#sea monster arc

[quantumleper]

Genos vs Deep Sea King | One-Punch Man | Hero Association Saga

[yusuke-of-valla]

I think a lot of people don't understand how Dramatic Irony works. It's more than a bit frustrating.

That one too.

[nopizzaaftermidnight]

[starlit-mansion]

I havent posted much about motr but it should really surprise no one who knows me that my favorite characters were theophilius and batachikhan

[pj-was-here]

oh my oh goodness

The backgrounds i did for @raspberryhell 's RQG anime OP parody, Trust Me!!!

This was a blast to do, so so happy I got to work with them!!

You can watch it on their tumblr and also on youtube!

[merakiui]

perverse phantasmagoria: a tentacular theatre for the timid.

yandere!azul ashengrotto x (gender neutral) reader cw: yandere, nsfw, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, somnophilia, mentions of death/murder, obsession note - something short to satisfy the craving for shadow monster azul.

The monster under your bed is a marvelous magician.

Most marvelous indeed—for he can ensorcell with all manner of fantastical tricks! In flickering candlelight, shapes shift in shadow—a rabbit hopping to and fro or a bird taking flight in a flurry of feathers. A ship sinking in a sinister sea or a worm wriggling through soil. Illusions waltz upon your wall in a graceful ballet, a comforting distraction meant to soothe you to sleep when you grow somnolent.

You are the only one to witness the magnificence of this tentacular theatre. It is confined within the cubic space that is your bedroom, a nightly display projected onto the walls and ceiling, just beyond the curtains of your creaky four-poster bed. He entertains until you’re properly heavy-eyed, slipping through the slivers of reality into fruitful slumber.

While cradled in a sea of sheets, buoyed by curious, curling limbs, you dream of devilish pleasures—of treacherous temptations so visceral they would certainly scandalize the sisters at the church.

The monster under your bed never utters a word, but you know he is there.

He is cold and calm like Death, yet merciful and mystical like an angel. He carries with him odors of the ocean, enveloping you in his briny embrace every night. Tentacles loop gently around your body, sliding beneath silken nightwear, and he plays in the same skillful way he manipulates shadow. You’re strung along the highs and lows of bodily bliss, rocked gently by a creature who dwells in the darkness.

The monster under your bed does not possess a true form, but he holds bright shallows in his eyes.

Shapeless and transient, wavering through dozens of features, he mesmerizes with his stunning hues. They blink at you in the darkness, twin beacons set into a towering lighthouse. You reach for him, pushing past pitch-black phantasmagoria, and beg to see his face. He swallows all light sources, so you will never truly know if there is anything more to those beautiful blues.

The monster under your bed does not have a name, so you call him Azul. Much like his eyes when they pin you to the bed, the name sticks.

A terrible tempest rages outside, rattling the windows in their frames, battering the glass like bullets, and howling through the trees in a most fearsome gale. You lie in your bed, wide-awake and disturbed, and gaze at the canopy. Lightning cracks across the sky in a violent arc, brightening your room for a single second. The thunder follows, rumbling in deep, foreboding notes. With a shiver, you pull your duvet up to your chin. Fear is encroaching. You steel yourself, steady your pounding heart, and inhale sharply.

The monster under your bed is gentle.

He has never hurt you and you suspect he never will. But he is vindictive, a dangerous force who lurks in forgotten corridors and corners during the day. Though he remains out of light’s reach, avoiding the sun’s fingers as they spill in from windows with parted curtains, nothing escapes his glance. He is always watching. You can feel it.

The monster under your bed is brilliant pest control.

He rids the manor of rats and insects alike, swabs the ceilings of cobwebs. He feasts on venomous spiders and snakes, blood drained from carcasses small and large. Trespassers wander far enough to find themselves tangled in the tendrils of a beast. Skeletons snap and shatter in his grasp, so startlingly fast and brutal. There isn’t a scream. No tears. He does not grant them the permission to confess last words.

Flesh rots away, stripped clean from the bone. There is no distinction to be made here. Suitors are trespassers. Thieves are trespassers. Trespassers are trespassers, and they will die as such.

The monster under your bed has a sweet tooth, a discovery you’ve only recently determined. You plate pastries and slide them under your bed, and the porcelain china is returned by morning, licked clean of crumbs.

For all of his mysterious qualities, the monster under your bed is your paramour.

“Azul,” you whisper, your voice much louder in disconcerting quiet. “Are you there, Azul?”

Shadows slither up the expanse of your mattress, crawling over wrinkled linens, to meet you in the gloom. The tip of a tentacle nudges your cheek. The monster—your monster—is here.

“A detective came by today…” Blue meets you in the dark, snapped open at once. “To inquire about a select few.”

He blinks, offering silence as his stubborn reply.

“Missing lords and ladies. They say my manor is cursed and that it is these very disappearances that keep the grounds so lush. An immature accusation.” You search the shadows for a response. “You mustn’t send them to their graves, Azul.”

Another tentacle peels the duvet back to find your hand. It fits into your palm, wrapped tight like a bow on a present. Slowly and slyly, more appendages rise from the space beneath your bed to coil around your person. They massage soothing circles into your skin, exploring eagerly and peppering your flesh in frigid kisses. The effect is soporific. You slacken against the sheets, eyes fluttering shut.

“Mmh… Azul, I’m quite serious…” You close your hand around the tentacle. “You mustn’t—oh!” Your legs are yanked apart then, and a thick tentacle presses up between your thighs. You peer into his narrowed eyes. If you could see his mouth, you’re certain it’d be turned down in a petulant pout. “Won’t you listen to me?”

