Because I have, predictably, once again hit the max links per post limit on my main bsd masterpost. If you feel like something else should be added to this list, please let me know!
BSD wiki
Mayoi wiki
BSD-bibliophile
BSD updates countdown
BSD English Content Archive by u/barnacleunderthesea
Archive of official art
Megathread of art by Harukawa
Megathread of anime art
Merch archive 1
Merch archive 2
Merch archive 3
Official art scans
Merch release fan tracker
Website for manga volume raws, dvd ripoffs, op/ed albums and basically everything
@/akutagawaprize, Tumblr archive of official content through 2015–2020
@/clocktower-order, Tumblr archive of official content through 2024–
@/popopretty’s blog for misc translations through 2017–2023
Guidebook Tenkaroku scans
Guidebook Gongeroku scans
Masterpost of literature works referenced in the bsd franchise
We talk a lot about how Khaslana still held tenderness in his eyes for Mydei but rarely talk about the bit after in which he implies how he uses those feelings (his affection, grief and pain) to anchor himself in his already wavering humanity
Hey that's ....that's insane, that's a really insane thing to say: "Those feelings for you remind me I was once human" is crazy
Some more possible Phaidei crumbs that I've been thinking about and haven't seen people discussing yet:
First, in the very first scene with Mydei, there's this one odd line. It's a tiny thing, but nothing in a character's first appearance is accidental, so...
Mydei starts griping, telling Phainon that the people of Castrum Kremnos as a whole will not accept him. Presumably he actually means this in a general sense, aka "The Kremnoans won't accept any other hero; Kremnos won't become allies with anyone."
However, something I haven't seen many people note is that Mydei's very next line is:
"As the successor of Kremnos, I am not able to act independently on such matters."
This is a weird statement, right?
Saying "I am not able to act independently" basically implies that there is a desire to choose differently than his people. It's not "I would never act differently than my people demand." It's not even "I don't want to act independently"--it's "I am not able to." Wording the statement this way actively suggests that Mydei has a different stance than Kremnos itself--that if he had the power to act independently, he might make a different determination than his people expect.
Or, in more direct words: He would accept Phainon if he had the choice.
The dev team is very careful about the first impression that characters make in their debut appearances in the game. Choosing to deliberately reveal to us that Mydei has a different opinion of Phainon than the rest of the Kremnoans might is a strong signal for Mydei's characterization--deep down, he is very different from other Kremnoans--but, even more importantly, it tells us instantly that Mydei thinks more highly of Phainon than other people from Kremnos do. (Even if he also thinks Phainon is a mannerless heathen who lacks hospitality lol.)
Okay, okay, but that's just one little line. There's another thing I wanted to point out too, and that's actually Miss Castorice...
I've seen a lot of people suggesting Mydei/Castorice, Phainon/Castorice, and even Mydei/Castorice/Phainon, but for all the fandom's shipping (and everyone should feel free to ship what they love; your ship is valid, fam!), I actually kind of think that...
Castorice is a bit of a Mydei/Phainon shipper herself.
Although Castorice is of course just a good person who is doing what she can to help Okhema, she also is quick to assist Phainon specifically to save Mydei, quick to try to keep Phainon calm because that's what will help him get to Mydei quicker, and she just brings Mydei up out of the blue to Phainon several times throughout the story.
It's Castorice who halts Phainon's ascension ceremony to ask where Mydei is, because she expected him to be there for Phainon.
It seems to be a given for Castorice that if Phainon needs him, in Phainon's most important hour, Mydei should obviously be with him. She knew Mydei would come.
Even before that, when Phainon was feeling down, Castorice admits she doesn't know how to comfort Phainon herself, and instead... brings up Mydei to comfort Phainon???
Girl thought Quick, how can I raise Phainon's self-esteem? and Mydei's nickname for Phainon was the first thing that seems to have come to mind. 😂
She really said "You're not lame, Phainon; Mydei thinks you're a hero!"
Okay, being more serious--even putting shipping aside entirely, it's just overall clear that Castorice perceives the close comradeship between Phainon and Mydei (probably moreso than Phainon himself) and understands how important having that close friendship is to Phainon, who seems to have nothing else left outside of the Chrysos Heirs at all.
