#because it's a way to see it‚ to understand it‚ to prove to other people it's there

[harmless-variety-of-garden-snake]

Tommy's introduced as a bigot in season 2 and often shown taking initiative in starting the bullying of Hen and Chim vs. waiting for Gerrard to do something and just not standing up for them. There's even a scene in "Chimney Begins" where no one else is even in the room to overhear and Tommy still chooses to be nasty to Chimney instead of a bare minimum of civil. Even after the "resolution" of the episode and his 'apology' (not for racism, but for making Chim prove himself at work), he's still shown to have spent years not learning his lesson, becuase he goes back to the same behaviors with Hen and Chimnney even mentions that "the Asian guy" still isn't invited out by the team for drinks or BBQ.

Then when it's "addressed" in season 7, we see remarkably little growth from Tommy, where he's blaming "the environment" and Gerrard for his choices and actions as a grown man. And in season 8, we get a healthy dose of misogyny in ageism with how he speaks of Abby, while casually acknowledging he also screwed up her life.

It's not just that he was afraid to stand up against bigotry in the face of an evil boss. He could've taken Eli's route, and just be silent. But no, Tommy is someone who chose to actively participate in workplace bigotry and bullying, and then almost 20 years removed, shrugs it off as everyone else's fault.

let’s not forget his very recent comments about Abby that were reeking of misogyny. Talking about her dating some “himbo” younger than her (as if he wasn’t actively doing the same thing) and admitting he was lying the whole relationship (not just about his sexuality).

Word for word that man said, “Heard she went a little nuts after that” as if her entire world wasn’t flipped upside down with her engagement ending and having to take care of her sick mother. The only tiny bit of understanding he showed was him saying she deserved better, which duh. 

One time when I was five I put a bead in my nose and it went all the way up to the bridge and I had to push down on it from the top until I could get it out because I was scared it would go to my brain and kill me.

That has nothing to do with any of what you said, but I just thought I'd put that out there because you're doing some dumb shit and I wanted you to know we've all done dumb shit. This is a safe space.

Anyway, I don't think you've ever been a closeted queer person who's said and done some at times questionable or outright fucked up things to keep yourself safe from scrutiny.* I grew up seeing people like me getting murdered and heard people explain why it would've been avoidable if they hadn't been so obvious or if they'd just chosen to be normal. I also grew up with a lot of bullies who were only bullying me because it put them in the protected group. It kept them from having people look at whether or not they were actually a good target for bullying. I'm actually friends with a couple of those people now. Not close, but we're cordial and we'll talk when we bump into each other at the store. That has more to do with us being in our thirties and living our own lives. There's a couple who had no excuse whatsoever other than being actual homophobes, I don't talk to them.

I dated in high school, I was engaged but I was 18 so I don't know how much that counts, but then I came out when I was in my early twenties. I knew I wasn't actually interested the entire time I was with those people, either. At first I just thought the relationship wasn't right for me, then I started to realize what was actually going on. I still dated, I still asked someone to marry me because I thought I could be happy with them. I did love and care about them, just not the way you should if you're going to marry them. I also didn't tell anyone I was non-binary until two months ago, even though I figured it out about fifteen years ago. A trans person hiding their identity to protect themselves from danger or rejection is nothing new, but it's kind of a shitty feeling to know you've been lying to every ex you've ever had about something like that. I don't like that feeling, and it's going to take a while for me to shake that. I don't know that I ever will.

So all of that is to say that a character like Tommy is actually kind of important to those of us who also weren't perfect at being queer, especially those of us who grew up during a specific time. I was actually pleasantly surprised that a basic network show would have someone like that, but times they are a-changing. So onto your last point:

Abby Clark is played by a now 57 year old Connie Britton (drop the skincare routine, girl), Lou Ferrigno Jr is 40, and Oliver Stark is 33. When you're an actual grown person, a seven or eight year age difference is kind of nothing. One of you might be a little more ready for things like kids or marriage, but that's not a guarantee. But hearing that your ex started dating a 26 year old when she's about 50, whether or not he knows that she actually pulled Buck's info in a very questionable way (I love that no one going after Tommy ever seems to care about the massive ethical breach from Abby), is kind of...wild. And he presumably heard about this from a mutual friend of some kind, who likely gave him this information colored by their own perception of the situation. This is where critical thinking skills become important. Based on context clues, I can safely guess that Tommy asked someone how Abby was doing or ran into someone who knows her, too, and they said "Hey, did you hear about Abby's new guy?" Otherwise he would've said "I saw that she was dating...." or "She told me she was dating..." So this could've been secondhand bitchiness, it could've been that her behavior was being framed as extremely not okay by someone they knew. We'll never know, the show doesn't have the strongest writing all the time. I'm not touching the thing about her mother, because a very close family member of mine has Alzheimer's, a good friend just lost a parent to it, and I do not want to examine the behavior of a person who's dealing with that or that of the people in their lives.

Could he have said "But I get it, she would've been going through a lot because of her mom and then our breakup"? Yeah. Would it have been nice if they wrote any scenes between Tommy, Hen, and Chimney that bridged the gap between when they weren't close and when they actually celebrated him and his accomplishments when he left the 118 to show why he would be someone Chimney would call on in two major emergencies? Yeah. I think I would've liked to see them talk things out onscreen and to show any apologies. Mostly because it would keep people from dropping an essay in my ask box when I feel like my sinuses and temples are filled with hot needles. I don't actually need to see it other than liking the three of them together, because I figured that they would've shown some hesitation before Chimney would reach out to him or he would've pulled Buck aside to warn him to be careful with Tommy. Or Hen and Karen wouldn't have been so thrilled when they realized what had gone down before Buck and Tommy came into the hospital room. There's a lot of stuff they don't show on this show, but they'd at least make a point to do or not do certain things if a character hated or disliked a character.

