#ok so context for this one is that its a dream and it does end badly w kiana dying and mei waking up worried ofc

[oathofkaslana]

mystery of stigmata #6

[lostwords-found]

So that last post by Alesis Newman, the one that was locked by "BetterTheNew", was dated January 3 2018. Eight months before her previous post.

The police files on Dr Samuel Webber were dated April 3 2009. Eight months before the date in his journal.

Dr Samuel Webber murdered his ex and then was turned into a tree. We don't know what happened to Alesis Newman's ex before she turned herself into some kind of coral creature, but she was taking bereavement leave at the end. Out of death, something is trying to be born. Or reborn...

...Oh yeah, and let's not even go near this other (lonely, eye-encrusted) rabbithole, let alone down it:

Norris read Dr. Webber's case, about a man who murdered his lover rather than lose her and then was trapped alone in a walled garden, in denial about what he had done and eternally haunted by her voice, with only a small piece of himself remaining aware and perpetually terrified but unable to voice its fear. Cool! Yeah. That's definitely... that's definitely not significant or deeply upsetting in any way.

But Chester... Chester read Alesis Newman's case, about a woman who intentionally destroyed herself in the wake of a lover whom she saw as trying to change her into the person he wanted her to be--and replaced herself with something new and inhuman. Something that has her eyes.

And by post 13, using her paralysis computer, Alesis is writing with her eyes. So is that actually her writing? If it's not, when in that sequence of posts did it stop being her? What does "no longer her" actually mean in this context? Certainly, she's becoming something that the Alesis of eight months earlier, the Alesis of the immediately-deleted fourteenth post, would no longer identify with--if some part of her still existed.

Cool. Yeah. That's definitely not significant... or deeply upsetting... in any way.

OK but I said let's not go down that rabbithole, so let's forget I just said any of that and go back to talking about the post dates, yeah?

Yeah.

So, sometimes some of these cases have some interesting correspondences with TMA statements, so there might be something there. Alesis started that thread, opening up to everyone about her journey to creating a better her, on June 20, 2018. I wonder if there were any TMA statements dated June of 2018?

Case #0181206 (June 12, 2018)

Statement of unknown bystander regarding an encounter with The Archivist.

...Oh.

Okay, well, that's... interesting, but not necessarily meaningful. Let's try this: the last date in her transformation/replacement, the last point where maybe there was still something left of the original "her," was September 3, 2018. Anything interesting happen in TMA in September of 2018?

Case #0182509-A (September 25, 2018)

Original recording of events leading to the disappearances of Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood, Alice Tonner and Peter Lukas.

...Ah. Ha. Um. Well, that could also be an interesting coincidence. What about that deleted 14th post that was somehow eight months earlier, back in January? The one with an Alesis who still tried to cry out against the thing she was becoming?

There's nothing in January, but... oh... right.

Case #0170908 (August 7, 2017 )

Statement of Elias Bouchard, regarding the dreams of Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, currently unresponsive.

...

Case #0181502 (February 15, 2018)

Statement of Oliver Banks, regarding his dreams and trying to run away. Statement given directly to Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, currently unresponsive.

...January of 2018, Jonathan Sims was in a coma. September of 2018, the Archivist received the final mark that would enable Jonah's ritual.

January through September of 2018 in the world of Protocol, something was trying to be born into a physical form, replacing Alesis Newman.

Cool, I say through gritted teeth. Yeah. That's definitely not significant, or deeply upsetting, in. any. way.

[ar1mas]

- a rant

no because ive watched this stupid show 5 years ago, and i only noticed this now?? how???

ok. some context first. this is about fox' gotham, a prequel series to batman. or at least a potential one with slight changes. one of those changes is the relationship between oswald cobblepot and edward nygma (spelled with a 'y' for mayhap legal reasons? idfk its silly). whats their relationship like in the show? well...

theyre gay af. idk what to tell you.

okay so oswalds gay as fuck. edwards... ambiguous. totally ambiguous. he had a girlfriend or 2 and a half (kristen kringle, the-woman-who-shall-not-be-named (aka kristen but... blonde? this show is weird), and lee. not comfy counting lee, but technically shes one, hence the 'and a half')! very straight, much hetero (on another side note how tf is oswald the gay one, like i know he wears make-up and shit but eddies all about theatrics and showmanship and flair and hOW IS OSWALD THE GAY ONE NEXT TO HIM?? ok anyway).

so oswald was (is. be real.) canonically in love with ed, ed was.........., and 'penguin in love' is a piece of music composed by david russo for season three in which the whole "im in love with my best friend" thing took place.

that song has been used all over season three, as far as i can tell not once in season four, and once in season five.

.....or so i thought.

because yesterday, while in another obsession phase (of which i get one a few times a year. ive only ever watched the show once, in 2019, when it ended. still dream about nygmobblepot though. i dont dream about media, like ever, but with them, its different), i saw 5x8 to satiate my never satisfied craving of nygmob scenes, obviously skipping the main story bc i dont care about that straight shit. i got to the scene where oswald kills mr. scarface and frees arthur penn from said mr. scarface, after which ed shoots him in the head because thats what one does in such a situation, thought "aw how cute", again, as one does, and then realised.

what was that background music just now? rewinds.... oh. oh haha, its 'penguin in love'. how fun.

WHAT.

WHY IS THAT IN THERE. WHY DID THEY INCLUDE IT.

correction. it wouldve made sense to have it here. they used it in 5x5 for the speech about not backstabbing each other (wedding vows for murderers fr fr), so using it again after their relationship has solidified wouldve made sense.

note how im saying 'would have'.

because it would have made sense, if they used it when ed said "i accept you for the person that you are, just as you accept me for the cold logician that i am. thats why this friendship is great." they didnt, though. they used another equally heartfelt song for that. dunno what its called, it sounds a bit like 'penguin in love' but isnt, not sure if that one has a specific meaning like 'penguin in love' does.

so when was the song used? at 36:08 – 36:17. barely ten seconds, right before eds lines, right before ed kills penn.

...right when penn was sitting in oswalds lap because theyd been fighting for the gun and os fell on the ground.

now. the most obvious answer to "why in the fucking hell" would be because ooh this dudes on his lap so sexy, but no. no. 'penguin in love' is about one specific thing: love. the pure kind. the kind that makes you giddy with butterflies in your stomach, kicking your legs, while youre on your bed, writing in your diary about this guy you have a crush on. and oswald and penn do have history, oswald was more or less fond of penn, but not in love (i mean where would he have found the room in his heart if it was already filled with EDWARD EDWARD EDWARD martin my sweet boy EDWARD EDWARD EDWA-). im also definitely not thinking that penn was so happy about being free from mr. scarfaces influence and not having to kill oswald (oh yeah, the horror. who would wanna kill oswald, the guy with the big ego, who never does anything for anyone without some kind of endgoal- well, unless your name is edward of course) that he instantly fell in love with the guy. i can deal with the homicidal kind of crazy, but that? no. thats where i draw the line.

the next most obvious answer is that it was about oswalds love for ed. more believable, since its what the song was made for, but more believable doesnt mean believable. or likely. because even if i 100% believe that hes been loving this dude for so long its not something he has to think about anymore for it to be true, im pretty sure that itd be very random to suddenly focus on that when oswald was just about to die. so no, even if its what the song is intrinsically about.

so next most obvious answer is- wait. thats it. huh? theres no obvious answer anymore? everything else is brainrot? oh. oh well. its been five years, im sure its too late to worry about it now. what the hell.

im sure you know where im going with this. or maybe not. honestly idk what the fuck im talking about-

youre smart. you know what im about to say. if it wasnt about what oswald was feeling because he was otherwise preoccupied, and it wasnt about penn because that makes no fucking sense, then who was this song used for? who else was in the room?

...oh.

YOU.

YOU FUCKING IMBECILE. YOU STUPID DENSE PIECE OF-

inhale, exhale. no. don’ get mad, you know he cant help it. you know hes totally helpless when it comes to emotions. just breathe. ok.

i hate him. i hate him so much.

if the song wasnt for oswalds sake, it was for his. because i know hes in love with oswald, but does ed? does the producers??

'penguin in love' is about oswalds love. its about his love for edward. its about their love, their relationship. its about edward just as much as it is about oswald.

a-fucking-PPARANTLY, I DIDNT KNOW THAT!! I JUST THOUGHT OH YEAH OZZY BE THE GAY ONE HAHA FUNNY, I DIDNT KNOW IT COULD BE ABOUT ED DIRECTLY!!!

