#anyway i'm genuinely interested in seeing people try to solve it. I can give the solution the character in question uses but it's a really

[bitegore]

Let me pose a thought experiment to you.

You are a powerful reality-warper who has the ability to mind-control people, travel through space unaided, survive almost any physical conditions, and change shape at will (though you have to go through a year-or-so long process to change what those forms are). You can, essentially, do anything you want. Except this is also true of everyone else around you, because this is just kind of how your species is built. (Everyone isn't necessarily built like this, of course - aliens are aliens. Some aliens are much more powerful reality-warpers, and some are much less, or they don't warp reality at all.)

You want Ultimate Power™.

There are only a few ways to get it, because mind-control is frowned upon for political expedience in the broader galaxy, and there are more than enough people hitting above your weight class that you can't just waltz in, force people to agree with your whims, and walk out with Ultimate Power™. You'll get thrown into the Space Hague in like, five minutes, if someone doesn't outright kill you for the insolence. Not everyone can shake it off, but enough people can, when you're getting into the realms of Ultimate Power™

Similar laws govern the legality of using mind-control to rig elections and semi-legally get you involved in the political arenas that get you involved in Near-Ultimate Power (which is, natch, good enough for you). You can't do that either.

If you really want Ultimate Power™, you have to work with a coalition, which is true of basically everyone after Ultimate Power™. This isn't the end of the world. Having a coalition working for Mutual Ultimate Power™ means that you guys can all share in the spoils, once you have them. The problem is still having them. Even working together, it's still difficult to successfully grab and hold power, isn't it?

There are very few ways to take power, and doing it legitimately is a sucker's game. The only accessible pathway to true power is through building a majority party that will acquiesce to your demands within a pre-existing intergalactic governing body of planetary and planet-system governments (we'll call it the Inter-Galactic Senate, ISG for short; this is backstage so no names are set in stone). Representatives in the ISG get their votes for each member state they represesnt. You want to gain position in the ISG by being "elected" as a representative. You can be the representative for multiple planets or planetary systems, but pretty much every member so far is already spoken for.

The obvious move is to find a non-member planet with aliens on it and convince them to elect you their ISG representative. Or, you know, "convince", and, you know, "elect". Heh heh. Whatever gets you your Ultimate Power™.

And naturally - the more the merrier. Every planet you can pull under your sway gets you a little closer to the goal.

Any overt use of mind-control will still get you tossed into the Space Hague.

You have essentially-unlimited material resources, including money for mercenaries, aid, and organizations. You have all the time in the world.

There are only two conditions.

You cannot appear "evil" (no force-backed dictatorships beating votes in favor out of people)

These people must not only back you at exactly the right moment, but every other time they're called upon, they must always stay in support of you.

What do you do?

[ryuusei-boi]

things i love about GO so far after being an avid hater since first giving it a try last year (i'm about 18 episodes in this time)

not everyone likes tenma (i didn't either at first) in fact some of these jawns fucking HATE him (lookin at you kurama) it's a welcome change from everyone being obsessed w endou's whimsical swag in the og. makes it feel like tenma has to work extra hard to prove his worth to people (in the og endou also had to work hard to convince people to join the club in ep1, but after that it was smooth sailing in terms of his team liking & trusting him)

the whole fifth sector and the state of youth soccer paints a bleak picture, but i have to admit that tenma's resolve to play real soccer got me through some of the episodes where everyone was feelin extra down about it. thank you little guy

the team's pessimism is realistic and it's cool to see that they all think differently about the situation- especially minamisawa leaving without a second thought, that is Really interesting (shame he's not mentioned much afterwards, not even by kurama.. i thought they were all pretty close, so it's odd)

the raimon v mannouzaka match is genuinely so good i love it so much

i adore that sangoku showed tenma some kindness by inviting him over for dinner. being his upperclassman i think it's important to make him feel at home and valued in the team- with the state of soccer and some of the members disliking tenma i imagine it can be really intimidating to be the only bright-eyed happy bitch on that team. sangoku showing him that kindness was really important i think (it also gave us some insight into his character and personal life- seriously, his mom wondering why he doesn't want her to come to his games anymore broke my heart in half. oh my god)

the tsurugis fighting over what kyousuke is doing seriously HURT me man. yuuichi crying and telling him "i never asked you to do that for me" ouhh ouch ow owie that HURT. AUGH. and kyousuke being so deeply moved by seeing his brother cry auughh god that's so good. i would be too what da hell!! i was a bit surprised when yuuichi got angry about him abandoning soccer and told him to leave- idk if it was just me never having watched GO but knowing about yuuichi being a caring older brother, i guess i decided on a personality for him in my head and then got surprised when it didnt line up with reality. that's on me. i expected him to be more calm & forgiving but i really understand the outburst and the anger. if i were in his shoes i'd probably react the same way. i mean one brother sacrificing his morals for the other even though he never asked that of him is soooo. aughgg. anyways it was solved without a conversation bc what yuuichi really wanted kyousuke to do was go on that field and face soccer head on, and he did. but i hope we'll get to see them talk about it a bit more. love these 2

coach kudou taking responsibility for shindou's plays during that match and resigning??? if i had a nickel, right? anyways i hated his mustache at first but it's grown on me. i really like him. endou being his replacement also means so much to me given that kudou was his coach in season 3, aghhh the growth and the trust and the mutual respect!!! adore it SO much. also i'm grateful we got to see megane's goofy ass bc it was nice to see him again (before we even got to see kidou lmfao he really is the main character)

[genericpuff]

Genuinely I would give anything to hear your thoughts or read more critical analysis of yours on other webcomics writing (*slides you Marionetta* I like the webtoon but there are some things in the writing that I'd like to see be discussed critically more often but the fandom focuses way too much on shipping. sighs..)

Anyway, you probably have been asked this before but are there any webtoons in particular you would recommend? :D

Oh lord, you don't know how many times a week I get asks in my inbox asking for my opinions on webtoons they're reading. It's really sweet that people wanna hear me talk about other works outside of LO, but unfortunately I just don't have the time to read as much as I used to, even keeping up on LO lately is getting really difficult 😅 I'm definitely keeping a list though of works to check out!

That said, I try not to read series on the basis of criticizing them because frankly I just... don't want to spend time reading something if people are only looking for me to rag on it? 😆 Of course I know that's not the only reason, I know there's also just the element of seeing me talk extensively about other works the way that I do with LO, but it's not really something I can turn on and off like that, I have to get really into a series to want to talk about it to that extent. So it often comes down to just luck of the draw :'0

Right now the series I'm keeping up the most on (or have completed and would absolutely 100% re-read):

Alfie (18+, it's porn with plot but the plot is REALLY GOOD , I SWEAR LMAO the art is gorgeous, the characterization is IMMACULATE, and it ironically tackles the subject of purity culture way better than LO ever has lol)

Theia Mania (the creator is often in my comment section / neck of the woods, she's been working on an Abduction of Persephone retelling for a long while now and has also tackled other myth retellings in her style! I always love seeing new pages of her work in my feed :' ) <3)

Tales from Alderwood (if you like fantasy and comedy, this one's great, the plot's really starting to get interesting and it's just got this really great sense of humor about it)

The Black Parade (this one's REALLY interesting, it's a comic-stylized version of My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade, using the songs as narration and sometimes even dialogue to tell a visual story, it's really cool and the art matches beautifully with the lyrics and style of MCR!)

A Tale of Two Rulers (this is a Legend of Zelda fancomic that poses the question, "What if Zelda and Ganondorf got married to solve their political crisis?" It updates a lot slower than most of the other comics I follow but the art and writing is so worth it <3)

Dogs of Future Past (and p much all of Lynx's Undertale comics which can be found in the link, seriously, THESE are the comics you wanna read if you wanna get into Undertale fanworks, they are PEAK)

Tamberlane (this one's an anthro comic, I normally don't read anthro but this one actually gripped me by the throat, the art is gorgeous and the character arcs so far have been great!)

The Mafia Nanny (okay it's legit so funny that I'm including this one here but I've been reading it the last couple days after seeing it basically beat out LO at the top of the trending tab for a couple days, so I figured I'd give it a shot, at first I was like "great more tropey shit" but the more I read it the more it's actually started to get pretty good, I'm holding out and hoping to god it stays that way LOL it's not especially deep or anything like that, but it's really fun and cute to read and the shipping of the main character within the narrative isn't too self-absorbed which I can always appreciate, I'd honestly be 100% fine with it if it didn't turn into a romance)

City of Blank (I talk about this one a lot here, but it's one of my favorite Originals right now, the art is super polished and the writing has gotten INTENSE, go check it out if you want some fun action / sci-fi storytelling!)

Time and Time Again (a time-travelling vampire and his werewolf boyfriend get into all kinds of misadventures, what more could you ask for?)

Touch of Divinity (like the Mafia Nanny, this is one I just started reading, it's got a very interesting premise so far and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes!)

[thewardenisonthecase]

i really like meredith's face here and im not gonna go hunt down the clip, but i also really like how the line "i'm trying to solve a difficult problem in as a gentle fashion as I dare" because there's like. almost like a softness to it like meredith genuinly is trying to solve this peacefully instead of sending dozen of templars to hunt down 3 mages (which is very interesting because like. the reason meredith gives as to why she's asking hawke for help is becuase people refuse to cooperate with templars now, but truth be told, when have the templars EVER needed anyone's cooperation? so i do think that part of the reason why she's asking for hawke's help is for good PR too like. at this point, the champion is a very beloved figure in the city, so if they're seen helping the templars, the general populace might trust the templars again. also. this face. it kinda looks like regret a bit? like oh congrats, people are so scared of you and your order you cant even do your job properly and have to ask outside help. i dont think its regret PER SE but its something. i think its genuine, what she says that she is trying to solve this as gently as she can, but i think, for a pro-mage hawke, she's also trying to get them on her side too, she even tells them like go investigate and see for yourself the danger we face. like maybe if the champion sees the mess these blood mages cause they'll Understand TM. ANYWAYS 'im rambling)

[variousqueerthings]

I’m from space, I’ve got two hearts and… 27 brains

it's "Bells Of Saint John" time. this is the first proper Clara-As-Companion and she's doing shit!

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 10/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 6/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 7/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 7/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 7/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 9/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 7/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 7/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 6/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10

FULL RATING: 72/100 (if I can count….)

Could it be? A pretty highly rated M*ffat episode??? You crazy son of a bitch you did it!

