#like! tell me if i'm wrong here!

[inkskinned]

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.

[licorishh]

no way she's alive ?? yea those mental health breaks because social media makes people suck are wild huh

[cluescorner]

The Council of Optimuses: Pleasant, generally positive, they exiled Bayverse a while ago but they still check in once in a while to make sure he's ok/out of curiosity, Earthspark enables One's 'I can fix him' delusion to the point that Prime is falling into it too, IDW does NOT want to add to the delusion pile so he shuts up, Cyberverse kinda doesn't want to be at this meeting it feels too much like a party, IDW keeps making calls to somebody but he won't tell anyone who, they used to have 'bring your Bumblebee to work day' but Skybound had a breakdown over it so they can't do that anymore, everybody is suspicious of Skybound's new arm but the only person who actually brought it up was Bayverse whose solution was 'kill him' so now everybody thinks they are getting paranoid and should maybe start seeing a therapist (they should start seeing therapists, but they ARE right about the arm).

The Council of Megatrons: They are having a great time even if it looks horrible from the outside looking in, Prime constantly wants to fight IDW for his spot as the strongest Megatron but IDW is not about that, they tried to kick out Earthspark but he somehow keeps getting in (IDW leaves the door open), One has like 5 devils on his shoulder telling him to escalate and two fallen angels who are desperately trying to get across that maybe total destruction isn't the move, IDW is trying to hide his redemption arc in order to keep the situation under control (only Earthspark is aware of it, though Skybound has his suspicions), Cyberverse always tries to kill the others to take over their universes and it's the highlight of everybody's month, Bayverse is mocked for being killed by Optimus but secretly everybody is kinda jealous about it (Prime especially), one time an unidentified Starscream (it was Animated) broke in and it was on sight (he got away because every Megatron wanted to be the one who killed him and they fought each other over it), IDW keeps taking calls from somebody but he won't tell anyone who, Skybound can listen in on his Optimus's meetings due to being his arm and reports back, there is an ongoing debate about whether Galvatrons should be included.

Inspired by @jyang030107 's art of ES and IDW Megs advising their One counterpart.

[psymachine]

villain origin story

[batfam-stuff-posts-0]

(Curious because I have 4 (this is my main one but I had a tumblr once before and realized putting all my obsessions in one blog doesn't really work for me))

[what-aboutno]

An analysis on c!Owen and his behaviour throughout the Outsiders SMP series!

Some disclaimers before I go into this. There will be spoilers up ahead! I would like to warn anyone reading that this post will mention some blacklisted members from the smp because their characters play a role in showing us about cOwen.

For convenience, all the members mentioned are the characters, not the actual ccs themself. Some of this might seem all over the place, but when the characters learn random parts of themselves at different points it's bound to happen.

Owen has changed a lot as the series has progressed and many find his personality to have changed entirely towards the end, however, this isn’t really the case. When we go over his character, we can see his core values have stuck with him throughout the series, so in this post, I will go over how exactly he has changed over time and his character in general.

To make it easier, I’m gonna split it into 3 parts. Early maze days, the introduction of clearing 2, and post memories.

During the early maze days Owen establishes his character very early on. Right from the beginning, Owen arrives with the demon Rasbi. They are notably one of the three pairs that come up, with most coming up the elevator alone. The first time we see him, Owen immediately takes up a role as a protector, asking if Rasbi knows how to fight in case there is danger up ahead.

In this first section, we can also see that he acts a lot more childish and naive. He’s very emotional and easily upset by his past. He can be seen jumping on rocks with Mohwee and the others and crying on his first night over his loss of memories. The overwhelmingness of the clearing gets to him. This isn’t to say he is some weak, stupid or soft character though. 

Owen may be naive in believing things should be played in certain ways according to his rules but there are many instances where we can see he’s not stupid. First episode he can immediately recognise what knife Oeca is holding “Hey that’s a throwing knife right? No that’s a dagger” 

After getting more settled in the maze he asks about the maze’s agriculture, he mentions everyone is unarmed despite fearing the dangers in the maze. He starts asking about protection, armour, shields and notably, “So this place is safe on the inside? It's safe to walk at night?” He’s already worried for everyone’s safety here, he knows the maze is dangerous so is there anywhere that’s safe? 

Very early on his past also becomes a very important aspect of his personality. He is probably one of the first to remember anything significant about his past. By episode 2 he is getting flashbacks about how to make a bow. But he makes a javelin first, noting “I think I was a hunter. No, I was an archer. I was a hunter. I was a soldier? I was good at this.” He then proceeds to aim the javelin at Oeca’s name, because at this point he can’t fully trust Ocea. He is very quick to violence, although he doesn't want Oeca dead, he certainly can’t trust in him. 

Another important note is that Mohwee is one of the people in the clearing he respected and saw as someone with the ability to act. Which is why we get this interaction where Mohwee calls out “Owen.” and Owen replies with “yes sir”. His past even without his memories is important and ingrained enough he still acts like this, and this only continues as we go through this section.

The first time they go in the maze as a group is when Apo arrives. This is a very important moment for Owen because their first trip in the maze solidifies his personality throughout this section and maybe even the series. Oeca is shot because Mohwee was careless and brought anyone in. When the group comes back, Owen asks Graecie, “How many entrances are there to this maze?” After finding out this is the only one that opens, he refuses to let anyone get hurt again and starts blocking it off.

Trust and promises are very important to Owen here too because it's one of the key reasons he blocks off the entrance. It’s not just Oeca getting hurt, it’s the fact he promised Graecie he wouldn't go in. “I broke my promise.” He also takes Apo’s word very seriously in the mine when he tells Owen he didn’t pull the lever. Also because of this he only trusts himself to go in the maze.

When the entrance is blocked off Owen is quick to violence and threatens people if they try to get past him. After finding the old battle axe he starts using it to threaten and intimidate people. “Anyone who goes past this (the gate) i will attack”

“Anyone else that will, I will just cut down” are some of the things he says. He punches Mohwee for trying to get past him. When Oeca comes back after Mohwee’s disappearance, Owen follows him with that battle axe trying to talk.

Owen then goes on to say “I’m not looking for violence” and “I'm not collecting weapons this was instinctual (points at bow)” he doesn't want people to think he’s dangerous and he knows people are scared of him.

Even if he seems aggressive he still wants to protect others. Owen goes back in the maze to look for Mohwee after he randomly disappears on their way back. “My job is to protect people and I will do that to the best of my abilities. At every possible stage”

When Mohwee disappears Owen takes a massive risk to stay in the maze overnight to see if the gates would open. “The only thing I remember about my life Graecie, is that I was raised to protect people. That's all I remember. And I know it was dumb and stupid to go in the maze but if it got us a step closer to finding Mohwee. I was willing to make that risk”

So we’ve established that Owen cares about the people in the clearing even if he doesn't trust all of them, he wants to protect them and he will do it no matter what. It's the purpose he has given himself in order to be useful.

He knows it doesn’t work how he wants it to. People are scared and wary of Owen’s protection. There are multiple instances where he tells his voices, “They don’t get it,” because he knows people don’t trust his methods. His method of control is disliked by a lot of people. 

Ori is one of the main characters to go against Owen. Owen hates this because not only does it risk the safety of others but it goes against his main purpose he gave himself. He takes this job very seriously. So when Ori goes in the maze it’s no wonder Owen becomes very violent.

“Ori I'm seriously sorry I will break your legs and I'm very close to it. Are you gonna make me. “

He doesn’t see himself to be super aggressive though “People think I'm being really aggressive when I talk like ‘oh hey if you come near me I'm gonna break your legs’ but I'm saying it in the most friendly way I can, you understand that right? I'm not trying to be aggressive with that”

“I'm saying like if you do step in here I will have to break your legs. In like a very gentle and I'm very sorry I hate to inconvenience you but I do have to break your legs.”

