#my c!prime thoughts

[stemms]

I believe that c!Tommy’s kleptomania is one of the most fascinating and heartbreaking parts of his personality, as it adds layers to his character, and explains certain parts of the lore that some people seem to consider a simple bad habit and display of his childishness. I would like to elaborate on that further and explore the way it changed in the exile arc.

To begin with, c!Tommy has been suffering from kleptomania ever since s1, but contrary to popular belief, he had no malicious intentions. From the very beginning of the server, he was already severely traumatised to the point of having PTSD and lacked self-worth. So, understandably enough, he was craving something to make up for his self-hatred, and robbery became that thing. c!Tommy would mostly steal insignificant things because what truly mattered was the amount of things he possessed, not their value or rarity. After all, if he had a large number of objects in his possession, it meant that he was worthy, and nothing else truly mattered.

Since the very beginning of exile, despite his need to acquire items to stabilise his extreme self-hatred, c!Tommy adamantly refused to accept anything from his visitors because he couldn’t help but assume that the gifts in question were “pity items”, and being pitied was one of the things he hated the most. As his exile went on, the belief that no one cared enough to offer him a gift out of genuine care, only grew stronger due to c!Dream’s manipulation, c!Tommy’s severe loneliness, and the heartbreak of the Beach Party. However, with time, the blond has grown to trust someone other than c!Dream — c!Ranboo. Eventually, he allowed the enderman hybrid to offer him things, as long as he promised that his gifts came from the heart. As much as c!Tommy attempted to hide his true feelings, he cherished every single object received from c!Ranboo. These weren’t just objects, like the ones he’d often steal from people to feel worthy — these served as a reminder that there was something to live for, and at least, someone other than c!Dream genuinely cared about him.

Considering that c!Dream has been obsessed with c!Tommy ever since s1 (which included living in his walls and stalking him) and used his kleptomania and “destructive nature” as an argument to get him exiled from L’Manberg, he certainly was aware of the boy’s insecurity, and was looking forward to exploiting it to the fullest to break- no, shatter him :)

The daily routine of discarding his objects hurt c!Tommy far more than we could’ve imagined, because if we keep his deep self-hatred in mind, he didn’t simply find it upsetting due to being stuck in the cycle of obtaining and destroying his items — it was something more than that. Every lost item equaled a tiny shard of c!Tommy’s self-worth, and soon enough, there was almost Nothing left; he was nothing but an empty shell.

Understandably enough, with time, the teenager has grown to believe that he wasn’t worthy to possess anything valuable of his own — he was meant to earn every little thing, and his best friend tormentor couldn’t be more pleased :) :) :)

[stemms]

I hc c!Tommy as a nonbinary transmasc too, except he’s aroace and goes by he/they/it + neos. I have many neos ideas and their interpretations, so I’d like to ramble about them for a bit, if it’s okay, hehe :)

I imagine that c!Tommy started using neos in exile, since it was the time when his entire personality significantly changed to become what c!Dream wanted him to be. So, I imagine that it affected his perception of his gender as well. Because c!Dream sometimes called c!Tommy his little bug, the boy subconsciously started referring to himself as bug/bugs/bugself. As the exile went on and his conditioning heightened, he also began using nuisance/nuisances/nuisanceself, mutt/mutts/muttself, and thing/things/thingself.

In the vengeance era, c!Tommy used racc/raccs/raccself because c!Techno jokingly compared him to a raccoon, as well as axe/axes because he was slowly but surely overcoming his trauma; it was his way of changing the meaning behind an axe. He also used fly/flight/flightself because he was free as a bird without c!Dream by his side.

In the prison arc, c!Tommy used moth/moths/mothself because no matter how hard he tried to resist c!Dream and pretend not to notice him, the moment the man said anything, the teen would respond with a violent outburst, akin to a moth drawn to a flame. He also used cage/cages/cageself (but only in his mind because he'd rather die than admit his fear to c!Dream) because he felt like a prey animal trapped inside a cage with a predator impatiently waiting to devour him.

i love when ppl trans ctommy in anyway they want . to me ctommy is a nonbinary transmasc lesbian (mostly) but i loaf seeing other interpretations. We all know that fella is TRANSGENDER!!!!!

[stemms]

The wildest thing about c!Dream’s “…and you.” is that this freak of a man must’ve interpreted this borderline Fucked Up™ and possessive phrase as a tragic and sweet “You’ve hurt me, but I still think about you” moment in the what-could’ve-happened sense.