The tentacles curled around your thighs constrict. He teases your special spot, fine-tuning your body to sing the sweetest of songs. Two more attach to your chest like lecherous leeches, tweaking your nipples under soft suckers. You sigh, pent-up emotions unfurling from their ravel. Lightning flashes again, the rain insistent, and so he drapes a tentacle over your eyes.

“There’s no need to do that.” You run your fingers over it, but you don’t pull it off. “I want to see you. I want to hear your voice. Tell me—” you whine in relief when he pushes in, your anatomy accustomed to his size after months of midnight whimsy— “Let me… Oh, won’t you speak to me, Azul? Tell me—promise me you won’t act so callous the next time I welcome visitors.”

“Intruders,” he finally answers. Despite the malice shot through those three syllables, it is a musical intonation. His voice is deep and dulcet, tickling your ears in the best way.

“You’re being rather unfair in your narrow-minded assessment.”

“And you are not narrow-minded enough,” comes his rumbling reply, synced flawlessly with the thunder just outside. “I shall protect you and this property for as long as I continue to exist. That is my priority.”

Your lips part in a retort, but all that comes out is a shuddering sigh.

“Visitors are not villains,” you manage after you’ve found your voice. “P-Please—aah—be kind… You mustn’t hurt them. They’re—haa—only visitors. I promise you I’m safe.”

“Visitors are the same as intruders. They’re unwanted. Unnecessary. Nuisances. Pests.”

Azul rocks the tentacle deeper inside you. Your nails dig into the one in your hand, and you heave a wobbly sort of groan.

“I won’t arg—ooh—won’t argue with you. I only ask that you understand. They are not dangers.”

“They are,” he snaps, pistoning roughly. You cry out when he pierces a specific spot nestled within. “They will take you away from me. Poison your head with foolish ideas. Destroy our home…”

“T-That will never happen. Not if I can help it.”

Another beat of lightning. Thunder follows suit. Gingerly, he lifts the tentacle veiling your visage. Blue blinks back at you.

“Promise.”

His whisper is broken and sad. Strangely, your heart aches.

“Only if you promise to cease your slaughter. It’s not—” A tentacle presses against your mouth, silencing you. When it draws away to give you another chance, you sigh, knowing just what to say. “Thank you…for protecting me, Azul.”

Satisfied with your submission, he smooths his pace out into slow, sensual lovemaking. You ride the waves of mutual merriment alongside him, no longer fearing the raging storm beyond your room. The world shrinks down to fit inside your bedroom, where paradise is found in the sheets, and nothing else matters here. Swathed safely in shadow, wrapped around the monster under your bed, you drift off into sleepy delirium.

He remains, ever-present like a parasite, the sole actor standing on the stage in this thrilling, tentacular theatre.

[neyafromfrance95]

galadriel's whole arc really can be summarized by nietzsche's quote:

"whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process they do not become a monster. and if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."

her whole rant to adar about exterminating all of his children while keeping him alive to witness it was actually so deranged, i can't believe that they let her be so flawed of a character.

and those aren't "accidental" traits that the show isn't aware are "vices" rather than "virtues", as adar basically called her morgoth's successor to her face after her speech!

she even rejected the heaven bc she couldn't let go of her desire to exact her revenge on sauron.

it makes one think, no wonder that the elves could no longer distinguish her from the evil she fought to defeat (galadriel/sauron's pre-raft storylines parallel too perfectly).

as she did inadvertently keep alive the very evil she sought to defeat, inside her very heart and also quite literally.

and that darkness she pursued so relentlessly, the darkness that is personified by sauron, looked back at her and from the first moment sauron lay his gaze on her, something like a revelation hit him, and the obsessive pursuit became mutual.

indeed, those were the seeds she'd planted and sauron would go on to grope for her mind forever bc she let him in. she let sauron in long before he won her trust as halbrand.

and she might have kept her own darkness at bay later on and closed the doors to it, not consumed by revenge anymore, but she never stopped fighting or thirsting for power, and with trop context all of this is intrinsically connected to sauron. even taking nenya to valinor is given a new layer of context, she holds onto the symbol of her fight and of sauron, taking it with her to valinor (remember how in 1.01 she asked elrond whether he would have her take the fight in her heart to the heaven? oh, maybe she did after all...)

i just love that the lady of the light actually has so much darkness of her own. she is simply so nuanced and complex, and not confined to the limits of what a female protagonist should be like. it's not just her darkness, her pride either. it's not just flaws she is allowed, she is allowed genuine weaknesses. she is so abrasive and reckless that sauron had to make sure she didn't get them drowned in the numenorean sea, lmao. and even her strongest virtue isn't a typical "feminine" virtue, it isn't common sense or nurture, it is willpower.

[usoppssketchbook]

This is kind of what I was talking about with that art I recently posted. Usopp’s fighting style since the timeskip leans heavily on the pop greens. They are powerful, and he can handle stronger enemies than he used to because of them, but at the same time they’ve become a crutch for him. The weapons are powerful, not him or the way he uses them. It seems like he’s become less inclined to use his head and skills to win, and more likely to charge into situations headfirst, the same way he used to criticize Luffy and Zoro for doing. In the case of Sugar and Trebol, this resulted in getting his ass beat and only winning on a fluke**. 

