#in order to help the people she cares about

[karuuhnia]

TF2 Chapter 7 - Karuuhnia's analysis

Christmas came early for the TF2 fandom this year, didn't it? (Well, it really came 7 years LATE if we're completely honest lol)

It was an emotional rollercoaster and had a happy, wholesome ending and conclusion for both the mercs and for us. Several mysteries from the past comics were resolved.

And you know me: I love to overthink and overanalyze every bit of lore and story that I can get my fingers on lmao

So here's my essay:

A) Solved mysteries

1. What the Administrator was planning

It turns out: There WAS no evil plan of world domination or whatever. Just pure hatred for a man who ruined her life - apparently. It's been so long she doesn't even remember the reason. But the thought of revenge was enough to fuel her every life choice.

And to think, it all could have ended in the 1850s already - if it weren't for smart-ass Gray Mann and his narcissistic tendencies to brag about his knowledge and plans. (How he himself figured this out is never explained.)

He was the one who introduced the Administrator to Australium in the first place, around 1850ish. If he hadn't told her that it could bring people back from the dead and prolong life, the senseless Gravel War would have ended with Blutarch's and Redmond's natural deaths.

Well, on the other hand we must be glad that the conflict didn't go on even longer.

Since Dell stated that none of his family members ever went into the room where Zepheniah was kept, the Administrator must have build all of that herself, right? That would certainly explain why it looks so crude and consumes so much Australium. I mean, look at this construction and then compare it to the one Dell built:

The Mark 5 machine gave her ~6 months of life for just a tiny flask of Australium. Imagine what would have happened if one of the Conaghers had improved Zeph's machine as well! She could have kept the zombiefied corpse in a living nightmare for many centuries more instead of burning through tons and tons of Australium so quickly. Good thing it didn't come to that.

2. Who helped the Administrator

Well, we didn't get a clear answer, but I think it's safe to conclude now that it was the Administrator's elite merc teams A-E that obtained all the Australium during the 6 months Miss Pauling and the TF2 team went off the grid. Which only further proves that the Administrator did not really care for Pauling at all and only came to her and her "team of rejects" as a last resort, after everything else had failed.

It's really heartbreaking how much Pauling admired her and wanted to be her trusted second-in-command while the Admin apparently never even invited her to the secret HQ. Nobody there even KNEW of Team Fortress after all. It was such a relief to see Pauling let go in the end and choose a free life instead.

3. Scout's second chance

Well, not really a mystery here, but I really like how Scout had an epiphany that there were other girls out there that would like him as he was and moved on from Miss Pauling. There was no heartbreak, no animosity, no rejection. They are still friends and support each other! I love it!

And then Scout even saved all of humanity by having sex with several women so that God wouldn't have to destroy the world! What a great, selfless guy he is!

I really love Spy and Scout after the time skip. No more bickering, no more annoyance, no more mean comments, just kindness. Spy is also so sweet to his grandchildren! ADSGFSDAF

I hope they all remain in contact and on good terms. Because let's not forget: Scout's health isn't good and he even has a confirmed death date. Which is only 8 years into the future of 1979.

All of his orphaned children would still be minors at that point. When it comes to that I hope Spy and Scout's Ma can take care of their grandchildren.

4. What Charles Darling and Maggie were planning

Darling stated he wanted to obtain Australium in order to make his rare animals immortal and in return he would get Saxton's company back.

The way Maggie always reacted to Saxton led me to believe she knew Darling was planning something ELSE and she felt bad for not telling Saxton and having to betray him in the end:

But turns out, I probably just misinterpreted Maggie's facial expressions. She looked so sad because she loved going on adventures with Saxton again and just hated the thought that he'd go back to Mann Co. afterwards.

I'm very happy that in the end Saxton let go of the company and spent the rest of his days punching wild animals with his true love! (Although he might have started a war again, now between Reddy and Bidwell lol)

B) Unsolved and new mysteries

However, as much as I loved the last chapter, I feel there are still a lot of things that were never cleared up or adequately explained.

So after re-reading every single comic and update page these are some other things I still find inconclusive:

1. Olivia Mann's mother

Not really that important to be fair, but still: Is she really the biological daughter of the 150 old mummy Gray Mann? If so, who is the poor woman who… mated with him and where is she now?

Or was Olivia adopted, abducted or grown in a lab? Well, at least she gets to live a happy and free life now and is provided for by the dad who stepped up. Good on you, Saxton!

2. Darling's knowledge

Back to Darling real quick: Why DID Maggie start working for her nemesis?

HOW did Charles Darling learn about Australium's properties and the Administrator's history?

There is also the fact that the Mann triplets' mother was a Darling!

These things were never brought up again! Whyyyyyyyy?????

3. What was all the set-up with the TFC mercs about?

The TFC mercs made several ominous remarks that made us believe there was more to them:

Both Virgil and Greg were trying to say something interesting, but then got cut off before the revelation. And especially TFC Heavy talked about dying as if it was an immediate danger to all of them. Sure, they were old, but they were still going strong, being able to kill all of the Admin's elite teams after all.

4. Fred's destiny (and identity?)

In Chapter 6 Spy disguised as Fred, trying to trick Virgil. After being found out, the two had this conversation:

Spy managed to impersonate Fred really well apparently. That means he must have studied Fred's personality, mannerisms and way of speaking before he went to Virgil. That also means he must have spent quite a while talking to and studying Fred. Did he and Sniper capture and interrogate him? But more importantly: What happened afterwards? Tbh, they probably just killed him off-screen after learning what they needed.

Because I no longer believe that Fred was Dell's father, as much as that sucks. It would have made for a great plot point and possible conflict within the team.

But Fred obviously had no idea about anything related to Australium or the immortality machines.

Since later on in Chapter 7 Dell says that neither his grandfather, his father nor he himself ever set foot in that basement, we can conclude that they all knew that the Administrator was hiding something nefarious down there. Which also means they WORKED for her and thus must have also worked on her immortality machine. So it makes no sense that Fred would not know anything about that if he really were Dell's father.

That still leaves us with the question: Why was young Fred in the photo with child Dell? Or WAS this guy even Fred?

I mean, a lot can happen in 40ish years between those two pictures:

But my new headcanon now is: These two are not the same person. TFC Medic had to replaced by our beloved Dr. Herbert Ludwig (still not over that name btw lmao), so who says the original TFC Engie wasn't replaced too at one point? TFC Heavy was very obviously worried about his friends dying one after the other.

Virgil said he knew Fred since before the war. So maybe after Dell's father died/left the team, Virgil told TFC Heavy about his old comrade Fred who also happened to be an Engineer. And only then Fred became part of TFC.

But as I said, that's just my headcanon. In reality it's probably just an inconsistency over the many years of convoluted lore. lol

5. Soldier's cave, covered in Australium

In A Cold Day in Hell Soldier and Zhanna have the following conversation:

First it's a stink-barn, then he claims to be homeless. But in Chapter 7 Heavy suddenly says that Soldier lives in a cave.

And it turns out there is tons of Australium in that cave! Now of course I wonder: When did Soldier move into that cave and where is it located? We were always told that Australium only exists in Australia. But I highly doubt this American patriot owns a cave in Australia. Also, how is it possible that the Admin and the elite mercs never managed to find this cave? Did they just not bother to look in America because all known Australium is in Australia?

So in return, does that mean that Australium is NOT exclusive to Australia after all? If so, there could still be hidden caches of the stuff anywhere on Earth. At least the Admin and Gray Mann are no longer around to collect it and Miss Pauling does not look for it anymore either. The only one who still has an interest in it is Charles Darling. Him again...

6. Soldier with the photo of the Mann family

Quick reminder: This is the only version of the family photo we'd seen up until this point:

But when Soldier and Merasmus are held by the mafia and the wizard asks him why he needed so much money, Soldier pulls out an intact, unteared photograph of the Mann family!!!

His thumb conveniently covers up the still unknown person standing in the middle. How did Soldier obtain this photo? How does he even know who everyone is, considering he's, well, Soldier?

Could he have any relations to the unknown person in the middle? And why DOES he need so much money (granted, it was only like 20 $ in the end, but still lol)?

Am I just overthinking this? Has anyone an explanation??? Is he and if yes, HOW is Soldier connected to the frigging Mann family??????

