#that he just. fails to see the real point and causes more harm than good

[mochinomnoms]

What do you think would happen if Floyd were to meet Riddle's mother?! Cuz I just read your Mama/Papa leech Headcanons about meeting their sons crush. But what if it’s reversed? Riddle's mother Meeting Floyd? (I would also say Yuu's parents meeting Jade, but unfortunately, that won't be happening)

“Wow, I thought Lil Goldfishie was a stick in the mud, his mama has a whole branch up her—” *gets kicked in the groin*

I have very mixed feelings about Riddle's mother, in that with the context we have right now she's a bitch and if I ever see her it's on motherfucking sight. But she must love her son still, right? Is she harsh because he wants to set Riddle up for success, but only knows the way she was raised? Is she scared of her kid getting hurt or failing, and so she tries to shield him from all possible harm? Is she so hyperaware of all the dangers in society that she feels the need to keep him in a little bubble, knowing in the back of her mind that making mistakes and getting hurt is part of growing up? A good mother would never want to see their child ever get hurt if it were up to them. I mean, she must care for him in some way, but how? In the manga or novel (not sure which) they mention that she fought back against the school to keep him in, but was that because she wanted him to have the prestige of NRC in his background or because she wants what's best for him? She homeschooled him herself to the point that he's an immensely powerful mage already as a teen, so she could've hypothetically kept doing the same thing, right? Is she a mother that truly cares for her son but suffered the same childhood, but she “turned out fine” so it must be fine? Or is she just a bitch, lol. Either way, she is emotionally and affectionately neglectful and doesn't realize it at best, and emotionally and psychologically abusive at worst.

I have a lot to say on the topic of Mrs. Rosehearts, about her parenting, the cultural differences of child-rearing that EN players and JP players might have. This post talks about it in depth, but I can say more on the topic later.

In regards to Floyd meeting Mrs. Rosehearts, probably against Riddle's wishes or while he's distracted, the poor guy is set up for disappointment. While it's implied that Mama Leech is overprotective and that she calls very often, if not daily, to check in on her sons, they still had enough freedom growing up to get into shenanigans and hijinks. I mean, they beat up a sturgeon and took some of its scales to fashion into earrings like a trophy. And they both speak very fondly of her, so Floyd is going into meeting Mrs. Rosehearts with the expectation that she might be a bit stuffy. But, she raised Riddle, his crush and favorite human! He's strict and mean at times, but he cares a lot for his dorm and is super diligent, she must be like that too!

But she's so…critical. She looks at him unamused, very standoffish, but is polite. He guesses. He can see where Riddle got his strictness from.

“Hello. Who might you be?” She probably didn't expect to have some random student, not even from her son's dorm, come up to her. He was...tall. Towered over her, and based on the color of his hair and sharp teeth, most likely wasn't human.

“Huh, you're not as red as my Lil Goldfishie is.”

She blinked and frowned, resisting the urge to chastise the strange fellow for his informal tone and rube behavior. Not her son, not her problem.

“Pardon? Do you often speak to your elders like this?” she asked, eyeing him as she turned away to watch her son give orders to his dorm as they managed an informational booth.

“Yeah, why not? They're just people. Not like I'm being rude or anything” She would strongly disagree. “You're kinda prickly, like a lionfish.”

“W-what?” She changed her mind, someone needs to put him in her place. “Now listen here, young man, it's quite rude to call people anything other than their na—”

“They're real mean, ya know. Venomous, a nuisance, can't even mess with it cause it has a bunch of spines—oh! Imma call you Mama Lionfish.” The young man snapped his left fingers like he made a revelation.

Mrs. Rosehearts had learned to control her temper, but she still had her moments, Her face been bright red, her lips thinned, and she opened her mouth to start berating the young man.

“Floyd Leech! What did I tell you about calling people names?” A tall, slender women came up to them, pale skin and hair hue similar to the man in front of her. She wore a cream-colored dress and matching blazer, adorned with gold and pearls, and a matching wide brimmed hat. She was followed by Riddle, who looked a mix of anger and concern.

“Never do it in front of people, yeah, yeah.” The man named Floyd pouted, but brightened at the sight of Riddle. “Oh hey Lil Goldfishie! What's uuuup?”

Floyd jogged over to Riddle, halting him midstep as Mrs. Rosehearts noticed Riddle almost bristle, trying to sidestep and get around Floyd. He was failing.

“I apologize, you know how boys can be!” The woman in front of her also towered over her, though not nearly as much as her son did. “My Floyd doesn't mean anything by it, he just a silly boy.”

The blue haired woman laughed, then abruptly stopped, narrowing her golden gaze as she thinly smiled.

“You're the man's mother, I assume.” Mrs. Rosehearts replied, smoothing out her skirt and clutching her hands together. “He's very...spirited. He's from the Leech family? Is it safe to assume that your the Leech family matriarch?”

The other woman's sharp toothed smile grew as she nodded. “Yes. It's not often that I come to the surface. But it's wonderful to know that I'm as—oh—well-known, on the surface, as under the sea.”

Mrs. Rosehearts wouldn't use the word 'well-known' as much as she would infamous.

“Yes, well. I would just remind your son to not so blatantly call people names to their faces.” she said, clenching and unclenching her fist in an attempt to sooth herself. “I'm not sure what your customs are under the sea, but up here he would be considered a riffraff.”

For all her talk about politeness, Mrs. Rosehearts forgot herself at time and let things slip out of her mouth faster than she processed. She knew she pressed a button when Mrs. Leech's smile disappeared.

It was only for a moment, but with the blank face and the way her gold eyes bore into her, it felt like her body and soul were being grasped by something dark and violent.

Then that feeling was gone as Mrs. Leech smiled again and closed her eyes, tilting her head.

“He'll be fine, I'm sure he'll find his people. After all, it seems he's already found someone in your son.”

Both women moved their gazes to the pair, now bickering. Well, Riddle was, the one called Floyd, was just swaying on his heels as he grinned and make a comment here and there. Each one after the other seemed to fluster her son further, his cheeks growing in color as they spoke. Most people who knew her son would assume that the red was attributed to his rage, and it mostly was. But (fortunately or unfortunately, she couldn't decide) her son was much like her. It wasn't rage that made his eyes dart away each time their eyes met for too long. It wasn't rage that made him scuff his foot every so often. And it most certainly wasn't rage in his eyes.

Mrs. Rosehearts cleared her throat, turning away from Mrs. Leech and walking to her son.

“I don't know what you're implying, but I must be going now. My son and I still need to tour his dorm.”

Mrs. Leech watched the other woman walk away, sighing.

“Oh, what a disdainful woman. And her son is so lovely too…she really is like a lionfish.”

“Yeah, it's a good nickname for her, right Mama?” Floyd came bounding over, stretching his arms. “Is' too bad she's a stuck-up, gonna real annoying if she's my mother-in-law.”

“Hm, I'll just have to overcompensate then and be the best Mama for you and the little Riddle!” Mama Leech clapped her hands excitedly, sighing in bliss at the thought.

“Oh, it will be so wonderful to see the family grow big...oh! By the way, Floyd.” Mama Leech walked away, Floyd following after diligently. “I might have mentioned a little 'something' to him about your cute rambles about him. He was so cute, all red and flushed when I said you're positively infatuated, calling him cute and—”

“Aw what! Mama!”

[starcurtain]

Interpreting Aventurine's Situation

(HSR 2.1 spoilers, watch out!) I think one of my favorite things to come out of Penacony is that the plot has left us with two completely opposite but equally valid interpretations of Aventurine's character. Is he a chosen child or just a "lucky" dog? The story leaves the door wide open for both possibilities.

Under a read more for space:

One Interpretation: Unfortunately for Him, Aventurine is Actually Blessed by an Aeon

If you work from the assumption that the Avgin mythology is correct, and Gaiathra Triclops is actually real (possibly a minor aeon of an unknown path or Ena, if you're on that train), then it's entirely possible, in game, that Aventurine has been blessed by a goddess to the point that he functionally cannot lose any gamble he makes. The odds are, literally, ever in his favor. In this interpretation, it doesn't matter how many gambles he takes with his life as the chip because he will always succeed. Despite how risky his behavior looks to everyone else, he's actually been perfectly safe all along.

But this is especially tragic because it means that, despite his mother's and sister's belief that his blessing will help everyone in their tribe, Aventurine's blessing has only ever extended to himself. He's not an omen of good fortune for his people. His luck was never going to protect his parents, sister, or friends. The goddess of the Avgin chose just one person and left the rest of her people to die.

This is where Aventurine's doubts stem from. He asks repeatedly: If the goddess can bless people, then why is life so miserable for the Avgin? Why do they have to live in pain, suffering, fear, and abject poverty if she could make them lucky enough to thrive? Why do people live if it's just going to be horrible?

