#interpret that how you like smh

[fumifooms]

You’re the resident chilchuck expert, so I was wondering about it there’s any canon evidence that he did smoke or drink alcohol when the kids were younger. I always thought it was something he picked up due to the strain of long jobs, when the kids were already older, but you seem to think differently and I was wondering if there was anything in canon that made you think that way!

Now that you mention it I guess it’s true there’s no evidence he did. Smoking we literally only know he does at all because of one post-canon panel where he has a pipe, so no, maybe this stick-looking thing in the panel below too though, I’m not familiar with medieval blunts eh. We’ve only gotten one panel of him and his daughters interacting when he was younger so that’s not too insightful on that end, and every time we see him young and freckled it’s in a job context so again not really where we’d expect him to be drinking. The earliest proof (/heavy implication since we don’t see inside his cup I guess) is 3 years before canon when Laios hired him, where he’s at a bar, classily placed in front of all the bottles ✨

Yes alcohol is almost certainly a way through which he copes especially with stress, so if we go with the theory he started around when work got stressful, well… Chilchuck started working as a dungeon diver ~10 years ago so when he was ~19, making Mei, Fler and Puck ~6 and ~4 respectively, so from that draw the ‘stressful enough to start drinking’ line wherever. We don’t know what he did before that with any certainty, and it could be he did odd jobs, lived off mostly mutual aid and community work, or just focused on only raising the girls. Half-foots tend to be poor and I see a lot of that in Chilchuck specifically so I don’t think he could have afforded to not have some paying work though.

Alright, so then why do I think he did drink when the girls were younger?

I give a more complete rundown of the info we do have on his alcoholism & his family with panels and references + all the speculation I make from it here. But the most targeted and objective answer I can give is:

Of course there’s just very very little we know of Chilchuck’s life with his family, and I think that’s by design too. I think the details being up in the air is to allow more nuance of the topic, like, will trying to reconcile go well, is their relationship salvageable? We don’t know, because we don’t know. So the message of giving hope a chance even if it’s a long shot, that things could truly go either way, is more relevant, impactful and meta in that way. How long was he usually away for work travels into dungeons here and there? How did he act with them? All we can really do is "it’s likely that", it’s a game of which way we think it’s more implied. There’s no right and wrong answer, it’s all Marcille-like larping the events out.

My main reason for thinking he did is that his father died from overdrinking and Chilchuck is very aware of that. He mentions his death casually in the extra about their stance in alcohol and in his Adventurer’s Bible profile, etc. He acts towards the alcohol presumably the same way his father did: with abandon, uncaring for the health effects, probably happily too considering Chil says "dying doing something you love is a good way to go". Very nonchalant. So you see what I’m saying here right, wether he started early or late, his view of alcoholism is very influenced by what he saw of his father growing up, it’s something he’s always been aware of and saw in a mostly positive light, something that was inherited you could say. It’s something that was normalized to him from a young age. Regardless or where it goes from there I do think this part is pretty inarguable. If he views it positively and we know that in the present alcohol is his favorite food that he loveees, why would he have held out on it? Personally that all makes me think he started drinking very young, especially since I don’t think they limited alcohol to age as much as modern standards (and I mean, teen drinking is obviously still a thing). And here you could argue, maybe his father only started being more alcoholic later when Chilchuck moved out, or something! And to that there’s nothing I can say except I think that’s a strained theory, and that Chil might even have largely cut contact with his family after moving out (since he and siblings are listed as almost strangers and he doesn’t seem to have much emotional attachment to his parents, but also we know he rents out his place to "a relative"), but it’s true we have no evidence. "I’ve picked up the same unhealthy substance abuse as my father haha! No big deal right haha" repeated several times to me just reeks of intergenerational trauma, & the alcoholism gene as they call it. Like effortless sliding into drinking as if it’s second nature, it’s natural after all, it’s normal after all, it just makes sense, it makes you feel good and that’s what matters.

BUT from my interpretation then we have a whole other layer: Alcohol is of course not all bad always. I think he’s always liked alcohol and drank it on occasion and it brought him joy etc etc, but I think here the implication in the question is, how much effect did his drinking have on the family relations and how early? And that isn’t so much about when him drinking started but when the alcoholism started. Addiction is defined by a habitual need, that has negative effects from filling that need (physical, psychological, social, etc) and negative effects from withdrawal. If Chilchuck drinks to cope and he can’t not cope without it, that’s addiction, if it affects his relationships, if it’s a need he has, it’s addiction. Addiction can be very insidious or look very casual, and how much people around the person are affected by it is case by case. Cheerful drunks can be sooo annoying and uncomfortable though let me tell you. Drunks are drunks. And this sounds harsh, but even if people around them don’t mind drunks it’ll still have some effects here and there, living with one can be such a challenge, ily drunks good luck with everything much like Chilchuck you deserve good things 🫡　

Ok so with the dad thing and the "ok well maybe he’s always drunk casually but it grew worse with time around when he started working as a dungeon diver" precision made, the other bit of info we have that can inform this is that Chilchuck is on a harsh diet and that alcohol is a hunger suppressant. We know Chilchuck "used to be fine not eating for two days", that literally on screen to quench his hunger so it doesn’t keep him awake he goes to drink water, drinking is his instinct to hunger. Again alcohol is a hunger suppressant and if you want info on that the internet has a lot of research and anecdotes about it. He diets to be light enough to not trigger traps, so it’s something he’d have started after dungeon diving most likely. Between the stress and the diet, yes it’s extremely likely he started going harder on alcohol after he started working in dungeons. There’s arguments on wether two days without eating is less bad for half-foots than humans, but apart from smaller portions there’s nothing that indicates half-foots should get less than 3 meals a day. They need less food but that’s because their bodies are smaller: the need is proportional to the body, not smaller than others’ races, the % of need is similar even if the kg amount of food isn’t. There’s also a popular headcanon with support basis that half-foots run hot and have a faster heartrate and whatnot, and that points towards a faster metabolism rather than a slower one: a bigger need for eating rather than a smaller one. He has the same bmi, 18, as Mickbell, but perhaps because Chil is much taller he’s less intensely visibly underweight with ribs showing than Mick during the bath extra, it’s most apparent when he becomes tallman.

Alcohol is something so important and omnipresent in his character that I have trouble believing it’s something that was part of only a small fraction of his life. It’s his immediate go-to, his no-brainer solution to a good time, I’ve sort of always assumed especially after looking at his family that it’s something he discovered decently young. Like he just acts like someone who’s always had alcohol to fall back on and started young idk. Alcohol is one of his 5 keywords. Alcoholism is very ingrained into his world view and life, his "it doesn’t matter" stance his ‘work hard play hard’ mentality his idea that the world is harsh so you get relief where you can, so it just makes sense to me that it’s always been in his life, if not actively then at least looming.

So yes, in summary, my take: Alcohol was always something he wholly enjoyed to an unwise level, but it could have been considered casual until he started working into dungeons and his need for it on a regular basis intensified. Alcohol has always had positive association to him as far as we see, so when it started being a problem he didn’t see it as such. To quote him, "I drink anytime I get the opportunity to". Why always? Approval of father’s alcoholism. Why alcoholism at all? Diet + stress & coping mechanism & emotional stunting + relationship issues, and she decided she had enough after they went out for drinks.

Conclusion

Chilchuck having drunk from a young age makes sense to me and it’s the strongest narrative angle I see on the table, but that’s objectively a me opinion, yes! There’s no evidence, moreso there’s canon basis and supporting info, but it’s all very left up to interpretation. I’ve made my own interpretations of things from the scraps we see, like everyone else making Chilwife and daughters content. Wether you have a stance on the topic or prefer to leave it vague in your takes, it’ll be a matter of what you think makes most sense, or what you’d rather believe I suppose (which is literally fine)

There’s a lot of subjectivity in even just setting up causal links like you probably noticed during this and I was careful with my word choices, because we’re just extrapolating from what we see and unless Kui states it explicitly from a reliable mouth all we can do is have informed opinions on most things. This particular interpretation is influenced by other details I’ve come to form about my interpretation of Chilchuck too, the more psychological and emotional sides of him and the timeline and how his marriage even happened, unplanned pregnancy imo. Like I hope you see what I mean, this wasn’t supposed to be a speculation post just a quick simple answer but there’s sort of just no other and concise but complete way with the subjectivity nuance to put "maybe it could be yes because of this but maybe it could be no because of this" haha

Edit: Wait the phrasing on this… Interesting. "In recent years"— This does imply that if not just his alcohol consumption increasing then the diversity and quality of it did, so either he indeed did start drinking more (not necessarily meaning he didn’t drink before) assumedly because of his wife leaving, or he started drinking other/more different kinds of alcohol maybe due to the union he formed + his experience gave him greater salary than he had previously (and no wife and family to provide money for), a mix of both perhaps.