Usopp has the might of pop greens behind him now, but they're not what make him strong. In a fight, Usopp's greatest strengths have always been his quick thinking and creativity. I want him in a situation that takes all his tricks, cunning, and inventiveness to survive, a situation where he can't lean on just his plants or some powerful weapon like Kuro Kabuto to get things done. I know it's never gonna happen because using your brains strategy isn't how you become a Strong Honorable Man™ in One Piece, but I really want Usopp's character growth to be about accepting himself, and for that acceptance to include using his own kind of strength to win, not capitulating to One Piece’s worship of head on battle. I want him to come out the other side of that fight with the understanding that he doesn't need to be like Luffy or Zoro or the giants to be strong, that he doesn’t have to be like his dad, that he doesn’t have to jump into every situation guns blazing or live completely without fear to be a brave warrior. 

**credit where credit is due, he did follow this up with an epic shot and psychological warfare tactics, which I loved

usopp likes to tinker, and make things, and invent things that improve himself and his skills and the fact that about absolutely NONE of that shines through in his design, fighting style, or skills, is bullshit. usopp is tactical and smart and i would classify as the best guy to make a strategy in any situation and the fact that this trait of his seems to have been replaced with the plants thing is shit to me

the tactician aspect of usopp is what should have been delved into further, it is the character development that usopp needs to come to terms with, that he’ll never be strong like luffy or zoro but he will always win against them because he is smarter than them and more clever then they are, that maybe he won’t be a “man” in the way he feels his father was, but he’ll be strong of heart, morals, and skills

like the plants thing is cool but it’s also bullshit because it’s an entirely new trait rather then expanding on a pre established trait like the rest of the got to do during the timeskip.

[hedgehogoftime]

My problem with "The Vengeance Saga"

I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion but I'm a bit... disappointed by the Vengeance Saga.

Don't get me wrong, mechanically it's my favorite one yet. Every performance is incredible. The songs are bangers. But I can't help but feel it misses the point of "The Odyssey".

And this is a running problem I've had with Epic as a whole so bear with me while I air my thoughts.

"The Odyssey" is the story of pride. Of hubris. It always has been. Odysseus's pride, specifically. The reason the Gods come down so hard on Odysseus is because he's too proud. He believes himself above the Gods or at least above crediting them for his achievements. Anyone who's familiar with Greek Mythology knows that this is a common theme, a mortal becoming too full of themselves because of a gift the Gods gave them is a recurring thing.

Odysseus doesn't spare Polyphemus out of pity like in Epic, he does it so everyone can know who outwitted him and who overcame the monster.

I feel like earlier parts of Epic understand this as the theme. "Luck Runs Out" especially hits on it, and it feels like it comes to a head in "Ruthlessness" when Odysseus doesn't do the one thing that could get them out of this situation, humble himself before Poseidon and apologize. Instead, he makes excuses and Poseidon follows through with his threat.

I just feel like Odysseus beating Poseidon, humiliating him like he does in "Six-Hundred Strike" is antithetical to the theme of the story. Odysseus proves his pride right, and overcomes a God.

The whole point Poseidon pushes in "The Odyssey" is that no one is mightier than the sea. No matter how good or powerful you are, you have to respect the sea and nature.

I just feel like Ody's arc would be more complete if he did the one thing he didn't bring himself to do in "Ruthlessness" and apologizes to Poseidon, at last breaking the pride that got his men killed.

While watching Odysseus triumph like that might be more immediately rewarding, it feels narratively cheaper. It doesn't even complete his arc as a monster, since we already saw the culmination of that in the Thunder Saga where alienated the rest of his crew and got them killed because of that.

Being a monster didn't work, but here it does?

I dunno, just how I feel.

[helpallthenamesaretaken]

I was thinking about if they made a sea of monsters musicals, and here are some song titles i came up with lol (in random order)

The Ballad of the Sirens (basically a bunch of harmonies of the sirens and annabeth singing about her vision with the end of the song being percy singing her out of it (bonus points if he's not harmonising with the sirens)(bonus points if percy calms annabeth down and they have a little harmony of their own but in a different key))

Best Man (im a little foggy about this but probably grovers song with a witty punchline like 'its too early for you to be my best man' while making jokes about asking percy to come to his wedding and save him)(it also ends with "ill come save you" "you're the best, man!")

The Guinea Pig Song (Squeak!) (just a 'lost' type of vibe with percy panic singing accompanied by lot of guinea pig squeaks)

Hangry! (basically the tantalus version of 'another terrible day')

A Good Monster (basically tysons song about how he lived alone on the streets, and about how he prayed to poseidon)(yes it is a direct parallel to good kid)

A Good Monster (Reprise)/My Baby Brother (consider this sung by percy at the end of the chariot race, same tune but happier lyrics about how tyson doesnt need to feel like a monster anymore)

War's Daughter (this is DEFINITELY clarisse's song, it could be her talking to ares or a little rumination after that conversation, talking about her arc and little hints of the prophecy she's not telling to the crew)

[randomfoggytiger]

"My Touchstone": the Turning Point

Dedicated to the anon who asked:

I would love to hear your thoughts on how the “touchstone” conversation changed Mulder and Scully’s relationship. Was it this scene that propelled them into a romantic relationship?

To answer that question, I have to back up a bit to Fight the Future. Actually, let's back up even further-- to the cancer arc-- so we can get a clearer picture of the relationship between these two Avoidants (post here.)

FORWARD AND BACKWARD

Mulder realizes the extent of his feelings for Scully in Memento Mori.

I posit Scully's already known her feelings since at least early Season 2; but her temperament leads her to suppress, rather than express, emotional wants or needs. Never Again (posts here and here) was the result of both Season 3's on-and-off jealousy and Mulder's avoidance of a normal life (Home, post here) and search for his tragic soulmate (The Field Where I Died.) Because of this, Scully tries to pinpoint and grapple with her "endless line", realizing-- too late-- that she wanted recognition (and more) from Mulder (as spelled out in the script, here.) Mulder realizes this, too, and lets the matter drop.

