#man theres so many tags

[isjasz]

[Day 358]

💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

[stiffyck]

I WISH ARO HEADCANONS WERE MORE POPULAR IN FANDOMS

[butterflies-and-mirrors]

I've lost count of how many of these I've made atp

[cosmocove]

but my heart is like a claw machine

[assassin-artist]

relationship chart for Mercy. used with permission, OG belongs to anghelikko on twitter!

quick explanations of each relationship under the cut (:

Cecil is the closest adult in her life at this point I think, so he gets a mix of trust and friendship from her. There's no friendship on his end not because he doesn't care about her on a personal level, but because he sees her more as a troubled child that he needs to look after than an equal to build a friendship on. There's trust on both ends because, despite the fact that Cecil is probably wary of both the twins + Oliver due to their father's actions, I think Mercy's willingness to understand Cecil's point of view with working with criminals and using whatever he has available has gone a looong way to making him respect her a lot more. He sees that she's open-minded and reasonable and it gives him a big sense of safety around her that he didn't have around the acting-on-moral-impulse Invincible.

Donald/Mercy is equally neutral and trust on both ends. I think Cecil would want to always be the one interacting with Mercy in order to build as much personal rapport as possible with this Viltrumite, so I doubt she interacts with Donald a ton outside of him occasionally giving her orders if Cecil is too busy.

William and Amber both get friendship with a bit of trust towards her. I think William has always been more of Mark's friend than Mercy's friend, so although they're somewhat close, they've drifted apart over the recent years and don't consider each other best friends or anything. She was decently close with Amber after the truth about Mark's identity came out (because as soon as Amber knew who Invincible was, she could put two and two together about the twin heroes...), but after the breakup and the split between the twins, I think Mercy would pull away from her because she just feels awkward about it all. They both trust her though because they know she's a hero and that she's doing her best to protect the world.

She's pretty neutral about Paul. Probably sees him very rarely, much rarer than Mark sees him because she's moved out and doesn't come back to the house very often. So I think he'd have to catch her by asking her to have lunch with him or something so they could get to know each other a bit lol. He wants to have a closer relationship to her because of course he wants to befriend his girlfriend's kids, but I don't think Mercy is that interested in it. I think in general she pulls away from a lot of friendships with non-heroes because she's always worried about getting them into trouble. She'd prefer to just be close with other heroes so she knows they can handle themselves if her and Mark's enemies come knocking.

Powerplex is a more obvious answer, I think. I think he hates Mark more than her because he would have personally seen Mark and Nolan fighting on that day, but Mercy probably wasn't there at the exact same time for him to see her and associate her with the trauma, even though it was well known that both of the twin heroes were there on that day. So he still hates her, thinks of her as a hero who gets a lot of people killed, but most of his anger is focused towards her brother. Mercy hates him because he's an unstable villain and he has a personal vendetta against her and her brother.

She's sort of neutral but leaning towards being friends with Allen. Allen would know about her hero and personal identity thanks to Mark being a little snitch, which she was mad about, but she figured that she could let it go because he's an alien so it's not like he's going to be telling reporters about her name or anything. I think they have few interactions together, but the few times they do talk with each other, it's generally a positive interaction. Allen understands Mercy's hatred of Nolan, even if he himself sees a chance of redemption for the man. Their relationship miiight be subject to change after Mercy learns about Allen's befriending and saving her father's life.. we'll have to see.

Now, Nolan himself... I've talked a looot about her relationship and thoughts about her father both before and after the betrayal. She loved him, was a total daddy's girl, and that was all wiped away the day he killed and abandoned her. Now she hates him and wants him dead, there's NO room in her heart for forgiveness towards him. Nolan probably hears from Mark (while they were on Thraxa together) that Mercy has NO intention of ever forgiving him for what he did, that she still hates him with a passion as if his betrayal was just yesterday, AND that she's been on a serious training regimen with the GDA for like 2 years since he left, and he goes "ummm haha i sure hope my daughter doesnt try to kill me like i tried to kill her. oh. hrmm. uh oh". I don't think he's scared in the sense that he thinks she could kill him - I think he's scared mostly because he doesn't want to fight again. Because there's so much hatred in her that a potential second fight can't end on a peaceful note. Someone is going to get seriously hurt or killed. He doesn't want that to be him (he needs to protect those he loves from his own people, after all) but he cant bring himself to do that to her again.. so there's fear at the idea of ever meeting her again.

