thinking about the fionna and cake finale and. i've been seeing people upset or annoyed that betty & simon's story focused on how simon had to learn to recognize that what they had was unbalanced and not necessarily fair, because they wanted betty to also realize that she placed too much of her self worth in simon, and they wanted her to learn to live for herself.
i think these people forgot about the episode in adventure time that does this. mainly because, at the end of the episode, it seems like she didn't learn anything at all.
In s10e11, "Temple of Mars," Finn, Jermaine, and Betty have to go through a mind maze to find Jake--and many parts of the maze are relevant to Betty's obsession with Simon/Ice King.
The second room of the "maze" has a chalkboard with a long and complicated equation on it. Betty tries to solve it, thinking it will help, while an Ice Thing messes up the equation as she tries to solve it, preventing her from doing so. It's meant to represent how trying to "solve" the crown's curse is leading nowhere, and that Betty is trying for a hopeless cause.
The last room is the most important to Betty's story, though--it's a window into her past, where she realizes that she needed to take more time for herself. She needed to focus on her, instead of dropping everything for Simon. She makes this realization and changes things for the hypothetical, maze room version of Betty--but naturally, this can't change the past. She's made her choices, and she has to live with that.
I think at the end of the episode, when she takes the "wrong" message away from all of this--she dedicates herself to trying even harder to "fix" Simon--it's mostly because she's scared to accept that she... not wasted, but lost so much of her life because she was so focused on what Simon wanted, or what she thought that Simon needed. She's also still under the effect of the Magic Man hat, so she's still affected by the sadness/madness of that, which likely twisted her view of the situation as well.
But then in the AT finale, she makes her choice to leave Simon. She does it through wishing for his safety, sure, but she still makes the choice to leave him. And in Fionna and Cake, what we see of her--or what's left of her, because we don't know how she's changed, really--is something bigger than what she was before. GOLBetty seems to have realized her own part in the unbalancing of the relationship between them. But that's not what Fionna and Cake is about--it's about Simon, and how he has to move on. Betty has already moved on by the time we see her again. She's showing Simon that, and she's showing him that he has to move on, too. But it's her choice. She could have stayed with him, but...
She takes the bus to the airport. And she takes it without him.
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I see this held up as major proof of Dean's badness, but couldn't it also be proof of Cas having faith Dean can get past anything without Cas having to change his behavior? The way it's structured the onus is on DEAN to work through it, not others to change or make amends. ---- CASTIEL: You know, Dean, he – he feels things more acutely than any human I've ever known. So it's possible he could work through this. One day, he may explode and let it all out and breathe deeply and move on.
I see what you mean in a general sense, and it's extremely possible that Cas is thinking about his own past fights with Dean and Dean forgiving him, and from the perspective of the critique you have in mind that you're refuting, I agree. But of course deancrit casgirls will forever insist that Cas has never in his life done anything harmful to Dean either accidentally or on purpose, so any time Dean might dare try to hold him accountable for anything, he's actually just making shit up and being toxic and controlling, so here Cas is just apologizing for his own abusive relationship. You can only get their take by being deliberately obtuse/disingenuous.
That said, the context of that line (from 15.13 "Destinty's Child") is Cas answering soulless Jack's question about whether Dean will eventually forgive him for murdering Mary.
CASTIEL: Hey, Jack.
JACK: Cas, you know what's good about being dead?
CASTIEL: Uh, as I recall, very little.
JACK: Well, when you come back, you – you really get into all that life is. Hot, cold, sweet, spicy, funny, scary.
CASTIEL: And are you? "Into it"?
JACK: I want to be. But I don't... feel things the way I used to. Before I lost my...
CASTIEL: Your soul.
JACK: I used to feel things. In my bones. It was glorious, and sometimes unbearable. But I felt them. Now, I understand joy or sadness, but... I know those things aren't in me. I understand why Sam and Dean were angered by what happened to Mary...
CASTIEL: By what you did to Mary.
JACK: Yes. I see that I've caused them pain. And it's clear that things have changed. Especially with – with Dean. Will he ever forgive me?
CASTIEL: You know, Dean, he – he feels things more acutely than any human I've ever known. So it's possible he could work through this. One day, he may explode and let it all out and breathe deeply and move on.
JACK: How long will that take?
CASTIEL: I don't know.
