#looking back the concept of fish divorce is so funny to me

[magnetothemagnificent]

Randomly remembered how as a kid my mom would always fast forward through the beginning of 'Finding Nemo' because she thought Coral's death was too violent, so for years I never knew why Nemo was raised by a single father and assumed Nemo's parents had gotten fish divorced and Marlin had won custody of Nemo. My dad's biological parents divorced when my dad was young, so I always knew what divorce was and I knew my Grandma had gotten primary custody of my dad, so I just assumed that's what happened with Nemo. It wasn't until years later when I watched Finding Nemo with my grandparents without my mom and they didn't know to fast forward through the beginning that I finally knew what happened to Coral and I was *devastated*.

[jade-kyo]

Season 15 post Restoration thoughts

Back when Restoration was first announced I rewatched the shisno trilogy to weigh the pros and cons of everything getting retconned. I’ve decided now that Restoration has aired to do another rewatch like that but this time more just general thoughts and headcanons

welp let’s get started!

Oh hey this is actually funny

Still say Dylan’s original cameraman was funnier, they should’ve kept him instead of Jax. Frank you will always be famous to me.

KAIKAINA MY BELOVED

Bringing back Vic was a big brained move fr

On the topic of Vic I’ve always liked the theory that he was actually one of the alpha fragments, specifically the love fragments… hmm things to consider

The whole situation on chorus is also interesting… further things to consider

Oh hey look at that Dr. Grey actually sounds like herself. What a wild concept.

The reds and blues are actually friends and act like it? WHAT A WILD CONCEPT

Grimmons closet sex you will always be famous to me

But also Church basically writing gay smut of his friends is very funny

Man this is actually funny. Wild concept.

Nah but there’s a legit joke about them getting a bad movie bro predicted the future

Canon band au

I love how all the things Carolina mentions happening are so low key compared to the others. Like yeah Grif convincing Simmons GoT was real is wild meanwhile there’s actual dinosaurs

Yeah the whole red team and blue team thing IS outdated. Concept wild.

Genuinely love how you can tell just how much Carolina loves these idiots and their shenanigans. Such a concept.

“No he means Church” frothing at the mouth

OH HEY THEY GENUINELY CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER AND ABOUT CHURCH. WILDEST OF CONCEPTS

“I’m not in the military anymore” yeah Grif that sure is a GREAT point. Concepts are wild.

But also can’t believe we’ve had to watch grimmons get divorced twice

PROTECTIVE TUCKER MY BELOVED

Dead beat dad Tucker jokes my BELOATHED

Man remembering the characters ranks. Really concept the wild.

“We’re having fish” bro why did you say it like that makes you sound like a cannibal 💀

Loco you will always be famous to me

“You don’t have to destroy the past to have a future” what a great way to show that you can let go of the past and trauma while also honoring the memories of those you lost. Concepts really do be wild sometimes.

Damn I think I’m coming back around on carwash- I am not immune to hand holding and funny take off your suit bits. Platonic or romantic they make me feral. I’ll take it either way.

Freelancer death room is a genuinely cool and fucked up scene

As much as I’m enjoying this rewatch I still can’t stand the Sarge butchering that starts in this season and just get progressively worse

SERIOUSLY VIC IS A FRAGMENT HE LITERALLY SAYS “it’s me!” IN REFERENCE TO THE ALPHA

Y’all were right Temple is totally gay for Biff

Oh god I forgot about the shitty animation

Also werent the simulation bases started after Tex fled from PF?? And also after Carolina went MIA???

Rip Biff bro did not deserve that but to be fair the second he said his girl was pregnant he was doomed by the narrative

Caboose cursing my beloved

Donut is a furry confirmed

TUCKER ASKING CABOOSE HIS THOUGHTS AND EVEN AGREEING AHDKGAKSH

While I am enjoying this rewatch I think I figured out what always bugged me about this season. The reds and blues are the wrong kind of dumb. Like yeah they’re idiots but you seriously didn’t consider once that the blues and reds might be lying to you? Especially after everything that happened on Chorus?? But especially Carolina and Wash not really questioning it??? Like idk it just feels off

Temple has so much potential as a villain cause like he’s not wrong… and I think evil sim troopers is such a cool concept…much to be considered

Oh actually acknowledging how much they’ve accomplished especially on Chorus?? Of concepts to be wild

Another thing that bugs me is this constant use of “good guy/bad guy” language. just feel off for the themes of RvB.

