#his perspective isn't the only one

[rosiesdisneydrama]

GF X Sky: This is MY House

AN: Just to explain the pronouns in this, Stan (like most Sky Spirits) is Non-Binary. He uses He/They pronouns. While Ford is firmly male and uses He/Him pronouns.

I tried to show Stan’s pronouns (and his difference from cannon) by switching between he and they between paragraphs for him. It may have gotten a bit confusing though so I’m not sure how well that worked. But it’s an experiment because NB characters are new for me to write so it’s unfamiliar territory which I’m still learning.

Here’s hoping I nailed it!

Also, heads up for some swearing. Bc Stan kinda blows his top at Ford in this.

Soos and Wendy had, successfully, convinced the kids to go out with them for a fun day at the mall so Ford and Stan could have the chance to finally have a long-awaited talk. A talk that had been waiting for thirty years to happen.

Stan had so much that he’d wanted to tell Ford when he’d first gotten his postcard in the mail. For him, that single postcard was a glimmer of hope. The hope that it had been for him when it arrived at his crummy little apartment that he was barely scraping together the money to pay for. The hope that, even if he didn’t have a home to go back to, then he might at least still have a brother to go back to.

(A brother who was finally reaching out to them, after ten years of silence. A brother who’d needed them. A brother who’d wanted them. Even if they were tangled and confused and struggling to tell who they were from who they used to be.)

He’d wanted to tell him about the memories that had filled his head suddenly when he’d nearly died. About the Realms of the Sky and everything in them that he could remember. He’d wanted to maybe, just maybe, try to find them and see if they were as real as they felt to him. With his brother there to help him do it.

But Ford had crushed that hope almost as soon as Stan had shown up outside his door. Whether or not his brother even realized that was what he’d done to them at that moment. The moment when he shoved his research journal at them and told them to get out, saying it was the chance to finally “do something useful”, he had crushed part of Stanley’s heart.

And oh had that stung when he’d heard it. That his brother, his twin, only saw him for how useful he was to him. That the only reason he had reached out was because he wanted something from him. That Stan needed to be useful for him to care about him.

As if staying alive for ten years on their own wasn’t enough. As if surviving against people who’d decided that they were better off dead wasn’t enough. As if all the work they’d put into cleaning their act up after nearly being drowned in a damn car trunk wasn’t enough for someone to care.

They had been ready to walk out on their brother at that moment, this time of their own accord because they weren’t about to let Ford treat them like that. Like some tool that he could use and throw away whenever he pleased. (Like every other bastard that had tried to use them before.)

Stan was a person, not an object that was only around to be used. And he wasn’t about to become one just to make his asshole brother happy.

It had turned into a fight, messy and sudden from their hurt angry feelings and Ford’s manic demands.

Stan ended up getting branded from Ford shoving him into some piece of equipment. And Ford had been sucked into his monstrous portal before it blew itself up.

It had taken decades for them to repair it and do what they could to ensure that the only thing that came through was their brother. Magic wasn’t one of their strong suits but they didn’t trust whatever was on the other side of that thing to be safe. Not with the way Ford had been acting about the damn thing. (They hadn’t even been sure Ford would be there when it opened.) So they used their meager knowledge of magic and what ingredients they could cobble together to alter the portal enough that only someone related to them could come through.

(Blood was always a dangerous ingredient in magic, but a completely necessary one for Stan’s plan.)

But he’d done it. He had done it. Ford was home again, in the world where he belonged. And it was Stanley who’d managed to get him back.

His brother wasn’t happy with them about it, though. Getting punched in the face the moment Ford saw them had made that clear. Or the way he had talked to them in those moments in the dark of the destroyed basement. That hurt too. Nothing Stan did was ever enough for him. Like it had been with Pa.

It had been forty years since that damned science fair and Ford was still holding a grudge over it. FORTY FUCKING YEARS. Stan had moved on, but it seemed his brother hadn’t.

(And Ford seemed to think that Stanley was the one who needed to grow up.)

They watched Soos’ car leave through the window, taking both of their employees and their great niece and great nephew into town. A day at the mall would, hopefully, keep the kids occupied enough to not worry about what was happening in the Shack without them. They would be far enough away that the kids wouldn’t hear the impending screaming match between their two grunkles. Because, at this point, Stan was expecting it to turn into a fight.

They would both say things they probably wouldn’t mean, and throw out things that cut deep and hurt to hear said to them. That was, sadly, the kind of thing that they would be very good at doing.

It was going to hurt so much. But, maybe, it was time to stop running away from the pain.

He took in a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly. Time to get this over with.

“Alright, Pointdexter. It’s just us now. Say whatever it is you wanted to get into yesterday.” He remembered how Ford had tried to start it the night he’d finally come back.

They’d been able to tell just from the look on his face that, whatever he’d wanted to say at that moment, wasn’t going to be good and would quickly turn into a fight. And they both had plenty of ammunition on each other to make the ensuing fight loud and painful and far too easy to catch the kids in the blast zone. So he’d shut it down, fast and hard, before Ford could get much out and send them both over the edge.