(why am i like this? what is my life? i will never be normal.)

ed has always been the obsessive one. first kristen (and the woman who shall not be named is just an extention of that ofc), then oswald, then lee. and as weve seen with kristen, when hes obsessed with someone, he can become possessive. absolutely not on the scale oswald is on, but still. theres a wee bit of jelly there. oh you have a boyfriend? better get rid of him! oh you wanna run away from me bc i murdered your boyfriend? better keep you right in place and- oh shit did i kill you? ono D:

this is a huge oversimplification, but you get the point. its there. or at least it has to be there because why else do you get so angy that someone is sitting in the lap of your just friend because they were fighting and they ended up in that position totally accidentally? like thats not normal behaviour, for anyone, unless you have possessive tendencies.

i mean its not like penn was a threat in any way. "he wasnt the threat, the dummy was the-" like i understand ed told penn about the submarine which was supposed to be a secret, but come on, like they couldnt make sure penn wouldnt say anything. so why would ed shoot him? its not even like penn was a random dude where that type of thing would be very inconsequential, oswald knew him. hed worked for oswald, and like i said, oswald was more or less fond of the guy. penns just a poor little meow meow, y u kil him eddie? 🥺

unless this fondness was part of the problem. unless ed saw how happy oswald was to see him, got annoyed but let it slide, then used penn attacking os and knowing about the sub as an excuse to kill him. and why would oswald being happy to see penn be a problem to ed? it wouldnt be. it wouldnt be, unless ed thinks oswald is his.

which makes sense. i know im calling him names and calling him out, but like. oswald told him he loved him like 5 times 2 years prior, i dont blame him for believing that maybe theres something to it (especially since that was the point of 3x14, oswald really being in love with him and surprising himself with it). but i thought ed didnt feel the same way? because hes very hetero? because he had a full-on girlfriend before, twice, technically? because-

"the truth is oswald, you would sacrifice anyone to save your own neck. even me."

"like i said! you will always fail, because youll never change."

hm. i know this is a bit off topic, but i just got a war-flashback and... why did ed sound so hurt when he said that? "youll never change." "you would sacrifice anyone. even me." why does he care? they were friends, best friends, yes, but why does he sound like a heartbroken wife who just found out her husband cheated on her again? why does-

"honestly you deserve this. you are opportunistic, your loyalty is.. shaking, at best, and you will hurt anyone, anyone, to get what you want."

"and yes, i was not a good friend. to you or anyone. its why im alone. but i saw you for what you are and i valued that!"

...why would edward nygma, the man who literally said "i dont love you" to oswald, be jealous of even the idea that maybe penn could have something going on with oswald? and why would he act on it if hes usually so careful to not reveal his feelings (unless its about kristen. the original obsession, the american dream, the just be normal, show them you are normal, and people will accept you)? he wouldnt.

unless oswald just told him that he knows he messed up. that hes sorry for it.

and unless that made him think that maybe theres a chance.

"love is about sacrifice. its about putting someone elses needs and happiness before your own."

"you gave up your revenge for me?"

a chance... for what?

"life begins anew."

"shall we get to work?"

and if theres a chance, hes not about to risk losing it. not this time.

so maybe 'penguin in love' is about more than just oswalds feelings. maybe they were trying to tell us that, yes, we see you traumatised gay kid, were sorry this is all we can give you, but here you go, eds in love with him too, but don’t tell the channel. subtlely. just for barely ten seconds. and maybe it can be enough.

nope, it wont be. im gonna sit here crying about the injustice of not having them kiss on screen in the finale as was originally intended for the rest of my life. seriously though, what is this, nbc's hannibal, where im noticing something new details every single time i watch the show, causing me to spiral? no, i was already spiralling. the spiralling was the reason i rewatched the scene. the scene simply made it worse.

so yeah, im done freaking out about a mediocre show that was cancelled 5 years ago and is honestly not worth anyones time (like, its ok. it might even be better than i remember since its been so long. i doubt it. but its ok).

tl;dr: ive only now realised that a specific gay song plays in a specific episode of a show i watched 5 years ago and the only reason theyd include it in the episode is if the dude that was not canonically in love with the other dude was in fact gay, they just werent allowed to make it canon, so they added the gay song to subtlely tell us about it.

have a wonderful day, hellsite. dont do what i did and go crazy about fictional gay people. i know you will though, that’s why im here too. i hate gay people. these two make me homophobic so bad, i wanna gauge my eyes out and skin myself-

[thisdudedoesntexist]

So I had a dream about a helluva boss and danny phantom crossover with a little dc in it so keep scrolling if you just want dpxdc or don't like spectral owl (danny Fenton x Octavia goetia). Also for some context only Loona and Octavia know about danny being phantom and the ghost king. Its also incomplete cause I can't remember the rest, so feel free to add on.

Stolas (the wiki said 30's so he's 35): red

Danny 19: green

Octavia 18: purple

Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors

Stolas had be trying for MONTHS. Two whole-MONTHS to bring his daughter back. Everyone else was trying to distract him with placateions like a funeral and time to grieve. To tare him away from what he knows he saw!!

Stolace: "Oh Octavia, only 18 and just over a year into dating that Daniel Fenton, that normal boy was one of the best things to happen to her even if it earth and hell was a rather long distance relationship. He couldn't even speak at the funeral, he was just sitting there stiff as a corps staring as the closed casket (Satan, there wasn't even a body). If that dammed, and now dead executioner hadn't gotten so careless she would have never disappeared- JUST DISAPPEARED in that flash of green light!"

But no matter! He had been researching and researching for days and nights on end (my, Blitzo's attempts to make him sleep were tempting). He had-despite the protests of some of his family found a tome, one book on summoning himself the Ghost King's castle, more like Pariah dark's current location but thats irrelevant. If legends of his exploits and one of his advisors mastery of chronomancy are to be believed he could bring his daughter back.

He has it all set up and he will be doing soon, he just needs to wait for the sacrifice to arrive (an exorbitant amount of gold coins and a sword thats taken at least 100 lives).

-------------------------------------------------------

Danny has been having a great two months.

Ok so there was a bit of worry when he had to save his girlfriend from that rogue executioner angel by teleporting her to his castle (thank the ancients that Octavia and their friend situationship loona were so acceptingof that, you have no idea what being told by your parents that they were going to "Rip you apart molecule by molecule!" Does to a former fourteen year old. He still has a little panic attack when people ask him if he knows phantom.)

After explaining what happened and telling her about the "Non Ecto-material returnal laws" he's been working on with his advisors (ghost friends) he and Octavia have essentially been having an extended sleep over. Danny's been showing her around all the cool places in his castel like the garden of dangerous extinct plants, the throne room (An abrupt visit from the teen titans cause Trigon was about to appear on earth.), and the recreational center that was built after Danny discovered why pariah went mad.(That crown had been beaming him with the suffering screams of his subjects and he couldn't do anything about it). Speaking of the rec-center, he and his Moon (Octavia) had an appointment with the former tyrant where is she?

Danny: "Octavia! My moon where are you!"(He starts in a casual flight speed down the halls towards the guest room his girlfriendhad been staying in). "Via~" he says in the way he always does when he's being intentionally stupid. "Where are you my darling?" while his voice is sweet he's grinning like the experienced menace to society he is. "Its almost time to go annoy the old man!"

This earns him a blob ghost plushy to the face while Octavia "the smartest person in the world in Danny's opinion" chuckles at his mock-suffering.

Octavia: "Stop it you sound like my dad! Who would want to date such an nerdy guy?" (her, apparently) "And yes we should get going before Janice (Danny's secretary with an obsession with office management) starts eating her clipboard."

As they are walking down the hallways and corridors Octavia speaks "Don't you have that meeting with Constantine later?"

"Right, forgot about that." (The laughing magician had been checking up on him through bi-weekly attempts to "scam him into making choices that wouldn'tjust benefit ghosts.") "Should probably ask him to help set up a meeting between me and your dad so we can finally get you home next week."

"Thank Satan I can sit in my own bed again soon!"

"Huh?!" Danny says in a pretend offense that doesn't reach even his face. "Sick of me already? Have I not been a good host?" He wipes a phantom tear (get it?) from his eye. Earning a laugh from the other.