[amelikos]

I am already a big enjoyer of Friede and Amethio's rivalry and dynamics in general, so if Crave turns out to be Amethio's father, I feel like this knowledge would reframe their rivalry in very interesting ways and give additional readings and perspectives..

[imminent-danger-came]

Hi I’m also an avid httyd 3 hater I think this video was a pretty good summarization of most of the things that were wrong with it if you wanna check it out

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bcFMEs177i0&feature=shared

"The director wanted an end from a different story". SO FUCKING TRUE. SO REAL.

From the httyd3 art book (which I'm so happy the video references):

"In general, it's more difficult to create a female character than it is to draw a male. For a female, any incorrect line and the shape can go wrong very quickly. We had to control all the shapes while keeping her both powerful and graceful so that she didn't fall to much into the reptilian category, like a lot of dragons. We wanted to explore how the Light Fury would walk and how to make her feel like a female, so we referenced lionesses and big cats."

What misogynistic bullshit am I right.

I'm going to go ahead and also show off the hearts on the light fury's forehead because it's just abysmal (this is a normal picture of the light fury with the saturation increased):

Thanks for sending this video my way anon!

[byanyan]

actually ngl, i have been playing with the idea of byan, at some point in their fledgling verse, probably years down the line, eventually coming to work at some shitty little 24 hour tattoo shop

[kavehayati]

logging in and it’s me realising just how ugly this blog is.

[1322daysofdoey]

Spreading my orange Kevin agenda... Read my ramblings... This is going to be stupidly long as I try to explain everything here so I apologize in advance.

To try to break this down, basically the main reason I think Kevin is orange and not red is because of the arrangement of the heads in his monster form, which are arranged in a similar "triangle" fashion to the colors on Doey himself (one on his top-right, one on his top-left, one on the bottom-center). Not only that, but this color arrangement is ALSO present in his logo (two "tall" yellow and orange letters - d and h, and one "low-hanging" red letter between them - g), so I get the impression that this was done on purpose rather than a coincidence. So, looking at his monster form, Kevin is easily identifiable by his angry expression, and with this arrangement in mind he corresponds to the orange color placement.

So, then, between the last two heads, how did I determine which one is Matthew and which one is Jack? The answer is going back to the logo and looking at the hands. Each one is posed differently, and I feel that this is reflective of each boy's personality. The orange hand is a fist, which further supports that color representing Kevin due to his aggression. The red hand is pointing, which I feel is a good representation of Matthew's leadership and charisma. So then Jack is yellow, the open hand, by process of elimination. You could counterargue that a pointing finger could be accusatory, and that a fist in the air could represent leadership. But because of the previous point about the consistent arrangement of the colors/faces, I'm pretty confident about Kevin being orange, so that really just leaves me with the other interpretation.

I also think that these colors make more sense when thinking about the actual body parts that the colors are applied to. Orange is one of Doey's arms, which I think fits much better for Kevin than the legs would. Meanwhile, I think the legs work well for Matthew because he's the "support" and stability of the trio. It also makes the "three boys in a trench coat" jokes work better this way lol, you make Matthew the "legs" of the disguise because he's the oldest and tallest to carry the other two but then don't even make him the color of the legs? smh

Then my last two points are a bit more minor, but I wanted to mention anyway:

Firstly, the emotional association of the colors. I feel like the red Kevin fanon is specifically because red is seen as "the angry color" or "the bad color" (Kevin is NOT bad or evil FYI but you know how some people are about this sort of thing...), but then they're forgetting that red is also the color of love. (I mean hello, we're talking about the same game where Bobby BearHug exists?) Matthew has so much love for friends and family, I think it suits him well. And then orange is still a "fiery" color that can fit for Kevin's intense emotions, yeah?

Then secondly, the official "order" of the boys. Their experiment numbers are given a letter at the end to differentiate the three, with Jack being 1322A, Kevin being 1322B, and Matthew being 1322C. Youngest to oldest. And, if Kevin is orange instead of red, it would also make them ordered by color hue. A, B, C. Yellow, orange, red. It just makes sense, it feels right. It feels like something that would be done on purpose. Especially when combined with everything else I've already pointed out in this post.

Gonna finish this off with addressing another potential counterargument, though:

"But Doey's own character designer drew art where they color-coded the boys as yellow Jack, orange Matthew, and red Kevin! So doesn't that make those colors official?" Bro they literally say in their post that it "isn't canon" and is just fan art. You can already tell that it's not canon just based on Jack being a literal infant baby that looks nothing like the canon kid we see in the video lol. Furthermore, while Max is Doey's character designer, that doesn't mean they were responsible for any of the symbolism, foreshadowing, etc. regarding his backstory. They designed the character, but that doesn't mean they designed the logo for example. And, interestingly, in their concept art for monster Doey, you know what's noticeably different from the final version? The three heads inside Doey's mouth. They all share the same expression, so we can't tell which one is Kevin in this version. We don't know who was responsible for minor adjustments between this concept art and the final in-game design, so it's possible that someone on the team other than Max wanted that detail to be included. So in other words, I think that if each boy is indeed meant to correspond to a specific color on Doey, I don't think it was Max who chose which kid is which color, nor would they necessarily even know the "correct" color-coding since the possible hints about it that I talk about in this post are easy to miss if you're not hopelessly brainrotted like I am, and aren't important to understanding the lore. So they may have just fallen into the same "red = angry" logic that most of the fandom did.

But yeah whatever, man. I just wanted to get this out there.

[cskv11]

Hmm, for whatever reason, I believe this one shot from the new "How NOT to Draw" short:

is Bill straight up mocking the concept of free will AGAIN.

(this dude has some deep issues with this subject smh)

Allow me to explain myself:

In the original painting (Creation of Adam):

it's God's index finger (right hand) that's fully extended, while Adam (left hand), even though he has his arm fully outstretched, keeps the last phalanx of his index finger slightly bent; symbolizing that God is always there, but the decision to connect to him is up to humanity. If they want to, they can extend their finger and connect with God; if not, they can spend their entire life without seeking him, thus explaining the concept of free will.

Knowing this, if we now analyze Bill's shot, it seems as if the roles have been reversed: It looks like it's Bill's index finger that's slightly extended, while God's is uncomfortably contracted, almost purposely avoiding that contact from happening...

And if we dig a little deeper here, we can find lots of symbolisms, like Bill's desperate thirst for power and control, the lengths he's willing to go to cross beyond the natural order of things, his desire to be the one who plays God, and to have absolute sovereignty over the fate of his disciples, even though that role definitely has never belonged to him. He wants to 'reach' out to God, to become God himself, but it comes as unnatural, the 'Universe' itself retracts to avoid that from ever happening...

However, it can also be interpreted as just a simple mockery towards free will itself: the roles are reversed, no matter how much you extend your finger, you'll never make 'contact' with God because he is making the voluntary effort to avoid any contact with you.

Long story short: there's no such thing as 'free will' because you never actually had the option to 'choose' to connect with 'God' since there NEVER was a hand reaching out to you IN THE FIRST PLACE.

I might be wrong, and I might be reading way too much into it; I don't know much about art history, but I just found it interesting to see a parody of that painting hahaha

[the-oblivious-writer]

With Her Die |8|

Past J.T to Eventual S.S x Female Reader

Chapter Eight: Mind Over Matter

warnings: mental health struggles (anxiety, depression, medication references), parental abandonment/rejection, references to death, more of shauna and reader's unhealthy codependency, suicidal ideation undertones, and cult-like/supernatural elements.

note(s): i still can't believe i've been confusing h and s for each other, smh.

taglist: @morganismspam23 @slutforabbyanderson

masterlist | previous chapter | next chapter

The fever comes on suddenly, like most things in the wilderness. One moment you're helping to stack firewood outside the cabin, the next your vision blurs and the world tilts sideways. You don't remember hitting the ground, just the confused chorus of voices above you and the sensation of being carried.

"She's burning up," someone says. Shauna, you think. Her voice always carries that edge of controlled panic when it comes to you.

Cool hands press against your forehead, your cheeks, your neck. The world fades in and out, dreamlike and disjointed.

"Could be anything out here," Misty's clinical tone cuts through the fog. "Infection, some kind of parasite, plant toxin..."

"Just help her," Shauna snaps, and you feel her fingers tighten around yours.

You try to respond, to reassure her that you're fine, but your tongue feels swollen, your thoughts scattered like leaves in a windstorm. The ceiling of the cabin swims above you, wooden beams blending and separating in nauseating patterns.

