#but also i was the one kid people compared their kids to?

[shadyr4m]

REWATCHING SEASON 2 EPISODE 7 OF ARCANE

+ some of my highlights and notable moments that I enjoyed bc people can’t understand media anymore

This is mostly an infodump of stuff I can fit into a twitter thread/didn't rly want to make into a thread. I'm not great at words so I apologize in advance, I am sure there are many people much better at analysis than I.

I want to start off by saying I am heavily invested in timebomb so this is very much going to be a ship analysis. If you're looking for someone unbiased i am very much not the person for that 😭

FIRST OFF:

The disc on the music box is adorable!!! It features au Powder (who I am going to refer to as just Powder for the duration of my analysis) and au Ekko

Compared to the normal Disc

This is very obviously because it takes place in a different universe, one without Vi or "Jinx".

The first scene starts off with AU Ekko writing in his notebook. (Cute mention is Powder's doodle in his notebook!!) Then we see flashes of the wild rune. This is when AU Ekko switches to canon Ekko.

Also one of my favorite silly images from this episode is this one.. Powder is being so adorable and Ekko is just scared out of his MIND. it's so silly.

In the Last drop, Powder asks Ekko. "What is up with you? You've been out of it all day?". One thing I noticed in my rewatch is that i think Powder is aware this Ekko isn't HER Ekko. This is just one instance of many that makes me think this.

This hideout seems so much more vibrant and loved, similar to Jinx's hideout after Isha. It's colorful. There are guard rails that I like to think was pushed by Vander. We can see Ekko's art scattered around. It just shows how much more support and family Powder has compared to Jinx, which i mention a lot.

Id also like to note Ekko being shocked au him went to powder for help. In his mind at this time he believes Jinx to be all that is left, no more Powder. Through out the episode we see that change.

Notice how Powder gets upset at Ekko in this scene. However, she doesn't react explosively like Jinx would've. She handled it in a way that shows she had support. She told him to leave instead. Again, the main difference between Powder and Jinx isn't only Vi but also the existence of multiple support systems that Jinx simply didn't have.

THIS FLASHBACK! Oh my god this flashback. The fact it happened after he upset Powder? I think it shows just how much he truly cares about Jinx/Powder. He remembers VIVIDLY the day that he thought he killed her. Jinx was his childhood best friend, and I don't think that kind of feeling ever truly goes away. He doesn't want to hurt any version of her, not even the alternate universe her. We see that showcased more later on. Also, random probably insane note. He is interrupted by small children playing, having fun. This isn't a coincidence, it shows he does miss the moments from when they were kids.

While talking with Heimerdinger, we see Ekko look at Powder multiple times. Watching her laugh and be expressive, he smiles. When she doesn't return it we see him get upset. Once more this brings me to my point that he doesn't want to hurt her. Considering he hasn't known this Powder very long you can see where I gather my point that he doesn't want to hurt her in GENERAL. Any version of her.

THIS SCENE!! He is such a bad liar it's adorable. This brings me to my earlier point, Powder knows what's up!! She suspects something 100%. He is talking about this dream her like it was real.

"You aren't the kind of person who helps other people with their projects. Your ideas change the world. I can't shake the feeling that that's who you're supposed to be."

Are you LISTENING TO THIS? He is obviously talking about Jinx. You can tell this by the first sentence because obviously Powder IS that kind of person. He's starting to see that Jinx is just a part of Powder, one that is unavoidable and that he unknowingly appreciates in a sense. Like two sides of one coin he can't see Powder without Jinx and that is good. I think it is here he realizes truly just how much he cares about Jinx.

This whole montage is beautiful but I want to zero in on two things. Powder's reaction to the notebook and how she looks at Ekko after. NOW THIS. This is the nail in the coffin for her. She knows that this is not her Ekko. She has fully gathered that he isn't from this universe.

Also heimerdinger totally knows how Ekko feels you cannot tell me otherwise. Pushing him to go to the party? yeah he knows what you are.

THIS WHOLE SCENE. I AM NOT ANALYZING THE WHOLE THING HERE BUT IT IS GORGEOUS. I saw someone talking about how it was animated on 4's to signify the way Ekko can only go back 4 seconds and I honestly shed a tear. THE SONG TOO? I encourage everyone to look at the lyrics because they're beautiful.

Okay now for my favorite part of this episode so much to dissect and i'm totally going to mansplain but yk..

"I used to dream the undercity could be like this" — That sets the tone for the whole conversation and just what world he is talking about. The canon one.

"But somewhere, I got consumed by all the ways it wasn't. I gave up on it. Gave up on YOU." — Heavy emphasis on this line. Once more he is talking about Jinx. He is talking about how he got so consumed by the way that Jinx wasn't good, and he gave up on her. Believed she was irredeemable. Powder showed him that Jinx is capable of love and happiness, it's just under that tough protective shell. The undercity in the metaphor is Jinx, from my interpretation.

"I promise i'll never forget this." — Now time for my insanity. He doesn't forget this. That's why he saves Jinx from ending her life in the first place. He remembers Powder and knows that with the right support Jinx doesn't have to be the way she is. It's not that she "needs to be fixed" she just needs to be LOVED, like Powder. He sees that now. He sees how in the au the love that everyone shares for one another shaped the undercity beautifully, and made everyone in it much healthier mentally despite going through hardships. That is beautiful. People with mental illness are not unlovable they just need more support, it can't be cured, or fixed just healed. Mental illness is always there it is how you DEAL with it that matters.

