#very logical explanations and very extremely likely reasons

[cactusdodes]

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[atrologynuances]

Astrology observations pt2 || Planets in their detriment

NOTE: the interpretation of these are solely on the planets. harmonious/inharmonious aspects can change the translation of these planets.

these are based on personal observations as well as acquired knowledge from books, websites, and other observation posts.

𓋼𓍊 Aries/Scorpio Venus- may struggle maintaining a harmonious relationship which can lead to them changing their relationships quite often. aries venuses might posses an either fiery or more grounded energy thanks to the cardinal energy. scorpios on the other hand might be emotionally reserved, and only truly love very few people around them if any, the rest they keep around depending on what they can access from them (very manipulative). Given their possible relationship insecurities these two venus signs will seek for someone going at the same pace and someone with the same mindset, which realistically is hard to find. when they do think they’ve found it, they might later find out they were in fact wrong. When they do get in a relationship they might become possessive as a result of possible insecurities.

𓋼𓍊 Taurus/Libra Mars- these natives might need extreme motivation to get things going, like a 9-5 they don’t like, but the security and responsibility of it keeps them on their toes. these mars signs could also lack sense of security in their actions, which could leave them wondering whether they were right or wrong and as a result they might not fight for themselves as hard as they should. it is important for them to have a big support system that reassures and validates their actions when conflicts arise.

𓋼𓍊 Gemini/Virgo Jupiter- these natives have a hard time seeing beyond logic explanation, they could experience something and until they don’t find logic behind it they won’t be satisfied. get fixated on many things but never seems to finish or find a final answer to any of them. is not that they’re unable to finish them, they’re just no longer interested to. closed minded towards otherworldly subjects, or tries very hard to understand it.

𓋼𓍊 Cancer/Leo Saturn- these natives lack discipline but want it. they might vent to you that they do not like their current monetary situation and are looking to make some changes in that aspect of their life, but the next day you see them spending all their money on clothes. they know this is wrong but will still do it. they may be prone to control people and situations because they think they know what’s best for everyone. however, they do not like people telling them what to do lol. they might be prone to burnouts easily and immune system problems.

𓋼𓍊 Sagittarius/Pisces Mercury- struggles to find something that feels “right” for them, when they do find it they mostly have to work harder than everybody else to catch up. problems with communication; either started talking late or have problems expressing themselves as they get older. prone to saying things that don’t make sense upfront which will make them have to explain themselves often. this might create insecurities that will lead them to express themselves less. this is the reason why I think so many great writers have these placements, they can just erase and reword their writing without being judged for it.

- fyodor dostoevsky, jane austen, james joyce, victor hugo, emily dickinson

𓋼𓍊 Capricorn Moon- find it difficult to be vulnerable, this translates to needing or wanting material security to make sure they won’t need anyone. do not like to rely on anyone for emotional/financial support even if they really need it. despite all this, they are very emotional. the difference between them and their sister sign cancer is that they are not expressive with their emotions or act on them. something I have noticed is that they are not as workaholics as people might expect them to be, however when they work, they splurge on the money they make or might be stingy with it, as either one of these actions brings security to them. most of the times they don’t feel loved by either one of their parents even if they’ve both always been present in their lives.

𓋼𓍊 Aquarius Sun- natives are hard to describe for me because I have not met many of them, I feel like most hideaway at home lol. one thing i’ve noticed is that they cry a lot and are unapologetic about it. these people shine bright like their sister sign leo, the difference is they don’t want to so they avoid situations where they have to or when they are put in these situations they have to make sure their presentation is flawless. however in day to day life they do not really care how they’re perceived. they’re the ones that go to school in pijama pants. they also oftentimes seek some form of validation with other people, which is why they change partners often. very physically beautiful, but doesn’t seem to know or act on it.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope y’all have a wonderful day.

guide

[waiting-for-a-sunny-day]

If Geto and Gojo were so close, why didn't Geto try to convince Gojo to defect with him?

Because Geto knew that Gojo’s support would guarantee his success, but that success would come at the cost of hurting Gojo.

I believe that Geto cared more about protecting Gojo than he cared about building a better world.

..

Let me explain…

First, let’s talk about why it would’ve made sense for Geto to ask Gojo to join him:

(1) Gojo would’ve been Geto’s most important / most powerful ally

By the time of Geto’s defection, Gojo is already the strongest sorcerer in existence. He and Geto are two of only three special grade sorcerers. Having them both on the same side is essentially an automatic win.

(2) Gojo should’ve been (relatively) easy to persuade

Gojo had already told Geto that he didn't like having to save the weak and didn't care about the moral justifications for it…

…Geto has also seen that Gojo doesn’t always value / protect human life. He was ready to massacre the Time Vessel Association without reason, but ultimately he didn't, because he deferred to Geto's judgement…

…and, most importantly, they are best friends on a DEEP, unparalleled level. Geto is Gojo’s “one and only” best friend.

If Geto was truly dedicated to changing the world order, Gojo should’ve been the first and most important person that he tried to recruit to his insurgency / cult / mission.

BUT

Not only does Geto make zero effort to reach out to / recruit Gojo, he actively avoids him and pushes him away...

- - - - - Keep reading cut - - - - -

After he kills the 112 non-sorcerers, Geto runs into Shoko in Shinjuku. He happily approaches her and willingly answers her questions.

Look at his smiling face in their interactions:

But, when Shoko calls Gojo, Geto leaves before Gojo shows up. Gojo tracks him down anyway and demands an explanation. Geto still doesn’t want to talk about it (“You already heard it.”)

It's strange, right? Geto loves talking about his vision of a better world with everyone else.

Then, there is this confusing progression of dialog:

Geto is hurt/annoyed that Gojo doesn’t believe in him, so he points out that Gojo’s argument against his plan is invalid. The plan is possible (“You could do it”), therefore (according to Gojo’s own logic) it’s not “pointless.”

In a way, Geto is admitting that he knows it would make the most sense for Gojo to join him.

But before Gojo can respond, Geto pivots to saying something extremely hurtful. He's questioning who Gojo is / would be if he wasn't the strongest. Is there really anything more to him? (See more detail in my post here).

Then, in the very next panel Geto turns and starts walking away.

In summary: (1) Geto avoids Gojo, (2) Geto only argues in favor of his plan when Gojo forces/baits him, (3) Upon invalidating Gojo’s opposition to his plan, Geto immediately puts emotional distance between them, (4) Geto then puts physical distance between them.

Why is Geto trying so hard to make sure that Gojo won’t follow him?

Is he just being prideful about doing this on his own? Is he so angry at Gojo's arrogance that he'd jeopardize the success of his life's mission over it?

These arguments aren't in line with Geto's characterization / known motivations (see the end of this post, if you're interested in more on that.)

Geto's main motivation is (a twisted form of) compassion. He wants to end the suffering of sorcerers.

He is a thoughtful, contemplative person, and would've thought about the ramifications of recruiting Gojo.

What are the ramifications?

If Gojo joins the cause, Geto’s plan would succeed, but Gojo would suffer for it.

Like anyone who joins Geto's cult, Gojo would become a pariah / fugitive from Jujutsu society. He’d kill people. He’d kill other sorcerers.

But because Gojo has the singular level of strength/ability to kill non-sorcerers en masse, he would commit the vast majority (or all) of the murder / destruction. The legal, social, and mental impacts would be most severe on Gojo.

(Also, at this point, I think Geto may still question whether he’s made the right choice. It’s difficult to go from a hardline stance on protecting non-sorcerers to wanting to gen0c1de them, within the span of a year, without any lingering ethical qualms. So he may be worried about moral costs to Gojo as well.)

Let’s remember that Geto (canonically) deeply loves Gojo. Gojo is his one and only best friend. Geto worries about Gojo when he overworks himself protecting Riko. Geto is shocked when Toji kills Riko in front of him, but he only flies into a rage when he thinks Toji has killed Gojo. (Again, see my post here for more on how much Geto loves Gojo).

So, it makes sense that Geto is ready to make sacrifices to create a better world, but it’s a cost he’s willing to put on his own head. Not Gojo's.

Ultimately, Geto cares more about Gojo than he cares about achieving the mission he has dedicated his life to.

The last thing Geto says to him is this:

What he's really asking Gojo is: "Have you stopped loving me, now that I've committed myself to this dark path? Would you kill me to save them?"

If Gojo hates Geto enough that he’d kill him, then Geto never had a chance of recruiting Gojo in the first place.

Of course, Gojo can’t make himself hurt Geto. He still loves Geto too much.

Geto protected Gojo by pushing him away.

___

Addendum:

I'll also argue against two other possible explanations for Geto's behavior.

(1) Geto is jealous / prideful /wants to build his own legacy without Gojo stealing the spotlight

Geto has clear motivations for his goals and they’re not egotistical. He wants to end the suffering of sorcerers caused by non-sorcerers’ existence (e.g., Riko’s death, Mimiko & Nanako’s abuse).

Geto’s pride isn’t hurt when Gojo becomes the strongest. The only thing that bothers Geto is that they’re getting sent on separate missions.

After Gojo becomes stronger that him, Geto still has overt affection for Gojo (e.g., he asks Haibara to bring back sweets from his mission so he can share with Gojo).

Although Geto does believe in his superiority over non-sorcerers, he doesn't feel superior over other sorcerers and doesn't struggle with his 'inferiority' to Gojo.

Does Gojo’s lack of faith in Geto’s ability (calling his goal “impossible”), spur Geto to want to prove himself? Yes, probably. But Geto had already been avoiding Gojo before he said that. And I don’t believe that wanting to prove himself to Gojo would overshadow his stronger motivation to build a better world for sorcerers.