*I believe a certain dispatcher even did a whole big speech about this on the very show you apparently watch. I didn't like the Glee part, because I don't like Glee after season one. But the rest of it was good.

[beldamtarot]

‎ -ˏˋ MASTERLIST ˊˎ-

DISCLAIMER: take what resonates, leave what doesn't. Not everything here will resonate nor will be accurate to your situation, as this is a collective reading. For more accurate and longer readings, you may book a reading with me! And if you simply want to support me, you may tip me here.

If you struggle in choosing between these piles, you may choose more than one if you feel connected to them!

⭑ ─── PILE ONE !

Before we continue, let's check your and your person's energies first. If it resonates, you may continue to read about how they feel about you. This ensures that the reading is really for you.

Your current energy: You're in your feminine energy right now. You're being this nurturing, caring, and loving person who provides stability and safety for someone, or at least you try to be. But you're not content with what you have right now. I feel like you're in a place where happiness does not exist and it's just full of negativity. I can see that you're trying to walk away from this place or you already have. You want to have a new start in your life but you feel stuck and you have no idea how you would actually start. But I'm seeing that you will find a better place where stability and comfort exist. This is where you'll truly be happy.

Your person's current energy: I can see that your person is intuitive. If not, then they're an empath. They can feel your emotions and they just understand you easily. Your person feels connected to you on a deeper level and I feel like you feel that way towards them too. It feels as though no one else can understand you other than them. Your person is in a happy place right now and I feel like you make them happy as well. They know that you're in a rough place right now and they want to help you get through it. They want to be with you even during your worst days. This person thinks that this connection is a dream come true. I also feel like this person is vocal when they're around you but they show this mask where they're just a chill person.

How they feel about you: Your person has a lot of mixed feelings toward you. They really find you attractive physically and they could even be lustful towards you, but because they know they feel this way, they don't know if they have feelings deeper than that. They want to get to know you better and they're willing to be in this strong masculine energy for you. They want to cater you and provide for you especially when it comes to finances. This person has a lot of feelings to the point that it gets confusing and as much as they have the urge to provide for you and be in their masculine energy, they don't know whether they should because they're not sure about their feelings that much yet. They're probably going through an awakening right now, though. And they're trying to figure things out first before making their move towards you.

Signs: Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), Capricorn, Virgo

MBTI: ESTJ, ENTJ, ISTJ, INTJ, ESFP, ESFJ, ISFJ

Other signs: School/university. Literature. Economics. Finance. 6'0". Red hair. Blue eyes. STEM. Not religious. Gym. Camping. Hiking.

⭑ ─── PILE TWO !

Before we continue, let's check your and your person's energies first. If it resonates, you may continue to read about how they feel about you. This ensures that the reading is really for you.

Your current energy: Most of you went through a rough breakup and this heartbreak makes you not believe in love anymore. You don't want to open your heart to other people anymore but deep down inside you, you still have hopes in love. You could have someone in your life already who might be pursuing you or proving themselves to you and as much as you want to give them a chance and accept what they have to offer, you're hesitating. You don't know if you should because of the heartbreak you've been through. You're still in the state of finding stability in life. Finding that stability and comfort within you, with yourself, and within your environment alone.

Your person's current energy: Your person is being patient towards you. They're willing to wait for you to heal and be ready to commit again. They're willing to wait until you want to enter a relationship again and feel safe. They could be dealing with their finances right now though. There might be some financial loss in their life that they need to work on. But they're willing to move things forward if you'll let them to. They're looking towards having a good future with you and start a new beginning with you. I feel like you already know them, and if that's the case, they want to make this connection deeper.

How they feel about you: There's a huge shift in the energies here. Your person has really high hopes between you two and for your future in this connection together. But you might have hurt this person already. They feel heartbroken towards you but they act like they're okay and their feelings don't matter much. But they do. They feel their emotions deeply. When you hurt them, they might have gone through some unhealthy habits as their coping mechanism. They could've been drinking alcohol or staying up late to distract themselves. They're changing a lot now and their feelings for you could be changing as well. They feel chaotic towards you because of how hurt they are right now. And as of right now, they're just trying to keep their feelings to themselves despite the urge to pursue you and this connection with you.

Signs: Scorpio, Pisces, Leo, Aquarius, Gemini

MBTI: INFP, ISFP, ISFJ, INFJ

Other signs: hopeless romantic. Playing video games. Late nights. Sleeping at 3AM-6AM. Alcohol. Binge-watching Netflix series. The series You.

⭑ ─── PILE THREE !

Before we continue, let's check your and your person's energies first. If it resonates, you may continue to read about how they feel about you. This ensures that the reading is really for you.

Your current energy: You know you're in control of your life. Whether you need to make a decision in life, you shouldn't let other people control you or dictate what you should do. You could still act like a child sometimes but this is because you're naturally a passionate person. There's a lot of passion going inside you especially when it comes to your interests. You could be an artist or a writer. You're a hardworking person and you're willing to do anything to reach your goals and dreams. But right now, you might be feeling a bit stuck about a certain situation. Perhaps what you're going to pursue in college. You don't know whether you should choose a practical field or stick with your passion. But I'm seeing that you're walking away from something here. It could be your family, who doesn't want to accept what you want to be in the future. But it could also be what you've built in your life for yourself because you realized that this is not going to work in the long run.

Your person's current energy: They're a hardworking person too, just like you. You could have similar traits with this person, maybe a lot to the point that it's uncanny. This person has love for you already or maybe you have love for them or both. They're in their masculine energy right now. They could be financially stable and they're the type of person who would want to provide for their partner and wouldn't let their partner spend a thing, not even a cent. They're a committed person, it's like casual relationships or flings aren't their thing. It's either all or nothing. They're appreciative and they appreciate everything, even the little things.

