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creantzy · 11 months ago

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Defying God - a parallel between Fyolai and Stavrovensky

The Demons brainrot is taking over, and you know what happens when I acquire a new interest: my brain WILL find a way to connect it to my other interests, whether I like it or not!! And this is essentially what it's about xD I've come here to present a parallel I found between Fyolai (Fyodor & Nikolai from BSD) and Stavrovensky (Verkhovensky & Stavrogin from "Demons" by Dostoevsky). Before I start I want to clarify a few things:

• I don't think these two pairings are similar, I just love picking up any crumbs of connections I can find between my interests, even if it'd count as reaching.

• This interpretation (in either character's case) is in no way "the only true way of looking at it". It's merely one interpretation out of many and I chose to focus on just a few aspects out of the many others there are to explore in these complex characters.

• Feel free to add onto or disagree with anything I say! I'm interested in your thoughts :D

WARNING: There will be spoilers for Bungou Stray Dogs and Demons.

The reason Nikolai wants to kill Fyodor is because he feels affection for him. Emotions are a prison to him, and he basically seeks the opposite of what his emotions make him want to do. Thus, in the face of affection, which makes you want to be closer and wish the best for your friend, he does the opposite and decides to kill said friend, going directly against his feelings in an attempt to prove free will. But here I want to focus more on the "You want to defy God in order to lose sight of yourself" part, specifically the bit about God.

One part of my interpretation is that Nikolai associates God with control. If there is a God who controls all, how can there be a free will? He wants to go against Him and His creations (the human mind, morality, etc.) to prove that it's possible. But God is very abstract - the idea of God is influential but varies depending on cultures, etc. For this point, I'll use the example of the biblical God, or, more specifically, some attributes commonly assigned to the idea of God:

• omnipotence (all-powerful)

• omnipresence (all-present)

• omniscience (all-knowing)

What I am leading up to is the fact that these traits can, in one way or another, be applied to Fyodor. Fyodor's character represents everything Nikolai wants to defy. Nikolai hates control; he wants to fight the idea of God and prove the possibility of complete independence. Fyodor (though not in a "direct" way) could be seen as a symbol for God. He knows everything, he is always present (metaphorically and sometimes literally, the way he spawns sometimes I swear-), and he seems to control everything. Only few people actually see him, but he pulls the strings behind the scenes, and his power is felt everywhere. For Nikolai, to kill Fyodor is not just a protest against his feelings of affection, but can also be a symbolic act of defying "God", of killing "God", by killing Fyodor.

This is supposed to be very symbolic and not taken literally. I feel the need to repeat this because I personally dislike the notion of Fyodor as a literal God (and disagree with the idea of him having a God-complex), so this is merely about the God-like traits he possesses, like a "substitute" for the idea of God, and how it interacts with Nikolai's philosophy. (I've also exaggerated some points for the sake of simplification - for example, I don't actually believe Fyodor is in control of absolutely everything, etc.)

Moving onto Demons:

Pyotr Verkhovensky grew up religious and (assuming based on Stepan's description) with a fear of God.

Now he's an atheist and very anti-religious. He plans to overthrow society, and destroying religion + everything it preaches is part of that plan. But interestingly enough, he picks not himself as the official future "ruler", but someone else: Nikolai Stavrogin. He chooses Stavrogin to be the role of the leader in Verkhovensky's ideal society. But not exactly the "leader" in the traditional sense, because he wouldn't necessarily give Stavrogin all the power. He would simply use him as a "pawn" (for lack of a better word) while himself pulling the strings behind said society. With that, Verkhovensky puts someone else above himself, in a God-like position, but he wants to do it while still keeping full control over Stavrogin. By doing so, he would overcome his childhood fear of God because instead of being controlled by God, *he* will control God.

(Same case here, not the literal God, but the character who he assigns God-like traits to.)

I am undecided (with both Nikolai's and Verkhovensky's character) whether this could be read as a solely subconscious intention or if it would make sense as a conscious one as well. Given that both have a different "main" goal (Nikolai focuses on emotions and Verkhovensky on the revolution) I lean more towards thinking it's subconscious (if present at all - like I said, just interpretations!)

It doesn't help that Verkhovensky describes his vision of Stavrogin's leadership as "hidden": Everyone believes in him and his power, but only very few people are said to actually have laid their eyes upon him. When I first read this part, I was honestly reminded of Big Brother from Orwell's 1984, but eventually realised that similar things can be said about God as well.

While these are parallels, they don't come without differences. Nikolai needs Fyodor dead, Verkhovensky needs Stavrogin alive. Nikolai wants to kill Fyodor for a sense of freedom, Verkhovensky wants to keep Stavrogin for a sense of control. Yet both symbolic goals are bound to fail:

Fyodor turns out to be unkillable, and Stavrogin ends up dead.

At the end, "God" stays untouchable.

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awinterrosesstuff · 4 months ago

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Kinda funny that people claim Kishimoto can't write romance... And then, when he has the occasion to write/draw about Minato, he does a whole love story. Both Minato and Kushina are the protagonists of that story. And honestly, it's quite good.

I've seen SS and NH fans desperatly trying to compare their ship to Minakushi, trying to find parallels between Kushina & Sakura and Kushina & Hinata, between Minato and Sasuke, and Minato & Hinata... and so on ! I understand the need to do it. What those ships lack, Minakushi has. But the truth is... I don't think Kishimoto bothered to develop those ships. Gaiden doesn't show SS in good light. The Last isn't his original idea/work and it's not good anyway.

So now Minakushi, I'm going to state the obvious. But it shows they both have mutual feelings for one another. It's not one sided. Kushina expressed the want to be alone with Minato, and Minato created a very powerful jutsu to protect Kushina.

So what we learn there :

- They train together for some times now. They have an appointment and Kushina teaches Minato's sealings techniques. From the Naruto's manga, we know it's one of his specialities. They like to see one another and Kushina is very exciting to see him.

- Minato wants to perfect his new jutsu so badly that he even cancelled their appointment. He takes the time to come and tells her about it. So he also likes to spend time with her. It's important to him. But what it's even more important to him is to protect her. He's creating his signature move and most powerful technique especially for her.

And look at that :

Yeah ! A love confession. And it doesn't get ignored. Kushina is touched by his words and starts crying. I can't add more than ten pictures. But just right after, Kushina remembers Mito, starts fighting back and remembers (again) Mito's words. The whole thing is a bit long, but I added the panel that matters the most in my opinion.

It's plain and simple. Kushina loves Minato. When he's fighting Kurama to protect her, she specifically remembers Mito's words about finding love. Plus, Minato is able to enter Kushina's mind. It's actually not a easy thing. And it was very special to Naruto & Sasuke's bond, the most important bond from the Naruto's manga. Minakushi is paralleling Sasunaru if anything...

They're connected on a deep level. Their feelings are mutual. And they are each other's strength.

There are more actually, because that's a real love story. So here we go :

Minato being moved by Kushina hugging him.

Kushina naming Minato's new technique and Minato agreeing with it (his original idea was terrible, Jiraiya already told him, but it's Kushina who he listens to).

And that's cute "parallel" (if we can call it like that).

So let's me list everything we get from the spin off :

- Minato and Kushina spend time together and like to see one another.

- Kushina teaches Minato's sealings techniques

- They both express their feelings for one another in different ways

- Minato created his signature move to protect Kushina

- The love confession doesn't get ignored and goes directly to Kushina's heart

- Minato can enter Kushina's mind

- Minato's fighting for her brings her strength and inspires her to fight against Kurama

- Minato is actually allowed by the narrative to witness and understand Kushina's struggles as a jinchuriki

- There are some symbols that make the ship work : the butterfly at the beginning and the end, the spiral, Minato's face next to the other's kages faces (it was already stated, in the Naruto's manga, that Kushina was his strength and his support in his path to become Hokage).

- Kushina goes to see Minato despite orders from the hokage, starts watching him, but doesn't stay hidden and talks to him with no problem at all when he notices her (yeah Hinata I'm looking at you)

- It stated why Minato likes Kushina.

- Kurama is very much aware of Kushina's feelings for Minato. When Minato starts telling her why he's creating his jutsu and touches Kushina's heart, Kurama tries to manipulate her.

- Minato is successful in saving Kushina (that's important, believe me).

Please just read the Minato's spin off. The whole thing is very cute.

