#but maybe it will turn out to be true

[katsy-kitty]

I'm having a strong belief based on nothing but my own conviction that this weekend I'll finally respond to everyone here and irl that I've been neglecting because I've been feeling overwhelmed for no particular reason.

Have faith in me, please. I need it.

[youreturnhome]

KILL YOU GET RID OF YOU OPEN UP YOUR RIBCAGE TAKE OUT MY HEART THAT BEATS IN YOUR CHEST!!!

[vaguely-concerned]

the more I play the more I think lucanis basically knows it's illario who betrayed him right from the beginning (he's had a year in the ossuary to think. not that many people knew where he was going. when you ask him 'did Illario know you'd be on that ship' his only answer is the hardest flattest 'yes' you ever heard). so it's not so much about figuring out who the traitor is (because that's ludicrous. we all know. immediately. they didn't really bother to hide it lmao) as about methodically closing off every single avenue of denial lucanis has clung to that whole time with as much or little gentleness as you might prefer until he has no choice but to admit it. because the moment he has to admit it, he'll have to do something -- feel something -- about it. and that's such a catastrophic event in lucanis' inner landscape (he has had TWO people in this whole entire world up until now and will do anything to hold on to them with a heartbreaking child-like desperation, even at and especially through the detriment of his own self) that he'd rather just. not. what if we quite simply. didn't. what if we just stayed here in the emptiness where we can both pretend you didn't hurt me in a way I should never forgive. I have so much practice in that with caterina already it's always worked out great for everyone so far. (press x to fucking doubt but that's trauma logic for you lol)

after everything illario did, so much of the storm of lucanis' emotions around it is 'what the FUCK did you get yourself tangled up in this time and how do I get you out of this mess safely'. what's worse: the fact that your brother murdered you, or that he put himself in horrible danger doing so and thus exposed you to the risk of losing him forever. lucanis' heart certainly has an opinion here and it's fucking unhinged (affectionate)

the themes of dissociation in lucanis' character in general makes me feel nuts. allllll these contradictory messy things he needs to cut off from each other because they can't coexist or be easily reconciled inside him. but all remain stubbornly true separately anyway and will have their due one day. love and resentment. tenderness and fear and rage. terror and longing. love and freedom don't coexist. the burned out golden child anthem is playing in the background. he was always caterina's favourite and he has to keep striving to deserve that dubious honour with every breath he takes and then, presumably, mercifully, some day he will die and be excused and can rest. and until now he's suppressed all the -- natural, healthy, protective! -- negative feelings that threaten the few attachment relationships he actually has, at the cost of ever actually having his needs for connection and safety met and leaving his core self imprisoned and compromised. and spite goes 'what. no. that's dumb fuck that' (*spite voice* I do not understand that and even if I did I would not respect it) and does not allow him to fall back into that, which I think is what saves his life, ultimately. it took being possessed by a demon for lucanis to even contemplate telling anyone he loves 'no' in any way, but hey. whatever gets you there right lol

lucanis is dealing with the freeze response allll the way down baby. and he was even before the ossuary, that just turbo powered it and brought it to a breaking point way before it could happen naturally. but something was going to break eventually no matter what, and I'm just glad that in the end, through the power of friendship and also pure spite, it doesn't have to be him

[egophiliac]

So how’s ride kamens going for you as I just pulled my self together long enough to read the other half of the current main story

I've been working on catching up on the event stories since they announced the upcoming main story update! (I totally bombed the last few events...they're so fast-paced and I just didn't have time...😭)

and then of course they went and dropped THIS on us today

(you don't understand, I LOVE Tajador and I already love the two blurry frames they've given us of non-silhouetted Kelka, I'm ready to absolutely lose my shit come the announcement/reveal(?) stream on Thursday --)

[jackdaw-and-hattrick]

Dying at this idea I just had: People become convinced Danny is the love child of Bruce Wayne (known manwhore) and Harley Quinn, because

-he looks just like a young Bruce, if (somehow) marginally paler, but with Harley’s button nose and big eyes.

-Then there’s his big, Harleyesque personality with Bruce’s faith in humanity and both’s proclivity for taking action against what they see as wrong.

-He’s a gymnastics champion like Harley with real intelligence buried deep under layers of plain silliness, though much more capable sobering up when situationally appropriate.