For Scully, it's advantageous to keep everything unsaid, largely because Mulder isn't ready... for anything, really (as discussed in the Home post linked above, and demonstrated by this clip.) Everything he's been drawn to or attracted by has an ephemeral, fleeting resemblance to some other normalcy he craves (post here)-- but has never, ever lasted. Except Scully.

So, Mulder realizes his feelings, Scully escapes cancer by the skin of her teeth, and we arrive at Detour... where he runs from the motel, chasing after his monster case.

Some read this moment as Mulder realizing and dodging Scully's intentions, others that he was completely blind to her intentions. I file it as the latter; but we also have ample evidence of Mulder noticing Scully's actions briefly before losing focus in favor of another tantalizing mystery (ex. the beginning of The Unnatural.) He misses the forest for the trees in his personal life-- or rather, he doesn't see the value in fixating on it beyond a few superficial check-ins here and there (we'll get to that.) Scully's always by his side, they have the work, he wants answers, why change? It's the same question he asks her in other contexts (ex. "Why now? Why Boggs?" in Beyond the Sea.)

Season 5 continues. It's a rough year for Mulder (post here.) And for Scully: The End is another episode on a pile of episodes where she feels she's "failed" Mulder, leading to her dispirited goodbye in FTF.

Thus, we arrive at Fight the Future: the moment that forces Mulder to make a confession or lose Scully. To him, her importance was never in question; but the hard part is admitting how broken he feels without her. He was afraid to do more in their partnership because... what would happen if things changed? His fear is rooted in the "What if?", and holds him back from a course of action. Scully's fear is rooted in "Did I choose right?", and manifests after she decides on a course of action (A Christmas Carol's doubts after joining the FBI, Never Again after four years in, all things after the Season of Secret Sex, etc.)

Despite the good that came from his hallway, Mulder's greatest fear is realized when Scully nearly dies after he confesses he needs her. This kicks him into retreat mode (post here)-- "go be a doctor", he tells her. It's Scully who says, "I can't", and clings to his hand, who refuses to give up. That is important, because it's another example of how reliant on Scully Mulder is, to the detriment of his own growth, at times.

Mulder takes her words to mean that Scully is unflinchingly by his side-- which is true. What isn't is his next assumption: that they're on the same page.

They're not, really.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SEASON 6

In The Beginning, Scully hasn't felt the need to change-- she's a scientist, she needs proof-- but she hasn't confronted and overcome her unnecessary doubts, either. Mulder, meanwhile, demonstrates he hasn't changed, either-- and, more importantly, how far removed he is still if from a functioning relationship... as Scully suspected. Hurt that she didn't back him up before their superiors-- which resulted in them losing the files-- he hides behind frustration and anger. Scully feels rejected, and lo and behold! Diana appears; and wins back some ground with Mulder while Scully loses Gibson Praise. By the end of the episode, Mulder doesn't want to cosign to Scully's theory because her science, he thinks, betrayed them before. And lo and behold! It kind of did. But it didn't this time, when it's too late.

Where does that place them early Season 6? As an enclosed unit, with Mulder pillaging the basement-- without consulting Diana-- and sneaking off on his own or taking Scully with him on his misadventures. For all that could be wrong between them, a lot is still right; and both put in the effort to include and watch out for the each other.

Then Two Fathers and One Son (posts here, here, and here) shakes them apart: Mulder doesn't want to believe yet another ally is using and manipulating him; but gives in and goes to investigate Diana when Scully threatens to walk if he doesn't listen to her. He's speared in the Achilles Heel, however-- fatalism in the face of the inevitable-- and almost gives up completely before Scully yells him back from the brink. This happens again in Amor Fati; but he finally learns his lesson there. Scully is visibly angry with him at the end of the episode... and then we have the next few episodes as if nothing happened.

Agua Mala completely resolves their festering from One Son (yes, it's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it resolution; and, yes, I need to sit down and write that out sometime) and propels them into their old-- dare I say, lighthearted-- routine and banter (i.e. Monday, Arcadia, etc.)

An important side note: To accurately place where Mulder and Scully were romantically during this period, we have to figure out if there was lingering tension post One Son. The facts simply don't support that narrative. We see in Arcadia that Scully was enjoying herself at first-- only brushing Mulder off initially when he used her as part of his schmaltzy facade (during their arrival)-- until her partner began poking at her, too (posts here), to maintain distance between them (post here.) We see in Alpha (posts here) that their banter was fun and lighthearted until she found out Mulder kept information relevant to that case from her; and that that information was yet another woman he wanted her to trust without question because he did. (Regardless, she still looked out for his best interests and sympathized with him after Karin's death.) We are shown in Milagro (posts here) that her tops are dropping lower and lower in an unconscious desire to grab Mulder's attention; but more importantly, that Mulder still hasn't considered her in all the ways Dana Katherine Scully exists. Yet, tension only arises when Scully feels overlooked, not displaced-- a creeping of her old assumptions and Mulder's missed signals in Never Again 2.0, not a minimization of her value ala One Son. We see in The Unnatural that she's survived Padgett and is setting subtlety aside for the first time in their relationship; so no tension there at all.

In short, we see Scully moving on and wanting Mulder to move on with her, too... and Mulder either not getting the hint outright (the beginning of Arcadia and Milagro), or getting distracted by the next shiny case instead, despite her efforts (Alpha, The Unnatural.)

