#and Stanley CLEARLY sees it

[juaneloriginal]

silly thingy

@blackkatdraws's sillies

[babyblankyerror]

Gravity Falls has a weird magnet, yes, and it dragged in Stanford in a way. He was curious and wanted to study anomalies...

But Gravity Falls somehow dragged Stanley in as well, even if it was through Stanford, I think that ought to mean something.

Like Mabel and Dipper went to Gravity falls- Dipper has his little birthmark and I suppose Mabel was a little too silly (which is lovely).

Then what makes Stanley Pines an anomoly? Maybe something to do with how he wasn't supposed to be born..

[thefallenangel2008]

Listen. While I'm not that much of a fan of the timestuck AU (I don't hate it at all, I quite like the concept, it just doesn't pick my internet that much), I'd be a liar if I said I didn't like the concept of current Ford meeting with the 17 year old, recently kicked out version of his twin.

[thesituationship]

Sometimes I think ford haters don't fully understand why ford punches Stan. Yes ford still holds a grudge from the science experiment. Yes he's still pissed that Stan pushed him through the portal. But that's not the reason?

Imagine you were manipulated and tortured into creating a doomsday device by evil incarnate. And then you were trapped in the nightmare realm with him. For 30 years, you will suffer terribly for your hubris and naivety, and you will blame yourself for it. The only solace is knowing that the portal was destroyed, and Bill never achieved his goals. Suffering is just the price you had to pay for your mistakes. That made it worth it, almost. This is retribution, redemption.

And then, all of the horror you've been through, it's suddenly all for naught. The portal was rebuilt anyway. Your universe is under threat again. You want to blame your brother so badly. But deep down, you know it's not his fault. It's yours. Your brother has not only doomed the universe but doomed you to be responsible for it. It's a fate you'd already given everything to avoid.

To be clear this is an explanation, not justification. Ford was irrationally taking out his anger when he punched Stan. Because he wasn't emotionally mature enough to empathise with Stan, who'd actually had a pretty good reason for building that portal (it was love aw). But ford's never had the opportunity to emotionally mature. He's been running off of trauma response and survival instincts for the last 3 decades.

It wasn't just a grudge. Ford's hopes were crushed, that's why he punched Stan.

[megamindsupremacy]

I need to marinate more thoughts for this but. okay so gravity falls au. partially inspired by this. fiddleford has the memory gun and he's This Close to using it on himself to erase what he saw in the portal. he pauses. he thinks, just because I forget doesn't mean stanford will stop building the portal. he thinks it's all or nothing. he goes to stanford's shack in the woods. he sneaks in through the side door and sees stanford sleeping on the couch. it's dark outside. the lights are out. fiddleford can barely make out the shape of his former-friend's body. fiddleford looks at Stanford one last time. he types into the memory gun, Stanford Pines. he points the gun. half a second before he fires, Stanford stirs, as if sensing the danger he is in. he manages to get out "who-" before fiddleford, panicking, pulls the trigger before he can chicken out completely.

stanley wakes up on a couch he doesn't remember falling asleep in, with a terrified looking man standing over him, holding a glowing gun, and thinks this is one hell of a situation i've gotten myself into

[arttsuka]

Some doodles I did instead of paying attention to class

[shanklin]

Very well, I, Comfort Anon, shall still provide ideas even in my bird cage. 🪿

Okay so Soos maybe is like a father figure to Stan, but that probably comes with baggage. Because probably like the Canon Stan—Sonemployee relationship, Stan’s not going to admit he sees Mr. Ramineriz as a father figure! Lil Stan has baggage from his last one, and I think if he’s slowly unlearning his lesson of selfishness, maybe it make him guarded.

Because he has been hurt, Ford leaving him, His Ma and Shermie leaving (Not by choice but still), and Pa is now dead, and he probably has mixed feelings about his Grauntie and Grunkle.

He had his heart on his sleeve and learned another lesson, to not let people in. Or else they see the selfish monster, who’s nothing but a spare.

However the sweet thing about Soos is, that he doesn’t come with a strained past, he is an adult figure who wants to hang out with Stan, and thinks Stan is cool. There’s no pressure, or strings.

He just…is there. He sees past Stan’s lack of self worth and sees Stan as what he is, Stan.