Nothing too major to talk about with the kiss. It's sweet I love it, but nothing too notable for me to say about it.

Finally, Ekko leaves the au. I have seen people say that this is a sacrifice, he could've had everything he wanted and he gave it up to save the people at home. But i take insanity to another level. I see this as him appreciating his home. He knows he can never truly love this Powder because she isn't the version he fell in love with. He learned to appreciate Jinx even through her flaws, and that while this world has everything he could want and more he can have that home too.

I am experiencing HEAVY timebomb brainrot if you can’t already tell. I was tired of people taking things in the complete wrong way with this episode, if anyone has different views pls tell me I love hearing how other people took certain scenes. there are a few scenes I love but I would’ve made this post way too long..

[rootspiral]

Agatha All Along deep dive: episode 5 part 2

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][+1] ep5 [1][2][3][4])

I was so looking forward to brighten this particular scene, it's the darkest yet and it's such a beautiful one it's a pity to miss even one detail

oh no lilia stop being so cute????

have you ever seen jen with a bigger smile? and she's quiet as usual, it's almost like more than the ride she's enjoying how much fun her friends are having. especially lilia, those two have been forming a bond that is equal parts bickering and a growing respect

I'm just glad alice had this moment of pure unadulterated joy before it came all crashing down

agatha is very, very quiet. despite never letting herself feel anything freely, she takes a moment to close her eyes and enjoy the beauty of it all

she looks back at rio, so sensual and confident

how can kathryn hahn convey so much with so little time? her breath catches at her sight. and then worry and fear take hold and she gives the tiniest shake of her head, as if she's forbidding herself to entertain any kind of thought about rio. she looks away. the blood moon behind her spells disaster

meanwhile billy is that kid who has the time of his life hanging out with the teachers during a field trip

I want to personally thank aubrey plaza for every acting choice she made as rio, but ESPECIALLY for this witchy laugh

(I just brightened the salem seven witch vomiting bees and it's actually pretty impressive! but I don't want to trigger any insect haters around here) (I love insects though so please talk to me about spiders if you want)

they couldn't get a good look at the cabin before rushing in and I couldn't either until now, do we know if it's something from Agatha's past? did she use to live there?

I'm salty that alice had to die in these stupid clothes

So. I think this trial is the most fucked up and humiliating yet. Billy knew nothing about jen except superficial facts, so he put her in a scenario that matched her work aesthetic, more of a personal insult than a wake up call (compare it with the broom lilia just made for her: roots and flowers, something that speaks about jen's work, beliefs and traditions.)

Alice's trial was entirely based on lorna, we know billy is a big fan so he ran with that concept creating something that really shook alice, and not in a good way. she was forced to sit in her dead mom's house and wear her clothes for god's sake. she took it as the Road wanting to teach her a lesson, when it was just a teenager with the grace and subtlety of a newborn puppy.

Now, agatha. billy doesn't know a thing about her because she's private to the point of paranoia. he has gathered that there's something in her past about a dead child and that's probably what makes her grumpy, so he... tried to make her talk to nicky. with a fuking oujia board. Despite having had his share of shock and trauma billy inevitably has a kid's point of view re: death, and even more so because he's functionally immortal. death is something that happens to other people, or far far away in the future. he thinks he's giving agatha much needed therapy, when he actually put a grown woman in child's clothes and made her relive her traumas for everyone to see.

btw I'm not in any way saying that the trials are bad writing. they are brilliant writing. they're just tragic and fucked up behind the funny exterior, just like agatha herself. sorry for the rant.

I mean I wouldn't be opposed to that. we could put billy back in a closet for a little while and get down and dirty with it. and ooh there's a little leaf on rio's shirt, I hadn't noticed it!

jen's retainer always SENDS me

agatha's face when she realizes it's her trial

agatha is irrevocably, eternally linked with death in all its forms

looks like rio is playing along and setting the scene, but she's also doing something more subtle that only agatha understands: she's provoking her, and it's becoming more personal and hurtful. she's testing and punishing more than she used to. she is growing angrier.

agatha wants to tell rio to fuck off but knows she deserves it. agatha is NOT happy to be in this trial for reasons that go beyond what everyone present (except rio) assumes, but she'll bite the inside of her cheeks until they bleed before she shows any of it

the way he says it with a straight face too (again, NO PUN INTENDED. forgive me joe, I would never)

oh great alice has only thirty minutes to live

everyone looks worried and on their guard, rio has her whole knife out, playing along. agatha is STILL trying to look cool and casual, it's painful to watch. girl is panicking, hard

meanwhile billy is always bringing a whole different energy, he's playing and having fun! think back to the second episode when they met lilia and then jen and alice for the first time. billy had no clue about the tension, the fear and hate between them and agatha. right now he's still more excited than scared. he's about to have a rude awakening.

do not taunt the spirits, AGATHA.

lmaooo. this motherfucker.

another moment when billy sounds chillingly cruel. being jigsaw without realizing it

I'm not pointing it out every time but whenever agatha does this with her arms she's really, really really nervous

what does agatha do when she's scared or overwhelmed? she puts on a show. like clockwork. and rio has already guessed what's about to happen

I really want to continue this so there will be more later today, stay tuned!

go to episode 5 part 3

[isatling-husbandry-guide]

Hello!