OBJECTIFICATION: Wait for it.... THERE IS NO OBJECTIFICATION! (takes a medal for Steven M*ffat and wacks him in the face with it)

PLOT-POINT: so the Thing with Clara is that she's "not possible." (she is... Impossible... sort of like an Impossible Gi- *strangles M*ffat with the medal chain), and so while she does do stuff in this episode that gives her more than in the previous episode, we still don't have thaaat much sense of her

we know she's taking care of some kids, because their mum died and she's a friend of the family, and we know there's something about a leaf, and that she's bad at tech (in a very funny kind of way where it's 2012 and she can't access wifi without help, which I honestly cannot remember if would still be plausible in 2012 for a 24yr old, but fuckit) AND that she's got this book 101 places to see, that she's saved for her travels

so there's definitely Clues, but most of it is the Doctor's POV for now

COMPLEXITY: the beginning with the Doctor as a monk painting Clara and waiting for "the bells to ring" because it's a sign or whatever is dumb, but get past that and...

we bring back The Great Intelligence and it's quite a neat follow-up to the last one, in which it's now gone into the Internet and is snatching up peoples minds to feed off of them -- never mind if its depiction of The Internet is good or not, I'm no good at gauging that + I love the movie Hackers, so my judgement is skewed anyway

it makes sense! and then at the end The Great Intelligence isn't defeated, but just goes back into hiding a biiit stronger than before, and has a genuinely quite creepy moment of returning the mind back to someone it infected as a kid, who is now in her 50s or smthin, and becomes a child again in that body... lowkey creepy stuff

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: SO the Doctor and Clara have now met properly -- as in this Clara, who is actually going to get to travel with the Doctor, and maybe won't die (but maybe she will)

The Great Intelligence is shaping up to be a recurring problem

Clara and the Doctor like each other and I also don't hate Clara (that's a strong word anyway, but I'm not UNvibing with her character, apart from a few moments, and a choice to make every conversation between them go so flipping fast as a way of showing Wit and Smarts, and is a trend in that era which I was never a fan of)

COMPANIONS MATTER: Clara does things! she correctly surmises that because she briefly became a part of the Internet (it is a bit silly, but it's 2012 or thereabouts, and silly in a DW way, not a "let's be convoluted for the sake of it" kind of way) she can hack into bad guy base but! she accesses their webcams, takes pictures of them, and uses them to find their social medias where they've put down their job location! which is where they are!

which is actually proper hacking! it's pretty great

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: the Doctor is pretty capable in this episode, and uses his savvy to get shit done, but isn't the total winner. his goal is for Clara not to die (again), so it works out pretty well on the whole

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: it's got this line I don't like, which is just a tad too flipping smugly meta, where a kid is reading a book and Clara asks which chapter the kid is on (Ten) and then says, "Eleven’s the best, you’ll cry your eyes out." it's... come on, stop making promises you can't keep mate! and don't make this a competition

otherwise it's more The Great Intelligence, and a scene where the Doctor is rooting around looking for a non-monk outfit, and discards Ten's jacket, which is fun

“SEXINESS”: it's not egregious, but I am fucking watching you M*ffat, about not making Clara into another innuendo machine

she calls the Tardis the Snog Box twice, and talks about how the Doctor talks people into it, and that's the main thing. W A T C H I N G you with that heavy metal at the ready!

INTERNAL WORLD: Clara is sooomewhere in London and there's a thing about that family where she's helping to take care of the kids, because the mother died. there's stuff about the internet, but not as community as such, it's more sort of a... somewhat ungrounded mildly Luddite attitude to it. it's not bad or over-the-top, but it's certainly got a very firm Internet = Bad stance

POLITICS: speaking of the Internet = Bad stance, that's kind of at the heart of the episode, with not much else to focus in on I think.

it's not the most or the least well-rounded argument, it's sort of middly

FULL RATING: 71/100 (if I can count….)

So this episode is a not-bad introduction of Clara on the whole, except for the fact that it's more the Doctor being introduced to her, than her being introduced to the Doctor

the Doctor is our lens more than Clara, which I think is also why she's not quiiite so well-rounded (yet, next episode gives a bit more Stuff)

in terms of pacing, it's sort of middly, but on the whole it's not a bad episode I would say, and not a bad companion intro episode

[cursivebloodlines]

“I would never disguise shit-talk as feedback. If I had shitty opinions about people I just tell them point blank, no need to pretend it’s something it’s not,” Lydia said as if it were the most obvious thing, shrugging nonchalantly. Always just coming out with it. “Not harsh, just honest,” she corrected. Wasn't honesty the best policy? The question about puppies earned a laugh from her. Amazing how Aaron could make her laugh without even trying. “As if you even have to ask! I can confirm I don’t kick puppies. It would be a dealbreaker for me, too. Anyway, if my constructive criticism or feedback is so harsh maybe people should do better in the first place so I don’t have to tell them what they’re doing wrong. Problem solved.” As simple as that. If someone asked her to give her honest opinion on something, she was never the type to sugarcoat it. In all fairness, she did try to give positive and negative feedback. However, people tended to focus on the negative — which was never even phrased badly, just in a ‘what can be done better’ kind of way. If that’s not what they’re looking for then they should know better than to ask her for feedback. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes — it wasn’t that hard to comprehend. She really enjoyed the way they were able to bounce off of each other effortlessly. No awkwardness, no constantly needing to explain yourself due to being taken the wrong way. They shared a similar sense of humour and Lydia loved how Aaron played along with whatever she threw at him. Hypothetical situations, extra credit in the Class of Lydia, not having a choice, the lot. And she was certain he wasn’t doing it for her benefit, but because he wanted to. Despite the playing around, at the same time, he sees genuine which only made her like him more. Never would she have anticipated deciding she liked someone so fast, let alone on the first date. Lydia needed to remind herself to hold fire, it was early days. Don’t get too ahead too fast — it was how she ended up in her previous predicament. But then there was a part of her who was already in way over her head. The part of her unleashed, unable to be restrained no matter how much she tried to reign it in. “Unofficial class? Are you implying my class is fake?” She asked with mock surprise, tilting her head slightly at him. Even added a quiet gasp for dramatic effect. She couldn't resist the messing about, something which surprised her about herself. How easy it all was. Her elbows perched atop the table, resting clasping her hands together and placing her chin against her hands. The playful gleam in her eyes remained and she couldn't help the laugh that slipped at his reaction to her words, the way he surrendered to her so easily. Interesting..."Oh, please, we both know I'm not worried." Mostly, she omitted that part. It was still early days...Very early days. So much could go wrong - she was not completely convinced it wouldn't yet. But she had to take it a bit at a time; these were uncharted waters she was wading through. Deep enough she could not see the bottom, terrified of losing her footing, of going under. Of repeating the same mistakes as she did before. It was the first date, it was only meant to be a dip of the toes, not half deep under. Funnily enough, she didn't care. If she thought too much about it then she would be doomed, wouldn't she? Judging by the way this date went... the signs were hinting in the right direction of a second date. And who knows..? Maybe more than that. If Aaron hadn't grown fed up with her by then, that is. Eyes widening when he repeated the word bad, a brief flicker of panic crossed her features. "What? N-No, not bad. I said not necessarily bad," she rushed to correct herself, to reiterate what she had said only moments before. Did she make any sense? Probably not - she knew when she said the word it wasn't the right one, but none others crossed her mind at the time."You're full of surprises. And believe it or not, I actually like your weird comments. Now I kinda just want to wait and see how funky you can get."

Wait - Did he just call her 'boss?' Fascinating. What was even more fascinating was the way it...gave her an odd sense of satisfaction. Did she like it? Maybe a little... Alright, maybe even more so than she let on. Should she comment on it? Ask about it? Or would that make it more obvious? No - not. For now, she would let it slide and try to ignore the warm feeling it gave her. Especially with that smirk on his face. "A feeling," she repeated, humming thoughtfully. "Do you have Spidey senses or something? Perhaps we should change your name to Psychic Sally? Bet you didn't see that one coming..." An affirmed nod in response when he announced needing to gather his cleaning supplies. "Make sure you have plenty. you might need to rally the troops," Lydia jested, eliciting another quiet laugh. Everything he said amused her. The way he spoke of his mom was sweet, though. Even endearing..."Your mom sounds like a very smart lady, we need more like her around." It made her think of her own mother. They had to learn so they could all help out doing the things she couldn't do after her accident, up until the end. But even if that hadn't been the case, she was sure she'd have made them learn, so they could be self-sufficient. How she missed her. "And, if a steamer is what you want, I am not going to stop you. I am not too fussed about your methods as long as it helps get the job done." No problem. Amazing how two words that didn't mean the same yet somehow felt like a promise. "Good luck and best wishes."

Silly things that were costing him now. Sparked a little hint of curiosity in Lydia as she wrestled between the decision of questioning him about it or leaving it, in case she wasn't fond of the answer. It had been a niggling question in the back of her mind...the way he spoke of his ex-wife. She was the one who wanted the divorce...It made her wonder what would happen if she came back on the scene for whatever reason. If she changed her mind, what would Aaron do? Maybe she really was thinking too much into it. Something that shouldn't bother her, especially on the first date. It did make her wonder though. Gave her uncertainty. There was a lot of history there. It was possible. Her life had become the equivalent of a soap opera before, her first rodeo, and she wasn't sure if she had the capacity to go an extra season of chaos again. Something made her want to take the chance anyway. For a moment, she hesitated but then decided out with it. It's not like she ever had a filter before, maybe she just wanted to find out what she was in for. It was normal, right? "Such as what?" Lydia asked softly. If Aaron evaded the question or refused to answer, she would let it go for now. Though that would also bring up more questions...She would cross that bridge when she came to it. If she came to it. One look at him, the words he said, and the look on his face told her his mind was wandering. Made her feel a little apprehensive for a moment, but she let it slide after convincing herself she was thinking too much about it again. Ah. Those four little words. I told you so. Lydia scoffed at that, rolling her eyes. "Oh, believe me, I know that all too well. Well, when my family found out...and friends, too actually. By then, it was too late though because I had already been married. I thought I knew best." It was after her siblings found out she was married, that her brother was unfortunate enough to have...too many run-ins with her ex-husband. When the drama boiled to a screeching point and they ended up nearly killing each other. It may have been more than once actually, so she heard. Don't make me say 'I told you so'. She remembered the words quite clearly. If only she listened. But no, she thought she knew better than everyone because she was the one who married the jackass. The way Aaron's gaze fixated on her as she spoke of her disastrous marriage unnerved her slightly. Never had someone let her just...talk. Just let it all out without any interruption. Normally it was 500 questions, a deviation of conversation halfway between before setting off again. But with him? He just let her talk until she was finished. The reaction on his face was a picture, and it did make her smile. The way his mouth hung open, left agape as she clarified all the details. It was that bad then, huh? Typically people hid their shock from her, or tried to - she normally could see right through it - though she didn't know why. Maybe they didn't want to offend her or resisted the urge to call her an idiot for putting up with a piece of shit like him for so long. There was no mask with him, and it made her like him even more. maybe it was easier for them because of their mutual experiences with screwed-up marriages."Just a little," she laughed weakly at his observations. "You're not correcting all the wrong dots at all. Always thought it was me. that I was...I don't know, too clingy or pushy or something. I don't know. I know I'm not perfect, I know - hard to believe isn't it? - but for a long time I thought it was me. And then I thought, maybe I can help him see sense. I know, a cliche - one of those 'I can fix him' girls. Pathetic? Yep." By the end, she certainly felt pathetic. "Hate the bastard. If I ever see him again...which I hope I don't. I'd totally kill him." Just went to show how much he still angered her to this day, all the hell...No wonder Lydia had a nightmare temper at times. He always did bring out the worst in her.

Obviously, it was a joke. The death threat. She even had a smile on her face as she said the words. Not that she really wanted to - too messy, and the thought of having to even see that man again would be enough to put her off. It was funny enough to think of. Could probably get away with it, being a forensic pathologist, she mused to herself. No love left there. Everything he said was true. It felt...nice. To be understood. To not have festering eyes on you, looking at you as though you were a maniac for putting up with so much crap. Like the words she reiterated not all that long before, people do stupid things when they're in love. As smart as Lydia was, she was also prone to that too. She was no different. "Why do you think lawyers aren't smart?" Lydia asked, "My exception notwithstanding, that is." Nodding at the greener pastures comment, she gave him a curious look at his next question. "Of course it does - I thought that much was obvious. Why? Half tempted to throw some bullshit at me?" she teased, the usual jokey tone in her voice as usual. It all depended, she supposed, on what he actually meant by bullshit, his version or sort. Different kinds to different people. She wondered what his was.

