#whole ass essay

[bloomellaa]

Hi I really like your art and I wanted to know how you see Jean and Harry’s relationship after the events. Does he feel anger towards Kim for essentially”taking” Harry. Thanks <3

Thank you !! Well I'm glad you like my art and I have a whole explanation and almost essay incoming so bare with me lol.

Jean isn't angry at Kim because he's been shown admiring him and almost being honored that Kim is even "there" at the end of the game, he has a lot of respect towards him. What would happen reguarding Kim though is Jean having a feeling of jealousy or envy over the fact Kim is able to have such a stable relationship with Harry and even worse Kim seems to have a good impact and influence on Harry where Jean is faced with his own failure and inability to help him during all those years (4). He would end up in a circle of guilt and self-loathing toward that fact, Harry and Jean are really codependent after all. He would love to have what Kim and Harry have since this is what he's been longing for a long time as their relationship escalated pre Martinaise. My guess is, it was fun at first when they met, until it wasn't anymore and became a nightmare over the years. (I could go on about my thoughts on what happened during pre Martinaise and how it ended up being a fiasco for them but I will keep it short.)

I feel like the relationship between Harry and Jean post Martinaise would be tense at first, Jean would be stuck with a "new Harry" that seems to be a half or even a quarter version of the old one. He's not the Harry he knew once, but it's still him on so many levels that it's hard to even digest that, it's a whole process of grief for someone who's not even dead. He would be more distant toward Harry sometimes, sometimes closer, but there would still be that air of uneasiness around as long as they don't talk out unsettled matters on Jean's part. Harry doesn't remember any of it so he's not really the one who is bothered by it directly, however his empathy would just scream at him how much something is wrong and out of place. Jean wouldn't be the one to bring it up in an attempt to protect Harry from his old self. Because he would prefer sacrificing himself in a fear Harry might come back to that old toxic, abusive and self destructive man he was. At this point it's a self inflected wound but Jean would be the type to do that, he mentionned how much they were garbage but somehow he STILL wants Harry back, he just loves the man to no end, he talks about themselves as if they knew each others since 10 years and not 4.

That's why I see him having a short temper with Harry because he still has matters unresolved, it just gets him as a reflex too, always on his guard, is Harry going to go back to how he was ? Of course he wouldn't there's Kim and months passed but Jean is still on fucking edge, years of babysitting a grown ass man and emotionnal abuse don't disappear in a few months.

I personnaly went with the route of having Harry sober for good but being a complete weirdo nonetheless who sometimes has heavy meltdown. In my version of Harry he gets way better with the help of Kim and Kim gets more open about himself the longer he stays with Harry as a new partner. Thing is, slowly Harry will return to be in charge of the Crime Unit giving Jean some slack about being the superior of everyone when actually Harry should have been.

Anyway I hope you liked that little rant I went on about. I could go on and on about what would happen after but basically their relationship as long as they didn't have a serious talk would be somehow unsteady. With up and downs but mostly on Jean's part, and Harry would have a hard time addressing the elephant in the room.

[starmanbyler]

my byler analysis doc is going so well i cannot believe how fast im going

[basket-of-loquats]

jayvik sketch inspired by kiss of judas by giotto

[starcurtain]

Fact Checking Some Myths About Aventurine and the IPC

Especially in light of Jade's new myriad celestia trailer and the reveal of the other Stonehearts, I've seen a ton of wild claims about Aventurine--particularly how he's an unwilling member of the Stonehearts and needs to be saved from the IPC--that just aren't sitting right with me because they're based significantly more on the fanon take that Aventurine is an "innocent victim" than any actual evidence displayed in the game. So I wanted to take the time to collect some in-game evidence to see if we can sort out what Aventurine's actual relationship to the IPC is. Time to do some fact checking--this is a long one, buckle up!

Claim #1: Aventurine was sentenced to die by the IPC.

Verdict: There's no actual evidence that Aventurine was ever sentenced to anything.

This entire idea that Aventurine was actually successfully sentenced to die by the IPC comes from two pieces of "evidence" in the game. First, the scene with Dr. Ratio where those words are stated:

Leaving aside whether the IPC legally has the right to sentence anyone to anything by themselves (they're a corporation, not an actual governing body), this is the exact line that Dr. Ratio fans have been bending over backward to prove is "just an act" and that Ratio would never actually mean this (because if he actually meant this, it would make him pretty racist). So if we've already busted our asses to prove this line isn't true and was just Ratio and Aventurine acting... why would we be using this line as evidence that Aventurine was actually sentenced to anything?