What makes it even worse is that this idea may’ve stemmed from the way c!Tommy was always willing to forgive everyone around him, no matter how badly they hurt him, starting with c!Wilbur, and ending with c!Dream. So, following this logic, c!Tommy’s kind nature inspired that unhealthy thought pattern, and indirectly heightened the man’s obsession with him.

c!Dream was always known for twisting every little positive thing in c!Tommy’s life into something horrific, after all…

And every time he succeeded, the blond’s distress could be compared to the tastiest meal he’d ever had.

He could never get enough of it, and only keep on craving more…

More, more, and more…

If it wasn’t for Doomsday, c!Tommy and c!Dream could’ve become friends after exile, despite it being one of the most stressful events in the teen’s life.

His heart was simply too big for this server, and the Admin wished to devour it.

But unfortunately for c!Dream, he overestimated and took c!Tommy’s kindness for granted, losing the access to it forever after pushing him too far.

Still, it was true that they both couldn’t stop thinking about each other, despite hurting each other; almost as if they were tied by fate, and meant to always stay together.

If c!Tommy truly hated c!Dream’s guts, why would he keep on remembering him and the fun time they had together?

Sometimes, these thoughts would cause the teen to cry for hours, making him too perplexed to understand whether he’d like to be far away from his friend captor, or enveloped in his soothing bruising hug.

After all, if it’s not proof that he belongs to c!Dream, then what is? :) :) :)

[guildling]

i appreciate him very much

[hercarisntyours]

TFONE SPOILERS

what if orion died when megatron dropped him and he never became optimus and then he haunted megatron for the rest of time being a little fucking shit and menace like heather chandler is to veronica sawyer in heathers the musical

[stemms]

Imagine c!Dream grabbing c!Tommy by the shoulder during the Logsted chase and slightly applying more and more pressure on the scar, which not only would be physically painful and uncomfortable, but would also bring back all the horrifying memories c!Tommy wished he could forget :) :) :)

After having escaped c!Dream, whenever c!Tommy accidentally touched his shoulder, the phantom pain not only reminded him of exile, but also of the Logsted chase. It often resulted in panic attacks because it almost felt like his abuser was still there, taunting him, touching him like he was his property, and attempting to kidnap him again :) :) :)

headcanon that c!tommy has two big scars from when c!dream hit him with an axe during exile, one across his collarbone and one on his shoulder. they’re ugly and jagged and never quite healed right, and they’re irritated by the slightest touch. whenever they ache it makes c!tommy think back to exile, of smoke and gunpowder and pain, and he hates it so, so much.

[w-248]

((Theory: Diane knew about Prime))

((We are close to season 8 but it might be ok to point I point some season 7 facts.)) ((This is a theory I throw out of of my ass just after shower but I do have suspicions Diane knew about the existence of Prime.)) ((One reason but not the most obvious is: why Prime would go drastic and go directly go bomb Diane and Beth?))

((You might tell me "Yeah but Rick Prime is a psychopath". Yes he is but at the same time we saw Rick Prime is not someone who can take time to plan things even if it takes years in making. But also structures -as much as physical than social- which did last also years like the structure that led later to what was to the Citadel. What I'm saying is he is a psychopath but also it has a certain logic, reflexion and dedication for him to do it. Like to hold it so well it also means Rick Prime didn't go radical every time he had a disagreement with someone. In fact, you can say he decided to go radical for 1,5 reasons: Rick C-137 choosing Diane and the 0;5 reason would be Ricks choosing Diane in general.))

(( Which leads me to another point: Rick Prime and Rick C-137 looked like they knew eachother for a long time looking at the memories and their dialogue during their fights. Rick Prime didn't decide to throw a bomb just after a one time disagreement. ))

(( Now how is this related to Diane knowing Rick Prime ? First let's come back to to the fear hole where writters said they wrote Diane the way they imagine her to be:))

(( It is a creation to the fear hole, but basing on what the writers said, it is also very possible she was fearless enough to go to adventures with Rick C-137. And that means knowing at least aliens... So why wouldn't she know about the possibility of a multiverse with multiple version of her husband?)) ((Coming back to why the bomb after this last fight, if we consider Prime and C-137 were not just fighting once, this means Prime took time to try to convince C-137. Considering Primed decided to play dirty at the end throwing the bomb, what tells you he didn't try to push away Diane by convincing her? Like for example prove your husband he is a cheater and this didn't work. It also could be he threw a bomb ar her because she was the one who gave the best arguments.)) ((But if you are not convinced Diane knew Prime, Prime at least knew her. Like for example he made bots really looking like her:))

((He also copied her voice way better than C-137 did. And to say Rick Prime knew her, when the round bot Diane said "you suck at eating pussy!" Rick C-137 didn't look shocked. But more, he replied "I know you said it to be hurful, but I won't deny it. I was young".))