#minato namikaze #kushina uzumaki #minakushi #anti naruhina #anti sasusaku #naruto meta #naruto ramblings

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drama-glob · 4 months ago

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I know some people have already pointed out some parallels between "Just Look My Way" and the ending of "Sinsmas" with Octavia, but something I thought was interesting too was that when they changed the lyrics from the original version by PARANOiD DJ to make the official music video reflect in canon Stolas/Stolas's growth like this:

They also changed here:

To reflect in canon that while Stolas is aware that he was wrong to make this deal between him and Blitz and that he's got his walls up that Stolas can't get over so long as the deal stands, he's also failing to keep considering how all of this has been affecting/hurting Octavia up to this point because he's been so concerned with making things right by Blitz, all while barely holding onto the chance that the two of them could actually be happy together since he's not even sure if what they have is real/all a lie to serve as his escapism from his life at the palace. :( The illusion he built for his daughter about them all being a happy, loving family growing up is still in Octavia's mind and now thanks to Stolas, she believes he (as well as Blitz based on what we've seen) ruined her family and it's making her become more isolated and feeling unloved because of his choices and how she perceives the situation; Stolas in the original version seems to be at least acknowledging how his daughter might be feeling as a result of him trying to find happiness with Blitz and is wondering if that's what he's feeling now at the prospect that Blitz doesn't actually love him, compared to the canon one of how he's hurt Blitz in his pursuit of him and knows he needs to set Blitz free no matter how much he wants him (or at least that's how I read it, although the "She" could have been referring to Stella, but we've seen her hatred and attacks towards Stolas by that point, so I'm still leaning towards it being about Octavia :( ). Also, just to reiterate the point, since the canon version of the song takes place later in the series, the change in lyrics also likely had to happen because we've seen Stolas repeat the neglect/being stuck in his own head behavior such as in "Seeing Stars" and then later in "The Full Moon," thus why the song needed to continue showing this pattern; plus, he probably felt so sure in Octavia's love for him that he'd be forgiven like in "Seeing Stars" and "Loo Loo Land" for said behavior that he didn't need to work on improving that aspect of how he acts with her. :/ What's crazy is that the original version of the song came out 9 days before "Ozzie's" premiered, where we see Stolas then feel ashamed for how he's handled things with Blitz at the cost of hurting his daughter and not being sure Blitz loves him back, especially with Blitz's words at the end of the episode. Talk about timing. O_O

*On a side note, the flower also changes from being a daffodil that can symbolize rebirth and new beginnings, then becomes a carnation (I think) and can refer to love in various forms, although that one in particular can refer to rejection because it's striped. :( Also, even though it's in the original version of the song, I find it interesting that it was a carnation at the part when he brought up Octavia, although I know the focus of the song is still on Blitz and Stolas's relationship and it changed in realization that it may be his fault things are this way/the reason Blitz doesn't love him. :/ In addition, the song had Stolas trying to talk with Blitz and wanting to see him outside of the full moon at the beginning, which we then saw he was doing via text messages in "Western Energy," so damn on it predicting that too. O_O

By all means, Stolas has a right to be happy, to be loved and to get away from Stella, but as so many have already argued as well, Octavia's feelings are valid and understandable given Stolas's actions and her not knowing the full story. :( (I felt obligated to include this since I want Stolas and Octavia to reconcile in the future and be one big, happy family with Blitz and Loona <3<3<3).

Also:

It's too bad that this lyric about growing cold had some literal manifestation, even though Octavia is also obviously giving her father the cold shoulder here and Stolas was referring to Blitz in the song, but it's still so sad that Stolas believes Octavia truly hates him for all that he's done rather than her being angry, hurt and needing more time to process everything/learn the truth in order to see things from his perspective. :(

*I think someone may have pointed this cold part out already, but I wasn't 100% and it went with the first part of the post anyway, so I included it as well. :/ Also, sorry if it seemed like I was rambling or getting off track here as this wound up being longer than I planned and I kept thinking of other tidbits/observations to include. :/

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stackslip · 8 months ago

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OK OK CHAINSAW MAN THOUGHTS FOR THIS CHAPTER UHHH i haven't done this in a while.

love, love the continuation of the previous chapter's yoru pointing up into these regular americans pointing up (possibly giving the gun devil more strength inadvertently?). this series of chapters is gonna be such a treat to read once it's put into a volume

lots of talk about how "freedom" and "gun" sound almost the same in japanese and this is clearly a dark pun, but the thing i also really love here is.... the arm symbolizing the "light"/flame of america/american styled "freedom" falling and replaced by a gun. the bit of the gun devil clearly having emerged FROM the statue, crawling out of it and revealing its ghastly interior, the sham it's always been. fujimoto's works starting with fire punch have always been obsessed with the idea of the image/representation and the many truths it disguises, how ugly realities are turned into stories, or propaganda, or even into merchandise to be bought, sold, covered up, used as justification for idleness or atrocities. belief is what makes devils powerful. the statue of liberty symbolizes deep held beliefs that America is all about pursuing dreams and protecting freedom, no matter what america's actual past and present actions reflect upon it. this is just the nature of that symbol and what it represents laid bare for all to see!

one of part 2's greatest strengths and worst weaknesses has been asa's passivity--which fits thematically, and makes her character that much more realistic and interesting when fujimoto bothers to draw her and put her emotions center stage (and makes it that much more depressing when she barely has a role outside of gawking at new information). but see this--this! this is what i want! this is what makes asa's passivity so devastating as a character! the exchange here is SO perfect, from yoru having committed the crime to asa suddenly being in her place, witness to the atrocity she's let herself be an accomplice to--and by extension, having committed it herself! we've seen that most of her power is fueled by guilt and regret--something that comes to her so, so naturally. and now she's confronted with it. with the results of her actions, of her dreams and attempts to save chainsaw man (to have a friend/someone who could love and understand her). the results of her passivity vis-à-vis yoru. she's committed this atrocity, essentially. she can't hide behind yoru for it. this is her body too.

just an unbelievable panel. the hole looks like it's *bleeding*, like a bullet wound on a corpse. sick sick sick!

see what i mean re asa's passivity being so compelling when used right. how could i forget? how could i get so comfortable? gd. also yoru's laugh is so good she looks so awkward. and most importantly she looks like nayuta did when making fun of asa after making her bark like a dog. sisters!

sick ass design. absolutely TWISTED parallel to when denji last faced the gun devil, with humans helping denji and begging him to save them. TWISTED parallel to makima's "save me, chainsaw man" and asa's own "i'll save you, chainsaw man!". fujimoto king of making narrative parallels so evil you'll feel sick ever rereading the first panels.

yeah uh i'm just gonna drop the parallel here and fucking run and die. isn't it romantic? you understand, don't you chainsaw man? you of all people would get the love involved in this?

the juxtaposition of the ruined city by asa/yoru and the children being led to the slaughter by the japanese government to resurrect denji is just. jesus christ man

#eli talks #csm

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nolonger100daysoftavvyfanart · 2 months ago

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live new update thoughts

Is that some kind of rift? The last scene implies this is something John was looking at

This pumpkin which is actually a cake flashes across the screen... Obviously this is a "What Pumpkin?" bit. But why?

Iirc Pumpkins are void aspect related, so maybe this shows how Roxy (and Callilope) have cut open the candy (cake) timeline? This is also backed up by the icing being pink, Roxy's associated colour.

It could also be foreshadowing some kind of deception?

I thought it was getting wider but it might actually just be getting brighter here

*now* it's getting wider. Maybe this is how to get out of the black hole?

I didn't see the table and chair when I first watched this gif. This feels like one of those times where the symbolism will seem obvious in retrospect.

Well that's clearly June Egbert. It's interesting that she has mom Lalonde vibes.

So maybe John is seeing the future? I want to go back to the original and check if it's paralleling Jade looking into the clouds of Prospit but the comic is still dead.

Interestingly, I'm now getting an entirely different error from the page, which is a sign they're trying to fix it.

The ball was a bit like that photo of a black hole, so maybe this is the black hole blowing up?

And the hole turns into Vriska's smile. Since they were talking about using her to escape, maybe they've managed it?

And now, to look at things which aren't the same gif for like 10 minutes

Maybe that last bit was a dream, then?

Maybe this symbolically represents that the game isn't over anymore, as well as looking cool.

ooh, long image up now

For a moment I thought this was the ass of the giga-goon

is she pissed because of the glowing naked guy or because she didn't see the missile

I guess that's the end of nakey jakey

"Don't Worry Dear You May Have Missed Out This Time But I'm Sure You'll Get Plenty Of Opportunities To Get Brutally Maimed In An Armed Conflict."

Oh, so she *is* alive as a head now. That's got potential, but it does beg the question "is anyone ever going to actually die when they are killed in this comic".

JANE: BZZT!

JANE: Mrrnghhh!!!

ROXY: stop shocking her!

OH it's the shock collar again. I thought she was just making bzzt sounds.

VRISKA: So, I've actually 8een trying to get to that!

VRISKA: In case anyone feels like listening!

TAVVY: (I've been trying,)

(reactbot voice) "the goat"

Holy smokes, options! And they have the brackets too. Maybe this is how they cut down the cast to a manageable number, by having a bunch stay behind and only show up in bonus material and intermissions. I think I'll go with (YOU ARE NOT) first, it'll probably be shorter

It's interesting how (YOU ARE NOT) seems to reflect the Candy timeline in how it's full of assholes arguing about relationships.

JANE: YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!

JANE: THEY'RE GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just like that? Might as well get it over with.

YIFFY: FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, she *can* speak. It's interesting her first words in the comic are the same as the Sufferer's last.

JOHN: well, that settles it.

JOHN: we have to kill dirk.

Worrying how happy he is about that. Maybe John is going to be an antagonist?

Now, to go back in time.

YOU ARE COMING

OHH it's the kids perspective. I thought them leaving felt abrupt, but this is going to smooth that out.

the "what will you do" recontextualizes the original choice about coming or not as being directed at Tavvy... It's interesting that it's the same wording as there was in the plot point for Vriska. The "YOU ARE COMING" also has "I AM ALREADY HERE" vibes.