"We need to keep her temperature down," Tai's voice, practical and measured.

Someone drapes something cool and damp across your forehead. You close your eyes against the spinning room and slip into darkness.

"I can't do this anymore."

Your mother's voice filters through the thin wall of your bedroom. You're thirteen, curled up on your bed with headphones on, but not playing any music. You've learned it's easier to hear them this way – they think you can't, so they speak freely.

"She's just going through a phase." Your father sounds tired, defeated before the argument's even begun.

"A phase? She's been like this for years. The anxiety, the mood swings, the constant need for reassurance. I can't breathe in my own house without worrying about how she'll interpret it."

You pull your knees tighter to your chest, trying to make yourself smaller, less substantial. Less of a burden.

"The medication should start working soon—"

"It's been three months. Three different prescriptions. Nothing changes."

There's a long silence, and you hold your breath, straining to hear.

"What exactly are you saying?" Your father's voice has gone quiet, dangerous.

"I'm saying I need a break. I'm saying she's your problem now."

The words land like physical blows. Your problem. Your problem. Your problem.

"She's not a problem. She's our daughter."

"Then why does it feel like I'm drowning every time I look at her?"

You wake with a gasp, sweat-soaked and disoriented. Shauna's face swims into view above you, her eyes wide with concern.

"Hey, hey," she soothes, brushing damp hair from your forehead. "You're okay. You're with me."

"My mom," you mumble, the words feeling strange and disconnected from your mouth.

Shauna's brow furrows. "What about her?"

But you're already slipping away again, the cabin dissolving around you like sugar in rain.

The fever dreams come in waves, memories and nightmares blending together until you can't tell what's real and what isn't. Sometimes you surface long enough to register snippets of reality – Misty changing the cloth on your forehead, Tai arguing with someone in the corner, Van bringing in fresh water.

Shauna remains a constant, her presence anchoring you when you drift too far. You catch glimpses of her – sleeping awkwardly in a chair beside your makeshift bed, her hand never leaving yours; arguing fiercely with someone while gesturing toward you; her pregnant belly a curved shield between you and the rest of the world.

In your more lucid moments, you notice the strain on her face, the dark circles under her eyes. You try to tell her to rest, that you'll be fine, but the words come out jumbled and strange.

"I'm not going anywhere," she always answers, as if she can understand you perfectly.

The fever spikes on the third night, and the hallucinations intensify.

You're standing in the clearing outside the cabin, snow falling gently around you. Jackie stands a few feet away, her blonde hair untouched by the frost that covers her eyelashes and lips.

"Why won't you join me?" she asks, her breath not fogging in the cold air. "Don't you love me anymore?"

"I can't," you try to explain, but your voice sounds wrong, distant.

"Everyone leaves eventually," Jackie says with a sad smile. "Even Shauna will. She'll choose the baby over you. You know that, right?"

You shake your head, tears freezing on your cheeks. "She wouldn't."

"Just like your mom chose herself over you?" Jackie's eyes are sympathetic but unrelenting. "It's what people do. They leave."

"Not her," you insist, but uncertainty creeps in like frost, numbing your certainty.

"Look," Jackie points behind you.

You turn to see Shauna walking away, her back to you, getting smaller with each step.

"Shauna!" you call, but no sound comes out. "Shauna, wait!"

You try to run after her, but your feet are rooted to the ground. One by one, the others appear, walking past you to follow Shauna – Tai, Van, Akilah, Misty, Travis, Javi, Nat. None of them look at you. None of them stop.

"Everyone leaves," Jackie repeats, suddenly beside you. Her cold hand slips into yours. "But I'll stay. I'll always stay."

"—not letting you near her!" Shauna's voice cuts through the nightmare, sharp and defensive.

"She's getting worse," another voice argues – Lottie. "I can help."

"Like you helped Jackie?" Shauna's tone is venomous. "No fucking way."

"That was different. The wilderness wanted Jackie."

"And what does it want from her? Another sacrifice?"

You force your eyes open, the effort monumental. The cabin comes into blurry focus – Shauna standing at the foot of your bed, her body positioned protectively between you and Lottie, who hovers near the door with what looks like a bundle of herbs in her hands.

"I've seen this in my dreams," Lottie says, her voice taking on that distant quality that makes everyone uneasy. "The sickness is more than physical. It's in her mind, in her heart."

"Get out," Shauna hisses.

"Ask her about the pills that never worked," Lottie continues, undeterred. "Ask her about her mother walking away. Ask her why she sees Jackie everywhere."

The room goes silent. You feel a chill that has nothing to do with your fever.

"What did you say?" Shauna's voice has dropped dangerously low.

Lottie's eyes drift to you, and you realize with a start that she knows you're awake. "The wilderness shows me things. Her past. Her fears." She takes a step forward. "She's afraid you'll leave too. Just like everyone else."

Shauna moves so quickly you barely register it – one moment she's at the foot of the bed, the next she's got Lottie pinned against the wall, forearm pressed to her throat.

"Get. Out." Each word is punctuated with barely controlled rage. "If you come near her again, I swear to god, Lottie—"

"What's going on?" Tai appears in the doorway, taking in the scene with a quick, assessing gaze.

"Get her out of here," Shauna demands, not releasing Lottie.

Tai steps forward, placing a calm hand on Shauna's shoulder. "Let her go. She's not worth it."

For a moment, you think Shauna might refuse. Then, slowly, she lowers her arm. Lottie doesn't cower or retreat; she simply looks at Shauna with something like pity.

"She needs more than you can give her," Lottie says quietly. "The wilderness knows what she needs."

"Lottie, enough," Tai interrupts, stepping between them. "Leave. Now."

With one last meaningful look at you, Lottie places the bundle of herbs on a nearby table and exits. The tension in the room lingers like smoke.

Tai turns to Shauna, voice low. "You need to get some sleep. You're not helping her by running yourself into the ground."

"I'm fine," Shauna insists, but even from your fevered state, you can see she's swaying slightly on her feet.

"Shauna," Tai's voice gentles. "The baby. Think about the baby."

Something in Shauna seems to crumple at that. She glances back at you, conflict written across her features.

"I'll stay with her," Tai promises. "If anything changes, I'll get you immediately."

After a long moment, Shauna nods. She moves to your side, leaning down to press her lips to your forehead. "I'll be right in the next room," she whispers, as if she knows you're listening. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

You want to reach for her, to tell her you heard everything, but your body feels impossibly heavy. You manage only to brush your fingers against hers before she pulls away.

As Shauna leaves reluctantly, Tai settles into the chair beside you. You let your eyes close again, exhaustion pulling you under.

"These should help with the mood swings and anxiety," Dr. Winters says, scribbling on a prescription pad. "But I want to see you back in three weeks to assess how they're working."

You stare at the white paper she hands you, not really seeing it. This is the third medication she's prescribed in as many months. The first made you feel like a zombie, moving through the world wrapped in cotton. The second gave you headaches so intense you couldn't get out of bed.

"What if these don't work either?" you ask, hating how small your voice sounds.

Dr. Winters offers a professional smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "Let's stay positive. Finding the right medication can take time."

Time. Everyone keeps telling you to give it time. But how much time do you have before your mother decides you're too much work, too much trouble? Before the strain you're putting on your parents' marriage snaps it completely?

"I think we're also going to increase your therapy sessions to twice a week," Dr. Winters continues, already making notes in your file. "How does that sound?"

Like another burden. Another expense. Another reason for your mother to look at you with that mixture of disappointment and resentment.

"Fine," you say, because what else can you say?

Dr. Winters pats your knee in what's meant to be a comforting gesture. "You're doing great. These things don't fix themselves overnight."

But some things never fix themselves at all.

The fourth day of fever brings a kind of clarity, albeit a distorted one. You drift in and out of consciousness, but the hallucinations take on a different quality – less nightmarish, more contemplative. You see your mother walking away, but this time, you don't try to follow. You see Jackie standing at the edge of the forest, but you don't reach for her.

Instead, you watch as Shauna moves around the cabin, tending to you with a singular focus that borders on obsession. Even in your fever-addled state, you can see how the others look at her – with concern, with wariness.

"You need to eat something," Nat says during one of her visits, placing a hand on Shauna's shoulder.

"Later," Shauna dismisses, not looking up from where she's wringing out a cloth in a basin of water.

"The baby—"

"Is fine." Shauna's tone makes it clear the subject is closed.

Nat exchanges a glance with Tai, who shrugs helplessly from her position near the window.

"This isn't healthy, Shauna," Nat tries again. "For either of you."

Shauna finally looks up, her eyes hard. "None of this is healthy, Nat. None of it. But it's what we have."

