#but at least there’s nothing actually spoilery here

[yamisnuffles]

DATV Spoiler Free Review

I beat Veilguard a couple days ago and have had some time to let it settle in my brain. So, without getting into the nitty gritty and more spoilery things, here are my overall feelings on the game.

The Great:

The world itself. The scenery. It was really gorgeous and felt fully alive in a way that none of the previous games have quite managed. Since it wasn't as open world as DAI nor as narrow in scope as DA2 (nor as old as DAO lol), it felt more vital. Definitely a place where the advances in graphics helped, I'm sure.

The Good:

The companions. I wouldn't say any of them blew me away but they all at least ranged from enjoyable to very good. I definitely had my quibbles here and there but I think they were all pretty solid. As such, though I've only done one romance, I'll suppose they're all good. A bit... sparse in my experience and from what I've been hearing, but nice enough.

Overall, I also think the story was pretty good. Like much in this game, nothing that blew me away, but solidly compelling.

Also, mechanically, the gameplay and the glamour system. It still doesn't feel like DA to me but it was enjoyable once I got used to it. It works well with how I play games. And it was nice to just set looks for myself and my companions and not worry about stats vs appearance.

Rook. I have some definite Complaints, and so this point is probably closer to the good to mid range, but they did a pretty good job with letting you pull in your faction stuff. I'm prevented from saying great because it feels like, even with what are supposed to be rougher dialogue choices, you're limited to being mildly pleasant.

The Mid:

The music. This is tragic to me because every previous game had some really standout songs and DAI especially was such a solid soundtrack. I love soundtrack music. Also because Hans Zimmer! I love Hans Zimmer. But the entire thing felt very generic epic fantasy to me. It wasn't bad but it didn't feel good. The only times I ended up moved by the music was when they lifted DAI songs.

The lack of imports. It wasn't the end of the world but did make some cameos feel really off. And for all the talk of making what few things were imported matter, that really didn't feel like the case at all (unless you were in a specific subset of players). I didn't care too much, but it was just enough to make things feel weird, especially with characters like Harding who are so attached to previous stuff.

The Bad:

The world felt so sanitized. I have no issue getting rid of real life bigotry that makes so sense in the context of the world. For example, the sexism in DAO especially made no sense. That said, there was a lot of in world nastiness that is just... gone. The game does a lot of telling us the elves have it bad but doesn't show it. No one bats an eye at a Tevinter mage running about outside of Tevinter. No one cares about a Qunari in occupied Treviso. I suppose it's not the worst thing in the world but it feels weird, especially when it's so central to Solas' motivations.

This sanitization carried on through pretty much everything. All of the factions are presented as good and heroic, even the ones that are historically pretty shady. Your companions are all pleasant and palatable. They have the occasional minor squabble but even when they almost have actual beef, it's solved super easily. You might get some disapproval for decisions but companions never seem to much care or hold it against you, even on really big things. I don't need DA2 levels of interparty drama but, boy did I want a bit more tooth sometimes.

The Awful:

I can't get into it without spoilers but it did a Thing that Bioware sometimes likes to do that I absolutely loathe. This is definitely personal but it ruined some of my desire to replay.

Overall:

I'd give the game a 7/10 or maybe 6/10, depending on how I'm feeling. It was enjoyable for the most part but it had so many things that felt like splinters. Lots of little things that stuck under my skin and bothered me. Would I recommend it? Genuinely depends on the person.

[yourpaceangel]

I’ve never tried this method before and it’s a mess but fortunately it also means I have about 1.4K more words written than I thought I would*

*thought I would have 0 bc I haven’t written in at least two years

[sonknuxadow]

they werent lying that knuckles series barely has knuckles in it

[minijenn]

Universe Falls Timeline (New and Improved)

Finally got around to creating a new, from the ground up UF timeline, including all pre-story events, UF, UF2, and UFF and even beyond (aka MK2 or at least the start of it). Bear in mind that nothing in this timeline is finalized or official until it is actually written into UF proper, everything here is subject to change and shift around, and spoilers are abundant for all three stories, but there are some that I think are too spoilery that I've blocked out for ya'll. So with all that said, enjoy! (below the cut bc this is EXTREMELY LONG)

Ancient History

Pre-History

The Axolotl comes into existence, presiding over time and space

Bill Cipher is born in Euclydia to Euclid and Scalene

In an attempt to "liberate" Euclydia from the second dimension, Bill ends up destroying his home dimension and everyone in it

Bill conquers a slowly decaying dimension known as the Nightmare Realm and forms his gang of Henchmaniacs

The universe is born along with its countless lifeforms. (Humans and Gems included)

Bill sets his sights on Earth, wanting to merge the Nightmare Realm with it and conquer it as his own

Eons Ago

White Diamond, acting as the leader of all Gemkind, constructs the Gem Homeworld society

White Diamond creates Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond to aid her in colonizing other worlds

White emphasizes the importance of perfection, creating Homeworld's caste system, bans cross-Gem fusion, and punishes Gems deemed "imperfect"

Under the Great Diamond Authority, the Gem race expands and cements their control over 43 planetary bodies and two star systems through colonization

Pink Diamond is created as the last of the Diamonds, coming out smaller than the others

Fluorite, Rhodonite, Padparadscha, and the Rutile Twins are considered "off color" by Homeworld standards and remain in hiding underground in an abandoned Kindergarten to avoid the Shattering Robonoids

Pink Diamond is given Pink Pearl, who she ends up damaging in a fit of rage; after this, White Diamond takes Pink Pearl away and takes control of her

Pink Diamond is given Spinel as a playmate and Pearl is given to Pink to replace her old one

Over 6,000 years ago

Ruby, Sapphire, Bismuth, and Lapis Lazuli are created on the Gem Homeworld or one of its colonies

Gems arrive on Earth, their first scout ship crash landing in what would eventually become Gravity Falls, Oregon; the impact of their ship's landing forms a deep valley

Pink Diamond is granted access to colonize Earth; she abandons Spinel in the garden to focus on running her colony

Gems begin to emerge in the Prime Kindergarten; Structures such as the Lunar Sea Spire, Communication Hub, Sky Spire, Moon Base, and Sea Shrine are constructed; Amethyst is formed (but does not emerge) in the Alpha Kindergarten

Pearl inspires Pink Diamond to disguise herself as a Rose Quartz so she can explore the Earth; while on Earth, Pink becomes fascinated by the beauty of the planet and realizes that her colony would destroy all of it

Pink contacts the other Diamonds to tell them that she does not wish to complete the colony and instead wants to preserve the life on Earth; in response, Blue Diamond creates a Human Zoo for her and she along with Yellow Diamond kidnap humans from their families and stored them inside the Zoo

Over 5,750 Years Ago

Pink Diamond decides to use her Rose Quartz alter-ego to make a stand that her fellow Diamonds could not ignore. She originally intended to use Rose Quartz to scare away other Gems

Pink Diamond (as Rose Quartz) and Pearl defect from Homeworld and form the Crystal Gems

The cut of Rose Quartz is thereby recognized as a threat and every Rose Quartz is removed from service, specifically from Pink Diamond's entourage; they are bubbled in the human zoo

Blue Diamond and members of her court arrive on Earth and oversees the removal of the then-forming Rebellion

Sapphire is sent to Earth along with three Ruby guards at the request of Blue Diamond; after Rose and Pearl launch a direct attack, Ruby and Sapphire accidentally form Garnet for the first time

Rose tells Pearl how fascinated she is that two completely different Gems fused. Pearl attempts to fuse with Rose but fails. Rose and Pearl run into Garnet where Rose tells her to never question who she is, recruiting her to the Crystal Gems

Over 5,500 Years Ago

Pink Diamond tries one more time to persuade Yellow and Blue to end colonization, this time using Rose Quartz as an excuse. The other Diamonds continued to ignore her pleas

Rose meets Bill Cipher for the first time; he offers to help her save the Earth from the other Diamonds and the two become friends, eventually developing feelings for each other

The Gem War officially begins

Bismuth is recruited to Rose's cause, outfitting the Crystal Gems with weapons; she creates Rose's Sword

True to his word, Bill assists the Crystal Gems' cause by possessing Homeworld Gems, using them to shatter their comrades before forcing them to shatter themselves; Rose is largely unaware of this but over time, Pearl becomes suspicious of his motives

Rose and Bill's romance continues as they fuse for the first of several times, forming Druzy Quartz

Humans begin to become involved in the Gem War; wanting to protect them without raising suspicion from the other Diamonds, Pink Diamond commissions the creation of Ambers, a new cut of Gem specializing in organic preservation, claiming they're meant to work at the human zoo; Rose ends up recruiting most of the Ambers to her cause

Over 5,300 Years Ago

Lapis Lazuli arrives on Earth to visit for a short time and is caught mid-war and poofed by a Bismuth-type warrior Gem

Lapis Lazuli is then collected by a Homeworld soldier and was mistaken for a rebel. She is imprisoned in a mirror to be used as a source of information

Over 5,000 Years Ago

The Beta Kindergarten is established mid-way through the Rebellion in haste to create more troops; Jasper is created among these troops

Bismuth presents Rose with the Breaking Point, a weapon designed to shatter Gems, specifically the Diamonds. Disagreeing, Rose poofed and bubbled Bismuth (upon Bill's suggestion), later storing her in Lion's pocket dimension

Pearl presents her worries about Bill to Rose; Rose attempts to contact Bill to set things straight but he refuses to answer her for unknown reasons; Realizing they're on their own, Rose and Pearl develop a last-ditch plan to save the earth

Pink Diamond and Pearl plan a ruse to stage Pink Diamond's shattering. Pearl, shapeshifted into Rose Quartz, "shatters" Pink Diamond by poofing her after she has swallowed fake gem shards

From then on, Pink Diamond permanently identifies herself as Rose Quartz and continues leading the Crystal Gems in the Rebellion

In grief over Pink Diamond's 'shattering' the remaining Diamond Authority makes a deal with Bill Cipher to get revenge on the Crystal Gems and the Earth

Homeworld officially enters Era 2

White, knowing Pink is Rose Quartz, makes a separate deal with Bill to return Pink's gemstone to Homeworld so she can be (spoiler)

Earth is deemed an unviable colony by Homeworld, commencing Forced Fusion experiments using the gemstone shards of fallen Crystal Gems; The Cluster is embedded in the Earth's core at some point as part of these experiments

Blue Diamond takes over Pink Diamond's Zoo in her absence

During a battle between Rose and Hessonite, the Light Prism is lost

Over 4,500 Years Ago

Homeworld Gems are commanded to evacuate Earth

Lapis Lazuli's mirror is abandoned at the Galaxy Warp and her gemstone is trampled over and cracked during the evacuation. Many Homeworld Gems such as Centipeetle get left behind

A flash of light is set off by the Diamonds, corrupting all Gems caught in it; The only known Gems who were unaffected are Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz, Pearl, Garnet, Bismuth, and Lapis Lazuli

Following the corrupting light, Rose begs Bill to restore the corrupted Crystal Gems; Bill rebuffs her, however, claiming that his true intentions were to drive Gems off of Earth so he could take it for himself as their "relationship" officially comes to an end

Bill changes the conditions of his deal with Rose and desires her gemstone as payment for his "services" during the war; Rose refuses to give it to him and Bill retreats for the time being, promising that he will return to take what's his eventually

The Galaxy Warp becomes inactive

Unknown

Era 2 of Gem production begins on Homeworld

Jasper is transferred to Yellow's court

Amethyst is found in the Prime Kindergarten and joins the Crystal Gems

Unnatural anomalies and strange creatures begin to congregate in the area that would become Gravity Falls

Peridot is formed and receives her limb enhancers on Homeworld

Pearl finds Lapis Lazuli's mirror at the Galaxy Warp and stores it in her Gem

Rose and Bill continue to encounter each other throughout the centuries, opposing each other each time they do

1000 AD

Bill attempts to trick a shaman named Modoc the Wise into building a portal between the Nightmare Realm and the Earth, though their deal falls through when Modoc prophesies an apocalyptic event involving Bill

Gravity Falls' native population evacuates the valley under fear of the land being cursed following contact with Bill Cipher, leaving pottery, blankets, and remnants of their language behind

19th Century

1837

Quentin Trembley wins the 9th Presidential Election of the United States in a literal landslide. However, his many silly and embarrassing policies lead him to be forced out of office, and William Henry Harrison is declared the 9th president of the United States

1842

8½th United States President Quentin Trembley discovers the valley of Gravity Falls and subsequently founds the town

1843

Drawn to the valley due to its odd properties, the Crystal Gems arrive in Gravity Falls and begin to investigate its anomalies

The Crystal Gems construct the Gem Temple near the Floating Cliffs

1859

Pioneer William Dewey and the settlers accompanying him on the Oregon Trail to Gravity Falls are rescued from a gem monster by the Crystal Gems; however, Dewey is falsely hailed as the town hero due to a misunderstanding

1862

In order to cover up the fact that President Trembley founded Gravity Falls (after he freezes himself in peanut brittle), Nathaniel Northwest deemed the founder of Gravity Falls and William Dewey is dubbed its first official mayor

Nathaniel Northwest tricks the lumberjacks of Gravity Falls into building Northwest Manor of the false promise of allowing them into their annual party; they contract the Crystal Gems to help oversee the safety of the project

1863

The first Northwest Party takes place, however Nathaniel Northwest breaks his promise and locks the townsfolk out; the Crystal Gems attempt to intervene over this injustice but are ultimately too late; the lead lumberjack is killed in the ensuing Great Flood of 1863 and vows revenge against the Northwests in his final breath

1860s-1870s

Rose Quartz begins traversing the Desert with a pride of lions

Buddy Buddwick leaves Dewey's crew to begin his career as an explorer and author; he records his research of Gem locations in his book

One of Rose's lions dies and she resurrects him

20th Century

1901

The Anti-Cipher Society is formed, dedicated to defeating Bill Cipher; when Rose meets them during her travels, she secretly assists them by supplying them with Gem weaponry

C.1953

Identical twins Stanford and Stanley Pines are born in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey to Filbrick and Caryn Pines

1960s

Stan and Ford start rebuilding an old ship they found in a cave

1965

Greg DeMayo (Universe) is born

1972

Stan is disowned after ruining Ford's science project, costing the family potential millions

After being rejected from West Cost Tech, Ford enrolls in Backupsmore University; during this time he meets Fiddleford McGucket

1972-1982

Stan, now a solo drifter, travels in and out of the United States as a salesman and impoverished conman; he goes to prison at least 3 times

1973

Ford is accepted into the doctoral program 3 years ahead of schedule; he receives a research grant of $100000 for any field of his choice

1975

Ford arrives in Gravity Falls and begins documenting his research of its anomalies in Journal 1

Ford meets Rose Quartz and the Crystal Gems; realizing their similar goals, Rose and Ford become partners in researching Gravity Falls and its anomalies

Before 1981

With the Gems' help, Ford is able to document extensive notes on Gem fusion, culture, history, biology, and weaponry

Rose takes Ford to her hidden armory under Gravity Falls' cemetery

Rose also shows Ford the remains of the crashed Gem scout ship buried underneath Gravity Falls (which he dubs Crash Site Omega)

Rose entrusts one of laser light canons with Ford, who helps her hide it in a dense forest maze

