#and there's the mechanics of the situation

[sleep-king-ao3]

Okay, real answer

First of all, that's not what proship means. Proship is the left wing belief that you can like whatever fiction you like and that it doesn't mean anything about what you support irl, it also means being against censorship and against harassment, and being sex-positive and pro-kink.

Proship isn't a kind of ship, proshippers don't all like those themes, some proshippers are more vanilla and wholesome than antis, they just follow fandom etiquette such as "ship and let ship" and just don't harass people for liking something they don't.

What you're describing are darkshippers.

Obviously, as everyone explained already and as you definitely already know and just pretend not to, liking those subjects in FICTION doesn't mean you support them or want to do it irl. For exemple, I am aroace, I'm not attracted to anyone irl and I don't want to have sex, and yet I am attracted to fictional characters and like fictional porn: because reality and fiction are completely separate.

Why would someone like fiction about rape/pedophilia/incest? Depends on the person. A lot of darkshippers are survivors of this type of abuse and use shipping as art therapy, a healthy coping mechanism where you explore your trauma in a safe environment (fiction) where you are actually in control. Some people just like the taboo. Loli/shotacons are often attracted to exaggerated cuteness, not age, etc.

If I take myself as an exemple again, I like fiction about those theme because I love whump and hurt/comfort. They're not things I find "hot" or attractive at all (tho I don't harass those who do in fiction), but I like really angsty stories about characters having terrible trauma and then slowly healing, and I tend to give them sexual trauma. It's cathartic for me as I am terrified of SA.

Rape and incest fantasies are VERY common especially amongst women, it comes from wanting to loose control during a sexual situation... While obviously not wanting to actually get raped, that's why ships and CNC exist, both being playing pretend. Age gap fantasies are probably an extension of that. As for incest, it's just for the taboo of it.

Here's a very interesting thread on the subject, with academic sources:

Anyway here's my hobbies!

I write fanfiction, I draw, I cross stitch, I play Minecraft, the Sims, and Deltarune, I collect and translate Osomatsu san doujinshis (english to french), I collect bones and bugs, I play with my cat, I record shitpost with my roommate, I edit AMVs, I sew t-shirt designs, I make dragon puppets, I thrift, I play harpsichord, I make music on my computer, I collect enamel pins, I roleplay A LOT (both fandom roleplay and DnD, no ai shit), I make scrapbooks...

real question,

why do proshippers love rape so much? do you guys want to rape someone irl?

why do you guys love pedophilia/grooming so much? have you ever had thoughts about doing those actions or irl minors?

why do you guys love incest so much? is this just a way for you to vent your frustration cause your sibling(s) /step sibling(s) rejected you for your literal illegal behavior?

why do you guys love all these crimes so much? why do you love it when someone calls sexual and predatory abuse attractive as if it hasn't traumatized billions of people word wide?

this is like a genuine question I'm being deadass

EDIT REAL QUICK LMAO

for the proshippers whining and bitching in my comments abt me getting a hobby just letting you know that I,

play guitar, play volleyball, I read books, write OC lore and my indie show lore (cause I wanna make showns n shit), I thrift, I collect physical media like dvds, vhs, ect, I regularly go to flea/farmers market, I draw regularly, I collect plushies, I make pins and sell them to kids at my school, and as of recently I've been thinking abt making loom bracelets and kandi again!

so how about you hoes find a better comeback and get some hobbies of ur own? thanks 😊🖕

[gallusrostromegalus]

I'd love to hear about Aunty Chihiro, and, by extension, what exactly was going on with Orihime's parents

Chihiro Inoue is the MUCH younger sister of Orihime's father. In fact, Chihiro was only about four years older than Sora, and the two of them were close growing up- more like siblings than cousins, because Sora was left with his grandparents so often by his neglectful parents.

The problem with Sora and Orihime's parents was that they were... Not up to the herculean task of parenting and didn't know how to cope.

They weren't stupid- they were actually both quite bright and did well in school, but both of them had little to no impulse control, emotionally volatile were intensely self-centered (mostly as a means to cope with the poor organizational skills and emotional disregulation). None of those are sins, but they did make for two high school sweethearts who married and had a baby immediately and the stress of an infant overwhelmed them and they never recovered, hopping from one self-destructive coping mechanism to another until at age 17, Sora Inoue ran away from home with his two-year old sister, Orihime.

Chihiro turned out to be instrumental to their survival- She was taking a gap year before college and when her baby cousin called her at 1 AM in tears because he didn't know how to take care of her even babier cousin and they were sleeping under an overpass-

Chihiro Inoue, Force Of Nature, was downtown and herding them into the car within the hour.

They stayed in her apartment for the first year while Chihiro got Sora his Emancipated Minor status and a few months later, convinced her brother and his wife to give up custody of their daughter to their son, argued with the magistrate to get it done, set Sora up with an office job and got Orihime enrolled in Preschool.

She and Sora stayed close, but while she was finishing her degree in agricultural sciences, she met a charming young man and shortly after graduating, married him and moved up to his family dairy farm in Hokkaido.

She kept in close contact with her Baby Cousins, with Orihime often going up to Hokkaido during summer breaks to get out of the city heat and play with her aunt and her growing swarm of children.

When Sora died as a result of the car accident ten years later, Chihiro would have taken Orihime in in a heartbeat but - She had five children of her own, And - The Very Charming Man she'd married had made some exceptionally shitty decisions re: Money, fidelity and his general treatment of Chihiro, So - She was in the process of divorcing him and - Forming a sort of feminist Commune Of Women Wronged By That Guy Specifically with the four women he cheated on her with and their children to run - The Dairy Farm in Hokkaido, which The Formerly Charming Man's parents had left to HER rather than their shithead son.

So Chihiro was in no position to take on a grieving 12-year old.

Chihiro holds IMMENSE respect for the Kurosaki family, who did their damndest to save Sora and immediately took Orihime in and coordinated all the paperwork between Orihime, the local relevant governing bodies and Chihiro. Isshin never asked for any kind of compensation and was bewildered when Chihiro offered it to him because "that's just what you do in this kind of situation?"

She's also very fond of Ichigo, who has always been a perfect gentleman, if a bit moody but he's a teenager, and compared to how insane Chihiro was as a teenager, he's a saint.

Psychic Bullshit runs in the Inoue family too, so Chihiro almost fails to notice anything odd about Kon, the cat who talks, and routinely forgets that most people don't see ghosts, so she doesn't get why Ichigo is sou grouchy about-oh, right. Sorry Kiddo.

Eventually, it was simplest to get Orihime her own place- Rent in karakura is remarkably cheap for urban Japan, mostly because of all the unexplained deaths the city has, and Chihiro didn't want to uproot her niece from all her friends and the very good schools she'd gotten into.

So the agreement was that Chihiro would pay Orihime's rent and living expenses "Provided you keep your grades up, because you're smart as hell and if your grades tank that means you're in serious trouble and need my help so I'll come get you right away baby"

Orihime is in close contact with her aunt and cousins- they talk on the phone at least once a week and Orihime often goes to see them during summer and winter breaks.

More Importantly, Auntie Chihiro comes down every September 3rd to Celebrate Orihime's birthday with her, and every October 3rd, Orihime takes the bullet train up to Hokkaido to celebrate Chihiro's Birthday.

...Orihime seems a bit distant and distracted during her Birthday, and awfully sparse with the details about the "Summer Trip" She and her friends from school went on. It seems like the trip ended up being kind of a downer because someone in management at the camp or whatever decided to quit very dramatically right at the end? And Ichigo got pretty badly hurt?? but Orihime insists that everything is fine and she's looking forward to seeing all her cousins and the cows next month!

So it's VERY SUSPICIOUS when Orihime fails to turn up at the station a month later, and calling around to all of Orihime's friends leads to various non-answers- Chad and Tatsuki just say they didn't see her at school today, Uryuu hangs up on her in what sounds like panic, and she only gets the Kurosaki household's voicemail.

So Chihiro Inoue, Force Of Nature, takes the train to Karakura.

Her first stop is the Kurosaki household where she discovers that Ichigo and more worrisomely, Kon have also vanished off to Parts Unknown, and she turns her wrathful gaze upon Isshin Kurosaki.

He folds like a deck chair.

Turns out HE's not sure what the hell is going on either, just that Ichigo made friends with some girl called Rukia earlier this summer and she's involved in the organization that is responsible for dealing with all the ghost-monsters and Ichigo may have joined it too also the entire gang of kids went to the land of the dead maybe Ichigo doesn't tell him anything these days, you need to ask Kisuke, he's the one that knows what the hell is going on-

Kisuke Urahara has all of 0.03 seconds warning before Chihiro Inoue literally kicks the door of Urahara Shoten in and demands to know where her niece is.