Some friends of mine recently stumbled upon what they believe is a “weird” variant of a Siffrin however I’m pretty sure it’s not. It’s a lot more aggressive compared to a normal Siffrin (Even one that’s been neglected) and also appears completely lightless for some reason? It also sometimes has this very weird shade on it as well?

I’ve tried looking into it but have reached a dead end and what little information I could find sounds like those “scary” stories kids would tell.

I’m just worried that if this is another species it won’t get the proper care it needs or if it truly is a Siffrin it’s previous owner didn’t care for it like at all and it’s extremely sick (We do have a doctors appointment scheduled for them at the end of the week).

Any ideas? Closest I’ve gotten is seeing the name “Mal Du Pays” thrown around on the forms but no real information or anything to confirm or deny it sadly.

Information on Mal Du Pays is pretty scarce depending on your area- though they’re not an absolute myth like some people believe. They’re invasive & incredibly destructive, and are difficult to spot if you don’t know when and what to look for. Mal Du Pays are characterized by their fully lightless appearance, sudden switches in behavior, whispers and laughter, and their single unblinking spiral eye.

They may also have an unusual shade that can cause headaches. Current theories about this align with “Colour Theory”, and it is believed that Mal Du Pays holds the ability to show colour as a means for self defense, or to signal danger to other Isatlings. Some caretakers report that when they’re stressed (such as during exams, hospital treatments, family losses, and so on), their Mal Du Pays will show colour until the stress passes.

pictured: mal du pays, eating.

It doesn’t help their reputation that Mal Du Pays are difficult species that, unlike Loops, don’t really get “easier” to handle with time, thus making them rather unpopular. They’re aggressive, escape easily, and spend most of their time standing still or resting, giving them the unfortunate reputation of “boring and irritating”. These features also can be pretty scary to many people, which is where so many of those myths and horror stories come from.

Despite this, Mal Du Pays- like any other Isatling- make wonderful companions. With a patient and attentive caretaker, a Mal Du Pays will be passive much more often than they are aggressive. They like to hide in dark corners and crevices, or curled up in your pocket. They can be very playful if attached to their caretaker; they greatly enjoy having things to destroy with their dagger (food & wood chips are particular favorites), are fond of curling up in places their caretaker frequents (your pillow, favorite chair, laptop, etc), and benefit from stargazing.

Mal Du Pays are also semi-aquatic! They’re a bit frog like sometimes, enjoying being spritzed with water and swimming/sitting in water dishes or ice baths, and require saltwater somewhere in their enclosure. Their diet consists of high-sugar foods and raw seafood. (You may notice your Mal Du Pays does not have a mouth- so how do they eat? Scholars are still debating about this: please give them more time to research.)

There’s some debate on what catagory Mal Du Pays fits into, making it tricky to know for sure what works best for your Mal Du Pays. Planetariums in particular have a lot of information on them, so I suggest you check with your local one, or any online.

[pinkcaraz]

ok short summary of things taylor talked about during his just chatting portion of the stream (11/27/24). i definitely missed some stuff bc his stream was super quiet and i was doing other stuff but yea i summarized most of the points. also i left out a few parts about details on league since i didn't rly think anyone would care that much about it LOL.

taylor got home 5 days ago, had training today, will probs start hitting tmr, said he should have maybe taken more days off

he saw the novandy news, said it'll be super nice to have andy back and that he was def not expecting it

he hasn't finished arcane yet, he's waiting for morgan to watch it together

he bought a custom (?) cloud pendant (i think from an anime i'm not sure) for a chain

talking about watching faker at worlds and how insane it is bc he could see his screen and see that he was tabbing around watching all the different perspectives

wants caedrel to coach him LOL told chat to spam him to coach him in league

scuffed stream 😭 he's fumbling w his mic and facecam

he said hes former top 100 NA fifa player, said team italy should have invited them so he could smoke them at fifa LMAO

got asked why does he take off left shoe during breaks? theres a spot that hurts when he slides around so taking his shoe off to let it chill helps relieve the pain

jealous of jannik and iga for being able to slide into backhands (he was more specific about the type of shot but i missed it)

bragging about his win rate in league (again)

talking about frances' serve time violations in shanghai thought the first 2 calls of time violation were bs, but def thought the one where he faked the ball toss was valid

said he'd answer controversial tennis questions LOL

got asked why sour cream and guac? bc he doesn't like spicy that much

london airbnb incident - they booked the airbnb the day before they got there, he thought the people trying to rob the airbnb probs thought they weren't there, morgan noticed sketchy people walking up to the door in the middle of the night, he tried to bolt the door but there wasn't a bolt so he held it shut w his body, he had his racket w him and said he would have hit the intruders w a slice forehand if they got in LMAO

thoughts on racket smashing - thinks it's entertaining, ok if not putting others in danger/at risk, thinks it's entertaining for people/fans to see, somewhat humanizing effect on the player, not healthy to keep anger in, don't do it on grass tho bc it ruins the court