He doesn’t see Ford, he doesn’t see Stan as an extra or a replacement part. He just sees a hurt kid who’s on the verge of graduating highschool, and talks with Stan. Tells Stan it’s okay, to ask him on advice on things.

“I’m great at telling people things, dude!”

Soos teaches Stan, how to fix things, since Soos at one point was a handy man, and to be a handy man, you must be very handy.

Stan manages to pick up that type of skill, surprisingly easily. Maybe it’s because he’s learned from working on the Stan-O-War.

Selfish Shellfish AU - Masterpost

Oh Comfort Anon (who is not so anon anymore), my beloved !Bringer of my new favourite thing ♡

I agree that Stan would never admit he sees Soos as a father figure not even to himself.

And Soos is also the exact opposite of what a father is, at least in Stan's experience, so he can’t be one of those.

Now I need a little self indulgent cheesy father’s day fic, in which Soos hates father’s day just as much as his own birthday. Getting Soos’ birthday erased from the calendar didn’t go so well the last time Stan tried. Maybe Stan should try something simpler for father's day and just distract Soos long enough until he forgets what day it is. That way he won't be sad anymore!

They hang out and it’s all very sweet and at the end of the day someone mentions just what an adorable Father-Son duo they make.

Stan panics, makes up a non-specific excuse and runs away.

They don't talk about it afterwards, but they will spend the next father’s day together as well. And the one after and after…

[knotst3r1l3]

curse these wretched organs vro what the Fuck man !!!!!!!

[true-blue-sonic]

Silver needs a new backstory already his character profile in Sonic Generations describes his Sonic 06 background even though that timeline was erased.

The other day I was going over his profile in Sonic Channel (auto-translated to English), and I noticed that as well. But the issue is, the Rivals games were never actually released in Japan! There is no Japanese translations or voice-overs by the cast noted on the wiki, and the only release dates provided are for North America, Europe, and Australia. Which does make me insanely curious what Silver's first actual unerased-from-the-timeline meeting with Sonic is for Japanese fans, actually. The next Sonic game chronologically that he appears in is Sonic Colours DS, barring Mario and Sonic at the (2010) Olympic Winter games, whose games were released in autumn 2009. And since Colours DS is the handheld version of the main game, I'm not sure how its canonicity really lies, nevermind the fact Silver cordially greets Sonic there and sends him off to some rides. If Colours Wii is the fully canon game, it would make his first true appearance in Sonic Generations... where he also knows Sonic already. Unless that is some kinda situation like with Blaze being able to recall Crisis City there and the like?

As it stand, it makes sense to me Silver's bio in Generations mentions the fact he is "from a destroyed future", because in Japan from which it was translated they presumably know simply no other backstory for him than the one in '06 where that was indeed the case... even if '06's story technically never happened in the first place. But this whole mess does not add much cohesion between the various world regions, and with '06 erased, Rivals going all but unmentioned in Japan, Sonic in Japanese!TSR making clear mentions about '06's story while Silver has no idea what he is talking about, and Silver just plain knowing Sonic already in Colours DS, Generations, and even the M&S DS Winter game if it counts... just how in the world did they meet?

[rustinged]

be real what does it say about me that I always thought he was the most masculine growing up

[doodleswithangie]

headcanon that stan hates wearing glasses (for many reasons) and went without them for years until he really needed them

[Image Description: Comic of a younger Stanley Pines from "Gravity Falls." Alt text is provided and copied below the cut. End ID]

A younger Stan squints at his blurry reflection in the mirror, leaning in really close to see himself clearly. He sighs and grabs a pair of Ford's glasses on the dresser. Putting them on, he stares at his reflection. "Welp," he says, "this is unsettling."

He turns away from the mirror to adjust his tie, saying, "But it can't be helped." His reflection is now a disheveled Ford, mirroring Stan.

[beanthebugboi]

Canon/Headcanon likelihood chart

So I've been thinking about @macdenlover 's "levels of headcanon" chart (about how heavily a HC is influenced by canon), so I decided to make my own scale about how likely a HC is to be true (including different levels of canon) using queer cartoon characters as examples :)

I just spent an hour making this because I was bored. Enjoy. Image description under the cut.

Inspiration:

ID courtesy of @hatreds-og-imagedescriptions (thank you!!)

[ID: a chart going from 10 to 1, with explanations of the ratings on the left and images of characters with queer flags and descriptions of said characters on the right.

