#But TTT probably knows

[vertiiir]

Idea: Necrologist attempting to casually mention Vertin's magazines to others and Vertin still managing to hear and stop her

Vertin's got her eyes on her and gives her the most violent side eye known imaginable and whenever she tries to mention it especially if it's around the more innocent arcanist ahem ahem sonetto ahem ahem

[haysaca]

Yall ever wonder if TTT knows about vertin's secret clipping stash that necrologist found?

Also appreciate TTT she's chill and your secrets are safe with her (presumably).

[hwanghyunjinenthusiast]

Thanks so much for the tag! @aaniag and @goblinvern

I'll place a clear version below the cut for the people I tag and anyone else who would like to try! This was really fun actually despite how effort went into it lol.

Tagging without pressure: @wonusite @sluttywoozi @ncteez @cheolhub @toruro and anyone else who would like to! /gen

Clean version!

[wr3nns]

camila's has a "feeding your manatee' book because hunter is part selkidomus and thus has weird diet (even more so than witches) more at 11

[lesbiancarat]

I wonder if we will get more TT in 2023

do you mean TTT as in the thirteen tapes? otherwise I'm not sure what you're talking about 😭

but funnily enough today people noticed that there's some registered merch that looks like it might be for Vernon's TTT so we might be getting that at the beginning of 2023 👀 it's still a rumor at this point though, so don't @ me if it doesn't happen!

[underburningstars]

I just had the craziest thought and I gotta share it.

What if there was a world where zombies lived? Like everyone was a zombie. And one day the zombie scientists or whatever crated an antidote which turned the zombies into humans.

Then the antidote spread and more and more zombies were becoming humans. Now, the zombies have to fight to save their existence by biting the humans without getting their heads smashed by a baseball bat.

So, it's like a human apocalypse.

[svtiddiess]

congrats on pie 100 babe!

it's PIE daaayy!! least to most (i said what i said) likely to smother you in their sleep (with love of course)

Thank you my second favourite menace!! (this isn't for pie 100 celebration but it's okay, for you I'll pretend)

400 followers celebration event

MOST LIKELY

Mingyu Biggest cuddle bug there is, literally. It is inevitable that you wake up in the middle of the night completely smushed under him. He's an actual human version of a weighted blanket.

Dokyeom He just wants to smother you with his love 24/7. He WILL sulk if he doesn't find you in his arms when he wakes up. Just accept his love please, even if it means getting squished every night.

Seungcheol

Hoshi

Dino

Jun

Joshua

Seungkwan

Wonwoo

Minghao

Jeonghan

Vernon The TTT clip says it all. He sleeps like he's dead. You'd probably need to check every now and then to make sure he's still breathing.

Woozi Nana tour clips say it all. Why was he just sleeping with half his body hanging off the bed and the lights fully on? Nobody knows. And the clip of him sleeping for the entirety of the plane ride? Man is prepped and ready for the coffin. He's definitely not gonna bother you in your sleep at all.

LEAST LIKELY

[catboymoments]

If you don't mind me asking what specifically was it that led you to start believing in the sexual abuse HC and or story idea for Hunter?

I'm just curious what specifically it was from the show that led some fans to come up with this idea in the first place?

I feel like for most people it comes from the fact that a lot of people see common traits of abusers in Belos, notably the fact that he’s a religious figurehead and is always in Hunter’s personal space, he treats his 16 year old nephew like both a caretaker and a punching bag, et cetera, he keeps him isolated and there’s the whole “nobody else will understand what we have” aspect which is already incredibly unsettling, but what pushed it over the top for me personally was the possession.

Hunter getting possessed in ttt was probably the most blink and you’ll miss it yet in your face metaphor for csa I’ve ever seen in an animated show. Like. Rot under your skin making you do things you don’t want to do and using your body against your will. He literally violated him and it made my stomach hurt watching it for the first time. Overall Belos seeing Hunter as a thing he can use is kind of a repeated theme throughout the show but thanks to them kind of (dunking basketball hand motion) you know

[stari-hun]

Arcanists Masking

A list of arcanists in the game sorted into categories of how much they mask as human/follow human etiquette in society.

Blatantly Inhuman

37 - If you told someone in the Foundation that she was an alien like Voyager they’d believe you

Avgust - Same situation as 37, acts like they’ve never been on earth

Baby Blue - The vibe is wandering spirit over human

Balloon Party

Dikke

Druvis iii

Eternity - Nice try ethereal entity, we can tell

Getian

Isolde - Famous arcanist and stopped masking as a human outside of shows. The world is her stage now

Kaalaa Baunaa - Nice try ethereal entity, we can tell

Jessica - Tried masking out for a while, didn’t work

La Source

Ulu

Vila

Voyager - Visibly masks but you can tell cause the vibes are off

Windsong

People Assume they’re an Arcanist

An-an Lee - If you assume she’s human and not an arcanist that’s on you kinda attitude