talking about his match v daniil - thought that one game was funny but didn't think he was intentionally throwing the match

tommy and frances playing mind games by overcomplimenting their opponent (thinking about the laver cup fed '05 moment)

hits ohbhs in practice sometimes bc he thinks his "one-y" is unbelievable, rule is he's allowed to hit it until he hits a bad one then goes back to normal

any profits he gets from the stream will go to charity ! he's interested in donating to things that help kids

players don't pay for hotels while they're in tournaments but pay for everything else

thinks michael (his coach) should def win best coach, sportsmanship award will probs go to carlos or casper

thinks most improved award should consider older players more like draper, popyrin, musetti, himself, also jasmine paolini, etc. bc it's more impressive when older players improve compared to younger guys who have more time - for ex, gmp improved a lot this yr in ranking bc he was alrdy good and finally got time to actually play to raise his ranking

preference on armstrong vs ashe - more of a preference about which times to play, armstrong has better times for him

can go through like 5 pairs of shoes during a hard court major bc of all the sliding around

said he heard a lot of positive feedback about the wta finals from the players - players were taken care of well, knows that the previous wta finals tournaments have been rough

was gonna go to usc for college if he went to college, he verbally committed to usc, but didn't really plan on going to college

taylor bought and had flowers sent to morgan in LA

said watching worlds was super sick and he thought the opening ceremony was amazing, gumayushi's pose went hard

he doesn't save vods bc he doesn't want people to clip stuff and pull stuff he said, said he feels it allows him to be more authentic on stream

slkjhfajkf he talked about the liking a homophobic tweet on accident and said he freaked out bc he was having a chill no phone day and when he went to check socmed he was like "omg i'm canceled" IM DEAD

favorite league character to play rn is viego, he wins a lot of games on him

thinks the tennis calendar should def be shorter

[derangedfujoshi]

this is a sincere good faith question from a kodocon, since i saw you talking about it on here (and please feel free to not answer if you feel uncomfortable with it obviously). what’s wrong with the term fictopedophile? i thought that pedophilia was just another paraphilia and didn’t equal child abuse… is it a matter of wrongly assuming attraction in kodocons or something else??? i genuinely thought it was a good term because it implied attraction to fictional children so im really curious as to why it’s problematic

It doesn't exist.

The problem is that it doesn't exist and that people love pathologising everything and making shit up.

You CANNOT be a fictopedophile because there are no real kids in fiction so you are not a real pedo either. It's insulting to even try and equate fictional characters with real kids and on top of that paraphilias aren't even that common. Yeah I know that a lot of people on here seem to have them, with all due respect I doubt they do but they can keep on believing this for all I care since it doesn't hurt anyone, but the fact remains that compared to the global population they are a very low percentage. Also, saying that everyone who enjoys loli/shota/kodo content has a paraphilia (that doesn't exist, fictiopedophilia doesn't exist) is BONKERS because not only it operates under the incorrect assumption that all of them actually feel attraction towards the characters, but it's also trying to -not very subtly- throw a lot of people under the "pedo" bus. They just slapped the word "ficto" in front to try and pathologise/sound like they weren't actually calling us pedos and whilst is true that pedophilia doesn't immediately equate to child abuse it is a VERY serious accusation and an EXTREMELY delicate matter and to accuse a whole bunch of people of being a "light fictional version" of it is simply a masked anti's rhetoric.

So no, it's not a good term because it doesn't exist, you cannot be a fictopedophile in the same way you cannot be a fictocannibal. You enjoying those things in fiction doesn't make you a ficto anything and believing that is actually conceding ground to antis and their crazy rethoric.

Because first they will throw around the word fictopedophile -> people will use it and call themselves that -> they will subsequently remove the "ficto" in front and say that people are already admitting to being pedos so they were right all along.

Do not fall for this. If you do not hunger for real human flesh you are not a cannibal. If you do not find real kids attractive you are not a pedophile and since fiction isn't reality on a 1:1 scale you are not and cannot be a fictional one either.

[megpie71]

This bill is an example of the politician's syllogism:

Something must be done

This is something

Therefore, this must be done

It isn't going to actually solve any problems; it is primarily intended to kick the can down the road for another twelve months to the other side of the election, and was rushed through in order for the two major parties to be able to say they were "doing something" about the problem of kids being affected poorly by online content.

It isn't the creation of a whole new law - it's an amendment to an existing law - the Online Safety Act of 2021. It defines "social media" incredibly broadly:

"(1) For the purposes of this Act, age-restricted social media platform means: (a) an electronic service that satisfies the following conditions: (i) the sole purpose, or a significant purpose, of the service is to enable online social interaction between 2 or more end-users; (ii) the service allows end-users to link to, or interact with, some or all of the other end-users; (iii) the service allows end-users to post material on the service; (iv) such other conditions (if any) as are set out in the legislative rules; or (b) an electronic service specified in the legislative rules; but does not include a service mentioned in subsection (6). Note 1: Online social interaction does not include (for example) online business interaction Note 2: An age-restricted social media platform may be, but is not necessarily a social media service under section 13."

"(3) In determining whether the condition set out in subparagraph (1)(a)(i) is satisfied, disregard any of the following purposes: (a) the provision of advertising material on the service; (b) the generation of revenue from the provision of advertising material on the service."