*cough* Anyway. This concludes my analysis of the TF2 lore. For now. If I come up with more things or if Valve ever decides to continue the story (That was a joke, haha, fat chance), I will come back to this. In the meantime, thank you for reading this and please feel free to share your own ideas and opinions! I'd love to read all of it! ❤️

[moustawott]

Done! I can’t believe so many people liked my Blackarachnia/Elita One design. Here she is rendered alongside Optimus :D

In my Court of Order and Autocracy AU, Blackarachnia is one of Optimus’ main opponents until her somewhat… anticlimactic death at the end of the first act. This is where Ariel from another universe is reincarnated into Blackarachnia’s body and seeks to change this poorly written villainess’ fate.

Text box content and before/after comparisons under the cut:

Optimus

Optimus Prime was born from Orion Pax's almost dead frame after the greatest Quintesson attack in recent history. Surrounded by destruction and having lost his partner, Elita, he was found injured and grieving by the Matrix of Leadership and was offered a second chance: the strength to protect and rescue those he cared about.

Blackarachnia

After the Quintesson attack, Elita One was believed dead. Truth is that her body was retrieved by the Quintessons and experimented on. After being reformatted into a techno-organic weapon, little of her cheerful personality remains. Now, she only carries pain and bitterness, especially towards Orion, who never answered her last call for help.

Blackarachnia was rebuilt with the ability to dramatically alter her appearance so she can act as an infiltrator. As such she can also, transform into two alt-modes: a helicopter and a spider. Her organic half also enhances her instincts, giving her better reflexes and predictive abilities than the average Transformer, which is a huge asset in combat. However, the poor integration between her two halves causes her constant pain.

[caroljoky]

𝒞𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒢𝑜𝒹𝓈 - Prologue

Caracalla x female!OC x Geta(next chapters)

Chapter 1 is here!

Summary: Lucia Galeria Aurelia is the forgotten daughter of Lucilla and Maximus. One day her life changes forever when her path crosses with the young Caracalla. She starts to take an active part in the life of Rome, captivating not only the Roman people but also someone fate condemned her to - certain red-haired rulers.

Warnings: english is not my first language(!), none in the prologue

AN: I am so VERY excited about thiss!!!!! I wrote it so quickly cause I had the whole story planned. My story includes an alternative ending to the movie (because let's be honest Caracalla didn't deserve that brutal sudden death) so bear with me and let me welcome you to my story!

Trope: enemies to lovers (duh)

(PS: in History Caracalla was the older brother - in the movie it’s adapted that they’re twins, but Caracalla still came out first and is considered older)

Word count: 1.3k (Prologue)

‘Lucia Galeria Aurelia’ was the name of the not-really-known young girl, conceived by Lucilla Aurelia and Maximus Meridius, who was born exactly 9 months after the death of the infamous Commodus, and came into this world in her mother’s chamber, which was to be her home until she reached adolescence – or perhaps a hideout, a ‘refuge’ as Lucilla liked to put it. Her mother was a problematic woman in terms of care – she sent her son to the far north, and cut her daughter off from the world. However, the daughter got it worse, the daughter who became a ‘legend’ of Rome, a vague, shameful ‘memory’ of her mother’s and father’s secret relationship. When Lucius was forgotten, she was spoken of in whispers and with uncertainty, like an anecdote or a fairy tale. However, her relatives visited her regularly, helped raise her, shape her. Acacius brought her Marcus Aurelius's books, her mother taught her culture and virtues, as well as her servants whom she had had since childhood, but whom she treated as her closest family. A mysterious man from outside the family also came once in a while to speak with her, a man whom she met through Acacius - it was Macrinus Opellius, The Master of Gladiators. Yes, he introduced the little girl to the ideas of games, war, and brutality, taught her about the Empire, showed her the true face of Rome, showed her power. Her mother reprehensibly forbade Macrinus from approaching her chambers, forbade him from acquainting her with the deviations of the world of men. So for the first time, the girl began to sneak away, to go all over the Golden House, to the brothels, to look for Macrinus, so he could tell her more about rulers, about wars, about strength and honor. This is how she lived until she reached the age of 17 - the age of adolescence, the age when Rome changed drastically.

The reign was held by Septimius Severus, who took charge after Commodus and turned the people against the authority. This tyrant procreated, unfortunately for everyone, fathered two tiny twins, whom he decided to raise in his image, that is, raise madmen. It didn't work out for him entirely - Geta and Caracalla, as youngsters, behaved better than expected, trained in combat, learned about Rome in the great palace of the Domus Aurea (Golden House), the home of the emperor, and the irony of fate never brought them into contact with the rightful empress. There may have been times when Lucia sneaked secretly through the golden corridors meters away from the boys playing, maybe they would have noticed each other and exchanged a word. 

However, this never took place and Lucia was introduced to the twins in terrible conditions. On her 17th birthday, Lucilla opened the door to her chamber, just after she ordered to dress her daughter in the most beautiful clothes. The young woman's heart beat anxiously against her burgundy Stola, when for the first time she walked with Lucilla down the hallway towards the main hall of the palace, in full view of everyone. Her hair was tied in the most magnificent bun and single curls fell onto her dark, sharp, cat-like eyes. She suspected with fear what could happen. However, she didn’t know that she was right until she saw a man on the dais, in reality, a boy with red waves as hair, an outfit like hers, hands in rings, and a golden wreath resting on his vexed head. His eyes, terrifying for her, pierced straight into her like an arrow penetrating her insides, no one had ever looked at her in such a way, so directly, so impudently. Next to him stood a taller, equally red-haired, older man whose gaze was more greedy, less boyish, more terrifying. And those figures that stood as if made of marble on the dais turned to her and spoke. Or perhaps it was Septimus Severus who spoke, on behalf of his son. 

- My eldest son accepts your gift in the form of the beautiful Lucia. The couple will now accept the marriage, and they will be named the future emperor and empress. 

Hope stuck to Lucia, hope that maybe the red-haired boy was a marble sculpture after all, that the gods were joking with her, and that in a moment everything would return to the form of what it was. That she would be able to hide in the shadow of her mother, and everyone would forget about her again. As she walked between the rows of benches, on which it seemed like everyone was sitting, of course, Acacius, Macrinus, the entire senate, and the Roman aristocracy, her thoughts went back to the times when she had desired such an opportunity, an opportunity for power, to be remembered in history. However, now she understood how childish these cravings were. She understood now when she looked into the blue eyes of her tormentor - Lucius Septimius Bassianus, otherwise known as Caracalla. She stood on the dais. Severus began by making a sacrifice to the Gods - setting a white, dead lamb on fire. Lucia then compared herself to that lamb, lost in the name of something that had no right to exist. She and her future husband were facing each other, he lifted her orange veil - the traditional obligatory attire of a Roman bride, a symbol of the hearth. He put an iron ring on her delicate fingers and stared at her. She did not like Caracalla at first, it must be admitted. However, she was condemned to him her entire adult life. When the boy's father uttered the last words of the formal marriage, the mother sat in the first row of this grotesque spectacle, with tears in her eyes and a fake smile. The wedding of Lucia and Caracalla was a political arrangement, a union of two families. It was to save Rome, her daughter was to save Rome. And Severus was not to live long, he was sickly, people gave him a year to live at most, and it was his sons who were to maintain his infamy. This union gave hope for control over the twins, by maintaining any position in the decisions of the rulers. Lucilla placed all her hope and faith in her revealed secret - in her daughter.

- Lucia’s beautiful. - she heard right next to her, which snapped her from her thinking. She turned around abruptly. There sat a boy of considerable height, with a mocking smile and a cunning gaze fixed on her. His red hair was also decorated with a wreath, silver, matching his ceremonial silver robes. He was leaning towards her.

- Geta - whispered the mother of the bride.

- Caracalla doesn't want this marriage. If you gave her to me, I would accept her. I’m far more responsible. I would give you an heir right away - he said with a soft chuckle. For Lucilla his gaze was wild, she looked with horror at this barely 18-year-old twin. 

