#In some ways I wanted to know a bit more about the world and characters. but I also appreciate a succinct story.

[fafodill]

I’m unironically invested in Snape and Hagrid getting along pretty well. Despite how much of a careless disaster Hagrid can be, talking to him must be a breath of fresh air after a week of dealing with the bratty pureblood snobs in Slytherin/their parents/the school board/Dumbledore and his inability to be direct about anything/Harry’s latest disaster/students who refuse to follow simple instructions and then get mad about it/Death Eaters/etc. Also, this has the very fun (to me) potential of devolving into like… Hagrid: :D :D do you want to see my new pet?? she’s a Firebeathing Hellmurder Deathbeast that’s been illegally smuggled into this country, isn’t she cute, her name’s Pumpkin and I won her in a card game :D Snape: Yes absolutely, would you mind holding this cursed severed head in a jar while I take a sample of Pumpkin’s venom for research purposes? Hagrid, completely sincere and not questioning the severed head: :D okay!! Her venom can dissolve flesh!! Snape, also completely sincere despite the resting bitch face: That sounds… fun. I imagine it has many uses.

(also damn, if you want a character to rescue teenage Snape from the Marauders my vote’s on Hagrid! he managed to keep the inside of his house off of the Map, and as much as he’s clearly fond of James I don’t think he’s very keen on people hunting their classmates for sport after having been targeted by Riddle…)

Thank you anon for giving more fuel to my platonic (?) Snagrid growing interest because I absolutely dig it.

Honestly Hagrid is a very underused character. It's partly jkr's fault (how convenient it is to always blame her) since Hagrid was like a sort of kind-childish-giant-trope who was here at the beginning to introduce Harry to the magical world and kinda... stayed that way. He is like an overgrown friend to the Trio which is, well, something some people have been discussing 'cause it's lowkey problematic since he's a grown-ass man... but he's also extremely non-threathening (if you forget about his very dangerous special interests). It's a bit of a shame that we didn't see more of his 'responsible' side but he is capable of great emotional intelligence and has a clear sense of friendship (like in PoA when he scolds the boys for letting down Hermione). So yes, I could absolutely see him defend teen!Snape!

Of course we can assume this didn't happen in canon since we never see Snape interact with Hagrid - if I'm not mistaken - but... it sounds like something that could have happened.

And really, cottage forest giant + gothic skinny boi bat ? Immaculate combo.

I want Hagrid to have protected teen!Snape! He wasn't a professor back then but he was roaming the grounds and could have seen the Maraudeurs hexing Snape and intervened. He's big and impressive. Snape would have fled as well in the other direction but what if sometimes Hagrid had spotted him studying outside in the shades? I could see him just waving at him from afar and tiny Snape just burrying his head in his books, not knowing how to react.

With time he'd have waved back maybe. Just a little bit. And Hagrid would have smiled from ear to ear.

And he'd have yelled at the Maraudeurs again and again. Because sure the kid was a slytherin but he wasn't hurting anyone (at least at the beginning) and it was pretty obvious he was lower-class and was mostly bullied because of that.

Imagine that with time he'd have maybe found a wounded/hexed Snape once and offered him to get him to the infirmary. Snape would have refused and with a bit of convincing Hagrid would have maybe managed to convinced him to come to his house so he could at least bandage him or offer him tea.

Imagine how awkward 13 yo Snape would have been in this weird hut with all the gigantic clutter around and then being offered a bucket of tea. He'd have barely answered Hagrid's questions, hiding behind his hair and looking like a wary little animal. Then Hagrid would have maybe showed him the very toxic rare beetles he'd have 'found' in Hogsmeade and little Snape who's ahead of the curriculum gets worried fascinated and perks up and starts babbling about what it seems to be.

Hagris tells him he can come whenever.

And they bond over that beetle. Even more when it lays eggs and Hagrid is overjoyed and Snape is excited but VERY WORRIED and doesn't know if he's supposed to warn the other professors or not.

And he goes back to the hut twice a week to observe the evolution of everything and finds that it's actually quite nice being there. It's calm and Hagrid praises his intellect and loved that he's being so curious. And he doesn't judge him for his clothes or his accent.

Of course in the middle of this beetle story they both almost get poisoned at least five times and when the eggs hatches it's a catastophy and they barely manage to kill them all contain it before the whole grounds are festering with poisonous beetles. Hagrid is very sad and Snape has no idea what to say so he just passes him his napkin-sized hankerchief as he weeps.

After that I believe you can have the beginning of - if not a solid friendship - then at least some sort of trust and companionship.

Had Hagrid been told that Snape invented sectumsempra and possibly hurt people with it (Hagrid is a gryffindor with a strong moral compass after all and we could assume he's not fond of slytherins) he could have scolded him and possibly distanced himself but I think that once he's fond of someone he's not letting them down.

So he'd have been able to hear Snape's side even if he didn't approve of his methods.

And imagine if he offered him once to spend Christmas with him in 6th or 7th year?I don't know about you but this sounds like dubious food, drooling dog and nice memories to me.

Yeah no, I dig a Snagrid friendship.

[asterdex]

i've seen people joke about it but... is there any kind of consensus within the community regarding the player and Gaster's relationship? is it something that everybody just naturally agrees on and doesn't talk about it because there's no point to it or am I just going crazy on my own??

like yeah sure, first and foremost, we have the tweets written by Gaster himself and addressing the player, either rejoicing in seeing us showing the same kind of interest and fascination in him that he does for us, or describing how wonderful and special that "connection" we have is, how it makes him feel to be connected with us and how specifically "beautiful" and "exciting" it is for him to enter in contact with us.

Or talking about HE and WE specifically feel about each other, and going on about creating something together, as partners- i mean as a team.

And then we have the Goner Maker sequence, during which he keeps going on and on about how "wonderful" our creation is, guiding us step by step towards the realization of the EMBODIMENT of a player's freedom in a video game : their own avatar. Gaster is the only one in this game who is actively giving the player that much freedom, who is trying so hard to accomodate the player, to fulfill their wants and needs.

(unsure if it still needs to be said nowaday but no, the person discarding our vessel isn't Gaster, they talk in a different typer (given the fact Gaster's typers are always 666 or 667, it seems important to note that this new person talk in typer 2), not using any upper-cases, and not remotely talking in the same way (in japanese even more obviously than in english : Gaster talks in broken katakana japanese with some kanji while the other voice talk in hiragana and complex kanji. they also don't use the same second person pronouns when talking to the player), so yes, Gaster is STILL the character who seems to (at least in appearance) want THE MOST the player to be the most confortable possible, out of every other character in this game)

This idea of Gaster giving the player AS MUCH freedom as he can, in a world that seemes to be DESIGNED for us not to have any freedom, is first obviously supported by the way he is takling about "CREATING A NEW FUTURE" with our help, suggesting that OUR power as a player should be able to change the future and that it is in his interests for us to find the freedom leading us to that "NEW FUTURE", but it is also implied with the fact it seems that it is Gaster who is giving us access to three different save files, as we can see him talk and comment each one of our actions in the menu of an incomplete Ch1.