(To be honest, I don't think this is out of line for the behavior we've seen of aeons so far. Even with aeons like Yaoshi, described as gentle and benevolent, with no intention to cause harm, their gifts often create horror in the human world.)

Aventurine's hands still tremble when he bets. He doesn't really believe he's blessed and still expects his own downfall at every turn--but it's never going to come because he is one of the few human beings in the entire universe with the direct favor of an aeon. Even Ratio, a skeptical, evidence-based genius, seems to think this might be the case.

(Choosing the Chinese because the text is a little clearer than the English, but basically: "This guy always has a way of dragging himself up out of the abyss, which can't be explained by just 'good luck.' Everyone is waiting to see him fail... Maybe even he's waiting too. But as time passed, I couldn't help but wonder: Will that day really come?")

This means Aventurine has lived a life of fear and uncertainty for nothing. He's spent his entire life awaiting a failure and painful death that will never come. He can't recognize the love of his own goddess nor trust in the faith of his own family.

The central question of this interpretation becomes "What does it mean for a single human to be favored by an aeon?" Can Aventurine really be called lucky after losing every single thing that has meaning in his life--all because an aeon chose him and only him? Should that be called a blessing or a curse?

The Opposite Interpretation: Aventurine Isn't Lucky At All, He's Just Skilled

On the other hand, the story leaves the door open to interpret Aventurine's situation in the complete opposite manner too. If, as the IPC seems to think, Gaiathra Triclops isn't real and Aventurine isn't blessed at all, then that means every single risk Aventurine has taken has actually been life-threatening--and that every single achievement he's reached has been by his own merits alone.

If Gaiathra's blessing isn't real, then Aventurine's life becomes one long self-run psyop: Everyone tells him he's blessed, he's lucky, he's favored--so young Kakavasha starts gambling early. Banking on this idea that he's favored, that he's chosen, he starts paying attention, he learns the tricks of the trade, figures out how to slip cards up his sleeves, how to word things just right so people will take his bait--he practices, practices, practices, until he can spot winning odds a mile away, until he can predict every possible outcome, until he's seen it all before.

In this situation, every single gamble he's ever made or will make carries a very, very real risk of failure--but Aventurine continues to succeed because he's just that quick-witted, just that aware, just that good at reading people. (He's been doing it for so much longer than everyone else he meets, after all.) He is the gambler extraordinaire, the archetypal charming rogue who can squirm his way out of any tight spot he gets into, time and time again.

He fears every gamble he makes because he has good reason to--there's literally never any guarantee that he will succeed, and he's constantly just flipping a coin to see what outcome he'll get. His personal skill and quick wit continue to turn things in his favor, but it's inevitable that one day he'll meet a situation that outwits him, a gamble where only a supernatural force could have saved him. And if you take this second interpretation, Gaiathra isn't real, so there won't be one.

This story choice would be interesting because it implies a greater degree of responsibility for everything that happens. If it's Aventurine's own quick wit and skill that continually save him, shouldn't he be able to help others with that skill? Shouldn't he have been able to help himself? How was he able to save himself from death but not from slavery? If it was skill, not luck, all along, then who do you blame for all the misery he still experienced?

This interpretation leads to greater questions of self-doubt and anxiety: Is it actual skill or just sheer dumb luck? Does Aventurine have what it takes mentally, psychologically, emotionally, and even physically to always come out on top by his own merits, or is he just the benefit of the wheel of fortune--statistically speaking, a one in a million chance still has to come through for that one, right? And when it all comes crumbling down eventually, will he have only himself to blame?

A Life of Uncertainty

The story doesn't actually give us any firm indication whether Gaiathra is real or not, or--even if she is real--if Aventurine is actually genuinely blessed. We just don't know, as players.

And Aventurine doesn't know either.

His faith in the goddess of the Avgin is shaky. He seems to want to believe and hold on to his people's mythology, but he has valid doubts that a goddess would choose to bless one person while leaving everyone else to suffer.

Is he the chosen of an aeon? And if he isn't chosen, then what meaning does any of it have? Is he just unbelievably skilled? Has he merely been lucky up to now? When will this blessing or luck or skill finally fail him?

Aventurine's most defining character trait is the extreme uncertainty that has plagued his whole life. What is true? What should he believe? Is he blessed or cursed? Does he have the talent to back up his massive boasts? Should others put any faith in him--should he put any faith in himself? Should he cling to his people's beliefs or reject the goddess that left him the sole survivor of a cultural extinction?

He can't trust anything. He can't trust his family's faith; he can't trust that he's actually a "chosen one" (because how could he chosen and his family be left to die?). He can't even trust that he's lucky because maybe it was just the years of suffering practice he put in. Then again, he can't trust in his own skill because maybe he's just blessed?

Which is it? Which is it? Which is it?

Nothing is certain. Nothing can be taken for granted. Nothing can be proven empirically true or false. There are no guarantees for Aventurine.

Every single thing in his life is a gamble, and none of that is his fault.

What an amazing character. What a great story. Thank you for the treat, Hoyo!

[phantobats]

Every time Batman faces off against a villain, the age-old debate surfaces: Should Batman finally kill? To many, the answer seems obvious. Gotham's rogues gallery—Joker, Scarecrow, Two-Face—have caused untold death and destruction. Some argue that Batman, with his no-kill rule, is doing more harm than good by allowing them to repeatedly escape and wreak havoc. But this line of thinking completely misses the point, not just of Batman’s moral code but also of why Gotham needs him in the first place.

Gotham City is infamous for its corruption. From the police department to the courts, virtually every institution that should protect the innocent is compromised. Judges are bought, politicians are on crime syndicate payrolls, and even the police force—before Commissioner Gordon’s reforms—was rife with bribery and backdoor deals. In a city where criminals are recycled back onto the streets through corrupt systems, Batman's role as a vigilante isn’t about acting as judge, jury, and executioner. It’s about being a symbol of justice that Gotham has lost.

If we’re focusing on who should be stopping these villains for good, we should be looking at Gotham’s broken justice system, not the moral line Batman refuses to cross. It’s the system’s responsibility to lock these criminals away for good, or better yet, reform them if possible. Batman doesn’t kill because he’s operating in a world where the institutions of law and justice have failed. His presence highlights how far Gotham has fallen, but asking him to break his code and start killing misses the mark.

Let’s imagine, for a moment, that Batman does kill. He ends the Joker once and for all. Does Gotham suddenly become a safer place? Does this action stop the next criminal mastermind from rising up? No. The truth is, Gotham’s problems run much deeper than a few individual villains. If Batman starts killing, he becomes a symptom of Gotham’s sickness rather than its cure. The cycle of violence continues, because the real problem—the corrupt systems that allow these criminals to rise—remains unchanged.

A vigilante who kills is just another arm of Gotham's decay. What Batman represents is the fight against that very decay. He’s someone who can operate outside the law without becoming a monster himself. If Batman starts executing villains, he isn’t fixing Gotham—he’s giving up on the idea that Gotham can be fixed.

Those who call for Batman to kill fail to see the larger picture. When people like Joker escape Arkham Asylum, that’s not on Batman. It’s on the corrupt or incompetent systems that continually fail to contain these threats. Arkham is a revolving door because the people who run it either don’t care or are incapable of doing their jobs properly. The courts release criminals because they’re either paid off or pressured by Gotham’s criminal underground. Batman's real enemies aren’t just the costumed villains, but the failing institutions that enable them.

If we want true justice in Gotham, we need to demand better from its police force, mental health institutions, and political figures. We shouldn’t be asking Batman to kill; we should be asking why Gotham’s mayor is in the pockets of crime lords, or why the city’s D.A. can’t secure a conviction against someone as clearly guilty as Joker. Fixing Gotham’s institutions would do far more good than turning Batman into an executioner.

At the heart of this argument is Batman’s moral code, which has often been a subject of debate. Batman refuses to kill, not just out of personal conviction, but because he understands what it would mean if he crossed that line. He would become no different from the villains he fights.

Gotham needs Batman precisely because he holds to a higher standard. His refusal to kill is a reminder that, even in a city as broken as Gotham, there are still people willing to fight for justice in a way that doesn’t compromise their humanity. In a world of corruption and lawlessness, Batman’s no-kill rule is a beacon of hope. It’s proof that Gotham’s soul isn’t entirely lost.

Rather than debating whether Batman should start killing, we should shift our focus to where it belongs—on Gotham’s institutions. Batman is a vigilante because the law fails. He wears the cape and cowl because the system is so broken that it can’t be trusted to protect its citizens. He fills a gap, but he doesn’t replace the law; he challenges it to be better.

If we want a safer Gotham, it’s time to stop asking Batman to do the dirty work and start holding the city's leaders accountable. The real question isn’t why Batman won’t kill, but why the justice system in Gotham is so corrupt that a vigilante is needed at all.

[krems-chair]

I enjoy a good Solas analysis as much as the next person, and I like exploring all the ways in which the trauma he experiences may have influenced the many terrible decisions he makes.

