#both of which introduced characters that have yet to have ANYTHING done with

[thetimelordbatgirl]

The whole Thunderbolts team BUT Taskmaster got confirmed to be in Avengers: Doomsday... This adding onto uh, lack of trailer shots and lack of merch for Taskmaster in Thunderbolts...fuck it, welcome back Slipknot from Suicide Squad.

[gay-dorito-dust]

lmao this is my first time giving a request. Could you maybe do dick Grayson head cannons?

Most of these hdc come from my little brain that I thought fit Dick in general, it���s not based on stuff (some of them are but not all) if ppl agree or don’t agree, I couldn’t care less honestly. Also thanks for the request anon, hope you like it! 🫶

I know I write him as a little goofy goober but he tends to play up this character so that he doesn’t have to open up about anything. Is it foolproof? Not entirely and it solely depends on the person and their relationship to him,those of whom that pick up what he’s putting down, and those (you) who can easily see through this facade and know something is up.

He’s more often than not the type who will become more affectionate in private where it’s just you, him and Hayley. Dick doesn’t need anybody else other then you two, his confidants as he so playfully called you both one day, and he’s more then content then he’s ever been.

Older sibling syndrome is strong in this boy.

Foot wars are a common occurrence in your shared apartment as you push against the others foot with your own to see who’s going to be victorious, only for you to accidentally smack him in the face with your foot and the foot war becomes ten times worse, seeing as how as Dick often wins them more then you did.

He will never stop feeling guilty about Jason’s death. Never. That boy who was filled with love and life and claimed that being robin was magic was still within Jason somewhere, dick just knows this to be true, even if Jason loves to claims that that little kid was gone.

And while he’s glad that Jason is back in his life, dick couldn’t help but feel as though he could’ve done better by him at times, holding onto that guilt and shame for not being their for his brother that still killed him inside to this day whenever he saw Jason laugh and or smile at something. It hurts but Dick will never stop being in Jason’s corner, not once. If Gotham was against Jason then Dick will gladly be by Jason’s side, to show that his allegiance to his brother would outweigh a lot of things.

(I’m so normal about dick and Jason being brothers can’t you tell 🥲 leave me here and be delusional)

The same applies to Damian also, which is why your mostly acquainted with both Jason and Damian in comparison to the rest of his family because they often come over by pure coincidence, or because dick dragged them by their ears with a smile on his face.

Insists that you cling onto his legs while he does pull ups and or sit on his back while he does push ups as he lets you count.

Complains to you when he looses the nightwing look alike contest, and to Jason no less, which no one that knows him personally allows him to live down.

They (Tim and Stephanie) even make memes out of it.

Has Hayley as his Lock Screen, you as his Home Screen. Both wearing cute matching pyjamas. So when he’s on his phone people think he’s smiling at his picture of Hayley -which is true- but he’s also smiling at the picture of you also.

His family pester him about you a lot, even Bruce asks when he’s going to meet you, claiming he’s not going to get any younger should Dick hold back on introducing you to him.

Even Alfred gets in on this as well but Dick always has an excuse locked and loaded when these questions are asked, but even he knows that Bruce knows that it’s all bullshit, however he doesn’t say anything outright incase Dick didn’t feel comfortable introducing you to them yet.

Wears only boxers to sleep or boxers and a light blue shirt, it depends on what he’s feeling really.

Loves living in the moment with you as you enjoy the others company without feeling the need to fill the air with chatter, you could just both exist and still love each other regardless because Dick didn’t feel the need to talk all the time, so moments like these were what he longed for most.

Ungracefully fell on his ass in fuzzy soaks once and hurt his tailbone in the process. It was funny until he asked to you put a bag of ice on the afflicted area.

Loved narrating what you and or Hayley do in a goofy voice that never fails to make you smile.

Doesn’t open up immediately but once he does it’s a sign of trust. He admits to his flaws in past relationships and how he wasn’t the most faithful and often saw commitment as a challenge. He understands if you see that as a sign to leave the relationship, he doesn’t expect anything from you, but if you did stay then he’s more then happy to not repeat those mistakes in your relationship.

Knows that people see Bruce when they look at him, he expects it because after being with him as long as he has it was only logical that he picked up some habits along the way whether he liked it or not.

Has a big heart but claims that Jason’s heart was twice as big because he’s so full of love and believed in love.

[wishesofeternity]

I have a lot of mixed feelings about Arcane Season 2, especially after Act 1.

I enjoyed the season and there was a great deal I loved about it. The animation, in particular, was spectacular. But I had a lot of issues about its pacing, characterization and key narrative choices.

(Spoilers)

Why does the finale of a show that's supposed to be about two sisters revolve around two men? Why were all of its other female characters also sidelined to focus on them? Why was Sky fridged yet again?

Vi had no proper arc or goal across this season and was very inconsistently written. Jinx had comparatively more consistency but still had major issues. Their relationship, as mentioned above, was also not handled properly or given adequate attention.

Vi and Caitlyn's relationship was a mess in almost every way, I'm sorry.

Mel and Ekko were both almost entirely sidelined after Act 1 (and the Firelights barely played any role at all?)

The way they handled Viktor's terminal illness, specifically how Jayce spoke about it, was fucked up

The socio-political conflict between Piltover and Zaun was almost completely swept under the rug by bringing in a new Big Bad and common enemy for them to "unite" against. Piltover's oppression of Zaun was also massively minimized after Act 1 and ignored altogether; after defeating Noxus, there is no reason not to believe that they would go back to the status quo of inequality and martial law. Sevika getting a seat on the council (still Piltover's council) is mere lip service with no discussion on what that actually entailed, or what they planned to do in the future. Zaun is still not free. I've seen people try to justify this by claiming that "that was the point, it's meant to show that things are imperfect" but the fact of the matter is that there is no indication that the show wanted to make this point at all (and if they did, it was very badly done). They should have addressed the oppression of Zaun directly, which they never did. What they instead did was actively downplay it on far too many occasions.

There were some plot points I personally disagreed with, like their decision to bring Vander back, but those are personal grievances that I could have made peace with if they were written well. Unfortunately, they weren't.

A lot of these problems stem from pacing, tbh. The show also introduced far too many plot threads last minute without resolving anything properly. If they had three seasons, or even a longer second season, maybe they could have committed to addressing what they had previously set up. But it doesn't seem to have been their priority in the first place, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

Also, the way the fandom is relentlessly attacking anyone who dares to critique/criticize this season is pathetic and needs to stop.

[alllgator-blood]

Okay I promise my next post will be the angst comic part 4 but FIRST. THE ONE AND ONLY THING I SHIP

LITERALLY THE SECOND PERSON WHO GUESSED THE PAIRING GOT IT CORRECT??? THAT WAS FAST. This is a situation where I have to go "okay hear me out" because it makes 0 sense to anyone but me. This is really long and very dependent on my au comic nobody but me has read, but the TL;DR is:

I feel like they'd be a good pairing because shamura loves to learn but doesn't care about material goods, and mystic seller is used to all gods talking to them only BECAUSE they offer material goods. So when somebody actually wanted to know about *them* personally and what it's like to be a weird angel thing, the two established a bond. Also they're both agender and most likely asexual AND don't seem to be socially aware despite being ancient wise beings that know seemingly everything, so they understood each other like instantly.

I have a lot of sketches of them hanging out but here's a shitpost sketch thing I made AAAAAGES ago

Okay so from an in-game standpoint, mystic seller pops up to tell you how the post-game works with purgatory and all that, and introduces the purged bosses. Really ratau could've done that as the established Tutorial Guy, or even narinder but there IS the chance that you killed both of them (lol) so mystic seller is the unkillable, all-knowing angel that shows up to say "you suck at killing people. The bishops are trapped in purgatory, you know. You should probably do something about that".

But from like a CHARACTER standpoint what do they stand to gain? They're not even from your dimension so why should they care, they're just here for your god tears? From the dialogue about the bishops we can see that they don't really give a shit about any of them, EXCEPT! SHAMURA? Mystic seller doesn't feel emotions like "our kind" does but one of the only times they do, it's to say it's a shame what happened to shamura. They also say they didn't barter with them much, because they "needed little".

SO THAT HAD ME THINKING. My au comic (which is hundreds of sketched panels and the full thing will never see the light of day unless I post it unfinished. Eugh) is about shamura going around chronicling everything they witnessed during the time they were alive, and they notice everyone is like...selfish. Trying to be the last god standing. Really obsessed with trinkets and charms, so some of the gods just go around harvesting relics from the other gods and using their powers to survive a little longer. Shamura has visions of the future of siblings they don't know they have yet, so they try to be friendly with the rest of the pantheon to form a family and it always bites them in the ass, so they have to kill them.

Eventually they end up with all these fuckin god tears and they're thinking "what do I even do with these? Nobody wants them and everyone has them", and BOOM. MYSTIC SELLER JUMPSCARE. They do the whole introduction where they say they have loot in exchange for god tears, shamura just drops off the tears and is like "I don't care about trinkets, bye" and the seller is like. What Thy Fuck. Because every other god is pretty adamant on getting something good in exchange for the tears. So they call them back and ask if there's ANYTHING at all they want. And shamura, being the self-proclaimed wisdom god, just asks the seller to talk about themself for a while, who's just like okkaaayyy?? Nobody else ever asked what it's like to be a bizarre circle headed angelic creature that collects magical bits and pieces, but shamura LOVES to learn, and the two bonded that way. Shamura would bring the mystic seller god tears, the seller would tell them a story, they'd write it down to put in their archives and the conversations eventually got more personal when the stories started to run out. They both realized they don't understand how other people work, but they knew how *each other* worked so they could kinda learn how to function as normal people with each other's observations.

When I say I ship them I mostly mean like a QPP situation because I think they'd be good partners in the most autistic asexual way possible, where they don't make out sloppy style or outright say "I love you", but they have an understanding of one another that doesn't apply to anyone else really. They don't have to rely on conventional relationship stuff to know the other one cares deeply for them in the most nonverbal, oddly specific way possible. I know shamura's the smart one but I really feel like that extends to everything except understanding how people work, hence all the stuff that happened with narinder and the rest of the family. So finding someone else outside the pantheon who is quite literally inhuman, otherworldly, genderless and uninterested in Carnal Desire would definitely make them feel the closest thing to romantic love that they can. Also, since mystic seller lets the gods name them, shamura named them "sunshine" after hearing one of their followers singing that "you are my sunshine" song to the person they loved the most. I always liked how shamura has their little moon crown and the mystic seller is depicted as the sun in some of the art? They go together well is what I'm saying and I'm kinda surprised nobody has done anything of them yet.

I WILL SAY I have angst planned for them once I do the introductory comics, it has to do with how narinder's imprisonment happened literally right in front of where mystic seller sets up shop, so canonically it's safe to assume they watched shamura get lobotomized in real time :')

But for now...I must go back to kallamar angst cause I've been putting off posting this part. It gets very mentally ill very quickly so I needed to balance it out with fluff......