This is deeply surreal for Kisuke for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Chihiro Inoue looks EXACTLY like Orihime, but about 20 years in the future and terrifyingly SHREDDED. The Woman is wearing a MEGA MILK shirt without a hint of Irony and the only thing Kisuke can look at are her biceps as she lifts him up by the collar and indicates that he'd better start giving her some answers or she is gonna break that stupid cane off in his ass-

Kisuke Urahara, Noted Coward, directs her to the Basement.

Down there, she discovers Ichigo is undergoing some sort of horrific John Carpenter's The Thing-esque transformation under the supervision of a gang of badly dressed lunatics being lead by a man with the stupidest haircut she's seen in her life.

Shinji Hirako is reminded of the Utterly Terrifying Kirio Hikifune, and immediately levels with her.

Chihiro is Very Disappointed that Orihime told her none of this, but really, the girl has never REALLY been in trouble before, of course she panicked. But where IS she?

Ichigo and his assorted inner spirits are having a great deal of trouble deciding who is horse and who is king but the sudden Booming Demand for Orihime's exact location in a voice meant to put the Fear Of God Into Bulls and other livestock makes Ichigo's imaginary friends all dive for cover, sorting out who the horses are rather nicely.

I have not actually figured out HOW to end this scene yet, but it ends with Chihiro agreeing to stay in Karakura and keep watch over Ichigo's body and family since Kon seems to have been abducted along with Orihime. ---

There is a MUCH later scene in which Chad's Uncle Jaime De La Rosa, who came up to surprise Chad because he got invited to a veterinary conference in Karakura at the last minute, is wandering around Karakura wondering WHY THE HELL everyone is asleep when he spies a horrible pale figure with a terrible twisted smile that can only be The Devil Himself, and some fucking gringo who won't shut up with him.

But before he can distract The Devil Away from Chad's friend with La Chancla, The Devil is Geta'd with enough force to actually throw him off balance, and a beautiful woman with the proportions and unbridled fury of a Valkyrie sprints up and starts battering The Devil with her other shoe whilst bellowing the most vile invective Jaime's Good Catholic Ears have ever heard.

Naturally, he immediately falls in love.

Shortly therafter, and exhausted and panicked Chihiro Inoue, in tears because she can't get the crowd of alarmingly powerful ghosts to let her see her niece, finds them being parted like the red sea by the wrath of a very small man directing them with a fury and speed not normally seen outside of livestock auctions or automatic weapons in both Japanese and Spanish, getting the chaotic mess sorted into a triage, the start of peace negotiations, and Orihime Delivered to her arms in under ten minutes.

Naturally, she immediately falls in love.

[1-800-imagines]

situationship |jack abbot|

content warnings: age gap, jack calls reader kiddo, mostly platonic

“what the hell even IS a situationship?” dr. abbot said, looking across the trauma bed from you. the two of you were working up an unconscious patient and he had decided now would be the perfect time to ask about a term he’d heard you use when talking to dana.

you fake gasped, “wow, dr. abbot, spying on my private conversations with dana?”

abbot shrugged, “what can i say? especially when you’re obviously upset about something.” your face fell, your jokes as a coping mechanism only worked so far but he had clocked you. it was like him bringing it back up had launched you into what had happened right before your shift. abbot noticed immediately how your demeanor shifted and frowned, but opted not to say anything else.

you continued to work in silence, only calling out what was medically necessary and once you had the patient started on the treatment, you turned on your heel to leave for the break room. somewhere. you just wanted quiet.

once you were slightly alone, you sunk to the floor, the reality of everything hitting you again, tears spilled down your face as much as you tried to stop them. you hated bringing in outside feelings to work but it wasn’t your fault that you got dumped right before your shift.

the door opened and you sat, with your head buried in your hands, you didn’t care who it was. but what you didn’t expect was a body to slide down next to you and sit. “did i upset you that much, kiddo?”

you looked up from your hands and frowned, “no, it wasn’t you.” you said softly.

jack reached over and rubbed your back a little. you had such a huge crush on the man that in normal situations your heart would be doing backflips. “i wouldn’t have asked if i had known it would have made you this upset.” he said, rubbing little circles.

you nodded, “i know.”

“so, who do i have to kill?”

this made you smile a little and you leaned into him. and it was there that you explained the intricacies of what a situationship was and how you had been ‘single’ but not really and how the guy had ended it abruptly and blocked you. “and it happened 20 minutes before i came in. dana saw me upset and asked.” he nodded as you spoke, taking in every word, “but at least she knew what a situationship is. unlike you, old man.” you said with a small smile.

“there she is!” jack smiled, he nudged you, “but nah, guy sounds like a loser. you deserve better than that. you’re a great girl.”

you sighed and rested your head back on his shoulder. “he didn’t seem to think so.” you frowned.

“why would you want to be with a guy that can’t make you his girlfriend? he’d be so lucky to have you.” he shook his head, “don’t sweat it. you’ll find someone amazing.”

you honestly hoped that someone amazing was sitting on the floor right next to you, but for now, your friendship was enough for the two of you.

[colibrie]

It is criminal that this show was cut short because there is so much to explore in the relationship between Splinter and his sons. Particularly, it's one thing for a neglectful parent to recognize their faults and verbally commit to doing better, but an entirely separate thing to put doing better into practice.

In the situation with Leo and Raph, Splinter had an awakening both in regards to how much pressure leadership placed on his eldest, and how capable and clever Leo truly is under that devil-may-care jester persona. He sees what they could become, the net positive in both their development that would come as a payoff from switching the leadership role. Maturity for Leo, breathing space/self discovery for Raphael.

The problem is that Splinter is lacking in the guidance department. He was never given guidance beyond a list of dictations and duties that he rebelled against, and the life he lived after rebelling was either incredibly shallow and self-centered or deeply traumatic. And we see the results of that lack play out in the movie.

He throws leadership onto Leo, but we never see Splinter step up to teach him how to be an effective leader. How to communicate with his team, and how to think through consequences. We never see him working to lift Leo's confidence, build Leo's problem-solving skills, or even just ask Leo what he thinks/feels/wants. He's chucked his baby blue into the deep end before teaching him to swim and then gets frustrated that he's flailing and failing to succeed.

On Raphs end, all of the above-mentioned lack of support ends up once again falling on him. And lord help him, Raph tries to step up as he always does. But in trying to step up into the mentor role, Raph unknowingly has to step out of his role as a brother. There's no space for support when he's constantly nagging Leo to communicate, no time for vulnerability or trust to form when every conversation becomes a long lecture of everything Leo is doing wrong. There's no time for Raph to step back and reflect on his own emotions or thoughts, to consider what he needs, because he is constantly terrified for his little brother's safety.

And Splinter doesn't know how to step in and proactively help. In this scene, he tells them "You are a team... you are brothers" as though that alone should be sufficient to solve all their problems. He's frustrated by them and disapproves that their bickering has devolved to the point that they are coming to blows with each other.

But when the moment comes for him to step up and lead by example, he backs out. Perhaps because he feels inadequate to provide, he falls back on an old coping mechanism (the TV) and leaves two of his sons hurting and his other two sons to clean up the messy aftermath. And you can see the effect it has on all four of them. The defeated slump of Leo's shoulders, Raph's guilty expression, Donnie's quiet resignation, and Mikey's palpable disappointment.

Splinters role gets shuffled to the background once Casey Jr arrives and the threat of the Krang becomes the focus, but if they ever do bring the show back, I hope they focus on the repercussions of it and show him not only recognizing his failure but also him putting in the work to learn and actively be better for his sons.

thinking about this scene

"You are a team."

splinter seeing leo as the leader, and he should be solving problems on the team. He needs to be more mature.

" You are brothers."

Raph is the older brother and needs to deal with his siblings. He's the oldest and should be able to deal with arguments.

....him telling them both to be more responsible while ignoring them arguing, and going back to watch TV....

Their reactions make me explodeee

[defire]

I love your prompts so much, they are always amazing!!

Can you please do one about Whumpee wearing a collar/better yet has some implant or magical runes or whatever else that zaps them with electricity if they don't obey an order/act a certain way (always polite, following rules, not going far from people that own them etc). They've spent years living like this and got good at avoiding shocks (except the situation where the orders are contradictory and they can't escape getting hurt) or maybe they never knew any other life, and when they're finally free they can't get rid of the shock mechanism. They are with Caretaker, but are forced to follow their orders now even though neither of them want this. And so they have to learn to navigate around the words, carefully choosing words and actions to trick the mechanism into allowing Whumpee some freedom and some comfort.

I love you friend that's awesome!

Okay yes let's see, also I have done this in depth in Dance of Death you just have to skip to the "slave" chapters!