Gaster is ON THE PLAYER'S SIDE. or at the very least, he's doing a very good job at pretending he is. And it makes sense for him to be the only character who seems to INCONDITIONALLY support the player : he's the only one who seems to truly understand WHAT is the player, at least more than every other characters in this game. (there's an argument to be made about Ralsei, who seems to also only want the player's happiness, but 1. he doesn't really have the power to accomodate the player like Gaster does, so each one of his attempt to please us either end in just giving us fake hope, or being cancelled out by Susie (who seems to naturally oppose the player whenever she does something), and 2. unlike Gaster, Ralsei is CLEARLY suffering from always trying to please everyone else, especially the player, for whom he believes he needs to play the role of a LITERAL background character who's only here to serve and make them happy. Ralsei suffers from trying to please the player, while it seems like Gaster only gets enjoyment out of it, repeatedly stating that being connected to us is as wonderful for him as it is for us)

And the way Gaster views the player has become a bit clearer with his Ch3 and 4 messages, that can be used on top of his usual Game Over dialogues to suggest that he is watching us play at all times, is rooting for us, knows things about how this world works that we don't and is willing to give hints when he feels like it is necessary, and can be genuinely impressed by "our power", supposedly our determination and/our our pure game skills.

His Game Over message could even be interpreted as him trying to emotionally manipulate us into trying again, even when we told him we've given up, telling us how our absence led the world to be "covered in darkness", before cueing a very sad rendition of his own theme before closing the game after 66 seconds. Bro is literally looking at us through the screen with the saddest look in his eyes trying to coax us into trying again by making us feel bad. Maybe he DOES really need us as much as he says he does.

And maybe the most interesting recent dialogues of them all, at the end of Ch4, he congratulates the player for making it this far, quickly mentions how long we will need to wait for the next chapter/connection... Before refering to Deltarune as "HIS" DELTARUNE??

Up until that very moment, Gaster has always talked about "the future", "this world" as a 'team effort', always including us in the realization of it all, making us feel like we WERE an important part of whatever scheme he has in mind... Hell, sometimes he even talks as if THE PLAYER'S actiosn were actually ALSO his ("SHALL WE HASTEN?" against the Knight, when in reality the player is doing all the hard work here), which didn't seem strange because as a TEAM, that kind of way to speak is pretty normal. but in this moment, it somewhat feels like Gaster is trying, or at least thinking about taking ownership over everything "we" have created together. Was it his intention since the beginning, or is he just stating to love this game/world so much he's subconsciously seeing it as "his" and having troubles sharing it with the other person who helped reaching its realization? or maybe are we not completely understanding our role in his plan yet?

And all of this, all of this weird undertone of codependant relationship between Gaster and the player, this mutual fascination and genuine feelings for one another, whatever those feelings can be, ALL OF THIS without even talking about the Demon/Angel parallels we could ALSO talk about regarding how the relationship between those two transdimensional entity could go.

Let's assume the player is the Angel. (The Angel is said to "light up the path" of believers, the player's soul's distinctive power is to produce light on its own. The Angel is said to be "watching over" the world and people, the player's pov seems to come from the sky, from "HEAVEN" some could say. The Angel is traditionally represented without facial features, as Noelle and Dess's doll's description at the hospital points out, and the we are unable to see how the Angel looks like in the prophecy, which would make a lot of sense if the Angel was supposed to be the player, someone who, inherently, has to be faceless to represent ALL of us. The player's soul gets trapped under an Angel doll at Noelle's house. The Titan we see in Ch4 uses a lot of the imagery typically associated with the Angel, and first appears with an image suggesting a "real human face". That is SOME of the reasons why it's easy to assume the player is the Angel, at least in SOME versions of DR's reality (for example it would be possible for Noelle to take the role of the Angel in a Weird Route or something, the same way the Angel was two people at the same time in UT ; one benevolent Angel, and one Angel of Death, depending on the run the player is doing)).

Gaster has always been associated with demonic symbolism, the most obvious of which being the repeated connection he has with the number "6" : the typer associated with him is 666, in both UT and DR, his hidden stats in UT are filled with 6s, each one of the funvalues directly calling him by name are all happening between 61 and 65 (which is also why it is so commonly accepted to say that the mystery man from the funvalue 66 is supposed to represent Gaster himself in some way), the theme DARKNESS FALLS, as previously mentionned, is 66s seconds long, etc...

Interestingly enough, supporting the interpretation of these "666" as being the Devil's number, Gaster also made an appearance in the "demon text" of UT during a very short period of time : alongside a text CLEARLY written by Chara, "the demon who comes when people call its name", another line appeared in PRECISELY the version 1.05A of the game, saying "HE IS". (for more information on the demon texts if you are interested here is a post by Underlore talking about it)

It makes sense for Chara to be present in the DEMON text, because they call themself a demon, and it makes sense for Gaster to be there as well, as he's so often associated with the number 6. and ironically enough, while Chara is the demon who comes when people call its name, when we first name them at the beginning of the game, we are UNABLE to write or hear the name of Gaster in most playthrough. In a way, it's as if he's specifically a foil to Chara, the demon who comes when people DOESN'T call its name, haha.

And this makes sense with WHAT Chara is supposed to be : Chara is the player's completionist will, what pushes them to conquer and consume every last bit of a game, leaving nothing left behind them, metaphorically "destroying" worlds for their own entertainment. But, because of his very special status in the game, Gaster just cannot be "consumed" like every other content can ; he is often the very last thing keeping people interested in UT, when everything else has been read and analyzed, only him stays "unsolved", everything one can know and believe to understand about him feeling like a bottomless pit of endless possibilities. Literally the one thing the player needs to satiate Chara. Endless content, because incomplete.

Gaster has always given the player what they wanted, ever since UT. He is in a way the opposite force opposing the player's will to SEE and DO everything, because he is the content they will never be able to SEE and TRULY interact with, but this is this exact force that makes the player feels so connected to the world ; if the content is seemingly endless because unreachable, then the illusion of a fictional world being infinite is achieved. and as a result, the player becomes obsessed with that world that seems oh so real.

Because of this duality between these two, it could be easy to suggest the possibility that Gaster isn't "just" a demon, but The Devil, acting as a counterpart to The Angel, the player. After all, it is Gaster with whom we made a suspicious deal at the very beginning of DR, giving him our SOUL regardless of what the consequences would be.

Who else would offer a deal with such absolute conditions than the Devil itself, the one who is represented by the number 666, the one who we are told to "beware" from the very first time we hear about him.

All of this to say i do not think it would be so wild to assume that, with everything that we know about how the player's and Gaster's goals, wants and ENTIRE EXISTENCES allign but also complete one another, it wouldn't be so out there to believe that maybe, similarly to how Flowey in UT became obsessed with the player because they were the only person existing at a similar plane of existence as him, the player and Gaster would develop very strong feelings for one another, because they are the only ones in this fictional world who see it as a fictional world, the only ones who understand one another, and who can help each other effortlessly, simply by following their own instincts.