[shiro-s2e2-erukinzu]

Anime only watchers and people who aren't caught up with the Manga, BEWARE... Cuz I'm about to discuss Spy X Family Mission 112 (Part 1)... You have been warned...! 👌

[SPOILERS AHEAD FROM THIS POINT ON]

THIS CHAPTER WAS BOTH FUN & FUNNY!!! 😆 Plus, IT'S ANOTHER MUTI-PARTER!?!? 😵 (We haven't had a chapter split into multiple parts since Mission 67, back in 2022!! 😌)

That's right folks, we got ourselves another chapter split into parts, and it's a fun one so far!! 😄 Endo has done this three times before this chapter with Missions 58 (2 parts), 62 (3 parts), and 67 (2 parts); so now I wonder how many parts will this chapter have (my guess is that it's gonna be a two parter...! 👌😌) But enough of all that mumbo jumbo that probably only I care about, let's finally talk about the chapter in question, shall we...? 😉

So this chapter begins with Twilight trying to wake up Anya because it's time for her to return to Eden...!! 😲

But... Since Anya is freaking relatable AS HELL, she doesn't want to go and tries to come up with anything to get out of going back to school, even claiming to be sick...!! 👌😌 Loid, of course, doesn't believe her, but since Yor is the best mom ever, she wants to make absolutely sure that Anya isn't actually sick, which leads to this:

This family, I swear... 😌

At school, Anya (who actually thought about this before Twilight woke her up) tries to find out from Damian if his dad can truly read minds by asking "What's your dad like? Is he super scary?", but...:

...It didn't really work, so Anya gave up immediately... 😅 This girl, I swear...!! 😌

Then, two of Anya's classmates come to greet her and Becky, AND NOW THEY FINALLY HAVE NAMES!! 😆

We've seen Connie and Meg pop up in several other chapters before this one, but now they are officially out of the "Characters Who Have Shown Up Multiple Times, But Don't Have A Name" Club...!! 🎊 And I'm especially excited that Connie has a name now because she was featured in one of the early Omakes and even Franky commented on her (as seen in the image below):

Which in turn had made me wonder if Anya and her would eventually become friends at some point...!! 😄 Well, that time might be now because Anya was just reminded that she and everyone else will all be in different classes now (though, Becky specifies that they'll only be in different classes for the subjects that were on the test, so at least they'll still have some classes together...!)

Speaking of which, we see that Anya and Damian have at least have Language Studies together, so that's good...!! 😁 Then, Anya heads to her next class with a bunch of new faces and some that we recognize, including Arnold Crowley and Connie, who got pushed by someone, then Anya read her mind and well...:

...She's actually kinda scary...! 😰

So um, yeah... I'm not 100% sure if her and Anya will be friends quite yet...! 😅 Then, we get introduced to two other kids; some prince from the north named Tertius...:

...And this kid...:

...Who might've just become a favorite of mine...!! 😆 (I think that he's pretty dang funny so far...!! 😂)

Closed Eyes Kid apparently flicked a booger onto that Tertius kid and now he's got to GET RID OF THE EVIDENCE before anyone notices...!! 😎:

So when Closed Eyes Kid tried to get rid of the booger on Tertius' face, Tertius just kept dodging him, and now it seems that these two are gonna fight each other...!! 😵

And that's the end of the chapter!! Anya is sure having an eventful day on first day back at Eden...!! 😌

This chapter was really fun, I loved it!! 😄 I honestly hope that Anya makes some new friends, especially with Closed Eyes Kid (he's my favorite so far 😁), Connie (maybe? 🤷) and possibly Arnold Crowley (he actually seems like a pretty nice kid so far...! 👌😌)

So yeah, I'm excited for the next half of this chapter and pretty sure that it's just gonna be a two parter (though, who knows at this point because I never know what Endo is gonna do...!! 😌) Anyway, until the next Mission; take care, be safe out there and be kind to one another...!! LATER ALLIGATORS!! ��😁

[aerkame]

Which version of Sun Wukong do you like the most? (Both in character and design)

Which one would be your final choice?

You can't just ask me to pick one like that. 😭 There are so many versions of Sun Wukong throughout history from different media.

My favorite version of Sun Wukong is the one from New Gods: Nezha Reborn. I can't even begin to express just how much I love his character overall once I began to take notes for writing him (I'm still taking notes, there are many details). Both his design and character were well thought out for the movie and it's such a shame that he didn't get his own movie or have more screen time.

PERSONALITY

I know Nezha Reborn Monkey King probably isn't everyone's favorite, but what won me over was the amount of details to his personality, missed easter eggs, and his overall design that both matches the world he's in and also makes him stick out. For starters, Monkey King in this version is quite scary in my opinion despite his silly old man act. I really do believe he is a silly guy who is just minding his business and having fun. Sometimes in the movie, he truly does act like a monkey (makes you wonder how no one figured him out yet, he even has a giant metal sculpture of himself with his motorcycle collection), swinging from chains, climbing around, making small noises at times, having too much energy to the point of not being able to hold still for a single minute... but he's an assassin, a hitman. Monkey King being easily hired by Ao Guang as a hitman in the past plenty of times is scary enough. On top of that, his behavior is pretty cutthroat as well.

Sure, he's a silly old man, but it's hard to ignore how he acts sometimes. Especially when he not only ate another yaoguai, but he offered a piece of the dead assassin to the very guy who hired that yaoguai to kill Nezha's reincarnation (Ao Guang). This Monkey King is also more than an expert at acting. I think he even has a portion of the fandom tricked. There are only a few times in the movie where he acts like his true self and it's mostly around Nezha's reincarnation (Ever notice that he knew ALL of the names of the previous ones?)

He goes from silly guy to the biggest threat in the room real quick. This Monkey King is a very morally grey one. He's done plenty of bad things and plenty of good from the context given in the movie. It all depends on his motives if he has any. Who knows, he did say he's just tired.

DESIGN

Nezha Reborn Monkey King's overall design is just as thought out as his character too. If you look at the main cast or any character really, you'll notice that their clothes usually don't have any bright colors or anything that would have too much saturation to it. It's mostly all dull colors. Wukong however, has a bright pink suit and pants. Even the clothes he wears in his home are bright and colorful. This goes hand in hand with his personality. He's shown to have some greed in him when Ao Guang offered a larger payment for Li's assassination.

Monkey King is still a monkey, and he likes shiny valuables and that can be seen in his greed and the gold jewelry he wears (which has human skulls on it by the way-). He also has a huge amount of confidence and wearing bolder colors is definitely something he would do to show it. He does what he likes and wears what he wants.

The choice of colors and clothes not only matches his personality but they also serve a purpose in this movie's setting. Donghai not only has a water problem but it also has a poverty problem. We're shown around the beginning of the movie a background character who got a new dress that was a more muted plum purple. From the context of the two characters talking, having a dress like that is a statement of the person's wealth. So in conclusion, Monkey King is pretty loaded. I would like to argue though it's not just from taking expensive hits from Ao Guang, but also from the place he owns. In the beginning of the movie he introduces himself to Li after a race and says he owns the place (likely the whole area including the track since I could not find evidence anyone ever visits the place outside of races). That entire place looks like a water factory, which means he's likely making money from that too since water had become more expensive than currency.

The entire inside of the place he lives would earn another couple of paragraphs too, but it follows just about the same things I've said. Another detail I like, that might have been missed is that he fits the slang "Wrench monkey" pretty well. Just some food for thought.

I really could write a whole essay about him and several things I've noticed but I'm not sure if anyone would read this at all if I kept going. I might make a more in-depth essay sometime though or share my notes on him.

[amememightywarrior]

Food in Dawntrail

Gonna go ahead and share my thoughts on it as posted on twitter, excuse the format!

I found the prevalence of food in DT's MSQ very interesting. In a lot of cultures, food and food-sharing are acts of love both familial and neighborly. It also symbolized a desire to reach out and understand one another, from xibruq pibil to tacos to ice cream to weird grapes.

Our first encounter with food in DT is when Wuk Lamat wants to give us some tacos, but then BJJ smashes them carelessly, a sign that he is rejecting sharing and love

During the lay of repast, which is ALL about food, we learn a lot about the symbolism of meals and food and culture. It's great. 

Zoraal Ja and Bakool Ja Ja are teamed up and shown to not understand or care about food and sharing despite the BLATANT emphasis on it in the trial.

More subtle stuff that isn't called out is the way food is raised - like the Crystarium, where wandering around can reveal the importance, if you wander around DT you can find an example of what's called the three sisters method of farming.

For those unfamiliar with this system, it's actually a very culturally important method of farming in the americas where 3 staple crops, maize, squash, and beans, are grown together in a harmonious fashion. and i mean TOGETHER.

The maize, which grows tall and strong, provides support for the beanstalks which curl around it and provide stabilization both physically and nutritionally. At their feet grows the ground-covering squash which shades the soil, keeping it moist and preventing weeds.

The next major time we learn of food and agriculture is in heritage found, where we see people preserving real food as an act of culture more than anything else, showing the resilience of culture and the spirit of sharing in even the most lightning riddled situations.

After that it gets interesting. The concept of food in S9 is abstracted into the absurd (the grapes??? help), but they still share the food. More than that, it's a SPECTATOR sport, seeing WoL and Wuk Lamat eat. If you've ever been to a dinner with a family of a different culture, you will know the experience of tasting a new cuisine for the first time, and people asking you what you think of it. They share their culture with you and hope you approve. It's the sharing of joy, and it's the same as when you eat in S9.

Then we're REALLY challenged. We enter living memory and find the inhabitants feasting on the mere idea of food. They share with us as well, giving us popcorn. Did you lie and say it was great? Did you speak the truth of your tastebuds and reject the popcorn?

The food in living memory is tasteless to us, the only real ones in the place. But the act of sharing, that was the real important part. And so perhaps if WoL lied, it was not to spare feelings, but to show that yes, they were sharing in joy and culture.

Thus introduced, we are hit with that ice cream. We know it tastes of nothing, but we give it to Krile and her parents to share. Krile knows it doesn't taste like anything, and she struggles. But G'raha zips in with his own, to make her laugh and help her understand the joy.

The way each character reacts to food within DT is symbolic and shows a bit of their own perspectives. Someone who's very out on the edges, Estinien, is also someone who has embraced food very heavily after being freed from Nidhogg. He runs around eating everything in sight now.

And of course we also have the cornservant, who wants to feed everyone. I haven't actually done that quest line yet but I can already tell you what's at the heart of it XD

A lot of this we all know, I'm just calling it out specifically because it was beautifully done in DT.

Oh, before I forget: Otis and Gulool Ja

Otis, despite being, er...mechanical, has been feeding Gulool Ja. It is a familial act, feeding and helping this child grow despite zero relation.

is it just another fetch quest? Another shared meal of many shared meals in the field? Or is it asking us to look at this meal in the context of all that came before it?

What does it mean to love and care for one another? Otis shows it by being there and feeding Gulool Ja.

It contrasts with two other parties: Cahciuna's group, and Zoraal Ja.

Zoraal Ja does nothing. He does not feed his child. Abandoned him outright. ZJ rejects family, love, and sharing.

Cahciuna's group is trying really hard to take care of him, and he does allow it because they keep finding and taking him home. But why does he run away to eat with Otis? Cahciuna's response to realizing he WANTS to leave is to allow it instead of insisting.

I find that rather mysterious but I think it shows Gulool Ja prefers organic sharing, not S9 where everything is simply handed to him. Hopefully we see more of him in the future so we can learn wtf is up with this little blue-scaled cutie.

Food takes a background role in a lot of stories but DT took it, explained it, and then challenged our understanding by taking away the most talked about component, stripping away flavor to ask us what the point of food-sharing really is and how it reflects ourselves & our culture.

