#back and forth rambling

[yandereunsolved]

If the yans hate me touching my co-stars casually they are going to hate the end of most of our plays- because the professor is a hopeless romantic and he keeps either picking plays with romantic endings or changing them to have romantic endings, which is really funny when I think about it because it means most of the usual cast has kissed on stage with the rest of the usual cast, and also done the whole "method act relationships" which means there are like 3 different "couples" every time we start a new play and I have been asked if we're cheating on each other or poly by girls who realize we either start "dating" someone else a or just stop dating few weeks later, and I've also been asked if the entire theatre department is in a polycule because someone will have a fake partner and then kiss their real partner right infront of them and it's great, the yans would hate it because nobody could ever give a coherent answer about whos dating who, which means that even if they tried to spread the rumor that like, I was dating them and cheating or something (I can't imagine what they'd do other then just kill my co-star so, cheating rumor it is) people would just be like "huh, I wonder who thought they were dating, oh well" It's great, also if they killed my co-star I think I'd force them into the play but specifically as prop holders or background characters (we have enough of a group to have understudies, which tbh makes the relationship rumors even weirder because the understudies need to make chemistry with each other and the main actors because we don't know if we'll need to replace someone until the day of the play) anyway, the Targaryen's would be sitting there seething because the ending of a play is a kiss and there is literally nothing to hide the fact it's a kiss (unless the actor specifically asks for it because they aren't comfortable kissing, but I don't usually do that because I don't have a partner and don't mind most physical intimacy with people as long as everyone involved knows it's platonic- which the yans would also probably hate) but I'm also imagining the batfam with this because I think it'd be really funny if they can't info gather about my relationships past or present simply because everyone has a different answer- the school news paper has a section dedicate to break ups and get togethers for some reason, and that section has another section dedicated to theatre students specifically because the more dramatic theatre students- a rare breed for us, I know- will publicly and very over emotionally break up with eachother at the end of plays when they no longer need to make chemistry, and as such the batfam would be left trying to ask around because this couple broke up a few days ago?? why have they both gotten with someone else already??

-☀️ (sorry my response took so long- I've already got a project due for organic chemistry and have been focusing on that for a bit, so I didn't see your response until just now)

Don't feel bad for taking a second to respond! I take long to respond too. We've both got lives outside of Tumblr. You come first in your own life. You responding back to my responses can come somewhere below that.

The Targaryens would be having a day. A week. An existence. Like it isn't as if they can just kill everyone. ... Can they?

You are going to have to tell them no like cats. Probs get a spray bottle. It's mostly for Aegon. Aegon wants to date everyone you have 'dated' to learn more about you.

It also makes me think if they'll wonder if you are in some sort of brothel-theater mashup.

"Oh. But you kiss everyone. It's only a problem when I try to do it!?" (Aemond & Daemon, probably)

Helaena would just love to see the props and watch the rehearsals.

Alicent would like sowing costumes for you.

Rhaenyra is oddly protective in a way (besides the whole yandere thing) like "If one of them hurts you I will break all the bones in their body and have them strung from the ceiling. Love you, sweetheart. Have a great rehearsal."

[bonesandthebees]

one of the most infuriating things about becoming an adult is when you realize that it actually is 10x easier to solve problems by making a phone call vs literally any other communication method

[kaogens]

my big chicken waif

[sourfruet]

I'm gonna be watching season five the same way a middle-aged dad watches a football game

[that-faerie-in-the-corner]

you know what I find fascinating about how Helen is talked about in the works in the epic cycle?

