#I SAID IT WOULD HAPPEN AND IT DID!!!!

[butchfalin]

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

#yeehaw #1k #5k #10k #posts that got cursed. blasted. im making these tag updates after... 19 hours? #also i have been told it should say speech loss bc nonverbal specifically refers to the permanent state. did not know that! #unfortunately i fear it is so far past containment that even if i edited it now it would do very little. but noted for future reference #edit 2: nvm enough ppl have come to rb it from me directly that i changed the wording a bit. hopefully this makes sense #also. in case anyone is curious. though i doubt anyone who is commenting these things will check the original tags #1) my friend did not do this on purpose in any way. it was not intended to distract me or to hit on me. im a lesbian hes a gay man. cmon now #he felt very bad about it afterwards. i thought it was hilarious but it was very embarrassed and apologetic #2) “why didn't he use 🫵🏼?” didn't exist yet. “why didn't he use 🆗?” dunno! we'd been using a lot of hand emojis. 👌🏼 is an ok sign #like it makes sense. it was just a silly mixup. also No i did not invent 👉🏼👌🏼 as a gesture meaning sex. do you live under a rock #3) nonspeaking episodes are a recurring thing in my life and have been since i was born. this is not a quirky one-time thing #it is a pervasive issue that is very frustrating to both myself and the people i am trying to communicate with. in which trying to speak is #extremely distressing and causes very genuine anguish. this post is not me making light of it it's just a funny thing that happened once #it's no different than if i post about a funny thing that happened in conjunction w a physical disability. it's just me talking abt my life #i don't mind character tags tho. those can be entertaining. i don't know what any of you are talking about #Except the ppl who have said this is pego/ryu or wang/xian. those people i understand and respect #if you use it as a writing prompt that's fine but send it to me. i want to see it #aaaand i think that's it. everyday im tempted to turn off rbs on it. it hasn't even been a week

[clown-owo]

been replaying the Portal series I think this is where its heading

#i haven't drawn in like. half a month. which listen i know i don't post much here but i do draw a lot #i have another blog. but also sometimes i just don't post things. i draw for myself #just got burnt out from working on an animation final 😔 #so anyway. eased myself back in with a silly comic about portal #my irl saw my shitty sketch and thought glados was painting chell which is very funny to me. #chelldos #but like. unrequited. glados is obsessed with chell. chell is not having a good time #portal #chell #GlaDOS #GlaD0S #my art #og post #1k #5k #10k #20k #edit: i made this post almost a year ago and it haunts me. theres a typo. chell is out of character. #because i couldn't come up with a good reason for her to be there in the first place #and this was a shitty ms paint replicating drawing that i did just to get back into drawing #i didn't think it would gain much attention #i was Wrong #anyway someone in the comments said this is what happens when you speedrun thats an infintely better setup for the punchline #EDIT 2: ok i fixed it fuck you

[thedreadvampy]

Losing my shit about this article in which a transphobic Tory was so busy panicking about existing in the vicinity of a Trans that she almost certainly misheard "jeans" as "penis" and decided that not only was this a problem with the other woman, but also that the world must be informed of this pressing danger.

"a trans woman! I had to stand directly behind her....I thought, 'this is going well', I'm handling The Situation fine'..."

translated: I saw a tall woman with broad shoulders. How would I get out of this alive? I thought. she has a PENIS. PENIS PENIS PENIS. through some force of PENIS I mean will I managed to PENIS behave normally towards her. My hands were PENIS PENIS PENIS shaking as I tried to dry them. summoning up all my PENIS courage I said 'dryer's crap innit'. she turned to me and said " yeah I'm just goiPENIS PENIS PENIS"

It's been a week and I'm still shaking. This proves trans women are the problem and I'm not weird. I'm fine. It's fine. If you think about it I'm the hero hePENIS!!!!!