TL;DR i ship the player and Gaster and i made it everybody else's problem

[weavingstarlight]

Happy Pride, have some angsty art of Four and Shadow ~

So I decided I wanted to draw Four and Shadow for Pride because, hey, I love these gay boys — but when it came to deciding WHAT I wanted to draw, I had a little more trouble. Instead of doing a classic “Pride post,” I wanted to tell a story. I’ve been spending a lot of time recently with Four and Shadow in Guiding Lights and so I felt like it made sense to draw that version of them (even though it felt a little self-indulgent). I didn’t want to illustrate a particular scene, but instead capture the emotions of the characters symbolically. So, uh, this is what I ended up with!

[Spoilers for chapters 1-17 of Guiding Lights below the cut]

Four was not meant to take over the narrative the way he did. Neither was Shadow. Both characters managed to insert themselves into my outline and demand a larger chunk of the story for themselves. I accept this as “the way writing goes.”

I mention in the fic tags that the soulbonds that unite the Chain are entirely platonic, and this is important to keep in mind with Four and Shadow, who are bonded but who additionally have a non-platonic relationship. It is also important to remember that the soulbonds “activate” the moment a pair of Links get close enough to each other, physically or emotionally (and depending on each Link’s sensitivity to the bond). This means something very important for Four and Shadow’s relationship, which some of you may have already figured out but I’ll lay it out plainly here: The Colors were already soulbound to Shadow when Shadow destroyed the Dark Mirror.

Imagine what that felt like for a moment.

Imagine what Link went through, immediately after his adventure — not only losing his friend, Vio’s partner, but losing his soulmate. And at the same time, rejoining for the first time — going from being Link to being the Colors to being Four — and all that that entailed. (We’ll learn more about what that entailed later in our story.) And the choice, the sacrifice, was made by Shadow and Shadow alone.

Four is no stranger to grief… nor to anger.

And then, quite by accident, Shadow was revived. And Four had to adjust his worldview yet again, now to include the person he was sure he’d lost forever.

But Shadow was the same person as the day he’d died, and Four… wasn’t, anymore.

Fast forward to the “present” day.

Shadow desperately wants to use his powers to rejoin his partner — to save him — but practicality prevents him from doing so. He’s not just worried for Four, he’s scared. And he’s also scared for the other Links, and though he’d be embarrassed to admit it, scared for himself. What happens to Shadow if Four is seriously hurt? What if he dies? Guilt of several kinds bites at Shadow at every moment. He feels angry at his enemies, but also angry at himself for not being able to do more — and even though he knows it’s unfair, he’s angry at the Chain for being slow, angry at Wild for not taking a bigger risk and transporting them with the Slate, and angry at the world for just being sucky. And, selfishly, he misses Four. He’s sad.

Meanwhile, Four is going through his own ordeal. He has no way of knowing where the others are or even if they’re coming to save him. Half of him wants to have faith in his partner and brothers; the other half wants to focus on right now and on saving himself. And there’s a little bit of anger on his part, too — of course the others did the best they could, of course they did… and yet. Four is scared, injured, and lonely, and he can’t afford to be any of those things if he’s going to survive and escape.

But despite all the pain they’ve been through, what unites these two — what unites all the Links — is love. They take strength from each other no matter the distance between them, secure in their love for each other. Nothing can destroy that love, not even death. They’ve already proven that.

During Pride month, it’s great to see examples of queer joy — it’s important to see that! But I think it’s also important to see queer sadness, anger, fear — the full range of human emotions, because queer people and queer relationships contain the same kinds of pleasure AND pain as non-queer ones do. So I don’t feel bad about drawing my poor stressed-out boys during Pride month, and I promise I’ll do happier art of them at a later time. ***

Technically speaking, this piece went great. I’m especially pleased with how the colored pencils came out. My white ink was very dry but it rehydrated well!

8 x 11. Alcohol markers, colored pencils, micron pens, and white ink. Digital background.

[IMG: An illustration of Four from Linked Universe and Shadow (Four Swords manga with a Linked Universe-based design). Four is walking away to the left, visible from the knees up. Shadow is floating behind Four and reaching out for him. Shadow is surrounded by a dark, fiery aura, which flames out behind him. Four is reaching back over his shoulder and their fingers are intertwined. Four is wearing a patchwork tunic, black pants, and black gloves over a light gray shirt. He has blonde hair, pale skin and multicolored eyes. Shadow is wearing a black tunic, white pants, and black gloves over a light gray shirt. He has black hair, paler skin than Four, and red eyes. His feet melt away into dark flames. The “flames” surrounding him are various shades of purple. The background is a textured dark gray-blue. The drawing has black ink lineart and is colored with markers and colored pencils.] *** UPDATE: I made additional posts about the process of drawing this illustration, check them out here!

Process photos Inking timelapse

[yaoipologist]

i think it's a bit ridiculous how often i see people just blatantly wrong about grian in third life so i wanted to make a post saying my opinion:

it's so incredibly obvious to me that grian wants to be with scar. the initial deal - my life for your life - was made By Grian. it was offered and freely given. scar was wary talking to grian while the deal was being made because he thought grian was going to fucking kill him again. swearing fealty to him was not scar's idea, it was entirely grian's, made of his own free will.

immediately afterwards, grian does a full 180 and is very open about how much he dislikes being with scar and being tied to him. he tells everyone that scar is crazy, tries to disrupt his small plans that he disapproves of, even yells at him about what he wears ("put your clothes back on!"). it seems like it's a fight, like he disapproves of scar's every action and is being dragged along as an unwilling participant.

but grian doesn't leave. he doesn't go to other people for help leaving the situation, despite them offering. he warns people about scar knowing full well that scar knows what he's doing and is in full earshot (and laughs at scar's comments about it when they're alone). despite the deal allowing for his release, his loyalty to scar does not shake until the very end, no matter how much he complains.

and scar is not some cruel jailer. scar is absurdly nice and almost gentle with grian. "can we still be friends?" while handing him flowers, carrying him around on pizza's back, doing everything he can to make him laugh, always going along with his setups. scar never treats him like a vassal and instead treats him like a dear friend. it's clear that scar has genuine affection for grian, even as a red life. even if grian got in that situation unwillingly, scar doesn't use him like that.

if anything, there's an argument to be made that grian uses scar to get away with his own schemes. very often he not-so-subtly nudges scar to give him the go-ahead to kill. grian is very particular about rules and this season is no exception; he toes the line very carefully between what he's allowed to do and what he isn't, and crosses that line frequently for his own gain. he is the deadliest player that season by a mile, not in the least because scar lets him be.

but like i said, scar plays right along with it. he gladly becomes the partner in grian's explosive schemes and always backs him up, even when grian fails to always back HIM up. scar is more than willing to play the part of facilitator. he's not trapped either.

watching with all this in mind and the understanding that the characters aren't speaking exactly what they mean (because why would they? that's never been the case with fiction!), we understand that there is something more going on here. grian is not telling the truth when he says he does not like his partnership with scar, and looking at the way they actually act, it's pretty obvious he genuinely cares for and treasures him.

this is part of what makes video game roleplay so difficult to talk about - the medium allows unreliable narrators to lie directly to the audience's faces, where we tend to most believe them. subtleties in the storytelling can get lost if you take it all at face value and the real diamonds end up being seen as just shiny rocks.

i think it's very clear the swearing fealty thing was an excuse for grian to get close to scar. i don't doubt he actually felt bad about scar's first death, but i do doubt that it was the only motivation for teaming with him. if he was only there because he felt bad, he would not act the way he did. he wanted to be there, at least a little bit, from the very beginning.