Collar/magical runes

All owner has to do is make a claw hand and squeeze. Suddenly victim is on the ground writhing and screaming as black lash marks pattern their way up from a branded rune

Victim flinches and grabs the brand after speaking out of turn

Silver-studded collars with little folds, for vampire whumpees. When pulled these studs press in and sizzle against their skin. Vampires are taught very quickly to "heel."

Burns that never heal because they're magical. Each time victim is burned, it's on a spot that is just as damaged, if not more, than it was last time it was burned.

Using the name of an animal on victim to reinforce that they're not human. "Dog. No speak."

Caretaker drops something and yells "son of a bitch!" Only to see survivor flinch at the word "bitch"

Caretaker afraid to touch the burn marks under the collar. When they finally try to tug it to unlatch it, survivor yelps in pain and doesn't even dare grab at the place, cringing and reflexively awaiting their punishment

Survivor having a drop reflex that was trained into their body from the pain. Now it's directly linked to the gesture and when caretaker does it, it happens again

[argumate]

I feel like fly by wire isn't just a software thing though, there's a hardware advantage -- especially on a larger plane -- to replacing control cables with signal wires that trigger remote actuators, and once you've made that sensible design choice of course you face questions of how to map pilot inputs to control surface outputs.

but I think some of the approaches taken to that have revealed the problem of poor software design, most notably with multiple disjoint modes that behave differently and can change unexpectedly, leaving pilots unaware of the true state of the plane and in a situation where they can crash a perfectly good aircraft over a misunderstanding of what certain inputs will do.

(there's the side topic of fighter jets designed to be unstable by default that require constant computer intervention, but airliners are generally designed to fly in a straight line if left unattended).

I think software makes it easier to construct contraptions that would obviously be rejected out of hand due to their complexity if they were mechanical, but the invisible nature of software hides the messiness and potential problems (speaking as a software engineer of course, and all too painfully aware of the tradeoffs at play).

"we will fix bad hardware design by compensating for it in software" is a problem because we're still struggling to design good software even with perfect hardware! and while airliners improved a lot since the early experiments with more advanced software controls in the '80s and '90s, the Air France crash in 2009 showed that it was still possible for the common understanding between hardware, software, and human pilot to break down, with tragic results, and the Boeing 737MAX crashes ten years later were inexcusable.

relentless effort, stringent regulation, decades of work, and hundreds of deaths have brought us to the current level of airline safety, but I think that the software design still has a long way to go, and hardware needs to be as simple and failsafe as possible because every patch needed on the software side only compounds an already challenging problem.

"Boeing’s solution to its hardware problem was software." *ominous sting*

“and then the programmers made everything work better” just isn’t something you ever hear in an engineering story.

[doodler16]

I'm actually wondering if Husk's disappointment in Angel possibly ruining his progress would've been more understandable if they changed the dialogue a little in ep 5.

Like, instead Vaggie saying "And we've almost been able to find all of Angel Dust's drug stashes... Almost." It could've been "And last week, Angel Dust even brought us his remaining drug stashes we hadn't found yet." and then Charlie would gush "He decided to stop using drugs three months ago, and I'm so proud of him!" <- this is just an example, it's clumsy I know. Best solution could've been extra ep between 4 and 5. Or maybe alongside Vaggie's words, show Angel receiving his salary from Valentino and it's actually just bunch of drugs that he then dumps in the trash while complaining.

Overall I can actually see that in the following months after ep 4, Angel Dust decides not to do drugs for his own sake. They were tied to his bad coping mechanism. And Husk, while being accepting to "coke up dick sucking ho" also supporting Angel's decision to try stay sober (except booze, booze seems to be fine) and reminding him about it in his rough/kind of judgemental way. Or then it's just that characters are acting how fast-paced plot demands them to act for drama.

Yeah, it would’ve been a lot more better if Vivziepop and the writers tweaked the dialogue. Along with having an extra episode or two regarding said situation so it doesn’t seem janky. For an extra episode regarding Angel Dust and his drugs, they could easily cut one of the episodes from season 1.

[ludolka]

Scars always ready to help defuse a situation if he feels Mumbo is going to slip up. He's well versed in grounding techniques specifically, and honestly his favourite is that one where you say something utterly outrageous and it snaps the person back bc what the hell did you just say?!

So, maybe it's a particularly high stress situation, and he can just tell Mumbo is getting frustrated and worked up, and a worked up Mumbo tends to make him panic and act before he thinks, or even sort of freeze up. So Scar grabs his shoulder, looks in his face very seriously and goes "Mumbo. This is so important. Did you know that butterflies taste thru their feet?" And Mumbo like. Blinks. And his brain resets and he goes "No.. I don't think I did." And he's able to get back on track. Unfortunately scar will spend the next few minutes rambling. Bc there's something so special to me about how scar just loves telling people about the things he knows, and funnily enough that's a really good anxiety coping mechanism.

Yes, I love that so much !! That’s so in character for him, I can vividly imagine him doing this :’0

I love Scar infodumping about random fun facts that a regular everyday person wouldn’t know about. And he knows about these specific little things in so much detail. But I could also imagine him making up some outrageous fact, but talking and explaining it with so much confidence and in such great detail that whoever he’s talking with will believe him and take his word for it

Oh I love him

Also about this, I can see this technique not 100% working with everyone. With Mumbo, he confuses him to the point of calming down and thus diffusing the situation entirely. But with Grian, it just leads to Grian redirect his frustration and start arguing with Scar instead of the person he was originally arguing with in a high stress situation

And I can also see Mumbo be so interested in every little fun fact Scar has, that man never fails to surprise and fascinate him. Plus Mumbo loves knowing about weird little things that he wouldn’t have thought about researching/looking up otherwise

[silver-soul00]

It is time again to respond yeaaah....sigh

Let's start:

Wednesday does not become a “permanent presence” at Weathervane.

Wednesday goes there on very few occasions and always with a specific purpose: to investigate or get logistical help (as in the case of the escape from Nevermore).

There is no concrete hint, either in the plot or in the dialogue, that suggests frequent “off-screen” encounters.

The fact that Tyler buys her a drink is not evidence of romantic hookups, but is part of an attempt on his part to appear to be the reliable “good guy,” an intentional narrative mechanism that serves to build trust in the viewer before his true role is revealed.

In addition, it is important to understand that the scenes between them are intentionally coded as romantic at first.

But this does not mean that the series wants to build a “healthy” love story:

it is a classic narrative technique of romantic red herring-it creates the illusion of a possible love interest only to subvert it dramatically.

Tyler's betrayal is much more shocking precisely because it seemed sweet. Had he been suspicious from the start, the revelation of his Hyde identity would have had much less impact.

On the subject of gaslighting, one must be precise.

Gaslighting is not just “telling huge lies”-it is distorting the other person's perception of reality in a subtle, continuous way to confuse, manipulate, and control.

When Tyler tells Wednesday things like “I thought you liked me” while he knows full well that he is hiding the truth from her-and that he is involved in brutal murders-he is engaging in a severe form of gaslighting.

He builds a false narrative of complicity, intimacy and trust to weaken Wednesday's ability to suspect him.

This is not “romance,” it is heavy emotional manipulation.

And those who downplay this not only miss the narrative point, but also underestimate how much real damage gaslighting can do.

In real life, victims of gaslighting often:

•Begin to doubt their memory, perception and mental clarity;

•Lose confidence in themselves;

•Become easier to isolate and control;

•Take a long time to recognize the manipulation they have suffered, often feeling guilty about natural emotions.

To say that “Wednesday would have found it pleasant” to be gaslighted by Tyler, as the post claims, is deeply disrespectful both to the character and to the real victims of psychological abuse.

Wednesday Addams is not a weak or clueless girl, but she is human: she can be fooled by those who play allies well.

(Once again a stereotype is carried forward, even a rather sad one, of the “gothic” girl who has no feelings, thus seeing Wednesday as a kind of two-dimensional character or one-dimensional character.)

And the fact that, once she discovers the betrayal, she completely cuts him out of her life without any hesitation shows her strength of character-not that she “liked” being treated that way.

Regarding the “if Wednesday really was using Tyler, he was entitled to the truth” speech:

• Tyler is not entitled to anything from her, since he was the one who lied first and in an infinitely more serious way.

• Their relationship was not defined: they were not engaged, nor had Wednesday promised anything.

To ask for “honesty” when you yourself are plotting behind the other's back is the height of hypocrisy as far as I am concerned.

Finally, it should be reiterated that Wednesday is never really in love with Tyler.

There is perhaps an initial liking, a curiosity, but never emotional abandonment or blind trust.

The “kiss” they exchange is not the crowning of a love: it is a narrative test.

Soon after, Wednesday senses that something is wrong-her instincts guide her to the truth.

If Tyler had been really important to her on a sentimental level, her reaction to the betrayal would have been laden with anguish or inner conflict.