very this

#red said #it's just. I'm obsessed. #everyone on Twitter is saying 'never happened' and i think they're wrong #this absolutely did happen and she's been obsessing over how vindicated it made her feel enough to WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT IT #because she MISHEARD SOMEONE IN A CASUAL CONVERSATION #i lay out my reasoning thusly: if you were INVENTING a scary trans woman in bathroom story out of nothing. why would it be this? #why would you go with 'we had a banal conversation until she said a sentence that makes no sense and that no human has ever uttered #but which does coincidentally sounds almost exactly like a mishearing of a very NORMAL thing to say in the circumstances #then she left and nothing else occurred' #if you were going to INVENT a story you would probably make it MAKE SENSE or SOUND THREATENING #i truly believe this is a very authentically told account of what she thinks happened #because who would. by means other than mishearing. think 'I'm going to wipe my hands on my penis' makes any sense at all. #a) 'I'm going to dry my hands on my genitals' says the presumably fully clothed woman #b) who then proceeds to leave without doing anything threatening #c) WHO SAYS PENIS THREATENINGLY? sorry it's writing out 'penis' repeatedly that made this jump out to me but like. who says that? #you might hear someone talk casually about their dick or cock but i stg it's only doctors and TERFs who casually use the word penis much #it's so. clinically descriptive. it's a weird use of language. but it IS. something you could plausibly mishear from 'pants' or 'trousers'

[woiwais]

Doodles on whiteboard I was in 2 days ago I think

#my art #one piece #roronoa zoro #monkey d. luffy #ft. generic pose holding cup and unfinished doodle #the passage of time is very strange and my brain is unable to completely grasp it #I forget when things happened or if I even did/said them #zolu #either platonic or romantic #whatever floats your boat! #unrealistic and ooc zoro sleeping #as in he would be snoring like a motorbike being in the sunny and with the crew #And not quietly snoring like this #Luzo

[gunsatthaphan]

🏳️‍🌈!!!

#last twilight #last twilight on stage #markohm #namtanfilm #mark pakin #ohm thiphakorn #namtan tipnaree #film rachanun #gmmtv #UHM HELLO #cannot believe they did this in front of everyones salad AND at an event thats supposed to be for LT lmao????? #also DID I OR DID I NOT tell you markohm is happening #and no one would believe me so go figure #im screaming #they really said marknamtan?? idk her this is a gays only event #ive been waiting for this soft launch thank you gmm #also not to be that bitch but im afraid my girl namtan is ready to risk it all in pluto #shes gonna go wild #homegirl is READY to be gay lmao #and i love her for that #now where is part 2 i need it #on that note happy easter lol #ive been struggling in the last few weeks so sorry for being inactive i guess #ill come out of my cave when part 2 is happening probably lol

[luna-lovegreat]

I want. Four to get appreciation. Because

Four gave a ton of unnoticed help when Twilight was injured

The fight with Wild was difficult, and I know we're all concerned about his negative view of the shadow crystal

But Four did something that no one else really thought of to help- He took care of Twi's stuff

From the beginning he told Twilight to not worry about them

So Four took care of pretty much everything but the others (that Sky and Wars handled)

He took care of Epona

Which is so very important- he took care of Twilight's horse. After her arrival at the stable Four followed up on her

And for Epona, a horse so attached to her human, having some company can help so much for reassurance

He took care of Twilight's stuff

He got Twi's shield- his bags and equipment, and organized it into one place

And he was worried. He obviously found the shadow crystal while handling Twi's stuff, but his negative reactions to it were out of concern.

Also- because of his placement in this scene

I'm fairly convinced Four was ready to start cooking before Wild showed up (since he's beside the counter with food supplies). At the very least he had the basket of fruit out for everyone -but he was literally standing with food behind him- he thought of everything

And he did housekeeping!

Wars payed for the inn, so Four took care of the inn

Realistically these boys were probably not too concerned with tidyness. Four got all of Twi's things on one table, and took care of the room they stayed in

Organizing tables and Twi's things, having food supplies ready, and opening the curtains- overall he was the one tidying up the inn

Four helped in a huge way! He took care of Twi's horse (Epona is so important), his equipment and shield and bag, as well as the other rooms in the inn

Four filled in all the little tasks that others didn't think of. He helped in ways that were needed, but not obvious

There's a lot of problems with the shadow crystal and with Wild, and I don't know what's gonna happen in the future

But don't forget this- don't forget that Four was one who stepped up in an almost unnoticeable way

Don't forget that when everyone was barely holding it together, Four visited Twilight's horse and took care of his things

No matter what develops in the future- this amount of care shown is important ya know?