The Unnatural: stage one of Mulder's mature development (and you can thank David Duchovny for each of these stages, by the way.) I.e. Detour with unmistakably romantic overtures, in case Mulder missed them the first time (which seems to be a pattern for Scully: near death, survival, resolution, and overtures.) Mulder would have to be thick to miss her obvious flirting, but he still loses himself in another x-file and runs off to badger Arthur Dales about it-- meaning, at this point, Scully has his attention, but not his full attention. Scully takes this as a matter of course-- because that's how Mulder's been from Season 1 (i.e. The Jersey Devil's "Unlike you, Mulder, I would like to have a life"/"I have a life.") However, Mulder finally learns "the mystery of the heart"; and decides to test this out with Scully on the baseball field. It's a small, small, small step because he's not used to this "normal", this appreciation for small, perhaps insignificant things. More to the point, he's probably afraid to do more-- was afraid she wouldn't even show up, per his expression; and will be afraid to follow-up, per his actions in Amor Fati and Millennium. But he did it; and Scully knew what Mulder was meaning to demonstrate ("Shut up, Mulder, I'm playing baseball.), as Duchovny intended.

So, where does that take us? The IVF arc, of course (post here.) It's a failure, splat (or not a part of some fans' canon); and that keeps up moving rapidly along to the next beat in their relationship.

Field Trip. Oh, boy. Field Trip: the episode that prepares both agents for the foundational upheaval of the Biogenesis-Amor Fati arc. Scully can't solely rely on her pat scientific rationalizations; and Mulder doesn't trust her blind loyalty and belief. And both are undeniably coded as a couple throughout their "trip." The main takeaway from this experience is that they doubt themselves more than they doubt each other; and their doubts in each other pale in comparison to their unshakeable trust.

MY TOUCHSTONE

That leads us neatly to Biogenesis-Amor Fati... which we shall mostly skip for brevity's sake, as this arc accomplishes very little (despite its exorbitant screen time.)

Diana shows up, but has to admit Mulder has been asking for Scully "since last night." The barb doesn't land for Scully (while the implication highly amuses Skinner, post here); and after their resolution in Season 6-- Milagro and The Unnatural and the IVF arc and, most recently, Field Trip-- she remains unshaken in her conviction of Mulder's loyalty. She flies to Africa, touches the baby-restorer ship, and accomplishes... very little before flying back and finding out Tena has turned her son over to CSM.

Mulder, meanwhile, is stuck in dreamland. @cecilysass wrote an incredible post on the topic here; and @jaspertedd and @deathsbestgirl's theories-- that Mulder's dreams are influenced by those around him (post here)-- are interesting and pertinent additions. If true, that speaks to a deeper hole in Mulder's psyche he's yet to repair: doubting himself so much so that the influence of others takes precedence over his conscience. We've seen that before many times (one of which is Diana's manipulation in One Son, another of which was CSM's temptation in Redux II); but in each case, it was Scully-- a stronger moral barometer-- that kept him back or influenced his courage in the right direction. Mulder doesn't need to borrow her conscience, just her strength to act on his own.

"You were my constant, my touchstone"/"And you are mine" speaks volumes about where these characters are.

Mulder needed to accurately see that a life, a world where he was handed all his answers and given atonement for all his trespasses was empty and shallow without Scully. He needed, further, to shake off that side of himself that would rather wallow than fight, that put Scully in a position, over and over again, to save his life (Demons) or to talk him back from the edge (The Ghosts That Stole Christmas, though a mirage, was based in a truth.) For Mulder, Amor Fati is the crest of a long, arduous hill that took him decades to climb; and now tips him down, at last, towards maturity, self-actualization, and closure.

Scully needed to come to a different, frightening realization: that the cornerstones of her beliefs might be built on lies, too. She needed to open her mind to possibilities that challenged or even betrayed her beliefs-- to overcome the fear inside that was still inflicting self-doubt. For Scully, Amor Fati was the beginning of the end of her security in "the facts"-- but one that gave her the opportunity to step away from "the tried and true" in order to find herself: her intuition, and her happiness.

"You were my constant, my touchstone"/"And you are mine" is the verbalization of their mutual revelations.

THE END FOR MULDER, THE BEGINNING FOR SCULLY

Amor Fati, for Mulder, was a Part 2 to Redux II and a do-over for One Son: he was confronted by his conscience and learned, once again, to stand by it. But not alone, not yet. For Scully, it was the beginning of her journey, one that culminates in all things (post here.) Her relationship struggles aren't rooted in an upfront fear about moving forward in a relationship-- only what comes after, a pattern in all her relationships and major life decisions (post here.)

Yet, Mulder doesn't make a move in his hallway-- doesn't even try-- after his touchstone speech. Why?

Because Scully was overwhelmed and conflicted and needed space to work through her (Diana-adjacent) guilt-- the same feelings he'd battled with throughout Season 4 and 5: failing and failing and failing. With a little space and a little time for him to recover and a little case thrown in to get her back on track (Hungry), their equilibrium is reestablished.

And that leads us to Millennium and the Season of Secret Sex.

It's Mulder who initiated his confession in Fight the Future, it's Mulder who invited her to play ball under the stars, and it's Mulder who affirmed she was his touchstone; so, it's Mulder who initiates their first kiss. Scully continues to hold herself in a waiting position-- standing at attention, Starbuck-style, until her captain makes the first move (something that all things shifts, as well)-- but all bets are off when he does. Mulder's first step initiates all her ensuing ones: jealously knocking into him in and playing with his tie in Rush, teasing about all being "right with the world" when they (hypothetically) return home in The Goldberg Variation, and each and every fond ribbing she tosses his way. There's a resolution between the two that isn't shaken until En Ami's trickery (which... was a topic all its own, post here) and all things's doubts.

