#i thought she was different v_V

[isatoru]

dude getting ghosted and abandoned by someone you genuinely thought you were gonna be friends with for a long time out of nowhere and you never getting closure about it/knowing why that happened is such a sad thing and i'm tired of people always saying "people will always come and go and it's okay if someone just wasn't feeling you. both sides are valid." and its like okay i know that but damn bruh i did NOT see it coming and it still doesn't change the fact it hurt at some point because i never knew why (especially when i know i didn't do anything wrong) LMFAOOO

[bumblingbabooshka]

i love the tuvix dynamic as it exists don’t get me wrong but it would’ve been way funnier if neelix had continued to be a little rascal in the way he was set up to. imagine an episode where tuvok is trying to nail him for starting a pyramid scheme

[unsoundedcomic]

It seems like everything was going according to plan-- except basically this exact moment. If Sessine had somehow been able to account for this as well-- what do you think she woulda done differently? I mean besides having Knock murdered?

Sette seemed completely beat down and ready to do it until something about the pink-haired woman redirected her thoughts (Ilganyag really doesn't understand what it was). So she'd make certain Knock wasn't here.

If she could have a do-over though, she'd stop the Silver from ripening so early beneath the Nevergreen. That would have kept Knock and Ana from being involved at all, would have made everything and everyone more tidy and controlled. The Nevergreen's really where it all started to wobble, and she didn't catch those spinning plates as deftly as she'd hoped v_v

Of course she won't quit yet. This particular scheme has fallen apart but there can always be more Settes and Jacs. Really, if she's honest with herself, she should have immediately called it off when Jac was stillborn and her nemesis got involved. This whole run was like pulling a Yumi and a Tentacle in Dead Cells and plowing ahead anyway. She was just so proud of Bastion and Cutter, so pleased with the current political environment, so happy with Delicieu's progress. She thought even with a few setbacks, there was no way this would fail.

Alas~

[bumblingbabooshka]

How would Tuvok react to one or more of his children (Kes counts too) getting into a weird new interest he doesn't understand a la skibidibi toilet?

Hmm...He half-listens to it and clearly thinks it's silly but reiterates that he is listening if they ask. With Kes it would be different because she's an adult and not someone he thinks of as his child (more a mentee). As his children grow older his reaction to this phenomenon also changes. I envision him as the type of dad who if you're talking to him about anime will later point at anything vaguely cartoonish and ask if you'd like it. [why] I was under the impression you were interested in anime. [That is not anime, that is a cartoon.] Ah....... <- Doesn't know the difference but doesn't want to ask. It's a moment where you roll your eyes at your dad but also are a little bit pleased to know he was listening. He gets all the characters names a little bit wrong <3 In a batch of four one of his kids is no doubt deeply hurt by Tuvok's uncommitted attitude and another will just follow him around all day yapping. Just one more thing, father.  I also think there's a difference between something he doesn't understand and something he thinks is silly. If one if his kids wants to talk to him about say, a strategy math game they're really into he'll engage with it more than if Elieth wants to talk about shoes. Again. He strikes me as a person who'd really like for his children to of course be content in their lives but also maybe be proper and productive members of Vulcan society...why not go down to the learning center instead of watching cartoons? [It's anime./It's Saturday.] I'm saying all this thinking of them as teenagers though... When they're little he makes more of an effort to listen to them all seriously...he's nodding and paying full attention as they all regale him with tales of What We Played in the Park Today [action packed! the drama! the logical solutions! the pushing!] He isn't very interested in the topic itself but this peek into how their growing minds are operating is fascinating. He cherishes his children very plainly <3 Judging by Tuvok's personality he's a pretty strict person with strict values. He also doesn't hide when he's irritated or uninterested very well [Vulcans would be able to tell as Vulcan emotional expression is not alien to a Vulcan. Also he's their dad] and yet despite that he's patient and kind when it counts and especially soft/accommodating towards children. In 'Innocence' even though he clearly doesn't believe that there's a monster he still entertains the possibility and addresses their fear, trying to comfort them rather than shutting it down, you know? If say one of his children seemed hurt by his half-listening, no matter how silly it was, I know he'd apologize and give them his full attention like Ok. Ok. I am now Fully Prepared to listen to the process of you building a Gigantic Skull in Vulcan Minecraft. It'd be funny if Tuvok had random patches of heavily biased and half-remembered knowledge from his children. He knows your space Jordans are counterfeit...Elieth would have spotted them right away. With Kes he'd probably just try to listen for a bit before telling her that she should perhaps find someone else to speak about this particular topic with once he decided he wasn't interested and it had nothing to do with their mind power studies. v_v He's a guy who responded "No" when Harry asked if he wanted to know what he thought so I don't think he'd have any issue saying "I don't care about this" [worded differently] to another adult. Now if it was NAOMI he'd be stuck until he could find an excuse, Neelix, or her mom.