Centurion - Acting like she wasn’t an arcanist wouldn’t do well for her job + she’s proud of it

Diggers - He could but he’s not trying to hide it

Leilani - No effort in hiding it

Lilya - Brags about her arcanum a lot

Marcus - Actively bad at masking

Matilda - Makes conscious effort to present as an Arcanist

Medicine Pocket - Reject masking, accept ur own feral nature

Mondlict - Reject masking, accept ur own feral nature

Ms NewBabel - Makes conscious effort to present as an Arcanist

Necrologist - Not trying to mask

Nick Bottom

Oliver Fog - Not trying to mask + would tell someone he is so they go away faster

ONiON

Pavia - Brags about his arcanum to much to mask

Pickles

Poltergeist

Rabies

Regulus - Proud of being an arcanist but will rarely mask for her own benefit

Satsuki

Shamane

Sotheby - Has never in her life masked

Spathodea- Proud of being an arcanist + she’s a celebrity now

The Fool

Tooth Fairy - Nice try ethereal entity, we can tell

Twins sleep - Never in their lives have they masked

Zima

X - Makes no effort to mask

Yenisei - Makes no effort to mask

Failed at Acting Human

Charlie - She’s in a known arcanist group + an Arcanist celebrity, if she was in a disguise though she’d be fine

Click - He probably acted human to get around when he was alive

Erick - At first sight you’d think she’s human but she’s very proud that she’s an arcanist

Jiu - Successfully masked as human for a long time before failing so badly she swore off it

John Titor - Second you hear em talk

Kakania - You can kinda tell on looks and she isn’t hiding it anyways

Kanjira - Can probably mask as a human to strangers for a while but quickly slips up

TTT - If you didn’t see her you’d think she’s just a girl

Acts Human

6 - Just a guy

Bette - Acting is their whole job

Blonney - She’s accepted she’s an arcanist but it’s habit

Bkornblume - Generally wouldn't tell strangers anything + acts innocuous in public

Bunny Bunny - Customer service persona

Cristallo

Desert Flannel - She used to be a celebrity but not many people recognize her anymore + she can’t hustle as well if she was a known Arcanist

Eagle

Horropedia - Proud of being an arcanist but if it didn’t come up you wouldn’t know

Melania - Makes a conscious effort to mask as human in public

Mesmer Jr - Outside of work she actively dislikes being an arcanist

Ms Moissan - Proud of being an arcanist but if it didn’t come up you wouldn’t know

Sonetto - She’s the Foundation’s pride for her masking but one of these days she’s gonna lose it

Sweetheart - Acting is her whole job

Tennant - Regularly masks with success to her benefit

Object Class

A Knight - If it weren’t for his appearance ppl would know he’s just a jolly ghost

aliEn T - Also an appearance based loss

APPle - Same thing

Door - Visibly nonhuman with a nonhuman personality

Ms Radio - Visibly nonhuman with a nonhuman personality

Sputnik

Ezra

Ezra

[reuben-7991]

Octavian’s treatment is one of my least favorite things about HoO because it isn’t his character, it’s his lack of one.

We COULD’VE had an excellent character who was a look into what could truly go wrong with blind devotion like Octavian’s, drawing an excellent parallel to Luke’s blind hatred in the original series (Percy even says Octavian reminds him of Luke).

We COULD’VE had a fantastic contrast into a follower’s descent into insanity after making empty promises of power whilst under the influence of a massively elder being, thus leading to said follower’s death.

What makes me especially mad is that Octavian has no backstory. This is a problem with a lot of Roman characters, but Octavian especially. He doesn’t even have a last name. All we know is:

- He’s a legacy of Apollo.

- He used to be sane and probably very charismatic, due to Reyna stating she used to have a crush on him in TTT.

That’s it! One of Rick’s gold stars is that his human characters are just that: human. They have motivations and flaws, deeply personal origins and ideals that affect their actions and their outcomes. None of the villains are just plain villains, evil by birth. They have motives to back up their actions (now weither those motives make sense or not, that’s another story, but they’re still there.) There’s Luke, Medea, Lityerses (who is an entire other can of worms), Circe, Loki, Gunilla, Randolph, hell, even Kronos and Gaea. All of them have reasons for the shitty stuff they did. Octavian is a glaring exception. We know he’s power-hungry, but we don’t know why. We know he’s violent, but we don’t know why. We know he hates the Greeks, but we don’t know why. You may argue ‘oh, he’s a minor character, he doesn’t really get a reasoning’ which is just blatantly untrue on both fronts.

1: Octavian is NOT a minor character in the slightest. He has major roles in the plot throughout the books.

2: Him being a ‘minor’ villain wouldn’t have anything to do with his motivation. Chris from the OG series has stated motivation, and he’s way more minor than Octavian.

