#(( wow this got long

[madbard]

“Hunger is so heavy.”

I want to take a moment to rant about the role of hunger in Epic - specifically, the way nearly ever single saga is, at its core, a story about hunger and the way it affects us.

Let’s start with the Troy Saga. Odysseus’ men have won the war and are finally headed home when they run out of food. Upon discovering an island, Eurylochus immediately suggests they attack and take what they can. Right off the bat, the story associates hunger with violence. As we all know, Odysseus resists, and travels with Polites to the island of the lotus eaters - a society that has sacrificed their free will to slake their hunger for the glowing lotus fruits. If not for Odysseus recognizing the fruit, the crew could very well have met the same fate. Their hunger would have led to them losing their freedom forever.

Moving onto the Cyclops saga, the events of the Odyssey begin in earnest when Odysseus’ men slaughter Polyphemus’ sheep because they are starving. In response, Polyphemus decides to slaughter the entire crew and eat them instead - suddenly, theirs is not the only hunger that threatens their lives. The only reason they are able to escape is because Odysseus tempts Polyphemus with the “world’s best-tasting wine,” thus defeating the cyclops with his own thirst (I’m not going to differentiate between hunger and thirst here, as they are both intense physical cravings). Here, hunger is both a weakness and a threat. Giving in to hunger can lead to death and destruction, but hunger can also be used as a weapon, if you are clever.

Next up is the Ocean Saga. (This is where I start to seriously bend the definition of “hunger.”) This is the first saga in which food or lack thereof does not play a direct role. Here, Odysseus faces a new form of desire: exhaustion. Going back a bit, I described hunger as an intense physical craving for food. Well, what is exhaustion if not an intense physical craving for sleep? In this saga, Odysseus is given the chance to make it home. All he has to do is keep the storm trapped, and in order to do that, he has to stay awake. Odysseus resists his exhaustion for nine days, fighting off his desperate desire for sleep. But eventually, he relents and drifts off - which is when Eurylochus releases the storm and Poseidon kills all but 43 members of Odysseus’ crew. Once more, yielding to ‘hunger’ leads to tragedy.

Moving on to the Circe Saga, literal hunger plays a role yet again as Circe’s first move is to offer Odysseus’ men “something to eat.” The men soon discover that Circe enchanted their meal; upon eating, they are transformed into pigs - animals infamous for devouring anything in front of them. Here, hunger is portrayed as something animalistic, something which reduces the men from thinking, civilized beings to creatures, little better than livestock. Just a song later, though, Odysseus becomes powerful enough to face Circe when he consumes moly root. Notably, his consumption of this root was based on strategy, not hunger - a small but important distinction as it separates his consumption of the moly from his crew’s consumption of Circe’s meal. Wrapping up the Circe Saga, we have an entirely different kind of hunger as Circe offers to let Odysseus’ men go free if he shows his true colors in “acts of lust.” He refuses the promise of physical satisfaction because of his loyalty to Penelope, and in doing so, he earns Circe’s respect and assistance. Earlier in Epic, we were shown the power of hunger to inspire violence, tragedy and destruction. Here, we see it as an animalistic urge - the distinction between animals and men, then, is their capacity to resist such desires.

Writing this, the Underworld Saga was very frustrating for me because I could not find any significant references to hunger in any of the songs. Thinking back on it though, I wonder if that in itself is significant. The saga that takes place entirely in the world of the dead is the first saga not to heavily involve hunger or other forms of physical desire. Resisting hunger may be what distinguishes men from animals, but feeling hunger is what distinguishes the living from the dead.

Finally, we reach the Thunder Saga. The crew has run out of food for a final time, and in the grips of hunger, Eurylochus closes the cycle begun in the Cyclops saga when he slaughters the sun god’s cattle. At this point in the story, Eurylochus no longer believes they can return home. Eurylochus is exhausted, starving - he cannot bear to suffer any longer. Though Odysseus protests, Eurylochus insists that the crew cannot go on like this. They cannot survive much longer on these seas. His final defense as he slaughters the cattle? “I’m just a man.” The only person begging him to stop renounced his humanity in the Underworld.

Throughout Epic, hunger is a constant force. It inspires violence, steals free will. Submitting to it leads to tragedy, but it can also prove a powerful weapon. To resist it for a time is to be more than an animal. To feel it is to be alive. We cannot escape it forever, can’t fight it forever. In the end, we are bound by the needs of our fragile, ephemeral bodies. In the end, we must give in. And maybe, just maybe, that is what makes us human.