.

Art and comic from Jojo @linkeduniverse au :)))

#epona is so important #Lu four #linkeduniverse #linked universe #I work with horses and #Epona is INCREDIBLE- she's extremely attuned to humans and emotions. she doesn't scare easily and can keep her cool in a fight #but it's still super stressful to suddenly be in a fairly large and populated town- separated from her person #and for such an empathetic horse? Four going and TALKING to her- gently petting her nose and just being near her #means so so much! that literally matters so much to a horses mental state in a foreign situation- just having company #he checked on Epona and gave her company like !!!!!! it's so considerate and means so much for Epona! Four I love you !!!!! #uhhhh yeah! #with the food- I don't think the innkeeper would have free/complimentary food out- but wars wallet def had it covered #then wild showed up with potions in a cooking frenzy- but four was still shown with food behind him- he thought of everything #I don't know what's gonna happen with the shadow crystal and stuff. but no matter what happens in the future- this matters. #he did a ton of small things no one else thought of it matters he cares so much didjdkdksjfjj #I have a lot of posts I'm making/editing and trying to get to. I'm just a little gal trying my best :/ #so many ideas and so little time... I love you guys and this fandom so much :)) #(if I said anything off or offensive let me know... I'm always nervous about that but I want to hear from you if I'm wrong) #(also you are so so cool and valuable don't forget that ok? I love you and you are important) #:)

[minhosblr]

T.leeknowsaurus first insta live aka. Minho not being satisfied with instagram's filters for 18 minutes straight

#bystay #createskz #linosource #stray kids #lee know #*m.gif #*minho #analook #kpopccc #malegroupsnet #stays kept telling him stuff would happen if he did thumbs up and he called them scammers when nothing happened #someone asked him why he touched jeongin's whole face during s-class and he was like “why? can't I touch what is mine? Is there a problem?” #he also said he had his hair cut really short for their break and the stylists told him not to cut his hair anymore and he debated #on ignoring them and doing it anyway #the pain it brings me to know he wants short hair when i'm a loyal long-haired minho stan :( #he also couldn't figure out how to see the comments cause the comments only showed who followed him lol #he said the filters were boring and pretended to end the live because of it #there was a cat filter but it was a wineglass and not a cat and he wasn't satisfied #stays were annoying and told him not to do filters as always stays let him have his fun!! >:(

[icewindandboringhorror]

I know this is just a silly bad quality random screencap of a screencap that I found on facebook lol, BUT it's a succinct enough image to easily describe the concept in a quick/accessible way hopefully :

-

(and of course, feel free to elaborate in tags, etc.! (especially elaborating about other senses as well.. can you "hear" in your mind just as well as you can "see"? taste? etc.) It's an interesting topic to me, as someone who's like a 4.5 at MOST lol. I'm curious what option will be the most common :0c )

#tumblr polls #hrmm... a little poll perhaps.. about a subject I find interesting.. since this image came across my facebook today #still really not feeling that well. no longer shaking violently and such but I still feel weird and weak much more than usual #They did say my markers for like infection or inflammation were elevated but that they werent sure of the cause so hopefully #it's nothing too serious. they did also say a lot of different things can cause that thing to be higher than normal but didn't go into spec #fics of what. maybe some of them are relatively benign or something. I still havent felt much back to normal since #I got really sick that one time though. I feel fine on and off but then little bouts of feeling weird and sick happen. hrmmm #ANYWAY.. looking for small ways to be productive. such as little doodles on evil ipad or editing game videos #or posting polls or cat pictures or some other like not very labor intensive things #I WISH I COULD FOCUS on writing HHRGGhh... I need to finish my game.. it would be so freeing.. a project that's been looming #over my head for like 5 years even though througouht that 5yrs I've probably spent a total of 3 months working on it lo.. ANYWAY #I still partially really cannot beleive that people CAN see stuff in their heads. There's always part of me that's thinking like. well mayb #e everyone DOES see the same exact thing but we just describe/conceptualize it so differently that we think we're talking about #different things when we're really not. But I have been assured by people I've talked to about it that they can GENUINELY really see #stuff in their heads like as vivid as an actual picture in real life or something. And the other senses are neat too. Like for exmaple I #can hear in my head much better than I can see imagery. I still CANNOT hear vividly like as if I were listening to actual music out loud.. #but I think it's developed more than my sight. AND interesting how this varies the creative process. a friend I was talking to on the phone #said they write by literally just watching stuff play before them like a movie. where my process is COMPLETELY different. AND that affects #the content/what details we focus on as well as our individual styles of writing have differences that can be traced back to that.. hrmm

