#like sure if there is no choice but to kill someone because they represent a massive danger to human life

[dioslesbianwife]

Can I request the bucciarati gang with a partner who the person who made their clothes and it's a drama queen to the max.

Her saying that if they want to be mafia they have to do it in style and being the fashion police of the bucciarati gang.

Imagine their partner being dramatic because the red fabric she wanted is blood orange (some of them not seeing the difference between the colours 😭)

ooh sure, thank you for requesting and i hope you enjoy <33

Bruno

He tries to be patient, he really does. He loves you, he appreciates your creativity, but when you start dramatically sobbing over a “mismatched thread count,” he just quietly sips his espresso and waits for it to pass.

That said, he’s actually very grateful you care so much. His outfit is functional and stunning? He’s not complaining.

When you throw your arms around and cry, “BRUNO, IT’S BLOOD ORANGE, NOT SCARLET! MY EYES BURN FROM THE INJUSTICE,” he gently pats your back and whispers, “I’ll get the right fabric. Just breathe.”

Honestly, your dramatics entertain him. He thinks it’s charming.

Abbacchio

"It’s a shirt. It’s black. Who cares."

Wrong move. Dead silence. Then a gasp of pure betrayal.

“Who cares??! WHO CARES?? Leone, I spent 12 HOURS layering the undertones of that black to match your aura!”

He pretends to be annoyed, but he secretly loves the attention to detail. And when you call him your “dark prince of tragic tailoring,” he grunts- but his ears turn pink.

Will fight anyone who insults your fashion sense. He gets defensive. 

Mista

“Wait wait wait… you’re telling me this red isn’t red?”

“It’s vermillion.”

“What the hell is a vermillion??”

The very reason you carry around color swatches and have threatened to blindfold him if he wears orange and pink together again.

You’ve had full-on meltdowns over his beanie. He once tried to wash it himself and you screamed like someone burned the Mona Lisa.

Despite the chaos, he thinks you’re adorable. He’ll let you fuss over his accessories, as long as you scratch his head while you do it.

Brags about you constantly. “Yeah, my babe made this look. One of a kind. She said it’d bring out my sniper energy or whatever.”

Narancia

Is absolutely terrified of making you mad over clothes. You once cried over a clashing button and he hasn’t recovered.

“WAIT- is this the good red or the ‘forbidden blood orange’ red?!”

“That’s burnt sienna.”

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!”

Always tries to get your approval. “Do I look mafia cool now? Like someone who can kill and serve?”

Loves you dearly and will do literal catwalk spins if you ask him to. He lives for your dramatic praise.

“YOU LOOK LIKE A BULLET WITH A BILLBOARD, NARANCIA!”

“Yesss!! That’s what I wanted!!”

Trish

Your soulmate. Your aesthetic twin flame. Your fashion wife.

You speak in color gradients and emotional fabric choices.

“I’m thinking moody silk that screams ‘I’ve known loss and luxury.’”

“Darling. You read my soul.”

The two of you once cried for an hour because someone suggested brown shoes with a pink velvet suit.

You both agree: if someone wants to join your mafia family, they better be fitted. If not? “Return to sender. No drip, no deal.”

Trish fully supports your dramatics. She even fans you when you swoon over a missing sequin.

Fugo

You give him so much anxiety. He walks into the room wearing a slightly wrinkled jacket and you audibly gasp like he slapped your grandmother.

“Darling, I cannot- WILL NOT- let you represent Passione in that disgraceful crumple. Did you sit on this?”

He tries very hard to follow your rules, but he gets flustered. Especially when you chase him down with a lint roller while screaming, “I’LL DIE IF YOU DON’T MATCH THE THREADING, FUGO!!”

But despite his prickliness, he adores your passion. He thinks your devotion to style is beautiful.

And when you stay up late adjusting his collars and murmuring, “You deserve to look like a star,” it makes him blush so hard he pretends to yawn just to hide it.

Giorno

He’s a man of taste and elegance, so when you met, he deeply respected your devotion to aesthetics.

What he didn’t expect was you absolutely losing your mind over the shade of his jacket trim.

He’ll calmly listen to your critiques, nod thoughtfully, and then say something infuriating like,

“I trust your vision. But if you faint again in the middle of dinner because Mista wore plaid, I’m sending you home in a cab.”

He’s the only one who can talk you down mid-fabric-crisis.

You: “GIORNO THEY SENT CORAL INSTEAD OF ROSEWOOD, I’M GOING TO WALK INTO THE OCEAN.”

Giorno, gently holding your face: “I will personally fly to Paris and get you the rosewood. Please don’t drown yourself over a swatch, amore.”

[rachetmath]

Long skit. Read at your own time.

Ruby: Hey Jaune.

Jaune: Sup Rubes?

Ruby: Let's say you were in charge. How would you have handled the Robyn and Ironwood situation?

Jaune: … … … Fourth wall break.

Me: What?

Jaune: You are still on this? come on man.

Me: Fine. Just one more time.

Jaune: For real?

Me: For real.

Ruby: What the-?

Jaune: Okay. Ruby you… weren't entirely wrong not to trust James but… it felt out of pocket.

Ruby: Jaune, Leon tried to kill us. Ozpin lied to us.

Jaune: Yeah… but Ironwood was different. He bailed your team out multiple times. I can't trust him because he hasn't done crap for me. Plus he knew about Pyrrha. Remember Qrow told us first about Salem. And Ironwood implied it by knowing the information before we even told him anything. I trust you though so I did not have a choice.

Ruby: But you-

Jaune: Yeah I got smug with him, but, I stepped down because I didn't want to go too far. However, nothing I said was false considering the circumstances. Especially with Mantle.

Ren: Jaune, the things that were going on in Mantle were temporary and things would get better once we were done with Amity.

Jaune: … Are you a f- Fiona!

Fiona: Hm.

Jaune: Fiona you are a better candidate for Mantle so please tell me was Mantle any better before all of this happened?

Fiona: No, no, it wasn't. We were already struggling financially. People were still poor but at least had steady jobs—until they got laid off. Grimm attacks were common but got worse due to the negativity, and we barely had defenses.

Ren: Which Mantle destroyed!

Jaune: Which were completely useless to begin with. The only one who defended Mantle better than all of us was Penny.

Nora: So basically it wouldn't have mattered if Amity was launched or not, nothing would have changed?

Fiona: Nope. At least not in a short amount of time.

Jaune: Wow then, um, hey.

Me: what?

Jaune: Think you can… you know…

Me: Sure.

Ironwood: *appears* What the?

Jaune: Ironwood, question.

Ironwood: Um, what?

Jaune: Let's say Amity Arena was no longer an option. What would have been your plan if that were to happen?

Ironwood: … … …

Jaune: That was your only plan wasn't it?

Ironwood: But it was a good one. It's worth fighting for.

Jaune: So instead of preparing Mantle for a fight. Trying to calm them down. Catching Tyrian, who we knew was there. And instead figuring shit out. Making compromises. We have been playing cat and mouse. so none of us had our priorities were f**** straight?

Ruby: I mean-

Jaune: You gave the relic to Oscar knowing full damn well he wasn’t up to speed in combat yet. Which he lost to Neo. Then his dumbass went to talk to Ironwood knowing damn well he was willing to even put him on a wanted poster. Even though Oscar was the most honest with him.

Ruby: …. …..

Jaune: Now, if I started questioning James earlier, then I would have been questioning you and your authority because I was following your lead. Believe me, you would not want me to do that because I will treat you like Qrow and Ozpin. As an adult. And if I found out you didn’t have a plan either, I probably would have gone rogue and kept secrets from you.

Fionna: Wow.

Yang: Jaune I already-

Jaune: I mean if I have to kill someone if it means that plan would work, I would. And though I advocated for Robyn, that doesn’t mean I trust her.

Robyn: Wait what?

Jaune: Hell yeah, you were just lesser evil. You were stranger to me. But then you became a problem. Shit, I should have at least captured May or Fionna. Probably because they haven’t shown any combative skills.

Nora: Okay then-

Jaune: Where are you coming from?

Nora: Not important. Let's say I suggest we reason with them. How would you do that?

Jaune: Again, that would be Fionna.

Robyn: Excuse me.

Jaune: Again Fionna is a better representative for Mantle, not just for being born there but also is Faunus. She’s basically the gray area between Marrow and Blake philosophies, who both would give a biased answer with no solutions to the problem.

Blake: Hey-

Jaune: You shut up. You don’t do shit for your people. I hope your dad plows your mom later on because they need another kid. After all, you were a mistake.

Blake: … … …

Jaune: Bellabooty ass hoe. And Robyn is just a discount Yang with an Ironwood personality. Stubborn as hell with a stick up their asses.

Robyn: *gasp*

Yang: Hey-

Jaune: *slaps Yang*

Yang: *shocked*

Jaune: Get the f*** out of here you bastard child.

Yang: *leaves*

Jaune: Anyways. If Fionna told me what we could have done to help Mantle more than what Atlas ‘recommended’ we do, she probably wouldn’t need the supplies anymore and return them. But before I would do any of that, again, I would have needed Penny back on duty. Meaning I would’ve forced Robyn to say Penny is innocent by using her semblance on Penny. Which is the semblance everyone in Mantle knows about.

Weiss: Okay but what about my-

Jaune: Almost everything Mantle uses is from the SDC. From the voting poles and heat vents. If we had put those together the puzzle would have fallen in place.

Ruby: Wait so basically why didn’t we just divide and conquer?

Jaune: Exactly. Anyway, Weiss, your father would have been under suspicion so his role as a council member would not be official yet. So that would have given us more time. I may not be able to stop Ironwood but at least give Mantle a fighting chance. And not only that none of us have been bouncing information to one another. I mean we could have taken the city with us. Or maybe put the people in Mistral or Argus.

Weiss: Wow.

Jaune: Honestly I really should have done more. Like I don't blame Ren for being mad at me. I could have done more. I should have been questioning you especially after Heaven and Argus.

Ruby: Jaune -

Jaune: Not just you but Ironwood too. Watts wasn't smart, we were just so stupid and stubborn that we didn't bother seeing our enemy was right in front of us.

Ruby: Jaune-

Jaune: Like Mantle had so many things wrong with it. From the cameras, the androids, the robots and its defense. The treatment of its civilians. Like seriously, if we had just put Amity on hold we could have done better.

Ren Jaune -

Jaune: And let's say we could have prepared Mantle, still lost and had to evacuate them. We brought them to the most dangerous kingdom in all of Remnant. How foolish.