  However, his intentions were not barbaric, he was even somehow right, since childhood Geta was a better candidate for emperor, but his brutal father always stood in his way, convincing him of his weakness, inferiority, and immaturity of mind. For Severus his firstborn was a saint, he believed in the power that was dormant in him, ignoring the fact that he always played Gladiator, while Geta played emperor. However, the younger twin's (u know what I meann) jealousy wasn’t really overwhelming, because he did not believe that Caracalla would really take on the task of ruling Rome and would only occupy himself with games in the Colosseum instead of the role of emperor. To everyone’s surprise, his father did not allow this and threw him onto the dais in the great hall, forcing the ring onto his finger.  

 The newlyweds' lips pressed together awkwardly, and the hall was filled with a deafening roar of applause, the roar of an uncertain future that had stormed into the Golden House.

If we hit 20 likes ima post Chapter 1! Also lmk what u think by now in the comments :D

[thewitchblue]

"I told you not to touch that."

You had warned a very curious Tim repeatedly. This one wasn't anything harmful. You simply didn't want him touching your potions. It was a very annoying potion to make.

You had left it boiling on a burner while you got a snack, but Tim shut off the burner to touch your half-baked potion. You had no idea how long he's had it off the burner, but it wasn't boiling anymore.

"What does it do?"

He didn't have the guts to do anything but hold the boiling hot beaker. At least, not in front of you. He felt like he was a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"It was SUPPOSED to be a present for Jason, jackass. Now it's ruined."

You aggressively took the breaker from Tim and borderline slammed it down on your windowsill. You stormed over to your burner and turned it on again. Maybe you can salvage it. It had stopped boiling because Tim was too curious for his own good.

"Oh."

Tim looked embarrassed. You didn't bother to tell him it was liquid weed, so Jason could stop stinking up the manor when he smokes.

You were sick of getting accidentally drugged because Jason left brownies out without a "do not eat" sign. You think Jason secretly likes drugging people, but there was an unspoken agreement: shut up and leave the drugged person alone.

You were hoping this potion would get him to go to you instead of some shady drug dealer, but Tim doesn't need to know any of this. This is between you and Jason.

"Do me a favour and never touch my stuff. My next potion won't be so friendly."

You grumbled. You were the family witch. Yes, the stereotypical potions and general magic. You learned from Constantine and Zatanna how to use spells, but potions are where you shine.

You are called The Alchemist at night and are feared mainly due to how prepared you are. You had a potion for anything and everything.

The villains actively avoid you as a result of your preparation. You're seriously more prepared and paranoid than Batman in a lot of cases.

Scarecrow is the only one salty enough to go after you. He wanted you as an apprentice, but he's not getting anywhere by kidnapping you on the occasion. Come on, just give him one potion that he can replicate if he can't have you on his side!

Joker found you boring, Bane doesn't want to tango when you take away his muscles with a potion, Ra cares more about physical combat, and the list goes on. It's ridiculous, truly.

You were actually quite close to Poison Ivy, however, and she supplies you with various plants for you to use. You even send her photos to update her on how the plant is blooming with a thank you text (yes, you have her number, score!)

Being a Wayne helps with the potions as well. You can get you an endless supply of various metals, chemicals, and powders to work with alongside the plants. You often question if you are on a government list somewhere. It doesn't look good to order 15 kilograms of gunpowder and potassium nitrate.

The family doesn't know any of this, but then again, they don't know much about what you do. They rarely ask questions about your potions except nosy Tim, who refuses to leave your room until he knows more about whatever potion you are making at the time.

"I was curious!"

He tried to defend himself, which failed as you retorted,

"And you could have had your finger dissolved if you touched it! For the brains of the family, you really are stupid."

Does he have no sense of self-preservation? Why on earth would he touch a mysterious liquid? Survival of the fittest indeed.

Tim scoffed. How else is he supposed to find out more information if he knows nothing about the process? You had all your potions memorised! No recipe book, no paper trail, you even have a witch/magic users pack between Zatanna and Constantine, so they won't tell the family anything. He can't even identify all the plants you use so he could test them.

"You're lucky I make weapons for you guys. Some of this stuff takes weeks! I have 9 of you guys running around, using MY supply because you guys don't use your potions wisely. What if I needed the paralysing potion for Bane, but uh-oh, you stole it from me, so I can't do anything."

Tim had no excuse. He's, admittedly, stolen more than a handful of potions to reload his weapons, and he's not the only one. He tried to smooth over your irritation. In a nervous tone, he said,

"I'm sorry. I would be surprised if you didn't notice the missing potions, though."

Damn right, you'd notice it. What kind of alchemist would you be if you didn't notice your missing stash and resupply? Granted, you also have the power of bullshit spells that you learned from John and Zatanna, so you aren't entirely helpless, but it's annoying reaching for an imaginary potion on patrol and needing to trudge all the way home just to restock.

"I think you need to keep your hands to yourself. I might have to redo this potion now. Please tell me you didn't touch the potion itself."

You wouldn't know how to handle a high Tim Drake. You tried to keep your eyes on him while putting your potion back on the burner. Is the weed in his bloodstream, or are you safe to continue your drug cooking?

He gave an awkward smile. He may or may not have smelled the potion. It smelled like a freshly mowed lawn, and the tiny sip he took tasted like an apple. When all you got was silence, you groaned and said in disbelief,

"Oh, fuck, of course you did."

Just your luck. The drug will hit Tim any second now. You ran a stressed hand through your hair before turning to him and saying sternly,

"You are going to sleep on my bed and let the potion run its course. Do. Not. Leave. This. Room. Got it?"

Tim looked confused, but what does he know about magical potions? If you say let it work through him, he'll follow instructions. He sat on your bed and then it hit him.

"Woah, what the hell did you do to me? Were you trying to lace Jason with something?"

You frowned and physically pushed him onto the bed. You quickly swaddled him like a baby in a sea of blankets.

He can not leave this room. Bruce would murder you. You were supposed to be the good one. The only one who caused no problems (to their knowledge).

"Tim, look at me."

Tim did not, in fact, look at you. He was distracted by all the plants you have in your room. Did someone drop off more plants in the time he's last been in here?

"Did you get more plants?"

You huffed. You didn't. They have only grown since he's been snooping in your room. You tried to get his attention by snapping your fingers and calling his name,

"Tim?"

When he continued to look around with rapidly reddening eyes, you squished his face in your hand and forcefully pushed his face until it faced you.

"Tim, you are going to sleep. I'm going to play some music for you and we are going to forget all about this when you feel better."

You can make a potion to erase recent memories. Tim can't know you are making drugs in your room. Nobody can know except Jason.

You decided to turn on some calming music in hopes he would drift off, which seemed to be working as his eyes drooped, and he smiled at you like he knew something you didn't. He was lost in his thoughts, clearly.

You wondered what was going on in that big brain of his. It didn't matter. He can blaze in blissful peace while you deal with his mess.

You kept the music quiet and soft like he was at a spa. You hoped the combined warmth of the blankets with the soft music would work faster.

With a sigh, you stood up from your position at his bedside. This is not good. Tim needs to learn when to leave your stuff alone. What if you boiled his blood or poisoned him? It's best to leave the witchcraft to the witch.

You watched him like a hawk. His thoughts seemed to be slowed and sluggish. You supposed you can bottle your potion after all. Should you put a dropper on it? Normally, your potions soak through the skin and clothes, but you were extremely careful with this one.

You gave his forehead a small kiss once he fell asleep. You went to your bottles while shaking your head in disapproval. You were very happy with the results of the potion, not so much with the tester. You would hate to think about what could have happened if you didn't swaddle him. Would he be walking around high and babbling about funny potions? Probably. He was already hallucinating pleasantly by the time he passed out.

You were so lucky that Tim didn't get the potentially dangerous symptoms. You can handle a mellowed out Tim, but not if he was going through psychosis.

After successfully bottling and hiding the potion, you pulled out one of your memory potions.

You felt bad drugging him then making him forget about it, but you can't have him telling anybody, whether accidentally or purposefully.

You know you could just tell Bruce that Tim touched a memory potion on your burner, and he'd believe you, but why draw in the eyes of Batman? He would want to know about all future potion making.

You frowned as you put one drop on his forehead and watched it sink in. He won't remember any of this.

You were a bit overprepared, but you were Batman and Constantine trained. Of course you'd have some weaselly way out of accidentally drugging someone.