When Ori sneaks into the maze, Owen talks a lot about his purpose. Things like “Don't, I'll fail them. They'll kill me. My entire purpose here is to stay by this door and stop you from coming in.”

Owen hates to know he is failing the purpose he has given to himself “When I discovered I was a soldier that's what I set myself to (protecting others) but what do I have to show for myself? I have tried my hardest to protect these people. And get they look at me and tell me I'm a tyrant” “you're not in control, who are you to say what happens?”

He would do anything, even if it meant sacrificing himself. As shown before when Mohwee disappears but also as he protects the gate after the second lever gets pulled he says “I'm going to protect them if I die in the process so be it”  

Another note before this section ends is that it’s not just Ori who opposes Owen. Sillvia also talks about Owen’s method of leadership.

Sillvia about Owen: Owen I think you would be great. If not for the fact that you have a militaristic mindset. I don't want to see your leadership spiral into a place where Apo wants. Owen I fear you and I want you to know that. I actually fear you and I don't say that about many people. And ruling should not be through fear. You are a terrifying individual and to see you be in a position of power would be a slope we cannot afford or gamble slipping down. We've seen you tussle with Ori. I know you're a strong individual. You could lead us quite well but it's the risk that comes with your leadership that I am not willing to risk. 

The perception Owen has of himself differs from how he comes off. It becomes more of an issue later but we can already see this happen. 

So as clearing 2 is introduced this is what we know about Owen. He was a soldier once, he wanted to protect people in the clearing even if it meant sacrificing himself. He’s nice to others but his methods are still aggressive and violent, ready to hold a weapon to someone if needed and Owen cares a lot about trust. 

With the introduction of clearing 2 we can see how Owen changes and develops. He’s very cautious of clearing 2 members because for all he knows they could have led the creature that destroyed half their clearing in on purpose. 

Owen also faces betrayal from Apo. We know trust is something Owen values a lot. It’s mentioned in the early days, and it’s a major part of why he feels so strongly about Apo lying. During the scene where Owen faces Apo after finding he pulled the lever that killed the second clearing, his main issue with Apo isn’t the fact that he killed people. It was the fact he lied to him.

“You lied to me. Why did you do it? No no no I don't care about the lever. Apo why did you lie to me? You're my friend I trusted you. I stayed there. I held your back when oeca said it was you. I put my name on the line. Because we stood together in the mine and I asked you to swear to my face that you didn't do it. And you lied to me. Im meant to be your friend and you lied.” 

You can also see what Owen values in a person when they discuss Apo’s punishment and Owen says there's 3 main things he did

- went into maze without group consent

- pulled the lever

- he lied

Owen only adds on at the end that he left Squidney.

With all of this too we see Owen for the first time back away from the job he gave himself. He backs away from leadership, we start to see how tired Owen is from the stress of it all. His reasoning has to do with his trust being broken.

“What's the point they're all liars. This entire place is filled with filthy liars. Every single person. All I've ever done is tried to protect them”

“Forget it. I'm done. I'm don't helping people. No I'm not villain, I'm not a hero I'm nothing.

From now on there is no leader of the maze. They put me in charge. My word means nothing to them I'm done.”

“How am I meant to protect them when I try and stop them with physical force im made out to be some kind of monster. When I try to reason with them I'm made out to be soft.”  

Owen being viewed as soft has always been something he’s aware of. People tend to think because he’s kind that they can do whatever they want (sneak into the maze etc) and this perception Owen is a soft person develops. Even if he’s emotional and kind we’ve seen before in early maze days he is not soft. 

Owen tries to ignore all his problems but with it he grows more aggressive than before. His tone changes when he speaks about other people to his voices.

“To visit him would be to acknowledge he exists. And right now the last thing I want to do is consider the fact that this thing lives and breathes and eats and sleeps under my feet. The sooner he wastes away and fades into nothingness the better. I don't see a life going forward with him in it” - Owen about Apo

“The more I look around these stupid 4 walls the more I'm reminded that he that. That I trusted him.”

"he's everywhere. It's like a disease. Like it festers. The outside looks fine and you look just below the surface and it's rotting vile and it's him”

Apo: Just give me a chance.

Owen: why should I? So you can have another tick to the long list of times Owen has naively believed there is some good in the people that infests this clearing? Oeca, mohwee, Bekyamon, Magic, Graecie, Ori, you, liars. All of you.

I’m not just putting quotes here just for you to see oh trust is important! But more so for you to see that Owen changes when his trust has been broken or when he sees someone as a threat. Some of these things sound very similar to what Owen would say when he gets his memories back. Because to Owen trust and protection are 2 very important values. When that is broken he can’t be certain someone isn’t a threat. 

With this change Owen does become more aware he isn’t the most approachable person due to his methods. I do want to bring up this quote first though 

"Can I kill someone? Ive been thinking about this recently I say I'm a soldier. But I've never actually killed anyone. All my life in these 4 walls I've spoken about security and fighting and I can't remember a time I've actually taken someone's life. What if I have to. What if it comes to that I don't think I could stomach it either. I doesn't feel like me. It's not me it's not who I am. No I can't. I'll only attack this person if they do something first. And even then I'll just aim to incapacitate" - Owen about Ash

This is an interesting quote from Owen knowing his later actions but it’s not that out of character. If we look at every flashback he’s had so far we can see the life of a soldier is not one he’s always wanted.

Owen to his dad: What if I'm not ready to be your protector? No It's what you've always wanted! What if I wanted to do something else? What if I don't want to be a soldier what about me when do I get to look out for myself.

However he is always ready to attack if he needs to, if it comes to it he would do anything to protect someone. I think that means to kill even if Owen doesn’t think so at this point. 

His notebook btw

Another note about his behavior is that because of how others view him he almost dies from the creature’s venom. Ayngel even said before Owen is more angry. Other people even though it sounds jokingly say Owen gets grumpy when people disrupt him, leading to no one but Soup to check up on him when he gets stung.

When Bek comes back he doesn’t hesitate to do the things he did before. He does what he thinks is right and protects Magic by aiming a javelin at Bek. He says he’s not violent but anytime he feels like he’s in danger he pulls out a weapon. He did it when he was in Soup’s basement, he does it anytime he hears about someone potetially harming Rasbi, and he did it when he heard Oeca attacked Graecie. 

Owen in general is a fighter at heart. Even if he says he doesn’t want to kill anyone he is still ready to attack. 

Owen: this isn't you Ori. You fight. That's what you do.

Ori: what are you talking about?

Owen: you fight people. When you don't get your way you fight. You and I are the same

At the end of this section, the group decides not to go back in the maze. They had lost Squidney, Oeca, Mohwee, with the presumption that Red, Apo and Graecie were either dead or dying. Owen is tired of it all “Every Time I've tried to protect someone they've ended dead Kyle” he tries to hope but he is so tired. This tiredness also explains some things that happen when he gets his memory back. 

So to summarise before looking at Owen when he gets his memories back, this is what we know about Owen. He wants to protect his friends, he believes in trust a lot, he is both seen as more aggressive and angry these days and soft at the same time, he wants to be a good leader but other people don’t listen. Not much has changed since the early maze days, but it’s a more solid character now. 

When the reunion comes around Owen in the story has finally had a moment to think about everything that happened between him and Apo. His main regret in the series was how he treated him even if he broke his trust. 

Owen loves to contradict himself a lot but it’s a very human trait he has. He has complex feelings about Apo, and Beks and a lot of people. Yet he’ll still offer his protection to them. It’s because of this the ‘sudden’ shift in personality he has becomes very shocking to the audience. 

Since right before he sees Apo, Owen is very emotional here. Very similar to how he was in the early maze days. It’s out of his character to hope for something like seeing Apo because he knows it’s very unlikely he’ll see him again. However he gives himself this hope, one more chance. 

