#FORGIVE HIM FATHER FOR HE HAS SYNTH

[lifemod17]

Hozier and Jeff Gitty in the making of Rob The Goddess

🎥: Hozier | his socials

01/08/2022

🖋️: Hozier | instagram

02/01/2022

[amazinglyegg]

Heyhey could I get some headcannons for the fallout 4 companions with a sole survivor who's very anti bigot (so hates the brotherhood lol) and is trying to make sanctuary a safe space for everyone expecially ghouls. Thank uu

Companions React: Anti-Bigot Sole Making Sanctuary a Safe Space!

Cait

Sure man???

Cait's definitely seen people be assholes towards ghouls, and she's all for that not happening

But she just kinda thinks they can handle themselves. They don't need some person going around preaching equality, and Sole doesn't need to spend all their energy doing that

That being said she's not complaining, and the more time she spends with Sole the more she warms up to the idea

She's probably not used to people being kind just for the sake of being kind. Give her some time to internalize it.

Curie

She's more than happy to help Sole with their cause!

Not only does she believe that everyone in the Wasteland deserves a nice place to call home, but she loves getting to meet so many people from so many different walks of life

She's probably a bit too forgiving of the Brotherhood though, it might take her seeing or hearing first-hand some of the things they're willing to do for their cause before she understands Sole

She's not ignorant though, she won't stand for anyone being hateful. She's just been a bit sheltered for the past 200 years!

Codsworth

He's like a proud father watching Sole work

Loves the idea of everyone being accepted and loves that Sole's able to stand up for them

He'll be working overtime to make sure everyone at Sanctuary has food and shelter and maybe an extra blanket or two. He'll knit them blankets if he has to!

Being able to help Sole make the world a better place makes him happier than he's ever been before! Like YES, this is what he's MADE for!!!

Danse

Uh oh

Danse probably pities their naivety, if anything. You know he thinks he's the smartest one in the room because he was educated by the Brotherhood

Although in the end he probably won't waste his time with them

He'll just silently accept that they're going to get themself killed with that open door policy they have

Post-BB it would still take a long while for him to open up to this type of acceptance, and I'm not sure he'll ever be able to put up with hatred towards the Brotherhood, no matter how deserving they are of it

Deacon

Hell yeah. Hey can you maybe be a bit... quieter about that safe space of yours?

I mean the Railroad literally stands for this stuff so of course he's happy Sole's putting in the effort, but he also knows that the louder they are the more likely that bigots will hear

He's a more than a bit worried that Sole, or their entire settlement(s), will be attacked one day

Other than that, he keeps his focus on synths most of the time, but if he runs into a ghoul down on their luck he has no problem pointing them in the direction of Sanctuary

Gage

While (iirc) he doesn't have anything against ghouls in any major way, he IS against Sole spending their time making a "sAfE spAcE" for them

The gauntlet is what Gage considers a safe space. Because HE gets to be safe in Nuka World while watching every poor soul who finds their way there die a slow painful death

And working with the Minutemen? Jesus. That's enough for Sole's credibility to take a major hit

As long as Sole doesn't start yapping about it to everyone he's fine with ignoring it... for the most part

Hancock

Him and Sole get along GREAT!

Sole's ideas pretty much line up with his with Goodneighbor!

Although I doubt Hancock would help them work on Sanctuary very much - he's got his own city to oversee and all

Unless they've got some sort of trading system or alliance going on that has them interact, that is. I can imagine he prefers to stay in his own lane when it comes to work

Sole's name is probably well known in Goodneighbor's streets, and any drifter asking for places to stay will get pointed towards the Minutemen

Maccready

Yeah, sure... but aren't you going to make them work for it at least???

Not that he like, hates safe spaces or anything. But come on if you're gonna have an open door policy at least make them pay for a bed. Or work in the garden for food. You give some you take some.

He'll only really complain if Sole's giving away things for free, though

Otherwise he's perfectly happy with shitting on the Brotherhood and using their vertibirds as target practice in their free time

Nick

He firmly believes that Sole is a good person and their heart is in the right place

A little worried of backlash - he's seen pro-ghoul commentary go wrong a million times before - but he trusts Sole either way

He'll make sure they knows what happened to make Diamond City the way it is - if you don't learn from history you're doomed to repeat it, after all

Likes seeing the Minutemen get built up too, he enjoys having a community who won't accuse him of being a spy every time he leaves the house

Piper

She'll be supportive, but Sole's gonna have to keep an eye on her

"Oh a community that fully accepts ghouls? That's great, Sole! I'm sure they'll love reading my new article called Fickle Feralism: How To Tell When Your Loved One Will Eat You In Your Sleep"

It's not that Piper WANTS to fearmonger... it's just that it's the only way she knows how to write a compelling paper!

Maybe Sole should ban her papers... or get someone to proofread them before letting them get spread around Sanctuary

Preston

Preston's down for it!

In his mind the Minutemen have needed a change like this for a while now

Not just a push towards inclusivity, but also a leader who's confident enough in their own work to be able to make that push even with the looming threat of the Prydwen on the skyline

Having new ideals that they can tangibly work towards gives him a lot of his energy and determination back

And you know he sees straight through the Brotherhood's lies - he'd maybe want to just ignore them at first, but the second they start stealing crops from the Minutemen he hates them just as much as Sole does.

Strong

Does Strong understand the deeply rooted injustice and hate crimes that minorities in the wasteland face day after day due to the overpowering spread of misinformation and propaganda, only worsened by fearmongering due to the newly-seen presence of both the Institute and the Brotherhood?

No, no he doesn't

He's just happy Sole made the doorframes wider so he can fit through them now. Accessability win!

X6-88

Unsurprisingly thinks it's a waste of time

He truly wants to believe that Sole's smart enough to know that any effort that isn't going towards the Institute will all be wasted once they wipe out the surface

He figures Sole's stuck in their own fantasy land, unable to see what really matters

Although unlike Danse he puts a lot more effort into trying to sway their opinion - it is his job to keep Sole safe and loyal to the Institute, after all

Might get to the point where he'll be quiet and let Sole do whatever, but he'll be cringing behind those sunglasses for a long time. The Wasteland in general disgusts him deeply and he wants nothing to do with it.

[rad-roche]

Unmade Man

A Fallout 4 duology—written in the style of a 40s detective noir!

1. Dead Man Talking

There are three Nick Valentines; the brilliant detective, the fractured snapshot of a grieving man and the aging Synth in Diamond City. But when a prewar woman with an impossible case demands his help, Nick is forced to confront everything he’s borrowed and everything he owes.

In the Commonwealth, a debt is one hell of a thing to forgive.

“The Institute, for whatever reason, put Nick Valentine in here. Then I wake up in a garbage dump and head out into the world. I go from odd job to odd job and finally end up playing detective. You shut your coffee maker off for a hundred years. When you turn it on, it goes back to making coffee. You want to know how I’m sure there aren’t a hundred Valentines? We’d all set up agencies.”

(x)

2. Dead Woman Walking

Two years after throwing in with the prewar hothead with an axe to grind, Nick Valentine works another routine missing persons—an overbearing father, a resigned mother and a daughter who just can’t take it anymore. Dime a dozen; up until she declares herself a synth, hops on a boat and flees three hundred miles north to Far Harbor, where Fog lays thick and hopes run slim. But between the dogged harbormen, the radioactive death cult, the machine claiming to be his brother, and his own hard-headed partner, something has to give.

It took five hundred million years to make Acadia.  The sign was a landmark, a dull green figure with gold etching. Gloria caught her breath and Longfellow fiddled with his gun. They’d leave soon, but Nick had time to kill. And Nick had to make way for the… He squinted. Three million visitors per year. The sound he made got Gloria’s attention. She read the sign, mouthing as she went. She made about the same sound. Five hundred million. Half a billion. Numbers shouldn’t go that high. A figure like that gets full of itself. The arrow on the sign pointed forward, reminding him to pay the fee. Just ahead was one of the most beautiful locations in all of North America. It was an incredible place not to see a lick of. Longfellow beckoned them after the radstag moved on. Nick took one last look at the faded landscapes on the sign and committed them to memory. Five hundred million years to make Acadia. Two hours to fuck it up forever.

(x)

[sealz888]

Gage for the ask me anything! If you don’t do DLC characters then Nick Valentine please and Butch from FO3❤️

Thank you for requests! Another Anon sent me an ask with 2/3 of the characters and with Old Long Fellow so I'll post that soon for them. In the meanwhile, please enjoy. CW for Butch: Child abuse. Triggering content below the cut.

Nick Valentine

Ever since he was a young boy he's had a knack for investigating.

First got into introduction to it was family game night, where they had one of those fake investigation game thingies. He got it pretty fast, much to his families dismay. They got some more, and he only got better.

Started to watch detective and crime shows and movies and he'd often pick up on the culprit quickly. Listened to true crime radio shows too.

When he was 16, his neighbour hired to him to investigate if her husband was cheating on him. He found out and got photo evidence. The husband was cheating and he got paid handsomely for finding out.

Frequently corresponds with DiMA,  exchanging letters and parcels. He tries to visit at least once a year. DiMA still tries to convince him to stay. 

One time while they were staying, DiMA found  one of those investigation games. A whole bunch of Synthes and DiMA tried to figure it out, Nick sat there watching and helping whenever he could. He ending up bringing it back to the Commonwealth with him.