Oh, John would be so proud of you.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

QL 2024: Favorite Friendships

Tagged by @lurkingshan, I love my friends so much so naturally I love watching portrayals of incredible friendships on screen as well. So here are my top ten friendships of 2024 in no particular order (did I cheat a little bit? Yes, yes I did and I’m not sorry about it): 

Yako, Nomoto, Kasuga, and Nagumo - She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat 

gif by @musicdramalove

As someone with a metric fuck ton of friendships that started on the internet and moved to meeting in person, I really love that Nomoto met Professional Baby Lesbian Mentor Yako online and that they maintained that friendship for awhile. It was so wonderful getting to meet Yako this season and to see the friendship between her and Nomoto blossom first with online movie nights and then meeting and cooking together in person with Kasuga and Nagumo as well.  I also really loved Kasuga, Nomoto and eventually Yako adopting my beloved Nagumo in to their little found family and being so accepting and accommodating with Nagumo’s relationship to food. I love that while it was Kasuga and Nomoto that Nagumo first confides in, we see a genuine friendship between Yako and Nagumo start growing outside of their ties to Kasuga and Nomoto. 

Latte, Almond, Thanwa, and Peak- Knock Knock, Boys!

One does not watch all these boys collapsed and sleeping together in the living room of their home without appreciating the bonds of male friendship in all its messy glory. I love the ways they show up for each other, I love how distinctive their personalities and their functions in their friendship are. I love that Thanwa kind of mothers all of them, that he’s encouraged to follow his dreams, that they all come together to figure out what is happening with the recorded videos, etc. I love that the romantic relationships between Latte and Almond and also Thanwa and Peak come after a very strong and genuine friendship, so that them getting together is believable. Also, I want to give a special shout out to Jane for how much she cares about Peak and how often she pushes him to stop running and take accountability, that’s love, bitch!

Go Yeong and The T-aras- Love in the Big City

My absolute favorite change from the book to the television show was the inclusion of the T-aras as the bridge between each part of Go Yeong’s life. They work as a litmus test for Yeong’s romantic relationships, who he does and does not introduce them to, how they interact with is partners. They work as a point of comparison between Go Yeong’s ease and joy with them compared to his (brief) experiences trying to maintain het male friendships with people in college. They may not be able to see so strongly through Go Yeong’s mask as people like Gyu Ho but they are there for Go Yeong through all the hardest parts of his life, they are there fighting hospital security to make sure Go Yeong knows he is loved when he wakes up from his suicide attempt, they help Yeong carry his mother’s coffin, and they are there to spread love and joy to Yeong after his breakup with Gyu Ho. 

The Sea Creatures- Marahuyo Project

I had to include them all together because there are a number of beautiful friendships between these kids. Lili and Lorena, and the feelings and protectiveness between them. King and Venice and the solace and support they find in one another as visible, loud, proud queer people. Of all the ways they show up for each other, for the Pride parade they have despite not getting permission to start their club. This handful of queer kids in this small little town are so important to each other and also so important to me.

Wei Qian and San Pang- Unknown 

San Pang has been there for Wei Qian through thick and thin, he’s been the relief support when Wei Qian was struggling as a teenager, and he has been the bridge between Wei Qian and Zhi Yuan as they navigated their growing feelings towards one another. It’s not just the relationship between San Pang and Wei Qian that I love, it’s the way he is important to the whole family. Like the way he looks at Wei Li Li is so important to me, and the conversation that he has with Zhi Yuan when trying to tell Yuan he cannot have romantic feelings for Qian is one of my favorite scenes of 2024. He has been family to them for so long, and I am very glad that even though dating Wei Li Li confirms he has a death wish, I am very glad that he is officially a part of the family. 

The Three Must-Eat-Eers - Cooking Crush 

gif by @save-the-data

These boys love each other so much, and I really appreciated both the teamwork that they exhibit and also the fact that even though they are the best of friends and have been through hell together in school, that the narrative still allows them to fail Unky as a friend and that Unky is not only allowed to be mad about it, but it’s not seen as dramatic or unfair by Prem or Dynamite. They feel really bad about it, and they do what they need to do to make it up to him. I love that their friendship extends beyond school, that they aren’t just friends because they are in the same classes, but that they match each other’s freak, that they have sleepovers, and get together outside of school to watch their favorite show in their matching outfits. 

Makoto and Daichi- No One Cares for an Old Man’s Underwear

An important part of any relationship is reciprocity and I do believe that Daichi and Makoto have one of the best examples of reciprocity in their friendship. I love that their friendship starts with Makoto making a homophobic comment and Daichi literally laughing in his face. He is so patient and kind with Makoto as he navigates this brave new world he is uncovering, and yet he does get annoyed and angry and upset. Neither Daichi nor Makoto are perfect people and they do not have to be. Daichi is there to help Makoto when he stumbles, and Makoto is there to help Daichi when he’s upset about his dad’s homophobia. I also just think it is really important to see friendships with big age gaps like this one, because people can be friends at any age and it feels important to remind people of that. 

Kakeru and Hasegawa + Kakeru and Karina- No One Cares for an Old Man’s Underwear

Just as I think it is important to demonstrate conflict in friendships like Unky, Dy, and Prem’s, I think it is vitally important for Kakeru to learn that having conflicts with people does not mean that people hate you or do not want to be your friend. I love that Kakeru’s reasons for not going to school have nothing to do with him being bullied and have everything to do with him feeling uncomfortable with the way his teammates talk about/treat women. Karine is an intense and passionate person who really loves what she does, and when Kakeru is first introduced to her, he avoids her like the plague because he doesn’t want to be in conflict with her. But once she corners him and forces him to talk with her, she speaks her mind about Kakeru giving away his makeup advice for free and cutting her out of her little in-school business. Their friendship begins with conflict and quickly moves past that in to a genuine connection over a shared interest. Karina helps teach Kakeru that not only can he speak his mind to his friends, but that he has a literal obligation to do so. 

Meanwhile, Hasegawa is a really wonderful example of Kakeru making assumptions about the people he is around and how that can negatively impact his ability to maintain friendships with them. Yeah Hasegawa was a part of that conversation around women that caused Kakeru to leave school for awhile, but he also see’s Kakeru’s interest in makeup and looking cute and immediately goes to him for skincare advice. He tells Kakeru when he thinks something is cool and later on in their friendship he tells Kakeru when he thinks something Kakeru is doing is lame. So while Karina and Kakeru’s friendship started with conflict and moved on. Hasegawa and Kakeru’s friendship started with connection and had conflict, but that did not implode their relationship with one another and Kakeru did speak his mind with the baseball team when they started talking about girls in a way he didn’t like and the world kept turning and his teammates did some self reflection and immediately agreed that what they were saying was kinda shitty. I believe it is a profound act of love from a friend to hold the people you love accountable and to help them become better people, to love themselves, and to learn and grow in general and I think Kakeru’s friendships with Karina and Hasegawa are really beautiful examples of that. 

___

For the last two on the list, I want to talk about some complicated friendships that I absolutely loved this year: 

Lee Do Hoe and Ha Hyeon Ho- Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

I really enjoyed Ha Hyeon Ho’s relationship with Lee Do Hoe. It makes perfect sense in a town like they grew up in, in the time that they grew up in that Heyon Ho would be present for and engage in physical conflict with Do Hoe. And, it also makes perfect sense that Hyeon Ho would do what he could to protect Do Hoe from getting seriously hurt or injured. I think one of the most important tiny moments to me in Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo was when Hyeon Ho’s other friends shoved Do Hoe to the ground and Hyeon Ho stuck his foot out to catch Do Hoe’s head before it could hit asphalt. 

There is something so beautiful and so tragic about Hyeon Ho sticking around Do Hoe in adulthood with some hope that Do Hoe might one day reciprocate his feelings. I love that he keeps all of these secrets for Do Hoe because he loves him and believes that he is helping, but all it has done is hurt Do Hoe. I love that Do Hoe knows why Hyeon Ho sticks around and strings him along. I love that they are friends for this long and that they hurt each other, and that they know it and that they can’t stop. I really appreciate how sympathetic they made Hyeon Ho, and that Hwang Da Seul really demonstrated that Ju Yeong was the right person for Do Hoe because Ju Yeong knew how much it was eating Do Hoe alive to live in this lie, even if Hyeon Ho believed he was doing the right thing. 