(2) He thinks Gojo actually is too moral to join him

After Geto kills the 112 non-sorcerers, Gojo is shocked and upset by what’s happened, but not once does he insult Geto or imply that Geto has done something unforgivable. In fact, he’s practically begging Geto to explain himself because he wants to be able to justify his actions. And, again, Gojo’s argument against Geto’s plan is NOT that “it’s wrong,” it’s that “it’s impossible.”

[meggtheegg]

FNAF Movie Theory...

I'm pretty sure there's still one major plot twist in the universe of the movie that's been set up for a sequel but hasn't actually happened yet. Heavy spoilers under the cut:

After watching the movie in theaters and then revisiting a few scenes on Peacock, I'm still kind of convinced that Mike Schmidt is Michael Afton.

Here's my reasoning. A lot of the characters spend time acting like they know something the audience/other characters don't, and those things are...mostly resolved. But some of them just...kind of aren't.

The main thing that sticks out to me is William's whole storyline. Starting with the scene where he offers Mike the job, his behavior is almost explained by the movie's logic. He sees Mike's name, seems...kind of deeply upset, looks at him very closely, stands to get coffee, and has a moment of visible internal conflict. Then he instantly offers him the Freddy's job. The way the movie frames this, it seems to be saying that he recognized the name of one of his victims, realized this was the kid's brother, and decided to kill him right then and there. Which is passable as an explanation, but it has a lot of holes, if you look deeper.

Why would William so instantly recognize a fairly common last name as the brother of some kid he killed that wasn't even anywhere near Freddy's? Why did he kidnap/kill Garrett in the first place, in some random forest in Nebraska? Why did he see the name on the file, then immediately stop and examine Mike's face so closely, when Mike's memories/dreams pretty clearly show that they never saw each others' faces when Garrett was taken? Why did he send Vanessa to "keep Mike in the dark" if he purposely gave him the job to get him killed? Why not have the animatronics kill him right away? He didn't know that Mike was searching for the man who took his brother, and while he could have maybe guessed he was still actively haunted by what happened based on Mike beating up a guy that he thought was kidnapping someone, it still feels like a weird choice to go and hire him, then just have him do the job with no issue for a few days.

As for Vanessa, we see that she's been cleaning up William's messes for years. Why is Mike the one she changes her mind and stands up to her father for? There's no implied romance between the two and no particularly meaningful connection beyond them both having family issues. I guess she cares about Abby because she's a kid, but kids getting hurt clearly never stopped her from helping her father before.

And, on a more meta level, this is Scott and his storytelling style we're talking about. The man puts plot twists inside of plot twists and everything always ties back into the Aftons, somehow.

So, here's my theory: I think that Mike is William's kid, but Mike's mom left Afton when he was young and remarried the man that Mike thinks is his father.

It seems convoluted and maybe cliche, but if it's true, then suddenly there's an answer to all of those questions. "Michael Schmidt" isn't exactly an eye-catching name, unless you had a kid named Michael and your ex-wife married a guy with the last name Schmidt. Garrett's kidnapping, then, becomes an act of intentional, petty revenge rather than an extremely random coincidence. Giving Mike the job and sending in Vanessa suddenly becomes about piecing together how much he knows and figuring out if he's worth trying to reconnect with or is just a threat that needs to be killed. (It feels worth noting that William is as far as I can remember the only person to call him Michael in the whole film. He also very pointedly never says "Schmidt" until he's decided to kill Mike and suddenly announces his full name out loud. If he went by Michael as a little kid, that is what William would default to calling him, but if he took the new husband's last name, that would be like like salt in the wound that he wouldn't want to voice. By finally saying it out loud, it feels like he's making the decision to fully separate himself from Mike.)

As for Vanessa, if Mike is her brother, it makes sense that he would be the person she'd turn against William to save. It would be weird for her not to tell him, but she could also be trying to protect him, in some way. There's never any mention of her mother, and it seems like it's just been her and William for a long time. Also, ending the movie with her in a coma feels like a strange narrative choice, but it makes sense if she knows information that's purposely being kept hidden for the sequel.

Of course, it could just be that the movie has kind of messy writing and I'm trying to fix it because I want there to be a deeper reason for it. Maybe there is no Michael Afton in the movies, or maybe he's off chilling and doing his own thing somewhere and we'll see him in the sequel. Only time will tell.

[littjara-mirrorlake]

Nonexhaustive list of creatures I don't think should be able to get compleated

Because it's been 2 years since MOM but I'm still critiquing the biology in it anyway

Spirits and other immaterial beings I firmly believe, and this was fairly consistent in canon until MOM, that Phyrexian oil works on two fronts: physical and mnemonic. That's it. The oil can convert tissues or metal that it physically touches, and it is a vehicle of information transfer that can bend minds toward whatever ideology is contained in it--i.e. the will of Yawgmoth or Elesh Norn. Canon used to be very specific that Phyrexian oil can convert metal to flesh and vice versa. Nothing in there about spiritual creatures--or the fabric of funeral shrouds, for that matter.

Elementals Similar reasoning. Elementals are made of neither metal nor flesh, and should not be able to get converted.

Aetherborn, Kaldheim changelings Listed together because I believe they are extremely similar subtypes of the same creature. Aetherborn are made of aether, and changelings are thought to be made of the stuff of the Cosmos--Kaldheim's local equivalent of the Blind Eternities. Just as Phyrexian oil is largely incompatible with the retention of the aether soul in a creature that is compleated, I can't imagine that it plays well with the physiology of a mostly-or-completely aether creature. There's a chance this was actually confirmed or hinted at in Consuming Aetherborn, though it's likely they weren't literally drinking Phyrexian oil. There are no Kaldheim changelings in MOM so at least I don't have that to pick on.

Cosmos monsters, eldrazi Like aetherborn and changelings, I am listing these together because I believe they are analogous, just on different scales (the planar/interrealm scale vs. the Multiversal scale). They are eldritch plane-eaters that exist in the space between realms/planes, which is commonly known as the Blind Eternities. Like aetherborn and changelings they are not truly physical beings but projections of the Eternities. They should not be able to get affected by Phyrexian oil.

Most gods Similar logic to those above, but with a significant exception. Gods that I think can get compleated are those 1) heavily influenced by mortal belief (Theros) or 2) those who are basically mortals but with magical augmentation (Kaldheim). These are affected by the mnemonic and physical axes of action of the Phyrexian oil, respectively. This is one thing that I actually think MOM did right in portraying Phyrexia's approach to Theros, though it would've also been wild and surprisingly plausible to see a Yawgmoth Resurrected.

I'm withholding judgement on Capenna angels, because I don't know (and haven't speculated) enough about the actual biology of how their bodies produce and retain Halo, but this also does strike me as odd. I had always thought that Halo was some kind of angelic essence that could be extracted from the bodies of angels, and it "running out" doesn't make the most sense to me.

And then there are random, seemingly completely regular creatures that can resist--and enjoy consuming--Phyrexian oil. I have no explanation for this, but they seem to be having a pretty good time. Maybe Yargle is immaterial-spirit enough to resist it?

[wolfwarrior142]

I just realized that Callum isn't wearing his scarf during the reversed timeline or whatever it can be called, after Kosmo tells him that the pearl is actually the decoy. After he finds out and is sitting in the corner in his room, he's not wearing his scarf.

This also reminds me of how, in s4, he wasn't wearing it until Rayla came back. He didn't wear it until 404 if memory serves, when Bait brings it to him before Callum, Soren, and Bait all leave on Pyrrah. And Rayla came back in the end of 402, then is kinda reinstalled back into the group by Ez. And shortly after that, Bait brings Callum his scarf.

Idk if it's an intentional detail for the show or just something that they do unintentionally, but one of the best things about this show is how important a lot of details can be. That is especially the case when it's details for any of the main players in the show. And rarely does Callum have his scarf off. Usually it's for a purpose, such as him taking it off in 509, likely d/t them needing to go underwater. Easy to lose his scarf there. But here in 606 and in the first ~3.5 episodes of s4? Can't really see any logical explanation (buuut I could just be missing something).

Also, later in 606 after Kosmo rewinds time and tells Callum the white lie about the contents of the Pearl, Kosmo is back in the bedroom to talk about the one truth ritual. In that scene, Callum is in a similar spot but not distressed and broken. He still seems a little stressed about the darkness inside him, but he's standing and focused on what Kosmo is saying. And guess what is still around his neck, like it was before Kosmo put his hand on the pearl the very first time?

Makes me wonder if he tends to not wear it or flat out take it off when he's extremely stressed or in an otherwise bad mental state. Could being a sensory overload thing, maybe an emotional self harm thing (which is easy to do when in a bad mental state and easier to not realize since it doesn't always leave visible results like scars), idk.

It's an interesting detail, especially since he rarely goes without his scarf. And almost every time he does, it's for a logical reason. However, in 401-404 and 606, the only explanation I can think of it emotional distress based on what is shown. Interesting (and sad) to think about tbh.

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

Stephanie Brown: The Girl Robin, The Doomed Robin

Stephanie Brown is fired as Robin in Robin #128 (1993). I think there is strong evidence that Batman saw her time as Robin as temporary, and that she was always going to be fired, excuse or not, in Robin #128 or not. Just as soon as she became more trouble than she was worth, or as soon as she was no longer necessary.

I want to look at why (even from a Watsonian perspective) Stephanie Brown as Robin was doomed from the start. Here's Why I think this:

1. The False “Skills and Talent” excuse is reaffirmed and reutilized

After the period of time where Stephanie is sanctioned as Spoiler by Batman, she is ‘fired’ for the first time in Gotham Knights #37.

