#like her perception in the world vs who she is crazy work

[iocaisaint]

I don't know how to explain but one thing I'll always love about Nesta is her accomplishments and how she's seen in the eyes of canon vs how they genuinely don't register to her (like not in a humble way she genuinely just never thinks about)

like she's able to circumvent a high lords glamour through pure strength of will

she then treks on a 4 day round trip through wolf country in the dead of winter to go get her sister back, simply because it wasn't right she was taken when the family has only benefitted from that

this leads into ACOMAF where Feyre thinks about asking Rhysand if he can force Nesta's hand if she doesn't agree to host (daemati powers) and then questions if he could even do it to Nesta

We've got literal gods talking about some Nesta "you're the one the wind whispered about" in ACOWAR

her having the King off Hybern scared as a human simply because she pointed a finger at him

Then there's the king slaying obviously

Then at some point between ACOFAS & ACOSF she manages to deal with her terror of bathtubs through pure exposure therapy and no outside help

Then there's the weapons she made

Not being able to be contained by Rhys at the height of her power (+ him admitting that she scares)

Kelpie slaying, dread trove, pure death etc.

Then there's the mother imbuing her power into Nesta's friendship bracelets? This one was genuinely crazy

Her managing those 10,000 steps that were difficult for even the bat boys on nothing but strong thighs and spite!

This is one I hate but the IC just throwing her at any single man (Helion & Eris) in Pyrthian to get what they want and it working

Holding the pass for Gwyn & Em, murdering Briallyn, stopping time, making a deal with a soup pot, having a one on one with the mother and saving Nyx, Feyre and Rhys in one morning

Then HOFAS she's calling up the dread trove through universes and slaying the wyrm, getting Gwydion and going down as saviour of another universe

This entire moment>>>>>> "Rhys nodded without looking at the warrior, and focused all his fury on Nesta. To her credit, the female stood stiff-backed, chin high. Imperious and unbending. Ember couldn't help but admire her.

Rhysand’s violet-blue eyes guttered into pure darkness at the challenge in Nesta’s expression, her stance. A predator recognizing a worthy opponent—and unsheathing its talons. His hands curled at his sides, as if invisible claws were forming."

Then we get into Nesta's pov and her only desires are to go home to her man, hang out with Emerie & Gwyn, get her hands on a pegasus, read smutty books and eat chocolate cake 😭

I may not like how her story went but I'll always appreciate that this part of her stayed the same

[makethosenarratorsfight]

UNRELIABLE NARRATORS; SIDE C

Charles Kinbote Propaganda:

World’s least reliable poetry critic. Weirdly obsessed with this poet John Shade and then publishes a commentary on his final work and wildly misinterprets lines to make it seem like him and Shade were bffs.

Ok so basically this poet John Shade just died. Before he died he (nearly, by one line) finished this big poem about death and his life. Kinbote considers himself Shade's good friend (he's not- Shade describes Kinbote as "some neighbour" in the poem at one point) and decides to posthumously publish the poem with his annotations to explain it since Shade is dead and can't explain it. It's pretty clear from the start start that Kinbote is completely bullshitting however he also claims some pretty crazy stuff. He believes the whole poem is about this country called Zembla, which Kinbote apparantly told Shade a lot about before he died. Zembla isn't real. Kinbote uses the annotations as an excuse to infodump about Zemblan lore. He believes he is the king of Zembla and is pretty clearly delusional (although possibly aware of that? at the end he says that after writing the annotations he might end up in a madhouse). Also Kinbote might just be someone Shade made up after faking his own death to make a big statement. It's a little unclear. Sorry if this made no sense lol.

Nana Daiba Propaganda:

Okay, I have heard literally nobody else say she is an unreliable narrator and I'm not sure myself, but I need to get something out of watching that recap movie so hear me out. Rondo Rondo Rondo, as well as a recap, is Nana's perspective on the series as a whole, and I'm very convinced that the way it's told isn't just because they needed things to be shorter. A lot more emphasis is given to some scenes than others, and when this happens, a brand new scene plays out, putting equal emphasis on it, and all of these brand new scenes have one thing in common, beyond the revue component; Nana knows. She knows every detail shown, but doesn't acknowledge details which aren't, which makes sense for a recap movie, but the way she interacts with the plot is so distinctly different from the anime itself that I like to think she's leaving things out. We don't get a significant amount of the buildup to the revues, because most of that is interpersonal stuff which Nana simply was not involved in. But we do get a massive chunk of episode 7, the episode which, outside of the recap, is still from Nana's pov. Junna and Mahiru's respective revues with Karen and Futaba and Kaoruko's revue with each other are shown very briefly and divided up into sections which Nana is shown acting out with the Giraffe immediately after, but large amounts of emphasis are put on Nana's two revues, even if they're both kind of mixed together (which I think makes sense. Hikari and Karen were the two girls who brought about the end of her repeat performances, and she wouldn't have lost if Hikari hadn't arrived and Karen hadn't gotten the drive to stand on stage from her. Of course she'd kind of mix those two losses together. Though rip to the scenes in between because even though it makes sense that a lot of the stuff there would not matter to a recap movie or Nana I still think it's funny that Nana's whole big conversation with Junna where she reveals the time loops just does not exist to Nana or the movie. So sorry Junna). Certain small, emotional scenes ARE shown, like Junna and Nana's talk at the end of ep 9, but considering that Nana was involved in that and the immediate next scene is a new one where Nana discusses how Junna essentially saved her, yeah, that specific scene would be in her head. There's a lot of things which Nana wouldn't know, but since this movie is confirmed to be Nana's pov I do think that it could be both where the recap angle kind of takes over and Nana's general perception of Karen and Hikari's whole childhood friend thing. Also, since everything following this is very much recap-centric, aside from the additional scenes, which are 100% shown to be from Nana's pov, I need to address the scenes following the revues again, just because I think it's funny that, within Nana's pov, she gets to act out the previous revues in an even more unreliable way. I love this girl and I'm not sure how much Rondo Rondo Rondo counts as her being unreliable but I love her for whatever she had going on in this movie anyways.

[the-one-where-casey-watches-tv]

Yellowjackets episode 2.04 "Old Wounds"

Title sequences are so important. If it’s a good one, you shouldn’t have to look any further to get a sense of what the show is ‘about’, in the philosophical sense of the word. I’ve been so impressed with the Yellowjackets title sequence from the beginning, so when they played a different version of the theme song for this episode only, I knew there was a reason. The title sequence is off-putting, jarring, and jumping through time in every way possible from frame sizes to character ages- a fast paced dose of the overarching tone of the show. They really put a lot of work into it, so throwing in a new version of the theme song is certainly deliberate. And doing it for just one episode doesn’t mark the beginning of a new direction in the story, as I thought before watching the next episode; it means this one in particular is significant.

So what’s so special about this episode? I would argue that the confirmation of there being ‘something’ in those woods came and went in season one when pilot Laura Lee exploded moments after takeoff. Leonard the teddy bear ignited for no reason whatsoever, and that explosion is the first major event with no real logical explanation. While that was a blow, and things have certainly been pretty eerie since the shrooms doomcoming party, I think the events of this episode are the real turning point in the Yellowjackets’ time in the wilderness.

Liv Hewson and Jasmin Savoy Brown in "Old Wounds". Image courtesy of Showtime.

A few things happen, but most loaded is Natalie and Lottie’s duel to bring home the most food. The survivors have created such an emotional division into two camps of logic vs spirituality, with Lottie being the fearless leader of the latter, but I don’t think the situation- or Lottie- is that cut and dry. Natalie’s biggest gripe with Lottie is her perception that she and Travis are the only ones providing for the group, but I have to say that both Laura Lee and Lottie are very spiritual people who don’t overlook physical needs and their physical solutions. Laura Lee wasn’t waiting for divine intervention to rescue them; she read a technical manual and learned how to fly a plane. I don’t know yet what all Lottie is getting herself into (and I don’t think she does either), but she’s only ever tried to enable the group’s vital, practical chores. When Natalie scoffs at her pre-hunting ritual, she replies “you’ve come back alive every time, haven’t you?”.

But, like most cult leaders I suppose, teenage Lottie has found herself some followers more insistent than she is herself, and she agrees to this head-to-head between her and Natalie. The two part ways in the woods, Nat with the gun, Lottie with a little knife to perform a blood sacrifice. As they press on, they both make some pretty crazy discoveries. I’ll start with Lottie’s: the plane we all watched explode in midair, intact right where they found it. She gets inside and opens a hatch, revealing a ladder down into a well-lit, clean, cozy restaurant. She descends and joins her friends, including Laura Lee, at a table, but soon she’s shivering again, covered in snow, soaking wet, and seemingly in another world from her friends despite sitting right next to them. Finally, it’s Laura Lee who tells her she needs to go, or she’ll freeze to death. She pushes Lottie, who falls backwards into the snow, where there is no evidence of her experience in sight. Not even the plane. Whole thing was a hypothermia-induced hallucination from the start.

Courtney Eaton in "Old Wounds". Image courtesy of Showtime.

Nat, meanwhile, has been much more productive. She found a moose frozen into the surface of the lake- the same moose she saw for an instant while out hunting the other day, confirming that she is in her right mind, then and now. She rushes back to the cabin to enlist help breaking the ice and pulling it out. Some people (ahem, Misty) aren’t pleased with Nat getting help in what was supposed to be a one-on-one competition, but everyone else instantly puts the contest aside, as I’m confident Lottie would herself. The group is great at teamwork, honestly, and they’re a well-oiled machine working to break the ice, tie ropes to the moose’s antlers, and heave in unison. Yet despite a truly great effort, they lose their grip and the moose sinks down to the unreachable depths of the lake. Nat is devastated, contest or no contest, just sobbing “we need it” over and over.

This is a really emotional moment, and a huge blow for the group emotionally and physically. This was the first glimmer of hope they’ve had in so long, and now the question still remains: what are they going to eat? I don’t know exactly how things are going to progress, but we all know where this show is going, right? I really think this event is going to be the turning point that sends things in that direction. The thing that really puts into perspective that they are out of options. I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear Nat say at some point that none of the unspeakable things they did in those woods would have happened if they hadn’t dropped that moose.

After a demoralizing, empty handed return, the group returns to the cabin to find Lottie still isn’t back. Nat recovers in a warm bath while team Lottie goes looking for her. When they stumble back in, Lottie barely conscious, Nat jumps out and helps Lottie into the tub. The two hold hands, no hard feelings. The group has made them the symbols of two very different philosophies, but really, Nat and Lottie are both pro survival. They just have different skills.

The results of this competition seem to suggest that Nat, and everything she’s come to represent, are correct. The woods made a fool of Lottie, and even though they both came back empty handed I don’t think anyone can disagree that Nat came out on top. The pair’s present-day storyline also plays a big role in this episode, and I think the timelines really come together well to take us a solid step forward towards understanding what’s going on in the wilderness.

Present-day Natalie has found the cult of the purple people, and their leader Lottie. Clearly some bad blood has formed between the two of them since their good-natured competition because Nat is hell bent on exposing Lottie’s cult. But so far, Lottie seems bulletproof. Her followers know what they’re getting themselves into and honestly Lottie is so likable that I find myself rooting for her even though I’m sure the rest of the gang’s skepticism of her will be warranted in due time. A lot goes on within the cult in this episode, but the really significant part comes at the very end. Lottie is outside in the dark alone, slicing her hand open and dripping blood into an altar, just like she did in the woods, but this time she’s saying, “please let this be enough”.

Teenage Lottie has no idea what she’s praying to, and the events of their hunting competition suggest that the answer might be nothing. But this present-day development sheds a new light on those events: there is something in the woods, but it is not a friend.

But Van and Taissa already knew that. Taissa is staunchly team Natalie- I’d say because she doesn’t want to acknowledge what she already knows deep down- but she indulges Van by attending Lottie’s little spiritual groups. On a personal note, Van is the best character, and I am thrilled to see her join the present-day timeline- played by Six Feet Under’s Lauren Ambrose no less.

Lauren Ambrose in Yellowjackets. Image courtesy of Deadline.

I can’t ignore that major development, but while Taissa’s storyline is the most terrifying, it’s also maybe the least complex. The Leftovers comparisons abound with her character- the practical, good-natured bystander who’s been chosen by a force against their will and beyond their understanding. And the fallout gets worse the longer they ignore it.

So, after hiding from her nighttime escapades that have already left her son terrified of her, adult Taissa wakes up in her car with no gas and no cell phone battery. She deduces her alter ego’s destination and hitchhikes to Van’s place- something that will surely be reaching the press very soon. Whatever’s lying in the woods, Taissa will be the one really in the center of it. Her and Van’s discovery of Javi in the wilderness, in the exact spot that Van and Nighttime Taissa knew was significant, confirm that.

The really interesting thing about this show to me is that I really can’t figure out who to root for. Shauna, Natalie, and Taissa seem to be the heroes, but these ladies are all so nutty. Right now, we still have a lot to learn about what exactly goes down in these woods, but we have a pretty good idea and it’s safe to say that no one survived without getting their hands dirty.

But the best thing about this show is that literally anything goes! So what do you think is next for the Yellowjackets? Which characters are the kind of crazy you can get behind? What will become of poor coach Ben? And dare I even plant the seed that Shauna might eat her baby…

And I’ll end with a friendly reminder to support TV writers! The creators of Yellowjackets have closed the writer’s room for season 3 that had only just gotten started last week and are now picketing as I type. The Writer’s Guild strike means we might get an abridged season 3, as is the case for many current shows, but writers are getting shafted in this behemoth of an industry, and they’re fighting for the conditions that will let them both do their best work and live their best lives.

[absolutelydw]

you need to get straight, you need a therapist.- Tokyo Toni

Do you remember that iconic clip of Tokyo Toni Aka Blac Chynas mama aka Dream Kardashian’s grandma (grandmas dream) breaking the internet telling her daughter she needed a therapist? That's the vision I have in my head telling the people it’s time to do the work.

The overall stigma around therapy is that if you need it you’re crazy, belong in a 51/50 chokehold, locked in the padded room with no exit in sight. But that’s not it. Okay, possibly a little BUT the way I see that statement I just made…. Is that this chokehold is more so happening in your mind and your thoughts or current situation is the padded room. OR there is no chokehold and you simply want to work though life with someone who has no bias perspective on whatever you’re working through.

In this lifetime I’ve done therapy three separate times, each time has served its purpose but really the third times the charm.

stint one - birthed a stillborn child era. Shout out to Seton’s Medical Center for having possibly the worst obgyn department known to man, woman and the extra terrestrial population * in my opinion. Therapist chick, who was probably low hanging fruit because I can’t remember her name basically told me in so many words that my perception of reality was tainted, the hospital was God’s gift to humanity and feeling like I didn’t get the best care shouldn’t have ever been a thought.

stint two - maneuvering through pregnancy with my little sweet 6yr old roommate, keeping my sanity and remaining hopeful for a live birth vs having another unfortunate stillbirth situation era. It was a good stint, served its purpose and I think I ghosted her because I didn't have the balls to tell her I went back to my relationship with my poor unfortunate soul of a baby daddy.

stint three - heartbreak of a century turned current self love, soft life healing girl era. We entered the stint because life came in and hit my like a wrecking ball. Miley Cyrus wasn't sitting there in a white tank top, boy briefs and Timberland Boots telling me it was going to be great. I knew and know I can buy myself flowers but I wanted to make sure my mind was filled with nothing but healthy thoughts and I could deal with the shit I had yet to heal from. 

Realistically, I think I’ve pushed the therapy concept onto the people in my life so much they probably think I'm personally getting paid for marketing - I'm not. They’re probably even over me talking about it, and that's fine... fuck ‘em. I stand behind it, I personally feel the same way Frank Lucas felt about Blue Magic - 

“Consumers rely on them to know what they’re getting. They know the company isn’t going to try to fool them with an inferior product. They buy a Ford, they know they’re gonna get a Ford. Not a fuckin' Datsun. Blue Magic is a brand name; as much a brand name as Pepsi. I own it. I stand behind it. I guarantee it and people know that even if they don’t know me any more than they know the chairman of General Foods.”

yes - I just quoted a drug lord and made it fit the same concept of therapy and we’re going with it. Its me and its what I do .. and I do it well.

I’ve turned into Tangent Tammy again, I forget where exactly I was going with this because I initially started the thought last night while in the shower after finishing my dinner quests wine... but now - I have no clue. 

So lets end the shit here with some random yet wise words from dw..

work on you, so your children don’t have to heal from the shit you didn't heal from. 

if you don't like what's happening in your current situation, examine the problem and change it

look at yourself as Blue Magic, speak to yourself like you love yourself, surround yourself with good shit & be the change you want to see in the world 

don't waste wine

and most importantly In the words of this wise, talented and amazing man with the skin of an angel would say... check your attitude & check your gratitude.

[silkgonerough]

Astro Observation/Rants #3 (includes moral support for ppl with harsh aspects between their big 3)

🍰UNDERRATED ASPECT COMBO: Mercury sextile venus + mars when I tell you the amount of crazy situations I’ve talked my way out of and the amount of free things I’ve talked my way into is simply ridiculous.. The mixture of both I think gives someone a rlly nice and sweet way of talking but with a certain tact and persuasion with how their saying it if that makes sense? Which equals a real charmer in words but also someone very skilled in how to get what they want through what their saying. If you have this as well start using it to your advantage trust me it works!!!

☹️Does anyone else who has Pluto or Saturn on or aspecting the ascendant in a harsh aspect have an intense self awareness that kind of keeps them from doing certain things bc it gets to much be too much or you get too paranoid over what others will think of you?

😪Being a Sagittarius but with Saturn as my dominant/elevated planet is really not what I signed up for... I thought I was getting my fun carefree casual storyline but Saturn said it’s the struggle for me. RIP to young me who only looked at cookbook astrology and rlly thought I was doing something...

🙃Ppl who have their sun or ascendant squaring your own ascendant usually have habits or just certain things they do that tend to annoy you or make you judgemental in how they present themselves to the world and others around them. My virgo rising squares my moms sagittarius sun and I can’t take her anywhere 😕

🥵Venus square mars is so hot yet such a disaster in synastry😭 like maybe it’s because I attract relationships that tend to be as messy as something out of a Netflix original but I’m always so attracted to guys who’s venus’ square my mars... and then they open their mouths😪

📚If you know someone with mercury in an aspect to saturn compliment their intellect, writting skills or just knowledge in general!! Ppl with this aspect tend to feel insecure with being considered “smart” even if they really are! Most ppl I’ve met are able to articulate their thoughts rlly well and are like walking dictionaries almost? They way they talk when explaining definitions or concepts is also lowkey hot🥵maybe that’s just my Virgo rising talking tho...

💖Sun in any aspect to venus but especially the conjunct/trine as an aspect between two people is the official hype man aspect!! The venus person hypes the hell out of the sun person and vice versa!! Probs the loyal fan who’s always in your comment section😘I love this aspect sm tho you just love the entire being of the other person! one of my fave celebrities has her venus conjunct my sun and I am deeply in love with her🤪

😩WHEN WILL THE UNIVERSE GIVE ME ANYTHING OTHER THEN A DAMN PISCES ARIES OR LIBRA MAN ITS GETTING OLD give me my Scorpio or Capricorn man😭🙏 (except dont bc all of hell will break loose and it’ll be me invigoratingly opening the gates)

🌗If you have your sun in a harsh aspect to your moon (square or opposite) your childhood was probably not the most fun in the home life and you probably understood the harsh reality of marriage or just unhealthy relationships in general from the parents :/ the whole sun/moon inner conflict was also probs pretty prevalent and caused social issues with peers at school.. honestly such a sad aspect to have as a child bc everything’s so hard and you don’t understand why bc you don’t rlly understand yourself yet :( but once you grow into it and figure out how to balance your emotions/moon to your overall personality/sun one can become the strength where the other is weak and it creates a sort of wondrous enigma of a person and ppl can become rlly entranced in your personality! It’s called layers bitch😜

🤫Scorpio/Pluto in the 3rd house (I have both🤗) could be someone who has a lot of secretive hobbies or interests that they don’t share with a lot of ppl but may have a secret social media accounts for them���� not the type to tell ppl if they like someone but the ppl who are close to them will catch on or honestly figure out just by asking them straight up bc once confronted we get all embarrassed and you can see it on our faces super easily! We love our mysteries, plot twist or literally anything that requires digging deeper or making theories when reading or watching something. No surface level shit here🙅‍♀️

💸Mars in 2nd house may have a shopping addiction or may be bad at saving money. They usually binge shop and are the types that went to a grocery store for more untensils and came back with a waffle maker and a bunch of baking supplies😅 stingy if you eat their food without permission... the type to freak out if they left their fave shirt at their friends house after a sleepover lol, probs has a thing for food and sex together or sex in a really luxurious place with candles and rose petals.. it’s go big or I’m going tf home with them. Have furniture in ur home their not fucking in a god damn roller rink🤣

🌟People with Mercury in Aquarius/aspecting Uranus seem to really like talking about scientific theories or futuristic concepts!! All the ones I’ve known have had really grand ideas and seem to like anything related to the mystical but also seemingly holds a lot of innovative undertones! One of my friends who has Mercury in Aquarius aspecting Neptune/Uranus has a thing for the Disney short films which honestly is like a mix of neptune and uranus in its art forms! I’ve always thought it was cute how eager she is to show me them☺️

🌊From what I’ve observed an aspect that can make someone kind of bad at confrontation or like vocalizing their feelings until it’s too late and their bursting like a freaking geyser is Pisces mars. It doesn’t rlly take a lot to have them feeling some sort of way either with or without a valid reason (this is just an observation from the ones I’ve seen I don’t want to generalize!!) but the way they get angry is like a baby’s tempter tantrum and because I’m a Sagittarius I can always see thru the bullshit and I’m like is anyone else seeing this? I think overall besides Scorpio having a water mars signs is exceptionally hard so I cut them some slack but at what cost😫

🤤Mars conjunct Jupiter people are yummy. The men and women both are so hot and the men are always exuding big dick energy and usually thats what their giving👀

🌎All my big 3 create harsh aspects to one another (sun square moon, moon opposite ascendant, ascendant square sun) I honestly don’t know how I made it this far without literally exploding from tension but to anyone with these I guess my advice would be to refrain from taking things too personally bc it’s usually never that serious we’re just already a bit insecure in ourselves and how we present ourselves to the world! Your perception of how others view you vs how they actually do are usually very different in a good way but we tend to self sabotage ourselves into acting the way we think others want us to! I think having so many conflictive yet different sides of yourself creates a very influential character. It’s kind of like living in many completely different places throughout your life. The change is always hard and you don’t always feel secure but your experience and perception on things are really unique and you can offer other ppl a whole new perspective on who they are bc you yourself are always looking through the world through conflicting yet contrasting lenses.

[fairyhaven13]

I saw this making the rounds among the Self Shippers I follow, so I had to do one! I saw this on @shiny-self-shipping‘s page for reference. I did edit the name, though, because although these OCs all started as self-ships, now they look absolutely nothing like me. But, they were still created with the intention of shipping with a favorite character, and I think they count. I had to add a couple extra rows because I just have so many. I’ll put some info on each ship under the cut.

Kind vs Cruel--that’s my non-Hazbin version of Alastor (I use him in the Owl House instead) with an OC I haven’t fully decided on a name for. I’m still working on figuring out her story. Right now I’m thinking she accidentally brings Alastor from the Boiling Isles to the human world and has to teach him how to live there.

Morosexual and Moron--that’s another unnamed OC with Sun Wukong, specifically the version of him from Lego Monkie Kid. He’s an overconfident idiot with a good heart. What’s not to love?

Drive Each Other Nuts--Barbara Ann Berry, or just “Ann,” who works for King Dice at the casino. She’s always causing trouble, and he’s always getting onto her case for it, but they love each other anyway.

Dork and Debonair--my TF2 class, Snitch, with the red Spy. Gosh, I drew him awful. His face is surprisingly difficult to capture.

Criminal Pals to Lovers--Pepper, an alien from outside Star Command’s influence, rebuilds Nos4a2 and they become partners in crime.

Height Difference--Zoe and Troy are sent back in time to Borderlands 2 and become part of the Vault Hunter gang there, falling in love in the process.

Peppy and Grumpy--Dottie was originally Cad’s target, but she ends up helping him enough that they become partners. She’s a sweetheart and he hates it but he gets fond of her as time goes on.

It’s About Power--Layne is my Courier Six and is very smart and very strong. She won’t let Dean be in control like he wants to be. He very unexpectedly gets flustered by this.

Lit Major and Drama Major--Jill is a New Yorker with a calm outlook and thinks she’s very profound. Scarecrow is a perceptive ham who shows Jill that she isn’t as great as she thought she was.

Sunshine and Tsundere--Rynn Spicito gets the card pack instead of Luke and glitches the game out, getting physically sucked into it. She is enamored by P03 and refuses to leave him alone, and he won’t admit he likes it, even when he ends up saving her from the agent who came to kill her.

Mom Friend and Dad Friend--Barb runs into Sam and Max on a mission gone crazy (as usual) and ends up part of the team. She’s very maternal and is always watching after the two, scolding them when they’re particularly rotten and baking them cookies on the side.

Poised Perfection and Ditz--Sally May got pulled into the Dishonored games through Void shenanigans and the Outsider is baffled by it. She loves teasing him and running around like a headless chicken and it amuses him greatly.

Hurt/Comfort--Marylin, my Anti-Maria Robotnik, is knee-deep in the war with Zobotnik when her team captures Ztarline. He quickly realizes that, A, she is a Robotnik, and B, she is a kindhearted one who won’t betray him, and joins her side. He briefly is terrified when Finitevus turns her into Enerjak but honestly he finds it more enamoring. They’re there for each other when they weep over past memories in the middle of the night.

Nervous Wreck and Monster--Parcel was from the normal dimension on Earth and was pulled into the crazy side Hat Kid landed on. She is terrified of Snatcher, but he ropes her into a contract as his mailwoman and she’s too happy to have job security to complain. She catches Snatcher off guard by bonding with him through it.

Hermbo and Tired Cynic--Sarah is a half-Trill who ends up on DS9. Her inclusion changes the timeline and Weyoun ends up on the station as well, with her teaching him how to Person. She’s endlessly optimistic and it’s what keeps him going.

[palukoo]

amy, cj, donna, and andy!!!

them!!! they!!! the girls!!!

okay. so. this is gonna be another one where i do some sets of 2 first, and because of that it's going under a cut haha

amy & cj!! okay, i know we've talked about them, but... god they're everything. i touched on them in this post basically to say that like. in canon they are set up as friends (and, in fact, close friends) without really giving us much of that. i see them basically as having met at some women in politics function with cj at emily's list and amy at now, and making jokes and hitting it off easily and eventually through running into each other again and again actually talking. the other thing is that... amy and cj are really similar, actually. funny and smart as hell and confident on the surface, kind of a mess beneath that. it's the humor as a defense that josh calls cj out on, the confidence masking insecurities (specifically the fear of letting people down), down to one of my favorite parallels between them of "he thinks of you like a daughter, cj" "that's not a good enough reason to keep me around" vs anything when amy thinks abbeys gonna fire her or when jed kind of does. the difference with them is... cj's focused on public image and conforming to that, on loyalty, etc, and amy's really, really not, and is terrible at working for people.

donna & andy, oh how i wish we'd seen them more! in canon they've got a few lines in gaza, and they seem familiar, plus earlier on during sam's campaign in california there's scenes with the two of them even if they don't actually talk to each other. i... don't think they really know each other well, but i think they could find some common ground, especially after gaza and i really want to write about them dealing with their trauma from it together some, because i think they'd both have a certain level of survivor's guilt, and to an extent i also think that andy would feel really bad talking about it with donna because she wasn't in the car and didn't get hurt and donna did. i also think... i'm not at all an expert, but i assume donna would be knocked unconscious pretty immediately, and so i kind of headcanon that they have a really... careful? conversation where donna's sort of just asking andy what happened, if she's comfortable talking about it?

cj & donna are everything! they (and occasionally others? but mostly them) are like. the emotional, compassionate, optimistic centers of the show, really, which is... something i could talk about more considering they're the only two consistently present female characters really but yk... but it means that you get this thing of kind of reminding everyone else to be like. human, and i like this for them a lot as characters (even if from a gender perspective i don't necessarily). they also both do the quiet loyalty thing without such a complex about it oh my god. and one of the things i really do like about later seasons donna doing press is that she does it in a very cj way at times and that's kind of beautiful. and then... at some point i will put down coherent thoughts about no exit but i love how much they care about each other and calmly call each other out but get really defensive because the other thing about them is that they're both insanely perceptive and sort of evasive, and they're fighting but it's kind of each of them being like "let yourself be happy!!!" anyways. this post. yeah.

amy & andy!! so. amy & andy are really really similar. are y'all noticing a pattern yet? anyways, i mean, it's by nature of being love interest to a main man, and she's angry and funny and yells at him and makes fun of him and he's a little hapless and... yeah. but... any of these characters i can say "oh theyre smart and funny" thats any west wing character. amy and andy also just really want to fight, and don't want to give up or in ever. i don't think of them as super close, but i can't imagine a world in which amy hasn't fundraised for andy's campaigns, or where they haven't worked together trying to get some legislation to pass. in the same way that cj and donna (and abbey and helen) have the quiet loyalty to contrast, say, toby and josh's (and leo's) very blatant, always talked about loyalty, they... just don't have that. i'm not saying they aren't loyal, they just aren't insanely committed to it. they prioritize themselves and their agendas rather than others, which i don't think we're really supposed to like them for? but i find it refreshing. also. the energies they have in process stories? unparalleled. i love thinking about them working together.

oh does this mean it's time for amy & donna? okay. well. i think the thing about them is that people assume they don't like each other when they really actually do. i mean, like, yeah, we rarely see them together, but i also talk about them in the post i linked for cj & amy, and here. I think they make fun of josh together a lot. i think that donna is bothered by amy being antagonistic and frankly hypocritical towards josh but also recognized that it's a two way street, and it makes her frustrated with both of them. i think amy is (knowingly a little irrationally) hurt by josh's loyalty and care for donna over her (i... actually mean this platonically), and donna's seemingly blind loyalty to josh. but i think... amy validates donna's political abilities multiple times, and donna seems to admire amy. i think they become friends and trust each other a lot and make each other better. i can't write this answer and pretend i haven't written a 176k wip about them falling and being in love with each other.

and cj and andy!! i also can't pretend i don't have an outline + some snippets of a fic for them! we don't see much of them in canon, either, but like. there's that scene where they're both kind of yelling at toby that's pretty iconic. when that couple is harassing andy in that hotel bar in the california 47th, cj technically steps in before toby (very differently and i could write a whole thing on that too). andy at one point points out how cj is feeling to toby which is a lot. (that whole scene is a lot), and then in s7 the scene where andy is trying to get cj to get the president to pardon toby makes me crazy. i don't know that i can explain why i ship them, but i really really do, and i think that there's a lot of history in their relationship because of their jobs and because of toby. this is also a thing with amy and andy, but there's this interesting contrast because while i'm sure andy has insecurities, she also seems genuinely self assured. oh also there's... andy is kind of abrasive and accidentally hurtful on top of charismatic, and cj is very quiet with her (negative) emotions, and doesn't often lash out and instead internalizes a lot of stuff? it's an interesting thing about guilt and anger with them.

so... the four of them is fun! like, amy and andy just getting set off about something political, and cj and donna just like quietly agreeing/being amused and bringing up their own points maybe but the two of them are just going on. amy and/or andy being frustrated over something that josh and/or toby did, and bonding over it, and donna and cj being incredibly uncomfortable. i mean, i also just see this really clearly because i parallel their relationships a lot so like, cj and donna talking about... being sort of awkward/guilty/reluctant about being in a relationship with andy and amy respectively bc they don't want to hurt toby and josh, and andy and amy bonding over being really frustrated by this outwardly bc they're there own damn people, but deep down kind of understanding and relating to that guilt... i mean like, i think actually putting the four of them in a room together would be just deeply funny if a little stilted depending on the context, but none of them are the most "let's talk about my feelings" so i don't think a lot would come out between them in casual conversation. you get them in a situation where either donna or cj is doing the thing their very good at about calmly calling people out, or where either andy or amy is angry enough to not be thinking about if they're being hurtful? that's interesting, and because you can see the different ways that all of the sets of two have different ways they can relate or are the same, or even groups of three, and so depending on the specifics you'd get really different dynamics of who is agreeing with/supporting who and how.

[itawonka-creates]

Seabourne Burnouts: Chapter 20 - Riptide

Thank you to @rebecarojas07, @batfam-babe​, @kimihonna​ for beta reading! Start [Here] [Part 19]  [Part 21]-OR- [AO3]   TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide If you bothered by this content, stop reading once Staller says "I'll be quick."

“Why are we here again?”

“Because you and Chloe seem to have a good reputation among the staff and Chloe is with Alya.”

“I’m surprised you aren’t with them.”

“I have to do this first.” Jason groaned as Marinette dragged him around on the ship. He could tell they were heading to the staff’s quarters but she didn’t say what for. He thought back to the sudden decision. They were all gathered in the dining hall, she was tired and yawning all day but no one thought much of it. For the most part, everyone was just happy Marinette and Damian made up the day before. Marinette and Adrien were talking, much to his relief, when suddenly she froze. He remembers her suddenly stand up with a yell before realizing she was creating a scene and slowing sitting down. Everyone was clearly confused, but she assured them she’d let tell them after they got some privacy.

“So you think someone has some information on the Akumas? Shouldn’t we just interrogate them?”

“We can’t interrogate kids.”

“Kids?” She looked at her phone and looked up at the room numbers, “Whose kids?”

“Have you heard of a woman named Marleen?” She took a right and continued dragging him along.