Oliver and Debbie's relationships to Mercy have also been talked about a lot so I'll just give a very quick summary. Mercy loves them both, but her relationship with her mom is strained because of all the trauma of Nolan's actions, and Mercy moving out of the house or always being busy with GDA work means they don't talk that much anymore. She hated Oliver in the beginning bc he's a reminder of her father's abandonment and she saw him as a 'replacement' for Nolan's 'failed children', but then she put that aside and grew to love him as her brother. Recently, with his admiration of their father and going by kid-omni man, she has grown to fear that he would become just like Nolan.

Now the second chart... this is already getting pretty long lol, even though I'm trying to keep it to just one paragraph per relationship.. Sorry I got so much yapper DNA in me

Mark - their relationship has also been talked about a lot. They were very close twins, they remained close even after Nolan's betrayal and abandonment. But Mark began to forgive their father, to believe that he's a changed man who deserves redemption, and Mercy hates their father too much to ever believe that. The worst strain on their relationship was Mark leaving the GDA after the fight, but Mercy chose to stay. I think Mark would have considered that something like a personal betrayal. They're both very hurt right now.

Eve and Rex were Mercy's friends before all the trauma and splitting, and although their relationships with each other have been through some ups and downs, I think they still care about her and trust her as a hero. Even though both Eve and Rex agreed that she shouldn't have stayed with the GDA after the splitting, they still retain their strained friendship with her I think.

Amanda used to be someone Mercy admired as a hero, and they were sort of like close coworkers before, but after the GDA split I think Amanda would be angry at Mercy for staying. Amanda probably would have said something hurtful - something about how she can't believe Mercy would work for someone who 'tried to kill her brother' - and it would upset Mercy a lot and make her pull away. Very little interactions after the split, so they're both sore at each other still, but there's just enough of that old respect there to not be outright hatred.

Mercy hates Immortal. She put up with his distrust for a while, but one day came where he compared her to her father, or implied that she would betray them just like Omni-Man did, and that was the last straw for her. I think they would have gotten into a physical fight over something like that, so now she just avoids him altogether to not get into another fight. She would pummel him for what he said, it's just that she doesn't want to get in trouble with Cecil for it lol

Black Samson has her respect both because of his status as an original member of the Guardians, and because he chose to stay with the GDA after the split. She looks up to him for guidance sometimes, and he tries to give good advice to this young hero. There's not a personal relationship there, just a good working relationship.

Robot still has a trusting, friendly relationship with Mercy even after leaving the GDA. Amanda was very angry at Cecil and chose to leave bc she hated/distrusted him, but Rudy seemed neutral about it and it looked like he only left because he wanted to go with Amanda.. so I think Robot wouldn't blame her for staying and they could keep a friendly relationship. I think Mercy could still go to him for help if she needed something from him, and he still trusts her instincts and judgment as a hero.

Shapesmith really likes Mercy because she's very nice to him, I stated before that she probably shares her food with him whenever they're having lunch. She'd be patient enough to explain Earth things to him that he's confused about, and I think she'd be curious and want to know more about Mars from him too. She thinks he's pretty naive so there isn't a lot of trust in his instincts as a hero, but she still recognizes that he's pretty tough and can hold his own in a fight.

Dupli-Kate mostly has a neutral relationship with Mercy because they don't interact much in general, but when they do, it doesn't tend to be positive. Kate has the habit of saying mean things sometimes, and Mercy is just high-strung enough by season 3 that she'll shoot back with something just as mean. So the two of them often insult each other and just generally have a negative relationship.

Bulletproof's relationship is mostly neutral, but with him being one of the only flying heroes meant that they probably interacted while on missions more than she did with other heroes. Others had to drive or be flown, but the two of them could fly through the air and chat while on the move. Not a personal relationship, just... marginally closer than most of the others. They both trust each other's instincts and strength.