Batman does not tell Stephanie she is fired, he just never reallows her entry into the Batcave after locking everyone out during Bruce Wayne: Murderer. She has to track him down and ask what’s going on to find out he dropped her like she was nothing.

Gotham Knights #37 (2000)

He tells her it’s because she lacks the “skills or talent”. Is this true? Well… no, not reallyZ Or at least, we have very few good reasons to believe that this is Batman's real reason he fires her, especially in the face of all the other better substantiated explanations the text supports and states. As I’ve analyzed before, there’s strong evidence Batman fires her because he has reunited with his estranged team no longer needs her to make himself stop feeling lonely. Additionally, some part of her firing is because she reminds him too much of his dead son. (I highly recommend checking out the corresponding posts if you are interested in why)

Point is, I’ve already argued how the “skills or the talent” line is pretty much an Extremely bullshit excuse he only tells Stephanie to justify himself to her. But what does that have to do with Steph’s run as Robin?

Well, the idea that Stephanie lacks “the skills or the talent” comes up again. In fact, the exact words “skills and talent” are directly repeated when she is first sanctioned as Robin. And its very telling how they are used.

Let’s look at that moment. 

Alfred is trying to dissuade Batman from making Stephanie Robin, and Batman is defending his choice.

Robin #126 (1993)

Batman claims once more that Stephanie does not have the “skills and talent”. 

By doing this, Batman is reaffirming his largely facetious rationale he tells Stephanie when he he fires her the as Spoiler. By refusing to abandon this as an excuse, and repeating it now, he is reaffirming his own validity in that moment, his correctness is dropping her in the way he did.

But its also weird. If he fired her as Spoiler because he claimed she lacked “the skills or the talent”, why is he using her lack of “skills and talent” as a reason why she should be Robin?

Batman says she can be taught the “skills and talent” he claims she currently lacks. Was that magically not true when he fired her for lacking those same “skills and talent” in Gotham Knights #37? 

This straight contradiction is weird. What it does is key us in to the fact that Batmans spoken explanation about “skills and talent” for whether or not he wants Stephanie on his team is not really based off of any consistent logic about her skill level. 

This is backed up by something else he says to justify this choice in that very same comic.

Robin #126 (1993)

Again, this logic makes no sense with his past actions. If the issue with Stephanie being a vigilante is she is “out on her own” without being “under [Batmans] direct supervision”, then why did he fire Stephanie without a proper reason when she was sanctioned as Spoiler and was  under his supervision, when he was training her? 

Again, Robin #126 creates entirely contradictory logic for Batman, and calls out the specific peculiarities of this through the repetition of the “skills and talent” phrasing.

These moments establish right off the bat that Bruce Wayne’s spoken rationale for hiring Stephanie as Robin is completely illogical. 

Batman reusing the “skills and talent” justification also reaffirms his willingness to justify his first firing of her, and sets up the potential for him to use the exact same dumbass excuse that he used the first time.

This all shows that Batman is willing to use his bullshit excuses to fire or hire her indiscriminate from her actual personhood depending on what is most useful for him. And it shows Batman is retaining and reaffirming his so called “logic” for firing her in Gotham Knights #37, therefore leaving open the opprotunity for him to reuse the exact same excuse if he felt like it.

Chiefly, the reference to Gotham Knights #37 and her orginal firing asks us to compare her time as Robin to the first time she was hired and then fired, and examine why. And if the first time Steph was sanctioned was absoluely arbituary, what does that say about what might be true about her time as Robin?

But wait! There’s more.

2. Alfred’s allusion to Steph as an instrument to get Tim back as Robin

Alfred confronts Batman with this idea that Bruce might be trying to “lure” back Tim as Robin by making Stephanie Brown Robin.

Robin #126 (1993)

Regardless of how this scheme is supposedly meant to work, this idea is presented to the reader from Alfreds point of view. Alfred, who oftentimes serves as a vantage point of morality and reason in contrast to Batmans single-mindedness and irrational obsessions. Additionally, the language Alfred uses certifies how serious of an option this is. Alfred doesn’t just ask Batman to “clarify” or “say” he isn’t hiring Steph as Robin to lure Tim back, Afred asks Batman to “promise” it. The word “promise” implies that this isn’t just a far off vague possibility that Alfred is discussing, but a distinct and worrying probability Alfred is detecting.

And damningly, Bruce does not answer Alfreds plea. All he would have to say is one word, ‘no’, and he would banish this as a possibility from Alfred's mind and largely deny this reading from the narrative. But, as we see, he doesn’t deny what Alfred says. He ignores the direct question, and he turns his face away. Look at how as he speaks only a sliver of his face is visible in the proceeding panel to Alfreds question. 

This places Batmans silence in an even more damning light. He can’t even look Alfred in the eyes, he is already looking away as he speaks, as he ignores Alfreds question entirely.

You can decide whether or not you find this moment entirely convincing, whether or not you believe Alfred is correct in his assessment. But at the very least, this moment asks the reader take seriously the possibility that Alfred is right: that Batman has made Stephanie Robin in order to try to get Tim Drake back as Robin.

But wait! There’s even more.

3. Stephanie Brown and the lack of information given to her as proof of the temporariness nature of her time as Robin

Bruce Wayne’s distrust of Stephanie is a long running theme of their relationship. It’s brought up consistently during the time she is sanctioned as Spoiler. 

Robin #100 (1993)

And it drives a wedge between her and Tim romantically, before she is eventually told Tims real identity.

This isn’t just a vague distrust, the main way it manifests is through the secret, vigilante related information which Stephanie does not have access to.

She is denied knowledge, specifically secret identity related knowledge, consistently. Not having Stephanie cued into all of the information the rest of the team has when she is Spoiler is a tactical decision which isn’t exactly cruel or necessarily especially strange on its own. But this distrust with sensitive information, (most primarily Batman’s true identity as Bruce Wayne) is extremely strange when Stephanie is made Robin.

The “Robin” identity up until that point is invariably tied to Bruce Wayne. 

In the cases of every Robin beforehand, (in most interpretations and tellings) the meeting of Bruce Wayne and the meeting of Batman occur in extremely close proximity to one another, and the full picture of Bruce Wayne’s secret identity does not remain a total secret for very long, and in NONE of these tellings is that information not known when any of the other Robins put on the costume. The Robin and Batman relationship is also just generally tied strongly to Bruce Wayne as an identity. Dick Grayson and Jason Todd are ward and adopted son respectively of Bruce Wayne specifically, and Tim Drake lives with Bruce Wayne in the manor. They all interact with the man and the mask.

Stephanie breaks this pattern. She is the only Robin who doesn’t get to know his real name or see his face. (Her relationship with Batman mirrors the early Batgirl/Batwoman archetype much more- a character who interacts with The Batman, but isn’t alllowed know him as Bruce Wayne)

The text of Robin #126 points out her lack of knowledge specifically, but explains it away as temporary.

Robin #126 (1993)

We are told in this panel that it is a temporary matter, that of course Stephanie will eventually get to know Batmans identity, she just has to prove herself first!

This screams bullshit to me. Stephanie has worked him as Spoiler for a considerable amount of time in the past, and after more time still she’s been made Robin, but this probation until she gets to know the “big secrets” is somehow necessary where it never has been before? I don’t really buy it, but you are certainly allowed to take him at his word.

Anyway you slice it, distance from important information, the “big secrets” is a prevailing aspect of Stephanie’s time as a vigilante.

And it finally comes to a head in War Games (2004). (I won’t break down the entirety of my thoughts on War Games here for the record, but trust me, they are numerous and vitriolic)

This idea of Batman's distrust in giving Stephanie sensitive information is hammered in over and over during War Games. For instance, the first issue of War Games contains several small allusions to this idea.

Batman: The 12 Cent Adventure (2004)

This only becomes more overt as War Games continues, specifically when Stephanie meets and speaks with Catwoman.

Catwoman #34 (2002)

Catwomans internal monolouge points out the specific strangeness of Robin Stephanie not knowing who Matches Malone is, she presses on how this is especially strange for someone using the Robin mantle, alluding to what I touched on earlier, the unqiuess of Robin Stephanie’s relationship with secrets and secret identities compared to every other Robin.

 Catwoman #34 (2002)

We get another example of this where Selina once more points out information that Selina, a longtime friend, enemy, and lover of Batman, assumes Robin would or should naturally know, which we discover Stephanie was not privy to during her time as Robin.

Thats two examples where Stephanie’s lack of knowledge about secret identities (which there is no real reason for her not to know) is specifically pointed out to be strange and uncommon in relation to what the “Robin” mantle denotes, a level of trust which is simply not present.

But what am I getting at here? What does this distrust mean?

Well, if you ask me, it’s evidence that Robin, for Stephanie, was always intended by Bruce Wayne to be temporary. You don’t give sensitive information to temporary members, to the people who aren’t long term, who aren’t meant to stick around, who are going to be dropped, just like Bruce dropped her the first time.

This feels especially true given the fact that this sensitive information she is not told, in the case of catwomans secret ID and who Matches Malone is, isn’t particulary sensitive at all and the sort of information that it’s clearly expected a Robin should know. 

To me, the fact that all of that information is withheld from Steph, and especially the fact that she doesn’t get to know “The Secret” is indicative of the fact that she was always going to be fired as Robin, that she was always meant to be temporary.

Between the “skills and talent” reiteration, Alfred’s explicit reference to the idea that Batman was using Stephanie to lure Tim back, and the information which is withheld from Stephanie in direct contrast to every previous Robin, there is substantial evidence that Bruce Wayne always intended for Stephanie Brown to be a means to an end as Robin.

If we take Alfreds word, this temporariness is because Stephanie served as a cog in Bruce’s larger scheme to lure back Tim into the role of Robin.