There's something in her voice – a razor's edge of desperation – that makes Nat back down. She sighs, placing a small bundle wrapped in leaves next to the bed.

"Travis caught a rabbit. Make sure she gets some broth at least."

After Nat leaves, Shauna sits beside you, her hand finding yours as it always does. You manage to squeeze her fingers weakly, and her entire face transforms with relief.

"Hey," she says softly, leaning closer. "You with me?"

"Always," you rasp, your throat raw from disuse.

A small, genuine smile breaks across her face. "There you are." She brings your hand to her lips, pressing a kiss to your knuckles. "You had me worried."

"Heard Lottie," you manage, each word an effort. "What she said."

Shauna's expression darkens. "Lottie doesn't know shit."

"She knew about my mom. The medication."

Shauna goes still, her eyes searching yours. "Was she right? About your mom leaving?"

You nod weakly, not trusting your voice.

Something fierce and protective crosses Shauna's face. She leans forward, her forehead resting against yours despite the sweat and fever. "I won't leave," she whispers fiercely. "Not ever. Do you understand me? Not ever."

The conviction in her voice pierces through the fever fog, anchoring you to this moment, to her. You believe her, not because it's rational or because promises mean anything in this place of death and survival, but because Shauna has remade herself around your existence just as you have remade yourself around hers.

"The baby," you whisper, echoing everyone else's concern.

"Is part of us," Shauna replies without hesitation. "Not separate. Part of us."

The certainty in her voice should be comforting, but something in you recognizes the dangerous edge to it. This isn't healthy – this fusion of identities, this consuming need. But in the wilderness, health is a luxury none of you can afford.

"Rest," Shauna urges, stroking your hair back from your forehead. "I'll be right here."

As you drift off again, you think about Lottie's words – that the wilderness knows what you need. Perhaps it does. Perhaps this fever is a kind of burning away, stripping you down to what matters.

Or perhaps it's just another way the wilderness is trying to claim you, the way it claimed Jackie.

[cybrasigilism]

hii love ur work!! 🫶🏼

can we get some fluff for namgyu🙏🏼 i love him smh

maybe a sfw alphabet or like some kind of boyfriend things!! ahah up to u ml take care xx

aww thank you so much! and yes i would love to do a SFW alphabet for nam-gyu 🙂‍↕️🙏

SFW Alphabet W/ Player 124 (Nam-gyu)

warnings: fluff | NOT PROOFREAD | lowercase intended | this is my interpretation of this character, please be respectful even if my opinion on the character differs from your own

character: nam-gyu (player 124)

A/N: a bit ashamed i haven’t written anything NOT freaky about this guy— it’s high time that changes ✋😒 (acting like i’m not gonna write something crazy later)

Enjoy!

A= Affection (how affectionate are they? how do they show affection?)

↳ nam-gyu is surprisingly affectionate for someone so….

we know’s got a thing for physical touch, so his way of showing affection is basically just hanging off you— when no one else is around. he won’t be affectionate in public, ever. he finds PDA super embarrassing

B= Best Friend (what would they be like as a best friend? how would the friendship start?)

↳ he would definitely be an apathetic type of best friend— who at the same time is the best person to have deep conversations with.

as for how the friendship starts, it would definitely be an unlikely bond formed through a mutual friend (cough cough su-bong cough cough)

C= Cuddles (do they like to cuddle? how would they cuddle?)

↳ as much as he won’t actually admit it, nam-gyu loves it when you smother your face into his chest when you guys cuddle. he usually lets you practically hang off him while he scrolls on his phone

however if he’s feeling extra affectionate (whether that be cause of inebriation is up for interpretation), he likes to flip the script and have it so he is the one buried in your chest

D= Domestic (do they want to settle down? how are they at cooking and cleaning?)

↳ nam-gyu doesn’t strike me as the type of person who is in any sort of rush to settle down. he’s moreso worried about getting super attached to someone, only to have them leave like all the rest. if, and that’s a big if, he decides he does actually want to settle down— it’s because he sees that you love him for him, not just one superficial thing

he’s actually a bit of a clean freak, he likes to have everything in it’s right place and will be anal about organizing. he should definitely count his lucky stars if his partner can cook though, because it’s a wonder he survived beforehand when he’s the kind of guy to set water on fire

E= Ending (if they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

↳ he wouldn’t be able to do it himself, especially if you guys have been together for a while. he’ll just stop trying in the relationship at all, waiting it out until you decide to break up with him.

if you guys haven’t been together a long time, he’ll break things off very callously, saying something like “it was never really that serious.” but even still, deep down, your reaction would break his heart a little bit

F= Fiance(e) (how do they feel about commitment? how quick would they want to get married?)

↳ as much as some may hate to hear it, i can’t see nam-gyu being the type to ever get married. common law is the furthest i can see him going in a relationship

G= Gentle (how gentle are they? both physically and emotionally)

↳ i don’t actually think nam-gyu is the type to not be gentle, if that makes sense.

he’ll definitely try to perform, try to seem like that standard “bad boy” persona, much like in the crowds he manages at the club. but deep down? he’s a pretty big softie, it just takes a while to get down to the core of it— you know?

H= Hugs (do they like hugs? how often do they do it? what are their hugs like?)

↳ he hugs you like his life depends on it, he’s the type of person to bury his face in the crook of your neck as you hug.

out in public, the most he’ll give you is a half-hug— but that’s not all he’s capable of in this department.

I= I Love You (how fast do they say the L-word?)

↳ nam-gyu wants to be loved, yearns so badly to hear you say the three big words. but, something stops him from saying them to you for the longest while. he’s afraid of coming off too strongly, and in actuality he doesn’t want to scare you off.

in short, it takes so long for him to say it, you actually start to wonder if he loves you at all

J= Jealousy (how jealous do they get? what do they do when they’re jealous?)

↳ it’s simple. he shuts down when he gets jealous, becomes very cold. we’ve known that nam-gyu clearly struggles with insecurities, and i feel like when he’s jealous he projects and takes those insecurities out on his partner

he never means to be cruel, but when he feels like anyone is a better option than he is, and he sees you being checked out and approached by one of the “better options”? his words will be cutting in the argument that will no doubt follow, and he will feel terrible about it

K= Kisses (what are their kisses like? where do they like to kiss you? where do they like to be kissed?)

↳ nam-gyu’s kisses can vary, but more often than not he’s surprisingly gentle when you guys kiss. when you guys really sink into it, he’ll have his hands all over you— to be sure.

he would never say it out loud, but he always gets butterflies when you kiss his hands or on his neck. of course, mouth to mouth kissing is his favourite but that’s no surprise.

as for where he likes to kiss you: anywhere you’ll let him honestly, but he’s been known to be a neck kisser himself.

L= Little Ones (how are they around children?)

↳ he thinks kids are annoying, but he’s not mean to them. most children find nam-gyu very intimidating, so it’s not very often he has an interaction with one.

M= Morning (how are mornings spent with them?)

↳ nam-gyu is not a morning person. at all.

if you try to talk to him at all before 10 AM, you will be getting something thrown at you, or crude words tossed in your direction.

N= Night (how are nights with them?)

↳ his job forces him to be more lively at night, but even then after hours that’s not saying much.

typically he’ll spend his night outside smoking, of course you usually join him— whether it be by partaking in a smoke yourself or just sitting with him, talking about your day. he pretends to be aloof about it all, but hearing you talk about the goings-on in your world is quite relaxing to him.

O= Open (when would they start revealing things about themselves? do they share everything all at once or does it take a while for them to come out of their shell?)

↳ nam-gyu is a challenge in the opening-up department, that’s for sure. he has trouble letting people in out of fear of one day disappointing and losing them forever.

he needs to know for a fact that you won’t abandon him if you’re going to know his life story.

P= Patience (how easily angered are they?)

↳ he gets ticked off to a comically easy degree. it’s so bad to the point where you and your friends get him angry on purpose, just for the laughs of it all

Q= Quizzes (how much do they remember about you? do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

↳ nam-gyu may strike everyone as the kind of guy who doesn’t remember important things about his friends— and they would be absolutely right in thinking that.

he remembers the obscure things, like that one thing you said under your breath about that rude server three years ago, or how hard you laughed when that guy who was hitting on your friend at the amusement park smacked his head against a fun house mirror post rejection— it’s quite literally the most random things he remembers

R= Remember (what is their favourite moment in your relationship?)

↳ discovering that you liked to gossip just as much as he did. you both love to shit talk people you don’t like to eachother, and you guys for sure kill yourselves laughing about how stupid you think your opps are

S= Security (how protective are they?)

↳ he’s pretty protective of you, but in more of an obsessed way than anything else. you’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to him, why should anyone else get to walk in and steal you away?