[only-one-brain-cell]

I want married Kathony gossiping about the family in season 3 so bad. I want overprotective Anthony with Francesca and Kate being the only one to calm him down (but she’s just as bad.)

Violet watching Anthony give another death glare to a suitor: it’s a miracle Daphne got married at all

Kate: Anthony *wraps her arm around him*

Anthony: *eyes turn to mush*

Kate whispering: he’s not good enough for her, don’t waste your energy on him.

Fran: I’m never getting married am I?

Violet: *exhausted sigh*

Eloise: can they do that with me????

Ben writing to Colin: come home Brother there’s two of them now I’m outnumbered.

#bridgerton #kathony #kate bridgerton #anthony bridgerton #Benedict: I fear they may go after me next #Kate that night: Penelope seems different I didn’t see her talking to Colin #Anthony: oh Colin said- #Kate: say no more #Kate: Eloise doesn’t seem to be talking to Penelope either did something happen with them? #Anthony: my love Eloise would go talk to a horse before me when it comes to her feelings #Kate: I’ll get to the bottom of it then

[fandomunsexyman]

SVSSS is a novel with a fandom.

[ID: A Scum Villain edit of the "missing the point" meme. A bullet arcs from velinxi art of child Shen Jiu kneeling while furiously glaring. The bullet says, "People are not entirely one thing or the other and holding them to these extremes ignores the complexities that come with their humanity." It arcs over the head of a person across from it, who ignores the bullet and exclaims: "Wow!! Shen Jiu's only crime was being mean and was wrongly hated!" End ID]

#i have so many thoughts about him but he is SO mischaracterized in a lot of fics #like just 'he would not fucking say that' on repeat #because shen jiu's entire thing is that he was CANONICALLY a terrible person #yes his backstory was sad but that doesn't make him Suddenly Good #shen qingqiu is an incredibly complex character but can y'all not pretend that his only flaw is being mean #like shen jiu failed original luo binghe in every way #as his caretaker as an adult in his life on EVERY level #'the tea had healing medicine in it!!' no it did not #shen jiu poured boiling hot tea on a child as a grown man because he was jealous. of said child. #like the entire POINT of his secret backstory was to showcase his complexity!! #and to see so much fandom stuff that's just Shen Yuan in the Opposite Direction is Hm #like he's fun to analyze but let's not pretend that he wasn't a terrible fucking person #while I'm ranting shen jiu would not casually talk about his trauma either #shen jiu's entire thing WAS appearances and even post character arc i think he'd struggle to open up to others #so like NOOOO he would not just tell someone something terrible that happened to him in his past #he'd rather die #okay rant over but this phenomenon is just SO frustrating to me #svsss #shen jiu #scum villian's self saving system #original shen qingqiu

[originalaccountname]

putting my hands on your shoulders looking directly into your eyes why are you so insistent that Dazai is faking every emotion every second of every day except when he's acting mean or evil why do you think his dark side is more true than his happier or sillier sides

do you not also have multiple facets you show different people? are we not all beautiful multifaceted individuals? are your actions and reactions not influenced by your emotions and state of mind?

can't he laugh at his own jokes? can't he fondly think of the Agency? can't he be dramatic because he wants to? can't he be surprised by something suddenly happening, even if he knew it would happen? do you not jump when the jack in the box gets out even if you were the one working the mechanism?

why would the mean persona be more real? why would any and all joy be faked? why are you only allowing him misery?

