#but it's. it's the PARALLELS y'know.

[ace-and-ranty]

Really feeling some type of way that in the movie we have the successive moments of Elphaba seeing right through Galinda ("So you're offering to help someone you don't know, with talents you don't have" / "You couldn't care less. Although, I doubt that"), than seeing right through Fiyero ("Oh, please, no, you're not, otherwise you wouldn't be so miserable")....

...and then Galinda seeing right through Elphaba. ("Yes, she does. She just pretends she doesn't.")

[egophiliac]

like mother, like son, but less wholesome this time?

(I couldn't decide whether or not to put them together, so have them in all the different ways!)

[wandixx]

I've seen a lot of different takes on Fear Toxin/other fear causing stuff (Yellow Lanterns Ring or something)(later just called Fear Toxin cause I'm lazy) but here is another one.

Danny seems like he isn't affected by Fear Toxin because his biggest fear is that his accident changed him so much he is no longer human, he can no longer truly experience human things.

So when he gets lungful of fear Toxin, he feels normal. He was antsy before, because c'mon, it's a rogue attack but it's not worse. Or so he thought. Because the anxiety lingers. Not enough to register as abnormal just this slight hypervigilance that makes you see things about yourself and your surroundings that you'd never realize otherwise. He'd realize he doesn't blink as often. He'd realize that if he doesn't consciously focus, he sometimes seems to not touch the ground. Forgets to breathe. He can't feel his own pulse at time. He'd realize people will miss him when he's walking down the street as if he was invisible (people just don't care about everyone they pass by). When he'd look straight into his reflection, he'd look slightly to the left. Not enough to actually name anything that was wrong but just stretched enough to fall on the wrong side of the uncanny valley. If he just caught his reflection in the peripheral vision, it'd be vaguely shadowy creature with glowing green eyes and white smoke instead of hair. Overall he'd be just wrong enough to be distinctly not human.

For everyone else, he'd be just a dude. Literally couldn't find more normal dude than this dude. Will pass as absolutely normal human unless someone is specifically looking for ecto-ghost stuff. Even most magic users wouldn't clock him at the glance

Tldr: Fear Toxin makes Danny perceive himself as some sort of eldritch horror but not enough to make him believe he'd actually be affected, while from outside perspective he's Just A Dude™

[neversetyoufree]

I cannot be the first person to point this out, but I never quite processed until now just how much the "cracks" spreading out from Luna's Mark on Vanitas resemble Altus's sky.

We know the spreading cracks from Luna's Mark are related to how Vanitas is being rewritten, and we know that Altus's existence traces back to the rewriting of the World Formula during the Babel incident, so it seems like this cracking effect is caused by Formula alterations. But in what context? We see lots of formula rewriting in this series, including some pretty massive revisions in Gévaudan, and I can't find or recall any other instance of reality cracking into spiderwebs like this.

Vanitas's Mark contains the power of The Vampire of the Blue Moon, and Altus's cracks center on its moon, so maybe that has something to do with it? Or perhaps it's a sign of a rewriting's instability, since from what we see with Misha, becoming "something else" as a result of the Mark is not a good or stable state of being for the blue moon boys.

In any case, there's no real way to know what's up with this right now, but this connection has been haunting me since I finally caught it this week.

[thomas-the-goat-of-satan]

you're ugly when you act like that.

[fastdrawfarmboy]

Headcanoning both sets of Pines twins as trans has so much angst potential because like imagine being Stan Pines, a man who was so close with his twin brother they chose matching names, and almost thirty years after losing your brother and desperately fighting to bring him back you meet your grand niece and nephew, Mabel and Mason Pines, a set of twins who, just like you and your brother chose their own names and who, just like you and your brother, chose matching ones.

[braceletofteeth]

I have to leave with you.

Are you alright? I'm here.

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

There are two wolves inside of me. One headcanons Marcy as a lesbian because of her obsessive, possessive and codependent tendencies with her friends. The other headcanons her as aroace. Because of her obsessive, possessive and codependent tendencies with her friends

[shaylogic]

[raayllum]

I always thought that it was interesting that the kids relinquished and then reclaimed their Gifts of Sacrifice / worthy Gifts to Rex Igneous in 4x08 for a few reasons. The fact that Ez and Rayla were both sacrificing something linked to their fathers, whereas Callum was sacrificing something linked to magic (he doesn't even refer to Ibis at all) made sense given the context, as well as Rayla being the one to step forward first to sacrifice.

I figured it would be set up at least in terms of relationships / character arc but now I'm wondering if the foreshadowing is going to be more than that.

Rayla sacrificing herself first in S7 in some manner would track, even if she's no longer sacrificing her family the way she did before (4x09, 5x01, 5x04, 6x01, 6x05). Callum sacrificing himself after she does, particularly if it's for her in some manner, would also track; his primal staff represents forgiveness and opportunity for magic "in spite of everything wrong humans have done with it". Presumably, he's going to sacrifice primal magic for himself in exchange for doing dark magic again. And Ezran, whose crown is made of his father's sword but reminds him that "strength isn't always about war and fighting" gives up his crown / that symbol and that lesson.