Another thing is that Octavian’s insanity is played off almost comically. He’s relatively well put together in SoN, only being super dramatic and reportedly blackmailing Hazel and probably other legionnaires, but by BoO he’s absolutely broken. He’s utterly obsessed with being a hero to the Romans, with being Pontifex Maximus, with killing Gaea and almost proving himself to Apollo (who is utterly disgusted by him), but it’s all either framed as ‘hate this guy more plsplspls’ or brushed away to the side.

I’m torn on his death scene, because it’s a good scene overall but too much of it is humorous in my opinion. Between Will calling Octavian an ‘anemic loser’ (which like. what.) and Leo describing his screams as a little girl’s, it seems almost too light for such a pivotal point in the story. Octavian has truly lost himself to madness, ranting and raving and insisting no, HE has to be the one to kill Gaea, HE has to be a hero.

His death is horrific, yet it’s framed as a silly oopsie.

What the fuck.

Overall, Octavian is a shining example of missed character potential. We could have gotten the Riordan special and made to empathize more with our villain, like what happened with Luke or Randolph from MCGA, but all we get is a crazy blond kid, character so shallow he could count as a tide pool. It infuriates me to no end how in a sea of good, properly motivated antagonists, Octavian is the outlier.

It’s a real shame.

[aeithalian]

Hermes: the ultimate middle child

And now for the other promised meta!

There was a great discussion on the TOA discord earlier that I got the chance to read once it was over that was basically exactly what I wanted to talk about - Hermes as a character and how he is very subtly contrasted with Apollo in multiple ways.

First, for a curiosity I've had ever since I finished TON. We learn several very interesting things about Hermes in the scene when Apollo returns to the Council:

He initiated the bets on Apollo's success (and then has the nerve to say he was worried about Apollo)

He bet against Apollo (and it was enough money to make him look visibly upset by the loss)

He was not among the gods who looked happy at Zeus' proclamation of Apollo's success (Artemis makes sense for being happy, Dionysus makes sense for not, but Hermes is supposedly a close brother figure in the myths, so what gives?)

He immediately suggested that Apollo cause outright harm to some mortals with his renewed power, despite displaying no such malice in his previous appearances

There is an interesting play of contrast here when you look at Hermes' other notable scene in the Riordanverse - his conversation with Percy at the end of TLO.

Hermes is generally portrayed as much more serious right here. He's grieving Luke's death at this point, but Hermes knew that was coming, and this demeanor is consistent with his other appearances up until this point: put-together, down-to-business, pragmatic, and so on.

This doesn't seem like the same person we see at the end of TON: making jokes, placing bets, and the like. And THEN you go back to the myths and the Hermes there seems much more similar to the one we meet in TON.

My point being, there is a very obvious disconnect here between who Hermes used to be, who he is now, and who he is pretending to be.

And it has a lot to do with Zeus, and as a result, Apollo.

I think there's a twofold reason for this dichotomy: one, Hermes and Apollo have fundamentally contradictory views on both fate and change which have larger implications for Hermes' overall morality; and two, Hermes resents Apollo for being Zeus' favorite when Apollo probably doesn't deserve it (or Hermes believes he deserves it more).

Part I: Fate and Change

I'd like to go back to that conversation between Percy and Hermes at the end of The Last Olympian. The entire conversation is so strange to me: here's a sixteen-year-old who has never had a positive father figure in his life (save Paul, who is still a recent addition to his family at this point) trying to comfort a 4,000-year-old god that he's not a bad father:

"I thought you were a bad father," I admitted. "I thought you abandoned Luke because you knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."

The main point of that conversation comes from Hermes' response to Percy's statement. To paraphrase, Hermes says 'I couldn't have saved Luke, it's against the laws and I can't defy the fates. I loved him, yes, but I couldn't save him. Those laws aren't going to change anytime soon, and neither are the gods.'

What we get from this conversation is this: Hermes was resigned to being unable to help Luke because he views the future as inevitable and the Fates as all-powerful (as does Zeus). He also doesn't believe that gods can change in the ways Percy wants them to; he scoffs at the idea that Percy's proposed changes will be permanent:

"No one can tamper with fate, Percy. Not even a god."

and then:

He laughed. "After three thousand years, you think gods can change their nature?"

To Hermes? Fate is inevitable and the gods can't change.

On the other hand, to Apollo? The future is behind any number of unlocked doors, and the only thing stopping the gods from changing are themselves:

[Regarding Frank burning his stick in TTT] "Frank went into that tunnel knowing he might die. He willingly sacrificed himself for a noble cause. In doing so, he broke free of his own fate. By burning his own tinder, he kind of... I don't know, started a new fire with it. He's in charge of his own destiny now."

Frank broke free of his fate, and the way Apollo talks about it indicates that he believes that such things are certainly possible.

And this:

[After regaining his godhood in TON] I could only try to be different from [Zeus]. Better. More... human.

Apollo intends to change the way he acts now that he is returned to Olympus, and has the support of everyone else who noted that he has already grown as a person: Jason, Sally, Will, Reyna, and so many more.

