is gone, gone, gone. And he is gone because he wanted for you to stay.

Just as you wanted him to stay.

And you don't know how to feel because he is gone but he did it because he believed you, of all the mutts and monsters and strays, deserved to live.

Of all of the unwanted creatures in the world, you met the one you needed. Someone who you saw and who saw you. Who you would save and who would save you in turn. Because, now that your eyes are clear and unclouded and full of light- his light -you can see that you were wanted.

Both of you were.

Because were either of you truly unwanted, why would you die for him and he for you?

And it burns and it aches and it hurts because despite both of you wanting and wishing- you, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, are alone.

Because one stupid, foolish weretiger asked for you to live.

Because one idiotic, stubborn, wandering stray dog wanted for you to stay.

Imagine you are Akutagawa. You wake up a blank slate- knowing simply your name and your purpose: protect the princess. Protect the commoners. Those are your only thoughts. Your only duty.

And so you do.

You must slay the evil that threatens the princess. Slaughter it so that it never darkens her doorstep again. Destroy it so that no commoner must fear again. But what you find is not simply the evil, but someone else. He seems to recognize you, but you cannot. He calls to you, afraid- you don't listen. Who is he?

No matter. He is a commoner, which means he must be protected. That is all there is to it. All that matters is destroying the evil in front of you. Nothing more. Nothing less. That is your duty as a knight.

You clash with the evil, a blur of blades and power and sparks. You fight to protect and to serve and to succeed.

And then you fall. You don't quite know how, but you fall nonetheless. You are prone and bleeding and hurt. You are lifted into the air, pain and anger and the voices: Protect the Princess. Protect the commoners. Protect the Princess. Protect the commoners. But you cannot move. You cannot fight. You accept your fate as a knight should. That is all you can do.

A weight crashes into you, heavy and deliberate. You feel yourself fall again, but this time it's different. Because you see him. Arms outstretched. Arm. Arm outstretched. He saved you- protected you. He let himself hurt for you. Die for you. Why? Why would he do this? Who is he? What is he? Why?

Why?

Why?

"Consider us even. Away with you..." he smiles at you, turning to light. "...you fool."

And you remember.

And you remember.

And you scream because that is your partner, your other half, your fool. The man you found enough to hurt for. To die for. To protect because he is Atsushi Nakajima and that was reason enough.

And you remember.

And you scream.

Y’all just ever wake up in the morning and realize that we’re all just piles of oozing flesh walking around on calcium stilts? Or that WE’RE the skeletons costumes, not the other way around?

Imagine you are Atsushi. You think you know a man. You think you see him for who he is- bleeding claws and all. You think that you are sure in his character and in his entirety. You think that after so many battles and so much death, there is nothing else for you to know.

You are wrong.

You think the two of you could not be more different or distant if you tried. You think that despite any change you may have brought, he is still someone you could never understand. You've come to terms with the idea that you both are simply two sides of the same coin.

You are wrong.

And it takes an unfeeling blade for you to finally learn how much so.

You learn that you only vaguely knew him- a shadow blurred across your vision. You learn his claws are not simply bloodied from pain caused but from pain given- from climbing a mountain insurmountable even to one as strong as him. You learn that you knew his surface but not his core- something no battle had ever taught you. There is so much you have yet to know.

So, you follow.

You learn the two of you are not so very different, the distance no more than a few steps. You learn that any change you brought in him was because, unknowingly, you were speaking a language that you didn't know he spoke right back. You learn that the hate that he held for you was born of a desire just as your own.

So, you follow.

And you learn that there was never a coin at all, just a mirror- a thing made of broken edges, bruised bones, and hateful words. And you learn there were never two sides, simply two caged and cornered animals staring back at the other- hearts bleeding and hands grasping.

Grasping for acknowledgment, for acceptance, for a reason, for permission, for someone to tell them they were finally enough.

You stare at the man in the mirror, a dark anger of a person- all sharp points and serrated defenses- and can see yourself in his eyes. Eyes that don't look at you the same way they used to.

You wonder: when he looks in this mirror, does he see the same?

You will simply have to ask him once you return.

Imagine you are Atsushi. You have seen the heart of a man. A man with whom you cannot accurately describe your relationship- no word seems precise enough nor powerful enough. You still don't fully understand him. He still confuses you, annoys you, and causes an itch you cannot seem to scratch.