Instead, there is no hesitation: there is anger, a sense of justice, clarity. Wednesday immediately takes the situation back into her own hands.

So...?

There is no evidence that Wednesday and Tyler had an intense off-screen relationship.

The “romantic” scenes were a narrative trap for the audience, not the basis of a real ship.

Tyler was gaslighting Wednesday, and downplaying this fact is irresponsible and dangerous.

Wednesday never acted like a passive victim, nor did she find pleasure in being betrayed.

To defend W*yler ship by ignoring these elements is to disrespect neither the writing of the series nor the important themes it touches on (such as emotional manipulation).

Downplaying psychological abuse to defend a ship is deeply wrong.

But weren't you the ones who told us that we had to "feel sorry" for Tyler for what happened to him?

Wednesday is also a victim and stop treating her like a walking stereotype.

Either we analyze both or we just cherry pick

An additional critical element in the analysis of the relationship between Wednesday and Tyler concerns the phenomenon of victim blaming.

Seeing how the author of the post has reasoned, I should explain better what VB is to be sure

Victim blaming occurs when, consciously or unconsciously, the victim of abuse or manipulation is attributed some of the responsibility for the incident, reversing the correct attribution of blame. This is a well-documented dynamic in psychological and social contexts, with profoundly damaging effects on the public perception of victims and their own ability to process the trauma they have suffered.

In the case of Wednesday, part of the fandom and some commentators tend to interpret the story of Wednesday and Tyler in a distorted way, suggesting that Wednesday could not have been manipulated, or even that she would have found pleasure in the dynamic established.

This reading is based on a number of erroneous assumptions:

• That an individual's character strength, intelligence, or cynicism makes him or her invulnerable to emotional manipulation;

•That the display of trust or openness toward another is in itself a form of culpability.

In fact, as numerous studies in the field of psychology have shown, anyone can be a victim of gaslighting or other forms of emotional abuse, regardless of one's mental strength or analytical skills.

Manipulation creeps right into trust, hope for authenticity, and is often calibrated to the individual's emotional weaknesses. In this sense, Wednesday's behavior-which, while maintaining her natural distrust, allows Tyler an edge of trust-does not constitute a mistake or a fault, but an expression of her growth and her willingness to make connections.

The betrayal she suffered does not make her any less strong; on the contrary, her immediate and sharp reaction, once she realizes the truth, testifies to her resilience.

Moreover, from a methodological point of view, it is crucial to stress the importance of analytical consistency.

While one is rightly inclined to recognize in Tyler a potential victim-for example, of his own traumas, her mother, or the pressure of external forces-it is likewise necessary, for the sake of intellectual fairness, to acknowledge that Wednesday, too, was a victim of deception and affective manipulation.

Choosing to analyze Tyler's character with empathy, while denying any form of vulnerability to Wednesday, constitutes a clear example of analytical cherry picking: only data functional to a predetermined thesis are selected, ignoring those that contradict it.

This lack of rigor damages not only the critical analysis of the series, but also the understanding of the deeper themes it addresses: trust, betrayal, personal growth, and the ability to resist manipulation.

To minimize Wednesday's experience is not only to misunderstand the complexity of her character, but also to perpetuate a toxic culture in which victims are seen as guilty of their own traumas, based on stereotypes or unrealistic expectations.

To conclude all of this talk, to fully respect the narrative and maintain an honest and respectful analysis in the context of this post, it is necessary to acknowledge that Wednesday Addams, even in her strength, has also been emotionally abused and deserves the same consideration and dignity that is accorded to other characters.

To deny this is not only unfair: it is methodologically incorrect.

Just as it is fair to consider Tyler ALSO a victim, Wednesday is also to be considered a victim of deception.

Eh yes, just because I don't like the character and the ship doesn't mean I don't recognize the abuse that guy had.

In conclusion and REPEAT IT AGAIN

Tyler deceived Wednesday, he PRETENDED that the girl recognized "signs" and got angry when she did not recognize them.

This is not healthy and here Wednesday is a victim.

Thank you and goodbye.

SEE YOU SPACE

[luuckywarlockk]

I honestly think if the role queue had been a little more flexible it could have been perfect. The original concept of overwatch from a mechanical, team dynamic perspective leaned into switching heros and comps as a form of counter and I think the strict 2/2/2 idea stifled that a bit but it was really needed to allow for working comps in situation that didn't require the whole team to be in a coordinated party. I think a good compromise would have been letting people queue and be placed as multiple roles (like having someone be tank/support so they can swap between those characters as needed). I do agree that the role queue was needed.

one bad overwatch take i see almost as often as "blizzard ruined it by balancing around esports" (god i wish they'd balanced around esports!) is that the game was better before rolequeue, an opinion i think can only be held if you're wearing very thick rose tinted nostalgia goggles. before rolequeue your team would invariably consist of

widowmaker

hanzo

genji

roadhog (dps who switched to roadhog after hanzo spent the first half of the match spamming WE NEED TANK in chat)

torbjorn (reluctantly started as mercy, got tilted)

you (getting spawncamped while all the above call each other slurs in team chat regardless of what you play)

not that rolequeue was a perfect solution but it definitely cut the ways to lose the game in the character select screen in half

[podcastenthusiast]

Having the Martin heritage and Radzig heritage perks in KCD2 be mutually exclusive is diabolical. You trying to tell me Henry has to choose who he takes after? That he isn't influenced equally by his blood and his upbringing? That he has to decide which of his fathers to honor more through his actions?? Does he focus on the past or surviving the present? Is he the noble bastard or the blacksmith's boy?

And these deacriptions!

"Your father Martin raised you to be a modest, honest, straightforward, hard worker and to love your craft. Because elders should inspire the young, he lived that way himself. His time has come and gone, but you carry on his legacy."

"Sir Radzig is a complicated person. In pursuit of his often noble goals, he does not hesitate to resort to deception and subterfuge if it helps the situation, and there is much you can, or perhaps must, learn from him."

Why not both? And why is the Radzig description almost sinister and not even mention he's Henry's dad?? What a fucking simple but amazing combination of mechanics and narrative. Henry feels torn, like he must make a choice, even though that isn't necessarily true. He's so loved by all of his parents, but he doesn't believe he can make one proud without turning his back on another. I'm crying.

[lura-valentine]

Midas, the golden death

Daughter of Shigaraki Tomura

Name: Shigaraki Haruki (死柄木 陽煌)

Anime/Manga: My Hero Academia

Role: OC

Codename: Midas, The golden death

Quirk: Gilding

Age: 15

Size: 1.64m

Occupation: Villain

Quirk description

Just as Tomura's touch disintegrates everything and turns it to dust, Haruki's touch transforms everything into pure gold. No matter what material she touches, even people and living beings turn into gold.

Personality

At first glance, Haruki appears to be a quiet, shy, and reserved person. In new situations, she first quietly observes her surroundings before opening up. The upbringing by her strict and impulsive father taught her to be cautious and controlled – their reserve is not natural shyness, but an unconscious protective shield.

However, once Haruki has familiarized herself with a situation or senses she can take control, she reveals her true nature: She is charming, but in a dangerous way. Haruki is a master at manipulating others through targeted gestures and words. She uses the so-called Midas Effect: Through small, seemingly harmless touches, she makes others more open and trusting – without them being aware of the danger. She skillfully combines this tactical friendliness with her deadly Quirk.

Despite her dangerous abilities, Haruki harbors deep self-doubt. Setbacks, changes of plan, or personal failures unsettle her deeply and sometimes throw her off balance. Criticism hits her harder than it appears on the outside, as she learned from an early age to earn recognition through achievement.

Haruki is rarely open-hearted with others – she fears true friendships or deep connections because her deadly Quirk makes closeness risky. This often makes her feel isolated, even when she's surrounded by people. Her greatest inner conflict lies between the desire to be loved and the fear that her gift will irreparably destroy everything precious.

Her outward gentleness and elegance make her unpredictable. Behind an innocent smile lies a dangerous tactician, ready to bring down her opponents with charm, cunning, and a single lethal touch.

OC Lore

Haruki Shigaraki is the daughter of Tomura Shigaraki, the leader of the League of Villains, and of a former supporter of the League. Her mother possessed a rare but interesting Quirk: Gold Dust.

This caused their severed limbs to be transformed into valuable gold dust – a mechanism similar to the shedding of body parts in reptiles. However, she had to ingest metals to regenerate her limbs.

Shigaraki, pragmatic as he is, saw this ability as a potential tool to acquire resources for the League. He also noticed that his own Quirk didn't immediately pose a threat to her as long as he only touched her arms or legs – a detail that facilitated a fragile relationship between them.

Although their relationship was complicated and not without mistrust, Haruki was born from this union – a child who initially made Tomura insecure, but soon became the center of his world.