We can't say "This entire scene was an act because Sunday/the Family was listening in!" and then go "Okay, but this one part is definitely true (despite there not being any other evidence in game to corroborate the statement)." Either this scene is acting, and this line isn't true--or the line is true, and Ratio's kind of a racist. Make up your minds, people. 😂

Actually, I can help make up your mind. We can prove that this line is likely a strong part of Aventurine and Ratio's deliberate act because Ratio's comment (which took place in 2.0) doesn't actually make any sense once Aventurine's story is fully revealed (in 2.1).

Ratio relates Aventurine's slave brand to the IPC, suggesting that the brand is proof that Aventurine is "doomed" and "sentenced to die by the IPC." Ratio even goes so far to say "Or was it from the Amber Lord himself?"

But from 2.1, we know that Aventurine's brand had nothing to do with the IPC, and his former slave owner was definitely not an IPC employee (as he refers to the IPC the same as Aventurine's sister did, "the guys in black").

Aventurine's brand came from being owned by a non-IPC-affiliated slaver--it had nothing to do with the Stonehearts or even Oswaldo Schneider.

So Ratio's entire comment linking the brand to the IPC makes no sense, and therefore his statement that the brand marks Aventurine as a "doomed Sigonian thrall sentenced to die by the IPC" also makes no sense.

Instead, I would argue that this line is a perfect example of the kind of exaggerated acting that Ratio and Aventurine were doing specifically to make the eavesdropping Family see Aventurine as an easy target. With this line, Ratio is emphasizing that Aventurine is a sitting duck without his Cornerstone, that he'll be weak and helpless--and that no one in the IPC will come help him, because they've already sentenced him to die. This is Ratio deliberately baiting Sunday into thinking that Aventurine will be easy, isolated prey without his Cornerstone--which is exactly what Aventurine wanted Sunday to think.

This line, which comes from a scene that we've already established is a deliberate act to mislead someone, cannot be used as evidence of Aventurine's real situation within the IPC.

"But then what about the trial scene with Jade?!" I already hear people saying. "Aventurine was definitely going to be sentenced to death!"

I'm not arguing that death wasn't a possible option for Kakavasha initially; it's clear that committing severe enough crimes can earn you the death penalty in Star Rail's universe. But I think we need to take another good look at this scene and see what really happened here.

First, we need to clarify that this scene with Jade was not an actual trial. The scene begins with a broadcast which clarifies that the suspect in the "Egyhazo-Aventurine Fraud Case" was just caught, and the IPC are conducting investigations into the "motive of the suspect."

So Jade's scene with Aventurine is not an actual trial (I mean... Jade's not even legally a judge!); it's an investigation with the goal of determining why Kakavasha would have tried to scam the Intelligentsia Guild and IPC at Egyhazo.

We can confirm that this scene with Jade is not an actual trial because she is even says "We haven't been able to find you any defense [lawyer], so you perhaps will have to defend yourself."

To which Aventurine responds that he easily could defend himself from the charges--but that it's pointless to do so. Why? Because he never intends to get to a trial in the first place.

He's there to gamble with Diamond (who he asks to see right on the spot, indicating that he's done his research in advance and knows who the head honcho he needs to talk to is). Instead, Jade says that he'll have to gamble with her, to which he agrees, and lays down his terms.

(He even says "I bet you won't send me to the gallows." We know that Kakavasha always wins his bets--he bet she won't send him off to a trial to be executed, and he once again won his bet!)

Jade, known for picking out "unpolished stones with great potential" and promoting them into positions of power to extract their value, agrees immediately, and literally tells Kakavasha to go change his clothes right then and there. She really said "I like your confidence; you're hired on the spot."

So... This was not a trial, Kakavasha never went on trial, and because he never went on trial, we have zero evidence in-game that he was ever sentenced to anything.

The IPC doesn't give a shit about the murder of some no-name slaver (I mean come on, think of how many other murders they've covered up at this point--do you really think they're holding one past murder of a no-name NPC over Aventurine's head years later?).

They might give a shit about the money they lost on Kakavasha's schemes, but Jade's entire schtick is one of equivalence--having Kakavasha join the IPC as a Stoneheart means he will ultimately generate infinitely more wealth for them than his schemes ever cost them in the first place, and that's the central piece of Jade's statement in this scene:

Is Aventurine's whole role in the Stonehearts exploitative, focused on his endless ability to win bets and generate profit? YUP. But that's ALL the Stonehearts' goal at this point--he's not unique in being "exploited" for his value. One look at Topaz confirms that.

