#also i have a theory about god that's like. you know i don't necessarily believe in him

[aromanticasterisms]

iansan relevance right off the bat let's fucking go

[icannotgetoverbirds]

hi yeah holy fuck holy shit y'all

gotdamn this is a story for the ao3 author hall of fame. im still homeless and i promptly realized a couple of days afterwards that uh yeah no can do the whole living independently thing so im looking for a group home. in the meantime i managed to get into a decent shelter, get acchs insurance, and am working on getting a case manager.

holy fuck it's been quite the. week or so? the days have kinda been blurring together so idk. hopefully i'll get into a group home soon. i've got some family that i'm gonna try and contact in case they'd be more understanding than my parents about the whole 'being disabled' thing.

anyways that's the short version. long version under the cut

so basically bc im an exmo i've been incredibly isolated as i've tried and failed to build an entire new support system from the ground up. i had one singular friend who i could reliably talk to (i think i have two now and a few case workers so that's an improvement) and even then it was only over the phone. aside from that, i do have y'all online here, but again, i need a device in order to be able to chat with y'all.

and because my body is an absolute shitshow - in addition to my executive functioning issues - i wasn't able to get much done around the house. now, for some reason, my parents looked at me and decided that this shit is all a lack of responsibility. don't get me wrong, i couldn't exactly be responsible for much. but the key word there is couldn't, not wouldn't.

and for some reason, they look at the situation and decide, time and time again, that the best solution is punishment - by taking away my phone and internet access. not necessarily out of the ordinary for most parents, but given the circumstances, that's absolute dogshit for my mental health.

so, when i literally developed a new fuckin health issue that left me bedbound for a couple of days, my mom told me that we were going to 'have a conversation'. aka my shit was gonna get taken. again.

and that would've been it for me. isolated, in pain, sick, tired, without anybody to lean on. so i said fuck that shit, packed my stuff, and walked out.

i started off at a shelter that used to be a prison, and oh my fucking god i don't think i've ever been more pro-prison-abolition or whatever the fuck it is. like goddamn that shit's inhumane. i ended up having to take a trip to the ER because they didn't stock enough water, resulting in me becoming so dehydrated that my ribs cramped to the point of keeping me from breathing.

not long after that i spiralled a bit so i went to a crisis center where i got people that started working on my case. we determined that i'd be best off in a group home and they transferred me to a transitional facility while they got that figured out.

I get there and discover that my hip, which i thought had just popped weird, felt like it had dislocated. Thankfully, i think i just sprained it, but I was in a lot of pain that first night. Night shift came around to take vitals, I told them what was going on, and they proceeded to not only wave me off, but also one of them looked at me - as i was writhing in pain, crying, trying to keep quiet, and digging my nails into my skin to distract myself - with the look you reserve for dog shit you've just stepped in. So, you know, that was fun. Also nobody there got their medications that night. The shitshow that was nightshift there is gonna be important later.

i had tried to make friends with some of the people there that evening, and, being myself, I spoke very openly and honestly about my queerness and sexual history (or lack thereof), like a dumbass, and obliviously believed them when they said that I was one of the guys.

I later overheard them making plans to correctively rape me. Thankfully, I was on my way out to the hospital for my hip, so I notified day shift before I got into the ambulance.

I spent that night at the hospital, sleeping in a lobby chair (the hospital staff were very sympathetic to my situation, thankfully), and then called the crisis center that was attached to the transitional facility. managed to get taken into the crisis center, where i stayed for a couple of days. one of the guys who'd been making the plans ended up transferring into the same crisis unit, so that was a fuckin' blast to deal with. thankfully, the people at the crisis unit cared and did their jobs well, so i had eyes on me at all times and stayed safe.

eventually, i got sent back to the shelter i started at, then transferred back to the original crisis unit where people had been working on my case. i got some rest, got sick from eating gluten because i was so sleep deprived that i didn't care, then they got me into a much nicer shelter. i have a meeting with someone in about an hour and a half to try and get into a youth shelter, and I'm also going to attempt to contact some family members that might be more understanding and willing to help me while I pursue a group home.

I am very fucking tired, and despite everything that I've been through, I still wouldn't go back to my parents to save my life. Definitely gonna be a lot to unpack with my therapist.

o7

[kaleaido]

In your opinion how do you think/how do you want Taco’s apology to Mic & Pickle to go?

In Brian’s livestream he said “an attempt will be made” which makes me nervous it will go badly :,)

I was gonna answer this way earlier but after watching the trailer a bit of my original answer had changed, oh boy get ready!!! sorry if some part doesnt make sense, this is literally just word vomit

I'm not quite sure whether Pickle fully moved on from what happened, cause if I remember correctly, Brain confirmed in a tweet that Pickle was depressed and also he refuses to read the letters Taco sent him I'm pretty sure. That being said, he could've been doing far better off now but I DONT KNOW HONESTLY!!! Like I know he's a chill guy but it's hard to predict his reaction to her apology.. cause like, Taco was just EVIL to him - If she were to apologize to him, he might believe that she was tricking him again. It wasn't personal for her but it was for him. I get that he might not forgive her, but I do hope he accepts her apology in some ways. I'm also predicting that he could be the first person she apologize to just cause like.. They haven't seen each other in a long time and so the tension isn't that deadly??? and Taco is probably under the impression that he did read the letters she sent him but yeah

As for Mic, LETME TELL YOU I'M ABSOLUTELY MENTAL OVER THIS!!!!! I spend my free time imagining the different way this will go down AND NONE OF THEM SEEMS RIGHT I TELL YOU!!!! i feel like Mic is just an extremely scary hurdle to get over because of the stuff that happened recently. seeing how it was implied that Taco died from stress cause she thought Mic was coming makes me extremely worried that she wouldn't even have the guts to meet Mic face to face - having the possibility of her COMPLETELY messing the apology up. but the thing is, I don't think Mic is necessarily mad at Taco, she was just done with everything and cutting ties for her own good. If Taco were to appear back in her life out of nowhere I'm assuming that Mic will just be extremely uncomfortable, but I also believe that she would want to hear Taco apologise. The difference between Mic and Pickle is that, Mic had the additional context of who Taco really is - They saw her vulnerable side, albeit rarely, but Mic clearly knew Taco was struggling with something and wanted her to open up more (e.g. them asking her why she reached for the portal in hatching the plan) I'm hoping to GOD that Mic can see that Taco is being genuine if she were to apologise or talk about stuff, and I reallyreallyreally hope she listens but like. this is such a thin line to walk and I can see it going really badlyGAH quick thing but I'm assuming that Mepad will be accompanying Taco in whatever her next step is (like yeah did you really expect her to do this alone CMON) i'm just curious on whether he'll be there when she's apologizing to Mic & Pickle. like would he stand there in the corner of the room like an emotional support dog. regardless, I think Mepad being there is a game changer cause he's a generally trustworthy fellow, and he can CONVINCE Mic & Pickle that Taco is actually sorry. this is just my theory don't mind me lalalalala

at the end of the day, ii is a stupid little show (/aff) but the writers know what they're doing when it comes to character relationships. like they KNOW how to write realistic and nuisance dynamics and I'm really interested in how everything will pan out.. ALSO I KNOW WHAT BRAIN MEANT BY "an attempt will be made" BUT PLEASE I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THAT'S OMINOUS AS HELL!!! it is such a neutral statement that it makes me fear for the worse...please....you can't do this to me....