Does this mean Batman though of her as temporary the entire time she was Robin? No. Does that mean he was doing this maliciously? Also no. Did he even know he was doing this distancing consciously? Hard to say. 

It also doesn’t mean he didn’t have sweet moments with Stephanie as Robin, it doesn’t mean he didn’t change his mind about using her to lure Tim back (if that was his plan at some point), and it doesn’t mean he never cared about her.

But I think it's entirely fair to say that at least some part of Bruce Wayne was just fine with using Stephanie the same way he did when he sanctioned her as Spoiler and then dropped her. That at least some part of Batman was retaining these excuses, keeping up those walls and secrets because at least some part of him knew she wasn’t supposed to last. That some part of him did this so that he would be able to get rid of her guilt free as soon as it became more beneficial for her to get gone.

[doostyaudi]

Don't look at it in the eyes

Painting i made based off a nightmare i had last night. Further explanation below the cut

(tw animal death, body horror, and other descriptions of horror and unsettling imagery)

Paintings aren't my specialty, that i think is obvious, tho i haven't had a nightmare shake me up in so long like this one did.

I called this one "don't look at it in the eyes" because if you did, jt would kill you. It hunted for people's dreams, to feast upon their fears and insecurities (loosely, blad blah blah dream logic stuff), but it would never kill you, lest you look at its eyes....

I remember in the nightmare, me and my family were on vacation, this is takes place in the hotel we were staying in. I remember knowing that that thing was going to target me and my family, and i wanted it to end.

I remember hearing it mimicking the sounds of my family as it wondered around. "sweetie it's time to go to bed" "ughhhh" "come on dinner is ready" "whohoho!!" i would hear echo thru the room, tho nobody in my family woke up, and i was tired of it, i was going to kill it

So i remember getting up from my bed, opening the door, and looking down at the hallway. I knew staring it in the eyes would cause it to charge at me, and so i did. It attacked me ofc, retreating for a reason I can't remember. Then i did it again, and before it got to me i woke up

I think i should also mention that out of the many, disfigured, uncanny forms it took, it was always a vague dog head there. Not any random dog tho, it was one of my grandma's who unfortunately passed way many years ago. A dog who i loved when i was a kid, and it was extremely upsetting to be reminded of her once again in such a horrific scenario..... I think that's there part that messed me up the most

In this painting i wanted to show what i remember whenever looking at its eyes. My mom and sister in the other room, as my dad was in front of me. It's eyes were so bright, they had that shine that some animals have whenever their eyes reflect the light....

It was much more horrifying in my dream, and i don't feel as if i captured the horror very well, but i think o at least got the piercing eyes well.....

Anyways thank you for reading this. This is kinda vulnerable for me, and ik the last think u want to do is be vulnerable on the internet, but i think i should embrace the fact that im an artist more, and remind ppl im more than a Fandom artist i guess.... Thank you for ur time!!

Future me: when i put this in my drafts, Tumblr said it had mature content. I sent an appeal and hopefully it gets fulfilled. This isn't mature!! I don't know hey they're doing this. But im posting this now so ppl see it.

[caesarflickermans]

My hatred towards this book is on principle. The entire point of Katniss and Peeta watching Haymitch’s tape in CF is to gain a better understanding of him. This book renders that scene redundant. I’m sure there could’ve been some things cut/edited that would’ve affected how Haymitch’s own people saw him without it effecting how Katniss and Peeta saw him. This book did not take that route at all. Never mind the fact that events in book are very much not “almost, but not quite” as bad as the berries, and Haymitch had no reason to not tell them about the “truth” of his Games in that moment, if the intent was that we were truly missing so many details.

Grrrrrr this could have been such a good first Quarter Quell story! Sometimes I think this book was made for the movieverse and the propaganda angle was added to try and gaslight book readers, and other times I think this was made to be a first Quarter Quell story that was forced to be changed to be the second Quell. The themes of propaganda and implicit submission fit the minimal lore we have about the first Quell so well already, the Games that are presented here feel way closer to the 10th Games than the 75th, and the story of a failed rebellion would’ve made so much more sense with a cast so much closer to the Dark Days.

-T&PLB (why can’t we send asks on side blogs wahhhhhhhh)

Both interviews Collins has done for Sunrise on the Reaping suggest that she does have a great care for the political thought she places into these stories, and I think they equally suggest intentionality that it had to be the 50th Hunger Games.

So I disagree that the propaganda element was an afterthought. It seems clear to me that this is how she approaches the books, and I think that passion can be seen through the pages.

I take issue with the execution of her passion. Just war theory was never directly mentioned in the original trilogy; we as readers had to figure this out for ourselves. For some reason, Suzanne Collins does not trust modern readers to grasp the message—or feels like her previous novels were not clear enough on the message—and thus has dumbed down the explanation to blatant statements. Some of these statements are fun to read; I can easily envision Plutarch to openly talk about implicit submission to someone like Virgilia, but it is quite strange he'd do so to Haymitch then. Maybe they would have had this conversation in Catching Fire, but not in Sunrise.

It is fairly clear from the interviews she has done on SOTR that the elements she came up with were not part of the Catching Fire story, but were elements she worked off of. And I think it is fair to be disappointed by the story we now received, regardless what other fans might say on the matter. Like, it's just a fictional story, we are inevitably just readers who can decide whether we like that story or not, and I find it ridiculous of some readers to disregard criticism based on arbitrary virtues that need to be met. It's completely fine for fans who have had their own story in mind to not like SOTR because it does not fit their vision. This is just a book. It's not that serious.

I'm saying all of this because I agree with you that the plot elements we had in Catching Fire turning into this completely warped story in Sunrise are strange to say the least. I did enjoy my read more than Ballad, but many plot points were contrived all despite the fact I've never given much thought to the arena itself. Haymitch received an abundance of plot armour and there is a legitimate question to be had on why the 74th were not manipulated in the same way as the 50th. By Sunrise's logic, Rue's funeral would never have aired and the berry scene would have been manipulated—but we canonically know they haven't.

I personally quite enjoyed the Orwellian manipulation of history because that is what the Ministry of Truth does, but the extent that we received was extreme to say the least. Personally, I imagined that Panem's past—starting at the Dark Days up to Panem's founding as well as everything before—were strongly adjusted for historical revisionism, but not the Games themselves in the moment they are being watched.

At this point, we not only can ask questions about the book's continuity (Re: Rue's funeral), but also between the film franchise and the books. While, yes, there is one main source, for over ten years we knew that the Capitol aired with seven seconds of delay. And you are now telling me that isn't true? This is nothing major, but I take issue with the fact that this new canon addition is troublesome to fit into the collective canon.

While I did enjoy returning to the world of Panem, and I will gather some larger review in another ask (kisses at @firstkil), I sincerely hope that the epilogue of Sunrise suggests an end to the world of Panem, because I would much rather see what she has in mind for a new world rather than picking apart a current one that risks throwing up major questions for the previous entries.

[honorarysimp]

7: The Entity

series masterlist

You’re starting to get worried.

And that’s saying a lot.

The nightmares aren’t anything unusual, especially considering the circumstances and how you’ve been living the last month.

It’s a lot, you admit to yourself, even for you.

You cup your hands under the cold running water and splash your face, bent over the sink as you rest your hands atop the counter. Deep breath in, exhale.

Shaking your head, you wipe your hand over your face and look up into the mirror. The bags under your eyes and your sunken in cheeks isn’t exactly the best you’ve looked. But insomnia is a bitch, and she fucks you every night.

You turn to head back to your hotel bed, with the intention of sleeping, when you notice the red staining your sheets.

Had you ripped your stitches again?

Looking back to the mirror you turn, wincing when you feel a slight sting, peering over your shoulder and feeling your stomach sink.

Gashes, like nails, down the length of your back.

Those are new.

You reach around to touch them, almost like you can’t believe they’re real, and wince as the smallest brush of your fingers lets you know they’re very real.

How? What? Where did they come from? They weren’t there yesterday. A rat? Fuck no, a rat wouldn’t do this.

Trying to rationalize, you realize there’s no point. Honestly, maybe you should’ve given up on logical thinking when you’d gotten attacked by a Ghost. Or Wes disappearing. Or being buried alive.

You rub your eyes, you’re not even sure the last time you got good sleep, which is why you don’t even think about it when you’re picking up your phone and dialing the number that had been given to you just a week ago.

It’s in this moment you realize she might be at work, saving people, doing her job. And you’re bothering her with your unexplainable bullshit-

It picks up on the third ring, “hello?”

Her voice is groggy, she’d definitely been sleeping, but her follow up is far more awake. As if she’s registered that you’re actually calling her, at 3AM.

“Detective? What’s wrong? Are you-“

“I’m okay. Something has happened, I don’t know how to explain it but…” you trail off, praying you don’t sound as delirious as you feel, “I could use some medical attention for something.”

You hear rustling in the other end, feeling guilty knowing she’s getting up out of bed for you. Someone she’s only known a month. Someone whose life she’s saved twice now. Three times if you count her stitching up your wound.

The first time.

“It’s not bad-“

“Must not be if you’re calling me instead of an ambulance, or 911” she says, but you hear her amused tone down the line, it eases your guilt only a little.

“Try not to hurry, I’ll pray I bleed out before you get here.”

Her tired laugh is the last thing you hear before the call ends.

When she arrives, she doesn’t question you. She simply sits you down after you show her the scratches, assessing them carefully. Once Tara determines you don’t need stitches, she cleans them. Bandages them.

She’s gentle, careful, like she had been after she and Sam dug you out of the ground. Almost like you’re real to her now, it’s still surreal to you. The dynamic shift after you almost died, for an idiotic reason yes.

But… you can’t really complain, selfishly grateful that Tara has grown fond enough of you to show up at 3AM to help you without much explanation.

