#and for talking to me so much afterwards

[forthlin]

me & people all around the world celebrating the day two guys met because their meeting really means that much to us, even decades later. their love for one another and their creative representation of it changed so so many lives <3

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

Leonardo: Dinosaurs aren't extinct. I mean, le Comte is walking in this room.

MC: *wheeze*

[pandora15]

okay but have y'all considered

obi-wan kenobi

[astrolotte]

Genuinely intrigued by the potential of Peri and Irep's dynamic but only in a platonic way so I end up not vibing with the fandom's portrayal of it 😔😔😔

(No but listen LISTEN they were kinda-almost-friends when we last saw them in FOP, yeah? Now they're enemies, with both actively fighting each other, and Irep going so far as to try and kill Peri's parents. What happened? When? What influenced it? Did they ever become friends, or did it nosedive the moment the cameras turned off? What about Sammy? How do Irep's parents factor into this? Could it ever be fixed? There's just so much we haven't seen, and romance just feels like too easy a solution to me. Let their friendship be easy to break, fragile. Let them have to work to keep the connection. Fairies and Anti-Fairies are literally made to be opposites, so what happens when two genuinely and truly become friends?)

((and yeah I guess a lot of this could factor into a romantic angle but ALAS the fandom seems to be leaning heavily into the funny toxic yaoi angle 😔 I don't mind it! By all means, please have your very harmless fun! But it ain't my jam :P Perhaps I'll have to write a oneshot myself...))

(((see tags for more rambles i guess. whoops a bitch spoke too much in there as he always does)))

[jimmyandthegiraffes]

Where’s that post I made about Mike being the companion that broke under the horrors bc I’m still right. When I think abt the THINGS some companions have had to endure and have still seemingly been fine, and then I think of mike losing himself and his values to a festering psychological wound that left him open to radicalisation, it’s like he is the evidence that actually everything isn’t fine.

Which is why it’s so important that he should be next seen in meditation, in the seeking of peace, in quietness and healing because not only is he a character that needs it he’s also a character that knows he needs it and seeks it out for himself, because he doesn’t recognise who he is anymore and he wants, not to redeem himself in the eyes of others (he won’t even go near UNIT, not even when he needs their help, he goes through Sarah Jane instead!), but to become a better person, to stop being a threat, and to heal for his own soul’s sake.

And so he goes from someone who was willing to see the entirety of human history erased, to someone who will risk his life for one person and the fact that that ultimately saves his life always imo comes across as a bit easy if you watch planet of the spiders without this context in mind. But when you do think about where Mike has been, psychologically, from the green death through to planet of the spiders, it doesn’t seem easy at all but actually a significant if understated character moment.

[ratatatastic]

"—in Game 7 when the puck is stuck in the corner...did that last forever? Were you like, 'Fuckin' McDavid's in front! McDavid's in front by himself!'" "Oh yeah, you wanna know why it lasted forever? So I was tired, so I'm like 'Fuck, I'm gonna change.' and there's 25 seconds left, I'd been out there for a minute-ten, I'm like, 'Let's make the smart fucking choice here, let me change. Get a fresh body out.' And Mikkola changed for me instead of Montour. And whether that was by design or not, that's two lefty defencemen with the mindset, 'let me get to that left side.' Forsling's already in there, then Mikkola comes straight off the bench straight into the pile, and then McDavid's alone out front. So we're all looking—for a second we're like, 'Holy shit, what's gonna happen here... hopefully Draisaitl doesn't make one of those ridiculous plays where he pulls it out of the corner and snaps it right to McDavid's stick.' But it ended up working out." "It worked out." "I know Jamie Kompon [Florida Panthers Asst. Coach] said that too, 'We had two left-shot defencemen out there at the same time. And like nobody is defending McDavid in front of the net.' But Mikkola—he did that a couple of times though! Where he just like all of a sudden, he was able to eat the puck along the wall to close out games." "Yeah, listen I don't blame him at all! For me as a right defenceman like..."