everyone has argued to death over whether she was kidnapped, went willingly, was influenced/controlled/threatened by Aphrodite, whatever, but the thing is the actual TEXTS can't seem to make up their minds on Helen. everyone will be cursing Helen's name as an unfaithful wife and destroyer of men in Agamemnon but then Paris will be called a "robber-rapist" which would obviously heavily imply that he stole and assaulted her (plus the part where Clytemnestra basically says "shut the fuck up about Helen she didn't force you to do all that", although how much we're supposed to agree with her is debatable). In Iphigenia In Aulis we're going to war to get REVENGE on the Trojans AND HELEN but then Agamemnon will accuse Menelaus of "lust(ing) only to hold a lovely woman in (his) arms", calls him crazy for wanting her back, and then when Menelaus changes his mind about killing Iphigenia to get the winds back he says "Could I not obtain A perfect marriage elsewhere, if I longed for Marrying? But a brother whom I should Most cherish, I was about to forfeit To gain a Helen, so bartering excellence For evil" which is still pretty spiteful towards Helen but also really fucking weird to say if he only wanted her back to kill or otherwise punish her. Then, in the same play, the Greeks are described as wanting to sail to Troy so "That they may halt the plunder of marriage beds And the rape and seizure of Greek women" which would also imply Helen was, in fact, raped and seized, otherwise why would it be phrased like that and not like, "seduced" or "whisked away" or whatever? In Orestes Elektra and Orestes interpret Helen's actions in the worst possible light while when Helen actually speaks she seems generally sympathetic towards them, distraught and grieving over the whole situation, and claims that she went because Aphrodite made her mad, which could absolutely be a lie, but the thing is we just don't know who's the unreliable narrator here Is this a translation thing? Indicative of a really weird idea of what rape is? Is this an intentional writing choice? This got me to thinking and then I realized that if Menelaus was away when Helen left then he almost certainly doesn't actually know what happened. He didn't see or hear what happened, he doesn't get a chance to talk to Helen and have her explain until after the war, and obviously none of the other Greeks would know for sure either, right? And I just think it is kind of a missed opportunity that adaptations don't really do anything with this kind of unspoken conflict at all. Paris the Musical kind of does (Menelaus believes Helen was abducted when she ended up begrudgingly going with Paris trying to help him to escape) but like, why do all the greek men have one idea of Helen in adaptations? Why don't they argue about it? Why don't they question Menelaus about his motivations more? What if (especially if Aphrodite fucked with her head, as I am one to believe) Helen doesn't even trust herself on her own intentions? What if Menelaus tears himself up debating this with himself every night? Like, could I trust that she wouldn't do this to me and our daughter? Is it better that my wife doesn't love me anymore and is safe with her new lover, or that she does but is trapped against her will having who knows what done to her? Do I know my wife anymore? Did I ever know her in the first place? What if he lays eyes on Helen, his Helen, for the first time in ten years and his sword slips from his grasp as he realizes that yes, of course he knows her, how could he have ever doubted? Or maybe he still doesn't know if he knows her, but maybe he doesn't need to, because he knows that she is tired and scared, and he still loves her, and he just wants to take her back to their home? What then? Hm?

[deeokanee]

Ava and Yelena love to poke fun at John. There's no bite to it anymore, they do it just because that's their established banter now that they're friends.

John's well aware of that, and he's trying to learn to take a joke, so he mostly responds sportively. Sometimes it's a comeback, some other times it's a mocking laugh.

Today things started out like they always do. Everyone was doing their thing in the common area, when John had told Ava she could at least try not to leave a mess in the kitchen, whenever she prepared a night snack, and she had clapped back with a "Sir yes sir" accompanied with her intentionally poor imitation of a salute. Many of their jokes are at the expense of John's military background, because let's face it, they both find things like his obsessive organisation and planning hilarious.

Ava snickered when John replied "Ha ha, very funny" and went on about how she's just envious of all the on-field experience he has —he's not arrogant, not anymore, it's just innocent bragging—, and Yelena lightly elbowed her in the side as she mocked him "Yeah yeah, the military experience" she snorted "Macho men's excuse to bunk with big, strong, sweaty dudes".

Yelena and Ava were cackling together, and the remaining Thunderbolts found that funny too. Alexei boomed with laughter, Bucky sneered amusingly and Bob let out a chuckle.

But John wasn't having fun anymore; in fact, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He spent some time completely frozen, his mouth slightly open in... perplexity? Concern?

"I'm not- I wouldn't- what?" John's suddenly struggling with his words. His eyebrows are now furrowed, his fists clenched. "Fuck you, what is that supposed to mean?" His voice got noticeably higher. His eyes are darting all around, definitely agitated. "What the fuck are you laughing at?"

The atmosphere in the room shifts immediately, and the girls are dumbfounded. They look at each other with utmost confusion. Why is John suddenly so heated? This is not different from what they usually do, harmlessly teasing each other, that's their whole thing.

Why didn't he just call them immature or something and move on? Why is he so defensive over something that wasn't even aimed directly at him?

And what did that glare that John shot at Bob when he giggled at Yelena's joke had to do with that?

[feathers-second-face]

OH!!! OH!!!

DO YOU SEE THIS??

DO YOU SEE IT??

SHE'S TOUCHING HIS SHOULDER!!

Oh mah gawd. He doesn't let anyone touch him unless they're his friends.

If they aren't his friends, he'll either lean away or wipe off his hand. He hates being touched if he's not the one initiating it, to the point of wiping his sleeve off when Lucifer's hat just BARELY grazed against it.

He didn't wipe his shoulder off when Charlie stopped touching him either.

AND!!!

And!!!