Ah yeah Grif’s volleyballs

Grif might be able to give Wash a run for his money on that Sarge impersonation

LOCUS!!!!!

Locus-Grif team up my beloved

METAL GEAR REFERENCE SPOTTED !

EVERYONE BEING PROTECTIVE OF CABOOSE

But also I think Caboose not understanding death is weird like yeah he’s dumb but again not that kind of dumb??? Idk just one of those things that doesn’t entirely sit right with me

I do like the interactions between him and the team tho

Loopy Wash my beloved

Again will never forgive what they did to Sarge

Locus is gonna steal yo kneecaps

Ah yes Church’s obsession with fucking up Wash continues.

Honestly in hindsight I don’t actually love Wash getting shot. It really feels like they just use him as an angst punching bag because he’s a fan favorite. And this is coming from someone who LOVES angst

Also I feel like Tucker rushing out is ooc when a big part of his arc on Chorus was him doing that, getting people killed, and then learning that sometimes you gotta think things through. Kind of the start of how they undid and then redid his arc

OKAY BUT GRIF AND TUCKER MOMENT!!!!!!

Okay again this weird insistence of all the enemies being comically evil shitty people is very antithetical to the core themes are RvB

Everybody shut the fuck up the Caboose and Tucker moment after Caboose ties the guys shoelaces together is so fucking cute holy shit I am frothing at the mouth I love them so much

My hatred for anything time travel related remains

AUDIBLE GASP

GRIMMONS WHY ARE WE HERE MOMENT MY BELOVED

Yeah Sarge your monologues ARE better. Sure wish they’d remember what those monologues actually meant for your character development. Wilds the concept huh.

Man Grif choosing to stay with his friends no matter what. Truly concept in my wilds.

LOCO NOOOOOOOOOO!!

Oh god they hit you with the Caboose feels that should be illegal

Still don’t like that Caboose got to say goodbye tho. I said it last time but it’s too- fairytale-ish. The themes of grief in rvb have always been about how it’s unfair and a lot of the times you don’t get to say goodbye and you don’t get closure but you still have to learn to let go and move on despite it all. Want it noted this is also a criticism I have of the Chex stuff in restoration.

Furthermore Tucker really was prepared to create a time paradox in order to bring back Church AND THEY JUST NEVER CIRCLED BACK AROUND TO THAT???? Bro Tucker grieves Church so much and they just never address it

Also Vic’s sacrifice is further proof that he’s an alpha fragment

GRIF SIBLINGS MY BELOVEDS!!!!!!

Dylan’s speech at the end is very good and it makes me love the simulation headcanon more cause that means it’s technically Church, or at least what Church believes/hopes the world would think of the reds and blues.

Also can’t believe Temple, Bucky, and Cronut are all still alive and they just never brought them back in any way.

ALSO CAROLINA SINGING AKHSKAHSKHDKSJ

CABOOSE DRUM SOLO

Alright then that’s seasons 15! …. On my hands and knees begging for forgiveness S15 TAKE ME BACK IM SORRY I WAS EVER MEAN TO YOU!

But in all seriousness I’m way more open to this as a possibility of what happens next than I am Restoration. This is just glorified fanfiction and like it’s fun! I have fun watching it! I’ve got my complaints but still at least it gets that these characters care about each other. It may not have the strongest writing but it’s not terrible and you’ll catch me rewatching it and enjoying it from time to time.

… do I have to watch s16- can’t I just skip it? Please no amount of Restoration sucking is going to make me like that season. I might just skip it and if I’m ever feeling more up to it I’ll circle back around to it. In all honesty I think 16 and Restoration are on the same level for me. Bad seasons that I mostly ignore but I will on very rare occasions rewatch them if not just to bitch and complain. I do think Restoration is a little better than 16 but still easily in the top 3 worst seasons of RvB.

Welp in that case you will most likely see me talking about s17 next unless I’m just really feeling the self hatred enough to watch 16

[miraruinada]

"Life is not meant to be for you to be weighed down by what surrounds you. It's not to follow the master, it's to master yourself. The world is yours, if you can grasp it. But don't forget that others exist. You have to understand they are their own masters, too."