Honestly, what could go wrong today.

[redstonedust]

wait im confused what is this kerilson lore you mentioned im apprently missing out on? Who/what is kerilson??

ok i'm gonna recap literally everything i can remember about kerilson because i'm not sure how much context you have. SO. INCOMING INFODUMP:

if you've been following the rest of hermitcraft season 9 you'd know that the majority of the active hermits went through the rift and got trapped on empires smp for a month. one of the only hermits left behind was xb, and he handled this... interestingly (badly)

so after showing footage of the hermits going through the rift via a security camera he apparently has set up in grians base, and then trying to claim the entire shopping district as his property (off to a good start) he opens his next episode proudly declaring that he's actually NOT alone, he has a friend, and that friend knows how to open the rift again!

enter kerilson:

i should clarify that kerilson is, first and foremost, a reference to the movie castaway. like. in that movie the protagonist is stuck on an island with nobody to talk to but a volleyball he's named wilson. so theres already precedent for kerilson being just xb going kind of stir crazy without his friends (especially keralis).

so according to xb, kerilson demands a diamond throne (which also includes concrete slabs, the first sign that something weird is going on) and then they reopen the rift. except the rift sends xb to previous hermitcraft seasons instead of empires, where kerilson is distracted by wanting to look at past keralis builds instead of helping xb find his friends. eventually xb DOES end up on empires, but its season 1, and he's completely alone.

he wanders through the server, finds the ocean, spends several days at sea, gets picked up by a flying kerilson themed boat, the scenery warps back into his base, he gets back into bed, and then is woken up by beef, who seems disturbed by the fact xb is even IN bed. bc, y'know, hermitcraft, sleep should be instant.

he concludes the whole thing was a dream, tho that doesnt explain how he's able to accurately dream of empires s1, but gem's empires lore establishes sleep based world hopping so...... put a pin in that.

anyways two episodes later kerilson can be spotted watching xb in the background of his base, but isnt acknoweldged. xb continues to be Totally Normal about his missing friends by building a giant keralis statue, except every time he looks back at it its head is replaced with kerilsons head. so he blows it up.

several months pass with v few kerilson hints, until xb starts teasing a makeship plushie of him and kerilson. in this weirdest way possible. ie. while building his base he mentions he's started hearing noises, and a low joepacity kerilson flashes on screen with scrambled keralis dialog in the background. (side note: xb heard similarly scrambled keralis dialog when keralis was coming back through the rift. unclear if this is related.)

aaand bringing it to now, xb gets a book inviting him to a TCG match, which turns out to be against kerilson. who is apparently real and able to hold TCG matches. except during the animation of the match kerilson never moves and keralis is shown to be helping him behind the scenes, implying kerilson was just an armor stand all along-- except for, you know, the whole established dream demon aspect.

and now he's a marketable plushie! :D

so yeah TLDR: he's an armor stand who has been simultaniously implied to be a figment of xb's imagination, a regular armor stand xb thinks is alive, a regular armor stand controlled by keralis, some kind of fragment of keralis, and an independent, dream controlling being. and also keralis has little to no involvement in any of these episodes.

and as a fun side note, this isnt the first time we've seen some kind of logic defying facsimile of keralis appear in somebody elses episode. when tango went to space to try and stop the moon crashing in season 8, he ran into keralis, who stated he'd been there for months, even tho this is not true in keralis' episodes.

both of these are also scenarios where the enviroment is implied to not be real (a dream / a simulation) and the keralis-a-like appears to help them as they try to leave the server. coincidence? absolutely. but i love to make lore out of nothing!

[ladyluscinia]

Hi there! I just read your meta about how Izzy knows the real Edward and not just Blackbeard, and that got me thinking… why does Ed tell Stede he doesn’t have any friends? I’d initially chalked this up to Izzy only wanting to be friends with Blackbeard, but if Izzy knows and is loyal to the real Ed, why doesn’t Ed consider him a friend?

Hi! You just stumbled on one of my favorite things to talk about that now I get to add S2 context to, so thank you!

Ok... Edward & his total denial of friendship. There's the big reason - which is completely divorced from the reality of any of his relationships - and then there's the smaller, related reason that I'm not even sure Edward is fully aware of.

Reason #1 (the big one) why Edward says he doesn't have any friends is because he's having a depressive breakdown in a bathtub when he says it.

It all comes back to the fact Edward hates himself, which was fairly clear in S1 and now made explicit in S2. Specifically in 2x03. Which, in a season full of excellently timed flashbacks and echoed scenes from S1, still contains the single example that made me leap from my seat in pure vindication.

When Edward tackles his conjured Hornigold to kill him, before he realizes he's in the gravy basket, we great a great line...

"It all boils down to this. You're afraid you're unlovable."

...followed by a set a flashbacks that feel chosen specifically for me 😌

Edward killing his dad, with the voiceover "I'm not a good person Stede..." cut to Izzy's destroyed laugh right before Edward left the room in 2x02, and then cut back to the bathtub from 1x06 to finish "...That's why I don't have any friends." Stede affirms he is Edward's friend and then it ends on the crew's mutiny from 2x02 and the absolute darkest point of Edward's depressive spirals so far.

That is literally an explicit connection I couldn't have dreamed of in the S1 hiatus.

Because, like... Edward's whole thing is that he's been on the edge of drowning under this lifelong struggle against depression since we met him. He does fundamentally believe in his darkest moments that he is monstrous and poisonous and no one could ever love him, but it's not a logical belief. He's not making an assessment of his relationships as he sees them, he's voicing his self-loathing and depression.

And the parallel between "I don't have any friends" and "I'm unlovable" is soooo crunchy because we know for a fact the second statement is just depression talking. Not even just Stede! Edward spends the first two episodes actively resisting evidence to the contrary in his spiral because it hurts too much - Izzy blatantly confessing his love didn't break through, it just got him shot for trying.

To go back to the bathtub in 1x06, Stede's affirmation there wasn't any more effective than Izzy's confession in S2. It gets Edward to get up out of the bathtub and pull himself back together, but the very next episode opens with Edward getting antsy and trying to leave before Stede can reject him. In 1x08 he's still half-waiting for Stede to notice there's something wrong with him.

Edward always has a little dark voice in the back of his mind saying that Calico Jack isn't his friend, and Izzy isn't his friend, and Stede isn't his friend... but it's Edward's voice. One he'll have to fight against forever, one that will sound really persuasive in his darkest moments (like when he's in a bathtub admitting its source out loud for the first time in his life), but also one that is lying.

So... that's the big reason.

Now, Reason #2 is a bit more nuanced - Edward is really repressed.

This is pretty much entirely the fault of Reason #1, but it is technically a different thing. Because Edward hates himself and has a flawed perspective of all his relationships, he instinctively holds himself back from them to some degree.

This kinda gets into the whole Izzy vs Stede thing, because Edward has a very small collection of interests and desires that he shoved into a small box as things he didn't deserve well before becoming a pirate (due to both mommy and daddy trauma), and then he never brought those things up with anyone close to him. Until he met Stede, who was basically the walking embodiment of several of those interests/desires and a person who Edward uniquely did not have a script or baseline for interacting with, so he ended up doing the reverse and diving into exploring all that as the core of this one singular relationship.

Which has left him very unbalanced.

Like, he's not wholly engaging in the relationship due to fear of rejection either way. There's nothing intrinsically healthier about letting Izzy know all his ugliest bits or Stede know all his most hidden emotional vulnerabilities. And the fear of rejection in both cases is based in his depression / conviction he's unlovable, not evidence that Izzy would react poorly or whatever.

But if he was capable of evaluating his relationships objectively, he might have felt a little like even Izzy who knew him so well wasn't as close of friend as he truly desired, simply because he puts away that box of things around him. Only... Izzy doesn't make him do that. That box was probably put away before Izzy even met him.

And like... Edward can feel his feelings about Izzy not knowing the super important emotional things he wants him to know, but it's still on Edward for not even trying to tell him.

(This got longer than I meant it to, lol. Anyway here's my hiatus post where I'm nice to Calico Jack on this topic too.)