[sneakyscarab]

my one-a-day streak has been broken, my career is over! orz

not that i was remotely expecting to have kept up that pace for almost the entire series, and Unconnected Marketeers gave me good reason to take it slow and try more runs that usual. but thats spoilers innit :P

nina's thoughts on Touhou 18 - Unconnected Marketeers

if you recall my last post about Wily Beast and Weakest Creature, youll know that i said it felt like touhou games needed to really do something big to stand out this many games deep. well, i think ZUN had the same idea, cause Unconnected Marketeers definitely stands out, with one of the coolest new systems in the series. UM does something really fresh, integrating roguelite elements into the gameplay in a simple but pretty effective way through Ability Cards.

heres the rundown. before you start a run, in addition to choosing your character you also pick an 'ability card' to start with. throughout the stages of UM, enemies drop money tokens instead of the typical blue point items, and at the end of each stage after defeating the boss they open trade with you and offer a selection of Ability Cards to buy with your money: a handful of gaurenteed basic cards (a 1up, a bomb, extra power, etc), the stage boss's signature card, and then 3 random ability cards selected from a pool of about 50 cards. ability cards come in 4 varieties: active cards, equipment cards, passive cards, and item cards. all the categories are pretty self-explanatory by the name, except equipment cards, which are like extra weapon options that are added on top of what you have. once you buy a card for the first time, its permanently unlocked to be selected as a starting card in future runs.

every ability card is based on a character from the series, which is a really cool way of using the huge cast that touhou has (sadly its mostly playable characters and final/extra stage bosses, so no Wriggle card as far as im aware v_v). its really cute seeing how certain characters abilities are translated to card form, like Koishi's card that makes it so enemies dont kill you if you collide with them, or Lily White's card that literally summons her as a micro-boss and gives you a good item if you beat her. i haven't unlocked them all, and i think some of them are unlocked by completing certain things, like a second card for each playable character that only unlocks when you beat the game with them. i might keep playing just to see what other cool cards there are, especially since the cards themselves give a lot more replay value than usual. you even unlock the ability to use 2 starting cards after your first clear.

since the ability cards add so much variety to the gameplay, the player character selection is kept pretty simple to not overcomplicate things. we have Reimu and Marisa as usual, as well as Sanae and Sakuya (im glad they ironed out their differences and are able to coexist now :P). Reimu, Marisa, and Sanae all play exactly as they have the last couple games, but Sakuya actually goes back to her roots and uses a modernized version of her weird B set from PCB, which im glad returned since it was a really cool one. if you need a refresher, thats the one where her throwing knives are angled left or right based on your movement, and focusing locks the angle in place. in addition, now vertical movement also influences the knife pattern, with downward movement increasing spread while upward tightens it. its tough to master, but you feel like a beast when you make it work for you. i got my 1cc with Sanae, but i might keep playing and go for runs with the other characters too.

as for the new characters, if youre familiar with the cast of Unconnected Marketeers you already know who im about to be talking about. thats right, Momoyo Himemushi, baby! lets go! another bug-type youkai so soon after Eternity Larva, and for the first time she's Not a stage 1 boss! she's actually the strongest enemy in the game, lurking at the end of the extra stage to fight only the most powerful players. Momoyo is based on the Oomukade youkai, a massive centipede who lives in the mountains and eats serpents and dragons, with the only weakness that can pierce its exoskeletal armour being human saliva. shes strong as hell and basically the coolest ever, totally not biased at all. shes got her sick minecraft gold pickaxe and shovel to dig up tasty gemstones, and doesnt hesitate to beat the tar out of anyone who tries taking her stuff. shes even got some bonus gender spiciness, using 'ore' for herself instead of most characters 'watashi'. im glad we finally got our justice for bug youkai, with the most badass centipede lady you'll probably ever see.

the final boss Chimata is pretty neat. shes a god of special event marketplaces, so anytime you go to a convention and find some cool stuff in the dealers room you have her to thank. she has a really wild design, with a patchwork rainbow dress with a matching headband, and a white cloak with the cloudy sky on the inside trim, representing a lunar rainbow and the market that takes place under its light. its pretty sick, but probably absolute hell for fanartists lmao.

my third choice of the new characters would be Takane. shes a yamawaro (mountain kappa) with forest-related powers, and like the river kappa theyve become entrepeneurs and inventors in Gensokyo. Takane has some hilarious interactions with the main characters, especially Sakuya who literally is just there to buy cards, where she engages in a boss fight to protect the protags from stealing her ability cards, but after the fight ends and she finds out that youre a paying customer her demeanor completely flips and she starts hyping up her wares lol.

Unconnected Marketeers is really fun! its great to see such a unique and innovative entry for a series thats 18 games in, without overturning the base gameplay loop that the fans are there for (glares at game series being re-invented as an open world walking simulators). interestingly the Ability Cards, while being the main plot instigator, are kept around in the end, so it seems like its set up to be more than just a one-off mechanic. from what ive heard of touhou 19 i dont think they're there, but 19 is also a non-standard touhou for other reasons, so its up in the air. either way, whether the ability cards are a one-time thing or an evolution, theyre great fun and add a lot of interesting variety to the gameplay, and fit in pretty naturally to the gameplay loop touhou already had going for it. take all that good gameplay stuff and add on to that we finally get respect for bug youkai with Momoyo, and UM is up there in the top echelons of touhous. lets go bugs!!!! we win these!!!

[butchviking]

I get what that person is saying but I don't think men experience "misogyny". I think it's related to misogyny and it's related to homophobia but can't properly be called either.