[razberrypuck]

thoughts on blink and runt 👀

runt wants so badly to be someone. she's confident and energetic and ambitious because she's been underestimated her entire life, and she's fucking sick of it! she's sick of being treated like a helpless child, and she's been treated that way thus far because of her health issues, NOT her behavior. runt grew up surrounded by people that love her so dearly, but they'll never take her seriously, because she's just a kid. she's small. she's weak. she has breathing problems. she's disabled. (uncle threestrings is a notable exception to this rule ;; he's always believed in her and encouraged her to tackle her goals head-on, which is nice to see )

that's why runt said fuck it and went off on her own. she's an engineer, and by definition, a problem solver. the street rats not giving her another chance -- won't even let her come BACK to their headquarters -- runt isn't going to let that discourage her, like they probably wished it would. if they don't need her, then why does she need them? who's going to stop her from chasing after what she wants? she's on a pursuit of knowledge absolutely, but she's also looking for a way to prove herself. she wants everyone that's ever doubted her to know she's runt, and she can take care of herself. and she's the smartest fucking person in this city. and she's going to do something amazing. she doesn't know WHAT that is yet. but she knows she will.

conversely, blink is someone that wants to be no one. if he had it his way, he would dissappear into the walls and never be seen again. always moving, because stagnation is very dangerous indeed. always running, because no matter what he does it feels like his past is right on his heels. blink doesn't grant himself the same confidence that runt and troy do, because he doesn't believe he deserves it. he's been trying his damn best to do good for the last fifteen years, because he's convinced whatever he did before then was unforgivable. I don't know that he WANTS to be forgiven necessarily, but he wants something. peace of mind, perhaps. but since whatever happened happened, he hasn't stopped running, not once. if he does, all of his problems, everything he did, it'll all catch up to him, crash down on him like a wave and drag him right back down to that dark part of his life. whether he realizes it or not, though, leaving his problems in the dust prevents him from ever coming to terms with them. but maybe he doesn't want that either.

he's an outcast because he cast himself out. all of his running and running and running -- there's no place for strong relationships there. most people just can't keep up. and blink knows he doesn't want to hurt anyone else.

troy, runt, and blink are all outcasts for different reasons. they're all completely different people with completely different goals and morals, but for better or for worse, they all live fast lives. for the thrill, to chase new opportunities, just to live another day --

whatever the case, they're the only ones that can keep up with one another.

[livwritesstuff]

This universe literally lives in my head rent free. I had another thought. How do the girls handle their relationships? I know as one of three daughters those dynamics change a LOT over the years, so I’m wondering how they manage their age differences and relationships over time? And how Eddie and Steve referee them?

ok so for reference:

Moe is born in july ‘01

Robbie is born november ‘03

Hazel is born september ‘06

(yes, i picked their star signs before i picked their birthdays - they are, respectively, a leo, a scorpio, and a libra)

So the age difference between Moe and Robbie is about 2 years, with ~3 years between Robbie and Hazel, and ~5 years between Moe and Hazel.

I think the general vibe of their collective dynamic really is the epitome of my sister is my best friend but also she’s the worst and I hate her. That doesn't change over time, but what does change is the way it gets expressed.

Moe was obsessed with Robbie when she was first born, and once Robbie was old enough to have her own opinions, she's equally obsessed with Moe. Robbie is definitely Moe's shadow for the first few years, and that only starts to shift when they're both in elementary school together, at which point they start to take on that quintessential love-hate-always bickering-with a tiny sprinkling of rivalry type of sibling relationship. The ebb and flow of this is one part of parenting three kids that only-children Steve and Eddie have a hard time keeping up with. There would be days when the girls were non-stop fighting, and then Steve would be like, “Moe, wanna go on a drive with me,” to, y’know, separate them for a bit, but then Moe would hit him with some major ‘tude like, “Just me? …why would we do that.”

There’s also definitely a psychological aspect to the sibling warfare that Steve and Eddie sometimes feel like they're two steps behind, so refereeing really just looks like keeping an eye on the metaphorical scoreboard (so to speak) and making sure it’s staying as even as possible (and breaking things up when it gets a bit too brutal).

Moe and Robbie circle back around to being buddies when they’re both in college – I have very very vaguely referred to how Moe and Robbie end up going to the same school, which is messy at first but it ends up being really good for them.

As for Hazel, when Steve and Eddie first introduced her as a newborn to her older sisters, Moe is basically like, “Thank you for the child. You may go,” whereas Robbie is definitely side-eying her like, “Uhhh I did not agree to this.”

That 5 year age gap between Moe and Hazel is enormous when Hazel was first born, and it continues to feel like a lot for a long time. Like, when Moe is learning how to drive, Hazel is still in elementary school, and she’s only twelve when Moe graduates high school. They spend their entire childhoods in completely different developmental brackets, and Hazel is definitely the baby to Moe while Hazel basically worships Moe and thinks she’s the coolest person on the planet. Then Hazel hits her high school years, and Moe, who's wrapping up college, is suddenly like, wait is Hazel cool? omg she’s *so* cool. That’s around when they stop feeling like they occupy totally different planets.

Because Robbie and Hazel are closer in age, their relationship looks a bit more like Robbie and Moe's. Hazel is basically just an avenue for Robbie to exert her own power in a way that Moe would never let her get away with. She’s definitely always pestering Hazel and teasing her and trying to push her buttons (and Hazel is so laid back that it really doesn’t bother her that much, which drives Robbie crazy in its own way). She’s super protective over Hazel though – both Robbie and Moe are very aware that Hazel is basically an angel, so the standard is very much *we’re* the only ones who get to mess with her.

I think Moe and Robbie might have a tendency to force Hazel to be a tie-breaker in their arguments, which is another facet of raising siblings that Steve and Eddie actually get involved in (to make sure she's not being completely steamrolled by her big sisters). Other than that, they mostly stay out of it. They've seen their kids go to battle *for* each other enough times to feel pretty confident that they'll make it through the times they're battling against each other.