Venice and Archie- Marahuyo Project 

God talk about a complicated fucking friendship. This is such a raw and real representation of the ways in which love, care, grief, and fear can hurt ourselves and the people we care about. Venice and Archie’s friendship is also a beautiful example of what radical empathy looks like. Archie undoubtedly, repeatedly, and somewhat unremorsefully hurts Venice. He misgenders her, he deadnames her, he deadnames Christina. He pushes himself further and further into the folds of religion, internalizing his homophobia so deeply that it literally makes him so uncomfortable in his skin. But the hurt that Archie causes Venice is borne from a place of love and fear for her and her life and her safety. And despite how terrible Archie treats her throughout the show, Venice takes it in stride, and she talks with him, and laughs with him, and cries with him over a monumental loss. I do not believe for a second that Venice would tolerate the way Archie treats her from anyone else, but she knows exactly what is causing Archie to react this way towards her, and so she tolerates it, and she treats him with kindness and compassion and patience. She knows that Archie is scared and alone, and trying to run from the feelings he has.

Honestly I really need to watch this show again because I want to sit with their friendship more, and it means so much to me that though Archie is likely going to go down the path of priesthood for longer than he really should given how terrible it has been for his mental and physical wellbeing, to see this change in Archie that allowed him to help with the Pride parade in a way that felt comfortable and safe for him was incredibly important, and a truly beautiful moment of love towards his friend Venice and the community he is a part of, even if he cannot be loud and proud with them.

tagging @so-much-yet-to-learn, @shortpplfedup, @emotionallychargedtowel, and @neuroticbookworm

[solereflection]

i’ve been thinking a lot about the order in which the beast cookies might have corrupted, and the best possible explanation might be from the teaser:

the order goes from burning spice, silent salt, mystic flour, eternal sugar, and then to shadow milk as the last one;

the voice from the teaser mentioned them corrupting one by one as they were being shown and that pretty much sums up the theory so i’ll just type out my thoughts how it could have looked like for each of them!!

burning spice: we already know how he corrupted, the never ending cycle of change; even if technically constantly changing, never actually really changed at all to him. he witnessed countless civilizations and kingdoms rise and fall (probably many of his own, as his voiceline suggests) as well as life on earthbread. it made him so bored he desperately wanted it to end & to no longer have to endure all this over and over, corrupting in the process like we saw in the story. destruction becoming the thing that makes him feel alive after all this time, consuming him entirely. him being the first one in line is very likely, as boredom is a really tiring feeling and often we search in desperation for something to do while feeling it. i feel like he would be almost impossible to redeem if not completely, destruction is all he thinks about and it would be pointless to even try

silent salt: them resembling the virtue of solidarity, i assume their role was to spread unity and make bonds flourish through earthbread. They mended any conflicts that would arise, helped resolve wars, were teaching cookies how to work together in order to achieve something. of course not even a being with power like that would have infinite patience and they too grew tired of how much their help was needed everywhere for there to exist peace between cookies. they might have heard about burning spice, and realised they can just defy the orders of witches and so they did; how to step out of a situation?? Be silent. They completely abandoned their position as the mediator and just watched all peace and unity made so far fall, while completely silent and not taking a part in any of this.

mystic flour: we also know how she corrupted from the story: in the past granting the wishes of cookies that would ask her of anything they wanted to get, her putting their needs above hers at all times. her volition making all of this happen, while never expecting anything of the cookies; their volition grew stronger because of that. she became overwhelmed by the amount of requests she was constantly getting, and wrapped herself in a cocoon to focus on her powers and be able to grant every cookies wish. someone spread a rumor her cocoon was filled with treasures, and because of that many tried attacking it.

i noticed some of the community likes the theory that burning spice might have something to do with it because of the dialogue on this photo;

continuing, the world she saw from the cocoon was “far from pure” and thats how her volition turned to apathy. She grew completely apathetic towards anything, because she believes it will all return to what it came from in the first place, and tried turning every cookie into flour believing she is doing the right thing.

eternal sugar: she posessed the virtue of happiness, which makes me think she was responsible for spreading happiness and positive feelings through earthbread, like a people pleaser; she tried her best to make every cookie happy sacrificing her own feelings in the process. her land is the forgotten sugar paradise which most likely was supposed to represent heaven on earth, where every cookie is happy and everyone always has their needs fulfilled, being forever satisfied. she felt like her purpose was to make others happy, but no one thought about her the whole time. She started succumbing to sloth more and more becoming tired of being the one to spread all the happiness, stopped taking care of the paradise making everyone leave it (and thats where the name might be coming from) she became the cookie of sloth, from my personal headcannons i see her sleeping most of the time and not doing much while being awake.

shadow milk: representing the virtue of knowledge he was the one responsible for spreading knowledge, information and clarity through the land. almost makes me wonder how he got the knowledge in the first place if he was among the first five cookies to be baked, the witches probably gave him all he needed to fulfill his mission in the start to make it easier (he would need to gain knowledge through experience otherwise) he posessed all knowledge and was the one everyone visited for information & advice since he would know what to do. the blueberry yogurt academy is really similar to his overall design and aesthetic , and i really hope he’s the founder of the academy and we’ll get loredrops in the upcoming anniversary update,,

one asset thats recently coming around everywhere has a tree with one apple on it is very likely a bible referrence (the forbidden fruit) forbidden knowledge was the thing that made him snap - (and all of his friends becoming corrupted & destroying eartbread in the meanwhile) having to deal with the fact his friends are no longer the cookies they were before, and having a grasp on knowledge he wasnt supposed to obtain in the first place made him the cookie of deceit.

he twists true information into lies to mess with the thoughts of others, and remains as their leader

also its my first post!! i really wanted to post my ramblings on here in case someone would like to read about that so i hope this gets received well ^_^ if so i’ll post even more,,

[kobyluu]

PAIRING! kuzan x fem! reader SYNOPSIS! where kuzan is your husband, and you two have a toddler daughter together. WORD COUNT! roughly 0.8k WARNINGS! implied pregnancy, (really brief) mention of poverty, intentional lowercase NOTES! the dividers i used are from dollywons (except the one with my blog name on it)

dad kuzan! who never imagined himself becoming a father, much less a girl dad, when he was younger.

dad kuzan! who, however, quickly changed his mind when he met you all those years ago. when something just clicked, and now he's married to you, and has a daughter together with you.

dad kuzan! who considers both you and his daughter the biggest blessings in his life.

dad kuzan! who thinks that being a girl dad is the most amazing thing ever, and he's so so grateful that he gets to experience it thanks to you blessing him with a daughter.

dad kuzan! who would proudly show off his adorable daughter to his former mentor, telling garp that she is his proudest accomplishment.

dad kuzan! who keeps looking for matching outfits for you and your daughter to wear, because seeing the two most important people in his life wear similar clothes, just makes him smile, especially because his daughter inherited all your pretty physical traits.

dad kuzan! who lets his daughter style his hair however she feels like it, not caring if it looks silly or not. who would always show off his newly aquired hairstyles to you, praising your daughter for how skilled she is already with styling hair despite her young age.

dad kuzan! who always makes it a priority to praise his daughter as much as possible. he feels that positive confirmation will help his daughter develop a healthy confidence in her own abilities, and he just wants his daughter to know how amazing she already is.

dad kuzan! who, whenever your daughter wants to play with camel, will always make sure to keep an eye on her and make sure nothing will happen to her, considering camel's large size and all. it's not that he doesn't trust his giant-sized penguin companion, he's just incredibly overprotective over anyone he cares about, even if he would never admit that.

dad kuzan! who always finds himself smiling whenever he watches you and his daughter play together, even though he doesn't smile that often most of the time. the sight just warms his heart, reminding him of enjoyable domestic moments truly were.

dad kuzan! who would always make sure to mention his family as little as possible to people he doesn't trust, in order to protect them from any danger. unlike some other marine officers, he would never want his daughter to join the marine, simply because he would be too worried about her getting hurt. however, if she did eventually ask him on her own accord to join the marine, of course he would respect her decision.

dad kuzan! who spoils your daughter almost too much at times. while of course you care for your daughter a lot too, you more often than not end up having to be the one to make sure that your daughter won't become too spoiled.