So, ultimately, we have no evidence that Kakavasha was ever sentenced for his crimes, let alone that he was sentenced to die specifically by the IPC.

Claim #2: The Stonehearts will execute Aventurine if he tries to leave or fails his mission(s).

Verdict: There's no actual evidence for this either, beyond the obvious that most people in a powerful enough position in an evil corporation probably can't just up and quit their jobs without consequences.

I've seen this idea that the Stonehearts are planning to execute Aventurine--either for his past crimes, for failing a mission, or for trying to leave the IPC--many, many places, and unfortunately, I really think people are reaching this conclusion strictly on "The IPC is evil" vibes alone.

The IPC is evil; they coerce nice people like Topaz to buying into lifelong contracts; they're colonizers and exploitative capitalists, so of course they would threaten to execute poor innocent Aventurine!

Look, I won't defend the IPC. They are evil. But post hoc, ergo proctor hoc--just because one thing is true, doesn't mean the other statement naturally follows.

Just because the IPC is evil and exploitative (and probably does kill people to shut them up) does not automatically mean they're out to execute Aventurine for the slightest mishap.

I've seen many people say "He was going to be executed for his past crimes, so what do you think will happen if he tries to leave the Stonehearts?" But A) We just established he never went to trial for those past crimes in the first place, so we have no idea if he would have actually been sentenced to death anyway, and B) We have no evidence in-game that any of Kakavasha's past crimes would be back on the table if he were to try to quit the IPC. This is literally just fanon, based on the vibes of the IPC being evil alone. Probably informed by Topaz's "lifelong contract" situation giving people the impression that everyone who works for the IPC has to have a lifelong contract.

What evidence do we have that Aventurine is not at-risk of being executed for screwing up a mission? I mean, Aventurine himself says it. When Jade first states that Aventurine might be punished for destroying a Cornerstone, the only two possible punishments he states are:

If execution was on the table, wouldn't that have been the first punishment Aventurine listed?

And Jade's myriad celestia trailer also states that the only punishment on the table is whether Aventurine will be expelled from the Stonehearts:

And the biggest proof that execution isn't on the table?

The fact that Diamond himself agrees that Aventurine should not be punished even for the serious act of willingly breaking a Cornerstone. If Aventurine can do something as serious as breaking part of Qlipoth's will and body, something he was told to treasure more than his own life, and still get away with it... You can bet the IPC really does not give a shit about his old schemes anymore. Aventurine is way too valuable alive for them to be constantly threatening to kill him.

(But then what about Obsidian's statement that she wants a "bloodbath"? Surely that's evidence that he would have died if they voted against him?

First of all, "bloodbath" is a pretty common metaphorical term. I don't know about you, but any time people get into big drama at my work, this term comes up ["They were all talking shit; it was a total bloodbath"]. "Bloodbath" can mean any intense struggle; it's often not literal death.

However, I'm inclined in this case to say that the real reason Hoyo threw in this "bloodbath" line was just to double down on Obsidian's obvious vampire aesthetic. She's a "vampire." Duh, of course she needs to say something about blood. I think this line speaks more to establishing Obsidian's character as a violent, self-centered person than anything to do with Aventurine's actual situation.)

So, there is no actual evidence in the game that Aventurine is still being held accountable for his past crimes, or that the IPC is planning to execute him for messing up on a mission.

In fact, there are several pieces of evidence in the story suggesting the opposite, that multiple people, including the other Stonehearts, think he's kind of crazy for trying to get himself killed every mission he goes on.

When Aventurine was affected by the Harmony's power, the "future" Aventurine asks him this directly.

"Why does every one of your schemes put your own life at risk?" And players are told the answer to that isn't because of the IPC--it's not because the Stonehearts are out here forcing Aventurine to gamble with his life. When the "Future" Aventurine suggests Aventurine might be taking these risks because of the IPC, real Aventurine flat out says "You don't know me at all." He's not taking the risks for the IPC--he's taking them for himself.

Later, "Future" Aventurine even says that if Aventurine just used tactics like Opal's--which he claims Aventurine could easily do--then he would have been able to claim Penacony for the IPC without putting himself at risk at all. But Aventurine chose not to do that; he chose "death."