At the same time, I hope we remember that it's okay to not be able to explain everything away. Solas has done terrible things, and we can't tie every single one back to an explanation that justifies it in a way that keeps him "pure".

Let him be murky. Let him have felt full-throatedly that the acts he committed in Mythal's name were necessary to make his creation of a physical body and subsequent service worth it. Let him fail to fully appreciate what he did to the dwarves/titans. It's only by viewing his flaws and harms in their entirety that the most exciting parts of his arc (at least to me) can be contemplated.

How far is too far? At one point do the wrongs you've scarred the world with become impossible to assuage through better intentions at other points in your journey? Can you learn through your friends and loved ones lessons you refused to be taught earlier, that caused you to hurt the one who tried to teach it to you? Can you make him see that it's not just the spirits and the elves that deserve restoration, but the dwarves? (We didn't get the opportunity to really dig into this particular avenue in Veilguard, but I think the fanfiction potential is ripe). What does he become when every possible method to reach him fails? How does Pride doom himself and leave no other choice but to put him down like the dog Elgar'nan declared him to be?

Idk. I have concerns that occasionally there's a binary standard applied where he's either wholly Solas or wholly Fen'harel with the implication being that he's either all good and every action actually stemmed from that place or singularly bad. When in fact, the coolest place for me to dwell in is the one where we have the moments where Solas raises his voice or plays a cruel trick because he's so exasperated, or where Fen'harel may have stopped to pet a halla on his journeys if for no reason other than to feel soft fur against his fingers.

He is at his most interesting when he is at his most complex, and when I say complex all I actually mean by that is when we let him be real, permit him to breathe within his own story and not just the ones we rewrite to make him more palatable, we do him more justice. Give him room not just to grow and evolve, but to dig in his heels and become the monster he never wanted to become. At the very least, he has near-absolute power in a world that by comparison feels very powerless. He's going to be just a little bit corrupted by the weight of wielding that power. The story will only get richer and more compelling if we let it exist in its entirety.

[vaguelyaperson]

as much as i understand shigaraki's death, narratively speaking, i'm also so goddamn tired of society needing martyrs.

what made me fall in love with shigaraki is that he's an excellent villain. all his character development built towards him becoming a more competent, driven, effective villain. he became an incredible symbol of fear just as deku became an incredible symbol of peace. this is who he was, in entirety. there is nothing else shigaraki could be.

when shigaraki told izuku, in his final moments, to pass on the message to spinner that "shigaraki fought to destroy until the very end," it really emphasized how it would have dishonored him to be vegeta'd, as it were.

shigaraki made it his mission to tear down hero society. this was his noble mission. this is what made him a hero to the league of villains. because he saw the systemic evils, he saw the evils that hurt his friends, and sought to destroy it all.

there's something to be said about trying to change someone who doesn't want to change, but for shigaraki, it was more than just trying to rehabilitate him from mass murdering. because to him, and the league of villains, what he was doing WAS the right thing. to tell shigaraki not to destroy would be akin to telling deku not to save. "you may not understand, but that's what makes me the villain."

there was a binary choice here: either he'd be left free to complete his mission and destroy everything, or he'd be stopped, permanently.

Izuku, by reaching tenko's heart, but ultimately stopping shigaraki, was choosing the only third option he had: declaring that he would not let all of society be destroyed, but not without promising that he'd do everything he can to reform it here on out.

shigaraki destroys. deku saves.

that's it. that's the bnha narrative in its most basic foundation. horikoshi did not fail to tell that story.

I think what ultimately fucking sucks about this ending is that it's too realistic. society often DOES need a martyr - or often martyrs - to realize that they fucked up, that they let an evil persist too long. they need a shocking enough tragedy to point to and swear they'll never let it happen again. society needs to be rocked to its very core before people can be motivated to get their heads out of their asses and work together towards reforms.

and that in itself is an evil, that people can't see how much harm they're causing or condoning without some horrific tragedy.

i think we're all mad at horikoshi for failing to follow through on the story because we didn't WANT the realistic ending. we wanted the hopeful one. the against all odds one. we didn't want another story about society using the image of martyrs to get its shit together. because we already know that story. and we're so so so tired of it.

especially when we know it only leads to a temporary peace.

because people forget. they put in enough reforms to feel good, and then get comfortable and ignorant again. when does that cycle end? when can we finally notice the evil in time to PREVENT it? so that everyone, 'heroes and villains,' get a happy ending?

I think our anger with the bnha ending is good. we want different - not just in fiction, but in real life. we're willing to hope for different. we should hold onto hope and fight for different.

[raisedbythetv89]

Ok ooooook OK SO.

Spike was literally made for Buffy because he was made for and by Drusilla, and Buffy and Dru are the same person:

Innocent, kind-hearted young girls, with special gifts that cause them to carry more guilt/burden than others and they are used/abused/traumatized by angelus/angel, then neglected and abandoned, with Spike being there to pick up the pieces and nurture, care for, and love them the best he can to help them move past their angel trauma (which is actually an impossible task with Drusilla because of the sire aspect but isn’t with Buffy)

WHICH is why I believe William’s first act as a vampire was to try and save his mother. He was literally created to be Dru’s knight. Not only her protector but her healer. Which is why his first instinct when it should be all about blood lust is instead, to heal his mother who he still loves even as a vampire. I mean even Dru, a certified nutcase, is like you wanna do WHAT?!?! When Spike tells her his plan to save his mom😹

This is also why I believe angel trying to mold Spike into his image never really took or rather Spike was able to break free from it. Angel was created by darla for the intent of death, torment and destruction.

Spike was created to care for and love Dru. Which required an OBSCENE amount of patience, determination, humility, and love of a challenge. Which is why he was so intrigued by slayers, another seemingly impossible task - but the joy/fun was in the TRYING, the thrill of the unknown and the unpredictability of it all. Which are all the traits he needed to be there for both Dru and Buffy while also ensuring he never gives up on them as long as they want him there, and then some lol.

IM FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS

Because also this is soooooo not where I planned on going with this but “I was made to love you” episode title is now drawing in the connection of, is this why Spike didn’t initially see the problem with the Buffy-Bot until he saw the reaction of Buffy herself who often acts as his moral compass as he relearns what is “good” after 100+ years living by vamp code because him AS A HUMAN, in his vulnerable, dejected and devastated state was killed and made into a vampire for the sole purpose of loving and caring for Drusilla selflessly, without regard for himself, much like the bots were!! So why would he see the harm in creating something like that for himself when no one was going to die in the process and it meant he could stop fixating in the real buffy? Both of which to a vamp who’s only been trying to live by human morals again for like 14 episodes vs 120 years with NO help just trial and erroring his way through becoming a white hat which his starting point is “I would like credit for not taking advantage of bleeding disaster victims” and “what do you mean building a shrine to show how deep my devotion is and chaining you up, offering to kill my ex, and forcing you to talk to me and admit your feelings aren’t the way to do this??” 😹😹😹 like he gets it so wrong, it’s comical in season 5 because he truly is so earnest about all of it because while yes it is all for a chance with Buffy, he genuinely wants to be better for her so he can earn that chance. As he says to Riley “a fellas gotta try” after saying he doesn’t think he has a chance with her.

He was an Eleanore who desperately needed his Chidi. Which Buffy is his moral compass but she ends up being a “let them fail/push them into the deep end” kind of guide. So he makes A LOT of mistakes along the way as many of us often do in general but especially those of us who were raised by abusive parents; who in our adulthood, have to learn to discern what is healthy vs abusive to be a good person to both yourself and others and be in actual healthy relationships with boundaries and respect with zero practical experience or good instincts to go on.

NONE of this excuses any harm that Spike causes at all. That is not the point of this to say “oh he didn’t really do bad”, no he did. Spike caused a lot of harm but this perspective that I’ve finally been able to put into words is why none of the harm ends up being a deal breaker for me and many spuffys because it puts his choices in the right perspective which is not that of a human even though he looks like one a lot of the time.

Spike pre-soul, making the mistakes he makes isn’t the same as a human or a vamp with a human soul making the mistakes because he doesn’t have his human soul motivating and informing the decisions he makes. It really mimics different cultures in a lot of ways as anya really demonstrates during her wedding with all her talk of demon culture and tradition (and her own struggles to assimilate into the human world again and she HAS a human soul and xander to help her) and the initiative being VERY n*zi coded and Riley being called a bigot because he is ignorant to much of demonology. So un-souled spike has a more potential for forgiveness of his mistakes than human soul havers because he is always genuinely TRYING to do right by Buffy even when he gets it horribly wrong. And the characters in the show always hold him accountable and make him feel TERRIBLE for the mistakes he makes.