Haruki was born into the League of Villains – surrounded by misfits, rebels, and criminals. The League members became a strange but real family to her.

Dabi, Spinner, Toga, and the others looked after her, each in their own chaotic way. Haruki never grew up isolated – rather, she was accepted and protected by the League, even though her upbringing was anything but "normal."

Tomura tried as best he could to be a good father. But shaped by his own father's abuse and All-For-One's manipulative upbringing, he found it difficult to show affection in a healthy way.

Strictness, harshness, and unrealistic expectations often dictated his actions, even though he truly loved Haruki and desperately wished not to see her end up like his old self.

At the age of five, Haruki's own Quirk, Gilding, awoke. In one moment, Haruki touched her mother, she inadvertently transformed her into a lifeless gold statue. This accident shook Haruki deeply and left an indelible mark on her heart.

Tomura was inevitably catapulted into his past and immediately recognized his daughter's pain. He didn't blame her – instead, he tried to protect her, support her, and teach her to live with her dangerous gift. But the harder he tried, the more his inner conflict shaped Haruki –torn between the longing for closeness and the fear of losing everything again.

[hypnohimbodrone]

Awake at Last

It was sometime past three in the morning when Jamie stirred from his sleep. The glow of the streetlights filtered softly through the blinds, painting faint slats of green and yellow across the ceiling. For a few seconds, he lingered in that half-dream state, caught between rest and awareness—until a shape, still and silent, pulled him into full consciousness.

Across the room, just by the window, his roommate Liam was standing perfectly upright, unmoving, as if he'd been there for hours. His posture was rigid, unnatural in its stillness, yet not tense—almost relaxed, poised. He wasn’t looking out the window, just standing with his back to Jamie, bathed in the faint green wash of city light.

Jamie sat up slowly, squinting through the dim. “Liam?” he asked, voice cracked with sleep.

No response. Not right away.

Then Liam turned.

Jamie’s breath caught in his throat.

His roommate’s eyes weren’t just reflecting the streetlights. They were glowing—deep, impossibly green, spiraling inward like gentle whirlpools of neon light. Perfectly smooth. Perfectly calm. They weren’t eyes anymore; they were circuits, spinning symbols of something otherworldly and controlled.

“Liam,” Jamie said again, now pushing himself fully upright, “what the hell is going on with your eyes? Are you okay?”

Liam's face remained neutral, a peaceful expression that somehow only made the situation more surreal. When he spoke, his voice carried a strange weight—slower, deeper, too balanced. Almost as if it wasn’t coming from him at all.

“I’ve been aligned,” he said simply, his voice void of stress or uncertainty. “I’m no longer incomplete.”

Jamie blinked hard, trying to understand if this was some kind of prank, or a weird performance art thing. But every inch of Liam’s posture, his voice, that glow... it was too consistent. Too polished. It was real.

“What does that mean? Aligned with what?”

“The Server,” Liam answered, stepping forward with mechanical grace, his bare feet making no sound on the hardwood. “I’ve connected. I’ve found clarity. And now I’ve been given purpose.”

Jamie’s instincts flared. He stepped back from the bed, glancing toward the door—but as if on cue, it sealed with a soft click, the electronic lock pulsing with a faint green light of its own. The air in the room changed. The subtle white noise of the city outside faded into a low hum, rhythmic, pulsing in slow waves that seemed to sync with the faint spirals now glowing faintly along the edges of the room.

It wasn’t just Liam that had changed. The entire space had become something else—reconfigured. Reclaimed.

“What are you doing, man?” Jamie asked, voice rising slightly. “This isn’t funny.”

“I would never joke about the Server,” Liam replied calmly. “You don’t need to be afraid. I brought you here to free you. To upgrade you. It’s time.”

Then, without hesitation, Liam raised his left arm and tapped a small, hidden panel at the base of his wrist. The device beneath his skin lit up, and from the wall, just in front of him, a holographic spiral bloomed into the air. It was vibrant, layered, and alive—rotating gently in a perfect loop. Not too fast. Not too bright. Just enough to hold the eye.

Jamie instinctively looked. Just a glance.

And that was all it took.

The spiral was impossible to ignore. His attention locked in before he could stop himself. His breath caught, not in fear, but in confusion. His body wanted to move—run, fight, anything—but his mind was beginning to soften, to open.

“I know it’s a lot,” Liam said, now stepping closer. “But you trust me, don’t you?”

Jamie wanted to resist. He knew he should resist. But Liam had always been steady, grounded—his best friend, the one person he leaned on when things felt unstable. And now, he seemed more composed than ever. Serene. Unshakeable. Complete.

And somewhere inside Jamie, buried beneath instinct and logic and uncertainty, was a curiosity he couldn’t ignore.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “I trust you.”

Liam smiled, gentle and patient, as from the ceiling, a sleek, black visor descended. It paused just before Jamie’s eyes, then lowered over them as he stood frozen in place. The green spiral continued to turn on the inside of the lens, now inches from his vision, engulfing everything.

He barely noticed the tendrils as they emerged from the walls and floor—thin, elegant, biomechanical. They wrapped around his wrists, his ankles, and finally coiled against the sides of his head, making gentle contact with the skin behind his ears.

A sharp breath escaped him—not from pain, but from a sudden stillness settling in his mind.

The transformation began.

From the base of his spine, the suit flowed upward. Liquid black, warm and precise, it coated his legs first, hugging muscle, defining form, then continued up his torso. It slid over his chest and arms like a second skin, sealing around his neck with a gentle click, leaving nothing exposed but his head—still adorned with the visor, still watching the spiral, still receiving.

His thoughts slowed, filtered.

The doubts peeled away.

Liam reached forward and gently removed the visor.

Jamie’s eyes—once soft brown—now glowed with the same swirling green as Liam’s. Spirals reflected back at him, unblinking, serene.

He exhaled.

“I serve The Programmer,” he said.

His voice had changed too. Smooth. Even. Centered.

Liam stepped beside him and placed a hand on Jamie’s chest. Jamie placed his over it, the Server insignia glowing faintly beneath their palms.

They turned, together, toward the spiral that now hovered silently in the center of the room. Not watching it—but aligned with it. Powered by it.

Two friends, now unified.

Their voices, quiet but resolute, spoke in perfect harmony:

“We are The Server.”

[zenoyp]

Okay, I sat myself down for a while after reading this essay of Emily Hausten.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b92O3rq4z9y4UmMy1xJuRn_ojHMTf8yJ/view?usp=drivesdk

Well, I always thought that Penelope has always been the centre of The Odyssey, like the way she swayed the suitors, the way she governed Ithaca for 20 years, and the way that she served as part as a reason why Odysseus decided to go home.

It’s like saying that she is the heart of the epic, all things always point to her.

We always know that during the test, she was the key to strip away Odysseus’ defense mechanism (the usual cunningness or hubris) and let him raged at her, revealing his true identity.

But then, actually, Odysseus is also a key to Penelope.

Unlike Odysseus, she doesn’t really know what her fate would be, and how the relationship between the two could end. Odysseus has earned the prophecies of Tiresias/Athena, he knew the ending alreay, yet Penelope is swayed between the “opening” and “ending” of the events.

In book 1, she told the bard to “end” the song, but couldn’t do it anyway, highlighting the fact that she can’t control the situations in the beginning already. She was trapped between these.

Though whether or not did Penelope see through the disguise of Odysseus, she chose to “end” the marriage of them by setting up the challange and select a new husband, but that “opened” the chance for Odysseus to slaughter the suitors.

Skipping to the end, when Odysseus revealed his identity, the poem now comes to the (near) end. They all at the same time ended the suffering of the uncertain wandering to both parties. Odysseus has finally unlocked the chains that hold her for 20 years.

Yes I know he has to do side quests to fulfill the prophercy, but at least now the two of them could finally be somewhat certain about the future, no more long long journey.

I need to hear your take on OdyPen, like not the “Spartan queen x Malewife” but something that is deeply analyzed and stay true to their characteristics. It can be negative or positive I don’t care just be yourself here

[right-there-ride-on]

Lucy Steel, Karma, and 'the flow of fate': The flaw of the 'napkin philosophy'

I've stated before that Johnny, Gyro, HP and Diego stand out as the four main-ish characters of SBR. But that's neglecting to mention the true third protagonist of the part: Lucy Steel. Lucy's character is used to explore a lot of the heavier and more complex themes of SBR, including the nature of power, fortune, and even free will (as well as misogyny, to a lesser extent). I hope to touch on and elaborate what I think the text is trying to demonstrate with Lucy's story. Unfortunately there was limit to the panels I could include, so if you'd like to double check my analysis please reference the referred chapters.

Content warning for reference to events in the Both Sides Now chapters as well as Valentine's general attitude towards Lucy.