[aachria]

ive been on here like five times but I have THEORIES DAMMIT

let kings come to the domain of the stars. Or let the kings rule over the stars? It really depends on the context of dominion — whether it means have dominion or if it means dominion like a place. And if any of those marks were punctuation, it may mean something else entirely

surely some star binds me to you

oh my god we got a reference to the title, let me explain more (and my small theory)

ok so they both died (Ed and mystery man who we're gonna call Canadian gramps, or CG) and ended up in the world of one piece. Ed died in 2023 and cg died around 20 years ago which was 2004. surprise surprise, in 2004 in the real word volume 32, the one that ended skypiea and started long ring long land, volume 33 with the Davy back fight, volume 34 THE INTRO TO WATER SEVEN, and volume 35 still in water 7, were all released. let me say the again, the two volumes that were introducing water 7 were released in 2004, the year that CG supposedly died in. i think that CG and Ed knew each other in a past life, maybe they were related or maybe they weren't, but not in the real world, but this kingdom that has been mentioned. Ed and CG are connected to the stars, I think its trying to let us believe that either they are gods or do literally have actual control over them, they rule over them. surely some star binds me to you, a star that they perhaps both share or rule over. the fact that Ed ate devil fruit that can flip an entire island isn't a coincidence, they don't just turn the gravity of others but CONTROL THEM. i think we can even assume that CG may have had some sort of power after he died a second time and was sent to one piece. Ed is more powerful then we are let on, even Ed isn't aware of this. Ed was almost talking to their past self in the dream they had, when they're talking to their mouth I believe it was past Ed, before they were reincarnated. they boy that the others mentioned, it reminds me of Luffy but I don't believe so, I think its either CG or Joyboy. I think that Ed has some sort of connection to Joyboy and maybe even CG does too. when Ed says that they saw a halo above Luffy I don't think it was just delirium, I think its supposed to be Ed seeing Luffy as Joyboy. Ed, CG, and Joyboy were possibly kings or gods of the stars and they died. they died and only CG and Ed were taken to the "real world" but Joyboy stayed back, CG and Ed died again and came (back?) to one piece. this isn't going to turn into Ed finding out who CG is but finding out they were once apart of the stars. surely some star binds me to you, maybe it does, maybe they are bound by the stars. also I'm pretty sure he died 20 years ago right? I was kinda confused with the years and stuff in the new chapter so if you explain plssssss

Your brain is doing things. Your theory definitely hits quite a few interesting points, which I appreciate. As a reward for being such a sweetheart, I’ll give you a hint. Pseudo dad/uncle (or Canadian gramps, which is hilarious) did not die in 2004. Take that as you will, and happy theorying.

The year thing from last chapter was like this; Roger died and the Roger Pirates disbanded around 20 years ago in canon, which is when Ed assumed CG gave Crocus the spyglass. The Oro Jackson was built some time before the God Valley incident, which was 39 years before canon (post-timeskip time I believe, so more like 37 years current time) and Ed guessed that CG had the coin stamped in the spyglass made when they were on Water 7 to get the ship. That doesn’t give us any definitive knowledge about what age CG was, or when they could have arrived in the world of One Piece. Mayhaps the answer shall be revealed this saga, but who knows.

[themorphine]

eloise is my bitch and here is why

never thought i would do this- but here is a very lengthy post on why eloise is actually an AMAZING CHARACTER (notice how i said character, not person !!)

ok i understand the criticisms that come with eloise, i get it. she's naive, a bit self-centered, and tends to not be open to opinions that contradict her own. she was not the best of friends to penelope, pushing her own ideals unto her, and admonishing her for having dreams that

were not her own. she is not a girls girl, as she does not see activities/hobbies that are traditionally more "feminine" as valid interests but as a symbol of oppression. she judges too harshly on people who don't think like her, immediately thinking that they don't possess the

same level of intellect as her. BUT honestly, i think her character is more nuanced than this, and is not as flat as people make her out to be. eloise is the perfect example of a girl sick of the oppression women face IN THIS TIME PERIOD. you see that? in THIS TIME PERIOD.

for a 17 rich girl, its not surprising that she thinks this way, especially living IN HER TIME PERIOD. in this time period "feminine" hobbies are forced upon women, not a choice. while a craft like embroidery is certainly commendable and amazing, we must understand that at least

for eloise, these activities have been forced on her, ones that will help her find a husband. eloise does not view this activity as something that liberates her, but giving into it oppresses her even further. to be honest, in this time period, why else would the women engage in

these activities if not for being a more suitable marriage candidate? for eloise, participating in this activity or any "womanly" activities is perceived in her eyes as giving into societal pressures. so i don't think eloise is necessarily putting down more seemingly "feminine"

activities/hobbies, but is rather befuddled as to how someone could enjoy it, as it is only seen as something to help women in the marriage market. how could someone enjoy an activity that women have been *told* to like, when that is the essence of what eloise fights against?

to be honest, i feel like the comments against eloise are spoken in a modern context, in a context where we know now that embroidery and fiber arts are commendable professions. and if this context is taken of course eloise's actions are seen as unjust.

and to be honest, her reaction IS annoying. as a fiber artist, its always annoying to have my passion dumbed down, to something that does not demonstrate the true power of it. but still, would we really expect eloise, a 17 year old rich white girl who has never read books beyond

her home, to be able to have the opinion that we have? of course not. in her time period her opinions make sense, and i feel like its unfair to judge her character in the context of modern thinking. eloise doesn't know better, and while it is not an excuse, i argue that it makes

her an even better character, one that has so much more room to grow, so much more room to change. i feel like we must remember that she is only 17, a girl is still figuring the world, especially in a time period when women only hold worth in the heirs they produce. of course her

opinion is shallow and lacks depth, SHE'S 17!!!! why wouldn't she be insufferable? i feel like in tv today we always want characters to have no faults, or at least not faults that may make them look like a bad person. this takes away the journey the character may encounter,

that gives more depth to a character and shows us why they think that way, why are like this. nobody likes a women who voices her opinion without regard to what others might think, and to be honest i think that that's one of the biggest reasons people don't like eloise. now i'm

not saying that i support eloise's actions, or that i think she is a "good" person. but i do think she is a phenomenal character and very accurately depicts what a girl with her background may end up being. she has so much room for growth, and is, if you couldn't tell, my fav <3

so stop hating on her because she's not a "girl's girl," because honestly why would she be based on her upbringing and the TIME PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! she's a 17 year old girl guys calm tf down

[tyran-the-tyranical]

Hope Dream Theory Pt.2 (Just a rant tbh)

Ok, so I’ve been racking my brain thinking about the NOT CANON taming hope part 3, I’ve never been so happy to be wrong, but now I cant stop hypothesising what’s real and what’s not.

Look I understand it’s non canon but the building blocks of what it’s saying to the player is already in game, you can still kind of assume that maybe Hope wasn’t being physically tortured but just mentally, and as a result believes it 100% in her head that she looks awful ect etc. and that means it is real, or was, because its what she genuinely believes.

But, If Hope wasn’t tortured physically, what else is real? Did Raphael really kill a kid and some family in front of her? And what about the boudoir? Dream theory could explain a kid dying and a family in that they were possibly just nightmares but if it was specifically Raphael doing the deed, it seems less likely, that goes for the boudoir as well, it’s too specific to be a random nightmare. (Look, dream theory can only go so far lol)

A few people did bring up that whether is was physical torture or not, Hope believes it was 100% real so, it basically became real anyway. The only thing it really does is make Raphael or korilla feel better about what they’re doing. (I want you all to realise that I am coping so bad rn, the cope is real) I understand that if taming Hope part 3 is ever actually implemented in game it may soften Raphael’s character a lot, that is if you believe that everything he did to her wasn’t physical but mental, it’s easier to swallow, though still deplorable.

It’s my personal headcanon anyway, and look, the guy is never gonna be good but anyway to soften him up is great, I mean if his half brother Magadon can do it, so can he alright (sorta). Though I do feel like this explains alot, since Hope honestly feels like she only exists to give the player a reason to want to kill Raphael, otherwise he’s just too charming and no one would bother to kill him.

It will annoy me endlessly that there isn’t more in game information, I appreciate vagueness as it leaves room for theories but I’m dying for answers Larian 😭 because right now I’m going crazy over an entry that isn’t even in the game, just the files AHDKSJSKS LIKE- Look I would love a way to have my cake and eat it too, free my girl Hope but like, NOT KILL THE DEVIL BOY, that would be great, cause tho she’s hella under cooked and under utilised they made her too bubbly and likeable, that or I’m just weak.