The Cam & Strick Podcast | 7.30.24 (x)

"You know, think about looking up at the clock and seeing—I think it was Connor [McDavid] and one other d-man [Ekholm] in front of the net when it was getting—fighting in the corner and we had nobody in front of the net! And we're all looking on the bench, we're like, '97's in the slot all alone...what are we doing here?'" "Best player in the world!" "It's funny looking at it now. I don't know who it was—Mikkola in the corner—he's like, 'That puck was not coming out, I can tell you that! I had that glued to the wall.' But yeah, you think about it now...the rest, it doesn't matter what the series was at—we won! And we're Stanley Cup Champions." "Exactly man!"

Empty Netters | 8.26.24 (x)

*there were 2 dmen out by the net near McDavid he could either be referring to Ekholm or Bouchard in this instance but Ekholm is closer to the net

and also because i think its interesting after ekky's game 7 mikksy changing for him anecdote he talks about how he cant play on the left and refuses to do so its pretty good stuff XD

"I can tell this now! That's Sylvain Lefebvre [Florida Panthers Asst. Coach] our D-coach—called me when he got hired [2022.] So I'm on the phone with him, we're chatting and he's like, 'Would you ever play the left side?' I'm like, 'Absolutely not! That's a skillset I just don't have. I see the right side of the ice and that 200ft of rectangle on the right side of the ice. That's just kind-of where I'm comfortable.' So I'm like, 'No, please do not put me on the left side!' Yeah so..." "You can do it!" "That's the first conversation? 'Hey, listen! I've been thinking about some things, drawing some pairings out on a napkin—wanna put you on the left side.'" "'Want you to be goalie!'" "That's—No!"

The Cam & Strick Podcast | 7.30.24 (x)

[icewindandboringhorror]

sometimes looking at like Self Help Strategies lists for the symptoms I'm having is always just like:

thing that I already do

thing I have tried 10 times

thing I already do

thing that I don't have the money to do

thing I already do

thing I've been doing since I was 10yrs old to no avail

thing that is impossible given my situation

thing that doesn't apply to me

thing that I already do

thing I have already tried

hrmm, oh wait, maybe finally- OH, yeah.. okay. thing that I already do but it was just phrased slightly differently

thing I have already done

[tinukis]

crocodile being luffy's dad would also just fit luffy's insane family tree just sayin

[faaun]

i feel rly sad and conflicted abt one of my best friends on earth but idk who to ask for advice bc i usually would have consulted her in this situation lmao

[fernsehn]

Was looking into this person's eyes or rather it felt as if he looked into my eyes ... up close and in such an open and soft way.

It was something

[shrews-things]

Yesterday my little brother called because a stranger, a worker at a bakery told him that he really reminded her of a friend and that he's nearly identical to this friend she has, and said my name. Turns out she's the lady from the secondhand book cart I used to live next to and befriended her while walking by nearly every day, but then I moved and she switched jobs and I haven't seen her in months and I've been wondering how she's doing every time I shopped at a book cart and apparently she remembers my name too and thinks of me as a dear friend. Idk it just made me happy and I feel like there's a poem to write here but I'm not very good with words

[normalbrothers]

though in all seriousness i can't get over how people just gloss over how violently he grabs/squeezes her throat twice in the show and the second time he sexually assaults her on top and this having so little impact on how arthur's character as a whole is seen by the fandom

[voidscreamns]

./

[andro-dino]

just wanted to ask on how axyl and essi would look like on zero g. just curious to find out about this. i wonder how they grew up and what jobs do they have now.