Pre-War Nick was pretty close with Jennifer's nephew, becoming an uncle figure. There bond only got got stronger after Jenny got murdered. Nick and Little Shaun now share this bond.

His internal fans speed up and get really loud when he's flustered of caught of guard. If it's really quiet and you get up nice and close you could almost hear a mechanical heartbeat.

Porter Gage

I haven't played or watched too much on Nuka-world, so forgive me if I have anything off.

Gouged out his own eye. He was dared to prove his courage, loyalty and balls.

His brother is Red-eye. They were both adopted into the same raider family. They also have sister and another younger brother who were birthed into the ranks. The Sister and brother died in one of the raids, but Red Eye and Gage made it to Nuka World.

Doesn't like the taste of Nuka-Cola, drinking it so much as made him miserable. He's so tired of using it to marinade meat. He's so tired of the same fizzy texture. He's so tired of the taste, the colour, everything.

Tends to help out with agriculture and farming considering his roots.

Is debating betraying the SoSu considering their status with the Minutemen, dissatisfied at the recent information. He's also planning a full scale invasion of the Commonwealth.

He also wanted Nuka World too himself as well, so he has Red-Eye spy on SoSu.

Butch DeLoria

Content Warnings for Child Abuse the cut.

His dad ran off to Vegas. Growing up his mother would warn him about gambling, Chems and alcohol. Also bares a striking resemblance to his father, his mother resents him for it.

When he was a young child, he'd often ""run away"" from their room and ask to sleep for the night. He'd end up frequently having sleep overs with other kids and spend more time at theirs than his'.

Was really hoping to get a mechanic on the G.O.A.T and absolutely hated being a barber at first. However, he really like doing his hair and got really good it, so he excelled in his training much to his dismay.

Opened his own barber shop in Rivet City and people from all over, and I mean all over come to see him and to get a haircut. His skills are insane.

Listens to a lot of Elvis and can do a few of his dance moves.

Big comic book nerd despite bullying a lot of kids in the vault about comics. He's a grognak kinda guy I reckon.

Helps MacCready out too and knew him as a kid. He often visits little Duncan and brings him lollies, sweets, sodas and comics. He'll read Duncan the letters MacCready sends him in silly voices to get him to laugh.

Big ol' softie, wants a wife and to settle down in a family but his past experiences and absent father makes him second guess himself. He has a dog though.

He got counselling from James to deal with his trauma. Also apologised to the LW and Amata too.

Happy to leave the vault and never come back!

Continued below cut

He'd run to the guards and overseer and tell them about everything, most of the guards wanted to help him and would let him stay around them. They did everything in their power to get him help.

but when the overseer confronted his mother about she denied everything and said that he was lying.

He was not. Could you hear it.

[blodgmonster]

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood reread commentary Part IV: The Ravine.

Here we go. The last chunk of the book. Where SJM kicks it into the highest gear she can find and grinds out hearts into dust! Buckle up, babies!

- the photo slideshow is just...chef's kiss.

- Jesiba can be a cold heartless bitch but DAMN if she isn't always there when Bryce needs her (and her money).

- "Then take me." Bryce...what the fuck? I can't decide if she has low self-esteem because she's constantly trying to trade away parts of herself or if she has amazing self-esteem because she thinks she's worth more than $100 million.

- I hate that Rhun claims her as property BUT I'm glad he's doing everything he can to save her from throwing her life away.

- "I will never forgive you for this." Except you totally will. Because he did it to save you. Because even though Bryce can be a ruthless badass and unforgiving, she also does have a forgiving nature at her core. If she loves you, you're forgiven. See Danika, Hunt, Fury, Rhun people who have lied to her, abandonded her, and hurt her but she's forgiven them all. But if you hurt of them, she'll fucking kill you.

- "She might have been furious with him for lying, but she'd lied plenty to him as well." BRO. Not disclosing her parentage is nowhere near as bad as what you did, Hunt. Idiot.

-Hypaxia is so cool.

- The Eternal City is on the TIBER RIVER. IT'S FUCKING ROME.

- so then I need to know what city Lunathion is. It's "nearly 6,000 miles away." Google says that cities roughly 6,000 miles away from Rome include LA, Honolulu, Sydney, Tokyo, Auckland, and Santiago. They never mention Lunathion being on a coast. The only city listed that isn't on the coast is Santiago, Chile. But Santiago doesn't have a river. WAIT. Hunt is at the meeting thingy which is a 5 hour drive from Lunathion. So if it was LA, you'd still be in California. The palm trees and dry heat would match California. Though I had kind of pegged Lunathion as New Orleans. I have no idea. Fuck.

- the Asteri are Daglan...which are...valg? It's hard to keep track. I thought a Daglan bled black like the Valg.

- Alright google was wrong. Rome to LA is OVER 6,000 miles. However Rome to New Orleans is about 5,460 miles. So. If the Summit was held a 5 hour drive away from Lunathion, and a 5 hour drive is about 300 miles that would put the Summit location at almost 6,000 miles away from Rome. Hmmmmmmm. New Orleans is also a coastal city but it has a river that curves like the Istros. And Crescent City is ONE OF IT'S NICKNAMES. And it has a central business district aka CBD

- Micah's here.

- The Great Library of Parthos. Like the Library of Alexandria. And according to Wiki Parthos was a settlement of Illyrian tribes loacted in what is now Albania.

-Tristan Flynn is kind of great. Hey...wasn't Manon's father named Tristan??

- "The language is beyond that of this world. It is the languaheof the _universes_." WYRDMARKS, BABY.

- So Micha DID kill Danika and the Pack. Hm. Okay. So he dumped synth on the street, she went after it, he blackmailed her into stealing the Horn, she hid it, he injected her with synth, she tore the others and herself apart with it. Okay. Got it. And he put Bryce onto the case because he still wants the Horn.

- I was right. Hunt didn't set fire to the apartment.

- Oh shit! He injected Bryce with synth!

- The Walking Dead from Tog AND The Book of Breathings from ACOTAR make cameos!!

-"You're free, Lehabah." ... "Then let the world know that my first act of freedom was to help my friends."

"My friends are behind me, and I will protect them."

"My friends are with me and I am not afraid."

Nesta drawing the line. Manon drawing the line. Lehabah, beautiful, brave, and beloved, drawing a fucking line and saying, not today motherfucker. Buying Bryce and Syrinx time, time that Bryce makes good use of. The Vanir saluting her brave sacrifice.

- she took the antidote!

- "And she shot that bullet right through Micah's fucking head."

- DANIKA'S SWORD!!!!

- "Vengence incarnate. Wrath's bruised heart. She would bow for no one." FUCK YEAH!!!

- Bryce vacuuming up Micah.

- oh tits. Micah DID manage to open a rift.

- "One wolf remains in the Old Square...A true wolf." SPIT THE TRUTH, PRIME!

- LOOK AT ITHAN GROWING A SPINE!

- "The jackals joined them. The coyotes. The wold dogs and common dogs. The hyenas and dingoes. The foxes. It was who they were. Who they had always been. Defenders of those who could not protect themselves. Defenders of the small, the young. Shifter or true animal, that truth lay etched in the soul of every canine." FUCK YEAH.

- "I am Bryce Quinlan...Heir to the Starborn Fae" HEL YEAH

- Hypaxia removing the tattoo. Badass.

- DAMN. I forgot how badly Hunt gets fucked up in the missile attack.

- "I know it's bad right now...I know it's so, so bad and dark, and...I know it feels impossible." This? This made me cry. Hitting close to home.

-'" Light it up, Bryce." The onyx stone of the Bone Quarter glowed like a dark star...and soul to soul with the friend whom she had not forgotten, the friend who had not forgotten her, even in death, Bryce made the Drop."

-THROUGH LOVE ALL IS POSSIBLE

That amazing ending more than makes up for that rough ass start.

[lithominium]

do you have any OCs or original species?

I have three main ocs!

the first one is John Reddington

He is like, 30 years old, a crow, and runs the galaxy's largest criminal empire. he uses this empire to help people and dismantle major corporations that run the galaxy. Hes a god with a revolver (specifically a Unica 6) and excellent at hand to hand combat. (obligatory overpowered OC moment) His parents were murdered when he was 12 and the man who killed them adopted him and made him into the crime god and excellent fighter he is today. after he found out how his parents died, he usurped his adoptive father, killed him, and then made his own empire to right the wrongs he made over the past decade or so.