We've seen a lot of these themes before - ARR used to have a whole thing about feeding the soldiers before the assault on the garlean strongholds, SHB had the infamous rhon ron food stand scene, etc

we just got it called out repeatedly and the concept gently deconstructed for us in DT. 

So. what does the act of food-sharing mean to you? What does it mean to your WoL? How did you see the Lay of Repast? What did you think of the popcorn?

[raayllum]

What Is Up With Terry :: the Thread of Necessity

Intro

Terry is an interesting character in a lot of ways. He's unflappably kind and optimistic, accepting even to a fault, and he's an elf with no issue with dark magic yet doesn't seek out its use for himself. He's a non-traditional antagonist for starters, he's trans without being overly sanitized, and he most notably provides a sounding board for more overtly 'evil' characters like Viren in season four and Claudia in seasons five and six. Most of this is in service of Claudia's goals, with Terry not having many of his own goals outside of his support of Claudia and Viren; this is, mind you, not too dissimilar from Soren with Ezran in arc 2 as well, or even Amaya with Janai.

I also think he's a very important in a character in a lot of ways, for the ease with which he explores and exemplifies

You can love / support Viren and Claudia and that doesn't make you a 'bad person' in the show

You can be okay with dark magic without changing your mind and that doesn't make you a bad person either

You can kill someone in TDP and that doesn't automatically make you a bad person either

We know all of this is true (and will likely continue to be true) as we know in S7 there is an episode about Terry related to him still having a "true and pure heart," which is about as classical "good guy protagonist" speak as you can get. In those lenses, I think Terry was a fantastic choice in introducing a new character to not only contrast against Claudia and Viren, but also in terms of getting us to be more sympathetic towards them (particularly Viren) than we might've been inclined towards in arc 1.

That said, I think the most important thread that Terry carries is that he is a character who truly and wholly does whatever is necessary for his cause, nothing more, nothing less.

But what does that mean, tangibly, within TDP's narrative? Well, let's talk about it:

Necessity

The concept of necessity—I needed to do this, or I have to do this (even though I don't want to)—is one that has been central to TDP for a while. We see this characters who cite a lack of agency ("He was going to take Claudia's life, I had no choice" / "Every step I took, I took because I had to" / "I'm sorry. I have to do this") throughout the show, both dark mages and not, particularly Rayla, Soren, and Callum.

And in return for perceived necessity, as Harrow states, "I have done terrible things. I thought they were necessary. Now I don't know." We increasingly see people justify, or struggle to justify, worse and worse actions. Claudia's mindset has become very transactional, for example ("He saved you, and now we have to save Aaravos" / "It's a mistake! I saved you! You owe me your life!"). Generally speaking, the show treats these things labelled as necessary as unnecessary (hence the regret they experience, and even Terry disagreeing more adamantly than he ever has before).

This is, of course, because 4x09 and 6x09 together very clearly spells out what is important for Terry to believe something is necessary: it must be done entirely out of love, no more and no less.

I've seen you do a lot of awful things, dark magic things, but I always believed in you because you had a reason [saving your dad]. But what you just did, the way you tricked that Moonshadow elf? It was just cruel.

Maybe it started out as a story of love, but along the way it got twisted. [...] He isn't doing anything for love. He's doing it out of revenge.

To Terry, you do what you have to do but go no further; you don't give into anger, you don't give into revenge. You act entirely out of love, and keep acting out of love and let it temper you. This is why Terry resonates, I think, and seeks guidance from Viren after the mage's initial assessment of what's been happening, emotionally:

This is similar in practice to why Viren (and Claudia to a lesser extent) are characters with such fraught paths. Not only because of their dark magic use, but because of their denial. Viren violates Lissa's safety and trust to save Soren, but then blames Soren for it; Claudia heals Soren and brings back Viren, and doesn't understand why fixing things physically wasn't enough. "I had no choice" for them means "I have no accountability," and that's why they kept spiralling deeper till Viren broke out of it. He atones then not by swearing off dark magic (although it helps) but by taking full agency in the choice to do dark magic and in what manner (not sacrificing his family again) and without a desire for ego, which was his biggest character flaw in a lot of ways.

The reason I bring this up is to provide a contrast for Terry in a few ways, such as

Terry always being very emotionally open, rather than repressing or offloading blame onto other people

Mandates that he had no choice (4x03, 4x04) but to kill Ibis verbally, but is also aware that it very much was

Is able to accept that this was a choice and move on

Terry does what he believes is necessary. He feels things about it. He doesn't go further into outright self destruction, and he doesn't escalate to what harm is deemed unnecessary. That doesn't mean Terry's levelheadedness can't be a flaw (he absolutely should have told Claudia to give up magic in 6x04) or that what he believes is necessary always is / that his choices are perfect (they're not), but that in his contrast to Claudia and Viren, he continually provides that contrast. He can be held at sword point by Rayla, a total aggressive stranger, and still recognize that withholding her family from her is what he deems as unnecessary cruelty (but more on that later).

For now I want to talk about patterns, specifically two that he engages in with Claudia.

Patterns

The first pattern is unsurprising, perhaps, given that Claudia-Rayla have continually had parallels, given that:

1) Claudia keeps leaving him

This is, of course, most obvious in 6x01 when Claudia states her intention to do so, or even in 6x09 wherein Aaravos literally lifts her away from Terry:

But we also see it earlier on with even the choices Claudia makes in her mission. Terry is a passive person, much like how Claudia at her core is ("Tell me what to do" + 90% of interactions with Viren that aren't about saving him), and therefore Claudia leads the way, and Terry is happy to let her.

He never really considers that he might be a core part of her truth, and that she wants more active advice (see the way Rayla counsels Callum about his dark magic use, comparatively, in 6x03, or nudges him forwards elsewhere throughout the seasons). While Terry isn't wrong to encourage Claudia to think staunchly for herself, and in fact she very much should, it does leave her more vulnerable to the next first person willing to tell her what to do: Aaravos.

We also see Terry's passivity go even further back to one of his first episodes, as well as in the S5 finale.

Each entry in the pattern is a little different.

4x03: Claudia leaves / goes in alone and fails at her mission. Terry follows and saves her by killing Ibis at great cost to his personal emotional state.

5x09: Claudia leaves / goes in alone and fails at her mission. She goes further into Aaravos' clutches (the ocean here metaphorically) and returns of her own accord.

6x01: Claudia succeeds at bringing back her father but cannot make him stay. She leaves on her own in an attempt to break her family's cycle of abandonment without realizing how she's continually perpetuating it, but returns in a devastated and dejected state.

6x09: Claudia succeeds at her mission of freeing Aaravos, and the Startouch elf takes her literally into his clutches and away from Terry.

Each time it is her choice to leave, with only 4x03 firmly having Terry following without her returning by her own merit. Whereas Claudia plays out her family's cycle of abandonment with all its members—her mother, her brother, and finally her father—Terry plays it out with just Claudia, over and over again. This doesn't mean their relationship is bad or that some of these times are unreasonable—Terry is willing and supportive to let her go in 4x03 and 5x09 much the way Callum is supportive of Rayla in 4x09, 6x05, and 6x09—but it is a pattern that has then taken on a negative slant in S6 and will likely to continue to worsen in S7 before it gets better either in the season or beyond.

Then, we have the pattern of how

2) Claudia gradually stops listening to him.

This is probably more interwoven with the thread of necessity than the previous pattern, since as stated before, sometimes when Terry is letting Claudia go off on her own while it's imperfect in the narrative, it makes sense within their dynamic / resources. Like as previously mentioned, too, Terry is more often correct than he is wrong about the next moves people should make. He's right that Claudia will need help in 4x03, he's right that they should go look for her in 4x07, he's right that she needs rest in 5x02, and right to be wary and against Aaravos in 6x09.

In the beginning, Claudia listens to him.

But as the seasons go on, this gradually changes with twice back to back in 5x06.

T: It won't chase us anymore, you won. It's trapped. Please. C: You're right. It won't follow us. But not because it's trapped.

Season six is arguably the season where Claudia listens to him the least despite Terry reaffirming her agency most directly (6x04) as she ignores or doesn't listen to every reservation he has.

T: It's him. It's your Dad. C: Then I have to... T: No! Please! Please don't... I don't think you should see him like this. C: I have to! I came all this way to see him one last time. I need him to show me the right path. T: This won't give you answers. Only anger. Only pain. I'm so sorry. He's gone. He is gone.

And Terry, who does things only that are necessary, only out of love, would know the difference: unlike Rayla, or Claudia, or numerous other characters arguably in the show, he always has, particularly when given broader context the way he is in 6x09 (which hasn't always been true in his relationship with Claudia, either).

None of this is to say that Claudia is a Bad Partner or that your partner should always listen to you, either, because neither of those things are true in life or in TDP. Healthy couples in TDP disagree all the time in both healthy and unhealthy ways. Rayla left Callum when he explicitly made her promise not to, and Callum did dark magic to save her twice despite 100% knowing it's not what she wold've wanted.

But the first thing I want to address is the difference between Claudia leaving out of grief and trying to feel in control after losing everyone but her boyfriend, and Rayla leaving out of grief and trying to feel in control after losing everyone but her boyfriend because they are wildly different for one main reason.

Rayla left in the middle of the night while Callum was sleeping because "you’ll wake up and try to stop me… from doing what I know I have to do. Leaving. But I can’t let you stop me, Callum. No matter how much I want to. [...] And if you said even one word to me, I wouldn’t be—couldn’t be. If I stay even until your eyes open and you yawn your silly morning yawn, I’ll break" (TDP reflections, Dear Callum).

Terry, meanwhile, is actively begging and pleading with Claudia, and he is still abandoned. Granted, Claudia seemingly comes back within a day or two, not two years, so that does mitigate things, but the fact remains that Rayla thought she wouldn't be able to leave to protect Callum if she even heard him speak a word or yawn, and Claudia was able to leave to protect herself while having a full on conversation. Ouch.

Nor does this completely absolve Terry of the one time Claudia straight up asks him to tell her what to do, or what he thinks she should do, Terry doesn't (6x04). He's not wrong that she needs to choose the way and figure out what she needs, but him emphasizing that he can't tell her what to do and then immediately accepting her premises that Viren can and should tell her what to do is something that's already bitten both of them in the ass.

Terry also only asks Claudia to listen to him, really listen, and to tell her what she should do when he thinks it's absolutely necessary.

This is also one of the reasons why she and Terry are suited to each other. Both value and respond to necessity, scaffolding everything else on top of what needs to be done or doesn't need to be done. What's risky about this mutual understanding is the potential for it to stop being so mutual if they start to have different views on what's necessary. And as we see in 6x09, that's happening more and more. What is going to continue happen when Claudia keeps viewing Aaravos' actions as necessary, and Terry doesn't?

Questioning

So Terry is, presumably, going to increasingly be wary and against Aaravos. What is that going to look like?