#sorry i saw one too many posts talking about dazai's ''masks'' and how he hides his true self from the ada #and what of it if he still has the potential to hurt others? what of it if he's good at hurting? every day he chooses not to lean into it #not too far at the very least. #isn't kyouk.a skilled at killing? did she not choose not to do it? #i'm not saying dazai's never acting (because it does happen) i'm saying too many people are too quick to brush off- #every non-serious non-mean emotion as ''playing an act'' #why would the mean persona not be a fake?? you thought about that??? what biases are you holding here #he makes jokes. he acts silly. he's a drama queen. he loves it. #you know what IS tiring? having to look evil and untouchable and impassive in front of a whole organization every day as a teenager #as soon as he gets to lupin with od.a and ang.o he goes silly mode. heck- when he *met* ang.o it was because he went silly mode. #as soon as chuuy.a is in proximity he starts yelling children's insults and starts stupid competitions #his silly mode is just as integrated into his personality as the capacity to be the scariest most evil person you've seen #they are not mutually exclusive and having the capacity for either does not mean acting on them #as asagiri said in an interview: bsd isn't about change it's about adaptation. kyouk.a has the talent to kill. she just chooses not to. #dazai has the skills to be evil. he just chooses good. #that got long in the tags sorry #apparently i talk sometimes

[startistdoodles]

Sister tries to describe Magolor to me

#my art #kirby #magolor #this happened last night i just thought it was endearing aghdsgdhsj #she isnt really a gamer anymore but we used to play rtdl together a lot #we were talking about the remake and she said she would play it with me like we did when we were kids ^^ looking forward to it #rtdl spoilers #justttt in case #1k

[softpine]

can i just word vomit for a min...

there was a point in late 2023 where i felt like i overstayed my welcome on simblr and i planned on just wrapping frozen pines up as quickly as possible and moving on. continuing to write when it's clear that the audience for it is dwindling felt so embarrassing that i almost didn't even want to put effort into it anymore, because i was afraid it just looked pathetic (obligatory disclaimer: no one made me feel this way, you're all so lovely, it's just the nature of seeing a community change over 7 years). writing already feels very personal to me and it's becoming increasingly harder for me to put my work out there (again, for reasons unrelated to simblr and entirely related to mental illness 🤙🏻). i know my story is so long that it deters new readers, and so sporadic that it makes old readers drop off with time. this has really been bothering me lately because i don't know what i can do to fix it. i don't think there IS anything i can do.

but. okay. don't make fun of me for saying this. dan and phil returning to youtube kinda changed my mindset? they may be pulling a fraction of the views they got in their peak, but they're happier than they've ever been and they're working on things they actually want to do, not things they think will be particularly popular. seeing that has made me realize that it is possible to keep finding joy in a community that has largely moved on without you. obviously my little blog is nowhere near the same scale, so this feels kind of silly, but i've been thinking about all the things i used to do on simblr that were never fun for me, i mainly did them because i knew they would get notes or because i felt like i had to do it. making cc, lookbooks, sim requests, reshade help (oh my god the reshade help), lot downloads, etc. they DID get notes, but i can't imagine spending my time doing any of that stuff ever again tbh.

on top of that, it makes me sad to scroll through my dash and realize that i don't recognize most of the people i see anymore. i still talk to some wonderful people here who i consider friends and that's invaluable to me (💖), but the broader community aspect is something i no longer feel a part of. and believe me, i know i'm at fault here because it's not like i'm going out of my way to talk to new people or participate in trends like i used to. i don't blame anyone except the passage of time!!