Patriarchal cultures are like a cult or religion of male supremacy, utterly obsessed with propagating themselves. That is why they control women brutally as they literally control the propagation of human life. But culturally, they are also obsessed with creating men that can make more men like themselves. There's different molds for different cultures of course and with different acceptable "types" of men even within the same culture (ie being gentle is unmanly, BUT you can be gentle if you make up for it by being violent through rhetoric and community function - think of Priests or otherwise "gentle" seeming very religious men, and how for them it's interpreted as being "dignified" in a way it wouldn't fly for other men). So while there's some room for variation, there's still a strict sort math involved for how unmanly you're allowed to be, and a strong artificial upbringing to mold boy as much as possible.

So going back. That process of molding is what she's getting at. It's not that men experience "misogyny" or that straight people experience "homophobia". Rather patriarchy needs to mold boys into men capable and willing to carry out misogyny, homophobia, and other cruelty to perpetuate itself, and they most certainly are willing to abuse boys just enough to make sure they get those results - if not by directly changing that boy, then by teaching other boys by example what sort of behavior deserves cruelty. And there's an in-built cultural anxiety at people outside of these roles, and even a panic response to them in children. This is why say, even conservative women react violently and urgently to something like their little boy wanting a butterfly face paint instead of something manly. It's a panic response!

Anyway this is just my two cents as a moid, sorry for the essay v_v ... but I think misogyny and homophpbia proper really have to be preserved to define the experiences of people who strictly do experience that on a life-long and systemic basis. But idk certainly thought provoking...

i think it relies upon one being mistaken for the other. a straight man can experience homophobia, i do know that - some guys beating on him for looking like a fag aren't going to stop when he insists "you've got it all wrong! im not actually gay!!" and i do also know that males can experience misogyny, if they're perceived as female - and that does happen to "cis" men too. a lot of ppl have called this "misdirected homophobia" & "misdirected misogyny" in the past but when i was talking abt this last i was arguing that the "misdirected" is kind of neither here nor there. it's happening, misdirected or not. they won't ever experience the full weight of those marginalisations - even the campest straight guy in the world can still marry his wife, and the most female-passing transwoman you'll ever meet will never need an abortion - but they can absolutely still experience facets.

the thing i thought was most interesting in that post was the thought of the straight teen still figuring out their sexuality & internalising the homophobia they recieve bc they think they MIGHT be gay... in a way thats still a case of one being mistaken for the other, but in an internal rather than external way. they're experiencing homophobia externally bc someone else has mistaken them for gay, and experiencing it internally bc they have mistaken themselves for gay. but some day they figure out that they're not actually gay after all - what does that experience leave behind in them? (listen to frank iero barriers to find out)

what ur talking about i would just call gender socialisation. gender is a system constructed for the purpose of misogyny, it's the framework of patriarchy, but i wouldn't argue that men experiencing negative aspects of gender socialisation & enforcement are experiencing misogyny. those are distinctly different.

[misanthropecopy]

HC: The Cost of Creativity

Probably need to read this headcanon for a tiny bit more context, but let’s talk about WHY Psyche did not make clones of her own like og Mewtwo did despite believing she was the only true living copy in existence at first. 

You see all that Psyche did, she mainly did believing she was putting the needs of others ahead of herself. Even when mad, M(N)ewtwo mainly thought she would do everyone a favor destroying them and this unmerciful planet. Fortunately seeing one, small act of compassion was all it took for her to stop even if savage-hearted side SCREAMED in defiance. There’s also the fact that afterwards she immediately opted to distant herself from all living creatures, as stated by this quote:

“I always thought I was alone. I rejected everything.”

Now that tendency to distance herself from others didn’t go away entirely after she accepted the Pokémon villagers as her family, more so it was redirected into distancing herself from humans both physically and by terms of restricting any behavioral patterns she displayed which she deemed to be too ‘human-like’. This included her intelligence in creating incredibly complex objects/plans especially, as hardly any normal, wild Pocket Monster showed THAT level of deep thinking. Plus she thought it would make her no better than those austere scientists.

With all these facts in mind of COURSE Psyche would NEVER clone other Pokémon. Even if she did/does feel lonely, such an action would not only go against her mindset of ‘no one should go through what I did’ but appall her as to how ‘human-like’ it is. That being said when or if she finds out that her predecessor made his clones himself, Psyche will feel... disheartened to say the very least.

Now after the encounters with Ash and company, Psyche does slowly show more of her creative side as she comes to terms that there are some things humans provide which could be beneficial for Pokémon. This of course reaches its peak in my PMD verse, because since humans are practically gone no one can compare her behavior to them. She even delves into doing some science at that point, however making artificial life still and always will be a line she will REFUSE to cross.

[rosemary-is-in-pesterquest]

I’m floored by how underrated trans Kanaya is, because literally there’s so much there to interpret her as a trans girl that it almost feels intentional if it weren’t for the fact that Hussie barely gave any thought to genuine lgbt rep in hs.

PLUS even more supporting this, Kanaya is definitely incredibly different from other jades, due to the fact she’s raised outside of the caverns and denied what jades represent, which is motherhood. There’s just…. so much there, and given how pesterquest seem to play around with popular trans headcanons (well Idk abt Sollux, I’ve never really seen trans hcs for him until pq came around so?) I really thought they’d include it but I guess making Kanaya’s route entirely about Vriska was more important V_V

[deathvsthemaiden]

(Hope it's fine to just drop by) but I finished reading the Fork the Witch and the Worm and it was good! I really loved the moral of the last story, there are things you can't do no matter how hard you try and it is okay, you can still live your life!