How they feel about you: They have some big feelings for you here. They want to commit to you but they're taking so long. They still want to get to know you better and learn your deepest scars. They really have big feelings, they feel their feelings a lot, and it can be difficult for them to take in. Because of this, they're holding back. They feel chaotic when they're alone and apart from you. I feel like they're intuitive around you. They know what you're feeling in certain situations at certain times. It's like they don't even have to ask to know what you're feeling because they have it all figured out. And they're just there with you, calm and doing their best to give you comfort. They could be holding your hand and doing the thumb thing to let you know that they're there for you and you have nothing to worry because all will be well. They want to give you everything they can, especially stability emotionally, mentally, and financially. They could even have their own place and a stable job or source of income right now. They're just looking for the right time and waiting for you to be vulnerable around them, which is the right time for them.

Signs: Cancer, Virgo, Taurus, Libra

MBTI: ISFP, ENTP, INFJ, ENFJ, ISTP

Other signs: artist. Poetry. The movie/book Pride and Prejudice. UAE. Europe. Arab. Twin flames.

[yoiiyoii]

Akaza and Giyuu parallels post cause I can't stand how little it's discussed:

"You are not weak"

First few panels of the fight: Both of them talking about how Tanjirou is not weak anymore. Because of that, he gets to keep his dignity (and yeah, both Akaza and Giyuu do directly equate strength with dignity - explained more later).

Fighting Enthusiasm

We all saw just how enthusiastic Akaza gets about fighting, in contrast to Giyuu, who directly says "I don't want to wield my blade to the best of my ability".

The "End Style - Chaotic Blue Metal Afterflow" vs Dead Calm

An attack that Giyuu's Dead Calm negates directly against - an all-over random attack, similar to Rui's "Cutting Thread Rotation" attack. The only problem was that Giyuu's sword was broken, and yet, he survived it. Really impressive.

Strong vs Weak

Strength is what they both yearn for, to protect the ones they love. Akaza loves fighting. He especially loves when his opponents can match him. Because of that, he asked the names of Kyoujurou and Giyuu to remember them, as a way of showing respect to the strong. While he easily dismisses people who he deems weak, he gives respect to those who he deems strong.

In Mugen Train Arc, Kyoujurou and Akaza debated on this. In Kyoujurou's heroic view, it's not just the strong that deserve respect. It is the duty of the strong members of society to protect the weak ones. It opposes Akaza's view, who thinks the weak should be eliminated.

Giyuu too demonstrated a thinking similar to Akaza, while less radical. The weak have no rights or options, their only fate is to get trampled by the strong. Obviously, Giyuu performes his duties in the same ideology as Kyoujurou, but he's hopeless regarding it. Kyoujurou and Giyuu are opposites like that - one is entirely positive and provides everyone else with hope, while Giyuu... does not do that.

It doesn't change his actions, however. Giyuu put his life on the line for Tanjirou and Nezuko, who are much weaker than him, who couldn't protect themselves against the corps wanting to kill Nezuko. His ideology is not to trample on the weak or make fun of it, it is merely a result of his own impostor's syndrome due to his past, manifesting as self-hatred. Giyuu hence projected all this onto his first encounter with Tanjirou, provoking him to fight for protection's sake. In the end, Tanjirou looks up to both Kyoujurou and Giyuu, as both protected others sacrificing themselves.

Akaza on the other hand, he's a demon, and has killed countless people. His hatred of the weak goes further than simply projection and self-hatred, he detests it. He's on the demon side because his weakness was not proved over and over because of demons, it was humans. Humans penalized him for stealing for medicine, humans poisoned the well to Keizo's dojo. Furthermore, he was recruited by Muzan at his most vulnerable.

I do like the portrayal of this better in Giyuu vs Akaza then Kyoujurou vs Akaza. That's not to say I have a little qualms about the writing of Giyuu vs Akaza. I think a little moment of talking and conversation would have benefitted, similar to Kyoujurou vs Akaza, or hell even Tanjirou in Infinity Castle Arc. I know it's obvious to all the Demon Slayer fans, but I find that outside of a little bubble, because of the whole "Demon Slayer isn't deep it's just cool animation fights" crowd, a lot of people don't understand why it was Giyuu who fought Akaza, unlike, say, Mitsuri, who's a woman and we'd see some interesting moments regarding Akaza not killing women. And yes, while that is interesting, Akaza and Giyuu are one of the greatest foils in Demon Slayer. I think people dismiss that greatly.

Protection

Giyuu's and Akaza's main theme: Protection. To summarize, Giyuu's impostor's syndrome comes from being unable to protect Tsutako and Sabito, while they were the ones who protected him instead. Akaza's backstory lays down the fact that he was unable to protect his dad, Keizo, or Koyuki. Over and over again, he's not been present during the deaths of them.

And that's the case with Giyuu too - he regrets not being there to save people. He puts the blame on Tanjirou for "showing his back" and not fighting. For Giyuu, his anger comes from himself and his own weaknesses. His motivation for becoming a demon slayer has to do with being able to protect his loved ones more than anything. Let's just say, he contrasts Sanemi - someone who has "Kill" written on the back of his haori to symbolize his anger against the existence of demons.

As for Akaza, we learn that the name "Hakuji" comes from "Komainu" - the statues in front of the door of shrines, a symbol of protection. His destiny is entirely to protect, and yet he failed, over and over.

This also gives us one of the greatest panels of Giyuu:

He's the Komainu here, he's standing as a guard for Tanjirou. I particularly like this translation, "you'll have to get through me first". Since Komainus are right outside the door or on walkways of shrines, you must get through them first to enter the shrine. That's what Giyuu is standing as in this moment.

He's also fulfilling his theme of protection. He failed previously to protect either Tsutako or Sabito, but won't fail once again for Tanjirou. He's putting his life on the line for Tanjirou. They both succeed in this fight - both Giyuu and Tanjirou succeed in protecting each other.