Because Aventurine is actually, at least slightly, suicidal. I don't personally think Aventurine would ever have turned a fully-loaded gun on himself and pulled the trigger, but he was actively seeking opportunities to die. Before Penacony ended, he was deliberately putting himself into situations where his life was at risk, taking unnecessary gambles with his life on the line--because then he would win either way. If he won the gamble, he would get whatever prize was promised, and if he lost the gamble, then he would have the "freedom" of death, to be reunited with his family. (It's important to note that the only time the word "freedom" is used in Aventurine's story through 2.1 is in direct reference to death--it is never used in reference to getting "free" from the IPC.)

Aventurine's plans were not self-destructive because of the IPC. They were self-destructive because he was self-destructive. And, in fact, multiple other members of the Stonehearts call out this behavior as a bad thing.

Jade describes Aventurine's ploy in Penacony as "overplaying his hand."

Topaz describes Aventurine's work habits as:

Then there's even Sugilite, who clocks Aventurine's suicidal tendency directly by stating that Aventurine's "death" scheme in Penacony wasn't for the IPC at all--it was entirely for himself.

If the Stonehearts were holding execution over Aventurine's head at all times, why would death be an "unnecessary [personal] extravagance"?

The takeaway from all the other Stonehearts' dialogue about Aventurine is that they actually think he goes too far and that his methods are more risky with his own life than they need to be.

Does that sound like a group of people who are planning to kill him on the drop of the hat?

Okay, okay, I can hear you saying "But that still doesn't mean he can leave the Stonehearts without consequences. They would kill him if he tried to leave."

To that I say: A) There's no actual in-game evidence for that statement; it's literally just "IPC is evil so they definitely would do this" vibes, but B) Is that statement really unique to Aventurine? Do you think Topaz could leave the Stonehearts without consequences? Do you think Jade could just fuck off and leave the IPC if she got the desire to?

It's pretty typical, I would think, that anyone who achieves a high-ranking in a stereotypical "evil capitalist mega-corporation" is not free to just abandon their high up position without consequences. The phrase "You know too much" comes to mind.

I'd argue that people are probably right--Aventurine probably could not leave the Stonehearts without something severe happening, at the very least a memory wipe--but that this is probably true of all the Stonehearts. They're too far up the chain. They know too much about the inner-workings of the literal planet-destroying world-domination company. They've had too much access to insider info to easily leave their positions.

Not being able to easily leave the position has nothing to do with Aventurine personally or his past crimes. It's just (at least likely) a basic fact of being too high up in the morally-grey-at-best super organization. (Well, then again, apparently no one even knows if Agate is dead or not, so maybe they actually don't even care lol.)

Claim #3: Aventurine didn't want to join the IPC; he's working with the IPC only because he's forced to.

Verdict: The game suggests in several places that Aventurine joined the IPC of his own free will. Whether he's still loyal to them is not 100% clear.

I think this is the biggest question mark I'm left with when reading other people's posts about Aventurine--this enduring idea that Aventurine never wanted to join the IPC and was only forced to do so because he was captured and death was his only other option.

But that is literally not what the game is telling us at all. The game tells us--in multiple places--that Aventurine orchestrated his own circumstances so that he could gain an audience with Diamond and win a position within the Stonehearts by his own gambles.

First, let's re-examine that scene with Jade. One of the first things Jade says is "What kind of person would come up with a scheme [the Egyhazo fraud] that doesn't benefit them in any way?"

The takeaway from this is that Kakavasha did not actually stand to gain anything from scamming the Intelligentsia Guild into digging for Tayzzyronth's remains in the desert at Egyhazo. All he achieved with this fraud was putting himself at risk of being caught by the IPC.

Does that sound like Aventurine to you? The guy whose mantra is literally:

So obviously, Aventurine stood to gain something from scamming the IPC at Egyhazo. What could he possibly have wanted to achieve by creating a scheme that seemingly didn't directly benefit him? Well, he says it himself:

Aventurine wanted to be brought before the IPC. He got caught on purpose. He once again gambled with his own life, betting that, instead of being put on trial for all his past crimes, he could convince Diamond (though it ended up being Jade) to invest in him. The game literally tells you, in multiple places, that Aventurine was taking another one of his stereotypically crazy, potentially self-destructive gambles to try to achieve something:

Aventurine wanted the IPC to invest in him. He wanted in on their power and wealth. No one in the IPC forced him to target their organization not once but twice with his "desert-digging schemes" when it is clear that Aventurine could easily make money elsewhere. No one forced him to suggest this gamble with Jade to convince the IPC to invest in him. No one forced him to, in the words of the game itself, "seek a Cornerstone."

