#((it didn't see this until now))

[atalana]

but seriously i do find it so funny that ford was like OH GOD MY PRECIOUS REPUTATION after bill possessed him around other people for all of one night

and then he gets back to this dimension after thirty years and this is now the photo the press associates with his name

[finisnihil]

You can pry the other Stellaron Hunters going out of their way to be kind to Blade out of my cold dead hands. Every time they mention Blade it's always in a kind way, he's a person to them no matter how much he isn't one to himself. Kafka calls him a cute nickname, Silver Wolf tries to get him to game with her, and Firefly brings him oak rolls because she knows he'll appreciate it. When we make a little cat cake that looks like him, Silver Wolf knows he likes it. They steal his phone all the time and he lets them. Yingxing is dead but he is still so loved even if by different people.

You up-keep a blade because you care about it

[allastoredeer]

Undercover Angel AU - Part 5

Music to Alastor's ears.

<- Part 4 | Part 6 ->

-> Beginning <-

Tagged peeps below

@exvangelical-christian-nerd, @rerarlo, @athanasthos, @mikokatt, @keircat7, @sinsimps @clearpoolart @silveraro @diffidentphantom @florist-of-the-valley @procrastinationwon @sweetbatherodonkey @90sfr3sh @just-some-teag

[ariadne-mouse]

Time to get emotional about the lighting of the beacons

also props to the many folks in that chain whose job it is to hang out in the cold by a massive pile of firewood they can't use

[emilyjunk]

"Kevin isn't that bad it's not like he beats her, why does she need to kill him or fake her death, just get divorced" you are the point of the show, you are missing the crucial reveal. Allison sees Kevin in every single scene as she does their last scene together, but we as the audience aren't privy to that and we only see sitcom Kevin which is Kevin's self perception. He is not suddenly becoming scary and threatening to her. He was like that the whole time. We only see Allison's feelings about Kevin and the aftermath of her interactions with Kevin -- this is the ONLY time we see Kevin from her POV except for the brief initial breaking of the sitcom cam. Every other time we see Kevin on screen it's from Kevin's POV. Even after she cuts her hand we only see the bandage in her singular pov when she is away from kevin, but when it shifts back to sitcom Kevin it's gone.... We do not see the reality of her interactions with Kevin, that's the point of the show!!! Because when Kevin is on screen, it's Kevin's world! We only see Kevin from anyone else's lens in ONE scene at the end, which is when Allison decides to leave, so yes the sitcom cam "softens his abuse" but it also just fully acts as an unreliable narration because we never literally see Kevin from anyone else's POV until the series finale so every time Kevin is on screen it isn't even an accurate portrayal of what's happening, it's Kevin's perception of what's happening. Allison has viewed him like that the entire show, we as the audience just did not get to witness that POV until the end

[sparkly-caroline]

I love their interactions in IDW so much

They're so goofy

[yangjeongin]

HYUNJIN | 240811 • JJAM @ INKIGAYO

[territorial-utopia]

Huzzah! It's birthday time! I'm slowly accumulating more and more things I like (latest additions this vest I made and a travel typewriter! Still need to fix the latter one though)

Sure has been a year.

[dawnofiight]

Guess who: Gavin!

This is a sketch btw that I didn't feel like rendering so hahahaha. This is mostly for Asher which I promised to draw a really long time ago. I'm on break still but I thought it'd be funny to post this and then leave for 3 months. (I'm kidding)

Tag list:

@achios

@ashertickler

@astrodude-87

@aurorialwolf

@dukecollinsbf

@infinitelovewiithoutfulfilmentt

@moronkyne

@pandoraroid

@plaqying

@porters-fangs

@professionallyyappinabtangst

@puffin-smoke

@skunkox

@starlogician

@sunsickcrab

@themeridian

@tunacatfishes

@zimix-whispers

If you want to get added lol let me know.

[bet-on-me-13]

Danny goes on Vacation: Bad Ending

(Kind of a Part 2 to This Post, and specifically the comment made by @gamermineral about the GIW)

So! Danny has not had a Vacation in Years. Not since the day he became a Hero.

Its not even that he hasn't tried before, its that every time he does it all goes horribly wrong.

The first time he ever tried taking a vacation, Undergrowth broke out of the Zone and took over the town for a 2nd Time. It took a week to fix that mess.