[razberrypuck]

okay but fiddleford was raised christian, is from a small town in the bible belt, AND lived in the 80s do you understand how much internalized homophobia this man must've had. like yeah he was super obvious about his feelings for ford, but god knows he was never gonna SAY anything -- how could he??

he's a married man. he's a father. willing to go out-of-state for work, sure, but he'd never hurt them like that. he never could. and even aside from everything previously mentioned, ford was his first and likely one of his only friends, he wouldn't wanna ruin that for some dumb fantasy. no, fiddleford just has to focus on being a better partner. that's all this is, and that's all it ever will be. he just needs to get that through his skull, and stop thinking about ford so damn much.

thankfully, he's gotten over most that stuff by now. ain't nothing gonna make mcgucket be ashamed of being himself anymore, but you sure as hell can try.

[phonification]

doodle dump because i will not finish these evar!!!!!!!!!!

[saewokhrisz]

daan warmup

[traf-gorbaf]

Komahina but Hajime dies 😭

i drew this before AHAKHGAKGHAKA its set post game, in game would be interesting to explore too ohhh....

i also have this which isnt exactly mcd but hes almost there ohhhhh

[mikuhats]

They are so cute!!!!!!!!

[strawglicks]

welcome to the Coal & Ice District!

[intotheelliwoods]

Hello hello, arc 2, I will have fun with you

Parallels how I love you

Masterpost

[wackywatchdotcom]

something i genuinely adore about tadc is how painfully flawed everyone in the circus is. and not in a small way

everyone does SOMETHING that negatively impacts the others. but it makes the fact that you are supposed to sympathize with and really connect with them all the more potent. because its easy to want to put a bunch of characters in a bad situation together and to just have them all be nice to each other and everyone and never make mistakes because theres no reason to hurt each other, and most of them dont TRY to, but the way they cope is so, so realistic for each of their personalities, and it doesnt always mesh with the others, and sometimes it exceeds self destructive and Just Hurts Others, Too

they still generally care about each other and the mistakes they make and the ways they end up hurting each other dont lose their weight but like. it doesnt take away from their humanity and the fact that they are all trying so hard to manage in an awful situation

and the characters seem to have sooome sort of understanding of this too. not fully, because the characters dont tend to be 100% communicative, but when they hurt each other, it often makes EVERYONE uncomfortable. because these are the only people they have. these are their friends. and theyre all coping. but it doesnt change how much it affects them (best illustrated by ragathas lines at the start of ep 2 or gangles 'i love her, but after a while it gets kinda hard to tell how genuine shes actually being'). its not all like this, theres a good amnt of variety, but characters knowing this but not really knowing what to do about it is very painful in an effective way

(i think a subtle example of this is how zooble handles gangles situation in ep 4- they were so genuinely trying to help her because they care. but could tell as the day went on that oh, this is not working at all and its making things worse, and they leave gangle alone- something that very genuinely couldve been the moment she abstracted, because of the mask zooble gave her- and we dont get to have a super blatant explanation of zoobles thoughts on it, but they reach a fairly healthy conclusion about it that helps both of them, and i like that a lot, because on paper zooble could be placed at fault but the narrative doesnt dwell on it excessively, because thats not the point. i dont know if that tangent makes sense but i think about it sometimes. i think zooble wasnt 'to blame' but it was still a mistake, which is a hard balance to strike, and having them help at the end feels extremely effective at rounding it off!!!)

but like. in general its complicated balancing making characters in a bad situation act flawed because it can run the risk of seeming like the story is scolding them or blaming them for the situation theyre in, or like youre expected to not sympathize with them despite it (though the inverse also has complications- if characters in a bad situation never mess up, it feels unrealistic and hard to relate to, and can imply that their innocence is why whats happening to them is bad at all), but the show handles it so well

even the characters who are genuinely trying all try in different ways- some of them have similar outlooks or attitudes towards these thing but theres vital differences for ALL of them- sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. in fact some of the more painful mistakes characters have made in the show have come from them so genuinely trying (like the thing i mentioned w zooble, or basically Everything Ragatha Does, or pomnis first attempt at helping gangle, etc), which hits harder than if every mistake characters made had wholly selfish and cruel goals.