(as always, this is an analysis of a piece of fiction that happened to be made in minecraft. none of this has any relevance to real world relationships. this is like dungeons and dragons to me and i will treat it as such)

[soulfulazrael]

Something dawned on me about part of Deltarune fanbase which made me theorize something about the ending.

And that is discourse around Kris recently on the internet and the Soul which relates to this

And I have something in mind I want to speak up about, There is something we can see quite a bit in both Undertale and Delatrune fanbases. And that is... bias towards ourselves. Where a lot of players refuse to take responsibility for their own actions. Where some still believe Chara is responsibe for genocide. Where Snowgrave is something Soul itself did or something else controls us. So forth and so forth.

And I was wondering about this, but on something else. Because I also saw some speculation about DU having similar story to a game called Omori. Haven't played it myself, but from what I understand it's ending is tied to confessions. And there is quite a few people now given that Toby by the time it released said a game would be very similar coming out and author of that game is their friend. How Kris will have to explain so much. How Susie will hate them and not trust them. How everyone will turn on them and they will lose their hand too and so forth and so forth.

And now I think... on that side people are doing THE SAME thing as people who blame Chara do. They are still on their very big bias towards themselves which makes sense as we probably always will be biased the most towards ourselves. But I have this thought this concept that... it will be that, but it wont be Kris who will be hated in the end. It will be us. We wont be the ones who will be accepted and Kris judged. No. It's Kris's decisions that THEY make matter. It is our choices that do not.

And possibly in the one ending we get WE are never accepted. Susie will never like us. None of the characters will care for us. It's Kris that will be loved, it is Kris who will earn forgiveness as we are told to leave. Like in Undertale even on Pacifist route we are told to LEAVE and never come back.

And while it is just my theory it would be fascinating if it ended up being true. Sort of way to gauge the kind of person you are. Whether or not you find it fair or satisfying that someone else gets to be loved and accepted and you are left alone. Even if you play full pacifist the ending remains where you have to leave. Probably as being viewed more fondly upon, but not truly accepted. Basically. Can you be okay with Kris being the one who get the happy ending. Not you.

And I know some of you may say how this is something that happens in lots of games like Mass Effect or something, but here is the thing. Deltarune is unique because of how much distinction it makes between the player and the main character. We are hit on our head time and time and time again how we are not Kris. How they have their own agency, their own likes, needs and personality that we hijack.

So in the end no matter what deals they have, what happens, they will earn something better and you will not. And Snowgrave could be a path for those who are bitter about this choice. Who do not accept it and want to force the game to cater to them. To love them. Make at least one person love you. Someone very, very vulnerable you can mold.

Now I know it sounds, dark, weird and uncomfortable, but to me it would be very interesting. A test of how far you extend your empathy at the cost of your own happiness. And how many of those people who are scared for Kris will NOT be happy if good ending for Kris means a bad one for them. Becuase Kris is Kris and you are you. So how about leave them in their world and like Ralsei said "Have real friends"?

Now just to be clear. I do not mean here that characters in this game will HATE US no matter what. What I mean is that we will never be as close to those characters as Kris is and despite everything Kris will be seen in much more favorable light than we ever will be if confessions ever happen. Where Susie may at first look at US more with Scorn and forgive Kris much easier. I don't mean that until the end she will hate us, but I think the game will make sure to let us know that Susie and others will never be VERY close to us.

That is for Kris. And like even in Pacifist Run Flowey pretty much begs us to leave Frisk and others happy and let them live their lives I feel like ending of this game will be similar. In that we will have our time with those characters, but we have to move on and let them be happy on their own. Without us.

[fairestbeard]

Is Claire even a doctor?

One thing I love about on this show is their subtle use of some obvious tropes. You almost think it isn't there but it is because without tropes storytelling don't really have coherence and structure. It's how we're able to connect certain dots in any narrative. In The Bear, some if them are directional and some I believe are mis-directional.

That being said, I noticed some things that made me wonder if Claire really is an actual doctor. I don't know what would be the intention or relevance to the plot for her not to be one but I just noticed a few things that I want to point out.

Of course there has been a lot of chatter in the fandom about her having way too much free time for an ER resident. In my last meta, I pointed out that the possibility that she wasn't even that available, we just assumed because it was made to look that way. A lot of the tricks they pull relies on how much we assume.

But there's more discrepancies.

1) The overselling of Claire:

This one I call the too good to be true trope. It's kind of odd the way Claire is oversold in the show. It's like every pro-claire character in the show just becomes a desperate insurance salesman. She also seems to be pitching herself a little bit sometimes. She always has to qualify why she's good, why she's fun, etc. That has made a lot of people suspicious for good reason, paying more attention to her character and observing disturbing details, because when something presents itself to be too good to be true, it probably is.

I also find it very interesting that she said to Carmy she was "almost a doctor" but a resident IS a doctor already especially one with 6 months to go in residency. Lord, she even has plausible deniability, herself. She never said she was a doctor.

2) There's no definite markers for her job

She says she is a doctor. Everyone says she's a doctor. But when we see her there's nothing that definitively says this is a doctor except that she wears scrubs in a hospital. She's definitely a medical professional, but is she an emergency medical doctor? We've never seen a clear badge of any kind. It is purposely blurry in my opinion so that your brain makes out what it should be. In Sundae when she calls Carmy, she's right in front of the camera but the badge is either blurred or turned. Even scrubs like hers can be worn by any other medical worker at all.

Just a coincidence? Maybe.

But she's never even been seen in a doctor's coat. Even Syd has been dressed more like an actual doctor (M.D) than Claire has.

3) Nurse-y duties

Every task we've seen her perform in the hospital has also been very nursey. We've never seen her consulting patients or doing anything exclusive to doctors. She says she fixes TBNs, we see her fixing saline IVs and giving shots. Even when we see her fixing a bone, in a scene which could be very well in Carmy's imagination, we see a gloved hand that we can't definitively connect to her, she talks about saline flush again like a nurse and when she is asked what happened, she just describes the incident in lay man's terms instead of replying with medical jargon. And this is a show that dumps us in the deep side if culinary jargons without a care in the world.

We never seen her outside the nurses station and dispensing treatment. We also see her very casual and friendly with the someone at the nurses station in a very familiar peer-like way which suggests she that's where her duty is around and we never seen her with an actual doctor clique or anything.

6) The con in the wild trope

The final coincidence that ties all these other coincidences for me is how they seem to have used the con in the wild trope in this scene where the Faks visit her in the hospital.