10: "Explicit canon. Clearly stated in the original media." Trans Barney from Dead end Paranormal Park. "Barney says "I'm transgender"".

9: "Implicit canon. Never explicitly stated, but 100% canon in the original media". Nonbinary Raine from The Owl House. "Raine never says "I'm nonbinary," but uses they/them and is never referred to as a man/woman (also, confirmed by Dana)".

8: "Creator confirmation. Never stated in the original media, but confirmed canon by the media's creator". Aroace Lilith from The Owl House. "While never mentioned/implied in TOH, Dana has confirmed that Lilith is aroace".

7: "Heavily implied. Never confirmed, but likely true (either by canon evidence or creator implication)". Genderfluid Nimona from Nimona. ""Aaand now you're a boy" "I am today" (anyway, the whole movie has trans/GNC themes)".

6: "Possibly implied. Hinted at in the original media, but could be explained as something else". Trans Doofenschmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. "Doof COULD be transmasc, or the whole "raised as a girl" thing could just be for the bit".

5: "Fanon. Never confirmed, but generally accepted by the fandom". Aromantic Alastor from Hazbin Hotel. "While only confirmed to be ace, most of the fandom also sees Alastor as aromantic".

4: "HC with evidence. Headcanons supported by a dedicated fan's detective work". Bisexual Mabel from Gravity Falls. "People have noticed bi flag stickers hidden on Mabel's scrapbooks".

3: "Canon neutrality. Could be true, could be false, but overall makes sense and doesn't contradict the original media". Genderqueer Pleakley from Lilo and Stitch. "Maybe Pleakley is genderqueer, maybe he just wanted to crossdress for the mission, who knows? That's why it's a headcanon."

2: "I made it the fuck up. Based on vibes, has absolutely nothing to do with canon". Bisexual Megamind from Megamind. "No evidence, no explanation, he just has Disaster Bi™ vibes".

1: "Um? No? But go off. Directly contradicts canon (but who cares, that's why it's fun)". Trans Stanley Pines from Gravity Falls. "Even though flashback scenes prove Stan is AMAB, some people HC him as transmasc." End of ID.]

[cup-o-stars]

Relativity Falls!

Design Concepts (and my unnecessary thoughts):

Excuse the the colors, ig my apps are fighting.

I see Mabel finding success no matter what happens to her, but I really like the thought of her running an insane arts and crafts business in GF. Alternatively, if she fell in the portal, she'd come out acting confident as always, but she probably wouldn't realize how much the constant change and lack of family/stability wore her out until she settled back in. In either case, she's a bit cracked.

Dipper is investigative, but cracks easiest under stress and is not as inherently adventurous as Mabel or Ford- so the portal wouldn't treat him well. If he's not the one in the portal, he'd be into stargazing and real magic to share with people, while also warding tourists away from the dangerous stuff. In general, he'd be an unhappy adult if left to his own devices, lol.

Between Dipper and Mabel, I like Dipper being in the portal more. He's a great protagonist, but as a supporting cast member, he needs to be more insane to match the draw that is 'Mabel taking care of children,' ha. I also love the idea of there being no portal / some other looming threat for these two to struggle with (at least because Hirsche has made it clear that Dipper and Mabel are equally smart, and to me it seems like the portal would reopen way quicker with them), but I didn't plan on posting these and I don't know how my followers feel about me posting lore.

Stanford and Stanley:

Pretty much how they are in canon, but now they're in a setting where they can get over themselves, ha. They aren't quite as mature as Dipper and Mabel were at their age, but after coming to GF, they finally found other people to look out for them. Dipper could be a more emotionally available and level-headed role model (I think having people to take care of is calming for him in turn), and they'd both look up to Mabel as the peak of somebody who knows how to socialize.

Fiddleford:

He's a sweet, southern, farm-raised mechanical engineer just like in canon.

Idk why Fiddleford is in GF (visiting an unnamed grandparent?), but I really like his relationship with Ford in the journal. Following that thought, in this AU, he starts out more of Ford's friend than Stan's, and it's kind of a big deal. Unlike Dipper's arc on learning to be a kid, Stan and Ford clearly struggled a lot with interpersonal relationships / finding security outside of eachother, and that's what I think this AU could be about (it's great they realized they need each other in canon, but the part where they had no one else to turn to is also kinda crazy if you ask me).