Then we arrive at Closure. This episode is the resolution to Mulder's character arc-- not only because he found his sister and, effectively, laid her to rest, but because he learned to trust to her happy ending without needing Scully to believe him. For the first time, he exercises a "conscience", if you will, separately from Scully-- she is his touchstone, still, but not his whole being. A monumental change from Redux II and Folie a Deux and Fight the Future: then, it was "I knew you'd tell me if I was making a mistake" and "no one else" on earth believes him and "I don't want to do this alone. I don't even know if I can." Now, she remains his touchstone, his realignment; but he can stand on his own two feet without curling into whatever shape will earn him love from others.

all things is to Scully what Closure was to Mulder. Her touchstone claimed her as his in Amor Fati; and Scully thought this meant Mulder promised to always be there when she navigated strange waters... and then he ditches her for crop circles in England. Mulder doesn't understand why she's making a big deal of weekend work now instead of every weekend before; and the two separate in not bad but not great spirits (ala Never Again.) Feeling adrift, Scully runs into Daniel Waterston, and we know what happens from there. In short, all things forces Scully to have distance from Mulder's influence-- as Amor Fati had forced him from her-- in order to choose, with a clear conscience, if this path, this touchstone, is the right one for her. all things finally sets her free from her inhibitions: she guides Mulder back to their apartment and lets him ramble on and on without feeling displaced or devalued by his split focus.

Scully wouldn't be driven to this crossroads and its resolution had not Mulder calmed her self-reproach and claimed her as his "touchstone", allowing her to come back to and lean on that truth in her darkest hours. As we know, she's always relied on Mulder's strength-- Irresistible, Memento Mori, Elegy, etc.-- but had yet to rely on her own. all things, finally, guides her into her own strength and abilities.

COULD A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM HAVE WORKED BEFORE?

Realistically, anything can work with enough dedication and elbow grease (from both parties.) But, actually factually, the reciprocity needed for an intimate relationship wouldn't have been equal until after Mulder's return from "another life, another world." While they loved each other, Mulder's mercurial ways would wear on Scully's security, and Scully's sudden doubts and distance would dig Mulder's insecurities deeper in.

Mulder, the FBI profiler, was more strongly aware of this than Scully; while Scully, the scientific medical doctor, was more alertly aware of Mulder's constant retreat and instability than her own conflicting, distancing, brewing emotions. He had to learn to stand on his own two feet: a man who railed against the sky and stood up to his superiors and welcomed an existence as a pariah; and who would crumble the instant love was offered then revoked. She had to learn to trust her own instincts: a woman who rigidly tried to rein in her insecurities through facts and detached logical thinking; and who would implode with doubt the instant someone she respected or trusted questioned her decisions or intuition.

Could it or would it have worked? Yes, I think so. But Mulder and Scully were, I believe, happiest to begin a relationship when they did, on their own terms. They needed to be each other's touchstone first, not his "one-in-five-billion" or her "strength."

Partners, in all things.

CONCLUSION

"My touchstone" was the awakening for both: of how far Mulder had come, and much farther Scully had to go. Moreover, it solidified the nature of their relationship: unshakeable reliance and dependable trust, even if the whole world was (is) falling apart.

In short, Anon? Yes.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[yandere-daydreams]

Title: A Cat On The Shrine Roof.

Pairing: Yandere!Ei x Reader (Genshin).

Word Count: 1.0k.

TW: Hybrid AU, Nekomata!Ei, Kidnapping, Mind-Control, and Non-Consensual Touching.

It was your fault, really. For not listening when the priestess told you not to linger at the shrine.

The head priestess had cautioned you against it, her painted lips (a sign of vanity uncommon among women in her position) quirking upward as she warned you of the monsters waiting in the forest who would love nothing more than to gobble up little acolytes who shirk their responsibilities. She told you, in no unexplicit terms, to make your offering, recite your prayers, and hurry back to the village as quickly as you could, but you hadn’t thought to listen for sincerity in her playful tone, to wonder if their way any advice in the childish nursery rhythms she half-sung as she prepared the bundle of rice and saké and silver coins you were to leave on the doorstep. If you’d listened, you might not have been so slow-footed as you wandered through the forest, stopping every few minutes to pick wildflowers or admire the way the sunlight bled through the tree canopy. If you’d listened, you might’ve been so preoccupied with your prayers that you wouldn’t have noticed the muffled sound of a shamisen, wouldn’t have let your curiosity get the better of you and ventured into the decrepit shrine.

If you’d listened, you wouldn’t be standing in front of a monster, praying to every god you’ve ever worshiped that its appetite had already been sated by some other foolish traveler.

It had to be a monster. It had to be. The creature sitting in front of you was undeniably a hybrid, but what kind, you wouldn’t dare to guess. For the most part, she looked like a cat; sleek ears rising out of her neatly braided hair, black-furred paws sitting where her feet should’ve been, hints of pointed teeth hanging over her bottom lip, but the idea that you’d stumbled onto the den of a stray housecat broke down as you went on.