Scream!!! Of course it’s ok to stop by!! 🤗💓 Ty for sharing your thoughts! No one I know who’s read the og series has gotten around to reading TFTWATW yet 😔<\3 Also my memory of the book and the series are a /smidge/ foggy, I just skimmed my copy again though so I think what I say below should be like,, mostly correct qgshwhshs 🤭 but if it’s not you know why! 🤫

Was The Worm also your favorite story in the collection overall, would you say? 👀👀 I’ve always loved the Urgals, they’re so refreshingly different from the elves, humans and dwarves. I feel you totally about the moral, I’m glad Paolini was consistent about the Urgals being misunderstood and painted one dimensionally as warmongers with skewed priorities by the other beings of Alagaësia and had the epic contradict that idea.

Not to mention how the ending asserted that there’s always going to be danger and obstacles and whatnot but it’s not worth running yourself ragged to defeat them as long as you and your loved ones are safe etc etc, it feels opposite to that myth about the dwarf in the original series who devoted his whole life solely to carving Isidar Mithrim, the giant gem rose, and neglected everything to do it, even his wife. The contrast in intended takeaways is delicious 👁👁!! Ilgra being a girl made the whole thing more enticing to me personally, Dwarven and Urgal women in Inheritance fascinate me in general since we barelyyyy get to see them. I might be mistaken about this but I feel like she mirrored Eragon in some ways which was very neat 👀👀 (what with the Brisingr spell and the title she earns at the end of the epic) and I remember for years I’ve been dying to know what the original Eragon, that our Eragon is named after, was like too. Id love to have enough info on all 3 characters to compare and contrast them! maybe I will when my hair turns fully grey! Perhaps! GWZHSHHS 🔪 (I sound salty but I’m just. Agitated. I hate waiting 😢!)

Hands down my favorite story was The Witch. It checked so many of my boxes and Angela is one of my favorite kinds of characters. (Mischievous, knows things, baffling, literally always has a wisecrack ready etc. also: “im writing an autobiography Eragon here you can read it it’s out of order because that’s how my mindddd works 😌” ADHD represent....) and Eragon humoring her without a tinge of annoyance makes me 💖💕💖💓 he’s still such a good kid... wild to think he has chest hair now (I know he was old enough for that by the end of the original series but I still. Did a double take reading that in TFTWATW it’s just so FUNNY to think about he’s just. An earnest little dude to me, still. What does he need chest hair for (I’m kidding)) I think to protect my sanity my brain made me forget how exciting this specific story was until today because I just know Paolini will take years (yearsssss!!!!) to expand on it >_< but GOD. So many hints to juicy lore and past drama. I’m also fucking DYING to know who this Keeper of the Tower dude she won’t let Eragon talk about is... an ex? An estranged male relative she has bad blood with? An old mentor? im going insane as I type ngl.

And I’m less interested in knowing what /specifically/ Elva said to Greta but that. That was totally wild and fairy tale-ish (I loved it) I wonder if it’ll come back to haunt her? Biting the hand that fed her I mean. Her resentment towards Eragon for messing up her blessing as an infant so royally was totally understandable in the og cycle, but she’s not totally a child anymore, thus def responsible for her actions, and the possibility of her repeating his mistake in a roundabout way is so yummy I could screammm !!

All I have to say about the Fork is: 1) I think the Fork should be called SIR stabby, not Mr but whatever v_v 2) WOOO Murtagh update fi-na-lly—!! 🥳 3) I do like Paolini. I do. I liked Essie too but...I also love when you read a book with child characters and can tell whether or not the author has spent a lot of time around children or not 🤫

Do you plan to read that new sci fi book Paolini is coming out with? I do but idk whennn and I don’t remember the title atm 📖🪐💫

[ori-flails]

Rewatching Guardian - Episode 02 Part 4/4

Episode List || Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 || Episode 03

SPOILERS for upto episode 40, SPOILERS for the novel.

They all attended the funeral of a stranger’s grandma. Q~Q

Li Qian really should’ve ended up working for/with the SID at some point.

They both look so fine- ugh.

Why did Li Qian admit to killing her grandma when she didn’t do it.

I don’t think this was on purpose or even her intention. But by admitting to the crime, she was finally allowed to speak out about her frustrations and suffering having to take care of her deteriorating grandma all by herself.

She probably never had the chance to let it out. Having established that she’s a bad person, she could let her resentment show.

If she hadn’t pulled the whole “I killed my grandma who actually committed suicide”, then there would be no point where it would be appropriate for her to express these thoughts and feelings over her dead grandma unless she went to therapy or something, and she clearly can’t afford that.

I hope this made some sense. ^^;;

Guo Changcheng, wtf are you doing?? XD

Why does no one ever explain anything to him? xD

CUTE.

I know people say Bai Yu looks like an uncle with his beard but with this hairstyle? Nope. Adorable.

The little wave killed me. Shen Wei can probably relate. xD

‘Hei Lao Ge’ has a distinctly different feel than ‘Old Brother Black’. The translation’s not wrong as far as I know but still. I have no proper knowledge of mandarin though, so there’s that.