[bi-bi-buckleys]

Can I just throw this out there after seeing that post and the reply to it:

We don’t know WHY Oliver never posted a picture of Lou. I think the immediate thought was “oh they must not get along” or “lol clearly Oliver hates Lou” and that just stuck but we genuinely don’t know?? Maybe they aren’t close (Lou pretty much said as much in that one interview where he said he didn’t really know Oliver that well), but why does that automatically mean hate? Neither of them have ever said anything negative about the other in interviews. It could just be that they weren’t close.

One could just as easily theorize that Oliver didn’t post photos of Lou out of worry that it could invite more negative comments. Oliver posts a photo of Ryan, and people comment weird shippy stuff, which is obnoxious I’m sure but it’s not hateful. If he posted a photo of Lou, I can imagine the results would be some people being happy to see them, and certain others being awful and gross and upping the hate. It wouldn’t be Oliver’s fault, but I personally would feel like I just made things worse.

Maybe Lou didn’t want his picture taken on set because of the death threats and hate. He doesn’t get those when he posts about SWAT, but god forbid if there was a pic by Oliver, that side of the fandom would froth at the mouth. Maybe he asked for Oliver to not post any and Oliver agreed not to. Maybe it’s the same thing for why no one stood up the hateful comments, the idea of “don’t give them attention, it’ll only make things worse.” Imagine if Oliver had said something with the hopes of making it stop, do any of us really see that as happening? He probably would have been harassed just as much, and Lou would have gotten more. Like the thought is nice, and the side of the fandom that doesn’t send hate would have been supportive, but the other side would have absolutely gone on the attack, directed at both of them.

Point is, we Just. Don’t. Know. We have so little real insight that any idea that gets tossed out could be legit. We could say they hatred each other, we could say they were indifferent to each other, we could say they didn’t want to spur on the more negative side of the fandom, hell we can say they didn’t interact on social media or post about each other because they’re dating and want to keep it a secret! All of it could be feasible because we have so little to go on. It’s just telling that a certain subsection of the fandom has decided it must be hate.

[mythcanvas]

Apeiron's Numerical Categorization

All screenshots are from Villenthessis on Youtube and all web event results are from me and the members of Reverse 1999 server

Ahem! So I wanna try something new today, and it's about how the Apeiron's categorizes arcanists and humans with numerical meanings with the help of lorechat members. This was explained by 37. Remember, these categorization are not determined by one's lineage. Let's go read, shall we?

"Integers are living example of virtues."

I'm guessing Integers are categorized for arcanists that possesses great knowledge or seen as someone who you can look up to as an example. Sonetto, Vertin, and APPLe are the examples of this.

"You are well-behaved, proactive, have excellent morals, and work hard to expand your set"

2. "Fractions can be understood through specific means."

This one line really piqued my interest because Lilya and Ms. Radio are categorized as Fractions. I was enlightened that you have to have a way of thinking to truly understand why Fractions act the way they are! No wonder Lilya has never been bothered by Abraxases or are ignored by the Apeirons while she wanders around.

"You are internally stable, confident, skilled in everything, and have your own set of behavioral logic"

3. "Irrational numbers are free spirits,"

Like it said, Irrational numbers are free spirits. They follow their own rules and most likely stubborn. Regulus is the only prime example of this because she broke 2 rules in the main story and got fucking wiped. Poor girl haha! XD

"You are spontaneous, free and "untraceable", with an unruly heart that follows its own rules."

4. "while imaginary numbers are the existence which doesn't belong to this dimension of the number axis."

So, to put it simply, imaginary numbers are just ordinary people. Humans. They don't care about us. That's it. :P

Ahh... It's been a while I ramble something more "productive", let's say haha! It's thanks to the lorechat members of the server I'm able to make this post. You wanna join the server? then go to #1999-story-spoiler when you're verified!

wanna overanalyze your faves? wanna constantly go off topic? wanna talk about your insane low rarity ship without being stoned by #help-question for not using meta? join lorechat today!

[realtapiocafan]

https://www.tumblr.com/realtapiocafan/772608693856583680/jjmarr

Ever wondered why he holds Tee so near and close his heart ?? This is why and the dynamics being completely different where Ja’Marr basically says he’s more relaxed and unguarded because, it’s not a competition with Tee 😭🥹

!!! I have. so many thoughts regarding justin and tee and their different relationships with ja'marr. i wrote a lotttt

ok, ja'marr and justin reallly were attached at the damn hip. we all talk about the handshake and the dances and shit, but like. they used to share airpods. airpods, for fuck's sake. and the slushie/icee thing? 😭 how many of us used to have dumb arguments like that with our friends? it's those little things that really define jjmarr for me, the things that you'd only do with someone you love.

all of that is beautiful on its own, but it makes the ending hurt even more, doesn't it? you used to talk everyday and do everything together, now you need to schedule around practices and time zones and it's so much work. and then you get home and you're tired and before you know it, you haven't talked to them in weeks.

ok, pardon me for going on a side rant here, but i did try to use the twitter interactions as like a microcosm of the entire jjmarr relationship, to show how a friendship that close can fade over time.