We have a decent idea, honestly. As stated / noted before, Terry actually pushes back against Claudia fairly often. He's just rather gentle about it, and usually is trying to prioritize her wellbeing (or someone else's) when she isn't. Examples include:

4x09 over the coins / being cruel

5x01 ("You'd think if dark magic does this to a person they might not do it")

5x02 over resting

5x06 over attacking the dragon

5x06 over killing the dragon

6x01 over her leaving

6x04 with telling her what to do

6x08 over seeing Viren's corpse

6x09 in helping / freeing Aaravos

However, we're also yet to see him be angry in his questioning or when pushing back, which is what I think would be most interesting to see change (think the moment where Iroh finally yells at Zuko beneath Lake Laogai). His pushback with Claudia has gotten more and more consistent as well as more dire throughout the seasons, and just like how Viren and Claudia eventually disagreed and split up, I think Terry and Claudia will too. How permanent that split will be, I think, is up to her (I could see parallels happening between Soren and Terry teaming up to try and bring her home, with Ezran and Rayla doing the same for a brother-partner tag team Callum duo), but I do think that Terry's testament of "I love you, I will never leave you" is apt foreshadowing to see what it would take for him to break his promise, and do just that.

To what he knows needs to be done, even if that means walking away.

Misc. Season Thoughts

Terry also has some interesting things that don't fall under the necessity umbrella that I wanted to talk about as well. One of those things is

TERRY AND IDENTITY

This isn't to say I think Terry actively has an identity arc in seasons 4 through 6 the way other characters (Callum, Rayla, Viren) are, but that Terry like most of the main cast is linked to arc 2's continual increased emphasis on identity and choosing your own identity. This is true particularly in 4x01, which opens after the intro with Callum running through / clarifying his titles (or identity roles) and concludes with Viren and Terry being introduced to one another. Terry gives details on his name ("[Terrestrius] is a bit traditional, but my friends call me Terry") and then asks for clarification on what he can call Viren.

Later on in S5 and S6, we see Soren and Rayla respectively see through the 'monstrous' / threat of others by reaffirming their similarities ("I know what this is like. I know how you feel" / "This storm isn't your rage, it's your grief. I know how you feel") and bestowing agency through naming conventions. Rayla identifies the monster isn't a monster but a pet, and more than that, gives Esmeray back her name. Elmer does the same when he overthrows Finnegrin and Soren likewise affirms it: "We literally didn't [defeat him]. Elmer did."

Why is this relevant? Well, in an arc that's all about emphasizing over and over again to see other people's personhood by using their name(s), recognizing that you have a choice, and choosing who you want to be...

So often queer characters in media are regulated to their queerness being happenstance (i.e. they fulfil a certain story role regardless and just happen to also be queer) or it's all their character gets to be (a "figuring out queerness and/or a coming out" arc). One of the reasons I myself (as a queer and trans person) has always deeply appreciated Terry as a queer character, specifically as a trans character, is precisely the way that his transness is interwoven with TDP's broader themes of chosen identity, self-actualization, and knowing / name motifs. In having these themes and ideas for multiple cis characters, Terry's interplay gets to be enhanced by his trans identity and simultaneously let him enhance the thematic explorations the series has going on, and I think that's pretty cool. Identity is one of the main themes of s4, and for Terry as well, so it's nice to see the ways that's reflected.

I expect season 7 to challenge his identity further ("I'm going to be strong enough to do whatever I need to do and still have feelings") if forcing him to confront who he wants to be, who Claudia is becoming, and who he thinks they can still be together. In a lot of ways I'm expecting S7 to be a sister season to S4 thematically even as S7 builds on S5/S6 in terms of plot and character arcs, since S7 seems geared to be about identity directly even more than S4 was (and much more than S5 or S6 were).

TERRY AND COMMUNICATION

If season four is about identity, season five has a strong emphasis on communication. This is, again, likewise true for Terry, as he encourages Claudia to communicate in various ways across the course of the season.

The situation is urgent, and you're worried I'm not treating it that way.

Terry consistently having clear communication is also something that puts him in direct contrast to Aaravos, who is a master manipulator and very careful liar-not-liar in his own way. Terry is always open and while thoughtful does not really bottle things up; he communicates clearly with other people and is comfortable doing so, and is very good at validating others as well. Whenever he does push against Claudia, he always clearly explains why he's doing so or why he disagrees but leaves the choice of what to do next in making amends or carrying on up to her. Aaravos, meanwhile, continually withholds or omits information, and presents things in certain ways in order to get, well, his way.

I don't have as much to say for season six, given that Terry is only in about half the season (6x01, 6x03, 6x04, 6x08, 6x09) and one of those is entirely silent. I'd say his main idea in s6, like s4 with identity and s5 with communication, would be the theme of Questioning (scaffolded under 'supportive'). He's supportive of Viren and Claudia's searches for meaning alongside his own increase questioning of what they and Aaravos are doing and why. I'll be curious to see what his main character beat may be in s7 going forward.

Conclusion

There's more I could talk about with Terry (Viren dreaming in 5x03 of chasing after Claudia only for her not to listen, only for Terry to live out that worst fear in 6x01 directly, for example) but I think for now these are the main things I wanted to discuss without going further into speculation than I already have. I hope this maybe brought a new perspective or appreciation for Terry as a character and for his arc in the show so far! As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy.

[fallingdownhell]

Genshin men react to the 'Do I look fat?' question.

Oh boi.. Good luck to them..

Characters Included: Cyno; Kaeya; Wanderer

Content: gender neutral reader; slight cursing; comfort; but overall good feelings and vibes; insecurities mentioned; Wanderer is a bit of an ass, but he makes up for it (a little bit)

Word count: 1,6k words

Have fun!

Cyno

You were nervous. Really, really nervous.

What the reason is, you ask?

Well, picture this.. your relationship with the General Mahamatra is relatively new. You have only been dating him for about two months, keeping a low profile in public since the both of you didn't want it to be known quite yet.

You were content with that, but now, suddenly, Cyno told you that he wanted to introduce you to his best friend, Tighnari.

Which, to you, was a big fucking deal!

Obviously, you planned to show the best side of you, wanting to impress and convince his best friend that you weren't with Cyno for any sort of benefits, but that you really liked him and were serious about him.

You were standing in front of the mirror in your bedroom for hours now, trying on every possible outfit at your disposal, yet nothing seemed to satisfy you enough.

There have been a few pieces where you thought they might be okay, but just okay simply wasn't good enough.

Cyno was already done, waiting for you in the living room so you could leave, but you weren't nearly done. A complete bundle of nerves, to be exact.

Now, you finally had an outift on that you were more satisfied with then the others before. You spun around in front of the mirror, looking at yourself from every possible angle, trying to decide wether this was good enough or not. But you soon came to the conclusion that you just couldn't decide for yourself.

You needed a second opinion...

"Cyno?", you called, and from the approaching footsteps, you knew he had heard you.

Soon after, he entered the room, looking at you questioningly.

"Yes, my love? What is it?"

"Do I look fat in this?", you asked, hoping for some kind of positive affirmation that you so desperately needed right now.

Obviously taken aback by the question, Cyno took a few seconds before he hesitantly answered.

"Not really? You look like you usually do, it's fine."

Your expression quickly sank at his answer, and Cyno could immediately tell that this was the wrong answer.

"Babe..", but before he could say anything further, you were yelling at him, shoving him out of the room.

"Get out! I have to change again! I can't wear this!"

You threw the bedroom door closed as soon as he was outside, and for a few moments, Cyno stood there, dumbfounded. He had absolutely no idea what just happened there, but he knew that he said the wrong thing.

"(Name), I'm sorry. You don't need to change out of anything. You look positively breathtaking.", he said through the closed wooden door.

He kept quiet and listened. Judging by the lack of movement coming from inside, he thought his words might have some effect on you.

".... sure?"

"What was that, my love?"

"...Are you sure? I wanna look good when I meet your best friend."

"(Name), I can absolutely assure you that Tighnari is not going to care about what you're wearing. And besides, you look good in anything to me."

He waited for a few more seconds, then the door slowly opened again, revealing you to him, still wearing the same outfit as before.

"Are you really sure about that? One hundred percent?"

"Yes, I am.", he smiled at you, grabbing you by the wrist and pulling you out of the bedroom.

"Now, we have to get moving, or we'll be late. And that, I can guarantee you, would piss him off."

Kaeya

Kaeya has had his fair share of relationships in his time, so he knows that once this question leaves your lips, there are only two possible outcomes for him.

One, you simply ask him this dreaded question because you're bored and just want to see his reaction to it. In which case, he would walk away relatively unscathed, but he still had to be careful to not tick you off.

Or two, you were being absolutely serious and genuine. Which would definitely mean his demise as no matter what he was going to say, you would most likely spin it around in another direction so he would be the blamed party no matter what.

And right now, with the way you were looking at him from your spot, laying on his lap, it seems like the second option was the most likely one.

"Kaeya?", you asked, looking up at him. At the lack of response, you turn onto your stomach, now looking at him intently.

The man in question was still thinking about a possible answer, not wanting to upset you in any way since in his eyes, you were absolutely adorable and beautiful, but that didn't mean that this was what you wanted to hear from him.

However, as he kept silent, you thought this to be his answer, and you started to feel dejected.

"I see..", you say as you start to get up from his lap, which caused Kaeya to pull you back, confused and also in a slight panic.

"Hey, wait. Where do you think you're going, gorgeous?"

You scoff at that nickname. "You don't have to lie to me, you know. Your lack of response was loud and clear."

You refuse to look at him as your mood got even more sour the more you thought about it.

"I'm sorry babe, but my silence wasn't for that reason. I was merely trying to find the right words to tell you how beautiful I think you are."

You scoff again, but this time, it's not as snarky as before, and he thinks he can hear a faint glimmer of hope in there.

"...you really mean that?"

"Of course! Would I ever lie to you, darling?"

You finally look at him, even if it was only to shoot him an obvious glare.

He smirks at that. "Okay, okay. But I would never lie to you about something important, I promise you that. And you, (name), are the most important person in this world to me. So, please believe me when I say that you're absolutely perfect."

At that, your cheeks suddenly feel warm as you lay down with him again, the doubts that had previously filled your mind starting to grow weaker and weaker in his presence and thanks to his reassuring words.

Wanderer

Oh boy, is he not good with relationships. He does not know how to take a hint or how to sugarcoat his words. Even if he means good for you, his words sometimes come out as harsh.

You usually just ignore it, knowing that he's just watching out for you in his own, weird way. But there are days, where you're not able to just brush past his words, especially when they were touching on a subject you were particularly sensitive about.

It wasn't a common occurance for your boyfriend to take you out to eat like today. Usually, the two of you always cook at home, rather enjoying the process and the fun you manage to make during it.

Today however, he said he wanted to treat you for a nice meal out, and how were you to refuse such an invitation. On top of that, you haven't really had a proper meal for the past two days thanks to your workload, so you were absolutely hungry.

You ended up ordering more than you would normally eat, but since you had been neglecting your stomach for quite some time, you were able to eat all of that, no problem.

The Wanderer watched you silently as you were eating, but you could tell that he wanted to say something. It was practically written all over his face.

"What?", you decided to say between bites, curiously looking at him.

He seemed to think for a few seconds before he spoke up. "Don't you think you're eating a bit too much?"

At his question, you stop for a second, swallowing down the bite you had in your mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you should tone it down and not make this a habit. You don't want to gain any more weight, right?"

Suddenly, your appetite was all gone. The food that had been looking so delicious in front of you now made you want to throw up just by looking at it.

"So... you think I'm fat?"

At that question, he looked up again to face you, and as he saw you, he immediately knew he just fucked up.

Big time.

The way you looked so sad at him, so defeated, made him feel like his nonexistant heart just shattered inside him.

"No! That's not... Fuck!"

You just silently nod, pushing the plate in front of you away, falling back against your comfortable chair.