“Yeah. She’s a badass who would punch your lights out if you make her mad.”

“Why does it sound like you have personal experience?”

Jason rubbed his jaw and shrugged, “No reason.”

Marinette rubbed her eyes and shook her head, “You’re impossible.”

“No, I’m lovable. You guys just won’t admit it.”

Marinette grinned and rolled her eyes, “Well, her kids were the first Akumas.”

“What?” He stopped in his tracks and frowned, “What do you mean?”

Marinette looked back at him and explained, “They were the pirates that attacked the night of the ceremony.” She bit her lip, “I need your help because Marleen doesn’t like me or my class. She might not let me talk to them!”

“Why couldn’t you bring Damian then? He’s good at getting information out of people.”

Marinette flinched, “Yeah, about that. Since we made up yesterday Alya and the other girls took it upon themselves to – um – rough him up or something.”

Jason snorted, “Ah, payback for making you cry.”

“I did not cry!”

“You totally cried.” Marinette pouted, but that only egged Jason on. “You think they’re still interrogating him? No wonder Chloe left with her. He’s probably dead.”

Marinette's voice was whiny as she continued on her path, “I hope not.”

Jason followed her and looked around, “Well, I can at least take another one of Marleen’s punches if you need me to.”

“I’m hoping you’d sweet-talk her or something.”

“Oh, you think your big brother has game?”

“No, but your weirdness might work in my favor.”

“I’m weird now?”

“Define ‘now’.”

Jason grabbed her and put her in a chokehold, “Oh! She has jokes now!”

Marinette wiggled around and shook her head as he messed with her hair, “Get off!”

“Just the other day you were depressed as hell and a guy tells you he loves you-”

Marinette’s face lit up as she looked up at Jason, “What!?”

Jason froze and muttered a curse as he let go, “What?”

Marinette blushed as she fixed her hair, “He didn’t say that.” Of course he didn’t.

Jason grabbed her phone and looked at the room number, clearly he was jumping the gun. “Marleen’s room is nearby. Her kids should be there.”

“Wait, Jason-”

“Come on.” The roles switched so quickly that Marinette couldn’t question it. She was suddenly being the one dragged along down the corridor.

Marinette let out a small ‘hmph’ and shook her hand out of his grip, “I’m not letting that go.”

“We’re both stubborn. Of course you wouldn’t.” Jason looked at the screen one last time before stopping in front of a door. “You ready?”

“No, but that’s why you’re here.”

“To be the punching bag?”

She twiddled with her pigtails as she said, “To be my big brother and help me out here.” Jason was pleasantly surprised at the answer, despite the bashful delivery. He smiled and held her close before knocking on the door.

It was muffled, but he could hear some kids inside and a woman yell, “Coming! Coming!” Hearing her unlock the door made Marinette tense, but Jason just did his best to stay cool for her. A woman with messy hair opened the door and frowned, “Jason.”

Jason smiled, “Marleen! Good to see you!��

“What do you want? Who’s she?”

“I hear your kids on the ship. We were wondering if we could talk to them.”

“What are you talking about? My kids left after the first attack and-”

“Mom! Mom! Jacob won’t let me look at the ribbon we won!”

Marleen rolled her eyes and called back, “Jacob! Let your brother see it! He helped you win, you know?” There was a whine that could be heard further into the room and she sighed, “Who wants to know?”

“My sister.”

“Since when do you have a sister?”

“Since she boarded the ship. Marleen meet Marinette.” Marinette nervously waved and smiled at the woman.

Marleen was unimpressed, “You’re the girl from the French class.”

Jason snapped his fingers, “Perceptive as always. Anyways, we’d like to-”

“It’s your fault that my boys got caught up in this mess.” She glared at Marinette and held a demeaning tone as she continued to reprimand Marinette, “You know how scared I was when the attack started and no one knew where my kids were? Imagine my face when the cops call me to say they had my kids in custody and one of them had a shot leg! I brought them with me to avoid getting into trouble and then your class shows up-”

Jason held his hands up in surrender and stepped in front of Marinette, “Okay! Okay. So I see you haven’t changed.”

“Don’t make me punch you again.”

“Your kids won the balloon war, so they must be doing well.”

“Smartass. After that first stop in Spain, a bright light suddenly washed over us and my son was better. Can’t explain it. It was-”

“Miraculous.”

Marleen looked at the girl and narrowed her eyes, “Yeah. What do you want with my kids?”

Marinette gulped and asked, “Can I talk to them about the Akumas?”

“You a cop?”

“No.”

“That’s your answer.”

“Marleen-”

“Don’t ‘Marleen’ me! The trip was fine until they got on it!”

Jason frowned, “That’s not fair. You really think a bunch of 15-year-olds planned this?”

“Crazy world we live in. Who knows? I’m not letting her near my kids. Might be bad luck.”

“Mom!” A kid ran up to Marleen and tugged at her pants, “Hey, are we-” He looked over at Jason and suddenly went wide-eyed, “Oh my god, you’re alive!”

The sudden outburst made Jason snort, “What? Of course I’m alive, kid.”

“But mom punched you! She said she could kill people with her punches.”

Marleen cracked her knuckles, “I still can.”

Jason held his hands up in surrender, “Your mom knocked me out. She throws really good punches.”

The kid nodded, seemingly accepting the answers before asking, “What are you doing here? Are you going to punch him again, Mom?”

“Maybe.”

Jason ignored her and crouched down to the boy’s level, “What’s your name?”

The boy stepped out from behind his mother’s legs, “David.”

“Hey David, I’m Jason. This is Marinette. I wanted to ask you and your brother about the day of the big ceremony.”

David frowned, “Didn’t the cops ask us this stuff?”

“Yeah, but we might’ve figured out something they didn’t.”

Marleen rolled her eyes, “Oh really?”

“Orders from Batman himself.” That caught her attention.

The boy looked surprised before blurting out, “I’ll go get Jacob! Jacob!” He ran back inside the room, excited.

However, Marleen was skeptical, “Really?”

“I wouldn’t be down here if it wasn’t important.”

“Then why is the girl here?”

“She knows the right questions.”

Two boys returned and David pointed up at them, “There they are.”

The older boy gave them the same look Marleen did. Marinette waved and Jacob looked away with a light blush. Marinette giggled but looked at Marleen, “I won’t ask them anything bad. Please, can I talk to them?”

Marleen looked down at her kids, who nodded and she reluctantly gave in. “Fine.”

Marinette nodded and crouched down next to Jason, “Hi. I’m Marinette. You’re Jacob?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you remember about that night? You know the one, right?”

“Yeah.” David rubbed his leg, probably the one that was shot. “We don’t remember doing anything bad.”

“No, no, I didn’t think you would. I want to know what happened right before that. You guys were playing with your toy guns right?”

David nodded, “Yeah, we were playing Batman vs Joker.”

Jacob crossed his arms and huffed, “We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

“I didn’t say you were. I just want to understand something. So you guys were playing, what happened next?”

Jacob sighed, “We started fighting over the gun.”

“Okay. So you guys are fighting over the gun. Then what?”

David shrugged, “Then nothing. I don’t remember anything. Do you?”

Jacob looked back over at Marinette and his face flushed bright red. He stuttered, “Not really.”

Marinette giggled, “You sure?”

David stomped his foot, “You wouldn’t believe us! The cops didn’t.”

Jason gestured to his face and asked, “Come on, do I look like the cops?”

Marleen answered with a quick and snarky, “No.”

The boys shook their head and Jason shrugged, “So tell us. C’mon.”

The boys looked at each other before Jacob finally said, “There was a butterfly.”

“A butterfly?”

“See! You-”

“No! No! No! I’m just making sure I heard that right! A butterfly? A purple one?”

David nodded, “Yeah! It was purple and weird looking and it flew into the gun and-” He suddenly stopped and frowned, “I don’t remember.”

Marinette hummed, “I’m sorry about that. Do you remember anything else about the butterfly?”

“Jacob saw it first.”

Jacob glared at his brother and then seemed nervous to make eye contact with Marinette. He stepped a bit behind his mom, but with a gentle pat on the back form Marleen he gulped. “It came from the vent. That’s all I remember.”

Marinette smiled at him, “You did great. Thank you.”

“How did you know it was purple?”

Jason pulled the kid into his arms and jumped up, “Because we’re awesome.”

David screamed in delight and Jacob came out from behind his mother, “I want to do that!”

“You got it, man.” Jason pulled the boy up onto his shoulders without breaking a sweat and Jacob grinned. “You good?” Jacob laughed and David seemed content with swinging on his arms.

Marleen smiled and looked at Marinette, “I gotta admit, he’s good with kids. With women? He’s a total loss.”

“Hey!”

Marinette nodded, “Oh, I know. I’m never going to marry him off.”

“Hey!”

Marinette giggled but Marleen nudged her, “So, how did you know the butterfly was purple?”

Marinette crossed her arms and looked away, “In Paris we deal with them a lot. They’re called Akumas.”

“So the bright light-”

“Was from our local hero. She fixes all damages caused by Akumas.”

“Ah, the Ladybug chick. Saw her when Tess went crazy.” Marleen sighed and rubbed her arms, “It scared the hell out of me. I didn’t know where they were, I didn’t know what happened to them. If it wasn’t for Batman they’d have a criminal record-”

“I’m so sorry. If I knew this would happen, I would’ve never sent in an essay.”

Marleen waved her hand dismissively, “Jason’s right. You didn’t plan this. I just- I need someone to be mad at.” Marinette smiled and held her hand out. Marleen shook her hand, “Alright, truce. Only because Jason seems like less of an asshole and I’m choosing to think it’s because of you.”

The two looked over and noticed Jason being ‘overpowered’ by the two boys. Marinette snorted, “He’s awesome.”

Jason looked up and pointed at her, “So you admit it!”

“Never said I didn’t, Jason.” Jason grinned before getting up and setting both of the children down beside Marleen.

Marleen hummed, “I will say this. My boys get dragged into it again, I won’t hesitate to knock you, Jason, that ladybug chick, or anyone else out.”

Marinette laughed nervously and took a step back, “Noted.”

David whined, “So now you gotta report back to Batman?”

“Yup! See you guys later okay?”

“Okay! Bye!” David was more enthusiastic, but Jacob seemed sadder to see them go. Jason ruffled his hair, forcing out a smile as they started to walk away from the door.

Marleen called out to them, “Don’t be strangers, okay? I promise I won’t punch you!”

Jason smirked, “I don’t believe that for a second, Marleen! See you later!” Marleen waved them off before closing the door. “Good kids.”

“Great kids.”

“Jacob had a huge crush on you.”

“Shut up.”

“Damian has competition.”

“Stop.”

“Gotta let him know about this. Big brother stuff. You get it.”

Marinette lightly hit his arm, “Jason, no.” She sighed and stretched, “Looks like we have another lead.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Akumas are traveling through the vents. No wonder we can’t pinpoint them. They’re traveling in the ship’s best blind spots.”

“Right.” Jason hummed, “So that means they could be coming from anywhere.”

She shook her head, “Not necessarily. All the Akumas were above deck and they akumatized the victims too quickly. They wouldn’t be able to travel through the vents that quickly unseen if they were below deck.”

“So whoever’s behind this is above deck. Makes sense. So who’s above deck that knows how to navigate the vents?”

“No, no. The Akumas would navigate them on their own. Hawkmoth wouldn’t need to lead them anywhere.”

“So anyone above deck that knows about the vents. Great. Narrows that down.” He thought for a bit before sighing, “No wait, that actually does narrow it down to about half the population on the ship. Given that most of the Akumas are on or near the main deck, I’d say they’re on or above deck too. Probably the first two floors.”

“That narrows it down further.” She nudged him, “Hey, you are smart.”

“You realize I was trained by Batman. I’m impulsive, not dumb.” Jason grabbed Marinette’s shoulders and pulled her into a side hug, “You want to be our new Robin? You seem smart enough?”

“Damian would be furious.”

“Damian would love to see you in his costume.”

Marinette blushed and looked away, “Speaking of ‘love’, what did you mean before?”

Jason cringed, “Nothing. You were just so happy, I just figured-”

“We’re in a good place.” She laughed and admitted, “I told him I love him though, but I doubt he’d ever tell me.”

Jason paused and registered this new information in his brain. Curiosity overcame him, “What did he say back?”

Marinette groaned, “He didn’t say anything!”

Jason was disappointed, “Note to self; kill Damian.”

“No! I’ve kissed him like once!”

“Really? Jesus you guys are wholesome. Fine. Once you get that second kiss, his ass is mine for being stupid.”

“He’s not stupid.” She mumbled to herself, “Not all the time.”

Jason rubbed her arm, “Your boyfriend is an idiot. What are you going to do?”

“He’s your brother.”

“Gives me even more of a right to call him stupid.” Marinette laughed, being an only child she was always surprised at how ruthless siblings could really be with each other. Jason was glad they were back on track, but they didn’t have enough time left.

He could hear Bruce’s voice echo in his head and his question held more and more weight each time: ‘You’re really going to rope her into this?’

It was something Jason didn’t think they’d need to worry about. A summer fling was something he didn’t think would ever be in the cards for his emotionally constipated brother. Yet, here he was listening to Marinette admit her feelings for Damian. It really hit him that this would be a more permanent problem once Damian confessed his own feelings to Bruce. When Jason told Dick and Tim, they had conflicting reactions.

Tim was already upset they knew their secret identities, but he expected to just leave the class behind forever after the trip. He was ready to keep this as a memory as a safety precaution. Dick was more optimistic and brought up Clark and Lois. Dick didn’t want to throw this all away when this is the most significant growth Damian has ever displayed. It caused a pretty heated argument and left everyone going to bed angry, but there wasn’t a clear answer.

“Hey, Marinette. Did you think this through?”

“Think what through?” She texted someone on her phone and made a right in the hallway. He could tell they were heading towards the computer room.

“This. With Damian. With us.”

“I did.”

“And you’re not scared.”

“I’m terrified.”

“And you’re still going to do it?”

Marinette bit her lip and clutched onto his arm, “Honestly, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like without you guys around. I’m not looking forward to the end of this trip.” She took a deep breath and sent him a look full of determination, “Still, I’m not going to give it all up because I’m scared.”

Jason smiled and squeezed her body, “That’s what I like to hear. You’ll be a Robin yet.”

Marinette shook her head, “I’m not going to be a Robin.”

“You can’t be a horse girl superhero your whole life.”

“Jason-”

“I mean Gina would never approve of something so lame.”

“Grandma would be proud of me kicking butt.”

“True.”

“Still, Marinette you could seriously get hurt. Alya, Nino, Adrien, Chloe, everyone could get hurt if anyone found out you guys knew us.”

“We all know that. We all don’t care. I think being chased down by a supervillain every week for two years does that to you.”

Jason frowned, “When this is over, I don’t have to be anywhere. You want me to stay in Paris and help out? You’d have to introduce me to Ladybug and Cat Noir first.”

Marinette looked up, hopeful, “Really?”

“I might not look like it compared to my brothers, but I was still trained by the world’s greatest detective. I could help and I’m good in a fight.” Jason was glad he was the one who got to see this girl absolutely light up the room. She nearly jumped out of her skin, instead she jumped onto him. “Woah!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso, “Hey-”

“Yes! Please, yes. Please.” The last please sounded so tired and desperate. He just adjusted her and held her as he continued walking. Sure, they got some weird looks by the few staff members that passed them by, but she held him so close. It reminded him of kids he’d save back in the day. They’d just latch onto him and only let go to latch onto their parents. This hold was only ever given by kids who were thoroughly traumatized, which only worried him further. Jason just patted her back and did his best not to jostle her on their way down.

The rest of the walk was comfortably silent. While holding a fifteen-year-old like a toddler wasn’t the weirdest thing he’s ever done, it was something concerning. Jason wanted to ask more questions, but she just rested on him. He patted and rubbed small circles onto her back the rest of the journey to the computer room. By the time they got to the room, he wondered if she fell asleep on him. Her body heat was high and she was relaxed, but the plea made him wonder just how bad it got in Paris.

He opened the door and gave the people inside a small wave. Tim just looked concerned and confused while Adrien walked over and held his arms out. Jason set her down in his arms and realized she actually did fall asleep. Adrien sighed, “Aw man, she was probably up all night thinking.”

“About what?”

“We’re having a debate. We’re good, but I’m just not on board. She’s been trying really hard to convince me though.” Adrien rubbed his cheek against her head and set her down in a chair, “Did you figure out anything?”

“Yeah, a lot actually.” He walked over to the computer and pulled up the ship’s blueprints. “The Akumas are traveling through the vents to avoid detection. I’d say they’re somewhere above ground on the first two floors. That narrows it down pretty well, doesn’t it?”

“It does.” Bruce hummed, “Let’s try to do a sweep of the area first thing in the morning. Having the kids around might work in our favor. The staff thinks they’re just weird teenagers and stopped batting an eye.”

“I mean they’re not wrong.”

Bruce looked around, “Where’s Alya and Chloe?”

Jason shrugged, “Interrogating Damian.”

“And Dick and Nino?”

Tim held up his phone, “Trying to save Damian.”

“Ah.”

“From what I hear, it’s not going well.”

Adrien smirked, “Well, at least he’ll die happy. He made up with Marinette.”

“He did? That’s good to hear.”

Tim smirked, “Be careful, you sound relieved.” Bruce just smiled as he looked over the blueprints. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that we’ll start in the residential wing. No one is allowed in the rooms without the residents’ consent. There are no cameras in the rooms. Perfect hiding place.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Finally. We might be able to get this guy before the end of the trip.”

Jason snorted, “And Damian can finally get a second kiss.” The three guys snapped their heads to Jason and he just nodded. “My reaction exactly.”

“Oh jeez, for a playboy’s son he has absolutely no game. You’ve taught him nothing.” Bruce glared at Tim who simply motioned towards the sleeping girl, “Try to tell me he’d score a kiss from anyone but Marinette. You can’t. That girl was his only chance and he was smart enough to take it.” Bruce initially shook his head before shrugging and nodding in agreement.

Adrien sighed and leaned on the wall, “So we have a plan. Should we go save Damian and find Staller?”

“Staller?”

Tim stretched and got out of his seat, “His niece’s memorial is tomorrow. She would’ve been 26 that day if it wasn’t for the accident. We couldn’t find the pictures so we’ve been brainstorming all night. We pulled it through in the end and made a pretty good gift. Also, we took a bottle from your office.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Adrien looked over at Marinette before decided to just lift her into his arms, “How did she die anyway? I know she was young but no one ever talks about it.”

Tim frowned and walked towards the door, “Let’s go find Damian.” Adrien wasn’t the best at reading the room, but when it came to loss he might as well have been reading a book. Her death was a sore spot and he wasn’t about to push that despite not understanding why.

Jason walked over and crouched down, “Put her on my back. I can take her.”

Adrien nodded and positioned her in a way she wouldn’t fall once he stood up. “Do you need anything else from us, Bruce?”

“No, that should be all. I’m glad to hear you all made up.”

Adrien smiled and waved as they left the room. He looked over at Tim, “So where are we heading?”

“Up. They’re in Alya’s room.”

“Ten bucks says they put him makeup and a dress.”

“Twenty says he likes it.”

Adrien chuckled, “Guys, be serious. Fifty says Chloe used Queen Bee’s venom on him.”

“Oh, no. That’s a suckers bet. She obviously did.”

“Yeah, I’m out.”

Adrien pouted but soon grinned, “Tim, do you have the present?”

“I can go get it once we’re above deck.”

Jason hummed, “Hope the old man likes it.”

“It’s a thoughtful gift made by his friends. He’ll love it.”

Tim looked over at Adrien as they walked up the stairs, “How’d your mom die?”

Adrien flinched and shook his head, “She didn’t die; she disappeared. No one knows where she went or what happened to her.” He tapped the railing and his smile held no warmth, “I want to think of her as alive and happy. Where ever she is.” Tim patted his back and Adrien shrugged, “So Staller will like it. I know it.”

“Way to go, Tim.”

“Shut it.”

“It’s okay, guys. Really. Let’s just go make sure Marinette still has a boyfriend.”

Jason adjusted his grip on Marinette as they continued up the floors to the residential wing, “He still didn’t tell her.”

Tim groaned, “I’m not surprised but I’m still disappointed.”

“Tell her what?”

“Did Chloe ever talk about a conversation between Bruce and Damian?”

“No.”

“Then don’t worry about it.”

Adrien pouted and looked over at Marinette, “You know she really loves him.”

“We know.”

“I don’t really like it.”

Tim’s sarcasm hit Adrien like a bat to the back, “Really? Couldn’t tell.” Adrien nearly stumbled and looked up at Tim flustered. Tim just chuckled at Adrien’s expense.

Adrien sighed and said, “At school, Marinette was the first friend I ever made. I think I always had a soft spot for her and it’s hard to ignore that.”

Jason asked, “So now what’ll you do?”

“Nothing. We talked and the feelings are more out of loyalty than anything. She loves Damian? Well, I’ll be there to claw his eyes out if they get into another fight.”

Tim was blunt when he said, “We’d probably help out.”

Adrien chuckled, “That’s terrible! You’re brothers.”

“That means nothing. I’ll punch him if you ask nicely.” That made Adrien bark out in laughter. Some passengers looked over at them, but they focused more on Jason carrying Marinette than the laughing blond.

Adrien took a deep breath and wiped the corners of his eyes, “Okay! Okay. I’m good. I’m good.”

Tim grinned as he continued up the stairs, “Nice to see you in a good mood, Adrien.”

“Thanks.”

“Aw, you guys bonded without me? Rude.”

“Says the guy carrying the girl he met a few weeks ago.”

Jason didn’t have a retort for that. It was true, he knew he liked Marinette after reading her paper. The sister thing started as a joke, but after realizing Gina was her grandmother it was like a switch. Suddenly, this girl was family; not just a girl his brother liked. She murmured something incoherent into his shoulder and he just quietly shushed her. If Adrien was right, she’s probably been stressing over things since their fight after Tess was Akumatized. The night before that was probably the last good night’s sleep she had. The fact that Marinette felt comfortable enough to fall asleep on him, it was a testament to how close they got. Sleeping made you too vulnerable. Too open. She trusted Jason. He wasn’t going to take that lightly.

The three continued chatting, Jason did his best to give Marinette a smooth ride as they made their way to Alya’s room. Nino and Dick soon came into view and they noticed Nino knocking on the door. “C’mon Alya! That’s enough!”

They could hear girls giggling and nothing else. Dick ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, “We haven’t heard anything from Damian. I’m starting to wonder if they have him gagged.”

Jason rolled his eyes and stomped on the door, “Alya! Open the door! Marinette fell asleep on me and my arms are getting tired!” Marinette groaned in protest to the sudden noise and he continued to lull her back to sleep.

“Dude!”

“Guys, stay quiet. She’s sleeping.”

“You literally just tried to kick down a door!”

Tim pinched the bridge of his nose, “Do you seriously think that’ll-” The doorknob jiggled a bit and Alya cracked open the door. Tim threw his arms up, “Never mind. I know nothing.”

Jason turned around and Alya’s eyes widened, “Oh jeez, she really did knock out.” Alya opened the door fully and motioned them inside, “We could’ve done more with more time, but you guys seriously ruin the fun.”

The boys filed inside the room and looked around. It was a standard room and by the looks of it, her roommate was Juleka. The girls snickered and whispered to each other before shushing each other. Dick was the first to ask, “So where’s Damian?”

Alix didn’t hesitate to point at the bathroom. Jason set Marinette down on the bed and Dick knocked on the door. “Hey, you alive in there?”

“Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute.” Damian opened the door after a moment and Tim’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“You’re alive.”

“Shut up, Drake.” He walked over to the girls and took his seat next to them and leaned on the wall, “Anyways, next question. Rose, it’s your turn.”

Alya motioned towards the group and looked at the group dumbly, “Now will you guys stop ruining our girl time.”

Nino crossed his arms, “Why didn’t you answer us?”

Damian shrugged, “They told me not to.”

Dick perked up, “I’m in. I got stories to share about this dumbass.”

Alix snickered, “Perfect. I need more dirt.”

Damian rolled his eyes, “Oh really?”

Dick smirked and stood beside Mylene, “So when Damian was 12 he stole his father’s car.”

Alix snapped her head to Damian, “You stole his car!”

Damian glared at Dick, “Great. Way to tarnish my reputation.”

“I can do worse. When he was 13, him and his friend Jon-”

Damian lunged at his brother and slapped a hand over his mouth, “No! Stopping you right there! Any story with that idiot is bound to be a bad one!”

Rose raised her hand, “Aw, can I at least ask my question? I have some more.”

Jason walked over and pushed Damian off of Dick fairly roughly, making everyone tense. “I got a few questions too. I think the girls would enjoy this one too.” Chloe let out a soft gasp but didn’t intervene. Jason knew she knew, “Number one, you guys have only kissed once.”

“That wasn’t even a question.”

Alya looked surprised, “Really? Aw man, you guys are shy aren’t you?”

Jason shrugged, “Marinette won’t let me kill you until she gets another kiss.”

Damian rolled his eyes, “And why would you kill me?”

Jason hummed and held out two fingers, “Number two. So why haven’t you told Marinette you love her yet?”

Rose and Mylene both cried out, “WHAT?”

Adrien quickly jumped over to Marinette and covered her ears, “Guys-”

Mylene leaned towards Damian with an unusually angry face, “What do you mean you haven’t told her?”

Rose was just as, if not more, intimidating. “Don’t you realize how crucial that is? You have to say it!”

Damian put his hands up in surrender and glared at Jason, “Where did this come from?”

“Marinette told me you didn’t answer her when she told you she loved you. So I thought-”

There seemed to be an invisible snap in the room as all the ladies pounced onto Damian, yelling and scolding the poor boy. He must’ve sworn to be at their mercy or something because he could’ve easily fought them off. Yet, he took the shaking, hitting, pulling, and other abuse with a brave face.

Dick leaned over to Jason and whispered, “Don’t you think that was a little mean?”

Jason shrugged, “I promised Marinette I wouldn’t kill him. This way I won’t have to.” Dick let out an exasperated sigh before looking over at the frenzy going on. He looked back at Adrien who seemed to struggle as he barely shielded Marinette from all the noise.

Dick tapped on Alya’s shoulder, “Hey, don’t you think this is a bit much? He’s not the type to say those kinds of things to anyone. Not even Bruce.”

“You can’t just leave a girl hanging like that! You have to say something back!”

Damian pushed Rose back, clearly doing so without harming her, “I did say something back! I asked her another question.”

Alya grabbed a pillow off Juleka’s bed and smacked him in the face with it. Chloe groaned, “Here I was, supporting you and standing in your corner, and you do this to me? Do you realize how valuable an alliance with me is?”

Damian rolled his eyes, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Alix begged to differ, “You did everything wrong! I’m not even into romance and I know that!”

Juleka sighed and turned his head to face her, “You know, we’ll always look out for Marinette. Do we need to be worried about you?”

Damian shook his head free from his grip, “Of course not! I care about her a lot. I-” Feeling the room’s eyes all suddenly on him prevented him from finishing his sentence. He looked away and growled, “This is stupid. Everything was fine until you guys showed up!”

Jason blinked and poked his cheek, “Are you blushing?”

“You wish.”

“Oh my god, he is.”

“Bro, I can see the pink on his cheeks from here.”

“I’m going to document this and file it under the evidence that proves Damian’s human.”

Damian, much to his dismay, could feel the heat creeping up his neck. Damian looked away from the group, “You’re starting to frustrate me.”

Dick clapped, bringing everyone’s attention to himself. He cleared his throat and motioned to Damian, “While he may not say it, he shows it in other ways. Exhibit A, the kid shows human emotions.”

“Grayson-”

“Exhibit B, he doesn’t curse at us as much anymore. He’s gotten softer.”

“We’ll see whose gone soft-”

“Exhibit C, he’s here. Damian would’ve never come here and let you girls question him this much if he wasn’t serious about her.” Damian didn’t say anything to that comment, but the silence was enough of a response for the girls to back off. Damian straightened himself out and crossed his arms, the blush losing intensity but never truly leaving. “You guys want someone who’s outwardly lovey-dovey, but that’s not Damian. He shows it by just doing things and trying hard for people. He’s always been like that.”

Dick reached out and messed with Damian’s hair. Much to his amusement, Damian didn’t fight it. Dick sighed, “You love her, don’t you?” Damian smacked Dick’s hand away and looked to the ground. Dick chuckled, “God, you haven’t changed at all. You were the same as a kid too.”

The blush came back with a fury, “Shut up!”

Dick smacked the back of Jason’s head, “Hey, what the he-”

“That’s for putting him in this position, Jason. Yeah, it’s frustrating to hear that because we all love Marinette. Still, you know how he operates. He’s not normal.”

Damian grabbed the pillow out of Alya’s hands and threw it at Dick, “Aren’t you done yet?”

Dick caught it and smirked, “Yeah, yeah. I’m done.” Dick has known Damian just as long as Bruce does, considering the time they spent together as Batman and Robin he’d argue he’s known him even longer. He’d like to think he’s the closest to him out of everyone in the family and he wouldn’t be wrong. Damian may never actually state the words ‘I love you’, but it doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t there. “I love you too, Damian.”

“You are so full of yourself, Grayson!”

Adrien sighed and shrugged, “On that note, I think it’s time. Chloe, can we continue this another time?”

Chloe groaned and looked at the group, “Interrogation over. Same time tomorrow?”

Damian’s eyes widened, “I’m not off the hook after that?”

Mylene shook her head, “Oh no, not yet. We still have a lot of questions.”

Rose stood up and stretched, “That was fun! I can’t wait for the next session.” She giggled and leaned towards Damian, “I guess you can be romantic without words, huh?” Damian rolled his eyes and gently pushed her face away.

Damian let out a long groan got onto his feet. He looked over to the figure on the bed and finally realized it was Marinette. He scrunched up his nose and walked over to her. “She okay?”

“Yeah, she knocked out on me on our way back to the computer room. We have some news.”

Alya and Chloe looked at each other before looking at the rest of the girls. “Hey, we need to talk. Do you mind?”

Juleka sighed and nodded, “Yeah. Yeah. We’ll go hang out in the arcade. Looks like it might rain today anyway.”

Alya smiled and said a quick thank you as they waited for the girls to leave before continuing further. “Well, I learned something new today. I’d say today’s interrogation was a success.” Damian glared at her but she just laughed it off, “You can’t touch me.” Damian looked away, frustrated because she was absolutely right.

Adrien closed the door behind the girls as the last one filed out. Adrien then motioned for Jason to explain what he found. Jason just repeated himself while petting Marinette’s hair, “The Akumas are traveling through the vents to avoid detection. Based on how quickly they move, I’d say they’re somewhere above ground on the first two floors. We’ll start a sweep tomorrow.”

“Wow, you figured that out on your own?”

“Marinette was the one who thought to talk to the first Akuma victims and the kids were good. Marleen almost punched us though.”

Dick rolled his eyes, “How many times are you going to bother that woman?”

“She’s a good time when she isn’t in a bad mood.”

Damian yawned and hopped up onto Alya’s bed, careful not to move Marinette too much. “You’ll have to do that without us. We’re spending the day with Staller.”

“You do that anytime you’re on the boat.”

“And I call the man if I’m not.” Damian shrugged and asked, “Did you finish the present?” Tim nodded and Damian didn’t miss a beat, “Then go get it.”

Tim grumbled and left the room. Damian looked over his phone, making small notes and messaging someone. Nino was the first to point out, “You seem more, what’s the word, mellow? You seem mellow.”

“I’m in a good mood.”

Alya snorted, “I wonder why?”

“Shut it.”

“Never.” Damian looked over the girl and stretched, “I’ll take her to her room after Tim gets back.”

Chloe exaggerated her words as she poked fun at him, “Oh, staying in a girl’s room! Damian Wayne! Looks like if he’s not going to say it, there’s one way you can show-“

Damian glared at her, “Keep it up and I’ll tell Adrien that you-”

Chloe quickly ran over and clasped her hands over his mouth, “I can and will use my venom on you!”

Damian pushed her hands away and looked over at Adrien, “She feels bad for losing the balloon war.”

Adrien seemed a bit relieved, “Is that it?”

Chloe blushed and waved her hand dismissively, “Yeah! Yeah! That’s it!” Damian pinched her cheek, “Hey! What was that for?”

“For putting your hands on me.”

Alya groaned, “You guys are worse than my sisters.”

Jason shrugged, “I’m just glad to see you guys getting along again. Seriously, you guys brought the mood down.”

Damian frowned, “I didn’t mean to.”

Nino walked over and patted his back, “Aw, don’t feel bad. No one understands girls. A fight or two is inevitable.” Alya pinched his ear, “Ow! Tell me I’m wrong!”

Alya let go and shrugged, “You’re right. Arguing is bound to happen. That’s just normal.” Nino held out his fist towards Adrien who reluctantly fist-bumped him.

“You’re so dumb.”

“You love me.”

“Yes, but at what cost?”

“Adrien, we made this agreement years ago. You can’t get rid of me now.”

“Nino, I would never.”

“Bro.”

Dick laughed and leaned against Juleka’s bed, “You guys seriously make me question how far your relationship goes.”

Alya shrugged, “You get used to it. They’ve been inseparable since they met. They started laying it on thick a few months ago.”

“Why?”

Nino hummed, “I don’t know. Just felt like it. Adrien?”

“Yeah, no real reason. Just kind of happened. I think it’s hilarious.”

Chloe looked over her nails and said, “I think it’s annoying.”

Alya smirked, “I think it makes for good blackmail down the line when you guys look back on this and cringe.”

“Bold of you to assume we’d ever stop.”