((Here is Rick 1.approving a fact and 2. That means Rick Prime knew his Diane, and not just Dianes in general, was displeased. ))

((Rick Prime may have an obssesion with Dianes, but for me Rick Prime sure knew what C-137 Diane didn't like about Rick C-137.))

((Thought those are like, just shower thoughts and maybe my theory won't be true. But I don't think Diane was stupid and not as ignorant as we may portrait her for now and I do see her as one of the first true rivals to Rick Prime.))

[dontfuckingestablishcanonicalbac]

the reveal in unmortricken that universes outside the central finite curve are just... inventing interdimensional travel all the fucking time is absolutely insane. like we know the central finite curve is just a tower the ricks built to place themselves forever on top, but the sheer number of people who have invented portal travel in other universes is completely mindblowing to me. all the portals are different styles, different colours - are these all different inventors across different collections of dimensions? it's unregulated, it's rick-free, it's only shown for like 30 seconds throughout the episode, and it's not even mentioned. i know we already know this, but rick sanchez really isn't the unique genius he pretends himself to be.

[britneyshakespeare]

i'm very interested what ppl find to be the harder shakespeare plays and which they found to be easier. bc i was googling out of curiosity and i found a sparknotes article (link if you're curious) that ranked ten of the most commonly-read plays on difficulty and it put king lear kinda down low whereas it put julius caesar pretty high because of the politics/complicated conflicts. that kind of baffled me because julius caesar was the first tragedy i read outside of the classroom and i found it very approachable; it's one i often recommend to people trying to get into shakespeare because the plot is already familiar to most ppl and you can just enjoy the poetry and how shakespeare chooses to characterize these figures. on the other hand i read king lear a few years later in my shakespeare journey, and to be honest i still kind of have a hard time with lear. maybe i just don't connect with it on some level; i'm not sure. it's not a very tightly-organized play where the action is as centered as in the other tragedies like hamlet or macbeth. that's certainly a me thing and maybe that'll change with age. but i'm always a little surprised when i find someone's experience with the plays so much different than mine.

anyway if you're reading this feel free to reblog and tag or comment which shakespeare plays you found yourself falling into most naturally and which worlds you felt like you had to force yourself into. i'm interested in what ppl feel on this subject

[stemms]

I’m glad you agree, and you should be very proud of it, it’s magnificent and very detailed! I don’t think I could ever be Normal /pos about it, it simply hits Too Hard >:333 Hehehe, yesss, you get it :) I’m happy you agree! Honestly, Dream lulling Tommy into a false sense of security, only to subject him to the worst torture imaginable is one of my favourite things about c!Prime regardless of the AU! I suppose, what hits especially hard about it is the fact that despite Tommy’s defiance and efforts to remind himself not to listen to Dream, he eventually does listen; he was trained well, after all… Sometimes, it can be incredibly difficult for the man to convince his plaything to listen, but he always gets what he wants in the end, whether he has to use softer, faux-comforting gestures and words, or pain.

Hehehe, Dream definitely can’t get enough of breaking Tommy’s ribs in any universe! The sounds of the boy’s pathetic cries of agony, desperate pleas to stop, shaky, frightened gasps, and the satisfying crack of his ribs, are simply Too Fun :) :) :) I’m glad you agree! I’m so insane about Dream taking his precious time torturing Tommy, knowing full-well the boy wishes for it to be over, even if it means meeting death, and never giving him that satisfaction, hehehe :) And honestly, ironically enough, Hybrids!Dream seems even more inhumane to me than c!Dream himself because despite their similarities in terms of dehumanising and abusing Tommy to the fullest, isolating him from his friends through manipulation, forcing him to accept him as his new family and best (and only) friend, manipulating him into thinking he has earn every basic right and cannot possess almost anything of his own (items for c!Tommy, and the rule about being forbidden to nest in the bed for Hybrids!Tommy, plus the fact that he often has to sleep on the floor), at least c!Dream seems to genuinely care about c!Tommy the way an older brother would, and doesn’t reduce him to a mere pet. Sure, he’s still dehumanising and abusive as hell, but at least he’s willing to save some of Tommy’s defiance, personality, and human nature because these things make their game so much more Fun :) As for Hybrids!Dream, he obviously does care about his little fledgling as well, but I suppose, it’s closer to the way a pet owner would love his dog, rather than a human being. Not to mention that he despises Tommy’s hybrid features and is obsessed with the idea of taming and making him as human-like as possible, so even when Tommy does everything expected of him, his owner still sees him as nothing more than an obedient pet, not a human being.