Ford gets to meet another smart kid in a weird town, which helps him feel more normal. He has a better idea of what friendship is because of it, but also, since I can't imagine Dipper wanting an apprentice so young/vulnerable/impressionable or Mabel asking only one of the twins to stay- he'd have to come to terms with the fact that he can't live in his dream world forever. (Or maybe the apprenticeship comes from somewhere else, just because the conflict around going back to Glass Shard Beach at all, or sending Stan alone could be pretty good.)

On the flipside, I think Stan's initial jealousy of Ford and Fiddleford's friendship would force him to try finding his own friends / hobbies. I like the idea that he fails at first- and a lot- but Mabel notices his mounting frustration (which he is very keen on hiding), and her consistent and unorthodox support makes him realize he wasn't alone to begin with. He can be more open around her, which makes it easier to open up to others, and then he can make friends without having to pull any tricks. He probably starts with some animals, and then at least gets closer to Fiddleford anyways (I feel like they're both more practical than Ford and value human company more, so they'd bond easier once Stan gets over his personal hurdle).

Anyways- because that was way too much- Mabel's exes are a constant source of antagonists and Dipper is stressed about setting a good example.

(I was more of a Monster Falls fan back in the day, but I can't draw animals, lol)

[stansangel]

Stan Imagine (to tie you over)

Pairings: Stan Pines x Reader Warnings: none! pure fluff! Word Count: 335

Stanley decides to take you on a spontaneous road trip in his old, beat-up El Diablo. He doesn’t tell you where you’re going, just grins that mischievous grin of his and says, “Trust me, you’ll love it.”

After driving for a few hours, you pull up to a tiny, hidden diner off the beaten path. It’s one of those old-school places with neon signs and checkered floors. It's kitschy but you love it immediately. He tells you it’s where he used to go when he needed to clear his head.

Stan orders your favorite meal without even asking—he’s memorized it—and as you’re eating, he suddenly pulls out a small, handmade scrapbook from under the table.

“I ain’t good with words,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck, “but I figured this might do the trick.”

Inside the scrapbook are mementos from all the little adventures and moments you’ve shared together—ticket stubs, silly photos, notes he’s scribbled down. It’s clear he’s put a lot of effort into it, even if some of the pages are a bit crooked or hastily glued.

Stan watches your reaction nervously, but you can see the pride in his eyes as you flip through the pages. “I wanted you to know that you matter to me,” he says, his voice gruff but sincere. “More than anything...Mabel helped me put it together.”

He coughs a bit and adjusts his collar. It's clear that Mabel helped him put it together with puppy stickers and glitter glue put on many of the pages along with small drawings of you and Stan together that she clearly drew. (She thought it needed her artistic flare to really 'woo' you.)

You smile at him, and for a moment, you see his tough exterior slip away, revealing the loving man you knew was there underneath. It’s in that moment, surrounded by the warmth of the diner and the memories you’ve made, that you realize just how deeply he cares for you. (He's stupid in love with you)

A/N: I'll start on a longer fic-type writing when the poll finishes, but in the meantime, feel free to send asks if you want something specific!

[darlingdaisyfarm]

Stan Pines is the kind of man who can't just let you do anything without turning it into a compliment, like, every move you make, he's gotta say something. And it’s never normal. 

You could be bent over organising some random crap around the Mystery Shack and this man will make it sound like you’re posing for him. Because, yeah, you’re just trying to organize his disaster of a desk, sorting through all his crumpled receipts, ticket stubs, whatever the hell else he’s hoarded.

“Your doin’ god’s work, sugar,” and it’s not even subtle. You look over your shoulder, half expecting him to actually be paying attention to the pile of garbage you're dealing with, but no. He’s leaning against the counter, counting out cash from the register, but all you see is that smirk. The one that makes it very clear his mind ain’t on the paperwork.

“Sorting your trash is god’s work?” you quip back, rolling your eyes, but the way he’s watching you with that smirk of his, makes your cheeks flush a bit.

“You know what I mean,” Stan mutters and now he’s just full-on undressing you with his eyes, the cash in his hands forgotten. “ya ain’t gotta try so hard, baby, because ya could sit on your ass all day and I’d still think ya did somethin’ special.” and your face burns at that, but he sees it, of course, he does. Stan ain’t dumb, despite the act he puts on for tourists. He’s so much more clever than he looks, always has been. The moment he catches that excitement in your eyes, he’s grinning like he’s just won a damn lottery.