This is turning into less of a new development to the theory and more of a rant lol, and though I would like an answer, I also think I would die if it’s just he is super evil like his dad and did all those things to hope, because some of the things that’s been said that he’s done to hope feels way too much like edgy evil things just to be evil (like his father has done, tho I know he hates him but still ends up being like him lol) one reason I like Raphael so much is that he’s nuanced and honest to the player (also why I have beef with how strict the DnD alignment system can be) he isn’t like Mizora that comes across as your typical devil, Raphael (purposefully) is different and yea that’s sort of his manipulation, it’s still refreshing to see, but I guess oh woe is I.

Like for instance, the boudoir dialogue that Hope hints at- WHAT DOES SHE MEAN, because yes, I think we can all guess what she means but also what does that actually mean in context? That she’s been (yknow) or she’s forced to I dunno watch ? If she has been (yknow) does Haarlep have her form? If so, why even bother trying to break her if he’s such the “hopeless romantic” (also not canon) if that’s what he was after.

look even as I’m typing this I realise how I sound, this is definitely a rant, but I can’t stop thinking about these pixel people lol, but the whole Raphael and Hope thing will never not bug me, for multiple reasons; it’s undercooked, vague, and didn’t really get the attention it kinda deserves especially since it’s probably one of the dark parts of the story (one of many to be honest) like the content matter leaves alot to the imagination.

Bleh, I love my girl Hope, especially the letter we get if we free her, and it’s actually sad to see her state in game, she’s all over the place, I just have so many questions about their entire dynamic, like I can understand how it might’ve happened, she’s a cleric who probably wanted to save her sister and didn’t know much about Raphael other than he’s a devil, and he just happened to gain a sick curiosity or obsession with her, but everything after that, after the first two entires, WHAT HAPPENS?! I’m hooked, I need to know the full context, was it just nightmares or was some of it real? Did he actually love her or did he grow to hate her? Is she actually Hope or has she just grown to believe that herself? If so, How could Korilla stand all that?

I guess for now I’m just stuck with Headcanons, but what do you think? What’s your take on it all?

Edit:

Sooo, I just wanna add a few things extra here, Raphael is not rlly redeemable, and I really don’t want him to be BLEH good.. he’s is 100% lawful evil aligned, but like I said, I’m not a fan of the strict alignments in dnd, I think from a narrative perspective it’s more interesting to add nuance and maybe soften him a tiny smidge, and Raphael definitely shows that and the only time it ever tips the scales to completely abhorrent is when it’s what he’s done to Hope.

He doesn’t need to become his brother lol, but you’ve gotta admit how interesting it would be to see something other than a stereotypical devil, because he’s a devil can help you out for their own benefit, but they will never defer from their “nature” but I think It’d be cool to see him have an arc similar to the companions, breaking their cycles and change for the better (or worse)

His story wouldn’t even have to be convert him but something akin (a controversial take here) to Astarion. Astarion has a lot of reasons to why he is who is at the start of the game that Raphael really doesn’t (from what we know) but there’s so much you could do with his character, even as a non companion. I mean, he’s a sadistic asshole, (just look at his debtors) but what was it like being Mephistopheles kid? He was a child once I mean, and who was his mother? He must still have a human part of his family somewhere, unless they’re all dead.

This is all unnecessary stuff tbh, not even some of the companions get this much revealed about their history, but even just ignoring his possible past, how is he even going to take over the hells? He says that his father and Co. are coming to see him and “negotiate” or something but how’s that gonna turn out, huh? Like he says he’ll be knocking at our door but is he even gonna make it that far? Coz what I’m thinking is, he’s gonna get nerfed bro. Now a dlc could answer this but ehhhh, that’s not for awhile, if at all anyway.

This edit is going way away from dream theory but also dream theory or in Le head theory is frustrating, (for numerous reasons I know) because it’s the default explanation for anything isn’t it? Oh it was all a dream or coma or blah bleh blah, while it can explain a lot,it removes just as much, it makes Raphael soft, (YES ITS STILL TORTURE) but it’s easier for an audience to swallow. I don’t want to throw this theory out just to make him seem less villainy or whatever, I kinda just want it so Hope didn’t have to actually watch some kid or family die, or whatever happened in the boudoir, real to her but in reality no one had to die or whatever, love that girl bro, she rlly got the shit kicked outta her fr, but then again that’s why you can side with her and kill Raphael.

It’s so weird that I’d want this sorta theory for a character who is so blatantly evil aligned but hey a girl can dream, ok? 💅 like I said the coping here is real, and at this point of the rant I just seem like a crazy person, (so true) so I’m gonna end it here, STILL WOULD LOVE AN EXPLANATION LARIAN, taming hope part 3 will forever haunt me lol

[rey-jake-therapist]

Fandom and misogyny (spoiler Endless Nights)

I never cease to be appealed by the way some people will constantly find a way to dogpile on female characters, most often for no valuable reasons.

Take Killala of the Glow, in Endless Nights for example: this morning I woke up reading a post that said, "Dream and Desire used to be best friends, it's so sad they're strangers now, I spent an entire day cursing that BITCH Killala for cheating on Dream and ruining the good relationship he had with his sibling. She did them both so wrong!"

I read Endless Nights entirely (not just the excerpts that circulate online) so my eyes popped out when I read that, a bit like this:

Just because it is, you know.... it's a lie! Or at least, it is one, partially: it's true that Killala dumped Dream for another immortal being - Sto-Oa aka the Sun, no less, - who seduced her that day, but who started this, hmmm? No, not Dream's who didn't do anything wrong this time, it's someone else, search better....

It's THEM, Desire, yeah! They're the one who had fun pushing Killala in Sto-Oa's arms, and who made fun of Dream afterwards and didn't understand why he was upset!

I think maybe people forget how powerful Desire are? They are also the one who, eons later, would canonically cause Nada's infatuation for Dream and probably Dream's for her, because they knew it was forbidden for an Endless to love a mortal and wanted Dream to be caught in the act of wrongdoing...

Also, a bit of context is important here: Killala wasn't Dream's long time queen, she had just met him in her dreams a few days ago. Ok, it doesn't make cheating better, but she said herself to Destiny she wasn't sure she loved Dream yet. And once again, it was Desire who orchestrated the whole thing, as seen in this panel:

I wonder how come it's rarely pointed that he would repeat exactly the same trick eons later with Nada: he made Nada want Dream after she saw him in a dream, then made his lonely brother want Nada, because she wanted him and he was flattered by this attention.

Coming back to the subject, Endless Nights, it seems to me that Desire's intent was ALWAYS to mess with them -Dream and Killala -, because they wanted to have fun at their brother's depends!

And I genuinely believe they didn't think Dream would react so badly: nothing is serious for Desire, who lives only for the moment. How could they imagine it would be so serious for Dream, and that he would hold a grudge for so long?

Let's see a bit of context:

When we meet Killala, she has just met Dream - she tells Desire Dream visited her in a dream "some days ago"- doesn't know him much and isn't even sure she loves him. It doesn't excuse cheating on him, but I think it's fair to assume than it this story, it's more Dream's ego than his heart which was hurt. All he does after catching her in the act is telling the young Sol she will find her way home, and that her new lover will probably transport her. If he's big mad at Killala, he does a really great job at hiding it. At the end of the story, it is said by Sol's son - who tells the story to his own son - that Killala eventually died, but at no point it's suggested that Dream caused her death.

Another interesting fact to put the situation back in its context:

Killala has a little chit-chat with Destiny, Dream's big brother and the oldest of the Endless. He asks her if he loves Dream (she doesn't know, thinks she does) and tells her that "a millennia from now", the Endless will be forbidden to love mortals and that her case in particular will be heavily discussed:

Why though? It's often believed that the drama with Killala caused the "no romance with mortals" rule, but Destiny says it would be decided a millenia after Killala's era so frankly, it's doubtful that her fallout with Dream caused this.

However, it occurred to me that it may be the tension between Dream and Desire, caused by Killala cheating on Dream with Sto-Oa, that was discussed. Think about it: Dream and Desire probably worked together before Desire did that "joke"... After that day, they worked AGAINST each other, or at least Dream looked down on Desire's realms and Desire hated him for it. I don't think that Dream having a failed romance with Killala had any influence on the universe per se, but isn't it very likely that the shift in Desire and Dream's relationship did? 🤔

Another reason could be that Sol, the future sun that would shine on Earth, wanted the not yet created mortal humans to look like Killala, who he found very beautiful.