Ironwood: And that's why-

Jaune: Shut up. Cause James, Atlas had it coming. Its-

Me: No, let me. Ironwood, your military, even the Kingdom deserved what it got. You treat Faunuses like slaves. You never keep your people in check and make me question you all the time. Like Argus. Yeah we can blame the kids for the majority but the woman who decided to flex a giant mech over a plane hijack. What the hell?

Ironwood: … …

Me: Then your soldiers have to look like the very machines you created. It's no wonder no one trusts them and it was easy to frame you. It's almost like they were trained to be the same and work as a union meanwhile keeping their individual personalities away. Probably because they were in Atlas for too long and they forgot what home or having a spine looked like. Crazy.

Ironwood: … … …

Me: Face it. Atlas was already ready to start another war. You flex your power, trying to show the world that Atlas is its biggest factor yet still refuse to humble yourselves when it comes to the rest of the world. Watts was right about you. You want control. Nothing else.

Watts: Ratchet even though you hate me I am still the smartest character in the show!

Me: No the fuck you are not!

Watts: What?

Me: Dude, remember, you were handed the win. Again, if our characters had figured shit out. Had their priorities in order. What would have been your back up plan?

Watts: Um.

Me: Not to mention, you didn't survive Atlas. You died.

Watts: Um.

Me: Then the fight with Ironwood. Bullshit. How does a scientist manage to keep up with a soldier especially in hand to hand combat? Plot.

Watts: Well Penny -

Me: Man don't get me started on how you messed up with Penny.

Watts: … ….

Me: Matter of fact. I'm going in today.*snap 🫰*

Characters from Rwby I needed to appear.

Me: Neo. Baby. I love you. But you - oo. Oo. You beat Yang in a 1v1. You held your own against Cinder, I don't care what anyone said you could have killed the bitch. You fought team Jnpr in a 4v1. Which I will say the writers sabotaged them because they should have given you more trouble. But you struggled against Maria. Maria who hasn't been a huntress or in combat situations for years. How?!

Neo: 🥺.

Me: Jaune you did good but… you should have been fighting more. I'll explain more in a few. Oscar, you did well, I mean you still dumb as hell but you did your best.

Oscar: Okay.

Me: Now you two I can't excuse. Well one of you. Nora, you could have done better. You should have been more screen time. But Ren-

Ren: *turn away*

Me: Nah-Nah, don't turn away from me Ren. Ren. Ren, look at me. Look at me! Where were hands? Where were your hands Ren? Cause so far you been spamming the same fucking move! Like god- I can't believe I'm saying this but Jaune can beat you.

Ren: … …

Ruby: Um Rat-

Me: Shh. Now you and your team. You all managed to beat the Ace ops in a fight. A 4v4 fight.

Ruby: Yep.

Weiss: We were excellent.

Blake: We did.

Yang: No problem.

Me: So tell me why could none of you manage to fight Cinder. Let only touch her. Matter of fact, when the Ace-ops pulled up on you again, what happened?

Blake: I mean we did land a hit on Cinder.

Me: Understood but… y'all have the biggest cheat code and that's Ruby. But then Neo knocked Yang off in one move to save Ruby then proceeded to whoop all of you. No effort.

Blake: Wow. Excuse us for going through emotions. We just watched our team mate theoretically die.

Weiss: Plus, she had to put in a little effort.

Cinder: Like hell. I was disrespecting you girls completely. The only one who managed to be on par with me was Penny.

Me: Who all of you nerfed to hell by making her human. Once again the villains are handed the win. Y'all played yourselves. But let’s get on topic on why I summoned you all here. What I notice in this show is not just horrible character development for most of you but in combat for all of you, I notice a heavy amount of skill issues.

RWBY characters: what?!

Me: Like you Ren. Bro your weapon works. It helps you close the distance to engage with enemies. You can throw them like boomerangs. And they have grappling hook functions. But you lack the skill to use them for some reason. Again what happened to your martial arts training? Like you could have been on Vine and Emeralds level but no you are a waste. Instead of spending training time on meditating you should have been training on how to use them and corporate them into your fighting style. If you had one.

Ren: *silent*

Nora: Hey don't be too hard on him.

Me: The man was talking loud at the wrong people instead of the bitch who caused the problem. And he barely amounted to shit in the volumes. And his semblance evolving is trash. Fuck his feelings. He should have died along with his parents.

Nora: Shit.

Me: Ruby, your weapon upgrade is impractical. In fact I barely noticed it until someone pointed it out.

Ruby: Um.

Me: Like you showed skill in wielding a scythe. It’s unnecessary. And you have dust in your bullets. Use them. At this point I'm questioning if you had any training. Weiss.

Weiss: … …

Me: Bitch you cannot be that rusty that you don't remember how to use your weapon along with your semblance. Like you have the best semblance in the show and it’s versatile. There is no excuse for you losing half the time. Quit trying to summon your henchman and fight. Blake.

Blake: …. ..

Me: They should have given you katana in my opinion but if it ain't broke don't fix it. Still girl… …. what happened to that one move you used back when you were fighting Roman? Like you could have taught Jaune that move.

Blake: I mean-

Me: And what happened to your counter game? Do you remember how your semblance works? And again you have dust. Use the shit!

Blake: … … …

Me: Yang.

Yang: …. ….

Me: In the volume seven open credits, why never you used that move once?

Yang: … … …

Me: I could say more like you being able to launch yourself in the air. Or how you could have saved Oscar by placing your bombs around the grim and using it as a smokescreen to grab him. But I digress. Still you never use that move once, I almost thought I was seeing a dragon fist. It was beautiful. Why have you never used that?

Yang: … … Um.

Me: I really hate you. Now for you three. Jaune my boy.

Jaune: … …

Me: what happened to your grandsword mode?

Jaune: I don't know. Pietro must have removed it.

Me: Cause you really could have done some serious damage. Like you should have been doing way more. Like I understand you're the healer, but… healers are supposed to be protected, and I don't recall anyone but Ruby protecting you. Plus just because you're a healer you know how to fight. Basically you're not a healer, you're a Druid. Plus rarely anyone in this show needs healing, beside Weiss, Ren and Oscar sorry butts. You're not just a Druid but basically a Red mage.

Jaune: Well-

Me: like bro if Vine had taught you well which he didn't. Or if you actually took the time to learn how to do that. Or if the writers gave a damn and the fan base doesn't have this beef with you. You would have been doing shit like this.

Jaune: Aw man, b-but my grandsword mode only provides me with more offensive options but no defense.

Me: You had a magnetic hard light dust mini grenade shield.

Jaune: Oh my God!

Me: To clarify, unlike these five with skill issues while having enough, you and Nora should have way more options in your bag now. Like Nora, why don't you carry lighting dust on deck or wear an electric collar or something so you can use your semblance whenever you want?

Nora: That… does make sense.

Me: If not that then you really should have been a maiden. Mainly because of the theory of Fria being your grandmother.

Nora: Are you serious?!

Me: Hinse why I hate both Ren and Oscar. You two should have been the main focus of the Atlas arc, along with Yang, Ruby and Weiss. Especially if you two together counter Atlas technology. Like Nora you didn't need to be passed out for most of the volume if Jaune was with you.

Oscar: Woah man I -

Me: *slaps Oscar*

Oscar: … … …

Me: Look Oscar. I hate you. I-I wish… I wish Hazel killed you. You are a waste of f***** air. You are just the solution of cry baby fans who hated Jaune so much that they would settle for a new character. You get all this power and still get whooped. Leave my site. Now.

Oscar: *walks off*

Me: Dumbass kid gets all that power meanwhile everyone else stays stagnant.

Cinder: Well-

Me: Jaune is always ready to fight you. Ruby can beat you with a glance. Penny could have killed you. Neo could have killed you. Shit Raven should have killed you. You even lost to Winter who just got the maiden powers by a few seconds after Jaune killed Penny. Remember you have to gang up on Amber to get those powers. Humble yourself. And remember you are Salem's weakest link so far. At this point, Cinder, I really think Pyrrha died because of the plot and her just being stupid.

Pyrrha: Hey.

Summer: What-

Me: F you Summer. We still don’t know jack about you. It’s been nine volumes and we still have no clue on what happened to you. Like I said y’all be selling the win.

Rwby characters: … … …

Me: I should end this here but- I think I should explain. Jaune, Weiss, Yang and Nora. You four should have gone to Atlas. Again Jane and Nora counter Atlas technology with their weapons. Nora didn't need to be knocked out.

JWNY: … …

Me: Nora, out of all people you could’ve asked for advice on anything, you chose Blake. The girl who has a record of not steady relationships. Really?

Nora: I mean-

Me: I say Jaune would be a better person to ask considering he wanted a relationship with Pyrrha. Plus, he has a different perspective of Ren. He may know something about him that you don’t. Plus you two barely talk to each other, so a moment between you two would have been good, at least so we can see you as a team.

Rwby fan: Damn he’s right.

Me: Believe me I think Jaune and Hazel should have fought each other, but Jaune vs Ironwood is three times better. Fights don't always have to be psychical. They can be a game of chess. Jaune vs Ironwood is a battle between two leaders with different ideals and leadership methods. Ironwood doesn’t care how you feel, when you barks an order, he expects you to do it. Jaune on the other hand doesn’t just bark orders. He explains the order but is welcome to input. Really James is Jaune.

Rwby fan: Damn.

Me: Yang and Weiss could have been arguing over Ruby’s actions with Weiss defending her and calling Yang out on her bull crap. Then when it comes to Whitely Yang calls Weiss out on her attitude with her family. The show has so far shown us multiple times that these girls talk to each other more than they talk to their partners. Why is Atlas any different?

Rwby fan: Damn.

FreezerBurn fan: DAMN IT!

Me: Ruby, Oscar, Ren and Blake. Beside the three having the physical training, powers and tools to navigate the city. In fact, if Blake has White Fang experience shouldn’t she know how to drive. In fact, if Jaune and Ren are capable of riding hover bikes I don’t see how you two, Ruby and Blake, can’t ride one as well.

Ren: But without Jaune-

Me: *irritated* What has that training been for?

Ren: … … …

Me: Struggle Sasuke- man you are worse than Megumi. Anyways everything happens the same. Except when the hound appeared Ruby tried to use her silver eyes but they didn’t work. Which is a bigger shock than it being capable of speech. And even if you guys could retrieve Oscar who to say the hound couldn’t make the Grimm surround all of you and force you to give Oscar back or just take all of you to Salem. Again, Salem wanted Ruby from the start.

Salem: Yeah he’s not wrong.

Me: The only alternative is instead of everyone on Ruby’s team being captured, Ren and Blake escape while Ruby along with Oscar are captured.