T= Try (how much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

↳ he’s the kind of guy to do the bare minimum, i fear. commitment is not his strong suit, but he has a quality that makes up for it

U= Ugly (what are some bad habits of theirs?)

↳ definitely his lack of a filter. nam-gyu’s worst habit is not thinking before he says stuff, and that’s for sure bit him in the ass in the past

V= Vanity (how concerned are they with their looks?)

↳ he’s very concerned with looking his best, this is a habit carried over from his job. say what you want about the fuckassness of his haircut, but he actually makes that shit work

W= Whole (would they feel incomplete without you?)

↳ in a way, yes. he definitely gets validation from knowing someone else wants him, or needs him, in any way.

X= Xtra (a random headcanon for them)

↳ he has a guilty pleasure for shows like dance moms. the way he was eating up the family tea between yong-sik and geum-ja? oh you know nam-gyu would fuck up a scene with abby lee miller and kelly hyland 🙂‍↕️✋

Y= Yuck (what are some things they wouldn’t like, in general and in a partner?)

↳ the main thing i can think of is someone who interrupts people and/or has a lack of basic manners. he would find it embarrassing to be seen with someone with no decorum like that in public

Z= Zzz (what are their sleep habits?)

↳ i already know his ass sleeps in volatile conditions. he’s got a loose sheet, a white noise machine and a dream.

when you guys move in together, it takes him a while but he does eventually grow accustomed to sleeping with many blankets in a cold room.

═════════════

thank you so much for reading!

as always, any advice or constructive criticism on how to improve my writing is appreciated and requested!

to the anon who requested this, thank you so much! i had so much fun dissecting nam-gyu’s character like this, and i hope at least someone out there agrees with me in these headcanons! 💌

have a fantastic night/day lovelies 💋

tags: @gongyoosgf @strangelife122 @namsgyu @kouzih

[a-sparrows-melody]

Things I Would Change About PJO

(I might write a fanfic based on these points):

The whole Hunters-Of-Artemis thing. Like what do you mean Artemis hates all men. What about Orion and all the rest. What do you mean she hates Apollo. She loves him so much. Stop already. That whole thing was just erroneous interpretation of Greek Mythology and it felt really weird and toxic.

Annabeth and Percy's trauma bond. Annabeth is pretty toxic in a relationship, especially in the HoO books when she and Percy get together. Love their relationship as a concept but the way Rick writes it is just... not it. To show Annabeth as a "strong woman" he continuously makes her put Percy down - and not only in COTG and WOTTG. She literally judo-flips him when they met after that long traumatic period where Percy was suffering from amnesia and being killed so many times. I would love to see more of their dynamic as friends and make it a longer, healthier, equal-footed relationship.

Thalia Grace joining the Hunters and never leaving. What the hell. She only joined to escape the Great Prophecy 1. She can leave right after the Battle of Manhattan and take Percy's place in Great Prophecy 2.

Bianca being alive, only "lost" (never specified dead!). It's a pretty big plot-point for Nico and I think it would probably have a bigger impact on him to lose his only care-giver and watch her come back into his life after he's grieving greatly and he's in the process of learning how to live life without her. It would truly change up their entire systems and I would love to see Nico and Bianca coming to a point where they realize it's time to live their own lives. ALSO STOP TREATING BIANCA LIKE A PLOT-DEVICE FOR NICO. COME ON. DO BETTER.

Make Nico better. In general. The character has so much potential but is just reduced to "sunshine character's grumpy emo goth boyfriend" or "kid whose type is NOT PERCY HAHAHAHA SO FUNNY". Give him some more development.

LUKE WAS A GROOMER AND ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU JUST FORGIVE HIM AND NOT OCTAVIAN, WHO WAS LITERALLY BULLIED AND MANIPULATED INTO DOING THE SHIT HE DID. If you want to hate Luke, hate Octavian too. If you want to forgive him, forgive Octavian too. Stop hating complex characters.

CALEO. OH MY GOD CALEO. LIKE ACTUALLY DIE. THAT IS SO HORRIBLE.

Piper does not need to be gay.

Jason does not need to die.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN GROVER DID NOT USE HIS EMPATHY LINK TO SEARCH FOR PERCY IN TARTARUS. SMH.

Percy should NOT have become Praetor.

Reyna should not be aro/ace or she's just horrible representation of both those things. STOP PUTTING EVERY ARO/ACE CHARACTER IN THE HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS.

Why would Nico search for Bianca and bring Hazel back? That thing makes no sense. His whole arc in TLO was to accept the loss of his sister. Instead, bring out Ethan Nakamura who is still angry and jealous and wants to bring balance to the world. He comes out on his own, BTW.

The whole "Wilderness school" plotline thing. OF COURSE monsters would come for Pipes and Leo. They're really damn powerful and really damn young. What the hell do you mean by they never knew anything till Jason? smh.

SOLANGELO. CAN'T BELIEVE I'M SAYING THIS BUT IT'S OUT THERE. Will is just a blank character to show that Nico's gay and prove he's over Percy (STOP WITH THE "NOT MY TYPE" JOKES OH MY GOD GET OVER IT ALREADY WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU). If you're doing this, at least give me a good, long slow-burn. Or don't show it at all. Nico decides to live in normal life after being shunned and confused all his life in the magical world. Now he finds a mortal boyfriend and is actually thriving. His character is so beautiful like stop ruining him and using him as a goddamn plot-device all the time. Ugh.

CHANGE NICO'S COMING OUT SCENE! LITERALLY WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT.

Jason and Piper breaking up was such a good plot point because not everyone falls in love but you need to make it heart-wrenching. Jason doesn't know what's going on. He's just dating Piper because that's what he's being told, that's what he did his whole life. MAKE IT HAPPEN IN HOO.

NO FRAZEL AND LEO LOVE TRIANGLE. ALSO JUST NO FRAZEL IN GENERAL. STOP WITH THE FRAZEL. THAT'S SO UNHEALTHY.

MAKE LEO ARO/ACE GODDAMN. He has so much potential. Like he always feels loveless? Like a failure? Feels a need to have a partner to prove his worth? DIE. MAKE HIM ARO/ACE. MAKE HIM DEAL WITH ALL THAT.

Actually valgrace is a pretty good plot point as well. valdangelo as well.

WHY AREN'T THERE ANY POLY SHIPS IN PJO? SMH. SERIOUSLY. SO MUCH POTENTIAL.

Don't kill me but... perachel is pretty good. I've written a small post about it here.

Welp this is officially too long. Anyway. I wanted to add more but this has been sitting in my drafts and collecting dust a long time so here you go.

[elkkiel]

A few thoughts on Caramel, in connection to Emergence and Euclid

Starting with Emergence:

Cramel gives more context to Emergence for me. Like obviously there's "Godspeed to my enemies who be asking for that call sign" in reference to intrusive fans, and "might bite right through your lenses" about behaviour online/during rituals (my interpretation). But, these lyrics in particular were really notable to me:

You know the behaviour, canines of the saviour

Relating back to my link between Caramel and the Room Below ritual: It's gotta feel horrible to go from the feeling of your fans saving you, to your fans becoming the cause of your pain. Your saviour has turned into a vicious beast, and it's a collective behavioural shift that you've come to know through personal experience.

Glory to the legion

Could go a couple different ways. It might be praise for his fans who stick together for the love of his music. Or, it could be a callout on the broader fandom's penchant for collective hate. Legion could possibly refer to the biblical Legion: a group of demons that act as one collective entity. Or, it could be interpreted in a military context—particularly Roman—which is a unit of soldiers. Given the challenging/lowkey spiteful(?) tone of the rest of the verse, it feels like he's saying "Wow look at you all! Good fucking job you guys /s smh"

Trauma for the neighbours

I wasn't super sure about this particular lyric, but it makes more sense to me now. Yeah, people outside our community but still adjacent to us (ex. other metal fans, casual listeners, etc.) get really fucking put off by our actions. There's a reason we get a reputation as a toxic fandom, because we are. People don't want to deal with us and get too close, or they're too scared to dip their toes in. We also force them to be neighbours and won't let them inside the house, due to how gatekeep-y some people can be.

Vessel himself is probably fucking terrified of us in some way, shape, or form. At least, if Caramel's lyrics are to be taken literally (which feels like it's the case, unfortunately).