the first three tweets (bantering about practice, making fun of justin's first down celebration, sharing airpods) are all in the lsu era (2018-2019) when they were still doing dumb shit in practice and hanging out and coming up with their silly celebrations

the next three (justin rolling his eyes at ja'marr flipping, ja'marr teasing justin's attempt to get into the nba, reminiscing about what they used to do in practice) is set in 2020-21 (when justin was in the nfl and ja'marr was not). and you can see! they're STILL bantering. still making fun of each other with delight! but it's about what they used to do, not what they're doing now then.

then the last time ja'marr mentioned justin on twitter, was last year (before justin signed his extension and everyone thought he might go to a diff team). justin never responded (on twitter, at least.) again ja'marr's said a few times that justin's the one that doesn't answer his texts. while i take his words with a grain of salt, all of the throwback photos and birthday posts are from ja'marr. i catch myself thinking about justin's most toxic trait being communication all the time.

now, do i think justin is at fault for the 'breakup'? no, i really don't think so. unreliable narration aside, they live in different states, different timezones. they have different schedules, different practices. justin has a c, ja'marr doesn't (yet). justin is like, the sole Face of The Franchise, whereas ja'marr has joe to carry the burden with him. my point is: justin has a different life and different responsibilities and it's understandable that a friendship would fade under those circumstances. it's life. it happens.

but for ja'marr... you can know that it's perfectly natural for friendships to fade. you can know that it's not anyone's fault. you can know that's just how life goes. but it still hurts, because of what you shared together. the friendship was still there! the memories still exist! the love didn't last, but that doesn't mean that it didn't matter. it mattered! it mattered a lot!

justin changed ja'marr (and ja'marr changed justin!) like all friendships do and especially with college friendships. in college, we still have no idea what we're going to do, who we are, and that's fine, because that's what college is for. it's just... when you don't know who you are, how are you supposed to tell where you end and where your friend begins? (there's a reason why college friendships can sometimes seem almost codependent and why so many fade out. when you grow that close to someone, the only direction left is away.)

so, getting back to tee, anon. yes, i do think the past jjmarr weighs deeply in ja'marr's mind with the current tee situation. he's clinging onto tee with everything he has, because he already knows how easily his best friend can slowly slip out of his life. like arguably justin and ja'marr were just as close, if not closer, than he is to tee rn (ARGUABLY). and if justin can drift away from him... in ja'marr's experience with justin, once you're on different teams, it'll never be the same. it'll never be what it once was. so if it were up to him, he won't let tee go on a different team, won't let tee become a stranger the way justin has.

then the competitive aspect bc i DO also have lots of thoughts of that. above, i said justin changed ja'marr. if you look at videos and even tweets of ja'marr before college, it's like a different person. he just seems so much more shy and quiet in those old videos 🥺! a baby! i don't know exactly how to describe it, but he's definitely not confident the way he is now. i do think justin was one of the main reasons why this is the version of ja'marr that exists. there's a quote somewhere, that ja'marr had to speak up and demand the ball because justin was. because justin was there, ja'marr had to learn to speak up for himself and come out of his shell.

it's always a competition with justin and ja'marr, that's part of their relationship. maybe they'll forget about the slushies/icees, about the airpods, but that competitiveness will always be there, pushing each other to new heights. now, ja'marr knows himself. he knows the heights he's capable of reaching, and you can see that. would he be the same without that competitive aspect in his relationship with justin? i don't know. i don't think so.

but with tee, as much as i've compared jjmarr to teemarr in this post, they're two entirely different relationships. tee... ugh, how do i phrase this? tee's... tee's gentler than either justin or ja'marr. whereas justin's reaction to ja'marr leading in triple crown stats earlier this year was "don't count me out", tee's was "i'll get to tell my kids i played with a triple crown wr". justin pushes ja'marr. tee supports ja'marr. they both affect ja'marr, help him get better just in different ways.

jjmarr hits different for me, bc i just love that drifting-apart angst, but really, teemarr is so so very special. in lsu, justin helped bring ja'marr out of his shell. in cincy, i consider tee to be the safe place for ja'marr, away from all the cameras and reporters. it has to be a lot -the social media trolls, the talk show bs, even the expectations of the fans. i have thoughts of an overwhelmed rookie ja'marr being found and comforted by tee. because having that one person that you can lean on, that one person who gives you peace... that makes a world of a difference.

[pouroverpaloma]

paloma I have revivified my tumblr from its decade-long sleep to beseech you: please talk about Rolan with me because I have Thoughts® and Feelings™ such as: As the eldest sibling do you think he has an oversized and detrimental sense of responsibility that continues to impact him negatively? like during his apprenticeship, do you think he actively avoided Cal and Lia to stop them from either storming the tower themselves or worrying over him when they were supposed to be enjoying being safe in the city, etc. do you think that sense of responsibility extends to Tav or is Tav the person that makes him feel like he doesn't HAVE to be in charge and on top of everything.

also this is hazelrah on ao3!!! I cannot stop commenting on your fics to save my life

Omg hi Hazel!!! ♥️ both Thoughts® AND Feelings™, what a treat you’ve brought for me

As a preface, I’m of the opinion that Lorroakan intentionally isolated Rolan. That’s one of the reasons Lorroakan didn’t let Cal and Lia stay in his fuck-off massive tower. Narcissism and disdain for others also drove that decision, because he’s an asshole, but I really think Rolan can’t be the first apprentice he’s abused. He knew he could never break Rolan’s will if his siblings were there to support him, and, let’s be real, Lia would clearly kill him with hammers the moment he raised a hand to Rolan. He had to get him completely alone.