HOOHOO I actually do have some really old doodles for both of them

I think I’d probably change both of these a little now but I don’t really feel like drawing new versions of em so im using the old ones for now

Axyl’s design is more inconsistent bc their design is based on myself and it’s weird thinking about the future so im kinda like euegjsurger with them appearance-wise, but as far as their plot goes, their main overarching character development ties heavily with how they feel about themself as a blader, and by the time masters/fury rolls around, whether or not it’s really something they wanna continue to pursue. Ultimately, though it’s a very hard decision to make, they end up retiring as a blader, though they do continue to do some mechanic work, and that’s pretty much where they’re at in shogun steel. Some mechanic stuff but mostly just sticking to themself and doing their own thing. and maybe moving in with Zhouxing and getting a cat and a dog with him who knows the world is a beautiful place really

Essi I honestly don’t really have as strong of an idea for. Her main plot ever since her initial creation way back in second grade was always tied really heavily to gingka’s plot in fusion, so afterwards it’s kinda just up in the air for her. She’d still be a blader and I think she’d probably be traveling the world a lot, maybe helping with restoration stuff, but other than that I don’t really know. She’s kinda just chillin I guess, focusing on herself and vibin as much as she can.

[runninguplenorahills]

Mike not understanding that Will was talking about himself in the van scene is actually an impossible scenario because the concept on it’s own doesn’t make any sense for those two characters!!!

We know from season 2 that Mike immediately picks up on changes in Will’s behavior even when they’re really minor! Will is being quiet and while others brush it off as Will always being quiet, Mike recognizes the difference between Will’s usual quiet and his unusual quiet and he also picks up on every single one of his expressions at rink-o-mania in s4! Mike is observant of Will’s demeanor, he knows when it differs from how Will usually behaves and he is able to recognize his emotions! Will has also never lied to Mike before and so I doubt he could pull it off unnoticed! Mike is incredibly good at reading Will and together with the fact that he also knows El’s side of it all, there isn’t a single chance that Mike did not realize that Will was talking about himself in the van scene!!

And the whole van scene also makes so much more sense if you look at it from the perspective that Mike understood that Will was talking about himself:

1: Mike’s expression falls when Will says that El commissioned the painting

-> Some people say that Mike’s expression falls because he would’ve liked it better if the painting really came from Will but I don’t think that’s the truth. I think his expression falls because it immediately doesn’t make sense to him that El commissioned the painting!! He’s confused by that statement right away because Mike knows that El isn’t interested in his nerdy side!! Mike just expressed his insecurities about El always dismissing his nerdy interests [one day she’s gonna find out that I’m just some random nerd…] so why would he all of a sudden believe Will that El asked him to make a painting about dnd of all things??? Right, he wouldn’t! Mike is confused as to why Will claims that the painting is from El even though it’s painfully clear that it isn’t. So he waits for where Will is going with the conversation to make more sense of it.

2: Mike’s facial expressions throughout the whole scene

-> He looks so tender and in love and he hangs on every word Will says! He looks at Will when Will isn’t looking, he has little sparkly tears in his eyes and he’s genuinely and gently smiling. There’s so much gulping and staring and it’s just all so tender and intimate. And the intimacy was obviously between Mike and Will!! This was not about El! We as an audience know that and Mike knows that too! It wasn’t about El for him either! Mike contributed a lot to the intimacy between him and Will in this scene so this clearly was about Will for Mike! He just simply wouldn’t have been so involved and mesmerized if he thought Will was really talking about someone else. Someone who isn’t even present. And they simply wouldn’t have created such an intimate atmosphere around these two characters in this scene if this wasn’t strictly about the two of them, for both of them!

3: Mike asking for confirmation

-> Mike asks Will for confirmation: “yeah?” But when Will had told him earlier that “of course she’ll always need you, Mike.” He said “I keep telling that to myself but… I don’t believe it.” Meaning that Mike literally doesn’t believe that El needs him and why would that just suddenly change in the span of like 5 minutes? Why would Mike all of a sudden believe every word Will says about El after he just dismissed Will’s statement that El needs him?? It just doesn’t make sense. And that’s because Mike doesn’t ask Will for confirmation that this is really how El feels, Mike asks Will for confirmation that this is really how he feels. And when Will says “yes” that’s a moment of genuine happiness for Mike.