When Owen regains his memories the tone shift is obvious. He acts less emotional, he seems more mature. But we do need to consider this is someone who just had a lifetime of memories shoved back in his head and his core values are so strong that Owen doesn’t hesitate to act the way he used to. 

There’s lots of similarities to Owen here to the one we’ve known. Like his purpose. He sets one for himself immediately after arriving in the clearing. Even as he talks to Apo about his past he talks about his purpose

“I had a purpose once. I was useful, vital, adored. And suddenly everything changed. The world grew tired of blood shed. When all you're good for is violence, when you've been breed into a killing machine, a nation of peace will toss you aside like a spent torch”

There’s an obvious difference here right? The man we’ve watched in the maze who wanted to protect his friends just killed his best friend. This is definitely a different person right? Yes and no. Owen hasn’t changed that much, and I'll explain why after we go through some more things. But it’s important to note that this isn’t a completely new person, this isn’t something that is unexpected when we go through the information we already have about Owen. 

“I know what you are, you are everything wrong in the world has to offer. You are the amalgamation of all the gluttony and lust of humans with the evil and cunning of demons. You stand as a testament to everything vile. You are a disease on the face of this earth and I am it's curse” 

Apo: this isn't you you've changed 

Owen: incorrect, this is me. The man you manipulated and lied was nothing more than a puppet driven by the instinct to survive. 

Owen wants protection for his friends. He goes to extreme lengths to keep people safe, so when he remembers demons as this evil creature that will hurt people for their own gain he wasn’t going to stand around and do nothing right? 

Surprising or not this is very in character for Owen if we look at everything else we have from the series. To him, he is still doing his job, the one he’s done since day 1 in the clearing. Just now the threat isn’t just the maze and the occasional person, it’s demons. 

The way Owen became a demon hunter is essential too. He used to live in comfort, and based on past flashbacks he was training to be a soldier even if he didn’t fully enjoy it. His mother was a poet and his father was a general. He had grown up hearing all about how terrible demons are, and he didn’t understand until his village had been burned down.

One negative interaction with demons had put this deep hatred in his heart for them. Before his memories returned he was ready to forgive Apo, he knew he wasn’t as dangerous as he made him out to be. But when the sudden influx of memory comes, he has this past knowledge that Apo is a threat. 

Since Apo had hurt Owen before this only adds to it. Remember Owen really values trust. Apo has broken that trust in the past, so everything combined and letting go of the final restriction it’s no wonder he kills Apo. 

Despite this ‘massive personality change’ Owen has, when he returns to the clearing he still makes sure Magic is safe. He doesn't tell people about the lava rising so he wouldn’t cause panic. He still cares about these people. 

But Owen starts to view all the demons as a threat, every demon in the clearing has done something to suggest they could be dangerous. The reason Owen kills Guts is because they poisoned the food at the feast, which led to Magic being poisoned. He carries out this duty for protection

I think another thing people tend to forget about Owen is that he's been slowly breaking apart trying to fit what others want from him as seen in the last section. And it took a major toll on him. His outburst at Magic is one of the ways shown to us how much stress he’s been under. Perhaps even guilt he’s been feeling.

Magic: if you don't you're just putting everyone danger by not leading us… in there…

Owen: danger? You want to talk about putting others in danger? All of this coming from who exactly? The woman who's clearing burnt down under her leadership? The woman who lied about that previous position of leadership as she lacked the spine to correct her friend when she lied? The woman who was tied up and left for dead by that same friend? The woman who swore to protect a stranger only to them shot down in front of her? What the woman who stood still as her friend was ripped apart beside her? Oh yeah the magnitude of your failures Magic is deafening. Do you hear it? When you fall asleep at night, do you hear the screams of the dead who's blood stain your hands? How do you cope? When you find out be a good friend and let me know would you? Been looking for a way to shut them up. 

Owen does try to justify his actions to his voices even if they don’t listen. He knows people here aren’t good. He’s known this since clearing 2 was introduced, but with his memories back he feels like he has to carry on this duty by killing the threat. That’s the only way to keep people in the clearing safe right?

Owen to voices: have you stopped to think why I'm doing this? You seem so attached to these creatures, why? What good have they done? These people aren't good people. None of us good people. We're all in here for a reason. Just because you haven't taken your rose tinted glasses off to see that doesn't mean the rest of us haven't. 

Like before he won’t let anything stop him, even if it means hurting a few people. He doesn't hesitate to pull out a weapon when he hears Ayngel might know him. He can’t risk anything ruining his plans because he can’t afford to. He’s so tired. I think at this point anyone that was a major threat to him he would kill. 

Ayngel: I feel like I recognise you. You and your face from somewhere 

Owen: oh? (Starts to pull out knife from his bag)

Ayngel: I've been having this thought and it's got me thinking (Owen pulls out a knife in case)

Ayngel: actually, honestly forget it. It's all a dream and I'm overthinking

The only exception to his thinking is Rasbi. Rasbi actually hasn’t done anything wrong to him personally. She’s one of the few people that didn’t break his trust but he still kills her. Why? 

First off he doesn’t see her as the friend he wanted to protect but instead as something he protected only to kill in the end to fulfil his duty. Her sister is the reason why he ended up in the maze, so even without Rasbi directly harming Owen in any way it’s enough for Owen to kill her. I’m sure any small mistake or detail would have led Owen to killing any demon, because it only proves his thinking. 

Owen barely survives after Rasbi attacks him. So as Owen starts planning how to kill Krow he starts going a bit insane. His room is a mess, his mind is a mess and he can barely stand it anymore. We really start to see him fall apart here

Owen: this yolk is a burden is a burden I can't carry for much longer. I'm tired. I want to rest. But I took a pact, I made a promise. A glorious death is his for who his country falls and either I or they thing will have to die before I stop. 

Something that’s brought up when discussing the idea of ‘Maze Owen’ is the fact that we can see ‘glimpses’ of him in different interactions. For example when Owen and Krow go out into the maze and Owen spots Puddy he makes sure Puddy doesn’t die by keeping him away. Even if he’s aggressive in the scene the fandom interpretation is the care he has for Puddy as ‘Maze Owen’ slipped through. But It’s not out of character for him to still show care for people after his memories are returned based on everything we’ve seen.

Before ‘killing’ off Krow, Owen does say this “There's no escaping who you are” Which is really interesting since most characters he’s interacted with will tell him in the maze you can escape who you used to be. Owen knows for a fact no matter what he does in life now he will never have anything outside the maze. Because the world doesn’t need him anymore. He kills the demons as his final act of service to the world because he has nothing else to offer. 

When Krow finally comes back and Owen gets hit in the head he says to the rest of the group “I was protecting you all.” and “You don't know what they're like! You haven't seen the outside world.”

Looking at his final moments we see that everyone that Owen has cared about doesn’t trust him anymore. They don’t believe his protection was needed. He’s told that he will not get out of this cell. He’s left alone in the silence of the cell. Finally with the time to think. He starts experiencing multiple flashbacks and it makes it hard for him to think. 

We’ve seen in the past how Owen deals with multiple flashbacks. It gives him a headache or causes him pain in some cases. He also becomes really emotional afterwards. This follows the same case. Except he starts to realize some things.

Krow: I know those eyes. That glint of desperation for approval but knowing it's never coming. We're more similar than you let yourself believe you and I

(Flash back ‘i was an archer.?’ ‘i was a hunter?’ I was a soldier)

“I was a tool. Used.”