Can't paste a picture since I reached the picture limit unfortunately but, there's a specific moment where Giyuu says "I will protect Tanjirou, just as he would have done for me". It's a mutual thing for them, but Giyuu is still a senior, with responsibility to protect Tanjirou.

Contrasting that, Akaza kills himself. He declares it fair that Tanjirou defeated him while slashing his head off. In that way, he respects true strength, one that Tanjirou had attained since their last encounter. The visions of his loved ones - his dad, Keizo, and Koyuki, overpower even Muzan's control.

The fight pretty much ended with Giyuu not being a "useless komainu". Giyuu firmly stood on his role as the protector. It's Giyuu's main goal - protecting his loved ones. Though obviously he hadn't accepted himself as strong in general (that came about later against Muzan), it cemented Giyuu's main theme of protection (and yeahhh that's why he created the 11th form Dead Calm, so that no one would have to protect him, he'd defend himself, and he'd also defend others).

HADDD to make this post after seeing someone complain about how Giyuu's biggest character trait and writing is simply his depression lmfao. There's a lot more to him!!! His sad backstory is not the extent of his writing!!!! But also feel free to add anything if I've missed it, I'll enjoy learning more too🫶 I think you CAN pull some other parallels like snow/water or blue attack colour palettes or Akaza fighting the Flame and Water Pillars of this generation, but I didn't see enough of a reason to make separate points regarding them.

[velmashaircut]

I played Caleb's route and myth a while ago and here are my thoughts/ theories/ predictions about him and the story (long af):

I reread my prediction post I made a month ago about Caleb, and I feel bad for painting him as some sort of villain. This man has been through the ringer, I thought the other LI's had it bad, Caleb somehow has it worse, he's been through so much and this is just in one lifetime. I both anticipate and dread his second myth, although the story will be good, it'll also be sad af

His main story branch update was the best of the main story in my opinion. I found it really engaging, not that the other chapters suck or anything. The same goes for his myth story; it felt like a continuation from the main story and the plot of the myth was enjoyable. If you want to understand Caleb and what's going on with him, read his myth! I would say his myth story is one of the best in the game.

MC's emotions and inner conflict were executed perfectly in this story branch. The emotion in MC’s voice when she’s face to face with Caleb was so touching, and the way she hugged him as soon as she could...it was sweet, her VA did a great job depicting her emotions! I really liked seeing MC so overjoyed to see an LI; in her initial meetings with LI’s she's either annoyed or neutral, so seeing her over the moon to be reunited with Caleb was refreshing and just solidified how deep their bond runs. Caleb naturally has an advantage compared to the other LI's in that sense, in this timeline, even if MC doesn't love Caleb, she'll always be warmer to him and he'll be her first choice.

Playing the main story and witnessing MC’s joy to be reunited with Caleb slowly turn into suspicion and eventually morph into frustration and anger was so good to read. The player and MC both bare witness to Caleb's transformation in character and it's heart wrenching to discover, both the MC and player don't fully understand what's going on to cause this switch in behaviour.

The ending for the main story was very solemn; MC failed her mission, Kevi was taken away and Mia died. Her short reunion with Caleb turns bittersweet. I thought that would be the end, but then it was revealed Caleb's been tangled in EVER's schemes and Caleb is making himself look like the perfect weapon to spare MC from this fate - he’s trading his life so she can keep hers. And his myth ending makes this all the more heart wrenching - the chip has taken away most of his memories, and he's doing whatever he can to preserve the memories he has of MC not only to keep his sense of self, but to still resist EVER's control of him.

Despite the lack of transparency and control Caleb exercised over MC’s life, I didn’t think he went too out of line. Caleb seems to believe he needs to amass power to protect MC and himself, Tainted Cuts seems to prove this ideology. Skyhaven is dangerous and Caleb knows it; despite being influential, he can't control over Skyhaven the way Sylus does with the N109 zone, he has to keep MC under lock and key to ensure she's out of harms way. He knows there are people after her, he works for them! He's not safe either. And in the end, Caleb was proven right to keep her under surveillances; MC nearly died twice in Skyhaven. When MC and Caleb get into an argument towards the end of the story, and she says she doesn't need his protection, instead of possession I think he felt more frenzied despair. He knows what lurks ahead, and he knows he can't hide her away forever and protect her from the danger.

...

In my theory post about Caleb, I suggested Caleb orchestrated the explosion, clearly that was not the case. I still think he wasn't clueless about what was going on behind the scenes though, his behaviour was still weird before the explosion. Unlike MC he remembers the past experimentation - I wouldn't be surprised if he was keeping tabs on EVER in case they made a reappearance in their lives. I used to think he didn't like the granny because of this, but I've changed my mind. He arranged for her to be moved to a nursing home that was remote and of good quality, he was remorseful when he told MC he couldn't save her in the explosion. Maybe he grew to forgive her for her past experimentation, or was just glad she gave them a roof over their heads.

I also believe Caleb failed to save Grandma in the explosion because he instead chose to protect MC. That could explain why his necklace was left behind. I also think the explosion was meant to target all three of them, kill the granny and take MC and Caleb back to EVER headquarters, but Caleb somehow managed to prevent them from taking MC. Or they were after MC only and Caleb convinced the raincoats to take him instead. It tracks with Caleb's intentions to have EVER focus on him rather than MC.

My theory post was mainly wrong, but I was right about one thing; Caleb wants to return to a place where it felt as if it was only himself and MC in the world; the secret/ abandoned garden he visits (in his mind?) at the end of his myth. In my post, I speculated this may be a reference to the Garden of Eden due to commissioned fanart of the game representing MC and Caleb with the forbidden fruit. Now I'm not so sure; What does the apple represent for MC and Caleb, their blurring relationship? And what about the serpent? I think it's no coincidence we meet Viper in this branch, who is some sort of snake cyborg...