Side A: A Chat With Iovan. Rapport-Building Chapter. Love Your Selfishness As Your Self.

"I was born in a small village called Sol en la Mar. It was named after the outcropping of rocks that had the sun framed when it set, like watching the sun fall into the sea. My mother was Almani and my father was Fusoan. That would be German and Japanese in your world. Growing up, I watched our little fishing village turn into a seaside resort. I saw how those with the power for leisure lived in comparison to the fishers of the village, and that profoundly impacted me going forward."

"Woo-hoo! I fucking love alcohol!"

"Then, looking for opportunity to fish, my father was the fisher, we moved to the islands of Aviki. I enjoyed my free time wandering the jungles there, just breathtaking tropical beauty. My father died there, and my mother remarried with a Topaxec woman. I was already a teenager by then, so I didn't really connect with her, but she moved us to the capital for her managerial work at some textile trading company. In the capital is where I finished my study on general sciences, what was back then called natural philosophy. I got a teacher's permit, but I couldn't find work as one, so I had plenty time to just spend around the city. I heard about this great wise sage, Granja, that had returned to the capital to teach at UCAT, and there I snuck into his lectures."

"Oh? You're not thinking dirty thoughts? But just from shying away, you prove you are."

"Granja considered me his star pupil, in some sense. Funny to think, since I never once paid for a lecture. Still, after classes, me and a few of his other students, the Young Farmers, would go out drinking at the local bars and get into arguments about Granja's ideas. Sometimes fights. It really hardened our ideas, but it also made us more stubborn about what we thought. Cracks started to show, differences compounded, we split apart. While Xiu and the others went to do their war, I travelled around the world for a while, married a man, got divorced, married Marie Antoinette's granddaughter, then moved into this small town called Ortiz, where I'd settle down for the rest of my life."

"I am the Great Nothing! Everything in the world belongs to me!"

"People are fucking idiots, I'll be honest. Granja was right on that. The pessimism that Granja felt stemmed from knowing that we don't really think about things. I mean, really, really think about them. I don't mean, what to do with your life, what you want to do, what you believe. I mean thinking about Things. Concepts. Ideals. Why do you want to do what you want to do, what you believe. When have you sat down and really thought about thinking itself? Granja gave that framework for me. I'm not like Xiu, I didn't go on about systems and such. I only used that framework to think about what's going on in here. The head."

"All I care about is what I feel, what I want. Don't even pretend you don't, either."

"What I discovered is that we aren't really living our lives. Not just the fishers or the peasants, but the rulers and kings, too. No, we're all haunted by ghosts. The gods, natural law, civil law, holy love, holy justice, holy whatever. They're all nothing but sanctified concepts, what I call phantasms. Do you do what you do because it's what you want, or because it's what you've been told you want? That king of logic governs not just what you see around you, but everything you don't see. When you think you've escaped reality by going into your dreams, that's just when you're even more buried in the shit stew called 'reality'. Think about it. There is nothing in this world, the physical reality, that you don't have a name for at least. That's there, but things like love? What's that, really? We name them, but they're a gap in our minds. We fill in that emptiness with meaning, so why don't we look for its meaning ourselves instead of latching on to these phantasms that chain us? The process of finding meaning is, of course, Granja's great creation. The framework he gave us."

"I'm only in it for myself, after all. I help others because it makes me feel good, it gives my life meaning."

"I'm a very passionate person. But someone's temperament doesn't mean much in the scheme of things. All I care about is pleasure. What I ended up calling 'enjoyment', that thing that gives your life meaning. I called the system of phantasms and symbols the 'big Other', after Granja's evolving idea of Subject and Other. When I declared that I am nothing, that all my ideas are created by me and therefore my property, which I can't let take control of my life, I made space for the existentialists to come onto the scene. When I studied how the mind works and why we let these ideas take hold, psychoanalysis and structuralism came into being. I would say I was pretty influential, even though my name's not as famous the others. Even Xiu took inspiration from me, after all. That brings up a point. 'I am master' doesn't mean 'you are not master'. That's not selfishness, that's solipsism. And that makes you an idiot. That, again, was Granja's biggest lesson. We're all looking to free ourselves, know ourselves, master ourselves, and that means we can't bar one another from ourselves."