1981

Rose and Ford hit a wall in their research; at this point, Ford finds the cave drawings that depict Bill Cipher and summons him, hoping he will give him the answers to the mysteries of Gravity Falls. Ford and Bill become partners and start work together; Ford keeps their partnership (and relationship) a secret from Rose and the other Gems

Ford begins to write Journal 3, six years since beginning his research in Gravity Falls

Bill gives Ford plans for the Universe Portal; Ford and the Gems begin construction on the portal

Ford asks Fiddleford McGucket to visit him in Gravity Falls, to help him with building the portal

Ford, Fiddleford, Rose, and the Gems journey to Crash Site Omega to salvage a hyperdrive from the ship (Crash Site Omega)

Disturbed by his encounter with the Gremgoblin, Fiddleford constructs the Memory Gun, much to Ford and Rose's shared concern

To protect their research, Ford, Fiddleford, Rose, and the Gems begin constructing an underground bunker; Rose and Ford hatch the shapeshifter and raise it as a pet, only for it to turn on them and go rouge; they are forced to freeze it in a cryogenic tube

Rose gives Ford the mirror for later research, but he never gets around to it, storing it away instead

1982

Ford allows Bill to possess him so he can complete calculations on the portal; Rose encounters Ford in this state and becomes increasingly concerned

Fiddleford implores Ford to give up on the portal and instead publish his already existing research, but Ford is adamant; at the same time, Rose confides in the other Gems that she has worries over the portal herself

Fiddleford is nearly sucked into the portal and quits the project; in order to erase his mind from the horrors he's seen, he founds the Society of the Blind Eye; his mind begins to deteriorate due to extensive use of the mind erasing gun

Fiddleford also entrusts the Crystal Gems with a spare memory gun, just in case

Rose and the Gems also break off from Ford after the portal accident, all of them horrified at the danger it could pose to the earth

Ford breaks off his deal with Bill after finding out that he had been deceived; as a result, he becomes increasingly paranoid and isolated; Bill continues to possess Ford, becoming increasingly destructive with his body each time

Rose encounters Bill Cipher again, this time as he's possessing Ford; after a brief skirmish, Rose vows to stop Bill's ambitions, no matter what the cost; following this encounter, Ford confides to Rose about his ill-fated deal with Bill but Rose remains silent about her own history with him

Ford entrusts Journal 3 into Rose's care; she later hides it on the temple hill; Ford hides journal 2 near the local elementary school

Ford contacts Stan, who comes to Gravity Falls in response; Ford attempts to entrust Journal 1 to Stan, but is sucked into the universe portal and is lost in the multiverse for 30 years

Ford encounters Bill in the Nightmare Realm and makes a narrow escape along with a group of interdimensional Refugees

Ford begins to travel across the various dimensions to learn all he can about Bill in the hopes of defeating him once and for all

Rose resolves to make sure that the other two journals remain hidden to prevent Stan from reopening the portal, even if its for the sake of saving Ford

Stan begins running the Murder Hut, later renamed the Mystery Shack, in Ford's house

The government begins to take notice of odd readings in Gravity Falls due to the universe portal

Ford becomes an outlaw in a number of different dimensions

1984

Greg DeMayo drops out of community college and changes his last name to Universe to become a professional musician and tour the country under his manager Marty

1986

Greg holds a concert in Gravity Falls, and Rose Quartz is the only one who attends; Greg decides to stay in Gravity Falls with Rose and the two soon fall in love (Like a Comet)

Greg begins working at the Murder Hut under Stan

1988

Bill tricks Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl into allowing him to possess them so he can finally claim Rose's Gem; Rose manages to fight him out of the trio but their minds are essentially left broken as a result of his possession (Triple Crossed

To fix the damage done by Bill, Rose uses the memory gun to erase the Gems' memories of Bill, the portal, and even Ford (Triple Crossed)

1990

Jesus "Soos" Ramirez is born

Stan and Amethyst form an unlikely friendship and begin to go on weekly "Revenge Trips" with each other; they continue this trend for 8 years

1990s

Ford encounters the Oracle, Jheselbraum the Unswerving in Dimension 52; the two coerce over their shared desire to vanquish Bill Cipher once and for all; Jheselbraum installs a metal plate into Ford's skull to prevent Bill from interfering with his mind any further

1997

Wendy Corduroy is born

To earn extra money, Greg takes up a second job babysitting with Rose's help; after this falls through, Stan helps Greg out by giving him a loan to buy the car wash

1998

Stan and Amethyst finally get arrested on a Revenge Trip; Rose and the other Gems break them out of prison and Stan and Amethyst stop hanging out

Rose leaves her other laser light canon in Greg's storage unit

Rose writes a letter of farewell to Ford containing hints as to the location of the Gems' memories in the event of his return; she entrusts this letter with Greg

Rose leaves two tapes for her unborn child behind, one at the remains of Pink Diamond's ship and the other in Lion's mane; she also hides the Crystal Gems' lost memories there as well

Rose Quartz gives up her physical form to have Steven Universe with Greg

1999

Twins Mabel and Mason "Dipper" Pines are born to Aaron and Allison Pines

Connie Mahaswaran is born to Doug and Priyanka Maheswaran

Pacifica Northwest is born to Preston and Priscilla Northwest

Early 2000s

2002

Gideon Gleeful is born to Bud Gleeful and his wife

Soos begins to work at the Mystery Shack

Pre-2012

Ford travels to a parallel dimension where he is given plans for a Quantum Destabilizer by a parallel version of Fiddleford

Steven moves in with the Gems after Greg completes the house in front of the temple

Gideon finds journal 2 in the schoolyard of Gravity Falls Elementary

Gideon steals a telepathic Gem artifact from the Crystal Gems

Wendy starts working at the Mystery Shack

Allison and Aaron Pines begin to have marriage troubles

2010s

2012

Steven summons his shield for the first time

Steven and Connie meet and become friends

Pearl is damaged and poofed by her holographic counterpart and reforms two weeks later with a new design

Steven meets Lion, who follows him home and becomes his companion

Universe Falls

Season 1 -Early June

Dipper and Mabel arrive in Gravity Falls for the summer; they meet Steven and Connie and together, the kids fend off a group of gnomes; Dipper discovers Journal 3 on the temple hill (Tourist Trapped)

The Crystal Gems defend the Mystery Shack from Centepeedles and meet the twins; Steven summons his shield once more (Gem Glow)

Pearl and Amethyst fuse into Opal to rescue Steven from a robotic lake monster built by Old Man McGucket (Legend of the Giant Woman)

Amethyst and Garnet form Sugilite to break down the Gem communication hub (Strong in the Real Way)

A Homeworld vessel appears on Earth for the first time in 4,000 years in the form of the Red Eye; Steven, Dipper, and Mabel help the Crystal Gems defend Gravity Falls against the Red Eye by utilizing Rose's laser light canons

Bill Cipher and Yellow Diamond begin planning their final stages of their deal

Gideon develops a crush on Mabel and attempts to get rid of Dipper and Steven in order to be with her; he is subsequently defeated by Mabel; the kids return the Gem artifact Gideon stole to the Gems (Lil' Gideon)

The Gems recover Hessonite's Light Prism; Steven accidentally unleashes a light army through it, which the kids track down and defeat across town; Steven encourages the Prism that it can be whatever it wants (Attack the Light)

Steven discovers he has healing spit after Amethyst is nearly fatally cracked; he also accidentally cures Connie's eyesight (An Indirect Kiss)

Steven uses his Gem to access Rose's Room for the first time; the Gems discover Journal 3, and though they are bewildered by its contents and information concerning them, they allow Dipper to keep it (Gems and Journals)

Steven, Dipper, and Mabel free Lapis Lazuli from the mirror; she subsequently steals all of the water in Lake Gravity Falls in a desperate attempt to return to Homeworld (Mirror Gem)

Lapis's cracked Gem is healed by Steven and she returns to Homeworld; the lake is restored (Waterfall Gem)

Season 2 - Early - Mid June

Pioneer Day is Celebrated in Gravity Falls; Dipper, Mabel, Steven, and Connie unfreeze President Quintin Trembley from his frozen state; the Northwest coverup is revealed and the kids discover Rose's secret armory (Irrational Treasure)

Pearl, Steven, the twins, Stan, and Greg attempt to build a space ship (Space Race)

Steven discovers he has the power to create sentient watermelon look alikes; Gideon nearly takes the Mystery Shack by shrinking Steven, Dipper, and Mabel, but he is ultimately thwarted; Steven sends the Watermelon Stevens off (Measure Up)

Garnet reveals her future vision ability and Dipper uses her intel to break Wendy and Robbie up; Mabel adopts Waddles the pig (Future Vision)

Amethyst takes Steven and Dipper to the Kindergarten she was made in (On the Run)

Steven discovers the tape Rose left behind for him in Lion's mane (Straight to Video)

Stan and Amethyst go on a revenge trip to get even with Gideon, narrowly avoiding arrest (Revenge Trip)

Gideon summons Bill Cipher to invade Stan's mind to acquire the code to the Mystery Shack safe; Bill is defeated by Dipper, Mabel, Steven, Connie, and Soos (Dreamscapers)

Gideon takes over the Mystery Shack by force and the Pines temporarily move into the temple; the Crystal Gems fuse into Alexandrite to save Steven and the twins from Gideon's robot; Gideon exposed as a fraud by Stan and is subsequently jailed (Gideon Rises)

Ford ends up on Homeworld, where he is quickly captured by Yellow Diamond's forces

Season 3 - Mid June

Government Agents Powers and Trigger come to Gravity Falls to investigate strange readings coming from the town; The Pines fend off zombies with the help of the Crystal Gems (Scary-Oke)

Peridot arrives on Earth at the Galaxy Warp on a scouting mission; the kids later confront Peridot at the Prime Kindergarten (Marble Madness)

Dipper, Mabel, Steven, Connie, Amethyst, Garnet, Soos, and Wendy investigate the author's underground bunker and refreeze the shape shifter and recover the laptop; Amethyst is poofed three times and regenerates into a new form (Into the Bunker)

Lapis arrives back on Homeworld but is soon apprehended and interrogated by Peridot; she is subsequently imprisoned and meets Ford; the two plan an escape, but they are ultimately thwarted; Lapis flees back to Earth while Ford is pulled away from Homeworld, back into the Nightmare Realm

Steven and Connie fuse into Stevonnie for the first time (Alone Together)

Steven and Mabel fuse into Maven for the first time (Together Forever)

Steven and Dipper fuse into Stepper for the first time; he fends off Peridot's attack robinoids (Forever Alone)

Soos and Melody begin dating (Soos and the Real Girl)

Lion retrieves Rose's Scabbard from the Strawberry Battlefield (Rose's Scabbard)

The Pines and Universe families attempt to impress Connie's strict parents (The Dinner Shack)

Dipper discovers that Lapis has returned to Earth and is taking refuge in the waterfall cave; the two form a close friendship; Lapis warns the Crystal Gems that Peridot is returning with reinforcements (Dipper and Lapis)

Gravity Falls is evacuated; Stan stays behind and Dipper and Mabel return to help Steven and the Gems; Peridot and Jasper arrive on Earth and take Steven and the Crystal Gems captive; Garnet is poofed; Dipper and Mabel stow away on their ship to rescue them (The Return)

Ruby and Sapphire re-fuse into Garnet; Garnet defeats Jasper; Peridot flees from the Crystal Gems; Lapis and Jasper fuse into Malachite; Malachite is trapped at the bottom of Lake Gravity Falls (Jailbreak)

Season 4 - Late June

The citizens of Gravity Falls begin repairing damage caused by the Gem Warship (Full Disclosure)

Steven, Dipper, Mabel, and the Cool Kids discover Peridot's escape pod, which is then apprehended by the Crystal Gems; Robbie and Tambry start dating (Joy Ride)

In trying to find out the password to the laptop to rescue Lapis, Dipper makes a deal with Bill Cipher and is possessed by him; Bill's plans to destroy Journal 3 are thwarted thanks to Mabel, Steven, and Connie (Sock Opera)

Dipper and Connie begin taking sword training lessons from Pearl (Do It For Them)

Pearl entrusts Dipper with the Ancient Sea Blade; the Crystal Gems discover Peridot's location. After she escapes, the group happens upon a nest of forced fusions created from pieces of shattered gems (Keeping it Together)

The kids, the Gems, Soos, and Wendy discover the Society of the Blind Eye and help McGucket recover his memories from them (Society of the Blind Eye)

The Northwests hold their annual party; Dipper and Pacifica work together to break the curse on the manor; Steven and Connie defeat a group of Gem mutants; Steven entrusts Connie with Rose's sword (Northwest Mansion Nightmare)

Ford goes to face Bill himself in the Nightmare Realm once more

Stan is arrested by the government agents; Dipper, Mabel, Steven, Soos and the Crystal Gems discover his shadowy past as well as the universe portal; The portal opens and Ford returns after 30 years, though he is unable to defeat Bill before he does (Not What He Seems)

Ford reunites with the Crystal Gems, who have no apparent recollection of him (A Tale of Two Stans)

Season 5 - Early July

Ford receives the letter Rose wrote to him; Steven discovers the memories that Rose took from the Crystal Gems in Lion's mane and returns them (Lost and Found)

Garnet and Pearl fuse to form Sardonyx to destroy the Homeworld Communication Hub after Peridot rebuilds it. Amethyst and the kids learn that Pearl has been lying to Garnet about subsequent repairs to the Communication Hub, presumably done by Peridot, to keep fusing with her (Cry For Help)

Ford dismantles the universe portal, however doing so creates a rift in space and time, which Ford manages to contain 

Stan, Mabel, and Steven rescue Dipper, Ford, and Pearl from Probabilitor the Wizard; Pearl and Ford rekindle their former friendship; Ford creates the Sword of Seasons for Dipper and confides in him about the Rift (Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons)

Garnet unfuses into Ruby and Sapphire after a falling out between the two of them over Pearl's deception; the two eventually re-fuse (Evergreen Inn)

Stan runs for Mayor of Gravity Falls against Bud Gleeful and wins; however, due to Stan's extensive criminal record, Mayor Dewey ends up resuming his mayoral position (The Stanchurian Candidate)

Garnet and Pearl forgive each other and the Gems repair their friendship with Ford while trying to capture Peridot (Friend Ship)

Steven discovers his ability to venture into the dreams of others and uses this to communicate with Lapis; However, amidst this he's countered by Bill, who makes his intentions of taking Steven's Gem away clear to get his end of his longtime deal with Rose (Chille Tid)

Mabel, Connie Candy, Grenda, Wendy, and Pearl collect unicorn hair to protect the shack and the temple from Bill Cipher; Dipper and Steven discover Ford's history with Bill; Ford tells Steven about the rift (The Last Mabelcorn)

Peridot wanders the wilds of Gravity Falls where she encounters Bill, who offers her a chance to get back to Homeworld in exchange for helping him take out the Crystal Gems; Peridot declines but Bill claims the offer is on the table any time and also informs her of his alliance with Yellow Diamond (Peridot in the Wild)

In a fight against the Crystal Gems, Peridot agrees to 'fuse' with Bill to become Pyrite; Pyrite is ultimately defeated by the Gems and Peridot is poofed by Steven and Dipper and bubbled (Pyrite)