-Dangerous big animals love them and they have no answers why

-Both Danny and Bruce have BDE (Big Dad Energy)

-(also both Danny and Harley are high key metas but everyone just doesn’t mention that)

Both Harley and Danny do everything in their power to feed the rumors (without saying anything directly, that would be cheating), including Harley egging Bruce on camera while shouting “pay up bitch!” And Danny taking up wearing one of Harley’s jackets.

[the-overanalyst]

gotta say, i really appreciate how the throughline of mafuyu and mizuki's Sameness has remained consistent and relevant ever since the main story. to the extent that because of their similarities, they both directly inspired each other's most monumental decisions: mafuyu running away from home and mizuki (trying to) share her secret.

[kacievvbbbb]

I know that the running theory right now is Shank's twin, but honestly, I'm inclined to believe it's a clone. Maybe a special one commissed for Garling to replace the child he lost, who knows. But the clone thing seems to be a running theme.

they cloned the seven warlords (who's even to say that the seraphim are the first tries) they cloned Stussy from the Rocks Pirate (the most regular-sized human of the bunch so maybe there's like a limit and Shanks is the most regular-sized yonko.) they clone devil fruits. It definitely feels like a setup for something much bigger and a cloned shanks is very much in that realm

like that really is the only explanation I have for why the "twin' looks so much like shanks. I mean it's one thing to be two siblings that look exactly alike (which isn't out of the norm for Oda) but to wear their hair virtually the same and have the same scraggly mustache even though he would have been raised as a proper celestial dragon with all the "propriety" and better fashion sense that entails and just generally everything (we've already been shown that either the clones are drawn to the same look as their original or it is forced upon them to make them resemble as close as possible.)

I don't know the idea that the world government would clone Shanks because why the hell not isn't so far-fetched honestly it might even be a clone of garling himself to explain the age.

Shanks holds a lot of power in the world a lot of people are known to trust him and he holds particular sway with the giants something that would be very valuable to the world government. And of garling's his dad it'd be pretty easy to get access to that DNA.

but yeah I'm interested to see how this plays out.

[goldkirk]

.

[kindaorangey]

the more i learn about TVC the more i realise how crazy a divergence from book canon it was to have armand stay with louis. armand as a character is defined by what is done to him, he is kidnapped, assaulted, groomed and tortured, and his life has been blown up and reinvented against his will again and again. he is sold, he is displaced, he is bought, his life with marius is forcibly ended and he is displaced again, he is positioned as the head of the paris coven, and lestat destroys his coven's faith in him. the stuff with louis in paris is a little more grey, but louis' murder of the entire théâtres des vampires does effectively blow up the status quo of armand's life once more.

and if you read it that way, in the books, armand leaving louis is one of the only times he elects to blow up his own life. and then he chases after daniel and their relationship is legitimately the healthiest armand has ever had and framed as the reason he doesn't end up evil in QotD. it's a very significant moment that, at least for a time, represents a shift towards armand feeling like he has a bit more agency and choosing to do what he wants in his life.

but like... armand doesn't leave louis in the show. the s2 finale is, functionally, someone once again blowing up armand's life (though, of course, he had it coming). and yeah i guess it represents a true clean slate for armand, because nothing is given to him or forced upon him to replace his old life with louis, but armand once again has no say in the matter, and this change doesn't arise from any self-awareness or resolve in him. i'm not sure if s3 will really get into the sort of effect that would have on him, and i imagine his new responsibility as daniel's maker will provide him with some sort of a new system in life, but yeah. cracked decision in retrospect and kind of an L that turned-at-27-show!armand has less self-respect and resolve than his turned-at-17 book counterpart

[egophiliac]

I have a question about the jp server pickups, since I really want knight Sebek, but I’m trying to save gems for bloom malleus + the 3rd tsum event that’s gonna show up sooner or later. Iirc, after knight Sebek, the next story update’s pickup had all of the previous story cards (ie cerberus Ortho, general Lilia, and knight Sebek). Is this true, and if it is, did it include a token system like the dorm pickups where you can just do 100 pulls and then buy the specific card you want directly? Because if that is how it works, then I can wait until then and be sure I won’t have to go to 200 for him.

we did indeed get a second chance at those three when 7-7 came out! I'm pretty sure there was not a token system -- though admittedly I don't 100% remember, sorry! 🙇 I took a quick search through some past posts/videos from people who tend to include the gacha and news stuff, but I didn't see any mention of it, so I'm inclined to think there really wasn't one. :( they were all separate pickups with their own pull counts rather than a combined one, if that info helps at all.

speaking as a strict f2p who hoards keys/gems like the lovechild of a dragon and a magpie, given the choice between saving for a story card and a birthday card, I'd go for story -- it does require a lot of patience, but there are way more opportunities to get past birthday cards, both from the anniversary events and the rerun pickups! tsums is a bit harder to say anything on because Eng doesn't follow the same event schedule, but it's a longish event and those pickups let you have a free 10-roll, so I think they're also a bit easier to save up for.