Jason shook his head and laughed, “I forget you guys are teenagers sometimes. We’ve all been acting so serious lately. When was the last time we were all together like this?”

Dick thought for a moment, “The sleepover. Or that first stop before Lucas.”

Alya cringed, “I still feel bad about how that day ended.”

“Water under the bridge, Alya.”

“In this case, water under the boat.” The group groaned and Dick threw a pillow at Adrien.

It took a little while but once Tim finally returned, he walked into the room confused. Adrien was being held back while the girls beat him with pillows. Damian and Dick stayed back and watched the scene unfold while Marinette seemed to have just woken up from her sleep. Tim handed Damian the bag and asked, “What-”

Nino called back from over his shoulder, “We’re beating out his sins.”

“Puns are not sins!”

Chloe frowned, “Adrikins, you need to pay for that last one.”

“All I said was-”

Alya smacked him with her pillow, “Don’t repeat it! It was terrible!”

Adrien laughed, “You guys just can’t handle my comedic charm.”

“Oh please, you’re worse than Dick.”

“I’m funny!”

Damian looked over to his brother and deadpanned, “No, you aren’t. Women just laugh at your jokes because they think you’re attractive.”

Dick smirked, “I am attractive.”

“But you’re not funny.”

Dick suddenly pulled Damian into a chokehold, “What’d you say?”

“Grayson!”

“I’m not what?”

“Get off!”

“I’m sorry. I don’t speak loser.”

“Dick!”

Tim sighed and rubbed his temples, “I didn’t drink enough coffee for this.” Damian bit Dick’s arm, making him pull back and flinch.

“Damian!”

He ignored him, “Marinette, you want to go to your room? Staller’s probably working until later tonight. We can catch him in the den and give him our gift.” Marinette yawned and nodded.

Adrien looked over to Marinette and pleaded with her, “You can’t just leave me here!”

“Alya, let him go.”

“In a minute.”

Marinette shrugged, “You heard her. In a minute.” Adrien’s mouth hung open and stuck out his tongue in protest. Marinette yawned, “We’ll talk later okay?” She tapped her earrings and he nodded. “Good luck.”

Adrien sighed, “I’ll keep you in my will.”

Marinette giggled and grabbed Damian’s arm. He didn’t outwardly express anything, but his body visibly relaxed seemingly without him noticing. Marinette waved as they left the scene behind them. She looked at Damian and noticed something was different. “Are you blushing?”

Damian froze, “I most certainly am not blushing!”

Marinette put her hands up, “Okay! Okay. Sorry. The girls didn’t talk about anything weird did they?”

Damian visibly gulped and looked at his phone, “Nothing of interest, but we have another session tomorrow.”

Marinette leaned over to get a better look at him and pouted, ��You’re a bad liar.”

Damian pinched her cheek, “That’s my line!”

Marinette flinched but giggled all the same. He let go of her cheeks and then hesitantly leaned towards her. By the time she realized what was happening, he placed a gentle kiss on the cheek he pinched before continuing down the corridor. Marinette could feel the heat coming up her neck like a forest fire. “Hey! You can’t just do that!”

He stopped, but he didn’t look back at her. Instead, he just held his hand out and waited. “Now you can have Jason come after me later, if you want.”

Marinette was confused at first before realizing what the comment referred to. She sighed and ran up to him, clasping onto his hand as soon as it came into reach. For a moment, they didn’t say anything. She was always used to grab his arm and that was that. This was new for both of them. Despite the greater distance it put between them, it felt more intimate. Still, neither pulled away. Instead, they walked towards the main deck to get to Marinette’s wing.

Marinette let out a half-hearted laugh, “I can’t believe I fell asleep on Jason.”

Damian expressed his own concern with her current state, “I have to admit. I’m surprised too. You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m just tired, I guess.” Damian frowned and she nudged him, “Hey, things are looking up. We’re together again, our friends are getting along, and we’ll spend time with – Oh! Staller!” Damian looked up and noticed the old man walking around on deck and Marinette didn’t hesitate to run up to him. Staller seemed to be in a haze as he looked over the water. Luckily, he was pleasantly surprised at the girl jumping up to hug him and he reciprocated.

Damian chuckled and jogged over to the two, “You’ll break him.”

“He’s sturdy.”

“Not as much as I used to be.” Staller rubbed his shoulder and rolled it to adjust it. “Although, I’m happy to see you two. I haven’t had the best company lately.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing to worry about.” Staller brushed back her bangs and smiled at her, “What brings you here?”

“We have something for you to make up for the photos.”

“You didn’t have to-”

“We wanted to.” Damian held up the bag and smiled, “We need to take responsibility.”

Staller sighed and patted the boy’s shoulders, “You do this every year. I still don’t understand why.”

The question made him apprehensive but he played it off well, “I respect you, old man. Least I could do.”

Staller grabbed the bag, “We’ll open this later. I assume it’s for Anne?”

“It’s for Anne.”

Staller nodded and looked over the railings. It was a sober moment to watch him look down at the water, thinking, until he finally asked both teens a question. “Would you like to walk around for a while?”

“Don’t you have work?”

“My co-captain needs to pull his own weight. He’ll be fine.”

Marinette snorted, “Lazy, huh?”

“Exactly.” Staller motioned for them to follow him as they wandered the ship.

Damian poked Marinette’s arm and asked her, “You up for this?”

“I’ll be fine. That was a good power nap.”

“You’re pushing it.”

“Probably!” Marinette smiled and pleaded, “Come on! I’ll be fine.” Damian’s shoulders fell and Marinette took it as a sign of defeat. “Let’s go.”

Damian groaned as he let himself get dragged away by the girl. He wasn’t annoyed, quite the opposite. Falling into their little trio made things feel like they were going back to normal. He did his best to ignore growing the pit in his stomach to enjoy himself with these two people, but he knew it wasn’t going to ever go away. It’s been there for a long time and the reason he’s so close to Staller in the first place.

Damian watched Marinette and Staller bond over a casual conversation. Marinette managed to rope him into it and suddenly he found himself between the two. Being made fun of. Being laughed at. Having conversations about nothing but things they noticed around the ship. Everything was calm for the first time in a while. Damian wondered what’d happen next.

He understood his father’s concerns, but seeing her in action put him at ease. Yet, he doesn’t get the feeling she understood just how bad things could get. She’s been facing magic, he’s been facing monsters. She can erase the damage, he has to live with it. Still, despite that, she still has a lot of the same insecurities. It’s probably more intense for her; she’s been on her own for the most part. He had networks, she had a partner who didn’t know her identity until a few weeks ago.

Damian continued to laugh along with Staller and Marinette, but it wasn’t entirely heartfelt. Probably because it wasn’t anything he was used to. This was a new world he usually hid from; forever in the shadows and watching over it. However, Damian found himself being yanked into the sunlight. Marinette was gentle in her approach, and he didn’t struggle, but he wondered how long it’d take before he was burned.

As they spent more time together, he started to notice things about Staller that made him anxious. There was a faint scent of alcohol on his breath, his speech showed that he was present in the conversation but his eyes screamed vacancy, and he still didn’t even peek into the bag. Marinette hasn’t noticed anything or she’s ignoring it.

He looked over the rails and noted how restless seemed compared to the other days. He looked up and the sky was grey, making it darker earlier. He looked around the deck and people seemed to be dressed in sweaters for the rare storm. He wondered if they should head inside but Marinette pulled him in a new direction and into a new conversation. Damian looked around, giving general comments and paying half a mind to his friends. Something was keeping him on edge, despite wanting to relax with the only two people on the ship that have broken through to his walls. Looking back at Staller, Damian noticed the man wilt as he did his best to keep a brave face in front of Marinette.

Later into the night, the storm was definitely starting to roll in. Most of the people left the deck to their room, but there were still a few who chatted amongst themselves. Damian felt his phone vibrate and noticed it was from his father. He looked around and noticed his father on an upper level looking down at the deck. Dick, Adrien, and Alya seemed to be discussing something next to him before noticing he was looking in their direction. They waved and Damian waved back before reading his father’s message. It asked why he was still up; he didn’t even notice they were close to hitting midnight. He looked back up to see his friends running away, most likely to meet them.

He looked over at Marinette and Staller, still enthralled in their own world. He hated being the person to throw them out of it. “Hey, guys. It’s getting late.”

Staller looked at his watch and blinked, “Oh. I guess we did lose track of time.”

Marinette giggled and leaned against the railing, “I guess. Should we go back to the den?”

“The den? You two need to go to bed.”

Marinette whined, “Staller, what about tomorrow? We don’t want you to be alone.”

Staller smiled at the kids and opened the bag, “Let’s take a look at this stuff.” He pulled out a bottle and smiled, “What’s this?”

“There’s more in the bag.”

Staller handed Damian the bottle before reaching further inside. He pulled out an envelope and looked confused, “You’re giving me money?”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “Just open it.”

Damian didn’t realize he was going to be nervous as he waited for Staller’s reaction. He could feel his body tense as he opened up the envelope and pulled out the photos inside. Both teens waited with bated breath as they waited for Staller to say something. Anything to tell them they did a good job.

Staller flipped through the photos and leaned against the railing. His eyes waters and a smile threatened to form on his face as flipped through them. Suddenly, the lights in Staller’s eyes were back. Staller struggled to keep his voice even before finally asking, “What is this?”

Marinette was cautious when reaching out to him, almost worried the man would collapse if she wasn’t careful. She put her hand on his arm and smiled, “We got a hold of Anne’s wife. We asked her to send over some photos. Tim printed them out for us.”

Damian nodded and surprised himself at how soft his voice was when addressing the old man, “We know it’s not the originals and some of those photos aren’t the same as the ones we lost, but we hoped it would help.”

Staller continued flipping through, looking for something until he finally stopped on one. Damian peered over to look at the picture and felt relieved. It was arguably his favorite one; with him, Anne, Anne’s wife, and his brother. That was the one he showed him when they first got close. Based off of Marinette’s face, he must’ve shown her the same one.

Marinette looked up at the captain, “Do you like it? We also looked into the whiskey bottle Robin broke and managed to find something similar in Bruce’s office. Just something to-” She squeaked as Staller pulled both kids into a bear hug. It took Marinette a second to realize what happened but soon sunk into the embrace. She looked over to Damian and sent him a small smile; a quiet victory for the two. 

Staller pulled away and laughed, “You – You’re good kids.”

The guilt ate at him, but he wanted to live in the moment. Right here, right now, things were good. Damian suddenly felt a swell of emotions and Marinette was seconds away from probably crying. Staller gulped and looked behind the two, “I think your friends are here.” The two teens turned around and saw Dick, Adrien, Bruce, and Alya watching from the entrance to the main atrium. They seemed just as moved by the scene as they were. Marinette sent over a bright smile and a thumbs up, “He liked it!” Alya cheered and Adrien and Dick fist-bumped. Bruce simply watched the two teens proudly, but Damian knew better.

Call it instincts, maybe a dumb hunch, but something told him to keep looking. Someone was watching them and it put the hair on his neck stand up. Damian couldn’t find anyone out of place, but still worried. Damian looked back at Staller and noticed something in his eyes that put him on edge. Staller still smiled, but it was fake. Damian’s been around the man long enough to tell. The light that was there when he first looked through the photos was suddenly gone. Staller held his hand out to Damian and motioned to the bottle. Damian stepped back and suddenly felt defensive, “Why don’t we go to the den first? Crack open the bottle there and I can pour you a glass. We’ll talk more.”

Marinette looked up and nodded. The wind started to pick up around them and Marinette shivered, “Looks like it might rain anyway.”

Staller slowly nodded, “Right. Go on ahead. I just remembered why I came out here in the first place. I’ll be quick.”

Something in his voice must’ve tipped Marinette off because she suddenly looked concerned, “Staller?”

Staller handed Marinette the envelope, “I’ll be quick.” He gently pushed the two forward and waved at Bruce. Bruce waved back and turned to take a call. Marinette looked over at Damian, confused. Something didn’t feel right. They looked back and Staller just continued to look over the waves. Another gust of wind caused Marinette to tense up and she quickened her pace, doing her best to get out of the cold. Damian was slow to follow but he looked down at the bottle in his hands. He made it nearly halfway to his friends when he noticed they’re faces morph.

Time seemed to slow down as he took in everyone’s reaction. Alya was first. She was laughing at Marinette’s weakness to the cold but suddenly went wide-eyed and stared directly behind them. Adrien and Dick started yelling something, but Damian couldn’t make it out over his heartbeat. His father’s made his heart drop; Bruce dropped his phone and suddenly pushed himself forward. Damian and Marinette looked back and realized what was happening.

Damian felt the bottle slip through his hands as he quickly turned and started running. He saw Marinette in his peripheral vision running beside him and reaching out her hand. The sight of Staller climbing over the railings was almost unreal. Damian realized what that look was about earlier, why he was outside on deck earlier. This was his plan all along.

The shattering of the bottle suddenly made time move forward. Staller didn’t even react to the screaming, nor did he look back at them to acknowledge it. He just looked down and stepped off. Damian took out his grappling gun and he could hear Marinette scream, “SPOTS ON!”

It was instinct and pure panic. Both jumped off the railing and dove for Staller. As soon as they grabbed his hands Damian shot the gun. The rope sprung up and both Bruce and Dick were there to catch it. Both let out a small grunt at the weight they were pulling while Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around the railing. The sudden stop caused her to let out a small whimper. Damian could feel his shoulder burning and tingling, but his focus was on the man barely hanging on.

“ARE YOU CRAZY?”

“STALLER, PLEASE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS!”

Staller looked up at the two and started to almost analyze them. Damian cursed to himself once he felt the rain start pouring over them. Staller didn’t even register it. Instead, he laughed, “I knew you were Ladybug!”

Ladybug breathed heavily, “Really? We can talk about it! Just – Just grab my arm so you don’t slip!”

Staller didn’t respond. He looked over at Damian and got a good look at the grappling gun, “I know that thing. You were the Robin that ruined my den.”

Damian nodded doing his best to ignore the numbing sensation in his shoulder, “Yeah, old man! Come on! You can yell at me all you want! Just hold on!”

Staller smiled and shook his head, “I’ll be quick.”

“NO! No! Staller, please!”

“Come on, Staller! Who else is going to go to take care of all those ships, huh?! What about Anne?! You think she’d want this for you!? No!”

Ladybug shivered and her hair stuck to her face as the rain only got more intense around them. She was losing her footing against the ship’s side. She tried to pull Staller up, but if she even jostled him he slipped further out of her grip. “Staller, please listen to us! We’ll help you! We can call your family! We’ll call doctors! Just please hold on to me!”

Staller looked almost calm. The storm around him meant nothing. Maybe it was the lightning, or maybe it was the water in his own eyes, but Damian saw something flash over Staller’s eyes. Ladybug must’ve seen it too because she suddenly shrieked, “STALLER, NO!”

Staller let his hands go limp.

Damian’s seen people die before so he knew what their eyes looked like. When he was little, the eyes really stood out to him. Living people always have a glimmer, dead people have a dim glassy glow to them that tell people no one’s home, and then there’s those who die. It’s like a light just goes out with the final breath. As Staller fell out of their grip, he saw the lights just evaporate before he even hit the water.

“NO!” Ladybug used the ship’s side to propel herself off and dove into the water after him.

“LADYBUG!” Damian cursed under his breath. He wouldn’t be able to withstand the waves with his shoulder like this. He knew it was dislocated. He looked up at Adrien and barked at him, “GO AFTER HER! CAT NOIR! GO!” Adrien seemed to snap out of a shock before he nodded. Dick and Bruce started to pull while Adrien took out a container. He picked out the blue piece of cheese and threw it into the air. Plagg quickly flew out of his shirt and ate it, transforming, before Adrien jumped onto the railings.

“PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!”

Cat Noir dove into the water while Damian struggled to get over the railings with his brother’s help. Damian slipped and landed on his side. The sharp pain went through his body and he writhed while doing his best to keep from crying out. He could hear Alya running around the border of the deck, “I don’t see them! I don’t see them!”

Dick pulled Damian to his feet where he noticed a small group of the remaining staff members that didn’t go inside when the storm came overhead. Tess was among them and she just looked at the rope and then over the railing. Tess blinked, snapping out of the initial shock, and motioned for them to follow her. “The ship’s moving! If we’re going to see them, we have to go towards the back!”

Damian didn’t hesitate to chase after her. He held his shoulder and cursed each time he slipped. The four of them crashed into the railing and looked around. Alya was starting to hyperventilate, “I don’t see them! MARINETTE! ADRIEN!”

Tess screamed and, after looking down, he understood why. The dark water coming from the back of the ship suddenly gained a red hue. Damian felt sick, “No. No. No.” He kept looking around for a sign of something, anything. Alya looked like she was going to be sick as she covered her mouth and shook her head. He walked over and shook her shoulders, “They’re magic, right?! They’ll be okay, right?!” Alya didn’t seem to register his words at all.

Dick snapped his head to his brother and wiped the water from his face, “You knew?! Damian, you knew!?”

“Shut up!” Damian ran over to the railing and looked around one last time. His vocal cords hurt just as much as his shoulder did when he cried out, “ADRIEN! MARINETTE!” Bruce walked over to his son, reaching for him before Damian slapped his hand away. “No! No! They’re fine! MARINETTE! ADRIEN!”

“Damian!”

“Father, they’re fine! MARINETTE! ADRI-”

It was sudden, but the green stood out almost immediately once Cat Noir broke the surface of the water. He was holding Ladybug in his arms, unconscious. Cat Noir started waving desperately and Dick pulled out his own grappling gun and aimed it at the hero. Cat Noir starting swimming towards the rope, careful to keep Ladybug’s head above water.

Bruce took the chance to grab Damian's shoulders and turn his body to face him. Damian flinched and hissed at the pressure on his shoulder, but Bruce continued to apply it. “What were you thinking!? Damian, you are supposed to report everything! Everything!” When Damian didn’t answer, Bruce shook him. “Damian!”

Bruce watched as his son retreated so far into himself, any expression or emotion escaped him. Bruce found himself yelling at a complete and utter husk as his son detached himself entirely from the situation. Damian only looked at Bruce’s watch and licked his lips, “Its Anne’s memorial.”

Bruce didn’t know how to respond. He heard a loud ‘splat’ sound next to him and looked over to see Cat Noir heavily breathing over an unconscious Ladybug. Ladybug de-transformed and the kwami wilted next to Cat Noir. Alya ran over to her and put her ear over Marinette’s mouth, “She’s not breathing! GUYS!”

“Move!” Dick pushed Alya out of the way and started performing CPR. Tess ran over to check Cat Noir, but Cat Noir kept his focus on his partner. “Bruce!” Bruce looked over to Dick who just scolded him, “Get a gurney!”

“I got it.” At least the Robin part of still him kicked in. It was a shred of himself that he held onto that kept him tethered to reality. Damian ran off and Bruce just glared at his son.

Marinette suddenly starting coughing up water and turned over to throw up whatever was left in her system. While the others fussed over her, Bruce simply walked over to Tess and held out his hand. “Give me your phone.” She didn’t argue.

He dialed a contact he knew by heart and when the sophisticated old voice answered Bruce felt somewhat relieved. At least one thing stayed the same. “Hello? Wayne residence. This is a private line.”

“Alfred. We’re going to need to do some heavy damage control out here. We’re still 10 hours away from the nearest port and we need authorities now.”

“Master Bruce? What on earth happened?”

He looked over the scene before him and scowled, “All hell broke loose.” ******************************************************************************************* For anyone who is struggling with Suicidal Thoughts: US Hotline - 1-800-273-8255 Thank you for being patient and enjoying the lastest chapter of Seabourne Burnouts! Tag List (Bitch I have a tag list whAT!?!?!): @maribat-archive @ozmav @thornangelic727@imfreakingmagical@constancetruggle @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay@someone-ev   @zazzlejazzle @tinybrie @mewwitch @rhub4rb@saphiraazure2708 @never-neverland @unholykrow @slytherinhquinn @literallytryingmybestbutok @redscarlet95 @grimmhallow31 @fandomkitten9653 @myriad-of-passionate-pettiness @fanboy7794 @mystifiedgal @shizukiryuu @ vixen-uchiha @resignedcatservant @mystery-5-5 @miraculousl4dybug @blackcanary13 @origamieater @moonlitarchangels @mochinek0 @imfreakingmagical @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @derpingrainbow @unabashedbookworm @skyel0ve @northernbluetongue @cadencehood @sizzling-fairy-oil @crazylittlemunchkin @saphiraazure2708 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @ginamarie1512 @kae690 @ivette0712 @zalladane @ellerahs @auradonfairy @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @scribblinggraveyard @nyctamaximoff @snow-swordswoman @maude-zarella @thebookwormfairy @melicmusicmagic @zalladane @ivette0712 @ginamarie1512  @bookreader20003 @silvergold-swirl @celestiacq @themcclan @amethyst-starr5 @tamoni112 @lunar-wolf-warrior @alexzandria-747 @nataladriana9 @moonlitarchangels @iglowinggemma28 @hunter-shyreen @mermaidofthelost @jessigurl-design @vgirl-10123 @lunar-wolf-warrior @casual-darkness @xxmadamjinxx @normal-piece-of-shit @tinyterror333 @romanoff-queen @schrodingers25 @alessialeone6997 @mindfulmagics @slytherin-heartthrob @da-tasuky @asianfrustration13 @eliza-bich @kuhakuanon @my-name-is-michell @theatreandcomicfreak @interobanginyourmom @starry-bi-sky @etheralentity @creator-josie @kurogaya913 @st0rmy-w1th1n @casual-darkness @vgirl-10123 @poshplumcot @thebookish3lf @queenmj10 @corabeth11 @goblinwhoships @ilovefluffbutsmutisalsogreat @violatiger8 @maribat-owns-my-ass @captainartsypants @deathofafangirl01 @maribat-owns-my-ass @nickristus-dreamer  @amayakans Let me know if I missed anyone and message me! I’ll be sure to see it then!

[neverheardnothing]

The Black Suits song ranking

Happy (late) Black Suits Day (eighteenth of September) y'all! Not that anyone asked but I have decided on my personal Black Suits song ranking. As always, I am very correct with my Joe Iconis music takes and will accept no criticism. Also I'm talking about 2013 here. Love yourself (and the work) and listen to 2013 instead of 2012 for better audio quality and a tighter book.

Spirit Song - I don't think anyone is surprised this is my top ranked song lol. "A melody only exists when someone hears, and the number one thing that I've learned through all my years. The fans and the family make the music strong, and the cheering is just as important as the song!" As Will describes it, it's a love letter to audiences (hey, that's me!) and when I listen to this song I'm always reminded of how much Joe believes in the message of this song, that the audience is part of the show.

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang - [Joe Iconis voice] the language of the show. A lot of this list was influenced by not only how much I liked the song but by how well the songs functioned as extensions/expansions of the scene and the believability of that character singing the song. To me Bangx5 is one of the ultimate examples of this. The lyrics "there's a heavy metal hole where a soul used to be" like that's SO teenage angst and overdramatic just like Chris is supposed to be in this moment. I remember when I first heard the song I was like "is that it? Simple repeated [I am ___] lyrics for your act 1 finale? Seems a bit underwhelming even if it musically goes hard" but then after like another listen through of the show or so I realized that was the intention. When you're seventeen or so and you feel like your world is crashing down around you, sometimes the only way you can articulate it is "I am white boy rage, I am in a cage, I am bang bang bang bang bang bang bang." You are bang, you are loud crashing noises, your emotions are too loud and intense to be described with your limited vocabulary but you try anyways and fail. I love the contrast of the lyrics "I am chew my pens" and "I am hurt my friends" right next to each other. And the harmony at the end? Chefs fucking kiss.

Amphibian - This song is so goddamn fun. Like honestly. That’s it. Nato is chilling by himself and makes up a song about himself and his frog and it’s the best goddamn time in the show. You really get the feeling like these characters are actually friends. I love the “idiot” Nato vs “smart” Brandon. The “who cares about Beethoven. It’s a movie about a dog” joke never fails to make me laugh. When Brandon is expecting a regular bridge to the song and Nato whips out the falsetto and he goes “oh my God” like. Peak comedy here. And also Will Roland doing That? I’m in awe. Like this is what The Black Suits (the band) is, friends hanging out and having fun with music, that makes the next scene when the band formally break up so sad.

It's All Good - “So we’re cool and whatever?” It’s such a teenage boy thing to say. Like you want to acknowledge that you guys have been through something but at the same time you want to undercut it so you don’t run the risk of seeming too openly emotional. I’m also only very slightly bitter about that review that was like “oh wait so the only stakes of this show is the battle of the bands?” Like hello? Did you not see the show or listen to a single second of the finale? It’s about the way these characters communicate in their kinda inadequate ways and how they use music to express themselves. In a way it’s classic, cliche musical theater 101, with the characters unable to say what they feel with plain English so they resort to music, but of course with a Joe Iconis twist. The stakes aren’t the fucking battle of the band, it’s the friendship between the boys. It’s literally so obvious I want to scream. Anyways this song is fantastic way to end the show.

Car Ride To Long Beach - That's right. Car Ride To Long Beach is 5th place. I'm only very slightly bitter about the review that was like "is fried chicken REALLY the deciding factor in going on a drug run?" And by slightly bitter I mean this person goes on the list of people I want to beat up for being so fucking wrong about a Joe show. No, you fucking fool, that's not actually the deciding factor. She's at least on the fence, if not already secretly decided yes, about it from the moment he asks. It's about the company, it's about the road trip, it's about breaking the rules after having been "good" for so long. I am so adamant that this song is about desire and thrill and guilt and wanting to be seen for who you are and not just John saying obscene things. Like take the dialogue exchange right before she finally vocally says yes. "What do I look like right now?" "Uh. You look like... Lisa?" "... Alright let's go." Like tell me that does not drive you fucking crazy after Lisa's constant questions about others perception of her and trying to figure out who she is herself. Car Ride To Long Beach is good you guys are just mean.

Social Worker - Another example of an incredibly fitting character song. The refusal and reluctance of a teenage boy to admit that he actually needs or gets mental health help. I love the music-ification of a panic attack as loud drums and electric guitar. "I don't really go to the social worker," he says, as he goes to the social worker. It’s truly hilariously, heartbreakingly fitting for his character.

The Answer - When that Things To Ruin reviewer said Joe is a master of putting commonly shared moments to music no one else has done before, they were right. Who HASN’T taken a test and failed it so utterly they started questioning their entire life and worried for their future before? I love the repeated lyric questions like John is sitting there reading the question over and over trying to figure out what the answer is. I love the synthy keyboard. Fantastic choice @ Charlie Rosen.

Band-Aids and Cigarettes - Oh this song is so good I feel guilty about putting it at 8. It’s like honestly heartbreaking, not being able to give what the other person needs and being aware of it. And the unconventionality of it being sung by the mentor character instead of a love interest or something.

The Feeling (Part 1 and 2) - Yeah I’m combining them into one song and also assuming the entire beach/Chris & Mrs. Werring conversation is part of the song, too, with the interlude of the “I just want something good to happens.” This song is a jam, plain and simple. I love the absolutely terrible advice that Mrs. Werring gives Chris. “You got to push all your worries inside of yourself, and then they’ll mix creating a combustible boom.” Awful! But Annie Golden sings it so well. And it makes Band-Aids and Cigarettes later that much more sad. In part 2, I love how interconnected the two conversations are. “Just breathe them in -> I love the beach.” The synchronous “I don’t even remember why I liked him/her in the first place.” The score here having the Spirit Song melody. Also now feels like a good time to bring up my Lisa Bred is nonbinary headcanon (though it’s practically textual canon) with “I’m not a girl, I’m a song.” Like that right there, she literally states she’s not a girl, and that’s just the most obvious part. Twice before now, she’s asked people about how they perceive her (“what do I look like right now?” “my girlfriend?” / “Lisa”) and her arc in this show up to this point is discovering more about herself and trying new things. She’s aware of societal gender norms (“isn’t that what boyfriend girlfriends are supposed to do?”) and how she doesn’t really fit in with them. She’s experimenting with expressing herself (dyeing her hair blue, photography). Like it’s all right there. I don’t know if Joe was intentionally writing a nonbinary character figuring herself out but that’s what I get when I read the text straight. In Lisa’s mind, John is one of the gateways to trying new things (“you give me this feeling”) and then that blends right into the rest of The Feeling and it’s so fucking GOOD. I love this song.

Blue Hair - The OG Joe Iconis viral song! I love the music song of this song so much, specifically the guitar/piano riff. I love the multiple sources of motivation of doing it, from actually wanting to try something different, to getting a reaction from Chris and John, even if she denies that last part. And then again at the end of the song with her self-awareness. She’s doing something to stand out/express herself! I love it.

Nato's Song - A six minute clusterfuck of a song and it’s beautiful. Sticking to the actual Nato stuff right now, I think it’s a pretty clever way of passing time and seeing how it’s affecting him and everyone else in the show. With the interspersed content of other characters, it really is the musical equivalent of a film montage. I love seeing Chris’ further breakdown in the form of voicemails to his dad. The music of Blue Hair, Old Records, and Rather Be coming back is fucking great. Everyone is just struggling in this song and it’s great.

Rock 'N Roll Band (Reprise) - I love this re-introduction song so much and the differences between it and the original. I love the chaoticness of the solos all going at the same time. I love the cut Geek Rock Garage King still making in into the show as Brandon’s bridge and how out of place it is with the rest of the song musically but yet it’s still in it. I love the a capella break with Mrs. Werring cheering them on.

Old Records - The fact that John plays the guitar as Chris sings it for someone to hear is so good. When he gets affirmation that John likes the song, he continues. And it’s only after being called out about his writing revealing things about him that Chris feels bad about the song again and claims that they were just dummy lyrics. Once John leaves the backing music comes back on like glockenspiel or something and I love the lightness of it combined with the electric guitar that comes in after.

Black Suit On - I know we’re at like 3/4ths through but I honestly love this song. I love all the songs so much. This ranking honestly barely matters because I love all the songs in this show. I love the (unrealistic) idea of finally being able to be your best self, of all your problems going away, if only something symbolic but ultimately inconsequential thing were to happen. It’s about the (shared) vision for a different future than the one you’re currently living! (By the way I am so haunted by Jen Tepper saying this song was actually about LIHN. Like does anyone know what that means? Do I fundamentally misunderstand this song or LIHN? I don’t get the connection.)

Lisa - Once again, the relatability. Who hasn’t felt like they were good enough for another person? I love the specificity of the AOL verse. It’s so late 2000s. And the rest of the lyrics are so angsty and overdramatic as John is. Specifically in the context of the show this song really hurts after Lisa tells him she can’t fix whatever issues are wrong with him.

Rock 'N Roll Band - I love how the entire song is so what teenagers going through school, waiting for life to change, and seeking refuge in the only place where they feel like they are important and can be themselves. I love all their intros. I love Brandon going way too hard on the drums. “I’m gonna scream and shout, knock you out. I’m gonna conquer the world, get the girl. I’m gonna get some respect, finally connect. When I take a stand, with my rock ‘n roll band.” The extreme vividness of the type of stuck they feel here is so good and it’s a good summary of the show.

Pop Tarts - I love that this song is still called Pop Tarts despite all references to it having been removed except for one dialogue. I love the section of Chris’ vision for the band. The pre-reprise of the beginning of It’s All Good with “we’re cool and whatever?” and all of them joining in and getting on the same page. We love some boys just absolutely barely capable of communicating with each other with words.

Song In My Head/Only Person In The World - The absolute irony and poetry of John singing “I’m the only person in the world” and Chris singing about how everyone is gone when this is a duet. It’s literally so fucking good. When they both sing “I’m the only person in the world” at the same time? Are you kidding me? And this song is ranked 18th? Truly every song in this show is top tier.

Rather Be - This song is rather on the nose in its message, everyone would rather be at band rehearsal. It’s a solid song that helps us get into each of their characters more (“rather be where my buddies / now the same bands / and tolerate my drum fills” / “where my brothas like that I’m weird / and ask to see my squid impression” / “because we’ve only got a little while to get fantastic and get some style / if we do it soon then I won’t have to go to college” / “christ I’d rather be anywhere / but sitting trapped here taking this asshole test”). I love it when characters in shows all have different reasons for singing the same lines.

McFly Is Looking For A Drummer - Rip to this song, being ranked last. It’s not that I don’t like it because I actually do. Again, I just love all the songs in this show. He’s trying to communicate in his own way, which happens to be in music references, but that’s not how other people around him understand, and so he sees this opportunity to be with people who are more like him, but then he he gets scared that he wouldn’t fit in the way he hopes he would, which would be even worse than where he’s currently at where he knows that they don’t quite get him but are his friends anyways. I love that one moment where he drops out singing. It’s very reminiscent of in Michael In The Bathroom when you expect him to sing the title words but he doesn’t, so your brain fills it in for you. It functions a bit differently than that moment does in BMC though. I think in this song it’s the comparison of how he’s currently treated with the possibility of what McFly represents, that he could have the exact opposite experience there, that he’s imagining all the possibilities in that moment. Lol, ranked 20 and I still have so many things to say about this song.

[aegonbeingfakeisracist]

1) It will never not be funny how everyone dismisses Cersei as a unreliable, crazy POV, but suddenly she's the voice of reason when it comes to Rhaegar and Elia. The same could be said about Barristan. Rhaegar and Robert rlly are not that different from each other (though we don't know if he put his hands on Elia we do know how he used and disposed of Elia's body similar to Cersei + both are cheaters who don't respect women). Cersei used Rhaegar as a coping mechanism to deflect from her reality.