Steven and Mabel free Peridot, who escapes again and takes refuge in the shack's bathroom (Catch and Release)

Season 6 - Early - Mid July

Steven, Connie, Stan, Ford, Soos, and Wendy go camping; Garnet and the twins track down an escaped Peridot who has teamed up with an escaped Gideon (Split Up)

Peridot reveals to the kids that a massive Cluster composed of millions of shattered gems is incubating below the earth and is due to form and destroy the planet (To Con a Clod)

The Crystal Gems and the Pines use Greg's family barn as a base to build a machine that can stop the cluster; Ford and McGucket reunite and reconcile (Bot Battle)

Stepper is formed again to aid in Ford's research; Stepper fuses with Mabel to form Dipevebel for the first time; Steven discovers his floating abilities (Three's a Crowd)

Pacifica assists Dipper and Peridot in collecting Titan's Ore for the construction of the drill (Peridot and Pacifica)

Steven turns 14 (An Undisclosed Dance)

The Crystal Gems travel to a Homeworld base on the moon where Peridot reveals the Homeworld's original plans to colonize and drain the earth of its natural resources; Peridot confronts Yellow Diamond and defects from Homeworld, becoming an official member of the Crystal Gems; the Crystal Gems and the Pines learn of Yellow Diamond's alliance with Bill Cipher (Message Received)

Bill convinces Yellow Diamond to come to Earth during Weirdmageddon, revealing that "Rose Quartz" is still alive

Dipper tags along with the Gems to confront Malachite and rescue Lapis Lazuli; Malachite is split up and Jasper goes missing (Out Too Far)

Steven, Mabel, Peridot, and Ford use the drill to travel to the cluster, where Steven is able to contain the geoweapon by bubbling it (In Too Deep)

Season 7 - Mid - Late July

Steven and Dipper help Lapis adjust to life on Earth. Lapis reluctantly moves into the Barn with Peridot, but eventually warms up to her (Same Old World)

Dipper and Pacifica start dating (Mismatched Making)

Stevonnie, Maven, and Stepper take Kevin and his friends on in a street race; the kids meet the speed demon Zoom (Gravity Falls Drift)

Steven further develops his mental powers by accidentally taking over an unwitting Stan (The New Stan)

Jasper returns and nearly forces Lapis to fuse with her once more before being thwarted by Dipper (Alone on the Lake)

Small interdimensional rifts begin forming around Gravity Falls

Steven and Dipper end up getting trapped in the Nightmare Realm and form Stepper to take on Bill; Bill severely cracks Stepper's Gem; Stepper makes a deal to give Bill his shield journal in exchange for returning him home (Rifts)

Stepper's gem his healed but his memories of Steven and Dipper are gone; Mabel attempts to restore Stepper's lost memories; the Pines and the Gems plan their stand against Bill to recover the shield journal; Ford tells the Gems about the Rift (Memories)

The Pines and the Gems face Bill in the Nightmare Realm; Stepper recovers Steven's half of the shield journal but Bill burns Dipper's and possesses him once more; Steven rescues Dipper and everyone escapes from the Nightmare Realm; In trying to defeat Bill, Stepper ends up tearing wider holes in the dimensional fabric that lead to other parallel dimensions (Dimensions)

Season 8 - Late July - Early August

Ford details the secrets behind Gravity Falls' strangeness to Dipper; Steven, Mabel, and Connie discover that Jasper is amassing an army of corrupted Gems; Mabonnven is formed for the first time (Theories of Weirdness)

The kids discover a dimension where Steven is Yellow Diamond's son and the twins have used magic to practically take over the town (Played in Reverse)

Amethyst is poofed by Jasper, who is defeated when Steven, Dipper, and Connie fuse to form Convenper for the first time; Lapis and Peridot adopt a kitten, which they name Dippurr (Crack the Whip)

The kids happen into a dimension where their personality traits seem to be completely switched around and where Lapis, Peridot, and Jasper are the Crystal Gems (Opposites Attract)

Steven and Amethyst fight before reconciling over their shared shortcomings; Stan and Garnet attempt to teach Mabel boxing (A Rock and a Hard Place)

Steven accidentally releases Bismuth from her bubble inside Lion's mane. Bismuth reconnects with the surviving Crystal Gems and provides upgrades for their weapons. The kids learns the reason for Bismuth's imprisonment and defeat her, but ultimately leave her in self-imposed exile in her forge (Bismuth)

The Pines and the Gems travel to a dimension where the kids are adults and the adults are children; Ford and the Gems reconcile (Its All Relativity)

Stan and Amethyst bring Pearl along on a Revenge Trip; Pearl meets Mystery Girl; Gideon briefly escapes prison but is thwarted by Steven and the twins (Revenge Trap)

Steven and Connie officially become a couple; Pacifica is nearly tricked into making a deal with Bill, forcing Dipper to reveal what he knows about him to her (Double Date)

The kids, Stan, Amethyst, and Peridot track Jasper to the Beta Kindergarten; Amethyst and Steven form Smoky Quartz for the first time while fighting Jasper. Jasper becomes corrupted after attempting to fuse with a Gem Monster and is subsequently defeated by Peridot (Beta)

The Ruby squad arrives on Earth, looking for Jasper; Amethyst (disguised as Jasper) convinces them to take herself and the other Crystal Gems and the Pines to the Moon Base. There, they learn that that Rose Quartz shattered Pink Diamond. (Back to the Moon)

Maven and the Rubies become stranded in deep space; Mabel reveals her feelings for Steven to him; After some time, Maven is saved by the Crystal Gems and the other Pines, having hijacked the Rubies' Roaming Eye ship. (Bubbled)

Season 9 - Mid -Late August

The Pines and the Gems find a dimension where Steven is a normal human and the twins are both half Gems (A Swap of Fate)

Steven, Dipper, Mabel, and Connie fuse to form Stonipbel for the first time (Mindful Education)

Lapis and Pacifica meet and are forced to team up to rescue Dipper from the siren Marina (Song of the Siren)

The Pines and the Gems find a dimension where Earth is a colonizing planet ruled by Bill and Homeworld is a peaceful safe haven (The Home in Homeworld)

(Spoilers) (Time Tangled)

Steven attempts to "connect" with his mother inside of her room; meanwhile, Dipper and Mabel start to grow further and further apart (Storm in the Room)

Dipper, Ford, Connie, and Peridot investigate Crash Site Omega to find a sealant that can repair the cracked Rift; Mabel recruits Steven and the Gems in helping her plan for her and Dipper's upcoming birthday party; tensions continue to grow between Steven and Mabel

Dipper and Mabel have an immense falling out after Dipper agrees to be Ford's apprentice and stay in Gravity Falls; Mabel unknowingly hands the rift over to (Spoiler); Bill breaks the Rift and Weirdmageddon commences (Fear of the Future)

Season 10 - Late August

Weirdmageddon begins as Bill easily takes over Gravity Falls; Yellow Diamond and her forces arrive to make good on the deal between the two; Steven is captured by Yellow Diamond and the Crystal Gems are scattered; the journals are destroyed, Ford is turned to gold and captured by Bill; Mabel is captured by Bill and kept in a dream-inducing bubble; (spoilers) (Welcome to Weirdmageddon)

Dipper wanders the apocalyptic Gravity Falls alone for three days before being found by Lapis; Lapis (spoilers); Ruby and Sapphire and Connie team up to rescue Steven from Yellow Diamond; Dipper and Lapis run into Wendy, Soos, and Pearl and face off against Gideon and his cronies in an attempt to rescue Mabel; after having a change of heart, Gideon lets them through to Mabel's bubble (Alone At the End)

Amethyst and a group of other survivors take refuge in the bunker where they encounter both McGucket and the shapeshifter, who they take down for good  (Out of the Bunker)

Dipper convinces Mabel to leave her self-created fantasy world behind; Bill realizes that he is confined to Gravity Falls thanks to a weirdness barrier; Amethyst and her group make it to the Mystery Shack, where Stan has been hiding out on his own  (Escape from Reality)

 Peridot helps Ruby, Sapphire, and Connie rescue Steven; Stevonnie faces off against Bill and the group escapes Yellow's ship (Love Like You)

Dipper, Mabel, Pearl, Lapis, Soos, and Wendy reunite with Garnet, Steven, Connie, and Peridot; Steven (spoiler); the entire group reconvenes at the Mystery Shack where the kids rally the townsfolk to fight back to free the town; they begin converting the Mystery Shack into a giant robot to confront Bill and Yellow (Take Back the Falls)

Bill attempts to coerce Ford into revealing the secret behind the weirdness barrier so he can take over the entire world, revealing (spoilers) ; The resistance takes both the Henchmaniacs and Yellow's forces head on in a massive assault; a small group manages to sneak into the Fearamid in order to rescue Ford; Bill and Yellow (spoilers) (Of Diamonds and Demons)

While their allies are captured by Bill (Lapis and Peridot are poofed), Steven, Dipper, Mabel, and Connie form Stonipbel and confront Yellow Diamond, (spoilers); Stan tricks Bill into entering his mind, where he is ultimately defeated when Ford erases his mind; Weirdmageddon ends and Yellow Diamonds' forces retreat (The Universe Falls)

The statued remains of Bill Cipher are lost in the forest of Gravity Falls; the town begins to recover from Weirdmageddon; The Mystery Shack gets reconstructed. Stan recovers his memories with the help of Mabel's scrapbook and old home movies of Ford and Stan's childhood; McGucket becomes wealthy and buys the now-ousted Northwest Mansion and Bismuth moves in along with him so they can begin an inventing business; (Spoilers); en route back to Homeworld, Yellow Diamond begins planning a new bioweapon initiative involving humans (Everything Stays)

Dipper and Mabel celebrate their 13th birthday with all of the townsfolk at the Mystery Shack, Stan retires and gives ownership of the Mystery Shack to Soos; Connie, Lapis, Peridot are entrusted by the Gems to (spoilers); Dipper and Mabel leave Gravity Falls to return home to Piedmont; (spoilers); the Kids promise to meet up again in Gravity Falls the following year (Somewhere in the Woods)

Between Stories

(spoilers)

Stan and Ford set sail to hunt down anomalies all over the world together

Bill is confronted by the Axolotl, who sentences him to the Therapism for his crimes; Bill immediately begins plotting his escape (Overture)

Dipper and Mabel return to school but largely keep the details of their summer in Gravity Falls to themselves; their parents' marriage continues to suffer

Yellow Diamond's human-bioweapon initiative kicks off, with humans from Pink Diamond's zoo being utilized as subjects; all of these subjects end up failing however, due to the severity of the process (Overture)

Yellow Diamond commissions the creation of an Amber to oversee the biological status of humans utilized in her project; she also appoints Hessonite to serve as the supervising commander

Bismuth begins reconstructing the Crystal Temple with McGucket and Peridot's help

Pacifica forms a friendship with Candy and Grenda while the twins are away; due to her family recently falling out of money, she takes up a job at Greasy's Diner to pick up the slack

Soos hires Melody on at the Mystery Shack and begins building a secondary house attached to the shack for the Pines to stay in when they return

Steven, Connie, and the Gems visit Dipper and Mabel in Piedmont around the holidays; the Mystery Kids spend their Christmas together

2013

Magical creature hunter Alwin Weidmann arrives in Gravity Falls and begins hunting its anomalies for sport

The forest sprites prophesy that a four-armed, four-eyed hero (Stonipbel) will emerge to save them from some great danger

(spoilers)

Universe Falls 2

Season 1 - Early June

Dipper and Mabel return to Gravity Falls for the summer; (spoilers) Mystery Kids reunite; Stan and Ford are the last to return and a celebration is held to kick off the beginning of summer (Back to the Falls)

Inspired by Ford, Dipper begins writing his own journals to document the new summer (Journal 4)

Soos and Melody get engaged (Prior Engagement)

Gideon seeks advice from Steven, Connie, and the twins about being a "normal" kid; Gideon and the MK properly reconcile for the events of the previous summer (Normal Kideon)

Zoom and the MK team up to race against Zoom's sister Dashley (Speed Demons)

The kids form Stonipbel and defend the forest sprites from Weidmann, who develops an intense dislike for the Gems and the Pines as a result (Fusion Foretold)

Weidmann happens upon Bill's statue in the woods, shaking his hand and freeing him from the Therapism; however, his power is limited and he is forced to work from behind the scenes to repair his powers and restart Weirdmageddon; the Pines and the Gems begin working on a way to defeat Bill for good (Trust No One)

Season 2 - Early - Mid June

Ford, McGucket, the Gems, and the kids return to the bunker, searching for old notes on Bill (Back into the Bunker)

Stan and Amethyst bring Wendy along on a Revenge Trip (Revenge Tour)

Steven and Pacifica fuse into Stevifica for the first time (A Shoulder to Cry On)

After Steven begins having strange dreams, he and Greg travel to Korea along with the twins and Stan to investigate, despite Garnet's warnings; there, Blue Diamond abducts Greg and Stan, taking them to Pink Diamond's Zoo (Steven's Dream)

The Gems and the Pines set out for space to rescue Stan and Greg, leaving Connie, Lapis, Peridot, Pacifica, Wendy, Soos, and McGucket in charge of protecting the town in their stead (Adventures in Light Distortion/The B Team)

The Pines and the Gems arrive at the human zoo; while the Gems distract Holly Blue Agate, Ford searches the facility on his own and the kids are dragged into the zoo, where they rescue Stan and Greg (Gem Heist)

Amethyst befriends the facitlity's other Amethysts, the kids, Stan, and Ford witness as Yellow Diamond confronts a mourning Blue Diamond; Yellow Diamond devises a plan to abduct more humans from the Earth, both to appease Blue and for the sake of her human bioweapon operation; the Pines and the Gems successfully escape the human zoo and head back to Earth (That Will Be All)

Season 3 - Mid- Late June

Soos and Melody get married (Tie the Knot)

Steven and Dipper fuse into Stepper to investigate another one of Rose's secrets (Alternate Ending)

Navy returns to Earth posing as a defector; in the end, she ends up stealing the Roaming Eye and retreating back to space to rescue the other scattered members of the Ruby Squad (Room for Ruby)

Aquamarine and Topaz arrive on Earth and begin abducting humans under Yellow Diamond's orders

The kids go on a stakeout with Doug (Doug Out)

Stan and Ford are confronted by Aquamarine and Topaz, who captures Ford, leaving Stan to inform the others about other townsfolk being captured (Brotherly Shove)

The kids and the Gems confront Aquamarine and Topaz; Connie is captured while Dipper hands himself over, hoping to save the others and figure out their plan (Are You My Dad)

While Dipper's plan briefly succeeds, Aquamarine and Topaz recapture him, Connie and Ford; the Gems, Steven, Mabel, and Stan arrive to rescue them, discovering their true purpose in coming to Earth; to save his friends, Steven claims to be Rose Quartz and turns himself in; Dipper and Mabel force him to fuse with them so they can tag along with him as they depart for Homeworld (I Am My Mom)

The kids arrive on Homeworld, where they are put on trial by Blue and Yellow Diamond; while Blue focuses on Rose Quartz's crimes, Yellow demands justice against all the kids for her defeat during Weirdmageddon the previous year; during the trial, the kids realize Rose may not be responsible for Pink's shattering; the kids attempt to escape on Blue's palanquin, but Dipper stays behind to ensure Steven ad Mabel can get away (The Trial)