There was some speculation from Chivemile about something something manifestation theory something something Vriska Tavvy.

I don't remember exactly what it was about right now, but what with Mr. Foods bringing up manifestation theory in the past too... the ground that idea is standing on is getting more and more solid.

DAMN! This is probably another thing from the animes. I'll have to ask a more animeducated colleague about it.

very visually reminiscent of the Jane birthday Scene...

John even looks happy from here. Just raring to go decapitate that one guy yet again. But I guess this means we haven't seen the last of all these guys...

I guess that's Act 1! time to get those report cards done...

#homestuck: beyond canon #homestuck beyond canon

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iminyourwallsbabe · 2 months ago

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I will not forgive Fortiche for making me listen to Imagine Dragons and also French music repeatedly in one sitting on purpose

And by that I mean I saw the new Ma Meilleure Ennemie music video and I noticed some things, including parallels to the Enemy music video and now I have to yap about it

Time to get back in my bag of corkboard and strings ass shipping, I believe there's a story here and THEY JUST DIDN'T TELL US. So until then I'mma be in this bitch like this guy

Okay so let's start with some of the parallels. Not the music video but the scene it's attached to. So right off the bat, I noticed that the way Powder dances at the start of that sequence is very similar to how Powder dances at the start of Enemy. Like lots of twirling, hands in the air, even the hand she has lifted the highest is the same I think. It's not the exact same move but it says a lot that it was so similar. Speaking of Enemy, during JID's verse (very underrated by the way, I fear he saved the song), Ekko and Jinx are pictured together but one's always behind the other. That's very similar to the dance scene AND the music video. There's quite a few scenes where one of them is directly behind the other or they're back to back, stuff like this

Another one I noticed between the music videos is that there's always a thing with Jinx and bugs, specifically firelights. One flies out of her mouth in Enemy, and there are two on her face in Ma Meilleure Ennemie.

Another thing that may or may not be a stretch is that scene where the two of them are jumping on the bed and the dance in the show. They're kind of moving around each other moreso than with, but with the bed scene it's implied more by the camera than their movements specifically. There's also some of that in the other music video.

It's all extremely intentional.

For the dance moves, my theory is that when Ekko tells au Powder that he got his moves from following her lead, I don't think he meant that as literally as we think. Sure, he was definitely watching her and picking up on how she moved in that moment but I also think that he got them from watching his Powder. Think about it, for someone who's just following along he doesn't seem too awkward. He doesn't even look like he's trying that hard to keep up, it feels more practiced than that and that's probably because it is. He's used to dancing that way with Powder, this isn't new to him. By extension this means "Always a dance with you", may be a lot more literal. Beyond all the symbolism of it, they may have genuinely been dancing together frequently in the past. Now when you put that in the context of episode 7, the whole episode feels just that much more heartbreaking.

As for the bugs, the way they're placed makes me think of vulnerability. The two on her face are in line of where tears would fall, and the one that comes out of her mouth seems to come from the throat, a very vulnerable spot. People tend to feel a burning sensation in their throat when they cry or try to hold back from crying. I think the idea there is that despite everything, one of the few people Jinx can be so raw with, at least on purpose, is Ekko. I say on purpose because Jinx is extremely unstable, so she lets more of her emotions show than most but not in a "this is how I feel right now and it hurts a lot" kind of way. Ykwim? I don't know if I'm saying this right. I also think there's something to be said in the fact that when Jinx tries to off herself in season 1 AND season 2, she tries to take Ekko with her. Now there's some argument that in season 2, she didn't think Ekko was real at first, which very easily could've been true, I can see that. However, I think when you remember the bridge scene and how she tried to blow them both up, and then look at that scene in season 2, it feels a little more conscious. Especially considering that they're on some bridge-like structure. I just think it's very telling that the only person she wants to take with her when she wants to leave this earth is Ekko. All will to live is gone, she sees no purpose in her existence but she can't take her leave without Ekko. She can't end her pain without him. At least before the finale, idk what he said to her to change her mind about that but it worked. She ended up going off on her own.

That brings me to the symbolism in how they're usually positioned with one another. Back to back or one in front of the other. Those are arguably very protective ways to stand. However, they can also have negative connotations. If you're behind someone, they can't really see you, giving you the opportunity to strike if you wanted to. If you're in front of someone you could be blocking their way. If you're holding someone to your chest, it could be a hug or a restraint. The fact of the matter is that Timbeomb does both. They protect each other from danger, and sometimes they're dangerous to each other. Just in that last paragraph I mentioned Jinx literally trying to kill them both twice. They're best friends, but also enemies. You could even call them... best enemies.

Yk, like the song.

MUSICAL ANALYSIS TIME BABY, CALL ME NEIL CUZ IT'S TIME TO BANG OUT THE TUNES

Now what if I told you Enemy was the best possible theme song for this show? Like I've never seen a theme song that describes a show so well without being like "this is the ___ show and they do this stuff". You will never see me praise Imagine Dragons this much ever again, just fyi. But yeah. It fits every character dynamic so well but ESPECIALLY timebomb. It's also why I think they were kind of the main characters of the music video. We see a lot of them.

Okay so back to the bed scene, while that's happening, we hear the line "tell you you're the greatest," and then the bug thing happens and it's "but once you turn the hate us". To me, that adds a little extra symbolism to the bugs that I haven't touched on yet. It's very Enemy specific so I didn't wanna bring it up when I was talking about both of the firelight scenes, but you can also read Powder spitting out the bug as a rejection of Ekko. At some point after Silco took her in, she ended up pushing Ekko away somehow. Maybe literally, maybe emotionally, probably both because during the chorus, we get scenes of the two of them practicing their fighting moves.

Now we can get into my favorite part of the song and where we see the most of these two in the video. It's very Jinx centric visually, so I'm going to assume that a lot of JID's verse is supposed to reflect her story specifically (though it could fit other characters).

He says "I'm hoping that somebody pray for me, I'm praying that somebody hope for me" and IMMEDIATELY, on beat too, Powder pops out from behind Ekko. If we're looking at it from Jinx's perspective, based on the visuals I'd say that somebody is probably Ekko. By the time Jinx is Jinx, she's kind of convinced herself that Vi has given up on her. She doesn't have any confirmation about how Ekko feels. Ekko could be hoping that she's doing well, he could be praying for her, it's something she can only hope for because she just doesn't know.

Another line that sticks out to me is "The enemy's on my trail, my energy unavailable, I'mma tell 'em hasta luego". During this, we get another Ekko and Powder scene. He's behind her and he taps the pot helmet on her head so it falls out of place and she kind of falls to the side a little bit. That made me think of the bridge scene in season 1. In that moment, they're enemies. They fight, but eventually, Jinx loses the will. She doesn't have the mental energy for this. So what does she do? She tries to leave and take him with her via grenade. That line in the song is literally just a 2 second description of that.

Then the flow switches and we get a few more scenes with them. One is "they wanna plot on my trot to the top" and we can see them just vibing in the background. Again, looking at it from Jinx's perspective, that sounds like her trying to convince herself that Ekko is one of her many enemies. He's trying to stop her from getting what she wants somehow, he's an interference. Better yet, it sounds like something Silco would've told her.

The next scene with them comes with the line "Kinda shockin' they wanted static with precision". To me, that sounds like the bridge fight again. It starts out with them laughing and smirking at each other and it keeps switching to them playing around as kids, but then shit gets real. It becomes obvious that Ekko wasn't there to playing around anymore and somebody was gonna get hurt tonight. He wanted static, with precision. That's why Jinx is so caught off guard when he holds her down and just rocks her shit because that meant it wasn't a game anymore. But even he's surprised by his own actions. I read it as him realizing that he was doing more harm than he intended. He probably just came for the gem, and wanted to get it from her even if that meant roughing her up a little bit. That was more than a little bit, a line was crossed. Another interpretation is that he was ready to kill Jinx, not Powder. I like that interpretation too, because in that case I think that's when he realized he couldn't separate them. They were now the same person. That's why they look at each other like that. That fight was a shock for them both for so many reasons.

You could also tie in the final line of the verse with this. "Who the baddest it don't matter cuz we at ya throat", feels very bridge fight coded because it ends with Ekko literally at her throat with his stick. By then, when they both realize how far this has gone, it doesn't matter who's more wrong, who's stronger, because now they're here and this isn't what they wanted.

Now it's time to talk about the song and music video we actually came here to talk about. So the song starts off with "I love you, I hate you" repeated again and again and we see Jinx and Ekko with little glimpses of what looks like dancing. Then Stromae starts his verse. What we thought was dancing was Jinx laying on the ground. When this is on screen, he says "You are the best thing that happened to me, but also the worst thing that happened to me". And then we fade into older looking footage of au Powder and Ekko dancing together and he says "That day when I met you I might have preferred that this day had never happened". I'm going to go off the fact that Jinx lip syncs Pomme's verse and say that Stromae's verse is 100% supposed to be from Ekko's perspective. I had my suspicions but that confirmed it. So reading it that way, it feels to me that when he says this, Ekko is speaking to Au Powder, not to Jinx. By meeting her, he is reminded of everything he loves about Jinx and everything they could have. He says this in the show, but it comes in the form of him talking about the undercity. It has a double meaning. He admits he gave up on her, thinking a brighter future for them and for the city at large was completely out of reach. By having this epiphany, he realizes that he needs to try and save Jinx from herself, from the world, no matter how much it hurts and no matter if he even gets what he wished for in the end.