“You like that, huh? being told how good you are?”

You smirk back, trying to play it off, but your voice comes out a little breathier than you mean for it to. “all that for organizing receipts? maybe you should give me a raise.” 

Stan just laughs loudly. “yeah, sweetheart, you deserve the whole damn Shack.”

Or when, you’re just sitting at the counter, counting the cash from the register, going about your day and Stan? Well, Stan is “cleaning up,” which basically means he’s wiping the same spot for like five minutes straight while staring at you. You catch him, because he’s being too obvious with it. His eyes keep dipping to your lips every time you bite your pen and it’s distracting as hell.

“You’re too damn cute, y’know that?” he grumbles and it sounds like he’s mad about it, like you’ve done something wrong just by existing.

“You say that every day.” you shoot him a teasing smile, because yeah, this is the daily routine.

And Stan just sighs, smirking like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Yeah, and I’ll keep sayin’ it, sorry, baby, couldn’t shut up about ya if I tried.” 

Then there’s when you’re fixing up one of the old displays, just tightening bolts or whatever and Stan’s “supervising.” Except by “supervising,” I mean, he’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching you work with that wide grin on his face, satisfied and clearly enjoying the view.

“Goddamn, honey,” he mutters. “you makin’ this place look good just by bein’ in it. Hm, maybe I should start charging you for the view.” 

You glance over your shoulder, raising your eyebrow, but smirking, because you know exactly what game he’s playing.

“What? I’d pay whatever ya want, sweetheart. You’re worth every penny.” 

Or you’re just in the kitchen, cutting up vegetables for dinner. The radio’s on low, the sun setting through the windows. Stan’s sitting at the table, pretending to read the newspaper, but every once in a while you catch him glancing over the edge, just watching you move around the kitchen. It’s quiet until he breaks it.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, y’know that?” his voice is so soft, too sincere for Stanley Pines, but when you look over, he’s still got that damn smirk on his face.

You pause, knife in hand, and raise an eyebrow. “For chopping onions?”

He chuckles, leaning back in his chair, arms behind his head. “Nah, sugar, it’s just the way you’re movin’ around in there, i dunno how to explain it, but damn, you look good in my kitchen.”

You snort, shaking your head. “I’m literally cutting onions, Stan.”

“Yeah, still sexy. That’s all I’m sayin’.”

Then there’s the mornings. You’re in the bathroom, brushing your teeth, hair a mess, wearing one of Stan’s old shirts that hangs way too big on you and he's leaning in the doorway, watching you like it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever seen. You catch his reflection in the mirror, raising an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugs with this lazy grin, continuing to admire to you.

“Can’t help it, sweetie, you look cute when you’re all domestic.”

you’re just brushing your teeth, but somehow, this man makes it sound like you’re doing the sexiest damn thing in the world

[i-am-countess-olivia]

This isn't some novel thought, but for me Fitzier begins in ep2, when Silna's father is brought onto Erebus

(a long-ish, GIF-heavy scene breakdown follows)

I won't cover the violations of Silna's beliefs, feelings and bodily autonomy which happen in these moments - they are of course terrible and very important. Instead, I want to focus on how the scene kicks off a new dynamic between Francis and James, how it lays a foundation for their subsequent closeness and how it changes our view of who James might be as a person.

Let’s begin.

Sir John and James arrive in the sick bay to join Stanley and Goodsir. Stanley says: "nope, not touching this one". Goodsir asks for leave to save the shaman's life. Franklin, already looking deeply disturbed by what's happening, hesitantly agrees.

Francis arrives. The operating table divides him from Franklin, Stanley and James — he is literally not on their side. All three men glare up at him as one: How is this maudlin MF going to make this horrible situation worse for us?

But while the three of them just stand there, Francis puts himself in charge. With a bit of help from McDonald, he takes hold of a distraught Silna and tries to explain what is happening, who they are, that they're not trying to do harm. It is in this moment that James becomes the only one on the opposite side of the table to step forward (to help Francis control the situation or at least to do something). He looks compelled to action but cannot act.

Okay... so here we see that maybe this guy isn't just Franklin's poodle (we saw a bit of that earlier in the episode - more on that later).