Hehehe, I’m glad you like it and agree >:3 Omg, your comment about Tommy lying on the ground at Dream’s feet inspired me for a little ‘Submission’ headcanon :) A while after the events of the second chapter, Tommy developed a new fascinating habit — at the end of every torture session, when the poor boy was barely conscious to understand anything, his shaky sobs, gasps, and pleas would be replaced with a barely audible muttering — a prayer. At first, Dream assumed it wasn’t destined at him, but he was rather intrigued, so he listened. The more he listened, the more it became clear that Tommy was addressing Him, not the Prime. Ecstatic to see this sudden display of devotion, Dream would softly cup the teen’s chin, lightly pressing his sharp nails against the soft, doll-like skin, eliciting pained yet relieved whimpers. Then, he would tenderly stroke his plaything’s bruised cheek, smearing the blood across his face, before slowly moving to his neck, still covered in bruises from his hands. Dream would gently caress it right where it hurts, eliciting an entire symphony of Tommy’s sweet, captivating, and so very amusing whimpers. Oh, he could never get enough of seeing his sweet boy like this :) :) :) Finally, he would wrap his arms around the boy in a soothing embrace and stroke his messy hair. The only issue would be that the hug was gradually tightening every few moments… but certainly Tommy wouldn’t be an ungrateful brat and tell Dream about it, would he? :)

Hehehe, you get it so well! Broken legs in whump our beloveds <3 Oh, absolutely! Dream can’t have his little fledgling leaving his side again, after all :) :) :)

I’m glad you like it >:333 Grgrgrrrr yesss, this is painful in the best way! Our poor boyyy 💔💔💔 Omg, same! I can never get enough of this idea, that’s also why I used something similar in CRTT AU, except Dream carved out a smiley face :)

You’re very welcome, Midnight <3333 Yayyy, I’m very happy to hear that, and I’m overjoyed as well! ^^

Oughhh, I miss Hybrids AU all of a sudden, it makes me so unwell /pos :) :) :) I’m thinking about the potential bad ending, in which Hybrids!Dream reclaims his little fledgling, hehehe :) He would certainly be infuriated, but wouldn’t it be fun if he pretended to be understanding and took his precious time to make Hybrids!Tommy believe that he was safe, only to reveal his fury in the end, and punish him in the cruelest way imaginable? 

At first, Hybrids!Dream would hit Hybrids!Tommy on the nose, causing it to bleed, and smearing blood over its face, before harshly pushing the boy to the ground. Taking notice of its trembling lips, tear-stained eyes, and its desperate attempt to suppress an alarm call, the hybrid hunter would grin cruelly, anticipating the rest of this beautiful spectacle, before saying, “Aww, did it hurt, Toms? If you hadn’t foolishly escaped, you wouldn’t have to suffer… this much.” 

Then, Hybrids!Dream would beat Hybrids!Tommy into the ribs, each blow harder and slower than the last, until they break with a satisfying crack. After all, these protected the boy’s lungs as he escaped from his owner… 

Next, the man would pull out an axe, and break his legs with the blunt side. After all, these let the boy escape from his owner…

At this point, the poor fledgling would be in so much agony that he’d be lost in dissociation, but still incredibly responsive to every single blow, and fearing what might happen next.

And finally, Hybrids!Dream would painfully slowly pluck a couple of feathers from Hybrids!Tommy now freed wings (thanks to Hybrids!Emeraldduo, hehe), before pulling out a dagger, roughly clipping his wings, and cutting out his initials as a sign of ownership.