Back to the music video though. Stromae then says "the worst blessing, the most beautiful curse" and it shows Jinx with the firelights on her face. He came back for her. He came to try and dry those tears like he used to. And then it switches to them sitting next to each other and he says "From you, I should move away". It's a reminder that this metaphorical dance has gone on forever. It'd be less stressful to just stop. To give up and move on from Jinx. Most people would say he should. He doesn't have the means to give her the help that she needs anyway, so why try?

But then we get the next line "But you know what they say, rather than being alone, it's better to be poorly accompanied". It's the rebuttal to all of that. He can't give up on her because her being by herself is worse for her than being with someone who genuinely cares about her. He can't give up on her because he'd be alone too. If there's anyone he'd rather be with it would be her. At this part of the song, Ekko is surrounded by 4 Jinxes. He can only go back 4 seconds in time. I also think there's 4 version of her in his mind. One is main universe Powder, the girl he grew up with. One is Jinx as he knew her on that bridge, a for. One is au Powder, a taste of what could've been. And the other is Jinx as she is now. Those are the versions he's met before and I think they're all meant to be represented here.

Then we get the line "Be close to your dearest friends, but also even closer to your adversaries". This is where Stromae's verse ends and we hear Pomme by herself for the first time in the song. She says the second half of that line and Jinx, laying on the floor facing Ekko, says it too. By the point in the series that this music video references, Jinx hasn't seen Ekko since the bridge fight. Judging by this line, she's still holding onto that. She still sees herself as his enemy, even though the feeling might not be mutual. She doesn't know that yet.

I would say that mostly gets squashed when he calls her an old friend in that scene in her hideout, but as most hurtful things do, there's probably still remnants of that in whatever happened between then and when they pull up in the airboat.

Anyway, the chorus starts, and one of the parts of it I wanna point out is Pomme's but where she's like "But if you're still looking for my voice, forget me, the worst is you and me." THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THE HIDEOUT. He shows up like "hey maybe don't kys" and it takes several attempts to even get her to not blow them both up on the spot. She doesn't see a point in him trying, she thinks she's a lost cause. She even tells him to go away and that he's too late, she wants him to give up on her.

This is also the point in the song where we switch to Jinx's perspective. Looking at a few different translations, I'm getting two things here. The verse is definitely about Ekko, just in different ways. One version is about the times where he slips up and calls her Powder instead of Jinx, and maybe about him calling her Jinx at all. She's not Powder anymore, that girl is dead, can be not accept Jinx? But Jinx doesn't feel right either considering how she got that name. The people in her past thought she was a curse, did he think the same now? "What's that emotion, hatred or softness when I hear your name?" It was probably hard to tell.

Something else Pomme says that just screams Jinx in that moment is "I told you not to keep looking behind, your past will follow you and take you to war". It sounds like Jinx once again trying to convince Ekko that she isn't worth the time. But that's where her verse ends. That's where Ekko succeeds as indicted by the visuals of Jinx falling in reverse and the slight smile Ekko gives.

Now, the other interpretation of this whole verse is a lot more obvious. It hurts to hear his name because she misses him/thinks he hates her. Nothing too crazy there, except the last line of the verse is more internal. Jinx is telling herself not to look back, because when she does it ends badly. It ends in war.

Moving onto The Hug™, that comes towards the end of the song where they're repeating "I love you, I hate you" again and that's the scene it ends on. I think it also ends on an "I love you" but I could be wrong, I don't speak French and I refuse to, but I think that's what I heard. That's huge. It's the beginning of them working past all that "hatred" they had for one another and just trying to let themselves love the other again, even if it's just a temporary thing. It's the softest and slowest we've seen them like... ever. At least their canon selves. They're either play fighting, dancing, flipping off cops, actually fighting, or (mostly Jinx) trying to blow each other up. I don't think I need to speak too much on that moment, it speaks for itself.

Yk, I remember literally sitting there sobbing at season 2 episode 7. Nothing else really got me like that. Like I cried maybe once outside of that, but definitely not as hard. I can't for the life of you tell you why, and if I did know I probably wouldn't say it on Tumblr dot com but my point is that their story is extremely poignant and feels so real. Not to say that the other stories aren't realistic, they all are. Timebomb just feels like something you know a little too well, not in a lol #relatable kind of way, you know people like this. Maybe you are those people. You've been on both sides of the coin, or only one, either way it's not a good time. It's a story you already knew, it's so real that it hurts. There are a few different stories in this show that feel that way and it just makes all of it so much more impactful.

#timebomb #arcane #arcane s2 #arcane spoilers #jinx arcane #ekko arcane #stromae #pomme #imagine dragons #arcane analysis #song analysis

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hiwelcometothemonstersancturary · 9 months ago

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I'm a fashion enjoyer, so here's more talk about Save Everyone AU/Poppy Worldwide fashion and character design:

For the AU, I'm trying my best to follow canon, despite me throwing it out of the window from time to time whenever I feel like adding or changing something would benefit the story and its themes. This is why I changed most of chapter 2's VHS tapes and documents, and I'm doing something similar for chapter 3.

I forgot to mention this while writing the chapter 2 arc, but Huggy Wuggy wears a little blanket around his neck. I need to draw him wearing it, but it has a dark blue color. I wanted Huggy to feel and look more like a feral kid and thought it would be appropriate;

Marie/Mommy Long Legs first starts out wearing nothing but the things that are already part of her plastic body, and ends the chapter 2 arc without her left arm. Similar to Huggy, in order to make her feel more like a kid I decided to make her wear Angel's green hoodie. Green in this AU is a color associated with both hope and Angel themself, as its a nature color. Marie is clingy and has a fear of abandonment thanks to what happened to her pre-becoming MLL, so she gets attached to the hoodie much like how a kid would wear their parent's outfits in order to "copy" them, while also getting attached to the idea of finally leaving that hellhole;

Poppy wears her traditional and frilly blue dress for chapter 2 and half of chapter 3, up until Angel helps Miss Delight and the group realocates to the School. Poppy's dress got extremely dirty from all the chaos, and in order to adapt, she decides to switch to a simpler one that Delight makes for her. Poppy is changing thanks to Angel's influence, slowly stopping to see most of the toys as just monsters, but victims just like her. She leaves the ribbons and intrincacies behind, as she has to survive, as she now really knows just how easy it is for her to be captured or hurt by others. Not that she didn't know that beforehand!

Dogday also receives a new lower torso, but no new legs. The lower torso was something Delight sewn together per Catnap's request. Dogday doesn't know about this just yet, but Catnap genuinely cares for him, with the new body part being a representation of that. I don't know if I'm going to throw him into another outfit or not for now, though!

Kissy is also going to get an outfit change thanks to Angel's influence on her: A gold ribbon she'll wrap around one of her arms so Poppy can more easily climb her when needed. Gold/bright yellow will be colors associated with the main found family for this AU!

Miss Delight will also change. Not by a whole lot, but Angel is going to wrap her around in a nice and cozy blanket so she won't get cold. The blanket covers her destroyed dress: Angel is influencing her to heal, even if not completely;

Speaking of which, Angel is like my own Barbie doll for this AU. They start out with a green jacket, giving it to Marie at the end of the chapter 2 arc, and then on chapter 3 they change to an old maintenance jacket. It's bright yellow, the color that symbolizes the found family as a whole to show that Angel is becoming an actual and real parent, and to also show that this guy is doing some maintenance work around Playcare, powering up generators and trying to help all the wounds the children left behind have. Angel is going to get a blanket made by the mini critters, dark blue in color, and it's a parallel to Nossa Senhora da Aparecida, a brazilian saint whose day (October 12th) is also called "children's day", aka when we give gifts to kids, like toys. The religious symbolism will become more apparent during the chapter 4 arc, when Angel has the final outfit change, being forced into a medical gown that parallels the outfits saints are painted wearing. This change is not of Angel's own choice, though!

#will add more to this later #poppy playtime #poppy worldwide #save everyone au #the angel #huggy wuggy #mommy long legs #dogday #miss delight #ppt poppy #kissy missy

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dammit-tazmuir · 7 months ago

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So I'm still relatively new to the fandom and I'm not sure if there are common "fanon" or widely held theories about the pre-Resurrection names, but I did try looking around and didn't see any so...

Hear me out. ✨Even more Biblical symbolism.✨

I don't have strong thoughts for Ulysses, Cassiopeia, or Nigella. And with Cristabel's new name (still?) having ties to "Christ" I wonder if she's closest or even was allowed to keep her old one (which, yeah two C—s without clear hierarchy would have gotten confusing, but could be another reason she was only "the nun" instead of given the same name treatment as the others), or perhaps hers was more Greek (Cassandra, for being the one who kept telling John things he didn't want to believe?).

But for others, I suspect...