4: Why Mike didn’t comfort Will

-> @willthecleric has suggested before that Mike’s misunderstanding in this scene wasn’t about him not understanding that Will was talking about himself. It was about Mike not understanding why Will used El as a cover up!!! Mike essentially misunderstood Will’s intentions. Will was using El’s name because he recognized that what he felt for Mike was what Mike needed to hear, but he thought that it wouldn’t mean anything to Mike if it came from him! He pushed Mike closer to El. Him using El’s name was an attempt to “rip off the band aid” but Mike didn’t understand that!! For Will the van scene was the death of any chances for him and Mike, but for Mike it was the confirmation that they have a chance together! And so as @/willthecleric also pointed out, Mike thought Will was using a cover up because they weren’t alone! There were more people in the van than just the two of them so Mike thought Will was just being cautious! Will used a safe way to confess his love to Mike! Of course Mike realized that Will cried! Mike looked back at Will because he wanted to comfort him! But as he thought Will’s major priority was to be cautious, Mike was being cautious too and didn’t initiate any physical contact to not expose themselves.

The reunion scene with El also starts to make more sense now:

1: No kiss

-> The reunion was the first time Mike and El saw each other again after the van scene, so if Mike actually believed that Will was talking about El, which gave him the biggest confidence boost for his relationship…..don’t you think he would’ve kissed her upon reuniting? Don’t you think the reunion would’ve had more of a romantic undertone? Don’t you think that Mike would’ve told El right on the spot that he loves her so much and is happy that she’s safe again? I mean, it would’ve been the perfect thing to do in that emotional moment! But he didn’t. Mike didn’t kiss her or told her that he loves her. There were no romantic undertones whatsoever and the scene was more platonic: Mike rushes towards El-El is happy that he’s there-he tells her that he’s really here-they touch foreheads. It’s pretty obviously paralleled to El’s reunion with Hopper so it’s all strictly platonic behavior. This scene was Mike and El reuniting as friends! Because that’s what El has always been to him, a friend! And after the van scene Mike realizes that he doesn’t have to act like he’s in love with El. He can be happy without pretending to be straight and so he’s not pretending anymore!

2: the focus

-> If the van scene had actually pushed Mike and El closer together romantically, the focus of the reunion certainly would’ve been on them! But it wasn’t! The focus of the reunion was clearly on El and Will! They prioritized the familial connection in this scene which was used as a contrast to El and Brenner! Brenner told El that she’s his family but then there is Will [and Jonathan] who is shown to actually be El’s family!!! A part of the reunion was to show that Brenner was being manipulative by telling El that she’s his family because we clearly see those people who went above and beyond to get El safe! That’s her true family! And Mike is included in that!!

The talk at surfer boy pizza:

-> Neither El nor Mike have been initiating anything romantic because Mike knows now that he doesn’t need to anymore and El knows she doesn’t want to anymore. They just need to tell each other that. And that’s what both of them were about to do at surfer boy pizza since that was the first time they were alone since the reunion [and the van scene]. Will’s confession of love gave Mike the courage to finally approach the breakup with El. Unfortunately Argyle interrupts Mike and El before they can break up with each other and the story takes a turn.

The monologue:

-> El is fighting for her life and needs encouragement though Mike is totally overwhelmed. He doesn’t know that El doesn’t love him romantically either so since he wasn’t able to break up with her beforehand he thinks El needs the encouragement a boyfriend would give her! But he can’t. He doesn’t want to lie to her and that’s why he struggles to start talking. But then Will encourages him…..and from then on everything goes down hill! Will references their talk in the van: “Mike! Don’t stop, you’re the heart! Remember that! You’re the heart!“ and “you’re the heart” was the crucial part and core of it all! It all lead back to Will thinking Mike is the heart but now Will tells Mike to encourage El because he’s the heart to her. And all of a sudden the whole world comes crashing down on Mike because he “realizes” that he has totally misunderstood Will in the van. But instead of actually realizing Will’s true intention behind using El as a cover up, Mike thinks Will was actually genuinely talking about El! Mike “realizes” that for Will it was all about El and not about himself at all. And so Mike forces himself back into pretending. It doesn’t work as well as before though because having had a glimpse of what could’ve been impedes his ability to mask all of his emotions. Will’s selflessness broke Mike’s heart and Mike’s monologue broke Will’s. The monologue was a step in the wrong direction.