dad kuzan! who just has a major soft spot for his daughter, and he would buy her as many toys or clothes as she wants to have, especially because he himself used to be poor.

dad kuzan! who gives his daughter nothing less than princess treatment, because she deserves only the best.

dad kuzan! who tries to have as much time as possible for his daughter despite his obligations. he would postpone any appointment he has if it overlaps with days he wants to spend with his family.

dad kuzan! whose priority is to try and spend at least one day a week together on a family outing, just doing whatever his daughter wants to do. spending time together as a family is one of his biggest priorities, to make sure that his daughter knows that she's growing up in a healthy household where everyone loves each other.

dad kuzan! who finds himself becoming more and more interested with some of the TV shows his daughter watches, going so far as to just to watch it together with her, even staying awake at times where he'd usually take a nap. if that doesn't make it obvious enough how much he loves his daughter, then he doesn't know what else would. because who else would he go out of his way to miss nap time for, other than you?

dad kuzan! who partakes in any tea party his daughter holds. he would make sure to follow whatever roleplay she's doing of at the moment, and if he'd have to sit at a really tiny table among a group of adorable plushies, or dress up like a princess, then so be it. if it makes his daughter happy, he'll do anything she wants to do.

dad kuzan! who's naturally ecstatic when your daughter is asking for a sibling, saying that 'she wants to have someone who she can play with all the time'. he's obviously more than eager to fulfill his daughter's wish.

dad kuzan! who totally doesn't want another child just because it's an excuse to be even more intimate than usual with you again ever since the birth of your daughter.

[hydra00110110]

More Donna and Angie Beneviento Headcanons

Once in a blue moon, Donna will have a morning cappuccino using her Bialetti moka pot. Angie loves to watch the coffee fill the top vessel, and begs her to make more.

Along with whatever winter holiday the Village celebrates, Donna observes Christmas and the Epiphany to maintain Italian identity. She also continues Italian traditions that were passed on from her parents.

Donna does not have to worry about Angie playing in the snow too long since dolls cannot feel temperatures.

During celebrations involving fireworks, Angie is known for aiming Roman Candles at people while chasing after them. (This is the downside of a doll unaware of temperatures).

Whenever her siblings are sick, Donna makes a basket of holistic remedies (herbal tea, soup, herbal salve, essential oils) and brings it to them in person.

Donna knows a lot of skills and facts due to her many years of solitude and her plethora of books.

She speaks to her plants, believing that manifesting her love and care helps them grow healthy.

At night, Angie is read bedtime stories and often falls asleep on Donna's lap. Donna then has to gently carry her to her bed like you would to a child.

Mother Miranda ordered her to test her new abilities on her gardener and kill him so that no one would know about her abilities. Donna was conflicted with obeying her new "mother" or sparing her fatherly figure; she ultimately chose to obey her mother to earn her love. I personally feel she killed him in the heart with scissors, and chose Ethan's weapon as scissors out of her guilt.

Alternatively

She fabricated her death from her hallucination, hiding in her basement until sensing that Mother Miranda was destroyed.

Ever since then when Donna is conflicted, she always turns to Angie first for second thoughts.

[roarrrgame]

I’m insanely patient for some things so I never hated the Fade quests in DA as much as a lot of people do. Plus I’m a mage the Fade is my bread and butter! Though I do dread going into the Fade a bit and would mentally prepare myself every time I have to go in there.

So when I played the Fade quest in Inquisition the first time and found myself in the Fade. While running around I was thinking, the Fade is tough but this time I feel much better because my friends/companions are doing this with me!

Because in previous games you either have to go in there alone, for your Harrowing, to save people etc, or have your companions betray you in there, ouch. (One reason I don’t dislike Anders or think he’s out of control is because him as Justice didn’t betray me unlike others, also presumably because Hawke is a mage she was able to stop Anders from killing the girl by telling him she’s not possessed or something).

But this time I have people I really like with me! Including my favourite mages, Dorian who also went through the harrowing (this bit is meta because my Inqy is Dalish lol) and Solas who is THE expert on the Fade.

Then it dawned on me - does Solas not feel lonely when he explores the Fade? He’s so excited about the Fade, and spends so much time in the Fade, but the Fade is a daunting place for most of us, so I naturally wondered if he’d get lonely too.

It was just a thought coming from my meta experience with the games, and because I was romancing Solas.

Then not long after, when I was carelessly looking through the writings on each of the tome stones, Solas’ biggest fear literally shocked me.

“To die alone���!

It did not make sense to me at all at that time, because I did not pick up any clue the writers left on Solas’ relationships with others (things go over my head oof). I just felt pleasantly surprised that it echoed my earlier thought and sympathetic to Solas.

It makes much more sense now I’ve played the game and the next one twice and things finally began to sink in (lol).

In one of his banters with spirit!Cole, he sounds so fucking sad when he pleads Cole to preserve his life carefully because spirits of positive intentions are so rare and prone to harm.

In “All New, Faded for Her”, I did not even notice how fucking sad he was the whole time from realising his friend was turned into a demon to grieving alone afterwards and even considering not to come back.

I also did not even realise that was the point when he soft locks commits to Lavellan or announces his respect for the Inquisitor. Because he cares deeply about friendship and spirits and people that he sees “humanity” in, and he does not want to be alone despite believing he must.

He even tells Tal-Vashoth!Bull that he still has the Inquisitor, he still has him! The Solas who so many people believe is racist against all races, especially the Qunari and Dwarfs? And people say his approval for helping people or stance against slavery is out of pity or only theoretical.

He followed Mythal and got a body even though he really didn’t want to, because he wanted to be with Mythal wherever she went. When the found the broken orb he looked so fucking sad, because he knew he’d have to kill Mythal now in order to continue their duty.

The other time he looked extremely sad was of course when he hard locks breaks up with Lavellan. If you ask are you kidding me he looks so defeated. I always jokingly think romanced Lavellan is so pathetic, now I think Solas is so pathetic too. It’s not wise to love someone undeserving, it degrades someone who has otherwise remarkable qualities to someone unworthy, and it twists these qualities into negative traits. Such is the hell that is humanity.

[ishankedurmom]

YESSSS ABSOLUTELY YES‼️‼️

Some people hive jax wayy too much slack for the things he does because he is most likely coping, but ragathas people pleasing could be coping too. That and people think jax is hot so his actions are fine apparently. Ragatha clearly does care about people, but the whole people pleasing aspect may be there to help her stay sane. Something you cant fault her for.

Yes, she said some bad things to gangle but she was also drunk off her ass and was saying those things to everyone. As a gangle enyhusiast myself, i dont blame Ragatha. I blame mostly jax. Hes been bullying her consistantly for who knows how long. And with all the mental illness allegories she shows, it doesnt seem too hard to push her off the edge. Something that jax either doesnt notice or is pretending not too in order to keep his image up

But yeah, not ragathas fault

I've seen people recently call Ragatha "evil" or "two-faced" due to Episode 4??? I absolutely need to address this

⚠️ CW: Discussion of substance use ⚠️

Like, idk if it's a thing here but I've seen people on Youtube say this exact thing and it drives me INSANE everytime I hear it. I'm a huge Gangle fan, I never talk about it here but I am. She's my favourite character but you absolutely cannot fault Ragatha for everything bad that's happened to Gangle in ep 4.

Let's put the facts first: Ragatha is normally nice, but suddenly in episode 4 she acts mean and people give her shit for her telling Gangle "you know you're kinda annoying like this", so much so that Gangle [allegedly] almost abstracted near the end. She talks shit about Pomni "flirting" with Gummigoo and tells Jax she hates him but doesn't want him to hate her.

First of all, she was squirted with stupid sauce, which may have been an allegory for hard drugs or alcohol. That basically stripped her of any verbal filter she MAY have had, so that already puts her actions into much needed context. She's not conciously telling Gangle that she's less annoying when she's sad, or conciously spouting every mean thing about literally everyone she sees. From what I see, she's highly unhappy with her situation and the people around her... you know. Like a REAL human being. Her actions were not hers, it's literally like calling me a bad driver because I crashed the car for drunk driving. No. Should I have crashed the car? Obviously not? But it wasn't ONLY my fault that the alcohol toyed with my reaction speed. [not extracted from experience the last time i drove was during my driving exam]

Second of all, she is so obviously a people-pleaser. People like to call her two-faced because she acts nice to people but actually secretly is mean. It's made very clear that she's nice to let people like her ["Jax, I hate you, but I don't want you to hate me"] and she desperately craves the validation of being liked ["I wish someone would flirt with me"]. And no, that doesn't make her two-faced. Two-faced is when you try to go behind the back of someone to say something for your own gain. Ragatha's need here is a very human want, which is the want to fit in and be liked.