The Wanderer sighed next to you, pulling his chair closer to yours as he pushed the plate back towards you.

"I'm.... sorry. That came out totally wrong. I fucked that up.

No, I don't think you're fat, you're most definitely not. I shouldn't have commented on that."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have."

You agree with him, but the fact that you were responding at all to him, meant that you weren't that mad with him. At most, annoyed. But not utterly mad. That was a good thing.

"Can you forgive me?", he asked as he pushed the plate closer yet again, urging you to continue with your meal.

You rolled your eyes at him as you reluctantly leaned forwards, picking up your utensils again.

"I'll think about it."

That's enough for him. He smiles as he leans back again, continuing to watch you again.

He still has much to learn about this whole relationship and communication thing...

[lemonisntreal]

TONE DEAF :: Rosita and Norman <3

The first in a [hopefully] series of redesign + headcanon posts where I give you my take on a character for my AU

I'm grouping the two together because a] a lot of fluff headcanons I have, they share [because they're literally husband and wife]. And b] if I made an individual post for every single character, I... would go insane. So yeah. A bunch of characters are gonna get clumped together.

[FULL MASTERPOST HERE [yet to be made <3]]

HEADCANONS // BACKSTORY ⬇️

Me and the bad bitch I pulled by being autistic [also autistic]

Both of them are the same age, mid to late thirties.

In terms of general intelligence: Rosita has gifted IQ, while Norman is at genius level.

I know. I know Norman seems kinda dim in the movies. But guys [LMAO]. "I know it looks like there's nothing happening behind those eyes, but...... he can make entire computers!"

He's so smart yet so stupid. He's that kind of character. Like he can do all of this super impressive shit, and is super talented and can do math like BOOM done, but he's also kinda a "deer-in-the-headlights" when it comes to life [I LOVE HIM 👹]

Both of them worked hard and have their college degrees almost completely paid off at this point because of the scholarships they earned.

Rosita has a degree in engineering, Norman's a computer scientist.

They're both in STEM, it's just that Rosita likes to handle more of the mechanical aspects of things while Norman's better with the technical stuff, which I think is cute af.

Yin and Yang <3

This dynamic is just how they are too. How they act. Like for example, Rosita can be very to-the-point-

She's very much a problem solver and will get right to it once she understands what she's doing. Like yeah, she often takes a very methodical approach to it [see the scene where she's got all the papers laid out to try and learn to dance- very new territory for her], but once she learns, she gos all in. And EATS.

Norman's gotta have a plan before doing anything, meanwhile. He has a morning routine that can't be interrupted or else his whole day and mood will be thrown off. He reads through a recipe twice before even starting. That kind of stuff.

He's a lot more hesitant to even try.

A lot of people find Norman boring. But Rosita is enraptured by every word he says, she LOVES his long spiels about hyper-specific [and often mundane] things.

AAAA--

Norman is also a closeted DORK. He ran a tabletop games club in highschool with a couple other of his geeky ass friends [he's still into D&D to this day and has introduced Rosita to the game too]

[she's fun to play with, but super competitive. This goes for ANY game, actually, not just D&D. She'll kinda accidentally turn everything into a "contest" due to her inability to not do her very best] [it's mostly inspirational, not annoying, if that makes sense?]

I also wanna say Norman was in a weird amount of drama that he didn't want to be in at this time. Like all of his friends had falling-outs, and he was just always caught in the middle of it.

He's afraid of confrontation [UNLESS IT'S FOR HIS WIFE] [HE STANDS UP FOR HER RAHHHH] [this is gonna happen when I get to rewriting Sing 2, he's NOT just gonna take Crystal calling his WIFE "mommy pig"]

They're sooo "excuse me, he asked for no pickles"

Norman and Rosita technically met in high school, in Junior year when Norman first moved to Calatonia.

WHICH, he and his family did this because this was a point in time where laws having to do with the rights of animals were VERY flimsy, and Calatonia was one of the first and only safe places at the time-- for Pigs especially, actually.

The 3 Little Pigs is deadass CANON TO SING. So Pigs were/are actually a marginalized species in this universe.

[[during the warring period that I have yet to really talk about, they were often victims of the anarchy and poaching, so stigmas and insults around them still exist to this day]]

[[[[see Jimmy Crystal]]]]

So anyway, they "met" in high school- Norman totally crushed on Rosita from afar whenever he'd catch her in volleyball matches-

Rosita had a major tomboy phase throughout high school, slowly falling out of it during college [still only saves dresses and skirts for special occasions really]

[[Fun fact, Rosita is also sapiosexual [attracted to intelligence] [Roxanne Ritchi ahh] ]]

[[Norman is bi]]

They actually got introduced to eachother and had a proper arc when they went to the same college [which might've been a college in Redshore actually? But I'm not 100% sure on that headcanon. It would line up since Rosita's "wanted to perform in Redshore since she was a little kid" and Redshore is obviously a massive city with a lot of notoriety. Idk though- and it's not really that important to the story anyways]

Norman and Rosita had plans together- they were gonna make it big and live freely. Things were looking up with the lawmakers, who were finally repealing a bunch of nasty stuff that was put in place during the war times. And the two had hope that their dreams could actually be accomplished.

Rosita, who was originally gonna play it safe and become an engineer, was now thinking about attempting to become a performer [which Norman has supported since the beginning, he LOVES her singing, and often tells her that she's "better than some of the people I've heard on TV!"]

But. Life got in the way...

Present day, Norman works in Redshore at Crystal Enterprises. He's the head of some sort of organizational team- not really working on what he loves at this point.

And this is because of their children, who were a very sudden appearance in their lives [which is why we see so much struggle in the chaos at the beginning of the movie in this AU]

Rosita stopped everything, and Norman grabbed the first high-ish paying job he could, spending all his spare time on clocking in overtime hours.

The kids are all adopted, and there's only 6 now: Oldest Caspar [13], twin boys Mickey and Moe [11], middle child Kelly [9], little bro Freddy[8], and Zoey the sweet baby sister [6].

They became foster parents after the death of Rosita's sister [this hc is kinda subject to change, but this is the story rn. I'll specify on this later ☝️]

So Rosita's kinda put her life on hold for these babies. She's such a great mom to them, and they love her and Norman so much

But some of the older kids [Caspar specifically] are kinda in a rough phase since they feel like she resents them [which she doesn't], or that she isn't their "real mom" [which she IS]

This is like an E plot in the story, but definitely's gonna get at least a little bit of focus.

Rosita and Norman's marriage is falling apart just a little bit due to burnout, but it'll get better <3 [I can't do anything tragic to these two they're too sweet]

Norman snuggles up to Rosita in his sleep. Rosita starfishes LMAO

They wake up entangled. This is normal.

"Pig piles" are also a thing- there have been several nights where all six children "had nightmares" and so the family of 8 all slept in the same bed.

Norman has the best bond with the two girls out of all the children. They immediately latched onto him to be their level-headed dad.

Rosita can carry two kids at once easily, and often "relocates" them like this :>

She's probably the strongest out of everyone in the troupe if you don't count the potential Meena has. She solos.

She's constantly taking notes on everyone and everything around her. At the theater, you'll catch her tidying stuff up she spots out of the corner of her vision while you're having a conversation with her [she's still listening]. She knows everyones favorite foods, and allergies, and their preferences in things, etc. She's the most attentive and considerate out of all of them [the mom]

She may have a touch of OCD.

She gives the best hugs.

Rosita is also a FANTASTIC cook [not even a headcanon, I'm pretty sure the entire fandom agrees on this one] and often bakes stuff for her sweet-toothed children [and husband]

This is actually how she initially connected with Caspar, who refused to eat or speak at first when they were all placed with Rosita.

Cinnamon rolls.

Kelly will only eat the frosting off the top, and has ruined an entire pan before by doing this.

Rosita actually isn't the biggest fan of chocolate, small detail.

Idk why she just strikes me as not being an enjoyer.

Loves vanilla though. People are furious when she answers "vanilla" with zero hesitation to the chocolate vs vanilla question.

Norman is kinda a hopeless romantic, or at least really enjoys the aesthetic of it [in a sweet and not shallow way ofc], and goes all out every Valentine's Day: balloons, flowers, the works. He's learned that Rosita prefers strawberries over a box of chocolates, however. Has a tradition of getting a fruit basket for her <3

They also have a tradition from all the way back in college, where they go out to eat at specifically the in-universe equivalent of Olive Garden [which was the fanciest thing they could afford at the time] and eat a shared giant plate of spaghetti.

Norman loves coffee. Insists he likes it black but actually prefers a good 50:50 ratio of creamer and coffee.

Norman is also ☝️ lactose intolerant LMAO

[[or would be, if traditional milk was widely accessible/a thing. I say "lactose intolerant" but what I really mean is he's allergic to most milk substitutes- like nuts and soy [gives him tummy ache, not anaphylaxis] ]]

God, parenthesis are carrying me so hard rn.

Stopping here because I'm tired, but I could go ON about these two omg-

Normita forever rahhhh <3

[elainsgirl]

no cause im actually getting annoyed.

gwyn this. gwyn that. like please shut up. we barely know anything about this girl and you're talking about her being an auntie? her saving the world? not to mention they always block out emerie which is very weird.

Hey anon 🫶

Lmfao, you’re feelings are so valid & relatable.

The only reason Gwyn Berdara has become so huge is the fact she is used as a self-insert LI for Azriel. That is the root of her mainstream popularity. And its sad how much of her character has become interwined with Azriels when this poor girl has shown 0 romantic interest in him. She’s being thust into a “love triangle” when she hasn’t even shown any interest in the guy- it just goes to show how her “stans” love her for the fact she can replace Elain.

Gwyn was your standard side character. We got her backstory like with Emerie. Both helped Nesta in her journey, both had focus on them - the difference being Gwyn had magic and Emerie doesn’t. but why has Emerie been so overshadowed by Gwyn? Bcs Gwyn is linked to a man. Sad isn’t it. and thats just the ugly truth.

this isn’t me saying the *only* reason Gwyn is so liked is due to her being Azriel’s theorised mate. People loved her strength, bravery, vulnerability, the openness in which she accepted Nesta etc etc. She would have had the same level of popularity as other side characters,

Yet she’s quite literally shoved down everyones’ throats all because she is shipped with Azriel. Its come to the fact - this whole gwynriel propaganda has overshadowed the point and focus of the story - which has always been the archeron sisters.

Gwyn will wield Gwydion. She will help with the prison - not Elain who is literally is linked with life and regrowth, who has used TT right - nope. Its Gwyn. Gwyn will become Rhysands bestie, Gwyn will be the new IC member, Gwyn will help Nesta rule etc etc. And its all so sadly funny,

All this just bcs they:

. Dont like elriel, Elain and the direction the series is going in.

before anyone says im bitter, im not. Its to be expected bcs Gwyn Berdara is perfect. She has no flaws. She has a general, popular fun, quirky “we can do this guys!” “Go us!”, personality. Yet still a blank slate for her “stans” to place any characteristic, theory or HC on her that they like. She has some interactions with the cool, mysterious Azriel and thats all you need for gwynriel. Thats all you need for G to become centre staged. It would have happened with any other fc that wouldve interacted with Azriel.