Ren: But then we’ll be trapped in the snow.

Me: You both have training and experience, I’m sure you both are capable of surviving. Also if the Amity started working you could have just called Fiona and she would track your call and find you. Or May could have found you considering she had a plane. Or if you still got captured by the Ace ops and still went into battle with them, you could have, I don’t know, called your friends and let them know what happened.

Ruby: But if I’m imprisoned then Neo and Cinder will find out and try to kill me.

Salem: Cinder would but I have her on a leash.

Me: Plus, Neo has a habit of toying with her enemies. Torturing someone is not far for her. Plus Salem gave Neo what she wanted more than Cinder did. Neo is basically repaying Salem by interrogating you for the password.

Neo: * “True” face*

Me: Now Penny, I would have kept her experience the same. The difference is Jaune could actually save her along with her father. Pietro should have had a way to come back and save his daughter.

Penny: How so? I fell from the sky!

Me: I know it's a stretch but if Jaune was training using his semblance to recharge his aura faster than normal he could jump after you and try to catch you.

Jaune fan: Son of a -!

Me: And Penny with your last bit of consciousness of yourself, you in turn save Jaune from certain death. Sadly, when you were found by Weiss-

Weiss: Wait I was with Jaune? Then where were-

Me: Jaune if the Ace-ops stole Penny’s sword instead of trying to capture her would that not be suspicious?

Jaune: Yeah… I mean though Penny could stand her ground the Ace-ops has the upper hand. Plus with how stubborn they are especially Harriet and Elm they wouldn't settle for less. Unless they were ordered.

Me: So with that in mind would you have gone to Pietro?

Ruby: Ratchet just because I was willing to send Penny to Amity to lay low doesn't mean -

Jaune: WHAT?!

Ruby: … …

Jaune: You planned to leave our most valuable friend on Amity, alone.

Ruby: It was to keep her safe.

Jaune: Okay. Again. Why did you let her go alone?

Ruby: Um.

Me: Jaune did she tell you Cinder was in Atlas?

Jaune: … … How long?

Me: A while. She also saw her in the maiden’s room.

Jaune: … …. *Eyes twitching*

Ruby: Jaune-

Jaune: Don't. Say. Anything. To me.

Me: Yeah y'all need to start relaying information to one another. Anyways Weiss you along with Jaune helped get a message out about Salem. Though it still wouldn't have made a difference for Atlas and Mantle. But then Nora calls Jaune from where her and Yang, under Jaune's orders, continue to defend Until you heard Ruby's team went away. I would explain more but I know I'm not going to get likes or repost on this so I'll end this here. Still the fact that none of you have a role, know how to use your abilities to their fullest and having little to no brain cells proves Atlas was screwed from the start.

[maidenvault]

The kind of wild thing about “The clone troopers are slaves” is well, yeah, they don’t have the rights of citizens and were created and sold as property, so of course they are, but also everything people would say means they have no real choice about fighting is…kind of broadly true about lots of soldiers, especially in the context of U.S. politics that often informed George Lucas’s world-building.

“The oath they took to the Republic wasn’t informed consent because they were young and basically indoctrinated.” Well, lots of countries effectively indoctrinate people through their own nationalist/pro-military propaganda and use military recruitment tactics specifically targeting people too young and stupid to grasp the gravity of risking their lives and killing people. And honestly, maybe nobody can really join an army with 100% perfectly sound informed consent. You can’t truly know what you’re in for and what fighting in a war will be like when you sign over your life like that.

“They can’t try to leave without risking getting tried for desertion.” Clones aren’t cowards, they aren’t exactly locked up when they’re off duty, and they’re basically the best soldiers in the galaxy. Many of them are capable of pulling it off if they actually wanted to run, and at least some we know of do (Cut, and Cody after the war). But yeah, generally in any war nobody really likes being there and soldiers don’t have the choice to just leave whenever they want to. A Jedi could face court-martial for abandoning their post just as a clone trooper could.

“After the war many want to keep serving but they’re all just discarded like old equipment with no government support.” Surely I don’t have to explain this one. In the U.S. it’s a favorite tradition to fuck over our own veterans when they get back from war, denying them the assistance they need and even the benefits they were promised.

The clones’ role in the war is not like that of the U.S. military in any war in recent history. They aren’t recruited to commit atrocities in a place they have no right to invade. They know the difference between right and wrong and prove to be not so easy to control as experience in the field and the influence of their Generals make them more independent. Many clones who survive the war don’t live to regret their service because the Separatists being a threat orchestrated to pave the way for something even worse didn’t make them any less of a real and imminent threat to defenseless people. Though Rex naturally seems to have had complicated feelings about it, later in life he at least doesn’t seem to feel like their sacrifices were all for nothing.

But the clone troopers serve as a reminder that war always has a great cost. No one with good intentions wants war and only a pretty naïve person wants to fight in one. But even when fighting in a war is justified and necessary, someone has to be sacrificed and it’s always ugly. They often become kind of faceless and dehumanized in the narrative because that’s easier. And that’s the cost that leaders often don’t weigh enough when making choices about war, and they often aren’t prepared to actually support the people who fought on their behalf when it’s over.

Of course the clones’ story is especially tragic in ways that are specific to them, and because of their nature as clones. The Kaminoans treat them like things. The general public they’re fighting to defend tend to see them as kind of subhuman because it’s more comfortable for them to. And the inhibitor chips totally take away what agency and individuality they have at the end of it all. But in shows that actually deal with people being traded as slaves at times, that word as I remember is never used in relation to the clones throughout TCW or TBB. I don’t know if George ever talked about thinking of the clones as more of a metaphor for drafted soldiers or something, but there are more universal truths about the horrors of war represented by the clone troopers that I think can be missed when they’re always viewed so literally as slaves.

[casscainmainly]

I feel like part of the reason Bruce is so concerned with Cass being “perfect” is because he projects onto her and sees her supposed perfection as a justification or validation for his choices as Batman. Kinda like, “See? My whole obsessive crusade and pursuit of becoming the best version of Batman, even at the expense of my humanity and relationships, is worth it because here is an example that is inherently perfect”. Except of course she’s not perfect, she’s human, and acknowledging Cass’s humanity ruins his little power fantasy of himself. Meanwhile Cass is like, I can’t be perfect if I can’t connect and communicate with other people.

This is an interesting take! I agree that Bruce projects onto her, though I'm not as sure it's because he sees her as a justification for his choices as Batman. I also wouldn't personally call it a power fantasy - though Bruce for sure maps himself onto Cass, I see it as more of a genuine desire to connect with/see himself in someone, rather than an egotistical desire to see her as an extension of himself. (The latter is more representative of David Cain).

If we look at issue 4, where the 'perfect' quote comes from, there's a moment right before that is equally important to understanding Bruce's conception of Cass:

"It wouldn't have looked this way to anyone else." That anyone else is vital - it shows that Bruce not only thinks he understands Cass, but that he is the only one who understands Cass. His disbelief at Cass killing someone is not only a disbelief that someone with his code can have killed, but the bitter surprise that he does not understand Cass as well as he thought.

Bruce genuinely believes he can help Cass, and this belief is predicated on the idea that he knows Cass. That they are similar - that he's found a kindred spirit. Does this boost his ego? Absolutely, and the 'perfect' throughline shows that. But fundamentally it's his love for Cass, and his desire to help her, that makes him unable to see her as her own person. Because it is so much easier to help someone you think you know everything about than someone you realise you don't know at all.

There's also the wider context of Jason Todd, and how 'perfection' means Bruce being able to trust Cass with keeping herself alive. And that, given their conversation in #9, Bruce knows that Cass herself wants to be like Bruce. His desire for her to be like him is multifaceted: it is 100% what you said about him projecting onto her, but it's also his wish to keep her safe, his belief that it's what she wants, and his earnest desire that their shared understanding will help her. So you're totally right, but his view of Cass really defies simple categorisation (which is why we can have so many different takes that are all valid and interesting!).

[boyfriendtodeathconfessional]

In BTD2, after he convinces the MC to kill Lawrence and the right steps are taken, Ren will tearfully confess his backstory; how one of Strade's captives got loose, mortally wounding him, and dying in the process. Strade began bleeding out and screaming at Ren to help him. Ren took the time to do... nothing. Strade died from his wounds, and Ren begs the MC to give an explanation as to why he couldn't bring himself to save Strade.

As I said in my previous post about Ren and Lawrence's relationship, Strade was the first person in Ren's life who actually made him feel needed. So why did Ren abandon Strade when he needed him the most? Some might say it's because Ren was finally able to get one up on him, that Strade finally showed weakness. Except Ren knows when and where Strade sleeps. He's intimately familiar with Strade's habits and weaknesses and is capable of seriously harming/killing Strade if he really wanted to.

"Ren is much smaller and weaker than Strade!" And in some of Ren's routes, he pulls a gun on MC. He clearly knows where Strade kept the gun, how to access it, and how to use it. So physically, there was nothing preventing him from escaping/killing Strade if he really wanted to. "What if Strade killed him in the process?!" We think Strade would have never gotten bored with Ren or he wouldn't have accidentally taken the torture sessions with him too far because of... his strong moral compass? His love for Ren? Whether Strade killed him for fighting back or from his lack of knowledge in anatomy and physiology, the outcome is still the same. There was something else keeping Ren there.

As I said, Strade and Ren weren't just captor-captive or lovers, they were also rivals. You may think this would be an incentive for Ren to get him out of the way, but you are mistaking the word 'rival' for 'nemesis'. A rival competes with you, yes, but always in the interest of you bettering yourself so they have a greater challenge to face. It's why Ash Ketchum never crashed out and used his Charizard to set Gary Oak's house on fire.

Strade may have been a monster, but as Gato has said in many ask blogs, he was a self-assured monster. He had no remorse for his actions, and to a rival, that is comforting. He represented everything Ren wished he could be: confident, respected, charming. More than anything else, he knew his place in the world, and to someone who has spent his entire life in confusion like Ren has, that is the holy grail of fulfillment (I don't think it's any coincidence that Ren's father was a human whom he never knew, thus ensuring Ren would always be torn between two worlds, never fully belonging to either).

When Ren saw Strade bleeding out, the reality of Strade's choices came crashing down on top of him. This guy wasn't invincible. He wasn't any kind of actual monster. He was just... a guy. A guy who could bleed, be overpowered, and even killed by his prey. Sure, intellectually, he probably knew that, but it hits a lot different knowing it versus experiencing it right in front of you.