Careful, daren, your Professor Shen is showing. XD

Zhao Yunlan’s scrutiny is painful oof.

Are they trying to imply that Ye Zun has been causing the Hallows to activate? Or like, is the narrative trying to imply that? Because I don’t think Ye Zun’s that strong at this point. Certainly not to the extent of being able to affect a Hallow that’s at Haixing while he’s still trapped in Dixing.

I honestly think there’s some cosmic alignment shit going on resulting in Shen Wei coming face to face with Zhao Yunlan and all these other things happening.

(That is, if I try to make sense of the train wreck that is the writing of Guardian. -_-)

And that is exactly what happens.

Demonic Cultivation tool, Hallows made of meteorite rock, same concept. ^^;;

Some insight to the state of Dixing.

The show completely failed at “show not tell” when it came to Dixing. These dialogues paint a clearer picture of Dixing than every scene that involves Dixing and Dixingren living there.

I can still feel the dread the next part induced in me when I first watched it. The enemies to lovers trope stresses me out.

If they were against each other I’d have been too stressed to enjoy the show till they’re friends. xD

I like angst but only very specific types of angst. xD

And I could finally breathe again lol.

The start of disaster. V_V;;

P.S: This was so long oof. If anyone actually read through these, thank you!! The number of posts per episode will entirely depend on how many screenshots I’m taking and how many of those I can fit in each post. Only 10 images per post is allowed so I actually have to use my brain a little to fit them all in. ^^;;

[ubemango]

the way my mind automatically went to soonbok’s daddy :(((( twitter(.)com/yoongibulge/status/1248871855601131520 when he calmly folded his clothes i thought ab soonbok’s daddy standing in her pow-pow bedroom folding up her tiny clothes he’s taken out of her drawers while he put together an outfit for her bc soonbok loudly declared earlier she wanted to wear yellow for the day before she went for her bat-bat time wit mommy 🤧🤧 yoongs loves dressing his baby up he takes it seriously 🤧

🥺🥺🥺!!!!! HELP ME he’s laid out all the different possible outfits for her and she takes her sweet sweet time picking and Yoongi is just :) watching her ggggggggggg He loves her sm it;s v_v me Hort!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[movedthechangingman]

Thoughts on shade the changing girl (2018) comic run?

i couldnt keep interest enough to finish it its very much not anything like shade :( i think it would be fun as a different comic but i think it missed a lot of core elements of milligans rendition like even the madness feels very much like a tertiary priority (if a priority at all) to castellucci which made it not so good for me v_v

loma didnt really strike me as ~mad~ so much as like, im not like other girls… i listen to the smiths and smoke weed and im mad at the world (with like 1 line that implies some xenophobia on meta? but doesnt seem to be followed thru w from what ive heard)…. shades ambiguous mental illness from the original comic was made note of even before they drove him crazy and gave him the vest like he gets. alien-tech-emotionally-lobotomized when hes a teenager. like ok i liked her but i dont think she was a good protag to take over the shade mantel … erasing the actual (if messy and dated) theme of mental illness/sex + gender/etc that milligan was so fond of in the early 90s just really made it Not Right for a successor imo

also this is really Picky and dumb but it pisses me off but she takes the rainbow coat and that allegedly gives her the power to harness madness but like. that was just a coat he made w the power of madness so he wouldnt be naked. he got his powers from the red and yellow vest from the OG ditko comic and the vest was still in the area of madness bc he died in it

[bumblingbabooshka]

Hi,

I really like your art and I love reading all your ideas in your tags. I especially like how you go into Tuvok's bond with T'pel and how her absence affected him.

Since his bond was a combination of two minds creating something greater than the sum of its parts, how do you think this affected Tuvok when he and Neelix were fused as Tuvix? The relationship and similarities between being fused and having a bond mate. Do you think that Tuvok may have felt whole for a bit? Was it super invasive and in no way comparable to what he had with his wife? Or was is painfully similar, in that he longed for it. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. :)

(I'm really sorry if you already went into this)

I'm so sorry this took so long when you were so kind to me v_v I just forget things. Also!! There's no need for you to be even a little bit sorry let alone 'really' sorry~!! I haven't talked about this and even if I had - whatever, 's all good~!! I think the Tuvix things would be distinctly different from a meld or a marriage bond and I illustrated this in pictures bc it helps me visualize it better! (They're just lil sketchbook doodles)