Aventurine's character stories are the only indications we have (for now) about what his motivations for joining the IPC might have been:

They suggest he joined with the intention of gaining wealth and power to help his people and others who aided him in the past--only to find out that that was no longer possible, invalidating his original reason for joining and likely leaving him without motivation or will to really even stay in the powerful position he had worked to get into. Part of his suicidality is likely linked to this--that he set himself a massive, unbelievable goal in an attempt to gain power and wealth to finally help his people--only to be entirely too late. But in any case, these character stories make it clear that he did personally seek to join the IPC of his own free will.

(And I mean, hello? The whole point of Jade as a character is being the one who sees people's desires and then grants them--ergo, Aventurine's desire was, in fact, to join the IPC himself.)

If we needed any more corroborating evidence for this, just consider everything post-Penacony, when Aventurine has decided that he does actually value his life now and wants to live. Aventurine would have had so many chances to "escape" the IPC if he so chose. First, he could easily have pretended to actually die within the Nihility. He could have entirely fucked off with Argenti's help, created a new identity, and made himself a pile of independent wealth from gambles, all without the IPC ever knowing where he went. But he didn't.

Then, he had a second chance to betray the IPC and fuck off again with Boothill's help. Boothill had already knocked out Aventurine's bodyguards at the door--there was literally no one else around. A little blood on the floor and no one would have doubted that the IPC-hating, wanted vigilante Boothill had done away with Aventurine.

Hell, Aventurine knows the Trailblazer. One word to the Trailblazer, and Aventurine could board the Astral Express and be whisked off to the other side of the universe.

But none of those things happened. Aventurine made no effort to remove himself from the IPC--even though he knew he had broken a Cornerstone and would be facing possible punishment. He didn't even make a single mention of trying to "escape" the IPC at all.

Because he isn't trying to.

(And edit, an addendum, because I kept seeing this on Twitter too: A bunch of people were claiming that because Aventurine wasn't smiling when he got his Cornerstone back, that was evidence that he hates the IPC and doesn't want to be there:

Like... did they forget that every single time Aventurine makes his major gambles, he has such anxiety that he can never convince himself to believe he'll actually win, to the point that the "Future" Aventurine accuses him of clenching his trembling hand beneath the table? Is it really that surprising that someone who never actually believes he's going to win would have a shocked face when he does win here, especially after witnessing the literal power of an aeon restore something he thought was broken forever? Come on now...)

Would the guy who always wins his gambles bet that he would get a promotion if he absolutely didn't want his job?

People really, really seem to struggle with this aspect of Aventurine's character, going out of their way to ignore the game's text and suggest that he definitely absolutely would never, ever have joined the IPC of his own free will. People really hate the idea that Aventurine is a morally-grey character who makes choices that are actively harmful to himself, like willingly joining an organization that is exploiting him.

Knowing that the IPC played a part in the Avgin extinction, people literally cannot fathom that Aventurine would willingly join them.

But I think that denying this part of Aventurine's character is bad. There's no need to reduce Aventurine to an innocent, helpless victim who is being exploited against his will and who would never do a single evil thing himself. That's not who the game is telling us he is.

The game tells us, repeatedly, that Aventurine is a survivor who will do whatever it takes to succeed at whatever he sets his mind to--even up to murdering innocent people to survive himself. Up to willingly joining the IPC to seek wealth and power. He's not a 100% good person who is still being forced through an existence he has no control over.

He's a self-destructive gambler who makes terrible choices with his own life, and willingly joining the IPC to let the Stonehearts exploit his abilities is one of the most obvious indications of that in the game.

Please stop denying Aventurine his complex, three-dimensional character writing to make him your pure, innocent trauma woobie. I'm begging people.

Claim #4: Aventurine wants revenge on Oswaldo Schneider.

Verdict: There's no evidence in the game (yet) that Aventurine is even aware of Oswaldo Schneider's role in the Avgin extinction, let alone actively trying to seek revenge for it.

Personally, this one hurts me the most, because this is where I'd like to see the story going. I want it to be that Aventurine was partially motivated to join the IPC specifically to orchestrate an inside job and get the Avgins' revenge on Oswaldo Schneider.

But even I have to admit that there's currently no evidence for this at all in the story.

For one, we have no confirmation in-game that Aventurine actually knows Schneider's direct role in the Avgin extinction. Aventurine clearly knows that the IPC could have intervened (he was there; he saw they didn't do anything), but we have no actual confirmation in the game's text that Aventurine knows Schneider told his people not to get involved, leading to the massacre. The only reason we players know of this is relic text, which isn't available canonically to characters in the game.