Rayla will have to give up being an assassin (her swords); Callum will have to relinquish primal magic, at least temporarily; Ezran will have to give up his anger over his father.

But then they all reclaim it, right? Rayla gets her swords and the fathers they represent back, and she'll use her swords to be a protector rather than an assassin. Callum gets his staff back and will usher in a new age of magic for humankind. Ezran takes his crown and his lesson back, the same way he'll get his love for Harrow and his family back in a way that lets him break the cycle.

Maybe it won't be in the direct order of 4x08 ("gifts of sacrifice... we offered gifts that meant a lot to us") in how/when they sacrifice things in S7, for ex I could see Ezran actually going first depending on how stuff with Runaan is paced, but I think we'll see something remiscient anyway.

[illusion-of-sea-axes]

hi your anacon-kai au art is rewiring my brain chemistry its so good UAWOUHAOWU <3

Thank you! Snake man is so fun to draw. He makes the art monkey that lives in my brain go crazy.

Here's a lil moment between Anacon-Kai and Sensei Garmadon that I thought of earlier.

[inke-ri]

So I couldn't help but browse the THG tag bc those books own my whole heart. I actually check it now and again, and it's been interesting see how opinions have changed over the years, especially in regards to Gale and Peeta. Going through the evolution of them as just potential love interests to being far more complex than I could have expected has been a wild ride. Crazy how this reads different than from when I was a preteen.

That said, I wanted to give my unsolicited two cents on my boys, because though I have been enjoying the discussion on Peeta and Gale and what they mean to the story, I also feel like reducing them to Peeta = peace and Gale = war is far too simplistic... and oftentimes unfair to one or both of them.

See, I don't think Peeta and Gale are peace and war/destruction. They're compassion and indignation.

Peeta worries about the other tributes, or their families, or how to repay people like Rue and Thresh for what they did.

Gale is indignation at how the Capitol treats its citizens, it's anger at the injustice of inequality and brutality.

Both are needed in a story like THG. You can't have people like even Peeta not say something like "maybe we're wrong about keeping things quiet in the districts", you can't have him not drop the baby bomb, you can't start a revolution without Gale's indignation at the status quo. At deserving a better life but being denied it, at having your kids be mercilessly killed for literal sport.

However, if you start a rebellion and loose sight of your compassion, you end up no better than the people you're fighting against. Gale wasn't a bad person, imo. His heart was in the right place. He was flawed, yes, but so is everyone in this series. Gale, most importantly, lost sight of the line between fighting for the people he cared about and fighting against the people who hurt him.

Reducing Gale's indignation to just revenge and hatred ignores so much of what he stands for. Who hasn't seen laws passed that dehumanize people, who hasn't been angry and furious when someone is elected who fundamentally hates everything you are, who doesn't think some people need to pay for the atrocities they committed? There's a little bit of Gale in every single one of us - and it's important that it's there, because that's what gives us strength to challenge the status quo and make life better for the future generations.

But. You can't let it take over. You can't loose sight of your compassion or your empathy.

That's where Peeta comes in. Peeta is the voice in your head that worries about how many good lives will be lost when they give themselves up for this cause. Peeta is the worry about the people caught in the crossfire. Peeta is rebuilding when it's over and believing that the next generation will have a better life than your own. Peeta is being kind, even to people who may not deserve it.

And Gale... Gale looses sight of his compassion, and he doesn't realize it until it smacks him in the face when the bombs go off and Prim is gone and he's too far gone. Meanwhile, Peeta advocates for the end of the war even though it means the status quo remains - and regardless of what he believes himself, I don't think Suzanne chose him to say those lines by chance. It means both mindsets have their flaws: too kind and things that shouldn't remain will never be challenged and changed, too angry and you may loose sight of what you're fighting for.

And that's just how Suzanne uses her characters, both of them, all of them. Just look at who is with Katniss depending on the situation:

- Katniss chooses to "rebel" after Gale is brutally whipped. She kisses him.

- Katniss realizes that in order for D12 to rebel, everyone would need to be in on it, and she realizes most of them are not like her, that they're scared and she understands, emphasises with them. Peeta walks by her side.

- Katniss finally does it though, shoots the arrow at the force field, and Peeta is taken from her, it's now Gale by her side.

(You can't start a rebellion without indignation, and sometimes you HAVE to do it or things will never change, regardless of the inevitable pain that will come along.)

- Katniss is righteously angry at the Capitol bombing a hospital full of innocents to make a point. Gale remains there.

- Coin twists people's compassion into an army to fight for her own personal gain. Peeta is hijacked and looses his sense of self.

- Katniss and Gale go to District 2 and even though she tries to be like Peeta, she's still shot- reinforcing Gale's views, the person who was with her during that sequence.

- Katniss is angry at Snow, Katniss goes to the Capitol to kill him. Gale is there.

- Katniss gets in way over her head and realizes she is responsible for the death of most of her squad. She shares the lamb stew with Peeta, and later cleans his wounds.