So like, using Tuvok/T'Pel for this since she's his bondmate. When Tuvok has a stable bond with T'Pel they are 'two bodies one mind' but since they are two bodies and do different things all day/have different personalities/upbringings their 'one mind' is constantly being shaped by the two of them. They are distinct beings who are just constantly sharing ideas, thoughts and feelings with one another. They're more of a 'unit' in my mind than a singular person. I used the IDIC symbol to visualize this bc I realized it was sort of similar; two seemingly disparate shapes come together to make something beautiful, but you can still see all the parts that make the whole. Meanwhile Tuvix is a distinct person. Neelix and Tuvok don't communicate while they are joined within him (as evidenced by the fact that they can't be asked their opinion on separating him in the episode. They have essentially 'died' in order to make Tuvix) and Tuvix seems to view them as more his parents. They provide a certain amount of background for him (he remembers their relationships with people) but has his own will and talents separate from them (He appears to be shown as very charismatic which neither Neelix nor Tuvok seem to be in canon, though I personally find them charming). I would characterize Tuvix more of a 'son'. Tuvok and Neelix's experiences are his 'upbringing' but they are no longer there to have opinions on what's happening. He can guess what they would think but as he's a distinct person his thoughts on them are colored by his own personality. (As evidenced by him saying they'd both want him to live which Janeway challenges) I visualized this through numbers. When you see the number '3' you can imagine how it got there...2+1, 4-1, etc but you can't see it. I also wanted to show two people who are not bonded. As you can see Tuvok is a 'whole' person without a bondmate but I imagine he wouldn't feel that way because of how long he's operated as a bonded mind. As he said, "I feel incomplete without them." To me it doesn't seem that being part of Tuvix would be comparable to a bondmate as 'Tuvok' doesn't exist while part of Tuvix. He isn't a 'unit' he's a small and static component of a completely different person. Hypothetically, if Tuvix had been allowed to live he would have probably eventually stopped closely resembling either Neelix or Tuvok as he would have other things and experiences to draw from in regards to who he was. It's sort of the difference between discussing where you want to eat with someone else as opposed to reading online reviews?? You wouldn't really say you came up with a decision together in the latter case.

But I also don't think Tuvok would find it invasive. I think he would find things like his brainwashing by Teero or being assimilated into the borg invasive but the Tuvix situation feels more like he'd think it was 'interesting' or 'mildly disconcerting'. He might vaguely dislike the thought of almost being unfaithful to his wife but also have to just accept that Tuvix wasn't him v_v which I think he could do pretty easily. Maybe Neelix would be more perturbed by it hehe...~

[blueskyheadleft010]

A few stray thoughts [Wrapping up watching Voltron S7]

But okay, first off I want to say this is obviously spoilery so don’t like, don’t read.

Also, my opinion will probs be a bit contradictory to most of the tumblr voltron fans, but bare with me here, I just wanted to point out some interesting things...

Okay so first, I just wanted to say the the ‘Family Feud’ rip off ep made me want to gag, and the only thing I liked about it was Pidge being smart enough to fool ‘Bob the host’ into letting his guard down so she could attack him.

Also, why? was it even needed? at all???? Honestly, the whole ep was like an animated bad work of fiction, and I seriously cannot believe the writers would pull this kinda crap so late in the series.

Moving on, there were points in the show that had me excited but there was also low points were I just wanted the story to move on and I felt like they were trying too hard to connect crucial moments and ended up adding in random junk because they had no idea what to fill in.

For example, the druid fight and finding Kolivan could’ve been shortened way down and honestly nothing would’ve changed.

Also, can we just talk about how Kolivan was being held? And (possibly) waterboarded?!? When I first saw that I was like, ‘woah, holy shit guys. That’s not okay. That’s not an okay thing to do/show’. That was fucking terrifying to watch, and even if he wasn’t being treated that way, the fact alone that he was being held in the air by rope in a very painful position is very scary and if Kolivan was real I would’ve been seriously concerned how tf he lasted so long without losing circulation to at least his extremities.

‘The Last Stand’ was where I began regaining my interest in the story as finally we got to see Sam back on Earth, and hot damn did he ever deliver the justice that the Garrison deserved. 

I also liked Iverson not ending up being a jerk, and was honestly just trying to keep the peace and do the right thing. It was a huge improvement, and whether or not he deserved this change in character, he reminded the audience that people can change and become better, which is something I can get behind 100%. :)

(Lol, tho I totally predicted the lady commander being evil. She had her head too far up her butt to see the light of day. Doesn’t mean I agree with her dying tho :U)

Anyways, I love how Sam just ends up taking the reigns, being an overall wonderful/kind man, and laying down the law just flat out instead of trying to play nice and let Earth be mowed over by the Galra. (Would’ve liked to have heard from other global powers about what their thoughts were on this whole plan, but meh I guess that would’ve been too crazy to write with everything else going on.)

What I didn’t expect was how long they were going to focus on the Garrison arc, and like, all the people inside. Like, that’s fine I guess? but it made me worry that we were going to be seeing something like Go!Lion or have another voltron team or something, and really the only 2 people on the fighter team we knew were Keith’s rival? and Lance’s sister, but the other people might as well have just been random civilians because idk what their background was other than they were good pilots. 

(also was the blond chick autistic or something? idk she just seemed a little less socially adept and more like a calculating computer, and god would I have loved it if they said she was and showed more about her and the other people because I can just sense a story behind them...)

It was cool seeing Earth tech and Altean tech work to make the Atlas, but seriously? SERIOUSLY?!?!? You just HAD to make another voltron toy to sell didn’t you Dreamworks? V_V

Why did you make Shiro be the pilot? Why did the Atlas have to become the new Castle of the Lions? How come Coran couldn’t help with anything aboard it? HOW COME THE SHIP DIDN’T FREAKING BLOW UP AFTER THAT FIRST SPACE SHOT?!?

All of this felt weird and odd, and like now that it is the new CotL, idk what to think. It’s just odd to have a bunch of military/space cadets running about on a ship and listening to young adults/teenaged voltron pilots tell them what to do to help in a war.