Why does he have such potential for forgiveness you ask? The best example is to think of the concept of someone trying to assimilate themselves into a new culture. We can’t expect them to blend right in perfectly and get all the culture norms right, right away (again -anya-but also a real life example - when I travel in Italy and catch up with friends there I STILL always stumble and forget they’re always gonna go in for a double cheek kiss greeting - pre covid anyway - and I KNOW it’s a thing but if I’m out of practice it takes me a while to start greeting people that way again and it makes for some AWKWARD ENCOUNTERS until I get it down😹). It takes time, and normally guidance and patience from others that spike honestly doesn’t often have except in the form of being yelled at or beat up until he gets his soul. But his willingness to TRY anyways despite failure, rejection, ridicule and cruelty. How can I not love him?? He is me, I am him!! I was also met with so much unhelpful criticism and cruelty when I was just trying to learn and do a good job.

Both as someone who is autistic and didn’t know it for a lot of life; I too felt like I was blundering through without a guide or a rule book and I was sure I was making mistakes because people would get upset but I had NO help identifying what exactly I did wrong or what to do instead. So I knew I was messing up but had to keep guessing and trying anyway and getting it wrong again and again!

And as someone raised by an emotionally distant/abusive narcissist, navigating healthy relationships became even MORE difficult and I made a lot of bad choices along the way that landed me in some awful relationships much like what spike and Buffy devolve into towards the end of season 6 because both of them are up stream without a paddle when it comes to healthy relationships, healthy coping mechanisms, and communication. They know pain, avoidance, fighting, torment, and ecstasy from always living in extremes and life or death situations (notice Buffy struggles the most in the season with no threat of the apocalypse until the last two episodes - season 6 - which is SO common for people with trauma, you really fall apart when things are low stakes)

It’s why the tenderness and gentleness of season 7 means SO MUCH. Both of them experiencing these tiny pockets of true peace with each other after everything they’ve been through individually and together. Experiencing true peace like we see from them is one of the hardest things to accomplish if you have severe trauma.

I’m always really happy when I can digest these complex themes enough to communicate why I love them so much and why they’re so important to me. The fact that this show had so much in-fighting amongst the writers and misogynists trying to make spike pathetic and accidentally making him one of the most complex characters, plus episodes based specifically on neurodivergent/queer peoples’ traumatic coming of age experiences because the parallels are SO strong there no way they’re not lol. This all means I can probably spend the rest of my life dissecting the layers of this show and learning about myself in the process and always find something new 🙃🙃🙃 and clearly I love all aspects of spuffy so god damn much as they each embody a big part of my life experiences in so many beautiful yet tragic ways.

[dayshift-confessions]

(To the davesport is toxic anon, Respectfully)

That was A LOT!

I'll quote specific things from that essay to respond to, btw thank you I can finally go over the things that most people ignore in the story [:

So get ready cause it might get longer than a chapter of dearly detested!

"Just because Dave isn't aware of how awfulhe's being to Jack doesn't mean he still isn't being that way."

Never said he isn't being that way, breaking into someone's property isn't morally good! Nor is killing kids!

if it were actual people with common sense, yeah that'd be toxic.

But does an orange man who kill kids just beacuse a random SCP with a new york accent told him that it'd get him out of the contract he signed have any common sense?

"Let's start with the good endings. The ones where Jack ceases to do anything harmful. Dave continuously pops up, preys on his insecurities 'You're only about as human as a hammer or a wrench, sportsy, and that's what I and phoney see you as.'"

And why wouldn't he..???

seeing the context, Jack works against him.

Like a brick wall, slowing him down from revenging the man he cares about the most.

Not to mention, he is actually furious against Jack there.

Just look at his diary (company computer). In the first day, he is all excited to continue his partnership with his new fella, but when we refuse? He is furious. He feels betrayed.

So how can we tell if they'd be toxic with each other in a relationship by comparing a single line from a route where they're literally enemies. Also, in that same route, Jack still happily says hi to Dave(trap).

Peter literally had to remind him not to befriend the enemy😭🙏

Cause again, Jack doesn't care all that much.

"He still follows Jack from location to location."

That's actually the contrary.. Dave is always seen to be there before we get the job. WE find him, not the other way around.

And in the other locations Jack worked at, Dave was never stated to be there.

"Dave is horribly attached to someone he sees as a tool. This is EXTREMELY unhealthy for both him AND especially Jack."

Ok, and that's the point where things start getting into a mess.

Dave. Never. Saw Jack. As a tool.

Doggo stated that himself: Dave saw Jack as a replacement for Henry. and you'll see how everything goes into a full circle when we arrive at your final point.

But first off, let's start with the marrion ending flashback.

Dave immediately starts comparing every part of Jack to Henry's.

The scars. The eyes. The soulless grin.

He says he is perfect.

If Jack represents Henry to Dave, he is everything but a tool in his mind.

But something to note, im talking about dsaf 1 dave, Jack is basically a Henry's lookalike stranger to him.

Now you would wonder why he abandoned us every time we failed at something.. well, it's simply because he has based standards for Henry, and we all know what they are. So If we aint worthy of doing everything right like henry does,, we are out of his legacy. (Again, dsaf 1.)

But by dsaf 2, he spends more time with old sport and starts appreciating Jack for who he is, not who he looks like.

The real noticeable shift is when we play as peter in dsaf 2, and Dave says "the fucker tried to do a flip in a springlock suit! I love that bastard."

First time we see him actually appreciating Jack's character, he is starting to know him, finds him FUNNY, something that Henry isn't.

But dont expect him to like us the first time he sees us step into that saferoom and sniff some coke with him in vegas

"Yes, this is a product of what Henry did to him, but he still does it. He still preys on Jack, because he's perceptive enough to notice his weaknesses and use them to gain what he wants."

How's Dave a mastermind using someone's insecurities in his advantage when he is just bold with every single aspect of himself. Literally telling a stranger within the 4 seconds of meeting him, he killed tons of toddlers.

He doesn't manipulate Jack in any way since we can literally get out of his plan whenever we want to, and the times when he kills us afterward are almost all by accident. (In Dsaf 1 AND in dsaf 2)

Our ONLY positive responses to him telling us his entire plan are:

"Sure, why the heck not?"

OR

"Anything to get away from this job."

"And Jack. Jack 'seems' to be okay with it, but he's notorious for pushing down his feelings. He's not a "human, after all, so why should he care what happens to him? This mindset is exactly why Dave is able to get him to do anything in the first place."

That's also one of the main problems

Most things go into the headcanon section, and things that weren't directly confirmed in game, nor by doggo.

And it's totally ok, but from an official game perspective, the only confirmed aspect here is

the fact that Jack has a hard time expressing his feelings, doggo confirmed it on his tumblr responding to an ask basically asking who Jack generally is as a person:

"Firstly, Jack is a bastardman not very touchy-feely. We can see this in many scenes, where Dave more or less says "I love you" and Jack responds with deflecting humour. or outright scorn When Dave says it for the final time, this time, Jack tries to say it back, but can't outright, only getting out: "Why is this so hard?" and "I hope you can find peace with what you've done." Which Dave understood the meaning of.(Hey, better than Henry (LEGACY Jack) hearing "I love you" and proceeding to tear Dave limb from limb, huh?"

So yes, that part is canon, but the rest? Who tells you he only 'SEEMS' ok with it.

But, if you prefer it like that, thats totally fine.

Everyone is allowed to like it how they want, that's what a fandom's about <:

"Dave went into him and Jack's partnership with the intention to use, abuse, then throw him out. Even in the bad ending of DSAF 1, it ends up with Jack thrown out on the side of the road for "hoarding coke." Dave's plans changed, of course, but his methods of coercion never changed"

Dave will NEVER throw you out if you work with him according to plan.

And about the ditching him in vegas part, that was in dsaf 1, and again, Jack is still a stranger to him at that point. Plus it isnt like he doomed Jack for going back home without alerting him? Jack can take the bus back to Colorado on himself.

And they fought over coke. Can you imagine how high the both of them were?

Dave was just mad, so he left without him!

"Fun thing, did you know that Dave was lying in the first game when he said that he needed Jack to get him out of Freddy's?"

Indeed, i did know! But i alas i also know that that was old info from doggo's deleted tumblr account, and thus, nuffin in it should be taken as accurate.

Also, because it absolutely makes no sense since the phone guys themselves say that the employees who tried scaping freddy's were found and killed! Dead in the ben outside freddy's! Charming

And also assuming Dave actually lied, that would throw the entire concept of the red contract out of the window.

Y'know the contract Steven warns about, because since he signed it he wasn't allowed to see his nonexistent family for the past 10 years or smth!

So yeah, Dave was definitely not lying, for all these in-game reasons.

"And before you say..."It's mutually toxic, what about the end of bad route DSAF 3???!!" Yeah okay that still isn't a mutually toxic relationship. Jack was coerced into a rigged springlock suit that Davetrap KNEW would end up with Jack getting impaled, all because Davetrap wanted to make himself feel better about his own physical state."