Ford sighed, crossing his arms and half-glaring at Stanley from behind his glasses.

“Good. Here’s the deal, Stanley. You can stay here for the rest of the summer and keep watch over the kids. I’ll likely be spending most of my time in the basement trying to contain any remaining damage from the portal being opened, so I will not have time to keep an eye on them. But at the end of summer, once they’ve left, you will give me my house back; you will give me my name back and this “Mystery Shack” junk is over for good. You got it?”

Stanley gapped at him, jaw working in silent shock. Ford couldn’t be serious about this. But, looking over his brother’s face…

Ford was being completely serious. He was just going to throw them out as soon as he didn’t need them to keep watch over the kids for him. That they would only be allowed to stay for as long as Ford had something he could use them for. (Just like when he asked them to come to Gravity Falls all those years ago.) 

Then, everything in him burned.

Stanley had felt anger before. It was a very familiar feeling for them. One that they grappled with plenty of times before and they had even learned to (mostly) keep their control over it now. They’d learned that they were just the sort to feel more than most folks and that was fine. Normal for them, even.

He cried more. He laughed more. He raged more. He simply felt more than most folks. It was just how he was. And he knew it. Had learned to embrace it, even.

But this? Ford telling them to just pack up and get out as soon as the summer was over? After everything they’d done for him? Everything they'd given up for their brother over the years?

No, Stan wasn't just angry.

He was FURIOUS.

“No,” Stan’s answer was short and with an edge of their fury escaping. An edge that Ford seemed to miss entirely based on the way his eyes narrowed at his sibling.

“That wasn't a request-” he started but Stanley cut him off with a short, harsh laugh. It was a laugh Ford would have never heard from him before.

(He had never been on the receiving end of rage like this before.)

“Oh, I know it wasn't a “request” Ford. I may not be a genius, but I’m not that stupid.” They put the can of soda down with more force than needed. They continued, “I’m not leaving. Not after everything I've put into this place.”

“Stanley, stop being…” Stan’s head snapped to Ford, eyes glaring with more fury than Ford had ever seen from him before.

“No, Ford. You aren't kicking me out of my house just because you’re back in this reality. Because, after thirty years of being here? This is my house.” They pushed themself up, never breaking eye contact with their brother. Ford looked like he was going to say something, but Stan cut him off. “Did you know that your grants had been cut by the time I showed up here? You’d been MIA for so long with them that they assumed you were either dead or too unreliable for them to keep funding. It was in the letters and phone messages you’d been ignoring while you were losing your shit up here.”

He laughed again, harsh and cold. He could see Ford’s eyes widen at that, caught flat-footed by the revelation. It was likely the first time he’d considered what had happened to his grant money without him publishing papers to keep it. Clearly, he hadn’t considered that he might be broke when he finally came back to earth again.

They pressed onward, too angry to stop telling Ford everything that he’d forgotten to factor into his return.

“Oh man, those messages were nasty to listen to. They got damn cruel when they were sure that they were just talking to a dead man. It’s amazing what people will say to someone when they think there’s no one to call them out on it. I still have the tapes, if you wanna hear them yourself. I put them in a lockbox where the rest of your important documents are. I wanted to be sure no one would be able to steal them.” He waved his hand nonchalantly, as he mentioned that.

They kept the key to that box on their key ring, with the box itself hidden in the false back of one of the cabinets in Ford’s secret study. They’d had plenty of time to find all of Ford’s secret places, and the fact that more than a few of them were keyed to Ford’s eye (and theirs by extension) made them very secure places in the house. So they made sure to hide everything truly important in those rooms. It did a fantastic job of hiding things from anyone trying to rob them.

(Sure, he’d missed a few items but he was able to recover from those oversights well enough.)

“But, while listening to those, I realized that any money you had was about to be gone and I had no way to pay your bills. Not as myself, at least. That was when I started pretending to be you, as I’m sure you can guess. I didn’t do it because I wanted to wreck your life while you were gone like you seem to think I did. I did it because I wanted to make sure you’d still have something to come back to.” Stan remembered the panic they felt when they’d had that realization. The desperate planning they did to figure out how they could make enough money in the short window of time they had to keep the house up and running while they tried to bring Ford back. “Wasn’t long after that that I started running the Shack. I knew I couldn't fake being you well enough to make the government grant guys think everything was fine, so I had to come up with something else. So I played to my strengths and made something I could do that would pay your bills.”

“You... You still changed my labs into-” Stanley snarled at him, forcing him to clam up.

“I had to work my ass off to start up the Shack in time to pay your bills while still making it good enough to actually turn a profit. I can’t even count the number of nights I had to skip eating just to make sure the power bill was paid that month, on top of the heating and the groceries and rebuilding that fucking portal. Not to mention paying for your stupidly expensive mortgage so that the bank wouldn’t repossess the house! Because you were fucking terrified of someone coming to this place and, at least with the Shack, I had some control over who came and went. And I could chase out anyone who acted strange or didn’t take a hint that they weren’t supposed to stick around.”