She and Sam had both agreed not to say anything about what had happened, per your request, not without extreme protest of course. But considering how dangerous those men are, for now, you thought it best to be grateful for their mercy. For all of your safety, considering their warning.

They could’ve just left you there, after all.

You wonder if she’ll ask after she’s done, where the scratches came from, but unfortunately you aren’t sure what to tell her.

“I’ve seen these before” Tara murmurs without prompt, almost as if she’s reading your thoughts, “Sam had a friend when she was in high school-“

“Sam had friends?”

That earns you a smack on your good arm, you grin, knowing Tara is fighting off her own smile.

“She was getting scratches and nightmares, I overheard her tell Sam once that something was terrorizing her. That it was coming for her.”

Your stomach sinks, swallowing hard as you stay quiet, letting her continue.

However when she doesn’t, you turn and find her gaze far off, deep into thought.

“Where’d you go?” you ask softly, as if coaxing her back. Those pretty brown eyes find you again, catching the ambient lighting of the room and making something unnecessary tug at your chest.

“Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go… ask, is all” Tara says with a shrug, “she moved out of town with her girlfriend- wife now actually, a few years back. But knowing you? I’m sure we could find her.”

That. That gets you. The “we”.

“Why are you helping me” you ask, voice raw and tone quiet, your eyes searching hers.

It’s a loaded question and you both know it, because technically you’re still strangers. But you aren’t. You’ve already been through a lot since the moment you arrived here, and Tara’s been nothing but a beacon to guide you to the only sliver of sanity you have left. Even when she calls you names and acts as if she cares less than she does.

Tara is quiet for a long moment, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth before taking a deep breath.

“People give you more reasons not to trust them than they do reasons to trust them” she murmurs, which isn’t a good start, at least until she glances away and tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“But that’s no reason to project those fears onto everyone you meet, that’s not what the human experience is about” Tara continues, you notice that vulnerability wavier as if she suddenly worries she’s been too honest, so she adds “besides, you’re clearly the thoughtless type who goes headfirst just to do the right thing, as a first responder it’s my job to keep idiots like you alive.”

You’re silent, simply just looking at her, and she’s looking right back at you.

The tension is suffocating, and you become suddenly aware that the room feels smaller than it should. And when Tara shifts her weight where she’s sat on the bed, you feel too close to her. Not in a bad way, but in a way that makes you feel more terrified than being buried alive or stabbed.

“Well,” you hum, collecting yourself and squaring your shoulders, which the movement makes your back ache “how far of a drive is it?”

You’d told her you wouldn’t go anywhere without her, and you’d meant it, which is why she doesn’t ask and neither do you. Something’s are better left unsaid, at least for now.

“About three-ish hours, maybe more? Don’t take my word for it, but if you want a physical address you’ll need to work some magic” Tara says, a small smile teasing at her lips, you swallow the rising pulse in your throat as you stand and head for the small table to the left of the bed.

It’s nothing extravagant, your set up, considering you’re still in the same hotel room you’d been in since arriving here. But your own personal makeshift investigation board sits on the table leaned back against the wall, papers and photos scattered about. You nudge your tape recorder off your laptop and open it up, sitting as you tilt your head side to side, getting satisfying pops.

“It won’t take long once I get a name, when do you wanna go?” You ask Tara over your shoulder as you boot up your computer, “wait don’t you have work?”

“Work is the least of my concerns, what you should be asking is how fucked we’re gonna be when Sam finds out we’ve both skipped town” she pauses, for dramatic flair probably, “together.”

The muscle in your jaw twitches, hand pausing over the keys, because the idea of a furious Sam coming after you for disappearing off with her younger sister isn’t exactly appealing “…maybe we shouldn’t-“

“We’ll be fine, I’m a grown ass woman for fucks sake.”

You give her a look, slowly turning back towards your computer.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“I’m not even looking at you anymore.”

You don’t look, but you know she’s fighting off a smile.

____________________________________________

Your car rumbles down the empty countryside road, its headlights cutting through what remained of dawn as it neared its destination. The quiet was interrupted only by the low hum of the engine and the sound of gravel crunching beneath the tires.

Finally, the headlights catch a turn off, a narrow dirt road leading to a small, simple house. It was secluded, surrounded by a dense thicket of trees and undergrowth.

“It’s really early, do you think we should come back?” You ask unsurely.

The engine idles softly as you park the car just down the drive, glancing to Tara, her features set and determined. The headlights illuminated the front of the house, casting eerie shadows over the worn shingles and wooded exterior.

“It’s 7AM on a Tuesday, you’re the Detective, context clues” Tara says as she raises an eyebrow at you.

You ponder, sighing, rationalizing it’s probably the better time to catch them. Before work, not after when it’s late at night.

In your defense, you’re exhausted and running on coffee and sheer spite.

You kill the engine and push open the door, the cool morning air rushing in as you climbed out. Tara follows suit, her eyes fixed on the house in front of you.

With a shared nod, you both approach the front porch of the silent house, the boards creaking beneath your feet.

It seems quiet from within, but a single light flickered through the curtains of a window to the right. You and Tara exchange a quick glance before you raise a fist and knock loudly on the door.

For a moment, you stand in silence, waiting for a response. There is no sound from inside the house, but the light remains on, casting a faint glow through the curtains.

You knock again, knuckles rapping against the worn wood of the door harshly. The sound echoed through the clearing just surrounding the house.

After a few more moments, there was movement from inside, the sound of footsteps approaching and a bolt being slid aside. The door creaks open slightly, revealing a blonde woman with wary eyes.

The blonde woman took in the sight of you and Tara, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. Before she could threaten you or tell you to piss off, though, her gaze fell upon Tara. Immediately, recognition filled her features.

"You..." she whispered, her expression shifting from wary to surprise. The tension in the air seemed to thicken “you’re Sam’s little sister.”

“Hey Kirby, it’s been a while” Tara starts sweetly, flashing the woman a genuine smile. The woman, Kirby, flicks her gaze between you two, her hands flexing as she gripped the edge of the door.

"What... what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice shaky and uneasy.

Sensing her trepidation, you took a step closer. "We have some questions," you say calmly. "May we come inside?"

Kirby hesitates, her eyes flicking between you and Tara. Her expression remained wary, her grip on the door still firm and tight.

"You didn't answer my question," she said, her voice steady but laced with unease. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

“The same thing that happened to you is happening to my friend here” Tara says suddenly, making Kirby look to her with wide eyes.

From further inside the house, another female voice called out. "Everything okay?"

Kirby turns her head briefly, responding to the voice. "I'm fine," she called back, her tone taut and anxious.

There was a moment of silence before the other voice called out again. "Who's at the door?"

You watch Kirby tense, her expression growing even more unnerved. She glanced back at the two of you, then back into the house. She takes a deep breath, her features regaining some of their steel.

"Everything's fine, Jill" she called out, her voice steady and firm. "Go back to bed, I'll handle it."

She then turned her attention back to the two of you, her expression her gaze hard and resolute. "You need to leave," she said, her voice regaining its firmness. "There's nothing here for you."

The voice from inside called out again, this time sounding agitated. "What's going on? Who's there?"

Kirby sighs and calls back over her shoulder. "Everything's fine, babe please!"

There was a moment of silence, and then a second woman appeared in the doorway. This must be Jill.

She looks the same age as Kirby, her brown hair tied back in a loose bun. She has her arms crossed, her expression curious but not hostile.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, peering out through the crack in the door at you and Tara.

The tension in the air seemed to ease slightly as the second woman emerged. Her presence was calming, her voice soft and less defensive than Kirby.

"They’re from… Woodsboro" Kirby mutters, her eyes moving between you and Tara.

Jill’s eyes widened a fraction, her expression growing wary. "From Woodsboro?” she repeated, her gaze flicking between each of them. “Should I even ask what brought you two all the way out here to our doorstep?”

You take a small tentative step forward, gaze locked intently on Jill, praying she at least be the one to hear you out. "Ma'am," you began, voice firm but pleading. "We need your help. Something is happening in Woodsboro, something that’s connected to what happened a few years ago, and then a few years before that.”

Kirby’s eyes widened, her hands trembling. Jill, however, stays composed, her gaze steady as she listened.

"The events from that night have started repeating," you continue, voice low and insistent. "We need to understand what's going on, if you were able to survive being tormented by this thing it may help us-“

Kirby’s expression contorted, her eyes going wide with anger. "No!" she snapped, her voice trembling. "I'm not going through that again. You both need to leave, get the fuck off my porch, NOW!"

With a loud thud, she slammed the door shut, the sound echoing through the night.

You and Tara exchange a quick glance, stunned by the sudden outburst. The porch suddenly seemed eerily quiet, the night air heavy with tension.

“Do we…?” you start, looking to Tara, who looks a mixture between frustrated and unsure.

“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea” she mutters, looking a bit guilty, “at least we tried-“

But then the door cracks open again, this time it’s Jill. She looks between the two of you, thoughtful, eyebrows pinched together almost as if she’s worried.

“Listen, I can’t tell you much because I don’t know much, neither of us do. All I know is that the same thing happened to my Aunt back when that thing-“ she stops, shaking her head and glancing over her shoulder inside.

“There’s a ritual, and it’s not simple. Bare bones? Your heart has to temporarily stop, so whatever the thing has latched on to you moves on or something. We never questioned it, only did what we were told and it worked.”

That was not what you were expecting, and as you share a look with Tara it’s clear neither was she.

“Are you saying-“

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. We stopped her heart and restarted it using a defibrillator, I’m sorry I’ve got nothing more to offer you” Jill says with an apologetic smile, “and don’t be set off by her reaction, she never really… recovered fully from what she saw. That’s saying a lot, if you’d known her… before.”