(ALSO speaking of free rolls, starting with the fifth round of birthdays -- the kutsurogi my room ones -- the birthday boy/union jacket/bloom cards have had a separate pickup that you can get two free 10-pulls at by doing missions! I got a bloom Jade from it a couple weeks ago. :D meanwhile general Lilia is the only story card I've ever managed to pull, so...I'm probably kinda biased. whoops.)

[gingerswagfreckles]

Well they caught him. If he wasn't the exact kind of person tumblr loves, the conspiracy theories about this being a random person being framed would have continued to spread. But he's an attractive 26 year old white man who was caught carrying a manifesto about corporate America and has an internet history that matches up with tumblr's general politics. So everyone is going to get excited about how he's a martyr and go back to acknowledging reality in that there isn't a conspiracy to frame the wrong guy.

The discussions over whether or not this man should be lionized as a hero are honestly not as relevant as the comfort with which people are going to drop the conspiracy theory they would have been fully committed to if this man's politics turned out to be nuts. The ease with which the userbase of this website switches between realities based on whether or not they confirm their biases is really alarming. I just hope people understand how weird it is to claim a random person is 100% going to be framed by the FBI on one day, and then drop that by the next day when it becomes clear that the person being "framed" is the exact kind of communist you had hoped.

[invye]

everyone be like "happy easter!" and i have to fight so hard to wrestle down the intrusive thoughts that want me to make a resurrection joke in bad taste.

they are just polite.

they don't know.

[all-pacas]

This is not a CamChase post, but, I actually do want to talk about something I feel is deeply underappreciated by fandom, which is: Cameron and Chase are actually friends.

Long before they ever sleep together, all the way back in early S1. The two of them are almost always shown to get along! Cameron sticks up for Chase the entire Vogler arc, refusing (incorrectly) to believe he would rat, or that he should be fired. Chase, noted apathetic, actually tends to go out of his way to compliment or stick up for Cameron in early episodes: he passes along her good ideas to House (Maternity), defends her from House's criticism (Detox), and compliments her good ideas in Pilot and DNR, something he notable never does once for Foreman.

They get along! They have a joking conversation about lab results and House and Foreman's fight in Socratic Method. In Paternity Chase makes a sort of borderline inappropriate joke that the patient should take his mind off his pain by admiring Cameron's boobs; Cameron laughs instead of getting offended. In Sports Medicine, he teases her about her upcoming date with House. In Hunting, before the meth hookup, Chase is openly worried about her and asks Cameron to drinks; he even offers to do extra work so she can take it easy! Chase! The laziest man alive!

But to me, the most telling example is in in Mob Rules. We're at the start of the Hameron arc, and last episode Cameron asked House if he liked her, which he didn't answer either way. And what does Cameron do? She talks to Chase about it.

CAMERON: Did House seem weird to you? CHASE: Are you expecting him to be weird? CAMERON: We spoke about how we felt. CHASE: You told him you liked him? CAMERON: No, of course not. CHASE: What are you talking about, then? CAMERON: I asked him if he liked me. CHASE: Why would you do that? CAMERON: Because… I like him.

They're friends! Chase reacts with zero surprise that Cameron likes House; she goes to him for advice in a moment she's feeling vulnerable. He already knows she likes House, Cameron wants his opinion. This is a conversation between friends.

In fact, this happens a few times. Notably, Cameron tries very hard to get Chase to open up to her in Cursed:

CAMERON: You know, parents are never as bad as kids think they are. CHASE: You like my dad so much, ask him out. CAMERON: [joking] I’d make an excellent step-mom, I’m very lenient. [pause] He’s your father, you never see him, and he’s here. Unless he’s done some unspeakable thing, you should lighten up. CHASE: Right, thanks for the tip.