I've seen speculate that this timeline is the first lifetime Caleb and MC have shared with one another, and as much as I like the theory, I disagree with it. The main reason being this:

I think this is how Caleb dies in the end of his next myth... question is what the hell happened for this to occur.

As well as that, Caleb and MC have the whole Adam and Eve thing going on, 100 years, space/nebula's surrounding their characters... the scene in the main story in which they watch the shooting star...that must link to a different timeline somehow. I personally believe in another lifetime, Caleb was banished from somewhere, maybe the heavens, or was sentenced to death, and MC decided to go down with him. I think this is a nice parallel to their current relationship, MC wants to be in the loop, wants to stand alongside Caleb, but he won't allow her to do so for her own sake, and instead shoulders everything on his own. Maybe he doesn't want to be the reason for her demise again. Whatever it is, like Zayne, I don't think Caleb has any recollection of their shared past.

Also, I believe Caleb surviving multiple instances of near death is no coincidence. He claims its because of MC, he needs to persevere to return to her... a part of me thinks he's being literal. Maybe he's been afflicted with some sort of curse, and he cannot die until MC does, or they are each others life source or something crazy like that.

Last but not least I want to say this: I hate EVER for what they did to Caleb. They have been fucking up his life since day one. Putting that chip in him and making him lose a part of himself was toooo much. I just mourn for Caleb now; he just wanted to fly and protect his loved ones, he was so beloved by those around him, and now he's been turned into a war machine. Free Caleb! If the 6th LI is the EVER ceo I'm throwing hands.

[kacievvbbbb]

Honestly despite my feelings about how the last arc of MHA went down I really love Deku and his story.

I just feel like a lot of the time we get these protagonists whose whole philosophy is it doesn’t matter what you were born as everyone can achieve greatness. But then the series goes on and it turns out that actually it DOES matter because the protagonist has this really great lineage and these really great powers you can only have through birth they were actually born born, predestined if you will, to do this.

But MHA actually sticks to its guns. Midoriya wasn’t revealed to have some great connection to all might that the universe had put in place. He wasn’t defended from some great lineage that makes him uniquely suited to this. Hell All for one didn’t even turn out to be his father, there was no hidden powerful quirk he was always meant to have. He was just Midoriya Izuku a boy who was in the right place at the right time and simply decided to act while the world did nothing. And that’s what really made him a hero.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I believe him a bit more when he goes anybody can be a hero if you just decide to act

[nothinggold13]

Since people need receipts…

Look; I did try to be gracious as far as realistic artist mistakes and what looks like AI. But here are a few of the most glaring “this isn’t Right” details for me:

Digory has 6 fingers. I literally do not understand how people look at this and say he doesn’t have 6 fingers. He absolutely, 100%, without question has an extra appendage sticking out between two of his fingers. Additionally, while it may just be an issue of angle, Susan, Peter, and Shasta all appear to be missing a finger on their covers.

2. Clothing details. I don’t believe Jadis’ body is turned enough to account for the difference in width of her dress straps. Lucy’s collar appears to be on backwards. And, if you look closely at Peter’s crown, it doesn’t follow a clear symmetrical pattern; the parts jut out in different shapes and spread unevenly apart.

3. Disconnected lines. The tension of Susan’s bow leads to her palm; this soldier has a random line sticking out of his back; there are random disconnected lines between the mast and the ropes; and, most strangely, Edmund appears to either be holding a weapon in an entirely ineffective way, or he’s pulling a rope which ends mere inches above his hand.

4. Incongruent design decisions. The Narnian lion symbol appears in two different designs on the LWW cover. Puddleglum’s right hand is clearly a hand while his left hand is some sort of swamp creature appendage. Tash has a different number of talons/fingers on each limb.

5. Nonsensical background shapes? (The last one is supposed to be the door to a tomb.)

6. And, literally the most grievous: nonsensical background shapes which clearly gave up on being the actual items they were supposed to represent. (If you can look at those flowers on the left and still say they weren’t created by AI, then I can only assume you’ve never seen AI in action.)

7. One more, just because I think it best mimics the way AI tends to lose track of patterns. Notice how the centre left ray is in between two shorter, wavy rays. The one on the right is a) above centre and b) bordered by two straight rays. Could this be a purposeful design choice? Sure. I guess. But it’s also very reminiscent of AI’s loss of details.

I really wanted to give the artist the benefit of the doubt. And I know people who apparently know him have commented on various posts on other social medias insisting that he did all this work himself! I would love to believe them!

However, there are simply too many ai-like details that he’d have to explain. Only some of this can be chalked up to human error, and that’s incredibly disappointing as someone who loves the books and wants to see them done justice in all creative endeavours. If the artist can prove he made every detail himself (even the strange, off-putting, most AI ones), then I welcome the chance to be proved wrong! But, unless that happens, I also can’t support AI taking the place of real artists.

Heyyyy so I’m not saying that the new Harper Collins Narnia book covers are AI generated but they’re AI generated 😅

The artist may have done some tweaking but I’m so so sure

[piko-rose]

My Personal Headcanon On Why Amy's Love For Sonic Died Down Lately (and their dynamic)

When they were younger, Amy's love for Sonic was pretty extreme, and Sonic was, understandable, uncomfortable for the most part. He knows she means well, but that girl needs to calm down.

She can fight, but sometimes her hammer could only stun her enemies for a while. (It took her a long time to get rid of that robot that has been chasing her around Station Square.) She wasn't fully independent yet, even if she fought on her own a couple of times.

She often follows Sonic and his friends around. She is part of the team, but she was not a strong as she is now at the time yet.

She admires Sonic. A LOT. And Sonic knows that. Obviously, he could only run away from something like that, since he is NOT ready for that kind of thing, and whether Amy takes the hint or stop, she still loves him.

...BUT, I think things were slightly starting to change between her and Sonic after Lost World.