frozen pines, and simblr by extension, played such a gigantic part in my life when i needed it the most. and that's not to say that i don't still care about it, because i absolutely do, but it's a different kind of feeling. i've always promised that i would give frozen pines a satisfying conclusion rather than silently abandoning it someday, and though i do intend to keep that promise, i know it's possible that i might never get there. but i don't want to let my own insecurities get in the way of something i really enjoy doing. writing is an intrinsic piece of me that i'll never quit doing, but sharing my writing on tumblr is something that can't (and shouldn't) last forever. i know that. but i'm going to enjoy it to the fullest while we're all still here together 💞

to anyone who's still reading my silly story after all these years (especially those of you who still check in on my blog even though you're not on simblr anymore): thank you thank you thank you THANK YOUUU. you don't have to change a single thing about what you're doing. this is not me fishing for compliments or putting down an ultimatum, this is just me trying to make sense of my feelings.

but with all this being said, i've decided to quit simblr and start my own exclusive streaming service for $60 a year, i hope you'll all support me as i increase my production value 😌

(just kidding. ily. okay that's all)

#to be 100% clear this is not a goodbye - i'm literally halfway done with the next story post #just sort of an update on the state of my brain #👍🏻 #btw...... sorry to Watcher fans lmaoo you guys really got the short end of the parasocial relationship stick..... </3 #that's not relevant to anything i've said here i've just spent way too much time thinking about how youtube has changed in the past 20 year #because i'm a loser that got really into youtube when i was 11 and never looked back #and then the watcher thing happened. and i was like ohhh if dan and phil did that to me i would have to die about it.

[sunnibits]

maybe my job is just rotting my brain but I’m ngl the bits that little kids do are so fucking funny to me sometimes. today we had a three year old girl who kept handing my coworker different pretend foods from the kitchen but then every time after my coworker took a fake bite she would shout “IT HAS CORN IT IT!!!” and giggle furiously (the joke being that the food being served Should Not have corn in it). like. “here’s your tea!! 🥰 HAHA IT HAS CORN IN IT!!” and I don’t fucking know why but for some reason it killed me. I was like damn she would do numbers on tumblr.

#it sounds dumb now that I type it out but like. idk I was tired and she was adorable #just like HAHA IT HAS CORN IN IT GET GOT #she eventually switched to a more wide variety of unwelcome foods but the repeated corn bit got me giggling #she also did another bit where she kept ‘ringing’ the fake phone for my coworker to pick up but after she said hello she would immediately #hang up on her #it was entertaining for like. the first five times it happened.

[chirpsythismorning]

For the last 24 hrs I’ve been trying to find the real motel from that production assistant’s s4 bts pic…

#byler #stranger things #would you guys laugh if I said this is the most fun part of theorizing during hiatus to me #I feel like a private investigator #no leads yet #but I’m living my truth #the truth of delusion #what happens when I find the motel you ask? #probably nothing #but I’ll have my answer #and I’ll search through all the pictures on the website and imagine scenarios that could go down in a flashback #from from s4 but intended to be put in early s5 #related to whatever happened during that two day time jump… #technically the drive from Nevada to Hawkins would have been about 26 hrs #I did the math #which means we’ve got about 22 hrs of missing time give or take… #the implications of a motel stop for one night to rest are high… #especially if they thought they won against vecna at the time after the monologue….. #👀👀👀 #technically the monologue happened late at night? #so maybe that night they slept at a motel? #and then they left early the next morning? #drove all day and not and got back to Hawkins the following morning…?

[herebutnothere]

When Rick returns to the CRM and receives the Echelon Briefing, he’s presented with a fork in the road that has two clear options: 

Path A: Save the people he loves by going along with mass murder. 

Path B: Save the people he loves by going home. 

We all know how that ends (with a table slide 🥵), but as I was (re)watching, I couldn’t help but wonder—What would have happened if Michonne hadn't found him? What would have happened if Commando Rick was the one hearing the briefing? What would have happened if the E1 version of Rick had to choose?

On its face, what General Beale offers is the solution to Rick’s biggest problems and the salve to his deepest wounds. When Beale callously, manipulatively, rudely says that even Rick’s best efforts (chomp, chomp) weren’t enough to save Carl in the end, he offers the secret army within the CRM as a way to do what Rick couldn’t and can’t—keep people safe.