Who knows if Dream didn't have a negative reaction to this idea, and caused the higher instances to decide that it was better for him and the other Endless to not have romanced with mortal beings who liked the woman who had previously hurt one of them? All speculation of course, since we don't know much about this "no romance with mortals" rule after all, but it's so fun to speculate!

But I digress (bless Tumblr for the absence of text limit!). The subject of my post was the misoginy which Killala of the Glow, among other female characters in The Sandman, were subjected to by a part of the fandom. Don't get me wrong: what she did to Dream was very bad, cheating is wrong! But let's not accuse her of "separating the siblings" while:

1) she was surely under Desire's influence (see the screenshot below: Desire was watching her and Sto-Oa engage in a discussion, smirking),

2) the only one who can fairly be accused of doing that was one of the siblings themselves, Desire, when they decided to make fun of their sibling by humiliating him.

3) Also I'd argue that if Dream was entitled to be angry at his sibling - it was a very bad joke... - he should have moved on after a while.

Fun fact, by the way: Dream was disappointed by Killala's change of heart, but he didn't seem angry at her, and he let her go. He even understood immediately what really happened and Desire's influence! That's why he directly went to Desire after he caught her kissing another man. It was Desire's actions that hurt him, way more than Killala's, because he valued his sibling's affection and considered him his favorite sibling.

But sure, let's blame the blue skinned lady for not being able to resist the manipulations of an immortal being, who's got exactly that kind of power. Let's just do that! 😒

[theenderwalker]

hai!! im just curious on what your take is on c!ranboos enderwalk. thats a bit vague actually . like i mean what did you view it as? cus i know some people see it as morally grey, a different part of them entirely, etc. sorry if that doesnt make sense i just havent heard many people's opinion on it lol

ok this is a big and difficult question because ultimately we don’t have a conclusive answer in canon . so i’m gonna synthesize how i interpret what we do know.

i firmly believe that ranboo’s enderwalk state is, well, just ranboo. i think it’s a matter of what memories he has access to at a given point in time, how he acts on those memories, and it’s not nearly as black and white and ‘enderwalking’ and ‘not’.

there are things he knows, and doesn’t know that he knows, things he’s done that he doesn’t remember, and critically, he has relationships with people that he does not know about. it’s not as simple as enderwalking off-stream and not onstream, because we have examples of him acting on information he doesn’t usually have onstream and he has forgotten things he did while fully aware and not under duress (the shulker box deal with foolish, which he didn’t remember later when asked about it during the lessons stream).

it’s implied in some places that it’s a cyclical thing (in the arg, one of the pages refers to ‘the enderwalkers’ as ‘circadian’ (referring to circadian rhythms/sleep cycles)<-i think this is still sort of speculation but people tested it with the font layered over the crossed out section and it fit, arg also deals strongly with the clock motif, clock ticking and stopwatch as teasers for the arg, etc) though its also able to be triggered manually through strong emotions, pain, and fear. (splash water bottle, dream smile). Z claims uncertainly that it may be genetic, and their writings imply that ranboo isn't the only one though there's no suggestions as to where these other enderwalkers may be.

it oftentime feels like while he's enderwalking he has access to more memories--though it might simply be different memories. he for sure has access to more information about his past (eg. he remembers ender entirely sometimes, while most of the times we see him on screen he's in the process of relearning it, or is at least much more subtle about knowing it.) At times he acts on fully subconscious memories, like when he built the cobblestone end city over l'manhole without realizing exactly what it was or why.

what i think is most important to this understanding though, is that he is SO consistent in what he wants and believes. the things that change are who he knows and associates with, and what he remembers. but ultimately, he has the same goal. he just acts on it differently. people not sides, stopping conflict, being a mediator, ‘one happy family’. these ideas are something he consistently believes in all the time. it’s the context that changes, whether he’s working with dream on the community house, or with tommy and tubbo to kill dream, or wilbur and hitting on 16, he is willing to take extreme measures to pursue these goals.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: i don’t believe the purple eyes enderwalk trope is strictly diegetic. we know for a fact that ranboo is visibly indistinguishable while enderwalking and not, as we have seen him ‘enderwalk’ on other people’s streams, and he has interacted with people ‘in’ and ‘out’ of the state without them recognizing any difference. (cphil, cfoolish, and cawesamdude as some notable examples)

TLDR: It's just Ranboo, with more, or different, or all of his memories.

(link is to a clip of c!ranboo saying as much based on the information he had at the time)

[actualbird]

Wait wait wait I forgot why do you hate the dragon/Rosa card? Is it the plot itself or the ending? 👀

irt my luke card story tier list and me putting SSR Looming Nightmare all the way at the bottom labelled with....

okay, so i actually made a post a long time ago about why i hate this card but after rummaging through my archive, i cANT FIND IT so im gonna have to explain all over again. heads up, this is gonna be a longwinded post, so please bear with me...

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER THAT THESE ARE JUST MY OWN THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO LIKE THIS CARD IF U WANT TO OK. DONT COME AFTER ME.

whenever i read any luke card story and judge its merit, i ask myself a couple of questions:

is it paced well?

does it say something interesting or new about luke, rosa, and/or their relationship together?

if there is angst, does that angst mean something substantial?

were there things in the card that couldve been done better?

overall, did i enjoy reading the card?

now let me go through each question one by one

is it paced well? HELL NAW. the entire first few acts go by so slowly with lots of infodumping exposition. even if there wasnt any infodumping exposition, the first parts of the card are boring. luke is essentially alone trekking up to where the dragon is, and by virtue of being alone, we only get to see his internal monolog with nobody for it to bounce off of. the entire first few parts of this card made me go "are we theeeeeere yeeeeeet????"

does it say something interesting or new about luke, rosa, and/or their relationship together? not.....really. it showed luke's devotion and guilt, yes, but we already knew he had that. i'll give this card some credit because it did show luke's devotion and guilt to Extreme Levels, giving us a glimpse of a "bad ending", so to speak, showing us how luke could end up if he destroyed himself. but like....given that these thing happen in what the card later reveals to be a dream, it feels like everything new that the story brought up amounts to nothing

speaking of it being All Just A Dream, let's head to our next question: if there is angst, does that angst mean something substantial? well, since it all just happened in mc's dreamscape, it essentially made the pain feel like it amounted to nothing. it wasnt real, after all. this couldve been handled in a way that couldve made the dream's pain more important, which leads me to the next question

were there things in the card that couldve been done better? YES. in the card, after mc wakes up from the dream, she remarks that it was strange and out of character and then luke comforts her and then like. thats it. i wouldve wanted to see the story instead delving into this more: like them discussing the implications of how mc's imagination thought it was in character for luke to KILL HIMSELF if he thought himself guilty for hurting and killing mc, how her imagination thought his guilt and devotion would reach that extreme. if they had talked about the dream together, if luke's comfort had more context, then this wouldve solved the problem of "does this card say something interesting about their relationship?" because this would be an avenue for something like that to bloom

lastly, did i enjoy the card.....i will admit, the card made me cry, so it's emotional impact isnt non-existent. but after i cried i was like. huh. most of that story was boring, none of it mattered in the first place, and it add anything new to their overarching relationship.

this is why i hate it

it couldve been better. i couldve ranked it higher as maybe in the "good but nothing special" tier, but like. the fact that it squandered its potential to be more, while also mostly just being angst for angst's sake.....well, thats why i hate it kjBLSJFKDJ

again, all just my opinions tho

[fabdante]

omgomgomg it's too hard to choose but

The One Were Kat Gets To Yell At Vergil (DmC)

The Mai/Jet dream captivated me (Atla/Mai and Jet)

these two immediately caught my attention!!

Also, +bonus wildcard because meta WIPs is genius why didn't I think of that!!!

Essay no one asked for on spiderverse and grief mostly because I'm obsessed with the black out kingpin causes

(you certainly know much more about this topic than i do but I'm curious regardless lmao)

hello my beloved friend!! thank you for sending this ask with so many wips this delights me dfghjk i will go through them one by one!! (link to the WIP game here!)

I'll try to keep the excerpts short since there's three of them even if I'm very excited about all three of these dfghjk

The One Where Kat Gets To Yell At Vergil (DmC)

Ok so this one is a rework of an old wip. It's not an edited version it's just like a whole new version because I liked the fic and wanted to do it again sdfghj. I love post game Verat, the emotions and drama are so high with those two.