As if you weren’t anxious enough already, you’re still wanting to be in denial about this.

Think about it, an entity that’s been terrorizing Woodsboro for decades decides it wants to start fucking with you specifically? And to get rid of it you have to die and be resuscitated?

The cherry on top of everything that makes no sense.

“This is fucking insane-“

“Thank you for your time, and advice, we appreciate it” Tara smoothly cuts you off, resting her hand on your shoulder as she gives Jill a smile.

Jill glances between you two, offering a nod “back then I’d have done anything to save her, she’s everything to me, it would be cruel of me not to offer the two of you that chance.”

It’s not exactly an implication, or a forward assumption, but you can’t help how your mind goes right to it. And judging by the slight pink tint in Tara’s cheeks, she may not be far off your train of thought as she quickly takes her hand off your shoulder.

With that, Jill disappears back inside, and you two both make your way back to the car quickly. It’s quiet as you start the engine, punch in the address to get you both back to Woodsboro.

“I don’t think I’m up for this” Tara says suddenly, you turn your head to look at her in confusion. She’s staring out the windshield, discomfort in her expression “I’m not entirely excited at the idea of stopping your heart when I know it doesn’t always work bringing someone back.”

You take a deep breath, gripping at the steering wheel like it’s a stress ball, “look it’s just bad dreams, some scratches on my back it’s not like it could mean-“

“Stop. Just… stop” Tara cuts you off, raising a hand in the air between the two of you as she refuses to look your way. Silence envelops the vehicle again.

“This has to stop. I’m tired of losing people I care about, and you-“ she whips around, face twisted with anger as she glares accusingly “-you can’t just show up and wedge yourself into my life like it’s nothing, and then disappear like everyone else. No. Fuck no I refuse-“

“Tara” you say her name softly, gently, which instantly pauses her angry rant. She takes a slow breath, running her hands down her face as she collects herself.

“Can we say this for what it really is? Because I’m not a skeptic and I’m not rabid with superstition, but can we agree that this is something?” Tara says, opening her eyes and looking at you.

It’s hard. Hard for you to admit that yes, it’s the only explanation. That yes, there’s something far bigger than either of you are probably even anywhere close to being able to comprehend nor understand. And how you’ve somehow become this entity’s new target, for a reason still unknown.

Because you failed at your job to uncover this, which is probably why this has gone on for as long as it has. There’s nothing to work with.

“If I’m gonna live…” you start carefully, holding her gaze as you try to keep yourself steady, “then I’m going to have to die, and unfortunately… I’ll need your help for that”

Tara is clearly against the idea of being the one to do it, but she puts on a brave face and nods, the look you share says it all.

“This is fucking insane, right?”

“Really fucking insane.”

“And it makes no sense, it might not even work, but we’re going to try it anyways?”

You turn back to face the steering wheel, shifting the car into drive as you mumble “I guess so.”

____________________________________________

You never thought you’d find yourself in Tara’s living space, yet alone laid on her floor knowing she’s about to stop your heart.

Literally.

She’s in work mode and you can tell, she’s trying to keep herself as detached from this as possible so she’ll follow through. Tara is a professional, this is a part of her job after all.

Her place is nice, really nice, you wonder if things were different, if you’d be here under different circumstances. But then again, you’d have never come to Woodsboro at all without them.

You lay motionless on the floor, eyes closed as you steel yourself for what was about to come. Your breaths are slow and deep, each inhale and exhale a measured effort of control.

Tara kneels beside you, her hands gripping the handles of the defibrillator pads. Her expression was a mix of determination and worry, her eyes trained on the machine's digital readout, pre-set to the appropriate voltage.

"Ready hot shot?" she asked, her voice steady but taut with uncertainty. Your eyes fluttered open, locking onto hers. You give a subtle nod, bracing for the shock. The air seemed to crackle with anticipation, each second hanging in the air like a lead weight.

“See you in two minutes?” you ask, just because you feel like you have to say something, even if it’s repeating the agreed time you’d go under.

She nods, “two minutes.”

With a deep breath, Tara presses the two small pads against your chest, the rubber grips sticking to your shirt. Her fingers hovered over the 'shock' button, knuckles white with tension.

The air was thick with an eerie stillness as she prepared to deliver the electric jolt. The your heart pounds in your ears, body tensed in anticipation.

"Clear!" Tara exclaims, her voice ringing out sharply in the empty room. With a brief flash, she pressed the button.

A bolt of electricity surges through you, your body convulsing involuntarily as the jolting current struck you. You grit your teeth, muscles seizing and twitching with the force of the shock.

And then your eyes open, and you find yourself standing in the middle of a vast, empty void. The air was still and silent, a stark shift from the moment before. Your body felt strange, almost weightless, and a sense of confusion washes over you.

You look around, your gaze scanning the endless space. Were you dead? Had the defibrillation worked?

As you turn in a small circle, a sudden chill ran down your spine. Something was there. In the shadows around the edge of the void, a faint outline shifted and moved.

As your eyes adjusted, the form solidified, and what appeared out of the darkness was a horrific sight. Dark, twisted limbs, a face that was once human now distorted and nightmarish. Its voice was a low, gravelly whisper that echoed through the emptiness.

"You’ve done well, better than most" the entity said, its voice rasping and harsh. "Your persistence amuses me. But I assure you, your efforts are futile."

It began to move, its twisted form slithering across the floorless void, seemingly moving across the empty space like water. Its dark, misshapen body approaches you, its eyes glinting with a sadistic pleasure.

"Everything you've worked for, all the pain you’ve endured," it continued, drawing closer and closer. "It will all be for nothing. You can’t beat me, Detective. I am a part of you now.”

Your terror is replaced by a sudden surge of defiance. You stood tall, hands balling into fists, and demand answers. "Why are you doing this? What do you gain from abducting people from Woodsboro?" you exclaimed, voice firm as your empowered by all the pint up frustration over the last month.

The entity halted, its form pulsating and shifting. A low chuckle echoed from its deformed mouth.

"Abducting people?" it repeated, the words distorted and mocking. "Such a simplistic way to frame it. I'm not abducting them. I'm freeing them."

The entity begins circling you slowly, its limbs moving like sinewy tentacles across the void. Its eyes remain fixed on you, dark and unsettling.

"Freedom from the mundane, slavery to mortality, the expected," it continued, its voice dripping with a twisted sense of righteousness. "I offer them something greater than what your pathetic world could provide."

"Greater?" you exclaim, your voice tinged with anger. "By stealing their lives, taking them from their homes, their families, you're offering them something greater?"

"Oh, but I am," the entity retorted, its deformed face contorting into a mockery of a smile. "Everything they leave behind is meaningless. My world is one of power, of transformation. Those who are taken become something more than they ever were in your world."

That catches your attention, “is that where they are? The missing people? Is that why there are no bodies?”

The entity chuckled again, its dark, twisted form shifting and writhing before you. "Precisely," it said, its voice dripping with satisfaction. "They've become a part of me, a part of something greater, something beyond your comprehension."

Your mind races, trying to piece together the entity’s machinations. You clench your fists tighter as you demand to know more.

"How do you do it?" You ask, voice sharp. "How do you move around town without leaving a trace all this time?"

The entity let out a guttural, mocking laugh. "You are so limited in your thinking, Detective. You think in terms of flesh and blood, of physical presence. But I am far more...fluid."

Your eyes widened as the entity's words sank in. "Water” you murmur, realization dawning.

The entity chuckled darkly, its twisted form undulating in the empty void. "Very good, Detective," it taunted. "You've finally arrived at the crux of the matter. I am not bound by the constraints of your physical world. I am fluid, elusive, and I am everywhere."

You press on, desperate for more information. "Is that how you’re able to change shape and form?" You ask.

The entity chuckled, its form shifting and reshaping in the void as it suddenly takes on the appearance of the Ghostface. "Correct again, Detective," it responded, its voice taking on a mocking tone. "Water is my medium, my canvas. I can shape and reform myself in any way I desire, thanks to my connection to its endless supply."

You listen intently as the entity spoke, its deformed grin spreading wider. "I have no pattern, no cycles," it said, its voice taking on a tone of satisfaction. "I come when I want, I rest when I want, and I leave when I have had my fill. Everyone is fair game. I am a force of nature, unpredictable, unstoppable."

It paused, its form shifting and coiling in the void. "But for now, it is your time," it continued, its voice dropping to a sinister whisper. "Your time to join my ranks, Detective."

The entity’s deformed face twists into a grotesque sneer as it began to reshape yet again. "Oh, I am coming for you, all of you, one by one" it hissed, its voice dripping with menace. "It is inevitable my will to consume this town, suck it dry like a parasite. Until there is nothing left. Nothing left but me, and my twisted playground-“

Your eyes snapped open, breath coming in ragged gasps. You felt a sharp jolt through your chest, a jolt so strong it seemed to rattle your bones.

Your vision swims, and the world comes back into focus. You realize you’re back in the real world, Tara standing over you, the defibrillator still in her shaking hands.

“You’re going to feel nauseous for a minute, try and take it easy” Tara says smoothly, setting the pads down and grabbing your face gently, checking your pupil response with a small light that makes you wince.

The adrenaline was still coursing through your veins, your heart pounding in your ears. The memory of the entity's words echoed in your mind, its dark laughter still fresh in your memory.

You push yourself up slowly, body feeling heavy. Tara rests a hand on your shoulder, acting as an anchor as she looks at you, relief and concern etched across her features. "You alright?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

It took a moment to gather yourself, your mind still spinning. "I saw it," you croak out, voice hoarse. "I spoke to it. It’s real, it warned me... that it- its-“ you blink a few times, shaking your head to try and rid the hazy sensation.