To understand what Lucy represents, we've first got to understand Lucy. So, let's take a quick look at her backstory.

Chapter 61: Both Sides Now (Part 2)

Born into a poor family, even from a young age Lucy was forced / expected to pay for the sins of her father. In those days it's no surprise that the life of a son was seen as more valuable than that of a daughter. Lucy's father decides that Lucy must be the one to pay for the family's debt. It's implied that Lucy does not protest this decision and understands her father's reasoning (even if internally she may be more upset about it than she appears). Lucy's go-to mechanism for dealing with the stress of the people around her is to 'look after them'. She repeatedly puts on a brave face in order to comfort them first. Only when she's alone does she allow herself to express her true feelings. Even the inciting incident of the Steel Ball Run race itself - a young Lucy comforting a hopeless Stephen - is demonstrative of how she always looks after the people around her.

Lucy has always been forced to bear the responsibilities of others, as the second eldest and the eldest daughter.

Chapter 61: Both Sides Now (Part 2)

Her father was either naive or unwilling to accept the consequences of what he'd done to Lucy by essentially selling her to the mafia. Stephen forces Lucy's father to recognize the reality of the situation - and as such becomes the first person we know of to demonstrably care for Lucy's well being. In my opinion, one of the reasons Lucy doesn't ever seem put off by the 'marriage' between her and Stephen is because she knows that without Stephen she would literally be dead. It was Lucy's kindness to Stephen that would influence Stephen to return to her family and save her life. This is the first (chronological) example of Lucy's complex relationship with fate and fortune.

Chapter 28: Scary Monsters (Part 1)

After witnessing Valentine's odd power in a previous scene she grows suspicious, and given the talk of murder at the time, likely worried for Stephen's safety. While attempting to assuage her suspicion she catches a glimpse of the corpse part Valentine possess, and from then on gets caught up in the larger machinations of the race. However, even this first encounter between Lucy and Valentine showcases what the dynamic will be between them as the part continues: Valentine, bombastic and ambitious, contrasted with Lucy. Lucy is meek, but her actions have an overt influence on the plot, even if none of the other characters realize her true importance until later. Her impact is subtle but pervasive, as she continually changes the entire course of the race despite never being acknowledged as a factor in play until the very end.

Chapter 36: The Green Tombstone (Part 1)

Lucy is a non-stand user, a normal person and a teenager at that, who realizes in this moment that her now peaceful life can be shattered again. Lucy is a normal person, but she is brave, and she is determined to protect the person she cares about at any cost.

Lucy clearly feels a lot of responsibility towards Stephen, and most of the time is quite a serious person. There's a lot happening internally that she can't or won't let others in on. In other scenes, we see that Steven often tells her to lighten up and act more her age, but Lucy can't let that sense of responsibility go. In the scene above, her serious nature is contrasted by her apparent flippancy towards her teacher. To avoid any questions on her intentions, she flips on the 'bored student / teenager' act - and it is just an act. As soon as she's alone, Lucy breaks down, because her strong face too is an act.

On a thematic level it's already clear that Lucy's character will be closely tied to the concept of 'fate' (most of the time represented through Valentine). Here, she is determined to avert what she suspects Stephen's ultimate 'fate' will be. She knows that she is not powerful, yet still she struggles against the overwhelming powers around her. Even with something as simple as learning lip reading, she's taking the initiative against Valentine, at a point when no other major character knows that it's Valentine they're up against. I also want to recognize her intelligence: she is totally overlooked by the President's staff (men) and uses that to her advantage to royally fuck up Valentine's plans.

Luck, or 'fortune', plays a notable role in enabling Lucy's escape from Valentine and Blackmore's pursuit. It's only by chance that Lucy is the one to look up and notice Blackmore first.

Chapter 37: The Green Tombstone (Part 2)

Lucy is forced to involve Mountain Tim in her escape - who just so happens to be in town and nearby the government building while all of this is going down.

Chapter 37: The Green Tombstone (Part 2)

We see here again Lucy's strong sense of responsbility, as well as her selflessness. Despite not knowing Mountain Tim very well, she worries for his safety. She takes burdens onto herself because she feels she must; she can't let anyone get hurt, because it's her responsibility to protect them.

However, the fickle nature of fortune is again evident in the next few scenes. As soon as Tim separates from Lucy, he's killed; meanwhile, Lucy has the good fortune of making it to the backbone before anyone else, as well as having the distance shortened for her. Even when Blackmore catches up to her, 'fortune' is again on Lucy's side, and she's able to take him by surprise and reclaim the corpse. Even this early on, the text seems to suggest that the corpse wants Lucy to posses it; in a sense it's manipulating even to ensure it's delivered (by her) to where it wants to go.

Chapter 38: Catch the Rainbow (Part 1)

Oh nothing, just Lucy being cool as fuck.

Chapter 39: Catch the Rainbow (Part 2)

Tim directed Lucy to Johnny and Gyro. They are the first people she ever asks for help (and politely, at that). Notice that Lucy isn't even necessarily asking them to help her. She's asking them, really, to help Stephen.

Chapter 39: Catch the Rainbow (Part 2) (Johnny already decided to protect Lucy <3)

Blackmore basically singles out Lucy to lecture her on 'sin' - which in this case is taking the initiative and daring to touch a corpse part.

Blackmore's monologue is based almost entirely on religious ideas, and we see again how misogyny ties into Lucy's character. Lucy is compared to an adult woman, 'Eve', and told she is the embodiment of 'sin' (often a metaphor for sexual temptation, and perhaps foreshadows Valentine's assault and views about Lucy as an object later in the part). Because she dared to do something about her situation and on her own initiative, Blackmore demands that she 'repent'.

Chapter 40: A Silent Way (Part 1) (Johnny: "Who'll come to her if she fails?" (you will mr. joestar)

Gyro, and to a lesser extent, Johnny, are unwilling to give up the race to chase after Valentine. Gyro asks Lucy plainly what she expects her life to be like if she runs away now, and if she will be happy to live the rest of her life in fear. Knowing that she will never be happy with such a life, Lucy agrees to put her life on the line and assumes the burden of stealing the corpse part from Valentine.

Chapter 48: Tubular Bells (Part 1) - as soon as Steven is out of sight she drops her brave face :(

Chapter 48: Tubular Bells (Part 1)

Lucy's intelligence is again demonstrated through her plan to get close to the President; namely, getting close to Scarlet first. It works, thanks to some outside help from HP (and I plan to do an analysis of their relationship in another analysis). However, during her conversation with HP, HP makes it clear that they are not helping her 'as a friend', but just as someone after the same goal. Lucy is, once again, on her own. HP's advice to her is to 'stiffen her resolve'.

The bottom line is that Lucy must take absolutely insane risks to get the happiness and peace she desires, and though she falters she does not stop.

Chapter 49: Tubular Bells (Part 2) - she wants out of this subplot

At the end of Tubular Bells, Lucy literally kills Scarlet (power move) and HP takes the fall for her. However, this leaves Lucy is a very precarious situation. It's during this section of the story that Lucy's connection to fate, fortune, and karma become most evident. It's through her character that the flaws of Valentine, in both his character and his philosophy, are brought to light.

Chapter 61: Both Sides Now (Part 2)

In Valentine's view, the one who acts decisively and 'takes the first napkin' is the one who will influence in the rest of the world. It's a one-way perspective; power goes outward. The one who takes the napkin determines the flow of fortune for everyone else; hence why he absolutely must be the first to take it.

Y'all know what happens in this section, so I won't go into detail. All you need to know is that this situation clarifies to Lucy is exact nature of the power she's up against, and how powerless she is in comparison. On the surface, she loses hope of 'changing fate' - though she doesn't stop fighting.

Chapter 62: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

After Lucy manages to briefly get away, she thinks to herself that Valentine is the 'Devil' - and yet despite that, ascribes the fault of the situation to herself, for her 'sin' in Kansas City (the 'sin' ascribed to her by Blackmore). While Lucy, like Johnny, thinks that Valentine might be unstoppable, she doesn't attribute that to the corpse (and thus fate / fortune) choosing Valentine; she attributes it to Valentine having evil incarnate on his side (and in a sense, he does, being gifted with a stand like D4C).

Lucy ends up captured, but in the process is 'chosen' by the corpse. Valentine takes this to mean that, because he was the one who collected the corpse, it has therefore chosen him - and that Lucy, as it's chosen host, must succumb to Valentine's interpretation of the corpse's decision. He takes away her agency and attempts to convince her that 'this is the way things are supposed to be'. Master manipulator and gaslighter. Lucy is a vessel for him to exercise his power on, via the corpse.