And, yeah, she clearly doesn't get it, but she's trying! She's joking around, she cares. Cameron tries to get Chase's advice in Sleeping Dogs Lie, she commiserates with him in Deception, she unilaterally defends Chase in The Mistake. They joke around sometimes, she confides in Chase when the TB guy in TB or Not TB asks her out: Cameron goes to Chase for relationship advice! More than once!

These are conversations that do not happen with other characters: Cameron and Foreman indicate they respect one another medically, but never have personal conversations; Chase doesn't open up to anyone, period. But whenever Cameron is looking for advice or to share romantic gossip… she goes to Chase. And Chase, for his part, likes to tease her (and she him: sex can kill you was 1000% Cameron trolling him), but honestly tends to be… if not automatically sympathetic, he listens, he jokes about TB Guy, he knows about her crush on House and treats it like old news. They're! Friends! I would actually argue this is probably the main reason Cameron goes to him when she decides she wants casual sex: Chase is someone she, in fact, likes. Even if that liking is not romantic. (Even the btw we should have sex, I will never love you is uh. Unless you are totally deranged that is not how you approach a fwb situation. Unless you. You know. Know Chase isn't gonna be offended because he already knows you're friends and aren't trying to drag him.)

And this actually does continue once they do date, btw. They're constantly hanging out. Chase spends entire episodes of S5 just hanging out in the ER. He still likes to tease her (Whatever it Takes), she inexplicably/hilariously still ropes him into her House drama (Ugly), but I can count on one hand the number of times they bicker or are unkind and mean it. They are friends! They always were friends. And that was the case long before they ever hooked up. In an AU where they never dated, they would still be friends. Their (romantic) relationship was badly written, no one likes it, I get it. But honestly I really do love how well they got along in S1-2, and I wish people appreciated that friendship more.

[pangaeaseas]

ohhhh my god the lily was a bad friend to Snape thing pisses me off so fucking much. just willful misreading and frankly sometimes disturbing blaseness towards what the real problem was (not just the slur! JOINING A FUCKING HATE GROUP! and also slurs are bad--we should be able to understand this, right?) I mean one of the problems with it is that it doesn't fully understand the multiple power dynamics at play--blood status, gender, AND social class are all important in the lily/Snape and Lily/Snape/marauders dynamics. And also? I think Lily is meant to be read as not actually of a significantly higher class than Snape--she's working class but her family is slightly more financially stable and determined to hold themselves above him! So the class dynamics aren't 'rich popular girl Lily and poor bullied Snape' it's 'also poor but slightly less poor Lily'!! AND this interaction cannot be read without Snape's blood status privilege. And. Of course. The fact that him calling her a mudblood in public was a sign of him fully embracing Death Eater ideals and he went on to join the Death Eaters--having already been associating with them for a while. The initial slur isn't even forgiveable but it becomes even more heinous when you remember he was joining a group dedicated to exterminating her because of who she was. Why should she give a shit about who bullied him anymore? When we talk about what Lily and Snape are doing post Snape's Worst Memory, I would say that the fact Snape joins the freaking Death Eaters is a far worse betrayal of their friendship than Lily marrying James (which isn't even a betrayal, exactly, as she is, you know, an autonomous person with her own wants needs and opinions).

[sumikae]

Just thinking it would be quite fun if Aruma Arima got serious about subverting expectations and had Lucifer go "because I love humanity". One of ekuoto's main dynamics is the love between demon and human, but since Lucifer as far as it shows has never left his gehenna and only sent signals for others to do works for him, he can't form relationships normally like other demon lords. So the humans he could have interacted with remain Adam, Eve, and Lilith, the ones who preceded his fall and likely the reason for his rebellion. Going by the pattern of "love" and how demon lords hurt the subjects of their "love" with their sins, what if Lucifer actually loved the first humans, by extension, humanity as a whole? Belphegor thinks he should have left changing the world to Lucifer, and what he defines as "change" is a world of dreams where no human has to suffer.

[i-like-forcefem]

forcefem: making someone a girl against her will

forceforcefem: forcing someone to make you a girl

forceforceforcefem: forcing someone to forceforcefem you? is that even a thing?

forceforceforceforceforceforceforceforcefem: help

I’m actually quite the fan of forceforceforcefem!

Consent is a very very underrated part of forcefem, you need your cuties to tell you explicitly that they WANT to be turned into a girl

And if they give the wrong answer a couple of times… well there’s nothing wrong with persuading her a little