You know those movies where someone lies about their identity and then someone finds them in an unexpected place and calls to them but it takes a while for them to realize they are the one being addressed? That's a little bit what the scene felt like to me.

She doesn't respond to "Dr Dunlap", "Dr Claire Dunlap" She rouses with a confused look at "Dr Claire" and only turns after "Dr Claire bear". Also her immediate reaction was to whisper and try to quiet the conversation. Of course, her hair also covers the badges very conveniently. Now, it's shot in a way that there's a good enough excuse for these and it doesn't raise that much suspicion, eg, she was too engrossed in her work and the shushing and looking around was because they were embarrassing her at her work by coming to intercede for her estranged boyfriend.

Ted even says "I was coming to look for Dr..." and trails of so there is once more no definite marker since the statement doesn't get completed to be confirmed or denied.

The whole scene just resembled a con in the wild scene too much for me not to consider the possibility.

It seems very unlikely, though, and doesn't make a lot of sense to me for her to not be a doctor but it's also very possible when you line up these coincidences. I wonder if it's a switcheroo they're planning and what it would mean. My best guess is that it's probably another misdirect but if it's not, I wonder how such a development would play out.

[karmacharmeleon18]

im so glad i found all your kevin sucks takes, the way ppl mischaracterize him into this uwu traumatized autism creature of a man then get mad at anyone for criticizing him is so unbearable and it makes so much of the fandom feel downright hostile as someone whos not his biggest fan. i may not agree 100% w all your takes bcz i do see him as a bit more nuanced, but they def need to be said

Oh, Kevin is definitely very nuanced, in the og trilogy I found him fascinating for that very reason. I just don't care to express it anymore because his stans are going to be pissed and attack no matter what, so I might as well just vent, you know? Like, you want something to hate? Fine, I'll give it to you! 😡😂

The fact that he is so nuanced in canon is actually what drives me crazy about the fanon version of Kevin!

The way he gets woobified, infantilized, reduced as a character by his own fans is an absolute disgrace

His fans are somehow convinced that everyone wants Kevin as a friend, and as a boyfriend, that he belongs with Andreil and JereJean, that the world revolves around him...

No? Man is one of the most unlikable people in the Aftg universe. So much so that even Jeremy Knox doesn't want to hear one more word from him at one point. He is a Fox. And before that he was a Raven. He is not supposed to be likeable. And that's what makes him interesting!

Nora: Kevin has no friends, it'll take him years into their pro careers, after they're all Court, to become friends with Andreil; Jeremy doesn't count because they barely text; Jean? Kevin's behavior forever ruined any chances at a friendship; Thea? Closest thing to a friend he has, but it will take them years of living together and playing in the same team to develop an actually affectionate, more conventional bond; maybe after he retires Kevin will be able to make friends with new people he meets; any relationship Kevin is in will have to account for his narcissism

Kevin stans: Kevin and Andrew are besties! Kevin and Neil are besties! Kevin and Jeremy are besties! Kevin and Jean will be besties eventually!Everyone loves and adores Kevin!

I've never seen a fanbase so allergic to their fave experiencing the consequences of his own actions

Man is insufferable, no one who actually knows him likes him (the only person who does is Thea and the fandom hates her lol). The Foxes aren't fooled by his PR mask, they know it's just a facade, he had his PR training ingrained into him by years of abuse. He is stubborn and refuses to deal with his trauma in a healthy way, because all that matters is Exy, and as long as he can play everything is fine so who cares if he's an alcoholic? He is a hypocrite, he is a snob, he is an abused prince who despite escaping his gilded cage still believes he is owed the obedience of all the peasants around him. And that's what makes him so interesting!

Incredibly ironic that Kevin fans are the ones doing him the biggest disservice by reducing his character so much

I'm so, so, so glad that all my venting led to me meeting so many like-minded people! Because honestly I was feeling like I was about to lose it! 😂 I left this fandom years ago because of all the mischaracterization, then joined again because I couldn't resist the temptation of JereJean. I'm so glad that this time around there's more people openly critical of some characters! Jean's POV of Kevin really opened a lot of people's eyes. But the rest just dug in their heels even harder and won't accept any opinion that goes against the version of Kevin they have built in their minds in the past 10 years (the: uwu poor misunderstood baby emperor of the universe Kevin Day)

I actually can't wait for the Kevin duology (not the prequel bc I don't care about seeing more horrors, but the sequel? Yes, please!) because I like him as a character. Shocker, I know! I like Kevin Day the character. But I dislike Kevin Day the person. Snobbish, self-centered, narcissistic, callous, victim-blaming, uncaring for the feelings of others and even their health unless it affects Exy

But isn't that the whole point when it comes to the Foxes? Good characters, horrible people

Jean and Jeremy (& Cat, Laila, Cody, Rhemann, etc.) are the closest thing we get to good characters and good people... and so many people in the fandom don't like them????? Which makes no sense to me because in fanon they constantly assign the Foxes character traits that belong to the Trojans, and completely erase what makes the Foxes Foxes. I just makes no sense to me 😭😭😭

And that's why messages like yours are so important ❤️❤️ you make me feel a lot less lonely in this fandom ❤️

[twilight-amber]

One thing that I really enjoyed about the latest Deltarune chapters is how much the reveal at the end recontextualised Ralsei's character and the information he presents to us in his introduction. Below are some disjointed thoughts about that.

When Chapter 1 first released, I remember feeling that his explanation of the prophecy and how battle works (and his encouragement of a peaceful approach to resolving conflicts) seemed almost like an introduction to the rules of the world that might have to be subverted later - sort of in the same way that Flowey in Undertale initially establishes the rules of the world as "kill or be killed", which you then override by choosing nonviolence in order to reach the happiest ending.

This observation created a bit of dissonance between my Undertale player brain ("of course I want to approach all battles peacefully and spare everyone!") and my narrative-focused brain ("is the peaceful approach really the right one in the context of this story? is there some future twist that will completely recontextualise what we've been told about how the world works?")

When Chapter 2 released, I felt the dissonance less - it's painfully clear that the consequences of going out of your way to hurt people are Bad, so I felt much better about choosing the peaceful approach.

But I still wasn't sure what to make of Ralsei - why was he so insistent on us being nice to enemies, if he also believes that Darkners' only purpose is to support Lightners (as per the pre-castle conversation in Chapter 1)? Is it just because the prophecy says it's the way to go? Why does it matter so much to him?

To be clear: I never thought he was like. evil or anything. I figured he was doing the best he could with the information he had. But how accurate was that information? Could he be misguided in some way? He was clearly hiding stuff, and not knowing what he was hiding and why left some uncertainty.

But then we get to Chapter 4, and suddenly Ralsei's motivations become a lot clearer. The prophecy didn't say anything about kindness or mercy - that was his own personal advice, given in the hopes that the prophecy could be changed. He wasn't just acting according to the prophecy; he was genuinely trying to make a difference.

And now knowing that Ralsei has been encouraging Kris and Susie to be kind in hopes of altering the prophecy's narrative... it's particularly interesting in light of the fact that every chapter has a Moment where everyone you've befriended in the dark world shows up to help out - but only if you take the pacifist approach (with the exception of Chapter 2).