It is very likely that Aventurine is smart enough to figure this out or do the research to learn it, but as of right now, we don't have that confirmation in game.

Similarly, we players are given no access to Aventurine's actual conversations with Boothill. We have no idea what they talked about other than this one statement:

It seems likely, based on this, that Aventurine did say something to Boothill about being willing to go after Oswaldo Schneider, but we won't know for sure until the game reveals more.

What we do know is that even if Aventurine does give Boothill information on Oswaldo, it might not really be because Aventurine wants personal revenge.

Oswaldo's Marketing Development Department is basically the sworn enemy of the Stonehearts' Strategic Investment Department. The two groups are in an internal cold war, vying for "votes" from the seven board members who are actually leading the IPC.

So even if we see Aventurine taking actions against Oswaldo, it might not be because of a personal grudge, but because literally Aventurine's entire department hates Oswaldo Schneider's guts on principle in the first place.

So it's very difficult to say what is going on with Aventurine and Oswaldo Schneider at this point, and in the end, we just need to wait for more information.

Phew, all right! That was definitely long enough. I've gotten it all off my chest. I hope I've managed to give people some more canon material to chew on for another look at Aventurine's character, which is rich and complex and definitely cannot be reduced to simply "pure innocent victim babygirl."

Maybe now I'll be a little less salty when I see misinformation spreading like a wildfire again on Twitter.

Maybe.

Ha ha, who am I kidding.

[corgoship]

actually going insane from this take. holy shit.

It's one thing to point out that Katara and Zuko losing their mom in a traumatic way is something specific they have in common (note how Sokka is never included there either, despite literally having the same mother as his sister). It's another to invalidate and downplay Aang's loss of his ENTIRE RACE AND CULTURE just to boost your ship. He literally says in the show that he knows how Katara feels because of his loss. He's been depicted entering the same pain-induced anger as Katara has.

Not to mention, Aang and Katara have that to bond over too - as her culture has been decimated by the very same people that killed Aang's. Zuko's people, by the way.

Lastly it's just blatantly untrue and frankly insulting to say that Aang "got over" the genocide of his people "in one season" (given that it's mentioned in every season and plays an important role to Aang's character each time). This isn't something one can "get over". It's very likely that Aang will never recover from this. And it's disgusting to say that he hasn't been cut as deeply just because he doesn't mention it every 5 seconds and rage about it.

[donnatroyyyy]

Jason Todd’s death storyline was perfectly executed because they killed him figuratively (killed his innocence) before actually killing him. It’s a tragedy because he died in two separate ways. And the reason his resurrection is just as much a tragedy is because only one of the things killed can be brought back and it wasn’t the thing that made Jason who he is (his innocence and kindness).

[m1n4h]

K, i'm gonna start posting my art that i've been putting until later

Do you guys remember that GlamTony theory i explained almost a year ago? Yeah

I have. a GlamTony AU, and i had it for several months now. But i don't like talking about my AUs and everything here much, bc every time it's like a 100 pages essay for me that i definitely don't want to spend my time on. Which is kinda sad, but it is how it is, and i wish i knew english better.

Since Beckory was created, i decided to not mention this theory yet. Some people could take it weird, or it just could make some Beckory fans uncomfortable, and i didn't want that to happen. I want people to understand that I separate these two things. (I'm being so wary bc people hated Beckory and called it a comship for them being children, despite the fact that they're technically teens in this ship, so like. if anything, y'know.)

Although, this theory is not that popular, i know some people that like this theory, and i'd like to post it for them. Maybe someone else would also get interested in it, idk

[akkivee]

My Generation: Buster Bros!!! Drama Track TL

sorry for the wait!!!! come get y’all’s bb drama fresh off the presses!!! three months late lol!!!!! tl’s in the link!!!

[youhavethesun]

one thing about me is that i’ll EAT UP younger siblings as narrative foils of the protagonist’s innocence every damn time !! the desperate protection of this version of themselves that isn’t corrupted/damaged, a version of themselves that can still be saved.. AHHHHHHH

[milksnake-tea]

ARE YOU FOR FUCKING REAL

[oldrockformations]

Something about Caitlyn telling Jayce “hextech may keep us alive, but it’s not what will save us” and how that relates to Viktor.

Like Jayce’s immediate reaction to hearing that is just deflating and looking at the ground and I can’t help but think he looks guilty???? He has just directly defied Viktor’s wishes, using hextech to keep him alive and Jayce knows it. In keeping Viktor alive, Jayce may have doomed them all. Viktor watched the hexcore kill Sky. He knew the potential for harm it had, and he tried to warn Jayce. And Jayce didn’t listen.