[elasticitymudflap]

If Betty returns in season two, what kind of plot lines and character arcs would you like to see for her? Which characters do you want to see her interact with?

oh man. okay buckle up because you are about to endure my full frontal autism.

first you're going to have to go into this post knowing that i am insane about betty grof. i am aware of this. but they also called me crazy back in 2012 when i said simon and betty probably loved each other very much despite the fact she disappeared, and that she was probably a huge chaotic badass, AND I WAS RIGHT so.

all of this aside, here are a couple things i think would be epic and sexy of them to address:

~betty's past~

GIRL WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS.

no, seriously. i hate that the cut content from the storyboards revealed so much about her that didn't make the final 'jerry' cut. betty is passionate, intense, and liked simon's work because he was this weird little guy who proudly had all these "out there" theories. she even stated that "ancient magic" was once her major, so it's no fucking wonder she was so jazzed to find the one other guy who studied and believed in the strange things she did.

how did betty come to have these strange beliefs, and to the point of pursuing it in fucking grad school? was she just always like this? did her interests and beliefs put her at odds with others when she was growing up, little miss dig-her-way-down-to-the-devil, and that's part of the reason she wanted all the more to support simon?

reading that scene in temple of mars where magic betty laments "what remains" of her original self after spending so long dedicated to simon, even if you take into account the way MMS is warping her perspectives and cranking her obsessive tendencies to 11, i find it hard to believe betty didn't grow up with some kind of instability or trauma that made her more prone to throw herself completely at someone who showed her genuine love and kindness. this isn't necessarily a fault on simon's part, he probably didn't even clock it because he was so caught up with trying not to fuck things up with her (he's got his own issues). but it definitely seems like this is something deeply coded into her being, especially when you consider she was willing to leave everything she knew behind in an instant for him.

and i NEED to know more about the wacky shit she was up to in ooo, before and after becoming magic betty. did she ever go to wizard city? did other wizards even know about her? what does she think about her time as magic betty? moreover, how the hell did king man even get betty to agree to his weird idea of cognitive behavioural therapy?? how did she actually go from literally willing to kill herself via time travel to actually accepting that she needed help getting over simon?? did prismo and the cosmic owl get involved?? what is their connection to king man and mars anyway, i mean we know grob gob glob grod hung out with them?? do you think betty knew at any point about simon's head holding the fionna and cake universe?? SO MANY QUESTIONS RAAARRGHGHHGHH

also, not to get super sappy, but i want to see the enchiridion expedition from her perspective!! i want to see her progression from 'hell yeah im going on an adventure with that guy whose research i admire' to 'oh my god i love his stupid ass help????'.

~betty's guilt (feat. regrets)~

i don't care what the alternate bus stop scene said, you will never convince me betty grof has "no regrets". i think she has 'no regrets' in terms of loving simon, and she would never want him to think that she regrets their relationship because of what it "did" to her (turned her into a kaiju). i think this scene was betty trying to give simon a modicum of closure by reassuring him of that fact, and trying to help him reckon with the fact that there's no going back and changing how things ended up for the two of them; from here on out they can only move forward.

that being said, we know that betty will often push simon into doing things she thinks are best for him, whether he wants these things or not, such as not getting held up by snakes or not dying. she's a quick thinker and a risk taker who doesn't like looking at the 'big picture', and these are things she's probably very aware about herself.

i think, in the 12 years that they were apart, betty probably had a lot of time to reflect on her decisions after the crown came into their lives. how her hubris in trying to study magic ended up in her becoming "magic betty", how magic betty nearly ended/condoned the end of the world multiple times, how she ultimately did cure simon but almost killed him in the process. most of all, you cannot convince me betty wouldn't agonize over how her split-second decision to jump into the future affected simon. you really think betty fucking grof would've have been totally unaffected by the revelation that simon spent nearly ten human lifetimes agonizing over driving her away?

in her last interaction with him, magic betty's recklessness cured them... only to then be grotesquely crushed to death inside of golb. but he didn't get upset with her, he didn't panic, he didn't even fight it, he just... gave in. there's this air of acceptance to him, an acceptance that comes after prolonged and complicated grief, that i'd argue, wasn't the culmination of being cured, but the culmination of his long and painful battle over losing her; he was content to die as long as he was with her. that must have been... really something for her to mull over.

i could easily see her developing a bit of a complex over it. i think it would be fascinating to see a betty who now, after all the dust as settled, has looked at their history and concluded that she was the common denominator in all of this, that she is bad for simon, that in a way she is a "curse" to him. and that it would be the perfect justification for her staying away from him all these years, thinking without her influence he could finally move on from her and live the rest of his human life happily with his new magic future friends.

i don't think betty has necessarily "moved on" from simon, i think she still loves him dearly... but as i said, thoroughly convinced she'll only damage him further if she keeps trying to pursue him, and that simon's breakdown during season 1 was only more evidence to that fact.

i think she's trying to lead him to get over her 'for his own good', and that she's purposefully being vague and simplifying conclusions about their relationship so he doesn't try to fight her on it like he always does when she makes these huge decisions for them. she's not bringing any of the stuff she actually regrets up with him because only betty sees it as a problem. simon is so enamoured with her he probably wouldn't even entertain the possibility that she had negative effect on him, but he would believe the reverse in a heartbeat.

this isn't me saying they're ""toxic"" at all, i'm saying that these are two very damaged people who would benefit from multiple types of therapy. and that, as they are, they currently are more likely to keep going in loops with unhealthy behaviours and blaming themselves ad infinitum rather than try to reckon with how they can change, and how it is a problem that they'll always do it for the other, but never for themselves.

even if all of my above ramblings turn out to be bunk: betty grof needs some kind of therapy for her pre-existing self sacrificial tendencies and self worth issues, a space for her to process and work through all of the things that happened to her in ooo, couple's counselling, and the biggest blunt known to man.

you might be wondering "emery, why are you talking about her like she isn't beyond such things? she's golb now, the embodiment of chaos! her ""arc"" is over."

~golbetty conspiracy theory time~

i'm not entirely convinced betty is golbetty as we've come to understand her. i stand by this with my crumbs of a conspiracy theory in that when simon first did the ritual, it was ORIGINAL golb's face that flashed over the scene (not golbetty or even the statue's face), and how golbetty seemed to transform back into Golb Classic after she blew simon away into the void. there's also this weird thing where golbetty had these holes or rips on her leg when she rotated; i thought it was an animation error but then it was also in the storyboards so idk what to believe...

plus the boards ive seen seem to only refer to them as "GOLB", never 'GOLBetty', which i just find... interesting

and i keep thinking about simon info-dumping about golb to betty in the 'come along with me' flashback and the specific wording that was used: "imagine if we could somehow harness all that dank energy..." and then comparing it to the specific wording of betty's wish "... however it has to happen, I wish for the power to keep Simon safe"

there's a couple lines in 'you forgot your floaties' regarding betty's work before becoming magic betty that i feel often get overlooked, one being how tiny manticore describes the situation as "she thinks she can save her BF, Simon, by finding the source of magic," and in betty's own words: "studying [magic madness and sadness] could lead me to their underlying cause, and then I'll control the forces that hold sway over Simon"

i've always wondered if part of the reason betty's wishes to "banish golb from this world/for golb to disappear" didn't work was not just because they didn't tap into her heart's deepest wish (keeping simon safe), but because a wish like that would also require some kind of fundamental change to the laws of the universe first in order for it to work. magic betty even references golb as "the most powerful force in the universe," so how would the crown ever hope to compete with that? according the ancient candy elemental, wish magic has the potential to cause "irreversible damage to the very structure of existence". maybe the crown itself couldn't banish golb with a simple wish, but it could restructure the world to create someone who was powerful enough to control even golb, if only it were structured through the correct wishing language.

and it would make total sense for betty to become that person.

i've been thinking about the way the candy elemental tries to warn evergreen from using the crown: "this wish may see things in you you cannot see yourself, can you truly say you know your heart's truest desire?"