2) Rhaegar; however, was able to mask himself as the perfect, romantic Prince: a hope for better times, while Robert's spiralling was evident to everyone even Ned who romanticized him. Cersei was only 12 when she saw Rhaegar vs. living w/ Robert. Rhaegar was a possibility for her to remain Queen w/ a "better/ loving" husband. She's angry that Elia, a stupid brown woman, messed up the opportunity for the 'perfect' relationship w/ the perfect prince backed by Kevan/ Genna/ Tywin's delusions.

So true.

Cersei is layered, fascinating character whose perspective is incredibly interesting to read. But the voice of reason she is not, especially as it pertains to Rhaegar and Elia.

It’s the misogyny and racism of the world layered on top of the innate jealousy that colours Cersei’s perception of and relationships with lots of other characters. Cersei told Jaime that the picture she drew of herself and Rhaegar on dragonback together was Jaehaerys and Alysanne. Now even though that wasn’t true, it goes a long way towards explaining Cersei’s mentality towards Rhaegar and herself. Jaehaerys followed Maegor the Cruel and seemed a much better man that could bring the realm together after turmoil, just as Rhaegar must have seemed alongside Aerys. And Alysanne is remembered as Jaehaerys’s partner and most trusted counsellor, a queen with love and power both. It was a child’s fantasy, based on distortions of history, but it makes so much sense for blonde Cersei who had grown up with Tywin, Kevan, and Genna’s delusions of grandeur and conviction in the idea of Lannister superiority. Sure, she didn’t have any Valyrian heritage, but in her eyes, she fit in with the Targaryen image better than brown Elia ever could. Of course she’s more worthy of being queen and marrying the perfect prince! Of course nothing is that prince’s fault, it’s all Elia’s for being a stupid, ugly brown woman that didn’t know her place.

Cersei thinks of Rhaenys as Rhaegar’s daughter, not Elia’s, and she thinks that Rhaenys would have been her own daughter if Aerys hadn’t been so mad as to refuse her and marry Rhaegar to Elia instead. She thinks that if she had married Rhaegar, he would be king and he never would have looked at Lyanna. That’s so clearly delusional thinking. That’s not how anything works. That whole train of thought demonstrates clearly that Cersei is not the voice of reason!

As you say, adult Cersei continues to fantasize about Rhaegar just like child Cersei as a coping mechanism. She doesn’t have to face the reality of him at all, just the memory of the perfect silver prince. Cersei thought of him like Jaehaerys and imagined being his Alysanne, and it’s ironic, because it’s not a bad comparison, but for not at all the reasons she believed - as romanticized as Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s relationship was, what we know of it is deeply horrifying. Jaehaerys was a misogynist that didn’t care about women’s issues, a terrible father that ignored Alysanne’s counsel on important topics, and an abuser that didn’t care about her very legitimate concerns about pregnancy in her forties. Rhaegar, for all his romantic image, engaged in reproductive coercion and abandoned his wife and children.

Marrying Rhaegar would have been no better for Cersei. Marrying Rhaegar would not have changed anything in the long run. Cersei still would have faced abuse of some sort. She still would have resented the match. The only real change would be that she had to blame someone other than Elia.

[secret-engima]

Okay, but may I also point out that it's awfully convenient that Ardyn has hallucinations that push him into the 'right' direction to fulfill bahamut's prophecy when we've seen that Bahamut is very competent with illusions (Aera stabbing Ardyn, anyone?) And even more convenient that in that one hallucination of aera where she tells him to kill her (which, excuse me what) she tells him it's all because she defied the gods? Way to 'subtly' tell ardyn to do what the gods say or else 'aera'

Hmmmm hmmmmmmm okay. So ... yes you have a point, and I know that in Dawn of the Future the whole deal is Bahamut being the final boss but like-

I do NOT see it that way? Never have. I ... I get where they’re coming from and I’m sure they pulled it off awesomely, but I’ve never seen Bahamut has outright malicious or cruel or manipulative or the bad guy (until Square Enix tried to shove it in my face in a VERY hamfisted cutscene that also throws a huge plothole into the Kingsglaive thanks a lot Squeenix way to rip apart your own lore and timeline).

Lemme explain my POV (gonna stick it under Read More because oh boy is this long).

One- Ardyn is an unreliable narrator. Ardyn is THE unreliable narrator. He’s not only been chilling in total isolation for 2k years (which is seriously bad for human mental health) he’s infected with Starscourge, which is known to make its victims mindless and permanently screamingly furious at EVERYTHING. His memories are not reliable, his grip on REALITY is not reliable. He could STRAIGHT UP NOT BE HEARING what Bahamut is actually saying when they converse, or his mental state is twisting it to a malicious/cruel bent when it isn’t really and we would have no way to know for sure because we only ever see this particular scene from ARDYN’S POV.

On the hallucinations- I really, truly believe it’s the Starscourge doing that, even the Aera things, except MAYBE MAYBE the one where she stabs him, but you only get that ending after Ardyn basically tells Bahamut, the guy in charge of guarding the world, that he’s going to intentionally go BURN THE WORLD and imma get back to that in a minute on why I think it’s not even Aera doing the stabbing.

Anyway, on the Starscourge, which really is the lynchpin to the whole story- it is ... how do I put this. In the INTEREST of the Scourge to make sure it’s hosts are always angry, always crazy, always lashing out and infecting others. That’s how it WORKS. Daemons are mindlessly furious and hungry and infect any animal or human they come across. Now, for most, once the transformation is complete that’s it, memories are gone and hate is all that remains but not ALWAYS and not just Ardyn.

Going back to the Naga and her baby thing- it does not matter what you say to her, she IS going to attack you. She IS going to think you stole her baby and are lying if you say anything otherwise. It literally doesn’t matter what you say, it doesn’t matter that Prompto is not a baby and definitely not HER baby, or that Prompto is RIGHT THERE when she asks “where is my baby?”. She’s stuck in a loop of “baby-gone-baby-missing-find-my-baby-make-themPAYWHEREISMYBABY” basically. You can’t even know if she’s HEARING what you’re actually saying, or some twisted version that makes her think you’re lying. So she attacks, and attacking means a chance of infecting, which means spreading the Scourge and making it stronger. It is REALLY CONDUCIVE for the Scourge to have some kind of hallucinogenic effect that twists reality to being against you and being something deserving lashing out at and this would apply even more strongly to Bahamut and Bahamut’s magic (LC and Oracle) ie the one thing that can stop the spread of the Scourge. Not to imply sentience, cause I’m not really saying that, but any virus/organism/WHATEVER if it’s alive it’s going to try to multiply and the Scourge multiplies through infection via ATTACK.

And since it’s already in there, wrecking brain chemistry of the victim, wrecking it in a way that twists up what is being said or acted or even seen is 100% plausible.

This is strengthened by the fact that ARDYN CAN DO ILLUSIONS. I can’t recall atm if Bahamut EVER directly uses illusions, but Ardyn? We seem him use them multiple times. He uses them on that train to make us think we’re chasing him and not Prompto, then again to make us think we’re fighting alongside Prompto rather than Ardyn, again to make us SHOVE PROMPTO OFF A TRAIN and lastly to make us think a dead MT is actually an unconscious Prompto until we get close enough. Heck, even his Scourge-face thing is probably him just dropping an illusion of normalcy rather than any kind of transformation. We SEE the Scourge do crazy realistic, reality-warping illusions. It’s not LC magic because Regis and Noctis never use anything even close to similar and no historical LC is mentioned as an illusionist. But Ardyn? Ardyn is the only fully sentient Daemon ever, if anyone could take the Scourge’s natural inclination to create illusions to warp the perception of the infected and instead warp the perception of others it would be him.

So this means while ARDYN is hearing “this was always your fate, do this or suffer more torment” what Bahamut is actually saying could easily be more along the lines of an aloof, only vaguely apologetic “so this happened and I can’t fix it” (remember, the Crystal, Bahamut’s nexus of power, could not purify Ardyn even BEFORE he daemonified Ifrit, so of course Bahamut can’t help) “but if you wait, the Chosen King is coming soon and he’ll fix everything and give you peace and also get to avenge you by killing the Scourge through your death, so just wait until he comes to cure you and let you pass on to the afterlife”.

I really, really don’t think Bahamut’s plan involved creating an Accursed sacrificial lamb. It doesn’t make SENSE. The point was to kill the Scourge, even when Bahamut is the final boss in Dawn of the Future (from what I read on the wiki anyway) Bahamut is basically going “the Scourge can’t spread if everything is DEAD”. Why would he wait and manipulate events to make Ardyn Even More Of A Problem then the one he already has on hand when he could have just ... let Ardyn take out the Scourge in its early stages??? It is very, very likely Ardyn’s infection is TWISTING the intent of Bahamut’s words or even the words themselves to make Ardyn fight back against the one thing that could stop the Scourge from spreading.

As for the “Aera stabbing scene” again, Ardyn just said “I’mma burn the world” to Bahamut’s face, of course punishment is involved, but it is also very likely that it’s not AERA doing the punishing. Bahamut has never hesitated to come smite people in person before (see Bahamut vs Ifrit and Bahamut vs Ifrit round 2) so at worst it’s probably just like- one of Bahamut’s Messengers doing the punishment stabbing because Ardyn JUST MADE HIMSELF THE ENEMY. This isn’t a torture of a disobedient sacrificial lamb, it’s tactically weakening an enemy who just rejected your hand of sorta-alliance and also minutes ago tried to kill the Chosen King’s dad before your Chosen King could be born.

But Ardyn’s brain, which has already hallucinated Somnus taunting him in the place of freaking out Kingsglaives mind you, is putting Aera there because that’s what will make Ardyn the angriest, that’s what will make him lash out the most. The same goes for Aera telling Ardyn to kill her because she defied the gods, what better way to direct Ardyn’s fury at the one thing that could stop the Scourge than to BLAME THE DEATH OF ARDYN’S LOVER on them? And for either of these, Bahamut wouldn’t even know it’s happening or why it’s significant, because Bahamut doesn’t ... GET humans and that leads into my second point:

Why I think Bahamut isn’t actually a horrible, intentionally cruel dude:

Okay so- I do not condone a lot of the stuff Bahamut chooses, because hey I like Noctis and Ardyn too and yeah Bahamut’s plan sucks and could have been way better from our POV, but I genuinely do not see him as malicious or manipulative in this. Not like Dawn of the Future, Episode Ardyn, or some fanfic authors make him out to be (for all that’s a very valid position and can be excellently written) and here’s WHY.

Bahamut is not human. For all he can speak to humans and is humanoid in shape he IS NOT HUMAN. He does not think like a human, he does not perceive time like a human, his POV is entirely alien to humans. Ifrit and Shiva were the closest to humans because they intentionally tried to figure them out, but even THEY don’t get humans entirely, for all Ifrit used to love them and Shiva still does. Bahamut on the other hand, never had or took that chance. He’s the big picture guy, the head of the pantheon. He’s in charge of keeping the entire freaking planet from being killed somehow, which is why he stepped in and was the final one of the five to kill Ifrit the first time and not, say, our local cranky sea snek of pure rage.

Bahamut isn’t cruel, he just genuinely does not understand that his plan is messed up. Worse, at his core, he’s a Strategist without an emotional anchor or someone to keep him in moral check. It’s either Fanon or actual canon that he’s the Astral of War, and while War can be a lot of things, in mythology a “god of war” is usually one of two things: rage monster or STRATEGIST. The one in charge of making the hard choices. The one who looks at the battlefield and says “if I do nothing, all my men and the people I protect will die. If I move these two units in to attack the enemy flank, a lot of those men in those units will die BUT it will confuse the enemy into letting me defeat them with the main force, thereby saving the majority of my force and everyone I’m protecting”. Minimal losses for maximum gain. It’s not nice, it’s not pretty, maybe it isn’t even moral, but war is a lot of things and moral tends not to be one of them, so that kind of strategy is NECESSARY in certain moderation.

Now, the Astrals can’t fix the Scourge, likely because their war with Ifrit not only robbed them of a key member (recall that in most mythology fire is PURIFICATION) but also severely weakened them. They went to sleep for a reason, they were trying to recoup their lost power. But when it takes so long to recharge and the Scourge keeps getting worse in the meantime, it’s a war of attrition the Astrals could win, but humanity and the planet wouldn’t so another method is needed. Bahamut doesn’t know humans, and considering their role in Ifrit’s fall (aka the start of the whole Astrals Can’t Fix This issue) he has no reason to trust their teamwork or obedience skills. The one time he DOES in the form of Somnus and Ardyn … well. Look what happens.

So, Bahamut has to make a plan to save the world. He does not understand how humans think, he does not TRUST humans enough to be anything more than temporary troops at best, and he needs to do something. So in his mind- either he can let the world burn, or he can sacrifice 116 (counting Ardyn and Luna) humans to a plan that will save the world and only requires most of those humans to be essentially living batteries. It doesn’t matter what the Lucii did in life, after death their magic went into the Crystal, no responsibility or teamwork necessary. The only two who need to Do A More Complicated Job is Noctis, who needs to gather power and then sit on a chair and die, and Luna, who needs to wake up the other Astrals. That’s it. 116 people and the world’s simplest instructions (to an Astral anyway) and boom, entire planet and billions of lives are saved. Billions of lives Bahamut is in charge of guarding, billions who he knows just as well (or in this case just as not well) as the LCs and Oracles. People living and loving and hoping and dying all in the same blinks of time as the LCs that we love but to Bahamut are just - strangers. Useful strangers. But strangers.

To summarize, Bahamut is stuck in the world’s biggest version of that railway switch scenario in Psychology class: If there are five people stuck on one railway track and one person stuck on the other, and a speeding train set to kill all five, would you stand back and let the five die or would you flip the switch to the alternate track and sentence the other one person to death? Only in Bahamut’s case it’s: will you sentence 116 people to live and die for a prophecy (past Oracles don’t count as they don’t expressly need to die for the Prophecy, they aren’t even living batteries, only Luna needs to die for the cause) to save billions across multiple generations to stop a plague, or will you sit back and watch as they ALL die.

And that’s not even touching on the Time thing where, to Bahamut, this entire plan might not even TAKE that long. Sure to humans it’s 2k years and however many people getting turned into daemons, but in the original plan (Ardyn being Chosen King) that wouldn’t have happened and in this backup plan (Noctis being Chosen King) what to us is centuries could, for Bahamut easily be closer to an annoying but expected wait in the doctor’s office. He sentenced Gilgamesh to wait until the coming of the Last Shield but considering how long the Astrals live and have lived that’s easily just the world’s most stern and aggressive Time Out to his eyes, especially since the whole “living on in a suit of armor rather than original body” means very little to beings who can and have been shown to react to death by sighing, making new bodies, and then going about their day like usual. Those thousands, maybe millions, who die to the Scourge in the meantime? Well no he doesn’t like it, but there is still X billions of living humans he needs to safeguard and it’s not HIS fault that Chosen King One went and got himself infected and then stabbed by his brother now is it? Ardyn comes to him all infected and crazy and Bahamut is essentially going “I can’t fix this and you were supposed to be Chosen King but now you’re the Accursed. Bright Side, you can still find peace in the afterlife and have the bonus of taking the Starscourge out with you (Vengeance is, after all, one of the few things humans and Astrals share a concept of). All you have to do is let the new Chosen King stab you.” He’s just saying it in the vaguest, nastiest, I-will-not-admit-that-my-plan-blew-up-in-my-face way that the Scourge then twisted to an outright “this was my plan all along now do your job and die stupid mortal” kinda way.

So … yeah stupid long ramble but TD:LR the Starscourge shows illusionary and manipulation powers far more often and more thoroughly than Bahamut ever did and while it is Totally Valid and Plausible that Bahamut is a terrible, manipulative person, he has and always will strike me more as a non-human Strategist trying to do his job and being Really Arrogant and Vague about it when his plan goes off the rails and he needs to resort to Plan 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Of course, if Manipulative Bad Guy Bahamut makes more sense to you then cool. But this is just the perspective I take in like- all my ffxv AUs and I felt the need to finally put it out there since the topic finally came up.

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 125 Poll Results

The chapter 125 poll closed with 1,469 responses. Thank you for your support! This month’s poll results were compiled by /u/alooulla,  /u/_Puppet_, @shifter-lines​ and @momtaku​.

RATE THE CHAPTER 1,387 RESPONSES

While still overwhelmingly positive, and slightly improved over Chapter 124, the “wow” factor still wasn’t there for many. Those selecting a perfect five was less than half of respondents (49.3%).

Transitions were unbelievably good, hardly noticed we were at 5 different scenes this chapter.

Not really hype like some chapters have been, but it was wonderful to see all the character and story development.

Created a number of different plot threads, but was not as satisfying as recent chapters

Everyone in this chapter (except Flock) deserves love

Good chapter, juggles lots of POVs excellently and opens up multiple opportunities for where the story may go. I love how desperate everything is.

Beats gonna drop soon

Jean honey if you push Floch out the hole in the wall everyone will swear it was an accident

  WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT? 1,421 RESPONSES

They only appeared on two pages, but “Levi and Hange are back” was the top pick out of a long list of options with nearly one-third (27.7%) selecting them. “Armin and Mikasa’s argument” secured second (14.3%) and “Annie and Hitch together” (12.6%) round out the top three.

LEVI AND HANGE ARE BACK! OMG!!!

I loved Annie's backstory, the conversation between Floch and Jean, the talk between AM, Shadis, mr Leonhart, literally everything.

I loved hearing Annie and Hitch talk, and the Levi and Hange situation finally got addressed :)

I'm so happy to see Levi and Hange, and so happy that they've run into Pieck and Magath. I hope they can reach some kind of truce and work together.

Floch is the Queen of Paradis confirmed.

Shadis once again made this chapter for me. What a great, deep speech. He is a true hero.♡

WHO WAS THIS CHAPTER'S MVP? 1,416 RESPONSES

While denied the favorite moment, Annie was the favorite for chapter MVP with more than one-quarter of respondent (26.6%). Hitch, the other half of the girl power duo, made a strong showing (19.6%) for number two. Most shocking perhaps is that Hange (13.6%) squeaked out a narrow victory over Floch (12.6%) for third.

Annie is the best girl

Floch did nothing wrong

Hitch nipping at Historia's best girl-crown

HAAAAAAAAANGE

ANNIEEEEE A AAAAA AA A AA A A A A A A MY GIRL

Floch is such a crazy piece of shit, I love him, he's a great villain and I'm glad that Isayama added a character like that to the story. Also, funny with how he represents the rabid Eren stans, parroting the bs they keep saying ("we're free now reeeeeee").

S H A D I S  T H E  C H A D I S

Hange my queen how the hell did you save Levi, I wanna know!!

Hitch yeeting Annie made me scream, I love them together so much.

My babes Shadis and Magath are BACK!! 😍

So happy to see Hitch back. She is such a fun character and so underrated!

  THE CHAPTER OPENS WITH RESIDENTS OF STOHESS REACTING BOTH POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY TO EREN’S ACTIONS. WHICH EXPRESSION OF THE CROWD ARE YOU MOST SYMPATHETIC TOWARDS? 1,416 RESPONSES

The citizens of the walls are as divided as the fanbase over Eren’s actions.  36.7% are on the side that says the Eldians on the island would all be dead without Eren, while 34% respond with the fact that he’s responsible for many of their deaths himself.  25.1% don’t want to side with either faction.

“You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs”

Both are right and wrong at the same time…

Both sides are ignorant as to what is actually happening so it is difficult to gauge who actually feels what they do considering their limited knowledge but I'm edging towards the justification of it.

Eren has planned this all along, he knows there will be no true peace by doing the rumbling and has some kind of third goal

Even if the first expression is true (and no one can say if it is or not for sure) it doesn't make the belligerents right, or mean that Eren shouldn't be held accountable for his actions

Both sides are justified. Both sides reacted according to their personal views in response to an outside force they had no control of.  

I sympathize with both. One on hand, it seems as though the wall titans were the only effective retaliation the island had left, but on the other hand, Eren did kill many of his own people and aiming to wipe out the rest of the world is definitely pretty extreme for even Eren. That's why I think there's still a HUGE part of his plan that we haven't been made aware of yet.

There's no real right answer here. Obviously genocide is bad and no one can deny the fact that Eren killed his own people but, what other options were available in the limited time they had?

Whatever your thoughts on The Rumbling, Eren is being extremely reckless and it's going to backfire like crazy. Member when Erwin pulled off an almost-bloodless coup? I have a feeling Ereh is too preoccupied with thoughts of PATHS and FREEDOM to really consider the consequences of stuff like civilian casualties or letting a fascist cult take over the government.  

What the tic tac patty wack snick snack quarterback big mac heart attack race track double back guy named jack did he just do?

Sasageyo

  ANNIE BACKSTORY! WHAT DID YOU THINK? 1,420 RESPONSES

Annie’s finally back!  And she sure got a lot of page time, finally getting her chance to speak her story.  The majority thought seems to be that it was okay, at 60.3%, whereas 33.2% absolutely loved it, and 6.5% thought it was a waste of time.

Develops her character a bit but otherwise not too important

we got an entire Annie backstory and it answered NONE of my questions about the crystal. If its purpose was just to protect her like the Warhammer's crystal, and she was semi-conscious -- why couldn't she escape it on her own?  Is there something unique about the Female Titan? Was it a chrysalis? Has she undergone a metamorphosis?

I'm just glad Annie's back

I really liked it and especially the Annie focus although I expected more from her justifications.

Don't care for her this late in the story tbh it's just a waste of pages

this chapter confirmed that Annie is the best character of SNK !

It was pretty much exactly what I expected, fairly boring and didn’t change my perception of her character at all

This puts so much context on the murders she committed back in the female titan arc and her personality in general. This is so great! Waited forever for this

I especially liked learning Annie's entire backstory, and her interactions with Hitch in this chapter were great.

Lil' Orphan Annie deserves more spinoffs. We need one about her awkward preteen years trying to fit in with the popular girls while continuously kicking them in half by accident.

MY GIRL ANNIE DESERVES MORE.

  AFTER CONSIDERING HER STORY, WHICH THOUGHT MOST CLOSELY MATCHES YOUR OWN? 1,410 RESPONSES

There sure was a lot to consider in all Annie said, and the two primary thoughts seem to be a feeling of tragedy that she never felt that anything mattered, and a hope that she’ll see her father again, at 23.7% and 22.6% respectively.  

Can't forget what she has caused, but glad she found meaning in life.

I hope she can find peace

I understand her reasoning, but her saying she'd do it all again hurt a lot.

Interesting plot point, but was it really necessary? Kinda felt like forced drama to add this "adoptive child" thing.

Is it wrong to wish for her happiness?

It may mirror Eren's motives. To her, nothing else matters except returning to her father, not even other people's lives. If Eren is intent on protecting his friends, then other lives wouldnt even matter.

It's interesting how seems similar she is to Reiner but how different they actually are. Annie is nihilistic and realistic because the lack of love, Reiner is idealistic and longing for love in a tragic way because he fantasize the love which doesn't exist

Annie has always been, in my opinion at least, one of the most honest characters, and I'm glad we can see that her core hasn't changed (but I’m so happy we can hear her talk and that we are finally getting some character development). Unlike Reiner and Bertolt, Annie never pretended to be friends with the Shinganshina trio, she never acted more nicely than she felt she should. She kept to herself and did what she knew she had to do. But this does not make Annie cold or resilient to atrocities; when she was manipulated by Reiner to take off Marco’s 3D maneuver gear, we can see she doesn’t do it easily and she does show remorse, in spite of everything. All of the SnK characters are tragic, some more than others, and for me, Annie is probably one of the most tragic ones. Adopted, trained to become a killing machine, completely alone with no one to really rely on once she joined the army, Annie goes towards her goal, stripping every bit of romanticism from the notions of peace, good vs bad governments, Marley, Eldia, humanity, etc. Annie does not fight, or pretend to fight, for the greater good; as perceptive as always, she sees the situation for what it is, just like she sees people for who they really are. I hope this brave young woman gets a happy ending with her dad.

  DO YOU FIND IT REASONABLE THAT ANNIE HAS BEEN SEMI-CONSCIOUS IN THE CRYSTAL ALL THIS TIME 1,411 RESPONSES

Hitch sure was surprised that Annie had actually been listening to her all that time, but the fandom wasn’t.  86.3% found it reasonable, but 10.7% still aren’t convinced it makes sense.

Considering we had Ms. Tyber being aware of her surroundings in her own crystal, looking back on that it's like "oh yeah that seems legit". Granted I'm sure Ms. Tyber had practiced the technic to use it in battle proficiently. But it doesn't seem too out there for Annie to be at least semi-conscious 

Honestly no. But this story has people transforming into giant monsters so I can't really complain.

I find hard to believe she is not crazy. Being unable to move in darkness for 4 years with only voices to keep her company is pretty brutal.

I'm wondering how her body condition is near to normal.

It reminds me of ymir being a mindless titan for 60 years

Wall titans also seemed to be semi conscious if I remember the original scene with eye movement and fear of light energizing them.

P A T H S

  ANNIE WAS COVERED WITH SOME SORT OF FLUID THAT DOESN’T SEEM TO BE EVAPORATING. WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS? 1,408 RESPONSES

We ended last chapter on Annie in a pool of this liquid, and this time we see Hitch follow it to where Annie is.  But… what is it?  66.2% think it has something to do with the crystal’s hardening, 15.2% DO NOT want that knowledge, and 11.6% think it’s a human bodily fluid.

A fluid to keep her alive (something like the lcl in evangelion)

Amniotic fluid is the warm, fluid cushion that protects and supports your baby as they grow in the womb.

a liquid that makes her body hibernate so she can stay alive

I think it's a weakened form of the hardening. Perhaps it was also this fluid around the creature in the well from Ymir's backstory.

If I recall correctly, some crystals do have water in the form of “hydrates” so in theory, the fluid in Annie’s crystal is what kept her alive by supplying nutrients and and water to her body. Because of this, the fluid may have possibly come from Annie’s Titan as it formed the crystal around her.

amniotic fluid - some unique property of the Female Titan

Tears of readers who waited too fucking long for Annie to break through

Armin juice

  WHERE DO YOU THINK HITCH AND ANNIE ARE HEADING? 1,408 RESPONSES

So many groups in so many places!  Where is this one going to end up?  A little over half, at 55.9% think they’ll run into another group before they get to a specific destination, about a quarter at 23.4% think Shiganshina, and 19.2% think the port.

Following the Colossal Titans

Honestly it was very reckless of hitch to let Annie go. If she causes more trouble for Paradis then what will she do

Based on them leaving Stohess in the same direction as the colossal titans it is likely they will pass through Trost. They will continue south towards Shiganshina and maybe the port but on the way they will likely run into Hange, Levi, Pieck and Magath, or Connie, Falco, Armin and Gabi.

Kiyomi's plane

Marley, to Annie’s father

To Historia

  WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE STATE OF THE ELDIANS IN LIBERIO? 1,399 RESPONSES

We jump across the ocean, only to find Mr. Leonhart starting a rebellion in Liberio!  About half feel there’s going to be an absolute bloodbath, 32% are glad they’re finally rising up, 11% are focused on Mr. Leonhart being a badass, and 6.1% are scratching their heads as to how this is relevant.

I feel it's setting up for eldians in all internment zones rising up, although i don't know what significance that would hold if they're gonna be flattened like pancakes anyway

I'm actually glad because while I have still and always despised the Warriors, Annie's dad felt relatable to me, good to see non-powered, regular citizens rise up against the enemy

Isayama stop trying to be clever with names is there a single part of this series you haven't put thought into?

It is rather unsettling to see since it all seems to head towards a massacre although the reactions of the Eldians are understandable and sound.

It makes sense why they'd rise up: they know what's coming, and they just want to get to safety. After all, they should be spared from the Rumbling because of their race. As expected of the Marleyans though, they won't listen to the Liberio Eldians' current plea, and it will surely cost them (the Marleyans).

The Marleyans are comically dumb it's not even funny; I mean why would they orchestrate a revolt now

This was Eren's plan all along, he wants Eldians everywhere to rebel under the threat of the wall titans.

Why should we care about what happens to anyone outside the Walls? This scene was totally unnecessary.

Worldwide Eldian Rebellion I am excited

I'm worried about them! :(

  WILL MR. LEONHART SURVIVED THE SCUFFLE WITH THE GATE GUARD? 1,408 RESPONSES

A somewhat interesting split here; though most responders think there’s more to come with Annie’s father and being killed by the gate guard wouldn’t be the right way for him to go, especially with unfinished business with his daughter. The next highest response was ‘I am not sure’ followed by ‘No he won’t survive’ with a still respectable 24.7% of the vote. One to keep an eye on, here.

Weird that she wants to return home so much just because her dad was nice to her for a few minutes (he's been torturing her all her life).

It had some very much needed character development for A LOT of characters. I can't wait to see how certain plot points like Connie's mom and Annie's wish to see her dad will be resolved.

I saw some parallels between Mr. Leonhard vs. the guards and volunteers vs. Floch. Anarchy reigns; power struggles everywhere, yay! I want to see Mr. Leonhart leading a rebellion. I want to see Eldians all over the globe rising up and busting out of internment zones. Also - we got an entire Annie backstory and it answered NONE of my questions about the crystal. If its purpose was just to protect her like the Warhammer's crystal, and she was semi-conscious -- why couldn't she escape it on her own?  Is there something unique about the Female Titan? Was it a chrysalis? Has she undergone a metamorphosis? Will it even matter if Ymir is freed from her sand slavery and refuses to transform any more titans? Still -- it's interesting that Annie was adopted, and I have to wonder if her lineage is important.  Final thought: I'm growing tired of Isayama sidelining people by having them unconscious/uncommunicative. I get why he may want to render some characters unable to affect the plot at certain points but 'unconscious' is his go-to and I'm losing patience with it. Okay, Historia got stuck with 'pregnant' but I lost patience with that ages ago. Wake up already, Reiner. Say something, Levi. At least Falco's awake again. And Annie, for the love of Eldia, please explain your crystal.

Speaking of Mr. Leonhart, he may be crippled and defeseless against the Marleyan guards, but at least he wasn't swayed by fatalism against his current government unlike Jean/Armin.

  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF KEITH’S ADVICE TO THE TRAINING CORPS MEMBERS? 1,394 RESPONSES

Instructor Shadis is still instructing, and 46.1% of you are still chanting SHADIS THE CHADIS.  23.5% loved his advice, 16.5% enjoyed the callback to being a bystander, and 12.1% wish he’d encouraged them to rise up.

Foreshadowing that they‘ll overthrow Eren and Floche.

He gives up too easily. I don't like this.

I'm glad he told them not to fight the Yeagerists but for the wrong reasons

Shadis doesn't want them to risk their lives, understandable, but giving Floch&Co time to gain even more power is not a good idea.

He's being smart and cautious because they've had enough losses for now

By far the best piece of advice he could have given them. Not is it only the most reasonable thing to do in the current situation, but it also goes to show how much Shadis values life and how well, thanks to his experience, he can see what the future might bring. When he thought fighting was a viable option, he wanted the trainees and soldiers alike to dedicate their hearts (and he dedicated his own as well), but now when he sees that they’re clearly getting overpowered and that any form of resistance would inevitably lead to death, he advises them to stay put, but not lose sight of themselves. That’s what a good leader/ elder/ parent does. Despite the fact that he failed as commander and that he was usually the only one to come back from his missions outside the walls, he shows that he has learned a lot and can strategize and draw the right moves. And it even reminded me of Levi, this desire to not waste lives. And Shadis is special, I just wish he’d realize that along with many others. Unfortunately, a very underrated character.

I am hyped to see these characters actually amount to something because of chadis!

A giant death flag.

  WAS ARMIN IN THE RIGHT TO RAISE HIS VOICE AT MIKASA? 1,402 RESPONSES

Armin has returned to being shell-shocked like he was in Shiganshina, and he took it out on Mikasa, but was he justified?  Just over half don’t think he was justified, but don’t blame him for snapping.  23.9% believe it was the right choice to try to make her more independent.  The last two options are tied at 10.3%, saying he was completely in the wrong, and the other saying he was justified in that Mikasa needs to focus on more than Eren.

Armin has been the one others rely for guidance, however at this point he seems stressed and probably over thinking (when he refers back to Erwin).

Armin just reached his breaking point. So much has happened in one day, and he needed to rant.

Asking ANYONE to stop thinking about Eren right now is pointless, let alone Mikasa. He was wrong, but stressed out.

Both. She needs to be encouraged to make her own decisions, but he didn't need to be mean about it. She has always been nice to him.

Feel like many are misunderstanding mikasa's comment about eren. He is the biggest concern so why shouldn't she mention him? Personally I don't think she was still in eren obsessed mode.

That's a complex question. Everyone is stressed right now, especially Armin, feeling guilty for being brought back and feels so much weight on his shoulder to be a leader so to say. So it reasonable for him to yell and it might spark something in Mikasa as well.

Armin needs a nap, a warm bath, and a foot rub.

  WILL MIKASA START ‘THINKING FOR HERSELF’ NOW, AS ARMIN SUGGESTED? 1,395 RESPONSES

Mikasa’s character development is being pushed to its tipping point now, will Armin’s words make her start thinking for herself?  The majority, at 56.3% think that leadership isn’t her style, but she’ll step up and support what she feels is right.  18.6% feel that she’s already made the step into thinking for herself, and the last two options are split at 11.3% between a full ‘yes she’ll finally step up’, and a full ‘she’s always thought for herself.’

Armin: think for yourself! Mikasa: Where is my scarf?

Hopefully, I want to see more independence. Assertive and confident in her actions.

I don't know if she'll able to think for herself. maybe she will do something, but I guess whatever she will do on her own, I don't want to expect much from her. Anyway I have the feeling that Mikasa's own decision could be that she accepts Kiyomi's offer and leaves Paradis because the whole situation is obviously killing her.