There it was again! That word. Boss. That was definitely going to stick, wasn't it? A little grin played on her lips. Already referring to her with a...nickname. Could she call it that? Unknown, yet. She would have to think of one for him, too, so they were even. Plenty of opportunities..."Meticulous notes? Can't wait to see them." For some reason, she became acutely aware of how she hadn't pulled her hand away from him yet. She didn't want to, but she also didn't want to be the weirdo who lingered for too long so she did reluctantly pull back, albeit unsure where exactly she wanted to put her hands now. Especially since she had to remind herself it was the first date. Why was she thinking so much? Whatever happened to going with the flow? His "innocent" smile earned another smile from her. Aaron really did have the loveliest smile...innocent, or not. Whatever variation. It was something she liked to see a lot of, and hoped she would in the foreseeable future, too. "You're right. It is the safe thing to do..However, you don't strike me as someone who settles with safe..." she pointed out, chuckling softly, "For someone who only ever takes risks," Lydia added, referring to something he said not long back. Risks are all I take. "Dated?" she repeated, brushing some hair out of her face as she thought about it, wrinkling her nose slightly. "Not really. Can probably count them on one hand. Have never really been too bothered about it. And after being around someone for so long, it was nice to be...I dunno, on my own for a while. Not being in the mood to date for obvious reasons." She shrugged. "A few, maybe. Nothing really stuck. Hence why I say it's...been a while. How about you?"

Her question had him further considering his answer, building on what he was already thinking to himself anyway. It was an odd effect, the way she easily drew the truth out of him. One look and he was undone. "Well, no. Most of the time, yes - feedback never hurts. Some people run with it though, the opportunity to give feedback turns into telling them every shitty thought you've ever had of them. So, 50/50 I'd say." He raised an eyebrow at the comment, completely interrupting his train of thought. "Your comments are that harsh huh? I should brace myself then, but you don't kick puppies..right? Unfortunately, that's kind of a deal breaker for me." Her teasing smile was adorable. Was the thought of extra credit amusing her? What a nerd. "Hey, I'll take anything to help me pass your unofficial class." Words he never thought he'd hear himself say. But, the way her smile only grew wider, it amused him (maybe even scared him). The way she could get him to do anything with a simple smile. Uh oh, he had said something wrong already, hadn't he? Oh wait, nope. Lydia couldn't remain serious long enough to make him believe. It was true. He didn't have another choice. Well, he could go. Call it a night, and go their separate ways, but Aaron was too far in. So, her way was right. His arms went up, surrendering immediately. He was in for a trip, he could already tell. "Well, alright. No choice it is, I'll find some way to make it work though. Don't worry about it." Aaron was determined to try, to give himself a shot. Part of him worried that both him and Lydia had too much in their respective lives, skeletons in your closet and all that. Things that may come back to haunt them, and make this more complicated. Failed marriages connected them, it wasn't a stretch to think things may come along. Perhaps, he was getting ahead of himself. Aaron just couldn't shake the feeling away, that Lydia was more than one date. The conversation going on for hours, the laughter and smiles, even the oversharing he had started - it all had to mean something. "Bad?" His nose scrunched up, was it bad? Oh, this was embarrassing. "Not used to it, yeah I guess I stand out that way." he half-teased. "Glad to hear you're adaptable, I fear my list of weird comments can only grow. You let me know if it gets too..funky."

Aaron shook his head at her remark, and there it was. The famed extra credit assignment, a lot of work laid ahead. He rested his chin on his palm, a smirk adorning his lips. "Just had a feeling. On it boss," he said, with a playful military salute. "I'll have to gather my cleaning supplies." Another laugh earned, he should start collecting these like badges. Tally how many times he's made her laugh. "Oh yikes...no, my mom would kill me if I didn't at least learn. She's very insistent on us being independent and what not. I prefer a steamer though, those handheld ones are super useful." And since when was he a walking advertisement for steamers? Snap out of it. "I will take care of those wrinkles, no problem." The word promise wasn't in there, and still - the words felt heavy. He worried a bit, worried he would fail miserably. It had happened once before.

Lydia leaned in and her eyes never left his. She was listening to him. It was a nice feeling, having someone who was actually paying attention to you. Actually listening, instead of just waiting for you to stop talking so they could say the next thing. It was nice to have that attention again, without the eyes full of pity staring back at him. Oh poor Aaron, they left him you know? Or, it's terrible, divorced already. I heard his wife ran off with someone else. It was all he had been hearing lately, at the family gatherings or around friends. Things with his ex-wife, they were done. For a long time, Aaron let his melancholy drive him. Love was a complicated feeling. He felt deep regret that it didn't work, wishful thoughts of what he could've done better or changed about their relationship. But love, it had faded. Like an old paper cut. You could never see it, but it stung here and there. Vanessa was that paper cut. Just an old reminder of what had caused him so much pain. "Silly things that are costing me now though. It's crazy." A weaker chuckle left his lips, if only Vanessa shared the same idea that Lydia did. "Right? I mean, I thought we were still doing fun things, or maybe not." Once again, he was losing himself in his thoughts and what-ifs. Analyzing a situation that had no change. Until he heard her voice, she continued talking and it snapped him out of his spiral. "No no, you're not crossing a line at all. I appreciate the honesty, it's nice to hear after only hearing I told you so. Apparently most of my friends and family shared an opinion about her. I guess you're right though, that she just needed to get out." Now it was his turn to learn, Aaron just hoped he didn't inadvertently pressured her to overshare like he had. His gaze remained on her, head only tilting slightly - all his attention was on her. Nothing could distract him. Wow, this guy was a piece of work. He was shocked. Floored. And Aaron could only hope that his expressions were not giving him away. But wow. Who even was this guy? If Aaron thought Vanessa left him with baggage, Lydia's ex had left the whole suitcase set. His lawyer? His mouth felt dry as Lydia continued talking, wait was his mouth open? The shock was evident apparently. "Wow...that's, a shit ton." Frankly, no other way to put it. Holy shit. "Props to you, honestly. He really put you through a lot, he sounds like a nasty piece of work. Lucky you got out when you did and, I may be connecting all the wrong dots, but it sounds like he may have been on some destructive journey. I am glad you're here..now, that he didn't take you down with him. He may have taken the lawyer, but not you. Eh," he shrugged as her next comment. "I mean, I never thought lawyers were all that smart. Seems you just proved my point, I mean..a kid. Woah." A low whistle left his lips, the thought of a child stuck with a dad like that...poor kid. Aaron could only nod when she smiled once more, oversharing was over huh. He didn't mind at all, these conversations weren't really meant for a coffee shop in his opinion. More like a bar, with some drinks in hand. "Greener pasture indeed, and does the greener pasture include lower tolerance for bullshit or?" He'd assume yes, which meant he had to thread carefully, but who knows - maybe she was like him, still deciding if his experience completely changed his outlook on relationships.

He felt content here, felt at peace while they sat here. It was a new feeling for him, one that had been dormant for some time. Her hand din't move away, and Aaron was in no rush to change that. He remained still, trying to not startle her out of moving back. "You got it boss, I'll take meticulous notes." He felt a warmth in his chest, the odd butterfly waking up in his stomach only to zoom around. As if to alert every other butterfly, hey wake up! he's feeling something again! "Not doubting, just double checking before I jump in. Isn't that the safe thing to do?" He gave his best innocent smile, the kind that would sometimes get him out of trouble. "I don't know specifically, just wondering you know. If I'm the first to receive a warning about moving forward." Her question prompted one of his own though. "Have you dated a lot though, after your ex-husband?

[whitleyschn33]

🌹💚💤💦💣

Damn -

Ship that you have as an OTP

MARTIAL ARCS - okay, I love it too damn much. The V4 hug, Jaune going to Ren for advice in V2 talking how he really feels like they've bonded and how close they are even as he's realizing "wait, shit, I don't know much about you, I just feel really close to you anyway though" ignore what advice he wanted, Jaune reassuring Ren that they will go out to help the village another time even as they're about to run into a battle because he knows how important it was to Ren, that dumb RWBY chibi skit where they're playing Spin the Bottle and Jaune gets Ren and Ren's just like "yep, let's go" (honestly, Ren and Jaune get a lot of cute moments in RWBY Chibi from what I remember), how touchy the two are after Jaune unlocks his Semblance and starts using it to boost Ren's constantly in V6 and V8, Ren admiring Jaune in Monstra even if it's for a stupid reason hush I take what I can get. Lord there's just so much cute potential there and I'm pissed that I can only ever really find it as part of Jaune x Ren x Nora. Nora doesn't have to be there all the time, people XD

Ship that you secretly like:

Done here~

Ship that is canon but you don't ship

What ships are even canon in this damn show - I guess I'm going to say Renora. Back pre-V7, I just preferred them as a found family but was still cool with it, but after the kiss, I found myself really beginning to actively dislike it. It just rubbed me so wrong that Ren was clearly struggling to express himself emotionally, pulling away from Nora, and instead of trying to help him express what was wrong, Nora decides to kiss him - like, what does that help?? He should already know how you feel, that's not the problem here, so what does that solve but getting you what you want? And then in V8 Nora is the one asking for space??? When it was Ren that was having difficulties with their relationship and just didn't seem ready to take that next step or commit to something like this while they were at war. It just all felt so wrong, like the writers had genuinely switched scripts for the voice actors and decided to roll with it rather than fix the mistake. So, yeah, I don't ship it.

Ship that is taboo

Hoh boy...

Okay, okay, hear me out: AgedUp!Ruby with Ozpin - like, 30-ish year old Ruby that hasn't lost that small spark of innocent joy, that still loves books and fairy tales and stories of brave heroes that always save the day, coming back to Beacon after years away and meeting with her old professor for a huntress assignment, him greeting her with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk as an inside joke, she starts to laugh, asking if he baked them himself and just looking so happy at something as simple as warm chocolate chip cookies, and Oz is just like - "Oh. Oh shit." It just gives me cozy feelings, the two of them huddled under blankets reading together, playfully sparring as a demonstration for Beacon students, Oz teaching AgedUp!Ruby how to use her eyes, describing the feeling of love and the fierce desire to protect those that you hold dear and getting choked up remembering his past loved ones so Ruby comforts him as best she can, Ruby activating her eyes fully for the first time in this AU to protect Ozpin, the sudden rush of knowing that she loves him dearly - I love it.

Ship that pisses me off

Bumbleby - and it's not so much the ship itself but how horrible the execution has been and how much better of a ship it could have been - or at least how much more interesting it could have been. I've never been a Blake/Yang shipper, but I love All That Matters - not because it's an ultra-romantic song, but just because how broken, twisted, and one-sided a love it describes; the pain and humiliation of loving someone that doesn't ever seem to see you or your feelings, of not being able to trust them with your heart in the slightest after they've already mangled it without it even being given but unable to help falling deeper and deeper now that they've come back into your life, wanting yourself to just believe that this time it'll be different but still feeling just utterly torn apart by how little they seem to care about you. It's such a good sad song, and that relationship would have been so interesting to watch unfold, and you have no idea how pissed I am that we just skipped over ALL Yang's anger and pain towards Blake, all the conversations and arguments that we rightfully should have gotten to get the lame ass handholding that came out of nowhere and just seemed to drain all off Blake's energy into Yang, giving us overly-aggressive and bitchy Yang and meek doormat Blake. Blehhh. We could have had something so much better, and it pisses me off that this is what we're getting instead.

[scintillatingshortgirl19]

Loki Episode 2 Thoughts (Finally)

I’m extremely late here but wanted to post this anyway - just some thoughts and reactions I had while watching episode 2.