i wonder if there may have been two elements to betty's wish, and the part of it that betty "didn't see in herself" was her worded in the language of "power"; betty's desire to gain control over forces of the universe no human could ever hope to fight against, let alone win.

she spent her human life fascinated by ancient magic, fighting to get her's and simon's work recognized as valid and worthwhile. then, she's suddenly in the future, fighting to stop simon from dying, physically fighting at times, and fighting to find a way to gain control over these "forces" that held him prisoner. she essentially is fighting to become the conqueror of magic, madness, and sadness... and she fails, becomes a victim of it. and it all goes downhill from there, the loss of control over herself, over her mind, over her goals, yet the most 'betty' thing about her is that she's still fighting, albeit a bit crooked and to the detriment of all else. in the end, she's even fighting with herself, fighting to remember who she even is without the fight, not even sure if that person exists anymore.

and then she's freed, suddenly, from the confines of MMS to the literal confines of a quickly shrinking prison. when you watch the two of them in that scene, she isn't fighting to escape the same way finn is literally fighting the wall, but you can tell she's not giving up. part of her is still fighting to think of a way out, even when it feels like there's absolutely no hope left.

her desire "for the power" could mean, in a sense, to have the ability to be in control of all that she couldn't at one time or another: time, fate, magic, life, death, chaos... but this was articulated through her love for simon, because it's the only way she probably even recognizes it within herself.

this is why i don't entirely think betty and golb are fused, or that betty is solely "golbetty". i think being "fused" with no possibility of escape would be antithetical to the language and possible wider implications of her wish. this is why i think she's something above even golb, like a being with the ability to possess/harness the power of other deities. and i think she does this specifically in scenarios where simon is in immediate danger and she needs to control them or harness their power in order to protect him.

i'm ready to be proven wrong, and i probably will be. still, i rotate these thoughts in my head at a dangerous velocity, and none of you can stop me.

~ok i'm done ill stop being insane now (lying)~

so to... actually answer your question, i REALLY want betty to meet fionna and cake, because it sounds to me like they remind simon a lot of her. i would just love to see the absolute fucking tornado they'd be when put in a room together.

also, obviously first and foremost, I NEED BETTY TO TALK TO MARCELINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyway, as far as season 2 goes, something is definitely up with prismo. and since he's guardian/creator of multiverse entities, who the fuck knows what that means for the fabric of existence if he's glitching out.

all im saying is, i wouldn't be surprised if our main trio end up having to save the multiverse and have to do so with help from other... entities. bettities, even. (hehe. bettity)

[yuri-is-online]

re: Towa getting mad, I think he's generally sensitive towards anything concerning Haru tbh.

More theory time based on vibes but honestly I would not be surprised if Towa was indeed an anomalous creature that wished to be human, for Haru possibly. Can't help but think that he might've been responsible for Haru losing his arm... Although he cares about Haru a lot, it feels more territorial/possessive because he shows a lack of understanding on how humans are fragile (how he just drops Haru, his favorite person, with a mangled leg, right onto the floor lol) and its like thank god ghouls are sturdier because that boy should've died like 3 times this chapter alone?? (also why is Haru so ready to keep sacrificing himself, I want to know his backstory)

Anyways, I wonder if Towa is curious about romance because he's not certain of what exactly he's feeling towards Haru? Would make sense for him to want to hear about love stories to see what makes sense, and the fact that he says he wants to believe in the concept of soulmates (I totally blushed when he said "Cute" with that smile of his when you pick yes to that question)

Haru is also aware of how Towa's powers work, and the fact that he can communicate with anomalous creatures... This chapter raised way more questions than it gave answers. I really hope we see a lot of the Jabberwock boys next chapter to learn more about them. And considering the fact that Sinostra kidnapped poor baby Peekaboo... seems likely.

Very good point about him just being territorial of Haru in general tbh. Did I miss something or was it absolutely confirmed that Haru is missing an arm? Because I don't have his SR card so if he talks about it there I will not have seen it and just him wearing one glove in some outfits isn't enough for me to think he has a prosthetic...

Haru, Zenji (he calls him an old friend), Hyde, and Nicholas all seem to know what is up with Towa so I don't think we will be without answers forever. Like I said I think these first few chapters are going to set up the Dorms before we revisit other plot points, or hell we might learn more about it in Hotarubi's chapter since he's friends with Zenji. Who knows, but I also really hope we see more of the Jabberwock boys. I love them so much ;-;

I think Towa's interest in romance isn't necessarily tied to his relationship with Haru so much as it is his questionable relationship with his own humanity; I do think it does also work if specifically about Haru though, especially if you ship them. Animals who seek to become human so they can marry one are extremely common trope in folklore, such stories appear all over the world, so to have an anomalous animal who wished himself into a human wanting to understand romance seems like a natural concept for a character in a game like this. If you think about it in purely animalistic terms, animals don't exactly have what humans would consider romance or soulmates. They don't have the same concept of emotions that humans do, so in becoming human Towa probably wants to understand what humans consider to be romantic because it is a genuinely new concept to him. He seems to find it very cute and funny, if his reaction to MC believing in soul mates is any reaction (i also blushed so bad when he said that, his va does such a good job with him)

I think Towa loves Haru a lot, but I don't think he knows that's the emotion that he feels. Love is different than pack instincts, or territorial protection, or anything else that Towa might have felt before, so he doesn't have the exact words to describe how he feels. I'm also curious about his relationship with Zenji, he also seems to get along really well with him. Haru and MC seem to be two of his favorite people as of right now, I wonder if there's anyone else he gets along with on campus?

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

I wanna talk about this today.

Mostly I want to talk about objective truth versus subjective truth. But let me start with what's happening in this scene. (Spoilers for Original Sin and Loki: Agent of Asgard)

So in this moment from Original Sin: Thor and Loki in the Tenth Realm, Loki is talking to the queen of the Angels about what happened in the previous issue of Agent of Asgard. Loki has been working for the All-Mothers in an attempt to erase his past crimes and start anew, but discovered that they were taking cues from Old Loki in order to ensure the future he said would come about, a future in which there was (mostly) peace in Asgard, Thor was king and All-Father, but Loki was still the villain. It was a price they were willing to pay for peace. So Loki's grappling with this in this issue, along with having to deal with Thor's reckless attempts at recovering their long-lost sister (not Hela).

So then the queen says, "[The Asgardians will] never understand you, god of what works. Go ahead, use your truth-sword. Tell me you don't know I'm right."

The sword she is referring to is Gram, the sword that Loki stole from Asgard's most famous hero, Sigurd, which was forged at Old Loki's bidding when he went further back in time to ensure it would exist for the current Loki to claim (the timeline gets confusing in AoA). The sword forces those it wounds to face the truth of themselves and their actions.

But truth comes in different forms, objective truth and subjective truth. Objective truth is indisputable fact, and if you say something otherwise it would simply not be true. "Earth orbits the sun" is an objective truth. We can and have proven it. Subjective truth is something that may be true for you but is not necessarily objectively true. This is why the testimony of innocent bystanders is sometimes not permitted in court. For whatever reason, you may be completely convinced that the person you saw stealing a tv from Best Buy at 2:16PM three weeks ago was wearing a blue shirt, so convinced you'd be willing to say so under oath. They could attach you to a lie detector, and the results would say you were telling the truth. However, when they get the CCTV footage, the person was wearing a red shirt. You weren't lying; your memory had you convinced it was a blue shirt. You believed it was the truth, so you believed you were telling the truth. This is how lie detectors work (theoretically; there's also the part that it only detects physical changes that only sometimes mean someone's lying anyway), and how truth serums (in various media or CIA conspiracy theories your subjective truth may or may not have you believe) are supposed to function.