Also, how come we didn’t see anything about the humans as slaves in Galra encampments? Like, is humanity screwed now? The galara did blow up their satellites, how will Earth work the same?

This was literally 9/11-WWIV to them. Which is so bizarre.

The paladins literally came back to an Earth that, for all they knew, was completely obliterated, and they were just walking over corpses. (There had to be some. There was no way every human on that planet evacuated in time.) That thought alone is weird to think about in a Y7 kids production.

Not to mention the fact that this even happened at all?? Like, I get the fear of Earth being destroyed is a terrifying thing, but the writers just kept dangling it over our heads so much that for a bit I genuinely believed that the amount of bs going on against the heroes would just pile up and the Earth was just going to be fucking obliterated by how many holes were in their plans. The only thing keeping me from that was the fact that there would be no show if they did that, but that’s not a very comforting thought, nor does it make me want to root for everyone. What’s the point when you know how it’s going to end?

Idk, it was so out of place I felt like I was watching an entirely different show. Since when did the paladins ever fight like military pilots? Why and how were there random pockets of human resistance that could somehow communicate to each other? How tf did the Garrison come up with tech to stop the drones from sending out signals to each other? Why didn’t they use that to stop Sendak’s ships???

Granted, there was some solid planning (mostly from Sam) that was genuinely smart (like the mini satellites they used that were too tiny and so many that the Galra couldn’t shoot at them); but most of everything after ‘The Last Stand’ episodes became a giant martyr after giant martyr of the team defying the odds but not having time to catch their breath. And that last robeast? I get why they needed to show off where the Altean colony went to, but the fight was lackluster compared to fighting Sendak’s whole fucking army and winning. (Even Allura complains about this, showing how self aware this show actually is when they put their thinking hats on).

The fact that the robeast was even that fucking powerful in the first place was insanity and why would you even have an impossible to beat villain take down the most hard to kill heroic team anyways? Aren’t we trying to show how friendship saves the day? Why give Shiro that credit? What the hell does he have that the paladins don't?

Apparently a big fucking ship named Atlas. That’s what.

And now we move onto my biggest grievance: The deaths and near-deaths of characters.

Why. Just why?

It was so poorly done, and kinda random. Adam didn’t get the screen time the writers were building up for him. All of Shiro’s problems, his degenerative disease, his near death again after the clone body tried to reject him (which ‘thank you Shiro’ we ‘totally’ need to be reminded how much shit you went through when you were talking with Lance about it. Not cool), and then his new arm trying to kill him? Dealt with in like 5 seconds. False alarm! Shiro’s totally not gonna die this time! ( ͡ಠ ͜ʖ ͡ಠ)

But I think the worst one was at the end when Shiro is giving that speech to the  humans with the lions standing behind him not online after we’d just seen them crash land on Earth in a fiery blaze, and honestly??? I thought they were dead.

Goodbye my sweet precious babies, you died protecting Earth and now the fucking Garrison is gonna end up showing those knock-off paladin cadets into the lions and things are gonna be okay again~!

No joke, that’s what I thought. 

But then suddenly they’re fine? In a hospital??? Why???? WHAT?!?!?!?

Cue music overture with a montage of everyone’s families and friends coming to say hello to them (instead of explaining wtf happened to all of them) and lots of hugging and oh yeah we forgot about Matt so here’s two frames of him with his weird android girlfriend? thing and long ponytailed head.

Cute, real heartwarmer with Shay suddenly having an entire fucking Balmeran transport her to Hunk. (omg think of how that’s affecting Earth’s gravity atm, the ocean tides r gonna b so screwed over).

Anyways, I did begrudgingly like the new season; but only barely, and I was nowhere near as excited watching this one as I was with previous seasons. There was too much testing my suspension of disbelief, not enough breathers during the last bit, and just overall confusion from all the devastation and chaos caused by Sendak. (Where the hell is Haggar?????)

Overall the story seemed to be trying too hard, and I’m not happy with that. I want Season 8 to smooth over some of this, but I don’t have the highest of hopes. I honestly just want to see my paladin children happy and not fighting a war, and I don’t want to focus on random secondary characters anymore. I want fulfillment, I want the paladins to come to some sense of self satisfaction and growth, regardless of the shipping.

Season 7 took two steps forwards and two steps back with the character development. They progressed Hunk and Sam, but regressed Lance and the others a bit. Coran has officially become the doorstop, with Shiro getting a whole army to command, and random secondary cadets acting like their the lead characters of the show.

I don’t want that. I want the normalcy the show has had up till now. I just want back regular Voltron.