Though Yellow promises Blue that she'll send Dipper to the human zoo, she instead imprisons him with the intent of using him as a subject in her human bioweapon project

Steven and Mabel fuse into Maven, escaping from shattering robinoids alongside a group of Off-Colors; during their attempt to steal a ship to escape, they are confronted by Emerald; ultimately, the Off Colors and Maven escape Homeworld on separate ships (Wanted)

Season 4 - Early July

Steven and Mabel return to Earth without Dipper; the Pines and the Gems immediately begin plotting on how to get him back from Homeworld; angry with Steven for what just happened, Connie breaks up with him (Within Without)

After being interrogated on "Rose Quartz" by Yellow Diamond, Dipper's left arm is cut off by Squaridot and her fellow engineers, officially beginning the "process" as he is placed under Hessonite's watch and into Amber's care

Tensions continue to rise between Stan and Ford and the Gems as Greg brings everyone along on a brief vacation to help everyone reset; Mabel and Steven have a brief falling out (Gemcation)

The Gems and the Pines begin repairing the damaged ship Maven used to return to earth in the hopes of using it to rescue Dipper

Yellow Diamond attempts to condition Dipper into serving her, but her efforts are resisted, forcing her to more extreme measures; during this time, Dipper and Amber begin to bond

Kevin invites Stevonnie, Maven, and Stepper to his party, but only Steven, Mabel, and Connie go; Mabel briefly reunites with Gabe Bensen and harshly refutes his advances toward her; Steven and Connie reconcile and get back together (Kevin Party)

Dipper's attempts at escaping Homeworld are thwarted by Hessonite

Noticing Yellow's frustration with Dipper's resistance, Bill intervenes, offering his assistance; they are both confronted by White, who also wants a piece of this plan and advises Yellow to use the Diamond's Aria as a control method; she also strongarms Bill into assisting (by invading Dipper's dreams) by promising (spoiler)

Under these new intensive methods, Dipper slowly begins to break as his resistance falls apart

Allison and Aaron file for divorce back in Piedmont

Mabel takes over writing in Dipper's journal, hoping to use it to fill him in on all that he's missed while on Homeworld once they get him back (Rainbow-Colored Recap)

With Amber's assistance, Dipper records a farewell message for his friends and family back on Earth

Unable to resist any longer, Dipper succumbs to the conditioning forced upon him by Yellow Diamond and becomes "Stonemason"; he is outfitted with a shapeshifting metallic arm and is sent to hunt down "Rose Quartz" and capture or shatter her

Work on the repaired ship is finished and, unable to wait any longer, Steven, Mabel, and Connie sneak off on it to try and rescue Dipper on their own; the untested ship ends up crashing on an alien moon (Spaced Out)

While on the Jungle Moon, Steven and Connie are separated from Mabel; Stevonnie has dreams about Pink Diamond's past; Mabel is encountered by Stonemason, who briefly uses her as a hostage until she is rescued by Stevonnie; the kids narrowly manage to escape on their damaged ship, which barely makes it back to Earth  in one piece (Jungle Moon)

Work on the ship is forced to begin again as Steven, Connie, and Mabel all struggle to cope with the idea that they may never see Dipper again (Mindless Education)

Stonemason arrives on Earth and begins hunting "Rose"; he confronts the Pines and Gems, who initially believe him to be a Gem sent from Homeworld (The Assassin)

Mabonnven ends up unmasking Stonemason, revealing his true identity as Dipper; despite attempts to get through to him, Stonemason continues in his mission to capture/shatter Steven; the Gems and the Pines begin plotting how to free Dipper from Yellow Diamond's control (The Mask)

Season 5 - Mid July

Stonemason continues attacking the Pines and the Gems; Steven and Pacifica (spoilers) (Deep Cut)

After several more encounters with the Pines and the Gems, Stonemason begins to doubt his mission and questions his identity; those questions are quelled when Yellow uses the Diamond's Aria to condition him again (Lullaby)

Yellow Diamond commands Stonemason to attack Gravity Falls in order to lure "Rose" out; he does so, damaging much of the town and harming several civilians (Crash and Burn)

Maven goes off alone to search for Stonemason; upon finding him, they manage to briefly break through to Dipper, only for Stonemason to forcefully suppress him once more (Forever Together)

The Pines and the Gems receive Dipper's supposedly final message to them and are inspired to continue looking for a way to save him (A Final Farewell)

Steven goes into Stonemason's mindscape and finds Dipper, trapped and slowly fading away altogether; while in the dreamscape, Steven is briefly encountered by Bill, who offers to set (spoilers) (Hide and Seek)

After several violent encounters, Stonemason is captured by the Gems and the Pines; Steven, Mabel, and Connie enter his mind in a last-ditch effort to return Dipper to normal (Find the Key)

The group is confronted by Stonemason, and a fight ensues, but just before they're defeated, Dipper breaks free and defeats Stonemason, finally reclaiming control over his mind and body (Break the Chain)

Season 6 - Mid - Late July

After returning to his sound mind, Dipper struggles to recover physically and mentally from what happened to him on Homeworld (Yes, My Diamond)

Dipper is met with resistance and anger when trying to reintegrate himself into Gravity Falls as a result of the destruction Stonemason caused; Gideon defends him and convinces (most) of the townsfolk to calm down; Dipper discovers Stonemason is still present inside of his mind, communicating with him frequently (The Golden Rule)

Dipper and Pacifica reconnect following Dipper's absence (Shelter from the Storm)

The Off Colors arrive on Earth and start to settle in the forest of Gravity Falls; Garnet tells the Off Colors the origins of Rose Quartz and the Rebellion (Your Mother and Mine)

Garnet has a brief crisis over her future vision missing significant events; she adopts a one-eyed kitten and names it "Cat Steven" (Pool Hopping)

Lapis leaves Earth once again and takes the Barn, not wanting to get caught in the middle of another war with the Diamonds; she nearly takes Dipper with her, but ultimately ends up leaving him behind, despite his pleas to escape from Yellow's range (Raising the Barn)

Dipper discovers and tames a dragowl, which he names Luna; Stan and Ford defend Dipper against Weidmann and several still-angry townsfolk; Steven, Mabel, Peridot, Amethyst, and Soos attempt to bring some life back to the Kingdergarten (How to Train Your Dragowl)

Hessonite and Squaridot on Earth, reclaiming the Light Prism while also reawakening Stonemason, forcing him back into obedience under her; Squaridot is poofed and bubbled; the Pines and Gems confront Hessonite and rescue the prism and Dipper, forcing Hessonite to retreat back to Homeworld (Save the Light)

The term behind Bill's deal with the Diamonds changes, as Yellow demands Stonemason is returned while White wants "Pink" back in person as opposed to merely her gem; increasingly desperate to reclaim his lost power, Bill agrees, planning (spoilers)

Steven turns 15; Bill return and strikes a deal with a guilt-ridden Steven to (spoilers) (Knock, Knock)

Dipper discovers Bill's plans and (spoilers) (Alone Forever)

In retaliation, Bill drags Stepper into the mindscape and reveals his history and his relationship with Rose to him; Stepper doubts whether his claims are true (Golden Petals)

Stepper (spoilers) ; infuriated by his continued failures, the Diamonds officially cut their ties with Bill as Blue and Yellow prepare to travel to Earth themselves (Dimensional Duel)

Season 7: Early - Mid August

Sometime during this period, Allison and Aaron's divorce is finalized

Driven to near madness, Weidmann launches a full-scale attack against the Pines and the Gems, who ultimately drive him out of town once and for all (The Hunter and the Hunted)

The kids discover Lapis has taken refuge on the moon; she refuses to return with them, further fleeing into space after Steven has another dream about Pink Diamond (Can't Go Back)

Steven goes inside Pearl to find her phone and discovers that Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond, which shocks Garnet and Amethyst, and the Pines (A Single Pale Rose)

Garnet unfuses and Sapphire becomes mad at Ruby, believing that Rose Quartz lied to them and leaves, upset; Dipper also leaves, outraged that all of the torture he was put through was essentially for nothing; Steven, Pearl, Stan, and Ford check on Sapphire and Pearl tells Steven and Sapphire the story of how Pink Diamond became Rose Quartz; she also reveals the original deal Rose/Pink made with Bill, making Steven wonder if Rose really was involved with Bill romantically after all (Now We're Only Falling Apart)

Upset by the uselessness of their shared suffering, Dipper and Stonemason reach an agreement that they will work in conjunction with one another towards the eventual goal of shattering Yellow Diamond as revenge (Reconnect the Chain)

The kids find Ruby, who eventually returns and proposes to Sapphire (The Question)

The Pines and the Gems begin preparing for Ruby and Sapphire's wedding; Steven asks Bismuth to be the maid of honor, officially reintegrating her back into the Crystal Gems and (spoilers) (Made of Honor)

Ruby and Sapphire marry and re-fuse into Garnet; Yellow and Blue arrive on Earth and attempt to unleash the Cluster, which partially emerges and fights back against them; the Pines and the Gems confront Yellow and Blue; Lapis returns to Earth and joins the fight; Steven reveals that Rose was Pink Diamond to them (Reunited)

Steven implores Blue and Yellow to heal the corrupted Gems, which they can't do without White; the gang uncovers Pink's leg ship in the desert and the Pines and the Gems travel to Homeworld alongside the Diamonds; White "welcomes" Steven to Homeworld (Legs from Here to Homeworld)

While Steven tries to reach out to the Diamonds for their help, Dipper (and Stonemason) reel from flashbacks from his time on Homeworld; Dipper reunites with Amber as he and Stonemason continue plotting against Yellow (Familiar)

Steven throws a ball for the Diamonds, which celebrates the start of Era 3; upset that White didn't attend in person, the kids fuse into Stonipbel, enraging Blue and Yellow, who poof the Crystal Gems and imprison Stonipbel in Pink's old tower; Steven uses a watermelon Steven to contact Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot for help, meanwhile Dipper escapes the tower, claiming to go get help from Stan and Ford (Together Alone)

Dipper and Stonemason confront Yellow, who tries to get them back under her control, though the song doesn't work this time; they fight her, attempting to shatter her as revenge for what she did to them; meanwhile, Steven, Connie, Mabel, Stan and Ford persuade Blue to release them; while Blue and Yellow get into a fight over Steven, Steven and Dipper fight over his revenge plan; ultimately, Steven convinces Dipper to give it up while Blue convinces Yellow to help the Gems and the Pines; Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot arrive to help, but White takes control of all of the Diamond's ships, as well as Blue and Yellow, refusing to listen to reason (Battle of Heart and Mind)

Steven fuses with Pearl to form Rainbow Quartz 2.0, he also fuses with Garnet to form Sunstone, and with all three of the Gems to form Obsidian as everyone attacks the Diamond's ships; the Gems and the kids enter White's ship, but the Gems are taken over by White as is (spoiler); White removes Steven's gemstone (which Bill is present to watch), but instead of reforming as Rose or Pink, it reforms into a pink version of Steven; Steven reunites with his gem half and confronts White, forcing her to realize her own imperfections for the first time (Change Your Mind)

Season 8 - Late August

The Gems and the Pines return to Earth with the Diamonds, who begin healing the corrupted Gems (including Jasper); the Gem empire begins to dismantle, allowing Gemkind to live freely; plans for a "Little Homeworld" on Earth new Gravity Falls get underway (A New Era)

Allison and Aaron both arrive in Gravity Falls, discovering everything Dipper and Mabel have been through and revealing their divorce to the younger twins; though they attempt to separate them and take them back home, they're met with swift resistance from Stan, Ford, and the Gems; as a result, the Pines parents are forced to stay in Gravity Falls longer than anticipated (Meet the Pines)

The Pines and the Gems confront Era 3 anarchists Demantoid and Pyrope with help from a reformed Hessonite (Unleash the Light)

Dipper begins looking for ways to free Stonemason from his mind and help him become his own individual person (Without Within)

The Axolotl (spoilers); meanwhile Aaron, desperate to bring his family back together, (spoilers) (The One Who Watches)

(spoilers) sets the Mystery Shack on fire; the Pines narrowly escape with help from the Gems and together,(spoilers) (Ursa Minor)

(Spoilers) Stonipbel, Alexandrite, and Stan and Ford all confront Bill together (Ursa Major)

With help from the Axolotl, (spoilers) (Polaris)

Aaron makes a stand against Allison, deciding to file for custody of both Dipper and Mabel so they can stay in Gravity Falls full time; work begins on rebuilding the Mystery Shack as work on Little Homeworld also properly begins (Mystery and Magic)

Dipper and Mabel turn 14; Now together full-time, the kids reaffirm their bonds as they look toward a bright future together (Encore)

Between Stories

Late 2013

Dipper and Mabel start high school in Gravity Falls alongside Connie and Pacifica

Aaron's custody appeal goes through and he gains full custody of the twins; he officially moves in with his uncles and his kids in Gravity Falls

The Mystery Shack is rebuilt; the temple house is also renovated during this time

Stonemason decides to live in the woods but still maintains regular contact with the Gems; likewise, Jasper moves into the woods of Gravity Falls

2014

Steven continues working alongside the Diamonds to dismantle the empire; Gems are allowed to express themselves freely and many of them start moving to Earth, settling into Little Homeworld

Steven turns 16

Dipper, Mabel, Connie and Pacifica turn 15

Universe Falls Future

Spring 2015

Steven and the Diamonds make an announcement to all former Gem colonies, explaining what happened to Pink and that all Gems are now free under the new system; Steven returns to Earth for a long break alongside his friends (Happily Ever After)

Spinel hears Steven's message and, infuriated by Pink's betrayal, arrives on Earth, intending to destroy it; she uses a rejuvenator against Steven and the Gems, before Steven uses it on her, poofing all of them except for Steven (Other Friends)

The Crystal Gems and Spinel reform with their memories wiped while Steven discovers he has lost most of his powers; the Pines attempt to help them restore their lost memories but are unsuccessful (Your New Best Friend)

After Ruby and Sapphire reform Garnet, Steven and Stan help Amethyst recover her memories (No Matter What)

After Ford's attempt to help Pearl fall through, Steven and Greg form Steg for the first time, helping Pearl recover her memories (Independent Together)

Spinel's past is revealed as she regains her memories; Steven and the twins convince her to come to Earth to help them (Drift Away)

 Though Spinel briefly calls off her injector, though her anger is soon stoked against them again as she uses it to damage much of Gravity Falls; Garnet recovers her memories as the Pines and the Gems work together to protect the town (True Kinda Love)

Steven confronts Spinel, regaining his powers in the process; Spinel's injector is destroyed and she is defeated (Change)

The Diamonds arrive on Earth and invite Spinel to live with them; she accepts as the Gems and the Pines begin working to repair Gravity Falls from the damage done to it by the injector (Found)

Summer 2015

Work on Little Homeworld is completed; Gemkind begins interacting with the magical creatures of Gravity Fall (Gems in the Woods)

Allison returns to Gravity Falls, trying to get Dipper and Mabel back onto her side, but fails as the twins finally confront her for her failures as a mother (Mother Knows Best)

Little Homeschool is established to help Gems adjust to life on Earth

Steven discovers Jasper living in the woods, but upon failing to convince her to come to Little Homeschool, he discovers a destructive new power (Little Homeschool)