i mean, there is a selfishness to many of the characters' actions but imo not in a way thats not warranted. because all of them are in a horrible setting. its uncomfortable to watch characters be selfish. but it is a natural instinct to survive. its not the foundation of most of their actions, but when it is, its uncomfortable but hard to completely disparage them for in a way that makes you feel kinda conflicted

and like. it hurts to be doing your best and for that to make things worse, but its what happens often in the show. because no one in a bad situation is gonna handle it well. by the very nature of trying to survive something is gonna give, but it makes the themes of the show so much more powerful. that making sure the people around you dont feel unloved, cherishing them and finding meaning with others is no less important just because everyone is fucking up. it complicates things, for sure, but it doesnt make those characters exempt fromt this. theres a reason pomni tells gummigoo that she doesnt want "anyone" to feel like theyre nothing, and that kinger doesnt add ANY quallifiers to making sure people feel wanted and loved (not that i think either of them were thinking SUPER super hard, but it conveys smth from the perspective of the narrative

it gets complicated when you add in jax for sure, since i think on the surface he IS the exception to this concept- none of the characters like him, including pomni or kinger. but i think this is something thats gonna be examined further down the line, bc hes the main complicating factor in this reading of the show, but i feel like thats on purpose. hes universally disliked (and so is caine, in a different way) and his actions arent mistakes. they are him coping. the show has made it clear that he can be a complex person AND also a piece of shit. his actions dont detract from the fact that hes a person and the show reminds us of this. so it makes things so messy, but im genuinely super excited to see how the show examines that. where his character goes is, imo, going to be a massive piece of how this show fleshes out this concept

[callofwinter]

These are some drawings I’ve made over the past few months of songs as dragons! Most of their colors are based off their album covers, but if not, then they’re based off of the color/vibe they give. Originally I was going to post these one per day but I don’t have the patience for that so…here you go

[tumblweeds-omegaverse]

random omegaverse thought:

There must be people who experience specific instinct things with indifference or boredom.

Procreative cycle coming up? "Crap, I've got plans this weekend...stupid skip weeks."

Caught an intriguing scent while walking? "But I need to get to work! Shut up brain."

Had a snap response to a distressed sound? "Who was it?! ...right, it's my day off, I can go back to sleep."

Somebody growled at them? "Kid, I'm not a rival, that's my sibling."

Super cozy cuddle session happening nearby? "I'm gonna pass tonight guys, no social battery left, maybe next time."

Group of friends heading out to flirt and check out other singles? "I'm coming with you but only to make sure you all get home safe."

Setting where fated mates or soul bonds or permanent marks are a thing? "Meh. I don't really want one or care if I ever get one."

People in the actual omegaverse would get as bored of their stuff, as we do of ours, you know? It could be interesting to see that kind of vibe in fics. Biological demands faced with all the excitement of paying bills or doing laundry or tying your shoes.

Even if that kind of energy might not drive a plot, it could be interesting to have as a contrast to the people who do have big feelings about them - good or bad.

There's the friends who can't wait til they have a pack of their own, and the one friend who isn't against it but couldn't care less. There's the group in the office who are all about scent compatibility tests and figuring out one's best match and what sprays most highlight it, and the coworker who has no intentions on putting that much effort in. There are parents who hover and protect their offspring by scenting them multiple times a day, and others who don't see what the fuss is as long as it's done in the morning.

...also: packs with introverts who show care by giving each other space. So often, closeness is depicted through physical touch and tactile affection, but comfortable silence is meaningful too. Knowing people are near, but not having to interact until you're ready. Sitting in the same room doing different things, knowing that all it takes is a "hey, look at this" to share what you're up to. People understanding and accepting each other's differing or fluctuating needs for how and when to recharge. Seeing somebody reaching out or sharing space, beyond what's their norm, as a signal of the fact that they care.

[silasplaskett]

so many people do not understand langdons adhd the way that i do and i dont even have adhd so im humbly requesting that everyone else step it up