I loved how playful he is when he's trying to hit Miss Minutes with the magazine - he does that look over his shoulder to make sure no one's watching, and I ADORE the little excited thing his eyes do when he's trying to swat her - there's something kind of cat-chasing-a-laser about it. Very, very cute.

Magic nerd Loki! Gotta love a confirmed headcanon. 

And I like that this episode also confirmed my headcanons that Loki might slack off when he's not engaged or interested, or considers something unimportant (didn't watch all the propaganda training vids, wasn't interested in Miss Minutes' questions), but is an incredibly focused and hard worker when he's invested in what he's doing.

Tom has talked a lot in interviews about Loki's initial motivation being to find out what's going on, to understand the TVA and how it works, and just generally satisfy his curiosity. It was cool to see that play out and I love Loki's overall curious attitude.

I do like that they're being open about the fact that Mobius is using Loki, and not pretending that Mobius is some kind of perfect angel - Mobius talked about the two options for to explain why he's sticking his neck out for Loki (feeling sympathy for a scared little boy or saying whatever he needs to to get Loki to help him) and it absolutely seems like it's both. I like the way their relationship is developing so far.

Tears again! Not as much as in episode 1, but still good. Two episodes in and we've gotten tears in both - let's keep up this momentum guys (tears in every episode would be lovely, please and thank you)

Is...is someone going to tell Loki that he actually saved a whole bunch of Asgardians?? That his destroying Asgard was a heroic moment and not a villainous one? Did he read about that in the file or does he think he just up and destroyed his home planet a few years after he attacked New York? I just want him to know that that was a heroic moment for him and not a villainous one.

If Loki doesn't get to try candy and Mobius doesn't get to ride a jetski, I'm going to be very disappointed (I mean seriously the jetski thing did feel like foreshadowing, and I just NEED confirmation of Loki's sweet tooth. I NEED IT). And somebody please show Casey a fish. 

Speaking of which, I was rather disappointed by the lack of Casey. As fun as the brief exchange was, I was really hoping for another actual scene with the two of them, even a short one. Maybe in a future episode?

Loki being an absolute dork while demonstrating with Mobius' salad was adorable. He’s so proud of himself and I love him.

Still not a fan of the “stabbed people in the back 50 times” line, but something I do really like comes a few seconds later - Mobius’ laugh. I get the feeling people aren't usually amused by Loki. If they're laughing during a conversation with him it's probably at him and not with him - but when Mobius laughs in this scene, it’s because he seemed to genuinely find Loki amusing and endearing. 

At first I thought the way Loki acted in Pompeii was ooc, and while it is pretty over the top, I feel like that can be explained by a combination of it being a performance (he's trying to be as dramatic as possible in order to test his theory) and the fact that he's trying to distract himself from finding out about Ragnarok. And I loved Loki's frustration with Mobius’ suggestion to make bird noises. In terms of Loki’s behavior/attitude in that scene, a lot of how I feel was explained in this post by @iamanartichoke.

Sleeping Loki!!! Outstanding, beautiful, 10000/10

I loved how proud Loki was of doing a good job. Please give my boy all the validation.

And I love that this episode showcases how smart Loki is! Not just mentions it, but actually shows Loki being the one to figure things out and solve problems.

LET MY BOY HAVE HIS KNIVES

Multiple hair flips! Excellent!

I genuinely don't know what Loki's actual plans are at this point - obviously he wants to be free of the TVA and not get erased from existence, but I don’t know if he was telling Sylvie the truth about specifically wanting to overthrow the TVA, or he was lying, or if (most likely) it's some combination of those.

Sylvie seems cool but I’m really hoping she’s the enchantress and not Lady Loki, partly because I am just really really not into the idea of any version of Loki being blonde. Why.

It'll be really interesting to see what the tone of episode 3 is like. With the way this episode ended, I imagine the next one will be a little less lighthearted. 

I think I’ll make a separate post about this, but I thought it was good that they verbally mentioned Loki being Jotun. This tells me they're at least not forgetting about it, but it also makes me worried that this is as far as they’re going to go. I’m going to be disappointed if they don't at least do a tiny bit to address Loki's internalized racism. Especially with the cast and crew talking about how the theme of the show is identity, it would fit incredibly well from a story perspective and would be a strange thing to leave out, considering how central it is to Loki's identity and how it’s one of the parts of him that has had the greatest impact on his life. 

Tagging a few people since I’m posting this so long after the episode aired: @delyth88 @thelightofthingshopedfor @iamanartichoke​

[ruby-whistler]

hi, here's a short (long) analysis of this song which you should at least give a watch in my opinion! you might not like it, but you also might, so i say give it a shot.

anyways, here's my personal interpretation of the lyrics i (co)wrote. ani might have a completely different one, but you know.

beforehand, i need to point out that the first half of this was written before c!wilbur's revival and the second one was written after.

so, starting with the title

my motivation for it was c!wilbur's general role in shaping the narrative of the server, as well as cc!wilbur often joking around about scripts and other plot elements.

another thing was a clip of him talking with philza about how he thought the server's storyline was becoming very scattered, and i got the idea that maybe when c!wilbur comes back, he might try to rewrite the plot to his benefit as he has done time and time again.

hence, the idea for the song was born in my mind as i was falling asleep one night, because that is the only time i get good ideas.

the first half

"history, history, s'told by the winners, made by the sinners"

this was a reference to wilbur quoting the famous line "history is told by the victors". the reason i chose to use this set of words is because although the winners (wilbur) are the ones telling the story, the people who actually make the impact are often flawed, and genuinely invested in the cause (rest of l'manberg).

while c!wilbur knew the cause of l'manberg was false, he let the "sinners", or people he considered lower than him, since he was the one "telling" the story, win the war for him and make history as he altered the finished "story" in his own favor.

"so lie that you'll free them, s'long as you lead 'em"

this one is pretty self-explanatory. wilbur promised the revolution freedom in return for total loyalty to him, his power, and his country.

i'd also like to point out the use of "you" in this song - this was written, once again, before the revival; it was however expected that dream was going to bring wilbur back at some point. and i'm pretty sure ani doesn't know this, but writing this, i intentionally made the "you" wilbur is singing to be dream.

in essence, wil's telling his newfound ally about how powerful he is due to his abilities to "rewrite the script" - picture this being your usual villain monologue song after a dramatic return, since wil's always had a knack for the theatrics. keep this in mind for the rest of the explanation of these lyrics.

"the ink doesn't dry 'till time blows by spin a silver web and they're comply"

i absolutely loved this lyric, i couldn't stop gushing about it. ani came up with this one completely, so i don't know whether or not it has any deeper meaning, but i wanted to point it out because it sounds hella cool. the second part is about c!wilbur spinning lies until people would listen to him and do what he wants.

"smiles in the mirrors, reality's a game"

this line was meant to give an idea of just how screwed wilbur's perception of the world and people around him is, in that he treats everyone's lives as a narrative, as a symphony, as something that belongs to him and is free for him to play with.

smiles in the mirrors can be taken in a lot of ways, but one interpretation i like is that wilbur and dream as characters are parallels in their actions, but no one realizes it because the narrative paints them in different lights and the tragic hero and puppeteer respectively, when it's moreso the other way around.

"with help from the spinners we can shift all the blame"

spinners are the people wilbur uses to "spin" the tales for him. and, well, he's always been very good at shifting the blame and making himself out to be a victim.

seeing as he's talking to dream, in this line he is also reassuring him that he has people on the outside that can help them "rewrite" the current narrative and shift the blame away from dream and wilbur, in order to change the public's perception of them, which is at the time overwhelmingly negative.

"and if the world hunts you down out your mind and around we'll set their precious world adrift, adrift"

this is the most obvious pointer that wilbur is singing to dream. he is directly telling him that since the people of the smp have "hunted" him (or would, if he were to escape), and have hurt him mentally and physically in the prison, wilbur would work with him to destroy their lives and their world as they know it for their mutual gain.

it also brings forth his views of possession and power; in essence, he sees himself as in charge of the lives of everyone in his story, hence finding their realities fragile and fully his own to mess with. he finds it amusing that he has full control over something so "precious" to them, and mocks this sentiment in the last line.

"and if you don't like what's shown and you feel like no one's grown just, rewrite the script!"

this was the first lyrics for the song, which ani wrote, after i proposed the idea. this begins a trend in the song where wilbur will alternate between talking to dream and the viewers themselves.

here he is directly addressing those who don't like the way the smp has been since wilbur has stopped writing, and who call out the lack of character development in certain people's stories. he is reassuring them that now that he's back, he will rewrite it to be more entertaining - for him, that is.

the second half

alright, now we're going over what i myself wrote the day wilbur was revived after getting a surge of inspiration.

"screams, broken voices poor writing choices"

this starts off with revived wilbur's opinions on the new storyline he has come into. the first line refers to the torture dream is going through in prison, and the second is him simply commenting on how he finds the plotline inadequate after his return.

"dreams of redemption caught my attention"

the interesting thing about this is that wilbur, as has been shown before with eret, doesn't believe in people's redemption.

this line insinuates that even if there was any chance of the circumstances changing and dream getting better, now that wilbur was back, he wan't planning to let that happen, as he finds it one of the aforementioned "poor writing choices".

it caught his attention as something he finds interesting - since he's always had a twisted fascination with people's hopes and goals, finding ways to use them to his advantage - but in the end, naive, since his outlook on the world has always been quite cynical.

"train wheels screech on the rails in the end, my world prevails"

this was an attempt to shove a reference to the stream i had just watched into the song. the train stopped in limbo, and it came to get him back out to the world of the living.

the second line is him boasting that he knew all along that his efforts to gain people's loyalty would would pay off in the end, and hence his "word" prevailed even over death.

"i've got tales in store, of loss and of war it's a shattered world for me to restore"

see, this entire sequence is quite the oxymoron, and it's meant to be confusing, showcasing once again just how twisted wilbur's outlook on the world is.

he finds the story "shattered", which is a reference to cc!wilbur saying he prefers more centred stories than what the dsmp is right now. he is promising to fix this, finding it another game for him to play, another puzzle for him to solve, however, his definition of "restore" is proven by the previous line to be a contradiction at its core.

he has plans from his time in limbo, and just like all of his stories so far, they're tragic and traumatizing to the people playing in them. he plans to perpetuate war and conflict in order to make the story more lively and dynamic, while using loss as a tragic element to push the "characters" in their lives further towards development.

in the end, the way he's planning to "restore" the world is by rewriting the narrative in such a way that it wouldn't stagnate, or work itself out naturally, but continue endlessly for him to write and control.

"villains and heroes, traitors and moles when push comes to shove they'll burn the world for their goals"

the second part of the first line was meant to be "interchangeable roles" instead, but we switched it out so it would be easier to sing.

it's talking about how after all, it doesn't really matter to wilbur who the villain or hero is, as long as they are part of the narrative that he has power over.

"and if i harness the flame their hope will blaze all the same no time for interests to conflict"

this is confirmation of the previous point that he can use people's feelings against them and in order to perpetuate his own "interests". as long as he can make people think he's helping them, even if their goals are different, there won't be room for them to truly conflict.

the people on the dream smp all burn with hope and passion and human emotions he can exploit and use in favour of himself and his story, and even then they won't get any weaker. he sees them as an endless fuel source he can take from, essentially.

"so when you're blue and betrayed by all the choices you've made just, rewrite the script."

the last lines of the song, and here he is speaking specifically to the characters in the story. all of them have made mistakes and been "betrayed" by their choices to trust others, which left them or others grieving or hurt.

wilbur is in essence mocking this, by pointing out, once again, how simple it is for him to "just rewrite the script", and take all of their "blue" away - while also making it clear that he only plans to use this power to take further control by driving those he sees fit further down their path of revenge and villainy.

epilogue

thank you all for reading, whoever did! this song was truly a passion project for me to work on, and i loved coming up with deeper meanings to the lyrics, by using my own personal interpretation of the character. i get that this is not everyone's interpretation, but i like it. i also really can't wait for what wilbur's up to now that he's back. either way, have a nice day!