As for Rolan—I think his gut knew right away that something was very, very wrong with his apprenticeship, even if intellectually he’d talked himself into staying. I think he did the time-old dance of hiding abuse from your loved ones because you don’t know how to explain it, you think you can’t leave, and you’re frankly embarrassed it’s happening to you at all. Imagine him talking about his apprenticeship back in the grove, right? Now imagine him behind the counter in act 3. The whiplash between his aspirations of greatness and the awful reality of life in the tower must have been extraordinarily soul-crushing, on top of everything else. And he just couldn’t let them see that he’d dragged them all to Baldur’s Gate on a false promise.

All that to say: I imagine Rolan told himself that hiding the truth from Cal and Lia was for their own good, but really, he was ashamed and afraid of failing to make them proud.

Because yeah, he feels way more responsible for them than they could ever know or understand. He’s convinced that he has to earn his place in their family by demonstrating his utility. Rolan is caught in that awful trap of trying to deserve what he already has. It’s a self-defeating cycle because there’s no end state: he already has Cal and Lia’s unconditional love from the very start, so nothing he does can ever make him feel like he “achieved” it. He can run himself into the ground trying to earn their love, but he already has it and he’s too caught up in his own self-loathing to see it.

The thing that finally gets his head out of his ass, of course, is Tav. We see him starting to make the turn at the end of the game, when he’s master of the tower and stepping into his confidence, but from there, I think falling in love really shakes his foundations. It forces him to begin to self-reflect in a way he’s never been emotionally safe to do before.

As for how all of this plays out once they’re together! I think their dynamic is a case of unstoppable force versus immovable object. I think he’s going to devote himself to taking care of absolutely everything for them (because nothing could ever be Good Enough for Tav but goddamn it he’s going to try anyway) and Tav is going to devote themselves to taking care of absolutely everything for him (because Rolan deserves rest and gentleness and adoration maybe more than anyone ever has). This kind of all-consuming care manifests in different ways for each of them, some complementary, some adversarial. They get nauseatingly competitive about it but the sex is phenomenal.

And finally—after a while—he begins to understand that he doesn’t have to handle everything by himself in order to be lovable. He can let go of the reins and let Tav be capable sometimes, and it actually makes Tav happy when he does. Somehow, the sex gets even better.

[jjtheresidentbaby]

i’m so glad other people see nick as a cg + regressor i thought i was the only one

flip nick is so very real to me! and I’m using this ask as an excuse to make a headcanon post lol

Flip Nick Nelson headcanons

tagging: @beachreg

warnings: talk of canon events, mental health issues etc

When Caring:

mainly takes care of Imogen, it was a routine they already had before Nick got with Charlie as they were in the same friend group and even back then Nick was one of the nicer of the bunch

Nick doesn’t talk about his caring side until Imogen is comfortable enough to tell the rest of the group that she regressss

on a few odd occasions Nick watches over Tao when Nick first joins the group and while Tao claims he doesn’t like it at first, he’s totally lying

Nick forms such a soft spot for Tao & the other littles in the group

he likes to talk to Tara about caregiver problems™️ and she’s always there with advice or to just listen for a bit

he’s such a sweet caregiver, always willing to research whatever his little is involved in or struggling with

he puts his all into caring and takes such pride in watching over others

always has snacks, fidget toys, journals, games, books and anything else a little could need on hand

keeps a spare first aid kit in his locker just in case (Tao is very clumsy & Elle isn’t there at school so nicks had to step in at times)

When Little:

Charlie & Elle are his main caregivers but occasionally Tara will watch over him

not super clingy when he’s regressed but he does enjoy getting his hair played with & holding hands

lovesssss to draw & color when small

he’s mesmerized by basically everything Charlie or Elle do, he swears they’re magic or something

massive sweet tooth while small - but he loves fresh vegetables too

he’s more secretive/shy about his little side

he can get very anxious while small and gets into his own head a lot

he has a set journal for when he’s small so he can try and ground himself by writing things out (even if it’s not all spelled correctly)

he’s been trying to befriend Tori since day one of being regressed at the spring household, it’s a slow battle but Tori’s definitely losing

he’ll slip pictures he drew under her door and run off with Charlie to watch from behind the corner as she opens the door and looks around

such an outdoorsy kid & finds any reason to be running around his backyard or taking a trip to the park

him & Tao will film “movies” while they’re both small and they force the whole friend group into preforming parts

somehow worse at drums while small and atrocious on the clarinet per trying Tara’s

of course loves rugby while small but he also likes to have Darcy play volleyball with him like on the beach

superhero movies/books are a must while he’s small!

as much as Charlie complains about it, he indulges Nick and watches the marvel movies with Nick

he somehow gets Darcy & Imogen into them too and they all start to play superhero’s together

him & Imogen don’t regress together a lot as Nick likes to keep his little side & caregiving side pretty separate but when they do it absolutely Chaos with a capital C

can either be super well behaved or pretty mischievous

he offers to egg Ben or Harry’s house at least once a week while small

[thecutestlittleslime]

LMK Analysis: The Circlet Scene

"I've never let anyone dictate my destiny in the past and I'm not about to start now. None of us are! We can't change who we were yesterday or in a past life or a hundred lifetimes ago. We live with the choices we've made but what matters is the choices we make right now. Only we decide who we are and what we do with the power we have!"