But none of that matters because you have already decided he is worth sacrificing for. Because he is Ryuunosuke Akutagawa.

You have already made it to the door that- if done right -will guide you back to him, aided by the ghosts of his past and yours.

And so, you place your hands upon the entrance and push.

Imagine you are Akutagawa. You wake up a blank slate- knowing simply your name and your purpose: protect the princess. Protect the commoners. Those are your only thoughts. Your only duty.

And so you do.

You must slay the evil that threatens the princess. Slaughter it so that it never darkens her doorstep again. Destroy it so that no commoner must fear again. But what you find is not simply the evil, but someone else. He seems to recognize you, but you cannot. He calls to you, afraid- you don't listen. Who is he?

No matter. He is a commoner, which means he must be protected. That is all there is to it. All that matters is destroying the evil in front of you. Nothing more. Nothing less. That is your duty as a knight.

You clash with the evil, a blur of blades and power and sparks. You fight to protect and to serve and to succeed.

And then you fall. You don't quite know how, but you fall nonetheless. You are prone and bleeding and hurt. You are lifted into the air, pain and anger and the voices: Protect the Princess. Protect the commoners. Protect the Princess. Protect the commoners. But you cannot move. You cannot fight. You accept your fate as a knight should. That is all you can do.

A weight crashes into you, heavy and deliberate. You feel yourself fall again, but this time it's different. Because you see him. Arms outstretched. Arm. Arm outstretched. He saved you- protected you. He let himself hurt for you. Die for you. Why? Why would he do this? Who is he? What is he? Why?

Why?

Why?

"Consider us even. Away with you..." he smiles at you, turning to light. "...you fool."

And you remember.

And you remember.

And you scream because that is your partner, your other half, your fool. The man you found enough to hurt for. To die for. To protect because he is Atsushi Nakajima and that was reason enough.

And you remember.

And you scream.

So, for my birthday weekend, my best friend came up and we watched the hit movie Akira for the first time (something we'd been planning for a while) and holy shit oh my god.

The way I have to sit at work like I didn't just watch Akira and like I'm not making notes for two separate analysis essays I'm hoping a professor assigns someday is not funny.

hi hello uh

I have a friend who I talk with (i know you're reading this, hi) and sometimes, on occasion, we have ideas and sometimes they are neat. This happened like an hour ago and I thought I'd share it as the more talented than I will do better things with it lmao.

We were talking about Earthspark- we do that A LOT -and how it's a shame there weren't more seasons because they DEFINITELY didn't make two worse seasons. We were also talking about the Allspark situation- the show's Schrodingers Cat, if you will -, asking each other what we thought and whatnot and my brain had a thought.

It would've been a neat part of the show or season if Nightshade- after talking to some of the Cybertronians and such, likely about Cybertron and the Allspark -started tinkering around, as they do. Little bits in each episode of them working and making this thing- little hints as to what it is.

Until we get an episode where they finally show it and it's something that can somehow be used to check on Cybertron and Optimus, Megs, Bee and Co. have to had a serious conversation about do they want this? If they DON'T use it, they can continue to live a beautiful lie where they can believe Cybertron is okay and all is well. Or they can face a potentially painful truth by learning their planet has perished. In the end, they decide that they just... need to know. Face whatever comes.

So, they use whatever this thing is (look logic and science is hard and I am dumb) and hope for the best. There's nothing for a while, probably. Until there's something.

A signal from Cybertron.

It's just a stupid silly idea that I had that I was like 'Wow! That'd be neat to write!" until I remember I'm not a fic writer and DO NOT trust myself to write characters that aren't mine properly.

So, uh, do with this what you will. I'm going go take a dirt nap.

Camp Half-Blood, but  with D&D

Okay, so I know I post way too much Nico content on here, but I had an incredible thought.

Nico pretty much plays the Riordon verse version of Magic: The Gathering, so I will now be under the impression that not only does Nico play Dungeons & Dragons, but he’s dragged most of the seven and others into it as well. I don’t know if Nico would DM or play, but if he did play he’d either be a edgy, murdering rogue or the complete opposite, a bard. He definitely makes Will play though.