When Viktor finally wakes up, Jayce is too relieved at first to realize something about Viktor is different (aside from his new look ofc) Where as before, Viktor’s eyes were full of adoration when he looked at Jayce, now he looks conflicted. When Jayce, a man he loves dearly, hugs him, Viktor doesn’t seem to know how to react. He almost looks like he pities Jayce.

That line Viktor said, “I sense a charge. A potential. A recursive impulse.” He should feel cold, but he doesn’t have the capacity to anymore. His body is trying to replicate what it knows it should feel, but it’s doing so with all new material. It gives Viktor an echo of what he should be experiencing. And it seems that doesn’t only apply to his physical form. His very being has been altered by the hexcore.

So when he hugs Jayce back, it’s the same thing. It’s an echo of who Viktor was before he was changed. Muscle memory. It’s what Viktor is supposed to do in the situation, because the Viktor before loved Jayce. And just like the cold, he’s feeling a replication of the affection he felt. His reasoning is intact, he knows he should be feeling affection, but the way he feels emotions has fundamentally shifted.

Viktor should have died. He should have died of his terminal illness, but he survived using the hexcore. After Sky though, Viktor realized his mistake and he knew nothing good would come of the hexcore. Viktor should have died again in the explosion. He knew he was going to die anyway, and he had accepted it at that point. Only Jayce hadn’t. Maybe, if he had, Viktor would have been able to die as himself and be at peace. But that didn’t happen. Jayce, in keeping Viktor alive, has given him a fate worse than death. The hexcore has taken away who Viktor was, and left his body behind. The Viktor that Jayce knew is gone, and what has survived is either a shell of him, or something else entirely.

[scrunkly-scribe]

It’s a cold day in hell if I’m drawing Eddsworld wtf is happening

[sephioux]

me enjoying Enji peacefully :p

[simplenefelibata]

i think a lot of you undermine sam and cas' friendship.

like, we know sam isn't dean. cas isn't pathetically in love with him and sam didn't change him and he isn't the reason cas cared about the whole world. but that doesn't mean he's unimportant.

at the beginning of the series cas sees sam as the abomination. nothing but lucifer's vessel. throughout the series, sam becomes an extension of dean. cas takes care of him because he's dean's little brother and doesn't really give a much of a thought how his actions could affect him.

on the other hand, i think sam didn't have a lot of friends growing up and it shows lol. he sees cas as an instrument, and then also as an extension of dean. he's important to dean so he's kinda important to him, but he doesn't really Get why dean worries sm about cas — isn't he an angel??? sam constantly says cas is gonna be okay because he "knows what he's doing", or he simply says "it's cas... " it feels like sam is painfully aware how powerful and different he is.

the thing is, slowly but surely, they start hanging out more. they collab for dean's benefit, and then the concern they feel for the other's safety starts being more genuine instead of just "Not letting anything happen because Dean wouldn't survive it". they find out they like each other, and they can work really well together investigating and hunting (i'd argue that even better than cas and dean). this comes to a point where cas teases sam with dean (ex: telling him about the amnesia in the 50's case bc he knows it's embarrassing) and sam texting cas just because.

season 15 is what seals it for me. when cas breaks up with dean (lol), sam is the one reaching out. texting. calling. cas doesn't pick up, but sam keeps doing it. again. and again. that wouldn't have happened in season 7, or season 9, and really not much reason to do it now. but still.

plus, when people talk about cas and his love for the winchesters, they include Both of them. yes, they make the distinction between dean and cas' relationship, but they do include sam. even cas said at one point "you know me, always happy to bleed for the winchesters".

so, what i'm trying to say is: cas and sam's friendship matters!!! they should've had more time screen!!! i bet they would have so many interesting conversations because they're friends!!!

if you say that in a post-canon world you don't think sam would try to get cas to talk about his feelings, or that cas wouldn't confide sam his fears and regrets and worries BEEP you're wrong.

[bronzeagepizzeria]

sorry just.

look at how vulnerable erik is being here

and charles just. being unable to talk about it

and erik going along with him immediately. snapping back into that cool facade

[museofthepyre]

Thinking about character analysis lately and I really wanna talk about the themes of privilege prevalent throughout CHNT... I wanna talk about how they're core to SO MUCH of the series imo, especially in relation to Jedidiah and Elijah's actions and similarities. With that, I wanna talk about the transfem Elijah hc- and explain why personally, I stand with Mayfield on the whole “let’s maybe not do that” thing.