Alfred / "A— Junior" was originally Andrew, after the first apostle to join Jesus. More importantly, Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter, who was the most prominent apostle, generally considered in Catholicism to be the first Pope, the first bishop of Antioch, and a lot of other stuff that could make him an interesting parallel to Augustine (not that I think he shares a name, just potentially some indirect parallels). Also the literal meaning is "manly/man", see Augustine below. -

Titania / "T—" (on her papers) was originally Tabitha, after a woman who was literally brought back to life. (This was done by Saint Peter, so not the most direct parallel with the above thoughts on Augustine, but with him being part of the very original project with John, not fully disconnected either.) -

Pyrrha / "P—" was originally Priscilla or Prisca, who notably shared a home for a time with (Biblical) Paul. (It means "ancient", but that's hardly unique here, though I guess her being the last surviving member of the original aside from John and Alecto is worth something there.) A secondary guess would be Phoebe, who's mentioned in Paul's epistles; the name means "bright, pure" and also has Greek meaning (moon goddess and grandmother to Artemis), so it would kinda hit both the major name origins in this series. Or as a third guess, while I think parallels would be shared/split rather than having this instead of the other Peter thoughts, something like Petra could also work, though that might be too similar to Pyrrha to consider. -

Gideon / "G—" was Gabriel, the archangel and messenger of God who announced the births of John (the Baptist) and Jesus. The name comes from the words for "God" and "strong man" or "hero". -

Augustine / A—, the First Saint to serve the King Undying, was Adam, sharing a name with the Biblical first man, first of humanity. The literal meaning is also arguably "man", which makes for a bonus with A— and A— Junior having that much more similar names. -

Lastly, the one I'm most utterly convinced of, Mercymorn / M— was Mary. Perhaps Mary-something, mimicking the "two names" format of Mercymorn (ex: Maryanne, Mary Lou, Marilyn), or maybe a name from a Marian title (Mercedes would be especially amusing), possibly both (Marisol, Marigold). But 10,000% her name comes from the Virgin Mary in some form.

For starters, the first time Harrow sees her, she's described as

"Virginal" as one of the first words ever associated with her, with further description making her sound very much like the kinds of paintings one would associate with Mary.

But much more interesting is her role in Dios Apate, Major. Both

and

She was the both the one who managed to get the sample despite John trying to be careful about that and had been intended to be the genetic mother of the baby, but not to carry. While certainly not literally "virgin" here, she's still in a very real sense a sort of "virgin mother of (space) Jesus".

Any of them could be adjacent or have nicknames, of course. G— could have been "Gabe." The idea of P— being called "Prissy" is funny enough to me that I'd fully buy it. A— Junior could've gone by "Andy", etc. But I feel like all these have some solid merit, especially Mary-Mercy.

#the locked tomb #tlt #ntn spoilers #og lyctors #tlt theory

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izzyfishie · 7 days ago

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Izzy the teaser is pure WTF.

Gihun??? Like zombie awakening.

Evil gumball machines of lazer tag. The wall murals are not a set thing.

A vip dinner, I hope that one of the dishes along with the drinks are poisoned.

A baby cry at the end. Why???????

This just raises so many questions!

finally answering my asks! sorry for the wait; after the trailer i spent lots of time reflecting on it with close friends and got slightly overwhelmed with the intensity. but i'm here now!!

i'm going to give some of my thoughts and theories!

i am LOST on the game. genuinely i have no fucking clue! we see chain/key looking things, and we see combat weapons. blue team seems to have the chains and red team seems to have the weapons. it also seems to be a labyrinth of sorts, similarly to the marbles arena.

the vip dinner as well as the constant alluding to the final dinner (checkerboards, royalty symbolism in a way as i mentioned earlier, and the CONSTANT talking about "course meals" from the official page on instagram) has me thinking we're going to get parallels to that. i cement the belief that sae-byeok and sang-woo are going to be alluded to again. they hold a lot of importance to gi-hun. THIS IS NOT ME SAYING THEY'RE ALIVE, BTW. they're long dead. but mentions or possibly even flashbacks of sorts (even if they're not visual, but sometimes you can SEE gi-hun's emotions through his face) are not out of the question!

somebody said the baby cry was in-ho's unborn child in a hallucination. others say jun-hee is having the baby. i think honestly, if jun-hee has the baby and dies like others are saying, it's going to change something within in-ho. this would be a solid a reminder. i don't think in-ho has a shot at redemption btw but i think we will get elaboration on his story.

the new vips can choke. xx

#squid game #squid game 3 #squid game teaser analysis #seong gi hun #kang sae byeok #cho sang woo #hwang in ho #kim jun hee #squizzy rambles #answered asks

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waddledeedee · 7 months ago

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My Top 10 My Hero Academia Ships

10) Shoji x Asui

Unarguably the most underrated ship on this list (probably because Shoji as a character is PAINFULLY underrated, I literally love this man so much no one understands). But anyway, I think these two are absolutely perfect for each other, and I'm surprised more people don't see the potential here honestly. Like, this isn't even the FIRST TIME I've seen Shoji carry Asui in his arms like this??? Even putting all of that aside, I feel like Shoji and Asui's hero ideals just complement one another's so much, because the two of them from the very beginning excelled impressingly well in prioritizing the safety of citizens above all else and I just think their heroic personas in general just mold so well together. Not to mention they are both heteromorphs, which is even more perfect if you ask me. Asui comes from such a big, loving family too, and I think for Shoji to become apart of it would actually make him the happiest man alive I'm not even kidding. Moral of the story, SHOW MORE LOVE FOR THESE TWO, PEOPLE!!!!

9) Stain x All Might

I never considered these two as a ship until the very scene below where I could only be like "wait hold the phone..." I never actually thought about it before then about how dedicated Stain is when it comes to All Might, which I know should have been obvious given his entire ideal but STILL. The way Stain was the only person who was able to instill confidence back into All Might to get back in the fray and find himself again??? Not to mention they are EASILY a "two sides of the same coin" trope because they are both worshipped symbols in the eyes of their followers: the good of mankind and hero society worship All Might, whereas the bad of mankind and those who felt shunned from society saw Stain as their icon. Idk man I just think their dynamic in general has so many layers that could be dissected and I absolutely LOVE it.

8) Tetsutetsu x Itsuka

These two are an absolute power couple you guys, I don't care if they aren't canon I wholeheartedly believe these two have a connection. Like DO YOU GUYS SEE THE WAY TETSU THREW HIMSELF IN FRONT OF A FUCKING GUN TO PROTECT HER???? And you know what, even though Tetsu is a badass of his own, I DAMN WELL know that man admires / looks up to Kendou like it's nobody's business I'm telling you. She's the "big sis" of the class, and while I'm not sure if it was stated who the class rep of B is, I put all my money on it being Kendou because she is just so smart and a hell of a fighter, which is why I KNOW Tetsu is her guard dog on sight, no argument there. Even still though, I think Kendou would also admire Tetsu's strength SO MUCH as well, I think the two of them see the other as being so far out of their own league in terms of battle prowess, especially after the fight below; I just know Kendou developed a new-found admiration for him after he risked so much in this fight by her side. I really see them as a parallel of Mina x Kirishima in a lot of ways.

7) Mirio x Tamaki x Nejire

I'll be honest with you here I'm usually not much of a poly shipper but THESE THREE???? Underrated as hell. Tamaki and Mirio are a great ship, but including Nejire in there too is just so sweet to me, I just see them as a package deal through and through, especially since Nejire was once so lonely and outcasted until the two of them came into her life. Hell even Tamaki who is so shy around EVERYBODY practically flourishes around not just Mirio, but Nejire too, I can just tell that platonic or more, Tamaki has an undeniable amount of love in his heart for Nejire too, even if Mirio is at the forefront of it all. Of course, Mirio and Tamaki doesn't require too much of an analysis because Tamaki is easily the gayest mf in the series (I think he even out-gays Bakugo let's be real here) and his backstory with Mirio is just absolutely incredible, and while I don't think we get much Mirio and Nejire solo action, I think those two just complement each other so well??? Like they have such bright and sunny personalities, they are absolutely radiant, and I think that's why Tamaki draws to them both so much (it's easily a sun x sun x moon ship <3). Honestly though, I'll take this ship in any equivalent though; Tamaki x Mirio? Nejire x Tamaki? Mirio x Nejire? I love all three together or separately to be real.