Third of all, YES she almost got Gangle to abstract but it's not her fault. She didn't KNOW that it would cause Gangle to abstract, and she had no malintent. Also (vaguely gestures to stupid sauce again)

Fourth of all, NOBODY SEEMS TO CARE THAT JAX ALSO PLAYED A PART IN THAT??? I know Jax is Jax and he's an asshat, but he still said Gangle was better liked when she was sad and I've only seen people blame Ragatha for it and rarely Jax.

Lastly it's absurd that Ragatha seems to be getting hated on just for disliking some aspects of people in the Circus [with the exception of Jax], GOD FORBID SOMEONE HAVE HUMAN EMOTIONS.

[sunslants]

go more into the misogyny (and other issues) of Link Click. Spill the tea (so I can cry into it during the new season)

i dont really have a lottt to say abt this topic but mostly it seems to me that haolin kind of struggles with women relative to their proximity to the plot? despite pushing lg + cxs + ql as a trio in marketing qiao ling barely has a character arc if she has one At All in both seasons of the show, li tianxi dies at the end of s2 to motivate li tianchen into joining liu xiao's nefarious causes, wang juan serves an extraordinarily minor role and then is clobbered into emotional fake-out death, etc. also up until very recently it seemed that all the characters in yingdu would be men which was. a little troubling to me personally.

anyways im pessimistic about haolins ability to give the blonde lady OR qiao ling like, a complete character arc in 6 episodes esp since she seems overshadowed by the villain trio in all the promo material. im sure she'll be a pretty sympathetic character since link click has historically been fairly good with giving characters interiority or at least implying it (wang juan excluded) but to what extent she is A Character is still to be seen. it could still happen!

[keekeenuggets]

We don't talk enough about how well ALL of the Vees know and care about each other so much, like--

We first see them when Velvette is calling Vox about Val being upset in ep 2, but there's no way he would have asked for the help himself. Like he's not gonna be like "hey get Vox for me I need him" because that seems too vulnerable, BUT he was expecting Vox to come.

He literally says "Fuckin' finally!"

Which would either mean that Velvette told him Vox is on his way, OR Val knew Velvette would tell Vox to come. (It is possible he expected it because of the cameras, but Vox didn't seem to know Val was throwing a tantrum until Velvette called him, and Vox's plan for the day seemed to involve multiple meetings, so I don't think he watches the cameras often enough for that.)

Also Velvette knew how to calm Valentino down. She was busy with a fashion show and needed to focus on that, and she was mad that Val was wrecking her shit, but even after he was out of her hair and not a problem to her, she repeated to Vox that he needs to go take care of Val.

"Take care of the piss baby!"

I 100% believe she could have done it herself (she probably did partly?? considering he stopped the tantrum and was in his room before Vox got there-- unless her telling Val that Vox was on his way was what did it, but that would still be something she knew to do), but she had a show to run. Still, she wasn't going to leave Val alone to be moping around.

Also the fact Valentino seems to have some level of control over his smoke implies he wanted to be dramatic as fuck or wanted to hide himself and sat in a cloud of smoke on purpose.

Vox obviously knows how to talk Val out of shit, and canon makes it more clear that he understands Val well.

But overall there's obvious intimacy between all three of the Vees in that they care for each other and know exactly what's needed and/or what will happen in situations like that.

[dukeofthomas]

"Angry robin" "violent robin" "misbehaving robin" shut up and accept my alternative; spunky Robin. Determined and head strong, can out-stubborn the Batman, has a strong moral-backbone and does what he thinks is right regardless of what anybody else says, Robin. Jason who was sassy and quippy and made crude jokes with a smile on his face. Jason who hid in Bruce's cape and whispered gossip to him. Jason who, if Bruce refused him something, could keep bothering endlessly until Bruce caved. And also dramatic Jason. If Bruce tells him no, it becomes a whole theatrical show; a monologue, a narration, embellishments, and falling onto the floor in his grief upon the fact his cruel father has denied him once again.

(Jason who has suffered through abuse and homelessness and poverty and starvation, who is the Fight out of Fight or Flight, who's built up defenses and walls and when pushed and triggered responds with the thing that's always protected him; anger. He's sweet and kind and funny, and when he sees a pimp hitting a prostitute he gets furious and responds with violence.)

[superkooku]

Heya, so I'm just someone who likes Greek mythology and I didn't read PJO (so my criticism is more general). I'm not the best person out here but I can give some tips if you'd like to.

First off, I'm always happy to see people willing to compare sources and modern adaptations to see which changes were made, all the inaccuracies. It's a sign of a curious spirit who likes to research about the myths. And also a way to discuss with a more nuanced perspective of the ancient culture.

+ Zeus tends to be demonized in modern retellings. People focus on his lustful side and forget that he's a powerful leader, a god of justice and hospitality and that he's not a heartless monster or anything in mythology.

Edit : here's some positive stuff about Zeus :

+ Hera kinda has the same problem, where she's seen as this jealous naggy wife who attacks every single child of Zeus (she only did it to a minority btw) and not given the same amount of respect as other female deities.

Or she's a victim so Zeus is 100% in the wrong. I don't vibe with either of these extremes and would prefer more nuanced explorations of Hera's character as a queen among the Olympians that CAN let go of a grudge (like when Heracles and Hebe married), as well as a goddess of marriage.

+ As for Dionysus, oh boy, where do I start 😂 ? I made a sort of essay dedicated to him on my blog because he's often done dirty in adaptations. Here's the link :

You don't have to read it, obviously, but I let this here just in case you'd like to. So to keep it short, let's say that every adaptation where he's portrayed as a goofy drunk guy or a pacifistic deity are completely wrong.

He's so much more interesting than that. He's, on one hand, a god of festivities, liberation theater and fertility. But on the other, he's also the god of insanity, he has an army of crazy followers (edit : maenads aren't really priestesses so I corrected that).

He doesn't hesitate to violently punish any king that doesn't respect his status as a god. He's a conquerer who, in order to ascend as an Olympian, had to spread his cult.

His relationship with Hera is also very interesting because she follows him throughout his numerous travels (as an antagonistic force) and she almost seems an accidental teacher in the way her punishments on Dionysus resemble those the god will later inflict (especially the madness tendency).

Whereas Zeus also shows a nicer side by being a caring father and protecting him while he was an infant.

Anyways, for Dionysus, I'd suggest you read "The Bacchae" from Euripides. It completely changed my perspective of him 😉.

He's like wine, yk ? Both a drink of celebration and joy, but also one that can unleash repressed traits, be it violence or being tipsy, so more vulnerable, or more joyful. It alters reason and decision making. Dionysus can make people more obedient or straight up rabid when he wants to. So he takes that to the maximum.

I hope this mini rant could help, my friend. If you have anything to say, don't hesitate.

Also @kingkai4ever could you help me for the PJO stuff specifically? If you have anything to add.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ

Hi-this is a call for help.

It's not urgent, but it's very important and serious to me.

Listen-I'm writing a literal essay on how the Greek Gods are incorrectly portrayed, and I want to do sections on Zeus, Hera and Dionysus.

So, this started off as a short post on the bold yin yang of PJO, but it quickly blew up into a whole ass essay on the bastardisation of Greek culture and gods. And holy hell, I'm enjoying writing it. I freaking love it, but-

While Rick Riordan's portrayals of the gods aren't totally incorrect, something about their portrayals has been seriously nagging me for months now. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's just on the tip of my tongue-

but I don't think that Rick portrayed them all correctly, and I want to write sections for them too.

So, can all of you-Greeks, Hellenistic Pagans and other people like me who are neither of the first two but are still interested in the Real Greek Gods-can all of you tell me where PJO Dionysus, PJO Zeus and PJO Hera went wrong?

More specifically, how Real Hera, Real Zeus and Real Dionysus are, and how their PJO versions differ from them.