"I'm bored, where's Xiu?"

"We access the world through fantasies. Reality is nothing but the phantasm you put up like a screen to escape the trauma of seeing the unfiltered real. I think the biggest misconception about my philosophy is thinking I'm insane. I mean, in some respect, I am, but I'm not saying you call yourself the Emperor and then you are, I'm just saying you should have a healthy skepticism, a bit of hysteria, about what's around you and inside you. Don't just think you're being a rebel because you're on that grindset, because you're not escaping what's keeping you in your nine to five, you're just digging yourself deeper inside it, as an example. That's what I mean when I say that in your dreams you don't escape."

"Yeah, I had a crush on Hugo. He's pretty and frail. He made me want to protect him."

"Let's take love as an example. I don't love someone because I should, I love them because I want to. I find enjoyment out of loving them, not because they're this great thing in my head, but because they're themselves, in my reality. Again, though, note that I said my reality. It's another phantasm. I just take that thought and make it mine, don't tie it down to some external meaning, it doesn't become a phantasm. We help each other because we understand we need each other, in some intrinsic level, this just gets bogged down by ideas of altruism or humanity or greater good or law or whatever. That's really my whole message, if you're looking for some life advice from me. Be selfish, but understand really why you're being selfish and what you're being selfish about. Fucking think, idiot. That's it, really."

[thinkingaboutyoungroyals]

Red String (1/4)

Summary: When T.J. was 8, he read a book about the Red Strings of Fate. And when he was 10, he started seeing strings EVERYWHERE.

A/N: I've always loved the idea of being connected to your soulmate with a Red String of Fate. I did a bit of research on them and I've read some manga that have them as a theme. So, I took some liberties on how they work here and I'm still figuring it out along the way but I hope I'm able to convey them in a justified manner.

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Chapter 1: Black String

When T.J. was 8, he stumbled upon a book in his mother’s bookshelf. The cover was pretty – it had flowers, a cat, and a funny looking face and it was splashed in colors of black, white, and red. When he opened it up and started to read, it talked about something called “The Red String Of Fate”.

This string or thread runs from your heart to your pinky finger and stretches further on through time, space, and distance. And at the end of that string is your fated person, someone who is meant to stay by your side for the rest of your life.

The concept excited 8-year-old T.J. that he ended up tying a red piece of thread in each of his parents’ pinky fingers. They had been fighting a lot and he hoped that the string would keep them together.

When T.J. was 10, his parents divorced, he moved with his mother to Shadyside, and he started seeing strings…everywhere.

Some were red, others were blue, and there were some black ones. Some were strong and firm, others were tattered and hanging by a thread (literally), and some were broken beyond repair. Some people had multiple strings on all of their fingers while others only had a few, even just one.

By this time, he was old enough to know that this was something that only he (as far as he knew) was able to do: see the strings of fate. It was strange and he had no idea why he could see them and what any of the colors meant. There weren’t exactly books that detailed such an ability, aside from the one he found about the Red String, and the internet was no help, either. And it seemed like the strings were more complicated compared to how the book he read when he was 8 described them.

T.J. may not be the smartest kid in class, but he wasn’t exactly dumb. So, he made his own observations, jotting them down in a little notebook.

By the time he was 13, he almost figured everything out.

Red strings were for love, obviously, and they’re on your pinky finger. Blue strings were for platonic love like family and friends and usually found on your pointer or thumb. And black strings were for hate, tied around your middle finger.

Sometimes, strings would break and re-thread with someone else. For example, his mother’s red string was broken after the divorce and for a year, just limply hung there. And, then, one day, she came home with a smile and a brand new, re-threaded string. She had just met her soon-to-be boyfriend who was going to be like a second dad to T.J.

Sometimes, strings would change color and slowly move its way to another finger. For example, his father’s red string had faded into blue and moved to his thumb. Right after that, he filed for a divorce.

And, sometimes, strings would disappear forever. Like T.J.’s fourth blue string when his grandfather passed away.

And he discovered that the stronger the feeling, the brighter the color. But when those feelings start fading, so did the color of the strings.

T.J. had three – blue for his parents and his grandmother - all on this thumbs. Black strings would appear now and then on his middle finger but would eventually disappear when he stopped caring. However, his pinky finger remained empty.