6) Spinner x Shigaraki

People need to stop SLEEPING ON THESE TWO god damn it! It's not even Fanon that Spinner was risking it all just for Shigaraki, I swear he was the person in the league who held Shigaraki's well-being and best-interest above EVERYTHING and EVERYONE else, he fucking LOVED that man and no one can tell me otherwise. I'm telling you right now, Shigaraki lived his entire life with no family, no friends, no one who actually loved or gave a damn about him without their own ideals at work, without manipulation. Spinner was the first and ONLY person to come into Shigaraki's life who actually SEEN him for his humanity, for the person he was and would have become if only he hadn't been groomed towards evil. When Spinner and Shigaraki were together, they were just boys; boys with hobbies, who just exist, and I know damn well that was the future Spinner would have wanted. I just wish Shigaraki would of seen it sooner that there was actually somebody in his life who loved and cared for him all along, and god what I wouldn't give to let these two be happy and together. Spinner's confrontation with Deku at the end of the story, it says everything that needs to be said. Really, all he wanted all along was what was best for Shigaraki </3

5) Aizawa x Hizashi

Of course they are here. Why wouldn't they be here? What list WOULDN'T they be on come on now. LMAO in all seriousness though I was not on board this ship at ALL for a hot minute, I just couldn't see the vision. But after reading so many fics where those two are married and adopt Shinsou and Eri, oh my fucking god I cannot see these two apart anymore, I can't enjoy a good dadzawa fic anymore if these two aren't - not even just Together, they have to be MARRIED for me to be satisfied and they have to have all those god damn cats ok??? I'm telling you there isn't a single reality where those two don't end up spending the rest of their lives together, I don't care what manner it is these two are inseparable either way. I don't think anyone can honestly sit there and think stoic-ass Aizawa wouldn't love his absolute fucking shit if Hizashi was in danger, ESPECIALLY with how intense his trauma of losing Oboro is, there's no damn way he is failing a second time to protect the people he loves I'm telling you that right now. It's just always been the two of them against the world, grumpy x sunshine, and that's the way it's gonna damn well stay! thank you ^_^

4) Kirishima x Kaminari

Underrated af ship surprisingly enough, but I get it because I love them platonically too. However, the bakudeku-kirikami double-dating brainrot is rotting so bad I need it on my desk right now pronto, ASAP :) Idk like I see the vision with Kirishima and Ashido as a couple, I love them together too tbh, and of course the Kaminari and Shinsou parallel to Mic and Aizawa people go wild for, which I can see too though I personally just ain't a fan of that one for some reason I can't manage to get into it. Idk as someone whose favorite trope is best friends to lovers, I just love these two so much, ESPECIALLY with Kirishima being the golden retriever, sunshine type of lover to Kaminari's black cat, yet matching type of energy to Kiri's, idk I really don't know how to describe it but there's just a certain appeal that's there for these two that I can't explain. Best friends pining for one another is just so satisfying as a trope, and they just look SO damn good together I can't deny it. I feel like Kirishima is definitely the protective type when it comes to him, whether somebody says something bad about Kaminari or if he ends up in a situation needing physical protection; not to mention he would be Kaminari's BIGGEST supporter and vice versa. And like, what's better than being in a relationship with your best friend? Having the same interests, already enjoying each other's company twenty-four-seven, like I don't think we would even see a huge change in their dynamic except they are just together and sharing an apartment and being more physically affectionate. These two just WORK so well by my standards.

3) Iida x Uraraka

I love love love love LOVE these two so much! Gahhhh I miss their early season shenanigans though, they really left the spotlight after a certain point and it makes me so sadddd (though their moment at the end of the vigilante arc was amazing by my standards). Anyways, I think these two are another underrated pairing, they just fit together so well I don't know how to explain. Uraraka brings out a certain silliness in Iida I think, and not to mention I seen someone post on analysis on here once about how Iida was the only person who supported Uraraka's reasons for wanting to be a hero in the first place, understanding her viewpoint of wanting enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle unlike Deku who thought she was lacking more of a heroic ambition. I think the two of them just even each other out, and I know Toga and Uraraka had a much more developed (and gut-wrenching) storyline, I just think Iida and Uraraka's dynamic has a lot of potential; I wish Uraraka would of been more involved in the ordeal with Stain and could of been portrayed as having been there for Iida in the aftermath since she and Deku were canonically his closest friends at U.A.. I just think they both have similar ideals and would be a good fit for each other :)

2) Inasa x Shouto

I still cannot fathom how THIS isn't one of the most popular Todoroki ships below Todoroki x Deku / Bakugo. GENUINELY I can't understand it, the potential is literally all laid out for you and yet no one bats an eye???? Like, the depth of LORE is some gourmet fucking cooking; Inasa initially being a big fan of Endeavor, secretly idealizing Todoroki from afar at the entrance exams because he admired him so much as Endeavor's son, then the ANGST fest of Todoroki still being closed off and prickly and pushing away Inasa's attempts at friendship MY GOOD GOD!!!! They both have elemental quirks that are literally DEPICTED as being so complementary of one another, they are both bull-headed and stubborn to a fault, and not to MENTION they BOTH have the exact same footing when it comes to Endeavor wherein they both hate him for his past actions but want to see an improvement from there, and that point alone makes these two mean so fucking much to me. Inasa seems like the ideal support system for Shouto (even during the end of season 7 when Inasa came on the battlefield he was cheering Todoroki on in the back of his mind even as he was far away fighting his own battle like GUYS PLEASE). And we can even see in canon already that Inasa's hyperactive personality has been able to soften Shouto's defences and make him more relaxed; I'm so giddy over the fact that the popular moment of Shouto's first real, soft, and genuine smile is DIRECTED AT INASA oh lord these two I need more fan fiction ASAP please I'm starving over here. Anyways, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk :D

1) Bakugo x Izuku

Chat do I even need to explain bakudeku to you guys come on now. Obviously I in no way shipped or supported pre season 3 bakudeku by ANY means because Bakugo was a piece of shit and Deku deserved NONE of that, but Bakugo stepped the FUCK up and finally appreciated Deku for the absolute angel that he is and frankly no one but Bakugo is at the front of the line for the Deku protection squad- hell he isn't even IN line he's the fucking AMBASSADOR for that shit I'm just saying. You guys can't tell me these two aren't literally soulmates in every sense of the word, and you know it's something really special I think that Deku never once held a grudge against Bakugo at all for how he was in the past even though he had every right to; he STILL cared about him, he STILL referred to him fondly by the nickname he had for him as kids, and he STILL supported his journey towards becoming a hero every step of the way and now in the time skip Bakugo is no doubt paying it forward in every way that he can. These two are just made for each other, and I don't think anyone can deny that.

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bookishdaze · 1 year ago

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My too long theory post about Mae as Reverse Caesar? This is multiple theories, really...

My theories on Mae's origins have ranged from her just being a lone smart girl among feral humans, to her coming from an underground civilization living in a bunker (My personal favorite. I like Fallout, lol).

Here's one that came to mind recently. It's not my main theory for her, (I still think she's just from some colony of smart humans) but it's my most "creative" and "crazy" one, but if people are allowed their crazy astronaut theories, THEN I'M ALLOWED THIS ONE 🤪

I'm gonna be calling her Mae/Nova for this.

Feel free to poke holes in this theory by the way, hehe.

This theory came to me after watching the new trailer, where we hear her being called "Nova," and we also get a shot of her riding on horseback with Raka. It reminded me a lot of Nova from War riding with Maurice.

So I thought, 'Huh, we're getting another blonde girl named Nova riding on horseback with an orangutan in the exact same way. It almost looks like the characters and plot for KOTPOTA could be a reworked version of what a plot could look like for a direct War sequel following a grown up Cornelius with Nova and Maurice and ohhhhhh-'

*puts on tinfoil hat* So my weird train of thought led me to this wacky theory: Mae/Nova is a human that was taken in by Raka as a child, and he has been raising and taking care of her. Just like Maurice did for Nova. She's kinda like Tarzan.

At first I had thought Raka met Mae/Nova because she was separated from her human colony and he was helping her get back home before they ran into Noa.

I also thought that maybe they come from a place where humans and apes already coexist, and I honestly still think either of these is the case tbh, but this part of a recent article made me think otherwise.

The "rabbit-in-headlights" bit makes me doubt she comes from a place where there are intelligent humans. (It's still possible she could be. I'll get to that later). To me this sounds like she's smarter, but still has some "animal" behaviors.

As for why Raka took her in, it can totally just be coincidence that we have another friendly orangutan who adopted a young girl.

Or maybe it became some sort of, ehh, tradition? Him wearing a necklace with Caesar's symbol and talking about how apes and humans used to live side by side makes him sound like a religious person. Maybe somewhere along the line, it became custom for those who follow his faith to "adopt a Nova" to raise and take care of, like Maurice did.

There is a difference, though. Raka could have been taking care of Mae/Nova, but he still sees her as an...well, an animal. A very smart animal that he feels a responsibility towards. I know him viewing her as an animal sounds pretty harsh, but keep in mind that humans have regressed to be like animals at this point.

And there's also this scene where he just....tosses her some food. It's no different from the way humans toss a friendly animal some food, really.

"But why does she seem frightened by the apes at the fireplace if she's been raised by Raka?"

I think she's scared of Noa here.

Orangutans are actually solitary creatures (I googled, lol), so it's very possible that it's just been her and Raka, and any newcomer makes her nervous.

Ok ok ok, so he's a guy who has taken in an animal that shows signs of intelligence and has taken it upon himself to nurture and care for this animal because his personal beliefs tell him that in doing so, he could potentially make the world a better place.

Like Will did with Caesar.

"So she's reverse Caesar." Yeah. That's pretty much what I've been trying to get at with all my rambling. Yay, parallels!

And we know Will cared for Caesar, but he always saw him as an animal. A very smart animal, but an animal nonetheless. He had him on a leash, and as much as he didn't want to, he still took him to the primate shelter. It wasn't Will being cruel, he just treated Caesar the way any human would have treated an animal, no matter how close they are.