Even though you know the mascot in front of you at Disneyworld isn't actually Mickey Mouse, it becomes way more shocking when he takes the head off to vomit in the hedges from a hangover. Way more so than just a regular guy doing it. Even though you know it's just a guy, and no one is immune from the temptation/effects of alcohol, the illusion is shattered, and you're left standing there wondering what the fuck you're doing with your life.

Could you imagine the torrent of emotions that Ren must have felt when he saw Strade bleeding on the floor? Shock from the new experience. Relief from not needing to fear him anymore. Terror of an uncertain future. Sadness at losing his lover and only friend. Betrayal at Strade depriving him of his rival and thus his place in the world. He froze because that was all he could do. -☢️

.

[kneelingshadowsalome]

I am politely asking for a bit more on Königs son the angst is so yummy 🥺

König loves his baby boy... Until it starts to talk.

He absolutely adores the baby when it’s born, he can’t sleep at nights because he has to go and check if the boy is still breathing in the crib. König loves to hold him close and rock him in his lap, wants to give him baths and even changes the diapers, is so invested in the little chubby nugget that it’s a bit perplexing to see him so babbly cuddly towards someone who isn’t this poor Prince’s mother.

But when the boy doesn’t need him so much anymore, when he starts to show independence and express his own will, starts to walk and run and hide and talk back to him, it makes König uncomfortable.

He’s not in control anymore, he’s not needed. He’s the one who’s always away, he’s the unfamiliar face, the stern voice, the “strange man”, the one who makes the boy look angry or afraid. He becomes the bad guy.

It’s not bullying if his own son doesn’t prefer him, König knows it. But it still hurts to feel like an alien in his own home. It feels like a personal insult to be the last choice once again.

König’s son sees his father as a judge, a tyrant, a competitor because every time he’s home, mum’s all hearts and smiles. The parent who’s supposed to represent the whole world to our Prince suddenly becomes weak and clingy and needy.

And for what? For some big foreign man who stares him down as if he’s nothing but dirt under his boot. Asks him if he’s been nice to mum and if he’s helped her with the chores. When mum’s not in hearing distance, König tells him he shouldn’t trouble her with his crying and whining... If he’s nice and behaves, König will bring him toys from his “work trips”.

He rarely brings any because “he couldn't find anything”. Mum is the one who gets foreign delicacies, perfumes and the like. König’s son soon understands it doesn't matter how well he behaves because it will never be enough.

In his dreams, he tries to kill König every now and then. The old bastard only laughs. He laughs, even in his dreams because he’s weaker than him, not a threat at all, only entertaining when he gets mad… He laughs and just won't die.

Mum comes first, always. Whatever she says is the law. Whatever she wants, she shall have. The way his father worships this woman is eerie, disturbing, and invokes so much jealousy that König’s son is not sure who he’s even supposed to be jealous of. This stupid fucker or his mum who seems to lose brain cells every time this dick returns home and disturbs their peace?

Girls are both Madonnas and whores to him after he has watched this tyrant become a babbling, spineless mess over an upset woman. The world quakes everytime his mum is unhappy because her happiness is paramount. The only time he has seen König in tears was when his mum refused to talk to him one evening: the argument was about him, of course, and how König should apologize to their son, not to her. It takes manipulation and a passive aggressive lioness to make König say he’s sorry, but it does nothing to help the situation, quite the contrary. Who would give a fuck about a forced apology?

König’s son becomes a covert people pleaser who feels lonely wherever he goes. He’s a mama’s boy whose father seemingly hates him, an angel and a demon in one man, someone who believes his worth is measured by the things he achieves in life. How well he performs, how much money he makes, how independent he becomes. With women, another one always bites the dust, with work, he never seems to find his passion. And wherever he goes, whatever he does, nothing is ever enough.

The only way for these two to find a common ground is if the poor Prince manages to settle down with some patient, loving woman who gives him a child. A grandson or a granddaughter would make König fold and become a babbling mess once more; he's so pathetic and harmless with the baby that no one can be angry at him even if they wanted to. König would kill anyone and everyone who tried to hurt his family, even a blind man can see that.

Reconciliation happens slowly but surely, even if it's another kind of hurt to see the old man give this child all the love his son would've begged his knees bloody for. But beggars can't be choosers (and apparently a king's son has no crown), luckily König becomes softer in the head as he ages so a time may come when he thinks back on what he's done and finds the balls to wholeheartedly apologize. Might demand a touching family Christmas dinner and some whiskey though.

[lordgeneralsix]

reckoning – a dissection

kcd2 has incredible quests from beginning to end, but reckoning has to be my favourite purely because of what it represents. it hasn't left my mind since i first played it, so I wanted to take a step back from my own feelings to share why I believe it’s such a strong quest narratively and thematically—as well as present defences for all three objectives and their outcomes rather than wave them off as bad writing or out of character behaviour.

(kcd2 spoilers under the cut. 2k words)

the heart

reckoning, I believe, is the culmination of henry’s three personal drives: avenge his parents, find martin’s sword, and protect hans.

through this quest, henry has the chance to make decisions that align with each drive: kill markvart, find samuel, and/or get help.

but you don’t know where markvart, sam, or the horses are. and finding the horses is the only mandatory objective, making markvart and sam completely missable if you don’t go out of your way for them (especially for markvart as it takes more effort to get to him than to sam). this is intentional, as your choices reveal your priorities. is revenge more important than aid? would you risk suchdol for one reckless man? or do you leave, hoping markvart will get what he deserves one day and that sam will be okay on his own. if you’re careful, you can achieve all three, but the cost of wasting time might risk suchdol falling.

the plan

it was obvious from the plan’s conception that it was a suicide mission. someone had to sneak out of suchdol, find a horse, and get a message to jobst. the two brothers alone are tasked with this burden as hans is told once again it’s not safe for him to join—better to send people of little consequence than risk a noble hostage once more. henry is sure of the plan, we know he’ll get the job done or die trying, but sam’s assertion that he had unfinished business beyond the walls meant nothing good if you paid any attention to his behavior and why he joined the devil’s pack in the first place—I’ll tell you it wasn’t because he wanted to make friendship bracelets.

with little time to make preparations, it’s time to leave; salvation on henry’s mind, vengeance on sam’s, and the fate of suchdol on their shoulders...

(for the sake of not going over the same points, I’ve grouped each drive with each objective into three sections and it goes as follows: the past - confronting markvart, the present - finding and saving sam, the future - finding and leaving sam. “henry’s hope” logic applies to leaving without looking for sam or markvart as well)

the vow

henry never forgot his vow to find markvart von aulitz no matter the cost. thanks to the dry devil’s lethal shot to markvart’s chest, henry now has a chance to meet the man face to face, to get answers, and his revenge. markvart tells henry he won’t make it till morning, but who knows. people have survived worse, and henry can’t risk even the slightest chance of him surviving this.

markvart speaks to henry without the armour and finery, man to man. it’s a strange conversation. one that would never have occurred had the devil not declawed him. only, it’s different than confronting istvan. their words are similar, telling you once again that "war is a nasty business" yet you feel markvart believes his cause is a necessary evil rather than playing the victim. it’s unnerving how calm he is. you’ve seen this before at maleshov, how von bergow and erik’s words were wrapped in malice, but markvart’s remained cold and assured. this is not the same devil henry saw in his nightmares, and you wonder if there may be any truth to his words. your enemies were people too, fathers, brothers, orphans who were forced into the war just like henry. it's a strange thing to look into your enemy's eyes and see their humanity staring back.

whether you choose to listen or wave off his mad ramblings, you’re left with a choice. though it seems fate shows her twisted sense of humour once more, because it doesn’t matter what you do; the devil already killed him a month ago. all henry would be doing is getting his hands dirty for the satisfaction of saying he finally avenged his parents. you can fulfill markvart's wish for a dignified death, or give him the same kindness he gave your parents. regardless of what you do with him; his fate is sealed.

if you choose to let him bleed out, you can find him again in the morning where henry reflects, “you see? nobody took care of you. now you lie here, abandoned and defeated. I can’t believe I used to be afraid of you. and that you haunted me in my nightmares. maybe you thought you were only doing your job. that you were on the right side. but that doesn’t matter now. farewell forever, markvart.”

markvart von aulitz is dead. it’s a hollow victory, but a weight lifted nonetheless. the past has finally settled into it’s grave and henry can now look forward to rebuilding what was taken from him.

the blade

this “piece of iron”, whose reason for existing remains a mystery, is all henry has left from skalitz. whether it was forged for radzig or henry, the sword fell into samuel’s hands on that fated night. the blade revealed their hidden connection to each other, a bond unknowingly forged by martin long ago. and though sam was hesitant to tell henry the truth, it must have been a great relief and comfort to be embraced so easily as brothers after losing his home moments prior. perhaps along with his feelings of being an outsider in skalitz, henry longed for someone who understood him more than a friend ever could. but in turn, samuel needed someone who understood him, too.

as you navigate through the praguer camp searching for sam, you find traces of a struggle, and you follow the trail until you hear voices—an easily recognizable french traitor. you get the sinking feeling you know who he’s interrogating. soon you face him; vauquelin brabant. the man who betrayed the devil’s pack and killed adder, and he was surely going to do the same to sam. after you defeat him in a fight, he’ll beg for his life and try to make a deal. brabant has no power here, so killing or sparing him is of little consequence except on henry’s moral conscious, and like a coward he runs off to alert the guards if you choose the latter. ultimately you are left alone with sam.

sam gave his coin and sword-arm to the devil’s pack for a chance to get back at von bergow. nothing more, nothing less. after being denied his chance at maleshov, he intended to find von bergow after the pack was done with him. but von bergow is long gone by the time the chance arises; it's just as the captive soldier told henry. maybe if they told sam he wouldn’t have run off without henry—because nothing else would have stopped him, not even his beloved brother. it was inevitable that his impulsiveness would be the death of him as he showed no sign of giving up.

sam had told henry before they left that he’s counting on him, and the solemn look he gave godwin and henry before he scaled down the wall inspired no comfort. it’s obvious by this point that he never intended to help henry with the mission. perhaps in a world where his plans worked, but not in this one. it would've been hypocritical for henry to berate sam for having his own hit list, instead he assures sam he would have done anything he had asked of him. henry understands his brother’s pain better than anyone, because just like him, sam was forced out of his home and watched his people be slaughtered, just like him, sam wanted revenge no matter the cost. they may not be blood related, but by god are they similar at heart.