Ford swallowed nervously, likely imagining the potential danger now that Stan had said it aloud. If his sibling had just taken the journal and left then everything he’d created would have been at risk. Anyone could have used and abused everything he’d been going out of his mind to keep safe.

“But if the bank took the place then any Tom, Dick, or Harry would be able to buy it and have free access to everything you were trying to hide! Or, Stars Forbid, they could have tried to get the money for the house out of Ma or Pa. We both know Pa wouldn’t have fucking bothered to keep your house for you. No, he would have emptied the place out by auctioning off everything you owned and then selling the shell off to the highest bidder! Pa’s never given a shit about “sentimentality” when he could be turning a profit instead.”

Stan knew that from experience. Why else would Pa throw out his seventeen-year-old kid with nothing but his car, his wallet, and a duffel bag of clothes? He’d been sabotaged from the start by his own father, why would Ford be given any leeway just because he was the “smart” one? Who’d gone “missing” and now people were coming to collect.

No, Pa had been just as much of a threat to everything Ford had been trying to keep safe as anyone else. Stan hadn’t felt any regret about tricking their father into thinking they were actually Ford. (Ma and Shermie, on the other hand? They felt bad about lying to them.)

“That’s not even getting into how anyone would have been able to break in whenever they liked until Pa or the bank managed to sell it off! With the place empty, anybody with a good ax or a sledgehammer could have gotten in and had the run of the place with no one to stop them. And the people in town sure as hell wouldn’t try to keep that shit from happening. Most of them didn’t even know your fucking name!” He let out another harsh cackle, remembering those first few months of being riddled with anxiety while running around town. Constantly expecting someone to call him out as an imposter only for it to never happen. “It’s almost tragic how easily I was able to convince them I was actually you! Thanks to the damn portal blowing up, I had enough burns on me to wave off anyone asking about why my hair was different or why I had tattoos. All I had to say was that some invention blew up on me and I wanted to cover up the scars with something and everyone just nodded and went with it!”

“You were burned?” Ford’s voice was small, his eyes trailing over the tattoos that decorated the side of Stan’s face and head. Looking at the marks and the shaved side of Stan’s head in a new light.

Their smile was sharp and cold as their brother finally looked past their tattoos to think about why they might have gotten them. About what could have motivated his salesman sibling to leave permanent marks on their face where everyone could see them, despite the biases they had grown up with about tattoos. Their scars had made them decide to get the tattoos they had before finally, but they’d since healed up.

He kept the tattoos to connect to the life he’d had before being Stanley Pines. Because that life mattered to him, even if he wasn’t living it anymore.

“Oh yeah, nothing I’d needed to be hospitalized for, thankfully. They’ve fully healed over at this point, but they were pretty ugly for a while. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the reasons the locals had been so willing to buy my earlier gift shop shit was out of pity. But I wasn’t about to complain, not when I had to pay your bills to keep the house. Not when there were nights when I had to skip sleeping to make things to earn money. Not when I had to convince the local bank to look past my handwriting to accept a check for the latest bill I was trying to pay off. Not when I was running myself ragged to make ends meet and bring you back!” Their voice was getting progressively louder as they went on, face morphing in fury as they stepped closer and closer. Until they were roaring at their brother in the small kitchen. They slammed their hand onto the table, snarling in rage as they continued. “Not when I’ve been putting weeks and months and years into learning enough to fix that damn portal on the vague hope that I could get you back because you’re my brother and I wasn’t going to just leave you for dead! I spent the last thirty years running myself into the ground to get you back and to make sure there would still be something for you to come back to! I put everything I had into taking care of this house and making the town care enough to help me when I needed it!”

Ford was leaning back in his seat, his face a mix of nervous and shocked by everything Stan was unloading on him. Things he’d been keeping to himself for years but were finally being triggered by his callousness into letting out. (By how short-sighted and selfish Ford had been to tell him to just pack up and get out.)

“I’m the one who paid the bills. I’m the one who kept the house from being repossessed. I’m the one who made sure you wouldn’t be broke or homeless or legally dead when you finally came back! I’m the one who poured THIRTY YEARS of their LIFE into this house and the town.” They were in Ford’s face at that point, snarling in rage and looming furiously over their wide-eyed, speechless brother. Their chest was heaving with fury as they glared into their brother’s face. “The world didn’t pause itself just because you weren’t here to be part of it. Shit happened and things changed.”

He roughly jabbed his finger into Ford’s chest, spitting out his words at him. Words that needed to be said aloud. Things that needed to be said by him and no one else.

“Your name may be on the deed, Ford, but this is my house. And I’m not letting you just take it from me.”