[mistresseast]

can you explain in more detail why you think the PT weren't good friends for akiren? i'm not asking out of hate or to start drama, i just never interpreted things that way and i'm genuinely curious. i don't think them being brainwashed by maruki makes them "bad friends", but i don't know if that's what you meant either. i'd love to read a proper explanation on this that isn't just people arguing in the notes of that post.

Hi! Yeah, I know the ~discourse~ climate is pretty touchy and not a good place to exchange ideas, so I’ll do my best to put my thoughts on this matter into words. 

Settle in, bc this one is long.

I’ll start off by saying I don’t dislike the PT, nor do I think they’re bad people, and honestly I think they love Joker a lot! Ryuji calling Akira after his fake death and talking about how his ideas on what makes a hero have changed because of Akira genuinely makes me emotional, along with dozens of other scenes with the thieves! They’re good kids who could be really good friends to Akira but that’s not what’s shown in the game. I don’t think it’s controversial to say Akira’s relationships with all of his friends are transactional. That’s kind of the point, all of his confidants arise out of deals, give and take, and in the metanarrative of the game, that’s how it works. You as the player help these characters solve their problems, and through ranking their confidants up, you get access to more gameplay perks. So it’s pretty even!! But like,,Akira, the character, isn’t the player. There’s no in-story mechanic by which he can cash in friendship points for being-good-at-killing-things prizes. Yes, he uses those abilities to not die in the metaverse, but there is no literal, in-universe way to explain how hanging out with someone translates to [insert gameplay perk here]. So you have to look at what is physically happening in the story. Akira hangs out with the PT, stands there while they have drama with another irrelevant character, and then one way or another their problems get solved and they swear to be Akira’s blood brother or whatever. Akira is a crutch for these characters, and they say multiple times that they wouldn’t have been able to do what they did without him. So all of their shit gets handled and Akira gets?? Like actually gets?? What? Inquiries about his well-being? Offers to help him? Questions about his life, his interests? No,,,not really,, But he gets access to a super powerful persona!! Yay!!! Bc everyone knows he’s just a little shadow-killing machine, right? And even the relationships he does get something tangible (as in separate from the mechanics of the game) out of, like Kawakami’s, are built on the notion that if Akira stops providing for whatever reason, the relationship will end. So essentially, Akira is under the pressure of filling whatever role his friends need him in for however long at any time, and he’s been led to believe that if he stops or fails, he will stop receiving any reciprocal care and acceptance.

(And I know this is all gameplay stuff, I know it has to be like this to codify the complicated process of human relationships, I know all of that, I’m just trying to find a deeper layer bc that’s what I do.)

This whole thing comes into pretty clear focus for me during the third semester when you visit everyone in the false reality. Everyone is happy to see him, of course, but they’re clearly wrapped up in their own happiness. Which is understandable, again, I’m not saying the PT need to be attached to Akira to be good friends, but it all still feels off to me.

If they know Joker, then they’d know it’s weird that he just shows up and starts asking these pointed questions while they’re in the middle of something. All of their other interactions with him have been led by them. Yeah, Joker approaches them bc the player has decided to hang out with them, but the other character always chooses the activity and leads the discussion. Akira showing up out of nowhere and asking them to “remember” and “move on” and whatnot should be raising some major red flags. And it clearly does, since their memories do start to return, but they’re all too scared of losing their happiness that they nope out of the conversation as soon as possible, without stopping to consider why Joker might be trying to reach out to them like that. They’re his friends; they should know he wouldn’t just be trying to hurt them or make them unhappy. After all, their entire relationship with him up til that point has been exclusively about Joker trying to help them. This doesn’t make the PT bad people, running away is a totally natural reaction in that situation. They’re just kids, and their minds have been manipulated to a point, but it’s not like they don’t remember Joker or the way they’ve grown since meeting him. In fact many of them mention how much they’ve matured recently, but they never actually relate that back to Akira, despite him being the primary driving force behind most of their personal arcs, even though they definitely remember him. Translation vagueness or deliberate nod to the idea that the PT don’t actually credit Akira with all the hard work he did after their initial lip service? Hmmm. Anyway, their failure to recognize that Joker is struggling just demonstrates to me what was set up all throughout their confidant links, that their relationships are transactional and that they don’t necessarily consider Joker and his individual needs outside of what he provides for them. And when they no longer need him bc that hole has been filled, he simply doesn’t occupy the same place of importance in their lives. 

Makoto’s flashback in particular stood out to me, bc it was from a moment where she was specifically talking about feeling like she finally found a place to belong with the Phantom Thieves (and by extension, with Joker), but then she desperately tries to brush it off. Obviously that sense of belonging wasn’t meaningful enough to her for her to want it back. And I’m not blaming her, of course, any teenager would choose to have their father back over being in a vigilante group lmao, I just thought it was telling that the devs decided to show us a scene that was originally meant to be heartwarming as an example of the harsh reality Makoto wants to forget. All of the flashbacks are from defining moments for the thieves, but that one specifically got me like *thinking emoji*

So his friends are hesitant, despite the fact that they must know something is wrong. It’s understandable, they all stand to lose a lot if someone messes with the status quo. I genuinely don’t think I would react any differently. But there is someone who reacts differently and against his own self-interest. It’s Goro, the one who has arguably the most to lose, who doesn’t turn away from Akira. He seeks Akira out and teams up with him to uncover what’s really going on, even though he has every reason to believe that prodding too deep will literally mean the end of his life. He forces Akira and himself to face the truth because he knows anything else would just be an insult to what they’ve suffered so far. He’s the only one who never flinches, and that, more than any of his friends’ come-to-jesusing (which Akira still has to initiate) is what Akira needs in that situation. For the first time (outside of the brief instances in the tutorial levels), we see a situation where Akira is actually the dependent one, the one who needs help, who needs support. And the only one who has ever provided that, unconditionally, without demanding anything in return, is Goro. I could go into how Goro’s confidant blows all of the others out of the water in terms of building both himself AND Akira as characters, but it’s been said already and by smarter people than me. But basically, despite competition being a core theme of their relationship, Goro is the only character who is portrayed as Akira’s equal. Their contests are all in the name of improving not just Goro, but Akira too. Goro is the only character who expresses an interest in Akira’s inner life and development, and as such he knows Akira better than anyone else. So when Maruki tries to trap them all in a gilded birdcage, Goro won’t stand for it and he knows Akira won’t stand for it either. That’s why he’s so betrayed if you choose to accept the dreamworld. You’re negating the basis of your entire relationship with him and going against your own principles. Out of every character in the game, the one who knows Akira best and refuses to abandon him even when that could mean his own death is Goro Akechi.

I want to reiterate: I do not hate or even dislike the PT!! And tbh I don’t really think they “abandoned” Akira. That post, imo, is supposed to be kind of hyperbolic. Unless it’s referring to how many of them literally sprint away when he comes to talk to them lol. I look at it more like a commentary on how thoughtlessly the PT act as soon as their wishes are granted. I know it’s set up linearly for story purposes, but isn’t it kind of sad how no one checks up on Akira in the week he’s going around talking to people? Especially after he’s been acting so comparatively weird? It’s not unusual that they might be caught up in other stuff, but while you’re going around and visiting everyone, you don’t get a single text or call from ANY of the thieves, for a whole week!! Goro even comments on it directly with his pointed little “I’m sure you’re just as close as you were before” comment. God, he’s such a bitch. Ultimately, the PT do get their acts together, and it’s partially out of the realization that Akira is struggling alone against something and needs their help, which I love and appreciate. I think they are good friends who want to support Akira, but they can’t understand him past the role they’ve placed him in, and until they do, they’ll never be able to be what he needs. Akira loves his friends and knows he can rely on them in most ways, but those relationships will always be dogged by the pervasive fear that he must constantly earn the right to have the relationship at all. What he needs MOST is someone he doesn’t have to perform for, and from what we see in the game, none of the thieves fit that bill. Except Goro. 

I know this was long and rambly and probably pretty disjointed but I wanted to be as thorough as possible and all of my thoughts just sort of gushed out. Obviously ymmv about all of this depending on how you interpret the game, but this is what I arrived at thanks to my analysis so this is what I have for you! Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

[tumble4rpdr]

Genuine question and I hope I won't offend anyone : how can people still believe branjie will come back together or how can people have a hard time letting go of that relationship when they're 2 months away from their 3 year breakup anniversary? I guess I get that they've always been friendly and like to joke around about their past relationship but I never felt it was more than friendship at this point and it was all about teasing the fans who still ship them. Also it's been a few months since they've publically interacted so what is giving you hope? What signs made you think their friendship could evolve into a relationship again? To me it's clear from their interviews that they don't look for the same things in a relationship so no matter how close they are, I don't believe their issue will be solved if they try again

I'm interested in your perspective, I'm not judging

Sorry I’m getting to this a little late but know that I so appreciate and thank you for the phrasing of this ask because while you clearly share a different opinion of the state of B and V’s relationship than some people, you are just trying to understand other points of view with an open mind💜I’ve noticed that the biggest difference seems to be the way people view B and V’s interactions with each other post breakup since some people view their behavior like I believe you do, more friendly and jokey and knowingly trying to get a rise out of the people who want to see them together as a couple, whereas I (and I believe other B and V shippers) would always see their interactions as more genuine (since they clearly still like each other-even if it’s only as friends-and I feel like they’ve been friends with benefits at some point) and intensely (almost unnecessarily) flirty and unprompted/unprovoked (since I feel like the people who would think about/want B and V together would do so anyway, with or without B or V bringing it up so I took it as though they were thinking about each other and couldn’t help but talk about the other). I don’t know if it’s just my fanfiction brain or seeing what I would hope for/possibly want for myself (which I’m not even sure about since I am not a romantic person and don’t really believe in fate and things/people being “meant to be”) or seeing what I wanted to see (for whatever reason) or seeing things that may no longer be true, but I know that I (and I think other people who want/wanted to see B and V together and think/thought it might happen) would see the heartwarming way they looked at each other and the smiles and the tenderness between them (on top of all the flirty, sexual stuff) as them being drawn to each other and having something special and making each other happy. I think that the hope is coming from the belief that it could be possible for them to rekindle what they had and that what they had was significant and brought happiness to both of them (and I believe that most people who want B and V together are fans of both of them and ultimately want them both to be happy). I do think that recently their views on what they want out of a relationship/partner have changed (at least somewhat) and it can sometimes sound like it could be challenging for them and/or they’re in different places in their lives (but maybe that was always the case or maybe I’m resting things wrong now-I’m not really sure) so you could potentially be right about things not working out (though I think in any relationship-new or a rekindled one-there’s that risk). Ultimately I’m not really sure why we continue to have hope and these are solely my opinions. Like I said before I really appreciate the tone of this ask and I liked it because it made me go back and think about my reasoning for it all, though in the end my main hope is that both B and V end up happy, whether or not it’s with each other.

[hazel-writes]

Summary: While recovering from the events that took place on Dantooine, you learn more about Finn and Takoda's complicated pasts.

Word Count: 3,300

Warnings: mentions of canon-typical violence and childhood trauma

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

It will take a while

To make you smile

Somewhere in these eyes

I'm on your side

• Space Song - Beach House •

It had been three days since your mission to Dantooine, and you still hadn’t wrapped your head around what had happened there.