Omg, I miss Hybrids AU as well! I'm so proud of it, and I'm honoured you adore it too <3333 A bad ending would hit super hard and be heartbreaking in the best way, hehe :) Ohh, Hybrids!Dream would definitely be the angriest he's ever been, and Hybrids!Tommy would have the worst time he's ever had. The concept of Dream taking some time to lull Tommy into a false sense of security, only to spring a nightmarish punishment on him once the trauma bonding is back in full force, sends me utterly insane /pos >:3

Starting with an abruptly broken nose without any warning is absolutely something Hybrids!Dream would do :) And of course, you're right about him loving Hybrids!Tommy on the ground at his feet - where the avian belongs. Tommy would slip back into the habit of suppressing his vocalisations immediately, despite all the work Hybrids!Emeraldduo and others did to decondition him >:3 Grgrrgrrrr Dream's taunts never get less chilling, I love it!

The ribs, I imagine, is Dream's favourite area to injure on Tommy regardless of the AU :) There's just something so intimately agonising about it. Hybrids!Dream would definitely drag it out like you said; Hybrids!Tommy doesn't deserve a quick punishment after all. Every second of pain would hammer home the point that running away was a terrible mistake, and Tommy would regret it immensely >:3

Broken legs is such a wonderful whump trope, I adore it! Of course, it would make sense for Hybrids!Tommy to be unable to walk without his owner's assistance. Hybrids!Dream would ensure his little fledgling couldn't move a single inch without his discretion :)

Tommy falling deep into dissociation but still reacting viscerally to every blow is a brilliantly heartwrenching image! Those repressed memories of all the (torture) punishments would bubble to the surface like pus in a wound, and he'd drown in them >:3 Hybrids!Dream would take great pleasure injuring Hybrids!Tommy's wings, knowing exactly how traumatic that is. The effort Hybrids!Emeraldduo put into deconditioning the avian and helping him feel comfortable letting others touch his wings would all be for nothing :) The concept of Dream carving his name into Tommy will never not make me insane /pos, regardless of the AU!

Thanks so much for this ask and the other two Jesse, they mean a lot and I'm overjoyed to discuss these things with you <3333

[mainenorth]

guys hear me out, soundrod and deadceptor double date

with background megop (they crashed through a wall after talking about their favourite human horror movie and now megatron is trying to convince optimus that they should go to earth and watch both movies(he’s going to blow something up)

[mysria]

no matter what happens they can never take this from me

[stemms]

What if the rule of taking off and disposing of armour and items in exile stemmed from c!Dream’s observations of the earliest days of L’Manberg? Considering c!Dream’s obsession with c!Tommy was already present in season 0, it’d make sense for him to keep stalking the teen in L’Manberg arc and later on.

In the earliest days of L’Manberg, the ‘No Armour’ rule was founded on mutual trust and safety; there was no need for anyone to defend themselves, as no citizen of L’Manberg presented a threat. It was applied in exile as well, but to reach a completely different goal. Since c!Dream was infatuated with the idea of bending c!Tommy to his will and weakening both his spirit and body, he made a decision to forbid the teen from keeping his armour and weapons, in particular. It had a sole goal of ensuring that he couldn’t overpower him and run away. It’s yet another time where c!Dream twisted something dear to c!Tommy’s heart into something terrifying and painful. And more importantly, now the boy won't be able to associate it with his home anymore…

Considering the strong similarity of both rules, there's a high chance that c!Dream was inspired by it in L'Manberg arc, just as he was by other things related to it. For example, c!Wilbur’s habit of braiding c!Tommy’s hair in L’Manberg and Pogtopia, or his ways of showing affection.

If c!Tommy believed L’Manberg to be his home, c!Dream must've reasoned that if he brought some things reminding of it to Logstedshire, the boy would eventually accept it as his new (true) home…

[stemms]

I'm obsessed with the idea of c!Dream becoming addicted to the feeling of devouring its beloved songbird :) :) :)

This isn't just about the physical act of consumption. The taste of his meat, which is so distinct, so unique, and so different from all other animals, adds an extra layer to his obsession, but it's so much more than that...

c!Dream is deeply fascinated with the feeling of having complete control over c!Tommy’s life, relishing in the process of savouring every moment, toying with its prey, only to ultimately extinguish his life completely... The spectacle of life gradually escaping his body, until he can no longer resist, and his previously frantic heart ceasing to beat, is both captivating and gratifying to the dragon hybrid.