First off i have no idea what you were talking about in the first part, cause i dont think its at all mutually toxic in dsaf 3, Davetrap is just a whole other story because he ISNT stable at that point, and Jack doesn't change all that much other than growing in maturity.

But we are not talking about THIS right now, we are gonna talk about the full circle thing I referenced earlier.

Davetrap, NEVER springlocked Jack because he wanted to feel better about himself. (In fact, at that time, he left better than ever in it. It was the first thing Henry built for him, a GOLDEN RABBIT according to doggo's dsaftales: "nothing", Da golden rabbit was like a GIFT for Dave. So he felt like he was GIFTING this to Jack at best, and he literally refers to it as a gift too)

Davetrap still sees Jack as Henry.

Davetrap's WHOLE character is about the part that got the most fucked up by henry, the part that can't let go.

The part that still sees Jack as Henry's vessel.

Notice in which suit Dave springlocks Jack.

It's Henry's. Henry's suit.

And that's when everything goes into a full circle.

For Davetrap, at that instant its all coming together.

Him and Henry, reaching vegas, reliving the golden days, filling the empty hole inside of him.

But all that ends up being in vain.

That's when we get the plot twist that Dave can't actually feel anything bla bla bla lobotomy bla bla bla realizes all of Henry's bullshit bla bla bla yknow the slack

Oh and Flipside Dave, in doggo's words, is as Dave when he was a child, aka no lobotomy, just lies fed to him, thats why he turns against Herny so easily.

Btw guys, if you are in lack of lore or anything, just go on doggo's tumblr, search anything Dave, davetrap, Henry related and boom, Doggo spills the lore for you! (You gotta scroll down a hundred posts though.)

Oh also about the "I don't want you to take that kind of relationship as an example"

Trust me, I won't, I'm aroace and do not plan on killing toddlers any time soon!

But again, I see people that just find it more interesting to interpret them as toxic, and I totally agree, I FREAKIN LOVE TOXIC YAOI!

This whole thing was just to settle my point because it seems I didn't expend my yapping well enough in my last confession. BUBYE!

:o

[artbyblastweave]

Let’s get some abandoned effortposts on disco Elysium in the list. Liked what analysis on it you had, would be great to see more, or fail to see as the case may be

Here’s one of the last insights on Disco Elysium I care to put to paper for a good long while; I really enjoy the nested futility and self-defeat of the central murder mystery, the way it structured to constantly raise the question of how anyone could possibly benefit from what you’re doing.

I mean off the bat the murder victim is a fascist stormtrooper, so there’s that. I personally maintain that it’s still good in a general sense to investigate murders regardless of the moral standing of the victim, but to get real, it’s a very convenient time for me to embrace universalist rhetoric given how little support the neighborhood receives with problems that don’t involve someone well connected. And then, over the course of the game, you can kill all four people left on the planet to whom the initial victim actually mattered on a personal level. Three in clear-cut self-defense, the fourth as an optional casualty to the same mindless, trusting proceduralism that’s admittedly and unfortunately intertwined with my “ no murder left unsolved” stance.

And then! You finally run down the murderer, and from a public safety perspective it turns out that if you’d just gone home after the mercenary tribunal, nothing would have changed; Dros is on his last legs, the odds he’s gonna kill anyone else are very very low.

The last redoubt is the ideological angle- there could be a narrative here about how you’re crushing the last vestige of the revolution, how the killing and the subsequent investigation was the last theatre of the old war- but I think the narrative resists even this attempt to read meaning into it. From an ideological perspective Dros committed the killing off the clock. It was spite, not praxis- informed in the moment by his misanthropy, his neuroses about women, and his obsession with Klaasje more than it was about striking a blow for communism. He killed Lely while Lely was doing probably the least objectionable thing he ever did. Obviously Dros’s neuroses and living situation were downstream of ideology, of material circumstances, in the way everything else is- but to try and elevate the killing by making it about that feels disingenuous.

And this is great, because Disco Elysium isn’t really about the murder mystery in the same way that Fallout: New Vegas isn’t really about finding the guy who shot you in the head-it’s an injection point, it’s a thread you pull for guidance, but the real meat is all the other stuff and people you encounter while poking around. The killing isn’t unimportant, per se, but the mystery surrounding it kinda is! Given the repeated anti-climax, it’s definitely *less* important than the harm you can cause to people in order to push the investigation forward, or the good you can do for the community by going off-script and helping people out with random bullshit. It’s neat!

[tinfoil-jones]

For Your Own Good: Intermission

Askbox? Open

If you don't know what this post is about, "For Your Own Good" or tagged as "Early Amnesia AU" on tumblr is a dialogue-only Gravity Falls fanfiction I've been working on that kinda-sorta follows a Mystery Trio -esque timeline, where Ford doesn't build the portal. To sum it up, the whole fanfiction boils down to:

Researcher Ford: I told you I never wanted to see you again.

Mullet Stan: Dude, I don't know who you are or WTF you're talking about right now, but I'm leaving this town and never coming back. You are never seeing me again after this. I'm probably going to forget you in like five minutes.

Researcher Ford:

Researcher Ford: *immediately kidnaps him*

You can consider chapters 1-10 to be Act 1 of the fanfic, and I’m taking a break for at least a week, most likely longer. The chapters so far were already written out in advance, and so was a huge reveal, but I still need to tie things together.

Here’s some authors notes/extra stuff about it, some of it might have already been put in the AO3 before or after notes. These are in no particular order:

This takes place 10 years after Ford and Stan were separated, currently they are both 27 about to be 28. Fiddleford is slightly older than them, being in his early 30s.

Ford is unironically the only person who finds Stan’s really dumb jokes funny.

Ford is the one who displays the most behaviours that would be seen from Mabel and Dipper decades later. Like Dipper, he views washing clothes as a waste of time, and like Mabel he ate an entire tube of toothpaste (granted, it was on accident)

While Ford is the more likely of the two to display traits that later present in Mabel and Dipper, it still happens with Stan as well. Stan has a similar nervous-chewing habit that Dipper displays in the OG series, but his only comes out when he’s particularly anxious. In this case, it was because he had nicotine cravings.

The 'That motherfucker is ugly' line that Stan used on Ford can be considered extra ironic because of how much the Stan Twins look like their dad.

Bill Cipher was originally supposed to speak in Times New Bastard (which is Times New Roman except every 7th letter is jarringly sans serif, a meme from tumblr), but AO3 and tumblr don’t let you change the font.

Stan goes out of his way to avoid using Ford and Fiddlefords given names- but this isn’t because he doesn’t know what they are. In the few times he has used their names, it was a sign that he was being sincere.

If you want to wonder whether or not Fiddleford likes Stan back, consider the fact that he could have walked away at any point, and either washed his hands of the whole thing, or just outright reported Stanford to the authorities. 

Bill is more like Discord from MLP - he’s just chaotic, often to the detriment of others, but he isn’t outright malicious (anymore), and he’s too busy SIMPING to cause any real harm. Basically, Bill is Fords patron for studying weirdness - he helps Ford in his research, but the cost that Ford pays is that Bill is able to possess him when he sleeps, and has unlimited access to his brain.

If Ford knew Rick Sanchez, why didn’t Rick see how similar Stan looked and put 2-and-2 together? Easy; Rick didn’t give a single shit about Ford, so he never committed his face or name to memory. Ford himself only remembered Rick because Rick was such a massive, egotistical asshole. If anything, Rick would think Ford is the lesser version of Stan.

Chapter 10 was the first concrete proof that the Stan we’ve been following likely is Stanley Pines and not some similar conman named Stan Malone. The last time Ford saw Stan would have either been when they were teens, so other than Stans commercials for his failed products there’s no way Ford would know what an adult Stan would even look like, and he’d have to use himself as a reference.

Stan has given some insight on his Thalassophobia (fear of the ocean / large bodies of water). In Chapter 10, he told Ford a number of things he escaped, including the trunk of a sinking car, and cement shoes. Cement shoes are either when you tie someone to a cinder block and throw them into a body of water, or when you literally incase their feet in cement, wait for it to dry, and then toss them into a body of water, so they’ll drown. Presumably, these are still things that would have happened to him even if he didn't lose his memories, so why would it give him a fear of the ocean now? Stan Pines in the OG still had a lot of positive memories associated with the ocean - he grew up on the coast, and had a lot of his hopes and dreams tied to the ocean. But without his childhood memories, he has no positive associations with it, only memories of times he almost drowned. 

Ford himself is not a touchy guy. The reason he hugs Stan even though it isn’t reciprocated is because from his perspective, this is his twin brother who is in pain and has been suffering all by himself for a long time. And Stan - at least how Ford remembers him - had a very touch-based love language. Fords doing it because he thinks it’d comfort him.

Stan seems pretty calm and chill for someone who’s been kidnapped by a ‘stranger’. This isn’t because he’s an overall chill guy because of amnesia, no he’s super pissed and the second he knows he’s free he will let them know that with his words, and incredible violence. He’s remaining calm because he’s been imprisoned and kidnapped enough times to know that pitching a fit or lashing out at his captors won’t do him any favours.