AN: Woooo! All done. I wrote this because I saw a post about an alternate way Stan and Ford’s conversation could have gone at the end of atots. Where Stan decided to finally stand up for himself and call out the way Ford was just- blatantly ignoring the way things had changed without him there in favor of his “I Am The Hero” mindset. And I was then firmly possessed during one lunch break to write one myself that was kinda crossover-y. Because I wanted to give Stan something a little more in terms of his central character to help him have the nerve to finally stand up to his twin brother.

(Make them a little less self-hating so that they won’t just roll over and accept whatever Ford wants from them.)

I especially wanted to harp on all the things that would have happened if Stan hadn’t been there. Not just by rebuilding the portal so that Ford could come back, but also by ensuring Ford’s bills were paid and that no one knew Ford was gone/missing.

Stan, in this, doesn’t go as deep into the fine details of what they went through while pretending to be Ford as they could have. Mostly because there are a LOT and they don’t have the time to get into them. They’re mostly harping on the most important details that Ford didn’t consider that Stan themself had already been forced to live with. (Broke and homeless with no one to turn to/rely on for help.)

Like, if Stan had taken the book and left after Ford went through the portal, there was every chance that someone else could have had access to the portal. Ford could have been declared LEGALLY DEAD after going missing for 30 years and having all of his assets liquidated and probably sent to his family. Or just eaten up by whatever bank he used to cover their supposed “lost” funds.

And trying to change that would have been a huge pain in the ass if there wasn’t anyone he could ask for help to prove he was the real deal. And that would have been just for his legal records. His financial ones would have been damn near impossible to reclaim.

He ABSOLUTELY would have been SOL if Stan hadn’t decided to take over Ford’s identity.

It’s only fair for him to be forced to realize that after being such a jerk to his own Twin by trying to send his brother back to a life of being broke and homeless but this time as a 60-something-year-old man.

[swan2swan]

It's a good thing he's in a bathtub, because that guy is a MESS.

[caeslxys]

I’ve mentioned this elsewhere but it feels relevant again in light of the most recent episode. Something that’s really fascinating to me about Orym’s grief in comparison to the rest of the hells’ grief is that his is the youngest/most fresh and because of that tends to be the most volatile when it is triggered (aside from FCG, who was two and obviously The Most volatile when triggered.)

As in: prior to the attack on Zephrah, Orym was leading a normal, happy, casual life! with family who loved him and still do! Grief was something that was inflicted upon him via Ludinus’ machinations, whereas with characters like Imogen or Ashton, grief has been the background tapestry of their entire lives. And I think that shows in how the rest of them are largely able to, if not see past completely (Imogen/Laudna/Chetney) then at least temper/direct their vitriol or grief (Ashton/Fearne/Chetney again) to where it is most effective. (There is a glaring reason, for example, that Imogen scolded Orym for the way he reacted to Liliana and not Ashton. Because Ashton’s anger was directed in a way that was ultimately protective of Imogen—most effective—and Orym’s was founded solely in his personal grief.)

He wants Imogen to have her mom and he wants Lilliana to be salvageable for Imogen because he loves Imogen. But his love for the people in his present actively and consistently tend to conflict with the love he has for the people in his past. They are in a constant battle and Orym—he cannot fathom losing either of them.

(Or, to that point, recognize that allowing empathy to take root in him for the enemy isn't losing one of them.)

It is deeply poignant, then, that Orym’s grief is symbolized by both a sword and shield. It is something he wields as a blade when he feels his philosophy being threatened by certain conversational threads (as he believes it is one of the only things he has left of Will and Derrig, and is therefore desperately clinging onto with both bloody hands even if it makes him, occasionally, a hypocrite), but also something he can use in defense of the people he presently loves—if that provocative, blade-grief side of him does not push them—or himself—away first.

(it won’t—he is as loved by the hells as he loves them. he just needs to—as laudna so beautifully said—say and hear it more often.)

[angelsdean]

DEAN grabs his jacket and keys and starts for the door. SAM Dean, where're you going? DEAN I'm going to go get a drink. Alone.

*in sam's mind* oh no, there he goes again, using alcohol to #cope with his feelings instead of tALkINg to mE

reality: dean just says that to get sam off his back and then....continues working the case

[muninnhuginn]

Keep thinking about how time in Frieren is measured in years since Himmel's death. The fact that at this point in the anime, he's been dead far longer than Frieren travelled with him, and yet, that's still how she relates time to this world.

[sayakxmi]

Saiouma Puella Magi AU, but Kokichi takes Madoka's role and Shuichi takes Homura's.

For one, Kokichi's too naturally distrustful to just hear "I can grant you any wish :)" and not think ok where's the hook. So he just does what no one ever has & essentially interrogates Kyubey, so he knows it all even before he gets to make a contract. So, some of his classmstes are MGs & he won't become one himself BUT he still ends up tagging along to just protect them in his Kokichi ways. (Though I'm entertaining Kokichi lying about being a magical girl, because, well, it's Kokichi).