[clementine-kesh]

#Tom: Doc this isn't a pyramid scheme. / Doc: Turn the paper upside down. / Tom: Oh shit! / Seven: -doesn't know what that is- #I love the thought of the episode having two wildly different tones (both funny) where on one hand we have the pyramid schemers which is #straight comedy a big farce and everyone's having fun or oblivious. Harry's a little worried & brings it up to Chakotay but Chakotay thinks #it's funny so he hits him with the ol 'I'll look into it ensign.' and then proceeds to watch it all play out naturally #Neelix is just whistling away - happy go lucky little self having a nice time #Meanwhile Tuvok & Doc are like 'Where is that sick son of bitch…that devious mind…who could be doing this???' #bonus points for if they interview Neelix but rule him out bc he's just so unaware of what he's doing that he reads as being innocent #(Chakotay knows but won't tell bc Tuvok & the doc were being condescending towards him - leave it US commander.) Ok. #Neelix & Naomi: -happy little conversation where she talks about having like 10 people in her downline- yay yay yay! :D #Tuvok & Doc: -interrogating Janeway in her ready room like she's wanted for murder-Where'd you get the stuff captain? #Janeway: -being stubborn for the drama and also she's confused- I don't know anything. Get out of here. #Doc: We'll go when you TALK!!! #Doc & Tuvok have a whole pictures-and-string board in the security office room like HOW are we going to catch this VILLAN!? #& Neelix baked them a little midnight treat bc they're working so hard! He hopes they catch that guy v_v #At the end of the episode Chakotay talks to Neelix and is like hey...scamp to scamp. You knew didn't you? #& Neelix is like 'Commander! I would NEVER delight in the misfortune of others...I mean - watching Mr. Vulcan & the doctor #run around like scintarian chickens with their heads cut off looking for some horrible criminal. Who would find that sort of thing funny??? #and then they both snicker and walk off. roll credits.

incredible tags via @bumblingbabooshka

i love the tuvix dynamic as it exists don’t get me wrong but it would’ve been way funnier if neelix had continued to be a little rascal in the way he was set up to. imagine an episode where tuvok is trying to nail him for starting a pyramid scheme

[bumblingbabooshka]

What if right after Tuvok woke up from his lil coma in “Riddles” he saw all the flowers and what to him must seem like gifts? adornments? around him and heard from the doctor how Neelix had been by his side every day he was unconscious and immediately assumed Neelix was his husband? What then?

Picturing that Tuvok’s wife guy instincts never go away so he remembers vaguely that he loves someone very much and this man is kind and cares for him and has given him all these beautiful things which Tuvok likes .... this must be the person he loves! Good v_v Also if you wanna really get into it - what if Tuvix factors into this in that Tuvok can remember (after touching Neelix in some way which he seems eager to do in ‘Riddles’, touching things in general I mean) Neelix’s crush on him which he definitely has and just assumes he must feel the same way since he does love someone quite fiercely and it doesn’t seem like anyone else is paying quite so much attention to him. I imagine that after ‘Tuvix’ Tuvok knows Neelix had/has a crush on him (it’s on and off but also constant) but they never talk about it because Tuvok would never want to talk about it and if Neelix coyly asked if he knew he’d avoid the question and if Neelix asked outright he’d straight up lie. So I’m picturing in ‘Riddles’ Tuvok talks about Neelix a lot while being treated and the doctor is amused, saying he never used to speak so highly of him and Tuvok’s horrified...he’s like !? What kind of husband was I??? And the doctor would spit out a drink if he had one.  Then he helps Tuvok access his personnel file bc he won’t believe he and Neelix aren’t married. He has a /wife/?? Where is she?? Why isn’t she on the ship?? Huh?? (the horrors, the unending horrors. He has to be sedated because of the horrors, sorrow, etc.) Neelix chuckles when Tuvok tells him the anecdote (minus the horrors) and is like why did you think we were married?? And Tuvok points out the flowers, how kind he is, how he was his only visitor, how he played his favorite music and gave him gifts and stayed/stays by his side always and knows so much about him and - ( “O K ay that’s enough~!” ) - and the fact that Neelix harbors romantic feelings towards him. Neelix stares in absolute shock. “I’m sorry. Was that secret?” “H ow....why do you think that?” Tuvok explains that he can sometimes...feel things when he touches people. And sometimes even...see, things? And when he touched Neelix he remembered seeing...himself! For the first time and thinking he was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. (Which is my personal Neelix-has-a-Tuvok-crush headcanon. He saw him and IMMEDIATELY got a crush on him. Handsome alien who gives him water!) Neelix kind of wants to throw himself into a hole but he’s like “o ohh...haha. yes w ell. Me and you aren’t even...friends...so.” Tuvok frowns and gently pats Neelix’s hands and says it...hurts, when you cannot be with the one you love. He says he cannot even remember who T’Pel was, and yet he yearns for her. He doesn’t know which is worse - a love agonizingly close or a love unfathomably far away - both, for all intents and purposes, unrequited. Neelix says that T’Pel still loves him! And Neelix’s little crush isn’t even half as important as the love between Tuvok and T’pel. Tuvok blinks at him sadly and says there are many different types of love. Then he kisses Neelix’s forehead (not the Vulcan way) and thanks him for being so attentive and kind despite how it isn’t returned by the other Tuvok. The favor or his feelings. Also to be so real with you someone left a comment to the effect of ‘What if Tuvok thought Neelix was his husband in riddles’ but what REALLY spurned this on???? If we can be SO painfully real for a second??? Was hearing the song “Once Upon a Dream” which I’d NEVER heard before and my dumb ass’s first thought was wooow just like Tuvok @ Neelix in that riddles episode. SO THERE. “But if I know you, I know what you’ll do...you’ll love me at once! The way you did once upon a dream...” <- Tuvok remembering Neelix’s big stupid crush on him that he found out about when they were Tuvix and subsequently buried