henry made a vow to never let anyone die due to his cowardice again and he intends to keep it. but sam protests, he’ll only slow henry down and assures him he’ll be fine, that maybe he can convince them zizka would pay ransom. he knows he fucked up, that no one will come for him before the praguers show just how merciful they are, and he won’t drag henry down with him. henry doesn’t care. sam is hurt, but not fatally wounded like adder was, he will survive the trip—he won’t survive the praguers. with nothing left to say, henry hauls his dazed brother over his shoulder and carries him to the horses...

saving sam sacrifices the silver. but with so many souls lost over something that will surely continue the cycle of violence, maybe it’s for the best.

the sacrifice

time is precious. no one knows how much longer suchdol can hold off without aid. samuel made his choice and now henry needs to make his. he’s exhausted, starving, desperate, and barely holding onto his sanity. they’ve already lost too much, and all he knows is if he doesn’t get aid for suchdol as soon as possible, they will perish—godwin, zizka, and hans with them.

hans is henry’s closest friend and potential lover, they’ve been through good and bad times together, always finding each other no matter what separates them—that’s his anchor, the reason he fights for a better world. henry sacrificed so much for hans. was he really going to abandon him now, when he, and everyone else need him the most? would he risk the soldiers, civilians, and nobility all for one man? would he let the silver, which too many people have died over, disappear and let this entire struggle be in vain? it’s a grim choice to have to make, and as horrible as it is, the best choice to make is the one that avoids the most death.

and sam knows this. he would slow henry down. there’s too much hinging on henry’s haste and if he gets caught hauling sam, they’re both dead. sam mentions how they sent two of them for a reason—this was a suicide mission, but not for henry. when trying to make henry leave, he comforts him with the prospect of a ransom, the sliver of hope that maybe sam will be okay. henry leaves with this strained hope. he desperately wants to believe sam will be okay, and when he returns with jobst’s army he eagerly asks where sam is as if he was truly expecting him to be there.

it’s a terrible thing. zizka tells henry “that’s war”, because the battle-hardened general knows exactly how it goes, but this is of no comfort to henry. he doesn’t want to hear it. he’s the only one who seems to care about sam, but godwin and katherine offer to help henry send samuel off as best as they can. it’s a bleak ending for sam, one he didn’t deserve even if he made a mistake...

sacrificing sam saves the silver. perhaps it was a necessary trade to make all the bloodshed worth it, but henry won't ever forgive himself for leaving his brother.

reckoning

regardless of your beliefs, reckoning makes everyone involved feel the weight of their choices. from confronting markvart to sam’s recklessness to henry’s burden—this quest is the perfect culmination of the story’s essence as it shows how under the right circumstances, even the most righteous people can make a lapse in judgement. the tragedy of henry's hope and the hopelessness of the entire suchdol siege is the point. it shows once again how there's no winning in war; you can't have it all. and those who are caught in it are always forced to make difficult decisions that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review I (federal 2025): Animal Justice Party

Running where: Senate in every state and the ACT, plus a smattering of House divisions in the ACT and five states (none in WA)

Prior reviews: federal 2013, VIC 2014, federal 2016, VIC 2018, NSW 2019, federal 2019, federal 2022, VIC 2022, NSW 2023, WA 2025

What I said before: “I’ll make this simple because nothing has changed. The Animal Justice Party promotes policies that support veganism and which oppose harm to all animals, including invasive species that wreak havoc on Australia’s ecosystem.” (WA 2025)

What I think this year: AJP’s placement in the alphabet means that I usually get to start my series of reviews in a very straightforward manner. They’re a stable part of the micro-party landscape with representation in the upper houses of the NSW and Victorian state parliaments, and at the time of writing they are in contention for the yet-to-be-declared 37th and final seat in WA’s upper house. (This entry will be edited once the WAEC announces the results sometime this week)

Indeed, the question this time around is whether I can highlight something about AJP that I have not noted before. My friend at b_auspol guided my attention to their housing policy, which has a classic left-wing slant in promoting more public housing and which speaks to a common YIMBY demand to “make zoning laws more flexible to allow for higher-density housing developments, and infill (the replacement of houses with higher density dwellings), near public transport and essential services”. As someone who is a big fan of dense, walkable cities that prioritise a choice of active and public transport modes, this goes down well for me.

This election, “The Animal Justice Party stands for Animals, People and the Planet” and they offer a 10-pillar platform that embodies their main priorities. Some pillars will be familiar to long-term micro-party enthusiasts. AJP retains their policy for “Veticare” to provide support for vet bills akin to Medicare, and their policies on animal cruelty are what you would expect (with my usual caveat that their promotion of only “non-lethal” forms of pest control is naïve, but other aspects are more reasonable). How much you like their proposals to “fix the food system” will depend on how much you support vegan/vegetarian diets and whether you think governments should promote a major reduction in meat consumption. It is, though, a bit more moderately phrased a dietary policy than in previous years, with the emphasis on increasing the daily intake of fruit and vegetables for the average Australian.

Other policies are conventional left-wing stuff, such as increasing taxation on big business, promoting a transition to clean energy, and more funding to prevent domestic violence and support victims. Honestly, some of the policies to reduce tax on ordinary people while making sure big business pays their way and can’t exploit loopholes could be bolder! And although the AJP’s policy about supporting victims of domestic violence to keep their pets might seem an extremely niche concern, the b_auspol review makes an important point: “one of the biggest predictors of danger to humans is if the abusive person threatens, injures or kills the family pets, and a lot of shelters don’t allow people to bring pets with them”. I have personal experience here to know how important this is, in what I saw when multiple friends' parents split acrimoniously while we were at school.

As an aside, I am mildly surprised AJP is not running any candidates for divisions of the House of Representatives in WA. I had an AJP candidate in my lower-house seat at last month’s state election, and they stood in ten other state seats.

Recommendation: Give the Animal Justice Party a middling to decent preference. Calibrate this recommendation in accordance with your views on eating meat and consuming other animal products. I am leaning decent this year; beyond my reservations about some aspects of their special interests, they are not a bad left-wing option.

Website: https://www.animaljusticeparty.org/

[shoegazingmonad]

Hussie's commentary on page 2340 suggests that Bluh panels usually involve a person being exposed to something they'll grow a taste for later, giving the example of Kanaya drinking her lusus' blood as foreshadowing of her becoming a rainbow drinker. So far we've gotten two of these panels in HS2.

Tavvy, Vrissy and Vriska all share a bluh, which sucks because this could either mean whatever's being foreshadowed here applies to all of them or is a case-by-case situation. The combined '8luh,,' would imply it's all three, but I think it's worth discussing other options anyway.

The subject being applied here is suspiciously colourless water with Gamzee's corpse suddenly wrong-side up within the context of the panels before and after, graciously framed to look like the water is spewing from him rather than the sprinklers. Great start.

I shouldn't have to state the obvious here - this is just another one of homestuck's classic bukkake jokes. You could interpret this as them having toxic masculinity shoved down their throats since this is something worth gagging over, or it could indicate gender and / or sexuality changes later. Candy is very focused on cisheteronormativity, so it's possible that Tavros might end up dating a guy or that Vrissy might end up being a guy.

There's also the 'seeds as bombs' interpretation, which is an arguement applied to doc scratch's cueballs but I still think works fine here, as though the seed / bombs raining down on them is an omen of Jane activating her 'contigency plan'. Though right after this we get GC associating bombs with self-destruction / sabotage, so this could mean that they might adopt those tendencies in the future.

My first thought for the water interpretation involves Rose's new species; we know they're aquatic and that Vrissy is (likely) in contact with one of them, and that they seem to be romantically interested in her, so it could signal a developing relationship between the two. There's also connections between drowning and loss of control - the panel does make it look like that's what's happening here after all, which could make it another reference to how out-of-control everything has been getting in Candy recently.

You could also interpret the water as sweat, as though his very essence is rubbing off onto them perhaps in the same way that his aspect tends to rub off onto people. Or as milk - which in the search for a plausible explanation has reminded me that in Gamzee's 'redemption arc' rituals he uses milk in a way John' compares to baptism. It's as though Gamzee is washing their sins away - and all of a sudden the choice to depict 3 characters simultaneously makes sense to me; they're supposed to represent a trinity.

Baptising someone is defined as 'sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three times, once for each person of the Trinity.' Since Tavros, Vrissy and Vriska are all being baptised together at once rather than thrice per person, it's likely they're stand-ins for each trinity member. The order of 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit' commonly uttered during baptism could apply to the order they're in here, with Tavros as Father, Vrissy as Son and Vriska as the Holy Spirit... though as of now, I'm unsure as to how this applies to them at all.

There's the odd timing of this symbolic 'redemption', too. I'm not sure why they're being redeemed now, what for, or by who specifically but Gamzee forgiving them for killing him doesn't seem too unbelievable seeing as he'll probably just be back later.

Yiffy's has a few obvious topics, Jade's doting, embarrassment (what they state the situation to be), maternal love and vulnerability, - something they've shown to take issue with showing in front of others. There's the option that this somehow ties into the previous Bluh's themes of christianity, too.

So back to that for a moment; there's a noticeably devilish aspect to Yiffy's design with the dog ears looking like horns, the general sharpness and the red. I guess you could propose them as an 'antichrist' because of that but it wouldn't fit much with the panel itself, so it's unlikely that it's got much to do with the previous bluh.

Anyway, easiest suggestions for what it means would be that Yiffy'll come to appreciate Jade's affections later, or get over their insecurities regarding vulnerability / public embarassment. There's the narration to go off of too, as Yiffy's described as 'an unconscious patient in the clutches of their sadistic nurse' with the 'nursing' being the relentless kissing. This brings to mind corpse smooching, which frames Yiffy as a possible substitute for Dave?

Jade does say herself that Yiffy exists because she needs her to, and I'm sure that extends to Yiffy as someone she can genuinely love and care for in a way she doesn't seem to be able to with Dave considering how awkward their relationship is in the epilogues (and also the fact that they were somehow so distant that Dave never even learnt Yiffy existed). Perhaps when Jade finds someone else she can love unconditionally and wholly without complaint, Yiffy will miss the attention Jade gave them?

Or maybe I'm going the wrong direction with the corpse smooching arguement, and Yiffy's annoyed that Jade is trying to kiss the life back into them after their scuffle with Jane? I'm a little less sure of a deeper meaning for this one.

[linberlyy]

Let's be honest: Criston's offense’s more than justified and well-reasoned. Another question is how much this very offense is, but everyone will judge this through their own internal compass. Let me explain Cole’s motivation and worldview, maybe I'll open someone's eyes.

Let’s simulate the situation: we have a son from a humble family (so low that his position was low even for an engagement), who, with sweat, blood, his skills and efforts, carved out a place for himself in the Kingsguard, taking into account that, thanks to the goodwill of a representative of the royal family, - who has a golden spoon in her mouth, we remember, was able to get a healthy assessment of her capabilities and skills without watered calculations.