He knows he’s going to die soon and he starts to panic. The most important line he says is 

“So what now? This is it!? I deserve to die in battle. I killed them. It was what I. Its just what I was meant to do. I was trained. Should i have? I should have. I should have. I can't think inside my head, it's split in two” 

“So what voices? What was I before then huh? Was that me? Is that who people trust? People trust that one. Old Owen. Yes? It wasn't me. That wasn't me” flashback about Apo first coming up

“I can't think. I can't. They trusted him. They trusted him but not me? My head…”

After this he pleads with Magic to let him out. Owen claims “I hurt them, I hurt my friends. Rasbi, Guts. And Apo, Krow I don't know why I did those things” He pleads and cries. And he's desperate

Owen: “No magic it's me please.” 

Magic: “You kill people owen”

Owen: “It wasn't me I'm sorry. I just wanted to keep people safe.” 

Owen: “Magic please don't go… no… magic. You can't do this.”

Magic: “I can and I am” 

I think when we look at these final clips there’s a very important thing happening. Owen is separating himself from the past. He can’t understand why his friends don’t trust him. Even though nothing has changed. To him his eyes have been opened to the dangers of demons and he fulfilled his purpose. 

Why does this separation even happen? This is where we move to the final part of this long analysis and look at theories. There’s no way I can say for sure this is right or this is wrong. I can only tell you what I think based on the material already there. 

So before I go into this I have to emphasize I am not saying you can't refer to earlier Owen as maze Owen to explain Owen at different periods of his life. I'm saying when we really look at it, maze Owen doesn't exist since they're the same person. 

So what am I talking about? The concept of ‘maze’ Owen has been around for a long time. Even ccOwen talks about his character like that. The idea that just because Owen didn’t have his memories that he was some sweet, soft guy that needs to be babied is something that affects a lot on how you view him as a character. 

'maze' Owen doesn't actually exist because it's a way that Owen has come up with to justify to himself how he could have cared for demons without shattering his ideals. This is confused with Owen have distinct personalities and missing how he hasn't strayed from his ideals since the start with his idea of protecting everyone.

To separate that period of Owen's life in the maze ignores the fact that the characteristics you see in Owen post reunion are the same from before but taken to the extreme.

He's always been capable of ‘evil’'. It's the same as every other character in the series. We don't separate them like we do with Owen. Every character in the series is inherently morally gray, they do things out of desperation to survive. You can never say someone is 100% good or bad. 

Owen’s same mindset of 'I need to protect the people I care about because they're in danger now' carries through. After the reunion in his head demons are no longer part of that group he wants to protect. 

The separation of 'maze' and post reunion Owen forgets even in the post memory phase he had the ability to love like 'maze' Owen had. He released Puddy, he started a small farm, he started to relax. It's all part of him.

In his final moments he says a few important things to note. The first being "I was a tool. I was trained. Should I have... I should have." And then right after "I can't think in my head it's split in two"

It seems some take this as 'maze' Owen coming back and fighting with Owen on should he have killed Apo and the others. However rather than 'maze' Owen coming back i think it's this internal conflict he has with himself and his ideals.

Before he says this he's getting flashbacks to the early maze days where he showed kindness to demons. Something he would never let himself do in the past outside the maze. And something he would never do after he remembers it all.

Then he says to the voices "Is that who people trust? Old Owen" while those memories are playing. The voices respond saying they miss that Owen and he replies "Yes? That wasn't me" this is possibly where it further adds to the whole 'maze' Owen is a different person thing.

Rather than facing the fact that his thinking doesn’t make sense anymore he separates himself from those memories. As soon as Owen accepts that demons are not these creatures that betray and kill you at any moment, his life has no purpose.

Owen’s thinking comes from the manipulation and propaganda he's been fed. In his final episode we get these quotes which show just how much his thinking revolves around protection and also showing what years of training did to him.

He understands he was a tool that was used. He's well aware everything he is doing may not have a purpose and yet he still plays this part. He can't break away from that thinking because if he lets himself, Owen has to face the fact that his whole life had no true meaning.

That is a terrifying thing to do. He has been in this environment for so long you can’t just take him out of it. 

Going over everything you can access in Owen’s pov, we know that before gaining his memories Owen is a person that cares deeply about his friends, he risks himself to protect them, he won’t hesitate to hold a weapon against someone he sees as a threat. Owen thinks trust is an important value to have, he takes it very seriously. But we also know that not everyone likes Owen and his leadership. He’s seen with a military mindset, people don’t want to upset him and it nearly costs his life.

Now let’s compare that with the Owen we get to know after his memories return. He wants to protect the people he deeply cares about, he risks himself to protect them, he doesn’t hesitate to hold a weapon against someone that he sees as a threat, only now the threat is demons. When we start looking at these differences, yes, Owen when he regains his memories is different, his tone changes, he murders people. But those core values we’ve seen throughout the series stay with him.

It’s one of the reasons why Owen can’t understand why no one in the clearing is on his side. He protected them against the threat they didn't know about. That is his purpose, and that’s what he’s good for. Remember right at the beginning of the series Owen sets his purpose to protect these people, now this is still the same. He views demons as a threat because he hasn’t had good experiences with them. Even if Apo became his friend in the clearing, Apo ends up lying to Owen, and betraying his trust. Guts became his friend but Guts tried to poison Magic. Owen has never fully trusted Krow and that distrust only furthers once he knows what Krow is capable of based on his experiences with demons.

So let’s go back to the previous question: who was it there? You’re probably thinking well how do you explain maze Owen and the chips. ccOwen has mentioned before that it's a possibility for the chips to alter memories. Maybe Starr suppressed those memories and maze Owen was there again. Or he was hit hard on the head right? Maybe his chip was damaged and it altered his emotions and memory.

There is too little known information to us as an audience about the chips in their head. We know they can supposedly make the outsiders lose track of time, alter their memories, their emotions and change how they act. But if the chips in their head is the explanation for everything then why does Owen remember killing his friends when he talks to Magic? He says it like he wasn't the one doing it, like he watched someone else do it. How do you explain his behaviour then? If the damaged chip really made him act like that then why do flashbacks still occur when he's in prison? He seems to have no control over those, so the chip must still work fine?

I think when we look at his character the maze has already changed him whether he likes it or not. There’s more doubt in him than before. He lets Apo go with extra time. He hesitated before he ran after him. No matter how small, he has changed.

But when Owen talks about himself in the past he makes this separation. The voices in his head won't stop calling for the guy they used to know, even though he's right here. I think Owen doesn't even want to acknowledge at one point he was friends with the demons he hated so much. 

In that prison cell all his ideals and values are facing him. Everything he's done and he's known has been a lie. I think he knows this but can't bring himself to acknowledge that. Would you admit what you thought for your entire life was wrong? That you killed countless for nothing?

When faced with death Owen becomes desperate. Which I think explains his behaviour with Magic. That is his last hope and he knows people like the older version of him. I don't think he's fully lying though when he says i don't know why I did those things. Not because maze Owen came back or anything but because in the maze he no longer has this duty but he still carries it out. He's so tired from it all and he wants to leave it behind but he can't.

So let's go over his death scene one more time. “My head it's split in two” I think the explanation for this is that he was just hit with a bunch of flashbacks of his first days. Right before this he also says ‘I was a tool. Used’ I believe in his final moments where he has a moment to think he starts to fight himself. Should he have done all this for a country that throws him away the second he's useless? He was trained to do this. But should he have really? That's what I think is making him say my head it's split in two. He's fighting his own views and alongside these positive memories it makes him confused. And overwhelmed.

It's important to note Owen doesn't have a single bad flashback about Apo and Rasbi. He doesn't think about the levers, he thinks about his friends that he met. That he protected.

The more flashbacks he gets the more defensive he becomes. “I'm right here you can't convince me otherwise” He doesn't understand why the Owen in his memories is trusted so much, even though they're the same person. In his mind he's doing what he's always done. protect.

“It wasn't me I'm sorry I just wanted to keep people safe” everything he says to Magic is half genuine and half lie. I don't think even Owen knows which parts are which. It's easier if he separates himself into the nice trusted Owen and who he is now.