I hope Isayama has something special planned for Mikasa's development

Mikasa has always thought for herself. She’s never been a leader, but she’s always followed her own hearts desires. Nobody knows what to do and for once it was actually reasonable for her to ask about eren, given what he’s about to do to the world.

Mikasa isn't wrong to look to Armin for leadership, but when she brings up the elephant in the room, he flies off the handle at her. But ultimately, I think that Armin is right. She'll have to make decisions based off her own judgement and I'm excited for it.

I kinda doubt that. She went to Jean, because Armin told her so and I don't think that she would do anything in the situation between Jean, Floch and the Volunteers. If she would be able someday to make her own decision, I'll think that could be to do with Kiyomi's offer to go on one of her ships, but we will see.

I think she will be an impromptu leader, similarly to what she did at Trost after eren got eaten by the santa titan

Mikasa did nothing wrong, she tried to take advice instead to run somewhere else like Connie or give up like Jean.

Yes she’ll become more independent. I think itll lead to “see u later eren”

  AT THIS POINT, ARMIN STILL THINKS ERWIN WAS A BETTER CHOICE TO REVIVE. DO YOU? 1,391 RESPONSES

The question of whether Armin or Erwin should have been revived in Shiganshina proves to be one of the most contentious issues in the series, nearly on par with when we asked you guys what you think of Eren’s (stated) plan. 52.2% of you are Team Erwin, and 47.8% are Team Armin. Regrettably, I can’t make a good joke out of either of those numbers.

I've said it before, but I think Armin was the best person to revive from a story telling point of view. Erwin was the better leader, no doubts there, but it is the lack of him that has pushed all these other characters to develop more. I believe the relationships between characters and the characters themselves would've remained more static if he had still been there. So therefore, Armin was the right choice

Erwin wouldn't have let any of this happen

  WHO TOOK THE SCARF? 1,403 RESPONSES

There could only ever be one winner of this question; given the girls fandom of Eren in general and Mikasa in particular, 72.5% of you picked Louise as the scarf thief, particularly since she knew it was there and gave it a look after Mikasa left. The next highest answer was Eren having sent someone to retrieve it, at 13.8%, followed by ‘someone else at 9.1%, with Floch and Jean respectively taking up other minor answers. I look forward to the questions in the future of why the scarf was taken, and how will it affect the story?

Oh, and Louise definitely has the scarf. I think there will be a confrontation over it and Mikasa will Realise Things, so that's cool.

Louise totally stole that scarf.

  WHICH NAME IS BETTER? 1,395 RESPONSES

808 of 1,395 of you came out to represent Gabi Gang, while the remaining 587 of you like Mia better. Mia Myriad? Eh. Mia Myriad’s weird. I like Gabi Gang better.

  WHAT'S UP WITH JEAN WHEN FLOCH IS TALKING TO HIM? 1,399 RESPONSES

Floch tells Jean he can finally have the life he always wanted, what was Jean feeling at that moment?  40.5% think he was just totally shell-shocked, 30.4% think he;s faking weakness for a plan, 16.4% think he had an epiphany about Eren based on what Floch said, and 10.7% believe him to be considering what Floch has to say.

Definitely debating whether or not to kick his head in-- once he's decided I think he'll pounce

he has been asking over and over for how long they would have to keep fighting. So Floch telling him is over has a great effect on him. Although he will chose to keep fighting.

He is bothered that the Yeagerists consider him a “hero”

He is in disbelief over how AWFUL Floch is and once his brain processes it he will snap and punch the bastard in the face

He's both in shell shock and trying to fake weakness.

I think he's coming up with some sort of plan to finally rid the world of Floch.

Jean looks so tired in these panels, as in physically tired and mentally. He probably wants this all to be over, and Floch is giving him a way out. But Jean has come too far to give up, I think, so I hope he turns his brain back on.

  ARE THE ROCKS THAT GO MISSING WHEN FLOCH TURNS HIS HEAD AN ARTISTIC OVERSIGHT OR DOES IT HAVE FUTURE SIGNIFICANCE? 1,406 RESPONSES

THE ROCKS ARE GONE.  About half of the fandom, at 46.2% are pretty sure Jean pocketed them to use as a weapon.  29.7% did not notice the disappearance, and 24.2% think it’s just Isayama overlooking an inconsistency.

Bitch boutta throw some rocks

I hope Jean can something do too otherwise the Volunteers would get forced to fight for Eren and to help him destroying their own motherlands (oof) or get killed. I hope the theory about the pocket rocks get relevant and true in the next chapters

Floch be a bitch with a nest boutta get moulded by rocks

Getting ready to bash floch

there was a gun next to him and then it was gone. The boy boutta blooooow

  FLOCH CLAIMS THAT EREN TOLD HIM THE ENTIRE PLAN. IS HE TELLING THE TRUTH? 1,399 RESPONSES

Eren doesn’t seem to have confided his plan in anyone, but Floch says otherwise.  60% confess Eren likely told him a fair bit, but not everything, 32.9% think Floch’s just BSing his way through things to look better, and 5.6% truly believe Eren told Floch everything.

Eren is the only one who knows his true plan, anyone that claims to know what Eren is doing was just a pawn that Eren used.

Eren probably forgot who Floch even is

Considering how Eren is acting now, I fear he did tell him everything after seeing his extremism.

Floch believes Eren told him everything, but he probably didn't.

floch is an arrogant bitch who thinks eren and him are best buds

I mean, the plan so far seems to be 'let's retrieve Zeke, overthrow the government and unleash the Rumbling', so why won't he tell Floch all of it? He seems to be fully on board. If there is more to the plan, then Floch doesn't know it.

I'm still not sure how much of Eren's betrayal of Zeke he was in on, but I'm damn sure Eren didn't task him with any 'removing internal resentment' job.

Jean knows he has more of Eren's trust than Floch does. From this, Jean figured out either Floch is lying for his own gains, or is being used by Eren.

Floch is just a dumbass and Eren is using him to get the necessary pieces into place without him doing it all himself

Something tells me Floch actually just overheard Yelena talking with Eren about Zeke's plan during the railway opening ceremony. I could've sworn that in the chapter Floch mentioned that he "heard" Eren's plan, and the way he uses that word gives me the impression he only listened to parts of what Yelena told Eren without knowing what Eren's ulterior motive was when learning Zeke's plan.

That’s certainly what he *thinks*

Eren is manipulating Floch's ass six ways to sunday and I'm here for it

  WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE ONE TO TAKE DOWN FLOCH? 1,398 RESPONSES

From previous polls, Floch seems like a popular choice to die next, but who would do it?  Nearly ¾ of that fandom believe Jean will end him, though 6.5% don’t believe Floch’s dying anytime soon.  Eren, Mikasa, Shadis, and Yelena were other popular options.

Could be anyone at this point, really. Would be cool if it was just some random volunteer and the death would be meaningless.

Better not be anyone, Floch is making way more sense than Armin

Armin

I hope no one does, he's the most entertaining character at the moment

I really hope all of the above and I hope it'll be a gruesome death.

King Floch is the father and will outlive the rest of the 104th.

Let him be squashed under a Titan foot, pls

Me

Nobody, Floch will be the only survivor of the rumbling

HISTORIA! QUEEN!!!! How is the rightful ruler of Eldia not a choice here?!

I hope he doesn't die at least next chapter, because him dying is too predictable. But if he does it should be Jean.

I HOPE IT'S EITHER LEVI OR HANGE. But I think it's probably going to be Jean.

I think floch is going to have an utterlessly meaningless death. Just to show the irony that surviving that day didn't change shit.

I think since he survived on pure luck and destiny up until now, I could imagine his death will be more by accident or by unfortunate circumstance then someone else succeeding to kill him

SHADIS THE CHADIS no but actually probably Yelena or Mikasa.

The 109th Recruits

Onyankopon, Jean and Mikasa, I hope.

Who knows. Hope he dies.

ZEKE JAEGER

Isayama

It'll be a team effort

  CONNIE AND FALCO ARE EN ROUTE TO RAGAKO. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE OUTCOME WILL BE? 1,398 RESPONSES

Bets for the Return to Ragako arc are placed, and the majority (~43%) of you think that the overwhelming scent of cinnamon wafting from Falco will entice Connie to spare him. Not far behind, with 30.5% of the votes, is the prediction that Armin and Gabi will swoop in and save the day. The next most popular option was Falco feeling the sudden urge to die for Reiner, causing him to transform and escape. Following that was Falco realizing his predicament without getting his memories back, and after that, a very small amount of you guys (18), think Falco’s gonna get chomped.

Connie finna die

I can't think of how bringing back Connies mom will save Reiners life, so it won't happen.

Is it weird that I think Connie's mom has already turned back to human?

  WHICH UNLIKELY TEAM-UP IS THE MOST EXCITING? 1,391 RESPONSES

An overwhelming majority of you guys are most excited to see the Magath/Pieck/Hange/Levi squad team up, while the distant runner-up is Hitch/Annie, followed by Armin/Gabi, and then Connie/Falco. I can’t imagine why Connie/Falco got the least votes here.

  WHICH TEAM, IF ANY, DO YOU THINK WILL MEET WITH HISTORIA? 1,384 RESPONSES

With a 31.6% majority, the… quad...duo… quaduo? That’s definitely not a word but it should be, technical definition pending. What I’m trying to say is that Team Magath/Pieck/Hange/Levi got the most votes for “Who’s going to meet up with Historia?” Following that was… uh, nobody. As in the next most common answer is “nobody”. You guys are not making this write-up easy for me. After that was Team Hitch/Annie, followed by Armin/Gabi, and then Connie/Falco. The graph is proportional enough that you can see all the percentages, so that’s cool.

Historia is the key to ending this story and getting all the context we need. Which means we probably won’t see her again for awhile.

  SLEEPING THROUGH THE APOCALYPSE. WHO DID IT BETTER? 1,399 RESPONSES

We didn’t ask for a reason behind this selection, but Reiner’s rather ill-timed cozy cottage snooze (58.5%) trounced Levi’s “return of the mummy” slumber (41.5%). Maybe it was the appeal of the fruit and snacks?

  DO YOU THINK LEVI WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE UPCOMING BATTLE? 1,400 RESPONSES

Nearly 60% of you think Levi will recover enough to encourage the others to fight, 20% think he’ll recover enough to fight, and 15.3% think he’ll be unconscious for awhile. The white space on the graph is what happens when there are too many single-voter responses, but we can read them behind the scenes, and one of them suggested that we’re about to learn how titan serum affects Ackermans, and I just want to say that I appreciate your devotion to Titan Science™, anon.

TITAN LEVI INC

Crack theory: he‘ll eat Zeke after Zeke offers himself up because he lost his will to live. So yes, he‘ll be fully healed and badass again.

He is going to become a shifter by eating Zeke with the cooperation of Pieck/Magath, fulfilling his promise to Erwin.

He won't be recovering but he'll fight all the same, with his teeth if necessary

He'll recover enough to make one last heroic action before dying

I don't really know. I hope he can still fight. I think Isayama-sensei didn't let Levi live to be a useless soldier.

i don’t want him to participate. i just want him alive

I think that Levi will not be able to fight, but he'll be awake, and I'd like to him take on a mentorship role. I would love to see him make a full recovery by the time the manga concludes.

Some unforeseen magic will happen

  HAS THIS CHAPTER AFFECTED YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THE RUMBLING? 1,385 RESPONSES

The destruction on the ground, Floch’s reign of terror, and the 104th’s horror at what’s unfolding seems to have shaken some in the fandom with one quarter of respondents indicating that their support has lessened somewhat (20.6%) or significantly (5.7%). The remaining 75% are staying the course with close to 40% completely opposed to the rumbling and 35% in full support of it.

  HAS THIS CHAPTER AFFECTED YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT EREN? 1,387 RESPONSES

The responses here are about what we might expect; a fairly even split between those who support Eren fully (or at least think he’s got some mysterious ace up his sleeve) and those that do not support him/are losing faith in him. Interestingly, the smallest response was from those who have lost a significant amount of faith in Eren, indicating the battle lines are still drawn at this point.

Eren did nothing wrong

Eren Yeager is GOD! Bow Down!

We're left in the dark of what Eren is really planning and so I can't judge this consequence too much. It is very extreme and I'm skeptical of it all.

Another aspect of the continual violence and really justifies Eren's position.

The inner fighting among themselves is going to get worse and they all will turn on Eren.

They should support eren, and the yeagerists, not plan to overthrow them

I DONT GET WHAT IS EREN TRYING TO DO? How is he gonna claim he wants to protect his people then end up killing him ??

I hope that among his friends there are on the eren side, eren's decision was correct, although it was too cruel, but it was all for the people he loved. why his friends no one sided eren , I'm sad to think about it.

I love eren but :(

  AT THIS POINT, AROUND WHICH CHAPTER DO YOU EXPECT THE MANGA WILL CONCLUDE? 1,406 RESPONSES

As much as I hate to think about the end of the manga, and the subsequent never-ending feud over the serum bowl and the Rumbling, we’re bound to become the next NGE at some point. It can’t be stopped. The majority, at 45.7%, think we have until around Chapter 134, which gives us about nine more months. Following that, 30.2%, think we have until Chapter 138, which gives us more than a year. A lesser but still significant quantity of votes say we have until Chapter 142+, and I feel a little bit like the Vince McMahon meme typing this. You know the one. Lastly, 8.7% of you think there are only 5 chapters left. Why anyone would even entertain such an idea is beyond me.

  WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,409 RESPONSES

Wow! A huge split of opinion here regarding hopes for next chapter, as might be expected; but out in front with 27.8% of the vote is a wish to see more Hange, Levi, Pieck and Magath; no doubt because we haven’t seen them for a while. Coming up in second place is Jean and Mikasa, with a number of fans hoping they will fight back against Floch. And of course, third place is the everpresent wish to see Historia once more. What on Earth is she up to???

Historia hopefully

A solid chapter with a lot of great character development. Who wants to bet that Connie and Falco are going to run into Historia at Ragako?

Give me Historia

Jean has an epiphany about himself and Eren's actions (since Floch is Eren's fanboy, like Jean was to a certain degree))

Jean and Floch will fight!

If Floch doesn't make Jean react, I don't know who else will. Their relationship has always been complex, so it would be beautiful to see Jean killing him. But as long as it's not a Jaeger, I'll be fine.

I can’t help but feel that there was something odd about the way Hange spoke about Levi to Magath and Pieck. “Rest assured, he’s just a harmless man who failed to die”. Harmless? Levi? Really? And Hange doesn’t speak like that, so to me this looks like strategizing and covering something up. I don’t think Levi is 100% okay, far from, but I don’t think he’s on the verge of death. And even if Levi will physically be unable to fight, he still isn’t harmless. He wasn’t dubbed Humanity’s Strongest only for his physical strength; Levi is smart, he’s an excellent leader, he’s compassionate and experienced. So, even if we don’t see him engage in fights as a soldier, I believe we will get to see him devise plans and strategies, negotiate, etc. After all, we still don’t know what the Ackermans are capable of. We know they have superhuman strength, so I believe we’re all in for a surprise (or not so much of a surprise) when it comes to Levi. He’s played an enormous part in the story already, but his story isn’t over. Best boi love him yes.

I hope he can still fight. I think Isayama-sensei didn't let Levi live to be a useless soldier.

All aboard the ship! Ms. HanjiXMagath is setting sail! (???)

HISTORIA BACKSTORY, OR I WILL END THIS WORLD

  WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,328 RESPONSES

Reddit continues to dominate the responses to this question, and this month there were literally more people who don’t discuss the series than people who discuss it on Tumblr. A direct consequence of banning Titan-presenting nipples, surely. Lastly, something ominous is going on in the Snapchat cult, because there were only two of you this month, down from five last month. That’s still enough to reproduce though and it makes me uneasy. Regardless of where or whether you discuss the series though, we appreciate all of you guys’ participation in the poll. We literally couldn’t do it without you!

  ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?

hE dID nOtHing wrOnG

I mean it's not like Eren could be like "wait while you're breaking out of the wall, can ya be clean about it?" but also....yeahhhhh umm I'm not positive that Eren cares for the majority of Paradisians

Petra's death still burns... Yet I can't really hate Annie.

[Annie’s] story kinda looks like a copypasta of Zeke's but I'm glad it's established she doesn't care for her grand goal and would sacrifice everything to achieve hers if it needs to be brought again

I feel for the wall Titans, they've been conscious for the last century, just chilling there.

Isayama couldn't have made the parallel between Annie and Eren any more blatant if he tried.

I don't know why people are so surprised with Eren being in cahoots with Floch. He is already killing billions to secure peace for Paradis, installing an authoritarian government for the same reason is not unlike him. He already said, he is going to take the freedom from people if they threaten his even innocents.

0/10 no Reiner. jk, the chapter may not have "action" per se, but i love the focus on how the rumbling affects all the characters, including the eldians in the camps. also, all the pairings are really interesting. i hope the HLMP combo leads to good things for the future. i wonder if Armin & Gabi'll talk, and whether she'll learn that he is the Colossus titan, or if she'll catch onto Reiner's great familiarity with these people…

another average chapter in SNK standards (awesome in manga standards)

Another set-up chapter - would be good to see some major events occur to keep the momentum going. Also want Eren/Zeke POVs

After 10 months of wondering where Levi was and if he was alive, i fully sympathise with Annie stans, who had to wait the better part of a decade. But I'm glad to know Levi's alive for now.

Seeing almost everyone other than the Jeager brothers was so damn fresh. Now everyone's gotta work together to stop the total downer ending.

Felt like this a needed chapter to see where all the characters’ directions are headed. Whether we see more compromise or more tension between characters. It creates more anticipation and excitement for what’s to become of Eren and his plan.

Isayama been sleepin on some important characters 💤

Very interesting seeing so many different perspectives, if only we could get Historia some day

Great chapter. But if hange teams up with Pieck and Magath I am going to be very disappointed. They have no reason to rely on the the people who have been trying to exterminate them for years. I get they need to stop eren but they cant let forget the atrocities Marley has done to them. Regroup with the rest and figure out another goddman way.

A very interesting chapter. I fully expect an emotional outburst from Mikasa any time now. Maybe directed at Eren himself.

aaahh I just want Zeke

Give me Eren

Give me Historia

How the hell will Isayama cover all these separated smol groups in only 12 chapters??? Can he rly end the manga this year cos I have doubts!

All pieces are on the move, time to wrap things up, Isayama-sensei! Though I don't see any way to stop Eren, unless they maybe use Historia and her royal blood? Can't wait to see how Isayama will solve all of this.

I love the setting of the rumbling as a slow moving mass of dust and meat that we’re all powerless to stop. I love how we’ve seen it from the perspective of people on the receiving end of the destruction, from people that support it and most of all, people who would never support it but are still benefiting from it. Regardless, none of them could stop even if they wanted too. It makes the issue seem so much more real.

Annie is pretty much like Eren right now, knowingly doing terrible things for the people they care about, both have accepted the cruelty of the world and acted accordingly and is not like the world has given them reasons to think otherwise. But this mentality has only brought pain and suffering around them and to themselves, I hope in the end she changes her outlook in life and finally goes against the "current"  of the way things are as she described and do the right thing.

Annie needs to get Armins head out of his ass. Floch was executing people next to his friends and he just runs off wtf

I DONT GET WHAT IS EREN TRYING TO DO? How is he gonna claim he wants to protect his people then end up killing him ??

Armin did nothing wrong. I've seen people complaining about he "yelling with waifu" and even comparing with Eren, even tho what Eren did was totally intentional, while Armin wasn't he didn't mean to hurt her, he snapped under stress, but when he saw he hurt her he regretted so much that even brought Erwin to the picture. But apparently his feeling and emotions are nothing compared with Mikasa's...

Armin made the right choice to go after Falco. His strategy is to ally with the Warriors and Marley. His tactic is to use Falco as barter. It is the best move he can make with the situation as it is. If he succeeds he gains Connie back in the fold, Falco, Gabi, Reiner, Pieck, and Magath. This type of quality help will raise morale and lessen the pressure that everyone feels. Hopefully they work as a team and communicate with each other. Don’t be like Eren who has no fog of war because he knows how it ends and, yet, doesn’t tell anybody about it.

As long as the rest of the world is unwilling to negotiate peacefully I’m not sure what other options were on the table. Obviously eren’s actions are irredeemable, but I feel that he’ll have the same sentiment Annie expressed: if this is the only way his friends make it out alive then he’d choose this path every time. I don’t think all of the blame is on eren(though he is still responsible for his own actions). Every side played a role in this and it should have never come to this to begin with.

I really appreciated the scenes with Armin, Mikasa, and Jean. The rumbling is a world-changing/ reality altering event and Armin said as much, but I'm really hoping these three can manage to salvage some peace for themselves despite the chaos.I think Eren has already accepted his own mortality re: the Curse of Ymir and has fully resigned himself to doing whatever he deems necessary for Paradis, I'm interested to see his end. I also enjoyed seeing Levi and Hange, I never doubted their survival; it also might be a further indication that Floch is BS'ing his way with his power grab when he said that they were killed...This series is excellent.

Wake up already, Reiner. Say something, Levi. At least Falco's awake again. And Annie, for the love of Eldia, please explain your crystal.

Can't wait to see Jean snap at Floch

It was great but isayama please let us see eren...

I just really hope Connie doesn't die but I'm not feeling too optimistic... I can't believe Annie's back and I'm really looking forward to whatever her and Hitch do next.

The reaction to the Armin and Mikasa scene initially drove me up the wall, because people's readings of Mikasa are just so fucking bad--she's literally right??? LMAO. Mikasa and the 104th have always followed Armin's guidance, so she isn't even wrong when she asks how to make herself useful. But the reaction to her question about Eren is just...

Levi surviving the thunderspear was bullshit. Hopefully he stays permanently injured and not overpowered again. Isayama give us Historia please. I hope we get to see my baby Reiner wake up next chapter. I wish that Reiner and Annie meet again please

I got emotional when Falco was starting to "remember" Connie. While Sasha's scenes after her death could have been written better, every time I see a Ymir reference, something interesting happens. We need to remember best girl, and finally we get to see that Connie was an important comrade of hers.

I hope Connie makes the right choices, my boy has suffered enough!

It somehow gave positive vibes despite the apocalyptic setting, and I was extremely happy we got to see almost everyone again.

I want to see more about what happened to Ymir Fritz after she gained her freedom.

I'm glad Levi is ok but i gotta know: how is he able to breathe when HIS ENTIRE FACE HAS BEEN BANDAGED UP

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fiiiiiiiiiine

Lame ass chapter, everything feels pointless and forced and the ambiguity and moral grayness of the story is gone.

Levi has to give meaning to those deaths. It's what will give peace to his heart. He deserves to fight one last time.

mikasa let me hug you and protect you

Can we agree Keith is badass? He advised trainees to not lose themselves despite the government. It's such a stark contrast with Floch in this chapter. He was so traumatized by his first mission as a SC, losing his comrades, watching them die meaningless deaths and seeing the SC fighting over who should be lived other than the commander. As he shot that voluteer he made it clear he casted his values aside for survival. In the end he learned they were just as meaningless as Marlowe's death.

More Yelena pls

This chapter was a lot of scenes I had been waiting for put together. We had Annie and Hitch interaction, an update on Connie and Falco, Gabi and Armin now heading their way, and Levi and Hange are finally back. Now all we need is Historia. The wait for her stopped being funny a LONG time ago...Actually scratch that, it wasn't funny to begin with. 😒

Levi is alive bitches

Really glad it's not all wrapping up with Eren activating the rumbling. Seeing how everyone is handling the chaos has been incredible. I was telling my friends that I honestly don't think the final battle will be against Eren. It's just everyone versus the pure chaos of the situation. I don't see Eren getting beat

The EMA trio was never my favorite, but it still kinda hurt to see them all split up.

The Erwin references were amazing!! Both in the manga and the end text!!

With all these relatively slow-paced, character-driven chapters recently, it seems as if the ending will be very rushed. I have faith in Isayama’s writing skills, but I just hope he will be able to pull off an ending that will do justice to all these wonderful characters he has built up, while rounding out the plot in a satisfying way. This story, in my opinion, is a masterpiece so far - and an ending could either make or break it at this point. Either way, I look forward to seeing the coming chapters very much.

Where is Kiyomi ? (2nd edition)

[ask-ivory]

RWBY Random Rant #2!

What villain is the best? (Cinder vs Roman)

Second rant everyone! This one may be a bit longer than the first, so if you don't have time but find this interesting, then I suggest reading this later. If you have infinite time on your hands and your board, then this might help depending on your interests. So let's jump into today's rant!

So, the world of Remnant is a big place. There, you'll find friendly people, weird people, mean people, and people who are just flat out crazy. But today, we're looking at a certain group of people: Villains. Now before we jump in to the blender of craziness, this post is an analysis that can be used for predictions and plot lines. I may be wrong, but I'm writing this off of what I know.

Anyways... Let's start with the basic question, What IS a villain? A villain (or for the more technical term: antagonist) is a character who is trying to stop the hero (or protagonist) from accomplishing his or her goal. Either this, or they're trying to get something and the hero is trying to stop them because what the villain wants is wrong. This is the loosest definition, so you can imagine that this goes way deeper than you think.

There are some things that you need to ask and have answered before you confirm who is the villain in a story. Some of which includes the following:

Who is this guy? (Basic background)

Why is he or she interested in this scenario? (Could this benefit to their cause?)

Why are they doing this? (If so, then why?)

So if we take this and try and apply it to the "villain" we can tell if this is a VILLAIN. Another important thing to note is the quality of the character. What sort of events cause the villain to act like this, and why?

Well, when we're talking RWBY, then villains come in different shapes and sizes. Some villains are immature, and others have experienced enough pain and defeat to know exactly what will work to achieve their goal and/or stop the hero. Then you have the peeps in the middle who aren't as overwhelming as the big baddie, but have enough common sense to know what's going on, what needs to be done, and why they're doing it.

So I'mma gonna start at the bottom of the rainbow and work my way up to the best colors. I'll also be rating these characters on a scale of one to ten. I won't do everyone. Let's start with the entire fandom's LEAST favorite character.

Cinder Fall

Stars: 0/10

Now if I was a writer for the show, I think the most interesting thing that could happen to Cinder is if she just dropped dead. That's how bad she. Literally. Now, what makes her so disgusting? There are two answers.

She did horrible things. Like hacking the communication towers (With help from Watts, of course), making the people at the Vytal Festival Tournament doubt the leaders of Vale, and, to top it off, KILLED Pyrrah and Ozpin.

But these are the actions a normal villain would do, so what really makes her Terrible? The second answer has the reason.

2. She's a poorly written character with a lack of depth are perception.

I have no idea what made the writers want to make Cinder a hated character, but whatever did worked really well. Honestly, it's like Roosterteeth did the opposite of what Disney did to Cinderella. But when I say she lacks depth, I mean there is nothing that makes her character any good. She's also one of the biggest mysteries in the show, and I don't mean that in a good way. Here are some of the questions that I often ask about her:

Why does she want power?

Does she want to rule the world?

Why does she wear an outfit that's guaranteed to help her freeze to death?

Does she want to kill Salem?

Why doesn't she learn from her mistakes?

WHY THE HECK DOES SHE EVEN EXIST?!?!?!

Well, after some examination, I found out something shocking. She is just a plot device. She may talk and act evil, but in reality, she's just there so that the characters have something to worry about. She has nothing that makes her good, or relatable. To add to that, she's like the Grimm, all she does is attack and kill and if she loses, she DOESN'T reflect on her actions, and she DOESN'T try to fix her mistakes. She just goes back into the fight with the same strategy as before. If the main protagonists studied Cinder's basic movement, then they would be able to take her down, no doubt.

Can Cinder be saved? The answer is no. I bet that, judging from the road she's going down, her strategy will be her ultimate end.

Hazel Rainheart

(I may have spelled his name wrong. Sorry.😁)

Stars: 2/10 ☆☆

Now Hazel is a bit more interesting. Unlike Cinder, he has a reason he's on the side he is now, but like everyone, he has his flaws. He lets his anger get the better of him, and he's quick to judge. But the real reason why he's not so good is because of his reasoning. His sister died on a training mission because SHE chose to become a huntress. But Hazel takes all of his anger out on Oscar and Ozpin just because he (Ozpin) was the headmaster of Beacon, and let her into the school in the first place.

And I gotta say, this reasoning is understandable, but it's still dumb.

But there is something that makes Hazel a huge threat to the heros: his semblance of pain nullification. This gives him the ability to block out pain. And I kinda get where it comes from.

When his sister died, he was broken. She was probably the only family Hazel had, and when she was killed, he wanted to block out the emptiness, the grief, the pain. Thus his semblance was unlocked and he could no longer feel pain. This ability is probably how his aura charges up so quickly. If pain can block aura from charging, then he has the tools to be a force to be reckoned with. The only downside is that just because he can't feel pain doesn't mean that he's not hurt.

Can Hazel be saved? Maybe. But if he goes on a redemption arch, then he will probably die. But that doesn't mean that he's a lost cause. There's still plenty of things that can be added to Hazel's character to make it better. But at the present, he could be better.

Adam Taurus

Stars 2/10 ☆☆

This character is relatively horrible. In fact, he's worse than Hazel!

But the thing is, he's like Hazel in a special way: he has a tragic past. Certain events that wreck a kid's childhood can scar them for life. Adam was discriminated for his faunus traits, and this set him on a path of revenge that would be his bitter end.

He was a threat, but small compared to the real one. His semblance made him very dangerous, but it also makes sense. To be more specific, his semblance is, what I like to call, absorption of impact (or for the EruptionFang version, moon slice). This gives him the ability to absorb any damage done by the enemy into his blade, then release it back at a more powerful rate. This can cause devastating damage to both the enemy and the environment. As for why he had this semblance is pretty basic once you think about it.

Adam desired to get back at those who mistreated him. He wanted them to feel his pain, but a lot more extreme. He wanted them to feel what he felt, but worse.

Adam had a lot of potential, but, well when you get stabbed in the back, it's not easy to get back at your enemies. Over all in terms of writing, the thing that would've made him better was a better understanding of what he went through.

Tyrian Callows

Stars 4/10 ☆☆☆☆

If Adam wasn't crazy enough for you, then Tyrian's your go to guy.

I think that Tyrian is insane enough to join Salem, but has enough sense to know how to kill. He's kinda tough to figure out, but thanks to some much needed information in Volume 7, we now know a bit about Tyrian's past.

Tyrian was a mad man killer on the continent of Anima but was captured. He was then rescued by Salem and her Grimm. Since he's mad he owed his life to her ever since.

He's mad, so there's no bad excuse. And to add to that, he is flat down dangerous. His semblance is the ability to cut through aura, making him a hard to beat.

Can Tyrian be saved? Not really. The only way to kill him is for someone to fall victim to him while another strikes the killing blow.

Doctor Aurthor Watts

Stars: 5/10 ☆☆☆☆☆

Alright. Here we go!

Watts is very interesting. That's saying alot. Now that we have more information on him, it's easier to see why he wants to screwer Ironwood.

He was an Atlasian scientist who went against Pietro in the effort to make something great for Atlas. While Watts helped write the Atlas security code, Pietro found that the best inspiration is found inside. That was were Penny was created. Watts was disgraced and faked his death. Then Salem found him and he joined her group to get both revenge on Ironwood and respect from Atlas. Though he is clearly unaware of what Salem's true plans are.

He is a wiz when it comes to technology. Besides that, I believe he has some experience with combat. His semblance could have something to do with technology, but we're still figuring that out.

Can Watts be saved? Writing wise, maybe we can get more details about Watts in the final episodes. He's not a lost cause when it comes being a more interesting villain.

Story wise though? He's a dead man.

Salem

Stars: 6/10 ☆☆☆☆☆☆

Yes, I didn't save her for until the end.😼

Now from the writer's point of view, Salem's backstory has been completely fleshed out. It's pretty complicated so I won't go into details. But from that alone, Salem's actons make sense. As a prisoner of life, she yearns to be free. She wants to die. And she believes that the only way to do this is to divide humanity and summon the gods in there darkest hour. Then the gods destroy the world and Salem is free. She doesn't care about the people she is hurting. She hates humanity and wants to destroy everything. But above all, she wants to get permanent revenge on her ex Ozma (or Ozpin or Oscar). She wants him to die and stay dead when millennia ago she made great sacrifices to try bringing him back from the dead.

Now she has nothing to show for it except endless years of war, hatred, and suffering. There is some relation that one can have with Salem. If anyone who is reading this tried to do something for someone you cared about, but got nothing to show for it in return, then that's what Salem would be feeling. And this has caused her to spiral into madness. She is the purest definition of crazy.

Can Salem be saved? It depends at this point. Story wise, most likely not.

Emerald and Mercury!

Stars for them both 7/10 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

These two are going to be paired in honor of their beloved ship: Emercury.

Both characters have tragic pasts, so that gives them some common ground, but both are looking for something different. Emerald is looking for love, the one thing that she never had in her entire life. Mercury is looking for a purpose in life, a way to make himself Worthy of greatness. He claims that Cinder recruiting him was just destiny.

Both of these peeps are incredibly good at what they do. Both can fight better than the members of team CFVY.

Emerald's semblance is Perception manipulation, which makes perfect sense in her case. In a very special case, her semblance is similar to Adam's. She wants others to see what she sees, Emerald wants people to see how alone she is, and just how much she needs family. Her semblance is an incarnation of her desire. And she uses it to make people see what she wants them to see.

Mercury's semblance is currently unknown at this time. But we do know that his semblance was stolen by his father. After killing him, Mercury probably got his semblance back, but lives under the illusion that it's still gone.

Mercury grew up in an abusive household, under the guard of a murderer. He was tortured everyday by his father.

Emerald grew up on the streets.