- “I know what it’s like to fight for something that others don’t value.”

He owes his new position precisely to the favor of the princess, and we have no reason to refute Criston’s conscience, because BEFORE any traumatic and drastic changes/events, he manifests himself as a conscientious and devoted knight, with a clear worldview.

They spend a lot of time together, and already at Aegon’s name day we see that the level of trust between Rhaenyra and Criston is high, moreover, it is rapidly gaining momentum when she opens some part of her soul, shares things that can be called “personal”, laments his situation and outlines the problems he faces. Most notable:

— “My father is trying to sell me to Jason Lannister. I was named heir to the throne only to improve the position of Lord Casterly Rock.

— Should I kill him?”

This is literally a joke about killing the LORD that Criston makes in the presence of the princess, and it is remarkable that they both laugh without taking it seriously.

— “You can choose your own path, you are lucky. Many would gladly change places with you.

— “I am the princess of Dragonstone, but I am toothless.”

— “Once, not so long ago, you were able to write my name in the White Book. A position in the Kingsguard is the highest honor for the Cole family. I owe you everything. And I wouldn’t call it toothless.”

He provides her with sincere support, without greedy or hypocritical intent, and she accepts it with open arms.

The development of their relationship, on the initiative of the princess, follows immediately when, after some time, abandoned by Daemon (I condemn) in a brothel, she persuades Criston to have sex. Rhaenyra lures him into the room, plays with the helmet, kisses him, not allowing him to leave, and then tries to free the knight from his armor. Yes, Criston could more than experience romantic feelings towards his princess, but above all, it was a kind of admiration, sincere gratitude for what bestowed her favor on the rootless commoner. His representation of Rhaenyra may seem banal and naive, namely as “a poor princess, enslaved by her position,” we will note this in the future. But based on his pure motives, he faces a choice in which his feelings equally suffer, his vows and, of course, the wishes of his object of desire, in relation to whom Criston has never crossed the line before, are called into question. Many may underestimate the pressure that arises between the statuses and titles of total opposites, and only in the example of “maid - prince” do some realize the problematic nature of such a union, but not “princess - knight”. Please note: despite gender, it is still a class difference that breeds power with abuse. And, unfortunately, Cole cannot know and be sure that Rhaenyra’s need to get sex here and now has nothing to do with her love for him. He hesitantly follows the princess's lead, putting aside his white cloak.

Next we see and hear that Criston is ashamed of himself for violating his honor, neglecting his duty, although he listened to his heart, to his duty to Rhaenyra.

— “You occasionally confided in me... Over the years of acquaintance. And it seems to me that I know you. A little.

— “More than a little.”

Another imaginary confirmation in Christon’s eyes of reciprocity.

— “You have said many times how you despise your position. That you will be married off at the whim of your father, without thinking about the inclination of your heart. And this day has come."

He imbues her with the problem mentioned in the past; driven not only by his dilemma, but also by Rhaenyra's “confinement,” a literal shackle that equally binds and constrains them both.

— “I ask you to come with me. Away from all this, from the humiliations and burdens of your heritage. Let's leave all this and look at the world together. We will be free, nameless. We are free to go wherever we want, to love whoever we want. Will you marry me? Not for the crown. For love.

— “I’m the Crown, Ser Criston. Or I will be her. I can complain about my debt, but would I choose infamy in exchange for a barrel of oranges, or a ship to Asshai? It is my duty to marry a noble of a great house. But my marriage is not the end all be all. Ser Criston, Laenor and I have come to an understanding. I gave him the right to do what he wants. He granted me the same”.

— “Do you want to make me a whore?”

— “I want what started to continue.” You are my protector. My white knight”.

— “I made a vow, a vow of chastity. I have nothing but my white cloak, and I have stained it! I thought the wedding would cleanse him.”

Literally, Criston pours out not only his soul to Rhaenyra, but also to us, as viewers. He dictates the reality of his situation, assures that he can provide and protect the princess as much as possible. But, of course, for the blood of the dragon, for the heiress, for the father’s daughter, who was previously brought up in the conditions of “do you want it? Get it!” such a prospect is worthless. Naive of Cole? Yes, but not without reason.

After everything, he feels extremely vulnerable, as well as after a sincere confession to the Queen - which responds even more precariously and nervously to any conscience and confidence, despite her gratitude. Already at the wedding of Rhaenyra and Laenor, Cole, like a taut string, stands at the service, but restlessly and nervously looks at the princess.

— “I’m on duty, what’s your business?”

— “You don’t know me, Ser Criston, but this alliance is very important to both of us.”

— “If you have something to say, Ser Joffrey, speak.”

— “Ser Laenor is as dear to me as I know the princess is to you. We must swear to keep them and their secrets. We’re not in any danger yet... They are safe.”

Sounds like a threat to a pins and needles knight with a stained cloak and a sense of duty, don’t you think? Criston can only guess how Joffrey knows about his affair with the princess, and only one of the options may look convincing - Rhaenyra telling Laenor about this, who could notify his lover along the chain. Again, every possible inclination towards princess on his part is undermined when their secret is at stake. Yes, Criston succumbs to anger and panic, resentment and hopelessness, for which he commits a much more terrible act than calling a woman names. But even so, Cole feels guilt, boundless disappointment, and at the lynching he also feels remorse. He plans to voluntarily commit suicide and admits his every mistake. This scene is literally the rebirth of a knight in the rays of Alicent’s understanding and favor.

And as a result: people complain countless times and blame Criston for swearing towards Rhaenyra, for which he apologizes. Cool. Let's think critically and delve into the story and characters, and not spit hypocrisy.

[bwaybwaycwaycway]

Quick rant about Authority in Disco Elysium

I'm writing this because I had someone rightly call me out at work for second-guessing myself for not trusting in an answer I gave. Specifically, I was asked to identify a type of fire extinguisher from a distance, and even though I was correct, I wanted to check my answer by going up and reading the label. It reminded me about internal confidence in yourself and the things you say.

Authority is an underrated skill in Disco Elysium.

I get why people dislike it. Whenever Authority gets a failure, it has extremely violent, sociopathic responses to the situation at hand, like telling you to hurt people or, in a very famous scene, put a loaded pistol in your mouth. This kind of behavior upsets Kim, who serves as the moral compass for most players, so you stop taking risky Authority checks and don't bother wearing clothing that boosts the skill. You eventually think of Authority as a skill used by people who want to go the Fascist Cop route.

And then you get to the Tribunal. At the end, only one skill will save Kim. Authority. It isn't even you giving him a real order, it's mostly asserting that there is danger and that Kim must respond to it, and ignore your broken half-dead body. It seems like a weird choice that Esprit de Corps isn't doing this, as it's the cop-related skill, or Suggestion, as it is the skill best used to convince others.

No, only Authority will snap Kim out of his panic and make sure he survives the fight without serious injury. And that's because Authority is a skill that, when it succeeds a check, is about personal confidence in your ability as a police officer, and a human being living their life in Revachol.

Authority sure does get you into bad situations, and if you choose to go down the path of the Honour Cop, suggests thumb-fucking yourself to display said honour. But when it succeeds, Authority is barely there, just reminding you that you've got this. You know what to do, you've known all along. You're confident in your actions and accept responsibility for them when Authority is taking lead.

People don't trust cops with low Authority. Sorry Cops, as Kim says, are actively harmful to the reputation of the RCM. Apologizing and second-guessing yourself makes people lose faith in the government you represent and in your ability to solve the case or help them live their lives. A lot of negative modifiers are due to you appearing weak or lacking confidence when you first meet people, as they don't think of you as a trustworthy cop who can fix things.

Finally, the confrontation with Kim over asking him to share a secret about his past, involving the Eyebrow Off, shows that Authority is something that isn't abusive when used right. Kim uses his Authority to convince you to drop the question when you fail, but if you succeed, he share a little fact about his childhood that's of no consequence except it's slightly embarrassing to him. You learn on a failure though that Kim's Authority is immense, and it shows through his confidence in himself and his job as a cop.

Authority is about showing other people, sometimes even falsely presenting, confidence in yourself and what you're doing. When it fails, it pushes you to assert this confidence again, especially in the face of someone trying to assert their Authority over you. It wants you to be a good cop, but has such a narrow way of thinking that it can get you or other people killed multiple times.

[pharmaciacatholica]

Someone once told me that suicide isnt like a "you're going to hell rn" situation because its often done under extreme stress/altered mental states and people aren't always in full control of themselves. I am sure the "instant hell" sentiment is probably a protestant thing but do you happen to know more on this?

I actually have a post in my drafts about this but is a subject that I do not love to speak on because it is inherently sensitive and it can often be difficult to express hardline truths without coming off as callous.

The cool part about being Catholic is that I often do not need to wade into the waters on my own. For the most part, I am able to point to the words or a far more learned and pious man than myself. In this case, I have the written words of Pope Saint John Paul II:

Suicide is always as morally objectionable as murder. The Church's tradition has always rejected it as a gravely evil choice.(x)(x) Even though a certain psychological, cultural and social conditioning may induce a person to carry out an action which so radically contradicts the innate inclination to life, thus lessening or removing subjective responsibility, suicide, when viewed objectively, is a gravely immoral act. In fact, it involves the rejection of love of self and the renunciation of the obligation of justice and charity towards one's neighbour, towards the communities to which one belongs, and towards society as a whole.(x)(x) In its deepest reality, suicide represents a rejection of God's absolute sovereignty over life and death, as proclaimed in the prayer of the ancient sage of Israel: "You have power over life and death; you lead men down to the gates of Hades and back again" (Wis 16:13; cf. Tob 13:2).