Remember this line?

You remember that? Okay, okay. Here's another totally unrelated question:

Before the events of Lost World, when was the last time Amy said "I love you" to Sonic out loud?

...YEP. 😈 (Unless I'm missing something, let me know lmao)

As more games and adventures come out, the characters get slightly older, and Amy is 12 to 13 now, and she is most certainly at that age where her body starts to change, but especially on how she views Sonic.

She knows she loves Sonic, but it was this moment during her change where she actually wanted to admit that she loves him.

I believe that Amy was all about sharing her affection to him not through confessions, but through obvious hints. Sonic totally got it, and there was no need to confess. Sonic knows she loves her.

...But she never said it. And she almost did, but she never did again for a while.

I think this was the moment in her life where, oh, God, she actually loves Sonic. SHE LOVES HIM, WHAT.

And she was looking back at all the times she had with Sonic that she can now see were unpleasant to Sonic (At least that's what she thinks) and that's probably why she isn't so expressive about her love to him than how she used to back then.

She wasn't sure what to do with this realization, and sets aside it for a while, and nearly stayed as her casual, peppy self... until the Eggman War happened.

During the 6 months of being with the Resistance, fighting Eggman's army all day and all night, all she can think of was Sonic.

She dreams that he still with not just her, but with her friends. She just wanted to see Sonic again, she just wants to be with her hero again.

But I'd like to think that she was also thinking about how she used to treat Sonic back when they were younger, how Sonic would almost always run away from her whenever she asks him out, or always look so uncomfortable whenever she gets so close to him.

Cringing at those memories big time, she wanted to change and hopefully when Sonic is okay and comes back, she can be better for him.

...Or will he still find her uncomfortable regardless? Would he even be happy to see her at all if he did survive?

But, hold on! She can't just give up her love for Sonic! He made her who she is today! A peppy, nature-loving, hammer-swinging, confident, brave... loud-mouth... annoying... Sonic obsessed... weak... pathetic... lonely little girl.

If she gives up on Sonic, it'll be like she gave up on the one hedgehog who saved her life. If she didn't she'll still be the same ol' Amy.

I also like to think she had parents a long while before she met Sonic, and was even expecting a little sister, but a robot invasion happened from where she was and attacked her parents and instead of trying to save them, after getting hurt, she ran away, hoping that they'll come back okay. But they never did.

She was all alone, and needed someone, a friend, a new family, someone who will hold her hand, anyone, to be there for her. But she was ignored by lots, and at that point, she's better off by herself, but still longed for company.

Eventually though, her tarot cards told her her future hero, and there might be hope after all. She encountered Sonic, held onto the belief of the cards tight, and the rest is history.

So, with that headcanon in mind, not only did Amy loose her parents that she didn't save because of her cowardliness (she was only so little at the time that happened) and also Sonic, who she thought will be her only hope, but now gone.

She doesn't even care if he did come back, he'd probably hate her now after everything she did to him, always talking about their "future wedding" or forcing him to go to Twinkle Park.

For the last few months of the war, it was nothing but Amy mentally beating herself up for either refusing to change or moving on, and they are both not fine choices.

She loves Sonic, but he does not love her, and she finally, finally realized it. And it's probably for the best if no body loved her at all.

But of course Sonic did survive and all of her worries wash away in an instant, she's just not expressive about her love for Sonic AT ALL now, since she's still worried about it but rather not mention it to Sonic because it doesn't matter.

If Sonic doesn't love her, then her feelings don't matter to him, and according to Amy herself, that is okay.

But also, I'd like to think that Sonic was thinking about his friends a lot up in the Death Egg for the past months, sometimes it's Tails (worried for his safety), sometimes it's Shadow (because he's wondering why he would join Eggman.) At some point, for a few days, Amy was in his mind the longest, and he felt bad about how he thought he was rude and pushy to her.

He wondered if she's not thinking about it too much, and if she is, will she give up on him? Yeah, he doesn't feel the same and still not looking for a relationship, but it's so strange but interesting how anyone could ever like someone like Sonic the Hedgehog. Amy was never afraid to show that, and she probably might be now.

He couldn't help but feel guilty. They were kids when she was like this, but he was so... arrogant at the time too. Not a lot happened at the time yet. He'd always have trouble expressing how much he value his friends, until he shattered the Paradox Prism. (I'd like to think Prime took place before Forces. It makes sense.)

She is such a sweet girl, and he probably made her believe that he didn't care for her. Just because he doesn't feel the same, that doesn't mean he hates her at all.

He wished he never ran away from Amy... Worrying for his little bro and wishing to be a good person for Amy was when Sonic cried in the Death Egg for the first and only time.

Frontiers, in my opinion, is kind of confirming their dynamic now. Sonic is a lot more sincere and kinder to Amy and she is not all hyperactive and lovey to Sonic. There is probably a real reason for this now.

They are both hiding their feelings from them, and they are both unaware of this. Amy, hiding her mental issues from Sonic, and Sonic, hiding his guilt away from Amy.

None of those things are important now. Sonic is with Amy and Amy is with Sonic. They are here with each other. They can be finally be better for each other now.

They don't care if they'll ever be something more when they get older. None of that matters anymore. They are here with each other. They can be finally be better for each other now.

Maybe someday they'll both talk about it, but for now, the present is important. They care about each other too much to think about it right now.

It's the kind of love that is unbreakable. It doesn't even have to be romantic. It's just love. Love is important for everyone, in any form. It's something Sonic and his friends need. And especially Sonic and Amy.

Amy Rose is the living embodiment of love, and without her, a lot would go downhill for Sonic and co. Heck, if it weren't for her, Shadow wouldn't have never remembered Maria's promise, which lead him to save the world with Sonic, before he temporarily disappeared from their lives for a while.

She is always there to lend a helping hand for anybody, even bad guys like Metal Sonic, and despite what she had been through, both in Forces and headcanon wise, she still fights back, even without her hammer.