"Nice hero speech bud, but you know better deep in your hearts, you don't believe a word of that."

So. That happened.

The circlet is some recurring imagery in LMK, but this scene hit really, suspiciously hard.

First of all, the ink clone emphasizes the concept of "role" when speaking to Wukong, all the while removing the circlet on its head and spinning it effortlessly. The same one he could never willingly remove.

The Monkey King, when on the Journey to the West, was forcibly inserted into a role that didn't fit. Any time he made a choice to step outside that role as defined by Tripataka, he was punished harshly with the headache/torture device strapped to his head that he couldn't get off.

That's some trauma.

Just as Wukong is finishing his rallying heroic speech about choice, he is abruptly reminded that more often than not, he had no choice in the matter for what he used his power for and who he was supposed to be. Be a good little monkey who takes the verbal abuse (because according to JTTW, often no one believed his words of a demon in diguise) and take the physical abuse when you try to step outside of that role and use your power against those against you.

His destiny was dictated from the moment he had that put on, and even now he is kludged into a role he wants to escape from without much control over it at all, always having to be what other people either want or need him to be.

Sun Wukong is stuck in the role of a Hero, constantly forced into being the invincible, infallible paragon persona due to his power, giving him little choice. He tried to escape that with retirement, but it caught up with him.

So in essence, he still has a metaphorical circlet strapped to his head that he can't remove without incredible pain and suffering occurring, but also actively causes him the same thing.

The thing is? Wukong was always trying to go at it alone.

Now? He actively has friends trying to help, if only he would learn to let them in a bit more.

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

The whump in Escape from Earth-2 is just so interesting (as someone who’s watched it countless times and is currently watching it again). Here’s some thoughts (coherence will vary):

Jay goes completely still whenever Zoom shows up (aside from some shaking). Makes me wonder if he has a freeze response tbh.

Jesse on the other hand, backs away as much as she can, even trying to hide behind the pillar she’s chained to. And holy shit she looks so terrified— how could this trauma be swept under the rug so horribly??? Sigh

And godssss I have so many thoughts about Barry in this episode but I’ll just say a few *narrator voice* She did not, in fact, say ‘a few’. His Enter Zoom trauma is definitely in the background of this episode and the scene at the end of Welcome to E2. He’s so clearly scared, not just for himself but for Jesse, every time Zoom shows up and he tries to hide it (not very successfully imo). And he doesn’t actually talk to Zoom until Zoom enters his cell. Now there could be any number of reasons for that but I think it’s cause he couldn’t risk provoking Zoom into hurting Jesse (or Jay), but once Zoom was in his cell, he knew he’d be the one paying for it if he did. (Though that moment’s also when he figured out how to escape, and we know that Barry gets a little cocky when he thinks he has the upper hand— tbh I think it was a combo of those factors). Also don’t get me started on how Barry doesn’t even try to fight Zoom (in any of the scenes) because he knows he can’t beat him. (And again— he can’t risk Zoom hurting anyone. His nightmare where Zoom kills Patty comes to mind… You can’t tell me he didn’t have more of those. You can’t tell me he didn’t have at least one nightmare of Zoom dropping Cisco off that roof. And guess who’s right there in the lair in that scene). Anyways.

When Zoom phases into Barry’s cell, Jay shakes his head a little bit, almost like he knows exactly what’s going to happen. Filing this under ‘evidence that Zoom tortured Jay’

A Jay moment that absolutely stabs my heart is about half a second after Barry runs out of Zoom’s lair. First, he kind of hit his fist to the glass a little bit, in sync with Barry. Then Barry runs off and he gives the glass another small hit, and after that his head lowers ever slightly and he slumps a little bit into the glass— gods just watch the scene I can’t explain it well enough but GODS IT HURTS— SOMEONE GIVE HIM A DAMN HUG. Everyone else got away, but he was left behind with Zoom. I’m just *lies face down on the floor and sobs*

AND DON’T THINK I’M DONE TALKING ABOUT JESSE. “I used to think I could escape too… but there’s no way out.” Does anyone else remember that she was tied to the ceiling of her cell with rope at first? Just how unlikely is it that she got out of that rope and tried to escape? But Zoom caught her, threw her back in the cell, and made sure she couldn’t do that again by using a chain/manacle instead. Of course she’d feel hopeless after that. Nope I’m not done. Remember how defiant, how confident she was in the very beginning too? “[Harry]’ll find me, he’ll save me, and then he’ll kill you.” We know that Zoom canonically tortured her, and of course, that’s the quickest way to squash out defiance but still. That transition from anger and defiance, to that fear we see when Cisco vibes her off of Harry in Enter Zoom, to the Earth-2 episodes where she’s completely hopeless and just resigned to her situation (until Barry talks to her at least). It’s just so whumpy all the way around and I want to hug her.