Tara’s eyes widen, her expression turning to one of confusion. "You… saw it?" she asked, her voice shaky. "What did it say?"

You look to her, dread clear in your eyes “it’s coming for us, all of us.”

Tara holds a brave face, but you can tell she’s beginning to panic as the reality of all this really sets in. This is real.

“What do we do? Do we even do anything?”

You swallow hard, trying to push yourself up to your feet, but your knees instantly give way.

“Woah, woah you can’t be standing up yet-“ Tara is quick to steady you, her firm tone practiced from her field of work.

“We have to go to the Mayor, I have to talk to her about the immediately” you tell her, no longer caring to filter anything that comes out of your mouth after what you’d seen.

You now understand Kirby’s panic, her horror, her fear.

“The Mayor? Why? She won’t believe us” Tara says, but as she takes in your next words, her expression shifts from worry to disbelief.

“She will, because she’s the one who hired me and brought me here.”

previous, next

[aeroblossom]

okay i found what i think is the most peculiar mystery in dragonspine so far

Or: khaenriah wasn't after the celestial nail or its powers, it was after STARSILVER.

tumblr i NEED to share this with you because it's blowing my mind. recently me and my friend were discussing this star shard you can find in a quest from 5.0 natlan.

this is a meteor according to the quest and context clues. it looked like iron, so we were trying to find out what kind of metal it most closely resembles, and then -

these are iron meteorites. i'm sure you can see the pattern matches almost perfectly. the patterns form due to cooling in the vacuum of space. you'll notice that the grass around the meteor in the original image is white. nowhere else, to my knowledge, in natlan is there white grass, which implies this is an effect of the star shard itself. and if this is related to the cold...

...you know what other material forms in the cold?

starsilver. the two looked similar, so we checked, and what do you know

(left: star shard [quest item], right: starsilver)

starsilver's description says it forms in very specific conditions like those found in dragonspine. what are the conditions of dragonspine? cold. extremely, extremely cold.

but if these two are the same material... you know what else that implies?

starsilver is extraterrestrial. and i think that point is compounded by the fact that albedo makes paint out of it. albedo. additionally, a high quality node of starsilver looks like this:

pink and blue-y. like glazed sand crystal, also formed due to meteorite impact in the chasm... but my main reason for bringing this up is because these two have a very particular color scheme - pink and blue, the colors of the primordial sea.

in the fontaine waters, the fontemer aberrants (the translucent versions of sea creatures that give you their abilities), which also share this color scheme, are described as 'xenochromatic'. taken literally, the word means 'alien colored'. this seems to be a reference to hp lovecraft's book, 'the color out of space', where strange water droplets found INSIDE A METEORITE, have a color that have never been seen by anyone before.

and albedo uses these to make paint. he uses alien rocks to make alien colors.

now, we've established that starsilver cannot be generated within dragonspine. until we come up with a reason why, there's no logical explanation for starsilver to exist in dragonspine. a foreign metal cannot be synthesized somewhere it has never been before, even assuming the conditions were right. dragonspine has, to our knowledge, never had any abyssal encounters or floods, so the introduction of otherworldly materials makes no sense. you can't create the real life equivalent of these meteorites on earth because the conditions are impossible to replicate. dragonspine cannot logically be that cold either because it still has flora native to its environment.

on that note,

we are often told that the celestial nail is the reason for dragonspine's disaster. but as stated, dragonspine has no history of abyssal floods, so using a nail there... doesn't it seem wasteful? unnecessary even? you might say it was because of their transgressions, but if that was the case, shouldn't us removing the nail fix the issue?

but all it did was remove one small snowstorm at the peak.

unless, that is what they want us to believe. they want us to believe that celestia did this. genshin is full of unreliable narrators. a meteorite crashing into the mountain would be no less of a leyline disaster than an abyss attack - which is what the nails are equipped to deal with. side note: i don't believe starsilver exists because of durin. durin's blood has the opposite trait of starsilver - it gives you warmth, while starsilver is facilitated by cold.

the strangest part about all this though, starsilver seems to be produced from the very depths of dragonspine. so if anything, the hypothetical meteor that gives rise to starsilver must be present at its very base. how did it get there? i have no idea.

anyway, let's say this is all correct. celestia didn't cause the leyline destruction, the meteor did. one final detail remains. khaenriah.

the final nail in the coffin, if you will, that leads me to believe starsilver and the star shard are the same, and that they're from outer space - is the famous ruin guard message.

For the nation, we can't forgo this skyborne power, but we failed.

what if this skyborne power is not from the celestial nail that fell...

but from starsilver? because if starsilver is an alien object, don't you think, as of perinheri, the empire most known for dealing with outer space entities, would want to harness the power of these meteorites?

[p.s.: and also, in the legend of the shattered halberd, they used an iron meteorite to make weapons. not farfetched for khaenriah.]

[borderlinereminders]

I post a lot about self-soothing and working on needing reassurance. And while it’s important to do, it doesn’t mean that’s how it always has to be.

I try self soothing first. Sometimes with my best friend, I know my feelings at her aren’t her fault. It’s something small that’s triggered insecurity even though I know it’s not rational. And I try to deal with the feelings myself first. But sometimes I can’t. And it’s okay.

In these cases, I usually go to her. I’ll tell her “I know it’s not rational and it’s not your fault. But I’m having feelings about x, y and z”. If possible, I’ll tell her what I’m looking for (like reassurance).

She’s always very happy to offer me that reassurance. She knows that I’ve come so far and worked hard and if she can reassure me, she’s often happy to in order to make it easier for me.

I’m going to share my most recent example under the read more for a real life example of how I applied this.

But my overall point is that it is absolutely okay to ask for reassurance and sometimes you need to. It’s just important to do it in a healthy way.

A few weeks ago, she was overwhelmed and busy. I offered to watch her dog for her while she was working. I didn’t get a response back because she was thinking about it.

And then I found out someone else was watching her dog.

I felt a lot of confusing emotions. I felt angry. I also felt insecure, like she didn’t trust me. I was frustrated at her and the person now watching her dog. I felt jealous.

I used skills to try and cope with these feelings. I didn’t lash out at her. I tried using logic to suggest alternatives to myself. Perhaps it wasn’t personal that she picked someone else. Maybe it was for logistical reasons. It was probably just easier for her.

I tried to sleep on it, but the feelings were growing. No matter what coping skills I used. Sometimes, the coping skills don’t work to self soothe or talk myself through it.

I was feeling annoyed for small things and I knew that it wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t done something wrong. But I decided to talk to her about it. I didn’t want the feelings growing and causing issues and they weren’t going to sort themselves out.

Here are copy and pastes from our actual conversation :

Me: My explanation for feeling hurt is that **** told me she was taking Storm and I felt hurt because I offered twice and you didn’t respond at all to it. It made me feel like I did something wrong to break your trust. I am really emotionally sensitive right now and I know I’m having an *extremely* heightened emotional reaction to it but I can’t seem to let go of the bad feelings. And I know it’s not your fault. But also it just feels bad and I feel like I need to tell you about these feelings because I can’t let them go on my own. I could really use some reassurance.

Her: That’s so valid.

If context helps you feel less BPD, I was actually trying to figure whether to leave Storm at home or bring her to you but I needed to know my new start time at work with the new schedule before I’d know if I could make the timing work to drop her off with you after the ferry.

Then *** was sad about the breakup with *** and I offered to lend her Storm as an emotional support animal. I know she really struggles with being alone when she is sad. And I decided I could do without my dog temporarily. I can see how it would’ve seemed like I preferred having **** watch Storm.

But your BPD is very valid, I probably would’ve felt the same way under the circumstances. I hope you have a great day and I hope you know I love you. Also that I think you’re great with dogs and would have 100% wanted you to watch Storm this week.

-

( The name of the person watching her dog are blacked out for privacy reasons.) While she didn’t need to share the context, she chose to do that so she could better offer reassurance. I also want to point out that she validated my feelings. My emotional reaction was heightened but she still validated me. She also then offered reassurance for my specific concern (that I wasn’t trusted). She was patient and understanding. I was valid to need reassurance but her reaction to it was super valid and why it felt so safe to seek reassurance from her.

[oceanwithouthermoon]

im confused about the time loop, i thought since theyve lived 6 extra years but didnt actually grow 6 years older that theyre mentally 16/17 still and havent experienced that brain development but i saw someone say the time loop doesnt affect their brains? because memories are a physical part of your brain and they still remember everything

its very unlikely that asou thought this deeply about this or had this real world information, and i say this because its actually physically impossible to apply real-world logic to this, even if we apply the fair amount of suspension of disbelief that naturally comes when talking about psychic powers, unless you cherry-pick it to get the answer you want.

its canon that the time loop does not effect memories (ex: toritsuka knowing he transferred to pk years ago, since the brainwashing only effects his ability to comprehend that fact too deeply. if it affected memories, there would probably be some crisis over why he was suddenly living in a different area, even if short lived due to saikis brainwashing 😭) and in real world logic, yeah that would naturally make me assume that the time loop doesnt effect the brain and that would mean it would be continuously maturing as it normally would, HOWEVER... if thats the case-

1: i find it hard to come up with a way saiki would turn back time on peoples bodies but not their brains? your brain is not magically floating in your head, its an organ that connects to every functioning part of your body, and saiki canonically reverses time on the WHOLE of something and is unable to reverse it for just one part. we know for a fact that he reverses time on their bodies obviously, people dont grow, so i dont think this would make sense.