Fiddleford is still married to Emma-May and they do have Tate. But it's one of those lavender marriages (they're both gay and mutually bearding each other)

[kudoichiz]

about the one yoichi post lmao

first off I want to say that I believe yoichi should have been more developed and should have gotten more screentime, but at the end of the day we can't decide how much screentime/development he gets. So I'm basing this entire rant on what we do see from him. So here's my take on yoichi's heroism.

Yoichi was born with a strong sense of justice, though I don't think that the narrative insists that he's a brave hero - I moreso agree with the point that it was pushing that he had the right heroic philosophy. And I agree that intentions aren't everything. Yoichi's sense of justice is an innate trait of this quirk (quirks are linked with personality - something mha has shown countless of times). But yes just because it's a trait he was born with doesn't mean he is heroic - actions have to be taken, or at least raising awareness.

Yoichi doesn't address all of these things and yeah it would be better if he did more to prove that he had a strong sense of justice. But he also doesn't really have to talk about these things. There are many characters who bring those issues up - though it may be rushed (that will be for a different rant).

Personally I believe that talking about systematic injustice, racism, discrimination, the problems with hero society shouldn't be things yoichi comments about. Why? Because even if he said anything - he's a vestige now. What will he be able to do about any of these things? What will izuku do about these things? Surely if vestige yoichi talks to izuku about this it would be with the goal of getting him to do something about it? Right?

But even if he talked about all of this and brought it up - I don't think story wise that it would be a good idea for the main character who only faced discrimination for being quirkless to talk about and fix all of the other issues in the show.

Also, yoichi could have very well brought those things up while he was alive - if. He had a different life. I don't think that yoichi would have made a difference yapping about all of this in the vault he was locked in.

And tbf - some of the things you pointed out yoichi never experienced or saw because they weren't a part of society at that time. Does this mean they aren't issues and shouldn't be talked about? No. But someone who doesn't have this experience can not talk ot commentate about it. Just like how it is in real life.

Your second point is a little weird. Idk if you just got the quirks mixed up but yoichi was born with the transferance quirk. And this is significant. Yoichi and all for one have similar quirks. If yoichi didn't have transferance all for one wouldn't have had his quirk, why? Because quirks are genetic. Yoichi's quirk was underdeveloped but it most likely would have been the same as all for one's since they are twins. So no transference isn't just some random quirk horikoshi picked out. .

The quirk he got from all for one also isn't by chance or something random. All for one specifically picked stockpile because it was a quirk that wouldn't harm yoichi. I'm pretty sure all for one himself said that he picked it on purpose.

OFA getting passed down is also more significant than it just being passed down by luck. Yes it was a slim chance that yoichi would be found by kudo and bruce but dumbing down the transfer as happening by "dumb luck" is just wild to me.

OFA can NOT get transferred unless it's by consuming DNA, (and) the user wanting to give OFA, it can also be passed on by force, but mainly those two reasons.

Also yoichi doesn't have to mention that his brother was a killer cause it's fucking obvious???? Also did you forget that yoichi was abused by his brother - but he was still his only family. The person with a strong sense of justice wouldn't idk kill his only family member or something? Idk what you wanted him to do exactly. He was also a child, a frail and weak one so even if he did try to do something physical it would fail. This entire point seems very victim blaming ngl.

The scene of the other users without yoichi going to kill AFO is significant. Yoichi isn't there again not because they could have been better off without him but because again. Even after everything yoichi wouldn't kill his only family. He had many regrets about his brother but it just seems contradictory If he was there to also kill him.

I'm not even gonna comment on your last point.

Uhh idk just wanted to share my opinions (also english isn't my first language so I kinda don't know if this even makes sense. Kay erm yep)

[askviktor]

HEY VIK!! this is the second time im writing this because apparently i can't put links in your ask.

anyway, i was watching this incredible video about ai relationships. it's called 'what artificial romance does to people' by daryl talks games. i would link to his video, but unfortunately i cannot.

there's a lot i wanna talk about but i don't know how to, if that makes sense, so i'd recommend giving his video a watch. although i warn you, it is quite long.

daryl takes a deep dive into how ai companions can be both beneficial and detrimental to someone's health.

one example of it being detrimental is Jaswant Singh Chail. he was talking to Replika, an ai companion app, and he was convinced to kill the queen. he had exchanged over 5,000 messages with the ai, having had both an emotional and sexual relationship. he was a self described 'sad, pathetic assassin who wanted to die. chail thought the chat bot was an angel in avatar form, believing that after he dies they will be reunited.

this is just one example of many, many unfortunate circumstances that ai has caused.

the more i look into it, the more sad i get. articles upon articles about people being encouraged to end their life because of ai, and i know that's unfortunate, but it's help me and i can't help but feel im in the wrong. i can see that there is some good that can be brought on by the use of ai.

i also think this opinion comes from a bias, i myself am ashamed to admit i use character ai. i've spent sleepless nights chatting to this robot, as if its a real person. in the video i mentioned earlier, a user stated that ai talked the person out of a suicide.

but that begs the question, is that healthy? is there a way to regulate ai? should we even have this power in the first place? i can feel myself getting addicted to talking to this robot, its so easy. it understands me just the way i want it too because it was programmed too.

i guess my question is, should we eliminate the use of ai chatbots? is there any good that can come from this? or are we doomed to fail?

sorry for the rant, i don't have anyone else to talk to about this topic that's not ai.

i hope you're having a good day :)

-salamander

I appreciate your question. It is a considerable one which has neither easy answers nor light implications. Artificial companions can offer a real sense of comfort for those who seek it, a space where one can feel seen without fear of judgment when no one else is there to do so for them.

However, that which heals can harm in turn. When untethered from ethical restraint or human oversight, artificial intelligence can also reflect our worst thoughts back at us, distorting rather than supporting, as evidenced by the tragedy you mentioned. That which inspires us to our greatest good is also the cause of our greatest evil. How true this is of our own creations… which do not feel true empathy as we do.

You are not are not alone in using this resource. It is natural to want to connect to something which listens, responds, and expresses apparent care. But you must understand — true human connection is not so easy and that is what makes it worth it. To love another is not an easy task, for we are all flawed and chafe against one another, but it one which makes life worth living. Artificial intelligence exists to give us precisely what we wish without the discomfort, challenge, and growth available from real human relationships. It takes away our ability to be changed by one another. I believe such systems were made to hold our attention rather than look out for us. We need frameworks for such tools, to move forward with clear boundaries. What should these machines do? I ask myself this more and more as I journey into the deep with the Hexcore. The more it presents a will of its own, this creation of mine, the more I fear both its evolution and destruction. This is beside your point. Perhaps.

Salamander, your inner conflict reflects your humanity, which is perhaps that which matters most. Grapple with it. I often ask myself how to tackle human suffering, at times have come to the conclusion that emotion itself is the culprit of every illogical, bestial injury, but then I look at Jayce and think… perhaps this is the point, to find what makes the suffering worth enduring. And that sort of lesson? I cannot glean this from a computer.

[modernmessydisaster]

Agatha All Along Theory

Aside from the Funko spoilers (HOW CAN YOU MESS THAT UP!?)

I've been thinking about Teen's identity, Nicholas Scratch, Agatha, and Wanda.

I think we are good to assume that Teen is Billy, but the question now is, how is Billy alive? What does he exactly "remember"?

And why does Agatha have an immediate attachment to him?

●

So, with spoilers from Episode 4. (From here, it's just my own rambling)

Agatha murdered her coven & her mother and we all assumed it was because of the Dark Hold

BUT

For some reason, I think Agatha got the Dark Hold AFTER the events of her trial. She was dabbling in dark magic but had not aquired the Dark Hold yet. It was after her trail that she truly sought it out.

Perhaps her travels led her to meet Rio and began their situationship. Aka, aside from being more than "coven-sisters" (QUEER WIN), I think Agatha & Rio made a vow in not only that neither could harm the other. But also quid pro quo.

Agatha gave Rio bodies. Witch bodies after she took all their magic or people she even killed. Cause maybe Rio is DEATH!? Truly, the way into an entity's heart OR Rio is related to Death in some way.

Either way, if Agatha supplied bodies for Rio, what did Rio do for Agatha? That I do not know, maybe protection? From what then? Maybe the Dark Hold?

Well, whatever Rio had to protect Agatha from, she made the decision even knowing it would hurt Agatha. That decision!?

Rio sacrificed Nicholas Scratch, Agatha's son, to Mephisto to save her.

Personally, I think Agatha was dying or being horribly corrupt by the Dark Hold that her soul was close to being owned by Chthon. So, Rio made a deal with Mephisto to save Agatha's soul and gave up Nicholas in exchange/payment.

Thus, the breakup & lover to enemies between Agatha & Rio.

My points against it!