And yeah—I have seen people refer to Cas's little speech here as "condoning child abuse" and other bullshit. Because how DARE Dean not forgive soulless Jack for murdering his mother (something soulless Jack is unable to actually really acknowledge he did). I mean clearly any time someone murders your mom because she made them mad and threatened their sense of security by asking if they're okay and saying their concerning actions can’t stay a secret… That’s just natural understandable stuff! You need to forgive the person who murdered her instantly and if you don’t idk you’re kinda overreacting don’t you think? :/ I mean your mom probably deserved it kind of anyway for reading the room so wrong and talking about getting a person help. And I mean if you don't forgive the person who killed your mom or do anything trying to stop them from hurting more people you're really a child abuser... toward an adult... who murdered your mother in cold blood and is unable to even understand why it was wrong in any sense other than an intellectual one like he read it from a book... preferring to refer to it as "What happened to Mary" instead of acknowledge it as something he himself did because he was mad and felt threatened—which is what he circled back to in "Jack In The Box" too. It's only when Jack gets his soul back that he's able to actually feel true empathy, acknowledge his real actions and the gravity of them, and give an actual sincere apology. Because his soul is actually important—something this fandom refuses, by and large, to notice.
Anyway, this fandom's take on Mary's murder and soulless Jack vs. regular Jack is overwhelmingly a bag of wet third grader vomit and feces so what can one expect?
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i am thinking about ex boyfriend touya who is the father of your little girl 🥺 and he works in a tattoo shop and lets her come inside and chill with toga, who runs the front desk, and she always leaves with those little stick on tattoos on her cheeks 🥺 on her face like her dad 🥺
and whenever toga sees you come in, she gets her little coy smile and calls "daaabiiiii~" all sweet and innocent, like she's not going to sit there and reveal how much he still talks about you—even if he is dating someone else now. like she's not going to pick and pry about if you're seeing anyone these days, if you ever think about maybe rekindling the flames.
you think it's fine that he's seeing someone; you've met her twice, a beautiful dark-haired girl that's almost as tall as he is, that nearly matches all the tattoos he has, the piercings. they look like they go together, and you think that's what he likes. she's never been anything but nice, albeit shy, but you suppose you would be too in her position.
touya doesn't look up from his handiwork, when you stand in the doorway of his room. it's all covered, top to bottom, in his own artwork—handrawn and tattooed—or prints from artists he admires. pictures of he and your daughter, her school pictures, and even one of your maternity photos; your growing belly under his pale, decorated hand, the contrast stark and beautiful in plain black and white.
"hey," he says, and then he glances to the face of the man lying on his table. "you don't mind if my kid's mom comes in, do you?" when he's met with a wordless no, then he looks at you. bright, happy. "you look nice."
you're not wearing anything special, shorts and a strappy tank top—your half-hearted effort to beat the summer heat—but you smile anyway, sending him a quizzical look that he shrugs at. "thanks, i feel like i'm going to sweat to death."
touya returns to his piece, but grins. "super hot, like always."
"shut up," but you feel the warmth spread to your cheeks, even as you shake your head. he glances at you and you find reason to look elsewhere, away from that pointed aqua gaze of his. he must have just re-dyed his hair; it makes his eyes look that much more vibrant. "hey, i wanted to tell you about her little school festival next month, if you want to come."
"oh, okay, uh," touya sits up, rolling his chair across the room to the calendar hanging on the wall. "what day?" when you tell him, he pulls off one glove and fishes a sharpie out of his drawer, marking a big X on the date, blocking it out for anything else. "sick, thanks for tellin' me."
"yeah, of course," you murmur, looking down at your feet as you kick them mindlessly, ignoring the stare he gives you. "thanks for—" you wave a hand vaguely at the wall, what he'd done, and he smiles at you again. softer, this time, more genuine.
touya had a hard time, in the beginning. it's what separated you in the first place, having to accept your pregnancy, choosing to step up to be a father and leaving his partying days behind. there was a lot of fear—that you thought was justified, but painful to you nonetheless—and he didn't start working through that, didn't meet her, until she was almost two.
it's something that haunts him even now, even though she doesn't remember a day without him. on the few occasions that he brings her all the way to your apartment to drop her off, he's admitted as much in the quiet of your kitchen. sitting at the table, sharing a beer and speaking too-friendly, in ways you shouldn't anymore. he still looks at you like that, the same way he does when he bears his heart to you in the dark.
i can be better now, y'know? i'd kill myself before leaving again, baby, please.
you hear the little patter of her feet as your daughter turns down the hallway and then she's sprinting for you, jumping just as you turn to catch her.
"mommy!" she squeals, and you hug her tight and you squeal, too, even if it's only been two weeks. her hair screams touya, in both color and style: bleach white and pulled back in a messy french-braid; he's always been better than average with her hair, had plenty of practice on his sister.
you swing her around a little as she tightens her legs around your hips, and from the corner of your eye, you can feel him watching you, unmoving. you don't want to see the look on his face. you don't want to see it because it's changed and you know it; it's morphed into something dark, the same melancholic look he always gives you, when it's time to go.
from the front, toga calls, "dabi, your girlfriend is here!" and touya turns, clearing his throat as he starts back on his piece.
"'m almost done, gimme like thirty minutes!" he shouts, but he looks up at you again, as if to check for something, anything. if there's been any change.
there hasn't, and you can't stomach the look on his face when he realizes that, either.
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