She will pick you back up on your feet, reminding you that you are important and that you are loved, and that you should never give up. It's pretty much the words of encouragement she herself needed also...

She is still the happy, hyper, butt-kicking hedgehog we all know and love, but she still need someone to pick her back up on her feet after so long. Thankfully, she has her friends and her blue hero. The hero who made her who she is today.

I think Amy has no idea how important she thought she is, but Sonic does. Sonic knows fully well how important she is to a lot of people. It's about time he returns the favor to her. It's his turn to remind her how much a lot of people love her.

How much he loves her.

And I feel like The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog was the moment where their dynamic really shined, but also the starting point of their relationship not only healing, but also the next chapter of what's to come for them.

Everyone, friends old and new, gathered around for a special birthday. A birthday for the confident, unshakable, and radiant Amy Rose.

It was such a special moment in Amy's life. After years of chasing and following the people she look up to, she is part of the team, but most importantly, she is part of the family.

She is fully realized as someone more than just a fangirl, but someone strong, courageous, creative, kind and a big inspiration for others.

I feel like this moment here...

-is where Amy is eternally grateful to call her friends her family. A family she thought she'll never have again. She's not alone anymore, and as long as they're by her side, she'll never will be again.

Her chasing days are over. She's finally caught up to them. She's finally home.

And it's all thanks to Sonic.

If it weren't for him, she'd probably be alone forever. Her past moments with Sonic might be embarrassing to look back on for a while, but they are good memories regardless, because they involve him.

Sonic saved her life in more ways than one, and despite everything, he's grateful to have her too.

He cares about her. He really does... And in her eyes, that all she needed to know. As long as Sonic loves her in his own way, she'll be happy.

Amy hasn't given up on Sonic. As long as Amy always supports him, he'll be happy.

Maybe sometime in the future, they can talk about their problems, but that's a story for another time. At this point, they need to. Right now, they are happy. They are okay.

They are here for each other. They are finally better for each other now.

"You guys won't ever leave me, right?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

[iguessitsjustme]

*takes you by the hand as gently as I can*

You can dislike Maya without turning her into a one dimensional villain that serves no purpose to the story.

You can dislike Maya without disparaging the story and message the show is trying to convey.

You can hate Maya without moralizing your hatred. You can just hate her. It’s okay.

[anamericangirl]

The welfare pause - yeah I don’t understand how this is unconstitutional in the first place so you’ll have to explain. There’s no clause in the constitution that says the federal government must provide financial aid to individual citizens so there’s actually an argument to be made that doing so in the first place is unconstitutional.

Dismantling the department of education - yes please explain how this is a constitutional violation I don’t understand why it’s unconstitutional in the first place. There’s no clause in the constitution that protects the department of education from being dismantled.

Repealing birthright citizenship - mmmm this one’s a little tricky because there’s an argument to be made both ways. A phrase often overlooked in this amendment is “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” which has historically been legally interpreted to mean someone who owes their allegiance to the United States and no other country and not merely currently located in the jurisdiction and subject to its laws so it already doesn’t apply to each person who steps foot into the country and then has a baby. So repealing it for people coming into the country illegally isn’t necessarily a constitutional violation since we can plainly see they do not owe their allegiance to the US alone. This is the only thing on your list you could even potentially have an argument for but even then there’s legitimate questions to be raised.

Stopping the production of pennies - how is this a constitutional violation? The constitution doesn’t protect penny production.

The creation of a faith office - this isn’t a violation of the constitution. The words separation of church and state do not appear anywhere in the constitution. The stated purposes of this office is to protect religious freedom which many feel have been under attack lately. He can’t establish a national religion but there’s nothing in the constitution that says the President can’t create a department to protect religious liberty, which is actually protected by the constitution.

Arbitrarily withholding disaster relief funding - again, this is not necessarily unconstitutional. There’s been lots of debate about it and will be more but impounding funds is not really unconstitutional if done the appropriate way. This is not the first time a President has impounded funds. Thomas Jefferson was. And Congress created the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 which allows for the President to withhold funds as long as certain protocols are followed. So there’s a debate to be had here as well.

You’re just stating acts without explaining where the constitutional violation comes in. Like do you think the thing itself is a violation or the way Trump is doing it? Because either way in most, if not all these cases, you’re objectively wrong.

All you have proved here is that my theory was correct: you’ve never read the constitution.

What's your opinion on Trump commiting half a dozen constitutional violations in his first 3 weeks?

Can you explain exactly what these constitutional violations were? Because I’m sure you’ve never read the constitution and your understanding of the document is….questionable, to put it nicely.

[jackass-jones]

My madoka magica hot take is I like sayaka/kyoko as a ship more than madoka/homura

[magnusmodig]

ovo whispers menacingly abt his grandstanding .

[6-2-aestheticsofhate]

Ultratober day 15-16 character you hate

Technically, saying I hate M/inos or V/2 would be VERY inaccurate because i do like them but sometimes people use them to put down Sisyphus or V1 and THEN I momentarily dislike them but then I bounce back and enjoy them again not long after.

[tanoraqui]

I love how DWJ looked at Aragorn’s long lineage and said, “well that’s stupid. by now, everyone in Arnor and probably Gondor too has royal blood.” and then said that Maewen, Moril, Ynen, Mitt and Kialan all look like Hern in different ways, and Maewen’s mother looks like Tanaqui and her father looks a little Navis, or at least acts like him, even though Navis isn’t on their family tree—though Clennan is, so either Moril, Dagner or Brid may be; and the Adon’s Ring fits almost any Earl in Dalemark and Mitt looks just like the Adon and…

On the podcast they were talking about how a king (or queen) is arguably the symbolic manifestation and thus protagonist of a country, and in Crown that’s literal and plot-critical in a strictly PR & politics way. Keril, Earl Hannart has clearly since Cart and Cwidder been looking at his son the “Adon” with his companion the bard-mage Tanamoril and his lady-love Manaliabrid and thinking, “If there HAS to be a King of all Dalemark…”, in competition with Noreth Onesdaughter whom all the North murmurs will walk the King’s Road when she turns 18—only for both to be interrupted by Mitt & co arriving on the Wind’s Road with Undying fore and aft and a face like the Adon reborn, and in every new town they come to, people say, “Oh, we’ve heard of you!”