The second one, is also my fursona (John used to be, before my transed gender) Her name is April Aviatrix.

shes a radio hobbyist who went to college for electrical engineering (ref is outdated). In the universe where my oc's are set, radio is kinda really outdated, and music overall has become boring (think Human music from rick and morty [god forgive i mention it]) and one day, while messing around with radios in the spaceship equivalent of a ford pinto, she intercepted a signal that was playing music she had never heard before (70's progressive rock) and decided to track down where it was coming from, to find a post apocalyptic Earth, where all humans are dead. She found the source of the signal, which is a massive radio beacon, attached to a half destroyed museum of music, which had all kinds of instruments, and gear, and a massive collection of music made by human beings on massive amounts of hard drives. She took all of the music into her futuristic thumbdrive, including schematics for synths, guitar amps, guitar pickups, pianos, etc. just anything and everything that the museum had on its barely functioning computers. she was able to turn all of this stuff into workable stuff, and taught herself guitar and other instruments, and performs in a local bar every once in a while, that she works as a bartender at (the electrical engineering degree didn't do much). anyways eventually (i ahve no idea how) she ends up meeting John Reddington, going "join my emo band (rush cover band)" and he ends up being absolutely Phenomenal on a drumkit. and she ends up second in command in the empire, as her electrical engineering knowledge is extremely helpful, alongside her being the only genuine connection to another person John's had since he was 12. She uses an HK-USP-S

the last one is Vincent, which. Hes kinda in limbo right now. He used to be a seagull:

and that was pretty neat i think, but i stopped really caring about him as much once i transitioned. Hes supposed to be a bluejay now, but i haven't drawn it, and he plays bass (specifically a Thunderbird). He doesn't really have much of a personality anymore, as that job's been taken over by April. He does wield a fucked up sword that looks like a lawnmower blade.

I have ideas for others, like a rwby oc specifically who has bands around her arms that can turn into swords (think Finn's grass sword, only not hold able, and more attached at the back of the hand like the pacific rim sword) or gauntlets or be used for mobility. Shes neat. Still thinking about a semblance for her though.

[chevvy-ryder]

10 for the Uncommon Questions for OCs - for all the boys please!

10. What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

Vijay rarely lies. But in this case having met Arki — well… He definitely sorta starts lying to Ryder(!) about uh— 'not knowing him properly' — when in fact they already had a very hot night at the No Tell Motel right after their 3rd meeting (it's always been short meetings). It's not that Vijay does this on purpose. He just thinks he shouldn't talk about it because he feels Ryder seems to have something against Arki (and Ryder's reason stacks up, tbh I do understand him). It doesn't haunt him, he just feels a bit bad about it afterward — especially when Ryder finally checks, there's something going on between those two (Ry's a bit low, counting one and one together at times — forgive him please).

When people ask him about his glowing circuit lines on his skin, if it is accidentally showing (as in activated). Jay then says it would be some sort of a brand new fashionable tattoo mod. It just requires to have your skin replaced almost completely (depending on where you want to have it) and added together with new synth realskin. Only Jaysen likes to tell it a bit more gruesome: Depending on the ripper doc's skills it can be really painful because you need to peel off all the skin parts from the body then install the mod and new skin. Jay finds it amusing how people look at him disgusted yet fascinated. It all is a complete lie though. His glowing circuit lines aren't just a tattoo, it is some—REDACTED

When he gets asked about his family Ryder lies about it. He tells that his parents died by getting robbed and shot afterwards while he was at his grandparents place. Grandparents are already deceased as well, so he has no 'family' alive anymore. His family are his best friends (which isn't a lie). Does it haunt him? It sure does. Everytime he needs to lie — technically I do not really see this as a lie (yet it still is?), but Ry never felt he belonged there but see, blood is blood — about his Corpo background it opens some healed wounds again. He could tell the truth about it (try imagining him telling someone he's the son of the CEO of Militech — nobody would probably believe him either, which would be funny too in some way) but he is just really careful not to do it. The city has ears everywhere and he doesn't want to be found by his family nor face his superior ever again, or his brother, or mother. They are dead to him, yet he always gets to see either Wilhelm or Karl on the news when they've got something tremendously new to show to the public.

Thyjs is super bad at lying, so he chooses not to lie anymore. If he would only try, people would find out very fast because he's definitely not gifted in this task. He tried lying as a teen many times but his parents always found out and especially his father (a Militech admiral) did order extra rounds when it came to Militech training, once he found out his son lied about something by just telling Thyjs' supervisor his boy needed some extra training (e.g. run more miles, do more push-ups). Thyjs knew it was because he tried to lie or hide something from his father. It was just usual things like "I feel ill" when he didn't want to go to training, so it does not haunt him. He just wanted to be a teen and do what normal teens his age did. His military training was very strong concerning discipline and when he was past his teenage age he already was the brave loyal soldier boy ready to execute given commands.

[palidan-sheep]

Ya know, When it comes to kill gen 1 and 2 synths- literally no one has a problem with. They’re just like Raiders and Gunners and Rust Devils and yada yada yada.

But gen 3s? The ones that look, that act, that think, that feel, that love, that hate, that bleed? I don’t think any of them could willing pull the trigger unless prompted too, unless we’re talking bout Gage, Cait, and X6. Then yeah, they don’t care.

Struges is a snyth and yet, he’s just a man trying to live in a world that wants him dead. He has done no harm to the world and those who inhabit it unless prompted to do such. I don’t think anyone could reason with themselves to pull the trigger and not have major mental draw backs.

Roger Warwick knows he’s a replacement, he knows he’s a synth, knows that his whole purpose is watch over some stupid plants. But yet, he refers to everyone as his kids and wife, he’s not hostile when you blow up the institute. He just lives his life, probably with a tremendous amount of guilt resting on his shoulder but he lives, and he loves his family. (Granted, I can see some of them pulling the trigger on him but then they’d have to deal with the guilt of killing a ‘man’ who just wanted to live.)

Ignoring BB, The BoS says to kill them but why? Why kill someone that presents no harm to anything? Why blow the head off of some ones lover, some ones parent, some ones friend when all they did was exist against their will. When they had absolutely no choice in the matter at hand. I don’t think Danse could feasibly kill a Gen 3 that hasn’t committed a crime to warrant an end to their life and if he had too then he’d never forgive himself.

I think the only who’s could kill a snyth that just wanted to live would be Cait, Gage, and X6. X6 is a courser, he hunts rouge Synths, he doesn’t kill them but I see him doing such without a second thought. Gage and Cait? Well, I imagine she equally hates ever species and Gage is a raider, he don't give two flying fucks. 

Mac’s a lil tricky considering his reaction to BB and Danse and his job but deep down, he can’t pull the trigger on a father or mother, he has a son of his own, what kinda of shitty person pulls the trigger on a fellow parent? force some kid to live without a parent? He couldn’t do that, no amount of cap’s in the world could convince him to do such. This is totally circumstantial too, ya’know? yeah they may be a parent but like... they killed an entire town and set fire to everything sooo. 

Everything boils down to be circumstantial too but I can’t go writing about all the ands, the buts, the what if’s ya’know. Then I’d be here until the end of time coming up with the same situation with minor detail changes. It all falls down on to what ya think, you think that Mac is willing to turn a blind eye for a pile of caps then so be it.

[comradeacerbus]

Danse Headcanons

Because he is a good boy who needs love too okay

- Always needs to be organized, writes everything down.

- To do lists. They’re everywhere, and he always has a notebook on his person.

- Quite likes crosswords. Always needs something to do with his hands, and they help if he starts getting antsy. PTSD is a bitch.

- Smokes. Prefers cigars. Also likes black coffee.

- Is actually gruesomely funny, but you wouldn’t know unless you really get to know him. He’s got a really dry sense of humor so it automatically makes his sarcasm even funnier.

- In spite of the fact that he can be bitterly sarcastic himself, he doesn’t always understand sarcasm immediately. He’s very literal.

- Very much a dad friend. Not to be confused with the mom friend. Don’t expect to be coddled by him. He’s great for practical advice, but don’t expect him to go soft if you go to him about a problem. If he thinks that you’re at fault for your own problem, he’ll make sure that you know it.

- “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed”

- Overall, he’s just brutally honest, almost to a fault. He’s a terrible liar!

- Still, he’s a very good listener and will keep his trap shut. Once you tell himself something, it’s in the vault, so to speak.

- On that note, puns are not typically appreciated.

- He’s good to his friends overall, and is highly reliable, but like a knight of Catarina, he will never forgive a betrayal. The guy can hold a serious grudge.

- As a lover, he’s very shy at first. His other half will have to make most of the moves initially. Once he’s comfortable, he’s actually quite affectionate.

- Turns out the fucker has some serious libido too.

- Gifts and acts of service are his main love languages, though in private, physical touch quickly rises to prominence. A lot of gentle touch, nudging, shoulder pats for reassurance, that kind of thing in public.

- He’s a virgin. Absolutely. He’s shy about banging at first because he’s embarrassed that he’s inexperienced, in spite of the fact that he’s getting into his thirties. It doesn’t take him long to get confident in the bedroom.

- Cuddly sleeper. Also sleeps hot.

- Really likes Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins, but he’s got room for Mel Tillis too.

- He has a habit of slipping right into lecture mode, even after his exile. He gets better about it as time goes on, but it’s really annoying for all parties involved until he does. He’s just so used to dealing with stupid soldiers and having to lecture them as a superior that it’s become second nature.

- He’s very literate and an avid reader. He prides himself on his extensive vocabulary, even if the casuals find it annoying.

- Always eager to learn a skill in case he might need it later. Doesn’t hurt to be a jack of all trades in the wastelands after all. In the immortal words of my father, “Always take the chance to learn something, if you get it. Once that knowledge is yours, no one can take it away from you.”

- An excellent mechanic, and not just for PAs and related things. While he’s not good at coding, he is good at robotics repair and the like and can disassemble and reassemble a laser rifle blindfolded.

- Has fixed up Codsworth a number of times.

- Very literate with guns and ammunition, both with technical as well as historical information. He has a soft spot for old guns.