I feel like Hermes has always felt that he has the excuse of being a god when Percy asks him to do better for the sake of Luke's memory: "We gods have never been very good at keeping oaths." and "Eventually we'll become forgetful. We always do." and generally lots of other sentiments that give the impression that he believes that failure to do right by mortals is inevitable for gods. He's been so used to thinking that Luke was resigned to his fate from the very beginning, and that Hermes was never capable of changing it. Hermes didn't fail because he didn't try to succeed.

But Apollo ruins that for him when he returns - Apollo has not and will not let that same excuse stop him, and now Hermes is losing the only reason he had for not helping Luke. If Hermes is right, that gods can never help their mortal children and Luke was born to die at Kronos' hand, it was excusable for Hermes to turn his back on his own son. But if Apollo is right that gods can change and you can shape your own destiny, then it was Hermes and his inaction that killed Luke, not Kronos.

And we know that Apollo is right. Apollo did defy his fate. Apollo did change. And Hermes saw it all from the safety of his throne on Olympus.

Which means that Hermes was always wrong, and he knows it now. Hermes says that not helping Luke was the hardest thing he's ever done, because it would have amounted to nothing. Hermes thought he was completely incapable of helping Luke, but Apollo is living proof that he could have.

So now, Apollo is a daily reminder that Hermes failed Luke. Every day.

That would be enough to drive a wedge between any two people, much less two gods. And I don't think Apollo would ever truly realize that this is the case, so one day, Hermes is going to break, and Apollo will be left blindsided.

It only makes sense that Hermes might have some very heavy clown makeup on when we see him at the end of TON. I can't speak for him when we talk about the gambling, but I bet it's because Hermes, like he did with Luke, thought that Apollo would be resigned to his death the very moment Delphi-Python said that "Apollo will fall". And the fact that Apollo survived against all the odds (and seemingly against the Fates themselves) is just another smack to the face. I believe his behavior and comments in this scene are him lashing out in anger and frustration at the solid fact of the matter; that Hermes failed his own family, which is something he values to no end.

That's got to suck.

But now I think we have to closely examine why Hermes believes those things. Hermes has been brainwashed in a sense to believe that he can't defy fate and can't change. By who, then?

Do I really need to answer that? You have a brain. It's obvious, isn't it?

Part II: The fight to be the golden child

Let's rewind a bit, shall we?

The entire discussion had over on discord was started with talking about the potentials of Apollo's relationships with Ares and the rest of his siblings, then someone (I believe it was @fearlessinger, along with some very valid points made by uke) said this:

...but Ares, who was always the least favored of Zeus's children, the family's scapegoat, and who gave up on trying to get on Zeus's good side basically as soon as he was born and deemed a failure… he of all ppl would actually have no reason to resent Apollo for his success, nor for throwing away that success

To which I replied:

so i wonder then who has the reason to resent Apollo the most?... it’s probably a son, because they’re the ones who have to fight the most for Zeus’ approval ... maybe Hermes? because he’s never really done anything wrong and still doesn’t receive the title he deserves ...

To summarize: Apollo was the golden child, and used to be Zeus' favorite. We are certain he faces a lot of resentment for this fact (he admits to it himself), and Hermes definitely fits the bill.

Think about it.

Besides Luke, what has Hermes ever done that would put him out of the running for golden child? He's useful, talented, powerful enough to be on the Council, and despite being a god of liars and thieves, is work-driven enough that his father still trusts him. Even in the myths, he's clever in a very Zeus-y way.

Apollo, on the other hand, acts like a complete and utter fool pre-trials. He's vain, self-centered, and shallow. He's a chronic attention-seeker, and, in the myths tried to overthrow Zeus, and had angered him to the point of turning him mortal, not once, but twice. So what gives? Why is Apollo the favorite son, and not Hermes?

Honestly, I couldn't say, besides vague suggestions that it's because Zeus likes the idea of having the powerful and popular son as a favorite, rather than the less noticeable behind-the-scenes son. But who knows how Zeus and his favoritism work. Apollo doesn't, and I don't think Hermes does either.

I rather think Hermes is, as I said in the title, the ultimate middle child. Overlooked by his father in favor of his siblings, whether they be rebellious (Apollo), perfect in every way (Athena or Artemis) or just plain failures (Ares or Dionysus). In comparison, Hermes is invisible, having never done anything to make him stand out in the eyes of his father, nor having done anything that deserves a strict punishment. Nothing worthy of attention.

I've seen people wonder why Hermes never suffered the same consequences for Luke's actions in the way Apollo did for Octavian. But that's because Hermes never broke Zeus' fundamental law: do not interact with your mortal children.

The problems Octavian caused were supposedly because Apollo defied Zeus and created a forbidden connection with his legacy.

On the other hand, the problems Luke caused were because Hermes obeyed Zeus to the letter.