Evangelium Vitae (paragraph 66)

So you are partially correct and partially incorrect in your assessment. For some people, and I’ve seen this before, to go around telling those who have had a loved one commit suicide that they are burning in hell is completely insane and unjustifiable. It is also extremely dangerous to play off suicide as something that isn’t a grave sin or that every time it happens the person isn’t culpable for their actions. Suicide is one of the sins that landed Judas in hell, because he chose despair over repentance and mercy. I also think G.K. Chesterton spoke very poetically on the subject here:

Not only is suicide a sin, it is the sin. It is the ultimate and absolute evil, the refusal to take an interest in existence; the refusal to take the oath of loyalty to life. The man who kills a man, kills a man. The man who kills himself, kills all men; as far as he is concerned he wipes out the world. His act is worse than any rape or dynamite outrage. For it destroys all buildings: it insults all women. The thief is satisfied with diamonds; but the suicide is not: that is his crime. He cannot be bribed, even by the blazing stones of the Celestial City. The thief compliments the things he steals, if not the owner of them. But the suicide insults everything on earth by not stealing it. He defiles every flower by refusing to live for its sake. There is not a tiny creature in the cosmos at whom his death is not a sneer. When a man hangs himself on a tree, the leaves might fall off in anger and the birds fly away in fury: for each has received a personal affront. Of course there may be pathetic emotional excuses for the act. There often are for rape, and there almost always are for dynamite. But if it comes to clear ideas and the intelligent meaning of things, then there is much more rational and philosophic truth in the burial at the cross-roads and the stake driven through the body, than in Mr. Archer's suicidal automatic machines. There is a meaning in burying the suicide apart. The man's crime is different from other crimes - for it makes even crimes impossible.

Orthodoxy

This is just the writing of an overrated layman poet, but it really drives home the point.

[maidenvault]

RotJ makes a point of letting us know that Leia is Luke's sister, they've known this on some level for a long time, and he probably cares more about her than anyone in the world because this gives so much more weight to his conflict at the end of the movie, and I think this is a huge thing people overlook when they argue that him redeeming his father represents a rejection of the old Jedi ways of non-attachment. Because in the moment he has to let go of Leia and his friends to be able to actually save Anakin.

When Obi-Wan tries to convince Luke that he has to kill Vader and there's no other way, he doesn’t really discuss it as an issue of Luke having an attachment to him. I think he knows this isn't really the Jedi way but just like in the previous war, they don't seem to be faced with any good choices. Obi-Wan believes what Luke wants is truly impossible and, having failed to stop Vader when he could have before, of course he's trying to stop Luke from making the same mistake.

But it's significant that in the same conversation, Obi-Wan does warn him that his love for his sister could be made a liability if he's not careful. When Luke learns he has a twin and reveals how strong a connection he feels with Leia because he doesn't even have to be told who it is, Obi-Wan's response sets up how this will play into the climax of the film:

"Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor."

Then when Luke is brought to Sidious, he reveals to Luke that the Rebellion is walking right into a trap as a way to torment and provoke him. Luke gets angrier and angrier while helplessly watching the fleet get ambushed and finally does just what Sidious wants and tries to attack him. But it's Vader specifically threatening Leia that makes Luke totally lose control of his feelings and fight him in a rage.

Luke is basically facing the same kind of test he failed so badly in ESB by running off to help his friends. When Yoda is trying to make him see he's not ready to face Vader and keep him from going to Bespin, he says something that I think is such an underrated quote in its importance to Luke's whole journey:

"Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could, but you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."

Luke is really lucky he doesn't get killed in Cloud City (or captured, which I think at this point could have resulted in him being turned). Yoda knows Luke is the one person with a chance of defeating the Emperor and Luke just about throws that away.

But at the end of RotJ when Luke cuts off Vader's hand, he surely is reminded of his failure at Bespin and sees the path he's starting down by succumbing to his fears like that again. He stops because he sees he's betraying his loved ones and everything he is. He can only throw away his weapon and confidently tell the Emperor to eat shit then because he's no longer afraid of dying or of those he loves dying. He's done what his father couldn't do and kept his soul intact, which is what Leia would want. Because real love isn't selfishly trying to save someone by betraying what they believe in like Anakin did with Padme. And it obviously has to be an incredibly powerful thing for Vader to see his own son able to do this, even comparing himself to the man he once was ("I am a Jedi, like my father before me").

We remember everything working out okay so it's easy sometimes to forget that Luke gives this triumphant speech when the rebel fleet is getting pulverized outside and things overall still look pretty hopeless. He probably expects he could die at this point. But like Obi-Wan in his own death scene, he knows nothing can destroy him now. And it's the love he feels for his family that gives him the strength to let go.

[willbyersabyss]

Will flickered the garage lights. Not a new statement I know, but he did... unintentionally. This is an expansion of my theory that Will changed time by travelling into the Wheeler house DND memory. When Will travelled into that memory, it not only altered the Upside Down and time there, but also messed with the electricity at the Wheeler house.

So we all know the DND game very obviously foreshadows Will's encounter with the demogorgon, ending with Will('s dice) going missing. Well what if the rest of that scene at the Wheeler house foreshadows events that follow directly after Will's disappearance?

Right after Will loses the dice, Karen tells the boys that they need to go home. Will losing the dice represents the moment he gets lost. Karen's line alludes to them losing track of time. So time may have been altered moments after Will disappeared.

Karen says that they can finish their game at another time. Mike says they can't because it will ruin the flow. The flow of time? This suggests that their DND game had a hand in altering the flow of time, perhaps in the Upside Down, so picking another date wouldn't be right. The time needs to be November 6th!

Ted is already up and messing with the TV that's having technical issues. Whatever caused the power to flicker already happened by the time Mike got upstairs. So it started during their DND game. Interesting.

We've already seen Will's relationship with the Upside Down mess with cameras and TVs. The camera originally filmed at 8:04 PM but when Joyce watched it on the TV, it says 8:15 PM. Once Will got transferred into the Upside Down during his vision, the camera started glitching. The Upside Down interfered with time here!

So the Wheeler's TV started glitching because Will was in the Upside Down, just like it did to the Halloween footage. Will is causing these glitches somehow.

Then Will leaves and the lights flicker, but only in the garage. The bedroom light upstairs and the front porch light stayed the same. If this was just a power outage because of lab shenanigans, the entire house would have flickered. We know lights flicker when someone in the UD walks under them, so this must be what's happening. Someone is on the other side. Vecna or... Will!

The lights flicker the second Will bikes out of the garage. This indicates that Will leaving Mike's garage is causing the flickering. Maybe he was leaving on the other side because he went back in time to this memory.

Mike is the one to turn the lights off after they flicker. Is this hinting at Mike being the one to solve the UD's time problem?

So why was Will leaving the Wheeler house so soon after altering the UD to look like that memory? He was being chased. This is the scene that we see after Will leaves. Dustin chases after Will and yells that he's going to kill him... interesting choice of words for sure! This represents Vecna going after Will on the other side.

What Dustin says here may even indicate why Vecna wants to take Will in the first place. "Race you back to my place" might hint that Vecna wanted Will to create the Creel house in the UD, so he chased him there until it formed. Will broke the barrier of the Wheeler house memory.

And then Will claims Dustin's X-Men 134 comic. This comic has a lot of information that clearly links to the lore of the show, most of which relates to El, but this section caught my eye. Mastermind, who I think represents Vecna, made Jean Grey believe she was time travelling, but it was all an illusion. So time travel is literally being brought up and correlated with Will right off the bat!

Here's the thing... Max didn't actually travel into a memory. We see El travel into multiple memories and she sees other people there. Max's skatepark memory and Billy's beach memory both still have people. So why does Max's Snow Ball "memory" have no people? The people she was with were the reason why that memory was happy, so shouldn't they be there?

Nope! You know what other place resembles Hawkins but notably has zero people? The Upside Down. Hm! So the UD is a memory of some sort, but not really the memory. It's an illusion of the memory. Maybe the big difference between El's true memory travel compared to Max's illusion is that what Max did can actually alter the UD and technology in the real world. I already have a post discussing this topic here!

Will did this too. That's why the Wheeler house is stuck on the day he went missing. It's his memory that was replicated there. When Will did this after being kidnapped, it messed with the electricity in the real world when the memory takes place. So the TV goes out along with the garage lights. Will was there, but in a memory!

[pagannatural]

2.09 Croatoan

-my beloved

-The brothers go to Oregon because Sam has a vision of Dean shooting someone who pleads for his life.

-Sam thinks Dean is violent and out of control because of his grief but he’s actually violent and out of control because he’s losing his mind over Sam.

-Sam looks very Scared Little Brother when they realize the town has no phone signal. He stands really close to Dean. Sam is right. I forgot how scary this episode is.

-Sam hesitates to kill the son who had the mom tied up, and Dean berates him. Dean calls the son a “monster” and Sam says “it was a kid.” Dean likes a clean line between monster and human.

-Sam is always the one who comforts the victims and tells people everything will be okay, another way in which his role in the relationship is traditionally feminine. He’s the one women find non-threatening. (And he’s too distracted by Dean to be attracted to them).

-When the mom, Beverly, says “one minute they were my husband and my son and the next they had the devil in them” the camera cuts to Sam and Dean. This line could be Dean describing a blood-drinking Sam: one minute he was my husband and my son and the next he had the devil in him.

-One of the armed men blocking the road out of town asks Dean to get out of the car to “talk a little,” and Dean says “you are a handsome devil but I don’t swing that way, sorry.” It’s easy to forget that in the early 2000s, this kind of throwaway joke on network tv didn’t usually hint at a character’s hidden sexuality, it was just a vaguely biphobic little joke. But I do think there’s a reason it’s here.

The Croatoan virus is a demonic virus spread from blood infection that’s not visible just by looking at someone. So we have a little AIDS parallel. It’s also a similar concept to Sam’s demon blood. His blood represents choice and sin and the human mixed with the monstrous. Blood is also associated with family.

Incest and queerness are taboos that have often been conflated in fiction (and in history), and both have been strongly associated with monstrosity—think predatory sexuality, birth defects, infertility, rejection of the natural order. A desire that’s dangerous and wrong and destructive, that must stay hidden and can only survive in the shadows. The homoerotic incestuous monster hunters are the perfect storm of gothic queer horror.

Whether or not either brother is queer doesn’t affect the plot, and isn’t the point. I can see Dean grappling with being in love with Sam without questioning his sexuality at all. Sam is a category unto himself to Dean, and Sam doesn’t appear bothered about his sexuality aside from his feelings about Dean. But the confluence of these taboos—incest and queerness—with blood is central to the plot of the show and the question of what evil is. Really their love for each other and their shared blood is what saves them, keeps them human.

-Another of my absolute favorite underrated wincest moments is when Beverly is begging for her life from the utility room and Dean asks Sam “are you sure she’s one of them?” Sam barely nods and it’s enough for Dean to shoot her three times point blank. He doesn’t need any more information, just for Sam to nod slightly.

-Sam suggests that they need to leave to warn others of the virus and Dean tells him he has a good point. They respect each other’s input and work together well.

-Duane shows up and the situation becomes very tense. Sam is standing with his whole body facing Dean. In moments of extreme stress, Sam often seeks Dean’s protection rather than focusing on the threat.

-Dean has a gun on Duane with some urgency but Sam says “I gotta talk to you—now” and Dean leaves the room with him immediately.