- Getting kicked out of the brotherhood took a huge toll on him. Aside from his identity crisis, Danse prided himself on the sophistication of the Brotherhood and the fact that he could be a part of it. On top of that, he has no living relatives, so that faction was his only family from the time he joined up. He had a lot of emotions invested in the group overall, even though he refuses to admit the fact that he does indeed have feelings.

- He has trust issues for a while after the whole ordeal. You can’t blame him. One moment, these people would die for him based on principle alone, and the next, they’re trying to kill him.

- He constantly denies the negative emotions that he feels. For a while, he just avoids things that make him think of the brotherhood so he doesn’t have to process what happened to him. He has a sense of abandonment after being thrown to the side by Maxson, but it immediately translates to anger because he just doesn’t know how to deal with it.

- When he finally finds someone who legitimately cares about how he feels and how he’s doing, he doesn’t know what to do, and it sort of gets worse before it gets better.

- He’s very embarrassed of his PTSD because he has a lot of masculine pride, so again, he doesn’t want to face it or his emotions.

- He’s just grouchy and mildly paranoid after his exile until Sole drags him back to the real world and helps him recover. Afterwards, he’s almost like a different person.

- He does still retain some things from the Brotherhood. For example, he always keeps a stiff posture, and when he’s fixated on something, he walks in step, not unlike a soldier. During a fight, specifically shootouts, he’ll use the military codes and signals he was taught.

- He is still very wary of synths (understandable) and very much hates mutants (also understandable), but is okay with Nick, after they come to an understanding between each other.

- He also still has trouble sleeping by himself. He’d never admit it, but he cant stand sleeping alone, since he’s used to sleeping in a military base with a bunch of eyes to watch for trouble. When he eventually does get with Sole to the point they share a bed or room, it’s easier for him to sleep.

- Danse LOVES affection, but he’d never admit it verbally. Sole knows lol but it’s a secret he’ll take to his grave. Cuddling and forehead kisses are his weakness.

- Approval from his lover is like a drug to him. Really, just a “good job” can make his day.

- He’s also weird about asking for sex or affection. He’ll usually get all bashful and quiet, but will sort of hover around Sole. Like, stand behind them or next to them and nudge them, maybe give them a knowing look. Or he’ll just get very clingy in bed or something.

- He blushes very easily.

- Snores. Denies it.

- He LOVES dogs, but is really more of a cat person. He adored Emmett, back on the Prydwen.

- Because he is a workaholic, he opens up a lil store in Sanctuary. Sort of goes back to what he did in Rivet City, but with a more focused goal in that he specifically scavenges for gun parts and the like. Just a warning that he keeps a sawed off shotgun under the counter. Try to rob him and he’ll blow your head off. This man takes the Second Amendment very seriously.

[farty-city]

inside bo burnham review no one asked for

i enjoy other peoples commentary and i was writing down my first thoughts anyway so here it is

inside

first song/intro song

i like the phone screen on him, very reflective of how we have had phone screens on us

“roberts been a little depressed” osnskjdnfs

they were right “daddys made you some content so open wide” hjbfafn

intro

oh my god he looks awful

but like in a cute way

maybe

healing the world with comedy (second song)

the canned and queued laugher no exactly… is it a symbol or is it just funny.. who's to say. 

it think its a good first song, establishing he knows what he is doing is kind of useless 

“the indescribable power of your comedy”

he looks like marc maron rn

i like the synthed voice and synthesizer

the jesus allusion … yeah

“i'm a special kind of white guy”

this feels like he knows how he is perceived by fans.. Make happy was too much

his fucking dancing fksjdnfksj

i think he did a good job looking manic

the lasers lmao

Side 1

Bo made a huge gamble releasing this like,,, what if you just stumbled upon it and this was ur first introduction to him..

I bet its like when i comment dumb things on instagram comments and get that rush of hehehehe

NO NOT BO DEVELOPING BILLIE EILLISH VOWELS

Also this is exactly what he wanted like,, he just wanted to make his things and not deal with the crowds so..

To think i was like finding scraps of him performing at largo and stuff and now,, so much content

life imitates art

the way he's literally what he wrote hgbkdf

there is no authenticity with cameras

suicide ?

 facetime with my mom tonight

the blue light.. Yeah

o hblue like sad

i don't know how i feel about the electric music but i guess its no different than whatever else i listen to

this is sad wow

still catchy etc

side 2

i wonder if here will be any fart jokes

that is how the world works (songs)

the huge mess and then him in a sweater

this is reminiscent of that walmart muppets

he became tim minchin with a sock puppet

the “yes… yes sir” stoppp 

jkgdsnfijwkensfosnf

qbejfnjne

nerjgnoejns

bo making a political statement and a metaphor for activism and then making it weirdly kinky

brand consultant (bit)

man bun

i have to believe he filmed it with the beard because quarantine vibes and also bc he was tired of being seen as a child

white womans instagram (song)

i did not like that intro

BO AND GLASSES THANK GOD

the daisies wow just wow

underwear

“white womans instagram” or “bo burnham becomes a girlboss”

i like that he didn't lose his cadence like the way the rhymes are you can still tell its him

i don't get the mom part sorry

is it like how people are very superficial but also very personal on their instagrams

this part was legit sad

side 3

i wonder how he felt with cameras constantly on him

Although this is the point hes trying to make

lol seinfeld moment (bit)

unpaid intern (bit and song)

“barely people somehow legal” was so smooth woW

omg he was scatting

he was a man who would scat

oh my god what great news

the react clip omg

i cant believe he did that oh my god

observation/critisism and response to the “can anyone shut the fuck up” 

and as i realized what he was doing he was like “i have this need for everything i make to have a deeper meaning” oh my god

now the question is how long will this go on?

jeffrey bezos (song)

idk its catchy

and then theres him like sleeping and talking which kind of is part of the jeff bezos song

bug eyes salamanders hehe

sexting (song)

i do believe this is just a silly song 

the earrings tho omg

sounds like post malone hbkjdsnfskj

idk its still about like intimacy in quarantine and that stuff..

the knife (bit)

i know hes copying like other youtubers but like,,, what

stuck in a room (song)

the intro is very funny and relatable

classic bo i love it 

i will say this special has been more reflective but i suppose it has to be

“look whos inside again”

i like the end too, this is all a fabrication

this is the clip where hes staring at the projection of himself from his old youtube videos which is sort of more like an ending to the “stuck in my room” song

 sorry (song)

i love the 80’s style music and its like zumba

oh this is like an apology song

“father please forgive me for i did not realise what i did, or that id live to regret it” what a catchy line

i would say this is another more “classic” bo song where its self aware and funny

“my closet it chalk full of stuff that is vaguely shitty” 

camera falling

this deserves its own bullet because its silly

i'm turning 30 (bit and song)

i remember him talking about this on a podcast and like,, damn i didn't know this also happened LOL

i really like how he did the lighting 

“stupid fucking ugly boring children”

suicide talk (1)

this is interesting i like the use of the projection

this is something that could never have happened onstage

just like with the it being projected on him

i guess it could but it would have to be done differently and probably hed have to make it funnier to make it more engaging

intermission

i just checked this is about the halfway point.. Mh

i don't wanna know (song)

“i thought it’d be over by now”

i wish this was longer but i kind of like how its just a little snippet and then the cut

video game (bit)

“i guess i’ll cry again”

“is the dude big or is the room small” lol

hm depression

 feelin like shit (song)

ohh the lighting is fun again

this is the tone shift i suppose

the feels like supalonely and the new kind of music

atl

:(

panic attack 

everything all of the time (song)

feels like brandon rogers 

i enjoy this

this feels like “welcome to youtube” grew up

“a little bit of everything all of the time”

“apathys a tragedy and boredoms a crime”

ok olivia rodrigo

finishing the special (bit)

these feel like diary entries but as standup

interesting choice

jeffery bezos (2)

Why the seaweed suit

Where did he get that

the digital space (bit)

suit up, gather what is needed, and return to the surface

damn

pirate map anfdkjfnskjd

this was so stupid (affectonate)

that funny feeling (song)

the campfire vibes 

kenny loggins

i don't get it..

is it about childhood, is it about the present?

i think its talking about the end of content? 

“the end of culture”, to quote make happy

change and not liking it 

“we were overdue, but it will be over soon”

if the second half of the special is like a panic attack this song is like a momentary pause before it gets worse

“so ive been working on this special”/breakdown 

this was .. uncomfortable and genuine which i'm sure is why he kept it

all eyes on me (song/rant)

another sad thing to watch.. damn

me trying to tell if the audio was from make happy

i think he was trying to make it as if the audio was from make happy 

this feels.. familiar

and obviously that is the point

“come on in the waters fine”

the use of autotune during the talking part... yeah

sad that he was gonna make another special… and it would have been totally different than this

i’ve decided i like the homage to make happy

It feels like hes made peace with it

the montage of him waking up and the “i think i'm done”

and then of course the ending where he's watching it over to remind us that its all fabricated

possible ending song/ “i promise to never go outside again”

ngl he looks good in the shirt with the haircut hehe

which i feel like is what he wants up to notice

and then like not think after we saw all his breakdowns

“i want to hear you tell a joke when no ones laughing in the background”

i really like the medley

Final thoughts

I want a blooper reel, but this doesn't seem like the kind of special

I also wonder if the songs will be on like apple music, but again, doesn't seem like the kind of special

I'm happy for him, he got to be honest and open and show us the sort of panicky stuff

this self aware comedy is exactly the stuff that i think will be making a comeback in the next decade.  John better be pulling up with more deconstructed comedy. 