Soon, seeing strings form, break, and disappear just became another normal day for T.J. He never interfered in anyone's business, though. It was up to those people to maintain the quality and strength of their strings, not his.

Sometimes, though, he found himself jealous of people with so many strings that you couldn’t even see the tips of their fingers. Despite having “friends”, none of them developed a blue string with him. That was how he knew they weren’t genuine and they were all just using each other, somehow. Sometimes, T.J. wished he didn’t know. Sometimes, he wished he couldn’t see the strings. They burdened him, sometimes.

Kids his age were starting to have their red strings appear. And even if they couldn’t see it, T.J. could. He could see the girls giggling among themselves when a friend’s crush passes them, their strings bright and connected because the crush was mutual, but they didn’t know it. He even witnessed a boy’s broken red string sadly hanging from his pinky as he stared at another boy across the hall, talking to a girl. 

A lot of red strings were broken, in fact - unrequited crushes. Normal for middle-school kids. Most of those strings would disappear, eventually. And, sometimes, a new one would pop up - a new crush.

Meanwhile, T.J.’s pinky remained empty. He wondered if he was ever going to have his own red string. Not even a broken one for him. Maybe because he didn’t really like anyone.

And, then, one day, he developed a new string but not one he expected: a black string. He hadn’t had a black string in a while. And all because the basketball team’s new player, Buffy, was better than he was. He could see the feeling was mutual. Along with several blue strings and one red one, he could see a black string on her middle finger.

He watched as she lined up for breakfast with a friend, wondering how to approach her when he loathed her presence so much. As he walked closer, he gave his own black string a small tug. She raised her eyes in his direction and rolled her eyes.

“Incoming,” she murmured to her friend.

“This is how it is, Buffy,” T.J. spat out. “You have to tutor me.” He tried to look more intimidating. “I’m team captain.”

She smiled with poison at him. “Sure, T.J. Here’s your first lesson: X times Y equals ain’t gonna happen!”

And it resulted in another bickering session between them. He didn’t know why she rubbed him the wrong way but she just did. Maybe his insecurities flared whenever she was around. Maybe he was jealous of all those strings on her fingers. Whatever the reason, he couldn’t back down.

He ended up making a deal to pass the ball to her in exchange for tutoring. As well as one more thing.

“You get my friend, Cyrus, here, a chocolate-chocolate chip muffin.”

She pulled said friend to her side. The smaller boy squeaked in surprise, his brown eyes connecting with T.J.’s. What a funny little guy. His fingers were covered in blue strings and his pinky had a lone broken red string.

T.J.’s own fingers twitched.

“Then we have a deal.”

“You can’t get your own muffin?” T.J. blurted out, amused.

“I didn’t need this extra level of humiliation,” the boy said to Buffy before turning to T.J. with a sheepish smile. “But, no.”

T.J. didn’t know what made him do it. It was so easy to just walk over, grab him a muffin, and the deal was done. But he ended up teaching the kid how to fish, to walk to the muffin like it was his, and just take it.

And he didn’t know what made him stalk over when the other students began protesting and announce, “He’s with me.” Even though this kid, Cyrus, wasn’t with him. He was just using him to get Buffy to tutor him so he could pass his stupid Math class.

It wasn’t until he was at his locker, switching his books, that he finally noticed it. He couldn’t believe that he didn’t even feel it. And he was more confused than ever at seeing it.

A short pink string was hanging from his pinky.

[gullethead]

okay a few mutuals liked this, thats enough to make me elaborate. keep in mind this is a nearly four-year-old elaborate fantasy setting made by five people smashing concepts together (based in but not exclusively made for d&d) with a ton of intricately woven character relationships so sorry if this gets confusing at all and PLEASE ask clarifying questions

warning for lots of mentions of lots of kinds of violence

so. lets talk about Helgrid and Holy.