--------------------

As for the Euclid connection, this is what really gets me the most. This is more of a general vibe from the contrast between lyrics from Euclid and Caramel. I guess it also ties back in with the Room Below comparison "You saved me". But this time, it's "I must be someone new"

There's so much hope for healing and becoming a new person beyond the pain in Euclid. And for him to now say "I thought I got better, but maybe I didn't" is nothing short of devastating. As for Emergence, the gentleness of how he delivers "Come on out from underneath who you were/don't you know it's time to emerge" feels so fragile. Like he's trying to coax out that hope he discovered in Euclid out of hiding, or begging for his new person to come back. Sorta like trying to get my cat to come out from underneath the bed, if that makes sense? Except, in this case, I don't even know if my cat's there anymore and I'm scared of what that implies. Or if I'll ever be able to get her back.

I was only able to listen to Caramel once, and I can't bring myself to read the lyrics right now because I'm still emotionally very raw. So apologies if I'm remembering this wrong, but I'm pretty sure there was one line about a broken parallel (or something like that). And juxtaposed against "A parallel I would lay my life on" directed towards us. Idk. I just. can't right now.

There's a lot more I want to do analysis-wise, so please share your thoughts. Especially if you were able to listen to Caramel more than once (you are Sleep's strongest soldier if you managed that).

In conclusion: what have we done?? We've caused so much pain. And I don't know how we can/if we can make amends now.

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[Spoilers below cut]

looks like I owe everyone 4 bucks and a can of rizz soda 😔

... *record scratch*

OH HEY NOW WAIT A SECOND! This is the first time in a while that we got an episode with "SMG4:" in the title! and having peach's castle in the thumbnail?!

what. are. they. up. to. 🤔

(the following is my live reaction:)

oooh, what shenanigans are we up to now? and in Mario POV no less

FOUR IN HIS WOTFI OUTFIT AAAAA my boy 💙🥹

A DATE?! SINCE WHEN.... oh....

4... hun, don't tell me you drew her last minute for a date (same Mario same)

he really did the whole "I'm bi (myself)", just like me frfr

can't believe he would betray dasani like this smh /j

ARTHUR JUMPSCARE?! omg my childhood's coming back to me "That sign can't stop me because I can't read"

oh 3, you're on a date too? AND a fake girlfriend? what a coincidence... 🤔

somehow, all those smg34 fics that had 3 hosting a dinner date in his cafe are technically canon now, at least for 3's character (or has the Team been reading our fics oh god)

we even get a megari date? /silly

"JUST YOU WAIT, I'LL FIGURE IT OUT SOMEDAY YOU'LL SEE" I say as I get dragged into a mental asylum

OOF MARIO damn, I know you feel down but no need to do Luigi like that

oh hey E.Gadd! it's been a while huh

our lord and savior jesus, is that you?

well that's one way, very sweet (...depending on how you interpret death in this universe ofc)

PEAK SIBLING BEHAVIOR HELL YEAH

shit, we should've asked E.Gadd how to reverse that thing

*chokes on my coffee* HUH?! pause this episode right NOW, because I need to leave my room for a sec

...ok ok. can we talk about this? we're talking about this. alright so, let's start off with the basics: the fact that these two separately have a date with their inanimate objects and at one point, they decided to have a double date outside of the Showgrounds? no doubt all of the smg34 enjoyers are going to freak out about this one, I can hear it

Before I say anything else, why don't we put our smg34-tinted glasses (you got them on? cool):

Just this frame alone, I'm going to dissect this bit by bit. Look at 3's fake date: aside from being out of bombs, she's got a messy ponytail (bangs swayed to the right), big eyes, and a big smile. You got that? Now look at 4. I'll give you a second to take that in. You're back? Ok, because we're not done yet. Onto 4's fake date drawn digitally, appearance-wise, she's got straight and neat pigtails with bangs swayed to the left, calm/relaxed face. NOW look at 3. Their inanimate dates somehow mirror the other and likely this is their way of hiding insecurities/internal struggles (that includes whatever happens when they're TOO close to each other). Just by them being defensive about their own date/judging the other man's taste. Honestly, very in-character for both of them, it's simply how they are. I mean look at them, they're not even eating or chatting or looking at their dates. Just each other.

We unfortunately have to take these glasses off for a reason. Is it just me or does this whole thing feel strange? Not in the usual show shenanigans or the fact that this happened to begin with type of way. It just feels strange.

Usually with smg34 moments, there's purpose to their relationship. Even in the "Forced to Hold Hands" episode, though it was clearly fanservice, it establishes their relationship well in the obstacle course scene. Sure, they disagree, fight, get on each other's throats on some things but when the moment is dire or their goals align, they make a good team and chemistry. Their relationship grew from rough patches, at times realizing they needed each other (IGBP). Though they tease and banter, they still care for each other deep down. ALSO it was good foreshadowing to WOTFI '23 their dynamic and Guardian powers, and 3's notebook.

Basically "they're content with their lives on their own (even if they never met to begin with), but it's hard to imagine not having the other in the picture". That's why I can't imagine them being stereotypical lovey-dovey if they ever became a couple. Sure, it's cute but it's not them. Honestly, nothing would change between them for the most part, and that's totally fine by me.

That's why I find this moment strange because it doesn't carry the same energy as it had before. Instead of this scene being smg34 crumbs, it's more like "glitter splat on my face and being mildly blinded by it with confusion". Hopefully that makes sense, maybe that's just me. But anyway, we gotta move on.

I'M GOING TO KILL YOU... AND THEN KILL YOU AGAIN (alfred always giving out the best of lines)

why do i hear boss music?

I know right, at least E.Gadd got it under control

I guess we can't say the word spaghet— AW SHIT THEY'RE RIGHT OUTSIDE MY HOUSE

STOP THEM WITH WHAT? OH C'MON

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING

THE POWER OF THE 4TH WALL *waves at my laptop screen reflection*

oh wait hold up the animation style changed, 4's so bouncy *squishes him like playdoh*

*PV arc war flashbacks ensue* huh, what are we doing again? oh right Luigi

3 what on earth are you talking about?! You met the 4th wall a few times now

also 4's silly and yet somehow creepy face he has here. i need you to blink, buddy, for my sake.

...also why did 4's voice sound weird? (Luke, this better be normal for my theorist's sake)

...FUCK

I never imagine a lythero ref in SMG4 but here we are :)

good question, 3. i can't believe you're the sane one here in this episode, even if you also did the fake date thing.

huh... well that looks familiar *looks at you unpleased through the screen*

It's funny to think how we the viewer or at least the camera person is the same height as the star trio

Luigi: "I've been traumatized" you're so real for that Luigi

FOUR YOU DIDN'T SWITCH IT NOOOOO

4: "Dude, seriously?" let's just give him a moment

"Clone" and "More Clone"? close enough, welcome back "why did I make a self-destruct button?"

CAN I GET A DATE?

I was gonna say, which ones were the OG's? Now we know.

👏👏👏 WELL SAID

"if you're watching this, you must be clinically depressed" 😀

Congrats to Cookie for your art being featured at the end credits🎉 we love to see it 💙 and based on one of my favorite episodes too? hell yeah

(...wait Team, why did you choose this one? what does that imply? Team? TEAM?)

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

Ok, I had a moment to think it over (and finish some biology).

I gotta say, this has been a pretty solid episode to see this Mario vs Wario dynamic. A rough start but I still enjoyed it. Hilarious moments and of course great animation (how many times have I not said that). A lot of the adorable faces made were by Shadow so applause to you bud for giving me this. And we got to see a more of Wiz' writing which is always a bonus, they have been going to a good streak so far! And I got to appreciate the Team putting 3 & 4 in their WOTFI suits, my absolute favorite matching outfits.

Now, come closer, can we talk about how strange this whole thing is?

The episode title is "SMG4:" now with no explanation by the Team after 56 episodes (44 episodes if we're only counting the main series) (also 44.... huh....) why now? Why this episode?

Change of thumbnail with one having Peach's Castle in the background, despite everyone knowing that it wasn't in the episode at all and is at the bottom of a monstrous pit (my moot managed to screenshot the YouTube glitch for me)

"Well, we can't exactly blame Ben. I'm sure it's whatever the Team wanted him to do for the thumbnail."

EXACTLY! The Team wanted him to add the Castle in just as it happened with the last episode's thumbnail with Mario. And we all know what Peach's Castle means.

(that boarded room again, curse that door)

4's Breaking the 4th Wall scenes (and 3 somehow not knowing what that is???)

(should we count 3 & 4's strange dates? maybe not)

Oh, and one more thing...

Chat, we might get goop!4 after all...

LET'S GOOOOOO🎉🎸🔥

Well, it turns out that the 3 & 4 scene really was glitter spat at my face just so it would distract us from what was REALLY going on, the Team is up to something. Hell, even my "for you" section was like "dude you have to focus on the mystery in hand" /silly

The hints we've gotten so far from the episodes and the Team, it has to be goop!4. And it all comes down to the Steam page, still waiting on that though.