Because I'm doing my research, but I can't always trust the internet and I really want to hear about Dionysus and Zeus and how they were incorrectly portrayed in PJO from real people themselves.

I mean, Zeus is portrayed as paranoid and abusive and while he wasn't the best guy in the Mythology, he was a great father and husband at times-as well as a great guy.

But in PJO, he was barely shown as a good father or a husband, only twice with Thalia because she was his daughter, and we all know how abusive he was to Jason and Apollo. And he's barely given any nuance-as well as Hera. They're both portrayed to be in an abusive marriage, but both Hera and Zeus really love each other.

I kind of also want to do a section on PJO Hera, because I just KNOW that Rick went wrong with her, even if I can't fully explain Zeus and Dionysus.

So, TLDR, I'm writing an essay on how Rick incorrectly portrayed the Greek Gods and want to do sections on Zeus, Dionysus and Hera, could you please help me and tell me more about the real gods and maybe how Rick went wrong with them?

Thanks to everyone who contributes to this! Even a simple like will suffice. I will also respond to every comment, and feel free to tag anyone whom you think might help.

In fact, if you want to complain about ANYTHING wrong in the PJO series, send me an ask and I'll try to include it in my essay. And I don't get very many asks, so I'll be sure to respond to all of them.

I don't mean to be rude, and if you think I am, then please tell me and I'll change what I need to.

@elytrianemrald I know you're looking forward to this essay, I'm working on it every day and getting closer to finishing it

@lady-menrva I know this might not be your thing, but I think you might know some people who could help me

@my-pjo-stuff you mentioned Artemis being your patron goddess, soooooooo you might know something about the other gods too? And if you don't, maybe you know someone who can help?

If you want to be tagged, tell me and I will tag you

[valkyurii]

it’s funny how things have gone full circle with malenia. she was so hated when the game first came out, but then people grew to like her. then the dlc came out and now people hate her again lmao

[panxramic]

Tallulah and Promises

Something I’ve always liked keeping an eye on and is so bittersweet about Tallulah’s character is her relationship with promises. I’m not quite sure when it became so intense, maybe it’s been there since the beginning, but Tallulah for a long time has had a unique relationship with making and keeping a promise.

I want to say that first and foremost, how she handles promises can be incredibly childish. Both because they can be nonsensical and “immature” AND because well, she’s a child. What kind of promise do you expect from a child?

A promise is everything to her, it’s a contract. Its words set in stone and written in the stars. A promise CANNOT be broken. Doesn’t matter who it is, a promise is a promise and you keep it. And it’s not all bad. Things like this can be reasonable right? She’ll get upset of course when someone makes a promise or when she can’t keep hers. She uses promises as a way to hold out hope. She uses them to keep herself and those around her accountable, so she has the assurance that they’ll do what they promised and she’ll do what she promised. That no matter what happens in the world, no matter what life throws at her, she can count on those promises.

So when someone breaks it, when she can’t live up to her promises, it shatters her world view.

And then the problems start to stack up, especially when we get into the realm of false promises, it starts becoming a mess. A mess of false hope. Because remember, to her, promises can be translated to hope (another big part of her character).

Gonna breeze pass through this one but she did make a promise when she first joined the island. A promise to someone, who never kept up his end of it, and she held on to it for MONTHS. For months that child held out her promise and repeatedly brought it up again and again that no matter what she was gonna be alive for when he came back and when he needed her. With not a sign of him returning that promise to her. And this promise was also hope. Hope she wasn’t gonna be left alone again, abandoned.

And that’s when we get into false promises. Because although Tallulah does value them a lot, she also asks for people to promise her things that sometimes cannot be done. There have been countless of times she has tried asking q!Phil to promise her something, but q!Phil has rarely ever promised her anything (with a handful of exceptions). He’s careful, he’s always very careful about what he promises to her because he doesn’t want to make a promise he can’t keep. And whenever he doesn’t promise her something, I feel like a part of Tallulah’s hope gets cracked. Because without a promise, how positive is she that q!Phil will keep his word? How hopeful can she really be that everything will be okay?

She hangs onto promises like a lifeline. They’re the one tether that can keep her hope afloat. And she remembers them, remembers her promises like a burn on her skin.

She’s done the same thing to q!Bad. Has asked if he could promise things, like promise that he wasn’t dying, but q!Bad never could. And when people can’t promise something, she has little hope that everything will be okay.

And some promises she asks for can be so… nonsensical. Promises we know, and I KNOW she knows, cannot be made. But she asks for them anyway. Because she’s a child. A child who just wants everything to be okay and wants her Papa Phil to promise that nothing bad will ever happen to him, to promise that he will never leave them, because she’s a terrified kid of being abandoned again and not having that reassurance, that solid ground, that things will be okay.

But q!Phil can’t promise that. And it aches.

One time she broke that barrier, she couldn’t take it anymore. She asked q!Bad to promise her something and he refused to. And afterwards she just told him to promise it to her even if it’s a lie. She full on broke that glass wall and was transparent.

Pinky promise to me you would not die

At least lie to me

And he did.

Because promises make her feel better. She holds onto them until she can’t, even if it is filled with lies. Because sometimes a child asks for a promise and they don’t expect the truth, they just expect comfort. Because it’s the only thing they can handle.

It’s so sad to watch her hold onto promises that she KNOWS deep in her heart can’t be kept. But still she wishes and she hopes and she believes in these lies as if they’re the only thing holding her up above ground.

Sometimes the promises she asks for can be unreasonable. She puts up a wall to protect herself because reality is scary, it’s terrifying. Tallulah values the truth like no other. She hates lies and she hates when people like q!Phil and Chayanne hide things from her. But when it comes to her dad potentially abandoning her, when it comes to him dying and leaving her, she’d rather believe everything will be okay than face the harsh reality of what’s going on.

And this topic has a lot of nuances I won’t get specifically into. It’s a blend of promises and lies and hope and truth. The lies the promises hold aren’t the same as someone straight up lying to her face and hiding things from her. It’s different instances of a lie.

Anyways, again, a lot of different things I can get into and definitions to go through BUT I will to say that it’s not wrong of her to want to believe everything will be okay. I’m an optimist at heart. ‘Hope’ to me is important and I think it isn’t wrong to have it even when things are looking down. But, something specifically for Tallulah is that alongside that hope, she also is terrified of reality (rightfully so) and tries to erase it by making a promise. And essentially, that’s not how the world works.

It’s such a childish way of thinking. You cannot erase the bad things from happening with a promise. And that’s what Tallulah sometimes does. If she makes q!Phil promise that he won’t leave her, then surely he won’t. That’s how promises work right?

Tallulah holds herself to these promises too. She does everything in her power to keep her word. When she doesn’t, when she breaks a promise she makes, she beats herself up for it.

That first promise she made? She broke it during purgatory and it broke her. It was one of the many accumulated reasons why she hated Purgatory island and everything associated with it. And when she broke that promise a piece of her hope broke with it.

Whenever Tallulah makes a promise to q!Phil she engraves it in her mind. She does everything in her power to keep it. And when she’s accused of breaking a promise, she panics and becomes defensive. She looks back into her mind to see if she ever DID make that promise and if she didn’t she starts defending herself. The conversation begins to shift from the actual issue to “no I never made that promise I didn’t promise you anything I didn’t break anything.” Because it’s SUPER important to her. The idea of breaking a promise is like a rock to glass. So she remembers the promises she makes.

Promises for Tallulah are a childish way for her to rewrite reality. But they’re also a way for her to have hope. There’s a balance when it comes to having hope and being able to see reality for what it is. And it’s something Tallulah struggles with. And I don’t blame her for it.

A child who cannot cope with reality will make pinky promises of clear skies and sunny days. A child who cannot handle the possibility of being abandoned again will make someone promise her to never leave even if she knows things are out of his control. Because in the mind of a child, a promise cannot be broken.

A promise is sealed. It’s a binding rope that should never give. So if Tallulah can make q!Phil promise her things, then that means he will never leave her, that means he will never hurt her. If Tallulah can make q!Bad promise her he won’t die then she can live in the lie that he will be okay. If she can promise to always be by her brothers side then surely they will never be separated again.

Because promise can’t be broken.

Right?

(Deep down inside, she knows).