But I don't want my nerdy character analysis ramble to feel... inflammatory? This is nothing more than my own personal takeaway from the series, and as always, I have nothing against the people who enjoy trans Elijah & Jeddie hcs (especially if it's a self-projection!). I just have a contrasting perspective, and a tendency to over-analyze media, so don’t let me sour your fun ;3

I'm not as interested in discussing morality as I am narritave congruency, just since many have said it before... that being, something something "out of all the characters to hc as transfem, let's maybe not hone in on the guy who's notoriously creepy and invasive and stalkerish. Let's just be mindful of the insinuations that come from pointing at him specifically and going "omg so transfem coded". Theres something to be said about how so many ppl neglect the transfem rep we actually have in favour of it — yeah, ykwim..." something something.

But I digress— I wanna talk about the narritave!!!!!

To contextualize my thoughts: I believe Jedidiah and Elijah are meant to be parallels. I believe neither of them are ill-intended or evil. I believe they both thought they were doing "good", but their respective worldviews were uniquely distorted. One of the things warping their perspective issssss: privilege!

Privilege (and the subsequent ignorance it fosters) is a large theme I’ve noticed throughout CHNT, a theme which both Elijah and Jedidiah's characters explore.

For Elijah, this comes in the form of... his total obliviousness towards just how scary his behaviour comes across to Sydney. He just doesn't seem to realize it at all— how his actions, regardless of their intent, are threatening and frightening and creepy as hell. As a cis white man, he's likely never had to adapt that specific kind of hyper-vigilance that women (both trans and cis) and transmascs all learn at some point in their life experience.

I don't think it's any coincidence that Sydney and Marisol (and Salem!!!) were afraid of Elijah— but Jedidiah, another cis white man, just couldn't wrap his head around why they were scared. Why they share an instinctual fear of this random sketchy human man, and why *this* freaks them out so much more than the whacky magical anomalies they encounter daily. He, like Elijah, lives in a totally different world, one where he's never had to be hyper-vigilant in that way! He's completely detached from Sydney and Marisol's perspective. He cannot sympathize, because he’s never had to. Both Elijah's behaviour AND Jedidiah's dismissal of it share the same root— a privileged perspective that they can't (or refuse to) see beyond.

Something I love about CHNT is how it explores real world issues in a heightened reality. Nobody is a cartoon villain here, their actions come not from evil, not from malice, but plain ol’ ignorance.

With this understanding... and the understanding that trans women ABSOLUTELY adapt this hyper-vigilance the very same way cis women and transmascs do (as Marisol stands to demonstrate)... the notion of a transfem Elijah becomes an entirely different character, because she would know!!!!! She would not share that privileged blissful ignorance!

A character who is scaring Sydney, knows it, and continues that behaviour with no regard for his suffering... vs a character who is so detached from Sydney’s reality that they’re completely ignorant to how much suffering they’re causing him in their blind attempt to “help”. One is knowing and malicious— one is catastrophically ignorant.

WHCH IS STILL BAD- but it’s consistent with those themes of ‘no evil cartoon villainy’ and 'character is doing what they think is right. they do not know what is right'. Elijah’s goal seems to be earning Sydney’s trust… and making Sydney fear him directly sabotages that pursuit, so I don’t think he’s doing it with real awareness/ intent. I also don’t think he had ulterior motives, in case that needs to be clarified. I think he (like Jedidiah) truly wanted to do what they thought was “right” for Sydney…

… Doing what they thought was right, all the while being completely oblivious to the suffering they're causing him inversely— because (say it with me now), they're detached from his reality, they cannot sympathize, they've never had to! Well, they COULD sympathize... but in order to do that, they’d have to sacrifice the bliss of that ignorance, which neither of them seemed ready to do. Not until the last episode when Jedidiah… maybe took his first few steps. Maybe. Hopefully.

Anyways yeah. This specific facet of Elijah's identity (cis guy privilege) feels crucial to his character, and contextualizing why he acts the way he does. Same goes for Jedidiah tbh. I think showcasing, acknowledging, and breaking down the harm of that ignorance is part of the story's message (in so many more ways than just this one example) (I have a whole other ramble locked and loaded about why I think Jedidiah is very intentionally written to be a wealthy healthy skinny cis white guy and how that impacts the narrative lol)

In case it needs to be stated I'm not asserting this as any One True Way of interpreting the characters, it's just what I got from the series ;3 and I wanna share because I like to yap! Sidenote here, we should pay more attention to Marisol. God, I love Marisol.