Now, it could be argued that Gram functions as a detector of objective truth. Previously in AoA, it forced Thor to come to terms with the influence an infection of evil had on him (I don't remember exactly what happened, but essentially Old Loki more or less invaded Thor like a virus and forced him to act rather nastily). He didn't seem to realize what was happening until Loki stabbed him with Gram. This is a valid argument, and honestly I don't understand this scene enough (I think a lot of background for it came from other comics if I remember correctly) to make an authentic counterargument.

However Gram acts with Thor, though, I do believe in the above panel, Gram functions like a lie detector or truth serum. The "truth" Loki speaks is subjective truth. He believes it's true, so Gram is essentially like, "Sure, yep, sounds about right."

But because Gram doesn't do whatever it does when someone lies (or maybe because it functions like Wonder Woman's lasso, and you simply can't lie when you're wounded by it), it just further convinces Loki that his beliefs about his inability to be loved are true. Or he's aware that this may merely be a subjective truth, but because he knows how the sword works and he's banking on the queen not understanding the difference between types of truth, he's using it to gain her trust. He still can't lie while holding Gram, so either what he says is 100% indisputably true in an absolute sense, or he wholeheartedly believes it to be true with such certainty that it doesn't matter that it isn't objective. He may be saying it to gain her trust, but he also still believes it.

And I'm in pain.

[thesherrinfordfacility]

Enoch in particular is interesting bc of Saraqael. It's the ONLY text that lists Saraqael as an Archangel. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel are identified as the Supreme Princes of Heaven, and Saraquel is one of the "seven holy Archangels", which also includes those four. Sandalphon isn't listed, but I DO think a fun little fact there is that he and Metatron are the only angels whose names end in -on, likely a reference to how they're the only angels who originated as humans. I don't think he and Metatron are 'twins' in the literal sense though? Enoch (pre-Noah) and Elijah (post-Noah) weren't contemporaries. They just happen to be the only humans who become angels.

hi!!!✨ god im so sorry ive taken so long to get to this, anon!!! - tbh, im finding saraqael a bit of an enigma, both from the GO narrative perspective and indeed trying to work out who they were in terms of biblical/apocryphal significance... i hope you don't mind, but im gonna talk about saraqael in general in my response; as seems to be the way, i typically get carried away in answering what seems to be a fairly straightforward ask!!!

edit: further speculation on BOL and saraqael's potential role in it

saraqael theory(?)/analysis:

i think are a couple of crucial bits to saraqael in s2, and not just the ones where they recognise crowley etc. i talked a little bit about what i think their rank is in GO, which i don't think is the same rank as the other archangels, but perhaps a lower archangel like sandalphon. in terms of what saraqael actually does... it feels like they are essentially in charge of earth operations, or something to that effect.

muriel is, by all accounts so far, a (very?) low ranking angel. and yet, when muriel finds the matchbox, it's saraqael that accompanies them to the archangels to report it. now, that doesn't necessarily mean anything - muriel could have gone to a supervisor and then it got escalated, but what saraqael says here:

makes me think that, actually, saraqael knows muriel at least to a greater degree than the separation of an archangel (or whatever tier), and a 'lowly' 37th-class scrivener would have. in fact, this is the only scene other than presenting the matchbox, i believe, where we see saraqael and muriel interact? there is some kind of history there, and potentially even a degree of fondness.

now, let's take into consideration the theory that muriel themself may have been higher-ranking, and got Got by the metatron. they originally were going to demote gabriel to 38th Class; was saraqael similarly the one who wiped muriel's memory, as they attempted to wipe gabriel's? what was the purpose of saraqael being at the trial, other than to fulfil that purpose? and they took muriel directly into their chain of command as a means of keeping an eye on them, protecting them?

this kind of supports my thought that saraqael is somewhat an operations manager (but also...not just that at all*), doing essentially the archangel grunt-work, including keeping an eye on unauthorised miracles:

then we take a look at their interaction with crowley; because i do think there's a lot more to unpack in this bit than that they may have worked on a nebula together, and that crowley doesn't remember them.

summarising a couple of observations:

the seemingly innocent but assertive point made that the trial was in fact real, and didn't take a long time to happen start to finish

the fact that saraqael even notices the interaction between crowley and muriel: he's dressed as an angel (and demonstrated as being a 'bee' when michael/uriel don't fully catch it was him), muriel seems - despite the aesthetic of heaven generally - to be tucked away in the equivalent of a cupboard cubicle, and he accessed a file without, presumably, any alarms - the file recognised his former rank/that he 'knew' the password... so what exactly prompts saraqael to come over in the first place?

saraqael looks happy to see crowley, possibly even a little relieved, but once again like they're... fond?

they use his chosen name (specifically not 'crawley'), and use it with ease despite knowing him pre-fall and therefore, theoretically, not having any cause to use 'crowley' up until this moment

saraqael seems disappointed that crowley doesn't remember them.

where am i going with this bit? well, put simply. i think saraqael had some hand in the mechanics of the fall. i think they were meant to wipe the fallens' memories, but jigged about with the settings. perhaps, now, they regret their part in it, and is working to undo it somewhat, from the inside. i think, where they can, they protect those that get fully wiped (ie. muriel, and gabriel had the wipe gone to plan). and i think, maybe just their favourites, they keep an eye on those that actually fell. and i think that they are trying to break out this information without outright saying it ("well, don't let me interrupt you! show him the trial..."), because they know first-hand the consequences. and they know the consequences, because they are literally metatron's operational right-hand* angel:

this would explain why they seem to remember metatron in the bookshop: exposure to him? seems to fully understand how dangerous he is? not only does saraqael look genuinely apprehensive on behalf of michael, but watch their eyeline movement:

(ok but a moment of appreciation for how adorably derek jacobi says 'piffle' i mean💕)

it almost looks like it goes from michael, and then flips to up beyond michael? as they clasp their hands together? and then after the cut, they're actually breathing so heavily, out of... stress? worry? this is such a tiny thing that may well just coincidental actor-choice on liz's part, but it certainly works in the scene context... that saraqael seems quietly and calmly terrified.

another point, back on the subject of saraqael's role in heaven; i feel like the source of both the earth observation files michael gets in s1, and the fact that metatron says he's "looked back over a number of [aziraphale and crowley's] exploits" may have come from saraqael themself. that's a bit tentative, but it would certainly fit that it would come, at least, from their department. say - metatron has been spying on our boys through the sigil in the bookshop (or something to that effect), has gone to saraqael essentially for intel, and then put the offer to aziraphale to return to heaven in order to split them apart, after seeing the extent to which they're entwined with each other.

we haven't seen a direct, lone aziraphale-saraqael interaction, but their line about, "we'll be keeping a very close eye on you, aziraphale.", doesn't actually feel as ominous as i once felt. in fact, it's muriel that saraqael sends down which - let's face it, by all accounts they are not the angel to send down to earth when camouflage is key - feels actually like saraqael was banking on covering up the miracle for aziraphale and crowley, or at least buying them time.

last little bit: the comment on aziraphale's frisbee halo trick makes me think once again of saraqael's potential role as, essentially, head of operations (declaring war is rather messy, they're right), but also brings me back to the point i made here about the halo toss... somehow, i feel like it signifies something a bit more than just a casual hand grenade.

and now for the bible-y bits

well, i mean, there isn't really a lot to go on, lbr. as anon said (hi, anon, if you made it this far✨), they're described as one of the seven archangels in the first book of enoch (20:6), and if ive read correctly, the second book describes that they brought enoch himself to heaven... so maybe the GO narrative will follow this somewhat? if saraqael feels somewhat responsible for metatron being in the position he is, and having done the hypothetical things he's done? and that's why they might be trying to undo it, or undermine it?