The next time, he tried just going away for a few days, and that was the day Aragon and Vlad teamed up to try and take over the City.

The final time was a few years later. He had mostly managed to establish a Stable Situation after months of Hard Work. The Rogues weren't attacking as Frequently, and in fact many of them had become good frenemies with him over the years. Their Battles were more like Play Fights at that point, although he did need to keep them from going too far and hurting civilians.

He thought he was safe for a few days break in the next city over...

Turns out some random Cult decided to Summon Pariah Dark out of his Coffin in them middle of a Major City that very day. That Incident had both Secured his Position as the new Ghost King, and had caught the attention of the JLA. They approached him afterwards offering a position on their Team.

Still, Danny held off on having a Vacation for a while longer. He still didn't know if it was even worth asking them to cover for him, the situation was mostly peaceful and they weren't that big of a threat usually.

Eventually though, after a few months of working up the nerve he asked the Team if they could cover for him so he could have a Vacation. They had enthusiastically agreed, happy to help even if it was a supposedly easy job.

Danny left them a few instructions on what to do in the case of a Rogue Attack, and left for his Vacation in Space.

But he still wasn't fully sure, so he went back to check on them after 2 days. It seemed like everything was actually fine, and he left again.

A week later, he was feeling nervous again, and check up again. And it still seemed to be going well.

After one more minor checkup, he felt secure in the safety of the Situation. So he left to deep space for the remainder of his Vacation and enjoyed the hell out of it. He felt free for the first time in YEARS!

But the situation wasn't going nearly as good as the Team had lead on.

The Rogues were too powerful for the initial team dispatched to handle the threat, and they needed to call in a few more Heroes to fight them off. When Danny showed up for his check in, they had played if off as Much as they could and sent him on his way. Then they did the same for the next two times.

The JLA Team was struggling far too much, much more than they could handle. But they didn't want to call in high level members, they had too much pride.

And unfortunately, the GIW was there to "help" them. They said that they could use the GIW Tech at their disposal to contain the Ghosts until the Hero of the town got back, that their weapons were Optimal for battling them without hurting them.

And the JLA Team took up the offer.

The next time they beat a Rogue, using GIW Weapons, they sent them to the nearby GIW Base and called it a day. And they continued doing that for the entire month Danny was away. They didn't know better, they would later claim.

Danny returned from his trip happy as can be. Until he sought out his Fight Buddies, and could find none of them.

"Hey guys, I just checked up on the Zone." Said Phantom, "And I couldn't find any of my Rogues. Do you know where they are?"

One of the Team Members who had taken over Amity for the month responded, "Well, we weren't having an easy time forcing them back through the Portal, so we took up the offer of some Locals who said they could help."

"Oh!" Said Phantom, "So Ms Mason and Mr Foley helped? Or was it Mrs. Grey? Or the Fentons? What did they do to keep the Ghosts from the Zone?"

"Oh no, it wasn't any of them" Said the Team Member, "It was this little organization called the Ghostly Investigation Ward, they helped us contain all the Rogues in their Base. We started last month, and-"

And Phantom stopped listening after that. His Heart stopped, his blood drained from his face, and he felt a deep sense of horror permeating his Core.

The GIW had captured all of his Friends.

And the JLA had helped them.

[olympain]

It hurts genitals and koalas, which are two things that everybody loves.

[nocofamilyau]

not related to noco at all but what is katie and sadie’s relationship like now?

pretty good all things considered! while they're both married to two sweet guys and have separate families (none of their kids are other td characters, unfortunately...) they're still really close, and still live next to each other at that same beach town they grew up in, now both running that successful 80s themed ice cream business they've been dreaming of! its safe to say they probably suffered the least on Total Drama, only leaving with a couple of minor scars, good god were they lucky..

[shrews-art]

White chrysanthemums for grief, lavenders for devotion 🌸

[hopex4]

"Oh hey that thing Max does with his arms in NPMD (the song) looks so familiar! I wonder wh-"

[starcurtain]

What do you think about Sunday and Aventurine? and their interaction in 2.1, I know Sunday did what he had to do but I just have a strong dislike for him ever since. He is an interesting character though.

I mentioned on a previous ask that I wanted to talk about narrative foils/character parallels, and that ask mentioned Aventurine being similar to Robin and a little to Sunday. But I thought I'd combine that character foils idea with this post about Sunday because...