Why would Zeus punish Hermes for being obedient? And why wouldn't Zeus punish Apollo for breaking the 'ancient laws'?

Arguably, Hermes is Zeus' best behaved child (which is ironic, considering a few notable domains of his). Hermes is one of a trend that we see a lot with toxic parents who don't give attention and approval freely - Hermes and Apollo are on opposite sides of this spectrum. Apollo in the past has acted out in order to gain attention, whereas Hermes has glued himself to Zeus' side in an attempt to be perfect.

And this perfection includes indoctrinating into Zeus' belief systems and fears. Zeus fears the inevitability of fate. So does Hermes. Zeus refuses to let the gods change. So Hermes believes change impossible. Zeus says that you may not have contact with your mortal children. And although to Hermes this is the hardest of all, he turns his back on Luke.

And yet, 'golden child' is still not his title to claim. That rests with Apollo, still, who has not met Zeus' standards, openly rejects Zeus' belief systems, and yet continues to rise above the rest.

That is the formula for a deteriorating relationship between brothers: Apollo's mere existence being an everyday reminder to Hermes that he is a failure both to his son and to his father.

Everyone say hello to our old friend resentment.

Now, I'm not necessarily saying that Hermes and Apollo's relationship is inherently negative. But there's a lot of reason for there to be some contention coming from Hermes (and I didn't even touch on May Castellan - basically, I think Apollo refused to oversee her attempt to become the next Oracle because he knew it wouldn't work, which is why he wasn't present for May's attempt, but was for Rachel's; later on, Hermes could start seeing Apollo's domain and subsequent absence as the thing that drove her mad).

We don't have a lot of hints for whether or not he plans to act on those feelings of resentment. But they're there. And in a new, post-trials Olympus, they're going to come to light sooner or later.

Because Percy was right.

"I thought you were a bad father," I admitted. "I thought you abandoned Luke because you knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."

That's exactly what happened. And because of Apollo, Hermes now knows it.

(a list of my other metas if you'd like to read)

And a very special shoutout to @firealder2005 for writing this absolutely gut-wrenching and angsty but super cool fic based around this very idea that i am absolutely in love with and everyone should go read it ❤️

[toontiedterror]

Sorry if someone has already asked this before or you explained it before but I’m super curious since Pete is dead- ehem what happens to cartoons in the real world when a popular toon star dies. Do the creators and animators just stop being able to use that character? Are they just discontinued? Or are they gone from history and people’s memories? Or something else that’s strange? Just super curious that I just realized since in TTT 1 we saw Pete die. And he’s a very prominent antagonist to Mickey throughout all of their shared history.(I didn’t question Carley’s castawaying part cause it feels like she would just be abandoned and forgotten but you can answer what they do about that too-)

When a cartoon character dies, their presence in the real world slowly fades away. People will forget about the character, but they know something is missing. Like Mandela Effect kind of thing. The average person wouldn't notice, but maybe an avid fan of Pete will. All drawings of the character in all sort of media will also start to corrupt or just vanish. We call this screenrot

Sometimes Bendy will slip up, (or probably doing it on purpose), and he kills a cartoon live on TV. Anyone watching can see the violence. The next day they won't remember what character died, but the trauma of seeing the violence will stay. Then they'll believe it was some sort of creepypasta or lost media type video they saw

[itsticklishme23]

🌸 NEST post incoming… 🌸

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” ✨

Wow… I don’t even have the words to express the gratitude, bliss, and surreal feeling i have to have met all of the wonderful people at NEST. Thank you to everyone for the best time and for making my first NEST so unforgettable! I’m so sad I had to leave early, but the time I did get with everyone was BEYOND beautiful!! I met so many amazing loving people, the respectfulness and kindness (and bullying AHEM 🙄😜) I experienced from you all is just absolutely special and beyond any group/community I’ve been apart of. A HUUUGE thank you to the incredible organizers for creating such an amazing event. To my old and new friends: I LOVE YOU BIG!!

I know this is a kinda late NEST post hahah and I’m sure one day I’ll make a post of all the fun stuff that happened, or maybe I’ll keep some of it as memories between us, but I just absolutely had to make an appreciation post for the people that made it so special because that’s what it’s all about for me 🥰

~ firstly a huge thank you to @spiffytickler for being an amazing friend and the whole reason I even made it to NEST in the first place!! Seriously wouldn’t have even been there without you, and I’m so grateful to you, my dear friend ☺️ plus your pep talks and protector/“mother hen” energy was so appreciated, and I adore you ❤️

~ and of course the beautiful and sweet @yourlittlettoy with your illuminating presence and your sweet lil gifts just make my whole heart smile!! How did I get so lucky to know you let alone have a bestie in you!! ❤️❤️ I love you forever!