Additionally, I assume that c!Dream used to neglect its nutritional needs, as it considered eating a mundane and monotonous task. That was until it met c!Tommy... Ever since then, eating has transformed from a mere necessity for survival into an amusing game, and a bonding exercise for c!Dream and its beloved songbird.

c!Tommy may not appreciate it just yet, but it's only a matter of time until he gets used to it- he has no other choice... c!Dream holds his life in a vicelike grip, and it's not willing to let go anytime soon, after all... :) :) :)

Hybrid c!Prime Tommy prison death post time hehehe :) :) :)

First, an important detail about ender dragon c!Dream- while it can eat and digest pretty much anything a regular human can, c!Dream is technically an obligate carnivore, and without meat, it will slowly starve :)

This is where the prison situation comes in- c!Dream is still living off of raw potatoes just like in canon bc c!Sam is not aware of this specific dietary need that it has :) Even Dream itself never really thought much about it before now, as far as it knew it would just get a craving for meat and the urge to hunt every so often if it wasn't eating enough. So by the time Tommy gets trapped in the prison with it, it is very hungry :)

It pretty much goes the same as canon up until they start fighting, and the second Tommy's blood is drawn, it's like a switch is flipped- Dream just freezes and starts staring him down (even more than usual lmao), its pupils blown wide like a cat that has just spotted prey :) Tommy's instincts start to kick in and he backs away in fear, but Dream just continues to stalk closer, a low growl coming from it like a feral creature- and then it lunges at Tommy's throat :) It ends up taking a chunk out of Tommy's arm as he just barely manages to block it, but in the end his efforts are no use, and he's helpless to stop Dream from tearing his throat clean out like a wild animal :)

When Sam eventually arrives to see what's going on, he's greeted by the sight of Dream hunched over Tommy's bloodied and torn apart body like some horrifying creature, staring at him with glowing green eyes, blood all over its face, and a wide, terrifying grin :) :) :)

Dream, of course, does absolutely nothing to restrain itself, and for the rest of its time in prison even after Sam starts feeding it meat to ensure nothing like this happens again, it fantasizes about getting out of prison and doing it all over again :) And again :) And again and again and again, hunting its beloved songbird and tearing into his flesh over and over with no consequences because it can always just bring him back again :) :) :)

[raptorrobot]

i do wonder if minos would recognise icarus as the son of that guy that built the minotaur's labyrinth back when he was alive. like they got history. surely they all can be trusted to be normal about it (also im assuming your icarus and daedalus weren't imprisoned by minos ? at least it's the impression that i got while reading violent sun. but if they were it only gets funnier. oh they have History alright)

I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS EXTENSIVELY ‼️‼️ i imagine since in mythology daedaelus and minos kind of fucking hated eachother in the spirit of ultrakill twisting things around they would have been good mates instead in this universe !! perhaps they even.... no... i shan't say.....

icarus forsure knows that minos had that connection with his father though . the last time minos saw icarus was when he was probably just a kid -- so it'd be a situation of "hey do you remember me?? i'm the son of daedalus" and minos going "OHHH icarus ! thou hast grown up so much :D"

[cathymee]

maybe it's to maintain a sense of tension & turmoil that would eventually reach an explosive peak, a sense of tug-of-war, a back-and-forth to hammer home the ideals they want to deliver and for the viewers to chew on, but although these arguments regarding hiroshi & his stance as a man torn between his loyalty for his country & the loyalty for his Filipino friends and lover is of course important, how they write these scenes & the points they present from this week alone is getting too repetitive...? literally the argument scenes from last night & tonight between adelina & hiroshi is basically the same; the ideas were the same, the dynamics were the same: the aggressive, radical adelina, bristling rage and fear over the injustices she's seen thus far, and the cautious, inspiriting hiroshi, all hopefulness and reassurance one moment as a lover, defensiveness and sternness as a japanese soldier in another. this debate will be ever-present ofc, it is one of the series' biggest conflicts, but it is unfortunately so easy to tell when it is a.) being pulled up as a main topic to move the plot along / be a necessary conflict for character development/introspection / be the conflict to deliver the morals & messages the writers want to send to their viewers, or b.) when it is being pulled up only for the drama and filler to pass the time. like watching the characters sit down to argue for 10 minutes, do other things for the plot for 2 minutes, then sit down again to argue for the next 20 minutes. lol.