Rilea kept asking you if you were alright, and you always responded with an enthusiastic yes. Any other response prompted a long, worried conversation about stress following traumatic encounters, followed by a rant on the violence perpetrated by patriarchal societies. She wasn’t wrong, but you just didn’t feel like talking about it.

Akilah kept asking you how you escaped. You could tell she didn’t buy your story — and she knew that you knew that — but wanted to make you admit it anyways. How she knew this still remained a mystery, one you couldn’t solve unless you revealed something about yourself that you were determined to keep a secret.

Soren was quiet, as usual, but instead of shooting you his typical iconic glare, he had been avoiding your eye contact completely.

Koda, on the other hand, was furious. For some reason, he felt guilty for what happened, despite the fact that he was miles away at the time. You told him over and over that it was not and could not be his fault, but you could tell that your words were not enough to appease his guilt.

Based on Koda’s reaction, you felt as if you should be more angry about what happened, but you understood why the men had attacked you. Years of pent up anger, frustration, and loss, mixed with the alcohol they had most likely consumed earlier, had combined to incite the unfortunate turn of events. You had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

No, I should be more mad, you shamed yourself. They attacked me. Hit me. Kicked me. Watched as I gave up.

A knock sounded on your door. You already knew who it was. Ever since Finn found out about what happened on Dantooine, he had started showing up everywhere you were: inside the cafeteria, throughout the hallways, and now, outside of your room.

You sighed, making your way to the door. You opened it, and just as expected, found Finn there, helmet in hand, smirking at you with a sheepish grin.

“Finn…” you drew out his name, as if patronizing a small child. He looked back at you with apologetic, yet pleading, eyes. “I already told you, I’m fine.”

“I know what you told me,” he said, stubbornly.

Darn his freaky emotional intelligence.

You rolled your eyes. “Well, since you are already here, I was wondering if I could ask you something.”

He nodded enthusiastically, eager at the opportunity to help out. “Yeah, of course. Anything.”

You ushered him into your room, closing the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, you continued, knowing he wouldn’t like what was coming next.

“What’s goin’ on between you and Takoda? It’s just… you both are so sweet and it’s weird to see you guys act so distant around each other.”

He smirked. “Well, first of all, we’re sweet around you — I am still a trooper, remember, so I can’t be this charming all the time.”

“Right,” you said, cheeks reddening slightly as you rolled your eyes. “But why the lack of charm around Koda?”

He sighed heavily, avoiding eye contact. “Koda and I… We don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things.”

“Such as…” you inquired further.

“Such as the trooper program.”

That didn’t make any sense to you; Takoda had never spoken about the program before.

“Why would Koda be interested in the trooper program?”

The room was silent.

“Because he was one.”

“Koda was a trooper??!” You couldn’t picture it. As hard as you tried, you just couldn’t. He was too silly, too full of life. But the same was true for Finn, and he was a trooper too…

“Yup,” he replied, somber. “We were in the same fleet too. We always had each other's backs.”

You thought for a second, processing the new information. “So what changed?”

He hesitated, looking down at his feet. You’d never seen him look this sad before, and it made your own heart feel heavy.

“A couple years into his program, Koda got injured.”

“Injured — how?”

“We were on a planet with a heavy rebel presence. Our orders were to… eliminate a village that housed supposed Resistance sympathizers. We went in with grenades,” he paused, choking on his words. You looked up at him, reaching out and grabbing his hand, supportively. He nodded appreciatively and continued. “At one point, a trooper next to me threw one. It landed by a little girl, maybe nine years old. Koda jumped forward — pushed her out of the way. He ended up catching most of the blow. I can’t honestly say that I would’ve had the courage to do the same. I hid my grenades in a nearby bush and ran over to him; he was hurt badly. So the med guys took him, and he was airlifted outta there.”

You squeezed his hand, gently urging him to continue. “What happened next?”

“I visited him in the hospital a few days later. He told me he’d been ‘medically discharged’ and was free to go wherever he wished… I was so happy for him. Not many stormtroopers get that kinda opportunity to start over, live their own life. Many injure themselves on purpose to get discharged, but usually they’re too obvious about it and end up executed on the grounds of ‘treason’.”

You shook your head in shock. “Stars…”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “So I asked Koda what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go… I mean, the possibilities were endless for him! But he surprised me. He told me he wanted to stay with the Order, try to make it 'better'. I couldn’t believe it — especially given his background.”

“What do you mean, his background?” you questioned.

“Koda hasn’t told you?” he said, eyes widening.

“Told me what?”

“Kriff…” he mumbled. “I think that’s something you should discuss with him .”

“Yeah, okay...” You paused, thinking. You were still confused about one thing.

“So Koda refused to leave the Order, and you and him just… stopped talking?”

He sighed, his hand leaving your grasp to run through his hair. He seemed frustrated, not at you, but at the newly-unearthed memories of his past.

“It’s not as simple as that. Koda had a choice. He had a choice to join the trooper program, and a choice to leave it. I never had a choice. I was forced into it. It was either this, or death.” He paused, sighing, before lowering his voice. “Had I known what it would be like here, as a trooper, I would’ve chosen death.”

Hearing that tore your heart in two. “Finn, please, don’t say that.”

He threw up his hands. “It’s true! Being forced to tear apart planets, villages, houses, families, people… It’s horrible. Sickening.” He paused. “I- I had almost given up hope completely, when all of a sudden you came into the picture.”

You gave him a sad, appreciative smile.

“Anyways, he had a choice to leave this life, and he said no. I’ve never had a choice, but if I did, I would be out of this place in a second. That’s why we don’t talk anymore.”

“I see.” You paused. “Finn, I-”

Words couldn’t describe how incredibly sad you felt that such a strong, empathetic man like Finn had been forced to endure so much pain.

You reached out and pulled him into the biggest hug you could manage. Your eyes prickled with tears. “I’m so sorry Finn, I’m so, so sorry,” you whispered over and over into his ear.

After a few minutes like that, you finally pulled away to see Finn smiling warmly at you. How could he still do that — smile — after everything he’d gone through?

“Hey, I just thought of one good thing that came out of me staying in this stupid trooper program.”

“What?” you asked, genuinely interested.

There was that sheepish smile again. “Well, if I left, I never would’ve met you.”

You didn’t deserve a friend like Finn.

“And I would’ve never met you…”

You grabbed his hands in yours and held them to your forehead. You closed your eyes and breathed deeply. It was your turn to worry.

“I wish there was more I could do for you,” you whispered.

He shook his head. “You’ve already done so much.”

“Not enough,” you replied.

He sighed, bringing both your hands back down to your lap.

“Listen, there’s something about you — I don’t know what — that gives me hope, and I don’t use that word lightly. I felt it from the first, or should I say the second, time I met you.” He laughed, his eyes brightening. “If anyone can change the way things are in the galaxy right now, it’s you.”

You looked at him, wondering where this blind trust was coming from. He had only known you for a short amount of time… You finally understood why the Commander was so surprised by your own blind trust in his orders.

“I should get back,” he said, standing up. “But please, try to remember what I said.”

After giving you one last hug, he put on his helmet and made his way out of your quarters, leaving you to your thoughts.

——————————————

You spent the next few hours reflecting on your conversation with Finn. You found yourself desperately wanting to find out more about Koda’s enigmatic background.

After pacing back and forth across your room a couple hundred times, your curiosity finally got the best of you.

I have to go talk to Koda. I need to find out what he has been keeping from me.

You found him sitting in the artist workspace, alone.

He didn’t seem to see you at first, so you cleared your throat, announcing your presence.

His head jerked up, startled. His brown hair was a bit more disheveled than usual, and his hair fell over his face slightly.

You smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, no, I was just spaced out for a sec,” he smirked. “I’m back now.”

A moment passed before his features became more serious. “How are you feeling?”

This was the first time you’d really talked about what happened on Dantooine with Koda. Most of what he knew was from Rilea’s retellings.

You shrugged. “Fine, considering. It could’ve been worse.”

He looked down, wringing his hands uncomfortably. “Why wasn’t it… worse? How did you end up getting away?”

You couldn’t tell him what really happened — it’s not like he would believe you if you did. You settled for a half-truth instead.

“I managed to kick one of the guys who jumped me and while he was distracted, I made a run for it. That’s when you guys found me in the field.”

He shook his head, still looking at his hands. “Kriff… I’m sorry. We should’ve never split up.��

“No, no, don’t apologize, it’s not your fault. I just seem to be a magnet for trouble,” you chuckled, trying to bring up the mood.

He nodded, unconvincingly. “So what brings you here? Shouldn’t you be in a hospital bed or something?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Ah, they won’t miss me,” you smirked, earning an eye roll from Koda. “I actually came here because I wanted to ask you about something.”

He squinted in your direction. “Uh oh, you have serious voice on.”

You laughed before continuing, “I just wanted to ask you about Finn.”

“Ahh…” he said, as if he knew this conversation was coming.

“I already talked with him today, so now it’s your turn to endure the wrath of my nosiness.”

“Okay, fine,” he said, letting out an audible sigh before rolling his shoulders and assuming a more comfortable position. “What do you want to know?”

You continued hesitantly, not wanting to offend Koda or worsen the tension between him and Finn. “Well, we talked about why you two don’t get along and how you chose to stay with the Order after you were discharged from your trooper duties. Finn mentioned — and please, don’t get upset that he told me — he was surprised by your decision… especially considering your background. What exactly did he mean by this?”

Takoda paused, looking at you as if considering something. Finally, leaning towards you slightly, he continued. “What I’m about to tell you cannot leave this room, alright? People onboard wouldn’t think too kindly of me if they knew.”

You nodded. “Of course, Koda, I would never do something like that — never.”

His hazel eyes met yours as he spoke in a low, serious voice. “I wasn’t born First Order. I was born Resistance.”

He looked up at you, attempting to gauge your reaction. When you didn’t look angry or disgusted, he continued.

“I was pretty independent from a young age. My parents were never home. They were always working on something Resistance-related. They were pretty much consumed by their work. One year they even forgot my birthday,” he huffed, looking to his feet. “When they hadn’t come home by dinnertime, I left the house. I walked for hours before I came to a small village. A group of off-duty stormtroopers walked by, chatting about their latest mission, and I approached them.”

He took a deep breath before continuing.

“At that moment, all I wanted was to be a part of something. A team. A community of people that truly had my back. I couldn’t join the Resistance, not after what it had turned my parents into. So I asked the stormtroopers, begged them, to let me join them. FN-2187, or Finn, as you call him, was there. He was against it. The others that were with him, however, were all for it. So just like that, I went with them.”

You were surprised. “So the Order just let a random kid into their program?”

“Pretty much. At the time they were desperate. Less and less people wanted to be a part of the trooper program. They took anyone they could get. So, I signed up, trained, and fought as a stormtrooper. Finn took me under his wing. Kept me outta trouble.” He paused, his eyes downcast. “He was like the only true family I ever had. Then I got injured, Finn got mad when I decided to stay, and they transferred me here, to this job.” He looked up at the ceiling, releasing a dry chuckle. “Funny thing is, I found out years later that my parents had missed my birthday, their own son’s birthday, to attend some random Resistance diplomat’s birthday party instead. Talk about the ‘Parent of the Year’ award…”

You were starting to appreciate your family on Lothal more and more. They weren't perfect, but they had never forgotten your birthday.

“Listen, I know I can’t change how they treated you, but please believe me when I tell you that they are missing out. Big time.” You smiled at him. “You have the biggest heart. They don’t deserve you. And I know you don’t want to hear it, but Finn truly did, and does, want the best for you. He cares about you so much, but is too stubborn to admit it, just like another certain someone I know.” Koda rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not saying you should forgive him right away… I just think that second chances are important, and are something that Finn has hardly ever been offered in his life.”