Meanwhile Franklin, as soon as Francis takes control, BUGGERS OFF. Of course this can be justified by him already having given his orders and no longer needing to be involved, but we know that a) he sneaks off when the situation is clearly fraught and Francis is clearly better suited to handle it, knowing Inuktitut among other things and b) he actually ends up hiding out in his cabin, freaking out while listening to the howls of the dying man. This is too strange, too awful for him. Not to mention: oh god, I'm stuck in the ice, I've just lost a lieutenant, I keep losing men, what are they going to think of me?

While Sir John is off having a lil meltdown.... James' eyes are firmly on Francis.

We don't even see him acknowledge his captain's departure.

But why is James there? The obvious answer is: to report back to Sir John, to make sure things don't get weird and that Francis doesn't do anything stupid on THEIR ship. After all, let's remember the last scene before this one where James is focused on Francis:

Here he was describing Francis as if he's got him pegged: he's a disappointed man, Sir John, he was no one's first choice etc etc.

I know what he is. Do you now, James?

(interesting framing the above scene, btw - James standing, active, Sir John focused on his creature comfort, the pipe, and questioning himself. James speaking in firm tones to his commander: "I will not allow..." — James is literally being reframed as a leader.)

Anyway, back to where we were.

While Goodsir sets about trying to remove the shot, we get a little glimpse of James: he looks frozen, uneasy, swaying in to stare at the wound (Oh Tobias, the actor that you are). Can we say flashbacks to the Chinese sniper? This must be seriously triggering for him. Something is shifting.

(Another aside: James is standing next to Stanley, the man who dug out the shot when he was hit by the sniper. That same man is now refusing to help. Hm.)

Next, Goodsir says: I can't save this man. Here something important happens: James and Francis share a look.

This is Francis, for the first time, acknowledging not just James still being in the bay at all — but that the two of them are in this moment together! Francis' eyes saying to James: I'm about to tell this woman her father is going to die and James acknowledging in return how awful that is. He presses his mouth, drops his eyes.

The little flash of connection doesn't last. When Silna starts to plead with her dying father, James once again reaches out across the table to Francis: what is she saying? But it's maybe too pushy, too "I need to be told what's going on" so Francis ignores him and it's McDonald who answers.

Next, Silna launches herself at her dying father. Here, once again, James tries to take an active role, to "help" by following Francis' cues on what to do.

James has been watching, learning, asking questions and now looks desperate to be part of the solution to this awful situation: to be in this with Francis. Look how similar their gestures are, how James looks to Francis for direction.

---

STOP - DOOM HAMMER TIME

The VERY first scene in which Francis and James become partners, take action together to keep something from happening, they effectively set in motion one of the biggest causes of their doom: Silna's father doesn't die as he should, Tuunbaq is not bound to anyone. Oh man. That's a whole other essay.

---

(Back to the scene....)

While they're wrestling with Silna, James, clearly emotional and upset by what is taking place, reaches out again, perhaps this time more sincerely: Look at me, Francis, I'm trying to help, at least tell me what's happening? This time Francis acknowledges him — actually SPEAKS to him for the first time.

In response, James looks particularly vulnerable and distraught.

Silna's father dies. We see how different James' reaction is to Francis'. Poor James. Maybe he wants a little bit more from Francis in that moment, one more shared look. Francis doesn't give it to him.

Aaaaaand here we are, it's almost over. Franklin swans in, the really bad, bloody stuff having already been dealt with. He re-asserts his command by giving an order to James to escort Silna off the ship. James… doesn't exactly spring into action. In fact, he doesn't even acknowledge the order verbally, unlike Stanley. What's going on in his head? What does he think about Francis in that moment?

Anyway, let's wrap up.

So much of this scene is about the shift in James’ perception of Francis. He suddenly sees a man who is hands-on, who can take charge, who doesn't walk away from a terrible and unusual situation, even when it's clear there's no good outcome. And of course he knows Sir John skipped off at first opportunity.

Francis, meanwhile, only briefly appears to acknowledge James —but only as far as we can see. Francis of course knows that James was there, that he stayed behind, that he tried to help, that he tried to understand.

This knowledge and this changed dynamic become apparent immediately, in the very next scene.

LOOK HOW THEY ARE FRAMED!!!

Sir John is already receding into the background. James and Francis sit — still opposite sides of a table but in essentially the same pose. They are partners, mirrors, leaning into each other. The few glances here, small as they are, are NOT at Sir John, but between James and Francis.

Anyway, here you go, that's me done. I fucking love this show.