Basically, these characters are well written, and both have great potential as well. There's even some hope of a redemption Arch for these two, and possibly some romance.

Can Emerald and Mercury be saved? Writing wise, yes. More trauma and info can definitely help. Story wise? Hopefully, yes.

Roman Torchwick

Stars: 9/10 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Time for the classics!

This charming young schemer has been the first character in the actual show. Fans everywhere love him, and will often mark him as the best villain. Honestly, I have nothing against it. But for the sake of this post, let's break down this lovely character and examine his awesomeness.

Roman's origin is currently unknown, but maybe we'll get some light cast on it with Neo's backstory as well. Many believe that he is somehow connected to Brunswick Farms, and it's still a possibility that has yet to be ruled out.

Roman is a good fighter and a master mind behind the underground crime rings of Vale. By himself, he is a relatively good fighter. Though his semblance has yet to be determined, he has his own Roman candle.

Another aspect of this character that won the hearts of fans is his charming personality. I mean, who can blame him? Though his death was sudden, and unfair, his handsome face will live on in the hearts of many.

Neo Politan

Stars: 10/10⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The star of the show, folks!

Neo made her big enterence in Volume 2 episode 4 Painting the Town, and ever since has been one of the most popular characters in the entire show. If you break down Neo's character based on what we know, then it's actually really interesting. Let's scoop ice cream!

Neo's backstory is unknown, but we're hoping to have some light shed on the subject. Based off of the song "One Thing", we can tell that Neo's backstory is tragic in some way. She lost everything except for Roman. And she is willing to fight to protect Roman from the death. How do I know?

Her semblance is called illusions by many, but Unicorn of War calls it Mirrors, which I think is the most accurate. Her semblance gives her the ability to reflect her opponent's attacks upon themselves, and she can change her appearance right down to her hair and eye color.

What does any of this have to do with protecting Roman? She will use Any means necessary to protect what little she has left, and to her, that one thing is enough. She Will change her identity as many times as possible, and she often gets away with it. But she is so fierce in protecting that during a fight, any pain that the enemy can dish out to her dumdum would make her determined to kick her opponent's butt. She would give them a taste of their own medicine and literally reflect their attacks upon themselves.

She is a reflection of protection. And like that reflection she represents, she says not a word, but shows people how exactly they can hurt the one she loves.

After Roman's death, Neo Politan is determined to reflect her loves justice upon the true enemies. If you can't face yourself, then you can't face Neo.

So, there you have it, villains everywhere.

Be sure to reblog if you found this interesting!

If you have questions, then ask away!😁

[yaboylevi]

What about this chapter did you not like? love your art btw ❤️

Thanks!

Sorry for the wait, I wanted to read the official chapter and wait for a bit to see if my feelings changed (spoiler: they didn't).

It would be way faster to list the few things I enjoyed but alas.

VERY negative opinions under the cut. Seriously, if you liked the chapter, don't read this, I don't want to spoil your fun or upset you. I didn't bother to write this in a respectful tone, it's not an analysis, it's just me venting. That being said, if you guys read this ignoring my warning and get upset, it'll be your fault and responsibility, yeah.

The Annie's father stuff was okay, though I hope it's gonna be explained why he was the only one in Liberio running against the flow of the screaming crowd.

Then we get Reiner being pathetic once again, I am so tired of this. What's his purpose in the story aside from killing people, being a nuisance and or dead weight to others and feeling sorry for himself? I would've appreciated if he had had some introspection on how his rushed plan was partially the cause for Porco's death and Falco's transformation (and all the other deaths bc Zeke would've never screamed in Shiganshina if Reiner hadn't pushed for another attack there). But anyway if he'd had introspection, it would've been about self-pity and NEVER growth because he seems unable to have that, so I would've disliked it anyway. 

If I wasn't already rolling my eyes this hard at Reiner, then I would've started at Gabi. She's all over the place and I guess it's understandable since she is a kid and also deeply shocked and in pain. I understand it. But I don't like how Isayama made her go from despair, to murder instinct, to calm and collected in 2 pages. It's just ???? Then we have the Eren parallel and I groaned out loud. Whatever its meaning is. It's just forced.

One of the things I hated this chapter for and that I'm becoming so annoyed at in general lately, is that EVERYTHING parallels something that has already happened, and I don't understand if Isayama thinks he's being smart or if it has some deeper meaning like "oh see, history repeats itself!! wow!! a concept that is not being repeated ad nauseam in the series, not at all!! /s". I don't need it to be shoved into my face.

Idk. Also Reiner, of course, being safe in a house amongst titan territory...of...course...

Then the 104th scene. Ugh. Jean's delusion is so annoying. One moment he's rational, the other is like "muuuuu ereh is doing this for us!!! we couldn't do anything!!!", then he's rational again. Maybe if they had paid attention to Eren, and didn't only take into consideration stupid ideas that would've never worked for 4 years, maaaybe yeah, this wouldn't be happening. Who knows. I'm just tired of the 104th whining about their situation. I understand where they're coming from, their feelings, etc, I understand it's a crazy and emotional situation and all, but we already have SO MANY CHAPTERS about it, it's time to move on at least with the plot. It's just so pathetic and annoying. It makes me angry how he's basically trying to avoid responsibility or rationalize genocide like all the Eren goat stans in the fandom. I hate this mentality so much. "if they disappear, so will all the hatred! Do we really have to stop him?" JESUS CHRIST JEAN..............yikes

And then of course they (and Isayama) had to ruin chapter 108.

Then Jean also had the guts to say they should kill a kid so they can revive a commander, just bc he's too scared to take the reins of the situation. Again, I understand the struggle, it's the same as Hange afterall, it's just very, very ugly how he didn't even waver. Connie's been acting irrational, and he's been swept up by his anger for a while now, so I understand his development. Plus I find it more relatable to wanting to make a big sacrifice for someone you love, rather than someone you (think you) need. But Jean???? wtf. He doesn't even think back on the sin he was willing to commit, he isn't ashamed.

Armin as well doesn't even care that it's a kid they're talking about, he's only strategizing. And here's another annoying point: he's able to make these calculations now but when it comes to Eren his brain freezes and he becomes a delusional kid. Where were his brains when he had to think up of ways to negotiate with the world? Anyway, I get it, it's because Eren's his childhood friend and family. I am just so tired of seeing this again and again, and again. We've been stuck on this for over a year... Nothing has changed, they're just dejectedly going back and forth on their opinions and feelings. Really goes to show that Eren was the real heart of their group...

Connie flying away from the battlefield, effectively splitting again the povs we need to follow is...big yikes.

Parallel to Trost, parallel to Serumbowl. Yeah wow so interesting.

Nile dying so quick like that was also underwhelming. And it was unnecessarily cruel, imo, that as a titan he tried to kill children when as a person he was so sweet with kids (except with Eren, of course...).

The Gabi-Sasha parallel left me a bit confused. On the one hand, I don't like the killer being paralleled to the murdered. But on the other hand, I understand why that is [/inserts meta that i don't care about writing]. The Kaya-Gabi moments were also cute + Nicolo's little speech was nice, though a bit awkward, imo. I bitterly laughed at Gabi finally admitting that she mindlessly killed people just to be praised. At least she can better herself from now on! If only her cousin could take his self-pity and do something to change himself with it, but no, he just wants to change others or run away (and this is why i don't like reiner anymore).

Shadis saving these ungrateful kids was pretty cool.

I felt bad for Yelena, I want to see more of her (and maybe Mikasa+Louise), but instead, we have Jean vs Floch angst and I'm already sleeping, because I care so little about both of them.

Isayama painting Jean as a cool leader is just embarrassing when moments before he was pathetically whining and trying to kill a child (to which there was no setup, especially comparing it to the setup for Connie's plot thread. The last we saw of Jean with a kid was him wondering if he hesitated in killing the Cart because of Falco 15 chapters ago...and that was a compelling doubt but I guess he hadn't hesitated at the time, after all lol). The pages dedicated to the killing of the titans were boring, occupying space for nothing imo. Glossing over them would've sufficed, there could've just been the Pixis stuff, and it would've been fine. Which, btw, made me laugh a little in retrospect, because Armin is once again involved in the death of a Commander. Oh well.

I also didn't like that mini-flashback with Eren&Pixis. I guess Isayama wants to ruin every single nice moment Eren had with other people, because Eren is soooo so so bad now uwu, for no good reason, and it's only his fault right? people were nice to him and look at how he repaid them uwu. Big yikes for me.

I expected more from that Louise panel because it made me go [EYES EMOJI], but I guess I'll have to wait.

It's also unbelievable that NO ONE IN THE WHOLE STORY has thought of stopping Floch, when last time they arrested him, so technically why would they even leave him running around NOW? It's beyond me. Do they have a brain?

As for the basement conversation with Gabi, I hope that "I won't give up on Falco" panel + Armin looking at Gabi thoughtfully will start a "We can't give up on Eren" mindset for the 104th, but I doubt it's gonna be handled in a non-pathetic way, considering how's been done as of late.

Gabi screaming to talk to Eren was also very embarrassing from a reader pov (well, my pov). Because she was RIGHT THERE when EMA talked last time, and she should know that would most likely not work (I guess she's talking out of desperation but still...ppl be like "yeah!! they should talk to ErEn!1 why didn't they think of it!?!?!" and I mean it's probably gonna come down to that if the final audio is of any indication...I just find the presentation of this concept awkward and forced). 

I really disliked most of Gabi's part, even though she's a character I have learned to enjoy. I guess what shined through in this chapter is exactly what I don't like about how Isayama uses Gabi's character: it seems like she's just there as a fast-paced mini representation of the story themes, so she's just an instrument to the story. Sometimes I feel like she's a real character, sometimes I feel she's just a tool for the story and the themes.

Armin's reaction to hearing about Annie is...I don't know. aruani has been one of my first ships and I used to be obsessed, but this is just awkward and forced, just like the previous aruani scene that made me angry at Armin. I don't even understand if Armin's shocked, scared or happy. All of these don't make sense to me, because I have no clue what he even expects from her.

Annie's release from the crystal happened in an unexpected way which i appreciated, though I would've liked it more if she had decided to get out on her own. But it depends on if she was stuck in there or if she was still willingly escaping from reality. If she was stuck, I will love this a lot more, because basically Eren set her free.

Also, Eren's radio podcast was longer I guess ("Eren said he would undo all the hardening"), and I wonder why we couldn't hear it all. Sigh.

In general, the "theme thread" of the chapter (adults & kids) felt really pushed in our face. I appreciate when things are a bit more subtle, this just came off as...boring, because every scene made me go "well, of fucking course this scene would end like this...". The only tense moment was the Connie part, let's be real.

And yeah, my perception may be also partially because I am so tired of no Eren pov and "eren is the evil, evil villain" rhetoric, so maybe I will appreciate this chapter more once we get his pov at the end of the story (bc i have no illusions left that this won't happen anytime before the finishing line). For now, I'm just frustrated because I didn't care about ANY of the things that went down in this chapter. Like, okay, let's move on, ffs.

Everything felt forced and contrived, like, Isayama must know that nobody cares about this stuff that much and everyone would prefer to see literally anything else amongst Eren, Historia, Levi&Hange, the Colossals. Hell, imagine if this chapter didn't have Annie at the end. That was the only thing that made this chapter barely worth the read for me. I hope the next one will at least follow Connie and Annie, if I can't get any of the other things that interest me.

[ladywhitetower]

Damien is a monster and I will NOT be convinced otherwise

But I WILL convince you

I KNOW IT SOUNDS LIKE I’M CRAZY BUT I SWEAR I AM NOT

You call all thank @chadarum for indulging my nonsense which I now set upon you

@podcastlimbo this is my main theory, @jakkubrat, @shorter-than-her-tbr-pile, @a-green-bean and @onesmoothassendoplasmicretilum, you all showed interest in this post, so now y’all get tagged. @cryptidie, this is the theory in full!

Long post because this is a hell of a ride.

Alright so basically:

Part 1- Damien has a sensitivity to the Other (divine/monstrous)

Part 2- The saints are all monsters, actually

Part 3- Damien himself is part monster

Part 4- Damien is connected/descended from SD himself

(Could I make several posts instead of the one? Yes. Will I? No. @chadarum, you have given me Too Much power.)

Now, let’s begin:

PART 1:

ABSOLUTELY NO ONE TALKS ABOUT HOW DAMIEN TALKED TO A LITERAL SAINT

AND PERFORMED A GODDAMN MIRACLE

BUT HE DID

AND THIS IS! IMPORTANT

Battle at World’s End Part 4 is The pinnacle of Damien’s conflicted dilemma, but the thing is. He talked to Saint Damien. Actually talked!!! SD was answering him!!!

We hear Rilla admitting to Sir Caroline that he thinks all the saints talk is nonsense, but it’s important to Damien so she doesn’t mind it in The Spiral Sage, Part 2, after being told by the Judge that there’s no rules in his court.

Sir Caroline thinks it’s all stupid bullshit in the same conversation

And no one else seems to really believe in them? The Queen makes a few “saints help us” comments but, for a city built on the principle of three saints building their citadel, why is Damien the only one who really seems to believe in them? He is the only one who actually prays

Battle at World’s End Part 4, from Damien’s monologue: In days when you spoke to me, in days when you didn’t leave me to linger, lonely at your heel.

He says “days”. Plural. P L U R A L. And we KNOW SD spoke to him that day at the river (SD ACTUALLY HELPED HIM) plus we Just heard them talking!!!

Damien also makes a big deal about SD forsaking him, and about losing his tranquility. Why, in Lady of the Lake he thinks SD just might drown him in the poisoned water.

Actually, let’s count the times Damien asks his saint for help and is delivered:

Knight of the Crown, Lord of the Swamp, part 2: In part 1 we hear Damien saying the tranquility bit before striking Arum, but in part 2… while being chased by the rat monster, he asks SD for help, and the rat’s growls shift into the sound of waves!!!!!

Lady of the Lake: While drunk, Damien says he asked SD for guidance once he was about to drown, and the waves around him Stilled, lulling him to sleep

Battle at World’s End, part 4: THE PRAYER! HE PRAYS AND SD, IN HIS FIRST INTERFERENCE IN A WHILE, OPENS A WHOLE PORTAL TO THE KEEP, PRETTY FAR AWAY PLACE, INSIDE FORT TERMINUS. WHICH WAS SUPPOSEDLY IMPOSSIBLE

AND the conversation. SD helping him regain his tranquility at last.

May I bring up, “But isn’t that your way? No true wisdom can be told, only learned.” Damien has had several talks with SD, we all know and agree right? He knows well enough to know he won’t receive an answer. But the fact that he did not show ANY shock at hearing SD‘s voice, rather about hearing it in monster territory, means it has happened before

I am ALSO going to bring up “there’s something Human in his eyes” because while it is a very nice turn of phrase and all, isn’t it curious how he is the only one to say anything of the sort? Damien immediately notices this from bantering with Arum ONCE, and like. Arum hot. But Damien saw this and was Right. He is Perceptive!

So, Damien talks to SD several times and receives help, plus sees things in monsters that no one else does and is strangely sensitive to them (only one to hear the howling in LOTL, anyone? Only one to see it at first?)

PART 2:

THE SAINTS ARE ALL MONSTERS

LET US DISCUSS THIS

Let’s talk about how Damien’s explanation about monsters vs saints is shaky at best

Taken from his exchange with Talfryn in The Spiral Sage, part 2

Talfryn: But don’t monsters have that kind of power?

Damien: Monsters And Saints, my friend! It’s actually quite simple. Monsters break the divine rules that govern all things. Saints ask for permission from the powers above to bend those rules. And with that permission granted, they know their acts are good!

Talfryn: But… how are you supposed to tell the difference?

Damien: Faith, my friend.

But… there’s a few problems with this theory

The monsters have a court. They have their “anyone can do anything they want rule” and apparently things like censorship are taboo. And we Know “Judge Helicoid” was absolute bullshit but we Also know everyone took his word and genuinely thought he Was asking the universe for verdicts, and everyone followed and respected them.

This communication and dealings with the universe lead us to believe that…. actually, the monsters are more connected to the universe than the humans are

In their explanations, Quanyii and Arum BOTH say that magic is unpredictable and depends entirely on the universe. Rilla even calls Arum out on Not Knowing how the universe works exactly, and he disdains her desire to understand things completely.

Exchange from The Moonlit Hermit, part 2, after attempting to use it to heal Arum’s Keep:

Arum: ... that is how magic operates. When you reach for the cosmos, there are no guarantees. What didn’t work then may work now. We will not know unless we try.

Rilla: So magic is inconsistent.

Arum: Exactly.

The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid, part 1, after Quanyii saves Sir Caroline:

Quanyii: And that, sweets, is how you make magic work for you. Magical spells, commands, etceteras and so-ons only feels like answering them.

Therefore, if monsters could Just break the rules of the universe… wouldn’t their magic be more reliable?

By Damien’s explanation, Arum and quite possibly Quanyii could be saints. The only difference is that they don’t care about their acts being good. Arum reaches for the impossible. Quanyii just… likes the power.

Because of this, we can dismiss his explanation being 100% accurate.

His tale of the Three, the one the whole citadel apparently tells, has them display abilities that make them either witches or monsters

But I’m gonna say monsters because of a few things:

The Spiral Sage debacle. Is he human? Is he monster? Is he… both?

Quanyii saying “No. No matter how hard I try” when asked by Rilla whether she is a monster after revealing she can change forma, implying there Could be a way for a human to become a monster, and possibly viceversa. (More on this later)

These two quotes:

Head of the Janus Beast, Talfryn to Marc: “SIR CAROLINE IS A JANUS BEAST?”

Lady of the Lake, Sir Damien to Sir Angelo: “Sir Angelo! She could be a monster herself!”

Those lines, plus the fact that BOTH the nymphs and the fungi monster could take human forms, both So accurate that everyone thought they were real at first (NO ONE realized the nymphs WEREN’T human until THEY said so!), outright make it evident that some monsters, at least, are capable of taking human forms. The Nymphs are the most relevant, obviously, because they didn’t take the forms as illusions or separate entities, they Wore those shapes and were comfortable with them.

Finally, the tapestries Damien sees in The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid, part 2, of monsters and humans “living together… lying together!” (Pix and David, anyone?)

(Actually Pix, David and the tapestries, including Spiral Sage’s, make it clear there was a time before the first citadel being destroyed where monsters and humans not only mingled, but lived peacefully… at least in some places) (On that note… I don’t think Fort Terminus really belonged to these monsters… I think they broke in, too.)

Also, from LOTL, “Knights… slay monsters, don’t they? Seems convenient. And there’s a witch right in front of you.” PLUS Rilla’s backstory, The Moonlit Hermit, part 1, with her parents being exiled and Quanyii’s presence in the court means that witches and monsters often associate or are lumped together.

SD PERFORMED A MIRACLE IN OLD MONSTER TERRITORY. HE IS A POWERFUL MONSTER. MAY HAVE KNOWN THE KEEP, BECAUSE HEY THAT WAS THE KEEP’S DIRT

I know I sound like a crazy person, but the saints are CLEARLY either monsters who took human form or monster/human descendants

But pray tell, Ria, why would they fight for the humans?

WELL MY DEAR, CAPTIVE READER: while we have Heard that the destruction of the first citadel was the only time the monsters unified, it isn’t difficult to believe that some, like Arum, were rather indifferent/on the outskirts of the conflict. I suspect some, also like Arum, may have forged connections with humans. Or perhaps they were horrified by how much destruction and death they caused. If they were monster descendants, the root might have been love.

PART 3:

(We’re almost near the end I promise)

Damien is a monster

Because I say so

Okay actual evidence:

SD’s constant interference

May I direct you to this exchange in The Caves of Discord, when Damien is late to the meeting (thank you, Sir Caroline)

Sir Angelo: Sir Damien? You’ve called Both of your greatest knights for one little monster?

Queen Mira: I never said there was a monster. Now, sit.

Sir Angelo: A monster that is not a monster? Intriguing.

FORESHADOWING, ANYONE?

Knight of the Crown, Lord of the Swamp, part 1, Arum, upon being told by Damien there’s something human in his eyes: You’d never considered they might be something… monstrous in yours?

He isn’t saying it because he Sees anything, he’s saying it bc he’s cornered, but… Damien takes it pretty seriously.

Also from Knight of the Crown, Lord of the Swamp part 2, Damien to Angelo upon giving him his last poem for Rilla: After all, it’s easier, is it not? To mourn a man who was a monster all along.

If Damien is sensitive to the divine, and the divine is monstrous, then Damien is sensitive to the monstrous. I’m gonna say he is a monster, too. His arc is Way too full of that theme for there to be any other choice.

Damien was also the most sensitive to the Monster from the cocoon, and yes, we can attribute that solely to his anxiety and already rippling fear but… after Part 4, he stops being that sensitive. Rilla Screams and nearly dies from its impact, but Damien is…. strangely fine? He is sensitive but overcomes it anyway, and was at never point physically affected. Could just be tranquility… could also be… monster.

PART 4:

But Ria, you ask, How are SD and Damien connected? Well.

Did you notice NO ONE knew about the Spiral Sage?

Absolutely no one.

NO ONE

NOR DID THEY KNOW ABOUT THE WORLDS’ ENDS.

Literally the only reason Rilla knew was Because of Damien.

Everyone else was completely unfamiliar with these myths, br Sir Caroline who mentioned the South World’s End but had never seen the North, including the existence of Fort Terminus, and while we know Damien comes from a scholar family, at least from his father’s side…. couldn’t it be possible that his family is made of scholars Precisely because of that link to SD?

I mean Damien knew the Whole BAWE poem which was… so long.

They could have very well have kept these three thousand year old myths if they were SD descendants. Because it Has been about a long time? At least “centuries passed” (KotC, part 1) between the First Citadel and the Second Citadel as we know it. And in THHOH Part 1, Rilla confirms three thousand years have passed. How do they have access to such well preserved myths??

Even Sage Helicoid could be explained away as the family protecting themselves but still wanting to keep those myths.

Maybe Damien’s mother was a monster? I lean more on far descendants tho.

Plus, Quanyii, in the same episode, says the one time the monster attack was completely unified, it was “so bad it wiped out most of recorded history before that.” So… how does Damien know?

Plus, why Else would SD interfere so many times in Damien’s behalf? There’s no other instance of any character receiving saintly help, but several where Damien does.

Remember Damien’s prayer?

Damien: Saint Damien, we beg that you lend us your spear to pierce the veil that keeps this beast from home. If it be your will, if it be your will… as it is mine.

And that last line? THAT is when the portal stabilizes!!!

They are connected FIGHT ME.

Damien says SD had forsaken him and was looking for a reason, but SD kept interfering for him in minor ways when he was in serious peril, however stops talking to him entirely UNTIL Damien is questioning his purpose after opening the portal.

Damien also says, in LOTL, “It is our sworn duty to kill monsters. To cleanse the monsters’ blight upon this land.”

Could it be that SD, a monster, stopped outright talking to SD once his focus shifter from helping people into just. assuming he had changed enough and mindlessly killing monsters to the point where he saw it as a competition with Angelo? Then, he performed a miracle once Damien not only wanted to help someone else, but wanted to help a monster (that he loved, for his beloved Rilla). And finally, once he saw Damien could still be saved because he was doubting, talked to him and guided him back to tranquility?

AND ONE FINAL PIECE OF WHAT I AM CALLING EVIDENCE, from The Spiral Sage part 2

The Spiral Sage, Part 2, Quanyii introducing herself: [My name] is always Quanyii, no matter how much of my physical form I change, so pease don’t get confused. Oh, I know that sounds boring, sweets, but even when you’re trying to keep things fresh something has to stay the same or you might lose yourself entirely.

Notice how Damien is the only character to have a Saint as a namesake?

I’m not saying Damien is a reincarnation of Saint Damien or anything, but I Am writing fic about it and this tidbit is a Blessing to have.

But as to my is Damien a monster question?

I say Yes. Damien is a monster and connected to Saint Damien.

[rocknrollbodhisattva]

The Ultimate GMW Essay

Introduction, 1990s Issues & Personal Background

During the 1990s Micheal Jacobs birthed a cult classic entitled Boy Meets World following middle child Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friend Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong), and Cory's girlfriend, Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fisher) navigate adolescence. Sevens seasons later in 2001 the show ended and fourteen years later Jacobs created Boy Meets World's sequel, Girl Meets World. A gender-flipped Boy Meets World had more difficulties other than airing on Disney Channel. Cory's daughter, Riley (Rowan Blanchard), and her friend Maya Hart (Sabrina Carpenter) had near impossible expectations to meet. Jacobs' goal was producing a show for teenagers growing up in our technological and politically divisive environment. A laudable goal but Jacobs didn't need to return to the Boy Meets World universe; he returned to it due to nostalgia. "[…] To watch as Riley grows up and Cory and Topanga keep growing up. I can't resist that." Why did Girl Meets World underperform? Simple, it was an overreliance on telling over showing.

I watched the sequel for the Boy Meets World characters, in fact, my expectations were so low that even the okay episodes surprised me by the effort put in them. Every criticism my generation had with the sequel can be summed up with character retconning. Cory was George Feeney 2.0, Topanga was the wife and mother with little mention of her law career. Shawn was demoted from secure young man to broken man. 'Seven the Hard Way's conclusion came true in this show. Cory and Topanga only have a few friends, Shawn and Angela permanently broke up, Jack fell out of contact with Rachel. Original Cory and Topanga would never play favourite among their children and their friends. Shawn wouldn't need a girlfriend to fix him anymore and would prefer his goddaughter before her best friend. I was expecting for Feeney to say, "It's been nice see you all. Next time I'll see you at my funeral" and for Eric to say, "I married a moose. We don't need counseling." Will Friedle is the only actor that looked happy to return to this show.

Personal Background

I loved this show and besides Adventures of Pete & Pete BMW was my favorite show. In order, my favorite episodes are: 

And Then There Was Shawn

Chick Like Me

Raging Cory

Cult Fiction

As It Ends

Despite all of this, Shawn/Angela (Shawnangela) retconning I hated the most. In interviews, Rider Strong said that Jacobs begged him to reprise his old role. Rider agreed if he and his brother directed some episodes and Rider appeared in six episodes total. Rider appeared the happiest when he was with Savage, the rest of the time he didn't look like he was trying. Which explains why there was little chemistry between him, the teens, and Katy. Rider also said that he hated Jacobs rewriting Shawnangela's romance for Shaty (Shawn/Katy). Trina McGee, the actress who portrayed Angela, with Strong brought their displeasure up; McGee was never invited on the show after 'Hurricane.' McGee and Strong hated Shaty because of the implicit racism behind Shaty.

Many mixed-raced fans like myself loved Shawnangela since this was probably the first interracial romance we were exposed to in the 1990s, Jacobs even planned that in the original show this and that the fact that Angela was black wouldn't be an issue. Angela Moore was more than just the Black girlfriend, the only time it was brought up was 'Everybody Love Stuart' when she said, "God, I need to get some Black friends." She loved poetry and photography, and like Shawn her mother abandoned her and her father was away in the military so Angela spent a year in Europe to reconnect with her father. To break up a couple we loved just so a little girl can have a father was heartbreaking and Jacobs reasoning that Shawn and Angela "never meshed" and that Angela was meaningless to Shawn. Angela supported Shawn when he became addicted to drinking and when he discovered the truth about his parents then struggled with intimacy, realizing friends-with-benefits wouldn't work for them. Season 6 hinted that they lost their virginity to each other. Shawn's willingness to enter the military for Angela was touching. Sure they broke up a few times but they always found their way back to each other. Why I loved Shawnangela was because their love grew over time instead of instantaneously like Corpanga (Cory/Topanga). Younger fans were indifferent because they didn't grow up with Boy Meets World.

Shaty would've been tolerated if Jacobs showed Shawn and Angela grieve their loss then slowly had Shawn love Katy it would have been better. If they dated of their own choice, they would have been tolerated. Cory and Riley matchmade them; Shawn didn't have a choice in the matter, staying in this relationship only because he cares for Maya. "I care about your daughter," he says to Katy. ('Hurricane') Katy's can't imitate Shawn implying that she loves him but Shawn never reciprocates when he proposes. ('Upstate') As they're saying their vows Shawn admits to Maya – in front of Katy – that he's unsure that their marriage will last. I loved that the writers ended 'Goodbye' with Shawn adopting Maya but what's stopping Shawn and Katy from divorcing once Maya leaves home? By keeping Katy single GMW could've explored single-parent households, and mother-daughter bonds could've deepened since Kermit's departure. Or Jacobs could've written Katy abandon her daughter then have Shawn take Maya in like Johnathan Turner did. With so many possibilities it's disappointing that the writers chose to delete their story's history in favor of a boring option.

But like its predecessor I also had GMW favorite episodes:

First Date

Riley Town

Forgiveness

A Christmas Maya

Belief

Supporting Characters

Isadora Smackle & Isaiah "Zay" Babineuax are the Token minority characters, Smackle was around to be Farkle's third-option love interest while Zay is there to give Lucas' backstory. What do we know about them? Smackle is a Filipino, autistic genius who transferred from a private middle school to a public high school then flirts with Lucas to test Farkle's love for her. When Farkle says that if Lucas ever returned Smackle's affections, he would step back for them. Zay father was transferred from Texas to New York and has a large number of sisters. Aside from being Lucas' second-in-command, Zay is the comedic black best friend. Their actors said that they weren't in the series enough. How do Zay and Smackle feel about being the only minorities in their clique? We never learn anything substantial about them?

Farkle Minkus was the genus best friend of the group, son of Stuart Minkus (Cory and Shawn's former classmate) and Jennifer Basset (Shawn's ex-girlfriend) he comes from a wealthy family and has known Riley and Maya since kindergarten. He was my favorite male character because he was the most consistent, by season 3, I wondered why GMW couldn't be about him since his relationships –romantic and platonic – flowed organically. He struggled with analyzing his emotions vs feeling them. Farkle was agnostic, doubting anything that wasn't tangible and proved by science but was able to quote Revelation ('Belief' and 'New Years'). Farkle discovers his Jewish ancestors barely survived World War 2 and wonders what this means for him in "Christmas Maya." He was bullied in "Flaws" and was perceptive enough to know about Riley's bully. He's possibly autistic ('I am Farkle') and struggles with emotions but realizes Maya's ambivalence over her Lucas feelings. Other than Riley, Farkle was the most complex character.

Prince Charming was the extent of Lucas Friar’s role. Originally the writers planned on giving Riley an older brother named Elliot before scrapping this idea in order to give Riley a love interest. Love interests aren't bad but Lucas had no personality other than that. Any girl given more than five minutes of screen time falls for him so it was a matter of time before Maya and Smackle would. 

What do we know about this boy? Texas moved from Texas to New York in the Pilot. In spite being an academic athlete he's never seen playing sports outside of gym class and even in the gym he's not doing anything athletic nor does Lucas contribute much to his and Farkle sports conversation or his and Riley's basketball conversation. ('Cory & Topanga', 'New World') Lucas is strong as a bull and doesn't know why ('High School'). He can't pass football tryouts whereas Zay could. Either Lucas isn't as talented or there wasn't space on the team. Lucas was on the debate team, got two A's, and attends class so he's intelligent. ('Father', 'Commonism') How do we know he didn't cheat like his friends? He was also held back a year, maybe he isn't as smart as he lets on. Lucas believes in God but maybe he's Mormon? Is he Orthodox Christian? A Wiccan? He has a father ('Friendship'), a Mother ('Master Plan', 'Crazy Hat'), and Grandpa Pappy who the teenagers met on their Texas vacation. What's his relationship with them? He was angry that his father wouldn't take him back to Texas and afraid that his mother would put him in the shed. Pappy and Lucas missed each other but what's their relationship like? Does Lucas have siblings? Cousins? Lucas wants to be a veterinarian, birthed a calf, rode sheep and bulls. We never saw him with any other animals but maybe he has a pet? In 'Fish' Lucas said he was a dog person when Riley said she was a cat person. What's his favorite color?

Is there anything to Lucas Friar that makes him interesting? No. Lucas is perfect. His flaws are perfect. Lucas is aggressive in the way all teenage boys are with raging hormones and poor impulse control. He got into one unseen fight which expelled him from school. One fight would suspend a student but wouldn't expel him. Did the assaulted boy wind up in the emergency room and his parents demanded Lucas be kicked out? Whenever Lucas was involved in altercations he's composed during them. He shoves bullies against the wall and backs away. ('Flaws', 'Secret of Life') He breaks free of his dishtowel constraints, breaks the countertop, and crashes through a window barricade. (’Riley town’)  Afterward, he is automatically calm, someone with anger issues would need anger management training to accomplish this. If Lucas had this problem his friends would take umbrage with him and not defend his actions as being protective. If he had this problem it would happen at more places than school functions. Lucas wants to manage his anger and improve himself but he already had when he moved to New York. It's a shame because this would make a good story goal for him.

I could look past all of this if Lucas had a story goal. Becoming a veterinarian is a career goal but what does he want to achieve by GMW end? Farkle and Smackle want to understand emotions. Riley and Maya want to mature and understand the world around them. The most Lucas wants is a girlfriend and at one point he gets two! Lucas is Prince Charming because that's all the characters treat him as. The parents treat him as a suitor. Cory chases him out of his daughter's room more than the other boys. Katy and Topanga demand answers to his love triangle choice. His friends just discus dating scenarios with him. Lucas is a blank slate and it's why fans shipped Lucas with every character; they projected their wants onto him. Until he developed a personality fans couldn't know which girl he would be better for. (And it's why I wanted Lesbian Rilaya by the finale.)