(I also got a small idea of Gonta being a magical girls and Kokichi originally tagging along him into labyrinths, Gonta also makes him a magic gun from the toy one he had, and at some point witches out & Kokichi manages to kill him with that gun. So he always has that spare Grief Seed on himself, bc it's still his best friend & he can't handle the idea of just giving it away or using it himself (he does anyway in the end).)

Shuichi prolly ends up being a new kid & it isn't like MadoHomu, the ppl who reach him first are Kaede & Kaito, classic. Kokichi's there, too, but he's his usual sus self. He's actually discouraging ppl from making a contract when they find out magic and miracles are real, which absolutely includes Shuichi. He's very vocal abt it, but he won't explain stutf, bc 1) he's a liar, so who'd believe him? and 2) he doesn't want them to witch out upon finding out the truth or, idk, murder everybody Mami-style.

Anyway, fast forward, bad things happen bingo & by the end of the run most charas are dead, there's Walpurgis nachting, and he makes his wish to bring back the ppl who died notably not as magical girls. Contract signed, he fights & fails, rip. I also thought it was similar to how he thought he could end the killing game by himself - he though he could finish Walpurgisnacht by himself, too. And he failed in both times. Whatevs.

Shuichi doesn't actually make his time travel wish for Ouma specifically, he wants to save all his friends. Timelines are messy esp at first bc he either tells then or it backfires or just makes himself look very sus bc he's trying not to tell them. He also realizes why Kokichi hadn't told anybody aby witches at some point, bc, yeah, it messes them a lot, assuming they believe it.

Still, Kokichi ends up one of the few people who are nearly always giving him a chance, not necessarily out of belief, but out of pragmatism - bro can stop time & knows the truth, that's just too useful. So they often work together & Shuichi grows closer to him but still we ain't there yet. But the thing is, Shuichi's time travel still makes Kokichi more & more powerful with each timeline, bc Shuichi usually goes back after Kokichi dies, so the universe figured out this guy's life's important. Anyway, another notable thing is the iconic Homura kills Madoka scene, but it's Saiouma with guest stars of Kaito & Maki. It's Walpy, it's not defeated yet, but the training trio are spent & just kinda accept their fate of turning into witches together. And then, boom, Kokichi appears & steals their Soul Gems for a sec & he's like did u know you can cleanse your Soul Gem with a darkened one? But it's a lie & he quickly tells them so, he just had a spare Grief Seed after cleansing his Soul Gem & he needs them to do some stuff. Shuichi can travel back in time & fix things, and Maki & Kaito are needed to fight Walpy here. He actually questions what happens to the timelines Shuichi leaves behin, and ofc he doesn't know. There's a chance they remain, so Kokichi needs Maki & Kaito to fight Walpy here.

Kaimaki leave, and Shuichi finally looks at Kokichi & realizes sth is Wrong. Kokichi struggles to hide how he's trembling & grimacing, and it's Kokichi, so obviously it must be extremely bad. Shuichi dreadfully realizes something worse, and he weakly asks Kokichi why aren't his wounds healing. And Kokichi just falls, laughing weakly, and Shuichi catches him & searches for his Soul Gem and, God, he knew it. It's nearly completely black. Kokichi laughs & admits he lied abt having two Grief Seeds, he only had one he never wanted to use. But they'll have the second one soon, so no need to worry. He asks Shuichi to maybe destroy his witch form as it's hatching, so he'll have the Grief Seed without any fighting… and he admits that he hates fighting, he hates this magical world and all its violence. He says that Kaito was right in calling him a coward, even here he just can't handle the idea of fighting any longer, he's so sorry. And Shuichi tells him he ISN'T a coward. He was scared, but he always followed everybody, trying to help, and when push came to shove he would always make a contract for the benefit of others rather than himself. He's a lot of things, but a coward isn't one. Kokichi actually tears up hearing that, and Shuichi promises he won't let him fight ever again, and especially he won't let him turn into a witch and hurt anybody, because he knows it's the last thing he's ever wanted. Even now he only accepts turning into a witch to help them fight to keep others safe. So Shuichi won't let him. Kokichi probably apologizes and thanks him and then he dies.

Keeping Kokichi from fighting starts off as a side quest that gains importance with time, bc it's something Shuichi won't compromise on (ah, trauma), which leads him to occassionally neglect others a bit, which makes them more likely to get hurt & ironically Kokichi more likely to make a contract, especially since he gets more powerful & Kyubey is more interested in him with each timeline. And that also makes him witch out super quick. Shuichi's paying more attention to him & over time grows resentful of others for how they're treating him. To Shuichi it's no question that Kokichi cares & is just doing his best to help, but nobody realizes that.

But the biggest obstacle in keeping Kokichi from fighting is actually Kokichi himself, bc he's too smart and nosy, lmao. Even if he knows nothing, he will find out quickly. Doesn't help that Kyubey wants him to make a contract.