Of course, like Caesar, Mae/Nova is gonna go through some changes. She's a young girl growing into adulthood. She'll have "needs and wants," as this article states.

Those needs and wants could be many things. To be regarded as equal. No longer wanting to feel inferior. And if she truly is some lone smart girl among a world of feral humans, she's also gonna feel really really lonely. (Think about it. If she does not come from a colony of smart humans and she truly is the only one, that's tragic. I'd be depressed, man).

So she'll also want friendship and companionship. To have a friend or anyone she can relate with. She'll most likely find this with Noa, since the article says, "...there are far more parallels and commonalities between the two of them than they might have originally imagined."

Okay, one question came to mind when coming up with this theory.

Why is she smarter than other humans? I got a few theories.

Theory 1. She could still be someone who grew up in a colony of intelligent humans, whether it be a colony in an underground bunker or anywhere else. It doesn't matter. But something terrible may have happened, like her colony was killed off, or she was separated from them as a little girl. Then Raka found her and took her in. Like Tarzan!

Theory 2. This one and the third one won't be as satisfying to fans, I assume. But maybe Raka noticed a lone child that was smarter than most, and he decided to take her in and help her intelligence grow.

Theory 3. She started off as an unintelligent feral girl, but being raised by an ape allowed her to slowly gain her intelligence back. I actually like this one. For starters, it's similar to the Planet of the Apes novel from 1963, where one of the astronauts became feral and unintelligent because of spending too much time in a cage with feral humans at a zoo, and Nova actually gained the ability to speak and became intelligent after spending a year or two in space with Ulysse, the protagonist.

Theory 4. She's like Megamind where she was launched into space from an alien planet as a baby while her homeworld burned all around her and she crash landed onto Earth. THERE'S YOUR ASTRONAUT THEORY.

I'm kidding. That was a joke. I know April Fool's was two days ago.

As for her name, we've gotten three so far. Mae, Nova, and Echo. I like to think of her name as a sort of symbol or indicator of her character growth, where I assume she'll gain the ability to speak at the end, or will have grown into herself as a person.

She'll start off as Nova. A common generic name given to all humans, given to her by Raka.

Then Echo. A more unique name given to her by Noa, but still not her own.

Then, finally, Mae. Her true unique name that she was either born with, or she picks out for herself.

Aaaaand I think that's it. I'm done. I know that was long, but I wanted to gather all of my thoughts and theories on Mae/Nova somewhere before I watch the movie in a month. Whatever her story is, I cannot wait to see it unfold. Now it's time for me to SLEEP.

#planet of the apes #kingdom of the planet of the apes #pota #kotpota #planetoftheapes #kingdomoftheplanetoftheapes #please feel free to pick this theory apart #thats the best way to test if something works #trying to break it as much as you can to expose where the holes are

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nabi-unveiled · 3 months ago

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Catching Up: Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Ep 1)

My time was very limited this past Oct/Nov so choices were made. I didn't watch nearly as many shows as typical during that period. However, I'm diving into my backlog.

Let Free the Curse is a show that I purposely filtered tags for during its run time. I know very little about it beyond the MDL description.

Since it's not currently airing, I'll probably just make one post for each watch session. I have no idea whether they'll be short or long. That depends on how into it I get. I had originally planned on watching 2-3 episodes a session, but I got distracted by a detail in a different show. I still need to work on my own video script tonight so only the first episode for now.

Did the dad just dump a dirty dish while the boy is cleaning the dishes? If I hadn't already decided this dad was a POS from all of the beating warnings, then this scene right here ALONE would've been enough evidence for me to hate him. It's SO disrespectful.

New boy is a sunshine. That's both good and bad. Our boy Do-hoe is in obvious need of sunshine in his life. But sunshine hurts your eyes when you've been in the dark too long, and I can already tell that Do-hoe has been in the dark a very long time.

The math scene is cracking me up. It shouldn't probably, but we're weirdos at my house. We do bedtime math problems and math puzzles for fun. I have heard conversations like this between my sons more times than I can count. It's always fun when they're not sure what the answer is to the problem they created themselves. Lol.

Sunshine was seriously having to think, and then Dohoe had it wrong! He's kicking himself hard (internally). If there's one thing that top students take pride in, it's being correct in these types of things.

I'm a fairly adventurous eater, but....I don't know that I want garlic in my ice cream.

There's food symbolism. Be still my beating heart.

My only question is how did Do-hoe KNOW he wanted bread? 🤔 (Side note - that painting in the background is gorgeous. I wish I knew what the writing said.)

Nevermind. Do-hoe can hear EVERYTHING this man is saying. Either the walls are thin or sunshine is loud. My guess is both.

(Side note - the background sound in this scene is driving me nuts. I hope we don't have this type of percussion often. For now, I'll just turn down my headphones.)

I love that Sunshine is asking this question. It's a good sign.

Oof. That's not a good sign. It's resignation. I'm trying not to read too much into this situation, but alarm bells are going off.

Crap. The alarm bells were warranted. I mean, we already knew this man was going to be violent. But to do it directly IN FRONT of sunshine without any hesitation? That's not a good sign at all.

Ok. I'm loving sunshine trying to figure out how to make it better. Yes, I will be calling him that until evidence suggests I shouldn't. Sunshine characters make me happy. There are so precious few of them in real life, but they make the world a better place for us all.

And yay! The weird ice cream is back. (The percussion is still driving me nuts. Thanks to my hearing impairment certain sounds catch my attention A LOT. This is one of them.)

I knew there was a reason he was here. I hadn't expected expulsion. My brain is now whirling with possibilities. I've narrowed it to two.

Do-hoe is shut down, but poor puppy looks like he's been kicked. 😢

We have confirmation that the walls are thin, and daddy dearest is involved in shady dealings. No shock there.

Ice cream x 3. I LOVE when food becomes a parallel or symbol in shows. I really hope the ice cream keeps coming up.

😭This is going to hurt even worse than I thought. My first thought was being impressed that his MOM was the pastor. That's my upbringing and community trappings rearing its ugly head. Then I processed what he was saying. Obviously still no good. As someone who got told just today that I should return to the path of righteousness, these storylines will always hit close to home for me.

LMAO. Sunshine enjoyed that bit of praise didn't he.

So Do-hoe's dad is literally top dog in this community? Because....that's crazy talk. Except, it's not. There's always someone on top of the food chain in these small communities.

This is me trying not to get distracted by the (almost) Christian fish hanging directly beside our preacher kid. It obviously wasn't purposeful or meant to be a symbol.

I'm getting pacifist vibes here now. Not surprising given his background. My guess is that this will cause problems though. Because when it's trauma that causes this stance, then people tend to draw a VERY hard line around it. If I had to make a prediction, sunshine will use violence at some point (maybe even to defend Do-hoe). It will become a problem between the two of them. I could be wrong.

Ice cream x 4. My heart is very satisfied at this point.

I'm amused while simultaneously thinking that I would MURDER him.

Because seriously! That's the best freaking part of the cone! I take it back. You are no sunshine. You are no good boy. This is a crime.

Actually - this. This is me right now.

Because there are UMBRELLAS, and there is a sunshine character wearing RED. All three of which bring me immense joy.

Ok, sunshine. I forgive the ice cream cone. Begrudgingly.

I'm hooked. It's not even about the rain. This set-up is perfection. I'm now VERY excited to see where this goes. It's going to be a rough ride. I can already tell that. It reminds me of a passage I read once. It asked something along the lines of "don't you want your favorite characters to be happy?" The answer was something along the lines of "No. I don't. I want ME to be happy. If the character must go through pain for that to happen, so be it." This is GOING to be painful. I can already tell. But I'm not above letting characters go through agony so that I can be entertained.

#let free the curse of taekwondo #korean bl #I only wish that I had time for ep 2 tonight

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tams-writeblr · 3 months ago

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Love in a hopeless Place 32

Synopsis: She was barely grown up, when she stepped into the bar that was the center of Zaun's resistance. The people she met there would forever change her life, and one of them especially. Silco x reader/OC; first-person POV; overall rating: E for Explicit; canon-compliant (though I might make a stretch on the timeline here and there to make things fit my symbolism); age gap! (younger female, older male); 9 chapters; 45k; cis female reader/POV; no beta-reader; completed Chapter ratings/warnings: T for Teen, only slightly suggestive flirting Wordcount: <1k Author's note: Just something sweet in between action. Jinx definitely raided Silco's closet at some point! Also, yes, I feel clever with placing all that parallelism in my fic. Comments would be appreciated!

Today's music recommendation: Billie Eilish - Copycat

<- previous | next ->

Act III

Chapter II

Part 3/8

Two more of my birthdays came and went, and our life together didn't change much.

Jinx grew into a beautiful young woman.

I tried my best to convince her to cut her hair at least a little, as it would soon touch the ground, but she simply refused.

Silco let her have it her way, no matter what.

One day she was rummaging around our closet and pulled out a box with old and worn-out stuff, mostly from Silco and decided to just keep it. "Look at that! They fit like a - glove!" She cracked at her own joke as she extended her arms, her hands in Silco's old working gloves. "You used to have great taste, old man," she beamed, pulling out stubbed belts and tight-fitting pants.