~ getting to meet and spend time with @kusugurihime was an absolute pleasure and joy, you’re such a sweetie pie! I can’t wait for us to reunite 🥹❣️

~ a huge thank you to @mister-ttt for being the sweetest friend, the best bidder HEHEH and just having a heart of gold, and being an amazing protector. Even though we met at NEST you’ve already easily become one of my favorite people and I see a sweet friendship blooming 🥰

~ getting to finally meet @toadallytickles was also a cherry on top!! Your kindness and attentiveness to your friends helps me see the sweetness in your soul and I’m grateful you extended that same sweetness to me, and I can’t wait to see you again ☺️

~ @puzz-ler we finally got to actually hug and have an amazing time after years of being friends, and you’re easily cementing your bestie status too 😂🫶🏾 as sassy as you can be 🙄 lol but you’re still great and so generous with your kindness, which I forever appreciate 🖤

~ and meeting @ticklita literally made my whole weekend that much better bc you’re such a sweet, kind, precious lil strawberry 🍓 and I can’t wait to visit you and see you again!! 🥰

Plus many, many, many more that would probably take up your whole page for miles hahah i wish I could tag every single person who made nest special! But I promise if I didn’t tag you, you still mean a lot to me. And simply put, I’m already dreaming of reuniting again with you all with massive hugs and cheek kissies soon 😘💋 I can’t wait to see you all again, and I hope everyone who went had a truly amazing experience. If we met and didn’t get each other’s info to keep in touch, please feel free to message me and connect! The giggles, laughter, teasing, bratiness, jokes, silliness, love, and just the right amount of “mean-ness” were perfect hehe. My lil subby lee heart is full and missing you all already ❤️

[myheroblogs]

Yoichi and All For One are IDENTICAL TWINS (and what it means...)

Okay, I know this acc has kinda been dead for over a year or two by now and I haven't exactly caught up with MHA, I only started reading the last 3-4 chapters, and I wasn't planning to revive this acc after being inactive for so long, but I discovered something that I CAN'T keep quiet about.

In the newest chapter, further detail on Yoichi and AFO's backstory is revealed (Yes! The chapter I've been waiting for!), and surprisingly, AFO and Yoichi are TWINS! I think very few people really thought of the concept, so it was unexpected in general.

I assumed they're fraternal twins, because while they're twins, the anime showed them having different eye colors... (Yoichi has green eyes and AFO has red eyes)

...Until I realised that isn't actually possible.

Because TTTS (twin to twin transfusion), can only occur in IDENTICAL TWINS.

In other words, yes, Yoichi and AFO aren't just twins, they're IDENTICAL TWINS. Anime may be wrong about eye colors again (like how they were for Iida's).

And while it's both unexpected and funny to think about all this (I mean, c'mon, that means Yoichi could've had the exact same face as his brother-), a lot of people may have missed the very BIG implication that this has.

Remember, identical twins share the exact same genetic makeup. After all, they are basically what should've been one person but got split into two somewhere in the early process.

But aren't y'all forgetting...

...that QUIRKS are also genetic?

If AFO and Yoichi are identical twins the entire time, with the EXACT SAME GENETICS, then that would mean that the quirks they have, would be identical as well. Because quirks are also genetic.

All For One and One For All are the SAME QUIRK by nature.

You may be wondering, "if they're the same quirk, why do they seem to function differently?" Yes, OFA can pass itself on, AFO can't, etc.

Well, while they are identical twins, they did suffer through TTTS, with Yoichi as the donor twin.

This probably messed a lot with Yoichi's development, and thus, his quirk. After all, while identical twins, are well, identical, a lot of factors can change how their genetics are expressed (some are expressed more than others). TTTS would've been a big one for AFO and Yoichi.

Notice when looking at OFA's functions (minus the stockpile), it's a significantly weaker version of AFO? AFO can just take and give through close contact with another person. For the transfer to even work for Yoichi, he has to transfer through DNA (blood, or eating hair??), and the only way it can even store quirks if said person inherited the quirk and passed it on like hot potato. I wouldn't even be surprised if Yoichi's quirk could only story a certain number of quirks.

The functions of Yoichi's original quirk got so messed up, it had to evolve into being able to pass itself on for it to even function itself. So much so that literally no one realised he had a quirk, maybe even Yoichi himself until after his death.(Im in the camp that Yoichi died passing on the quirk and it was Kudou who discovered the transfer ability and made the plan to defeat AFO)

So yeah, Bakugo was correct about OFA being the same as AFO all along. Except he was wrong about it being due to AFO creating OFA. It's actually because the original quirk holders were identical twins, meaning the quirks they have would also be identical. But things happened, which caused the quirks to work differently from each other.

EDIT: As another addition to this post, this also explains why OFA and AFO are so intricately linked, that the two users can start seeing into the other's vestige realm. To the point that when they both come into contact, it merges their vestige plains into one. Or perhaps, it's actually two quirks temporarily merging into one.

Since identical twins are basically one split into two, then two identical quirks having contact with each other is the same as two merging back into one again.