I wanted to share a bit of the part that I started this fic for but I cut out the lines I specifically wrote it for mostly because I was trying to find a nice end point of the excerpt fghjk so here you go:

“I spent the last five years worried all I ever was to you was useful,” she says, “and then you stand there at the end of the world and you call me useful.” He’s taking up too much space to look at her like he does, small and sorry. Because he knows what he’s done is unforgivable. But he doesn’t waver, Vergil’s gaze always on her and unmoving. And Kat…Kat laughs. Bitter and miserable, fixated on one corner of the room before looking at him. Wild. Angry. Hurt. It almost makes him flinch, the weight of the accusations in her gaze. “I almost died for you,” she says. “I was ready to let myself get shot for your plan because I thought it was for the best. That’s what we all thought! People are dead for you that I cared about! That I knew and cared about and they’re just dead now.” He swallows. “But I didn’t die, I get to live and know that all of them fucking died so you could try and become god king. Because of course Vergil DiAngelo wants to be king. Freeing mankind isn’t enough for him!”

The Mai/Jet dream captivated me (ATLA/Mai and Jet)

So I had this dream like last year unprompted about Jet and Mai. I don't even remember the context anymore dfghjkl I can't recall if it was within a Zutara dream I was having or another dream I was having or if I'd dreamed up the whole plot? No idea, can't remember.

What I do know is it caused me to write this whole fan fic around the concept because I am in love with them this is a slept on dynamic I think sadfghjk here's an excerpt from the beginning which gives some backstory:

Mai think’s she handles the three random strange Earth Kingdom kids who bust through her bedroom door in ill-fitting work uniforms pretty well. She asks, expression unchanging, “and who are you supposed to be?” And the tallest, proudest, with a smug grin on his face and down turned brows takes a step closer, then two as he reveals a knife. Mai immediately considers four separate ways she can disarm him, and does not move her eyes from him. He says to her, “we’re the Freedom Fighters, and we’re here to kidnap you.” “Oh thank Agni.” It’s…clearly not the response they expected.

Essay no one asked for on spiderverse and grief mostly because i'm obsessed with the black out kingpin causes

I'm OBSESSED with Kingpins design from Spiderverse like it's just SO SMART ok like its BRILLIANT like I love grief narratives we know that we know that on fabdante.tumblr.com we love a grief narrative and my favorite thing about Spiderverse is this focus on the Spiderman story as a grief narrative which it always has been but sometimes that grief narrative can get a bit lost where as in Spiderverse it's sort of the center of it the center of it is grief and the pain of that grief and what we do with that grief.

This essay was one I was going to kind of ignore for a while, ngl, but then I saw someone read Miguels whole thing from the second movie as like capitalist? Which I mean who am I to argue how one reads the story, if that's how you read the story then I fully support ones right to read Spiderverse as a narrative on capitalism like I mean that's a fair read.

However it refilled my interest in analyzing Spiderverse as a grief narrative asdfghj because look I love a grief narrative I love a grief narrative and Spiderverse is such a good grief narrative. Here's an excerpt (also apologies it's the least polished thing here because I mostly started it to get out these thoughts dfghjk):

Every time Spiderverse Kingpin enters the frame we are consumed by him. Now, this is typical of his character design across media. But in Spiderverse, this is amplified by the choice to dress him in black. He not only takes up large portions of the screen or even all of it at times, you cannot see past him. He’s even lost in the black, a small head and hands and peaks of the white of his shirt just surrounded by the blackness of his suit. He’s dressed for a funeral. Formal, black clothes, black tie, clean and pressed. And this is what’s so brilliant about it because every time we see Kingpin, we are not only seeing him but we are confronted by his grief. We are forced to see it. And he exists within it, drowns within it, is consumed by it.

I really need to get back to this essay I feel very strongly about Kingpins design in Spiderverse and Spiderverse as a grief narrative dfghjkl

Thank you again my friend I hope you enjoy these!!

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

NEW HAVEN WARDS THOUGHTS. ok i have. many. primarily though i would love to hear what fucking. tide's pov of insane tidalwave situation is. or just like. nhw tide thoughts in general!!!! him!! he!!! ok ok gotta go put goats 2 bed brb

AHAAAA HAHA I LOVE YOUUUUUU TIDE LAMBERT. i love you tide lambert. i also am extremely delighted by the fact that you and whiskey both sent me asks at the same time indepenently asking me about tide and mark. awesome little bowl of seeds for me in my inbox. under the cut with you

i haaaaave so many emotions about nhw tide the more i think about him.

i am still so MASSIVELY undecided on the whole clone thing but i do feel so strongly about the endbringer thing i brought up one time. i dont remember the way they are in canon but i have a lot of thoughts about tide and his siblings and their "ages" (magma is the oldest, tide is VERY close second (theyre not twins, but theyre probably only a year or less apart so they are The Oldest as a unit to the others. magma still plays the "im older than you" card to tide though). whirlwind and seismic ARE twins and they have such middle child energy. shockwave is the youngest until elle and has a complex about not being the youngest anymore. elle is the beloved baby girl. trust me i have experience in this this is basically the way my dads side of the family is) . anyway im getting distracted. anyway. tide and magma being the oldest and also being given powers specifically to counter leviathan and behemoth. i have emotions about this !!!! (i actually still dont really know whether behemoth is specifically fire coded but he does sleep in volcanoes so let me dream until worm proves me wrong). so like. even if theyre not clones they still get the whole "i was created for a purpose and i feel like i have the weight of the world on my shoulders because of it and its my only purpose and without it im lost and i dont know what to do with myself"

anyway. thinking about. tidalwave first meeting or like. early stages of meeting or whatever. tide is fucking INTIMIDATING. hes REALLY powerful, and also including that thing i put in my one liveblog the other day about Sere- if tide Wasnt A Hero it could be a goddamn disaster because his powers have the potential to be so fucking scary and bad and dangerous. luckily he is also the worlds biggest softie. tide is marginally less emotionally repressed than mark is, so he's more willing to initiate things.

i constantly think about tide in the context of that one post thats like "i hate when people say it costs nothing to be kind. it costs so much. i mean i'll pay it but damn" (im so mad i cant find that rn but. nhw tide thesis statement) hes not naive!!!!!!!! he knows how awful and shitty the world and the whole cape system is. but hes trying so so so hard to do the right thing and help people. that fucking gets on marks nerves so bad. tide is Too Nice and he hates it. "why cant you be more of an asshole so its easier for me to hate you" etc etc etc.

ANYWAY. early tidalwave. tide looks at wavelength and immediately sees a difference between him and some of the other villains hes fought. theres this almost feral desperation to him. outwardly hes cold and calculating and brutal but like. just a little bit beneath the surface he is. like a cornered animal. he doesnt Want to be doing this, but he Has To. and tide can. really sympathize with that and understand that i think. Mark Also Hates This, He Does Not Like To Be Perceived. i imagine theres a lot of back and forth like "i understand" "how could you possibly understand"

they become sort of like unofficial rivals- tide knows how the hero system works and how fucking nasty things could end up for mark if he fights someone who doesnt care about what happens to a villain, so its always tide seeking him out (fight to maim, not kill. sorry that sentence lives in my mind forever now). tide maybe lets him slip away and escape way easier than he should. because he Gets It. he genuinely does want to help mark, not in an "i can fix him" way, but in more of an "i can see youre in a horrible situation and i dont want to kill you just because of that, so im helping in the small way i can without making things worse for you" way. mark knows hes doing this. they never talk about it. they talk more than people who are supposed to be intent on killing each other should talk. neither of them will ever say it out loud but. the human connection outside of their respective Situations is kind of nice. regardless of how fucked up the whole thing is. ill-advised hookups, unmasking, etc etc all of that. but They Dont Talk About It Ever. next day theyre back to trying to kill each other like nothing happened. tide maybe privately mourns this, but still never says anything about it. tide visits mark in the hospital because no one else will. tide tells mark about ashe because no one else will, even if he knows that will basically shatter everything between them (its not tides fault, why would it be, but mark is a very "shoot the messenger, ask questions later" kind of guy)

anyway. i think about them a lot

[blueinkscribe]

A longer collection of "WRONG!" Snippets I wrote after being asked for by my discord.