i think the first book also describes saraqael (who i believe is synonymous with sariel and suriel, as well as other different but similar angel names in biblical/apocryphal texts) as being essentially the observer of justice and injustice on earth, "who sin in the spirit", which would also track against them having potential control over earth observations, and them potentially guarding over those that have fallen/have been punished by heaven.

i think some islam and talmud texts also indicate that saraqael may be azrael and metatron respectively, but i doubt that is an arc that the GO narrative will follow, nor indeed other bits and pieces from enoch that ive read through... but certainly there's enough that looks like it could have hypothetically inspired the saraqael story that im interpreting at the moment!

and as for metratr-on, and sandalph-on, iirc that is the meaning of the -on suffix, to reflect being born of man...? i looked at this a little while ago and found zephon as another example... parsing out abaddon kinda drove me a bit insane though, so that's where i left it! i agree that i doubt that metatron and sandalphon are twins, but definitely seems to speak to their origins, perhaps!!!✨

[rom-e-o]

So, I think I'm just going to flat out make it so Bess does kind of have kind of a sixth sense and is sensitive to paranormal things. I'm not doing anything big or grand with it (except, perhaps in the DnDverse); Bess doesn't try to hone it or think she's a medium or psychic or anything like that--she doesn't want to or really, necessarily even believe that anybody can truly harness those abilities like they claim they can--it's just a little quirk she has. Maybe it makes sense being the daughter of a ghoul.

Anyway, going along with my theory for how ACC can even happen because Christmas is the Night of Miracles where, as the story goes, God himself became flesh and was born into our world, lifting the veil between realms of physical and spiritual during such an occurrence (I don't believe there's ANYTHING in the Bible that states that--it just makes sense for this theory) and thus altering the fabric on that night throughout time since, and that's why Marley could make contact with Scrooge and the Spirits could do their thing; consequently, Bess tends to notice a lot more activity around Yuletide. And on the night itself, she can absolutely see things. She doesn't talk about it much: Most of what she sees are the wretched ghosts like her father, doomed to wander the globe while fettered in chains forevermore, and it's terribly sad and even frightening. But she does also see Christmas Spirits. (Yes, unfortunately, this means Bess, probably does, see cheerlings. 😅Sorry, babe.)

But those aren't the only spirits she can see. Remember, the veil has been altered on this night; other visitors of a more heavenly variety can make an appearance. Angels. Passed loved ones.

That first Christmas in 1843D (funnily enough, while the Scrooges are having their own visitation), Bess catches sight of somebody slipping into Connie's room late in the night. She calls to Connie, obviously thinking it's her, but gets no answer, so she goes to investigate. Maybe Connie had a nightmare?

When she peeks around the door into Connie's room, she sees a man sitting on the edge of Connie's bed. He's translucent and emitting a warm glow that fills the room with comfort, peace, love; there's nothing frightening about this man at all. And he's holding one of Connie's hands and strokes her hair while she remains fast asleep.

Bess can only stand and stare in wonder. She's never had an encounter quite like this. After a moment, he looks over at her and Bess can recognize him from pictures of Connie's and Theresea's: Arthur DoGoode. They lock gazes and hold for a moment, Arthur smiling softly all the while. Then, as if in more of a thanks than simple recognition, Arthur nods at Bess. Bess can't help but smile and nod in return, somehow certain Arthur is expressing appreciation for all she's done to help Connie.

After the moment of understanding passes, Arthur turns back to Connie and leans down to kiss her head. Then as suddenly as he appeared, Arthur is gone. But Bess has no doubts. This wasn't a dream; she is wide awake, nor has she ever had lucid dreams--this was real. And she can't wait to tell Connie about it on Christmas morning.

Also, this could absolutely happen in the og timeline now.😊

I have to let you know that i saw this ask pop in right as I was walking home from the trail, and absolutely booked it the rest of the way home because I was so excited to read and respond.

I love the concept of Bess having this casual attunement to the metaphysical. It feels right for her, even if it does mean that the poor woman has to see/tolerate Cheerlings.

AND AWWW, ARTHURRR.

I've never thought about his ghost materializing to visit her, but it absolutely makes sense that it would. He LOVED his daughter so much, and in many ways, this is the first Christmas she's felt peace since marrying Orin, and since Arthur's death as well. It feels like the first time that he could visit her; while she's at rest and actually have an uninterrupted moment with her

I feel like Connie wakes up the next day and practically dances into the kitchen, twirling and humming.

"Good morningggg~ Oh, I had the absolute best sleep! Usually i feel so glum on Christmas, with the cold and snow, but something must be in the air! I feel so well-rested and just ...so happy."

All the while, she keeps caressing the spot on her forehead were Arthur's ghost kissed her.

I love how Arthur stays silent, even in the afterlife and in his new corporeal form, but his approval and adoration is unquestionable. He knows the impact Bess has had on his daughter, and his thankfulness radiates from that warm glow.

Full disclosure, IF Arthur was alive to meet the 1843D girls, he would absolutely admire the girls just as much as Theresea.

He wouldn't be able to comfort strengthening words or help with projects and tasks, but he would give do anything for them. (I mean, when he found out about Orin's abuse, he was first to grab a pistol and go after him.) Just like TeTe sees Bess as a daughter her her, Arthur would feel similar. He's be so proud of her.

Anyway, I'm in LOVE with this HC in any universe. I think it fits so well with the original lore of ACC, and adds so much lovely and symbolic meaning.

[aikoiya]

I wanted your personal opinion on this, in this video (yes I’m aware I’ve sent this to you before) it was implied, or at least I took it this way. That ganondorf wasn’t always evil or at least he wasn’t a psycho murder. I know you’ve talked about ganons upbringing, and it seems that we both agree that ganondorf is a product of his environment. But I’m confused…in Totk if he wasn’t always evil why was he so easily taken over by greed after seeing the secrecy stones??

(We’re I’m getting this is the ganondorf Japanese ver of totk)

Ah, yes!

Do you mean this scene?

If so, then my theories aren't to say that TotK Ganon (whom I refer to as Wrath) wasn't evil, more so that he is, but he's thus because Kōme & Kotake raised him that way. Basically, pigeonholing him into the position of tyrant.

In my mind, he was raised to be a social darwinist amidst a warring country in a place that hosts a very harsh environment. Not to mention that he was also raised the only male in a society of all women, which is just a recipe for all kinds of mental health issues & developmental stunting.

In other words, everything around him was basically working against him & he responded thusly.

I think that growing up in constant conflict caused him to not know what to do with himself when Rauru came along & united Hyrule's peoples, thus bringing peace. He'd thrived on the warring life & I think that, in many ways, he was stuck in the past & wished to return to that time because, in his mind, everything made sense then.

Like, war? That made sense. Conflict? That also made sense.

Peace??? He has no idea how to live in a world of peace. Sees no inherent value in it.

Of course, I think this is the case for him on a subconscious level. Outwardly, he's a social darwinist, specifically the Struggler type. However, I don't think he's as sincere in his beliefs as he claims, because as shown in the game, he's a sore loser. And if he truly believed as he said he did, he'd have yielded upon realizing that he'd lost. Which, part of this could be influenced by narcissistic tendencies brought on by being born & raised as what amounts to a god-king in the Gerudo culture.

However, I also think that the stone & 10,000 years sealed away likely exacerbated his preexisting issues to the point where he was fine giving up everything in order to make everyone else miserable.

In a lot of ways, I think that the Dorfs, regardless of which iteration, are all extremely unhappy people & this results in them lashing out.