Koda sighed dramatically before speaking again. “Fine, maybe someday, in the very, very, very distant future, I will consider talking to Finn.”

You smiled, satisfied. “Good.”

“But only so you will stop bugging me about, like I know you will.”

You smirked. “Hey, I’ll take what I can get.”

He shook his head, looking at you incredulously. “You know, you’re pretty good at the whole active listening while subtly brainwashing thing. It’s annoying.”

You smirked. “I have lots of experience.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you do… So, is my interrogation over?”

“I suppose it is… for today at least.” You looked at the papers laying on the table next to Koda. “What were you up to?”

“Oh,” he started, looking a bit flustered. “I was just trying to sketch something up.”

A twinge of anxiety hit you. “What? I didn’t know we had a new assignment already!”

“No, no, it’s not for a new assignment,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “It’s for Rilea.”

“Rilea…” You smirked, knowingly. “I knew something was going on there.”

The look of panic on Koda’s face was almost comical. “What? No! Nothing is going on! The going is off. A hundred percent off.”

“Wow, consider me convinced,” you replied sarcastically.

He shook his head emphatically. “I swear, we’re just friends… not even that! We’re basically enemies.”

You smiled devilishly. “Alright, I’ll be sure to let her know the next time I see her.”

The panicked look on his face turned to one of pure terror. “No! Please! Ugh. Just- just don’t say anything alright?”

“Whatever you say, Koda,” you said, once again smiling in victory. “Anyways, I’ll let you get back to your project.”

You walked back towards the door, stopping briefly before you exited.

“And Koda?” You turned to face him. “Thank you.”

He looked back at you, confused. “For what?”

“For not giving up.”

And with that you made your way out of the workspace and back to your quarters.

———————————————————

Upon arriving in your room, you headed straight to the bed, face-planting into the pillows. You sighed loudly before turning onto your back, casually scanning your eyes over the space. Something on the floor next to the door caught your eye: a white slip of folded paper.

You stood up, making your way over to the mystery letter. The word artist was written on the front. Opening it up, you found it simply read:

Meet me in room E23 tomorrow night at 8. This is not a request.

Commander Ren

You chuckled. Of course he had to add the ‘this is not a request’ bit.

Alarm bells soon began sounding in your head. You wondered what this meeting was about: Were you in trouble? Was this about your Force abilities? Were you being led into a trap?

But there that strange feeling was again: trust.

For some strange reason, you trusted that the Commander wouldn’t hurt you. After all, he’d proven as much over the last few days, after saving you from Hux and the men on Dantooine.

You thought back onto your conversation with Finn, remembering how he told you about the way he was forced into the trooper program. It shocked you that some troopers had attempted to injure themselves to get discharged from their duties. You recalled how Finn, himself, said he would have rather died than have accepted his position with the First Order…

If that’s the way these seemingly robotic and unempathetic troopers truly felt, then what was to say that the Commander was any different?

You had seen him in battle — you had found footage on your data pad. He was fueled by emotion; each strike of his fiery crossguard blade exploded with passion.

Though this raw emotion scared most, it enticed you — it gave you hope.

An excess of emotion was always better than a lack of it.

Maybe the Commander was forced into his role, just like Finn was. Maybe he had no choice but to join the Order. Maybe that’s why he wore his mask: to distance himself from his true feelings, from his inner conflict.

Of course, you knew more than anyone…

Things aren’t always as they seem.

——————————————————

Previous || Masterlist || Next

[eregyrn-falls]

Are gravity falls commentary by Alex and deleted scene (due to time) canon. I mean i thought it was canon at first but the more i into it the more he seems to deny the theory Bill survive in Stan mind. So why included the dying messages and the code keep the fans hope up if it doesn't matter to the storyline anymore. Its so unnatural to Alex deny and destroy the fan's theory and headcanons. I dont know guys i just scared he is milking Gravity Falls. I'm sorry if i annoy you guys

Sorry that it took a little bit to get to this.  But here are my thoughts:

To be honest, I DO NOT think that things mentioned in the DVD commentaries, and especially not the deleted scenes, are “canon”.  But, I think that depends partly on how you define canon.  Others may define it differently from the way I do.

The way I tend to look at these things: what was actually in the show is “canon”.  “Secondary canon” is still that was in official auxiliary materials (Journal 3 and the Blacklight Edition, various books, including the graphic novel).  In my view, secondary canon material is nice, and I might accept it if I like it, but I don’t necessarily feel bound by it, especially if it contradicts something seen in primary canon (the show).  Then there’s “tertiary canon” – stuff that comes from commentary in interviews, twitter, or the dvd commentaries.  Again – sometimes it’s really nice to know, but I tend not to feel bound by it.  I’ll borrow from it if I really like it.  Alex Hirsch himself has implied that stuff from interviews and twitter and stuff like that are “his headcanons”, which puts that material an even further rung down in importance.  (Use it if you like it!  If not, ignore!)  Again, the show is the final arbiter.

This is just the way I work.  It also goes without saying that I find discussions and weighing of canon interesting.  Other folks may feel differently!

Anyway – it was truly never “canon” (in any sense that I am aware of) that Bill survived in Stan’s mind.  As far as I know, that was a popular fan theory, based on various pieces of reasoning; but it was never explicitly stated in the show (canon), or even in any piece of secondary canon that I’m aware of.  Don’t mix up popular or even plausible fan theories with what is “canon”.

Even the idea that Bill might have “survived” in some sense – and the evidence in favor of this, like the dying messages and the codes – never actually confirms that his method of survival was inside Stan’s mind.  Different theories could be created to explain his “survival”.  We aren’t told explicitly.

Why include those hints at all?  I think, partly, because it’s “fun”.   The viewpoint of Alex and others on the show seems to be that mysteries are fun, and they know that the fan base enjoys digging out evidence of those mysteries, and spinning theories.  Sometimes that activity is an end in itself.  Asking questions and wondering and making theories is often much more satisfying than being given answers.  (Although, I think Gravity Falls is a rare instance of a show that raised questions and mysteries that it then answered in very satisfying ways.  But it still left other mysteries unanswered, because it wouldn’t be as fun if everything was solved.)

For this reason, I don’t see Alex’s comments on his view of it, in the DVD commentaries, as denying or destroying fan theories or headcanons.  He has said several times that his headcanons are just that – his headcanons.  He thinks that fans should feel free to have their own headcanons, and they should not privilege his over theirs.  He wants fans to keep having fun with the material, not to shoot them down.

And sure, maybe it doesn’t matter to the story any more – but that’s not the only reason for Alex (and others who made the show) to continue to talk about it.  They’re just talking about what was in their minds when they created the show.  Some fans find that kind of behind the scenes look at the creative process really interesting (I absolutely do!).  The value of such commentary is not solely about whether it tells us something regarding where the story goes after the finale of the show.  

To be clear: it’s okay if you value it for that!  And if you are particularly interested in that!  But that may not be Alex’s or others’ aims in making the comments, and other fans may value the information in other ways.  

But, if you find yourself unable to continue to hold a theory because Alex said something that contradicts what you think, that’s more about your decision to regard his comments as more important than your ideas.  I don’t think it’s what he (or others who worked on the show) are trying to do.

Finally – I honestly don’t think that he is “milking” Gravity Falls.  I think he genuinely loves the show and its characters; and I think he’s genuinely touched by the continued love and enthusiasm shown for it by its fandom.  I think that what he’s given us since then has been things that the fans have been very loud in saying we want.  The DVD set, with its bonus material and commentaries, is also a way of creating a lasting monument to the show, that hopefully will be available to future viewers for years to come.

I do think it’s worth keeping in mind, though, that whenever you ask a creator for more material, there’s always the chance that you won’t like what they give you as much as you liked the original thing.  I think fans always have to be prepared for that.  Many people have loved many aspects of some of the further material that we’ve gotten – the Journal and its blacklight edition, the books, the graphic novel, the DVDs.  But not everybody has loved every aspect of those works, and that’s okay.  You don’t have to love it, or even incorporate what’s in it, with the same level of love that you might have for the show.

At this stage, I don’t really know how many more Gravity Falls things we can really expect to see, either.  I’m hoping for an Art Book, with a lot more behind the scenes looks at the development of the show.  I don’t know whether we’ll ever get another graphic novel, with post-finale stories, or not.  I think that Alex, and many others who worked on the show, have new creative projects to focus on, and that’s cool.  I’m looking forward to seeing what many of them do next!

[kylosupremeimagines]

Hi, for the ship thing. I'm 5'3" with pale skin, blonde hair and green eyes. I enjoy spending time with people and I'm creative and smart. Im hoping to do something with my life that helps other people in theirs. My ideal first date is something active where we can talk and get to know each other while still bonding over shared activity. In a partner, i look for someone strong, protective, and real, who will treat me as their equal in every way. I can't stand liars and cheats. Thank you so much!

(You’re welcome! <3)

I ship you with Adam!

One of the things that Adam looks for in a partner is that they’re creative. It doesn’t matter what form your creativity takes, from painting and drawing all the way to acting, much like with what he does. If you add in the fact that you’re smart, he would get the impression that you can come up with great ways to solve issues, whether it be something serious or minor. The universe knows that he needs someone to help him, so he’d be so thankful to have you to help him. He definitely would love to talk and bond over anything you’re both interested in, so you don’t need to worry about being bored on your dates!

Taking in the fact that you’re willing to help people with their lives, having you there to help support him is most certainly a true miracle for him. As he slowly comes to realize that you really care, he isn’t afraid to turn to you if he needs help. The way he sees it, he needs someone in his life to help steer him in the right direction and how to be as much as a “fuck up,” as he would put it. 

He’s ever been much for anything fancy when it comes to dates, so he’s the ideal person to do something you love to do and just talk. His favorite dates, anyways, are the ones where you can stay in with some take out and just do something private. Hell, it doesn’t even need to be sex. If you like to paint, then he’ll get some supplies and he’ll try to paint with you. A fan of board games? Then he’s all for that.

It doesn’t matter what from, but Adam will probably one of the most protective people that you will come across and ever be with. Once he starts to take your relationship seriously, he will turn right around and try to be the best partner that he can. So whatever it is you need, he will be there to protect you or help in any other way that he can. 

With the trial and errors of his past, he too hates the idea of cheating and tries his best not to lie. He’s so sick of having short term partners and just wants someone constant in his life to give a damn. Sure, he didn’t mind the days when he would only get with a girl to have sex, but to have something genuine is something entirely different, something that he really wants in life but just doesn’t believe he deserves. 

Adam admires that you have the drive to do something with your life. He hates when people just get those dead-end office jobs that they hate just for the money. He’d much rather see you go off and do something you genuinely enjoy even if it doesn’t make a ton of money. You will have his full support no matter what you want to do with your life!

[shigetsugu]

hi i'm just curious! what flaws do you think kojuro has? i'm doing his ms noww but as far as i can tell his only flaw is being bad at cleaning ): but he's so attractive lmaooo i can't decide whether i like him or not

Hi there, anon! Glad you are doing his Main Story, even though I’m certainly biased, Kojuro’s is one of my favorite and one of the reason why I fell for him! Anyway, it is quite a tough question, isn’t it? I mean, he is seen as a flawless person much by players but also by in-game characters, so, does Kojuro have any flaw? Yes, of course he does, and I’m not just talking about his bad cleaning behavior either. I played all Kojuro’s events so far so I think I do know enough about the man but maybe I’ll miss some informations and I know there are new stuff that got introduced in KoiRan. I’ll try to explain everything the best I can, it’s certainly a bit longer than I intended to write first but I thought that context is always an important part on how I see things. I might have forgotten some informations and apologize in advance if so but I think it should show pretty much that Kojuro has flaws, like anyone else.