Moon and Sun: Our protagonists' odd dichotomy

Night and Day's the expression describing our protagonists. "Riley is the sun, warm and bright and lights up my whole day. Maya is the night, dark and mysterious." Contrary to Farkle's statement, his observation is incorrect. From the pilot Maya's equated with fire and recklessness which are characteristics of sun/day archetypes. Her actions are forceful, almost masculine in quality and is the tomboy to Riley's femininity. What's more, Riley is cheerful and Moon/Night archetypes are viewed as mysterious, but most mythologies depicts lunar characters as a feminine, nurturing presence. Various religions use the Triple Goddesses – Maiden, Mother, Crone – as symbolism for female transformation. Riley is the perky innocent in season one yet becomes increasingly intuitive by season three. Finally, Aztec's god(dess) Metztli was darkened revoking its equality with the sun and forcing her into hiding which could be a metaphor for Maya eclipsing her friend in the series."The moon is always jealous of the heat of the day, just as the sun always longs for something dark and deep." -- Practical Magic. I've used this Night/Day expression in order to explain Riley and Maya's dichotomy; Shawn and Cory weren't as opposed as our gender-flipped characters.

Storytelling, archetypal, and shipping preferences influenced fans' favoritism toward one protagonist – and actress – more than the other. Case in point, younger fans conflated characters with the actors who portrayed them, contrasting to older fans finding Blanchard pretentious for her beliefs and Carpenter approachable since she isn't as vocal. (Celebrity wise, Blanchard reminds me of Emma Watson whereas Carpenter reminds me of Taylor Momsen. The former is famous for activism while the latter chose music over acting.) Following that, shipping preferences were terrible reasons why the fandom hated characters all because the rival girl interfered with their favorite couple. The outcome resulted in fandom wars, claiming that the rival was shallow and sparking theories that one couple was more accepting than the other.

Diverging for a moment fans claimed that Riley and/or Maya was boring because Disney's written these characters before. Riley is every 1990s Disney character – the titular Hercules, Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Lizzie McGuire – she's the straight man innocent. Maya is every Disney Channel best friend – Lily (Hannah Montana), Roxie (Shake It Up) – she's entertaining, troubled, and that's why fans like her. Overall, there are no novel stories or characters, but different ways to tell them. As for this show, Maya's favored because, like Shawn, she received heavier, concise plotlines. Fans considered her character reliable because she was vocal, but unlike Shawn, Maya had no complexity. Despite Shawn's dysfunctional relationship with Riley she shares the complexity Original Shawn had in Boy Meets World. Lastly, Maya's liked more because her conflicts are external compared to Riley's internal problems. Transparent problems appear interesting, like Maya's father issues, but because Riley's problems involve an inner torment, like insecurity, they seem invalid. An outside example is Arya and Sansa Stark; Arya is forceful, blunt where Sansa is secretive using her non-threatening femininity to survive.

Adding to Rilaya's dichotomy are the literary archetypes they represent: Riley is the Ingénue and the Caretaker. Maya is the Orphan archetype combined with the Rebel. Innocents crave dual desires of safety and experience, however, their achievements involve delayed gratification thus audiences find them boring. In the show, Riley wants to explore the world, yet struggles on how to achieve that. Contrary to that, the Orphan is bereft of parental guidance, but they're not always deceased. Kermit physically abandoned his daughter while Katy's emotionally detached from Maya. Obviously, they're different archetypes, yet they reflect two sides of the same person. The Orphan becomes insufferable because of their stubbornness and victimization. Maya's devolvement into the jerk friend annoyed fans because she was unapologetic of her actions. Due to character derailment within the show, Riley's naivete is why fans believed she was unintelligent.

Additionally, Rilaya's secondary archetypes contributed to fan's views on the characters. Riley represents the Caretaker, who's desire revolves around healing their loved ones; Maya is the Rebel or the one who revolts against authority even if they're unaware of what they're rebelling against. "You go too far," Cory told her after she activated the sprinkler system. "Why do you have to destroy the world?" Lucas questions Maya in her daydream. As a result, the Caretaker and Rebel shadow sides are of a dual mind like the Innocent-Orphan duality. If they don't practice self-care for themselves, then Caretaker martyrs themselves or are manipulative. Throughout the show, Riley didn't manipulate anyone but sacrificed her well-being for the sake of her friends, specifically Maya. Yet Riley is Cory's daughter and the Caretaker archetype becomes infringing at times. For example, Shawn didn't ask Cory to find Chet ('I Never Sang for My Legal Guardian') similar to how Maya never asked Riley to matchmake Katy with Shawn. ('Master Plan') Nevertheless, Maya's supposed to be Female Shawn and the Rebel's detriment is their recklessness and inconsideration. Shawn detonated a cherry bomb destroying a mailbox ('The Fugitive') and Maya abducts Katy's rival actress ('Holly World'), understandably Cory and Riley are exhausted from rescuing their friends. Also, because Riley can't physically protect her friends her genuineness is doubted. Her protectiveness is her emotional availability like hugging Farkle when someone's bullying him. Or comforting Smackle when she confides that she is autistic feeling that she's inadequate for Farkle. However, its Maya's guidance that gives Riley practicality and Riley's condolence that gives Maya hope. Essentially Jacabs' correct by describing these girls as an "astronaut on a horse."

Finally the fandom complained about Rilaya's friendship almost as much as romantic shipping; codependent yet sweet describes Riley and Maya's friendship, however, this isn't solely a characterization problem. To explain, Jacobs is an odd mixture of Dan Schidner, JK Rowling, and Seth Macfarlene. Jacobs derails his characters for terrible jokes and aggravates shipping wars (Schidener), erases then rewrites canon history without consideration of consequences (Rowling), and cannot write female characters (Mcfarlene). Most of this codependency stems from the fact that Jacobs can't write developed female characters or friendships, which is something Jacobs struggled with in Boy Meets World. Angela and Topanga were best friends but were rarely shown as such, and Racheal was nothing more than the red-head bombshell for Jack and Eric to compete for. Giving him some leeway, female friendships focus on emotional connection rather than collective connection like male friendships, leading writers to tell two girls are friends instead of showing it. "Our most important relationship is each other" or "You're the only one who's good enough for me," constantly being told this causes fans to view Rilaya's friendship as codependent, especially when they say sentiments like "Maya won't tell me what to feel" or "Riley won't save me." ('Rules, 'True Maya', etc)

The problem with comparing these characters is that we know little about either of them, all that's known is that Riley had more characterization than her best friend. What made Maya likable is that she immediately discovered her talent – art – while Riley hadn't done so. In spite of this, Maya doesn't complete any art outside of school settings after 'Upstate' and rarely displayed interest in pursuing an art career. Writers showed Future Maya receiving a SoHo internship, but her career plans aren't mentioned again. Does she like any artist? Picasso? Rembrandt? Kruger? DeVinci? In'1961' recited a poem, later it's revealed that Riley leads the yearbook committee. Eventually, Riley joined the high school's newspaper indicating Riley's talent might've been photography and/or writing.

Earlier I mentioned the fans believed Riley was stupid yet she loves school. Various examples include her straight A average where Topanga competed vicariously with Stuart Minkus through her daughter's grades. Continuing from that Riley's a voracious reader finishing a novel under three hours. Another example includes 'Bear' and 'New Years' where Riley finishes a novel under three hours and reminded Maya about the purpose of fractions. Riley showed promise during the school's spelling bee, she loves science, arguing with Farkle for not letting her participate in the assignment. And while she’s not as creative as Maya, Riley’s picture of Lucas is quite good. (Maya’s Mother) Counterarguments involved Riley's D- in Spanish class yet throughout the plot she attempts to improve her grade eventually succeeding and beforehand Riley wore her disgraced grade as a scarlet letter. Generally, an unintelligent person wouldn't understand this Nathanial Hawthorn reference. Possibly, Riley loves mathematics since she's able to remind Maya what fractions are, ('Bear') conversely, Maya's lazy and uninspired with half her teachers – Cory, John Turner, their science teacher – demanding she applies herself. After receiving an A in Spanish class she tells Cory, "Eh, quit your blubberin', this will go away." Furthermore, Maya has no qualms in allowing Riley to finish her homework, or cheating on a test ('Commonism') or letting Lucas do the entire project by himself ('Crazy Hat', 'STEM') Not to mention that the only class she puts an effort in is Art class. Book Hermione suffered with applying academic intelligence into practical usage yet she was considered "the brightest witch of her year." Riley has the same problem but is considered stupid because of Maya’s street smarts.

Athleticism is another factor that turns the fandom in Maya's favor. Unfortunately, Maya showed little interest in them afterward such as 'Mr. Squirrels' when she said she received a skateboarding scar as a child or is a talented pitcher in 'World of Terror.' Contrary to that, Riley showed interest in physical activities. In particular, Riley actively tryouts for cheerleading ('Rah Rah', 'Brother'), goes on a Knick rant ('New World'), according to her bedroom calendar and 'Creativity' Riley attends dance lessons. (Witnessing her dance implies Riley's quite talented at it and is possibly why she lost some clumsiness in season three.) Due to Maya's shirt collection, it's believed she loved classic bands, in spite that she never mentioned interest in the Rolling Stones and bought her clothes at thrift shops. Similarly Blanchard and Carpenter are talented singers, obviously, their characters are talented as well. More key points are that both girls represent strawman arguments in 'Belief'; Maya's the strawman atheist compared to Riley who is the strawman theist. Maya disbelieves in God because she doesn't get what she wants, "Maybe I would believe in God if I didn't have a perfect life." Riley believes essentially because the plot demanded her to. A similarity is that both girls consider themselves feminists, but Riley openly claims this role. ('STEM') Also, both girls appreciate nature, Maya through hiking and Riley through its calming influence. ('Ski Lodge').

Maya's likability is her self-assuredness in contrast to Riley's self-doubt. I loved this trait in Maya as well. Including her confidence, I admired that this character wouldn't tolerate bullshit from her peers. Simultaneously Riley's insecurity was a detriment to her popularity, a lack of confidence and desiring to become Maya subsequently led to Riley becoming different personas. During the pilot, Riley's crushed when her classmates named her "Riley Superklutz" then mocked her for being cheerful. ('Yearbook', Rileytown) Illustrating these differences include Riley's Harajuku or Goth phase ('Yearbook'). For this reason, Riley's identity isn't  in either subculture, yet inform the audience she appreciates the aesthetics. Using 'New Teacher' Riley loves comics, coupled with 'Popular' perhaps she loves anime and Kawaii Metal. Horrified by Farkle's violent videogame, Riley's nevertheless intrigued by the game. ('Money') Secretly, Riley may love zombie films or loves gaming, yet hides this because of her insecurity. Since Girl Meets World's holiday episodes follow Riley's perspective, the audiences know Riley becomes fanatical during the holidays. True to her nature, Riley's sacrifices her hobbies for another's benefit, like when Riley wanted to give up Halloween for malaria-stricken countries. All in all, I loved Riley's complexity since Maya was never more than the rebellious best friend.

A Cinnamon Roll. Why Girl Meets World doesn't deserve Riley

I'll admit the Girl Meets World fandom influenced my distaste for Maya Hart, but I've always hated her character since 'Maya's Mother' and 'Master Plan'; Maya was entitled and self-victimizing, using her "broken bird" status to her advantage. I realize my statement alienated half the fandom, but nothing about this girl was disadvantaged, and beginning with her home life we're shown she isn't impoverished as implied by writers. With a closet full of clothes and a fully furnished bedroom; the worst thing about her home was a dripping ceiling. Later she revealed that her neighborhood is primarily Hispanic, but she contradicts herself in 'True Maya.' Specifically, two ethnic girls with an African American cop doesn't denote a poor neighborhood, contrary to Shawn who lived in a trailer park with visible,eclectic neighbors. Shawn often wore the same clothes twice, equating Cory's middle-class background with wealth, "Hey, indoor plumbing [means you're] rich." ('I Ain't Gonna Spray Lettuce No More') Maya owned a laptop and Alternate Maya dressed on Hot Topic clothes, these expenses aren't something an impoverished teenager could afford. In all honesty, the Harts are middle class but aren't wealthy like the Minkuses. Other arguments are that Maya struggles academically, "I have no one to help me with my homework" but in reality her maternal grandmother could help her, her friends offer Maya studying help; really Maya just hates school without a reason. An example is that Cory raised her history test grade with an oral exam, however Maya didn't study. ('Father') Lastly, Maya doesn't have family problems; her father abandoned her, but show's little concern about its effects, in fact, she tells the Matthews that Kermit began a new family without her and never buys her presents. (again 'Father') Maya is affected by Kermit's absence in 'Forgiveness' where she said, "It was your job to stay" implying that she blamed herself for Kermit's departure but is apathetic toward Kermit afterwards. Parental abandonment leaves unresolved scars and Maya rarely showed any, as opposed to Shawn who resented Chet and doesn't amend their relationship until Chet was on his deathbed. He was resentful of his half-brother, Jack, because he had a great childhood and non-alcoholic father; Maya's resentful because Katy overworks, not appreciating Katy's overworking herself for Maya's benefit. Specifically to keep a roof over their heads, getting Maya into a proper school, or planning a nice fourteenth birthday for her. (List any episode that Katy appeared in as an example.) Yet Maya's "brokenness" is justification in absolving Maya of responsibility and allowing her increasing entitlement.

Cory bought colored pencils for Maya so she'll pursue her artistic ability, but gives her an iPhone because she had a flip phone, clearly it's not so she'll spy on her best friend and Lucas. Shawn bought her an entirely new wardrobe, even though nothing is wrong with her clothes; they aren't tattered or dirty but because of her "bad life" Maya's allowed to take her friend's moments with Topanga or monopolize Shawn's attention from Riley. After the umpteenth time of insulting Lucas, he fires a zinger back and unleashes her anger on her friends for not defending her. Apparently, Kermit's absence gone allowed Maya to insult everyone even though she can't handle it herself, steal Riley's (unofficial) boyfriend, and absolved of any consequences. Notably, Maya steals a locket from a little girl ('Honesty'), steals money ('Belief'), pulls fire alarms and illegally trespass on a property ('True Maya', the pilot) yet is surprised when her friends disbelieve her that she didn't steal the cash register money. 

Emphasizing Maya's lawbreaking, she kidnapped Katy's rival actress and is intent on vandalizing a statue and still gets away with it; the cop says that he'll forget her trespassing happened if she never does this again. If Zay – or any colored ethnicity – attempted Maya's actions, they would've been arrested. Instead, I waited for any of the characters to remind Maya of her privileges, whether it was white privileges or that she wasn't going to bed hungry or abused, and didn't deserve her entitled behavior. Moreover, this was why 'Her Monster' was more appropriate for Maya's character since she always took her loved ones for granted. A great lesson Jacobs could've done was that a harsh background does not entitle one to everything they desire, you have to work for what you want. (Small Note: Cinderella was Walt Disney's favorite film because of how hard work often give's one their desired goals.) Most of all, Maya was a terrible friend to Riley. Was Riley a perfect friend? Of course not. She shouldn't have blurted Maya's love in 'Texas' then proceed in lying about her own feelings, reworded her statements to Kermit ('Forgiveness') and not mocked Maya's home or love life ('Jexica'). These characters are teenagers and are immature, but Riley owned up to her mistakes while Maya did not; Riley has the maturity for considering potential consequences and other' perspectives yet Maya's immaturity is due to her belief world revolved around her.

Realizing these differences between these girls it's certainly clear why Riley deserved better, and we can narrow them into two categories: one, her friends and family sabotaging this brunette, secondly, every character unnecessarily criticized her, usually with no validity for it. In other words, Riley was the Meg Griffin of Girl Meets World in fandom and the fictional world. Original Shawn wouldn't ignore his goddaughter in favor of her friend. Once the series aired 'Upstate' Shawn belittled his goddaughter by saying "Shut up Little Cory!" insinuating that Riley's nothing more than a Cory clone, saying nothing of the fact that Maya's an imitation of himself. What was Riley's crime besides helping her friend? As another illustration is Topanga complimenting Maya as a "fierce Amazon warrior while in comparison Riley was a weirdo with a cute top. ('Mr. Squirrels') Topanga ignores her daughter for Maya, who collapsed on the Matthews' floor, childishly whining about graduation. Even in 'Permanent Record' Topanga called Maya her "new daughter" certainly the Matthews consider Maya like family, wanting to give her every benefit possible, yet it's at the expense of their blood daughter. Auggie and Josh are unique among her family in that they actually support Riley. Remorseful for destroying Riley's teddy bear, Auggie searches for it when it goes missing; Josh develops ambiguous feelings for Maya but this doesn't prevent him from comforting his niece. ('Forgiveness', 'Bear', Home for the Holidays', 'Goodbye') Interestingly, one adult doesn't blame Riley: Katy Hart. Of course, she'll have a preference for her own daughter, but Maya kept pushing Katy away in favor Topanga until season three. From Riley's perspective, she understands Katy's actions are all for her daughter – she even realizes this before Maya does on Christmas Eve. All of this is odd as if the writers confused whose daughter belonged to whom.

I'm certain there are fandom members who consider these points as coincidences, before re-watching the show I thought the same thing, but supporting characters disregarded Riley, background characters overlooked her, even the writers eventually ceased her character growth and proceeded catering to only Maya. A complaint lodged against this character received was that every character loved Riley at first glance which wasn't accurate. Cory's class was largely apathetic toward her – though this could be in part that Cory aimed his class lessons with an emphasis on the core six. Of the core six, Zay was intrigued, but uncertain of Riley with Smackle thinking similar thought. Missy Bradford hated her because Riley "had" Lucas, and Missy desired him for herself. Unknown Girl ('Don't Like Me') and Cashier Aubrey ('Demolition') blatantly dislike Riley, but it's when they see Riley's true character these characters have a change of heart. Yes, Unknown Girl doesn't accept Riley's friendship –Aubrey accepts Rilaya's friendship – but understands her intentions are pure. (I always made the connection that Riley is like Tohru from the manga Fruits Basket.) Nevertheless, her friends blamed her the majority of the time, especially the boys.

Prior to the new school term, Riley promised Maya that none of them will leave her in high school, Riley isn't afforded this luxury when all – excluding Maya – leave Riley in the stairwell ('Bay Window', 'High School'). Lucas claimed Riley was "too much" for him for the sole fact she didn't support his football ambition, but after bull riding, Riley recognizes other sports are potentially dangerous too. Digging the knife deeper in her back was Farkle, who after school blamed Riley for their entire day, "You ruined our first day of high school." Obviously Riley bore some culpability for her actions, however, the remainder of the clique bore responsibility as well and should've taken accountability for their actions. From their desertion until the final bell, it was the clique's duty to improve their day through their own attitudes, yet they didn't seem concerned that day when they reduced Riley to tears. Fortunately, Riley's vindicated, her intuition in the seniors was correct, she just shouldn't have taken their words at face value. Several episodes later Zay overexaggerates when Riley bites his cookie when Maya dared her to "do something evil," reserving his anger for Riley instead. Why was consuming a cookie unforgivable? Is his grandmother dead or her cookie recipe missing? Over the Christmas holiday, all her friends continuously whine about the Secret Santa – Lucas even leaves the state without notifying his girlfriend, Riley, in avoidance of this – regardless of them knowing Christmas is one of the multitudes of ways she shows affection. Only Smackle, like Katy, doesn't chastise her, though that could be because Smackle showed more camaraderie toward Riley than Maya. To iterate, Smackle may have left with Farkle but isn't enraged at her, instead cautions Riley's leadership possibly isn't appropriate for high school. When Smackle's introduced to the group, she's more comfortable admitting her crush, her autism, and much of her insecurities to Riley than her other friends. Of the girls, Smackle prefers hugs from Riley than Maya as well. ('Smackle', 'New Years', 'Goodbye')

What makes Riley sympathetic is Maya was the worst of her friends when it comes to her unsupportive tendencies, namely whenever a peripheral character appeared on screen, they'd berate Riley while Maya allows her to take the insults. It's correct that Maya defended Riley against names like "superklutz" or against Missy ('Sneak Attack') however Maya stays silent when their classmates were adamant that they don't want Riley/Lucas together. (However, it was equally cruel when they said they didn't care if Maya was around.) Art teachers berate Riley artwork then – though her picture of Lucas was impressive – before praising Maya's superior ability. ('Maya's Mother', 'Triangle.') Two episodes before 'New Year's,' Maya claimed Riley was wrong for believing in God despite slacking off on the assignment herself, and not attempting to understand a philosophy other than her own. Subconsciously, Maya sabotaged her friend by beginning the Riley Protection Committee, but that doesn't help her grow, whereas Maya consciously sabotaged her friend by disqualifying Riley from the spelling bee under the guise of cultural appropriation.* Later in 'Rah Rah' she convinced all their friends to make Riley quit by ringing bells, but Maya should've been a supportive, selfless friend for once; Riley doesn't have the coordination for cheerleading, but was determined to try. In both instances, Maya repeatedly insulted Riley with "Every year I have to watch out and tell you're good. Well, you're not good." Why is she making her friend's efforts about her again, and offering no apology for her cruel behavior? Quite a while later on the first day of high school Maya insulted her friend by saying, "How am I in a triangle with [Riley]" showing Maya (briefly) thinks Riley is inferior to her. Why was mourning her sentimental teddy bear insignificant compared to a taco? When was I supposed to like Maya's friendship?

Very few of the show theories were credible and the Maya/Lucaya theories were laughable; posters, bulls, and sheep proved nothing. However, depression theories were the theories I believed in. Counter-arguments for a Riley depression arc were that Riley's life was too perfect for depression, including that depression isn't caused by a single event. ('High School') A depression storyline for Riley would've shown that depression doesn't discriminate; a seemingly perfect life is equally prone to depression just as one of hardship. I don't believe Jacobs wouldn't have tackled Clinical Depression, Shawn's drinking in 'If You Can't be with the One You Love' lasted one episode but a depressive period he could do. That being said, let's look at the hints that may have foreshadowed a depression conflict for Riley.

Western culture places emphasis on positive emotions simultaneously teaching us to repress negative emotions, "Why aren't you happy? Don't cry, there's someone worse off than you." Starting from season 1 we've seen Riley's fear of imperfection (atelophobia) such as her saying that what others thought of her dictated her than her own thoughts. As her classmates mocked her in various episodes her sense of self crashes down, like when she hid in a locker because of Missy. Riley's cyberbully violently threatens her, "No one should be as cheerful as you. Stop being happy or I'll kick you in the face" – what made the episode strange was that her parents didn't comfort her at all in 'Riley town.' Early instants of her atelphobia occur when Topanga's entering labor, Riley's wonders why her parents are having another child, "Why are you doing this? Am I not good enough?" with an extension of these self-criticisms in 'Bear.' When returning to work –possibly after – maternity/paternity leave – Young Riley begged her parents to remain with her, so Cory gave the teddy bear as a symbolic reminder that they'll always be with her. 'Bear' is now linked to 'Bay window' in that Riley's fear is her loved ones abandoning her, and if she is good enough for anyone to stay with her. Compiling on top of this includes 'Cory & Topanga' when upon waking in the middle of the night, Riley eavesdrops on her parents causing her self-doubt that she'll never achieve her potential like her parents have. Whenever her friends champion Maya's causes ignoring Riley's in the process, Riley compares herself to her friend, the "Pretty Brunette" vs the "Blonde Beauty." Compiling onto that is, is that everyone – from her five friends to her family – expect her to fix their problems and ignore her own, in keeping her composure, Riley internalized her own feelings in 'Texas' by pushing Lucas away and by keeping her bullying a secret. Even more interesting is when the puppet perched itself on Riley's shoulder, "Your father trusts you. Your mother trusts you. Your brother lied for you. Everything bad in the world is your fault. [Riley: "What?"] Never mind. That's for later." Having heard this may mean that her caretaker role, her perfectionist tendencies, her self-sacrifice, would be the elements that cause her breakdown.

Repression becomes rumination and exhaustion, from the previous examples – and what we know of her general character– Riley's obsessive, sometimes controlling. (She's Topanga's daughter after all.) In Season 2, Maya commented that she doesn't like it when Riley is calm. American Psychological Association wrote this about depression and rumination, "[People prone to rumination] exhibit personality characteristics such as perfectionism, neuroticism and excessive relational focus-"a tendency to so overvalue your relationships with others that you will sacrifice yourself to maintain them, no matter what the costs." She worried if anyone would befriend her as a child as well. "I sit here and I hope […] For someone to come in and sit with me." ('Bay Window') When seeing Maya dating Lucas, Riley obsesses over her worthiness for him, and when her classmates dislike her, she did the same. Constant thoughts of this can lead to exhausting your energy from overthinking. Four particular episodes convinced me of Riley's exhaustion: 'Rah Rah', 'Riley town', 'Texas 3', and 'High School.' The teenagers' second day of high school is where we receive our first clue Riley make have physical symptoms of depression. Unfortunately, this statement was played for comedy Riley said that she didn't cry all night because "I fell asleep before I could." Episodes 'Riley town' and 'Texas 3' show the audience that she probably had cried herself to sleep before. Cheerleading proved physically straining so it makes sense that she'd say that she was tired. A tonal shift occurs in the third act when Riley doesn't make the team, when she said "I'm really tired, Maya," sounds more like she's emotionally exhausted as well. (Although anyone would if their friends kept discouraging and insulting them.) While she was faking the flu it's not unreasonable that she could've made herself ill from her rumination. Sobbing in Topanga's lap, Riley is conflicted if she made the right decision about her friends and that she regrets agreeing to date Charlie. Topanga comforts her daughter to "Hold on" then Riley begged her mother not to leave, that she is "a little tired." Cut to the next scene, the next morning where mother and daughter haven't moved from their spot, implying that Riley cried herself to sleep.

Storgic Eros vs Ludic Eros: Rucas or Lucaya?

Like many fandoms, Girl Meets World had terrible shipping wars, and though not the entire cause of the sequel's failure, it did contribute to dissatisfaction among the audience. I'm not advocating for either Lucas pairing since the couples I supported were the rival pairings, Polyamorous Rucaya (Riley/Lucas/Maya), and romantic Lucadora (Lucas/Smackle) I understand audience members gravitated toward Rucas (Lucas/Riley) or Lucaya (Lucas/Maya), and why shipping began among these factions. Rucas and Lucaya appear polar opposite, but are alike in several ways as well: the factions claimed that the rival pairing was tedious, unrealistic and that their rival was incorrect by loving the couple. Incredible news is that both warring sides were correct, Rucaya (Riley/Lucas & Maya/Lucas) were all these traits; Disney has written Love-Hate and Friend-Lover romances repetitively since Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and so both couples are predictable because they are both fairy tales. Because these are teenage romances they're unlikely to survive into adulthood. Lucas has always been Prince Charming Maya's is the tomboy princess. Lucaya is a Fabio romance, Disney examples The Little Mermaid (Ariel and Eric), Hercules (Meg and Hercules), Tangled, and Pirates of the Caribbean (Elizabeth/Jack/Will) to name a few. Riley's the feminine princess to Prince Lucas and they are Jane Austen romances. They’re animated Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas, and Frozen's Anna and Kristoff. What differentiates the Lucas pairings lis that Disney Channel is more apt to use Friend-Lover relationships.

Adding to Lucaya/Rucas similarities are plot and aggression problems; Maya and Lucas approach situations – and each other – with direct aggression while Riley and Lucas use passive-aggression. Lucaya kept insulting one another, Riley used her internet persona to coax an answer from Lucas, and he used jellybeans to reach a conclusion. ('Triangle', 'Jexica') Plot-wise Lucaya is strange, after several antagonistic episodes Maya develops a crush on Lucas suddenly, and because Farkle revealed Riley's love for Lucas, Lucaya never had any follow through. Rucas, however, had foreshadowing and depth, but after 'Ski Lodge' the writers never portrayed them acting like a couple. And both Lucaya and Rucas fans used fallacious arguments to justify their favorite couple, primarily that Riley or Maya accepted Lucas better, but there wasn't much to accept about Lucas Friar because of his one-dimensionality. Out of the two girls, it's Riley that understands Lucas, not Maya. 'Secret of Life' revealed Lucas' unpleasant Texan self with everyone curious about his past; Maya uncovering attempts fail by using Zay as a third-party, yet it's Riley’s confrontation with Lucas that succeed when she reminded Lucas that friends/couples are honest with one another. "If you say I can trust you, I'll believe you because that's what we do." Later it's Riley who wants to end Lucas' potential fight, mirroring 'Texas 3' in that Cory and Zay pulled Riley back from entering dangerous a situation. (Riley attempted to jump into the rampaging bull's pin to save Lucas before being the first person to jump in when Lucas fell from the beast.) A 'Secret of Life' ends with Riley remaining unaccepting about Lucas' aggression, however, it is her Lucas discloses his fight to Riley; as 'Rules' reached its conclusion Riley vocalized that she doesn't condone Texas Lucas, but understands his Shadow Side is part of his personality inserting the hope that Lucas is able to transform himself into a better person. Finally, in 'Texas', Maya's considered credible because she vocalizes that Lucas shouldn't ride the bull but, contradicts herself immediately by leaving. Her negative statement, "I'll never forgive you if you ride that bull," is interpreted as cruelty toward him because Lucas can't believe Maya isn't being antagonistic which is almost always her natural state. Moreover, theorists forgot Maya was equally complicit in volunteering Lucas for the competition, that both girls were shocked at the bull off screen, and instead of forsaking Lucas, Riley stayed offering suggestions to placate the bull, "Tell the pull you want to become a veterinarian, Lucas." Paraphrasing, Riley told Lucas that if he's sure he wants to ride the bull she'll support him, "Be the hero I know you can be," wasn't Riley ignorance of the risk, it was her understanding why he wanted to succeed. He wanted to regain his honor he had lost before and made his loved ones proud of him, "Thank you for believing in me," he said in 'Texas 3.'

Does Maya know that Lucas can be dangerous? Rarely does she mention his dangerous habits calling doubt on the extent of her Lucas insight, she mentioned Bad Lucas in 'Riley town', "I don't think Lucas will be so calm," but this is through subtext, and when Lucas crashes through their barricade Maya contradicts herself by urging him to lift the bed with a single finger. The next time Maya realizes Lucas' dark side is in 'Ski Lodge' when she wonders why he won't break the rules and Zay must remind her that Lucas lost a year of his life because of that; Maya remains silent. (An argument could be made that it is Riley that accurately judges Lucas because she knows there's nothing underneath Prince Charming whereas Maya needs to constantly provoke Lucas to believe that Lucas has problems of his own.) However neither of them accept this aspect of Lucas, and the only person who does is Farkle since he is the only one who calls Lucas out on his bullshit. In 'Riley town' he ties him up, urging him "Don't turn into Texas Lucas." Episodes like 'New Years', 'Triangle', 'Ski Lodge' Farkle reiterates that if Lucas remains indecisive about the triangle then he'll damage all their friendships.

In order to understand why Lucaya was preferred over Rucas let's look at statistics to demonstrate why Lucas pairings and rival pairings were popular in the first place. This fan fiction site archives over 4500 Girl Meets World stories with Maya and Riley stories representing half of its entirety; no matter how many filters are used, Maya centric stories maintain a slight lead over Riley centric ones. Lucas/Maya pairings – platonic or romantic – rank first with Rucas ranking at a close second, this isn't surprising. Once filtered down to the romantic completed fiction we realize that Lucas/Maya fiction doesn't lead by much, only by 14% (643) with Rucas at 12% (541) of the stories, a two percent difference is microscopic, and the rival pairings – Joshaya (Josh/Maya) and Riarkle (Riley/Farkle) – are tied for third place. Lesbian Rilaya is the only other pairing that superseded all of them, but since this shipping war focused on heterosexual couples we can't include Rilaya. Popularity for these ships is for what romances the girls represented, not the couple as a whole. Maya romances – Lucaya and Joshaya – are instantaneous and playful where Maya often refers to her relationships as a game; Lucaya is their "little game" while Joshaya is the "long game." They're Ludic Eros, or a Love-Hate romance and is why theorists interpreted bickering as flirtation notwithstanding repeated complaints that he doesn't appreciate Maya mocking him. He'll stick a rose between her teeth to annoy her or tell Maya that she can't break him after she mocks his country cowboy heritage. Lucaya is Disney sexual attraction, fire and why everybody can see them as a couple. ('Yearbook')  Passion and obsession that embodies Lucaya are what researchers define as love/lust at first sight. What theorists didn't notice is that Lucaya's death hinges on boredom, once either character grows tired of the other their romance dies. In the three seasons, Maya had been the most fickle with her romances, if she doesn't get what she wants or events proceed too slowly for her she ignores it and moves on. First, she's in love with Josh, suddenly she loves Lucas and now loves Josh again and every character has called her out on this. Josh in 'Ski Lodge' reminds Maya that she loves him now, but that could change, pointing to her Lucas infatuation as an example. In 'Crazy Hat' Maya reveals that Mrs. Friar and Lucas' conversation that she overheard and his calf story bored her. ('Texas 3') Ever since Lucas changed he's boring, nor does help that Lucas and Maya couldn't even date one month ('Texas 3' – 'New Years') while Lucas and Riley's second relationship lasted half a year ('Ski Lodge 2' – 'Goodbye'). Lucaya was similar to Seddie (Sam/Freddie) from iCarly, if Lucas and Maya dated it would a physical relationship at most. Over the long-term physical attraction fades first, once the honeymoon phase ends if there's no commonalities between partners then the romance dies.