Whilst it is annoying and the meaning of the series has truly been lost to that side of the fandom, I think frustration comes from downplaying Elains role & giving it to Gwyn. Unfortunately, there’s nothing to be done. Popularity in the end will never matter. Sjm loves writing about polarising, flawed characters which Elain is and Gwyn isn’t. Clearly, Gwyn was never meant to be play a big role otherwise Mass - an author who loves foreshadowing- would have been introduced in person earlier. Its nice to remember: Elain was the focus of two bonuses. Elain has her book confirmed. Mass said SF left hints for Elains story. Not gwyn. Not Azriel. But Elain Archeron. At least the love for her is more genuine then I’ve seen from some Gwyn stans.

[jselorekeeper]

Ego Years Summarized

Dear viewers, welcome to a quick little project for those who haven't watched Jack in years and want to be caught up in ego lore!

If you want a more detailed version, I recommend coming to check out @anomalyobservers and our YouTube as we work on a very detailed explanation of the egos and every important video! Its not done yet but we are making progress! Link to the comics: Badegg.co

But let's get to this quick summary!

2016: 2016 was the start of it all, with the egos forming and their stories starting to be told…well, at least one of them. Anti really stole the spotlight in 2016, while the other egos were overshadowed with little to no appearances. But let's talk about what we learned from the year.

We first start with Jackie and Marvin where neither did not have much lore until many years later, for Henrik we actually get to learn a bit about him and how he used to be a married man before his wife ultimately decided to cheat on him, leaving him alone with his work. Now to no one's surprise Anti stole the spotlight for 2016 and what we get to learn that Anti's intentions never seemed to be any good, he went after C!Jack and ulimately tried to kill him.

Important Videos of 2016: S͢ḀY ͏GǪÒ͜D̸B͞Y̧E

2017: This is the year we were introduced to Chase Brody and Jameson Jackson, with Chase we get to learn a lot about him within the short video we receive about him. We learned that Chase is a father and a husband to a lady named Stacy and a child which we do not know the name of.

Stacy ended up divorcing Chase and taking the child with her, we never knew why she suddenly got up and left but Chase was left devestated to the point he tried to take his own life.

Quite a bit later we get to see Henrik again and while he was operating on C!Jack to try and save his life we learn that Henrik was the one who saved Chase's life. He talked about how Chase ended up going back to Stacy but it was unclear if she ever actually took him back.

But Anti decided to take things for quite a turn, ultimately he started attacking both C!Jack and Henrik directly causing Jack to die on the operating table, he taunts the viewers and shows that he will be going after Chase next.

While those three are having quite a time we get to meet Jameson Jackson, a silent character who decided to carve some pumpkins for Halloween! But he ended up slicing his finger in the process, which Anti took the opportunity to attack and took control of Jameson as well!

Important Videos of 2017: I’m Sick!!, Bro Average, KILL JA̶CKSEPTICEYE | Bio IN̵̛c Redemp T̨I̶̢on, The Jacksepticeye Power Hour - Jameson Jackson

2018: Moving onto 2018 it almost fell silent upon the egos, Henrik was missing and Anti was rather silent. That ended up causing quite a bit of panic amongst community members, especially that we meet "Dr. Jacksepticeye" who claims that he is the number one doctor.

During April we received unexpected vacation cards with what seems to be blood, it led to chaos until Henrik has finally returned to reclaim his spot.

A bit later we get to see Chase again seemingly sitting in the same home where Stacy and their kid were staying, he was in the basement drinking away his sorrows before deciding to head back upstairs. But something seemed off and when he reached upstairs hes face to face with Anti, the sounds of crying and screaming coming from the room behind him.

Chase tried to get answers but Anti didn't say anything, instead he ends up attacking Chase and everything suddenly goes quiet.

We get Akinator and learn a bit about Jameson, well questions were avoided and we can only make assumptions there!

December comes around and a video drops, towards the end we are stuck in what seems to be a staring contest with Anti. He spoke softly as he teases and even praises us for staying around watching him and what he was doing. Anti lets us know that everything he has done was only phase one of his plans and we move onto phase two.

Important Videos of 2018: THE DOCTOR IS BACK l Gastric Bypass, Liposuction Surgery, Tie - A Game About Depression, Dark Silence, HOW DID HE GUESS THAT!? | Akinator, QUIT THE GAME TO WIN

2019: During this year we get three very special videos so lets summarize both of them.

Chase ends up getting a short video as we watched about how his house has been evicted and he was left homeless, sitting in his car we watch as he starts to break down not having any idea that Anti was in the backseat. He ends up in the forest to clear his head but suddenly he teleports to the top of a parking garage with no explaination of how he got there.

Henrik is seen working on some sort of equation, which we learn is an equation to time travel, and suddenly his computer starts glitching out before this portal appears where us the viewer seems to be moved towards it as if we were sucked into it.

Jameson Jackson gets to tell us a story for Halloween! We sit and watch as he uses puppets to tell a story of a murder mystery, awhile in we start to notice strange things start to happen such as strings on his wrist. It wasn't until the end where Anti takes control, puppeteering him to show off his control over him.

Important Videos of 2019: CHASE, You’re Not Ready For These Scary Games, Jameson Jackson’s Jolly Jaunts

2020: There was appearances throughout this year but only one stands out from the rest, Marvin comes back.

We see Marvin reading some sort of book before interacting what seems to be an orb, touching it Marvin gets flashbacks to Anti and everything he has done. We also see Marvin burning something before the video ends the same portal that was shown in Henrik's video appeared in Marvin's orb.

Important Videos of 2020: Argentum Inanis

2021: The only thing that came out of this year was the Mandela Catalogue, we just get to see Anti messing around with some appearances.

Important Videos of 2021: ‎WARNING: STAY OUT OF MAPLE COUNTY, The Mandela Catalogue

2022: This year alone became intense with information, this is when IRIS is born…IRIS, Aka Inspiring Research of Impossible Sciences, appeared on Twitter and it took the community awhile before finding it. We get information here and there that IRIS is a company that has existed for 100 years and had an powerful impact within the science world.

We get videos of WTCHR, the camera created by IRIS which is highly advanced security and even detects certain things about people such as health.

Then in October we get the trailer to IRIS' video, we learn that it majorly focuses on Chase as he seemed to be inside IRIS speaking with them, defending himself about not killing somebody while we see people in the facility get attacked by an unseen force.

Throughout the month we learn that IRIS has interest in a certain amount of people, including Chase going as far as saying he needs to be monitored at all times…suggesting he may be in IRIS by force.

Halloween comes around and we get an interactive livestream that is a series of puzzles to figure out for clips of Anomaly Found to be dropped, but it didn't end up working out well so the whole video was dropped.

During Anomaly Found we watch Chase be trapped in a room for seven days while being interrogated by scientist, we soon learn they knew who Anti was and was aware that he is haunting Chase. They state they're trying to contain Anti which end up making Chase come forward with information.

We learn that his family has died and he was blamed for it, after a bit they tried to move Chase into more secure containment then Anti decided to take action. Chase tried to plead for them to listen to him but they didn't, most of the guards were killed and we finally get to see Anti and Chase be face to face once again.

Chase frantically backing away clearly terrified of Anti, Anti didn't say much just watching him as he walked towards him before speaking to say hello.

Important Videos of 2022: WTCHR,  Security Booth is a Masterpiece, Anomaly Found - Chase Brody

2023: Finally the year of the comics! We learn about ALTRverse, which is a comic book series about Marvin and Jackie.

Marvin's story, Void Silver, is about watching Marvin in London growing up into his powers but he is attending to a school so the Magic Circle, who seems to be in charge of everything magic, can keep an eye on him.

Jackie's story, The Somewhat Incredible Jackieboy-Man, we learn about our delivery boy Jackie who keeps finding himself in unfornuate scenarios. He's ruined a multi million dollar event, finding himself getting hurt during his job, breaking the law, and even finding himself in a facility during its meltdown.

At the end of the year we get a video of Jack reacting to his old ego content, this is where we learn multiple things.

A lot of the old lore is no longer canon.

Anti's name is not "Antisepticeye" just Anti.

C!Jack's story is no longer canon and he is no longer a character in general.

Important Videos of 2023: When you see it…, 7 Years Ago…I Died,  Reacting to my Old Ego Content

2024: Finally we move onto the year of the video game! IRIS is getting a video game, which is free by the way, and we ended up getting the trailer for it. Besides that nothing special ends up happening.

Important Videos of 2024: The Overnight Watch - Official Teaser Trailer

2025: Nothing has happened this year so far.

[acourtofthought]

Sorry but saying Nesta had been ignoring Elain is a wild take because as far as the story goes, both Elain and Nesta just drifted apart since they coped differently. second there’s this take from the E/riel side that absolutely loathes the idea of Nyx calling Emerie and Gwyn "aunt" which ykw?fair, even though that whole "aunt Emerie and aunt Gwyn" thing is probably just a silly post from 2-3 people or because they might end up with IC members. And this feels like that.

I don’t think we’ll get much of Gwyn and Nyx interacting in a meaningful way in a Gwynriel book, but if we do it should be fine. If gwynriel is canon Gwyn will be his aunt too right? And I dont even like Gwyn but why are we even gatekeeping a fictional baby’s interactions in this fandom? For all we know Elain has changed Nyx’s diapers daily and has already bonded with him in her garden.I keep seeing you everywhere defending Elain just because people don’t see her the way you want them to even when it’s not even an anti post. Can Elain stans everywhere chill? You all really need to take a deep breath sometimes. don’t worry I’ll block you after this shouldve done it earlier.

Canon disagrees with you.

“She said she didn’t want to come to anything. Ever.”

“She just said … She said that we have our lives, and she has hers.”

Feyre’s eyes gleamed. “You think I don’t know why you’ve pushed even Elain away?”

The last time she’d seen Elain—a week before she’d come to the House. She’d passed her sister in the bustling market square they called the Palace of Bone and Salt, and though Elain had halted, no doubt intending to speak to her, Nesta had kept walking. Hadn’t looked back before vanishing into the throng.

Also, I'm allowed to have an opinion of my own without being told I need to chill or being accused of e/riel behavior. There are many e/riels who claim Gwyn can't have a book because she's just a side character which Gwynriels hate but then many Gwynriels will claim Elain isn't developed enough to be a main character. And now as an Elucien I'm saying I think Elain's story happening before Gwyn's makes the most sense to me while acknowledging Sarah might think differently yet that's a problem? It sounds like you can't handle a difference in opinion and only permit e/riel behavior so long as it happens within your preferred ship.

I'm not gatekeeping a baby, I'm simply pointing out that it would make more sense to me to get the next book from Elain's pov because of her relationship to Feyre and her nephew. It would make more sense for me to see the sisters overcome their issues before there's a new person introduced into the IC and the focus is on that newly formed relationship instead of Elain because Gwyn will become important to Az's friends and family if she's going to be his mate. Feyre focusing on Nesta then just ignoring Elain for another book after she acknowledged she was still struggling would seem out of character for her.

I know so many respectful Gwynriels so this is not pointing fingers at any of them but there are a few takes in the fandom that have been extremely disrespectful to Elucien's. "Gwyn is way more developed than Elain.""Gwyn is way more interesting than Elain will ever be.""Gwyn is ready for a book but Elain isn't". Because there are some Gwynriels who are also Elucien's but hate Elain and it's not hard to tell and if you like Gwynriel but love Elucien, it's difficult to avoid seeing those posts. But the second an Elucien makes a post that suggests maybe Elain's story makes a little more sense (to them) before Gwyn's, the pitchforks come out and we're accused of babying Elain 😂. We are allowed to love the characters in our ship and see the setup for the possibility of them being next just like many Gwynriels and e/riels do every day. We are allowed to have ideas on why they're next, just like others.