The recently-healed Tiger's Eye falls for both Stan and Ford; after a number of misunderstandings, she realizes they aren't interesting and becomes friends with them instead (Crushed)

Steven and the twins attempt to get Gems out of their comfort zones by giving them jobs they're ill-suited for, despite Amethyst and Stan warning them against it (Guidance)

The kids hear from the Axolotl, who informs them how their interdimensional counterparts are doing across multiple dimensions (Interdimensional Pen Pals)

Amber moves to Little Homeworld, but struggles to fit in with recently healed Era 1 Ambers, despite Steven and Dipper's help; she ends up bonding with Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth instead and officially joins the Crystal Gem (Sunshine Gem)

The Zoomans, now in control of the human zoo, arrive on Earth with a handful of unbubbled Rose Quartzes; the Pines and the Gems awkwardly befriend them, still haunted by Rose's past (Rose Buds)

Sphene arrives on Earth and encounters Maven, inspired by their sense of fashion as they roll out a new fashion style for Gems living on Earth (Fashion Maven)

Dipper founds Pines Productions and begins his online documentary series "Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained", showcasing the oddities of Gravity Falls; it quickly gains popularity (Pines Productions)

Steven turns 17

Dipper, Mabel, Connie, and Pacifica turn 16

Fall 2015

Steven fails to heal Pink Pearl's injury, and upon traveling to the Reef, learns that Pink Diamond was responsible for it; Pearl and Pink Pearl fuse into Mega Pearl to rescue the kids and Ford (Volleyball)

Stepper fuses with Stonemason into "Stepping Stone" (Stepping Stone)

Bluebird Azurite, a fusion of Aquamarine and Eyeball, shows up and attempts to show she's turned over a new leaf, before turning on the kids, attacking them; upon being defeated by Alexandrite, Aquamarine and Eyeball flee (Bluebird)

Steven recruits Pacifica, Gideon, and Peridot in trying to get Jasper to turn over a new leaf, but their attempts at convincing her are met with resistance (Redemption Squad)

Aaron meets Dipevebel; Convenper teaches self-defense to magical creatures; Mabonnven hosts a Halloween party in Little Homeworld (Trifusion Traditions)

Winter 2015

Steven, Dipper, and Lapis travel to a distant planet, where they meat Nice and Mean Lapis, who both want to continue terraforming planets; Nice Lapis is convinced to come to Little Homeworld by Lapis (Why So Blue)

The Gems recruit Dipper and Mabel to join them against Steven in a round of "Steven Tag" (Snow Day)

Winter 2016

The kids are cursed to share each other's pain after finding an ancient artifact in the woods; they reach out to Blue Diamond for help but ultimately have to work out issues with each other to break the curse (Sharing is Caring)

A graduation ceremony is held for Gems in Little Homeworld, though Steven soon realizes that his friends may be starting to move on without him, kickstarting (spoilers) (Little Graduation)

Spring 2016

Mabel is offered an internship at a prestigious art program in New York, which she accepts upon encouragement from Dipper; Steven, however, is upset when he realizes their group will be torn apart (Artistically Challenged)

Steven takes up gardening, accidentally bringing a cactus to life that he vents his frustrations to; after the cactus turns into monster, the Gems confront it, but it is ultimately allowed to leave as Steven apologizes to it (Prickly Pair)

Steven's nightmares have him fearing that Bill isn't really gone; Dipper and Ford take it upon themselves to convince him that he's truly gone, but they have to confront Rose's past with Bill in the process (Equilateral)

The kids go roller skating with Bismuth and Pearl; Stevonnie wins a skating contest after Steven awkwardly meets Connie's other friends; Dipper and Pacifica plan to travel together during the summer (Bismuth Casual)

After learning Connie will also be leaving for the summer to tour colleges, Steven's (spoilers) , it's discovered by Stonemason, who agrees to keep it a secret from the others (Upheaval)

Desperate to keep his friends together, Steven tries to convince Connie, Dipper, and Mabel to stay in Gravity Falls with him:

Using the events of RMD as a jumping off point, Steven attempts to guilt trip Dipper into fusing with him, only to result in a falling out between the two (Never Alone)

Steven confesses he does have feelings for Mabel after all, but, upset by how late he is about it, she rebuffs him (Never Forever)

Steven tries to propose to Connie so they can stay together as Stevonnie forever, but she gently turns him down (Never Alone)

As Steven's powers and his corruption worsens, he visits Dr. Maheswaran, who helps him confront the trauma he went through when he was younger; Connie convinces Dipper and Mabel to make amends with Steven, but things are still not entirely repaired between them (Growing Pains)

Greg takes Steven on a road trip, where he learns more about his father's side of the family; upon learning that his father and mother have too much in common, Steven angrily destroys Greg's van (Mr. Universe)

Stan attempts to cheer Steven out by taking him along for a Revenge Trip, only for the two of them to wind up in jail; (spoilers) they're bailed out by Greg (The Stan with a Plan)

(spoilers) Steven runs away from home, but Dipper follows him; in a blind rage, Steven destroys Dipper's metallic arm and flees before Stonemason finds Dipper and takes him back to the Pines (Night Shift)

Steven seeks out Jasper's help in controlling his powers, but he ends up shattering her; he returns home to heal her as she vows her loyalty to him; Dipper realizes he'll have to go to Yellow Diamond to repair his arm and Stonemason agrees to go with him (Fragments)

Steven flees to Homeworld, seeking help from the Diamonds; Steven nearly shatters White after taking control of her and quickly flees as his corruption continues to become more apparent; Yellow Diamond repairs Dippers arm and attempts to reconcile with him and Stonemason but she's rebuffed; upon realizing that Steven was there and that he's still in trouble, Dipper and Stonemason prepare to return to Earth alongside the Diamonds (Homeworld Bound)

Steven temporarily (spoilers) by shifting into a more "perfect" form; he desperately tries helping out around Little Homeworld but only ends up causing damage; when the Gems and the Pines attempt an intervention, Steven breaks down (spoilers) turning into a massive monster (Everything's Fine)

Lost to his corruption, Steven begins a blind rampage through Gravity Falls; the Diamonds arrive on Earth alongside Dipper and Stonemason, and they join the Pines and the Gems in trying to calm Steven down; Connie, Dipper, and Mabel show their unconditional love for Steven, finally returning him to normal (I Am My Monster)

Summer 2016

Steven begins to heal from his meltdown over the next several weeks with the help of his family, friends, and therapist

Mabel leaves Gravity Falls, heading to New York for her summer internship

Connie sets out with her parents to begin touring colleges across the country

Stan and Ford return to sailing, searching the sea for more anomalies

Dipper and Pacifica set out on their summer travels the same night Steven leaves Gravity Falls to travel the country on his own in order to discover himself (Facing the Future)

Post-Canon

Summer 2016

The kids reunite with each other and with the Gems several times throughout the summer

Steven turns 18

Dipper, Mabel, Connie, and Pacifica turn 17

Late 2016

The kids eventually all reunite in Gravity Falls as a new school year begins

Spring 2017

Dipper, Mabel, Connie, and Pacifica graduate from high school; Connie moves onto college while Mabel enters an art program in New York; Dipper and Pacifica go to a local college together and move in together at the shack

Stan and Ford return from their adventures and settle back into Gravity Falls, both of them officially retiring

~2022

Dipper and Pacifica get married

~2023

Steven and Connie get married

Lisa Universe is born to Steven and Connie Universe

2025

Twins Avery and Abigail Pines are born to Dipper and Pacifica Pines

2027

Comet Universe is born to Steven and Connie Universe

2029

Tyrone Pines is born to Mabel Pines

2030

Rebecca Universe is born to Steven and Connie Universe

2035

Alexander Pines is born to Dipper and Pacifica Pines

[the-power-of-stuff]

The Live-Action Sukka Manifesto that I Just Couldn't Keep in My Head

So I've been marinating in my live-action Sukka thoughts for the past three days, and when someone sent me an anon asking if I had any thoughts about the changes, at first I went, "DO I EVER?!" and proceeded to dump my entire brain on the page.

But then I worried maybe the anon wouldn't want to see my entire brain and figured I'd make my own post with my Many, Many Thoughts, and reel it in a bit when I answer the ask. And then link here if they're interested in the dissertation.

I'll put all the excessive details and spoilery stuff under a cut, but I'll start by saying, I didn't hate it! And I was afraid that I would.

There were things that I was bummed or had mixed feelings about, but there was also a lot that I genuinely enjoyed. All the Sukka interactions were cute and still had some decent character development, and I had fun with the episode overall (I've watched it thrice mind you, and definitely have not given the rest of the series that kind of attention). And I didn't necessarily dislike the differences from the original; I think I've just taken more of a "that was an interesting interpretation" approach.

But I better start that cut now, because I'm about to go on and on about this. I'd love to know what others think, though!! Even if the opinions aren't the same as mine! Please feel free to comment, reblog, shoot me an ask. If nothing else, I'm excited that the LA has gotten people talking about ATLA again.

So, I want to start with Suki’s characterization, which overall I found to be delightful, even if it was a bit of a watered-down version of her animated self.

In the original show, Suki is confident, sassy, and doesn’t take shit from anybody. She’s proud to the point of almost being arrogant, and even a little mean. What we get in the LA is someone who’s still confident in terms of her status and her skills, and still proud of her heritage and her role in her community, but with significantly less sass. And while LA Suki still seems like someone who wouldn’t take anyone’s shit, we don’t actually see LA Suki deal with that much shit from anyone (because Sokka isn’t really giving her any). 

There is one moment in the show where her interaction with Sokka is a little contentious, which is when he tries to relate to her as a fellow guardian of his people. I think Suki’s question to Sokka about how is he protecting his village if he’s not there is meant to be a challenge to his swagger. However, the line is delivered with a softness that makes it seem as though Suki is, at least in part, genuinely curious. (This curiosity makes even more sense when we consider the fact that Suki’s eventually going to leave Kyoshi Island so she and her Warriors can take part in the war effort, and that she will have to contend with the question of “how do you do that without abandoning your people?” when coming to that decision. The LA lays a lot more of this groundwork than the animated show did: Suki outwardly expressing her desire to see the world, her mother’s secretive looks every time Suki gazes longingly at Sokka the possibilities…)

Compare these two moments, for example. These are both scenes where Suki expresses disbelief at Sokka's claims about his warrior-hood. But in the LA, Suki speaks rather quietly and mildly, in contrast to the brash sarcasm of her animated counterpart. LA Suki is also tilting her head down and away, looking at Sokka indirectly. OG Suki is leaning in close, getting in his face, smirking derisively with her hands on her hips.  

I think there’s something to be said about the LA in general smoothing away certain personality traits that could be seen as negatives but that are actually strengths that are so narratively well-developed they occasionally show up as flaws (for instance, Katara’s fury, or lack thereof). Animated Suki is prideful and stubborn; she berates Sokka until he gives her sad puppy-dog eyes and has zero hesitation about making an example of him in front of her whole class. It’s a little ruthless, but these traits are also 1) what gets through Sokka’s thick skull (he, too, is prideful and stubborn), and 2) what makes her such a dedicated ambassador of Kyoshi and such a strong leader of the island’s Warriors at such a young age. I feel like the LA writers were afraid of making any of the protagonists seem too abrasive—everyone in the LA has had their edges sanded down, including Zuko, including Aang—and in general this tends to lead to less realistic representations of humanity and conflict, less satisfying character development arcs, and fewer opportunities for reflection and learning. 

That being said! I went into watching the LA with negative expectations about what we would see in terms of character development, and thus was pleasantly surprised. 

The LA removed the need for Suki to be as ruthlessly stubborn as she is in the animated show because LA Sokka’s skull is not so thick (and I'll get into that a bit more later). So what we get instead is a sheltered Suki with a helicopter mom who is so hilariously awkward that she has no idea how to interact with other humans. And, to be honest, I enjoyed this version of her so much that I even thought to myself, “I wish I’d thought of that!”

Suki is a straight-up weirdo in the LA and I love that for her. The way she puts Sokka in a chokehold and then looks at him after she sets him free like, “That was good flirting, yes? Would you like to be my boyfriend now?” And then her disappointment when Sokka walks away as if she’s thinking, “Why didn’t that go well, I thought boys loved getting put in chokeholds?” She is so precious, I just want to put her in my pocket. And this characterization might even be more broadly relatable than a super-confident Suki brimming with sass. Who among us hasn’t made a complete fool of ourselves in front of a crush by coming on way too strong and having no idea how to flirt? I mean…real. 

And because Sokka is also mostly just making a fool of himself trying to impress a pretty and talented peer (instead of covering up his insecurities by wrapping himself in misogyny) this leaves room for the two of them to be attracted to each other right off the bat and for their interactions to be more overtly romantic throughout the entire episode. Which, avid shipper that I am, I have to admit I have been gobbling up for the past three days straight. This episode was an IV drip of romantic tropes hooked straight to every Sukka shipper’s veins. 

Shy glances from across the room? Check.

Walking in on the other person half-naked? Check. (Y’all, Suki looks Sokka up and down for a FULL TWENTY SECONDS yes I timed it from the moment she appears in the background, yes you should count it to see how long that really is. Talk about awkward.) 

Tripping so they end up falling into each other’s arms? Check.

Wide-eyed shock that turns into surprise thirst after being pinned to the ground? Check.

Shooting each other satisfied smirks as they kick ass side-by-side? Check.

Jumping in front of literal fire for each other? Check and check!

Like, I could live off this for the rest of the year. 

But look, there’s a lot that I love about the way Sokka and Suki’s relationship is portrayed in this episode besides those romantically indulgent tension-creating moments, and it has to do with Suki’s admiration and validation of Sokka. 

Suki really looked at this boy with his mouth stuffed half-full of steamed bun and went, “Must have.”

With the removal of overt sexism from this episode (for better or worse), the story focused much more heavily on Sokka’s development as a leader. He still has that sort of posturing display of self-confidence that comes from inexperience and trying too hard to prove oneself (“Ferociously…deadly tiger whales…”), and while at first Suki seems put off by this and his attempts to liken himself to her (“I’m not just a warrior, I’m a Kyoshi warrior”) it doesn’t take her long to decide (*cough*after seeing him shirtless*cough*) that she doesn’t actually mind this behavior (and in fact maybe she kind of likes it because maybe it means he likes her and maybe it means she can show him how much she likes him by slicing the tops off all those melons with her fan). She seems genuinely interested in his boomerang and impressed that he hunts, and then later, she immediately takes interest in training him in the Kyoshi Warrior style. 

After they spar, she casually refers back to the fact that he’s his village’s protector, and this time, she does it without the disbelief and defensiveness. Because he’s finally stopped posturing. He opened himself up and gave himself over to Suki’s expertise, and in that way he proved that he has the will and desire—the heart—of a warrior. And Suki tells him so while touching him gently and gazing at him longingly in the soft golden glow of the late-afternoon sun. And as a die-hard Sokka stan, I love seeing him loved and appreciated like this. Adamantly. Ardently. The Sokka cheerleader in my head is going wild. “YEESSSS!! Our boy deserves this!!” Because we know that, in the animated show, he goes through a lot more struggle and self-doubt before he receives this kind of external validation. And while we also know that this makes for an incredibly satisfying growth arc, I gotta admit that it’s a fun bit of indulgence to watch Suki talk Sokka up directly to his face and then want to kiss him really bad. Y’know. As a treat.