We might have a "man on the inside"/failsafe route with 4 here, I've told you all it might. The Team is really testing us on this one, but we'll wait. Well, chat, I'll see you all in the next one, and remember: numbers go first!

*knowing smile :)*

...wait I still owe you all money and soda FUUUUU—

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Greek mythology has evolved over the course of hundreds of years, and with all those… retellings now, it’s gotten me thinking about just how many people have been spreading false details of myths through word of mouth to the point of becoming the most common interpretation, when if you were to look back in history, a great number of them were only recently made up, barely a a few centuries prior. Example of this is King Midas and his turning his daughter into a gold statue. I remember this part having been included all throughout my childhood, only to find out it was never part of the original myth but a recent addition in a book from 1852. (suddenly, the daughter being aptly named “Marigold” makes a lot more sense.) My ask is: which commonly told misconception of this type regarding any Greek myth is most infuriating to you and why?

oh my god misinformation can be INFURIATING smh

Let's start off with the Apollo misinformation.

"He raped Persephone/is a serial rapist!"

First of all, no he did not. LO, toss yourself into an eternal blaze and incinerate.

and secondly- he's not a serial rapist. There's only two accounts of rape, specifically Dryope and Creusa, but that depends on interpretation and the source so if you want to discard it, you can. No one can tell you you can't.

"UwU Apollo's love life is terrible!"

do i even need to say anything?

"Athena hates women!"

hell to the fuck no. the evidence people use for this is the Medusa Myth: Ovid's Version, and CONVIENTLY IGNORE THE ONES WHERE SHE HELPS WOMEN ESCAPE BEING RAPED!! AND THAT OVID IS THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES THIS!!

Even with the ones where she punishes the victim, the older versions do not have that! She made Nicymene her eternal owl companion, for heaven's sake!

"Hermes/Dionysus/Hephaestus is the only unproblematic god! UwU"

uh... *waves Leuconoe/Choine/Philonis around* no matter which version you go with, Hermes/Mercury does rape her...

...and in the Dionysica Dionysus rapes like two women...

...and Hephaestus tried to rape Athena... (oh wow, would you look at that...it's like Athena would have *gasp* sympathy for assault survivors...)

...See the double standards? :/ Ignores Roman/late Greek literature when it's convenient, and then exaggerates it to suit their own needs.

"Demeter is a terrible mom!"

GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NO ONE DISRESPECTS THE QUEEN

"Hades only kidnapped Persephone because Zeus told him too!"

Hades is his own man and wasn't being held at gunpoint to abduct her. He did so on his own merits. From a literal perspective, what was stopping him from just. you know. talking to her. kidnapping was not necessary.

(yes, yes, i know about the symbolic perspective, hence my use of 'literal'.)

"But Hades and Persephone are the only ones who don't cheat!!"

uh, nope. Hi Adonis, Minthe, how're you doing?

"But Adonis was more of a son to Persephone!!"

uh, NO. Even the ancients saw them as a couple!!

"Artemis is a girlboss who hates her brother!"

*kicks open door* OUT!

"Orion's the only man Artemis ever loved!"

how dare you disrespect my boy in this way Apollo was the first man she ever loved and no one will be able to replace him how dare you-

-and how dare you disrespect Hippolytus in this way he did not die in the name of all aroace people to be disrespected like this smh

"Zeus's only quality is how he fucks around!"

look, I've joked about this before but I know that's not all there is too him and that it has a symbolic representation.

Sure would be nice if people focused on that more :)

also anything that villainizes Aphrodite or Hera. god forbid women do anything.

"Clytemnestra is a girlboss who did no wrong!"

OH MY GOD THE DOUBLE STANDARDS.

funny how people fawn over Cassandra one moment and then COMPLETELY FORGET HER EXISTENCE to becry the woman who murdered her!

AND ALSO GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HATE APOLLO FOR CURSING HER WHEN THEIR STORY IS LITERAL ABOUT A WOMAN'S AUTONOMY BEING RESPECTED!!

AND GUESS WHAT!! APOLLO AVENGES HER DEATH!!

anything that is "UwU Achilles!" omg i am sick of it.

that bitch had everything coming. he deserved everything he got. Tenes, Troilus, and Hemithea did NOT deserve what he did to them! APOLLO AND PARIS HAD EVERY RIGHT TO TAKE HIM DOWN!

i'm probably forgetting some but here's the one that popped into my head :)

[emin-folly]

(@ftl-faster-than-life HI THIS TOOK A HOT MINUTE WEH Also thanks Tumblr for eating my asks again smh) oH BOY, WHERE DO I START Oh Barry, Barry, Barry, my sweet babygirl, how you've been so incredibly villainized by this fandom I'm going to take this opportunity to address and debunk as many misconceptions about Barry's character that I can remember, in the case if someone who doesn't really know Barry all that well is reading this or to hopefully change some people's minds~

* "Barry is boring": Well, yes but actually no. That's the beauty of Barry--he is designed to be your average, unassuming everyday kind of guy. Problem is, a lot of people think that's all there is to him, but that's really only just the surface.

He has flaws. He's prone to making decisions without consulting his family if he thinks it's for the greater good. You need to explicitly tell this man if you wanna be his lover because he absolutely can NOT read romantic cues to save his own life, he's a guilt sponge, he's weird, he LOVES science and comics and is a huge nerd!! He gets jealous!

Guys-Guys?? He's aN ELDRITCH HORROR??? HELLO????? He is CONSTANTLY living in sheer and utter denial and is desperately grasping his extremely thin veneer of being human, and yet, because of this, he actually puts his family in more jeopardy. Do you even realize how fascinating that is

Barry is a character who also deeply craves companionship/people. He struggles with depression and suicidal tendencies ever since being resurrected. He tries so hard to be what everyone else wants him to be and meet their expectations while failing to take care of himself in the process. He's so much more complex than just "Wally's nice father figure who died in Crisis". People also tend to equate "boring" with "being good/kind" which, you know...I very much disagree with but that's just my opinion * "Barry is racist!" LOL This one is just so wildly incorrect. The origin of this misconception comes from an out-of-context panel Justice League of America #173) of Barry being angry about Black Lightning joining the JL. If you read the whole page the panel comes from, you'd see that in actuality Barry is NOT angry about a black man joining the League but rather, he's angry that that seems to be the only reason Oliver wants him and Barry is (rightfully) calling Oliver out on that. There has been no other time where Barry has a problem with people of color

* "Barry is a Republican" I don't even know where this fanon came from. I think this may have originated from Wally's run where Wally was a conservative and he just assumed?? Barry was the same??? Which is SO laughably wrong (Wally bby, stop projecting on your uncle challenge) For the major part of Barry's original run (and honestly, the majority of the Flash runs after that), he remained largely apolitical . People see a white guy from the 60s and automatically assume he's right leaning /shrug * "Barry's a cop!" Yeahhh, not quite actually. He's a CSI, a forensic scientist, not a blue collar badge sporting cop. He's the behind-the-scenes guy, the one who studies the crime scene and tries to piece together the evidence and bring the culprit to justice. There IS a difference. But people don't really care about the technicalities, tho, they just want to hate Barry and him being "basically" a cop is a fast and easy excuse to do so. And DC certainly isn't helping matters with them constantly pushing the cop agenda for him (thanks a lot DC) * "Barry is sexually-repressed": This is a headcanon I seen a fair amount of and--okay, I get it. Barry is shy and reserved and blushes up a mad storm when someone compliments him. I can see how that might lead people to interpret that as him being sexually repressed/being a prude. But like....Buddy. Homie. Amigo.