Also, obviously Kaito is Sayaka-coded and Maki could be Kyouko-coded, so that's a thing, BUT it's usually Maki that witches out. Kaito is usually pretty close, but Kokichi intervenes & he survives, but Maki later cracks on her own (and since in the new timeline Kokichi isn't there, Kaito's the one to die, so he's still the secretary). So it's Kaito who gets the dramatic sacrifice. I imagine he genuinely hoped you could bring somebody back if you tried Very Hard & Kokichi called him a moron bc obviously it's not possible. If it was there'd be far less witches that there are. But it's Kaito, he doesn't listen to reason. So, Kokichi follows him to the labyrinth. At first Kaito's mad cuz what if Kokichi being there ruins the plan? Maki hates his guts! But eventually he gets hit pretty hard, and Kokichi is near immediately by his side, trying to help him get up, which kinda makes Kaito short circuit a little bc wait Kokichi's trying to help? But witch!Maki attacks them & Kokichi pushes Kaito away & gets caught himself (and choked until unconsciousness, naturally). Anyway, Kaito gets him away, Shuichi catches Kokichi & Kaito makes up his mind about going down with Maki & asks Shuichi to tell Kokichi that he's sorry. He doesn't get him, but he got hurt trying to protect him, so he'll believe in that if nothing else. F.

As for The WishTM, in the last timeline Shuichi lashes out at Kokichi for his willingness to just become part of the system. In no timeline has his wish actually helped, it did NOTHINHG, which OUCH but it also makes Kokichi think out of the box more & he becomes the Law of Cycles. And Shuichi realizes what is happening & freaks out bc Kokichi's doing it bc of what he told him & like Homura they end up having a momentTM in space & Shuichi remembers. He feels a lot of guilt even tho he also questions whether anything was real, but if it was, he pushed somebody he far too realized he loved into erasing himself from existence.

[cluescorner]

Arlecchino's whole deal is unbelievable

Arlecchino: Huh I wonder what's causing my weird powers? I can't really worry about that right now tho, I've gotta become King and then kill my "Mother".

*Kills Clervie and "Mother"*

Arlecchino: Huh I wonder why I was able to defeat a Fatui Harbinger when I'm like 17 or so? I can't really worry about that right now tho, I've gotta be in jail and become a Harbinger.

*Is in jail for a while and becomes a Harbinger*

Arlecchino: Huh I wonder why I am-

Pierro: Hey what's up hello, anyways you're descended from the Crimson Moon Dynasty of Khaenri'ah. I'm sure that this is a lot for you to take in so-

Arlecchino: Ok.

Pierro: ...You're just cool with that?

Arlecchino: IDK maybe? I can't really worry about that at the moment, I'm a father now. This orphanage full of children I love (who also are child soldiers and are not allowed to leave or else I'll execute them except maybe now I'm just gonna wipe their memories IDK I'm morally complex) isn't gonna run itself.

*Runs the orphanage/spy recruitment initiative*

Me, the fucking player: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE KHAENRI'AN? WHY WASN'T THIS BROUGHT UP IN YOUR FUCKING QUEST?? OR ANYTHING ELSE????

Arlecchino, talking to me through my phone: I honestly don't know why you care, I'm too busy to give a shit. Anyways, I'm gonna go fight fate itself I guess. I'm sure that I don't share any thematic parallels with any other Khaenri'an characters (particularly as it relates to acting and family angst) and that I haven't made the idea of 'curses' on Khaenri'ans and what they entail even more complicated than they already were. See ya.

[nerdy-hyperfixations]

It's hard being someone who does genuinely get infuriated with Ford's actions and acknowledges a lot of his flaws and the people he hurt, while also liking (and relating) to his character enough that I would like him to have nice things sometimes and don't believe he's satan

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

“because he never accepts that it's never been about righteousness--it's about repentance.” except javert killing himself IS repentance.

well, it’s like 12 different things, because bro had gone days without sleeping and very little food and water and he already had low self-worth and kept asking the amis to kill him and just assumed he was going to die AND THEN valjean upended his understanding of the world and morality. he was really going through it & there are a lot of overlapping reasons for why he jumps into the seine.

but javert is like Number One Most Responsible guy in the whole story. taking responsibility is his Thing (forever bitter the musical doesn’t include the punish me monsieur le maire scene). how else, in his derailment, could he atone for his conceived misdeeds other than by handing in his resignation to god? in the brick he had already left a note urging his superiors to treat convicts at toulon better, which is another step in his repentance (and another crime the musical commits by not including it). jumping into the seine was another step.

honestly a lot of ppl who like the book think the musical was dead wrong to exclude him from the big heaven group sing, because it COMPLETELY undermines the themes of forgiveness and compassion threaded throughout les mis. like the musical was simply wrong lol.

This is helpful context! I am still finishing the brick, although I have fully read the abridged version, and that detail about the letter wasn't included, so I didn't know that occurred! (And thank you for the message--this is a long response but I'd love to hear more of your thoughts!)

