#i really love this whole journey for her

[uptownhags]

sorry to everyone who is bored or disappointed by LM's new work or "obsession" (lmao) with motherhood, but i am so thrilled to see she's expecting again?!?

[royaltea000]

I’ve never felt so conflicted about a franchise in my life but at least this dude was hot

[strawbebbiesart]

chimckens 🐓🌽

[sysig]

They’re perfect for each other honestly (Patreon)

[rosyborealis]

Thinking about her❤️❤️😢

[astarlightmonbebe]

i'm only at the beginning of li tongguang's descent into obsession (eps 17-18), but already it's both hurting and hitting. hurting, because we know li tongguang's capabilities, and his level headedness, and the potential he has, that he seems to throw out due to this obsession. hitting, because when you think about it, the obsession storyline and characterization does make perfect sense. obsession like that is a double edged blade, which can turn from love to hate, childish belief and joy to embittered rage in a second.

on one hand, it's painful to watch ltg's childlike desperation when faced with ruyi again. we want to grit our teeth and think of him as idiotic, unable to take a hint. but the reality is that it's a completely normal response to be expected from him. i mean, it's a dream come true, to see the person you 'love' the most in the world to be whole in front of you. it's probably what he could only dream about, especially being the one to apparently find her bones and bury them.

on a deeper level, ltg's initial reaction is very much a manifestation of his inner child, almost peter pan-like in the 'child that never became an adult/grew up' way. by that i mean to say the desperate urge to please, the constant worrying, and the oscillation between hot and cold moods are all so indicative of someone who grew up in an insecure/unstable environment, usually with volatile or simply unavailable authority figures. from what we can gather, he had no father, his mother wasn't in his life ("she doesn't want him around, nor can she bear for him to be away, so that's why he's like that" per empress zhaojie's words to ruyi). the one authority figure that entered his life to offer some semblance of guidance was ruyi, and even though it's clear that she held care for him, she was also a twenty year old assassin used to training subordinates, not children. her mentorship style is clearly so different when you hold ltg and yang ying side by side, and we know from ruyi's own mouth that she doesn't consider herself to have taught ltg well, and wants to remedy that through/with yang ying (i'll probably make a whole different post comparing this and the affects of this after watching some more episodes lol - there are bullet points in the drafts). so even though ruyi was his authority figure, she was still an emotionally unavailable one who couldn't meet ltg on the level he probably needed at that time in his life, and which no one probably ever did. hence his up and down reaction and actions.

it intrigues me, too, because i think, in a very subtle way, ltg is very much a character foil to ruyi in that he reflects some of her worst attributes, or more accurately represents the sort of person she was, or at least acted like (yuan lu's comment about how ltg has ruyi's gaze was meaningful outside of the jealousy arc - to me at least). i saw someone make a really interesting comment on how ltg's devotion to ruyi parallels ruyi's own devotion to empress zhaojie, which i'll also probably comment on more later.

obviously, ltg's obsession stems from an issue much larger than ruyi herself - she just happens to be the unfortunate target of it. and, clearly, i know his descent into it will be ugly, if understandable. i understand ruyi wanting to leave that part of her life behind, but also - to think that maybe many of the issues faced in future eps could have been avoidable if she'd been upfront with li tongguang about her identity early on.

[tomwambsmilk]

I am now realizing I don't think I've ever really explained my Succession-Inferno analogy but it is something near and dear to my heart so. Buckle up I guess!

The whole thing is premised on the idea that Logan holds a lot of characteristics traditionally ascribed to the devil in literature. He's an excellent liar (far better than anyone else on the show), he goes out of his way to destroy relationships between other people because he can't stand it when people love others more than they love him, he presents himself as "uncle fun" to outsiders, he actively revels in sowing discord and conflict and betrayal whereas everyone else merely tolerates it. At the same time everyone around him treats him like a god. He deserves all their love, he is The Father who has created all they see, reality is manifested by his will and is simply whatever he wants it to be, he is all-knowing and all-powerful. But because their god is actually. you know. evil. the fruit of his continued power (and their continued worship of him) is nothing but misery and lies.