It's a double standard as Elucien's who love Elain often have to sit and watch Elain slander or those who downplay Elain's character and growth from some even though Elain went from where she was in the cabin to kicking the hounds and saving Briar, stabbing the king, going out on her own in Velaris, offering to help with the Trove when Nesta didn't want to, saying she'd try to figure out her own powers, and heading to the Hewn City (a place that bothers her) to show her willingness to be part of things.

But god forbid I say I'd like to see Elain's pov and her feelings on her sister / nephew after the events of SF before Gwyn's and that makes me deserving of an anon. God forbid I write a post on why Elain having the next pov makes sense to me though that's all Elucien's have seen from many other ships over the past few years (that someone else should / will have a book first), while some also use the Elucien tag for it. Literally the post will be "Az is getting the next book" and Elucien is used in the tags. Elucien's are allowed to have their reasons for hoping Elucien is next, same as everyone else but we don't go out of our way to tag Gwynriel while doing it because we respect that our Gwynriel friends do not agree therefore we keep their tag clean.

It's weird that you're accusing me of defending Elain against those who don't see her the way I do while you're in my anons hiding all because someone had a different take on Nesta and Gwyn than you do. While I only used Elain and Lucien tags.

And you're not an airplane, you don't need to announce your departure. The block button does not require spoken words.

[linksfunroadtrip]

Link's Fun Commentary - Prologue!

+ sailor design commentary. link's fun extra

Twilight Field, War of Eras...

Sailor starting in Hyrule Warriors and being dropped immediately into Shepherd's era is actually the second pitch for the beginning of the comic, the very First pitch being the first two pages of chapter 1.

More than anything we just wanted to get it done, but we didn't really know what we were doing . We cobbled together a custom font and got right to it. My Fun Facts: All the grass is the same image reused over and over except for when it isn't . Literally all of the smoke was just repeated/moved around. We didn't even really know how to use gradients effectively...

... Which can be seen in these next two panels. LOL.

The work split on this batch set a precedent for sure. @islandlobster took up lining and flat colors, and had the Hard Job of harmonizing our styles, processes, and experiments. Do you see a lot of small, long-form comics with grainy, textured line-art? Maybe no? Well we found out why.

These panels also feature the Only Two Triforces we remembered to draw !!! Oh My God!!!

As much as we struggled, things moved pretty quick from the get-go. Since the prologue is only a handful of pages we didn't really run into the issues we would with chapter 1, especially regarding our complete and utter lack of script. This went straight from thumbnailing to the final result!! (NOT A SUSTAINABLE WAY TO DO A GROUP PROJECT...!)

I wanted to mention though that when I wrote the line above, I wasn't sure if this was how you would spell it for like . a Soldier Troop or a Performance Troupe. Which I just looked up now and found out I Absolutely got them mixed up. so umm. Sorry. Sailor is not in the circus yet.

Cia was just defeated in the main campaign! I felt like such a smart cookie for this one.

She doesn't even know she wont be going home yet‼️ laughing and pointing ‼️

It was an Early idea that Sailor would conveniently miss the time portal transporting the field (with her in it!) back to its era. This was supposed to be a reoccurring bit, but we didn't commit to it too hard going forward, so who's to say if that'll be realized.

The pirate charm plays a big role in the prologue. A little funny because we were absolutely sick to death of drawing it by the end, as well as the fact that it is there in lieu of her red-gem necklace that we forgot to draw. it is Welcome and Unfortunate that it doesn't work anymore, especially because having the chance to name drop like this was very indulgent.

The era of twilight ! Including the locations and times was in the original sketches, but when we found out that our inexperience with backgrounds wasn't lending itself to establishing Where we were, it came in handy. We Agonized over placing the castle and argued* for like a week about how forested the area should be. Luckily we use noclip now, so things have improved as we've moved into chapter 2 :]

Either way, hopefully it wasn't too confusing, and as we introduce new characters the picture will be clearer. We've talked a little bit about returning to the prologue to spiff it up a bit, but we feel we aren't far enough into the comic to make it worthwhile.

and now over to Pea with the weather:

my name is pea islandlobster and you can't tell that it's me because we are writing on the same post but trust okay 🤞 I am here to talk about SAILOR!!!

Sailor has been my baby brainchild before LFRT was even a blip in our minds eye (my proof) and it has been a beautiful indulgence for me to both put her in AND have her be the first Link we meet. YAY!

I have two designs for her, for which I have helpfully made a diagram just for you..! Labeled and everything..!

A: pheww my big one that I have been sitting on forever. Sailor's necklace was constructed over the course of her adventure, initially only having her red gem (given to her by King Daphnes, from his own crown). Four pearls were later added, parting gifts from Oshus and the three spirits. Also intended to mirror the three Goddess pearls from Wind Waker..! and an extra yellow one i guess. triforce? idk

B: Sailor's chipped tooth is a funny one that I will have to make a small comic about at some point. It's not even anything from her adventure. A couple years before WW, Aryll was pretty upset about losing her first tooth, and in typical Link fashion she thought the best way of comforting her was to ALSO lose a tooth. Grandma was not happy.

C: Most Links have a triforce mark, and each one we are giving a reason towards ^.^ Sailor's mark is entirely scar tissue, specifically it is hypertrophic. She held her triforce for only a few days and got it (maybe quite literally) ripped from her by Ganondorf, so take that as you will. Tetra and her are matching yayyy..!

D: Giving her hero outfit it's own section so I can tuck it out of the way lol. A modified version of her original hero outfit, courtesy of shipmate Nudge (guy in the top left). She was a little upset over having to alter Grandma's hard work, but she preserved it where she could. Like her seashell belt! ^_^

E: SIDEBURNS! Not present in the prologue because it has been a recent development but I figured it was worth bringing up. During WoE, as she grows her hair, her sideburns resemble little lobster claws. Cute! In LFRT as grown out as it is, I thought making them swirly as a reference to pretty much every cloud/wind effect used in WW lol.

From a combination of outgrowing stuff and missing home, Sailor was christened with Lobster Shirt 2.0 as we know and love today. Who made it for her? I dunnooo..... let's sit and think about this one.

Phewww. This was a long one - and no doubt the next will be longer - but this is all for now! Feel free to send any questions you might have ^.^ Thank you for all the support! Chapter 2 part 2 soon!

[poppitron360]

I used to have a best friend who loved music theory more than anything else lol. It always went over my head personally, but there wasn't anything better than listening to him talk about it and trying to understand. I miss it sometimes.

In any case— What's your favorite detail about the music in Epic that's easy to miss, and that Jorge hasn't shared before?

That’s difficult bc often I notice something and then I see a video of Jorge talking about the same thing- but I have a few very small, inconsequential details that I noticed/things I liked- mostly to do with recurring motifs and instruments associated with each character.

“Please don’t make me do this, don’t make me do this” sung in his chest voice in the opening number vs in falsetto in “Thunder Bringer” asdjfjfngoinjksdngk

The “Survive” melody is first introduced in “The Horse and the infant”, when Zeus sings “A vision, of what is to come, cannot be outrun…” and it’s last heard (so far) in “Mutiny” when Eurylochus sings about the cows.

At the start of “remember them”, Ody’s electric guitar plays the melody of “we’re up, we’re off, and away we go”

Jay has talked about how Eurylochus has no signature instrument except for the voice of the crew, which makes him a lot more versatile. I noticed how in “Luck runs out” there’s a piano running underneath his lines. A piano is Athena’s instrument. My interpretation is that Eurylochus is questioning Ody’s wisdom here- “you rely on wit, and people die on it”

Similarly, when Odysseus sings “I can’t have you planting seeds of doubt…” underneath his vocals is a Viola (I think), which shows how he’s thinking primarily of Penelope, and not the crew.

Aeolus’ theme doesn’t really conform to a set time signature, which shows how she’s very free flowing.

At the end of “Ruthlessness”, after Ody opens the bag, there’s this descending synth line as the storm carries them away and just… it only shows up once but I love it so, so much.

At the start of “Puppeteer”, when they land at the Island, the strings play the “hope” motif from “Full speed ahead”. (“Ithaca’s waiting, my kingdom is waiting, Penelope’s waiting for me.”)

The strings at the start of “Done For” are very reminiscent of a tango, which gives the feel of Ody and Circe going back and forth.

Ody’s nylon-string guitar (the symbol of his softer side) playing when he sees Polites in the underworld…

Okay so I’m pretty sure the choir sound in “The Underworld” and I think “No Longer You” is actually some sort of synth or sample or VST pack and not vocals that Jorge recorded, which gives the voices a rather unintelligible, artificial sound, which ties in to what Jorge has already established in Epic- the mythological factors being seemingly more electronic.

“Mutiny” contains SO MANY REPRISES. I love how it’s switched from Eury singing to Ody “Please don’t tell me you’re about to do what I think you’ll do” in “Luck runs out” to Ody singing to Eury

At the start of God Games, Athena sings “Father, God King”…”Now I’m knocking” to the tune of “Thunder bring her through the wringer”.

The sound of mechanical clanging playing alongside Hephaestus’ vocals changing into a brighter sounding chiming bell sound when Athena responds.

Both Polites and Calypso have tuned percussion as their instruments. Polites has a marimba, and I think Calypso’s is a steel drum. Not sure what that symbolises yet.

People have talked Calypso singing “stay in my open arms” triggering Ody, but she also sings “I’ll stay inside your heart”, which is what his mother sings to him.

I need to re-listen to the whole musical and compile a larger list but this is mostly what I thought of off the top of my head at 1 in the morning.

Sorry this isn’t more technobabble-heavy, but I’ve made some other posts talking about this that go full infodump mode. These are just little things I noticed (I love doing this. It feels like finding buried treasure).

[bibibbon]

Characters with wasted potential: takami kegio

Oh hawks and the debates I have seen circulating around his character. He could of been a well written and thoroughly interesting and complex character but we know where that went.

I have got my own problems with hawks in canon. This is gonna be more of a ramble than anything else so enjoy.

His interactions with characters. A lot of the interactions that hawks has with different characters could of been so complex and intriguing if done right sadly MHA fails at that. Hawks views Enji todoroki the number two hero as his saviour from his abusive father so obviously hawks is a huge Endeavour fan who puts him on a pedestal. So we expect him to face an internal conflict when he finds out that his own saviour is an abuser to his own family but NOPE WE GET NOTHING. Hawks is physically not allowed to change or think about this and stays as a static character. Hawks and lady nagant have a lot of parallels and I found it Hella confusing when I learnt that lady nagant WASN'T hawk's former mentor and if she was that would of added a lot more depth to them in the vigilante arc. Hawks and tokoyami, look I love their mentor and mentoee relationship and how hawks actively encourages tokoyami to do things also it's Hella implied that the two are close and end up doing silly things on internships which I think is really fun. However I think the bit in the vigilante arc when hawks isn't answering tokoyamis calls and tokoyami is worried about him was handled poorly. I also think tokoyamis reaction to hawks being a killer is handled poorly. Hawk's actions during the first war arc and him killing twice could of been complex to him if handled well but we are led to believe that he was in the right in killing twice when hawks had the power to easily knock out twice, transport him to a jail cell and destroy all the clones before anything bad happens considering that hawks is known for his fastness, strength and agility .