Aventurine and Sunday are Near Perfect Character Parallels

(Also sorry to Youtuber Fayato who I screencapped this image from; I literally couldn't find a single other good image of Aventurine and Sunday in the same frame!)

In media, the concept of the narrative foil refers to a character who contrasts another character; by setting the two characters and their plots side by side, the audience is better able to understand the traits of the central character.

And by setting two surprisingly similar characters in opposition to each other, it becomes very clear how even those facing similar circumstances can take diametrically opposed paths in life.

First, let's start with the basics:

Aventurine and Sunday are both characters whose real fathers were never in the picture, and who lost their mothers right in front of their eyes to traumatizing events.

They both experienced the violent deaths ("death" in Sunday's case) of their sisters.

They both were "rescued" by people who intended to use them by growing them ("grooming them" in Sunday's case) into a figure of authority.

They were both told they were "chosen ones" growing up. And yet ultimately this status as the chosen one is in doubt: Aventurine isn't sure if his family's faith is real, while Gopher Wood tells Sunday that Penacony's chosen should have been Robin all along.

They both became self-sacrificial, Aventurine through his obvious willingness to throw his life away, and Sunday through his plan to remain outside the sweet dream to be its keeper while everyone else got to live in "paradise."

They both are trapped by their situations, Sunday by his inability to leave the cage, Aventurine by his inability to accept the life he isn't able to throw away.

They both became the "villain" of their respective patches and both faced "death."

Personality-wise, they both strongly favor being in control, to the point that their scene together is an aggressive power struggle over each other.

This is how the "future" Aventurine describes himself:

Does it sound familiar? It should, since that's exactly how people describe Sunday.

But they also both prioritize their families, and they are equally altruistic at the core while seemingly self-centered on the exterior.

They both, of course, have the blessing of an aeon.

And here's where I'm going to take a massive tangent, but it's important: I do tend to be among those who think there is at least some connection between Ena, the Order, and Gaiathra.

I've heard all sorts of reasons that they can't be two different concepts for the same being, from the whole "Gaiathra is a goddess of trickery and that's not related to order" to the whole "the Order's followers worship with song while Gaiathra's followers specifically don't," but I think something that has been missing from the discussion of Ena and Gaiathra's possible connection is that "Order" as a concept has entirely different definitions depending on which cultural context you approach it from.

The most mainstream modern concept of "Order" is something that is imposed: A power from on high descends to quell the chaos of the mortal world, to "bring order" through guidance to humanity. This is very Abrahamic, very modern Christian, and that is reflected in the imagery surrounding Sunday. Sunday, as a manifestation of the Order's power, believes he will be able to uplift Penacony from the mire, free people from their unfulfilled desires and confusion, and bring about perpetual peace by enforcing his understanding of harmony on the populace trapped in the dream.

Sunday's Order is not the natural state of the world but something that must be carefully cultivated and maintained, a constant battle against the chaotic forces of life and its temptations. This type of "Order" promises an idyllic future, but at the cost of the present freedom of everyone who submits to the law, who must surrender their original fate for a structured sweet dream.

We understand this concept of "Order" because at its core, it's the one that modern societies largely embrace--ruling authorities establish laws that must be followed at all costs, even when they risk the freedoms of individuals, because they ultimately (supposedly) support a greater good. A majority of society adheres to the laws handed down from on-high, and life functions relatively stably.

Yet this conception of "Order" is predicated on the idea that the course of people's lives is decided first and foremost by the people themselves--which is why they can make mistakes, go astray, and need to be shepherded in the first place.

Without imposing structure through authoritarian power, this type of "Order" will crumble away in an instant, because this view assumes that rightness can only created by humanity, and that chaos--not order--is the natural state of existence.

Ena, who holds worlds tidily contained in her hands, who is tangled in puppet strings, who wears a hood like a nun or the Virgin Mary, and who is haloed like a Christian angel, clearly represents this definition of "Order" to a T.

But... this is not how humanity has always defined "Order."