Sam argues that they should wait and not kill Duane in case he isn’t infected. Dean says “what’s that buy us?”

“A clear conscience, for one.”

“Well it’s too late for that.” Is Dean talking about his guilt over John’s death? Or is this more about his general self hatred around never being enough to be everything for everyone, to give Sam everything that he needs and be the perfect son and soldier and brother and father and mother?

Sam tells him “you don’t act like yourself anymore, Dean. You’re acting like one of those things out there.” Dean does feel lost. He needs Sam to save him so that he can save Sam.

-Sam is so devoted to Dean this season. He spent season 1 gradually giving into his complete trust and commitment to Dean and now he’s been losing him or at risk of losing him in different ways all season. He fights tooth and nail for Dean every step of the way to get him to listen, to talk, to come back to him.

-Dean pushes Sam out of the way and locks him out, aiming to kill Duane. He says “it’s not him, not any more” and “I’ve got no choice.” But then Dean decides not to shoot him.

-When the doctor asks if it’s alright to untie Duane, Dean and Sam seem to have a wordless conversation in which Dean defers to Sam’s judgement, and Sam tells the doctor it’s okay to untie him.

-Sam is Dean’s morality. Dean is submitting to Sam, needing him to help him make the right choice. By doing this he’s also believing in Sam’s ability to stay good.

-Sam says about Dean not killing Duane “you know I’m gonna ask you why.”

Dean replies “yeah I know,” not looking up, focusing on keeping his hands busy making Molotov cocktails.

“So why? Why didn’t you do it?”

Dean looks at Sam with his chin tucked, like it’s hard to meet his eyes. He doesn’t answer. He clears his throat and says “we need more alcohol,” basically asking Sam to leave for a moment so that he can pull it together. He gazes after Sam with this raw, shamed look.

It’s the first of two parallels in this episode to their conversation in 1.19 where Sam says his reticence to date is mostly not about Jessica, and Dean asks “then what is it about?” and Sam just looks at him, implying heavily that it’s about Dean.

The question Dean was asking Sam there was essentially, Why can’t you love anyone else?

The first question Sam asks Dean is why he didn’t kill someone, but it’s also why Dean wants to do the right thing and not lose himself, and the answer is because of Sam.

-After Sam is attacked, he reaches for Dean’s hand to help him up off the floor and then just leaves his hand outstretched after Sarge holds Dean back and tells him Sam is infected. It’s like his muscle memory of reach-out-hand, Dean-pulls-me-up hasn’t caught on.

-The whole time Dean argues with the others about Sam, Sam only looks at the floor or at Dean. He’s not watching the conversation, he’s watching Dean because he’s scared and he looks to Dean when he’s scared.

-Dean says “no one’s shooting my brother”

He’s so protective. He was about to kill someone who might be infected just in case, but when it’s Sam he would simply rather die in a murder suicide and that’s that on that.

-Sam asks for the gun so that he can shoot himself, saying “I’m not gonna become one of those things.” This episode is pure foreshadowing for the end of s5. Sam refuses to become a monster, Dean chooses to stand by him and die rather than kill him. Because of their faith in each other, because they waited, things work out.

-Dean hands over the keys to the impala. He’s not fucking around. He tells the doctor “oh actually we’re not really marshals.” He’s in a truth telling mood, fuck it.

-Sam asks Dean to leave him and keep living, looking at him with incredulity and gratitude and love and fear.

Dean leaving him alone to die or become a monster would fulfill Sam’s deepest fear—left behind, not belonging, because something is wrong with him. But he still asks Dean to go, he throws a fit, he tells him “this is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.” It reminds me of that scene from Titanic, Jack telling Rose “you’re so stupid” for staying with him instead of saving herself.

He says “it’s over for me, it doesn’t have to be for you.”

“No?”

“No. You can keep going.”

“Who says I want to?”

This scene is so dramatic and romantic. Close shots of their faces, Sam looking up at Dean with his eyes full of tears, begging him. Dean tells Sam he doesn’t want to go on without him.

Sam asks, what?

For a moment it almost looks like he’s taking this as the confession that it is, before Dean puts some distance between them and leans against the wall. This is the second scene is this episode to parallel their conversation in 1.19, this time even more closely.

Sam thinks Dean doesn’t want to go on because their dad died, but Dean says “you’re wrong. It’s not about dad. I mean part of it is, sure, but-“

Sam interrupts to ask “then what is it about?” and Dean gives him this look,

this look of love and tenderness, like he’s willing Sam to understand.

This time Sam’s question is Why don’t you want to live? And the answer is that Dean doesn’t want to live without Sam.

I love how this scene makes clear that Sam’s romantic partners compare directly to Dean. It confirms what Sam was thinking about in 1.19, because for these scenes to rhyme they must have been thinking about each other.

-The brothers share a romantic beer at the lake. Sam asks Dean what he was talking about last night in a way that honest-to-god sounds like he’s referring to pillow talk. Dean doesn’t want to tell so Sam keeps pushing, but their tones are teasing and light. They really sound like they’re flirting. Dean suggests that they go to the Grand Canyon.

Sam keeps questioning him, gentle but insistent, as Dean talks about taking a break.

-Where is our Grand Canyon episode?

-Sam looks so scared when Dean says John told him something about Sam before he died. I wonder what’s running through his head. There’s this feeling that people with Sam’s negative core belief often get, which is a fear that something is deeply wrong or rotten in them and that eventually other people will find out. He’s probably thinking that’s finally happened.

[omppupiiras]

my long & rambly thoughts about People's Champion the album 🍄‍🟫

Ready To Go.. ahh, first I have to make a confession that my first impression of this song was basically "..that's it?". But in my defence it was in the middle of the night & I was not maybe in the most receptive mood. 😂

but then over the course of a few days I went from "ok maybe i like it actually" all the way to "WAIT. it is a bop and also WHY AM I GETTING EMOTIONAL OVER IT? 😭😭" I could write a whole ass post about all my ready to feels and thoughts. It is, of course, about how Jere's ready to go. He doesn't care if the shoes he's stepping into are too big for him, he doesn't care that people don't believe in him. He knows that people only want to see him fail and are waiting to say "I told you so" when it happens. But he doesn't care about any of that because HE believes in himself. He's not giving up and he's going to give it his all and hell, this whole thing COULD blow up in his face but he doesn't care. He's ready to GO.

(and there's also something very naive and bittersweet about ready to go to me, he's giving this thing his all and throwing himself into it with eyes wide open, believing and trusting and full of expectations, but he doesn't actually know or understand where this road will take him. he will actually succeed beyond his or anyone else's wildest dreams, but there's no way he could have known before it happened how much it would cost him)

and ofc CCC coming immediately after ready to go is absolutely PERFECT placement!! I immediately became obsessed with the idea of the story this album was going to tell when we got the album art and title, and OH BOY. They did not disappoint!!

Because speaking of this album telling a story, next we have Tavavoltti. On first listen it's kind of a light-hearted funny song with fun sounds. But it following CCC makes one realize that hey. Wait. Oh. It's actually saying so much about his experiences after CCC. Like with ready to go i could write a darn essay about this song but.. it's about him being unable to say no. It's about him being the funny guy, and hey, funny guys can't not be happy, right?

(Täst roolista ryydyn, mut hymy ei hyydy

Oon syypää suun hymyyn, siks rooliini tyydyn

Everybody wants something from him and they don't mind tearing him apart to get it. And he's got everything a person could want, right? Surely? He's definitely not supposed to complain, so he resigns himself to the role of a circus monkey, the masochist that he is, and pushes himself to his absolute limits. (not to say that this song is all sad bc it's not! the chorus IS hopeful though maybe in a slightly melancholy way) but ONCE AGAIN a song that sounds like a bop is actually way more deep and meaningful than it has any right to be!! 😭

playing this role exhausts me, but my smile doesn't slip

i'm the reason for your smile, and that's why i accept my role)

and whew speaking of being a masochist, next we have ruoska. damn. DAMN. this album, man. i love ruoska moving on

Kot Kot, kot kot. This song boldly starts off with "mayday", and isn't that a choice? To me Kot Kot is about Jere needing help but he hasn't admitted that to himself yet. He has given away so much of himself yet he doesn't understand why he feels so empty now. The partying and drinking don't really help but it's all he knows how to do.

Skit immediately following Kot Kot kills me DEAD. It makes both of these songs desperately sad. In Kot Kot, he needs help. In Skit, he's asking for it and being dismissed. My theory is that the therapist in Skit represents how difficult it was for him to reach out for help or even to have people who understand. How could he even explain to someone how something so amazing can be so terrible? Does anyone even care to hear that, to listen to him talk about it? His problems aren't normal people problems, anymore.

Autiomaa, autiomaa, autiomaa. I loved Autiomaa from the first snippet he shared and the full song did not disappoint. Bye bye my old favorite Käärijä song Menestynyt Yksilö, Autiomaa has taken your place. 😭 Seems like I have a theme going on lol, I love songs where he gets real and personal, and in Autiomaa he does that on a whole new level.

I love that he was brave enough to write Autiomaa and bold enough to make sure people understood Autiomaa is a big deal to him. He wanted to share his feelings and be understood and heard. The music video is such a piece of art and besides being so emotional this song is just so damn GOOD. He's such a master of the finnish language in the way he writes lyrics.

I love sex = money and of course in true käärijä style it's a bop but it also says something very real with its lyrics. but hey! sex sells! better get selling then

bananas is the song i have the least feelings & thoughts about haha. I like all the foodstuff lyrics but that's about it 😂 maybe i will have more feelings about it when i hear it live

next we have Huhhahhei and I must confess.. it's not for me fam. I don't like it. 🙈 I can't put this into words in any way that makes sense, but to me Huhhahhei is different to every other Käärijä song. The lyrics are generic in a way that almost makes it feel like this song is about nothing at all. I don't see it as a love song either, to me the lyrics are just saying words to say them without really meaning anything. so for that reason to me Huhhahhei is the song that fits on this album the least.

icip kind of feels like a breath of fresh air in the album - it's crazy it's party, life is life. things aren't so doom and gloom anymore. with its placement in the album it feels like jere accepts all the good and the bad and now he has learned to enjoy being an artist again. he's had a hell of a party that he couldn't escape, maybe he lost his mind a little along the way, but he made it out to the other side. ta-da, ta-da, ta-da...

and lastly, People's Champion. It's a lovely song and a perfect song to end the album with. but i have written so many words now i dont have much left for people's champion dgdfgldf but i love it a lot and im so glad jere won the battle for this to be included bc truly, what would this album be without this song??