(or in other words: no, having most of your content be advertising doesn't mean your site isn't a social media site).

(6) An electronic service is not an age-restricted social media platform if : (a) none of the material on the service is accessible to, or delivered to, one or more end-users in Australia; or (b) the service is specified in the legislative rules.

There's some interesting bits in section 63D about the kinds of information these platforms may or may not collect and why they're allowed to collect it. Basically, one of the rules is they're not allowed to collect information for the purposes of complying with this legislation; they're not allowed to collect government-issued identification material (birth certificates, drivers licenses, medicare numbers, tax file numbers, government issued digital IDs etc etc etc) for the purposes of complying with the legislation. Oh, and if they can prove there are no reasonable steps they can take to comply with the legislation, the rules don't apply to them.

Information collection in order to comply with this legislation also has to comply with the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1988 (which basically specifies the information collected and stored has to be the minimum amount possible; only relevant to the questions being asked - so for example, they can't ask for information which isn't related to your date of birth in order to verify your age; has to be stored securely; has to be available for you to view if you request it; can only be stored for as long as is needed to serve the purpose for which it was supplied; and has to be destroyed completely when you revoke your consent to the collecting entity holding onto it). Or in other words: all these American social media firms have just put their hands up to be governed by Australian privacy law, which, while a bit long in the tooth and desperately in need of a revamping and tightening up for the digital age, is still a bit more vicious than US privacy law.

Plus, the whole thing has to be reviewed after two years.

Here's hoping the US social media firms don't just look at the comparatively tiny size of the Australian market (we're still less than 30 million people) and decide geo-blocking our IPs is the quicker and easier fix.

Australian Social Media News

Australia has passed a law that bans anyone under age 16 from using social media starting late 2025, fining tech companies up to A$49.5M for non-compliance. While intending to address mental health concerns in kids and teenagers, the law raises significant risks for privacy, digital access, and the freedom of expression, raising questions about the boundaries of digital censorship.

With that being said, we don’t expect this decision to affect the OTW or any of its projects, including AO3. However, as the OTW, we are against all forms of censorship and will be releasing a detailed statement about the matter soon.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/australia-passes-social-media-ban-children-under-16-2024-11-28/

[amuseoffyre]

Fyre's convention adventures - Day 3 - Con O'Neill's Fanmeet

My final meet of the event was Con’s, immediately after the joyful chaos of his panel with Rhys.

Forewarning, this one contains some details of animal harm that happened to his pet before he got him.

He barely had sat down when someone asked if he’d been Whammed already and the look of feigned shock and “that’s none of your business!” set the tone of the thing :D He also told us in his best encouraging voice "You can be whammed as much as you like and don't let the right wing tell you otherwise!"

And also led into a discussion about whether it was Wham! or whether it was George Michael’s solo for Last Christmas and he had to sheepishly back down after a minute and admit, no, it was Wham, definitely Wham.

And of course, I had to bring up accent stuff and asked how it felt to actually be able to use his own accent, given how rarely northern English accents show up in media made elsewhere. He said it was a delight to be able to bring a bit of Wigan to the production.

He also talked about his drama teacher when he was a kid (who he did not name because she doesn’t deserve that respect) who – when he was sixteen – told him he would never be a successful actor because he had a weird voice. There was apparently a recent review for The Penguin series that someone said he had the coolest voice and he thought that was a lovely fuck you to that malignant boot.

He made a beautiful point that if you’re a teacher, especially a teacher in a creative field, you have a duty to be encouraging. Not talking BS about how everyone will be famous, he said, but realistic, supporting and encouraging the kids, because “we know it’s hard. We don’t need to be told it’s hard. We know, but when it’s good, it’s fucking amazing”. He also mentioned that it’s come so far from the days of RP everywhere.

I said it was definitely how I felt about seeing Buttons as well – having a working class Edinburgh accent, something that so many people have never heard. He was so happy to talk about how fantastic Ewen Bremner is as an actor (“even if I can’t understand anything he’s saying”) and that he saw him in the original run of the Trainspotting stage production in the 90s when Ewen played Renton, several years before the film happened.

It was surreal, he said, to have seen this incredible actor on stage and thirty years later, to be sharing the screen with him as Buttons (“and still not understanding a word he was saying!”) and that Ewen is genuinely one of the best actors he knows and that he’s also the best kind of people.

Someone asked about how they did the seagull stuff with Buttons and he told us about Jonathan, the gull on a string, but in the shots when they didn’t have the camera on Buttons, Ewen wore a stuffed seagull on his head to maintain the right eyelines. He had to admit it was quite challenging to keep his face straight when filming because when Ewen spoke, the plushie gull was jiggling on his head XD

And then, of course, he broke our hearts by telling us about how he and his husband adopted Cooper, their wee doggo.

Their previous dog had passed and they’d been adamant they weren’t going to adopt again because it fully broke their hearts when he died, but someone sent Con a picture of a dog in a shelter in Hungary, saying “does this remind you of anyone?” and it was the spitting image of their previous dog. They got a bit emotional about it and after a few days of trying to hold off, they called the shelter.