She seems to be able to tell how much Phainon needs people in his life who believe in and can stand beside him, and seems to have clocked that Mydei is definitely one such person. The game tells us players clearly that Castorice is an incredibly perceptive person who is sensitive to the feelings of others, and part of that includes her continuing to verbally recognize, throughout 3.0, the support Phainon gains from his close connection to Mydei.
I think this is just another cool touch--but also maybe another subtle nod from the devs. Castorice won't even let Phainon have a single scene where Mydei isn't mentioned lol.
And finally, one last crumb based on a pet theory...
"As I've Written"
We don't yet know who is responsible for actually writing the character profiles in the "As I've Written" book--although the rewards section is called "Author's Recompense" and the player get rewards for "composing sagas," alongside the interact button being "Write Story," there's actually an entire achievement teasing the fact that the Trailblazer doesn't know who actually wrote the book:
It's not remotely written in a style the Trailblazer would write in, and it also contains information the Trailblazer (at least currently) has no way of knowing at all, like the details of Castorice's backstory.
At this point, the real author could be anyone. But I feel like there's a few things pointing in favor of the idea that the real author might be Phainon. It could also be Anaxa or Cyrene or even Mem too, but hear me out...
First, the book's design is reminiscent of Phainon: the book features prominent sun/moon symbols, has the same blue-white-gold color palette, and even the design at the bottom of the book resembles the design along the front of Phainon's coat:
The book also seems to be strongly foreshadowing that someone is going to lose their way, step onto a dark path, or end up making a terrible mistake.
In Tribbie's chapter:
In Aglaea's:
And of course in Phainon's chapter, where the foreshadowing is strongest:
If this "one who has lost their direction" and "lost themself," the "flawed hero," are all references to Phainon, then the book over and over again seems to be--for the player--foreshadowing Phainon's downfall. Or, from the other perspective: This is a record written by someone who has witnessed (or experienced) the downfall and knows what is coming.
There's also the fact that while Phainon's chapter is written in third person, the narrator occasionally slips in some hints that they know what's going on in Phainon's mind:
And there's also this moment from Mydei's chapter:
We already know that this is not how Mydei behaves around people he doesn't know. When Mydei isn't familiar with a person, he doesn't banter with them--he doesn't even bother with them. He barely speaks directly to the Trailblazer the entire 3.0 plot, for example! He doesn't remotely seem like the type of person to sit down at a table and drink with someone he doesn't know.
We also know that he's already scolded Phainon several times for trying to act like an expert in Kremnoan legends:
(Thank Streetwise Rhapsody from Youtube for these screencaps because I forgot to screencap it myself lol.)
And the icing on the cake:
The exact phrase "amateur historian" again.
To me, this all but confirms that the "true" author of the "As I've Written" chronicle is probably Phainon, which finally brings me to the actual Phaidei crumb I wanted to discuss all along:
Mydei's story is listed as chapter 10 of the book. Yet for some reason --even though we get the book only after completing nearly the entire 3.0 questline, when the player has definitely met Aglaea, Castorice, and Tribbie already--Mydei's story comes first.
While Castorice, Tribbie, Phainon, and Aglaea all share the same memory crystal, Mydei has his own separate memory crystal, not shared with any other character, and it is given to the player first, before anyone else:
Phainon really said "My man is more important than the rest of us combined."
Tribbie is chapter 1. Phainon is chapter 7. Aglaea is chapter 9. But for some reason, we jumped all three of those characters to present chapter 10 first. Theoretically you could say that it's because we went to Castrum Kremnos and fought Nikador? But, story-wise, was Mydei the most important? The Trailblazer met Phainon and Tribbie first, got to actually play Aglaea for a sequence of this story, and traveled alone with Castorice. Mydei is the character the Trailblazer actually had the least connection to in the whole 3.0 storyline, so it doesn't seem that the story is truly what determined the order characters' chapters were given to us.
At the end of the day, in a book that seems it could be written by Phainon (from the future? the past?), Mydei was given special treatment and came before anyone else.