Before You Say 'He did lean away', or 'She wasnt actually touching him, her hand was just near him', Take A Look At This!!

Look closely at how he moves when she splits them up. He doesn't lean away, she SHOVED him. She actively MOVED him. That wasn't an 'oh she's making contact with me, guess I should lean away', it was a 'well she's shoving me now, I'll shut up for a minute'.

Which also proves she WAS touching him. She couldn't have shoved him if she wasn't making contact.

He didn't lean away from it, he didn't retaliate. The ONLY people he lets touch him are people he cares for. And not only did she put her hand on his shoulder, she actively pushed him back, and he showed no sign of discomfort towards it. So why am I screaming about this?

Because he DOES care! It proves he cares for her. Don't get me wrong, I still think saying he's her 'dad' is a bit of a strech, but he does care enough to let her touch him. He doesn't dislike or even have a neutral opinion on her. She's his friend, even if just a little bit.

Just an edit to clarify; I know 'friends' is probably also not the best word to use, but it's just the easiest way for me to describe it.

[crystallizsch]

the way that leona is moving like he's on a fighting idle animation im sobbing

[tannnnblogs]

[smokbeast]

.w. Gale like

Bnuuy cookie?

he has mixed feelings about it but he likes it hehe

[luck-of-the-drawings]

THIS THING IS SCUUUFFED AS HELL & ITS ALSO THE BEST THING I HAVE ANIMATED THUS FAR. IM SO IN LOVE WITH EMIZEL. JUST WISH I GAVE HIM MORE STUPID TATTOOS. NEXT TIME THO. NEXT TIME. I ALSO LOVE VEX&VIV SOOOO MUCH. charlies flavor of Deranged is my FAVORITE!!

[thedubiousdallon]

I'm chewing enthusiastically on the possibilities of an AU featuring Taylor, Lisa, and Brian as cluster triggers. Setting aside the incredible AU gymnastics required to make something resembling their canon triggers occur in close proximity and rapid succession to each other, the possibilities of their versions of each other's powers have me frothing at the lips.

I think their versions of each other's powers should still be shaped towards their own traumas, so:

Taylor's version of Brian's power focuses more on the power copying than the darkness. I think when she makes contact with a parahuman, she picks up an extremely weak version of their power for a short time. Like, touching Sundancer would let her make a match flame. But when her bugs touch a parahuman, they also gain a weak version of the power, and she can use a large swarm of very weak powers to very great effect. I think her version of Lisa's power would give her insight specifically on power mechanics and interactions; she can extrapolate power function from seeing it in use or its consequences.

Brian's version of Taylor's power would, I think, be a very direct, more limited form. I think he can, with concentration, manifest bugs out of darkness that he can control to the same degree that Taylor controls her swarm. What he does not get, however, is her multitasking ability, and if he's not maintaining active concentration on a group of his shadow bugs, they dissolve. So manifesting and using more than a small number for a simple task is pretty incapacitating for him. His version of Lisa's power is all about his own presentation; he can intuit how people perceive him and what he would need to do to change their perception of him into something different.

Lisa's version of Taylor's power would be all about information gathering - she can manifest a very small number of bugs under her control, and her control doesn't have much finesse, but she can process their sensory input extremely well. Her version of Brian's power would let her tag people with clinging shadows via projectile - as long as the shadow lingers, she can sense exactly where they are relative to her in great detail.

And that's not even touching on what their cluster power balancing would be! Something fun and psychological that really plays up the opportunity for cluster bleed through and kiss-kill dynamics.

It'd also be a ton of fun to explore how that bleed through affects them all psychologically, especially if they come together at a point in time where Lisa and Brian are as new to and insecure in their powers as Taylor. I think there's room for delightfully frightening shades of codependence only previously visible to shrimp.

And, of course, I think that would all almost inevitably lead to what would be simultaneously the most emotionally horny and emotionally repressed threesome known to man. None of them would be able to look each other in the eyes for weeks - except for Lisa, who Won the threesome, something that is not only possible but extremely Normal and Healthy, thank you very much.

[gingermintpepper]

Okay, let's finally talk about EPIC's Apollo

I feel very compelled to say, first of all, that I do not dislike Epic. In fact, I am very fond of Epic and have been following its production and status very eagerly! I attend all the launch streams, I watch all of Herrans' update videos; I am, at the end of the day, a fan and I want it to be known that my words are spoken out of love and passion as much as they are spoken from a place of critique.

So really, what my problem with Epic's Apollo?