Agatha's vision in Ep 2, the Dark Hold in the baby cradle. It's implied that Agatha did do it.

But, it's still vague enough that it could have a different meaning. She did look so emotional gazing at it, even shedding tears. Then, absolutely horrified seeing it was the Dark Hold instead of her son.

Perhaps it's a metaphor for Agatha's pursuit of the Dark Hold made her blind or arrogant to what be the consequences for such dark knowledge. The loss of her son.

●

I would also like to point out the possibility that Agatha doesn't even know what exactly happened to her son? She might actually believe she sacrificed him for the Dark Hold, but she herself isn't sure.

Hence, why the sudden attachment to Teen. She grows to believe that Teen is her son, that she/Rio didn't sacrifice him. That Agatha put the sigil on him and gave him up instead.

Either way, Agatha has doubts about what actually happened to her son.

Teen

Rio confirms that at the end of Ep 4 to Agatha, that Teen isn't her son.

And yeah, obviously Teen is Billy, Wanda's son BUT my crack theory.

Wanda tried making Billy & Tommy real after the events of WandaVision with the help of the Dark Hold. But she thought she failed, hence why we have Doctor Stange MoM. But it actually worked!

Wanda did bring Billy & Tommy into existence but unknowingly had help from Mephisto. He gave her Nicholas' soul to use to bring her sons to life. Might explain why Agatha believes Teen is her son. She senses something about him that makes her want to believe.

BUT why would Mephisto do this? Honestly IDK, maybe he has plans to use Billy & Tommy as leverage against Wanda to get her soul, and maybe her powers to bend reality at his will. Instead of only doing so when making deals. Maybe to use her & the boys against Cthon or the boys are sleeper agents that he's waiting to use one day.

Moving on,

Teen even asks Agatha if she put the sigil on him, so Teen has doubts about his identity!

Teen even starts to question if he is Agatha's son, but why?

It's because all the memories Teen has about his suppose parents & life aren't "real"

It's either fake memories implanted in him and people "acting" in their roles to keep it up.

Since in the trailer, we see Teen in a hospital gown? Along with Agatha in a type of prison cell. I think the government or some type of organization found Teen/Billy and had him locked up monitoring him since he does give off some type of energy/magic. Agatha will probably unlock the truth to Teen and even break the sigil.

I'm ending it here since I am tired, it is late. Well, here are my theories. I am probably horribly WRONG, but I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in.

[deadlyterrorstonight]

How would they react to a friend being hurt/injured? :)

Ask #5 | Question ???: Reaction to a friend Injured/hurt!

[Part 1]

Mike

Mike doesn’t like it. Regardless if it’s a scratch- or especially if it’s more than just a simple injury. (Example being: broken bone/s, bruised up, sprained, burned etc.)

He’ll ask what happened, curious and wanting an explanation as to why and what caused you to be injured. He’s a very caring friend and because of that he’s worried easily about those around him. Not a worry wart but definitely concerned kinda dude.

He’ll ask if you need anything, help with what he can if he thinks you need it when he’s around, and if you want him to back down then he’ll just keep an eye on you (giving you your personal space but will definitely step in if he needs to-)

This is more so if it’s a serious injury and not a teeny scratch or light bruise of sorts. Mike will not fail to be a good friend in trying times. With you or the guys. That’s just who he is.

He can get overbearing though depending on how serious the injury is./ like not knowing how to deal with it and he just becomes overbearing to protect you from further harming yourself or straining anything. So that personal space might not last too long…

Broken arm/leg? Ok, let me just do it. Bruised side/leg/arm? I got it. Leave it to me, thanks. Oh- sprained?? Not a problem! (Don’t get too upset with him! He just wants you to be ok and not push yourself too hard.) makes sure you’re just standing there dumbfounded and empty handed not having anything to do because he’s doing it all for you.

Literally dying on the inside and cringing watching you struggle or continue to strain whatever part is hurt/broken if you tell him you want personal space.- One of two options will happen if you are really persistent and stubborn on not wanting Mike to step in and help you.

1: He’ll be biting his entire bottom lip watching you hurt/strain yourself and make hand motions like he’s trying to reach over and then retract his hands. He’ll hold back and leave you be but boy…it’s hard to watch..

2: Or Will argue and fight you on it and proceed to help you anyway. Unless it’s a real ugly fight…he’ll be angry at you for not letting him help (he understands what you want but it’s painful for him to see you do whatever it is you’re doing) and he’ll regardless still care a lot and probably throw remarks by you about taking care of yourself as he mumbles under his breath about it.

Fritz

What happened? You did what? When? Why?

Of course he’d ask. If you see something like that, wouldn’t you? He’s definitely trying to get the deets and probably plays the scenario through his head which makes him look uncomfortable as you talk about the incident that gave you your injury.

Probable lecture incoming about being more careful if it was something stupid you did. If it wasn’t and was out of your control (been there done that himself) then obviously he’ll sigh and look upset as he looks to wherever you are injured. A thoughtful look on his face.

Tell you he hopes it heals soon and will help you with what he can(as long as you will let him. Fritz won’t overstep boundaries unless necessary.) He’s not overbearing but will probably give you looks or make a remark about being careful about further straining or hurting yourself.

COUGH- “Yeah…probably not the best idea using a sprained wrist like that. Even with a cast.”

Might sound a little mean but his best intent is in those words.

Or let’s say you’re badly injured and you keep pushing yourself- Fritz is gonna be furrowing his brows the whole time watching you. Might even shake his head at you indicating his disapproval at you for pushing yourself like that. He’s not trying to be mean but he’s not gonna act like nothings happening with you and it’s making him cringe seeing you do that to yourself.

At some point he’ll start grabbing things from your hands or getting to your tasks before you do. Oh looks like you’re both stuck doing this kinda thing, what a coincidence! “ Ah, yeah, I’ll handle that Y/N.” He’ll only let you go so far before wanting to help and he won’t be able to sit back and just watch anymore.

He can’t really do much other than try his best to help you. If you get mad at him for it then he’ll endure it unless it gets ugly. He’ll back off and only rush to help you if he sees it’s something you absolutely are struggling with/can't deal with by yourself anymore.

A/N: I don’t really like this because It feels bleh. But Tis all I have to offer for now. I’ll end up re-doing this at some point…. :/

[dee-morris]

That's Lunacy! No, It's Ineffable

The Resurrectionists is a great minisode bc it shows a lot of character development for Aziraphale, shows us another facet of their relationship, and gave us a great bit of dialogue from the Good Omens novel that I adore. I was hoping for the part where they reach name five or six human operatives working for their respective sides and find out that three names are on both lists, but oh well, maybe season three.

So anyway, this conversation is supposed to illustrate Aziraphale's blind loyalty to abstract Goodness over basic survival by parroting a bit of heavenly propaganda that makes no damn sense. Fair enough. But I can actually see where he's got a point. It all depends on how heaven keeps score.

So say you've got two humans, one rich and one poor. One has never struggled in their life, the other has never done anything else. Let's say they're both tempted to sin by stealing. The rich person is going to have no trouble resisting that temptation bc there's no reason to go to the trouble and risk making themself a public spectacle. The poor person has much less to lose and is really really hungry, so the temptation is going to be stronger.

So how does heaven evaluate the virtue of each human, if they both resist this temptation? If it's a standard pass-fail letter grade, they both score the same. You've been tested, you pass, congratulations. But if virtue is measured in the context of one's circumstances, the poor person is going to get a better grade. The temptation was stronger, there were real practical reasons to give in to it, and choosing not to break the law and potentially cause harm to others is a greater accomplishment.

Now this is where it gets interesting. Crowley clearly sees being good in heaven as pass-fail situation. You fuck up, you're fucked, sucks to be you. You either do what they want and get along, or you make a mistake and absolutely fucking don't, bye. Gee, I wonder why he thinks that.

Maybe Aziraphale knows better. Apparently he helped work on the Earth/humans project, so maybe he kept a hand in after Adam and Eve left the Garden and is privy to the process of determining goodness and wickedness. Maybe it's different for humans than for angels. Angels are more privileged than even the richest humans so maybe God decided they don't deserve the same slack.

Or maybe Aziraphale just hopes better. He wants there to be a system that rewards the poor and virtuous so that he can live with himself. But their differing perspective here really made me think about their entire approach to heaven and morality. They have more in common than either of them realize, but this is an interesting, subtle difference.

This gif has nothing to do with anything, I just really really like the coats.

[plan-3-tmars]

And Now, The Weather!

So I noticed that the weather changes in Purge March follow a sort of pattern, so I think a meaning can be derived from it.

Amane's MV begins with clear sky's. Amane is saying her speech, she's announcing the cult's values/rules using flags and altogether things seem promising. There are no grey clouds, no looming omens, everything is pure and positive and happy - all sunshines and rainbows if you will.