Cooper had already been adopted – in London – but it wasn’t working out, so they got in touch with the current owners and planned to go down and meet them. The first time Cooper saw them, he started barking excitedly and things only escalated :D

They took Cooper off for a walk to see how they got on, then got so distracted comparing selfies, that Cooper trotted off and they were so panicked about losing him that they rushed back to tell the current owners, only Cooper was there, patiently waiting on the step and ecstatically started barking when he saw them coming again.

So they go in and Con said he took one of the ladies aside to find out why the adoption hadn’t worked, because they needed to know why in case it was major behavioural things that needed work. She said that the dog was incapable of love or connecting with people. And Con, looking beyond her shoulder, could see his husband on the floor, dog on his chest, wagging his tail so enthusiastically his whole body was wagging, licking Con’s husband all over his face. Con be like MMHM. Sounds like a skills issue ;)

So they took him home but got a bit concerned when he had a tendency to bite and latch on if people touched his ears or ribs. Turned out Cooper had been horribly abused in Hungary: tattoos on his ear, broken ribs, cigarette burns and surgery without anaesthetic. They were worried it could be a problem because they have young grandkids.

Still, they decided do the trial adoption and see how he got on – usually, he said, the trial is for a week or two, then the dog returns to the original adopters and then the paperwork is done. They never saw the original adopters again.

And while they were still concerned about the biting, Con had to go away for work for a few weeks, so they got a dog-sitter in to look after Cooper. When Con returned, he said Cooper crawled along the floor of the hall on his belly to Con, head and ears down, then crawled all the way up under his shirt, curling up against his chest, trembling and whimpering. The dogsitter – who is some kind of pet psychologist as well – said it was because he’s been abandoned and dumped so many times, he didn’t know they were coming back.

Con: right that second, I decided fuck the grandkids, we’re keeping him.

And now, Cooper is so happy and safe and loved and safe :)

There was one other question but I can’t recall what it was now. It was such a lovely chat and he is genuinely such a lovely, warm, funny guy.

[gaywineauntsstuff]

YALL DONT UNDERSTAND

My favorite part of Bruce and Dicks relationship isn’t the unending loyalty and devotion and the self assured destruction of loving a man who hates himself on Dicks part and using an eternally flying man as a your stable ground on Bruce’s part

It’s not the adoration that feels like shackles or the unending trust that feels like raking hot coals over your back

It’s the fact that Dick Grayson will always love Bruce Wayne

And also

Always want to kick the absolute shit out of him

Violently

Like Dick has pent up rage and we see him lash out at people but almost never has he ever attacked any loved ones physically with the exception of Roy Harper after the women who they both loved more than life itself passed.

But with Bruce?

Yeah no

Dick not only hits to hurt

He hits with the aim of getting Bruce down and keeping him there.

It feels like vindication to him

He borderline revels in it

I mean look at the hits he landed during the Gotham War run or Forever Evil/Spyral

And then there’s Bruce

Who knows

Because he is not an idiot

And he knows he fucked up with Dick more than the rest as Robin (nothing can really compare to how he treats Jason as the red hood)

But do you think Batman feels guilt over the fact that Dick HAS this much rage and bitterness over the things Bruce has done

Like Dick in unendingly Kind and forgiving but he’s also and pardon my French, a dick (lowercase) so he absolutely holds resentment over the stuff Bruce did to him even if it’s water under the bridge in his day to day

But he’s still mad

He’s still mad over the loss of Robin

The gauntlet

The death of Jason Todd

The court of the owls

The reveal of Damian Wayne

The fact that Dick had to be Batman

The fact that Bruce died

The fact that Bruce told Dick he never should’ve been Batman

The fact that dick had to continue the cycle of orphans raising orphans

(no he doesn’t count Talia as a parent cuz then he’d have to view her as human and human life has value and in his opinion she has no value and should go find a nice comfy corner to die in like an old cat)

The fact that he was basically pushed into a pseudo father role with all the kids past Jason

Letting him kill the Joker

Bringing the joker back to life

Damian’s death

Steph’s fake death

Spyral

Losing his memories and leaving Dick alone at spyral

Showing Dick a video of him getting shot in the head when he’s mentally a 12 year old and also an amnesiac

And about 6 million other heart wrenching things

So yeah Dick hits to hurt and those times where Bruce has lost control (mind control, clone, fight etc) and Dick has Carte Blanche to cause harm to Bruce

He

Does

[fifiophobia]

Thinking about how in season 2 Jinx unintentionally became a motherly/sister figure to both Zaun and Isha in a sort of mythical/religious way whether she liked it or not.

She has followers who create paintings in her name, she has people who name themselves after her and even dye their hair blue out of respect and awe for her. The paintings and murals depicting her seem to indicate that she’s seen as a powerful, and protective force in Zaun, rather than a lonely, broken young woman.

I know we often (understandably) compare Viktor to Jesus, but I think this sort of religious symbolism applies to Jinx via her parallels to the Mother Goddess concept seen throughout many cultures.

She’s an icon, a figure seen as comforting to some an horrifying to others.

These traits combined with her chaotic and vengeful side seems to align more with Mesopotamian Goddess Tiamat and the Hindu Goddess Kali. I’m especially interested in the parallels between Kali and Jinx because of how story of Kali parallels Jinx’s origin story.

(Major disclaimer, I’m not an expert in Hinduism. I did my best with research but if anyone whose Hindu comes across this post and sees any inaccuracies please let me know so I can correct them).