I could just laugh at the sight of it. There were clothes, I hadn't even seen Silco in, and he was still wearing those belts when I first met him. "Look at this, you've been really quite the rebel in your youth, weren't you?", I hummed to his ear after Jinx had waltzed off to her "secret" hideout to make a new outfit out of the old stuff.

"I'm still a rebel, dove," he grumbled, swaying slightly in his chair.

"Ah, I would die to see you in this mesh top," I sing-sang dramatically and let me fall on his desk, sending some papers around me flying.

"You can be just as childish as Jinx, kid."

I twitched at my old nickname from his mouth. "You haven't called me like that in a while," I remarked, leaning in closer so that our noses almost touched.

"You haven't acted like it in a while," he deadpanned and stole a kiss. "What do you say if we call it a day for now and head upstairs? I think you could use some correction."

"Oh, you think I've been a bad girl?", I responded coyly.

"The baddest of them all, and that's what I love about you."

#arcane fanfiction #arcane #x reader fanfiction #reader insert #x reader #x f!reader #silco x reader #silco x oc #silco fanfic #silco arcane #jinx arcane

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fullscoreshenanigans · 1 year ago

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No other option for this poll since it's based on the options that won a top 2 spot in the previous rounds.

Grace Field Kids Edition Goldy Pond Edition Lambda 7214/Paradise Hideout Edition Free-For-All Edition Other Platonic Duo Polls Suggestions Post

Copypasta'd propaganda from my other posts under the cut:

Grace Field Poll: I was glad to see how well Don & Emma and Gilda & Ray were doing on the Grace Field poll. ;w; Both feel the most criminal to me given how big of a role Don and Gilda play in the series, but ultimately I went with Gilda & Ray because I couldn't think of any moment for them that was equivalent to Don being the first of the larger group of kids to voice his support for Emma's plan:

(Chapter 130)

Except for maybe this brief exchange they added to the anime:

(S1 Episode 12)

Episode 10 also nixes the scene of Don and Gilda privately conversing in the woods in chapter 31 and instead has Ray apologizing to Don and Gilda directly rather than just Emma, which is made even more poignant when you consider how strongly he reacted to Emma and Norman giving them false hope about still being able to save Conny in chapter 11/episode 4.

He's not even trying to feign the distance he self-imposed between them in his mind at this point. He's genuinely sorry for failing them for their own sakes, not as extra able bodies who could assist Emma and Norman outside the wall. And it's a genuinely distressing sight for the two of them, seeing him at his lowest point after everything he sacrificed for this plan.

To have her then knowingly hum and hold that look of fondness for him when she sees how shocked is, after years of believing a better outcome was impossible, and how worried he is, because try as he might to keep the other children at arm's length mentally there's a way Ray frets over and looks after them that is reminiscent of Gilda's own (they are united in being the Mom Friends™ of the escapees 🤝), is such a sweet, gentle kindness that they didn't have to include but I'm very glad they did.

Goldy Pond Poll: Emma & Oliver has always felt like one of the most pertinent dynamics to come out of Goldy Pond alongside Emma & Violet with the amount of focus each are given individually as effectively the leaders of the Grace Field escapees and Goldy Pond kids, respectively, and together. The latter is significantly less, unfortunately, but Oliver usually acts as Emma's point person when she needs to confer information/plans and Norman and Ray won't work for the situation because symbolically the scene calls for a representation of larger group cohesion with the kids she didn't grow up with.

Also, after losing so many older siblings at Grace Field and becoming the big sister/leader of them, it's nice to have her regain that kind of relationship with any of the Goldy Pond group; Oliver just happens to have more panels dedicated to it lol

(Chapter 69)

(Chapter 110 & 111)

(Chapter 122; this moment is so minuscule, but again we have Oliver acting in a leader role and Emma using him as a point of reference to confirm that taking it easy in this new place is wise and safe for everyone. If even Oliver thinks it's okay to act like this—to say nothing of the way he tells her so gently and in so few words—then she can rest a little more soundly.)

(Chapter 161)

(Chapter 179; he's not the only one given focus here, but I like that he's the one this bit ends on to drive the point home to Norman and Ray about Emma.)

And then this piece by @nagaikei-ajin is my favorite of the two of them for the intensity and parallels.

i want to believe emma and oliver are carrying on yugo and lucas’ will and even got a pair of gloves for remembrance...

Free-For-All Poll: I'm glad other people are also fucked up by this panel of Ayshe & Mujika:

(Chapter 144)

The way she's staring at Mujika in rapt attention, left hand grabbing for hers while she holds her right in front of her chest to show how animated she is in the conversation, either because she's gesturing to herself or is at a loss for words in the the excitement of the moment or because the adrenaline from the skirmish with Hayato and Jin is wearing off and trying to will the words to spill forth.

It's been months since she's been able to hold a conversation with anyone in the language her father passed down to her because he believed it was something worth preserving of his culture from a millennia ago, so to be able to have that back with someone as kind and graciously loving as Mujika is something special.

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abyssalzones · 2 months ago

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experiencing Disabled Rage, so i would like to ask if you have any bits and bobs about abw!ford's eye (or. lack thereof) for me to chew on like a dog

ooh good question... I will do my best to assuade your rage with some thoughts of mine, one disabled to another.

worth noting I do not have experience with missing an eye so it is of course possible for me to get something wrong here, in which case: sorry. (Lot of fucking words below the cut. also tw for discussion of traumatic injury, particularly the medical aspects of eye injuries)

general medical/background information:

I'm actually unsure if it's an enucleation (removal of the eye) or an exenteration (removal of the whole socket including optic nerve) with plastic surgery to recreate housing for a prosthetic

the reason I'm unsure is because I imagine there would be a pretty nasty scar left behind due to the violent nature of the injury but I don't know if they would just scoop out the whole thing due to nerve damage? I'm not a surgeon and this is a cartoon so I opt for easier narrative answers, in which case more likely enucleation.

keeping that in mind I think even if ford Could hypothetically get plastic surgery with his fancy shmancy oddology money he's more likely to leave any gnarly scarring (that doesn't interfere with his health) as-is... a reminder of what happened, maybe?

initially he wears an eyepatch while recovering + going through the process of being fitted for a prosthetic and then it just kind of becomes his brand, I think it makes for a nice parallel to stan... where stan (in the main timeline) is wearing a fake eyepatch (concealing things but not Really concealing much of anything, she's still the same grunkle you see on the surface) ford actually is covering up secrets in an effort to protect himself but he also ends up owning his Weirdness brand. y'know. it's symbolic

more disability specific stuff:

adjusting to the eyestrain is a Bitch And a Half, especially considering ford as someone who does a lot of writing and illustration. I think it would fuck up his journaling in the sense that he'd stray to the side of the page he can see without realizing it and leave a noticeable gap. knowing him he'd train himself out of that habit but I could see it being frustrating

oh baby you thought those "things I see in the periphery of my vision" hallucinations were bad before huh. this guy's hallucinations have a name and everything. bill might as well have his own condominium apartment in his blindspot even if he isn't a tangible problem in his life anymore

I don't think the injury would've been deep enough to hit brain tissue but I can't imagine any optic nerve damage would help in regards to ford having a potential TBI. he's Mr Symptoms to me but in particular I think he's sensitive to light and probably has more coordination issues than main timeline ford

fiddleford and stan (or lee, in the case of this au where I like to imagine she'd start using a more butch-y name) both pick up the habit of staying to the sighted side of ford, though this would be awkward for oddology publicity photoshoots where obviously they'd want ford in the middle as the face of the company... cue ford bumping into whoever is unfortunate enough to be in his blindspot. a lot.

with that in mind I think ford probably feels pretty frustrated and embarrassed by the new limitations considering how much he's prided himself on his independence in the past. it takes a long time for him to let fiddleford or lee help him with things like shaving (particularly difficult because he can't just focus his good eye on the other side of his face in the mirror, obviously. and no he isn't allowed to just set his face on fire) or even just reading if his eye is tired. but part of this au is him allowing himself to be looked after, so...

it's also difficult sometimes just for the painful memories it brings up. it isn't just a clean hole in his face, there's signs of a struggle. there's always that unspoken question of how it happened-- how do you avoid your status as a victim of violence when it's literally written on your face? but then if it looked neater, would it magically erase the fact that it did happen? would it just make him feel worse, more like he's hiding the end result of the worst mistake of his life? so without the eyepatch he feels very vulnerable.

fiddleford will plant a kiss on his brow sometimes which makes him feel a little better (avoiding the scar itself because it's sensitive for both psychological and nerve-damage reasons)

when the twins are old enough to start spending more time around their uncles/aunt I could imagine dipper finds it spooky and theorizes as to The Mystery of Grunkle Ford's Missing Eye (sort of like how he fixated on stan's "tattoo") whereas mabel is like waittt can you get fake eyes in different colors? what if you had a cool marble pattern in there. like these

I think he'd pick crystal or neptune

this has been Eyeball Talk

#askbox #lab discussion #trying to cover my bases here... I could talk about anything gf related forever just because the thoughts flow like water.#gfposting

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