That said, I'm very attached to and appreciative of the way their relationship is framed in the animated series. I love that their respect and affection for each other grows even after the disaster that is their first few interactions. In the LA, they are drawn to each other immediately, and the only barrier seems to be a bit of awkward stepping-in-it-ness. In the original, they have legitimate conflict, and they both have to give a little—Sokka becomes more humble, Suki becomes more tender—before they get to that point of potential romantic interest. And I think it says a lot about Sokka’s character and his desire to learn and grow that he is willing to humble himself in front of someone who, as far as he’s seen, has very little regard for him (slash has a good deal of animosity towards him). Giving himself over to Suki’s expertise costs him more in the animated show. But once he does, he and Suki learn and grow together. He shows Suki who he really is, shows her how dedicated and determined (and fun and a quick learner) he is, to the point that, by the end of the episode, she can allow herself to be vulnerable with him. And she does validate him in the original Kyoshi Warriors episode, just less directly than the LA. Her kiss on his cheek and “...but I’m a girl, too” is about forgiveness and acceptance and acknowledgement and respect, as much as or even more than it is about affection. There’s a little bit of romance, too, but it’s just little baby seeds of it, and it feels very natural to let those seeds germinate over time until we see Suki again later in the series. 

Which brings me to the live-action kiss. 

I’ll be honest, I was a little on the fence about the kiss. I want Sokka and Suki to kiss as much as possible in every conceivable universe. So there’s a part of me that was banging on the table and whistling with obscene joy. But the other part of me thought it was too much too soon. However, my hesitance pre-supposes some things about the second season (not least of which that there will be one), namely that it will handle the reunion with Suki and crossing the Serpent’s Pass anything like how it was done in the original. (Of course, one thing we now know for certain can't happen in a hypothetical LA season 2 is Suki pranking Sokka at the ferry station because he doesn't recognize her without her makeup. Do I love the expression on LA Sokka's face the first time he sees Suki's? Yes. Am I sad that this completely ruins their whole "You don't remember me? Maybe you'll remember this!" game? Also yes. But truthfully, I don't know if LA Suki would've been up to the prank, anyway. Not sassy enough. ;))

The Serpent’s Pass is one of my favorite episodes of all time, and that moment on the bluffs when Sokka and Suki are talking around Sokka’s loss, with the moon shining down on them all the while, and they almost kiss with the moon hanging between them in the background, and then Sokka pulls away without any other explanation besides, “I can’t”? That scene is so absurdly powerful and beautiful and an amazing moment of character development for them both, and I feel like it loses a lot of impact if they’ve already made out once. The fact that they kiss for the first time after that moonlit moment, when Sokka realizes that Suki doesn’t need protecting the way he thought she did, and in fact she was there to protect him, and he can finally just let go of this burden that he’s been carrying with him since Suki first mentioned she was joining them (slash since his dad put him in charge of an entire village at 13), and then and only then can he open his heart to what he feels for Suki, and in fact opens it so wide that he just cannot help but jam his mouth onto hers before she’s even finished talking…? I mean. C’mon. That’s poetry. But, again…loses impact if they’ve already had a first kiss.

But who knows what, if anything, they’ll actually do with that storyline. So for now, I’ll just enjoy my live-action Sukka kiss because, honestly, dream come true.    

Or almost a dream come true. Because there's a huge camelephant in the room that I haven't addressed yet, isn't there? The lack of Sokka in the Kyoshi Warrior uniform...

And I don’t think we can talk about the omission of Sokka’s Kyoshi Warrior uniform without talking about the omission of Sokka’s sexism. Because if Sokka isn’t sexist, then why do you have to put him in the dress and makeup of traditionally female warriors to make a point about how women are strong and capable, too? So here’s what I’ll say about that (and I know there’s a lot that people have said already, so I’ll try not to belabor the point.) I don’t think leaving out Sokka’s sexism was necessarily a detriment to his character arc. I do think, however, that leaving out Sokka’s sexism was a detriment to the message the show was trying to convey about sexism. 

Now, in the Northern Water Tribe episodes, the LA still gives us a message about fighting against the kind of systemic, institutionalized sexism that you might not be surprised to encounter within a very old-fashioned society or from a very old-fashioned gray-haired man. But what about the off-the-cuff, everyday kind of sexism that you might experience from an otherwise good person who is close to you? A person who loves you and would do anything for you but who gets carried away teasing you about “girly” things because of intrinsically-held biases that they’re not even that conscious of having? 

I think it’s important and meaningful for male and female audiences alike, and everyone in between, to see these different forms of sexism and misogyny—to see them, to recognize those behaviors in others and in ourselves, to be able to name them, and to have examples of fighting against them. We see the former kind—institutionalized, systemic—in Pakku. And we did see the latter kind—familiar, personal—in Sokka. And now that’s lost.

Not only that, but there’s the form of sexism that says boys aren’t allowed to do feminine things lest they relinquish their maleness. And in the animated show, we got to see Sokka combating this form of sexism, too. Not only does Suki show him that girls can be fierce warriors as well as boys, but he learns that wearing makeup and a dress does not make him any less of a young man.  

So, yes, I think the lack of Sokka in Kyoshi Warrior garb was a missed opportunity. And not just because Sokka looked really good in uniform and we all should have had the chance to see that, including and especially Suki. 

Alright, this is more than long enough, so I'll leave off with a moment from the LA that gave me great pleasure.

I needed this moment, y'all. And I was so afraid it wouldn't happen. I needed Sokka being protective, I needed him using his newfound Kyoshi Warrior skills to fight, and I needed him jumping in front of fire for the girl who'd taught him. If we couldn't have Sokka in the Kyoshi Warrior uniform, at least we had this.

[villainintern]

I think i failed to actually say how much i enjoyed your demo when it came out but also how it left me very discombobulated lmao perfect word to use. I generally play characters that are honest and geniune and overall... good... i suppose is the word.

And in this that makes you weird. Literally every choice had me like.. oh.. 🤔

And theres so many little details and little texts which are not just funny but also like these people will kill you and think nothing of it. And then i keep having to tell myself well duh dude that's the whole point. You are playing a villain 😭😭😭😭😭

This game is an experience. I'm out here trying to make the least... evil choices as a badguy. Idk. It's such an odd feeling to play. It's fun don't get me wrong it's just extremely new.

Thank you, that's what I like to hear!!! I'm so flattered you're enjoying it!! :P

The MC is definitely less of a "stock" character than in other games. They fully want to be a villain, they act the part, they're totally into it. Which isn't the case for even other supervillain stories, but I wanted to lean into the tropes and the over-the-top fun of it all. That probably isn't the normal personality most players go for, but I'm glad people are having fun stepping into a new role!!

That said, there will absolutely be a chance for good-leaning players to change their minds and jump ship. I have a whole arc in store for regretful villains who are considering a career change. Your character will slowly start to open up and gain a conscience the more you act "nice". I keep tabs on this with some hidden stats- spoilery stuff below the cut if you're interested ⬇️

I'll be tracking your character's "doubt", which you can raise through choices that express hesitation, regret, or mercy. The higher your doubt, the easier it will be for you to quit villainy. You'll also unlock nicer options, although you may be locked out of truly evil stuff if you've established a guilty conscience.

Alternatively, the more the MC acts outright "evil" or directly takes part in villainous things, the higher their "culpability" stat will be. If their culpability gets too high, they'll have a very hard time allying with heroes or even engaging with normal society. On the flip side, a high culpability will make unrepentant villains trust you more, and you'll unlock some really sinister and evil extra choices.

[colourful-void]

alright closing umineko for the night!! i had a great time with it so far!! i really like the writing style, and for the most part its actually a lot less dense than i was expecting. I thought it might be some house of leaves stuff but no this is pretty easy to read, at least so far! im rlly glad for that like it doesn't feel too simple, not too complicated, its good!

current character thoughts run down, though i've barely started so i dont know much yet: ginzo: he sucks he totally sucks and im convinced that he made some kidna deal w/ beatrice in order to take advantage of the earthquake and war and such. not entirely convinced hes not about to just murder the whole family bcs he seems like he would do that. krauss: also sucks. just a real dick, but in like. he's a standard asshole really. natsuhi: much in the same vien, but she's got that matriach of the family thing going on i hope will b explored more <3 jessica: she's neat i like her! looking forward to more on her. Eva: i was digging for her a while and then i saw how she treated shannon and it went out the window hideyoshi: ive yet to expirence a thought on this man George: he's very tropey in a good way and i enjoy he's friendly guy swag. looking forward to it inevitably falling to pieces rudolf: DICK!! kyrie: girl leave your husband. i can treat u better <3, im glad she has some decency but my mind aint set on her yet battler: HES SO CRINGEEEE <333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 sometimes he does genuinely offput me but mostly he's just stupid <3 rosa: be a bit nicer to ur daughter, but beyond that shes chill i think. no big thoughts here. i do like her dynamic in relation to the rest of the siblings so far maria: MARIA MY DARLING MY DEAREST SHES SO SWEET AND SILLY AND CLEARLY OMINOUS I CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT DARK MAGICS OVERTAKE HER OR WHATEVER <333 maria for whatever the fuck she wants 2024 love her so much no crazy thoughts on the head butler or doctor but i think in a different world the butler and ginzo had crazy gay sex shannon: shes soooo sweetie <3 suspiciously so this game wants me to like her so bad and i do <3. i am aware of one key spoilery fact about shannon uncovered in some content warnings i recieved, but its kinda fun seeing the set up for that! everyone be nicer to my girl kanon: hes suspcious but overly so and i wonder what his deal is. i also think all the servants need to be treated better this fucking furnature stuff <3 its awful i love it narratively gohda: i think he would kill someone with very little hesitation. i wanna try that panna cotta. kumasawa: shes like a grandma to me <333 i like her!!

i havent met beatrice yet but im looking forward to it she looks super neat.

i also apperciate how slow burn this is, a few hours in and very little has happened yet it's nice. there's already a lot building but like. nothing big yet it's nice. i like it. it feels like it's moving at exactly the pace it wants to and i enjoy it a lot. the sound design is also rlly good. the music is really nice a couple times i got distracted and just listened to it in the bg. the sfx r nice too.

i do not regret my sprite choice i like these designs they're fun, but i do think maria looks a little off for her alleged age of 9, but it's easy to ignore after a min or two.ironically when i was loading the game and saw her on the steam page it def aligned better, but at the cost battler to my eyes is now yassified. he cant be a pretty boy to me he's too lame.

voice acting is great everyones putting fucking everyting into it and i enjoy that. fully commited to the enviroment and its great.

where i left off: everyone just finished having lunch! kumasawa covered for shannon not knowing the red sauce's ingredients. that's all for now! not sure when ill paly more, probably tomorrow, but its been good!! good game so far i like this setg up!! im also eagar to get more into the murder and violence and witch stuff but like, it does a good joib of setting up the characters so i dont feel impatient, and unlike a lot of games w/ murder n mystery that get right into it i kinda find it refreshing how slow this one is to start its like we all know itll get there so the tension of everyone being relatively calm is great.

anyway, umineko day 1: it was good =D

[soulventure91]

5 (and 7 and 8 if applicable) for seht!!

spoilery rook asks!! |

5. Who does Rook romance? What was the moment that sparked their interest?

Lucanis was Seht's chosen romance - not deterred by his possession or distance, charmed by his gentleness and dedication. I think her interest was fully sparked when she found Lucanis planning dinner and mentioning baking a hazelnut torte for dessert to complement the coffee Seht claimed was her favorite.* (*Seht eventually grows to like coffee. In the meeting with Illario at the cafe, Seht was so caught up in what was going on that she automatically agreed with Lucanis regards good coffee. Fic in the works of this coming out of course.) But the fact that he not only remembered that she had made the claim, but wanted to make something for her (despite his protests it's for the team sure Lucanis u stoke that oven up to 400*F to roast hazelnuts for the team) that would go with it? Floored. Though the near-kiss in the pantry did help, and they're a regular battle couple of assassin and spellblade.

7. How does their romance start? For Lucanis - it was definitely a moment of love at first sight, though he would never have imagined it that way until far later. A beautiful woman breaks you out of your year-long prison - never mind that she's qunari and a full head taller than you and a mage - with no regards that you've been held by maleficar Venatori that literally stuffed a demon inside you (against both your will, and the demon's) and she's immediately...kind? Sympathetic, at word of Caterina's "death"? How could he not? ...he can't, because it's a job. A contract. He has to be professional. And Spite? Complicates things, drastically. How can he risk it? Can he even open himself up enough that she can see he's dangerous? [I want. To talk. TO ROOK!] For Seht - I think during the 'Inner Demons' quest is when she actually realizes she has feelings for Lucanis and lays the groundwork of their relationship. She does like him, is intrigued by him, right away - but Lucanis's indecision ending up bad enough for Spite to pull her in? [He listens to YOU!] It makes Seht realize how much they care for each other, even if Lucanis doesn't flash his feelings openly. That realization ensures Seht guides Lucanis to focus on saving Caterina, not getting revenge on Illario. That way, when Lucanis sees Seht as part of his family? It means they'll fight all the harder for each other.

8. Rook and their LI(s) first kiss:

~*~

"Here, try this - step into a lunge, then pivot. Keep your arm out, dagger extended -"

[Watching her,] Spite taunts, though Lucanis tunes out the demon as Seht tries to mimic the move. She's good enough with her mageknife that Lucanis decided to train her with a few Crow maneuvers - nothing too fancy or complicated, but steps Seht could use to enhance her combat alongside her magic. Risky, perhaps, but one he's willing to take.

Seht nods, adjusting her stance and biting her lip in that way Lucanis has noticed when she's concentrating perhaps a little too hard. Of course this means she pivots as she's trying to lunge, and Lucanis stifles a soft laugh as Seht tumbles. Not cruelly, of course, but they've been at this for at least an hour.

"I don't think I'm coordinated enough for this," Seht groans, lying on the cobblestones of the Lighthouse's courtyard for a moment. "Definitely not Crow material..."

"Good thing, then; Heir would eviscerate you for being sloppy," Lucanis replies, though he keeps his voice light as he approaches to help Seht stand. "Let's try it this way -"

He hears Spite inhale deeply, though Lucanis tries to keep his own breathing from matching it, as Lucanis stands near Seht, carefully holding her waist with one hand and using his feet to adjust her stance.

[Smells like...salt! Sour apples!] This was not helpful information.

"Bene - from here, step into the lunge -"

Seht's left arm comes up as Lucanis guides her movement - standing behind her, his own left hand coming up her arm to match her movement.

"Then pivot -"

Seht begins to turn, Lucanis's touch on her waist gliding across the small of her back. Seht's face is now about eye level with his - her night-sky gaze finding his, making his heart skip and gut plummet. Seht's long brown hair drifts past, followed by her curled horns. A waft of scent tingles his nose: sharp, tangy, storm-like.

He has to step back, has to, as Seht's left arm and her knife curve between them. Seht does pull her arm back enough that Lucanis isn't caught in the arc, and moreso with the crackle of lightning that fills the space. Lucanis's heart is pounding, even as Spite forms in his vision, gaze fixed to Seht with a low purr.