Wasted potential in introduced plot aspects about him. Hawks is introduced as the 3rd top hero and compared to those before him he is young. He has a very charismatic and two faced nature that he has sharpened and learnt to use with the training the HPSC gave him. Hawks is a spy assassin that is supposed to act as a charismatic hero celebrity. In a way after all mights retirement hawks and enji became the most popular faces in Japan. Hawks was bred for this position yet that isn't expanded on neither is it developed well on. Hawk's actions during MVA and the first war arc are complex as they're coming from both genuine truth and lie. Hawks feels trapped literally and metaphorically having to live a life that isn't his and entertain people, always being watched from a cage. That's the story he tells the league and some of it to tokoyami and this is the truth to him. Hawks also killed twice BECAUSE HE BELIEVED it was the only option he had when in fact IT WASNT THE ONLY OPTION and by hawks trying to escape the cage and differentiate himself from the HPSC he ends up following and obeying them all along.

Lack of agency. As a character hawks lacks agency to do things or act. There are things that hawks isn't allowed to do even though it fits his narrative clearly. Hawks isnt allowed to have any negative feelings towards enji todoroki and what he did, heck he isn't even allowed to INTROPSECT on such a thing. Hawks isn't allowed to fully be developed or have any source of introspection, it would of been great if we saw more of what hawks thought about what he did to twice and what toga is trying to do. Hawks also doesn't say much when it comes to the HPSC and how they treated him the closest thing we get to intropsection in that case is him telling lady nagant that he is an extremely optimistic guy.

These are my main problems with hawks, Iam aware that there may be more.

I actually enjoyed hawk's introduction in the manga which was chapter 185 during the changing of the hero popularity polls. Hawks was presented as this complex character who isn't what he seems from the beginning. The first few panels we see him and he is comedically exaggerating his actions aka zipping his mouth and not talking or being overall very expressive however, when he does start to talk he is shown to cleary express his views and has stated that he hates the general bs thay heroes sprout about them wanting to uphold the law more than enjoying the luxuries that hero work gives them. He then takes the mic and proceeds to 'spice things up' by calling out enji on how disliked he is by the civilians. He claims this is something he did to help enji when in fact it didn't help him at all. To me this first interaction already establishes him as a walking contradiction.

His relationship with tokoyami. Their relationship first started in a way for hawks to gain information about 1A and he definitely wasn't being sneaky about it considering that tokoyami could see right through him. Tokoyami at the time only wanted to learn from hawks and was heavily upset and confused as to why hawks taught him nothing and was only using him. However, as time passed by they actually started to form a proper mentor and student relationship which I really enjoyed. When hawks was asked why he chose tokoyami he said that they are from the same feather, basically insinuating that he felt like it was somewhat his duty since he and tokoyami are both bird mutants to a certain extent. As a mentor hawks taught his student to have fun and chill out as tokoyami is a very grounded person (literally and metaphorically). Hawks inspired tokoyami to fly and majority of tokoyamis moves are some stuff that he either learnt or was inspired from with hawks. There's also the fact that it's heavily implied that a lot of the time hawks and tokoyami did goof out a bit considering that tokoyami has 'scandalous pictures' of hawks. However, I wish we actually got more of this relationship especially after tokoyami finds out that hawks killed twice. In the manga when tokoyami finds out of such a thing he automatically protects hawks and thinks he is in the right. I disagree with that and I think it would of been better to have it so that tokoyami protects hawks from Dabi not because he is a hero who done no wrong but because he is his mentor who he deeply cares for. I would also have it so that tokoyami starts to question who hawks really is?, is he a good person?, did tokoyami do the right thing helping hawks? Etc etc. in the vigilante arc, it's stated that tokoyami tried to contact hawks multiple times to no avail however this isn't expanded on. I would have it so that hawks is avoiding tokoyami on purpose because he is ashamed and scared of what his student will think of him. At the end they have a conversation and talk it out with tokoyami understanding that what hawks did was wrong but he deeply cares for him whereas hawks understands just how valuable his relationship with tokoyami really is. In the end, I ended up liking what happend with hawks and tokoyami both protecting eachother in the final arc and growing stronger as a mentor and student. Hawks learns to protect the youth and break the cycle that he was trapped in while learning what a hero means to others from tokoyamis perspective.

Hawks and twice . Hawks managed to build a good relationship with twice as the dumb and overly optimistic MVA member. Twice had potential to be saved but hawks ended up killing him. I have reread this part of the manga and I have my mixed opinions on this however, there are two ways I would change this 1) have hawks kill toga instead and have twice and toga switch places as it makes way more sense or 2) have hawks try to quickly take down twice by knocking him out and trying to transport him somewhere get before he can achieve that Dabi comes in and intervenes finally making hawks too slow to do anything and having him end up killing twice. Option 2 is what happend in the manga with hawks being too slow (ironic considering that hawks is praised on speed) to truly save twice and ends up taking his life so twice doesn't escape and doom them all. The problem is that hawks starts on the offensive (something I like), hawks thinks that killing twice is the only way to avoid everything or at least massively injuring him would stop it. Sadly, hawks could of easily convinced twice to back down considering how easily swayed twice is and that he only did the things he did because he thought there was no way out or wanted to help his friends. Before their fight begins however, hawks talks about not being swayed by nice words and connections he built with twice which makes me think that he didn't want to kill him but due to his mindset and pov he ended up killing him because HE THOUGHT IT WAS THE ONLY OPTION HE HAD (It wasn't)

His involvement in the MVA. Hawks first starts as a double spy for the HPSC. Through the MVA arc we see him do questionable things in the name of other people safety however, we see his actions backfire badly. Hawks tries to quickly and swiftly gain the leagues trust yet he isn't fast enough, he tries to quickly inform the heroes and the HPSC of how dangerous and out of hand this situation yet he fails and many things are caused by him (the fastest hero alive) not being quick enough to do anything. He 'kills' beat jeanist in the name of gaining the trust of the MVA yet that does nothing to get him up the system and just makes it that best jeanists help is out of the table for the majority of the arc. Hawks joining the MVA was useful for the league as they were going to parade him around so people can join him yet I still wonder how the mainstream media didnt catch a whiff of what hawks was up to or how he simply abandoned hero society (even though he was a double spy). Hawks also talks to the league why he joined the MVA and uses his own story (somewhat of the truth of his life) how he feels like a bird trapped in a cage one that can't fly freely this can be interpreted in many ways. 1) he doesn't have the right to freely use his quirk to any extent he wants which is something that MVA stands for or 2) he feels trapped by his own life choices, him becoming a hero especially the number 2 and has a lot of eyes on him watching him like a circus animal with every move he makes so he puts on an act and never drops the mask.

Hawks and toga himiko . Toga himiko should of either been killed by hawks in place of twice which would of made him get more backlash by the public and make tokoyami question him even more considering that hawks somewhat mercilessly killed a 16 year old (the same age as tokoyami) in cold blood for justice so he could also do it to him. Or we should of gotten a hawks Vs toga battle in the final arc instead of a afo Vs hawks one. It would of made way more sense. Considering that hawks killed twice who is very dear to toga she should of had her eyes set on hawks death the minute she chose to join the lov and the final war. We should of gotten an intense and emotional battle between them were hawks has to come to terms that he didn't need to kill twice but he thought that it was the only option he had and he watches as toga uses twices quirk knowing that twices death was meaningless as toga is using his quirk in the way he feared it would be used. Hawks would be almost killed until ochako intervenes and has her battle with toga while hawks goes and fights alongside tokoyami.

Hawk's views on lady nagant. Lady nagant should of been hawk's mentor and he should of been her replacement. In canon hawks is only her replacement and I think it would of added more nuance and overall better writing if she was his mentor. I absolutely loved the parallels that those two shared and how they came out on different side of things however, I do think that we should of seen more of hawks getting the backhand treatment from the public considering that him killing twice was on live television. Honestly it surprised me that hawks killing twice isn't what the public was most upset with him about but they were upset with him having an abusive and villain father which honestly says a lot. I also think that they should of had more screentime to talk, hawks helped save lady nagant and she ended up asking him how he still has hope while he says that he is "optimistic". Iam not a huge fan of this moment and I think it could of been written better. Hawks and lady nagant are two sides of the same coin but dam did I hate hawks holding her burnt body and telling her that he was her replacement, it could of been handled better with hawks and her actually having somewhat of a fight and then some of the conversation happening after the explosion.

Hawks and the todoroki family . Oh boy I can feel that this is gonna be a long one. I found it interesting that hawks actually looked up and admired endeavour and I loved the parallels it gave both hawks and Dabi. However, I hated that hawks wasn't allowed to think or have any intropsection after hearing about what enji did or that he didn't go through a bit of a crisis over it. The fact that hawk's character has simply been reduced to enji Todorokis biggest supporter is my biggest problem with hawks. Dabi and hawks were very interesting to me (no I don't ship them) they're simply two sides of the same coin especially in the ways they act. Dabi is consistent on revenge whereas hawks is the opposite, Dabi hates enji whereas hawks admires enji and so on and so on. I do think that it would of been way more interesting if touya and kegio had actual history behind everything going on so I have always liked the HC that they met in the HPSC training scheme and became friends. It's plausible and makes Dabi saying hawk's real name way more meaningful than Dabi finding it out by threatening hawk's mother. I also think that both of them sharing a form of history yet not trusting eachother is hella interesting. Dabi was probably one of the only characters (aside from Izuku and tokoyami) that could see through some of hawks actions. Dabi knew what hawks will do yet never tried to intervene until it benefited him of course in true icon fashion that is. I also find hawk's relationship with the youngest todoroki interesting but I think it was done horribly. I would of liked to see more scenes with hawks and shoto talking about enji and touya or just scene of them that draw the similarities they have.

I would also have hawks be semi involved in the whole mutant racism plot because we need that to be fleshed out. Does hawks help donate to charities that help mutants? Is he against such people? Or doe hawks himself face such discrimination? To be honest I doubt it considering that his mutation is on the "prettier side" of the mutations and wouldn't face discrimination like shoji did

Hawks also had potential to interact with other characters like todoroki which would of highlighted his thoughts and development on the families matter. There is also Izuku midoriya who in a way is in somewhat of a similar circumstance to hawks and they could of had that whole is there another way to save villains like twice and shigaraki without killing them or is death the only way or just general conversation between the two considering that tokoyami was stated to praise izuku so much that hawks considered taking him as an intern. In one of the side comics you also had Izuku be somewhat suspicious of hawks and his abilities and it's also somewhat hinted in the main manga so it's interesting to have them have a conversation about that.

I personally think that hawks should of received concequences for his actions and one of them being hindered quirk use aka his wings don't grow back properly or everytime he uses them he can't use them to their fullest potential due to how injured he was by Dabis fire. Also, I hate how hawks being used by the commission is almost brought as a second thought, like when the HPSC fell we really didn't get much of hawk's personal reaction or thoughts or anything on the matter it seems like a quite empty point even though it had its potential to Futher develop hawks

In conclusion, hawks character introduction was pretty solid and I really liked some of the aspects that the series gave him like making him a walking contradiction to a certain extent but I do think that horikoshi development of hawks character was horrible and the fact that hawks lacks agency to do many things or reflect on things irritates me very much.