In Dante's Inferno, Dante goes on a journey through Hell, guided by Virgil. Virgil represents two things: the knowledge of morality necessary to understand what's happening in Hell and avoid being taken in by it, and the moral support and courage necessary to complete the journey. Dante journeys through nine circles that are meant to represent sins of increasing moral degradation. The first is limbo, who's actually just people who weren't bad at all but were never baptized and so can't go to heaven. That's where the pagan moral philosophers - including Virgil - are. After that, it's Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and finally, Treachery. The order is very intentional, and rooted the belief that the early sins (sins of the flesh) are the easiest ones to fall into and ultimately are not as serious as the others - but, they also serve as gateways to the more serious sins. Each circle has sinners being punished in ways that are metaphors for the impacts of their sins. The devil sits in the ninth circle of hell, Treachery, where everyone (including the devil himself) is frozen in ice. The devil has Brutus, Judas, and Cassius in his mouth, and he chews on them for all eternity. Everyone around him betrayed someone they had an obligation to; the worse the betrayal, the closer to the devil they are frozen. The furthest away are those who betrayed their families (Cain); then those who betrayed their countries (Antenor); those who betrayed their guests and those who sheltered in their homes (Ptolemy); and finally, those who betrayed their masters, lords, and benefactors, which includes the three in Satan's mouth.

If Logan is Succession's Satan, then two things follow. First, Waystar becomes a metaphorical Inferno, where climbing the ranks to get closer to Logan requires climbing through the circles of hell and participating in greater and greater moral degradation. I think the character this most applies to, because we actually get to see his corruption arc over the course of the show, is Tom. And his arc, I think, arguably fits with that journey into hell. Season 1 gives us Gluttony and Greed, especially in 1.06 when he takes Greg to the restaurant and gives his spiel about how great it is to be rich. We also get his general obsession with nice things and with stuff, something which the Roys don't have, and something that seems to fade in Tom as his arc progresses. Season two gives us Wrath and Violence (Safe Room etc.), and Fraud (the cruise line scandal coming out). And then finally, at the end of season 3, we get Treachery. And I find it very very interesting that immediately before committing the act of Treachery, Tom asks Greg if he wants to make a deal with devil - something which turns out to mean both a deal with Logan, but also the act of betraying Shiv. Up until this point, you could argue that Greg had been riding along on Tom's coattails on this journey-through-hell - but the line "What am I going to do with a soul anyways?" means that, for the first time, he's actively consenting to what's happening. Sure, he doesn't know what's going on - but the line itself implies that it simply does not matter to him.

The second thing that follows, though, is that while Tom and Greg and the old guard have journeyed down to where Logan is, his children have been there all along. They grew up in a world characterized by Treachery, Fraud, Violence, Wrath, Greed, and Lust. Their arcs aren't about them becoming corrupted; their arcs are about whether they can escape the corruption they've always lived in. Everyone is frozen in that same ice together, but the ways they got here were very different.

Finally, the Virgil character is very important, because he doesn't have a corollary in the Succession half of this analogy, and that highlights what none of these characters have. None of them have a strong moral compass, and even if they did, none of them have the kind of support and moral courage to resist the allure of temptation. This is far more devastating for the Roy kids, though, because they've never had the opportunity to encounter a Virgil, whereas everyone else had to pass through Limbo - where Virgil is - before they could start going through hell. Or, in other words, with Tom et al. at some point there was an active choice to reject the moral compass and reject the moral support, which the Roy kids never had. But once you reject your moral compass it's hard to get it back again, hence why the further you get from Limbo the harder it is to find your way back.

[softquietsteadylove]

Thenamesh mermaid/fishermen AU

Heyyyy <3

I just wanted to know if you could do one where thena splits her tail (after the incident where she gets caught in a net) and Gil decides they should lay low for a day so no-one will discover her. Thena spends a day trying to live like a human. She gets really confused about how showers work, as well as what the purpose of makeup is, and Gil finds it absolutely adorable. Do you think you could add in their first kiss too?

Btw I live for your thenamesh fanfics <3 <3

"Twice in one month, Gil?--what's the occasion?"

"I know," he chuckled as he accepted his change and his purchase. He looked towards the fruit stall, where Thena's new friend had invited her to sit and watch how to peel the fruit for herself. "I just...wanted to get out a bit, I guess."

Thena deserved to get out and see more of the world, instead of just watching it on the tv to ask him her questions when he got home from work. She and Sersi were right; she had to interact with more humans to improve her own humanness, and that could only happen outside in the real world. And the more human she could appear, the further away implications otherwise would get.