No matter what in the end, that was Owen. Not Maze Owen but Owen who is desperate to live. He's tired of it all. He's finished his mission and he won't even get to see what he thinks will be an honorable ending for him.

Remember what Owen says to Apo? "The man you manipulated and lied was nothing more than a puppet driven by the instinct to survive."

So of course he'll do anything to survive even if it means playing up the truth.

It's hard to separate Owen into these neat boxes and say for sure that was Maze Owen at the end or that was full manipulation. Because like Owen everything is a bit grey here. Maze Owen wasn't the best person, he hurt his friends, people were scared of him. And post memories Owen isn't some misunderstood guy that needs babying either. 

My final thoughts on this debate is that in the end the one that pleads for his life is just Owen. To separate him and say it was Maze Owen doesn't allow you to understand how complex Owen is as a character. And continues to let you believe that Owen can't do anything wrong. Not understanding sometimes a good person is capable of this evil. To the end Owen still believed he was doing what was right and that was protecting the ones he cared about. So has anything really changed since the start?

[sovaharbor]

actually am i the only person who finds it so fucking weird that varric of all people was the one to die for solas. like. varric? varric??? they didn't even get along half the time lmao... like there's an entire part of cole's arc where him and solas are diametrically opposed and whoever "wins", the other is very much not happy about it. what the fuck happened between trespasser - where varric is literally viscount of kirkwall and kinda fucking busy with that!! - and suddenly him giving this much of a shit about solas????

okay, yeah, he's in the comics. okay, yeah, he's working for the inquisition in the comics. but honestly

i'm gonna be so for real, i don't really think i'm going to listen to the comics when this is apparently a plot thread in knight errant lmao. VARRIC got an invitation to SEBASTIAN'S birthday party?? varric, the guy who literally hated sebastian???? who would be hated by sebastian, in turn, especially if hawke saved the mages - which i'm 99% sure is what happens in bioware's canon? so like???

i dont know. it's just so weird. varric being in inquisition makes sense. cassandra forces him into it, there's a lot going on, man he just works here. whatever. but his role in TV just does not to me. him choosing, apparently, Apparently, after this, to continue with the inquisition, when he's busy being viscount (and hates it, yeah, sure, but he's still doing it because kirkwall is his home) and doesn't really care about solas except now he DOES, actually, to the point that when he is confronted with solas actively doing the ritual he's supposed to stop, he thinks he can talk him down. when EVERYTHING he knows about solas points to the opposite. he knows he is stubborn and obstinate and yeah, he cares, but that is why he is doing this. he knows solas cares to a fault. knows he will do anything to fix what is apparently a wrong by his own hands.

so why talk to him? why DIE for him? varric is smart. varric knows people (or so he thinks). that's his entire fucking schtick. you're gonna look me in the eye and tell me he's gonna sacrifice his life for SOLAS?????

it's so weird man. i don't even know if any of this made sense. but it's so weird to me.

[silusvesuius]

in drawing heads purgatory

[bonefall]

I understand being upset by the moonpaw dog post but i dont think talking about some random teen publicly (on a pretty big fandom blog) as opposed to like, dming them about it, is a very nice thing to do? Would recommend keeping that kinda gossip in dms going forward personally.

??????? "That kinda gossip???"

Saying that it's fucked up that a publicly posted incest joke about how deformed she should look went to the top of the Warrior Cats and Moonpaw tags, is gossip???

TRENDING TAGS?? GOSSIP?

I'm not talking about "some random teen," I have not even dropped a username and been VERY clear I don't want harassment of anyone. During this discussion about wider ableism against Moonpaw, I've directly answered two anons about the contents of a post that was/IS extremely popular to the tune of nearly a thousand notes.

One of those two asks was an anon who only stumbled in to say that the post was funny in a display of SHOCKING tonedeafness, while I was talking about how shitty it is to compare people who are the products of incest to unethical dog breeds, especially in the context of WC. The other was an actual XX/XY chimera who expressed that the extremely popular post hurt their feelings, and when they tried to express discomfort to someone, got told they "probably killed their twin in the womb."

It's not just one rando weenie little blog the minute half of the Tumblr space is openly laughing at a joke about deformed incest kids and hoping Moonpaw dies because she's so "gross." Not nice?? Your feelings are hurt? OTHER people's feelings were ALREADY hurt.

NOTHING about this was "nice" to begin with!

Difference is, when YOU cry me a river, you can build me a bridge, and get right the fuck over it. A person who's the product of incest cries and has to go right back to every shitty banjo-hunchback-hapsburg joke they've heard before, just feeling more unsafe about a space that PRETENDS to care about the abuse they experienced. If you feel guilty about that, maybe you should!

If you were under the impression I was ever "nice" about bigotry, you were mistaken. I don't appreciate calls for ME to be more polite when I'm at a trend of fandom ableism and calling it fucked up. I've named NO names. Sounds like what you ACTUALLY want is for people like me who have a platform to shut up.

[viviarts-c]

Dancing to the radio! Successfully this time

Prev

Ritual Self Torture Masterpost

[hers-underwraps]

࿐Thoughts on Octonauts main 6 duos .࿐

[NOTE: these are MY hc's/opinions -> please don't kill me]

[ANOTHER NOTE -> if any of these are similiar to yours or others hc's -> I PROMISE IT'S NOT INTENTIONAL (hey I guess great minds think alike) ]

ALSO THIS POST IS LONG - so be warned

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Barnacles and Kwazii

Both of them are theatre kids

They love listening to musical soundtracks

One of the few people on the crew that Barnacles is really comfortable with telling his feelings

Also vice Vera’s for Kwazii, he’s also one of the few people on the crew he’s comfortable with not being his usual bravado self around and sometimes he’ll talk about his family history

Sometimes when they both need to vent, Kwazii will come into Barnacle's room and they’ll just rant for hours

Also, they probably use that time to debrief about how the other are doing + do welfare checks on the team

I just love how they match each other's energy (they are such doofuses when it’s just the two)

Brawn’s and Brawn’s fr (like in the whale shark or giant squid episode)

Both of them had matching man ponytails at one point

They have matching tattoos

Thanks to Kwasi, Barnacles accidentally finds himself telling sea monster tails when he's around the cubs

Avid Hamilton enthusiasts (both know the soundtrack word for word)

I can imagine these two drunk at a bar doing karaoke

They both had a stand-up comedy phase

Own a set of brass knuckles

Shared poetry appreciation

Sometimes Kwazii is too gullible to the things he sees on the internet and Barnacles has to talk some sense into him

They would do stakeouts together

Sing in the shower

Baranacles would drop-kick Kwazii if necessary

I also just like how Kwazii is always looking out for Barnacles

Look they are just so healthy and I love em

Light sleepers

Best volleyball duo

The best savers on the crew (Barnacles because he's responsible however Kwazii is there by default because of his pirate instinct to stash away cash (he'd forget about it and then when they are doing their yearly finances he'd just find that he'd accumulated like $40,000 (maybe stolen) in cash so he'd automatically win)

They can both breakdance? (much to the crew's horror)

Chat they are THE duo

Like lowkey imagine if one of them died, imagine how distraught they'd be (I think about this all the time) -> Imagine how they'd fall apart (Actually they remind me a lot of Brokeback mountain) (The main reason I try not to ship them is because I think it would just fall apart lowkey ) (sorry for this but they were literally the first people I thought of when I watched the movie)

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Kwazii and Peso

Both of them love gory horror movies (peso likes to analyse them) (for medical reasons he swears)

Can both speak Spanish and will have conversations in front of the crew in it or when they want to make some outlandish comment

Kwazii and peso are like opposites attract fr fr

Kwazii spends a lot of time in Medbay, much to Peso's dismay.