What becomes of the painting?

-> Well, it all gets a little complicated. At first Mike understood that the only lie was Will saying that it all comes from El. So Mike knew it’s how Will feels and that he loves him. But then Will pushed him to tell El that he loves her and now Mike is distraught. So now from Mike’s perspective Will didn’t lie at all because Will said it was how El feels and that’s the truth. So that’s our standpoint at the end of s4. But when Mike talks with El and breaks up with her in s5, he’ll realize that it’s not actually what El feels, but he’s is too distraught too let himself think again that it is what Will feels, so Mike will think that Will lied about everything! And so I honestly believe that the thing that will hurt Mike the most when the lie about the painting comes out, is that Will had no other choice but to lie to comfort him, because there isn’t a real life example of someone who actually needs him… because nobody does.

The whole conflict with the painting essentially feeds into Mike’s fear of being himself but also into his insecurity of being useless/worthless which makes Mike an incredibly easy target for Vecna….

[dutybcrne]

Kaeya: Diluc gets rid of things he doesn’t need anymore…with how much he resents me, I must be no different-

Diluc:

Never banned Kaeya from the tavern, even with their History and how much Kaeya pesters him there nor makes any moves to

Kept every single letter Kaeya wrote to him while in Snezhnaya, which was also the vast majority correspondence penned by one person he kept in the Winery's stash (every Letter in Beautiful Handwriting/Hidden Strife Event)

Kept the fucken vase Kaeya used on a whim to give his Vision back in, even if it did NOT match the decor of the Winery (Genshin Manga/Venti SQ/Kaeya Hangout)

Was extremely patient with Kaeya accusing him of casting aside Crepus' legacy in response to him telling Kaeya to drink responsibly (Venti SQ)

In that same dialogue, was more in disbelief/offended that Kaeya seemed to believe he would ever think of callously throwing him out than by Kae's comment abt Crepus of all things (Venti SQ)

Stayed with Kaeya on the island the entire time, no matter how much they bickered, even though he could have gone after one of the others or even taken off on his own like they did instead (Midsummer Island Adventure)

Was genuinely surprised/touched when Kae revealed he thought fondly of their childhood days gathering seashells (Echoing Tales)

Let himself get arrested for Kaeya’s harebrained scheme to save a little girl Luc didn't even know about previously, and RIGHT after Kaeya outright accused HIM of being the murderer too (Genshin Manga)

Gave Kaeya a free drink without being asked when he came to visit him to deliver the aforementioned vase after the scheme was complete (Genshin Manga)

Never refuted Kaeya's claim that Dawn Winery was his home too, nor Kae's claims that people had every right to visit 'home' during festival seasons (Weinlesefest)

Let Kaeya score free booze for the Knights to distribute for the Weinlesefest to help better their image, that Lisa specifically sent Kaeya to ask of Diluc bc she KNEW Diluc wouldn’t say no to him (Weinlesefest)

Expressed he would have Elzer speak with Hertha bc Kaeya mentioned the Knights' financial situation as an afterthought, despite how much Diluc dislikes the Knights (Weinlesefest)

Got moody bc Kaeya didn’t want to stay for dinner and IMMEDIATELY jumped at the chance to make Kaeya stay when Addie intervened to insist (Weinlesefest)

Lets and NEVER stops the servants from referring to Kaeya as ‘master’ too (They do so freely in front of him in Weinlesefest & Kaeya Hangout in particular)

Was perfectly okay with Kaeya staying at the Winery when he left, even after their dispute (Letter with Clear Handwriting/Hidden Strife)

Always remembers every single one of Kaeya’s silly excuses to try and get free wine out of him, and teases him for forgetting which he’s already used & precisely how long ago he did (Kaeya Hangout)

Is said, by Elzer, to in fact be completely fine with Kaeya stealing drinks from the Winery, even if he outwardly complains abt it (Kaeya Hangout)

Solemnly asks about Kaeya when he thinks Kaeya already left, and unpromptedly talks him up to Traveler in regards to Kae's own ability to the Winery (Kaeya Hangout)