[amiizuki]

it will be forever funny to me how the flashback portraits of Wittebrothers made Caleb seem like he's had packing peanuts for a brain

(this post ended up becoming quite lengthy, and so did the tags somehow, because I kinda devolved into a rant closer to the end of writing this whole thing, so bear with me here)

so we know that Philip and Caleb became orphans when both of them were still kids. after that, they ended up in Gravesfield and, to fit in with everyone else who lived there, picked up witch hunting and started thinking that witches are pure evil. Caleb knew perfectly well that he's the only family Philip's had left and that he even may be his his only friend, since, judging by the portraits, they've only ever hung out with each other and we don't know if those two ever made any other actual friends.

until one day, during a witch hunt he and Philip were both a part in (something Caleb seemed happy to do, judging by his smirk there), he met a witch – Evelyn – someone he's been taught to hate and want dead by the townsfolk. someone who, again, in his mind, should be evil.

but he just suddenly does a 180 and goes "damn, you can make fire with your hands, you're actually pretty cool"

and then a few days (?) of talking to her later, he's running off to live with her in the Demon Realm, while simultaneously not giving a single fuck about the brother he's abandoning.

(he even runs off with a smile, with a literal :D face, I fucking can't lmao)

Philip ends up seeing Caleb get dragged off through a weird portal and later follows along, thinking something like "no, my brother wouldn't just up and abandon me without saying anything. he probably got captured by that witch we saw together that one time! she probably used some demon magic to bewitch Caleb and took him through that portal to kill him or worse! I gotta go save him!". and, after spending god knows how long in that realm, searching endlessly for his missing older brother, he eventually finds him. but he also finds that Caleb is not only perfectly okay and not hurt in the slightest, he's also peacefully walking together with the same witch who "captured" him, even holding hands with her.

and when enraged Philip tries to attack Evelyn, to protect Caleb from the witch who took him from his home, from his brother, still thinking that Caleb's under her control, Caleb just... gives him a hug and goes on to introduce the witch as his new wife to him (I'm assuming that portrait is the same day as the other three, if not the same scene), also adding on top of that that they're having a child. all as if nothing happened. treating the whole thing like everything's perfectly okay and just another normal day, fully ignoring the fact that he threw his brother away with no care or thought, leaving him completely alone, a full orphan, now with zero actual family left (in TTT, during their backstory, it's said that "Caleb did his best to take care of his younger brother", meaning that either they never got adopted in Gravesfield, or whoever adopted them didn't give a shit about the two, so they still mostly had to fend for themselves), all to go smash some random 5 out of 10 witchussy he talked to, like, 3 times. no fucking wonder Philip killed him!

(btw, jokes aside, it didn't seem like he intended to kill Caleb, because in that portrait where he's ready to kill with a knife in his hand, he's facing forward, while Caleb is actually to his left. so it just looks to me like Philip was gonna try to kill Evelyn again, and Caleb either jumped in front of her to protect her and got accidentally stabbed or he attacked Philip back, to, again, protect Evelyn, and Philip ended up winning that fight. but that's just my theory)

my brother in literal christ and literal titan – why in the FUCK are you just hugging it out with a smile on your face??? you ran off while giving absolutely no warning to anyone, especially your younger brother! why do you think he's here and actively trying to attack you and your new wife? you're not even trying to address the fact that you left him! at least when Luz ran off to a different realm without warning, she had a "I'm still at the camp" cover, so Camila wouldn't worry that much about where her daughter is, and even then she still felt bad for leaving her mother and planned to go back home once summer was over. this chucklefuck, on the other hand, just permanently portaled away to the Boiling Isles, knocked up a witch and fully settled down there, walking around with a big ol' smile and no care in the world. "Philip who? never heard of him"

the only thing that would sorta make this situation seem better (as in, not make Caleb seem like an overly naive ignorant brick), in my opinion, is if they added one more portrait – after the one where he meets the witch, but before the one where he leaves. in that portrait, Caleb would look like he's trying his best to convince Philip that witches aren't actually evil, and perhaps even try to get him to go live with them in the Demon Realm, all the while Philip's looking at him with either disagreement/disappointment/disgust or just rolling his eyes and full on ignoring him, while sharpening his witch hunt tools or something. then it would look like Caleb at least tried to make his brother change his mind, like he tried to offer him a chance to go with them. but no. with the way the portraits look in the final version it just seems like Caleb was fully on-board with killing witches since he was young, even pulling his younger brother along to think the same way, Philip also thought that Caleb was perfectly fine with killing witches, but once he actually meets a real witch (assuming they've never met one before) he instantly pulls an uno reverse card and just runs off with her, without so much as telling his brother beforehand.