To begin with, Kojuro is one of the “oldest” main love interest in the game and he’s written to be seen as the wise older man type. It’s true at first that Kojuro gives off the vibes that he is perfect because that’s how he wants to be seen. I mean, he is thoughtful, loyal and caring, it’s true but he says so himself: it’s a facade he build up. In reality, he is more than the man you see at work, serious and hardworking and he worked himself hard to be the one called the “Dragon’s Claw”. This was explained (in Passionate Devotion event) that when he started working for the Date clan as a teenager, all the other retainers weren’t taking him seriously because of his age and appearance (remember everyone say that Kojuro looks younger than he is supposed to be and so started wearing his hair up) but also because of his background (he isn’t from a samurai family; he comes from a family of priests). 

It has been mentioned as well but Kojuro wasn’t the man we know today when he was still a young adult; Shigezane and Masamune said that he was hardly holding himself back and was able to throw savage tantrum and he could be even more terrifying since he is the kind to dig in and find some juicy stuff to get back at you and literally destroy you. (Mentionned and proved in Our Sultry Night of Passion event and also shown in Noble Heart Exposed event). Kita even said once that Kojuro was a “rebel” and didn’t actually wanted to work for the Date clan (and Kojuro low key confirmed it actually happened).

Kojuro explained himself that he basically compartmentalizing with his private and public persona. I don’t know if we can say that he is really a lazy person, or depends on what I suppose, but it’s certain that he sucks at tidying up his room, he tends to buy more than one copy of a book, barely fold his own clothes, is really clumsy when it comes to cooking (he even asked for Shigezane to bring him so food once since he was too lazy to even try) and don’t bother to eat sometimes because of that or he isn’t a morning person and can sleep in his study without sleeping in his bedding… He is actually ashamed of these (which he label them as things that aren’t his “strong points”) but can’t help himself; it’s part of him whatever happens, even though he tries his best to change.

It’s interesting as well because in the AU events in KoiRan where Kojuro is there being younger, Kojuro was really the kind not to care much for people, giving him the attitude of a very detached and not very altruistic person. (I can’t give much examples but if I’m not saying something wrong, in one event, Kojuro was asked by Shigetsugu to help the MC find where she was supposed to be working at the new place she was assigned in the city but he didn’t even bothered to do it correctly.)

I’m going to talk about how he behave with his closest relationships because it’s really interesting. When he started serving Masamune, it was “Kojuro’s mistake” that Masamune’s eyesight got worse (it is still unconfirmed but that’s what Kojuro believes) because he failed to found out about the poisoned manju (as told in Claim Me at Last event). Although at first it says that it’s because of this guilt that Kojuro became even more loyal to Masamune (and thus making sure he wouldn’t allow himself to make anymore grave mistake), but Kojuro explains that it isn’t really why it made him even more protective of Masamune (I’m sure it was during one of Masamune’s event but I can’t remember which one but I don’t remember his exact reason, I’m sorry). Kojuro, as much as he loves Masamune, still puts a barrier between the two of them and don’t even dare to call him a friend (I wonder if it was during Masamune’s Unspoken Ties event but I don’t have it so I can’t be sure) which bother Masamune a lot since not only he sees him as his most loyal retainer, but also a dear friend and big brother figure. Kojuro has always put some distance with his peers even though he is very friendly and easy to talk to and I’m going to explain why I think he does that now. 

We hardly talk about it but it’s important to remember that Kojuro, even though got taken care of by Kita and he himself says that he sees her as a motherly figure, still lost his parents at a young age and even waited for them to return (it’s never been mentionned how they died though). It’s implied that he missed some of this parental love and he wishes for his children not to know the same fate as he had with his own. He had actually a difficulut childhood (mentionned in the special ending of his second Main Story in KoiRan) and felt very lonely, I believe he lacked love for a long time so that’s why I’m going to talk about the way he was behaving with his preivous romatic relationships now.

Kojuro said that he had numerous lovers before the MC (The Bonds of Love Kojuro’s epilogue and Blossoming Lies events) but he never really fell in love with them. I believe that, since Kojuro always had a hole in his heart, he tried to fill this gap but never found someone to fit there (until the MC came in his life of course, he changed a lot after realizing his genuine love for her). He was going out with them for a while until they broke up (it’s not really told but it’s implied that he is the one who decided to) and I believe it was only because he never truly loved them and just wanted to feel some kind of strong affection even though it wasn’t shared (and certainly because he just wanted to relieved himself of his own earthly desire as he said so himself).

The latest event shows another side of him I would love to talk about because it could be confirming even more about the fact that Kojuro might have some kind of trust issues. Kojuro always took upon himself to serve not only Masamune personally but the Date clan and Oshu itself and thus, taking care for the problems was a normal thing to do. So when he realized that some of his retainers had difficulties to solve some problems in Shiroishi, he wanted to care of them himself like he always did. I think that the reason that it’s difficult Kojuro to let people do their job is only because he was in this position before and is probably to used to solve them but also because he has perfectionist tendencies. But not only this, it’s been shown that Kojuro can very stubborn, like REALLY when he wants to but can also thing that bothering for himself. We’re all used to have a Kojuro being able to commune his thoughts and feeling pretty easily and yet, sometimes he keeps stuff for himself even thought he knows he should be talking about them for different reasons and been mostly seen again in his second Main Story in KoiRan. It can be even more frustrating coming from someone you know that can, and more importantly want to make sure he is listened and understood.

All of these might not really be seen as evident flaws like it’d be with Saizo’s uncommunicativeness or Ieyasu’s trust issues but they really are stuff that are overlooked and overshadowed by his qualities and it’s actually normal. It doesn’t make him any less human; Kojuro is just working his butt to better himself in the eyes of other but more importantly in his own. He is just a perfecionnist and really don’t like to be seen as someone who can’t control his own emotions (he said a couple times that he always make sure to control his anger or even his lust, for example) and trust me, that’s the behavior of someone who don’t allow themselves to make any mistake or accepting failure and are even harder on themseleves than on others (such as the exemple of his lastest event, Diary of a Samurai Wife); he wants everything to be done nicely and quickly and so want to do it himself but realize that it was wrong to do this in the end. 

[space-blue]

Bahahaha, what a great rambly comment! A reader thinking this hard about my fic is the reaction I love, no matter the content of the thoughts! I'm just painting my picture, but I can't tell you what to see and enjoy, but I can see you looking and that's the thrill!!

Regarding the politics, Silco's goals are all extensively covered in my main fic, Fathers and Daughters (from my hcs).

Silco had explained, because he always does. He told Vi how his plan then had been to use shimmer to give people an edge during an attack on Piltover. Everyone would have been given a single vial, to use like a weapon. Withdrawal would have been shit and it wouldn't have mattered one bit, because Piltover would have been shocked into submission by then. Scared off from ever trying to police Zaun, forced to give them their freedom, or suffer another attack.

That's how I pictured the OG plan... The new plan was briefly mentioned, but will be delved in later, in much greater detail.

I am indeed not interest in the opnion of she-who-didn't-write-Silco-and-Vander-but-still-tweets-about-it.

I do like some of your ideas... They make me think! I feel like the timetable moving up is them going from the small single vial we see Singed using in episode 1, to the start of mass production of episode 3. And you're right, Silco is accelerating things because Vander's kids being the cause of all the chaos with enforcers is a fabulous opportunity.

My take, since I'm a rabid Vanco shipper, is that Silco wants the kids captured to get Vander back on his side, literally in any capacity. Either the kids are taken or Vander loses it and breaks his deal with Grayson by defending the kids. Given Marcus' failure, Silco moves anyway, wanting to capitalise on the unrest.

I think he had that faint hope, that Vander might still join... But is overall far too mistrustful for them to ever be equal again. And resentful enough that with everything gone to shit, the place exploded up, his entire plan potentially in flames around him, he risks his life to kill Vander and get his payback, if nothing else.

There's also an element of Vander being a drag for the entirety of Zaun. Because he's so respected/feared, Vander enforces the stagnation. The lack of conflict prevents people from rising up on their own. Silco probably believes that the least he can do for his "free nation of Zaun", afte having killed so many enforcers earlier that day, is to kill Vander now. In hopes that people would rise up again when payback comes around.

'Vander's a wall in the way of our progress, he has to go,' that was Silco's reasoning. 'Vander is the status quo that keeps our heads under water.'

Yes I'm quoting my blighted reader fic, I have no shame.

Vander’s problems would have been the most solved if he had just gone after Silco right after Marcus raids the last drop

See, I genuinely don't buy that Vander has any idea as to where Silco is. Because otherwise he'd be dumb as a rock to not keep eyes on him. And I don't think Vander would let Silco get away mass producing shimmer if he knew about it or where to find him.

He also looks so surprised when Silco comes out of the mist... Not the look of a man who's been keeping tabs.

That's why I ended up going with the angle of Vander being extremely guilty about what he did to Silco... but also not the type to look his errors face on (unlike Silco). He wants sooo badly to forget.

That's the duality of my Monster Within / Monster Without fics. Silco wants to master the name of Vander, and his emotions attached to it:

'Vander,' he says. 'Vander.' His amber black eye glows, his scared lip curls in a sneer, but the hatred doesn't blossom. His mind doesn't fog with bloodthirst. 'Vander—oh, I should thank you, one day,' Silco murmurs, fingers trailing down the gouges in his face.

While Vander wants nothing more than to stop hearing Silco's name, and forces him into further isolation by making the Lanes as a whole a place in which he can't safely exist.

Even as he settles in new routines, Vander's mind stays inflamed. He backhands a man for asking if Silco betrayed him. Punches another for comparing them. His knuckles are raw with Silco's name, and soon people stop asking questions. They fear the Hound and his short temper, the monster he takes no pain to hide away and wears like armour; but fear breeds respect and Vander looks after them dutifully.

I have had ideas on Silco killing Vander or vice versa, but no drive to explore them yet. I just don't find those narratives as compelling for these two, but I'll probably get there one day.

I do feel like Vander has no motif for killing Silco... Since he says he's "never forgiven himself" for what he did to him, and he rules with impunity, I guess he can take this superior approach to this small man he once nearly broke. Silco was weak. Silco is easy to kill. Silco is a dreamer. Silco was once loved. Silco (as Vander knew him) was not ruthless enough to be a real threat. And so Vander can afford to let him live, so long as he doesn't dare show his face.

And after 10+ years of not showing his face at all, he appears out of the billowing mist with a monster. Bet Vander did feel like an idiot then!

But all interpretations are good! I'm just building all my works off this pretty Dark!Vander take, with a very long gap between the betrayal and Act I, so I'm well aware I won't see eye to eye with She who should not tweet, and many other writers! Heck, I don't even give Silco a background in the mines, I'm basically a heretic by now!

A take on Vander knowing where to find Silco, the two of them co-existing actively, would be fascinating as well. It would make Vander even more complex. IDK if I could pull of the intricacies of these too running business in parallel!

Anyway, many thanks for the lengthy review and the opportunity to ramble on the topic myself! <3

There’s only one way their story ends, Silco knows. Yet still in their last moment alone together—their first in so many years—he offers Vander one last chance.

This is a sad Silco/Vander fic, almost closer to Silco & Vander, for all that it has a kiss. One long, final kiss. This fic is canon compliant and is coming after your feels.