#ive connected the dots you havent connected shit ive connected the dots

[dyannawynnedayne]

Gregor clegane and robert strong + oberyn and the sand snakes = hector + achilles iliad u kno

[faunandfloraas]

Lee Know and Seungmin + ATE.

[lakesbian]

i was pondering some Thoughts about how people sometimes refer to worm as a "found family" story (& how this is sometimes mocked), how in-text alec explicitly says that the undersiders are the closest thing rachel has to family, how taylor tells them "you're my family, in a way," how the found family trope works in general, etc.

access to financial support, housing, medical care, And So On, is primarily attached to the institution of the family. the material necessities provided by membership to a nuclear family are why it's so common for people to reconcile with or keep in touch with family members they wouldn't if there was no material value attached to that relationship. the cultural prioritization of the nuclear family is how we get people offering "well, they're family" as an explanation for remaining associated with someone they wouldn't otherwise care about (or would even actively be trying to escape from, but this post is more about just Social Incompatibility in families than the outright abuse that the structure enables), with the expectation that the explanation is considered to make inherent sense.

aside from the found family trope demonstrating a lack of imagination about non-familial ways important relationships can take shape/demonstrating an inability to see relationships as truly important or deep unless they mimic the nuclear family, i think a lot of what appeals about the found family trope is a character dynamic that provides the same support, security, and undying love/depth of connection that the idealized nuclear family is purported to--and that does so as an escape from and superior replacement to the original blood family.

and what's interesting about the undersiders is that they're extremely not that. they're terrible at communicating. many of them don't get on with each other very well. they're oftentimes even actively shitty to each other: everyone but taylor towards rachel, brian towards alec (and aisha, but she's actually related to him), taylor towards alec and aisha. but there's still repeated in-text acknowledgement of a supposed familial dynamic between them! i think they're a "found family" in the sense that their group imitates the general role of the nuclear family--a small unit of people who (are supposed to) function as each other's fundamental supports in a world that, at large, does not care about any individual member, and who (are supposed to) do so regardless of any internal conflicts or lack of compatibility.

like, this is not a particularly articulate analysis of the nuclear family Whatsoever, but i don't think it's inaccurate to say that the compelling thing about the undersiders is that they are a "found family," but specifically in the sense that a lot of their dysfunctions are reminiscent of those found in typical, real-life familial bonds--people who wouldn't necessarily be getting along otherwise, or are even actively sorta bad for each other, forming very deep & intimate connections simply because they're materially forced to spend a lot of time together and have each others backs when there's no guarantee anyone else will.

for example: alec and aisha call taylor + brian 'team mom and dad' in a mocking manner not to indicate that they're kind/caring, but to indicate that they're being condescending micro-managing assholes...who aisha and alec are going to unquestionably listen to anyway, because they're a team, right? and you have to listen to your team leaders. i am onto an Observation here i think. deeply compelled by the idea of a ""found family"" where all of the similarities to an actual nuclear family are, despite being what drives the intimacy, also blatantly fucking dysfunctional

[agenderedmoss]

I love how the fable fandom does non-canon shipping, it's just all fun! Honestly, let's just connect the dots in the polycule constellation. Make it a giant galaxy of ships (qpr, romantic, with benefits, etc. the works!!)

[chilinandeppresing]

Mk is a Yaoguai

I came across some interesting information while I was researching another theory. The concept of a being not quite demon, human or celestial demon in Chinese mythology called a Yaoguai. The number of similarities MK shares with them is uncanny.

First of all, how Mk being refered to as the Harbringer of Chaos connects to him being a Yao:Within Chinese mytholgy, Yāo have a tendency to be "blamed for sudden outbreaks of confused and erratic action, or transgressive behaviour" with there literally being a Chinese saying saying that goes"when affairs go awry, there must have been a yāo (acting)" ("事出反必有妖") Quite like how Mk seems to cause a lot of chaos around himself, without even meaning to and feeling a lot of guilt for it. ie- Lady Bone Demon, Demon Bull King, Spider Queen, Azule Lion, and maybe even Macaque gaining power due to his (direct or indirect) actions. As well as other unfortunate things that have happened around him, like Mei's Samadi Fire getting activated and Wukong getting trapped in the scroll.

Secondly, tying in the concept of him being a Yaoguai to his creation: Mk was born from a rock, a clay rock made by someone unknown to us but presumed to be the goddess Nuwa. And guess where most Yao originate from? From unsentient natural items- "yāo refers to natural objects (animals, plants, or rocks) which have acquired sentience (lit. spiritual awareness)," That spiritual awareness might’ve been gifted knowingly or unknowingly by Nuwa.