Riley romances – Rucas and Riarkle – are Friend-Lover relationships. It's Riley complimenting that Farkle's developed into a handsome, young man or how Lucas admits his and Riley's intimate moments are preferable than the few he's had with Maya. Lucaya had passion but Rucas had intimacy. Similar to Riley's character, opposing fans found Rucas boring because there's no instant gratification, love forms from friendship, mutual understanding and affection as well as attraction. One example is Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher from That 70s Show, who after a decade of friendship are married with a daughter. Real love, long-lasting love develops over time, teenagers beginning to date won't realize this yet. Fandom factions doubted Rucas because of a handful of episodes, those being 'New World', 'Spring Fling', and 'Texas 2.' Theorists commented that Rucas barely dated a week ignoring that peer pressure forced their breakup decision. Classmates, like Yogi, pressured them to be the "Perfect Couple," and along with Ruvas' friends and their parents, interrupted any chance Rucas had for any alone time. Boyfriends and girlfriends desire some time away from the public with the episode concluding with Lucas and Riley deciding to resume dating once they've understood each other as people and when they're ready. Rucas' endgame status is cemented when she catches Maya's bouquet and Lucas smiles adoringly at Riley. Theorists also used Riley's comments in 'Texas 3' and 'Spring Fling' against Rucas. Riley confides in Eric and Jack that she's afraid that her and Lucas' relationship would fail and tells the same sentiment to Lucas in 'Texas.' If they dated, then broke up, she and Lucas may hate each other. Eric tells her that unlike Jack, he calls Rachel every day, revealing that Riley would rather have Lucas' friendship than risk not being in his life. Topanga did the same in Boy Meets World and even in season six, breaks their engagement because she doesn't want a divorce like her parents. (Also this tells the audience that although Riley craves a fairy tale love she still doubts that it's a possibility.) And in reality, friend-lovers worry about this outcome too so this is a nice reflection of real-life circumstances.

Both Rucas and Lucaya are similar in that they're instantly attracted to each other, Maya and Riley immediately notice Lucas on the subway and gawk at how handsome he is. Lucaya theorists speculate through her play flirting that she had always loved Lucas and selflessly sacrificed her own feelings, but Maya "flirted" with Lucas so Riley would be comfortable around boys and since then pushed her friends into a romantic relationship. During "Meets Boy" she tells Riley to talk to him, by the end of it she and Lucas are able to have an actual conversation. 'Meets Boy' and 'Legacy' reveals that they've smelled they other's hair. (Weird but cute.) Maya asks Lucas on a date but instead of accepting Lucas proceeds and asks Riley out. ("First Date') Maya's actions are like Shawn's in Boy Meets World. Shawn asked Topanga to the Sadie Hawkins dance so Cory would, Maya is female Shawn so it's possible that she'd do the same for Riley. In 'Belief' Maya says that Lucas need someone to build him and Riley fulfills that role for him. Another example is that Lucas feels comfortable revealing his secrets to Riley than anyone else with show writers on Twitter confirming that "[Riley] is a calming influence on him." 'Secret of Life', 'Meets Boy' are examples like where he says he helped birth a calf and 'World of Terror 2' has the teenagers admit they both love a television show called Cuddlebunnies, later Lucas showed more concern that she missed Red Planet Diaries. And unlike Lucaya, Rucas had intentional flirtatious moments. 'Sneak Attack' has Riley wanting to learn how to flirt so Lucas'll remain attracted to her and not Missy then in art class she flirts with him in French; Lucas reciprocates by saying in French, "Someday we'll go to Paris." Other episodes she'll lower her voice to appear more sexual. During their softball game Riley feigns ignorance over her mitt so she can flirt with him and playfully slaps his ass afterward. (And Maya nods in approval.)

Overall the Love-Hate aspect isn't the entire reason why Lucaya was problematic, Lucaya's failure stems from the fact Lucas and Maya never fought for each other. From 'Texas' until 'Legacy' Lucas is almost constantly fighting for Riley; from that point Riley begins fighting for a resolution and Lucas. During the square dance, Pappy's home, or the campfire, Maya's passivity caused doubt over her Lucas infatuation. Maya sits on the sidelines when Lucas is fighting for Riley. When Lucas confronts Riley's brother statement at the fire, Maya's motionless. On the Lucaya/Riarlie (Riley/Charlie) double date Maya has to ask Riley's advice on how to date Lucas, showing the audience that Maya's never thought of Lucas as boyfriend material before. Lucas never fought for Maya when he's arguing with Charlie during the couple's game on New Year's Eve. It's Riley initiates love triangle discussions about if they still love each other and is one the one who noticed the seniors' – Thor/Nikki/Francesca – own love triangle asking how they resolved it. In Jexica at least Riley tried solving the triangle while Maya rarely made a suggestion. She doesn't even fight for Lucas when she's told to. During the 'Triangle' bay window scene Riley says that Lucas was her boyfriend first and that she was going to take him back. "Maya, if you like Lucas, then you're gonna have to take him from me." Instead of fighting Maya retreats with, "You'd let me do that?" If Maya really loved Lucas than why isn't she fighting for him? 'Ski Lodge' is the only time Maya fights for him, calling themselves the power couple but since this happened in fantasy this means she never fought for him. And if she loved Lucas why would she continuously flirt with Josh at every turn? Why would she immediately surrender her feelings if she really wanted Lucas?

Canonically, romantic Lucaya wasn't mentioned until 'Yearbook' but Sarah – and their class – voted them 'Best Couple' then Maya questions them why anyone would consider them a couple. Lucas adds that they have never considered each other like that. Maya's revelation – "That's why I love you, you're my brother" – isn't Riley's thoughts, Maya is costumed as Riley but since she isn't we can't know if these feelings are genuine. Katy in the prior scene warns her daughter against assuming about others feelings. "[….] Before you become another person, understand that you may learn things about them you didn't know before [...] When you have strong emotions for someone, it's like you're too close to see straight." Maya is too blinded by her best friend to determine if she's correct. Lastly, neither girl discusses their Lucas feelings until 'Texas' so there's no indication at Maya or Riley's feelings have changed. More likely her brother revelation is a red herring for Maya's own affections toward Lucas.

The 'Texas' trilogy is the next time Lucaya is mentioned in canon but the plotline is against them from the beginning. Riley misinterprets Maya's emotions of that of infatuation but their conversation shows that they're hurt that the other takes their feelings for granted. At Pappy's home and the campfire Riley friend-zones Lucas*3 whose reaction is that he doesn't think of themselves like siblings. Lucaya's almost kiss is romantic but immediately afterward says, "Don't tell [Riley]."  "Of course I like you. Who wouldn't?" isn't a love declaration because Lucas pressured her to. All she admits to is not wanting to lie to Riley.'Texas 3' was about Riley/Charlie (Riarlie) and Lucaya's double date which all four are dreading. Topanga and Farkle discover that Riley lied and she is still in love with Lucas and doesn't want Charlie. Before their double date begins, Lucas marches to Riley telling her that he doesn't want to date Maya reiterating that it's Riley he wants. Continuing from there, Lucas interrupts his own date to interfere with Riley and Charlie's date; Maya kicks Lucas for ignoring her. Then Zay said that Lucaya loved fighting over dating.

Zay: "Well, the thing we all knew about Lucas is Lucas would do anything for his friends. And I never thought there could be anybody else like that, but Riley is."

Farkle: "So you think they are like brother and sister?" 

Zay: "No, I just think they have a lot in common. I mean, Riley would do anything for her friends, too."

New Years' is the most telling episode between Lucaya because Lucas interacts more with Riley than Maya. As the party starts he brushes past her just to touch her, sits closer to her when he arrives, and gets into a pissing contest with Charlie over who knows Riley better. Lucas doesn't approach Maya on the rooftop, Maya does, and her comment "I'm glad you're with me at midnight" was said because she rarely complimented him before. Every time Lucas compliments one girl he says the same about the other. He says that he'll always know Riley whenever and wherever they are when he repeats this to Maya her reaction is "You're not even trying." Quoting "[…] nicknames are a name for someone that can be used by anyone, pet names can only be used by one individual." Lucas called both girls beautiful. Riley's the "beautiful brunette who follows the rules" ('Legacy'). Deep down Maya's the blonde beauty but in 'True Maya' he called Riley beautiful as well. Riley's the "Pretty Brunette" but Maya is just physically attractive to him whereas he finds everything about Riley attractive. "The pretty brunette who never gives up on anyone or anything. And no sacrifice is too big for her friends." 'Creativity' can't be used as Lucaya fodder because, one, we don't know the context of the Lucas/Zay's conversation and, two, Lucas' outrage shows that he didn't want the girls to know they were comparing them. Using jellybeans Lucas decides between girls ('Triangle') with both girls driving him crazy and are too much for him. They're funny and they push their loved ones toward positive growth. Maya does so forcefully ('Rules', 'Crazy Hat', 'Pilot') Riley implicitly ('Flaws', 'Lady of New York'). Yet Lucas concludes that he prefers his intimate moments with Riley over Maya, "It's always been Riley."

Lucas likes Maya because of her hu hurr-ing greetings and calling him "Huckleberry," however, it's a better answer than Maya's answer, "I don't know, he's a nice guy. What's wrong with us both liking a nice guy?" First and foremost, Riley dated him first and if Maya didn't fall for Lucas, her and Riley's friendship wouldn't be jeopardized. Second, if her Lucas love is because he's nice then why didn't she fall for another boy? Every time Maya's confronted with this question she can't answer with anything except "I don't know what I want." ('True Maya') "I don't know how I like you." ('Texas') Her body language displays uncertainty during the New Year's couple game. We know why Maya teases Lucas though, it's fun "tearing him down" ('Belief') and she wants to "mess him up." ('Ski Lodge') Maya jokes that she doesn't want him to become conceited ('Texas') but Lucas is humble. He admits that he isn't perfect nor brags about his academic achievements. ('Flaws', 'Father', 'Yearbook') After winning the class election, Lucas awarded Maya an ambassador role despite the fact that she attempted to blackmail him. ('Friendship') Maya loved mocking Lucas but she wasn't in love with him.

I have three theories as to why Maya loves Lucas:

Theory 1: Maya loves Lucas because of Katy's influence Very little of Maya's home life is known, what is certain is that Kermit and Katy constantly fought. ('Maya's Mother', 'Master plan', 'Forgiveness', and 'High School') Maya would never admit to her parents influencing her of anything and blamed Katy for her father's departure in 'Master Plan,' "She does this. She makes men leave. Shawn's probably in Mexico now." For a girl dismissive of her mother Maya mirrors Katy's mistakes with men. Observing Kermit and Katy's dysfunctional marriage distorted Maya's perception of love; love became equated with arguments and insults. Katy smashed a cake in Kermit's face, then Maya repeats this by pouring smoothies on Lucas' head. ('Forgiveness', 'Texas') Minutes later, Maya confesses that she won't forgive Kermit's abandonment comparable to Maya threatening Lucas that if he rides the bull she'll never forgive him before subsequently leaving him. Shawn berates Katy when they're introduced at the diner; Maya mocks Lucas when they're reintroduced at school. Katy falls for partners who don't reciprocate her affections, Maya does the same. Shawn still loves Angela and can't date Katy yet. Lucas pines after Riley and she returns his love, Lucas can't commit to Maya.

Theory 2: Maya loves Lucas because Riley is in love with him These next two theories vary on the extent of how much you believe that Maya became Riley. Maya portraying Riley in 'Yearbook' or wearing similar clothes doesn't mean Maya became her friend. I personally don't believe she suffered from an Ego crisis – clothes and grades don't equal an identity loss – but Maya suffered from a relational identity crisis. Riley always wanted to become Maya, an identity crisis fits Riley's character because she struggled with her identity When eavesdropping on two girls, Rilaya witnesses the girls' friendship dissolve. Betrayed, First Girl demands answers on why Second Girl dated her boyfriend, Second Girl replied that she was aware of that fact. "I actually went after him just for that reason. I didn't even like him. I just wanted to make you feel bad." It's unlikely Maya would purposefully anger Riley, but she desires everything her friend possesses. Jealous of Riley's family, Maya monopolizes her parent's attention away from Riley. Likewise, Maya wants excellent grades, convincing her friend to complete her homework for her. Overall, it's within Maya's character that she'd love Lucas because Riley already does. Of their clique, Maya had no romantic experience and may have developed insecurities over this matter. Examples include Zay's ex-girlfriend, Smarkle (Farkle/Smackle) with the longest romance of one year. ('Smackle' – 'Goodbye'), and Riley and Lucas dating the most people before dating each other. Also, Maya's never been kissed (Farkle/Maya's nose kiss like Farkle/Riley's chin kiss didn't count.) Adding to that, Maya had never dated someone she wasn't forced to date. Namely that Maya dated Farkle so Rucas can date, then dated Lucas herself because Riley insists that she does. Compiling on this that Maya never had a monogamous boyfriend since Lucas calling both girls his "girlfriends" means that he isn't committed to her. In Maya's favour is that, like Riley, is that three boys developed crushes on her. Both friends had Farkle and Lucas date them while they've had third options in Josh and Charlie respectively. Against Maya is her domineering nature causing avoidance in boys – and some girls – meaning they won't consider her girlfriend material. Maya tells Farkle that he can't handle her. ('Pilot') Josh is unnerved by her forwardness in 'Home for the Holidays' before running away. Whenever she and Lucas are paired together, she emasculates him calling him "the lamb Mary left behind." ('Rules') At most Maya is just a friend to them furthering her romantic insecurities. In Maya's perceptive, Rucas is the perfect relationship. Rucas are attentive, protective toward each other, and as Friend-Lovers they listen to each other; Lucas laughs at Riley's fanaticism over the Knicks as much Riley loves hearing his Texas. This couple is willing to sacrifice whatever possible for the other; Lucas was willing to revert into Texas Lucas for Riley ('Rileytown') and she's willing to jump into a bullpen. Observing them further Maya liked their softball game flirting and was aroused by Rucas' kiss ('First Date'). Envious, Maya thought that if Lucas is able to give Riley a fairy tale love, then Lucas can give Maya that love too. After all Prince Lucas and Princess Maya sound nice. Yet Maya is sympathetic toward her friend, fully mindful that by chasing Lucas, Maya is breaking Riley's heart. How does Maya circumvent her predicament? Maya uses Rucas' breakup in 'New World' as evidence that Rucas wouldn't succeed long-term. Through her self-deception, Maya convinces herself that Riley's love is platonic and dates Lucas without a guilty conscious. Inflicting pain on her best friend never crossed Maya's mind, but Maya's jealousy overwhelmed her better judgment. A final obstacle now separates Maya from Lucas-land: Maya isn't his type resolving this setback by becoming Lucas' ideal girlfriend. Next, Maya undergoes a Riley-esque transformation, becoming Riley in femininity, but not personality. Maya dresses femininely and softens her attitude around boys, explaining her fashion change and interest in Lucas. Riley thrives in interpersonal relationships which Maya mirrors this Riley facet to attract Lucas. Maya lost herself in competing for an unavailable boyfriend that wasn't hers. Ultimately, that is why she changed and why she fell for Lucas.

Theory 3: Maya loves Lucas so she can protect Riley Ignoring the Lucaya dalliances isn't possible, especially since there wasn't enough non-romantic hints to discount this couple. Protecting Riley is Maya's goal in the series, but the question remains how does correspond with Maya loving Lucas? How does infidelity protect anyone? Jacobs holds the official answer, but it's probably as nonsensical as the answer we received. In the prior theory Maya became Riley because Lucas wouldn't notice her otherwise – this adds further significance to Maya's James Bond fantasy – enabling her to unearth Lucas' true intentions. He gawked at Maya in her Riley costume, unable to tell the difference between the girls. Bond is a spy which Maya becomes so she can test Lucas. As teenagers, these girls want a fairy tale love, but growing up with dysfunctional parents Maya understands love isn't always forever. With Josh's help Maya realizes why she entered a relationship with Lucas she wanted to make sure Lucas was a safe option for her. When Maya confronts Riley, she tells her "How do I know if he's the right guy for you. How do I know if he's good enough?" Lucas isn't dangerous, but his uncontrollable rage could potentially harm Riley; no one wants their friends in an abusive relationship. Maya knows that aggression is attractive, but is harmful to people. Fire is destructive as well as transformative. This is the character who formed the Riley Protection Squad and wanted to attack Missy in 'Sneak Attack.' Riley is always pulling Maya back from the edge it was long overdue that Maya would repay the favor.

None of this means I hated Lucaya, in fact, I loved their friendship dynamic from the beginning. I've always had more men friends than women friends and Lucaya reminded me of the cross-gender friendships I'm a part of. Whenever they were paired together they had great comedic timing like the card eating scene. Maya grabs everyone – excluding Smackle and Josh – by the collar. Anytime one of the boys had a prominent scene she grabbed them by the shirt. Maya does this to Zay, and Lucas in the bakery ('High School 2') and whenever Farkle is around. That's the exact reason he kissed her nose in 'True Maya.' She grabbed Riley's dress collar in 'World of Terror 3'. Smackle is exempt probably because she and Maya aren't close friends. Josh is exempt because he's the boy she actually likes. 

Unlike other girls, Maya doesn't ogle him like Smackle or Missy. She doesn't treat him like a love interest like Riley and Lucas treat each other. Maya interacts with Lucas like the regular boy that he is. The episodes 'Washington' and "Creativity' Maya says that she finally trusts Lucas as a friend and that she is glad that they're friends. "You could never hurt me" from 'Ski Lodge' is an indication of their friendship. Fans aren't wrong for shipping them together, but Lucaya wasn't endgame because after. Girl Meets Sixteen's taping Jacobs told the audience, "If we listened to fans- and we hear about Lucaya, and Riarkle and Rilaya all the time, we see what you say- the story we want to tell would be dissipated." 

Could I see them as a couple if they were well planned? Yes. What makes fictional Love-Hate lovers successful is in its foreshadowing when the two characters begin as antagonists, manage to form a friendship – or some kind of camaraderie – and then become lovers. Examples I loved were Zane/Rikki (Nickelodeon's H2O: Just Add Water), Niles/C.C (The Nanny), Draco/Ginny (Harry Potter), and all Xena couples because grow happened between them. (Except for Draco and Ginny since that's a fanon couple.) Niles and C.C pranked and insulted each other but in all five seasons, they became friends, would kiss and have sex, making them fall in love believable. Lucaya became a genuine friendship but not a romance.

Non-Triangles

Opinions further split the fandom with fans debating if a love triangle was warranted, Girl Meets World's story never supported this specific plotline. Removing this triangle changes nothing of the show except Riley and Lucas would've reconciled faster and Maya would've determined her mindset on her own. Jacobs tweeted that Rucaya's love triangle was a "non-triangle" and he was correct.; love triangles need conflict and resolution which his plot never possessed. A successful version was 'Bee True' focusing on Mr. Feeney's relationship with Dean Lila Bolander. Stakes are intensified because if Feeney doesn't speed up his game, Bolander will reconcile with her ex-husband. What's more, 'Farkle's Choice' revolved around Farkle deciding which girl will escort him to an awards ceremony. Conversely, Rilaya's pranking and insulting for the privilege to date Farkle. With friendships splintering apart, Farkle denies them as his dates. Neither blonde nor brunette vies over Lucas, trying to seem forlorn that they love each other. "We'll check again tomorrow," Maya said, indicating that this indecision is a constant thing. It's admirable Lucas worries he'll ruin the girls' friendship but this doesn't happen and a catch-22 develops. If no one fights for him, there are no reasons for his delayed decision hence there's no reason to choose either girl.

Out of the ten love triangle episodes, two contain potential conflict those being 'Triangle' and 'High School 2.' After asking how the seniors resolved their love triangle, their response is that their triangle's lasted four years. Rucaya remained different from the seniors' conflict in that their triangle ended but the audience hadn't known that yet. Therefore Rucaya possibly could've repeated the seniors' mistakes. Continuing from 'High School' was 'Triangle' where our second conflict arises when Rilaya spied on two schoolgirls in the restroom. First Girl – symbolic of Riley – and Second Girl – symbolic of Maya – ended their friendship over their boyfriend (Second Girl: "I wish I never knew you!" First Girl: "I wish you never climbed through my bedroom window.") Implications are clear, if Maya and Riley don't – or won't – discuss their situation, their friendship will end. Like the above example, this consequence never came to fruition but some consequence needs to happen. No character investment translates into the audience not remaining invested with a prolonged triangle.

Technically, the 'Ski Lodge' fantasies have conflict, on the other hand since these daydreams happened in the teenagers' minds, neither girl fought for Lucas. Although the daydream sequences have merit when Maya/Riley intrude on the other's fantasy. Riley's correct in that Maya's Lucas Love isn't reality; flirtation and constant fighting destroy romance. Shortly afterward Maya destroys her relationship literally, and metaphorically, by detonating the bomb. Nonetheless, Maya is also correct in informing Riley of the "death of love" because, without effort, faith won't keep love alive.

Human characters often have tragic flaws, the triangle's Achille's Heel was its conclusion. Everyone dictated and defined the other's emotions; Josh defined Maya's feelings who in turn told instructed Lucas' actions on the matter. Joshaya's conversation is the most believable because Maya admits she doesn't like Lucas like the way she likes Josh. And she says this of her own volition. It doesn't excuse Riley was cheated the most, who had no input in the entire arc. Maya joked that Lucas would choose her – she did the same in 'Upstate' – and to tell Lucas he loved Riley. At each suggestion, Lucas appeared dumbfounded at Maya's statements. "Tell Riley you love her. It will make me happy," Since 'Yearbook' Riley was forced out of her Lucas relationship. Her classmates forced her out, later she'd forced herself out in 'Texas' and her friends doesn't give it a second thought. Half of Riley's other friends are fickle over her relationship. For this reason, Riley is chosen by default even though it's been foreshadowed since the pilot that Rucas were endgame. Couple this with the fact that Riley's the chosen one, but isn't given time to reflect on her feelings that she's who Lucas wants. Still, Rucas' conversation where they agree that what they do for themselves, they'll do for the other is heartwarming. Regardless of the outcome, Lucas fanatics would've been outraged either way. In the writers' defense 'Ski Lodge' had an advantage of moving the resolution in their favor, Josh was the sole character with credibility and unbiased perspective.

The longest scenes involved Josh in this two-parter and due to their duration, his role gains importance here. Actuality, Josh's return was originally in 'New Years' and Legacy' before Uriah Shelton's accident forced writers to alter the storyline. Moving on, the Rucaya trio all ask for Josh's input at some point in the episodes. Riley asked Josh why she and Maya liked the same boy, then Maya asked him why she acted in the ways she did. Not to mention, Lucas asked Josh what it meant that Riley and Evan talked all night. We can conclude that these three respect Josh's opinion and authority, so as the audience we're supposed to do the same.

Second-hand information is all Josh knows about this love triangle, but he's known Riley and Maya since childhood giving Josh some understanding of their personalities. He's aware that Riley's nurturing and open-minded whereas Maya's cynical and headstrong. But they're identical because both crave boyfriends who can broaden their horizons. Specifically, Maya desires an adventurous partner who can take down the world, as opposed to Riley craves a partner she can embrace the world with. Generally speaking, Josh has the triangle pieces, he doesn't have them all, but enough to make a judgment about the girls. Josh's unbiased behavior originates from the fact that no in this conflict has a clear perspective. Rucaya is biased because the conflict revolves them, with the supporting characters being unbiased because of their inconstancy. Zay is as indecisive as Lucas, and Smackle kept flirting with them. Farkle has a bias because he pressures Lucas' choice without grasping possible consequences himself. Also, it's assumed that Farkle wants Lucas to decide not just for his own mental peace, but more for the greater good of their clique. ('Triangle', 'Upstate') To say nothing of Evan wouldn't be fair, except he's only just met everyone, and show more affinity toward Riley. Lastly, the parents aren't unbiased because they will want Lucas for their own daughter. ('Upstate') What separates Josh from those listed is that he has no emotional stake allowing him a better perspective.

How I would've concluded the triangle is by denying Rucas and Lucaya to win because by having the girls reject Lucas, they're given roles of the romantic subject instead of the romantic object. With Rucas and Lucaya broke up, our protagonists learn two significant lessons: one, Maya and Riley learn fairy tale romances don't happen. Most importantly the trio – and audience – learn you are not owed a relationship, a boy/girl isn't a prize. Surprisingly, no one earned their relationship with each other; Lucas doesn't deserve them because he delayed deciding between the two years. Maya doesn't deserve Lucas because she never fought for her relationship, and Riley doesn't deserve it because she kept renouncing her Lucas relationship. By following a breakup outcome, the writers could have explored each characters' perspectives of their breakup. Does Maya eat ice cream, then punch a wall to deal with her heartbreak? Does Riley skip school, and go for walks to deal with her emotions? Maybe Lucas reverts into Texas Lucas before crying afterward. Anything would have been better than the canon ending.

Rival Couples

What makes Joshaya and Riarkle/Riarlie, and Rilaya popular is what made the Lucas pairings popular with the added reason of not wanting Lucas to get the girl. What separates Joshaya from Lucaya is that Joshaya is reciprocated and intentional. Riarkle I platonically and romantically shipped but in many ways I preferred Riley/Charlie over Riley/Lucas. 

Charlie Gardner wasn't as creepy except whenever Lucas confronted him over Riley. Charlie asks Riley to the spring formal and thinking he was Lucas she accepts his invitation. A hurt Lucas confronts them both and Charlie rightfully informs Lucas that if he wanted to date Riley he wouldn't have assumed that they were already going. When 'Texas 3' aired Lucas confronts them again with Charlie saying that if he was certain about Riley he wouldn't have agreed to date Maya. Lucas had his chance and Charlie wants his chance with her. This continues up until New Years Eve when Lucas argues with Charlie during the couple game, but Lucas being a creep isn't discussed after Smackle called him out on it. On the rooftop Charlie wants Riley standing with him at midnight then Riley tells him that he shouldn't settle for a girl who can't return his feelings. Charlie's saddened but not angry, and wishes that she find someone who can make her happy. Charlie even sits with Auggie (her brother) during the countdown to show he isn't angry at Riley. Like their classmates he is shocked at Farkle's revelation but nothing more. Consideration is what I liked about this couple even though Riley/Charlie lasted three episodes.

Complaints against Joshaya are: that Josh is a pedophile manipulating Maya's affections, Josh and Maya haven't known each other long enough to fall in love, and that they don't know anything about each other. What these statements mean is that said fans don't like Joshaya because it doesn't support their own pairing. 

Using the Boy Meets World timeline Josh is only 2 years, 6 weeks older than Maya. Eric was born June 1978 with Cory three years younger than Eric and  Josh born prematurely on Valentine's day 1999 when Cory's approximately 18 years old. Riley was born December 2001 and Maya says in 'Ski Lodge' that there's six weeks between her and Josh's birthdays. If Josh's birthday is 14 February then Maya's birthday falls on the last week of March or January. Technically Josh should only be a senior in high school and Maya a freshman by season three. 

Using Girl Meets World's timeline Joshaya's age difference still isn't illegal. When we're first introduced to Josh he is seventeen and has yet to graduate high school, and by season three Maya's fifteen and Josh is barely eighteen. With Romeo & Juliet laws if these two had sex it wouldn't be illegal. This is Disney Channel and the network bleeped out the sex-ed scene. Disney isn't going to tackle sexual relationships.

'Home for the Holidays' showed us that Maya and Josh haven't just met. Amy greets Maya by saying that it had been a while since they've seen her, and Josh says she grew up gorgeous. A stranger wouldn't have this familiarity like Maya and Josh do. Either Cory and Topanga bring Maya along with the family to Philadelphia often or Amy, Alan, and Josh visit New York often. Why the fandom thought this was Joshaya's first meeting was because of audience generations. Younger fans haven't heard of Joshua Matthews and this is their first time meeting this character. 1990s fans haven't seen this character in almost a decade and Josh seems strange because a new actor (Shelton) is portraying Josh instead of Jacobs' son. Jacobs confirmed in an interview that this wasn't the first time Joshaya met just that this is the first time Maya's developed a crush on him. Later Josh tells everyone in 'Game Night' that he'll be spending summer vacation with his brother and his family before beginning college. Maya and Josh will have three months to become more acquainted with one another.

Why I support this ship is that they are perceptive of each other. In 'Game Night' Josh realizing that Maya is maturing and in the ending of 'Tale Tot' admits that he needs to stop treating her like a child. During this episode, Maya says that she loves care caring he is around his family, particularly Auggie, and how he treasures his friendship with Cory. She admires how much he wants success but is afraid of letting his brother down. 

“I know you drive from Philadelphia to New York, not even looking if you got into NYU just so you could open your acceptance letter in front of your older brother because you love him, and you want him to be proud of you. And I see the way you are with Auggie. A little kid who looks up to you who you always have time for. And I know that even though you’d rather stay here with these girls, you’re going to walk Riley and me home. Because that’s just the kind of guy you are. I like you.” 

Maya's attracted to older boys because she's had to grow up faster than her peers. She wants someone who is ambitious. Finally, in 'Ski Lodge' it's Josh's turn to say what he's noticed about Maya. First off, he is fully aware that her feelings may change, pointing to her Lucas phase as an example, and that he crush on him maybe because she is searching for a father figure in a boyfriend. "Maybe it's because your dad left. Maybe it's because you've never felt that love." What he likes about her is that her experiences have made her one of the best friends anyone could have. He loves that her experiences have given her the warmest, biggest heart he's seen.

If three years are meaningless then why don't they date now? Since they aren't dating then doesn't that mean Josh is manipulating Maya?

No. It's awkward for Josh because he had seen Maya grow up and hasn't thought of her romantically yet. Maya's insecure about this when she sees him with the college recruiter or his roommates. ('First Date' and 'Tale Tot') During family game night Josh isn't unnerved by Maya's love and tolerates her flirting but he is still uncertain as to what it all means. By 'First Date' Josh's rejection by the recruiter allows him to empathize with Maya over her feelings toward him. By 'Ski Lodge' Josh gives his reason why they shouldn't date now. He doesn't want her pining after him for an eventually that may never come and that they should be on equal life levels before they begin dating. He reiterates this to Zay in 'Bear' by adding that whenever he and Maya date it will be Maya's decision in how they proceed. In 'New World' Rucas wanted to wait until they were ready but when Joshaya wants that too it's considered abusive or creepy. (And if the rumors were true the writers always intended to pairing Maya with a Matthews member. Before Elliot was written out the writers said Maya would end up with him.) I loved this because Josh is giving Maya a choice where Lucas never had. This is consent.

Who's to Blame: Jacobs or Disney?

Was Jacobs to blame with his sequel? No, his flaws were authorial intent and planning. Jacobs intended to gender-flip Boy Meets World, but he did not foresee a ship war and a broken fandom. He didn't intend for his new characters to regress into shallow imitations of Cory and Shawn. Over telling was the show's problem but from the beginning Jacobs had an uncertain audience. Generation Z was his targeted audience but teenagers may not be watching Disney Channel anymore and elementary school children comprise the network's audience. Children won't find a teenager's problems relevant yet. The 1990s generation sympathizes with Jacobs' plots but we're at different life experiences - college, children of our own – and we can't relate to them anymore. Who does Jacobs cater his storylines to?

Yet the Disney executive weren't blameworthy either. Hosting Girl Meets World was an intelligent decision on the network's part. Through the 1990s the Disney corporation fought for ABC/ABC Family networks and after Boy Meets World finished on ABC Family Disney Channel hosted reruns on its network. Taking on Girl Meets World would tap into the nostalgic market and help them sell merchandise and celebrities. When the series lost viewership mid-season 2 due to scheduling changes, this might have been why the love triangle was added into the storyline. The show made little income in terms of school supplies and dollar store book tie-ins. It's not surprising that Disney would prematurely cancel the show after three seasons. Consequently, canceling the show cemented the sequel's fate. If a host network can't remain invested in its own show, why should others like Netflix or Hulu invest in this show as well?

Conclusion

Comparing this show to Boy Meets World is unfair, by that comparison of course Girl Meets World is inferior. As a continuation, especially for a the Disney Channel this wasn't a bad show. What this show needed was a few more female writers and maybe another year to finetune Jacobs project, but I definitely would suggest Girl Meets World as a watchable television show.

http://gmw-trashs96.tumblr.com/post/134019376552/riley-matthews-metaish

http://sand1128.tumblr.com/post/157881155125/what-do-you-mean-severe-power-imbalance

https://mackmeta.tumblr.com/post/173838951689/accurate-girl-meets-world-colour-theories

http://fallen-karmacode.tumblr.com/post/132519063506/the-logic-of-love-stories-and-girl-meets-world

http://lewissimon.tumblr.com/post/155083626213/maya-and-lucas-vs-maya-and-josh-click-gifs-for

*1 Negative appropriation involves malicious intent, something Riley doesn't possess. Furthermore no one of Japanese descent offers their viewpoint so 'Popular' can't be considered negative appropriation. 'Girl Meets White Guilt' is an appropriate title instead of 'Popular.'

*2 Greek Loves are Storge, familial love; Eros, sexual love; Agape, universal love; Mania, obbssional love; Ludos, playful love; Pragma, practical love; Philia, brotherly love; and Philautia, self-love. Color Wheel theory of love describestromantic love using primary, secondary, and tertiary colours. For example Stogic Eros or Agapic Mania.

*3 The friend-zone doesn't exist. It blames girls for not reciprocating boy's feelings.

*4 Smurfvlogs is blinded by his shipping preferences to give a proper critique. Whether is Vampire Diaries or Disney programs he condemns opinions differing from his own. Better critics include: Lindsay Ellis (former Nostalgia Chick) who analyzes nostalgic shows without bias. Pop Culture Detective analyzes media that's detrimental to men and women. A great essay is Abduction As Love or Ellis' essay about RENT. The Disney Brain and Twisted Dan review Disney Channel work from Generation Z's perspective. And if you're look for shipping or theory channels, check out Shipper's Guide to the Universe or Game/Film Theory.

*5 plutoandferrett . tumblr post / 147762267190 / if-we-listened-to-fans-and-we-hear-about-lucaya

*6 The GMW wikia states that her birthday is 16 January, 2001. This may be a mathematical error or a continuity error.