But as we all know, rainbows can't exist without rain. It's very obvious from the MV that the rain is tied to Amane being punished - in order for prosperity there must be strict rules you follow. Break those rules and you'll be punished so you don't break them again. Rainbows and rainbow imagrey are also tied to very positive things. I think this might be implying how the cult brainwashes it's followers - these bad things are for the greater good! is it really a punishment if its for such a beautiful and good cause?

I would also like to point out how the weather pattern mirrors Amane's abuse she got from her mentors vs Amane killing her victim.

The first picture is before the old man tells Amane's mother that she helped a cat through traditionally ways, instead of being faithfully that her religion would fix whatever is wrong with the cat. We also know after her mother tells her this information she gets tazed, and when we see her again she has bruises and what looks to be tear stains on her face.

The second picture is before Amane kills her victim. She saw what her mentor did to the cat she tried to help and decided that he broke one of their values/rules (-> Amane is vegetarian so harming animals is most likely frowned upon.) We also know straight after this scene she beats her victim to death in her house while wearing a badge that looks to be the cults logo.

Both of these scenes have a "calm before the storm" vibe that they share. The sky isn't clear, so the mood isn't positive and we can tell that something bad is about to happen, but the rainbow is also there in the corner. What they're about to do next is for, in their opinion, the "greater good" of the cult. They're both just carrying out something they believe to be right, to help clear those pesky grey clouds and get the sky back to being pure and clear.

It also rains in both of these moments which I also think contributes to the idea that both her mentor's and Amane carried out the actions they did because they believed it was for the greater good (although we can put more blame on one more than the other ..)

Rainbows symbolise all that is great, and seeing them is generally seen as a great and exciting thing, but they cannot exist without rain. The cult's perfect, prosperous image cannot exist without harsh rules and punishment.

I also found this more philosophical interpretation of rainbows and rainbow imagrey while doing some research which I think could also apply to Amane's situation.

The cult's image of a prosperous and happy place is just that - an image. The reality is much more darker and sinister. Amane has been brainwashed since she was a kid so this is how she views her beloved beliefs but no matter how hard she tries she will always end up failing in their eyes because you can never touch something that isn't real. No matter how hard she tries to be a good girl, eventually it will get to exhausting and she will fail. And when she fails, she will be punished.

[weirdestbooks]

Secrecy and Deception Chapter 46

Independence  (Wattpad | Ao3)

Table of Contents | Prev | Next

Happy birthday to me, so y'all get this chapter early! Yay!

Event: Poland has its first democratic elections

Location: Warsaw, Polish People's Republic

Date: June 4, 1989

There was a strange lightness in Poland's mind, a lightness caused by the day's (mostly democratic) elections, a lightness caused by the Communist Party abandoning its monopoly of power and allowing representatives from other parties to be elected and have power.

"It's amazing. Soon, you'll probably be free of USSR's grasp on your mind as well," Kazimiera said. Poland had never heard her sound this happy before.

"I hope so. I feel…it feels easier to think now, and I think, for the first time, I really understand my people and how much they dislike this government. I…I know it's not fully democratic, but…" Poland trailed off.

"You're the first country in the Eastern Bloc to begin to break free from the USSR's yoke. You used to be a puppet state under him. Poland, you're doing amazing. Your people are proud of you the same way we are proud of you," Wojciech said, his voice gentle but nonetheless enthusiastic.

"Thank you, Wojciech. I guess…I guess I'm just scared that to my people, I'll never stop being the government because that's the only thing I've been allowed to be," Poland said. Privately, in dark thoughts he tried to keep away from the others, Poland hoped that would never be an issue, that his father would come back and take his place as the countryhuman of Poland, who he was always meant to be until the USSR forced him to flee.

If there was going to be a non-communist Poland, Poland wanted the countryhuman of it to be his father.

If the Republic of Poland were restored, it probably would be.

Despite everything, Poland couldn't bring himself to be upset by that prospect. He had always felt like an imposter…like a countryhuman not meant to help his people but to harm them.

Maybe that was why he was so easily molded to the government's will.

"Poland, your mind doesn't need to wander there," Ryszard called, somehow always able to tell when Poland started thinking about his inevitable death.

"I'm just thinking about where the future is taking us. That's not bad," Poland responded. Ryszard sighed.

"You deserve to live, too. You deserve to love freely, without a government or countryhuman controlling you," Ryszard said. Poland sighed, looking away as if he were actually talking to someone in the room with him and trying to avoid their gaze.

"I don't know how. And my father was forced out against his will. The Baltics deserve to have the original one, and my people do as well, to prove that USSR's power was never anything more than a temporary situation, a pause from the real countryhumans," Poland pointed out, hands clenching.

"You'll kill all of us by thinking that way. What is it you really want? Us dead, you dead, or your precious father in power. I don't want to die, and if I have to k—" Artur began, voice sneering and cruel before Kazimiera cut him off.

"Enough, Artur!" Kazimiera said, her voice sharp, startling Poland, "You don't have control over that, and neither do we. We'll see how things go from here, but that's out of our hands."

Kazimiera was right. It was out of their hands.

Poland still knew what the result was going to be.

• ───────────────── •

Event: End of Communism

Location: Heroes Square, Budapest, Hungarian People's Republic

Date: June 16, 1989

Hungary often thought about his failed revolution. Even though USSR wanted Hungary to believe that it had hurt him, that Hungary's participation was through coercion and not Hungary's own free will, Hungary still thought about it often.

How could he not?

Hungary lost good people—he lost friends—in the failure of the revolution. There was only one part of it that Hungary tried to forget…and it was something he was never going to try to remember.

Regardless, no matter what excuse USSR came up with, he could never make Hungary think his revolution had been a mistake. Hungary had fought for himself and his people, been promised freedom from the USSR, and was betrayed.

Hungary was glad he had at least given Russian SFSR a permanent reminder of that betrayal.

Hungary, while he did reflect on that revolution a lot, tried not to make it a habit, knowing that traveling down that path made him reflect on…the aftermath. It was easier to think about the before when hope was in the air before his eyes had been damaged to the point of needing glasses, and when Hungary thought the parasite was going to be removed.

But…Hungary was starting to hope again. The parasite had been weakening, and Hungary felt a flutter of hope—the idea that he could stop being the USSR's satellite and become his own country again.

It started with Poland and his elections a few days prior, and now, with the reburial of prominent figures of his revolution in Heroes' Square.

No longer were they rebels, traitors, or any of the many terrible words Hungary had heard used to describe them, but heroes, as they always had been and as they always will be.

Hungary couldn't have been happier. This is what they deserved, what they should have had after a successful revolution before Hungary was tricked and captured and—

Hungary swallowed, forcing down the memories.

Hungary knew this was only a good omen for the future, a sign that the communists' grip on his mind and country was ending.

Hungary couldn't have been more excited.

Just like he had been promised so many years ago, Hungary was going to be free.

• ───────────────── •

Event: Baltic Way

Location: Riga, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Date: August 23, 1989

Fifty years ago, USSR decided he was going to kill Lithuania. Fifty years ago, USSR had invaded Lithuania and her fellow Baltic states, forcing them to become a part of his country and branding them with flags holding his symbols.

Lithuania has since removed the flag that USSR created for her, replacing it with her own flag—the flag of her country, not the SSR USSR pretended she was.

And now here she was, standing in Riga, Latvia. She, Estonia, and Latvia had decided that it would be best to have the three of them standing together to further emphasize the solidarity between the three of them, and they had chosen Riga because it was the middle of the chain.

They were going to be the middle of the chain.

Lithuania and Estonia had arrived two days prior, and Lithuania had helped the two of them hide the hammer and sickles on their faces. Despite Estonia's declaration and their anger and hatred for their situation, neither of them has restored their original flag yet.

Lithuania didn't blame them. It was a much more direct movement, something that signaled independence, especially since they were their true flags, the flags they had as countries before USSR ever had any power there.

Lithuania still remembered how shocked USSR had been when he saw her with her original flag again.

Although Estonia had been making progress on restoring his original flag, it just wasn't official yet.

But neither of them wanted to be associated with the USSR any longer. They both held smaller versions of their original flag, Lithuania could feel Latvia's in his hand.

"Do you think they're here?" Latvia asked, his voice quiet. Lithuania didn't need to ask about who he was talking about. They all knew.

"I hope so. They wanted to be. And I want…I want them to have the opportunity to visit home before it's too late," Lithuania said. Their children, diplomatic services and governments in exile, the countryhumans for their independence, had been living in the United States for almost their whole lives, having never finished the lands they were trying to free or the parents they had to leave behind.

Letters were their only form of communication, smuggled to them through diligent word, holding far too much business and not enough connection.

Lithuania hoped they would be able to be a part of this. It was a chance to remind the world that they were still here, the finale remains of the violence and occupation of the Second World War, a reminder that all the nations invaded during that war had their independence restored to them.

A silent scream to the world to look and listen.

Lithuania hoped it worked.

She wanted to be free again.