I'm just sayin'... the devs don't do things on accident.
idk how spicy or lukewarm this take is, but as people push for more queer/transgender representation I start to get a bit worried when the only stuff they want to see is slop that is sanitized through corporate intervention while avoiding letting the unfiltered stories of trans/queer folks be expressed and made BY those folks.
and when more of this is pushed, stories depicting uncomfortable and heavy topics, sexual expression and kink, basically stuff that doesn't pull any punches are discarded and treated as "bad rep" despite being made by queer people (especially when it's created by transfems/and or queer POC)
hearing about my existence being "bad trans rep" because of how I express myself sucked, and hearing "but you only represent the small minority in the community" made my heart hurt even worse because, is it justified to erase another queer person because he doesn't express himself in a way that is marketable. I don't think so and honestly saying that makes you a shitty person.
Ever since reading my first time loop-based book as a preteen, I’ve had a Secret Time Loop Code Word. It’s been the same word all these years. I’ve never written it down anywhere or told anyone what it is, just kept it tucked away in my brain. That way, if someone I know ever confided in me that they were stuck in a time loop, I would have a way to confirm it: I would tell them the time loop code word and instruct them to find and talk to me again on the next loop. Of course, if it’s a time loop, I wouldn’t remember telling them the code word. But they’d remember it. So if someone ever came to me and said “I’m stuck in a time loop, and the time loop code word is [X],” and it was indeed the word I’ve secretly held onto for most of my life, I would know that we had had this conversation in a previous loop and that they were telling the truth.
Will this ever be useful? Almost certainly not. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with having a completely absurd contingency plan. In case of time loops.
As with COVID, there is already a concerted effort to claim mpox does not transmit via aerosols (i.e. it is not airborne) or that the risk of airborne transmission is not a concern.
There is ZERO basis for such a claim (the opposite, in fact).
Be prepared and wear a mask if you aren't already (specifically a respirator, which are particularly designed for aerosol protection -- surgical masks and other such looser-fitting masks that do not *seal* the user's face are not sufficient).
If you have the means, I'd highly encourage looking into quantitative (or at least qualitative) fit-testing to ensure the mask you are using is providing adequate protection (depending on your country/region, you may be able to find local COVID community groups offering free fit-testing services).
More links and graphic below for other information about mpox, symptoms and how to prevent infection/spread.
The global health system needs to wake up to the reality that an outbreak in one part of the world is a concern for everyone.
Masks could provide good protection against Covid-19, avian flu, influenza, and mpox. Yet nationally, there is a move to ban masks, as Nassa
#‘’we are obliged to keep this data for 4 weeks after which it will be destroyed’’#versus#‘’we are obliged to keep this data for 4 weeks after which YOU will be destroyed’’
Like he was genuinely upset and so subdued after their fight, he didn't even gloat about finding out about Qilin or about putting an end to the conflict to Chuuya. He didn't even make a silly remark before or after corruption. Like man, his friend was mad at him and he knew he needed to fix it.
Can I add more with the prologue Asagiri wrote for mayoi? I'm gonna add more with the prologue Asagiri wrote for mayoi.
Chuuya punched him for being insensitive about the Colonel's death on day 70 of the Dragon's Head Conflict, and on day 72, Dazai had set up a whole operation/trap to take out Shibusawa. He even cites Chuuya being mad at him as the reason he's doing all of this:
After some exchanges about the value found in groups of people, Dazai finally stops with the pleasantries and says:
So not only did Chuuya being genuinely mad at him make him get off his butt and make his first actual move (in 70+ days of conflict) to try to fix the conflict in two days, but it also reframed the Colonel's death in his mind, to realize that it was bad and unwanted. It made him reconnect a little bit with reality, to see the loss it was instead of only seeing opportunities in cold blood.
my liege if you keep having all of the guards come to your bedroom to read you bedtime stories, there will be no one to actually guard the castle during that time!
ever since your "little gay merman with little gay dreams" art I've been thinking about ways merfolk could use their tails in their day-to-day lives, in particular: holding onto each other with their tails while sleeping to prevent drifting away from one another - reserved solemly for family members, partners and very close friends
and thus came the idea of merventurine falling asleep in the bathtub with Ratio and subconsciously wrapping his tail around Ratio's leg
the brainrot never ends
it's like they're hugging... but with their tails akwjebfdliasgfio;akw that's so cute