I think it's possible for him to be a good person, but he'd have to be raised by someone other than Kōme & Kotake.

However, even then, I think it's possible for him to be better, just not good per se.

Though, he'd need the influence of someone who was able to prove themselves to him. Someone able to meet him head on. Someone level-headed & honest. Someone who wouldn't be manipulated by him. Who can cut through the crap & speak directly to him.

They'd have to be able to pose their thoughts in such a way that it doesn't necessarily clash with his own beliefs, while still managing to give him a new perspective to contemplate.

[raayllum]

I keep seeing people calling Callum Snake boi what does that MEAN

Little slice of fandom history and also because it's my fault (TLDR at the bottom in bold):

Years ago, a few days after S1 came out and when JK Rowling wasn't an outspoken bloody TERF there were discussions of what Harry Potter houses the characters would fit into. The general consensus for Callum seemed to be that he'd be a Ravenclaw because he's clever and artistic, but I argued for Slytherin (whose symbol is a snake) because I saw him more so as ambitious than just curious and more selectively loyal when it comes to his motivations, etc etc.

If you've been following me for any period of time you might know that I tag Very Meticulously, so as a trans person and a trans ally I was like I don't wanna use the TERF's terminology anymore, but having a tag to talk about a specific aspect of Callum's characterization (his wonderfully harsh temper, his intense selective loyalty, his obsessive ambition, etc etc) was still a useful prospect to me. Thus Snake Boi Callum as a tag was born, mostly as a joke? And so I could find metas that talked about his characterization (specifically) as I don't think I had a characterization tag almost at all for a while?

It started to pick up steam in my tags specifically when there was starting to be a little bit of - pushback isn't the right word cause everyone's entitled to their own interpretation and characterization of a character, nor does everyone have to engage with every part of a character's canon personality or actions in their fandom stuff if they don't want to.

But there'd be stuff of people forgetting that he can be pretty mean when he gets angry or not seeing him as selectively loyal to Ezran and Rayla? People would also be surprised but accepting, or resistant, to his growing and consistent parallels in characterization with Viren and Claudia (even if they are all still, ultimately, different from one another).

I saw a fair bit of sentiment during the hiatus of "oh he'd Never ever do dark magic again" (which I never believed even immediately post-s2) or in discussions of how he'd respond to Rayla after she left in Through the Moon graphic novel (set shortly after S3). Some people thought understandably that he'd care a lot about the lie (that he'd get to go with her) and the abandonment, understandably so - they're both shitty things to do, but I also sympathize/cry over why Rayla thought she had to do them, but I never thought he'd think the lie was that important, and focus more on the abandonment aspect as a source of hurt.

Snake Boi Callum as a concept also got some mileage in the development of my Cube Hostage Exchange Theory as well, an ongoing theory since November 2020-ish that Callum will help Aaravos / give him the Key of Aaravos in order to save Rayla's life if she was injured / taken hostage. I don't know if they'll do that scenario now because S5 basically delivered the exact thing, just with Finnegrin instead of Aaravos, but there was some more legitimate pushback to said theory/scenario during the hiatus because people thought Callum would never help a villain like that or take such a big risk for someone he loves. I'm not gonna say that I was wholly right (because I wasn't) and again people can interpret his actions in S5 in whatever way they want, but I will say that all of S5 was one of the most validating experiences of vindication I've ever had in my whole life, so that probably speaks for itself

But yeah, it's a term that's kinda caught on (I would say 60-80% of the fandom sees Callum as someone who would risk the world for Ezran and/or Rayla, with 20-30% - maybe less? - seeing otherwise, hence why I think it's caught on; but again, having an 'unpopular' opinion in fandom doesn't necessarily make it wrong, god knows I've had plenty) and then in the discords I'm in, a few people thought a week based around those traits would be fun and boom. Snake Boi Callum Week was born.

TLDR; Snake Boi Callum is a fanon catch-all / shorthand for the 'darker' / more emotional and torn side of Callum's personality (his ambition, his temper, particularly his fierce protectiveness and selective loyalty) that is being explored by whoever wants to in a fun fandom week. His bio in official series material does read that he values "those close to [him] more than anyone or anything" after all (which again, was very validating after years and seasons of seeing and writing him with that exact sentiment)

The tagging also means that for people who don't agree with this characterization for whatever reason, or whom dislike the emphasis on it, can blacklist it easily (as is the intended purpose with all tags on my blog)

He's a goofy nurturing guy who will Cut You and verbally eviscerate you without question if you hurt his loved ones or piss him off enough, and I love that for him. He's a little snake boi and we think he should have lots of angst (or sometimes not enough when it comes to killing/threatening people) over how far he'll go to protect the people he loves, as a Treat

[mermaidsirennikita]

I'll be super honest... one way you can tell that these Kleypas books have been edited is that they are a lot less sexy.

And I don't just mean in terms of like, things that actually happen with the characters together. (See: the It Happened One Autumn scene, which, believe it or not, took a pretty sizable chunk of activity off the page and prolonged Lillian and Westcliff Making It Official by a A LOT.)

I mean... it's like she's worried... about the heroes... sexualizing the heroines inappropriately? Not that I think there's really an appropriate way to sexualize someone, it's just like—you either do it in a way that's creepy or you don't, and a lot of that frankly has to do with how much that person may WANT your desire. But also, a lot of this the heroine wouldn't know about, the hero is just literally thinking about it, sometimes when she isn't in the room.

Like we don't have Ross getting hot and bothered at his desk, his THOUGHTS about Sophia seem worded in a way that's... proper.

And yeah, Ross is one of Lisa's more proper heroes, BUT there's a line. There's a point where it seems contrived. Not only like I'm not reading a historical hero—because, to be real, I think readers expect and in many cases WANT a super thirsty hero in a historical, I think that it's a feature of the subgenre, not a bug—but like I'm reading a guy who doesn't truly want the heroine in a way I desire to see a romance novel hero want his love interest.

I think that part of the fantasy of a romance novel is everything being BIGGER (lmao) especially in terms of FEELINGS. I don't think it's super reasonable to expect some guy who's into me to be thinking of me constantly to the point that he like, screws up his life, but you kinda want that in a romance hero. It's the fantasy of all-consuming obsession, and that obsession doesn't necessarily have to be creepy or overwhelming or dark (see: mafia romance). It can be just... I can't stop thinking of her her her.

And this can be harder to do well in certain subgenres, imo, but there's an inherent sweeping romanticism that I think a lot of people want from historicals. Darcy confronting Elizabeth in the rain while they pant in each other's faces, the big chase at the end of Mr. Malcolm's List, Come What May in Moulin Rouge!. (I'd compare this to the darker sort of obsession we sought in older paranormals; the craving of the vampire, the animalistic passion of the werewolf, etc.)

But also... I think that a lot of good historical romance novels bring it down to Earth and make it a little more WORLDLY and tangible by adding in the inherent like... physicality of desire. Ross getting worked up over Sophia whether or not he's her employer and it's theoretically an abuse of power and he's kind of seeing her as an object in a moment and and and so on.

Plus, it just feels more like the way these dudes would... act? Like, Ross is a magistrate who's dying for it and regularly gets rough with criminals, even if he's a tamer Kleypas hero. Imagine Derek Craven NOT using the drawn dog line, not telling Sara that he wanted to "do her over" because my God, we wouldn't want him to come on too strong!

I mean, I think the edits to Seduce Me at Sunrise, as minor as they may seem, make Kev's claiming of Win feel so much less substantial. Because like. Yeah. It's supposed to read as a kidnapping! A kidnapping she absolutely wants, and her inner monologue made that SO CLEAR to the reader, and she'd been begging Kev to snatch her up since the first few pages of the book so we KNOW this and HE knows this.