That, and...she was so happy!

Gil inhaled as he caught the sound of Thena's laughter travelling over the sea air. He made his way over, one hand in his pocket and the other holding his acquisition.

Thena seemed to be having the time of her life learning to peel mangoes. She loved learning new things, and the older woman seemed happy to teach her.

Thena had been looking forward to returning to the market since their last run in with Kro. He had promised they could come back (after she had pointed out that he had forgotten his promise to buy mangoes for them to eat at home). She had even put some thought into what she wanted to wear for their day out, which was unbearably cute.

He did wake up to her attempting to use the shower for the first time and getting water everywhere, but it was still cute.

She had even asked if he had any makeup. It had confused him a little, but she showed him an article in one of Sersi's magazines about what makeup looks could apply for different occasions. One had mentioned 'hot girl summer', to which she had pointed out that it was summer, and it was hot, and she was the girl part.

He had told her that she didn't need any makeup. By some miracle, she had accepted it and moved on.

Still, the light, white linen sundress she had picked was a lovely outfit. He had caught - too late - a few of her scales showing through on her upper shoulders, but no one seemed to notice. Or maybe they thought that was some kind of makeup, or glitter, or something. But it was cute to see them, he had to admit.

Like her fangs.

"Hey," he smiled as he announced his arrival. Thena was poring over peeling a plump red mango, one long strand of it trailing down to her knees.

"She's a natural," the other woman looked up at him from her seat as she finished slicing what looked to be her twentieth mango. She gave Thena's thigh a tap with her bony hand, "I think your boyfriend needs you, dearie."

"Hm?" Thena looked up, giving him those wide green eyes and the head tilt that he thought was so adorable. She smiled when she saw he was indeed done with 'getting her something' from the far side of the market. "You're back!"

"Here," her new friend chuckled, taking Thena's mango from her and cutting off the very last strip of peel and slicing it into a bag for her. "Enjoy your hard work, Thena."

"Thank you," she beamed at the older woman (fangs and all). Gil kept an eye on them, but the human of the two didn't seem to notice. If she did, then she didn't mind them.

"Actually, I'll need two bags of mangoes, too," Gil chuckled as Thena stood and rounded the stand again. He held out his hand, "unpeeled, please."

"What is that?" Thena asked as she examined what was in his hand.

"Lick it," he encouraged her, although she gave him a funny look. "You'll like it."

Thena took the thing from him, holding it in her two hands (which actually seemed more difficult than just holding it in one). She touched the tip of her tongue to it. "Oh!"

Gil nodded to the woman as he accepted his purchase of their mangoes to take home. "It's mango flavoured ice cream."

"Ice cream," Thena murmured, delving more into the treat without her previous hesitation. "I think I've seen it."

"You probably have," he grinned as he took her hand in his, walking back down the pier with her.

Thena waved to her friend with a grin before returning to her frozen treat. "It's sweet!"

"It's a dessert, like candy," Gil explained, although he got the impression that Thena was only half listening to him. "Can I have a lick?"

She nodded, extending the cone for him so he could duck his head down and take a swipe for himself.

"That is really good," Gil mused as he licked his lips. "The guy makes it himself, so--whoa!"

Thena manoeuvred him so his arm could rest around her and on her waist, allowing her to tuck herself into him more comfortably.

"Angelfish?"

"Thank you, Gil," she said quietly as they walked out of the main alley of the market and towards the steps back down to the docks. She rested her head against his arm.

He sighed. He hadn't lied; he really was miserable in the time he spent without her, waiting for Kro to show up. He really didn't know how he had gone on without her--without the sound of her sleeping to whale noises, or crunching sardines, or counting all the corners she could find in one room.

Thena purred against him as he pressed his lips to the top of her head.

She held up the ice cream cone again; offering him some of her delicious snacks was a real display of affection, for her. He grinned, "don't mind if I do!"

Thena watched as he took another lick, licking his lips afterwards again. She tilted her head at her cone, "it's going soft."

"It gets solid because it's frozen water and cream, but it'll melt back into milk if it gets too hot."

Thena opened her mouth and shoved the rest of the scoop in.

Gil's jaw dropped, "Thena!"