I hope this has given him peace

[lifemod17]

thoughts on 'Unaired EP'

IN THIS ESSAY I WILL-

below the cut in case you don't want spoilers <3

Nobody's Soldier

THE FUCKIN FALSETTO IS DRIVING ME INSANE ITS LIKE HE LACED THIS SONG WITH CRACK

"Benzos and gasoline" line is WILD (it is so hot for no reason wtf Andrew)

the little break that happens at 1:43 with. i don't even know what that is? like a sort of distorted / reverbed guitar bend / riff? either way, LOVE THAT.

also lets give it up one time for the organ, that is SO GNARLY, YOU CANNOT DENY IT!!!

hearing the live version vs. this recorded one is different, I literally went "OMFG WHAT IS THIS PART" starting at 2:53 when he gets all whisper-y WHY IS IT SO HOT

Listen man, I am a sucker for a good pause, and that pause after the bridge has me UNWELL.

SLOWING IT DOWN for the ending will never not be iconic. you don't see that happening a lot!

the intake of breath on the outro??!! tumblr user lifemod17 is NOT FARING WELL

July

so full of hope and promise and really just about having that thing or that someone to look forward to. The definition of "postpone that funeral"

THE SYNTHS??? FORGIVE HIM FATHER FOR HE HAS SYNTH!!!

"JUST KNOWING THAT'S GETTING ME THROUGH"?!?!?!? I wanna throw up. that is a Tonee-ass line. yeah 'July' is DEFINITELY taking the crown. This is my favorite from the EP.

i WAS right! he says 'prada' because it just made so much sense with the 'wore me out' line.

the whole second half had me in SHAMBLES. the lyrics were already insane but also throw in his soft voice mixed with the FUNKY & GROOVY beat?? I fear it is so over for me (I was genuinely screaming into a pillow and needed to sit down even though I was already sat and also I didn't know what to do with my person so I was just laying there and looking up at the ceiling while fighting off tears. I was SHOOK.)

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and makes me want to roll downhill a field and pick flowers to give to strangers

Have I mentioned the pen game? Because it is on level 9000. His pen was on fire when he has writing this

B A S S O U T R O GOT ME ACTING TF UP

That You Are

I was not expecting the lyrics to be "that I'd be anywhere that you are". im sorry but that is devastatingly beautiful and rips my heart out brb sobbing

my wig quietly and peacefully ascended from my head.

it's a lot more raw, production wise. the vocals aren't super clean, but I actually really like it this way!!! it makes the song that much more precious, gentle, intimate

Bedouine's vocals NEVER DISAPPOINTS!! She always has a way of transporting you with her music- makes you feel like you're floating above water

I needed to sautee the yearning for this one, its so pretty but hits you right in the feels

The fact that this is speculated to be the contender for the spot of 'I, Carrion (Icarian)' I'M GONNA CRY AGAIN Andrew please do an EP breakdown cuz I need to know!

that little instrumental interlude towards the bridge is so lovely and the entire song really! I think they did a good job of splitting the vibe 50/50 <- I say this because I listen to Bedouine a lot and the vibe of her songs is definitely here. it just really shows that they both wrote this together. its not a feature, its a collab

We're all gonna cry and then afterwards we're all gonna hug cuz this song just inflicted so much emotional damage upon all of us

[passionate-reply]

This week on Great Albums: one of very few albums that I think is truly perfect. John Foxx’s second solo LP, The Garden, is a masterpiece of Medieval mysticism, romantic longing, and modern electronics. Transcript below the break!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! In this installment, I’ll be looking at a classic sophomore album, and one which epitomizes the principle of taking one’s sound in a different direction the second time around: The Garden by John Foxx, first released in 1981.

While The Garden was Foxx’s second release as a solo artist, it’s also his fifth LP overall, as he had spent the late 1970s fronting the original incarnation of Ultravox. Foxx’s Ultravox was an eclectic mix of influences from glam, punk, and, of course, electronic pioneers like Kraftwerk, but it would be the latter of these ideas that dominated Foxx’s solo career. His 1980 solo debut, Metamatic, is some of the purest, starkest, and harshest minimal synth around, and remains one of the most iconic early works of the subgenre.

Music: “Underpass”

If you want more like Metamatic from Foxx, you’ll want to skip ahead to the 1990s, because he turned his back on this thin and aggressively inorganic sound remarkably quickly. While he would produce several more LPs in the 1980s, the group of them seems to grow progressively lighter and softer, with less blistering analogue synth, and more radio-friendly love themes. But while Foxx’s third and fourth efforts are often panned, The Garden has actually won nearly as many fans over the years as Metamatic, proving itself to be powerful in its own ways, despite its radically different aesthetic. Where Metamatic dealt in brutalist city blocks and Ballardian psycho-sexuality, The Garden takes place in moldering cathedrals, embracing Gothic splendour and (imagined) Medieval emotionality.

Music: “Europe After the Rain”

“Europe After the Rain” opens the album, and also served as its lead single, becoming a relatively minor hit in the charts. As we hear it, we immediately become aware that Foxx has abandoned the instrumental palette of Metamatic, made almost exclusively with an ARP 2600 synthesiser, in favour of something more lush. On “Europe After the Rain,” traditional instruments like acoustic guitar and piano are impossible to ignore, though the constant bass synth ensures we never forget Foxx’s roots either. It also seems to be a major thematic leap away from Metamatic, with its tender and romantic feel. Still, that may not necessarily be all there is to it--the song is presumably named after a famous painting of the same title, by the Surrealist Max Ernst, executed in the early 1940s as World War II was first beginning. Ernst’s painting is a sort of apocalyptic vision, in which crumbling structures are overtaken by vegetation, and two figures wander through it, seemingly passing by one another. Perhaps Foxx’s “Europe After the Rain” is also a theme for a devastated landscape, its lovers meeting again the last survivors of some nuclear holocaust? Maybe it isn’t too far away from the themes of crushing modernity employed on Metamatic after all.

Note, as well, the emphasis on “Europe,” conceptually--The Garden is, at least partially, a sort of search for a new European cultural identity. The Garden fuses electronics, and hence Europe’s characteristic technological achievements, with a love of more traditional European cultural ideals, namely, the aesthetics of Medieval Christianity. For evidence of that idea, look no further than its most obvious apotheosis, the track “Pater Noster.”

Music: “Pater Noster”

“Pater Noster” is, of course, a setting of the Latin-language translation of the so-called “Our Father” or Lord’s Prayer, one of the most popular and well-known texts in Christianity. “Pater Noster” is the album’s most obvious love letter to the Middle Ages, but an informed listen will show that it has little to do with actual music from that era--I actually could forgive the synthesisers, which might be analogized to the role of church organs, but the percussion-propelled nature of the track is what really makes it feel ahistorical to me. Despite the religious themes of The Garden, Foxx always averred not being any sort of authentic believer in religion or God, and maintained that he was interested in the traditions of the Church purely on aesthetic grounds. Whether you think this sort of appropriation is appropriate and respectful or not, it’s certainly one of the album’s prominent themes, and part of what makes it feel as unique as it does. While I’ve emphasized the themes of romanticism and religiosity, it’s also worth noting that The Garden is not a complete break from Foxx’s earlier works, and in its return to a more guitar-driven sound, it often winds up riffing on something not unlike punk.

Music: “Systems of Romance”

Astute followers of Foxx will have already noticed that the track “Systems of Romance” shares its title with the third and final LP he released with Ultravox, in 1979. Apparently, it was written that much earlier, though it wouldn’t be seen to completion until several years later. Combining a hard-driving guitar, played by Foxx’s Ultravox bandmate Robin Simon, with the inscrutable, sensual, elemental lyricism Foxx employs throughout his mid-80s oeuvre, the track “Systems of Romance” really feels like a bridge between 70s art rock and 80s avant-synth-pop, moreso than anything else on the album. Much as “Systems of Romance” extracts a certain prettiness from punk, so does the aesthetically-oriented “Night Suit,” which plays with appearance, deception, and masculinity.

Music: “Night Suit”

“Night Suit” is the track on The Garden that I feel is the most exemplary of its own time period, a mysterious ode to a mystical garment that could almost feel at home on an album by Visage. The Garden is interested in “romantic” themes, but “Night Suit” truly feels at peace among the New Romantics. It’s got some of the most “believable” rock influences, with a prominent guitar riff from Simon, and yet its emphasis on the power of fashion and appearances, destructive, and perhaps even supernatural, is hard to imagine in a genuine punk context. As it implores us to “be someone” or “be no-one,” it’s easy to fit “Night Suit” into one of the major themes throughout Foxx’s career: the tranquility and liberation of personal anonymity. Why is the “Night Suit” a suit in the first place? The song wouldn’t make sense if it didn’t deal with a garment that is also a non-garment, something to wear that feels default, neutral, and unassuming--not to mention classically masculine.