But it's important that Kev finally giving in feels like this like... almost subversive thing. Because he's been denying his nature (which is to love Win and love her AGGRESSIVELY) and denying his needs and hers. He's sweet with her in the cottage, sure, but I think that initial SNAP really needs the full force of "he literally can't stand this anymore and it doesn't matter if it's kinda wrong in theory, he's gotta".

(I mean, based on these edits, I think there's a decent chance, tbh, that the entire scene where Derek and Sara get close at the masquerade ball would be changed dramatically because of how pushy he is, and how he doesn't know her identity, and how she's just sort of swept up if VERY MUCH INTO IT. And therefore. My God. Never let Lisa start ripping that book apart.

I am almost POSITIVE that the Devil in Winter "you're going to lose that bet" scene would be changed by the standards of the Autumn edits. Because St. Vincent literally says no. And I don't feel bothered by that scene... at all. But he says no a few times lol.)

It just makes me like... a bit bitter, lol, because I feel as if not only does it make it hard for me to feel the same enthusiasm when I'm trying to relisten to these books (and I really don't have time to reread with my eyes at this moment, I'm struggling to find time to finish Prince of Dreams even though I love it so far) it makes me not want to recommend them to people I know? Because they're probably going to get edited versions! They're probably going to read them and go "huh, not quite as hot as I expected".

And like. While there are many reasons to read a Kleypas book, I think that what has often appealed to readers are these alpha-y heroes who aren't like, BRUTAL but are dominating and aggressive and full of barely controlled desire. So when you water that down, it's like... You still have the romanticism, the beautiful writing, but those are not the only ingredients. The books feel hollow.

[hopeful-puffin]

Thoughts on 164

Guess I'm continuing this weird habit of rambling thoughts after giving myself time to process. Apologies as, again, one of these is a major stretch.

Kappa:

God. Where do I even begin? I think it's safe to assume we are all worried for this little guy. Heck, maybe some of you are like me and really upset about him leaving Siren on his own after upsetting him? But I don't necessarily blame Kappa for reacting that way either. Trauma makes us all rract in strange ways. Speaking from experience, some tend to revert back to the person they were when the trauma hit us. Assuming Kappa was 8-10 at the time of the Vaquita prophecy, running away isn't as extreme of a reaction. I touched on this as a comment on Webtoon itself (Psycho Koneko), but they have a strict character limit I was previously unaware of.

This is not a stretch to me for Kappa’s brain to revert to being a child. This struck me because his tail IS THE SAME COLOR. Even in his horrified vision on Siren’s lap in the present, his hair is also good and the background is back to being gray. I'm positive Ms. Martin did this on purpose. To really dig in how Kappa’s reverted mentally back to being a terrified child. I believe she said Worm didn't come into Kappa’s life until after this, but Worm was Kappa’s only source of comfort as a child.

I'm with everyone (and Kappa) that he should have said something sooner. But talking about trauma is difficult. Love the little dude, but you've GOT to talk to somebody, Kaps. I don't care if it's any of the witches or Siren. Just talk to one of them about what's going through your head. Yes, I would prefer it to be Siren (just like most everyone else I'm sure), but Mucku and Neth are also safe places for Kappa.

2. "Prophecy" Stretch:

I strongly believe the Flyfin screwed around and made a prophecy. What confuses me regarding that is the prophecies come from the Surface God, right? If they're not talking to Kappa or the Whales, why did they answer the Flyfin? My initial thoughts were it's an automatic system, which means the negligent Surface God ain't running these through a critical thinking filter before accepting those prayers, or this prophecy was granted by someone other than the Surface God. This in of itself is a stretch.

Not to mention the scroll states:

What constitutes a castle anyway? Fizz made it sound like they were the only Flyfin left in the Kelp Forest. But Fean made it out like Fizz had to return to their colony. Ignoring that (since I can't trust a word she says), Fizz implies it's just the three of them waiting for the Whales. Are three mers e ough to constitute a castle? Or are three mers gathered enough to garner the Surface God’s attention. I don't know.

Regardless, what if I had a theory so stretched it might just snap?

What if the prophecy has been there this entire time, but Kappa just didn't realize it? Not until the witch's heart inside of him accepted Kappa as its new vessel that is.

If it has accepted him, what if it stopped suppressing his ability to perceive the prophecy for the Whales?

Why then though? Because Kappa accepted that he has messed up and "the person I love most," was hurt as a result of his actions. I'm not saying Nethimir has not ever forgiven herself for something. But, since she's never viewed someone the way Kappa views Siren, she's never had to forgive herself for hurting the one she romantically loves.

What does that imply? That Kappa's heart has accepted him? That he's suddenly going to have a lot of potent magic he can't control? I don't know. Again, this theory is a MASSIVE stretch.

Just quickly dumping this here. Might come back and rewrite some sections if people are interested and want my disconnected mind to try stringing thoughts together like some unhinged axolotl on drugs.

Send help.

[hot-take-tournament]

HOT TAKE TOURNAMENT!

PRELIMINARY #211

Submission 778

guys please stop jumping the gun and making insane theory videos when things are literally just beginning to exist

i don't even know if this is even actually a hot take or even lukewarm but from the amount of theory videos and speculation posts and people just being so assertive in their ideas for things that LITERALLY JUST CAME OUT or got revealed (for things like tv shows and multi-part series, not things that are already complete when they come out. ALSO WHEN THINGS ONLY HAVE TRAILERS) im inclined to believe so, and im not necessarily talking about simple speculation on what could happen based on such im talking about FULL BLOWN THEORIES based on like 2 pieces of evidence grasping at straws and not waiting for any sort of further substance to back them up with their ideas. people are so impatient and i get it it's fun to think about something and form ideas to try and explain things that have or will happen. it's exhilarating to be able to be one of the first people to come up with an idea on something. but oh my god i just wish people could be patient instead of putting anything they think of out there on the internet, because 1. it just comes off as desperate for people to listen to you and 2. people can and will take such things at face value, and if they end up not being true later then that's going to leave a mark on whatever is being theorized about. i just want people to have a little more patience that is all i ask. this happens time and time again and im so TIREDDDD

*cough* Sorry, hairball.

Anyway, propaganda is always encouraged!

And remember to reblog your favourite polls for exposure!

[lucent-nargacuga]

been thinking a lot about utdr today and I felt the need to debunk/provide alternate explanations some popular theories/interpretations surrounding gaster. I'll probably accidentally misquote/misremember things since I don't have screenshots on hand at the moment, but I'll update this post once I have them

ok. first one. "beware the man who speaks in hands" is about gaster

I can see where y'all are coming from! the wingdings text includes hands. this extremely popular theory does have some evidence supporting it.

however.

deltarune chapter 2 introduced a character we all know and love- spamton. if the player fights him as a secret boss, you'll notice that somewhere in the fight he turns his hands into phones. he even announces that he has this ability.

while it's still possible that gaster is the "man who speaks in hands", it's most likely spamton that the riverperson is talking about!

second one. "beware the man from another world" is gaster

this one could be about pretty much anyone... some people think it could be about sans or papyrus, but it could be about so sorry, or even toby fox himself. it's certainly about someone from outside of the world of undertale.

so why am I including it here? we don't really know where gaster came from, but as far as I'm aware, there's nothing that states he came from outside the world of undertale. he did shatter across space and time, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's from "another world". safe to say, it's impossible to determine who the "man from another world" the riverperson mentions is.

third one! somewhere, there's this quote that I can't quite recall, but it mentions a crack under or by someone's eye, and the crack making them appear like they are crying. many believe it's about gaster too.