For context, Kali is a Mother Goddess associated with chaos, destruction, time, sexuality, and protection towards her children. Despite this descriptor, she’s not necessarily evil or good. She’s an embodiment of the motherly half of nature. Kali was created from Kaushiki/Parvati/Durga’s wrath during the war against Rakthbija. For anyone unfamiliar, the reason I put Parvati/Durga together is because they’re incarnations of the same being, but are still considered beings at once. Basically they’re all the same Goddess who manifested from one another, yet at the same time they're all different Goddesses.

(Source): Chakravarty, Saumitra. Kali, Untamed Goddess Power and Unleashed Sexuality, 13 Jan. 2017, core.ac.uk/download/pdf/268086184.pdf.

But what does this have to do with Jinx?

Jinx is to Kali, as Powder is to Durga and Parvati. Not in the sense that Powder was motherly as a kid, but in the sense of two beings that are both the same and different entity at once. Granted for Jinx it’s a bit different as she’s not a literal Goddess who incarnated into different/connected beings, but the “one being that’s two beings at once” thing applies metaphorical to the Jinx and Powder situation. Especially when Jinx came out due to a war similar to Kali being created from war, and like Kali, Jinx leans more towards being terrifying but is neither fully good or bad.

Some other similarities between Jinx and the Goddess Kali is the color/aesthetics they share. Both Kali and Jinx are associated with the colors blue and black, Jinx wears revealing clothes like Kali is sometimes depicted wearing, they both have long hair, and they’re both usually depicted as doing something terrifying to those around them.

Another thing I’d like to point out is that Isha is a Hindu name meaning “one who protects”. (Source: The Bump). Isha having a Hindu name along with Jinx taking her in and being violent towards anyone that tries to harm Isha feels reminiscent of how Kali showcases motherly wrath and is also said to be the embodiment of that with her kids.

With all these references to Hinduism, I’m still not sure if the Kali/Jinx parallels were intentional, but I do think it's interesting that Jinx becomes an allegorical cosmic mom to Zaun despite her darker sides similar to how Kali is a protective Mother Goddess with her darker sides.

On the topic of another iconic Mother Goddess, there’s Jinx’s (smaller) parallels with Mother Mary. To a lesser extent, there are some parallels between Mother Mary’s Sorrows and Jinx with the implication of Isha’s death possibly being foreshadowed in season 1 from this.

(I say possibly because it’s more likely than not the bunny was an allegory for how Powder saw Vi as a savior. Regardless, I think whether intentional or not this double meaning of the crucified bunny still fascinates me)

Of course there's also the association with blue both Jinx and Mary share, but as I said, Jinx has much more in common with Kali than Mary.

All of this to say it’s pretty ironic she becomes this sort of figure considering how she talks about Viktor and Janna in relation to their status as icons.

[deadlysoupy]

i cannot express just how grateful i am that the devs decided to make rook so unique, in almost all areas of the game

like, obviously it's not da origins level, because that was a miracle in of itself and might never be repeated, but it's still so commendable, especially if we fairly compare it to inquisition

because think about it. we get like, what, six or seven faction backgrounds that you get to choose, and then you get a special relationship with people inside that faction? are you fucking kidding me that's awesome. not only that, but we also get a background, we get to know what our rook did before the events of the game, and we can decide how they react to it. do they feel remorse? regret? freedom? sure, you may need to add a little bit of context yourself for some factions, but that's the fun part! you get to make a little guy and develop them in your head! you're building them in-game

not to mention the combat and skill system of the game. there're seven companions and they all have their classes, and you can pick between two styles of fighting (except for rogue i guess, kind of) and your spec ties into a faction. you feel very unique because you can just be whatever and no other companion will repeat after you (or you repeat after them)! isn't that neat!

compare that to inquisition. who tf is your inquisitor. they're literally just a Guy (gender neutral). when you pick a spec they're all the same as your companions. how is this in any way making my inquisitor stand out. they're just a vessel, an empty plot device. they walked into a room and people pushed them into being a religious leader. it literally could have been anyone else. the only interesting choice i remember from inquisition that actually made me remember that they're a person is when you talk with casssandra about whether or not you believe in god. that's it

you become a symbol in 1/3 of the game. you aren't a person, your decisions matter to the whole world now, and you can't be biased about it. the game wants you to be analytical, but it doesn't want me to act like my character, i'm basically playing a Build Your Own Empire simulator

so don't you even start telling me rook isn't interesting, or that they're nobody. they have a story, a pre-existing one, but a story nonetheless. just like hawke does. we're roleplaying a specific character, and if the game does most of the work - that's fine by me, i'll just fill in the gaps and make my rook feel richer and have interesting dynamics with the veilguard. if you can't imagine your rook in Situations, i'm so sorry for you, because i'm having so much fun with them

[the-way-astray]

oh i dislike him so, so, so, so much. so much

where's that saying about how you can drown in a puddle of water the same as you can drown in a lake? comparing traumas is low

god, could keefe be more contradictory? "i don't want your pity" he says, heaping ice-cream-scoop-level heaps of pity onto himself. will he stop wallowing for once in his life? he's such a hypocrite

fitz's life is not "pretty close" to perfect. especially not now. what the fuck keefe. why would you say that. why is the narrative letting you off the hoo- wait, it's keefe. i forgot

i love how keefe names off a bunch of people that he also has . . . he just only lays his concerns at sophie's feet and then turns around and acts like she's the only one in his life. shut. up