On the cover of The Garden, the main thing we see is, well, a garden. Despite Foxx’s more obvious personal presence on the albums before and after The Garden, it’s easy to miss him here, dwarfed by the scale of nature that surrounds him. It’s almost like the album is more meant to be about this place, and the concept of “the garden,” than it is Foxx as a person, or any particular perspective of his.

While the actual capital-R Romantics were deeply interested in the “sublime,” and the scenes and moments in which mankind faces its vulnerability and insignificance when compared to the natural world, it’s also worth remembering that a “garden,” by definition, is really not a natural space at all, but rather one which is arranged by human hands. Even if this composition resembles those of Romantic painters, I think it’s worth looking earlier in the European past to interpret this one. Gardens were one of the most prominent symbols in Medieval literature, and scholars have suggested that they serve as symbols for sensuality, romance, and the yoni itself. Through the association with the Garden of Eden, gardens often represent a sort of lost, but longed-for paradise, and a return to innocence which is as tantalizing as it is impossible. In particular, “Europe After the Rain,” with its theme of lovers meeting again after the passage of some time, seems to connect with this idea.

In hindsight, The Garden really stands alone in Foxx’s career, a masterpiece whose precise style he would never attempt again. We might say it became that Garden of Eden, to which the artist could never return. While Foxx’s interest in Medieval spirituality would return on ambient works like Cathedral Oceans, and he would occasionally return to love songs with an electronic backing, the precise combination of lovelorn bardistry with a flair for the baroque that appears on The Garden remains totally singular. Foxx’s follow-up to this album, 1983’s The Golden Section, narrows its thematic focus towards poppy love songs, and its instrumental focus, likewise, is that of a fairly unremarkable mid-80s synth-pop record. But at the same time, I like to think that tracks like “The Hidden Man” manage to maintain a sense of the mystical.

Music: “The Hidden Man”

My favourite track on The Garden is “Walk Away.” While it lacks the severe and tragic grandeur of the album’s title track, which closes the album on a lofty note, “Walk Away” shares some of its delicate qualities, reviving the soft piano that we heard on “Europe After the Rain.” Thematically, “Walk Away” seems to deal with fragility and transience, and the grave significance that a brief, passing moment may have--which makes that “delicateness” feel all the more poignant in context. Its call-and-response outro, featuring one of Foxx’s most anguished vocal performances, really makes it a stand-out. That’s everything for today--as always, thanks for listening!

Music: “Walk Away”

[tinstol]

The gifted: AI-generated plot summaries

 I fed Text Synth the first nine episodes of The Gifted. The resulting episode summaries include zombies, she/her Pang, self-discovery, Pang/Koi, and weirdly unspecified hobbies.

Korn and Koi become more intimate, with little understanding of each other. Meanwhile, Pang and his friends find the missing students at their school, but the students have already been abducted by Mr. Pom. Wave overhears their conversation, and plans to kidnap the missing students as well.

Korn finally comes to terms with his feelings for Claire, while Koi is smitten with the tech-god Mr. Pom. Wave is still trying to capture the missing students and is unaware of Pang's new power.

In their class, Koi gets closer to Mr. Pom, and her feelings for him grow. When a group of teachers and a policeman are injured during an event with zombies, Mr. Pom is forced to admit to Korn and Wave that he is actually a zombie.

Pang receives his powers back, and begins to see other sides of the world. Meanwhile, Wave and the Gifted Club become a team to search for the missing students. Mr. Pom is shocked and confused to see Pang. The mysterious girl from the abandoned house who gave Korn a message for his friend, Mr. Pom and Pang have been friends for a long time. They meet again to discuss some family matters.

Korn, Koi and the Gifted Club track down Claire's family's farm. As they learn more about her home life, Claire's younger brother, Taro, tells the group that Mr. Pom is still very much alive. Wave and the Gifted Club are on a quest to find Mr. Pom.

Pang and her friends search for Mr. Pom at the abandoned house. Pang and Koi finally realize their feelings for each other. Meanwhile, Wave has a realization about the meaning of life. After all of this, Mr. Pom wakes up.

Wave and the Gifted Club decide to leave Mr. Pom in a safe place, but Mr. Pom wants to go home. He tells Wave he must do his job. Meanwhile, Pang is in a new school, and she and Koi have become very close friends. She soon realizes that she has a new hobby, a hobby that involves her.

When Korn realizes that there's a ghost, or zombie, running around, he confronts his fears by confronting the monster. Meanwhile, Claire learns that the baby of the house is the secret behind why Mr. Pom is so strange. Claire takes the baby and leaves.

Pang and Koi are having fun with her new, very fun hobby, but her hobby is slowly going out of control.

Pang and Koi try to stop Claire from leaving the house. They find her in the bathroom with the baby. She threatens to kick them out if they don't let her leave. Wave finally realizes why Mr. Pom was so weird and was not himself, until he discovered the reason.

After a lot of thinking about it, Wave decides that the answer he was looking for lies in him. When the others realize what he meant, they finally forgive him for what he did.  

  Mr. Pom meets up with Taro and tells him about how his father died. He tells Taro that he needs a new partner. Taro tells Mr. Pom that he's never had a partner. Mr. Pom asks Taro if he wants to be the first. Taro thinks about the matter, and then agrees. Mr. Pom will be Taro's first partner.

Mr. Pom meets up with Taro again, and takes him to the gym. Mr. Pom teaches Taro all of his techniques, and then asks him to put them to the test. Mr. Pom does not care if Taro wins or loses, and will not allow him to quit. Taro will now fight against Mr. Pom, or whoever can beat Mr. Pom.

Meanwhile, Claire tries to get Pang and Koi to get on her side by making them jealous of her hobby. However, when Wave finds out, he refuses to help her. Claire eventually realizes that she's in the way of Pang and Koi, and leaves.

When Taro finishes his training, Mr. Pom challenges him to a fight. Taro challenges him, but he does not have a chance to beat him. Mr. Pom is far stronger and faster than Taro.

[pagingdoctorcarter]

“Perhaps, I killed a Jedi and took it from him.” Clumsy fingers beneath sleek synth leather gloves close over the hilt, the silver of it glinting merrily in the grasp of a cold fist. “Impossible,” Lord Vader says. “I am growing tired of your games, boy. I shall only ask once more: who gave it to you?” “I cannot say,” he replies. “Cannot?” says Vader. “Or will not?” “I will not.” His voice is firm, and does not shake. He reaches again for that serenity: a flash of copper hair, [...] of blue eyes.

This is for the writer’s ask where you ask about 500 characters of one of my fics, and I do a deep dive analysis! <3 Thank you for indulging me.

Alright! Better late than never but I’ve been overthinking this because I DO SO LOVE process and meta! So let’s dive in. The commentary.

First of all, let me say that I am a huge proponent of  Korkie Kenobi - and yeah, I’d love to see it canonised - but I think my relationship with this character is a bit more nuanced than people give me credit for.

I was all for arospec/acespec Obi-Wan. That’s the canon I loved. And I was very much not interested in Satine when she first appeared in TCW. But the thing was, once it happened, once they introduced a love interest who played a significant enough role in the story, I felt I could either ignore it...or roll with it. See what it changed. See what it created.

Obviously, the relationship - on a surface level (and tbh probably the only level which the writers considered) is meant to mirror Anakin and Padme. They are the road not taken. Where Anakin and Padme chose each other, Obi-Wan and Satine chose their duties.

This is a...I don’t like this take as an exclusive one, and here’s why: it implies that Padme was also selfish, and made the wrong choice. And yet everything in canon tells us the opposite. She continued working. She jeopardised her career and her reputation to fight against the rise of the Empire. She gave her life trying to prevent it. To put her as a direct mirror of Satine is messy, and to me, cannot justify the creation of Satine enough to convince me.

But I also don’t want to throw away such a huge chunk of TCW narrative. So the other option is to reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally lean in.

At which point, you have to examine not just the immediate symbolism of the relationship, but what each character individually brings. You have to give Satine her own agency. She has to become her own person. Suddenly, all the little bits of information that would normally be overlooked become important. We get so little of her, that everything becomes significant.

And Korkie - who hangs around for a couple episodes, but otherwise has no real importance, suddenly becomes significant.

And that, for me, is the crux of the issue. I hate, hate, hate wasted story elements, and if Korkie is so superfluous as to be negligible, then why did we waste not just money, and time, but story on him. And if he is unimportant, then his relationship to Satine is unimportant. And if that relationship is insignificant, then we lose something integral and revealing about Satine, and now suddenly there is less of her to relate to Obi-Wan, and so anything revealed about him becomes less important, too.

Maybe this feels like a stretch, and maybe it is, but to me, Korkie feels very much like Chekhov’s gun.

And it would drive me CRAZY if he were to go unexamined, and unused.

So this whole story was an examination of “What does Korkie tell us about Obi-Wan that we didn’t know before? And what can Korkie tell us about Vader?”

Because what is Vader if not Obi-Wan’s Fallen son?

This was essentially the thesis for this piece: despite the fact that Vader/Anakin had all of Obi-Wan’s attention, love, and time it is Korkie who truly embodies the legacy of his father.

And while I know that “found family” is a massively important part in the SW universe, I think there’s a larger discussion to be had about other aspects of family. The answer isn’t always that Blood is Bad, and that heritage is shameful or unimportant. Sometimes, where you came from does matter. Some people do find strength, and pride, and hope, and motivation, and support in their origins - even if it’s something they’re divorced from in a physical or temporal way.