I agree that Javert is certainly deeply distraught and remorseful; like you mentioned, his worldview is literally falling apart, and his actions reflect his mental state. But his death isn't really repentance--in the sense that it's not what God would have wanted. To me it reads like a Judas situation: a desperate realization of a huge mistake, and doing the only thing you think can make it right, namely, ending it all. That's the just punishment for someone so wrong, isn't it?

But true repentance, meaning the repentance that the Lord desires, is about changing your ways, not "paying a price." Had Javert really understood the beauty of Valjean's mercy (an image of Christ's, just as the bishop's undeserved mercy was to Valjean himself), rather than killing himself, he would have lived to also become "an honest man"--in heart. One who could forgive and understand forgiveness, for himself as well as others. One who could recognize that he is not The Law, that he can fall, but that he can also be "brought to the light." One who could accept that men like Valjean, and men like himself, CAN change, and be changed.

It's tragic to me because so much of "Stars," and his character in the book as well as the musical, is about wanting to be righteous, to rise above his birth and the sinfulness he associates it with. It's about wanting to please the Lord by his actions. But in his end, he shows he never understood what God really wanted from him, and that's where my original phrase comes in: not righteousness, but repentance. To live, and face the man you were, knowing it's no longer the man you are. That it's never been about what you've done or can do, but about what's been done for you. That's the Gospel that he could never fully accept.

To use another example you mentioned, that misunderstanding drives why he asks the Mayor (Valjean) to punish him--in his worldview, mercy is unjust, or at the very least, unfair. Evil must be punished; "those who fall like Lucifer fell" receive "the sword." But "as it is written," God "desires mercy, not sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13). God would have wanted Javert to live, and Javert couldn't see that, and that's why it's devastating to me. In his misunderstanding of the heart of God, he misses what would have set him free from the chains of sin he's always been trying to escape.

That's why he's contrasted with Valjean, who (though he carries guilt about his past till the end of his life) is eventually able to face it and confess what he had done to those he loves. He knew there was mercy to be found, if only it was asked for. Javert was too blinded by pride and shame to realize it, and so, while broken, he never was able to truly repent.

For that, you must go on.

[bubblesandpages]

Oh. Oh. Canute didn't learn this from Askeladd, he was tough this by his father figure, that to sacrifice for what you love means to incite death. That death and control are a means to an end. It wasn't Askeladd that broke and shaped him and in who's footsteps he follows, it was Ragnar's.

"Laugh at me, if you must. Curse me, if you must. It is necessary to bring about my paradise. . .All for the sake of the love we lost." Vinland Saga, chapter 78

In some twisted way this is all for Ragnar—to sacrifice everything for what you love, which Canute claims is all of mankind—and how there are no lines he wouldn't cross for them. Because he's accepted that death is necessary for love to exist.

[oneluckygoose]

To those here for the fic, I've got a little snippet, and a title for you!

Title: House of the Rising Suns

Snippet:

“Don’t do anything to give them a reason, alright Reg?” Sirius had whispered to him far into the night. The thought of leaving his brother all alone made bile creep up his throat. No one to take the blame, no one to face the consequences for him. Sirius felt something like fire burn in his chest at the thought of coming home over the holiday to a Regulus with streaks of gray in his hair. He had to qualm it quickly, for that fire wasn’t characteristic of a Slytherin. Sirius had to be a Slytherin, he had to.

[pangolin-404]

as much as I know why Truant was too far gone to say yes, I think Truant should've taken up Thumper's offer for pumpkin pie, I think that would've fixed him

[lord-squiggletits]

"Rodimus is a better Prime because it didn't hurt for him to bond with the Matrix while for Optimus it did" headcanon/theory my beloathed.

One day I'm literally gonna snap and make a whole post addressing why what's wrong bc I'm tired of the inaccuracy and tired of ppl not understanding the Point TM of IDW and its version of the Matrix/Primacy and even more tired of people putting down Optimus in favor of Rodimus by essentially arguing that being unworthy means you deserve to be punished/put in pain bc you just weren't good enough to hold the Symbol of Ultimate Authority

[onlyasimp4nobody]

Okay actually I. I yearn to yap about my previous reblog.

Pop culture depictions of Ares and adaptions have taken the concept of his godhood (god of war: specifically the battle and bloodlust) and have decided to associate modern-day personality traits that adhere to that theme. One of the most common being piece of shits, Ares being god of battle thus meaning he must be god of toxic masculinity, anger issues gruff buff old man dickwad behaviour. However this is far, FAR from how the mythos depicted him.

Also the turn-around is in online spaces outside of pop culture - Spaces that like to discuss Greek mythology itself there's this pseudo-fanonized concept he's the precise opposite, a feminist human rights activist have you or whatever and the most progressive god which... isn't fully a tap on the correct button either.

Ares is not an old hardened man, nor wise, he is youthful and boyish - He represents the warriors and is their muse in ancient Greece, just like the then soldiers; young men, young boys. He's passionate as they were to their cause and loyal and dedicated, and this does not just show by Ares' dedication to battle or his warrior-hood.