There's Chapter 1 with the king being overthrown. Chapter 2 with the Ultimate Group Project (Thrash Machine). Chapter 3's version of this is particularly interesting because it interacts with a part of the prophecy: Susie repairs Tenna offscreen if you recruit enough people to help (or just avoid violence?? reports seem varied on this one). The prophecy about Tenna still comes to pass (he's broken), but it's not the end for him.

And - I just found this out a day or two ago, actually - something similar happens in Chapter 4??? It seems that Jackenstein straight up falls to his death(?) in the scene just before the finale if you choose to be violent, but all the Sanctuary Darkners come to his rescue if you stay pacifist the whole way through.

Susie's comment about being nice paying off seems a lot more pointed in this context. Whether you choose a pacifist or violent approach is starting to have more obvious, more significant consequences.

At the end of Chapter 4, Ralsei makes it clear that he believes his own efforts (in guiding Kris and Susie towards nonviolence) have failed, because he was hoping that what's written in the prophecy would change, and it hasn't. But there's a big difference between "Tenna gets broken and stays broken forever" and "Tenna gets broken but is patched up and can still have a happy ending", even though both follow the letter of the prophecy. Maybe there's more than one way for that final prophecy to play out, too.

Susie's the one who has the conviction to fight against fate, but I want to believe that Ralsei's efforts had some meaning as well, even if we can't see it yet.

[leebrontide]

Hello!

I'm Lee (any pronouns), a middle aged queer writer from the midwest of the US. It's been a bit, so I'm doing another writeblr intro, to find more potential writeblr folks to chat with!

What I write:

- Mostly scifi! I have a bit of fantasy brewing in a collab project, but mostly, scifi.

- Queer stuff. Lots of different types of queerness.

- Community. Both in the group-hugs-and-support variety and the extreme-mess/everybodies-traumas-keep-smashing-into-each-other variety. I have training as a family therapist and am endlessly fascinated by interpersonal dynamics. This is the meat of my work.

- Grounded worldbuilding. My main project right now is near future scifi that diverges from our timeline around 2001. I'm enjoying the hell out of playing the US I know with some very key tweaks that changed society. I know a lot about medical systems, criminal justice systems, and legal systems and like using fantasy and scifi elements to show them as I know them. But like, in a way that should appeal to people who give 0 shits about US institutions.

- Disability stuff. Not that after-school-special shit. I am just tired of characters being generic pretty dolls whose physical attributes don't impact how they move through the world. That means not only writing a variety of different disabilities, but also different bodies. My characters aren't "inspiration porn" or just waiting around for less disabled characters to come save them. They are messy, with a wide array of relationships to their limitations and the things they use to cope with those limitations.

- YA into new adult. Not exclusively, but mostly. I really like taking characters from YA into early adulthood. Not just a standard coming-of-age arc, but the actually moving from a self-concept of a dependent teen into someone with legal responsibility for themselves, jobs, college, etc. Especially when combined with all of the above. I love a nice long character arc with lots of sub-arcs along the way.

What I have out, now.

- I have two books out so far, Secondhand Origin Stories and Names in Their Blood. I'm working on book 3 in that planned 5 book series now, which is currently titled Brittle Idols.

- I have a free monthly newsletter called Shed Letters where I talk about psychology, tech, queerness, storytelling, and the creative process, plus whatever random topic I've been researching for my books recently. Also contains pictures of my three very photogenic cats.

- Newsletter subscribers also have access to a novella I wrote that goes between Secondhand Origin Stories and Names in Their Blood, that's about an fictional AI (the only kind I like) trying to decide on a body for themself.

- I also draw and animate, with my first and still in-progress animation project being a "trailer" for Secondhand Origin Stories.

What I'm looking for

- writeblrs - especially writeblrs that aren't JUST writeblrs. I want to feel like I'm meeting people, at least in some manner, rather than just hearing about a product in process. That doesn't have to mean deep confessions or private information, but honestly I'm not likely to remember you for your writing project alone. Sorry. Please show me what else you care about!

- Bonus points for queer or disabled scifi or fantasy writers.

- I am white for most intents and purposes but I always want to find more AOC who write sci fi.

- Also always excited to meet more YA authors- especially the currently kinda sidelined YA scifi.

- People who care about where society is going but aren't posting that everything is doomed and pointless. I mean you post whatever you want but I don't need that on my dash. That shit is not helping me help.

I sometimes do ask games? It's fun when I have the time. It'd be fun to have more folks to do them with, provided those folks are patient.

Please interact if this has piqued your interest!

[elene78-blog]

Kevin's Duology

Many people are excited about Kevin's duology, about all his fans. From what I've seen in Kevin's fics, the fandom that loves him has built a Kevin that, as a rule (and this is my opinion), is quite far from the real one, with many qualities in terms of friends, kindness and things like that...

Well, I think Nora is going to prove that she's not.

What do I expect to see in duology?

A tough Kevin, sometimes brushing against cruelty, sometimes ruthless, manipulative, and sometimes feeling the world coming upon him.

A Kevin who was initially a frightened child and gradually becomes a cold, hard machine.

A Kevin who focuses on the exy so as not to deal with what surrounds him, with walls around the sport that protect him, but at the same time prevent him from connecting with others. Only those who get to his part of the wall (the best) can get to Kevin. This makes it a ruthless block of ice with those who don't give it their all.

Do I think we'll see kindness? Not much. I think it will be pretty little because Kevin is NOT kind.

Do I think we'll see a Kevin worse than the one we already know? Yes, but we won't hate him for it, because we'll really start to understand it, or at least part of it.

Nora is not going to show Kevin that fandom has idealized for years, because that's not his Kevin. It's going to show us someone broken and surely, sometimes, very unpleasant.

It's going to show us a hateful character.

And you know what?

Those of us who are not fans of Kevin are going to love him for that complexity. And those who have been fans will always have many more pieces of the puzzle that will make their image of him more complex and realistic. They'll want it the same way, but they'll see it less idealized.

I think it will be an incredible character study, a not idealized character at all, a very, very dark character with some shades of white and gray. It may be the most complex Nora writes about.

I think we will also see some coldness in Jean in The Perfect Court, not so much the shattered Jean we know (we've already had a lot of that), but the Jean who began to turn all the events he suffered into. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Jean beating some rookie or some Raven brutally, or playing with the intention of injuring someone.

Nora will show us something about Jean with what we say, wow, how much he's changed in his trilogy. Good thing he got it.

In short, we will see the cruelty of The Nest, but not only towards our protagonists, but also our protagonists towards others. We'll see what they start to become and what they would have been like if they hadn't left.

I think the only thing that won't get any worse is Thea. I'm sure Thea will be the least fucked up of the three, and we'll see a very different nuance in her than we think.

Am I honest? I think Nora will turn everything around and make Kevin much worse than Thea in The Perfect Court. This is a bit of his "modus operandi," actually. We start by believing that Andrew is evil and a wretch to realize that Neil is the worst of the two. We think Jean is the one who is the most fucked up to realize at TGR that Jeremy is the one who is the one who is mentally worse off as Jean begins to recover.