For me, Korkie is an opportunity to examine a father/son relationship where neither of the two people have an attachment beyond blood, but -

There is still one of love. 

But instead of Anakin’s selfish, possessive love for his family, both Obi-Wan and Korkie relate to each other, and treat each other with empathy, compassion, and respect. Their love is noble. Selfless. They put entire worlds before each other. And Korkie learned that from his dad.

A personal pet peeve is this constant depiction of kids whose parents are in high stakes jobs feeling neglected or abandoned. How many cop shows have bratty kids acting out because their dad is never home to share dinner? How many medical dramas show the children of doctors lashing out because mom spends more time at work than at ballet class? 

It drives me crazy.

As the child of a medical worker with an on-call schedule, I can say that neither I, nor my siblings, nor any of the other children of my mum’s coworkers have EVER felt neglected. We have never felt unfairly or selfishly entitled to our parents’ time. Because we knew - because someone (another parent? A grandparent? A teacher?) explained to us, and taught us at a young age that what our parents were doing was important. We understood that there were life or death stakes, and that we were very loved, and very much the priority - just not every second. Because sometimes, a life was on the line.

And Obi-Wan Kenobi was fighting to save a galaxy. 

I just cannot in any way believe that a child whose mother was a ruler of a planet plagued with civil unrest and a significant terrorist group, and whose father was a Jedi Master, and in charge of securing peace and freedom across the stars would ever be so selfish, and so uncompassionate as to begrudge the sacrifice of his parents.

Korkie Kenobi is an abject example of selfless love. The kind of love the Jedi aspire to. The kind of love that Anakin absolutely does not understand, and fails to embrace.

And it’s not because Qui-Gon died (Korkie never had that kind of paternal relationship), and it’s not because Shmi was killed (Korkie’s mother also dies tragically), but because of the maturity of the person, and the quality of Korkie’s character.

So to pit a Korkie just coming into his own as an adult, aware of his father, and recently bereaved of his mother against a Vader just coming into his own as a Sith…

That, to me, evoked very interesting narrative avenues to explore.

In this universe, Korkie and Obi-Wan have recently reconnected (Korkie having helped Boil retrieve Obi-Wan from an ill-advised trip to Mandalore where Obi-Wan learned that Anakin had become Vader for the first time), and they both know what they are to each other. Obi-Wan has begged for forgiveness, and given Korkie his lineage, and his legacy in the form of Qui-Gon’s lightsaber - something that Anakin never got. Vader wants it.

So let’s get into it:

“Perhaps, I killed a Jedi and took it from him.” 

This first line - it’s like poetry, it rhymes.

Vader asks where Korkie got the blade, and Korkie replies...in Qui-Gon’s words. He doesn’t know this, of course. It’s just a coincidence. But the remains of Anakin hear it. Anakin recognises it, and it galls him that this boy - Obi-Wan’s replacement of him - seems to be able to claim the lineage he wishes he had. Korkie is stealing his family. And he doesn’t know them. He doesn’t deserve them. He’s not entitled to them the way Anakin is. 

And this is also one of the first things Anakin ever heard a Jedi say. This was the beginning of Qui-Gon’s promise. This is a moment in which Anakin first thought he might find salvation. It was the start of his life, in some ways. This was pure, good, and trusting Anakin Skywalker. 

It’s an absolute anathema to him, now. Now, when he’s lost everything. When he’s filled with doubt, and hate, and fear, and suffering. It makes him angry. Because he doesn’t want to see that he was Korkie. He doesn’t want to see that he had this chance, and blew it. And Korkie - who never had Qui-Gon, who never had Obi-Wan - can speak the words without even (in Anakin’s mind) earning them.

Also, and most obviously, Anakin killed the Jedi. And yet...he didn’t kill Obi-Wan. He did not kill that Jedi, and take this blade.

Korkie is alive. Obi-Wan is alive. Anakin resents it. Obi-Wan should not exist without him. Obi-Wan should have no legacy but Vader. Because Anakin doesn’t. 

Clumsy fingers beneath sleek synth leather gloves close over the hilt, the silver of it glinting merrily in the grasp of a cold fist. 

To me, it was important that we see the weakness of Vader. His hands are not his own. The flesh of Anakin Skywalker is gone, and beneath the serenity of the mask, and the shadow of black, he’s fumbling. Korkie’s wrong-footed him, and he feels young, and insufficient in the face of this boy. This is all about Anakin’s insecurity.

Korkie speaking words he shouldn’t know - speaking in the voice of a literal Jedi - so calm, and so collected (negotiating with the serenity of his father) scares Anakin. He’s hearing and seeing the ghosts of the people he betrayed. 

And the blade itself is merry because it belongs in the hand of Korkie. It knows (and the narrative knows) that it won’t be long in Vader’s grasp. It transcends the dark. It glints, and is optimistic. It’s a symbol of faith. It’s delight in being claimed by Korkie is symbolic of Qui-Gon’s own approval of his legacy. Qui-Gon Jinn chooses Korkie Kenobi.

But the thing is, it’s not because he’s a Kenobi. It’s because he chooses to act, and speak like a Jedi. Anakin fears - and knows - he never received this blade because Qui-Gon Jinn would not approve of what he’s done. This is Qui-Gon’s repudiation of Anakin Skywalker. The blade is laughing at Anakin.

“Impossible,” Lord Vader says. “I am growing tired of your games, boy. I shall only ask once more: who gave it to you?”

And then Anakin answers the same way he did as a child. He is still a selfish, defiant, fearful child. He denies the possibility that Korkie could have killed a Jedi. 

Now, of course, he knows that the Jedi are dead, he knows that Korkie is not a Jedi, and he’s also denying the possibility that Korkie could have done it.

And, more than that, he’s denying the very possibility that Korkie could speak - could somehow know - Qui-Gon’s words. There is no way that this boy should be speaking with that voice. It’s impossible.

It’s a three-fold denial.

As a more technical thing, Vader’s voice was really hard for me to do, because this Vader still had to be recognisable as Anakin. He’s only been Vader for about a year at this point, maybe a little longer, and he’s just been thrown back into his childhood by memory, so the voice had to hit this balance point between Anakin and Vader.

This is an Anakin who uses language to build himself up. He doesn’t quite buy his own authority - it is so easily undercut by an unarmed boy, here, after all - so he makes himself sound like the seat of power...Obi-Wan. He mimics the slightly elevated phrasing of his former master, and condescends, calling him “boy”. He speaks to Korkie in the voice of Korkie’s father. But it’s distorted, and clunky because it is not Anakin’s voice to claim. And he hasn’t had all the practice that the next 18 years will provide him with, yet.

So theoretically, if I did it right, the motivation - the drive of the sentence - is Anakin, but the pattern is an echo of Obi-Wan.

I also think this is probably the third time Vader’s asked Korkie (iirc), and that’s just a classic storytelling technique - things, especially questions, lessons, or events, happen three times. 

Korkie replies differently every time.

“I cannot say,” he replies.

So, at first, Korkie answered a question with a question. He was brash, young, and openly defiant. He replied in the way that Anakin or Obi-Wan may have if they’d been captured. He asked who Vader was. He didn’t know him - he doesn’t know him.

Vader is his brother, and yet Vader - Anakin - has been erased. His own family doesn’t know him. Has no reason to. He isn’t a person anymore. He’s a monster with no face, no name, no history, and no future. He has no claim to his own past.

Then, when Vader asks again, Korkie asks why it matters.

It’s a slight change of tactic, but one that Korkie thinks might put him on a more even playing field. If he knows why it’s important, then maybe they can work out a deal. Maybe he can...negotiate. Again, Vader hears shades of Obi-Wan’s cunning in this kid’s voice.

It also forces Vader to confront the reason he wants this blade - but that reason is intimately connected to Anakin. So Korkie is humanising him. He’s offering Vader a piece of himself. But Vader won’t take it.

Then, after Korkie’s spoken like Qui-Gon, Vader asks again, and Korkie denies him utterly. He cannot say. It’s impossible. It’s something beyond his control.

“Cannot?” says Vader. “Or will not?” 

“I will not.” His voice is firm, and does not shake.

Or is it? Because then, Korkie does what Vader does not. He takes responsibility for his choice. It’s not out of his hands. He’s choosing - deliberately, and decisively - to deny Vader. And he does not flinch. He does not hide. He looks into Vader’s face, knowing he might condemn himself to suffering, and death, and chooses that.

This is Korkie as a Jedi. He makes the same sacrifice the Jedi make - he looks into the Dark and chooses the Light.

And in this instance, he has replaced Anakin because he’s protecting Obi-Wan. Korkie is at Obi-Wan’s back. Korkie is making a choice to shield the person he loves - though he hardly knows him - because it is right. He loves freely, and selflessly. He loves Obi-Wan in a way that Anakin betrayed, but Korkie will not betray Obi-Wan here.

 He reaches again for that serenity: a flash of copper hair, of soft robes, of blue eyes. 

Korkie Kenobi is Force sensitive. Of course, he is. He is the culmination of a series of Light choices, and selfless sacrifice. He, at the end of the Clone Wars, comes out as the very thing they were fighting for. It’s not lost. Obi-Wan isn’t lost - he still shaped Korkie. He still saved something - something of the Force, something of the Light, and something of himself. He saved Satine. He saved the Jedi. He’s not fought and sacrificed in vain.