Seht's expression breaks into a smile, not wide and toothy, but soft, so soft and delicate - more visible in the way her diamond-shaped scars rise, how her eyes glint and shine.

Lucanis regains that step as Seht finishes the move, but before she straightens, is still in his reach - his hand cradles her cheek, his lips find hers. Soft, brief, and yet it arcs through him. Lucanis is more surprised Seht doesn't push him back, even as he pulls away himself.

"...not bad," Lucanis murmurs.

She smelled of salt and sour apples.

[kimboo-york]

A Short Treatise on Madam Yu

This is all about Madam Yu as represented in my fic The Bastards of Yunmeng, not canon!

Okay, first off, I need to make clear that I am not a Madam Yu respecter. I loathe the character, probably for very personal reasons. If Madam Yu is your babygirl, I’m sorry, this is not the meta for you.

WARNING: If you have not read up through chapter 11 of the fic, this meta is super spoilery!

This meta is not particularly spoilery for The Bastards of Yunmeng past chapter 11, but does have some information about characters that will become important later on. So, the usual warning about spoilers are in place here.

Read at your own risk, yada yada yada…

Importantly, nothing that happens in this story is meant to redeem Madam Yu. My personal headcanon is that she was a narcissist and unable to genuinely, selflessly love other people, and that is how I’ve written her here. She was in a very unhappy situation, but also she was simply not a good person overall, IMHO. It is interesting to consider if she was born that way or corrupted by circumstances, sure, but in the end, she was who she was. You can slap whatever diagnostic labels on her you want, I’m just saying she was toxic. Some people found that out later rather than sooner.

Honestly, I don’t know the specifics of how her affair with Wei Changze (and, very likely, Cangse Sanren) came about. What I DO know, however:

Jiang Fengman is sterile. She figured that out pretty quickly and took steps. This might be her villain origin story, actually; the only reason she was married off to him was to produce heirs, and so she had to do that no matter the risks. That Wei Changze was a cousin of Jiang Fengman’s and a strong cultivator in his own right made him a very attractive option, as any child of his would at least look like a Jiang.

Wei Changze is a complicated character in this story, but he’s also dead and cannot answer for himself. But here are a few important points: a) He did NOT cheat on his beloved wife. Not sure how that all went down, but it was consensual for all involved. I’m pretty sure Yanli was conceived before WCZ and CS officially got together, anyway. How Jiang Cheng happened, I’m not sure, but there was NO cheating. Well, aside from WCZ cuckolding JFM. I know this doesn’t paint Wei Changze in the best light, but what we know of Wei Wuxian is that he sometimes made outrageously dumb decisions with the best of intentions. (Maybe it’s genetic?) Personally I suspect he always disliked Jiang Fengman, though I’m not sure why. b) Also, I believe that when she was younger, before the bitterness and resentment took over, Madam Yu was very good at manipulating people (as many narcissists are). Yunmeng Jiang needed an heir and she was going to get it done. Anyway, I can’t say if Madam Yu seduced both CS and WCZ or convinced CS to share or what, but consent was given.

Madam Yu’s rage against Wei Ying had a lot more to do with her fear that a direct comparison to her son would reveal her secrets than with the rumors that he was JFM’s bastard.

I’m pretty sure that her feelings for Cangse Sanren were obsessive in nature, flipping from love to hate once she realized that CS well and truly had everything that she never would, including both WCZ and freedom. This definitely played into her hatred of WWX.

Why did she keep the letters? Because I’ve written her as a narcissist, and if there is one thing narcissists believe, it is that they are smarter than everyone around them and that rules don’t apply to them. She wanted to keep the letters, so she did. To be fair, they would never have been discovered if not for a freak lightning strike/fire in her quarters while she was away from Lotus Pier. Bad, bad luck.

I did toy with making Jiang Cheng’s father Wen Zhuliu, but I really wanted to bind the children closer together and I think that would have made JC feel isolated and left out instead. (I will maybe someday write the story of him being WZL’s son and inheriting his core-melting abilities, but that’s not this story.)

In Madam Yu’s favor, she offered to submit to her imprisonment and execution without a fight and make no attempts to escape if Jiang Fengman would at least let her children go free. He agreed, which is what led to their being immediately cast out rather than imprisoned. Would he have had them killed, eventually? I honestly don’t think so, but he might have sold them off or something.

Jiang Fengman offered Jinzhu and Yinzhu the option to return to Meishan in disgrace, but they declined and demanded to be executed along with their mistress as a point of pride. Yanli will find this out eventually, but it's not really important to the plot.

[stripedtabbycat]

gravity falls thoughts of the week: i've been joking about ford not knowing what's okay or safe to let children do in the past few episodes but that kind of becomes less funny in the show in "dipper and mabel vs. the future", when we see that these missions he's taking dipper along on are actually putting this kid in danger. sure he manages to survive and get them out of the danger but it's kind of concerning that ford's takeaway from this is "see, you can handle it!" and not "maybe i shouldn't invite this 12-going-on-13-year-old to be my apprentice in highly dangerous field research"

but dipper, of course, doesn't realize this because he's a kid getting to do cool stuff with an adult who respects his intelligence and doesn't treat him like a kid, even though that's the problem. this final string of episodes does a good job highlighting the theme of dipper wanting to grow up too fast and mabel wanting to stay a kid forever and how neither of those are realistic approaches, even though most of the time this isn't a show terribly concerned with realism.

(kind of wild to me thinking about it now that there were a lot of fans at the time who genuinely thought dipper was giving up a great opportunity by choosing not to take ford up on his apprenticeship offer by the end. i guess that's the difference between watching kids' shows when you're closer to the age of the main characters and watching them when you're a lot older than the characters. on most shows i wouldn't worry too much over questions like "are these kids who go on fun adventures that appeal to the target demographic who like to imagine getting to do cool things Literal Child Soldiers?" but here the point clearly is that kids shouldn't have a full-time job instead of going to school and having a normal childhood and adolescence, and also more broadly that the adult in this situation is projecting his own issues onto the kids and does not actually know what's best for them. idk i think it's pretty obvious!)

on mabel's side of (not) coping with things, there's a lot to say about mabeland and what it represents. when i first watched this i was a little disappointed that they didn't make the inside of the bubble a perfect recreation of gravity falls with mabel living out her endless summer by pretending nothing's changed, complete with eerie fake replicas of her friends and family, and instead went full fantasy land...but i did ultimately like where they ended up going with it. i like the implication that mabel doesn't actually have fake versions of the other characters there because she's waiting for the real ones to show up so they can be together (or at least that's my headcanon. dippy fresh might count but he's just the "backup" there to agree with mabel when the real dipper inevitably goes against her plans.) i like that bill isn't too concerned about the others getting inside the bubble because it's designed to keep you trapped there by giving you whatever you want, plus it's an obvious "safe" place in the middle of all the chaos outside. i should probably make a separate post for this because i realized while thinking about this episode that i have a lot of thoughts on mabeland and how the bubble works. (originally the title for part 2 was going to be "escape from mabeland" but the crew thought it was too spoilery or would set up a different expectation from the fans, so it became "escape from reality" instead. which is technically the opposite of what the original title meant but it's still accurate because that's what mabeland is! she's trying to escape from reality!)

final thoughts were that a lot of people thought the conflicts were resolved too quickly in these last few episodes but i'm forgiving of it because they are working with limited time for these episodes here and it is still a kids' show. also the long hiatuses between episodes kind of messed with the fandom's sense of time back when they were first airing. i feel like there was so much fanart of the characters becoming hardened post-apocalyptic warriors during this era but the actual apocalypse in the show's time lasts for like, a week. maybe less.

anyway, watching the finale tonight and then i'll reread my copy of journal 3, and finally read the lost legends comics which just came in from the library, and then hopefully get on the long waitlist for the book of bill, aaaaaand then i'll be done and can go back to watching shows that aren't for kids. well i'll do that after running through over the garden wall one last time, it is the tenth anniversary after all.

[alesyira]

'tis but a scratch

this spoilery bit of content happens much later on in villain, and by the time we actually get there, that whole story will have been revised a ton to correctly align with the prequel content i've been working on lately.

I'm quite mad that i cannot figure out how to format this like i want to, so extra spaces it is.

With all the destruction i'm writing this week with Mirio's prequel oneshots, there was a joke about how he'd need to retire and run off to hawaii when he eventually gets rid of OfA, and I made the offhanded comment that he'd better run before Hitoshi catches him after Mirio hurts Izuku ...

look if you've seen half of the painful content i've been shoving at the server you'd totally understand why people were like OH NO IZUKU

look, here, he's fine(ish)

The beginning of the end, for Izuku, occurs on a sunny afternoon. 

Or is it the end of the beginning?

With his hand tucked into the crook of Hitoshi's elbow, he hangs on with a quiet sort of joy at being escorted to the market for groceries. The tail end of his capture weapon clings to the back of his neck and trails beneath his shirt, smoothing over his skin in a slow pattern that never stills. They are in the middle of a quiet discussion about what they might make for dinner when Izuku notices the scent of ozone. 

And then,

nothing.

He isn't usually lucid for these strange daydreams. 

snips of screaming

 

blankness

overlapping voices

hey, look

come with us

warm 

cold 

wet 

nothing

home

destiny

When he rouses from his moment, it turns out it wasn't a moment. He aches from head to toe. His mouth is like a desert, parched and dry. There's a vague coppery taste in the back of his throat. His eyes feel like they've been glued shut.

He has no idea where he is. Things are fuzzy around the edges. There's a quiet beeping from his left, and on his right...

the warm slide of Hitoshi's capture weapon drifts along his arm. His hand twitches, wanting to grasp something that he knows is safe. If that's here, then-

"Izuku," Hitoshi whispers. 

The knot of stress in his chest loosens minutely. He's here. 

"Stay still. I've got you."

He'd really like to know where he is and what's going on, but Hitoshi's fingers pressing against his palm will suffice for now. 

"You were nearly crushed by a hero crash-landing right next to you."

He quirks an eyebrow. Hitoshi correctly interprets it as a request for more information. "Hero's okay, probably. At least, they're fine from that impact. Whatever's wrong with them otherwise is a different story."

His brows scrunch low. His lips twitch into a frown. 

"Lemillion."

The word is enough to make him choke on his next breath. The last time he'd seen that hero in person had been a terrifying day. 

Twice now, though.  Twice he'd had an encounter with the hero, and twice he'd had - well... apparently a rough day. 

His lips part. He wants to ask for water, but no sound escapes. 

What the hell happened to me?

An ice chip sweeps slowly across his lower lip.

"Ah, don't cry," he hears Hitoshi gently admonish. "You're already dehydrated enough." 

Water drips between his lips, terribly slow. He wants to suck down an entire gallon of water, but he doesn't think he'd be able to lift a cup, let alone swallow right now.

"You've got an IV in with some fluids. It should help."

Where the hell am I?

He manages to crack open his right eye, but his vision is blurry. 

Gentle whispers echo in the farthest corners of the room, so vague he's not sure he's understanding the words.

homesafehereours

[musicoftheheart]

4 8 11 for wip ask

hiya! thanks for the ask <3

4. dont walk too close

oh my GOD okay this might be my favourite wip at the moment. i started it a little while ive been on a hmt break because i was in need of angst and this fic is ANGST.

i dont want to say too much in case it turns out to be really spoilery, but its a sirius-centric/black brothers-centric fic that starts right as sirius leaves for hogwarts. ive seen a lot of depictions of him rebelling against his parents before he went to school, but what if he didn’t? what if he was their perfect son, but somehow ended up in gryffindor and learned that maybe the world wasnt what he thought? what if that changed everything?

what if — stick with me now — what if it changed where regulus was sorted, too?

yeah, thats right — im talking gryffindor!regulus.

the fic is gonna follow all of sirius’ first year — including the holidays — and then his second year too (regulus’ first). i dont know how far along ill take it, but if it only goes as far as second/third year, there’ll at least be an epilogue showing snapshots of later years. here’s a lil sneak peek of the very start:

Generally, Sirius Orion Black III was not afraid.

He did not hide; he did not cry; and he did not tremble.

Today, he felt like doing all three.

Of course, he wouldn’t. Mother had raised him better than that, for a start, but the pure humiliation of showing that sort of emotion was beneath him. He was a Black, for Merlin’s sake. To show his fear was perhaps one of the most ridiculous things he could do.

”Now, remember what I told you, Sirius,” his mother instructed, adjusting his shirt collar to sit properly against his neck. It was a little tight for him, but it made his jaw look sharp, so he wore it anyway. “You don’t want to go making acquaintances with the wrong sort.”

”I know, Mother,” said Sirius with a nod.

”And you tell the hat you’re a Slytherin like a good boy.”

Sirius nodded again. “Yes, Mother.”

Licking her thumb, his Mother smoothed back a lock of his hair that had fallen out of place. “I expect a letter home before the end of the first week to inform me of your fellow housemates and the connections you’ve made.”

”Of course, Mother.”

Stepping back, Walburga Black eyed him appraisingly, then nodded to herself. “Good. Kreacher!”

With a crack, their house elf appeared before them, head bowed. “Mistress Black,” he croaked.

”Take him to the station. Make me proud, Sirius,” she added with a stern look. Sirius only had time for a short nod before he felt the elf’s bony hand wrap around his wrist and with another loud crack, the pair of them burst away.

8. the warmth of your arms rivals the sun (its burning out)

hdfjgukyaegrf okay so this is a sequel to hold me tight (and never let me go), so im not going to say too much about it. all i will say though is that it is very james-centric. there are of course storylines for wolfstar, and for jegulus as a whole, but it is a james fic. it is my baby. you’re getting nothing more ;)

11. sink your teeth in

so, this one’s just a one shot i think. it actually might be integrated into either hold me tight, or the sequel. basically its touching on some of remus’ fears about his lycanthropy and how it might affect his relationship with sirius now that theyre becoming more — well — serious. i really like it actually, but its still in planning as well so there’s no snippet to share :(

thanks for asking! <33

[luthordamnvers]

1, 4, and 5 of fic ask meme. :D

the last sentence you wrote

Actual last I think it's too spoilery, so this is the previous one: Kara looked back at Lena, feeling her hand soothingly move up and down her arm, she nodded, reluctantly conceding.

4. a story idea you haven’t written yet

I literally opened my ideas docs, I'll just paste it here, but for context this was conceived as an experiment to write in first person... idk when or if, but can't lie, it kinda sounds bomb 😂 Also, welcome to stream of consciousness outline. Cat approaches Kara about writing about herself, an autobiography, cat being cat, is like i will be your editor. Kara is reticent at first, but then talking to Lena, because she's her confident, tells her something along the lines of you are the only one that remembers your home, wouldn't it be great to share that with your new home? So she accepts and starts writing, she's supposed to be writing in her own voice, diary style, first person and as such she would ramble she would be narrating her fight with Rhea, and somehow ending up talking about her relationship drama "so, you see, this was my boyfriend's mother, so I would either kill her or have to send my boyfriend away. I did both and had to send him to space, but he came back with a wife. His wife was lovely." And we go through the show, and Kara keeps talking about Lena without even realizing. "Lena was mad at me, but not me-me, but supergirl me. But I could not tell her I was me, you know? Because she has been betrayed so many times. Also, did I mention she was dating James at this time? I didn't really get it, but when I was in a coma J'onn apparently told her I was okay with this, so I couldn't backtrack. It still doesn't make sense to me." So we get to the dreaded, s5, and Kara barely mentions leviathan at all, her drama is both with lex -"so the bald son of a croissant made me destroy a recorder because he said my human name into it" - and her fight with Lena "her eyes glowed with tears, and the burden of years and years of deception on my part. I felt like flying myself in the sun, because who does all that to her best friend?" Then s6 it's all like "i felt like i could face anything. My team ,*and Lena* by my side, butNyxly was like no other foe I've ever fought before. I am strong, but punching and kicking did nothing to her. My only hope was *Lena* Then, Cat after her first draft is like:*KIERA* you could not possibly be this obtuse And kara, like "🥺 what? Did you not like it?"