Helgrid Mulpherik (who belongs to Fish @fish-mouth, as do all the characters here besides Holy and the other PCs mentioned much later) is a 6'11 middle aged half-goliath werewolf dysphoric lesbian divorcee, and at one point was a paladin who served as a gatekeeper in this city called Yennisveg. that's where she was when this enormous attack called the Siege of Yennisveg happened, where a magical curse in the form of a cloud swept through the outer city and caused people to attack viciously. Helgrid was responsible for keeping the gate closed to save most of the city, and killed people who were controlled by the curse to do it - which, even on top of how incredibly traumatizing that was in itself, also earned her the ire of a lot of people in Yennisveg for her part in those deaths and sent her into a depressive spiral. this led to her divorce, and at some point she moved to this quiet village by the sea called Hazelwood and joined the town guard.

fast forward roughly a decade. Helgrid's ex-wife Jeramina and family, including Helgrid's adoptive younger sister/niece Svera (who was coparented by her ex-wife and her paladin mentor who's kind of like her father figure. its a LONG story) have moved to Hazelwood, and Svera has taken to (or, fucked in the woods, then Vegas-married, then divorced, then gotten back together with on much more healthy ground) this up-and-coming tiefling paladin named Holy Light of the Sacred Flame, who technically started living in Hazelwood on assignment but has mostly just been adrift and searching for a purpose. Helgrid takes a shine to Holy and starts mentoring her, helping her focus her anger issues into actually helping and protecting people, which she put to good use during another major crisis in Yennisveg where she was one of the people responsible for putting down a massive demon.

now, Holy is an interesting character to me, because she's definitely... good-natured. she's loud and boisterous but also just. genuinely kind and funny and loving. but she also has a tendency to solve problems with brute force and sees the world in extreme black and white - not just "good" and "evil," but in general seeing things as arbitrary categories. like, as an example, a running joke is that she sees all vampires as 'monsters,' but not werewolves, because vampires are monsters all the time while werewolves are more like regular people who have a curse. she has no PROBLEM with vampires, that's just how she categorizes things.

this brings us to now, which is the campaign Fish is running, a CoS hack called Curse of Venari which is similar to the original campaign but works in our characters and has significantly less racism and sexual violence. Holy is one of four of the player characters who've found themselves in Barovia, which is partially populated with hollow, alternate versions of people they know in the real world. one of these people is her brother-in-law Orek, who she'd found... having been transformed into a vampire. and stuck at the bottom of a lake in a sarcophagus. for twenty years. and currently has stuck in his chest the hilt of the Sunsword, which they were looking for when they found him. pretty much the party's only option at that point had been to mercy kill him, which involved Holy slowly severing his neck with a dagger as he quietly begged her not to. this is how the last session ended.

now bear in mind, this campaign is really the first time Holy's ever been... on her own? because her companions are 1) a fellow monster hunter who doesn't know her that well, 2) a brother-in-law-twice-removed who's a complete pushover, and 3) a brother-in-law-once-removed who's totally checked out of the situation, so there's nobody to really keep her in check. which means that for the first time in her life, Holy has to actually mature on her own and come to terms with the fact that her actions have consequences. and that's, like, an inevitable and always-difficult part of growing up, but... it's now coupled with the act of brutally killing (a version of) one of her best friends, and the nagging doubt about whether he really needed to die, which then makes her question her black-and-white view of what a 'monster' is

and the crazy part about all of this is that Helgrid specifically wanted to avoid these kinds of traumas when she was training Holy, but that's simply not possible when you're dealing with violence. is the kind of violence that Holy and Helgrid do, the violence of protecting others, necessary? maybe. but it's also inevitably destructive and traumatizing for everyone involved by the very nature of violence. if Holy had been trained, but never experienced this kind of tragedy, she'd just be another person who glorifies the idea of violence with no concept of the consequences.

this comic essentially sums up my thoughts on their relationship best:

thinking about my and my friends ocs and the idea of violence as both a necessary evil and inherently traumatizing to all involved and going craaaazyyyy

[titles-for-tangents]

OP you literally had a parallel experience to most of us in the U.S. not knowing the first ten minutes of Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back were cut from the film.

Randomly remembered how as a kid my mom would always fast forward through the beginning of 'Finding Nemo' because she thought Coral's death was too violent, so for years I never knew why Nemo was raised by a single father and assumed Nemo's parents had gotten fish divorced and Marlin had won custody of Nemo. My dad's biological parents divorced when my dad was young, so I always knew what divorce was and I knew my Grandma had gotten primary custody of my dad, so I just assumed that's what happened with Nemo. It wasn't until years later when I watched Finding Nemo with my grandparents without my mom and they didn't know to fast forward through the beginning that I finally knew what happened to Coral and I was *devastated*.