This is the post where I make all your favourite characters and ships suffer :D

"The mad scientists"

wrong

Cub never left that behind. Cub is still a mad scientist ad heart. No matter where he goes, he carries that with him, even in his museum, he turns so many things just a touch too much into science.

Meanwhile, for zedaph, that science stuff had been nothing but a fun past time. Something to keep himself entertained until he could go to a world he knows he could stay in long enough to start the project he is truly invested in.

The main point they bond over is Cubs entire life, but to zedaph its nothing but a way to pass the time

"Pearl will forever be the red witch"

wrong!

It was never about that. It's never been about a role or a character she played. What it's always been about is that Pearl always and forever ends up being abandoned.

Weather that is by her alliance, by her soulmate, or by her friends.

Pearl is kept around only when someone deems her useful.

And when she's not, they leave her behind.

And she so desperately just wants to be heard, listened to, and when noone does, she begins to scream and shout until people have no choice but to listen.

The role Pearl played is nothing but a byproduct of her loneliness.

Pearl won't forever be the red witch. She hasn't been in a long time actually. All she's ever been is abanoned

"Majorwood were so good for each other"

wrong

Majorwood were nothing but a coincidence, they were never anything more then a participation medal to each other.

Martyn never really saw Scott for who he is, all he saw in Scott is a sad projection of Ren, nothing but a bandaid on a wound that needed stiches.

And Scott, Scott never needed martyn, what Scott needed was to be loved, and he saw martyn, who was ready to treat him with so much love but never for who he is, only for what he wanted him to be.

What Scott needed was trust, but ultimately, martyn turned on him without second thought, because martyn was only ever truly loyal to one person.

Majorwood, to each other, were nothing but sad ghosts of what they truly needed, nothing but unfulfilled dreams

(For context, this is about their characters)

"Jizzie are happily married"

wrong

OK let's be real, I don't know where you'd get this from.

Everything about them is exclusively lust (in a non-sexual way) and never about love.

What lizzie seaks in Joel is entirely a kick. What she gets from him is an adrenaline rush, gets yo play with fire a little. And she could get this from everyone, but Joel is right there, so she goes for him.

Joel, on the other hand, is getting companionship from her. Or well, the illusion if it. He is so sunken into the loneliness of his cave and his red life, that the light of lizzie quite literally blinds him from seeing that to her, he's nothing but an adventure.

And after it's over, lizzie will leave, return to her alliances, and Joel will be alone, craving the company and warmth of another person. But lizzie never cared. Not about him.

Only about the kicks

"Scott and Jimmy never moved on from each other"

wrong

Oh honey, they so did.

I thinks it's obvious that when Jimmy met Tango, he started healing and started moving on, he was proven then that someone could love him just as unconditionally and that he doesn't rely on Scott. He was proven then that there's others who also see his worth. Jimmy is well over Scott. Sure, sometimes he thinks back on that time with a fond smile, but he doesn't miss it.

For scott, moving on looked different.

Scott struggled to move on for so long, and it's not that hes over Jimmy, no, but when he realized that Jimmy was over him, he bottled it all up and shoved it down until he couldn't feel it anymore.

In his dreams, scott can still see the flower valley, can still feel the touch of jimmys hand in his. It no longer fills him with joy, instead, it leaves a sour taste on his tounge. To him, they're nothing but a nightmare that haunts him. A memory he can't let go. All because he has been let go

"Mumbo cant go a day without seeing Grian"

wrong

You think Mumbo is the one obsessed?

I mean, I see where you're coming from, I really do.

But get this. Mumbo just sucks at being alone.

For Mumbo, it could be anyone. The reason it's grian isnt because grian is special, but because Grian is easy, non-intimidating.

To Mumbo, grian is just "the easy option"

Grian is outgoing and exitable and he does most of the work for Mumbo.

He does a great job at patching the whole of loneliness in mumbis heart.

But Mumbo doesn't care if its grian. Before grian, it had been iskall and when grian isnt around, its scar, its Ren, its anyone who will listen. Grian isnt special.

Grian on the other hand. To him, Mumbo is everything. Grian is obsessed with him. He needs Mumbos constant validation and his company and his presence. Without him, grian is incomplete.

Grian yearns for him, he needs him.

And Mumbo is there. Because Mumbo thrives under his attention.

Grian loves Mumbo, Mumbo loves attention, and grian just so happens to give him that

"Impulse and Tango are each other safe space"

"Impulse and Tango are always there for each other through the worst of times"

wrong!

On so many levels.

What they are is forced proximity, over and over again. They catch each other because they stand where the other happens to fall, being crushed under the impact of the fall.

Of course they'll listen, of course they trust each other to an extend. Because they're so used to it having to be each other.

But let's be real. Most of that is Tango. Tango so rarely gets people he can truly rely on, there was Jimmy, sure, but jimmy has since moved on and any other time, the ones he trust end up dead or betraying him.

Impulse, on the other hand, he has people. There are many who have his back.

And yet, whenever disaster strikes, its when he's with tango. They safe each other because it saves themselves

And so, in the sense of calamity, they find each other. Because they're used to it. Because it's all they know.

If they had a choice, they would choose anyone else, they would choose those they wouldn't crush, those who can heal them and not just hold them together so they momentarily function.

But fate never gave them a choice. And so they continue to crush each other

[papermint-airplane]

💪🏾👶🏽😤🧸🤗👏🏾🗣 For Aiden, please :)

💪🏾 What accomplishment are they most proud of?

Ok so there's some context needed here. Basically, Sixam has a current ruler who is mad with power. I mean, what ruler of an entire planet isn't mad with power, amirite? But this one is a particular lil freak about it. We're talking banning an entire color because it displeases them for whatever petty reason. As such, pink is illegal on Sixam. There is a black market for smuggled pink goods and Aiden, little rebel that he is, has the second largest collection of pink contraband on the planet. Ordinarily, he would never dream of breaking the law, but pink is his favorite color and his obsession runs deep. One of his greatest regrets is being separated form his hoard when he got himself accidentally removed from his home planet.

👶🏽 What's their best childhood memory?

If you can believe it, Aiden was a very shy, awkward kid and didn't make friends very easily. I know. So shockingly out of character for him. He'd spend most of his days alone while all the other kids played and had clubs and sports. When he got home from school, his mother would always be waiting for him with snacks to ask him about his day. She'd listen patiently to him talk about all the cool new things he learned, asking questions here and there to keep him going. He feels like those times with her made up for the loneliness that plagued most of his childhood.

😤 What's their pet peeve(s)?

People who won't take no for an answer. It takes a lot for Aiden to put his foot down on any subject but when he does, it's non-negotiable. Unfortunately, people seem to like to tap dance all over his boundaries which stresses him out because he has to keep reasserting himself. To his credit, once his mind is made up, no force in the universe is going to dissuade him so making him state his position over and over again is just annoying.

🧸What makes them feel supported?

Aiden wants to be loved. He wants to feel like he's the most important person in someone's life. He hasn't experienced that much outside of his mother and...certain individuals 👀 who were less devoted than unhealthily obsessed. He likes to be listened to. He likes to feel like he has someone's undivided attention. It's rare for him and he cherishes every moment.

🤗What makes them feel safe?

Blanket forts. After Roman's answer to this question, I'm sure you were expecting another angsty "hE nEvEr FeElS sAfE" answer but Aiden is a simple man with simple needs. When he feels out of control, he wants to make himself as small as possible and retreat into a place where he's surrounded on all sides, kind of like a turtle hiding in its shell. He likes to be cocooned.

👏🏾 Which lost hobbies would they like to pick up again?

Oh there are several, actually. He'd love to return to collecting again, even if he has to start over in Woeford. He loves drinking so that's a hobby he'd like to pick up again and again and again and aga--

He also likes to seek out animals and just watch them exist. He's fascinated by animals of all kinds. They're the one thing he's not afraid of. Back home, he could watch a gnarleep simply grazing on frixum grass for hours on end without getting bored. On Earth and...I guess whatever part of Earth Woeford used to be a part of, he likes watching mice. They have tiny hands. That's fucking adorable.

🗣 Do they ever talk to themselves? When and what do they say?

Yes. Constantly. The boy doesn't really have an internal monologue. Every thought he has comes out of his mouth, whether it's out loud, under his breath, or shrieked at the top of his lungs at inappropriate times. Maybe it's a byproduct of feeling ignored, maybe it's just the way he is, but he. never. shuts. up. And we love that for him.