(Which results in arguably my favorite quote of the whole series, with immense “Did you think you were dealing with amateurs?” energy from Navis.)

I think I said this 10 years ago, but it’s so interesting how…successive “generations” of the Undying get more human? Is it because the power dilutes, or because they get more elemental as they get older? The One, of course, is eldest and greatest, and he’s the entire land and can barely talk to mortals directly. Old Ammet, Libby Beer, Tanamil and Annoreth (the River, Closti’s wife & the Spellcoats siblinngs’ mother) all seem to be of roughly the same nature—comfortable with human interaction, albeit along specific rules, but their natures intrinsically bound up with some element of nature. Ammet and Libby are greater, elemental than specific geographical features—but overall closer to each other than to Tanaqui and Duck, who each are defined in their own mythologies mostly by mortal-invented crafts, weaving and music respectively. (And, with the Ring, Cup, Sword and maybe even Crown, I seriously theorize that the original Manaliabrid was a smith.) And then youngest of all, Mitt, who doesn’t seem to have a defining mythical association—he’s still just a guy, whose main ability is to call on greater powers for help at just the right time and place.

Idk if all of that Means anything, but it’s definitely a pattern. I could tie it into that essay about the fantasy trope transition from the age of magic, gods & heroes to the “modern” industrial age, j suppose.

I also reiterate my theory that the Holand Sea Festival is a ritual offering to Old Ammet and Libby Beer to be unbound from their divine duties, with the dissolution of the fruit & straw idols, with the understanding that by offering the freedom, the mortals prove themselves worth of the Undying couple agreeing to return to their bindings based in the Holy Islands. If the Sea Festival ever doesn’t happen, Holand (and probably a lot more people) get “bad luck” because, as Spellcoats demonstrates, an Undying who is bound but doesn’t like it can and will still mess with you.

New theory: Tanaqui made the Dropwater/Dropwaithe River. Proof: It originates in the clearing of her house. She is her mother’s daughter. And I bet you could weave a river like a scarf, then lay it upon the land. Just to see if she could, possibly.

One of my favorite examples of the dubious accuracy of stories and historical records in these books is how in C&C, Osfameron gets fully credited with bringing the Adon back to life, just like he moved mountains—and we DO know the cwidder can do that!—and then in Crown we find out that he ran to his sister and she changed history by unpicking her weaving. I love it. Relatedly, my favorite Sibling Thing(TM) in these books is that thousands of years later, Tanaqui still calls her little brother “Duck.” As she should!

rereading the Dalemark Quartet because of this fantastic podcast series, and a few notes:

I really cannot imagine Duck as looking like anything but my own younger brother. I don’t imagine Tanaqui as looking like myself, despite the many years of having this username and relating intensely to DWJ’s first girl narrator & mythic history-weaver trope. I don’t have any problem imagining Gull, Robin or Hern as they’re described. But Duck, young or grown, looks like my little brother (who, for the record, is currently doing grad school chemistry, which is definitely a sort of magery).

I’d argue that Mitt and Navis have a parallel moment of first-meeting, future-of-the-country-deciding Mutual Vibes Check to Hern & Kars Adon. It’s just that Mitt is 3 years old at the time, so Navis is mostly going “why is there a toddler here. …Hildy-coded, though”, while Mitt has gotten all the way to “he’s a little strange but I can and will trust him with my Dream of a Better World.” (They are both correct.)

I’m having a LOT of thoughts about the fantasy trope of “there used to be magic & gods but now there’s less or none at all”, and all its variations, in comparison to Tolkien and modern works. But I’m having so many that it needs to be a separate post and maybe short essay.

The structure of the series is so interesting. It’s not chronological at all, which actually makes the gap—15 YEARS—between books 3 and 4 even more agonizing to imagine waiting through. Books 1-3 are all separate tributary rivers pouring into 4, and each one ends on more of, in effect, a cliffhanger: Cart and Cwidder with a fairly normal “this adventure is entirely resolved but there are likely more to come.” Drowned Ammet wraps up the story but is lacking some denouement, they never actually reach the North, it’s just safely in sight, it’s clear that they will reach its relative peace & safety—but we don’t see them do so, and we don’t know what happens to them when they do. And Spellcoats! Has a vision of how the plot will resolve, but very pointedly ends before showing it! All we have to know what happened to any of the characters is a historically uncertain postscript, and the knowledge that (more) modern Dalemark exists as it does! Much less any mention of anyone or anything—except technically the earl and earldom of Hannart—from either of the previous books. And she left the readers like this for fifteen years!

If I’d been a teen in the late 70s reading these books as they came out, when Crown of Dalemark was accounted in the mid-90s, I would’ve screamed aloud. I would love to know if anyone reading this post did have that experience.

[fleetways]

The thing is, Sonic is very chivalrous with Shadow. And even though Shadow kinda has pick up on how it seems very exclusive to him, he doesn’t see the irony of it.

Sonic was a King, and if he had grew up as his peers had expect him to, he would’ve expect that sort of reverence from Shadow. Not viceversa.

He is gentle because he wants to, and because he loves Shadow already, he doesn’t view him as weak, he just can’t stand to see him hurt.

Que Vivan los Novios🦔🦔!

🎯

[volcanogoblin]

:')

[keeps-ache]

woke up with the feeling that 'something has been irreversibly changed'