I think Nora will do the same with Kevthea. We'll start thinking Thea is the worst and then we'll see that Thea calms Kevin down or keeps him afloat in some ways.

Nora will make it very attractive. Thea mitigating Kevin's cruelty/rage with serenity.

I'm sure that when The Queen's Game is over, we'll believe Thea is the better of the two, and a suitable person for what Kevin is (an unidealized Kevin).

I'm looking forward to seeing Nora destroy our perceptions and rebuild them.

[holyblonded]

Heyy, I've got two kind of connected headcannons for azulita.

You mentioned that she really enjoys and feels music and that it's some kind of safe space to her.

So i can really imagine that she likes communicating with songs and also understands peoples feelings better if they connect it to a song.

So maybe she started singing to sydney a bit, either some song snippets of songs she likes that describe how she feels about her or also self written songs. And then at some point syd realises that this is a way she can communicate with azulita better and just make her feelings more understandable and more related because for azulita music carries messages better than anything else.

Connected to that i could maybe see azulita enjoying sleep token even if it might not be her normal genre (idk if you're familiar with the band, but i can rly recommend them). But i think she would probably fuck with their genre blend (pop, jazz, gospel, hip hop and rock /metal influences) and their special instrumentals as well as with their well written lyrics. Sleep token songs often have so many layers you can unpack, the lyrics are written in beautiful metaphors and deeply emotional and in addition to that they are underlined by creative, powerful instrumentals with many contrasts.

So i can maybe see syd sending her a song like "are you really okay" or "provider" and azulita is just completely stunned by all the different layers of the song, then starts analysing lyrics and instrumentals falling deep into the sleep token rabbit hole (like I did too)

If you're not familiar with the band and maybe wanna get into it i can recommend gethsemane, blood sport, are you really okay, euclid, the love you want, damocles and the night does not belong to god because those are nice songs to start out with and not be instantly rejected by some heavier metal parts in some songs :)

Also if you don't like the second part of this ask with the sleeptoken part but can relate to the first headcannon feel free to just ignore my sleep token fangirling and only focus on the first part (if you even like that one xD)

Take care and keep on writing, I love your creativity and the way you make me fall in love with fictional characters :)

oh this is so azulita-coded.

the thing about azulita is she doesn’t always have the right words. not because she doesn’t feel deeply, but because language sometimes feels like this stiff, clumsy thing that can’t keep up with how fast and messy and full her heart gets. she’s a storm of emotion, but her vocabulary for explaining that storm… not always there. not in the ways that people expect, at least.

but music? music gets it. she doesn’t need to think through a sentence when a verse already says it better. she doesn’t have to decode her feelings when a guitar riff or a drop or a scratch in a vocal makes her chest ache exactly the way she feels. music has always been her native language—even when she was too afraid to talk, even when she felt like no one was listening, even when the world felt too loud or too cold or too fake, songs gave her a place to be.

so yeah, it starts small. syd’s scrolling on her phone, and azulita’s got her guitar, noodling around. and suddenly she hums something low—“baby, you my everything, you all I ever wanted…” and then she shrugs like it’s nothing, like she wasn’t just quoting Take Care and looking at sydney with eyes soft enough to undo a person.

sydney freezes. “was that—”

“don’t worry about it,” azul mutters, cheeks going pink.

but syd does worry about it. she starts noticing the pattern. how azulita will drop song lyrics into conversations instead of saying how she’s feeling. how she’ll leave her phone unlocked on a spotify screen, some moody, bittersweet track—and it’s clearly on purpose. how she’ll send syd a link and just say this is me today, instead of typing out anything else.

it becomes their secret language. when azulita doesn’t have the words, she finds the melody. and when sydney doesn’t know how to comfort her, she finds a song.

enter: sleep token. maybe syd finds them first, late night scrolling after azulita has shut down one too many times. she’s trying to understand, trying to figure out how to meet azul where she is. and she stumbles across “Are You Really Okay?” and suddenly she feels like someone cracked her chest open.

because it is azulita. it’s the question behind her silence. the ache behind the bite. the hope that hides in her snark. the pain she’s too proud to speak aloud.

so syd sends it. no caption. no explanation.

azulita listens. then she listens again. and again. the sound design is sick—like literally, she texts syd “yo who produced this this goes dumb”—but it’s the lyrics that gut her. the kind of raw, poetic storytelling that sneaks up on you and rips your heart out, but you thank it for doing so. it’s vulnerable, messy, sharp. it sounds like truth. it sounds like her.

from there, it spirals. sydgives her “Euclid” after one of azul’s worst anger episodes. azul responds with “Blood Sport” when she can’t say I love you but wants syd to know.

syd sends “The Night Does Not Belong to God” the day before a match when azul’s anxious and can’t sleep. azul sings “The Love You Want” into syd’s neck during a lazy morning cuddle. she starts writing her own songs again, too. not to share—at first. just to get things out. but sometimes syd catches her humming them. sometimes she lets her listen. once, syd finds a lyric in azulita’s notebook that just reads, “you didn’t save me. but you stayed. and that saved me.” and syd doesn’t say anything. just kisses her forehead and holds her a little tighter.

their relationship becomes part mixtape, part love letter, part emotional excavation.

azulita still gets overwhelmed. still shuts down. still struggles to talk. but now syd knows the songs that pull her back.

and azulita? she finally realizes that her voice, her real voice, isn’t just in the words she avoids. it’s in every note she hums when she’s brave enough to feel out loud.

and syd? syd listens. every time.

[deadbydangit]

Hi uhm, I hope this ask is okay but could I get some soft fluff with Pyramid Head? Like maybe involving handholding and hugs and just Pyramid Head comforting y/n who had an awful day and has gone nonverbal because of it? If you need more info I can give u some, thank you in advance 🙏

Ohh, that's cute. I'm going to modify it a little bit so I have more to write and add a few more characters. I hope this is okay with you and you enjoy.

Comforting the Reader After a Bad Day

Pyramid Head, Dwight, Houndmaster

Pyramid Head

You looked rough.

He's not a master at sensing emotions, but he knows when someone's not doing well.

He can't tell you that you're looking rough.

Cause, you know, he has no mouth.

So his way of checking if you're okay goes as follows.

One: A tap on the shoulder.

Then he kind of cruises his head to the side.

It's something you have to look for, but it certainly there.

It's like this quizzical look.

Even without eyes or a mouth, he somehow conveys these feelings.

You just know.

Two: After a moment of silence he'll just kind of bring you in for this hug.

He won't expect anything in return, he's just holding you.

And, since he's more than likely taller than you, he'll put his other hand on your head.

Pyramid Head will be petting your head.

Not in a condescending way.

It's more of a, 'Let the problems of the world fade away for just a moment and let me comfort you'.

'If I can do nothing else, just let me be here for you.'

While he can't give you any advice, he'll certainly listen to you if you want to talk about it.

If not, no problem.

He's a master at making long silences comfortable and relaxing.

Never awkward.