- Finnick dies and she's at her lowest up until that point and all she wants to do is give up and give in to the anger. She kisses Peeta and begs him to stay with her.

... Claiming that Gale is destruction ignores the fact that he's with Katniss through her own moments of strength. Her desire to change things, to fight back, is as important as her compassion. Mockingjay just brutally shows you what war does to your indignation, to your compassion. How easy it is to cross a line between righteous anger and revenge, or how your sense of empathy and compassion can be manipulated into something monstrous by others, or by all the terrible, brutal, painful things you see.

How easy it is to loose yourself- and that goes for both of them.

Peeta and Gale aren't static characters, they go from representations of sentiments regarding an injust government to what happens to those feelings when an extreme situation such as war breaks out. All of that, by the way, while dealing with this duality themselves, because they are still characters who think and feel and struggle and have flaws of their own- and while I love what they stand for, I've seen too many comments that pin everything into what they mean, that they forget that Peeta and Gale are still people, they aren't perfect metaphors. They're human.

Ultimately, Katniss doesn't really choose peace. She wants peace, yes. But what she chooses is compassion. empathy. hope. There's a time and place for anger at injustice. There's a time when fighting back is the right thing to do. There are even times when you wanna give in to your despair and lash out. But if you want peace, then you have to choose Peeta, because Peeta represents what you need to focus on to achieve that peace. You have to let go of the anger or you won't ever rest. So Gale leaves, and does not come back... And yet, Katniss still has her moments of indignation, of making a stand, even as he goes - she still casts her vote at that meeting, she still shoots Coin. Katniss does not abandon that part of who she is. It's just not her main drive anymore.

So then she goes on to make the choice, every single day, to be compassionate to others. To have hope. To rebuild. Of course she chooses Peeta.

... Idk, man. These boys are so much more than what I see them so often reduced to. They're in all of us. There will be times to stand and fight, and times to show mercy and be kind. We just need to find that balance, as Katniss eventually did.

[egophiliac]

I'm trying to avoid getting spoiled so I haven't looked up what's happening in the Jp server's main story, but for my own sanity I need to ask; is the story at a point where we know whether Lilia will get better/survive his almost-empty magic reserves..? Was it a true death flag from the start or only a plot device for malleus' overblot....?

not yet! I do think they're going to get back to it eventually, but -- keeping it as low spoilers as possible -- there's been...let's just say a LOT going on in the meantime.

enjoy 7-6!!! :)

[stairset]

I know certain parts of Star Wars fandom are determined to see literally everything about the Jedi in the most bad faith way possible but one of the most baffling examples to me is when people act like they look down on all other force religions and don't take the time to understand them because they see their own way as superior when there is quite literally nothing to suggest that. Like the only other force users they have any actual beef with on principle are the Sith, which I'd say is justified considering the Sith are a bunch of fascist pricks who constantly try to take over the galaxy. Literally all the others are either allies of the Jedi or the Jedi just leave them alone to do their thing.

[trickstersaint]

elegy in which you are the creator in the laboratory // october 29 2023

[onthevirgooftears]

this may be the biggest cope of all time and i am in no way citing this as anything beyond that but like, hear me out.

drdt is very well written in general and one of my favourite things about it is how irrational the cast is and how that plays into the way that the trials operate. we see this time and time again, first with teruko and everyone immediately, without any real evidence or proof believing that she killed xander and then again with david and everyone believing he killed arei.

we also see the different kinds of reactions to this like how teruko fought for her innocence whilst david commits to playing the part.

here's where the coping part comes in because i am slightly, possibly convinced that a similar thing has happened with ace. i think that the way the trial was conducted showcases the irrational and fixed mindset most of the cast has (with teruko leading the charge surprisingly)

and i think the fact that for 40 minutes ace was for lack of better terms dogpiled on and TOLD he killed arei (like, multiple people said this without any reservations BEFORE the slingshot thing which is literally the only thing tying him and him only to areis murder and even that is kind of flimsy) and i think that the way he's been treated in general has been really shitty.

taking out this post as a whole and assuming he IS the killer he still made a really good point about how teruko is only siding with eden because she likes her more. which is like, obviously a very uncomplicated way to put it but it's also completely the truth. ace gets the short end of the stick because eden cries and teruko feels bad and she tries to prove it's ace BECAUSE of her confirmation bias and her reservations around his personality in comparison to edens. i don't think she's doing it on purpose but i think she's not as removed from making broad assumptions based on her emotions as she thinks.

anyways the idea of ace basically doing what david tried to do originally (commit to the bit) but successfully is almost laughable but so is all the evidence that he DID kill arei. teruko trying to get him to fight for his innocence proves to me that thinks (hopes? believes?) that there is something beyond what she's seeing (all that glitters is not gold or something like that) and him going silent, accepting his fate, not refuting any of the genuinely wild claims against him (eden just flat out saying he was the one stalking her when there's zero proof that it was him and everyone just believing her) and committing to the idea that he's never making it out alive so he might as well go down now rather than later is actually really compelling.