Alright and now I have to circle back to Barry because THIS SCREENCAP—

I could look at this all day. GODS. The LONGING. He’s seeing Harry and Jesse reunite, and he’s happy for them, of course, but at this point he doesn’t think he can get out. Killer Frost hasn’t unfrozen Jesse’s manacle so he doesn’t see any other options or possibilities except for everyone else to escape— and leave him behind. He wants to get out so so bad, he wants to leave with them and go home but he doesn’t think he can. In this moment, to him, it’s either they leave without him or Zoom shows up and kills them all. And if it comes down to his everyone elses’ safety and lives versus his own— there’s no choice to make.

[rimeswithpurple]

Thank you @roomwithanopenfire, @talentpiper11 & @blackberrysummerblog for the tags! Everyone had a bit of a lie in this morning, the Little Purples and I went to see a Shakespeare on the Bluff performance of Much Ado About Nothing last night. I'm honestly surprised they made it through the whole thing since they didn't follow any of the plot, but they were very excited that the audience was encouraged to cheer, boo or shout out. Littlest Purple had the best time booing at the villain and even yelled "no" when Benedict proposed to Beatrice and that earned her a laugh from everyone around us.

I got quite a bit of drawing done! The line work on my COAR artwork is done and I'm so thrilled with it. I'm a sucker for detail and I had a lot of fun getting the Oxford shoes just right. I'm finishing up art for chapter 2 of my COBB. I have to stop myself from illustrating every scene, my partner has written so many scenes that beg to be illustrated! I've also been playing around with a fandom tattoo idea. The bun Baz looks so lonely and I really should get him shaded in too!

Side note, I've found myself listening to @youarenevertooold's podfic for Bazlow's Hierarchy of Needs every night when I sit down to draw. It's so funny and a chaotic Dev really is the best kind of Dev! If you haven't checked it out, you definitely should!

Simon's birthday is such a fun time of year and I loved seeing everyone's posts! I thought I might include some fun facts about my birthday spread below the cut, in addition to the tags

-I keep a journal of my baking and I had jotted down my pie in the sky idea for this year's birthday bake just hours after posting the butter cake last year. I never expected to be able to hit every item, but I surprised even myself and the only thing I didn't do was add flecks of edible gold paint to the petit fours

-I already have next year's bake plotted out and I think it's even bigger

-I had asked for a Fortnum & Mason hamper for my birthday after having read Snow for Christmas. I've given them as very special gifts in the past, but Daphne's love of it reminded me that I love it too!

-The pouring fondant for the petit fours can sense your fear and it's unforgiving. You have to commit to pouring it evenly and quickly because you only get one shot. My family was delighted to eat the rejects

-My hands were red for two days because I foolishly didn't wear gloves when I was making the wings and tails

-I mixed in little chunks of almond paste with the sour cherry scones and it was the best thing ever

-The checkerboard cookies were a reference to the battenburg cake I made last year

I have so much fun doing these birthday bakes! I love that it brings other people joy and the lovely comments I get mean the world to me! Although, I think from now on I may only do birthday bakes for Simon and Baz

Now, on to the tags!

@messofthejess @valeffelees @artsyunderstudy @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @youarenevertooold @bookish-bogwitch @facewithoutheart @thewholelemon @larkral @run-for-chamo-miles @fiend-for-culture @cosmicalart @mooncello @that-disabled-princess @cutestkilla @noblecorgi @iamamythologicalcreature @best--dress @emeryhall @ileadacharmedlife @drowninginships @supercutedinosaurs @whatevertheweather @rbkzz @ebbpettier @theimpossibledemon @katatsumuli @thehoneyedhufflepuff @theearlgreymage @theotherhufflepuff @onepintobean @orange-peony @hushed-chorus @fatalfangirl @ic3-que3n @bazzybelle @nightimedreamersworld @martsonmars @aristocratic-otter @shrekgogurt @monbons @alexalexinii @prettygoododds @ivelovedhimthroughworse @raenestee @skeedelvee

[eldritch-muppetshow]

continued fairy!timmyposting

lil spoiler for the story: timmy’s extremely limited shapeshifting isn’t just because he only has a basic education in magic as a godparent. it’s also to symbolize that in this setting, timmy is still clinging to his childhood. he’s not the timmy from the live action movies or even timmy from the ending of channel chasers, but a sort of “good ending” scenario to the version of the character who froze everybody in time for 50 years because he desperately didn’t want to lose his fairies— he grew up into a seemingly well-adjusted adult and doesn’t have to leave cosmo and wanda, but it doesn’t take much digging to discover that he has some pretty deep-rooted issues.