Because of this, the peso has trained Kwazii in medbay, because he needs assistance sometimes (and lowkey wants him to take better care of himself)

Peso will sometimes crash out in Kwazii's room if he's too worried to sleep

They would invest in a pair of matching light-up sneakers

Thanks to Kwazii's stories, Peso automatically jumps to the conclusion that something is a monster when he's scared by some unknown creature

The black and orange combo is always lethal

Peso always tries to actively include Kwazii in his family cause he's got like none (he can be an honourary penguin)

These two would not be able to sit normally (Peso would do the leg bounces or sit criss-cross and Kwazii would do a little perch thing)

Sometimes Kwazii would find a creature he wanted to keep for a bit and Peso would help him hide it (partially because he doesn't want him to get into trouble and cause he's concerned that Kwazii would hurt it while he's hiding it) so there would be random animals chilling in the medbay until Barnacles would find it and have to guilt trip him (using shellington) to go put it back (They would both get punished with the shitty chores)

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Dashi and Shellington

OMG I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

Either OTP or BROTP for me personally

I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE

THAT SHOULD BE ME

So um anyways... malewife and girlboss fr

Collects hairclips he thinks Dashi would like when they're on land

Loves listening to his rambles

Shellington loves that she can out-yap him when it comes to metrology

They are literally the peak childhood interest like space kid + sea kid

I just want them to be happy and wish that nothing bad ever happened to them

Photographs/films sealife + tells her all about it

I can imagine them working on articles together

Also, imagine they had one of those Sealife documentary things where Dashi is the cameraman and Shillington just yaps on about stuff they find

They both go to climate change rallies together

Shellington sometimes takes photos of Dashi cause he feels bad that she is never in them (although they're not the best quality Dashi treasures them)

They are chill around each other, they can yap for hours or sit in silence but they will still be happy

Give off old married couple vibes

They have a Stardew Valley farm together -> They both love the mines and always forget to water their crops (so their solution is to grind out in the mines poor until they have enough resources to make sprinklers) (Shellington mines, Dashis kills everything)

Dashi orders for both of them at restaurants

Morning person + night owl -> Sometimes Dashi will wake up at like 5am and realise that Shellington is still up and be like dude wtf go to bed

They share a weird appreciation for sundials

attached do not separate

One time Shillington noticed that Dashi was down and he tried to make her a snack. He proceeded to set fire to the kitchen

They've gone stargazing together (Dashi loves telling him about the constellations)

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Peso and Tweak

This combo is lowkey kinda niche

Rarepair

They are so cute omg

I can imagine them playing video games together

They have matching oodies cause I said so

The two shortest out of the main six (THEY're SO SMALL GAHH)

Peso sometimes tries to help out Tweak in the launch bay (not that he can really do much) and lowkey admires Tweak's strength

He Apologises profusely every time they come back with a broken gup (he feels so bad) tweak finds it funny

They both like licorice

Most prone to panicking (our little overthinkers) (I mean I guess it's obvious for the peso, but tweak definitely worries a lot)

Tweak will hold peso's hand if he feels nervous

Tweak sometimes obtains some bad injuries for things going wrong with the gups and it lowkey scares the shit on of peso. Like she'll just rock up to the medbay filled with chunks of glass and burns and be like "So... um, can you fix me up?"

Goated at operation board game (peso for obvious reasons and tweak would just treat it like a gup (much to peso's horror))

They love the peanuts franchise

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Barnacles and Tweak

Like brother and sister imo

They are such old souls

They share a love for rugby

Very brother/sister vibes imo

They're been friends for yonks

Would be the only two to carry actual cash (Kwazii would too but it's a mix of currencies)

Probably the only crewmate that Barnacles has never been mad at (she can do no wrong)

They sometimes reminisce about the old octopod -> they are both still lowkey bad about crashing it

Both of them know Morse code (sometimes they send each other silly messages in it just cause

I feel like they'd both be kind've weird about their birthdays (not that keen on celebrating for some unknown reason)

They'd tackle or like punch each other's arm to show affection (I'd imagine that Tweak is the only person that Barnacles can do this to)

They'd both have a shared appreciation for "Dad music"

I also feel like they would be really good at hockey (Tweak grass hockey (regular) and barnacles ice hockey)

Avid beanie hat enjoyers

They'd be really good at card games (like 500 or hearts)

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Peso and Shellington

OMG IT'S THE NERD BOYS

They study together

Shellington accidentally burns himself in the lab all the time, much to Peso's dismay. (he just wishes his crew would take better care of themselves)

They lowkey get the shits with each other sometimes (Like peso lowkey thinks shellington is a little bitch sometimes )

Sometimes heated debates just for the sake of it

They have number headcanons because they spent so much time doing math for their degrees

They also have favourite formulas

Have mixed feelings about organic chemistry

They could poison you in your sleep bfr

These too would be goated at an arcade

They'd fw the Sonic movies

Have the best book taste

They both have the most depressing music taste (they'll be listening to like the front bottoms or mitski or some shit for fun)

Shellington has zero spacial awareness so he's always getting injured

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Dashi and Tweak

IT'S THE GIRLS

BESTIES LOVERS OML

WOMEN IN STEM

I have an idea for an AU when these two just live out in the middle of the desert and they just build machines and blow shit up all the time maybe sell nifty weapons when they need a stash

They are super close as they are the only girls on the team

BUILD GADGETS AND GIZMOS TOGETHER

Dashi would let Tweak dye her hair sometimes - she would have two pink money pieces or pink skunk hair imo

You know their Minecraft worlds would go hard

Tweak admires her coding ability + Dashi admires her building skills

Early bird + night owl -> When Dashi realises Tweak hasn't slept in a day or two, she'll make her a hot chocolate drag her to her bed and just sit on the floor until she falls asleep

Dashi spends a lot of time with Tweak, so she's gotten a good grasp on the gups and does the daily maintenance jobs with Barnacles if Tweak has crashed out

They both enjoy Lego but the technic kind. Especially tweak, I just know my girl has the full-on Lego trainset

Dashi gets nervous about the impression she makes on Ranger Marsh (she felt super guilty when she crashed the octo-ray and made Ranger Marsh worry about tweak)

They are literally lalalala and okokokok

Sometimes Dashi gets too carried away with something she finds interesting and tweaks gotta be like c'mon girl be careful

Tweak would actually die for Dashi (and vice versa)

Dashi would buy strawberry cups and Tweak would be like huh (Nana reference?)

They would avidly use fairy comments (both irl and online)

They would be the ones doing the crew haircuts

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Barnacles and Peso

Father and son fr

god I love them

Every time Peso goes missing Barnacles has a heart attack (not that he wouldn't for the others but Peso specifically he's like GOD FUCK WHERE IS HE)

Both are major family guys, and love showing each other family photos and albums

Sometimes they jam out together

They both love Mitski

Love the cold weather -> will kill for a good snow day (much to the crew's dismay)

They die in the heat

Share a mutual love of sweet treats

Peso was wary of Barnacles at first but soon came to just admire/respect him

Both would cry during sad movies

Also both fw soap operas

Peso used to be afraid of the captain when they first met

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Shellington and Barnacles

Fathers TM

Guys, you don't understand how much I adore their friendship

But yes, they would bond over their shared fatherly struggles

Sometimes Barnacles wouldn't be able to sleep at night so he would just chill in Shellington's lab (Because he up until the ungodly hours) and he would just chill there. They wouldn't say too much, sometimes Shillington would talk about the research he was doing but he kind've understood that Barnacles just didn't want to be alone so he didn't pressure him to talk.