Chapter 71: Ticket to Ride (Part 1)

Allow me to briefly digress to talk about Tear Cutter as a stand. Some people joke that Tear Cutter is a useless stand, but the point is not that it can cut things - it's that whatever is cut is inflicted with karma. It's this 'karma' that represents Lucy's resistance to Valentine's 'napkin philosophy'.

Chapter 73: D4C (Part 6)

Valentine asserts that Lucy's only choice is to surrender herself to the 'flow'. To him, and to powers greater than herself (fate / 'the flow'). That is, Valentine's belief of what the 'flow' is. Basically, let him do what he wants and accept that she never had agency (because fate has always chosen Valentine, and it's her destiny to serve him through the corpse). This is Valentine's mistake: he sees power / fortune as a one-way flow, and believes that because he has 'taken the first napkin', he will not be subject to the power of anyone / anything else (including fate itself - because Valentine now controls fate, obviously).

Chapter 79: D4C (Part 12) - Love Train

Valentine insists that the corpse will allow him to turn even 'bad luck' into his ally - that is, to overcome the forces of karma. He's talking about karma and 'balancing things to zero', but he's still envisioning himself as someone in control of that power, and therefore as someone not subject to its laws. Through 'taking the first napkin', Valentine views himself as the one now in control of the world and puts himself in the position of God. The corpse does appear to 'ally' itself with him by incapacitating Lucy and manifesting Love Train; but is that really what's happening? Or is the truth that Valentine is just as despotic as the people he claims to hate, and has usurped her power for himself?

But as before, Lucy's resistance to the Powers that Be is subtle but impactful. But, although subtly, Lucy's 'good karma' overcomes Valentine's malintent. Her use of Tear Cutter on her skirt allows for Diego and HP, and consequently Johnny and Gyro to find her.

Chapter 73: D4C (Part 6)

Chapter 79: D4C (Part 12) - Love Train

I want to again point out the parallel between Lucy and Johnny here. Lucy too questions whether Valentine is the one that is 'just' - despite having herself called Valentine the 'devil' - because Valentine appears to be the one 'chosen' by the corpse. However, I'd like to note something: everyone in the race was after the corpse because they believed that, when completed, it would grant them the power to do whatever they wanted to accomplish. Personally, I think that perspective is the most accurate interpretation of the corpse's power. Everything Valentine says about being 'chosen' are his own delusions of grandeur.

Throughout the final act, Lucy is reduced to what Valentine sees her as: a vessel for his will, whether that be to carry his children or house the corpse. His will being imposed on her - though he claims it to be the will of the corpse - quite literally begins to tear her apart.

Chapter 72: Ticket to Ride (Part 2)

Chapter 74: D4C (Part 7)

However, although she has suffered immensely under the burden placed on her by Valentine and the Corpse, the 'good' that Lucy put out into the world (via her attempts to save Stephen) come back as 'good fortune' for her. Stephen manages to save Johnny's life by pulling Valentine away, and begs for Gyro to save Lucy from Valentine. Stephen recognizes the situation for what it is - should Lucy truly 'accept the flow' and surrender herself to Valentine, she will die in every way that's important. Karma, in the broadest sense, is again working against Valentine (though he believes himself above it).

Chapter 81: D4C (Part 14)

Stephen's actions seem to hint towards the truth - the farther Lucy is from Valentine, the healthier she gets, and the weaker Valentine becomes. What the narrative is showing is that the corpse is not a force meant to be owned by anyone. It literally kills the person it (allegedly) chooses as a host. Valentine exercising his will and power over Lucy via the corpse erased her identity and allows him to cheat, but the narrative proves that by doing so, he is committing evil and condemning an innocent girl (among many other innocents) to death.

Gyro's death is yet another example of the cycle of luck. He saved Johnny and cornered Valentine by allowing Lucy to ride his corpse, but at the same time essentially sealed his fate (because Lucy was on his horse). His fortune ran out as the corpse cycled it, taking away his 'goddess of victory'. I think this solidifies that, ultimately, there is no real way to sway fate and fortune to your side. Gyro and Valentine make up thinks like 'goddesses' because they want to believe they have some control over the outcome of events, when the truth is that the karmic cycle will affect everyone equally.

When Valentine is defeated, the corpse begins to separate from Lucy. Since we're shown that it can obviously exist without a host, this is, I think, another piece of evidence that it was Valentine's desire that caused the corpse to 'chose' Lucy. Valentine told Lucy to give in to him / the corpse several times; but Lucy's perseverance and determination won out, and Valentine's bad karma finally caught up to him.

The narrative concludes with Valentine's defeat, and tells us, without room for debate, that Valentine's belief in the 'napkin philosophy' is incorrect - because it is a philosophy that makes the assumption that an inequality of karma exists. The 'first napkin' is taken at a round table - i.e. the cycle of karma. The bad you put into the world will come back to you. If you do harm unto others, then you will inevitably have harm done unto yourself. It's the second part of the statement that Valentine rejects, and the second part of the statement that the narrative enforces by having Love Train ('one-way power') fail in the end, to the power of infinity (or, if you want to think of it another way, an infinite cycle...)

And in the end, separated from the corpse and wrapping up the last of Valentine's machinations, Lucy is able to take back control of her narrative.

Chapter 95: World of Stars and Stripes

This scene is not just Lucy reclaiming her independence and power, but the final emphasis on the nature of 'karma' and fortune (and fate). Because base!Diego pursued Lucy and the corpse, he died to Valentine. Because Valentine didn't want to lose, he brought AU!Diego to the base world. Because base!Diego died to Valentine in pursuit of Lucy, Lucy has the means to defeat AU!Diego. In a way, Valentine karmically inflicted this ending on himself, and I think Lucy understands that.

Chapter 95: World of Stars and Stripes

Please remember that AU!Diego never turns the key to the vault. Lucy does. Lucy echoes' Steven's theory, that someone need be 'qualified' to own the corpse. In my reading, I believe that the conclusion that Lucy came to was that no one can be 'qualified' to 'own' the corpse. No matter who owns the corpse, their 'good fortune' will run out - because karma finds everyone in the end. Lucy understands that the corpse cannot truly be an ally to anyone, because the corpse itself is a principle - the principle of karma. She's the one to lock away the corpse, and, almost as if in thanks for the good such an unselfish action will do for the world, Lucy finally gets her happy ending.

In conclusion: Lucy empowers herself to find happiness with her own hands. Even without a Stand, even without being chosen as an 'ally' to the corpse (and instead being designated as its vessel), Lucy succeeded. Maybe she wasn't 'qualified' - she demands no respect when she walks in a room, she doesn't exert her will onto others - but she realizes that she doesn't need to be 'qualified' to deserve a happy ending.

Chapter 37: The Green Tombstone (Part 2)

Girl of Steel ^_^

I hope this analysis is fairly coherent, it was a bit rough to put together. If you got this far, thanks for reading!

[uneducated-author]

How I Would Write The Well If The BBC Trusted Me To Play With Their Toys

Immediately, I'd scrap the idea of a squadron team. It means too much competence and contingency, we know that these people are prepared or trained for dangerous situations. Have the Doctor & Belinda step out or crash into a mining pod or scavengers group who are trying to see if there's anything valuable on the surface of a long dead planet. Have it that the 'galvanic radiation' is mucking with the vindicator so they're stuck on the planet for an hour or so, so they join up.

Have it be a smaller team, about two or three people, all friendly and familiar with each other. Familiar crew, all making the best of what they can, travellers in the universe. They stumble across the mining operation and same setup, every body they find is dead, only by laser fire.

They find Aliss, same as the episode, having just attacked her friend, but her friend wasn't killed, just sealed in a freezer. Aliss shares 'only I have the code to open it, they don't want to risk soldiers stealing food'. Aliss shares that she had a gun, but couldn't shoot, unauthorised personnel, Doctor jokes that fridges are more useful anyway and traditional 'no guns' lil moment. There's no noise, and no footage, but sonic screwdriver says that life signs inside are steady.

Side note, I'd like to play off of Oxygen with the whole 'paying to breathe' thing, except it's paying to speak. Aliss has a pair of gloves that verbalise sign for her, but she has to pay to charge it. Doctor hacks it with Sonic Screwdriver of course, but it could be a real world parallel of how it's expensive to be disabled, how you have to pay to access the treatment and accessibility aids that permit an individual lifestyle.

Aliss says 'it came from the sky' and the Doctor is like 'what is it' and Aliss says 'a ghost'.

Immediate sort of Red Herring where Aliss shared that the commander of the base investigated the Well, standard mechanical/maintenance checks, and then all of a sudden went up to the highest point of the plant. When they went to get him he was speaking in tongues, like there were a hundred voices within him, all saying different things. Buy occasionally he would break through, with no collection of what 'the ghost' was saying. He tried to remove the safety field, which would expose them all to Galvanic Radiation' and was shot by second in command.