Where there should’ve been one tail sprouting from the base of her spine, there were two, the end of each wrapped in a violet ribbon, and she was far, far taller than any hybrid you’d ever seen. Even sitting on the floor, bent over her instrument, the top of her head was level with your midriff, and you could see evidence of lean muscle underneath her traditional kimono. Most unsettling of all were her eyes – slit pupils sitting in a sea of iridescent lavender, not unsimilar to the color of lightning as it arced through the sky. For a second, while the rational part of your mind was still blank with panic, it occurred to you that meeting her unblinking stare might leave you as scared as its more eye-catching counterpart, but you tried not to think about that. If you let yourself believe she could end you with little more than a glance, you were already done for.

She broke the silence, surprisingly. “Oh,” she started, clearly more than a little surprised herself. “You must be one of Miko’s.”

Your tongue felt heavy, your throat dry. You didn’t realize you were talking until you heard the sound of your own voice. “P-please don’t eat me.”

The stuttered plea earned a pair of widened eyes, a breath of a laugh. “So, you are one of Miko’s. I should’ve known she’d be spreading rumors about me.” She laid her shamisen across her lap, careful to keep her curved talons from scratching the wood. “I’m assuming you know who I am?”

Jerkily, you shook your head, and she softened in response, her expression taking on a sympathetic lilt. “Oh, poor thing. You must’ve been terrified.” You had been. You still were. The only reason you weren’t shaking was because you were too scared to move. “I thought we would’ve been well-acquainted, considering how many times I’ve heard your prayers.”

Instantly, your heart dropped in your chest. Hastily, you fell into a shallow bow, clenching your eyes shut and cursing yourself for not making the connection sooner. “Narukami Ogosho, Almighty Mistress of Thunder, I’m sorry I didn’t—”

“Call me Ei. There’s no need for titles here.” If she was offended by your obliviousness, you weren’t able to hear her anger, to make anything other than pity and a vague sense of amusement out in her expression. You could only be thankful. If meeting her eyes would be enough to kill you, you couldn’t imagine how you’d fare if she actually decided to seek retribution. “Come, sit with me.”

“With all do respect, I think the priestess is—”

“Sit with me.”

You didn’t want to. You were still frozen where you stood, still trying to summon the courage to run, but that didn’t seem to matter. Your body moved on its own, drawn forward by some invisible set of strings, a soft melody playing somewhere in the distance as you stumbled closer to the creature, closer to Ei. You didn’t so much sit next to her as fall into place at her side – your knees buckling and leaving you to catch yourself before you could fully hit the ground.

After you’d settled into a rigid, unsteady sort of kneeling pose, Ei reached out, letting her knuckles brush against your cheek before taking you by the chin. “You might be the loveliest she’s sent so far.” If she’d been tall at a distance, she was massive now. Her hand alone was enough to stretch across the length of your jaw, and you could picture her, no matter how hard you tried not to, crushing your skull with one decisive movement. Your vision blurred, your breathing growing rapid, but if your fear was visible, she didn’t seem to warrant it worth her attention. “I did tell her not to send anything else, but…” A contemplative hum, a padded thumb pressed into your cheek. “She has always been so tricky, hasn’t she? I don’t know what could possibly make a mortal so brazen.”

The melody was getting louder. The musician must’ve been sitting outside of the shrine. “Mistress, I really have to get back to the—”

“You’ll stay here.” Louder, now, as if the strings were being plucked only a hair’s width from your ear. You should’ve run. You should’ve prayed to something else. “You’ll stay here, with me, and you will never stray farther than I can follow. Isn’t that right?”

Eagerly, desperately, you nodded, tears running freely down your cheeks as you rushed to take her hand by the wrist, to press yourself into her palm. Ei chuckled, the sound laced with a reverberating purr.

“I’m glad you agree.”

The music had grown deafening, and yet, you couldn’t seem to imagine listening to anything other the sound of her voice.

“It would be a shame to have to refuse such a fine offering.”

[ineffablejaymee]

ITS PERCY JACKSON TIME AND I HAVE THOUGTS

if anyone tries to put spoiler alert on this i will cry these books are 15 years old ANYWAY THOUGHTS

I love the fight between percy and grover, sue me. the betrayal in percy's eyes and grover hurting him to protect him???? these are my BOYS the empathy link is coming

CLARISSE clarisse is so. so. i love her. im not a fan of her calling percy a fraud, i think her hating him because she wanted to prove herself and was jealous of percy was great but they made it work. AND THE WAY SHE CRIED OUT WHEN PERCY BROKE HER SPEAR?! oh she has daddy issues shes gonna nail sea of monsters arc if they shoot it

the foreshadowing about luke is CRAZY and i eat it u p. also it hurts like a bitch, especially with walker playing the naive and trusting percy so perfectly. AND THE LITTLE SISTER LINE?! magnificent. shatter my heart and leave it in pieces

WALKER IS AMAZING hes the embodiment of percy and yeah, persassy. we knew he would be back. his whole interaction with Mr. D was hillarious and i love the dad scene. Such Jason Mantzoukas energy he was made for this role.

i adore Sally, she's the rebellious, brave and caring woman i imagined while reading the books. and her relationship with percy is amazing. i will never stop crying about them btw

YOU DROOL IN YOUR SLEEP the way i SCREAMED we are getting the percabeth. i will be so insufferable when she calls percy seaweed brain. i cant wait for more annabeth screentime

i wasnt the one watching these episodes. instead there was the 12 yo undiagnosed me who had just felt seen on the pages for the first time in their life in my seat.

[aroaceleovaldez]

they cast a 28 year old for Tyson 💀

[relevant rants: here and here]

yeah, i saw - i wasn't holding onto hope of them casting a disabled actor for Tyson (still disappointed, just not surprised) but casting a 28 year old for a middle schooler is really out of left field. It's just an odd choice? Particularly given how much they've been emphasizing age-accurate casting so far.