They both have the blandest taste out of everyone on the crew

Probably both think that salt is spicy

I feel like Barnacles neutralises some of Shellington's silliness so they are both just chill

They both have the goofiest pj's (canon)

Tallest members of the crew (you could literally climb them)

They both love info-dumping to each other - They'll take turns being listeners/yapper

They both share an insane love of Lego more-so the aesthetic models (Barnacles cause he likes to build ship models and Shellington well... he seems like the type)

They definitely thoroughly enjoyed the lego masters series

Honestly they both different flavours of tism for me personally

They share so many similarities that it's kind've scary -> like they are different genres of each other in a way that is crazy

Wait no I'm not crazy here me out -> They're both the omg I'm only good at one thing (they have a little bit of a complex about it), I need to be a good father (lowkey to compensate for this), have some trauma that holds me back a lil and also really goofy + super tall.

I personally think that's one of the reasons these two work together so well -> guys we need to talk about this more

They forced the whole crew (well mainly Barnacles) to do the 16 personalities quiz (I hc that Barnacles is REALLY into psychology and info-dumped about it so much to Shellington that he's lowkey invested)

After that, they made a chart for the combability of everyone on the crew

I'm not normal about the parallels these two share LIKE AHHHHH

Anyways -> they both have shitty eyesight (they both wear contacts most of the time but sometimes wear glasses)

Tell really corny dad jokes

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Kwazii and Tweak

Chaotic duo if ever

Kwazii sows bandanas for tweak

Tweak lowkey wants him dead for all the damage he's done

Has a chalkboard with a tally of who's done the most damage (Kwazii is 1st with Shellington following closely behind)

Tweak has taught Kwazii how to fix up the GUP-B himself because she's so sick of doing it (the best investment she's ever made)

They both love destroy boys (I know I've said this before but I'm going to say it again)

They both hand out the most insane disses (when necessary)

Play Clash Royale (and they're sweats)

Can't spell to save their lives

They would go on all the crazy rollercoasters at a theme park

Speaking of rollercoasters -> these two would definitely dig those videos of the top 10 craziest rollercoasters/waterslides (but tweak tell you if it was actually possible) (or better yet how SHE could make it possible)

Both share a weird appreciation for chainsaws

They'd road rage so bad

They're so evil together and I love it

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Peso and Dashi

Sweethearts

Both are Kpop stans

They have weekly meetings to discuss the latest drama happening

They share an insanely popular fan account

They also both have matching photo cards

These two are definitely are the younger end of the crew (AND I AM NOT SAYING THAT THEY ARE LIKE 16. I THINK EVERYONE ON THE MAIN OCTONAUTS CREW IS AT LEAST 25+ AT THE MINIMUM)

They'll use modern slang just for the shits and gigs (they've definitely called Barnacles Sigma and Skibidi a few times just to piss him off)

They both play animal crossing but they are both SUPER competitive about it --> They are also RIGHT into the turnip stock market ( For some reason barnacles always has god-tier prices)

They make friendship bracelets together

When they are both feeling devious, they'll introduce the captain to some brain rot term and watch the rest of the crew go insane as he tries to incorporate it into his everyday lingo -> "Good work shellington, very Sigma" "Nice GUP upgrades Tweak, mogging the old designs" "Kwazi Istg don't be an omega and listen to me" -> They are not amused and want them dead (Barnacles just wants to be woke)

Dashi gets along surprisingly well with Peso's family

They would both have those little virtual electronic pet things (I forgot what they are called like the tamigoochee type shit) (if they were out on overnight missions, they'd give it to the other to take care of

They have really good eyesight

Have really nice scented shampoo

They both watched those really fucked up youtube videos as kids (like the Gacha or mlp horror types)

goated at origami

They'd be Hayday sweats

The mum friend

They'd do the daily wordles and connections together (but they;r also be lowkey competitive about it)

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Dashi and Kwazii

Chaos duo 2.0

Super energetic

They both love doing sports together - they both seem really athletic so I reckon they play each other often

Both are super competitive

These two both alternate being acting captain when Barnacles is not there and they bond over that

Both love spicy foods

I have this one really specific headcannon that they have cook-offs sometimes because hey why not and they divide into two teams: Dashi + Kwazii and Barnacles + Peso. (I feel like shellington is banned from the kitchen and Tweak well she cooks in the garage ifkwim, so they judge ).

These cookoffs would get HEATED, I reckon it's gotten to the point where they have thrown knives. But yeah Dashi and Kwazii are a killer combo in the kitchen

They both love fashion -> they also play dress to impress together (they'll roast all the other players and Kwazii usually wins)

Only person Kwazii can find that is willing to sword fight him (and doesn't instantly lose)

Dashi sometimes uses him as a model when she wants to practice portrait shots (he's probably the only one who's willing to tbh)

When they're around each other they often get tunnel vision which can get them in a little trouble (like in the Siphomphore episode) but it's ok, they love a little adrenaline rush

LOVE hotter weather --> they both love a good beach day

Dashi's still trying to teach Kwazii how to surf (he's getting the hang of it though)

Kwazii braids Dashi's hair (and vice versa)

They both love mean girls (they want to be Regina SO BAD)

Both love gold jewellery

Are both into star signs, planetary alignment, fate etc.

These two are probably the most spiritual in the crew.

I feel like these two actually wouldn't be too made if there was a zombie apocalypse

Violence is always an option

When they are bored they start placing stupid bets on each other and they will go to extreme lengths not to lose the bet

Dashi finds his fear of spiders amusing (like she's canonically Australian so she's immune to them)

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Tweak and Shellington

underrated

Both are masters of their world and they respect each other for that

Nightowls -> Their sleep schedule is unholy

Will both go days without sleeping (this terrifies the rest of the crew)

They often need to be put to bed by other crew members cause they'll just be passed out somewhere

I can imagine them building bombs together

Both of them are AVID glass animal fans

They both use really shitty shampoos like head and shoulder type shit

Love Monster energy drinks and coffee a little too much

They also forget to eat too often (Honestly these two are just too obsessed with their professions and have horrendous self care)

They spend a lot of time together cause they are often stuck in the pod

Tweak tried to have some plants in her room but kept on forgetting to water them so they kept on dying. Shellington noticed and gave her some more, and made sure to maintain their health

Tweak secretly prays that shellington will become a better driver whenever she sees him around a gup (not that she's religious, it's just going to take a divine miracle to happen)

During beach days these two would just mess around with a metal detector (That's if shellington isn't messing with the rockpools)

They had adult braces

They sleep-talk a lot

They'd both own trapper hats

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Barnacles and Dashi

leaders tm

These two have lowkey been parenting the crew since day dot

It's giving old man + the girl he decided to adopt

Both are barbs (Nicki Minaj fans) and listen to her together when the crew is out on missions

Dashi was lowkey like his apprentice in leadership during the main Octonauts series. They've spent a lot of time together

They spend a lot of time in HQ and unfortunately, they have to spend a lot of time doing boring paperwork and formalities/incident type of reports. I can imagine them just working on it late at night as boring and soul-destroying as it is cause nobody else is willing (or is serious) enough to do it.

Specifically, AnB, Dashi would definitely feel a huge amount of imposter syndrome in her role, and sometimes Barnacles would see that and just reassure her that she has done the training for this, she does deserve it and that it'll be alright.

Dashi adopted his mannerisms over time, like specifically the little stances. I've noticed she does the little hands-on-hip stance that Barnacles always does in AnB ( I just thought it was kinda cute)

Likewise, I reckon Barnacles adopted some of hers.

Another AnB one, sometimes Dashi would be debriefing about everything that's been happening to get and the stress surrounding her leadership position and barnacles would just be like "Yeah, I get it"

Both of them have matching Sanrio charms (Dashi gave one to him when he started mentoring her)

Would both die for their crew

Sometimes, they do improv practice together

Both are morning people. It'll be like 5am and they're like RISE AND GRIND!!! CEASE THE DAY!!