"you're still top of our class" bro you're second

"even without all of that, you're still a vacker" could he get any more tone-deaf. could he. could. could he

"i'll always be the mess" literally nobody thinks that except people that know him super well. remember, from the outside, keefe is a prankster rebellious cool kid bad boy that's almost top of his class. what the heck

god what a way to dump a ridiculous amount of pity on a character that claims he wants no pity. if he wanted no pity he would shut the fuck up. god i cannot stand this anymore . . . when will other characters get as much pity dumped on them as keefe does

keefe you idiot

[hyacinthsdiamonds]

Ted saying that no driver has had this level of attention on them since Michael Schumacher...

Gentlemen, a short view into the past; Max's debut season, his Red Bull debut, the literal rule changed as a result of his debut in the sport... oh and everyone and their mother calling Kimi Max 2.0 and Toto's second chance at signing debut!Max since he failed the first time around...

[mollysunder]

I wonder if the mural of Vander already existed and someone else painted Jinx into it after she became so well regarded?

I just feel like the portraits aren't that well integrated in theme. You have Vander's profile bordered in yellow flowers to represent friendship and joy. Then you have the more detailed painting of Jinx looming over Piltover exploding it with smoke bombs. Jinx is framed around doves while stylized into her latest attacks.

It feels like the artist(s) wanted to associate Jinx with Vander rather than the other way around because the actual subject of the Jinx's portion of the mural is Jinx violently provoking Piltover, but the nature of Jinx's portion is practically whitewashed to make it work with Vander's theme to the point Jinx is surrounded by DOVES. It might be an attempt to harmonize Jinx's persona with the ideals Vander left behind, which are the complete opposite of what Jinx is actually doing.

I think this is on purpose because Jinx is the most politically relevant member of her family now. Jinx is the one being valorized and venerated, and EVERYONE knows none of this would have been possible without Silco. Silco was the one who dedicated his resources to train Jinx and was openly anti-Piltovan to Jinx and the rest of Zaun.

I've seen some claims that Vander and Jinx are together because Vander was more beloved than Silco. But Silco never made it illegal to mourn or even celebrate Vander's memory. Silco allowed and a giant statue of Vander to be built in the middle if Zaun and he'd TALK to it.

But now Silco's dead and there are people running around in the background wearing Jinx's X and Silco's color scheme on their clothes. It feels like there's an ideological custody battle on behalf Silco and Vander through their supporters on who was Jinx's "true" father and gets the lions share of historical parental acclaim.

Tldr: The mural seems more like an effort to save face for Vander rather than bolster Jinx because Vander's actual values inexplicably lead his KNOWN favorite to becoming an enforcer. Meanwhile, everyone knows, especially Silco's supporters, that Silco's responsible for how Jinx turned out, and she's currently Zaun's favorite.

[ishikawayukis]

campus crush kinda vibe

[yourlocalguardian]

Yknow I know lot of people think the young therians mainly on tiktok who make masks and do a lot of quadrobics and wear their gear in public are cringe but like. As a bit older kinnie I remember how strong my instincts were when I was that age, how often and how strongly I had mental shifts, and the mental torture I went through my whole young life before I found out that there were other people like me because I felt like I was some sort of freak and didnt understand why I couldn’t just stop feeling the ways I did

Even if you think it’s cringe I know if I had had that community and that ability to engage with my creature-self at that age I would have felt so much better in myself, I wouldn’t have had the deep set self hatred I did for many years, and I think that’s extremely important. It’s extremely important that we don’t let the young members of our community experience that same pain that I and I’m sure others like me have felt

Also friendly reminder too that cringe culture is fucking stupid, if you’re not hurting yourself or anyone else you shouldn’t be shunned for doing what makes you happy. And that means you, person reading this, shouldn’t be the one to make them feel like they should be ashamed. If you feel like it’s cringe keep that to yourself and maybe do some self reflection on why you would think people doing a harmless activity that makes them happy would somehow be wrong. Cringing is a reflex, but that doesn’t mean you have to act upon it.

Additionally if you’re one of those people that’s against them because “they’re making us look bad”/“people won’t take us seriously because of them”. If people won’t accept us in the full extent of who we are then they would never be accepting of us in the first place. Acception when only in a watered down form is not true acception at all. 

[seven-stars-in-his-palm]

the thing i love about bill cipher is that even after i've learned all of this stuff about him, seen him at the most vulnerable he'll ever get, seen him at his most innocent, i still can't give a flying fuck about trying to justify his actions. yes he's traumatized, yes he was twisted into what we know today, and while it gives a semblance of context to why he did what he did, it doesn't matter. he still ruined ford's life. he still drove and baited multiple humans to suicide. he still tormented every human he saw as his ticket out of the consequences of his own actions. he still took delight in his actions. he was willing to commit genocide for fuck's sake!!! (freezing all of the humans into statues). trying to explain away what he did does not get rid of what he did, but it certainly puts it in perspective. you won't be catching me being a bill apologist any time soon <3