It makes me really wonder what major rewrites they have planned for Tyson's character. Because as things stand currently there's no way to make Tyson's existing character work with this casting. Tyson is supposed to be in Percy's grade, but Daniel Diemer sticks out like a sore thumb against the child actors. Tyson being in Percy's grade is pretty important for the entire arc of Sea of Monsters with the main character arc being Percy combating internalized ableism and establishing him as a character who stands up for other marginalized kids. If they remove that, what's Percy's arc going to be for that entire season? At what point are they going to establish that about his character? Or are they just going to exposition it at us like usual with nothing backing it up and no actual character progression? And in later seasons the age gap is only going to be more prominent - like how is Tyson going to work in BoTL or TLO? Are they planning on removing his character entirely for those scenes? Are they going to remove him as a recurring character in general? It'd be really weird if they killed him off or something.

I'm also afraid for if they do try to keep Tyson's disability coding in some form - cause there's kind of no good way it can go at this point. Either they completely erase Tyson's coding because they cast an abled actor for him and that messes up the entire arc of the book and his character particularly in relation to Percy, or they have an abled actor attempt to portray a character heavily coded as having down syndrome (and i believe they're already doing similar with iirc Chiron's actor is abled but they're doubling-down in the show on Chiron being disabled) and given how they've written the neurodivergence themes (or absence there of) in the show so far there's just no way that'd end well. Like, Tyson's characterization is a little questionable to begin with in the books, but given the show's writing so far it just feels like we're very rapidly ramping up for an extremely ableist characterization of Tyson. Like i'm sure Daniel Diemer is a great actor, but... i'm just getting real tired of the show erasing the entire premise of the series :T

anyways as per my initial post about pjo tv tyson casting theories i guess it's time for me to start tearing stuff apart with my teeth ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[mononokehunters]

When it comes down to it, the thing that I love most about Mononoke is the obvious respect and affection it has for kaidan/traditional ghost stories, even when it's subverting them. Both Bakeneko arcs are a fresh take on one of the superstars of Japanese horror movies. Zashiki-warashi is there for the real monsters being the humans we met along the way. Umi-Bozu is a love letter to odd sea monsters in the same way Nue is a love letter to haunted houses. Noppera-Bo is all for the theatrical traditions that originally brought these stories to popularity. That's the heart and soul of Mononoke to me and so long as that stays true, I'll be a fan.

[elerrinacrownedwithstars]

The idea that only Ulmo or Nienna care about Middle-earth and do anything to help Eruhini is a strange misconception because Tolkien pretty clearly shows that at least Manwë is watching very closely what's going on and sometimes even interferes? It's just that the Valar mostly seem to work through the elements they represent, which if you think about it is pretty neat.

Like there are various instances where the wind acts up suddenly, causing storms or rising in just the right moment (as in ROTK, clearing the air for the Rohirrim and speeding Aragorn's journey as he sails for Minas Tirith)

And even more obviously, the Eagles. Tolkien specifically says that the Eagles are Manwë's advocates in Middle-earth, providing miraculous aid when all else fails. Without the Eagles, Beren and Lúthien's quest would have failed and Huor would not have got to Gondolin (which then would have prevented Eärendil's success or even meant he was never born). They give crucial aid to Gandalf more than once. The Eagles also help Fingon to save Maedhros, because Manwë "would not wholly abandon the Noldor". Tolkien recognises that the Eagles are "deus ex machina", and in this case, the meaning is quite literal.

Then there are the Istari, envoys of the Valar: while there is proof of only Gandalf's success, even just the efforts of one of the Wizards was enough to bring down Sauron.

As for Ulmo, you could argue that he is responsible for the whole Eärendil and Elwing arc - and that it was a job between him and Manwë. It's Manwë's Eagles that bring Huor to Gondolin, and Ulmo later sends Huor's son Tuor into the hidden city. Tuor and Eärendil both get sea-longing in their hearts. During the flight of the survivors of Gondolin, Eagles are again present and bring up the body of Glorfindel, making you wonder whether they would have interfered more in the Balrog fight if Glorfindel had not stepped up to protect the refugees - and Eärendil, the fated saviour of Middle-earth. Also, Ulmo rescues Elwing when she casts herself into the sea, turning her into a bird so that she can fly to find Eärendil. Water and air and birds keep showing up in the stories of Eärendil and Elwing and if that's not proof of Manwë and Ulmo's plotting, I don't know what is. I mean, it's even said in the first pages of the Silmarillion that they are fast friends and closely allied from the beginning! Eärendil becoming a star also in a weird way even combines the elements of Ulmo, Manwë, and Varda: bearing the Silmaril, Eärendil sails an immortal ship in the sea of heaven and stars, forever as a sign of hope to the Children of Ilúvatar.

What about the other Valar? If we keep in mind that they chiefly work through the elements they represent, their abilities to interfere are limited (and this is a self-imposed limitation clearly). Yavanna's creation of the Ents proves to be a pretty great one in The Two Towers, although you can argue to what degree she is influencing the events. More obviously In Shelob's lair, Sam calls for Varda, and the light of the phial of Galadriel comes alive in his hand and smites the great spider, helping Sam to defeat the monster. Also, during Sam and Frodo's desperate march through the hellscape that is Mordor, Sam yearns for a little bit of light and water to hearten him - and lo and behold, he gets these exact things as if Varda and Ulmo personally delivered.

In other words, the Valar are a lot more active in Middle-earth than they get credit for, and they work in subtle and indirect ways because only then can they make sure they don't accidentally kill a lot of the Children.