Really good at celestial navigation (Barnacles cause of scouts/dashi cause of metrology)

They are both heavy snackers (they love having a little munch when they are doing things)

Best huggers

Dashi canonically collects sunglasses so -> sometimes barancles borrows sunglasses for missions (which is amusing cause sometimes she gives him a really silly pair)

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Kwazii and Shellington

SILLY AF

This friendship is actually so funny to me. Because I remember Kwazii HATING shellington at the start of the series. Specifically in that episode when they both go driving at night (I think?) and Kwazii's just like ugh ho why are you coming like you can barely drive GET OUT. Now Kwazii's out there like "OMG COOL CREATURE SHELLINGTON HOLY SHIT DUDE YOU'D LOVE THIS"

They are lowkey both Batshit crazy when left to their own devices

Would both find each other trinkets that they think are neat

Both of them share a love of learning new languages

Share a surprisingly large amount of info about Greek mythology

The Mayan calendar freaks them out (they take it WAY too seriously)

They both have zero spacial awareness

Sometimes Kwazii tries to act like a smartass around shellington (shellington quickly humbles him)

They would both intentionally eat chocolate bars in the most fucked up way possible

They would both own the most absurd pets

Shellington would casually mention something he's always wanted to see (like a plant or fish) and Kwazii would go out and retrieve it (which is fitting cause it's very catlike). It would probably be the wrong thing most of the time but Shellington doesn't tell him

Granny games would scare the shit out of them

They would've both set stuff on fire during science classes (intentionally (out of boredom) and accidentally)

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Thanks for reading all that

I've never done this big of a post so I hope it was alright :)

(And that there weren't too many spelling errors)

[vaguely-concerned]

every so often, varric will write a black fox story. not anything fancy or for publication or anything, just for fun and because he knows hawke has a soft spot for them. ("an intrepid hero getting into and out of all kinds of trouble and the merry band of misfits following inseparably in his wake? can't imagine why".) some of them are experimental, some of them are straightforward retellings; they're generally pretty short and quick to do, so he allows himself to play around with form and genre and language more than he does in his professional work. stretching over the span of almost twenty years as they do, they contain some of his favourite pieces of his own writing, and some of the most '...was I huffing lyrium fumes or drunk or both for this one, hawke? what the actual hell is this' pieces. hawke keeps every single one of them. varric speculates that this is either because they're just that sentimental, or possibly that it's for future blackmailing purposes. he usually has one ready for their birthday. they have so much blackmail material on him anyway by this point, he figures, what's one more piece of ammunition going to do one way or the other.

varric finishes one of these black fox tales a couple of nights before he brings rook with him to minrathous — the last one. it's about the very last black fox story, the one where the black fox and his friends all disappear together into the depths of arlathan forest, where those in the know say you can find them to this very day, if you know where to look, or if you ever find yourself in trouble and in need of a helping hand. they'll turn up to aid a traveller in need, and disappear back between the shaded trees again once the day is saved, squabbling all the way, seeking treasures and unlikely quests yet unfound and unimagined.

they say on some days, you can hear them as laughter and friendly bickering on the wind from a couple of clearings over. it's not the end, it's just other adventures, some other place. that's the thing about stories. they're funny that way.

(once he wrote a book for his mother on her deathbed and read it to her through the comfortless and drawn-out hours of the troubled nights, and he burned the book the day she died and never spoke of it again.)

after he finishes the manuscript, he sits with it for a long time in the quiet and the candlelight before he wraps it up properly and sends it off back home to kirkwall. he attaches a note -- a story, to the best of all my stories, the one I'd tell forever if I could. take care of each other while I'm gone. first one to arrive saves seats at the bar, right? happy birthday, and send all my lack of love to the merchant's guild, as always. —Varric

he sends that to hawke. just in case. and then he gets up and he goes to find rook — it's time to get going.

[fangirlforeversthings]

Ladies and gentlemen i present to you the hottest character entrance in cinenatic history:

[maria-ruta]

I'm having a bad mood today

Would you draw my blorbo for me please?

[ghouljams]

Ok, just wanna say that I love your Hephaetus!Nikto.

Just a few things I’d like to say about Aphrodite. Love the way you have them written, I am in no way trying to make you change your interpretation of them.

She is one of the oldest gods along side Poseidon. Their lore dates back way before Ancient Greece and yet Aphrodite still predates him. Aphrodite is not just a soft thing. She started the Trojan war dammit. And she’s been associated with War as well, and not just in the sense that she has a relationship with Ares but of herself (then again haven’t done much research on this part so I could be wrong).

And Aphrodite is of the sea. The sea is no tame thing. It is wild. She is the Goddess of love and beauty and I’m getting a little pissed at Nikto for thinking she wouldn’t find him beautiful when it is her literal job to see the beauty in everything. Like come on dudeeee!!!!

I think the way you wrote him also pairs kinda well with the way you have the other Olympians view Aphrodite!Reader. I’d wonder if Aphrodite!Reader will ever snap on them and show them what it means to be the goddess of love and beauty.

Also fun fact, the ancient Greeks had multiple names for love that all had different meanings. I personally don’t know them all, but from what I recall, Eros is what they call romantic love.

Sorry for blabbing on, you don’t have to respond to this at all, just wanted to vent a little.

Oh no you're fine venting, I think a lot of people often think of Aphrodite in a specific way (pretty goddess of love who just cheats on her husband and is vindictive all the time) and here's what I will say regarding the way I'm writing Aphrodite!Reader:

Neither the reader nor Nikto is a reliable narrator.

Aphrodite sees herself as this wonderful loving force but she still walks the battlefield, taking trophies as often as she takes lives. She views herself as innocent in all of this drama and rumors, but she's done nothing to stop them(It's nice having Ares talk about how beautiful and good in bed she is, y'know?) She loves Nikto but she also treats him a bit like a curiosity, waiting for him to come to her because, well, everyone does eventually.

And Nikto is stuck in his vision of being cast aside by the gods. He's trapped in their mockery of him, why wouldn't he assume his unwilling wife, who begged to be kept a virgin goddess right before their wedding, doesn't like him? Aphrodite forces their way into his life, into his space, disrespecting any boundaries he tries to put up, of course he's wary of them. But at the same time Nikto only sees the parts of Aphrodite that they want him to see, the soft, the gentle, the loving with sweet voices and stroking fingers, so of course he thinks they're a bad fit. He's every bit her opposite.

The Trojan war has yet to happen in the timeline of the hephaestus!Nikto anthology, but I keep thinking about it because it will feel very out of character for Aphrodite to start a war over something as petty as vanity, but that's only because we've been seeing her through her own eyes.

Also I will say I think a lot of my softening of Aphrodite comes from my disbelief at the way goddesses act within Greek mythology. You're telling me every single goddess is vain and jealous, that they can't keep their man from cheating on them, that the Goddess of love can't find anything to love in her husband, that Artemis would turn her back on her desire to remain a virgin because one guy looked at her the right way? Like the way that the goddesses are depicted just reeks of misogyny and that particular brand of ancient Greek hatred for women. IDK So excuse me for making Aphrodite a little out of character from the myths in my attempt to give her the benefit of the doubt where no man ever did.

[deoidesign]

Happy EDS awareness month!

I'm a webcomic artist with EDS. be aware.

EDS affects many parts of my life. I have chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and I need to use a cane! I often find myself ruminating on themes of chronic illness in my work, whether or not I am intending to include them.

I already can't paint anymore, it hurts my hands too much... Anything that requires small details or precise motions will hurt me for days. I have a lot of grief around it. But working digitally allows me to still create!

I animate, I illustrate, I get to tell my stories. I have to go slow, take huge breaks (often against my will) and recover slowly. But, working in this space allows me the grace to do this.

So, I just wanted to share a bit of my experience with my audience, and say thank you for reading my work and supporting me! It means the world to me, and I hope maybe someone in my audience feels a little more seen through me sharing this. It causes me pain, but I love myself; and that includes my disability.