5. first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP

Kara, who had lost her planet so everytime she went to a troubled one she tried to help. Who everytime she traveled sometime else, she tried to avoid preventable disasters, and saved people whenever she could, ‘at least one', she always said.

Thanks for asking, bird 💜

[ask game]

[fallloverfic]

Solo Leveling Episode 12 Thoughts

The final episode of season 1 was so good! Spoilery thoughts for the anime, novel, and manhwa below:

The fights were just incredible. The animation was gorgeous, all the voice acting and music were excellent, it's just beautiful to watch. Also really loved the anime version of the manhwa scene with Lee Joohee, Song Chiyul, and Sung Jinwoo himself appearing as mental projections. It looks really good and it hits really hard, emotionally. The visual parallels are also handled well. Jinwoo is getting hammered here, and it's nicely done.

It's also interesting to learn that Woo Jinchul was also at the third Jeju Island raid! Even though he was just handling security, he was there. It's nice to emphasize how big of a deal the Jeju raids are to South Korea, because it helps with how messy stuff is later. I like how the show is focusing on trauma and its effects.

I like the emphasis on how a big part of Jinwoo's survival is luck. And I imagine some folks see this as a cheat, though I also like how it just shows the story is sticking to his own rules. It's not like the daily quest ever stopped being a thing. But also like... a lot of this is luck. When you awaken and what rank you awaken to is luck-based, and you're just kind of stuck with it (which is a good metaphor for how people are born, as well, particularly in terms of economic status; folks are randomly born to rich families/otherwise in places with a lot more resources than others and thus have a way easier time in life than other folks because resources are everything; it has nothing to do with ability, and it's massively unfair). If Jinwoo gets a little extra luck kinda because he's hyperfixated on something and it helps him survive, it's actually kind of fair, because at least that's sticking to a system of rules he ignored. And still a nice reflection on an unfair system.

Even the fights in the penalty room are amazing XD I don't go for stuff with giant insects, so the way this was a pleasure to watch was really awesome. I love the animation with Jinwoo flicking the mana potion away. I don't have any screencaps because I'd take far too many. All of the fights are good.

I still love seeing more of Choi Jongin and Cha Haein interact (with a brief cameo of a silent Lee Bora). Really glad the anime added little things like this. It's similar to what happens later, but it's nice to see them working together more.

The end of knight fight is incredible. All his movements are excellent. It's just really impressive.

It's also just really cute the way the notification window follows Jinwoo around the room as he's pondering lol

It's funny while I was reading the manhwa originally I related to this arc a lot as a former warlock player (loved running around with my army of summons who could just overwhelm any opponents, letting me stand safely in the back) but now I'm thinking of it more in terms of a death knight, particularly when Jinwoo is like, "There's no rule that says necromancers can't fight on the front lines". He is not wrong. Particularly if you've ever played the class in Diablo III, which is fun.

Jinchul just looks really pretty here. I love his relationship with Go Gunhee, and I'm still glad we're getting more of it in the anime.

And the Shadow Monarch arrives XD So happy :3 I also really love the nice touch in the manhwa, which the anime included, that the portal opening is purple, foreshadowing this part in the story with all the purple. It was always going to be this way (for other reasons). But it's a nice little visual touch.

Also framing this with Jinwoo being in front of the throne but slightly below it as well is really neat and also good foreshadowing.

He's so delighted by his ability XD I'm happy for him :3 Especially after he got brought so low earlier. He needs the pick-me-up. The shadow soldiers look really neat.

Distracted by the shadow soldier butt highlights alkdjaldja I just alkdjlaj YES IT'S A REALLY TENSE AND FUN SCENE WITH REALLY GREAT MUSIC BUT ALSO ldkjaljalaj (yes I know what codpieces are, I just lakjdlaj). It's not bad art or anything, I am just... Distracted TM roflmao

I like that Jinwoo still apologizes to the soldiers he dismisses, but he's sadder in the novel, and even in the manhwa. In the novel he has this, “He felt bad about getting rid of any of his soldiers. Even though he’d known them for only a few minutes, he was already attached to them.” (Volume 2, Chapter 4: Shadow Monarch by Chugong, Yen Press English release). In the novel and the manhwa he also looks a bit sad about it after apologizing, and thinks on it longer. It's a really humanizing moment for him, and shows how easy it is for Jinwoo to care about and sympathize with even complete strangers, particularly when they're his responsibility. It's not the worst change, and the anime has plenty of other moments that show his humanity, but it's just one of those little things...

I'm really curious about Gunhee's neck scar: who did that and how? In the novel, it's stated that he was too old when he awakened to ever fight as a Hunter: he's never been in a dungeon. The neck scar is part of his design in the manhwa, and he's just generally heavily scarred. He's a neat character who doesn't get explored enough. Looking forward to them expanding even more on him in future cours.

Shadow Igris looks so pretty. (Also there's a moment where he seems to purr around 20:48, which is I just think the sound of the movement of him standing, but it's hummy and sort of purr-like alkdjlaj and it kills me akdjlajal Purring Igris yes, thank you :3). Also, I love that the cape pops out of his back like butterfly wings alkdjalj beautiful. The way he walks around and the camera focuses on him and the click of his heels, just everything about him is so beautifully animated. I love this so much.

Ahh, I figured Jongin's expedition would find the flying ant. And so it begins.

That was such a good episode. An excellent season. Some leaks have stated that there are plans for like 6 cours or 3 regular seasons (and a PV for the end of the series with some spoilery footage), so I'm not that worried about the rest being animated (with some extra anime-original stuff, judging by how many episodes that'd be), though there will seemingly be delays. But with quality like this I'm happy to wait. I hope the crew get the time they need to make more awesome seasons without straining themselves. Ahh this was so GOOD!!!

Other episode reactions:

S01E05

S01E06

S01E07

S01E08

S01E09

S01E10

S01E11

S01E12 (you are here)

[an-honest-puck]

Prompocalypse (Ep. 16) highlights and viewing notes because I don’t have the time to liveblog while watching but I do have thoughts that I will complete some other time lol

spoilers ahoy!!!

nothing like the power of a teen girl/tiefling's catty sarcasm to completely undermine a villain's monologue (shoutout to the d20 sound crew for the perfect music and timing on that one!!)

Gorgug learns about a new way of disarming people: kissing them

"Stop outing students!"

"I'M GAY NOW WOO"

Lou turning his adding-up-dice-humming into the first notes of 'Amazing Grace' that Zac immediately picks up on and starts swaying along

Brennan's gentle "yeah" when Siobhan admits to having a question that will be bad for the party, but also that she wants to play the game right

even more spoilery spoilers below!

Lou giving Siobhan a thumbs up after the above question

the fact that Goldenrod finds the need to justify to a bunch of teenagers that he's attacking this student because he's just an evil demon and not because said student is gay

Riz yelling "HOMOPHOBE!" at an honest-to-goodness dragon

"To be clear, I am very socially liberal; I am fiscally conservative!" + everyone's reaction to that (shoutout to Zac's very judgemental head tilt XD)

Brennan saying "I am a libertarian!" in Goldenrod's 'teacher' voice and then growling it again straight afterwards, as if Goldenrod just remembered he was a big-ass dragon XD

not Beardsley's "So convenient for you!" lmaoooo

Goldenrod: What? Everyone should be free to do what they want. I should be free to collect gold and destroy, and you should be free to try and run away! This is a cultured political philosophy!

Ally/Kristen: I'm down from hearing that [and not from his actual attack XD]

Brennan: *describing the gnarly metal music Gorgug's listening to*

Zac: *drops his dice*

"Ooh, beignets!"

the little grin on Brennan's face when he rolls the dice and then A WILD JAWBONE APPEARS!!!!!!!!!!

Jawbone hugs!!!!!! 😭

Jawbone: Y'understand me?

Adaine: No!

Jawbone's monologue about panic attacks which is too much to unpack here and is basically a whole post in and of itself

Brennan: *mentions Tracker*

Ally/Kristen: Tracker!

Jawbone: I CAME HERE TO FUCK SHIT UP and help children

"Jawbone rules! I'm so glad we helped get his life together"

Introducing, Jawbone: Not a Healer, but a healer of the mind and the soul uwu

Adaine (but mostly Siobhan lol): I would love to do an arcana check... on this absolute fucking unit

Adaine just double flipping off an honest-to-goodness dragon

Kalvaxus: Aren't you supposed to be some kind of high-falutin' elf?

Adaine: I'm a child. You are attacking a bunch of children, you coward.

Fig: Be careful, Adaine; he has a taste for the young ones

Adaine: I have a mental illness and that's fine!

Kalvaxus: Alright, let's not turn this into a fucking PSA after-school special bullshit

Emily's big brain idea to seal Kalvaxus to be the next lunchlad and promote Gilear to be the new VP

Lou's sick-of-Brennan's-shit "Is it [Kalvaxus's] turn?"

Kalvaxus, an honest-to-goodness dragon and the Emperor of the Red Waste: Teens are so mean!

Kristen, mockingly: "Stop making fun of me!"

Adaine: Yeah well at least we're not ugly!

Adaine's happy bobbing!!!!! :DD

"This medicine is great! :D"

Gorgug's Nat 20 (!!!) to summon GORTHOLAX!!!!!

"IT'S TIME TO SHRED, BABY!!!"

Penelope, dying: All I wanted to be- was queen :'((

Kristen: We know!!

Beardsley trying to figure out how to flip someone the middle finger when they only have 4 digits

Riz/Murph, despondent that he can't roll anything higher than a ten. Everyone else: "You can!"

"Should've gotten silver fillings, bitch!!"

"Man, when I grow up, I wanna be a guidance counsellor!" - Adaine

Fabian's "a-HA!"

the strangest bit of improv when the tables are turned and Siobhan makes Brennan improv something coming out of her character's Jacket of Useful Things ("I open up my Jacket of Useful Things and I say 'I need something that will beat Kalvaxus' and I put my hand in a pocket and I pull out...?) only for Brennan to pull out the whole goddamn lore for the jacket XD

Ally: Can I roll for a nat 20 and then be alive?

Brennan's famous last words: Uh, sure, go for it.

Ally/Kristen: This is to the corn god. I know I left for a while but-

[Brennan.exe has stopped functioning]

Brennan: *flabbergasted and now rapidly figuring out how the fuck to figure this out*

Riz/Murph: Praise be to Helio!!!

Fabian/Lou: He-li-o! He-li-o!

BONUS EPISODE UNLOCKED, BABYYYYYY

[docholligay]

Sing Her Down By Ivy Pochoda

the pitch: I started reading this, as I start to read many things, because it was available from the library when I wanted my next book. But I do read the blurbs and stuff before settling on one, and with this sentence, I was intrigued. For myself, but also for you: "No Country for Old Men meets Killing Eve in this gritty, feminist Western thriller."

Like, GIRL.

So I started reading, and within the prologue and about five pages into the first chapter, I knew I would tell you about it. The prose and character voice immediately pop. "Oh yeah, I'm on my way to places Doc will want to visit." Not just with the themes, but the way the author writes reminds me not unlike your own work. She has this beautiful way of weaving metaphors into the narration that amplify tone and mood, it immediately put me in the mind of your writing style. I usually wait until I'm done with something before I rec it to you. Not so here.

"Gripping and immersive, Sing Her Down is a spellbinding thriller setting two indelible women on a path to certain destruction and an epic, stunning showdown."

I mean, COME ON.

Non-spoilery: I’m not even sure if I liked this book but I really appreciated it. It’s an almost-modern-Western (though i would not quite call it that myself) that takes on the idea of victimhood and villainy and obsession, and being tied together. I loved its air of inevitability. I think it wanted for a little editing--I found myself wishing it had been rewritten. It reads like draft four. It’s good! But it could have been great, and unlike a lot of the time, I have the sense the author could have gotten herself there without too much trouble. But it has a really intriguing framing device that i LOVE, and fabulous narrative voice. (big compliment to say it reminds you of my work. I’m not sure I live up to it)  Not a waste of time for sure.  

I’ll leave the non-spoilery section with a quote i loved: “Like there’s no space for regret and power in the same body. Like these two things can’t cohabitate.” 

Spoilery: 

What a weird book (complimentary). I’m not sure I could ever explain to someone what its about in a way that really conveys the experience of reading it. In short, its about two women who are on their way to an inevitable showdown, and one of them at least must die. There is no evading this. They are as intertwined as the gunman and the outlaw in a Louis L’Amour bit. And the book makes no bones about this. 

Actually, the back of the book calls this “No Country for Old Men meets Killing Eve” and you know part of the reason I hate that fucking “blank meets blank” shit is it’s so often incorrect. This book owes a much greater debt to the ‘gritty’ pulp Westerns of the 70s and 80s than it does No Country. There are two women like in Killing Eve I guess, but Dios wanting to kill Florida, wanting to make Florida kill, has nothing to do with desire, and Florida is mostly a woman trying to escape. Florida is a coward in the face of action, in the face of even recognizing who she is, she sees herself as an innocent flower and not the killer she is, and not even in a cool way just in a way tht manages to dodge all accountability. 

Loved Kace! She is both character and framing device and honestly she is the only likeable one. If you go into this expecting to take either Dios or Florida’s ‘side’ you are going to be very disappointed because they both suck utterly. They are both fundamentally broken human beings. There is something WRONG with them. It’s not “what did society do to me” so much as Dios needs Florida to realize that, just like Dios, she is a wolf born into a world of dogs. She needs Florida to cop to that. They are Born Bad. 

But anyway Kace is the exception to all this, despite being 1000% certifiably crazy, she fels like the only fucking reliable person in the whole book. As readers, we trust her more than anyone, and the ways that happen unfold over the course of the book, we realize she thinks she can hear ghosts, or she actually hears them, depending on your take. Some of the best lines, including the one I put above, come from her. She, despite being, like I say, NUTS, is the only character who seems to have self-reflection. And I love that! I love that our trusted character, the one who seems to own up to it all and do what she can with where she’s at, is someone who, in the earliest parts of the novel, seems like your standard crazy burnout. It lets US reevaluate what ‘crazy’ looks like, especially contrasted with Florida. 

Lobos is such a waste in this book that I damn near forgot she was in it. Pochoda never goes far enough with her, and I think the book would be massively improved by either cutting her completely or actually fleshing her out to fully decide what sort of story you want to tell with her. This half-baked thing going on with her is actually my strongest criticism of the novel. 

ANYWAY, the point of these is that I don’t have to write god’s most perfect review, so I’ll let myself stop, but yeah, I think it’s a really fun, very fast read.