2: babies and toddlers would probably be extremely intelligent and probably frustrated to be stuck in little baby bodies lmfao

3: there would probably be an epidemic of old people being diagnosed with dementia or other disorders.

these are the two areas of life where your brain is changing at an extremely rapid pace. old peoples brains deteriorate pretty rapidly so if peoples brains were deteriorating faster than their bodies it would be pretty concerning and noticeable. maybe itd go unnoticed if it was like a year but six years??

neither of these things happen as far as we know, and we WOULD know since we do see plenty of little and old people in the show, plus saiki would probably feel extremely guilty about it 😭

again, its unlikely that asou thought this hard about it since all together it doesnt make sense. you cant try to apply one piece of real world information that theres no in-universe indication of, but disregard other real world information as you please and call your very specific interpretation of that cherry-picked information "canon", see what im saying? but if i had to try to give a reasonable explanation (for fic purposes or something), it would be most likely that it does affect their brains but saikis brainwashing functions in a way that manipulates peoples memories as well somehow when hes doing the time loop, making them able to remember the year even though their physical brain development was reversed. again, asou probably just didnt know or take into account the fact that memories (as well as other things that affect your mental state and all that) are a physical part of your brain though lol

[asiwassayingimnotgay]

top 11 hardest bsd abilities to discover (not listed in order)

(might contain some spoilers)

Dazai (No Longer Human). To begin with, my man had to find someone with a ability. (Probably like, 1/1,000,000 people) And then touch them, if Dazai was a normal guy, and not the demon prodigy, he 100% wouldn't have known he had this ability

Yosano (Thou Shalt Not Die). How'd she even discover this? There's very few scenarios where someone would be half dead, and I doubt that any normal person would be able to discover that they had a ability like this. There's still a chance, but it's very small.

Fitzgerald (The Great Fitzgerald). Imagine, you're a middle class man, normal life, normal income, nothing crazy about your life. How the hell do you find out you become stronger when you spend money. We've seen Fitzgerald not activate his ability when he causally spends, how the hell did you activate it then???

Muishitaro (The Perfect Crime). I- How does a normal person, commit enough crimes to find out that, no they're not getting away with these crimes because they're lucky, they're actually using a ability that erases their crime.

Ace (Madness of the Jewel Kings). Could just be a me thing but, I don't think I've ever met someone with debt slaves. Much less anyone who can convert their debt slaves lifespan into jewels. You either gotta be insane, or have plot armor to find out about this ability

Mark Twain (Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer). You have to be fucking enlisted to find out you have this ability, because there's no way a normal person's gonna have a sniper with them (unless you're in the United States.... Wait-)

Fukuzawa (All Men are Created Equal). This is the same logic as Dazai, there's probably not that many ability users, as you'd have to collect enough ability users to realize "oh, my subordinates get full control over their abilities", also what qualifies as the agencies entrance exam? Is it even necessary?

Pushkin (A Feast in Time of Plague). How the hell do you manage to "coincidentally" find out that you have an ability that affects 2 people with a virus, and that if one of those 2 people don't die, both the people will die from having their organs eaten. You have to be insane or a serial killer to find that ability.

Yukito (Another). I'm genuinely curious on how many mysteries this guy had to solve to be able to find out that the killer in the mysteries always, 100%, without fail, dies after the mysterys been solved. That is extremely and annoyingly specific.

Kajii (Lemon). The whole ass reason I made this post, who the fuck is "conveniently" creating lemon shaped bombs, there's no way he found out this ability through normal means. Was one of his friends a terrorist with a lemon kink? Because that's the only reasonable explanation that he's finding out this ability. Either that or, he's got a big food kink and makes bombs shaped as food during his spare time. There's no fucking way, a normal guy with an office job is finding out they have an ability like that. Atsushi's the main character? Nah, this man has way more plot armor. Because the stars, universe, solar system, and plantes had to align for him to find out about his ability

Ranpo (✨Ultra Deduction✨) please help im being threatened . I mean, he could always be a genius or whatever but... Sure.

[slotumn]

Personal take on TWSITD is that aside from the writers not utilizing them better, there can actually be a very simple in-universe explanation for why they're so cartoonishly evil: self-selection.

These guys have been underground and vowing revenge and terrorizing Fódlan from the shadows for 1000+ years, those who are still there by the time of canon era are Not Normal. If there are "good Agarthans" they've either been killed by the others (or some other worse fate) or they ran away (maybe like Shez's mother, if she was Agarthan) and disassociated with them forever.

As for whether it's just the leaders or if all of them are like that, Kronya is the only named lower-ranking character we see, and she's not doing it because she's being forced to (like the Fell Dragon kids from Engage), she is literally in it for the love of the game. If she's meant to be representative of her echelon, I think there's a good chance these guys are all off their shits from top to bottom— and if not off their shit, still 100% complacent in everything the worse ones do.

As for the things that make them evil, from what little we get of them, they're... actually the same things that cause problems in Fódlan with "normal" humans, just taken to its logical extreme. Elitism, xenophobia, social Darwinism, etc.

For that reason, my personal interpretation when it comes to TWSITD and what they did Fódlan's history isn't them corrupting perfectly good uwu innocent people who would never do anything wrong and making them do things they otherwise wouldn't have— people were already going down that path, and TWSITD just push them along, assist in it, and (try to) hijack it for their own ends along the way.

I also think there are also perfectly plausible scenarios where TWSITD choose a different nation as proxy, and the corresponding lord allies with them (also for their own ends). Dimitri and his quest for revenge (especially when they already have Cleobulus in Faerghan court), even Claude and his initial thought that he needs some kind of decisive strong power (ex: Sword of Creator) to accomplish his goals. Again we don't really see it on-screen but I assume these guys are very good at convincing people, especially while disguised.

Tl;dr Fódlanis are extremely not immune being useful idiots for terrible people and the reason why they make such useful idiots for those terrible people is because they are, in fact, already pretty terrible on their own

[taylortruther]

I think I probably wrote my question in a confusing way, maybe because it’s a confuse thought in my head too!

I kinda meant, she admitted that she ghosted and “swindled” partners in the past and she had her reasons of her course, but that’s the same thing she accuses Matty of, but in his case she tells him that he is what he’s done, in her case it’s glossed over as a “clever” and “girlboss-y” (not my words, I read them used here and on twitter). Isn’t it a bit hypocritical, for lack of a better adjective, to condemn this type of behaviour when she admitted that she did it in the past?

so just to be clear (because i know i'd get a sassy anon otherwise), i don't think leaving a relationship by way of getaway car is "girl bossy" djdksjs i don't think empowerment in relationships means not caring about hurting people. it means knowing when to leave and how to look out for yourself. but taylor (just like any of us) is just trying to leave her life, she's not dating and breaking up AS an icon of feminism or whatever. like, she's a person. her actions will not always be logical or pure or even good.

so that said, i don't think it's very productive to say "you did this once, you're not allowed to feel hurt when the tables are turned." i think we can look forward to ts12+ and see what she says about those patterns, though! i mean, i for one have said a few times i'd love even more songs about her motivations, or what parts of herself lead her to engage in these specific patterns (getaway cars, people pleasing, and so on.)

like, in the bolter, she reiterated how she skips town on men and it feels freeing. but she's also written many songs about how she thinks she must've been better as an idea, because men leave her in the dust. so which is it? was she in control or was she not? these are questions she asks herself in her last few albums: the archer comes to mind, where she's saying she knows she has an issue with bolting and hurting people close to her - she wants to change. in wcs, she asserts she wasn't poison, she was young and naive, but then why can't she let it go? is it because she enjoyed some of it? in mastermind, she says she's driven by a need to be loved and implies she doesn't deserve it unless she tries tries tries, it's now part of who she is. and in the manuscript, she says she was young, and this guy who was older and so much more mature (as she knows now, given she's in her 30s now too) thinks he did nothing wrong. and maybe it wasn't wrong (or was it?)... but it set her on a path she didn't choose, and she had to find meaning in it to move on and regain control over it. and ttpd is a reflection of that lesson: how you can be led by emotion and superstition and constructs like luck or fate, but these are also traps, because you can use them to escape reality and construct a fantasy that can burn down your whole life.

and taylor has said she's hurt people, switched out men, ghosted. maybe she hasn't sung enough about it to your liking besides quippy one liners, but i also think the explanation for that behavior is clearly described. she's afraid people will leave her and betray her so she searches for reasons to bolt! think of that EVERYONE WILL BETRAY YOU sign in the anti hero mv, and "this is how the world works: you gotta leave before you get left" in idsb, and the reputation poem about caging herself in with her own extreme sense of justice; think about how she sings she "shoots to kill when she's mad," "why do i break what i love so much?" "help me hold onto you" and "my reputations never been worse so you must like me for me" and he "loves her like she's brand new" and how essential that would be for someone who NEEDS to be liked in the midst of a massive public cancellation. how easily that turns into handcuffing yourself to a spell, to the idea that this is the only person she can be with. like, this is a very similar story to say, calvin, but the stakes were lower. but she was still trying to choose the right relationship in the most of a lot of public bullshit.

and then think about how, if you handcuffed yourself to an idea of love, if that love stops being enough, you might struggle to figure out how to end it. i mean, anyone who's ever had to initiate a breakup in a ltr can tell you how you don't break up the first time it occurs to you. you pick fights, resentment builds up, you have doubts you'll find someone else, you go on breaks, you try to make it work, you go into denial.

and ultimately, choosing yourself and your own happiness is so rarely a clean decision. people WILL get hurt in the process, sometimes in avoidable ways. it's just life. ghosting or ending things badly is often a result of not wanting to hurt someone or have a confrontation. which isn't always the best way to handle things, but, well, that doesn't mean you can't be hurt later lmao.

anyway, she wanted to tell a specific story (three stories, really) in ttpd and maybe later she'll talk about her own so-called hypocrisy. or not.