She gave him a defiant look, "y'll shaid i'h'll mel't!"

"Chew your food, Angelfish," he sighed, wishing he could be exasperated with her even when she was so adorable. "It won't melt right away."

Thena licked her lips with a grin, "well, it was most enjoyable when it was still cold."

"I guess I can't argue with that." He had to admit, he was glad she enjoyed it so much. Next time he got regular groceries he could get mango ice cream or popsicles for the freezer, too.

Thena crunched the cone with similar delight, although she relinquish the tip of it - with a little melted ice cream pooled therein - to him.

"Aw, thanks Thena," he smiled, leaning and taking the whole thing from her fingers in a bite. He caught her looking at him as he licked his lips after the final bite. "What is it?"

She didn't say anything, just gave him a curious look. She was thinking of something, but it didn't warrant asking him quite yet.

Gil blinked as she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. It was quick, and kind of at an odd angle, and he felt her tongue swipe by his lips on the way back. Heat shot up the back of his neck and he knew he was already red to his ears.

"Hm," Thena let out softly, licking her own lips now that they were parted again. Her eyes moved over his face, measuring his reaction. She tilted her head just the one time, "different."

"Different?" Gil practically squeaked out (the blush was not going anywhere).

Thena looked down at her dress as it fluttered just below her knees. "It tasted different."

Oh. The ice cream--it had tasted different then than it had just on its own. Gil gulped, "uh, s-sorr-"

"It was nice."

Gil - halting mid apology - looked at her. She slipped her hand into his again, looking at their joined fingers rather than up at him. Her braid had her hair pulled over her ears slightly but he caught a little bit of pink along those razor sharp cheekbones of hers. "Yeah?"

"Hm."

"Okay," Gil sufficed to say, trying not to puff out his chest at the definitive description of their...did she know about kisses? Did he really have what it took to explain it to her if she didn't? He could worry about that later. "Ready to head home?"

Thena just nodded, leaning into him again as she processed whatever she had to in her own way.

"Okay," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple, "let's go, Cuddlefish."

[gothamcityneedsme]

hopefully smtv vengeance like. adds some stuff to clarify on things left by the wayside in the original game. im looking at some forums and such on some of my remaining questions and they're like. nobody knows lol. smtv has suffered a bit too clearly from the cutting room floor i think

[nobodieshero-main]

i'm having more side quest ideas

[dreampearls]

the one thing i actually really like about genshins writing that they keep on doing is the fucking. Dual identity shit like with pretty much all the archons + albedo + scara + literally the epitome of this being the traveler twins. I am going to pull my hair out

[just-rogi]

I didn’t realize how isolating growing up in a all white town with all white friends (who loved me very much mind you!!) was until I started spending more time with black and brown women and it’s like oh OH!!

This weekend we were all getting ready together and doing our hair and makeup and one of my friends was sitting me down braiding my textured hair SO DELICATELY!! And she had me sit face to face while she laid my edges and made sure my curls were perfect and like!!!!! It HEALED my soul!!!

[sysig]

I swear as soon as I dig out their source material I’m gonna start working on them again (Patreon)

[violentlydefending]

happened upon a full-odds shiny marill today on lunar new year... year of the rabbit......... what does it mean what does it MEAN

[hearts-hunger]

re-reading the books i loved in my girlhood and realizing that they're all about a girl who falls deeply in love with a boy who loves her back but just not enough to make him stay

[givemaycoffee]

5, 19, and 20.

😌❤️ Incredibly concise. My ADHD caboose could never. I appreciate you.

5. Favorite form of potato

Savoury Squirrel Bakes - a recipe from the official Redwall cookbook, which I received when I was like 8. It involves potatoes, cheese, and chives all rolled in egg and then breadcrumbs and then baked. Ridiculously delicious.

19. The veggie you dislike the most

PEAS. They’re wretched. They have no place in my kitchen.

20. Favorite Disney princess movie

So, putting my burning hatred for Disney as a company aside - how could you ask me to make this choice??? There are so many different feelings pulling me toward different ones. FINE. I guess I’ll say Beauty and the Beast. But I want you to know that I almost added a read more so I could explain why Pocahontas and Frozen 2 were very strong contenders and it’s going into my tags anyway.

Ask me more weirdly specific and unrelated questions!