Sometimes, if it's really bad, he'll take you to his favorite spot.

A random field in the middle of the realm.

Nothing but grass for miles.

Nothing but the peaceful sway of the wind against the blades of grass.

A quiet little paradise in the realm.

He really wishes he could do more.

With his anatomy being the way it is, he's very limited.

But it's his comforting hold, his love and gaze, his attention to you that really makes the biggest difference.

Dwight Fairfield

Bad day?

He knows.

How?

He's worn that look before.

Dwight is the master of bad days.

This poor man has the most insanely bad luck in every aspect of life.

So, yeah, he's been there and done that.

And, somehow, he's come out the other end of it.

Is he a better person because of it?

Maybe.

But he is a stronger person.

A more emotionally available person.

You'd think this nervous angel would be a stuttering mess when trying to comfort you.

But it's actually the complete opposite.

He's extremely confident in his skills when it comes to helping people who are at their worst.

Because he's been at those worsts.

Dwight had to go through all those bad days by himself. He's not going to let that happen to you.

If you don't want to talk about it, he's never going to force you.

But if you do, he's all ears.

He's a great listener, never butts in when there's silence, and always does his best to support you.

If you decide not to talk about it, Dwight won't hold it against you.

"Do you want a hug?"

He will be whispering sweet nothings into your ear as you cuddle.

And he always respects your boundaries.

If you don't want to cuddle, no big deal. He'll just sit by.

But, come on, you want the hug.

"You know, you're pretty amazing."

"I must be the luckiest guy in the world. To have someone as incredible as you sitting by my side? It's hard to believe."

"I know whatever you're going through must be tough. But I also know you're going to make it through it."

"You may get bruised and beat up along the way, but I'll be here to patch you up afterwards."

"I love you."

Houndmaster

Portia is not good with sappy emotions.

The only emotion in her mind, usually, is anger and revenge.

And unless you count sadistic happiness as an emotion, there's very little else.

When it comes to you, it's not much different.

One thing Portia is, is observant.

So when you come back without your usual spirit, your usual gusto.

She knows something is up.

You didn't even say hi to her!

At first, she might be a little put off.

Her first instinct is usually to be angry.

Angry at those who screwed her over, at those who killed her father, at those who were responsible for her torment, at the world.

But being angry at you?

That's something else entirely.

Snug, on the other hand, is much better at understanding emotions.

Dogs usually are.

So she'll send her trusted companion to comfort you first.

It's kind of hard to be upset when 100 lb of dog is kissing your face over and over.

After a few minutes Portia herself will arrive.

She'll sit down next to you, but she's not going to say anything.

She knows that anything she'll say is probably going to make things worse.

She might mumble something, maybe even try and crack a joke.

But, otherwise, she's completely silent.

You can talk about your problem, and she'll listen.

But she's not going to say anything about it.

Unless you're plotting to get revenge against somebody for something, she isn't going to be much help and she knows that.

Instead, she'll pull your head onto her shoulder and gently pat your head.

Almost like she's petting a dog.

"World is shit. It's better if we face it together."

Is it perfect?

No.

But is she trying her best despite her circumstances?

Despite the fact that she only knows how to be evil and ruthless?

Despite the fact that, for years, she hadn't known a shred of kindness?

Yes.

And she wouldn't do it for anyone but you.

[porcubus]

really really do not like the subset of fans who view anything negative happening to gemma as a win for their ship war

[prismbearer]

Idk why there's disbelief over Mark S/Helly in terms of motivation. Helly is just as capable of cruelty and selfishness as Helena. They are at the core of it, the same person with different memories/experiences. They can be two perspectives worthy of indulging their own dreams and desires and also be the same person. Narratively here especially, this isn't about morality, it's about human nature.

Helly was never cruel, sure, of course. Helly felt like she was the same as the other people in MDR. But Helly has something right now that she never even achieved as Helena. Someone who loves her. Someone who is choosing her. Helly is Winning over Helena here.

Jame Eagen wanders down just to be a freak and reinforces the reality of it. Helly is "More" than Helena, hasn't been worn down by the weight of experience and the world (and their cult and corporate bullshit). She still has, in some way, the innocence of youth and lack of experience with the world. She doesn't have the same fears and burdens or triggers as Helena in her conscious experience. She still has the ability to express her passions and outrage and defend herself. And to love and not feel sorry for it.

Severance gave Helena a chance to exist without the learned perspectives and burdens of the Eagens and she is able to be free with herself and her passions and desires-- whereas Helena was likely drained of any dreams for potential beyond a strictly guided future decades ago.

Of course Helly is feeling a rush of joy and satisfaction over Mark loving her. Mark choosing her. She tried to do the "right thing" by being logical with Mark. "I'm her." Even outside of Lumon, if they bring it all down, there's no hope for an Eagen and an ex-severed employee in reality. In the Real World they will never be together. Mark couldn't love Helena, how could anyone love an Eagen? (Poor Helly really with like, the enemy is within etc, but that's kinda the situation framed by Lumon for everyone by setting the stage with your Innie isn't human kinda rhetoric.) (This was also reinforced by Helena trying to get close to Mark to see if he still had feelings or chemistry with her and finding out they were not going to work outside Lumon.)

What if the equator is a building that could be a continent? Can be their whole world? They're choosing to live Now. Together in the present despite knowing that with their half lives, they could be brought to an end at any moment. It's very willful young love of them. And why wouldn't it be? This is their First Love. They haven't even been "alive" that long or have any memory of romance beyond their current infatuation. They don't know the world or it's places, and maybe that's okay, maybe they can exist in this space so long as they have love and the others.

It's completely human for Helly to accept Mark choosing her. To run to him just to see him for maybe the last time. It's human for Mark S to run to Helly. It's human for poor Gemma, who doesn't even know her fucking husband is severed, to be pounding on the door.

But this is their Final Day to Mark and Helly. Maybe the very end of their world. It's Judgement Day. Of course they'd have them holding hands and running back to the unknown to face the end together. To die together.

There is also zero fucking chance Mark Scout would risk his life and brain continuing reintegration once his wife is back. Mark Scout is going to choose his wife. Mark is choosing Love on both sides here.

All of it is reasonable.

[bendover-productions]

Sorry if you've already been informed of this, but in case you haven't, I just want you to know that Sam still has the teal pom pom hat! He said on the podcast that he misplaced it almost immediately and thought he had lost it, but that he found it in his bag once he got back!

NO!!! no one told me!!! 😭😭 thank you so much, that teal hat is incredibly important to me and i am delighted he still has it

^^^sam in that hat. to me tbh <3

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

The Pomegranate Gate

start of a trilogy set in a high fantasy version of Spain 1942, where Jewish people are being forced to either convert to Christianity or leave

follows a young woman who, when her family are being driven out of the country, stumbles through a pomegranate grove on the full moon and finds herself in another world with two Maziks (mythical magical people) living in a ruined castle

and a young man who saw Toba disappear, who’s left in the company of two old women, trying to figure out what happened to her, and why he dreams of the Mazik and their world

multiple worlds, dreamrealms, politics, learning magic, m/m