In the briefest possible terms; the choice to have Apollo be defined by his musical aspect in God Games is thematically strange. And not in the 'oh well in the Odyssey, Apollo was important to Odysseus and his family so it's weird that that wasn't kept in Epic' strange, strange in the sense that Odysseus' character arc since My Goodbye has been getting more and more obviously Apollonian and so it is positively bizarre that when we get to meet Apollo, the god seems entirely disinterested in him and his affairs. So much so that he is not even defined by any station that would indicate that he has been watching over and protecting Odysseus and his family.

What do I mean by 'Odysseus has been following an Apollonian arc'? I'm so glad you asked!

Remember Them is the last song in which Odysseus explicitly uses his sword until Mutiny where he must use it to defend himself against Eurylochus' blade. He uses it to help enact the plan to conquer Polyphemus and, due to Polites dying in that battle, Polites who wished for Odysseus to put the blade down entirely and embrace a post-war life, Odysseus also retires his sword. This is an action that symbolically separates him from Athena - and the image of Odysseus as a traditional warrior set for him in Horse and Infant - as much as My Goodbye physically separates him from the goddess and her war-ways - from this point onwards, Odysseus will no longer be leaning on Athena's wisdom or methods to solve his problems. Likewise, he will no longer be able to rely on her protection.

Odysseus thusly solves most of his upcoming problems through diplomacy and avoidance. He approaches Aeolus - a strange and ambiguous god (both in gender and in motivation) and appeals to them for help. Circe too, he approaches not with wishes to conquer or for revenge, but for the safe returning of his men and an alternate way forward. In all of these scenarios, there is some Apollonian element which is subtly interweaved alongside the influence of other gods; it is with a bow and arrows that Polyphemus' sheep is slain (and thus it is this Apollonian element which is at the root of Odysseus' spat with Poseidon), it is a vision of Penelope that warns Odysseus that his men are about to open Aeolus' wind-bag, Circe's peace offering to Odysseus is to refer him to a prophet of Apollo who has since died.

In this way, Apollo is walking alongside Odysseus for all of his journey after Athena departs - even in the Underworld, he is guiding him. It is Tiresias' proclamation that is the last straw for Odysseus, it is by the power of a mouthpiece of Apollo that Odysseus decides to embrace his ruthlessness. It is with the bow and arrow that Odysseus subdues the siren who sought to trick him, likewise, Odysseus does not attempt to undermine or escape the fate of paying Scylla's passage price - he knows of the doom about to befall the six men and quite unlike the rest of the journey until this point, he does not fight against it. This all comes to a head on Thrinacia where it is a blade which sacrifices the sun god's cow and brings destruction upon the crew once more.

My point with all of this is that when I heard the teasers for God Games years ago, it made perfect sense to me that Apollo would be Round One - he is not Odysseus' adversary and has no reason to oppose Athena's wish to free him. From other teasers about what will happen in the climax of Epic, Apollo will still be walking alongside Odysseus - it is Apollo's bow that Penelope will give the suitors to string. Likewise, it is Apollo's bow that will prove Odysseus' legitimacy and identity. That bow will be the power by which Odysseus hunts his adversaries and cleans out his palace - it is Apollo who is the avatar of Odysseus' ruthlessness, not Athena.

So tell me, truly, what was the point of having Apollo raise a non-argument in God Games? Why have him appear unconcerned, aloof and slightly oblivious? Why have him appear in his capacity as the Lord of Music at all?? And if the intention was never to make Apollo an active player in Odysseus' life like he was in the Odyssey, why keep Odysseus as a primary archer?

The answer of course is that Apollo is inextricable from the fabric of the Odyssey - his influence and favour exudes from Odysseus just as much as Athena's. In Athena's ten year sulk, it would have been Apollo who kept Telemachus and Penelope safe. It would have been Apollo protecting Odysseus from Poseidon's gaze as he travelled the seas (according to the Odyssey anyway)

Forgive me for not being excited about something that I thought was being purposefully set up. I was extremely ecstatic about all of the little Apollonian details that litter the sagas because I know where this story ends up (loosely) but all God Games did was reveal that maybe those Apollonian details were not intentional at all, but merely the ghost of the Apollo who persistently haunts those he favours, even if he cannot explicitly come to their aide in an adaptation.

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

How to describe that Sonic seems to be okay being whoever he needs to be to inspire, convince, change, or save the world. Turn into a Werehog? Get summoned to midivil times? Become a supporting character rather than the main one? That dude takes it in stride

[coyle-and-co]

franco babe, you good there???? do you need help????

[yesokayiknow]

What fic ideas do you have for Belinda?

i got annoyed about ummmm aspects of 15's whole run so i've decided to write out a 2 series (13 eps each + specials) long au in which bel & ruby travel w 15 at the same time lol