And so, though it is still rough, and untrained, though, like his relationship with his father, it’s still new, Korkie instinctively seeks to soothe himself, to find peace, so stay calm. In this moment where he is confronted with a Sith Lord, alone, and unarmed he chooses to reach for peace…

And his peace, his hope, is Obi-Wan Kenobi.

He reaches for his dad.

Just like Obi-Wan reaches out for Qui-Gon’s ghost. Just like Anakin reaches out for Obi-Wan (seriously can’t have one conversation without mentioning him). Just like Luke reaches out for Anakin.

Korkie seeks comfort in the Force through the person he most finds solace in. And it doesn’t matter that he and Obi-Wan are nearly strangers, because they choose not to be. And because Obi-Wan is the ideal that Korkie strives for.

Obi-Wan has taught him something about serenity, and bravery, and hope. So when Korkie thinks of calm, and thinks of making his father proud, he sees Obi-Wan. Just flashes in his memory.

And the colours of Obi-Wan are symbolic - the fire of his hair, the chaos of the galaxy and war, the colour of the sand on Tatooine, the heat of its suns, and the shared blood between them. The blue of his eyes like water in the desert, an oasis, a salvation, an open sea, the clear sky, something vast and all encompassing and cool. The soft robes are an embrace. Obi-Wan is a home in the Force.

(Ironically, this is also what Anakin as Vader thinks of, and is thinking of because he also knows Obi-Wan, and so the next beat of this scene shows Vader and Korkie accidentally sharing thoughts. An easy mistake, as they’re essentially running into each other at the same restaurant!)

ANYWAY -

A, um, brief analysis of this passage from Or Else I Shall Be Lost

I hope you enjoyed it!!! And thank you so much @tree-scapes for tagging me!!!!! 

[thecosmicsen]

character interview.

▌ real  name:  Ahn Jaewoo ▌ single  or  taken:  proudly taken by the perfect @shesin​ ▌ abilities  or  powers:  enhanced physical abilities,  sleep induction by touch,  sealing powers to repress those wrecking havoc,  bestowing protective charms on humans,  human possession for short periods of time,  levitation,  teleportation  ( in supernatural realms ),  bringing the dead back to life  ( limited ),  command over two disembodied human souls that boosts his powers against other supernatural entities.  ▌ eye  colour:  dark brown ▌ hair  colour:  black  ( natural ) ▌ family  members:  Ahn Jongsoo  ( deceased in 1965 ),  Kim Seonhee  ( alive ),  Ahn Taesoo  ( younger twin brother,  deceased but ‘living’ as an apparition )  and later on in his timeline he has two twin sons Ahn Iseul and Incheol along with his daughter Jihye with @shesin​ ▌ pets:  he has no official pets because he brings in neglected animal apparitions back home all the time which come and go but it usually is abandoned puppies ▌ something  they  don’t  like:  temples ▌ hobbies / activities:  experimenting in the kitchen with various cooking and baking recipes that suits Inés’ subdued tastebuds for normal food  ( then later on for their babies too ),  collecting extra cash on the side with @infernoath​  +  generally bickering with other supernatural entities,  long romantic walks,  checking up on friends,  skills training,  reading,  playing board / card games,  keeping an eye out on the order of the city,  literally doing anything and everything with Inés ▌ ever  hurt  anyone  before:  he has hurt endless supernatural entities,  mainly spirits but unintentionally with anyone else especially human friends / acquaintances  ▌ ever  killed  anyone  before:  murdered his own twin brother  +  other troublemaking supernatural creatures who refused to be talked down or be reasoned with  ▌ animal  that  represents  them:  golden labrador puppy but Buzzfeed says panda because he is cute,  energetic and everyone always wants to spend time with him ▌ worst  habits:  has  ‘ blind love ’  for people close to him so he would ignore their shortcomings and  ‘ sins ’  to a certain extent,  being a little hypocritical in that sense ▌ role models:  the crew of space shuttle challenger,  his direct captain at the army,  an author who wrote about their first-hand experiences with memory loss and @phantombs ▌ sexual orientation:  Inésexual ▌ thoughts  on  marriage / kids:  he is a big romanticist and family man,  firmly believes in the solid foundation of marriage and what it stands for but he has anxiety over being a terrible father although he wants and loves kids which he eventually gets over when he has babies with Inés ▌ fears:  losing his chance for atonement ( with its associated risks such as shamans ),  Taesoo being unable to forgive him,  being unloved,  losing those close to him ▌ style  preferences:  anything that Inés wears so he can bask in her scent but even then he gravitates towards monochrome colours,  mainly loose / baggy / comfy black clothes that he can layer up with.  he loves loves loves oversized warm jackets and hoodies in particular  ! ▌ someone  they  love:  madly in love with Inés @shesin​,  she is the one who gave him a purpose to live his second chance through and complements him in all the right ways ▌ approach  to  friendships:  he can usually sense whether he can get along with someone within the first ten seconds of meeting them so he will usually pursue the conversation so he can investigate similar motives / interests  ▌ thoughts  on  pie:  a bit too heavy on his stomach but he will happily gobble up apple pie with cream  ▌ favourite  drink:  ginseng honey tea  ▌ favourite  place  to  spend  time  at:  snuggled up under blankets in the arms of Inés ▌ swim  in  the  lake  or  in  the  ocean:  he loves beaches so he would enjoy a splash at the ocean so he can also bug nearby fish and crabs and whack people with seaweed ▌ their type:  Inés,  what drew him to her the most was her genuine self-assurance that was carried with her magnetic presence besides her overall  ‘ grounded ’  and levelheaded demeanour,  she also engages him in intellectually stimulating conversations but allows him to unconditionally express and pour his love out to her which she returns fully to him but in her own way ▌ camping or indoors:  indoors,  complete with the cosiest blanket fort,  fairy lights,  snacks and movies 

tagged by:  @phantombs  ( ily smooches !! ) tagging:  @shesin  /  @lavtiena  /  @lupusxdei  (  I want Hoxy <3 )  /  @scrrface  ( Tony !! )  /  @traumableeds  /  @cvvalier  ( Mi ha )  /  @infernoath  /  @battlepicked  / @moonsseas  /  @synthes  ( Hanuel )  /  @cchilyoja  /  @gitsune

[sleepysailorghost]

Tracey Love Vol. 4

-Tracey looks most like her mother, Lauren. Before the war, she couldn’t see anything from either of her parents in her face. she thinks maybe that she’s just forgotten what they looked like. 

-she kinda hopes, very vaguely, that her father is still out there somewhere. maybe frozen. maybe ghoulified. but she knows that even if he was, they would not recognize her. so this is just a hope she lets sleep in her heart. 

-one of the worst things she’s ever done was destroy the Nucleus and Arcadia. It was the only way she saw to protect Far Harbor. It was only after that the guilt set in. 

-since then, she has only spent a little time in Far Harbor. maybe one day, she’ll be able to build a home there. 

-She doesn’t like Maxson. Like at all. She understands that he has a lot of weight on his shoulders and that he’s young, but she could never forgive him.

-She knows that Synth Shaun isn’t really her son. When she said he could go with her, it was because she was exhausted and he looked enough like a kid that she could pretend for a little. 

-Still..she would never abandon him. she knows all too well what that’s like. so maybe he isn’t exactly her son. she already has a synthetic lover and a synthetic partner. what more is a synthetic son? it’s not like there wasn’t already a room for him. 

-in her grief and confusion after learning the truth, she thought maybe she ought to get rid of that room. but it didn’t happen and eventually, there was an inhabitant for that upstairs’ children’s room. 

-she would still like to leave the commonwealth. go west maybe. It’s just that she’d have to bring Shaun now. Shaun would probably like to meet his cousin, she thinks. 

-whenever he creates a mod she’s so proud of him

-during her fight with Kellog, she was injured. one of her eyes especially. It was still healing when she arrived at the Institute. Father, in all his magnanimous cruelty, had it replaced. She’s like Kellog now, she knows, and it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. 

-her eye, as the doctor on the Prydwen promises, does not compromise her use as a brotherhood soldier. He, and Proctor Quinlan, have quite a time poking at it and making notes on it. 

-she wishes she didn’t have it but Father wasn’t a man who was used to asking. she hates being poked and prodded by Quinlan and Cade, but she figures it’s either that or they try and cut it out of her head and she’ll be down an eye. 

-The eye does give her access to more abilities than she had before. Night vision, better accuracy with VATS etc. (this was my way of explaining a few of the perks)

-The only companions she’s told about this was Danse. Nick just knew by looking at her. She would tell Maccready, but she feels like he’d say she’s cheating on account of her eye.

-she feels so cold. she hates it badly, and will generally wear her Brotherhood uniform under most things, if only for a little extra warmth. Danse, on the other hand, radiates heat, so she is very snuggly with him if possible. 

-Maxson once tries to convince her to let Shaun (not knowing about him being synth obviously) become a squire, and he got turned down so fast his head nearly spun. 

-Tracey used to feel fairly comfortable in confined spaces. After Vault 111, she would really prefer having the space to move. 

-hates being experimented on/ operated on, so she’ll really only allow people she really trusts to do so. Cade is on very thin ice.