It was not always taken for granted that people had the power of self-determination, and in fact, for many centuries and across many cultures, the concept of "the order of the world" was tied directly to the concept of destiny. Whether a volcano would explode and destroy your entire civilization, whether floods would swallow your city, whether the crops would grow or fail all depended on the pre-made decisions of supernatural powers, who were in turn often personified concepts of the natural world itself. What happened to any given individual, what twists and turns their life would take, whether they would achieve their dreams or not--all these aspects were also predetermined, decided not by the actions of the individual but by fate itself.

Thus, the world and everything in it has a natural order. Things may seem chaotic, they may even seem unbelievably horrible, but all events in existence unfold as they should. We may not understand why, but everything occurs in due course, woven into an endlessly repeating pattern on the fates' loom--spring becomes summer, life becomes death, disasters happen and are healed from, children are born and grow old. If it is your fate to die, you will. If it is your fate to fight and live, you will. To reject this natural order would be as futile as telling the sun not to rise.

The words "order" and "ordained" have the same origin.

Enter Gaiathra. First of all, she is the Star Rail equivalent of a pagan goddess--her worship exists separate of the confirmed existence of aeons, by an uncontacted and non-space-faring race. Even her description, being triple-eyed, evokes other "triple goddess" figures across history, both in modern interpretations (the triple goddess of Neopaganism) and in ancient mythologies (the three fates of Greece, the Tridevi of Hindu culture, etc.).

She is strongly associated with the natural world: The planet of Sigonia is said to be a manifestation of her very body, the rain is her blessing and acknowledgment, and she goes through a yearly cycle of death and rebirth (calling the cycle of the seasons to mind). She is said to be a goddess of both fertility and travel (likely in the sense of nomadic wandering by the time Aventurine was born). Avgin worship of the goddess manifests in the form of sacrificial cyclic knots.

Which might call to mind another pagan culture well-known for their cyclic knots: the Celts, whose famous Celtic knots represent cycles of eternity, unity, and the interconnected nature of life itself.

The Avgin prayer to Gaiathra focuses on elements of a person's life that all might be determined by "fate"--will your blood keep flowing, will your journey be peaceful, will your schemes stay hidden? It hopes that things will be as they should, that the future ahead of you is predetermined to be a good one, and that the cycle of life decided by the goddess will be in one's favor.

But while the Avgin hope for good things, they also strongly espouse embracing the reality of one's life, with suffering and hardships seen as manifestations of fate that should be accepted as facts of life. It is said that any society blessed by the Order ultimately falls--is it not the natural fate of all societies to one day fall? For mankind to return to the dust and be reborn anew?

Whatever will be, will be.

There is a reason--a logic--an order--to everything that happens.

I hope you can see where I'm going with this: While Sunday and Ena represent the concept of "Order" as a result of self-determination, a power "the strong" can wield to overcome the inherent chaos of reality, Aventurine and Gaiathra represent a different, older concept of "Order" (I can't help but see the entirely separate eye lurking behind Ena?): existence is not inherently chaotic but instead is foreordained, following endless orderly cycles life and death, weal and woe, rise and fall.

PHEW! Okay, so all of that to say Aventurine and Sunday make perfect parallels through a mirror darkly, even when it comes to the blessings they've been granted: One imposes order from on high; one continually rolls the dice despite knowing the inevitable outcome.

Both of their stories are entirely intertwined with the concept of fate, whether by opposing it...

Or accepting it.

And even at the end of Penacony, we leave both Sunday and Aventurine in precarious positions. Aventurine, while ostensibly "victorious," faces another roll of the dice immediately after Penacony, when his future as a Stoneheart is called into question. Yet "fate" comes through for him again--his bet, as always, comes true. His future isn't in question--it is the question itself. What's next? He finally wants to live to find out.

Sunday, meanwhile, ends Penacony's arc in a truly difficult place. He's virtually exiled from the only home he's ever known, a flightless bird tossed out of his cage into cold hard reality. He has to find an entirely new way forward and may even be forced to reckon with an entirely new definition of "Order" itself.

The parallels between these two characters are entirely intentional and very, very blatant, and I am exceedingly interested in seeing whether their paths diverge or continue to reflect similar fates moving forward.

So uhhh... that's what I think of Sunday? 😂

[chitsangenthusiast]

for @chiptrillino 🧡💚

↳ the lily pad frogs love hanging out with zuko when he comes by the pond! zuko, on the other hand...has mixed feelings

(it spins! video below the cut)

hop around the floaty lord 🐸