He did not view or treat Aphrodite as just a body and beauty to bed, he genuinely wanted her as a partner and loved her fully. This is why so many view the affair and love of the two as one of Aphrodite's few legitimate lovers. He respected her independent person hood because he loved her so intensely because he is intensity personified.

Yes many of the gods were protective and loved their children (mortal or/and God kids either), but Ares was of the most notable because of how out-of-the-way he went for them. On numerous occasions he defies his own father and king Zues himself for the sake of his children. He attends his children's weddings and cheers for them, seats himself amongst mortals to be with them. He mourned and grieved his children's deaths. He intervened and avenged them directly where the other gods simply sent monsters or omens as vengeance to those who killed their children. He would defy gods stronger and nobler than him and the law of Olympus itself for daring to defile his singular one daughter. He would come to and train even his far descendants the Amazonians be with them, aid them directly, they were his daughters. he was VERY dedicated and passionate as a parent.

Ares is very much the wrath of war, the loyalty of the Greek warriors, the brawn and never the brains (that status is handed to Athena and Zeus), but this isn't because he represents.. the bad or evil that wrath and bloodlust indicates into our modern society like misogyny and the such, neither does it implicate "Female rage" or whatever the fuck. This, wrath this brawns this warrior spirit was passion at its basis and unfiltered love. Ares was not a cold hardened embodiment of violence, he believed and cared so much his loyalty and love was an unstoppable bloody force the way the then warriors of Greece were to their nations and cause. His children, his lover (Aphrodite) and his beliefs.

[wonder-worker]

"It is difficult to argue that [Edward IV] was wrong in what he did. His advancement of [Richard of Gloucester] can be criticized only by those who believe that the only good nobleman is an impotent nobleman. Medieval kings did not think in these terms. Gloucester’s power was valuable because it ensured royal control of a significant and troublesome part of the country. Nor can Edward be blamed for not foreseeing the ends to which Gloucester might put his power. The duke had been a loyal upholder of the house of York, a central figure in Edward’s polity*; there was no obvious reason why he should not occupy the same role under Edward V. In this respect, precedent was on Edward’s side. Previous minorities had seen squabbles over the distribution of power, but no young king had ever been deposed. Even royal uncles traditionally drew a line at that, something which explains why Gloucester’s actions seemed so shocking to contemporaries and, perhaps, the reason why he got away with it so easily in the short term.

In the immediate sense, Gloucester must take final responsibility for what happened in 1483. However one explains the motives behind his actions, things happened because he chose that they should: there is nothing in the previous reign which compelled him to act as he did."

-Rosemary Horrox, Richard III: A Study of Service

*Richard was also, yk, Edward's own brother who had been entirely loyal to him during his life. The problem wasn’t that Edward trusted Richard (why wouldn't he?), the problem is that Richard broke that trust in a horrible and unprecedented way to usurp a 12-year-old. Please understand the difference.

[cluescorner]

Some people: Kaeya’s bio father is an abusive monster who abandoned his son in order to achieve his own selfish goals. He is an evil man who deserves everything awful that might happen to him. 

Other people: Kaeya’s bio father did the right thing and leaving Kaeya in Mondstadt was the only way to give him a halfway-decent life. He is a better father than he is given credit for and should not be as hated as he is. 

Me: Kaeya’s bio father is integral to the general ‘war is hell and bad choices can reverberate across time’ thing that Genshin seems to be going for. He made unethical choices, but mostly because the ONLY OPTIONS HE HAD WERE UNETHICAL. If our understanding of the Alberich’s role in Khaenri’ah is accurate, General Alberich (my name for him until stated otherwise) was suddenly in charge of a hopeless and dead kingdom which begged to be saved. Assuming that there was a reason Kaeya specifically was chosen for this mission, General Alberich was forced into a position where he needed to choose between the lives/future of every Khaenri’an vs the life and future of his young son. Abandoning either is an awful thing to do and a horrible decision, but the bad decisions of Celestia and Rhinedottir have led to a scenario where General Alberich can only make bad decisions. In the end, he chose to prioritize his people and made his young son into a spy. We do not know the process for this, but knowing how much Hoyoverse loves to torment people (especially Khaenri’ans) we can assume that this process was horrific for Kaeya and could definitely be considered abuse. General Alberich is effectively making his son into a child soldier for a war that the majority of people never wanted or asked for, and one Kaeya was likely far too young to understand. At least, until he was forced to grow up far too quickly in order to fulfill his duty. General Alberich likely loathed everything about what was happening and even in his last moments with his son he asks for forgiveness. He knows that what he is doing is wrong, but to turn back now is to both abandon his subjects and make everything that happened to Kaeya in order to turn him into a child spy be for nothing. So yeah, General Alberich is a terrible person who made horrible choices. But war and the bad actions of others have created a situation where he has nothing BUT horrible choices and where being a terrible person is the only thing he can be. And that’s without considering how the curse/abyssal corruption could impact the scenario.