I'm not trying to say that "Belos should've been redeemed, because he's the victim here and Caleb is bad and it's all his fault". he still murdered his brother and went on to manipulate everyone on Boiling Isles for centuries, with his end goal being the death of all witches, while simultaneously being stuck in the loop of "denial" and "bargaining" stages of grief – repeatedly trying and failing to recreate a perfect copy of Caleb, but also killing each one that came out wrong or went against him. Belos not being redeemed in the end was the right choice (ignoring the "Belos was always le bad" from King's dad), I agree with that. frankly, if he actually got redeemed in the end, I'd probably be seething for the next 3 to 5 years, like how I did after the Diamonds' "redemptions" in SU (yes I'm still pissed about that lol). I'm just saying that, from what was shown to us, Caleb didn't seem like that good of a person either, not as bad as Belos ended up being, but still not that great. and, once again, seemingly had a raisin for a brain.

(off topic, but during Masha's retelling of Wittebane's backstory, their "sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset" line was so fucking cringe, it gave me a fever for 3 days the first time I watched the episode)

k, rant over, I dunno what else to add

TL;DR: I think Caleb was dumb as a brick, because, from what was shown to us in their backstory, he seemed to have run off to Demon Realm and abandon Philip without telling him anything beforehand. when Philip came to BI to look for his brother, who he assumed was under control of the witch who "took" him, since he thought his last living family member wouldn't just abandon him, and when he eventually found him, and it turned out he wasn't in any danger at all, Caleb just brushed the whole "I left you for witchussy" thing under the rug and pretended everything was and is perfectly fine, even though it clearly isn't. rip bozo

[crimeronan]

I feel like Luz “Separation Anxiety” Noceda would be a bit dismayed upon learning that Vee and her friends are going to graduate and go to college at the end of the school year (presuming that Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior are Human Realm Exclusive Terms)

Like “oh my entire social life actually revolves around you and your friends because I’m too awkward and different to know how to approach people and am too nice and accommodating to any and everyone because of The Horrors to tell anybody to back off if they get too nosy so truly I cannot fathom how I’m going to function in a school setting without you but it’s Fine :) I’m really happy for you and not at all going to cry about this :)))”

Maybe she’ll join the school band to try and become socially independent and then just get really sad cause she misses Raine :(((

baby girl :(

i think she'd have a kind of tough time in a school environment to begin with, honestly. i made a post to that effect earlier but decided it was too depressing and deleted it.... but! since i ended up thinking a LOT about how her school experience would be handled. the gist was:

she'd have a really good 504 plan in place -- 504 plans are written plans that help students with disabilities stay in a normal classroom. it would have accommodations like her getting pre-written notes about what they'd discuss in class, a slightly separate desk to avoid being unexpectedly touched by other students, blanket permission to step out into the hallway if she gets nervous, extra time on tests, etc.

she'd purposefully be matched with the friendliest teachers and the easiest graders, people who are Very willing to talk with her about her needs. and also to say "i'm not upset with you." probably the really relaxed english teacher from TTT is one of them. this occasionally does remind her of raine and make her feel incredibly guilty/sad :(

and i think she'd have a one-on-one aide assigned to sit with her and show her what she's supposed to do in a classroom and help her navigate between classes. most likely this person is with her all day except for during lunch periods, when she takes her break....

this definitely marks luz Other by the student body (as having a paraprofessional does for every kid in a mainstream classroom) but she actually does not mind it! it feels like being guarded & she's grateful to have someone telling her what to do.

(in my head the aide's name is miss delilah and she's an OC who exists purely to be really kind and understanding. because please god give luz this.)

even with all of this, though....

classrooms are not Easy for luz. in the canon, she has CRIPPLINGLY hyperactive ADHD and can't focus on anything going on. she's weird and offputting and exuberant and causes ten million problems.

here, she has a LOT of baggage from belos. not just the physical trauma, but also everything she's internalized about How To Behave. she's learned a lot about how not to annoy him. and school is a public-facing event, which means she's in full Gracious Princess Mode. trying to make herself as small and unobtrusive as possible

so all of her concentration goes into Sitting Still and Being Quiet. she can't anxiously stim without disrupting the classroom, she can't chatter without annoying people, she can't chew through pencils or rip up paper without attracting Concern.

this is. incredibly stressful!! for her!!

stressful enough that she can't really retain anything the teacher says in classes. her homework is always done and her notes are always neat, but her quiz and test scores are Abysmal. because she either can't process the questions or can't remember the answers. because being in the classroom is Hard

which just adds another layer of stress. luz is like. PLEASE don't tell my mom. please please please please please don't tell my mom :(

vee doesn't really understand this -- she Loves the classroom. loves to sit at a desk and participate in discussion. loves to do worksheets. loves to get good grades and be a pleasure to have in class. Behaving Normally is a lot less stressful for vee than it is for luz.

which makes luz even clingier, when she can have lunch with vee or see her between classes. she's microdosing on being in the company of someone who feels Normal And Fine. and who has friends who clearly feel Normal And Fine. and who don't mind if luz is weird around them

luz being like oh!! you're going away. i see :) um. congratulations!! i'll be right back. i need to lock myself in the shower and cry so hard i throw up.