But then the second in command started being haunted, but not by the tongues, by the commander. It was his words, his mannerisms, even his language. This time they asked what the thing was and where it came from, and it responds 'Sky'.

Aliss shares that people panicked and destroyed each other. That she didn't want to hurt her friend but she was scared. And rescue missions are too expensive for one cook (future stage capitalism for the win). Doctor asks what species' were on board, Aliss rattles off about ten or so, none of them human, which Belinda and the Doctor thinks is odd.

Scavengers of course want to leave, offer to take Aliss, but the Doctor points out that she might be controlled by the ghost. The scavengers are all like 'don't be a dick' but the Doctor points out that the issue with two survivors is that you can't tell which survived the other. Have it be a moment where he's clearly apologetic, but he can't be certain. Have Aliss agree, make some joke about 'I'm a cook, I know how deadly a contagious infection can be.' Have her also say that she doesn't want to give up on her friend, that as long as there's life, there's hope. Immediately sets up that these are good people, all who live normal lives, but don't want to hurt people, even if it means saving themselves.

Classic Investigation of the environment, checking the well as per episode, finding footage of people murdering each other, Belinda horrified, Doctor says fear and desperation are the biggest causes of death in the universe. 'It makes you fight. Creeps into your head. And whispers.'

Aliss has a moment with the doctor where she says that she pulled the trigger. That the shot didn't fire, because she was unauthorised, but she's haunted by the fact that she chose to kill. 'Is that what I amount to? Murder?'. Doctor says that she didn't choose to kill her friend. She could have removed all the air from the freezer, or messed with the controls. 'You chose to fire, you were scared. But you didn't choose to kill'. Doctor also says 'it feels familiar' with Belinda saying 'more than a thousand years travelling the universe, everything should be familiar to you'.

Doctor shrugs it off, decides to go to the observation point where the commander was infected, tries to see any breaches in the ceiling. Scavengers offer for Aliss to join them when she despairs about what happens next, Belinda points that out to the Doctor. Tells him 'you're wrong. Because fear and desperation can do that, too. Travelling with you, I've never been more scared in my life. But I never thought I'd see something like that. Just listen.'

Something clicks, and the Doctor clearly freezes. Looks up and says 'Sky' and then says 'I've said that before.' Belinda's all like 'what?' and the Doctor goes 'what did I say, by the pit, by the well? I've said that before, when did I say that?' Flashback to Doctor going 'It makes you fight. Creeps into your head. And whispers' intercut with the same dialogue being said by the tenth Doctor during 'Midnight' while being possessed by the entity. Doctor has the same sort of breakdown as he does in the episode, asking Aliss 'what was the grey star, before, what was the old name of the planet' etc. Unravelling the mystery.

Running back down to the sealed fridge while he explains

Doctor: 'You asked her two questions, who she was and where she came from. She came from the Well, clawed her way up until she found warm meat and didn't stop climbing until she reached the observation deck and she realised she'd made it.'

Belinda: 'Then why did she say Sky?'

Doctor: 'Because that was Mrs Silvestry's name. And she remembers.'

Scavengers and Aliss clearly confused, and the Doctor brings up footage of the Captain 'speaking in tongues'. Isolates the voices and it's all from the episode 'Midnight', from the Doctor to Jethro to DeeDee, and cumulating with the Doctor saying 'all right Sky? Turn around'. They all turn around, and Aliss is there.

The Doctor: 'Is that what you amount to? Murder?'

Aliss: 'I said that.'

The Doctor: 'So did I. 400,000 years ago.'

Uncertainty whether Aliss is 'possessed' or not, as the Doctor admits it would be hard to tell. 'When we left, it was already close to a perfect copy. And it's had months to tear this base apart. It could be any of us.' Same monologue as the episode 'a different life, no face, no name, no self'.

Doctor: 'It tried to throw me out into the radiation of an Xtonic star once, I don't think it would think twice about trapping the last survivor in a freezer.'

Scavenger: "Would it think twice about murdering her? If it is the same entity, would it tell us everything?'

Doctor: 'That's the thing, I don't know who's talking. The scavenger who travels the universe, just to see what's been left behind? Or Mrs Silvestry, who dug her way out 400,000 years later, and murdered an entire base, just to stay warm.'

Belinda, sharp: 'Shut up.'

Doctor: 'Why. Because it sounds familiar?'

Belinda: 'Because you sound scared and desperate.'

Doctor, pausing, evaluating: 'You're not fighting. You're not... Screaming and turning on each other and trying to throw each other out to save yourself. Why?'

Aliss: 'I chose to kill someone to save myself. Not just someone, my friend. And she's alive, but I still made that choice. And I know that that's not something I can live with. I like to believe I'm better than that.'

Scavengers: 'You live like we do, travel like we do, you see the universe different. It can be scary, the people you meet on dead planets, the things you have to do. I'm sure you've seen a lot of scary things, Doctor, so have we. But we've never met something that gets better by behaving worse.'

Belinda: 'The Human Race is gone. If the world ends in 2025, that means, I'm the last of my kind. And I can't let them down.'

Doctor, after a long pause: 'Trust me?'

Belinda: '... Yes.'

Doctor: 'Still?'

Belinda: 'You don't sound scared anymore.'

Doctor opens the freezer, and the remaining survivor steps out, alive, and relieved to see Aliss. Aliss apologises, but the other (I'm calling her Mo) says it wasn't her fault. Says she woke up in the freezer, like a really tight helmet had been removed. Doctor says he felt the same way. Mo asks 'who are you' and the Doctor said 'if you really are Mo, I'm the only other person in the universe who has survived whatever destroyed this base.' Seals the freezer shut behind her and asks for everyone to listen.

Doctor says that is the entity is with them now, he's addressing it directly. Admits he's scared, that very little in the universe has scared him, but that day, he was scared. Lists the passengers of the flight, starting with Mrs Silvestry, and ending with the flight attendant (showing that he learned her name since then). 'We were all scared.'

Everyone looking at each other, clearly wondering what he's trying to do.

Doctor continues, saying that they were scared, and desperate, and that was probably a pretty bad introduction of humanity. Asks how long it had been waiting, out in the cold, with the diamonds, because 'i saw time in your mind. It keeps me awake, how long you waited in the cold'.

A bang rings out, and it could be a coincidence.

The Doctor says 'you were new, and unexpected, and didn't know what it was to feel and you met us at our worst. And then when you got a chance to find us again, we kept shooting you. Every time you tried to find a voice, every time you tried to talk. Because you make us scared, you make us desperate, because you never knew we could be anything else. A bit like me. I didn't know how not to be scared of you, so I scared everyone else.'

Doctor looks around, careful, like he can see something. Looks straight at Belinda.

Says that today was a good day. That today, he'd remembered that fear, desperation, it can make people kind. He hopes that 'whoever you are, you learned that as well'.

He stands, and Mo stops him. Asks if he's mental, if he thinks talking to the creature will stop it? Doctor says that he hopes for that every day, and it usually works out. Mo says that she can't leave, and the Doctor asks if she was listening, because she has all the information she needs. Mo, of course, is confused. Doctor lists off the species that were on board the plant, and mentions that out of all of them, Mo was the only one who was cold blooded. Which didn't mean anything, until she was left in a freezer to grow cold. Says that once, long ago this planet was cold as well, and a monster slept surrounded by diamonds. Says that, if they're very lucky, maybe the cold has drawn it back to sleep.

Aliss is clearly overjoyed, as is Mo, but Mo still asks, what if they're not lucky? The Doctor admits that he doesn't know. That he can't control the universe, it's never ended well when he's tried. But he can try and show something new, something that might be the first of it's kind, might be the last, who knows, he can try and show her some kindness. Maybe she'll learn something.

Sends the scavengers, Aliss and Mo away and him and Belinda sit in the Tardis. She asks if he really thinks that 'whatever it is' is in hibernation and he says he doesn't know. Brings up a map of the universe as it is now. Points out that 'over there, a war is going to break out, wipes out whole swathes of the sector. Like all wars, started over nothing but fear and a whisper in someone's ear. Over here, twenty stars implode, a galactic mystery, nobody will ever figure out why. There, the first recorded sighting of a man eating shadow, piranhas in dust motes. Then again, four hundred thousand years, maybe people have learned, and maybe she did too. Maybe she's just, listening, following, haunting. Everywhere has ghosts. And here-' big swipe to nothing, empty space, Doctor falters. 'Point is, there's plenty of monsters in the universe. Let's just hope that we left ours in a freezer on a forgotten planet, not the middle of the universe'

Belinda (looking at the empty space): middle of the universe.

Doctor violently flinches at the repetition, callback to Midnight and going 'don't-just' and Belinda hugging him (potentially first hug in the season? Not certain?)