This man had more canon sex than Hal Jordan. He and Iris were getting it on FREQUENTLY in the Silver Age and that's not me exaggerating. Just look at Flash #197 where it was Barry's birthday and he and Iris made out and stayed in bed practically the whole day together. Maybe you could say they just did that in the morning and they did other things later buuuut I don't believe that for a minute lol. Or! In Flash #195 where Barry was late to a ceremony of a submarine departure because (you guessed it!) he was too busy exploring his wife's mouth. Just because Barry doesn't make sexually-charged remarks or cop a feel from Iris constantly doesn't mean he's opposed to sex. I see it more as him just being way more private and reserved about it, but he IS very much down to fuck as she is (or Hal! Whichever your ship may be~)

While we're kinda on the subject, I'm really not a fan of the whole Barry being "shojo-fied/uwu-fied" thing, if I'm being honest?? Like, yes, if you give him any kind of compliment, he will blush furiously and stutter. But that's different from him being totally ignorant on what sex is/being a weak, delicate little flower who needs a "Big, Strong man" like Hal to save him (also, like...can we stop treating Barry as the "girl" of the ship just because he's skinnier and smaller than Hal pls and thank you). He is an mid-20-30 year old adult man. And a forensic scientist who probably seen a lot of sex-related crimes in his line of work. I'm pretty sure he knows what sex is, guys (in fact, he would be the guy who actually hosts Sex Ed classes bc the misinformation out there is staggering lol)

"Barry is weak/one of the weaker superheroes": Ok, I've never seen anyone say this persay, but it is very evident in how people portray him a lot of the time. They see his smaller frame and the fact that he runs fast to mean he's a glass cannon (Honestly they do this to a lot of the other speedsters as well) which hi! Wrong again! Speedsters are actually INSANELY durable little dudes. He could tank a punch from Darkseid. He can drag MASSIVE SHIPS behind him!! Wally once punched Eobard with the equivalent force of a dwarf star. Yeah. Now I get whump, I personally love it, I do, but I also enjoy seeing Barry being the absolute powerhouse he is. He can vibrate through solid matter, he can manipulate frequencies, and he's incredibly smart with how to use his powers, always thinking up on the spot improv strategies and techniques! Please stop nerfing him, guys, speedsters get too much of that from the writers OTL * "He's conservative because of his buzzcut!" Ok this one actually had like, a whole article?? On it?? And it truly is so wild lmao. When the only thing people can find to hate a character on is his haircut, you know they have no basis for their argument lol * "Barry is abusive!" Nope. Not even close. People love to pull this as a "gotcha" to Barry fans, regarding the panels of "Barry" beating up Wally and verbally abusing him (The Return of Barry Allen). Except....that wasn't Barry, that was Eobard disguised as him. You know...if you read the full run, you would know that lol You literally couldn't find a more least abusive person than Barry lol. Which actually leads me into the next one... * "Barry was an example of toxic masculinity!" AH yes, of course, with how he's so openly kind and compassionate, how he loves kids and animals, how he openly cries and shows emotion, how he's super respectful of people regardless, how he chugs Respect Women juice all day everyday, how he's contributing to fundraisers to help impoverished people and further medical progress, how he's so concerned about the state of the environment and is firmly against consumption of fossil fuels, how he constantly tells his son nephew he's so proud of him and that he's his hero, how he runs home after work bc he's genuinely so excited to see his wife, how he loves her SO much and smothers her with kisses every chance he gets UGH. How does Iris stand him /s And since we're talking about Barry and how the fandom treats him, I can't not talk about the elephant in the room--Flashpoint To start off, lemme preface this real quick:

FLASHPOINT WAS NOT BARRY'S FAULT

He DID NOT intend to trade the lives of his family for his mom He DID NOT run back in time because he was jealous of Wally (uhh lmao what???? Yeah, I can't even begin to explain how wack that is) He DID NOT run back in time because he was "selfish" and "wanted his mommy back" (unfriendly reminder that Nora is a separate character and shouldn't be treated as just an appendage of a male character <333) Some actual context for non-comic readers: Eobard killing his mom is actually an aberration of the true timeline. It was PERFECTLY REASONABLE to assume that it would restore itself to its original version!! Barry had also traveled in time before in the comics without any repercussions or ill effects, so there was NO CONCEIVABLE REASON FOR HIM TO THINK ANYTHING OF THE SCALE OF FLASHPOINT WOULD EVEN HAPPEN If people had read the issues preceding Flashpoint, they'd see Barry did all of that for Nora!! Because he despised the fact that she had to pay with her life because of a villain of his!! That it wasn't right for her to die for his sake!!

"But Eobard said Flashpoint was Barry's fault-!" EOBARD is A BITCH ASS LIAR who purposely twists the truth to hurt Barry as much as he can!! Of COURSE he would say that!! What ACTUALLY happened is that Eobard is the one who somehow made Nora's death such a critical and important fixture in time to the point of just tempering with that can cause a catastrophic domino effect. Flashpoint is EOBARD'S FAULT and HIS ALONE (and Idk, Doctor Manhattan's too ig if you wanna include him)

Barry loves his family and cares so, so, SO EXTREMELY MUCH. He could literally not be any prouder of Wally if he actually tried!! Everything he does is for his family, even sacrificing his own mental health and happiness for them and it makes me SO sad to see everyone cling to this butchered version of him in their minds (though it's not entirely their fault, DC is also definitely to blame)

[letsatomicbanana]

*Taps mic* Underverse Ink is not as bad as some people turn him out to be, and honestly, if the way that he is in the series makes him ''completly unredeemable and unlikable'', you guys would never be able to handle canon ink smh

Also, it's actually crazy on how Jakei was accused of making him into an ableist depiction of neuro developmental disabled people (esp autistic folks) because of her interpretation of Ink within the series. Like.....no????

(a.k.a you guys are SO harsh on him LMAO, he's pretty okay in my opinion but people exagerate on his flaws a whole too much. Also, Comyet helped with writing Underverse Ink for some parts...so....)

[ilikekidsshows]

Is it just me, or is it a trend where parents not only enable their kids to do misdeeds but also avoid holding them accountable for their own actions? I just saw a parent defend their kid who took a keychain from the display and say, "She's just a kid" to a security guard. Smh, it reminds me of when Marinette stole something and her parents just said, "You could've just told us if you wanted it." Like... that's not something a parent should tell their kids when they find out the kid is stealing. What kind of parenting is that? No wonder Marinette keeps getting stressed over trivial things - it's because she can't function without someone telling her she's the best, that she doesn't mean it, etc. when she's faced with a problem. Her parents never taught her how to take accountability for her own actions! The best Ladybug and a great guardian, ladies and gentlemen...

---

I’ve actually written extensively about how Marinette’s upbringing could have caused her to be like that here.

As for seeing this phenomenon in real life: I think it’s overcorrecting. Like, in past generations, a lot of parenting techniques that were considered acceptable and common place are undeniably abusive. We have research data that proves that many “strict” parenting techniques are actually severely psychologically damaging to children. And, like, the results of this knowledge influence modern parenting from many angles. Young parents, aware of how they were possibly harmed by their parents, want to make sure they never do anything like that to their kids. Self-conscious parents are scared any public showing of discipline will be interpreted as going too far by people watching and they don’t want to be labeled an abusive parent. Nervous parents might read up on the topic and are scared anything they do might cause psychological harm to their child. This is how we get today’s helicopter parents, or coddling parents or overly permissive parents.

An overprotective parent focused on specifically their child’s psychological welfare might focus overly much on their child getting upset as a sign of harm. Combine this with a small child’s tendency to get upset any time they’re told “no”, no matter how reasonably and how well they understand why, and you get a parent who’s willing to let basically anything slide in fear of upsetting/damaging their child, not realizing that them not letting their kid be upset is also damaging because then they don’t learn to handle their upset feelings. Emotional skills don’t just magically spawn into existence when a child is “old enough”, they have to be actively trained, and the best teacher are real-world situations.

This is literally my job. My job is to figure out the balance of nurture and challenge to make sure kids grow up feeling safe and secure, but also that they do grow up psychologically. Those kids will pick up their toys after playtime, no matter how much they scream about not wanting to, because otherwise they’ll grow up into teenagers who gaslight their datemate because they don’t want to have a messy discussion, to use an extreme example.

The wildest thing about this all, though, is that Miraculous somehow has both bad old-fashioned parenting and bad modern parenting. It’s been commented before that the show is written in a way that makes it clear the writers believe in goodness and badness being inherent traits. Marinette is a good person so everything she does is right or “just a mistake”. Chloé is a bad person so she can never actually do good things even as a competent superhero. Therefore, any parent who displays the inherent virtue of loving their child can’t be a bad parent. Gabriel is a loving parent, so his abuse is overlooked and excused, André loves Chloé, so him being the source of a lot of her negative traits is ignored. Marinette’s parents are loving, so them good-naturedly spoiling her into a clone of Chloé is a good thing, because Marinette acting like a spoiled brat is okay because she’s a “good person” and deserves to be spoiled.

In Miraculous’ twisted moral view, no parent can ever do anything truly wrong as long as they love their kids. Only intentions matter in Miraculous in general, considering how often Marinette gets off scot-free from the things she does because she didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Miraculous’ sense of morality tells its audience that no harm committed matters as long as you didn’t mean to cause harm. So what if every single parent in Miraculous has failed their child in glaringly obvious ways and the children might even be justifiably bitter about this, they didn’t mean to abuse their children. Of course most of the fandom or the writers don't even notice Marinette’s parents might have maybe done something wrong, their only mistake is being too permissive, which, from a certain perspective, just looks like caring too much. They’re already excusing Gabriel and André, a pair of abusive jackasses.