i haven’t decided if this au will directly integrate the events of a new wish, but i’m leaning towards “yes” because it’s way more interesting that way. anyway i’m imagining that as a fairy, timmy got a little less clingy with his godparents because he had the reassurance that they wouldn’t be taken from him and he wouldn’t lose his memories of them— even when he had to be apart from them when they were on vacation and he had to learn basic magic. unfortunately, that fear of losing cosmo and wanda comes back full force when he finds out they have a new godkid, and he absolutely drags casey into it bc he’s irrationally jealous of hazel. i feel like there’s a lot of ways this plotline could be resolved (namely cosmo and wanda reassuring him that just bc they have a new godkid doesn’t mean they’re replacing him as their adopted son), and through some means that leads to him getting a better grip on his shapeshifting abilities bc he’s actually thinking about his future as a godparent rather than seeing fairyhood/his godkid as a way to relive his childhood.

casey absolutely calls him out for the genuine trouble he’s caused her by making some very ill-advised suggestions for her wishes during this arc btw, because almost everything that goes wrong/off the rails with her wishes is because of something timmy suggested. she appreciates that he taught her to have fun with magic and that it’s okay to indulge every now and then, but ffs he needs to figure out a way to do that without causing chaos and destruction

[goldenwing57]

Can I just say something? During the #12DaysofTDP, one of the prompts was Favorite Fandom Moment. I posted for that, but I think I just found another.

That moment is right now. Many of us are pretty miffed about how s7 went, myself included. I'm seeing a lot of that in my little corner of the fandom. However, I'm also seeing that we're stepping back and feeling our feelings while still finding things to love. We're seeing each other's takes on things, and maybe they change our perspectives, or maybe not, and we haven't given up. I kind of feel like we're all Rayla bringing the egg back to the center of the storm. I feel like we may also be seeing our grievances as room for improvement rather than something irreparable.

You know, I didn't get around to posting my Day 1 post for #12DaysofTDP, the prompt for which was "what it means to me," but I think that this is it. I've been a part of several fandoms. Avatar is what brought me here. I've been a Whovian and a Sonic fan. I remember when we fans of a certain figure skating anime, a little 12-episode series, actually managed to crash this hellsite! Now, it's TDP. The thing that these fandoms have in common is the sense of community. We have our own little circles, our escapes from reality to yap about our current obsession, and they all connect in some way or another to form one big one! It makes me so happy to be a part of a fandom that loves a series and its characters and world so much that we're rallying together to plead for a chance for it to continue!

Please, @netflix , please allow us to continue to have this story and community that we all love! Please allow the creators to see it through to completion!

[wyrm-clangen]

Would it be crazy to ask for Rainstripe/Frozentangle hypo-kits? Frozentangle had an unrequited crush at one point, didn’t she?

Man, imagine if FrozenRain had been canon. Would Rainstripe still be dead? I mean, probably, that feels like the Canon Event in this timeline. I guess that would mean her antagonizing of Fogtail would be more justified...

BUT ANYWAYS, THE KITS-

Snailkit is her mom made over. She always, always feels like she has something to prove, and has a huge rivalry with her brother Thistlekit. She would probably mellow out as she got older, and one day might have been a Snailstar. Warrior name would be... Snailshell.

Thistle is a grumpy little guy with a sharp tongue and big ego. He and Ivyshine would absolutely despise each other, or they would want to date. It would probably depend on the day. His warrior name would probs be something like Thistlethroat?

Storm is a timid little baby, which irritates her older siblings to death. She's scared of everything, from bugs to the borders, and the very idea of fighting makes her sick to her stomach, but so does the idea of seeing sick cats with gross wounds. She might've become a mediary, like her mom? Her name probably would have been Stormsong, or Stormshadow?

[the-historian-of-hisui]

🪬-tell me of gods

There are many gods in our world. But the one I despise the most, the one who's ruined my life, is Arceus.

Once, there was an egg. An egg sitting in void, in nothing, in lack of creation. Not darkness. Not light. But nothing. Then, the egg hatched.

From this egg came Arceus. He shaped the universe, formed the galaxies, split the timelines down the middle until they branched off over and over and over.

Arceus created friends for itself in the Creation Trio - Giratina, Dialga, and Palkia. For a time, all was well. Then, Giratina began causing chaos. Arceus didn't like this, and she gave Giratina three strikes before banishing it to the Distortion World.

When I was eight or so, I learned about Giratina, and that I was destined to have it. It was written in history already.

So I began to research. And me and Cynthia, when we went on our journey in Sinnoh during our gap year, found a way into the Distortion World. There, I captured it and it lent me a fragment of itself, a figment of its power tucked inside a Pokeball.

Four years later, and my cousin Dawn was born.

they said she was blessed by the gods. She wasn't. She might as well have been cursed, for all the gods did for her. Arceus, Darkrai, dragons, even my and Cynthia's legendaries that we use. Nothing good came of it. She disappeared for six years, and when Ingo found her in Hisui again, she didn't realize any time had passed...

Regardless of all this, well, the gods will face me soon.

[planetaryplut0]

um yall

i genuinely didn’t expect glenn to get to the finals (not bc he isn’t hot, i want that man to fuck me RIGHT NOW) We’re such a small fandom compared to many of these other podcast fandoms

And I’m a small creator within our small fandom and i had NO IDEA my one silly little post would spur glenn AND nicky making it to the finals and glenn making it to the final finals. So uh thank you so damn much, ya little freaks (affectionate)

we need our boy to win this poll. Glennfuckers? UNITE!!!