Yao also only appear in human or near-human forms, and that is after all MK's original form that we see him in the show with. But they also share an "essential nature with an animal or plant." and that is there actual true form. Which since MK was carved into a monkey by Nuwa, it natural that that is the the animal he would share an "essential nature" with and would explain why he has a monkey form.

Mk also tends to have very atypical powers, which also aligns with the concept of him being a Yao since they tend to be born with unsual powers and with the ability to cultivate immortality. This explains why he was able to be immortal when we first met him, how he got that "invincibility" in the first place is still up for debate. I also wonder if this goes the other way where Yao can be born with immortality and cultivate others' powers... because that would explain how Mk is very easily able to adapt to others' powers. I'm not sure, though, since I've only done surface level research on this.

If that cultivation of powers is not possible then he may be unknowingly utilizing another common power of the Yao, shapeshifting to very accurately "mimic"(I'm not sure if that's the right word for it) others powers. Such as Wukong's, Macaque's and possibly LBD's.

Just some other cool tidbits about Yaoguai:

Yaoguai (妖怪) are distinct creatures from ghosts (鬼, pinyin: gui) and demons (魔, pinyin: mo). Ghosts are the spirits of the deceased, whereas demons are often described as fallen immortals and gods.(Mk is neither of those I think)

Sun Wukong uses this term often to insult his (demonic) adversaries(Huh that'd be ironic wouldn't it. To seemingly hate Yaoguai in JTTW, and then end up with one as his succesor.)

In Taoist folklore, yaoguai come from "an imbalance in the Tao" and "any combination of [atypical] powers, including mind control, shapeshifting and the ability to create illusions.(well our boy sure does have an atypical set of powers but if you all want to add on to this I would love to know if you've noticed some instances of these powers happening because I can see how Mk could be using shapeshifting powers but mind control and illusions? I'm not sure if there is any instance of him using those.)

[kingcunny]

alright but alys told daemon it was a shame he never knew his mother which means despite changed timelines alyssa still dies when hes probably too young to know her which MEANS the only version of his mother he knows is the one that he was told about, probably mostly from viserys, and what he imagined a mother to be like, probably from how viserys raised him…… which means his mental version of alyssa is actually…

[asheslikestardust]

SO the symbol on the ring was a cadaceus right, we all agree on that

and the cadaceus is a symbol of the greek god hermes, yes? (along with the sign for medicine yada yada)

and what is hermes a part of? the greek pantheon

the greek. pantheon

PANTHEON

[thesorrowoflizards]

forgive me for being pretentious for a sec but im rewatching the mentalist for no reason and i never noticed this before but. the name of the girl who had died in the first scene was 'mercy'. like. the show literally begins with the death of mercy

[ithinkdogshouldvote2]

Ashe, after the season 2 finale mario kart race:

"hey guys, being stuck inside an all powerful evil demon God made me realize that I'm a 💫🧝‍♀️💕~girl~💅🏳️‍⚧️🥳. Just wanted to let you know."

William, VISIBLY sweating because the last time he played Mario kart with a girl she later DIED:

"hAHha! ha! Ooh my g0D! I'm! so happy for you!!1!"

[bloodfreak-boyking]

the shifter appears as:

Zach to Zach's girlfriend

Alex to his wife Linsdey

Dean to Rebecca

huh, seems like he appears as someone who wants to fuck the victim. And then he appears to Sam as...oh 🤔

[me-myself-and-eyes]

JONNY FU KING SIMS

DID YOU NAME YOUR GODDAMN ANTAGONIST ELIAS

BECAUSE HES A FUCKING ALIAS??????

[supersonic-rocket-ship]

Maybe the mandalorian name system is just generations of mandalorians clowning on regular people, because if your child takes the same first name and inherits the armor, they are pretty much indistinguishable from you.

people be like oh yeah that’s Din, he’s been around for generations

no we don’t know why he’s gone from six foot to knee high

yeah he’s a chill dude

[stargazingcarol]

People. The carriage scene would not have happened if it wasn't for violet. Violet KNEW Colin liked Penelope. She said what she said about pen possibly being proposed that night bc she wanted her son to finally open his fucking eyes and tell pen how he felt before he lost the love of his life to another person. violet does what she cans to help her son's to come to reason on their own. She knew if she didn't say something Colin would've been more miserable. I know it I know it.

[normalsproutanon]

*cough cough* Narinder and Shamura *Cough cough * Five Pebbles and Seven Red Suns

[hyperfixated-on-hensper]

Y'all, since the multiverse exists in Henry Danger, that means the cartoon 'The Adventures of Kid Danger' is likely just an alternative universe.

[8cfc00]

i need a corkboard with red string to fully take in all of the interconnecting motifs within the grotto songs