But…

But. 

“The Ones Who Live” is an epic love story. In virtually every single interview they’ve done leading up to the show and every single interview they’ve done since it aired, Danai, Andrew, and Scott have been very clear about the story they wanted to tell. This quote from Danai stands out to me in particular: 

“When love is the driving force, when it is the propelling thing, when it is making the plot move, what does that look like?”

In other words, what does it look like when love is both the reason for and the result of our actions and decisions?

Throughout TOWL, we get to explore all types of love: romantic (e.g., Rick and Michonne), platonic (e.g., Michonne and Nat), familial (e.g., the Grimes), community (e.g., the caravan), self-love (e.g., Michonne’s articulation of how she views herself for leaving her Shoto and Little Brave Man to find Rick), as well as all the types of love that Ancient Greek philosophers talked about. 

We also get to explore the bastardization of love. We get to see its abuse, its disregard, its minimization, and the consequences therein—

When Beale rejected love, he sacrificed his community. 

When Thorne lost faith in love, she devoted herself to Beale’s fascist mission. 

When Okafor abandoned love, he killed his wife.

Even when Beale is showing Rick a version of paradise where the people he cares about are safe, he starts to say “a lov-” and cuts himself off with “I don’t give a damn.” For him, a love or lover is inconsequential. This thing that ties us together, that makes us us is something trivial that can be cast aside for the bigger picture…

And while we don’t see the other briefings, we do know that Beale’s done 2,533 of them, so—assuming they all accepted—that means there are 2,531 other people besides Okafor and Thorne who have rejected, minimized, destroyed, forgotten, been hurt by, fear, lost, and/or given up on love, too.

So back to Rick, the fork in the road, and my hypothetical question: 

I think that, if Michonne hadn’t had found Rick, if he was still deep in the trenches of the CRM and Okafor’s mission, if he was still walking around dead inside, I think he would have rejected Beale’s offer. Not because he didn’t want to be reunited with his family, but because he wouldn’t have wanted to be reunited with his family like that. 

He wouldn’t have wanted to be with Michonne with his disregard for humanity standing between them.

He wouldn’t have wanted to hold Judith—that sweet precious baby he left behind—and taint her innocence with his sins. 

Because as Michonne told him, “That’s not how you love.”

(And, needless to say, in this hypothetical scenario of Michonne not finding Rick pre-briefing, he wouldn’t know about RJ so he wouldn’t have been accounted for in this decision-making process.)

If there was no reunion and Rick was left to make this decision without the buoyancy of Michonne and all that she reminded him of, if all he had was the memory of the love and life he left behind, the paths in front of Commando Rick would be bleak af:  

Path A1: Go along with the mission to murder millions and be reunited with his family. (Essentially becoming everything he stood against pre-ZA and pre-CRM and never truly being with them again.)

Path A2: Pretend to go along with the mission, but actually try to sabotage it. (Although he might feel trapped because the briefing was the same day as or just before the Portland attack and he might not be able to undo it all on his own in time.)

Path B: Try to escape. Again. (But likely not succeed.) 

Path C: End his life. (And at least die knowing that Michonne and Judith might be able to get away and continue living.)

Which path do you think he would take? 😔

This is why I internally chuckle and roll my eyes at the critiques that TOWL focused too much on love. The way the finale—and the show as a whole—unfolded was the only option. Everything about Rick and Michonne and who they are in this particular world led to this moment. Everything they'd been through for nearly a decade (nearly eight of which he was held captive) came together.

An epic love story indeed. 

The failure to see that and the desire to disregard the power of love—the power of Richonne’s love—simply means you weren’t having the experience you claim you want to have. Go back and watch from the beginning, babe. Pull up E1 and hit “play.” I promise you’ll like it so much better when you allow yourself to believe.

#twd: the ones who live #richonne #they said it was a love story and love stories (typically) require a HEA so what did you really think would happen #rick grimes towl #rick grimes #michone grimes #michonne x rick #twd towl #the ones who live #twd the ones who live #i know i just got here but it's in the text!!!