the mysteryman sprite (which is commonly believed to be gaster, but again, it's not confirmed) does indeed have a facial marking that looks like either a crack or a stream of tears... but then there's asriel dreemurr.

in at least one of asriel's forms when you fight him as a boss at the end of the true pacifist route, he has two lines under his eyes that look a lot like tears. hell, he even actually cries! it's hard to say whether that line about the crack under or by someone's eye making them look like they're crying is about the mysteryman or asriel, but given what happens in the true pacifist route, I personally believe it's actually about asriel.

this one isn't about gaster, but I figured I'd put it here anyway. this is the theory that annoys me the most- mettaton created the neo body in deltarune.

first of all... as far as I'm aware, there's no evidence for this. at all. yes, we know that in undertale, alphys created mettaton neo, but in deltarune, alphys likely doesn't even know who mettaton is! while it is possible that mettaton may have designed a neo body, it's never even hinted at in the game (correct me if I'm wrong).

however, in asriel and kris' shared bedroom, interacting with asriel's computer reveals that he designed a final boss for a video game. the boss is described as a "giant creature with rainbow wings". this, of course, is an obvious reference of the absolute god of hyperdeath, but the boss is also apparently poorly drawn (like in mspaint) and... "it never saw the light of day". sounds familiar?

there's much more evidence pointing to asriel being the neo body's creator than mettaton.

(I read most of these theories somewhere on tumblr about two years ago but have since forgotten who wrote them, if someone can link the original posts to me I'd appreciate it!)

[paraparathecow]

Kris is not "a knight", Kris is THE knight.

Of all the characters we know, Kris seems to be the one most emotionally attached to the unused classroom.

It just makes sense that the only human teen in the entire town, who grew up with divorced parents and no special achievements, would try to do something like making a dark fountain when their big brother leaves.

Another thing that ties the card kingdom fountain to Kris is how it "recently appeared". Do you know what else happened recently? Asriel went to college. You could assume both things happened at around the same time.

But wait, if Kris did indeed open the fountain in CH1, how come king doesn't recognize them?

Well. The simple answer is that king literally never met the knight. The knight must be a lighter, since only lighntners can open fountains. If king met the knight, and realized it's a lighter, wouldn't he change his opinion about them? Well, you could say king is a hypocrite, but even then -

There is no in game evidence for king (or any darkner, in fact) meeting or knowing the knight.

(yes, even the secret bosses didn't necessarily meet the knight.)

The closet thing we get to this is a couple of characters saying "the knight arrived" (which, considering dark world lore is retroactive, means about as much as "the fountain was made")

The closet thing from king is during his battle when he says "my knight..." Which isn't too different from saying "my god..." Or something in this style. Definitely doesn't mean king ever met the knight.

What about chapter 2, then? Surely that one completely disproves the theory right? Well, if you pay attention to details, NOPE.

Let's go over the counter arguments one by one.

Q1: If Kris made the fountain during CH1's ending, how come Noelle & berdly had their books on the table and bags on the floor immediately after the fountain was sealed?

A: remember this scene in CH1?

We could easily assume something similar happened to Noelle and berdly. The papers on the floor stayed Normal, so maybe the table did too. They walked in, realized it's dark, put there stuff down, then fell.

Q1.5: why were the books outside the bags then?

A: Look at how they carry their bags and books. There's your answer. alternatively, maybe they started studying in the other room but realized they’d rather work in the computer room.

Q2: why were they on the other side of the table? wouldn't it make more sense if they put their stuff down earlier?

A: there are two possible answers.

One is that this was ignored to make it so that the characters you are talking to are facing the camera (for better presentation)

Another is that it's possible that the light switch of the room is usually positioned in such a way that would make them go around the table before actually realizing it's not where it's supposed to be.

Q3: why were they slouched over when the fountain sealed?

A: why wouldn't they be? We never get to see how Susie and Kris are the first time they exist a dark world by sealing it. It could very easily be an experience that knock you unconscious for a bit. Another explanation is for a bit of extra suspense in snowgrave. You don't immediately know if berdly will wake up.

Q3.5: whey weren't Kris and Susie slouched over then?

A: we don't actually know if they were. When Kris falls asleep in class, there's no special sprite for it, and they definitely were slouched over.. another option is that Kris woke up after Susie so we never get to see her unconscious. A third option is that you can get used to this experience.

Q4: why don't Noelle and berdly mention anything about entering the room when it was very dark or falling down?

A: they don't mention anything else about how they got into the dark world either, so it's not that strong of a point. But it could be due to shock, being evrowhelmed, believing it was also part of the dream...

With this, I think I covered all the counterarguments to Kris being the knight. If I missed any, feel free to add them below, and I'll try to answer as many as I have free time for

[ruthlesslistener]

Do you think, that in a world where pk did get rid of the radience in the beginning, he would've had a "normal child with his wife? And would his kingdom have an eventually downfall?

Lmao, no way. Two immortals have no need for an heir, and siring a likewise immortal child would have just been a means of creating his own downfall. We also know from his actions that when choosing between Hallownest and family, the Pale King would always choose Hallownest (and keeping control over it), so the risk just wouldn't be worth it. Even Hornet was sired for the benefit of Hallownest rather than a desire for a child, and the White Lady mentioning her fondness for her does not necessarily mean that she wanted children of her own. Fun as it is to speculate, we know nothing about the Pale King's thoughts on her creation, and him locking the Abyss/killing the weaker and impure vessels seems to imply that they were some sort of liability to him. If I had to guess, him imprinting on the Hollow Knight was something that hit him completely out of left field, and that he had no desire for an actual living child until the results of his experiments involving his genetics was staring him right in the face. And even then, he treats the information as something terrible that must be sealed away with the greatest security and punished for remembering, which gives me very strong vibes of a guy who had very little qualms about starting the vessel project bc the idea of having kids meant nothing to him up until reality came and smacked him right in the face. Like, he probably had some regret for it- WL's whole horny jail thing is also a form of punishment for what she did to her children, and she's just as cold as he was, if not moreso- but I don't think the full extent of the horrors hit him until then. And someone who wanted kids wouldn't have gone through with growing brainless bodies with their genes to begin with.

Or, well, maybe I shouldn't say 'no way'. We know from his dialogue at the Abyss lore marker that he deeply regretted what he did, we know from his workshop notes that he believed void to be a thing utterly and inherently without mind and emotion (thus making the vessel experiments ethical in theory), and that he grew to love the Hollow Knight despite genuinely believing that they were empty. And the White Lady starts off talking to Ghost with a very matter-of-fact tone about how she believes that the Hollow Knight failed because they were 'tarnished by an idea instilled', which means that she herself thought that they, as a void being, were incapable of emotion or thought, and that an outside influence must have tampered with them. It's not until Ghost- a vessel who very clearly does not give a shit about appearing empty- visits her more and does things like creating the Voidheart that she starts to soften up, and to reconsider their nature. So it may be possible that both of the gods had some vague streak of parental instincts and longings within them, but that their logical minds completely overwhelmed those desires. It would make sense, seeing as both of the Pale Gods were written to counter the Radiance, who is mostly ruled by emotion with very little logic. So while they had the ability to love their children, and they canonically have the ability to grieve/feel guilt for what they did, they still wouldn't have actually gone out and had a kid out of their own desires to begin with. That would be too much of a risk to them and Hallownest.

But yeah, Hallownest would have fallen anyways. There probably wouldn't be a dead baby pit driven by the necessity for a void-infused host body that could trap a malevolent dream deity for eternity, but it still would have had some form of a downfall eventually, be it a gory mess like in canon, or a slow fade like Unn's. Nothing ever lasts forever, not even in the realm of gods.